Ganondorf frowned down at his ancestor's bane in his hands. "No sense stalling any further," he said at last. "If this is what we need to get the final sigil to the Temple of Time, so be it."
"How are we going to even get close?" Link demanded. "I'm sure it's well guarded…and while Zelda and I could probably sneak in somehow, you're kind of hard to miss."
Zelda stared down at the ground, thinking hard. "Unlike many of our temples, the Temple of Time only has the one entrance. It was built that way for security reasons. And…we have to think about how far we need to go with the sigil. The great doors that were the gates to the Sacred Realm are sealed forever." She glanced up at the other two. "That is one thing I remember my uncle saying to the court. I heard it from my attendant. My uncle melted down the gold settings that held the Spiritual Stones, and had the gems themselves thrown into Death Mountain."
Sheathing the sword, Ganondorf said, "I don't think the Goddesses would have given us an impossible task. Difficult and dangerous, yes, but not impossible. Perhaps the answer will be revealed to us once we finally enter the Temple."
Suddenly he slapped his hand against his other forearm, as if swatting an insect. With a grunt of surprise, he pulled a thin needle from the flesh. "What on earth…?"
"There!" Link pointed to a vanishing shadow that only his quick eyes had caught. "We're being attacked!"
Ganondorf snarled as searing pain lanced through the wound. He recognized the feel of venom and clenched his hand, the Triforce mark glowing bright. The poison vaporized, and the wound closed. He and Link stood on either side of Zelda, weapons drawn.
"Who's there?" Link bellowed in his small child's voice. "Show yourselves!"
No answer. Yet all three could sense an advance upon them, unseen shapes moving closer at high speed. With a squeak of fear and surprise, Zelda disappeared.
With a yell of frustration, Ganondorf set the grass aflame in a ring of blue fire. In the midst of the flames Zelda appeared, shocked but unhurt. Link reached out and took her hand , pulling her back towards them, feeling no heat at all. But the fire must have injured their attackers, for he smelled burning flesh and hair.
This time Zelda called out to their attackers. "Who sent you? Are you in the employ of my uncle? We are on a holy quest. If you answer to the Golden Goddesses, stand down!"
To their surprise, six people suddenly appeared inside the ring of blue flame. Each wore identical clothing, tightly woven blue fabric with an outer layer of white. Their faces were wrapped in white rags, so that only their red eyes peered out from beneath their silver hair. A crimson crest of an open eye had been painted on each chest.
"They're…they're Shekiah," Zelda sputtered. "But…I thought they were all dead!"
The six Shekiah kneeled before her. "Forgive us, Princess," said the one closest to her. "We thought you were in danger."
"Why do you come now?" Link demanded. "Why not years ago, when Zelda's uncle began purging the Triforce from the world?"
They stood. "We are tasked with protecting the Triforce as well as the Royal Family," said the one who had spoken earlier. "Years ago, the Triforce passed out of Hyrule. Our ancestors instructed us to depart until it returned. We enchanted the plinth of the Master Sword so that we would know when it was drawn."
"You contradict yourself," Ganondorf said, arms crossed. "Your mission was to protect the royal family, yet you allowed this usurper to take the throne?"
"You have no right to speak!" One of them shouted. They could see swaths of red flesh where the blue fire had burned his arms. "What are you, the Lord of Darkness, doing with that holy relic?"
"Peace!" the first Shekiah called out. He stepped forward. "My name is Kuro. Our predecessors told us that years ago, the Triforce Bearers embarked on a mission outside of Hyrule. With the Golden Power gone so long, much of the magical force that sustains Hyrule began to disappear. The people began to turn against the Goddesses, feeling that they had been forsaken.
"Popular sentiment struck out against all symbols of the Golden Goddesses. Temples were abandoned, relics were destroyed, legends were stored away and forgotten. The benign forces suffered mere neglect; the shadowy side of magic was despised. We were never an abundant race, and so we fled the country to escape the people's hatred and fear. But we were told that when the Hero returned, he would claim the Master Sword and we would be needed again."
"You are not the Hero," snarled the Shekiah that had yelled at Ganondorf before.
He frowned. "I neither stole nor requested this weapon," Ganondorf shot back. "The Bearer of Courage is too young to wield it. The fact that he does not have it does not diminish his skill, nor does it improve mine." He held the sword at a horizontal angle, so they could get a good look at the hand that gripped the hilt. "The fact that it does not burn merely means that I house no malice." He glared at the Shekiah who had spoken out of turn. "Do you doubt the power of your own relics?"
Kuro took a small golden bow from his shoulder. "We have other weapons wielded by the Hero, which we have kept in anticipation of his return." He bent down and offered it to Link, who drew one of his own arrows to test it. "No need," Kuro said, raising his hand to stop him. "This bow is used to wield Light Arrows; they do not require a physical host."
Link gave him a puzzled look, then turned and drew the bow, aiming away from the others. A bright line of light dazzled their eyes for a moment, then leaped toward the hills like a lightning bolt when Link released the bow. "A bow that doesn't need arrows!" he exclaimed, more interested in its practicality than its magical properties. He thanked Kuro and put it over his own shoulder.
"Your Highness," said Kuro, kneeling before Zelda. "What is the nature of your holy quest, and how can we assist you?"
Zelda reached into her pack and brought out the Light Medallion. "We need to get this into the Temple of Time," she said. "But I don't think we can even get into the castle town without being confronted by my uncle's soldiers."
"Then we will escort you," Kuro stated with finality. "We will guide you through the shadows, so that even the Bearer of Power is hidden from mortal eyes."
"Kuro!" the other Shekiah who had spoken snarled. "Even if the heart of the Bearer of Power is pure enough to hold the Master Sword, that doesn't mean he won't be tempted in the Sacred Realm."
"What are you talking about?" Ganondorf demanded. "The Sacred Realm is closed to us; the keys are gone."
"Calm yourself, Ino," Kuro said to the Shekiah. He turned to the Three Bearers. "I will admit that we are not entirely sure what will happen once we enter the Temple. But the texts left behind by our ancestors, and the last Bearer of Wisdom, seem to indicate that your purpose is to bring the Triforce back together in the Sacred Realm."
"Power by nature is a corrupting force," Ino said to Ganondorf. "Truth be told, any of us risk being tempted to take the Triforce for our own, once it is reunited and regains its full power. But you are at a special risk, even if you have none of the traits of your ancestor."
"I don't see how this is a danger if we can't even get in the doors," Ganondorf countered.
"Anything can happen," Zelda piped up. "Even the Shekiah don't know for sure…Wisdom itself never gives all the answers."
"Well, what else is there to do?" Link demanded. "We might as well try, regardless of the dangers. Otherwise this whole quest was for nothing."
Ganondorf sheathed the Master Sword and turned to Kuro. "Well, then, let's stop wasting time."
They moved under cover of darkness, keeping to the edges of Hyrule Field. Two Shekiah walked ahead of the Bearers, two behind, and one on each side. To the left of Link, Kuro carried Zelda. They crouched in the undergrowth as the first two advanced toward the castle, signaling to the others are the guards on the ramparts turned their backs for the briefest of moments.
Pressed up against the cold stone of the castle walls and trying to quiet his breath, Link asked, "What now?"
Ino motioned for silence. He traced his hand over the mortar keeping one of the blocks in place, and the mortar disappeared. He and another Shekiah pushed against the stone, slowly inching it inward. Once it was all the way through, they crawled through and gestured for the others to follow. Link crawled through easily, and Zelda followed. They waited.
"Hurry up!" Link hissed through the opening.
"I'm coming," Ganondorf growled. "Give me a moment".
A long pause followed. "You're stuck, aren't you?"
"This hole is too small!" Ganondorf snapped, as softly as he could. "Shekiah have Hylian frames, they're small enough to…nnnnggghhh!"
He emerged from the small hole, wet and with a glowering face. The two children tried not to laugh as the other Shekiah explained that they had forced him through with water from the moat.
"Keep quiet," Kuro urged, pointing upward. One of the guards stood at the end of the wall above, peering out over the town's courtyard beyond them. They did not move until he did, softly slinking forward after he retreated.
It was the witching hour, and even the bars were closed. A few stray cats wandered the streets, but the only other sign of life was the still, watchful silhouettes of the guards. The Shekiah led them past the main square, toward the grassy knoll where the Temple of Time loomed in near-darkness.
Suddenly Ino threw out his arm, stopping the others in their tracks. He pointed silently to the motley collection of tombstones that stood in front. The Three strained their eyes, and after a few minutes, they could see here and there a shadow move from one to the other.
"What is it?" Ganondorf demanded.
"There is a significant force there," Kuro said. "It seems the King has anticipated your next move."
"How is that possible?" Link demanded. "They haven't been able to find us this whole time."
"They probably figured we would come to the Temple at some point," Zelda breathed. "It is the center of the Triforce's power. Who knows how long they have been waiting here?"
"There's someone nearby," Ino hissed. "An assassin of some kind, hired by the King. I can't pin down his location - he's using some kind of magic to dampen my sight."
"I'll find him," Ganondorf volunteered, staring out into the night. Link felt Zelda clutch at his tunic, and his hair stood on end, waiting for the whistle of an arrow or the swish of a blade.
Suddenly they heard a muted grunt, and the Master Sword glinted slightly in the gloom. Link and Zelda heard the sound of something heavy and soft hitting the ground just behind them. They turned to see Ganondorf standing with the blade stained crimson. "Got him," he assured them.
Link nodded, relieved, just as a piercing scream sliced through the air.
They all turned to stare at Zelda, who stood transfixed, eyes wide and mouth open. It was she who had screamed, who continued to scream as the guards at the Temple snapped to attention. The mark on her hand glowed bright.
"What did I do?" Ganondorf demanded in an almost panicked voice. "She's never reacted this way before!"
"Those were monsters we killed before - this was a man, one of her own people!" Link yelled back at him.
"He was going to kill us! What choice did I have?"
"Run, you fools!" Kuro shouted. "We'll hold them off as long as we can!"
Ganondorf reached out to pick up Zelda, but she bit him. Bewildered and annoyed, he barked at Link, "Get her out of here! I'll catch up to you later!"
Link grabbed the still-screaming Princess by the hand and dragged her through the streets, turning down back alleys as she gasped for breath. After a few minutes of silence, she suddenly tugged Link to a stop. "Wait, where are we going? Where are the Shekiah and Ganondorf?"
He stared at her, puzzled. "What, you don't remember? You started screaming and the guards jumped us…"
"That…" Zelda clutched at her head. "That was a vision…no, a memory…a memory of a past life…" She turned back the way they came. "We have to help them! I…" Suddenly she grasped at her face and fell to her knees.
"Zelda, what's wrong?" Link shook her shoulder. "What is it?"
"It…I'm not used to it…I can't control it…" Zelda scratched the mark on her hand with her tiny nails. "I saw him with the sword and the blood, and the memories came unbidden…"
"Come on, we have to hide. Ganondorf can handle himself! We'll find him later!"
"But the Shekiah - "
"It's you they're trying to protect! Come on!" He tugged her to her feet and they raced through the black streets of the castle town.
Kuro fell as a sharp blade pierced his back. He took one startled look at the man who had stabbed him before his eyes rolled back in his head.
"Good work, Ino," the captain of the guard said as they approached the dead Shekiah. The other four Shekiah stood at attention behind Ino. On the ground lay the Gerudo King, a trickle of blood running from one ear. "The King has authorized me to pardon you, now that you have assisted us." His eyes hardened. "But if the Shekiah ever take up the dark arts again, you will meet the same fate. Understand?"
Ino kicked the body of his dead brother. "I have had enough of shadows and false prophecies," he said. "As long as your army has a place for us, we have no need to follow the ways of our ancestors."
The captain bent down for a closer look at the Gerudo King. "So this is the cause of all the trouble, eh?" He nudged Ganondorf's marked hand with his foot. "He's got the curse mark, all right. Well, the King knows how to destroy old magic. All right, men, take him to the dungeons!"
"What about this, sir?" one of the men asked, bending down to pick up the Master Sword. He yelped in pain as the hilt burned his hand.
"Don't touch the cursed weapon!" the captain ordered. "Fetch the casket - we will use it to carry the sword to Death Mountain, and dispose of it forever."