A/N: This chapter took longer than it was supposed to. The first part was easy enough to write... At first. And then I really looked it over, and realized how many problems there were. There's still quite a few... but maybe it's not as bad as I think it is. Usually the authors criticize their own work too harshly. Usually. Okay, sometimes.
Whatever. This chapter kind of returns to what it originally was – Link and Zelda arguing, and the Goddesses arguing. Lots of arguing. Hope you like it! ;)
Shards of Time
by TwilightWakerofTime
Chapter 7
"You're a complete and utter idiot, did you know that?"
Link looked back at the princess in shock, the abrupt break in the silence that had shrouded them since leaving Kakariko a bit disconcerting. It took a second for him to process the words, but when he did he felt the anger rising up in him.
"I'm an idiot?" he demanded, clenching his fists in exasperation even as he continued walking. "Me? Look, Princess, I don't know what happened tonight, but at least I didn't drive us out of town."
"So you would have preferred if I'd just stood there and watched her kill you?"
"She's the Cucco Lady, for Farore's sake!" he shouted. "She wasn't going to kill me! This was probably some stupid misunderstanding, and now we're as good as banished from Kakariko. Way to go, Princess."
"You're the one who accepted her offer."
"Because you told me to!"
"I didn't fully understand the situation. You did. If you weren't so stupid that you had to let me solve everything for you, then this wouldn't have happened."
"Then next time, I won't ask for your help. Apparently when I ask for help, innocent townspeople get attacked."
"Fine," she hissed, looking down to glare at the grass as she walked. "Next time I'll just watch you die. Nope, no more help from me."
"Thank Din," he mumbled. Zelda scowled, but said nothing.
Silence one more took over the air, their footsteps on the soft grass just barely audible over the sounds of night. They were traveling across the infamous Hyrule Field, rumored to be infiltrated with evil creatures and untold dangers after dark. Yet here they were, perfectly fine. Both of the Bearers had known that the field held monsters and threats – particularly for two seemingly defenseless children – but they'd braved it anyway. And, to their surprise, they hadn't had too many problems. The Stalchildren that had once populated the field at night had slowly migrated into other areas during Ganondorf's seven years' reign, and now the only creatures left were natural beasts and Poes. A few of the cursed Poes had approached them when they'd first left the village, but they'd quickly been disposed of with the Kokiri Sword.
After that, they'd stayed back, though Link could still sense them lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike. Well, he wouldn't give them such an opportunity. He led the way with his sword unsheathed and gripped tightly in his hand, keeping alert at all times.
The sun was finally starting to rise in the distance, the sky gradually brightening to the orange of dawn. Link realized that they'd pretty much been awake the whole night; he estimated that they'd only gotten one or two hours of sleep at the Cucco Lady's house. Suddenly he felt exhausted.
And, of course, that was when Zelda had to speak up.
"I have a question," she announced from behind him, her habitually imperious tone forcing Link to grit his teeth and mask his irritation. "Why, exactly, must you argue with everything I say?"
Link was tempted to deny that, just to annoy her, but unfortunately that would only confirm her accusation. So instead he stated, "It's not like you're Little Miss I-get-along-with-everyone, are you?"
"Yeah, but it seems like everything I say or do irks you in one way or another."
"That's because it does, Princess."
"Why is that?"
He groaned in frustration, halting abruptly to turn around and face her. "Okay, is this just because I disagreed with you earlier? You said I was stupid. Was I supposed to accept that? Gods, you were just begging for an argument there!"
"But besides that!" Zelda insisted. "What did I ever do to you?"
"You mean besides repeatedly insult me and drag me into this whole Kakariko mess?" he asked dryly.
"Yes."
He paused and examined her face, tilting his head thoughtfully. He was surprised by her expression. She looked completed honest, with no hint of hostility. Just curiosity.
Then he considered the question. There had been a time when he'd set out to gather stones and faced unspeakable evil simply because she'd ask him to. And at that point, he's only just met her. Her question was a good one. What had she done to him, aside from start these silly arguments that she seemed to love so much?
"Um... not much," he admitted. But then he turned away, frustrated that he'd said that aloud. "Except... this is still your fault. Because you dropped the ocarina."
"Well, then, I'm sorry. Can you forgive me now?"
Shocked, he looked back at her. "What?"
"I'm sorry. That's what I said. I apologize for whatever I've done to you. I just... I really hate fighting all the time. It sounds like we're going to be traveling together for a while, and I can't be quarreling with you all the way. We'll need each other to get through this."
"So... what you're saying is..."
"Just promise that you'll be cooperative for a bit, okay? I'll try my best, too. Let's have a truce."
Speechless, Link stared at the princess, her gaze imploring him to accept. He was still furious with her, and that feeling likely wouldn't disappear any time soon. But it would be nice if they could get along, if only for a short while...
"Alright," he said at last. Zelda's face lit up. "I'll forgive you. For the ocarina thing. But–" Zelda frowned a bit. "–this doesn't mean I'm not still angry. Nor does it mean that we are friends, or that this 'truce' will last. Okay?"
"Ah... okay." She sounded slightly disappointed, but she brightened up again quickly. "Now that that's out of the way, I have something to show you."
She pulled out a painted blue object, small enough to be concealed in the palm of her hand. Upon closer examination, Link noted that it had jagged edges, as though it had been broken off of something.
Pondering over where he'd seen the object, he remembered that it had been left behind after their fight with Armogohma. He vaguely recalled the princess trying to show him, but he'd been too busy avoiding the attention of the shocked Kakarikans.
"What is that?" he inquired.
"It's a shard," Zelda explained, turning it over in her hands. Link's eyes widened at the glowing symbol of Shadow displayed there. "I'm not sure what it's a shard of, though I do have a theory..."
"And what, exactly, might that theory be?"
"Well..." She took in a deep breath. "I... um... I had a dream last night."
They we're both quiet for a moment, the sounds of sunrise in Hyrule field and the awakening of various animals the only accompaniment to their breathing. Finally, Link said, "So...?"
She let out a noise of frustration, huffing, "Goddesses, Link, use your brain, if you even have one. We're Triforce Bearers. Our dreams tend to be prophetic every once and a while. If I thought it was worth telling you, don't you think that maybe, just maybe, it's important?"
Link felt his fury rising, and a retort formed in his mind, but he stopped himself just in time. No arguing, he told himself. I promised that I wouldn't."Alright then, Princess, let's hear about your dream."
"Okay... let's see. I was in the Temple of Time, and Din was there."
"Din?" Link repeated. "The Goddess of Power?"
"Yes, I'm not aware of any other 'Din's. May I continue?"
Gritting his teeth, Link nodded.
"Anyway, Din revealed that we – meaning you and me – have to go... and collect 'shards'. I think she said there were seven of them, all over Hyrule." Zelda frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember what else the Goddess of Power had dictated. "And... I'm kind of worried about this. Din mentioned a 'plan'. Apparently she didn't want to reveal any of the stuff she told me, but she had to because of some kind of rule. And I think she's mad at us. Because of Ganondorf. I don't know how we can escape the Goddess of Power's wrath..."
Link allowed her to remain in pensive silence, before finally, his impatience getting the better of him, he asked, "What does this have to do with your theory?"
"Oh! Well, she said there were seven of them, right? And, if we assume this thing here is one of these infamous shards, and it has the Shadow symbol on it, and we found it in Kakariko, the hometown of the Sheikah, the Shadow people... I'm guessing we'll find one shard in each of the seven elements of Hyrule. This is kind of a wild guess, but it seems probable."
Link stared at her. "That's... that actually makes sense."
"Of course it does," Zelda said haughtily.
"And these seven elements... they're the elements of the Sages, right? Light, Forest, Fire, Water, Shadow, Spirit, and... and..."
"Time," she answered. "The seventh element is of Time."
"Why am I not surprised?" Link muttered. "There's the Hero of Time, Temple of Time, Ocarina of Time, Song of Time, Door of Time, Pedestal of Time..."
"You forgot Sword of Time. That's what the Master Sword is called in ancient texts."
"See? With all of that, it's only fair that there's a Sage of Time, too." He paused. "But... wait. Where would we find the element of Time? We're supposed to find a shard there, right?"
"Oh. Good question." She frowned. "Hmm... I guess Time would be in Castle Town, right? That's where its temple is."
"Then what about Light? Where's that?"
"I don't know everything, Link! We'll just have to figure it out when we get there."
"Fine," he grumbled. "Then where to first? We might as well get started right away."
"Well, Din said we have to..." She froze abruptly, an expression of horror on her face.
"...Um, Princess? What's wrong?" Link asked after a few seconds, worry beginning to seep into his voice. "Are you okay...?"
"Oh, no..." Zelda breathed. She grimaced. "Uh, Link, you're not going to like this... but we have to return to Kakariko."
"Wh... What?" he said, confused at first. Then his confusion turned into dismay. "No! We justleft the village! And they hate us there now; they'll be looking for us. And we're not exactly the most inconspicuous pair. We can't go back, Princess! You have to be joking!"
"But Din said–"
"I don't care what Din said! We can't go back there!"
A rumble of thunder tore through the sky at that moment, making both companions jump. Storm clouds were rapidly gathering and churning up in the sky, blocking out the sun – but strangely only over the spot where they stood. The darkness carried a sense of foreboding and apprehension. They both knew exactly what this meant: Do as I say. Or else.
"On second thought..." Link said slowly. "I... I think going to Kakariko is a great idea."
"Yeah, me too," Zelda agreed uneasily. The storm clouds began to dissipate, and she regained her composure. "It's not too bad, though. It wasn't Kakariko she wants us to go to... it was Death Mountain. We just have to go through the village."
"Well..."
Zelda looked at him suspiciously. "Well what?"
"Actually, there is another way..."
"There is?" she gasped. "Where?"
"...In the Lost Woods."
"Then let's go!"
"No, Princess. We can't."
"Why not?"
He took in a deep breath. "Because... I just... we really shouldn't. Um..." A thought occurred to him. "Because... Hylians get lost in the woods! And we'll both turn into Stalfos. Yep."
"But..." She looked at his green tunic. "Didn't you grow up in the forest?"
He groaned. "Alright, fine. I don't want to go there because I'd be recognized, okay? No one knew who I was as an adult. If I go back, they'll think I'm a Kokiri. And... I'm not."
"So you'd rather go into a town full of people who want to kill us than face your childhood friends."
"Yes."
She huffed in frustration. "See, this is why I said you're an idiot."
"Hey!" he protested. "I thought we were being nice to each other!"
"Yes, we are... but seriously... this doesn't make any sense."
"Too bad. I'm not going to the forest."
"Even if I start to cry?"
"Especially if you start to cry."
She frowned. It had always worked on the people at the castle. Looking back toward the village they'd just left, she decided that they hadn't gotten too far away. Actually, it was closer than the forest...
"Fine," she sighed in defeat. "Kakariko it is."
Link cheered up almost instantly. "Great. Follow me, Princess. It's almost daylight, but there might still be some monsters hanging around, hoping we let our guard down. Like those Big Poes. They're immune to the sunlight... but usually they only attack mounted travelers, so we're probably good."
Zelda nodded, and took a step forward to follow him... and then stopped, a thought occurring to her.
Link noticed her hesitation. "What's the matter? You're not having second thoughts about going to Kakariko, are you?" His expression turned pleading. "I really, really don't want to go there. Please don't."
"N-No, it's not that..." She shook her head. "I just... I never told you what I thought the shards were."
"Okay then." He folded his arms across his chest. "What do you think they are?"
"I think..." She paused for another moment. "I think that... they're the shards of the broken Ocarina of Time."
Link stared at her serious face momentarily, and then shrugged. "So?"
She felt her face heat up with anger. "'So?' What do you mean 'so'?"
"So it's part of the Ocarina of Time," he said offhandedly. "I don't see how that changes anything. I guess we'll just have to gather the pieces and then somehow put this thing back together again, right?"
"I guess," Zelda reluctantly agreed. "But–"
"But what?"
"But... I thought you'd be a bit more surprised by this revelation."
He waved his hand dismissively. "I thought it was pretty obvious. You know... the whole blue-painted clay object... obviously some kind of magic item..." He gave her a small grin. "Maybe you're not as smart as you think you are, Bearer of Wisdom."
Without looking back, Link began heading toward Kakariko, leaving Zelda to seethe silently behind him. She only had one thought in mind as she grudgingly followed him.
That truce is so off...
xXx
Din rubbed her hands together gleefully, a grin on her face as she looked down at the two Bearers. She was quite proud of that storm she'd brewed up, and even more pleased with the reaction it had elicited from them. Sure, those fools that she'd awoken had thrown a wrench into her plan by attacking the princess, but at least everything had worked out in the end. Yep, nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing... at... all...
"DIN!"
Din spun around, not having realized that her two sisters were standing there for the first time in a while. She'd been too busy reveling in her own genius to sense their approach. And, much to her dismay, they looked outraged.
"What, pray tell, is this no doubt absolutely execrable 'plan' of yours?" demanded Nayru.
Din could only stare at her sister. "Exe-what?"
"It means bad, or horrible," Farore explained bluntly. "She told me earlier. Now answer the question."
Quickly regaining her composure, Din feigned ignorance. "Plan? What are you talking about?"
"Do not try to fool the Goddess of Wisdom," Nayru hissed. "Your artifice is rather impressive, I must admit, but I can detect your duplicity with ease."
"Um... I think she said that there's something you're not telling us," Farore supplied. "We overheard Link and Zelda talking, and she said that you told her about some kind of secret plan. Now talk. Or else."
Knowing how serious Farore's threats could be, Din quickly spoke up. "You must be mistaken," Din responded innocently. "I said no such thing. They were wrong."
"My Bearer would not resort to deceit! How dare you even suggest such a thing!"
"I didn't mean that," Din corrected herself. "She probably just misunderstood." Nayru's eyes narrowed in suspicion, so she hastily added, "Um... she was probably just referring to... you know... this whole thing. The quest. I might have called it a plan at some point."
"The way she described it made it sound as though it was just you... not including us."
"Well, that's because it was just me talking to her, of course!" Din laughed, though it sounded a bit too nervous for her liking. "Next time you should visit them yourself if you want the credit."
"Listen, if you don't tell us right now," Farore growled, "I swear I'm going to–"
"It was nothing, okay? Nothing!" she shouted. "You'd think I was, like, plotting my evil revenge upon them. Haha... no... why would I ever do that?"
Nayru opened her mouth to speak, but Farore got there first, taking a step forward as she yelled, "You filthy liar! Are you planning on doing anything to Link? Because–"
"Noooo, I'm not. Not at all." Din's previously triumphant mood had been officially ruined by her sisters' accusations, and now she was scowling. Unfortunately, she really needed to regain their trust if her plan was to work out. But how...? She decided that she might have to modify her schedule a bit. Sure, it would be inconvenient, but in the end everything would work out the same.
"Look," she said, trying to sound apologetic, "if you're really that worried about it, then they won't go to Death Mountain. I'll put the Fire shard somewhere else."
"And how do you plan on doing that?" Farore challenged.
"What do you mean? On not having them go to Death Mountain? Hmm... the thunderstorm worked nicely earlier. I'll just use it again to scare them out of going there."
Farore scoffed. "That wouldn't scare Link. He has the Triforce of Courage. Duh."
"Hah. You must be imagining things, Farore. Everyone knows that Courage is nothing without Power. It's completely useless."
Faster than the speed of light (quite literally) Din found herself lying flat on her back, staring up at the cold steel of Farore's signature Sword of Courage and the enraged face of her sister. "How DARE you insult my Courage!" she snarled, pressing the blade into Din's flawless skin. Of course, thanks to the whole immortality thing, she didn't feel it at all, but it certainly evoked her anger. Din, summoning her strength, kicked upward, effortlessly sending the Goddess of Courage flying backwards, landing far away on her back.
Din laughed mirthlessly. "And that, my dear sister, is why Power is better."
Growling viciously, Farore was on her feet in an instant and charging toward her sister, sword raised and prepared to strike. She ducked under a punch, swinging around behind the other goddess with her sword, only to have it blocked by the Din's other hand. Din wrestled the sword from her grasp, but Farore only needed to snap her fingers to have another identical one appear in her hand.
The two connected, their matching swords locking in a deadly clash, both glowering at each other. "Take it back," Farore hissed in a menacing voice that would have struck terror into even the most confident of mortals. "Admit it. Courage defeated your Bearer, didn't it? You're jealous."
"I am not!" Din insisted furiously, knowing that it was a total lie. "And now I will prove it to you! Power is always better than Courage, in any situation. Your Hero just got lucky."
"We'll see about that." Farore pressed harder, but Din simply rolled her eyes and used her superior strength to easily shove Farore to the ground. Grinning in satisfaction, she quickly aimed the sword downward in what she was sure would be a fatal strike (if Farore could have died), only to find that her sister was no longer there. Shocked, she glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of a sword swinging down on her before she dived out of the way.
The battle continued on, and Nayru, always having been the most sophisticated and mellow of the trio, simply sighed and shook her head. It seemed as though both of her sisters had forgotten what the argument had been about in the first place, but she certainly hadn't.
She couldn't help but worry about this "plan" of Din's. For some reason, the Goddess of Wisdom highly doubted it was for the benefit of Hyrule, or that any real good would come out of it for anyone but Din. She just hoped it would not create absolute disaster... she didn't want to be cleaning up her sister's mess for the next few centuries.
...Oh, and she'd hate for the Triforce Bearers to die. That too.
A/N: There you go. Another chapter, FINALLY complete. XD I didn't get very many reviews last chapter... I mean, I guess it WAS six of them, but that's because three are from this really awesome person known as MuffinKiller499. Thanks, by the way. It's awesome that you watched my videos! I'm so glad you liked them and the story! You need to get an account though, haha, so I can respond to you easier. ;)
Oh... And after writing this, I kind of noticed that the Prelude of LIGHT leads to the Temple of Time, but I said that the element of Time was in Castle Town. That discredited some of what I said earlier in the chapter... So just ignore that strange dysfunction, 'kay? Thanks. :P
Also, if you've played through Skyward Sword, please check out my new fic, Awakening! It's really good – at least, I like it more than this story. Sorry SoT.
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