"The land was saved, but the seal that kept the Demon King imprisoned was weak. […] Thus, the Goddess Hylia decided to renounce her divinity and be reborn as a human."

~Hyrule Historia~

Ancient Roots

Chapter 19: Hylia

~Interlude~

As a parent, the worst thing you can hear is how much your child has suffered when you were unable to protect them from the dangers of the world.

So, when Instructor Horwell came to Mallara's door and told her the news of her son's horrific injury, she'd never ran so fast in her life to be at his side as he world shattered around her.

Zelda and Karane had brought Pipit back to the Knight Academy just after midday and, by the time Mallara arrived, the two girls were off being tended to while her son was being treated in Link's dorm (though she was confused and worried that the room's owner was nowhere to be found even though he'd returned alive and well only a few days ago).

At first, the Skyloftian mother was furious that her son wasn't brought to their home so she could look after him herself. But when she considered how dusty and unclean her house was (she still needed to do yesterday's dishes), she could understand that it wasn't the best environment for him to heal in.

He was asleep when she'd burst into the room and startled Instructor Owlan as he was about to begin stitching up the wound. Despite the urgency of the situation, Owlan stated in his usual kind tone that, "He is through the worst of it."

And then she'd burst into tears.

She'd sat as close as possible to Pipit as he was tended to over the coming hours, only the breeze coming in through the propped open window and Owlan's shuffling movements breaking the silence. Once he was finished, the kind man who'd saved her son's life rose to his feet and gave Mallara's shoulder a quick squeeze before leaving her alone.

Her heart beat had finally begun to relax as she looked upon her son's sleeping face, resting as if he hadn't given her the biggest fright of her life. His tunic and chain mail were neatly folded on the desk next to the bed and she started to wonder how he'd managed to be injured in such an awful way. Owlan had carefully danced around the topic and, despite Mallara's increasing panic and anger, he remained steadfast that the source of her son's pain was still unclear.

The air felt sterile and was pungent with medicinal herbs. Her eyes fell to his heavily bandaged shoulder and then to his effects resting against the edge of the bed. He always had a sword on him, as was customary for the knights of Skyloft, but she'd never seen him so heavily equipped before. She dreaded to think what had posed such a threat to her little boy.

She needed answers. Now.

And, as if her prayers were heard, there was a knock at the door and it creaked open to reveal a familiar face.

Zelda looked just as emotionally drained as Mallara felt. The mother stood in greeting but the girl lightly shook her head. Stripped of her sword, equipment and white dress she'd only started wearing a few days ago, she wore a simple white shirt, dark skirt and boots—her usual attire before the Wing Ceremony—and if it weren't for the haunted look in her eyes and sunburnt cheeks then Mallara would've thought everything was back to normal.

Zelda's eyes welled up at the sight of the room she was in, unshared memories from the past bubbling up inside her as she thought about the person who hadn't come home with her—something else Mallara still didn't know about and was desperate to understand. Seeing Pipit broke that wall and tears silently streamed down her face as she stared at him. Mallara didn't want to assume, but she could feel the guilt radiating out from the girl.

What had happened?

Then Zelda's gaze shifted to Mallara and her grief only worsened. Sniffing, she croaked, "I-I'm sorry… I should give you some space…"

She angrily wiped away her tears and attempted to leave, but Mallara moved swiftly and caught the girl's arm before she could disappear. Their eyes met—blue on blue, both shining with grief—and no words needed to be exchanged. Offering Zelda the chair, Mallara sat down on the bed and took one of her son's hands into her own.

"I don't know what happened," she began softly, trying to give Zelda the hint to explain herself. "But I can only assume he was being selfless—" And reckless, she mentally added, though she refused to say it out loud. "—like his father. The both of them always pride themselves on their duty to others. Even with his father gone, nothing has changed in that respect."

Zelda shifted her weight uncomfortably, "Mallara, he was—"

"What happened to my son?"

The girl sighed, as if weighing up her options, then she realised that Mallara was staring and lowered her head to her hands sitting in her lap, "The four of us—Pipit, Karane, me and Link…" Her voice faltered on the last name but she stayed strong. "We've been tasked with exploring a place very far away that's incredibly dangerous. Pipit was injured trying to protect us."

Her face betrayed the fact that she was clearly hiding her true feelings and the entire story, and Mallara wasn't an idiot; she'd heard the rumours, "And this place is the… Surface, correct?"

Zelda's eyes widened, "I-I—"

"I heard the Headmaster talking to Owlan and Horwell about it in hushed tones, and there's been many rumours about those beams of light in the sky," she said as if it wasn't a well-hidden secret—which it wasn't. "But I can wrap my head around that later. Right now, I ask you this as a mother: how did this happen to my son?"

The girl struggled to find her voice and Mallara waited as patiently as she could for Zelda to raise her head and explain, "The world below is a beautiful place… but there are people down there who want to destroy it. And they want to hurt Link too, and they'll do anything to make that happen. Pipit joined us in our journey to keep Link safe, but he challenged one of those people and lost. That's how he was hurt."

Mallara was momentarily speechless, then she forced out, "And… is Link safe? He didn't come home with you this time." Zelda's features twisted as he held back another wave of grief.

"He's safe," she told the mother, though it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself. Mallara nodded, trying to be satisfied with the answer but struggling, and Zelda leaned forward. "I can't express how sorry I am. I should've tried harder to stop him—from fighting the monster and from coming down to the Surface in the first place—and I… I wouldn't blame you for being angry at me."

As Zelda miserably lowered her head once again and waited for Mallara to agree, a tiny smile tugged at the mother's lips and she pushed Zelda's chin up so they could look at one another, "You have nothing to be sorry for. I know Pipit better than anyone and I know he'd do anything to protect Link. I'm angry and in pain and feeling so many different emotions right now, but I could never be angry at you for this." Zelda forced a smile but it was far from genuine. "And besides, now Link is safe like you said, you can all come home and my little boy won't have to go down there ever again."

Her eyes filled with tears, "It's not that simple…"

"And why not?" She didn't mean to ask her question so sharply, but Zelda didn't seem to notice anyway. Her eyes glazed over as Mallara let her go and she stared off into nothing in particular, like she'd heard something. "Zelda, why aren't things so simple?"

The girl blinked, "S-Sorry, I… did you hear that?" Mallara raised a brow.

"Hear what?"

She ran her hands down her face and left them there, "Not this again…"

"Not what?" Mallara asked. "Zelda, are you alright?" She was far from it, apparently. She rose to her feet so suddenly that she swayed and almost fell back over. Mallara reached out for the girl, though she'd already steadied herself against the chair before making a break for the door. "Zelda?"

With one hand on the door, the girl turned back to Mallara and she saw something impossible.

For the briefest of moments, Zelda's eyes were gold.

But no, that couldn't be true. It was probably just the candlelight playing tricks on her.

Or were they?

"I-I'm sorry… I-I have to go," was all the girl muttered before staggering out of the room and slamming the door shut with more force than she'd probably intended. Mallara climbed to her feet to go and help the girl, only to be distracted when she heard her son stirring beneath her.

Her heart soared as his eyes fluttered open and he groggily took in his surroundings. Despite still being under the effects of the potions, Pipit could make out (through blurred vision) that he wasn't in Lanayru anymore. There wasn't sand everywhere and the sun was no longer beating down on him. He blinked rapidly, attempting to collect his thoughts, though he couldn't get very far before his eyes found his mother and his memory slowly started to piece things back together.

He was back home, apparently, and he was in the Knight Academy too. He just about remembered the sword spirit bringing them back to Skyloft before the blood loss finally become too much for him and he'd passed out. Now he was here and alive, though he couldn't say the same for everyone.

He clearly remembered only three of them coming back and his lips twisted down into an angry frown. Zelda still needed to explain herself.

Before he could say anything, however, his mother was hugging him so tightly that he was thankful for all the potions dulling his pain, "Oh, my little boy!" Peeking over her shoulder, he realised that he was in Link's dorm—another kick to the teeth he didn't want or need right now. As his mother pulled away and cupped both his cheeks, he wondered when she'd finally stop calling him her little boy.

"Mom," he breathed as he looked upon her haggard state. She looked awful. Even her classic brightly coloured clothes seemed duller today, and she was harbouring more worry lines. He'd only been gone for a few days. Guilt washed over him as he realised how much he'd worried her.

"Oh honey, I'm so glad you're awake!" she said as she reclaimed her spot on the chair. "Owlan told me that you'd be alright, but I just couldn't believe him until I saw you awake. Are you alright? How's the pain? I can fetch them if you like! Oh, maybe I could steal Luv away to check you over…"

"Mom, it's alright," he cut in. She was rambling now, an old habit she'd never gotten out of. "I'm more worried about you."

"I'm fine," she was quick to reassure. "I'm just so happy now you're awake and I can look after you."

Despite her kind words, her slightly condescending tone grated on Pipit a little, but he forced a smile and decided to change the subject, "How's Karane? And Zelda too? Have you seen them?"

"They're fine. Well," she added in a way that put Pipit on edge. "Zelda seemed a little out of things when we was here just…"

He nodded, thinking back to her grief stricken face at the Temple of Time after they'd warded Ghirahim off, "She's… had a lot to deal with." He needed to give her a hug and get answers.

Mallara, naïve yet perceptive when it came to her son, noticed his change of expression read him like a book. She shook her head and said, "You can talk to them both later when you're feeling better. Now, you need to get some sleep while I go and fetch someone to check you over."

Either it was the stress of everything on his shoulders or years of built up frustration because he snapped, "I'm fine. You don't need to keep treating me like a child."

He cringed when he realised how horrible he sounded. He hadn't meant to say it as harshly as he did—in truth, he didn't mean to say it at all—but he blamed it on the potions. Pipit kept his head lowered but glanced up at his mother to gauge her response, and he quickly regretted it.

Her eyes were full of tears.

"I just want to help," she whispered. The hurt and betrayal in her voice made him feel worse. "First, you go off to the Surface of all places without telling me, then you go and recklessly fight a monster and come back with a wound so great, I doubt you'll be able to move it ever again! Then what will I do without you to help me with the house?"

Pipit, although all to used to these sorts of conversations with his mother guilt tripping him when she was mad, sighed like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, "Mom…"

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I'm not mad at you," she cut in. "I'm just mad at myself because I couldn't stop you from getting hurt. But it's all going to be fine because now I can look after you and you won't need to go back to that horrible place ever again."

A wave of claustrophobia came over him. He loved his mother more than anything. After all, she'd raised him with a loving hand, encouraged him to pursue knighthood even when they could barely afford it and she was only trying to protect him. But she couldn't see that he was growing up, or just didn't want to accept it. Yes, he was reckless when he fought Ghirahim, but he'd do it again and again in a heartbeat to protect his friends.

And now she was trying to confine him like a child.

While a part of him told him to sit there and take it even though he wasn't just going to sit here whilst his friends were in danger, the other part of him knew that he couldn't. Taking a deep breath, he took the plunge, "I'm not going to sit here while my friends go back down to the Surface and put their lives on the line," he said firmly, making sure he looked her dead in the eyes as he said it. "You can't stop me."

Her lips parted, "But sweetie, Zelda told me that Link's safe. You don't need to—"

"He's safe for the moment, but you don't understand what we're up against," he interrupted with more curtness than was necessary. "Those people down there… they won't give up. When I became a knight, I promised to dedicate my life to the protection of others. And to protect Link, Zelda, Karane, Skyloft and you, I have to go back down there and help. I can't just sit by and ignore everything I swore to do as a knight."

"But it doesn't have to be you!" she snapped. "Why do you think it always has to be you to put yourself on the front line? Goddess above, you're just as duty bound and reckless as your father…"

It wasn't the first time she'd compared Pipit to his father. After all, he was everything that Pipit wanted to be—a good, strong knight who never let anything stand in the way of him honouring his duty to his island. And while that duty may have gotten him killed, Pipit believed wholeheartedly that it was the most honourable way to die.

Mallara, on the other hand, didn't see it that way.

"You want to protect me and I want to you protect you," Pipit insisted. "I turned nineteen last month. I'm old enough now to make my own decisions, and I want to help. Please… just let me take care of you."

Mallara grabbed her hair and bit back a growl of frustration. Taking a deep breath, she straightened her hair and held back the storm of tears in her eyes as she replied in a low tone, "Have it your way. But just remember that your father had the same obsession with duty, and now look where he is. And if you can't see that you're following in his footsteps… then I didn't raise you properly as your mother, and I'm sorry for that."

Pipit remained silent. After all, what could be said in response to that? Too overcome with her own words, Mallara made for the door, only for a loud crash upstairs to make her stop.

It came from Zelda's room.

~Zelda~

I stumble out from Link's dorm with a gasp, clutching at my chest as I fail to catch my breath. My world spins as I stagger towards the steps and bump into a passing knight and mumble some semblance of an apology. They reach out and stabilise me and I realise that I'm shaking. Their lips move but I can't make out what they're saying. All I can hear are those cursed voices.

"Remember…"

"I'm fine," I mutter to the knight, pushing them away and dragging myself up the steps. "I'm fine…"

If you say a lie enough it soon becomes the truth, right?

When Instructor Owlan had told Karane and I that Pipit would be alright so long as he stayed here so they could keep an eye on his shoulder, I'd wanted to see the news for myself. I should've expected to see Mallara there and the tense conversation that would be (after all, I did let her son get stabbed), but I just wanted to tell him how sorry I was for letting him get hurt.

The guilt of letting Pipit get hurt and the pain of losing Link is tearing me apart.

And then those voices started up again to make things worse.

The problem is every time I've heard these voices before, it's always left me confused or lightheaded, but something about this time feels different. As I almost trip over on the final step, panic rises in me as I wonder why this time is so different. First I start hearing voices when I'm not praying to the Statue of the Goddess in the springs, then I start seeing things when I'm not praying to the statue in the springs, and now I can barely walk because those voices are too damn loud in my head and they won't shut up and I'm struggling to see and I—

"Try… try to remember…"

"I'm losing it," I whisper as I fumble for the door knob. "Goddess above, I'm really losing it…"

I break into my room with a laboured breath, dazed and confused. With my back resting against the door, I sink down to the ground and rest my head against the wood as I try my best to clear my vision. I sit there for Goddess knows how long, yet the storm in my mind doesn't lessen one bit. It's strange how you can feel both numb and overcome with emotion at the same time.

"Zelda?"

I barely register the voice at first until they say my name again and knock—it's Karane. My vision blurs again and I almost fall to the floor in a heap. Praying that she hears me, I croak, "H-Help…"

But she doesn't hear me.

"One of the knights came and told me you weren't alright," her muffled voice says. I close my eyes to try and focus on her words but it's so difficult. "Did Mallara say something to you? Or did something happen? Please Zelda, just let me in. You can always talk to me."

I would if I could move.

As I sink closer to the floor, however, my focus shifts from Karane's pleas to my sewing desk. Using plans that Gondo had drawn up for us, Link and I had spent one summer's afternoon building and painting it together until we just ended up throwing paint at each other and descended into madness. Link's shining face matted slightly with paint as he fended off my attacks makes a tiny smile pull at my lips, but it fades when I go back to what had originally caught my attention.

We'd carved and painted golden triangles into the top of the desk.

My mind throws me back into that memory I saw with those golden triangles when I looked at that monument in Lanayru Desert.

"That was commonly referred to as the Hylian Crest—a symbol of the humans the Goddess sent to the sky on an outcropping of earth."

As if pulled by some unknown force, I clamber to my feet and ignore whatever Karane's saying outside to cross the short distance between the door and the desk. I reach out to the triangles and, as my fingers brush over the painted wood grain, I gasp when they start to glow. My heart starts pounding in my ears and I can feel a headache coming on.

"Keep it together," I hiss, smacking my head lightly. "What's wrong with you?"

"You must remember…"

That's when I start noticing more triangles dotted around my room, from the embroidery on my bed sheets to the spines on my favourite books about the Goddess to even the knitting designs piled up on my sewing desk. Each of them start glowing as I set my gaze on them and I feel my eyes rolling back in my head. I shake my head violently, panic and desperation clawing at my heart as those glimpses of the past I've been seeing flash in my mind's eye.

"Would you do me the honour of teaching me how you humans dance?"

The last time this happened, I had someone here who understood, who could keep me grounded and sane.

He's not here anymore.

"Link…"

"I am impure; my honour no longer exists."

"The sword will decide whether or not you are impure… Link."

Stumbling back into the middle of my room, I turn around over and over again as the lights make everything disorientating and terrifying. I can't hear Karane anymore. I try to call out to her, to anyone who can hear me, but no sound leaves my throat. I suddenly wonder why no one's come to check on me with all these lights streaming out of my room, but then I realise that only I can see them.

That doesn't make me feel any better.

I stop turning when I notice an even brighter light coming from the baskets underneath my bookshelf. I can't catch my breath as I drop to my knees and crawl over to them, dragging them out with a grunt and frantically searching for the source of the light. I catch my finger on something and even though it doesn't draw blood, the phantom sensation of a sword makes me flinch.

"We shall all meet again. And when we do, I shall teach you what it means to feel the wrath of a demon!"

My heart leaps when I finally locate the source of the light and tug out a small box. Taking out its contents, my lips part when my gaze falls onto the golden necklace dangling from my hand—my mother's favourite. Not only was it her favourite, but it's just like those triangles I saw in that monument above the Temple of Time: one triangle split into three.

"What have you done with the golden triangles?!"

The lights are getting too bright now; I can barely see the necklace. The world pitches as I shoot to my feet and my vision is awash with gold as I collapse back against the sewing desk with a crash.

"They have gone to a place that you will never achieve!"

Everything goes white, but I can still feel the necklace in my hand.

"Protected by my beloved people!"

Everything goes back.

~O~

It was dark in the Headmaster's office of the Knight Academy, though shafts of moonlight seeped in through the partially open stained glass windows to reveal two figures in the corner. Nestled in a rocking chair in front of the bookshelves was a sleeping woman cradling a bundle of blanket in her arms—her child slept just as soundly. Only her soft breathing could be heard and not even a sudden breeze that swept through the office could wake her.

Unbeknownst to the sleeping mother, an ethereal figure appeared amongst the moonlight that streamed into the room. They were a woman too, though she was not of this world. Bright blonde hair swayed with her idle movements and her blue eyes that shone with warmth, yet her clothing—a pure white dress that swept across the floor elegantly—was not of this island, for she was not one of them.

At least, she wasn't one of them in her immortal form.

The spirit's complexion soon shifted to one of grief as she looked upon the mother and her child. This was all her fault, even though it was necessary for the survival of her people. Although she shouldn't have slipped back into the world of mortals in this form, she had to gaze upon the one she had chosen to bear such a heavy burden. Her other chosen one slept elsewhere on this island, though she refused to look at him—lest her grief over his ancestor tear her apart once more.

Both of them would suffer greatly when they were older.

And it was all her fault.

She was using them—children, just mortal children—for the greater good of the world. Although she as a Goddess, her time on the Surface had given her the conscience of a mortal. While she didn't regret what she had learnt from them, she regretted becoming so attached to those she'd sworn to protect. Her emotions, mortal emotions, were getting the better of her.

"You must understand," she murmured to the slumbering form in the chair. "We are both mothers. We both love our children and will do anything to protect them. Please harbour no anger for using your child in this way… this is what must be done…"

Why was she doing this? What would this achieve?

Nothing. It would achieve nothing. If anything, this was only making her guilt more painful to bear.

"I can already sense such a strong energy from her," the ethereal figure continued, peering over to see the child asleep in her mother's arms. "She shall grow up and become an incredible woman—smart, kind, caring…"

If only she didn't have to destroy that for the sake of the world.

She shook her head, "I will protect her with every fibre of my being—that I promise. Until the time comes when I must guide her to the land below the clouds, she will grow and live and laugh and love her life." She smiled then. "And I will ensure she finds the boy who will love and protect her with his heart and soul."

The mother began to stir and the figure disappeared into the night. In the moonlight, the mothers necklace—a triangle split into three pieces—glinted.

From a plane of existence far from mortal eyes, the Goddess wept, "I, Goddess Hylia—protector of life and all that is good—have transferred my soul to the body of a mortal. Zelda… I am sorry…"

~O~

I tear back into reality with a gasp. My world slams back into place and the sudden change from my vision swimming to it returning to normal makes me nauseous. Slumped against my sewing desk, I'm shaking like a leaf as I tighten my grip on the necklace in my hand and try to process what I just saw.

"Please harbour no anger for using your child in this way… this is what must be done…"

There's a knock at the door.

"Zelda?" It's my father; he sounds worried. "Zelda, what's going on in there?"

I don't respond.

Crawling back over to those baskets underneath my bookshelves, it's almost an unconscious thing as I pull out a small hand mirror and peer into it. I don't know why, but something's telling me to look into it.

And what I find terrifies me.

Just like what happened to Link in the Earth Temple and the Temple of Time, I see myself in the mirror, but my eyes aren't the blue I recognise—they're gold.

For a second, I don't see myself in the mirror.

I see Her Grace.

I see the Goddess.

I see Hylia.

"Zelda, are you alright?"

It all starts to make sense.

"That's why they've been calling me Her Grace," I murmur. The person in the mirror stares back at me with a mix of shock and awe gleaming in her golden eyes. "I didn't believe them… but they were right all along…"

This is why I've been seeing those flashbacks to the Goddess when she walked the Surface, just as Link's been seeing those flashbacks to the first Bearer when he was alive.

Just like Link, I share a soul with another.

In my mind's eye, I see the first thing I saw—no, remembered—when I took up the Goddess Sword. I see the Goddess and the first Bearer… or do I only see me and Link?

I hear my father calling to me and I slowly push myself to my feet. After the terrifying panic and disorientation I felt before I blacked out, I suddenly feel strong and more sure of myself than ever before, like I've finally found the final piece of the puzzle. The storm in my mind is finally still and I've stopped trembling. I know who I am and what I must do.

Opening the door, I look up to find my worried father gazing down at me. His eyes widen as if he's not sure of what he's seeing, but my voice is calm as I stand tall and finally address him.

I've never been more sure of anything in my life.

"Father, I am the Goddess reborn as a mortal."