Chapter 3 - Your Good Name
Nissa was right—the fairy cave was only a few minutes' walk from camp.
The greenery of the forest seemed to sparkle in the early morning moonlight due to the droplets of rain still clinging to the leaves as they followed the fairy. On the way, the trickling of a small waterfall grew louder until they found a rocky slope about ten feet tall where water was tumbling gently downward into a small pond.
With ivy vines and ferns dotting the landscape, it wasn't as colorful as The Lost Woods, but was still pretty to look at nevertheless.
Once they reached the waterway, Nissa called to them, showing them a growth of shrubs and vines against the slope which Link pushed back, revealing the entrance of a cave.
"This is it!" Nissa exclaimed, flying ahead to light the way as the interior was nearly pitch black.
Allowing Zelda to enter the cave first, Link stepped inside behind her and released the branches so they fell back into place, then moved ahead, finding the corridor narrow and dark, but short. Soon, they reached a larger chamber where a magical glow of blue light illuminated the area, almost as if the cave had sensed their presence.
The new light revealed a square pool constructed of white marble walls and filled with pristine water. Statues of fae people stood at each corner, and at the center of the front wall was an indentation of the Triforce.
Flying towards it, Nissa directed, "Touch this panel to summon her. Since you carry parts of the Triforce, it's as simple as that."
Walking over, Zelda looked at the stone and then asked her, "Who are we summoning again?"
"She's a fairy maiden, one of our guardians! This cave belongs to the Maiden of Lake Hylia, and she can bestow you with gifts to make traveling safer if you're worthy, and I know you two are! So go ahead!"
Darting over to Zelda's shoulder, she sat and waited as the Princess heeded her instruction and touched the symbol—and the response was nearly instantaneous. A glow emanated from the center of the pool, and Zelda removed her hand before stepping back to watch along with Link.
Bubbles formed in the water, then raised from the surface to culminate together until they took the shape of a young maiden who appeared to be made of the liquid substance. With blue wings upon her back and a mane of deep blue hair, she floated peacefully before them and offered a friendly smile.
"Nissa, you were just here!" Giggling loudly, she inquired, "How did you find them so quickly?"
"It was a coincidence? I just happened across them!"
"Well, you are a fairy," the maiden remarked with a grin. "You're known for your good luck!"
With those words spoken, she turned her attention to Link and Zelda, wings fluttering as she hovered toward the edge of the pool. Though she wasn't as small as Nissa, she was only about two feet tall, lifting higher into the air so she could regard her visitors evenly.
"My, what a lovely pair!" she exclaimed, stretching her body out as if laying across a flat surface despite there being nothing beneath her. Then, drawing up her arms to rest her chin against the back of her hands, she provided an introduction.
"I'm the Fairy Maiden of Lake Hylia, pleased to meet you!"
"Thank you," Zelda started, giving their names in return despite having the impression that this Maiden already knew them. "I'm Zelda, and this is Link. We're honored."
The maiden's jubilant laugh filled the cave. "You're honored? I'm the one who's so glad to finally meet the true daughter of Nissandra and Hadinaru! I've heard so many stories, and they were so sad, but seeing how strong you've become gives us hope in the Fairy Kingdom!"
Pausing, she turned to Link and pointed with the words, "And you!"
The sudden exclamation had Link's gaze shifting uncertainly from Zelda and back to the Maiden again before asking, "Yes?"
Snickering, she rolled over in the air, admiring him upside down with the words, "My, you're a handsome one! Nissa, why didn't you tell me the hero looked so good?"
As Nissa and the Maiden started giggling again, Link cleared his throat, wondering if the heat in his cheeks was a blush.
It must've been because the Maiden suddenly exclaimed, "He's so modest, too! Quite a rarity!"
Zelda had to smile, confirming her assessment with a knowing, "That he is. He's already worked so hard to help the kingdom, but continually insists it's nothing."
"Oh, really?" Sending a dreamy look his way, the Maiden declared, "Strong, handsome, and humble. You're just delightful!"
Cringing, Link shook his head and attempted to divert their attention away from him by stating, "Well, I'm blessed with the company of pretty women as well, so I think we're even."
"Flattery!" the Maiden all but squealed in delight, spinning around in midair before stopping to state, "Oh, I'd love to hear more! But I want to know first, where are you heading now?"
"Lake Hylia," Zelda replied. "Myriad said that was the next step of our journey."
"Wonderful! Then I have just the thing to help you!"
Flying higher into the air, she hovered over the center of the pool and gazed down at them with the words, "I can increase your magic abilities! To you, Zelda, I gift the ability to draw from Nayru's power to heal wounds, and to Link, I give the gift of her shielding to invoke upon yourself during treacherous times."
As she turned a backwards circle in midair, the room darkened around the two she was empowering. In turn, a magical whir grew in volume as her watery body began dispersing outwards in a flutter of light and magic, filling Link and Zelda with the strength she'd promised.
Her laughter echoed out as the blue glow returned to the room, allowing them to see once more. But all that was left of the Fairy Maiden was a bottle containing two pink fairies.
Seeing this, Nissa flew to the glass, her wings chiming excitedly. "Look, she gave you two healing fairies, too! How kind!"
"It will definitely come in handy," Link qualified, looking at Zelda as she approached the bottle with the question, "So you can heal wounds now and I'm able to shield myself?"
"Yes," she confirmed, lifting the bottle to admire the fairies inside while explaining, "it's called Nayru's Love, and with practice, you'll even be able to project it onto other people."
That certainly sounded helpful, though he was distracted from the topic by the way she refused to look at him while giving her answer. Was she … embarrassed? Link had to wonder if only because she hadn't looked at him since he'd nearly kissed her in camp.
The notion was unsettling, and if Nissa wasn't around, he would have asked. But he had to let it go for now, reminding himself that they'd have plenty of time to talk later.
For now, he settled on stating, "We should probably get going though. It's almost daylight, and we'll arrive at Engleton by midday if we start now."
Finally, Zelda looked at him, providing an immense amount of relief from his concerns when she smiled and nodded.
Hopefully, the gesture was proof that whatever damage his impulsive actions had caused wasn't extreme, and he only needed to consider her personal experience more thoroughly. After all, it was likely she'd never been close to anyone before. She'd mentioned receiving a marriage proposal, but it was clear she only viewed Hayden as a friend, meaning it was possible she'd never even kissed someone.
Somehow, the thought was relieving, and not because he didn't enjoy imagining her kissing another man, which … he didn't. Instead, it meant her reaction was probably only a matter of understanding, and if so, he'd take the first chance he got to make it right so she wouldn't worry.
Concentrating on that fact while promising never to put her in a situation like this again, he led them both out of the cave.
Outside, Zelda gazed at the fairy following them and asked, "Nissa, would you like to accompany us? Or are there others you need to inform?"
"Oh, I would love to go with you! I've told everyone I can already, so I'm free to tag along!"
With a smile as the fairy landed on her shoulder, she replied, "Good, then we can all catch up on what's been happening."
Listening as he followed behind the ladies, Link considered all they had to tell her. So much had happened since they left Kakariko that it was hard to keep track, though his efforts brought to mind one of the first problems they'd encountered—his dark half.
Myriad reminded him to beware of the shadow's intentions, and it'd been a while since they'd heard from him, which was nice, but didn't bode well. Still, whatever he was planning, he hopefully wouldn't show up again too soon, and who knew, maybe luck had smiled on them and the bastard had already fallen into a cucco coop and gotten pecked to death.
Sadly, the words fat chance came to mind, and Link got the feeling they'd be meeting again soon.
A gray sky hovered over the small town of Engleton, and the closer Link and Zelda drew to the settlement, the thicker the fog clouding the area became. Yet something about the mist didn't seem right, and it wasn't the gloomy atmosphere causing such a sense of foreboding.
It was the smell—smoke.
The dense aroma filled their nostrils with every breath, proving the fog wasn't naturally occurring. With Nissa in their company, they'd spent the morning riding and telling stories until the signs began pointing the way to their destination, and that's when the scent hit all three of their noses.
Coming over a hill where they could see the rural village ahead, Link scanned the distant buildings to pinpoint any fires that might be raging. But if the settlement had suffered some type of accident, it wasn't visible from their location.
Still, Nissa took the precaution of climbing inside a pouch on Zelda's belt as they went, hoping to avoid any danger lurking which she may have been defenseless against as Zelda looked on with Link. So far, the structures of the town looked to be in good condition, suggesting any fires had to be located in the center of town, or in someone's home.
Such problems weren't always uncommon, and yet Zelda couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, informing Link, "This doesn't feel right."
He nodded in agreement, and as they made their way into town, he directed, "Just stay close until we learn what's going on."
"Alright," she returned softly as they passed the first set of buildings on the main road into town.
Most looked to be private homes, though a few listed the names of shops with signs that said closed in the window despite the midday hour. Another oddity came in the lack of people around—not a soul was in sight along the visible length of the street, and Zelda had the sinking feeling that the reason for it would have a profound impact on their arrival.
"It's so quiet," she whispered as if not to disturb the silence that had fallen over the town, and glanced at Link to see his wary expression proving he was well aware of the strange situation.
Glancing to both sides, Link turned and dismounted Epona, deciding he might be able to cover ground easier on foot, and Zelda followed suit. Once her feet hit the ground, she took Frost's reins and walked over to her friend as he observed, "I don't know why, but it feels like–"
"It's him!"
The angry shout came from the roadway behind them, and they turned to see a man on horseback approaching with haste. The sight confirmed what Link had been thinking, and he finished his previous statement by muttering, "We're being watched."
At the rider's call, several other men appeared, some on horseback while the rest were on foot and armed with a bow and arrows. Evidently, they lived in Engleton and were assigned to its protection, but whatever the case, five men in total now surrounded Link and Zelda.
The commotion spooked Epona and Frost, prompting their owners to attempt calming them despite their uncertainty over what was going on precisely. Thankfully, Epona stopped fretting without much trouble, allowing Link to hand Zelda her reins before stepping away from their horses to find out what the problem was.
Yet the man's shout of it's him spoke volumes over the source of the trouble—these people were mistaking him for his dark half just as they'd done in Roshala. Sadly, it wasn't likely that Zelda would be able to reason with anyone this time, so whatever Dark Link's crime might've been, Link was about to answer for it.
"What happened here?" he asked sincerely despite knowing they were likely to ridicule the question. But, since he honestly had no idea what was going on, he had to ask anyway.
"Don't pretend as if you don't know!" demanded the rider who'd initially alerted the others of their presence. "I saw you with my own two eyes!"
A bigger, burly man with more muscle than fat, he glared down at Link with nothing but enmity in his eyes. But despite the hostility there, his crop of red hair reminded Link of Kiama, making him wonder if this was her father. Still, he left her name out of it for now, too fearful she'd been hurt by his dark half to risk angering the man while hoping desperately that she was actually fine.
Not that he had a chance to speak before another voice rang out of the small crowd of people gathered.
"Betarro! It was dark when this happened, so are you certain this is the same man you saw?"
"Yes, Olnor! The same hat, outfit, everything. But there wasn't anyone else with him," Betarro added, regarding Zelda skeptically before suggesting, "She could have been waiting outside of town though!"
Link glared at the man for even suggesting she was tied to this, retorting sternly, "She had nothing to do with it!"
"Then you admit it?" Betarro asked, riding in closer before adding, "How do we know for sure she wasn't in on your murdering plans?"
Murder? Link's fists clenched in anger. What has that bastard done?
Doing his best to tap down his seething emotions, Link waved a hand toward Zelda as if to cut her off from the situation completely, insisting, "She's not involved! If you saw me, then it must have been me, right?"
"Link!" Zelda gasped, unwilling to let him take responsibility for his dark half's actions just to protect her virtue.
But Betarro looked ready to jump from his horse and tackle Link, drowning her out by yelling, "You little!–"
"Betarro!" Olnor snapped, inserting his horse between his friend's and Link before the big man's temper could get the best of him. "Calm down! I'm the town's elder councilman, so I'll handle this. You just let me do the talking."
Proving they were friends, or at the very least that Olnor had the town's respect, Betarro actually calmed down—not that he looked happy about it. But his silence allowed Olnor to give Link his undivided attention, and he regarded the Hylian quietly.
Like Betarro, Olnor was a larger man, with dark salt and pepper hair and a neatly trimmed beard giving him a wise look. Thankfully, he also began explaining what had happened to Link, suggesting he had no intentions of judging without due process.
"This morning, close to dawn, someone boarded up a house and then set it aflame. Betarro saw a young man leaving the home, but had to get help as the flames started to consume the residence, allowing the criminal time to escape. By the time the fires were doused, the residents were all dead, and two other homes caught fire as well. Thankfully, those families got out in time, though three of our men were severely injured while stopping the blaze."
Narrowing his gaze on Link, he asked sternly, "Are you admitting to these crimes?"
Link couldn't immediately respond. Each word Olnor spoke made him angrier than the last, his teeth and fists clenched tight. Furthermore, he couldn't say he was guilty because it was a lie, and yet Betarro would insist he'd committed the crimes if only because he had seen Link that morning.
He'd just seen the wrong one.
During his thoughts, Olnor's question rang out more forcefully.
"Are you admitting to these crimes!"
"Enough of this!" Betarro interjected. "They won't admit it, so just seize them both!"
"No." Link countered firmly enough to get their attention, glaring between them. He couldn't lie and say he was guilty, and he also couldn't allow Zelda to become involved.
So he immediately told them the truth.
"She wasn't there, and had no idea it was taking place."
"We can't know that for sure," Olnor responded more calmly than Betarro probably could've given his state of ire. "If we don't–"
"She won't leave the village as long as I'm here," Link interrupted on a serious tone of voice, adding, "and if you leave her out of this, I'll go with you peacefully."
Olnor raised his brows in surprise, glancing first at Zelda, then at the rest of the townsfolk gathered as he considered it. In turn, Betarro placed a hand on the man's shoulder and leaned in to whisper something.
The inaudible words made Link restless, but Olnor finally nodded and agreed to his terms with a stipulation involved.
"Very well, but on the condition that your lady friend is placed on house arrest in one of our unoccupied homes until we can get to the bottom of this. She'll be bothered by no one, and your horses will go with her."
"Link, don't–"
"It's a deal," he interrupted without hesitation, looking back to shake his head at her in a manner he hoped communicated his desire to keep her out of an actual jail cell. After all, if his dark half was lurking nearby, the chances were good he'd use Link's imprisonment as an opportunity to launch an attack—possibly by burning down the jailhouse with him inside.
Of course, that wouldn't stop him from trying to harm Zelda while she was being held within a home in town, but at least this way, she'd have a much better chance of actually escaping. So he didn't resist when Olnor directed some of the men to apprehend him.
As they grabbed Link's arms to shackle behind his back, Olnor dismounted his horse and approached Zelda, directing gently, "If you would come with me please, my lady."
She barely managed a nod, her gaze fixed on Link as the townsfolk took him into custody. A sense of helplessness assailed her at the sight, her heart in the pit of her stomach as Betarro gripped his upper arm and pushed him forward so hard that Link stumbled.
Without his hands to catch his fall, he toppled face forward into the dirt.
"Link!" she gasped, releasing Frost's reins to go to him, but Olnor grasped her upper arm.
Struggling to reach her friend, she only stopped when he snapped at Betarro loudly enough to get everyone's attention.
"Betarro! That is not necessary. He's going peacefully, and if you can't return the courtesy, I'll place you on house arrest as well and find someone to replace you until this is over."
Instantly, Betarro's expression turned contrite as he nodded and—thankfully—proceeded with their apprehension by helping Link back up to lead away properly.
As they departed, Olnor sighed, then turned to Zelda and stated, "I apologize for Betarro's behavior. We're all angry over what's happened, but his temper is explosive. Still, it doesn't last long, and soon he'll come to question this situation as I am."
As Link disappeared from sight with the townsfolk, Zelda finally turned her gaze up at Olnor's face, her brow narrowed angrily despite the relief his words provided. Yet her ire wasn't directed at Olnor, or even Betarro. Despite the way he'd treated her friend, she could understand his enmity toward someone he believed had murdered citizens of his community—and he had every reason to think Link was the culprit.
But he most certainly wasn't, and her anger was at Link's dark half, a fact she didn't hesitate to point out.
"I should hope he does so soon, Olnor, because Link didn't do this, and we both know who did."
Curiosity lit in Olnor's dark eyes. "Who?"
Glad she'd at least captured his attention, Zelda did her best to explain it in the most believable fashion possible. "It's someone who's trying to kill Link. He's been following us for half a month now and causing all kinds of problems."
"Then why did your friend allow himself to be apprehended?"
Frowning, Zelda gazed in the direction they'd taken her friend and answered, "Because he was trying to protect me while avoiding an altercation. But the one following us won't hesitate to take advantage of this situation, and when he comes back, you'll have to let Link go, or be the cause of even more bloodshed."
Olnor genuinely listened to Zelda's claim, nodding as he began escorting her along with the words, "I'll keep my eyes open for anything strange, my lady. I'm not one to want to imprison someone innocent, much less invite more bloodshed if it can be avoided."
Zelda hoped that was true, and spent the rest of their walk in silence.
Eventually, Olnor led her to a small home situated on the edge of town near a dense thicket of trees. The inside was dusty from disuse, but the construction was sound, and Zelda tried to count her blessings where she could.
As she stepped inside and Olnor shut the door with the promise of stopping by to check on her soon, Nissa finally emerged from Zelda's pouch.
"That was really scary!" the fairy exclaimed as she lifted into the air. "Link's dark half did this, didn't he?"
Zelda and Link had related the story of his twisted counterpart to Nissa on the way to Engleton, and she nodded in response to the fairy's question.
"Yes, and we can't just sit here and wait for that shadow to return and kill Link. We have to do something to convince the people to set him free."
Nissa pursed her lips in thought before stating, "I agree, but what? Fairies aren't known for lying, so I could tell them he was with us all evening and they'd at least consider it, don't you think?"
"Probably, but it may be best if you remained a secret, just for now. At least then, if something dire happens, you can find someone to help us."
"Okay, but if it comes down to it, I'm going to tell them what I know. In fact, would you like me to sneak into the jail and check on Link?"
The idea had merit, and Zelda nodded in agreement. "Yes. Go do that, would you? I'd feel much better if I knew how he was, and I'm sure he'd feel better knowing the same of me."
"Okay!" Nissa returned, wasting no time checking the windows for a crack to slip through instead of asking Zelda to open a door and potentially getting into trouble.
Finally locating a window with a missing panel of glass in the back of the home, Nissa took off, taking care to ensure no one spotted her.
Once alone, Zelda turned to the front window of the house, looking outside. Eventually, she saw the tiny ball of light that was Nissa flying swiftly toward town, then glanced down at the floor. Dark Link, she thought with a grumble. He was going to continue causing problems until they could stop him—it was just a matter of figuring out how.
Unlike Link, the shadow had no qualms with running away from a fight, whether out of cowardice or sheer deviousness, meaning he'd never stick around long enough to be taken down. So there had to be a way to lure him out of the darkness and keep him in one place long enough to be destroyed.
More importantly, she had to find a way to make everyone believe Link was innocent. Nissa would be a good witness, yet Zelda got the feeling it would still be their word against Betarro's, unless … .
Kiama.
With everything going on, she'd completely forgotten about the girls they'd saved yesterday. Furthermore, Betarro and Kiama had the same hair color, meaning he may be her father, or at least related. Regardless, Kiama would definitely serve as the perfect character witness, and Zelda wanted to know how the girls were doing anyway.
So as soon as Olnor returned to check on her, she'd make sure to mention them, and hopefully, knowing what Link had done to save them would give the villagers much more incentive to let him go.