Chapter Six: Beside You In Time

Stumbling backwards, she fell against the iron gates; the cold metal bars sending shivers down her spine. Through the shadows of the night she could only just see the shock on his face as he regained his footing. As if needing a few seconds to adjust to what had just happened, he just stood there, dumbfounded. He looked up in her direction; his eyes scanning the darkness for someone he could not see. Holding her breath, she silently crouched down into further darkness, watching as the man blindly made his way towards the gates. Walking slowly, he held his hands closely in front of him instinctively. His movements were edgy and uncertain. She watched as he desperately tried to see through the obscurity of the night. Her heart began to quicken as he naively made his way towards her. She wanted to crawl backwards, but he had her cornered between the iron gates and a stone wall; the only direction she could move was straight into his possession. He stopped a foot-step away from her. After a moment he began to turn away; Zelda lent her head back against the stone and silently let out a breath of relief. Stopping mid-step, the man turned back around, crouching in front of her before she even had time to gasp.

"No!", she screamed, "stay away from me!" She tried to push him away from her but he grabbed her wrists, restraining her violent movements. No matter how hard she tried to fight him off, she knew she could not win; he was so much stronger than her.

"Shhhhhhhhhh… don't fight me, I am not going to hurt you", he spoke to her with a calmness; trying to subdue her. "It's ok." Feeling her arms finally go limp, he loosened his grip on her wrists.

"Please, let go of me", Zelda whispered, her voice full of fear as she looked into the darkened face of her captor. His voice remained gentle as he replied.

"Only if you promise you will not attack me if I do." Zelda let out a shaky breath, considering her options. After a short pause, she agreed to him and he released her. She hugged her wrists against her chest protectively, just in case he decided to hold her down again.

Brushing the hair from her eyes, he tried to make out the intruder's darkened face.

"What are you doing out here in the middle of the night?"

Zelda didn't answer him; instead, she turned her face away from his.

"Please", he began, trying to comfort her- "at least tell me your name" She raised her face to his in disbelief.

"You- you don't know who I am", her voice giving away every ounce of shock she felt.

"No… I'm sorry. I can barely see you, let alone recognise you.

With his help, Zelda slowly rose to her feet. Her body ached. Clutching the bars of the gate as she walked, she removed herself from the shadows the wall cast on her (Link following close behind her) and into the subtle glow the moon shone through the bars.

Link's heart froze as he watched the mysterious women slowly clarify, revealing her true form to him as Hyrule's princess. Immobilised by her emerald eyes, he felt himself sinking under the thoughts that were flooding through his mind.

What had he done?

He stood there in revelation; he didn't know how long it was before he tore his eyes from her, but when he did, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Her soft voice roused him from his thoughts.

"Please", she asked, not once looking him in the eyes, "Are you able to open these gates. The night; it is so dark; I- I didn't- In my haste, I lost my way and now- Please… is there any way you can open these", she hesitated, motioning to the locked gates.

Link felt horrible. He tried to apologise, but his body was in shock. Somehow, he eventually managed to take back control of himself, shaking off that feeling he knew he had to ignore. He unlatched a ring of keys from the hip of his belt. Trying his best to distinguish between each seemingly identical key, in what little light he had; he couldn't help but steal a glance at the princess.

As Zelda watched the man unhook a long, grey key from the ring he was holding, a sudden thought hit her. In everything that had happened, she had completely forgotten the gates had been locked from the other side. She opened her mouth to inform him, but the words caught in her throat when she saw what he was doing.

He held his palm upturned next to the bars. The key which was once lying lifeless across his hand was now being raised into the air as if suspended by invisible strings; its colour taking on a crimson glow as if being heated in a fire. She watched in awe as the key was moved through the bars. An instant later there was a click, and the blond guard pushed the gate open.

"H- You've been taught the arts", she stated in astonishment as she watched him retrieve the key without even touching it. She could not believe what she had seen. There were only a few people her age she knew who could actually induce such charms, let alone control them, and they were all of the royal families her father was allianced to. What he did was simple, but even simple charms required concentration. He didn't even have to look at it when he did it; his mind could have been anywhere else.

As he replaced the key on the ring, he looked off into the distant sky which supported the white moon.

"I try not to use it", he replied distractedly. "Such magic is forbidden to commoners like me." He pushed the gate open a little wider, as if indicating to her to return to the castle beyond it. Before she left she turned to thank him, but seeing that he had turned his back to her, now leaning against the gate, she decided to just leave.

The warm morning air felt nice against her skin. She stood in a small castle courtyard, covered in beautiful red flowers. Shallow pools of water lined this particular wall of the castle, reflecting the sun's rays. She slowly walked a stone path and up a few steps onto a low stone platform. Her white dress fluttered gently from the breeze, but the scarf around her hair stayed fixed neatly in position. She approached the glass window in front of her and peered through. She saw he father sitting down inside the castle talking to a kneeled local. She gave her father a smile, but he didn't see her. She sighed. He always had enough time for everybody other than his own daughter. She stood there for what seemed like hours looking through the window. Even though she watched her father, her mind was somewhere else, but that was ok. The sound of footsteps came from behind her. As she turned to see who was there, she suddenly felt her head go light and everything seemed to slow down as her surroundings faded out of focus.

She awoke in a sweat. Her sheets were tangled tightly around her body. She had been tossing and turning in her sleep, yet her mind remained relatively calm. Calm but confused. This was the third night in a row she had experienced that same obscure dream. It had played out the same every single time; every detail exactly the same. By now it seemed more real than just a dream. But it bothered her, not knowing why this scene played over in her mind, or even what it meant.

This was nothing new to her. When she was younger she use to have haunting dreams; dreams she couldn't shut out. They never made any sense to her. Specialists from all over the land were summoned; each of which diagnosed her with different complex conditions. Her father believed her nightmares were a result of her mother's death when she was only young. She knew they weren't, but eventually found herself agreeing; having people tell you how you feel and how you think will in time start to affect your mind, and you begin to believe what they say. Then, one day, the dreams just stopped. She had grown strong enough to block them out, she thought, and she never was troubled by them again. Until now.

She untangled herself from her silk bounding and sat on the edge of her bed; holding her head in her hands, she tried to ignore the aftermath of thoughts still running through her mind. The sun was beginning to set in through her window, which told her it was well into the morning.

There was a knock at her door.

When she opened the door, she was happy to see the welcoming smile so characteristic of Impa, who, after her usual good-morning banter, was eventually brought to her point. Her father wanted to see her straight away. That was all that Impa was told.

She quickly got dressed in a simple but elegant jade corset dress, which laced up the front, and tied her hair back in a silk ribbon of similar colour. With fair skin like porcelain, she was said to have a natural beauty unlike anything seen before; she was often compared to the goddesses themselves, but shrugged these complements off as flattery, nothing more. Even though women from all over the land would have killed to have been born with such good genes and very openly communicated this to her, Zelda still hated such obsequiousness. Modestly, she did not see truth in their words; believing instead they were just sucking up to her. She could see through their falsities and manipulations.

The king rose from his chair and began to slowly walk the perimeter of the large table as he continued to talk to the guard on the opposite side of the room. Once he finished his speech, he stopped and waited for a response. The guard lent against the wall; arms crossed in front of him and stared at the ground. After a moment he opened his mouth to reply.

"That was not part of our deal", he answered dejectedly.

"Deal?!" the king repeated in mock confusion, "What deal? A deal implies you actually had a say in the matter. What I offered, he elaborated, stressing the last word, was a chance to redeem yourself. You should be down on your hands and knees thanking me for saving your pitiful life", he said with a tone of disgust. Remember, I could have left you in your cell to die, just like the rest of those who shouldn't deserve a second chance; but I, I am a nice person", he said, giving the guard a sarcastic grin. "And if I remember correctly, which I do; you agreed to my command in return for your life.

The guard unfolded his arms in frustration and gave the king an icy glare, "I don't baby-sit, your highness", he said, scorning his title.

"Well, the king began, with a hint of resolution in his voice, "with that settled; there is another bone I have to pick with you", he said, pulling out another chair and sitting back down.

"I sent for you at least an hour ago. Why is it that only now you arrive? I do not appreciate your belatedness", he continued without pause, "When I tell you to come here, you come!"

"With all do respect, Sire, I was still busy completing the last assignment you set for me", he replied, remaining composed, "and besides, it takes at least twenty minutes to get all the way over here from my quarters".

The king paused for a moment deep in thought. With a sigh he raised his eyes back to the guard who had begun to fiddle with a small ornament he had picked up.

"Fine. From now on you will reside in the castle. Maybe at least this way I can keep an eye on you. Problem settled?" this was more of a statement than a question.

He shook his head. "There is one more thing. If you return to me my tunic and weapons, maybe then I might consider it", he said stubbornly.

"And why might I do that?"

"You and I both know you don't want me to leave; no offence, but without me, your guards are royally screwed" he said, as if breaking the news to him for the first time.

"Oh, but your not going anywhere."

"Really", he asked meaningfully. The king narrowed his eyes. "No one, not your guards, not even your army can stop me from leaving".

"Is that so", the king replied, amused, "Then why haven't you left?"

The guard gave him a stubborn shrug and a childish smile.

Before the King could respond, he was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening. He regained his composure when he saw his daughter appear. She began to walk over to her father who was seated at the far side of the expansive hall; the whole time oblivious to the young guard who had been standing out of her direct line of sight. She stopped in front of her father.

"Impa saw me this morning; she said you wanted to see me", she said in a friendly tone.

"Ah... yes. I have organised for you to travel to Kakariko this morning. If you are lucky, you should arrive there before noon." Zelda narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"But, why?"

"There is an old woman who works in that village, who I have been told, is a very gifted dressmaker. I have arranged for you to meet her today to design something nice for your coming of age ceremony. Now, I have already gone over a few requirements with her, so if you can work out something you might like, she said it would be ready by the time it is needed."

"Oh!" she said rather shocked, "This is the first I have heard about this"

"Don't be silly", her father said, shaking his hand, "I mentioned this to you one night last week." Zelda nodded her head in acceptance even though she knew the news had not been mentioned.

"Well then… when am I leaving?"

"As soon as you're ready."

Oh! Right now? But, father; the carriage has not been fixed and you never let me go by horseback... and only just a few minutes ago I saw Impa; she said she knew nothing of your matter."

"Impa has been summoned to Castle town on urgent business; she will not be accompanying you today." Zelda's smile rose at the thought that her father was going to finally let her travel alone. But her hopes were dashed just as quickly as they were raised when the King next opened his mouth.

"But do not be mistaken. I have arranged for someone else to escort you there." Zelda narrowed her eyes in puzzlement, before she asked who. Her father nodded to a place over her shoulder. Zelda turned around, preparing herself for the worst… but definitely not for what was. The King's words rung in her ears-

"Oh- just a guard"

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