It had been four hours of riding horse until Link had said it would be a good idea to rest. Arella and Caleb agreed with him without a hesitation and they dismounted their horses.
Arella despised the fact that she would have to spend another night camping outside but it sure beat riding Aeri for a couple more hours. She curled up on the grass and closed her eyes, thankful that she would finally be getting the sleep she needed.
An eerie fog swirled around a weary Arella. She wasn't in her regular clothes; instead she was in traditional Hylian armor.
"Hello? Din? Farore?" Arella said, her voice echoing through the impenetrable fog.
"Fourth Hero, I am the spirit Nayru. I have come to tell you the fate of Hyrule rests in your hands. You possess great power; power that is stronger than all the Hylian soldiers put together. But your power is dark. Be warned young child." Nayru said. She had long blue hair and a pale face. Her eyes glowed a crystal blue and she looked very thin. Turning away from Arella, Nayru dissolved into a small puddle of water and Arella was once again, left pondering what she meant.
The three adventurers were awoken by a loud roar. Link instantly got up and unsheathed his sword. Caleb pulled out his bow and quiver and got ready to shoot whatever was about to attack. Arella strayed to the shadows as the footsteps got louder. She was alarmed; she had no way to protect herself. What was she thinking, coming here without good weapon? And what did Nayru mean by "great power"?
Suddenly the ugly beast peaked its head through the tall trees. It was tall; probably several feet high. It had a face much like a mutated dog and its claws were long and sharp. It roared again, swinging it spiked tail and almost hitting Caleb. Arella let out a scream by accident and instantly covered her mouth. Link began slashing at the beast's belly as Caleb began shooting arrows.
But the beast barely felt those attacks. It flicked Caleb away with no effort and Arella could feel her hand heating up. A burning sensation began and she tried to scream but no sound came out. She glanced at her hand and to her horror, the Triforce was glowing brightly. Suddenly Arella's eyes turned a translucent golden color and her hair became as red as Din's.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!" she shouted. She didn't know what was going on; she barely had any control. She felt like she was sharing her body with someone else and they were trying to push her out.
Arella raised her right arm and a blast of golden light hit the creature. It screeched and replied by spitting fire at Arella. But she dodged every fireball. Arella rose her left hand this time and mimicked sword movements. As if there were some invisible force there, the beast flinched as she waved her arms around.
Finally, Arella closed her eyes. And rapidly moved her hands around. A ball of darkness was beginning to form in her hands and an eerie yellow glow was starting to surround Arella. With all her might Arella thrust the ball into the beast's open mouth and it screeched before exploding into darkness.
Arella's eyes returned to normal and her Triforce stopped glowing. She fell to the ground with a gruesome thud and Caleb and Link came rushing toward her frail body.
Arella's eyes flickered as she regained consciousness. The sun was brightly shining in her eyes and she could feel her body moving. She looked ahead and saw that she was tied by the waist to Caleb.
"Oh good, you're awake." Link said when he noticed her eyes opening.
"How long was I asleep?" Arella asked, rubbing her throbbing hand.
"About five hours. Do you remember what happened?"
"All I remember is my hand glowing." She said, closing her eyes again. Her hand was red and it was in searing pain but she tried to concentrate on the task at hand.
Link muttered something to himself before ignoring Arella and she tapped Caleb's shoulder.
"Are we anywhere near Hyrule?" Arella asked, getting nervous. She didn't want her Aunt Lila to see her here. She would jeopardize the mission.
"We should be there any minute." Caleb replied. Arella nodded and looked at her hand again. The black piece in the Triforce was getting redder better the minute and Arella closed her eyes, in obvious pain.
She thought back to what Nayru said. About her "power" beings stronger all the Hylian soldiers put together. About her beings surrounded by darkness. She shrugged and went back to looking at the enormous castle that was beginning to get closer and closer.
"Alright, we have to walk the rest of the way, think you'll be fine Arella?" Link asked. Arella nodded and jumped off the horse, feeling a little woozy, but otherwise, fine.
"So what is Princess Zelda like?" Arella asked. Link just smiled to himself and Arella looked away, embarrassed that she even asked that question.
After a few minutes of journeying to the entrance and charming their way past the guards, Link, Caleb and Arella were in the castle. Luckily for them, Zelda was on her way to the garden and happened to see them.
"Zelda!" Link said, embracing her in a hug. Caleb and Arella bowed and Princess Zelda waved her hand.
"You do not have to bow. And please, call me Zelda." She said, giving Arella a warm smile. Arella smiled back and winced as the Triforce throbbed again.
Zelda glanced at her hand and gasped.
"You're the fourth hero." Zelda muttered. Link cleared his throat and Arella began to talk.
"I need your help. The goddesses are coming to me in my dream, telling me to go to the Maku Tree, where Farore will give me an important message. Link says you might be able to help me get to the Maku Tree." Arella said quickly. Zelda snapped out of her trance and looked back at Arella more seriously.
"Of course. I do have a map to the Maku Tree, but the journey is long a treacherous. I, of course, will be accompanying you, but why don't you stay in the castle for a day? I would like to study your Triforce; it is nothing like I've ever seen before." Zelda said. Before Arella could respond and pain shot through her arm and she screeched out in pain.
"Oh dear." Zelda said. She kneeled next to Arella, who was now sitting on the floor, and touched her hand. Concentrating, Zelda's Triforce glowed and Arella felt all the pains go away.
"Thank you so much." Arella said, barely opening her eyes.
"Caleb, why don't you take Arella to her room? There is a guest bedroom down the hall, if you get lost just ask a servant. Link and I have some things to discuss." Zelda said very seriously. Caleb shrugged and helped Arella up.
"How do you know Link?" Arella asked once Zelda and Link were out of earshot.
"I met him when he returned to Ordon Village. I was from Castle Town but the monsters scared my parents into moving to Ordon Village. That's where I met him; he escorted us there." Caleb said. He stopped by a room and opened the door. Arella landed on the bed and sighed. Somehow, she knew the journey from here would be a lot more difficult.
Zelda's P.O.V.
"I think she is Ganondorf's reincarnation." Link said to Zelda. They were at the castle library, looking for a book on the Triforce. Zelda shook her head.
"No, then she would possess evil, besides, it's the middle triangle that was glowing the most on her hand." Zelda said.
"Yes but on our journey here, she defeated this beast using…shadow magic. She didn't even remember what she was doing."
"And now I think I know what we're dealing with." Zelda replied, closing a book. She sat down in a chair and beckoned for Link to sit too.
"There was a fourth goddess, her name was Sylia. She was talented in shadow and light magic. The other goddess were worried about the overwhelming power she had gained; they worried it would get to her head. So when the shadow magic was sealed away, so was Sylia, deep inside the Twilight Realm.
When Twilight met Light the magic must have awoken. And the fourth hero must be Arella."
Arella's P.O.V.
They set out early the next morning. Princess Zelda had given Arella a change of clothes; loose fitting beige pants and a black tunic with boots similar to Zelda's. She had also given her a cloth that made the Triforce hurt less.
While they were at the castle, the servants had groomed and fed the horses for the trip. Zelda was wearing clothes much like Arella's, except her face was covered by a mask much like the legendary Sheik.
"The Maku Tree lies in a place farther than any province of Hyrule. We'll have to go north." Zelda said before mounting her horse, Ulis.
Arella took a quick bite out of an apple and kicked Aeri as soon as the others began speeding off. Zelda had explained to Arella that it was important not to let the Triforce possess her; otherwise, she may never fully regain control. Arella had shivered at that and tried to remain calm. She liked it better when she didn't worry about receiving a message about the fate of Hyrule or her Triforce paining her. She sighed before looking at the beautiful princess Zelda. She had honey colored hair a deep blue eyes. Her skin was fair and her cheeks rosy. She had beautiful silks for clothing and water resistant boots.
Aeri whined and Arella glanced at Caleb. He was chatting away with Link and Zelda about the Hylian soldiers, something Arella really never bothered to care about. Sighing, she looked at the crystal blue river in front of them.
"Don't you wish you were like them?" a voice said. Arella turned her head and panicked when she saw no one around her.
"Where are you?" Arella whispered.
"Right here." The voice said. It was a tiny ghost like being sitting on top of Aeri's head. The horse didn't seem to notice it and Arella's heart sped up.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Sylia. You are Arella? Correct?"
"Yes."
"And you possess the fourth Triforce?"
Arella showed the ghost her hand and it smiled, full of glee.
"I was watching you when you defeated that beast."
"Well, I didn't really control what I was doing." Arella said sheepishly.
"Well, I can show you how." The ghost said with an evil smile.
Link's P.O.V.
"Don't you think we should tell her about her ancestor?" Link said. Princess Zelda had insisted on letting to goddesses tell Arella, but Link was feeling a bit uneasy.
"No, we cannot interfere with the goddess's message to Arella." Zelda said. As much as he loved Zelda, he was getting frustrated with her. Who cares if they gave her the message before the goddesses? He sighed and Caleb shrugged.