Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda, its characters and locations are all property of Nintendo. Any and all OCs and original locations belong to me unless specifically stated to belong to someone else.

Lumina, Part 2

King Robar of Lumina found himself studying the girl on the other side of the council table intently. She was a bit on the scrawny side, perhaps, and far from the so-called 'ideal princess' that his advisors kept mentioning whenever they discussed a possible marriage for his son, Victor. After all, weren't princesses simply there to look pretty? That's what he'd been told as a boy, anyway. Perhaps the advisors were afraid of the foreigner outshining the prince?

Robar hadn't cared. His own wife, gods rest her soul, had been anything but ideal according to his own father's advisors, but he'd married her anyway.

And, really, looking at Princess Zelda of Hyrule only made him feel intrigued. He saw so much of his old friend in the girl's eyes, and the way she held herself. Brimming with confidence, and refusing to back down without having had her say.

She and Victor would make a good match. Perhaps her ferocity would influence Victor to become a little more...assertive.

Ah, but those were thoughts and ideas for a much later date. Robar focused on the situation at hand, which was anything but pleasant. He'd expected a somewhat joyful visit—it had been ages since Lumina and Hyrule had last interacted—but all he received was a terse warning that not only was Robar's own life in danger, but so was his entire kingdom.

Robar hadn't gotten to where he was today without taking due heed of any threats towards his life, so he'd be more than prepared to counter anything that came his way...except that. When told that the biggest threat to his kingdom since the days of The Enlightened One was the old and most trusted advisor and, if he dared to call him that, closest friend, Councillor Rehm, he'd been furious. How dare she make such an accusation?

But those eyes...they had left no room for argument. So he'd begrudgingly ordered Rehm's apprehension and temporary confinement to his chambers. He didn't like caving in to Zelda's demands, but he assumed that the girl was still paranoid and suspicious after seven long years of war. What harm could it to do play along, if just for a little while. Rehm would simply laugh it off and confirm that he was, indeed, as innocent as Robar knew.

...but then the old fool done a runner. It's one thing act outraged about a wrongful arrest, but running away before the charges had even been mentioned? That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

Robar didn't believe in coincidences. Never had. Never would.

Rehm's guilt in something was definitely confirmed when they brought him in...with a new face. Magic was dangerous, and knowing that Rehm could use it for such a...a disgusting act was unnerving. And if he could change faces...did that mean that this wasn't the first time? And how long had the man been around, in that case? Since Robar's father's days, at the very least, perhaps even longer.

All of this was why he wasn't yelling at the princess sitting across the table from him, but he was also angry. Angry at Rehm for having lied, angry at the princess for ruining the peaceful status quo that had finally settled across Lumina, angry at himself for not having seen it all coming...

"So," he said, straightening up in his chair to relieve his sore back. "I have done as you asked, princess. A man I considered a dear friend and trusted advisor has been locked up in the dungeons...though I suppose the 'dear friend' and 'trusted' parts can now be considered void, at least on his account. Apparently, he's a user of magic, and can change faces at will. I assume you already knew this because of your insistence that I apprehend him. Now, I would like a thorough explanation as to how you knew it...and why."

He'd used his most regal and authoritative voice, knowing it usually had an unnerving effect on those below his status...but to his surprise (and secret delight), the princess didn't even flinch. Instead, she narrowed her eyes and steepled her fingers, looking every bit like her father (gods rest his soul) whenever they entered negotiations.

"I would first like to apologise for having arrived so suddenly, King Robar," Zelda said, her words calm and measured. "The abruptness of our visit, coupled with my immediate insistence on having your councillor arrested must have ruffled quite a few feathers, and I can assure it was not my intention to offer you or your family insult. However, time has been of the essence, and due to the extraordinary threats to your person, I thought it best to skip the pleasantries until later." She frowned. "Also, I would like to ask you to keep your anti-magic stance to yourself, as it is indeed magic that has enabled me to offer you this warning in the first place."

"Very well," Robar said with a nod, remembering that while her father had not been a magic user himself, his kingdom was a haven for those with that so-called gift. "Though I would ask you to please understand why my stance is as it is."

"I am very familiar with your kingdom's history, and most definitely understand your suspicion, but I ask that you leave it aside for a moment, and simply listen to what I have to say without bias or prejudice."

"I will attempt to do so."

It felt like a stilted conversation, and it surely was. He'd never met this girl, and to have too much familiarity could be dangerous for diplomatic relations.

"Then I will begin my explanation," Zelda said, taking a breath. "As familiar as I am with Lumina's history, I am unsure of how familiar you are with ours..."

"I know quite a bit—your father and I were friends, and learned much from each other."

"Then I do not need to tell you the legend of the Goddesses' chosen one and the prophesised Hero of Time."

"I have heard that story many a time."

"It is not a story," she said, her voice turning to stone. "The Hero of Time is as real as you and I. In fact, you have already shaken his hand and spoken to him."

Robar furrowed his brow, trying to remember the many members of Zelda's retinue he had met earlier that day. The ones who stuck out had been the female bodyguard, Tira...something, the Sheikah with his strange, red eyes, and a blonde-haired, blue-eyed young man in green. Link, was it? Surely this great Hero of Time hadn't been any of them?

"I do not understand..." he began.

"The one in green," Zelda helped.

"Surely not?" Robar asked, surprised. "He did not look much like a legendary Hero to me. He's barely a man."

"That is where the 'of Time' part of his title comes in," Zelda said, raising her eyebrow delicately. "It is quite literal. Link has seen far more years than his age would suggest. In fact, he has seen the future. Not only seen, in fact. He has been part of it, and has re-written it! Right now, you are probably thinking how far-fetched this all sounds, but I can prove it."

Robar chuckled. "Oh? And how do you intend to do that?"

She rose from her chair and walked around the council table, her boots clicking against the stone floor. Suddenly, Robar was glad she'd insisted on having the meeting alone, with not even their bodyguards as witnesses.

"I can show you the things Link saw," she said as she came to stand beside his chair, looking down at him. "I can show you his memories of the Luminan civil war."

"The civil war ended years ago," Robar said, narrowing his eyes.

"Not that civil war," Zelda said, glaring at him. "I am speaking of the civil war that will rip your entire kingdom apart and reduce it to nothing but warring city states. The civil war that starts...with your death."

Robar paused. If this was all a lie or a joke, then it was a carefully orchestrated and elaborate one. "If you intend to kill me—"

"I don't, but Rehm did."

"How will you show me?"

"Like this."

With no warning, she put the palms of her hands against his temples. For but a moment, pain on an unimaginable scale exploded inside his head as something was forced inside. His vision went black, and he was suddenly sure that Zelda was the true assassin...until the visions and images flashed before him.

Some sort of festival. A great ship floating in the sky...The Chimera, which was currently under construction? Robar himself holding a speech, suddenly choking...blood flowing from every orifice. Two armies, both bearing the colours and banners of Lumina clashing on a snowy plain. A city...Ironhill...burning in the far distance. General Drena Riveth (how long had it been?) fighting on an airship. A view of Prison's Peak and the fortress guarding it...fighting in the courtyards and throughout the fortress itself...not a Silver Guard anywhere to be seen. Luminan against Luminan, dying and screaming. The new King (Victor) lying bleeding on the floor, his face pale and cradled by Captain Rial Vortan, the captain swearing his revenge against Rehm. Rehm himself, doing...something to Countess Marlotta, seemingly draining her of life against an all-too-familiar door. The Enlightened One! Rehm was unsealing them! Rehm stepping through the portal, transforming into a golden-skinned being. I am the enlightened one!The world shaking and breaking apart. A group of people entering an unreal place where water flows...Rehm, now called Feror, attacking them...stabbed from behind by a shadowy being...losing his head to Captain Vortan...

Then it was all gone, and Robar found himself panting and clutching the armrests of his chair, sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Wh...what was that?!" he demanded, voice shaking.

"What Link saw and experienced," Zelda said. She too had gone slightly pale and had to steady herself against the council table. "These events would begin in approximately five months, and your death would be the catalyst. Rehm would take control of Victor and begin a reign of terror. His ultimate goal was to unseal the Enlightened One's tomb at Prison's Peak...for you see, Rehm is the Enlightened One...and the Enlightened One was truly a god named Feror. It is a lot to take in and digest, but I can assure you that the things you just saw are true and did happen...which is why we are here now, to prevent it."

"My son...he died," Robar said, shivering slightly. "How?"

"Rehm," Zelda said. "Shot him in the back with a miniature cannon. The entire rebellion against Rehm started with Captain Rial Vortan and General Drena Riveth taking up arms against him, intending to restore Victor to his throne...but it all became a much bigger game. One that almost ended with the destruction of the world."

"This all...it all seems too..." It couldn't be true. None of it. But had it felt so real!

"Much?" Zelda asked, smiling kindly at him. "I understand. That is how I felt when Link finally decided to let us see the things he saw...and still there is much he keeps from us. Painful things. Awful things."

"How far has...has he gone?"

"He would not say," Zelda said, shaking her head. "But I estimate close to a decade from now, based on the information he did share. And it was a very eventful decade...which ended in a disaster so devastating that he was forced to return to this point in time." She closed her eyes, as if deep in thought. "That decision must have been so difficult..."

Robar took a minute to compose himself. He wondered what his father would say to all this. He'd claim it was all a lie, of course. The very fact that the princess had to use magic to show him the memories would be what condemned her story...but Robar had promised not to show prejudice or bias, so he took the images for what he saw...and Rehm's reaction upon being arrested...

...it made sense. To his horror, it fit. He could not be sure about everything that happened in this...Sacred Realm, was it? That was what Zelda's father had called it. But everything before? It had seemed real...

"If I...accept that what you showed me is true, and that Rehm indeed is this...this god, Feror, was it? If everything is true...what should I do with him? Execute him?"

"No," Zelda said hurriedly. "Feror is the last god. If his life ends, then our world's protection dies with him. We will become a target for the horrors that lie out there..." She shivered, apparently remembering something she had chosen not to show him. "No, he must be contained. For all eternity, if need be."

"How?"

"The Sages—the Goddesses' acting hands—are working on a solution," Zelda told him. "Until then, I suggest you keep him in your deepest dungeon."

"I have put him in our most secure cell," he assured her. "Supervision twenty-four hours a day."

"I would suggest bricking it up, as well."

He paused. "Surely that is a bit much? The man must have his meals—"

"He is immortal, remember? Hunger and thirst will not bother him. The only thing that can truly kill him is a blade. Everything else is but a mere trifle to him."

Robar shifted uncomfortably in his seat, shivering from the cold sweat. "I am not sure how comfortable I am with the idea of bricking a prisoner up. It opens up a dangerous precedent from our kingdom's ancient past, when the kings were a bit more...vindictive."

"I can assure you that no measure is too extreme in this case," Zelda insisted. "Rehm is too dangerous to be left to his own devices, but he must also be protected. We intend to seal him up for good in the Sacred Realm once we have all the details figured out, but until then we dare not move him."

"So...I just keep him here until you return?"

"I don't intend to leave until the threat has been neutralised. Unless, of course, the King desires me to leave?"

There was a challenge in that question. Had it been anyone but her, Robar would've been inclined to meet it, but the sincerity in her words and eyes, coupled with the shock from before, left him with no desire to fight her. "How long do you think your...Sages...will need before they can seal him away?"

"Not long, I imagine," she said, smiling a bit wider now that she knew her presence would be tolerated until further notice. "A few weeks at the most."

"Then my hospitality is yours," he replied, wondering if he was going to be regretting this decision in the immediate future...if he wasn't already.

"Thank you, Your Grace," Zelda said, dipping her head slightly. "This will take quite a bit of weight off the Hero of Time's shoulders."

"Is there anything else I can do to assist?" Robar asked, sounding a bit more sarcastic than he'd intended. Zelda took it with grace, and shook her head.

"That will be all for now, I think. Now, if you will please excuse me, I have a pair of advisors to inform...if they will even give me the time of day."

Robar remained in his seat long after the princess had gone, mulling over the things he'd learned and seen that day. It was...a lot. It would take his mind quite some time to parse and truly understand it all...but he felt confident that he had made the right decision. Or had he? Gods, there were so many things he'd rather face than the metaphysical conundrums of this world...which had suddenly grown many sizes beyond what he'd thought it was.

Just my luck, he thought. Solve one problem and several more show up to take its place. Old friend, your daughter takes more after you than I ever expected her to...and now I need a damn drink.

Nothing like getting images of the apocalypse beamed directly into your head. Robar is in it way over his head, heh...

- Andy