Everyone should go read Midnaisbae's reviews because they're hilarious and I laugh so hard every time. They're amazing and basically the only thing that's cheering me up right now, since this chapter is probably my weakest to date. I had such a hard time putting this one together. It feels clunky and boring to me. So, in advance, my apologies.
Word spread quickly that Link had regained consciousness. The soldiers already knew by the time he, Zelda and Saula made their way to the barracks, and each one bowed low or welcomed Link back as they passed.
Anna and Tauma were pouring over a map in a small room near the back of the barracks when the three entered. Tauma stood at attention.
"Qu'vosa, I'm happy to see you on your feet so soon." She bowed a little, though there were lines of worry around her eyes.
"Are you alright to be up and about?" Anna said, raising a brow. "It has only been a few hours since you woke this morning."
Saula and Zelda had wondered the same thing, but Link refused to stay down. They had offered to have everyone come to his chambers instead, but he was up as soon as he was able, insisting he was fine.
"We don't have the luxury of waiting for me to be in the best of health. Has any movement been spotted on the horizon?" He approached the map, ignoring the worried looks around the room.
"No, Qu'vosa. We have twenty-four hour watch, and nothing has caused alarm. The Gerudo have been advised not to leave the city, so foot traffic has been minimal."
He nodded, his brow creased and shoulders tense.
"We have known since the day you were born that a war would be coming, Link." Saula stepped forward, frustrated with his stubborn refusal to rest. "Tauma and I have worked tirelessly to fortify the city. There isn't much to do now except wait."
"We had rows of iron spikes made and buried in the sand many years ago. They will be pulled up within the coming days. It will stop anyone from climbing the walls." Tauma ran her finger along the edge of the city walls on the map, indicating where the spikes were buried. "There are stores of food for up to a year under the city. We have also created a large chamber for those unable to fight to flee to. That area is stored with its own food supplies."
"Medical supplies are in good stock as well. With the molduga pieces Zelda and the others brought back, we will have an extra stock of rare medicine too." Saula motioned to Zelda and Anna, and Link seemed confused.
He had been asleep when she told him of her fight with the molduga, and they hadn't discussed it in the few hours since he'd woken. He'd been too focused on the safety of the city. Now, it seemed, was not the best time for him to find out.
He looked over his shoulder, his eyes meeting hers. He seemed unsure, but there was also anger behind his gaze. Zelda didn't know where it was directed, and she didn't feel like having the conversation with everyone standing around.
It seemed that Saula realized what had happened, and she stepped forward, catching his attention once more. "We are readying the soldiers for any fight that may come our way. In the meantime, why don't you head to the library? Lota and Reeza are reading about the ancient magic that Koume and Kotake are known to have used. They may have something more useful for you. Until the Yiga appear on the horizon, we can only prepare and wait."
Link nodded, though his silence unsettled Zelda. She followed him out of the room, looking back to see an apologetic wave from Saula.
"How did you acquire the molduga pieces?" Link asked as the two made their way through the palace halls. He was still slow moving, limping his way along.
"Do you really want me to tell you here, or is that for another time...when you're feeling better?"
He frowned. "Just how many ways did you endanger your life to save mine?" The anger had faded to disappointment, and Zelda knew now it was directed at himself.
"Not so many that I felt it wasn't worth it." Zelda said, giving him a coy smile. Her thoughts drifted to all of the things that had happened both before and after he had left. Her father's plans for the Gerudo people. The Triforce. "There are a lot of things we have to talk about, but I think that right now we need to see what Reeza and Lota have to say."
Link seemed to agree, though reluctantly. He dropped the subject of the molduga and the two made their way to the library in silence.
Lota seemed surprised to see Link enter, though she hid it quickly by diving into her findings.
"The black blade was certainly ancient blood magic. Reeza knows more about Koume and Kotake than I do, as her ancestors run within the same bloodlines, but it seems this specific type of sorcery was special to them."
"It was because they had no reservations about using the darkness to their advantage." Reeza squawked from a nearby table. "Most would never dare touch such evil, but these are the women who raised the Ganondorf we have all heard of. They used the darkness to help him rise to power."
"How is it that they are back? They died thousands of years ago..." Link looked between Reeza and Lota, searching for the answers.
"Liana said there was a new Yiga Master. It is impossible to tell for sure, but he most likely dabbled in the same magic used to bring Ganondorf back. The Yiga have supported the return of the Calamity, or Ganondorf, in one form or another for hundreds of years. They probably had a basic knowledge of the ancient principles involved with this type of dark magic, especially since those close to Ganondorf have used it in the past." Lota said, crossing her arms and leaning against the table. "The Master probably knew that bringing Ganondorf back was beyond his skill set, so he brought back the two people he knew of that could manage that type of sorcery. Through them they could work to resurrect Ganondorf himself."
"Why didn't you see this? Why didn't you warn us that this was a trap?" Link rounded on Reeza with uncharacteristic anger. She was unshaken, staring up at him.
"This war was a certainty from the moment you were conceived. I told your mother of the war. I did what I could to protect our people by offering what knowledge I could share. Seeing the future comes with the burden of knowing I cannot change it. Meddling in moments which are already set in time has grave consequences, Qu'vosa, no matter how angry you choose to get." She hobbled over to him, grabbing his arm and pulling his face to hers. "You feel it? There's a darkness there now. You must fight it back to win this war."
"A darkness?" Zelda's body was tense, and she noticed Lota avert her eyes. "What aren't you telling us?"
"The texts that we found outlining this type of blood magic talk about it coming at a price. Nothing is for free. You have to trade one thing for another." She paused, looking between Link and Zelda. "When he was cut with the blade something was taken from Link - his blood - but it was replaced with the dark magic in the blade. Most people would succumb to the darkness. We were able to fight it back, but it's not completely gone and...I don't know how you get rid of it. The texts don't say. I don't know if anyone has gotten ride of it."
Link bore no expression. He stood still and quiet, listening to Lota's words.
"What do you see, Reeza? Can you not tell us if he's taken over by this dark magic? What is his future like?" Zelda said, trying to hide her rising panic.
"This is not set. Like before, this aspect of the future is shifting and depends on the choices you both make. His future is a blur I cannot make out yet."
An overwhelming sense of helplessness hit Zelda like a wave. There was no answer, and no set path. Link could still be taken by the magic in the blade, and no one had any idea how to stop it. If they failed to stop it, the war would be lost, and Ganondorf would take over Hyrule.
"Are we meant to fail?" Link spoke quietly, looking down at Reeza.
She shook her head. "Ganondorf's victory is not guaranteed."
Lota cleared her throat, picking up a larger text. "In every encounter we were able to find he was successfully beaten back by both the sealing powers of the Triforce, and the Master Sword. Great great grandfather obtained the sword from the Lost Woods two hundred years ago after falling to the Calamity the first time. He returned it to that same spot once the Calamity was defeated. If Link is meant to wield the sword, he will be able to pull it from the pedestal within the Lost Woods."
"So getting it, if I can at all, is all we have to go on? What if I am not meant to use the sword? Only the Goddess' chosen hero is able to. Plus, the Lost Woods are almost entirely across Hyrule. If I leave, the city could come under attack. I won't be here to fight or help. I should leave our people when they need me most on the slight chance that I can pull the sword? It will take us well over a week to get there and back. Who knows that Ganondorf will accomplish in that time."
Lota didn't seem to have an answer. and she looked down at the book in her hands. "If you stay, and Ganondorf shows up to fight, there will be no way to defeat him without the sword. He will move on from here to the castle and the rest of Hyrule. He may not attack here at all while you are gone. He may go straight for the castle. This could go one of a multitude of ways."
"All of this depends on me even being able to pull the sword. I could leave my people here while I try and get it only to find out that I can't. Then what do we do?" Link said, staring blankly ahead.
No one moved or spoke as the weight of reality set in.
"One thing is for certain." Lota finally spoke. "Anna and I must return to the castle. She needs to tell father and ready the army. It is incredibly risky leaving the desert now, as I'm sure that the Yiga are patrolling the only entrance and exit, but we have to risk it. The army must know what is coming its way. One way or another, Ganondorf will be heading to the castle to overthrow the throne. Everyone there is in danger. If you are going to try and obtain the Master Sword, it makes the most sense for all of us to travel together, at least until the castle. It's safer that way, if only a little."
Link nodded. "When do you leave?"
"In the morning, I believe. The longer we stay the more dangerous it becomes to get out."
Link hadn't spoken all afternoon, sprawling out on one of the couches in the living area. She had watched him for a while, but when it became clear he'd rather be on his own Zelda had left, sitting on the warm stone of the balcony and letting her feet dangle over the edge.
She didn't know what it would mean to lose him to whatever darkness the blade left, and she didn't know if he would be able to pull the Master Sword. It seemed that no matter what choice they made, they would be putting thousands of people's lives in danger. Zelda felt as if she was being swallowed whole by a great darkness.
Voices drifted out from the sitting room, and Zelda tiptoed her way inside. Saula was there, her arms crossed, uttering Gerudo to Link. He sitting on the couch, eyes averted.
Zelda knew Saula wanted him to leave, but he was putting up a fight. Her jaw was set, and she seemed on the verge of outright anger.
"You are acting like a child." She said, her tone flat.
"I'm thinking of our people. I'm putting them first."
"Your people are not the only ones who populate Hyrule. If you do not go and get the Master Sword, the rest of Hyrule will perish." Saula's eyes met Zelda's for the briefest of moments. "What about Zelda's people? She is not Gerudo. She has loved ones beyond the walls of the highlands."
Link sat up, looking at Zelda over the back of the couch before turning to his mother once more. "I am only proposing to stay here until the battle with Ganondorf is finished. Once it is, I will go to the Lost Woods. I can't leave and let our people fight alone."
Saula shook her head, pacing away. "Are you so foolish that you think a battle here will be won? We can fortify the city, hold them back as best we can, but Ganondorf will finish with us when we're dead. He won't stop, especially if he knows you are alive. We may be able to hold them back, but there will be no way for you to escape the desert. Then what will you have accomplished?" Her green eyes were burning, full of a fire Zelda had never seen. "You are making excuses because you are scared, and claiming it is best for the Gerudo."
Link said nothing, looking at his hands.
"Zelda's sisters leave in the morning. For the sake of our people, and Hyrule, I hope you can see the bigger picture here." She left the room, leaving them in silence once more.
"I want to ask if you know what it's like to leave all of the things and people you love behind against your will, but that would be rather selfish of me, wouldn't it?" He couldn't look at her. "I know it's the right thing to do. What if I return, sword in hand, and my mother is dead?" He finally met her gaze, and she could see the anguish this was causing within him. "I imagine her fighting days and days, waiting for me to reappear and save them all. She will die waiting for me. I will let them all down. What if I'm too late? What if I can't wield the sword? The Goddesses choose one person with the soul of the hero. Why is everyone assuming that's me?" His shoulders slumped, and he leaned forward, running a hand through messy hair.
Zelda sat beside him, pressing her lips to the bare skin of his shoulder.
"You may not be too late. We could return in time and destroy him. Or Ganondorf could turn his attention to the castle first. He may not attack the city at all. Not until he's taken the throne. It's possible he thinks that the blade's magic killed you after you escaped. I have faith that you'll be able to pull the sword. If not you, then someone else. A hero always rises to defeat Ganondorf."
"There are so many questions. What if he does this...what if it's that?" Link looked at her, pleading. "What if I fail? What if none of it matters?"
She didn't know what to tell him. The uncertainty of it all felt suffocating, and she felt that at every turn they could make the wrong choice.
"I don't know. I don't know at all if we will win. My great great grandparents didn't at first. It's not guaranteed. They tried though. Our ancestors died because they believed they stood a chance. It would be a disservice to them, their memories, and their lives lost not to at least try."
Something flickered behind his eyes, and he seemed to give in. He exhaled. "I am a child."
Zelda laughed, and he smiled halfheartedly. "I missed the sound of your laugh." He paused for a moment, looking at his hands. "I meant what I said weeks ago. You are wise beyond belief, and my closest friend. For some reason the Heroines thought I was worthy of you. You did everything to bring me home and make me well again. I can never repay you for what you've sacrificed." He looked at her, taking her hand in his and pressing his lips to the back.
"Not all of our hope is lost. We are, at least in part, on the right path." She said. "When I killed the molduga I used the triforce...somehow."
Confusion spread across his features. "How?"
"I leapt off a column knowing it would come out of the sand beneath me. I had asked Liana to throw a pot there and get its attention. I was right over top of it, and I knew I could die, but I needed to make that shot. When I released my arrow, it wasn't really my arrow anymore. It was this golden light. It killed the molduga, and when I woke afterwards the Triforce was on the back of my hand, glowing like my arrow had." Her gaze fell to her hand, entangled with his, where the mark had been.
Link followed her eyes, running his fingers over the back. "Can you control it? Do you know how you did it?"
Zelda shook her head. "I have no idea. My great great grandmother's power woke when she tried to protect my great great grandfather. That's the only similarity, really."
"Why did you do it? You could have died." She had seen this expression before - full of pleading and fear and awe. She understood now what it was.
"I knew I had to save you. I was standing there, thinking about how you were slipping away, and I just knew I needed to do everything I could to stop it. I understood that I could die if I missed, or if I was too slow but..." She shrugged, pulling her gaze from his. "It didn't matter. I had to give everything within me to at least try and save you. If it meant losing my life, I was okay doing so knowing you would live."
He didn't speak for a long time, and Zelda worried he had thought her crazy, but then he moved, lowering his forehead to hers as he had done so many times before.
"To'orrsa so vas'abba orrs savote." I love you more than the sands love the sun. "If that's what it took to awaken the Triforce, then I'm going to have hope it's all I will need to pull the sword and destroy Ganondorf."