Chapter 9

The clearing they break into is large, with a massive statue of Hylia at its center, facing a building that seems to be made of stone. Sheik makes for the structure immediately, not even sparing a glance at the statue, as if something so large were not at all out of the ordinary. Link follows, leading Epona.

The doors that were once grand are beaten and hewn by time. Chunks are missing from the stone walls; ivy and moss climb and pry at cracks. A wooden structure similar to a deck lies ten feet from the entrance, rotting and crumbling, revealing a sloping incline beneath, one that seems to wrap its way around Hylia's statue, like a spiral of earth.

Link kicks at a rotting plank. Steam spurts from the hole, startling Epona. The stream is hot and strong enough to sting his face.

Sheik stands before the doors, brow furrowed and head tilted. She reaches out a hand, but as it nearly touches the stone, a flurry of glowing runes appears on the surface and she jerks her arm back.

"It's warded," Sheik says. The symbols are throbbing and flickering, like a dying fire, orange and red amongst the forest's green and blue.

"Do you have an idea who did that?" Link says, patting Epona's neck absently. She snorts. "Was it a Sheikah?"

Sheik glances at him. "What makes you suggest that?"

"You can do magic," he answers, recalling the fire that started with a single flashing look from her. "I assumed..."

"No," she says. "This is different. Definitely not created by a Sheikah."

"What are we going do now, then?"

Sheik quirks an eyebrow as Link's stomach rumbles. "Perhaps some food."

He yawns. "And sleep."

Sadly, for Link, the sun rises a short hour after he falls asleep. He rolls over and goes back to sleeping. After a moment, he groans and sits up, rubbing his eyes. Sheik lies a few feet away, the fairies keeping watch among the foliage.

Sheik had told him, as they sat around another magic-created fire and cooked a rabbit they caught and ate berries they found, that there is another way into the Temple: entering the statue of Hylia, descending to the bottom, and through a passageway built after the Hero's quest.

Link gets to his feet and wanders toward the statue. How in Hyrule are they supposed to get inside? No doors, no hatches, certainly no passageways. The statue is as time-ravaged at the Temple, but if he cranes his neck and peers upward, he can make out what seems to be a platform, and almost directly below that, on the ground, is a large circular disc of stone set into the earth. Strangely, he feels as if he's been here before, but he's never set foot beyond the forest outside his hometown of Anlage. Odd.

He stands at the foot of the statue—quite literally, in front of where the goddess' feet would be below her skirts. He takes a step forward, feeling as if he'd done this times before, and the wall vanishes.

He freezes, blinks hard, rubs his eyes. What—?

He backs up and the stone returns. He takes a step forward, and, again, the wall disappears. He stares at the statue a few moments more, dumbfounded, before running for Sheik.

"Miss Sheik!" he exclaims. "Miss Sheik, hurry! Wake up!"

A sudden weight pushes him to the ground, stomach down, with a grunt. Link tries getting up to find that he can't.

"What is it? What's happened?"

Sheik crouches above him, swords drawn, eyes darting about. A foot rests on Link's back, keeping him down; when he struggles to get up, she gives him a push, saying, "Stay down!"

"No, no, really, it's fine." Link attempts to roll over, gasps as she presses harder on his side. "I...I can't breathe...!"

She releases him and he begins coughing. "What happened?"

Link presses a hand to his side and winces. "I'm sorry if I scared you." He gets unsteadily to his feet, giving a pained breath of air.

"What. Is. It?"

"I...I found our way into Hylia's Statue."

It takes them an extra half-hour to prepare, with Epona. Sol volunteers to stay behind, and somehow Link isn't all too surprised.

"Aw, sissy," Aster says, and Link imagines her pouting. "You're no fun. Even Link's coming!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Link says, but is ignored.

"W-Well..." Sol starts. "S-Someone has to stay with Epona, and I know none of you would want to, so I thought..."

"Fine!" says Aster. "Fine."

"So I guess I'll see you later, guys..."

Sheik watches the exchange with something resembling growing annoyance. "Let's go, then." She turns on her heel and starts toward the statue.

Link follows, but realizes that Aster isn't doing the same. He looks back. "Come on; Miss Sheik will go on without us if you don't hurry."

"Bro's being a big wimp."

Link frowns. "Yes, I know, but—"

"—but I'm not leaving him."

No one has ever seen the face of a fairy amongst their glow, but Link swears Aster crosses her arms and raises her chin stubbornly. He knows he could win an argument against her, but does he really have the time? Not even enough the time to ask why, he knows. "If you're sure..." he says. Link fiddles with his scabbard's belt and the straps of his shield, but Aster doesn't say anything more.

When he joins Sheik by the statue, Link can tell she's confused. Frankly, he is too.

"Where is Aster?" she asks.

"She's...decided to stay behind."

"Very well," Sheik says, and then frowns again. "Where is this entrance? If it's hidden with magic, then I can't sense it."

"You can't?" Link says. "It's right over here."

Again, the wall vanishes as he draws near. Sheik's frown deepens. "It's magic, almost definitely," she says. "So why can't I...?" She clicks her tongue. "It's of little concern, I suppose. You're beginning to surprise me, Link."

Link laughs. "I'm surprising myself, too, Miss Sheik." He glances at her, catching her glare. "...What?"

"Don't refer to me as 'miss'."

He blushes bright red. "I-I'm sorry. W-Would you p-prefer 'ma'am'?"

"That's worse," she says. "Sheik will do."

"Right, Mi—" He catches himself, laughs nervously, blush deepening, ears reddening. "R-Right. Sheik."

The first step through throws them into shadow. The passage is cool and damp, almost claustrophobic, with tons of stone above them.

Aging stone. Weakening stone.

"A-Are you sure w-we're not going to die in a c-cave in?"

Sheik doesn't answer. They enter into a chamber, one that is circular and with vaulted ceilings, pillars at regular intervals. On the side opposite to them is a Hyrulian Crest crafted from some sort of crystal, floating above a compartment holding a tablet, inset with three gems: green, red and yellow.

At the center of the room is a pedestal, one made for a sword.

"Where are we?" Link says, awed. The odd feeling of having been here before returns, crashing over him in waves. "I...I feel as if..." Why does he suddenly feel like crying?

"This is the Goddess Sword's chamber," Sheik says.

He nearly answers that he knew already, but how could he?

"The Legendary Hero pulled it from its pedestal, at the bidding of the blade's spirit." She pauses. "He forged that original sword into the Master Sword."

Link realises he's shaking. He hugs himself and nods. "Yeah, they put a play on each year at the Temple for the little kids. About the legend." He stares at the crystal Crest. "Do you know his name? The Hero's, I mean."

Sheik shrugs. "Lost to time." She starts for the tablet's dais. "Come."

He follows after a moment's hesitation. He's been here before, definitely. Multiple times. But as to when or why...

Behind the dais, Sheik pries a stone loose from the floor and pulls up. Beneath it is stairs, descending into black.

Link gulps. "It's dark, don't you think?"

"Flick the Pendant," Sheik says.

He furrows his brow, staring at her for a second, then complies. Again, particles swirl around the Pendant, and it begins glowing, emitting light. "Oh. Cool!" He nods. "Let's go."

The stairs go on and on and on, broken up only by sparsely spaced rooms, each filled with growing numbers of monsters and creatures.

In the fifth room, as Sheik finishes off another round of bats, the ground shakes with a roar.

Sheik freezes, the last bat dropping to the ground, decapitated, its blood staining her blade. "What was that?"

Link nurses a bruise, created by a particularly persistent moblin and its crude club. "I don't know. Hey, I found...something."

Hanging from a leather strip around the moblin's neck is an odd, cube-like figurine. It is made of a gold-colored metal, its molded features resembling a spider.

Sheik shrugs and says she doesn't know what it is, so they continue on.

The puzzles start in the room over. The first requires the use of the Light Pendant.

The room fills with light. Link grins and begins pulling the Pendant free. "See? That wasn't too hard, right?"

The clanging of metal and the clattering of locks rings out. He whirls toward the door, to find a grate has dropped down, and bars on the other. Sheik pulls at it, but it is either too heavy or somehow held down to the floor, so after a moment, she gives up.

"W-What's happening?" Link asks, to no one in particular. Then he hears the stamp of heavy feet and feels the hot breath on his neck.

Sheik lunges past him, and metal on metal clangs. Link turns around, sword and shield ready, though shaky. Before him, currently being beaten back by Sheik, is a moblin, again, but one huge and lumbering, carrying a large wooden shield and spear. Sheik lunges for any exposed areas, but her reach again is too short and she can't stab around the shield.

Without thinking, Link runs forward, just as the moblin thrusts its spear at Sheik. Pain shoots up his arm as the tip collides with his shield, throwing him backwards. He looks up in time to see Sheik launch herself upwards, pulling herself atop the monster's shoulders, and stabs her swords into the back of its neck.

Monster blood spurts everywhere, black and steaming, drenching Sheik as the titan falls forward on its stomach. Before it hits the ground, Sheik hops off, rolling to a stop.

The room is silent for a minute, save for the duo's ragged breathing. Then, "You're kind of covered in blood." Link laughs, then rubs at his arm, wincing. "Ow."

Sheik gets to her feet. "Certainly they must have taught you more than how to run headlong into a fray while in training."

Link chews his lip and staggers up, but doesn't answer, laughter forgotten.

"Look at your shield."

He does, and nearly faints.

The spear point had dented the metal, bending it inwards, pressing against his arm. The paint along the dent has been completely stripped off. It's a wonder he's gotten away with merely bruises. "I..."

"Use your sword, your shield more so," Sheik says. "It will save your life. Go for weak spots: head, gut, chest, neck, limbs if you have to. Cut off armor and destroy defenses as needed."

Link keeps staring at his arm, mouth hanging slightly open. "I..."

"Never give your opponent a chance to fight back," Sheik continues, glaring hard at Link, "but know when to bide your time or back down. Are you listening?"

"I...I..."

"You what?" she snaps. "Spit it out already."

"I..." Link looks up at her, eyes wide, the hand around the hilt of his sword white-knuckled. He's shivering and his voice wavers. "I nearly died, didn't I?"

Sheik stares at him and something in her face softens, if only slightly. She's tight-lipped and decidedly statue-like. "Just remember what I said." She sighs. "Please."

He nods, sniffing. "Okay."

And at the center of the room, a burst of light reveals a treasure chest.

Tempest Bound: First mid-boss, and Link nearly dies? Yes, that's right. Clearly, Link, you'll need more training...-.-