What do you know? I updated! Finally, I have something for the winter of 2008. Anyway, this is still in Arc Three, and one of my longest chapters to date. Enjoy.
/ is a scene change. /\/\/\/\/\/\ marks the end of the chapter.
Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and its respected trademarks are copyright of Nintendo and its respected companies. I get no payment for this, as this is simply a non-profit fan donation.
Chapter 21: Appearances Can Be Deceiving
To my dismay, we discovered that Zelda had removed the barrier days ago, demanding to speak with Ceaye. All of our work was half-wasted, and Kingsley was nowhere to be seen, having departed on some "private matter outside of the castle." This prevented me from learning the Hurricane Spin, which obviously slowed us down.
My expression was apparently amusing to the servant who informed me of this. "Of all the times…"
Ceaye patted my back. "It is fine. We simply have to wait for Kingsley to return."
"Hmm," I replied as we headed onward, my mood swinging lower and lower as time wore on.
We then passed by Lahni and Frederick, the former servant avoiding me as we passed on by, though only doing so in a fashion to keep me from noticing. After last week, I've likely scared her out of her wits. Frederick opened his mouth to get in an insult, but a glare from Ceaye kept him silent. Now that Ceaye was around, he was willing to step up to me, but when we're alone, he's absolutely terrified.
When we entered the castles dining hall, Knight was there to sneer at us. "Well, look who returns way too late? It is the supposed 'hero' and the Sheikah. Just so you are aware, Her Majesty has been waiting for you, Ceaye." The grin on his face that followed sent me over the edge suddenly.
"You keep your pathetic mouth shut, weakling!" I barked, not thinking before I acted. Knight backed away at the sudden outburst, and Ceaye frowned. However, the insult put the warrior on his guard, and he leapt back into action.
"Me, weak?! You insolent little slob! I ought to teach you to know your superiors!" He began to approach, but Ceaye stood in the way of the quarrel.
"No! Now is not the time to engage in such worthless squabble! Cease immediately!"
However, I wasn't about to listen to her. I glared at Knight before continuing. "Again, you're the weak one! In fact, you're so weak, I beat you in a contest of strength!"
"E-excuse me?!" His voice wavered in growing fury. "You exploited my only weakness to defeat me!" This was quickly getting out of hand.
"That was because your weakness is easy to exploit!" I retorted.
"Gr!" came Knight's response. That was the final straw. "I'll tear you apart!" As he approached, I tensed, ready to take a blow. I was ready to take a strike from this bastard, and I was ready to retaliate-
"Enough!!!" came Ceaye's harsh shout, and she threw down a deku nut that immediately blinded both Knight and me. I felt someone grab my shoulder, and before I knew it, I was out in the courtyard with Ceaye, and I was dazed.
"W-what?" My daze earned me a slap from the Sheikah, and she sat me down against the fountain.
"What were you thinking? Was it the Pendant of Peril influencing you?" When I did not respond, she sighed, and stood up, exiting the courtyard. Saria hurried out, rushing over to me in concern. Sarah trailed behind, almost uncomfortable with how much quicker Saria was to coming to my aid. She clearly seemed irked about it, and it appeared as if she was a touch jealous.
Saria dropped down to her knees by me. "What happened?" she inquired, a bit worried about me.
Uncontrolled emotions welled up inside, and I grasped her into an embrace, almost unaware that my wife stood only feet away. "The pendant…" I whispered, "…the pendant is controlling my emotions…"
She didn't know how to respond. "…your emotions…?" I failed to nod, simply tightening my grasp. Sarah said nothing, though I felt her radiate negative energy over my actions. Screw that. I was too overridden with emotions to care. Saria didn't reply, and we were silent for a moment or two. I don't know why she didn't pull away immediately, but she didn't seem to enjoy it either. In fact, she looked somewhat puzzled.
It was after we had been there for three minutes that Sarah couldn't take it anymore. "Ahem," she coughed, causing us to jump out of the embrace.
"Ah, um. I apologize," Saria mumbled, and off she went as well. I stood up and met Sarah's anticipating gaze. She was nonverbally demanding an explanation.
"I… don't know what came over me," I replied, and she didn't respond for a few seconds.
"I see." This was awkward. "Just so I get the answer I'm looking for… what is your standing with that girl?"
"Huh?"
"Don't question, just answer." Her tone grew more and more demanding. Best to not disappoint her.
I inhaled deeply. Time to give the answer. "We're simply friends, Sarah. That's all."
"…I see." She took a moment to regain her composure. "It's alright, Link. I understand. You're just friends." She beamed back. "Let's head over to the dining hall. You must be hungry after a leaving for a week." I followed her, only seeing Zelda once on the way there, in which she turned a blind eye, the last I saw of her for that evening.
/\
As I stood at the door of my quarters that night, I sighed in utter hopelessness. Earlier, Uunco had constantly bugged me about the trip. Knight had sent threats to me under his breath, and I had practically felt them. When Lahni had come by to serve the glasses of water 'round, she avoided me, serving Uunco and Sarah instead; when Fredrick passed by, he scowled openly at me, not afraid to take such disputes to a public standing. Ceaye and Zelda did not attend, and most knights were quiet all evening as they ate without a word. Sarah and Saria said nothing all evening, Sarah watching Saria as the emerald-haired female analyzed me, almost as if trying to find out some information.
As Saria came to mind, I subconsciously pulled out the ocarina. My grip tightened when I thought about how she had yet to teach me how to play it. When would she, I wondered? Soon, I found myself thinking. I slipped it back in my shirt pocket under the top layer of my tunic; I'd keep it over my heart at all times. Saria would like that, and seeing Saria happy makes me happy…
No! Don't think that, Link, you idiot! You have a wife, who's alive! You could have thought thoughts like that before, but now you've got a girl! Thinking about Saria would make things that much more complicated. I sighed, contemplating how twisted my life was becoming, and opened my door.
I never would have expected the halberd that slammed straight into the center of my chest when I entered, throwing me backwards, onto the ground.
……
……
I'm not dead?
I opened my eyes in wide realization. I was under attack! The offender approached slowly, and I heard a male voice scowl, "Damn! We climbed the wrong tower; the princess is on the other side of the castle!"
I glanced up at the figure. With blue skin, he was definitely a Zora. Freakish, flame tattoos were imprinted on his somewhat burly chest. He wore earrings made of red coral that made me feel that if I were a Zora, and wore those earrings, I would see myself as quite stylish. Nonetheless, this man seemed quite dangerous, and he even had a belt that held a menacing dagger that looked like it was meant for me. It finally clicked in my head that he was an assassin. However, he wasn't after me…it seemed that I was facing an assassin who didn't even know what tower the princess was in. Deadly, but lacking of proper directions. Lovely.
"The wrong tower? Why, Mesovys? Why did you trip us up on our most important mission?" I leaned my head up to see another Zora (this one female) climb in cautiously through my window. The girl had no tattoos, but instead wore a lavender velvet-like substance as clothing over her chest, and another cloth as a skirt. Her deep, olive eyes were much different from the usual sapphire eyes I'd normally seen Zoras have. Who was this girl? She didn't look at all like an murderer. In fact, it looked as if she had never killed anyone in her life.
"Listen, Lunaira, I get paid good rupees for this job. I kill Hylians, Zoras, and Gorons for a living, simply because someone wants them dead, and they're willing to pay me to do the dirty work." He drew his dagger, and grinned in apprehension of his next line. "Even if they're in family, as long as the right amount of rupees are in my grimy hands, I'll happily slit their throat in the darkness of the night. Do not question how I do my job, or the queen won't be seeing you in her court. Ever again." He waved the dagger threateningly, approaching her. "Got it?"
"…y-yeah. I-I do." Lunaira looked down at me. "Hey…what gives? I thought you said you were the best; this guy…he's alive and kicking." And of course I was alive and kicking; otherwise, how would I write this journal?
Mesovys now stood before me, his current expression one of puzzlement. I stared back at him, my sapphire eyes gazing into his cold black ones. "And how are you still alive, little guppy? My halberd should have made quick work of you." In truth, the weapon had, on a pure stroke of luck (something that I don't usually have), struck the Pendant of Peril, saving my life. However, it had knocked me on the ground, and was lodged partway though the pendant; it was perfectly balanced, despite the pull of gravity. Bad for me. I now hoped for two things, the first of which being that the Pendant of Peril could not be broken so easily, as who knows what would happen to the bearer at that given time. The second hope was that this crazed assassin didn't notice that the weapon was sticking not through my chest, but a magical item of darkness.
One of my hopes came true, but it shattered the other. Three guesses on which one it was. With a mystical soothing sound of deep bells, the pendant glowed a magnificent tangerine, and the halberd flew out, landing next to the cutthroat before the pendant returned to its usual emerald shade. However, this sparked Mesovys' curiosity, and he squatted to inspect the pendant further.
"Hmm," he deduced, fingering the pendant. I tried not to snap at him; saying anything would make things much more difficult for everyone. "So this little trinket of yours contains magic powers, eh? Ah ha ha! I underestimated you. No wonder your life was spared!" He stood, and lifted his halberd, laughing like a maniac.
The halberd itself featured a rather large blade on one side of the end, the blade on the other side considerably smaller. Both lavender blades sparkled with an enigmatic gleam. The very tip was spiked, which was what had struck the pendant. Its pole was crafted with cyan material.
He waved the halberd over me, binding magical chains around my arms and legs that soon became all too real. Damn magic weapon. "Struggle all you like, small fry! I promise you: my second shot will be lethal. Very, very lethal indeed; and don't forget painful! Now, you shall taste the wrath of my all powerful halberd, Vesuvia!" He raised the lavender blades, and I closed my eyes for the ending blow.
…it never came. He lowered his weapon. My eyes flew open, startled as to why he did not attack. I looked up to Mesovys, finding an odd sympathy in his face.
"If this guppy is so helpless, then I can't just kill him, as much as I want to. He's not my client's target, and unnecessary deaths are only unnecessary." His empathetic expression then transformed into an evil grin. "However, we can't just have our little birdie here flying from his cage and singing to the princess, so why don't you have a go at him, Lunaira?"
"W-what?!" came her fearful reply. It seemed now that she was thinking up excuses to talk her way out of it. "Um…wouldn't the castle hear his screams?"
Mesovys grinned. "Nope." He patted the stone wall, chuckling. "This stone's so thick that no one will hear him at this high an altitude. He's all yours."
"I-I think we should reconsider-" Lunaira was interrupted when the cutthroat grabbed her by the shoulder and forced the dagger into her hands. He brought her onto her knees, facing me.
"What's the matter, girlie? I see in your eyes that you've never taken a life. Why don't we make today your first?" He edged her closer to me. "Don't struggle; this won't hurt. For long…" He now addressed me; I didn't listen to him, however, and struggled more viciously when the Zora girl was brought over and now leaned above me.
"Mesovys…" Her voice was shaky, and her grip on the dagger similar. "P-please, don't do this to me…"
The assassin's patience had worn out. "Look, missy, either you stab him, or I throw you out the window! Understand?!" She merely yelped in reply. "Good; you may have the queen's blessings and protection, but you don't got mine. Besides, if you don't do it, I'll kill him myself. I lied about that part earlier, expecting you to do something about it." He shook his head. "Honest to Nayru; ladies these days don't have half as much intelligence and dignity as they did long ago." She decided to ignore the insult.
I glanced deep into her eyes. She seemed unwilling, and I saw that she was afraid… There was no malice in those olive eyes. Simply fear. This girl didn't want to kill me; now I was sure of it. However, Mesovys' grip on her wrist tightened, and when she still refused, he forced her hand down, the dagger falling towards my left pectoral. Toward my heart….
The dagger clinked, but did not immediately pierce. In fact, it didn't pierce through very far past the very tunic I wore. Surprisingly, I wasn't dead, as I immediately expected to be.
The assassin growled, and thrust the dagger down harder, and was met with resistance. "What in the name of Nayru is this?!" He pressed down even harder, and in moments I heard a minor crack before the weapon pierced farther through…
…yet still met resistance from an unknown force. By now, I was quite curious as to how I wasn't dead, and did not feel any pain, simply pressure. However, I had no time to think about it as Mesovys yanked Lunaira's hand up, the dagger exiting from beneath my tunic.
"Grawh!" he shrilled in frustration. "What sorcery protects you?! Why can't I claim your life?!" After, smashing his fist onto the floor, the cutthroat took a moment to regain his composure. Suddenly throwing Lunaira over to the side, he smirked. "No matter. This has all simply been a setback. Nothing more. It doesn't matter if you survive. We'll just have to wait until a more opportune moment arrives." Mesovys then hurried over to my desk, scribbling something down on a piece of parchment with a quill. He then placed the parchment into my tunic pocket. Sheathing his dagger, he picked up Vesuvia, and waved it, releasing me from my binds. "Now, go forth, little guppy, and tell the sweet princess that I said hello." And before I could utter a single syllable, he swished his halberd, the force of its power sending me tumbling down the tower stairway.
Down and down I spiraled, pain manifesting itself in various places, namely my head, spine, and deltoids. I instinctively placed my hand roughly against my tunic pocket, keeping the contents from spilling out. The momentum of the magic prevented me from stopping myself, and before I knew it, everything quickly faded out into nothing…
/\
"Link…"
"Guh…"
"Wake up, Hero…"
"Gah…" Someone was calling me…
"Wake up."
Pain…suddenly came rushing back to my head. A static shock of unpleasant aching settled itself into the back of my cranium. I immediately tried to sit up, but was forced down by powerful hands, which I especially complied to when my back rippled in pain. I was commanded by a powerful voice.
"I see you're awake. Finally. Stay down, and open your eyes."
I struggled against the darkness, and forced myself to see. The blackish blur of the outside world fought to stay out of focus, but my eyesight gradually returned to me. Dark, golden hair came into view. Focused, magenta eyes stared down at me. The man was seven feet tall, and wore a headband. I forced a small grin onto my weak face. "Hello, Kingsley," I managed in a pathetic attempt to sound relieved.
Zelda's personal servant- whom I had spent my due time in getting around to describing- patted my shoulder. "Link. It's good to see that you're awake. I apologize; there is something I need to take care of. I'll be back momentarily."
As he headed on out of the room, I sat up slowly, wincing as I went. Now, I decided to check where I was exactly. I found myself lying in a canopy bed in someone's quarters. There were pristine candles lit throughout my vision, and there were many different fragrances present in the room. When I took a deep inhale, I immediately coughed the air back out when my lungs protested. My throat was also somewhat sore and dry as well. What exactly happened to me, anyway? And this room seemed familiar; the smells, the bed, the room itself. Where was I?
Since Kingsley had yet to return, I decided to look around a bit more. Noticing an unlit candle on the nightstand to the left, I reached for it, since it happened to be in range of my curious appendages. This candle was thick, and lavender colored, while the others were periwinkle and lit by crimson flames. As soon as my hand touched it, however, yet another searing pain flew up my arm, traveling through my nerves and overall causing me to yelp in frustration. Apparently, this candle, of all the candles, was the one with magical properties. "There's nothing to do!" I attempted to shout, but it only came out as a hoarse tone that easily did not make it out the door. How infuriating.
I let myself relax into the bed. My sore head was graciously welcomed by the fuchsia-shaded pillow that lay beneath it. Now that I pondered upon it, there was nothing to do; only contemplate where I was, and why I was here. I stopped to wonder what exactly I had forgotten, and, at the speed of an arrow shot by Saria, it came back in a flash:
The assassin, Mesovys. His mysterious halberd, Vesuvia. Lunaira, the odd Zora who had refused to kill me. Tumbling down the stairs. And then, unconsciousness.
The details were clear as crystal. I almost sat straight up once more, but I stopped myself just in time, well aware of what had happened last time. To get out of this bed, I would have to take it slowly, one step at a time. The comfortable pillow I was lying on did not help my situation. And so I tested my endurance to the pain; slowly inching myself upward, I ignored the slight ache in my abdomen as my body forced itself in an upright position. At least, a somewhat upright position. Whatever. It would suffice for the time being. My head still throbbed at the loss of the pillow, but I could manage.
By now, Kingsley had finally returned, wielding a glass of water. About time. "Here," he commanded, handing me the goblet, which I gratefully accepted. "This will help soothe your throat."
"Thanks," I replied. I gulped down the frigid liquid happily. My throat became content, and my stomach was at least filled with something. "So," I managed after Kingsley took the goblet and set it on the nightstand, "where am I? And where did you find me?"
"You are in my quarters, Archie." That voice…
And into the room stepped Princess Zelda, whose bed I was lying on. This time, I almost literally jumped up, only to be put down by my screaming lungs. "Y-you!" I gasped, clutching at air.
"You should be grateful to Her Majesty for bringing you here, Hero," came an all too familiar voice that revealed a shadow I knew so well. Behind Kingsley was Ceaye, and she stepped out from the darkness, her expression an unwavering frown.
"Ceaye found you bloodied at the bottom of the tower," Zelda explained, her voice curt and emotionless. "You had fallen all the way down."
"What happened to you?" Kingsley asked me, his expression fading into one of slight concern.
It was somewhat difficult to speak after sitting up like that. "Urgh…I was attacked…by a Zora assassin."
Ceaye's expression did not falter. "An assassin? That explains the note…"
I turned toward Ceaye, confused. "Note? I received a note?"
"Indeed. When I found you, there were two items in your tunic pocket." She handed an object into my hand. It was broken into various pieces. "This was one of the items." I opened my hand…
…only to find the ocarina, not as one piece.
The finely crafted wooden instrument had a hole broken into it, that looked as if a dagger had been thrust into it. Only one side had burst, though the other side of the object had been chipped to some degree. Many wooden pieces lay in my hands, chips off of the instrument. I felt a strong urge to cry out; my treasure was destroyed, and it was at the hands of…the hands a dirty Zora.
A dark though crept across my mind, sweeping the grief under the waves. How dare those filthy fish! I'll see to it that they suffer for their actions! I would have blurted this out, had my self-control not stepped in at the last second.
Calm yourself, you imbecile! You can worry about the Zoras later; right now, you need to focus on learning the Hurricane Spin. If what Ceaye mentioned was true, then you need to learn the Hurricane Spin in order to defeat the peahats! With this notion, I managed to cool down temporarily.
Ceaye then handed the note Mesovys had written to Zelda. "This is the other item. I doubt this will bring any joy to you, but the assassin gave his name on the paper."
Zelda hastily unfolded the note, but her reaction was not as hasty. "'…The troops are waiting, Your Highness. I wonder when you shall address the problem of monsters? I am proud to soon be your murderer. Mesovys.'" She refolded the note slowly, then turned to me. "You survived an attack from Mesovys?"
"Yeah…do you know him?" I inquired, curious.
Kingsley coughed. A signal.
Ceaye took the signal, and took the liberty of explaining. "Mesovys is Hyrule's most deadly assassin, not to mention one of the only ones. Not much is known about him, other than the fact that whenever he is hired for a job, it usually gets done the first time. He is one to never give up; if he does fail the first time, he will get his job done the second time." Ceaye turned to Zelda. "This is the sort of man that wishes to claim your life."
I decided it would be fair to get some payback after all that happened to me; using all of the ire I could muster, I glared at her in a most unkind manner. However, she avoided the gaze easily.
Kingsley interrupted my stare with his forceful words. "What this means for you, Your Majesty, is that that assassin was not after Link, but after you, and that he will likely strike again. The question is, when will he strike?"
However, Zelda wasn't as clueless. Her expression faded into one of epiphany. "I do know when…" With this, she immediately left the room in a brisk moment.
With Zelda currently out of the room, I turned to Kingsley, a question nagging my mind. "Um, Kingsley? If I'm in Her Majesty's quarters, then where will she stay?"
Kingsley chuckled. "That is a simple question, Link. Her Highness should be just fine; she knows many of the nooks and crannies of the castle. Ceaye, you see to it that she doesn't do anything drastic, you hear?" Ceaye simply nodded and, stepping into the shadows once more, vanished from view. The servant then returned his gaze to me. "You know, Link, you are quite blessed."
"And why is that?" I inquired.
"It is because you are here, in this room," Kingsley replied. "Until this night, I was the only male allowed in these quarters. Not only that, but you have returned from your quest alive, and eluded death from the most dangerous assassin in Hyrule. You have amazing strokes of luck."
"You forgot about the instances of bad luck. They dominate the good luck in number…"
Kingsley chuckled. "You make it sound as if you're riddled with terrible luck everywhere you go. Look around a bit; your luck may be stronger than you know." He pat my head. "Just get some rest for now. Her Majesty will deal with it tomorrow." He then left the room, leaving me to some peace and quiet.
"Peace and quiet? That's not what I need right now…" I muttered to myself. What I needed was to speak with Uunco, speak with Zelda, speak with Saria… This thought drifted on in my mind as sleep took over steadily.
My dreams were riddled with hollow and broken thoughts of the similarly conditioned ocarina that I clutched in my slumber.
/\
The morning after, I tested myself to see if I could walk, let alone stand. As soon as I was confirmed able to wander I found and dressed myself in my (now oddly cleansed) tunic before heading on down the tower. Taking slow steps, it took me approximately fifteen minutes to complete the walk, instead of the ten I was used to.
The aroma of roast mutton and bread seeped into my nostrils, and I found it quite challenging to resist the temptation to have breakfast. However, what I needed to do came before breakfast, and I ignored the urge as I passed the dining hall.
I found Saria in one of the many hallways that stretched about the castle. She was simply strolling about, gazing forward as she pondered upon thoughts that escaped my grasp.
"Saria." My voice was broken and unprepared for its own speech.
She turned my way, broken out of her trance. "Oh, Link." Approaching me, she inquired, "What is it?"
I said nothing for a moment. "Ugh… I-I apologize. There was nothing I could do…"
She seemed puzzled. "About what? You do not need to apologize for anything."
"But I do," I insisted, feeling sick as I expected her reaction to be unpleasant. "I need to apologize for this." I pulled out the ocarina and its pieces, and my head went down in shame.
"What happened to it?" She gingerly picked up a few splinters from my hand.
I felt compelled to tell her, but my mind reasoned that I give her the news one piece at a time. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm sorry; I broke the instrument you entrusted to me."
There was a pause. "That ocarina I entrusted to you is special," she admitted. "It has magical properties. However," and she took the pieces from me, "I can fix the damage."
I was astounded. "R-really? But I thought you said-"
She walked off with the treasure, interrupting me. "Don't worry about it. I carved the ocarina, remember?" I was left confused as to why everyone but me had magic. As she exited the hallway, I could swear she was smiling.
I made it to breakfast, and saved myself from hours of hunger pangs. The food was scrumptious, and for once I was glad that I was at the castle.
Very shortly after I finished my meal, my attention was brought to a young lad who seemed quite unusual to be fit for knighthood. On the rather short side, he had mid-length bay brown hair and auburn eyes. The boy must have been only fifteen. He was alone, and many of the other knights ignored him. Seeing this, I decided that it would be kind to say hello.
I found myself harassed with lame mockery. "Look, 'tis the little Hero, as everyone titles him! Run, Little Hero! You can't protect yourself if you don't know how to fight!" This came from a roundabout rascal that chortled with his cohorts as I passed by. I gave no acknowledgement of his words.
"Ugh," I muttered as I sat next to him. "I hate these people."
"Hmm." The response was short, and not to my liking. However, he left it open for me to continue.
"They always jeer at me, or something of the like. Huh. Not to be rude, but I forgot to ask for your name. I'm Link."
"…Marcus." With that, we briefly shook hands.
I discovered that Marcus was actually a squire that made his way to early knighthood in Kingsley's favor. He joined the knights because he felt that he wanted to do something important in his life by protecting the town and his family, even though he was afraid of the fighting and the monsters. Hence the reason why he was only a beginner in knight status.
After talking for a tad longer, I heard the jeers of the bumbling idiots over at the other end of the hall, and snorted in disgust. "Everyone here hates me. It's like they think I brought bad luck to the castle or something."
"…I don't hate you." His response shocked me, though in an oddly pleasant way.
I beamed. "Thank you. I will speak with you again sometime." With that last comment, I stood up and began to head for the exit of the dining hall.
I passed by the rascals once more, though they spoke quieter now, hushed whispers. "I 'eard he ran away from a fight with a bokoblin!" uttered one.
"I heard he got scared in a pretty little forest and cowered on the forest floor, soaking his trousers," chimed another.
"An' I heard that he slept in Her Majesty's room last night. What an honor it would be, if he weren't there because of Ceaye's suggestion. From what I heard, she sees him as a toddler that needs to be babysat-"
I had had enough. I rushed over to the third man to speak and shoved him off of his merry little seat. He was quite surprised when I slammed him over against the wall. "What did you say?" He didn't respond for a moment, so I gave him a little smack. "What did you say?!" There was yet no response, so I shook him up a bit, adrenaline running through my veins.
"N-nothing!" he cried, finally giving in to the pressure. "Just a few rumors spread by Sir Adam, 'tis all!"
I let the man go, and he sunk to the floor in relief. "That bastard," I muttered to myself. I would make him pay as soon as I learned the Hurricane Spin.
"Sir Hero," called a voice that snapped me to attention. I turned my attention to a servant waiting for my attention.
Patience was not a given factor in my current attitude. "What is it?" I called irritably.
"Her Highness wishes to speak with you immediately," he replied rather rigidly. "Please head to the throne room when you are ready to meet with her."
"More like bargain for my life," I muttered, but I did not share this with the servant. Instead, I decided to speak with my wife and Uunco.
/\
I found Uunco and Sarah out in the courtyard; Sarah was sniffing the flowers, and Uunco stared forth into the fountain's contents. As I approached, Sarah pulled me into a hug.
"I'm so happy to see you again," she told me in a swoon.
"I as well," I replied, embracing her in return. "However, there are more important things to speak of…" I cut off my speech as I heard a quiet splash.
What I saw was Uunco sticking his head into the water of the fountain for reasons unknown. I yanked his head out of the fountain, water dripping from his hair and head. I gazed at him expectantly. "And just what are you doing?" I asked him, a curious expression about my face.
"I'm merely just looking for the fish," he replied.
"…what?" I stared at him blankly.
"Well, you know, there's got to be fish in the water, right?" He stared at me, expecting me to understand.
Sarah was quiet. "…it's a fountain."
"Yes, but why are there no fish?"
I shook my head. "Fountains don't have fish, Uunco."
He responded, "But every stream or body of water I've ever seen had some kind of fish in it. Why not the fountain?"
"Because," I retorted, "the fountain never had fish in it to begin with. Come on, Uunco; even I realized that!"
My friend was offended. "Well, I'm sorry! If this was your first time here, you'd think the same!"
"Uunco," came Sarah's voice, "you remember how our buckets of water never had fish, right?"
"True," admitted Uunco, "but what of it?"
"Well," continued Sarah, "you could think of the fountain as a large bucket. Do you understand?"
There was a pause as Uunco grasped at the concept. "Yeah," he replied after a moment. "Still, if it's a large bucket, where are we supposed to bring the water to?"
There was a pause as we ignored his odd inquiry. I returned my attention back to Sarah as Uunco turned to stare once again at his reflection in the water. "Sarah, I wish to speak of important matters with you."
She nodded. "Of course you can speak to me, Link. Why wouldn't you?"
I ignored the comment, and continued. "What happened? Last I remember, you were with me when I passed out. Please, explain what happened."
She was quiet for a moment. "I do not recall what happened when we were attacked. At first, when the beast appeared, I turned to run, but we were surrounded by four more of them-"
"Wait," I interrupted her, "we were surrounded? I only remember one of those beasts."
She stared at me for a quiet moment. I noticed that Uunco was now off somewhere else, mysteriously. "You must have hit your head harder than I thought," she muttered, almost too quietly for me to hear. Almost as if she didn't want me to hear.
"What was that?" I decided to go for the unknowing expressions to find out.
She seemed almost taken aback, but regained her composure quickly. "Nothing. Anyways, the last thing I remembered was that there were many of them closing in."
"…Thank you for the information, Sarah," I replied, my mind jumbled with more mysteries than I could count with my fingers.
She embraced me in return. "I was glad I could help. Now, I believe I have a bit of sightseeing to do; this castle is quite large." With that, she set off on her own adventure.
I next pondered whether or not to speak with Zelda. There was much I did not know of what she intended; after all, she had tried to kill me. After a moment's decision, I figured to myself, she couldn't make my life more hell than it already was. Therefore, I would proceed to the throne room.
/\
"Why did you summon me?" I questioned as I entered the throne room. I noticed that Kingsley and Ceaye accompanied Zelda, but no one else. I jumped as the doors blazed a carnation pink and slid closed ominously. I turned back over to the throne to get a glimpse of Zelda lowering a glowing hand of an azure shade.
"Now, no one can listen or intrude upon our conversation," stated the princess, ignoring my question. She beckoned me over. With uneasy tension, I ambled over, though there was caution hidden in my footsteps. "I called upon you on Ceaye and Kingsley's suggestion. Otherwise, you, like the rest of the guests of this castle, would also be unaware. Now, onto the topic of interest."
My gaze never wavered. "And what would this topic of interest be, exactly?"
"Her Majesty's safety," replied Kingsley. "Mesovys has given us a clue as to when he will strike, though for what purpose, we do not know. Ceaye and I suggested you be here because you survived the attack."
I didn't reply for a moment. "And when exactly is he going to attack?"
Zelda answered, "He is waiting for me to give my speech to Castle Town about the ordeal of the monsters outside the town. On that day, he will attack."
"Why don't you just postpone the speech? That sounds simple enough for me."
Ceaye joined in. "It is not that simple, Link. The speech has no scheduled date; the public has no notice of it."
I clenched my teeth. "Then why don't you cancel it?"
"Should we not address the situation soon, there may be riots," added in Kingsley. "This speech is an important message to the people of Castle Town. We don't want monsters braving up to the town guard and causing trouble any further than we can reach."
"Therefore," concluded Zelda, "we are meeting today to discuss the conflict."
The silence that followed was ominous, so Ceaye started the conversation once more. "If anyone has any ideas, do present them."
"Um," I began, "why don't we…capture Mesovys?"
Kingsley shook his head. "At this moment? Impossible." I grumbled from his blunt criticism.
Ceaye then had an odd expression on her face that I had yet to see upon it: curiosity. She leaned toward Kingsley, and whispered into his ear so quietly that I heard absolutely nothing. Astonished, Kingsley reluctantly replied in an equally mute tone. The Sheikah turned to us afterward. "There is one option," she announced, slowly and with clear pronunciation.
"And what would that be?" inquired Zelda. Kingsley coughed, and Ceaye finished her statement.
"I thought- and Kingsley agreed with this, mind you- that you could exchange places with someone and have them be a decoy, if even by magic."
"…Mesovys would be able to tell if the disguise was really Her Majesty or not if it were not conducted with magic weaving the threads," Kingsley noted. "Ergo, Her Majesty would have to cast a charm for the ruse to be effective. Even so, the doppelganger would be in extreme danger against the top assassin of our time."
"It is our only effective plan, and we can spare no more time on other thoughts," concluded Zelda. "However, there is only one flaw to this attempt." This caught our attention fully, and we extended our ears to listen. "I can use magic to change my and another's appearance, but I cannot change hair color; the doppelganger must have light blond hair. Otherwise, the hoax will most definitely be a failure."
Of course, as all know well, fate has a way of making so much more difficult at impeccable moments. Now was one of those moments.
All eyes fell on the golden bangs of my forehead.
Zelda's eyes widened with the realization. "Oh, no," she gasped. "I shall not concur to this plan."
In response, the gears clicked, and my eyes opened in horror. "No! No, no, no, no, no! I won't do it!"
"You're the only one with light blond hair in the castle other than Her Majesty," explained Kingsley, his expression dull, but behind it all, I could feel him laughing in amusement. "The closest to that in the castle is my hair, but it is too dark a shade of blond to fool the Zora assassin."
Zelda glanced away from me, while daggers shot out of my eyes. "If it is necessary to protect myself and Castle Town, then I shall do all I can to save my own self."
"In another sense, you are the most experienced of all of us when it comes to this man," added Ceaye.
Obviously, I was bound to question her. "And why is that?"
"Simple. You are the most likely one of us to survive, seeing as you have escaped him once with your life. This, in the end, puts you up as our first choice."
Seeing no way out of my current situation, I decided that it would be pointless to continue a dying argument. "Fine," I gave in reluctantly, "I'll do it. However, as soon as I'm finished with this, Her Majesty will remove the charm."
"Of course," agreed Ceaye, and we thought it best to shake hands on it. Ceaye turned to Zelda. "Now, if you may, Your Highness."
Zelda sighed. "Very well, then. I shall commence the charm, then." She stepped close to me, catching me off guard. Grasping my temples with her hands, she pushed my forehead against hers. As she opened her eyes, I noticed that they were now glowing golden.
"What the hell?" was all I could ask.
She gazed into my eyes, sending a chill down my spine. "Grasp my head, and do not blink," she replied, not actually answering the question.
Uncertain, I did as I was told. I felt my eyes radiate, and the room grew dark around us. I found that I could not blink, so I did not try, despite what I was used to. The only lights near us were our own irises, radiant in the darkness. A flash occurred, and I could swear for a moment that Zelda looked just like me. However, as the room lightened, I noticed that she was indeed herself.
As we stepped away from each other, I saw an approving expression on Kingsley's face. "Gaze, my friends, into the tiles beneath us, and you will see what we see." Curious, I brought my head down and gazed at the tiles on the floor.
The tiles were reflective, and when I looked at myself, I saw lazurite eyes and long, citrine hair on a feminine face. I felt it with what appeared to be delicate fingers with carnation fingernails. However, my face felt as rough as always, my hands as jagged as they were before, housing scars.
"What in the name of Farore…?" After my quiet muttering, I noticed the reflection of my true self, only it belonged to the princess beside me. She now hosted the mirror image of my body, tunic, and bandaged right arm. "This-this is amazing!" Originally upset with the dilemma, I was now mystified as to how it came to be this way.
"Now, Link," explained Zelda, "you see yourself and me as how we really are. However, others see us as the other of the two. The same goes with our voices."
"Now, how am I to return myself to normal?" came the question I was dying to have answered.
Ceaye elucidated for me. "The charm has been placed on your garments, so that as soon as you remove that tunic, Link, and that specific royal dress, Your Highness, others will see you as you are. Also, the charm has also been placed on both of you as well, therefore explaining that should anyone else wear the garment, the charm will not be activated. The charm will only activate when you put on these specific sets of clothing. Your Majesty, you have done quite a splendid job on this charm. Only Kingsley and I will know who you really are."
"Thank you, Ceaye," Zelda replied.
Joy radiated from within me. Now I was actually going to hide things from other people! "Now, what do I do now? Is it over?"
"Oh, no, Link," laughed Kingsley, "far from it. You need to learn proper etiquette, proper grammar, memorize the speech, and study the history of Hyrule. The list goes on."
Suddenly, all joy and radiance was killed on impact.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
There you have it, another chapter. This one took too long, I know, but I'll strive to finish the next one earlier. For now, press that review button!...if you wish.
Next Chapter: The torture begins as the plot thickens. Link, now thrown with more duties than he can count, must rise up to the challenge...of wearing high heels.