Chapter 5

Zelda stood in front of the second of the two fountains in the castle's western courtyard. The princess appeared to be quite fascinated with that particular statue, the statue of a female Zora. It was modeled after a Zora who fought alongside of the Zora princess in a war that occurred long ago. That war was a war that helped to strengthen the bond between the Zoras and the Hylians. Alas, the one after whom the statue was modeled had been slain in the battle; but it was because of her that the Zoras and the Hylians had been able to defeat an ancient, evil overlord.

"She was a brave one, Link," Zelda said as he approached, never taking her eyes off the statue.

For a moment Link was surprised that the Hylian princess knew of his approach. He didn't think he made any noise that she could've detected, and he didn't announce his presence. Yet she knew he was there as she continued to behold the statue.

She smiled as she turned to face him. "You are surprised I knew you were approaching, are you not?" Link could only nod in response.

"My strength grows by the day as I become one with nature," she continued. "We are all in this together, and as we realize how powerful we are—all of us—it becomes obvious we simply are. Our awareness expands and we begin to reconnect with The All. That is what I believe Hylia has intended, for us to grow and reconnect."

Zelda turned to face the statue once more. "It is a beautiful statue, isn't it?"

Indeed, Link thought the same. The Zora stood on one foot, with the other slightly raised and crossed behind the ankle on her other foot. Her arms were lifted up as if she was preparing for an attack. The Zoras sometimes used magic that only they could seem to use. The fins expanded out from her elbows, looking like hand-held fans that could be used to cool someone in hot weather. Swirls adorned both fins, making this Zora unique; Link could not recall having seen any Zora with those patterns on their fins. Her mouth was open, and water poured out of it, going upwards and arcing down into a shallow pool that surrounded the brave warrior.

She turned to face Link with her hands crossed in front of her, as if she was expecting Link to say something.

"So," she said, "how are things in Kokiri Forest?"

Link could not help but notice a hint of something he could not quite put his finger on as he looked into her blue eyes. It is almost as if she knows something is wrong. The look of expectation in Zelda's eyes is unmistakable. She is more gifted than is lead to believe, he thought. It just occurred to him, though, that she is using what she taught him to do, when Link looked into Mido's eyes and was able to see what he saw in the nightmare.

He shook his head. "Not good. Trouble has befallen the forest." He glanced up at the sky in the direction of the forest to see if he could see the black fog that covered the village in which he once lived. Nothing could be seen.

Link continued. "Mido had a nightmare that scared him so bad that he has withdrawn into himself. As we speak he is sitting on his bed, rocking back and forth and shaking. He won't speak for the most part, not coherently anyway. He barely mentioned my name when I showed up and waved my hand in front of his face. What little else he did say was in reference to something awful that has taken root in what might be the Forest Temple."

"That is terrible, Link. What do you think it could be?"

"Saria and I talked to the Skull Kid, and he thinks it may be a foul beast that has been prophesied to exist since ancient times. According to a story that was never written down but passed by word of mouth throughout the generations, there is a spider beast that exists but is from a different realm. Somehow this spider managed to cross over into our realm, first making itself known to Mido through the nightmare.

"In addition to that, Kokiri Forest is entirely covered in a black fog. Sunlight is barely able to penetrate through and down into the forest. The Lost Woods is the same way. You can barely see, it is so dark.

"To make matters worse, Zelda, the spider brought a stench with it that is so potent it is keeping the rest of the Kokiri from entering the Lost Woods or the Sacred Forest Meadow. No one except for Saria and I would enter the woods. At first you can barely smell it when you enter the village, but as you go deeper into the forest the smell becomes stronger. I haven't been to the Sacred Forest Meadow yet, but they say the smell is so strong it makes you vomit. The Kokiri are afraid to enter the Meadow or even the Lost Woods for that matter; after seeing Mido, their boss, in such a state, they themselves have virtually become paralyzed with fear."

Zelda was silent, soaking in all of Link's words. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "You are speaking of Aracnatha."

Link gasped in shock; he had no idea she would've known about its existence. But then again, the princess of Hyrule has proven herself to be full of surprises. She probably knows a lot of folklore, prophesies, and history.

Link decided to waste no time. "So the problem, Zelda, is finding a way to block the smell. If it's really as bad as they're saying it is, covering your face with cloth or some sort of mask won't help, it'll get right through whatever is on your face. Saria and I will need something to block our sense of smell temporarily so we can look into this and see if Aracnatha has actually settled in the Meadow or the Forest Temple."

Zelda thought for a moment before speaking. "Yes, Link, I believe I may be able to assist you. Come hither, we'll go into the library and see if any of my plant books contain anything that could help. I should be able to find something that I can brew for you and Saria."

Link followed her into the massive room. Books lined both walls from the entrance all the way to the other end of the room. A red carpet lined the middle of the floor, and tables were spread on both sides. A couple of the tables had books stacked on them, some of which were open.

The princess glanced at the books on the tables and let out an irritated sigh. Though Link was behind her, he was sure that she rolled her eyes at the sight of the books on the table. She never did like it when people left books on the table. She always made sure that whenever she was finished with a book, she put it back where she got it. Zelda could not stand an untidy room.

She turned to one of the bookshelves on the left at about halfway through the study. Tracing her forefinger along the books on one of the higher shelves, she stopped at a green book and pulled it out, placing it on the table. It was a thick book, a tome, and Link thought the color was appropriate, given the type of book it is.

Opening the book, Zelda flipped through the pages until she nearly reached the end. After scanning nearly all of the plants listed on the left page, she stopped at a plant that looked familiar to Link. He didn't know its name, but he had seen it in Lake Hylia.

"This one here, Link," she said.

The plant depicted in the book, what Link himself had seen in the past, had a short stem and a series of triangular pedals at the top. There were thorns going up and down the stem, and the pedals tapered into sharp looking points. It was a plant that, if a person wasn't careful, would prick them easily. Link hoped to never accidentally stumble upon that plant; he would probably need several cloths to soak up the blood from being poked.

Zelda continued. "The Baruba, Link. I believe this will help you. It grows in Lake Hylia. The plant itself won't block your sense of smell, but when you extract the liquid from the stem, grind the pedals into powder and lightly simmer the mixture with some pepper that we have in the castle kitchen, it will temporarily block your smell. But you have to inhale the concoction through one of your nostrils."

She closed the book and put it back on the shelf, turning around to face Link. "We don't have any Baruba plants here in the castle."

Link nodded; he knew what to do. "I'll go down to Lake Hylia and grab a few of them. But first I'm going to grab a snack."

Zelda smiled. Link seemed to be hungry often. "I'm sure the castle cook has some extra Monster Cake you can wolf down before you go. That should give you plenty of energy."

"Yes, Monster Cake sounds delicious."