'Despite the Temple of Time being the source of sanctuary for sages, heroes and civilians alike, no one truly knows where the original temple stood. From various excavations over the years, some foundations and still-standing ruins have been uncovered across Hyrule, from the Faron Woods in the south to the Forest of Spirits near the capital. But Hyrule has moved on from the ages of heroes and princesses, and it's only certain groups of people who truly want to remember Hyrule's exquisite environmental history.'

—Extract from 'Hyrule's Deepest Secrets' by local archaeologist Tauro Zoni

In The Shadows

~O~

Chapter 8: Breaking Out

I wander through a forest that's so dark I can barely see. The thick canopy of greenery above me obscures the moonlight, only my phone's torch illuminating the path. My panicked mind is instantly transported to every horror film imaginable, and yet I continue into the forest instead of running the hell away like I should be.

Soon enough, I stumble upon some ruins on a hilltop, ruins so old that nature has started to reclaim them. The torchlight casts long shadows across the ruins, conjuring up odd silhouettes that make my heart pound when they start to resemble Cia. I blink and the world around me shifts, planting me in a labyrinth of tunnels that feel oddly familiar. My breath grows shallow as I timidly start down one of the tunnels, praying that I can find a way out.

That's when I hear a scream.

My heart squeezes—I recognise that scream.

"Link…"

Without hesitation, I break into a mad dash towards the source of his cries for help, the sound echoing all around so I struggle to find where he actually is. I call out for him over and over, but I'm not getting any closer. I angrily wipe away the tears that start to fall, focusing my mind on the sound rather than who it's coming from.

"I'm coming," I whisper into the darkness. "I'm coming."

I trip and drop my phone, the torchlight dying when the phone itself snaps in two. I curse under my breath and push myself back onto my feet, noticing a trickle of golden light at the end of the tunnel which lights up the uneven terrain. I can almost feel his presence and I know that I'm close. Clutching at my chest, I take a moment to catch my breath.

Then I realise something.

The screaming… it's stopped.

My eyes widen, "No…"

I choke on my breath as I run but I have no time to contemplate it, the light growing brighter and brighter with each step I take towards the end of the tunnel. I break out into a cavernous room with a gasp, both the golden light and candlelight radiating around the space. There's nothing in here, save for a large statue of the Goddess Hylia, whose small smile gives me a little comfort as my eyes drop down to the trail of blood at her feet.

Then I see it.

My hand flies to my mouth to suppress a sob as terror floods into my system. Link—kind, caring, wonderful Link—lays slumped against the feet of the Goddess statue, almost beyond recognition. The stream of blood leads up to his bloody left hand which glows with the golden light that guided me here. I reach out to him, only for a hand to snake up to my neck and hold me back.

"And now, princess," Cia coos. "It's your turn…"

My world goes dark as I suddenly hear someone calling my name from far away and I bolt upright with a cry, regretting it instantly as a wave of nausea sweeps over me. A pair of hands gently push me back down but my mind's such a whirlwind that I'm still half trapped in that nightmarescape. I fight them as furiously as I can, desperate to tear out of their grasp and help Link—even if it's too late for him.

"It's alright Zelda, you're safe now," the voice soothes. They sound oddly familiar, their blurry face appearing in my field of vision when I finally open my eyes.

"Paya?" I croak.

"It's me, Zelda. Go back to sleep… you've… you've been through a lot."

I shake my head wildly despite the pain and push against her, "No, you have to listen to me… we have to find him!" I push the heels of my palms into my eyes to try and clear my vision, only to find that everything's blurry from tears. When did I start crying? Paya easily pushes me back down and keeps me there.

"I know, Zelda. We'll f… find him."

"No you don't understand." My voice breaks. Why doesn't she understand? "He's dead, Paya. He's dead. I saw him… he'd been through so much and now… now he's…"

My words open a dam of emotions and I can't even finish my sentence before I'm overwhelmed. The young Sheikah hugs me tightly as I sob, unable to do anything else as my mind replays the images being burnt into my mind.

I cry until I pass out.

My head's a lot clearer when I next wake up, even though it still aches a little. I groan and roll onto my back, staring at the ceiling for a while as I stave off a wave of nausea. As I rub some feeling back into my face, my nightmare still lingers at the back of my mind like a constant reminder of what could be—it's up to me to prevent it from happening.

I glance over to my window and frown at how bright the world outside is between the blinds. I've been out all night, I realise. I can't lie here anymore…

Pain spikes in the back of my head as I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed, gritting my teeth as I force myself to stand. I'm a little uneasy on my feet but I press on, taking it slow as I make my way into the living room, my bare feet slapping against the floor as I walk.

Paya's sitting on the sofa and reading a book, her eyes immediately filling with concern as she spots me, "Zelda? You need to… to be in bed."

I would shake my head but I don't want to think about how painful that'll be, "I can't lay about in bed all day with a headache when Link's suffering with a lot more."

"A con… concussion is a bit more than a headache," she frowns, toying with saying more on the matter but ultimately deciding against it.

I take a seat beside her and look at her computer on the table. It looks like some sort of report, though upon closer inspection I realise what the report's about and ask, "What happened to Astor?"

"They blocked him in the stairwell and arrested him. Apparently one of your landladies had managed to follow the crowd of officers and tried to attack him but they held her off." I chuckle at the thought; it could've been either of them who did that. "He's in custody now. He refuses to speak, but we can charge him for assault at the very least. We'll need your testimony too… but that can wait for a few days until you're feeling better."

I hum. It's not the best charge but at least it's something, and at least I don't have to relive that night in detail for a couple of days, "Did you find anything else in Cia's journal?"

She nods, "The only place she mentions with reverence is the Temple of Time in Castletown; it was the first place she came to after she left the Valley of Seers. It doesn't look like she'd been there in a year or so… b-but it's something at least."

"It's something," I murmur back. "I just hope there's something there."

Paya rubs my arm comfortingly, "She's left us all the clues we need to find them. We'll figure it out. We're just… just waiting on the search warrant for the temple… and then we'll go from there."

I just hope we don't figure it out too late…

I grab some breakfast and a cup of tea before heading back to bed, still frustratingly exhausted. Even if I wasn't under what feels like house arrest, my concussion means I've got no chance of going to the Temple of Time with Paya and the others. As I slip back into bed, I lay there for a while, unable to fall asleep despite how tired I am, and simply think.

Nayru, I feel awful. I know Astor wasn't holding anything back but surely he could've held back a little. I close my eyes, glad when it eases the pain and dizziness a little. I'm not going to be back on my feet for at least another day, but the problem is we don't have that sort of time. It's already been over a day since Link went missing and, as strong as he is, he won't last much longer.

But it's not like I can go charging in to save him. If they really are at the Temple of Time, then Paya and the others can end this. If they aren't… then I have to start thinking about the consequences of that.

But there's this feeling deep inside that we're wrong about the Temple of Time. It's plausible, yes, but why would Cia be able to work from there when it's still used by priests and priestesses to this day? She had Astor's help, yes, but it's not like they'd be able to easily move their victims about without attracting some kind of attention.

Something's not quite right.

Yet I'm asleep before I can think about it anymore.

The next thing I know, it's later in the day and I wake up just as Paya's putting a glass of water on my bedside table. She smiles sadly at me and whispers, "Go back to sleep…" But I shake my head (lightly) and stare at the wall opposite me, determined to stay awake and be the first to know what's happening.

"Did you get the warrant?"

"Y… Yes," she nods, taking a seat on the bed. "They're searching the temple ri… right now."

I huff and sink deeper into my pillow. I wish I could be there right now to turn that damn temple upside down. If Cia's going to put the next victim (because I refuse to use his name in the same sentence) at the Temple of Time, probably the busiest temple in town, then she'll have left something there to prepare.

Even if there isn't somehow, then we'll be ready for whatever she's going to do.

I just don't want it to get that far. I don't want us to stop Cia when she's disposing of the body. I want us to stop her before she gets to the point that she has a body on her hands. She doesn't have Astor either to do the heavy lifting, so surely she must be thinking about how on earth she's going to get away with this?

And besides, why would Cia taunt me by talking about the Temple of Time when she'd rather have me far away from the public eye to show me her work and then start conducting her tests on me? If they stop Cia when she gets to the Temple of Time, then she won't be able to carry on with her killing streak. She said that going to the Temple of Time would enlighten me, not set up a final showdown between her and the police.

What did she mean by…?

Wait.

Unless she doesn't mean the Temple of Time in Castletown.

I grab Paya's wrist just as she goes to stand and it makes her jump, "Z… Zelda… what…?"

"Do you have a copy of Cia's journal?" I ask without looking at her. "Or just the first page? I need to check something."

Paya blinks at me, then stammers, "Y-Yeah… I have some… pictures on my laptop…" She tries to stand up again so she can bring it to me, but I'm already ahead of her and walking out of my room before she can stop me. "Z… Zelda, wait!"

I sit on my sofa and Paya helps me to find the case documents that I'm looking for, and thankfully it doesn't take too long. I pull up a scan of the first page of Cia's journal—the one with the photograph of those old ruins in the forest. I mean, the Temple of Time is so famous historically that there's loads of temples across Hyrule named after it. We just assumed that Cia meant the temple in Castletown because the other two bodies were found here.

But that doesn't mean that she initially killed them in Castletown too.

And then I think of what Lana said to me yesterday, "She said she was searching for holy ground to devote herself to. I think she mentioned the Forest of Spirits, but there's only ruins over there so I assume she came to Castletown instead."

There are some old ruins in the forest that people think used to be the Temple of Time, but no one's ever been able to confirm it with real certainty. What's left of those ruins are surrounded by a chain link fence, and the only reason I know that is because some kids tried to explore the ruins years ago and got stuck, so the council cordoned off the entire temple to deter others from trying the same thing.

A pile of ruins that's been forgotten about for years… surely it'd be a perfect place to carry out a string of murders without attracting any sort of unwanted attention. And it's close enough to Castletown to dispose of the bodies too.

"Zelda… wh… what's going on?"

I point at the photograph on the screen, "That's where Cia is."

"I… I don't…"

"She's at the Temple of Time, but she never said that it was the one in Castletown," I explain quickly. "There's loads of temples with the same name across Hyrule, and Cia must think that these ruins here used to be the Temple of Time too. She wanted to be on holy ground when she killed the victims so the Goddesses would hear her and answer her prayers."

The Sheikah's eyes widen, "Goddesses…"

My heart skips a beat—I know where he is.

Goddess above, I know where he is.

And the police have gone to the wrong temple to find him.

I have to go.

"You have to help me, Paya," I breathe. "I have to get out of here right now. I know where he is."

"We… we need to tell my…" But we're already searching around for our phones. We have to tell Impa that they've gone to the wrong temple. We sit anxiously as we wait for Impa or any of the officers we know pick up, but it's no use. "No answer… we h-have to warn them."

"There's no time. The temples are in opposite directions and…" I insist, collapsing back onto the sofa. "It's been days, Paya… and you saw what she's done to the others. He doesn't have that kind of time." The young Sheikah watches me for a few moments, knowing that I'm right but too scared to admit it.

"I'll go," she suffenly says with more confidence than I've ever heard from her. I turn away from her and massage my forehead. I can feel another headache coming on and now's not the time for that. "You can warn my grandmother and… I can stall for time."

"Paya, no," I say straight away. "Cia wants me there. I'm the only one who can stall for long enough for you to warn them." She goes to protest but I quickly cut her off, "I might still be a little concussed, but to hell if that's going to stop me." She closes her eyes and sighs, clearly torn over wanting to help me and wanting to keep me safe. Desperate to get her on my side, I cast aside my pride and plead, "Paya, please. We can't leave him…"

That seems to do the trick.

"Alright," she concedes. "But we… we'll need to get you out of here. There's still a guard posted at your door and it'll take a… a lot for him to go against Impa's orders."

I rub my face with my hand. I'm still being guarded, probably more strictly after what happened last night, so it's not like I can just walk out of here and drive off. They won't leave unless Impa tells them to, and I don't have that option right now. I have to get out of here myself. I smile as an idea comes to me—there might be a way I can exploit my concussion to my advantage.

"I might be able to help with that." I pick up my phone and quickly find the right contact. Goddess only knows how they'll respond to what I'm going to ask them, but they're our only hope and I'm getting desperate.

They pick up in two rings with a grunt rather than a greeting and I recognise it instantly, "Koume, I need your help."

She snickers, "Going stir crazy already, kid?"

"There's not much time to explain," I say, ignoring her remark. "Me and Paya are coming downstairs in a minute and I need you to get us away from the officer guarding me and sneak us out."

"If it means I get to yell at you then I'll do it in a heartbeat."

"Koume," I warn. "This is serious."

The Gerudo scoffs, "I am being serious. I'll just need some… financial influence to improve my acting skills." I mentally curse her.

"How much?"

"100 rupees."

"No, 50."

"Heh, now it's 150."

I huff; I don't have time for this, "Fine, 150. Give me a few minutes and we'll be there." I hang up before she can say anything, too fuelled by my worry for Link to focus on my frustration at the Gerudo. I turn back and explain the situation to Paya, "My landladies can create enough of a distraction for us to sneak out. We just need to get to them first."

She nods as I grab my coat, keys and shove my phone in my pocket, grabbing the rupees from my purse before moving towards the door. But, as I turn to the door, I hesitate. Can I really do this? I mean, of course I can get to these ruins, but a) I could be wrong about all this and b) even if I am right then who's to say that I can actually save Link?

I shake my head—I can't be doubting myself now. Every second that goes by is a second wasted and we have some semblance of a plan. All that matters is finding Link before it's too late.

But first, this princess is breaking out of her tower.

Glancing back to Paya, she nods encouragingly and I let her go first. Poking her head out, she greets the officer standing guard and says, "I'm taking Miss Zelda out for a walk to help clear her head." The officer, Fledge I think his name is, leans inside to take a look at me, seemingly torn between needing to follow orders and wanting to help me.

"I-I'm not sure," he replies at first. "We've been ordered to keep her inside…"

"It's not like we'll be going very far," she insists. I try my best to hide my surprise—I'm not used to this sort of confidence from her. "I'll be with her the entire time and you're more than welcome to join us. To, uh, quote her: her… her head feels like it's about to explode and she just needs some air. That can't be too difficult to do, can it? You'll be there if we need anything."

Her sweet tone does the trick because he takes the bait and gives in, stepping aside so the two of us can leave. My heart starts to beat faster, so much that I hope Fledge can't hear it and I focus on not letting any dizziness get to me as we slowly make our way downstairs. I can feel Paya's nervousness at my side matching my own, but we both stand straight and do our best to feign confidence. We can't falter now.

And, as we head down the final stairway, we step straight into the territory of our potential saviours.

"Zelda Harkinian!" True to her word, Koume almost leaps out of their office and points at me with a threatening glare, "I've got a bone to pick with you."

"She's not dead!" Kotake's voice calls out brightly from inside. "That would've been bad for business, you know."

Koume huffs, "Her head's too thick for them to have done any damage." I bite my tongue and remind myself that she's just pretending—though I don't think she's acting at the moment. "Anyway, we need to see you right now. There's a problem with your rent."

I throw a smile to Fledge as the small Gerudo woman literally drags me into their office and barely lets Paya inside too before starting to close the door shut behind her, reassuring Fledge, "Just a private matter—confidentially and all that. She'll be back in a second," before she slams the door with such severity that I jump.

I turn to her with a raised brow, "Well… that was something else." Koume throws me a toothy grin and holds out her hand, uncaring for my remark. I huff and pass her the rupees. Her eyes glitter as she pockets them gleefully, "I need you to get that officer out of sight so we can get out of here."

"You know that the rent went up this month!" she shouts loud enough for the officer outside to hear; I think she's enjoying this. "I don't care what you say—we need our money!"

Getting nowhere, I glare at her before turning to Kotake, "Help me."

"How about y… you pretend to faint and they can tell him away to get help?" Paya offers. "You're still concussed so it… it wouldn't be far-fetched."

I nod in agreement, then cast my gaze between Koume and Kotake. The latter smirks at her sister and mutters, "She always has her fun so I have to do all the hard work for her."

"Do not!"

"Do so!"

"Do not!"

"Right… anyway, I like Paya's idea."

I let them bicker and lie down on the floor, purposely knocking a book off the nearby shelf for good measure as I close my eyes. The two Gerudo women gasp mid-argument and start flapping about the office. They're giving it their all, I'll give them that, and it's taking a lot not to start laughing at their acting.

"Hey, you," Koume shouts out the door. "The stupid kid's passed out. You need to call an ambulance before you have another body on your hands."

Okay, now she's pushing it a bit.

"I-I…"

"Oh you silly little boy, I'll show you where the phone is… kids these days…"

Koume's chunters disappear and a few moments later, Kotake whispers, "You can get up now." I crack open one eye and use one of the desks to stand, confused when she snatches my car keys out of my hands.

"Hey—!"

"Do you really think I'm letting a concussed person drive? You'd drive into the nearest building if you were let off on your own."

I smirk at her and place a hand to my heart, "You do care." She makes a disgruntled sound.

"I'd rather eat leevers for the rest of my life than get sentimental," she says, but her words just make my smile grow. "Let's go."

As much as I want to tell her that I have to do this alone, I know that I can't do this without her. Even though it's technically illegal for her to drive in my car, I'd rather have her drive in my car than in the lump of bent metal she calls a car. I nod and let her check to see if the coast is clear and, thanks to Koume's distraction, the three of us easily sneak out of the building without anyone seeing us.

I breathe a deep sigh of relief as we step outside, the city enveloped in a honey glow that I've always loved—it's the best time of day, hands down. Kotake huffs at me and mutters something about meaningless sentimentalism before stomping towards my car. Paya turns to me with watery eyes.

"Be careful, Zelda."

I force a smile, "I will. I'll send you my location to track. Just…" I hesitate for a moment, "Drive fast. I don't think Impa will mind if you speed a little."

The young Sheikah's lips twist up into a small smile and she hugs me. She pulls away and murmurs a brief goodbye before running towards her car. I don't give myself the time to watch her leave because I can feel Kotake's eyes on me. I smile at the sudden wave of freedom that washes over me as I cross the distance between us, only for it to quickly disappear when my gut suddenly twists as I consider what I'm about to do.

"Whatever happens, Zelda, don't follow us. I won't let you get hurt again."

I'm sorry, Link, I think to myself. I can't make that kind of promise…

I grit my teeth and carry on, haunted by his words long after I get into my car and feel it whir into life. Before Kotake drives off, she asks me, "Where to?"

"The Forest of Spirits," I say straight away, ignoring the surprised look on her face. "It's—"

"I know where it is, kid," she snaps. "No need to give me directions." A sigh escapes me as I lean back into my seat and watch as the world goes by, glad that Kotake puts her foot down without me having to ask her. I let my eyes glaze over as the last rays of sunlight disappear beyond the buildings and horizon beyond.

I'm coming, Link, I silently promise. I'm coming…