They had returned to the castle to prepare for the long journey ahead since it took a day to gather all that they required. Yet they wouldn't leave at nightfall after they decided to wait until dawn broke to avoid the chill that the night brought. Zelda had decided to join Hylia by the firepit in the royal gardens whilst all were winding down from a hectic day.
They sat around the crackling logs on cushioned chairs curled in, blankets over their shoulders and teacups in hand. Although many were around most were taking a late evening stroll to marvel at the flowers all around. Hylia's daughter was one of them since the girl had too much energy they had decided to let her run around for a little while before bed with her father following close behind.
Zelda glanced over at them when they paused in their tracks. Ganondorf knelt down to chat with his daughter about the flower that had piqued her interest with its stems being even taller than her.
The forgetful girl felt no fear upon encountering the man a second time. Merely a slight apprehension in the back of her mind remained but she dismissed it to see him through calm eyes. From his hair to his clothes, the chief's abundance of red reminded her of a lovely rose garden. His gaze which had once been piercing was then full of fondness as he looked down at his little love.
Watching the two of them even brought about a strange sense of nostalgia. With the feeling akin to the warmth that bloomed in her chest from sipping hot tea, she briefly wondered who he reminded her of.
"Mami!". The sudden call pulled Zelda from her thoughts.
Suddenly, the pint-sized girl was running over to them, clasping long stems in her small hands.
"Look! So beautiful! Like you!", she said, proudly holding up the freshly cut flowers to give to her mother and beaming a smile so bright it revealed the gap of her missing two front teeth.
"Oh, thank you!". Hylia gasped with astonishment as she accepted the flowers. "But you are even more beautiful", she said, tucking one of the flowers behind little Zelda's tiny ear before cradling her chubby face in her hands. The rosy-haired girl erupted into a fit of giggles at the gesture.
Her joy was so infectious that Hylia smiled too with the corner of her eyes crinkling and her gaze turning undeniably adoring.
"Doe, do you want flowers too?", the young girl asked, noticing the other's eyes on them.
Link had been the one to make the corny suggestion that they referred to her as 'Doe' since Hylia kept calling her dear. Zelda was pretty sure that wasn't her real name yet she didn't mind it.
"I would love flowers!", Doe responded with genuine enthusiasm.
"Papa!", the girl called back to her father before sprinting up to him and speaking in a language which tall Zelda didn't understand.
"What did she say?", she asked Hylia, assuming the queen would know her husband's native tongue.
"New quest, we find flowers for Doe", Hylia translated. Her smile was full of pride as she watched her daughter take Ganondorf's hand and drag him away to find more flowers.
But Zelda didn't even recognise the ones in the queen's hands since many ancient species had unfortunately been lost to time.
"What's that flower called?", she asked.
"Oh, it's a cosmos astrosanguineus", Hylia answered whilst her fingers absentmindedly traced the petals. "They're incredibly rare since they require an extraordinary amount of sunlight to bloom but since my stay here it seems they've been a little less shy. I suppose it's fitting really, I did use to live in the sun after all. A part of me even still does", she said, musing to herself mostly yet Zelda was drawn in like a fish on a hook.
"I have been wanting to ask you about that actually", she said, pulling up the blanket slipping down her shoulders.
"Right, sorry. I forgot you mustn't be familiar with my tale", Hylia said, shuffling in her seat to divert all her attention towards Zelda. "You're free to ask as many questions as you'd like to, dear. I understand that this must all be very confusing to you".
Zelda's eyes glistened and she took a deep breath before speaking without a moment of pause. "How did you get here? What are you exactly? Are you a mortal now or still a goddess? Do you have any powers? What's your purpose here? Why did the corruption start? What do you mean by a part of you still being in the sun? Where is Demise coming from?".
A corner of Hylia's lips twitched up in amusement. "Is that all?".
"For now". Zelda shrugged feeling a little lighter after breaking her damn of curiosities.
"Well, to answer those questions, my dear it's best we go back to when it all began", she said, not backing down from the scholar's challenge.
During the time of the earth's creation, the deities were born and made to live together in what felt like the warm embrace of a small den. They huddled to rest together and they played together by testing out their extraordinary abilities and chasing each other's tiny forms around. It was only when they grew bigger that the space became cramped and they branched out to form their own domains in order to put their gifts to practice for the realm below. But when they reunited, they found their once beloved and packed den empty.
Their creators had left them behind with only one instruction, 'Maintain the balance'. It wasn't exactly much of a goodbye.
However, what the goddess called home the mortals had another name for it.
"All deities except for our great creators, the goddess of life and god of death, live in what we here call the sacred realm. Up there we each have our own domains, our own purposes, our own bonds, and as the goddess of light, the sun is linked to my domain", she explained.
"Bonds?", Zelda echoed, tilting her head to the side.
"Different deities are connected to each other in different ways, you see. The elemental goddesses are connected like a spider's web, the trio of golden goddesses a triangle, and the deities of light and darkness... Well, you could say that Demise and I were a pair in a way", Hylia told her but Zelda didn't miss the scrunch of her face when she uttered those words like they were bitter on her tongue.
"We were all supposed to work harmoniously to maintain the balance in the realm we watched over but it was never easy. Especially for Demise and I".
"I can only imagine", Zelda scoffed. "You really couldn't be more opposite".
"That we are, and not just on the electromagnetic spectrum either", Hylia said. "When we watched over the mortals from above, bringing day and night, we would have constant disputes. The most troublesome were about the nature of mortals. Whilst I believed that mortals were inherently kind and the cruel were merely broken. He believed that mortals were inherently evil and the ones who didn't behave as such merely lacked the power to do so".
Zelda's brows furrowed deeply at that. "Why would he think that?".
"Well, there was once a perilous time when darkness overshadowed light. That is when we most witnessed the two sides of civilization. There were those who both gained and sustained power by exploiting the helpless. No hardship, pain or suffering had driven them to behave with such insanity or desperation. It was but pure greed, selfishness, and cruelty that drove the forever insatiable souls. It seemed like that was just the way they were and I could never understand why".
Hylia hadn't enjoyed watching over those days. Sometimes she would even heat up the ocean so that the rainstorms could block her view for a little while. Other times she let them have such sunny days of the perfect temperature which grew the crops and flowers at a faster rate, not for the wicked ones but for the other mortals whom she could never forget.
"The people they hurt were kind, empathetic, understanding, just lovely really. They truly tried to look after each other but their light was being snuffed out. The balance was shifting more and more with each passing day", Hylia said with her gaze locked onto the rippling tea in her cup that was going cold.
"We disputed over a solution for so long since we were never supposed to control mortals. We had only been permitted to watch over them but that infuriated Demise to no end. He figured it would all be so much easier if we stopped underutilising our power but I wouldn't let him", she said before sighing heavily. Zelda couldn't tell who her disappointment lay with most after her next words.
"Although a part of me did agree, I couldn't bring myself to betray our creators. Not when we had no answers as to how they would react. For all I knew we could have only ended up making things worse for the sweet mortals. Hence, the clashing continued", she said with a shrug yet the look in her eyes seemed so tired.
"Demise said he pitied the mortals that were being used yet he still argued that they would be the same as the wicked if their shackles were broken. I argued that he was wrong. I believed that if they were powerful too then they would restore the balance themselves. Hence, he proposed a wager so we could finally find out who was right. Foolishly, I agreed to it", she said, rolling her eyes.
"Since darkness ruled over the land, Demise was far more powerful than me at the time. Therefore, he was the one to send down the meteor from the depths of his domain to give any that were enduring unbearable pain the power to rid themselves of the cause once and for all. I saw no problem with the solution, I even gave him my blessing".
Hylia rubbed her forehead as if the memory alone was giving her a headache. Zelda opened her mouth to tell her she could stop if she wanted to but Hylia continued on anyhow.
"The crisis should have never happened to begin with, never mind being allowed to continue on even for a day longer. Nor should the vile get away without facing the consequences of their actions. That's why I figured it would be a divine justice of sorts. Then they could create a better world for themselves".
"Did they not?", Zelda asked.
"Oh no they did. The gloom took over their bodies and with Demise's power and my blessing, they rid the kingdom of the tyrants", Hylia said with a smile but her eyes were glassy. "They worked together, kindly, lovingly, to create the kingdom that they had always dreamed about. When they were thriving in their newfound peace I was so relieved but Demise was furious".
Zelda's brows shot up at that.
"He couldn't admit that he had been wrong, he refused to. That's when he began possessing them entirely and those ones who once never thought of harming innocents could only see darkness", Hylia explained, shaking her head.
"By shutting out every ounce of light, he made them unable to recognise who they once were or who they had loved. They became immoral, greedy, and lusted for nothing else but more power. He made them into the very thing they once despised more than anything. He forced them to be what he thought mortals truly were. And I... Well, I didn't know what to do... I couldn't abandon them not when I was also to blame".
"How so?", Zelda asked since she seemed to play no part in furthering the power of gloom.
"I realised too late that he had tricked me. Demise would have never let them live peacefully since he had never wanted to help them. He was just trying to convince me to agree to a way of ridding the realm of mortals", Hylia said and laughed but it contained no humour.
"He couldn't let go of the resentment he had for your kind. Not when he yearned desperately to bring back the balance that existed in the time before mortals were ever created. A peaceful time".
It was an era when the earth thrived. Lands of grass, ice, sand, and rock were connected by the deep underground yet separated by rivers and oceans. The plants, the snow, the dunes and the gemstones all seemed to glisten so beautifully in a world so quiet. There was a certain serenity in the air that remained constant even through the passing of seasons. From growth to death to rebirth, the cycle was both mesmerising and calming to watch year after year. But everything became a lot more complicated when the mortals arrived.
"No matter who they were, how they acted, the way they lived, so long as mortals walked upon this land he would have never been satisfied. Therefore, when Demise realised he had only made it all the more difficult to eradicate them, he became enraged. And I could not calm his fury, no matter how hard I tried. In all my ancient wisdom, how could I have been so naive", Hylia said and let out a quiet laugh full of bitterness as her eyes became even more glossy.
"Hylia-".
"I should have known better", the goddess cut Zelda off, trying to pull herself together. "It was my responsibility to restore the light. I should not have gotten him involved nor passed my burdens onto mortals. I should have stopped him from sending that meteor down. I should have found another way. But I could not undo what had already come to pass. Gloom had already infected the entire kingdom when my regrets settled in".
"Still, there was no convincing Demise to release his hold on them. Denial and arrogance were his favourite poisonous concoction that he tried to make me drink too. He said that they would have eventually turned to the deceased's despicable ways anyhow, he was merely speeding up the process for them", Hylia huffed.
"No matter what I said he just had absolutely no faith in mortals and acted as if he was a great god. I didn't know why the true great deities wouldn't interfere and we have no contact with them so I had no way of asking them either, leaving me alone with my anger".
"I still don't understand", Zelda said, sitting up straighter. "You must be so powerful, Hylia. Why couldn't you put an end to him in your realm?".
"Because arguments are one thing, but deities are forbidden from battling in the sacred realm", she told her. "If we were to destroy one another we would cause an event so apocalyptic that both the sacred and mortal realm would collapse. We truly cannot exist without each other after all".
"Oh... Well, I can see how that wouldn't be the best idea then".
"Exactly, and no deity can leave the sacred realm either, at least not entirely. We aren't exactly pointless after all. The sun would not even rise without a part of my soul up there, but our entities are so enormous that we are able to split ourselves. The catch is that if we send part of our soul down to the mortal realm then we can only do so by taking over a mortal's body".
"Wait, so this isn't actually your body?", Zelda asked, aghast at the revelation.
"It is now. But it hasn't always been", Hylia said as she ran her hand through her long hair. "When we claim a vessel our souls intertwine with the mortal's in a way that we essentially become two halves of a whole. But this is the only way I can have more of a direct influence in this realm".
"But Demise has so much influence and he isn't here is he?", Zelda questioned.
"No, but the only reason Demise can puppeteer mortals is because of your shadows. You all have them. They follow you everywhere you go. There is absolutely no way to escape them and they are your perfect shape".
Most didn't even pay attention to them but Zelda became acutely aware of her own once Hylia pointed the lurking figure out.
"That is what takes over you, the gloom merely acts like a glue. Even if you try to blend your shadow into the shade, the darkness of your surroundings will still engulf you. Whereas all I can do is make the light inside of you stronger. I used to do that often with my blessings but it wasn't enough".
Zelda didn't know what Hylia meant by blessings, but the rising fear that trembled throughout her body took over any other line of questioning.
"You said Demise is coming... Do you mean he's going to take a mortal vessel?".
Hylia took a deep breath to think about that. "Truly, I cannot predict that deity. Decades have passed since we last spoke. Hence, I have no way of knowing his plans. But, I do know that he has not taken a vessel thus far both due to his cowardice and arrogance yet again. I doubt he will ever deem a mortal body worthy of possessing the power of a god", Hylia said and couldn't help but roll her eyes at the deity's ego.
"But it seems his plans will change in some way or another. Perhaps it will be another meteor or something else entirely. I wish I knew but the golden goddesses are more knowing than I. If they say that I should prepare then I shall".
"Still, that's our plan now, isn't it? Did you not already have a plan when you descended?", Zelda asked.
Hylia smiled at that. "Nothing gets passed you does it, dear?".
"Nope". Zelda grinned before taking a sip of her tea, urging Hylia to go on.
"It was a complicated matter, to say the least, but I never pitied mortals. You've always contained such a remarkable strength to be able to endure so much. A strength that I found many of you were often pushed to believe that you didn't have. Whilst Demise desired to take advantage of that, I wished to help you find that strength once more".
"The mortal you chose to be your vessel must have been incredibly strong to be worthy of a goddess's power then", Zelda noted before downing the last of her tea.
Hylia was quiet as Zelda reached for the teapot to refill her cup. She had expected Hylia to go on about the worthy one with passion yet her sorrowful expression had not left her.
An apology was on the tip of Zelda's tongue as she wondered if she had asked too much. Hylia wasn't a fact sheet after all, she was talking about her actual life and the painful moments of it too. Yet she spoke again anyway.
"You see that over there?", Hylia asked, nodding her head to the section of the royal gardens behind Zelda. She turned to see that Hylia was referring to a small stone statue with a quaint pond in front of it and a ring of flowers around its edge.
"That's one of my shrines. It's where many mortals go to pray to me and ask that I grant them blessings".
"I'm assuming the whole making light stronger thing doesn't just make someone glow, right?", Zelda asked to which Hylia shook her head.
"When one performs a true act of kindness or a noble deed they put light into the world and if they pray to me then I can grant them the power of that light in return. The greater the act, the stronger the deed, the more powerful the blessings can be", she explained.
"Link doesn't take many of my blessings nowadays, but he did as a child that is why his strength is much greater than his physique would have you believe".
Finally, Zelda had an explanation for Link being able to manhandle her like she was merely a kitten compared to him even though he didn't appear close to how buff warriors like Ganondorf were.
"But how, exactly? Is it just a goddess thing?", Zelda pushed to know every detail.
"A little". Hylia shrugged. "You mortals are very similar to plants, you know", she said, looking back down at the flowering plants in her hands.
"In darkness, they shrivel up and wilt but in sunlight, they thrive. Just look at the trees and the strength they have from taking in so much sunlight. To think they were once just as big as these flowers", she said with an endearing level of fondness for them.
"It takes a while because sunlight is dispersed over an incredibly large area therefore they only take in a little bit of energy over a long period of time, but if I concentrate and manipulate that light...".
The night suddenly seemed to become slightly darker as Hylia's hands started to glow. Basked in her divine light the stems of the flowers grew twice their height and any buds that were close shut bloomed in an instant.
"Ta-da!", Hylia said, presenting her new bouquet.
Zelda gasped and Hylia chuckled at her amazement until her eyes grew sad again.
"The lovely young lady that this body once belonged to also prayed at my shrines". Hylia paused to take a deep breath. "Her name was Zelda and she was going to die".
The lost girl found herself frozen by that.
"She was born with a physically weak heart, you see", Hylia told her. "Ultimately, it meant that her life was always going to be short. Yet I knew her well throughout her time here. She even used to bring me flowers too".
The goddess's smile was small as she looked down at the flora in her hands. Zelda briefly wondered if the soul that used to drive that body smiled like that too.
"She was one of many who hoped to save Hyrule and rid it of gloom. Unfortunately, her time ran out before she could do so although she tried in many ways for years. When her heart was failing her she managed to reach my shrine and beg for my help but I could not save her, not in the way I wanted to at least. It was then when she offered herself to me so that I could finish what she started".
Hylia then met her gaze. Although she was far older than Zelda there was a guilt behind her eyes that made her look like a child who was scared that they were in trouble. It made Zelda want to console her in a way but she didn't know how to.
"I was so lost in doubt. I could no longer trust my own judgement", Hylia continued on. "I had been waiting for so long for some sign of what to do from the great deities but they never answered. Then a mortal came along and commanded me to descend to this madness and I found myself unable to refuse her".
The goddess's golden eyes shone with both wonder and sorrow to recall the girl she had known so long ago. So much so that Zelda didn't know what to say.
"I named my daughter after her so that one day when she asks me why I gave her that name, I can tell her it was because I always knew she was going to be as extraordinary as the woman who had that name before her", Hylia said with a proud smile.
"But her story is one from decades ago. A lot has changed since her time, in some ways good but in others not so much. Even with the phantoms, corrupted, and demons still around, we have the sundelions for medicine, the gloom no longer affects the crops like it once did and we have many more ways of defeating phantoms because of her".
"Are they difficult to kill?", Zelda asked what she had been wondering ever since she saw a whole squad of knights reach for their swords for merely a small boy.
"That depends on your skillset, my dear", Hylia said. "But I will say they do require some creativity since the only type of sword that is effective against them is a sacred blade".
"I'm hoping you're going to say everyone's got one of those nowadays?".
Hylia huffed a laugh at that. "Sorry to disappoint, dear. But there is only one sacred blade and it belongs to Link now. Without it the most common method is to subject them to extreme exposure of the elements since the gloom acts like an armour of sorts that needs to be worn down first. But I do have my own ways too".
"Do tell", Zelda urged whilst resisting the desire to run over to Link and get a look at the most powerful sword in the land.
"Do you feel good during sunny days?", Hylia asked which was not the response Zelda had been expecting but she went along with it anyway.
"Of course, they're lovely".
"That is because my light has healing properties. Usually, it is faint but...", Hylia paused to gently take hold of Zelda's hand. Light shone just the same as it had for the flowers but this time the brightest point was coming from the small cut on Zelda's finger.
"Sometimes it can be a little stronger", Hylia finished prompting Zelda to pull the banadge loose and reveal smooth skin clear of shallow wounds.
"But for the corrupted... It is as if they are constantly gushing a stream of blood and poison. Although I can cure them by doing so I also erase their entire being. Hence, they will never be free so long as gloom prevails".
Zelda nearly missed what Hylia said as she was too busy examining her hand. The sensation of being stitched back together wasn't like anything she had felt before. But when her brain did catch up, a flaw in Hylia's rationale gleamed.
"You said that everyone is already infected though. Can't you cure them before it takes over completely?".
"I did once try to dispel it internally, but it seems to have bonded to your blood cells. I had to stop as the knight who offered himself as the test felt like he was dying from blood loss", Hylia explained before smiling at Zelda's pouting.
"Trust me, my dear. Every solution you can think of we have already tried. The only way is to put an end to Demise's tyranny".
Zelda wondered if the shadows could hear as the night was getting exceptionally colder the more they spoke ill of its master.
"But if we do that... Will darkness cease to exist as well?", she asked, not being able to imagine a world where the sun never set and no shadows loomed behind them.
"No, a god cannot be killed but one can be weakened. In Demise's case his power be must reduced to the point where he will only be able to fulfil his basic purpose. He lost any trust to do any more than that a long time ago".
Her voice trembled on the edge of fury yet Zelda's couldn't miss the strangely sorrowful undertones. To Zelda's mortal ears, the prospect of weakening her rival should make Hylia ecstatic yet she strangely couldn't seem further from it.
"Then what will happen if light overpowers darkness?", she asked, trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle.
"It will not", Hylia stated with conviction. "Your lives will already be difficult enough without you all tearing each other apart. You will still need to survive, you will yearn to discover who you truly are and what you want from living. You will grieve those who pass, and even sometimes those who still live on. Periods of sadness and rest will always be part of being mortal".
She paused as her eyes flickered towards the flames rising from the fire pit.
"You may even hurt each other at times too. People can often not be who others want them to be. Rarely is one as kind as they wish to be. Plenty act foolishly and do not think through their actions. But even though mortals can make mistakes, they will not always become monsters for there is a line that no one should ever cross".
Hylia's tone turned solemn again. Although Hylia had appeared youthful, at that moment her eyes had never seemed so old. Zelda started to notice the scars of her hands, the lines that stretched to her temples like butterfly wings, and most surprisingly there was a slice of her left ear missing. All that the woman had seen and done was still a mystery to her yet Zelda wanted to know more.
"Hy-".
"Doe!", a sweet voice cut her off as a little bundle of joy came running back to them with flowers in hand.
"Doe, this is for you!", she said, holding up the makeshift bouquet for their guest to take.
"Oh, thank you so much! It's so pretty", Zelda responded. The flowers were truly unique as their petals were of two hues. The outer colour the same as clouds, the inner shade similar to the daylight sky, and the pollen centre like the sun.
"Papa, she likes them!", young Zelda proudly declared before getting distracted by the bouquet she had given her mother earlier.
"Woah! The flowers grew! Mami, did you do that?", she asked.
"I did, indeed. Do you like them?", Hylia responded with her whole aura brightening by the return of her daughter.
"Uh-huh! My mami's amazing, did you know?", the princess asked Zelda as she folded her arms on her mother's lap so that she could rest her head there.
Zelda smiled at Hylia. "I'm starting to", she said to which Hylia smiled back at her.
"Mami, can you make Doe's flowers grow too?", the little one asked.
"If you'd like me to", Hylia said offering out her hand to which Zelda nodded. In a flash of light, the flowers grew taller and the stems slithered up her arms to cling onto her.
Little Zelda started clapping and bouncing up and down as she exclaimed in gerudo tongue.
"Does it have a name?", the lost girl asked as she couldn't help but feel that she knew the flower well.
"This one's called, 'The silent princess'. It was named after a beloved fairytale that illustrated the same flower on the cover", Hylia told her.
"The silent princess, huh".
Zelda stared down at the flower as the name echoed in her head until she heard another woman's voice in her head repeating it.
A memory from long ago suddenly bloomed in her mind.
Once, she had been surrounded by tall grass and the sleeve of a woman's dress was soft against her cheek as she leaned against the tall figure's frame. But Zelda's eyes had been focused on a worn down book being held in delicate hands whilst the reader told the tale of the blue and white flower that danced with the wind around them.
The woman's voice had been so melodic that it made her feel sleepy and calm. When Zelda looked up towards the source of it, she found a yellow-haired woman basking in warm sunlight. Zelda's very soul recognised who she was. That woman had been her mother. The Queen of Hyrule.
Her crown had gleamed in the light, as did the knights' armour whilst they sparred in the courtyards when a wave of memories hit Zelda at once, albeit all from a much shorter point of view. She had run through red carpet halls, lived encompassed by walls of grey stone, knew the scent of feasts coming from the great dining hall, heard the music in the ballroom with rippling dresses, and felt the ridges of oil paint beneath her fingers as she looked up at the giant portraits. The most notable one depicted a family of three. A queen, a king, and a princess.
"Holy Hylia! I'm a princess!", Zelda abruptly exclaimed whilst clutching her forehead.
"Huh?", all those around her uttered at that sudden declaration.
"I remember now! I'm Princess Zelda of Hyrule", she said with her eyes wide.
"I thought that was me?", the girl adorning the tiara chimed in.
"Uh oh, Doe. You've caused another identity crisis", said Link as he approached them. Since the four of them had lost track of the time, he had been sent by the king to remind the lot of their bedtimes.
"How much do you remember, dear?", Hylia asked her.
"Not much. In most of my memories I couldn't have been much taller than you sweetie", Zelda said, patting the young girl on her head causing her to giggle. "There were a few others where I'm not but they're too hazy to make much out".
Amongst the flashing memories had been one where she sat at a desk surrounded by leather-bound books with an inked quill in hand and the distinctive flower in a vase next to the scattered papers. Another had been in a field again but without her mother. This time there was a boy of golden hair beside her. Zelda heard her own voice as she told him about the flower that could only thrive out in the wild but she hadn't heard his voice.
'Had he spoken that day? Who on earth was he?', Zelda couldn't help but wonder when she felt her heart swell with an overwhelming amount of love for the boy, yet she could not even remember his name.
Instinctively, Zelda felt her gaze flicker towards Link who looked down at her curious about what she had to say.
"But I do know this much. The queen was my mother, they called me Zelda, and I grew up in a castle except it wasn't the same one we sit outside today", she said and they all came to the same realisation at once.
After all, it could only mean one thing. The lost girl was from so far into the future that the castle of their era had been rebuilt entirely. The princess hadn't gone back merely weeks, nor months, or even decades, but centuries.
Zelda's heartbeat quickened to a pace that nearly knocked the breath out of her, but before she could panic any further she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Well, it would probably knock you out if all your memories came back at once. But this is good news, right? Something is bound to trigger your more recent memories at some point and that'll be one step closer to getting you back there", Link said, seeming completely undeterred by the shocking timeline.
His gentle smile was reassuring as he exaggerated his slow breathing so that Zelda could copy the rise and fall of his shoulders until her heart calmed back down.
"Mami, I'm confused", the princess of ancient times declared.
"As am I, my tiny friend. Why do only these two have flowers, where are mine?", Link asked.
Little Zelda perked up at that. "Linkie, want flowers?".
"Heck yeah, Linkie wants flowers", the knight said with a grin.
"Papa! New quest! New quest!", the girl cheered in gerudo.
"New quest!", Link joined in, matching both her language and enthusiasm before offering out his hand for the girl to take and drag him down the garden paths with Ganondorf following along.
"You believe me right?", Zelda asked Hylia after they were left alone.
"Yes... Truthfully, I had already expected as much I just wasn't sure how to tell you", Hylia answered honestly.
"Why would you expect that? I could have been anyone", Zelda asked, baffled by that response.
"Impa", Hylia said. "She doesn't go around announcing it but she in fact the sage of spirit, which means she can see the souls of anyone she looks at. After she met you she came and told me how alike ours are".
Zelda gaped, slack-jawed. Although she had thought that the sheikah woman had one of the most intense gazes of anyone she had ever met before, she hadn't seen any stone on her.
"Alike? Alike as in...".
"Our reincarnation, yes".
Zelda was glad that she was sitting down for she was sure she would've lost her balance by all that was being thrown her way.
"My soul is there but it is dim, Zelda's soul is brighter. So, you could say we are inverted in a way", Hylia explained like that made perfect sense but Zelda wasn't so convinced.
"Hylia, I'm going to need you to do that long explanation thingy again".
"Alright, try thinking of the body like a wagon. The stronger soul is the driver and the mortal vessel's soul is the sleeping passenger. I can hand the reins back but she cannot take them from me. In this life, I have to be the dominant force to keep this heart beating but if I were to let Zelda's soul take the forefront in the next life, then my power would be weaker but she would have her consciousness back".
"Is that really all a soul entails? Power and consciousness?", Zelda replied, her nose scrunching at how awfully depressing that sounded.
"Of course not, the soul is the very essence of who you are. Zelda was strong, she was clever, she was wise. Those parts of her stay with me even now, but this body can still only have one brain, one mind, one conscious", Hylia tried to explain but the lost look behind Zelda's eyes was glaringly obvious.
"Take a less muddled example. When Link dies and his soul is reborn a hundred years after his passing, my guess is that his kindness, courage, loyalty, sweetness will all carry on. But his personality, his likes and dislikes, his goals, his looks may very well be similar but they can also be very different. Since those traits often come from one's mind, body, and life which changes in every lifetime".
At the mention of the knight Zelda looked over to him. Even from afar, she could see him laughing with the young princess. It filled her with a warmth that was too intense for someone she hadn't known long. In the back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder if she had already met his soul in her lifetime.
"It's definitely not a coincidence that I was sent back here to you, is it?", Zelda concluded.
"Probably not", Hylia admitted.
"But why? You're already here!", Zelda exclaimed, growing frustrated by it all. "What could my part to play in all of this possibly be?".
"I wish I knew but I'm afraid only time will tell, my dear. How you choose to spend it in the meantime will be up to you", Hylia said and took hold of Zelda's hand to comfort her.
"You may stay at the castle with Rauru or you can come with us on our quest. It may very well be a perilous one, and whilst I'm sure Link will do his best to protect you, along with me and my husband, nothing is ever guaranteed. This is not even your era, our strife is not your responsibility. We would not hold it against you if choose to stay, but it is still your choice to make".
Zelda looked back towards said castle. Perhaps because it was close to the home she had known in her time, but there was something comforting about the grand structure. She knew it would be frightening to leave the security it brought behind, but a stronger part of her knew that it would start to feel like a cage rather than a nest the longer she stayed.
"I want to help... I want to come with you. I don't know how much use I'll be but I do hope that it will be more than just sitting in a castle all day".
Hylia's other hand came to rest atop hers. "Very well, if that is what you wish then I'm glad to have you by our side".
Zelda mirrored the woman's soft smile as she started to feel far less alone than she had when she first woke up in the peculiar kingdom.
"Hey, are you two alright?", she heard a familiar voice ask and turned to see Ganondorf joining them.
"You've both had incredibly serious expressions for quite some time now", he asked with his concerned eyes flickering towards his wife.
Hylia looked at Zelda before answering, waiting for her to nod.
"Yeah, we're alright", she said, her smile turning to one that was specially reserved for her husband.
"Sure?", he asked to which Hylia nodded.
"I'll catch you up later", she said.
"If you say so", he said before leaning down to place a kiss to her temple and grab the empty teapot beside her.
He then spoke quietly to her in gerudo and she answered him whilst cradling his face in one hand and idly brushing along his cheekbone with her thumb. But Zelda didn't pay much mind to that, not when the stone on Ganondorf's forehead was at her eye level. At night it seemed to an even deeper shade of black than before. Darker than a raven's wings, the energy inside it flowed around like ink in water.
Zelda almost felt like she was intruding by staring but luckily for her, Ganondorf soon stood back up to his full height and headed off towards the castle. Unconsciously, her eyes lingered on him as they had done many times that day.
"Has my darling caught your eye, dear?", Hylia called her out causing Zelda to look back at her. "Your gaze seems to wander to him quite often".
Her tone wasn't quite accusatory but she was most definitely looking for an answer.
"Sorry, sorry, it's just... Rauru said one of the sages was shadow. That stone on Ganondorf's forehead... That's it, isn't it?".
"Yes, it comes from Demise himself", Hylia confirmed her suspicions. "The stones were sent down around the time of mortals' creation when we had yet to make any judgements on them. Back then we only did as the great deities asked of us".
'Maybe that's what I reacted to then?', Zelda wondered as Demise was already striking fear into her heart just from hearing about him.
"It's likely that Demise regrets obliging to that demand. But if he ever was to choose a mortal vessel, I suppose it would be the one who possesses that stone. Hence, his followers now would kill for it".
"Really? Then why not destroy it or I don't know at least hide it?", Zelda asked, bewildered as to why they would have it out on such clear display.
"To our knowledge, it cannot be destroyed and it is too risky to hide it anywhere. If we did then the phantoms would not stop looking for it and I don't dare to even think about how powerful they could be if they got their hands on it. Trust me, dear. The safest place for that stone to be is with the chief", Hylia reassured with utmost confidence.
"How can you be so certain?", Zelda asked.
"Well, it was determined a long time ago, after one of the great battles against a hoard of Demise's puppets that in this kingdom; Ganondorf is the strongest warrior, Impa is the most skilled, I am the most powerful, and Link lies somewhere in between", Hylia stated with near to none boastfulness.
"One of us would be the best option to protect the stone from falling into the wrong hands. But Demise has been the root of so much suffering. The three of us are too close to the matter to accept anything that comes from him, and the worst fate would be if the sage becomes corrupted. But my dearest has no such connection to him".
"Although he has certainly had far from an easy life, Ganondorf's pain does not come from Demise but from other mortals. Yet, he still has the perseverance to bear hardships without succumbing to corruption. Therefore, Rauru couldn't see anyone else as a more suited fit, especially when he's also rather fond of shadows".
"He is?", Zelda said with her brows furrowing.
"Indeed so, you should ask him about his stone when you get the chance. I'm sure that he would be happy to speak with you", Hylia said with her affection for her beloved obvious simply through her tone.
"I'll be sure to do that", Zelda replied since she had already wanted to speak to the rest of the sages.
Truly, the more they spoke of them the stronger the desire to meet the rest of them became. Call it perhaps a foolish excitement, but the princess found herself suddenly looking forward to the risky quest. Yet, her unfamiliarity with their world still scared her.
"Wait, what about the elemental deities who sent the other stones? Why don't they come down here too?", she asked, realising Hylia so far was the only sage who wasn't a mortal.
"Some have a long time ago but this matter isn't their responsibility".
"Still, don't they want to help us?".
"You think of them too much like you, my dear", Hylia said, shaking her head. "Morality is inherent to mortals. You cannot do something out of the goodness of your heart if you have no heart. But we are able to perceive and feel, so we know what needs to be done and be driven to act upon it".
"Still, I've found that the closer one associates with mortals the more like them they become, what that entails lies within one's perception. Demise's perception of mortals may be twisted and ugly but the other deities' perceptions are relatively neutral".
"Has yours always been positive?", Zelda asked since the goddess seemed to view most mortals rather highly.
"It has tended to lean that way more often than not. But if I were to be entirely truthful then I would say that when I first came to this realm it was out of a sense of duty more than anything else. I focused solely on fixing my errors and restoring the balance because I believed it was part of my purpose. But the longer I lived in this body and in this realm, the more mortal I became and the more I came to love you all. Although I'm frankly still not quite sure if I'm more goddess or mortal at this point".
There was a lost look in Hylia's eyes as she spoke that reminded Zelda of when she first looked in the mirror after arriving in their era and made her ask, "Which do you want to be?".
The question took Hylia aback as uncertainty froze her tongue.
"Mami, look!". Little Zelda came to her rescue by approaching them whilst still holding Link's hand.
"I made Linkie pretty!", she said, proudly pointing up at the flower crown atop Link's shaggy hair.
"I think you'll find that I was stunning before but alright", Link defended to which all three of the ladies rolled their eyes.
Ganondorf then returned with freshly steeped tea, effectively bringing Zelda's interrogation to a halt. Still, they all chatted for a while longer as Hylia let the others know that Zelda would be joining them and they began discussing travel details. By the time they had bored little Zelda to sleep, they were all yawning too and decided to call it a night.
The queen then carried her daughter back into the castle and headed down the halls with the chief after wishing them a good night.
There were plenty of spare rooms available in the castle for Zelda, with beds so bouncy they felt like sleeping on giant marshmallows. The only downside was the enormous set of stairs that led to their quarters.
The top seemed the same as the peak of a mountain when looking from down below, causing Zelda to heavily sigh with her tired body not on board with the dreadful path. Link seemed unbothered by them as he approached the steps but Zelda caught his arm.
"You know, Hylia told me how you're blessed", she said to which Link lifted a brow in confusion.
"I bet I don't weigh much more than a feather to you", Zelda said with a shrug as if she was simply stating an innocent fact.
Link let out a bark of laughter at that, immediately recognising what she was doing. "Would you like me to carry you to your chambers, princess?", he asked, exaggerating his voice to one of pristine formality whilst grinning ear to ear.
"I would indeed". Zelda nodded, effectively sacrificing whatever pride she had for the sake of her aching legs.
Link clicked his tongue but still swooped the princess up off her feet to carry her up the mountain made of marble with ease. Putting her down was far less ceremonial as he tossed her onto her bed and said goodnight before shutting the curtains for her. Zelda mumbled her thanks with her face smushed into the pillows and heard the door click shut behind him.
Rolling onto her back, she grabbed a pillow to hug and stared up at the ceiling. The sliver of moonlight peeking through the gap between the curtains was all that was illuminating the room as she was left alone with her thoughts.
'Oh, Zelda. What have you gotten yourself into'.
A battle between a god and goddess. Her being half-mortal, half-divine. A journey with an uncertain end was to begin at sunrise. It was too much to think about. Instead, she let her eyes close and sleep overcame her.