Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is the intellectual property of Nintendo of America. All names, characters, story elements, and other distinguishing features of such are part of this intellectual property. No copyright infringement is intended by this work.
Chapter 3: A Princess and Fortunes
Ilia helped Coro clean up as Link prepared Epona for their journey. He seemed restless as he placed the blankets and saddlebags, and he paused in cinching the saddle to gaze northward. He finished up and approached Ilia.
"She's ready," he stated. "I'm pretty sure the fields are still safe, but if they're not, would you want something to defend yourself with? A slingshot, maybe, or the clawshot's fairly ease to use…?" Ilia shook her head.
"I don't have that kind of courage," she insisted. "You fight the monsters; I'll just make sure that Epona doesn't throw us."
"Fair enough." He quickly mounted, situating himself at the rear of the saddle, then extended a hand to her. She took it and allowed Link to help her up, then settled herself as Link reached around either side of her to grab Epona's reins. He hollered, and Epona galloped forward.
The sun shone brightly over the hills between Faron and Eldin Provinces as Epona charged through Hyrule Field. Kargaroks wheeled through the air and Bokoblins prowled through the grass, but they weren't nearly as aggressive as they had been while Evil touched the land. Link scanned the fields as they rode, continually assuring himself that he and Ilia could continue in safety. While Link maintained his vigil, he continued to drive Epona northward, alternating her pace between a gallop and a trot. Ilia briefly forgot her fears as she admired the scenery rushing by, the woods thinning out to a wide field as they crossed a bridge over a creek. As they continued northward, they came to a narrow pass in the hills. Link easily guided Epona through the twisting trail until they reached another clearing, where a Goron stood at the opening to the pass. Pulling Epona to a halt, Link dismounted.
"Greetings, Brother!" cried the Goron.
"Greetings," Link replied. "Have you seen whether the Deku Babas have been active this last week?"
"Not a sign. Patriarch Darbus and Gor Coron have had me keep watch down here while they help rebuild the castle."
"Good." Seeing that Ilia had safely dismounted, Link grabbed a couple items from the saddlebag and stuffed them in his belt pouches. He then slapped Epona on the rump, sending her to graze in the tall grass nearby.
"Why are we stopping here? Where are we?" wondered Ilia. Link pointed to the broad stone stairway a short distance away.
"Those steps lead up to the Castle Town South Gate," he informed her. "Much quicker than the eastern detour across the Great Hylian Bridge."
"Well, that makes it easier on Epona," she agreed. Taking Link's outstretched hand, she allowed him to lead the way. They walked at a leisurely pace, coming to the fountain in the middle of the steps as the sun began to set. At the same time, a little girl in a lacy green dress decorated with embroidered butterflies walked away from the flowerbeds surrounding the fountain, her parasol open overhead as she ascended the stairs. As the golden glow of twilight deepened over the land, Ilia heard the ring of steel on metal. She turned to see Link holding out the Master Sword level with his chest.
"It's glowing," she remarked as she reached out to touch the flat of the blade. It was cool to the touch.
"It's not as bright as it was in the Twilit Realm, but it's still visible in our brief twilight." He sheathed the sword and advanced toward the town walls. "Let's go on: I just wanted a chance to show you the Light that was still in the Master Sword." Ilia nodded and followed Link as he headed up the stairs. She didn't completely understand anything he was saying about the Twilit Realm, but most of her trust in him had returned as the shock from that morning's revelation had faded. As they passed through the gate, she reflected on what had passed during the day and realized that it was her silence during the ride that had restored her trust. Link had always been laconic; his verbose explanation had been almost as alien to her perceptions of him as the idea of him in the form of a wolf. As they turned a corner, Ilia suddenly recognized their surroundings.
"Isn't Telma's Bar that way?" she asked, gesturing to the alley behind them. Link nodded.
"We'll go there in a little bit," he confirmed. They passed a haughty-looking middle-aged woman, stopping in front of a house where a man studied a sandwich board on the porch. As Link opened the door, Ilia glanced at the sign: Princess Agitha's Castle.
Somewhere inside the "castle", a music box played a sprightly minuet. A tree grew in the middle of the building—or had the building been built around the tree? Several sparkling lights danced around the tree, which Ilia found—to her surprise and delight—to be a dozen different kinds of insects. She laughed as they danced around her, and as she twirled, she recognized the girl she had seen on the stairs. She also saw Link, smiling amusedly at her, and halted with a blush. Shyly, she stepped forward. The girl curtsied.
"Welcome to my castle!" she cried cheerfully. "I'm Princess Agitha of the Insect Kingdom. Are you here for my insect ball?" Ilia hesitated, glancing at Link. He was smiling more warmly than she had seen since before since before the monsters attacked.
"I'm afraid not," Link replied courteously. "This knight still has to do something in the desert where the dayflies are found. However…." Ilia watched, perplexed, as Link extracted a purple rupee from his pouch. "I wanted to give you this token of happiness, with the promise of more to come if it turns out that I have a partner."
"Why, thank you!" cooed Agitha.
"Green Knight, Green Knight
Not only are you brave
But generous, too.
I wish I could find more knights as noble as you."
Agitha followed her recitation with a curtsy. "Good luck on your quest, brave knight, and may you find the happiness you seek.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Link bowed, then led Ilia outside.
"So why the big rupee for the little girl?" asked Ilia, drawing even with Link. He turned his head toward her with a smile.
"Whenever I found a bug in my travels, I'd catch it and bring it to her," he explained. "Each time I brought her a new kind, she would give me a purple rupee and ask if I could find its partner—one of the same kind, but of the opposite sex. When I did, she'd coo over how happy the pair looked, then give me an orange rupee."
Ilia stared at him, dumbfounded. He waited patiently as she quickly gathered pebbles and other debris from the sidewalk, placing them on the steps to Agitha's Castle. When she had all she needed for a makeshift abacus, she started demanding to know how many pairs of bugs he had caught. He told her gladly, even mentioning the two times he had received wallets instead of rupees. When her calculations were finished, Ilia stared at the rows of markers. The figure they represented couldn't be right, she must have made a mistake somewhere.
"One thousand, six hundred and fifty rupees?" She looked up at Link incredulously. "What did you do with all that money?"
"Well…." Link started counting off on his fingers. "It all gets muddled together with the hoards that the monsters had hidden in the temples, but I do remember donating a thousand to Malo's fund to repair the West Gate bridge…."
"Malo?" Link nodded, and Ilia shook her head. No wonder the boy was able to buy Sera's store….
"Then, there was the two hundred to open up Malo Mart here in Castle Town, in the central square," Link continued.
Ilia couldn't believe her ears. The youngest—no, second-youngest—child in Ordon was rich enough to buy the ranch and everyone else's homes. Slowly, her knees as wobbly as a newborn foal's, she stood.
"Plus, there was the cost of my equipment, especially things like arrows and bombs," he added as he helped her up. He reached into his belt pouch, extracted two yellow rupees, and placed them in her hand. "On top of that, there were times when I didn't know what to do next, so I had to get some outside advice." Pointing to the door immediately to the west, where the middle-aged woman stood, he gently pushed her in that direction. Ilia read the sign over that door, and glanced back at Link.
"I really don't think I need a fortune-teller," she protested.
"You still seem troubled," Link countered. "Go on; I'll be waiting right here."
"Fine." Annoyed, as well as nervous, she opened the door and stepped inside. The room was dark, lit only by a glowing crystal ball that sat on a small table. Behind it sat a portly woman, her hair styled up, with golden hoops in her ears, a shawl draped across her shoulders. Rich drapery hung in front of the windows and over the walls and ceiling, keeping any outside light from entering the room. Ilia only had a second to take it all in before the woman spoke.
"Welcome to Madame Fanaldi's Fortune-Telling Palace! The fates swirl about you, and only I can tell what they have in store! The door to the future will open for ten rupees!" intoned the woman. Ilia handed over one of the yellow rupees, curious as to why Link would have given her two. "Now, which gate will you open, child: The gate of career, or the gate of love?"
"Love." Ilia rolled her eyes with a smile as she considered Link's possible motivations for sending her in here. Fanaldi began waving her hands over the crystal ball as she chanted.
"Tiaw… gnidaol sekat elihwa… tiaw… gnidaol sekat elihwa…" The fortune-teller bolted out of her trance. "I SEE!" Curious, Ilia bend down to examine the crystal ball.
The globe darkened as an image began forming. Dark clouds covered the sky; the horizon glowed orange with Twilight. Grey-skinned people walked across islands floating in midair, large black buildings looming over the populace. The pace of the inhabitants suggested a time span of many hours, but the Twilight remained constant. The image lingered for a minute, then faded. Madame Fanaldi spoke.
"Go to the place that I have shown you and do… something." Confused, Ilia waited for an explanation, but Fanaldi merely asked if she wanted to open the gate that would show her career. Declining, Ilia thanked Fanaldi for her reading and headed back outside. Link, who had been leaning against the wall, stood up when he saw her. He made his way across the main street, Ilia following as he passed the guard who watched the alley leading to Telma's Bar. She placed a hand on his shoulder as they descended the stairs.
"Link… when you told that girl—"
"Princess Agitha," he volunteered.
"Princess Agitha… you told her that you'd share more 'happiness' with her if it turns out that you have a partner?" Link nodded, and Ilia continued. "Did you… I think I know, but… what did you mean by that?" Link smiled as they stopped, a hand on Telma's doorknob.
"It means I want to spend my life with you," he confirmed. "After what I've told you this morning, I'll understand if you're still afraid, so I don't want you to make your decision until we get back from the Twilit Realm."
"I think I can wait until then." She thought about the alien landscape she had seen in Fanaldi's crystal. That perpetual glow on the horizon—was that the Twilit Realm? Setting her questions aside, she followed Link through the door.
Author's Note: This segment is where chapter divisions started getting fun for me, but I decided to go ahead and place the rest of the evening in its own chapter. Look forward to a heart-to-heart chat between Ilia and a laconic warrior—not Link, though!