Chapter 3: Hyrule Castle

"Ngh…" Link's eyes drifted open. "Wh-What…" He forced himself to sit up. "Symphony?"

"Hmm?"

He looked over to the person sitting at the window. "Hey…Where are-"

"Telma's house," Symphony replied, still starring out of the window.

"We are?"

She didn't respond. "…It started raining again when I brought you here…This rain…is ominous."

He slowly began to think back. "…The monsters!!"

Symphony turned to him finally. "Link?"

"We have to go tell Princess Zelda about this! There shouldn't be monsters roaming the plains of Hyrule anymore! And this dark foe of ours! What's he all about?!" He tried to get out of the bed, but winced at the sudden surge of pain.

"Hey, don't move!" Symphony got up and walked over to him. "I healed your wounds, but that doesn't mean that you won't feel any pain!" She placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back down. "Rest."

"You…healed me?"

"What do you think, idiot? You'd be dead by the time I got you here if I didn't heal you."

"How'd you-"

"By the gods, I'm a white mage, okay?! Now stop asking questions and rest!!" This time she shoved him down into the bed.

"Well it's no wonder you don't get any patients, hun." The two turned their attention to Telma, who happened to be coming through the door with a tray of food. "You're not very gentle when it comes to resting, are you?" She winked at the young girl.

"There's no reason why anyone should have to push themselves past their limits! Resting is the key to living a long life!" Symphony explained.

"Okay, okay," Telma laughed. She set the tray down before Link. "You'll need to eat if you want to regain your strength, hero."

"Hero?" Symphony whispered.

"Thank you Telma," Link sighed. "But we really need to speak with the princess. This is very important."

"Well, it's still early in the morning," Telma responded. "Why don't you go in the afternoon?"

"We will," Symphony quickly answered.

"We?" Link repeated.

"Yep." She turned to him, an upset look on her face. "YOU are supposed to take me home!!"

"Oh boy…" Telma sighed. She quickly left.

"I will, but-"

"No 'buts'! You just threw off my whole life schedule!"

"I what?!"

"I could be out right now healing people and selling medicine, but you got me caught up in some drama!" She slammed her hands on the bed and leaned in close, their faces inches apart. "Do you know how much money you've cost me?"

"Wh-What?"

She pulled away, her back to the blonde. "Number one rule in life: always have money. Money is everything. He who has money, has power, got that?"

"Symphony, that's crazy-"

"And you owe me for the treatment!" She turned back to him and shook her finger. "Tsk tsk, I can't be giving out any free rides." She held out her hand. "Three hundred rupees."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm doing you a favor. That's the discount price."

"You're crazy!" Link shouted.

Telma was standing outside of the door the whole time, grinning. "It looks like those two have become good friends."

--

"Thanks again Telma," Link said. Symphony waved goodbye, and they walked away. Link's left arm was around Symphony's shoulders and her right arm was around his waist while her left hand held an umbrella to shield them from the rain. Link was still in pain after all.

"I've never been to the castle before," Symphony pointed out.

"It's no big deal, really. I've been there a couple of times myself," he answered.

"…Just who are you Link?" Symphony asked, her eyebrow raised. "I mean, you're a swordsman even though we don't have many of them in this day and age. And apparently you've been inside the castle before. And Telma called you 'Hero'." He smirked. "And what's that look for?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you." Link suddenly became serious. "Those monsters we saw last night…why were they there? It's not possible…"

They made their way through the gloomy city. Hardly any people were running about because of the rain. It was just such a sad looking day. The steps leading to the castle were soon in the pair's sight as they neared their destination. Up the stairs they went, past the two snoozing guards, but the door leading to the main entryway to the castle was guarded.

"What business do you have here?" one of the guards asked.

"We desire an audience with Princess Zelda," Symphony answered.

"Bah! No such wish can be granted now! Commoners are not to be in the castle today. Besides, it's raining," the guard shot back.

"Why don't you just go home?" the other guard insisted.

"But-"

"Look, if you two keep this up, we'll have you arrested! Now be gone!" The two guards would not budge, nor could they be persuaded otherwise.

"Alright fine. Sorry to have troubled you," Link swiftly responded.

"What?!" Symphony blurted.

Link put a finger to his lips. "There is another way." He pulled his arm away from his female companion's shoulder, then attempted to stand straight. "But you must be quiet about it and follow me." Before she could say another word, Link took her hand and led her to the market's alleyways. Yes, he knew of another way. It was the passage that led him through the sewers and through the dungeon of Hyrule Castle a year ago.

"Giovanni's house seems to be built on top of a secret entrance leading underground," Link informed.

"Oh, I know him," Symphony said. "He's the richest man in this city. But I didn't know he had a little house here. I thought he always stayed in the Nobles' Quarters…"

They arrived at the tiny house and Link pried off the boards nailed up against the door. Inside was empty, save for the dust and spiders crawling around. "Looks like he cleaned this place out before he left…"

"Not a single gold piece or rupee left," Symphony said as she kicked at the floor.

"Careful. Somewhere on the floor is the passage. I just don't remember what spot it was in."

"That's useful," she said sarcastically. Her eyes traveled towards Link. He was resting against the wall, his face trying to hide his pain. "Look, you better take it easy. Don't strain yourself."

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me, okay?"

"So stubborn," she sighed. She moved towards the center of the room. "So what, do we just pull up floorboards until we find this so-called 'secret passage'?" A stomp from her foot sent small vibrations through the floor. It was suddenly quiet, causing Link and Symphony to look around. "Hmm?" The entire room made a creaking sound. "What's that?"

"Symphony…!"

The wooden planks were Symphony stood suddenly flexed under her and snapped. "AH!!" Down into the dark depths of the earth she went.

"Symphony!" Link shouted as he knelt at the edge of the hole. "Hey! Can you hear me?" There was no response. "Symphony!?"

"L-Link…"

He perked up. "Symphony! Are you alright?!"

"Well, I have a few cuts here and there and my head's still spinning, but it's nothing major." There was a pause. "It looks like I found the passage."

"Okay, I'm coming down." Link jumped down into the hole and landed with a thud. It was pretty dark, and he could barely make out Symphony standing near him. She kept rubbing her head and checking her hand for blood, her eyes squinted in the faint light. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Symphony let her hand fall to her side and squinted further into the dark. "I can see a light up ahead."

"Alright, then let's get moving." The two traveled cautiously through the dark, making their way towards the light. Once they reached their destination, they continued through the underground passage and carefully made their way up into the castle.

XXXX

Before long, the two companions were on top of the castle, heading for the window that would lead them to the room of Princess Zelda of Hyrule. The rain had not ceased, making their task quite dangerous.

"Be careful," Link warned. "There are soldiers right below us and it's slippery up here. We can't get caught now."

"Right," Symphony said with a determined nod. They slowly walked along the roof of the castle. "Link, are you sure this is legal?"

Link didn't stop moving nor did her turn to her. "No. It's not, but we have to see Princess Zelda."

"How do you know that Zelda won't call the guards on us?" Symphony asked.

"She won't, trust me. I know her." He stopped when he reached a large gap between they roof they were on and the one they needed to get to. "Oh, and please call her Princess Zelda."

Symphony glared. "Formalities are such a waste of time." Symphony was never one for titles. She never called Telma, her adopted mother, 'Mom' and she never called Impaz 'Grandmother'. And when she spoke to adults or married persons, she always called them by their first name. Many, if not all, people that came into contact with her, especially older people, thought ill of her and considered her rude. However, this was not what Symphony thought. If anything, she thought that titles were rude. She believed that formalities made people on different levels than others and, therefore, created an unequal society. To her, everyone was on the same level. She could care less that Zelda was a princess. In her eyes, Zelda was just a normal person that happened to come from a rich background and just happened to have fancy clothes and just happened to live in a fancy palace and just happened to have a crown. She knew that under all of that, Zelda was just like everyone else.

"That's not very polite you know," Link responded as he launched himself across the gap and grabbed the edge of the next building. He pulled himself up and turned to Symphony.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just goes to show that we have two very different ideas about 'polite'." She looked at the gap, then to Link. "Um…"

"What?"

"Do you really expect me to jump that?!" She held out her arms towards the gap to emphasize her point.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. Look, all you have to do is jump across and grab onto the edge. Then I'll pull you up, okay?"

"A…Alright…" She took a deep breath, back up, then ran. She jumped over the gap and grabbed onto the edge. "Ack!"

"Gimme your hands!" Link said quickly as he reached down.

From the moment that she jumped across, Symphony was in trouble. And when she grabbed onto the edge, she had only used her fingers. She was only hanging on with her finger tips, rather than her hands. "Link!" She shouted as she slipped away from the edge.

"Symphony!!"

Symphony's heart raced as she plummeted. She was terrified. What could she do? Two things were bound to happen: She would either fall to the ground and die or she would fall into a guard post and get executed for trying to sneak into the castle. Either way she looked at it, she was going to die. What now? Was there no other option?

An idea suddenly came to her as a guard post came into view. "I could…! Yes! Sheikah blood still runs through my veins!" It was a stretch, but at that moment, she was going to put her life in the hands of a technique utilized by her people used for espionage and assassinations. It was a basic technique that all Sheikah learned, but Symphony had never practiced her Sheikan abilities because of certain circumstances. She did not know if it would work, but she had to try the technique.

Symphony pulled the first two fingers of each hand together and pulled her hands close to her mouth. She visualized where she wanted to go. Please work! PLEASE!! Symphony was even closer to the guard post. In fact, she was too close. The soldier had turned around and the two made eye contact. Time seemed to come to a stop as the astonished soldier stared at Symphony and she stared back at him. "TELEPORTATION!!"

She was gone.

--

Link's mind was racing to so many different questions, but not answers. Why hadn't he moved faster? Why hadn't he helped Symphony across? What happened to her? Was she dead? Was she still alive somehow? If she was, where was she? How could he let this happen? What kind of hero was he? He wanted to yell. Yell and scream and shout because of his incompetence. How could he let this happen?

"AAH!!"

Link suddenly looked up and what he saw caused his breath to get caught in his throat. Symphony was falling straight towards him. He couldn't think. His mind was blank. His body just moved on its own. He held out his arms and Symphony, rather roughly, fell right into them. They fell backwards, but Link kept them from falling off the building. His mouth simply hung open and Symphony buried her face in his chest, shaking violently.

"L…Link…I…"

Link's thoughts suddenly came back to him. "Symphony," he began as he sat up, still clutching the young girl, "how did you do that?"

"I…" She froze. At that moment Symphony realized something. She realized that she was able to use her clan's powers. "If I can do that…then…what else can I do?" she whispered.

"Symphony?"

"Yeah!! Some girl fell off the roof and then she disappeared! I think there's more of 'em up there!!"

Link and Symphony jumped up. "Dammit! Link! A soldier saw me!!"

"Then we have to get moving!!" Link grabbed Symphony's hand and led her across the rooftop.

"Hey! I see someone over there!! After them!" Soldiers began to pile on the roof behind the two.

"Link! They're gonna catch us!!"

Link was trying to plan out his next move, but no idea crossed his mind. They were trapped. There was no way out unless they exposed themselves.

"Link! Are we trying to get to that window up there?!" Symphony pointed up at an open window.

"Yes!"

"Then hold on!" She grabbed onto Link and vanished with him in her arms.

The soldiers came to a stop when they couldn't find anyone. "Hey, where'd they go?"

"There's no way they could've escaped!"

"Maybe they jumped off?"

"No way! They'd die!"

"Put the castle on lock down. We have to protect Her Highness!"

"Yes sir!"

Symphony watched as the soldiers ran back into the castle. She let out a long sigh, then turned to Link whose eyes were wide. "What?"

"How…How…"

"I don't feel like explaining the details." She looked around. "So we made it to this window, now what?"

Link shook his head. "Oh yeah, right." He got down from the window into the inside of the castle. He then turned back to the opening and held up his arms. "Come on."

"I don't need your help to get down from here," Symphony said with a deadpan face. She swung her legs over the ledge and shooed Link out of the way with her foot. She got down and they both made their way up the stairs.

Link stopped at the door and took a deep breath. "You better behave, okay?"

"What are you, my mother?"

Link rolled his eyes and pushed gently on the door. "P-Princess Zelda?" He slid into the room.

"Link?!" The Princess Zelda stood by the hearth with a look of shock on her face. "Is it really you?!"

"Yes, it is."

"Link!" She walked over to him. "It's been a while." She bowed, then looked at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, uh…"

"Just spit it out already!" Symphony pushed Link out of her way and stepped before Zelda.

"Link, who is this?"

"This is-"

"Symphony," Symphony answered.

"Oh…Well, it's a pleasure to meet you." Zelda held out her hand, but was met with a cold stare. Symphony stared at the young leader of Hyrule, which soon became a soft glare. Zelda put her hand down, studying the young girl's features. Red eyes. Tattoos under her eyes. A strange eye marking on her sash. That's impossible. Is this girl…?

Link feigned a cough to return the attention to him. "Princess Zelda, last night, Symphony and I encountered monsters in the Eldin Province."

"What?!" Zelda turned to him. "That can't be true!"

"It is," Symphony said.

"But the soldiers patrol that area, along with the other provinces, every morning. I just got the report back and they said that everything was fine. You must be-"

"It's true princess," Link quickly put in. "We were attacked."

"But…" Zelda turned away from them and moved to the window. "…That's not possible. I haven't sensed anything. If there were monster in this land, I would know."

"Perhaps they're cloaking there presence somehow. And maybe they only come out at night."

"Cloaking their presence?" She stared out at the rain. "…It's…possible…"

"And there's something else…"

Zelda turned back to him. "…Yes?"

"A shadowy figure. He's been following us…I think…I think he's after Symphony."

"Wait just a damn second!" Symphony shouted. "What do you mean by that?! He can't be after me!"

"Symphony, he abducted you once before! And then he found us last night! I think he wants you!"

"You're crazy!! I'm not involved in this! I-I just got dragged into this by you!" She pointed her finger harshly at the blonde.

Zelda stood silently, thinking. "…Link, you might be right…Perhaps this shadowy figure is able to cloak the essence of the monsters."

"Then what do we do?"

"…Go to Death Mountain. I have heard that deep with the Goron Mines is a mirror that does not cast a reflection and it is made of Oracle Crystals."

"Oracle Crystals?" Link repeated.

"Yes. They are rare jewels that enhance the abilities of sages and clairvoyants. Only four exist in the world and all of them have been used in the forgery of the mirror-"

"You mean the Mystic Mirror, don't you?" Symphony asked. Her eyes were closed, arms folded, and she was leaning against the wall.

"Yes…but-"

"I know every legend…" She opened her eyes and looked at the princess.

"…Yes…the Mystic Mirror is what I need in order to dispel the barrier masking the essence of the monsters and to reveal the true form of this shadowy figure."

"Alright!" Link said. "Then I'll go to Death Mountain and get the mirror for you!"

Zelda smiled. "Link…Thank you. If Hyrule truly is in danger once again, then we all need you."

"I know…"

Symphony unfolded her arms and looked at Link. "…?"

"Your Highness!! Your Highness!!" There was a pounding on the door. The three youths froze.

"Y-Yes?" Zelda asked.

"May I come in? I have urgent news!"

"No, stay where you are. I'm quite busy at the moment."

"I-I am sorry to interrupt you then, but I have just received word that there are a two people roaming around the castle. We're going to lock everything down until we find them!"

Zelda paused before saying, "Alright. You may leave."

"Y-Yes!!" He was gone.

Zelda turned to Link and Symphony. "I'll inform the soldiers of you, Link. That way you'll be able to use the front door next time." She smiled.

"I, uh, sorry."

"It's fine. Now both of you," she moved to the door, "come with me. I shall lead you out of the castle without anyone knowing."

"Yes." Link followed her out of the door.

Symphony didn't move. "…Princess Zelda…of Hyrule…She…My people…" She stared at the floor, her body trembling. It was trembling with-

"Symphony, what are you doing?" Link popped back into the room. "C'mon!"

"Oh, yes! I'm sorry!" She quickly followed after him