The Will to Power
Chapter Three: The Prince
Under Rauru's watchful gaze, Sheik reluctantly transformed back into the woman known as Princess Zelda. His svelte form morphed painlessly into a curvaceous body that many would desire if there were any to see it. She felt the fabric of her pants billow between her legs and form into her elaborate silky pink dress. Golden hair swept down her back, making her feel uncomfortable by it not being in her eyes. The last of all to appear was her crown, ornate and weighty, which immediately began to chafe.
"Come, Princess," said Rauru with an authoritative voice. He turned and walked further into the side chamber. The only thing of interest here was a small stone dais. On the flat top was engraved the Triforce, surrounded by the symbols of each of the six Sages. He placed his hands on the seal of Light and began to mumble an incantation. Zelda soon followed suit. She had summoned the Sages before and though it wasn't very difficult, she never could quite figure out where to stand. There was no sigil for the seventh Sage after all. She suspected that she might not even be needed for the summoning to work though she was not about to voice her idea to Rauru.
The intricate ritual was finished and the symbols began to glow, each with a different color. The sharp electrical scent of magic permeated the room and made Zelda's head feel full and tight. Rauru lifted his hands and began to address the Sages one by one.
"Saria, I beckon you from your ancient forest. Will you speak with us and give your council?"
"Hee hee! I'll do my best," replied a little girl's voice from the green sigil.
"Darunia, I beckon you from your fiery mountain. Will you speak with us and give your council?"
"Of course, Brother! I'll do all I can!" rumbled the reply from the red sigil.
"Ruto, I beckon you from your deep abyss. Will you speak with us and give your council?"
"Well, yeah," came an impatient woman's voice from the blue sigil.
"Impa, I beckon you from your nameless shadows. Will you speak with us and give your council?"
"I will lend my aid," said Impa in her mellow tone from the purple sigil.
"Nabooru, I beckon you from your eldritch sands. Will you speak with us and give your council?"
"You got it, Rauru," said a smooth, feminine voice from the orange sigil.
"Sages, you are needed once again in this land of Hyrule," explained Rauru, "Princess Zelda was contacted by the Evil King earlier today while here in the Temple of Time. I believe the barrier between this realm and the Sacred Realm grows thin. I do not know the reason for this weakening but I am afraid that if we do nothing, Ganondorf will be unleashed."
"That's terrible!" cried Saria.
"We'll find a way to fix this, don't you worry, Saria," boasted Darunia.
"What exactly did he say to you, Princess?" asked Ruto.
"He said that he did what he did because Hyrule rightfully belonged to him," Zelda answered, "That he helped my father unify Hyrule and end the Great War. He also said that they once made some sort of blood pact that my father later broke."
"Um, even if that were true, I'm pretty sure that doesn't excuse the fact that he...oh yeah...he completely ravaged Hyrule!" Ruto cried, adopting a sarcastically forgetful tone.
"Those are my sentiments exactly," said Impa quickly, "No matter what, we must remember that we are dealing with a man who is pure evil."
"You've got to be kidding me!" snapped Nabooru suddenly. "As the Shadow Sage, shouldn't you know that darkness doesn't necessarily denote 'pure evil'?"
"What exactly are you trying to say, Nabooru?" asked Rauru. He seemed surprised at her outburst.
"I'm saying that maybe we need to stop labeling Ganondorf as 'absolute evil' and just deal with the situation as it really is. We've got an extremely powerful, extremely angry man who wants out of his otherworldly prison cell," said Nabooru vehemently, "You can throw the refuse down the well but eventually it's going to poison the water, get me? We can't keep him locked away forever. Eventually, we're going to have to get back the Triforce of Power. It's the only way to restore balance back to Hyrule. That's what the Goddesses would want."
"What would you know of the Goddesses? You cannot even hear them!" sneered Rauru.
"Right, right! Because my ears aren't shaped correctly!" Nabooru cried.
"You just do not want to admit that your precious centennial king was a power-hungry murderer." growled Impa.
"I, above all, know to what depths Ganondorf would go to get what he wants," retorted Nabooru.
"Enough of this discord!" shouted Zelda, "We must work together if we are going to find a solution to this problem! I agree with Nabooru. We need to figure out a way to get the Triforce of Power back. First of all, though, we need to protect Hyrule until we can think of just how to do that."
"Well said, Princess," said Rauru.
"Right now, the Hero of Time is being informed of the situation," said Zelda, ignoring Rauru, "I think we should all gather here at the castle so that we can understand what is happening and discover a solution to this dilemma."
"I will prepare the portal spells, if it pleases you, Princess," offered Rauru.
"Yes. Do so," said Zelda. "Everyone, get here quickly and safely. Though I do not yet know what we have to do, I'm sure it's not going to be easy or simple."
At this, Zelda turned and walked out of the chamber. Her heart was thudding with excitement in her chest. She had finally spoken! She had spoken and they had heeded her as the seventh Sage! She could not repress a relieved smile as she wandered the darkened corridors of the Temple. They would all soon see that she was not just a figurehead. She would find a way to wrench back the Triforce of Power from the Evil King and save Hyrule from this looming menace. Her thoughts churned feverishly as she was escorted back to the castle by a couple of night watchmen until a particular idea stopped her dead in her tracks in the middle of the street.
After she rescued the Triforce segment from Ganondorf, what would happen? As the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, could she perhaps return them to their original whole? Would she be able to make a wish to the Goddesses like the legend said? Who else could be worthier to do this? With the Triforce's power, she would be able to grant Hyrule a peaceful new future the likes of which it had never before seen!
"Princess, is everything alright?" one guard asked hesitantly, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Yes. Yes, everything is fine. Let us continue," replied Zelda rather breathily and they resumed their trek back to the castle. When she arrived at her room, safe and sound, she was not surprised to find that she could not sleep. As she lay in her bed, hope and determination seemed to burn like a candle within her and for the first time in years, she truly felt like she had a purpose. Still, somehow, sleep managed to steal over her and she succumbed finally to the world of formless dreams.
It seemed almost instantly that the morning sun was lancing her in her eyes. Trying to shake off her sleepiness, Zelda flung off the blankets and stretched. Hurriedly, she began to dress in a simple but lovely blue and white gown that she much preferred over her more intricate pink one. As she pulled on the sleeves, she noticed that it did not quite fit correctly. The shoulders were much tighter than usual but the front of the dress was almost sagging. Concerned, she glanced at herself in her full-length mirror and gasped. Staring back at her was a pretty, red eyed young man with messy blond hair and a very confused expression.
She looked down at her body and realized that she was now a 'he'. Sheik felt himself redden with embarrassment. He put aside the dress and focused, willing himself to change into Zelda. He felt the familiar magic flow over himself but inexplicably he was wracked by a furious searing pain that seemed to emanate from every point on his body. He dropped to his knees, crying out in agony. The pain vanished as quick as it came, however, and he shakily climbed to his feet just as an urgent knocking began at his door.
"Princess? What's wrong?" asked Impa from behind the door. Sheik took a few gulps of air, trying to rid himself of the echoes of that shocking pain before answering.
"Impa, please come in," he said, attempting to keep his voice steady. "There is...something interesting."
The door practically burst open with the retainer's panic but when Impa saw Sheik covering himself with a dress, her eyes narrowed.
"Princess, we do not have time for this. Change back, please. All the Sages have arrived and are waiting for you," chided Impa.
"I can't," admitted Sheik.
"What do you mean, "you can't"?" demanded Impa, "You've always been able to change between forms quickly and easily."
"I don't know what's going on but I cannot change into...into...Zelda," Sheik replied, finding it strange to speak in the third person, "I must have changed when I was sleeping. When I tried to change back, there was this horrible pain that prevented me from completing the spell."
"This is a terrible predicament," said Impa, frowning.
"Why is it a problem? I'm still the same person, essentially. The other Sages will understand. We've been through worse situations, after all. Come, Impa. We do not have time for this," said Sheik firmly.
"But Princess..!"
"And no more of that. I feel silly being called a princess while I'm like this," smirked Sheik.
"Forgive me," replied Impa with a hint of sarcasm, "What should I call you now?"
"If you insist on referring to me by a title, I suppose 'Prince' will have to do," shrugged Sheik, "Find me some suitable clothing. I will not wear dresses if I'm going to be stuck in this form."
With all seriousness now, Impa bowed and exited the room. When she was gone, Sheik could not help but smile to himself. He had never seen his retainer act so quickly upon his word. Soon, Impa returned with a silken tunic and finely cut trousers. He hastily dressed and descended the stairs, wondering how the other Sages would react to his appearance. He was less concerned with their actual response than with the fact that no matter what they might say, he did not really care.
They approached the huge oaken doors of the strategy room and Sheik could hear angry voices coming from the other side.
"You could not have dressed properly even to visit the Princess, could you, Nabooru?" demanded Rauru.
"Whatever. Leave Nabooru alone, Rauru," snapped Ruto, "I mean, I'm completely naked but you're not yelling at me, are you?"
Sheik slammed open the doors and strode into the large chamber. Around the massive round table sat each of the Sages, each with the same expression of bewilderment when they saw Sheik.
"I know what I look like," said Sheik before any of them could speak, "I am unable to turn back into my original form. I don't know why and I also do not see why it should be a problem at this very moment. This will be the last I speak of the subject."
He sat at the large chair reserved for himself and gazed around the room at each of the Sages. It seemed like they were all waiting for him to speak.
"The time has come to save Hyrule. We will no longer argue amongst ourselves. Is this understood?" Sheik asked. He was pleased when they all nodded in unison.
"Very well. Let us begin."
While various ideas were brought forth on how to strengthen the barrier between Hyrule and the Dark World, no explanation was given as to why it might have weakened in the first place. After hours of debate and speculation, it was decided that the very best plan was to visit each of the six Temples and give prayer to the Goddesses and hope that they might intervene. Therefore, a great pilgrimage was to occur and Link, the Hero of Time, was to accompany them as their protector. All they needed to do was wait for him to actually arrive.
"Why do you think he is so late?" Sheik asked Impa after the council was dismissed.
"He chose to ride his horse here while I simply teleported," Impa shrugged.
"Is he really getting ready to marry that girl from the ranch?" he asked.
"I should hope so. She's eight weeks with child," replied Impa.
"I guess I'm happy for him," said Nabooru behind them. The red haired woman was grinning, showing teeth that seemingly glinted as much as her jewelry. "You know, he could have chosen from a number of desert beauties but he went with the cute little country girl. Oh well."
"You loved him?" asked Sheik incredulously.
"I liked the idea of loving him," answered Nabooru, "I'm old enough to finally know the difference."
Sheik nodded sagely because it seemed the thing to do.
"Now, you on the other hand, have grown into a strapping young man," she laughed. "You make a fine prince!" Impa gave Nabooru a disapproving look but the Gerudo ignored it.
"Impa, please leave us," Sheik said quietly. Without saying a word, the Sheikah bowed and left the room.
"Ganondorf said almost the very same thing, you know," said Sheik when they were alone.
"He says a lot of things," said Nabooru meaninglessly.
"You acknowledge the suffering that he caused Hyrule but you refuse to denounce him as 'pure evil'. I find that curious," said Sheik gently. He watched the bronze-skinned woman shift uncomfortably.
"I know he did inexcusable things to you...to all of us," she said slowly, "but you have to understand that none of it changes the fact that he was the best king the Gerudo ever had."
"I thought you were the only Gerudo to not swear fealty to him," Sheik stated. "You were a lone wolf, yes?"
"That's because I was the only one to see what he was becoming," Nabooru replied quietly, "because I alone truly could know what he once had been."
"Nabooru, what are you saying? I don't understand," asked Sheik. He was bewildered when she took him suddenly by the shoulders. Her painted nails dug through the fabric of his shirt and she leveled her golden eyes with his red ones.
"If I must choose between the two, it is better to be feared than to be loved," she said.
"What?" asked Sheik, wide-eyed.
"That's what he said the night before I became a lone wolf thief," she explained, "That's when I knew that he was gone from me. He had given his heart to the Golden Power. As a king, you're going to have to be sure you don't do the same thing, even when you mean the very best for your people."
And with that, she left the strategy room. Sheik did not move for a very long time and when he did, it was with a heavy heart. The prince had much to ponder.