Chapter 14

To say that the Zora were fond of water would be quite the understatement. Prince Ralis's palace blended tech and liquid in a seamless fashion, both practically - or so Link had been told - and as a decorative function. Take the large, oval room Link had been housed in as a guest of the prince. The walls were veined with glowing intricate patterns that were, at closer glance, nothing more than tiny tubes set into the alabaster, tubes filled with a mixture of gushing water and blue-tinted energy.

Sweet.

Aghast, Link caught himself instantly.

Why am I thinking like Navi?

He glanced at the patterned walls again. Link had to admit that the effect was quite soothing.

Prince Ralis's palace was built into the cliff wall behind the Zora Falls - literally behind the falls. This meant that the only view from Link's wide window was the tumble of cascading water in colours of shimmering green, sparkling yellow, twinkling blue and ruby red. It was all a bit hypnotic, to be honest.

Hypnotic and soothing. No wonder people come to the Zora to wash away their troubles.

Soundproofing tech kept the rumble of the water to a minimum, and the shadows that danced across his room's floor from the permanent rain outside - or so it seemed each time he took a glance through the window - were all blurred and in constant wavy motion.

Link wasn't alone in his room. A Zora maidservant went about her work, dusting and wiping the crystalline furniture with accomplished ease. His table, chair and bed were all made from the same type of light, transparent crystal. Each item was filled with dyed water - his chair a luminous green, his table a pale blue and his bed an inky black. The combination of crystal and colour was so strong that Link thought that the Zora furnishing looked nothing more than overgrown sweets. It even made his mouth water.

The maidservant wouldn't meet Link's eyes. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt that it had little to do with humility or some sort of perceived social standing. She didn't want to be there in his presence, that was for certain. It was something that a dim part of his subconscious had noticed but not paid much attention to. Instead, he focussed on the crumpled piece of paper in his hand. It was Zelda's crude drawing, the one that Tetra had given to him before their operation to 'liberate' the Master Sword, the one that seemingly depicted both him and Zelda. The one Zelda had drawn years before she'd ever known him.

He laid the picture out flat on the table. A stream of bubbles plumed up toward it from the clear blue water within. Link frowned. How could Zelda, at that young an age, have possibly known that she would meet him later in her life? His mind offered up a number of possibilities and none gave him any satisfaction. He supposed this was one of those times when over-thinking just didn't help. Rauru would've been proud.

Link puffed out a tiny sigh and concentrated elsewhere - like, what did the picture actually mean?

It means that she must have been waiting for you since she was three.

The thought warmed his heart, oddly touching as it was. The feeling didn't last. If she'd really been waiting for him, if she'd really been relying on him for whatever cosmic purpose, then he'd let her down big time. As usual, the poison of his own self-loathing, cold as lead as it was, smothered any good feelings, starving them of any possible room to grow. He found that to be a childish and self-indulgent reaction. And that realisation, paradoxically, just made his loathing even worse.

Calm. In control.

He saw himself briefly rise above it all, saw the feelings floating down there while he himself rested on a soft cloud of temporary calm. Temporary was the key word- deciding that he wasn't going to be able to maintain that detached state, he turned his attention elsewhere.

Now, Link was no fool - or, at least, he didn't think he was. Most of the time, he could catch the subtleties in another person's mood just from their body language and general demeanour. That's why he couldn't help but notice the waves of apparent hostility roiling out from the Zora maidservant still bustling busily in his room.

"Um," he said, unsure. He ran a hand through his hair. "Hello."

The maidservant - and who had maids in this day and age? - looked up at him for the first time, eyebrow cocked. She wore the expression of someone who could make you wilt and dissolve by the force of her stare alone. Link - who had fought against a horde of Gerudo in his army days, had tested himself against the Wind Fish and had won, had infiltrated the Emerald Palace then stolen the Master Sword a few weeks later, and had gone toe-to-toe with his own clone and had outsmarted him - felt duly cowed. He swallowed.

"Yes?" the maidservant finally replied. Her voice was faintly accented. "Is there anything you need?"

"Yeah. Well. I mean..." Link decided to cut straight to the fat. "Look. Is there a problem between you and I?"

The maidservant had the grace to appear momentarily flustered. "A problem? Why would there be a problem? Of course not. I don't know even know you. A problem? Ridiculous. I -" Her obsidian eyes glittered as her voice caught. She stared helplessly.

"Go on," Link said softly.

She took a step forward. Link couldn't help but notice the dignity and grace by which she carried herself. "I heard you were one of Princess Midna's soldiers."

"That's right." When she wouldn't elaborate further he asked, "Why do you ask?"

"I -" Again she lost her composure. She took a deep breath to steady herself.

"It's okay," he said. "I won't get angry. Whatever you have to say."

Amusement flashed faintly in her eyes. "How can you be so certain?"

"Well," he replied. "I can't. Not really. But I can guarantee that if I do get angry, it won't be directed at you."

Her graceful demeanour had returned. She cocked an eyebrow again. "Presumptuous. Maybe that's typical of someone in your field..."

"I really, really don't know what you're talking about," said Link. "This is the kind of conversation where I feel like I've been stuck into a fishbowl." He looked stricken as he realised what he'd just said. "Uh. No offence."

The maid's dark, liquid eyes glittered. "Do you know of the Battle of Deep Cove?"

Now Link felt on steadier ground. He certainly did know of that battle. It was one of the first campaigns he'd been involved in. Hylians and Zora had stood side by side against a hard Gerudo incursion into the Domain.

"Yes," he replied.

There was a shift, ever so slight, in her posture. "Were you...were you present? That day at the battle? Were you there?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "Were plenty of heroes that day, I can tell you."

She snorted. "Heroes?"

Link's smile faded. He held her gaze. Her heard the faint tumble of water from outside. "Tell me what happened," he said, his voice soft. Saria would call it his 'doctor voice.' "Go on."

Muscles in her cheeks twitched. She was clearly finding it all very difficult. "Only if you answer me a single question afterward."

"Yeah. Sure." He blinked as he carefully folded away Zelda's drawing and slipped it into a free pouch on his belt. "What's your name?"

"Laruto."

"I'm Link."

"I know. We all know. The prince doesn't entertain guests all that often."

"Right."

Laruto wrung her hands. "I used to live in a fishing village at the edge of Deep Cove. When the Gerudo came..." Her voice trailed off. "No. That's not what matters. What matters is what happened afterward."

Link felt a clammy sense of cold unease prick at his heart. "Afterward some of the squadrons stayed behind to help with the clear-up."

"Yes!" she said, pleased that he understood. "Yes. And there was one...'squadron' as you put it, a Hylian one, that came into my village."

Her voice quietened. "You know, I did my research later, when it was all done and dusted. I dug deep. It wasn't easy, let me tell you. Battalion Beta Red was the name. The name of the Hylian squadron that paid my village a visit." Her tone now reflected the sudden ugly twist in her facial features. "That came to help."

Beta Red. Known to the rest of the army as 'The Resistance,' their self-proclaimed nickname. Link hadn't actually met anyone from the group, but he'd heard the stories, both the good - especially about their commander who went by the name of Rusl - and the bad. The latter tended to focus on one particular member of the group, a thug by the name of Bosco.

An excellent fighter, Bosco had many Gerudo kills to his name. One time, after an apparently hopeless campaign that left many Hylians dead, he had arrived back at base wearing only a grin and the blood of his enemies. Impressive. Awe inspiring. But it was that very same ruthlessness that made him such a volatile personality off the battlefield.

Link turned his attention back to the Zora. Waves of shadow shimmered on the wall behind her head. "I've heard of them."

"Have you now?" Her voice curdled again. "They were happy to be alive, I think. Too happy. You know, yes? The kind of joy you feel sometime when you just throw off all restraint?"

"Not really."

Laruto blinked rapidly at this, caught momentarily off-guard. "Well. Anyway. They saw us, saw the way we were - and you have to remember, the only ones left in the village then were those of us who weren't in a fit state to fight - and they took a liking to us. To the women, in particular."

Link frowned. "They were all in on this? The squadron, I mean."

"No. There was a ringleader. A big guy."

"Bosco."

"I never got their names. Even after the research I did. Anyway, this one man, well, he wanted to have his way with the woman." Bitterness rang in her voice. "But their commander wouldn't allow it."

"That sounds about right."

"That didn't stop him, though."

Link blanched. "He actually...?"

"No. No. Not that. Sorry. I'm not telling this right. It's difficult."

"It's alright. Really."

A pensive shadow fell over Laruto's voice. "I remember it all so clearly. He - this 'Bosco,' if that's what his name was - brought out a canister. Plain, grey little thing it was. 'Experimental toxic weapon', he said. 'We're the only squadron who has it.'"

"I've not heard of it."

"You wouldn't have. You won't ever. I don't think it was used again after that day."

Link inhaled deeply. It was starting to become very clear where this story was going. "Bosco released it."

A scarlet flush of anger had reached Laruto's cheeks now. "He did." Tears glistened in her eyes. "'Experimental," he said. I remember it all so clearly. I wish I could scrub it out of my brain. 'Experimental. So how's about we have an experiment right here and now?'"

"Rusl," said Link. "His commander, I mean. He didn't try to stop him...?"

"The commander was angry, yes. But it was too late by then. They only had time to put on their masks. To protect themselves. I was pregnant at the time. When my son was eventually born..."

Link's mouth dried. He felt a wave of anger wash over him. It was the familiar kind - toothless and impotent. Helpless.

"They're not all like that."

"They're not heroes, either." Her eyes smouldered with repressed rage. "I just wanted to know something. From you. Just one question, like I said. Since you were there."

"Not there. If I'd been there, then -

"Then what?" Muscles in her face twitched. "Well...?"

The memory of how he'd stood by when Midna had handed Zelda over floated back into Link's head. "What's your question, Laruto?"

There seemed to be a hint of victory twinkling in her eye at his failure to reply. "I just to know why. Why would a person do it? I can't wrap my head around it. Why? For fun? Why?!"

"I don't know," Link replied. "I'm sorry."

"I am, too," she said. Her eyes were bloodshot. "For bothering you with this."

"Wait," he said. "Your son...?"

"Jace. He's alive. He just gets sick a lot. Infections. Coughing. Almost all the time. All the other children avoid him. He's only six. I would spend all my time looking after him if I didn't have to hold down two positions just to have enough money. He should be out there playing with his friends. But he's stuck now. Stuck at home and sick. All. The. Time. They say he'll be lucky to reach his tenth birthday. What kind of life is that? What kind of future?"

She was breathing quickly now, fuelled by a tidal-wave of pure emotion. "You army people. You men and women. Your big ideas, your dreams. Thinking you're going to save the world. Thinking you're going to be heroes. Well, what about us, hmm? What about us little people?"

Link had nothing to say to any of that. What could he? Another apology would've been just trite. They held each other's gaze for a second longer. Laruto was the first to break it. She spun away, then strode out through the door, leaving Link to stand in silence as he watched her go.

...

Tetra and Saria had been given a room to share, as had the pirate crew, two to each chamber. Gortram, like Link, had been given his own room, though at the moment the Goron was out on a trip to the Bliss Beaches that he loved so much, courtesy of a free pass from Prince Ralis.

Lilac and purple coloured water filled the crystal furniture in Tetra's room, with the added bonus of a mini aquarium built into one wall. Hylian Roach with skin patterned with an ornate swirl darted in and out of schools of purple Loovar, all of whom were being watched over by the gliding form of a sleek looking indigo Gyorg.

Tetra, who had been staring into the tank lost in thought, tore her eyes away then began to circle around the room as she continued to ponder. Saria, who had been endlessly chatting away regardless of whether the pirate captain was paying attention or not, trotted after her.

"So, I'm thinking, yeah?" said Saria. "About how I'm always cracking jokes and being sarcastic. I reckon it's a defence mechanism. Because of my insecurities, yeah?"

"Don't be insecure, then," Tetra replied.

Saria stopped short in surprise. She hadn't expected the pirate lady to listen, let alone reply. She blinked as she played Tetra's words back in her head.

"Wow," she said. "That was blunt and straight to the point."

"No, I'm serious." Tetra stopped, too. She turned to face the younger girl. "You've got flaws? Brilliant. We all have. Welcome to life. You know what my Daddy Dearest said about flaws? He said they're only there so that we can overcome them. Not wallow in them. Even if it takes a lifetime."

Saria made a sour face. "Inspiring."

"Well, that's the trouble with people today. No forward momentum. They want to be left alone with their idiosyncrasies. We're 'only human', they'll say. Daddy dearest used to tell me that you're not human until you rise above yourself."

Saria looked unconvinced. "It's more laziness than inhumanity, yeah?"

"Or they're just fishing for pity." Tetra glanced at Saria. "You weren't doing that, were you? Fishing for pity?"

"No," Saria lied. "Of course not."

Tetra held her gaze a moment longer, then smiled. "Oh, don't mind me. Daddy dearest filled my head with all this kind of stuff. Hey, check this out."

Tetra strapped some sort of tech bracelet to her wrist, then began to push at the buttons.

Saria frowned. "I thought you lost your com...?"

"It's not a com," Tetra replied, her voice distracted. She unbuttoned a pouch on her belt. A triangular object began to rise from the pocket.

"The Triforce of Power..." Saria gasped.

Tetra grinned. "Uh-huh."

"You really did steal it from the princess? How?"

"Trade secret," Tetra replied. "Watch this."

Her fingers flickered over some more buttons. The Triforce piece began to spin slowly in mid-air. A golden glow lined its every edge.

"Whoa," Saria breathed. "You can manipulate it?"

"A bit," Tetra replied with a shrug. "It was how I got Prince Ralis to find us. Made it send out an energy pulse marked with my own unique signature. Pretty good, huh?"

Saria nodded. Tetra snatched the floating object out of the air, then placed it back in her belt pouch. "Imagine what I could do if I had the other two pieces, hmm?"

Saria made a disbelieving face. "You still after that? Link is never going to give his piece up."

"He still doesn't trust me, huh? I don't blame him. I wouldn't if I were him."

"What do you need it for? I thought you just wanted to juice your Eye in the Sky thing."

"I do," Tetra explained.

"But you've lost your ship. It had all your equipment. And don't tell me you're not upset about that, because I know you are."

"Fine!" the pirate woman spat. "I am. Happy now, little Miss Perceptive?"

Saria basked in the glow of the compliment. That it was harshly delivered didn't seem to bother her at all.

Tetra went on. "Just because I've lost my ship, it doesn't mean I don't still have the access codes to the Eye. I just need to get my hands on some good tech. Well. Top tech, to be honest."

"And then the Triforce?"

Tetra nodded. "And then the Triforce." There was a pause before the pirate captain suddenly changed tack. "So. The Purge."

Uncertainty flickered over Saria's features. "What about it?"

"You escaped. I did, too. You know how my family escaped?"

"Nope."

"There was still story we Sheikah used to tell one another when things got too dark. About a man - or woman - in armour, who would go around rescuing as many of us as he could. The Liberator, we called him. Or Armour Man." She gave a sheepish shrug. "We weren't very creative."

"Right. You're going to tell me this person saved your family, aren't you?"

Tetra grinned, her eyes shining. "Saw him with my own eyes."

Saria wasn't quite sure if the pirate captain was being serious or not. "What's brought all this up, anyway?"

"You were there," said Tetra, a harder edge in her voice. "During the Purge."

Saria's face fell. "Yeah."

"You must've been just a little girl. Like me."

"Yeah."

Bubbles fluttered in a chair nearby. There was another pause as Tetra eyed her younger companion carefully. "So why are you still a little girl?"

Saria blinked in surprise. "What?"

"You really aren't aware, are you?" Tetra craned in close. "Wow. What's messed your mental perceptions up, I wonder?"

Panic began to rise in Saria's voice. "What are you on about? What do you mean?"

"The Purge was twenty-one years ago. Twenty-one years. I was four. I'm guessing you were about the same age, too. It was just before I was sent away to all those posh Hylian schools. Zelda missed the whole thing. They'd sent her away a year earlier." Tetra shook her head. "But look at me, I'm rambling. This is about you."

Confusion creased Saria's brow. "Twenty-one years...? But...no. No. It was just a few years ago..."

Tetra didn't bother to ease her distress. "The other question, of course, is this: exactly how long has Captain Gortram known? From the beginning? He's been taking care of you for two decades?"

"Stop." Saria was trembling now. "Stop it."

"Or has he only come across you more recently? If so, why do you only have memories of the Purge?"

"STOP!" Tears fell from Saria's eyes. She shook a shaky step backward. "What am I?"

"Sshh," Tetra soothed, kneeling in front of her and placing her hands on her shoulders. "Hey. Information's my game. We'll find this out."

"I'm so confused."

"You and me both." Tetra's ears pricked up. "I think someone's coming."

Saria hiccupped, then wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm sorry."

"My fault, really," Tetra said softly. "I just thought you might have known. I was wrong."

It was Prince Ralis who entered, sweeping through the doors with his entourage trailing humbly behind him. Tetra rose as he approached wearing a wide grin.

"Good news!" he said. "And bad, too."

Tetra favoured him with a level gaze. "Hit me."

"The man Ghirahim. The one we liberated you and the others from. He escaped. There's no trace of him."

"What about the girls? And the Zora he had as slaves?"

"Done and done. Taken care of, I mean. The Zora will take a little time to recover sadly. The women - well, they appear to have no memory of their imprisonment. They're wondering how they even got to the Domain. Their health and strength is slowly returning."

"Good," said Tetra. "That was the good news, right?"

"No. Well, it is, it's just not what I came here to tell you."

"Out with it, Ralis."

"Guests of honour. You and your friends. Tonight. At a very special showing of a play by the renowned Zora troupe The Indigo-Go's."

"Oh, joy," said Saria, voice blank.

"You must attend," Ralis said, ruffling Saria's hair. "All my staff are coming, free of charge. All in your honour. I may even have some candy for you, little one."

If looks could kill, then the Domain de Zora would've been a barren wasteland just right then based on the glare Saria was giving the prince.

Tetra glanced down at her with a smile, glad that she was at least recovering her old spark.

Or has she just forgotten everything I just told her?

Shunting the thought aside for later, Tetra looked back up at Ralis. "Okay, you're on." Her smile took on an edge of slyness. "You know I could never resist one of your requests."

The prince hastily cleared his throat as pinpricks of scarlet flushed into life on each cheek. His entourage decided to cast their eyes anywhere else but at him.

"Please, Tetra," he said, voice low. "Not here."

Tetra winked at Saria. "You see this confident, smooth world leader here? I take all the credit. Before me, he was such a wuss."

Prince Ralis slapped his palms together. "So!" he said, his voice unusually high. "It's settled then. I shall see you all tonight."

He was about to spin away in retreat when Tetra cut him off. "Hey."

The prince paused. "Yes?"

"Thanks," she said softly. "For the rescue."

He smiled. "I hope it's worth it. Prince Midna has been looking for you. Well, mainly your mining crew friends. I doubt she's going to be too pleased with me, let me tell you."

"I'm sure you'll handle her," Tetra replied with a smile. "Like I said. Thanks."

...

Stars smeared the night sky, their lustre blotted out by the immense spotlights honed in on the stage that sat dead centre in the immense field. Sometimes the spray from the Zora Falls would catch in the light, twinkling sharply like shards of crystal or ice. The play was being held outside and aboveground. Link wasn't paying much attention, though. He hadn't even noticed when it had started. Or the speech Prince Ralis had given beforehand.

Link and his friends were seated at the front. Behind them a crowd of Zora sat in a semi-circle shaped enclosure. Up on stage, a female Zora was spinning on the tips of her toes while her male companion knelt at one knee and filled the air with his deep song. Link had no idea what was going on. He'd missed the plot entirely. Judging from the laughs and gasps from the crowd, however, it all seemed to be going well.

Link glanced to his left. Tetra sat transfixed next to a smiling Prince Ralis. Saria looked just as caught up in the whole show. Mako had taken his interest one step further - he seemed to have cobbled together some sort of pictovid capture device and had the thing clutched in his raised right hand as he happily recorded the whole show. Captain Gortram, fresh from his trip to the Bliss Beaches, looked utterly bored and the rest of the pirate crew wore expressions of such complete bemusement that Link had to look away or risk embarrassing them all by bursting out in laughter.

He felt a nudge in his heart as he wondered where the missing member of their friendship was right at that exact moment. He'd been certain Navi would find them eventually. That's why they'd decided to stick around a little longer in the Domain. But soon even he'd have to give up hope, and they would move on. Tetra was already prepared. She was apparently planning to sweet-talk the prince into giving them one of ships.

Where are you, Navi? And where's Zelda?

A ripple of applause brought Link back into another train of thought, one that he'd been pursuing since his conversation with Laruto earlier that day.

Truth be told, despite all the stories, Link hadn't really thought that Bosco was all that bad. Young, naive and only wanting to do the 'right thing' - which at that time was just to smash the Gerudo - Link had admired Bosco's aggression back at the Academy, and the big man's practical jokes had been one of those quirks you just lived with. Though they'd never met face-to-face, Link had spent a lot of time watching the soldier spar. He'd even cheered him on, wide-eyed; maybe he'd even encouraged the man's more forceful tendencies, though from a distance.

That's what made this all the worse.

The play was in full swing now, with most eyes fixed firmly on the stage. He spied Saria laughing and smiling at all the right places, and found himself feeling quite warmed at the sight.

At least one of us is problem free and having a good time.

Link leaned over to Prince Ralis. "I'm just going for a little stroll. Get some air."

Ralis, barely noticing, waved his assent. Link's actions had drawn Tetra's attention, though.

Air? she mouthed. She threw up her palms to indicate that there was nothing but air out here.

It's nothing, he mouthed back. Don't worry.

Link felt Tetra's suspicious eyes on his back as he made his exit. It was hard to hide yourself in such a big crowd, especially if you were one of the guests and more so if you stuck out for being a Hylian.

Good thing, then, that the crowd was totally engrossed, ooh-ing and aah-ing at every twist, some swaying in time to the gentle music swirling in the air. Link approached a stall selling sizzling fish and crispy, roasted vegetables. Fierce heat shimmered in the air as he walked by. Another vendor nearby was being mobbed by children - bored from the proceedings on stage - as they tried to hand over coin in sweaty palms in order to purchase any one of the brightly coloured toys that he had on display.

Link continued to walk, his expertly trained eyes searching. Grass wet from the never-ending mist flung from the waterfalls nearby crunched and bent under his boots. It didn't take him long to spot Laruto and the little boy sitting next to her. He stopped. Hanging back in the shadows, Link kept his eyes fixed upon the pair.

The boy Jace sat huddled against his mother's side, safely tucked under Laruto's arm. Every few seconds he would break into a fit of coughs and splutters, so much so that those around him began to edge away; a few even cast looks of disapproval, though most were filled with pity. Laruto clearly didn't care for either reaction: her face betrayed both her worry for her son and her dismay at the reaction he was getting.

The boy's coughing stirred bad memories deep in Link's heart. His own childhood illness was probably nothing like Jace's. To this day, Link didn't know what had caused it, or how it had been cured. All he knew was that the more time he'd spent with Zelda, the more he'd grown in confidence, the less and less his illness had been until it had vanished altogether.

He still remembered it, though, remembered it keenly. Not just how it made it feel, but the reactions it had stirred in anyone in close vicinity. As such, his empathy with Jace was piercing.

He noticed something else, too. Jace was staring at the toy vendor, his eyes filled with undisguised longing. Every so often his mother would notice, and her cheeks would pinch, her eyes sad. Gently, she would try to turn his head away. Link didn't even pause to think. He headed over to the stand.

"Hey," Link said as the man at the stall looked up in surprise. "You take Hylian currency?"

The vendor looked aghast. "Money from you? No! Never! You are the prince's guest! For you, it is free."

"No, no. Really. It's alright."

The vendor held up both palms. "I cannot accept. No. Not at all."

Link pursed his lips. "Fine. It's free. But not for me, okay?"

Relief seemed to flutter over the man's face. "Well, I did wonder. A niece or nephew, perhaps?"

Link ignored him. "I want you to head on over and give it to that little boy right there." He pointed.

The vendor shrugged. "For a guest of the prince? Anything. Any particular item you're after?"

"Your best one. The one all the kids want."

Spotlights gleamed off of the Zora's grey skin as he nodded. Link watched as the man pondered over his wares, one finger tapping on the side of his chin. He picked one toy up - some sort of huge reproduction of a Hylian Navy Battlecruiser - and headed over to Laruto.

Jace shrank back as the toy was presented to him, igniting more bad memories for Link. The Zora maidservant blinked in surprise. The little boy looked up at his mother, then, after receiving some murmured words of encouragement from her, took it gingerly, his face lighting up. Link noticed Laruto speaking urgently to the vendor and so made to leave - but it was too late. The man had already pointed him out.

Laruto's eyes found his. Her face was unreadable, her gaze hard. A moment later she squeezed her son's shoulder, then glanced down at him, smiling genuinely at Jace's newfound delight.

Link still felt his heart sink. Had he really thought that that would fix everything? It seemed like such a shallow gesture now. Desperate, even.

He vaguely recalled Zelda telling him to make his actions beautiful, even if those actions were something small.

I hope it still counts, Zelda. I really do.

Voices stirred in commotion behind him. Link turned, then frowned. Something was going in, and it was happening exactly at the point where he'd left his friends behind. He jogged over quickly, but it was a pale-faced Saria who reached him first.

"Link, quick!" she gasped. "It's Gortram!"

"What is it?" he said. "What's wrong?"

Saria looked on the verge of tears. "These Gorons just showed up. Gorons in uniforms. They've taken Gortram."

"Taken him?" He began to break into a sprint. "Why?"

Saria ran, too. "I don't know!"

"They must've said something, Saria!"

The girl's head slowly began to turn from side to side in shock. "I...they said...They said he's being taken into Goron custody, Link." Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. "Basically, he's been placed under arrest."