Chapter 6: Slipping into Slumber

Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of Link alone in the Temple of Time. Impa placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Do not fret Your Grace; you will see the Chosen Hero once more."

"But for how long?"

"What do you mean?"

"During the cleansing in the last spring, the Goddess revealed to me that I must use my own power to seal Demise until the Chosen Hero comes."

Impa nodded; knowing full well what I must do. "I imagine your friend does not know of your fate?"

I simply shook my head. I couldn't tell him during all the terror of Ghirahim's arrival at the temple. I knew that Link would make it through the Gate of Time and he would find out soon enough. Imagining the painful look on his face was more than I could bear to think about. Link has always been there for me and I trusted that he would be there to wake me when the time was right.

"In the meantime Your Grace, we must prepare the chamber and the necessary…." Impa paused. I walked over to the altar in the temple. I pushed open the giant doors, gazing at the pillar of light. I knew what I would have to do in order to seal myself and yet, I was unafraid. I knew that facing Demise would be a challenge but I had faith in Link; I knew he would not let me down. "Your Grace, is everything prepared?"

"Yes."

"I shall await the Chosen Hero just beyond the Gate of Time and I will inform him of his fate."

I shook my head. "No."

"Your Grace?"

"No. I must tell him." I insisted. Impa advised me that I must have the chamber properly prepared and pray before the arrival of the Chosen Hero. I nodded my agreement. Impa told me she would still wait just beyond the gate for Link to arrive; she will tell him nothing of my fate or his. I knelt at the altar and began to pray. "Grant Link the courage to pass the trials of the hero. Grant him the wisdom to know where to find me…" I paused. A single tear fell from my eye. I didn't want to hurt Link but this was the only way to keep Demise from freeing himself in my own time.

Impa broke through the doors. "Your Grace, the gate is starting to activate. Link will be coming through momentarily."

"Here we go." I sighed to myself. I rose off my knees and folded my hands in front of me. I closed my eyes. "Please grant him the power to save us all."

"Zelda!" Link exclaimed as the doors squealed open. "I'm so glad I have finally found you!" I turned around to see my dear friend standing there, with that beloved smile on his face.

"You've come so far Link. I'm glad you made it."

"I'm glad that you're okay. You haven't been hurt have you?"

"I am well. I imagine Impa filled you in on everything."

Link shrugged his shoulders, at which I smiled. He was the most responsible and careless person I knew. "We've traveled very far from home…to the distant past." I was glad Link didn't interrupt me with a smart comment. "In this era, the wounds inflicted on the land during the battle between the goddess and the demon king, known as Demise, have not yet healed. All the fairy tales about that war we heard growing up in Skyloft…incredible as it may seem, they appear to be all too real."

"I'm figuring all that out myself. The Knight Academy did not prepare us for this. How does this even involve us; why are we even here?"

I sighed. "I think it's time you learned the whole story. Let me explain." I began to tell Link the story of the great war between Hylia the goddess and Demise the demon king. The old gods created a supreme power; one that gave anyone who possessed it the ability to shape reality and fulfill any desire. They called it the Triforce. In his thirst for power, Demise readied a massive army of monsters for war. He sought to take the Triforce for himself by force.

Hylia feared for the lives of her people and so she used her power to send both them and the Triforce to the sky on a slice of earth. That land later became the home of her people. We now knew it to be the land called Skyloft. After a long and fierce battle, the goddess Hylia succeeded in sealing away Demise. However, soon after it became clear he wouldn't be sealed for long. The goddess herself had suffered grave injuries and knew if Demise broke free, there would be no stopping him and it would be the end of the world for all.

In order to put an end to the demon king, Hylia devised two plans and set them into motion. First, she created Fi, the spirit within Link's sword. Her single purpose was to assist the goddess's chosen hero. Her second plan was to abandon her divine form and transfer her soul to the body of a mortal. She made this sacrifice so the Triforce could one day be used.

"I don't understand. Why couldn't the goddess just use the Triforce and defeat Demise?" Link asked.

"For though the Triforce was created by gods, it could never be wielded by one. Knowing this was her last chance, she made the sacrifice and gave up her divine power and immortal form. You've figured it out by now haven't you?" I asked.

"I am the chosen hero. Which makes…." Link trailed off. I could see this was painful for him as well. I felt such guilt, knowing what lay ahead and now knowing how that would affect him.

"I am the goddess Hylia reborn as a mortal." I finished.

I decided to tell Link what had happened after the two of us got separated during the wing ceremony. The tornado tore me out of the sky and I landed on the surface. I told him that I was nearly captured until I was saved by the old woman in the Sealed Temple. I walked closer to him, so that I may look into his eyes one last time.

"I had no memory of my existence as Hylia but she helped me. That is when I set out to pray at the temples; to bring back those lost memories. All of this is part of the same great effort to prevent Demise's revival. He was stripped to the form of an abomination; even so he is more than capable of devouring this land. We must stop him from freeing himself. At any cost." I took a deep breath and continued.

"That is why I intend to remain here to sustain the seal as best as I can. As long as I do, we may be able to prevent Demise from reviving himself in our own time."

Link gasped. "Zelda, no you can't!"

"I must. I must maintain the seal that Hylia, rather…I created. With the memories of my former life restored, I know this is my true purpose. The task of standing against Demise in his monstrous form rests on your shoulders."

"Back in our own time, you defeated Demise twice now and I can't thank you enough for that, Link. During your long journey, you've grown so much. You have learned true wisdom, power, and courage. Now that these qualities reside within you, you are ready. You can claim the Triforce." I held out my hand to him. Link gently placed his hand on mine and knelt. He bowed his head and placed his free hand over his heart. I recited to him the words I had memorized long ago.

"Valiant hero, you have endured many hardships and journeyed far in your quest to reach this place. Along your travels, you have found wisdom, power, and courage and for this I shall bless your sword with the goddess's power. May it give you and your sword the strength to drive back the abomination threatening this land." A mark of the Triforce appeared on the back of Link's hand, just as I knew it would.

"That mark proves you are the hero of legend and sacred power dwells within you. It is the mark of the Triforce. Stand now Link and draw your sword." Link's sword had now taken the goddess's blessing, revealing its true form. Link gazed in shock and awe at his new sword before sheathing it on his back. I turned from Link and began my slow ascent, back to the pedestal where my temporary cocoon awaited.

"Link, before I say another word, I feel I owe you an apology. That mark symbolizes the most powerful force in this world. If you can claim it, we will defeat Demise once and for all. The problem is, only the select few souls, those with unbreakable spirit, can claim the Triforce. No one knows the reason the gods created the Triforce but I have my own theory. They created it so that no god could harness its power and I believe they did this to give hope to the mortals."

"Which brings us back to you. To face Demise and give the land hope, Hylia needed someone with unbreakable spirit; you. But spirit alone wasn't enough. You had to overcome trials and awaken the hero within you to come this far. And so Hylia…I mean…and so I knew that if it meant saving Zelda you would throw yourself headfirst into danger, without a moment's doubt. I used you. I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for pulling you into all of this, Link. But you have to understand, this is a war and the fate of the land hangs in the balance. I needed your strength to tip the balance in our favor…All that may be well intentioned and true, but it doesn't excuse my actions and I am prepared to pay the price for my actions."

I finally made it to the altar. I could not bring myself to face Link just yet. "To ensure the seal holds, I will remain here in deep sleep for thousands of years."

"No! You can't do this! You can't leave me like this"

When I did face Link again, I felt tears streaming down my face. I would miss him terribly and I internally wished him luck on the next leg of this journey. "Link, I can't say this enough. I'm so sorry for the way I had to involve you in all of this. But until the memories of Hylia returned to me, I had no idea you and I were fated to walk on this heavy path. Before all of this, I was happy to spend my days with you in Skyloft. I wanted those days to last forever."

"I was too. We can have those days again. Please, don't do this. Just come back with me; we can…" The light begins to encase me, Link rushed to me. The case surrounded me and he was unable to reach me. Link pounded on the glass. "No! No! Zelda wait!"

"While I am Hylia reborn, I am still my father's daughter and your friend."

"Zelda no! Please!" He begged.

"I am still your Zelda."

"Zelda please! I can't leave you! Stay here with me! Zelda."

"When Demise is finally gone, there will be no more need for the seal. And I will be able to wake up. So I'm going to ask you a favor sleepyhead. Ever since we were kids, I'd always be the one to wake you up when you slept in. But this time, when all of this is over, will you come to wake me up?"

"I promise. I will not abandon you Zelda." The light flashed and I fell into deep sleep.