Happy Saturday everyone! Second to last chapter so I'm going to make you guys wait until next Saturday for the last one because I'm kind of sad to be done this story. But don't worry, I will write more! I have another book started for Escaflowne and I wrote a short story for the Zelda fandom that I plan to post after this one so keep your eyes out for this! Be warned though... it's definitely much more mature and a bit different content than this story... But I'm still happy with it :)
As always, don't forget to review or leave a like or shoot me a message if you want to chat about the story or anything LoZ or Escaflowne related! I promise, I'm friendly!
Enjoy!
Purah met her as she walked through the wooden archway into Kakariko Village. "Princess! Are you all right? Why aren't you in Hetano? Where is Link?" She gave Zelda a once over before looking behind her for the knight then back at Zelda waiting for her answer.
Zelda looked her friend in the eyes, "Link is being taken to the Shrine of Resurrection." She waited for the news sink.
Purah's face went white as she realized the gravity of the situation. "How badly injured is he?"
Zelda looked down at the sword she was carrying and lifted it up for Purah to see. The damage was extensive with dents and cracks throughout the metal blade. The sword which had once looked so majestic and eternal now looked old and broken. It no longer shone with a holy light and the metal even seemed rusted in some spots.
Purah gasped as she looked at the blade and put a hand up to her mouth. When she finally tore her eyes away from the Master Sword, she looked back up at Zelda, "We didn't get to finish our research on the Shrine of Resurrection… but if this is any indication, he could be in there a very long time before he is healed…" She hesitated before continuing, "Do you remember what I told you before? About what the Shrine of Resurrection can do to a person's memories?"
Zelda nodded, "Yes… given the severity of his injuries… I doubt he will remember anything when he awakens." She looked back up at Purah, "I need to speak with Impa. Where can I find her?"
Purah looked over toward the manse at the bottom of the hill under the waterfall, "She is in her house." She reached into a pouch at her hip and pulled out a familiar stone tablet. "I was in the castle when Ganon awakened. I knew you kept notes so I went to your room to try to find them… Instead I found this." She held out the Sheikah Slate to Zelda.
The princess looked at the stone slate and brushed her fingers over the screen and a picture popped up of a Silent Princess flower. I took this picture that day… She thought back to the day they had been out to the Royal Research Lab and she had taken pictures of all the local flora she could find. She smiled slightly as she remembered catching the frog and trying to get Link to taste it. She pushed the slate back towards Purah gently, "Take it to the Shrine of Resurrection. Link will need it when he awakens. There are pictures within it that might help him regain his memories."
Purah nodded and started to walk past her, pausing at her side, "Take care, Princess…"
Zelda put a hand on the Sheikah researcher's shoulder, "You as well, Purah."
Purah continued down the hill on her mission and Zelda looked down the hill at the manse below and headed towards it. The village was bustling with Sheikah who were preparing for battle. Even the children were arming themselves and Zelda frowned at that. I won't allow any further loss of life.
She walked up the wooden steps and slid the door open. Impa looked toward her and frowned. The Sheikah woman looked down at the sword in the princess's hand and her eyes widened.
Zelda stepped inside and slid the door closed behind her. Impa gestured for her to sit on one of the pillows laid out on the floor. Once they were both settled, Impa watched her with expectant eyes.
"Link has fallen in battle. Robbie and another have taken his body to the Shrine of Resurrection. I expect it will be a long recovery." Zelda took a deep breath before continuing, "My powers have awakened."
Impa's eyes narrowed, "We saw a bright flash in the sky toward the battle… Was that you?"
Zelda nodded, "Yes. Link had already sustained grave injuries but I was able to deactivate all of the guardians in the vicinity."
Impa eyed her, "What do you plan to do?"
Zelda looked down at the sword that now lay across her lap, "I must face Ganon. If I can hold him off until Link is healed then we still stand a chance." Her voice was sad, "But first, I shall return the sword to where he originally found it. It will be safe there until he can find it again."
"Princess, you know that his memories – "
"I know." Zelda cut in. "Purah is taking the Sheikah Slate to the Shrine of Resurrection so that he might regain some of his memories from the pictures within it. He was present for every picture I ever took with it. I don't know if they will help but… You must guide him when he awakens. His mind may be fragile so you must be gentle with him, but guide him to remember anything you can."
Impa watched the impassioned princess with sympathy and spoke gently, "He may not remember his feelings for you… and he may not be the same person when he awakens. You must prepare for that possibility."
Zelda closed her eyes and tilted her head downward, "I can feel him." She opened her eyes and looked up at the Sheikah woman with a surety that Impa had never seen in the princess. "Even now as his life hangs in the balance, I can feel that he is still there. His feelings for me may be forgotten, but they will not ever be gone. I will be with him when he awakens."
A silence stretched out between them before Impa spoke, "I'll consult with Robbie and Purah when they return and try to figure out how best we can help him when he does awaken."
A thought occurred to Zelda, "When he does awaken… once he begins to regain his memories, be sure to give him his Champions tunic. He will need to be undressed to heal in the Shrine so when they bring it back, repair it and give it to him when the time comes. Perhaps that will remind him of his task and what will be waiting for him at the end of it."
It was Impa's turn to nod, "I will."
Zelda smiled softly and stood. "I don't know if I'll see you again, Impa…"
The Sheikah woman smiled at her softly, "You will. Be well. Be strong."
"You too." The two embraced in a long hug, squeezing each other tightly before letting go. Zelda turned and left.
She walked out of the village and took the road West out of the village toward Nabi Lake. She took the path Northward.
There were very few travellers left along this part of the road. The few she did come across barely even looked at her as they trudged Southward along the path. Their faces spoke of the horrible things they had seen while fleeing the guardians and Ganon's malice.
Zelda forced herself not to think of the people she had lost already. She could grieve once this was all over.
The rain started to fall again as she approached the Wetlands Stable. Rather than the panic she and Link had come across initially, the place was quiet and sullen. It was packed with refugees who sat all over the floor. Mothers held their children close and others stared into the distance, without really seeing anything. A few small children whimpered, too exhausted to really cry.
Zelda walked in and spotted a red haired knight. She thought she recognized him from the castle as one of Link's classmates but couldn't place his name. His eyes widened in recognition of the sword she carried.
She walked over to the table he was sitting at and took a seat which was offered to her. The knight lowered his eyes to the table in front of him.
"Sir Mido, correct?" She asked softly.
His eyes flicked up to hers in surprise, "You know my name?"
Zelda smiled softly, "I make a habit of knowing the names of all of the knights in the academy."
He looked touched by her admission then his freckled cheeks burned red and he looked down in shame, "I am no knight, Princess…"
She tilted her head to the side and frowned, "Why ever not?"
He hesitated in answering but spoke in a spiteful tone when he did finally speak, "Because no knight would run from battle."
Zelda listened and realized what he was referring to. "You were at the castle…"
Mido nodded, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
He looked up when she placed her hand gently on his arm, "There is no honour in dying needlessly. I will need the brave knights who have survived to train the next generation of knights and to teach them what they are up against when I face off against Ganon."
His eyes widened, "You still plan to fight him? Even without Link?"
Zelda smiled, doing her best to look confident, "I will hold him off until Link can return and together, we will defeat Ganon."
Mido looked like he didn't quite understand but her confidence did the trick and he smiled slightly, "I swear to you, Princess… I will train knights you can count on and when the time comes… we will be there to support you again."
She nodded to him, "I know you will."
In the morning, Zelda set out again early and headed North. The road was even more empty than it had been the day before. The further North she went, the quieter it got.
She approached the Woodlands Stable just East of the castle along the road. The stable was empty and looked like it had been ransacked. There were no horses in the stable and no people to greet her. She paused her journey to look through it sadly.
The memory of taking Link here when he'd been injured fighting off the three lynels on the cliffs above flashed through her mind. She closed her hand as she remembered the feeling of his skin when she had touched his wound. I will see him again…
She continued North past the castle and into the woods, leaving the path behind. The trees grew darker around her as the canopy blocked out the sun and she continued deeper into the woods.
Fog started to thicken around her and she knew she was headed the right way. Deeper and deeper into the forest she walked as the fog tried to slow her way. Eventually, the fog swirled around her and everything went white. When it finally cleared, she wasn't where she had been.
This must be it… The Lost Woods. She remembered what Link had told her and knew what she had to do when she saw the two lit torches ahead of her. She followed them to the next set of torches and continued like that until there were no more.
There was an unlit wooden torch on the ground nearby so she picked it up and dipped it into the flames. It lit up and she stood, watching the flames. Despite the lack of wind, the flames flickered and blew clearly in one direction. She followed the directions of the flames and stopped periodically to make sure she was still going the right direction as the direction the flames blew would sometimes change.
This continued as she walked deeper into the woods. The trees grew fewer and fewer leaves and the trunks grew into frightening faces the deeper she went.
She was beginning to feel like she had made a mistake coming here and every frightening story she had ever heard about people getting lost in the Lost Woods flew through her mind but she pushed those thoughts aside remembering what Link had told her and she kept going, following the flames of the torch.
Zelda walked around another tree and the flames flickered in a new direction. She followed them down a hill and the fog began to clear ahead of her. A massive hollow tree trunk lay on its side leading down the hill. It formed a tunnel and on the other end it was much brighter than where she stood. She glanced up again at the flames that blew strongly forward. Taking one more deep breath and steeling herself to move forward, she stepped into the tunnel and the flames suddenly extinguished. She dropped the torch in surprise but kept walking toward the lighter end of the tunnel.
When she stepped out, the air was warmer. The sun touched her skin and she savoured its glowing warmth. She was standing in a clearing and in the center was the largest tree she had ever seen. She stepped onto the stone platform with the three sacred triangles carved into it's surface and saw the pedestal that Link had pulled the sword from what seemed so long ago.
She knelt before the pedestal and placed the sword to lay across the top of it. It felt strange in a way but a part of her knew the sword to be sentient and so she felt that she owed it an explanation.
"Your master will come for you." She said softly to it. "Until then, you shall rest safely here." She paused, thinking of her brave knight healing so far away. "Although the Slumber of Restoration will most certainly deprive him of his memories, please trust me when I say that I know he will arrive before you yet again." She knelt, hands together as though praying to the sword.
A deep, voice resonated through the clearing and Zelda looked up into the face of the great Deku tree, "If I may be so bold… what is it that you are planning to do next, Princess?"
The branches of the tree split off in separate directions in such a way as to remind Zelda of big, bushy eyebrows set above a broad nose and a thick moustache. The tree had a wide mouth and a wise, grandfatherly voice.
She stood up to address him and gazed down at the sword resting on the pedestal. "The Master Sword… I heard it speak to me. It seems that my role is unfinished." She looked back up at the massive tree before her, "There is still something I must do."
The blossoms on the huge tree seemed to shiver as he spoke, "I sense there is great strength in your dedication."
It occurred to her that he might be the only one still alive when Link awoke and there was so much she still wanted to convey to Link, "Great Deku Tree, I ask of you, when he returns, can you please relay this message…" She stepped forward, "Tell him I-"
"Now, then…" The tree's deep voice interrupted before she could finish, "Words intended for him would sound much better in the tones of your voice, don't you think?"
Zelda slowly smiled up at the tree and nodded at his wisdom, "Yes."
She leaned down and lifted the blade up by the hilt, facing it down toward the slit in the pedestal. She placed the tip in the slot and drove the sword down into the pedestal as far as she could.
She stepped back from the pedestal and off of the platform where the sword rested. It glowed with a divine blue light as it rested and healed under the watchful eye of the Great Deku Tree.
Zelda closed her eyes and pictured her knight when she had first seen him with the sword on the tournament grounds. How much had changed since then… Come back to me, Link…
Her mind flashed back to what he had said right after he'd kissed her on the battlefield.
"I will come back for you" He promised before walking out onto the battlefield.
She smiled, knowing that he had meant what he'd said. He would come back for her some day, when he could. With that knowledge, she turned and left the clearing and made her way to the castle to face Ganon.