ELEVEN
Ketura knew that when she went to sleep that night, she had the Master Sword – still wrapped up in the old banner – tucked securely under her arm. Yet when she woke from another strange dream (storm clouds gathering around her and a shadowy figure in the distance) she noticed it was gone. Panicked, she sat up and looked around, until she found Ganondorf sitting directly across from her, staring intently at her … and the unwrapped Master Sword lying at his feet.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"I understand why you didn't tell me what you were looking for," he said, his tone not threatening, but indicating his disappointment.
"I- ah – it's supposed to be a –"
"Hush. You wanted to make your father proud, and you will. Or he might be alarmed that someone besides himself is able to wield this blade. There's no telling. He could use any sword to fight his enemies, though …."
"Zant?" Ketura offered meekly. Ganondorf looked from her to the Master Sword, and his expression softened upon realization.
"I should have known," he sighed as he kicked the sword away. Ketura reached forward and grabbed it, pulling it closer to her with trembling hands. "I'm not angry at you, Ketura. You're only doing what you think is right and will help your father … I suppose I'll have to tread carefully so I don't wind up at the receiving end of that blade … again."
"My dad just thinks it's his by divine right," Ketura said, her voice shaking slightly.
"Hmm? Well if Hylian lore is true, then only one chosen by the gods can pull the Master Sword from its pedestal and use it to vanquish evil. What do you think it means that you were able to?"
"Maybe Hylian lore is wrong, and it's hereditary," said Ketura.
"Maybe … or perhaps that sword is no longer Link's divine right. We'll see soon enough, won't we?"
Ketura didn't respond immediately. She looked down at the sword, thinking about how what Ganondorf said made sense. The Master Sword came out of its pedestal for her, and it felt perfect in her hands, so maybe it was her turn to wield it. But why her? Her father was still alive, and capable of vanquishing evil.
"You think I could be a new Hero? Why don't you just kill me now?"
Ganondorf rolled his eyes. "We've been over this. You're no good to me if you're dead. Perhaps it's destined that your father – or you – will use the sword against Zant and not me."
"This is actually working out pretty well for you isn't it?" Ketura responded. "One of us kills Zant, and you get back what he stole from you – which reminds me. You now know what I was after, so what was it that you're after?"
Ganondorf sighed. "You had your opportunity to know and you passed it up."
"Wa-what? That isn't … I mean … I should at least know what it is if I'm supposedly instrumental to you getting it back."
He glared at her. "Forget it."
Upon arriving in the Hidden Village the next day, Ketura instantly broke into a sprint towards the main house. She threw the door of the house open to find Impa, Ashei, and Zahrain gathered around the couch, where a map sat propped up against a board.
"I've got it," she said, panting heavily as she held up the wrapped-up Master Sword.
Impa furrowed her brow. "Good. Glad to see you safe."
"Yeah … wasn't much trouble … where's my dad?"
"Upstairs, in bed," said Impa, pointing into the kitchen. Ketura took off, going through the kitchen, up the stairs, and into the bedroom she shared with her father.
Link lay in bed, eyes closed, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead and larger bandages on his chest. A blanket covered the rest of his bare torso and the lower half of his body. Midna sat next to his head, keeping her eyes trained on his face. Luda sat in a chair nearby, her black hair pulled back in a loose bun and a book in her lap. When Ketura walked into the room, Luda's eyes flickered over to her.
"Ketura," Luda said softly as she stood up and crossed the room. "He's been asking for you. I didn't tell him where you went."
"How is he?" Ketura asked before glancing over at her sleeping father.
"Better than he was when he first got here. The potion I'm brewing right now will be ready in a few hours, and once he drinks it he'll be completely healed, but for now I've stopped the bleeding as much as I can and kept him in bed."
Ketura felt a wave of relief rush over her. "Thank you so much," she said before stepping aside to let Luda leave the room. Afterwards, she went to her father's bedside and sat in the chair; the minute her backside made contact with the seat, Link's eyes fluttered open.
He smiled weakly.
"Ketura … you're here …" he said, his voice feeble.
Dropping the Master Sword on the floor, Ketura sprang out of the chair and knelt at his bed side. "Dad …" she whispered, smiling, trying to fight back tears. She placed her hand on top of his and looked up at Midna, who nodded to her in greeting.
"It'll take … more than what was given to me … to keep me down," said Link with a sly chortle. "I hope you didn't … worry too much …."
"No, don't worry. I, uh, kept myself busy," said Ketura. "I'm just glad you're okay."
Link's smile widened slightly. "Good girl."
Ketura nodded. "I actually went to go get something for you," she said, sliding away from Link and reaching for the Master Sword. She unwrapped it and lifted it up to display it for him, and his eyes grew wide.
"The Master Sword … Ketura … you didn't … how did you … did you go by yourself?" Link tried to sit up, but lowered himself back down as his face contorted into a pained wince.
"Yeah. I did. But everything went okay," she said instantly, watching Link's eyes flicker from worry to relief and then back to worry.
"Happy to hear … but please don't wander off by yourself again."
She nodded. "I promise."
After giving his hand another gentle squeeze, Ketura stepped out briefly to grab her stack of assigned reading out of the library. On her way out, she noticed a book in the shelf titled The Sorcerer King's Apprentice, and she added it to her pile. She went back into Link's room and sat on the edge of his bed, and the two of them exchanged stories about their encounters with the more mischievous denizens of the Faron Woods.
"No way. All those monkeys formed a long chain and helped you swing across a giant gorge?" Ketura said incredulously.
"That's right," said Link.
"Yup, and then he almost got eaten by a giant plant monster," Midna added.
"It had two heads - or was it three? I don't remember," said Link. He glanced down at his shoulder, which bore scars left over from some type of bite mark from a giant set of teeth.
"Beats me. I've slept since then," replied Midna.
Once the conversation died down, Link dozed off and Midna retreated into his shadow. Ketura returned to her chair and finished reading through the second volume of the history of Hyrule's lost peoples, finding herself totally engrossed in the account of the Zora's civil war and the restructuring of their monarchy.
Next, she reached for the slim book containing Zelda IV's writings. Most of it was her commentary on scriptures in the Accords of the Goddesses and how it could apply to being a wise ruler, which Ketura found dry and uninteresting, and she wondered why Impa wanted her to read it. When she reached the essay describing how Zelda justified the near-obliteration of the Gerudo people in retaliation to Ganondorf's treachery, though, she understood.
In summary, their way of life is not compatible with the Hylian way of life. They abhor the Goddesses that are worthy of exaltation, and cling to their uncivilized pagan ways and lascivious immoralities. Their witches practice the most horrible magic. With their proclivity for thievery, they pose a threat to the realm's security and commerce. Link, great man that he is, constantly reminds me of how not all of them are evil, citing Nabooru as an example. Nabooru is an exception, being a Sage, and I am willing to pardon any other Gerudo who renounces their ways and fully assimilates to the greater Hylian culture. Yet their culture has no place in a peaceful world, and as long as it exists and the next man born to them is crowned their king, we risk another crisis like the one we just endured.
Ketura felt uncomfortable reading that passage. On a shallow level it made sense, but then she remembered that because of this Zelda's paranoia many innocent girls and women had suffered and died. And why hadn't the Hero of Time done anything to stop it? The answer was found in the next entry, which surprisingly had nothing to do with politics.
Link's second wife, Valeri Lykos, has finally grown on me. I like her almost as much as I liked Malon ...
… their son is a boy after his father's own heart. Young Nathaniel seems trapped by life in the royal court. He often speaks of exploring the countryside, riding horseback, conquering evil just as his father did ….
… Link returned from battle against the Great Helmaroc. He has lost his eye, and now rests in the palace infirmary ….
… I witnessed the most disturbing thing today: an act of sacrilege and blasphemy committed by Nathaniel against his father. While standing at the entrance to the infirmary, I watched as Nathaniel took his sleeping father's hand and seized the Triforce of Courage for himself! Nathaniel said that he would carry on in his father's place. His intentions are noble, but Farore had not chosen him to wield that which rightfully belonged to his father...
… Link has gone off searching for Nathaniel, who was last seen heading for the Lost Woods. Valeri seems so distraught, not knowing if she will see her son or husband again. Link is still too weak, she tells me. And he left before she could tell him that she was once again with child ….
There was no indication in Zelda's writings that the Hero of Time ever came back from the Lost Woods. That must have left her free to exile, imprison, or execute as many Gerudo as she pleased. His son Nathaniel was not mentioned again either.
Ketura slammed the book shut, tossed it on the floor, and gazed blankly at it. It seemed to her that anyone chosen by the gods to be a Hero had all of their work and determination rewarded with lives of misery and betrayal. Both her father and the Hero of Time seemed to be indications of that, although she didn't know much about other past Heroes to make the generalization. Nonetheless, it was a rotten deal to her, and she fervently hoped – almost like a silent prayer – that this burden would remain with Link and not pass to her.
Luda returned later with a bowl full of a creamy orange potion, which she spoon-fed to Link. After she finished administering it, she told him that although he would be fully healed by morning she wanted him to remain in bed for a few more days. Ketura went downstairs briefly to grab dinner for them (she noticed Ganondorf come in, grab food, stare at her in an attempt to get her attention, but finally leave in a sullen mood) and returned; she, Link, and Midna ate in relative silence.
"Enjoying your reading so far?" Link asked, nodding towards Ketura's stack of books on her bed.
"Yeah, it's pretty interesting," said Ketura. "Lots of cool history I didn't know, but I got why they didn't teach it in school."
Link's eyes scanned the stack of books carefully. "Never was big on reading myself, but it's a good habit … 'The Sorcerer King's Apprentice.' Hmm, interesting choice," Link commented as he read the book's title. "Why does Impa want you to read that?" he asked, his tone indicating disdain.
"Oh, I just picked that because it looked interesting. I'll probably start it next."
"One of my cellmates had the book smuggled in for him, and he passed it to me when he was done. I only read it because I was bored. And it's not the sort of thing you need to be reading."
"Why not?"
"It's not suitable. I'm not talking about perfectly innocent ideas that make cultural ministers upset and lead them to tighten censorship laws. Those are in there too. No – the main character kills the innocent citizens of an entire country and justifies it as being for 'the greater good.' There, I spoiled it for you." said Link in response.
"Okay, but from your viewpoint the main character isn't justified. But maybe they think what they're doing is the right thing, and maybe the author's point is that it's okay to do horrible things for good reasons?"
Link shook his head. "Please read something else."
"Dad, I'm not actually going to go massacre a village if I read this –"
"Ketura." Link cut her off, speaking with all of the fatherly authority he could muster.
With a sigh, Ketura grabbed The Sorcerer King's Apprentice and went back to the library. She saw another book in the shelves, covered in a book jacket, entitled Sworn Brothers. The two books appeared to be about the same size in thickness and height. Now extra curious about the first book she had picked out, Ketura took the jacket off of The Sworn Brothers and put it on The Sorcerer King's Apprentice.
Mom was never this controlling, she thought resentfully.
Later at night, when the inhabitants of the village had settled down to sleep, she tiptoed out of bed and went outside. After having spent hours in the house curled up in that chair, she was ready to take this opportunity to stretch out her legs for a bit. She walked on down the main road, intending on going up and down a couple of times before returning to bed, until she heard someone calling her name in a hushed tone from the entrance to the tunnels out of the village.
"Ketura!"
She approached Ganondorf, who wore his cloak and stood in the shadows of the entrance to the tunnel.
"Yeah?" she said as she joined his side.
"Are you only going to notice me when the sun is down and everyone else sleeps?" he asked her.
"For now. I mean, my dad is a total control freak. And I'm sure he'll have people watching me and what I do, to keep me safe or something like that."
Ganondorf nodded. "How is he?"
"Better. He should be fully recovered by morning, and then you two can keep insulting each other to your heart's content."
"Come with me," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her through the tunnels until they came out to Lanayru Field. Moonlight and starlight provided the night some illumination, and danced off the waters of the Zora River. A small group of Lizalfos camped underneath a tree in the distance, and a large insect flew right by Ketura's face – it glowed, and she could have sworn it was made of gold, but it zoomed by too quickly for her to be able to tell.
"What are we doing here?" she asked him.
"Continuing your training, of course. Tonight I'm going to show you how to cast Nayru's Love … but first, I'm going to go over to those Lizalfos and blow off some steam. I guess Impa wasn't aware that I went to the Faron Woods with you, and she assumed that I just wandered off somewhere on my own. She was … quite cross."
"I probably should have told her," said Ketura sheepishly.
"You didn't need to … those rebels need to hurry up and find Zant. I'm growing impatient."
