Before the Game Begins...
The Death of the Queen
Chapter 10: Flames of War
The Field had been set on fire. The torches the soldiers of Hyrule carried as they came boiling out of the gates of the fortified town...the torches they used in order to see their enemy at night...these were the same torches that fell to the dry grass when Ganondorf's army rose up in arms against the unexpected onslaught. It was teased by the wind, scattered embers that caught fire and grew alarmingly, blossoming upon the horizon, lighting the nighttime landscape with a hellish glow. Sparks flew into the air higher than a fairy could fly.
The Queen had not taken refuge, as she had planned, within Zora's Domain. Instead, seeing that the entrance to the Kokiri village was quite close by, even though night had already fallen, she decided to risk it all with a mad dash toward safety. It seemed so close...She should have known.
She should have known.
The grass fire spread alarmingly. It created its own wind in addition to the wind that drove it straight toward her. In slow motion, she turned to look, measuring its distance and speed, and compared it to what remained of the last leg of her journey. She feared staying on the open plain for too long. She had outrun several groups of stalchilds already.
She could hear the fire's voice roaring closer and closer, faster than she would have thought possible. It mingled with the distant clash and roar of two mighty forces meeting sword to sword to lance to mace to arrow to shield to gauntlet. A stalchild rose up infront of her. She dodged and ran when it swiped its deadly claws at her. It caught her sleeve, and she heard the material rend, but felt no pain. The cut wasn't deep, but it bled without her noticing. Her eyes were on the wall of fire that consumed everything in its path.
Rabbits dashed past her. Deer, fleeing in terror, sprang right at her. Wolves ran past, their mouths open, tongues hanging out. All manner of creature madly trying to escape the heat, smoke and flames ran past her, and suddenly, she ran toward the fire, her deku stick extended infront of her...Could she out run it after she caught this dangerous flame? The deku stick caught quickly. She made an about face and ran like the dickens ahead of the fire. Then she set the grass infront of her on fire.
Her little fire caught easily and raced ahead of her as fast as the gigantic fire behind her did. Soon it burned five feet of charred smoking grass. She stepped onto the blackened island with her sturdy walking boots, and turned to watch the wall of fire blast toward her. The blackened circle of already burnt grass broke the wall of flame that threatened to consume her. But it was close, so very close. She felt as if the air was suddenly sucked out of her lungs, and she fell back a few steps, away from the heat. It roared around her little black circle until she stood in a giant field of blackness.
She was breathless and a little stunned at her own audacity...what strange impulse had guided her to run toward the fire and not away from it? How had she known to create the firebreak?
A stalchild rose up behind her and slashed her back. She heard Link begin to cry and she quickly turned, taking the full brunt of the stalchild's second slash. She didn't even have time to raise her arms in defense. She stared down at the talons buried in her chest. The third blow she deflected, but the talons were gruesomely stuck, as if the stalchild had curled them around her ribs. Another stalchild came at her from the side. She side-stepped that one, but the first one was still attached to her. It tightened its grip on her ribs and lifted its other arm again. She lifted both her arms in defense and felt the splash of her own blood on her face.
An owl swooped low, beating the stalchild back with its wings. She broke the stalchild's arm off, leaving the talons still buried within her. The owl beat that stalchild away, too, then landed beside her.
She knew that the pain would be coming soon. Right now, her chest felt numb, and her main worry was the Prince. She carefully swung the carrier off of her back. He was quiet, and his eyes were wide open. She removed him from the carrier and examined him quickly. He seemed unharmed, although the carrier had a slash. She glanced over at the owl. A refugee from the fire? Silver gleamed in the bird's talons, but the Queen couldn't quite make out what it was that the bird carried. "You will die soon." The owl said in a dry sort of voice.
That wasn't what she expected. A talking owl? Was she hallucinating?
"You have to get to the Kokiri forest as quickly as possible." and when he saw her try to remove the Stalchild's talons, he said: "Don't do it. The Kokiri will aid you. If you take them out now, your life's blood will spill upon the ground too quickly." He noticed that her arms were slashed up pretty good too. "It's not far." he said. "Let me take the child."
She nodded numbly. The strength was leaving her arms now. They were beginning to thob. Her legs were kind of wobbly. She did not know if she could out run another Stalchild attack. No matter who he was, the owl was a better guardian that she was at the moment. She tied Link back into the carrier, her fingers trembling, blood dripping down her arm to stain the laces. She watched the owl carefully pick up the carrier. He flew as slowly as possible, leaving a silver treasure in the blackened grass. She followed him with all the strength that she had left.
When they reached the entrance of the Kokiri village, it was nearly dawn. Her sight was dim, and the owl landed gently beside her. She lay down beside her son and put one bloody arm around him. She felt so tired...
A green-haired girl carrying an emerald found the couple at the entrance to her domain. Some escapee from the massive battle that had occured last night on the plains of Hyrule, she concluded. She looked closely, realizing that it must be a mother and her child seeking refuge..she noticed the massive wounds on the woman's arms, and she lifted the one arm that lay over the child...the woman groaned. Her eyes flickered open briefly.
Saria realized that the woman was near death. A star-shaped wound was in the middle of her chest. Blood covered the entire front of her bodice. Too much blood was on the ground beneath her. She was trying to form words, and Saria leaned closely to hear what she had to say.
"What's your baby's name?" Saria said, not understanding what the woman was trying to say. She knelt by her head and cradled it upon her lap. She noticed, even though the woman's face was splattered with blood and soot, how beautiful her features were.
The woman strained to speak. She was too far gone. Saria knew that she probably shouldn't have asked her anything.
"Link." the woman managed to say.
"What's your name?" Saria gently asked. She lifted the woman's hand and held it in her own.
The woman gazed straight up into Saria's eyes, and Saria thought to herself: What a wonderful color her eyes are!
"Navi." she said with her last breath.
Then something strange happened. A fairy rose out of the woman's chest and soared up into the sky. Saria watched it for sometime, quite astonished, for although she had lived a long time, she had never realized that fairies were the souls of people. She had never seen one born before. She was going to have to ask the Deku tree about this one. She looked back down at the woman's staring eyes. She let go of her hand and sadly closed them.
Then she looked over at the blue eyed boy, who met her gaze with one as interested as her own.
Suddenly, a great horned owl landed beside her, and at the same time, Kokiri came running out of the forest. "Am I too late?" the owl asked Saria.
Saria turned a contemplative gaze toward the unusual bird. Everyone crowded around the dead woman. "Is she dead?" Mido asked, but he stared at Link.
Saria nodded and stood up. She stepped over the body of the mother and untied the child from his carrier. She helped him to stand, and he immediately went to sit beside his mother, grabbing her skirt in one fist, leaning his head against her cooling body. He turned his back to them, but did not cry. They all looked at him, then looked at each other. The owl garrumphed and walked a little ways away. Saria followed him.
"What's your name?" Saria asked the owl
"Kaepora Gaebora."
Saria recognized the name, but didn't know why the sage was now an owl. She decided not to ask. You never knew with sages.
The owl composed itself and walked back to the gathering around the body. It cleared its throat and asked: "Did she say her name?"
Saria nodded and told him what the woman had said.
"And the boy?"
Saria said: "Link."
The owl had never heard these names. It couldn't be the Queen then. He swivelled his head a few times and ruffled his feathers. He stretched out his wings, then folded them away. He studied at the boy's features. What impulse had guided Kaepora to this woman and her child? Is it possible that the goddesses had intervened? If so, then surely this boy was important. He turned to Saria and said: "It's in your hands now. I think that this boy is important, although I am not sure who he is. You and the Kokiri must hide him within your domain and seal it. You can't let him out until the Deku tree says he can."
Saria nodded. The owl watched while the Kokiri gathered around the body and lifted it, taking it into the depths of the forest. The child still clung to the skirt, but did not protest, merely following the crowd. Saria turned and caught up to the child. She held his other hand.
Link looked at her, then let go of the skirt. The two of them stood still for a moment, looking at each other, then they entered the Kokiri forest together.
The owl flew away, recalling a certain silver pair of gauntlets that needed his attention.