Chapter 15: Prelude to a Nightmare
Navi awoke first, her energy still heavily drained. She was glad that he hadn't seen her unconscious. Knowing him, he would have panicked, and beaten himself over it, fearing the worst. He was so sweet, sometimes. But, he needed to learn to take care of himself, too. That fight had taken a lot out of him.
She flapped her wings, but they were heavy, far too heavy for such a small creature as she to lift. She crawled up onto his face, smoothed his bangs away from his forehead. She tried flapping her wings again, but she was still too tired.
She had half a mind to take out Link's life medicine and administer it to them both. For a faerie, life energy and magic energy were interchangeable. One of the benefits and drawbacks of being so incredibly magical. Some faeries, after all, were born of the ambient magic of an area. Navi hadn't been, and she knew that most of them were soulless and vague, but it was nevertheless indicative of what sort of creatures faeries (and thus she herself) were.
She leant back against Link's neck, again, trying to will herself to sleep. Sleep, however, was elusive. Still, as she rested, she could slowly feel her energy return to her.
At last, her wings seemed not quite as heavy, and, with clumsy flaps, she took to the skies, wobbling through the air as if drunk. She flew over to the treasure chest, examining it. Another of the big treasure chests, this one was identical to the others, with its swivel clasp, and iron rim that kept its contents mysterious. It was probably the dungeon item. Dungeons tended to follow a common order.
As her strength slowly returned to her, and Link continued to sleep, she wandered through the room, looking for something to occupy her attention. She hadn't been this lonely in months. Or years, rather. Not since she'd met Link Sylvanus, the boy with the intriguing story and big heart. He was truly one-of-a kind, wasn't he?
She smiled to herself, remembering their adventure. He'd come so far, since then. She pondered the entire affair to herself, asking herself the question that had plagued him: just who was he? If he said that he was the Hero of Time, she didn't have a choice but to believe him, strange though it made all the events that had happened.
But, it was strange. And…once he'd made his decision…he'd changed. She wasn't sure if she should be wary of this sudden, drastic personality shift, at first, but then, she realised that he seemed to be happier this way. And, she wanted him to be happy. Not just because of the faerie connection that they had, but because he was the sort of person who really, truly deserved happiness.
Did he realise how different he was, however? Did he see how much more effective he was than he'd been under that brooding analytic glare he'd adopted when he thought he'd been someone else? When he was reborn, would he be able to keep that knowledge, be able to keep that attitude, with the benefits it entailed? Did he realise that he'd even sounded different, once he'd taken up the new (old?) identity? His mental voice had shifted to match his physical one. Saria had commented on it, but he might not have noticed. He was, after all, Link. He seemed completely clueless about girls, and he might have attributed anything odd she'd said to that.
Navi shrugged. It was actually really cute, his constant discomfiture. Not to be mean, or anything. She just enjoyed teasing him about it.
Link was starting to stir. Even she was uncertain as to how long he'd lain there, passed out and shivering, recovering the energy he'd expended. She'd been unconscious, too, after all. But she hoped he wasn't reckless enough to plunge further into the Temple without replenishing their vital supplies. That was fatal folly, there.
Who was she kidding? Of course, he would. Navi sighed, folded her arms, and prepared to chastise him.
Link awoke slowly, his mind hurting from recent strain. He'd tried every tactic he'd known on…something…he'd just barely survived, had earnestly thought that he might not. What had it been? Oh, yes! That Shadow of his. A shadow, a duplicate of him himself. But better, stronger, faster. Not a mere nightmare.
He reached out, unthinking, for Navi. She fluttered down before his face, as he turned onto his back, supporting his head, folding his arm behind his head to serve as a pillow.
"Link!" she squealed. "Are you alright?" Her voice an octave higher than usual, her eyes wide as she stared.
He blushed, looked away, embarrassed by his failings, his own shortcomings. Was it just him, or was Navi's glow dimmer than usual?
Eh, perhaps he was just imagining it. He'd almost died, after all. He could feel it.
He had the sense—almost a memory, if strangely distant— of walking down a dark path, a road to the next world. But, he hadn't even defeated Ganondorf yet! He needed to return. Only the Hero of Time, combined with the Sages, could seal away the evil.
Impa had stood beside the path—translucent and indistinct. She, and the gerudo woman in the stained glass window. But, he couldn't remember what they'd said, what they'd done. It felt jumbled up in his head, as if the memory had been conflated with several others, which…who knew? Men were probably not meant to remember their own deaths, unless they were ghosts. He wasn't a ghost, was he? How could he tell?
But, Navi was still staring at him, flying down to land on his shoulder. (If he was dead, she was, too. Would she die when he did, whenever that was? Was that part of a faerie bond, that one couldn't outlive the other? Gatrice's behaviour following Saria's departure suggested not, but….)
He slowly sat up, ignoring the pain that felt almost a distant buzz humming through his body—as the tingling that comes when a limb "falls asleep" and is then aggravated.
He smiled at Navi, to reassure her, even though his entire body ached. He didn't know why it ached. Perhaps, it had something to do with how he had awoken to find himself, more or less on his belly, on the hard stone tile of the temple. Not a drop of water to be seen around here. It would have been nice to have had, but it was missing.
Navi fluttered over to land on his shoulder. She was shivering, as if cold.
"That was too close, Link. You have to be more careful!"
That stung. "Well, Navi…I didn't know that my shadow would come alive and try to kill me! Did you?"
Navi hung her head. If she'd been human, her hair would have hidden her face from view. But, faerie hair apparently behaved differently, settling over her shoulders in a pool of red. As he stared, he noticed that she was crying. His heart clenched tight. He'd made her cry, now. Good job, Link Sylvanus!
"I'm sorry, Navi. I just…we need to hurry and save Ruto. We don't know what sort of monster this Morpha is, but it must be powerful. We have to hurry. But, Navi…I'm sorry that I worried you."
He gave her another one of those soft smiles, filled with his appreciation for her, his surrogate mother. She huffed and turned away, folding her arms, refusing to be placated.
"Let's just go, Link."
He nodded, pulled himself to his feet, wobbled, nearly fell, righted himself. He staggered over to the chest that stood where the tree had been. He stood before it, leant his weight on it, and then straightened up, twisted the clasp, and reached inside.
He pulled out a very, very long line of chain. And, that was all. It was, to be fair, the exact same kind of chain as that of which the hookshot was made, but there was no changing that it was simply a long line of chain, which hardly seemed a fitting reward for surviving his own shadow's repeated attempts to murder him. He frowned, as a thought occurred to him.
"Navi, do I have a shadow, now?" he asked her, turning to where she hovered over his head, watching as he pulled out the length of chain, holding it up for her to see.
"Oh, don't worry, Link. I'm sure we can connect it to the length of chain that's currently attached to the hookshot. Just let me see it for a minute."
Despite his uncertainty about what, exactly, she could do, especially since she was probably about the same size as the hookshot, when it wasn't extended, he pulled the hookshot out, and extended the chain.
Navi fluttered down next to it, and he handed the new chain to her. She frowned, puzzling over the contraption. "Hmm. No, you don't have a shadow," she said, not looking at him, her mind apparently fixated upon her current task.
She reached for one of the links of the hookshot's chains, wrenched it in two, and pushed the chain away from the link, hooking the extra length of chain through the broken chain-link, and then pulling the chain link together again, soldering it, melting it enough to melt back together, but not enough to ruin its shape. Link watched her in silence. He had clearly heard what she had said, but he was watching her, too interested in what she was doing to properly analyse what that might mean.
The chain thus restored, Navi tugged at it gently, and then harder. It held. She walked over to the last link in the new length of chain, created a small gap in the ring, carrying the length of chain to what would once have been the link connected to the one she had first torn apart. She hooked it through, then forced the metal back together, soldering the metal again to seal it back together. She tugged on the chain in various places. To be safe, she added extra protections fortifying the unified chain, melding it tougher into a coherent whole. Link picked up the hookshot, on her orders, and the chain retracted into itself.
She folded her arms, turned to smile at him. "Try latching onto that treasure chest, hm? The hookshot always seems to work on those. The longshot will, too."
Obediently, he backed up, this time heading to the entrance to the room, which was, naturally, unbarred. He aimed at the treasure chest, rotated the disc, and was carried instantly to the chest.
"Well! See how that worked! Aren't you glad you have me around?"
He turned to face her, his expression serious, but not severe. "Of course, I'm glad you're around, Navi. But, it's not about what you just did, even. It's just…I don't know how to put it. Thank you, Navi. For everything. For being a friend, and family, and for everything you've done, the problems you've helped me solve, the decisions you've helped me make. I hope that, if I am reborn, you're in that life, too."
"I will be," Navi promised. Her voice sounded strange, different. Louder, but the same volume. Closer, more present. He shook his head. He couldn't put his finger on it. It was as if he'd seen a glimpse of Navi's truest self, just for an instant. But then, it had been lost again.
He shrugged, didn't bother sending the hookshot away as he marched to the door to a room he hadn't seen yet. He was sure he'd need it soon.
The room beyond was small and square, with nothing but a hole filled with water, leading down. He peered down, and saw nothing but a square pool of water. He didn't know what else he'd expected, but it had probably been some hint as to what awaited him, below.
He dropped down, sinking to the bottom thanks to his iron boots. The water around him turned red as the blood washed from his zora tunic, but the fascinating swirl of red dispersed into the water swiftly, leaving it clear, and making it blatantly obvious that there were currents at work here.
He climbed out of the water onto an embankment nearby. He looked to his left and saw a rough-hewn rock wall. He saw, to his right, how the bank climbed a slope, before it came to a corner, and was broken by the rushing currents of the Temple's inner river.
He peered over the side, seeing the water rush past, complete with vortices. Because, of course, fighting his shadow hadn't come close enough to killing him. The worst part was, he knew that he had to make his way back via this river. If he didn't, he'd probably end up missing something of vital importance.
The vortices would try to drag him in, and he could see from this angle that they led into dark pits, which were probably bottomless. If he wore the iron boots, a single misstep would pull him in. If he didn't, the natural pull of the river, combined with that exerted by the vortices, would be sure to.
He stomped up the embankment, determined to avoid as much of the river as he could, and somersaulted (somehow) to the side, narrowly avoiding the skulltula that dropped down without warning, halfway across. He narrowed his eyes, drew the Master Sword, and waited for it to turn its back.
The moment it did, he lunged at it, cleaving through it in a single blow, launching himself off the ledge as far as he could into the river, narrowly avoiding a vortex. That was too close! But he continued stomping along the riverbed, until he could climb out once more.
He continued in this way, following the river, until he emerged in a familiar room, full of boulders running along their chutes into a room filled with vortices. To his right was the double waterfall. It figured.
He ducked under a boulder, and fell backwards into a hidden alcove in the boulder chute. There was a door set into the wall. Wasn't there always? This was a very strange Temple.
He spat out the water of the miniature waterfall created by the river he had just traversed, and ordered the door to open. It opened into a small, square room, with ice keese flying overhead. It seemed a matter of little consequence, now, to take out the bow and shoot them from the air.
When he'd done, a blue treasure chest materialised, and he sighed, huffed, crossed his arms, shook his head, with a glance skyward. Yes, of course it had been necessary to return via that death-trap. Of course, it was the only way to the boss key. Why wouldn't it be?
He had the sneaking suspicion that, whilst every dungeon previous had supported him, this one hated him. That must be it. Why else would it be so overtly hostile, riddled with such complicated traps? Why else the miniboss they had named "Shadow Link"? He had no idea how you went about incurring the ire of a sentient location, but he must have.
He sighed, pushing back his bangs in a pointless gesture, and reaching into the chest to pull out the boss key, with its glittering eyes of sapphire. Eerily beautiful, rather like the temple itself. Fitting.
He put the boss key away in his inventory, and crossed his arms. He really didn't want to return by avoiding those boulders. So, he strained to remember: when had he last used Farore's Wind? Ideally, it would be such a place as…the room with the waterfalls.
The cost in magic for using Farore's Wind to return to a warp point was negligible, and he'd probably recovered most of the energy he'd lost fighting his shadow anyway. But, what would happen if he try to warp to a place submerged underwater? Would it work? Just how did the warping process work? There seemed to be a period of invulnerability attached to it—did that mean he wouldn't drown? Or did he come first, and his effects and their magic follow after? Was it worth a chance?
He didn't remember where it was, however. He'd have to make his way back to the central chamber via the longer, more dangerous, route.
He waited for the next boulder to pass by overhead before following it back into the pool full of vortices.
It only took fifteen minutes or so to make his way back to the central chamber. (Although, given that dungeons seemed able to distort the flow of time, and that this one seemed to hate him, perhaps it had been several days instead.) He stood on the entrance platform for the eastern door, and caught his breath. Using the longshot to cross the waterfall had been less tedious than he'd expected. That was good.
What was less good was that, as the entrance to the corridors leading to the boss's lair was on the third floor, he'd need to raise the water level. Doing that required him to lower the water level via the crest that Ruto had shown him, and then raise it in the central chamber. This whole dungeon was not only complicated and dangerous, but also repetitive and time-consuming. He'd never before encountered a dungeon that seemed bent on thwarting him, every step he took. But there was nothing else for it. He leapt off the platform, and sank to the bottom of the temple, by switching out the kokiri boots for the iron boots once he was already in the water.
The corridor leading to the first crest was distinctive only because of the two torches (currently out, of course) flanking it. This was probably at least the thirtieth time he'd made this particular journey, and he barely even noticed anymore the oddity of the torches, extinguished while the floor was flooded; mysteriously lit once the water drained out. He trudged through the corridor until he was situated at the proper point where he could rise to the surface without ever risking hitting his head. There was a large square area cut into the top of the artificial basin. By now, he knew its exact dimensions.
He pulled himself out of the water, onto the solid ground of the familiar ledge, and headed to the first crest.
Easy. But the fact that it felt as if he had first done this weeks ago was a troubling thought.
It didn't matter.
He leapt back down into the room below, with its now-lit torches flanking a now-unbarred door, and returned to the central chamber, heading straight for the proper door in the central tower, entering the central room, sparing a glance at the hidden passage, before using the longer hookshot to skip a few of the platforms, leaping from one to the next to a third. Fewer than he'd needed before.
Then, he stood before the crest, played "Zelda's Lullaby", and waited for the room to flood, before returning to the central chamber.
Now, it was swift work to use the longshot to cross to the looming statue heads. The temple was just kind enough to offer a few jars to enable him to replenish some of his supplies. There was a healing faerie with black hair and eyes lurking in one of them. She cocked her head, nodded to him, and spun her wand around in a circle, as she spun around in circles around him, and then disappeared.
There was another jar that contained arrows, and another bombs, and the last contained some of the green magic vials to replenish magic. Link stared at it, and then raised his hands over his head, pulling them back towards himself as he intoned his prayer to Farore. This seemed a useful place to warp to, anyway. Very memorable.
He picked up the magic vial, downed it, and then switched out the zora tunic for the goron tunic. Navi nodded her approval, crossing her arms, and then lowering them.
It couldn't take that long to replenish his supplies in Kakariko Village, and then return to the boss's lair.
It didn't. Death Mountain Crater was as hot as ever, but he barely noticed himself drying off with alarming speed as he passed back through Goron City, making the necessary pleasantries as he climbed back up to the top.
He made it down to Kakariko Village in broad daylight. He turned back to look at the mountain, saw the smoke ring instead of the ring of fire, and smiled.
But, he was in a hurry. He made straight for the shop that sold the ultimate medicine, and bought an entire bottle's worth, before returning to the apothecary for a small amount of the medicine of life. That should do. He hoped.
Warping was convenient. Between the warp songs and Farore's Wind, he was back beside the door leading to the corridor preceding the boss's door in minutes. He ordered the door to open, passing through into a corridor that had him folding his arms before him as he stared. Confirmation, if he needed it, that the Water Temple hated him.
Here was an incline so steep that he'd need to constantly concentrate on moving forward, bracing himself to move up the path. Lose his balance just a little, or shift his stance slightly, and he'd fall back to the bottom—head over heels, or sliding back down. And, what were sliding across it at regular intervals, making the incredibly narrow corridor nearly impassable? Why, yes, those were moving spike traps.
He turned to stare meaningly at Navi, but her head was in her hands, so she missed it.
"It is possible to get to the far door, right?" he asked her. She said nothing, and he frowned. "Right?"
"Eep," Navi said, launching from her perch on his shoulder and flying to the right-hand side of the corridor. She was waiting for him.
He began the slow and steady march up the corridor, stopping often, bracing himself against the walls of the corridor, to allow the spike traps time to pass. Navi flew low to the ground, calling out her warnings whenever one of the spike traps was coming.
Other than that, she kept quiet, letting him focus on the task at hand. She seemed to have an almost-instinctive grasp of when he needed silence, and when he needed advice. He'd needed advice when fighting Shadow Link—he'd just been too frightened to hear it. They hadn't spoken of that yet, however. There was time for that, later.
At the landing at the top of the ramp, he pulled out the boss key, and fitted it into the door, twisting the key in the handle.
He ordered the door to open, passed through, looked around. There was nothing to be seen but a ring of the huge tiles ubiquitous in this temple, ringing the walls, and four pillars, each two tiles wide, and two long, sticking out of a pool of very blue water.
But, despite the superficial safety—a lack of any visible threats, his body was tense, and a slight chill ran down his spine. Nothing as bad as the threat posed by his own shadow. Nevertheless, he knew a powerful opponent lurked here, somewhere out of sight.
He leapt into the water, climbing onto a platform. Navi started to follow him, and then hesitated, hovering in place, not bobbing up or down at all, as she stared after him.
"Link!" she cried. "Behind you! That arm!"
Link leapt off the platform, landing in the water by the edge of the pool, and pulled himself up onto the outer rim, turning in time to see a giant water tentacle with a strange ball drifting along it. It slammed down against the platform where he had stood, and the tentacle collapsed. Navi flew over to him, face drawn, head snapping around constantly to look for more tentacles.
"That, the ball moving up and down that tentacle? I think that's Morpha's true self! I'll try to stay close to it. You find a way to hurt it!"
With these words, she zipped off before he could say more, and he heard a low, sucking sound, followed by one like the crash of waves against the shore (a sound with which he was, for whatever reason, very familiar). Navi shouted a warning as another tentacle rose out of the waves, and he aimed the hookshot at Navi. The ball was in constant motion; he didn't dare to trust his own aim. An expert marksman would have a hard time of hitting this. But, he had the sense that it would be a lot less mobile or graceful out of the water.
He sent the hookshot chain at Navi, and she redirected it to the ball. He could see her nod from this distance.
As with the flare dancer, the moment Morpha left its protective watery covering, the water arm protecting it collapsed. Link then leapt for it, drawing the Master Sword and cutting deeply into it, but not through it. Apparently, there was a sturdier core to the seemingly squishy ball. Navi sighed, frowned, and nodded, with a helpless shrug, as if she didn't understand either. He sliced at it several more times, but then, it fell back into the water, and sped away, Navi in pursuit.
Link tried to follow Navi around the room, as he knew that she, being closer, could more readily follow it.
Eventually, he heard the squishy, sucking sound again, followed by the watery roar of waves against the shore, and by then, he'd already withdrawn the hookshot, already aiming for Navi.
Again, he pulled the boss out before it could harm him, cutting through the gelatinous membrane surrounding the harder, more solid core, and driving the Master Sword as far in as he could.
But, after Link sliced it up a few more times, it fell into the water, and sped away to the other side of the pool.
A few seconds later, he heard the familiar warning sounds, and he stood, watching the tentacle rise up out of the water, as Morpha's true self flowed up along it, arm bent towards him.
He shot the hookshot at it, hitting it easily, and dragging it from its protective covering. He lashed out at the ball several times with the Master Sword, but it once again retreated successfully.
This time, as with Volvagia, he had a few false starts. Watery arms unattached to Morpha reached for him across the water, and he dove out of the way, still watching, waiting for Navi to call that she'd found the real one. But, he couldn't avoid them all, forever. The watery arm wrapped around his waist, squeezing him tight as it jerked his body around, before flinging him at a wall.
He hit the ground hard, unable to redistribute the shock of the impact. He was fairly sure he'd just broken something. It might have been his arm, or his leg, or his ribs. Even now, the architecture found ways to damage him.
Or, perhaps this didn't count as the architecture harming him. Who knew how to categorise it?
He shrugged, but that hurt. He somehow raised his back off the floor, propping himself up against the wall, as he withdrew his life medicine he had just refilled, and downed it in one go. Strength returned to him. He felt his bones repair themselves, shredded muscle knitting back together, scrapes and bruises sealing and healing as the medicine of life took effect.
He stood once more, watching carefully for a glowing figure wreathed in yellow light. There!
He aimed the hookshot for her, and when it retracted, it pulled Morpha with it. He leapt, thrusting downwards, cutting through into the core of Morpha's self. The Master Sword pierced through what passed for its heart, and it burst into blue flames as he watched. He nodded to himself, breathing ragged.
The water in the room slowly began to lower, changing colour as it did, until the pool, once several meters deep, had lowered until it was only about thigh-high. A ring of blue light appeared.
Oh, great. Time to have a talk with Ruto. He looked to Navi, who was already flying to land on his shoulder, halo once again blue. He pled as best he could with his eyes, but she shot him her most reproving look.
"You'll just have to deal with it," she said. "If it's any consolation, I'll be right there with you!"
It wasn't any consolation. Not at all.
But, he slumped, dragging his feet as he approached the ring of blue light in the middle of one of the four platforms.
He stepped into the light, and let it carry him away into the Chamber of Sages, shoulders slumping again now he was standing still.
He peered dejectedly at the blue circle before him. It was probably a very pretty medallion, if you put together that shade of blue with what he remembered of the design. He could almost picture it—a blue medallion with a snowflake embossed on it, each point of the flake made of a different teardrop. Too delicate for Ruto.
"Link!" called a voice, as Ruto rose from the floor to stand in the blue circle. Her violet eyes were narrowed at him, but he looked quickly back down at his feet. He did not want to have this conversation.
"What is wrong with you? You're my fiancé! You should be glad that I'm alright! Ugh. You really are hopeless….
"Link…Link Sylvanus. I wish to thank you on both my family's behalf, and on behalf of all of my people. You have saved them from an eternity frozen below the ice. Thanks to you, spring shall once again come to Zoras Domain…someday. Thank you."
She crossed her arms before her chest, and bowed to him. Link looked up, uncertain how he ought to react to this new Ruto. She had barely insulted him at all…and she had thanked him.
"Link…as reward for your assistance, I offer you my undying love!"
Link tried to flee, but there was no place to retreat to. He staggered back, looking for any means of escape. Navi giggled, and he blushed.
He should just tell Ruto that he'd give her back the Spiritual Stone of Water. Surely, she'd understand? Surely, that would free him from this? Especially if he told her that he hadn't understood, and that he didn't like her?
Probably not. But, thankfully for once, Ruto hadn't finished. "That's what I want to say, anyway. But, I know that right now is not the time to speak of love. I know what my duty is—to stay here, in the Water Temple, as the Sage of Water, and assist you in your quest. But, when this is over, we will talk."
Link shoulders slumped. The dread confrontation had been but delayed. Still, it was something. He straightened up, unthinking.
"You did ask me to give you my most precious possession, after all. Hmm. But, something is on your mind. Hmm…I know! They say that you're close friends with the princess of Hyrule. You're looking for Princess Zelda, aren't you? You can't hide anything from me! I'm your fiancée, after all!"
She laughed, an oddly pleasant, soothing sound for such an abrasive individual. She raised her arms overhead. "Worry not! The princess is alive and well! I can…I can feel it! And, I think that the two of you will meet again, very soon."
She lowered her hands, and looked briefly up to the sky, as if thinking. She nodded to herself.
"I think that's about all I have to say. I know, I know, you want me to hurry and give you the Water Medallion, so that you can continue your quest to save Hyrule. Such a brave, strong man you are!"
She giggled, and Link shuffled his feet, eyes once more fixed upon the floor.
"But, before I give it to you…I have one last request. It's not that hard; don't look so worried!
"I remember Zora's Domain freezing over, and I know how close I came to suffering the same fate. Thankfully, a man named Sheik rescued me before that could happen. He saved me from being imprisoned beneath the ice. I owe him a debt of gratitude. If you see him, thank him for me, will you?"
Link cocked his head, studying her, trying to divine whether she actually believed that Sheik was a man, or whether she was merely trying to protect Sheik's disguise. After all, Malone's treatment at the hands of Ingo indicated all too clearly how even a safe place could be dangerous for a woman in these troubled times. Guilt gnawed at his stomach. If he hadn't opened the Door of Time….
He shoved it aside, nodded to her, and she smiled. She was almost pretty, when she smiled, but she was still Ruto. He wouldn't marry her, no matter how she threaten him.
She lifted her arms over her head, and a ball of blue light formed there. "Then, take the Water Medallion, and carry my power with you on your quest! Take it respectfully, now!"
The blue coin formed from the ball of light over her head, and he raised his own arms for it to float over to him. As his hands closed over the coin, the world faded out white, and then a blue light filled his vision, as Lake Hylia came into view. It set him down on the island with the dead tree on it. It was, somehow, the middle of the night.
He put the medallion away, and turned to look at the plaque standing at the water's edge. Then, he heard a whoosh of air, as someone dropped down beside him. He knew without turning to look who it had to be, and a small smile formed on his face. They were in this together, truly.
"Hello, Sheik," he said, turning to face her. She stood in her typical pose, legs spread in a casual, but ready, stance. Her straw blonde bangs fell over her eyes, hiding them, and that mask still covered her lower face. It made her expression very difficult to read. Perhaps, she was surprised that he had recognised her. Perhaps, she was pleased. Who knew?
"We meet again, Link," Sheik said, in her low voice, walking over to stand by the water's edge with him. He faced out, looking at the water, as clouds moved in, seeming to materialise out of thin air overhead. A moment later, rain began to pour down from the sky in a torrent.
"Are you here to teach me another song?" he asked. He wanted to turn to look at her, but suspected that she'd run off if he did.
He sensed movement next to him; his head snapped in her direction to glance at her. She was hanging her head, looking away, possibly even biting her lip, to judge what he could through the cloth.
"No. But, that will come soon enough. It is almost time for you to learn the way back to the past…in the Temple of Time. I waited for you to return there after freeing the Sage of the Forest, but you did not return."
There was no reproach to her voice, but Link blushed nevertheless, staring at his feet, scuffing his boots against the wet and muddy grass. The lake was starting to replenish its water. Had defeating Morpha caused the rain?
"I'm sorry," he said. "I had other things on my mind, I suppose. I was concerned about my friends, from before. Darunia, and Malone…but I don't suppose you know them."
He tilted his head back to look up at the clouds, swollen with rain. Had Morpha stolen and concentrated the water of the lake in its lair? What other source could there be for the rain? Why else had the lakewater been at such a low level, before?
Link's attention returned to Sheik, when she finally spoke.
"I just wanted to say…Link, I don't only appear to be your assistant on your journey—to teach you new songs. Sometimes, I come just to speak with you. To keep you company."
She moved on, before he could respond.
"This is quite a sight, isn't it? The restoration of Lake Hylia? I want to be present for it. I thought that you might, too. I thought that you might appreciate some company. But, I can go, if you wish."
"No!" Link said, perhaps too hastily. His head jerked up to look at Sheik, who stood there, eyes wide. She took a step back. He reached for her, thought better of it, lowered his arms with a frustrated shout. "Please, don't go! You're right! This is amazing! You can see the water level rising before your very eyes…. And, also…."
He turned back away, looking out over the swelling lake. He shivered, not from the cold of the rain, but from the memory he was about to divulge. "I think I'm rather fortunate to be seeing anything at all. Just how well do you follow me, Sheik? Just how much do you know of what lies ahead? Did you know about…about the room with the shadow? I don't suppose you would have.
"I had to fight my own shadow, Sheik. It nearly killed me. That's why I left, earlier. I had to use most of my supplies, just trying to survive. I don't know how I made it through….
"I'm not trying to brag, or complain, or anything. I just…want to appreciate everything now. I'm lucky to be able to see this. And, I want for you to be here, with me. I don't know why…but it feels as if I've known you for a lot longer than I have. As if we've been friends for a long time."
Sheik stood there in silence for a moment. Her voice, when she spoke, was a coarse whisper. "Oh, Link. I'm so sorry. I knew this quest would be dangerous, but to face what you have…. I'm glad you're still alive, Link. And, I'm sorry I've led you to such danger.
"I didn't know. I just follow you to these Temples, and wait for you to emerge, and then lead you to the next. You might think that it sounds boring, but it provides a lot of time to myself, to think. You were in there for a long time…but I suppose you weren't in there for all of that time."
He wondered if he wanted to know how long he'd been below, decided against it.
"But, I also feel that we've known each other for a very, very long time. Link, I didn't know, before, during, or after, that you were in such danger. I feel that I ought to have gone with you, but that is not my role. My role is to teach you what you need to know, and to guide you to where you need to be. The joy that I take from this quest is only in knowing that I am part of the process of restoring Hyrule. The clearing of the Lost Woods, the dispersal of the fire-cloud around Death Mountain, the rising of the water in Lake Hylia, the thawing of Zora's Domain…that I had a hand in it is what makes my role worthwhile.
"And, I am not the same type of warrior that you are, Hero of Time. I know that I would hold you back. If I died, how would you learn the songs for the other elements? You need to be concerned with protecting yourself. Still, sometimes, I wish…."
She gave a heavy sigh, and looked out across the lake again. He noticed that her left arm was clutching her right, a familiar gesture. He'd seen her do it before, but had no idea what it meant. Hadn't he seen someone else with the same mannerism? He frowned, pensive.
He glanced over at Navi, who floated in the air near his head, head cocked. She was staring intently between the two of them, evidently fascinated.
There were a few minutes of silence. It was a peaceful, companionable silence, despite the grimness of recent topics.
"Oh, Ruto wanted me to thank 'the man who saved her life'. Lucky that you saved her, I suppose, but…." He didn't even know what belonged at the end of that sentence. He let it hang.
Sheik gave a soft chuckle, that was so overtly feminine that Link raised his eyebrows, although she wasn't facing him, so she didn't see. A disguise could only do so much, he supposed. If he hadn't known before, he would have realised, now, that Sheik was a woman.
"She wanted to thank me for that? It was the least I could do. I only wish that I'd been able to rescue the rest of the zoras. But, now that you and Ruto have purified the Water Temple, the evil will of Morpha no longer holds sway over the waters of Hyrule, and the ice will now begin to thaw. It may take months, or even years, but someday, the waters of Zora's Domain shall once again be the peaceful, bountiful place that they once were. But, the rest of Hyrule still needs your help, Link."
She turned to face him, and gave a heavy sigh, looking down.
"I know that it is a heavy burden. It is much to ask of any man. But, only you can do this. Be strong! Be brave! You have now awakened over half of the Sages. Only two remain to find—the Sage of Shadow, and the Sage of Spirit. Have faith in yourself. We all trust you. We know that you will awaken the last two Sages, and save Hyrule."
Link wondered if this was how it had looked—would someday look—when the Goddesses Three drowned Hyrule beneath the waves, and shivered. How gradual, yet inexorable, the waters' rise. But, these waters were only reclaiming the territory already allotted to them. The waters of the Great Sea would someday cover all that he saw around him now, perhaps excepting the high stone cliffs around the lake.
It was a strange thought, and eerie. There was a certain tragic loneliness to it, too. An odd thought, that perhaps only he and Navi knew what lay ahead, the fate that awaited this land. Or, perhaps the Goddesses Three had told the king of Hyrule, when they'd turned him into a boat. Had they planned it all along, or had that been a contingency plan?
Rain washed down his face like tears. It soaked the white cloth of the makeshift headwrap and facemask that Sheik wore, swelling it as it did; it clung to her skin, weighed down by the water. It gave him the barest notions of an idea of Sheik's appearance—the shape of her face, at least, a hint of her expressions. Her eyes looked out, unseeing, across the lake, perhaps in equally dreary thoughts. He didn't want her to pursue such hopeless thoughts.
"We'll save Hyrule. Don't worry. I'll go to the graveyard next—or at least, once I've followed the advice of that plaque there. So I have to wait for dawn. But then, I'll go straight to Kakariko Village. If I use the 'Bolero of Fire', it shouldn't take long at all."
He gave her a reassuring smile, but she looked down, unseeing, glaring at the water of the lake with narrowed eyes. "It's not only that," she said, crossing her arms before her, hugging them close to her chest, as if for warmth. Whatever means she'd used to disguise her womanhood seemed to be impervious to water. Then again, he wasn't sure that that blue fabric wasn't waterproof. Perhaps it allowed her to breathe underwater, as the zora tunic allowed him to.
He closed his eyes, focused his will, and relaxed as more familiar garments fluttered around his shoulders, and lay still. He didn't need the zora tunic, now. And, the kokiri tunic took less time to dry.
It was soon soaked, just as its predecessor was. He turned to look at Sheik, willing her to continue, but she was not as biddable as clothes and weapons. He stared across the slowly rising lake at the research centre. Did the old man still live there? Perhaps, he should check on him. It was one of many things he needed to do.
"Impa," Sheik said at last. "Impa went into the Shadow Temple, and has not yet returned. She's my aunt. Family. I am concerned about her. The Shadow Temple is a very dangerous place. Only those with eyes that can see the truth can enter there, and hope to escape unharmed. It is the resting place of buried feuds, and ceaseless quarrels, and perhaps even a source of some of them. Many assume that it is an evil place…but all it does is throw back the evil hidden in the heart of those buried above.
"In the heart of town, there is a well. A monster of legendary evil is sealed away, deep below. The only way out is through the well in Kakariko Village. Impa caved in the wall of the well, so that even the monster couldn't escape. But, with Ganondorf's influence making the monsters of the world grow in power…it may be able to break free of the seal. She went into the Shadow Temple to uphold the seal. She hasn't come back since, and I fear for her. I worry that maybe…something happened."
Link nodded, turned, headed for the bridge. "Let's go right now, then."
"No, wait!" Sheik protested, reaching for his arm, clutching his shoulder tight. "Please, Link. You've just fought a terrible monster…and by the sound of it, only recently almost died. The Shadow Temple is a place filled with death and carnage. It showcases the evils of man's vices, and feasts on the energy of violence and hate. You mustn't go in now. You need a few days to recover. I will go with you to Kakariko Village. And you will recover your strength before returning down below. You will do no one any good, dead."
"You sound like Impa," he grumbled, but relaxed, turning to face her with his best attempt at a smile.
"You do," Navi agreed, giggling. Sheik smiled, but the smile didn't meet her eyes, which were full of pain and concern.
"I ought to," she said, nodding to them.
As morning broke, Link finally moved from where he sat, swinging his legs over the ledge, at the nearing water. They'd spent the entire night together, sometimes talking, sometimes silent. Sheik was elusive when he asked her questions about herself, occasionally reminding him that sheikahs were meant to be no more than protectors of the Royal Family.
He made right for the plaque, and pulled out the bow, as the sun began to rise. He watched it make its progress up the sky, and aimed carefully at the rising sun, sighting along the arrow, thankful that the light wasn't as bright as it would have been without the faerie connection Navi had established seven years ago. He fired his arrow, and waited.
Sheik came to stand behind him, clearly curious about what he was doing, and what he hoped to accomplish. He shrugged, and pointed out the plaque to her. As he watched, however, something bright and glimmering like tears (why did he suddenly think of a giant face in the full moon, an ugly, monstrous face, crying a single, beautiful, blue tear?) fell from the sky, from (if his eyes did not mislead him) the sun, in a streak of fire, hurtling down towards the lake.
The flaming arrow plummeted into the ground on an island nearby, but did not scorch the wooden posts at each corner of the island, nor set the grass ablaze. From this, he gathered that it was safe to touch. He turned to Sheik, nodded, and replaced the kokiri tunic with the goron tunic. She stared at him, mouth open.
"Link, what—?" she began, but Link shrugged.
"I don't know," he said, with perhaps unwarranted cheer. "But, I'll find out."
He swam out to the island, climbing, dripping, onto the platform, and reached for the shaft of the arrow, ignoring Navi's worried gasp, and the way she seemed to be stuffing her whole hand into her mouth to keep from rebuking him. His hand clasped around the shaft, and he yanked it out of the ground, as he'd pulled the Master Sword from its pedestal…only, not. There was no ceremony involved, here.
As he examined that arrow from every angle, he felt the way that the arrow seemed to be filled with fire—the fire of the sun, but fire, not light. It burnt more fiercely than a thousand candles, hotter than fire keese, hotter even than the Death Mountain Crater.
But, it did not burn him. He knew that that had nothing to do with the goron tunic he was wearing. This was a gift. And, judging by its origin, it was a gift from the goddesses. Nayru had created the sun; it was probably a gift from her.
He stared at the arrow, studied it, memorised it, felt the fire of the sun spread from his hands throughout his body, burning, but not burning, hot but not painful. It nestled within him, the knowledge of how to use it, opened in his mind.
He thought of the fire and ice arrows of the Waker of the Winds, and pulled an arrow from his quiver, focusing ice into it.
Nothing happened. It wasn't enough to know how to do a thing, was it? He'd not learnt whatever spell created the ice arrows, thus they wouldn't work for him. He stared at the fire arrow, instead, clamping a fist around his failed ice arrow, and filling it with fire instead, watching in fascination as the fire spread from the arrowhead down the shaft, even to the feathers of the fletching. And, despite that, the arrow did not char. Nor did it set the other arrows alight when he nestled it back among its fellows. He found that he was smiling. It was similar to Din's Fire, only more focused, and easier to manipulate.
He swam back across to Sheik, and returned to the kokiri tunic.
"Fire arrows," he said. He found that he was beaming at her. Well, so what?
She seemed at a loss, unable to even comprehend his strange enthusiasm. "Fire…arrows…?" she repeated.
"Yes! They set things on fire, and melt ice, and the like. I'm sure they're very useful."
"Are you a pyromaniac…?" Sheik asked, obviously perplexed. It didn't seem to occur to her that he might not know what that word meant.
"I don't…think so," he said. "I'm just grateful for another magic spell. This one uses a lot less magic energy than my previous fire-based spell. Much narrower focus, though."
Sheik nodded, although by the furrow between her eyebrows, she still didn't really understand.
"Ah. I suppose that's…good, then. If I had a bow, I suppose I'd shoot an arrow at the sun, too." She seemed to be kicking herself for an oversight, and Link turned to her, cocking his head as he examined her.
"You can shoot a bow?" he asked. He'd never seen anything of the sort on her person, but then, few things that people were carrying did show on their person.
She nodded, heading for the bridge that led to the tombstone. "Every sheikah must know how to fight. Aunt Impa says that it's a rule. I learnt the bow, among other things. She taught me."
They were clearly very close. There was a sort of wistful look in her eyes, in the way she tilted her head back, slightly, poking the wrapping on her chin with one finger, as if bracing her head against it. It was very like the traditional thinker's pose, sitting down, with head supported by one hand, and that hand supported by the arm resting up under the elbow.
"I'm sorry. But, we will rescue her. I promise. Never fear."
Sheik nodded to him, and he smiled back at her, and followed her back onto the bridge.
They arrived at Kakariko Village to find it covered in flames, when it had been just fine only the other day. Flames leapt from rooftops, blazed in yards, and had nearly toppled the tree near the gate. Sheik did not hear him call out a request for her to slow down and wait for him, running headlong into the Village, soon lost to sight. Well, this was a sheikah village. Perhaps, Sheik had grown up here. He tried to figure out whither she might have gone, based on what she had told him, and what he knew of town.
He remembered her speaking of the graveyard, and the adjacent Shadow Temple, with an evil called, of all things, "Bongo Bongo" sealed away within. He remembered her speaking of the well, now devoid of any water, although that might have changed following the recent rainstorm—he doubted it; that had been an extremely localised rainstorm.
Then, there was Impa's house, which was to his right, up two flights of steps. He ran for it, climbed the steps, running past an old man walking as swiftly as his legs could carry him, bound for parts unknown. He almost paused to stare. That was a very familiar old man. He danced in place, uncertain. Should he see the old man to safety, or pursue Sheik? Well, he didn't rightly know her whereabouts….
"Do you need help getting somewhere, sir?"
The old folklorist laughed. "No, sonny…when you get to be my age, you don't worry about such things as this so much, anymore. I know my time is nearly ended, regardless. I'm concerned about the rest of the town…these old bones can't help fetch the fire-buckets, nor the emergency water barrels. Strange, these bursts of flame. I wonder what caused them. Fire suddenly rained down from the sky…and just when that cloud of smoke had finally gone from Death Mountain. Well, it's still gone, but the fire rain came from somewhere. Don't let me stop you from doing your part. Go do what you need to do."
"Did you see a sheikah run by here just now?"
Sure enough, the old man's eyes brightened, and his back straightened. It was the old man from Market Town.
"No, I've not seen any sheikahs since Ganondorf attacked the castle, seven years ago…but I suppose you'd know that. Boy, you'd better go help the townsfolk…but when you have a minute, there's a story I think you'll want to hear. About the shadow folk, and the man who used to live where the well is now. Some say his spirit remained, beneath his home. I wonder if he's causing all this…?"
But, Link had already run up the stairs, and was opening the door to Impa's house. He opened it, peered in, saw no one, and nothing that looked useful. He closed the door, and whirled around, heading for the well on his way to the graveyard.
He found Sheik standing, bracing herself, before the well. Out of the corner of his eyes, Link thought he saw a shadowy figure streak across the cliffs of the town, setting everything it touched alight. But, maybe that was just a trick of the eyes caused by fatigue and eyestrain.
He watched as it traveled across the town, and then shot down the well, as Sheik tensed, prepared to catch it. She crouched over the well, and Link ran to catch up to her.
"Link, watch out!" she cried, and the moment's inattention was all the shadow needed. An invisible assailant sent her flying, knocking her back down the steps to land heavily on the ground below. He let Navi follow the progress of the invisible monster, with eyes that apparently could see right through whatever kept it invisible, and turned to kneel next to Sheik.
"Link, watch out!" called Navi, scant seconds later, making it the second time in less than a minute that someone had told him that. He could see a distortion coming, but refused to abandon Sheik. Instead, he stood between her and the shadowy monster, drawing the Master Sword, and the hylian shield.
The monster slammed into him, gripping him tightly in what was either a hand, or a very good shadow-approximation of one. It constricted around his chest, flinging him about in the air, before hurling him at the cliff into which the steps Sheik had fallen down had been built.
His head struck the rock, and he felt awareness leave him, in that split second when his head connected with the stone.
He awoke to find a different Kakariko Village, with the fires extinguished. Sheik knelt beside him, face drawn in concern, staring as if to make sure that he still lived. He sat up, slowly, head throbbing, as he scooted his legs back until he could rest his back against the wall.
"You're awake. Thank Nayru! How do you feel, Link?"
He winced, putting a gauntleted hand to his head. It didn't come away bloody.
"The apothecary gave you some of the medicine of life to heal you up, free of charge. She was concerned, too. She says—" her lips seemed to quirk upwards, "—you're one of her best customers. She can't have you dying on her."
Link smiled, in return. The apothecary had probably saved his life, and Sheik had doubtless informed her of his state, so she had saved him, by extension. But, Navi….
Navi! He looked around frantically for her, and she floated in the air before him, arms crossed, looking decidedly unimpressed. "Oh, Link. When will you learn? I stayed out here to keep you company, in case something happened, or you woke up, while Sheik went to get help. You had us worried. And, that's an understatement. That's the second time in as many days that you've almost died."
"I guess shadows don't like me," he said in his most cheerful voice, with a painful shrug. Navi scowled.
"I mean it, Link! This is serious!" she said. Sheik cleared her throat, still kneeling beside Link.
"Not to interrupt…I don't think that he could have done anything." She fixed Navi with a stern glare and then softened her expression as she turned to Link. "Navi told me you were injured trying to protect me. You shouldn't have. Link, I'm a sheikah. We're trained to be able to move fast, and take heavy hits. You don't even have any armour! But…I'm touched by your concern. Thank you, Link. I am in your debt. I owe you my life."
She bowed her head, and then bowed low before him, as he continued to stare at her. That was unexpected. Also, not nice. He frowned.
"Don't worry about it. You're my friend," he began, fixing her with his most earnest smile. "We're in this together, right? But…you took quite the beating, didn't you? How about, if you know somewhere here where we could get something to eat, we could have dinner and plan what to do next. You said something, before…I don't quite remember… about returning to the past?"
"This isn't the place to speak of that," said Sheik, sounding distracted. As would anyone, after the collision she had had with the ground…and beside that, she'd made no mention of having her own injuries treated. Link narrowed his eyes, studying her, but was distracted by her next question.
"Are you asking me on a date, Link? Because that's what you sounded as if you were saying."
Her tone was strangely flat, as if he'd hit on a particularly dangerous topic of conversation. He didn't know what he'd done wrong, but his blush was definitely a combination of that sense of shame, that he'd done something wrong, and simple bashfulness. He had never done well with too much attention. He shifted his feet, staring at the ground. He hadn't realised that that deeper meaning was in his words.
"Er…yes, I guess? I mean, I only meant that we could talk more easily over dinner, but…."
He felt his blush increase in heat. Navi was failing to smother her laughter. Link couldn't even bear to look at her.
Sheik's eyes widened, and he suspected her jaw dropped, just by the way the cloth of her mask elongated to fit the different position of her jaw.
"Oh! I didn't realise that—" Sheik said, looking furtively about. "Link, I'm sorry, but, uh…it's alright for me, but Link, that is to say—I—"
He'd never seen her flustered before. She was actually really cute that way, even if he couldn't see her entire face. Oh well. Appearance was only skin deep, right?
He cocked his head, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. She looked around furtively again.
"Link, what I'm trying to say is, I'm a girl, alright? I'm just dressing this way because—"
She was probably going to say something really important, but Link suddenly understood. It was his turn to stare, mouth agape.
"Wait. You honestly thought I didn't realise that you were a girl?" he asked, blinking furiously. It seemed incredible. Wouldn't everyone have realised it by now, in his place? Sheik's stuttering stopped. There was a sudden, vast awkwardness between the two of them.
"You—you knew?" asked Sheik, at last, eyes wide and vulnerable. That look did not suit Sheik. She was meant to be unnaturally strong, emotionally and physically. That was how Link had always seen her….
"Well, yeah," he said, turning to Navi for help. She was studiously looking away, as if truly interested in the fire brigade giving the Village a final examination. She was, for her part, fairly sure that the two of them had even forgotten about the fires, for the moment. Teenagers.
"How—how long?" Sheik asked, crossing her arms defensively in front of her chest. Still, she seemed to be recovering.
"Since—since about five minutes after we first met? It seemed pretty obvious that you were trying to disguise yourself, so I played along…but, I thought you at least realised that I knew. This is…."
"…awkward," Sheik finished. She was still blushing fiercely, but now she looked down and away. Link utilised his heroic willpower to avoid prompting her for more information. They stood there in silence. He looked down, scuffing his shoes.
"Uh, Sheik," he said, at last.
"Oh, well…. If…if you know…I guess it couldn't hurt. But, people might talk," she said, reaching up to twirl a strand of bangs. They, unsurprisingly, didn't twirl well. She gripped her right arm with her left, looking down and away.
"Let them talk. If you don't mind, I don't mind," he said, beaming at her. He remembered Zelda, he did, but…maybe he'd had a childhood crush on her, but they were different people now. In his case, literally. And, they'd never been…involved. Seven years was a long time to ask someone to wait, anyway (Ruto notwithstanding).
Sheik stepped closer towards him, and he could feel his heartbeat race. Is this how it feels…? he wondered, staring at his hands as she came to stand beside him.
"Then, let's go!" said Navi, cheerfully rejoining the conversation at the wrong moment.