Chapter 5
(OA/N: We're back in Link-o-vision now. Thank you.)
I delivered one final slash, and the peahat fell, vanquished. I was testing my new sword. I had had it forged to look like the Master Sword. Of course, no weapon could compare with the true Master Sword, but this one was well made.
Looking up, I spotted a dust cloud coming up from Gerudo Valley. I raised the sword above my head, calling out, "Stop in the name of Hyrule!" The dust cloud slowed down, revealing the Gerudos and horses I knew were under it.
"I am Nakeero, daughter of Nabooru! We are headed to Hyrule Castle by order of the King," the leader declared.
"The King?" I lowered my sword.
"Yes. We are to be extra guard in response to the expanding numbers of monsters in the area over the last few days."
I looked down at the peahat I had just slain. Indeed, the number of monsters had been increasing lately. "All right. Be on your way." I raised my sword in salute as they rode off.
I was watching them disappear when Malon rode up on Royalty. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Let me see your hand," she said, dismounting.
I was confused for a second, and the most I could say was, "Huh?" She explained better. "The tattoo on the back of your left hand. Let me see it."
"I, uh, had it... um... removed." I explained lamely. So great that the Triforce disappears exactly when someone wants to see it! "Why do you want it?"
"Last night, I was woken up by this tingling feeling in my hand. I looked down to see what it was, and I caught a glimpse of some sign on it." She drew the Triforce in the dirt. "Except, this part here was glowing gold." And she tapped the center, in between the Triforce pieces.
That caught me completely off guard. How could it be possible? There were only three pieces, and Zelda and I had two. The Triforce of Power was currently lost, but that wasn't where Malon had indicated. And wasn't it odd that this mystery should arise at the same time that Zelda and I lost our Triforces? And on the anniversary of the Happening, no less? It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence!
I hopped onto Epona quickly, saying only, "I need to see Zelda now!" And I took off. A few seconds later, Malon caught up, on her horse.
"Whatever this is about, I'm part of it, too! I'm coming with you!" she said determinedly, pulling up next to me.
Around us, the sky was darkening with heavy clouds. We had not gone far before it started raining.
~*~^~*~
(OA/N: Whee! So much switching! We are now receiving Malon's POV. Why, you ask? Keep reading for the answer!)
It was pouring by the time we reached the castle. The cloud cover made it dark as night, so it came as no surprise that the drawbridge was up. Link, however, had no time for such trivial things as up drawbridges.
"Let down the bridge, Guard!" he shouted, and I once again marveled at him. His voice was so... commanding, so fearless, so powerful, you felt as if you must listen to him.
Ganondorf, the King's aide, appeared upon the walltop, arms crossed. "What do you need, boy?" He asked so plainly, so disinterestedly, that it was obvious the voice concealed something more important.
"I need to speak to Zelda! Now!" Ganondorf looked at something out of the range of torchlight, and made a very small motion with his hand. I peered through the darkness, and could just barely make out the dim outline of a figure.
A figure holding a bow. Aimed at Link.
I quickly backed Royalty out of the torchlight, and pulled my bow from my back, and an arrow from the quiver hanging at Royalty's flank. I knew I only had one shot at this.
"Zelda is... occupied. Shall I deliver a message?" said Ganondorf, with a hint in his voice of something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
"This is more important than anything else she could be doing! Let me in!"
"I cannot do that. Besides, you no longer have the Triforce, so you are no longer connected with the Princess."
I heard Link gasp in surprise.
"Goodbye, former Hero of Time."
An arrow sang through the air. But it was not the Gerudo's. She emitted a gargled scream as my arrow thunked into her throat. Falling backward, the bow dropped from her hands.
Too late. The arrow flew at Link, and before he could move, it hit him. I watched, in slow motion, Link get hit by the arrow. It went into his chest, and the force knocked him back, off Epona, and his head hit a rock, causing him to pass out.
I dropped my bow, and ran over to Link. But before I reached him, that boy Sheik came out of nowhere and made it there first. Looking at Link's wound, he spoke plainly: "Come, Malon, we must take him to your ranch. Quickly." Nodding, I helped Sheik lift Link up onto Epona's back, and we went as fast as possible back to the Ranch.
~*~^~*~
We pulled Link into the stable, and undid his shirt to inspect the wound. When I say the blood slowly seeping out, my tears came unbidden. Sheik looked to me and said, "I saw your shot. It was lucky you fired in time."
"What do you mean? It still hit him!" I was panicking, I had let my best friend in the world get hurt, and he might die!
"Your arrow knocked her back, ruining her aim," he said, matter-of-factly. "It should have gone through his heart. As it is, it only pierced his lung."
I could barely choke the next words out. "Will he..." I couldn't continue the question, I was too afraid of the answer.
"No. He will heal. Eventually. He would heal faster if we had magic from a Great Fairy." Sheik looked meaningfully into my eyes. "You saved his life."
The calmness, the certainty in his voice helped me get under control. I thought more clearly, which only led to more questions. "Why would Ganondorf attack Link? He's been the King's loyal aide for seven years, and he even ordered that Link's wishes always be followed."
"Ganondorf is no longer loyal to Hyrule's Royalty. He tried to imprison the Princess, and the King has been cursed to an eternal sleep."
I looked at him curiously. "How do you know all this?"
Sheik wiped the back of his hand across the exposed part of his face, and his eyes, which had been red only moments before, were now blue. He slowly unwrapped his head bandages, and then brushed out her hair.
"I know this because I am Zelda." I gasped in surprise. "Now, help me pull this arrow out."
Zelda took hold of the shaft, and pulled gently to see if it would give. It came out easily. Which struck me as very odd.
"Strange, it's not barbed. I wonder why..." It hit me. "Wait! Let me see it." Zelda handed the arrow to me, and I rubbed the tip between my thumb and forefinger, licked my finger lightly, then spat it out. "It's a poison. Probably a slow acting one." No wonder Ganondorf did not pursue us; the arrow would kill Link if it hit anywhere!
"I can help with that." Zelda placed her hand over Link's forehead, and a soft golden glow appeared from it.
"What did you do?"
Zelda was still watching Link for any signs of life. "My Triforce of Wisdom may be gone, but I still have the powers of the Sage of Time. I slowed the time of the poison to a stop, but Link is in the same stasis."
I was still confused, and let her know it.
She sighed. "I forgot. You still have no memory of what really happened. Just a moment." She placed her hands on my forehead, and warmth spread from them, all the way down to my toes. And I remembered.
Everything. How Link had disappeared for seven long years, leaving me heartbroken. How Ingo had taken over, forcing me to slave away at his every bidding or else he would hurt the horses. How Link had come back when I had decided that all hope was lost. How he beat Ingo in a race, and convinced my dad to come back and regain control of the ranch.
Link was the Hero of Time, the holder of the Triforce of Courage. That's when I remembered about my hand. I looked at it, and it was shining again. "Link told me that I needed to show this to you."
Zelda took my hand and examined the gold mark. It had the outline of the Triangles, but it was the part in between the three was shining. "It doesn't make sense. We translated the old scrolls, and they gave us the diagram of the Triforce. I saw it myself on our hands when Ganondorf brought the three of us together..."
I thought of Ganondorf just before Link was shot. "This event seems to be connected to Ganondorf."
Zelda nodded. "Yes. Somehow Ganon, the evil forged by the joining of Ganondorf's twisted mind to the Triforce of Power, has reemerged. I do not yet understand, but I have been sensing a growing evil since last night."
"Odd. I received this mark last night," I said, glancing again at my hand.
"Soon after midnight?" Zelda asked anxiously.
"Yes."
"My crest disappeared after midnight."
"Link's is gone as well. I didn't see it disappear, but I'd bet my horses that it happened around midnight. Sounds like a connection."
"I believe I had a prophecy of this, but it came true too soon to be interpreted. We will have trouble stopping Ganon this time."
"Why?" I asked, surprised. "Link just needs some Fairy magic, right?"
"It is not that. Even fully healed, Link could not even attempt to stop Ganon. Last time, it was only the Triforce of Courage that enabled Link to stand up to Ganon. And before we left the castle, I saw the Triforce of Power still shining on Ganondorf's hand. In other words, he can stop us with little to no effort at all, being the only one with a Triforce."
"What do we do?"
"There are two options: either I can sneak into the castle and steal some scrolls that might help; or one of us could find a Great Fairy and ask her. But one of us needs to stay with Link to make sure he doesn't get worse."
"Link told me about a Great Fairy in the Gerudo Desert. They know me, I can sneak in under the arrival of a milk delivery. That should be safer than you getting into the castle, since that is where Ganon now resides."
Zelda nodded. "That is reasonable. But you will need more than your bow in that desert. The sandstorms will reduce your visibility, and the monsters there attack at close quarters."
I laughed. "I may be against violence, but I'm not defenseless." I went to one of the stable's supports, and pulled off a false panel. Inside was a small rapier. "I can use this if I get into trouble. It shouldn't be to hard to conceal in a milk jug."
"That is well, then. Make your preparations quickly. You should leave at dawn."
(OA/N: We're back in Link-o-vision now. Thank you.)
I delivered one final slash, and the peahat fell, vanquished. I was testing my new sword. I had had it forged to look like the Master Sword. Of course, no weapon could compare with the true Master Sword, but this one was well made.
Looking up, I spotted a dust cloud coming up from Gerudo Valley. I raised the sword above my head, calling out, "Stop in the name of Hyrule!" The dust cloud slowed down, revealing the Gerudos and horses I knew were under it.
"I am Nakeero, daughter of Nabooru! We are headed to Hyrule Castle by order of the King," the leader declared.
"The King?" I lowered my sword.
"Yes. We are to be extra guard in response to the expanding numbers of monsters in the area over the last few days."
I looked down at the peahat I had just slain. Indeed, the number of monsters had been increasing lately. "All right. Be on your way." I raised my sword in salute as they rode off.
I was watching them disappear when Malon rode up on Royalty. "There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Let me see your hand," she said, dismounting.
I was confused for a second, and the most I could say was, "Huh?" She explained better. "The tattoo on the back of your left hand. Let me see it."
"I, uh, had it... um... removed." I explained lamely. So great that the Triforce disappears exactly when someone wants to see it! "Why do you want it?"
"Last night, I was woken up by this tingling feeling in my hand. I looked down to see what it was, and I caught a glimpse of some sign on it." She drew the Triforce in the dirt. "Except, this part here was glowing gold." And she tapped the center, in between the Triforce pieces.
That caught me completely off guard. How could it be possible? There were only three pieces, and Zelda and I had two. The Triforce of Power was currently lost, but that wasn't where Malon had indicated. And wasn't it odd that this mystery should arise at the same time that Zelda and I lost our Triforces? And on the anniversary of the Happening, no less? It was too much of a coincidence to be a coincidence!
I hopped onto Epona quickly, saying only, "I need to see Zelda now!" And I took off. A few seconds later, Malon caught up, on her horse.
"Whatever this is about, I'm part of it, too! I'm coming with you!" she said determinedly, pulling up next to me.
Around us, the sky was darkening with heavy clouds. We had not gone far before it started raining.
~*~^~*~
(OA/N: Whee! So much switching! We are now receiving Malon's POV. Why, you ask? Keep reading for the answer!)
It was pouring by the time we reached the castle. The cloud cover made it dark as night, so it came as no surprise that the drawbridge was up. Link, however, had no time for such trivial things as up drawbridges.
"Let down the bridge, Guard!" he shouted, and I once again marveled at him. His voice was so... commanding, so fearless, so powerful, you felt as if you must listen to him.
Ganondorf, the King's aide, appeared upon the walltop, arms crossed. "What do you need, boy?" He asked so plainly, so disinterestedly, that it was obvious the voice concealed something more important.
"I need to speak to Zelda! Now!" Ganondorf looked at something out of the range of torchlight, and made a very small motion with his hand. I peered through the darkness, and could just barely make out the dim outline of a figure.
A figure holding a bow. Aimed at Link.
I quickly backed Royalty out of the torchlight, and pulled my bow from my back, and an arrow from the quiver hanging at Royalty's flank. I knew I only had one shot at this.
"Zelda is... occupied. Shall I deliver a message?" said Ganondorf, with a hint in his voice of something I couldn't quite put my finger on.
"This is more important than anything else she could be doing! Let me in!"
"I cannot do that. Besides, you no longer have the Triforce, so you are no longer connected with the Princess."
I heard Link gasp in surprise.
"Goodbye, former Hero of Time."
An arrow sang through the air. But it was not the Gerudo's. She emitted a gargled scream as my arrow thunked into her throat. Falling backward, the bow dropped from her hands.
Too late. The arrow flew at Link, and before he could move, it hit him. I watched, in slow motion, Link get hit by the arrow. It went into his chest, and the force knocked him back, off Epona, and his head hit a rock, causing him to pass out.
I dropped my bow, and ran over to Link. But before I reached him, that boy Sheik came out of nowhere and made it there first. Looking at Link's wound, he spoke plainly: "Come, Malon, we must take him to your ranch. Quickly." Nodding, I helped Sheik lift Link up onto Epona's back, and we went as fast as possible back to the Ranch.
~*~^~*~
We pulled Link into the stable, and undid his shirt to inspect the wound. When I say the blood slowly seeping out, my tears came unbidden. Sheik looked to me and said, "I saw your shot. It was lucky you fired in time."
"What do you mean? It still hit him!" I was panicking, I had let my best friend in the world get hurt, and he might die!
"Your arrow knocked her back, ruining her aim," he said, matter-of-factly. "It should have gone through his heart. As it is, it only pierced his lung."
I could barely choke the next words out. "Will he..." I couldn't continue the question, I was too afraid of the answer.
"No. He will heal. Eventually. He would heal faster if we had magic from a Great Fairy." Sheik looked meaningfully into my eyes. "You saved his life."
The calmness, the certainty in his voice helped me get under control. I thought more clearly, which only led to more questions. "Why would Ganondorf attack Link? He's been the King's loyal aide for seven years, and he even ordered that Link's wishes always be followed."
"Ganondorf is no longer loyal to Hyrule's Royalty. He tried to imprison the Princess, and the King has been cursed to an eternal sleep."
I looked at him curiously. "How do you know all this?"
Sheik wiped the back of his hand across the exposed part of his face, and his eyes, which had been red only moments before, were now blue. He slowly unwrapped his head bandages, and then brushed out her hair.
"I know this because I am Zelda." I gasped in surprise. "Now, help me pull this arrow out."
Zelda took hold of the shaft, and pulled gently to see if it would give. It came out easily. Which struck me as very odd.
"Strange, it's not barbed. I wonder why..." It hit me. "Wait! Let me see it." Zelda handed the arrow to me, and I rubbed the tip between my thumb and forefinger, licked my finger lightly, then spat it out. "It's a poison. Probably a slow acting one." No wonder Ganondorf did not pursue us; the arrow would kill Link if it hit anywhere!
"I can help with that." Zelda placed her hand over Link's forehead, and a soft golden glow appeared from it.
"What did you do?"
Zelda was still watching Link for any signs of life. "My Triforce of Wisdom may be gone, but I still have the powers of the Sage of Time. I slowed the time of the poison to a stop, but Link is in the same stasis."
I was still confused, and let her know it.
She sighed. "I forgot. You still have no memory of what really happened. Just a moment." She placed her hands on my forehead, and warmth spread from them, all the way down to my toes. And I remembered.
Everything. How Link had disappeared for seven long years, leaving me heartbroken. How Ingo had taken over, forcing me to slave away at his every bidding or else he would hurt the horses. How Link had come back when I had decided that all hope was lost. How he beat Ingo in a race, and convinced my dad to come back and regain control of the ranch.
Link was the Hero of Time, the holder of the Triforce of Courage. That's when I remembered about my hand. I looked at it, and it was shining again. "Link told me that I needed to show this to you."
Zelda took my hand and examined the gold mark. It had the outline of the Triangles, but it was the part in between the three was shining. "It doesn't make sense. We translated the old scrolls, and they gave us the diagram of the Triforce. I saw it myself on our hands when Ganondorf brought the three of us together..."
I thought of Ganondorf just before Link was shot. "This event seems to be connected to Ganondorf."
Zelda nodded. "Yes. Somehow Ganon, the evil forged by the joining of Ganondorf's twisted mind to the Triforce of Power, has reemerged. I do not yet understand, but I have been sensing a growing evil since last night."
"Odd. I received this mark last night," I said, glancing again at my hand.
"Soon after midnight?" Zelda asked anxiously.
"Yes."
"My crest disappeared after midnight."
"Link's is gone as well. I didn't see it disappear, but I'd bet my horses that it happened around midnight. Sounds like a connection."
"I believe I had a prophecy of this, but it came true too soon to be interpreted. We will have trouble stopping Ganon this time."
"Why?" I asked, surprised. "Link just needs some Fairy magic, right?"
"It is not that. Even fully healed, Link could not even attempt to stop Ganon. Last time, it was only the Triforce of Courage that enabled Link to stand up to Ganon. And before we left the castle, I saw the Triforce of Power still shining on Ganondorf's hand. In other words, he can stop us with little to no effort at all, being the only one with a Triforce."
"What do we do?"
"There are two options: either I can sneak into the castle and steal some scrolls that might help; or one of us could find a Great Fairy and ask her. But one of us needs to stay with Link to make sure he doesn't get worse."
"Link told me about a Great Fairy in the Gerudo Desert. They know me, I can sneak in under the arrival of a milk delivery. That should be safer than you getting into the castle, since that is where Ganon now resides."
Zelda nodded. "That is reasonable. But you will need more than your bow in that desert. The sandstorms will reduce your visibility, and the monsters there attack at close quarters."
I laughed. "I may be against violence, but I'm not defenseless." I went to one of the stable's supports, and pulled off a false panel. Inside was a small rapier. "I can use this if I get into trouble. It shouldn't be to hard to conceal in a milk jug."
"That is well, then. Make your preparations quickly. You should leave at dawn."