Chapter 3- The Queen and the Six Warriors of Destiny
The captain led Tristan toward the castle. When they reached the gates, they dismounted and a boy took their horses to the stables. The captain, named Ferdinand, introduced Tristan to the guards at the gates. When they read the queen's summons, they instantly lowered the bridge and bowed them inside. Then Captain Ferdinand stopped and bade Tristan farewell.
"I must return to my duties," he said. "If you continue along the main corridor, you'll reach the throne room. The queen's bound to be there. If not, her daughter might be, otherwise ask a guard and show them the summons."
"Thank you Captain," Tristan replied.
"No, I should be thanking you. We've been trying to catch those bandits in the act, and you did it for us. Farewell my friend. There may come a time when you and I will fight along side each other."
"Farewell Captain Ferdinand."
Captain Ferdinand exited the castle, leaving Tristan to marvel at its vastness. This first room could easily accommodate a division of soldiers. He spotted the corridor Ferdinand had spoken of and made for it. It seemed long at first, but he reached the end of it quick enough. He pushed the double doors that stood at the end, and entered the Throne Room.
Compared to the first room, the Throne Room was actually pretty small in Tristan's eye, though this was just an illusion. The Throne Room was easily the biggest room in the castle. What Tristan couldn't see lay behind him on the upper levels. At the end of an elegant red carpet stood two thrones, one obviously more used than the other. In the unused one sat a small figure with her legs pulled up. She seemed sad and insignificant.
Tristan crossed the room in relative silence; he was surprised when none of his equipment so much as jingled. When he was ten paces from the thrones he immediately recognized the person curled up in the throne. It was the princess, Laima. She was a mirror image of her mother when she was young, as Tristan knew from his dreams. The only differences were that her dress was bluish rather than purplish, and she wasn't wearing a headdress.
Tristan knelt down and spoke, "Excuse me Your Highness."
Laima's head snapped up, when she saw Tristan she relaxed. "I'm sorry good sir; you gave me quite a fright."
"I apologize Your Highness, I was wondering if you could aid me."
Princess Laima suddenly stood up in surprise. She began to walk slowly toward Tristan examining him. Then she asked a question that caught him off-guard.
"Is that you Link?"
"Link? No Your Highness, my name is Tristan."
"Of course, I'm sorry. You just look like someone I knew."
"I've said this many times today, but I'm not surprised princess. Everyone says I look my father."
"Your father? Link was your father?!"
"Yes."
Laima suddenly grabbed Tristan's wrist and began dragging him to the side of the throne room toward another door.
"I can't believe I got to meet you first!" the princess was saying. "At first Mother didn't want to tell me who she had sent Link to summon here. I finally got it out of her and have been spending almost all my time in the throne room hoping to at least catch a glimpse of you."
They had passed through the door and were halfway down another hallway when she stopped suddenly. She looked at Tristan with a sad look and said, "I sorry about your father dying before you could get to know him. Yes, my mother and I knew he was dying, that's why Mother sent him, so he could pass in his home."
With that said she continued to pull him along the hallway and into another room. It was a study of sorts, and behind the desk sat someone Tristan had seen in his dreams many times. The queen looked up, smiled and stood. Tristan freed himself from Laima's grip and kneeled before Zelda. Almost instantly though, the queen was gently pulling him back up again.
"We'll have none of that from you young man," Zelda said, still smiling. "Your father was the Hero of Time, so that immediately puts you at almost a royal ranking right there. And I don't want to here a single 'your majesty' or 'my queen' from you either. We'll talk as if we were common people. Okay?"
"Alright. I must admit though," Tristan said, feeling slightly awkward, "I've never heard of someone talking to the queen like a common person."
"It's the way your father and I always spoke to each other," the queen replied. "And so shall it be between us. Please sit; there is much we must discuss."
"May I join you mother?" Laima asked.
"Of course dear."
They all took seats around the fire. Zelda produced a tray of tea and biscuits, and they all got comfortable.
"Now then Tristan," Zelda said. "You must inform me of why you are a few days late. We expected you two days ago."
"My apologies," Tristan said. "I was attacked by Stalchildren when I left the forest. They caught me unprepared. If Malon hadn't been out riding that evening, I may not have even gotten that far. I was unconscious for two days apparently."
"Well, that certainly explains it. I must ask this though, did Link every mention anything other than what I asked him to tell you?"
"He wanted me to tell you both good-bye. It seemed like there was more, but he never said anything else."
"I see, I believe I know what he wanted to say, so you may stop worrying about that. Now, for the reason I asked you to come here…"
"This is the part I've been waiting for."
Zelda chuckled, "Indeed. Tristan, what I have to tell you may come as a shock. I believe you know your father's story?"
"Yes."
"Well, as you are well aware, your father and I banished Ganondorf to the Evil Realm for what we hoped was forever. That was not to be. Ganondorf managed to escape."
"WHAT?!"
"Yes, that is why monsters are reappearing in larger numbers, like the Stalchildren that attacked you. He has not truly shown himself, but I can feel him gathering strength deep within the desert, beyond the Spirit Temple."
"Dad said evil was growing there, but he said nothing about Ganondorf."
"That's because we didn't know for certain. But there is no mistaking that evil energy now. He's back, and with a vengeance. Luckily, he does not yet know of your father's death, and that can be kept secret for sometime. That should delay any large attacks from him. Link is the only person Ganondorf truly fears."
"How do we defeat him this time?"
"I was just thinking of that when you arrived. We cannot banish him to the Evil Realm again, because we know he can escape, the only thing to do is to kill him this time. But you'll need help, for even without the Triforce of Power he used to wield, he is still extremely powerful."
"Who should we find to help?"
"There is an old legend, and it says that on a distant planet, there dwell five warriors of destiny. I want you to find the five and bring them here. Once here we can awaken their powers and train them in their use. You will find them to be a great aid to you if we can find them."
"How do I get to this 'distant planet?'"
"I found an extremely old tome in the archives, in it was the legend and a spell, that if used in conjunction with the Ocarina of Time, it will transport the user within feet of the eldest warrior."
"And you want me to go find them? What if they don't believe me? What if they don't want to come to Hyrule?"
"Oh, they'll come. When you arrive, try playing the Song of Time or Zelda's Lullaby. Once the warriors react to the song's magic, not only will they believe you, but their magical abilities will drive them to come with you."
"Okay, then I'll do it!"
"I was hoping you'd say that."
Zelda stood up and walked to her desk. She ran her hand along the wall behind it to reveal a secret panel. While she was searching, Tristan examined the study. With the exception of the fireplace in the middle, two walls were completely lined with bookshelves that were overflowing with books of all kinds. Above the fireplace hung a picture, and Tristan received a shocked when he recognized who it was. It was a full figure painting of his father, Link, the Master Sword still strapped to his back with the beautiful Mirror Shield hanging from the scabbard. Link wasn't wearing his tunic in this painting, but rather the clothes of a gentleman. Tristan was about to ask why such a picture would be hanging in her study when Zelda returned with the Ocarina of Time and an old, tattered book. Turning to the right page, she showed Tristan the spell and handed him a slip of parchment with the Song of Time and Zelda's Lullaby on it, he began to memorize them.
While Tristan was busy, Zelda turned to her daughter, and asked, "Would you mind telling the chef that we'll be having a guest for dinner?"
"Not at all mother," Laima said. She got up and left the room. Once Laima had left, Zelda sat down again and watched as Tristan memorized the Song of Time, Zelda's Lullaby, and the spell, holding the Ocarina and learning the finger positions. If he tried to actually play the songs, she would have to stop him; after all… he still wasn't ready just yet.
"Okay," Tristan said after a short while. "I think I got it. If not, I'm sure Tala will remember it."
"Of course I will," said the fairy. "Don't forget that we fairies have excellent memories!"
"Now, I believe it is time for dinner," Zelda said, standing up. As she walked towards the door, Tristan came to a dead stop. Realizing he was no longer following her, Zelda looked back and saw him looking past her. "Is something the matter?"
"When were you attacked Zelda?!" Tristan exclaimed quickly pointing at the door. Looking behind her, she saw a long gash that had been left in the door and some of the wall long ago. Turning back to him, Zelda smiled and said,
"Don't worry, that happened a very long time ago, not long after Ganondorf was sent to the Evil Realm. I was about to turn eighteen and was being appointed to the council, and following tradition, I had to chose a guardian and present him a gift. I hired Master Biggoron to make a sword of such magnificence that it would be able to rival the Master Sword. When Master Biggoron learned that it was for my guardian, and that I had naturally selected Link seeing as all we've been through, Master Biggoron made it his life's work. He used even rarer materials than some of the Master Sword's, including Death Mountain's fire; pure, enchanted water from Zora's fountain; the finest steel the Gorons ever produced; and it even included a tear from Link's fairy Navi. On the blade, Master Biggoron put an engraving that read in Ancient Hylian: 'All of Hyrule came forth to make me, Aria is my name and only Link and his kin shall take me.' As I tested the blade when it was delivered, a single slash emitted such force that it left the gash in the wall."
"Aria?" Tristan said slowly.
"Yes, after I resigned from the council, Link remained my guardian for sometime after. Then he went off on another personal journey and left Aria in my keeping. Since Hyrule had finally found a complete peace and no more monsters roamed the land, Link found little use for a sword."
"Will I ever see Aria?"
"Of course you will! Did you forget what the engraving said already? Aria is my name and only Link and his kin shall take me. You're destined to have the sword. I'll show it to you after dinner, so you'll have something to look forward to when you get older. Now I do believe dinner is ready, please follow me."
The queen and Tristan left the study and continued down the hall, away from the throne room. They took a left at a fork in the path and proceeded into a small dinning area. Obviously, this is where Zelda and her daughter came for meals when they weren't tending to a large amount of guests. Laima was already seated, the queen took a seat next to her, and Tristan sat opposite her. Tristan and Laima locked eyes for a moment and Tristan saw something that reminded him of his father, though he could not say what it was. Then the food was brought out, and Tristan began helping himself to everything he could reach when Zelda told him to have his fill. It was all delicious. He had never had such an exquisite feast in the forest, for the Kokiri never ate meat. Here there was plenty of it along with many other things that lingered on his memory for many years to come.
Zelda and Laima watched him for a while, both were amused at how quickly he devoured all the things on his plate and began reaching for more. When the food was gone, Tristan heaved a deep sigh of content and leaned back in his chair. Zelda leaned forward and waved off the servants, leaving the trio alone.
"There are some other things we must discuss about your journey for the five warriors," Zelda began. Tristan sat up instantly and banged his chest on the table. Zelda and Laima giggled as Tristan recovered and pushed himself back a safe distance. "First off, when you go to this 'other world' you will only be searching for four of them."
"Only four? What of the fifth?" Tristan asked.
"I can sense that the fifth is already here. None of the warriors will be older than you. Also, there is a sixth warrior, the leader."
"Me?"
"Precisely, you learn fast. Being Link's son, you posses the blood of heroes. It is only natural that you would be the leader. The others will be composed of three girls, and two boys. One of the girls is already here. This means that there are two girls and two boys that need to be found."