"Mi…La..a! I…sh…wa….up!"
"Yes…he….com…around."
The next thing I remembered was waking up to the sounds of muffled voices. As I roused from my sleep, the pain in my head began intensifying with each passing moment. I clutched my head, slowly curling up into a ball as I tried to ride out the pain.
"Hush, hush. You're all right. Come now, let me see those wounds." the voice of my mother murmured to me.
My eyes shot open in shock. It was not a dream, my mother stood before me, hunched over my bedside, in our house. I was back in the Castletown, but how had I gotten there?
"Oh!" my mother gasped, jumping back when I looked at her.
"What's wrong Miss Lana?!" Malon's voice cried out.
'Malon. Thank the goddesses she's alive' I thought.
"N-nothing! Nothing is wrong dear!" my mother stammered, quickly jumping in front of me to block Malon's view. "She just needs more rest. Now run along and collect those herbs from Baron, quickly!"
"Okay!" Malon said obediently, slamming the door behind her.
Judging from my mother's reaction, I must have been in pretty bad shape. She basically body-blocked Malon trying to prevent her from seeing me like this.
"Mom -" I whispered hoarsely.
"Shhh. Easy love." She replied, pushing her finger to my lips.
She walked to the stove and began digging through the adjacent cupboards, pulling out several bottles, reading each label carefully and putting the ones she needed off to the side. She then lit the stove and began mixing the ingredients into a pot.
I caught a whiff of the concoction and was able to figure out exactly what she was making. It was her 'special' potion that she crafted all the time. She made me drink it at least once a month, telling me that it would help 'protect me'. But I had always believed it to be just one of her superstitious precautions. Whenever I drank it, it made me feel no different.
"Now, I know that you're not very fond of my potions, but you need to drink up. This will help you get back to your old self and you're in no position to argue with me." she said sternly.
She sat down next to me and spoon fed me her potion. The bitter taste and slimy texture made me cringe, but I forced it down. As much as I wanted to protest, my mother was much more knowledgable than I, so I trusted her and complied. My mother also made me drink a red potion before I was able to drift off once again.
I woke up in the early morning to the smell of breakfast wafting over from the kitchen. Well, I suppose that technically, we didn't have a kitchen. In fact, the entirety of our home was a single room with a stove in it. My mother had merely hung long curtains from the ceilings to give the illusion of separate rooms. Malon was sitting at our small table, humming Epona's song softly as my mother cooked. She caught me looking around and sprang up from her seat
"You're finally awake!" she gasped, tripping over herself as she hurried to my side. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"
"I-I'm fine. What about you? Are you feeling any better?" I asked. I was concerned by the bandages wrapped around her head and arms.
"Oh I'm okay, really! Miss Lana gave me some red potion and I've been getting better and better ever since!" She smiled happily. "We were so worried about you! I thought you were dead! But Miss Lana is so amazing! She brought you back from the brink of death with her magic!"
"Magic?" My mother, using magic?
"Malon!" My mother snapped. "I already told you a thousand times that I used medicinal herbs and potions to heal her! Not magic. Now stop saying silly things like that. People will think I'm some sort of witch."
"But when that lady brought us here she said that Kai was dead!" Malon argued.
"Enough. Run along and take care of your chores now. I need to speak with Kai." my mother ordered, refusing to let Malon get in one more word. Finally sensing my mother's growing irritation with her, Malon obeyed and hurried out the door.
"Mother, what's going on? What happened?" I demanded coldly.
I knew my mother better than anybody else in the entire world, and I could tell when she was trying to hide something from me. The signs were clear; her emphasis on how she didn't use magic, her short temper with Malon, sending her away before she could reveal anything else from that night, it was obvious that there was something that she didn't want me to know, and that enraged me. She was always trying to keep me in the dark, but would not let her this time.
"My little love," she breathed softly, cradling my hand to her face. "I cannot begin to express how relieved I am that you're alive."
My heart softened a bit. Although I was bitter about her trying to keep secrets from me, I felt a little guilty. I must have caused her so much heartache and grief.
"How did I end up back here?" I asked in a softer tone.
"Well, the night you were to return from Death Mountain, the Great Impa was the one who brought you and Malon to me. Poor Malon was crying hysterically and Impa held you in her arms when I opened the door. She told me that she found the two of you near the Gerudo Desert entrance and that you had been viciously attacked by monsters. Impa informed me that you had succumbed to your injuries. But I refused to believe her, I knew you still had life in you, but just barely. So I've been tending to your wounds, giving you potions and medicinal herbs ever since that night… It's been about three days now since you've returned." she finished quietly, letting everything sink in.
Three days?! I felt chills run down my spine as I thought about how serious my injuries must have been to make me sleep for three whole days.
"Does that mean he's back?" I asked anxiously. "Has Link returned from Death Mountain?" I hoped and prayed that he would return safely, but the look on my mother's face told a different story.
"No, I'm afraid he hasn't come back quite yet. Oh but don't fret love. I'm sure our little hero will return to us soon enough." she cooed as she rubbed my back reassuringly.
"I have to go look for him." I decided.
I ripped the covers off and quickly pushed myself out of bed. But when I went to take a step, it had felt as if my limbs weighed a ton, and I collapsed to the floor.
"W-Whats wrong with me?" My legs could barely support the weight of my body. I had to use the edge of the bed to pull myself up.
"I told you already; you've been unconscious for three days! Your body is weak from not moving for so long… Plus, you're still recovering from your injuries. It will be a little while before you're 100% again." My mother explained as she helped me walk over to the table.
When I was finally seated, she kneeled down and looked at my face for a long time, as if there was something in my eyes that she was searching for.
"Hmm. You still look a little pale." She finally said. "I'll brew some more potions for you to drink. In the mean time, I don't want you to set foot outside of the Castletown, understand? You're too weak to walk, let alone fight monsters. Besides, you should probably go speak with the Princess and let her know that you are well."
That's right! I had completely forgotten Navi's request to speak with Princess Zelda!
"You're right! I have to get going!"
Since I still had the satchel that I had taken from the caravan, I used one of the deku sticks as a makeshift cane. My mother wanted to accompany me to the Castle, but fatigue and lack of sleep from taking care of me prevented her from doing so. It seemed that her health wasn't so good, so I insisted on her staying home and in exchange, she made me promise to take Malon along with me for good measure. So I slowly made my way out of the back alleyway where our shack was and searched for the farm girl in the main square.
When I finally found her, she was surrounded by other kids our age, engaged in what seemed like a very lively conversation. Malon's eyes lit up when I caught her attention and immediately ran over to me.
"You're walking! That's fantastic!" she panted excitedly. "Miss Lana said that you were probably going to be too weak to walk around when you woke up. But look at you now! I guess it shouldn't be too surprising coming from my master after all."
"Your master?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, you did save me from those monsters after all. So to show my gratitude, I decided to become you faithful servant!" She giggled, blushing ever so slightly compared to my now flushed face.
"Th-That's not how exactly how it works…"
"Well my dad told me that if I'm ever in trouble that my knight in shinning armor would come save me and you saved me! You're not exactly a knight, but you must be my hero that my dad was talking about!"
It sounded more like a ploy to take responsibility off of his shoulders and on to someone else's.
"Wh-Whatever! Let's just go! I need to go see the Princess!"
Malon insisted on me riding Epona to the Castle since I was walking too slow for her liking. I hadn't even realized that the horse was still in our possession until she led her over from the alley behind Baron's shop. Apparently the people from the caravan never came back to reclaim her, so Malon had been helping Baron care for her while he and my mother figured out what to do with the young foal.
"You should take her back to the ranch with you." I suggested as we approached the front gates of the castle grounds.
"But - she's your horse, she should stay with you…"
"Technically she isn't my horse." I pointed out. "Besides, the Market is no place for a horse like her. She needs a place where she can run around and you know it."
It was the usual routine when we arrived at the gates; the guards asked me to state my business, I told them and even proved my connection to the Royal Family with Princess Zelda's letter. However, they were reluctant to let us pass and told us to stay put until Impa arrived.
"She instructed us to not let a soul through without her approval first." the guard said almost apologetically.
Typically, I would have thought that the Castle's cautious procedures were a little excessive, but today was different. There was something in the air that made me feel uneasy, as if there was an evil aura seeping out of the castle walls. It was unlike anything I had felt before.
No, I had experienced this feeling before. It was the same foul, evil energy that I had felt when I saw Gannondorf for the first time. Could it be that he was somewhere inside the castle?
The guards suddenly straightened up in attention as Impa came jogging down the path. I had been anticipating her reaction would be one of relief when she saw that I was okay. But instead she wore a shocked look, troubled almost. She studied my face for a long time before she allowed the guards to open the gates for us.
"Only you may pass Kai." Impa said, blocking Malon's path. "This is official business after all." There was something different about the way she addressed me. I knew that the Princess' attendant wasn't that fond of me (nor I of her) but the tension that was building between us made me feel as if she regarded me as an enemy.
"I'll go by foot from here then." I said, slowly sliding off of Epona's back. I handed the reigns over to Malon and instructed her to go check up on my mom and to bring Epona to Lon Lon Ranch afterwards.
"Yes Master!" She replied obediently, hopping onto Epona's back.
"Stop calling me that!" I yelled after her as she rode away giggling.
"Master huh?" Impa raised her eyebrow at me with suspicion.
"I-I-It's not like that!" I yelled, the embarrassment written all over my face. Impa gave me a small smile and shook her head.
Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the tension between us seemed to dissipate as we slowly made our way to the main gates. Instead of taking me through the back end where the deliveries were made, I was allowed to go through the massive main doors of the castle. Impa deliberately walked slower so that I could keep up, but I slowed even more so as I soaked in the magnificence that was the Royal Palace. The floors were covered by long, ruby red carpets that seemed to go on for forever. The walls were draped with massive paintings of Royal Family members and tapestries that foretold the legends of old. Busy servants dashed through the halls, paying no mind to me as they carried out their tasks.
Impa led me down a number of hallways, each as unique as the ones before, until she stopped abruptly. I was so absorbed in the elegant atmosphere that I bumped into her and nearly fell over. Just as I was about to tell her off, she stepped aside, and Princess Zelda came into view. She was just as beautiful as she had been the other day, maybe even more so. She gasped at the sight of me and came running at me at full speed.
"Kai!" she cried as she embraced me, tears rolling down her ivory cheeks. "You're alive! Praise the golden goddesses, you're alive!"
"Princess, this is not the way a member of the Royal Family welcomes her messenger." Impa warned.
"Well I cannot help myself! You wrongfully told me that she had been killed! I have been mourning her death for days now while she still lives!" Princess Zelda finally let go of me and wiped the tears from her cheeks. I had not noticed initially, but she was dressed less regally than the last time I had seen her. She wore a simple, long black dress that draped off of her body elegantly. Her hair wrap was also black, but fashioned with the same medallion that bore the symbol of the Triforce on it. She really had been mourning my supposed death. I was shocked that someone of such importance would shed tears for someone like me. It was very touching and the fact that she had barely known me made me admire her all the more.
I had but only a moment to relish the feeling of being loved so deeply (by somebody other than my mother) before I felt the evil air grow thicker. At that same moment, Princess Zelda turned to me with a look of urgency.
"Come, let us get out of here. We need to talk privately, away from any unwanted ears."
