Chapter Four
Hyrule Royal Castle
Lower and lower the sun sank behind the rolling horizon of Hyrule, glowing as fire in its slow decent, bring in inky night in its wake. Distant stars began to appear in the velvet, like pinpricks being randomly poked about in thick fabric, revealing brilliant light upon the other side. Cresting one of the many green hills that made up the majority of Hyrule stood a towering ivory castle, with light blazing from every window and soft music flowing from the interior. Carriages and reigned steeds stood on the half circle pathway before the open gates that two guards were standing at vigilant attention.
Separated from the merriment of the ball down below, a lone figure stood on one of the many balconies that lined the castle's exterior. His arms rested upon the thick marble railing, ocean blue eyes staring outwards towards the multicolored sunset. Behind him the large glass pane doors stood open wide, a flittering breeze lifting the gauzy fabric curtains in their hold and causing them to dance about. The room beyond was lavishly decorated, with a large four-poster bed complete with royal purple and violet draperies. Though decked out as if a member of the royal family owned it, it was just one of hundreds of rarely used guest rooms about the palace.
The one that was currently making use of it had come up there to get away from the livery of the party being held down below. Not only did he feel immensely out of place at such royal functions, he simply had far too much on his mind to even pretend like he was enjoying himself, something he'd become quite adept at since being repeatedly dragged by the daughter of the royal family, Princess Zelda.
The well known and often praised Hero of Time, better known to his closest friends as Link, found himself better prepared to stare out in to the nothingness of space as it came in to view through the blanket of night, than take on hundreds of Zelda's guests fawning over him, telling him what a 'strapping young man' he was, and reminding him of all the quests and deeds he'd rather not dwell upon. He had to wonder offhandedly if any of the guests even truly missed him, now that he'd taken his leave over a half an hour previously. It was a though he shrugged off, deciding it wasn't the thing to be worrying about at that moment.
Normally very aware of his surroundings, Link was completely caught off guard by a light hand coming to rest on his shoulder and a soft voice speaking his name with heavy concern. Though he jumped visibly before turning, he managed to swallow the gasp that had threatened to explode from him. Hand on his chest as if it could slow his hammering heart, he some how managed to give the worried looking princess a bright smile.
"Heh. Hey, princess," he mumbled, trying to sound as polite as possible.
"Link? Is everything all right?" the blonde haired princess questioned, noting how strained the older boy appeared. His expression looked strained, especially under the various lighting from the moon and the burning lamps glowing inside the room. Link winced at her tone, turning back to the balcony, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, a few tufts of golden blonde sticking up at odd angles.
"I've just got a lot on my mind right now, princess," he admitted, halfway telling the truth, "Sometimes that music can get so loud, I can barely hear myself think."
"Oh. I see. You should have said something when I invited you. You didn't have to come," Zelda said, stepping up to the balcony to lean her own gloved arms upon it, her crystal blue gaze staring up at the bright white three quarters moon that hung low in the evening sky.
Link raised an eyebrow, glancing at her sideways as he thought in a slightly bitter tone, Would you have listened? Every time you invite me you make it sound as if all of Hyrule would fall should I not arrive precisely on time. Instead of risking her wrath by speaking something so presumptuous, Link simply gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders and turned his attention to the same spot, which happened to be just above Lake Hylia. After a while a smirk graced his angular features, his hand moving from the back of his neck to his pointed ear as he scratched at it, looking to Zelda once more.
"I see that you're in no hurry to whisk yourself back down there, either, princess," he said with a tiny bit of humor lacing his words. Zelda's face lowered a bit with a blush, a few curls of blonde falling before her eyes as she looked to the ground with a small smile.
"You caught me, then. My father was parading me before suitors yet again, and I just had to get away from it for a while. Those stuffy men, so high and mighty on those gilded perches of theirs! I couldn't stand it, I felt like some pet being put on display. Goddesses forbid any of them view a woman as anything close to an equal! I-what…?" she trailed off suddenly, realizing that Link's smirk had grown in to an all out smile that was just waiting to release laughter, which it did the second she halted her ramblings, "What? Oh, don't laugh at me like that, Link, you make me feel like a fool!" she whined, dropping a fist on to the railing in frustration. Link sucked in a few short breaths, trying to compose himself despite the humor he found in the situation.
"Your face turns a lovely shade of red when you get all worked up like that, princess. I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself," he explained to her, a warm and genuine grin upon his lips.
"Ohh!" Zelda grumbled, dejectedly placing her chin upon her fist and deliberately turning her face away from him.
"Come on, princess! I didn't mean any harm!" Link pleaded, arms outward in surrender as he tried to lean down and get a view of her hidden face, "I know it must be horrible being you, waited on all the time, never having to save any lands from certain destruction, always looking so proper-"
"Now you're just being condescending," she snapped, still turned away in her skulking stance. Link's beaming face fell and he gave a sigh, pulling his green pointed hat off and running a hand through his constantly messy golden hair.
"All right, all right, I apologize, I was just trying to have a little fun. Seriously, if you don't laugh at the situation then you're just going to be miserable with it all the time, Zelda."
The younger female blinked, eyebrows arching high at the use of her name instead of her formality. It was something Link rarely did, as he seemed to be genetically wired to constantly be polite no matter the circumstance. Using her name in that manner was his way of trying to get her to lighten up, and it had worked since they were young children. It was a reminder of sorts that when it came right down to it, they were both just living beings in the same land, despite their status. Sighing, she turned and managed a smile for him, nodding slowly.
"I apologize as well, then. You're right, I should-"
CRACK!
The resounding noise echoed through the empty field stretched out before them, spooking the horses down below and even causing the orchestra in the main ballroom to cease playing as everyone asked in a chorus of voices what could have made such a tremendous noise. Both Link and Zelda gave jumps of surprise, Zelda's gloved hands covering her mouth as she emitted a cry of fear. Her wide eyes and Link's narrowed ones searched over the darkened land for its source, and the guards down below were shouting orders to one another, several of them coming out of the castle with armor and weapons clinking as they ran to join their compatriots at the open gates.
"What-" Zelda had started to ask. Link held up a hand to silence her, his eyes still trained on the field as he leaned ever further over the railing. Something in his instinct told him to look skyward, which he did so with an uncertain frown creasing his lips. His hand twitched to his belt, which desperately that the guards weren't so damn incessant on taking his weaponry at the door.
After what seemed like ages, when Link was just starting to convince himself that it was something completely harmless, a strange yellow glow started to form in the sky just above Lake Hylia. Slowly it blossomed outwards, like a strange flowing stain upon the darkened night sky, until finally it was as large as a house. White began to bleed in to it, moving until it made a perfect swirl inside of the yellow. Energy started to crackle outwards and a high wind picked up as if some giant was blowing breath upon the land. The sky around it turned a bizarre shade of reddish orange swarming with black clouds, and below it all the world had gone silent, any animal or man simply too shocked and fearful to make a noise.
"Oh Naryu…" Zelda whispered upon this sight, a hand resting on her chest as she tried to comprehend what her eyes were seeing.
"Not good," Link muttered shortly after. As if to affirm his statement another crack resounded through the night, startling everyone around. From the strange swirling mass in the sky three figures, possibly human, tumbled out from the center of it. They plummeted towards the lake, the very last one to come out seeming to hurtle more like an object that had been thrown than simply spat out. Everyone waited in deft silence to see what would happen next. Zelda had even found herself pressing her stomach against the railing rather uncomfortably to get a closer view of what was taking place. Yet one more splitting noise shook the countryside, and another trio of figures was produced from the strange vortex. These, unlike the ones prior, stopped in mid air just below the yellow anomaly, hovering for a moment before taking off in to the night, away from the lake and disappearing as little black dots in the sky. Just as quickly as it had come to be in the sky, the yellow mass vanished without so much as another sound. The strange redness in the sky faded and an unnerving stillness settled over the land. Zelda finally found the strength to tear her eyes away from the lake, only to see Link with a familiar expression of determination on his face. Below her at the palace front entrance she could hear her father's voice distantly shouting orders in a strained tone that wasn't entirely covering for his obvious fear of the situation at hand.
"Link…be careful, okay?" Zelda said knowingly, placing a hand on his shoulder once more, feeling the rough texture of his green tunic beneath her fingers. Link turned to her, eyes softening as he came up with a tiny smile, "You don't have any idea if what came out of there was dangerous or not. So please, be careful," she reiterated softly. Link nodded slowly, patting her hand gently before taking off through the room. She listened as his heavy footsteps faded down the stairwell and eventually came out to the front lawn where her father and two guards were already saddled up.
The princess leaned back over the railing, just barely able to see them all standing a few feet from the exterior gate. Link had already retrieved his weapons from the guards that confiscated them for the duration of the party and was pulling his chestnut mare by the reigns to where the other three stood. The king of Hyrule took note of his approach, looking up at the young man with an unreadable expression. Zelda could just barely make out the words spoken between them.
"You'll go with them, lad?" the king asked. Link gave a slightly awkward bow and a nod.
"I will, your majesty," he responded solemnly while putting his foot in the stirrup and mounting Epona.
"Find out what that was, and who, or what, those things were that fell from the sky. Bring the ones that went to the lake here, if you must. I just want answers!"
"Sir!" the two guards chorused in unison, saluting the king. Link gave a simple nod and turned Epona, sending her running off towards Lake Hylia with a click of his tongue. The guards quickly followed suit, leaving the king to stand, alone in the field with his thoughts for the moment. Slowly he turned and gazed up to his daughter standing on the balcony, the flickering lamps from the room backlighting her in thick shadows. He frowned at her; a tight, seldom seen expression that seemed to say that the uncertainty was more fearful than anything the kingdom had faced before. Zelda sensed it all around her, the tenseness, and the thickness of the air that had not been there before.
Whatever they were up against this time around, Zelda couldn't help but silently wonder if Link was up to the challenge this time, whatever it may be.
Above Lake Hylia
Darkness, infinite darkness, spanning onward forever and crushing inward in measurements of seconds. That was all that surrounded Adian, that was all he could feel, all he could touch and grasp in those moments. He felt as light as a feather and as heavy as a car, a bird in flight and a 747 plummeting to its death at high velocity. His mind reeled with questions, but he couldn't grasp them for their words had suddenly turned to gibberish in his head. He couldn't tell if he was just slipping in and out of reality, or simply floating away from everything and anything all at once. He could vaguely remember strange shadows that didn't seem normal, and a man-like creature with a name that he couldn't recall. There was something yellow, hovering in the sky, but for the life of him nothing made sense. He knew there was something important he was doing, but he couldn't bring up the memory of what it was.
A small part of him comprehended that he was falling from somewhere, but it felt like falling forever in an endless dark void that had no beginning and no end. Falling through a matrix of sorts, where all the answers of the universe might just lie, if you knew where to look for them.
Suddenly true reality hit when a cold, stinging sensation slammed in to him like a bag of bricks thrown at his head. He gasped sharply, trying to suck in air but only taking in cold, harsh water. Gurgling, his eyes opened to find himself submersed in a deep, clear body of water that he couldn't identify. Below him moist dirt, plants, and fish made up most of the habitat, and above the only thing he could make out was the tiny, rippling, luminous dot of a moon in a completely dark sky. His lungs burned and his mind kicked in to overdrive in a matter of seconds and he quickly began thrashing his legs in a desperate effort to pull himself to the surface. He broke throat, sucking in air through the droplets of water that ran down his soaked face. Gazing back upwards to the starry night he realized the feeling of falling had been more real then what he'd previously thought. He'd been hurled straight in to a huge body of water that was surprisingly not the ocean they'd been battling next to previously. Instead this appeared to be a gigantic lake surrounded by hills with a few small islands dotting its interior. Next to him he could see two sets of ripples, one with only one point of entry motion, and the other moving towards the shore up ahead. Ceilidh was scrambling for the shore about twenty feet ahead of him, flailing and splashing so much it was hard to clearly see her form in the darkness of the night. Glancing back over his shoulder he could finally see blood slowly rising up, staining the water a liquid red inside the stagnant ripples.
Ceilidh and me are here. Then who is-Ohgod. JENRIA!
Coming upon the realization that his other teammate was sinking to the bottom of the lake injured and unable to surface, Adian quickly turned and started back for her, praying that she would make it.
"Adian!" Ceilidh called out, her voice hoarse. She'd made it to shore, only to find Adian swimming back out to the center of the lake, "Get out of the water!" She screamed desperately at him, her voice sounding strangely winded, as if something had hit her on the back hard enough to cause her to lose breath momentarily.
"But Jenria-" before Adian could even finish his sentence, something slammed in to his back, throwing him face first back down in to the water and under a few feet. He came sputtering back to the surface, his lungs screaming in strained pain, and turned around to see an outlandish purple creature with a funnel for a nose and short tentacles coming out of a narrow body. That very funnel was hurling huge rounded boulders at them, its large eyes narrowed in obvious anger at having its lake invaded by strangers. Adian let out a yelp and ducked back down in the water, quickly putting himself back in the direction of the shore as he haltingly swam beneath the surface, his lungs and back still aching from the hit he'd taken.
He felt hands around his forearm pulling him on to the sandy, slightly damp ground. Both of them dripping wet, gasping for air and shaken, the two appeared much less like warriors now.
"What…about…Jen?" Adian gasped, barely able to keep breath inside his lungs.
"There's nothing we can do!" Ceilidh choked out, tears mixing in with the fresh water that dripped down her cheeks, "That thing will kill us if we try to go back and get her!"
"NO! I'm not giving up on her!" Adian cried, attempting to scramble back to the lake. Ceilidh barely had the strength to hold on to his sopping wet clothing, and she was certain she was going to lose him to the creature. Another stone was hurled with a strange 'phoot!' noise. Ceilidh shrieked and dropped her body to the ground, some how managing to grab a hold of Adian's arm and pull him down with her. The stone cracked on a hill behind them, narrowly missing their venerable heads. As soon as the danger had passed Adian attempted to get to his feet again, only this time Ceilidh latched both arms around his. Her small body was practically vaulted off the ground as he stood.
"ADIAN! PLEASE!" she sobbed, "Use common sense for once, goddamn it! There's no sense in two of you dying tonight!"
"No one is going to die tonight!" Adian protested, reaching out with his free hand as though he could simply pluck Jenria out of the water and rescue her. So intent on bringing Jenria back to them, Adian never saw the third rock come directly at him. It smashed in to him at full force, sending both him and Ceilidh, who still had a hold of his arm, flying backwards. Adian bounced to a stop on his back, skidding a few feet in the dirt before coming to a full rest, his breath coming in wheezes and his eyes closed as the hit had rendered him unconscious once more. Ceilidh on the other hand had managed to get her footing somewhere in the fall and had simply somersaulted backwards to come to a crouched defensive position, just in time to avoid another projectile. She growled in frustration upon seeing Adian indisposed, leaving her to deal with the threat on her own.
"Okay asshole, you're really starting to get on my nerves!" she bellowed, reaching behind her back to find that her crossbow was still attached to her. Removing it from the holster, she loaded an arrow and took aim upon the bizarre thing in the lake. Before she had a chance to fire, though, the sound of multiple horses galloping in that general direction caught her attention. She turned her head towards the source and what appeared to be a small inlet opening in the hilly wall that surrounded the lake.
Three men, two dressed in silver armor while riding white stallions and one dressed in a green tunic with white breeches riding a chestnut mare, burst on to the scene, only to capture the creature's attention as well. It turned towards them, momentarily forgetting about the girl on the shore, and launched one its projectiles at them.
"Look out!" the one in the green tunic cried out, jerking his horse's reigns. The other two did the same and all three horses scattered in different directions. The boulder cracked harmlessly on the ground where they once stood. He quickly grabbed a bow that was slung on his back, aimed, and let a single arrow fly. It lodged perfectly dead center in the creature's head, causing it to reel on to its back and let out a single puff of air before vanishing completely in the water.
Ceilidh saw her opening. It was possible that these men had ill intent towards her and her companions, but it didn't matter; she had a chance to save Jenria now, if there was any saving her at all, and she was going to take it. She bolted forward, feet pounding the ground as swiftly as she could force them, and threw herself with a haphazard dive in to the freezing lake water.
Arms rotating, she pushed down to the bottom where she could see Jenria's limp form resting on the lake floor, blood slowly rising up in thin spindles from a shoulder wound. Despite her lungs protesting this strenuous act and the pressure building with each foot she went deeper, she continued down, finally reaching her friend. Grabbing Jenria's uninjured arm, Ceilidh hoisted the girl next to her and turned back, kicking desperately as she tried to make for the surface that suddenly seemed so terribly far away, especially with the dead weight she was now carrying.
Try as she might the girl could just not get the speed needed to raise herself to the top, and eventually she simply started sinking back down, her eyes starting to close as her brain shut down from lack of oxygen.
No! Please…don't let us die…her half conscious mind pleaded to whatever higher power might have the ability to hear her mental cry. She gave one final grunt, one last attempt at pushing upward, losing about a foot on her descending position. Certainty of the end took over her mind, and she was about to resign herself to not only her death but the death of Jenria as well when a strong arm wrapped about her waist and hoisted her upwards. Her head broke the water and she coughed harshly, bringing in air in small, desperate gulps. Blinking water from her eyes as she was pulled towards the shore she could make out the blurred figure of the green tunic man next to her. Miraculously, she'd also held on to Jenria through the ordeal, though she had to wonder how much good it was going to do. She was in terrible shape, as not a breath came from her and her gaping wound was still oozing blood despite the water that washed so much away.
Adian had managed to rouse himself from his unconscious state during his friend's rescue and was waiting for them at the edge of the lake even though the two in armor seemed determined to keep a very close eye on him. Once all three had broken through, Adian sloshed through the water to hip height, quickly taking Ceilidh's load from her. He carried Jenria back to dry land, gently resting her on the ground. He quickly checked her pulse, placing two fingers on the side of her throat. Amazingly a tiny bit of life still beat within her, her heart giving a flutter every few seconds. She drew no breath, though, and Adian knew he had to act quickly if he was going to bring her back from the brink. As he began mouth to mouth resuscitation Ceilidh was being brought back to shore by the green tunic man.
They both came to a rest a few feet away from where Adian was urgently trying to save Jenria, Ceilidh coughing and sputtering as she worked to expel the water she'd inhaled before being rescued.
"Who…are you…? And…where are we…for that matter…?" she managed to wheeze out in between coughs and gasps. The man raised a blonde eyebrow at her, blue eyes narrowed in an unreadable expression.
"I should ask you the same question, ma'am. I've got a whole kingdom wondering who you and your companions are, and what exactly happened in the sky tonight," he said, his voice actually betraying the youth that his eyes and stature hid.
"Kingdom?" Ceilidh echoed, panic starting to rise slightly in her tone, "Oh Christ, we are not on Earth anymore," she muttered in hoarse shock. Behind them Jenria let out a gurgling cough, her body jerking and back arching as water came spewing from her lips, spraying Adian. She regained consciousness for all of a second, taking enough time to see the sky above her with wide eyes before she gave a horrid moan, eyes rolling back as she flopped like a dead fish back to the ground.
"Shit…" Adian hissed angrily, pulling his sopping wet shirt off and pressing it to the wound on Jenria's shoulder. Little good it did, as the sword injury ran all the way through, having torn muscle and nicking bone with its entry and exit, "She's not going to survive if we don't get her some help, Cei!"
Ceilidh winced at those words, sucking in a sharp breath as she suppressed a scream of frustration. She turned her forest green eyes to the man, expression becoming pleading and fraught.
"I can tell you don't trust us right now, and I don't blame you, but right now I'm hoping you can put that aside. Please. For Jenria's sake, don't let her die out here, not like this. We'll explain everything we can to whoever we need to, I promise."
"Sir?" one of the armored individuals addressed the man cautiously having overheard the conversation. The blonde man sighed heavily, reaching up to remove his green cap from his head, scratching his damp hair with his hand before running his palm over it. He stared at Ceilidh long and hard, sizing her up, reading past her emotions and seeming to pierce right in to her very soul with his lipid blue eyes. Finally he rose and headed for his horse, pulling a thick red blanket from one of the saddlebags. The mare simply watched him with baleful eyes, seeming particularly indifferent to the situation.
"Confiscate their weapons and take them back to the castle. I'm going on ahead with this one," he said, kneeling down next to the dark haired girl. Though breathing now, her condition had only improved by that slight bit. Everything else about her unconscious state showed that, if she were to survive, it would be a long and arduous recovery.
Adian looked to the man, trying to appear as much of the leader figure that he could manage. He couldn't hide the fear that was in his eyes, though, and it was clear it wasn't just for himself but for his team as well.
"What will happen to us?"
"That is up to the king to decide, but if you are honest and you mean no ill towards Hyrule, I don't suspect anything grave will happen," the man admitted, looking him straight in the eyes before lifting Jenria in the blanket, holding her limp body to him securely, "When I arrive at the castle I will tell him what I know. The rest is up to you, once you get there."
Frowning, but knowing he had no choice but to let them go, Adian watched as the man carefully mounted his horse with Jenria held on the saddle before him. He turned towards them, speaking one last time.
"My name is Link. When this ordeal is over, I will have my own questions for you to answer!"
With that, the man known as Link rode off in to the darkness, leaving the two with uncertainty weighing heavily on their minds.