Chapter Sixteen: With Weapons Ready
The Day
Link had been waiting for this day for over a year now, but that did not make it any easier. As he found himself standing in front of the Door of Time, Master Sword in hand and the Sages in a half circle around him, he could still feel fear lingering in his gut. The Temple of Time was deadly still, save for the continuous clatter of soldiers outside and the shallow, rapid breathing of the others. Navi had been the one to face Ganondorf with him the last time, but now she was gone, bitter with him for not telling her the truth. He knew that he had hurt her deeply, but she was safe, that's what he kept telling himself.
The Master Sword hung loosely in his left hand and his shield was fastened firmly to his right one. For this final battle, Link bore the crest of the Royal Family of Hyrule across his leather mantle, which covered his shoulders above the dark tunic and breeches. His once wild hair had been shorn mercilessly so that it was no more than an uneven bristle along his head. One breath in, one breath out…breath Link, you know what you have to do…Link inspected the blade of the sword, knowing that very soon it would be his blood on the end, and that that end would be thrust through the Evil King's black body.
King Harkinian is standing next to Zelda…she's nervous, I can feel her. And Saria, she's brave, but she's very frightened. I'm frightened myself. Darunia is conversing something with Ruto, but it's too quiet for me to make out…The soldiers are prepared for battle outside the doors of the Temple, should we fail. They have to know they'd just be throwing their lives away, no one but us can stand up to Ganondorf now. Link slowly walked back from the altar and stood by his princess, waiting.
Impa is being quiet, even for her…I can see uneasiness in her stance, arms folded, knees locked as always. Nabooru has flames burning in her gaze…she's angrier than I've ever seen her before… Nabooru and Link's eyes meet and she nods reassuringly to him, as if to say 'no worries, Kid, this will be a piece of cake.' I know it won't be as easy as all that though, Nabooru knows that too I should think. What was that?! Oh, just a bird that flew onto the window ledge…
Link sighed with relief as the first signs of perspiration started to show on his brow. Ruto came up on his right and interlaced her long, tapered fingers with his without looking at him and kept staring at the stone Door of Time. Link did his best to smile, and squeezed her hand back. Saria now stood at his left and placed a small hand on his side lightly, so light that he did not notice it at first. She looked up at him with wide blue eyes and just stood there, comforted being next to her oldest friend.
"You dare to defy me again, my desert goddess?"
Nabooru's head snapped up when that cold, chilling voice spoke again only to her.
"Ah, so I see I have a fine reception for me. How thoughtful of all of you…"
Link felt a tingle and warm breath against his ear, turning to find Nabooru hovering there, attention fixed on the Door. Her lips snarled back and brows creased above dark, intense eyes.
"Draw your sword Kid, it's time."
***
The storm had hit upon Hyrule as if on queue. Thunder and lightning crashed down from the sky, crackling and flaring and sending the inhabitants cowering in their houses. A wind from the desert howled down along the streets, snapping shudders and overturning shop stands with its powerful gusts.
And then it changed suddenly, and now instead of the dry, warm draught, another blew out of the mountains. These were no ordinary winds, the people of Hyrule realized, for they seemed to come and go as they pleased and each new direction brought with it a new uneasiness or hope, or fear. From the mountains blew the strongest of all of them that howled as it ran across the Field, seeming to bear the strength of the mountain with it. The late afternoon sun was completely blotted out from view and sent the land into an unnatural darkness. Boom, boom, crack! Went the thunder rolling over the gray and bleak clouds.
The horses didn't like the storm at all and were hard to calm down, though both Rook and Malon tried their best. Poor young Sandra, just barely over a year, huddled closely to her mother and whinnied helplessly.
"Sh, sh, it's okay everyone, calm down, it will pass. Sh, please, it'll be alright," Malon talked softly and stroked Rakon's big broad neck and felt it quiver beneath her hand.
"Aye, Malon, I don' no what's gotten em' so riled, s' only a wee storm," Rook was standing next to her, running a careless hand through his unruly brown hair. Malon turned and nuzzled up against him, wrapping her arms around his waist comfortably and he doing the same.
"Umm, we can't go back to the house until they've calmed down," she murmured.
"Aye, and it's getting' cold outside too," Rook grinned and pulled her closer to kiss. Malon sighed and lifted her arms lazily to his neck.
"Well if we can't do anything about the storm, we can at least solve the warmth," her eyebrows raised suggestively and her husband let out a loud, good-natured laugh.
"I think I can help with tha', Firefly," he grinned again and carried her over to the clean pile of hay.
***
Their daughter was gone, just disappeared from her bed one night. Searches had been mounted all over the valley, but neither she nor any trace of her was ever found. Her mother fretted every hour of every day, worn ragged with the constant hardships that had befallen her family as of late. Joshuan and his uncles and father had left to the Field two days before, hoping that perhaps she had slipped out again on another irresponsible escapade, but Balius was still in his stable and they knew that she would not have gotten far without him.
As Lindie sat in front of her home mindlessly darning a torn shirt, a breeze funneled down the valley whipping tree branches and blowing up loose patches of earth and carrying it along with it. Lindie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, smelling the clean scent of fresh water and grass and some other scent so faint that she could not place it for a moment. Kantherine looked up and smelled the breeze too as a wave of calmness ran through her. The wind seemed to hang about them for a moment before taking off again, a mind of it's own, and speeding out of the valley again and from whence it came on the shores of Lake Hylia.
"What do you suppose that was?" asked Kantherine, noticeably shaken after the wind's departure. "It felt…familiar."
"I know," said Lindie, her eyes following the path where the unnatural bluster had spirited. Her voice was wavering and tears had built up in her eyes, threatening to fall. "It was Loraefin on that wind!"
***
"I don't like the look of this storm, Captain Viscen," Haemon muttered. "Something not right about it."
"Aye, I agree. It's…unnatural. If I wasn't the man I am, I'd say the Goddesses were riding the skies today," Marcus tightened his gauntlet and stood ready before his men. He watched the great ancient doors of the Temple of Time like a hawk for any change, but after hours of watching his eyes began to grow weary. Marcus didn't like the idea of his king being in their when he was not, where he could not protect him, but he knew that Link was there and that brought him some piece of mind. Some, piece of mind. The Captain honored his king's decision to stand by his daughter, Princess Zelda, as any father would though, and Marcus was proud to call that man his king.
Suddenly, almost to faint to notice, there was a change in the wind, blowing softly out of the forest, cool and carrying a fresh, sweet scent with it. Marcus raised his head and sniffed the new change.
"Do you feel that?" He said. "Wind's changed, something's about to happen."