Chapter 13

"And ceaseless will wheel turn,"

The rising sun saw Link climbing back over the fence that marked the boundary of the nature reserve. Dropping his book bag and archery equipment to the rocky ground on the other side, Link hoisted himself the rest of the way over and dropped to the gravel beside them. The forest seemed to look different now that he was out of Nayru's Solstice. It looked more…latent, like it had a whole new world hidden underneath the surface.

"Sheik!" Link called out. She was supposed to be waiting for him here. Hopefully she hasn't disappeared again, Link thought.

"I am here," Sheik's voice responded from above Link. Looking up, he saw that she was sitting on a large branch about a dozen feet off the ground. One leg hung over the side of the branch and her back rested up against the tree trunk.

"I passed Nayru's test," Link said after an awkward moment. The Sheikah seemed to be waiting for him to say something.

"I know," she replied. Standing up, Sheik dropped to the ground, landing deftly in front of Link. She eyed him for a second, calculatingly. Apparently she saw something she liked though, because she smiled through her veil, the smile reflecting in her eyes.

"Yet again you return changed, one step closer to becoming the hero of prophesy," Sheik said. "Come, you should eat and rest before we head to the last trial."

Link shook his head. "No, we need to get going. There's something I need to take care of before we go any further."

"What?" Sheik asked. Link got the feeling that she already knew the answer.

"Rebecka," Link replied. "I haven't talked to her since—since Sam died. She deserves to know what really happened to him."

"Are you certain?" Sheik asked. "What if she doesn't believe you?"

Link sighed. "It doesn't matter. Sam would want her to know."

It took the two of them most of the day to hike their way back into society. Neither talked much during the journey, Sheik in her normal silence, and Link trying to choose what he was going to say to Rebecka. He still hadn't figured it out by the time that they arrived at her apartment.

"Sheik, don't disappear on me, ok?" Link said as he led them up the stairs to Rebecka's floor. "This'll be easier with you around."

Walking down the hallway, Link spotted Beck's apartment, room 237. Link had only been here twice before, but he still remembered Beck's apartment vividly. Inside there was a small living room connected to a kitchen. On one side of the kitchen was a door that led to the apartment's only bedroom and, beyond that, the bathroom.

Link remembered it as a joyous place; Rebecka had always worked to keep it clean and organized, usually filling the empty kitchen counters with flowers or pictures. She had like to keep the windows open during the summer, letting the fresh air continually flow into the apartment. It was such a refreshing atmosphere.

Link sighed as he walked up to the door. I need to do this, he told himself. Tentatively, Link knocked.

It seemed like Link stood there for hours waiting for Rebecka to answer the door. His heart beat rhythmically, like a clock, ticking away precious time. Just as he was about to give up and leave, something moved on the other side of the door.

"Hello?" Rebecka's voice drifted sorrowfully through the door. She spoke softly, and her voice cracking like she had been crying. Her voice was miserable, depressed, lost.

"Beck?" Link asked worriedly. "It's me." The door swung open and Rebecka jumped out, wrapping her arms around Link and sobbing into his hair.

"Link?" she asked, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. "Goddesses, I've been so worried! What happened?" She paused, suddenly unsure. "Link, about Sam—"

"I already know," Link cut her off before she started crying again. They were both quiet for a moment, caught up in a haunting vision. Snapping out of her daze, Beck looked up and saw Sheik for the first time. Link couldn't blame her for not noticing the Sheikah earlier, she didn't seem to like being seen. Nervously, Rebecka took a step back.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"It's alright," Link replied soothingly. "She's a—a—she's Sheik," he finished lamely, unsure of what to call the commanding woman beside him. Rebecka quickly invited them both inside and bade them sit on the couch.

Link looked around the apartment sadly; it was so much different than he'd remembered. The windows were shut, the blinds were down, and the normally colorful flowers drooped dejectedly from lack of care and sunshine. A box of old photos lay on one of the end tables, and the floor was littered with forgotten food and dirty tissue. The grayness of the room bothered Link; it was so unlike Beck.

Rebecka fussed over Link's torn clothes for a while, asking him repeatedly if he was hurt and what had happened to him. Finally, she retired to the recliner across the coffee table, wordlessly watching him. The tense pause screamed at Link to explain himself, to tell Rebecka what had really happened to Sam. He steeled himself and took a deep breath to calm his nerves.

"Beck," he began. "I'm so sorry."

Tense hours passed as Link recounted the tale of Sam's death. He began his story with the discovery of the ocarina, not leaving a single detail out, not even the discovery that he was the hero from the Prophecy of Ages. As he continued his narration into the Goddess' trials, he became lost within the painful memories, no longer noticing Beck's stunned reactions. Silence followed the end of his tale. He paused, and then continued hesitantly.

"So—so I'm responsible for Sam's death," Link finished. Tears came unbidden to his eyes, threatening to run down his grimy cheeks. "Because I played the ocarina, he's dead. And I know you might hate me for it, but you deserve to know."

Silence. Rebecka just sat there, tears rolling unhindered down her face. Link's heart broke; he knew exactly how she was feeling. Her life had been uprooted twice now in the last week, and she was just beginning to feel the finality of Sam's departure. Wiping futilely at her wet cheeks, Beck stood up and walked around the coffee table to where Link was sitting. He closed his eyes and braced himself, ready for the inevitable slap, but suddenly he found Rebecka kneeling in front of him with her arms wrapped tightly around his chest. Her long red hair fell over his lap, and sobbing, she buried her face in Link's chest.

"I miss him so much," she wept brokenly. Her fingers clutched at the back of Link's shirt as if grasping at her last reminder of Sam.

"I'm so sorry," Link said softly. How could she ever forgive him? Beck shook her head.

"Sam wouldn't have blamed you," she spoke into Link's shirt, voice cracking. "So neither can I."

Link was stunned. Taking Rebecka's head in his arms, he hugged her tightly. Resting his head upon hers, he let the tears that he had been holding in flow freely. Link didn't know how long they sat like that, embracing each other sadly, but it was past dark by the time they broke apart.

Rebecka tried to argue Link into staying the night, but his determination to keep moving quickly overcame her objections. She could see his resolve, and understood what he was fighting for. Before he left with Sheik, she pulled him into another hug.

"Link, please get Malon back," she beseeched him sorrowfully. Link brought his hand up and put it on her shoulder comfortingly.

"I promise that no matter how long it takes, no matter what gets in my way, I will save her." He spoke from the heart, his promise to Rebecka was no different than the silent promise that he had already made to Malon. I will get her back. Embracing Rebecka one last time, Link turned and strode off into the darkness after Sheik.

They didn't walk far before settling down for the night in a local park. As late as it was, they decided to forgo a fire and simply get some rest. As Link lay his head down on the green grass, he grasped the book bag that held the manuscript that Malon had given him. He held it tight to his chest, recalling all the fun times that they had shared together. He repeated the promise that he had made over and over again in his head until he fell asleep. I will save you.

Link awoke to the sun in his eyes, its bright rays peering out from over the horizon. Sitting up, Link was not surprised to see that Sheik had left sometime during the night, not even leaving a bent blade of grass to tell that she had ever been there at all. With a sigh, Link forced his tired body to his feet.

Walking over to a nearby bench, Link sat down and looked around lazily. He could spot rows of houses through the thin line of trees surrounding the park, but the windows and yards were motionless; it was still too early for most people to be up. It was odd to think that, not that long ago, Link had been just another person, just another house on the block. Now he was caught up in a fight for the safety of all mankind.

Link craved that once-held anonymity that had shaped his former life. Before Zelda, he had been just another boy, but now that he was the hero of prophecy, he desired nothing more than for things to go back to the way they were.

Things can never go back. Even if he somehow managed to defeat Ganon and save Malon, Link knew that his life would forever be changed. Sam wasn't coming back, and Link doubted that his journey as the Hero of Time would end until his dying day.

Watching the birds float around the blue sky, Link tried to imagine himself growing up to have a normal life, to have a family, a job, a car, but the vision kept slipping away like mist through his fingers.

"Things may never return to the way they were before," Sheik's voice said from behind him. Link nodded sadly. "But the Goddesses have not forgotten you."

Link sat on the bench for a while, thinking about what life was going to be like after the whole ordeal was over. Eventually, Sheik walked around and sat next to him, silently staring off into the sky as Link was doing. Together, they sat, oblivious to all around them.

"Come," Sheik said, finally standing up. Out of her cloak she pulled out a loaf of bread and some apples. "Eat while we move. Perhaps we can make it to Farore's Refuge before dark."

As usual, they traveled in silence, Sheik leading Link through the wild toward some unknown destination. They traveled west this time, out of Hylia and into the wetlands that marked the county limits. Most people stayed well away from the swampy terrain, distrustful of the scummy ponds and damp earth. But as they proceeded, Link found himself enjoying the wet forest. His feet made a squelching sound with every step, and occasionally he would see a frog or a small snake scurry off into the underbrush. Even the air tasted different. It seemed heavier, richer, more full of life.

After hours of walking, they stopped in front of the largest pond that Link had seen so far. In fact, Link thought that it could almost be called a lake. Pond scum coated the outer edges of the water, and lily pads dotted the pond's surface. The sun was still fairly high in the sky before him, and Link assumed it to be about mid-afternoon.

"Farore's Refuge lies there," Sheik said, pointing to a small wooded island that Link's eyes had glided right over. "In my time, this was at the floor of a vast lake, dozens of miles across." She glanced at Link. "I suppose that we are lucky then, that the lake has gone dry."

This was a lake? Link asked himself, looking around in wonder. He couldn't imagine a body of water as enormous as the wetlands they had been traveling through, and as far as he knew, the terrain continued like this for hours, even days westward.

"So how do we get there?" Link asked, gazing across at the small island. In answer, Sheik walked to the edge of the water and moved aside a thick clump of cattails to expose a decrepit looking dingy. Link shuddered inwardly as he surveyed the decaying rowboat. He was amazed that it was still afloat, and seriously doubted its ability to get them across the water safely. However, Link knew better than to question the Sheikah's judgment.

Without a word, Link walked forward and jumped inside the boat, picking up the two damp oars that lay in the hull of the wooden craft. Carefully, he set his bow and quiver on the bench next to him, silently praying that they stay dry.

The long row out to the island was quiet except for the occasional marsh-bird and the soft sounds of the oars dipping into and out of the water. During the journey, Link couldn't help but think back to the other two Goddess' trials. In one he'd been forced to watch as Ganon once again ripped his family away from him, and in the other he'd seen the heart wrenching demise of entire nations. The thought of yet another trial like the first two was enough to make him wince.

As the boat neared the shore, Sheik leaned forward. "Link, remember what you're fighting for. Not just Malon, but the entire world is depending on your courage."

Link felt a weight settle on his shoulders, but he sat up straighter and bore it with intensified resolve. He was the only one who could do this. He had promised that he would save her.

Jumping out the boat, Link hoisted the dingy onto the muddy shore where it would not drift away while he was gone.

"I will be here when you return," Sheik said. Link just nodded, retrieving his bow and quiver from the hull and swinging them onto his back. The bag with Malon's book already hung from his side; he hadn't gone without it since Sheik had given it back to him.

Without looking back, Link walked off into the trees toward the center of the island. It did not take Link very long to reach his destination. In just minutes he found himself hiking into what could only be Farore's Refuge.

The alcove had been created by the trees growing around him, and above him lush, overlapping leaves, each bigger than Link's hand, cut out most light except for a few bright rays poking through the foliage. The area was large enough to house a few cars, and the damp, earth was covered with deep green moss. Rotting logs lay haphazardly across the ground, and out from the decomposing wood grew wild ferns and oddly colored flowers.

The ground itself, although inert, seemed to teem with life, and all around him Link could hear the sounds of different birds and animals. The screech of an owl, the croak of a frog, the hiss of a snake; they all sung as part of the song of Farore's Refuge.

Even the air seemed fuller, smelled more lush. He could taste the swamp's vitality with every breath.

Next to one of the decaying logs stood the Goddess' statue, and in her hands, the mystical orb. It was a dull green, and its foggy depths reflected the living atmosphere around it. Link took another step forward, and the sphere came to life.

Blinding green light exploded out from the orb, erupting into the clearing with an intense gust of wind. Both the light and wind quickly faded away, but it left behind a thin layer of white fog covering the ground. The mist swirled around Link's legs teasingly, cooling his tired feet through his shoes.

"LINK, WHY HAVE YOU ENTERED MY REFUGE?" The orb pulsed green with every one of Farore's words, illuminating the alcove in vigorous emerald light. The Goddess' words were full of life and energy. Vitality, reflected beautifully in the lush glade, filled both her words and Link's heart with life. His suppressed fears immediately melted away, and his aching body felt rejuvenated.

"I need your blessing," Link replied. So far, the interaction with Farore had been the exact same as with the other two sacred deities.

"YOU DESIRE A BLADE MEANT ONLY FOR THE CHOSEN HERO OF COURAGE," Farore intoned, her powerful voice resonating in every edifice of Link's mind. "YOU THINK YOURSELF COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO WEILD SUCH A SWORD?" Her voice sent Link's spirit soaring. Heart racing, adrenaline pumping, he was energized.

"Yes," he replied, suddenly confident.

"THEN YOU MUST OVERCOME MY TRIAL AND EARN MY BLESSING." Her voice was like a drug to him, creating in him an unexplainable ecstasy that grew with every word. He was content; he was confident; he was excited, ecstatic to be alive.

"ARE YOU PREPARED?" Farore asked. Without a moment's hesitation, Link responded.

"Yes!"