In absentia lucis, Tenebrae vincunt. (In the absence of light, darkness prevails.)
- Latin aphorism
Queen Zelda cocked her head at the unexpected reply. She slightly leaned back and made herself comfortable atop Link's waist. "It's going to take a lot more than a legion of demons to keep me from you."
Link fought off a blush by frowning. "You getting off me?"
The queen fixed her hair. "Nope." She let it all hang loose and enjoyed Link's discomfort. "So…where's Epona?"
"After I saved Termina from the moon, I made sure Epona was safe at Lon Lon Ranch. I did not wish for her to be stolen ever again. So I have been on foot ever since."
Zelda nodded. "Why didn't you use magic to just teleport back home?"
"I couldn't risk Legion learning the songs, especially the Prelude... They would exploit everything. Even when I lost myself beyond the Lost Woods...Legion remembered me. I think they allowed me into their world...I traversed the gap between dimensions, the same place Ganondorf banished his Phantom self, I didn't… I should have known better…" Link sighed.
"Just relax, fairy boy." She patted Link's shoulders. "Relax… I'm here for you."
Link became solemn. Yet he maintained dignity amidst sadness. "I thought I could...find her… I couldn't. Even after I saved so many lost souls within the gap between dimensions… Although I defeated so much evil residing there… I sealed away so many malevolent forces wherever the gap led me… So many different worlds, each with so many flows of their time… I just wanted to find a beloved friend…" He took a breath. "I failed. And when I returned through the gap between dimensions, I realized I was followed by so many monsters hidden from me. They learned how to traverse as I did… All these new problems in Hyrule, the danger for everyone, the tendrils of this corruption, the insanity...are because of my doing."
Zelda saddened. "Link, I could have helped… You never had to vanish for so many years."
"I would never drag you into it."
"Link…"
"For ten years I kept them back… For so many more years I travelled through time to close their pathways… It felt like forever. And they still found a way… Not even The Lost Woods could deter them."
"You are only one hero, Link. Not even the Goddesses can do the impossible. You did everything you could. For that, I thank you, sincerely. Now it's time we work together once again."
Metallic footfall echoed down the hallway beyond the royal quarters. "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" A royal guard thudded against the door and audibly collapsed, though the noise caused Zelda's children to stop fighting and turn their heads.
Annoyed, Zelda rolled her eyes and looked at the door. "Come on in. What is it?"
The guard clankered back up and stepped in. He paused halfway through the doorway, noticing the queen atop a man on the floor… Link set his elbows against the floor, raised his head, and leaned sideways to stare back. He nodded.
The guard hesitated. "Uhhh...am I interrupting something?"
"I wish," Zelda admitted. She breathed, reverted to her regal form, and got off Link. She faced the royal guard while her friend picked himself up. "Well, what is it, my boy?"
"Another riot erupted. They pushed through the gate down the hillside path. We don't know how they did it."
Queen Zelda clasped her hands but kept them low. "The guards were exhausted after rescuing my children from the monster. The conspirators took advantage of lessened manpower. I blame myself, really… I should have foreseen this."
Link smirked. "So much for possessing the Triforce of Wisdom."
"Link…shut up…"
"Ughh! Sheik! Stop that!" Princess Zelda abruptly whined.
"Stop taking extra turns! Wait for me to move my piece!" her brother complained.
"I would recommend a swift and heavy retaliation against the disloyal fools," the guard remarked.
"Violence only creates more violence. I will meet the rioters, personally."
The guard's eyes widened. "My Queen! Are you sure!?"
Zelda nodded. "Gather the rest of the royal guards. Meet me at the drawbridge in twenty minutes."
The guard bowed and left.
"Riots?" Link asked.
Queen Zelda sighed. "The people of Hyrule have turned on each other, instead of their true enemies… I blame myself, though. If I were a proper ruler, I would have proven to my nation I am a worthy leader."
"It's not you. It's because my naivety allowed malign forces to corrupt Hyrule and its people. You are the rightful queen because you found your place. I'm the one who is at fault."
Queen Zelda glared and shook her head. "No. It has nothing to do with you, don't talk like that. We've been through this sort of problem once before and we won…" She faced Link, hands on her hips. "Do not forget you are still under my permission to save Hyrule!"
Link made a vigorous nod. "If we return to the Great Deku Tree, we'll intercept Ira and prevent what the vision depicted."
"I almost beat you to him. Ira was taken into custody but recently escaped on horseback, with a Gerudo boy whom my guards once disciplined for stealing. All I managed to get from Ira before his escape was his belief in the impending...situations...associated with the vision, though he views there is no fate, only what we make. I do not understand his reasoning. He is a rather absent-minded, mysterious man, but nevertheless highly skillful."
"What else can you tell me?"
"That's a checkmate!" Sheik squealed, distracting Mother and her guest.
"No it isn't!" the princess squeaked.
"What else can I tell you?" The queen pondered. "Ira seems to believe in taking outside forces into our predicament, to reject fate, and by doing this he protects the Royal Family. I told him that the disruption of fate seems to be what got us into this in the first place. Then, I reminded him that he never existed in our world prior to this mess, though he thinks he belongs here…"
"Unusual fellow for sure. He must be able to traverse time and dimensions as well…but only after I came back from the gap. He may be pure of heart, though we cannot trust him."
"As I suspected. However, I honestly do not consider him a threat. I think he is lost, having forgotten where he comes from. My only real criticism I have is that I feel he is using the Gerudo boy as a political prisoner. The desert tribes can't be happy that their only male was kidnapped right under their noses. Also, isn't his birth rather early? Doesn't it take a thousand years to produce a male Gerudo?"
"Unless you change the flow of time and threads of fate."
Zelda nodded. "Indeed."
"He must be weaving the flow of time to pursue whatever he believes in. Or to adjust multiple timelines to achieve something."
"Quite a busy man."
"Like me. Alright, I'll be heading off soon, I think! I feel much better knowing you are safe."
"And I feel much better you finally learnt to have conversations."
They laughed. Zelda enjoyed seeing Link smile, it was so rare that he did, and she cherished every second of it.
"Thanks for your time, and for your patience, after even a decade of my silence. Oh, and before I forget..." Link took a satchel off his belt and opened it, slowly revealing the Ocarina of Time within. "There was not a single day I did not think about you."
Zelda's eyes kept low as memories flooded her mind. She softly held Link's hand and returned a warm smile. "You are very sweet. Thank you for never forgetting about me… No matter how much time and fate changes, we'll always be friends, right?"
Link smiled. "Always." He looked at the door.
"Aww, you want to go so soon? I like having you here."
"Sorry, I just…"
"Want to go to the Great Deku Tree?"
"Actually, there's one more thing I have to check…but the riot may be in the way."
"What else do you need to do in the Castle Town?"
"Check on an old friend. Someone I haven't seen since we departed from Termina. Maybe he is here, a man of many masks…" Link grabbed his helm, carrying it under his arm, and headed to the door.
"Link!" Zelda slipped around him. "I'm still coming with you." She leaned across him and glared at her children, who sensed their mother's displeasure and paused with chesspieces in their hands. "If either of you sneak out again, Goddesses help me, you're both getting a beating."
Sheik and Princess Zelda stared silently, startled by the unexpected threat.
Mother's eyes narrowed. "Unnnderrsstannnd?"
"Yes, Mom," the siblings replied.
Mother glared further. "You better. I'm telling all the guards to keep an eye on you two." Her kids nodded with widened eyes. Queen Zelda gestured to Link and they stepped out the doorway. "You know Link, you changed quite a bit."
He chuckled. "So have you."
The queen closed the door and walked away with her friend.
Sheik sighed. "I'm so sorry, Luna… Looks like we won't be seeing each other tonight." He snapped back to attention. "Hey! Stop moving pieces when it's my turn!"
"I'm not!"
"Yes you are!"
They fought over chesspieces.
"You're not paying attention! It's my turn!"
"No it isn't!"
The doorknob rattled. The siblings paused.
"Is that a Castle Guard?" Sheik asked.
"Um, hello?" Zelda called.
No answer.
"Maybe it's the dark forces Mom's friend was talking about?" Sheik suggested.
Silence.
The doorknob clicked and slowly turned. The siblings held their breath and watched without blinking—an albino stepped in, quite proud of herself.
Zelda sighed. "Don't scare us like that."
"Hm? What?" Luna asked as she closed the door behind her. She reared as Sheik suddenly materialized before her.
His bright red eyes and white teeth flashed before her, as if his soul poured out. "Luna!? I...I can't believe you're here!"
The sight of the angelic boy's happiness made Luna smile. "I had a feeling there would be a change of plans."
"You have great intuition! But, but…how did you get past all the guards!?"
Luna blinked once, twice. "I followed a knight I used to see deep in The Lost Woods. He would fight strange creatures there a lot. There wasn't a single time I never saw him at least after some fighting. Here, tho, he avoided all the guards, as if he knew where they were all the time. So I just, well, followed him close but kept my distance."
"Mom's friend? You know him?" Zelda asked, walking over.
Luna shook her head. "He's never seen me, ever. For some reason, grown-ups can't see me unless very close. Even when he looked at my direction, well, he never saw me, but was suspicious a few times. He did better than most."
"Well, it's fantastic you're here! I promised to meet you outside like we said, and here you are! Hah-hah! This is so cool!" Sheik's mood skyrocketed.
"Hold on a sec," Princess Zelda chimed in. "Mom's friend was talking about evil forces or something...wasn't paying attention. Do you know anything about that?"
"Hm? About Legion? They're an assembly of piggy demons. They were nice to me. The skull-man who can fly was also nice to me."
"Oh? What did they want?" Sheik asked.
"Not sure. The skull-man wants revenge against the man who betrayed him but also against the young man who slew him. I don't remember his name, tho. I think Legion just wants to find a new home, as their own world is dying. Their son was stolen. They followed the kidnapper into this world, but cannot continue because evil men are trying to kill them. One of them went ahead to find the Great Deku Tree."
"Hmm…" Prince Sheik pondered. "Maybe we should tell Mom?"
"But she wants us to stay inside. Unless…"
"Unless?" Sheik encouraged.
Zelda pondered. "Hmm…ah! Unless we go out to do whatever we want, then if Mom catches us, we tell her what Luna told us and say we were looking for her! Ha!"
"Well, I guess that works…"
Luna found their conversation so strange. Such concepts remained mysterious for her.
Princess Zelda was excited. "I'm gonna get a new disguise on. This riot sounds fun!"
Prince Sheik also became excited. "Good point! There's gonna be bad people to fend off! We gotta protect our fellow citizens!"
Princess Zelda partly closed her eyes, getting all arrogant. "Precisely..."