si parva licet componere magnis (to compare small things with great)
- Vergil
Luna tied the bag holding the blue thing at her belt. The pale maiden walked down the streets, all the excitement and curiosity she had now lost. She kept her hands in her pockets, white hair and overly long sleeves hanging—quite a gloomy thing.
Some citizens took her as a street urchin. Others avoided her as if she were a thief. She being pale, white-haired and pink-eyed attracted some attention, but Luna kept her head low, disconnected from everything.
Luna walked an alien world, one that gnawed at her. It was not hunger or sickness but something else, as if an invisible force bore a hole through her guts. She was a lost, sad, forgotten thing oblivious to everyone, only seeing grimaces in buildings...
Luna bumped into someone.
"Hey! Watch where you're going, ya brat!" a young man grumbled. He was with unkempt teens, holding bricks and bottles. Farther down the street were smashed windows and some unconscious citizens.
Even when some hooligans patted their bricks against their palms, Luna just stared with her ghostly, sleep-deprived eyes.
Luna thought when Vera hit her, how her jaw shot with hot pain, how the Kokiri stared... The fight between the barbarians and Zora came next. The grimaces of the Norsemen as mermen speared them... The blood, the wounds...
Lost in images of violence, Luna balled her fists and chewed on her tongue. The hooligans left Luna alone. She returned to blankness, moving on.
Sunset cindered the sky.
Luna overheard running water and then the power of hooves against the paved road. She looked up and stopped. A huge, powerful, black stallion beheld the little white thing with his dark eyes. Despite his size, the beast was a graceful animal.
Mounted upon the destrier was a knight, wearing a horned great helm supported by his pauldrons. His lacquered plate armor was black and glossy, like the horse's hair, muscle cuirass imposing and hauberk underneath also black. A mighty black beard hung past the underside of his great helm, resting over his breastplate like a mat. The saddle was tall with black plates front and back to hold the rider.
Sheathed at his sides were longsword and dagger, a warhammer and poleaxe hanging from the saddle; all weapons lacquered. Slung over the pauldrons was an ebony heater shield. Golden etching of the Triforce over shield contrasted the blackness, like a sun amidst storm clouds.
The black knight leaned in his saddle while Luna just stood. Behind him was a drawbridge, a gatehouse, and the walls and towers. Beyond the fortifications was the inner city, and then after that, Hyrule Castle and the setting sun.
The knight crossed his forearms, resting them over the horn of his saddle. "Is that a challenge?" He chuckled, sounding like a tower of iron underneath his armor. "Even other Hyrulean Knights prefer to stay out of my way. Many years ago, when I was young, the only ones who challenged me were Ganondorf's men. One of them nearly killed me, too. If he did, I think Hyrule's history would have been quite different! We made sure Ganondorf's thieves could never interfere with Hyrule again." He leaned in his saddle. "Yet, here you stand, my pale maiden...refusing to step aside."
Luna just stared back with an empty face. Wind increased, blowing their long hair.
The albino did not know what to do or say, yet refused expression.
"Oh my, such a brave little thing you are! I must never cross you again. Farewell, my pale maiden, maybe we will meet again someday?" He grasped the reins, pulling around Luna. He bowed as if she was a princess, and off he went.
Luna watched him canter off, citizenry stepping aside respectfully. She faced the drawbridge and looked up the gatehouse. Why does this feel...familiar?
She yawned, rubbing her eyes. Thoughts of a nighttime thunderstorm flooded her mind. She felt raindrops pummel her face, clothes drenched and cold. Her guts swirled with fear—everything flashed away.
The sound of the rushing river underfoot returned Luna back to reality. She shook her head and went forth. Vivid imagination returned: The sensation of being drenched and cold... Luna's pink eyes made contact with a blue ones. The two children leaned away from each other, his blue fairy going between them...
Galloping and shouting snapped Luna out of her trance. A white stallion ran across the drawbridge. Ten guards ran in front of a galloping horse, presenting their polearms, ordering the horseman to stop. He didn't.
Most guards ran off though a few stood their ground, knocked aside by the powerful white steed. The guards still on their feet ran after the horse. Several more guards joined the futile chase.
Luna made no reaction.
The rider was a middle-aged man with tan skin, medium-length white hair, a full beard as white as his hair, and red eyes behind eyeglasses. He wore a dark blue robe over a black shirt and trousers. A boy sat in front of the rider, leaning into the horse's neck.
Luna remained still even when the drawbridge shook from the horse's hooves. Then the drawbridge began to rise. Chains clanked and wooden beams creaked, yet Luna did not move. She saw the shine in the horse's eyes, hooves thunderous...
On the last second, Luna just turned her shoulders, feeling the wind rush across her. She looked back; the boy with the man also looked back. Time seemed to slow down as the two children made eye contact. The boy had dark skin, blood-red hair, yellow eyes, a pronounced nose, and a lean, frightened face.
Time commenced—the white stallion bolted off, movement rushing wind that rippled Luna's hair. The boy turned around and tossed something—Luna caught something mid-air.
Luna examined it. A duduk?
The drawbridge continued its lift. The stallion ran up the slanting drawbridge and jumped off. The horse arched over the moat and landed heavily, neighed, then galloped through panicking passersby.
Luna remained passive as the drawbridge rose until she remembered about gravity. The slant was so much she lost balance and slid. "Oh-whoa!" Down she went.
Her feet struck the road; she rolled forth then stood up, moved her hair back as if nothing happened. To Luna's right was a stone barracks connected to the gatehouse, having a green-tiled slanted roof, a stairwell constructed at the back. To her left was a smaller building, perhaps an armory, also connected to the gatehouse.
After the stone buildings was a fenced-off area with leafy trees. Afterwards, the next buildings were two-story at least, made of wood, having triangular roofs with red clay tiles. A small grey dog ran around aimlessly barking.
"Hey! Open the drawbridge!" a guard shouted as he and his friends skidded to a halt, spears used as counterbalances.
A guard within the gatehouse stuck his head out a loop-hole. "What? It's sunset, time to close the gate."
"Open the goddesses-damned drawbridge!"
"Yeah! We always raise the drawbridge before nightfall, we've been doing that for, like, thirty years!" an older guard said as he stuck his head out another loop-hole.
"Ohhh! You stupid bastards!" He slammed his spear down.
"We won't do anything now!" a short, fat guard huffed as he and several others reached the scene rather lately.
"By now, he'd be halfway through the city, and none of the other guards will know who he is. There's nothing we can do," another guard remarked.
"Except report what happened," a halberdier mumbled. He looked at Luna, smiled, and nodded despite her stolid face.
"Ugh! Stupid waste..."
The two guards from the loop-holes shrugged and retracted.
"What are you looking at, dumb kid? Go play your flute somewhere else." He picked up his spear and the guards left, the dog baring at them. "I wish someone would just kill that stupid thing already."
The little dog happily bounced along and wagged his tail. He curiously looked at Luna. She smiled, going to pet the dog, but he walked backwards with soft growls, then yelped and ran off.
Frowning, Luna moved on.
Dusk choked sunlight.
The road led to a market square, rather dead at nighttime. An octagonal fountain was at the center of the square, water rushing and sprinkling, various two-story buildings all around. There were several stalls, crates, balconies, and various posters and advertisements here and there.
Several small dogs pranced about barking, though avoided Luna.
A husband and wife sat by the fountain. He had brown hair and wore white clothes under a blue vest. The wife had long dark red hair, wore a white shirt and a bright blue skirt with purple linings. They had five children, three girls and two boys, dressed similarly to their parents. The family looked quite happy. The children leaned over the fountain, tossing Green Rupees in.
"It's getting dark, love, I think we should go," the wife said.
"Yes, love, we'll go. C'mon, little ones, time to go!"
"Yes, father! Yes, mother!" the kids chirped.
Luna watched the family go. Bewilderment remained affixed about the concept of father and mother.
Luna looked around. Up above, a man in white clothes casually stood on his balcony. Elsewhere, atop some scaffolding, a nervous yet eager man in dark green stood atop some scaffolding. He noticed a robed woman with short red hair.
Unlike the men above, Luna saw her facial features: yellow eyes, hooked nose, dark skin. She looks like that boy I saw...
The robed woman took a good look at the stalls. She paused, turned her head, then gasped once she noticed Luna. "Oh! I didn't see you there, kid." The robbed woman stood straight. "Are you a Sheikah?" She discreetly pushed a hand through her robe and touched the pommel of her scimitar.
"Fiery hair, sunlit eyes, brazen skin..." Luna smiled. "All those contrasting colors...you are very beautiful."
The robed woman crossed her arms and grinned. "I better be!"
Luna pushed a hand through her own hair. "As you can tell, I lack color...so whenever I see it in someone else, I get jealous. I'm so different, I look like death."
The woman relaxed. "Aww, poor thing... Don't worry about being different. At least you can wander the streets and be alright. If anyone here sees my dark skin and yellow eyes, they'll want me dead."
Luna frowned. "Why?"
The woman's eyebrows raised. "Have you been living in the middle of nowhere your whole life?"
Umm, yes, actually... No, don't say that, she'll think you're crazy… "Umm..."
"Well, whatever... Let me bring you up to date, kid. I am a Gerudo, from the desert far to the west. Ten years ago, our leader greeted the King of Hyrule and wanted...trade rights. Rather than accepting, the Hylians declared war and launched a crusade. All I'll say is that everything that once was our heritage is now destroyed. There aren't many Gerudos left."
Luna blinked a few times. "So...why are you here if it's so dangerous to be a dark woman?"
"That's a secret. All I'll say is that there is a way to sometimes...adjust time to set things right. Us Gerudo are in a bit of a...struggle...with the shadows of Hyrule in this regard."
"Shadows of Hyrule?"
"The Sheikah. They've returned, somehow. Shouldn't you know that if you're a Sheikah?"
Luna frowned. "I'm not a Sheikah, I'm a Kokiri!" For the first time in her life, Luna said that with angry dignity. Her eyebrows arose at that thought. I'm a Kokiri...
The lady raised an eyebrow. "A...fairy child? Hmm, like that boy I shooed away from the gate all those years ago... Where's your fairy?"
Luna paused. "I no longer have one."
"Oh? The boy you remind me of always had his."
Luna shrugged. "Ha, well, you also remind me of a boy."
"How so?"
"He had red hair, yellow eyes and dark skin, like you."
The woman's face became stern. "What happened?"
"Oh, he sat on a horse with a pale man who looked like me. They galloped away as guards chased them a while ago, how did you miss it?"
The woman scanned her environment. Some guards patrolled the streets.
"Anything else?"
"He threw this." Luna pleasantly showed the duduk. The woman's eyes widened.
"Holy shit, Ira actually pulled it off..." The Gerudo snatched the duduk and abruptly left.
Luna shrugged. "You're welcome! I guess."
The patrolling guards came by and watched the woman leave.
"What did you give her?" a guard asked.
"A flute."
"Why?"
"It's hers."
"Where did you get the flute?" The guard's voice was monotone.
"A boy gave it to me, it's for her."
"Oh, OK. You going home?"
"I will be."
The guard nodded. "Have a good night, then."
"Yeah, see you." They parted ways.
To the north-east beyond a few buildings, a huge structure towered over the town. A cathedral, shaped as a rectangular prism, four towers at each corner but a much larger wimperg-shaped tower at the front, a rose window with tracery in it, below it four niches across the front.
"That's beautiful but too...orderly..."
Across the market square, bricked ground continued into a paved road in-between an archery store and a small shop. Afterwards were a few large buildings down the sides of the road. The rest of the road zigzagged through hilly terrain where the wealthy lived, fenced-off mansions along the path and cliffs towards the castle.
Luna looked at the temple, then back at the castle. But first, she investigated the fountain, staring into the waters.
"My bag's moving?" She opened her bag. The blue thing slowly wobbled on its own, a pair of black dots appearing. "Ew, what is this, a fish?" She flipped the bag upside down and shook it. The bioluminescent blue thing plopped into the fountain and sank.
Luna stared in bewilderment, the blue thing unraveling itself. A tail with a fin on the end appeared and two eyes stared back.
"Uhh...hi." Luna stepped back.
The thing wondered where she went. It tried to jump out but could not get over the fountain's walls. Unable to do anything, the creature explored its cold, limited world.
Luna went past the three pairs of arranged gardens, the stationary guard not reacting. She continued down the paved road, mansions at either side. Behind her, a second guard came and closed the gate.
"On time as always!" one guard stated.
"Only ten minutes later! OK, close and lock the gate as always." Neither noticed Luna.
The two men thus stood guard before the gate.
Luna walked on. The mansions had metal fences, stone gargoyles, and statues. The gargoyles looked so real it was as if stone birthed them, reminding Luna of the Gossip Stones. With nighttime present, the scenery looked evil but cool.
The albino girl approached one of the mansions. The gargoyles seemingly watched her, but they remained creepy and motionless. Footfall—she gasped and knelt. A guard patrolled the lawn. Not only could the wealthy afford the best buildings and decorations, but they could also offer guards' services to keep watch of property.
The guard walked to the fence and looked around, but saw no one. He left and so did Luna. She occasionally saw other guards patrol the various properties. They always went to the fences and looked down the road, yet ever saw Luna.
Unseen, Luna moved on and the arrays of mansions gradually ended. The bricked road gradually slanted upward. The path went in-between cliffsides, perhaps twenty to thirty feet high or so but shorter later on. Above the cliffs was woodland and rather rugged geography around the castle, then higher cliffs beyond the woods. Young woodland grew on either side of the castle.
She reached the top of the slanted road, which unfurled into a beautiful, dark view of Hyrule Castle underneath young moonlight, a large tree up ahead nearby the cliff. Perched on the tree was a big brown owl, head upside down.
Luna smiled and waved. "How are the owlets?" The owl hooted his thanks then departed. As a few feathers fluttered, the first star appeared in the night sky, then another. She smiled. Are the stars welcoming me?
Up ahead, a gatehouse blocked the path between the cliffs. The gatehouse also served as a bridge between the two cliffs. Unsurprisingly, the gate was closed. Even with a castle guard present, Luna just squeezed herself in-between the bars and moved on.
The guard looked through the gate—nobody. "Hm? Someone there?"
The path split; one curved to the left around the hill and continued uphill towards Hyrule Castle. To the right, a dirt path pierced hilly woodland. Luna walked up the bricked road but patrolling guards descended. She walked up the hill and hid amidst beautiful, colorful flowers that remained open even during nighttime.
The guards went on. Luna reached the top of the hill and overlooked more patches of tall, pretty, yellow flowers. There were also bushes and groves with small dirt paths betwixt them, all vegetation perfectly trimmed and tidy.
At the end of the area, a stone stairway was next to some cliffs. The steps led up over another cliff that was fenced-off. Beyond ran a small river that served as a moat for Hyrule Castle. The castle had an outer wall, gatehouse with drawbridge, round towers at each corner, various stone structures, and a very tall keep.
Very pretty up close...
Although used to lots of walking, Luna was sore. She yawned and rubbed her face with her overly long sleeves. She explored the groves, observing the patrolling guards, sometimes giggling that they could never notice her. Even when she tossed a rock, they never saw her.
As Luna hid amidst flowers, a butterfly landed on her nose. Even butterflies fly at night here? Strange. She played with the butterflies, catching them only to release them, and soon the playful insects flew around her always. Sometimes, they landed on her hand or walked upon her fingertips, as if tap dancing with their tickly legs. She was most ticklish when they landed on her cheeks, ears or neck. She grinned, squinted, and withstood the onslaught of tickles.
The butterflies kept Luna busy underneath a full moon.
Wait, am I being watched? The butterflies flew off Luna as if they shared her fright. She turned around and her ghostly visage met an angelic one.
An athletic boy stood before her, his red eyes lost in her pink ones. He had clean-cut white hair, wide eyebrows, and lightly tanned skin. He wore dark blue velvet clothing. He also wore jeweled rings, gold bracelets, and a golden amulet of the Triforce.
The angelic boy crossed his arms. Luna blankly started back.
He slowly smiled. "Who... Who are you?" he asked with a crystalline voice.
"You also have white hair?"
"I do indeed, Ms. Perspective." They chuckled.
A few guards made their way down the road.
"How did you get past the guards, anyways?"
Luna clasped her hands behind her back and gently swayed. "I was gonna ask you the same thing."
The boy chuckled. "Because I'm good at being sneaky!"
"So am I. Hee hee..."
"So it's only natural we stumbled upon each other." The boy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, look... What's this? Green clothes, mysterious appearance, can sneak passed guards easily... Then, are you...are you from the forest?"
Luna paused. "I am from the forest." She shyly pushed her hand through her hair.
The boy clasped his hands. "Ah-ha ha ha hah! Just as I thought! I had a dream last night, and in that dream, there was darkness and shadows flowing through a mighty forest. Strange colors and faces appeared everywhere..." He yawned. "And then dawn arrived, parting the darkness and strange faces, and a small figure emerged. The figure, she was so sad...followed by the shadows and faces. I knew that it was a prophecy that I would meet someone from the forest, someone I had to save." He gestured to Luna. "So, I snuck out of the castle to do just that, and here you already are! I knew you would be the one from my dream, that's why I went to find you. Well, I could not see you, but I knew you were here. Hah-ha!"
Luna blinked a few times, speechless. What's this weirdo talking about?
"Oh, forgive me, I was so absorbed about you that I forgot to introduce myself!" He stroked his hair and tidied himself up. He slightly lowered his face, partly closing his eyelids. "I am Sheik, Prince of Hyrule."
Luna chuckled. "You're so cute when you're shy."
He blushed. "And what about you? What's your name, my pale maiden?"
Luna's blush deepened when he called her that. Her mood plummeted and her stomach felt like a rock. "Luna."
"Luna? Luna... That means moon in an ancient language, it sounds...comforting. Are you feeling alright?" Sheik looked at the moon abive his castle. "Oh, right! I am your hero, so I am obligated to look after you! Will you come with me to my castle, my pale maiden?"
"You are not my hero," Luna grumbled.
"No matter, Luna! Will you come with me to my castle?" He offered his arm and made that magical smile of his. Not even Luna could help but smile in return. She lowered her head and balled her fists under her chin, snickering.
Sheik grinned. "Well, my pale maiden?"
"Umm... OK, I'll go with you." She took his hand. Both children looked at the joined hands then made eye contact.
"OK! Let's go! I know a few ways to sneak in and out of the castle..."
They walked through the groves together, holding hands. As if brought together by destiny, an angelic prince from the castle befriended a little savage from the forest.
