Tairyn sat, tense and anxiously pursuing various texts that morning. Though the birds twittered cheerily in the overgrown fir-tree outside his window, he had hardly noticed the sunlight. No, the morning had been a long and brooding one. Tairyn closed the girthy, ornate leather-bound book with a papery thud and folded his hands against his desk. The night had nearly been disastrous to the delicate and careful plan he had woven. The coming of the boy had not been foreseen, not this soon at least, not until the presence of the third bearer was in full bloom and radiated its wickedness across the land. Now Tairyn had lost both Nayru and Farore's piece as well as nearly alerted those still faithful to the crown. The Sheikah mage let his aching head fall against his palm. This endeavor had been thoroughly draining, the princess had caught wise much sooner than he had anticipated.
She was gone long enough... She must have drawn out the boy somehow... perhaps. It was inevitable. Fate is stacked against me, and I have been far too reckless. Still... the third bearer is my captive... and the other two will come for him.
It was then that Tairyn heard a loud knock upon his chamber door, jolting him from his thoughts. He rose, glancing down at the book that still smelled of the crypt from which he had pulled it. He nervously unlatched the door, nearly scowling at who he saw standing there in the hallway. In tarnished armor stood a familiar slumped, porcine man; his dented helmet resting beneath his arm. The man stepped inside as Tairyn quickly pushed the door closed.
"What do you want Yurick? I thought you and your team had left for Kakariko hours ago." Said Tairyn.
Yurick shuffled further into the room.
"… Well, there is the little matter of my payment for all this trouble that I…"
Tairyn rolled his eyes and the solider was silenced as he caught the silver rupee that the Sheikah tossed his way. Yurick grinned and looked back up into the strange, garnet eyes of the man before him.
"They will not come willingly so do what you will with them. Keep it quiet and remember, I need both of them alive… That may prove to be a harder task with the boy." Said Tairyn, the large bruise on the side of his head smarting even still.
Yurick chortled, examining the gem for a moment before slipping it securely beneath his breast-plate.
"Corse sir, we'll have 'em both back here right quick." He paused.
"You haven't tried to make this deal with Sir Eolan have you? He's the one that brought her home last night." He said, lowering his voice as if someone would hear.
The mage shook his head.
"…No, I suspect rupees would not motivate him… as they do yourself and so many of his command." Tairyn replied.
The solider snorted.
"That's prolly for the best. He'd kill you in your sleep if he knew... have to be real careful who you talk to about these kinds of things… what do you want the kid and the princess for?"
Tairyn felt his eyes narrow reflexively.
"I do not pay you to know my business, Yurick."
The solider raised his eyebrows, taking a step closer to the tall, snowy-haired man.
"No, but you still pay me, and even I know where it comes from. I know you've got Daphnes in some trance up there… somethin' to do with the witchcraft you and that other red-eyed woman do..." Yurick paused.
"You know... I've heard talk that you've been seen in the company of demons, you payin' off King Bulblin too?"
Tairyn was silent, his gaze like daggers. Yurick chuckled.
"It's no concern a mine a course, or the others as long as you keep the rupees coming."
Tairyn pulled open his door and gestured to the hallway.
"Good day, Yurick." He said.
The solider gave a slight nod and stepped out of the room. Tairyn shut his chamber door on the slovenly knight and turned wearily to his window, lifting the thick curtain.
Idiot… What a manner in which to have justice wrought... buying the services of demons and the dregs of polite society with the stolen money of the monarchy.
Tairyn stared out from beneath the heavy limbs of the fir, to the richness of the land below. He let the curtain fall closed with a sigh. Yurick had mentioned Impa hadn't he? Hers was a name that conjured a stinging familiarity. She had been the one who had given Zelda the herb to unbind the spell, there was no mistaking that. He knew she thought him a traitor, he had seen it in her eyes the day he had dismissed her and bid her return to Kakariko. The thought of her face in that moment saddened him. Tairyn and Impa, the last of the Shadow Tribe in central Hyrule. They had grown up together, side by side, in the shadow of Death Mountain. They had been friends once, in the time that duty would allow. They had taken lessons in their inborn magic, history and combat together. He could remember in his childhood offering her, once, one of the red daisies that grew near the well. For all he knew, she still had it pressed in a book somewhere. He and Impa were to be faithful guardians of the crown and the secrets the royal family kept from their subjects, their divine privilege. It was the only goal that they could ever hope to achieve, for they were Sheikah and that was their purpose. Even in his youth, Tairyn had found it cruel and unjust that his fate should be ruled by his heritage. He could only wonder why. Why he and his people should remain shackled to the royal bloodline when the great power and magic they had once wielded had been lost long ago, scattered to where the Gods only knew? The royal family meant nothing without the Triforce. They where nothing besides a useless symbol of the old ways. Tairyn hadn't even been sure then that the Triforce truly existed. Only once had he dared to voice this sentiment, and his mother struck him so hard that his lip had bled.
As Tairyn had grown bitter and resentful, Impa had become devout and solitary. By the time she was fourteen, she had been ordained a guardian and Tairyn watched as what had perhaps been his only friend was whisked behind the wrought-iron gates of the palace; to the cradle of the newborn Zelda. Alone, the young mage had receded into himself. All things served as a reminder that his life was not his own and he rarely spoke, alone always. He had learned in his silence to read people for vice and weakness. He relied on logic and calculation, fueled by aimless spite. By the time he was sixteen he had excelled in the magical arts and was to become the king's mage. So, he was unenthusiastically shepherded into the castle, to give his life to a cause he cared nothing for. He saw ghostly traces of the Sheikah lady from across hallways and atop staircases, but the two never exchanged more than a few words; the tiny, bright-eyed princess clinging always to her. He had thought of throwing himself from the tower window that year, but then he had discovered the library and it became a world of his own. It was there that first he read of the sister tribe, the ones who had refused to bow. He'd read long poems about the Invasion of Shadows and Spirits of Light, ancient prose about a world of perpetual twilight. On one of those many nights, during those many listless years, Tairyn found a thin, dilapidated leaflet secreted away on a high shelf. Among its flaking pages there lay a parchment which the young Sheikah eagerly unfurled upon the lamp lit table. Upon it was a drawing of a round, rune covered structure and the writing of a Hylian dialect so ancient he could hardly decipher it. The Mirror of Twilight... portal to the dark half... A kingdom of shadows, ruled by those who had mastered a great and powerful magic; those that had created the cursed mask and sought the golden power. Their symbol was the eye, as if the tribe had been separated only by the single tear of his own clan. History called them interlopers.
Whose history? He had wondered.
It was in that moment, staring down into the yellowed parchment penned by long dead sages, that Tairyn finally understood why the magic he had been taught by his mother had never felt complete. Rather than use the power granted by the Gods, his people had stood aside as their magic was cheapened and used solely for the benefit of the kings and queens of the land. To master the true arts of his tribe had been prohibited and his people enslaved . The shadow folk had once been many, not the sad, lonely scatter that existed now. Because those few had dared try and use the Triforce; tried to tame it and with it create a better world as the Gods had intended, they had been severed and banished from this plane. Lost along with their power, secrets and spark of rebellion. He carried a silent anger for a long time, grieved by the thankless duty and subservient nature of his people, even as their ancient magic could rend time and space. Gradually, resentment sparked desire. If the tales of the mirror were true, than he would find it, no matter the consequences. His tribe would be once again whole, uniting light and dark and perhaps... overthrowing their oppressors. Tairyn ran his hand over the carved leather of the grimoire, the Shadow Book written in the oldest incarnation of his language. He had ventured down into the catacombs beneath the city, violated a tomb and ripped it from the arms of a priestess who had long ago requested it be interred with her. In the Shadow Book were the black spells; the power to summon demons, the power to make the dead walk, the power to curse and corrupt. Spells deemed reprehensible long ago and the closest relation to the magic he so desperately sought. The search for the mirror had taken years. Months worth of digging through libraries in the far corners of the country, following obscure, ancient clues to dead ends. He had traveled to the tops of mountains, to the caves beside the lake, to the depths of the forest in his search. Even though Tairyn had discovered other interesting relics, the mirror seemed always out of reach. However, now the game had changed. Tairyn grinned at the thought. How strange that fate would grant him the opportunity to another path. On a mid-winter night, the palace had celebrated the seventeenth birthday of the king's daughter. As customary, Tairyn danced with the princess and she, glove-less, her cheeks flushed with wine, had merrily taken his hand. It was then that he had noticed the mark. He had hardly been able to retain a gasp. Was it was her? Could Daphnes's daughter be the reincarnate Bearer of Wisdom?
If the stories are true...the cycle will begin again...
He had thought.
Perhaps, if I intercepted fate... But how could that be possible without the other two?
And so, after careful thinking, Tairyn had abandoned the idea and continued his search for the mirror. After the thaw that year, he drifted into the desert on the suggestion of another scroll; to the cursed killing fields of the Arbiter's Grounds. The scroll, written in the old Hylian language, had told of an unholy mirror capable of sending souls directly to the underworld. Sure this time that he had found it, he eagerly embarked under the pretense of a pilgrimage to the western temples to ask Farore for guidance. After days of searching for the entrance he found nothing. Frustrated and low on supplies Tairyn had knocked upon the only door for miles. The woman who answered the door was ancient by all measure. She looked up at him. The first thing Tairyn noticed was the red jewel strung on her forehead, and then her fiercely amber colored eyes. A thought occurred to him.
"Jah'kht."He greeted her, in Gerudo.
The woman cracked a crooked grin.
"Huh...interesting. Nobody's talked to me in Gerudo in a long time. Especially not a young Sheikah. You lost, hon?"
Tairyn shifted.
"In some way. I'm looking for something... I have been out here for days." He said.
She squinted up at him, the golden comb her thick, white hair wound around glinting in the sun.
"Come on in, I just got water." She said and Tairyn stepped inside.
She ladled water from an old steel pail into a clay cup and handed it to him. He drained it within seconds and handed it back to her.
"It's unusual to see a Gerudo this far east...at all really." He said wiping his mouth.
"Last one around these parts I think." Said the woman, nodding
Tairyn eyed her, trying to keep his face from betraying his suspicion.
She must know. That's why she's here and not with the rest of her people. She's guarding something..."
"So what is it you're looking for?" She asked.
The Sheikah gently set a hand on the hilt of his dagger.
"I need to find a way into the Arbiters Grounds." He said
At this the old woman's expression turned cold.
"For what?" She snapped.
"To find the Dark Mirror, the one that connects us to the other world." He said, taking a step closer.
The woman laughed.
"What? The Mirror of Twilight you mean?"
"Yes." Tairyn answered, her laughter angering him.
"Good luck, it's been gone for centuries. The Queen of the Twili shattered it, or so they say." She said, stepping backward as he advanced.
"So you do know of it? You know of the Twili?! Every thing has lead me to this desert! It must be here!" He cried, bearing down on her.
"I don't know anything about it expect that it's gone and if you stepped foot into that place you'd be dead before you got to the second booby-trap!"
Desperate, Tairyn had become infuriated, it frightened him now thinking back on it. He had held a dagger to her throat.
"Take me to the mirror old woman!" He had demanded.
The old woman had defiantly narrowed her amber eyes.
"It's gone, stupid! And if it wasn't I wouldn't take you to it anyway!" She spat.
Tairyn had pressed the dagger harder into her flesh. She spit in his face. He nearly cut her throat in anger but something made him pause. It was then that he heard a voice. A whisper from deeper into the house. Something so vile that he felt his hair stand as he tossed the old woman to the floor. He immediately made his way to the cellar. Upon the wall, there learned a tall, narrow, cloth covered object. Again, the voice whispered to him. He pulled the cloth away. It was a gilded mirror and in its pitch black reflection, behind him stood the beast. The Triforce of Power glowing dimly on the back of its hand. All at once, Tairyn felt his brain flooded with screams and murmurers. He felt as though he was being pulled away and into the mirror. Clenching his eyes shut he threw the cloth back over it and stumbled backward.
Din's chosen... the Bearer of Power... the demon.
There was another knock at the door, this one much softer. Tairyn rose once again, unlatching his door with a familiar clank. Outside stood one of Zelda's handmaidens. She curtsied, glancing nervously to the Sheikah mage.
"Master Tairyn, the king... there is quite a bit of noise coming from his room."
Tairyn nodded, his face like marble as the girl timidly wrung her fingers.
"I will tend to him, return to your tasks." He said
The girl curtsied again and swiftly turned to make her way back through the hallway. Tairyn watched her go, and pulled his ring of keys from its place upon the wall. He was anxious as he made the climb to the king's room. He would have to be more careful than he had been previously. The awakening demon, filled with blind fury, had begun to lash out more and more from the entranced Daphnes. He could hear the sound of heavy footsteps and crashing as he drew nearer to the room. He would have to calm the beast once more. Since he had first heard the whispering of the being in the mirror, Tairyn had painstakingly drugged the aging monarch with delicate poisons. He had kept the king in a feverish stupor, passing for simple illness, exposing him nightly to the power of the entity in the haunted looking-glass. Of all useful things contained within the grimoire, the brewing instruction of many insidious drugs was among them. With the mirror in hand and the book of forbidden magic, Tairyn had begun the coup and none had been the wiser. Those who were needed had been bought. He paused now outside of the king's room, the crashing and unintelligible muttering all the louder. Slowly, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. The room lay disheveled; the bed frame in pieces scattered across the floor and the curtains shredded. In a flurry of motion, the nearly disrobed king turned white, sightless eyes to Tairyn as he paused in his destruction of a dressing table. With a roar, he crashed forward, the splintered leg of a chair hefted above his head. Frantically, Tairyn thrust the palm of his hand forward, reciting the words to a quick binding spell.
"Shiodhe hysilah sidhe!" He cried, and the pale, bulky figure stopped suddenly, dropping the chair leg with a clatter.
There was a lull, and then with a nervous though, gloating chuckle, Tairyn stepped to the king's side.
"Come now, your highness, let us get you into what's left of your bed before you destroy the good cabinets." He said, placing a hand on the still figure's back and leading him stumblingly to his bedside.
Tairyn more or less shoved the unresponsive Daphnes onto the mattress, throwing the torn blanket over him. He lightly, patronizingly, patted the king's grizzled cheek.
"Now... stay in bed and don't make any more noise. You are frightening the maids." He said.
He looked down into the blank, sickly face of King Daphnes for a moment more, the silence oppressive. With a slight air of disgust, the Sheikah turned to leave. He jumped as he felt a hand grip his shoulder and he turned with a jerk.
"Do not... do this... Tairyn" Rasped Daphnes.
Tairyn peeled the king's clutching hand from his shoulder.
"It is already done, Daphnes." He said.
The king fell limp against the mattress, staring into the ceiling.
"The chosen hero... he has come... already... he will not let you... you will... destroy... yourself." He murmured.
Tairyn smirked.
"Your champion is little more than a child, he will be easy to reason with under the right conditions and the princess will come back on her own. Perhaps I shan't have to kill either of them, if they cooperate that is."
"He... will not... let you." Said the king.
He stiffened then suddenly, his empty milk-white eyes widening as Tairyn drew back. He heard several loud popping sounds as Daphnes seemed to bend upwards against the mattress; contorted in a most unnatural way, the mark upon his hand ablaze. From beside the bed, the mage heard mirror glass shatter. Then the king was still for a moment, and Tairyn feared briefly that he had killed the host body and that his plan was dashed. After a time, the form of Daphnes rose, sitting in the bed as Tairyn watched with nervous curiosity. The figure stood, seeming to have became half a foot taller. He looked to his hands, then about the room. Finally he turned to the window, staring out through torn curtains at the rolling, green country below. Tairyn inched forward.
"What is the season?" Asked the being, his voice no longer that of King Daphnes, but something proud and vicious.
Tairyn warily moved himself forward. The ancient blight had awakened.
"It is summer... early summer." He said.
The figure slowly reached out a hand to push the unlatched window open to the warm wind, it drew an audible breath.
"...And the year?" Boomed the Dark King.
"Many, many years have passed since you last looked upon Hyrule." Said Tairyn.
At that, the entity turned. He seemed to examine the room for a moment, his milky eyes coming to rest unnervingly on Tairyn.
"Why do you free me Sheikah? I am your enemy."
Tairyn grinned.
"Because..." He slowly dropped to one knee.
"The throne sits empty of a capable ruler. I wish to serve you, my lord..."
She walks in a field of scentless white flowers, under a sky that seems to reflect neither night nor day. The sprawling, incorporeal emptiness holds no weight to her senses as she walks purposefully to the center of the field; to the strange glow in the distance in which she somehow knows that the answers to all her questions lie. She has been to this place before, many times. As she comes upon the swirling cloud of golden light, a voice begins to speak.
"Zelda… You must awaken… remember."
She stands in silence, watching as the light appears to nearly take a form before her eyes.
"Your father becomes a vessel for the demon's soul. He seeks vengeance…You are needed…Awaken… fight."
She begins to hear two faint voices in the distance; they seem to pull her toward them, and she senses herself fading from that place.
"Who are you?" She asks.
"I am you." Says the voice.
"She's waking up!" Said an excited Loron over her shoulder.
Zelda opened her eyes and slowly shifted to her side to see a small copper-headed girl staring fixedly at her. Moments later, Rue appeared in the doorway, a fascinated smile hanging on her lips.
"Hi…" Said the little girl.
"Hello." Zelda replied drowsily.
Then through the doorway, in the white undershirt in which he had slept, entered Link. His eyes met hers for a few seconds and then he turned to the dark-haired teenager, playfully tossing her braid over her shoulder.
"Go on, you two." He said.
Loron snapped around to look up at him.
"Awww, c'mon Link, I didn't even get to meet her really." She whined.
Link walked over to the child and sat back on his heels to look her in the face.
"I know. She's been through a lot though, Loron. She needs some time to herself. You'll get to meet her before she leaves." He said.
Loron looked again to Zelda, then at Link and pouted. Even still, she took Rue's hand and exited the room, both girls stopping for one more look at the mystical princess in the older boy's bed. Zelda could hear them as they left the house, their bubbling laughter rich with enchantment.
"This is way better than fishing!" She heard the little one cry as the front door creaked closed.
Link stood and turned to her, offering her a warm smile. He sat down on the side of the bed as she drew herself up, crossing her legs.
"How are you feeling?" Asked Link, gently.
Zelda looked down at sheets and recalled the dream.
"I am fine. Though, I feel like I have woken from one peculiar dream to another, my mind is cloudy…" She said.
"You've been asleep for nearly two days. I'm glad to see you awake. I was starting to worry." Said Link
Zelda rested her head against her knuckles, staring into her lap as she traced the unbelievable events of the days before. Slowly, she began to recall the flight from the palace, and the monstrous look of her father just before she had fled.
Your father becomes a vessel for the demon's soul.
Tears began to sting her eyes anew. She breathed and brushed them away. She resolved that she must be strong. A clear head was vital now to do what would need be done. She would grieve for her father later.
She looked across the bed at Link who met her gaze with a look of fearful curiosity.
"I know you must have many questions…" She said
Link smoothed the hair from his face and cleared his throat.
"I don't even know where to begin." He said.
The two of them regarded one another for a few minutes more, each unsure of what to say to ease the tenseness of the moment, both simultaneously unnerved by the other's presence. Zelda's eyes slowly went to Link's hand and she took it gently in hers, tracing the mark below his knuckles.
"We must go to Impa. She had instructed me to find her if a thing like this should happen. She can explain things better than I… she is after all, the one who passed me the legend." Said Zelda.
Link nodded, burning with inquiry but hesitant to press her any further. Zelda looked up at him again, really noticing for the first time the boy's very blue, very penetrating eyes.
"Can you tell me one thing, princess?" He asked.
"Yes." She replied.
Link pointed down at his hand.
"What is this? What is the Triforce? I mean... I know what it is... three triangles that represent balancing forces, the holy three, the symbol of ultimate power. I've seen it on dozens of banners, I know the story of the Gods... but what is this thing really? Why are there pieces of it inside us?" He asked.
Zelda took a breath.
"About a thousand years ago, roughly, there lived a descendant of mine. When she was ten years old, a man from the desert came into her father's court. His name was Ganondorf; the Gerudo King. The man was dark, and wicked. A thieving sorcerer who held terrible power within him. The young Zelda reviled him, even then. She began to prophesize the end of the world in her dreams. One day, a little boy stole his way into the castle, carrying with him the emerald of the forest race. Zelda had foreseen this, and so the two children begot a plan to collect the keys to open the Door of Time, where Zelda knew the door to the Sacred Realm was secreted away. The boy did as she asked, and gathered the two remaining gems. When he arrived with all three however, the princess had fled with Ganondorf pursuing her, but not before leaving behind the last key to the door; an instrument made of a preternatural blue stone, the Ocarina of Time. Then the boy, all the necessary elements assembled, opened the Door of Time and claimed the Master Sword in defense of Hyrule. Because he was so young, the sword sealed him away for seven years and in that time, the evil man had laid hold of the Triforce; the all-powerful golden triangles left in the wake of the Goddess's creation of the world. It will grant the wish of anyone who touches it. It was however, given a defense mechanism. If the one who touches it is corrupted, the Triforce will fly apart and embed itself into another fated two. Ganondorf was left with only one, the Triforce of Power, Zelda and the boy inherited the other two."
Link listened to the princess's story with his chin in his palm, trying hard to rationalize what she was saying. He had heard rhymes and stories about the sacred power, as well as the hero that guarded it all his life. Fairy-tales, he had thought, stories his mother would tell him and Khai before sending them off to bed so long ago. Stories that Roland had continued to tell them after she was gone. Images floated through his mind at her words like ghosts in his head. He bristled at the name.
Ganondorf.
There hung a silent gravity in the air, pressing down as a lull passed between the two of them. At length, Link spoke.
"Do you know for sure that of all this is true?" He asked.
Zelda regarded him forlornly.
"It has been handed down in my family since those times...guarded by the king, his queen, their children and the Sheikah. You are the first person outside of my family to be told this story in centuries. Impa has warned me of its reality since I came of age and this mark began to darken… My father had tried to pretend that it did not sit on my hand like a scar…" She said.
Link looked again to his own hand, and back to the princess.
"It's been the same for me. It started to come in… it started to come in when I was ten. It was always there, but it's gotten darker every year since then…" He paused, gathering his thoughts.
"Your highness, my entire life I've lived feeling like there was something about myself that I didn't understand... like some part of me was locked. I've had dreams nearly every night since I can remember of places I've never seen and violence too horrible to imagine... Am I the same as the boy in the story… am I him?" He asked.
Zelda blinked down again into the bed sheets.
"Yes... This is not the first time you have walked this earth, Link, nor mine. I have no reason to be dishonest with you, and you saw the dark magic for yourself." She said.
Link sat, numb and frightened at what he felt was a dam that had begun to break in his soul. As it had in the presence of the Fairy Queen, his mind swam with memories he could not consciously sift through. The images random and evanescent, the words in languages he had never heard. He looked back at Zelda.
"Will Impa know more?" He asked, his voice nearly a whisper.
"She will, and she will know where to go from here." Said Zelda
Link nodded resolutely.
"Thank you, princess. I'm not sure exactly how to react regarding all of this, but I do feel that my life, up until now at least, finally makes a little more sense. As soon as Mariana gets here with some clothes for you, we'll head to Kakariko." He said.
The boy stood, awash with both wonder and terror. Zelda watched as Link exited the room and called after him.
"Link."
He turned slowly to face her again.
"You may call me Zelda." She said.
He laughed softly.
"Alright, Zelda." He said, and he felt a gear within him finally notch into place.
It was nearly afternoon when Mariana came with a plain, cream-colored frock and sat beside the princess in the foyer to braid her hair. Link dressed himself again in Oona's gifts and then the three of them spread a map over the kitchen table. Link pointed out an old road through the craggy part of the forest that would lead them through the mountains to Kakariko without having to make use of the main roads. Anxiously, Mariana bit her lip.
"Isn't that passage really dangerous? I'm almost positive that it's the same road I've heard Roland talking about, the one that runs through those cliffs that are breaking off." She said.
Link nodded as he stared down into the weathered parchment.
"Yeah, that's the one... There's no other way. It's even more dangerous for the two of us to run into the guard. We'll have to take the back way to Kakariko." He said.
Mariana sighed and looked to the slightly stiffened Zelda.
"Princess, you're not riding on your own, are you?" She asked and Zelda looked quizzically up at the boy.
Link, who had begun folding the map, regarded the worry in his friend's expression. He looked first to Zelda and then to Mariana.
"I'm going to have her ride with me. I've been through there before." Said Link.
Mariana crossed her arms, her eyes moving from her friend to the princess beside him. After a thoughtful pause, she spoke.
"I guess... If any horse could take you over a bad road it would be Epona., she's too mean to die. She's pretty nimble too. Still though..." Mariana regarded them fretfully as they stood.
"I know the two of you are involved in something that could get you both killed. So please, be careful. Especially you, Link..." She said.
After their conversation with Mariana, Link and Zelda once more saddled Epona and made haste for the steep back road to Kakariko. At first the path, like any other in the forest, coiled pleasantly through the trees like a lazy stream. It was not until they emerged from the shade of the woods and rode on up a hill of rock that the old road really began. The path started to narrow and become uneven as they climbed higher into the pass, the mammoth rocks jutting from the cliff sides hanging precariously in sheets over their heads. In several places, Epona's hooves stepped only inches from a sheer drop off, hundreds of feet down. It was here that Link heard Zelda inhale sharply. He turned his head a slight to look back at her.
"Are you afraid of heights, Zelda?" He asked.
Zelda gripped his waist tighter as they trotted on past the yawning gorge.
"It is not the heights so much as the fall that I'm afraid of." She replied.
She heard Link laugh quietly from in front of her.
"Relax, I won't let you fall. Like I said, I've been back here before. We've used it as a shortcut a few times. It's not in any way a good road, but it's not impassable. You just kind of have to know where to step...If that makes you feel better" He said.
Zelda swallowed, and averted her eyes from the cliff side and looked instead ahead of her, the peak of Death Mountain barely visible amongst the mists of the rocky hilltop. As they continued onward, the princess ruminated on future events. Though the weight of it still seemed dreamlike, she found herself now beginning to come to grips with the hevey task she yet only vaguely understood.
As they neared Kakariko the sharp rocks of the pass gave away once again to grasses and small trees. They were now opposite to the foot hills of Death Mountain, the village lay in the valley less than a mile ahead. Link pulled Epona to a stop and the two of them got down to stretch and move about. After a prolonged moment of this, Link tied Epona to a small tree and turned to his riding partner.
"I think that we should go the rest of the way on foot. We should be right above the graveyard. We're going to have to climb down to get to it." He said.
Zelda looked up at him, and then pressed her hands together in contemplation.
"I am unsure if both of us should go, and if you should even set foot there undisguised. I have doubtlessly been reported missing, and this is the last place I was known to have gone. It's possible that the guard is already here and will assume that you have kidnapped me if I'm seen with you. I think it would be best if you went ahead. I shall stay behind with Epona." Said Zelda.
Link furrowed his brows.
"I don't know how comfortable I am leaving you here alone." He said.
Zelda laughed softly and she untied the cloak from around her neck, her covered hair suddenly lustrous in the light
"Then leave your weapon with me. I assure you, I would make good use of it if I am attacked." Said Zelda, as she handed Link the hooded cloak she had taken from the palace.
"Here, we shall trade."
Link stared searchingly at her for a moment and then he began to remove his sword belt, reluctantly handing Dìoghaltas to the princess.
"I would've let you stay at my house if I'd known you weren't going to come with me. Why'd you make the ride over the cliffs?" He asked.
Zelda looked up at him. She seemed to be sizing him up.
"We should stay together, you and I... I am quiet proficient with weaponry, among other things... I can be of use to you." She said.
The boy looked on at her for a moment before he turned his gaze to the path.
"I see. Well, stay low I guess. I don't like this, but I can't really disagree with you. I shouldn't be long. If I'm not back in about an hour, take Epona and go back to the village." Said Link, pulling the hood of the cloak over his head, obscuring his face.
Zelda nodded
"I will not leave you, but I promise I will stay hidden." She said
"An hour, I shouldn't be any longer than that." Said Link, and he disappeared over the hillside.
After he had gone, Zelda eagerly unsheathed Dìoghaltas and held the sword aloft, examining it in the sunlight and marveling at its beauty and craftsmanship. She swung it gracefully, cleaving the air. Smiling, she began to run through her old fencing lessons.
After climbing quickly down the steep hillside, Link found himself at the bottom hoping the fence into the weather-beaten graveyard. He stood, and looked around him in silent respite. The quiet was thick in this place, it hung like a fog, and he noted an unsettling sense of being watched as he passed. He pressed on warily, from the silent village of the dead to that of the living. As he rounded the corner, on the tavern at which he and Roland had eaten and drank during Zelda's meeting with Impa, he saw plastered on side of the building a wanted poster. It both bore his roughly sketched image and accused Link, as Zelda had predicted, of kidnapping. Though, the boy noted, the poster did not specify who. Beneath the sketch was written:
Reward for live capture only.
Link raised his eyebrow at this and attempted to pull the hood lower over his face. He roamed the streets of Kakariko with unease. He did not at all like being unarmed and even now he could feel the questioning looks of the villagers on his back. At last, he finally came upon the house with the black roof and he knocked furtively at the door. Minuets passed and there came no answer. A frustrated groan passed his lips and he resolved to keep looking. This Impa was not hard to spot and he could not wait by her door for her, lest he cause the passersby suspicion. He walked slowly to the main street of the town, nervously passing three soldiers on the way. After what felt like hours of anxious searching, Link finally spied the tall, slender woman with a basket of bread and fruit hanging from her arm. He followed her, stopping a few feet from her each time she paused at a shop or as she greeted fellow villagers with her back to him. He continued to trail her as she kept pace in front of him though he could never quite seem to get close enough to her to speak. It began to look as if she were leading him in circles as Link, increasingly irritated, sped up to stay behind her. Impa sharply turned a corner into an alley way and Link lost sight of her momentarily. As he rounded the bend, to his disappointment the basket lay abandoned on the ground and the Sheikah woman was nowhere to be seen. He grunted, his fists balling.
Where'd she go?
Suddenly from behind him he felt a pair of hands grip his arm tightly into a hold that sent a wave of sharp pain throughout his back. He winced as his attacker pulled his arm higher up toward his neck, threatening to dislocate his shoulder.
"Who are you and why do you follow me?" Said the husky voice of the woman behind him.
Link strained to look back and though he could see only a piece of the snow-white braid, he knew he had found who he had been searching for.
"I have a message from Zelda." He said through gritted teeth.
Instantly, Impa released her hold and Link spun to meet her gaze. He slowly undid his left gauntlet, pulling back the leather riding glove as he held his hand up so that she could see the mark he bore. She gasped, and her eyes darted around the alley to be sure no else one had seen as Link replaced the gauntlet on his hand.
"Zelda said that you'd know what we have to do, she sent me to find you. She's waiting in a pass above this village." He said.
Impa regarded him silently.
"Come, this is no place to talk of matters such as this." She said, and she motioned with her head for Link to follow her.
Swiftly, the two of them made their way through the streets of Kakariko to Impa's house on the far side. She unlocked her door and held it open for the hooded boy to pass through. Then, taking one last scanning look outside, she shut the door; locking it again behind her. She turned to Link who now lowered the hood of the cloak, allowing her to look upon him.
Impa raised her eyebrows in recognition of his face.
"So, you are the boy from the other day. It seems fate's hand moved you even before myself or the princess knew your form. What is your name, chosen one?" She said.
Link's eyes fell in her steely gaze.
"I'm Link." He said, quietly.
Impa looked at him for a half of a second, her gaze brooding.
"Sit down, Link, we have much to discuss." She said, gesturing to the couch.
They sat down next to each other and Impa turned her wiry body to face him.
"How much do you know and what do you remember, if anything?" She asked.
Link shifted uncomfortably beside her.
"It's hard to say. I've seen things in dreams but I can't really make out exactly what they mean or what was actually happening. Everything's in pieces... So I guess... I don't really remember anything."
The Sheikah woman seemed to stare through him as he spoke, her ruby eyes firm as they found his.
"You understand that you are the defender of this realm? That you were charged with this duty long ago and it is you who is destined to bring down this evil?"
Link's eyes dropped to the floor.
"...Yes."
"Good, you must understand that, the fate of this land rests with you... What else do you know?" Asked Impa.
The boy took a breath, steadying himself against his nerves.
"Zelda told me the story, about how the two of us ended up with these marks on our hands... about how someone named Ganondorf split the Triforce into three... so I know that much. The night that Roland and I brought Zelda to you, I was sent for by the Queen of the Fairies. She told me that there was a traitor in the castle... the other Sheikah..."
"His name is Tairyn." Impa said sternly.
"Right... He's trying to resurrect the soul of this evil entity into the king's body somehow... and... he'll let an army of dead soldiers loose on Hyrule... When I found her, Zelda and I, we went up to the king's room to try and save him but when we got there... I don't think it was really him anymore, and on the back of his hand he had a mark like ours." Said Link.
Impa thought pensively on the boy's words for a moment.
"...And what about this army of the dead that Queen Oona spoke of? Did she say what manner it would be brought about?" Inquired Impa.
Link shook his head.
"No, she just told me that it would happen." He said.
"Are you sure that you have seen the third triangle mark on the king's hand?" Asked Impa.
"Positive. I remember, it lit up as he got close to us... and I felt the back of my hand start to burn. So what do I do? It's looking like this traitor has total control over the castle, and King Daphnes" He said.
Impa folded her hands and spoke without looking at the boy.
"A powerful dark magic must have been applied to achieve that end. I fear that Tairyn has used our own spells against us. He must have the grimoire... The Shadow Book... it's magic is thousands of years old. There is however, a magic even older... In the temple of my people, under the graveyard of this town, there lies a book older than Hyrule itself. The temple was built over the remains of an old prison...an ancient tomb and torture chamber, to atone for the sins of the Sheikah people. It was sealed centuries ago by the royal family with a sacred key. What is contained in those pages is reserved only for the worthy. It may hold some key to separating King Daphnes from the evil one, and felling the army Tairyn seeks to raise. To retrieve this book however, you will need the Elemental Key. My mother told me, as her mother told her, that the temple would one day need to be opened again, by the chosen hero. She passed on this knowledge to me, the key is in three pieces: one buried beneath an ancient city deep in the forest, the other on Death Mountain, and the other still, with the Zora Queen. Once assembled, the temple may be opened. The princess speaks many languages, ancient Hylian is one of them. She will aid you once you obtain the book." She said.
Link thought on the Sheikah woman's words, and remembered Zelda's as they had parted.
"I think she'll be accompanying me actually. I can't really think of anywhere she could go that would be safe."
Impa regarded him solemnly.
"I have faith in you, young Link. Now, is there anything else you'd like to ask me? I am sure you are curious about your fate."
Link let out a long sigh as he went over the bevy of questions that clamored within him. One surfaced above the others.
"Lady, who's Hylia? Queen Oona told me that I was Hylia's chosen knight, why would she say that?" He asked.
Impa closed her eyes, conjuring the lore from her the recesses of her thoughts.
"Hylia? She is an old God, perhaps? I do not know her, though I do know that in the most ancient texts of my tribe, they tell of a protective goddess of the very first people to walk this land. Other than that, Queen Oona and the other elementals would be the only creatures old enough to remember her. All the rest has been lost to the centuries." Said Impa.
The boy searched the floorboards in contemplation, looking again to Impa as another question called loudly for an explanation.
"Why was I chosen? Of everyone it could have been, why was it me?" He asked.
Impa turned to him.
"I do not know. I know only of who you are, not why this task falls to you. I am sorry, I know that all of this is quite a weight... for someone so young." She said, her voice suddenly soft.
Link, though he hadn't really expected one, felt a slight disappointed by her answer. He stared in thoughtful silence down at his boots for a moment, letting the Sheikah lady's words break over him for a time before standing.
"I should be going. Zelda's probably starting to wonder if I'm coming back. Thank you for everything that you've shared with me." He said.
The two of them clasped each other's wrists.
"When you go to the forest, look for ruins deep within it. It is there that you will likely find the first shard."
"I'll do that, lady. Thank you." He said
"Give my love to the princess and guard her well." Said Impa and Link promised her he would.
When Link once again returned over the rocky hillside, he found a softly humming Zelda standing near his horse, Dìoghaltas leaning against the tree next to her. She had made several braids in Epona's mane and she turned now from her to Link, who regarded the princess with a look of amusement on his face.
"Were you that bored, Zelda?" He asked, bringing the cloak down around his ears.
Zelda laughed as she lifted the sword and offered it to its owner.
"No. It was more of a nervous activity than anything, though, Epona did not seem to mind." She said, and she smiled back at the coiffured horse.
Zelda looked again to Link as the smile faded from her face and grave quiet crept back into the air.
"What did Impa say to you?" She asked.
Link undid the cloak that had concealed him and slipped the sword belt back onto his chest.
"I'll tell you on the ride back. She sends her love." He said, offering Zelda the cloak.
As they rode again over the rugged pass, Link told the princess of the book and the Elemental Key which unlocked its guarding door. Zelda listened closely.
"Do you know where it is we should begin to look?" She asked.
Link turned to see her in his peripheral vision, keeping his eyes mostly on the rotting road.
"I think I might. Impa said to look for ruins in the forest, I actually know of some. Khai and I found them years back. We camped out there on one of our first hunting trips. I remember having this really weird sensation of having been there before come over me that day. I think that might be a good place to start."
Zelda mused in silence for a moment, at last, as they neared the tree laden opening to the forest road she asked,
"Did Impa say that she thought that my father could be saved?"
Link quickened their pace through the trees.
"She said that the magic in the book is the oldest in the world, there might be something there that could help him." He said
Zelda quietly acknowledged his words and they rode on, Link reining Epona toward town.
Dark was quickly falling as they made their way down the path to the village. They had gone on mostly without speaking through the forest, Zelda in her own mind and Link with his thoughts brimming with unanswered questions. At length, he turned a slight to Zelda.
"So, I was thinking that we would stay for one more night and head out early tomorrow morning. We can get some supplies together and take some time to rest. I don't know, once we leave, when we'll be able to come back here." Said Link.
He heard Zelda sigh behind him.
"Yes, I think that is a good idea." She said.
As they neared the town, the two riders heard the strings of a lute picking out a bright and vivacious tune over the hill. As Epona came through the tree line, Link could see on the far side of the village near the wheat fields a large bonfire with a considerable number of townspeople gathered around it. Link uttered a distracted laugh and he turned in the saddle to Zelda.
"What is it?" She asked
"One of the girls in my village is turning ten today. Rue told me the other day but I forgot all about it in all of the chaos that's transpired since then. Do you want to go?" Asked Link.
Zelda looked inquisitively down at the dancing villagers in the distance. Mariana's sweet, dulcet voice floated up over the rooftops as she watched the lively scene below.
"I.. I am not sure that's wise." She said.
"I think it'll be alright. It's dark. News from the capitol takes awhile to get here...if it ever does." Link replied.
"You do not think that I would be recognized?" She asked and Link thought for a moment.
"...No, they'll probably just assume you're visiting from somewhere. The people in this village never really leave here. I don't think anyone even knows what the king looks like. Either way, we're leaving tomorrow, and once we're in the woods they're not going to find us." He said.
He felt Zelda sigh.
"It's up to you." He said softly.
Zelda looked down again at the lights, hearing music and catching the scent of roasting hog and cakes on the breeze.
Link dismounted Epona near Roland's house. Leaving his weapon on the stone porch, the boy took the princess gently by the hand. He walked with her into the field of carousing villagers, some casting friendly but curious glances after them; intrigued by the strange, beautiful girl that the young farm-hand now led into the grass. Beside the fire that blazed nearly six feet high lay a long table spread with various fruits and pastries, most of which had been almost entirely picked over. Paper lanterns adorned the spares trees, casting a soft glow about the place and illuminating the jubilant faces of the forest folk as Zelda and the boy drifted towards a large, chattering circle of children. The newly ten-year-old girl, Ami, crowned with a wreath of flowers looked up at Link and smiled through two missing teeth.
"Link, you did come!" She said.
"Of course, happy birthday Ami." Said Link.
The girl beamed.
"Dance with me?" She asked
Link bowed, offering her his hand and he danced with the tittering little girl as Zelda watched, tense and glancing about her for looks of recognition. It was, however quite dark. She turned, and was instantly beset by the little freckled Loron, her identical brother and the suddenly stunning, raven-haired Rue.
"Hello again." Said Rue, curtsying low in the flowing blue dress that now adorned her.
"She wants to dance with you but she's too shy to ask." She added, and she nudged the widely grinning child in the direction of the princess.
Zelda offered the girl her hand.
"Of course, what is your name little one?" She asked, and the child's grin by some miracle widened.
"Loron." She said.
She took Zelda's hand and they danced as Mariana played, smiling over at the sight.
"Hey! Don't forget to share! I wanna dance with her too!" Logan called from behind Rue who laughed and pinched his cheek as he slapped away her hand.
The princess, smiling though her eyes still scanned the crowd extended her hand to the little boy who elatedly took it. Rue stepped up beside him and the three of them formed a ring, spinning and laughing until Zelda thought she would collapse in the grass. The princess had noticed a few eyes that had lingered on her a bit too long. Though she smiled and danced with the children, anxious butterflies fluttered in her stomach.
As the revelry continued, Yolandae stood next to Mariana while the girl finished the song she had been playing. As soon as she had stuck the last cord Yolandae took the lute and shooed the girl away into the crowd.
"You have been at this lute all evening, go girl, I know Khai has been waiting since nightfall to dance with you." Said Yolandae.
Mariana smiled and thanked her, rubbing her calloused fingers against her palm. She looked to Khai who hovered near the wine barrel, staring amorously in her direction. Yolandae began to play something romantic and gentle as the children grew sleepy and the adults came to choose their partners. Khai took Mariana's hand and led her out amongst the other couples. She looked adoringly to the black-eyed boy and the two of them began a waltz.
"I thought I was never going to get a second with you tonight, you and your musical abilities..." He said.
Mariana chuckled and lightly pressed her lips to his neck.
"I promised Ami I would play for her, I know all her favorite songs, so I'm told." She said.
Khai gave an overstated sigh as he stepped in time with the girl.
"Just because you can sing, you get roped into entertaining everyone? Stop being so talented, they're exploiting you." He laughed.
Mariana pushed her fingers into his hair, lightly grazing his scalp with her fingernails.
"Oh shut up, you know I love it. She'll only be ten once." She said.
"Yeah, but we'll only be at her tenth birthday party once. I didn't even get any of the pastries." Khai retorted.
Mariana groaned in mock exasperation and leaned a little closer to the tall, dark-haired young man.
"You're an absolute glutton, you disgust me." She muttered and they both laughed, leaning against one another.
The two of them capered on for a moment quietly, a nostalgic smirk creeping across Khai's lips.
"...Remember how much fun we had when we where ten? Me, you, Link? I guess Rue sometimes, even though she was more annoying than anything." He said.
Mariana giggled.
"Yeah, playing in the woods, hitting each other with sticks, forts... all the worms you put in my hair."
Khai chuckled himself at the memory.
"Hey, Link was responsible for some of that too." He said
"Not nearly as much as you. I still hate it when people drop things into my hand because somehow, I always think it's going to be a bug. You two traumatised me. But... I guess I did get you both back, didn't I?" Mariana retorted.
Khai pulled the red-head a little closer.
"Yeah, I guess you did... a few times. I think my favorite was the time you fed us dirt. You know, that mud pie wasn't half bad though. You've cooked worse things."
She slapped him softly in the shoulder and the dark-eyed boy smiled all the wider.
"I'm kidding, obviously... I have something for you too, I walked all the way back in the woods to get it. I've been waiting all night to give it to you. "
From beneath his jacket Khai pulled a small, opalescent lily. Mariana, after a tiny gasp of surprise, reached out a hand to take the delicate flower as Khai held it just out of her reach.
"Come on Khai, let me see it." She said.
"Nope, you have to do something for me first."
Mariana tilted her head, her eyes narrowing in good-humored suspicion.
"And what's that may I ask?"
Khai drew the girl closer still.
"I want you to marry me."
The red-head uttered a shocked chuckle.
"Are... are you serious? You're not, are you?"
"I am, actually... I know, it's weird right?" Said Khai.
The girl beamed, unable to speak for several seconds.
"I... YES!" She said finally, flinging her arms tightly around his shoulders. He held her for a moment, smiling into the soft red waves of her hair. When he lifted his head again however, his face instantly fell at the sight he beheld.
Link... You idiot.
Zelda looked about her, still uncomfortable and wishing more than anything she could just enjoy this carefree moment. However, she couldn't help but writhe inwardly with paranoia though her face did not betray her. She felt a light tap on the back of her shoulder and nearly jumped out of her skin. She turned to see Link wearing a look of dizzy joy on his face, loose petals from the flowers the children had thrown still caught in his hair.
"Whoa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. You want to dance?" He asked her.
Zelda cleared her throat and nodded. He took her hand and led her about under the trees. Zelda followed, letting him glide her along, pleasantly surprised at the grace with which he moved. She found herself relaxing now, if only slightly. She heard couples speaking softly to one another as the children laughed and ran about under the stars, and Zelda turned her gaze again to Link who glanced from her to look about the scene, smiling mirthfully.
"Relax, no one asked any questions." He said.
Zelda raised an eyebrow
"No?" She asked,and Link shook his head.
"Nope... One guy did tell me 'good job' though..." He laughed awkwardly
Zelda rolled her eyes and Link spun her to a stop as the song ended. Somehow now, she felt at ease. She looked up at him, the braids in her hair now loose and hanging over her shoulders and her hands still in his.
"Come on, there's still plenty of food left. You've got to try these cakes." He said
The night grew late as the moon climbed higher in her trek across the sky. One by one the children retired to their beds and the fire burned to faintly glowing, vermilion coals. The field was then left to the dark, and the whirring crickets that had begun their nightly songs.