"Oh! What is this? There, on your hand, the Triforce piece now dwells within you! It is the Triforce of Courage, proof that you are indeed the true hero. You have controlled the wind and crossed the seas, and here, near the end of your quest, the power of the gods has been bestowed upon you..."

Chapter Four: Aloofness

"So, you think that flattery will save you?" Ganondorf, the new king of Hyrule, said to the small Zora prince.

"N-No, Y-Your Majesty..." Prince Ralis muttered.

The Zora prince and his entourage stood in the throne room of the rebuilt Hyrule Castle and bowed at their king. He had told the Dark King what had happened to the wraith that attacked in that cave in Lake Hylia. He also told Ganondorf that it was the same person who had tried to kill him the previous year.

Ganondorf looked skeptical and said, "I destroyed him. There is no way for him to return…not in this lifetime, anyway."

"Huh?" Prince Ralis asked.

"And you said that he attacked you while on a trip to Lake Hylia?" Ganondorf said, still looking skeptical.

"Yes. But…He is indeed…dead," Prince Ralis told him.

"Ah, so he's been turned into the living dead. Well, that's nothing to be concerned about," Ganondorf said.

"But…He-He'll…It'll attack many people just to get to you, Your Majesty!" Prince Ralis yelled.

Ganondorf looked unenthused and asked, "So what do you want me to do about it?"

"I ask that you imprison that creature…then the people will be safe and they'll trust you more," Prince Ralis told him.

The Dark King seemed to like the idea, dismissing the Zora prince.

The next morning...

"Um...Mom, Link hasn't come of his room, not even for breakfast..." Aryll told Lydia.

Agitha watched from a distance, reading her book on various flora found in the southern continent. The twins had awakened early, their usual, and had gotten a start for their day. Their mother was able to stay home from patrols and had decided to rest. Granny Matilde planned for some chores and was prepared to delegate, but Link was still in bed.

When Agitha went to wake him up, he replied with a shudder. She assumed that he was ill and went about her business. Aryll was angered at her sister's "lack of caring" and panicked as Link's condition had gotten worse.

She told their mother that Link had started to shudder and talk in his sleep. Lydia headed for his room and Agitha went back to reading. Aryll sat next to her and asked, "Why are you just sitting there, reading? Link's in..."

"Why are you so worried about him, Aryll?" Agitha told her.

"Because he's in trouble. Why aren't you?" Aryll said.

Agitha sighed and told her, "He'll be fine. He's always fine when we find him. So, stop worrying."

"But!" Aryll started.

Her twin glared at her and Aryll headed for their room, not able to convince Agitha to worry. Just as she resumed her reading about the use of Forest magic, their mother came out of Link's room with a horrified look on her face.

"L-Link's gone! He's not in his room, but the windows are closed and everything! Where is he? He couldn't have run off!" she yelled.

Granny Matilde went into their brother's room, only to come back out with a saddened expression. Aryll, hearing the commotion, rushed out of their room and was told by Lydia the situation. She then joined their mother in a panic.

"He's never done this before...Hmm...I will speak with the village elders. I fear what is happening to him," Granny Matilde said.

"The girls and I will...!" Lydia started.

Aryll shook her head and said, "No Mom, we'll go and see if Link's in town."

Agitha didn't think that Link was in trouble and didn't see the need to worry. Seeing Aryll panic made her appreciate that she was the more level-headed of the two. Without even asking her, Aryll told Lydia that she and Agitha were going to look for their brother.

Lydia wasn't too convinced they would find him, but said, "Be careful you two."

Heeding her, the girls left, heading out into the blistering cold. From the cloudy skies and increasing wind speeds, the day was going to bring another snowstorm. Agitha wondered how Link wandered out of the house, as he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"What is going on with Link? Even when he had his migraines and seizures, he never just up and vanished," Aryll said.

Agitha replied, "Maybe another persona surfaced."

Aryll's face was that of despair and Agitha tried to calm her down to no avail.

"Oh no! If one has, th-then he'll...!" Aryll stammered.

Agitha shook her head and said, "It'll just confirm the brain damage he has. But he wouldn't be like this if you guys were more adamant about him taking that medicine."

"He said he felt funny every time he took it!" Aryll yelled.

They received odd looks from passing townsfolk and Agitha said, "It's better for him to take that medicine than wandering through life not knowing if he's himself or not."

"And I say that it's better for him to not take it if it makes you feel weird," Aryll retorted.

Agitha groaned, thinking her sister an idiot for not seeing reason. She remembered one of the times when she came face to face with one of Link's alter-egos. He hadn't taken his medication that week, despite their mother ordering him to. He was oddly timid, more so than usual, and Agitha thought him weird.

Five years ago...

"Link? Hey, Link. I was going to ask you something," a younger Agitha said, entering Link's room.

She saw him sitting at his window, staring out of it. He audibly sighed and the girl asked what was wrong. Her brother turned to look at her and he seemed to not recognize her.

In a clear, but somewhat timid voice, Link asked her, "Who...Who are you?"

"Um, I'm your sister, Agitha. What's wrong, Link? Did you take your medicine as Ma told you?" Agitha told him.

She didn't catch that he was speaking clearer than usual and he turned back to the window. Link then asked, "Why is there so much snow?"

"Because we live in the mountains and there's always snow here. No, really. What's wrong?" Agitha asked him.

Link kept his stare at the outside and asked, "Where are we?"

"Snowpeak Mountains. Seriously, Link did you take your medicine? They said it'll help with what's wrong with your head," Agitha replied.

"My head…?" Link started.

He fell out of the chair, landed on his left side, and began convulsing violently. The sight terrified Agitha and she ran out of the room, calling for help.

Later, after Link recovered, Granny Matilde and the other elders questioned her harshly. They wondered what had happened before the seizure. Agitha told them what happened, but they insisted that she did something to aggravate Link's condition. The girl told them that she didn't, but the elders, save for Granny Matilde, didn't believe her.

Highly upset that the elders had accused her of harming her brother, Agitha ran into her room, slammed it, and locked herself inside. She cried, wondering why they treated Link so peculiarly. She wondered if it was because of his condition or if it was something else. Either way, she didn't appreciate it.

"What? Link's gone?" Pipit asked.

Agitha snapped out of her flashback and noticed Pipit standing next to Aryll. He was distraught and said, "Where would Link go? A blizzard's coming this way. The soldiers want everyone inside."

"I don't know. But we gotta find him!" Aryll said.

"Okay, I'll go find Karane and we'll search in the north and east. You two go find Groose and go search near the gate and in the west. We'll meet up at the town's gate if we can't find him," Pipit told them and ran off.

Aryll turned to Agitha and asked if she was okay.

"Why are you asking me? I'm fine. You?" Agitha said.

"I'm fine as I can be...Let's go find Groose," Aryll told her.

After finding the Gerudo at his home with Elder Aginah a half hour later, the twins told him of what had happened. Elder Aginah listened intently and gave a few nods. Groose headed back to his room and quickly changed into his heavy winter garb of blue, tan, and light green. He fixed his famed pompadour and left with the twins.

As they searched, the trio asked everyone if they had seen Link. Many said that they didn't. Others questioned their looking for him. After several minutes of pleading with the townsfolk, they were finally told that Link was headed for the town's chapel. With that, the trio rushed in that direction.

The Snowpeak Mountain Spirits' chapel was somewhat large and in the ancient Hylian style, similar to that of the famed Temple of Time. The interior was able to house 500 worshippers at a time. Twelve rows of pews, each row having two pairs, allowed worshippers to sit comfortably while praying. A marble altar depicting the creation goddesses, Din, Nayru, and Farore, was behind the priest's table.

The chapel was quite cold as the walls were stone and not insulated and the wood floors were barely covered with carpet. Lampstands with lit candles lined the walls and provided light to the dim interior. Large stained-glass windows depicting various saints of Hyrulian religious lore filled the temple and allowed for most light to come in, as well as allowing for a lot of heat to be lost.

To compensate for the chill in the air, the priests wore thick clothes and tried to make small fires in the corners of the chapel. They placed the wood in metallic containers in the four corners and lit them on fire. The fire cut down on the dampness and chill, making the place warmer than outside, but only a bit.

Agitha spotted Link sitting in front of the empty chapel. It looked as if he was praying, but she knew better. She was about to say something when Aryll and Groose walked ahead.

"Link? Link, you're okay!" Aryll said, running towards him.

She hugged him, but he didn't return it. Instead, he turned to her and asked, "W-Who...?"

Aryll stepped back and Agitha joined them. She gasped, seeing his eyes a shining gold, not the usual blue. A glow came from his left hand and a mark in the shape of the Holy Relic appeared.

"Okay, who are you?" Agitha asked.

Link seemed confused and said, "Link. Who are you?"

The trio turned to each other and back at Link.

"Uh...okay...You sure you're our Link? Ya sure you're not someone else?" Groose asked.

"Pretty sure...Um...Seriously, who are you guys? Where am I? How did I get here? Where's Midna? Where's the princess?" Link asked, standing up.

He looked around and Aryll muttered to her sister, "Um...I don't think he's our Link. Who's Midna?"

"That sounds like a Twili name. But why is he looking for a Twili?" Agitha muttered back.

Link, still distraught, kept asking questions. He asked about the state of the land, what day it was, why he was in the chapel, and many other things. Aryll and Groose tried to answer as many questions as they could without causing further harm to the teen's psyche. Agitha thought he was just kidding, but then started to think something else as he didn't have his usual stutter.

"So, I'm...I'm back in Snowpeak? Why? I took the mirror shard from here and headed for the forest...I was supposed to get a shard from the forest..." Link said, thinking and pacing in front of the altar.

'And it's getting worse. I knew it would be a bad idea to have him go this long without his medicine,' Agitha thought.

"What...forest? Everything's ice in these parts and most of Hyrule's under ice," Aryll told him.

"Under...ice?" Link asked.

He held his head and tightly shut his eyes, as if in pain. Moments later, he opened his azure eyes and, through heavy stuttering, asked, "W-What happened?"

Aryll latched onto Link and started crying. Agitha kept her distance and turned away from the scene. Groose, relieved, told Link, "Welcome back, man."

"I-I w-went s-somewhere?" Link asked.

"You kept asking us odd questions, asking about a girl named Midna, and saying things like you 'found the mirror shard'," Aryll said.

"I-I...d-d-did?" Link asked.

Agitha left the chapel, as Link seemed to be back to normal. Aryll called out to her, but the girl refused to stop walking. Link was fine, she thought, and there was no more reason to stay in the chapel.

"Agitha, no one's blaming you for what happened," Lydia said.

"But...But the elders...They all started yelling and screaming at me when they found out what happened to Link. They think I'm lying, that I did something or said something to hurt him. But I wouldn't!" Agitha cried.

Her mother tried to comfort her with a hug, but that only made it worse. The girl started bawling and said, "I didn't do anything! I really didn't!"

Aryll watched her sister and tried to offer support. Agitha wanted none of it.

"Why won't they believe me? And why do they treat Link like he's special?" Agitha cried.

"They're just sensitive to his needs right now," Lydia told her.

Aryll joined in the hugging and said, "I don't know why the elders said that, but you're not a liar. You never were. You always tell the truth, even if you say it in a really mean way. And yeah, I think they're only treating Link like that because he's messed up in the head right now."

"But why treat him like that? He's not that special! He's just got a messed up head and they won't let us help him get back to normal," Agitha cried.

Lydia sighed and told her daughter, "I don't know. But we should trust what they say for now."

Hours later, Nodor house...

Agitha stayed in her room, laying on her bed and reading books found in her father's archives on the previous era, the 4th Shadow Era of Twilight. The name Link had mentioned during his trance, Midna, was indeed of Twili origin and was the name of the "Twilight Princess". Midna was also the name of one of the patron saints of the Twili. From what Agitha found out through her readings and things she read in the library, the saint and the princess were one and the same.

She helped an unnamed warrior in that era. According to that issue of the Hyrule Historia, the man was declared a traitor as he attempted to assassinate the first emperor. His name was blotted out, only the word "Kingslayer".

Agitha remembered the many tales of that warrior. A man who committed the second-highest offense in the empire, worthy of death: treason. He betrayed the saintess, Midna, and attacked her and the emperor, Ganondorf Dragmire II, when they tried to convince him that the Twili Usurper King acted alone in his conquest of Hyrule and the demise of the Hyrulian monarch, Zelda Hyrule XVI. Instead of listening, he tried to kill the emperor, only for the man to successfully defend himself. The Kingslayer was put to death immediately, his remains sealed away, and his name blotted out from history...

A knock at the door interrupted her and she asked, "Who is it?"

"Um...M-me..." the person said.

Recognizing the voice and the stutter, Agitha said, "Link, I don't want to see you. Go away."

Instead of listening to her, Link peeked his head in and looked worried about her. Agitha stared at him from her desk and asked, "What do you need, Link? If that's really you..."

Link entered and said, "W-Why are y-you t-talking t-t-to me like th-that? I-I was just try...trying to ch-check up on y-you. Wh-Why did you r-run away?"

Agitha turned away and said, "You wouldn't understand."

"I th-think I c-could," Link told her.

Agitha turned away and said, "Please go away."

She heard him take her desk chair and she turned around to see him sitting in it. Agitha was miffed, wondering why her brother opted to say, despite her wishes for him to leave. Link noticed and asked, "A-Are you m-mad at m-me? Y-Y-You're no-not looking okay..."

"I'm fine, alright? Just leave me be, Link," Agitha told him.

"Um...D-Did I do or s-say something wro-wrong? Yo-You're an-angry," Link said.

Agitha kept silent and Link told her, "Um...If-If I d-did anything t-t-to make you mad, I-I'm s-sor-sorry."

He left, closing the door behind him. Once gone, Agitha muttered, "Saying sorry just won't cut it...Unless you can bring back the dead and get back to normal, your 'sorrys' aren't worth anything."

"Um…So Link really is?" the thirteen-year-old Colin asked.

Rusl, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news, nodded. The others in the village of Ordon gasped, not believing what he had confirmed. Since their return to the village, under the "goodwill" of the new king, Ganondorf, the residents tried to return to their normal lives. They tried hard, despite the fact that their beloved friend, Link, was gone.

None wanted to believe it, some saying that it was an evil rumor spread by the followers of the dark. The others tried to grasp the concept…but couldn't. During that year, Ilia was inconsolable and vowed to get revenge for Link's murder. Rusl successfully stopped her, telling her that Link wouldn't want her to strike out for revenge.

Near the end of that year, Rusl and a few of the adults had heard rumors of Link being alive from travelers from the capital. He didn't want to believe it and was suspicious about the whole thing. He thought that if Link was alive the whole time, he would've made contact with the village and Epona wouldn't have been so mopey.

"No…Link…H-He couldn't have been…" Ilia stammered.

Rusl remembered that the resistance had contacted him, telling him of what the Zoras had seen. Link was indeed dead, but something was wrong. His body…began acting with a will of its own, a will that sought to complete what Link could not.

He couldn't believe that as he knew that Link would've been turned into one of the living dead if the rumors were true. After joining Prince Ralis and Princess Midna on an expedition into the lantern caverns of Lake Hylia, Rusl was horrified at what he saw. A Shadow Crystal situated in the deceased's chest where his heart would've been was controlling the body of the one he called "son."

When he returned to Ordon after helping in the wraith's sealing, Colin repeatedly asked him if the rumors were true. With a heavy heart, he gathered the village together. He told them that the rumors were…half-truths. Talo and Beth were equally confused, not seeing how.

Rusl explained what had happened and the villagers could barely believe him. Ilia began to cry and her father, Mayor Bo, consoled her. The usually stoic Malo had a bewildered look on his face and said, "So, he's a monster now…?"

"The Link we know is gone. According to…a friend, a piece of dark magic controls his body now. It wants to complete what Link couldn't do: save this world from the darkness. But…how when it's a creature of the dark?" Rusl told them.

"So…What can we do if he comes back?" Colin asked.

"I don't know, son. But…if he does…then we must be prepared," Rusl replied.

Uli was worried and asked, "For what?"

"To fight, if need be," Rusl told her.

So, we have some character development for Agitha. Hopefully, my slow pace for the characters is providing a solid foundation for the rest of the story.

So, tell me what you think in a review. Is the pace too slow or is it just right?

-miano53