"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."

~Mahatma Gandhi~

Ancient Roots

Chapter 10: Shackles

~Zelda~

The first thing I'm aware of is the deafening silence.

It's cold and unwelcoming and instantly puts me on edge. I'm lying on my back against cool stone, though my mind's so hazy that I can't make out much else—I can't even open my eyes. As soon as I try to move, however, a storm of pain tears through my body and a strangled cry escapes me. It burns strongest in my stomach and refuses to stop. Tears sting at the edges of my eyes and I'm too weak to hold them back or press my hand to where the pain is coming from.

W-What happened to me…?

I try and focus on my breathing and fixing my faulty memory. I remember Eldin, I remember trekking up the volcano. We were going to the Earth Spring. Yes, the Earth Spring! I remember us finding Link on the way—he was so happy, so full of life, I want to see him but I don't remember where he is—and we reached the temple.

I frown. We reached the temple but I can't remember anything after that—it's all a blur.

Either way, I'm in pain now and a lot of it. Something must have happened. Through my daze, I vaguely remember Link's wide eyes as he disappeared—

My eyes fly open, only to immediately fall back shut when the pain intensifies.

I remember now. The memories of the ambush outside the Earth Temple return with so much force that I gasp and flinch, even if the movement only makes the agony worse. I remember Impa's betrayal, Ghirahim's arrival, Link's surrender, the blood, the pain, the fear and then darkness.

The Demon Lord's knife sliding into my middle.

I have to see…

My eyes don't want to open at first but I force them to and it takes more energy than I would've thought. My world is a blur for so long as I simply stare up at the ceiling above me, enduring through it all until my vision clears up a little. Taking a deep breath (which is more of a gasp), I swallow thickly and raise my head with a grunt; what I discover fills my heart with dread.

I look up to find the hilt of the knife—Ghirahim's knife—still poking out of my middle.

As soon as I lay eyes on it, the pain flares up twice as much and I collapse against the stone. I don't even have the energy the cry out. All I can do is lie here and pray that my suffering will be over soon. I stare at the strange, eerie bones that hang high above me and my eyes start to flutter as the pain becomes unimaginable.

I sense movement nearby and wearily crack my eyes open. Through a half lidded gaze, I spot a hooded figure a few paces away. Though I'm certain they're too tall to be Link, I strain myself to hoarsely call out his name. The figure pauses before continuing on towards me until they're suddenly kneeling at my side. They're wearing a cowl so I still can't see their face and a deep sense of fear roots itself in my heart at the thought of who it could be.

I'm sure that it's not Ghirahim—he wouldn't act so stealthily if he were here to finish me off. And it can't be Link, Karane or Pipit either because they wouldn't hide themselves from me. I squint at them in a desperate, but vain, attempt to figure out who they are. They raise one hand above me and their other hand reaches for the knife—

"N-No…"

The figure hesitates for the briefest of moments. Then they look at me with their bright red eyes and whisper, "I must. I'm sorry, Your Grace…"

Red eyes… no… it can't be…

I don't get a chance to speak before Impa—the rogue Sheikah who betrayed us all—utters something in a language that I don't recognise. Her hand that's raised above me suddenly glows a pale blue and everything happens at once. She swiftly pulls the knife out with one hand and tosses it away before she immediately applies pressure to the wound with both hands. I scream and my back arches as the blue light overwhelms me.

I black out.

It feels like years pass before my eyes are open again. I don't remember waking up; my eyes were open and now I'm awake again. My vision remains hazy, but more from being unconscious rather than from searing pain. Now that I think about it, the pain's gone too. I can still feel a tingling sensation in my middle, but it's only a dull pain now. Fatigue still wears me down, yet it's nothing like what I've dealt with before.

I sit up with a grunt and look down at my wound. My dress is covered in sticky blood, and there's so much blood that it hasn't even dried yet. I gape at the severity of the blood and gingerly pull at the material to peer at the wound beneath. My skin is just as red as my dress, though there's no bleeding wound. In fact, there's only a scar left.

Impa…

She healed me; it's the only explanation. Ghirahim promised not to kill me so I can only assume that she was carrying out his orders to keep me alive. Anger burns through me at the memories of her betrayal and I know that I can't let her get away with this. But I also know that I have bigger fish to fry right now so she'll have to wait for the moment.

Casting my gaze around the space, I find myself on a raised platform in a cavernous room encircled by a ring of golden fences. I can't see much off to my right, though I can see a large incline off to my left. I strain myself to see where it leads, but the fences obscure my vision. All of my things are gone—the Goddess Sword, my harp, my bag—and with it my supplies; Goddess above I'm thirsty. I'm also the only one here and that's not a comforting sign.

Where are the others?

The sound of metal moving suddenly grabs my attention. I turn my gaze down to the source and find a shackle around my ankle. I instantly panic as I follow the shackle's chain to a bolt nearby and rush to try and free myself, only for the shackle to fall off my ankle uselessly. What the—?

I lean down and pick it up. Someone had chained me down, but they didn't bolt it into place. Who would forget to lock the bolt? No, that can't be right. Unless someone wanted to pretend that I was chained and faked this, there's no other pragmatic reason why this happened. I frown and let the shackle drop to the floor; that's one less problem to deal with, at least.

Now just to tackle all the other problems…

I hear a door opening in the distance and I quickly put the shackle back on just in case it's a guard or worse. My heart starts to pound as footsteps echo around the chamber, making it difficult to figure out how close they are until a pair of familiar faces round the corner off to the right and I almost cry from sheer relief.

"Karane!" I gasp. "Pipit!"

The two knights stare back at me with a mix of shock and joy. Karane covers her mouth to supress a sob and, once making sure that the area is clear, they both rush towards me. I shrug off the shackle with ease and yelp when she bundles me up in a tight hug, struggling not to cry into my shoulder as she holds me close. I hug her back with a similar ferocity, glad to be alive and know that they're alright.

Two found, one to go.

"You're alive," she whispers over and over. "Thank the Goddess you're alive…"

"I'm alive," I murmur back, still a little surprised myself. "I'm here." Once Karane pries herself away, I smile and hug Pipit just as tightly before shuffling back and clambering to my feet. "What happened?"

Pipit frowns, "We were captured, but we escaped and managed to find each other. Impa appeared and returned our things and tried to insinuate that we could all work together to save you but we told her to leave. Now we're here." His eyes find my bloodstained dress and I suddenly feel self-conscious, "How did you…?"

"Impa saved me," I say quietly. They look at me with wide eyes. "I… I don't remember much, but I'm certain it was her. I'm sure they want me alive so she was just following orders." Karane pulls out her canteen and offers it to me. I take it without question and drink as much as I can allow myself. I instantly perk up and thank her as I hand the canteen back. My heart squeezes when I ask, "Have you seen Link?"

Their sombre expressions are all I need to assume their answer.

"I'm not sure how deep into the Earth Temple we are," Pipit muses. "But there seems to be only one direction we can head in, so that's a good sign at least." I force a pitiful smile. I doubt their spirits are very high, but they're trying to be positive and so should I.

"As long as we can get home before sunset," I mutter under my breath. Karane tenses.

"Oh Zelda…" I can sense what she's about to say before she even says it, "The sun's already—"

"Don't," I croak. "Don't say it."

Worse enough that we've been betrayed, handed over to our enemy and still have one person—arguably the most important one—left to find, but add the fact that the sun has set and my mind spirals. With no concept of time in here, I can only hope that we can find the Goddess Sword and get some information from Fi on how we can escape this dratted place. Until then, we're stuck in the den of our enemies for Goddess knows how many hours and no idea what's coming next.

We're doomed…

Karane passes me a reassuring look that I don't have the energy to return. She glances at Pipit then and they exchange a look I can't quite describe. Something else happened that they aren't telling me, but it looks like a private conversation rather than something that'll help us to escape so I decide not to question it right now. I can ask Karane about it later.

But as we get ready to set off, we hear an all too familiar chuckle bouncing around the chamber.

Not now…

"Oh, it's you." We spin around to find the Demon Lord lazily leaning against the nearest fence, his fingers curled around a dark knife. It, like his gloves, is stained with blood. The problem is, I don't know whose blood it is. My heart starts beating faster as his eyes find each of us. He smirks, "Such a bittersweet reunion… though I see there's still one lacking in your party."

"And we'll find him," I growl. "We don't need you getting in the way of that."

His smile morphs into a grin, "Or so you believe. You keep forgetting who holds the power here." My gut twists when I remember what happened the last time he said that. But before I can question him, something appears in his free hand in a flash of diamonds. My eyes widen.

It's a key.

Karane stiffens, "W-What—?"

"You must know by now that I'm a man of my word," the Demon Lord cuts in before she can finish. Pipit scoffs but Karane and I remain silent. "And I believe that if you want to free the boy, then you'll certainly need this. So, as a man of my word, I wish to offer another proposition to you all; one you surely won't want to miss out on!"

Pipit, determined to keep the situation under control, steps in front of us with his weapon extended, the glow of the lava around us illuminating the metal beautifully. "Why don't you start by telling us why our friend is so important to you?"

I can't help but wince at his tone. The Demon Lord doesn't seem like the one to respond well to such a demanding person and, from the look on his face, I'm right. Ghirahim tilts his head with a smile, "Only a friend, hm? I'm surprised you don't think of him as anything more. After all, you seem rather protective of him like a brother."

I reach out for Pipit's arm and silently pray that he doesn't take such cruel words to heart. Ghirahim can read us like a book and knows what chords to strike because that's exactly what Link and Pipit's friendship has been, or that's how the islanders see them anyway. Either way, Pipit's pride doesn't falter and he rises to the challenge of the Demon Lord's words.

"Tell us your damned proposition before I take matters into my own hands," he spits. "You didn't come here to merely taunt us."

"Of course not," he agrees. "Although this is certainly more fun than I was expecting it to be."

Karane steps forward with gritted teeth, "I'm tired of hearing you act as if everything sits in the palm of your hand. We've bested you before and we'll do it again; you won't win here, Ghirahim. No one goes after my friends—my family—and thinks they can get away with it." The Demon Lord's expression doesn't change.

"Bold words for someone who has yet to fight me."

I can feel the tension rising in the chamber and I refuse to let this go on any longer. We've quickly lost track of our goal here and I won't let Ghirahim direct this line of conversation any more than he already has. Steeling myself, I step in front of my companions despite my lack of weapon and meet the Demon Lord's gaze head on.

"Name your proposition. You may have gotten the upper hand but we'll steal it back from you, just you wait and see."

He rolls his eyes and crosses the short distance between us, stepping within inches of my face before anyone can stop him. Karane and Pipit tense at my side but fortunately don't react. "You see, Your Grace, your "efforts" to defy me will end up tipping the fragile scales of fate in my favour. And, deep down, you know this too." I merely glare back, desperately trying not to let his words affect me. He chuckles, "I see that your brush with death has improved your glares. What were once severely disappointing are now moderately shameful."

"Your proposition," I press through gritted teeth.

"Indeed." Holding up the key, he explains, "In exchange for this, I will allow one of you to see the boy. However, the two who remain must fight to be awarded the same privilege." I blink, surprised, and Ghirahim can't help but laugh. "You seem shocked, Your Grace! Surely you must understand that a proposition must be mutually beneficial for both parties involved?"

I narrow my eyes at him, "And once we win, you'll let us go?" He lets out a bark of laughter.

"Oh no, fighting to reach the boy and fighting for your freedom are two separate things, Your Grace," he says as if it was obvious. His expression darkens considerably, "But if you somehow manage to escape, then I'll whip up another surprise like after your little ceremony. Too many people have died because of storms in that perch of yours, haven't they?" My breath hitches. "And even if you miraculously escape from this place, he'll never be free of me until he's nothing more than a soulless corpse for my Master to feed upon. Do I make myself clear, Your Grace?"

"Crystal," I croak. Ghirahim steps away and clasps his hands together with a grin.

"Marvellous! Now, do you agree to my proposition?"

But I'm still reeling from his words so much that I choke on whatever I wanted to say. There's still so much that I don't know about Ghirahim's plans and how we all fit into them, but what I do know is that the more I learn, the more terrified I become. I know that the Demon Lord wants to psyche me out with such graphic descriptions of Link's death, but I can hear it in his voice—he wants these things to happen.

If anything, I'd say that this was getting personal for the Demon Lord.

Standing before him now, I suddenly feel very small and very weak. I stare at him for Goddess knows how long, his proposition and threats ringing in my ears and silencing anything I wanted to say. I have little choice but to accept the proposition if only to make sure that Link's alright, but I can feel a trap somewhere in the darkness of his words—if only I could see it.

That's when Pipit speaks up.

"Zelda will go. Karane and I will stay and fight."

His words echo around the chamber until an awful silence engulfs them. Karane and I stare at him with wide eyes, shocked that he'd say something without asking us first. He doesn't know the Demon Lord like we do and we don't know what their fight will entail—it could be against Ghirahim, it could be against an unbeatable behemoth or worse. We don't have much choice but to accept his proposition, but the least Pipit could have done was thought about it before acting so brashly.

"Stop trying to be a Goddess damned hero," Karane hisses, though it's so quiet in here that she may as well have shouted it. From the tone of her voice, I can only assume that they've had this conversation before. Pipit's face pales a little at her biting remark, then he composes himself and turns to her with a hard look in his eyes.

"Karane—"

"Don't," she snaps. "Don't even dare." I blink, surprised at her tone. She turns her attention back to the almost gleeful Demon Lord, "I'm sure you'll take Pipit at his word, so give Zelda the key and let us be done with it."

"Oh no," he muses. "This is far too interesting to ignore. How—"

"Then I'll do it myself."

Pipit crosses the short gap between him and the Demon Lord and practically snatches the key. Ghirahim lets him and his expression only irritates me further. He's enjoying this—of course he is. Adding fuel to the flames of conflict amongst his enemies brings him a joy I've never seen from anyone else before and I hate him all the more for it. He watches on as Pipit grabs me by the arm and leads me away.

"Pipit!" I yelp as I furiously struggle in his grasp, but his grip is like a vice and I can't break free. "Pipit, let go!"

He ignores me.

As he silently pulls me up the large incline, I look back at the shrinking figures of Karane and Ghirahim. All I can do is trust that the Demon Lord won't do anything until I'm out of the picture. Glancing back at Pipit, anger flares inside me again. I know he's always been a protector and very prideful of that, but in moments like this we can't afford to let things like pride cloud our thoughts, especially not around enemies like Ghirahim.

Either way, there's little I can do to stop Pipit as we reach the top of the incline where a golden door stands—just like the one in Skyview Temple. Pipit pulls me in front of him and, when he sees me rubbing the arm he was holding so tightly, his expression softens.

"I'm sorry, Zelda," he says softly. "I just… I refuse to let anything happen." Without either of us going near it, the door behind me suddenly opens. I can feel whatever's inside beckoning me from afar, yet I can't go in there without a fight. The key burns in my hand, begging to be used. As Pipit gently urges me over the threshold of the room, I ball my hands into fists.

"Let me fight with you!" I plead desperately. "Please, you can't do this alone!"

"No. We almost lost you before and we aren't going to lose you for good. Just…" Pipit hesitates, then adds firmly, "Just find him, alright? We'll take care of everything else."

Before I can respond, the door starts to reappear as Pipit turns away with a strong resolve. I cry out and take a flying leap towards him, only to meet nothing but cold door that's now covered in diamonds. I can't seem to reopen it no matter how many times I pound my fist into it. Beyond the door, I hear the screech of a horrific monster and I flinch.

Goddess above…

Everything's happened too fast and my mind can't cope. Only minutes ago was I waking up after being healed by Impa and now I'm free and somewhat closer to finding Link, but at the cost of my friends' freedom. And my traitorous mind takes this exact moment to remind me that it was me who trusted Impa, it was me who let Karane and Pipit come with me, it was me who failed to spot the Demon Lord before he ambushed us alongside the rouge Sheikah, and now it's me who's to blame.

My hope, and everything with it, dies in that moment.

I rest my head against the door, silently willing it to open but to no avail, flinching every time I hear that monster scream on the other side of the door. You should never have done this, an inner voice sneers. I don't have the heart to counter it because it's right. Why did you think bringing the others along to this cursed place would help? Did you really think you could protect them, or yourself, from the dangers here?

"Yes," I whisper, choking on my words as a single tear runs down my cheek, "But I'm not… I'm not strong enough… I—"

That's when I hear another voice.

"Who are you?" My heart soars as I immediately recognise their voice. "Make yourself known."

It's you…

The key in my hand burns again. His voice—his wonderful voice—echoes around the place I find myself in and lifts up my spirits. I slowly untangle myself from my position on the floor and dust myself off, wiping my face with the back of my free hand and focusing on who I can help rather than who I can't.

The first thing I realise is that it's much cooler in here than anywhere else on the volcano. Then I notice that I've found myself in a place very similar to Skyview Spring, except this spring is inside rather than outside. I make my way down the similar stone pathway, the torches attached to the pillars lining the path casting long shadows around me.

Climbing the stairs two at a time, I emerge in the central part of what must be the Earth Spring. It's exactly like Skyview Spring with the calming waterfalls, small Statue of the Goddess and the stepping stones surrounded by water, however there's one key difference here. My eyes instantly find the figure on his knees atop the furthest platform, his wrists chained and pain shining in his eyes.

There's blood too.

My lip quivers.

"Link!" His name comes out as a breathless gasp, but the echo in the chamber is enough for him to hear me. My eyes grow warm as I leap over the stepping stones and practically collapse before him, my breathing quickening as I spot more bruises and wounds with each passing second, the most prominent one on his side that he clutches in a white knuckled grip.

His eyes, however, are on the blood staining my dress and he gasps, "Sweet merciful Din, what happened to you?"

"I…" My voice trails off before I can finish. Not only do I not understand the first part of what he said, but what he asked in the first place is problematic. A part of me wants to assume that he's asking how I managed to survive such an awful wound, and yet he sounds like he doesn't know—or rather, doesn't remember—what happened to me outside the temple. I peer at him, my initial emotion at his pale faced, bloodied and bruised state consumed by my confusion.

Then I find his eyes and realise that his irises aren't blue anymore—they're gold.

When I realise he's staring at me and growing more anxious by the second, I swallow thickly and croak, "I-I'm fine now… Ghirahim kept his promise and kept me alive." My eyes drift down to the blood staining his tunic. "I'm more worried about you. Goddess above, Link, what did he do to you?"

His eyes narrow, "How do you know my name?"

I blink, baffled by his oddly sincere question but quickly angered by the thought of what the Demon Lord has done to him. I glance up to the Statue of the Goddess, as if she'll have the answers for me, then feel the key in my hand and take a deep breath. Whatever's happened, he's the only one I can help. Let's start with the small things and work from there…

"We can talk about that later," I say finally. "First, let's get you free and treated."

Thankfully, praise the Goddess, he complies and holds one hand up at a time so I can free him. I focus all my energy on turning the key in each shackle and pulling them away once they break open. He sighs in relief as he massages the insides of his wrists and begins to remove his gear to get better access to his wounds. He takes off his boots, effects, tunic and chainmail, yet he hesitates over removing his undershirt and, after a brief glance at me, decides to keep it on for now. I can't help but smile—whatever's going on here, it's nice to know that my Link and all his shyness is in there somewhere.

I watch him as he kneels into the water and begins to wash his side. Although I can't see the full extent of the wound, I can see the blood he's lost and safely assume it's a deep wound and I can't sit by and do nothing. I put the key to one side and take my shoes off before joining him in the water, lifting his shirt enough to help him. He stiffens at my touch but doesn't push me away.

I barely stifle a gasp at the sight before me. Although Link—or whoever this is—has managed to somewhat staunch the first and deepest wound I see, it's not the only one. There's another two slashes around the first wound and, even though they aren't as bad, they're still bleeding quite heavily. My heart sinks as I thoughtlessly reach out for the bruises on his side, wondering just how many others he has that I can't see.

"They don't hurt as much anymore," he tries to reassure me. I say nothing. "The waters of these springs possess certain healing qualities. I'll be as good as new soon enough."

I raise a brow, not entirely convinced, "Really?"

He moves his hand away to reveal the wounds beneath and, to my surprise, the two smaller slashes are starting to scar at the edges and the main wound isn't bleeding nearly as much now. He laughs lightly at the look on my face before leaning over for his discarded tunic so he can apply extra pressure to the wounds. I silently watch him as he does so, still reeling from how different he is all of a sudden.

What happened to him?

"So… you don't know who I am?" I murmur, to which he shakes his head. "What do you remember?"

He hesitates for a moment, then, "I can recall my life… though it's all a little fuzzy towards the end." He looks away and ponders his memories. "It was dark for a long time… and then I woke up here." When he turns his attention back to me and the gold in his eyes seems more prominent than ever. "Do you recognise me?" I nod.

"We grew up together in a place known as Skyloft," I tell him, and I can't begin to explain how bizarre this feels. "The Goddess chose us to drive back the darkness threatening to destroy the land below the clouds and we were, um, separated. I don't know who you are but you both share the same—" My eyes widen. "—name…"

The last piece of the puzzle slots into place in my head.

"The man you saw was the Goddess's chosen Hero, a man who fought alongside the Goddess during this land's darkest hour," Impa had explained to us in Skyview Spring. "He was the first Bearer of that heroic spirit and, after his death, the Goddess vowed that his spirit would live on in another…"

"He was called Link too… wasn't he?"

"He was, and I was his mentor."

It's starting to make sense. My brain's still addled but I can understand this much at least.

"Are you the first Bearer?" I ask him softly. He blinks, confused. "The one who fought at the Goddess's side in the war?"

There's a brief silence before he chuckles and shakes his head, muttering under his breath, "Is that what they're calling me now?" With a smile, he confirms, "I'm not accustomed to such a title but yes, I fought alongside the Goddess."

My eyes find the Goddess standing next to us and I can't help but frown. Although Ghirahim's responsible for the physical pain caused here, I'm not entirely sure he did this to Link. The Demon Lord is the sort of person to gloat and talk at length about his exploits, but he failed to mention any of this before. And Fi said that these springs are protected by the power of the Goddess; did she do this to protect Link in some way?

Whatever caused this, I need to know one thing: is this permanent? Maybe the Goddess thought that the first Bearer would be more adapted to fighting this sort of battle and chose to return him in the only way she could—by swapping out one chosen one for another. But that thought alone fills me with anger and despair; how dare she do something like that to Link!

I can't look at her anymore. My shoulders slump as I shift my gaze down to the hands in my lap. Whenever anything goes wrong, I've always had Link at my side to make everything feel better, no matter how big or small the situation. Maybe I relied on him too much and this is a rough lesson I need to learn, but this feels like it's more than that. Either way, now Link's far away and seemingly out of reach, I can't repay the favour and help him like he's always helped me.

The first Bearer must notice the change in my demeanour because he murmurs, "I'm sorry." I snap my head up and meet his gaze. "I… I didn't ask for this. I don't understand what's going on, but I'm sorry for any pain I've caused here."

"It's fine," I say thickly. "You both share the same spirit—or that's what Impa said, at least—so I can only assume that the Goddess has her own plans for you." He frowns but doesn't reply. I sigh, "I just want him back, that's all…" I jump when he takes my hand.

"I'll do all I can to…" Suddenly, his eyes widen and he laughs lightly, "I'm sorry, I never asked for your name." My lip quivers as I suppress a laugh of my own.

"Zelda." He smiles.

"Well, Zelda, I promise to do everything in my power to help you. It's the least you two deserve for being dragged into this mess." His words are incredibly kind, but those words said in Link's voice is enough to make my eyes warm.

I clear my throat and, as sincerely as I can, say, "Thank you." His smile broadens as he helps me out of the water and onto the edge of the platform I'd first found him on, and the two of us let our feet dangle in the water.

"So," he says after a while, "You said you were from… Skyloft, correct?" I suddenly realise that if he really is the first Bearer, then he won't have lived long enough to know the outcome of the war. My heart swells as I think about how I could offer him some comfort.

"Yes, it was part of the land that the Goddess sent to the sky during the war." His awestruck expression makes me smile a little. "She created a barrier of clouds between us in the sky and the rest of the land below, so we haven't returned to the land below until now."

"How long has it been since the war?"

"I-I'm not sure on specific dates…" I sputter, taking aback by his words. "But it's… it's been thousands of years at least…"

He says nothing for a while and I give him the space he needs. Hearing that the time you lived in was thousands of years ago isn't something you'd hear every day, and waking up in a body that doesn't belong to you in a time that you don't belong in is far from normal. And bringing about so many emotions for him when I only wanted to comfort him quickly starts to weigh heavy on my shoulders.

I open my mouth to speak, yet the first Bearer gets there first, "And I—we—share the same spirit?" I nod. "Are you… connected to the Goddess then, like we're both connected?" A bark of laughter escapes me before I can stop it.

"No," I reply. "The Goddess simply chose me to fight the darkness in her name."

"Strange," he murmurs. "You remind me of Her Grace; you have her eyes."

My eyes widen. Was Her Grace the formal title for the Goddess? What's more, after all this time of hearing Ghirahim call me Her Grace and him believing that she and I are the same person, was he really referring to the Goddess? I thought his problem was that I constantly got in his way, which is certainly true, but is it really because he thinks I'm the Goddess? The first Bearer raises a brow at me when laughter bubbles up from my chest.

"Her Grace is the Goddess?" He nods slowly, as if it was common knowledge. I turn my head up to the ceiling and sit back on my hands, "I can't believe he thinks I'm her…"

"He?"

"The Demon Lord," I reply without looking back at him. "He's adamant in referring to me as Her Grace." The first Bearer shrugs.

"She came to this land once. Who's to say that she couldn't do it again? And besides," he adds after a pause, "She told me that the next time I would meet her, she'd be standing before me as a simple human."

I frown, unable to deny his argument no matter how much it unsettles me. If Link's connected to the man who fought at the Goddess's side and is now a part of this mess, then it'd make sense for me to be connected in a similar way. But to be connected to the Goddess? Surely that's a little far-fetched, right?

The first Bearer sighs into his hand and slumps forward a little, and he waves me off when I gently touch his shoulder, "I'm alright," he assures me, "This body is weak, that's all."

My lips part and I can't mask how offended I am in my tone, "W-Weak? You—"

"No, no," he steps in with wide eyes. "I mean that it has endured much and needs its rest, but I can hold out. I meant no offense."

Either it's his manner of speaking or purely because my heart still hears my Link, but I let it go and it's for the best because moments later I hear footsteps echoing around the spring. I dart to my feet and silently gesture for the first Bearer to stay put as I fail to keep my fears in check. I do my best to reassure myself—if it were Ghirahim and Impa then they would appear out of nowhere rather than take the front entrance—though I'm barely comforted by it. I leave the first Bearer's side for a moment and jump over the stepping stones before skidding into a halt at the top of the steps, my heart skips a beat when my eyes find a pair of familiar faces.

"Karane! Pipit! You're alright!"

And they are, surprisingly. Apart from a few scrapes and Pipit's slight limp, they're alive and better than I ever could have expected. The Goddess Sword is strapped to Karane's side and she holds my harp in one hand. They smile as the door fades back into place, opening their arms as I jump down the steps and draw them both into a tight hug, my knees weak with relief.

"We're alright," Karane breathes as I hold them at arm's length, although she seems somewhat hesitant. "Well… we only made it here because of Impa."

"W-What?"

"We were fighting the monster that Ghirahim sent after us, but she stepped in before it could do any real damage against us," she explains. "She held it at bay so Pipit and I could escape; she's still fighting it now."

I shake my head, "Why would she do that?"

"She seemed genuinely worried for us," Pipit says. "But she probably just wanted to keep us alive and make things more interesting. Either way, that's all behind us now." His eyes flicker to the spring behind me and he tentatively asks, "Is he here?"

I follow his gaze and think on how I'm going to word this. Wringing my hands, I reply, "He's here, but…" I bob my head from side to side before finally focusing on Karane, "Do you remember what Impa said about the first Bearer?" She nods. "Something happened and… Link's here, but it's the first Bearer here who's speaking through him."

Karane nods slowly but Pipit shoots me a look, "I don't understand."

"It's difficult to explain, but all you need to know is this: Link is connected to someone who fought alongside the Goddess in the war, and it's that person who you'll see soon." His face loses a bit of colour and I pass him a comforting look, "He's confused and he didn't ask for this, but he wants to help us."

"Well, we can do our best," Karane reassures us with a confidence that doesn't reach her eyes. "That's all we can do, right?"

I nod but say nothing, unable to be as hopeful as she's trying to be. We make our way through the spring with ease, though the knights behind me swear under their breaths at the sight of all the blood staining the stone ahead of them. The first Bearer straightens as we cross the distance between us and him, and he forces himself into his feet with an effort and bows his head.

"This is Karane and Pipit," I clarify. "We were separated by the Demon Lord."

The first Bearer smiles sadly, "I hope it offers you comfort to know that he has plagued this land for many lifetimes—he's remarkably persistent." Pipit and I return the smile but Karane frowns, unable to keep her eyes away from the blood and chains at our feet.

"Are you in pain?"

"I have spent four years of my life in chains. I'm used to the pain that they bring," he assures her, then, "As for the rest… you have nothing to worry yourself over. I've endured far worse."

Before Karane can press the issue further, however, the Goddess Sword on her side glows and Fi appears in a burst of light. The first Bearer tenses, though his expression quickly shifts into one of confusion and partial recognition—his eyes shine with emotion. He gazes at Fi and seems torn over whether to ask something, only for her to speak before he can decide.

"Dominae, I am pleased to see that you have made a full recovery from the Demon Lord's ambush," she greets. I smile. "I believe we have pressing matters to attend to regarding the Spirited One's condition." I nod and nervously clasp my hands together.

"Do you know what caused this?"

She nods, "From initial scans, I can conclude that after the Spirited One was brought here and assaulted by the Demon Lord—" My breath gets caught up in my throat, her words making the reality of what he went through so much harder to cope with. Goddess above… "—he revived more memories of the first Bearer's existence and, combined with the power of the statue he prayed to, momentarily lost himself within those memories. This, in turn, allowed the first Bearer to surface."

I swallow thickly, "And… is there a way to help him?"

She gestures to the harp in Karane's hand, "I conjecture that your harp wields the power necessary to revert the Spirited One to his previous state."

The thought of having a way to bring Link back makes my heart swell with relief as Karane hands the harp back to me. I smile at her before turning to the first Bearer. Noticing the exhaustion weighing him down, I ease him onto the ground and rest my harp in the crook of my elbow. His eyes find the golden instrument and he smiles.

"Well, I certainly didn't think I'd see this again." He raises his head and his smile fades, "I can't apologise enough for what I've done." I soothe him but he shakes his head. "I didn't ask for any of this, I swear it."

"I believe you, and there's nothing to forgive," I say honestly, taking his hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. "I hope that you can get the rest you deserve." He nods.

"And I you, Zelda. I pray that you and my successor are quickly relieved of this burden that you've been entrusted with." He reaches up and gently touches my cheek. I melt into his touch. "I can see in your eyes that you've been through much, but I can also feel the Goddess's strength in you. Don't lose hope, Zelda—believe in your strengths."

He pulls away and allows me to begin plucking at the strings, silently bowing his head as he listens along. I don't have the heart nor the voice to sing alongside the melody, too fearful that this won't work. I chew my lip as a soft, golden light envelops him and I pray for Fi to be right.

And the Goddess listens.

A few moments later, the light recedes from sight and he suddenly falls towards me. My gasp echoes around the spring as I drop the harp and dart forward to catch him, falling back as his dead weight collides with me. With a pounding heart, I turn him over into my lap and pull at his eyelid to be sure that it's worked.

There's no gold, just the brilliant blue that I remember.

Tears sting at the edges of my eyes as I turn to the others and tell them, "He's fine." The relief is evident on their face as Fi glides forward.

"Dominae, I have a status report," she says, confirming what Karane tried to say earlier by explaining, "The sun set during your imprisonment, meaning that you will not be able to return to the Sky Realm for a minimum of six hours and twenty three minutes. I advise that you make use of this protected area and allow your party to rest before attempting escape in the morning."

Not all of my prayers have been answered, it seems.

I thank and dismiss her, the weight that was momentarily lifted by bringing Link back now forced back onto my shoulders. The other knights look as tired as I feel, but our night doesn't end here. We need to clean and bind Link's wounds, care for whatever wounds have been inflicted on the others and then rest up. After that comes our plan for escape, and with it another nightmare.

"But if you somehow manage to escape," Ghirahim's voice coos at the back of my mind. "Then I'll whip up another surprise like after your little ceremony. Too many people have died because of storms in that perch of yours, haven't they? And even if you miraculously escape from this place, he'll never be free of me until he's nothing more than a soulless corpse for my Master to feed upon. Do I make myself clear, Your Grace?"

I glance down at the sleeping form in my arms as Pipit and Karane take a seat a few paces away to give me some space. My conversation with the first Bearer, something I'm still reeling from a little, still rings in my mind. And the thought of whatever Link endured before the first Bearer surfaced still chills me to the bone—he went through it all to protect us from harm, as per his agreement with the Demon Lord outside the temple.

"You're too selfless for your own good," I whisper to him as I pull him in close. "But I won't let you ever sacrifice yourself for us again."

I sigh as I close my weary eyes.

It's going to be a long night…