'How on earth could we, as a country protected by heroes of legend, forget the names of those who have served us for centuries? Most records of previous heroes were lost to the Great Calamity, but why is there no conscious effort in modern times to at least try and memorialise the names of the men who have sacrificed everything for us? Do we not at least owe them this? Or did they simply want to be forgotten?'

—Extract from 'Hyrule's Forgotten Heroes' by Shad Oocca

In The Shadows

~O~

Chapter 5: Have My Fun First

"Gods, what the hell happened to her?"

Link's question goes unanswered as he, Paya and I gaze through the one-way glass into the interview room. Apart from one or two sniffles or wooden movements to shakily wipe away stray tears, Lana looks positively awful as she waits for Impa to arrive. Her blood-spattered robes were taken away for evidence, so all she wears now is a set of borrowed clothes that are rather baggy on her petite form. Her pale skin is still marred with specks of blood and, to make matters worse, there's a haunted, distant look in her eyes that sends a shiver down my spine.

She looks… broken.

Goddess above, what happened?

We'd only met her a few days ago (Nayru, was that really only a few days ago?) and so much has changed since then—it's like I'm looking at a different person. She'd left both Link and I pretty unnerved after we first spoke to her with the strange way she acted around me, and I'd hoped that we wouldn't have to speak to her again anytime soon. And look where we are now: she's sitting in the interview room with her twin sister on our radar and more questions than answers.

The priestess's eyes remain glazed over when Impa finally enters and takes a seat opposite her, the sound of the metal chair grating on the floor making the young woman twitch. Lana says nothing as the Sheikah starts the recording and formally begins the interview. Impa leans forward and regards Lana with an unreadable expression whilst the rest of us watch on in silence.

"In the past hour, you arrived at Castletown police station and reported an assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Is this correct?" Lana nods numbly. "You also claim that you knew the assailant. Who are they?"

She nods and swallows thickly before croaking out, "It was my sister Cia."

A gasp escapes Paya. I stiffen and glance up at Link, though he's just as surprised as I am. Cia had mentioned her sister to us only last night and now she's being accused of assaulting Lana. We knew that these sisters were more involved than they were letting on, but I certainly wasn't expecting something like this. And after what Pipit said to us before, I think I can tell how the rest of this interview will play out.

Impa seems perfectly unfazed by the claim and asks, "Can you tell me what happened?" The priestess slowly raises her head to meet Impa's gaze, a flicker of emotion burning in her violet eyes. She clasps her hands together and takes a deep breath.

"I… I was leaving the temple—the Temple of Din," she adds for the benefit of the interview. "I was going to make some home calls to our regular visitors. And she… she was waiting for me. I hadn't seen her in years, but I'd recognise her anywhere…"

When Lana falls silent, the Sheikah prompts, "How did she know where to find you if you haven't seen her in years?"

She shrugs, "I'd always tried to keep in contact with her, even if she never did the same, and I told her about my life at the temple; I never tried to hide that from her."

"Was she alone when you saw her?" Lana nods.

"Yes. It was so strange to see her after all these years, but I was happy to see her, you know?" Her voice takes on a wistful tone as she's briefly swept up in the memories. "She said she finally wanted to close the rift between us."

Impa arches a brow, "What rift?"

"We'd…" Lana fumbles with her hands as she searches for the right words. "We'd been practically inseparable as kids, but then we… just grew apart and things were never the same between us." I frown at her somewhat vague explanation, but she continues before I can think too much about it, "I said that she could join me as I made my rounds, so we started talking as I drove. It was nice… talking to her again; I realised just how much I'd missed her."

"What did you talk about?"

She sighs and lets her shoulders slump forward, "Mainly what's happened since we last spoke. I told her more about my life as a priestess and she told me about her studies. That's when she told me about her flatmate…" Her eyes flicker with an emotion I can't identify. "She seemed sad, but not emotional… if that makes sense? It only surprised me because she was always so emotional as a child."

Impa refuses to remark on the comment and instead changes the subject, "And then what happened?"

"She asked me if she could confess something…" Lana starts to tremble and asks for some water. Impa nods to one of the guards, a pregnant silence ensuing once the door closes behind him. "I hadn't even arrived at the first house yet, but I knew that I needed to stop and hear her out. She… she asked if the Goddesses would forgive her for hurting people in their names. I told her that I couldn't speak for them, but confessing would ease her soul. I-I did my best to speak to her as I would anyone else, but I was shaking like a leaf."

Impa leans in, "How did she react?" The guard returns with a glass of water before she can reply, and the priestess thanks them before steeling herself to carry on.

"It's… it's hard to describe," she confesses. "There was this look in her eye… like she wanted to tell me everything but was worried about how I would react. But she told me in the end…"

One of the officers behind us shakes his head in disbelief, "This can't be true…" I wave him off and listen intently as Lana explains what Cia told her.

According to Lana, Cia confirmed that she was a Triforce hunter acting in the name of the Goddesses to find and reunite each piece of the Triforce. She'd taken Rinku, Ganondorf and Tetra to try and extract their pieces, then disposing of their bodies by offering them as sacrifices at the temples when they didn't give her what she wanted.

And if what she's saying is true, then this is the break in the case that we've been looking for.

Then why do I get this feeling that this was too easy? That after the killer planned everything so meticulously, why would they make such a sloppy error to let Lana come to the police?

"She'd always known that Tetra would be on her list of test subjects," Lana says with a hint of disgust, drawing me away from my own thoughts. "As for the others… she didn't say more than they were in the right place at the right time. She seemed to stumble upon them and then planned how she would take them. She thought that the Goddesses had ordained her to find them."

"And she told you all of this in full confidence?"

Her eyes well up with tears, "That's what I'd thought…" Her already pale face somehow loses even more colour. "She told me everything… and I knew that I couldn't just… just sit on what she'd said. But she probably knew that. I told her that I couldn't speak for the Goddesses, but we don't have the right to go around and kill their children. What she was doing… it was unforgivable."

I didn't even realise how hard my heart was pounding until right now. My gut twists violently as Lana gives her side of the story. Something's telling me that her story doesn't quite add up and there are far more questions being raised then there are answers, but if we can find Cia—wherever she is—then we can fix this entire mess before she finds someone else to hurt in the name of the Goddesses.

The fact that we'd only spoken to Cia yesterday makes me sick. And from Link's expression, he feels the same.

"And you told her what you thought?"

Lana avoids her gaze, "Mostly. I said that killing the Goddess's children was wrong, no matter what the intention was. I told her that she had to tell the police…" She pauses, then, "She didn't say anything for a minute, but I could feel her readying herself to do something, so I made sure that my door was unlocked. She practically threw herself at me. I managed to open the door and jump out… but she had a knife…"

The Sheikah glances at the priestess's bandaged arms, making sure that her question remains open as she asks, "What happened next?"

"I-I got out of the car and she got out after me. I threw the first thing I could at her—I think it was my box of incense." Her lip twitches at the memory, though it only lasts for a moment. "It hit her—I don't know where—and I ran. I managed to find an alley to hide in so I could call the police. I remembered the investigators that came to question me a few days ago. I remember their names as clear as day—the Goddesses knew that they'd be able to help me and made sure that I remembered them."

"What was Cia like?" Paya asks us as Impa explains to Lana what their next steps will be—that she'll remain in the station until her sister is found and then they'll escort her to somewhere safe. I shrug.

"Something wasn't right," is all I say because I'm still reeling from everything. I can feel Paya wanting to press me after such a vague response but she doesn't have the confidence to do so. If I had the energy, then I'd say that I was glad to be far away from Cia. Something was off—I didn't know what at the time, but something felt wrong. Then again, something felt off about Lana too when we first met her.

"Well, sh… she's certainly made a mistake," she murmurs. "Let's just hope that they can find her soon… and we can finally find out the full truth." I nod, but I doubt things will be so simple.

There's a low buzz in the station as word gets out about Lana's accusation and some of the officers grow tentatively anticipative at the prospect of finally bringing this killer to justice. A strange lull falls over the station as we impatiently wait for the officers sent out to retrieve Cia and bring her here, and no amount of laps around the office can help to calm our nerves. It doesn't take long for Link and I to join Paya in Impa's office, though all we do is sit silently and wait for Cia's arrest.

Impa's typing away at her laptop with tight lips and an even tighter expression. Even though this could be the end of the investigation, I understand why she isn't smiling like some of the officers are outside. Whether we catch the killer or not means nothing when they've killed people and hurt so many more. So we sit there in silence with only Impa tapping at her keyboard to break it, the tension in the air so thick I can almost see it.

I jump when there's a knock at the door sometime later and Pipit pokes his head in to see if there are any updates, but there aren't. He frowns before stepping fully inside and explains to Impa, "Miss Lana is still quite distressed and her advisor is asking for her to be returned to the temple before Cia arrives to minimise further upset. Is that alright?"

"As long as she remains contactable and doesn't leave town, then it's fine," Impa agrees without looking up from her desk. "I'm sure she's eager to get some rest after everything that's happened." He nods and excuses himself, and a few moments later the Sheikah rubs her eyes and mutters, "She's not the only one."

That's when her phone rings. The three of us straighten in our seats as the Sheikah picks it up. I strain my ears in a vague attempt to hear their side of the conversation, but I can't pick anything out. Impa merely hums and gives nothing away, though it's clear from the look on her face that it's the news we've been waiting for. When she hangs up, Paya shifts in her seat.

"W… Well?"

"Cia's been arrested," is all she says at first. A burst of relief flows through me, only to turn into confusion when Impa adds, "She was in her apartment where a ceremonial, bloody knife was also recovered. But she's insisting that she's never seen it before and that she's Lana, not Cia."

I blink. What hits me first is that Cia's trying to masquerade as Lana… but what would that even achieve? We have Lana here and Cia will know that, so why is she trying to suggest that she's not who we're saying she is? I mean, they're identical sisters so of course Cia's trying to pin this on her sister, but we know better so it doesn't make sense. All we'd need to do was pull her school records and prove her wrong.

And then there's the knife that they've recovered at the scene. Why would she leave something so crucial to the case where she lives? Moreover, why would she be at her flat like she's waiting to be arrested? Is she really that cocky? Unless the knife is just a false lead that we're betting too much money on, I muse. That would make sense, since it felt way too easy to find such a supposed crucial piece of evidence.

I voice this and Impa hums in agreement, "I've felt it too. The killer's been careful not to leave any traces behind. For Cia to commit such a bold act like assaulting her sister—the same sister who found Makeela—and then stay at home as if waiting to be brought in… she's either stupid enough to make such a sloppy mistake, or smart enough to orchestrate the entire thing to try and get away with it—but we know better."

"Or may… maybe, now she's tried to take each of the Triforce pieces, she wanted to hand herself in and repent somehow," Paya offers. I hum—it's certainly plausible—and listen as she then stammers, "There's not mu… much we can do until the analysis on the knife comes back. When we have that… we can go from there."

And, sadly, there really isn't much we can do at the moment. All we can do is wait for Cia to be brought in and offer her side of the story as well as wait for the test results to come back. It'll be hard to analyse the blood since they're identical twins, so we can only hope that there's some fingerprints on there that'll distinguish the two women. With that, we'll have enough to charge her for the assault and that should push her into confessing. Still, it just feels a little off that the pieces of the puzzle have come together so suddenly.

Either way, we'll just have to see.

Before any of us can think more on the revelation, a voice remarks, "We thought you could use these." We all turn our gazes towards the source to find a chipper looking Pipit with a rather shy Lana walking behind him as the two of them bring mugs of tea for us. Some colour's returned to Lana's cheeks and although her eyes are still a little haunted, she does her best to smile as she hands Link and I our mugs. "Have you found my sister?"

Impa takes a sip before replying, "We have, though she denies the charges and persists in calling herself Lana rather than Cia—do you know why she might have done that?" Lana's eyes widen.

"I… have no idea. Why would she confess to me and then deny it to you?"

"Your guess is as good as ours," says Pipit. "She's probably feeling arrogant and thinks she'll be released." Impa hums.

"That, or she knows something we don't," Link mutters, the first thing he's said in a while.

Lana nods slowly and, in a bid to steer the conversation away from her sister, turns sheepish as she says, "Thank you for letting me return to the temple. I wish to be close to the Goddesses after everything that's happened. But I won't leave town, just like you asked, and the high priest can always be called since he's the only one with a phone." Paya offers her a smile.

"Do you have someone who can come and collect you?"

She nods, "Yes, and they should be here soon too. I just wanted to help in any way I could," she adds, clasping her hands as she nods to our mugs of tea.

I hear Impa and Paya say something in response, but I can't bring myself to speak. I stare down into my half empty mug with a horrible feeling in my gut. After all the twists and turns in this case, Cia made a sloppy mistake and it cost her—unless she wanted to be caught like Paya said. I mean, she killed the three supposed wielders of the Triforce so maybe this was always the endgame when none of them gave her what she wanted.

It'd make sense for why she was waiting in her apartment: she knew what was coming for her. But even that sounds too simple. The killer has acted with meticulous detail so far, making sure that there were never any clues that could link them to the crimes. If anything, I should just be happy that we actually have some evidence to work with.

Someone takes my hand and gives it a squeeze. I smile up at Link and shuffle closer to him, though it quickly fades when I notice a distant look in his eyes. He's been surprisingly quiet since we came back from Tetra's apartment, though I can't say I blame him. This is one of the worst parts of any case: the waiting. Waiting for results, waiting for suspects to be found, waiting for sentences to be delivered. This case has been nothing but waiting, and it seems we'll have to wait just a little bit longer before we get our answers. All I can do is pray that Cia confesses when the results come back with her prints on the knife; she can't keep this up forever.

I suppress letting out a huff and settle for slouching in my seat as Impa speaks up, "Your sister should be here soon, so I recommend you leave as soon as you're ready to." Lana nods and hesitates before her eyes nervously flutter over to Link.

"Would you be able to walk me downstairs? I-I feel rather shaken after tonight and there's something I'd like to ask you in private."

He blinks, taken aback by her request (especially since Pipit's been escorting her around), though he swiftly recovers and replies, "Sure. It's dangerous to be out there alone at night. Isn't that right, Zelda?" He meets my gaze with an intensity that steals my breath away and my voice dies in my throat. Impa and Paya stare at him too as if unsure that they heard what he was trying to say. I nod numbly and he smiles at Lana. "Just let me grab my coat." Finishing his tea, he leaves Impa's office and, fuelled by the horrible feeling in my stomach, I quickly chase after him.

What he said about it being dangerous to go alone is way more than a cheesy movie quote. To us, it's something we say when we know we're in trouble and are secretly asking for help. It's something Impa recommended for us to use a while ago, and Link decided on that phrase at the time because he knew that it'd annoy me. But in the handful of times we've had to use it, hearing it now only fills me with dread.

Once we're back in the room we slept in and well out of earshot of anyone, I whisper, "Why did you say that?" The silence that stretches out between us is cold as he refuses to say anything at first, merely picking up his coat and putting it on without looking at me. But my fear gets the better of me and I grab his arm, "Link, you can't just—"

"I need you to do something for me," he cuts in suddenly, the curtness in his tone silencing me. He turns and finds my eyes, but the storm of emotions betrays his tone. "I'm going to phone you in a few minutes. I need you to pick up, mute yourself and record the call." My lips part.

"W-What?" I swallow thickly when my voice cracks. "Why?"

"She wants to tell me something while I'm isolated," he explains. "And whatever she says, we need it on record."

I tilt my head, confused, "What do you think she's going to say?" He closes his eyes and glances away for a moment to steel himself for whatever his response is going to be. I can feel the trepidation in him and it makes me more uncomfortable. "Link?"

"I think she's going to say that her sister's telling the truth." I furrow my brows. "That the person we've just arrested is actually Lana like she's claiming, and the person in Impa's office is Cia." I search his face for any sign of doubt, but he's adamant. I'm just confused.

I shake my head, "Why would she do that? Do you think they're working together?"

"No, I think the person in Impa's office has been doing all of this herself," he replies quickly. I go to say something, anything to try and make sense of what he's saying, but he cuts in, "I know it sounds far-fetched, Zelda, but hear me out. They're identical sisters, so it'd be easy for one of them to pretend to be both sisters whenever we spoke to them—then they could determine how much the police knew about the case before throwing her sister under the bus for the murders. Swapping the names would just make us run around in extra circles. And besides, would we really find the murder weapon so easily after how little info we've got?"

I guess it's plausible, but there's still one thought on my mind.

"And if there's no fingerprints, we'd only have the blood samples to go on. We'd send the wrong sister to jail whilst the other can carry on killing," I murmur, to which he nods. "But why do you think she'd just… tell you all of this?"

"Because if the person in Impa's office is the real killer, then she's been able to get us all exactly where she wants us to be so she can separate us in the way she wants to." He takes my hands and stares me down in a way that makes me feel small. "And she knows your name…" He takes a moment to breathe. "I'm scared someone's going to come after you tonight—her or anyone she might be working with."

And I believe him.

Because his theory is completely far-fetched like he said, but I see the logic in it and that terrifies me. I share the name with the old princesses of Hyrule, so it'd make sense if the killer perfectly planted themselves around all the people and evidence involved to get a true scope of the police's understanding of the case before taking the next person—someone also at the heart of the case.

It feels like fate, an unhelpful part of my brain offers, and then I start thinking about everything that Rinku, Ganondorf and Tetra went through and how I might be about to go through the same thing and—

"Hey," he murmurs, cupping my cheeks and forcing me to meet his gaze when my breathing grows erratic. "I failed you before when Sakon tried to kill you, but I promise that I won't fail you again. If we're right, then I'll make sure she doesn't come anywhere near you."

"Wh… what do you think she'll do if she tells you?" I stammer in a hushed tone.

"I don't know. She's choosing to make her identity known for a reason—just like everything else she's done so far. But I…" Link hesitates and I feel my eyes grow hot. "If she tries to use me against you…"

"Don't say that," I whisper fiercely. "I won't let her use you like that. Stay with me and we can face this together like we always have." He wilts a little at my words, but then he looks at me with a resolve that breaks my heart. It's a resolve to not let the past repeat itself; a resolve to not fail me again. A lump forms in my throat, "You didn't fail me before and you won't now. Just stay, Link—that's all I ask. Or let me come with you."

"No," he responds instantly. "I'm not putting you in danger like that. It'll look too suspicious anyway." I free one hand to angrily wipe away a tear.

"I can take care of myself, you know," I snap. "I don't need you to be my knight in shining armour."

"I won't fail you again," he says simply, but that response just makes me more frustrated and he knows it. "This could be our only chance to—"

"L-Link?" Paya's muffled voice sounds from the other side of the door. "Is… everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," he replies. "I couldn't find my coat, but I'll be there in a minute." She stammers an apology and her footsteps fade away. He turns to me with a sad smile that quickly morphs into a frown at my expression. "I'm sorry—"

"Don't," I step in immediately, refusing to hear his apologies since they'll just break my heart further. "If anything happens to you…"

"Then there's officers all over this place to step in," he points out. But my angry silence speaks volumes and he does his best to ignore it. "Whatever happens, Zelda, don't follow us. I won't let you get hurt again."

"You're letting your guilt get the better of you," I say after a moment, pulling my other hand away and stepping back. I nod to the door and try to keep my voice controlled. "Fine. I know I can't change your mind. Go and be my hero, Link, but just know that you're doing this out of guilt and nothing else."

His face falls. "Zelda…"

"Let's go," I spit, pushing past him so he doesn't see the tears welling up in my eyes. "They're waiting for us." I leave the room before he can say anything to me and make sure that any tears are wiped away before anyone else can see them.

I regret what I've said as soon as it leaves my lips, but I'm too mad to apologise. I'm not mad at him. Well, I am, but not completely. I'm mad because he cares about me so much that he's willing to put himself in danger for me. I'm mad because my life isn't above his or anyone else's, and the fact he's acting like it is makes me more angry at myself because I can't seem to fix the guilt he has over my attack.

And maybe he's wrong. Maybe the person in Impa's office really is Lana and the real killer has just been arrested in their apartment. But there's so many holes in that theory that I'm close to dismissing it entirely. A part of me wants to storm into that office and denounce the person in there as the killer, but that would achieve nothing without evidence.

And yet, the evidence we need can only be found if I let Link walk away with the potential killer.

Like a princess letting her soldiers go to war knowing they won't come back, my mind continues in its oh so unhelpful manner.

If anything happens to him…

I won't let anything happen, I remind myself. He means too much to me.

He calls my name just before we reach Impa's office and, despite my better judgement, I turn to him before I can stop myself. He's clearly as unhappy about this as I am, and he definitely wants his theory to be wrong, but the hurt in his eyes kills me and it takes everything in me not to cross the short distance between us and hug him.

"We'll get through this," he murmurs. "We always figure it out in the end—together."

"Together," I breathe, feeling my emotions get the better of me. Screw it. I rush over and bundle him up into a tight hug. He hugs me back just as tightly and I pray that he's wrong about the person in Impa's office. As I pull away, I decide to apologise before he leaves. "About before… I—are you okay?"

For the briefest of moments, his eyes cloud over and they flutter a bit. I reach forward and grab his arm when he wavers and my heart stops for a moment. Then he blinks and he comes back to the present, righting himself before he can stumble.

"I'm fine. Just tired, I think," he assures me, then offers me a comforting smile. "I'm…" His voice fades out when something behind me catches his eye, and I quickly turn back to find Lana—or is it Cia?—watching us from the doorway into Impa's office. Her eyes widen and she laughs sheepishly.

"S-Sorry… I heard voices so I thought I would come and see if you were ready." I stare at her for way too long as I desperately search her face for any sign of a killer instinct in her. But, of course, I only find a pair of shining lavender eyes and I force myself to step aside so Link can get through. She bows her head at me, "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'll be praying for good fortunes to come your way."

"Thank you," I make myself say. She smiles at Link and a chill slithers down my spine. Goddess dammit, he better be wrong. My eyes follow them until they've disappeared down the stairwell, my heart pounding against my chest even when Impa leaves her office and almost crashes into me. "W-Where are you going?"

"To get ready to interview Cia; she's about to be processed downstairs," she says like it's obvious. "What's wrong, Hark?" I swallow thickly and take out my phone, not forgetting the plan.

"You need to hear this." I step into her office and reclaim my chair before she can object, avoiding her scowl as she follows me inside. Paya watches me with concern, though I guess my heart's on my sleeve right now; I'm too easy to read sometimes.

"This better be quick, Hark, because I have enough evidence to look over before I—"

"Link thinks that we've arrested the wrong person," I blurt out. My knuckles strain and turn white with how hard I'm holding my phone and I can't help but start bouncing my leg to occupy my spiralling thoughts. I can feel Impa staring at me so I look up and answer her silent, burning question, "He thinks the person we arrested is Lana like she said and Cia—the real killer—just left this room."

"Sweet merciful Din," Paya gasps. "Then wh… why did he go with her?" I hold up my phone.

"He's going to call me and I'll record the conversation, so any confession she makes to him will be our evidence." I can feel their question before either of them say it, so I continue before they do anything, "He thinks I'll be targeted next and Cia will confide in him to use him against me."

I can almost hear Impa grinding her teeth. "And he took matters into his own hands?" I lower my head. "I'm going to kill that boy…"

I jump out of my skin when my phone buzzes and Impa quickly shuts the door behind her before silently nodding at me. My hands tremble as I pick up, mute myself and quickly hit record, the sound of crackling footsteps echoing around the office when I put my phone on loudspeaker.

Please be wrong, please be wrong, please be wrong…

"I'm so grateful for everyone's help," her voice says timidly. I hang on to her every word. "You all seem very close…"

"We are," is all Link says back, and it takes every fibre of my being not to rush to my feet and run after them. Lana—no, it has to be Cia—hums.

"Especially you and… Zelda, was it?" My stomach twists at the sound of my name. Her laughter bubbles through the line. "You seem to like her a lot. What?" she immediately adds with a laugh—I can imagine the look she's been given. There's a pause before she gasps and the line crackles. "Are you okay?"

"F-Fine," he stammers, though his voice sounds weird. "I'm just tired—must've been the way I slept or something." I frown because that's the second time he's said that.

"Or something you drank, maybe?" Cia asks. It feels a little specific, and then I start thinking about how teasing she sounds and how it makes me feel uncomfortable. "I hope my tea wasn't too strong." I consider what she said for a moment before all three of us cast our gazes over to the empty mug that Link drank from.

The way his eyes clouded over… the way he stumbled after our hug… the way his speech sounded a little slurred—

Oh Hylia—

I'm on my feet in a flash and surging towards the door when Impa grabs my arms to stop me. "Let me go!" I hiss.

"Wait," she says simply, staying calm despite my struggles.

"She drugged him like the other victims! How the hell am I supposed to wait while she—"

"Just wait." Knowing that I can't break free of her grasp, I grit my teeth and surrender. She's standing between me and the door anyway, so it's not like I could possibly beat her to the door before she'd stop me. I stare back at the mug and feel my anxiety triple at the sight of it.

Link, having come to the same conclusion as me, mumbles, "Did you…?"

"Come on. You'll feel better in the fresh air," Cia quickly cuts him off. I sag in Impa's grip and she lets me go, trusting me not to make a fool of myself like I want to. Instead, I cross over to the windows on the other side of the office and look out into the dark car park below, only a few streetlights cutting through the night. There aren't many cars left, but I can't make any of them out from up here.

"You had… something you wanted to ask me," he says after a few moments.

"I did," she replies. I can feel her smiling and I hate it.

Below us, I spot two figures making their way into the car park and I stop breathing. They're making their way towards a lone car in the middle of the area and I squint to try and make out the registration, but it's too dark.

One of the figures stumbles and another gets out of the lone car, but I don't recognise them from this distance and Link hasn't noticed. My heart skips a beat as Cia quickly goes to support him, but the protective side of me growls that it should be me down there to help him. Impa appears in the corner of my eye but I don't acknowledge her. I just stand and tightly grip the windowsill with my free hand to get my anger out.

"I knew I'd been blessed when I first saw you both at the Temple of Din," she continues. "I'd been blessed with meeting the one from the royal line, but my plans with Tetra were already in motion, so I took my time to work out another reason why the Goddesses had brought you both to us…"

My mouth drops and I hear Paya gasp behind me. Link was right—she killed Tetra and thinks I have the Triforce of Wisdom. Moreover, she has an accomplice too. I glance over to the older Sheikah, "Impa, please—"

"Wait. She might be trying to draw you out."

"But it didn't take long for the answer to come to me," Cia continues, drawing my attention away from Impa before I can stop myself. The two figures—Link and Cia—have stopped a few paces away from the car and I forget how to breathe. "So, what I wanted to ask you was this: when did you realise that you had the Triforce of Courage?"

I feel the world drop out from underneath me.

"W-What?" Link breathes.

"Well, it seems obvious now. Your destiny was to protect the princess and bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, and only one person in history has held that role." A horrible feeling starts to seep into my gut, but I'm too terrified to move in case it proves that what I'm hearing isn't just a nightmare. "And then it all made sense. Even your name is a play on the translation of the hero's reverent name. A person who united the kingdom against evil, or the—"

"Link that united the kingdom against evil," Link and I mutter at the same time, though his words are much more slurred now. I feel all the colour drain from my face as I remember the conversation I'd had with him the same day that we joined the investigation and I'd explained the meaning of Rinku's name.

Goddess above, he'd even said, "Pun not intended."

Any fear of my heart beating out of my chest pales in comparison to the terror that's now grabbed a hold of it. Cia really is the Triforce Hunter that killed Rinku, Ganondorf and Tetra, and now she's starting the cycle again, starting with the Triforce of Courage—starting with Link.

He's going to be her next victim.

And I've just sent him to his death.

We were so worried about my connection to the Triforce that I never considered his…

And now he's down there with her… her and—

"Astor…" his voice, growing quieter by the second, bounces around the office. The three of us snap our gazes over to the third figure by the car and everything falls into place.

"Goddesses…" Paya half whispers, half sobs.

"Go," is all Impa commands.

"Link," I breathe. Realising that he can't hear me, I unmute my end of the call and cry out as I stumble towards the door, "Link, run!" I burst out of Impa's office and make a beeline for the stairs with Paya hot on my heels. Behind me, I hear her grandmother calling orders to the officers. Holding my phone to my ear, I shove the doors open, panting hard as I take the stairs two at a time, "Keep going. I'll be there soon."

"No," he rasps. "Don't let her see you…"

"I don't care," I snap, sounding more harsh than I mean to, but that's only because my fear is talking right now. "Keep running as long as you can. I'm coming for you; I promise." I can hear his footsteps slowing and dread tears at my heart. "I'll be there soon…"

But can I make it in time?

I hear Paya's voice behind me asking if I'm alright, but she's asking the wrong person. I ignore her because I'm too busy seeing red. I swear if she lays a single hand on him—

There's no one in the station's reception and that makes my blood run cold; they were supposed to be here in case anything happened. A part of me—the naïve, childish part of me—tries to assume that the officers could be outside and helping, but I quickly nip the thought in the bud. He's on his own out there and it's up to us to help him. His breathing grows more laboured with each step I take and it makes my eyes well up at the sound of it. I just don't want to fail him. And I need to apologise for what I said before. I can't let that be our last conversation.

His breath hitches and I wince at the sound that blares into my ear, only for the cold silence that comes after to scare me even more than the sound.

"Link?" I call out into the silence. I hear a slight scuffle, then nothing. "Link?!"

There's no response.

No, please!

My heart skips a beat when I hear movement, but I get no response to my constant calls. I shove open the doors into the reception and race towards the entrance just as a voice finally answers me.

"Hello, princess."

"Cia," I hiss.

"Oh good, you heard it too. I didn't want to explain myself all over again," she chuckles. A door shuts and I hear more shuffling. I slam the main doors open and break out into the cold night air. The streetlamps dimly light the mostly empty car park with a soft honey glow, and my eyes immediately find the car in the distance. The sight of it fuels me and I force myself to speed up.

"Let him go," I growl. "You hear me, Cia? Let him go!"

"Oh, I couldn't possibly," she coos. The car still feels so far away that it pains me to look at it through the blur of tears, but it hasn't moved yet. It's waiting for me to get as close as possible before leaving me in their dust and I hate it. The cold wind nips at my face even though I try my best to ignore it, my heart hammering against my ribs almost in time with each step I take. "I want to have my fun first."

I can picture her stroking his cheek and I see red. "Don't you dare touch him!" I hiss breathlessly. "I won't let you take him from me…"

But my words aren't enough.

She laughs, "It's a little late for that, princess." Before I can reach the car, the rear lights flare as the engine sparks into life and its blinding light forces me to flinch away. "Perhaps a trip to the Temple of Time might enlighten you…"

Did she just—?

No… she wouldn't—

Did she just tell me where I'll find him after—?

Someone calls my name as I trip over and barely manage to keep myself from falling, recovering enough to look back up and witness my worst nightmare happening right in front of me.

"Link!"

My cries are in vain, unable to stop the car from speeding off into the night.

Something dark is carelessly thrown out of the window, landing with a dull thud against the ground. The car soon disappears from sight in moments. I race towards the dropped item and practically collapse onto my knees, pressing a hand against the ground to brace myself as I fail to catch my breath. Link's phone lies in front of me, its screen cracked from its impact. I reach out with trembling hands and let a sob escape me as I lower my head to the ground.

"Zelda…" I hear footsteps and then Paya's arms are around my shoulders. I'm suddenly aware of how much I'm shaking. "Oh Goddesses…"

But I don't respond to her. I mean, what can I say?

Link's gone, and now I have only days to find him.

If I don't, I'll be at the Temple of Time in a few days and looking down at his body at the feet of the Goddess statue.