Noda snarled and went for Midna as Ganondorf went for me, and--acting on a split-second decision--I leapt in front of her, shoving the Gerudo away with the flat of my sword.
"Stay away from her," I growled, and he smirked. I didn't know what was wrong with him: he had, apparently, just lost his mate, and now he was trying to defend the being that had taken her life!
I focused my attention on Ganondorf, and successfully knocked him the ground, at my mercy. But Ganon smiled and warped out of existence, leaving Noda alone. As soon as he did, uncertainty flickered across the Gerudo's face, and he stopped fighting, stepping backward with a look of confusion. Midna seemed to know what was going on, and stopped fighting as well, stepping forward and putting a hand on his shoulder.
"It's not your fault," she murmured. "His power affects us all." I realized that Ganondorf had been controlling Noda, which explained his change of temperament when we had begun fighting. Noda shook his head, as if trying to clear it, and leaned against the wall, letting out a sob and burying his head in his hands.
"She was the only one with the courage to stand up to him…I tried to talk her out of it, but she was…she said that she wouldn't let him do this anymore…she was willing to die if it would open his eyes…" Tears ran down Noda's face, and I was given a painful reminder of how I had felt when Midna had left. I saw in her face that she was thinking the same thing. Noda looked up at us and said quietly, "Can you stop him?"
"We did it once before," I replied confidently, though I was anything but. "I don't see why we can't do it again, since both Midna and my power has grown with Ganon's. Zant isn't even here this time, so it should be easier."
"Zant?" Noda asked, and Midna explained. He nodded, and said, "There's been another man in…Ganondorf's magic." I could tell that he had a hard time speaking the name. "And a woman…"
"What did they look like?" I asked, more out of curiosity than anything.
"I can show you, if you like," Noda replied, and I nodded hesitantly. He cast out a cloud of magic, which rippled in the slight breeze and fogged over, clearing. "He spends most of his time in there, and we found out what he was doing once," Noda continued, but went silent when the magic cleared to reveal an image, of Ganondorf speaking with two beings. He moved slightly, and their faces came into view.
I gasped as a flood of memories came rushing back, memories that I had almost forgotten. Playing catch with Leo in my old village, the searing pain in my hand when the symbol of the Goddesses had appeared on it, eavesdropping on the two beings that I was seeing in my enemy's magic, seeing her tears and his comforting arms wrapped around her shoulders. A broken dagger, a shard of starlight.
My parents.
I took a hesitant step forward, and the magic disappeared. I almost cried out in disappointment, and caught sight of Noda staring at me. "Do you know them?" he asked.
"I…they're my parents," I whispered, and I saw his look of surprise.
"You are their son?!" I nodded mutely. Noda almost laughed. "I must say I am quite surprised. They are very…angry at Ganondorf for deceiving you,' he said good-naturedly. It took a moment, but then it clicked.
"Deceiving me?" I asked blankly. Midna was just as confused.
"Yes," Noda said, and paused. "They are alive, but barely. Your father is the one that argues the most. Your mother takes much of the…punishment."
Anger flared up in me as I growled, "Punishment?"
"Calanon is considerably stronger than Sienna, being able to…withstand more, so Ganondorf threatens Sienna when he argues. Both your parents are quite cunning, but it will take more than that to escape Ganondorf's magic," Noda replied slowly, and then gestured. "Come. I will show you."
He led us to a room in the back of the palace, stealthily entering and apparently disguising us with magic. Ganondorf wouldn't have noticed anyway; he was too busy arguing.
He was yelling in the Gerudo language, and a familiar voice was responding in kind and quite fluently. Ganondorf raised a hand and opened his palm, letting magic flow from it and through the wall of magic, around Calanon and to the corner of the cell that he was in. He snarled and jerked forward, and Ganondorf walked away, leaving the magic. "That's odd," Noda murmured. "He doesn't usually leave it like that…"
"Let's just say that the Goddesses of our world are very generous," I replied quietly, and took a hesitant step forward, squeezing Midna's hand for reassurance. She smiled encouragingly at me, and led the way to the magic. My father was helping a woman up, and I gasped softly as I recognized my mother, pallid and thin.
At my almost silent exclamation, she looked up, and her dull blue eyes brightened to a crystalline blue, the exact shade of my own.
"Calanon…" she whispered, and he looked up, straight at me.
"Impossible," he murmured, walking forward with my mother. "Link…" he trailed off, and Midna rolled her eyes playfully and elbowed me.
"Well, go on," she said. "Or shall I force you?" I looked down at her and rolled my eyes as well, and she smiled impishly.
I stepped forward, toward the mirror that Ganondorf had been casting his magic onto, and met the eyes of my father, who broke into a grin.
"By the Goddesses, Link! It is you!" he said jovially, and another wave of memories crashed over me, memories that I didn't even know I had. Sienna walked forward slowly, pressing her palms against the glass. They turned white, as if she was pushing her hands against a window that I was standing on the other side of.
"I can't believe it…" she whispered. Her eyes darted to Midna and Noda, and her eyebrows went up. "And who is this young Twili? It wouldn't happen to be Midna, would it?" Sienna asked, smiling, and Midna started.
"I was starting to think that you wouldn't recognize me," she chided, and Calanon laughed.
"I don't think we could very easily forget. Little six-year-old, ordering her parents around," he replied, chuckling. "You have found quite a fine match, Link." I smiled, having gotten over my shock.
"That I have. Her magic has proved to be quite entertaining, as well," I replied, looking at her and smiling. She laughed.
"And how have you figured that out?" Sienna asked, and I began to reply, when Ganondorf's footsteps echoed down the hall.
I began to turn away from them, but turned back and asked, "How do I find you?" I knew that they were trapped, wherever that was, and I intended to get them back. Sienna looked mournful for a moment before answering.
"Follow the Road of Silver," she answered, and the image wavered and disappeared. Noda hid us all just as Ganondorf walked in, and we slipped out the door.
Noda led us out of the palace and pointed north, where something glimmered in the distance.
"That is the Road of Silver that your mother was talking about, but more commonly referred to as the Xaliau, in our language."
"How would that help us? Knowing it's name in your language, I mean," I said curiously, and Noda shrugged.
"The road has power. If you speak it's name, it will assist you. Providing you asked for assistance, of course. Nayru created it, with the help of her sisters," the Gerudo replied vaguely, and Midna nodded.
"We have legends of the Xaliau in our scribes, back in the Twilight," she said, her brow creasing. "No one believes them, of course. I didn't, until…" Midna trailed off, shaking her head.
"My parents used to tell the village stories about the Xaliau," I said quietly, suddenly remembering. It seemed as if half my memories had been missing for most of my life. "They said how beautiful and enchanting it was, and how the Goddesses had put much of their energy into creating it. Nayru is said to walk it, as well."
"We could use some wisdom right about now," Midna answered, and then nodded at Noda. "Thank you. Without your help, we couldn't have even found out about the Xaliau." Noda dipped his head.
"Make sure that my help does not go to waste." With that, he turned and walked off, disappearing into the palace. I looked at Midna, slipping my hand into hers and beginning toward the spark in the distance.
Link walked forward without a word, his hand absently tracing the patterns on his sword sheath, and looked sideways at me, smiling a bit.
"I'm still finding it hard to believe that they're actually alive," he said softly, and I squeezed his hand in reassurance.
"I wonder how Ganon tricked you…" I wondered idly, and he shrugged.
"Probably some kind of veiling magic. Father used to tell me that one could hide someone else with magic, so that no one could find them. If a boy lost his parents, for example, and he thought them to be dead, Ganon could hide them so that the boy wouldn't know that they were really alive." Then Link frowned as he said this, and I raised my eyebrows.
"What is it?"
"It's like…I keep getting all these memories, things that I didn't even know about. I feel like I'm missing the first parts of my life," Link replied, his brow furrowing.
"That's called forgetting things, Mr. Chosen Hero," I teased, punching him in the shoulder. He smiled, but shook his head.
"I don't think so. I have forgotten things before, much as it may surprise you, and this just doesn't feel like that," Link replied, and I shrugged.
"Well, then Ganondork used magic on you. Poof. Now you know it, now you don't, now you know it again. Poof," I said, and Link burst into laughter.
"Did you just call him 'Ganondork?'" he asked disbelievingly, and I nodded.
"It fits him better, doesn't it?" Link nodded, still cracking up.
"Imagine what his reaction would be if we marched into battle calling him 'Ganondork…'" he mused, a twinkle in his sky-blue eyes.
"The Gerudo servants would be scandalized," I replied, laughing. "And then we could defeat Ganondork, because he wouldn't know what to think with that thick skull of his."
"True, true. It wouldn't be a very fair battle though," Link answered, chuckling again and shaking his head, murmuring, "Ganondork…"
We cracked jokes the whole way, shortening the trip considerably, and were almost suffocating with laughter by the time the silver glint of the Xaliau flashed before our eyes, almost blinding us.
Link and I exchanged a glance, and he took a hesitant step forward, lowering his boot onto the silver, mirror-like surface. Nothing happened, and I followed, now leading the way forward.
As we walked, the walls of the canyon around the road began to close in on us, and I could feel Link getting tenser and tenser with every step. Soon, there was no space around the Xaliau, and the canyon walls were fifteen feet apart, the width of the silver road. That's when the music began.
It was a haunting melody, sounding as if it was being played on a harp of the Light world. Link froze, and I felt the music flow through me as if it were the very blood in my veins. Enchanted and hardly knowing what was going on around me, I began walking forward, pulling Link with me, who went reluctantly.
The music grew louder, and I felt memories flash into my mind. Memories of my mother, my family, my boyfriend…
I stopped walking as the music ceased, and a form shimmered into view. As beautiful as the Goddesses themselves, she matched the Xaliau perfectly. Her clothes seemed to be made of starlight itself, and her skin shimmered with a silver tint.
"Hello," she said in a bell-like voice, standing up from her harp. "I thought you might come." The woman held up her hand, and a silver Triforce glimmered on it. Link's mouth opened in surprise for a moment, and I squeezed his hand in reassurance. "You are going to find your parents, young Hero?" the woman asked, and he nodded, regaining his composure. "Then let me give you something to help you on your journey."
She tossed something to Link, and he caught it easily, staring at it for a moment before looking up and saying simply, "Thank you."
Nayru nodded and resumed playing her harp, fading out of existence as Link looked again at the small thing in his palm. I peered over his shoulder to get a closer look, and was startled at what I saw.
An Ocarina.
Link hesitantly brought it to his lips, and blew, creating a sound so harmonic I knew that he was no amateur. Carefully, he played a tune, similar to one of the melodies that he had howled to the golden wolf so long ago. He got faster, his fingers moving in almost a blur, and then stopped, looking at it in amazement.
"I never thought I'd see this again," he said, smiling.
"What exactly does it…do? Other than provide entertainment and such?" I asked, feeling slightly foolish. Link smiled and shrugged, replying, "Well, I can play a song to heal us, for example, because of it's magic. Few know about an Ocarina any more, so I imagine that this is one of the last few in Hyrule." He became thoughtful, and pocketed the little fist-sized instrument, continuing along the Xaliau and even whistling some.
I raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged, laughing. "I'm just happy to have an Ocarina again. I forgot how useful it was," Link said jovially, and then took it out of his pocket again, playing a tune for half-a-minute. Instantly, I felt cool and refreshed, feeling as though I could walk for days. "See what I mean?" Link asked, and I found myself laughing along with him.
The happy mood faded, however, as--almost a day later, in the middle of the night--a black building rose over the horizon. Glad to see any color other than silver, I picked up the pace. Link, apparently, was getting fed up with the sun reflecting off the road's surface and flashing into his eyes as well, and he easily kept up.
Playing a low and mournful melody on his Ocarina for a moment, he walked forward, glancing sideways at my puzzled expression and saying, "If there's any immediate danger, now we'll know." I nodded and followed him, both of us unconsciously pressing ourselves against the walls. Getting an idea, I touched his back with the crystal, and Link obediently slid into his wolf form, letting me settle onto his back as an imp, and we continued forward.
The place turned out to be a dungeon, with creatures of all sorts locked in the cells, and more than a few Hylians and Twili, looking quite near death. Link looked in each cell, but I knew that he didn't expect to find his parents here.
The path through the dungeon began gently sloping upward, and Link moved faster, his hand going to his pocket and fingering what I guessed to be the Ocarina.
We reached the top, and looked around, each transforming back into our human forms.
The path had opened up into a giant meadow, waist-high, moonlit grass swaying gently in the breeze and black blossoms dotting the ground. Link began to walk forward, but he had a look on his face that I didn't trust; I had seen it too many times on Zant so long ago. A cross between dreaming and yearning for power.
"Link," I said, grabbing his wrist, but the Ocarina that was in his hand only fell to the ground as he released it, and kept walking. "Link! Snap out of it!" I exclaimed, mildly zapping him with my magic. He jumped, and then looked at me, rubbing his shoulder.
"What was that for?" Link asked in an annoyed tone. Well, I thought I had mildly zapped him.
"You were about to go traipsing to your death!" I retorted, stooping to pick up the Ocarina and handing it to him.
"I was not! How can anything so beautiful be dangerous?" he asked, pocketing it.
"That's the point! Things that beautiful are supposed to be dangerous."
"Do you even know where we are?!"
"No, but I know that whatever magic is here doesn't affect my kind. You, however, are worse off."
Link grumbled and replied, "Fine. But what do you expect me to do?"
"Don't you know a song or something that will keep the magic from affecting you?"
"Try the Sun Song," a voice said, and Link whipped around. Standing there, lounging against the building we had just left, was a young woman. It was too dark to see her very well, but Link nodded uncertainly and raised the Ocarina to his lips, playing the "Sun Song."
Instantly, the clouds above the meadow parted, and the beams of sunlight filtered down, revealing the place to instead be a black wasteland. The "beautiful trees" that we had seen were silhouettes of dead or dying trees, and creatures of darkness shrieked and quailed from the sharp, penetrating rays. "See?" the woman said, and then turned and disappeared into midair.
"Erm…" I said hesitantly, and Link laughed.
"That was interesting," he replied, and I nodded.
"To say the least."