Chapter Ten:
On the surface the lake hadn't changed much since the last time Kaya had been there, save for a few minor changes that the Zora had made to the waterfront and to the outlaying lake defenses, but everything seemed to have stayed the same since. Of course it had been a number of years since she had been to the Hylia and the memory of it hadn't been a pleasant one if that much of it, but that memory did not taint the beauty of the lake. Still, she relished the freedom of the outdoors and was more than glad to leave the confines of the castle behind her even though she knew the seriousness of the trip and what it would mean after all was said and done. Nothing would get in from the entrance to the lake, not with the guards stationed there with their ever watchful eye and the added security of Impa with them. The deposit from the Valley wasn't much worry to her either; no Gerudo, as far as they knew, had any inkling that two of the Royal Family were even at the lake and very few dared to come to the lake. And the long underwater tunnel from the Domain to the lake was protected by the Zora and nothing would come or go without their knowledge, save for any dark creature that could keep the currents from telling the Zora of the danger.
Kaya and Impa had settled on the slope that went down to the lakeside from the entrance way, their horses behind them grazing not too far away and their picnic lay out in front of them. They sat on a wide blue sheet with the picnic basket sitting next to them with some food out to eat while they talked, Zelda wandering to the lake to watch the fish that swam in the shallow end and to splash playfully in the water. Her shoes had been taken off and laid by the blanket, her dress held up to her thighs by ribbons, her curiosity of the lake as a whole getting the better of her. Neither Kaya nor Impa would let her out of their sight and the princess-heir would not stray far or go too far into the lake itself without either woman with her, Zelda more interested with the creatures of the lake over a boring talk between the two older women. That gave them time enough to talk about pendants and other such things that the girl did not need to know quite yet and wouldn't for quite some time.
"I will explain what I can now, Kaya," Impa said quietly as she shifted uncomfortably where she sat, her eyes drifting over towards Zelda for a moment. Despite being well out of earshot of the guards and Zelda, she wasn't quite comfortable sharing this information with Kaya since what she was about to learn had rarely left the inner workings of Sheikah. While there were no ears that she could sense, she did not wish to impart much more than a few things of the nature of the inner workings of these pendants. However, the woman had to know this and the Sheikah had a duty to her to tell her; the woman had few places to go to even outside the kingdom of Hyrule. There had been threats made against Kaya that were unspoken by the queen and Impa would not press her for those threats - that was enough for her to know another way out of this World far from death.
"I need to know everything about this pendant," Kaya said excitedly, casually glancing towards the entrance to the Hylia before turning her gaze back upon Impa; she was not worried about her daughter hearing things. The Sheikah moved a hand to her neck, taking the chain she wore and pulled out the bauble that rested upon the silver links; it had been a good idea to keep it on her person in case any of the guards had been given the order to search the belongings of the saddlebags. If that had been case and the bags had been searched, the pendant still would have been safe and the minds of the guards and the king were deterred and no one in the township would have been any the wiser. There were ways to keep others from taking notice to things they did not need to know about.
"From the Sheikah legends that I have heard as a child, as well as those that I've read, there were four pendants created four or five centuries ago by a Sheikah mage that had the power to go between Worlds beyond that of the World Hyrule is in. These four pendants had been created for Sheikah use only but that soon became harder to accomplish as fewer and fewer Sheikah roamed the lands. Eventually some of the other races were able to use them as well, but even that is something that I can't give credit to without more knowledge," Impa began slowly and carefully. She had to be careful with some of her wording, the water could still take some of what she said to the Zora even though they would not repeat them to the king."The creator of the pendants had a power that some would say rivaled that of the three Goddesses that created this land, or so the stories go. He had the knowledge of a thousand beings, or so the legend says. He could easily get into anything and go anywhere he chose to by the way of a magic that was known at the time and has largely been forgotten about since then. But he wanted to have an easier way of doing it then the way that was done during those ages."
"Then he created these pendants?" The queen asked. Impa smiled and nodded. "How did he do it?"
"The mystery of it has been twisted so many ways that not even the Sheikah know the full truth of it and the actual process is hidden somewhere that very few Sheikah know of. It is said that he found a way to open a portal into the dimensions between these Worlds and had harnessed it inside these pendants. They say that he had to use some of his life force to create these pendants and aged a few decades in the process, thus giving into the suspicion that one has to use part of their life in order to use the pendant." Impa shrugged. "That is just hearsay, even for a Sheikah, since there are other stories that contradict this and little else besides that. What happened to the mage after he created and used the pendants, I don't know as there is little else of the mage after a certain time. He may have died in Hyrule or he could have died elsewhere, it is hard to say what happened to him since records of his life have stopped up to two hundred and thirty seven years ago."
"Where are the other pendants?" Kaya asked. It was a reasonable question to her, considering if there were three others just like the one Impa had that someone else could use it to come after her and use them if even one Sheikah knew how to use them. The question seemed to bother Impa and she didn't look very much willing to tell the queen about the locations of the remaining three.
"I know two of the other locations of the three remaining ones: one resides in Zora's Domain and is in the hands of the Zora ruler while the other one is in the hands of another Sheikah in another World. The fourth and last one I do not know where it is at, as its location has been lost to the Sheikah." Kaya was about to open her mouth but Impa raised a hand to stop her. "Do not worry about the other pendants, Kaya. The Zora king may have an alliance with your husband, but there are certain things that remain a secret from him even with his own loyal subjects. He will not give the pendant up to anyone but me when I personally come for it, that is a promise I made him swear on the Domain itself, and their Lord Jabu-Jabu. For the Sheikah who has the other known pendant, she is very well trusted with it, and I know she has it as I've kept in constant contact with her since she had left. The last one is nothing to worry about, even if it were there are safe guards with it so that it can't fall into the wrong hands."
Kaya seemed to take this in, for she closed her mouth on the subject and looked like she accepted it rather unwillingly even if she had been reassured no one would find one of the pendants and come after her. Had she known that there were other pendants that were made then the one Impa wore, she would have demanded a search for them so that she could have them in her sole possession and given to her when she left. Despite what Impa had told her, she still felt uneasy about having other pendants that anyone could use for their own purposes and to find her. If they could find her and when; there were ways to break a Sheikah and the king would most likely know how to do it to make Impa talk. Kaya only had to glance towards her daughter for a second to know that the child could easily be used to break anyone and Impa seemed to have sensed that.
"While these pendants are one of the more valuable things in Hyrule, there is no one outside the Sheikah and who is alive that knows how they work. Save for yourself and the Zora king, that is, and I doubt even the Zora would put the Royal bloodline in jeopardy like that." Impa had to add that last part in despite the fears that she could see rising on Kaya's face. In reality, the Zora king only knew it as a Sheikah artifact and had been entrusted to keep it safe until the time that Impa needed to get it back from him. "Like the Hylian legends of the Triforce and the Master Sword, it can be wielded only by the few that can."
"Like who?" Kaya glanced over to Zelda again, who had seen a crab and was following it along the water's edge.
"Like I said before, it had been created for Sheikah use but from what I understand of the legends it had been created with the mindset that the Sheikah may not always be there to use them. While it is a Sheikah artifact, any walk of life can use it and wield it even if they do not have even the smallest bit of Sheikah blood. The mage was ahead of the thoughts at the time and created the pendents in such a way that in case the Sheikah dwindled, there might be just someone that could use it. However, like the Master Sword it cannot be used by those that are purely evil but even this has some way of getting around that." That was an uncomfortable thought to think of and even more horrible to say, that something Sheikan made could be used by the purely evil. Impa shuddered at a passing thought before continuing. "If a person with a pure heart and soul is possessed by an evil spirit or someone with a little bit of evil in them, the pendant can still be used and wielded. The hard part in determining who does and doesn't have any evil in them but it is the ones that wish not to do any evil intent that allows the pendant to choose what to do more quickly." Impa waved a hand to dismiss any thoughts Kaya wanted to say. "It's an impossible thing to really explain, even if I compared it to the Master Sword. Things like ancient pendents and swords always seem to have a bit of complications to them."
"If you say so," she muttered, looking doubtful. "About the one that created the pendants, this Sheikah mage. Did he come from Kakariko?"
"At that time, Kakariko did not exist. Sheikah lived all over Hyrule and many other places in this World and others, if my memory serves me correctly. Eventually, Sheikah began to become more and more scarce as time went on and many died during the wars that ravaged the land." There was a fleeting moment of sadness in her eyes but it left as soon as it had appeared. "This Sheikah lived in the castle along with the king at the time and had free reign over where he could and could not go, as he had been a trusted advisory to the Royal Family. At certain points in Hyrule's history, Sheikah were treated as though they were the extension of the Royal Family but that was not always the case."
"How far back do the Sheikah go?" Kaya wondered, wandering off the topic of the pendants for the moment. "I have never really understood that, even growing up in Kakariko along some of the Sheikah, as I have."
"As far back as I can remember, but I believe they go back even further then when the Goddesses created this land," Impa explained, stealing her own glance over towards Zelda for a brief moment so that she, too, could keep an eye on her. "Sheikah, as secretive as we have always been, have always been one of the major races of Hyrule but some say that they actually came from another World entirely. From what I think and have heard from elder Sheikah as I grew up, there are a rare few Sheikah that can be part one race, like a Hylian, and part another race, like a Human."
"Human? What's a Human?" The concept of a race that she didn't know of was foreign to her; the queen had seen very few of the races outside those of her own country and had generally assumed that all lands had the same races as Hyrule.
"It is a species from one of the other Worlds. It looks somewhat like a Hylian but does not have the pointed ears that we have nor has the ability to cast strong magic. It is one of the few species that I know exists out of Hyrule and quite possibly lives in this very World, but again that's something that I have little knowledge of." Impa didn't seem to have the confidence about that and shrugged it off, before taking the subject back on track. "They are like a half breed of sorts and they are generally weaker than full blooded Sheikah. Not all Sheikah are like this, just the rare few that have been recorded in history. They can survive in the two planes in which their parents may come from, so if someone from this World were to have a child from another, both could live in either place with little to no complications. You understand their language since there are a few races that understands it in this very World and anyone living in Kakariko is taught at least two other languages besides our own."
Kaya nodded, having learned a variety of words in other languages, as she would need to as a future queen, and had found an almost unheard of language more fascinating than some of the more commonly used ones visiting ambassadors used. Outside of the standard Hylian she grew up already knowing, she learned the rarely used language and another one that was used by several countries outside of the borders of Hyrule; was this the one that these so-called Humans used? Were there a few groups of them that lived among the land and she, even as queen, did not know of?
"If someone were to leave this World by way of the pendant, what would happen to them?" Kaya had to know this, considering the possibility she would be using the very pendant Impa had. All the effects that would happen to her would have to be told to her now or else she would die trying to use it since she wasn't Sheikah and had never used it before.
"They would die." Impa inhaled then exhaled, almost ready to try and calm the woman sitting next to her as well as herself for the impact it surely would cause. Kaya's face paled almost instantly when she heard those words, her face frozen in some sort of wide-eyed calmness. That had not been what she wanted to hear and Impa would have to explain quickly before the queen got more excited then she already was. "Not instantly mind you, as long as you get to the World you want to go to. It is like different planes in which our spirits can survive upon, actually. Take the spirit out of its original plane and it will start to die very slowly until it washes out completely. This, in turn, affects the body and the person will eventually die. However, a child of two Worlds can exist in those two Worlds their parents lived in without the fear of this happening to them because he or she has the combined spirit of those two Worlds. The blood that flows through their veins allows them to do it. That is the best explanation I can give to you."
Kaya didn't respond to that as quickly as Impa had expected her to, instead remaining quiet and stone faced. Some of the color had returned to her cheeks and it was apparent that she was deep in thought, as though she was considering the options and weighing the consequences of leaving her World behind her. At the present moment, she didn't know how long she could survive out of the World she lived in; for all she knew she had anywhere from several minutes to several months to even several years. Looking at Impa questioningly, she wanted to ask her how long she had and what would happen to her if she went to more Worlds than one. The words did not come out and instead her mouth opened and closed silently, as though her vocal cords had frozen in fear.
Impa had expected Kaya to be angry about the fact she would eventually die if she lived outside of this World for an extended period of time, but there were other ways around it so that she could live her life as normal as she could. There were, however, consequences to this and not even the Sheikah were aware of the full effects of them; there were few Sheikah that she knew that were of two different Worlds and they knew even less then she did. She wouldn't explain to Kaya about the few that she trusted with the secrets of pendants and those few were not on the same World as they were. Not even her eyes and ears in this World knew of the connections she had elsewhere, so to keep everything safe for her circle of knowledge to keep on feeding her information from outside the castle.
"How long do I have in any other World besides this one?" Kaya asked as soon as she found the voice to speak. Her question was eerily calm, her expression just as calm as her voice was despite the fear that had taken control over her. That scared the Sheikah; not the question that had been asked but the sheer ability of the queen to stay calm in the face of the dangers should she take this route. She spoke about death as though it was a normal topic over tea!
"In order for you to live your life to the normal age a Hylian usually lives to, you must come back here every ten years in order for your spirit to rejuvenate itself completely in its own plane. You must stay in this World for one complete lunar cycle of the moon before you can go back to whatever World you had gone to. You can die in any of these realms like you could any other person that may be living in there." That was not what Kaya had expected to hear for a second time and the calmness she held was starting to break free of her hold. Even though she was not as strong as the Sheikah next to her, she had her own brand of strength. And, yet, the amount of time she had in another World was not as short as she had thought it would be, if she did not return to this World for one month every ten years.
"What you are telling me is that I can only last ten years in one realm before I have to come back here so that I do not die unnaturally?" Even Kaya's voice was starting to sound strained. "And I have to stay here for one month then go back to whatever World I had come from?"
"To put it in that way, yes you do," Impa said with a stiff nod. "I did not make this up so that you would get angry, Kaya. That is the way it has to be, I am not the one who made up these circumstances. I only know of this from the people who have experienced it first-hand and from the books I was given."
The queen's calmness had broken in half and now the anger that she had held back for so long was starting to show itself on her face. Her eyes stared daggers at her, the sides of her lips were starting to twitch, and her hands grasped the blanket underneath her tightly so that she didn't use her fists to hurt anyone. There was nothing that Impa could do to calm the woman down if she so choose to lash out in anger, despite the young princess-heir being only a few feet away from them. She couldn't lose the last bits of calmness that she still had, not if she wanted to keep what they knew a secret between the two of them.
Kaya seemed to disregard that and the presence of the guards standing at the entrance of the Hylia, the determination to leave her World behind becoming more distant and lost with every passing moment as she thought about it. She had hoped that she could leave no trail of her disappearance behind, not even if she had to leave her only daughter in the World that she would not be coming back to ever again. Now that she had the option of staying in Hyrule miserably, having to come back every ten years for a month to live out the rest of her normal life, or die in ten years if she didn't, she wasn't so sure she liked the idea of using the pendant. There were other ways of escaping the horrors of her World and none of them seemed to be as good as this escape she had just been presented with.
"That's just wonderful. I knew something wasn't right about this idea, and I kept pushing it to the back of my mind to keep myself focused. I had known that there was going to be a catch but had hoped that it was going to be very small, something that would not ever tie me back to this place again!" Kaya stood up, giving Impa more of a glare then she had before. "How can I come back to this World after being away for so long in some other World? I don't even know where it takes me."
"Kaya, calm down," Impa said as calmly as she could, trying to get the queen to sit back down so that she wouldn't alarm her daughter. Even with her not shouting, Zelda most likely would become alarmed at her mother standing up and looking more than slightly angry. "From what I can remember from what the Sheikah elders told me, all you have to do is think of what World you want to go to and then you will be able to go there. Then I suppose you would be transported there instantly, I don't know as I haven't used the pendent myself."
She had to emphasize on the 'I don't know' part, which just angered Kaya even more so. The queen fought the urge to take the pendant from around Impa's neck and throw it into the water, despite that it would do her no good to do so. If she did and the pendant washed up somewhere in the Domain or worse, she would have more than one angry Sheikah breathing down her back. As it were, she was the first Hylian in many years to know about this supposed secret and a lot of good it was doing her. In fact, had she not let her curiosity get the better of her and have the willingness to leave the World behind her, she would not have asked more about the pendant and the picnic would not have taken place.
"Say I wanted to be in what you call the 'Human' World. I don't know how long a year is there, and I am going to assume ten years means ten years by that World's standards or ours," she started with a slight nod from Impa. "I stay in the Human World for ten years and then come back to this World for a month. What then? I can't quite possibly go back to the castle to stay there. They would think that I was back from the dead or worse."
"There are places in Hyrule that you could hide for a month, there are safe houses that I could find to keep you hidden from the prying eyes of the Royal Family," the Sheikah offered but it would have been better if she had not spoken at all. Kaya didn't seem to hear her as she continued.
"Then again, what will happen when I disappear from the Human World for that month?" She asked the question more so to herself then to Impa. "People in that realm would probably get suspicious if I left then a month later came back, reappearing like nothing had happened and did it every ten years."
"You most likely will appear in the same spot where you came from in this World. Things may be different in this realm then the others but you will not be in any danger." Even though she said them herself, Impa didn't believe them herself and didn't expect Kaya to either. At this point she didn't expect Kaya to go through this, now knowing what the pendent entailed and all of the magic that went with it.
"How do you know that?" Kaya gestured wildly around her. "There is no telling what is going to happen when the pendant is used, if it can be used safely."
"You - we - will just have to see when that time comes," Impa said forcibly, her tone telling the queen to sit down and enjoy the rest of the day as planned. She had done her part in telling Kaya what she wanted to know and the day would be a waste if they went back to the castle now, along with any ideas the guards and king would have if they returned earlier than expected. "There are other ways of finding these things out and we need to do this the right way before you use the pendant. It will take time."
"I want to go to the Human World," Kaya said with tight lips. "Now. I cannot wait."
Impa had to force herself to keep from gasping out, her head snapping up to the woman that stood there with a look of shock. She knew just how badly Kaya had wanted to get out of her position as part of the Royal Family, had known this even before the marriage between her and the king took place, yet the words still came as a shock to her. It took all of her strength not to say something irrational, something even down right horrible, even as she stood up and stood eye-to-eye with the queen of Hyrule. Their eyes remained locked together as though they were waging a silent battle of wits and sheer power of the mind, Kaya's words rolling over Impa's mind over and over again. There was no need for Kaya to leave right away, not without careful thought as to what would happen when it did, and leaving now would cause more problems then a runaway queen that disappeared while out on a picnic.
If anyone else had come in eye contact with either woman that had the same look in her eyes, they would have cowered back and muttered apologizes before going in the other direction. Impa was, after all, a Sheikah and her presence alone would have commanded a great army to war without even the slightest hesitation. Kaya, as Hyrule's queen, had her determination set in stone and would not back down, even at the cost of her own life. Both were strong-willed women who rarely backed down for anyone, save for a select few and only because they had to, but they would not do this for the other. Not this time, not when there were other things at stake.
"You will be able to do that one day, Kaya," Impa said slowly to keep her presence as serene as the Hylia's water. That was easier said than done, considering that Kaya was thinking of using a pendant that not even most present-day Sheikah knew how to use properly. "Right now we need to form a plan before anything can be done. I don't want to jeopardize your safety or of Zelda's."
By this time, Kaya was fuming with anger and impatience as she turned her head around towards the lake where her daughter still was playing happily. She did it to keep her anger in check and from lashing out at the Sheikah, an action that she would regret sooner rather than later even though a small part of her mind knew that Impa was right. She stared across the glimmering water, her eyes moving along the shoreline as she took in several deep breaths; her nerves were more then shot and she was not prepared to go back to the hell in which she had come from. As she stared out into the water, something in her mind clicked, like an idea had come to her suddenly. An idea that she knew she had to act on while they were at the Hylia so that they wouldn't have to hope any plans would be approved in the future.
"I cannot wait another day, hour, minute or second, and I am not prepared to go back to the castle. I need to get out of this World today." Kaya turned her head back towards the Sheikah, stretching out her arm and opening her palm up to accept the pendent. "Now, give me the pendant, Impa, so that I can get out of here."
Impa stared at Kaya's outstretched hand like she had not heard what she had said, not complying with the order. She wouldn't despite her position to serve the Royal Family, not unless their lives were in danger and she had no other choice but to use the pendant. Kaya had no idea what she would get herself into if she blindly used a Sheikah artifact that had been created centuries ago; the powers of the Sheikah mages of old had yet to be properly tested out, not everything made even that far back had been tested There was too much at stake even if she knew that Kaya had to leave this World behind before the essence of Time caught up with her. Impa also knew that she had told the queen too much already, even if other Sheikah had told the legend before but Impa had been different, she had given more information then she should have and here she was, paying the price for it.
"I cannot do that, Kaya. What about Zelda and the guards?" She gestured towards the entrance and to the spot where Zelda played. "Won't they be suspicious as to where you went all of a sudden?"
"I have an idea as to what I am going to do and how it is going to be done." That was a truth in a sense of what she was going to do in this World; what she was going to do once she got into another World was a different matter altogether. When she got to that crossroad she'd go from there.
"If you do, you can tell me when we get to the castle and in a place where we can talk as privately as we can," Impa said, a faint smile appearing on her lips. "Otherwise let's enjoy the rest of the day and..."
"Impa, look at the water," Kaya instructed, gesturing to the lake not too far from them as Impa stared at her, her left eye twitching and the smile fading from her lips. "Just look at the water, damn it."
"What am I looking for exactly?" She asked in a strained voice, moving her eyes towards the Hylia. The land surrounding the lake was largely left unspoiled by travelers, thieves, and others that went along the land, making this sanctuary one of Hyrule's most beautiful places. The few that journeyed this far rarely stayed for long and these few left the land as they had left it so that they didn't find themselves on the wrong end of a fin. The Zora often kept the land surrounding the lake to its natural beauty and did not like others to spoil the wonder that was the Hylia, even if they allowed outsiders to come see the beauty for themselves. Outside of the small fishing hut and laboratory that was largely left unattended besides the old man that often lived there, there was no indication that it was a spoiled land void of its vast riches.
"How deep do you think the water is? Not where Zelda is, mind you, but a bit further," the queen added quickly, pointing to the middle of the lake. "Deeper than that, perhaps where the old tree sits in the middle of the lake if not further down."
"I don't know." Impa shrugged, not understanding what Kaya was trying to say. "Probably twenty to thirty feet, maybe more than that since the Zora has their Water Temple underneath the lake."
"I just have to think of where I want to go, and I will be transported there?" There was a smug look on Kaya's face, one that Impa failed to take notice of.
"Yes," she responded, turning her gaze back towards the other. "What exactly is your plan? And don't..."
"I will jump into the lake and swim into it, probably half way from the shore and the island with the tree. Then I will go beneath the water and think of the World that I want to be in and go there." Kaya smiled at Impa, who stared at her with a look of shock on her face. Impa stared at the queen for a moment, unsure if the other woman was serious in this plan or if the fresh air was getting to her head. When Kaya did not speak again during the Sheikah's silence, did not say she only meant it as a joke, it was then that Impa knew she was serious enough to consider the idea.
"Kaya, I can't let you do that!" Impa hissed at her once she regained the ability to speak. "I can't let you pretend that...oh, what would Zelda think!?"
"Everyone will think that I drowned without anyone knowing what happened to me, no one knows how well I can swim or not besides the few times that I've been here during my youth." Kaya placed her hands on her hips and frowned at the Sheikah. "How else am I going to leave here? Teleport from here in full view of the guards and worse, my own daughter who is already fragile enough as it is?"
"Kaya, think this through, please. There are other ways that you can do this, other ideas that can be thought through," Impa pleaded, her mouth opening and closing with unsaid words. "I know you will have to leave this World behind one day but this is taking it too far!"
"My idea is the only way I can do this without hurting Zelda more then it will in any set amount of time." The set determination was back in her eyes. "I don't want to stay in this World any more then I already have. If there are other ways, I don't want to hear them."
Impa stared long and hard at the queen, her eyes going over her face numerous times. There was nothing to tell Impa that Kaya would back down from going right now even at the cost of her own life; it was a risk that she was willing to take even if others were not. Is she that desperate to leave? She wondered to herself, biting down on her tongue in the fear she might make Kaya's determination even more powerful. That determination was set on her face, etched along the lines of worry, sadness, and hope and she wouldn't listen to any other reasonable way to get through this. Had this been before Zelda had been born, or even a mere thought, Impa would not have spoken of such things until the princess-heir had been born.
Sighing, Impa placing a hand on the bauble around her neck with a silent prayer to whichever Goddess would listen. The way she saw it she had two choices: let Kaya go through with her plan and take a chance in the dark, or she could drag her back to the castle unwillingly and spend time trying to perfect a decent plan. She didn't like either one considering she didn't know how much time would pass before Kaya could safely go into another World by herself nor did she want to take the chance that destiny would come before it was called. It was a desperate decision to make, one that she felt pressured to make right then and there. She silently swore at Kaya for putting herself and Zelda in the path of destiny so soon, when it was still too early to tell when things would come about again.
"Fine," Impa growled at her through clenched teeth. "I am not going after you."
Kaya looked more than surprised, which masked the delight that she felt in knowing that she had won this small fight. Although she knew she would be leaving a small child behind, it was for the best as she opened her hand up once again in the offering of the pendant from Impa. The Sheikah stared at her hand for a moment, hesitating for a moment before she slowly unclasped the silver chain from around her neck. It took several minutes to allow herself to put the pendant into Kaya's outstretched hand, her hand shaking with anger and sadness. If she could at least keep the other emotions in check, she would remain strong in this despite feeling like she was being pulled in too many directions at once.
"I don't want you to come after me. I need someone to protect Zelda," Kaya said as she placed the pendant around her neck and clasped it tightly. It felt cool on her skin, the light shining in the clear bauble as she turned towards the horses that they had brought to the lake.
"Kaya, are you sure you want to do this now?" Impa asked gently. "After all, I don't know how Zelda will take this and she is too young to really understand all this. Besides, we don't know how the pendant will work."
"I am sure, Impa, that Zelda will come to understand when she is older. I've seen the aura's around her and know she will be okay. I know that I am leaving her behind but it is for the best for both of us, even if I can't come back to get her. My original intentions had been to come back for her but now I know that I can't. That is something that can't be explained, not in a sense that she could understand herself, and I know now that there's something keeping her here." Kaya glanced over towards Impa, giving her a small smile in the process. The Sheikah, in some form or another, understood what the queen had to say and just kept silent about it; the Sheikah had their own ways of taking prophecies and using them. "I am taking only a few things with me, and I have enough with me to last me until I settle down."
The Sheikah stood where she was, her eyes watching Kaya intently as she stood there and stared out into nothing. She did everything that she could to contain the mixed fury and sadness, her teeth clenched tightly together. There was a certain pang of pain and guilt that she felt when she watched Kaya look out towards the horses, the longing the woman had on her face as she set out to turn her life around. There was nothing that she could do to stop her, even if she continued to protest her going and using Zelda as her anchorage in this World was out of the question. She would have eventually needed to leave Hyrule and make way for destiny to continue on, she attempted to reason with herself but to no avail. Kaya, I know that you have to do this in order for things to go on their destined path but please think of Zelda. I cannot protect her from her father or worse, forever. Even Sheikah are mortal.
The smile faded from her lips, her eyes moving back over towards the horses that grazed not far from where they were standing. She bowed her head slightly to the Sheikah, attempting to blink back the tears before walking towards the horses in a vain attempt to walk tall. It was harder to do than expected, even as she moved to the horse that she had rode into the lake and placed a hand upon the horses head, muttering a few words to it softly. The horse grazed at the same spot that she had placed it in, hardly taking notice that its rider was standing next to it and was shaking something terrible. The light smile came back to her lips as she stole a glance to Zelda who was playing happily in the water.
"I hate to do this to you, my daughter, but it is for the best. I no longer can stay in this World that you will still call home," Kaya whispered to herself out loud, shaking her head as she opened the saddlebag her horse carried. Reaching inside, she took out two small books and a jar that contained enough rupees from the castle to last five Hylians for the rest of their lives. She then walked around to the other side of the horse and took out a bag from the other saddle bag and placed the items she had taken out from the other into that. It took her roughly ten minutes to do this, all the while being under the watchful eye of Impa.
She turned around to face the lake, a determined yet scared look on her face as she placed the bag over a shoulder and stared to walk to the water's edge. By the time she had started for the water, Impa no longer looked in the queen's direction and instead looked towards the mountain range in which Death Mountain sat upon, her eyes searching for some sign that the ancient volcano would erupt in something other than the lava contained inside. It was all that she could to from running after Kaya and shaking some sense into her despite knowing what it would only cause even more pain then it already was. Both knew this had to happen despite the repercussions that it would bring in the future. If only there were other ways that could go about but there weren't; not even living in another land of this World would do the justice of bringing total happiness.
"I am so sorry, Impa. This is no longer my home and it will never be again. Take care of my Zelda for me and keep her safe," Kaya whispered to herself before reaching the spot where Zelda splashed in the water. The child stopped when her mother came to the water's edge and placed a hand on the top of her head. "Hello, sweetheart."
"Mother, came to play in the water?" Zelda asked, smiling up at her mother. Kaya smiled back, nodding to her.
"Zelda, listen to me," she started, keeping the happy expression on her face as best as she could. "Don't go into the deeper water like me, okay? You aren't strong enough to swim there yet, okay? I'm just going out for a quick swim before coming back in; it's been a while since I last went swimming properly."
Zelda thought about that for a moment before her smile grew wider and she nodded excitedly in response. Kaya sighed inwardly, pulling up her dress as she started to go into the water without any hesitating. The princess did not seem to take notice that her mother's expression had changed when she had turned to the water nor did she take notice that the queen had taken several items into the water with her, resuming her playful splashing and giggling at the water's edge and remained unaware of what was about to happen. Kaya didn't even look over at her daughter in fear that she would not be able to continue on as she came to her waist in water before diving deep within the depths of the water. It was cold underneath the surface of the water and she could see the outline of the Water Temple deep underneath the Hylia's water.
Kaya then placed a hand onto the bauble, closing her eyes as she kept her body underneath the water so that Zelda would not take notice if something did not go right. She thought of an unknown World in which she was to go in, far away from where she lived, the bauble underneath her hand beginning to glow brightly. It took less than thirty seconds for the light to engulf Kaya entirely, lighting up the water around her before it faded just as quickly as it had come. Where the light and Kaya once had been, there was nothing there but the calmness of the Hylia and the fish that had seen the entire thing take place in the orb of light. What transpired there would be known to a select few and they were not about to divulge in the secrets of a vanished queen that would never see Hyrule again.
Several minutes had passed before the princess-heir took notice that something was wrong. Zelda stopped her playing once she realized that her mother had not come up to the surface for air, her eyes looking out along the water where her mother had gone under. Kaya had not emerged after five minutes of being underwater, a long time even for those that could hold their breath for an extended amount of time or had some magical item to help them. Now Zelda had started to become scared, unsure if her mother was alright or if something had pulled her under and would not let her go. The princess-heir started to go into the water after her mother in a horrified attempt to find her despite her small body and the inability to swim properly in the deep water in front of her made her stumble. Before she got even to her knees, a pair of arms picked her up and pulled her back to the shoreline where she would be safe from the same force that had taken her mother away from her or even drag her into the depths that had claimed more then a handful of lives. She looked up to see Impa holding her close to her and with the same horrified expression on her face as she did.
"Don't go into the water, stay here. Let me go after her and try to find her," she said as she placed the child onto the land safely. Taking in a deep breath, she made her way back into the water and made a line for the area that she had seen Kaya dive into. Diving into the depths of the water, she knew she wouldn't find anything down there but the fish and the entrance to the Temple that the Zora's called sacred. This was an act to keep Zelda from knowing the truth too soon and to make sure that Kaya had truly left their World behind. I do not want to do this, not at all, Impa thought to herself as she continued down further. Zelda does not deserve this despite that this has to be done.
She looked around the darkness of the Hylia as best as she could with the amount of air that she had sucked in at the surface before she started to swim to the top. Once she had broken the surface, she took in several deep breaths before going back under the surface once again to check again. She did three more times in a vain attempt to locate Kaya or any part of her; when she came up the last time, she looked around the surface of the Hylia just to make sure that Kaya was, in fact, gone from this World and had not surfaced anywhere that could be seen. It was a horrible thought to come to terms with despite knowing she had a hand in it and it was for the better of more than one world. Before she swam to the shore, she placed a confused and horrified look on her face so that Zelda would not suspect anything else.
By now Zelda had a worried look on her young face and tears were already rolling down her cheeks when the Sheikah walked past her and sat down onto the grass. She closed her eyes for a moment and caught her breath, as the child ran over to her and latched onto her arm to stay close to her. Impa did not look at her when she opened her eyes, instead looking up at the sky where the sun shone brightly as though nothing wrong was happening in their World. In the span of twenty seconds, Impa had silently cursed all three of the Goddesses more than then twice, swearing hell and worse to the one that had created the pendants all those centuries ago. She also cursed the fates that had worked in the way to make sure that whatever future came, made sure that it would be a hard road ahead for them. It was enough to curb her anger for the time being and enough to keep her expression from twisting into something worse than it already was.
"Impa? Where is my mother? Where is she?" Zelda demanded, her tears streaming down her face as she tugged on Impa's wet sleeve. It took her several minutes before she could look at the girl properly and several more for her to speak.
"I can't find her down there. We have to go get help from the Zora's as they can do a better search. They can search the lake and streams that come off of the Hylia and do it better then we can." Impa then took in a deep breath to steady herself. "Your father also has to be told. Go to the guards and tell them that the queen has gone under the surface and has not come back up yet. Well, what are you waiting for child?"
She hated to be harsh with Zelda but when it came to continuing with the ploy then they had to act fast. Zelda stood where she was for a few seconds before running up the hillside to the entrance, running as fast as her legs, and emotions, would let her. Impa stayed where she was, watching the water's surface ripple along the edges as a strong wind came gusting from the north. It disrupted the light flow of water and pushed small waves onto the shoreline. That was a sign that the elements had been waiting for Kaya to leave before they came down upon the lake, giving them enough time to speak about things properly. Despite everything that had just transpired, Impa still did not like the rush that it had caused.
"Kaya, don't forget about your daughter or where you came from," Impa said to no one in particular as she stood up and got ready to explain what had happened to the guards. It would be a longer day than expected.
