Here is the latest installment of Healing the Moon! I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter :) Thanks to all who read, reviewed, favorited, followed, and came back for more! You are the best!
We stayed locked in an embrace for what could have been hours. Not until snow flurries fell from the sky and swirled around our entwined forms, did the Fierce Deity let me go, murmuring that I should get some warmth and some rest. I numbly disagreed, hating to be apart from him.
The heat from his arms around me warmed me more than any fire ever did.
But I complied. He was right. There was work to be done. I needed my rest.
We did not speak a word to each other while he escorted me back into the Manor. Only the hissing of the flakes as they fell and our feet crunching through the snowdrifts made any sort of noise.
Yet the link between us was alive. The emotions boiling inside spoke for us. I could tell that he ached to be able to block our connection as these vulnerable feelings whirled around in his head, but he held fast to his promise to me. Luckily for the Fierce Deity, I was having trouble deciphering exactly what he was going on with him. It was a confusing jumble of uncertainty; the inward battle of somebody trying to decipher the contents of their own heart while someone else had an eagle-eye view into their struggle.
Exactly the same position that I found myself in now.
I do not think that we tried too hard to take a close look at what the other was going through. We both understood what had passed between us just now but we gave each other privacy as we wrestled through it.
My head was spinning as we stepped into the shadowy hallways of the Manor. The Fierce Deity and I walked together to the set of stairs. We wordlessly climbed the steps. The sparsely lit sconces cast enough light for me to see that his face had fallen into a strained grimace. We came to the second floor landing. My room was to the right and his, to the left. Both of us paused as we came to the top of the landing.
It was a rather pregnant pause.
Neither of us wanted to part.
I could feel his hesitation—his dread—at having to leave me. Now that he had confessed his need for companionship, it could no longer be easily hidden.
On my lips, lingered an invitation. I could move him into a room closer to mine. That way he would not be so far, because as it currently stood, his room was on the clear opposite side of the Manor. I had done that on purpose. I did not want him close to me but now—
"Zelda."
His deep voice echoed over the stone walls. I turned to him, seeing that he already gazed down at me. He had not so much as glanced at me this entire time we walked back inside, but now his focus was trained solely on me.
"Yes?" My heart skipped a hundred beats.
I watched him shuffle on his feet, uncomfortable and awkward.
"I have never uttered this phrase before in my life," he grumbled. "It seemed like silly mortal foolishness to me but… I suppose that perhaps I had always been the one in the wrong to think so."
Then he lifted his hand out of the shadows, laying his palm warmly across my face. My knees were weak and my heart fluttering. His warm hand on my face sent a flaming arrow right through me.
"Goodnight." He mumbled under his breath, his tone tender and gruff.
"Goodnight." I said back in a breathless whisper, my cheeks aflame with a wild blush. Some of his vulnerable feelings in our Triforce connection became a little more vivid, but I was still too confused to try and put a name to them. But my own were becoming alarmingly clear.
Confused. Scared. Terrified. Overwhelmed. Elated.
All of the above…
"Being sentimental is not so vile as I once thought," I heard him say before he pulled himself away from me. He sounded amused. There was a levity to him that I had only seen glimpses of. He had quite the wicked sense of humor. I could only give a nervous laugh in response. The Fierce Deity allowed a little smirk to cross his lips before he brushed past me.
His tall frame loped down the corridor. The lights of the sconces illuminated him every few feet as he marched by, but soon, he rounded a bend in the hallway and disappeared into the shadows.
Feeling giddy and horrified, I turned on my heels and flew back to my room. My feet hardly made a sound as they carried me over the ancient floorboards. I came crashing into my room and flung myself on the bed.
What was I doing? What in the goddesses' names was happening to me? I should not have even entertaining thoughts of… of… whatever it was that I was entertaining thoughts of. I hastily shoved down the feelings that being near the Fierce Deity stirred within me and I buried myself underneath the covers.
When my head hit the pillow, weariness overtook me. I was more exhausted than I realized and despite the stormy thoughts in my head, I quickly fell into a deep sleep.
My dreams were disturbing.
When they started, they seemed normal enough. I found myself strolling down the portrait hallway in the Castle. The bright moon shone through the windows, shedding pale light onto the gloomy paintings. As I walked past Zelda's portrait, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned to face the painting and I saw that Zelda had come to life within the frame.
She was leaning forward, silently summoning me to come closer to her. In dreams, unordinary things always appear normal, so I was not shocked to see an inanimate painting moving like a person. It was as normal to me as anything else. I obeyed her beckoning and stepped closer, close enough to touch the canvas. She smiled at me, though it seemed like a very cheerless smile to me.
I smiled back and ran my fingers over the intricate, gold leaf frame frame, studying the portrait of my ancestor. Then to my surprise, I saw that Zelda was holding a book in her hands. I had not noticed that before. With her arms outstretched, she leaned farther forward and tried to give the book to me. Unsure of how to take the book from her, I hesitantly reached up and put my hands to the canvas. I did not touch the painting, but rather my arms went through the frame and into the picture itself. Zelda smiled again and she slowly let go of the book, placing it into my outstretched hands. The book was solid and heavy. Confused, I slowly eased it out of the portrait.
It was "Tales of Termina." Zelda had given me the old book of fairy stories. I flipped the cover over, expecting to see familiar tales, but all I saw were pictures.
I turned to the next page. It was the same; no letters, just a picture. Every page was of the same image.
A mask, a heart shaped mask with two glowing, bulbous orange eyes. Yellow spines grew from its face and head. It was highly and garishly colored. I frantically turned every page, wishing to see something besides the troubling pair of eyes. That mask scared me, ten times worse than how the Fierce Deity's mask did.
Something about it was evil and unsettling.
I looked back up at Zelda's portrait. She was no longer smiling but looking down at me with an anxious expression. Her eyebrows were pulled into a frown and her lips were downturned. I wanted to ask her why she had given me such a terrible book, but as I started to speak, the dream changed.
Zelda's eyes grew wide as she looked past me. She raised her hand and pointed to something behind me. I turned around. Nothing but empty blackness was there. I whipped around to the portrait, but the hallway had completely disappeared!
She was gone. Everything around me was black as night. I was standing completely alone in the dark.
I had never felt so much raw fear in a dream before. My heart was drumming and I could not breathe. I circled around in the emptiness, praying to see something comforting.
Nothing happened for a few tense moments. Then, like two stars, pinpoints of light glowed in the distance. They were growing bigger by the second. I dreaded them, for I could see that they were the eyes from the mask in my book. And they were rushing to meet me right where I stood. Before I had the chance to run away, they were hovering over me in the blackness and not making a single sound.
A scream stuck in my throat as long red tendrils slithered from the bottom of the mask. The mask swelled bigger and bigger, until it was enormous. Like two slithering snakes, the tendrils wove through the air. I froze to the spot as the tips brushed against my skin. They felt dry and scaly. I retched at their touch.
Suddenly, the tendrils became taut and the mask started rapidly spinning. The tendrils slapped against my face. Finally my feet found their movement and through complete darkness, I ran away from the spinning mask as fast as I could. I felt like I was moving through water. My legs were heavy and slow, resisting each step I struggled to take. I looked behind me just in time to see the mask swoop over my head. It rushed past me and stopped abruptly.
The dimensions of the mask warped. The tendrils disappeared and a pair of spindly legs and skinny arms burst from the body of the mask. A single, giant white eye grew from the top of the mask. It pivoted around on a thick, short neck.
The thing was no longer soundless. Instead it screeched; a loud, clanging, unrelenting wail that sounded like death itself. I fell to my knees and covered my ears. My dream body could still not make a sound, though silent scream ripped my throat apart. The mask jerkily hopped on its legs and then darted to the left, and then to the right. It never stopped. It ran past me, striking me as it went. Then it paused in the middle of running and started a disjointed dance. The noises it made sounded like the disturbed laughing of a person lost in the throes of madness.
I watched the thing with terror. With a final screeching laugh, it threw its arms in the air. The muscles on the legs bulged and the arms shook. Right before my very eyes, the thing was changing again. It grew taller and thicker. The mask elongated and formed into a torso, connecting with the now thick legs and arms. The eye shook on its little neck, and it was no longer an eye. A head sat between two purple shards growing out of the shoulders. The face was adorned with the giant white eye in the very middle of the forehead. A pair of two-toned eyes were set below and they echoed the eyes of the mask, which were now on its chest. It had a gaping mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth. The thing snapped its arms and they became two long tendrils.
I found my voice and I screamed as I had never done before in my life, whether in a dream or not. As if mocking my terror, its mouth opened wider and out of it came a shrill, ear-shattering screech. The sound of it mingled with my own scream.
The thing waved its arms around and the tendrils cracked like giant whips. It ran towards me with deadly speed. I tried to flee into the darkness, but the tendrils caught my arms and flung me to the ground. I fell on my stomach as I felt the tendrils wrap around my body. Piercing cries filled the void. I rolled onto my back and screamed.
The thing was practically standing on top of me. I began to sob with earnest, begging for it to let me go. It only replied with an onslaught of murderous screams, sounding like a woman being stabbed. The tendrils tightened around my body and I began to gasp for air. The thing was choking me. I took the deepest breath I could and I emptied my lungs with the loudest wail I could muster.
"Majora!" I screamed. "Majora!"
The darkness disappeared in a flash and so did the dreadful face of the creature that was holding me hostage in its ugly grip.
Pale moonlight streamed in through open windows in my room, my surroundings no longer dark and empty. I was lying on my back in the bed with the sheets tangled around me, much like the tendrils had been in my dream. I was still screaming loudly enough to wake the entire Manor.
"Majora!" I yelled, still not fully aware that I was truly awake and in no real danger. I thrashed around on the bed, trying to get the sheets off of me. I could still feel the tendrils on my skin, growing tighter and tighter.
I fell off the bed and landed painfully on the cold, hard floor. My chest rose and fell in a rapid rhythm and my breath was sharp and shallow. I could not get in a deep swallow of air. I still felt constricted. When I could finally get in a good breath, I let it out in cries of anguish. I grabbed my hair and wept loudly. I cried and cried, unable to control the real terror and panic I still felt.
"Majora… Majora..." I bleated pitifully through tears. I could not stop the word from erupting out of my mouth. I had to say it. My lips formed the distasteful name over and over, like a poisonous mantra. I had no idea what Majora was, but I had to say it. I just needed to say it. It meant something and it had to do with the nightmare.
I was not screaming anymore, just lying prostrate on the floor and saying Majora. I felt like I just lost my mind. I was not a sane person anymore. Something in me had broken and I was a lunatic on the stone, cold ground.
The hinges of my door creaked and it flew open, hitting the wall as the unseen visitor made haste to come inside. I did not glance up to see who it was. My poor mind believed that it was the demon from my nightmare and I did not want to see it in my waking life.
But I did not have to see him to know that he was close. His dominating presence filled the room. This was no demon that darkened my door. The Fierce Deity had come to my aid. Though he was close to me, I could feel nothing from him. Our connection was lost to me. My soul was filled with too much fear and terror to feel anything else.
There were hands, big and strong and warm, that held me beneath my shoulders. Those hands pulled me up until I was wrapped in a pair of solid, sturdy arms. I fell face first into his chest, feeling a soft shirt beneath me. My trembling fingers grabbed fistfulls of the fabric. He was something safe I could hold onto. I buried my face into the crook of his neck, craving the safety I felt in his arms.
"What are you screaming about?" His words were a gruff whisper that rumbled from his chest, and he sounded legitimately concerned. "I heard you all the way from my room."
The words spoken in that deep voice I hated to love pulled me out of the throes of madness. Some small remnant of reality came back to me. I shook my head, trying to clear it of the raging panic.
"I… I had a nightmare," was all I managed choke out in a raspy voice.
The Fierce Deity ran one of his hands over the back of my head, tangling his fingers through my hair. "What did you dream?" he asked, his voice soft with compassion.
"I cannot… " I shook my head a little more fiercely. "I just cannot… the mask tried to kill me…" My heart thudded and I felt a fresh wave of panic. "It grew arms and legs and it tried to kill me." I began to weep again in earnest. The Fierce Deity let out a growling sigh at my tearful confession. I could feel his apprehension in the Triforce connection, but he continued to stroke my hair in a calming gesture.
"A mask tried to kill you?" he asked evenly. I could only shake my head, trying to erase the memory of the nightmare. My nerves were eased at being held so protectively in his arms. My mentality was somewhat returning to normal and I felt suddenly exhausted. The Fierce Deity's emotions were becoming clearer and I could dimly sense that he was deeply alarmed.
"Please do not make me speak of it. I am too frightened." I mumbled hazily, hardly knowing what I was saying anymore.
Another heavy sigh. "I will not make you speak of it tonight, but you are exhausted. You need to rest, Princess."
"No!" I whipped my head out of the safe spot I had found and stared up at him with wild eyes. "I will not go back to sleep! I do not want to have that dream again!"
White eyes bored into me, like two pale moons hanging in the sky. His mouth fell into a thin line and his brows furrowed in a gentle frown. Before I could protest sleep again, the arms around me tightened. I gasped as the Fierce Deity gathered me in his arms and carried me back to my bed. I fell on the sheets with a light thud as he carefully released me from his grip.
"The moon is still in the sky. There is much of the night left. Go back to sleep," he insisted. I tried to sit up and get out of bed again. The Fierce Deity gently pushed me back down and drew the sheets and quilt over my body.
"I am afraid..." I whispered. "I do not want to sleep."
He knelt down on the floor next to my bed. Warm hands gently encircled my face. The Fierce Deity drew his face close to mine. His closeness chased my fears away. My nerves calmed. I exhaled and felt all my terror and dread slip away. His rich voice was tranquil and soothing as he spoke to me.
"You will have no more fearful dreams tonight, that I promise." The Fierce Deity leaned forward and rested his forehead against mine. My eyes closed and I felt myself slipping into sleep.
"Be at peace Zelda," he murmured tenderly before I fell into an undisturbed, serene slumber.
I awoke the next morning to bright, happy sunshine pouring into my room. My first thought was how lovely it was to see the sunshine again.
My second thought was what had taken place hours earlier.
Every detail was clear as day. The dream itself and what happened when I woke up; how I turned into a stark, raving mad lunatic, crying on the floor. Embarrassed, I turned over and buried my face into the pillow.
My silly shame partially came because of the one who had come to comfort me while I wept. The Fierce Deity, not my servants, was the one who rushed into my room. I remembered the way he cradled me in his arms, spoke gently to me, held my face in his hands and whispered my name…
My cheeks flamed and my heart pounded and my head spun with giddiness.
Then my memory stretched back just a bit further, to our emotionally charged meeting beneath the pale moonlight and how it ended in a tight, unrelenting embrace. I remembered my admission of my feelings for him—his confession of his fear and his need for companionship.
Then, my stomach clenched. I smothered my face deeper into the pillow and groaned in aggravation.
It made absolutely no sense for me to feel this way for him. I did not understand why my heart decided that the Fierce Deity was the one to steal it when my mind knew that it was clearly a terrible idea. He had no redeeming qualities that made him a respectable suitor. In fact, it was safe to say that he was the complete opposite of what was acceptable in a mate. We were a baseless match, him and I. He was a being of unknown origins and I was a young Princess of a kingdom, tied to a divine destiny to rule.
Not to mention the small detail of him possessing Link's body. When Fierce Deity became free of his mysterious curse and Link was himself again, what would happen? Who would the Fierce Deity be? What would he become? A spirit, a man, or a god?
Would he graciously, or ungraciously, thank me for my help and then vanish into the vast reaches of the kingdom, never to be found again or would he stay… with me? That would be highly unlikely, I told myself. He did not want to be in Hyrule. He wanted me to hate him, so he probably tried hard to hate me himself.
I thought about how he put his hands on my face and rested his forehead against mine. Every encounter that was fueled with uncertain emotion said that I could possibly be wrong. Perhaps he was just as confused about me as I was him? He could not truly hate me. Not after the compassion he had shown me. I only hoped not...
Yet if I could not find a way to help him, then would he forever hold Link captive?
There seemed to be no pleasant outcome for my hopelessly conflicted emotions. I turned over in my bed and kicked my covers off.
The goddesses would guide me. Their will would be done in all of this. I just prayed that I would not be left heartbroken with foolish choices hanging over my head.
My feet touched the floor and I walked to a wardrobe to fetch a robe to wear over my nightgown. Aches ran through my legs. I pulled up the hem of my nightgown and saw that my knees were black and blue with bruises, evidence of falling out of my bed after the nightmare.
With a disgruntled sigh, I dropped my hem and snatched the nearest robe I could find. I stomped to the door but before I opened it, I made sure that the Fierce Deity was nowhere near where I would be going.
I sensed my guest walking around in the woods outside of the Manor.
"Fine, walk through the woods," I muttered. "Just please do not run away..."
I left my room and made my way to the study. Keeping up with my unfinished work could be a welcome distraction. Hopefully the Fierce Deity would leave me alone this time and refrain from throwing my desk across the room or something along those lines.
Minutes turned into hours as I fell into a steady rhythm of work. My mother always told me that a royal lady should never leave her room in sleeping attire; I hardly cared for that rule today. Working in a robe and nightgown was much more relaxing than sitting in a tight dress and corsets, especially when one had a less than restful night's sleep. For this reason, I was glad to be at the Manor and not my formal study in the castle.
Gradually, the pile of parchment on my desk disappeared as the morning hours drifted by. I set my quill into the inkwell and stretched out my stiff arms. It was close to noon. The sun had climbed higher in the clear blue sky. There would be no chance of snow today.
My stomach felt weak with hunger. It was time to get dressed and start thinking about going to the castle. I had to meet with the Council and my beloved fiancé to talk about the upcoming marriage. Though I knew of no way to undermine their ruling, I was going to try and convince the Council that they were making a terrible mistake.
I got out of the chair and walked out the door, passing the small library on my way out.
Suddenly, I remembered something from my nightmare. I gasped and dashed inside. I ran to the table near the window. A few days before, I stood here with the Fierce Deity while he looked through books to search for answers that he never found. One of the books he had inquired about was "Tales of Termina," the book that the old Zelda handed to me in my nightmare.
There it was, sitting innocently on the table where he had left it. I hesitantly reached for it, half expecting all the letters to be replaced with pictures of the disturbing mask. When I opened the pages and saw familiar stories on the paper, I felt a little silly.
I sifted through the pages, hoping to see an answer pop out of somewhere. Zelda wanted me to see something in this book. She came to life and handed it to me from her portrait. I just knew that she was trying to tell me something. As I looked, nothing stood out to me. The stories were just as normal and memorable as they always had been.
Finding nothing obvious, I sat down on the nearest chair and decided to take a closer look. Perhaps there was something to be found that needed a thorough investigation? This book held some clue, and Zelda wanted me to know what it was.
"Where have you been all morning?"
His voice came rumbling behind me from out of nowhere. I nearly jumped out of my chair. My heart thudded as I looked behind me and saw the Fierce Deity standing behind my chair.
I was still in the library, with my nose in "Tales of Termina." I had been completely absorbed in the stories, trying to glean any sign of something unusual or useful.
This morning, I felt a steady sense of calm coming from him. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was looking casually over my shoulder at the book in my lap. I took in his placid demeanor and my mind ran wild with thoughts of last night, which did nothing to calm my sudden, frantically frayed nerves.
"I have been working all morning," I answered breathlessly. I was sure he could feel how nervous I was. He did not reply with more than a simple nod of his head.
"Please, have a seat." I offered, pointing to the armchair sitting just across from me.
"No thank you," he answered. He stepped around my chair instead took his place next to me. "I prefer to stand."
Very well.
The room echoed with uncomfortable silence. I picked up my fork and tapped it against the plate. The Fierce Deity, poised and composed, stared down at me and I in turn awkwardly gazed back up at him. I opened my mouth. At the same time, so did he.
"I'm going to set up a trip to Termina—"
"What did you dream about—"
Our words crashed over the other's in a confusing jumble of noise. I hastily clamped my mouth shut.
"You first," the Fierce Deity encouraged me.
I took a quick breath. "I was going to say that, when I am at the castle today, I want to arrange a trip to Termina for us… that is if you still have the desire to go there."
"Yes," he answered abruptly. "I need to go there." I waited for an explanation but instead he countered with a question of his own.
"What did you dream about last night?"
At first, I found the experience difficult to speak of. The terror of the dream was so raw, so visceral, that it haunted me even in the light of day. With some more surprising tenderness from the giant man, I relayed to him every horrendous detail of my nightmare; of Zelda giving me the book, the eerie mask morphing into a demonic creature, and how it tried to choke me to death. Chills ran down my spine as I relived the terrifying dream. As the Fierce Deity listened to me, he towered over me, tall and imposing with his arms crossed tightly over his broad chest. He stared at his boots and I felt his calm slowly break as fear and concern moved into his heart. I did not know what he feared, but I could tell that he was concerned for my well being. When I finished my tale, he did not say anything, lost in his own thoughts.
"What does it mean?" I asked after a minute of silence.
"I think it means that the Zelda of your past is trying to tell you something," he said. He was no longer completely calm, but his countenance grew serious. The Fierce Deity picked up "Tales of Termina," and slid his finger along the spine of the book. "I think she is trying to show you something in here," he mused aloud. "Somewhere in these pages are answers."
"I agree with you but, what about that mask and the hideous creature? What did those things mean? And why did I keep saying..." I let my thoughts die. I did not dare speak the name that he hated, in fear of him angering him as it did before.
"Majora?" he spoke the name as if it did not mean a thing to him. "Why did you keep saying Majora?"
I nodded yes.
"Princess, that creature you saw in your dreams..." there was a great hesitation. I could feel him mustering up the courage to speak that thought but then it quickly fizzled out. "I cannot tell you why you dreamed of it, or said that name but I will tell you that it deepens my conviction to travel to Termina."
I wanted to ask him why, but he was not finished. "Do you remember me telling you of the clan that I hated, whose language I spoke as I attacked that man outside the library? I am starting to believe that there is a correlation between that clan and the Ikana, the race of people that the odd man with the socks told us about yesterday."
"What makes you believe that?"
"Majora, the thing that I hated, was the leader of that clan… of the Ikana." I felt the Fierce Deity become despondent, though he did not show it outwardly. "I do not believe that Arkhaos exists at all anymore. I have been cursed as a mask for much, much longer than I realized. I do now know what became of Majora's clan or Arkhaos. It may be a shot in the dark, but I believe that, somehow, Termina and Arkhaos might be the same. Going to Termina might bring us answers."
"What of Taran, then?" I asked him. "He claims to be of the Ikana."
The Fierce Deity crossed his arms tighter and he sneered. "As much as it pains me to believe, I don't think he's lying about that. When I looked at him, I felt traces of the clan, traces of Majora. When I spoke the language, I saw understanding in his eyes. Then you told me that he spoke of Majora. He raises my suspicions. There is a darkness that shrouds him, a darkness that I fear is terribly familiar to me. Do you know if he wields magic?"
"I do not know," I admitted. "He has never shown any signs of it before."
"I am sure he does, Princess. He is just hiding it. Why are you marrying him anyways?"
"I do not want to. It is against my will that we are betrothed. I am trying to find a way to break the engagement altogether." I explained to him about how the entire Council went against my judgment and warnings about the match. "I am meeting with them this evening to talk things over and hopefully get them to repeal the ruling. Surely they can see that this would be a terrible mistake for not only Hyrule, but for Termina as well."
The Fierce Deity had uncrossed his arms and was now pacing back and forth in front of me. His agitation was high and I could feel his pulse quicken. "Things are not adding up. Fifteen men all unanimously agree on a destructive rule that their Princess refused? Your High Councilman acting in a way that he never has before? It makes no sense."
I jumped up from my chair. "What do you think?" I asked. He stopped pacing and walked right up to me. He put his hands on my shoulders and squeezed them gently.
"I think that this Taran is a more dangerous man than you realize." The Fierce Deity leaned down and his face was very close to mine. "Let me come with you today." He demanded gently.
"I cannot let you come," I said. "The Council has forbidden you entry to the Castle."
He smiled widely. "I would like to see them try and stop me," he laughed.
I raised my arms and put my hands up on his shoulders. His tension relaxed under my touch, though I sensed he was still stubbornly intent on coming with me.
"We cannot afford anymore mishaps at the palace," I implored of him. "Please promise me that you will stay here. For Link's sake, and for mine, please stay."
The Fierce Deity's smile faded and his brow furrowed. He stood up straight and my hands slid off his shoulders. "I will not come unless I feel as though you are in danger. There is more to this than meets the eye." He picked up my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "If I feel any hint or sign of you in trouble, I will come to you, Zelda." The Fierce Deity brought my hand to his face and lightly kissed the top of my knuckles.
Quivers ran down to my toes at the feel of his lips on my skin and I knew that I was blushing. "Only if I am in danger…" I murmured shyly.
The Fierce Deity let go of my hand and opened his mouth as if to say something else, but instead strode swiftly past me. He went to pick up the book sitting in the chair. "You appear to be greatly connected to the spirit of your ancestors," he mused in a seemingly rapid change of subject. Only, I knew that he switched topics to avoid the embarrassment bubbling up inside of him.
"I am." I followed behind him, watching as he cracked open the book and idly flipped through the pages. "The Zelda that came before me, in particular. I feel the most connected to her."
Our voices eased off into a silence that for once, felt truly companionable. Comfortable. I stood behind him and felt him grow contemplative.
"What ever happened to them?" His voice dropped to a low murmur. He sounded nearly reverent. "The Zelda and Link that came before you?"
"Would you like the official, historical account or would you like the legend that my family tells?"
"Both." The Fierce Deity stated, closing the book with a snap. He turned back around and grinned down at me, mischief dancing over his features, and handed the book back over to me. A shy laugh was my response to him. I took the book out of his hands, feeling our fingers chance to brush each others.
"Well, the first thing that you should know is that the Hero of Time was not so celebrated as the Hero you know." I started off, quickly turning away from him and going back to the book shelf. My eyes searched for the spot where the book was normally stored. "The people of Hyrule today remember their suffering during the Twilight. They remember being cursed, forced to endure the oppressive magic, and they remember their liberation. My people lived through this terrible ordeal, so it was easy for them to recognize Link as their Hero. Hyrule loves him. They adulate him and praise him and have written songs and poems in his honor."
"He does not seem to be one to care about such adulation." I heard his deep timbre rumble from behind me.
"No. He is not," I agreed as I slid the book back into its home on the shelves. "I believe that it rather frightens him. He prefers a simpler life. He does not care for the glamor of being a Hero. But it is now a part of his destiny, to be loved by the masses. Just as he was destined to bear Courage and just as he was destined to save Hyrule, he is also destined to attend formal celebrations when the occasion arises."
A smile crossed my lips as I thought of how awkward and out of place Link would be at feasts or gatherings. He would dutifully attend, but he had a habit of slipping away unnoticed and escaping back to Ordon as soon as it was polite for his presence to be absent.
"I believe also that the Link that came before him would have also been bashful of such praise. The Hero of Time had a much different destiny after he saved Hyrule from Ganondorf. You see…" Here I paused. A deep sigh escaped me. I turned back to the Fierce Deity, to find him standing just behind me.
"The Link of old…" A melancholy swelled up in me. It always had a way of darkening my mood when I reflected on the Hero of Time. "His journey was complex. He started his quest when he was a child. That was when he met Zelda. The both of them were children, bearers of a great power and with entwined fates to save the kingdom from an evil man. Things went awry. Link became locked in a temple and trapped in a deep sleep for seven years. When he awoke, he awoke as a man. The rest of his journey, he completed in this grown body that he suddenly had. Together, he and Zelda defeated the evil man who had taken Hyrule and the Sages of Hyrule banished him to suffer in eternal punishment. Zelda and Link, their childhoods stolen from them and the kingdom ravished after seven years of tyranny, decided to make things right. There is a relic in the Royal Family, one now lost, called the Ocarina of Time. It holds incredible, mysterious power and when the right songs are played, amazing things can happen. Zelda used her Ocarina to send her and Link back into the past, before all the nightmares happened. The world went back to the way it was before Ganondorf destroyed it. Hyrule was saved and restored… but nobody remembered," I lamented. The Hero's fate, as modest as the man seemed to be, never set well with me. Perhaps because it never set well with my ancestor, her troubles also troubled me.
"Nobody knew that they had a Hero," I went on to say. The Fierce Deity listened patiently to my tale. I decided to turn back to the books. My fingers ran along the spines, the leather worn and the gold-leaf letters fading. "Nobody knew that they were saved from a danger. All of it was unknown to them. Only Link and Zelda knew the truth. The little Princess went to her father, the King, with a fantastical tale of good battling evil. The King looked at the tiny boy standing in front of him and could hardly believe that this skinny creature who lived in the forest could even so much as pick up a sword. But his faith in the goddesses was strong, and he believed his daughter. She was divinely gifted. Wise beyond her years. Wise beyond anyone else he knew. She was not prone to silly lies or exaggerations. He took her at her word."
I recanted the story to the Fierce Deity as he followed in my footsteps while I searched the shelves for a particular tome, one slightly newer than the others.
"What happened after their story was revealed?" The presence behind me wanted to know. I could sense his genuine curiosity. My search ended when I spotted the book I had in mind. I pulled it from the shelf, dusting off the leather binding, and handed it to him. Emblazoned on the front was a depiction of the Hero of Time, his countenance imposed over three golden triangles and flanked by wings.
"The Tale of the Hero of Time…" I read aloud the title of that scrawled across the leather. "The unbelievable story of the Princess and a Hero, battling an evil villain spread across the kingdom like wildfire. Some people believed it. Some did not. But all agreed that it was a wonderful story, whether or not one thought it to be true. Link became a legend, in his own right."
I handed the book over to the Fierce Deity and he eagerly lifted it out of my hands. He skimmed through the pages that told in detail, the story of the Link and Zelda that came an century before.
"When did he go to Termina?" He asked after a long stretch of silence.
"Not long after. Within the year, I would say. He was gone for many months before he returned. Termina was previously undiscovered, until then. Once again, little Zelda told her father everything. She came to him with news of the existence of this land and the rest, is history."
"So is that your family legend, or is that the historical account?" He asked, glancing up from the pages to smirk at me.
"Historical." I laughed. "I suppose you did need the exposition before I told you the story my family tells."
He responded with a light huff, but there was no ire behind it. Those white eyes shifted back down to the pages in his hand and a smile remained on his lips. "Which is what? You have my interest."
"Zelda and Link spent their second childhood together," I explained, flipping the pages to the back of the book. I stopped when I came to a painting. The parchment was covered in bright colors of a green tunic and a pink gown, worn by two children. One a boy. One a girl. Both of their hair was painted in gold and eyes of sky blue. My fingers trailed over the edges of the painted dress.
Of my ancestor. My namesake.
"They were the closest of friends," my voice was a hush. "The King would allow this strange, little peasant boy to come play with his daughter; he was a Hero, after all. Time passed and the children grew into young adults. Then everything changed. The friendship that they forged in childhood turned into something else entirely."
The mood of the Fierce Deity shifted. He went from curious to oddly pensive. He lifted a great, big hand and traced the outline of Princess Zelda's golden locks.
"They fell in love."
His sonorous tone filled the peaceful library. He spoke bluntly, but his words carried a weight to them.
"Madly in love." I reiterated, matching the near woeful tone of his voice. In the link, I could sense that same heaviness weighing down his heart.
"How did that end?" The Fierce Deity muttered solemnly. My gaze lingered on the two children, where they were depicted sitting on a bed of soft green grass with the boy played with a blue Fairy in his hands. They were the very picture of innocence and happiness; life before the troubles of adulthood cast it's inevitable shadow. He awaited my answer, giving me a brief brush of his fingers over my wrist to encourage me to go on. That display nearly stole the words from me, but I spoke up in a voice so quiet that he had to lean in to hear me.
"She chose duty over love."
"Why?" I felt more than saw, the Fierce Deity frown.
Emotions that were not of my own or the Fierce Deity's began to swirl around in my subconscious. I delved into the memory of a past that was lived by my namesake, pulling out thoughts and feelings that were hers, rather than mine.
"It was expected of her," I told him. "Even though Link was a Hero, he was still just a commoner in the eyes of the King. When he found out that his precious daughter was in love with a man that was far from noble, he forbade Zelda from marrying him. They made plans to run away and wed in secret, but at the last minute, Zelda had a change of heart. She was afraid of defying her father. She feared what her forbidden marriage might to do the kingdom. She was just afraid. So, she told Link that she could not see him again. Zelda went on to marry a nobleman and they had children together. I think she had a happy life but… there was always that regret… that yearning for the one who she let go… and for the life they could have built."
"Is that a part of the legend your family tells?" He asked in reference to my intimate knowledge of Zelda's feelings.
"No. I know it. From her. I am her. The Triforce I bear connects me to my past life. I can feel emotions, memories, images that I have never before felt in this life. That was why seeing the shack in the woods and seeing the mask resonated with me. It happened to me once… long ago… in another version of myself."
"So she regretted leaving the one she loved?"
"She did. But she felt as though she had no other choice. She was young and afraid. She could stand up the the most cruel, evil man that ever lived, but she could not stand up to her own father."
My heart would forever hold sadness for Zelda and the choices she made. Only I knew, and now the Fierce Deity knew, the regret she lived with for her entire life. The both of us stared at the depiction of the two happy children for a minute more before I felt the Fierce Deity close the binding.
"That is a shame. For the both of them." He grumbled with a frown still on his face. "What happened to Link?"
I took the book from his hands, feeling heavier in my grasp than it ever had been. I never shared this part of Zelda before. Not with anyone. My parents or scholars or friends. It felt like betrayal to my own past to speak of such personal matters of the heart… but it did not feel that way when I spoke of it with the Fierce Deity. He was just as much a part of Link's past as I was Zelda's.
"He disappeared. As I told you before, Hyrule did not take to him the same way that they took to my Link."
He inwardly balked at the words "my Link."
How interesting. I hastily turned around to place the book back on the shelf, hiding the telltale blush on my cheeks but knowing full well that he sensed what I was trying to hide.
"Link became more of a tale to tell to children by a roaring fire on winter nights. His adventures were recorded by scholars but they were regarded more as a mystery; did this actually happen or was it just a farce told by two imaginative children. Link was loved as a legend, but he was not adored as a Hero. It was easy for him to slip away unnoticed into the unknown, after Zelda left him." The book was returned to its home on the shelf and I slowly turned back to my companion.
"I do not know what happened to him," I admitted sadly. "Nobody is certain what became of the Hero of Time. I like to believe that he found happiness somewhere. Link bears the Triforce. He even has the same, unusual name. That had to have come from somewhere, some sort of family name passed down the line. I believe that Link is just as much the reincarnation of the Hero of Time as I am of Zelda. We came together again in a different time, united once more in our destiny to destroy Ganondorf. We found each other again."
"Found each other again?" He echoed, as if nothing else I said reached his ears. His already furrowed brow creased until his face was just a mess of wrinkles.
"Yes. It's quite poetic."
He let out a great big sigh and I swear that if eyes were full of color, then they would have rolled themselves at me. "So since he could not be with you in his past life, he will be with you in this one?"
"What are you saying?"
"You do not love him, the same way that your ancestor loved the Hero of Time?" He challenged. I detected a tiny hint of panic in his tones and it made me blush.
"I love Link as a dear friend, but nothing more. Besides, he is with Midna." I retorted matter-of-factly. "That is his true love, not me."
"Do you wish for it to be?" The Fierce Deity pressed. "If he did not love another, would you love him?"
The answer to that question was a resounding no, but I just huffed. "A ridiculous question that I will not dignify with an answer. Instead, I will let you suffer with the unknown."
"Zelda!" He chided, but again, there was no true ire in his tone. Instead, he was playful and genial.
"Jealousy is not becoming." I teased back.
"I am hardly jealous, I am simply curious." The Fierce Deity chuckled, but one of his big hands caught me by the shoulder. He held me in a grip that was gentle, but strong.
"The connection does not lie," I dared to tease even further, dancing on the line between coy banter and bold flirting; skirting those unsaid feelings that we both knew were there.
The corner of his mouth twisted into a half smirk. "This damned connection will be the death of me."
"You could block it… if you teach me how to do the same." I batted my lashes at him. His smirk twitched, threatening to widen but instead, his face fell into a soft expression.
"No." He growled lowly but not gruffly. "Perhaps vulnerability is what I need… besides… I like being connected to you. I daresay that you feel the same."
Silently, he let go of my shoulders and departed from the library. Embarrassed—both of us—I stood there and watched him leave with my emotions in turmoil. He did nothing to help me solve my conflicted feelings.
If anything, he had just made them ten times worse.
The Throne room was empty, save for the long table that the Council was to sit at. I was the only person in the room so far. I had come early ahead of everyone else. A cold gust of winter air blew through the open entrance of the throne room. The sun was low in the sky. Twilight would fall soon, reminding me of one certain friend that was missing. For the tenth time that hour, I wondered what in the world was keeping Midna away from Hyrule. I expected her to be back days ago.
As I was pondering her absence, the hair on the back of my neck stood on edge as two people entered the room from a side door.
"Ahh, my lovely bride to be!" Sir Taran waltzed across the marble floor to my place at the entrance. He bowed low and snatched my hand in his. Kael gloomily followed behind his father. I forced a grimace off my face and put on a tight smile instead.
"Sir Taran, it is good to see you that you have recovered from your ordeal," I replied, making no reference to his "bride to be" remark.
"Oh no, no, my dear. There is no more need to be so formal with me." The tall man stepped close to me and folded both his hands over mine. I tried to take a step away from him, but he tightened his grip. "We are to be husband and wife soon. Taran is what you should call me."
I snuck a glance at Kael. He was pointedly looking up at the ceiling, trying not to watch his father act like a fool. Taran followed my gaze and he caught sight of his son.
"Kael!" he called sharply. "Do not ignore my bride! Come over here and greet your new mother."
The poor boy tore his eyes from the ceiling and shuffled obediently towards us. Taran had the audacity to call me Kael's "new mother." I was young enough to be his son's older sister! Taran watched Kael with cold eyes. "Show some respect, boy. What did I tell you to say to her?"
Kael bowed to me and hung his head low. "Good evening… Mother," he greeted heavily.
This was lunacy.
I extracted my hands from Taran's grasp and put my hands on Kael's arms. "Look at me," I said softly. The boy straightened up and mortified green eyes found me. I remembered what he tried to say to me when his father lay unconscious on the ground. He had said, "you cannot..." before his nerve broke. I wondered more than once what he had tried to tell me.
"You do not have to call me 'Mother.' Even if your father ordered you to say it, I ask that you just call me Princess. Even just 'Zelda,' if you so wish."
Kael's eyes bore into mine and I saw small hints of a grateful smile. "Thank you, Princess." He mouthed.
A hand grabbed my shoulder. "That is all very well," came the voice of Taran. He sounded more than a little aggravated. "Kael, leave us. Go stand out in the hallway. I need to have a private talk with the lovely Princess."
Kael hung his head and practically ran from the room. Taran wheeled me around so that I was facing him once more. In that moment, I wished that I could slap him across the face.
"You speak to your son like he is a dog," I said with as much composed anger as I could muster. "And do not ever touch me with such force again. It will be the last things your hands will ever do," I warned.
Taran waved his hand with a dismissive flourish. "Excuse my hasty actions," he muttered without any true apology. "As for my son, I do not wish to speak of Kael. As my future wife, we will have such discussions later on in our marriage. Right now, I would like to speak with you about something, before the Council arrives."
"Then speak your mind, Sir Taran."
He cringed at his formal title. "I asked that you not call me—"
"We do not have much time before the Council comes." I cooly stepped over him. "Please, speak your mind."
"Indeed." he said, straightening out his vest. He looked a bit flustered by my uncharacteristic attitude. "I want to inquire about the beast of a man that attacked me. Who was he, and where is he now? The Council has informed me that you are protecting him from the punishment he is due."
I was taken aback. The Council had told him of matters that went on during an official, private meeting? Fierce Deity's words of warning and his suspicions about Taran flashed through my mind. I quickly buried my surprise and acted as though I knew that the Council had told him.
"Oh yes." I replied evenly. "He is hidden away in a place where he will not be a menace."
"That is very nice, but do you know who and what he is? Has he been too much of a raving madman to sit down and have a calm, rational discussion with you?"
That was certainly debatable. I was not sure if any conversation we had was to be called "rational." I was even less sure of what or who he was, but I could not let Taran know that.
"We have had plenty of informative talks," I remarked blandly. "Is there any useful knowledge on him that you could give me?"
He thoughtfully stroked his elegant beard and gave me falsely innocent eyes. "Dearest, I am afraid that I know nothing other than him being a savage man who tried to choke me to death."
That was a lie. I knew that he had more knowledge about the Fierce Deity than what he was letting on. When I had listened in on him talking to Kael in the hospital bed, he seemed to know plenty.
If the Fierce Deity was suspicious about him, then so was I.
His next question broke into my thoughts.
"May I go to the place where you have him hidden and speak with him? Perhaps I could interrogate him?"
I stared at him, not wanting to say yes or no. A smile tried to form on my lips as I thought of how the Fierce Deity would react if I came home with Taran and his intentions to interrogate.
"That may not be a wise choice," I told him trying to hide my smug grin. "He has a bit of a temper, as you well know. You might not be safe if you were with him." That was not an outright lie. The Fierce Deity would likely tear Taran apart on sight.
"Oh come, come." Said Taran. "The Fierce Deity cannot be—"
His mouth clamped shut. Taran's panicked eyes betrayed his slip of the tongue. I coyly looked up at him.
"I never said what he was called, Sir Taran. How come you are calling him 'the Fierce Deity?' Have you lied to me?" I asked with mock surprise. "Do you really know something that you are not willing to share?"
Before he could stammer out an excuse, a side door to the right of the entrance opened. The Councilmen began pouring in, the low murmuring of their voices echoing off the marble floor. The meeting was about to begin. A visibly relieved Taran watched as the fifteen members took their places at the table.
"Oh, my darling, we will certainly have a most riveting discussion this evening," he said, turning to me with a smug grin and a threat woven into his words.
Without saying a thing, I walked away from him and headed to my throne.
The Fierce Deity was right. Taran was keeping secrets.
I settled into the seat while the men took their place at the table. Caldwell sat at the head of the table while Taran stood at the end that was near me.
"This Council has called a meeting to further discuss the future marital union between Sir Taran, Mayor of Termina, Ambassador of Termina and our very own Princess Zelda of Hyrule." His voice sounded tired and strained. I again thought of Fierce Deity's warnings. "This marriage is set to take place in two weeks' time." Caldwell announced.
"Two weeks?" I interrupted, completely outraged.
"Princess, do you still have objections to the marriage?" Caldwell asked dryly.
"You signed the Overrule. Will my opinion sway your decision in my favor?"
Caldwell shook his head. "Princess, we overruled you because of your obstinance. You were a hindrance to progress. Our choice still stands. Now that you have had a while to think about it, what is your stance on the matter?"
"I am still against it," I declared in a loud voice. The Council shook their heads and Taran rubbed his temples in annoyance.
"I have come here today to try and persuade the Council to think about this marriage and how devastating the effects of forcibly joining the kingdoms will be."
Caldwell's cheeks flushed a dangerous shade of scarlet. "Princess, we already told you that there is absolutely no way to repeal our ruling."
"I am more than aware of that, sir, but I want you to listen to reason."
A councilman stood to his feet. "Princess, you are the one who needs to listen to reason! If you father was alive, he would be appalled by your behavior."
This meeting was quickly escalating out of control. I rose to my feet, my anger rising at the mention of my father.
"How dare you insult your Princess! My father would agree with me that the union of Termina and Hyrule is a terrible move!"
"Your father is not here to protect you." Caldwell spat unpleasantly. "Your father is not here to scare is into submission. If your father would have agreed with you, then he would be a fool as well."
The other members murmured their agreement. An oily smile was plastered on Taran's face.
Another man stood up with Caldwell.
"It is high time you learned your place, Princess. You are not as skilled a ruler as you believe. We have been far too soft with you. What were we thinking, letting a sixteen year old girl rule an entire country? We should have married you off long ago."
"Married me off?!" I spat incredulously.
"I agree with Sir Rowan," said Caldwell. "You are a woman, and you have proven yourself to be unfit to rule without a man by your side. In light of Taran's proposal, we think that it is time to fix the mistake we made when we crowned you ruling Princess and marry you to a man who not only can help you rule, but be the High King of both countries. Also, being a High King, you will be under his ruling. You will still have some power over Hyrule, but he has the final say for both countries. We have discussed the details with him in a meeting yesterday. We decided that it would not be practical to have you there, since you will be under his kingship and have no power over him."
I was smoldering. I was beyond furious. I had proven time and time again to be more than an adequate ruler. The same fifteen men who were condemning my womanhood were once the same men who had called me a prodigy of a child ruler. My father was probably turning in his grave. In his life, every man here had loved my father dearly. They mourned his death. Now they were calling him a fool?
Every last man on the Council had all sworn allegiance to me, and now they had turned against me. Never had they once objected to me being a female. They had all looked forward to the day when I would turn twenty-three and be crowned as Queen. Hyrule had Queens and Princesses ruling before, Why was it such a problem now?
"Does your loyalty lie with him now?" I hissed as I pointed to Taran. Caldwell and all the other Councilmen smiled.
"You are correct, Princess. Our loyalty lies with him. He will be our King in two weeks, so naturally, we change our allegiance to accommodate him."
I stepped down from the dais that my throne was on. Taran caught my eye and I stormed over to him.
"Yes?" he asked with a confused look on his face. I said nothing, but grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the table. Our backs were to the Council.
"What did you do to my Council?" I asked in a hushed voice. "How did you bribe them to be on your side?"
"I am not sure what you are saying," Taran said, poorly feigning innocence.
"My Council has gone mad! I do not recognize the men that are sitting before me. They would never change their loyalty from me, or from my father. Something happened, though. Something unprecedented. Everything changed when you showed up. Now tell me, what did you do to get them to do your bidding? A spell?"
Taran laughed and patted me on the cheek.
"What a foolish girl…" Was his condescending whisper. He turned away from me and walked back over to the table. "Did you hear what the Princess just said? She thinks that I put you under a spell to you to get on my side" Taran laughed haughtily.
The Councilmen laughed with Taran. Every last one of them. The throne room echoed with the sound of condescending guffaws from the men surrounding me.
All I could do was stand there and watch the horror unfold, my mouth hanging open in pure shock.
This could not be happening. Surely, this was a nightmare. A vision of the future flashed in front of me. I saw my kingdom crumble at the hands of a tyrant, peace turned into war, and thousands of guiltless people suffered the consequences of the actions of these men. I closed my eyes and flooded my connection to the Fierce Deity with despair.
"Help me…" I pleaded, knowing not if he heard my desperate call.
"Gentlemen! Prepare yourselves for a new era!" Taran was now addressing the Council. "In a fortnight, Hyrule and Termina will be as one country. The beloved Princess will be the Queen of a High King!"
The sound of his voice pulled me out of my reverie. The triumphant man turned to me, staling towards me like a lion after a sheep.
"And the Fierce Deity that you are so carefully hiding from me, I will find him," he warned, a maniacal grin replacing his normally elegant facade. "I will find him and he will be hanged on the highest tree in Termina. You know nothing about what he is. I can see it in your eyes!" His grin turned into an angry frown. "The man that calls himself the Fierce Deity does not deserve to live! Death is what he deserves!"
"No! I will not stand for this!" I summoned my powers and a bright burst of energy formed in my hands. Taran would not take my throne. He would not take my kingdom. He would not kill the Fierce Deity, and he would not kill Link. It was time to take drastic action to stop this madman.
Yet as I rushed towards him, Taran calmly stepped out of my way. It was like he knew my steps before I took them. Without warning, he grabbed my wrist and swung me around so that my back was to the Council. The magic faded from my fingers and Taran roughly jerked me to his chest.
"Oh but you will, Princess." He hissed, his breath warming my lips. "You will be my wife. It is time that you learn your place!"
I struggled to free myself of his offending grasp.
"Bow before me, woman! Bow before a man!" he jeered at my helplessness.
"You are not worthy of a Throne. The title of King does not befit an arrogant fool." I hissed through clenched teeth, my face set into a hateful glare. "I will never bow to you."
His elegant face grew into a hideous grimace.
"Very well," he sneered. "If you will not submit willingly, then I have no choice but to make you." He let go of one of my arms and put his free hand on my forehead. There was a slight pressure on my skull as he forced me to my knees. I lost control of my own limbs. They gave in to his touch and a sensation of overwhelming numbness crept over my being. There was a faint desire to lose my own will and give in to Taran's every whim. My mind desperately tried to fight the sensation, but the more if fought, the more I wanted to succumb. A sickening, frightening weakness ran through me. My connection to the Triforce of Courage was growing dim. Darkness blotted out that steadfast presence in my mind. Something terrible was taking place, and I was unable to do a thing to stop it.
I gazed up at my attacker. My vision grew hazy. My thoughts, muddled. The connection to Courage had shattered.
I was almost his.
Mere seconds before my conscious gave in to him, I saw a sudden change pass over his face. Those cold eyes widened in alarm and his mouth hung open. His hand slid away from my face and he roughly shoved me away from him. I caught myself before I fell to the floor.
The numbness in my body was gone. My mind, briefly taken by Taran, was my own once more. I shakily stood up and turned to see what had caught Taran's attention.
Just as soon as I stood up, the Triforce connection surged back into place. Pure wrath assaulted my senses, so ferocious that it took the breath out of my lungs.
A freezing gale swept through the Throne room as the front doors burst open with all the force of ten grown men. Towering like a giant, the monstrous figure loomed at the entrance, silhouetted against a blood red sunset.
The Fierce Deity was here.
His body was cast in shadow by the brilliant light behind him. Two pure white, glowing eyes stood out against the shadow over his face. Even the markings on his skin seemed to glow vibrant red and blue. He was the picture of power and strength, a wrathful god sent to destroy his enemies.
His seething rage filled the air so strongly, I was sure that every person could feel his emotions. The wind blew furiously as he towered in the entry, his ominous presence overwhelming my senses.
The Council started clamoring to escape the room. The Fierce Deity raised his arm and clenched his fingers into a mighty fist. All fifteen men were frozen in their movements. He thrust his fist higher and the Council rose up from the ground. Slowly, the men became suspended in the air a few feet off the ground, their toes touching the marble and completely immobile. I could see Caldwell's eyes dart around the room as he helplessly dangled in the air.
The Fierce Deity finally entered the room. Torchlight illuminated his face. His eyes and the red and blue streaks on his skin were still glowing like fire and ice. The expression on his face was beyond anything I had ever seen. Furious did not describe the depths of what I saw etched on his features. He had not the feral, inhuman look when he first attacked Taran. It was a controlled, cold hate that he emanated.
The intensity of his rage was making me dizzy but none of his vitriol was directed at me. In fact, I could sense a faint glimmer of protectiveness beneath his tumultuous emotions.
A protectiveness over me.
Still, he was a petrifying sight as he stormed to where Taran and I stood. The Fierce Deity drew his sword from its sheath. Taran, frozen to the spot by Fierce Deity's power, silently screamed as the tip of the sword rested against the hollow of his neck.
"Servant of Majora!" bellowed the Fierce Deity. Even his voice had changed. The tone turned deeper, stronger. Frighteningly authoritative. Power rumbled in his words and the floor shook.
"Please! Have—mercy!" Taran managed to croak.
The Fierce Deity leaned his tip harder against Taran's throat. Droplets of blood fell from the harmless wound. The man whimpered as his mortality seemed to grow shorter by the second.
"Mercy!" growled the voice of the Fierce Deity. "You release these men from their curse and then we will talk about mercy!"
"I do not—I do not know what you are—"
"DO NOT LIE TO ME, SORCERER!" The room trembled as the Fierce Deity's voice grew louder. "You wield a terrible magic and you deserve a death without honor!"
With a twist of his wrist, the power binding Taran was lifted. At the same time, the side door opened and Kael ran into the room, likely having heard all the commotion. He gasped at the sight of the Fierce Deity.
White, luminescent eyes bore into him. I expected the boy to be frozen in his movements as well, butKael did not shrink under the Fierce Deity's spell.
He was being spared.
Taran tried to make a run to his son, but the Fierce Deity pushed him back with the blunt side of his sword.
"Do not run to your son. You will duel me and prove your sorcery, Servant of Majora."
"I cannot use magic! I do not know of this Majora—"
"LIAR!"
Taran flew as the Fierce Deity hurled him against one of the massive stone pillars guarding the entrance. He fell to the floor, dazed but somehow still conscious. The Fierce Deity calmly walked to where his prey lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"You can fight back!" He taunted. "Use your sorcery!"
Giant cracks, like veins appeared in the stone pillar. Chunks of marble began crashing to the floor. Taran looked up at the falling stones and scrambled out of the way.
"You can use your magic to stop these stones from killing you!" Yelled the Fierce Deity. The Council watched with silent looks of horror on their faces.
I watched, transfixed in horror and fascination as the Fierce Deity used whatever power he possessed to dismantle my throne room. Another pillar cracked and dozens of huge, ruined stones whirled through the air. The Fierce Deity guided them over a frantic Taran, desperate to make an escape, and he released them. Dust thickened the air as the stones came crashing down on the man.
"Coward!" I heard the Fierce Deity scream. "Show me your magic!"
I spotted Taran crawling away from the wreckage. Somehow, he had missed getting crushed by the boulders. How was that even possible for him to escape that wreckage?
He did not get far.
His spine snapped back and he was lifted to his knees. The Fierce Deity's fingers were outstretched, manipulating Taran's body with power. Taran cried out in pain. The giant strode over to the agonized man. Fierce Deity grabbed a fistful of Taran's perfectly groomed hair and yanked his head back. Their noses almost touched as the Fierce Deity leaned in close.
His mouth opened and out of it came the language of Majora. Taran's eyes bulged with terror at the unknown words the Fierce Deity was saying to him. Only they knew what was being said. By the looks on both Taran and Fierce Deity's faces, I could imagine that it was unfit for any ears but their own.
When he was finished, the Fierce Deity let go of Taran's hair. He took his sword in both hands and poised it over his shoulder, ready to strike.
"You will die a coward," the Fierce Deity said with morbid reverence.
The air hissed as the blade swung through the air in a graceful arc. I realized too late that this was going to be an execution. Seconds ticked by slowly as the sword closed the gap of air between it and Taran's neck. The sharp edge was inches away from slicing into Taran's flesh.
The man closed his eyes and I saw his mouth form a few words.
In a breath of a second, Taran vanished into thin air.
He was gone.
The blade hissed through nothing and the Fierce Deity's arm over swung as he stumbled forward.
I heard the shocked voices of the Council, still suspended by the Fierce Deity. Kael did not look shocked or surprised at his father's disappearance. Instead, he looked downright frightened.
"What has happened?" I yelled.
"You show yourself before death is upon you..." Fierce Deity murmured angrily. His face showed his disappointment and anger at his prize being taken from him.
"What happened to Taran? Did he survive?" I asked, thinking that this was a trick to spare me the grisly scene of the execution. I ran over to the Fierce Deity.
His sword still in his hands while he looked down upon me. "He used his sorcery to escape, Zelda. Taran is gone, and still alive." He admitted gravely. Fierce Deity gently pushed me aside and walked over to the table where the council was still held captive. He lifted his hand and they all fell back to the ground.
Immediately, once the men were free of the man's grip, they began to protest. "He is innocent!" choked out Caldwell as he used the table to pull himself to his feet. "Taran is an innocent man! He has no—"
The Fierce Deity calmly put his hand on Caldwell's forehead.
"You know not what you say," he replied with pity. "You are under a curse."
With that, the Fierce Deity yet again began to speak in another language, though this one was different from Majora's tongue. It was the most beautiful sounds I had ever heard. It was almost like a song, the way the timbre of the Fierce Deity's voice rose and fell. The soft, melodic vowels and consonants flowed together like water. A peaceful feeling ran through me as I listened to him speak. I mourned not being able to understand what he was saying.
A soft glow emitted from the Fierce Deity's hand and Caldwell fell to the floor.
"You are free of your curse," said The Fierce Deity. He gestured for me to come over. Reluctantly, I acquiesced. I knelt by my High Councilman's side. His eyes opened and he looked up at me.
"P-Princess?" he muttered. Caldwell sat up and his eyes were full of tears. "Taran! He put me under a curse. I do not remember how or when, but all I knew was that I needed to obey Taran." He shook his head as the memories came back to him. "I remember talking about the intruder in the library, and that felt normal, but all of a sudden I was ordering you to marry Taran! I pulled out a piece of parchment and before I knew it, all the Councilmen were signing an Overrule to make you marry him."
A haunted look overcame him. "Then I was following every order he gave me. We made plans for him to become King! Then you came and..." his voice grew thick with emotion.
"We insulted you for being a woman. We called you unfit to rule. Those things that I said, that we all said did not come from us. The mind of Taran willed us to tell those horrendous lies. And all the while, in the back of my mind, I knew that I was cursed. I was aware that he was forcing me..." Caldwell tenderly picked up my hand in his.
"You may not know this, Princess, but after your father died, I thought of you as my own daughter. I would have never forced you to marry a man, especially Taran. You are the most capable ruler Hyrule could ask for. I cannot express my shame and regret and what I have done to you."
Tear came to my eyes, but my mouth could not make speech. I was still too hurt by his actions and cruel words to believe him entirely. My forgiveness was still marred by the hatred he had shown me not just ten minutes ago. I looked up at Fierce Deity, who sensed my doubt.
"Believe what he says, Zelda. He speaks the truth. A curse bound him, but now he is free. Majora's magic will never harm him again." The Fierce Deity turned away from us and walked to the next Councilman.
One by one, my Council was freed from their curse. All of them came forward with the same story; they were all acting under Taran's will.
"What I want to know," said one of my Councilmen "is how we got cursed in the first place. I for one cannot remember how it even happened."
"Yes, I agree with you Sir McNiece," said Caldwell. He had been following me as I had observed the Fierce Deity work his power to break the Council's curse. Though I was still suspicious, I would forgive him. It would take some time to mend from the ordeal we had been put through.
"I remember being in the Throne room, waiting for Princess Zelda to arrive. The next thing I remember is us talking about that man right over there." Caldwell pointed to the Fierce Deity, who was standing stoically by my Throne. "It is like waking from a dream. I did not even feel Taran's will guiding me until we started on the marriage topic."
"Somehow, you all were cursed before I arrived in the Throne room."
I felt a tugging at my elbow. Kael, who had been quietly standing in a corner this entire time, was pulling at the fabric of my sleeve like a little child.
"I have something to admit, Princess," he said with fear in his eyes.
"What is it Kael?" I said gently, trying to calm him.
"Please forgive me," he begged, clasping his hands together. Sweat beaded on his temples.
"What is the boy saying?" asked Caldwell. "Isn't that Taran's boy?"
With a bravery that even his father should have been proud of, Kael boldly stepped forward and stood next to me in front of the Council's table.
"I cannot use magic like my father can, but he can use me as a channel for his sorcery." His voice quivered. "On the day that my father asked Princess Zelda to marry him, he had instructed me to be a channel for him when the time was right. My father opened the channel and told me to only act right before the Princess was to meet with the Council. He kind of knew that she would refuse his proposal, so he had this plan to curse the Council and force them to make the Princess marry him. After my father was attacked, they took him to the hospital wing and I heard a rumor that the Council was going to meet."
Kael's breathing became labored and color rose in his pale cheeks. "I knew that it was time to follow my father's orders. I went to the Throne room. All of you looked surprised to see me. You told me to leave the Throne room, it was for important adult business. I opened the channel and let my father's sorcery flow through me. You all fell to the ground. I got scared and I ran from the room."
His eyes reddened and tears rolled down his nose. "I never wanted to hurt anyone! I only wanted to please my father." Kael turned away from the Council and fell to his knees before me.
"Princess, please! Be merciful when you punish me! I am not like my father..."
"Kael," I said sternly. The boy looked up at me, expecting to be done away with on the spot.
"Stand up please," I asked. The boy stood up with shaking legs. I put my hand on his cheek.
"You are not in any trouble. You were only acting in obedience to your corrupted father. Answer me truthfully, by telling us this, are you renouncing your father? Can we trust you?"
Kael nodded. "Yes, Princess. You can trust me."
I smiled down at the boy. Away from the demeaning attitude of his father, he was a very brave young man.
"Can you tell us anything else that your father had planned?" I asked. The Council all echoed my question. Kael thought for a moment.
"Yes, actually. Princess, your life was in danger because he—" Kael was interrupted by a fit of coughing.
"He was going to—" more coughing. "Kill—" Kael doubled over with a spasm of deep coughs. Something shiny landed on the floor as he coughed. It was a patch of dark red blood.
Kael's coughing grew worse. Spatters of blood were all over his hands and mouth. I gripped his back and tried to get him to stand up. After a final, lung-shattering cough, the boy fell on the stained floor. His arms and legs flailed spastically as his body convulsed violently. His eyes rolled back in his head as foam oozed from the corner of his mouth.
Before I could scream for help, the Fierce Deity was beside me. His hands held the boy's head steady. Councilmen swarmed around us as Kael continued to suffer.
"It is a curse that ails him."
The Fierce Deity and I were standing in the hospital wing. Kael had mercifully stopped convulsing, though he had fallen into a deep sleep. He was physically alive, but his brain was in a catatonic state. Nothing would wake him.
For nearly an hour the Fierce Deity had stood by the bed with his hands on the boy's chest, murmuring in the beautiful language. Nothing had woken Kael up.
"A curse from his father?" I asked. The Fierce Deity slowly nodded yes.
"What kind of man curses their son to near death?" I exclaimed. My heart went out for the poor boy, suffering at the hands of his father.
"I do not know. Majora's magic will warp the mind of any decent person," replied Fierce Deity.
"There is nothing you can do? You helped the Council, why can you not help Kael?"
The Fierce Deity sighed and rubbed his weary eyes. "The magic that binds him is far stronger and more complex than the Council's curse. I am afraid that this spell will only be broken until Taran himself breaks it."
It was my turn to sigh. My fingers stroked Kael's jet-black hair. I wished that he had been able to tell us something before he had started coughing blood. I was sure that his father used the curse to silence him.
The exhausting day was catching up with me.
"Let us go back to the castle. The nurses here will do their best to take care of him."
I could not sleep. I tossed and turned in my bed for quite some time. The Fierce Deity was also restless; I could feel his agitation as he stood before the waning moon.
The thoughts of the day plagued me. There was so much to think about, I could not even begin. The plans for Termina had been set into motion before the disastrous meeting with the Council. It seemed like such a long time ago that the Fierce Deity and I had talked about needing to go to Termina.
I heard the clomping of boots on my balcony and a large shadow moved across my floor. The Fierce Deity was standing right outside. He rapped his fingers against the glass door.
"Come outside, Zelda," he said. My heart swelled at the sound of him saying my name. I jumped out of bed and grabbed a cloak. Just before I opened the door, I shoved my feet into a pair of boots. The Fierce Deity greeted me by taking my hand.
"Come with me," he said. He let go of my hand and jumped from the balcony. I climbed down the terrace. He was waiting for me in the snow. The Fierce Deity once again grabbed my hand.
"Let us go to the edge of the water," he said. I felt excited tension in the air. The rocky shore of the lake was not far away. We trudged through the snow. The moon shone down on us, lighting the way down to the lake.
The winter was not yet cold enough to freeze the water, so tiny ripples lapped against the frosty edges of the shore.
I waited for the Fierce Deity to begin talking. His face was tipped up to the moon and his eyes were closed in bliss. I followed his actions and stared up at the moon. Already, a dark shadow was barely cast over the round edges. The moon was dying, and Link's life force was draining.
"I have been a stubborn, cowardly fool to not have told you this before," said the rich voice of the man beside me. I tore my eyes from the moon.
"What do you mean?"
The Fierce Deity sighed deeply and opened his eyes. He did not stop looking at the moon. I felt his nerves tighten. His heart thudded.
"Zelda," he began in a voice that was quiet and humble. "I am not proud of what I am about to tell you. I wish that I would never have to speak of this to a soul, but after today, you must know the truth. I pray that you will not think of me any differently."
My own heart skipped a beat and my breath hitched in my lungs.
"It is time for me to tell you of my past. I am the Fierce Deity, god of War, Deity of the Moon, and Sentinel of the Night Sky. My history is long and filled with bloodshed. I beg of you, hear my story."