The King was moved swiftly to the honored guest chambers in the southern wing of the castle. No one understood why and Zelda, without precedent to go on, insisted that in private her father had told her the southern wing was the nicest in the castle. The mages that weren't currently trying to make the king better were told to read the magic in the air. In the meantime, dinner was served, eaten, and a meeting attended, which proved very, exceedingly boring for Link. Then an hour long vigil for the king and time for bed, which led back to the chambers for Link to help Zelda undress and finally back to Link's room for her to undress
"How do they wear these things day in, day out?" she wondered to Navi and Kias as the flitted about her head and she took off her gown down to just her bra and panties.
"You'll get used to it, what we should really be worried about is the Nature magic coming from the King..." Kias chimed.
"What? It's coming from the King, not the King's chambers?"
"At the very least it's following the King," she landed on the top of the mirror as Link got into her Shekiah outfit for her training tonight. "It shifted from the East Wing to the South Wing almost as fast as the King did."
"Kias is right," Navi settled on the desk as Link sat down on her sofa. "It's either following the King, or coming from the King, and either one means trouble for the castle."
"What kind of trouble?" Link looked at the window, waiting for Impa or Nehsa to get her.
"Don't know, just it's not good for that much magic to be in one place for any amount of time, it could start to warp reality around the King, or even be the cause of his sickness."
"Then why wouldn't anyone else had been effected?"
"Simple," Kias took flight to hover in front of Link's view. "The Castle's wards are trying their best to protect the occupants, but when they fail, and fail they will...well you'll either get a small rip in the universe or several people turning into dogs or sheep or whatnot."
"Or both." Navi joined Kias.
"Or a small rip and most people turning into some combination of animal and hylain."
"Or..."
"Ok, I get it, it's bad." Link almost yelled at them. "Any telling how much time we have?"
"Well...could be a couple weeks, so long as no idiot decides to cast a fireball spell at it"
"Could only be hours...but again, no one cast fireball at it."
"Basically, don't cast fireball."
"Nature magic hates fireball."
Meanwhile...
Quinn Opper was showing off to all the other apprentices the destructive magic he mastered as a Mage Sargent
"NOW THIS CLASS!" he yelled to the practice yard, between thirty to forty apprentices, a mix of boys and girls ages six to twenty "IS HOW YOU CAST ICE SHARD!" With a wave of his hand a line of practice dummies fell, obliterated by a blizzard of razor sharp icicles. The Apprentices went wild. After days of being locked up inside studying books the younger ones needed time off and the elder ones were inspired, and who could blame them.
"FIREBALL FIREBALL FIREBALL," The crowd chanted as volunteers set up new dummies, doubling the amount.
"Alright...ALRIGHT!" He yelled out to the group, letting fire erupt in his hands. "FIREBALL!" They cheered, and the fire roared, condensing into a tiny ember which he then juggled, until he hurled it down range. Unfortunately, the magic practice yards were right next to the southern wing of the castle...
There was a deafening roar.
"What in the world?" Link asked
"Someone cast fireball?" Kias asked.
"Someone cast fireball..." Navi sighed, as screams filled the air, and Impa burst in the door.
"Here, wear it!" She threw a face mask at link, which caught it out of the air and put it on. "Grab whatever gear you need from the baths, and then meet in the main garden in fifteen! Bring the fairies!"
When Impa was gone Link turned to the fairies and asked
"The baths?"
When Link stepped into the baths she realized just how perfect the idea was, the Sheikah using it as a hidden armory. It didn't hide for long from her through, as the indentation to place a ring glowed red to her eyes. Without hesitation she got it opened and marveled, for just a moment, at the small size of the armory that could arm half the castle. She took a light bow, a long sword, two short swords, a quiver of 30 arrows, and a shield that appeared to be the same type she took into Terminia but redone with the Shekiah eye in smoky blood red on a field of grey and blacks. Her Shekiah outfit was surprisingly helpful in getting everything to fit and attach properly. She considered for a few moments throwing knives, or some caltrops, but seeing as how she didn't know how to use them she left them behind. She had opened the armory, gotten what she needed and was running to the main garden all in under five minutes
"Alright," Impa said, to Nehsa, Runaz and Link, who was last there, with Kias and Navi in tow. "Link, do Navi and Kias have anything to share with us?"
"Just this all started, whatever started, because someone cast fireball too close to the king, whose apparently either giving off large amounts of nature magic or is being followed by large amounts of Nature magic.
They just stared at her.
"Really?"
"Fireball?"
"The King? Link, take Nehsa and get to His Highness anyway possible, if this is the reason for his sickness, your mask should uncover the source and then you two can deal with it, I and Runaz shall patrol for monsters."
"Careful, they said it could have started turning people into half animal things, so make sure it's attacking you first."
"Understood, Link...May the Goddesses grant you victory this night."
The Castle was eerily quiet as Link and Nehsa made their way to the south wing.
"What about the Princesses and Prince?" Link asked, long sword drawn, it's blue steeled blade reflecting no light.
"There are others watching them, what's more important is we get the situation under control." Nehsa answered, her hands gloved with leather and black painted spikes as her primary attack.
"Emergency!" Bells started ringing out, as someone called out throughout the castle "Monsters in the Southwest Courtyard!"
"That's the Magic training courtyard. I bet it was some apprentices out for some late practice."
"It doesn't matter, let's move." Link started running, which was awkward at first for her, as she hadn't run much sense the transformation, but they quickly got in step and to the mostly empty courtyard. Two apprentices, both guys about twenty, were using lighting to keep Redeads and Stalfos away from the walls as archers a floor up picked off dozens of them at once.
"Where's Senior Apprentice Opper already?" one yelled to the other.
"Opper? Quinn Opper?" Link asked.
"That's him! He started this mess with his fireball, and he's still out there!"
"We can't stop for him," Nehsa told Link, "our first duty is to the King."
"But if he started it, then the rip is there, in that courtyard!"
"You're right, but right now the situation is under control, we need to move on before the King is in more danger."
Link knew she was right; they needed to get to the King and make sure he was safe. She didn't like leaving anyone in the mist of any monsters and this was far more than just a few, but they had to go. Reluctantly, she and Nehsa made their way up the stairs and to the southern wing.
The southern wing was loud, disturbingly loud with the sounds of animals and monsters, two wolves ran past the nearest hall way, and the door behind them clanged disturbingly loudly
"Who dares enter my domain?" A chilly voice rang out. "Who dares not bow before me, Lord King of Magic?" a wave of nausea ran over Link but it was gone before anything came of it, but Nehsa was doubled over in pain
"Nehsa?" Link was concerned, and put a hand on the girl's back
"I can't...breathe..." the rest was a scream as her mouth extended, and her nose too, very quickly, her face started looking like a cat's, in fact very shortly she was more cat then Shekiah, from the ears which itched their way up her head, to the tail that shot out of her, to her feet which quickly became paws, and her legs which became catlike. All covered in a smoky grey fur, and her eyes, when Link could see them, becoming silted "Ow..." she said, her voice slightly purring now.
"Are...Are you..."
"Yes, I'm fine mostly...Shekiah rings make sure that no matter what only death can stop us from our duties..." she showed hers, now on a furred hand and glowing violently.
"Good…" Link helped her up "I can help if we can get a magical ocarina, or something else magical instrument."
"Don't suppose the Wind Waker will help?"
"What's that?"
"That's a no, alright, let's go and take out whoever did this to me."
"Why I'm right here and you!" a ghostly figure, which Link could only say looked like the King with the lower half of a dodongo, a staff in its hand pointing at her "You disobey me? I shall destroy you! It powered up a spell in its staff and flung it at Link, which she deflected back with a well-timed swing of her sword He didn't expect that and in a flash of light
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" The ghastly figure yelled and exploded, leaving behind its staff
"That's it? Usually it takes at least three times..." Link said, pondering the weakness of the so called 'King of Magic' and picking up the staff, which was copper with a diamond on its tip.
"Maybe not" Nehsa said with a catty growl, and leaped onto link's back, tearing at her with her new claws
"What the hells?" Not thinking, Link flung the staff full force at her back, which Nehsa leaped off with newly cat like agility, making Link bruise herself right between her shoulder blades
"This vessel might fight back, but at least its powerful!" Nehsa's eyes glowed neon green as she licked her hand.
"Let her go!"
"No, I like this body...true, female isn't my style, but a few days and I'll be able to fix that easily" Nehsa finished licking her hand and came at link with two fast swipes both to the chest. One Link blocked with the staff but the other got through and tore open the front of Link's outfit from neck to belly button. Link then turned the staff around and hit the possessed woman in the head with the diamond of the staff, which started to glow. Before Link could ponder this or attack further Nehsa leaped into the air, hanging from a candelabra on the wall. She hissed and threw knives, which Link dodged all but one of. The one that hit sliced open her leg pretty badly, and it collapsed from under her.
"See? So powerful...yes, this body will do for now, and if she's a good girl I'll even keep it female for a few decades..." Nehsa climbed down with wall, the spirit in her making her new form purr. Link willed her leg to heal. She'd done so before when gravely injured but always she'd had a potion or a fairy to bring her back from the brink of death, now all she had was herself.
"Come on, come on..." she muttered constantly, backing off as much and as fast as her leg would let her. For once she thought willing it to heal was actually helping. Could it have been her imagination, or had it stopped bleeding?
"Now then child, I'll have my staff back, it's so dear to my heart."
"You can have it when I'm dead!" she said, smacking the diamond into Nehsa's ribs, and it glowed brighter, Link's Leg was defiantly better
"You little!" Link swung with diamond into Nehsa again and again, each time slowing down the reactions, each time the diamond glowed brighter
"Stop it, you can't defeat me with my own staff!" the glow mostly gone from Nehsa's eyes.
"I think I just did!" Link slammed the diamond into the small of Nehsa's back, and with a yowl Nehsa slumped down, unconscious. Link took the diamond out of the slot and looking at it, saw the face of an old, evil man looking back. She placed it on the floor, and with one stamp of the copper staff, it shattered, and left behind not even dust.
Link set Nehsa up to a wall, made sure she still breathed, and then continued onwards. Nehsa would understand, King first after all. Link's front was in tatters but still protected modesty, so she took the throwing knives that had been thrown at her and connected the two parts of her front with a pair of them and made her way down the halls. Filled only with Animals, and not, as she had assumed earlier, monsters, she saw pigs, chickens, an entire pack of dogs, more cats, ducks, rats, mice, and she was pretty sure she saw a lion or two, but finally, she made it to the king's chambers. She opened the doors quickly
"King? Your Highness!" Link called out.
"Please, no need to shout." Came a soft voice from the right. "I'm right here." Link turned to the voice.
"Um, King..."
"Yes, I know..." The King was no longer old, or frail, or indeed many things the King once was, from the long blond hair to the soft face, the difference just there was extreme, but most telling where the breasts and figure of a woman clearly visible under the night robe of the King.
"I think we would best be calling me Queen Hyrule now."