…I should get on, forget you, but why would I want to?...
"Although what Link has done is evil, I can't forget the things that he has done for good. He has saved all our lives numerous times. He gave Hyrule hope when Ganondorf reigned. He killed the source of our pain and suffering. He was good and pure, and he loved. And I know in my heart, that I still love him and that he has something inside him… s-something good. I will not l-leave him, and my b-baby will not be f-fatherless…" Zelda had to stop; the tears were running down her face too strongly. Qaya and her Sheikah did not feel pain, or regret, or sorrow. But they could understand and love. And Qaya understood and loved Zelda, and she knew she had to help her. The slim woman stood up, startling a cry out of the sobbing queen beside her. Zelda knew that Qaya was about to do something awful… "N-no! Qaya! Don't do it! He's too powerful!" But Qaya was not listening. She twirled round gracefully, and a wave of power rippled through the room, knocking Zelda back into the couch.
When the monarch opened her eyes, Qaya stood in front of her, different. She had an aura of confidence and power that seemed to be flowing from her very soul. Her ruby eyes blazed with anger and strangely, peace. But what shocked Zelda the most was the ruby Triforce that glowed underneath the Sheikah eye on Qaya's chest. "Y-you? You received the Triforce of Power? I-impossible…" Zelda thought hard. After Ganondorf was finally sealed away, the Triforce left his body and drifted. It was said that a graceful leader would inherit the wondrous symbol, the highest honour. Only the two rulers of Hyrule had one each, and were signs of being touched by the goddesses. Nayru watched over Zelda, but many suspected that the peaceful wind goddess Farore had turned her back on evil Link. After all, he had killed her charges, the Kokiri. And this meant that Din had chosen Qaya to hold her power. Zelda stared up at Qaya in awe. The Sheikah glared at her Queen. "I am going out there and I am going to talk to him. If need be, I will hurt him… I will kill him."
…I know we said goodbye, anything else would have been confused…
"May I have your attention, please?" Link looked up to see that striking Sheikah storm into the room. He stepped back a little as he felt some kind of pressure spread through the room. The others in the room started murmuring things to their neighbours, glancing at Qaya. "I have just had an enlightening chat with her majesty, Queen Zelda." Qaya was looking directly at Link. "She has told me many things about her husband," Link clenched his hand into a fist. "She has told me of what he was like before the… ah, how should I put it? Incident," Qaya spat out the word. "These facts have led me to believe that Link is an evil man," The guests gasped, each darting terrified glances at Link. His dark eyes were ablaze, but yet he made no move to attack Qaya. "He has beaten and abused his wife, and holds your land in a dark grip. But he does not, cannot, hold the Sheikah. You see, sometime ago, after the defeat of the Evil King, the Triforce of Power went wandering. And it found me. One cannot hold another if that person has a Triforce. Even if the holder has his own Triforce. But Link has his wife's power of love. He binds her with her love for him. And this is a tragedy." The top triangle on the Triforce on her chest sparkled with red light. "He cannot bind me!" A strange wind whipped through the room, blowing gowns and hair. "Link! I ask, nay, implore you to replace the Master Sword! End this sinister life you lead! Learn to love again!"
The wind grew harder. Link took a step forward and unsheathed the Master Sword. It glowed red. He looked straight at Qaya and roared, "You overstep, Sheikah! I rule you and you people like I rule the other pathetic creatures in Hyr–" Qaya interrupted. "No! That is not true! You hold no power over the Sheikah! We are an independent race!" she yelled. Leaves and small twigs were caught up in the powerful wind. Sand blew in from outside and began to spin in the gust. "I would not care to hurt you, Link! But I will if you do not replace the Master Sword! Close the Door of Time! RETURN THE OCARINA OF TIME TO IT'S RIGHTFUL OWNER!" cried the Sheikah Mistress. Link advanced on the slim woman, sword raised, silent. Just as Qaya readied herself for battle, Queen Zelda burst through a door and into the chaotic room. Time stopped. The wind froze. Link halted in a running position. Zelda, the only moving thing, ran over to Link and took the heavy sword out of his hand. She – with great effort – threw it to a distant corner of the room. Collapsing with exhaustion from stopping time for so long, she let it flow again normally. Link stopped short, realizing he no longer had a weapon. A large male guest noticed the Master Sword lying next to him and hastily moved away. And everyone noticed a panting Zelda on the floor. But nobody dared to move. Yet everyone noticed that Zelda looked different. The pinned up hair and tiara were gone, in their place Zelda's old shining blonde hair, streaked with white. In the place of the blue gown was a white bodysuit, embroidered with gold Triforces. She stood up shakily. Nobody has seen Zelda in this state, yet somehow each knew who she was. Qaya nodded to the blonde woman. "The Sage of Time!" she exclaimed. But Zelda stared at her coldly. "Stop the fighting. Now!" the Sage demanded.
But before Zelda could say anything else, Princess Ruto, Darunia and Nabooru stepped forward. "You are our equal now, Time. And I'm afraid we will have to restrain you if you continue to stop Qaya and Link," rumbled Darunia. "Princess of Destiny, you should know what happens when you mess with it." Zelda opened her mouth but Ruto held up a hand. "No, Time. No more. Let them deal with it!" she said gently. Zelda closed her mouth and stepped back, silent. "I understand, Fire, Water and Spirit. I will no longer interfere." Zelda sighed. Link quietly went and retrieved his sword, glaring at his wife. She shrank back against the wall. This made Qaya furious. "Zelda! Stop it! You have more power than he could ever have! Don't you see? I was hoping you would know by now…" cried the dark-haired woman. Everyone was confused at her last statement. "What are you talking about?" snapped Link. "I… I… okay. Zelda, your late bodyguard, Impa–" Qaya made the peace gesture to Nayru "–when she was our leader, told me a prophecy. It went: When the King of the land grows evil, a five-times powerful maiden will destroy its source. Peace will return to the land, but the maiden will grow weak. And only one can save her, the one who holds the key to her heart. At first I thought it applied with Ganondorf, but then I noticed that Link was not involved anywhere in the prophecy. But now I know. Link is the evil king… and you are the five-times powerful maiden!" exclaimed Qaya. Nabooru frowned. "Five times? Let's see… Queen of Hyrule, Sage of Time, Keeper of the Triforce of Wisdom, Sorceress… what is the fifth one?" she asked. Qaya sighed. "Zelda is a Sheikah!" she said.
Zelda smiled. "I'm sorry, Qaya, but that is not true. I masqueraded as Sheik, but it's not like I has his powers or anything… I just carried round a bunch of Deku Nuts and a copy of some Athletic Spell!" she explained. Qaya smiled in turn. "No, Zelda. It's true. When you turned eighteen, the year after the coming of peace to Hyrule after Ganondorf, you should remember on the exact second of your real birth, a bright red flash blocked your vision, and then disappeared? You probably thought nothing of it, but to us Sheikah, it is the highest honour… it is the becoming of a true Sheikah warrior. In the Sheikah training, we rigorously compete for our eighteenth birthday – the time when the ancient spirits decide if we are worthy… or not. They decided you were worthy. And you have not yet grown into your Sheikah form. We must work on this. But for now, I must settle the score with your husband. The time for talking is gone. I must fight violence… with VIOLENCE!" shouted Qaya. With that, the woman somersaulted into the air springing out her limbs on the descent. Twirling round, her fists hit Link on the side of his face.
Link recovered quickly and brought his sword down across the Sheikah's chest. She flipped back and responded with a handful of throwing stars hidden deep in her outfit. Link managed to block three with his sword but the fourth struck him in the collarbone. Wincing, as it cut through his thin shirt and bit his skin, Link speedily slashed in short, rapid cuts. Disappearing in a burst of red flame, Qaya reappeared behind Link, clutching a bleeding side. She took the advantage to kick him in the back. The force of her kick threw Link to the ground. Zelda, sobbing, ran over to Qaya and used her healing magic to heal the deep cut. Before she could finish, Link jumped up and slashed Zelda across her back. Everyone in the room gasped again. Zelda stumbled forward into Qaya. The strong woman caught the queen in her arms and quickly moved her out of harm's way. Then, with renewed rage, Qaya grabbed Link's chest and flipped over him, carrying him over her head and throwing him with the momentum of her jump. He hit the wall. Groaning, he sat up, and saw the menacing look in Ruto, Darunia and Nabooru's eyes. Turning to look at Qaya, he immediately looked away, avoiding the ruby blaze in the woman's eyes. He raised his hands and a ball of green light appeared. It grew to cover him and in a flash he was gone. Qaya cursed. "Farore's Wind!" she cried. Zelda dropped to her knees, shouting out in grief. For she, like everyone else, knew that Link would not come back.