Chapter 29
There was far too much blood. She did not think that people even had this much within them.
Zelda knelt beside her fallen Hero, her heart pounding in her ears. Deathly silence cocooned her as she looked down at Link's pale face, his eyes shut tight. The pool of thick, dark blood soaked into her clothes until she could feel it tickle her legs, making them itch. The metallic stench making her feel dizzy. But these were all thoughts that were far at the back of her mind.
He was too still. No one should be this still.
"No."
The sword was still stuck in his body, its tip pointing out from his back, its hilt resting against his chest as it scraped the ground. It was jerking minutely, as if in time with the beating of his fading heart. Life was still there, but it was seeping out fast.
"No."
Her fingers curled around the hilt, but she could find no grip, so slippery it was from the blood. Her hands went to her head as panic assaulted her. If she could have seen herself from the outside, she would have seen her blonde hair stained with Link's blood, her wide eyes red with tears and her trembling face stretched with grief. A pit opened in her soul, threatening to drag her under.
She welcomed it.
This couldn't be happening. He was the Hero of Time; he would not be struck down in such a meaningless, random way. She clutched onto his arm, her mind aflame as she tried to focus, tried to find a solution, a way out. It could not end like this. She would not allow it. She was the Queen of Hyrule, she was one of the great Sages, whenever she wanted for something she just had to command it and it was there.
"Awaken," she said, her voice a feeble croak. Some part of her mind whispered to her, telling her how foolish she was being. Telling her that there was no answer to death. She pushed the thought away angrily. "Awaken," she whispered letting go of his arm and cradling his head. "Your Queen requests it."
She rocked him back and forth, the tears flowing easily now. She did not realise it, but she was humming. A soft, comforting tune played on her lips as her voice shook. Her lullaby. The one that was sung to her when she was a child, when she was wide awake, fidgeting with energy, tiring her parents who wished she would just sleep. The one Impa taught Link to play on his fairy ocarina when they had first met at her castle.
Life had been so simple back then, this innocent eyed boy bounding off on a quest, just for her. Her heart rent asunder at the memory. She wished bitterly that she could go back to that time, before she had become a Queen, before she had been burdened with the role of being one of the Sages of Hyrule.
A Sage.
Zelda froze, an idea curling around in her head. Strengthened by a surge of determination, she looked down at Link's face. It might just work. It had never been tried before, she knew. She also realised that she would be violating codes that had been taught to her long ago.
She did not care.
Placing her hands on Link's face, she closed her eyes and opened her mind.
And entered his.
*
"Ow."
Fran sat up, blinking as he waited for his surroundings to stop spinning. For a moment he almost forgot where he was, thinking that Lon Lon had changed a lot since last night. For a start, it had more rocks.
His memories returned, and he turned with a jump, searching out his friends.
"Zayna…?" he called softly. The others were still piled in a heap, arms and legs entwined. Briefly, Fran wondered what his wife would have thought of him now, accompanying a Queen, a Prince, a Hero, a wise man and the Key to a meeting with a dragon, so that they could avert an apocalypse. He grinned inwardly. She'd probably smack him around the head and tell him to go find a boar for supper. The most adventuring he'd ever done was hunting in Melody Forest.
He heard a moan and saw the young woman stir. "Good thing…" she said, standing to her feet and pointing at Fran's middle. "That you're so well-fed or else I would have had a harder landing."
Fran grinned in relief. "On the contrary," he said, cradling his arm with mock pain. "If you would just lose a little weight, I could have caught you single-handedly."
She shot him a vicious look as she rubbed her head. "Oh really?"
Fran laughed, helping Tyron and the Prince to their feet.
"Are you hurt?" he asked them.
Tyron smiled and clasped the hunter's shoulder. "Takes a lot more than a falling damsel to rid you of the Old Man of Hyrule Castle," he said. "Though," he continued, a twinkle in his eye. "I never realised Keys were so heavy."
Zayna folded her arms across her chest, narrowing her eyes.
The mirth lightened Fran's heart. He knew the teasing was coming from the sheer relief of having saved Zayna from death.
He turned to the Prince and saw him brushing himself down.
"I am fine," Chizan said.
Fran nodded, familiar enough with the Freelander to know that he would not continue. He let his gaze wander around the cavern. "Looks like the Wraiths have left us."
"For now," the Prince replied.
"So optimistic," Zayna said with a smirk.
Fran heard running footsteps. He turned and his spirits rose as he caught sight of Tessa, grinning wildly.
"Papa!" she cried, letting herself be lifted and twirled around. "Are you okay?"
"Of course, my darling," he said, ruffling her hair. He searched her face for injury, his voice turning solemn, "Are you hurt?"
"No," she said with a smile. "Chitz and I are fine."
As if on cue, the Imp popped his head out from the travel pack on Tessa's back and rested his chin on the top of her head. "Haha…sure are, boss," he said. "Fought them all off myself…haha."
"Tsk, Chitz," she answered, her eyes rolling up to try and see him. "You were begging me to run like a Cucco."
The Imp ignored her, choosing instead to regard the Prince. "Haha…I see the Freelander survived. Great shame! Great shame! Haha." His voice lowered to a mutter. "Didn't pay those Wraiths well enough. Haha."
Chizan fixed him with a glare, but Fran broke the tension.
"Where are Link and the Queen?" he asked his daughter.
Tessa responded by pointing upwards. "They went into that tunnel there," she said, chewing her lip nervously. "I heard the Queen scream."
Fran and Chizan exchanged panicked glances and darted off, dodging the pool so that they were close enough to the tunnel to be able to make themselves be heard.
"Your Highness! Link!" Fran called. "Can you hear us?"
They waiting, listening to his voice fade away.
Chizan pushed past him. "My Queen!" he shouted, his purple eyes dancing with fear. "Are you there?"
"I think we should go up there," Tyron said from behind them.
Fran nodded and they made their way to one of the many winding paths that lead upwards.
*
Zelda felt like she was swimming through thick, viscous liquid. Cold and clammy, it stuck to her skin, chilling her to the core. She could not concentrate, her mind spinning, not able to anchor herself to a fixed point. There was no up and down here, no left and right, no front and behind. Things swirled, images, voices, lights and sounds. She felt herself be swallowed, felt herself be softly pulled apart like dough, melting into her surroundings.
A face appeared before her, stern eyes drilling into her. She recognised him immediately.
"Rauru," she said. "What are you doing here, Sage of Light?"
"No," he answered, his voice matching his expression. "The question is what are you doing here?"
She stayed silent, floating above the nothingness.
"I cannot allow you to do this," he continued. "This is not what a Sage's power is for."
Zelda tried to look past him, as if impatient to be away.
"Then a Sage's power is worthless," she replied, finally meeting his gaze.
"If we were permitted to interfere whenever any of our loved ones were near death, there would be chaos," he said. "And it would be grossly unfair."
Zelda kept her eyes on him, willing her face to stay emotionless. "Thank you for your concern," she said. "Now let me pass. Or else I'll lose him."
He let his head hang low, a defeated look in his eyes. "If you are successful," he warned, "Then you will no longer have access to your Sagely powers. You, your children, your children's children – not until one hundred summers have passed."
She itched to be rid of him. At any other time, she would have welcomed his words and his company. Now, she only had one person in her mind.
She was tired of people telling her what to do and, more specifically, what she could not do. If you do this, you can't do that, if you take this route, then you can't travel that path. If you marry him, you can't be Queen.
Zelda fixed Rauru with a glare. "Then so be it."
He vanished without a word and she felt herself be propelled forwards, her hair flying despite not being able to feel any wind. A whirlpool of myriad images sucked her in, spinning slowly as they came to a stop.
She felt cool, crisp air flood her lungs and the sun's warmth on her face. Soft, wet soil stroked her feet. She looked up.
Zelda was standing in a meadow, little birds fluttering in the wind as they sang. A giant tree stood in the centre, tall and imposing.
A Hylian woman appeared, blood trailing down her torn clothes. Her hair was tussled, a wild expression etched on her face. She fell to her knees and Zelda saw that she carried a bundle in her arms. She could make out a dirty, white cloth covering what lay inside.
Zelda wanted to reach out and help the woman, but her feet felt heavy. She was rooted to the spot just like the tree.
The woman crawled towards the tree, gasping for breath as life faded from her eyes.
Gently, she lay the bundle at the foot of the tree. Zelda saw it twitch, saw a flash of blonde hair and realised at last what it was.
"I name him A'linkradu," she said with a raspy voice.
Zelda almost jumped as the tree rumbled, its leaves and branches rustling.
"Link," it said.
"Yes," she gasped as her head sank to the ground. "It means…"
"…he of a Clear Heart," the tree answered.
She nodded, the ghost of a sad smile on her lips. "Be happy, Link," the woman whispered. "My greatest desire is that your heart always remains pure."
Zelda swallowed as the vision broke up, swirling in a mass of colour before being replaced by another.
She saw Link, small with wide blue eyes as he climbed a tree, no more than ten summers old. His soft face was wrinkled with concentration. A crowd surrounded the base of the tree, pointing at laughing.
She looked up into the branches and saw a chick trapped there, broken wing flapping as it sung mournfully. Link climbed onto the branch, whispering words to the little bird. He was balanced precariously, and Zelda held her breath as the tree trembled from his weight. The little boy wasn't daunted though and he motioned to the bird with a big smile.
The chick eyed him carefully and then made a few tentative hops in his direction. Link's hopeful smile grew and he reached forwards, scooping the bird up.
There was a crack, and the branch broke, Link falling to the ground with a yell.
Zelda flinched.
The crowd exploded in laughter, as the little boy sat there sniffling. He cradled the bird, comforting its anguished cries.
"You did all that for a bird?!" a voice shouted, coarse and mean. "You stupid boy!"
Link looked up, holding out the chick. "But look," he said, the earnest tone in his voice making Zelda's heart break. "It's just a baby!" He smiled, triumphant that they would see sense.
But the people just laughed harder. "Yes, just like you!" another called. "A little baby girl!"
"The great Hero of Time is just a soft hearted weakling!"
Zelda frowned, realising that this event must have taken place soon after she had sent him back as a child in the other timeline.
Link looked around at the people as they dispersed, confusion lining his face.
Abruptly, Zelda's legs felt lighter and she could move. She walked towards the child, wondering if he could see her.
He looked up, and she saw the tears swimming in his eyes.
"Who are you?" he said.
She knelt down, wiping the tears from his face. Just seeing him alive again in any form made her quiver in excitement. "A friend."
"You're very pretty," he said.
She grinned, wanting to hug him. "That's a cute bird you have there."
Joy filled her heart seeing the happy expression that lit up on his face. "Thank you," he said. "No one else seems to think so, though."
"Don't worry about them, Link," she said. "You do what you think is right."
He looked at her, puzzled. "How do you know my name?"
She smiled. "Everybody knows Link, the Hero of Time."
"Oh," he said, his eyes falling to the chick again. "You look like somebody I know."
"Really?"
"Yes," he said, stroking the bird's head. "The Princess in the castle. She's my friend."
Link reached for his belt, pulling out a fairy ocarina. "Listen," he said.
Tears sprung to her eyes as he started playing her lullaby. "It helps me to sleep at night," he said. Abruptly, he stiffened. "Don't tell anyone though!"
He looked away, embarrassed.
"I won't."
He grinned. "Good! I live at the castle now. They gave me a room next to all the other servants. Sometimes I get to see the Princess."
She studied his face, amazed at how innocent he looked. "You must have a lot of friends."
"Not really," he answered. "Saria was my friend too," he added as an afterthought.
"And the Princess?"
"She's always busy." His words tugged at her. "But that's okay."
She sighed, not wanting to let herself cry. How could he be so forgiving?
"Don't you feel lonely?" she whispered.
"Sometimes," he said. "But it's okay, because I'm the Hero of Time! And Heroes don't get lonely." He gave her a brave grin.
Zelda looked away, letting his words sink in. She played with the grass, wondering why she was seeing all this. Did this mean he was still alive?
"My momma loved me." He blurted the words out, like he had suddenly recalled something important.
She glanced up. "I'm sure everyone loves you, Link."
He shook his head. "No, no," he said. "Only my momma. Though I don't really remember her."
A frown creased her face. "What about Saria? And the Princess?"
Link chewed the inside of his cheek, pondering. "Well, they're my friends. But they don't really love me." He smiled, satisfied at his answer. "Only my momma did that."
Zelda blinked, reaching out to touch his face, but he faded away and vanished.
Images danced around her and she waited patiently. The castle courtyard appeared and she saw herself as a little girl, waiting, waiting, waiting.
She could see the excited anticipation in her features.
And suddenly, he was there and the little girl gasped.
Little Zelda straightened her back, regarding Link with cold eyes.
"So, you've come back?" she said.
He gulped and nodded.
A small face creased her lips. "I want to thank you for everything," she said. "You have done us proud, Hero of Time."
He held out his hand, hoping that she would take it. But little Zelda turned away.
Link hung his head, crestfallen.
Zelda bit on her lip, remembering the event. It was the moment after he had returned to the new timeline as the Hero of Time. She remembered her feelings there, remembered anxiously counting down the hours before he would come to her. She knew he would, the two timelines still joined as one until Link had freed the Master Sword after collecting the three Spiritual Stones for her. And she remembered when he had finally appeared, her pure happiness at seeing him again, so much so that she had felt like she would float away like a cloud. But she was young and not used to conversing with anyone outside of her family. Her shyness that had prevented her from speaking to him freely.
Zelda closed her eyes, concentrating on those emotions. She formed a bubble with her mind, filling it with the feelings of joy and relief she had felt back then. She took the bubble in her fingers, then blew on it gently with a soft kiss. It floated towards the little boy and surrounded him. His eyes closed and he smiled.
The landscape shifted.
Link, older now, sat under a tree, the moonlight reflecting off of his sword and shield. He looked pensive, his features deep in thought. He sighed, flipping his ocarina up from his belt.
Slowly, he started playing a song.
Her lullaby.
"Must you always play that song?" a voice teased.
Zelda gasped as Malon came into view. She felt herself tremble. Her old friend looked so real she could reach out and touch her.
Link looked up at her with a smile. "I like it."
She sat down besides him, handing him a piece of fruit before biting into her own, juices trickling down her chin.
"Where's Zelda tonight?"
"Oh," he said, an edge creeping into his voice. "She's with Cyle at some banquet."
Malon glanced at him edgeways, the corners of her mouth curling in a smile. "You don't seem to approve, Link."
"It's nothing to do with me," he said, leaning back against the tree. He smiled at Malon. "Besides, we have our own banquet here."
She laughed, taking another bite out of her fruit. They were silent for a while, before she said, "Link. If you had a chance to travel in time again, where would you go?"
"You mean 'when' would I go," he replied dryly.
She elbowed him playfully. "You know what I mean."
Link looked up at the moon with a sigh. "I'd go back and see my mother. Just once."
The images twirled again.
Zelda was on a flat, white plain. The wind howled, tugging at her hair. Where?
Someone was kneeling ahead of her.
"Link…?"
The Hero of Time was as she had left him in the cavern, a sword puncturing his chest.
Another person was there, pacing around him. He was dressed all in black. Something dark radiated from him, not anything physical, but she could feel it nonetheless.
She looked at the Shadow. "Who are you?"
The other looked up and she took a step back in shock. Glowing red eyes glared back at her from a face that looked just like Link.
The Shadow ignored her, letting his gaze drop to the Hero.
"You don't need her here," the shadow said in a quiet, calm tone. "Tell her to go."
"I don't need you here," Link repeated, his voice hollow. "You must go."
Zelda felt icy dread swallow her. She shook her head frantically. "No, Link, no! I've come to take you back."
The Shadow continued pacing, throwing her a sneer. "You don't want to go back there. It's cold and full of people that would hurt you. Like her."
"I don't want to go back there," Link said, his words sounding strained in the wind. "It's cold and full of people that will hurt me." He paused. "Like you."
Zelda felt her vision reel. She tried to hold on, tighten her grip on her senses. Who was that other person, the Shadow that looked just like her Link?
"That's not true, Link! Don't listen to him."
Feeling exasperated, she ran towards him. A wall of clear crystal tore up from the ground, blocking her path.
"Nobody loved you except your mother," the Shadow said, finally stopping to stand at Link's back. "Nobody else wants you there."
"Nobody loved me except my mother. Nobody else wants me there."
Zelda let herself go. All her regrets, all the times she had let herself be taken by doubt because of other people's words.
"I love you, Link," she whispered.
Her heart felt light, a huge burden floating away. She was free at long last.
The Shadow flinched and the wind roared louder. "Don't listen to her," he barked. "She's a liar. She hurt you before."
She steeled herself, pouring her whole heart into her words.
"I love you, Link"
The Hero of Time looked up, doubt lining his face.
"Really…?" he said softly.
Zelda almost collapsed in tears. He hadn't known for sure for all these summers? With a chill that sunk to the pit of her stomach, she realised that she had never told him.
"That can't be…" he said. The confusion in his voice made her heart ache. "Only my mother…"
"I love you."
She felt like she was going to choke, felt she would drown in her own tears.
All of a sudden, the crystal shattered and the Shadow disappeared.
Zelda hesitated, cautious apprehension simmering within. Her breath was short and her heart caught in her throat. She waited another moment, watching as Link stayed disturbingly still, the wind making strands of his hair flicker across his forehead.
Her mind tingling, Zelda walked towards him slowly, scared that he might float away. She tensed as she edged closer. He didn't make even the slightest move.
Zelda reached out, touched his face…
…and they connected.
Their bodies melted away and their souls soared, entwining, uniting, becoming one. Exhilaration flowed through them and they pulsed with love. Zelda was Link, and Link was Zelda. Suddenly, she knew him, all his memories, his actions, his experiences. The intimacy overwhelmed her. She saw a glow at the centre of his being, a luminous light that was tethering him to the world. All his thoughts revolved around it. She did not have to look closely to know it was her.
They wrapped themselves around each other, prodding with emotions where words would never go. Zelda soothed his spirit, caressing it with affection. She searched for cracks in his soul, smoothing them over tenderly. A grateful smile curled around her.
In turn, he responded by filling her with the rock solid certainty that there was no one but her for him, that he would never leave her. He pushed it into her mind, an insistent, heartfelt arrow. The force of his sincerity almost knocked her back into the real world.
They floated on a wave of pure contentment, not knowing or even caring about the passage of time. Sighing, caressing, calming.
Happy.
Unfamiliar names and places spun around her.
Termina. Romani. Anju. Kafei. Fierce Deity. Majora.
Her eyes caught on a dark blur that spread tendrils of malignancy through him. She snatched at the memory. It dodged her, hiding here just as Link had tried to hide it from her in the real world. Finally, she grasped it, and it flooded her mind with images.
Zelda recoiled from the vision. Horror engulfed her.
Link chained to a wall, darkness smothering him, a rhythmic thud in the distance. Chalance Vance's cold, lying voice.
She kept herself from feeling fiery hate. She bottled down on her cold fury. She knew…she realised…that any hint of negativity would shatter the fragile thread that tied him to life.
Zelda saw three spinning spheres of light in front of her disembodied eyes. One of them shone like a piercing star, and she knew it to be Link's true heart. She saw his face from within, smiling up at her.
The second was dark blue and she saw that it was all the times he had kept himself from feeling anger, hate and despair. A frowning Link was enclosed inside.
The other sphere…it was flickering, dirty and black. It was something that had been released from the depths of his soul as a result of Vance's torture. It was his darkest thoughts given form.
She realised what she had to do. Link was out of balance, broken. He had never learnt to control his baser instincts, he had only suppressed them. She had to bring his two sides together and then pull him back to life. She hoped that would make the black, shadowy sphere disappear. Then, it would be up to Link himself to learn how to tame his lower impulses and become truly whole, truly human. A true Hero.
Zelda reformed herself into her human form, disengaging from Link. Immediately she felt a gaping hole of emptiness, the dizzying sense that she had just lost something enormously important. The hollowness almost drowned her, but she clung on, desperate. She had to help Link, she had to.
She grasped the blue sphere in one hand and the shining sphere in her other. Slowly, she pulled them towards her. They crackled as they drew close to one another.
"Always remember I love you," she whispered.
She kissed the shining one softly.
Zelda jerked back as the black sphere exploded into the form of the Shadow Link.
"Don't do this, pretty princess."
"You're not Link," she said, staring at him with defiance. "You're an aberration."
He hissed. "You think you're so clever. How do you know I'm not the real deal, while the Link you knew for all those summers was nothing more than an illusion."
She closed her hands together, meaning to unite the two spheres. "An illusion is all you'll ever be."
With a roar, he lunged for her, knocking the shining sphere out of her hand. She winced as he kicked her in the stomach.
Their eyes both locked on the fallen ball. They moved at the same time.
Zelda stretched her fingers, desperation gnawing at her. The sphere slipped from both their grasps.
She turned to the Shadow, pinning him with a hot, angry glare.
He smiled in response, humourless, dark and twisted.
Zelda swung with a wild punch, but he ducked, stunning her with a quick kick. She fell to the ground, black spots dancing in her eyes. Blinking, she cursed inwardly. She was still thinking as though she was in the real world, as though the things that would affect her there could harm her here.
He took three large strides until he reached the fallen globe. He lifted his foot above it –
- and Zelda flew, bending reality in this netherworld. She crashed into him and he fell, his mouth wide open in shock.
Quickly, she scooped up the shining sphere and pushed it into the blue one.
There was a blinding flash. The landscape stretched, as though it was being sucked into a tiny hole.
Zelda found herself on a hill, the sweet scent of flowers lifting her spirits as she heard the birds sing happily in the distance. She was not surprised to hear the birds sing her lullaby. She looked up and her breath left her.
Standing before her, tall, proud and handsome was Link.
Her mouth split into a wide smile and her heart blossomed with joy. It had worked! She had done it! She ran towards him as he waited with expectation.
"Thank you," he said as she reached him, his voice deep. He sounded more sure of himself and his posture displayed his new confidence.
She needed to pull him back, needed to restore him to his body. She hoped that fixing his soul would fix his body too. The powers of the Sages – the powers of the mind and a pure heart were immense. "Let's go back, Link," she said, feeling giddy with happiness. "Let's go home."
He smiled at her.
And then started to fade.
"Link…? No!"
The smile stayed in place as his body grew fainter and became more transparent.
Shock rippled through her. "Don't leave me!" she cried. "I came to rescue you!"
"You did, Zelda," he said, his voice soft. "You saved me again."
This could not be happening! Not like this, not when she had gotten so close! She couldn't lose him now!
"Don't leave me!"
But he withered away like smoke caught by a breeze, five last words hanging in the air.
"I love you too, Zelda."
*
Zelda opened her eyes, the cold chill of reality hugging her. Darkness surrounded her. Despair welled up inside, prodding, teasing, eating. A malicious, throaty chuckle echoed in her ears.
She looked up.
Link's corpse was gone, but the spot was not empty, oh no. The Shadow looked back at her, his grin a mockery of Link's smile.
Her body shaking, she wept bitter tears. She had failed. He had not come back with her.
The words cut her more than any sword ever could. He had not come back!
"Don't cry now." The Shadow took a step closer, licking his lips. "Looks like its you and me, pretty princess."
Zelda slid to the floor, no longer caring. She felt the heat of his presence, his breath on her face. He started stroking her cheek.
"Let yourself go," he said, his voice thick and low. "After all I look just like him."
She glanced up at him. The face did look like Link. But it was not his appearance that Zelda had cared about. There was no light in the Shadow's eyes, none of the softness of Link's kindness and innocence that had always painted his face in such an attractive light.
This was not Link.
This was a monster.
She saw a commotion out of the corner of her eye. Her friends appeared at the mouth of the tunnel.
With an angry shove, she broke free from the Shadow's grasp.
The others looked bewildered, not sure at what was going on.
"Run!" she screamed at them.
"You shouldn't have done that, pretty princess," the Shadow growled. "You should have made it easy for yourself. We could have had such a good time."
Zelda glared at him.
"If you want me," she snarled. "Come and get me!"