Chapter Ten: The Ceremony

Link,

It's been such a long time since we last saw each other. Has it been two weeks already? I'm glad you got my other two letters in time. I still cannot believe that they delayed the ceremony. In truth, I am both glad and not that there was a delay. However, my letter to you today is twofold: one, the ceremony will be performed tomorrow. I would have given you more notice, but I was only just informed. It is likely to still my nerves. I'd understand if you cannot come, as this is a last-minute request. I will be in the courtyard garden tomorrow. If you come, meet me there, where we climbed the trellis.

The second reason for this letter is simply to catch up. My father brought me with him to a negation with the Zora Tribe. Their princess, Ruto, is rather an angry girl. She kept close a stone that was familiar, like from an old memory or dream. Whenever we came to speak, she did not open up much. She told me her stone was a gift from her late mother. It seems that the three of us have that in common.

I have tried to convince Impa to let me have more freedom. Unlike my father, she believes in my visions and yours. I'm afraid I had to confess a few things to her after she found you in the halls when you last left. She won't let me visit that ranch you told me about in your last letter, however. I will work on this though!

Anyway, Link, I hope to see you at the castle. I am told I will likely be unable to speak to you after the ceremony, as I will need to recover. See if Impa will make an exception. If not, I will try to meet with you when I am well again.

Yours,

Zelda

Link held the letter in his hands as he sat in the courtyard, waiting. When he'd received the letter, he immediately told the messenger to tell Zelda that he'd be there. He spent the rest of the day with Fado trying to figure out how to reach the castle. It was Saria who offered her assistance after the two became stuck. She volunteered to distract Gaebora as best she could.

Now, he waited for the Princess to arrive, as he had been for the past hour.

He finally decided he'd waited long enough and carefully climbed in through the window. After checking for guards, he made his way down the hall, looking for any sign of Princess Zelda. Luckily, Impa was standing in front of a door that he could only assume was the princesses'.

He casually made his way over to her. When Impa saw him, she rolled her eyes. "I should have known she'd find a way to get you here."

"Is she okay? She was supposed to meet me in the courtyard."

Impa gestured to the door behind her. "She's in here. The King has taken precautions to ensure she cannot run again." She bent down to meet Link's eyes, which she stared at for a long moment. He couldn't help but feel that he'd met her in the past as well. "Zelda could use a friend right now."

She knocked on the door. "Princess, you have someone here to see you."

"Tell them that I'll unfortunately see them at the ceremony!" Zelda called through the door.

Impa sighed. "This person won't be at the ceremony. You'll really want to open the door."

After a few moments, the lock from the door clicked and Zelda's frustrated face appeared. Her eyes lit up immediately and she pulled Link into the room. "You'll get caught!"

"If I didn't get caught sitting in the courtyard, I'll be fine in the hall."

"I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. Impa closed the door as Zelda's voice grew louder. "I tried to get out there and they made me stay in this room."

Link looked around the room. Her bed was tall, surrounded by sheer curtains that were currently tied back. There were more books than he imagined. Her room was a mess, filled with books set around in piles across the floor. Each pile had a note written in Zelda's hand: Do not touch.

Zelda herself was dressed much more formally than usual. She wore a long-sleeved white dress underneath a pink over tunic depiciting the crest of the royal family with the Triforce above it. A gold belt was fastened around her waist, and matching bracelets hung from both wrists. A heavy necklace dangled from her neck, though her hair fell loosely to her shoulders beneath a small tiara.

"It's okay," Link said finally, looking away from her. "I know you're busy today. Are you feeling better about it?"

"No! And what's worse, I've been having dreams again! This time, it really is me and you in the dreams, and a great darkness descends from the heavens when I go through the ceremony. I think that he'll be here soon, Link. We need to be prepared. We have to do something! Trap him in the Scared Realm, use the Triforce against him, anything!"

"Princess," Impa said through the door. "They're on their way."

Zelda's hands began to shake and soon after, her entire body. "He'll kill us all once I do this! I can't make my father stop it. Link, I need you to stay! I have to speak with you longer. I'll wake up. There's something important you have to see!"

"Are you ready?" Impa's muffled voice asked.

Zelda shoved Link out of the way as the door opened. Two guards were in the doorway. "It's time to meet with your father, Princess Zelda."

"So I gathered," she muttered as she shakily made her way from the room. Impa squeezed her shoulder and watched the princes walk away.

"Link?" Impa asked, looking in the room. "Come with me."

He followed her into the hall and she closed the door behind her. Her fingers curled into a fist around the collar of Link's shirt. "In case we are spotted," she said, easing his mind.

They headed into an unfamiliar part of the castle, one that was much busier than where Zelda's room was. Link earned many disapproving glares thanks to Impa dragging him around. She took him down several hallways that became less and less filled as they moved.

They finally reached a statue just like the one that led to the secret passage. Impa leaned into the statue, as if to whisper a secret, and whistled a three-note tune. Something loudly clicked, and Impa pushed the wall behind the statue with ease.

Like Zelda, she took a torch and ushered Link inside before closing the wall behind her. She led him to the end of the tunnel, where an identical covering blocked sight and sound from another room.

They peered inside, and Link was amazed by the room. It appeared to be a ballroom, or at least, it was the size of one. Three buttresses connected to each other, each with a triangle and royal pattern adorning it. The king stood on one end and waited as Zelda slowly made her way inside. There weren't many people present. From who Link could recognize, he saw many of the king's closest advisors, and other diplomats who aided him in ruling Hyrule.

Zelda finally stood opposite of her father and he cleared his throat, bringing the room to attention.

He wasted no time, not wanting his daughter to flee or be sick. She looked like she was wobbling a bit. "Oh Goddesses of this great land of Hyrule: Din, with your great power, Farore, with your boundless courage, and Nayru with your endless wisdom, see fit to cast your gazes upon us as we, the humble servants of the great Goddess Hylia, seek to attain but a fraction of your borrowed power. In the face of an endless darkness, we look to the light."

As if on cue, a beam of light shone through the ceiling and into the center of the triangle formed by the buttresses. The King motioned for Zelda to step forward. She moved until her entire body was bathed in the light.

"Oh Goddesses," she began, so soft that it was difficult to hear her, "I am aware of the burden… the burden…" She took a deep, steadying breath. "I am aware of the burden that you bequeath unto me. I humbly beseech your aid and will carry the responsibility of my actions done while under the guidance of your endless power and mercy."

The king nodded his approval at his daughter, and they waited. One bright light began to shine from Nayru's piece of the Triforce, shining so brightly that it threatened to blind everyone. With a sharp noise, it pierced the air and raced toward the princess, knocking her off balance as it entered her chest. She let out a loud scream.

The light on the other two Triforce pieces began to glow together and shot from their places into Zelda as well. This time, her cries were louder, longer, more pain-filled than shock. She fell to her knees and clutched at her chest while it burned. Her head felt like it had been filled to burst, and she went over onto her side, grasping her head in her hands, still screaming in pain.

Link must have made some move, because Impa's hand was over his mouth, her other arm locking Link securely in place beside her.

Zelda's screams began to subside, though she remained on the ground, her whole body twitching. Though her voice was nothing more than a whisper, she said, "I am your faithful servant," before passing out.

The King watched his daughter with detachment. Impa knew that it was the only way the king could get through the day. Hearing Zelda scream was hard enough as her attendant, let alone being her father and the man who condemned her to this pain and a lifetime of servitude to the Goddesses.

"Link," Impa started, kneeling beside him. "The Princess wanted to speak to you, but she's not going to be waking up today. You can already see it. I'm sure you have Gaebora upset for your disappearance. I will personally come to get you when Zelda is well enough for visitors."

"Do you… will she be okay?"

"She may be different. The Goddesses have lent her their powers so that if Ganondorf does come for her, she might stand a chance. That's why she was to receive them immediately. She needs to hone her powers and work to acquire the power to seal him away."

Impa grabbed the torch and led Link to the trick wall. "Go, Link. I do not know what the princess wanted to tell you, but it can and will have to wait. I'm sorry you came all this way."

Link ran his hand through his hair and nodded. "I can't believe that they did that to her."

Impa smiled. "She is stronger than she knows. She will endure."