Chapter 18
I blinked. And then I blinked again. And again. For once my quick wit had failed me. It took me a solid thirty seconds to even open my mouth. It took me another thirty for a nervous laughter to involuntarily erupt from my throat.
"You must be mistaken." I choked out between shaky giggles. "I don't have a destiny. I'm NOT destiny girl. I'm a musician. If anything my destiny is to collect student debt and live off of instant noodles for the rest of my life." Ah. There it was. My quick wit came back as quickly as it had left. The semi circle of women who claimed to be 'Zelda's' looked at each other confused.
"But," One of the Zeldas began. "None of us thought that we had a destiny beyond what we had planned. Some of us were princesses. Some of us were commoners, Some of us were warriors. We did not ask for the mark of the Triforce. But here we are." She looked different than the others. She had her hair tied up in a swirly updo, and instead of the regal dress that most of the others adorned, she wore breezy shorts, a tank top, and a dagger at her hip.
"Okay Okay Okay. You guys are gonna have to give me a little information than that. As much as I did the whole, freaky girl group thing, I have no idea what in the Goddesses you guys are talking about." My brain had started working again and it was racing. As far as I could tell, this wasn't a dream. I pinched myself to no avail. One 'Zelda' turned to the swoopy haired, dagger-wielding, one and whispered:
"She reminds me of you." The swashbuckling one rolled her eyes and smirked before turning to me.
"You've heard the Legend of the Triforce haven't you?" I nodded. The pirate-woman continued. "In each generation, the three great goddesses bestow the likeness of their powers on three mortal humans. They are chosen to be the pillars of morality. They are to uphold the order of civilization that the goddesses so carefully crafted. But somewhere along the way, things got corrupted. The one blessed by Din began to grow corrupt with the power that came with the Triforce of, well, power. Generation after generation the prophet of power has raged war against the holders of the Triforce of Wisdom and Courage. We thought that this new era, this modern time would end that war. But here you are, being pursued by the prophet of power."
"That's all fine and good." I started. I wasn't going to let my wit leave me again so soon. I was clinging onto my sanity like a drowning cat. "But those are just legends aren't they? I mean. Children's stories. You're making it sound like I have a Triforce or something." I laughed nervously, expecting the chorus of eerily similar women to start laughing with me. No such luck. The first Zelda who spoke to me, the one with the kind eyes, pink dress and big cloth hanging from her belt stepped forward and reached for my left hand. I let her pick it up and hold it in hers, some part of me felt I could trust her. She clasped my hand in both of hers, concealing it from my gaze. The back of my hand started to feel warm. Really warm actually. Like something was burning through my hand from the inside. "Ow!" I shrieked, pulling my hand out of the Zelda's grasp. I shook it like I had just burnt in on a hot stove. "What did you do?!" I grasped it close to my chest, afraid to look at the damage. I have always been squeamish.
The Zelda who held my hand motioned for me to look at my hand. Warily, I peaked. An outline of three interlocked triangles had appeared. The lower left triangle was slightly darker than the other untrained eye might mistake it for a tattoo, but it was much more ancient than that. It seemed as though it had always been there. Looking at it now, I could hardly believe that it hadn't been etched into my skin my entire life. By now the burning sensation had left, and I was left with a new body modification and even more questions.
"What the actual fuck is going on here!?" I finally lost it. "I wake up in a fucking whacko-cult temple with an army girls who are apparently the same girl who is ALSO apparently me and then my hand starts burning and now I have INK? I'm not even eighteen! I legally can't even have tattoos yet! I don't know if this is a fever dream or a hallucination or an insane asylum or WHAT. But I am going to need some answers Right. Now. Or I'm gonna go bonkers." I took a deep breath, recovering from my breakdown. "Or at least, more bonkers than I already am."
The Zelda's looked sorrowfully at each other and then the tallest one stepped forward. She had long brunette hair, and the most regal Hylian features I have ever seen. A woven tapestry hung from her waist, and golden armor framed her shoulders.
"Please forgive us." Her voice was clear and authoritative, yet comforting. "We haven't had to call Wisdom Prophet in many generations. We are a touch out of practice. The fact of the matter is, the two men who have an undeniable fascination with you are the holders of the Triforce of Power and Courage. The one who you suspect of harming your parents, Ganondorf, already knows of his status as the Prophet of Power, and thirsts for your piece of the Triforce as well. Your partner, Link is the Prophet of Courage. He was awakened himself just the other night when you told him about Ganon's pursuit of you.
We wanted to keep you save. To live a normal life. The triforce is not an easy burden to bear. But we have waited as long as we possibly can. Ganon is not going away. He did play a part in your parent's death, as you expected. He charged the Wind Mage, Vaati, with creating the cyclone that took your parents at sea. He wants your triforce, Zelda. He will stop at nothing to get it."
Okay.
Okay.
Okay.
Holy shit.
What the hell is happening?
My brain was only thinking about one thought for every thirty seconds that passed. The legends, the children's storybook tales that my mother would read to me at night were all true? And I was just supposed to believe it? I am fairly convinced that this isn't just an acid-nighmare-dreamscape at this point.
"Okay so…" Speaking felt wrong. Me. The girl who was never at a loss for words, felt as though words couldn't compare to what I was feeling in this particular moment. "What do I do now? I've got this triforce I guess and so do Link and Ganon, and Ganon wants me dead or something so what do I do? How do I stop him? When do I go back to having a normal life?"
The Pirate looking Zelda stepped forward again.
"You will never have a normal life again. You have been given a gift, the gift of clarity. Listen to the Universe. Listen to the Goddess. They will guide you." The edges of my vision began to grow bright until my vision flooded and all I could see was light. I squinted and blinked, and when the white spots finally cleared, I was back in my living room, with Link and Sheik confronting Ganon at the door.