Chapter 10: Skyloft Prison
When Link came to, his hands were tied behind his back and he was lying in a candlelit jail-cell. To his right there were other jail-cells that were occupied, then on his left was a sleeping warden who looked to be Hylian with the glass jar that held Proxi sitting on the edge of his desk. Link tried to free himself, but the binds were too tight and he couldn't get up because his feet were bound too.
"Quite the pickle you've gotten yourself into, Link."
Surprised, Link looked past the bars and saw Skull Kid standing there.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue, or—
Skull Kid glanced over to the desk and noticed Proxi struggling to break free from the glass jar.
"Shouldn't we help her?" Tael asked, appearing from underneath Skull Kid's hat.
"Yeah, she doesn't look too happy being in there," Tatl added.
"All right, but do it quietly," Skull Kid said. "We don't want to wake the warden."
While Tael and Tatl were busy trying to loosen the cap on the glass jar, Skull Kid slipped through the iron bars and came into Link's cell.
"If you're wondering where you are, you're in the Skyloft Prison which is inside the courtyard where the Goddess Statue is," Skull Kid said. "You should make the most of this situation before you're executed tomorrow morning."
Link's eyes widened.
"After Madam Kouri and Kasai brought you here, your sword and shield were examined by Mayor Ganon's trusted advisor Ghirahim who quickly realized you were the False Hero and had you locked up. Meanwhile, the sword and shield were confiscated in a nearby armory but the security there was pretty lousy."
From underneath his shirt, Skull Kid produced the Master Sword which was still sheathed but uncovered by the cloth Madame Starling gave. Then from his back, Skull Kid pulled out the Hylian Shield which was hidden underneath a green cloak Skull Kid was wearing. The charcoal was gone and the shield was shining brightly in the candlelight.
"I don't know what those Gerudo witches told you, but they probably said some nasty things about me," Skull Kid said while he put the Hylian Shield down and unsheathed the Master Sword. "I'm as bad as they claim, and a whole lot worse."
As Skull Kid raised the sword, Link became stiff as a board. Then when Skull Kid swung the sword down, he cut the ropes that bound Link's feet. Awkwardly, Link tried to stand until Skull Kid helped him up. Link then stood perfectly still as Skull Kid used the sword to cut the ropes that bound Link's arms. Meanwhile, Tael and Tatl succeeded in loosening the cap on the jar and Proxi giddily flew out. She rejoined Link and flew into the safety of his shirt-pocket.
"If you're so bad, Skull Kid, then why are you helping me?" Link asked, rubbing his sore hands and neck.
"Before you came, I was pretty bored," Skull Kid replied as he sheathed the Master Sword and gave it to Link. "The pranks weren't satisfying, and the people I pranked on were no longer paying attention to me. So then when I realized you were the False Hero Cia's been talking about for years, I figured it might be fun helping Skyloft's most wanted criminal capture his appointed prize before the day is done."
"What time is it?" Link said as he reattached the Master Sword to his back and picked up the Hylian Shield to cover it.
"A few minutes past 8:00," Skull Kid said. "Now get going. Your princess is waiting."
Then Skull Kid slipped through the bars and trotted away into the darkness with Tael and Tatl following him. Once he was gone, Link unsheathed the Master Sword and used it to cut the iron bars in half. The clanging noise that followed when the bars hit the brick floors was enough to wake the warden up. While the prisoners in the nearby cells cheered, Link jumped over the fallen bars and ran past the warden who tried to stop him. Down the dimly-lit hallway, a pair of Clockwork Policemen appeared shooting beams of light from their claw-like hands. Link dodged the beams and sliced the metal canisters in half revealing the gears and shafts inside. A few more showed up further ahead, but Link cut them down like flies.
At the exit to the prison, Link was confronted by a single man. He was very tall, with chalk-white skin and short ash-blond hair, wearing a white top-hat and matching suit underneath a crimson-red cloak. His eyes were black as bottomless pits, and a single diamond earring gleamed from one of his ears.
"Surrender now, boy," the man said drawing a curved sword from his side. "Or I shall be forced to kill you."
Link said nothing and charged at the man with his sword raised. But the strange man blocked him, and proceeded to counter every single one of Link's strikes. So Link fought back and continued to strike until he was able to disarm the man's sword. Surprised, the man vanished in a shower of black diamonds before the Master Sword penetrated his skin. It was then that the Master Sword suddenly glowed and a being of light emerged. Once fully-formed, the being revealed itself to be a woman with a face that looked to be carved from stone, long sleeve-like arms made of blue and purple silk, wearing a blue diamond-shaped pendant, a purple dress and black tights crisscrossed by blue lines.
The being hovered in the air and turned to face Link. "Follow me, Master."
"Wait," Link said, following the being out of the prison and into the courtyard where the Goddess Statue loomed nearby. "Who are you?"
"I am Fi, the Spirit of the Sword," the being answered flying toward the Goddess Statue. "You are the chosen Hero, and therefore my Master. The one called Zelda is inside the Goddess Statue, waiting for you to rescue her."
"Okay, so how do I get in?" Link asked as he heard beams being shot from the Clockwork Policemen that were following behind.
"There is a secret entrance at the base of the statue that will lead to a spiraling staircase," Fi said. "Near the top, there is a door hidden in an alcove. That is where you will find Zelda."
"How do you know all this?" Link said using the Master Sword to block the incoming beams.
"Because I am a servant of the Goddesses, and they speak to me directly," replied Fi.
To be continued…