Well, this was an unexpected turn of events. Even as I rushed towards Ordon, I couldn't help recapping everything that had just happened in the last hour, mostly because I felt like I'd experienced about three hours' worth of action.

"I admit, it was kind of a waste of time," I drawled at him, lazily picking bits of cobweb off my hat. "That monster was nowhere in there. But for the record, I also blame Sheik."

He glared at me with that flat-mouthed, angry-eyed face of his that made him look about six. "That isn't the point, D," he snapped right back. "We didn't need to have anything to do with that stupid well. It was creepy and stupid and now I'll have to replenish my magic-" Link kept ticking off things on his little fingers, but I ceased paying attention after he mentioned something about deku sticks. He always went through the ritual of restocking when something really shook him up – case in point, the well. We'd finished up part of the Spirit Temple when he'd finally gotten the motivation to head back to Kakariko, and things went downhill from there.

"Kid, just take it easy."

But Link just shook his head, annoyed, and reached for the sword jammed deep into the pedestal. That damn fairy reappeared, hovering on the far side of his head, her blue glow tinged green by her wariness towards me, since I liked to threaten her any time I got my hands on an empty bottle. Without a word, she flew around the hilt as his hands grasped the handle and began to-

Fear. Blinding and icy cold, it startled me from my hiding place in his shadow just as metal on stone began to ring through the chamber. With a strangled yelp, I raised a hand to magically arrest the sword's motion out of the pedestal much to the kid's fury.

"D let go right-!"

"STOP!" I shouted back, and let the echo fade into silence. He had to have heard it- It had been so loud, so distinct- "Didn't you hear that? Someone was begging for help-"

The kid blinked from where he had stepped up onto the pedestal, his hands still curved around the stationary blade, and shared a quizzical glance with his fairy. "D… we're the only ones in here."

It was true; I knew that, technically. The temple was always empty whenever we ventured in and right now, save for the two of us standing frozen beside each other, a tomb might have been livelier than this place. I knew we were alone… but where the hell had that scared cry come from, if not from in here somewhere? Goddesses, but it was just like that time at the pond, when I'd mysteriously lost twelve hours lying in the grass. I had half a mind to go search the place when something irresistibly tugged at me, yanking my center of mass along completely without my consent. Lurching backward in surprise, Link instinctively grabbed the sword – with an almighty clamor, the sword came free of the pedestal, flying right through Link's hands as he fell. Just as the force sent the kid tumbling into the back wall of the chamber, I stumbled into the pedestal, one hand still raised slightly, keeping the sword in place over our heads until I could regain some sense of balance. My boots slipped out from under me – and Link shouted something that I couldn't catch quite-

I landed on my back in long, fragrant grass, feeling incredibly sick and terrified, the stone archway I remembered as leading to the spider-infested Temple of Time standing peacefully in front of me. The confusion was strangling me, and the high-pitched screaming issuing from somewhere nearby did nothing to alleviate the malaise. I scrambled upright with some difficulty, found the Master Sword stuck within arm's reach in the ground point-first, and hardly paused to consider the sequence of events before something actually blinded me – words.

'Someone please help…'

Goddesses-damn it, but I'd have known that glow anywhere. I also recognized the same disconcerting pulsing something that had drawn me towards the Master Sword in the pedestal chamber. Somehow, the glow and the something were connected, and unlike the simple telepathy we'd shared during our previous adventure, this ran deeper. This ran so much deeper and I couldn't even put a name to it; this was just there, and so strong and binding and undeniably there, connecting us indescribably. Powerfully. I felt her fear jolt through me once more in the split second it took for me to warp: Zelda was in trouble, and goddesses help the people responsible.

Those people were no longer an issue, but I quickly realized that there were many, many more people ready and waiting for a piece of the princess.

It's a raid.

For a terrifying moment, I was only able to stare dumbfounded at the bridge thronged with soldiers, and the trees engulfed in flames just beyond. People were screaming, shouting to one another in slow-motion, the pass choked with men and the clamor of their weapons; smoke clung to the canyon and nearly brought me to tears when I reappeared in the thick of it, the paralyzing fear beating a tattoo in my throat. If I stared hard enough into the haze, I could almost make out Colin's panicked face… couldn't I? Someone knocked into me and everything snapped back into motion. Gasping, I turned just in time to see-

"Ren!" I howled, launching myself in his direction.

He dropped his sword in shock, but the Imperial Guardsman continued his downward slice unfazed. In one deft movement, I parried the blow, simultaneously filling the vicinity with an intense blue-green light. The energy dancing off the blade only surprised me for a second, because just after I shoved the smaller body behind me, Zelda enveloped those nearby in a magical barrier to deflect the enemy's hail of arrows. Standing just beyond the radius, I turned transient and let the arrows sail right through me, much to the archers' terror. I knew from experience that Ordonians could fend off a raid, and I could also recognize cover fire when I saw it: the soldiers were retreating. And judging by the number of groaning bodies sprawled about the place, the Imperials were withdrawing with good reason.

We fell back into telepathy, with that golden light of hers once again peacefully settled at the edges of my mind: 'The others are safe with me.'

Keep it that way.

I felt pain, conflict. 'Will you let them go?'

Do you want me to?

She was silent. Without consulting anyone else, I flitted across the bridge and blocked the retreat to the Field, rearing up from the shadows before the rest of the company could flee. The soldiers reacted as expected: startled by the red-eyed shadow monster in their path, the infantry refocused. Or at least, a handful of them did; the rest rushed back towards the bridge, trampling some of their own men, completely opposite of what I'd anticipated. The villagers, too, reacted adversely by breaking ranks and heading for their homes, mistaking the desperate rush for a directed attack. Only a scarecrow of a man in a colonel's coat and a number of others dressed in ratty guard uniforms held the narrow pass now, cutting mercilessly into the oncoming-

Someone bombed the bridge.

I staggered back from the force of the explosion, hands up to shield my face from the debris and heat as countless men and broken bits of wood plunged into the rapids well below. Stunned, I scrambled upright to gawk at the conspicuously empty space. Sure, there had been talk about destroying the main route into the village to deter any more raids, but Farore, Nayru, and Din, there was no going back now. The treacherous gorge and the waterfall were now actively employed as natural defenses; unless the soldiers found the trails that linked directly to Ordona Province, as the Bulbins had done, another assault was highly unlikely. I doubted very much that many – if any – would survive the fall, and it would take time to organize a new force and find a proper forest guide before another attempt could be made. But I could tell that my former neighbors were confident they had won: the villagers were beginning triage and preparing casualties for transport. They won, decisively, yes… but this wasn't like any of the other raids, with the exception of Desn's massacre, and it made me sick.

Zelda?

'We are safe but Lieutenant Garmin has been injured. I sent Ren back to the village.'

With a sigh of relief, I floated across what used to be a bridge and landed back on solid ground, suddenly feeling the weight of everything pressing down on my shoulders. I hadn't felt this drained since the water temple when I first encountered the kid, so this probably wasn't a good sign. I hated time-travelling. Or dimension-travelling. Whatever it was, it happened accidentally to me and I hated it. At least the kid had that stupid flute thing and his sword to control his trips; he was always consciously aware of his little escapades. Lowly, unwilling tagalongs like myself could only wait with bated breath and irritation for the next abrupt shift and goddesses, but it wore me out like nothing else. Thank Nayru there's a healing spring here.

Slumped against the princess was the scarecrow man I'd noticed earlier. At his full height, he would've towered over me by at least two heads. Right now though, he looked awkward and almost inhuman with the way he was half-sprawled on the ground, all gangly limbs and blood-spatter like some macabre puppet. When I drew closer, Zelda gestured for me to help her stand by sharing some of his weight, so I ducked under one of his arms and dragged it over my shoulder. The differences in our heights made it spectacularly difficult to maneuver to the point where it must have looked utterly ridiculous, comical even, except for the blood. And the semi-consciousness. And the arrows thudding into my shoulder. Garmin and I tumbled over.

"Stop! Stop it! What are you-"

"Princess," someone was saying angrily. I tried propping myself up on my forearms for a better view but Zelda's panicked 'Don't move!' discouraged any further action on my part. Somewhere above me and closer to Ordon, the angry someone took a few steps closer in heavy boots that crunched loudly in the dirt. "Princess, that- that creature is with those men from the castle. You saw how it drove the attack- How can you defend it?"

I heard more loud crunching and despite her warning, I managed to stagger upright and tug my sword from its sheath, firmly blocking the man's path. I recognized him as Cairn the miller and felt the bile rise in my throat, but Zelda broke the trance by pushing past and standing in front of me, arms spread in livid defiance.

"He is defending me. You will kindly lower your bow, sir. My friend poses no threat to this village."

Cairn kept his bow trained on my face. "Your friend spurred the attack," he accused, and ever so subtly, the target shifted to Zelda herself. My sword lit weakly again. "Your friend led this raid-"

"My friend-"

"Your friend is no friend of ours!"

The bow sang, but I had already moved, intent on passing through the princess to deflect the arrow. It was entirely unnecessary. Frozen behind her, I watched her raised hand stop the arrow in mid-air and suddenly, the tiny space – acrid with smoke from the burning trees and drenched with the coppery tang of spilt blood, shadowed by the high walls of the narrow canyon and crowded with almost the entire adult population of Ordon as well as the loyal guardsmen – exploded with a brilliant, blinding gold as if it were high noon. There, illuminating the faces of everyone present, shone the Triforce of Wisdom on the back of her hand. Graceful yet authoritative, she displayed the sacred symbol for all to see as the suspended arrow fell harmlessly to the ground.

"I tell the truth," she said softly.

The villagers gaped openly, but even as they stared, the little triangle quietly faded away. It was only after she'd turned to me and assessed the damage that the assembly regained life. Amidst whispered, "She really is the Princess of Destiny," and "The Lost Princess has returned to us!" she gently resumed her supporting position beneath the unconscious lieutenant's arm.

"Let me help you," I muttered, joining her. She looked at me worriedly but before she could even form the thought, I gritted my teeth. Unfortunately, my lack of shadow magic made it impossible to extract the arrows as twilight. Not that it would stop me. "I can do it. Gotta make it back to Ordon anyway." Under my breath, I added, "Welcome home, Link."

x

By the time I woke again, Zelda had changed out of her blood-stained dress and dispensed with the jewelry. Instead, she wore what looked like one of Link's tunics, a dark rust-red, belted tightly at the waist over an old pair of beige riding pants, with her long brown hair braided into a thick ponytail devoid of her coronet. After returning the lieutenant to the village infirmary, Zelda had steered me to the old treehouse, and it had taken everything in me not to collapse at the bottom of the ladder, but we ended up sharing a little of what had happened to us before I must have passed out from exhaustion. She had also somehow healed the little nick I'd received from her assailants on the trail and the arrow wounds. Completely. Physically I felt wonderful; magically, I was still a little lacking, and it was that look of disappointment that caught her eye when she looked up from the letter she had been working on since early this morning.

"Are you still in pain?"

I shook my head, shoving aside the musty cloak that had covered me and scooting myself off of what had to be Link's bed until my boots rested on the floor. We were both alive and functioning and she owed me a story. As I stared at her expectantly, I saw that she understood where I was going and began slowly, "The Hero of Time doesn't think too highly of the 'Princess of Destiny.'" For the most part, I'd gotten over the shock of her deadpanning, "Link, the Princess of Destiny lived centuries ago, and with the help of a young boy, exposed Ganondorf's treachery," right as I was on the verge of consciousness – or at least enough to try and joke about it. But we all knew how I used humor to deflect from the mess of emotions roiling in my chest.

Hah.

Just like last night, she spoke so quietly I almost didn't catch her pained murmur: "Midna-" Zelda's gaze fell to the floor as she abandoned the letter, then thought better of it and finished it silently. For several long minutes, the only sound in the room was the scratching of her quill across the page, but I waited patiently because I knew jumping on that provocative mumble would only complicate the explanatory process. Well, 'complicate' – to be honest, I wasn't really sure things could get worse. It was a little hard to be positive when just hours ago-

Well. Maybe I wouldn't go over all of that just yet. We'd talked enough about our misadventures that I felt like I was looking at someone else's life – that I hadn't really experienced all of it. I was also furious at the idea of some councilman beating her enough to knock her out, no thanks to Mr. Wolfman. Din, but just the thought of someone attacking Zelda like that made my fingertips burn with quantities of magic I didn't even know I possessed in my current state. I was willing to believe it was related to the weird connection we shared, but she still hadn't explained it and I was losing my patience.

"Ren's safe?"

She paused, but nodded. "Yes, he was here earlier, while you slept."

I felt my jaw go slack. "He what? And you didn't wake me up?"

"He asked that I let you sleep."

Great. So this was how the day was going to go.

"YOU'RE NOT MY BROTHER!" he hollered.

"But-"

"I DON'T HAVE A BROTHER!"

Ah. It felt like I was laying in the grass below the treehouse, being sucker-punched all over again. It didn't help that Zelda had withheld this information, and probably wouldn't have told me if I hadn't thought to ask. I wanted to be angry with her but I was more tired than anything else, so I just let it lie and laid back down, arms stretched out over the other side of the bed, letting my feet tap against the floor. I was reaping what I'd sown… continually sown, so I only had myself to blame. Predictably, it felt awful. After another minute or two of heavy silence, Zelda sat down beside me on the bed, her hands neatly folded in her lap.

She took a deep, shuddering breath, and exhaled raggedly enough for me to risk a sideways glance, but she only looked about as tired as I felt. "If I can associate myself with her legend… Link believes I will be able to win popular support and reclaim the throne. The council, led by Councilman Hart, have been spreading lies to further their 'stewardship.' …Some believe I am my father's prodigal granddaughter."

"They- You're pretending to be… your own daughter? Don't tell me Link's pretending to be my brother or something. I'm terrible at the brother thing."

"I simply have not corrected anyone. Yet. But I am not sure what lie he is using, if any," she admitted with a small smile. "Although I highly doubt he would actively seek you as a relative."

"Look at that, the princess has a sense of humor." I wanted to grin at her and joke with her, really. But it slipped off my face and the next thing I knew, I was standing right in front of her, leaning into her space and borderline antagonistic: "Did you know Midna was going to break the Mirror?"

Zelda blinked and shook her head without hesitation, letting me feel the consternation roiling inside her as only marginally reassuring proof. "No. I suspected, but I did not believe she would take such a risk."

"What risk? I somehow absorbed the goddesses-damned Mirror- You keep talking about risk-" I narrowed my eyes in suspicion when all I got for my trouble was the neatly sealed letter, which I waved in her face, annoyed. "Don't tell me the secret's in here, because you'll have wasted an envelope-"

"It has been sealed with a spell until the time is right."

I almost groaned out loud. Almost. I had just enough restraint, just enough of a sense of propriety, to keep it to myself. And by propriety, I meant curiosity, because the damn thing glowed in my hand – flashed, just for an instant, that mellow gold of her light before fading again. Okay, so it was magical. Big deal. The murderous look that had to be on my face… that I couldn't help after the anticlimactic light show. I'd had enough of the cloak-and-dagger nonsense that never failed to surprise me unpleasantly at the most inopportune moments. Sometimes I remembered exactly how tired I was, like now, and it overwhelmed me. All this stupid time-travelling would be the death of me. I was so bloody tired. But according to Zelda, I'd get to discover the meaning of life before I died, as comforting as that was. Joy. Maybe I'd have time to write a book about it. Just as I opened my mouth to complain about the injustice of the world, she grasped my hand tightly, the Triforce shining placidly.

Before she could say anything, I demanded, "What happened to you?"

Zelda sighed breathlessly with a shudder. "Link… sometimes I think I… forget that we are only mortal."

Only mortal. Sure, we were all only mortal but that apparently didn't except some from divine duties, as the marks on the backs of Link's and Zelda's hands testified. Midna and I didn't even have Triforce pieces or anything like that sort of power, only guilt by association – and just that was enough. It didn't take much. Then again, my life hardly revolved around mortality. Yes, it was true and very, very real at times, but people normally refrained from that kind of thought. It just didn't occur to me unless, of course, the occasion called for it, like in the depths of some goddesses-forsaken well or in a sunny grove surrounded by enemy hordes. I had no idea what I was talking about, sitting here safe and sound with Princess Zelda in Link's treehouse. I had no idea because now wasn't one of those occasions, and if I tried to think back to any of them, all I remembered was wanting to die for a reason other than simply running out of luck or time or health. I understood I was mortal, absolutely. But the reason I fought and would still fight- not for a second did I believe that was mortal. Or, maybe more accurately put, not for a second did I believe that the reason would end with me.

She began again with a little more resolve this time. "Just after the Mirror, Link and I came here," she murmured almost sheepishly. "He wanted to show me that I had to earn Hyrule's trust."

"True enough."

Sparing only a glance, she inclined her head and breathed deeply through her nose. "He introduced me to some citizens of Ordon, and Kakariko as well. It was in the graveyard there that I recalled the legends… and when I asked Link to join my charade, he refused and left for the desert."

"Oh, Nayru, don't tell me he's been skulking around there waiting for Midna to appear." That wasn't bloody fair. Besides, he should know her well enough to realize she'd hardly pop out of the empty frame – she'd make an entrance where he least expected it and try her damned hardest to scare the stuffing out of him. It was Entrance-Making 101. Hell, it was Midna 101. Melodrama aside, I was struck with just how depressing a scenario it was, with Link sitting alone in the Mirror Chamber like some fatally-loyal puppy. I had no idea what passed between them when they warped ahead to the desert on my last night in Hyrule, but I hoped Midna hadn't led him on. She'd been utterly baffled by the whole Mirror-absorption thing, and to think that she might have hinted that it wasn't the end, that she was in all certainty going to return-

Shaking my head, I watched Zelda's face for any hints of confirmation, but she remained impassive. Careworn, but impassive. The crown jewels were scattered over the table invitingly and, as she probably expected, I stood and began twirling the coronet in midair to give her a chance to react. No dice. "You know," I continued, "I'd really like to think that Midna understands mercy. She can't be that cruel." This was a mix of wishful thinking and rose-tinted hindsight and a healthy dose of denial. I knew full well that she was capable of mercy… but at the same time, I'd personally witnessed her cruelty, which was definitely something I never wanted to experience again. She wouldn't have suggested her return – to Link, of all people – unless she was certain. Or relatively certain. None of it made sense.

"I cannot speak for her," she finally said, and she sounded downright exhausted. "I cannot speak for Midna's motives. Not anymore."

"I'm gonna chalk it up as a good thing. The whole split personality thing was a bit off-putting." She smirked, and I grinned back. "Well I don't think Midna would lie to Link on purpose about something like that. Just to put it out there. I mean, the Mirror's part of me now – that wasn't in her plans at all. But I also know that she didn't have any definite theories about opening a new portal aside from finding some mythical tribe in the Outlands."

"Let us hope she is successful then," she replied with a small, warm smile. "That species of portal would be a Door of Time, much like the passage in the Sacred Grove here. Only those blessed by the goddesses may use them."

I shrugged and held up my left hand. "Well. Maybe not only. I fell out of it on my way to save you, and I sure as hell don't have one of those awful Triforce pieces." Snorting, I shook my head at the way her brows cinched. "The light is failing in the Twilight Realm. She wanted me to find the Elders of her people in the Outlands-" Goddesses, it sounded ridiculous. Annoyed, I fiddled with my gauntlets for an excuse to break eye contact. "I wonder if she even knows I'm no longer around yet."

"I am sure she does. You sound so morbid."

I pulled a face and began examining the spartan room. It had been stripped since I'd last seen it; only the bed, a roughhewn table and chairs, and some generic cooking utensils remained. All of the books and linens had been cleared from the shelves built into some of the walls. "Forgive my bitterness, but I was thrown off a balcony by some crazy officer of the guard. I'm still not entirely convinced that this isn't some elaborate afterlife trial by-" Swathed in some other fabric and lying innocently at the foot, I noticed a certain blade and just about gagged. "Oh, Farore," I moaned, levitating it over and checking for damage. Thankfully, though, all I found were the bloodstains the kid always refused to wash off. Little psycho. "Farore help me, but that actually happened. I take it back. This is actually happening. I left this in the Sacred Grove, didn't I?"

"You frightened the children." Whether Zelda got some perverse amusement from the notion of terrified children or from the existential musings, I wasn't sure. Either way I did not appreciate it, and let it show in my baleful scowl. "They are convinced that a monster tried to attack them."

"I hope you explained that you were the one who summoned the 'monster.'" Avoiding her gaze, I set to weaving bits of my shadow into a sheath for the stolen sword. No one but the Triforce of Courage could wield the damn thing, so it wasn't like I could even pick it up and thrust it through a belt loop – not if I wanted a functional hand. I placed it with my usual sword after refashioning the baldric to accommodate both sheaths. "It was the eyes, right? All people remember are the horror stories."

"You are not a demon," Zelda admonished.

"I'm not much better."

"Link-" There was a note of warning in her tone, but beyond that, I detected a reluctance, some hesitation – she wanted to tell me something. Then it evaporated with a sigh.

Frustrated, I restlessly wrung the cloak I'd been using as a blanket, pretending it was that awful lieutenant's neck, or someone equally detestable. A second later, I let the crumpled fabric go. "So Link's still in Castletown with those people. He's gonna fight the guy that tried to kill you? Being a hero again, I take it?"

"He fights for Hyrule, as he always has."

That's not roundabout at all.

'I needn't explain the complications.'

"No," I answered slowly, "I lived through some of them. But seriously, don't you think this is kind of… I don't know, ridiculous? Ganondorf's dead and there's still so much work to be done. It never ends. It actually never ends." One door literally closed and another opened. The irony shook me to the core. Then again, I hadn't really given much thought to the aftermath, unlike the Wisdom in the room. Link and I had talked about stupid things like fishing, not rebuilding a nation, and I liked it that way. I didn't like thinking about politics. I almost wanted to laugh, but pinched the bridge of my nose instead. "I don't understand Zelda. It's just not fair."

"Isn't it?" Suspicious, I leant forward to better antagonize her without much effect. She had a glimmer in her eyes, a kind of violet sparkle that danced with the reflection of the fire. "Isn't it, Link?" she repeated, gracefully flowing to her feet and moving to the hearth; the back of her hand pulsed brightly. "Unlike Ganon's, my Triforce remains; until it fades, you cannot convince me that Hyrule has no need of Wisdom."

"Or Courage," I added pointedly.

"Or Courage." Zelda nodded, that passion still burning through her and right into me. "Link, I believe the Triforce is a catalyst. When Hyrule must change, bearers surface to initiate a chain of events and see it through to completion. We are bound by duty, tied to a greater purpose-"

I stopped her by brushing her hand. "I think you're forgetting again that you're only mortal, Zel."

She simply stared. Silently, perfectly still, she stared at me with eyes suddenly rendered inanimate objects by shock or realization or some crazy revelation. Like glossy marbles fixed in her face. Whatever it was, it tamed the fire in her eyes and returned her to her usual state of cool-calm-collected. A minute or two passed, during which she seemed to rejoin the land of lowly mortals – I could easily imagine her feet touching the floor again, and her hair and eyes losing some ethereal glow. When the Triforce stopped shimmering in time to her heartbeat, she finally refocused her gaze and sighed in something like acceptance. I shook my head.

"You know, you never did explain how I heard you, or why," I started quietly. "Zelda, I don't know when else I'll get the chance…" Our eyes met, and she encouraged me, as if she already knew what I wanted to say. It was… comforting, in a disconcerting way. Or maybe vice versa. I took a deep, steadying breath, held it, and released the words in a rush: "I think we're- that we're connected somehow. Am I wrong?"

"Do you trust me, Link?"

Ignoring the confusion, I looked her in the eye with as much conviction as I could muster. What the hell kind of question was that? "With my life, Zelda. For- a while there I wasn't sure, but- Something in me wants to say that. And mean it. But I can't wrap my head around how or why I heard you several centuries ago, and managed to come back here, to you." And you know that already.

'You know my reply.'

I wanted to say that I didn't, because that was the first thing that occurred to me – but the second thing told me that it wasn't true. This close to her again, I felt the connection thrumming along powerfully at my core, the one that had called me to her side in the nick of time back on the trail. It had strengthened since the fight when Ganondorf possessed her, but it was undoubtedly the same connection. I wasn't about to pretend, either, that I knew what it was or why we shared it – only that it existed and we had to acknowledge it now that it mattered. It wasn't exactly easy to sweep under the rug after it managed to drag a body across time and space. And then it hit me.

This is goodbye, isn't it.

It wasn't a question at this point. I could feel it just as much as see it in her eyes, and yet she still tried to dull the inevitable hurt.

"You can wait," she told me softly. "We can make time-"

"No we can't."

Theoretically, I had all the time in the world, with the kid's sword strapped to my back. Nothing would happen until I stepped back into the kid's time and replaced the damn thing in the pedestal because he couldn't complete his quest without it. Zelda was right… but wrong, too. There would be no breathing room, no catching up, no stalling. Our discussion about duty had energized me in a way I almost resented as fiercely as I'd ever resented anything before: I had an undeniable duty to return the sword. I owed it to Midna, too, to find the Sheikah somehow. More importantly, I owed it to Link, although I wouldn't have time to see him now unless I warped to Castletown and tracked him down. And I could. I could also just as easily find my brother and try to… reconnect with him.

One glance out the window reminded me that I'd slept the day away to regain some semblance of health, no thanks to whatever spell Zelda had cast. I didn't want to be the monster in the night, creeping along children's bedsides to startle them awake, either. But I also just didn't have it in me to go back to the village now because I wasn't Link. I didn't possess his courage, or even very much courage at all. I merely shared Zelda's sense of duty. And Din, but sometimes I felt like that was all I had …to hide behind. One thing was certain, though: I would not see anyone else tonight.

Zelda inclined her head almost in response. It was now or never, then. When she grasped my hand, I automatically stuffed the envelope she'd given me into the cloak's inner pocket, yanked it over my shoulders, and with baldric in hand, warped to the Sacred Grove. This time, the woods were silent. Muted. Nothing so much as stirred as she pressed a palm against the weathered stone of the doors to the Temple of Time and willed them open with the golden light of Wisdom. The breath caught in my throat despite my best efforts.

"You know I can't just… This isn't permanent though," I mumbled. I found it faintly amusing, too, that once upon a time, I'd asked Midna about the permanence of my transformation. Because of that memory, I said it louder. "This isn't permanent, Zelda." This. Is. Not. Permanent.

"You will come home," she agreed emphatically. "You will return the sword; aid the Hero of Time. But you must come home." '…to me.'

I grinned at her to ease the tension. "Is that an order?" She nodded only slightly, but I knew I'd accomplished my goal from the laughter in her tiny smile. "I'm coming back, Zelda. I promise. Just like last time. Here. Just be careful, please. I can't- I can't stand to think of you in danger, and I swear to the goddesses, if that Hart guy-"

Fingers pressed against my lips, Zelda placed a soft kiss on my cheek. She was holding her head high now, and even though she didn't have her coronet or her dress or anything else to identify her birthright, I saw the regal bearing. I saw it, but felt that thread again, tugging and tugging and tugging. It was time for me to go. My hand slipped out of hers as I moved towards the doorway, prompting our gazes to lock as the distance grew between us. One step, two steps – another, and I'd be through the shimmering barrier.

'Good luck.'