Chapter 3

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here's a longer chapter for you! Now you'll get an idea of Zelda's purpose in going to Death Mountain. As usual, I hope you enjoy, and please feel free to give me feedback. This story will be longer than the ones I've written before, so I'd really appreciate any suggestions/guidance/comments.

The next morning, Zelda awoke refreshed and eager to conquer the journey ahead of her. She had rarely left the castle walls, much less the area surrounding Castle Town, and she found herself possessed by the spirit of adventure.

She checked it, of course. Zelda was not one to allow herself to behave irrationally because of heightened emotions. She did, after all, have a practical purpose for her quest. The Great Fairies.

Zelda had not lied to the guide Link. She was a scholar, and she particularly loved studying the history of Hyrule. But she knew she would one day rule Hyrule, and she was always looking for practical applications of her studies. Her search for the Great Fairies was exactly that. She wished to recover some of Hyrule's lost magic. Hyrule had enemies both magical and nonmagical, and Zelda intended to be prepared to face them all.

Zelda knew some magic. She knew the songs that would grant her access to hidden places, she could disguise herself to some degree, and Impa had taught her some of those Sheikah techniques that lay somewhere between magic and martial arts. Her father had not been happy about that, so Impa had not taught Zelda all of her secrets, but Zelda still knew a fair amount. Enough to be dangerous, both to herself and others—as Impa often reminded her.

Zelda had already found one of the Great Fairies, whose lair had actually been right within the Castle grounds. The entrance had been behind a bolder in a small alcove right behind the outer Castle gate—Zelda had grown up practically on top of a Great Fairy and hadn't even known it. Something about that felt right to Zelda. She felt as though there was some great untapped potential within her—a purpose for which she had been prepared but never called upon to fulfill. It made her feel restless.

The Great Fairy had been… different. Zelda wasn't sure what she'd expected, but she certainly hadn't expected a barely clothed three-pony-tailed vixen in thigh high boots. To be honest, Zelda had blushed a little at the sight of the statuesque beauty barely covered by a smattering of vines. Despite her unconventional attire, the Great Fairy had undoubtedly been powerful. She had given Zelda a spell—a magical ability called Din's Fire—that would surround Zelda in an orb of flames that expanded outwards from her, engulfing her enemies in a sea of flames. Not that Zelda had ever met with any enemies.

Zelda finished packing her small bag—Link had instructed them to pack light—and glanced one more time around her royal chambers before heading out. She had already informed her servants that she would be gone for a week or so, and she had said goodbye to her father the night before, so there was nothing else to do but leave. That was always the hardest part.

She took a deep breath, reminded herself that nobody ever became great by living a static life, and left.

Zelda and Miro left the castle together and met up with their guide in front of the Castle Town gate.

Once again, the first thing Zelda noticed about the guide was his bright green tunic. It was odd—the tunic seemed familiar to Zelda, but she couldn't quite place where she'd seen it before, and she thought she'd remember such a distinctive look.

The second and third things she noticed about him were his biceps, but Zelda reasoned that that was just because they were flexed from saddling his horse. Nothing to worry about.

And speaking of horses, what a beauty that horse was! Miro was leading Zelda's own horse, so she walked right up to Link's horse and gave her a gentle pat on the neck.

"Your horse is so beautiful," she said, as she took in the boisterous red mare. She was impressed that Link could handle the young horse—it was clear that this horse could make life very difficult for an unwelcome rider.

"Thank you," said Link, tightening the cinch on the rustic saddle. "She's from Lon Lon Ranch, right in Hyrule Field. Her name is Epona."

"What a pretty name," said Zelda affably. "And a true Hyrulean horse to boot! Of course, horses aren't actually native to Hyrule. The royal family used to have to buy them from Gerudo traders. Hyruleans only started to raise and breed their own horses around 500 years ago."

"Is that so?" Link looked at her with an amused expression. "I guess you really are a scholar."

Zelda blushed a little, although she couldn't quite figure out why. She was a scholar. There was nothing embarrassing about that. She walked back to her own horse and mounted gracefully in one fluid motion, trying to convince herself that she didn't need to prove anything to him, and asked, "Are we ready to go then?"

Miro nodded at Link, and he said, "Looks like it. Let's get going then."

The ride to Kakariko was pleasant. Link had been cognizant of the fact that Miro and Zelda had likely rarely ridden long distances in a single day before, so they took breaks often. The first few hours passed in near silence. Miro and Link seemed content to focus on riding, and Zelda was caught up in enjoying the sights and sounds of Hyrule Field. She had been out to the field before, but never for more than an hour or two. The wide open spaces gave her a sense of freedom and perspective that was difficult to describe. Beauty combined with monotony seemed to invite solemn contemplation.

Eventually, though, Zelda decided it might be good to break the silence and get to know their young guide a little better. She was just trying to figure out what to say to break the ice when he preempted her.

"So, Lady Tetra, what exactly are you interested in seeing at Death Mountain?" Link turned in his saddle a little towards Zelda, and Zelda found herself enjoying the calm, controlled tenor of his voice. Link impressed her as the kind of person you could rely on to remain calm in a stressful situation.

As far as answering his question went, Zelda had decided to keep her search for the Great Fairies more or less under warps, although she was uncertain whether or not this strategy should extend to their guide. He might, after all, have information that could help lead them to the Great Fairies' locations. However, Link was still an unknown quantity. She had decided not to widely share her search for the Great Fairies because their magic was powerful and sacred—exactly the kind of thing that could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Zelda simply did not know enough about the young stranger to tell him the details of her quest.

"I'm interested in some folk tales surrounding the history of the mountain. The Goron folk tales are particularly intriguing. I'd like to study the intersection of Goron creation myths and Hylian lore surrounding the goddess Din."

That was more or less true. There were myths about the goddess Din that perfectly mirrored Goron creation folklore. Some theologians also theorized that the local goddess the Gorons worshipped was actually a Great Fairy. In fact, it was probably something Zelda should legitimately look more into.

"Interesting," replied Link. He did not look very interested. "And where in particular do you think you'll be most of the time? Goron City? The Dodongo Caverns? The actual summit itself?"

Zelda shrugged. "It depends on where my research takes me. It does seem that the summit will likely be where I spend most of my time though."

Most of Zelda's research pointed to the Great Fairy's lair being at the summit of the mountain, although some sources said the Great Fairy could be found actually inside of Death Mountain Crater. That hardly seemed likely, and Zelda had dismissed that as a mistranslation of ancient texts.

Zelda was distracted from her thoughts when she noticed an odd look cross Link's face, like he was trying to piece together a particularly vexing puzzle.

"What is it?" she asked.

He looked away, his gaze drawn to the distant cone-shaped summit of Death Mountain.

"Nothing. I'm just a little concerned because the summit is the most dangerous part of Death Mountain. If I had a better idea of what exactly you are looking for, maybe we could avoid going there. I know the area quite well."

"How exactly do you know the area, anyway? I'm just curious—when Miro told me he had found a very experienced guide, I had honestly been expecting someone several decades older than you appear to be. You must have a very fascinating history."

Zelda was deflecting, yes, but she was also genuinely curious. From Miro's description, she'd been expecting a grizzled old mountain man to be leading them, not this strangely solemn blond teenager. He looked to be no older than herself… Perhaps around 18?

Link didn't turn back to face Zelda when he answered.

"I didn't really have a home growing up, so I wandered. You learn a lot when you have to survive on your own."

"I'm sorry, that must have been difficult," Zelda said, adopting the sympathetic tone she had learned to cultivate when speaking with people whose lives had been much more difficult than her own.

Link shrugged. "It can be lonely, I suppose. But you get used to it. And you get to know people everywhere you go."

"That's true. And you've seen so much of the world! You've experienced so many things I've only read about in books."

Link grimaced again.

"Some things are better not to experience."

Zelda decided to leave the young man alone after that. He clearly didn't want to tell a woman as obviously privileged as herself about his difficult childhood. Her questions were sincere, though. She recognized that there was much wisdom she simply could not attain without experiencing the kinds of difficulties her subjects regularly faced. There was so much she wanted to ask him—he'd led a life so very different from her own—but it didn't seem like he wanted to talk about it. She knew not to push.

Several hours later, the group arrived at Kakariko Village. Link took them to the best inn in the village and helped them get settled before heading off to his own apartment to gather some equipment they might need. As he wound through the comforting grey-green drabness of the village, he allowed himself to relax for the first time since the start of their journey. He felt so tense around Zelda—so unsure of how to behave and how to treat her. He felt that he was being too cold towards her, but he knew he didn't want to reveal their shared past, and he also didn't want to develop feelings for her, so this stone-faced persona seemed the only available option.

Still, he should try to be more open and normal. What if she cut their journey short because he was being too difficult? There must be a middle ground he could find.

Link finally arrived in his apartment and headed straight for his equipment room. He'd had a trap door set into the floor of his apartment that led to the room that held all of his hard-won treasures, keeping them safe from the larcenous and the overly-curious. On the walls of the small room all of his treasures from Termina and Hyrule had been carefully hung and maintained with painstaking care. Some things that he felt he didn't need any more he'd put back in their respective hiding places. Others, especially his beloved longshot, had simply been too useful to give up.

Link was just about to put said longshot into his knapsack when he heard a knock at the door. He rushed up the ladder as quickly as possible, wondering who could possibly be visiting him.

"Link? Are you there?" came Zelda's voice from the other side of the door.

Link froze up a little, paralyzed by the thought of being alone with Zelda for the first time in more than seven years. Then he opened the door.

"Sorry it took me so long, I was downstairs. Do you need anything?"

"Oh, I'm sorry to bother you. Miro and I were just wondering if you wanted to join us for dinner at the inn. The innkeeper told me where you live…" Zelda trailed off awkwardly. It suddenly occurred to Link that she probably wasn't sure how to behave around commoners. Based on the look on her face, she may have only just realized that it might raise some eyebrows to visit a man's house alone at night, especially as the princess. Not that anyone was supposed to know that she was the princess.

Zelda seemed to decide that it would only make the situation more uncomfortable to acknowledge the awkwardness, so she bowled right on ahead.

"Downstairs? Doesn't this building only have one floor?" she asked, face alight with curiosity. She looked over Link's shoulder into his Spartan room, and Link realized he'd left his trap door open.

"Um, I have a basement where I keep my equipment," he said, moving aside so Zelda could fully see the trap door she'd caught a glimpse of. He didn't want her to think he was hiding anything, and he figured Zelda probably wouldn't try to rob him. "I was just finishing packing up for the trip tomorrow. I can join you for dinner, but I'd like to finish packing first. Can you wait a moment?"

"Certainly," said Zelda, and Link motioned for her to follow him inside.

Zelda waited upstairs while Link finished putting the last of his items in his knapsack, then he joined her back in the main room.

"Can I see what you're bringing with you? It looks like you hardly packed anything at all," she said, pointing at the small knapsack Link had placed in the corner.

"Oh, yes, well this bag is actually magical," Link said matter-of-factly.

"Really?" Zelda's eyes went wide, and Link realized he'd said it in a way that might sound sarcastic. "I mean, you're being serious, right?"

"Really," he replied, demonstrating by reaching into the knapsack and pulling out the mirror shield, which was clearly much larger than the knapsack itself. Zelda looked even more shocked, and Link smiled as he tossed her the bag.

"It's so light…" she said, looking the bag over in wonder and weighing it in both hands. "How does it work?"

"I'm not sure… I believe it's fairy magic. It comes from the Kokiri Forest, and all Kokiri children have fairies. Each Kokiri child has one of these bags. You see, Kokiri remain children for their entire lives, so these bags help them carry around their heavier possessions even with their small bodies."

"That's fascinating. And how did you manage to get a Kokiri bag?"

"Oh, well… I was actually raised in the Kokiri Forest." Link saw no reason to lie.

"Really? But… you're clearly not a Kokiri child."

Link smiled wryly. "No, no I'm not." After a long pause it became clear that Zelda expected more of an explanation, so Link continued, "My parents were killed in the war. My mother managed to make it to the Kokiri Forest before she died, and she asked the Great Deku Tree to take care of me."

"Oh I understand, the Great Deku Tree is the guardian of the Kokiri Forest, yes?"

Link nodded. Of course Zelda would know about the Great Deku Tree.

"Yes. And the Great Deku Tree didn't tell me that I wasn't a Kokiri child until I was ten. That was quite a shock."

"Well that must be the understatement of the century."

Their conversation lulled for a moment, and Link was struck by how odd it felt to be having a normal conversation with Zelda. Before, they'd only ever spoken about their quest to defeat Ganondorf. They'd discussed prophecies, temples, the Triforce, but never their everyday lives. Looking back, Link wasn't even sure if Zelda had even known that he was from the Kokiri Forest. It felt good, to be talking like this. It felt good to realize that he still liked her, as a person, even when they hadn't been pushed by fate into a desperate alliance to save Hyrule. Zelda took the break in their conversation as an opportunity to look through his bag, and was tugging fiercely at the handle of the megaton hammer.

"What is this thing? Why is it so heavy? And why on earth would you need to bring it to Death Mountain?"

"That's the megaton hammer. May I?"

She let go of the handle, and Link grabbed it, pulling the giant hammer free of the bag with one great effort.

"It's pretty heavy when you're holding it, but the bag makes it light to carry around. It's especially useful on Death Mountain for clearing out rocks that might be blocking the path. I don't like to waste bombs when I don't have to."

"Oh… The path up to the summit must be rougher than I thought," said Zelda, looking a little trepidatious.

Link shrugged.

"It's not a walk in the park, but it's not too bad. I think you can handle it."

"You have a lot of confidence in my toughness," Zelda said with a slow smile.

Link thought about Sheik, and the way she must have lived and trained during the seven years that he was asleep.

"Yes, I do," he said simply.

Link couldn't quite tell in the half-light of his apartment, but it seemed to him that Zelda's cheeks grew slightly rosier. He felt his own face warming a little as well, and hoped it didn't show. She set his knapsack on the floor and stood.

"Well, Miro is probably waiting for us. Are you ready to go now?"

"Lead the way," he said, and they headed off to the inn.