Chapter Eight: Past and Present
The next time I woke up, I felt much better—though still strange. I got ready and went outside, dazed by how familiar this place still was even after so much time. I had spent far too much time here in the past.
It didn't take me long to find my way to the Stock Pot Inn, and despite everything that was going on a smile crossed my face. My memories of my stay in Termina were a mess, full of pain and hopelessness—yet, the Stock Pot Inn had always been a warm and welcome place for me. A place for rest, even when surrounded on all sides by darkness.
If anything, it was even more lively now, nine years later. I saw Anju at the counter as soon as I walked in, and watched her face as recognition instantly spread across her features.
"Link!" She waved. "Kafei said we should expect you! It's been so long. Too long, really."
Quieter, she added, "We owe you so much."
I smiled at her. "No, it was nothing. Really. Seeing the two of you happy was reward enough for me."
Anju shook her head a little, embracing me. "You say that, but is it really true? There's a sadness about you," she said, pulling back to look into my eyes. Whatever it was she saw there caused her own expression to darken and she pulled away.
"You were always a strange boy, even then, so wise for one so young... You still have the same haunted look in your eyes."
Haunted. Yeah, I guess that's the word for it.
"Kafei's waiting for you," Anju said, finally. "He's been speaking with your friend."
She didn't even have to tell me where they would be. I knew—and sure enough, I found them in the room where Anju's grandmother had once sat, reading her book on ancient stories...
The moment I walked in the door they both went silent and looked at me. Kafei smiled a moment later. "Good to see you up, Link. Have a seat—our discussion is bound to be a long one, I'm afraid."
I sat down as he suggested, waiting for the answers I hoped I would get.
Shiek was the one to break the silence. "You asked me what happened to Saria," he said, looking me right in the eye. His gaze was as piercing as those of the Gossip Stones, and I felt a chill go down my spine.
"Yes," I said. "I want to know the whole story."
Shiek closed his eye, sighing a little. "Very well, Hero. I shall tell you that story. But in order for you to fully understand, I must begin with a story from long ago, in a time so distant it is now all but lost to the legends..."
…
In the days where this tale begins, the land now called Hyrule was very different. Wilder. Less hospitable. The children of the gods lived elsewhere, having separated themselves from the world claimed by monsters and beasts...
In this time, a demon appeared.
The chosen Hero fought this demon desperately, chasing him across the lands that would become Hyrule in order to save his beloved. At long last, this Hero succeeded, and the Demon Lord was thwarted, never to be seen or heard of again.
And so the ages passed. Hyrule was born and came to prosper. The tales of the battle against the demon who had once struck fear into the hearts of the people ceased to frighten them any longer, and thus the legends were forgotten... The people knew peace.
Whenever the lands were threatened, one of the Hero's line would always arise to face the dangers. The people never doubted this. It was always so; they had no fear that time would prove them wrong.
But it was wrong of them to forget the Demon Lord from that bygone age. Though he had been defeated, he lived on—and with him lived his hatred for the Hero who had stood in his way, though that Hero was long dead...
Long after the demon had forgotten his own name, he remembered the Hero.
And though he was too late to seek vengeance against the one he'd known, his hatred spanned the generations... The ultimate revenge, after all, would be to end the line chosen by the gods permanently.
Then, the Hero would never again rise...
...And the Demon Lord's reign would last forever.
…
My eyes never once left Shiek's face until he stopped speaking. It took some time for the story to sink in.
And when it did, I could not stop myself from seeing the scene from my recent nightmare play out in my mind's eye once more. A man clad in green. The Sacred Forest Meadow. Saria—the dagger, wounding her hand, spilling her blood, killing her from the inside out...
"This demon... What does he look like?" I asked.
Shiek looked away from me, gazing intently at the fire where it blazed in the fireplace. "He bears no single form—his true form was lost to him when he was defeated. In the ages since then, he spent much time as a shadow—no more. But his hatred has grown so strong that he is able to create a solid form for himself if he so chooses. He..." Shiek paused, meeting my gaze before going on. "The form he takes on most easily is the shadow of the form that is burned into his memory. The appearance of the Hero."
The shadow of the Hero.
I felt the blood run from my face as another memory surfaced. The strange room in the Water Temple, where I'd met and fought a shadow that looked like me. He hadn't spoken to me, had hardly been solid enough to face me, but he'd still been a formidable foe. The hatred that had radiated from him...
It couldn't be.
But just by the look on Shiek's face, I could tell I'd come to the right conclusion. The shadow I'd faced all those years ago... He was my most mortal foe. His hatred for me had only grown stronger with time, until now.
Now, he sought to end not just me, but all Heroes destined to be born after me. The Hero always came from the same bloodline, chosen by the gods.
Shiek's story explained much... But it still didn't explain everything.
"Why her?" I asked, trying to remain calm. "Why Saria?"
Shiek and Kafei both frowned as they first shared a glance and then turned to me. It was Kafei who spoke this time. "Because he knows how you feel about her. He's exploiting that—he knows you'd do anything to save her. To protect her from him."
"In other words, he probably has something planned," Shiek said. "A trap."
I gripped the arm of the chair so tightly that my knuckles turned white. "I don't care if he has a trap set for me," I said. "I won't let Saria suffer more than she has to. I will save her. Even if it means walking into a trap!"
Link and Saria will always be friends, won't we?
I cannot control the way my heart feels. She is the one I hold most dear—my beloved friend. If this shadow plans to use that against me, then let him!
"How do we reach her?" I asked Shiek and Kafei.
Shiek tilted his head. "I've told you already, Hero. The Gate to Time will open atop the Clocktower at midnight on the night of the Fesival—three nights from now."
"Three nights," I sighed. Hopefully no more than that this time. "Great. What are we supposed to do until then? Sit and wait?"
Kafei smiled. "You could do that, Link... Or you could visit some of the friends you made the last time you were here. I'm sure they'd be happy to see you."
Despite myself, I couldn't help but smile at that thought.
"Yes," I told him. "I'd like that very much."
...
Author: I'm going to try to avoid long author's notes in this story, but I figure since it's been more than a year now since this story was updated I'd better write something.
I've said it before that once I start something, I like to finish it. This story truly is one of my favorite fanfictions. I am somewhat sorry that I didn't update for so long and left everyone hanging, but I had reasons for doing so. (Original fiction becoming my true top priority, for one thing.)
I'm here to tell you that I'm a few chapters away from finishing another story that has been my fanfiction interest for a while, and I've been playing Skyward Sword (which I love)-and my interests have returned to this story once again.
I've gone back and fixed things that were bothering me about older chapters, so I'd highly suggest you re-read the whole thing if you're an old fan of this.
From this chapter on, the plot really starts to get thick.
Let the journey continue.
~Knight
