Disclaimer: Am I named Shigeru Miyamoto? No. Do I in anyway work with Nintendo? No. Am I likely to ever be in the position to say I can own Zelda? Not yet, but give me time...
A.N: OK Mazz, in telling me that Evangelion is being shown on Sci-Fi channel you forgot two important details: When and What Time? Thankyou! And Bonnie, the Gundam Wing quote was unintentional. I used that line long before I even knew what a Gundam was, God forbid that there even was such a time! (Hugs her recently purchased Gundam Wing DVD) Long live Japan and all that's created there!
I got my GCSE results. In reverse order: 1C, 4Bs, 4As and 1 A*! Yay!
There's heaps more at the end, so stick around, there's something very important that you all need to read.
Chapter 4: Orb Games
Like many things sacred to individuals, sleep is a person's practically divine right to do nothing but rest and relax for as long as they choose to do so and if the individual wishes, then nothing can rouse them (with the exception of irritating blue fairies that have a tendency to say 'hey!' excessively loudly). These people often become notorious for their heavy sleeping nature. Link was one of these people.
And Orla was another.
Which made Zelda's job the morning following her encounter with Endeffera considerably harder than she had first anticipated.
It was early morning when the Princess made her way into her daughter's bedroom, and she was unsurprised to discover the girl fast asleep underneath her blankets with her blonde bangs falling in her eyes and her mouth open slightly as she breathed heavily in her sleep. Zelda allowed herself a fond glance at her child, taking a moment to remember the state that Orla's father had been in as she had slipped out from their bed ten minutes earlier. Blonde hair falling in his eyes, his lips slightly parted and his bare chest rising and falling as the sheets that covered him began to slip and fall as he had shifted slightly. His wife smiled at that thought; she never had been able to resist the opportunity to see him in what they reffered to as 'a compromising position.'
Shaking all thoughts of that nature from her head, Zelda knelt besides her daughter's bed and gently shook her awake. Orla murmured in protest as she stirred and opened her eyes wearily, trying to work out exactly what was going on and failing dismally.
"Orla sweetheart, time to get up," Zelda said softly.
Orla groaned and rolled over, bringing the blankets up over her head as she did so. Zelda bit back her laughter and tried again.
"Orla, it's time to wake up."
Again, she was met with another murmur.
This calls for desperate measures.
"Orla, Daddy's eating all of your chocolate."
Orla sat bolt upright, all traces of sleep leaving her in an instant and then she paused and looked around her.
"No he's not..."
Zelda was shaking with laughter and didn't stop even, when her disgruntled daughter folded her arms and pouted.
"That was not funny."
Her mother stopped laughing with a sigh and then kissed her daughter's cheek.
"I know it wasn't, but you wouldn't wake up for any other reason would you?"
Orla opened her mouth to protest but couldn't think of anything to actually say in protest. So she just scowled.
"I'm sorry I had to wake you up so early, but there's something that you and I have to do without interruption."
"What?" Orla asked quizzically, cocking her head to one side.
"I'm going to teach you how to use magic."
The eyes of the seven year old princess lit up like torches.
"Wow! Really?"
Zelda nodded.
"Really, but this is going to be our little secret alright?"
Orla nodded ecstactically.
"Can I bring Fang?"
After much carefuly thought and deliberation, Orla and Navali had come up with the name Fang for the cub despite the fact that she was a girl and was also to be a member of the royal household. But Orla was adamant that the wolf was to be Fang, so Fang she was.
Zelda cast a glance at the sleeping cub who was curled up in a wooden crate lined with blankets.
"It would be better not to, this could get dangerous."
At that comment, Orla's grin broadened to immense proportions.
"Cool!"
******
"Close your eyes and reach out with your mind to the spirits of every living thing. Everything contains magic Orla, and you need to be able to feel that before you can control your own."
Orla scrunched her eyes tightly shut and concentrated as her mother said, clenching her fists tightly and urging herself to sense what she'd been told to. But even as she did so, a tiny voice in the back of her mind was sceptical and it was that voice that was speaking to her now.
This is stupid.
No it is not.
Orla's eyes flew open wide with a start at the sound of the strange voice and she was terrified to see herself standing stock still with her eyes shut. It was then that she realised that she was hovering some distance about her body, looking down at the scene that consisted of mother and daughter standing in the courtyard.
What is this?!
This is you. Your spirit is flying. That is one of our gifts.
Gifts?
Yes, our gifts. We have many.
Woah wait a minute, we?
Yes, we.
So what are you, my conscience or something? Why can't I see you?
Because I am part of your spirit. Part of you.
At this Orla began to panic, even as a spirit. It had frightened her enough to see herself standing there, but now hearing that there was something else in her spirit scared her rigid. Even as a spirit.
So if you're a part of me, then how come you've not talked to me before?
I have not needed to. There was no urgency.
Urgency for what?
Urgency for you to understand our power. You need to understand it, you need to know how to use it. You need to Orla.
Why? What's so great 'bout me? It's not like I have a Triforce or anything...
At that point the voice was silent.
Ask the Sage of Wisdom.
Orla began to feel herself float downwards and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was looking at her mother who had an anxious look on her face and was kneeling in front of her.
"Orla, are you alright?"
The girl frowned.
"Mama, what's so special about my power?"
Zelda's eyes widened in surprise before she nodded.
"Why do you ask?"
"Because I want to know why I have to understand my power and why I have to know how to use it."
Zelda remained very still for a moment, her eyes fixated on her child.
"Who told you about your power?" She whispered.
Orla took the fear in Zelda's eyes to be a bad thing.
"I... I don't know who it was. It was a voice."
Zelda closed her eyes and breathed deeply before she looked Orla straight in the eye.
"You have to understand your power so that you'll be safe," she said eventually. "And so that everyone else will be safe. That's why I'm teaching you how to control magic, so that you'll know how to use your powers when the time comes."
"Time for what?"
Zelda sighed and hugged her daughter close to her.
"I really don't know, I wish I did but I have no idea what will happen."
She kissed her cheek and smiled at her.
"Now, let's try and get you to make a magic orb before we go in and have breakfast."
Orla nodded and closed her eyes again, doing as Zelda had told her before but only with a greater deal of concentration than she had before. Everything around her felt still and quiet, the previous sounds of birdsong becoming a distant memory as a sense of total calm eveloped her. Zelda watched her intently, never once removing her eyes from her daughter. All of a sudden, Orla's eyes snapped open with a start.
"I can feel it. I can feel the magic."
Zelda nodded.
"Try to search your own being for that same feeling and then once you find that magic then channel it through your body until you can almost feel it, until you can almost touch it with your fingertips."
Orla frowned.
"How do I do that?"
Zelda smiled and stood up, brushing the dried grass off her skirt and then turning her palms skywards.
"Watch."
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before a pale pink haze began to form over her hands. Orla watched in amazement as the pink changed colour to gold and tiny flecks of white light began to appear from nowhere. They began to meld together and with a small flash a circular white orb hovered above Zelda's palm, casting a pale glow over the princess's hand. She opened her eyes and smiled at her daughter whose eyes were wide open in surprise.
"You want me to do that?" She squeaked.
Zelda laughed softly and let the magic go.
"I know it seems daunting, but it's easy when you get it. Trust me."
"That's easy for you to say, you're a grown up and you've got a Triforce!"
Zelda smiled.
"When I started to use magic, I was even younger than you were."
"You were?"
"Mmm hmm. I was about five when I first used my magic."
"How did you do that? Was it an accident or something?"
Zelda nodded.
"Yes, yes it was. I was playing in Goron City one day when Grandfather was talking to Darunia when I heard a noise coming from one of the passages and I wanted to investigate, so I did. The thing is, when I got to the other end of the passage I wasn't in Goron City, I was standing in the middle of a forest."
"The Lost Woods, there's a secret passageway in Goron City that would take you directly there."
"I know that now, but at the time I was totally lost and to make matters worse there was an extremely large Deku Baba staring me in the face."
"Woah, what happened?" Orla breathed.
"Well, I took a deep breath and then I screamed as loud as I possibly could," Zelda smiled. "And then as the thing attacked me, I put my arms up to stop it and I felt something explode from my hands."
"Magic?"
Zelda nodded.
"Yes. I opened my eyes and then I saw the Deku Baba standing rigid in front of me, surrounded by white light and then it disintegrated."
"Wow, really?"
Zelda nodded again and smiled.
"Come on, give it a try. You'll be fine, I promise."
Orla smiled and closed her eyes, turning her palms upright and biting her bottom lip. Beads of perspiration formed at her brow as she began to frown.
"Relax Orla, don't force it. It will come."
Orla nodded and tried to do as she was told, and once again attempted to put herself back into the calm state of mind that she had been in before. Once again, all the sounds around her began to evaporate as she searched for her own magic.
There.
She felt it like a small spark of electricity that send goosebumps up her arms. A little gasp of surprise escaped her and then all of a sudden the spark was gone.
"You've lost it," Zelda said quietly.
Orla looked at her mother in surprise.
"How did you know that?"
Zelda smiled.
"I could sense it. You weren't expecting it and your surprise made you lose your focus on the magic. Now that you know how it feels, you won't be surprised and you'll be able to control it."
Orla's eyes closed and Zelda continued to watch, smiling to herself. The girl was handling this better than she'd hoped, even better than she had when she first tried to call upon her magic. It was true what she had told her about the Deku Baba, but after that it had taken her at least a month to find that spark again.
She felt a small magic presence begin to build and turned her attention back to Orla. A pale blue haze was forming over her hands, and the girl's eyes were open like saucers as she watched. The white flecks appeared and then merged, producing a tiny white orb no bigger than a Cucco's egg.
"Wow!" Orla breathed.
Zelda smiled and reformed an orb herself.
"Very good, now that you have an orb I want you to keep your mind focused on keeping it. When you've done that, do as I'm doing."
She kept her gaze even and lowered her hands, keeping the orb hovering in the same place as if being held by an invisible thread. Then, very slowly, the orb began to rise slightly in the air, white flecks of light spiralling around it as it levitated and then came to rest above Zelda's head.
"There. Simple controlled levitation. All you need to do is think 'up' and it will move up."
Orla frowned but then stared hard at the orb.
"Up."
She dropped her hands and gasped as the orb began to fall before her eyes narrowed.
"I said up!"
The orb wavered and stopped, hovering inches from the ground. Orla bgan to raise her hand, and as she did the orb began to wobble and float upwards very slowly, following the movements of the child's hand. Zelda watched in absolute amazement as the orb came to rest above Orla's head, twinkling in the early morning sunlight.
"Orla, I think I might have underestimated you," she mumbled.
******
Link murmured softly and rolled over, flinging his arm out to wrap around Zelda's waist. It hit the mattress with a soft thud and caused the sleepy young man to open his eyes slowly.
"Zel?"
He sat up and looked around, shielding his eyes from the sunlight that was filtering in through the window. Zelda wasn't around, he assumed that Amalia had woken up early and that she was with her.
"Never mind, I'll just have to convince her to come back to bed."
He tossed the sheets back and pulled on the closest article of clothing he could find before a shrill peal of laughter caught his attention. Going over to the window, he met with the sight of Zelda and Orla in the courtyard, the younger running away from a pale white sphere of light that had probably been produced by the elder. He smiled and leant against the window ledge, watching the pair of them happily and at the same time feeling a little confused and hurt as to why he hadn't been included in their game.
"Mama! Dada!"
Link sighed as he heard Amalia's demanding voice from across the corridor and headed in that direction to get her. She was standing upright in her cot, smiling widely while clutching an unfortunate toy rabbit by the ear.
"Dada!"
"Good morning angel baby," he replied, scooping the cherubic little girl out from her cot. "Ready to face your adoring public?"
Amalia thrust the long suffering stuffed toy at her father.
"For oo!"
"Me? Oh you shouldn't have," he laughed. "I think he wants to go back to you now."
Amalia giggled and flung her small arms around her father's neck.
"Bath!"
Link smiled.
"Oh alright. If you insist Your Highness."
Link kissed her head and ruffled her blonde curls.
"Come on then beautiful, let's get you in a bath. Are you going to walk or am I going to have to carry you?"
Amalia held onto him tighter and smiled.
"Lazy bones."
The little girl giggled and babbled senselessly to herself while Link carried her to the bathtub. She was incredibly talkative, even if half of what she said made no sense at all.
Link...
Link snapped to attention as a voice sounding like wind blowing through dry leaves called to him. Holding Amalia closer to him instinctively, he turned around to try and spot the source of the voice.
There was no one there apart from him and his daughter.
"Weird."
Amalia was silent and looking at her father in surprise.
"Weird?"
Link nodded and carried on his way.
I'm still here, waiting.
"OK, this is getting ridiculous. Who's there?"
Again, there was nobody there.
You can turn your back on me, but I'm here, waiting. You know that I am.
Link froze and clutched held Amalia so tightly that she whimpered.
"Show yourself!"
You know where I am, I'm right where you left me. And I'm still waiting.
"Who are you?"
You know who I am.
"Obviously I don't, otherwise I wouldn't have asked you," Link replied dryly.
Nox nocte.
"What?"
The night when you'll turn to me for help.
"I'm asking you again: who are you?"
Your darkest fear, and yet your strongest ally.
Link frowned.
"Why don't you just tell me who you are?"
Your own personal demon.
"If this is some kind of trick Ganon, then I'm not impressed," Link growled.
Ganon? Oh you flatter me but no. I'm not him.
Amalia squirmed nervously in her father's arms, not comfortable in his tight grasp.
"Then who?"
"Daddy!"
Orla charged up the stairs and ran towards her father with Zelda following. She smiled at the sight of her husband and youngest daughter and moved to kiss him good morning.
"Who were you talking to?"
Link sighed and shrugged.
"Just myself."
Zelda looked at him sceptically.
"It's the first sign of madness you know."
Orla nodded in agreement.
"And the second sign of madness is getting purple spots on your hands."
"What?" Link asked, looking down at his hands.
"The third sign of madness is looking for them!" Orla giggled.
Zelda laughed softly and then smiled at the frown on Link's face.
"Don't tease your father Orla, you know he doesn't like it."
"You tease him though," Orla argued.
Zelda smirked.
"Do as I say, not as I do."
"Mama!" Amalia shouted pointedly.
Zelda laughed and kissed her daughter.
"Yes, good morning sweetheart."
Amalia smiled and then wriggled as an indication that she wanted to get down. Link did just that and the two year old toddled over to her sister and smacked her lips in a way that suggested she wanted to give her sibling a kiss. Orla smiled and bent down so that she could and then repeated the gesture.
"Come on Ama, do you want some breakfast?"
"Breffast!"
"Are you going to take her?" Zelda asked.
Orla nodded.
"Yeah. Is that OK?"
"That's fine. Daddy and I will be down in a minute."
Orla took Amalia's hand and the two wandered off in the direction of the stairs. Zelda smiled before turning her attention to Link.
"What's the matter? I know that you don't talk to yourself, and even if you did then you would certainly not be asking yourself who you were, nor would you be calling yourself Ganon."
"Did Orla hear?"
Zelda shook her head.
"Not the Ganon part. You'd better be more careful otherwise she'll be asking questions, Amalia too, and I thought we agreed that Ganon was something we'd keep secret from them."
Link nodded.
"I'm sorry, it's just that some weird voice was talking to me and I had no idea who or what it was."
Zelda froze.
"Did it say anything that might have suggested who it was?"
Link shrugged.
"Only that it was my own personal demon..."
His voice trailed off and his eyes narrowed.
"Dark Link."
"Dark Link? Are you sure?"
"Who else would it be? I had to be him."
Zelda looked around them nervously.
"It couldn't be Dark Link, there's no way he'd still be around."
"He said that I'd turn to him on nox nocte."
"Nox nocte," Zelda repeated. "Link, is Dark Link your darkest fear?"
Link laughed.
"Dark Link? No way! OK so he's supposed to be my evil twin, but Ganon obviously had a lousy opinion of me if he was supposed to be me."
"Hmm."
Link looked at Zelda for a moment and then frowned.
"What is nox nocte?"
"Nox nocte is what we've been dreading for eight years," Zelda said grimly.
"And it is..?" Link prompted.
"The night we may lose Orla."
******
Names again: Someone wanted to know why Orla was named after Olaran when his name wasn't Orlaran. Well, Orla sounds prettier than Ola (and if you look back to Chapter 10 of HoH, Ola is Cordelia's nickname for Olaran) and Olarania is a bit of a sucky name too so I chose Orla (Olara sounds like cholera, don't you think?). I realised last night that having put that Theoden was a name I'd thought up, I remembered that I didn't make it up, it's the name of the King of Rohan in The Two Towers ( I can't wait for that movie!) and I'd forgotten because I didn't really pay any attention to any character whose name wasn't Legolas. So I thought I'd mention it before any Tolkien-ites sue me.
But now I've got bad news. Getting those grades means that I've got into my new sixth form in Canterbury. I am going to have a very heavy workload in working towards AS and A Levels and I will also be boarding. Both things mean that I am not going to be able to write as often as you or I would hope, which means that until I get weekend exeats and holidays that there will be no updates from me for a very long time. Please don't hate me or hold me to my word over this, as I am not one hundred percent sure what the next two academic years hold for me as I have never boarded before, but please rest assured that I will try my damndest to update as often as I possibly can. Just to let you know though that if I practically vanish from the site that I will be back in October when I will have a half-term holiday and I will always have the occasional week-end at home to write. Do not think that I am ending my account because I am not. I LOVE to write, I love to read and I especially love to read what you think of my work and I intend to stick around the fanfiction scene for a very long time to come. Even if I didn't get the A* in English. I got it in Drama. I'm so going to try and become an actress!
