Chapter 10: Yours Sincerely

"Alright, alright! Settle down!"

Mido shook his fist at the children gathered outside his house, throwing a rock over their heads to keep the attention on himself. The noise ebbed slightly, giving him time to look out on the leaf-encrusted clearing and wonder how he might turn everything to his advantage.

"I know things have changed," he said, clapping both hands on his hips. "I know you all miss the Great Deku Tree. I do too, but we can't let that stop us from moving on. Someone has to lead the Kokiri!"

"Who?" said a boy in the crowd. "You?"

"That's right. Me."

The boos erupted like a geyser, forcing Mido to throw several more rocks before he could speak again. "Hey!" he said. "Just listen for a minute. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't be standing here right now. Who do you think killed the monster in the Tree, anyway?"

A cold breeze sifted through the crowd, carrying the mellow scent of fungi from the deeper reaches of the forest.

"It was Link!" a girl shouted.

"No!" Mido threw his hands in the air. "I did it! Link ran away!"

Oddly, no one replied, and for a few brief seconds, Mido was sure he had them.

"How dare you," said a voice. "How dare you disgrace Link's memory?"

Mido blanched. "Saria?"

"You only speak out against him because he's not here to defend himself. No one would believe you otherwise."

Pushing her way through to the front of the crowd, Saria stalked right up to Mido and slapped him twice on the cheek, hard.

Mido flinched, little surprised by the strength of her reaction. "She's right! Link's not here to defend himself, and that's the problem!" He sneered, no longer afraid of hurting Saria after the way she had treated him the night before the Tree died. "Where is he? Why did he leave?"

"He's different. He always has been."

Mido crowed with laughter, provoking most of the others to join him. "See? Even Saria admits it. He's not one of us…and he never was!"

"That's not true! Link is one of us, no matter how different he is. The Great Deku Tree treated him like a son; why can't you treat him like a brother?"

Mido's lips peeled back in disgust. "Why do you care so much about him? Why care what the rest of us think?"

Saria's green hair, now drenched with sweat, fell to her shoulders with the death of the breeze. She did not speak.

"I know why," said Mido. "It was obvious the night I came to your house."

Saria looked up, her back to everyone else as she faced Mido with a fury that slowly faded into sadness.

"You may be right about my feelings," she said, "but you'll never be right about him."

Hyrule Field. Midday. Everything soaked in a hot sun with no vines, no branches, and no leaves covering his head, yet Link gawked at the mountain just north and east of the city as if he didn't notice.

"Incredible."

Zelda's attendant, Impa, stood beside him on the drawbridge, a leather pack sitting at her feet. "There are those who would sooner destroy such majesty than share it with others."

He nodded. "How will I climb it?"

"Kakariko, the village of my people, lies at the foot of the mountain. There is a path leading west from the village, all the way up the mountain to Goron City. It is guarded by a single Knight."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"You carry an ocarina with you." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes."

"I would teach you a song I have played for Princess Zelda since her infanthood."

Without waiting for a response, Impa pressed two fingers to her lips and blew gently, whistling a melody that carried a haunting sweetness into his heart and made him think of Saria, the Great Deku Tree, his home in the forest, and of course Princess Zelda herself. Before long, he found that he had reached for Saria's Fairy Ocarina and brought it to his mouth. He did his best to imitate the sounds flowing from Impa's lips, though his experience with the instrument hardly equaled Saria's.

When it was over, Impa refolded her arms. "When the people of Hyrule gathered to honor the heir's birth, the King suggested that Zelda's Lullaby be used as a signal between him and his allies. Its notes carry mysterious power, and only friends of the Royal Family are allowed to learn it."

Link tried to make out signs of habitation beneath the mountain. A curl of smoke rising in the distance might have come from a manmade fire, or it could have been fog, since a cliff obscured any sight of the village.

Impa lifted the pack at her feet, loaded with provisions from the castle cellar, and handed it to Link. "Should you run out, you will want to find food in the village."

"Couldn't I ask the Gorons for food?"

A twitch at the corners of her mouth betrayed Impa's thoughts. "I do not think their palate would be to your liking. Mention my name, and you will lack for no necessity from the citizens of Kakariko."

She took a step back so that Link could only see her from the corner of his right eye. He thought he saw her picking something out of a pouch at her waist.

"The princess will be waiting for you to return with the Spiritual Stones. We are both counting on you."

"I—"

Link's reply was cut off by a crack and an explosion of light that dulled his senses. Shaking his head to clear it, he stumbled around until his eyes fell on the smoking husk of a Deku Nut half buried in the grass.

"She's gone," said Navi.

Their hike to the village was uneventful. Link stopped once to eat and consider how he might avoid attracting too much notice with the villagers. More than anything else, he wanted to read the letters Zelda had given him, but the day wore on, and he needed to reach the village by evening.

Several times, Navi attempted to start a conversation, but after all that had happened in the past few days, her companion was in no mood to chat.

Halfway to the cliff that concealed Kakariko, they crossed another bridge. Once more, the desire to go back to a simpler life in the forest, with the Great Deku Tree still alive, began to weigh over Link's urge to see more and do more in the world.

Flopping down in the grass on the other side of the bridge, he threw a hand to his face and cried. He cried for the Deku Tree first of all, but his thoughts also drifted to Saria and the other Kokiri—yes, he thought, even Mido—for whom there was little protection without their guardian.

"I can't do it," he said. "That man, Ganondorf, killed the Great Deku Tree. What's to stop him from killing me?"

"Not much," said Navi.

"That's supposed to help?" He frowned.

"Maybe you're thinking about it the wrong way."

"What do you mean?"

She landed on his lap. "You feel the wind, right?"

"What's that have to do with anything?"

"You feel the wind, but you can't control how strong it is or where it's going."

"So?"

"So you let it carry you."

The frown deepened. "You're saying I should just sit back and let Ganondorf do what he wants?"

"You're not listening! I'm saying no one's going to blame you for things you can't control, like the Great Deku Tree dying. Some things just happen. A lot of times, we don't get to know why."

He looked at her. "Since when did you become so thoughtful?"

"You weren't the only one who learned from the Great Deku Tree, you know."

He sighed and unfolded one of Zelda's letters while munching on a piece of Skulltula pie Saria had saved from the party. The letter was short, addressed to Sir Cahus of Kakariko Village, and contained a brief introduction of Link and a request that he be allowed to travel to Goron City on a matter of royal business. It was signed by the princess.

The first letter he skimmed over, but the other caught his attention at once, and he read:

Dear Link,

You will realize, of course, that I am writing this before we have even met face-to-face. By the time you read it, you will be on your way to finding the other two Spiritual Stones. Impa has told me you are safely hidden in the cellar of the castle and that she will have the servants bring you to us tomorrow.

Did I tell you about the dream I had that a light would come from the forest? I want you to know that I have faith in you, not just because of that dream, but because of your courage. You risked your life for someone who will never be able to repay you. Yes, Impa has told me of the girl in the square, too.

It may seem strange to you that I write like this, knowing so little of you. But it is not the first time I have dreamed. Every dream that Din or her sisters have sent me has come true, and I believe this one will, too.

Never become discouraged. If you do, know that you are the only person who has a chance against Ganondorf and his scheme for Hyrule. The Gerudos will never rest until they infiltrate every level of our society. You are brave—and strong, too—but you must learn to rely on the strength and encouragement of others as much as you do your own strength.

We may not know what will happen, but remember: there is something great working inside you that has led you this far, and if you let it carry you, it will take you to places you have never imagined and give you power beyond your highest expectations.

Please protect the Spiritual Stones. I know you will succeed. Until we see each other again, may the Way of the Hero lead to the Triforce.

Yours Sincerely,

Zelda Sayre Nohansen Hyrule

P.S. Please accept the fruit I have given you. It was grown by my mother before she died. I will eat half of it when you have left. The other half I leave with you. I believe that Din has destined the two of us to this task, and since you have come this far, you must believe it, too.

Link said nothing to Navi when he had finished reading it, but she could tell the letter had affected him, because he was shaking. He picked up the fruit and stared at it. He took a bite and shivered. He put the rest of it back in the cloth and returned it to the pouch containing his few provisions.

"Feel better now?"

He nodded.

I know Chapters 9 and 10 are a little on the short side, but I promise the chapters covering Death Mountain and Dodongo's Cavern will make up for it! Thank you so much for the reviews and comments. Please continue to enjoy!

Two random thoughts I wanted to share regarding everyone's favorite Princess. I realize the phrase, "May the way of the Hero lead to the Triforce" never appears in OOT, but I really liked it as a catchphrase, and since the storylines of OOT and ALTTP are so closely connected in most fans' minds, it didn't seem like much of a stretch to drop the phrase into the dialogue a time or two (it won't be the last time you'll see a character using it).

Also, in case you're wondering why I gave Zelda so many names, the explanation is simple and based on canonical facts. "Nohansen Hyrule," as veterans of TWW know, is the family name of the last King of Hyrule. The relationship between that king and the Princess Zelda of the OOT era isn't entirely clear, but I felt it was reasonable to assume the two characters are related in some way. Hence the shared names.

"Sayre" is simply the maiden name of F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife, after whom Miyamoto-sama chose to name Hyrule's Princess when Nintendo was working on the first Zelda game for the NES (see the quote in front of my prologue, which came from one of Miyamoto-sama's interviews on Amazon).

More to come!