Chapter Four

'Ah yes! Another day, trapped in the soul of a person who despises me so! My, I'm going to enjoy the show.' Fierce Deity spoke to himself in Link's sleeping mind.

Link sifted slight in his sleep. His pregnant queen lay at his side in peaceful dreams. From all that had happened the evening before, Link managed to fall asleep as the sun sank in their room.

Bruce was in the infirmary with JR working tiredly to keep him from bleeding to death. No magic would heal this wound; it was straight through his flesh and bones. With great effort, the scientist managed to sew the prince back together. JR washed away Bruce's blood and started cleaning up the mess by the time the sun had reached inside. He took off his blood stained apron and threw it into a trash ban. He looked at Bruce as he sat in a chair to relax.

"Now... let life and nature do its part in the Balance." He sighed heavily to himself. "I sure hope the law of magic and the properties of the spirits will provide some sort of assistance. Your wound is much too deep and too… deadly to be healed by natural or magical means. Never before have I seen such a wound." JR looked at the prince's body with tired eyes. He slouched in his chair slightly. Soon, the smart-ass that he was fell into a deep slumber.


Bruce cocked his head and groaned. Something cold touched his body. It felt like ice icicles poking his skin. He opened his eyes to complete darkness. Alarmed, Bruce sat up and looked around him. He felt his body; Cold, colder than snow. Was he in a trance of a sort? Or was he… dead? This thought scared him.

Bruce tried standing only to fail miserably. His legs refused to move from their spot. His eyes began to focus as his pupils dilated for better sight. Something ghostly was coming toward him from the distance. It was white, pure, and glows cold but soft light. Somehow, it soothed him. It made me relax and lay back on his back as it approached him.

The ghostly figure turned out to be a naked girl. She had wings that appeared to be wounded and hair that floated freely, as it would when in water. Her eyes were so lifeless but some how heart-warming. The girl seemed no older than nine years old but looked so beautiful to Bruce. He wanted to touch her cheek and smile. But he could not.

The child kneeled next to him and brought her small hands to his face. It was so cold when she touched him. His breath could be seen as she stroked his cheeks. Her hands moved down to his stomach, where JR had patched him up.

Bruce winced and arched his back as the frozen fingers touched his wounds. He gasped out, only to find his throat soundless. Pain struck his blood stream. He could hear his heart beat perfectly in his head. He could feel the blood cells in his body following constantly through the veins. Soon, he relaxed and let his body land back softly. His eyes looked at the girl.

She stood up from him, her fingers covered with blood. The crimson color slowly started to travel up her arms. A fear filled look struck her face and she began to scream. Cries filled Bruce's ears as she stepped away from him, her chest and shoulders now turning the color of blood.

Bruce wanted so badly to get up and comfort the girl; but his body was too weak to even move. The cries slowly became shorter and more painful. The girl was drifting away from Bruce, crying, screaming, and yelling franticly.


"Bruce! Bruce honey wake up! Oh Goddesses! Please wake up!" Zelda cried. She shook her son by the shoulders gently and effortless.

Bruce opened his eyes and took a sudden gasp of air. It was like being born again with his first breath. He sat up suddenly. His skin was pale and sweaty. His body was freezing.

JR pulled a blanket around his prince. "There you go. Now lay back down." He forced Bruce to lay back.

"What… happened to me?" Bruce asked between gasps for air and shivers.

"You sort of died… and came back is all." JR said in a casual voice.

"Bruce! Don't ever do that again!" Zelda cried, hugging her son tightly.

The prince tried to recall everything. He remembered the ball. The Black Boes. Then… that creature. A creature had stabbed him with claws. Bruce quickly reached for his stomach, feeling nothing but cold skin.

"Where are the scars? The stitches?" He looked at JR.

"What do you mean?" JR seemed bewildered by this question. He pulled the sheet down and examined him. No stitches were on his stomach. No scars or wound of any sort was there. "How in…" his statement drifted silently.

"Is he alright!" Came Link's voice from the door way. He walked up to the three and looked at Bruce. "Man… you look like shit."

"Thanks dad…" Bruce rolled his eyes and laid back. He then remembered Links transformation. "Dad! Fierce Deity… who…"

"Don't worry Bruce… we're still trying to convince the people it was just a temporary spell. I'll explain the details later…" Link hushed him.

Bruce laid back. Too much had happened all too fast. His head was starting to hurt just trying to think of it all at once.

"Bruce… tell me, did you have any dreams of a sort?" JR asked suddenly.

"Yes… I did. I dreamt of a girl, no older than nine, that was as white as a ghost and colder than snow. She... came to me… and placed her hands on my stomach. Then, I was healed. But… she started screaming and crying. And then, I woke up." The prince answered him.

"Interesting… very… interesting." JR spoke softly. Everyone stared at him as if waiting for a complete answer. "I don't have a clue what that means." a sarcastic smile. The group groaned together in frustration. "But I'll get to it right away!" JR rushed himself up to his studies, leaving the real nurses and doctors to tend for Bruce.

"Tell me why I keep him around…" Link rubbed his temple.

"Puisqu'il est un futé âne, he saves our lives." Léon answered bluntly. 1

"That works for me." Link nodded and grinned. "I have great work that needs to be done. The palace needs better repairs then what the bums we hired for can do."

"And you think you can do better?" Bruce looked at his father.

"Son, I LIVE to work. I can't sit around and watch them have all the fun!" Link grinned widely and left the room.

Zelda looked down at Bruce. Her blue eyes sparkled with a hint of more tears.

"Mom... I'm not dead." Bruce spoke softly. He stared up at his mother.

Zelda moved her fingers through his hair. She smiled weakly and kissed his forehead. "I know honey… but I was so afraid to lose you…"

Bruce gave his mother an assuring grin. "Mom, I'm my fathers' son. You'll never lose me." He spoke to her.

Zelda simply nodded. A single tear ran down her cheek. "I-I have to talk to the press. Please get some rest honey…" The queen said almost in a whisper as she left the room.

Bruce lay back in his pillow. He was extremely tired. After a deep sigh, Bruce closed his eyes to rest some more.


Impa rushed about the palace. So much had happened. All of which took place while she was gone. This information she had gathered was mostly rumors but she somehow had a feeling a lot of it was true. The guardian went about looking for Zelda.

"Zelda? Queen Zelda! Oh where could she be!" muttered the older woman. Not much about her had changed. Over the course of years, Impa had been sent on a long and tiring journey to some of the neighboring kingdoms. She was sent to see if the other kingdoms were having the same trouble with their livestock and crops.

Impa walked around the corner to see Link working in the ball room.

The king was on a ladder with hammer, nails and wood, nailing into the frame of the broken windows. Link hummed the song his forest friend had taught him long ago. Other worked were on a different window, repairing the broken wood and placing in new glass.

"Your majesty what are you doing?" Impa called out to him.

Link turned around and looked at his guardian friend.

"Back already Impa? How lovely it is to see you no such a bustling day like today!" Link grinned at her as he climbed down to greet her properly. "What news do you have?"

"My lord, I sincerely would like to know what went on the other night." Impa responded sternly.

"Well, we basically got attacked by a bunch of Black Boes. Fought them off, then Bruce got stabbed by a creature called a Beckoner. And then, I let Fierce Deity take care of the rest." Link answered rather bluntly.

Impa stared at him for a second. She tried fighting it back but it escaped; "WHAT!"

Zelda lifted her head up from the table. Impa… she knew that yell from anywhere. Immediately, the queen got to her feet and rushed her way, as graceful as she could, to the place where she heard Impa yelling. "He's in trouble again. By the Goddesses of Hyrule; what in the world did you tell her this time Link?" The queen spoke aloud as she rushed.

'Eep! Save me Fierce Deity!' Link shivered as Impa spat at him with repeated words of "what" in his pointy ears.

There is NO WAY IN HELL am I going to argue with THAT woman! came his response.

"Impa! Welcome back my old friend." Zelda rushed in with a greeting smile. Impa turned and smiled back.

"My Queen. Finally somebody I can have a decent conversation with." said the guardian as she glared at the startled Link.

"We have a lot to discuss my fair lady. Please, let us talk over tea." Zelda smiled warm-heartedly with her offer.

Impa had no refusal. Arm and arm, the two women walked together to a separate room, leaving Link to his shivering form.


"Beckoner? Those creatures have not been around in ages though. Why would one suddenly show itself here in Hyrule?" Impa questioned.

"We're not entirely sure. JR is looking into it. At that point, Link was under Fierce Deity's influence to save Bruce's life." Zelda stated calmly and politely.

"I see. And everyone within the area saw it?" Impa stared at Zelda for a second.

The queen nodded. Her back was aching. She reached behind, had one hand on the small of her back with other on her plump pregnant belly. "What are we going to do Impa? I need your consul once again. Please advice me as you have years before." Zelda looked at her with pleading eyes.

Impa gave her a comforting grin. "I can do my best for you my queen. As far as our dear King… I'm afraid he's your job."

"Thank you… I'll take care of Link." Zelda heaved in relief. "How did your trip go?" she asked a moment after a sip of her tea.

"Very tiring my lady. I went as far as I could before feeling the need of coming back." Impa replied.

"What is the news from the other kingdoms?" Zelda asked.

"They are in the same situation as we are, my lady. Crops are drying out, life-stock is dieing, and people are getting cranky. This is happening not by natural means. Something is wrong within the very balance." Impa crossed her arms and looked down at her half full glass of tea.

"Yes. JR has warned us that the Balance is weakening. He has said that everything is going to go out of place. We are not sure what is going on yet. He doesn't even know…" Zelda spoke in a depressing tone.

"I believe the magic is over ruling the life. Why would our crops be dieing as well as the animals and nothing with the magical forces around us." Impa stated suggestively.

"That may be it… but the only problem is, the spirits and magical forces in the forest are dieing as well. Could it be something much more powerful, much more dangerous that is throwing the Balance off?" Zelda continued with this debate between the two of them.

Impa uncrossed her arms. "What you speak of could be very true. The same thing happened when Gannon came into ruling all those years ago. Could the goddesses have something to do with all of this? Maybe the Six Sages will know some of our answers." The guardian suggested.

"Possibly. I need to get with them and talk. The other night's misfortune brought up as lot of unanswered questions." Zelda rubbed her belly, feeling the baby kicking. She couldn't help but smile at the life inside her.

Impa noticed this and grinned to herself. "How much longer do you think?"

"Probably another three months… She's getting impatient." She chuckled along with Impa.

"I'm sure she'll be a beautiful baby… just as you were." Impa said.

Zelda smiled warmly. The two continued to talk and drink their tea for the remaining of the afternoon.


By the time evening had come, Link and the servants had finished repairing the glass and wall of the ball room. The king wiped his forehead, setting the hammer on the table and looked at their work. He grinned proudly. "Good work guys. Take a day off tomorrow." He told them.

"Thank you your majesty. And good work to you too, sir." Said one of the male builders.

"It's getting late. You all best grab some food and head home to your families." Link smiled at them all. He was glad to have such a hard working staff.

They all bowed with great respect to their king before packing up and leaving the room.

"Note to self: Give them a raise." Link nodded to himself and crossed his arms.

"Good evening your grace!" came the loud and cheery voice of JR from behind Link.

Link yelped out, leaped forward about three feet and looked back at JR. "Dammit JR! Stop doing that!" He cried out.

"Sorry your kingly sir! It's just I just got back from my studies and I have some stuff to report to you." JR grinned.

"Is it good or bad? I'm not in the bad mood right now." Link stated with a nod and a point of the finger in the air.

"Depends on how your accept it, my lord."

"Well, what the heck tell me what you've come to conclusion?"

"For starters, Bruce will be perfectly fine. I have searched and searched most of the day of how that could've happened. My convulsion is this: None of the Goddesses could've cured him THAT well without making a notice to you, her majesty Zelda, or the sealed dark lord, Ganondorf." JR stated.

"True… if they had some action in this, we would've reacted in some way." Link nodded in agreement.

"It had to be something else that healed Prince Bruce. Something much more… what's the word…?" a brief thinking pause. "Lively had to of cured the dear prince."

"Lively?" Link cocked his head some.

"Yup. Something that exist in pure form. The Goddesses are pure, but they are immortal and do not have a true form. As far as we can tell, the only form we know of them is that of the Triforce. Their true form is unknown for sure. So, for them to try and heal Bruce, he would've needed to be already dead and crossing the river of souls into the next life." JR explained.

"I see…" Link nodded. Now the real question: "But what? What could've or WHOM healed Bruce?"

JR grimed some. "I wish I knew that answer. I'm sorry for that unanswered question."

Link simply nodded. He started to wander in thought as he leaned on the table near him. "JR… do you recall me telling you when the goddesses tried taking over Ms. Mila's body to assassinate me?" Link looked at the Hylian scientist.

"Yes, I do recall it my lord." JR nodded.

"Could one of them take a person's mind and body into their control?" Link questioned.

JR's eyebrow twitched. He wide grin came to his face. "That, my lord, is a VERY good question."

Link grinned.

"I will get to it right away!" JR threw his finger into the air.

"Be careful though. That kind of information is highly classified and heavily protected." Link told his friend.

JR just grinned challengingly to his king and rushed away to get straight to more research. Link sighed heavily to himself.

'What do you think of all this Fierce Deity?" Link asked his mind companion.

'Hm?' Came his response.

'Were you not listening?' Link groaned.

'Oh, yeah… I was.'

'Then what do you think?' Link asked again.

'Um… I think you guys should keep your noises out of the book…'

'Fierce Deity…'

'Yeah?'

'That has nothing to do with this…' Link grumbled to himself, annoyed already.

'If you'll let me finish, I'll tell you my reasons.' Fierce Deity said. The image of him sticking his tongue at Link came to mind.

Link sighed. 'I'm sorry. Please tell me.'

'No. You were big bully. I'm going to sleep now.' was his reply.

'Wait! FD!' Link panicked. When he got no response, he got frustrated. "Damn him!" Link shouted loudly. Loud enough for the servants near by to look at their king bewildered. Link saw them staring and edged out of the room, quickly and swiftly.