Chapter Twelve: The Return to Hyrule
Once inside of the small room that would temporarily be his cell, Link sat down in the one and only chair and sighed. He could tell—despite the blinding light coming from her body—that Navi was glaring at him irately. "What?" asked Link.
"I wish I knew what. You know Link, I can be really helpful. Have you forgotten all the times I helped you in Hyrule. Why did you ignore me, huh?"
"Navi, honestly, I'm sorry. I was just in a bad mood because of all that had been happening. I know how much you've helped me in the past, and we definitely need to help each other in the future, if we want to stop Astralose. So let's just put this little tiff behind us. All right?"
She sighed and fluttered up next to Link's left ear. She cuddled again the side of his head as she lightly touched his skin. Link could feel the warmth from her glowing body and knew that she was giving his ear a hug with her miniscule arms. "All right Link. I'll forgive you. But try and listen in the future. I really can be helpful."
"I know. Thank you. So what do you think Astralose is going to do? I mean, how is he going to pull out the Master Sword?"
Navi paused and hesitantly said, "I don't know."
The hero had known her long enough to tell when she was not being completely honest. "What Navi? Do you know how he plans to do it?"
"Maybe."
"How?"
"I can't tell you Link. I'm sorry. It would be better if you didn't know."
"Navi, please. I need to know. We need to stop him before he enters the Sacred Realm."
"There's nothing you can do to stop this. Like he said, it's not up to you."
"Who's it up to?" Navi fluttered in place quietly. "Navi, who's it up to?"
The fairy sighed audibly. "I think you'll know soon enough."
"So there's nothing I can do. What if we're able to escape?"
"Well, of course it would help to escape. But do you really think we'd get far? They're on horseback. We would be on foot," stated Navi.
"Well, this is great. How am I supposed to fight against something when I don't even know what it's planning to do? Ganondorf, I knew what he was going to do. Majora's Mask, to a lesser degree, I knew what it was going to do. But I have no idea what Astralose is going to do. And since you're not telling me, I don't suppose I will any time soon."
"Link-." Suddenly the door was slammed open and three men traipsed in.
"Astralose is ready to leave for
Hyrule. We are to leave immediately." One of the men walked up to
Link and grabbed him by the shoulders. He lifted Link—who only
weighed eighty pounds—and threw him over his shoulder. "Grab the
fairy!" ordered the man. "But be careful with her."
One of
the men pulled out a black bag and quickly threw it over the fairy,
who had tried to flutter away unsuccessfully. He bundled the bag
gently and walked out of the room with the imprisoned Navi. The man
carrying Link soon followed. The third man gave the room a swift look
over and then shut the door behind him on the way out.
Link was taken through the mess hall and out a door that he had not seen on his previous voyage through the room. Through this door was a small entry chamber and another open door that led outdoors. Link was carried out of this exit and found that he was no longer in the desert. "I must have been unconscious for a long time," he thought quietly.
They were now in an area of grasslands, which was brightly verdant and filled with many pleasant-smelling wildflowers. Link saw about fifty horses moving about the area, trampling the numerous flowers without even a second thought. Many of the horses bore Astralose's men, while some were still being prepared for what would prove to be a lengthy voyage. Link turned his head around to look behind him—his neck protesting with a twinge of pain—and saw a large, decrepit fort. The building had a large tower rising from its center. This steeple was adorned with a large flag. On the flag was a stylistic eye, with a single teardrop dropping from its bottom.
He knew that the flag was familiar, but it took him a moment to realize what it was. "The Shiekah?" he whispered questioningly to himself, yet his captor still heard him.
"Huh?" the man grunted. He turned around and saw where Link had been staring. "Ah, yeah. The Shiekah. This was one of their outposts many years ago. They have many forts like this spread around the lands outside of Hyrule. They used to inhabit them to ensure that no enemy could attack Hyrule unbeknownst to the King. But they've long been abandoned. They do make good shelters though. Now come on, our horse is ready."
"Horse. Oh no! Epona! Where is she! What did you do with her! She was by my side when you attacked. Where is she!"
"Hehe. She's perfectly fine. The boss plans to sell her when we get to Hyrule. After all, we have plenty of horses already and that horse is far too small for any of us to ride anyway."
"You can't sell her."
"Oh, but we can."
"If you do, I'll get her back. And I swear I'll use her to strike down your boss, you, and the rest of your band."
The man laughed heartily. "You're funny kid. I know you're supposed to be some kind of hero or something, but do you really think you're in the position to be making threats. You're our prisoner. We'll do whatever we want with you, your horse, or your fairy, and there is nothing you can do about it."
Link bit his lip furiously. He knew that there was nothing he could do yet. But he made sure to memorize this man's face. He would be the first to fall when Link broke free and mounted Epona once more. The stranger carried Link up to a magnificent auburn-colored charger and set him on top of it. Then he quickly followed. Not long after, the old man Astralose emerged from the Shiekah's ancient outpost. "We ride now. We ride for Hyrule. Follow me," he ordered as he climbed onto the back of his own steed. He spurred his horse brutally and his men followed without hesitation.
They rode through the seemingly endless meadows all day. By nightfall, the wide grasslands had begun to transform into thick woodlands. They spent the night under the shadows of the mighty oaks' boughs. Link had difficulty falling asleep with five guards all around him, but he was eventually successful. The next day continued much like the one prior to it. When it was nearly dusk, a large cliff suddenly appeared in the forest. It rose up into the air nearly three hundred feet. Astralose led his men westward alongside the base of the cliff until they came to a narrow ravine that ran through it. They turned south and entered the shadowy canyon.
The chasm was heavily forested and took an hour to traverse. At its far end it came to a sudden stop. The canyon opened up into space. There was a thirty foot drop to a small lake below. Link was brought through the dense trees to the edge of this short precipice. As he looked down, he recognized the lake. He was looking southward over Zora's Fountain. He was in Hyrule at last.
