Chapter 5 - Redemption

The lower the sun drew down in the sky, the harder it was to sit still.

By the time it set, Link was pacing the short length of his cell, tired of just sitting around waiting. He didn't have Zelda's level of intuition, but his instincts were keen, and after spending only a few hours in confinement, his gut was sending warning after warning that things outside the prison weren't equal.

Coming to a stop at the bars of his cell door, he regarded his weapons still laying on the table across the way and let an inaudible sigh. The temptation to use the silver gauntlets to bend the bars and reacquire them was strong, and he shut his eyes in the hopes of steadying himself and regaining some sense of patience.

But the idea of Zelda being out there alone wasn't making it easy.

Thankfully, the moment his lids shut, the jailhouse door opened, and he peered down the short corridor outside to see who it was, though looking turned out to be unnecessary. The voices accompanying the sound told him all he needed to know—it was Kiama and Betarro, and their verbal exchange proved his assumption over their familial relation was correct.

"This is no place for you, Kiama!"

"I don't care, father, I have to see if it's him, and I'll leave as soon as I do, I promise!"

Wearing a much prettier blue dress than the rags she had on before, the young lady rounded the corner and stopped the moment the cells came into view.

"Link!"

"Hello, Kiama," Link replied with a genuine smile, still standing at the door to his cell. "I'm glad to see you girls got here safely."

Kiama returned the friendly expression as her father watched, his own mien suggesting he was having difficulty believing what he was hearing.

That look stayed on his face as Kiama turned to him and pointed at Link with the words, "He's not a criminal, father! He's the one who freed us from those men and shackled them in the wagon!"

Thankfully, the prisoners remained quiet over the matter if only because Betarro had already brought the wrath of the Goddesses down upon them. It was a wrath Olnor had to prevent from becoming a crime of murder—not that he'd intervened too soon after what those men had done to the young ladies they'd abducted.

Their silence allowed Bettaro to respond without interruption.

"How … ," he started, walking toward Link's cell where he regarded Kiama curiously. "He's the one?"

"Yes," she insisted, pleading on Link's behalf. "So please let him go, father. At the very least, you can put him on house arrest with Zelda. But he deserves a chance to explain everything."

Releasing a low sigh, Betarro shoved his fingers through his red hair in consideration, then regarded Link with less enmity than before, though his gaze was still skeptical.

"Last night, I saw a young man that looked just like you fleeing that burning home. He had the same hat, the same outfit, and even your build. So tell me why I saw that if you're so benevolent as to save my daughter along with a group of girls you don't even know."

Link held Betarro's gaze for only a moment before his face tilted downward. Realizing he was going to have to tell the full truth for any of this to make sense, he started in the most believable way possible.

"Kiama, do you remember when I told you it was too dangerous for Zelda and I to take the wagon trail here?"

When she nodded, he continued, "One of the reasons is the person your father saw, who isn't actually a person. It's a dark mimicry of myself that mirrors me in looks, but is completely opposite in demeanor, and this is the fourth time he's caused us problems. I was set up in Roshala to look as if I'd bombed a tavern for no reason because of him."

Frowning, Kiama asked, "If it's not a person, then what is he? Where did he come from?"

"There was a curse on a mirror in the Temple of Time," Link explained. "I don't know too much about it, but I do know it created a magical copy of me after I drew the Master Sword from its resting spot in The Lost Woods."

As soon as the words Master Sword left his lips, Betarro's eyes widened before he turned his gaze to Link's things. Adjourning to the table, he regarded the sword, then asked, "This? This is the Master Sword?"

Nodding, Link recalled Zelda's inability to lift the weapon and remarked, "Go ahead, try to pick it up."

Pursing his lips, Betarro reached for the hilt, but the moment he put any muscle into drawing the blade from its sheath, he merely stumbled back.

Instantly, snickering sounded in the cell adjacent to Link's, and Betarro sent a glare in their direction.

"Quiet! Or I'll let him out just to use this on you."

Silence ensued his threat, and Betarro continued to glare their way for a moment longer before leaning on the table while regarding the sheathed blade before him. Somehow, the solemn look on his face suggested he knew precisely what the Master Sword was, and possibly understood the implications of Link's ability to wield it.

Proving his assumption correct, the man finally stood straight and turned to a cabinet against the wall behind him, opening the door to retrieve a key ring. Taking it over to the cell Link was locked in, he inserted the proper key and turned it with the words, "You're free to go."

Opening the door, he stepped aside, providing Link a clear path to his belongings.

Still, Link hesitated, unable to stop himself from asking, "Just like that?"

Nodding, Betarro explained, "I don't have the official power to release you, but Olnor would do the same if he were here and heard what I just heard. That aside, you saved my daughter, and I'll be forever in your debt for it."

Having walked over to his weapons, Link began the process of donning them and replied, "Trust me, it wasn't a problem to stop those deviants. But I have to ask, do you know about the Master Sword?"

"I do," he answered, explaining, "I had a good friend who served as a royal guard to the former King and Queen. His name was Lyonel, and he learned a great deal about the Master Sword and other legends from his wife."

Hearing Lyonel's name, Link looked up in surprise, admitting, "I know him. He helped to keep me from being framed for the bombing in Roshala."

The comment made Betarro smile. "It's good to hear because I didn't even know he was still alive. But if—"

"Link! Link!"

The tiny voice yelling Link's name captured their attention, all three looking toward the window of Link's former cell just as Nissa flew inside followed by frantically zipping back and forth as if to search for him.

Once she finally spotted him outside the door, she exclaimed his name again and nearly took off in his direction. Yet, in her haste, she hadn't realized how close to the adjacent cells she'd come, and a hand darted out to snatch her.

"Nissa!" Link yelled, moving toward the cell while the inmate tugged his hand back inside with a victorious grin.

"Let me out of here," he demanded, "or your little fairy friend–AHH!"

A loud snap accompanied his yelp as Nissa shocked his hand just as she'd done before. But this time, the shock was more powerful, tiny forks of static erupting from his palm as his fingers opened instinctively, allowing Nissa to swiftly fly away while calling, "That's why you don't grab fairies, meanie! And you smell like fertilizer, ew!"

As Nissa escaped the shortest hostage situation in history, Betarro and Kiama laughed at the inmate's misfortune. But Link only shook his head, finding the way Nissa had flown into the jail while urgently calling his name too worrisome for comfort.

So he immediately asked, "What's going on?"

"It's your shadow!" she started without delay. "A little while ago, Zelda asked me to look around and see if I could find him, but I didn't. So I returned to the home she's staying in and saw him there with her! Come on!"

Link didn't have to be told twice, immediately taking off to follow the purple orb of light out of the jail. His heart was in his throat the entire way, and he only barely heard Betarro calling, "Go swiftly, Link, and I'll get help!"

A part of Link wanted to urge Betarro to keep his people out of this, but he didn't have the time—or the focus. Instead, his mind was on Zelda with a single thought emerging.

If she has even a scratch, I'll end that shadow for good.

Zelda reappeared in the front yard of the home after escaping Dark Link, her lantern clutched in one hand and a bloody dagger in the other.

Epona and Frost were still tethered nearby, and she wasted no time rushing toward them. Dark Link could recover and follow her at any moment, giving her precious little time to take one of the animals and ride into town to warn Link.

Reaching Epona's side first, she grasped the reins to untie them—just as a hand landed on her shoulder.

"Zelda!"

Letting a shriek at the sound of Dark Link's voice, she spun around and lashed out with the dagger still clutched in her hand. But she couldn't complete the swipe before her wrist was caught in his fist, and she struggled to free it, demanding, "Let me go!"

"Zelda, calm down, it's me!"

At his comment, she finally looked up to realize this Link's eyes weren't red, but blue, the mere sight of them calming her in ways she couldn't describe.

Yet the wild look in her own gaze didn't provide any reassurance, nor did the streak of drying blood at the corner of her mouth.

Seeing it, Link released her wrists to clasp her upper arms, unable to keep the anger out of his voice in asking, "What happened?"

She didn't immediately answer, dropping the dagger as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug—and the way she trembled only added to Link's ire.

"Zelda, what happened?" he repeated more gently, though his voice was still urgent.

Taking a deep breath to counter her churning emotions, she replied, "He's in the house, Link. I stabbed him and teleported out here to go find you."

His grip around her tightened, and though she knew this wasn't the time, she couldn't help thinking how comforting it was after what happened inside. Still, she endeavored to pull herself away from her friend, realizing they had no time to talk—and as soon as the thought hit, a loud boom sounded behind her.

Looking back with Link, they watched as the door erupted, flying off its hinges to land in the yard several feet from where they stood, and standing in the gap was Dark Link. The shadow had used his silver gauntlets to break the wall followed by scanning the yard until he spotted them, then grinned maliciously.

Releasing Zelda, Link moved ahead of her while drawing his sword and shield without question. In the process, he realized the shadow seemed to favor his right side due to the stab wound Zelda inflicted on him as he casually walked down the porch steps without bothering to draw his own weapons.

Instead, he looked Link over and remarked, "Well, well. Looks like you were acquitted."

Sneering, Link returned, "And it looks like you were stabbed."

Dark Link smirked, but before their exchange could continue, they both turned their heads at the sound of horses in the distance, getting closer to the home.

Some of the townspeople were riding in, and the notice prompted Dark Link to state, "Well, I guess it's time for one of us to go."

"Yeah, you," Link remarked seriously, rushing him with a deft swipe of his sword at his shadow's injured side.

Yet the mimicry sidestepped, only narrowly avoiding the blow before finally drawing his own blade and bringing it around to meet his light half's with a loud ping of metal.

Zelda watched their frenzied movements, finding that if not for the difference in coloration, she'd have quickly lost track of who was who. With the same stances, the same fighting styles and speed, they simply moved too quickly to keep track of—and she was honestly amazed by their deft exchange of blows.

Link had already proven his mettle countless times, but even his show of skill in the Temple of Fire didn't match his drive against the mimicry now. Sadly, the shadow kept up despite his injury, and her magic was too exhausted to cast any shields for Link, leaving her hoping he remembered the Fairy Maiden's gift.

Betarro and Olnor arrived as she had the thought, their horses drawing to a stop nearby, and upon seeing the intense sword fight taking place, Olnor went wide eyed.

"Two of them?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, that's what Link said before I released him," Betarro replied, tugging out his bow before nocking an arrow and directing his friend to, "Aim for the one in black!"

Taking aim with him, Olnor held his arrow in wait of a clean shot as Link battled his dark half. Metal clashes echoed loudly around them, and Link barely avoided a slice to his side as his opponent moved at an arc to draw his blade around.

But before that arc could be completed, Link raised his own sword, meeting the blow and deflecting it.

With his weapon forced back, Dark Link's torso was left open, giving Link the chance to strike. Immediately taking it, he lashed out, and with no time to draw up his shield, the shadow reacted by flipping backwards into the air.

The agile movement was performed despite his injury, serving as a reminder that he was no natural being. Still, his landing several feet away provided Link the opportunity to draw his blade back, holding it high with his shield up for protection as the Master Sword began to glow in his hand.

Now that Zelda had taught him a bit of magic, he instinctively understood his ability to charge the blade with power, and a low whir sounded as the weapon slowly grew brighter. In turn, Dark Link rushed toward his light half after his landing, ready to resume their brawl—and the moment he drew in close, Link responded.

Turning the blade with a swing of his arm, he unleashed the energy now charged in the weapon, sending it out with a spin his dark half didn't expect. As a result, a bright arc of energy flared out around him, smashing into Dark Link's shield with enough force to send him flying backward through the air.

Crashing into the ground several feet away, the mimicry slid to a stop with a pained grunt. Though the impact was absorbed by his shield, it reverberated throughout his body, weakening him in a way he'd yet to experience.

Still, he forced his head up, instantly spying Betarro and Olnor nearby with their arrows trained on him. Being so far away from Link gave them both the clear shot they'd been waiting for, and Betarro didn't hesitate to call, "Now!"

Sneering, Dark Link swiftly rolled aside as their arrows cut through the air to pierce the ground where he'd been just a moment before. Having evaded their first shots, the shadow then took off toward them, lifting his shield when another set of arrows sailed in his direction.

Each projectile pinged the protective barrier in quick succession, harmlessly falling to the ground as he moved while lifting his sword back in his arm. Without hesitation, he then slung it forward, throwing the blade through the air at the closest of the two—Olnor.

Now following his shadow, Link saw the blade flying through the air in a deft spin, inevitably embedding itself into Olnor's gut.

Instantly, the elder councilman's bow and arrow fell to the ground as Betarro called his name. But he couldn't respond, too shocked by what had happened to move a muscle as Dark Link swung up behind him and mercilessly shoved him out of the saddle.

Taking only enough time to tug his blade from the man's falling body, the mimicry immediately goaded the horse into a gallop to make a quick escape—in Link's direction.

Forced to duck to the side in order to avoid being run over by the black stallion, Link rolled into a crouch, then stood up to watch his dark half retreating with a scowl. History was repeating itself, and the shadow was running away the moment he felt the fight was no longer in his favor, making the urge to mount Epona and follow seem like a good idea.

Yet Link didn't want to abandon Zelda or the two men who'd tried to assist him, particularly considering Olnor's injury.

At the thought, the thud of Betarro's boots hitting the ground drew his attention, and he glanced over to see him lifting Olnor into an upright position while calling his name.

Sheathing his sword, Link immediately joined the men with Zelda at his side, and seeing Olnor's condition, he asked her, "Can you perform the spell you learned in the fairy cave?"

"No, I don't have enough strength right now, and besides, his wound is too serious."

Gazing over the scene in thought, Zelda suddenly snapped her fingers, exclaiming, "Wait, I'll get one of the fairies we were given!"

At that, she turned to run to their horses in order to grab the jar containing the healing fairies as Link knelt next to Olnor with Betarro on his opposing side.

"Just hang in there a little longer, Olnor. We have a healing fairy that will fix you right up."

It was hard to tell if he understood because he didn't respond. Instead, Olnor slowly reached up and placed his hand on Link's shoulder, saying, "I'm sorry we … judged you. Can you forgive us?"

Providing a small smile, Link covered Olnor's hand with his own and related, "I don't hold any of you in contempt, so just rest easy, okay?"

Taking a slow, shaky breath, Olnor nodded as Link lowered the man's hand to place across his chest in the hopes of making him more comfortable until Zelda returned. In the process, he realized Betarro also had a guilty look in his eyes, proving his own remorse for his earlier treatment.

That's when Zelda returned with the bottle containing the fairies clutched in her hand, and she immediately knelt next to Olnor before removing the cork. Holding up his hand to cover the opening, Link waited for one of the fairies to drift up to his palm, and soon enough, one did.

Instantly, the pink orb of light passed through his hand, causing it to glow before the fairy went spiraling through the air above the injured man, releasing tiny twinkles of light.

The three of them watched as she drifted further into the sky, then looked back down at Olnor, his breathing growing steady and pallor returning to normal.

"Where did you find that?" Betarro inquired.

"The Fairy Maiden of Lake Hylia gave her to us," Zelda answered while using the sleeve of her blue blouse to wipe the line of blood trailing from the corner of Olnor's mouth.

"You'd use that to help us?"

"Of course." Shrugging plainly, she asked, "Why wouldn't we?"

Betarro stared at her incredulously, and Link got the feeling he still felt guilty, though he didn't comment on the matter. Instead, he regarded Olnor once more, and in seeing how much better his friend looked, a grin spread across his lips.

"You just won't ever die, will you, old friend!"

Smirking, Olnor shook his head and returned, "Not while I'm staring up at your ugly face."

Betarro let a loud laugh, patting his friend's shoulder in a manner suggesting he was finally convinced Olnor would fully recover. Yet he soon sobered up from his mirth and cast a relieved, but solemn look at Zelda and Link with an apology.

"Whether you hold us in contempt or not, I am truly sorry for accusing you both of that evil bastard's crimes."

Link was ready to inform the man that he didn't need to apologize if only because no one would've ever expected to find an evil copy of him running around causing trouble. Yet he was interrupted when Kiama called to her father from a short distance down the road.

Everyone glanced over to see the young lady heading toward them with Nissa trailing behind. Earlier, as soon as the fairy led Link to Zelda, he'd asked her to go find Betarro and try to make sure the man stayed as far away from his mimicry as possible, fearing something like what happened to Olnor would occur.

But the man was already off looking for his friend, so Nissa stayed with Kiama, who eventually couldn't wait at home any longer and asked the fairy to accompany her to the unoccupied home.

Now, the moment the fifteen year old saw the blood her father's friend had shed, she gasped and moved in more quickly.

"Olnor!"

"It's alright, sweetheart," Betarro reassured, putting his arm around her shoulders as she reached his side. "Olnor's fine. Your friends here saved his life."

Exhaling a deep breath, she smiled warmly at Link and Zelda, and somehow, the look made them feel much better. There was no way to reverse all of the damage Dark Link had done, but they'd fixed what they could, and true to form, Link told them, "It's nothing," with a shake of his head.

"Humble," Betarro chuckled out, then looked over at Kiama to state, "We'll need someone to help me get Olnor inside."

Trying to get up now, Olnor countered, "I can walk, Betarro. Everything's fine now."

"Quiet you old fool, you're going to be cared for, fairy magic or not. You might not die staring up at my ugly face, but you definitely won't die because I'm too stupid not to listen to your stubborn whining."

Olnor grumbled over his friend's protectiveness, causing Link to grin as he offered, "I'll help you."

"No, I'd rather you go with Kiama to find someone. I don't want her alone at night for too long after what happened with those men."

Thinking that sounded fair, Link nodded and stood with Kiama to get started. As he went, Zelda remarked, "I'll wait here with them, alright?"

"Alright," Link acknowledged, departing with Kiama, and Zelda could hear the girl asking him about what had just happened.

Yet she was distracted from the sight of them walking away when Olnor observed, "He's a noble young man."

She nodded in agreement, and the thought of his nobility reminded her of how she truly felt for him. Her encounter with Dark Link was frightening, but it had proven the extent of her emotions, leaving her wondering precisely how she should conduct herself with her friend in the future.

Yet she had no time to consider it now. Instead, Betarro captured her attention by stating, "Forgive me, my lady, but I must ask … you're the Princess of Hyrule, aren't you?"

Zelda turned a surprised look on the man, her lips parting despite her uncertainty over how to reply.

"I, well … ."

Holding up his hand to stop her, Betarro remarked, "Don't worry, it's just that Zelda is a name commonly used by the royal family, and Olnor and I both know the true story of the king thanks to an old friend of ours who used to serve as a royal guard and held answers to many rumors flying out of the palace most citizens weren't privy to."

"I see," Zelda returned, feeling better about confirming his question. "Then yes, I'm the true daughter of Hadinaru and Nissandra, though I won't be the Princess until we succeed in taking the crown from Ganondorf."

"Hopefully," Olnor started, his voice full of conviction, "that will be sooner rather than later, particularly if your kindness is any indication of the type of ruler you'll become."

Zelda granted Olnor a small smile, hoping for the same thing while finding it strange that they'd encountered a number of people now who were so eager to see her take the throne. Perhaps her own self doubt was the culprit, but it almost felt as if they were putting the cart before the horse by placing their hopes on her.

Regardless, she couldn't allow herself to provide a confirmation that she would be a capable leader, and instead remarked, "I can only promise to try my best, but for now, let's worry about taking care of things here."