Chapter 4- A Secret Revealed

"Now, if you'll come with me to the armory, I'll show you Aria, and we'll find you some better equipment. The sword you have is very old, as is the shield and they are trustworthy no longer. You may keep them as mementos from your father, but leave them here when you travel in search of the warriors."

"Okay."

They all got up and Zelda led the way back the way they had originally come, back through the throne room and out the other side. After navigating some passageways and climbing a set of stairs, they reached the armory. Once inside, Tristan felt a strange feeling tugging at his stomach. He stopped, concentrating on the feeling. It was like something was calling to him, something deeper inside the armory. Zelda was looking around as if getting her bearings, when she felt something tug her glove. Looking down, she saw Tristan giving her an odd look.

"I think I can find Aria by myself," he said. Zelda looked surprised, but when she saw that he was determined, she nodded and let Tristan take the lead. He guided them through crates and stacks of armor, around racks full of weapons, stopping every now and then to concentrate on that strange calling that was getting stronger all the time.

Eventually, he came to a stop about halfway through the room. They were along the eastern wall now, and something kept telling Tristan that he was right on top of Aria. After concentrating for a moment, he realized the he wasn't on top of Aria, but rather Aria was on top of him. He turned and faced the wall, looked up, and laid eyes on the most beautiful sword he had ever seen, next to the Master Sword of course. It was shaped like an elongated leaf, and was as polished as a mirror, so much so that Tristan could clearly see the door they had entered through. The hilt and handle were a reddish color and of similar design as the Master Sword, but instead of a yellow gem resting on the blade at the middle of the hilt, there was a golden Triforce mark, gleaming in the torch light.

Just then, the strange calling that had been leading him on suddenly rose up to such a level that Tristan dropped to his knees, holding his head in pain. Zelda reacted quickly, in one swift motion, she grabbed a nearby cloth tarp, flung it so that it covered Aria, and knelt down beside Tristan, who noticed the calls suddenly stopped when Zelda had covered the sword.

"Are you alright?" Zelda asked, true concern hanging on each word.

Tristan nodded, "I'll be okay. It's as though Aria was suddenly screaming to be held by me. It was so loud it hurt."

"That would be the blade's spirit," Zelda explained. "It has been here for so long, away from Link or his kin. It's only natural that when it detected you that it was ready to be held again. Come, let's find you that equipment."

Tristan removed his sword and shield, placing them beneath Aria. Then he picked up two blades that were long enough to be long-swords for him, unlike the Kokiri sword, which was designed as a short-sword. Setting these down near his old sword, he turned to find Zelda who immediately began trying different pieces of armor on him.

"Your father's only mistake was that he never wore any armor at all," she was saying. Eventually she settled on putting a chainmail shirt on him, and covered that with a simple breastplate embossed with the Hyrulian royal crest. "There we are. With this, you should still be able to move as if you were wearing nothing, yet it'll give you the protection to survive some situations I thought your father would die from."

Tristan strapped the swords to his back, then placed a new shield that was exactly like a standard Hylian Shield, besides the fact it was smaller. He walked over to a looking glass and examined himself. The change was astounding; he no longer looked like a forest boy, but rather a really small knight. His hair was messy, but he'd take care of that later. Looking out the window, Tristan saw there was at least two hours of light left.

"Would you mind if I went to the barracks to practice some?" he asked. "I want to get some practice in before I leave."

"Go right ahead," Zelda said. "But first, Laima will show you to your room. You can keep the items from your father there. As for me, I must return to my study. I want to learn as much as I can to help make your journey easier."

"Thank you Zelda," Tristan said, glancing in the mirror again. He looked a lot like the painting of Link in Zelda's study. "Thanks for everything."

"It was my pleasure."

With that the three left the armory. Zelda headed back down stairs, while Laima led Tristan up two more flights. They walked down several hallways before stopping at a door. The princess unlocked it and handed the key to Tristan.

"This room used to belong to your father while he was living here," Laima explained. "From what I understand, the only time anyone comes in here is to dust. For some reason, Mom didn't want anything in there removed or even moved at all. I always had this feeling that Mom liked him more than she lets on. All his old tools from his travels are still in there I believe."

Tristan looked at her to say thanks, but she was looking thoughtfully into the room. Quite suddenly, Laima reminded Tristan once again of his father. Tristan looked down thoughtfully; I should ask Zelda about that.

"Thanks Laima," Tristan finally said. She broke out of her trance and smiled at Tristan.

"Not at all, not at all," she replied. "In fact, I should be thanking you."

"Why's that?"

"Well, when I found out Link had become deathly sick, I became really worried. Then Mom said she found out Ganondorf had escaped. She summoned Link, who by that time was living in an apartment somewhere in the city, to her for council. I hid behind a pillar and found out the horrible news. Link was unable to fight. He could hardly stand when he walked into the study. I listened through the keyhole; they must have known someone was there because they were being very vague about things. The one thing I could make out was that Link had a son and they both agreed it was high time for him to find out the truth."

"And find out I did."

"Quite. Oh, I'm sorry! I'm wasting your precious few hours before the sun sets. I need to go anyway."

"It's quite all right. It was nice to be able to talk to the princess like my father had."

Laima giggled then curtsied. Tristan bowed and Laima left. Tristan walked into the room and set his things down just inside. He couldn't go any further since the curtains were drawn and he couldn't see at first. After a minute, he could see the curtains, and rushed over to open them. Light filled the room and lit up everything. Tristan could finally see the desk, wardrobe, and bed. There was also a table and chairs, and Tristan was surprised with himself for having avoided them in the dark.

Tristan started examining the room. First he opened the wardrobe. There he indeed found his father's Fairy Bow, the Long Shot, the Lens of Truth, the shining Megaton hammer, the reflective Mirror Shield, and, remarkably, the Golden Gauntlets, along with a few other things. Tristan immediately took the Long Shot and clipped it to his belt, then tucked the Lens of Truth into his pocket.

Next, Tristan walked over to the desk. Here he received a big surprise. On it, in an elegant frame, sat a miniature portrait of Zelda, back when she was still the Princess. NOW WHAT'S THAT DOING HERE?! Tristan asked himself. He was becoming extremely confused. First his father's painting in the study, then Laima reminding him of Link, and now this?!

That does it! I need answers!

Convinced that the stairs would take too long, he dashed over too the window and looked down. Judging from the scenery, he was now directly over Zelda's study. On closer examination, he could see a thick wooden trellis surrounding what could only be one thing, the window of Zelda's study. He had noticed that there were flowers surrounding the window when he was there earlier. That had to be it.

Taking out the Long Shot, he opened the window and aimed it at the thickest part of the trellis. A small red dot on the wood told him the hook would hit and stick. Giving the handle a quick squeeze, he released the chain and heard the satisfying "thunk." The chain going taught told him the hook would hold as well. Giving the handle a quick twist, the chain immediately started pulling him downward. He flew out the window and a few feet before he reached the trellis, he stopped the pulling and kicked away from the wall. He swung around and made sure to plant his feet on the wall instead of the window to keep it from being smashed to bits. Allowing himself to hang freely, he peered inside the study.

At first he thought it empty, and noticed the window was locked. Then he spotted her over by the bookshelves near the fireplace. She wasn't looking for a book, she was staring up at the painting of Link, an expression of deep sorrow on her face. The need for answers swelling up again, and a stern look crossing his face, Tristan reached up and rapped the glass.

Zelda jumped and looked at the door, then seemed to realize that the sound came from somewhere else. Looking at the window she jumped back from shock, clearly never expecting Tristan to be hanging right outside her window. Putting a hand to her heart, she calmed down and walked to the window. She stopped dead when she was close enough to see the look on his face. Plucking up her courage, she walked forward, unlocked then opened the window, looking extremely confused.

"I have some questions I need answers to," Tristan said, swinging down to the windowsill and putting away the Long Shot.

"What's wrong with using the door?" Zelda asked, trying to sound amused. In fact, she was. What Tristan had done reminded her about what Link had done on numerous occasions while he was still living in the castle. He had always said the stairs took to long, and she expected this to be Tristan's answer, since he was so much like his father.

"The stairs would have taken too long," Tristan said. A smiled appeared on Zelda's face as she walked over to her desk. Yep, so much like his father, she thought. Tristan hopped to the ground and shut the window behind him.

"Ask away and I'll answer them as best I can," she said, sitting down.

"Let's start with why you and my dad have paintings of each other," Tristan said, pointing above the fireplace and sitting in a chair opposite from Zelda with unnecessary force. Great, now my butt hurts! Tristan thought, but he didn't move.

"How did you find out about that?" Zelda asked softly, a look of true surprise on her face, and then she remembered. Link had a miniature portrait of her that had been done a very long time ago, before he had left the castle. Tristan continued to sit and watch her, his arms folded. He reminded her so much of his father when he was craving answers the Zelda almost laughed, which would've been bad, seeing as Tristan was serious. Should she tell him the other half of his heritage now? Maybe not, unless he had found out something else.

"We had those paintings done a long time ago, before I was made queen and before Link moved out of the castle," Zelda explained. Tristan knew there was more, but also knew he wouldn't here it unless he asked his second question.

"Okay then, see if you can answer this one," he started, shifting slightly so his rear end wasn't being crushed. "Why is it that every now and then, Laima reminds me of Link when I look at her?"

The cat's out of the bag, Zelda thought. Now she had no choice. Laima had been the key and Tristan had found it.

"Alright," Zelda sighed. "Looks like I'll have to reveal the second half of your heritage. It's been a secret for many years, not even Impa knows. I must say though, you're much cleverer than your father was."

Tristan's face became noticeably softer at the mention of his heritage from his mother's side. He had wanted to find out who she'd been ever since his father died, but had been very good at hiding it.

"Your father and I, after defeating Ganondorf and all of us growing up again after I sent Link back to his own time, lived together here in the castle. We loved each other even more than before since we were able to spend those seven years that had been lost together. A little over eleven years ago, a few months before I became queen in fact, I met your father secretly in the Temple of Time. There, under the blessing and witness of the other six Sages, we were secretly wed. It wasn't long after my father died that I realized I was to have a child, that. It was then that Link and I knew the world must never know the child was Link's, for there were still many of Ganondorf's followers out there, just looking for something to use against him.

"We distanced ourselves from each other, but never broke off the marriage. Almost a year after my coronation, I gave birth to not just a child, but twins! I summoned your father a few days later. After a long debate, we both agreed that the girl should remain, but the boy would need to be hidden for his own safety. Not many questions would be asked about the queen having a daughter, but they would if they new I had a son, even more if I presented twins. So we both agreed, and Link took the boy deep in the forest. That was ten years ago."

Tristan had realized where this was going and tears had already filled his eyes. He looked into the eyes of the woman he had realized as his mother and began crying. At first, Zelda didn't notice it, until she heard the first sob. She looked at her son and tears filled her eyes too. She stood up and walked around the desk, Tristan almost flying into her open arms.

"M-mom…"

"It's okay. I'm sorry we kept it a secret, but it was not only for Link's safety, but yours as well."

"I-It's a-alright, I understand. I'm j-just so happy I f-finally got to m-meet my mom."

"You also realize what this makes you?"

Tristan stopped crying and looked up, his face glowing with happiness.

"Yeah, it makes me a prince!"

"It sure does, it sure does."