Chapter 44: Battle of Wills
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Link
The nightmares found him again. His worst memories engulfed him, surrounding him in their fear and vulnerability. People he cared about, brutally struck down before his eyes, or alternatively trying to strike him down. He awakened with a sharp gasp in darkness, his heart pounding rabbit-fast, cold sweat under his arms and down his back. He swallowed thickly, scanning his surroundings, reminding himself where he was –
His heart gave a jolt as he noticed something out of place – a hunched figure sitting on the bed next to his.
Zelda, he realized, and felt his pulse begin to rest once more. Exhaling deeply, he pushed himself into a sitting position. "Did I wake you?" he whispered, looking over at her.
In the dimness he could just make out the shape of her head as she shook at it. "I've been awake," she murmured. "Couldn't sleep." She shifted slightly; he realized that she seemed hunched over because she was wrapped around her knees pulled against her chest. "I'm sorry about your nightmares."
Link mustered a quiet chuckle, pushing his sweat-drenched hair back from his face. "Occupational hazard f'being a soldier," he muttered grimly. "It's a shame there's no need for that… that dream-spell thing y'did. It always… stopped them."
"It did?" She sounded surprised. "Good – I'm glad. I worried that it was horribly intrusive."
Link shook his head. "Feel free t'take me from my dreams any time y'want," he said. A new thought occurred to him, and he frowned. "Especially when I travel t'th'Zonai. Y'won't have t'use Skasha to stay in contact with me."
"Oh," Zelda said contemplatively. "You're right; that will be useful. Unlike the rest of my magic, unfortunately." She was quiet for a few moments, stretching her legs out in front of her on the bed. "What about your Zonai magic? I know there's that thing you do with animals, and the healing… is there anything else?"
Link stiffened, taken aback by the question. Is there anything else?
His ability to turn into a wolf, for instance. Or to force another spirit to his will. His insides squirmed uncomfortably. "Nothing that would help us here," he answered carefully.
…Could he use spirit magic to bend Khanot to his will?
No, he decided, sick at the thought. Triforce f'Power, remember?
"Alright," Zelda said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, that makes two of us, then. I wish I had access to the castle library still – there were some old books I was working my way through, trying to figure out what all the Triforce and my bloodline enable me to do."
"The Sheikah are secret-keepers, aren't they?" Link pointed out. "Maybe they'll have useful old books, too."
Zelda nodded slowly. "Especially since some of what I can do is Sheikah magic," she mused. "That would make sense. It just… doesn't help us much in the meantime."
Link considered her words, the weight of the uncomfortable outcome of their meeting with Gor Dakorik filling the space between them. "I'm… not sure there's much magic that could help right now," he murmured. "They made th'choice t'trust wholly in their mountain t'keep them safe. There's no changing that. But there's a few things we can still do – Zah Tori and I were thinking f'training some f'th'Gorons t'fight, if they'll let us."
Zelda's eyes widened; he could see them glittering in the dim firelight. "That's a marvelous idea!" she whispered excitedly. "Giving them the ability to protect themselves –"
"Will you please be quiet?" grumbled a groggy Zah Tori. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
Link winced, feeling a little guilty – their voices had been getting a little louder. He smiled at Zelda, forgetting the darkness. "Y'must be exhausted after all f'our walking," he murmured.
"And you'll need to be well-rested if you're going to be training Gorons tomorrow," Zelda whispered back. "I guess we should try and get some rest."
The rest of the night passed without incident. There wasn't any actual change in lighting in the room to indicate morning's arrival, of course. Link simply found himself unable to sleep any longer, and set about slinging his gun over his shoulder and buckling the Master Sword's baldric around his waist. Zah Tori awakened not much later and roused the other monks by firmly shaking their shoulders.
They emerged from the cavern into a rosy sunrise, the air shimmering from the heat of the volcano. The sound of hammers on anvils and pickaxes striking stone already rang fervently through the city, the Gorons hard at work.
Link glanced at Zah Tori uncertainly. "Are we just… going around t'different Gorons asking f'they want t'learn t'fight?" he asked. He had thought that maybe they would catch a group of them on the way to their mines, or something like that.
"I suppose so," the Sheikah monk answered with a sigh, setting out through the streets. "We'll need to find a place to train, first. Can't very well do that in the middle of the road."
A young Goron – not nearly as small as the juveniles, but not as massive as the adults – came barreling down the road towards them as if conjured by his words, and they all leapt to the side to keep from being bowled over. The Goron bounced to a stop and uncurled, grimacing. "My bad – sorry about that, folks! Usually I don't have to worry about anyone in the way. Not that you were in the way – I should be more careful." He scratched his chin, tilting his head curiously. "If you don't mind the question, what are you all doing here? I don't think I've ever seen Hylians or Sheikah on Death Mountain…"
"We're with Princess Zelda's entourage," Zah Tori said cordially, clapping his hands together and bowing lightly. "At the moment, my companions and I were searching for somewhere we could spar – ideally a large, open space."
"Sparring, huh?" the Goron said eagerly, his gaze going to the swords at Link and the monks' waists and lingering there in excitement. "I know a place! And it's on my way." He grinned. "Follow me!"
Well, that's promising, Link thought hopefully, walking in step with Zah Tori after the Goron youth. After several confusing turns through the city streets they came to the largest of the communal dining areas they had encountered thus far, with multiple long iron tables. The young Goron hefted each with ease and pushed them aside, effectively clearing a spacious area in the middle.
"How's that?" he asked, standing in the middle with a broad smile.
"Perfect," Zah Tori said. "Thank you, lad. What's your name?"
"Danuk," the Goron answered. "What are yours?"
Zah Tori introduced them, and then gestured to the makeshift arena. "Would you like to join us?" he answered.
Danuk looked at once incredibly conflicted, his brow furrowed and his mouth turned downward. "I – well, I… I don't actually know how to fight," he stammered.
"We'd be more than happy to teach you," Zah Tori said with another bow. "I am the head of the Order of the Sword – one of our callings is to pass on the art of the sword. And Link is perhaps the greatest swordsman of this age." Link felt his ears burn self-consciously under the praise, as Danuk regarded him with nothing short of awe.
"I want to," he said heavily. "Really, I do. I've wanted to be a great warrior for… most of my life. But I can't do that to my brothers." His voice grew more confident. "I work at Big Brother Mine – I'm actually in charge of a lot of our orders, and we're preparing to send a shipment out. I can't leave the others to deal with that alone."
"We understand," Zah Tori said heavily. "We'll be here if you change your mind."
Danuk nodded glumly, and then tucked himself into a ball and rolled away down the streets of Eldin once more.
"Well… there's interest, at least," one of the monks said optimistically. "It's just a matter of competing priorities."
"And we'd only change those priorities by changing Gor Dakorik's mind," another sighed.
"We'll just have t'keep asking around," Link said firmly. "We can't give up."
"You care quite a bit about our endeavor," Zah Tori noted curiously. "I would expect no less of the Chosen Hero, of course, but you certainly weren't that invested in the Zora."
Link rolled his eyes. "This place reminds me a lot f'home," he explained quietly. "Th'practicality, responsibility, close-knit community… It feels like a Zonai village. It feels like Lohsitho." A village that, he thought grimly, was home now only to the very young, the very elderly, and the women. Which gave him an idea. "Surely they don't make their elderly work long hours in th'mines – maybe we can start with them. After all, Zah Tori, you're old and you can still fight."
Zah Tori made an affronted sound. "I am not old," he said. "I'm… only a couple years past my prime. That is not old."
Link smirked. "Sure."
There were concerningly few Gorons out and about during the day – Eldin was essentially left utterly defenseless. Not that the Gorons were particularly bothered about defense, a fact that only became more apparent as their search continued.
They spoke with the Gorons working forges and smelters in the city, who predictably refused joining them in favor of seeing to their responsibilities. They found a couple of very young Gorons, half the size of Beira, who were more interested in trying to knock them down than listening to anything the travelers had to say.
"Problem solved," Zah Tori grumbled, massaging his sore rear as they continued past the little ones still zooming around. "Just send those twerps out and we'll trip the enemy to death."
They found a small group of elderly Gorons relaxing in a hot spring on the southern edge of the city.
"Ever since we tamed the Dodongos, we haven't needed to fight," one said in a rattly, shaking voice. "Turns out all they ever wanted was the same rocks we wanted, for different reasons, o' course. But there's plenty enough for everyone!" He laughed.
"Back in my grandpappy's day, ain't no one who'd mess with a Goron warrior," another wheezed, nodding sagely. "We had these big ol' smashers… knock yer skull right out of yer teeth!"
"You could learn how to do that yourself," Zah Tori offered, but Link noticed that his tone was finally beginning to lose its optimism.
One of the other Gorons yawned widely, settling deeper into the pool, his wrinkled gaze drooping. "Naw," he said calmly. "It's the quiet life for us now, bud. We're retired."
They encountered a few Gorons on their day off, and even then the message was the same.
"I'd rather sleep."
"I've got to clean up my house; it's a mess!"
"I was gonna plan a surprise for my brother when he gets home."
"But… why? It's not like we'd ever need to know how to fight."
It was the last kind of response that irritated Link the most. He reminded himself forcefully that these were not Zonai, and did not hold the same beliefs. While he and his people believed that it was their Goddess-assigned duty to learn to fight, to take back the corrupted Sacred Realm from Dohmos at the great last day, the Gorons clearly did not believe anything of the sort, or even anything remotely similar.
They returned to Zelda and Inpa around noon, having gathered up some freshly-cooked meat from the Dodongo handlers.
"How did it go?" Zelda asked, hurrying up to them as they entered the room.
"Not well," Link said glumly, taking her hand. "They're complacent – they genuinely don't know that they're in danger."
"And… maybe they're right about that," Zah Tori sighed wearily, sitting down at the table. "Once we leave, Khanot will have no reason to attack them if they do what he says and remain neutral. The best thing we can do for them… is to leave."
Link's hair stood on end with dread at the thought. "No," he growled, slashing a hand through the air. "No, that's not our best course f'action."
"Link is right," Zelda said, looking at the monk intently. "This isn't a war between the peoples of Hyrule – it's a war against demons and obliteration. It will get worse. Will the Gorons agree to make iron for monsters? And what happens to them then, if they refuse?" She shook her head. "We can't do nothing."
"And what do you propose we do, Your Grace?" Zah Tori asked heavily. "They don't want what help we can give. Do we stay here on Death Mountain until something gives?"
Zelda winced, her shoulders drooping. "No, we can't do that either," she sighed. "I spoke with Gor Dakorik again this morning, while you were all out. He… he did agree to send some Gorons to Lanayru once the war between the Sheikah and Zonai is officially over. Ending the war will be beneficial for Khanot, so… it'll have to happen eventually."
"So then do we stay here until the war ends?" one of the monks asked skeptically, crossing his arms. "Let Khanot solidify his forces across Hyrule, probably plan a nice ambush for us down at the bottom of the mountain when we finally do come down?"
Link's gut twisted, and he thought again of Groose and Azrun. How long do they have? Has Khanot already given them his evil flame?
"No, of course not," Zelda shook her head. She turned to Link apologetically. "I'm… I'm thinking that there's really not any more that we can do here. We'll… travel to –"
There was a sudden ruckus outside of their room – what sounded like a stampede of wild horses, although of course that was impossible, and furious shouting. Link exchanged a glance with Zah Tori – it was getting easier to read the monk despite the mask – and rushed for the door, pulling it open.
Gorons were pouring in from the upper levels, tucked into balls, shouting and crying out in fear.
"What's going on up there?" Gor Dakorik roared from the bottom, emerging from his own room.
"Monsters!" someone shouted over the din. "Monsters!"
Link's heart jolted. "Let's go," he said, glancing over his shoulder at the Order of the Sword.
"But –" Inpa started to protest, and Zah Tori shook his head sharply.
"They can't fight!" he exclaimed. "We're the only warriors in the city, and I'd wager they're here because of that. Stay here!"
"Clear a path!" Link shouted, drawing the Master Sword and holding it high as he hurried out onto the walkways now filled with Gorons seeking safety. He thought he glimpsed Danuk's face, frustrated instead of fearful, as the rock folk all pushed and shoved each other to one side of the walkway to make room. Link jogged towards the upper levels, Zah Tori and the others on their heels.
"Any tips?" Zah Tori asked as they ran, even more Gorons rushing through the door at the top.
"Depends on what it is," Link answered tersely. "Pray it's not a wizzrobe."
He heard the Sheikah groan behind him.
They emerged into the open air of the city, and at once Link spotted, his lip curling, the Phantom hovering high above them, well out of range of a musket or a bow. Beneath it lay the bodies of two Gorons, still as the stone beneath. Anger seared Link's heart as he glared up at the abomination. Lerkin coward!
The Phantom raised a hand, gathering up a sphere of magical energy. Link held the Master Sword ready, stepping in front of the monks. But this magic was different – instead of the sparking yellow, it was a deep, fiery red, writhing as if consumed by flames.
The Phantom hurled the orb towards the ground, and it split into twelve separate missiles that grew in size and shape as they descended before exploding with a shower of sparks and viscous crimson flames that quickly dissipated, revealing red-skinned bipedal reptiles with heavily armored forearms and spiked tails. Lizalfos. A shield would be great right now.
"They'll attack by spinning around t'try and hit you with their tails," Link said quickly to the monks at his side as the monsters started towards them. "They're very fast, but not particularly bright. I found that feinting was fairly useful."
Zah Tori laughed out loud at that, and then the lizalfos were on them.
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Zelda
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Zelda hurried after Gor Dakorik through a hidden tunnel leading up to the top of the rocky crag that held the cavern. "Where are you going?" she panted, wincing at the stabs of pain on her overworked feet. "Your people need a leader – there's nothing you can do! Keep yourself safe!"
"I could say the same about you," Inpa muttered behind her.
"Maybe – maybe there's something," the bulky Goron said breathlessly, leading them up a winding set of stairs pressed closely in on both sides by uneven walls. "I have to see what's going on, at least!"
Zelda grit her teeth, torn between continuing her pursuit or staying hidden herself. She knew what she wanted to do – she wanted to see the fight, see if Link was alright.
They reached the top of the stairs, which opened up into a small cave at the top of the crag looking out over Eldin. The sounds of battle echoed over the stony cliffs, and far below, Zelda could see the Order of the Sword and Link fighting a mess of reptilian monsters on the streets. Lizalfos, she recalled, although she had never seen one before.
"Khanot has learned how to conjure monsters," Inpa muttered darkly, and then cursed and pointed up into the sky. "Both of you stay quiet. We don't want to draw its attention."
Zelda followed the direction of her finger and swallowed, her mouth feeling dry. Of course. The Phantom, flying well above even the highest point in Eldin, well out of range of any weapon they had access to.
She shuddered, turning her gaze back to the battle below. Many monsters lay dead already, she thought with relief – Khanot had not sent a large enough force. She quickly counted heads – Link, and three Sheikah monks. Her heart lurched, and she couldn't keep back a sharp gasp when she spotted the body of the fourth monk, prone on the streets alongside two Goron bodies. "No," she whispered, tears prickling in her eyes. Inpa gave her a sharp, but sympathetic look.
"Not now," the Sheikah warrior whispered. "There will be time for grieving afterwards."
"Four men, standing against so many," Gor Dakorik murmured in awe. "They – they must be incredible."
They are, Zelda thought, heart in her throat as she clung to the side of the cave, peering down into the streets. It would have been a beautiful thing to watch, if not for the peril. The Order of the Sword fought with graceful, flowing movements, red robes billowing like flames around them as they danced among their enemies. Link was no less graceful, but his movements were more powerful, more precise, none of his energy wasted on meaningless flare. The Master Sword moved faster than she could see, deflecting blows and sliding in and out of monsters with ease. Together they cut down each of the remaining lizalfos, and the streets fell silent. Zelda let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, the tension in her shoulders easing.
Then a red haze swept across the sky, and she looked up in the Phantom in alarm. It held both of its arms outstretched, its hands glowing a wicked shade of magenta. But it wasn't gathering up magic into a shining orb, as it had last time. She heard a startled shout of alarm from the streets below and her gaze snapped downwards where, to her horror, the corpses of the fallen lizalfos were rising up, engulfed in the same magenta glow.
The corpses of the two Gorons and the monk joined them.
Zelda's stomach lurched nauseatingly, and she leaned back from the edge, her heart pounding violently in her throat. "Goddesses," she whispered faintly, blinking tears from her eyes. Inpa's face, ashen, reflected the same disgust and grief she felt. Gor Dakorik looked almost petrified with shock.
She heard a pained cry from the street and forced herself to look down at the battle. One of the monks was staggering backwards; she noted with sickening relief that he was glowing a faint red – he was the one that had already been killed. As she watched his opponent struck him through the heart with his blade –
And he remained standing. Zelda's heart clenched. Of course. He's already dead – he can't very well be killed again.
Link shouted something and then his hand was glowing a bright green as he lunged at one of the undead Gorons he was facing. He switched the Master Sword to his left hand and pressed his right against the Goron's chest, above its heart. It gave a terrible screech, and then the red light flared once and faded, and the Goron crumpled. Zelda's eyes widened. Zonai magic… amazing!
But any moment not spent fighting gave the enemies outnumbering a free shot at hitting him. Zelda's heart jumped as he barely managed to duck under a lizalfos' sweeping blow with its tail, even though he leapt back to his feet quick enough to bury the Master Sword deep in its chest, even left-handed. It fell dead and he turned to the next monster, switching his sword back to his dominant hand.
"What did he do?" Gor Dakorik asked uncertainly. "He – that brother was alive again, but he made him… dead…"
"He probably set his soul to rest," Inpa answered. "Look at the other raised dead – they're still going, no matter how they're attacked. Only Link can actually get them down again."
She was right, Zelda noticed anxiously. The three Sheikah monks were desperately holding their own against the monsters as Link finished them off, one by one. But the sword monk that had been raised was proving to be quite the challenge, equally proficient as the others, now turned against them. The monk fighting him was more skilled and kept him at bay, steadily luring him away from the rest of the fight, but then at last he fell back with a cry and Zelda realized who it was – Zah Tori.
Link whirled around at the sound, abandoning the lizalfos he was dodging to rush to Zah Tori's side. The lizalfos' tail struck him in the back, sending him tumbling forwards. Zelda's heart hammered in horror, nausea rising up within her as he scrambled to his feet and continued towards Zah Tori in time to parry a blow from the undead monk that would have finished him off. Goddesses…!
The lizalfos had followed him, along with the remaining undead Goron. Three against one, and the other two Sheikah had their hands full dealing with the other nine monsters, focusing entirely on dodging. What had once been a fairly simple fight had devolved into a desperate attempt to stay alive, and Zelda could do nothing but watch. Goddesses, no!
Link stood protectively over Zah Tori, who was on the ground but still alive. Link's right hand flared a bright green, and for a moment he and his opponents seemed utterly frozen. Not one of them moved except Link, but she could see even from a distance that he was breathing heavily, sweat shining on his brow. What is he doing?
Then he gave a strained cry and at once the monk, the Goron, and the lizalfos converged on him. The Master Sword found the lizalfos' chest and Link pulled its body close as if it was a shield, blocking the undead monk's attack. But the Goron's punch landed in his back and Link stumbled forward as the monk slashed at him again in his moment of imbalance –
"No!" Zelda exclaimed, reaching out instinctively towards him. Logically she knew she was too far away to help. Logically she knew there was nothing she could do. But she stretched forth her hand, desperate to do something, anything, to keep him from being hurt.
It was as if a dam had burst inside of her. The mark of the Triforce flared a bright, pure gold on the back of her hand and she felt a fierce rush of power born of love. A beam of light like an arrow shot from her hand and struck the monk before its blow could land. The red haze surrounding it vanished; it stood for a moment and then crumpled.
Link whirled on the Goron before it could strike again, his hand flaring a bright green. It, too, collapsed, and then he rejoined the other two sword monks. One by one each lizalfos fell beneath the Master Sword – the blade of evil's bane. At the end of it all Link returned to the fallen sword monk with a hand glowing green, and then he reached for Zah Tori. They were speaking – Zah Tori was alive. Link was alive. The remaining two monks still lived. The Phantom was gone from the sky.
Zelda's eyes rolled back, and darkness took her.
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She awakened to a gentle touch on her cheek – strong, calloused fingers, lightly brushing the side of her face. With a soft sigh she managed to open her heavy eyelids, smiling when she found Link above her, looking exhausted but unhurt. "Hello," she murmured sleepily.
Link glanced down at her, his expression brightening when he saw her awake. "How do y'feel?" he asked quietly.
"I'm a bit sore, thanks for asking," came Zah Tori's voice from nearby, somewhat exasperated. Link ignored him.
"I… I feel very tired," Zelda answered slowly, somewhat confused.
There was a slight crease between Link's brows. "Do y'remember what happened?" he said. "Do you… remember what y'did?"
It came rushing back to her at once and she slammed her eyes shut, grimacing at the onslaught of memories. The battle. The unkillable undead. "The… the power I used," she whispered, raising her right hand enough to see the mark of the Triforce of Wisdom.
Link nodded. "You didn't free his spirit – I still had t'do that part. But you expelled th'evil power. Banished it, sealed it away – something like that, as best as I can tell."
Zelda squinted at him. "Free his… spirit?"
"That's what I was doing," Link nodded, showing her his right hand. It shone green for a moment. "I'd… never actually done it before, but apparently, as you and I both know by now, we can learn a lot when under pressure." He turned to look in Zah Tori's direction. "Th'Zonai know that in order t'deal with an undead creature, y'have t'chop it t'bits first. That's why what you all were doing wasn't working."
"Yes, because I was certainly going to dismember my own pupil," came Zah Tori's sarcastic response, underlaid with a current of grief.
Link grimaced. "Th'only real way t'destroy an undead is t'set its spirit at rest," he said quietly. "Th'lizalfos didn't seem to have actual spirits – just a lot of evil magic. That's why, I'm guessing, th'Master Sword could take care f'them well enough both rounds. But th'actual people…"
"Was that what you did… when those three were all on you at once?" Zelda whispered. "When you all stood still at once…"
Link's expression darkened. "That was… something else," he said. "I was… trying t'fight with Khanot's hold over them. Trying t'get them t'listen t'me, instead of… t'him."
Zelda felt something cold drop into her stomach as she realized what he wasn't saying. "You can take control of people, with your magic," she murmured, and Link winced.
"In desperate situations," he admitted quietly. "But I'm not strong enough t'stand against Khanot himself; I learned that much. It took nearly everything I had just t'keep them off f'me for a few moments."
"You had enough left to keep me alive," Zah Tori said, presumably from the next bed over. "I'm grateful for that."
"You healed him," Zelda realized, and Link nodded.
"Enough that he wasn't going to die," he said heavily. "He still needed stitches and lost a lot of blood. He won't be up for another fight anytime soon."
Zelda swallowed thickly, the weight of their situation pressing down around her. "We… we lost one of our own," she said quietly, blinking at the sting of tears. "And Zah Tori is injured. We… we'll have to wait here until he heals, and hope that… that we won't be attacked again on our way out."
"Not quite," Link said with a small grin. "We're leaving tomorrow. Danuk – he's one f'th'Gorons here – will smuggle us most f'th'way t'Kakariko with their next shipment f'iron. Then he has permission from Gor Dakorik t'go with his team t'th'cavern in Lanayru."
Zelda's eyes widened. "Gor Dakorik… he's… agreed to help us?"
"On one condition," Link said, his smile fading a little. "It's only you, me, Inpa, and Zah Tori going t'Kakariko. The other two are staying here, t'train th'Gorons. Dakorik is thoroughly convinced now that he needs guards."
Zelda nodded slowly. Four people, traveling on their own into enemy territory. Two Sheikah, the Hylian Princess, and a Zonai warrior, traveling to the Sheikah capital. She shivered.
But… we'll be doing something to help the Gorons. They'll have at least a chance of defending themselves. And we're getting some of the most skilled stoneworkers in all of Hyrule in exchange.
I suppose, in the end… this is actually a victory for us.
She thought of the fallen Gorons and the sword monk and wished it felt more satisfying.
"Are you alright?" Link asked with a slight frown, concerned.
Zelda sighed, biting back a frustrated response. "I thought this would go differently," she admitted. "I've been… doing everything right, or so I thought. And yet we have lukewarm support from King Phaidon and barely managed to convince the Gorons to help us at all. What… what am I doing wrong?" She blinked rapidly, ashamed of her tears. "I fought against my parents' limitations every way I could – they knew I would be a threat to their rule, and tried to inhibit me. I thought I had made so much progress… and yet here we are." She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to stay calm, trying not to take out her feelings on Link, who was looking at her with his lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to comfort her but didn't know how.
Link… who had successfully negotiated with Gor Dakorik while she was unconscious, it seemed. Link, whose courage in the face of the Boar Tribe inspired Dorephan to stand with her and her entourage in the first place.
Inpa had spoken to her that morning, after the men had all gone outside. Her guard's words now reverberated in her mind. "The man you marry will be the next King of Hyrule."
She had come to a similar realization last night, seeing Link in untypically regal attire. The inevitable result of her feelings towards him would lead to him ruling the kingdom at her side if they were victorious.
"You're wondering what you're doing wrong?" came Inpa's voice, somewhere above her, and a moment later her bodyguard's stern face came into view. "You've spent all your efforts up until now fighting for peace. Which, until the Temple of Time, was something that really did rally the people to your side. They wanted peace. They still do, and of course that's still our ultimate goal."
Zelda felt the mattress sinking as Inpa sat down next to her. "However," the Sheikah woman said solemnly, "we're at a point now where in order to achieve peace, we must fight. Your immediate goal is not to convince Hyrule to support your bid for peace. You need to stir people up to rebellion. You need to light a fire in their souls so that they will fight for you. It's not about peace right now – it's about fighting against evil with everything we've got."
Zelda felt her heart stir at Inpa's words and knew at once that she was right. She didn't like it – it felt manipulative, to stir people up to ultimately risk life and limb for her sake.
But what's the alternative? she asked herself. If Hyrule is not prepared to fight against the forces of the Calamity, what happened here in Eldin today will repeat itself – on a much larger, far more devastating scale.
And that was what her message needed to be.
"Certainly," Zah Tori chuckled. "And there's nothing like an angry man wearing a skull with a sword all spattered in blood to stir people up to fighting."
Link raised an eyebrow disgruntledly in the monk's direction, but Zelda smiled up at him. "Then I'm forever glad that you're on my side."