Thank you to all the people who reviewed! Some special thanks to Selah Ex Amino, who made me write half the chapter in Sheik's POV, and the other half in Link's. I hope you like it.

I'd also like to thank L-Malon-Z for her help and wonderful ideas! Without her, I wouldn't have been able to get this chapter done so soon.

------------------------------------------------

Chapter twenty-three: Red, green, blue

Sheik's POV

"She's sly, I must admit."

Link complied, sliding his sword back into the sheathe he carried on his back. I knew he didn't like the thought of not wiping it off first, but there was no time for that now.

"Godesses", I muttered. "This won't be easy. This fortress has at least a hundred different rooms and hallways, Rose probably knows this place – better than we do, anyway, and she already has a huge lead! We should get going…"

Link started running toward a door on the opposite side of the room, and I followed. The fortress seemed empty. Even after we had run through at least ten hallways and just as many rooms, all identical, there were still no signs of life. We both stopped, needing to get some rest. I leaned back onto the stone wall behind me, breathing hard. At that moment, I would have done anything to get those Sheikah clothes off. Surely, they were really useful and all, but they just weren't the kind of garments you should be wearing in a desert. They were too warm, and I had begun considering to rip them off, some of them, at least, but Link said something before I had the time to do it. And we should both be lucky that at least one of us had some sense.

"Sheik", he said, "maybe she's not even here. Perhaps this is just what she wants us to do. She wants us to run around here searching for her until she's had the time to escape. And when we finally realize that she's not here, she will be long gone, probably laughing as she thinks of what big fools we are."

"You're right", I admitted. "Let's say she's not hiding anywhere in here. Then what other options does she have? She can't take the way through the valley. That means there is only one way left."

Link nodded. "The gate to the desert… You don't think she's trying to get through the Haunted Wasteland, do you? I've heard a lot of things about that place."

"So have I. I've overheard people talking about a 'river of sand', and other things. But I think Rose is willing to do anything to escape."

"She wouldn't just run out in the desert without a goal", said Link slowly. "Not even she is that stupid. She has a goal—"

"… and that goal is most likely the Temple", I added. "The Spirit Temple. Where else would she go?"

"Sheik", Link breathed, "do you still remember the magical songs Impa once taught you?"

"I still remember them clearly", I answered, "but without an instrument, they are of no use."

Link pulled a small item from his pocket. It was an ocarina, but not the Ocarina of Time. This one was smaller, and made of wood.

"Do you remember this? It's the ocarina Saria gave to me, when you and I left Kokiri Forest so many years ago."

"Link, it's been four years and a half", I said, but he just smiled. "Seems like an eternity, doesn't it? With this ocarina, I can talk to Saria whenever I like. Do you think a warp song would have any effect?"

I took the tiny instrument from him. "I don't know, but it's worth a try. I have never played any of these songs on any instrument but the harp before, so this might take a few tries. Let's see… the Requiem of Spirit…" I removed the fabric concealing the lower part of my face, and slowly put the ocarina to my lips. Closing my eyes, I desperately tried to remember the Requiem of Spirit, the song which would take us directly to Desert Colossus. I had never used the song to warp there, but I prayed that it would work now.

After a few minutes, I found the rhythm and soon, I got the song right. When I heard it, I recalled the day Impa had given that golden harp to me. It felt so long ago… I suddenly felt Link's hand squeezing mine, and I squeezed back, smiling at him. I closed my eyes and there it was, the certain feeling I knew so well by now. It felt like a huge hand had grabbed me around the waist and pulled me backwards. I was fairly sure that my guts had all changed positions when I fluttered my eyes open again. The first thing I saw was the Spirit Temple. It had worked.

Link arose from the ground with a groan. "I hate that and I will never get used to it!" he mumbled. "My head is killing me. Why does warping to different places have to hurt so much?"

"I don't know. But at least we're here", I said, pointing to the Temple and the giant statue covering its façade. The Goddess of Sand… I had to lean my head backwards to be able to see its top. The Temple really looked impressive. I wondered whether Rose had had the time to get here yet. I must admit I hoped she hadn't, so that we could be the ones surprising her, not the other way around. The thought of walking into the Temple with the knowledge that she might jump out from any dark corner and try to attack us gave me shivers.

I let my hand travel down my side, feeling the sheathe with my dagger strapped to my waist. I just wanted to make sure that I really had it. Just in case.

"Ready?" I heard Link ask. I nodded. "Definitely."

I took a step forward. The sand was hot under my feet, so hot that I immediately went backwards again. These Sheikah clothes surely weren't made for this. But I knew I shouldn't complain. Link's weapons were much heavier than mine, and they made it harder to walk and run.

"I guess we have to run", I said. "The sand is so hot that you can't walk. Well, you can, I suppose, with those thick boots, but I can't. I wonder how far it is…"

Link thought for a moment. "Not very long. Come on." And so he ran. I followed him, of course. Suddenly, the sand underneath me started moving! Frightened, I watched as some kind of animal, if you could call it an animal, revealed itself from under the sand. It was green, had the form of a cone and had sharp, yellow spikes on the top. It moved itself forward by spinning its body. I had never seen anything like it before.

"Try not to let them get you", I heard Link yell. "Look out for those spikes."

"What are those?" I panted.

"I have no idea", he answered. There were more of them around us now. I jumped over one, dodged for another, then headed for the Temple entrance. I heard the peculiar sound the spinning things made when they tried to get me, but once I darted inside the Spirit Temple, they seemed to give up and quickly disappeared into the sand again.

Link's POV

The Temple was cool compared to the hot desert outside. And it was quiet, as well. Very quiet. The walls seemed to be made of some kind of yellowish stone, sandstone, maybe, but I wasn't sure. Right in front of me was a broad staircase. On each side of it, stood a high statue. They represented serpents, cobras, I guessed. They were made of sandstone, as well, but their long, curved fangs were made of silver, and they both had a red jewel between the unseeing eyes.

I turned around to see if Sheik had followed me into the Temple. He stood behind me, panting loudly, gazing at one of the serpent statues.

"You okay?" I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Yes", he said. "Just fine. Impressive, isn't it?"

"It really is", I agreed. "Wait… what's that?" I had just noticed that the two statues seemed to have some kind of inscriptions on them. Walking toward one of them, I took a closer look. Yes, it was most definitely an inscription, in a golden frame, but I didn't understand the letters. I focused on the message written on the statue, trying to figure out something, but I couldn't.

"I can't read it", I told Sheik. "What language is it?"

"Ancient Hylian", he informed me. "I haven't seen it in quite a while. It's becoming very unusual… I know a few words, though…" He gazed at the inscription, furrowing his brow in concentration. "If you want to…that could be you should, I'm not sure, and then I can read the words heart, and child. That's all… it doesn't help us much, does it?"

I slowly shook my head. "I'm sure it would be of no use even if we did understand it. Let's take a look at the other rooms. And remember, be heedful."

He nodded. We then continued up the staircase. To our left, we could see a tiny hole in the wall, a tunnel, perhaps, but it was too small for both of us. Why build such a narrow passage here? We turned right instead. After having gone through a couple of rooms, all build of the same kind of stone, we came to a room larger than any I had ever seen. Since it was pretty dark in the room, I didn't see the huge statue in its middle at first. When I did, however, I couldn't help but let out a gasp of wonder.

It was a statue of the Goddess of Sand. She was as high as the room itself, sitting cross-legged upon the floor, holding her hands in front of her, with the palms turned upwards. I had never seen a work of art that big before. We began walking closer to it, when I heard Sheik let out a cry of surprise. I spun around, seeing what I had feared: Rose pressing the blade of her sword against Sheik's throat, her other hand holding his shoulder in a tight grip. I figured that Rose must have ripped the cloths covering Sheik's head off, because now Zelda's long, blonde hair and pointed ears were visible. No one could take her for a Sheikah boy now…

"Just to let you know", Rose said, "if you make a single move, I'll kill your friend."

I sighed impatiently. Why wasn't I surprised to hear that?

"Let him go, Rose."

"Him?" she chuckled. "No, I don't think I will." She slowly turned Zelda around, forcing her to look at her. And obviously something about Zelda startled Rose, because she gasped of surprise and lost her control for a moment. And thankfully, Zelda used that brief second to raise her arm and let her fist make contact with Rose's jaw, before she wriggled herself free.

Rose took a few steps backwards, and observed us warily.

"Rose", Zelda said. "Do you know who I am?"

"In fact, I do… Zelda", the former Queen smirked. "Maybe you would be surprised to know that I was the first to hold you when you were born. It's a pity that your mother passed away so tragically… we were good friends."

"My mother would never have made friends with you", said Zelda icily.

"Oh, but she did." Rose's smile got wider. "I really wonder why she died so suddenly. Maybe it was from exhaustion, or… perhaps that drink I gave her contained something she was allergic to. I don't know."

Zelda's eyes widened from shock. "You… don't tell me you—"

"Rose, how did you manage to get through the Haunted Wasteland?" I wanted to know. "That place is haunted."

"Oh, yes, it is", Rose nodded. "But with this, nothing is impossible. That's what I like about it." She showed us the back of her hand, where a Triforce mark was glowing. It looked just like mine and Zelda's, too symmetrical to be an ordinary birthmark. But then, what ordinary birthmark would be glowing like that?

"I have the Triforce of Power", Rose continued. "And I can do whatever I want with it. You can't—"

At first, I couldn't figure out why she had trailed off, but then I felt it, too. A rumbling. The floor was moving underneath my feet, like it had a life of its own. And then I heard the sound. It was a voice, I was positive it was a voice, but I couldn't catch any words. It sounded like someone tried to yell at the top of his or her lungs in the middle of a thunderstorm. You could hear the voice, but not the words. That's the best explanation I could think of.

Glancing at Rose, I noticed how pale she looked. Her eyes were locked to the statue of the Goddess of Sand, and she really looked terrified. She looked like all she wanted to do was to turn around and run, but she obviously couldn't. I couldn't move, either. It felt as though my feet were rooted to the spot. I slowly turned around, letting out a gasp as I saw the statue.

In its left palm, a large, glowing sphere of light had appeared. It had a cold, blue color, which made me think of ice. Its light was so intense, that I had to narrow my eyes to be able to look at it. To my surprise, there was another sphere in the right hand of the statue, but this one was green. It was a warm, intense green color, and it somehow reminded me of Kokiri Forest. I desperately wanted to be able to touch that magical sphere, I wanted to feel its green warmth. But then a third, intensely glowing ball appeared, right where the statue's face should have been. This one was bright red, red like warm blood.

Red, green, blue.

I realized it all then. Why we were here, and why the glowing spheres were here. I realized why one of the triangles on my hand was glowing darker than the two others. I understood it all right then.

I had a Triforce mark. Zelda had one. And so did Rose.

Power, Courage, Wisdom – red, green, blue.

But how could that be? The three golden Goddesses that once had created Hyrule, did they… did they really exist? I could think of no other explanation to what was happening.

I suddenly heard Rose let out a cry of despair. The light coming from the red sphere was reflecting in her eyes. I thought, for a brief moment, that I could see some kind of burning creature inside the red light, but I wasn't sure.

I looked at Zelda. She seemed completely calm, and was gazing at the blue sphere. I suddenly realized why I felt so attracted to the green one. I knew I was a son of Farore, because the Triforce of Courage had awoken inside me. And green represented Farore. Zelda was the daughter of Nayru, whose color was blue. But Rose – could she really be Din's daughter? She must be! Why would the Triforce of Power choose her if she wasn't?

"So… it's over, then", I heard Rose's voice. But I could hear no anger in it. Her voice was completely monotonous. "And fighting back is of no use. Once they've decided that your time is over, there is nothing you can do."

"Rose", I said, "how did you gain the Triforce of Power? Are you really the Daughter of Din?"

"Oh, of course not", she said hoarsely.

"How… how did you do it?" asked Zelda quietly.

"The one who was born with the Power of Din was Veilla", Rose continued. "Your mother, Zelda. And she really was a strong woman. She had the Power to rule this country with justice and wisdom. But then… she died, and the Triforce of Power abandoned her body. But it couldn't remain without a soul to possess…"

"Did you… did you steal my mother's piece of the Triforce?" snarled Zelda through clenched teeth.

"That's right. The Triforce of Power could have chosen anybody to possess, but it chose me. Because… because I'm the one who killed your mother."

I quickly turned to look at Zelda. Her eyes were empty, and her face emotionless. She was staring without seeing anything. I don't know if she really understood what Rose had told her. Then she sighed deeply, and her hands fell to her sides, as if she had really given up on everything.

"I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. Somehow, I think you knew it all along. Your subconscious knew it, but you didn't want to accept it."

"I'm not accepting it now, either", Zelda said. She was talking utterly slowly, as if every pronounced word was a torment. "You're a monster. You killed a person who had just become a mother, you held her child as she died, you took her husband and her country—"

Rose raised her hand to silence her. "Don't think I haven't suffered as well, Zelda. I have. A frightful ghost, a spirit, has been following me, and it's whispered terrible words in my ear when I've been asleep, words too terrible to imagine. It's given me no rest. It's broken me down, down to a mere shadow of the proud woman I once was. It's haunted me every minute, every single second. And all I wanted was to get to sleep one night through without it disturbing my slumber. But no, it would return, sitting on my bedside, giving me endless nightmares…"

She got quiet as the rumbling began once again, more forceful now. The roaring sound got louder with every second. I closed my eyes tightly, pressing my palms to my sensitive ears – and just when I thought my eardrums would split, the noise ceased. I exhaled slowly, removed my hands, and opened my eyes.

Rose was no longer there. She could have had run away during that awful roaring, but I knew she hadn't. She was gone and the three spheres had vanished with her. The room was once again dark and gloomy, the statue was still sitting cross-legged in front of me. The only thing that looked amiss was that she no longer had a face, her features, once made of clay, had fallen apart when the red sphere, maybe Din herself, had appeared there.

Suddenly aware that I was exhausted, I sunk to my knees on the floor, trying to understand that it was all over.

I felt the weight of a hand on my shoulder, and I reached up and squeezed it lightly. Zelda fell to her knees beside me. She looked more beautiful than ever before, her fair hair tangled and tousled, her skin bruised and her clothes dirty. But that didn't matter, not now. The look in her fiery red eyes was enough. It told me more than she could ever say with words.

"It's over", she simply stated.

I nodded, squeezing her hand a little harder. "Finally…"

She smiled slightly. I leaned in to give her the kiss I had longed to give her for so long now. When we parted, she had closed her eyes, and let out a content sigh.

"Link, we should get back. I don't know how long we have been here. Maybe the battle is won by now."

"Maybe", I said. I got to my feet, and helped Zelda to stand. "I wonder… I can't help but wonder what the Goddesses did to Rose", I mumbled.

"I'm sure that they will give her the sentence she really deserves", Zelda said. "But don't bother about that now. We should be glad that it's over."

I looked at her, and smiled. "I am glad, Zelda. And now… let's go home."

------------------------------------------------

In fact, I was quite pleased with this chapter. So pleased, that I don't know if it's necessary to write a sequel. Please tell me if you review!