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Special thanks to miano53 & AreiaCananaid for following! Also, to Guest for reviewing! It is much appreciated, and makes me feel all warm and fluffy and loved inside. :D

If you hate huge, descriptive chapters, then feel free to hate me now. This does involve something important, but there is so much detail it almost numbed my poor brain trying to get all the words down. Like now I'm bled dry of anything even mildly intelligent, all my descriptive and clever words poured into this. I can't even describe the weather outside.

But anyway...

Disclaimer: Why must you mock me so? I don't own...

On with the story!

The Descent

Chapter 3:

Sorrow

No one ever told me that grief felt so like fear.

- C.S. Lewis

Zelda

I had half a mind to force my way past Ilia - who was now watching me like a hawk and lurking nearby the door - and go fight beside Link, just to prove to him that I could.

The other half of my mind told me to wait for him to return and then beat the living daylights out of him.

I was currently sat at the wooden dining table in Ilia's dining room. She was a rather pretty girl, about a year younger than me, with wheat blonde hair and leaf green eyes. Her clothing was thin and simple, a white short sleeved top made of cotton (and adorned with teal in an almost lacy fashion around her neck) with long trousers of a light brown, and her feet were bare though I was cold and couldn't really understand how she was able to walk around bare footed without complaining of rocks hurting her feet. The front door was directly in front of me, blocked only by the table and a chair on which Ilia was now perched - and cleaning a sword with a small cloth in front of her, though either as a threat or for protection I wasn't certain - having apparently decided to sit and watch me. We hadn't spoken since my entrance five minutes ago.

"I'm really sorry Zelda, but Link will kill me if I let you go and you end up hurt. He'll blame himself for not looking after you better. Then he will probably get mad and go slaughter a load of monsters and come back wounded." Ilia's voice was filled with sadness, which I felt was directed at me but could also have been at the idea of Link being hurt. I knew I had spoken in a similar tone to him at the spring earlier.

"He just wants to keep you safe. You're important - and not just to all of Hyrule." She paused again, as if allowing the words to seep in before she continued.

"You're important to Link, too."

The sentence seemed to sink into the gulf my silence created, while I feebly attempted to cling to the words.

Finally I spoke.

"He's important to me. And that's why I don't want him to get hurt." I whispered, wondering if she had even caught the words. From her nod - and very faint smile - I guessed she did. She abandoned the sword in favour for studying me, as if searching for an underlying meaning to my words.

I didn't realise how desperate I sounded until my voice stopped, my piece said, my sentence finished.

"I understand, but Link is a better fighter than you give him credit for. I once saw him down three Bulbins in one swing. He'll be okay, I'm sure. Certain." Ilia seemed to convince herself, and stood again, a true smile now gracing her face.

"I'll make you a deal. If you stay here and Link comes back with even a tiny scratch, then I'll let you leave tomorrow to fight alongside him, because I recon he'll try and keep you safe here every night."

I considered it. She had been right earlier - Link was an exceptional fighter. Even then, he would probably come back with a small injury. This provided a chance to help him, no matter how likely or unlikely, even if it wasn't today. Did Ilia truly have so much faith in Link, or did she just want an excuse to let me leave? Was she actually trying to help me, but in such a way that she wouldn't feel guilty and have a valid argument against Link?

As I was about to accept, Ilia continued. "As long as you prove to me you can handle yourself."

I frowned. "How will I do that?"

She pretended not to hear me, instead staring at the door as if expecting someone to fall through it at any moment.

I sighed, wondering what she had meant, before saying, "I accept the terms of your deal."

She nodded, turning back to me, though her smile was strained. "We have a spare room up the ladder." She indicated a small ladder against the wall to my right. "I recommended you get some rest."

I stood and cautiously climbed the ladder before creeping across the wooden floor and pulling on my nightgown - a simple white dress-like thing which Link had evidently taken from my bag and given to Ilia as we entered. I then sighed at my situation, more annoyed at Link's stubborn streak than Ilia, and got into the bed. It was rather warm, and quite comfortable, but I knew I would have trouble sleeping.

After roughly three hours of worrying and fretting over Link, I finally fell into unconsciousness.

A world of light and shadows swirled, both sides pushing against each other in an age old war. Faces, hazy and half-recognised, float in and out of my vision. There is no colour here - only the brightness of light or the darkness of shadows.

Link appears in front of me, but he was not Link. His eyes were red, his skin unnaturally pale, his hair black. Blood dripped down from his mouth onto his black tunic, seemingly consumed by the eternal shades of dark. I stumbled backwards, afraid, and the twisted imitation of his image dissipates like mist.

I see the darkness and light mingle where they meet, combined into something neither light not dark but grey. Twilight. From it came a figure.

I could only see the silhouette, but they wore flowing robes with an almost spiked hood. I saw a flash of teal, the only difference in this otherwise dull and clear-cut world, where the distinction between light and dark was so enclosed and unequivocal, before the figure disappeared again. The twilight began to dwindle, shrinking more and more until it was almost gone. Though it did not entirely vanish; some small part of it remained.

You must fix this.

A voice whispered, soft and loud, gentle and rough, sweet and sour all at once. It was new and old, strong and weak, everything and nothing at the same time. The definition of an oxymoron in its simplest and most confusing form.

I awoke.

I was breathing hard, my sheets crumpled around me as if I had fought them through the night. The dream had horrified me - especially the vision of Link. The goddesses sometimes favoured certain people, and I knew Link and myself were two of them. This wasn't my first experience of a prophetic dream, but this was the first time when I hadn't seen an image of one of the goddesses within it, either imparting wisdom or instructing me. Still, I was left with one awful thought.

In a roundabout way, the dreams always seemed to come true, even if what they were trying to tell me originally made no sense.

Which may or may not mean something terrible had happened to Link. I wasn't certain what the dream was trying to tell me.

I managed to detach myself from the covers - albeit with a brief struggle - and changed back into my 'day' clothes before creeping down the ladder. Ilia wasn't in the room, so I snuck towards the front door. I had thought I could escape, but as I began to turn the handle I heard someone.

"I'd ask where are you going, but I think I can guess." Ilia's voice came from behind me, sounding vaguely amused. I turn around to face her, hiding in the shadows of the door frame which led out of the kitchen and into the living room. I made to protest, for I felt she was trying to keep me here, when she raised her hand to stop me.

"It's day now. The village is safe in the day." She paused, smiling at me before continuing. "Go and find him. Then kick him in the shins for dumping you here - don't pull a face, I know you want to really. If he asks, say it's from me."

With that I turn back around and flee from the main part of the village, racing as fast as my legs would carry me to Link's house. As I arrive, Epona trots out from her stall, whinnying at me. I smile at first as she runs to the edge of the fence, practically straining against it. Her nostrils are flared, her eyes wild with an expression vaguely reminiscent of fear but stronger. Now I was worried. This didn't seem like the sort of fear Epona had, flicking her hooves out and whinnying because she sensed monsters nearby, this was more like she had been chased by murderous creatures and just finished running for her life. It's horrible to watch.

I gently stroke her head, trying to sooth her, but she pulls out of my grip and canters down to the bottom of the field. She seems skittish, and bolts into another direction almost as soon as she's stopped. Now it feels as if she is attempting to find a way out.

Is there something wrong with Link? He and Epona have always had a close bond, almost as if they can sense the others emotions - if Link was angry, she would demolish any in her path, while if it was Epona angry he would be uncharacteristically snappy, no matter their situation or distance. Or maybe she knew something I didn't? Weren't animals supposed to sense disaster?

I push the thought rather hurriedly from my mind. Now I'm just being silly. He's fine. Maybe bruised, but otherwise fine. Link can handle himself. Stop worrying!

With a halfhearted attempt at a smile I make my way up the wooden ladder, pulling myself up onto a small porch-like area carved into the tree. The door in front of me has obviously been added to the structure, which otherwise is unbroken and seems to be made from one piece of wood - and I suppose it is, having all been carved from (or into) the tree. All the houses on the edge of the village are built like this, about nine of them, as they are the most at risk from attack and this keeps them safe. I've always loved the design despite its obscurity, for it is both beautiful and close to nature.
I try and peek through the vaguely-head-shaped hole cut into the top of the door, but it barely shows me the inside. I gently knock on the door to the oak-made-house before pushing it open, expecting (hoping fervently) to find an exhausted Link lying haphazardly in bed. Instead I find the familiar house empty.

It's fairly sized, with a ladder opposite the front door leading upstairs and another going downstairs beside it. The walls, ceiling and flooring was carved from the tree it had once been, making the whole place seem ancient and sacred. A table and four chairs sit to my left, uncluttered, while various drawers and shelves around the room hold pots and things, which somehow didn't seem to be just scattered about the place - while it was always clean, now it almost appeared organised. The house was a comforting place, more a home to me than anywhere else, filled with earthy browns and greens, the sun illuminating the main room (which was used for almost everything) as it streams in through numerous windows, dappled due to having to pass through the trees surrounding the house before the light can actually enter it. I see a lamp abandoned on a small table to the right of where I'm now stood, just in front of the door, alongside a few other pieces of equipment Link has. On it there is also Epona's saddlebag, from which I retrieve my bow and quiver before swinging the two over my shoulder. There is an empty fireplace at the right of the room, devoid even of ashes but black as night, with two green armchairs beside it and a wooden stool knocked over in front of it. To the left of the fireplace there is a bookshelf, filled with numerous tomes on what could be any number of things - from the old hylian language to the legends of the ancient hero.

I sigh, guessing he isn't here; he is a very light sleeper (and, I also knew, a mild insomniac) and would have likely woken from me merely opening the door. Also, I can almost see the 'second floor' from here and know he most likely isn't there, but I decide to check anyway. Upon climbing the ladder all I find is Link's bed - which appears disused, a thin layer of dust covering the crumpled sheets - and the door which leads to the balcony out looking the village, Epona's field and part of the forest. I shake my head, heading back downstairs. I briefly consider checking the 'basement', but before bothering realised it was pitch black there and would just be a waste of time anyway.

I leave the house, my next destination clearly imprinted on my mind. I traipse cautiously through Ordon wood, worried that the monsters will have returned despite it being day. If my guess is correct then I should find Link soon, and he would be armed as I didn't see his sword and shield in the house. I might have told Ilia just how well I could protect myself, but doing so alone and armed with only a bow - which is exceptional for long range, but isn't a suitable close-combat weapon - makes me wary. Although, who in their right mind wouldn't be wary of such a situation? Especially if I'm ambushed.

I pull the weapon from my shoulder, hitching an arrow onto it silently. I pull the bow string taunt, holding it against my face as I aim around me, looking for enemies among the trees. I love this place, but I don't trust it.

Eventually I arrive at the spring, where the light spirit Ordona resides. I sigh, relaxing slightly, my bow lowering away from my face and the string loosening, but not completely. You cannot be harmed in this spring. Violence does not occur; she does not allow it.

Of course, it does occasionally happen when Ordona is indisposed, weak or preoccupied. After all, when you have a whole province to protect it is simple to be distracted and miss something vital. Even that which is under your own nose.

I check the surrounding area for enemies, before nodding and replacing the arrow to the quiver and the bow to my back. Then I walk into the spring, my gaze now focused on the water as opposed to the foliage around it. The small pink forms of fairies flutter by, willing to aid any traveller they deem worthy. Some - like the two currently held in bottles in my pack - will happily travel alongside you too. I smile at one as I hold my palm out, which it alights on before returning to the middle of the spring were the majority are currently clustered.

That's when I notice Link.

He kneels in the centre of the spring, head in his hands, looking distraught. His clothing is soaked - however it will be dry when he leaves, such is the way of the spring - but he doesn't seem to realise. He either disregards me or doesn't notice my presence, which worries me. If I were an enemy archer he would probably be dead by now. He's normally more vigilant and attentive. I'm incredibly glad it was me who stumbled upon him, and not anything else.

I walk slowly towards him, not wishing to startle him in such a state, but instead he startles me instead. I stop as Link suddenly stands up in one fluid motion, unsheathing his sword and standing in a singular movement. He holds it in front of him with both hands clutched around the hilt, pointing it upwards to where the sun now rests above us in the sky. The hilt is a deep, dark blue - much like the colour of Link's eyes - with a jewel of white embedded in it. The blade is a startling shade of white, so bright as it reflects the sunlight within this place - the spring is enclosed by the surrounding trees, so that it feels like a glade - that it almost hurts my eyes to look at it.

"Ordona!" He shouts. I frown; does he expect an answer? It is not often that any spirit interferes - while Ordona is known to be especially reclusive - let alone talks directly to people. What is he doing?

Feeling bad, though allowing my curiosity to take the better of me, I hide at the edge of the spring, hidden enough that I am shrouded in leaves, able to see yet not be seen. I plan to observe, just to know what is going on with him - after all, a spirit is only called upon in a matter of importance. I wonder if Hyrule is in danger, or if it has something to do with the Ordon province.

"Ordona!" He calls again, but now I can see his face and the expression he holds. The anxiety in his eyes, the quiver of his hands at the sword, the fear written across his features. His problem must be worth worrying about. We should all be terrified if something has bothered Link, Goddesses included.

"Ordona! Please!" His voice nearly cracks on the last word, and it breaks my heart to hear the pain and sorrow contained in that one syllable. How has the word not broken under the force of such powerful emotion?

He takes a deep breath, steadying himself and allowing a calm look to replace the worry. He shuts his eyes briefly, and the sword seems to glow with an unearthly power, shimmering brighter than that of even the sun. Then it dims, and his eyes are open, once more staring up at the sky with sword raised, calling forlornly to a spirit that neither hears nor heeds him.

Yet his next words are stronger, as if he has dragged the last of his power from the pit of his very self in order to maintain the strength with which he speaks. As though anything less would be an insult to the beloved spirit.

"I helped you at your lowest, and I pray you will return the favour." I frown at his words. What is he talking about? He has aided Ordona before?
But then something extraordinary happens. The wind blows through his hair, dissipating shortly after it creates ripples on the water and flows through the leaves, while the foliage around me is left untouched by this mysterious wind. He smiles upwards, driving the sword into the ground at his feet, the blade slicing through water to meet earth with a grace belonging to and created by both weapon and wielder. Such grace known by precious few others.

The sunlight shining through the trees intensifies, becoming painfully bright, until I am forced to cover my eyes. When I can bear to look and find myself indeed capable of sight once more, I gasp.

An orb of light hangs suspended in the air, illuminating the glade in a way the sun never could. It shines from within, an intricate pattern of mist and clear swirls travelling across it, locked in an eternal battle against one another. An ethereal form surrounds the orb - the glowing spirit of Ordona. She takes the form of a large goat which has taken its name from her (the Ordon goat, which is the main source of income and supplies to those in Ordon village), with her curving horns together making a shape close to that of an oval, one either side of the orb in a protective manner. She floats above the spring water, her hooves barely gracing the water as she opens golden eyes, taking in the scene around her as she stands motionless on the waters surface. Her muzzle breathes warm air onto Link, her eyes fixed on him with something akin to a smile across her features. I was vaguely surprised that she didn't so much as look at me, inspecting all in her spring, but suspected I had probably been secretly judged as worthy - or I most likely would've already been forcibly removed from the sacred spring.

Ordona was partially transparent, seemingly more unearthly than the orb of light she defended. Her ethereal skin was a creamy white colour, lit by the orb above her, with the same strange moving misty and clear pattern that seemed to flow across her body. She seemed benevolent, gentle and kind, but her hooves were sharp as they pawed at the top of the spring, leaving small and barely noticeable ripples from where she had raised one hoof and was taping the tip of it against the water. Her horns were capable of inflicting harsh wounds, so long as it would be to defend the light orb and the Ordon province.

She was the protector of this province, the guardian chosen by the goddesses themselves to maintain peace here and keep the light safe at all costs.

She would protect this place in anyway possible, and had been well equipped for the task.

"Chosen one…" Her gentle voice filled the glade, a soft soothing serenade of the woods. It seemed to be made from more than one voice, as if the water and trees spoke alongside her, their voices intertwining until one was almost indistinguishable from the other.

"Your words are true…" Here she paused, raising her head as if to nod at Link. The orb moved with her, maintaining its protected position between her curved horns.

"The beast is not gone, and I fear it shall not ever truly be. The light tears have been returned, the twilight banished. The beast should have left with it." Ordona's voice exudes wisdom as she speaks softly, almost sadly. I receive the impression that this news is bad, more so by how she says it than Link's expression - although this too is a strong indicator. Normally his face is closed off, his feelings locked within, but in the moment I knew his heart as well as I knew my own.

His expression…It is agonizing. Heart wrenching. It literally hurts me to see the emotion carved into his fine features. Pain, unimaginable pain, more than any living thing should ever be forced to bear. A deep hatred, barely suppressed, strong and terrifying. An anger that could make the sun shrivel in fright at its ferocity. A sadness of mournful, lamentable proportions, that makes me wish to cry in sympathy for him, to express this emotion in a way I knew he wouldn't due to his damned pride.

Strangely, he also held resignation in his azure eyes, as if he had given up. He didn't give up. At anything. He was just too stubborn to ever give in, no matter what. Forget bowing out gracefully; he'd fight and claw to the bitter end. Fortunately it was never his end. I knew these emotions weren't fake, that they showed more of him than most had ever seen. It was as if before I had seen him through distorted glass, but now I saw just him. Though I hadn't noticed the difference until the glass was gone.

Link took another deep breath before he spoke."Yet it becomes more uncontrollable with each passing night." His words were allusive, their real meaning hidden from me. I understood the words but not what they meant; I felt the importance but not why it was so. He was closed off to me again now. He had always been equivocal, but never like this. I often felt he could see into my soul, and I liked to think that I knew his as well as he seemed to know mine - but now I wondered if I truly knew him at all, or if I had just deluded myself to the fact that he was anything but a complete stranger to me.

"The beast is more prominent than ever." Now his words seem to have taken on an urgency, as if they will be snatched away if he doesn't say them quickly enough. "It returns every twilight, gaining control over dusk. It relinquishes at dawn, but only truly leaves after twilight."

These next words seem so unlike him, formal and filled with a respect more profound than any he has ever shown, even to Rusl. I almost wonder if it is him, if the Link I know has mysteriously disappeared, but I would recognise his voice anywhere.

Ordona seems to pause, as if considering his words carefully, picking her own meticulously before speaking them. Though her hooves had stilled on the water, one hoof moves in a circle in it, twirling the water in numerous small - seemingly confused, if water could be - ripples. When she speaks again, her words are so heavy they must have been chained close to the floor and dragged towards my ears.

"Chosen one, I feel this may forever be your plight. Has she returned?"

There is no pause before his answer. "Yes, but she too has been affected, stuck in her old form by day and returning to her true self in the twilight. She has been aiding me with the beast, keeping it contained, but I worry that she will fail one night."

"She is strong, but the beast will prevail. Both are creatures born of twilight, and though she is a monarch her power is not enough. She cannot protect them forever. She is bound to lose, for while she grows weaker the beast grows ever stronger." Ordona closes her eyes as she finishes speaking.

"What can I do?" Link sounds defeated now, as though Ordona's very words have beaten him. Maybe they have. I can barely discern the conversation's true meaning, though I can understand their words. I see the importance. A woman, apparently royalty, keeping a 'beast' at bay each night. Protecting the village alongside him by the sound of it. Possibly a twilight creature - or Twili. Beyond that I'm struggling to comprehend. What is the reason for this conversation? Surely Link could slay the beast, if it was truly a threat. Or is it something more than that? Have I missed the true meaning, hidden in this formal tone, behind their riddles?

"The very same you have been doing." Ordona pauses as if considering something, her eyes opening again to focus on Link. "Midna is most likely correct on her assumption of the beast and its control. Trust in her, and all will end well." Her words seemed vague, and Link looked slightly bemused and disappointed as he nodded. She smiled brightly - which was a strange thing to see a giant, opaque, floating goat do.

"Thank you, Ordona." He whispers.

"Thank you, Chosen one…" She replies, the wind blowing through the trees in the glade as her form becomes fainter and fainter. All that remains of her presence is the light orb, which seems to dissipate into pure light once she has gone.

Link slowly pulls the sword from the ground and sheathes it at his back, before he turns and heads back to his house and the village.

All without noticing my presence.

Blooming hell that chapter was huge. So much description...hurts brain...

Anyway, you've probably guessed Link's dilemma (at least partially), but Zelda has no clue! Although she does know of the Twilight Realm and the Twili.

What happens next?

Even I'm not really sure what happens next, so goddesses help anyone reading this. Seriously. The next chapter is a bit weird. To me, anyway. It's halfway written, so hopefully you won't have to wait too long.

Fingers crossed. Damn procrastinating!

Thanks for reading!

Scar