Legend of Zelda: Reconciliation

by Rose Zemlya

Sequel to The Legend of Zelda: The Return. Based loosely on A Link to the Past.

12. Chapter 12 and Interludes

The Legend of Zelda Reconciliation

Hey all!

Right, so, approximately a month later I have finally finished! Sorry it took me so long, but this is OFFICIALLY the longest chapter yet (I checked the word counts) and as such took a while to write. Plus I did an obscene amount of rewriting on it. It's always hard to get a chapter this long to flow as though it was one chapter, and though I'm not entirely satisfied with it (largely so with some parts), so what else is new? I'm as satisfied as I'm going to get, I think, so the usual request for forgiveness for any shaky bits can be inserted here.

-SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT (If you haven't played the game)--

Now, for anyone who is wondering about Link's Dark World form, etc. etc. etc., I will post here for your benefit the answer to the same question asked me on the forum a while ago:

"2) If Link looks into the magic mirror, will he look like a bunny?

Well see, this one is tough. It took me a long time to decide what Link would see in the mirror (and subsequently which form he would take in the Dark World). I read a comic once upon a time based on a Link to the Past, in which Link turned into a wolf in the Dark World. In the game, he turns into a bunny. One is arguably cooler than the other, however given how much I have changed/will be changing, I would like to remain true to the game where possible - PLUS try to make it all make sense with the setting and the situation and my own explanations for why things work the way they work. Needless to say, this was a little bit complicated, and took quite some time for me to settle on something that appeased all of those criteria, which I think I have. I understand this isn't much of an answer, but more of a wait and see (you don't have long to wait. If I can pull it off, Link will be facing Agahnim at the end of this chapter, and if you've played the game you know what happens after that), so to compensate for that, I will say that yes, you will EVENTUALLY see the bunny (maybe not right off the bat), but it will be in there and will likely actually be an integral part of Link's Dark World alter ego (along with a few other things)."

-END SPOILER WARNING-

Other than that, guys, good luck on exams (those who have them) and a happy holidays to the lot of you!

I hope you enjoy the read and it was worth the wait!

Rose Zemlya

"Reveal not every secret you have to a friend, for how can you tell but that friend may hereafter become an enemy. And bring not all mischief you are able to upon an enemy, for he may one day become your friend."

—Saadi—

"This is one shrew you cannot tame.
I am woman, see me game."

—Scott Kurtz, PvP Online—

xxx

Chapter 12

"Highness, think about this for a minute!"

"There's nothing to think about," I respond curtly, tying my gear tightly to Epona's saddle at a speed just short of panic. "Neesha's gone, you can't find her, she's not in the fortress."

"She may just be … hiding," Amplisa tries desperately. "Maybe we just haven't found her yet. She was pretty put out with you."

"She's not hiding. You would have found her."

"You don't know—"

"There's a horse and all the associated gear missing," I say. "Mysteriously vanished in the middle of the night, did it?"

"Maybe … one of the girls …"

"Bel's uniform went missing!" I cry. "And nobody's owning up to taking it!"

"They might be lying."

"I ordered whoever it was to bring it back. No one did. Are you honestly telling me one of the Gerudo would steal a Sheikan uniform then not give it to me when I ordered them to?"

"I …"

"So logically, we can assume that whoever stole it, wasn't in the fortress as of first thing this morning when I made the order before Bel and Mel and the rest of the Sheikah left, correct?"

"I…"

"So logically, since Neesha was the only Gerudo not in the fortress first thing this morning, or at any other point today, Neesha is the one who stole it. Why, you might ask, would Neesha steal a Sheikan uniform? Well she's obviously going somewhere where a Gerudo uniform wouldn't be welcome, like, say, Castletown. And how will she get there? She'll obviously need a horse, right?"

"Then I'm coming too!" Amplisa explodes finally. "And so are the others!"

"No, you are not," I say flatly, pulling Epona's reigns into my hand and glaring at Amplisa who's blocking my exit out of the stall. "You'll only slow me down, Amplisa. I'm faster on my own, and besides, I'll be taking the Lost Doors, and I'm not hauling the whole Elite through them so I can randomly lose some of you to the Lost Woods. The Deku Tree protects that place for a reason, and there's only so much he'll allow, even for me. Besides, I need you here in case of more Moblin raids. And Nabooru may need you when she gets back."

"Nabooru's going to flay me when she gets back if I let you leave without an escort!" Amplisa cries. "You're going to need us!"

"I am going as the Hero of Time, not the King of the Gerudo," I say flatly. "And I should have left forever ago. I never should have hesitated as long as I have. I'm done with it."

"But … what about the Sages? You're supposed to wait for—"

"They know where I'm going. They can meet me there once they're done. They've got their own problems to worry about right now. Hyrule's their concern, not me. Feel free to remind them of that for me as well before letting them come ripping after me. They can handle the Moblins, I'll handle Agahnim."

"Agahnim's going to handle you!" Amplisa cries.

"Get out of the way, Amplisa."

"No." She sets her feet and crosses her arms, face twisting into an expression of unmovable stubbornness.

"Get. Out. Of. The. Way."

"No. At least wait for Rue to get here."

"Rue is only going to repeat the same things you have, and I'll just be wasting that much more time. Now move, or I'm going through you. If I want to go, Amplisa, you can't stop me, and you know it." She remains stubbornly where she is.

"At least let us come with you to whatever the Hell Lost Door you're heading for." We glare at each other. "I'm not moving until you give us at least that," she says flatly. "You'll have to run me over and I know you don't want to do that." I narrow my eyes at her.

"You've got five minutes to round up whatever White you can and get them on horses. I'll be at the mouth of the road to Hyrule Fields. I'm leaving in five minutes with or without you, and I'm not waiting for anyone." Amplisa gives a curt bow, then turns on her heel and rips out of the stables, screaming for the Elite. I pat Epona's neck.

"Let's go, girl," I say, leading her out of the stall and into the painfully bright afternoon sun. It's like the day is trying to make up for last night's storm. I'm sweltering in my winter gear, but I don't care. It won't take me long to get out of the desert and it's going to be freezing when I do. I climb up on Epona once we're out of the stables, offer a reassuring smile to the purple at the door who no doubt heard every word exchanged between Amplisa and I and is now looking concerned, then nudge Epona down towards the path out. She takes it at a trot, but even in that I can feel her urge to run. We haven't really let loose in a while, and I know she can sense my urgency.

I pull her up short beneath the wooden plaque engraved with the Gerudo symbol that hangs over the canyon leading back towards Hyrule. Just as I'm getting ready to leave without anyone, seven Elite on horseback come ripping around the corner, Amplisa at their head. Epona whinnies excitedly at the sight of the other horses galloping towards us and she requires no urging to turn around and face down the canyon.

"We need to fly, Epona," I tell her. "Like the wind. YAH!"

She leaps ahead into a gallop, the Elite pounding the ground at our flanks …

… and we fly.

xxx

A Brief Interlude

Neesha stared up at the back of the archery shop with an odd sort of feeling in her gut. Sentimentality of any kind annoyed her, and she took a malicious sort of pleasure in mercilessly making fun of Hunter and Link whenever they gave in to such frivolous, useless things – as they often did. Two more sentimental fools you wouldn't find – unless of course you included their girlfriends, but that was another type of annoyance entirely. Men she expected to be sentimental. They were, after all, the weaker sex. It more than annoyed her that the women of Hyrule were more often than not twice as sentimental as the men. It horrified her, as a matter of fact.

The fact that such an apparently weak race of people managed to consistently thwart her own stuck a massive blow to her Gerudo pride any time she thought on it.

But then, she supposed, there were exceptions to every rule.

Hunter and Link could be sentimental, pacifistic, and soft as a day old kitten on any given day, and yet neither of them were weak by any means. The logical ramifications of this were that maybe sentimentality and its ilk didn't necessarily make a person weak for feeling them.

But that fact didn't make Neesha feel any stronger now that she was staring at the back of the archery shop and drowning under a wave of sudden and powerful memory.

How many times had she and Link and Hunter stood here at all hours of the night, staring up at the shop and debating the best way to sneak back in without waking up Brayden or Bruiser?

She pushed open the back gate and slipped into the yard with a furtive glance around to make sure no one was watching. She stopped for a moment to stare around the yard at the perfect, unmolested snow.

How many winter mornings had they woken up after a fresh snowfall with Link and Hunter whipping around the house in a totally unnecessary state of over-excitement, making too much noise and fuss as though they were all a couple of five-year-olds, amusing Brayden and annoying the Hell out of Bruiser and she both, but ultimately dragging them out into the snow by the end of the whole ordeal anyway?

She forced herself forward through the deep snow, covering the walk up to her knees. Bruiser would be rolling over in his grave if he knew the walk wasn't shovelled, and the snow had been allowed to pile up on the roof, and the shop hadn't been swept, and it wasn't even open and they were losing business left right and centre.

She could see him, as she pulled off her glove and slipped her key out of her pocket. He would shake his head and gather all four of them – she, Link, Hunter, and Brayden – into the kitchen and start pacing and shouting about them letting it slip, waving his arms in the air, occasionally pounding a table. He'd go on about their irresponsibility and everything else, while Link and Hunter made faces at his back whenever he had it turned and Brayden would sit there and blatantly rolls his eyes at his brother, and she would try her damndest to maintain what Link and Hunter had dubbed her "Gerudo face" with the two of them making faces like that and trying to make her laugh and after it was over Bruiser would give up and storm out and they'd all feel guilty suddenly and pitch in to clean up the shop and suck up whenever he got back.

She ground her teeth and bolstered her annoyance against the sudden twist of the feeling in her gut and she forced the key into the lock and turned it.

She would not be sentimental.

She would not give in to nostalgia.

She would not mourn a life that seemed far removed from her current situation and which she could never really go back to.

Bruiser was dead. The Archery Shop was closed indefinitely. These were things she could not change, and so should not waste her time wishing it was otherwise.

Hunter was not dead. Zelda was not dead. Malon and the others were not dead. Those, she could do something about. But not if she lost herself to memory and sentimentality. Not if she gave in to weakness.

She unlocked the door, casting one last furtive glance at the backyard and making sure no one had seen her. The trail she'd left in the snow gave her a moment's pause, but it wouldn't be long before Link came after her – the sun was at its zenith. It wouldn't take him long to realize where she'd gone and he wouldn't waste any time in chasing her down. If he took the routes available to him and only him (and between the Lost Doors and his Ocarina there were plenty) he'd be there by sunset at the latest – she only had to wait a few hours. She could handle whatever the Hylians decided to throw at her in the space of those few hours.

She pushed the door open and slipped inside, but paused with her hand still on the doorknob. Her eyes narrowed and she scanned the room quickly. There should have been weeks worth of dust on everything, but it was all clean. The floor had been swept, the kitchen table had been wiped down recently with a wet cloth, the sink was still wet, and a million other little indications that the house wasn't as empty as it should have been. Her face twisted into a scowl.

No one should have intruded into this place save those to which it belonged, and she would be damned if she'd let such a transgression pass without punishment.

She slid the door shut silently and dropped into a crouch to undo her heavy winter boots, unthreading the laces quickly and quietly and slipping out of them. A floorboard creaked upstairs and her eyes narrowed further. She unbuttoned her coat and slipped it off, setting it gently on the floor, then following suit with the rest of her winter gear. She slid across the kitchen and over to the stairs in her sock feet, pleased despite herself with how quiet her stolen Sheikan uniform was.

She crept silently up the stairs, avoiding any planks she knew to be particularly noisy (the ones Link always inevitably managed to step on when they were trying to sneak in at the wee hours of the morning) and cautiously peered around the corner and into the room she had shared with Hunter and Link.

Pacing back and forth in the room and worrying her hands, her long skirts sweeping the ground, with each motion she made, was the last person Neesha had expected to see there. She stared at the figure incredulously for a moment, then bit back a groan and pulled herself back around the corner.

What in the Goddess' name was going on? Why was that Marni girl in the Archery Shop? How did she get in? What the Hell did she think she was doing?

Neesha scowled and considered her options. She was wanted twice over in Castletown – once for being a Gerudo, twice for being the particular Gerudo which she just happened to be. Her face was plastered on wanted posters all over the goddess damned town (she'd forgotten about those when she'd made the hasty decision to come here. That had made getting in and getting a stable a little more difficult than it should have been). Marni might turn her in.

Marni might try to turn her in.

The girl was no threat, of that much Neesha was certain. She was slow of speed and wit, and easily intimidated – a fact to which Neesha could personally attest. But on the other hand, she had been fanatically loyal to Link – as fanatically as any servant could be at any rate. She had never failed to side with Link (or even Neesha on occasion, the teenaged Gerudo was forced to admit, despite how mean she could be to the girl) in any fights or debates they had gotten into at the palace. She would have been genuinely surprised if Marni had jumped on the let's-all-hate-the-same-people-we-loved-two-days-ago band wagon that the rest of Hyrule seemed to have.

This is dumb, she decided finally with a sigh. I'm wasting time sitting here and wondering. There's only one way to find out, now isn't there? So she rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the wall and around the corner, no longer trying to be silent or hidden.

Marni didn't notice. She continued to pace back and forth frantically in the little room, wringing her hands and occasionally making an unhappy noise. Neesha's scowl darkened.

Goddess damned Hylians! She thought derisively. How, how, how did they ever beat us? Farore! I could have killed her by now!

"Hey!" She snapped, putting one hand on her hip and glaring forward. "You!" Marni gasped, jumped, and whirled around with a little scream. The next instant she spotted the Sheikan uniform and all the color drained from her face as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell backwards in a faint.

She hit the ground with a thud and Neesha stared dully at her prone form, struggling valiantly with the urge to beat her head off the wall.

Oh how she hated Hylians.

xxx

Chapter 12 (cont.)

There is something liberating in the combination of an open plain laid bare before you and riding hell-for-leather across the dunes of snow, heedless of the wind and the cold and whatever dark fate may await you at the end of your flight. Some infinite freedom in the power and the speed and the unrestrained thrill that runs through you at each beat of the hooves.

This is escape.

This is independence.

This is life.

And it feels like death to have to pull on Epona's reigns and slow her to a reluctant stop in the shadow of Lon Lon Ranch. I pull myself out of her saddle and pat her neck as I work my way around her, checking for any possible problems created by the snow and cold.

"How you doing girl?" I ask through my scarf. She snorts and prances a bit, nipping after my hat. I laugh and swat her nose playfully. "You're a liar," I tell her flatly, rubbing the bridge of her nose to assuage any offence she might take (glad that Neesha isn't here to see me worrying about offending a horse). "Doesn't matter," I tell her. "I'm gonna have to head off on my own now." Epona gives an offended whinny and I sigh. "Don't you start too," I say. "Bad enough I get it from the Elite. I can't take you." I move around to pull my pack off her back. "You're a famous horse now, you know. Everybody in Castletown knows you, and it doesn't matter how low I wear my hood one look at you and they'll know who I am." Epona looks over her shoulder and nickers at me. "Yes they will," I insist. "It's not my fault that you won't let anyone but me ride you. I'm the only one who ever rides you. Who else would be on your back, wearing a hood, and acting shifty?" I demand. "No one, that's who."

I swear to Din she rolls her eyes at me and turns back around. I rearrange my pack and my gear on my back, pull my cloak over it and pull my hat off, shoving it into my Kokiri Pouch. I pull my hood up over my hair and arrange it carefully so that it provides suitable cover for the half of my face that shows above my scarf. I pat Epona's neck again and offer her a smile she can't see beneath the scarf.

"Thanks for your help, girl," I tell her. "I'll call for you if I need you." She catches the lip of my hood in her teeth and pulls it down over my face. I grin and shove it back up, slapping her rump good naturedly as she turns and trots off back the way we came. I lean up against the cold stone of Lon Lon's walls and watch her go, feeling unexpectedly lonely.

It's been a while since I've been on my own like this. No Sages, no Generals, no Elite. No Neesha, no Hunter, not even Zelda's presence in the back of my mind. I don't even have Navi anymore to keep me company.

I shove my hands into my pockets with a heavy sigh and turn away from Epona's retreating form, facing Castletown instead.

Moping isn't going to get me there any faster. All I need to do to turn my mind back to the task at hand is remind myself of why I'm on my own right now: because of an ugly old man named Agahnim. My face hardens and I start towards the town in the distance at a jog.

Come Hell or high water, something will change tonight.

I just wish I knew what.

xxx

A Brief Interlude

Marni clutched her mug in a white-knuckled grip, and continued to stare at Neesha with wide, frightened eyes.

"Lady Neesha, why are you dressed like a Sheikah?" She asked meekly. "You frightened me so! I thought you had come to kill me!" Neesha rubbed at one temple and briefly flirted with the idea of doing just that.

"Why would a Sheikah be sent to kill you?" She demanded. "And don't call me 'Lady.' Is it because of this thing that you have for Link but won't show to me because some mysterious person told you to give it only Link? Is it because of that Marni?" Marni looked like she might start crying again and Neesha hissed in annoyance and forced herself to soften her tone – though a softened rock is still a rock when you get right down to it. "I'm wearing it because Gerudo aren't allowed in Castletown, Marni, so I disguised myself as a Sheikah, all right? I came ahead of Link and now I'm waiting for him, too." An uncomfortable silence descended between the two of them as Marni focused on her tea and Neesha idly stirred her hot chocolate.

"Your hair looks beautiful when it's down," Marni said at last. "I wish I had hair that color. You should wear it like that more often."

"You would think that, wouldn't you?" Neesha muttered under her breath, then, louder: "It's part of my disguise, all right? Red hair in a pony-tail more or less screams of Gerudo around here. I'm never wearing it like this ever again."

"But you're so pretty like that! It frames your face just perfectly!" Marni insisted. "And it looks very good with your skin. It even kind of helps your disguise, because it attracts attention away from how dark you are." Marni gave her an appraising look. "You know, I bet if you let me fix it up a bit you would be—"

"Stay away from my hair," Neesha growled at her. "I don't want you to fix it up. It doesn't need to be fixed up. It's fine the way it is."

"Well, all right," Marni said, not bothering to conceal her disappointment. She studied Neesha some more. "But … what about a bit of makeup?" She asked. "Just to … well, your skin is very bronzed. I mean, it looks great, it's just … people don't have that in the winter time. Everyone will wonder. And with hair as red as that, I mean … it's just … well, no one will really believe you're a Sheikah."

"It's worked so far," Neesha ground out from between clenched teeth.

"Well of course," Marni said, "but you've been wearing a hood and a scarf all the way up to your eyes. All they had to go off of was the uniform. But once you get into a situation where you have to take the hood and scarf off …"

"No, Marni," Neesha said flatly. "No. All right? No."

"It would only be a little bit of make up," Marni said, even more meek than previously, if that was possible. "And I wouldn't really even do anything to your hair, I would just … pin it back a bit at the temples, you know? So it's not in your face so badly. Maybe put a little bit of curl in it, nothing much."

"Marni!" Neesha snarled, glaring at her over her mug. "You are not turning me into some vapid little Hylian! Stop! Just … shut up until Link gets here, all right?"

"But—"

"NO!"

Another long, uncomfortable silence. Marni fidgeted in her seat. Neesha clenched her teeth.

"My answer is no, Marni. N-O, no. That's it, that's all. No."

"They won't let you in as a Sheikah," Marni said finally.

"What?" Neesha demanded.

"Agahnim knows who all of the uniformed Sheikah in the palace are, and probably most of the non-uniformed ones too. The guards have been instructed not to let any more Sheikah into the palace without prior permission for security reasons." Neesha narrowed her eyes at her.

"What are you saying?" She demanded. Marni suddenly became very interested in her tea.

"Just that you won't be able to get into the palace as a Gerudo or a Sheikah. Not through the normal routes anyway."

"Who said I'm going to be taking the normal routes?"

"Well why did you even bother with the Sheikah disguise if you weren't?" Marni asked. "I'm just trying to help you know." Neesha rubbed her temple wearily, fighting back a sudden surge of irritation.

"So you're saying my only way into that castle is as a vapid little Hylian." Marni looked hopeful again.

"It's only a little bit of makeup," she promised. "You won't even notice, really." Neesha stared at her. "It's for the best. It's the easiest way for you to get into the palace. No one will notice a young Hylian girl wandering around. Sheikah and Gerudo both attract attention. And I have a lovely, dark green dress that would look just gorgeous on y—"

"I'm don't do dresses," Neesha growled flatly.

"Oh no, of course not," Marni said, quickly. "I'm sure we can work something out with pants."

Neesha stared at her for a moment more, then closed her eyes and looked for a minute as though she was in physical pain.

She'd always thought that when the time came to sacrifice for her circle-of-people-who-mattered it would be her safety, or her freedom, or her life … any of those she would have given without hesitation.

But this …

This was …

She moaned and dropped her head onto her arms. Marni – understanding the inherent defeat in the gesture – gave a pleased squeal that set Neesha's teeth on edge and got to her feet.

"Wonderful!" The girl chirped. "I'll go get my things and we can start right away!"

She bustled back over to the stairs and Neesha pondered suicide.

xxx

Chapter 12 (cont.)

"Name and business!"

"Hi!" I call brightly. "Um … is everything all right?" The guard on top of the wall frowns down at me.

"What?"

"It's just …," I gesture at the bridge, "the bridge is up. And … the sun hasn't gone down yet. I mean, granted its on its way down, it's just … normally it doesn't go up until it's down. The bridge, that is. The bridge doesn't go up until it's down. The sun I mean. The bridge doesn't go up until the sun is down. Am I making any sense here?"

"Not really, no," replies the guard amicably enough, losing his threatening tone now that he's decided I am likely harmless. "Look, where have you been man? It's been like this for a month practically."

"Well I've been in Kakariko, actually," I tell him. "I was with the Gorons, of course, but you know, then that whole thing with the new Prince Regent, and the Gorons didn't like it, and they outlawed all the Hylians, and I am, of course, one of them. The Hylians. I'm a Hylian, not a Goron. Obviously. Anyway, they ran me out of Goron City, and let me tell you something, the Gorons don't run you out so much as they run you down. Have you ever seen them do that spiky thing? Man, that's scary. Not all of them can do it, of course. I think it takes a lot of practice. It's some kind of super secret technique or something, I don't really know. I wasn't a Goron and generally speaking a Goron's not going to share his super secret technique with someone who isn't a Goron." That, of course, is a blatant lie. I'm pretty sure the Gorons would share anything with anybody who asked nicely enough. "Not that it would matter if they did, I mean, it's not like anyone but a Goron could do it, what with the rolling and the ball and the fast and the—"

"Well," the guard interrupts, irritated with me now, "wherever you've been, the gates go up now before sunset. For security reasons, all right? Can I please have your name and business, sir? I can't let you in without them."

"Well I'm not here on business," I reply with a frown. "Do you have to be here on business now to be allowed in? What about like … sightseers and stuff? And tourists! And people who are coming to visit family? Are they not allowed in now?"

"No, look," the guard says, "business doesn't mean business, all right? It just means … it's what you're doing. Why did you come to Castletown?"

"I told you, not for business."

"But for what then?"

"Oh!" I say. "Oh, I get it! Sorry!" I give an embarrassed laugh. "I'm a bit slow sometimes. My Mum always used to say that to me. Li, she'd say, Li you're a bit slow sometimes."

"Is your name Li?" The guard demands, pouncing on what he no doubt hopes is useful information.

"What? No! No, no, no," I say, shaking my head. "My brother's name is Li."

"But you just said your mother used to call you Li."

"No, what I said was that my mother used to say, Li, you're a bit slow sometimes."

"So you're Li, then!"

"No, my brother is Li!" I insist. "See, we're twins. My mother's always been a bit farsighted. Never really could tell us apart up close, so she'd get us mixed up all the time." The other guards with him are laughing now. "She'd think I was him and he was me. It was very confusing, you know? When you're little … I mean, half the time I didn't even know who I was, let alone who he was. We'd get ourselves mixed up!" I offer him a conspiratorial wink. "He was a bit slower than me if you get my meaning." The guard sighs and leans forward onto the wall.

"Are you doing this on purpose sir?" He demands dully.

"Doing what on purpose?" I demand. "If you mean answering your questions, then, yes, I do believe I am. Why wouldn't I? You're just doing your job, after all, I see no reason not to give you the information you're asking for."

"You haven't given me any information, sir," the guard points out.

"Certainly I have," I insist. "You asked for my name and my business and I gave them to you."

"You did not."

"Really?" I ask, blinking owlishly up at him. "Oh, well I'm sorry!" I give the exact same embarrassed laugh as I did the first time. "I'm a bit slow sometimes. My Mum always used to say that me. Li, she'd say, Li you're a bit slow sometimes." The other guards are just dying with laughter now and I stare up at them with my best befuddled expression. One of them leans over and says something I don't quite catch to the guard who throws his hands up in the air in an exasperated gesture and peers down the other side of the wall and gestures again. The next instant the bridge starts lowering with a loud cranking of gears and I smirk beneath my scarf and hood.

Everybody loves an idiot.

"Thank you very much, sir!" I call, stepping onto the bridge and working my way across, waving brightly. He gives me a half-hearted wave in return and I shove my hands into my pockets and start humming Saria's Song to myself as I wink at the guard in the booth with the bridge controls and continue on into town. The bridge goes up once more behind me, gears creaking and groaning in the cold.

It's hard to believe it's only been (give or take) a month since I was last here. It feels like so much longer. And yet, even though everything has changed, nothing had changed.

It's five o'clock and the streets are crammed with people heading home from work, like they always are. I slip into and out of the same back alleys and short cuts I've always used on my way to the Market. The same faces and buildings and streets that I grew up with are all around me.

And yet … there are differences. They're slight, but they're significant all the same. There are more armed guards in the streets than there used to be. Everyone's shooting distrustful looks at anyone who they don't recognize. There's a tension trembling in the air that never used to be there.

Agahnim's paranoia has spread like poison through Castletown, infecting everything from the kid I used to pay two rupees to give Epona's coat a good brushing to the nobles on the rich side of town.

This may not be my home anymore than anywhere else is my home lately, but on some level I still consider it my turf. I know every back door and alleyway in this town. There isn't a nook, niche or cranny I haven't explored. Whether or not it is my home, it was my home and some part of me lives here still, just as it does in Kokiri's Forest, and in the Desert, and even to some extent in the Sheikah Caverns in Kakariko.

To see the subtle changes that Agahnim's had no right to force on even this tiny piece of my life makes me see red. Is there no part of me he hasn't touched? No section of my past, present and future that he hasn't tainted?

No.

There is not.

And it's high time I returned the favour.

I come at last to my destination – the alleyway behind the archery shop.

But first, I have to find Neesha, and if she's anywhere – I slip over to the back fence and pull it open, raising an eyebrow at the rough path torn through the snow – she's here. I shut the gate gently behind me and cast a glance around. No one's nearby. Everyone's at home and busying themselves with supper. The sun has sunk beneath the city line and a red twilight has settled on the world. I spend a moment trying to decide whether that's a good omen or a bad omen before arbitrarily deciding that I don't believe in omens in order to spare myself the mental trauma inherent in that line of thinking, then turn around and follow Neesha's path to the door.

I know it was her.

Who else would come to an abandoned Archery Shop?

I try the knob and find it locked. Grumbling in irritation to myself I reach into my Kokiri's pouch and fish around, trying to find my key somewhere in its depths. I'm so engrossed in this activity (lost in the nostalgia of such a simple but familiar ritual) that it takes me a moment to realize the door has opened of its own accord. I blink in surprise and straighten, staring in shock at the red-head in front of me.

"Um …" I manage. "I'm sorry, miss, I was …" I flounder for a moment, unable to finish. I haven't got a pre-made excuse ready. I wasn't expecting a stranger to be in my house, though truth be told she seems kind of familiar. Maybe it's the dress, I swear I've seen it before. I think Marni had one like it.

The next instant, however, mild surprise gives way to severe shock as the girl's eyes narrow and her jaw clenches in an I'm-going-to-kill-you expression that I would recognize if I was blind. I can feel my jaw drop and I can't even react when she reaches out and wraps a fist in my coat, jerking me roughly into the Archery Shop's kitchen and shutting the door behind me. She then proceeds to turn around and drive her fist into my stomach before I can say anything. I gasp and double-over, stumbling back into the table, still entirely too shocked to save myself from the sudden attack.

"Don't say anything!" She snarls. "Don't you dare!"

"N-Neesha!" I manage to gasp out, still staring at her with my mouth agape and my eyes as wide as they've ever been in my life. "Nayru, Farore, and Din! Neesha!"

"Shut up!" She hisses. "Shut your mouth! I'm warning you!"

"What happened?" I demand. "You look … you look …"

"Ridiculous?" Neesha demands. "Vapid? Foolish?"

"Like a girl!" I manage to finish, and just barely manage to dodge her next punch. "Oh my Goddess! How did … why did … is that makeup?"

It is.

Neesha is wearing makeup. Her cheeks and lips and eyes are coloured, making her cheekbones look a little higher, and her eyes a darker shade of blue, and her lips a little poutier, and her hair is done up into some kind of elaborate bun thing that has delicate little curls that trail down around her face and neck, and she's wearing a dress, and I just used the words Neesha and delicate in the same sentence!

Neesha!

My Neesha!

Neesha of the Gerudo!

"Shut up!" She practically shrieks, face scarlet with a combination of anger and embarrassment. "Shut up, Link! Don't you dare tell anyone!" She may look like your average Hylian girl but her eyes are blazing suddenly with the fury reserved solely for the Gerudo. "Especially not Hunter! I'll kill you if you do, I mean it!" She clenches her fists. "Stop gaping at me like that!"

I shake my head twice to clear it and force my mouth shut. De-bugging my eyes is the hardest though. I rub them hard.

"Neesha … sweet merciful crap, Neesha! How, what, why?" I manage finally. "What possessed … why are you dressed like that?"

"It's a disguise," she gets out through gritted teeth.

"It's a damn good one," I say. "But what about Bel's uniform? Didn't you take that?"

"Yes."

"Ha! I told Amplisa it was you! I assumed that was your disguise. Why the … uh, the getup?"

"Because according to Marni, unknown Sheikah can't get into the Palace any easier than a Gerudo could."

"Marni? What's Marni got to do with this?"

"Well I don't know, do I?" Neesha demands testily. "She wouldn't tell me. Said she had something for you and she wouldn't give it to me. She's apparently been told to deliver it to no one but you."

"Where is she?"

"Hiding upstairs," Neesha replied. "If you'd been trouble she just would have been in my way so I told her to stay up behind the false wall until I came up to get her."

"You should have hidden. You're the one who's wanted." I tear my eyes away from the girl who sounds and acts like Neesha but doesn't look like Neesha and head for the stairs.

"We're both wanted apparently," Neesha replies. "There's a warrant out for Marni's arrest as well. They've accused her of stealing from the palace, but she says she hasn't and there's another reason they want her."

"What?"

"She won't tell me that either," Neesha responded.

"You weren't mean to her, were you?" I demand.

"No more than usual."

"Neesha! I wish you wouldn't!"

"Well I wish I wasn't in a dress!" Neesha cries. "Life is tough! Get over it!" Her face is getting red again and I promptly decide that perhaps it would be wise to not push her right now. I think the makeup has sent her over the deep end.

But Farore do I wish Hunter was here to see this.

"Marni?" I call, stepping into my bedroom. I move over to the bunk and clamber over it to start moving the panel back. "It's all right, Marni, it's just me."

"Watch out, she might faint," Neesha grumbles in a bitter tone.

"Sir Link?" Asks a small voice from behind the wall as I finally get it to slide all the way back. Marni gives me a wide-eyed, disbelieving stare. "You're here," she breathes, as though she never really believed I would be, and abruptly buries her face in her hands and starts to cry.

Behind me Neesha throws her hands up into the air and gives an irritated snarl.

"Great!" She says. "Just great! She's crying again!"

"I'm sorry," Marni sniffles, accepting my hand up and out of the little compartment. "It's just … I've been so afraid … and I didn't know if … if you'd actually come, or how long I'd have to wait … and I was terrified they'd find me!"

"Terrified who'd find you, Marni?" I ask, crawling off the bed and getting to my feet. "What's going on? Why are you hiding here?"

"Because Princess Zelda asked me to," she sniffled.

"Zelda!" Neesha and I both gasp.

"Well … I think so," Marni answers. "She was … she was disguised as a Sheikan boy, but … but she knew things that only Princess Zelda could know, so I …"

"Did the boy have red eyes?" I ask. "Blonde hair and red eyes?"

"And a shawl over his face?" Neesha adds.

"Yes," Marni answers. I stare at her blankly for a minute.

"All right," I say finally, trying to force my heart back down into my ribcage. "Take a deep breath and start from the beginning…."

xxx

An hour later we're downstairs at the kitchen table again and staring with puzzled expressions at the parchment that Zelda went through so much to get to me.

"What is it?" Neesha demands. Marni shakes her head helplessly.

"I don't know," she says. "I really don't. She didn't tell me anything. Just that I had to get it to Sir Link." I scratch my head and frown.

"Why would she send me this?"

It's a map of Hyrule, only not like any other map of Hyrule I've ever seen. Everything's all weird on it.

"Why is the desert a swamp?" Neesha demands with a frown. "And Zora's River's a desert?"

"What's this stream?" I demand with a dark frown. "This doesn't exist. And where's Lon Lon? It's not on here anywhere."

"Why the Hell did she draw it like this? It's creepy."

It's true. The map looks like something out of a horror story.

"Or out of a nightmare," I murmur aloud.

"What?" Marni asks. I blink.

"It must be from one of her dreams," I say, running my hands over the map. "I think she was having nightmares before she got captured. She wasn't sleeping well at any rate, and that's never a good sign."

"She was," Neesha says. "Bad ones." I look up in surprise.

"How do you know?" I demand. She frowns at me, painted lips turned down at the corners.

"I just do," she responds flatly. "None of your business. Anyway, she was having nightmares at the Fortress."

"Well did she say what they were about?" I demand.

"Not really, no," Neesha muses. She looks thoughtful. "Though she did say that you were in them and that … well, that you never made it out of them." I heave a disgruntled sigh and ignore Marni's horrified look at the news.

"Definitely prophetic," I grumble. I pick up the map and roll it up, slipping it into my pouch. "At any rate, we're not going to figure out its purpose by staring at it, and if it's from one of her dreams we probably never will. In the meantime, we have work to do. We need to figure out the fastest, easiest way in to Agahnim – one he won't expect since he already knows we're coming." Neesha frowns and hesitates for a just a minute, then:

"You're … you're not going to try and make me go back to the desert?" She asks. I meet her gaze with a sigh.

"I was … going to," I say. "I was going to try at any rate. You've got to understand the risks, here, Neesha. It's not that I don't want you with me, I do. Believe me, I do. It's just … well, you know," I say quickly with a sidelong glance at Marni. She's had a rough enough time of it without me adding doom and destruction for Hyrule into the equation.

"I know," Neesha says slowly, "and I don't care. I have as much right to be part of this as you do, and I'm not staying out of it."

"You might not care, but other people do," I answer flatly. "And I'm not just talking about caring about you before you get all in a huff about not needing anyone's protection. I'm talking about what happens if Agahnim gets his claws on you. You're the only one he's missing, now, Neesha. He's going to do everything in his power to get you and to do you what he's done to the rest of them. And what then? Game over, that's what."

"I. Don't. Care," Neesha repeats. "I don't care. You can't do this alone, and the Sages and the Generals don't count. You need me, Link, Hero of Time or not. And I'm not going to sit on my ass and do nothing while you're off getting yourself killed!" Her eyes flash and she clenches her fists. "I didn't put on a Goddess damned dress so you could send me back now." I sigh and lean back in my chair.

"And that's why I'm not," I answer heavily. "Not the dress, the needing you. You're right. I can't do this alone. I need your help. But understand here and now that I'm terrified I'm going to wind up on my own anyway. We're not talking about some two-bit black-magician here. We're talking about a black magician on par with Koume and Kotake. We're talking about someone who can spontaneously teleport three people from the same place, to different locations, who can infect someone's dreams from miles away, who can make Sages disappear into thin air! Neesha, Bruiser's already dead. Hunter's captured, and so are the rest of them. He's brainwashed half of Hyrule. I haven't got so many friends left that I can afford to lose another." I pause and suck in a deep breath. "So fine, you can stay. I won't send you back. I'll even stick up for you against Nabooru and the others – something I freely admit I should have done in the first place – but you have to promise me you won't let him catch you. You take your Gerudo pride, and your Gerudo honour, and you leave it here with your Gerudo uniform. If things look bad, you run. Run like a scalded cat. If something goes wrong get out. Get out as fast as you can and don't stop running until you're back in the desert." Neesha narrows her eyes.

"Link … why are you talking like that?" She frowns. "What do you know that I don't?"

"I don't know anything," I respond. "I don't know anything except what I feel, and what I feel is not good. Please, Neesha. Promise me."

"All right," Neesha says once she realizes I'm not bending on this one. "All right, fine. I promise."

"On your honour as a Red."

"On my honour as a Red," Neesha repeats.

"What's going on?" Marni asks in a frightened voice. "I don't understand."

"It's all right, Marni," I say, offering her a smile. "Don't worry about it, all right? We'll take care of it." She nods slowly and I turn back to the original topic. "Now," I say, "disguised as Hylians or not, we're not going to be able to get in through the front gates of the palace at this time of night, and Agahnim's already proven he knows all about the Sheikan secret passages – plus he knows we're coming. So how are we supposed to get in without attracting attention, and without setting off any of Agahnim's alarms?"

"If you were a noble you could get in," Marni says, then blushes. "Not that you're not. You're more than a noble, you're a King, but … I just meant … it's because you're a wanted criminal. Not that I believe you did it! I know you didn't!"

"It's okay, Marni!" I say, gesturing for her to calm down. "No offence taken, I know what you mean." I chew thoughtfully on my lower lip. "And you bring up a good point. The nobles take carriages in and out of the palace gates at all times of the day or night. And if we were in a carriage, there'd be no risk of being recognized. They wouldn't have to see our faces."

"But someone would have to tell the guards at the gate who we are," Neesha says. "One of us would have to do it. And besides, they know all the nobles. We can't exactly introduce ourselves as Lady Neesha and King Link of the Gerudo, now can we?"

"Well … we could get help," I say hesitantly. "Maybe one of the nobles who are on our side…"

"Nobles aren't on any side but their own," Neesha says darkly. "And neither you nor I is good enough at their mind games to be able to tell if we're being set up for something. That's what Hunter is for. And besides, you promised him you'd never, ever, ever, ever, ever, again so much as look at another politician on your own again without him or Zelda there after that whole Eldrick thing."

"Hey," I growl, "first off, I think the circumstances have changed enough that my promise is rendered null and void, and second off, Eldrick is an ass who had it coming. Besides," I say, "I don't think we have a choice. We need into the palace and I don't think we're going to be able to do it on our own without setting off a million alarms and having to fight our way through the palace guards to get to Agahnim."

"This is a problem because…?" Neesha asks, raising an eyebrow. I offer her a cocky smirk.

"Well I'd hate for you to break a nail." I scramble under the table as fast as she lunges over it and Marni gives a startled shriek and jumps backwards.

"Goddess damned skirts!" Neesha growls, thumping the table with a hand as I scramble out from under the other side and come up behind her.

"Seriously though," I say before she can come after me again. "Breaking in like that isn't exactly a desirable option."

"Well what do you want?" Neesha demands, climbing off the table and trying in vain to straighten out her dress. "To sneak in there and murder him in his sleep?"

"He won't be sleeping," I say darkly. "Believe me. What I want is to get in and get out with the least amount of fuss."

"Since when are you so careful?" Neesha demands as Marni moves over to help her sort herself out. I frown, uncomfortable.

"I told you, I have a bad feeling about this," I reply. "There's something going on that we're not aware of and it's making me nervous. Would you just go along with me on this one? We'll bash our way through the next obstacle as per usual, I promise, just give me this one." Neesha rolls her eyes.

"Well fine," she says, swatting Marni away and sitting down again. "But I don't like it."

"No one's asking you to," I say, dropping into a seat again as well. "So who should we approach? Who isn't going to turn us in?"

"Well that Harker guy liked you," Neesha says with a frown.

"Yeah but he likes rupees too," I reply. "He'd sell us out for the right price in a heartbeat. What about Lady Nina?"

"I wouldn't," Marni says. We both turn to her and she looks disconcerted by the sudden attention. "It's just … well, she's having an affair with Lord Shenyan, and everybody knows he's pro Agahnim."

"What about her husband?" Neesha demands. "If she's cheating on him, maybe he'd be willing to help us." Marni shakes her head.

"He's, um … he's not very, uh … he wouldn't stick his neck out for you."

"He's a coward in other words," I say with a sigh.

"Well it's not really my place to say such about a noble, but …" Marni lets it hang.

"Have a lot of them been shifting alliances?" I ask, rubbing my forehead. "Since this whole … I kidnapped the Princess thing?"

"Yes," Marni answers, looking offended at the lot of them. "Almost all of them believe Agahnim, or else were just looking for an excuse, and they abandoned you at the first opportunity. Ungrateful creatures, the lot of them."

"Are there any who haven't?" Neesha asks. Marni thinks.

"Well," she says, "they don't exactly go about announcing it … but there might be a few. But … there's no guarantees. Any one of them may betray you. Agahnim's … well, if he can convince Liam to kill me than who knows what he can do." Her voice goes very quiet suddenly and I reach out and squeeze her shoulder.

"Marni, listen to me," I say. "He didn't convince Liam of anything. From what you described it sounds like Liam is under a spell, okay? Agahnim used it on a friend of mine as well."

"Oh really?" Marni asks, hopeful. "Can … can it be broken?"

"Yes," I respond. "But I need you to help me with this first, Marni. I'm no good at politics, and both of my political advisors are currently in a great deal of danger. Who would you recommend? Who would help us get into the palace to get at Agahnim? Who won't turn us in at the first opportunity? Can you think of anyone?"

"Link," Neesha says, "what about Durnam?"

"Oh yes," Marni says. "He's one of the ones who refuses to believe Agahnim's lies about you. He's been very vocal about his opinion of you, and of Sir Hunter and Lady Neesha as well. And he was against the motion to nullify the treaty with the Gerudo." I think about it for a moment.

"He does owe me a favour," I muse. "But he's got a family. I'd rather not get them involved. What we're asking him to do is essentially treason – legally at any rate – and …"

"Sir Link," Marni says quietly, "I mean no offence, but it doesn't sound as though you have much of a choice at this point. He's your best bet." I sigh and drum my fingers on the table, debating our options.

"What do you think, Neesha?" I say finally.

"I think we should bust in through the front gate."

"I mean what do you think about this plan."

"I think it pales in comparison to busting in through the front gate."

"Neesha, you said you'd go along with this." Neesha heaves a disgruntled sigh and blows a stray ringlet out of her face.

"Fine," she says. "I agree with Marni. We haven't got much other choice. There's no safe way to guess which secret passages Agahnim does and doesn't know about and busting in through the front gate – though obviously the best plan of the lot – would make things kind of complicated. If Durnam can get us through the front gate legitimately things'll be easier 'till we start getting close to Agahnim." I take a deep breath.

"All right," I say. "Then that's what we'll do. Marni, I'm going to take you to Kakariko first. Thank you for all of your help, I appreciate it more than you know."

"You're quite welcome," Marni said, looking pleased. "But … how will you get me out? The town is locked up tight once night falls, and Kakariko's a long way away." I grin at her.

"Marni, Marni, Marni," I say. "I have ways."

"You can't take the Ocarina," Neesha says with a frown. "Agahnim's got the Temple of Time watched."

"I can take the Ocarina to the Shadow Temple," I say. "And I can take Farore's Wind back again. We're close enough to Kakariko that it should work."

"Ah," Neesha says. "Well get going, we haven't got all night."

xxx

A Brief Interlude

Neesha crossed her arms uncomfortably over her stomach and tried to look pale and delicate. It was harder than she thought it would be. She studied herself in the gilded full length mirror on the other side of the hallway and frowned. She may have been dressed like a Hylian, but she still carried herself like a Gerudo. Something in the way she held her head. She didn't look meek at all.

This was never going to work. This was a dumb idea.

She shook her head and turned around. She'd just have to go back to Link and tell him it wouldn't work. It didn't matter how good a job Marni had done covering up her dark skin and putting her hair up in a very non-Gerudoish manner, and no matter how nice a dress Marni put her in (Neesha suspected it was in fact Marni's best dress, and she wasn't quite sure how to feel about that), she was a Gerudo, and it showed.

She took a step towards the double doors that led out of the expansive mansion (having been through them approximately fifteen minutes prior and then promptly abandoned by the servant who let her in) but stopped in her tracks when a door set into the wall between her and her escape opened and two men stepped out. She bit back an oath and turned her back to them, studying herself in the mirror again.

Pale and delicate, she thought. Pale and delicate, pale and delicate, pale and delicate.

"Well hello there!" Said a suave voice from behind her. "What have we here?"

Neesha turned around slowly, plastering what she hoped was a pleasant smile on her face. Approaching her were two men – one old and one young – and she recognized them both: the Lord Eldrick (the younger) and Lord Durnam (the older).

Bow! She hissed at herself. Bow!

She remembered that in Castletown women didn't bow, they curtsied two seconds too late but neither of the men really seemed to the care. The young one in fact seemed quite charmed by her mistake.

"Well isn't she just a treasure," he exclaimed, holding out his hand to her. "Durnam, old man, where have you been keeping her?" Neesha smiled nervously at him and placed her hand stiffly in his, trying (and failing) not to remember every last racial slur the man had ever directed at her or Link, or any other number of things he had done that made her want to rip her hand away from him before he could kiss it, curl her 'pale and delicate' fingers into a fist, and slam it into his jaw.

Must not kill him, must not kill him, must not kill him…

Eldrick directed a charming look up at her as he straightened, letting his hand linger on her own.

Do something! Her brain shrieked at her.

What? She shrieked back.

Anything! What would Zelda do?

She giggled and was relieved to see (amidst the urge to suddenly punch herself in the face) that Eldrick seemed satisfied with that. He winked at her and took his hand away as Durnam blinked owlishly down at her through a thick pair of glasses.

"I haven't been keeping her anywhere," he said. "She's not mine, pity that. Tell me child, where have you come from at this hour? Do you have an escort?" He squinted. "Pardon my rudeness, but have we met? You look terribly familiar."

"I … no, no escort," Neesha managed, trying to sound girly and unintelligent. "And no, I don't … we haven't met. I just came … I had a message for you. Your servant left to … to find you." Durnam rolled his eyes suddenly.

"That damn boy," he grumbled. "He's likely gone straight to the kitchens is where he's gone. I'm sorry, m'dear, about the wait. Terribly rude of me, I must say. Do come in and make yourself at home."

"No, no," Neesha said quickly, shaking her head. "No thank you. I just … I need to deliver my message, that's all."

"Nonsense! I insist!" Durnam said. "It's entirely too late for me to let you wander about on your own. Give me your message, dear, then come in and have a seat." Neesha resisted the urge to grind her teeth.

"My message is … that my Master would like to speak with you in private," she said, annoyed at having to call Link 'master.' "He said that you can meet him at the fountain in the park two blocks from here."

"And who is your Master, m'dear?" Durnam asked.

"I am not at liberty to say," she said with an apologetic bow, then promptly winced inwardly at the fact that she had forgotten she was supposed to curtsey again.

"A mystery, is it?" Eldrick said with a smirk. "Durnam, old boy, what intrigue have you gotten yourself into this time?"

"Damned if I know," Durnam said, "pardon my language, Miss."

"Well you'd best get to solving it," Eldrick said. "I'll keep our fair friend here company until you return." Neesha hoped her horror wasn't showing on her face.

"No," she said. "No thank you, that's all right. I'm really … I'm fine. I should be—"

"Tut," said Durnam. "It's rude to decline someone's hospitality you know. Eldrick is a fine, upstanding lad. He won't bite you, dear. And I shan't be long. I believe I will have a word with this Master of yours for leaving you out on your own like this. He should be more responsible. A young thing like you out after dark in times like this! Preposterous!"

"Really," Neesha said, "I can handle my—" But the next instant Eldrick had draped one arm around her shoulders and was leading her away. She clenched her jaw and forced her violent urges down.

"Please remove your arm," she said stiffly, and added silently: before I remove it for you.

"My apologies, milady," Eldrick said smoothly, taking his arm from off her shoulders. "I meant merely to keep you warm. It's a very cold night and the house is drafty."

"Thank you, but I'm quite warm," she said primly, trying to mimic the snooty tone she'd heard other Hylian women use.

"I can see that," Eldrick said with a wry smile. "Forgive my rudeness, milady, but I don't believe we've been properly introduced." He paused and offered her a florid bow. "I am the Lord Eldrick, youngest son of the Baron Eldrick, second cousin, twice-removed, to the King himself. And you are?" Neesha frowned at him.

"My name," she said, "is mine to keep should I wish it, and I assure you, I do." Eldrick gave her an impressed smile.

"Well, my Lady Secret," he said, "I must admit I am not used to such hostile attitude from the fairer sex. Have I offended you?"

Neesha was torn between responding negatively or laughing in his face. It was almost amusing to watch the man (boy, she corrected herself, since the young lord was younger than even Link and Hunter) who had spent so much of his time at court putting her down and being outwardly hostile now sucking up to her and trying his best to sweet talk and charm her like he did every other woman who had the misfortune to catch his eye. It almost made the disguise worth it.

Almost.

She smirked at him.

"You're a bit aggressive," she said bluntly. "And considering the fact that your advances are unwanted, I would suggest reigning yourself in. We'll both get along much better once you do." Eldrick blinked at her in shock, and then a rueful smile crept across his face.

"My Lady Secret, you are full of mysteries, aren't you?" He said. "Do you know, no woman has ever said no to me quite so bluntly as that?"

"I can be blunter," she assured him.

"Coming from a woman who bows as a man?" He said. "I don't doubt it. Tell me, Lady Secret, would you like a drink?"

xxx

Chapter 12 (cont.)

The snow is falling gently in the square in which I'm pacing, granting the whole scene a fragile kind of beauty you only really ever see with crystal, but I'm entirely too wrapped up in my own nervousness to notice or care.

The feeling of dread I've been fighting with for the last day or two has me fully in its grip now. Something, though I can't determine for the life of me what, is spinning drastically out of my control. My mind slides back of its own accord to the map that Zelda had Marni give to me.

What is it? What is it for? Why is it important? It has to be important. She wouldn't have involved Marni if it hadn't been. I know it's from her dreams, but that's no help. That just means it's doubly important, and triply hard to figure out. It disturbs me on a level I don't appreciate being disturbed on.

But by the same token, the map is a relief and a blessing because it's from Zelda. It means she's all right. It means she's still there. It means she's alive and safe (relatively speaking) and there's still a chance I might rescue her. And that gives me hope. Because if I can rescue her, I can rescue the others, right? Even if they are in the Dark World.

Even if I have to go through Ganon to get them.

I clench my fists at the thought, grateful for the weight of the Master Sword at my back, under my cloak.

Whatever comes I can do it. Whatever happens, I can handle it. This dread I'm feeling is probably just more of Agahnim's manipulations. This whole thing is probably just a game to him. He's psyching me out, that's all.

Just psyching me out.

"Good evening sir!" Calls a jovial voice from behind me. I blink in surprise and turn to face the voice. A familiar bespectacled old man peers at me owlishly from behind a thick pair of glasses. "I don't suppose, by any chance, that you are the one responsible for the lovely young lady I found wandering around my hallways, are you?"

"Red hair?" I ask. "Dark blue eyes, almost black?"

"That's the one," he says.

"I might have." Durnam's expression is cautious, but intrigued.

"You sound familiar, sir," he says, "it might be easier to put a face to your voice if you would lower your scarf and remove your hood." I hesitate. I trust Durnam, he's come through for me more times than I can count, it's just …

The knot of dread in my stomach tightens.

I swallow thickly and reach up to my hood, folding it back off of my head and revealing my hatless blonde hair. I pull the scarf down next and once the moonlight has fully illuminated my face Durnam's eyes widen.

"Sir Link!" He breathes, then shakes himself and gestures frantically. "Put those back on before somebody else sees you! What are you doing here? You're a wanted man now!" He moves closer as I hastily shove my scarf back up and pull my hood up over my head. "Everybody thinks you've kidnapped those children and the Princess! You shouldn't be here!"

"I know, I know, but I haven't got a choice. I need your help, Durnam." Durnam sighs.

"I mean no offence by this, but I really do hate it when you say that," he says.

"None taken," I say, "but I'm calling in a favour anyway. It's not a big one … exactly."

"And why should I help a wanted man?"

"Because you know I'm being framed?" I offer, raising an eyebrow. "Because it makes no sense that I would run around the kingdom kidnapping and murdering people I care about? Because whatever Agahnim's told you, you know Hyrule's in trouble?" Durnam rubs his head, a trouble look on his face.

"Link … favour or not I have the feeling that what you're about to ask me is going to be big trouble. I have a family to think of. Agahnim's a force to be reckoned with."

"And I'm the reckoning," I respond. "It's not much, Durnam. I'm not asking you to fight or even put yourself in much risk at all. I just need your help getting into the palace, that's all. Me and another."

"The girl I'm presuming?" Durnam says, still looking tortured for some reason. "Who is she, anyway?" I offer him a wink.

"Durnam, old friend, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Well why don't you try me while we head back to my house." He casts a nervous glance around. "I'm not entirely comfortable discussing this with you out in the open."

xxx

A Brief Interlude

"I do wish you would tell me your name," Eldrick said with a sigh, idly stirring the drink in his glass and studying Neesha bluntly. He tucked a long strand of dark hair behind his ear. "You're terribly familiar, but I can't place you, which is odd. I would remember meeting a woman such as yourself, I think."

"Sometimes a secret is more exciting than the truth," Neesha said, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know you wouldn't be miserable once you'd found out who I actually am? Suppose I'm not actually a Lady. Perhaps I'm some poor serving girl dressed up at her master's request to deliver a message, what then? You'd be horrified, that's what."

"Would I now?" Eldrick asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hmph," Neesha said, "you, sir, are a pompous ass with anyone you consider beneath you, and even a few who are your equal." Or better, she added silently, thinking briefly of Link. "I've seen the way you treat the servants at the palace."

"Ah ha," Eldrick said, "so I do know you from somewhere! We have met! Or have at least been in close quarters." Neesha winced inwardly but merely frowned at Eldrick. He smirked at her. "And I would not be horrified in the slightest. First off, you haven't the look of a servant girl. You have the look of noble birth. And secondly, even if you were a servant girl, it would not change my opinion in the slightest except perhaps to make me angry that the Goddesses had so short-changed one so obviously regal as yourself."

"You shouldn't question the Goddesses," Neesha responded. "And that's easy enough to say when you're so certain I'm a noble. It will make you look good if the truth comes out and I am in fact a noble. And if I'm not … well no sweat off your back, is it? I'm just a servant girl, after all. Who cares about me?" She paused and tried to reign her annoyance back in. She was starting to speak far too casually again: the Hylian nobility was fond of formal and flowery language. Phrases like 'sweat off my back' weren't really their cup of tea.

"You wound me terribly," Eldrick replied. "Have I really come across as that much of a bastard?"

"Pardon your language?" Neesha asked with a raised eyebrow. Eldrick grinned back at her.

"You've used such and worse in the last ten minutes, my Lady Secret. I has assumed that your constitution with regards to such things was a mite better than most ladies I know." Neesha blinked. Had she? She hadn't noticed. She frowned.

It was harder than she'd expected, being pale and delicate.

"My constitution with regards to a lot of things is better than most other women," she responded haughtily. "And yes, you do come across as that much of a bastard." She paused. "Pardon my language," she added sweetly.

"Well my dear, will you give me the opportunity to change your opinion?" He asked. "Though I suspect it will be damn near impossible from your tone." He smirked at her. "Pardon my language," he added.

"A waste of time if you ask me," Neesha responded. "But you can try if you like."

"Excellent," Eldrick said, taking a swig from his glass. "I've always liked a challenge. Tell me, what would it take? How can I convince you that I am not perhaps so bad as you seem to think I am?"

"I'm afraid," Neesha said, "you are quite on your own, there. What fun would this game be if I gave you all the answers? But I will tell you, you have a long way to go."

"Well then give me a starting point," Eldrick responded, undaunted. "You think I'm a bastard, but why? And what else do you think of me? Give me a list of wrongs I've committed in your eyes. Give me a list of faults to dispute." Neesha raised an eyebrow.

"You're serious?" She asked.

"Of course!" Said Eldrick.

"No," she said after a moment of thought. "No, I will not."

"Why?"

"Because you, sir, are a noble and a politician, and to be as frank with you as you seem to be suggesting I can be would not be wise."

"Well I'm really just a noble," Eldrick said. "I'm a bit young to be a politician, yet. Only eighteen, you know."

"Politics know no age, race, or gender," she responded flatly.

"A Sheikan adage," Eldrick noted. "Are you Sheikan, my Lady Secret? I would not be surprised with all the mystery you seem to have gathered to yourself." Neesha snorted.

"Sheikan," she said, rolling her eyes. "Please."

"Not Sheikan, so Hylian you must be, but I would remember you!"

"Eldrick, you bounce from woman to woman so often I would be surprised you remembered which name belongs to which of your little girlfriends."

"Shall I add this to my list of things-that-make-me-a-bastard?"

"I told you I don't want to play that game with you."

"Then what game will you play with me?" Eldrick demanded. "Lord knows you're the most interesting woman I've met to date. You may not want to play, but you have so far. Would you like to hear my list? Here is what I've come up with so far from our conversation: One: I am a bastard because I am a womanizer. Two: I am a bastard because I am a noble and a politician, even though I deny the latter of those two. Three: I am a bastard because I am pompous and apparently treat my servants badly." He offered her his best smile. "My lady, two of those three things I can change if that is what it would take for you to think more kindly of me."

"Four:" Neesha said flatly, "you make promises you have no intentions of keeping in order to get your way with no regard for ally or enemy or what the consequences of your actions may eventually be."

"Five:" Eldrick said, "I am a shameless flirt. Have I mentioned yet that you are all the more beautiful for your ire?"

"Six:" Neesha growled, clenching her fists and resisting the urge to get to her feet, "you are arrogant, frivolous, spoiled, and lazy!"

"Lazy!" Eldrick cried in protest. "Seven: I am terribly jealous and possessive. I will challenge this 'master' of yours to a duel if that's what it takes!"

"Eight!" Neesha cried, getting to her feet at last. "You are a racist, ignorant wretch, and you're proud of that!"

"Nine!" Eldrick said, climbing to his feet as well. "I am the single most stubborn man you've ever met, and I don't know how to take no for an answer!"

"Ten," said a quiet voice from behind them, "you're an asshole. End of story. And for the record," Neesha and Eldrick both turned around, blinking in surprise at the unexpected interruption. The Hero of Time stood in the doorway, a cool, unimpressed expression on his face. "You're the second most stubborn man she's ever met."

xxx

Chapter 12 (cont.)

"You're her master?" Eldrick demands, horrified. He whirls back around to face Neesha who's wearing a cool expression. "Oh Lady Secret, please tell me I'm mistaken."

"You are not," she responds primly. "And for the record, I have no master. Link is my King." Eldrick's eyes widen and he blinks, a look of shock and horror stealing over his face as several things suddenly click into place in his brain.

"Lord Eldrick the younger," I say stiffly, "may I present the Lady Neesha, the only. Neesha of the Gerudo, that is."

"Like I said," Neesha says with a frown. "The truth can be a miserable, miserable thing sometimes." She raises an eyebrow. "You should have been satisfied with Lady Secret."

"That I should have," Eldrick says, unable to keep his disappointment out of his voice. I'm not entirely sure I want to try and figure out what he was hoping for. He gives a stiff bow and catches Neesha's hand on the way down, lifting it to his lips and kissing it briefly. "But never let it be said that an Eldrick cannot accept defeat gracefully." He straightens and frowns at her. "For all my faults I have that virtue at least."

"Why are you here, Eldrick?" I demand bluntly, annoyed by the whole display.

"I could ask the same of you," he responds, glaring at me as he pulls away from Neesha and moves over to a chair. "Not every day a wanted criminal shows up in Lord Durnam's manor, now is it? Where is he? Have you done away with him like you have our Princess?" I clench my fists and glare at him, opening my mouth to respond harshly, but Durnam comes up behind me before I can and lays a placating hand on my back as he slips into the room.

"Eldrick, please," he says. "Behave yourself. Both of you. Link, Eldrick is here as my guest. I know you two have had your tiffs in the past—" Eldrick and I both narrow our eyes at each other. Tiffs he says. It goes a bit further than tiffs. "—but you can trust each other. At least on this."

"I would rather not have to," I grate out from between my teeth.

"Well I'm afraid you'll have very little choice in the matter," Durnam responds with a sigh. "You will need the both of us if you are going to get into the palace."

"We're helping them?" Eldrick demands, getting to his feet. "Durnam! This is treason!"

"Sit down, Eldrick," Durnam says flatly, dropping his befuddled old man act as I've seen him do on only rare occasions. "You can drop the act. This is an opportunity we can't afford to pass up, and you know it."

"But—"

"Your father charged me with teaching you the ins and outs of politics and court intrigue," Durnam replied, his tone steel, "and the first lesson is that sometimes the enemy of your enemy is your friend. And Link is nothing if not an enemy of Agahnim. As are we." Eldrick takes a sullen seat and Durnam gestures for me to do the same. I drop down onto the couch beside Neesha in a manner which I'd like to claim is less sullen than Eldrick, but then I'd be lying.

"Now," Durnam says, following suit, "from what I understand you would like us to find a way to get yourself and Lady Neesha into the palace." A servant slips in through the door with a tray full of drinks. Durnam accepts one without really paying attention, as does Eldrick. Neesha and I both manage to catch the servant's eyes and offer him a quiet thanks without really noticing we're doing it. Neither one of us ever could get used to ignoring the servants entirely. "I must say you've done a bang-up job, 'civilizing,' if you will pardon my use of the word in this instance, your young Gerudo friend. Both Eldrick and I were quite taken in by the disguise and she won't be easily recognized. However, as for yourself, Sir Link … well … a hood and a scarf just aren't going to cover it."

"We could put him in a dress too," Neesha suggests under her breath and I elbow her sharply in the side.

"What can we do about it, though?" I ask, sipping my drink thoughtfully. Whatever it is it tastes sort of sweet, but kind of familiar. "Changing my clothes will only do so much, and makeup isn't really an option for me."

"We could slap you in irons and pretend we're taking you to the dungeons," Eldrick suggest with an evil smirk. I grind my teeth and narrow my eyes at him.

"Well sure if that didn't involve me trusting you not to do just that," I return caustically. "Which I don't."

"Well like it or not, Link, you're going to have to trust us one way or another, now aren't you?" He demands, idly swirling his drink around and giving me a look that says everything there is to say about his opinion of me. "I mean for all you know we've turned you in to Agahnim already." I clench my jaw, but Durnam interrupts before I can say anything.

"Stop it!" He snaps. "Both of you!" An unexpected yawn takes Neesha by surprise, and a moment later I can feel it prying at my jaw as well. I don't let it interrupt my glaring at Eldrick.

"There has to be some kind of disguise we can put you in," Durnam says. "Perhaps if you let your hair down …"

"Why so I can look like him?" I demand, gesturing at Eldrick. "Thanks, I'll pass. There's a reason I've never bothered to follow the Hylian styles."

"At least we have a style to speak of," Eldrick cuts in acidly.

"Gentlemen, please," Durnam says as another yawn takes me by surprise. I shake my head and reach for my drink, trying to wake myself up. Is it just me or is it suddenly warm in here? I take another pull from the glass. It's on the tip of my tongue what the drink tastes like … I've had it before, I know I have …

"Link, if I have to dress up like a Hylian, then I think you can swallow your pride and do the same," Neesha murmurs quietly. She rubs her eyes. "At least then I won't have to be the only one dressed like an idiot."

"Neesha, it's not a matter of pride, it's—" I stop mid-sentence and stare down at my drink, struck by a sudden realization.

That taste …

Neesha just barely manages to stifle a yawn.

I know where I've tasted it before.

"Well," she says, "powerful he may be, but he's no match for a sleeping draught, I'm sure. Not in this case, anyway." I blink at her.

"You mean you can fix it?" I ask. "I won't dream?"

"You'll be too far into deep sleep for dreams to trouble you, highness," she says. "But not much will wake you either until it's worn off …"

I violently throw the glass back down onto the table and look up at Durnam with a snarl.

"Traitor!" I manage, but I can't get to my feet and go after him like I want to. My limbs are too heavy. I realized what was going on a second too late and the draught is kicking in at last. I suppose there's some smugness to be had from the fact that Rue's was better. It kicked in much faster than this.

Too bad I'm losing my grip on consciousness too fast to really be smug.

"Sorry old friend," Durnam says, sounding genuinely regretful. "But Agahnim is a force to be reckoned with, and I have a family to think about."

The next instant, my eyes fall shut and I can't hear him, or anything else, anymore.

xxx

A Brief Interlude

"He's never going to forgive you for this one, Durnam," Eldrick said, pulling on his gloves. "Not if you live to be a hundred."

"If I am to judge by Agahnim's track record," Durnam replied flatly, "I won't have to worry about whether or not he forgives me."

"You don't sound as if that makes you any happier," Eldrick noted. "Not having second thoughts, I hope, Durnam?" He raised an eyebrow. "If I am to judge by Agahnim's track record, he wouldn't appreciate you doubting his orders."

"Of course not," Durnam said quickly. "Not in the slightest. It just really is a shame. I shudder to think of how the Gerudo are going to retaliate for this." Eldrick made a derisive noise.

"I'm surprised he was man enough to come without his usual entourage of savages," he said flatly. "Hiding behind the skirts of his female body guards as he always does."

"Eldrick, lad," Durnam said, "the Gerudo don't wear skirts, and if I were you I would not underestimate their skill and ability."

"The 'Lady' Neesha does now, apparently," Eldrick said.

"Apparently," Durnam agreed. "And unless my old eyes are worse than I thought you didn't seem so put off by her then, now did you?"

"Of course not," Eldrick said with a dark frown. "She looked like a civilized woman. Traitorous, duplicitous thing that she is." He glared at the front most of the two carriages in front of them where he knew she was bound.

"Best to put her out of your thoughts, Eldrick," Durnam said. "I'm taking her to Agahnim now and you'll never see her again once I leave. Besides," he added, "the Gerudo aren't normal women. They aren't like our pretty little Hylian sweet-hearts. If you continue to play your game with her, no matter what the outcome, it wouldn't have been she who was conquered."

"What are you going on about, old man?" Eldrick demanded stiffly. "She's not in my thoughts. She's a miserable little savage who played me for a fool. I would say something here about having my revenge if it weren't for that fact that, as you've said, I'll never see her again, so I needn't worry about it." Durnam clapped him on the back.

"Whatever you say, my boy," he said, then moved towards the carriage. "I'm off with her now. You know Agahnim's orders. Give me an hour, then follow with Sir Link."

"I'm young," Eldrick said flatly, "I'm not an idiot."

"Good lad," Durnam said, climbing up into the carriage. Eldrick caught a glimpse of a thick green skirt on the seat across from where Durnam was sitting before the coachman shut the door. He crossed his arms and frowned, watching the carriage as the horses began on their way down the winding drive, eventually rounding the corner and going out of sight.

"Coward," he muttered under his breath, narrowing his eyes at the spot where the carriage had been. "Hypocrite."

He turned around with a swirl of his cape and stormed back into the manor. His servant was waiting for him inside.

"How do we proceed, m'lord?" Eldrick chewed thoughtfully on his lower lip.

"I don't know," he answered finally. "This is tricky. We're all Zelda and Daphnes have left right now. We can't afford to tip our hand. Any ideas, Renaud?"

"With all due respect, Lord Eldrick," Renaud answered simply, his face schooled into an expression of seriousness, "we may not have a choice but to tip our hand. We may be all Zelda and Daphnes have left, but he is all we have left. I don't pretend to know magic or destiny or the will of the Goddesses, but I know the stories of the Hero of Time. I've seen with my own two eyes what Sir Link can do. We can't hand him over to Agahnim. He may very well be the only one who can stop Agahnim. Neither you nor I is equipped to deal with a Wizard of his strength and power."

"Farore," Eldrick swore. "Have I mentioned how much I hate him?"

"Not yet today, m'lord," Renaud said with a straight face. "But we haven't had much time to speak in private." Eldrick continued to chew his lower lip. Renaud cleared his throat. "M'Lord, why did your father send you here?" Eldrick rolled his eyes.

"To keep an eye on Durnam and to do what I can to thwart Agahnim's attempts to usurp power through him," he grumbled.

"So … perhaps it would be best then, sir, to … put away your grudge against Sir Link? At least temporarily."

"Do you know what—"

"Sir, I am quite well versed in the history of your feud with Sir Link. From the time he defeated you at that duel, to the time he ruined your father's attempts to legislate that the Sheikah be more open about their organization, to the time he ruined your attempts at wooing the rancher's daughter."

"I remember that," Eldrick said with a frown. "Malin … Mulan …"

"Malon, m'lord," Renaud supplied. "And in Sir Link's defence, she was, and still is to the best of my knowledge, involved with Sir Hunter, of the Sheikah. Sir Link's cousin."

"I know who Hunter is," Eldrick grumbled. "And I know they were involved. I didn't care."

"Well, sir," Renaud said, "some people take offence to that kind of thing."

"Some people," Eldrick muttered under his breath, "need to be shot in the head." Renaud sighed but said nothing. There was little point arguing with his young master on the subject of Sir Link, Sir Hunter and/or Lady Neesha.

"Well what can we do anyway?" Eldrick demanded. "That sleeping draught will last for hours. Durnam told me that himself." Renaud offered him a rare smile.

"Lord Eldrick," he said, "your father doesn't pay me merely to wait on you and he, you know."

"Renaud, what have you done?" Eldrick demanded, frowning.

"Let's just say," Renaud answered, "that Sir Link will be waking up long before Durnam expects him too." Eldrick raised an eyebrow.

"What are you suggesting, Renaud?" He demanded.

"Sir Link asked you for a way into the palace, sir," Renaud answered, the smile still playing around his lips. "I'm merely suggesting that as one noble to another, it would be rude of you to decline."

xxx

Chapter 12 (cont.)

"Good evening, m'lord! May I have your name and business, please?" The voice is muffled.

"Lord Eldrick," comes the response. Not muffled. Much closer. All-too-familiar. I can feel my jaw clench before I'm even fully awake. "And my business is my pleasure! My friend and I have come to the palace to see if we can't round up some more hot blooded youths with which to have a good time." A heavy sigh. "These are dark times we live in, good sir, and a little revelry can do wonders for a heavy soul!" A short laugh. "Some of us can take it a bit far, though." I get the distinct feeling he's likely gesturing at me.

"Good luck, then my Lord," says the muffled voice. There's a snap and the next instant I have the distinct impression we're moving. I force my eyes open with an effort and shake my head. I'm lying in an uncomfortable position on something soft and padded.

"What the Hell …?" I grunt, pushing myself up and shaking my head again. I'm in the inside of a carriage – a very nice carriage – and seated primly opposite me is Eldrick. I can feel my face contort as I meet his gaze. "You," I snarl. "What the Hell is going on?"

"Good morning to you too," Eldrick says with a dark frown, loathing dancing in his eyes. "Took you long enough to wake up."

"Where's Neesha?"

"Gone," Eldrick answers. "Durnam's brought her to Agahnim."

It takes me a moment to fully comprehend what this news means.

Agahnim has Neesha.

Agahnim has all seven maidens.

Agahnim has everything he needs to bend the seals on the Dark World and let loose an army of killer, first generation moblins on an unsuspecting Hyrule.

I close my eyes for a moment, in a dual attempt to try desperately to bolster what little hope I have left, and to keep myself from going for Eldrick's throat right now.

So that's it then. I've lost Neesha now too.

"Don't look so pained," Eldrick grunts. "He's not going to kill her."

"I know that," I snap, opening my eyes and glaring balefully at him. "It's you who doesn't know what he's going to do to her. What he's going to do with her. I hope you're happy, Eldrick! Hyrule's in more trouble now than she's ever been, and it's all thanks to you. Give me one good reason not to rip you apart right now."

"Why don't you use your head, you mongrel," he growls right back. "If I was going working against you, wouldn't I have acted by now? And why would I leave you untied, exactly?" He grinds his teeth as though I'm being particularly annoying. I wish I cared. "Durnam may be a cowardly old fool, but he was right about one thing: the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

I blink and frown up at him.

"What are you talking about?" I demand, staring at him suspiciously.

"I'm trying to help you," Eldrick growls. "Had I recognized the Gerudo before you showed up I would have warned her and yourself away from Durnam. Unfortunately, I did not, and you didn't exactly give me much time to prepare." I raise an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" I say. "So … I suppose drugging us and handing us over to our enemies is your version of help, then? Why in Nayru's name should I believe a goddess-damned word that comes out of your mouth?"

"Because you haven't much other choice," Eldrick responds flatly. "I know you're not guilty of the things Agahnim has claimed that you are." He makes a face. "I can see with my own two eyes the love-sick looks that you and the Princess direct at each other when you think no one's looking. It makes me sick to my stomach, but there's no denying it, and for all your faults, and they are plentiful, I know you wouldn't betray her. Not like that. I also know that Agahnim is likely the one responsible for the kidnappings and the King's sickness, and Zelda's disappearance. He's ambitious and power hungry and has had his eye on the throne since the day he showed his face here, but he's an outsider and I'll die before I see an outsider on Hyrule's throne." His dark eyes flash with malice, mine with scorn.

"I'm assuming outsider here includes the Gerudo."

"Naturally," Eldrick answers. "Especially you. But that is another argument for another day. Case in point, I will not stand for Agahnim ruling Hyrule. Nor will I stand for any of the petty nobles who all stand at Agahnim's table, begging for scraps while secretly hoping to take over the throne of Hyrule for themselves once they've let the Wizard deal with the current royal family." His face is harsh and determined. "The throne of Hyrule belongs to the royal family of Hyrule, and the Eldrick Family will serve no other." It takes me a moment to wade through the arrogant, semi-evil tone he's using to realize that what he's saying is that he's actually against the bad guys. I give him an incredulous look.

"So," I saw slowly, "in order to stop Agahnim from taking over Hyrule you have handed him the one thing he needed to do just that on a silver platter?" I clap twice, unenthusiastically. "Congratulations, Eldrick. What a stunningly brilliant plan. Save Hyrule, by dooming it! That's fantastic! You should get a medal or something."

"What are you on about?" Eldrick demands angrily.

"Nothing I could explain to you," I respond darkly. "Except to say that Agahnim is trying to work some very dark magic, and he was only missing one thing – Neesha. And now you've given him just that."

"You're the one who gave him what he needs, fool," Eldrick snaps. "You're the one who brought her here. What would you have had me do? I am one of the few real allies Zelda and her family has left in Castletown. Would you have had me blow my cover? Agahnim owns Durnam. He's threatened Durnam's family if he continues to support you, and Durnam's terrified for their sakes and won't put a toe out of line for fear of losing them. His children and his wife have always been his greatest weakness."

"You would consider that a weakness, wouldn't you?" I demand with a glare.

"Shut up," Eldrick snaps. "We haven't time for your foolish prattle. I couldn't risk raising Durnam's suspicions. The fact of the matter is it's not too late for Hyrule, whatever you may think. You wanted in to see Agahnim, and I am giving you that chance. Thanks to some quick thinking on the part of one of my servants, your drink was diluted. Durnam thinks that I will be dragging an unconscious, unarmed you in to Agahnim's guards in forty-five minutes time. Instead I am taking a fully conscious, fully armed you in as far as I can right goddess-damned now."

"And this won't blow your cover?" I demand. Eldrick narrows his eyes.

"This is quite going to blow my cover," he returns stonily. "And my whole goddess-damned family's if I can't make them believe I am acting of my own volition. Keep that in mind, tonight, Sir Link. It's not just your ass on the line in there tonight. Mine, my family's, and Din knows how many others. And if we go, Zelda hasn't an ally left that she can count on in Castletown, and Agahnim's as good as won."

"You don't know the half of it," I return darkly. "Don't tell me about what's on the line."

"Just remember one thing, Link," he snaps. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for Hyrule, and Din knows why, but you seem to have been elected her guardian." He crosses his arms and glares at me. "I may not like you, Link, but I can't deny your history or your effectiveness. If anyone has a shot at making things right again it's you, and I'm not above using you for my own purposes if the opportunity arrives." He leans down and pulls a bundle out from under his seat. The hilt of the Master Sword gleams in the moonlight from inside the bundle. "Do me a favour, and prove that the Princess' faith in you is justified, hmm? Because I don't think either one of us is going to be happy if you fail." I frown and ignore him, pulling the bundle up onto the seat beside me and start pulling out my weapons, slipping them on and sliding them into their proper places: Master Sword, quiver (one, two, three magic arrows plus other ammo), bow, two good Gerudo scimitars at my waist (if only I had the Elite at my back), boot knives, and Kokiri's pouch, filled to the brim with other various weapons and tools and Hero-of-Time-Gear.

"Enough weapons?" Eldrick asks casually. "Are we compensating for something, perhaps?" I throw him a withering look.

"Someone's got to have enough bite to make up for your bark," I return flatly, reaching into my pouch and pulling out my hat. "I'm going to need your help getting in."

"What?" Eldrick demands, staring blankly at me.

"I said I'm going to need your help getting in," I repeat slowly, as though speaking to a child. I adjust the hat on my head. "What, are you afraid of getting into a fight? You have martial training, don't you? I thought the Eldricks prided themselves on their military heritage."

"We do!" Eldrick says, bristling. "Every last one of us serves at least a year in the army. I served last year."

"Then are you going to help me or not?"

"Why in Din's name would I help you more than I have? If you want to pit yourself against Agahnim in some suicide mission, that's your business!"

"Because if I fail, you're dead anyway," I respond flatly. "If the guards catch me we're all screwed. Therefore logically, I'll need your help to avoid the guards."

"You're on your own. I've already done more than I should," he says flatly. I narrow my eyes at him.

"You know, I always knew you were a lot of things, Eldrick," I say flatly. "But I never thought you were a coward." His face reddens and his eyes narrow.

"I am no coward," he growls.

"Sure you aren't," I say. "Whatever, forget I said it. You just run back home to your sheltered, pampered little life and you stay there. If you're not man enough to stand up openly for what you believe in then I don't want your help anyway."

"Take that back!" He growls, getting to his feet as the carriage pulls to a stop.

"Sorry," I say, getting to my feet as well and glaring at him, "can't take back the truth."

The door opens and a lanky servant man peers in.

"Sir Link," he says, "Lord Eldrick. We have arrived."

"Renaud," Eldrick growls, "get my rapier. I have business in the palace."

"Forget that toy," I snap. "I've seen it. All shine and glitter, no bite." I pull one of my scimitars out of its sheath at my waist and jam its hilt into Eldrick's stomach. "Use this. Maybe then you won't die on me in the first fight."

"I don't need your Gerudo weapon," he snarls, taking the sword as though it was poisonous.

"Well your little Hylianweapon, isn't," I snap. "It's for show, not for fights. Take it if you prefer, but don't say I didn't warn you." I drop the sheath for the scimitar on the seat and turn to the door, hopping out of the carriage.

"Let's get this over with," Eldrick mutters, following me out of the carriage. "Renaud, find some place to stow the carriage and wait for me to get back." He starts heading towards the front doors to the palace. I grab his arm and pull him back.

"Not so fast," I say as he wrenches his arm out of my grip and glares at me. "I can't just waltz in the front doors. I'll be recognized on sight and we'll never make it to Agahnim if we have to fight our way through the whole palace."

"Well how else do you expect to get up to the top floor?" Eldrick demands in a hiss. I reach into my pouch and pull out my hook shot.

"Never underestimate the Hero of Time," I say with a smirk. I turn to Renaud. "Can you distract the guards at the door?"

"What is that contraption?" Eldrick demands.

"Hook shot. It's a mechanical grappling hook.

"Done," Renaud says before Eldrick can say anything. "We will wait for you at that window—" he points "—and open it for you once we are there." I raise an eyebrow at Eldrick who grinds his teeth.

"Fine," he says, whirling on a heel, cape swirling over his shoulders and stalks off towards the guards. I glare at his back.

Pompous, arrogant, ass.

I crouch on one side of the carriage and peer cautiously around the corner, waiting until Eldrick has engaged the guards in an animated discussion about something. From the few words that drift over to me I gather that it's about how much Gerudo suck.

Pompous, arrogant, petty, ass.

I take aim at the roof with my hookshot and release the catch. The grappling hook rockets out and latches into the roof with a far off thunk. I peer back around but neither of the guards seems to have heard it.

The next instant I'm flying through the air towards the roof of the palace, landing roughly in the thick snow that's piled up there, just barely able to dig my heels into it in time to stop my slipping downward and falling off the roof. I pause a moment, then draw in a deep breath.

Hookshotting onto a sloped roof in the winter time is a little more dangerous than I thought. I pull my hookshot out of the roof and shove it back into my pouch then lay there waiting for the sound of the window opening below me. The snow is seeping through my coat by the time I finally hear it.

"Sir Link?" Someone whispers from below. I scramble over to the edge and peer down. Renaud offers me a quiet smile. "Quickly," he says. "Lord Eldrick is diverting the guard's attention." I turn myself around and grip the edge of the roof tightly as I lower myself down and into the window. Renaud is already across the hallway and pulling open a barely visible door in the wall as I pull the window shut. "Quickly," he says, gesturing me into the servants' paths. I scramble over and slip into the door. Renaud follows me in and shuts it quickly.

"This is too easy," I breathe, leaning up against the other wall, no hint of sarcasm in my voice. "This is too easy."

"What do you mean?" Renaud asks.

"Breaking in," I answer. "This is too easy. It should be harder than this. We're already on Agahnim's floor."

"Well," Renaud says, "I doubt they expected you to have such an … efficient way of scaling the palace …"

"They know all about my hookshot," I tell him. "A couple years ago Hunter and I helped to patch up the holes in palace security. I would break in any way I could and he and the palace guards had to try and stop me. I used every last tool I had available to me, they should have been ready for just about anything, unless they've forgotten what changes we made, but somehow I doubt that …"

Out in the hallway Eldrick hisses for Renaud. I shake my head.

"Go on," I say. "You two get out." Renaud raises an eyebrow at me.

"I assure you, Sir Link," he says, "Lord Eldrick is every bit as good as he claims he is, and I am no stranger to combat myself. We would like to help you." I shake my head again.

"It's not that simple," I say. "Something isn't right. I appreciate your help getting me in here, but something tells me I'm not going to have any troubles getting to Agahnim from here. He's just down the hallway."

"The guards—"

"Will likely be conveniently distracted," I answer darkly. "Renaud, Agahnim knows I'm here. He knows I'm coming. He … he wants me to come."

"Why?" Renaud asks.

"Wish I knew," I answer. "At any rate, it's time for me to head out on my own. I'm not going to involve you and him any further. You better go, he sounds like he's getting angry. He'll bring the guards down on us if he gets any louder." Renaud gives a reluctant nod and quick bow, then slides out into the hallway, where Eldrick proceeds to demand where I am as Renaud closes the door behind him. I glare at the blank wall and spend a moment indulging my petty, childish dislike of Eldrick.

Even if you ignore the fact that he helped Durnam betray me and Neesha (for whatever reason), and the fact that we've been political enemies since day one, and he and his whole family has it in for me … the fact of the matter is really quite simple: I don't like him. I don't like his face. I don't like his voice. I don't like the way he moves, and sits, and breathes.

Like I said. Childish.

I shift my weight, but make no move.

It's funny really.

Not so long ago at all I was ready to tear in here waving my sword and raving like a mad man, and now I'd rather stand in a dimly lit hallway, staring at a door and listening to the sound of retreating footsteps than head towards what I have to do.

I still can't shake the feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong.

As though it already hasn't. Neesha's been captured and is likely gone by now. Agahnim has all seven maidens. What else does he need?

Me, comes the answer from nowhere. He needs me. I shake my head.

Well … if he needs me, he's got me, and everything that comes with me.

I draw the Master Sword, drawing strength from its familiar weight, and turn in the direction of Agahnim's quarters.

Whatever the outcome, there's no escaping this now.

Nothing for it, but to go. And with any luck, even if he does have something up his sleeve maybe I can do some damage before he pulls it.

It takes me less than five minutes to get to Agahnim's chambers. There isn't a soul around – not in the servant's paths or the hallways. My first thought is that Agahnim has directed them elsewhere somehow, but this whole area has a heavy, oppressive, frightening feeling to it, and I quickly revise my opinion.

There's no one here, probably because who in their right mind would want to be here?

It feels the way Ganondorf's room in the fortress feels. The way Koume and Kotake felt. It reeks of black magic. You would think in the face of this my resolve would weaken – Din knows it's happened before – but instead I can feel it strengthening as I approach the ornate double doors that lead to Agahnim's chambers. This is familiar. This is my turf. This is what I do.

And come Hell or high water, I'm going to do it.

The Master Sword begins to glow. In the blue light it casts I can see a shimmering over the door. That would be the barrier. I run the light over it until, at the very centre of it, I locate its source. A flickering, barely visible symbol, resembling a keese glares outward. I narrow my eyes and grip the hilt of my sword tighter. It flares blue and I raise it over my head, bringing it down hard at the middle of the door. It strikes the barrier and the barrier comes alive, sparking with black lightning, centered on the symbol in the middle of it. I clench my jaw and drive my weight forward against it, straining as it fights to dislodge me.

The next instant, though, I feel it give beneath me. The symbol and the barrier disappear with an unearthly shriek and tendrils of smoke. I've broken through.

I stumble forward, put off balance by the sudden lack of resistance and catch myself against the doors, panting.

Nayru, Farore and Din, that was hard! He really didn't want anyone getting in there.

I push the door open wide enough to slip into the small antechamber, scanning the room for any threats or obstacles with narrowed eyes. There's no light in here except for what light from the moon outside manages to shine in from between the thick, velvet drapes on the far wall. Dim forms in the shape of furniture are scattered about the room – all of it with an old, gothic feel. For a room that's supposed to be used for welcoming guests, it's not very welcoming.

On the upside, it's empty of life except for me.

From here, if I remember Bel and Mel's descriptions correctly, there are four more rooms: a bedroom to the left, a study to the right, an audience chamber straight ahead, and a secret room behind that. That's where I need to be.

That's where I'll find him.

That's where I'll find Zelda.

My breath quickens. She's here. I know she is. Block or no block, I can sense her. It's faint, but its stronger than its been since Agahnim sank his slimy claws into her. I can feel my temper flare up violently when my mind slips back to the wizard using Zelda's body to attack me. It burns away at the edges of my dread as I slip forward across the room, heading for the door at the back. That's the nice thing about anger, sometimes. It takes up so much of your energy and attention that you really haven't got room inside for any other emotions. I take advantage of it now, fanning the fire of my temper against the dread in my stomach. It doesn't make me feel better, as per se, but it takes away from some of the appeal that suicide was starting to have, which is a step in the right direction if you ask me.

I press myself against the wall by the door and strain my ears, listening for any sign of life from the room beyond. There is nothing that I can hear. I reach out with a tentative hand and try the knob. It's unlocked. I carefully push it open and peer in through the crack. The room beyond is pitch black, no windows to let moonlight in, but in the shaft of dim silver light that creeps in through the crack in the door I can see Agahnim's throne. It's a massive piece of furniture and looks exactly like you would expect an evil black magician's throne to look. In my own, personal opinion it's over the top. Anybody who's going to carve skulls into his furniture needs help as far as I'm concerned. I narrow my eyes at it.

It reminds me of the map Zelda gave me, and I really don't think I'm happy about that.

I push the door open a bit wider, take a deep breath, and proceed into the room.

Don't shut behind me, don't shut behind me, don't shut behind—

The door creaks shut behind me, swallowing the room in darkness, and I can feel an oath on my lips.

I knew it.

"Goddess-damned son of a—" The only warning I get of any kind of attack is the sound of a sword clearing it's sheath, but its enough. I whirl around to face the sound and bring up the Master Sword, letting it flare up with blue fire as I do so. Another sword slams into it and I dig in my heels against the force of it. In the sapphire light I meet Liam's dead-eyed gaze without surprise.

"Sorry Liam," I grunt, pulling my sword away from his and counter-attacking, "but I haven't got time to play with you. I have a date with the Wizard."

"He has given orders not to be disturbed," Liam replies flatly, ducking under my swing and lashing out at my legs with his own sword. "His preparations are not to be interrupted." I leap over his sword and peddle backwards, just missing his second follow-up swipe.

"Preparations for what?" I demand, reversing direction and lunging downwards at him. "And why do I care?" He twists and deflects my thrust with his blade, using my momentum to get in closer than I want him to be and shoves me violently backwards. I stumble back a step and trip over some goddess-damned piece of furniture, tumbling to the ground. I lose my grip on the Master Sword and its flames go out as I hear it skittering across the floor and away from me.

Twenty rupees says Liam can see in the dark.

I pull my knees up to my chest and drive them into whatever little footstool I tripped over, sending it flying the direction Liam was right before my light went out. I hear a satisfying thud and snarl a moment later and I twist around to my hands and knees and scramble in the direction that the Master Sword went, feeling frantically around the floor for it.

Just as my fingers finally find the cool metal something long and sharp slides down my side and I cry out in surprise, rolling away from the pain and my sword. Not that I roll far. A foot slams into my chest and pins me where I am. I don't need the light to know that Liam is probably raising his sword to finish me off right now.

A single, dumb idea occurs to me.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Din's … fire!" I shout, calling the magic to me and releasing it in the same instant. Liam screams suddenly in pain and panic and his weight is lifted off my chest as he stumbles backwards. I spare a brief thought for hoping I didn't do any permanent damage to him or Marni will never forgive me, then scramble for my sword, which is glinting in the light from the fire that is burning not only in the torches set along the walls, but on the curtains, the furniture, and the papers on the desk in the corner as well. I spare another brief thought for hoping Zelda forgives me for burning her house down.

Damn that spell is dangerous inside buildings. You never really realize how flammable things are until you set fire to them.

Liam is back up now, smoking, singed, and looking as pissed of as a mind-controlled person can, but it's too late for him, because on my way back up to my feet I've sheathed my sword and pulled out my Ocarina.

He takes two steps towards me before the song starts to take effect. He stops abruptly and his eyes go wide. I continue to play, narrowing my eyes at him, the Song of Healing spilling out of the Ocarina. Liam gives a small shriek and his hands go to his head, clutching it at the temples as the notes drive him to his knees. He continues to cry out as the song forces Agahnim to relinquish control of him.

I'm almost at the end when I hear another cry – not Liam's – from somewhere behind me.

I'd know that scream anywhere.

Liam goes limp behind me and falls to the ground, but my attention is no longer on him. I whirl around and notice something I hadn't before. The large tapestry behind Agahnim's throne has burned away in the fire and through it I can see a scene right out of my nightmares.

Agahnim stands behind an altar in the room beyond, chanting and tracing intricate patterns in the air above the cold stone slab set into the floor. On top of the altar, floating just above it, her hair and skirts whipping around wildly in the force of the magic being cast around her, is Zelda, her eyes wide but groggy, as though she's just woken up. Her eyes meet mine and though I can't hear her voice over the crackling of the flames and Agahnim's chanting – rising to a crescendo now – I can see the shape her lips make and I know she's calling my name.

"No …," I whisper. Her form starts to blur and my face contorts with fear and fury. I push myself forward, running as fast as I ever have towards that altar. "NO!"

But I'm too late.

Agahnim ends his chant on a single, ugly syllable and brings his hands together over Zelda just as I reach her. She reaches out to me, her hands transparent and blurred already, but by the time I'm close enough to grab them she's gone.

Just like that.

My momentum carries me into the altar as Agahnim moves backward at a speed that belies his age and he laughs.

It's a hollow, dry laugh … like a corpse might make, spewing out stale, dead air with each gasp of lungs that don't work anymore.

"You're too late, Hero!" Agahnim crows as I clench my fists against the altar's stone, closing my eyes against the blind fury pounding in my veins. "The seventh maiden has been set in place! The spell is complete! The seals on the Dark World are suspended, and Hyrule's death rushes to meet her as we speak!" I push myself off the altar, unable to focus on anything except the sound of Agahnim's laughing. Unable to comprehend anything more than the fact that I want him to stop. That I will wrap my hands around his neck and wring it until he stops. Until I have silenced that dead laugh forever.

My dread, my concern, my caution … all of it is burned up in the anger that rises in me as quickly as the antechamber was consumed by Din's fire – which is slowly eating its way into this room as well.

"And now, Hero," Agahnim spits contemptuously, "you're time is up. So much for Hyrule's last defender." He raises his hand and speaks a sharp word of command. Black lightning coalesces in his palm and I throw myself to the side to dodge the bolt, pulling the Master Sword from its sheath once more as I go. There is no hesitation this time. It's on fire before it's even out of its sheath. I finish my spin and stop, glaring at Agahnim through eyes narrowed into slits, teeth bared in a savage expression.

He meets my gaze with wry, twisted lips and eyes that dance with malice. He looks older than I remember him being. Uglier. He looks like he sounds. Like a dead thing, brought back to dance in mockery of life. The thick robes hide his frail body, but they can't hide his power. It radiates off of him. He's made a deal with the devil and has become a devil himself.

"Why have you come, Hero?" He asks in his stalfos' voice. "For justice? For vengeance?"

"For you," I answer murderously, raising my sword and pointing it at him in an ageless gesture. "I've come for you."

"Then come," Agahnim answers. "Come and do your best. It won't be enough. It will never be enough. You cannot stop the events I have put into motion! You cannot fight my power!"

"Then I'll die trying."

I raise the Master Sword and start towards him as he raises his hands and a shaft of black lightning explodes outwards from them and towards me.

I am dimly aware of a weak voice shouting from the doorway that leads back to the burning room not to do it. Not to kill him. Something about a trap, and the little voice in the back of my mind that tells me when I'm being stupid is begging me to heed the warning, screaming that something's wrong, but I'm committed now. There's no stopping this.

I raise the Master Sword and it flares brilliantly as I slam straight into the black pillar of lightning, sword first, sending it peeling off to either side as I continue my run at Agahnim right up its centre. He cuts the spell off when he realizes it's not working and raises his hands to try another but it's too late for that. I'm on top of him.

I raise my sword and bring it down across his body once … twice … then drive it through his middle, right up to the hilt, our momentum carrying us backwards so that he is effectively impaled on the wall.

Agahnim coughs, blood on his lips which are still twisted into a s skeletal grin.

"Fool," he coughs, amusement in his voice, growing weaker by the second. "You fool!"

"Link!" Shouts someone – Liam – from behind me. "Sir Link! Get away from him! He's going to—"

"You have no idea of the power I wield!" Agahnim cries with a gasp. A thin, gnarled old hand comes up and grabs at my chest, wrapping itself in my tunic.

"What—" I move to pull away, shocked out of my fury, but the blood red jewel on the back of the glove he wears flashes and I suddenly find I can't move. "What—?"

"You want your precious princess?" Agahnim demands, an insane glitter in his eye. "Then join her! Her and all the others!" He starts to laugh – it sounds worse than before. He's dying now and you can hear it.

This is it.

This is the thing I've been dreading.

This is the thing I was afraid of.

Agahnim's planned this all along. This is why he wanted me to kill him. I've triggered something. Some spell the old mage had hidden.

Whatever happens next isn't going to be good.

"Liam!" I shout. "Liam, go! Get out! Find the Sages! Tell them—" My frantic message is cut off as the jewel flashes again and pain so intense I can't see explodes from it, slamming into every nerve in my body and setting them all to screaming. It's like every pain I've ever felt – from the paper cuts I'd get dealing with Bruiser's damn advertising flyers to having my entire body crushed by Ganon back before I'd changed time – has been resurrected within me. My thoughts are driven, against my will to all the worst points in my life. Every sadness, every despair, every rage, every hopeless moment of my life asserts it's claim on my mind at the same time.

The world turns to blue around us, but it's not the blue of Time. This blue is sick; shot through with black and acid green, like oxidized gold. Agahnim clutches me harder and his laughs turn into shrieks of morbid mirth, but I'm not even really aware of it.

After an instant that feels like forever the light (if it can be called light) disappears and the world reforms, only it's not any world I know. Agahnim releases me at last and I fall back with a gasp, scrambling away from him, only to find myself without anywhere to scramble back to. I gasp and twist around, staring with wide, uncomprehending eyes at my surroundings.

I am on the very top of some kind of tan coloured palace of a vaguely pyramid shape. The landscape and horizon are familiar, but twisted. The tops of the mountains which have always hemmed Hyrule in are obscured by a thick grey cloud, from within which lightning flashes can be seen, and the occasional burst of dull red from within the clouds in the general direction of where Death Mountain should be. The trees are twisted and tortured, some of them even look like they have faces frozen in an expression of pain. There is movement on the ground below me, but whether you could call it life, I don't know. A veritable army offirst-generation moblins mills around the base of the palace, interspersed with other creatures; stalfos, stalchildren, and others. The sky is black with clouds that roil as though a storm is about to break, and a single black, formless shape streaks across it, screaming an unearthly cry that saps the strength from my heart …

And my hand, where the Triforce mark sits, burns as though it was on fire.

I cry out wordlessly, unable to express any kind of coherent thought beyond that, and clutch at my hand, turning around to stare in horror at Agahnim's shuddering form, watching as he chokes on his laughter.

"What have you done?" I demand with a snarl, fury raging in me once more, more violent than I've ever felt it. It frightens me, but I can't resist it. I lunge for him, grabbing him by the robes and shaking him. "Where have you taken us?" His laughs settle into chuckles witch in turn settle into a cruel grin as his features and body begin to decompose rapidly, turning to dust in my hands as the magic holding him together bleeds out of him with what's left of his life. His answer is barely audible, thick with blood and death, and drives a chill right into the heart of me.

"To Hell," he says, and then he's gone; nothing left of the old wizard but his robes and a skeleton, still grinning its rictus grin.

Before I can even begin to comprehend the implications of his answer, the clouds break suddenly and a single shaft of moonlight slips between them and hits me like fire.

My mind goes white with pain once more …

… and then I lose it, and myself, and I know nothing anymore.