Somewhere through the haze of numbness, I hear Navi calling my name. I should answer her, but I just can't muster myself to even move right now. Exhaustion and grief have commandeered by mind, and even these thoughts fade into background noise, something foreign.
Blue-white light surrounds me, and I feel the rough stone of the chamber slipping away. Some distant part of me rejects this, and I clench my fingernails desperately in the dissipating stone. I can't leave. I can't leave. I can't leave…
I can't leave him! my mind screams, and I squeeze my eyes shut with a wet slap of sodden eyelashes.
Raindrops splash on my cheek, escorted by a clap of thunder, and I wonder if somehow I've traveled within myself, curled so tightly within that I've found my own private land of introspection.
"Zelda," a whisper calls to me, and I automatically turn my face away. I just need to be alone right now.
"Zelda," more insistent this time, and a ricocheting anger launches itself at the nameless voice.
"What?" I snap, a latent growl thick on my tongue.
"Open your eyes, Zelda," the voice commands, but I keep my eyes firmly shut in defiance. A flash of light paints across my eyelids, and I, assuming the color came from a bolt of lightning, wait for a tell-tale rumble to follow.
Instead, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
"I think you'd better listen to them, Zelda; annoying them would not be the best idea."
My eyes snap open thirstily, and after a moment, drink in the sight with weeping, disbelieving relief.
Laughing shakily, I leap from the ground and wrap Link tightly within a hug. My sudden attack throws him off balance, though, and he and I tumble to the ground. With a mirrored version of my own laughter, Link coils his arms around me and kisses the top of my head, my forehead, my nose.
"How?" I ask, bewildered and happy. "I thought…I know you were up there in the castle…" I trail off, and I know a ridiculous smile is spreading across my face.
"Later," he promises. Disentangling himself from me reluctantly, he gestures behind him. "First I think you'd better answer them."
Paling a bit, I scramble to my feet, clasp my hands to my heart, and make a low bow to the three brilliant lights before me. "My Goddesses," I stammer, "I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"You need not apologize to us," an ethereal, gentle voice answers me. "Please rise, daughter."
Slowly, I ascend from my bow and stand erect. For the first time, I take in my surroundings. A rocky, sparsely-vegetated strip of land coils before and behind me, and a ring of clouds embrace a jutting mountain peak. Angry thunderheads roar below my vision, and dying, drained clouds fade away above me.
Like three holes punched in a dark canvas, manifestations of the Goddesses float serenely before me.
"You have questions," they state, and I cannot tell which one spoke; all three voices bounce and whisper off one another.
"Yes," I say, simply.
"Then ask them," they urge kindly.
I take a deep breath and attempt to gather my thoughts. I have so many questions, some of which are only half-formed or a rambling string of words inside my head. "Why?" I finally blurt out inarticulately. "Why did all this…Rothester, Link returning, Ganondorf…why?"
"Even though you successfully trapped Ganondorf within the Sacred Realm years ago, that alone cannot cage him, unfortunately," the Goddesses begin, patiently attempting to answer my incoherent question. "The Triforce of Power still clung to him, so he retained his strength. By the time you had defeated him, he had transformed into a power-hungry beast who fed off of shadow and exchanged blood for hatred, you see. Even though he was imprisoned, Ganondorf fed off the dark thoughts and actions of others. Your late husband, Hieronymous, held many dark intentions within his heart and was the subject of scorn. Ganondorf, who is more than just a physical form, was able to use that black heart as a gateway into the world. He festered under Hieronymous' skin for a time until he was finally able to emerge anew."
"You foresaw this?" I hazard a guess.
"Yes."
"And you could not stop it?" I ask, carefully trying not to sound accusatory.
"No. Although the Triforce came from our power, it is an entity apart from us. We cannot interfere directly with any of the three bearers. So, even though we desired to halt Ganondorf's plot, the best we could do was ask you and Link to lend us your aid once more."
The mention of Link dares me to ask another question that I have long pondered over. "Why did you send Link away from Hyrule?" I query, and I refrain from asking why they took him away from me.
"To set destiny in motion," they answer. "We needed you in Rothester, Zelda, and we knew you would have resisted had Link still been with you."
"Wait, what?" I ask, confused. "Why was I needed in Rothester?"
"To give us ample time. The presence of your Triforce and your holy bond to Hieronymous kept Ganondorf's impending presence at bay. His evil fought against you, and he found it more difficult to infect Hieronymous. That gave Link time to return and the citizens a longer amount of time to evacuate. Also, your departure of Hyrule was crucial."
"So, I…did not marry Ganondorf?" I interject tentatively, my heart pounding sickeningly.
"No, child," they answer gently, and a wave of relief washes over me.
Returning to my original question, I ask "Why did we need to leave Hyrule?" even though I have a faint answer forming in my head.
"The only way to trap Ganondorf lay within the Master Sword and the pedestal under Hyrule Castle. However, we did not wish to halt every Hylian's time, we just wished to stop Ganondorf. Since you moved to Rothester, this was no longer a problem."
I nod, and my eyes travel to my surroundings as I try to piece together my next question. I look down over the side of the mountain and, in shock, note that Hyrule is slowly sinking beneath swelling waves.
I tuck a stray, wet strand of hair behind my ear and ask, "What is the purpose of this rain?"
"To further imprison Ganondorf. He is now trapped within time, but there are still those with dark hearts who wish to drink from his cruel ways. This rain will fall until an ocean covers Hyrule, hiding him for many years to come."
"So," I begin, my heart sinking with a gutted, absurd hope, "we will never return to Hyrule?"
The Goddesses flicker, and a mournful, sighing breeze gently blows through the mountain. "No, daughter. Hyrule must be forgotten. There will come a time when its powers will be needed once more, but that time is far in the future. Until then, it must remain untouched and unknown."
A cold chill runs down my spine, and I replay different things the Goddesses have said up until now. Feeling slightly sick, I ask, "Do you mean to imply…Will Ganondorf return again?"
"Yes," they say after a brief, hesitant pause. "Generations from now, your descendants will face him again."
My mind is numb, and I can feel tears pricking at my eyes. I tell myself to stop, but I'm too overwhelmed to do so. "So," I choke out, "this was all for nothing."
"No," the Goddesses say strongly, startling me out of my morose thoughts. "What you have done has guaranteed peace and happiness for hundreds of years to come. Darkness will always rise again, just as the shadow stretches under a noonday sun, but that is no reason not to prevent it while one can."
I turn to Link, realization dawning on me. "You knew, didn't you?"
He nods silently, a guilty expression crossing his features. "That's why I was...upset with them before," he admits, his eyes flicking toward the Goddesses. "I just couldn't understand it then."
Still taking in this new information, I question, "What will happen to our people, then, now that we have no home?"
"You will create new homes here on the mountaintops," they answer. "The Sage of Shadow and her refugees are not the only ones to have escaped the floodwaters. All across the world, people have fled to the mountains with our warnings in mind."
The mention of Impa causes a trill of happiness within my heart. She and the others must still be safe! But another thought strikes me at almost the same time. "What of the Gorons? They refused to come to Rothester. We still are not sure what happened to the Kokiri, either. Were they all trapped within time as well?"
"The Goron race will sleep for a time, until this new world is ready for them. As for the Kokiri, we have given them a new shape and a new purpose. They have become what they were in the beginning, Koroks, and now work to spread life among the new islands."
After a few moments of contemplative silence, the Goddesses ask gently, "Do you have any more questions, either of you?"
Link shakes his head, and his eyes watch the tossing waves below.
I think for a moment, and a spark of mystery suddenly prompts me to ask, "How did I escape from the castle? And where is Navi?"
The Goddesses flare warmly, and I think they must be chuckling. One of the lights separates itself from the others; I see a faintly blue-tinged core within the light, and I assume this Goddess is Nayru.
"I am Nayru," she begins, confirming my suspicions. "but you, Link, probably know me better in this form."
Link, a puzzled expression on his face, turns to the Goddess. The light around her bends and swirls, and suddenly an all-too-familiar form bobs in Nayru's place.
"Hello!" she chirps with Navi's voice.
Link's jaw drops open, his face a mask of stunned incredulity. "You…you were my fairy?"
"Yes," she answers, fluttering her tiny wings. "We knew you were the chosen Hero who would seal Ganondorf away, and we wanted to make sure you had a chance to complete the enormous task given to you. So, I concealed myself in this form and accompanied you. I tried to impart my wisdom to you and guide you through your journey. Once Ganondorf was defeated, I needed to return to the heavens, so I left. You felt compelled to search after me, so you left Hyrule, which was according to what we had planned."
Link rubs a hand over his face. "I…I never even…" he trails off, unable to even express his thoughts in words. I, too, am astonished. I never imagined that Link's companion was my own patron Goddess!
"I came back to guide you once more in this final part. I used my magic to transport you, Zelda, to this place after it was all finished," Nayru explains. With a swirling, pulsing of light, the little fairy expands and takes on the form of a Goddess once more.
"Do you have any other questions we can answer?" they ask, as Link and I stay within stunned silence.
We both shake our heads simultaneously.
"Very well then. There is one more matter to take care of. We must ask you both to abandon your respective Triforce pieces," they request. "You will no longer need them, but your descendants someday will."
Link and I catch eachothers' eyes, mystified.
"How are we to do that?" Link finally asks.
"Renounce them with your mind, your heart, your voice. Let the power within know that danger, for now, has passed," they explain.
I close my eyes and attempt to do just that. I focus my mind strongly on the glowing triangle on my left hand, trying to eject the entity from my body. A strange burning sensation engulfs my hand, and I gasp at the feeling. When I open them again, an empty feeling trickling from my fingertips, I see the Triforce of Wisdom floating above my hand. It shines there for a moment and then floats over to Nayru.
I rub my hand absentmindedly; being without the Triforce of Wisdom is an odd feeling. I glance at Link and note that he, too, has given up his Triforce piece. The Triforce of Courage hovers by its old master for a moment, but eventually returns to Farore.
"Now, Zelda," Nayru says, capturing my attention. "This is for you." A small, glowing triangle floats into my hands, and at first I believe I've been given the Triforce of Wisdom back. But I soon realize that this is only a piece of the original one, and that thought is confirmed by the other half held by Nayru. "You must give this to your daughter, instruct her to give it to her daughter, and so on. One day, a daughter of your line will complete the Triforce of Wisdom and rise up against Ganondorf."
"And the Triforce of Courage," Farore continues seamlessly, "will be claimed by another Hero. But that Hero will have to prove himself worthy before claiming its power." And with that, the Triforce of Courage fractures into eight pieces. Guided by the Goddesses' power, the eight pieces shoot over the new ocean and drop into the churning waters.
"Now," Din finishes, "we take our leave. You may not see us again, but always know that we are watching over you." The light surrounding them grows to an extreme intensity, and I shut my eyes tightly against the glare. Only when the light has faded from the back of my eyelids do I dare crack them open.
The Goddesses are gone, leaving only me and Link behind.
"That," he says, walking over to me, "was a lot to take in."
I give a little laugh. "Yes, it really was. But I still have one more question."
"Well, Zelda, I think you might have missed your chance," he says wryly, gesturing to the empty mountain.
I just shake my head. "No, my question wasn't for them." I reach down and take his hands, marveling that I can still knot these brave fingers within my own. "How did you survive?" I ask, my puzzled eyes searching his.
"Weren't you listening to me before?" he queries, a warm smile on his face. "I promised I would come back to you." Seeing my perplexed expression, he digs in his pocket and pulls out a pulsing green light encased in crystal. "Farore's Wind," he explains. "I found it while we were looking for the Ocarina, and I thought it might be of use."
I take the spell in my hand and twirl in it my fingers wonderingly. "Why didn't you say that before? You could have saved me quite a bit of grief," I admit, wiping under my eyes with a thumb.
"I wasn't quite sure it would work, as I didn't use it in the traditional sense. Normally, you attach the magic to a place you want to return to, but I…altered that a bit." He hesitates, and I flush ever so slightly as his meaning dawns on me.
"And it worked," I surmise, tucking a sopping lock of hair behind his ear.
"Beautifully," he murmurs, kissing me on the lips tenderly. After a moment of reunited bliss, he looks me in the eyes and asks, "So, what now? Do we rebuild Hyrule here, on the mountaintop?"
I slowly shake my head no, and my brow furrows in thought. "No. Hyrule must be forgotten, as the Goddesses told us. The people remaining must build a new land here."
"And you will lead them?" he asks.
A smile grows steadily on my face. "No, not this time." He looks surprised, and I hasten to explain, "I've grown quite sick of kings, Link, and I'm sure the people have, too. It is time that they rule themselves."
"You've been thinking about this for a long time," he says almost accusingly.
"Ever since you told me of Termina," I admit. "I'm sure there will be problems and some people will have trouble adjusting, but I know we are strong enough to make it through."
Link nods in acceptance and says, "I'm sure we will. It will be interesting, to say the least. Now, what are we going to do?" he asks, placing the emphasis as he twines my hand with his.
"Well," I begin, my eyes turning to newborn waves breaking on virgin shores, "the way I see it, there's a whole new ocean to explore." Even though the lands across the waters are dark with the current storm, my mind paints those distant hills with exotic and heart-pumping colors. For the first time in so many years, excluding those stolen moments with Link, I feel something akin to freedom. There is no crown on my head, no Triforce on my hand, and the one person I can't imagine life without is standing closer than I'd ever dreamed.
I turn back over my shoulder and ask, with a tilt of my eyebrow, "Care to come with me?"
His smile is the only answer I need.