Ch. 17
As soon as Vaati was gone, something seemed to disappear from the castle. Nothing happened for a moment, but then the castle started sinking from the sky. Haeda's eyes widened and he ran to the wall. He looked over the edge. The ground was getting closer and closer. He turned back to Zelda. "We have to get off of this thing!" He cried.
She hastily nodded and climbed back down the ladder. When she was gone, Haeda shifted his gaze to Ganon. The man was looking at the stone beneath him; utterly frustrated. After a moment more, Haeda went down the ladder himself. Ganon then looked down for himself. He began to watch Hyrule come closer and closer…
Haeda caught up with Zelda halfway down the staircase. "How are we going to get out? We're in the sky!" He asked her.
She turned to him momentarily. "I'm not sure…but we should be able to figure out a way." She responded.
Haeda groaned in despair and went faster. His thoughts were racing through his head, along with what Vaati said: You and your friends shall die here.
Then it struck him.
"Zelda, we have to get back down to the dungeon!" He exclaimed.
The Princess barely had any time to look back at him when he sprinted past her. "Wait!" She stuttered; running as fast as she could to keep up.
When she reached the entrance hall, Haeda was already descending the flight of steps to the dungeons. He slid across the floor when he got to the bottom and rounded the corner into the corridor. He regained his footing crazily and sped forward. A bewildered Zelda scrambled after him. "Where are we going?!" she gasped.
Haeda didn't answer. He was looking into each cell rapidly; as if he were desperately searching for something. "Help me look!" He finally answered.
Zelda was puzzled, but she did so anyway. "What are we looking fo—"
She was interrupted by a cry of triumph. Haeda had come to a stop in front of a cell. He immediately cut through the lock with the Master Sword and flung to door open. He rushed inside without hesitation and was talking rapidly to someone.
Zelda huffed irritably at the neglection and ran up to the cell he just infiltrated. She was about to shout at him, but her mouth stopped in its tracks. Inside the cell was a boy that looked much like Haeda. The tips of his blonde hair were dyed orange instead of green; and he had a brown vest with a loose off-white shirt underneath. He wore brown pants and had deep blue eyes. "Ruto!" Haeda repeated endlessly; carefully cutting the cuffs off of the other boy's wrists. He tore the cloth off of his mouth and immediately Ruto embraced Haeda. "Ruto, I can't believe you've been here this whole time!"
The other boy smiled. "If I wasn't gagged, I would've shouted at you. Your hair is too thick to receive any noise anyway." He joked. After a second his face grew more serious. "We need to get Midaylia out too."
At that Haeda sucked in his breath and stepped back out of the cell. "Let's go!"
Zelda merely stepped out of the way; index finger still half-risen for her forgotten rant.
There immediately was another shout of triumph as the two boys located Midaylia's cell. They knocked down the door quickly and rushed inside. The girl looked up from where she was sitting. Her eyes were shining. Haeda and Ruto worked together to cut her handcuffs. One came off easily, but the other one didn't even show any signs of relenting. All the Master Sword could do was make small scratches in the metal. "We don't have enough time! Just cut a link!" Zelda cried from the doorway. Haeda did so without hesitation. "Now let's go!" The Princess called.
The four rushed back upstairs. Haeda jumped to a window. There was not much more air between them and the ground. There was only one solution to this problem. The boy leaned out the window and immediately felt the rush of the air on his face.
"From the troubled skies above
Teota Bird come
For we are in need of your power
Make the skies untroubled
Teota Bird come
For we are in need of your power
Teota Bird, please come!"
There was a loud screech from the sky and the mighty bird swooped down from the clouds. Its wings were pulled tight to its body in a steep dive. I am here for you, Haeda! It called. The bird cut through the air like a knife and flew underneath the falling castle. As soon as it was under; it spread its wings. A cushion of air blew up against the castle's underside. It jolted as its speed was cut down. The Teota bird screeched again as it pulled back up into the sky. It spiraled around the castle and came up to the window which Haeda was leaning out of. Zelda, Ruto, and Midaylia rushed to the window to see the spectacle. Come, the castle is safe. The bird said. It was then that the four teens realized the castle had landed softly on solid ground. But the dark cloud was still spreading farther and farther across the sky.