Chapter 6
Out of Hyrule Castle Link went, riding Epona. Link had noticed in the past that Epona took a liking to Zelda as well. Oftentimes the horse was very picky on who could ride her. She wouldn't just let anyone mount her. Link was one of the few; of course Epona and Link had known each other for quite some time. Epona seemed to like Zelda's energy, her aura. The princess had taken a liking to the horse as well. Link considered offering Zelda a ride on Epona. One day, soon, perhaps even after Kokiri Forest is back to normal, he will see if the princess would like to ride her.
Night had fallen as Link crossed the drawbridge. He looked up in the sky toward Kokiri Forest as he rode south toward the lake, wondering how things were going in the village. He hoped Mido was okay. Link could not see any smoke veils covering the forest, but then again the sky was too dark to tell.
The cool, night breeze blew against Link's face as he rode, and it occurred to him that he would probably have a difficult time finding the plants. He patted his utility belt and smiled, glad that he thought of bringing the lantern with him; otherwise he would have a really hard time finding the Baruba plants.
As Link came closer to Lake Hylia, he yawned. It was going to be a long night. He might not even get any sleep at all, if Aracnatha is as problematic as the story suggests. He hoped the Baruba plants would help with the smell. Holding his breath doesn't seem like a viable option, especially when battling a big beast.
Link stopped right inside the lake, just in front of the exit. He glanced around him at the cliff surrounding the body of water. From his vantage point on the horse, he could not see a thing except the grass, and some of the shrubs. This will be hard, indeed.
He trotted up to the scientist's house and dismounted Epona. He looked around the lake, soaking it all in and wondering where it was he last saw those plants. They were not seen in the small, arable field in the distance where Pierre stood. They were not in the water, either, and were not likely to be by the fishing hole on the other side of the lake.
Wondering if the scientist was still awake, he knocked on the door of the laboratory. Perhaps he will know where they are; for some reason their location is drawing a blank in Link's mind.
No answer. He waited a moment and knocked again. Nothing. Sighing, Link turned around and headed toward Pierre. Maybe he will know.
Link noticed someone standing at the edge of the lake toward the fishing hole. Whoever it is faced the little island with the tree in the middle of the lake. Could that be the scientist, he wondered.
He walked over to the person, and recognized the scientist right away. The hairdo is unmistakable, and the long face with prominent cheekbones reassured Link that the figure was the one for whom he was searching.
All of a sudden the ground shook, and ripples formed in the water. "Oh, now you're hungry, I see," the scientist yelled. "Wait until nightfall, why don't you? Well, hurry up, I have a delicious fish for you!" He pulled out a small trout and wiggled it.
What came out of the water shocked Link. He saw something he'd never seen emerge from under the water. He stood there, his jaw dropped and eyes wide open.
The scientist's pet shark had grown immensely! It was a lot bigger than it was when Link last saw it. The creature was now the size of an unnaturally giant whale! How could that shark gave grown to such a size?
The shark swam toward the scientist with its mouth open, as if expecting that little fish to be thrown into its mouth. The shark didn't stop, it kept advancing toward the man.
"All right, Sharkey, stop right there and I'll throw you your dinner!"
Dinner? Link thought in surprise. How can that tiny little thing be considered a meal?
The shark didn't stop.
"ALL RIGHT, SHARKEY, I SAID STOP!"
The shark didn't stop. It kept going forward, and Link thought it was going to end up on land.
A horrible sounding noise erupted from the aquatic animal. It sounded hungry.
"STOP, I SAID STOPPP!"
The shark didn't stop. It was now only a few feet from the scientist.
It was obvious to Link that the shark was intending on eating the scientist for dinner. As the creature came upon land, it closed its mouth, expecting to devour the man. The scientist turned around and yelled, running away as fast as he could. Before the shark's mouth closed fully, Link grabbed a fire arrow, set it in the bow, drew back the string and let it fly.
The shark screamed in pain, and Link caught himself wondering since when do sharks make noises like that? Smoke poured out of the creature's gills, and its eyes rolled back and forth. It flopped onto land and continued flopping, clearly in pain from the arrow Link sent its way.
The scientist, not seeming to notice Link's presence, stood there watching his pet lie on the land in agony. His mouth was wide open, and he pulled at the hair coming out of both sides of his head.
Moments later, the shark stopped flopping and went still. The last bit of smoke billowed out from the creature. The scientist turned toward Link, anger evident in his eyes. He stalked toward him, huffing and puffing like a chimney. It occurred to Link that he just killed this man's beloved pet.
"YOU KILLED SHARKEY!" yelled the angry, red-faced old man. "YOU KILLED MY PET! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, BOY!"
Boy? Link thought. Clearly this man is too angry to think straight.
"My apologies, sir," Link responded. "I meant not to kill your pet. But your life was in danger, and it was an automatic reflex to stop that thing from devouring you."
The old man let out an irritated sigh. "Devouring me? What makes you think he was trying to devour me? I was just trying to feed him!"
"Sir, you ran away from the shark screaming. It was too close, and would have consumed you if I hadn't stopped it."
"My pet would not have eaten me! He loved me and enjoyed the dinners I fed him! And now thanks to you I am pet-less!"
This man is in denial, Link thought. He was so consumed with that shark that he wasn't willing to see reason. "If you're so sure it wouldn't have eaten you, then why did it come on land? Furthermore, why did you run from it? Normally a pet owner wouldn't run from their own pet while feeding them. And you call those small trouts dinner?"
The scientist said nothing while he glared at Link. He knew Link's words had logic, but he didn't want to admit defeat.
Link continued. "Besides, sir, if I was that shark I wouldn't be happy at being caged my whole life. I recall seeing that shark in the cage when I was a young boy."
More silence from the scientist. Link wondered how it was that the shark grew to that size. The man was good with chemicals and making things. Perhaps his pet was an experiment of his. Link shuddered at the thought of what the old man put into that shark's body to twist nature and make it grow unnaturally huge.
"What do you want?" the man asked, finally breaking the silence. "Why are you here?"
"I need Baruba plants, a few of them. I know they're around here, but can you point me to where some are? Their location is drawing a blank in my mind."
"You killed my pet! Why should I help you?"
"I saved your life, sir," Link answered. "The least you could do is tell me where to find some."
The scientist huffed. Link won, and he knew it. Link suppressed a smile.
He pointed toward the cliff several feet behind Pierre. Link looked in that direction, and the scientist stormed away in the direction of the laboratory without saying a word.
Link turned toward the man. "Thank you, sir."
The old man didn't respond, so Link continued. "Do you like Monster Cake?"
The old man stopped in his tracks and slowly turned back to face Link. Perhaps some of the delicious Hylian Castle sweet treat will pacify the old man.
"I've never had any, but I always wanted to try some. They make it in the castle, yes?"
Link nodded. "They do. How about I bring you back some after I finish my business?" It wouldn't be good to have this man mad at him; he might need his help again sometime in the future.
"Yes, please do that, boy."
All of the anger that was in that man had evaporated at the mention of Monster Cake. "I will do that, sir. Thank you again for pointing me to the plants."
The old man nodded and turned back around in the direction of the laboratory. Link walked in the direction of the plants, but he still could barely see a thing. Lighting his lantern, he walked along the cliff looking down at the ground. He spotted a few of the plants a few feet away from him. He set the lantern down on the grass and uprooted a few Barubas.
How many should I get? He wondered. He grabbed a couple more plants just to be on the safe side. After all, Saria will need some too.
Having acquired what should be a sufficient amount of the plants, Link mounted Epona and headed back to the castle. He rode faster than normal, wanting Zelda to make the concoction so he and Saria could rid Kokiri Forest of the scourge that had befallen it. He patted Epona's neck, reassuring the horse that he wasn't trying to treat her badly. He made a note to feed Epona something extra special as soon as possible.
At the castle, most of the staff had turned in for the night. There were guards still patrolling the halls and the courtyard, but there wasn't much activity at this hour. Link wondered how much time there was until dawn. It would probably take him and Saria a while to defeat the monster, but the sleepless night will be worth it. The Kokiri are his friends, and right now his friends are in need of help.
Link found Zelda in the study near where she had pulled out the book on plants earlier, the book where they located the Baruba plant. The study was dim, and the princess had a candelabra on the table that provided sufficient light for her to read.
She looked up as Link set the plants down on the table. "My, it has been quite some time since I last saw Baruba plants."
She ran her finger along one of the leaves, careful not to prick herself. She closed the book and put it back in the massive bookcase, turning to face Link. "Come, let us not waste time."
Nothing more needed to be said. Link followed her to the kitchen and watched her prepare the concoction. He recounted the event at Lake Hylia to her. She was silent the whole time, preparing the powder and listening to Link's story.
"That scientist was always a lonely man," Zelda said when Link had finished. "Ever since I was young he would come to the castle to see our library, and he would often times spend sleepless nights reading books about sharks and other creatures of Hyrule. He never married, and I think that's part of the reason why he always spent so much time here in the castle. He wanted companionship."
"That does make sense, Zelda. Being lonely, one has plenty of time on one's hands, and when you have that kind of time—in his case—you find ways to fill in that void with monstrous pets. Oh, before I forget, is there any Monster Cake left? I told him I'd bring him back some."
"No, Link, I'm afraid we don't," she answered, shaking her head. "I ate the last of it. I can have the cook make more tomorrow, though. He can wait that long, can't he?"
Link chuckled. "Yeah, he can."
At last the powder was made. That brief moment of time seemed like an eternity to Link. He looked at the powder, taking a pinch of it with his thumb and forefinger and rubbing it. It had a consistency the likes of which Link was not familiar. Powder is normally soft; this concoction, however, had more of a thick, grainy feel to it.
"Link," Zelda said, looking at Link with serious but friendly eyes, "I'm not sure how much you should put in your body since I've never made anything like that before now. Please, do all of us a favor and use your best judgment."
Link noticed the powder didn't have a smell to it. How fitting, he thought.
"Of course, Zelda," he said. "I'll take in a little bit at a time until I feel the effect."
The princess's eyes went wide. "No, you mustn't do that! It likely has a time delay. Take only a little bit and wait a while, and if that doesn't work, try some more. We don't need you dying on us!"
For a moment Link was silent as he looked into Zelda's eyes. The princess was serious; serious, yet pleading, almost begging Link to be careful.
He nodded, knowing that as an apothecary she knows plants better than him. "Okay, Zelda. I will be careful."
She handed him a small leather pouch with a tight seal adorned with the Hylian crest. "Put it in this and take it with you."
Link took the pouch and filled it with the powder, sealing it and placing it in one of the front pockets on his utility belt. Looking at Zelda, he said, "There's somewhere I must go before I head to the forest."
It was time to use it. If this creature was as awful as was portrayed in the ominous legend, he would need it.
Zelda knew to what Link was referring. She knew by looking into his eyes. "You wish to use the Master Sword."
He nodded in reply. Though no one ever told him he couldn't use it after he and Zelda had defeated Ganon outside of his destroyed castle, Link had left it alone for the most part. There was an unwritten and unspoken decree that Link was free to wield it at any time he wished. He knew that was in gratitude for saving Hyrule. The sword was for him to use as he wished.
He headed to the Temple of Time, followed by the princess. After pulling the sword out of the pedestal, he began to sheath it but realized he only had one sheath, and that was for the broadsword he was already carrying. He turned to speak to Zelda, who was holding the sheath and Hylian Shield out to him with a smile on her face.
"You'll need these."
How did she get those? He thought, clearly shocked. She was following me the whole way here! Yet another one of her surprises.
He grabbed the sheath and shield, eyeing the princess with utmost curiosity. "How did you do it?" he asked. "You followed me the whole way here."
She smiled in reply and winked her left eye. "Be careful, Link."
The princess turned around and headed back to the castle, yawning as she walked away.
Link put on the other sheath and shield. It was time to head to Kokiri Forest.
(Stay tuned for the final chapter.)