Disclaimer:The Legend of Zeldais property ofNintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto, all rights reserved. I am in no way affiliated with these companies, or any legal proceedings concerning The Legend of Zelda. This story has been written purely out of enjoyment, and is not intended to make a profit, steal ideas, or offend anybody. Any similarities between my work and anyone else's is purely coincidental.
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"Purhpciy fu hith Papuulcespi" — Chapter 3: Knight of the RealmBy The Last Princess of Hyrule
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Liana gathered her baby in her arms and walked back to Rauru, the priest. The Sheikah woman turned to Garret, who handed her the staff, obviously grateful to be rid of it. She strode a few paces behind him, grasped the staff with two hands, and turned to watch the rest of the service.
"Now, would you please step forward, Master Sir Garret?" Rauru motioned him to the water. "As Master of the Knights of Hyrule and therefore the most trusted knight, I ask that you bestow the knight's honor upon the princess."
Garret drew his sword and placed the flat of it carefully on the top of the baby's head. "As the great Silver Legacy continues, so does the Knight's Line. I speak now for that line, and we that it represents, the knights of the Hylian realm, when I swear this oath, the honor of which has been given to each generation of the Silver Legacy. Forever shall we be by your side to fight your battles, to unite your subjects, and protect you for all time. Blessed Princess of Hyrule, you have our word of honor."
Liana nodded and held the tiny princess over the holy water. Garret knelt on one knee before the infant princess. "On behalf of my daughter, I accept your vow, Master Sir Garret."
Garret bowed his head and backed away.
Rauru regarded the Sheikah. "If you would please step forward, Lady . . . ?" His voice trailed off expectantly.
"Impa," the Sheikah replied as she walked past Garret, handing him the staff again. "Just Impa."
The priest nodded. "As you wish."
"Princess Liana, this woman asked to be guardian of your child. As you have had several days to get to know her, do you accept her proposal?" he asked Liana.
"Yes, I accept," she replied, in a more solemn manner than was expected, as she held out her baby to Impa. Startled, Impa accepted the child and cradled it in her arms. The infant princess was the most beautiful baby Impa had ever seen. She had pales arms, a round face, and a quite innocent demeanor. Her eyes were like her father's, as they shown like the most rare of blue diamonds.
At that moment the baby smiled, her jeweled eyes gleaming. Impa returned the grin lovingly. Then, remembering where she was, the Sheikah looked up at Rauru to find him waiting patiently for her in order to continue.
"And do you, Lady Impa, swear to do as you so honorably promised, to care for and protect this child, even in the face of death itself?" he asked her solemnly.
Speech beyond her grasp, Impa silently nodded.
"Then, if you would . . ." Rauru's voice sounded beside her, but Impa heard nothing. She became lost to the world as she looked back at the baby princess in her arms, realizing now that she finally had a child. For as long as she could remember, the Sheikah had wanted a baby of her own. However, with no one to wed her, she surrendered her wish and moved on. Yet, she had not so quickly forgotten her longing.
Now, her wish had been fulfilled. Not be a child of her flesh and blood but still a child. This angelic princess was now in Impa's care; she would raise the child almost as her own, like the other Sheikah had done before her.
The baby princess reached up a tiny hand to touch Impa's cheek. Impa's eyes widened in surprise and the princess giggled. The Sheikah beamed at the child who, in return, grinned back.
As Coquina watched the baby princess and her new attendant, the lady was surprised. She had heard plenty of legends about Sheikah, the ancient race that had inhabited the area that stood now as Kakariko Village. The Sheikah had been a bloodthirsty race at the time, not unlike the savage Gerudo women, who lived in the desert far to the west.
The Book of Mudora told of the Sheikah as at first being an evil race of devil worshipers. They secluded themselves at the foot of Death Mountain. There, the people of the shadows, lured innocent travelers into the village, bewitched them with black magic, and sacrificed them to the dragon Volvagia who lived in a lava filled crater at the top of the mountain.
However, at some point, one of the Sheikah had fallen in love with a woman he and his fellows had captured. The man forced his friends to let her go and, in her gratitude, she agreed to marry him. This first joining between a Hylian and a Sheikah drove the others to change from their old ways and accept those of the new. Some years later, the Sheikah swore their loyalty to the Silver Legacy of Hyrule.
Generations after, the King of Hyrule announced the birth of a son. Yet, he had no one to take care of the child, for the queen had died in childbirth. Then, a Sheikah man named Karol, who had descended from the Hylian woman who had lived in Kakariko, volunteered to watch the child. Karol became the prince's constant companion, attendant, bodyguard, and best friend. The years past, the prince became king, and he and his wife had a daughter. Karol went into his village and asked his daughter to be the child's attendant.
The tradition carried on for hundreds of years without pause, or so said The Book of Mudora, Hyrule's chronicle of history. Now, the baby princess had an attendant, just as her father had when he was a child. This red-eyed Sheikah sorceress was to be it.
Coquina had never believed before that the changed Sheikah were trustworthy; she felt they still held true the customs of their ancient ancestors. There had to be a reason they kept their village at Death Mountain closed off to all people but their own. The Sheikah were just waiting for the right time to strike against the Royal Family.
However, as Coquina watched Impa holding the baby princess, the Sheikah's expression had been anything but bloodthirsty. It had been one of surprise, which turned to joy and . . . content, it must be called. Yes, the red-eyed dark sorceress had expressed contention as she cradled the child in her arms.
Coquina's new ideas and the facts she had been raised on fought each other in her mind, leaving her thoroughly confused. She tried to push the thoughts from her mind, but they persisted. Sheikah were pure evil—there was not an ounce of compassion in their veins--or was there? As Coquina watched Impa with the princess, she allowed her new ideas to solidify. This Sheikah woman could not be much younger than Coquina herself. She seemed Hylian in every aspect, yet her appearance and her ancestry spoke otherwise.
Then, a single voice deep inside Coquina rang out. Impa was presently in the same position as Coquina herself; she had just received a new baby to care for and her entire life was changing. It was not an unhappy feeling, but quite the opposite. That was when Coquina realized, with faultless certainty, that Impa would never harm the baby princess.
Talmar nudged her with his elbow. "Who is that up there, holding the baby?"
"That's her new caretaker, Lady Impa," Coquina replied, eyes still locked on the Sheikah.
"The Lady Impa?" Talmar echoed. "The Sheikah who opened Kakariko Village to the rest of Hyrule?"
"What?" Coquina faced him in astonishment. "Kakariko Village is open!?"
Talmar nodded confirmedly. "Yes, only two weeks now, but the news spread across Hyrule faster than a Gerudo thief. I heard from Sir Cerrello, while we were in Tyrandora, that one of the Sheikah women, named Impa, had finally convinced the rest that they could afford to open their village to the public. I believe it's to convince the Silver Legacy that the Sheikah are as good as their words."
Coquina needed no more persuasion of the true decency that the Sheikah had always possessed. Moreover, to Coquina, that held Impa as the most noble of all.
"Lady Impa?" Rauru tapped the Sheikah's shoulder. Impa started, looked away from the princess and back to the priest. "Would you please give the child to Princess Liana?"
Impa flushed as she handed Liana the bundle of blankets. She walked back to Garret and collected her staff once more. Then, for absolutely no reason other than she felt Impa deserved it, Coquina burst into cheer. Garret stared at his wife in disbelief; what had gotten into her? Impa too turned her head, as did many of the others, to see what all the commotion was over.
Talmar gave Coquina a confused looked, but applauded with her. Sporadically, others joined until the entire assembly was screaming ovation though only one person knew why.
"What's going on down there?" Impa whispered to Garret, which was actually more of a shout.
Garret shrugged. "I have no idea, but I think Coquina has gone mad. She isn't the kind of person to do this sort of thing."
"Coquina?"
"My wife." Garret pointed to Coquina, who was at the back of the crowd. "The woman in the amber dress with the green bundle in her arms."
"Did she just have a baby?" Impa asked, shifting her staff from one hand to the other.
"Two months ago," Garret answered proudly. "He's a healthy boy. Would you like to see him after the ceremony?"
"That would be nice, yes," she responded as Prince James raised his arms to get the people's attention.
"Please everyone!" he yelled. "The ceremony is not over yet!"
The people quickly became docile once more. Coquina was last silenced as she shouted a final time and, with a smile, closed her mouth. Rauru nodded his thanks to the prince and motioned Liana back to him.
"And now, as the ceremonies draw to a close, only one thing remains: the final divine blessing of the princess." The priest dipped his hands in the holy water once more and, this time, placed them on the child's temples. "By the power of the Golden Goddesses of Creation, the Sacred Realm of legends past, and the great Triforce of Hyrule, I bless thee, Zelda Gwaelin, Princess of Hyrule, with the graces and sanctity of your patrons Din, Farore, and Nayru."
Another round of applause drowned out whatever else he said. Coquina covered Link's delicate ears with her hands as she screamed her consent with the rest.
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It was a good while later when Rauru, the priest, walked from the grounds quietly. He would have to miss the christening celebration, but a council of the Sages had been called in the Temple of Light, situated within the heart of the Sacred Realm.
Rauru made his way briskly through the deserted streets of the town of Hyrule. It appeared the entire town had turned out for the christening of Princess Zelda. All for the better, he thought to himself as he pushed open one of the doors to the Temple of Time. No chance of someone wandering in to see me open the gate to the Sacred Realm.
The Temple of Time was the Hylian sanctuary and place of worship where, from all reaches of Hyrule, people came to pay homage to the golden goddesses. It was a vast building of stone and mortar that had been built centuries ago as the center of Hylian religion. However, there was more to the temple than most knew; it also contained the entrance to the Golden World, the Sacred Realm.
Rauru walked to the front of the temple and placed his right hand on the altar, whispering a few words in an ancient tongue. The wall behind the altar trembled and slowly split down the center, revealing a cylindrical hidden room. Rauru entered it quickly as the secret door slid closed behind him. He raised his arms above his head and an orb of light appeared between his hands. In a flash of light, the priest was gone.
"Welcome, Sage of Light," said a cool voice. "The others have already gathered."
Rauru opened his eyes to find himself in the Chamber of the Sages, within the Temple of Light. The other five Sages nodded to him in greeting.
The one who had spoken, the Zoran Sage of Water, folded his arms impatiently. "What has happened that you must call us here? Some of us don't have much longer until mortality forbids us to be seen in the world of the living. We will have to spend another century in this Din-forsaken realm before we can go out into Hyrule again, and you waste our time calling us back?"
"The new seventh Sage has been born," Rauru answered bluntly.
The Water Sage held up his arms in exasperation. "I think we all sensed that."
"Not another Kokiri like last time, I hope," grumbled the Sage of Fire.
Rauru shook his head. "Hylian."
The other Sages groaned. "We've had more Hylian seventh Sages than all other races put together," protested the Shadow Sage glumly.
"Oh, that's an exaggeration," Rauru countered. "Each race has had an equal amount."
"Speak for yourself," the Sage of Spirit said as she pulled a strand of red hair into a braid. "The last time there was a Gerudo eventh Sage was Seclorya, eighteen generations ago. And she never knew it."
"Is our Sage a commoner?" the Fire Sage offered. "Or perhaps he's a wealthy merchant like the last Hylian."
"She is the Princess of Hyrule," Rauru corrected.
"Princess, huh?" The Sage of Forest exchanged glances with his fairy. "Well, she'll have a lot on her plate if another racial war comes up."
The Spirit Sage laughed in agreement. "Yeah, she'll have to draw up battle plans to fight a war, and help us to stop it."
"It's not a matter of if," Rauru interjected. "but when war begins again."
"Are you still referring to that pathetic prophecy?" asked the Water Sage antagonistically. "Purhpciy fu hith Papuulcespi said nothing about a racial war."
"Yes, it did. You just don't pay attention to prophecies," the Forest Sage put in.
"Prophecies never come true," the Sage of Water protested. "And that Havieze woman is a fraud."
"She's an exclusion to the laws of Hyrule," the Sage of Fire corrected. "I promise you; the Goddesses have chosen her to foretell Their events."
"Why do you think she has lived so long?" added the Spirit Sage.
"She hasn't lived that long," the Sage of Water flicked his fins in frustration. Arguing with the other Sages was always a losing battle.
"You may be a bit behind, but three thousand years is a little longer than the average Hylian life span." The Sage of Forest pointed out. "She's one of the ancient Hylia, but even they didn't live more than two hundred years."
"She's a Hylia?" repeated the Water Sage.
"The last Hylia," the Sage of Spirit corrected. "The Goddesses enhanced her powers and gave Havieze eternal life, like us."
"But—"
"Just drop it!" yelled the Sage of Shadow in exasperation. "We don't really need to discuss the blind prophetess right now. Let Rauru speak."
Rauru nodded his thanks to the Shadow Sage. "Back to the subject, there will be another racial war; it is inevitable. The new Dragmire of the Gerudo, Ganondorf, will lead the race against the Hylians, in ten years or so."
"Goddesses!" exclaimed the Forest Sage. "So soon?"
"So our new Sage will be involved," laughed the Sage of Spirit. "Since Rauru and I will be at each other's throats."
"You're partially right," Rauru told her. "She will be involved, but she will not lead us to end the war."
The Sages looked at each other in confusion. "Why not?" the Fire Sage finally asked.
"Well—"
"Wait a moment," the Water Sage interrupted. "Has the princess seen the vision?" Rauru shook his head. "Then your story will have to wait; we must send it to her now."
Back on the practice grounds, Princess Zelda Gwaelin suddenly began to squirm in her mother's arms. No one seemed to notice the baby princess's anxiety, which was not from the excitement around her, but the pink haze that clouded her sight. Several minutes past before, through the fog, she saw an old face. Then, five more appeared next to him.
Each said something in turn before disappearing in a flash of colored light; green, red, blue, violet, orange, and finally yellow. Suddenly, the six faces appeared again simultaneously. They said something in unison and a pink light shone behind them brighter than any of those preceding it. The flash blinded her but, a moment later, she could again see the practice grounds. Six immortal Sages smiled in the Sacred Realm as the new seventh Sage sagged into her mother's arms.
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When the last cheers were silent and the crowd began to disperse, Coquina made her way to the hill on which Garret awaited her. She waved to him and he rushed to her, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her. He set her down and looked serenely at his son, who gazed up at his father and smiled.
"The ceremony was beautiful," Coquina said, "but you should have told me it was today."
Garret looked away sheepishly. "We had a lot of preparations to make and I really didn't want to wake you and Link so early."
Coquina glared at her husband. "That's not a very good excuse."
Talmar laughed and clapped his brother on the back. "Nice try, Garret." Garret shot him a look.
"So how was the front?" Garret asked. "See anything?"
Talmar shook his head. "Not a goddess-forsaken thing. That was the longest three months I've ever been through. And I certainly can't see why we have to be out there in the first place."
"Nor I," Garret assured him.
"Shall we go?" Coquina asked.
"Not yet," answered Garret. "First there's someone who wants to meet you."
He took her hand and led her back to the hill. Around her, people were chattering about how oddly the ceremony had proceeded and what the baby princess was in store for. Garret passed them by until he reached a woman with her back to them, cobalt cloak flapping in the slight breeze. Garret reached out to tap her shoulder, but the woman turned around, having sensed their presence.
"Hello again, Sir Garret," Impa smiled at him. "This is your wife, I take it?"
Garret nodded and turned to Coquina. "Coquina; this is Lady Impa, the princess's caretaker; Impa, this is my wife, Lady Coquina."
Impa bowed. "A pleasure to meet you, my lady."
Coquina flushed. "Please, call me Coquina."
Impa smiled at her. "Very well. What did—" Impa's words were cut off as Liana swiftly walked up to the Sheikah and handed her the baby princess.
"I'm sorry to drop her on you like this, but I'm still feeling a bit sick," Liana apologized.
Impa shook her head. "It's nothing, your highness. I was hoping you'd give her to me soon."
Liana gave her a look. "Really?"
"Yes," Impa replied. "I took this job because I've always wanted a child of my own."
"And you can't have one?" Liana asked curiously. Garret whispered something in her ear as Impa shot her a look. Instantly, Liana began to back away. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't have asked. Have a nice evening."
Impa shrugged. "I hope she didn't take that the wrong way."
Coquina laughed, wondering how she could have ever thought this Sheikah was so horrible.
"There's going to be a banquet tonight," Impa said as she walked over to the trees lining the practice grounds. She sat down underneath one and motioned Coquina to join her. Coquina smiled and obliged. "Are you and your husband planning to attend?"
"I'm not sure . . ." Coquina turned to Garret. "Garret! Will you come over here?"
Garret cantered over to the two women and knelt beside Coquina. "What is it, my love?"
"The Royal Family is having a banquet tonight in honor of Princess Zelda," she told him. "Will you be going?"
"Yes," Garret smiled. "Didn't you know?"
Coquina gave him an angry look. "How could I when you never tell me anything?" she said pointedly.
Garret groaned. "Coquina, I'm really sorry about that. Can we please drop it?"
"If you let me come to the banquet with you."
"Certainly." Garret stood up and walked back to Talmar, muttering under his breath, "I'd been planning to anyway."
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