Chapter Six

Link stifled a yawn, forcing the heavy lids of his eyes to stay open as he glanced over the rest of the escort in an attempt to distract himself from how tired he was. The group was fairly small, only about twenty of them all told – they had left the majority of the entourage back in Kakariko, including all of the regular soldiery. The current escort consisted only of the princess's personal attendants and the Royal Knights themselves.

A trio of goron emissaries had met them in the village this morning, and now walked at the front of the group, deliberately limiting their long strides so as not to leave the smaller hylians behind. Despite their hunched posture, the guides still stood at least two hands taller than anyone else in the retinue, and moved with a grace that belied their massive stature over the uneven stone.

The rugged path was more than a little treacherous, too much so to risk bringing horses along, and Link allowed himself a small sense of satisfaction every time he saw Zelda trip or stumble on the uneven ground. He had tried to tell her that she wasn't dressed appropriately for navigating rough terrain, but she had insisted that she needed to properly present herself to the goron patriarch and elders. There seemed little chance of that now – the hem of her white gown was covered in light brown dirt and dust from the trail, and dark patches of sweat were visible under her armpits and down her back. It was quite a hike up to the goron stronghold and mines, and the Princess was obviously not used to physical exertion. As he watched she shot him a defiant look, daring him to say anything. He simply smiled back before looking ahead to the goron guides once again. Luckily for her, they were already more than three-quarters of the way up and it wouldn't be too much longer before they arrived.

Ashei had decided to come along, as well, and she trudged along on the other side of the group next to some of the other Royal Knights. His gaze lingered on the adventurer for a little while, and when she noticed him looking over at her she flashed him a grin. Link turned his head to hide the hot flush that crept across his face; memories of the previous night rushing through his mind. Next to him, Bain coughed quietly to get his attention. The red-haired knight glanced over at Ashei, then looked back at Link and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Link shook his head and focused his gaze firmly on the ground in front of him, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other and ignoring his companion. He didn't particularly want to talk to anyone about last night. Luckily, Bain was the only one so far who had noticed Link acting oddly around Ashei this morning – he didn't think he could stand it if Zelda noticed and decided to make a comment.

His respect for Ashei hadn't lessened at all – thinking about it afterwards, it was perfectly in character for her – but he felt ashamed that he had given in to her advances so easily, with only the barest hint of a struggle. Silently, he made a vow never to drink more than one mug of wine in a single evening again. He pushed away thoughts of running his hands over Ashei's bare flesh and turned his mind instead to Tuli's research.

How much longer would it be before all this time and effort he had spent paid off and he was able to see Midna again? Months and months had passed by with no firm leads, no solid steps to take. It frustrated him. When he had been with Midna she had always been able to see the next step, to show him what needed to be done. Now, alone, he was lost, with no clues whatsoever as to what he was supposed to do.

The two trains of thought mingled briefly, and he found himself wondering what it would be like to be with Midna like he had been with Ashei last night. Had the Twili princess been with anyone before? The fact that he hoped she hadn't made him feel even guiltier. Not only was he weak-willed, but he was a hypocrite as well.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. The procession reached the goron stronghold soon enough, with the princess somehow managing not to appear too dishevelled when they met with the four goron elders. None of them had changed much, since Link had last seen them. Gor Coron was the largest of the four elders, with purple markings painted on the round belly that bulged out above his loincloth, and he greeted the young knight warmly. The former sumo champion had taken charge of the goron people when Darbus had been infected by the twilight magic of the Fused Shadow, and despite the other elders appearing to be much older than him they still seemed to defer to his judgement. Link still couldn't tell whether the long dreadlocks down Gor Ebizo's back were made of hair or rock, but then again he wasn't particularly curious about the nuances of goron physiology. Gor Amato was leaning on his cane more heavily than he had when Link had last seen him, the vents on the small, wrinkled goron's back and head expelling small wisps of smoke as he greeted them. From what the young knight could tell, Gor Liggs appeared to be the closest the gorons had to a shaman or wizard, although his laid back attitude, bizarre feathered headdress, dark body paint and peculiar movements made him the strangest Link had ever met.

Directly after the elders, the goron patriarch himself approached, bowing deeply to Princess Zelda. Darbus was massive – a towering mountain of a goron easily as wide as he was tall – with rocky outcroppings around his wrists, across his shoulders and down his back. Despite his fearsome appearance, Link knew that Darbus was kind at heart, and would not hesitate to help anyone in need. The goron patriarch gave a short, booming laugh and slapped the young knight on the back heartily as he welcomed him, almost knocking Link from his feet, and they all made their way into the grand hall where they would spend the next few hours discussing matters of state.

Link enviously watched Ashei disappear down a side corridor as he sat cross-legged on one of the stone floor mats the gorons used instead of chairs, settling in for the long haul. He was excluded from much of the conversation, which suited him fine, and he let his mind wander as the princess and the goron leaders spoke.

A young goron brought a tray with a pair of ceramic pitchers on it, and after a little thought Link gestured to the water instead of the wine, draining the full cup he was handed before the goron even finished serving the rest of the group. It had been a long hike this morning, and even though it wasn't particularly hot outside he had still worked up a sweat. The rest of the knights had either remained outside or stood at the far end of the hall mingling with some of the gorons – after a while he considered getting up and joining them, but dismissed the idea quickly after a glance at Princess Zelda.

The hall itself was carved into the living rock of Death Mountain and had a high, vaulted ceiling held up by thick, carved columns. At the far end, near where the knights were gathered, sat a circular, raised section of floor; a sumo ring. The walls were of intricate stonework, overlaid in places by paint of red or blue, and the room was lit by a series of iron braziers. The braziers were placed strategically to provide the most light to the hall, without a concern for heating – the entire stronghold was heated by thermal vents directing air from the deeper, more actively volcanic parts of the mountain. Those volcanic sections often overlapped with the extensive network of mines that the gorons had latticed the mountain with, and Link had visited many of them himself during his efforts to release Darbus from the influence of the Fused Shadow.

He could feel his legs going to sleep as the talks dragged on, and he shifted uncomfortably every so often to try to relieve the restricted blood flow. At some point he saw Ashei slip back into the hall to stand near where the Royal Knights were gathered, leaning back against a wall after snagging one of the mugs off the trays of refreshments that had been placed on a low stone table for the knights. Link scowled as Bain walked over to her and attempted to drum up some conversation, appearing to garner some success – Ashei didn't seem to be as stand-offish with him as she had the previous night, for some reason. He hoped she didn't say anything that would tell Bain what had happened last night.

"-isn't that right, Link?"

"Hm?" Link turned back to face Zelda with a blank expression on his face. He had been paying no attention to the conversation whatsoever, and his sudden inclusion by the princess had caught him off guard.

Zelda's eyes grew harder, but she did a remarkable job of hiding her annoyance and repeated herself calmly. "I said that just last night we had been talking about wrestling and the possibility of a rematch with Gor Coron, isn't that right?"

"Uh. Yeah." Already the young knight could see where this was going, and he didn't like it.

The rotund goron elder's eyes twinkled. "Right now is as good a time as any. We could do with a break from these talks, anyway." He pulled himself to his feet and stretched his limbs.

Darbus rubbed his gravelly hands together. "I heard about your last victory. I'm looking forward to seeing this. There hasn't been a good sumo match here for weeks."

"Link?" The princess looked at him questioningly.

"Sure." Link stood, trying not to fall over as he put his weight on his feet – his efforts to stop his legs from falling asleep had been in vain, and he couldn't feel anything below his thighs at all. Outwardly, he grinned enthusiastically, but inside it was all he could do to stop himself from grinding his teeth as the rest of the group stood and they all made their way over to the other end of the hall. Link resented being reduced to being some sort of petty entertainment. He was a Royal Knight of Hyrule – the hero that had saved the entire kingdom from Ganondorf's clutches – not some court jester capering around at the whims of the princess. He couldn't very well have turned the offer down, either, not without seeming a fool.

Reaching down, he massaged the feeling back into his legs as he walked. The other knights and gorons gathered around the ring once they realised what was happening, an excited murmur floating out over the crowd, and Talis and Bain approached him, offering to hold his sword and shield while he climbed up onto the raised sumo ring. As they did, he fussed over what he was going to do about the iron boots that had led him to victory the first time he had wrestled with Gor Coron.

While the gorons didn't really pay any attention to the boots, he was sure that the knights and Zelda would see them for what they were, an unfair advantage. Wrestling a goron was an impressive feat, to be sure, but it was far less impressive when you were using equipment that made the deed that much easier.

Link paused. He was a lot stronger now then he was when he had first stepped into the ring with Gor Coron. Did he have a chance of winning if he chose not to use the boots? He had no idea if his legs were strong enough to brace against the massive goron's weight on their own, but it couldn't hurt to give it a try. Well, it could, but he would even impress himself if he managed to win without the iron boots as a crutch. It made him feel slightly better, to think of it as a challenge of his skill rather than a show for the princess's amusement. Tossing his green cap down to Bain, he ran a hand through his golden hair before stretching out his arms and legs to limber them up.

He saw Ashei frown slightly as he stepped up into the ring, her arms folded in front of her gold-enamelled cuirass as she stepped closer to the action and leant against a stone pillar. It was likely she knew about the iron boots from Rusl and was wondering whether he seriously intended to go toe to toe with the former sumo champion without them.

Her dark hair was tied in its usual braids, and an image of her with her hair out, her nude body glistening in the moonlight with water from the hot springs, rose up in Link's mind unbidden before he pushed it aside hastily and tried to focus on the ring. He loved Midna, and if he had his way the Twilight Princess would be the only other person he would ever be with; Ashei didn't even enter into it. The image rose in his mind again, but this time it was Midna who was naked and wet in the moonlight. He pushed it away again. Focus.

Across from him, Gor Coron climbed up to a few cheers from some of the gorons gathered around. The two of them faced off, settling down into a wide stance with their hands on their knees. Lifting his left leg high off the ground by tilting his body, Link slammed it down again onto the stone, Elder Gor Coron mirroring the move exactly. They both leant forward, hands at the ready. From the side of the ring, Darbus raised his arm in the air then brought it down to signal the start of the match.

Link and Gor Coron slammed into each other, hands grabbing and each attempting to overbalance the other. The initial slam all but knocked the air from the young knight's lungs; he felt like he was wrestling a masoned stone wall. Gor Coron forced him back several paces, his legs feeling like they were about to snap under the massive force, before he managed to twist free of the goron's crushing embrace. The initial contact was enough to convince him was no way he was going to be able to win this match if he tried to take Gor Coron head-on.

Sidestepping nimbly, Link feinted to the right, slamming his forearm into the goron's chest and causing him to take a step back to steady himself. The knight was already dodging again to the left, ducking under the goron's arm to slam his shoulder into his stomach and wrap his arms around Gor Coron's wide girth. He strained as hard as he could, pushing them back a few paces, before the elder shoved his away and attempted a grab of his own, but Link was already dodging, keeping himself a moving target. The only thing he could think of was to use his superior speed and agility to best advantage, but he still had no real idea of what he was going to do.

Coming in for another grab, he feinted twice this time and caught Gor Coron off-balance once again, forcing the older goron back another handful of paces as his muscles bulged. The elder was ready this time and managed to latch on to Link after shaking free, regaining the ground the knight had taken and more. Link could scarcely wheeze for air while Gor Coron had hold of him, and felt like he was about to be crushed and torn apart at the same time before he managed to struggle free. His breath was coming in short gasps now, and sweat made dark patches on his green tunic. Link's constant sidestepping had brought them right up parallel to the edge of the ring now, and whoever managed to force the other back next would likely push his opponent from the ring.

He had some semblance of a strategy now; in their current position Gor Coron would expect him to continue his tactic of sidestepping and feinting, and it seemed that the goron was learning to anticipate his moves. He needed to do something unexpected, something risky. Moving as if he were about to sidestep right, Link didn't bother with a feint, instead slamming directly into Gor Coron's bulk head-on. The goron let out a surprised grunt, and sweat beaded on Link's forehead as he used raw, brute force to muscle the elder back one step, then wrenched to the left. The goron's foot slipped on the edge of the ring and he crashed down onto his back in the space on the ground that the crowd had cleared from.

Link stood there staring dumbfounded and panting heavily, his face red with effort, as a cheer rippled through the knights gathered around the ring. Bain and Talis clapped him on the back as he slowly stepped down from the ring, laughing and congratulating him. Ashei whooped and applauded ferociously, grinning and shaking her head in amazement. Princess Zelda clapped her hands, a small smile on her face. Even the gorons joined in on the applause while Gor Coron pulled himself to his feet and chuckled. "I can't even ask for the best of three – that's your second victory in a row. Considering your other accomplishments, I guess I'm not really that surprised." He reached out a massive hand to shake Link's.

The golden-haired knight could scarcely believe that he'd won. For a moment during the match he had been slightly afraid that the strain was going to deal him some sort of permanent damage, but apart from a slight soreness in his thighs and biceps and a shortness of breath, he appeared unharmed. He'd just wrestled a goron – not just any goron, a former champion sumo wrestler – to the ground with his bare hands and no iron boots. He felt superhuman.

Ashei muscled her way through the crowd to reach him, shaking her head in wonder as she did. "Those must have been some big goats, yeah? Remind me never to wrestle with you. At least, not that kind of wrestling." Link's face turned red again, this time from embarrassment rather than exertion. Did she want everyone to know what had happened between them? Thankfully, no one else seemed to notice her comment.

After the wrestling match, the rest of the visit passed quickly. Apparently the discussions between the princess and the goron leaders had been nearing their end anyway, and a scant hour or so later they were bidding each other goodbye. Their entourage was joined by a retinue of seven young adult gorons who were to join the ranks of the knight-in-training – Princess Zelda had apparently made a decision to expand the ranks of the Royal Knights to include races other than hylian. The goron's massive strength would come in handy in the defence of Hyrule, and Link wondered if she was planning a similar recruitment from the zora vassal state.

Dusk was approaching rapidly as they re-entered Kakariko Village, coming down the same path they had headed up from. They had spent around six or seven hours up at the goron stronghold, with a two hour hike there and an hour and a half back, and everyone was weary from the long day, apart from the gorons. The knights that weren't assigned to first guard tonight returned to the main entourage's campsite at the north end of the village, eager to rest and share stories about the goron stronghold and Link's wrestling match with Elder Gor Coron. Ashei was nowhere to be seen; she must have slipped away while he wasn't watching.

Link himself was heading towards the Elde Inn to get ready to retire for the evening when a horse and rider thundered in to the northern end of the village and headed down the wide street towards the inn. The young knight stopped to watch, and was surprised when he recognised the wide-brimmed wizzrobe hat atop the cloaked rider's head, and gave a wave as Tuli reined in her horse in front of him and dismounted awkwardly.

The scholar looked out of breath, and her long brown hair was dishevelled from the ride. She straightened the long, dark blue cloak she wore over her matching riding dress before flashing him a wide smile and leading the brown gelding towards him. "Perfect. I wasn't sure if I was going to have to go looking for you up the mountain or not."

"What are you doing out here, Tuli?" Link's breath caught as he realised there was only thing that would have caused the young hylian to leave the castle in search of him. "Have you found something?"

"It's nice to see you, too." Tuli grumbled. "Yes, I've found something." Her expression changed to a secretive smile as she turned and started to fiddle with her saddlebags, eventually producing a small package wrapped in brown paper and tied with string. A quick glance up at the inn and she frowned. "We should go somewhere more private."

Link looked up at the second floor of the inn to see Princess Zelda watching them from her window with an unreadable expression on her face. Nodding slightly, he waited for Tuli to tie the gelding's reins and put on its nosebag before leading her inside. A short flight of stairs and a narrow corridor later, and he was opening the door to the room he had been allocated. His eyes widened in alarm once he stepped inside and realised the room already held another occupant.

Ashei lay reclining on his bed wearing nothing but a thin linen shift that covered little and left nothing to the imagination, her armor and clothes lying discarded in a corner of the room. A pair of newly lit, good tallow candles on the narrow bedside table enhanced the failing light of the setting sun and ensured that every curve of Ashei's body was visible. "Hey hero, I decided that I'd take you up on that offer of a warm bed you made the other day..." Her expression froze as Tuli entered the room close on Link's heels. Despite the situation, Link felt a twisted sense of satisfaction in seeing the raven-haired adventurer being the one caught off-guard for a change. She recovered quickly, however, flicking the bedsheets over herself in a single deft motion to recover a modicum of modesty. "Oh. Hi. I don't believe we've met."

"Um, wow. Hi."

"Tuli, this is Ashei. Ashei, Tuli." Link tried to keep his voice level, but he couldn't stop just a hint of panic from creeping in – he had no idea how to get out of this. He didn't think Tuli's eyebrows could possibly climb any higher on her head, and there was more than a hint of a blush colouring her cheeks – he realised that the scholar must be recalling the time he had walked in on her when she had been wearing nothing but her shift.

"I… see. You're Ashei. Shad spoke very highly of you." From her tone, it was clear Tuli had already decided that he had been mistaken to do so.

"Maybe… uh, Ashei, do you want to…?" Link made a feeble gesture towards the pile of clothes in the corner of the room and half-turned, watching to make sure she would get up without making it obvious he could still see her. "There are some things I need to talk to Tuli about."

Tuli turned her head as well, and Ashei didn't waste time in wriggling out of the bed and slipping on her tight-fitting trousers and shirt over the top of the linen shift. Notably, she left her sword and armor on the ground as she moved across the room and sidled past Link, standing on tiptoes to whisper softly in his ear. "I'll be downstairs. Don't keep me waiting too long." After she left, Link closed the door firmly behind her and sagged slightly, letting his forehead bang gently against the cool wood.

"What was…?"

"Don't ask. Just… don't. It's complicated. Please." Link sighed heavily and turned to face her. "You said you have something for me?"

Tuli was looking down and fingering the string of the brown package in her hands as if unsure if she wanted to give it to him. "I managed to re-establish the Shadow Crystal's connection to the Twilight Realm."

A smile spread across the young knight's face, his embarrassment forgotten. "That's fantastic news, Tuli. Have you discovered anything further?"

"Here." She handed him the parcel. "The results of one of my experiments. I had one of the castle seamstresses help me with the measurements, it should fit."

Link undid the wrapping as fast as his fingers would let him, revealing cool black material. "A tunic?" He held up the article of clothing by the shoulders, examining it closely. The strange fabric was cool to the touch, incredibly light, and pitch-black, seeming to absorb the light around it and make the room dimmer by its very presence.

"I thought the 'Twilight Tunic' was appropriate. Try it on." She stared at him expectantly for a few seconds before she blinked and, flushing slightly, turned her back to him to give him some privacy.

Undoing his belt, Link carefully placed it on the bed along with his sword scabbard and shield, then pulled his green tunic over his head and tossed it near where Ashei's armor sat. Someone would find it and wash it for him, and there was a fresh clean one sitting draped over the simple wooden chair that sat at the foot of the bed anyway. A few moments later and he was re-fastening his belt over the top of the black fabric of the new tunic. It did fit, but it felt… odd. There was obviously some sort of magic worked into it, but he wasn't exactly sure what to expect. "Now what?"

Tuli turned back to face him again and gave him an appraising look. "It looks good on you. I'm not sure exactly how it's going to work, but uh… try to think wolf-y thoughts."

"Seriously? Okay." Link took a deep breath and focused his mind, concentrating on what it felt like to be a wolf. It had been a long time ago, but Link could remember it perfectly. The feeling of running on all fours, the sensation of the wind whipping through his fur, the enhanced sense of smell that almost worked as a second form of sight… there. Something was there now, he could feel it. Was it the tunic? Reaching out with his mind he embraced it, drawing the wolf into himself – drinking it in, revelling in it.

For a brief moment it felt like his guts were turning inside out as a familiar sensation rushed along his limbs, and as his legs twisted and shortened he fell to his hands – no, not hands any longer. Paws. He heard Tuli give a half-strangled yelp, but paid her no heed. He was a wolf again. He was surprised at how easy it had been to invoke the transformation, but then again it wasn't like he was unused to the magic. Perhaps it would have been harder had he never transformed into a wolf before.

For some reason the Twili magic that had originally transformed him into this form had failed completely once the Twilight Mirror had been shattered, seemingly requiring a connection to the Twilight Realm itself to be able to channel energy through. Now Tuli had re-established that connection, and his goal of reuniting with Midna seemed closer than ever.

He looked up at the scholar – she had an expression of shocked wonder on her face. Of course, knowing something was going to happen and seeing it happen were two different things. She had never seen him in wolf form before, let alone the transformation itself. Looking down again, he stared in amazement at the manacle and broken length of chain that sat on his left front leg – even after all this time it was still there. He wasn't sure where it went when he turned back into a hylian, but then again, he wasn't sure where all of his equipment went when he was in wolf form.

He wanted to run around, to feel the freedom and excitement of exploring in this shape again, but that could wait for now. He focused his mind and forced himself to focus on his hylian form again, and what it felt like. The transformation inverted, and after a second or two he was pulling himself to his feet, a massive grin plastered across his face.

"That was… mildly disconcerting." Tuli's voice was slightly shaken.

Laughing, Link wrapped his arms around the surprised scholar, causing her to yelp again, and lifted her off the ground, twirling around once before setting her back down. Disconcerting for her maybe – he himself was deliriously happy. "Tuli, that was incredible. I could kiss you."

The scholar turned away from him, obviously trying to hide the flush of colour that had just heated her cheeks. "Yes, well. Um. It was a long ride here and uh… I will need to rest for my return trip tomorrow. I will give you more details regarding my discoveries in the morning."

"Of course. Go downstairs and tell the innkeeper that I said she is to have a room prepared for you." Link grinned again. "Thanks for coming, Tuli. I'm happy you brought me this."

"You're welcome."

After Tuli had gone, he carefully stripped off the black tunic, folded it neatly, and placed it next to the candles on the bedside table. Kicking off his boots, he proceeded to undress for bed – last night he hadn't gotten much rest, and today had been incredibly tiring – and he was looking forward to getting a good night sleep tonight, if he could stop his mind racing from Tuli's news.

As he went to put the candles out, the door creaked open behind him and he turned his head to see Ashei step quickly into the room before closing the door behind her, a sly grin on her face as she inspected his naked body. He coloured, but only slightly. Oh well. It looked like he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, either.