"Okay, but yell if you need help." the guard said.
The prison tent was a very special tent. The Gerudo had designed it to keep Ganondorf in check if he tried being evil again, so it easily blocked magic. And thanks to an unnecessary amount of extra-long stakes, you couldn't burrow underneath. That plus a full guard detail made it the perfect jail-on-the-go.
The guard let Link in, securing the flaps behind him. Inside, there was a mirror, a table and chairs, a bed, nothing too fancy. Zelda was staring into the mirror. She turned and smiled at him.
"Link! I wanted to talk to you."
She and Link sat on either side of the table.
"You disappeared three years ago without a word! Where have you been?"
"Three years?"
Link rubbed his head. Not a lot of what had happened right before that cell had come back.
"I think I was up north. Or near there, I suppose. I don't remember."
Zelda moved closer. "What's that on your head?"
She gingerly touched the scar.
"After I got that, I lost all my memories. That was a year and a half ago."
"And let me guess, Ganondorf has promised to restore them if you help him under all circumstances?"
Her voice dripped irony.
"No."
"Did he tell you what you had 'forgotten'? Some story about his band finding you as a child and raising you as one of them?"
"No, he's only told me about what he knew. That I fought against him, and used the Master Sword to seal him in the Sacred Realm."
"Then, has he offered to use his magic to restore your memory? Maybe embellished a few things?"
"No, _Zel_, it's coming back on it's own."
She gasped. Link had been the only one to call her 'Zel'.
"Link, why have you been living with them?"
"Well…I don't really know why. But if it wasn't for Ganondorf I'd have long since died of frostbite in that cell in the Tangust Mountains."
"And how do you know he didn't put you there? For all you know, giving you amnesia was part of a brilliant plan for him to take the Triforce of Courage from you! You wouldn't remember it was even there!"
In reply, Link calmly displayed his Triforce mark.
"He had to _explain_ this to me when I found it."
Zelda spluttered angrily. She knocked over her chair as she stomped to the far side of the tent. Link watched her, but he knew better than to try and calm her down at this point. She turned back.
"Link, can't you see? Ganondorf is _evil_! He and this robbing band of his have been a blight on the land for years! How can you trust them?"
Link stood up, anger showing on his face. Zelda shrank back a little: Link had never looked angry at her before.
"Zelda, how would you know if he was evil, you haven't seen him in four years! I have been with these people for a year and a half, and in that time none of them have stolen from or harmed anyone, except in self-defense! This is the reason I left Hyrule in the first place!"
Link paused, the unexpected memory hitting him hard.
"Link, what are you talking about? As the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, I think I would know if he was still evil!"
"Except for the fact that you're still letting your prejudices guide your judgment. That's what's blocking your powers, not some spell!"
Zelda froze. That had been the basic context of the last argument she and Link had had before he left.
"Zelda, I came here to apologize for dragging you into this. I wanted to clear the air. But if you aren't going to be reasonable, then as far as I'm concerned this is over."
Link stormed out, leaving a very shocked Zelda behind.
The prison tent was a very special tent. The Gerudo had designed it to keep Ganondorf in check if he tried being evil again, so it easily blocked magic. And thanks to an unnecessary amount of extra-long stakes, you couldn't burrow underneath. That plus a full guard detail made it the perfect jail-on-the-go.
The guard let Link in, securing the flaps behind him. Inside, there was a mirror, a table and chairs, a bed, nothing too fancy. Zelda was staring into the mirror. She turned and smiled at him.
"Link! I wanted to talk to you."
She and Link sat on either side of the table.
"You disappeared three years ago without a word! Where have you been?"
"Three years?"
Link rubbed his head. Not a lot of what had happened right before that cell had come back.
"I think I was up north. Or near there, I suppose. I don't remember."
Zelda moved closer. "What's that on your head?"
She gingerly touched the scar.
"After I got that, I lost all my memories. That was a year and a half ago."
"And let me guess, Ganondorf has promised to restore them if you help him under all circumstances?"
Her voice dripped irony.
"No."
"Did he tell you what you had 'forgotten'? Some story about his band finding you as a child and raising you as one of them?"
"No, he's only told me about what he knew. That I fought against him, and used the Master Sword to seal him in the Sacred Realm."
"Then, has he offered to use his magic to restore your memory? Maybe embellished a few things?"
"No, _Zel_, it's coming back on it's own."
She gasped. Link had been the only one to call her 'Zel'.
"Link, why have you been living with them?"
"Well…I don't really know why. But if it wasn't for Ganondorf I'd have long since died of frostbite in that cell in the Tangust Mountains."
"And how do you know he didn't put you there? For all you know, giving you amnesia was part of a brilliant plan for him to take the Triforce of Courage from you! You wouldn't remember it was even there!"
In reply, Link calmly displayed his Triforce mark.
"He had to _explain_ this to me when I found it."
Zelda spluttered angrily. She knocked over her chair as she stomped to the far side of the tent. Link watched her, but he knew better than to try and calm her down at this point. She turned back.
"Link, can't you see? Ganondorf is _evil_! He and this robbing band of his have been a blight on the land for years! How can you trust them?"
Link stood up, anger showing on his face. Zelda shrank back a little: Link had never looked angry at her before.
"Zelda, how would you know if he was evil, you haven't seen him in four years! I have been with these people for a year and a half, and in that time none of them have stolen from or harmed anyone, except in self-defense! This is the reason I left Hyrule in the first place!"
Link paused, the unexpected memory hitting him hard.
"Link, what are you talking about? As the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, I think I would know if he was still evil!"
"Except for the fact that you're still letting your prejudices guide your judgment. That's what's blocking your powers, not some spell!"
Zelda froze. That had been the basic context of the last argument she and Link had had before he left.
"Zelda, I came here to apologize for dragging you into this. I wanted to clear the air. But if you aren't going to be reasonable, then as far as I'm concerned this is over."
Link stormed out, leaving a very shocked Zelda behind.