A note from the Hime no Argh herself–
It's almost 12 am on a Thursday night. (Do you know where your children are?) I've got homework to do, but instead I'm uploading this, along with a chapter of a new fanfic (see bio for info). Ah well, that's the way the cookie crumbles, or whatever. I'd much rather be writing my happy little Chapter 12 author's note than doing homework.
This chapter is a goody, another one of my faves. You'll hear me say that a lot of the coming chapters are among my favorites. I just think they're all particularly good. ^^; Hope you think so too! Please enjoy the chapter, and feel free to look into my newest fanfic.
***
Chapter 12
The Destined
"I need to speak with the seer."
The man behind the bar at the Wolfshead Tavern eyed first Zelda, then Link. An ugly, balding man, his face deformed by a large scar running from jaw to temple, he fooled visitors by dressing in the nondescript clothes of a bartender. Few people knew his real identity as the king of the underground, a nameless leader who regulated the majority of the traffic of the black market.
"No," he said bluntly, wiping a dirty glass with a dirtier rag.
"I need to speak with the seer," Zelda repeated firmly. "Tell him Zelda Harkinian is here."
Standing at her side, Link kept an eye on the inhabitants of the tavern, all of whom were watching Zelda hungrily. One of the men looked at Link briefly and grinned, drawing his tongue across the blade of the dagger he held in his hand. Link placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, giving the man a look that promised trouble.
"Your name don't carry no weight here, missy," replied the scarred man. "Go back t' pickin' pockets."
Zelda drew a purse from her belt and dropped it on the counter between them. The man looked at it, then her.
"Don't need yer money."
Zelda reached beneath the collar of her shirt and drew a chain with a large circular pendant off her neck. Link watched her, surprised. He hadn't even noticed her wearing anything.
She dropped it on the counter. "It'll fetch five thousand."
The man picked up the necklace, rubbing his thumb over the face of the pendant. "What else?"
"It's all I have."
"Give me one o' yer girls," the scarred man suggested, sweeping Zelda from head to toe with his milky gray eyes.
"You don't want my girls," Zelda told him bluntly. "They're more than a handful."
"No deal."
"Come to my wagon tonight and I'll give you anything you want," Zelda offered. "Excluding my people."
The man considered that. It was obvious that he knew of the Best Damn Thieves Around and their hefty profits.
"I'll see what I can do," he said at last. "Wait here."
He took off his apron and stuffed it away behind the counter, then left through a back door. "You sure about this?" Link whispered to Zelda.
"I know what I'm doing," Zelda murmured back. "I've dealt with these people before."
The man returned a few minutes later and beckoned to Zelda. "He'll see you." He glanced dismissively at Link. "He stays."
"Not a chance in hell," Link snapped, but Zelda shook her head.
"It's okay," she whispered to Link. "Stay here. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
"Are you kidding?" Link whispered back, fiercely. "They'll kill you or sell you into slavery!"
Zelda shook her head. "They won't. The seer's the only one in this entire town who can be trusted. If he's agreed to see me, no one else will dare touch me." She looked at him pleadingly, willing him to see things her way. "Please, Link. Just trust me."
Link cursed. "If you're not out in half an hour, I'm coming in after you."
Zelda smiled. "I'll be no more than fifteen minutes. Don't worry." She squeezed his hand reassuringly, then turned and followed the scarred man through the door in the back of the tavern.
* * *
Zelda was conducted into a small room in the cellar below the tavern by the scarred man, who quickly took his leave. It was dimly lit with torches along the walls and two candles on either side of the small figure crouched on the floor, covered in a hooded cloak. Zelda knelt before the seer and bowed until her forehead touched the floor.
"You need not bow to me, Zelda Harkinian." A small hand curled under her chin and lifted her face until she and the seer were eye-to-eye. The hood of the cloak was drawn back, revealing scarlet eyes in a youthful, elegant face. The seer was a woman, her age impossible to tell. Her face was unlined, but the light in her eyes spoke of infinite wisdom. Silken black hair tumbled down her shoulders, framing her face with two shorter locks. She was a Sheikah, and quite beautiful.
"You're a woman," Zelda said, startled. The seer smiled at her.
"Yes. The shadow king is responsible. He believes I will be safer if all believe I am male."
"The shadow king?" Zelda echoed, then realized she must be talking about the scarred man who led the underground. "Of course. But you must be very safe with the king to protect you."
The seer laughed dryly. "Yes, he protects me quite devoutly in exchange for the information I provide him. How is Impa, my dear child?"
"Well enough," Zelda said bitterly, remembering the Sheikah's betrayal.
The seer nodded. "That is good. I remember well the day she brought you to me as an infant. She did not like my suggestion that I rear you as a thief." A smile twitched on the woman's lips.
Zelda smiled despite herself. "She makes a fine thief herself these days."
The seer laughed. "I imagine that she does. Well." She smiled at Zelda. "Tell me, child, why have you returned to me after all these years?"
"I need to know my future. I..." Zelda hesitated, but something in the seer's kind eyes made her want to pour out her entire soul. "I'm in danger, and so is a friend of mine. Ganondorf is after our lives, but we don't know why."
"How frightened you must be," the seer murmured sympathetically, taking Zelda's hand between both of hers. "I will see what answers I may provide you. Look into my eyes, child."
Zelda obeyed, meeting her fathomless scarlet gaze. "Oh, dear," the seer said softly after a few moments of silence. "You poor child."
"What is it?" Zelda whispered, frightened.
"I see danger...sorrow...pain...fear. All of these things are in your future, Zelda, and they will come to you soon. However..." The seer gazed silently into her eyes for a moment. "You have many great friends at your side who will lend their support. You must learn to trust yourself entirely to your closest companion. Only then will you survive your future." The seer exhaled slowly, letting go of Zelda's hand. "That is all I can tell you."
"But...but that's so cryptic," Zelda replied, frustrated. "Can't you give me anything more specific?"
"My child, the future is not a book to be opened and read at will," the seer said gently. "It is a near-impenetrable mist concealing countless possibilities. I can only decipher so much."
Zelda sighed, disappointed. "Thank you. Doesn't sound like a very bright future, that's for sure."
"You have a strong heart, and a strong will," the seer told her. "You will prevail."
"I hope so," Zelda said bluntly, rising to her feet. "I'd better be on my way." She turned to take her leave.
"Mortal minds know not the secrets that lie within the soul."
Zelda gasped and whirled around. The seer's eyes were closed tightly and she was as still as death, yet her lips moved and a voice that was not her own emerged from her throat. It was a woman's voice, pure and beautiful, yet so great and terrible Zelda found herself involuntarily covering her ears, attempting to shut out the sound. The voice could not be silenced.
"You are Zelda, The Destined, the salvation of Hyrule. Receive unto you the protection of Link, who is also Destined, the foe of all evil. His sword will strike down the Ultimate Evil, and glory will reign once more in Hyrule, the blessed land, under the blessed queen.
"You will have the Sages, the Feather Man, and the Half at your side. The people will come to you and accept your command. The power of the Goddesses will be yours, and you will embody the Immortal Three-Who-Are-One. When all pieces are joined together, the cycle will be fulfilled, and Balance restored.
"As it has been told, these events will come to pass. I, Nayru, declare the destiny of my Chosen."
The terrible voice faded away, and the entity behind it released its grip on the seer. The small woman slowly opened her eyes and gazed up at Zelda. "My apologies," she murmured dreamily. "Was there something else you wanted, dear child?"
Somehow Zelda found her voice. "N-no. Thank you."
* * *
Ten minutes seemed like an eternity to Link, forced to wait in the dim, dirty tavern for Zelda to finish her business with the seer. At last the door behind the bar opened, and Zelda emerged. Their eyes met, and Link knew instantly that something was wrong.
He closed a hand over her arm and steered her out of the tavern and into the alley beside it, deserted save for a pair of rats searching for scraps of food. Zelda's cheeks were pallid and her hands were shaking. Link gripped her chin and forced her to look at him.
"What happened?" he asked firmly.
Zelda blinked. She was looking at him but her eyes were unfocused, as if seeing something else. "I think a goddess spoke to me."
"You think what?"
She recounted her meeting with the seer in as much detail as possible, particularly the seer's last words. When she was done Link remained silent, thinking.
"Impossible," he said at last. "She was playing a trick on you, or something."
"She's a Sheikah," Zelda argued. The shock seemed to have worn away. "When have you ever known one of them to kid about anything? Look at Impa."
Link shook his head, the words of the seer that Zelda recounted echoing through his mind. Zelda...Link...The Destined...the Ultimate Evil...
"What exactly is the 'Ultimate Evil?'" he asked abruptly.
Zelda was silent, biting her lower lip.
"Zelda?"
She looked up at him. "Oh, Link, figure it out. What could it be but–"
"Well, well!" interrupted an all-too-familiar voice. "What a surprise to find you two consorting among the sewer rats."
Link cursed, yanking the Master Sword from its sheath as he and Zelda turned toward the entrance to the alleyway. "What the hell do you two want?" he demanded of Azura and Arjuna. "Or should I say, what does Ganondorf want?"
Astonishment registered briefly on the sisters' identical faces. "How did you...? Never mind." Azura shook her head. "About time you figured it out."
"So why's he after us? Although, come to think of it..." Zelda eyed the Gerudo distastefully and smiled. "I guess we can't be that important if he sent a couple of desert snakes like you."
"Funny you should say that," Arjuna snapped. "We're not about to waste our time. We're just here to give you a message."
"I wouldn't try escaping this city by any of the roads if I were you," Azura said triumphantly. "They're swarming with blue-shirts and bounty hunters from the Lost Woods to the desert. In short, you're out of places to run."
"If you surrender the Master Sword, we'll cut your throats for you," Arjuna offered. "It'll be the least painful way to go."
"Say that again," Link snarled, stepping toward them, but the women were gone in a flash of gold and scarlet. He took a long breath, sliding the Master Sword back into its sheath. "That was bile, pure and simple. They're just trying to scare us."
"They were telling the truth," Zelda said quietly.
"Don't be ridiculous! How could–"
"The seer told me," Zelda interrupted. "It didn't realize it at first, but now it's perfectly clear. Danger. Sorrow. Pain. Fear. All of them in the near future. In short, my worst nightmare has come true. I know they were telling the truth, Link. As much as I want to deny it."
"All right then," Link said abruptly. "We'll just have to find a way to escape–"
"Didn't you hear them? Every route is blocked!"
"But–"
"Miss Zelda!" It was Cleo. She stood at the entrance of the alley, wrapped in a long blanket to hide her womanly figure, her face pale and eyes wide. "Impa sent me. We've just dragged the wagon into the city–we had to. Marek went to scout a little ways south on the road and found it swarming with–"
"Blue-shirts and bounty hunters," Zelda said grimly. "I know. Take me back to the wagon, Cleo."
The wagon was hidden behind an apothecary not far from the city gates. Impa, Marek, Parcleus, and Oberon guarded it, all armed to the teeth and wary of any city dwellers who strayed too close. The rest of the thieves spilled from the wagon as soon as Cleo, Zelda, and Link appeared, all plainly terrified.
"What are we going to do?" Dagger moaned. "We can't stay here, but we can't go out there–"
"There are bounty hunters after us!" Bolo whispered, sweating and trembling. "They'll kill us!"
"Or drag us to Ganondorf's dungeons–"
"We'll be tortured to death!"
"Stop it, all of you," Zelda said firmly. She was incredibly composed–not an ounce of fear showed in her blazing eyes nor a moment of hesitation in her unfaltering voice. "We are not going to be captured, tortured, or killed. We're going to survive, just as we've always done."
"How?" Impa gazed levelly at Zelda–she too, was amazingly calm, considering the circumstances. "You have a plan?"
"I might," Zelda said quietly, "but no one is going to like it."
"We'll deal with it." That was Marek, level-headed and unexcitable as always. He had an arm around Dagger's trembling shoulders. "Tell us."
Zelda smiled briefly. "All right." She took a deep breath. "As far as we know, all of the roads are blocked. Every possible escape route will be watched. If we don't make a move, they'll eventually come to us. They're expecting us to try to get as far away from this city as fast as possible, and that's exactly what we're going to do. We'll just have to do it the unexpected way."
Cleo gave a sudden gasp, clapping her hands to her mouth. "No," she whispered, the blood draining from her face. "Please tell me I've got it wrong, Miss Zelda. Please tell me that isn't what you're thinking."
"Sorry," Zelda said grimly, "but we have no other option. We have to go through Hyrule Field."
* * *
To be continued.