Chapter 10

The Shadow Lord sat on the grimy floor of his cell, his back pressed against one cold wall. Corroded steel bars hemmed in both himself and a fellow prisoner, but Link was far from worried. Instead, he seemed to be in high spirits as he hummed a little tune to himself, his fingers tapping against his knee. The other prisoner, a sickly looking man with wild hair and a dirt-streaked face stared at him with throbbing eyes. The Shadow Lord gave him a nod, a tiny wave and a smile in return.

Chains tinkled in the near darkness, before the prisoner plucked up the courage to speak. "What is it you're so happy about, eh?" His voice betrayed a thousand layers of bitterness. Not surprising, since he was in chains, and Link wasn't. "You're not so special down here. You're just like the rest of us. And if you don't stop with your humming, I might be tempted to pull out that tongue of yours."

Link tilted his head towards the other man. "Charming, mate," he said. "Just trying to lighten the mood."

Another shuffle, another clink of metal on metal. "In case you haven't noticed," the prisoner replied. "There's nothing here to be cheerful about."

"In case you haven't noticed, mate," the Shadow Lord replied. "We're quite well-protected down here. Well fed, too." He raised both eyebrows. "Always look on the bright side, that's what I say."

The prisoner coughed, an incredulous look spreading over his face. "Bright side?" he spat. "We've lost our freedom. Not anything bright about that!"

Link shook his head. "Temporarily," he corrected. "We've lost our freedom temporarily." He chewed over his thoughts. "At least, I have. Think of it as a little time to yourself. To reflect, and enjoy the finer things." He paused, and then asked, "What are you in for anyway, mate?"

The prisoner gave a humourless grin. "You put me in here." The grin turned into a smirk. "For murder."

"Lovely," Link sighed. "What's your name then, mate?"

"Moogle."

"Moogle?"

"Yes."

"Moogle it is then." Link thought about this for a moment. "It's not your parents you tried to kill was it? I mean, if my parents had named me Moogle, Id be very-"

"No."

They fell into silence. The Shadow Lord tapped his fingertips against each other. "It'd be quite understandable, though. I mean, I might even have let you off if that's what had driven you to-"

"It…was not…my parents." Moogle's voice was strained, his breath laboured. Seeing that the conversation was over, he tilted his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and let out a sigh.

The Shadow Lord fidgeted on the floor. His eyes darted from Moogle to the steel bars, and then back to Moogle again, his lips twitching. The murderer's eyes flew open. "What is it?" he cried.

"Had a little too much Red Potion after they had you, was that it?" Link's words fall from his tongue in a torrent. "Or maybe some sort of demonic possession? I always thought that Tingle's parents were demonically possessed. Nabooru's, too." A pause. "And whatever strength potion came up with the name Jabu Jabu, I'd like a drop of that please, if you will."

Moogle slammed his chains down against the floor, bringing up a puff a dust in response. "Will you stop talking about my parents?" he snarled. "Stop talking about anybody's parents!"

Link leaned back against the wall. "Right you are, mate," he said softly. He gazed at a lamp hanging outside the cell, the oil inside glazed with the glow of the flame as flies darted in and around the glass. "No need to get all twitchy now."

A commotion from outside their cell made them both look up. Burly guards appeared in the passageway, a small prisoner in their arms. They stopped in front of the cell opposite the Shadow Lord's. Link tried, but he couldn't get a glimpse at the newcomer. There was a creak of a rusted door opening, then the slam of metal against metal, then the jingle of keys topped off with a click of a lock. The guards left in a hurry.

Bouncing on to his feet, the Shadow Lord peered into the other cell. His jaw dropped open. "Princess Zelda?"

When she snapped her head around to face him, Link almost shrank back in shock. It was Zelda, but a far cry from the comely image of her he held in his mind's eye. A deep angry scar now led from her scalp, crossing through one eye, and down her cheek to her chin. Her eye was now white, like a peeled boiled egg, and her face was a mess. Ruined. Disfigured. He couldn't control the disgust in his heart, nor could he bring himself to look at her for too long. Instead, he asked, "Who did that to you, love?"

"Go away," she spat, and the hurt ringing in her voice was genuine. "It's none of your business anyway."

"Tell me." His voice was soft. "Who did that to you?"

When she looked at him again, he had to turn away. What happened to her beauty? What was she without her beauty?"

"What does it matter who did this to me?" she asked angrily. "What does it matter to you?"

Link forced himself to stare straight at her. "Because, love," he said, "whoever did this has just got himself a meeting with my blade."

She stared back at him, various emotions fighting for dominance on her face. Finally she whirled away, saying only, "You don't have your sword, anyway."

"Oh?" The Shadow Lord felt his anger rise. "And whose fault is that, then? Whose fault is it that I'm down here in the first place?"

Zelda had retreated to one corner of her cell, absent-mindedely wiping away the dirt there before she sat down. "It's where you deserve to be," she continued. "Castleton is better off without you."

Deeply buried resentment made the Shadow Lord's lip twitch. "Seems to me, love, that Castleton was doing quite alright until you pulled your little revolution." Her appearance here brought a query into his mind. "So, who's in charge now, eh?"

Zelda ignored the question. "I only meant to set to rights the wrongs you had wrought."

Link dragged himself to the steel bars, letting his hands curl around the rust stained metal. "Oh, because dear-old-Princess thinks its wrong, so that means it must be wrong," he growled. "What's it like being the centre of the world, love? Must be really hard for you."

"Of course what you did was wrong," she countered, her voice dripping with equal venom. "Any fool could see that."

Their voices rang out through the air, echoing and bouncing off the walls. "I don't see the fools rebelling against me, like they've so obviously done with you, love."

She flashed him one look of pure hatred, before turning her whole body away to face the wall. "You probably had them killed. Or made into slaves. I wouldn't put it past you." She took in a deep breath. "I heard that you torture those who don't agree with you, that you inflict on them all manners of pain."

"Probably?" Link turned to Moogle who was watching the proceedings like an eager spectator. "You hear that? Her whole philosophy of her little coup was based on hearsay. Well, mate, wouldn't you think it's only those of the dullest intellects that make decisions based on what other people say?"

"Oh, yes!" Moogle said enthusiastically, having gotten thoroughly swept up in what was happening.

Zelda shuffled in her corner. "Who's that?"

"Moogle," said Link.

"Moogle?"

The man in question shrugged helplessly. "It was my parents."

"Oh," said Zelda. She turned back around, prompting the Shadow Lord to look away hastily once more. "What about the Gorons?" she asked. "What about the slaves? Hardly ethical behaviour, Link."

The Shadow Lord sneered. "And this from a woman who hired a bounty hunter against me."

Zelda's eyes flash. "That was different."

"So is what I do." Link began to pace. "You hear that, mate?" he said, addressing Moogle. "Just because she doesn't understand it, that means it must be wrong."

"You said that already," Moogle pointed out.

"Quiet, mate, I'm just getting warmed up." He cleared his throat. "I'd hate to see her trying to seal a diplomatic treaty, wouldn't you? She'd think that just because, say, the Outlanders like to leave their children in the wild - rite of passage into adulthood sort of thing - that they were 'oh-so-barbaric.' " He stopped, and whirled on his heels. "Here's a bit of free advice, Princess, little Miss Destiny, oh keeper-of-supposed-and-vastly-overrated-wisdom that you are." He paused to let his taunts sink in. "You…don't…know…nothing."

"Anything!" Zelda spat, jumping to her feet, then marching to the bars, her eyes ablaze. "It's 'you don't know anything.' Learn how to speak properly if you think you're worthy to run a city in my kingdom."

Link stared at her. Zelda stared back. Then, he said quietly, "It's not 'I don't know nothing?'"

"'I don't know anything!'"

"You said it, love." The Shadow Lord snickered to himself, then glided away from the bars.

Zelda seethed, her jaws working, but no words coming free. Finally, she said, "You are such a juvenile."

The Shadow Lord stopped, then spun around, a mischievous look on his face. "But that's why you love me, innit?"

"I hate you!"

Link twitched, then strode back to the bars. He felt an age of resentment and frustration bubbling in his chest. He tried to stem the feelings, but couldn't. Knowing that he'd regret it but feeling compelled to say it anyway, he spat, "You know, none of this would have happened if you'd not sent me back."

Confusion flashed across the Princess' ruined face. Somewhere in the distance, just as she lapsed into silence, a drop of water plopped to the ground, the noise amplified by the cramped conditions. It reminded her that she was in a less than savoury situation. "Sent you…back in time?" Her jaw dropped open. ""Are you mad? This is what all this is about? You wanted to live in that desolate wasteland where Hyrule was completely destroyed?" She struggled to control her breathing. "Why?!"

Biting back a reply only because he didn't have anything to say, Link simply glared. Finally, even though the words seemed hollow, he said, "No. I wanted to stay so I could be with –"

"Link!" All three of them jumped at the sound of the newcomer's voice. The Shadow Lord looked around, then dropped to his knees, his fingers working one of the stone blocks that made up part of the cell wall. Zelda and Moogle watched, confused but intrigued. At last, the block came free with a low groan and a small familiar Kokiri, her tiny form covered in dust, crawled through, coughing.

"Saria?" Zelda said. "I should have known."

The Kokiri got to her feet, then brushed herself down. She glanced at the Princess, giving her a curious look. "That didn't last long then, did it?"

Eyes as slits, Zelda simply glared. Link grinned at the exchange. "I know this castle like the back of my hand, love," he said. "Tunnel's too small for me, of course, but no problem for a Kokiri. She's been in and out of here for the past week. Both in my old cell, and then this one they brought me to last night." He glanced at Moogle. "She popped in while you were sleeping, mate."

"And why, pray may I ask, is she here?" Zelda asked.

Link flashed her another grin. "To help me escape, of course. She couldn't get the key, but she could get the next best thing." A shadow of concern fell across his features. He glanced at his smaller friend. "You did get it, right?"

Saria glanced up. "I got her, yes."

"Good!" He nodded at the other two. "Now if you'll excuse me." He tipped his head towards Zelda, "Love" and then to Moogle, "Mate."

Saria turned to face Link who abruptly yanked her by the arm to take her to the far corner. "Saria!" he whispered.

"I'm here," she said, pulling a small leather bag from her belt. It glowed and seemed to be moving frantically, as though trying to tear itself apart. "I'm sorry it took so long, it took a while to convince her, you see."

"Forget about that," the Shadow Lord said. "There's something more important - she's not beautiful anymore!"

The Kokiri blinked. "What?"

Link gestured with agitated hand movements. "Zelda!" he hissed. "She isn't beautiful anymore! What am I going to do?"

Saria glanced at the other cell. "Oh," she said, and then winced. "That must have hurt."

"I know!" said Link. "I was heartbroken!"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Saria said, "Not you. Her."

"But she's not beautiful anymore!" he moaned.

Saria sighed. "So what, Link? I mean, does it matter?" She threw another glance at the other cell. "I must say she seems to be taking this better than you, Link." She turned back. "And, anyway, aren't you the one that berates the people for liking a pretty face like Franco DeZorres?"

The Shadow Lord scowled, but felt suitably chastened. "That's different."

"Is it?" the Kokiri replied, arching an eyebrow. The light from the lantern fell on her, bathing her face in a yellow hue. Her eyes twitched, sparkling as a result of that very same lantern light, and a sudden thought came to her. A slow smile crawled over her lips. "I think that after the two of you get out of here, you may get the chance to find something more to her to interest you than her beauty."

"Doubt it." Link's voice was sullen. He seemed to hug himself, though he couldn't decide whether it was from the cold in the cell or from the chill in the heart. "Anyway, give me that." Saria threw the small, struggling bag into Link's hands. "No Red Potion?"

Saria silenced him with a sharp look then, without any further attempts at conversation, she darted back to the tunnel. "I'll see you on the outside," she said, smiling. The Shadow Lord smiled back as she crawled into the tiny passageway.

Link placed the small leather bag on his palm, then slowly untied the string. For a moment, the bag fell still, and nothing emerged. The Shadow Lord watched carefully, with bated breath and thudding heart. Then, slowly, carefully, he brought his other hand up and gently gave the tiny sack a quick flick. A ball of pure light shot out, flying straight into the ceiling, hitting it with a grunt, then spinning to a stop. "Hey!" the fairy said. "Listen!"

Grinning, the Shadow Lord opened his arms in a gesture of welcome. "I'm listening, Navi!"

"Navi?" Zelda asked uncertainly from her cell. The fairy zipped over to the Princess, trailing light that sparkled before fading away, and then said, "Hey!" Zelda jerked back. "Listen!"

"She's listening, too, Navi," the Shadow Lord said. "Now if you could just-"

Navi glided through the air back to the other cell then, with her tiny wings fluttering, shot straight over to Moogle. Smiling, she came to a sudden stop in front of his face. "Hey!" she said happily. "Listen!"

Link roared. "We're all bleedin' listening, Navi!" He let out a breath, closed his eyes, then quickly got a hold of his composure. "I do apologise. Navi. The door. If you please."

The tiny fairy's face scrunched up as she slowly floated over to the lock. "No need to get so stroppy," she grumbled. She stopped in mid-air, then shot up towards Link, flying straight under his hat.

"Hey!" the Shadow Lord snapped, his hands desperately trying to swat at the little woman. "Hey! Not the hat! No one touches the hat!"

Navi squealed, then dived out from under his hat, looping in the air, and then slowing to hover in front of his eyes. "I always stay in your hat," she said.

Link had to blink just from her luminance. "Not anymore, love. The hat is off-limits." He let out another deep breath. "Now. Would you please open the door?"

The fairy zoomed into the lock. Clunking and clicking sounds came from within, the whole cell door shuddering as Navi went to work. Zelda peered out from her cell, engrossed in what was happening. Glancing up, she caught Link's eye. The Shadow Lord winked at her, and she looked away quickly.

Finally, a sharp ping rang out and the cell door slowly swung open with a groan. Navi swooped out, twirled, then turned to face Link, arms crossed and wearing a look that told that she was thoroughly satisfied with herself.

"Nice one, love," he said. He gestured at the other cell. "Now the Princess."

Zelda stepped back. "I don't need your help."

For the third time, Link let out a deep breath, this one tinged with a mixture of impatience and sheer exasperation. "Yes," he said. "You do."

Navi dived into the Princess' lock, this time snapping it open with ease. Zelda looked distinctly uncomfortable, her sullen expression revealing the thoughts that were churning inside. Then, with a sigh, she stepped out. The Princess glanced into the other cell, her eyes finding Moogle. "Come, my friend," she said, kindness washing over her words. "You're free now."

Link, who had been strolling out, literally screeched to a halt. He held up a hand. "Hold on, love," he said. A smile planted firmly on his face, the Shadow Lord turned to the prisoner. "Just one quick question, mate" he said. "Who is it you killed again?"

Moogle, practically drooling at the prospect of freedom, said, "My brother. I wanted his wife. Doesn't matter now." He looked at them both with a look of complete and utter gratitude. "Help me out of these chains, friends," he breathed. "I...I'll show you the way out. Anything." He gave them a sickly grin. "I'm just so glad I was in a cell with you." Tears came to his eyes. "Just so glad."

It was as though someone had breathed ice into the air at that moment. The Shadow Lord's smile dropped, his eyes turning dark like lumps of coal. "I'm so sorry, mate," he said, though his voice was glacier-like. "Murderers aren't included in this jailbreak." With a shove Link slammed the cell door shut, taking a grim satisfaction as he heard the lock click.

"No!" Moogle begged. His chains jangled as he struggled. "Please!" Sudden sobs racked his body. "Please!"

Zelda, looking completely bewildered, glanced from Link to Moogle and then back to Link. The Shadow Lord noticed her indecision. "Don't you say anything, love," he warned. His dark stare kept her rooted to the spot. "Last I remember, traitors deserved the same fate as murderers, too."

The Princess opened her mouth, gaped, stared, then shut it with a snap.

Link gestured at Navi and then curled a hand around the Princess' wrist. "Let's go," he said. "We're movin' out."