Chapter 50

The Sorceress breaks free

The next few days went by without incident. We briefly introduced Volga to Zelda, and though initially hesitant, she accepted his offer of aid against Demise. Then, about a week after his sudden appearance at our door, Link took me aside before going home after training.

„Would you mind if I slept in the castle tonight, Becca?"

„Not at all", I replied. „Did Zelda ask you to sleep over?"

Link looked a little sheepish. „She said she was feeling lonely lately, and the pregnancy is particularly hard for her right now. I really hate to leave you alone, especially in the company of that… dragon, but..."

„I'll be fine. Volga won't hurt me."

„I don't like the way he looks at you", Link said firmly.

„Welcome to the background orchestration of my life. The kind of frustration and jealousy you are feeling now is but a fragment of what I have to go through every time we are in public." I stroked his face. „But I never said anything, because I trust you. Don't you trust me?"

„I do trust you. It's him I don't trust." He sighed. „Just… be careful, okay?"

My sleep was restless this night. I wasn't used to sleeping on my own anymore; why hadn't I just asked if I could go to the castle with Link?

Sometime around midnight, Volga pounded on the balcony door. „Are you still awake?"

„I am now", I called out. „What do you want?"

„It's getting cold outside."

„You're a dragon."

„Yes, a dragon. A being usually at home in volcanoes. Are you so afraid of your little mate's wrath that you would leave me out to freeze? How heartless of you."

With a deep sigh, I looked around the room. I probably wouldn't get much sleep anyway. „Fine, come in. We'll go downstairs and I'll light the fireplace again."

Volga sat down on the couch while I put new wood into the fireplace and lit it. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time.

„So. Volga. How did you meet the sorceress?"

He was quiet for a long while, staring at the small flames ignited by the flintstones. „She knew of me through her former position as the guardian of the Triforce, and sought me out just to make me her servant."

„Why would she do that?" I got up, brushing off the dust from my knees. I really needed to sweep more thoroughly.

„She wanted the Queen dead, and for that, she needed an army. I commanded one, and when she subjugated me, my subjects all fell in line."

„I'm sorry to hear that." I didn't really know what else to say.

He snorted. „You're… sorry?"

„Yes. I mean, you never wanted any of this. And her defeating you did not only affect you, but also every single one of your kin. I saw the kind of carnage Cia left behind when she attacked Hyrule Castle, and a lot of the..." I paused. I didn't want to call Volga's people ‚monsters' because from what he told me, they were just… people. „A lot of her soldiers were actually yours. How many lives of your people did she sacrifice to her insanity?"

„Countless", he replied quietly. „And once I am free from the bonds that bind me to her, I will make her pay for every single one of them."

„If you want revenge, you should probably save that for the root of your trouble. Cia was just another tool for Demise. He is the one you should hate."

„Hmhm..." He continued looking at me, his steely gaze not wavering once. „You are an odd one, Glaces. The witch tried to kill one of your mates and steal the other, she tried to kill you and your offspring, she tried to destroy your home and everything you hold dear. And yet it almost seems like you feel… compassion for her."

I remained quiet for a long time, sitting down and staring at my folded hands. „At least… I'm trying to. I feel like pitying her is the right thing to do."

„But you hate her anyway?"

I laughed bitterly. „How could I not? You just gave me a list of things she has done to slight me personally. She-"

My tirade was interrupted by a pounding on the door. I knit my brows and got up to see who it was.

On the other side of the door stood Lana, pale as a ghost, and grabbed my shoulders and looked me dead in the eyes. „Cia escaped. And she took Link with her."

„She… what?! What about Zelda? Is she unhurt?!"

Lana took a deep breath to calm herself. „Yes, fortunately. I think Cia didn't want to take any chances this time, so she just took Link. She's probably already at the Temple of Souls."

„What a hero", Volga, who had followed me to the door, commented. „Gets himself kidnapped at the first opportunity."

„Quiet, you!", I snapped. „We have to save him."

„I fear I won't be of much use for that", the dragon replied. „While I am now bound to you, I am technically also still bound to the witch. At best I'll be useless and at worst she'll use me against you." He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around to him. „But. If you manage to defeat her, that is, dealing the finishing blow to her, then you have proven to be superior to her as well, and her claim over me would expire."

„That was the plan, anyway. This witch has officially gone too far."

„The Queen, Ganondorf and Cassandra are already preparing themselves for battle as we speak. They are waiting for you in the throne room", Lana informed me. „Come on."

„Don't worry about me. I won't burn down the house while you're gone", Volga smirked. „Good luck. And don't worry about your offspring. He is in good hands with me."

I followed Lana to the others, and once we arrived there, she sighed. „Here, I brought her. Though I still think that you and Rebecca should stay here, Your Majesty. Fighting might endanger your unborn children-"

„Nonsense", Ganondorf said. „Gerudo also keep fighting when pregnant until their bellies start throwing them off-balance, and the Queen and the Glaces are nowhere near that point yet."

„Yes, and it's reckless when they do it, too", Lana replied.

„Oh I'm sorry little girl, but I fear that mykinswomen do not have the luxury of putting their feet up for nine months. Seeing as we are living in a monster-infested desert."

„Enough arguing!", I snapped. „Lana, can you open the portal now?"

„Okay, fine. But you and Queen Zelda better stay in the background. There is a good chance that Cia will target you specifically, especially once she realizes you're pregnant."

„If you insist", Zelda conceded. „Let us go ahead."

Lana opened the portal, and we all stepped through. Nothing in this world could have prepared me for what was on the other side.

The Temple of Souls itself reminded me of the Temple of Time, in a way. But while the Temple of Time was a peaceful place that always made me feel welcome, there was an air of unease about the Temple of Souls. The structure itself seemed warped in a way, as if it was coming undone in tandem with Cia's mind. And around it was a garden of red and blue rose hedges, the flowers ranging from a normal size to bigger than my torso. And in between the green, red and blue stood statues, countless statues of… Link?

Link as a child, Link as an adult, Link fighting, playing the Ocarina of Time, aiming his bow, riding on Epona. It was as if my husband's face was staring at me from every corner of the garden.

„What in the name of the goddesses?", Zelda muttered breathlessly.

„I don't like this", Lana said, though obviously not referring to the statues. „It's quiet. Too quiet."

„I mean, nobody else lives here, right?", I asked. „Just Cia, and technically you."

„Normally, yes. But she has so many monsters under her command now. I'm quite surprised we're not seeing any. This is either a trap or Cia has become really overconfident."

We walked ahead, and the closer we got to the entrance of the temple, the uneasier I got. Maybe it was the countless dead-eyed stares of the statues sorrounding me; stoney copies of a face so dear to me. It almost felt as if their eyes were following me.

The trap sprang the very moment we crossed the threshhold. Magical ropes, much like the ones that held Cia during her captivity, shot around us, leaving every single one of us immobile.

„So you're come. Like moths to the flame." Cia stepped out from the large door at the center of the foyer, on top of a double stairway.

Following her was Link, empty-eyed and obviously brainwashed again.

I grit my teeth. „Nice one. Do you have any more clichéd lines you want to use before I smash your face in?"

„So crude", Cia commented. „How could my beloved hero ever marry someone as vulgar as you?"

„Perhaps it is my vulgarity that he likes. Ever thought about that?"

She „tsk"ed dismissively and turned to Lana, Ganondorf and Cassandra. „Let me offer you a deal. You leave the vulgar brute and the whorish so called ‚Queen' to me, and I will let the rest of you go. Sound good?"

The three stared at her wordlessly.

„Come on now, I have important things to do with my beloved hero, so give your answer quickly!"

„Link!", I said, as calmly as I could. „I know you can hear me. You are stronger than her. Don't let her do this to you again."

„You shut your rotten little mouth you-", Cia began, but I interrupted her.

„Gareth is waiting for us at home, love. And the Sages, too. And the Kokiri. The Gorons. Malon. Epona. Navi. Everyone you met during your travels, everyone you helped, everyone who loves you. Don't let her take everything from you."

„Take?!", Cia shrieked. „I will give him more than you ever could!"

„By forcing him to live here in isolation with you?", Zelda asked. „Even if he loved you, being confined to this place, with nowhere else to go, would make him miserable. If you truly loved him, you wouldn't do that to him."

Cia let out a frustrated sound and turned to Link. „Don't listen to them, my love! They do not know what you truly need. They only think about their own, selfish desires."

„Talk about the pot calling the kettle black", I snapped at her. „If you are so sure about what Link wants and needs, then why are you controlling him?"

Cia faltered. „Because… because I… he..."

The tension of the ropes around me eased a little. „You know we're right, Cia. What you are trying to get here is an illusion. I have a friend who is a lot like you. But she realized that she cannot force her way into his heart. And that sometimes, when you love someone… the most loving thing you can do is let them go."

Cia was shaking, her eyes filling with tears. „He loves me. I know he does. The one you call Demise said so."

„And he lied to you", I said gently. „You can end this now, Cia. You do not have to go on. Let go of the lie."

„But… if I let him go now, I will be alone again."

Lana piped up. „That's not true, Cia. While we used to be one, we are two now, and we can stay that way. I will join you as a second guardian to the Triforce, so you will never be alone."

Cia took a deep breath to steady herself, then snapped her fingers, and the ropes around Zelda and me vanished. „Silence. I will not allow you to spread your vile slander any further. See, I'm even nice enough to let you fight back."

I grabbed my naginata. „Zelda, whatever you do, let me deal the final blow to her."

„What? Why?"

Volga's face flashed before my inner eye. „Because back home there is a friend counting on me doing just that."

Then we rushed forward, dodging Cia's spells. One spell hit me in the shoulder, but I grit my teeth through the pain, sending my magic to the wound to numb it. But she was fast, and I only managed to lightly nick her arm.

„You will regret this!", Cia hissed, readying another spell.

I did the same, gathering ice in my hands until I let it blast towards her. It didn't do much damage, but was enough of a distraction to give Zelda an opening. Her rapier pierced Cia's side, dying her dark dress even darker with blood.

This needed to be over… I gathered all of my energy and then released it in her direction. „What?! No!", she cried, but it was too late. The ice started forming at her feet, then crept up to her knees, her hips. „Link!" Her voice was now sounding like a terrified child. „Please, please help me! Please someone, don't let them hurt me, plea-..." And then the room grew eerily silent once she was fully engulfed in my ice, and the last echo of her desperate pleading for help faded away.

The magical ropes around Ganondorf, Cassandra and Lana disappeared as well, and Lana slowly approached us. „Is Cia… dead?"

Zelda stepped closer to the statue, putting her hand on the ice. „...No. Just incapacitated. A powerful magical being like Cia doesn't die that easily."

„She sounded so scared", I said slowly. And for the first time, I truly, honestly felt sorrow that I had been forced to hurt her.

„I'm sure she will recover", Zelda comforted me.

I turned to Link, whose eyes were slowly returning to normal.

„Ugh… What happened? I have an awful headache." Then he looked around. „Where are we? And why are there so many paintings of me?"

„A long story, my dear", Zelda said softly. „We should probably get back home."

Suddenly, something deep within the Temple of Souls rumbled to life. A deep, malevolent sounding voice roared. „Useless puppet! She had one task, and one task only, and she failed!" A huge black tentacle-like arm shot out from the door up at the staircase and batted at the frozen Cia. I quickly grabbed her and pulled her out of the way.

„Lana!", I shouted. „Portal!"

„Yes!" She opened up the glowing gateway back to Hyrule, and we all rushed through it, with Ganondorf and Cassandra helping me carry Cia.