The Book of the Goddesses

A/N: I'm sorry! *drops down on knees* I haven't updated in a while so here you are! A chapter where the plot begins to take action! YAY! This chapter is a bit longer too. Oh! And if you can guess what language I'm using you get… O (COOKIE!!!) or O (ICE CREAM) your pick. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Prisoners and Escapees

"I. Don't. Want. To. Go!" Lycoris wailed angrily. She stomped her foot on the ground and crossed her arms across her chest. "I want to go with you and Link to see that 'Shaman' guy!"

Zelda laughed and Ferdinand rolled his eyes. It was supposed to be the day of their departure, but the young redhead still refused. "Come on, Lycoris. You don't want to keep your mother waiting do you?" he asked her.

"No! I said that already!" She swung her arm out and looked away. "Leave me!" she said in a formal voice.

Ferdinand reached out to grab her but she ducked away. "Lycoris! Get over here this instant!"

"No!" she sang, beginning to run into the castle kitchen. "I'm hungry!"

Ferdinand looked at the still giggling Zelda and folded his arms. "Well, we aren't going to be seeing her anytime soon. As long as she has food, she's as happy as can be." Pausing, he looked at the princess. "I will give that book to Audun when I see her next. She can probably decipher what it says."

Zelda once-happy expression turned serious in a second. "I assume Audun is Lycoris's mother, correct?"

"Yes. But I cannot promise you anything. As soon as she is done with the book I will return it to you."

"Book? What book is he talking about Zelda?" asked Arkell, walking over to them. His face was cold and hard. He knew what they were up to.

Zelda looked surprised for a moment. "Oh! A history book of ancient Hylian legends. Lycoris's mother is a story teller and she would like to know of some of our stories as well."

Arkell seemed unconvinced. "Is that so? Ferdinand, is it? Well, Ferdinand, if that book is not returned, a high rice will be for your head, Lycoris's head, and her mother's head. Is that understood?"

"Of course, of course!" When Arkell left slowly he turned to Zelda once more. "I thought you were the ruler of this kingdom."

She rolled her eyes. "I am but I cannot do a single thing unless the Council approves it. Sometimes they pass rules and laws without even mentioning them to me."

"Can't you fire them?"

Zelda shook her said sadly. "Unfortunately, no."

"Hey!" they heard Lycoris yell. "Put. Me. Down! You're not very nice!" Her voice grew louder and soon she came out of the kitchen slung over Link's shoulder. She kicked her legs angrily and glared at the green clad hero as he put her down. "What was that for?"

"You need to go don't you?"

"No! I said no!" When Link tried to grab her again, she let out a cross between a hiss and a growl and darted away.

Link stood there, still bent over, and his eyes were wide with surprise. "Did she just…?"

Ferdinand and Zelda burst out laughing. "Yes, she did!" exclaimed Zelda. She stood up and walked over to Link. "Ferdinand said that he will have Lycoris's mother try to translate the book. So we do not have to see Renado anymore, I suppose."

"No shaman guy?" asked Lycoris, popping her head from around a corner suddenly. "Ah, come on! Dinan, can we stay just a while longer? Please?" she begged.

The man shook his head in defeat. "Fine, fine. If it is okay with you, Princess."

"Of course."

Lycoris cheered and walked over to Link and Zelda. Looking up at them she gave an innocent look. "Will you read to me?"

When they agreed, Lycoris dragged the three to the library and sat there all day, not moving a single muscle as she listened. Link, Zelda, and Ferdinand had to take turns reading to her, for it was nonstop. When they paused for even a moment Lycoris would frown and jump on her chair. "Why did you stop?" she would ask. Once or twice Ferdinand drifted off into a sleep, and while whoever was reading made sure not to stop, she would get up and poke him on the cheek constantly.

"She is definitely a child," Zelda said softly when Lycoris had to go to the bathroom. Zelda opened her mouth to speak again but the girl came barging into the room once more.

They had to be there for hours, for by the time they finished a large history book, the sky was dark and their stomachs all moaned with hunger. Zelda made them a snack and they headed upstairs to their bedchambers.

"Good. Night. Lycoris," said Ferdinand with annoyance when she insisted on him reading to her once again. He ignored her scowl and waved a hand at her. "We will be leaving at the first sign of dawn if you do not stop!" And Lycoris finally stopped talking.

Zelda let out a large yawn and she propped herself up on her elbows when someone began knocking at her door. It had to be around five or six in the morning and the knocking had been going on for more than five minutes. Her patience was worn away so she finally slid out of bed and opened the door to encounter one of her guards. "What is it?" she asked a bit ruder than intended.

The guard blinked having forgotten what he was sent to do. Then his eyes widened. "Oh, we have captured someone. They were caught sneaking around the courtyard. They took out five of the guards, maybe more."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, Princess. High Council Member Arkell is already appearing to her." The guard waited for his surprised Princess to follow him. He led her down the castle's winding halls and through some hidden shortcuts that were for the maids and guards only.

Arriving in the throne room, a woman was struggling against two of the guards who held her down. She was yelling angrily at them. "Bi narųmüseü. Sae, bi aškųs sakt!" Her eyes flashed madly when she noticed Zelda walking towards her.

"Arkell," Zelda asked the High Council Member, "who is she? Did she say anything?"

He shook his head. "Yes and no. She is speaking, but in a language I cannot comprehend. I have used threats and actual punishments, bit still not a normal word from her.

"You punished her?" Zelda asked in surprise. Her escort knew to step back from the two when they began to argue. "You are not to do such things!"

"Yes I can. I am the-"

"I know what you are. But you aren't to do things without reason!"

"Your Highness, she has snuck into the courtyard, taken out seven of our guards by herself, and managed to get into the throne room. She is a threat! How can you not understand that?"

Zelda looked at the woman who had stopped struggling. Now her eyes were set on Zelda like piercing daggers that wished to cut into her skin. "Leave, Arkell. The rest of you as well." She shooed the many gathered guards away with some of the Council members. She looked at the woman and her two holders. "Who are you?" she asked.

The woman said not a word, she just continued to glare at the princess.

"Bring her down to the dungeons," Zelda said with a sigh.

The two guards looked confused. They knew that there were dungeons, but never before had the princess ordered anyone to bring someone down there. She would normally sort out their punishments as soon as she encountered them. Never were they sent to the dungeons. They were worse than death, in truth. Vermin lurked in every corner and the walkways had sewer water running on them. The smell was putrid and foul, a dying redead had to smell better. The guards eventually nodded and headed down a flight of stairs.

The woman walked without a problem. She kept her head high and her back straight, showing that she did not feel of what she did. She would occasionally glance over her shoulder at the princess that trailed behind.

Zelda's mouth and nose were covered by her robe so she could not smell anything. But it was not working and every little smell that floated through the dungeons went into her nose.

Reaching a cell, the guards shoved the woman in. They locked it and headed away. One of them paused and turned to Zelda who was still standing by the cell. "Are you coming, Your Highness?" he asked her.

Zelda raised a hand. "I shall come back soon. So not worry about me. Go continue with your guarding…" She watched the two leave and she turned her attention back to the woman who was leaning against the stone wall of the cell, her eyes still glaring. "I will ask you again, who are you?"

The woman frowned and pushed herself away from the wall. She walked over to the metal bars. "I am not going to speak a single word of sense to you until you tell me where she is."

Zelda cocked her head to the side. The woman's voice was rough and dry. It sounded as if it could be kind if she wished it to be. But for now it would stay commanding. "Who is 'she'?"

"Do not play innocent with me, príλ-nina," she growled.

Zelda shook her head and grabbed a lantern that hung on the wall. She held it up to the woman. Her red hair was pulled up around her narrow face and her green eyes sparkled maliciously. She was younger but her eyes, along with their deathly look, reflected old age. They reminded her of Link's. But green in color. "I do not know who you are talking about. Really I don't."

The woman scoffed at her. "Yes you do! I heard that she was here. My daughter, príλ-nina!"

"You're daughter's name is Príλ-nina?" Zelda asked, unsure if she could get anymore confused. She paused and began to whisper it softly. "Príλ-nina… prill-neenah…"

"I mean this in the nicest way possible," the woman began to say, each word icy and hard. "You. Are. An. Idiot! Príλ-nina means woman-witch in your language! I can sense the magic on you. Are you calling my daughter a woman-witch?!"

Zelda was baffled. The woman… what in the name of the Goddesses was she talking about? "N-no. I do not know who she is. What is her name and I might be able to-"

"Lycoris." The woman looked away and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. "My daughter's name is Lycoris. And she is here. I know she is. Now tell me where she is, dammit!"

"So… your, Audun?"

The woman looked curiously at her. "How do you know my name?"

"Lycoris is here… so is Ferdinand."

"Thank the Goddesses…" she murmured. "Wait, Ferdinand? Ferdinand is here?"

"Yes, he said that you sent him to retrieve Lycoris. But the girl was quite reluctant to leave so they are both still here. Ferdinand said that they were to depart as soon as the sun shows itself."

Audun's lip curled and she shook her head angrily. "Ferdinand is a bastard. We used to travel together but we haven't for ages. It was two years ago when we formally traveled together. Of course we would occasionally meet up and head onward together, but I would never send that bastard to get my daughter. That man is horrible. The things he does…" Audun breathed in deeply and leaned back on the wall. She closed her eyes and as soon as she did, they shot open once again. "As soon as the sun shows itself? That should be soon!" She grabbed onto the metal bars and looked at the still-confused princess. "Please let me out of her, príλ-nina. I need to get my daughter."

Zelda, reluctant at first, forged a small key with her magic and picked the lock. Audun ran out and sprinted down the dungeon hallways. "Kitit!" she called over her should.

"Kitit?" Zelda asked herself. She shook her head and took off after the woman.

When Audun and Zelda arrived in the throne room, the first thing they saw was Audun running. They assumed that she was escaping and grabbed at her. Audun struggled against their grasp and crossed her arms across her chest angrily.

"Put her down," Zelda commanded.

The guards looked surprised at their ruler but did as told. "Isn't she trying to-"

"No," hissed Audun. "Narųmüseü."

"Excuse me?" asked Arkell, walking out from the shadows. "Well, Your Highness, you got her to talk. But why is she not in the dungeons."

"She is not threat, Arkell. She is Lycoris's mother."

Arkell let out a sigh of relief. It wasn't for the woman not being a threat, it was for the woman being the one to take the overly energetic brat away from the castle. "Good, good."

"Arkell, did you see Ferdinand?"

"That older man that the girl knows? Well, I saw him darting out of the castle gates with a sack, why? Is he a problem?"

"He just left?" Audun asked, her patience wearing away.

"Yes. Why?"

"He is a problem, bi narųmüs!" she said angrily. "What about my daughter? Is she still-"

"The brat? Of course she is. She is in her room sleeping the day away." He turned his attention away from her and looked at Zelda. "I really must get back to the Council. We are having an early meeting, you see."

"Yes, go, go." Zelda looked at Audun who's expression was blank and unreadable. "I'll take you to her room." She turned and led the woman down the winding halls. Their footsteps echoed on the cold stone, emitting the only sound in the early hour. "Here." Zelda stopped by a door. Opening it, she noticed the bed was empty.

"Where is she, Princess?" Audun asked, her voice stinging like a bee.

"I- Over here." She closed the door and walked over to Link's room that was right across the hall. She knocked twice and opened it to see the young girl running in circles around the room with Link's hat while he tried to get it from her. "Lycoris," Zelda said to her, causing both her and Link to pause. She opened the door a little more to show Audun and upon doing so, Lycoris's face lit up.

"Mother!" she squealed happily. She ran over and jumped into Audun's arms. "Ferdinand was here! Did you see him? And-" Lycoris paused when she noticed her mothers icy look.

"Never do that again, you hear me?"

"I'm sorry! I just lost you." She wrapped her arms around Audun's chest. She turned back to Zelda and Link, remembering their presence. "Uh, here," she said, handing Link his hat.

"Thank you, young miss." He bowed down low and Lycoris stuck out her tongue.

Zelda looked at Lycoris, to Audun, and then to Link. "Link, did you see Ferdinand leave?"

"Yes," the hero replied. "He was carrying a bag too."

"What was in the bag?" Zelda thought she knew, but she didn't want to accuse anyone of anything if they were truly innocent.

"The book. He said he had to bring it to Audun. But you're here, Audun, so he is probably on his way back."

"The book?" questioned Audun. "Never mind that. Whatever he had he is not giving it to me. That man is nothing but trouble."

"Dinan?" asked Lycoris as she began jumping up and down. "But he is so kind! Why would h-"

"Shush," said Audun softly. Surprisingly, the young girl obeyed. She shook her head and looked at Zelda and Link who were quite confused. "We must hunt him down. He has something of mine as well. And what exactly does he have of yours?"

Link glanced at Zelda who nodded to him, telling him to tell the woman. "A book."

"A book? Surely a book can be one of many more copies. So just go find the others."

"The book's name was Éšieü Oridor. Translated, it means Golden Goddesses." The four turned to see Arkell with his arms folded across his chest. He walked over to Zelda and said, "Remember when I told you to get it for me? Well I wanted to hide it so people like that Ferdinand wouldn't go and steal it. But, no. You had to go and happily hand it over to him."

"You are talking to the Princess of Hyrule," Link hissed at the man. "If you didn't hide it in the library then Lycoris would have never found it."

Arkell sneered. "That may be true, but why would a traveler be in the castle's library? Answer that, Hero." He cracked his neck and turned away. "Princess, I will set out at once to find that book for you." Arkell walked out of the room as quickly as he had come, leaving Zelda and Link in stunned silence, Lycoris in confusion, and Audun with a glower.

Audun turned to Zelda and lifted Lycoris up in her arms. "I will go after him."

Zelda, uncertain at first, nodded. "Thank you. Link, please go as well."

The hero bit his lip. "What about you and Lycoris?"

"Yeah! I want to go as well!"

"No," Audun said sternly. "It is not safe. You will stay here with Zelda. If she allows it, that is."

"Of course." Zelda watched her put Lycoris on the ground and she began to pout. "Please be careful. Both of you. But do not leave until you have had something to eat."

"We will lose their trail," Link argued.

"You will be much slower which is no worse than losing their trail for you will be hungry."

"Zelda-"

"No. You are both eating. Come on down to the dining hall." Zelda turned away with a swish of her dress and Lycoris skipped behind her. Audun and Link looked at each other for a moment before going as well.

They followed in silence. Occasionally one of them would steal a glance at the other but not a word was said.

So, Link thought, she's my new traveling partner… I hope she can fight for herself. He looked over at her once more. She didn't look any older than him or Zelda. Her early twenties at the largest age. And Lycoris was what? Around seven or eight? Link cringed at the thought but his attention was finally brought to the overly defensive guards that stood around the throne room when they arrived. Probably because of Audun.

Zelda ignored them and continued walking on until they finally approached the throne room. It was off the west wing and stained-glass windows lined the walls. It was said that each picture represented a challenge that the Hero of Time had to face. The final picture showed him with a blue dot, most likely the fairy that accompanied him on his quest. Every time Zelda saw that picture she thought of Link, the Hero of Light and Twilight, as the Hero of Time in the picture and the fairy as Midna. But it was a bit farfetched to think so. "Here," she said finally. Zelda pulled out a large dining chair from under the oaken table and sat down. She called a maid to bring them some food. "Lycoris, why don't you go to the library?" Zelda asked the young girl who was jumping up and down, still, in her chair.

"Okay!" Lycoris jumped upwards, almost knocking over a young maidservant in the process of doing so.

When she was gone Audun began shifting uncomfortably. "Éšieü Oridor, hmm?"

"Yes," answered Link simply. "Ferdinand said that you might know what it read."

She closed her eyes. "I probably can, for I know it's language. But I do not speak it fluently, unfortunately." She paused thoughtfully for a moment. "I have heard of a book named that. It is said to be an ancient spell book, passed down from generation to generation. It is said to have been brought thousands of places."

"Audun," Zelda interrupted, "what exactly did Ferdinand do for you to dislike him so?"

She snorted. "I do not dislike him. I despise him. Not so long ago he was traveling with Lycoris and I. We were returning to my home, but when we arrived it was nothing but ashes and ruins. He believed that a fire rampaged there, one that was caused by the heat of the summer. So when I walked along the dusty remains, I noticed something. It was one of his metal chains. It could not be melted. And I knew he started the fire. My mother was in the house, too." She bit her lip. "He killed them purposely. Because I had a small pamphlet that I would not let him have. It was after I finally gave it to him I realized what he had done. Of course I followed him, just trying to stay hidden. Legend has it that my pamphlet has some of the deciphering keys to the spells in Éšieü Oridor."

"He…- I-I am sorry," Zelda said softly. "But what exactly does that book do? Arkell seems to know of it as well."

"It is a powerful book. It's spells are far stronger than even your magic, Princess. And yours as well, Hero."

Both of them blinked. Audun was referring to the Triforce. That was their power. The power of the Goddesses. "But, Zelda, how would Arkell know 'bout it?" Link asked the princess.

She shrugged. "I do not have a clue. We should find him now, though."

"What about the food? You're the one that wanted us to have some," Link said with a grunt.

"That was before I knew any of this."

"Princess," said a guard running into the dining hall. "High Council Master Arkell wished me to tell you that he is departing now. He is probably already out of the castle gates."

"I forgot he was leaving," Audun said. "Great timing isn't it?" she added sarcastically.

Lightwolf8: HAHA! Longer chapter! Woohoo! Hope yas liked it! And remember, if you guess correctly at what language I am using you get an ice-cream or cookie of your choice! Well, that's it for now and sorry that I haven't updated for awhile. I've been busy-ish. Anyhoo, review are like hugs, only cold people turn them away ;D jk, jk!