I like this chapter. It's just beginning to introduce Link's quest. It's all good.
Chapter One (seven years later)
"Zel, hurry up!"
"OW! Link! What are you doing? Where are we going?"
Link just laughed. "You'll see."
Zelda groaned. "If you'd just tell me . . ." she complained, tripping over her white-and-purple dress.
She was in the middle of Din knew where, blindfolded, being led to some unknown location. By Link.
She'd let Link lead her anywhere.
But why? she thought suddenly. The question caught her off guard. Why do you trust Link so muchmore than anyone else?
We just spend a lot of time together, she answered quickly. Just stop thinking about it.
That was her motto: Just stop thinking about it.
She had pretty, perfect-looking blonde hair that fell to the small of her back, and blue eyes. They were less bright blue than her mom's eyes. They were mixed with grey (the same gray as Daphnes', in fact. Tee hee). She was slender and fair-skinned. She was beautiful in a graceful, gentle way.
That was pretty misleading. She really wasn't all that gentle. She could be very rude, when she wanted to be.
"Uh . . ." She scrambled for something to say. "Did you know that this could be considered kidnapping?"
"Like I'd get in trouble."
"Don't be so cocky," she warned. "I can do it."
"Yeah," Link taunted, slipping an arm around her shoulders. "But you wouldn't." She could tell by his voice that he was grinning.
Zelda stood straighter, glaring in his general direction. "That's it. I'm taking off the blindfold." She untied it.
"No!" His hands covered her eyes immediately. "Don't look yet!"
Zelda crossed her arms, stumbling forward. "Now I know you've got something stupid planned."
"Of course not."
"We could move a lot faster if I wasn't blindfolded."
"I'm not in a hurry. Besides, we're almost there. Step."
Zelda absently climbed the stair, trying to figure out where they were. "Why do you do this to me, Link?" she asked with fake sadness.
"You were the one who begged me to rescue you from the castle. Who was so bored that she had to do something interesting or she'd die, right?"
"Yeah, well--" she began, but was cut off as the Link's hands were suddenly taken off her eyes. She winced at the sunlight dancing off the lake in front of her. "Ow, I can't see . . . ACK!"
With a shove, Link sent her toppling into the water below. Desperate, she snatched blindly at him, and grabbed the neck of his tunic.
He fell on top of her, and they both sank through the water. When they surfaced, soaked through and gasping, Zelda splashed him.
"That wasn't funny!" she told him angrily.
"Yeah, it was." She splashed him again. He threw his arms over his head. "Don't get the hat wet!"
"Oh, fine," she began innocently. Then she reached over and plucked the hat off his head and placed it on her own. "Ha!"
He looked adorable, treading water with his blond, dripping hair desheveled and hat-less, a look of complete bewilderment on his face. He had brilliantly blue eyes, and wore a simple green tunic that people loved to call a dress. "You took my hat."
"Uh-huh. Wanna make something of it?"
"I want my hat back, if that counts."
Link stopped laughing. Zelda's words, words she'd spoken a few days earlier, suddenly rang in his ears; randomly, as all depressing, frightening thoughts tend to do. 'You remember how awful it was when he was still around.' Of course he remembered. He still had the nightmares. Nightmares of killing. Of sadness. Of death. Link could not get them out of his head. He still saw the tower, Ganondorf's face leering at him. How it changed to shock, to fear and pain as Link and Zelda sent him into the Realm. And at the end, every time, the Triforce gleamed golden, and then a black light grew from it and turned the Triforce black and evil. Then, the worst part, a voice, crying for help . . . and . . .
Link shook his head, to clear it of the memories. It is bad enough that you have to remember it at night, he told himself. Why relive it in the day, too?
Zelda seemed to be having a good time, at least. Zelda, who Link had always been open to, had been so worried about him. Finally, she could relax, at least a little. Link still had not told her about his dreams, and the feeling that something bad would be near soon. It would only worry her more, and since she was close to becoming queen, she had a lot on her shoulders. He couldn't give her more to figure out.
She wouldn't show it if she was worried. She'd act brave, as though she'd figured it all out. She didn't show emotion to Link. He wondered why.
Navi, oblivious to the whole situation, was sleeping back on the shore (she'd fallen out of Link's hat when they fell into the water. Link was thankful that she wasn't talking for once. Navi was small, even for a fairy. Her hair was short, blue, and uneven, and it was pulled back in a light blue headband. Navi's clothes consisted of a ragged sleeveless blue shirt that at the bottom, looked like it was ripped off by a frustrated fairy (cough: Navi!). Her skirt was ripped off in the same manner and was baggy and short. Her skin was normal-colored. Navi had reappeared soon after Link had set off to Termina, and made up for being gone by being extra annoying.
(It just hit me, there are no boys in Hyrule! Boys are an endangered species).
Zelda and Link hadn't spoken for a while. Both were lost in their own thoughts. Link's hair was dripping onto Zelda's head. She opened her mouth to tell him--
"Link!"
They both turned in the direction of the loud yell.
Malon was running toward the lake, waving. "And . . . Zelda . . ." Her smile faded. "Hi."
"Hi, Malon!" Zelda chirped. Cruel as it was, she was happy that Malon was . . . less than pleased to see her. Ha ha ha! She was so evil.
"Hey, Malon." Link, oblivious as always, snatched his hat back and climbed out of the water. "Are you okay?" he asked, pulling Zelda up.
"I'm fine," she answered with a shrug, her eyes downcast. For a moment, Zelda felt sorry for her.
"Malon?" she asked softly. Malon looked up. "Would you like to come with us or something? We're not going anywhere special, but . . ."
What are you doing? she thought in irritation.
Malon's eyes lit up. "Great! Thanks." She stepped closer to Link, immediately sliding her arm through his with a slightly smug expression.
Moment of pity over.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"Uh--" she began.
"Princess!"
Zelda turned. Impa was standing awkwardly a few feet away. "Princes Zelda," she continued, her red eyes worried. "Would you mind . . ." She trailed off, raising her eyebrows.
"Uh . . . sure?" Zelda shrugged. Casting Link and Malon a confused glance, she walked over to where Impa was waiting.
Impa grabbed Zelda's arm and whispered, "We need you back at the castle. There's a . . . situation."
"What?" she hissed back.
"You'll see. Just hurry."
Zelda nodded, then turned toward Link and Malon. "I have to go. To the castle. Something's up, apparently. Link, could you meet me there when you can?"
He shrugged. "Okay."
She smiled. It was such a relief knowing that Link would be there.
Impa hooked an arm around Zelda's waist, reached into her magic-pouch-thing, pulled out what looked like a clear marble, then threw it at the ground. In a flash of light, they disappeared and reappeared outside Hyrule Castle Market Town.
Zelda stumbled forward, catching herself on the wall. "I hate it when you do that," she informed Impa dizzily.
Impa put a hand on her arm. "Stay here."
"Wait! Why?"
But Impa was gone.
Zelda sighed, leaning back and closing her eyes, letting the minutes pass. A noise made her look up.
Link was standng next to her, his blond hair plastered to his forehead, his face pink. "What's going on?"
"I don't know."
Zelda had lied. She thought she knew what it was about. She didn't want to tell Link because she knew that it would just make him worried. She knew he hadn't quite gotten over the battle against Ganondorf. She couldn't make him more uneasy than he was already.
Link eyed her suspiciously. Zelda tried to look approriately confused. She wasn't sure he bought it. He began to say something else, but stopped and turned to face the guard that was resting against the drawbridge opening-thingy.
Zelda hadn't noticed him. Boldly she marched up to him and cleared her throat. "Hello?" No answer. "Hello!" Nothing. "THIS IS THE PRINCESS! ANSWER ME!!!" Then, to be polite, "Please?"
She glared at him for a while, then gave up and turned to Link with a shrug.
THUD. She screamed as the guard fell on her, blood gushing from the hole in his back. Link ran over to help her get the body of her. Once Zelda was free, Link looked at it carefully. He saw a piece of paper on the ground near the guard, and picked it up. When he saw what it read, he leaned over to show it to Zelda, confused.
Zelda looked at the note in dismay. She didn't want to believe it, but it was there, scrawled in what looked horribly like blood. The note read,
I warned you, didn't I? I said that I would do whatever it took to keep you from learning the secret. Didn't I say that? Well, I'll say it again. I'll kill the whole kingdom if that's what it takes. Here's a start. I'll do it, I will. I'll kill you too. For the Lord, I will do it and more.
Link stared at her. "Who is this? Do you know him? Her? It?"
"No. I don't think so."
"Well," Link said in a voice lower than usual, puffing out his chest comically, "I'll protect you."
"Thanks, but you wouldn't be able to. Not all day and all night. Even if this was serious, which I don't think it is."
"Gee, thanks for all that confidence." Link's expression grew serious. "Are you positive you've never seen him/her/it before? Because it sounds like you have."
"No. Of course not. What gave you that idea?" She blushed, which she always did when she lied. Zelda wasn't ready to tell him everything. Not yet, anyway. "He just wanted to frighten me. Let's go find Impa. You go that way." She let her hair fall over one shoulder, a curtain between his suspicious gaze andher face, which probably had her lie written all over it.
Zelda wanted to scream. She had gone to the Market, the Castle, and some of Hyrule Field, which was where she was standing. Nothing. No Impa. Everyone she had talked to insisted that they hadn't seen her since that morning.
All you can do is hope that Link found something, Zelda thought. She knew it was true, but she hated it. Hated being helpless, hated the situation. But, most of all, she hated the being who was doing this to her. Again.
Zelda felt her eyes well up with angry tears, but she didn't care. No one was there to see her lose control. The slight breeze picked up a bit, now tossing her hair in every direction.
Zelda began to cry harder as she thought about all the trouble this thing was causing her. The wind became more and more frantic, as though it was afraid. Zelda still ignored it, even though her hair was in her eyes (and everywhere else, come to think of it). If it weren't for it, Zelda wouldn't hear the dreams, and the evil warning within them. She could remember it all so clearly, like a horror movie she watched constantly, so she could never forget it.
It would start with her standing near the Sages. Impa would be talking. Then--
Zelda, feeling the wind grow so strong she had to fight to stay on the ground, looked up, and what she saw made her want to run. But she couldn't move.
It was definitely what had been tormenting her. That much was obvious. It looked like some monster straight from the darkest part of Democres (where it probably came from, actually). It was male, with long, orange hair, yellow eyes, and tanned skin. Claws replaced hands, and thick, silver fur grew everywhere uncovered by the robe. Where its mouth should have been, there were pincers.
He hovered above her, staring down at her in amusement, as if he knew something she didn't--something that could cost Zelda her life.
"So, you're the princess," he said with a smile. It was not a pleasant smile (pincers aside). It was an evil smile.
"Who are you?" Zelda asked, pleased to know that her voice was strong despite the fact that she was ready to die from sheer terror. She should have been running, but she was curious. Not yet curious enough to ask the question that was bothering her (How can you talk?). She still had some intellegence.
"Ah, yes, of course. I should introduce myself. It would only be fair. I mean, I--excuse me, we; my master is the one who sent me here, of course--know who you are." He stared at her. "We are always fair. After all, we gave you a fair warning. And, just so you know, my lord doesn't want you to die. It would be a shame." He gave her a suddenly angry glare, making Zelda wonder if he was mentally unbalanced. "We gave you so many chances. So many chances! In the very last battle, in that guard's death, in taking care of that nanny of yours." He paused to let that sink in.
Zelda felt many questions fill her mind. Where's Impa? But of course, he wouldn't answer that. What are you going to do with me? He wouldn't answer that, either. So she tried to do what she thought her mother would do, and said, "What battle? Who are you?" She thought if she could lead him into trusting her, she could get the information she needed.
"Well, of course," he said, smiling. "I am Narpholisisicdshep, faithful servant of the Lord Flaaachnarfbfjxzv. It means . . . something in ancient Hylian."
She didn't bother asking him how he could pronounce that. Democrens probably had weird tongues or something. "Okaaaay . . . So, what does that battle have to do with anything?" Zelda crossed her fingers, hoping he might let something slip.
"Oh, right. You weren't born for that part. That was your mother, wasn't it? If only she'd listened. But she was foolish, so she died. Just like you." He looked her over, an insane gleam in his eyes. Zelda began to pity the Lord . . . Whatever. "Just like you."
Suddenly, he swooped down, pulling out this long, black, stick thingy that didn't look very dangerous. He swished it left, down, up. A bunch of puffballs and marshmallows appeared on it.
"Stupid, useless piece of shit! Maybe it was . . ." He swished it left, right, up. Spouts of water emerged from the stick.
"AAAARRRGGHH! You IDIOT!" Yes, he was talking to the stick. The stick replied by gushing water in his face. "YOU DARE DEFY ME! I AM THE SERVANT LORD FLAAACHNARFBFJXZV, WHO IS DESTINED FOR GREATNESS! YOU INTERFERE WITH HIS PLANS?!" He gave in. "What is wrong with it? . . ." He sat down, deep in thought.
Zelda started to sneak away, but she decided against it. As you may know, or not know, Zelda was very stubborn, a quality she shared with her mother. So she chose to stay and fight.
Of course, it is stupid to try and force power from your hands, especially when you don't know how, so kids, don't try this at home.
Zelda didn't want to attack him while his back was turned, because that was cowardly, so she shouted, "Hey, Nar. . . Narp . . . well, however you say it, over here!"
Narpholisisicdshep had exactly five seconds to prepare before Zelda shot out an energy beam. It was strong and accurate. It hit Narpholisisicdshep square in the chest. He flew back several feet until he hit a large tree, then fell to the ground, knocked out.
"I can do that?" Zelda asked in amazement. "Cool!"
"Zelda!" a voice called behind her. She turned to see Link running over to her. "What happened? I heard something . . ."
"Where were you?!" Zelda demanded.
Link shrugged. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you'd desperately need me in the five seconds I was gone!"
The sarcasm made her annoyed, but she got over it. "It's a long story. I think. Sort of."
"We have time."
She sighed. "This . . . thing"--she gestured at it impatiently--"has been following me--not that I knew what it was--and now he's appeared, and he's the servant of some guy with an unpronounceable name, and he tried to kill me."
"All this has been going on for how long?" His voice shot up several octaves as he spoke.
"A few weeks." She tucked a strand of pale yellow hair behind her ears, biting her lip nervously. Link was not going to be happy about this.
"A few--! And you--" Zelda looked seriously upset, so Link decided to not force the issue. "All right, Zel. It's okay. We can just . . . take him to the castle. Let the king decide what to do with him. This isn't your problem any more."
"Uh, Link? Question?"
"Yeah?"
"How exactly do we do that?"
"Do what?"
"Take him to the castle? In case you haven't noticed, it's kind of far away."
"Oh, that . . . You know, I didn't actually think of that. Maybe we can pick him up."
"He's the size of a boulder! And not a tiny boulder!"
"I see your point."
"I can try to use magic,I guess," she suggested doubtfully. "But I've never really done it before."
Link backed away, lifting his hands. "Sure. Go ahead. Just don't involve me."
Zelda concentrated as hard as she could and finally managed to lift him. He hovered for a few seconds and then crashed headlong into the wall of the castle.
"Ouch," Link commented.
"You know, I'm kinda thinking about leaving him there," Zelda said.
"Yes, he looks very good there." He winked.
Zelda laughed. At least she had Link.
"This is terrible! This is worse than terrible! This is . . . what is worse than terrible?"
They were all gathered around Narpholisisicdshep's unconsious form. "They" were the King, Zelda, Link, Navi (who had been unusually quiet lately), and random townspeople who pop up now and then to watch the action.
A handmaiden nearby thought for a moment, then replied, "This."
"Ah yes, good point. How did this happen?" the King of Hyrule concluded. His name was Daphnes Nohanson Hyrule. Embarrassed by his name, he called himself James when he was younger. His hair had turned white when he was only thirty, and he'd gained a lot of weight (both because of a crapload of stress), so people thought he was old..
"Well, Link and I were searching for Impa, who has disappeared, and--" Zelda began to explain.
"What? Impa has disappeared?" he repeated. He was too worried about his daughter to stop and let her continue. Nothing will take her, he thought determinedly. I won't let it.
"Yes, Daddy," she agreed. She knew that her mother had been murdered, and that it had hurt her father; and after what she'd heard, she would definitely be patient. "Anyway, this monster came out of nowhere and tried to attack me, but--"
"He tried to attack you?" This was not a good sign. "Oh, Zelly."
Zelda gritted her teeth, both at being interrupted (again) and at being called 'Zelly.' "I'm fine, Daddy. So, then his weapon didn't work, and I fought back, and--"
"What? You fought? Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you? Where's a nurse? Nurse!"
"DADDY WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP!"
"Interrupting is not polite," the King told her, smiling despite himself.
Zelda sighed in irritation.
"So Zelda kicked some ass--sorry--and knocked him out and then I came. We tried to move him and he crashed so we tied him up with more magic and called this meeting," Link said incredibly fast, hoping no one would hurt him.
"Well, let's kill him!" Several cries of agreement followed the King's statement.
"We can't until we find out what his plans are and where he took Impa," Zelda calmly explained.
"What? Impa's gone? This is preposterous!"
Zelda leaned on Link's shoulder. "Kill me now," she murmured. "No, better yet, kill him now."
"Relax, Zelda," Daphnes told his daughter gently. "I'm just joking. You needed to laugh."
Zelda nodded tersely, not appreciating the humor. "Thanks, Dad."
She knew he'd been through hell before Zelda was born, but she didn't know the extent of it. She supposed that she should be nicer to him. Or not. It had been a crap day; she had the right to be moody and short-tempered.
Narpholisisicdshep stirred. "Huh? Where am I?" He saw Zelda. "You!" He waved his stick, which no one could force him to let go of. It sprouted flowers that were covered in blades. "I have got to get a new lxxang," he murmured. "If only the lord would get me one . . ."
"Where is Impa?" Zelda ordered, staying away from the blades.
"Now why would I tell you?" he asked.
"Because if you don't, I will not let you go. You would slowly starve and rot away."
"Well"--he was talking to himself now--"if we let her go, she will tell, and our plans are ruined. But dying might ruin our plans too. The lord needs me to be alive . . . ." He thought for a moment, then said, "All right. I'll give her to you." He muttered. "We still have the plan."
He focused for a moment. Impa emerged from a dark smoke, bound, gagged and helpless. Link went to untie her.
"Well? Aren't you forgetting something?" he demanded.
"No," King Hyrule said bluntly. "We will not free you." He would not let another monster escape.
But, of course, they had all forgotten about the blade-and-flower-covered stick. With a snap! each rope was cleanly cut.
"Damn," Zelda hissed. "I can't believe I forgot that."
"Bye!" he called down cheerfully, and faded into the night.
"Where is Rauru?" King Hyrule asked impatiently. Note: Rauru is in Hyrule. He can go from the Sacred Relam and back. I know that's not really supposed to happen, but it did. So there.
Link, Zelda, the King, the Sages excluding Rauru, and Navi were waiting inside the throne room for Rauru to bring in some information about what had been going on. As usual, he was the only one who knew everytihng, while everyone else knew squat.
"He'll be here soon." Link was tired of answering King Hyrule's questions.
Rauru stormed in, carrying many books and papers. He looked at everyone present. There was Link, looking exasperated at Daphnes. Zelda was tired but interested. Daphnes was frantic to the point of near insanity and desperate for answers. Impa was just plain confused. And Navi was happy. She hoped an adventure was near, and another chance to annoy--I mean, give helpful information to--Link. Also in the group were the royal advisor and army officials.
Rauru stared at the papers, wondering how to begin. "What I am about to tell you is top-secret and crucial for you to know. I have been doing some research on a topic I have found while looking through my books. It is called the Dark Triforce." He took a deep breath and began the legend.
"When the goddesses left the Triforce on the land, they also left the Dark Triforce. If the Triforce is good, then the Dark Triforce is opposite. It channels the evil of the world, but was not broken. It was brought to one of the lands to the west of Hyrule."
"What does this Dark Triforce do?" asked Impa. It clearly meant, "Why do we care?"
"It does the opposite of what the Triforce does. If you make a wish, the exact opposite wish is cast upon the land, and the other lands around you."
"That's awful," an advisor said in an undertone.
"It gets worse," Rauru replied. "The person who made the wish, and all the good people in the world, fall victim to the evil in the Dark Triforce and painfully die."
A long silence followed those words. Then Link asked, "Why is this important? Right now, I mean?" Like he didn't already know.
"The Dark Triforce, which was until recently in Democres, was found by a princess named Arieda. She lives in the land of Ryia. She may or may not know about the legend, but, being a princess, she can easily find out. We need someone to retrieve the Dark Triforce and keep it safe." He looked meaningfully at Link.
"I just want to know, why would she make a wish if she knew that she would die?" Link inquired.
"There is . . . a way to, uh . . . escape the evil," Rauru said.
"How?" Zelda asked.
"You can accept the evil into your heart, and can be safe."
Zelda recalled her dream. "If you do, what would happen to everyone else?"
"They would die."
"Does everyone die the same way?"
"No. The Sages, or other magic peoples, would cease to exist. They would fade away."
Zelda gasped as she remembered her nightmare, then winced. Way to play it cool, she chastised.
Link shot her a questioning glance. She shook her head slightly, to indicate that it was not the time to talk.
"So, um, Link," Rauru asked. Link turned away from Zelda. "Will you help us?"
Big shock. Navi crossed her fingers. Zelda bit her lip, not wanting him to go, yet fearing what would happen if he didn't. Link thought for only a moment, then said, "Of course. When do I need to leave?"
"You will leave tomorrow morning. I have drawn you a map. Good luck. Dismissed."
"Wait a minute! What about the rest of us!?" King Hyrule said loudly. Everyone sat down. "What do we do?"
"You wait," Rauru answered.
Daphnes sighed in defeat, closing his eyes. He didn;t like doing nothing.
Zelda ran up to Link. "I'm coming with you," she declared.
"No you're not!" Her father stood behind her, looking murderous. "And Link, you shouldn't try to persuade her to come with you!"
"I wasn't! I was just about to tell ehr that she wasn't coming--"
"What?" she demanded. She turned and stormed outside.
Link followed her. "Look, Zelda, it's because you are the princess. You're the only one left. If you die, it's the end. You don't have an heir."
Zelda turned pink. "I know that! But I've never been on an adventure. I want to be able to do something. Something big. Besides, I don't want you to be alone."
"What about me?" Navi demanded.
"Well, I do need your help," Link said slowly, his eyes suspicious.
"Really?"
"Yeah. You know something. What is it?"
"Oh. Well, I've been having these dreams . . . they're really weird. I'm talking with the Sages. And, one by one they disappear."
Link seemed confused.
"Remember? What Rauru said?" Zelda prompted patiently.
"That's all you're basing this on?"
Link's bluntness made her hesitate. But she held her head up. "I do have some experience with weird, prophetical dreams, you know. I think it is telling me what will happen if we don't fight."
He shrugged. It sounded kind of far-fetched, but what did he know? Years of experience had taught him just to go with it; when it came to Zelda, at least. "What did that weird monster thing say to you? I mean, you do know him, sorta."
"Remember the battle when Ganondorf was sealed away? Well, when he went to the Sacred Realm, I felt a . . . thing. Something way more powerful than the Sages. I saw glowing red eyes on a shadow. It told me that if I found out his secrets, I would be destroyed. It was like a dream, only minus the sleeping part."
Link nodded, feeling uncomfortable. He wasn't going to tell Zelda about his dreams. It would probably just make her freak out even more. She'd probably come after him, and demand to come to Ryia.
Zelda gave him a knowing look. "All right, you've looked all awkward and undecisive for a while now. What do you know?"
Whatever. No use denying it now. Zelda was just too damn intuitive. "I've been having weird dreams too. It was the last battle. I saw the Triforce. Then a black light covered it and flipped it upside down. It made each Triforce part get a hell of a lot bigger, too."
"The Dark Triforce," Zelda mused. "I think."
"Finally, there is a voice, calling for help. That's . . . it." Except for the end.
"Oh." She glanced at him. "Are you sure I can't--"
"Don't even think it. You're staying here."
"Damn." She crossed her arms, glaring at the ground. "Fine. 'Night."
"Wait, Zel--"
She turned, and felt something catch in her hair. Annoyed, she yanked at it. Snap. Her necklace had been caught in her hair, and broke. It slid through her fingers, into the black grass. She knelt down, pawing at the dew-soaked ground.
"Here, let me help."
"No, thanks, I'm fine--"
But he had crouched onto the ground next to her. They both grabbed the necklace.
"Oh. Sorry." She let go, and started to stand, but Link hadn't moved. She looked up to face him, her eyes questioning. Her mouth opened slightly, like she was going to ask a question, but no words came to her mind.
Link closed his eyes and pressed his lips to hers with sudden fierceness. Zelda, too shocked to respond, fell back against the grass, catching herself on her elbows.
But she could still feel, despite her temporary paralysis. She felt the blood drain from her face, leaving her light-headed and dizzy. Electricity coursed through her body, and what felt like millions of pent-up emotions broke free, spinning around her brain at hyper-speed. She closed her eyes and sighed, confused, out of control, but pleasantly so--which wasn't something she'd ever felt before.
Just as suddenly as Link had kissed her, he pulled away. He looked down at his boots, and Zelda thought she heard him mutter, "Damn." Refusing to meet her eyes, Link stood, turned and walked away.
Zelda stared at his back, unable to move. "What?" she whispered weakly. Gently she fingered her necklace, thinking. What had just happened? And why was it worthy of a "damn"?
A dog barking jolted her out of her thoughts. She turned and ran inside, still feeling that rush of emotion spinning around her head. It wasn't as enjoyable this time.
Why did Link kiss her? Why did she let Link kiss her? Did she want him to? Why would she? Why wouldn't she? Was this going to continue? The thought made her giddy, but also panicked . . .
Stop thinking. Just . . . don't worry about it now.
Pushing the questions and emotions into a little corner of her mind, she pulled out a piece of paper and began to write.
Her hands were shaking as she turned off her light, her questions seeming suddenly louder and more insistent in the darkness. Again Zelda shoved them into that corner of her mind, which was already filled with disturbing thoughts, dreams, emotions . . . everything that had bothered her since she was ten years old. It was practically filled to bursting.
Hopefully it wouldn't explode.
The next morning was cold and cloudy. Link carefully secured his sword and shield while Navi chattered away. She was so excited to be going on an adventure--and getting away from Zelda and her stealing-Link-ness--that she had unknowingly reverted back to her "annoying fairy mode."
"Hey! This is going to be so much fun! Just like the old days! I packed everything, of course. I did it last night. Listen! What you did last night was stupid. Now she'll never talk to you again. I should have hit you with a stick. Wait, I did that . . ."
Link groaned inwardly. If it was going to be like this the whole time, he'd never survive. Especially if she kept getting on his case about Zelda. Link would deal with that later, when he got back. If Navi would let him. Navi strongly (and loudly) disapproved of any and all contact with the princess. She never admitted why, but Link figured she was worried that Zelda would still him away.
No worries there, he thought caustically, noting her especially cheerful behavior. Maybe the lands to the east sold earplugs . . . or fly-swatters.
Leaving Hyrule was more awkward than he thought. The country hadn't even woken up yet. It was strange seeing everything pass by, unchanged.
"Hey! Listen! There's Nabooru!"
Link looked up. They were at the edge of Gerudo Valley. He turned back to look at the castle. He sighed.
"Good-bye," Link whispered. He turned and entered Gerudo Valley.
The Dark Triforce paced outside its room, cringing away from the blistering heat. Wearing a thick, dark robe that covered every inch of it was unbearable, but necessary.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," it said in its thick, raspy voice.
A woman stepped into the room, closing the door immediately. "There's someone here for you, lord," she murmured. "He's back."
Narpholisisicdshep shoved past the woman and bowed low. "Lord Flaachnarfbfjkzv," he murmured.
The Dark Triforce didn't flinch at the strange name only Democrens could pronounce. It had created the name itself. It couldn't exactly go around saying, "I am the Dark Triforce," now could it?
Narpholisisicdshep was certainly not the Dark Triforce's first choice for a servant, but he was by far one of the most faithful. It only had a few willing to follow it, so it couldn't exactly be choosy.
Narpholisisicdshep bowed again. "The plan is set into motion. You were right, of course. They were extremely predictable."
YEAH! It's beautiful.