Chapter Fifteen:

Regenesis

Zelda stood in front of the main entrance to the town. Once long ago if she had stopped where she now stood, she would have been bumped into by the many people coming and going. Merchants with their carts would have passed her by with polite greetings and a sales pitch along with clear indications where their stall would be set up. Soldiers in the watchtowers would have been on the look out for troublemakers.

Now the place was deserted, the drawbridge collapsed and the watchtowers empty. Here and there laid rotten and broken down objects that had been discarded by their previous owners in their haste to flee when Ganondorf decided to destroy the town. The very air hung heavy and had a sense of foreboding to it.

A nearby crow cawed and took flight, making Zelda jump. Perhaps she should have waited for morning, she mused. The twilight made the ghost town even more frightening. With hesitant steps, she crossed the broken down drawbridge. Fear began to make it's way in her heart, the courage that she had mustered while talking to Malon was gone. Coming here had been a mistake, she thought and nearly turned around. Taking a few long breaths she got a hold of herself. Malon had risked her life in defying Ganondorf by trying to save Epona. Who knew what he would do to her if he found her. The least she could do was to confront Ganondorf, after all Malon had a life and a father. She didn't, she had lost her family and sacrificed her identity to save herself instead of trying to reclaim the throne. The least she could do was risk her own miserable life to save one that was worth living.

Zelda entered the town and made her way to the town square without any incident. However once there she froze in place as she saw four redeads near the broken fountain. Lucky for her they hadn't seen her yet, or they would have been after her already. She kept close to the buildings using the shadows to hide her as Impa had taught her long ago in her old life.

She took a deep breath trying to calm herself. If those redeads could inspire that much fear, how was she supposed to face Ganondorf? How had the Kokiri boy found the courage to fight three of Ganondorf's underlings? Zelda looked around in despair, some heroine she was. Perhaps she should give up instead. She could send Ganondorf a message through someone else. She would surrender peacefully if he gave the ranch back to Malon and her father. Once Lon Lon back in the possession of her surrogate family, she would go to Ganondorf.

Several bolts of blue, white, and red fabric near the entrance of an old tailor shop suddenly caught her attention. Zelda's mind began to formulate a new plan, or perhaps it was merely the Triforce Of Wisdom guiding her. Whichever it was Zelda knew that her life now depended on getting those bolts of fabric and getting into the shop unnoticed. She made a silent prayer to the Goddesses and cautiously made her way to the tailor shop. She picked up the bolts and placed them under one arm when reality came crashing around her. How was she supposed to open a door that hadn't been opened in years without making a racket. The door hinges were bound to creak loudly not having been oiled in years. Zelda felt like crying.

Suddenly the Triforce mark on her hand began to glow, Zelda quickly put her hand in her pocket. Did the Goddesses truly had a grudge against her for having sent Link into the Sacred Realm? The glow had been strong enough that anyone looking her way would have seen it. The redeads had been looking the other way thankfully. A loud creak suddenly came from the building opposite the shop and the redeads turned their head in that direction in time to see the rotten roof starting to cave in. Zelda took the noiseful opportunity to get in, taking care to leave the door slightly a jar so she wouldn't have the same problem coming out.

Once in the shop she waited for her eyes to adjust. She wondered what exactly happened out there, had she unconsciously used her Triforce part and more importantly were the pieces in contact with each other enough that Ganondorf would know that Wisdom was being used. If that was the case than she better make quick of her project. She grabbed a nearby pair of scissors and began to search for a needle and proper threads. Luckily the seamstress had left the majority of her equipment behind, and Zelda soon found a rusty needle and some black thread. Once all her material gathered she made her way to the living quarters above the shop. She chose a room with a window overlooking a tall tree, just in case a quick get away was necessary. She was glad that Impa had insisted on teaching her the ways of the Sheikahs.

The light was now almost all gone as the sun was setting. Zelda decided that for now it was safe enough to rest. In the morning she would have a lot of work to do before she could erase "Zelda" once more.

Zelda gazed at herself in the broken full length mirror that the room had. For a quick sewing project it would have to do. Zelda had tried to recreate what a male Sheikah could wear by remembering some of Impa's stories. That took care of the clothing part, Zelda glanced at herself once more. Her body shape could give her away so she took a bit of fabric cuttings and stuffed it around her legs, arms, and upper body to make it look like the type of muscles a typical young man would have. She looked again in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. Now she looked more like a man at least body wise.

Zelda reflected on cutting her hair to the length that hylian men usually had to finish off her new identity, but decided against it. Instead she cut long strips of white fabric to make it look like bandages and wrapped it around her head and covered her face up to her eyes. She pulled out several strands of hair from under her so called bandages to cover one eye. She then cut the strands of hair to the right length to make it look like bangs. Zelda closed her eyes and concentrated. Sheikahs had red eyes, so she focused on her magic to change her eye color. Once completed Zelda looked at her reflection. "Zelda" and even "Mina" were gone, in their place stood a young Sheikah man. The Sheikah that would serve as messenger.

The young man crept out of his hiding place. The redeads had moved on and the town square was quiet. The Sheikah looked up to the spires of the towers of what was now known as Ganondorf's Fortress, and headed towards it. It wasn't long until he was intercepted by some of the Dark King's soldiers. After having explained that he was here to serve the king he was taken to see the usurper king of Hyrule.