Chapter 3
Inside the thrown room, Zelda's advisors were in a mass panic. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and running frantically about the room. There was one figure in the room however who wasn't running about frantically or screaming at the top of his lungs. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even an advisor. He was dressed in traditional Kokiri garb but obviously garb the size of an adult. His messy blonde hair stuck out from underneath the cap he wore on his head and a sword sheath was strapped across his chest. A normal Hylian sword was in the scabbard as the figure had long ago lain to rest his most beloved weapon. He wore light brown boots that came halfway up his shin and matching brown fingerless gloves on his hands. He wore a silver earring in his left ear and an ocarina was strapped to his belt.
As Zelda entered the room the figure's cerulean eyes fixed themselves on her. He stayed in place leaning against the wall with one foot on it and his arms crossed but his gaze was ever fixed on the graceful queen. His eyes followed her until she sat in her throne and the advisors finally calmed down.
"Your majesty, are you alright," one of her advisors addressed her. He was the youngest of her advisors, about ten or so years younger than herself but he had proven his knowledge was quite useful in some of Hyrule's financial problems.
"I am fine, Miguel. It was a frightening experience but as you can see I am alive and well," Zelda said to Miguel as well as her other advisors.
"Who tried to assassinate you, your majesty," an elderly man in a long flowing orange robe asked. Zelda looked at him and almost smiled. She had known this man since her adolescent years and he had provided her with the most useful advice of all her advisors in matters of state and, on occasion, even her personal affairs.
"I do not know, Rauru. It appeared to be a young boy although I can't imagine why a child would want to kill me," Zelda said as she pondered her own statement. She did indeed truly wonder why a child would want to kill her.
"Those Gerudo scum are the ones to blame. Those whores probably trained the boy and sent him to assassinate you," one of her advisors spoke.
"ARIAN! I WILL NEVER HEAR YOU SPEAK OF WOMEN USING SUCH LANGUAGE AGAIN NO MATTER WHAT RACE THEY BELONG TO! DO YOU UNDERSTAND," Zelda screamed at her War Advisor. Deep down he had the kingdom's best interests at heart but he very easily lost himself when it came to things such as the situation that they were currently in.
"Forgive me, your majesty. I lost my composure but do you not agree with me that it was the Gerudo," he said as he bowed to her as a sign of asking for forgiveness.
"You are forgiven, Arian. Concerning the Gerudo, however, I am not so sure I want to assume they are responsible. Although tensions have recently risen between the Gerudo and our people I do not wish to start a war over an assassination attempt unless I am positive who the ones responsible are. Remember, we fought a war with the Gerudo when my father was ruling the kingdom and that war cost both sides greatly financially and emotionally. Let's also not forgot what their former king, Ganondorf, was capable of," Zelda said.
At the mention of the name Ganondorf, even the figure leaning against the wall cringed. He knew all to well the horrors Ganondorf had been responsible for and the horrible power he had wielded before the mighty king of evil had been defeated. Although it was true some of the Gerudo rebelled against him, most stayed loyal to him and had helped him conquer Hyrule for the seven year period in which he ruled. The fact that he had a piece of the mighty Triforce at his command did not bode well for the people of Hyrule either.
"What do you suggest we do then, your majesty," Rauru asked as he approached the thrown.
"I want you to send a messenger to Gerudo Valley to speak with their leader and I also want you to send out as many agents as you can spare to investigate this matter. Is that understood, gentleman," she said firmly.
"Yes, your majesty," they all said in unison as they bowed to her and slowly backed away.
"By the way, your majesty how is the young boy who saved your life doing," Rauru asked just as he and the other advisors were leaving the throne room.
"He is fine, Rauru. He is resting in my chambers as we speak. You will all have a chance to meet him later," she responded.
Rauru and the others bowed and left the throne room. The figure that had been leaning against the wall now left his post and walked to Zelda. He stood next to Zelda for a moment not saying a word. After a few moments he finally spoke.
"Is it him," the figure asked.
"I'm not sure. He looks almost exactly like you but I could be wrong. He could just be Kokiri," she said.
"Doubt it," the figure responded. "Kokiri elves do not age past ten years and one of the advisors was saying that the boy looked to be at least thirteen or fourteen years of age."
"True but even if it is him we can't speak of it. Not now anyway. He still isn't old enough. If it got it who he was then…." Zelda began to say but the figure placed his finger on her lips.
"I know. I know. We just have to be careful. His life will be in just as much danger as yours if it gets out. Besides," the figure said as he leaned in close and kissed Zelda on the lips, "I couldn't bare the thought of losing either of you."
Zelda smiled and kissed the figure back. She stood up and laid her head on his shoulder and embraced him. He returned her embrace and rested his chin on her head.
"You're so cute when you're all worried like that," she said to the figure as she closed her eyes briefly.
He smiled and embraced her tightly for a moment and then let go. She almost protested until she looked up into his eyes.
"So, we can we go see the boy," the figure asked. "I'm a little anxious to see him. I at least want to thank him for saving you."
"We can go right now if you want. He might still be resting so we will have to be quiet," she said as she headed back to her chamber, the figure following her closely.
Meanwhile, in Zelda's chamber, Link was just beginning to wake up. He looked around the room groggily and couldn't remember where he was. Suddenly he shot up as he remembered what happened. He had saved the queen from being killed. He noticed the décor of the room and figured that it must be the queen's bed chamber. He remembered his leg and looked down to see how badly it had been injured but he couldn't find a wound anywhere. He thought that was odd but knowing that Hyrule was home to some strange and magical things he figured a healer or someone with healing powers had healed him. He had seen it done before but only on a horse.
Link stood up and walked around the room inspecting some of the queen's belongings. The chamber itself was not very large. There were pictures of people the queen knew all over her room and a huge closet opposite to her bed.
"If I didn't know any better I would say that the queen was just a normal woman with money," Link said as he inspected what he now realized to be a rather semi-normal looking room.
Link inspected the room for just a few moments longer then decided to leave and look for the queen. He realized that his "mother" would be worried sick about him by now and he would have to get home. He was also worried about Midnight. He had forgotten to ask someone to take care of him before he passed out.
Just as he was about to leave the room the doors opened and Queen Zelda and the figure that had been following her were standing at the door. Link bowed to the queen and then looked up at the figure. He was slightly taken aback. The figure was dressed almost exactly like he was. His face even seemed the same although he was obviously much older.
"Hello, your majesty. I hope that you are alright," Link said as he rose from his bow.
"Oh, I am just fine. I do hope that you are okay. Oh, and you need not be so formal around me. You did save my life after all. You may call me Zelda," she said as she curtsied to Link.
Link couldn't believe it. The queen was actually treating him like he was royalty. Although it was true he did save her life, he did not think that it warranted this much respect on his part. The figure could see the obvious confusion in Link's eyes and spoke up.
"Don't worry. She treats everyone she's close to like this," he said calmly as he looked Link in the eye. Link was slightly taken aback when he heard the figure speak but he quickly regained his composure.
"Oh! Well….Zelda….my name is Link," he said as he removed his cap and bowed once again.
At this both the figure and Zelda looked at each other in surprise and then looked back at the boy. The figure was still not certain about the boy's identity so he asked him one more question.
"Tell me, Link. Where do you live? Who are your parents," he asked calmly but his nervousness was somewhat apparent.
"Well, I live on Lon Lon Ranch. My mother is Malon although she is not my real mother. She adopted me when I was just a baby. My Grandpa Talon and my Uncle Ingo live there with us as well," Link replied.
The figure and Zelda no longer had any doubts about the boy's identity but they still couldn't reveal who he was. His identity had to remain secret until the right time came.
"Well, Link, what were you doing in Hyrule Castle Town," Zelda asked him as she motioned for him to sit down on the bed. He did so and she sat next to him. The figure pulled up a chair and sat with the back of the chair facing Zelda and Link.
"Well, my birthday was yesterday and my mother had given me a horse…..wait. Do you know what happened to my horse," he said nervously.
"Was it black with white rings around its hooves," the figure asked.
"YES! That was Midnight! Do you know where he is?"
"He's in the castle stables. He sure does love oats. Reminds me of a horse I used to know…." the figure said and trailed off.
"Anyway, yesterday was your birthday and….," Zelda said to steer the conversation back in the direction of Link.
"Oh yes! Well my Uncle Ingo had given me fifty rupees to spend since he couldn't pick out a gift for me and I was headed towards Hyrule Castle Town. I had originally planned to ride my horse all day and just come to town tomorrow but somehow I wasn't paying attention and Midnight slung me off and into a stream and…." Link began as he told the whole story to Zelda and the figure next to them.
When he finished, the figure beside Zelda whistled and said, "Well, that was certainly an interesting story. You must have had a very exciting time here. I tell you what. For saving Zelda's life and since your birthday was yesterday, I'm going to give you something."
The figure reached down to his belt and removed his ocarina and handed it to Link.
"Wow! This is incredible. I've always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument," Link said.
"Well you'll love the ocarina. It's actually really easy to learn but some of the tunes you play on it can be hard," the figure said with a smile on his face.
"Not to be outdone by my handsome companion here I want you to have this," she said as she handed him a silver earring from a hidden pocket in her dress.
"It's an earring for men. You don't even have to pierce your ear. It clips on like this," she continued as she demonstrated how to put it on.
"I can't believe this. Thank you both so very much," Link said excitedly.
"It's the least we can do for you. You did save me after all," Zelda said with a smile.
Link was almost jumping for joy until he noticed the sword on the figure's back. He stared at it so long that the figure finally spoke up.
"You like my sword, eh?"
"Well, I've always been interested in them but my mother would never let me own one," he sadly. He had always loved swords but his mother had been adamant about not letting him own one. She wouldn't even let him pretend with a wooden stick.
"I tell you what. You come here everyday just after noon and I'll teach you how to use one of these, okay," the figure said.
"Wow! That would be really great. Thank you," Link said.
"We should get you home now though. Your mother must be getting worried about you," Zelda said.
"Yeah, she's probably pulling her hair out as we speak," Link said chuckling. Zelda and the figure laughed as well and then brought him to the stables to get Midnight. The figure offered to ride home with him but Link said he would be alright.
Just before he left he turned to the figure and asked, "By the way, did you happen to see a b….."
Link was cut off as the figure handed him his bow and arrow.
"I figured it was yours when I found horse hairs all over your quiver," the figure said.
Link thanked them once again and rode off to his home at break neck speed. The figure watched him leave and a look of sadness filled their faces.
"It really was him. I'm so happy to have seen him after so long," Zelda said as she looked at Link's fading figure.
"I am to, my love. I am to," the figure said as he to watched the fading figure of the young boy ride off in the distance.
Inside the thrown room, Zelda's advisors were in a mass panic. They were screaming at the top of their lungs and running frantically about the room. There was one figure in the room however who wasn't running about frantically or screaming at the top of his lungs. As a matter of fact, he wasn't even an advisor. He was dressed in traditional Kokiri garb but obviously garb the size of an adult. His messy blonde hair stuck out from underneath the cap he wore on his head and a sword sheath was strapped across his chest. A normal Hylian sword was in the scabbard as the figure had long ago lain to rest his most beloved weapon. He wore light brown boots that came halfway up his shin and matching brown fingerless gloves on his hands. He wore a silver earring in his left ear and an ocarina was strapped to his belt.
As Zelda entered the room the figure's cerulean eyes fixed themselves on her. He stayed in place leaning against the wall with one foot on it and his arms crossed but his gaze was ever fixed on the graceful queen. His eyes followed her until she sat in her throne and the advisors finally calmed down.
"Your majesty, are you alright," one of her advisors addressed her. He was the youngest of her advisors, about ten or so years younger than herself but he had proven his knowledge was quite useful in some of Hyrule's financial problems.
"I am fine, Miguel. It was a frightening experience but as you can see I am alive and well," Zelda said to Miguel as well as her other advisors.
"Who tried to assassinate you, your majesty," an elderly man in a long flowing orange robe asked. Zelda looked at him and almost smiled. She had known this man since her adolescent years and he had provided her with the most useful advice of all her advisors in matters of state and, on occasion, even her personal affairs.
"I do not know, Rauru. It appeared to be a young boy although I can't imagine why a child would want to kill me," Zelda said as she pondered her own statement. She did indeed truly wonder why a child would want to kill her.
"Those Gerudo scum are the ones to blame. Those whores probably trained the boy and sent him to assassinate you," one of her advisors spoke.
"ARIAN! I WILL NEVER HEAR YOU SPEAK OF WOMEN USING SUCH LANGUAGE AGAIN NO MATTER WHAT RACE THEY BELONG TO! DO YOU UNDERSTAND," Zelda screamed at her War Advisor. Deep down he had the kingdom's best interests at heart but he very easily lost himself when it came to things such as the situation that they were currently in.
"Forgive me, your majesty. I lost my composure but do you not agree with me that it was the Gerudo," he said as he bowed to her as a sign of asking for forgiveness.
"You are forgiven, Arian. Concerning the Gerudo, however, I am not so sure I want to assume they are responsible. Although tensions have recently risen between the Gerudo and our people I do not wish to start a war over an assassination attempt unless I am positive who the ones responsible are. Remember, we fought a war with the Gerudo when my father was ruling the kingdom and that war cost both sides greatly financially and emotionally. Let's also not forgot what their former king, Ganondorf, was capable of," Zelda said.
At the mention of the name Ganondorf, even the figure leaning against the wall cringed. He knew all to well the horrors Ganondorf had been responsible for and the horrible power he had wielded before the mighty king of evil had been defeated. Although it was true some of the Gerudo rebelled against him, most stayed loyal to him and had helped him conquer Hyrule for the seven year period in which he ruled. The fact that he had a piece of the mighty Triforce at his command did not bode well for the people of Hyrule either.
"What do you suggest we do then, your majesty," Rauru asked as he approached the thrown.
"I want you to send a messenger to Gerudo Valley to speak with their leader and I also want you to send out as many agents as you can spare to investigate this matter. Is that understood, gentleman," she said firmly.
"Yes, your majesty," they all said in unison as they bowed to her and slowly backed away.
"By the way, your majesty how is the young boy who saved your life doing," Rauru asked just as he and the other advisors were leaving the throne room.
"He is fine, Rauru. He is resting in my chambers as we speak. You will all have a chance to meet him later," she responded.
Rauru and the others bowed and left the throne room. The figure that had been leaning against the wall now left his post and walked to Zelda. He stood next to Zelda for a moment not saying a word. After a few moments he finally spoke.
"Is it him," the figure asked.
"I'm not sure. He looks almost exactly like you but I could be wrong. He could just be Kokiri," she said.
"Doubt it," the figure responded. "Kokiri elves do not age past ten years and one of the advisors was saying that the boy looked to be at least thirteen or fourteen years of age."
"True but even if it is him we can't speak of it. Not now anyway. He still isn't old enough. If it got it who he was then…." Zelda began to say but the figure placed his finger on her lips.
"I know. I know. We just have to be careful. His life will be in just as much danger as yours if it gets out. Besides," the figure said as he leaned in close and kissed Zelda on the lips, "I couldn't bare the thought of losing either of you."
Zelda smiled and kissed the figure back. She stood up and laid her head on his shoulder and embraced him. He returned her embrace and rested his chin on her head.
"You're so cute when you're all worried like that," she said to the figure as she closed her eyes briefly.
He smiled and embraced her tightly for a moment and then let go. She almost protested until she looked up into his eyes.
"So, we can we go see the boy," the figure asked. "I'm a little anxious to see him. I at least want to thank him for saving you."
"We can go right now if you want. He might still be resting so we will have to be quiet," she said as she headed back to her chamber, the figure following her closely.
Meanwhile, in Zelda's chamber, Link was just beginning to wake up. He looked around the room groggily and couldn't remember where he was. Suddenly he shot up as he remembered what happened. He had saved the queen from being killed. He noticed the décor of the room and figured that it must be the queen's bed chamber. He remembered his leg and looked down to see how badly it had been injured but he couldn't find a wound anywhere. He thought that was odd but knowing that Hyrule was home to some strange and magical things he figured a healer or someone with healing powers had healed him. He had seen it done before but only on a horse.
Link stood up and walked around the room inspecting some of the queen's belongings. The chamber itself was not very large. There were pictures of people the queen knew all over her room and a huge closet opposite to her bed.
"If I didn't know any better I would say that the queen was just a normal woman with money," Link said as he inspected what he now realized to be a rather semi-normal looking room.
Link inspected the room for just a few moments longer then decided to leave and look for the queen. He realized that his "mother" would be worried sick about him by now and he would have to get home. He was also worried about Midnight. He had forgotten to ask someone to take care of him before he passed out.
Just as he was about to leave the room the doors opened and Queen Zelda and the figure that had been following her were standing at the door. Link bowed to the queen and then looked up at the figure. He was slightly taken aback. The figure was dressed almost exactly like he was. His face even seemed the same although he was obviously much older.
"Hello, your majesty. I hope that you are alright," Link said as he rose from his bow.
"Oh, I am just fine. I do hope that you are okay. Oh, and you need not be so formal around me. You did save my life after all. You may call me Zelda," she said as she curtsied to Link.
Link couldn't believe it. The queen was actually treating him like he was royalty. Although it was true he did save her life, he did not think that it warranted this much respect on his part. The figure could see the obvious confusion in Link's eyes and spoke up.
"Don't worry. She treats everyone she's close to like this," he said calmly as he looked Link in the eye. Link was slightly taken aback when he heard the figure speak but he quickly regained his composure.
"Oh! Well….Zelda….my name is Link," he said as he removed his cap and bowed once again.
At this both the figure and Zelda looked at each other in surprise and then looked back at the boy. The figure was still not certain about the boy's identity so he asked him one more question.
"Tell me, Link. Where do you live? Who are your parents," he asked calmly but his nervousness was somewhat apparent.
"Well, I live on Lon Lon Ranch. My mother is Malon although she is not my real mother. She adopted me when I was just a baby. My Grandpa Talon and my Uncle Ingo live there with us as well," Link replied.
The figure and Zelda no longer had any doubts about the boy's identity but they still couldn't reveal who he was. His identity had to remain secret until the right time came.
"Well, Link, what were you doing in Hyrule Castle Town," Zelda asked him as she motioned for him to sit down on the bed. He did so and she sat next to him. The figure pulled up a chair and sat with the back of the chair facing Zelda and Link.
"Well, my birthday was yesterday and my mother had given me a horse…..wait. Do you know what happened to my horse," he said nervously.
"Was it black with white rings around its hooves," the figure asked.
"YES! That was Midnight! Do you know where he is?"
"He's in the castle stables. He sure does love oats. Reminds me of a horse I used to know…." the figure said and trailed off.
"Anyway, yesterday was your birthday and….," Zelda said to steer the conversation back in the direction of Link.
"Oh yes! Well my Uncle Ingo had given me fifty rupees to spend since he couldn't pick out a gift for me and I was headed towards Hyrule Castle Town. I had originally planned to ride my horse all day and just come to town tomorrow but somehow I wasn't paying attention and Midnight slung me off and into a stream and…." Link began as he told the whole story to Zelda and the figure next to them.
When he finished, the figure beside Zelda whistled and said, "Well, that was certainly an interesting story. You must have had a very exciting time here. I tell you what. For saving Zelda's life and since your birthday was yesterday, I'm going to give you something."
The figure reached down to his belt and removed his ocarina and handed it to Link.
"Wow! This is incredible. I've always wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument," Link said.
"Well you'll love the ocarina. It's actually really easy to learn but some of the tunes you play on it can be hard," the figure said with a smile on his face.
"Not to be outdone by my handsome companion here I want you to have this," she said as she handed him a silver earring from a hidden pocket in her dress.
"It's an earring for men. You don't even have to pierce your ear. It clips on like this," she continued as she demonstrated how to put it on.
"I can't believe this. Thank you both so very much," Link said excitedly.
"It's the least we can do for you. You did save me after all," Zelda said with a smile.
Link was almost jumping for joy until he noticed the sword on the figure's back. He stared at it so long that the figure finally spoke up.
"You like my sword, eh?"
"Well, I've always been interested in them but my mother would never let me own one," he sadly. He had always loved swords but his mother had been adamant about not letting him own one. She wouldn't even let him pretend with a wooden stick.
"I tell you what. You come here everyday just after noon and I'll teach you how to use one of these, okay," the figure said.
"Wow! That would be really great. Thank you," Link said.
"We should get you home now though. Your mother must be getting worried about you," Zelda said.
"Yeah, she's probably pulling her hair out as we speak," Link said chuckling. Zelda and the figure laughed as well and then brought him to the stables to get Midnight. The figure offered to ride home with him but Link said he would be alright.
Just before he left he turned to the figure and asked, "By the way, did you happen to see a b….."
Link was cut off as the figure handed him his bow and arrow.
"I figured it was yours when I found horse hairs all over your quiver," the figure said.
Link thanked them once again and rode off to his home at break neck speed. The figure watched him leave and a look of sadness filled their faces.
"It really was him. I'm so happy to have seen him after so long," Zelda said as she looked at Link's fading figure.
"I am to, my love. I am to," the figure said as he to watched the fading figure of the young boy ride off in the distance.