Chapter Three

Princess Zelda strolled the hallways of Hyrule Castle, enjoying the way the cool marble could be felt through her slippers. Link had been recovering for two days now, and it seemed that his wound was already better. It was a good sign, considering that he'd lost a lot of blood.
She left the castle and entered the gardens, her favorite place to be in the evening. She breathed in the sweetness of the summer flowers that were blooming. A strong breeze ruffled her hair, carrying with it the smell of coming rain.
"Princess."
She turned to Impa, who had come up behind her. "What is it, Impa?"
The Sheikah woman frowned. "It's unsafe for you to be out after dark, with the raids on all this week. And besides, it's looking like it's going to rain."
Zelda grinned. "Is there anything else?"
Impa returned the smile. "Yes. Link says he's getting lonely and wants some company."
"I thought so. Some Hero of Time."
Impa laughed, which was not often. "True. They say the bigger the man, the bigger the baby."
Zelda followed Impa inside, still laughing at their joke. They were at Link's bedside in about ten minutes. Link couldn't tell if the grin still on Impa's face was a smile or a grimace.
"Jeez, Impa, do you have to scare the hell out of me every time you do that?" he asked her.
Impa's smile faded and she glared at him threateningly.
"That's better," Link added.

It was well after dark when Zelda climbed wearily into bed, and even longer still before she fell asleep. But she finally did, and it was unplagued by her prophetic dreams.
The rain came, in drenching sheets that turned the grounds outside the castle into a floodzone. The fat drops pummeled on the roof of the castle, sounding like an army of horses. Thunder crashed and lightning brightened the night sky.
Through all this, Zelda slept on. She didn't even awaken when the doors leading out to her balcony opened, letting a dark-cloaked, rain-soaked stranger enter her bedroom. This stranger had fierce lightning within his eyes, real lightning. It crackled between his fingers and lit the room, casting eerie shadows along the wall.
Zelda sighed in her sleep and turned over, away from the cold wind entering her room. She slept through this as well.
The one moment when she did awaken was when the stranger clapped his hand over her mouth, muffling her screams. The man carried her out to the balcony and raised his free arm, allowing him to ascend on a pillar of lightning that crackled from his arm.

"It has to be Ganondorf's work," Link said angrily. "Only he could do something like this. How else could Zelda have disappeared?"
"Let's not jump to conclusions," Impa advised. "Sure, Ganondorf has a bad reputation for kidnapping the Princess, but maybe it wasn't him after all."
A troop of soldiers that Impa had sent to investigate Zelda's bedchamber interrupted them. "Excuse us for intruding, ma'am," the lead soldier apologized. Link recognized him as the young soldier on the night he'd been injured.
"Did you find anything?" Impa demanded.
"Only this." The soldier handed her a strange object, about six inches long. It was crystalline in shape, and a faint blue color.
Impa turned it over and over in her hands, inspecting every inch of it. Finally she turned to Link, her face grave. "This type of mineral is only found in one place in all Hyrule."
"Where?" Link knew his suspicions were about to be confirmed, but he decided to keep his mouth shut.
"The North," Impa replied. "Namely, the Gerudo Hills."

Epona's hooves thundered on the flat land of Hyrule Field, heading north into the Gerudo Hills. Link was frantic to get Zelda back, no matter what personal cost to himself.
Finally he could spot the mist-shrouded hills that the Gerudo lurked in loomed up before them, and Link sped Epona on even more, to find Zelda before it was too late.
Soon he slowed Epona to a halt, and giving her a grateful pat, dismounted, and snuck in close to where the Gerudo main fortress, watching for Ganondorf's presence. That was when he would attack and demand the return of the Princess.
He didn't have to wait long. Ganondorf came barging out of the castle, screaming at the top of his lungs at a scrawny young Gerudo that he'd literally kicked out before he'd come out. "IF YOU EVER INTERRUPT AGAIN YOU'LL END UP JUST LIKE RAKARA, YOU HEAR ME?!"
Link didn't wait for him to disappear back into the castle. He drew his sword and charged down the hill, skidding down the sand-covered slope. Ganondorf heard him coming and looked up just as Link stopped right in front of him. Link stared at his rival with an expression of pure surprise, which was exactly what was on Ganondorf's face.
For a few minutes, both enemies stood staring at each other with looks of shock and confusion, looking like they'd never seen each other before in their entire lives. Finally Ganondorf broke the silence. "Link, what in Din's name are you doing here?"
Link broke his trance and quicker than lightning, he had his sword pressed into the skin of Ganondorf's neck. "Where have you taken her?" he hissed.
Ganondorf still looked stunned. "What are you talking about? I haven't taken anyone."
"Don't give me that!" he pressed the edge of the sword harder against Ganondorf's neck. "Where's Princess Zelda?"
"I didn't kidnap Zelda. You think I would be here if I did? Try to run a little investigation before you start blaming me for a misplaced princess."
Link saw that there was truth in the Gerudo King's words. Still, he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. Slowly, he lowered his sword and swallowed. Hard. "Y-you didn't kidnap the Princess?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
Ganondorf rolled his eyes. "Do I have to repeat myself a third time? I think I would know if I kidnapped someone or not. Let me say it nice and slow for you: I...did...not...kidnap...Zelda."
Link thought for a moment. "Then--do you know who did?"
"No. But I know someone who can help you find that out."

Kielke was attending Criya's wound, which had only recently begun to heal properly. Kielke uncovered the wrappings she had used as bandages, gently washed the accumulated grease and dirt with warm water, and placed a fresh patch of bandages on.
Criya suddenly let out a long, drawn-out hiss of anger. Startled, Kielke looked up and saw the young man dressed in Kokiri green that she'd fought three days before. She slowly stood and placed her hand on Criya's brow ridge for reassurement. "What do YOU want?" she demanded of the stranger.
Link, who was still pissed off at Ganondorf for sending him to the same girl who'd nearly killed him, stood his ground. "Are you Kielke Chiba?"
At hearing him speak her name, Kielke softened. "Yes. Who told you?"
"Ganondorf." Link stayed well away from Criya's sharp falcon-like beak and hooked claws to approach Kielke. "Princess Zelda was kidnapped last night. I need your help in finding out who did it."
Kielke maintained an expressionless face. She had learned from her Wyvern family that it wasn't exactly news that the Hylian Princess got kidnapped by some evil being practically every week. Not that Ganondorf was evil, just...misunderstood. She turned to Criya and thought, I'll be okay. He just wants to talk.
Criya settled in a huff. If he tries to hurt you, he'll go through the four shades of Hell before ending up in my gullet.
Kielke gaver her mother a quick pat on the cheek and turned to Link. "My mother says that if you try to hurt me, she'll rip you apart and then eat you. It might be wise to leave your weapons here."
Link gulped and dropped his sword and shield and followed Kielke into a large cave behind the wounded Wyvern. When he entered, he nearly got bit by a Skulltula whose web he'd disturbed. Giving the spider a whack on the head, he looked around the cave with a truly inquisitive nature.
Instead of the rocky cave that he'd expected, it was almost a complete home. The entire cave was scraped smooth, giving it a boxlike shape. Strange hieroglyphic writing covered the walls, and the ceiling had the constellations carved into it. At the back wall was a large Triforce emblem, embossed in gold. In the center of the room were some small pieces of furniture, including a table and two chairs. A small sleeping mat was in one corner, and some skins were stretched on the floor and tacked down with pegs. Below the Triforce emblem was a roaring fireplace, with a small pile of neatly chopped and stacked wood to the left.
"Nice place you've got here," Link commented.
Kielke smiled. "This is the only one like it in these mountains. Impa says it's an ancient Sheikah holdout."
Link remembered Impa's words when he'd awakened after Kielke's attack: "I alone know her true name, but I have sworn to secrecy about it."
"Exactly," Link now said to Kielke. "Impa said she knew you. How is that?"
Kielke sat down in one of the chairs at the table and motioned to Link, who sat down as well. Link noticed that a intricately carved mask, though incomplete, was on the table, as well as some paints. He blushed, and remembered that Kielke had never gotten her mask back after he'd taken it off the night of the attack. Kielke pulled the mask toward her and dipped her brush in some paint, and began to work on the mask. "Impa has known me for a long time," she began, talking as she worked. "All of the remaining Sheikah do. Impa's the one who taught me how to survive in the wilderness, and also how to fight."
"So that's how you were able to beat me," Link said with a grin on his face. "Not many people have been able to. Ganondorf almost did, though. Emphasis on almost."
Kielke laughed and dipped her brush again. "Yes. I have also trained under him, but he just won't admit I'm better than he is. Kind of stubborn that way. Anyhow, would you mind me asking why Ganondorf sent you to me?"
Link's face turned grave. "Like I said earlier, Princess Zelda was kidnapped. Ganondorf says he didn't do it."
Kielke giggled so much she had to stop work on her new mask. "He sure worked himself up a reputation when he snatched her last time, didn't he?"
"This is serious!" Link snapped, enraged at Kielke's outlook on the situation. "If Ganondorf didn't kidnap the Princess, who did?"
Kielke's eyes grew slitlike. "Then I guess you'll have to start by telling me the weather on that night."