The rose wood box lay in its bed of freshly dug earth. Snow white lilies thrown to acknowledge the man that sacrificed himself for the sake of the Royal Family. The sun had no business to shine so brightly, but it did. It shone over those left behind; the Sheikah clan in dignified acceptance and the outsiders who fraternised with the thought of their own deaths.
Upon our reunion, Yasei had been my shadow. Her violent outburst at being left behind had given way to a hug that threatened to crush my ribs. And I took the onslaught, for I knew exactly how it felt. That wouldn't stop me from repeating such actions, but it's the sentiment that counts I suppose.
Impa guided us to the entrance of the Shadow Temple. This held a clear view of the graveyard. Grey stones in organised rows stretched from one end to another. I had stooped to read a few and surprisingly, not all were Sheikah. There were composers, soldiers and even members of the Royal Family themselves. An octagonal step with golden Triforce lined up perfectly with the distant windmill that blocked out the sun.
To our backs, a curious tunnel led down into the coal black darkness. This, Impa obstructed as she spoke. "We Sheikah owe you a debt. As promised, allow me to bestow upon you this mask."
For a mask, it was certainly unique. Two engrailed at the top, but otherwise triangular in shape. My finger stroked the sharp edges all the way to the chin. If you tilted it at the right angle the lucent material seemed to glow.
Yasei whispered in my ear, "That's the freakiest mask I've ever seen. One eye? And why is it smiling?"
Smiling indeed, the outline of both eye and lips captured in blood red paint. It had tribal markings to the sides and forehead, a clear resemblance to the Gossip Stones I had seen near the Temple of Time. "Don't be rude," I replied. "Someone put a lot of work into this. I can tell. Remember when I criticised your work?"
"I was like eight. And don't drag the Hero's Mask into this, it was your birthday present. This is… This is…"
"The Mask of Truth," Impa supplied, making us both jump. "And mind your tongue, this mask has been handed down for generations. It can see into people's hearts and minds."
Yasei squared up to the white-haired warrior, who towered at least two feet above her. "You're pulling our leg."
"The Happy Mask Salesman can try it for himself."
"Is it safe?" I held the mask at arm's length. Stories of ancient curses and transformations crept into my mind. As usual, the General offered no words of reassurance. Was that amusement dancing in her red eyes?
Slipping on the Mask of Truth, it became clear that the design (in my humble opinion) required a few tweaks. I could breathe, thanks to the generous mouth, but vision was quite another matter. A peahat could have flown in front of me and I wouldn't know.
"This way." Impa led me a few steps forward. "Can you see the Sheikah Stone?"
"I can hardly see any–" I stopped. There it was clear as day. Emitting a similar glow to the mask I wore. "Goodness."
"Listen carefully to what the stone says."
On my knees, I pressed my ear close to the heart of the stone. A sense of déjà vu tickled my memory. Oh yes, I played a little joke with one of these, didn't I? I wondered what words of wisdom may come. What amazing secrets could The Mask of Truth reveal about the peoples of this world? And did they realise such powers were eavesdropping on their very thoughts?
They say that there is a secret near a tree in Kakariko Village.
I didn't know what I expected. Either way, this underwhelming knowledge sounded more tittle tattle. About to rip the mask away in bitter disappointment, the stone suddenly spoke once more.
They say if a promise is not kept, Yasei Muryō will die.
It felt like someone had poured a barrel of ice-cold water over my head. Suddenly, the mask was too small for my face, it dug into my cheek bones.
Yasei giggled. "Sweetheart, did you hear anything?"
I blinked against the realm of my daydreams. But like spilt ink on parchment, they ran free. The blots formed blurry figures walking side by side through soft swaying reeds. They laughed at a joke as my nails scraped on stone.
Yasei Muryō will die.
The taller settles beneath a tree and takes a pipe whistle to his lips. The companion takes a fishing rod and casts the line. When I closed my eyes, I saw them. When I opened my eyes, I still saw them. What is this? Why can't I wake up?
"Hey, you okay?" Yasei sounded too far away.
I blew out a hot, desperate breath.
Yasei Muryō will die.
My shoulders quaked as I fought the story, but it panned out anyway. A choked cry. The pipe is forgotten and the musician moves. No, don't… I see a fish on the shore. It flaps and writhes in torment, trying to reach the water. Next to the fish, serrated blades lie sunken into a heap of limbs.
"No!"
My heart tipped into a pain so intense, I would have torn it out to escape. A Hyrule without her wouldn't be worth existing. I won't let him do this. Such fear soured every joyous memory we shared.
"That does it. It's coming off, now."
Daylight returned. Warm hands cupped my face, but the chills remained. I had never been so happy to see eyes of peridot green. Her rough thumbs swiped away salty tears.
"By Nayru's love, what happened?" she said.
I clung to her. The bliss of a beating heart, I thought. She's still here. She's still here.
But an unwanted voice wormed its way into that relief. I could hear the dark sorcerer laughing inside my head. "Yes, she's alive, he agreed. "For now…"
"Just tell me what the Gossip Stone said, damn it!" Yasei huffed.
Sweat gathered at the base of my spine. I took her hand and kissed it. "There's nothing to tell, my dear, I swear. I'm just tired. You know how weepy and grumpy I get when I'm tired."
"That isn't it," she said, wrenching out my grip. "There's something you're not telling me." Then her eyes pinned me down. "But am gonna find out."
I spun around to Impa and tucked the Mask of Truth under my arm. "Thank you, I'm delighted to accept this into my collection. Now it's high time we took our leave."
The Sheikah leaned lazily against the wall with crossed arms. "In a hurry, Mask Salesman?"
"I'm a very busy fellow," I replied. Yes, before I lose the King's fickle favour again, my thoughts added.
"I've heard word from the castle. There's a new wagon waiting in town - it's all yours." Impa's voice almost purred.
"What?" Yasei froze.
"A wagon made by the King's master carpenters. Your last one was destroyed by the Gerudo, wasn't it?"
Oh no, don't say such things. How can we possibly turn down that? "We don't need it," I said.
"Are you kidding me? That's a free wagon. You earned it fair and square." The wrinkles on Yasei's forehead twitched. "We're going to collect it."
My smile strained the corners of my lips. "You're right, it's my prize. My prize to claim or reject as I see fit."
"Did Bongo Bongo drum all the sense out of you? Give me one good reason. You know how important this is to me – to us," she corrected. "Don't you wanna travel anymore?" Her face fell. "Or you changed your mind about…It's that collar, isn't it? You still have a thing for Kavia."
"No, no, no, don't be ridiculous," I spluttered, "jumping to conclusions like that. My love, I haven't changed my mind about anything."
"Then why?" At this moment, she reminded me of a contortionist. Toes pointed towards the village entrance, body half twisted towards me, it shook with restless energy.
Even as kids, navigating a tiff like this usually resulted in Yasei storming off. Confident in the knowledge that it was all my fault. I could never understand her insistence of being in the right. I would apologise, eventually, for upsetting her, but not necessarily for what I'd been accused of. But for all my magical powers, I couldn't impose my thoughts into the mind of another.
I want to protect you.
In the end, I scrambled for any response. A throw away question. Looking back, the wrong question. "Can't you just trust me?"
"You don't have the best track record," Yasei grumbled.
I couldn't argue with that. Rather than keeping the cards close to my chest, I'd stitched them to my skin.
"Please, we should get back to the mill. Goodness knows the mischief Kilton is getting up to."
She rubbed at her arm. "Alright, alright, but we're talking about this later."
As we walked away, I could feel a set of red eyes boring into my back. The General would likely have a most interesting report for her King. In that cold moment, I realised that I could no longer hide the fact I was a magician. Too many had seen. In a way, I felt relieved with things out in the open. Then again, not all the peoples in Hyrule would welcome such news. The Interlopers had shredded the reputation of magic. Maybe it's my purpose to restore it, I thought. Yes, perhaps that's what Mother meant.
"By Farore," Yasei cried out.
When I peeked inside the mill, a disaster zone greeted me. Precious grain littered the floor amongst tell-tale paw prints. Pictures were askew. Piles of books had jumped from their shelves. A bowl lay in pieces with fruity mush smeared across the stone slabs.
On the spinning platform, Guru-Guru clung to a strip of green cloth. At the other end, the large husky growled through clamped jaws.
"You're nothing but a big softy," he teased.
Kilton disagreed with that statement, yanking with frightening force. His claws left splintered marks in the wood as he tried to win the tug of war. The muscles of his back strained as the chuckling Hylian finally let go.
"Fine, you can have the old rag – enjoy it."
The game was over, but Kilton spat out his prize and barked. He bounded over to Guru-Guru demanding tummy tickles and a quick wrestle.
"He never gets tired of that, you know. He's such a pup sometimes," Yasei warned.
"Scruffy trouble maker," Guru-Guru said, but didn't stop ruffling the husky's furry chest. His fingers darted away from nipping teeth, before returning to bop him playfully on the nose. "Goddesses' knows why you keep him around."
"What a mess." I took the opportunity to straighten what I could. The rest could be left in the miller's capable hands. "Look, we'll be off soon."
"Oh yeah? Where you going?"
"Kokiri Forest," I replied.
"Castle Town," Yasei countered.
Guru-Guru smirked. He stood and pat the dog hairs off his knees. "Sounds like you've got different ideas." Yasei rolled her eyes. "You gotta watch the quiet ones," he said, pointing at me. "Have a dumb habit of overthinking."
"You don't understand," I said in exasperation.
He shrugged his shoulders. "I gave up trying to understand you a long time ago. I don't get the theories, the monsters or the wacky wachow. But listen to the lady, will yer? Go back to Castle Town and check on the shop. It's not gonna kill you."
No, he wouldn't be that merciful, the bokoblin in my thoughts reminded me. I rubbed at the bridge of my nose. This is a mistake; we need to get as far away as we can. Harassing anxiety jabbed at my insides. Why can't they see?
"Sweetheart, you can't keep running from things that might happen." Her smile was like ointment on a wound. It stung, but was meant to sooth the more applied. "I'm here. We'll deal with it together, yeah?"
"Yes, of course." I smiled gently.
No, we can't.
"Together," I lied.
On my own.
For the first time, I didn't know whether the mask I wore was real or fake. I forced down the bile threatening to erupt from my throat.
I'm a horrible person.