The Great Plateau, Still the Second Morning After Heroes' Day
"Step away from her Royal Highness, boy!" the Colonel demanded. "NOW!"
Link sighed, raised his hands above his head, stood smoothly, and took a couple of steps away from the Princess. Zelda's eyes narrowed and she stood too. She turned to the Colonel with her fists clenched.
"Put that down at once, Colonel," she said. "How DARE you?"
Atlar lowered the tip of the crossbow but didn't otherwise move it, ensuring that he could raise it again and shoot at a moment's notice should he feel the urge to.
Link clenched his jaw, not sure how best to handle the situation. The Princess was clearly angry on his behalf, but as vindicating as that was, it didn't look like it would solve the situation any quicker.
"Colonel, if I may? Would it be helpful to prove my identity?" he asked. "I understand your concern over a stranger being left alone with her Royal Highness..."
"I don't," Zelda interrupted. "Colonel, you are grievously insulting my judgement."
"My apologies, your Highness, but I'd much rather be thrown into the deepest dungeon for insulting you than risk allowing my Princess to come to harm" Atlar replied.
Link held back a groan. Claiming the highest virtue was not a new tactic on the part of people seemingly dedicated to making his life difficult. He just wanted to pray and hopefully fix the sword. He would have been pretty grateful if everyone else could have just vanished from the Great Plateau right then and there. Since that wasn't going to happen, he tried again to force peace.
"Would the Colonel be willing to examine Farore's Medallion to help confirm who I am?" he asked.
Zelda did not hold back her groan. "I cannot believe this is even necessary! But very well, let's pretend that I am a hopeless fool who could not possibly have good reasons to know for a fact this young man is the Hero Chosen by the Goddess, reborn who knows how many times to save us all, and let's prove it so we can carry on with our work. Hero, please put the pendant on the floor and step back. If we're going to be ridiculous, we may as well be completely ridiculous."
The Colonel audibly swallowed.
Link felt no sympathy whatsoever. The only qualm he had about the Princess lecturing Atlar like this was that it wasn't speeding things up. He took off his pendant, put it on the floor and stepped back several steps, his hands back above his head.
Zelda walked to Farore's Medallion, picked it up and walked to the Colonel, holding the pendant out by the chain and scowling.
"Try it, Colonel," she ordered.
With shaking hands, The Colonel put his crossbow down on the floor and took the pendant. He spread out the chain and attempted to slip it on over his head. The pendant yanked upward and he found himself having trouble keeping it from flying straight out of his hands. He put all his strength into it, to no avail. After a few seconds, the chain ripped out of his hands and the pendant flew back towards Link, who caught it and slipped it back on.
Zelda had not lost her scowl. "Satisfied, Colonel?" she asked.
"Yes, your Highness," Atlar said, bowing. "Thank you for indulging an old man's foolish caution."
"That was not caution," she chided. "Leave us."
He bowed again and left without another word.
Link still felt no sympathy whatsoever.
"Thank you, your Highness," he said simply, and turned back towards Hylia's statue.
Zelda took a deep breath and nodded. Perhaps because he no longer felt safe to assume they would not be interrupted or attacked, Link did not kneel again: he simply bowed his head and crossed his hands over his chest again. She followed his lead in bowing rather than kneeling again – it was becoming obvious that she needed to seize every opportunity to make it clear that they were a united front.
"Dearest Hylia, I thank you for all your blessings on Hyrule and its people. I thank you as well for the blessings on myself," Link repeated. "It feels like poor repayment for your kindness and generosity to come to you with a request, but..."
Zelda left him to it and concentrated on her own prayers. She was done before he was, and caught the end of his own plea. She noticed he had the Master Sword out and held back a wince: she'd seen the blade in her vision so its state was not a surprise, but it was still like looking at doom itself.
"...bless and help restore the Sacred Blade you left us for our protection," Link said.
He stopped and waited, the rotting, breaking, molding, rusting, dying sword held vertically in front of himself. After a minute, he opened his eyes with a start.
Next to him, Zelda twitched in a startle as well. "Did you just feel...?" she trailed off, not knowing how to even phrase her question.
Link had his eyes on the sword, which had not improved in the slightest. "Yes, your Highness," he said with a sigh. "A wave of calm confidence in me. And in your Highness," he hastily corrected. He carefully slid the Master Sword back in its sheath.
Zelda bit back the urge to chastise him for his lack of gratitude over such a vote of confidence by the Goddess herself. Choosing to lead by example, she gave the statue a deep bow. "Oh Hylia, our Grace and Goddess, I thank you," she said emphatically.
Link bowed as well. "Dearest Hylia, thank you," he said, "for believing in me. I will do my best to prove you right."
He straightened and took a deep breath. Whether he was grateful for it or not, the feeling sent by Hylia ultimately didn't help save the Master Sword. As his father would say, he needed to figure out his next move.
His prayers to Din and Nayru had gone unanswered, and he'd felt like drawing Farore's attention to a defiled Spring would have been an insult so he hadn't even tried praying to Her. He couldn't be sure the Springs of Power and Wisdom had not been tainted as well, or that the Goddesses were still connected to them at all either way.
He needed to go pray to the Three, in their respective temples. He didn't exactly expect it to work, but he had no idea what else to do. The Goddesses, or their power at least, had somehow been involved in creating the sword: not bothering to at least try and ask them for help now would have been unconscionable.
The problem was, Hylians did not allow praying to the Three for favors in their own worship. They held that the Three Golden Goddesses had given them existence itself, as well as the Triforce and Hylia, and that asking for more was unthinkable.
It wasn't without logic, but Link's people did not worship Hylia. They hadn't even known about her before arriving in Hyrule, and even since, she was clearly identified as the Hylian Goddess. They had always, however, worshipped the Creators, and had never felt that asking them for blessings or help was forbidden.
"Hero?"
Link startled and looked towards the voice. The Princess was at the door, waiting for him – he hadn't moved since sheathing the sword, lost in thoughts. He took a deep breath and walked towards her.
"I'm terribly sorry, your Highness, but I'm afraid I'm about to give offense," he said.
Zelda tilted her head at him.
Link cleared his throat. "I need to address prayers to Farore, Nayru and Din for assistance as well. It would be irresponsible not to try, even though I realize that..."
Zelda's eyes were wide opened and her brow lightly furrowed. "How... how is insulting the Three going to help you?" she asked, interrupting. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to impose as course of action, but... I don't understand at all. Asking the Creators for assistance? You... you might as well curse at them! Why?"
Link kept his face carefully neutral. He had no objection at all to Hylians not asking the Three for anything; it was their business, but only so long as they didn't expect Sea Folks to obey the same rules when it came to worshipping Nayru, Farore and Din. And, at this exact moment, so long as it didn't delay him too much.
"I'm truly sorry for offending you, Princess, but Sea Folks don't believe asking the Three for blessings or favors is an insult to Them," he said. "I truly feel that failing to ask them for help with saving the Master Sword would be unforgiveable on my part."
Zelda stood still, her eyes wide, and Link found himself counting the seconds while desperately keeping his foot from tapping. He couldn't very well push her out of the way or even tell her to move, but she was delaying him and the Master Sword was dying, while whoever had cursed it was free to do whatever they wanted. He just might have to figure out the most polite way to ask her to get out of the way if she didn't move of her own accord soon.
Zelda took a deep breath as he reached ten, and her face relaxed. "I cannot demand that you share Hylian beliefs," she said. "I... will express gratitude for not smiting you."
Link raised an eyebrow. That was a great solution for him, but if he was being honest, he wouldn't have expected the Princess to consider using such a loophole as expressing a request as a thank you.
"AFTER you're done," she clarified. "So it is not misinterpreted as a poorly disguised request to let you live."
"I appreciate your leniency, Princess," Link said, oddly relieved he wasn't making her cheat Hylian rules. "Shall we?" he added with a gesture towards the doorway behind her. "I worry that time is of the essence." There, that was a VERY polite way to ask her to get a move on and he only felt slightly bad for it.
She nodded and exited the temple. She looked this way and that and back again in rapid succession, Link assumed in an effort to make sure no guards were around to overhear sacrilegious prayers to the Three. There were, thankfully, no more guards in the immediate vicinity.
Link headed for Din's temple first, walking quickly. As much as it felt like not trying to get some kind of help from the Goddesses would be downright irresponsible, and as much as he was hoping it would help, he was reasonably certain that nothing would come of it and therefore, wanted to go through the motions quickly in order to then be able to move on to something else. He didn't know what the next step would be, but he was pushing THAT thought back as much as he could as a problem for later. As much as he wanted 'later' to come quick.
Nothing about this whole situation was good.
He was heading for Din first out of a longstanding sense of duty to try and make up for how so many in Hyrule treated the Goddess of Power. He felt that he owed a lot to Din: it was incredibly obvious to him that no amount of training should have allowed him to become as capable as he had, either physically or magically, without Her blessings.
Because of that, he felt it unfair that many people thought Din practically evil. They didn't necessarily phrase it that way, hiding under statements that the Goddesses were beyond good and evil, but the Goddess of Power was still associated to Ganon. The monster would sometimes even be referred to as her Favorite in the same way the Hero and the Princesses were referred to as Farore's and Nayru's Favorites.
The thing was, Din had not chosen Ganon. Ganondorf Dragmire had acquired the Triforce, but because he was so unbalanced, it had split in three and the Triforces of wisdom and courage had left the King of Evil to dwell within the souls of the two individuals who best represented these virtues. There was definitely room to think of those two as Farore and Nayru's Chosen, even if technically, the Triforces had made the choice and not the Goddesses themselves.
However, no matter which way you looked at it, Din hadn't gotten a choice. The Triforce of power had remained with the one who had tried to claim the whole thing. It has been the only piece Ganondorf could hold on to because it was the one that represented what HE valued. Courage and Wisdom had picked worthy holders. Ganondorf had picked power.
Link bowed at the entrance of the temple, then walked in, stopping in front of the altar to the Goddess of Power. There were no giant statues here: instead, a large stone tablet carved with Din's symbol rose out of the floor in the middle of the temple's main chamber, surrounded by depictions of earth and fire: rock gardens, fire pits, and paintings of mountainous landscapes and volcanoes on the walls.
As he'd been taught, Link kneeled in front of the stone tablet and placed his left palm on Din's symbol. He heard the Princess's sharp intake of breath behind him, but she made no actual comment.
Link spoke clearly, careful to keep his volume neither too soft nor too loud. "Din, Golden Goddess of Power to whom we owe the fertile red earth, I thank you."
This part was formulaic. It had taken enough research to find it for it to be yet another insult to Din. You could stumble upon the words to be spoken to Nayru, Farore, or Hylia anywhere, but it seemed most sources assumed nobody would want to talk to Din because of the taint Ganondorf had placed on her.
"I thank you as well for the blessings you bestow on me. And yet I come with a request."
He sighed and slowly, carefully unsheathed the Master Sword.
"The blade Hylia entrusted to me and that your flame helped strengthen has been cursed. I refuse to let the enemy destroy it. It belongs to Hyrule, a divine gift that I will not allow evil to tarnish. That's why I must abandon my pride and ask for your indulgence and for your help. I cannot be self reliant this time, as much as I yearn to make you proud. I beg of you to once more bless Hylia's sword with your power so as to help restore it and save it."
The feeling that washed over him was entirely unexpected: a burst of energy and determination. He swallowed, feeling both elated that Din had responded to him for the first time ever, and irritated that the Goddess was, just like Hylia, giving him nothing but a pep talk. Getting even that much was no doubt extraordinary, but it was difficult to fully experience the wonder of it when staring at the completely unchanged, still dying Master Sword.
The Princess did not react at all. She was breathing hard in the same way she had since they'd entered the temple. Link got up and stepped back, giving her room for her own prayers. She quickly took his place, closed her eyes and joined her hands. She was up again very quickly.
Link bowed and thanked Din again, and followed Zelda out of the temple.
Prayers to Nayru and Farore yielded much the same result. He felt a calming breeze from Nayru and a wave of courage and optimism from Farore, and the only tangible result of the whole operation was that the Princess relaxed in obvious relief that he was finally done with what she truly felt was blaspheme. She admiringly did not say a word about it and the lack of result he'd gotten, despite the fact that it was quite obvious she hadn't felt the Golden Goddesses' responses the way she'd felt Hylia's.
They found themselves, upon opening the door, just a few paces in front of a Hylian woman who had been facing the entrance to Farore's temple. At the sight of them in the doorway, she gasped, dropped a book she'd been carrying to join her hands in front of her face and stared, shaking.
Zelda stopped walking as soon as she'd cleared the door frame. Link took the cue and stopped as well, eyes on the woman. She was breathing shakily and was positively vibrating at the sight of them. She seemed mostly nervous, but between her expression and stance, Link got the distinct impression that she was also delighted to see them. As much as an admirer was nicer than a detractor, this woman definitely looked time consuming. Link had to focus on keeping his expression neutral.
"Hello," Zelda said.
Link caught a gentle smile on her face from the corner of his eyes. Of course, the Princess could hardly be rude to her subjects, she had to be polite and friendly. Even if it wasted time.
He noticed he was tapping the toes of his right foot inside his boot and focused on keeping them still.
The Princess and he needed to look for a lead. The longer it took to try and fix the sword, the more the monsters he still couldn't find were threatening everyone. He was mentally going through everyone he knew, trying to think of someone who might have information on the Master Sword's history and origins beyond what he knew himself, and pushing back the more and more frequent temptation to just forget about the holy blade for now and focus on defeating whatever was behind the monster outbreak as quickly as possible. Let the Master Sword be Future Him's problem. Actually doing that when he had no lead on the origin or location of the monsters either was unthinkable, of course, but the temptation to give up on at least one unsolvable problem was getting stronger even with such a minor roadblock as running into an admirer.
"Ha... ha... Hylia! I mean hi!" The woman stammered. "I mean..." she suddenly fell into a bowing kneel. "Princess! Hero! It's... it's such an honor I can't believe I'm so lucky! You're together! Why are you here? Are... are you looking for information? I'm a historian! I know the whole plateau and everything about it! Maybe I can help?"
Link's eyes widened, his mind suddenly focused entirely on their new friend. A historian that clearly admired them and wanted to be of assistance, literally appearing out of thin air right after they'd asked for help?
Zelda's breath caught. Link guessed she'd reached the same conclusion he had: the woman had somehow been guided to be here right at this moment by the Goddesses. She could have been anywhere else on the plateau, including steps away inside of one of the temples, or simply not facing them and therefore not initiating a conversation, and they would have missed her.
Link kneeled on one knee a few paces in front of the woman to get to her level, one arm hanging to his side and the other slung across his raised knee to keep his hands visible and clearly away from his weapons. "It is a delight to make your acquaintance," he said. "Historical knowledge could indeed be useful... is it not always? If I may ask, which part of history are you most interested in?"
"Please, rise," Zelda said. "Both of you. What is your name?" she asked, addressing the historian with another gentle smile.
The woman got back on her feet and turned to Zelda with a quick apologetic glance at Link.
"My name is Syreene, Princess," she said with a deep bow. Her voice was still shaking slightly, but it seemed like being asked for specific answers was helping with her nerves a little bit. "To answer the Hero's question... himself?" She turned a deep red at that, her eyes resolutely fixed on the Princess. "My specialty is the past Heroes, and their accomplishments."
"An unfortunately broad field," Link muttered. Every hero had lived in a cursed age, so the fact there were many of them was the opposite of a good thing.
Zelda cleared her throat. "We were looking for information on the Master Sword," she revealed. "There are rumors that it was once made even stronger, and it would be irresponsible not to use every advantage we can to ensure victory against the Enemy – whoever or whatever that enemy turns out to be."
Link kept his face neutral, but he was impressed by the improvisation.
"Oh!" Syreene said. "Well! You're in the wrong place. Nothing that relates to the Master Sword has been restored on the Plateau, or at least nothing's ever been found since the Plateau was created."
"I don't suppose you could suggest somewhere else to turn our attention to?" Zelda asked.
Syreene sagged slightly and looked down. "Not really," she admitted. "Oh!" she perked up again. "Sahesro would know! He's my mentor. He's amazing, he knows SO much. You should go see him, your Highness. He's in Midah."
Link forced his face to remain neutral, keeping himself from frowning at the name: Midah was in Faron, and he didn't recall noting it as an exception to the general rule of thumb that Faron was unwelcoming to Sea Folks.
"It certainly sounds like your mentor could indeed be of great assistance to us," Zelda said. "We will make for Midah and seek Master Sahesro. Thank you, Syreene."
Link bowed to Syrenee, who gasped and hid her face. Link ignored the reaction. "Thank you, Miz Syreene. May Hylia's blessings follow you."
Syreene curtsied back, babbled an apology and left.
Zelda chuckled under her breath and caught Link's eyes. "It seems your gratitude was more than she could gracefully take," she said with a smile.
Link rubbed the back of his head, looking down. "I'm sorry, your Highness. I honestly didn't mean to cause her any discomfort. I didn't at all expect such a strong reaction. I thought she'd be happy to know we appreciated her insight. I'm sorry, I'm rambling."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Hero," Zelda said gently. "I would not have expected this either... but it was charming, and it does feel justified for you to have people who strongly appreciate you."
Link sighed. "Thank you, Princess, for your lenience and your kindness." He was grateful this topic was over with: Syreene's information was quickly becoming far too costly in time for his liking. "If I may bring up the information she provided us again..." he forced himself to pause. He was not going to be rudely rushing the Princess. He could afford the few extra seconds being polite cost, and he could put up with the tiny delay that was pausing long enough to give her a chance to interrupt. "Midah is quite distant from anywhere my ocarina can take me," he continued. "Might I ask, would your highness know of a melody that could lead us there?"
Zelda shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't even know where Midah is. I was going to ask the guards."
Link forced his jaw to relax and kept his feet firmly planted on the ground to avoid tapping them. He didn't need directions and he didn't need more interactions with the guards here.
"I'm sure the guards could very effectively guide us on the best way to get to Midah, Princess," he said. "With your permission, I do already know that it is located in Faron, a few hours ride South East of the Southernmost point of Lake Hylia, but I have never actually visited it and would surely benefit from the Royal Guards' advice to your Highness." He really wouldn't, but he could hardly tell the Princess that her Royal Guards were useless, now could he? The thought he'd have been on his way already if he'd been on his own surfaced in his mind uninvited. He squashed it: the Princess was trying to help, he was not going to be so ungrateful as to think she was just slowing him down.
Zelda for her part was quickly tiring of the Hero's incredibly formal tone. Link sounded like he'd learned to talk exclusively from reading court documents, and ones written by scribes trying to show off their vocabulary and to increase the number of words they wrote, at that.
"May I offer a challenge?" she asked.
Link's eyebrows shot up. "Your Highness?"
"Try again to tell me that you have no objection to asking for directions in spite of knowing where Midah is, but in as few words as you can."
Link's cheeks darkened. "I'm sorry, your Highness, I..."
Zelda sharply waved the apology aside. "No apologies necessary. You're merely demonstrating outstanding manners and politeness. I'm merely trying to impress upon you that this level of formality is unnecessary between us. I'm sorry for phrasing it the way I did. Allow me to try again. How would you ask me for directions to... let's say the Temple of Time?"
Link frowned slightly. He was all for speeding up their communication if he could do it without being impolite to the Princess.
He cleared his throat. Asking for directions out of nowhere was, in fact, a bit of a challenge because it was a request for information that could be quite time consuming to share.
"My apologies, Princess Zelda," he said. "I don't wish to be importune, but if I might ask without making myself a burden to your Highness, could her Highness please tell me, if it is known to her and if she can spare the time, where I might find the Temple of Time?"
Zelda resisted laughing. She was rather glad the Hero hadn't felt the need to ask her for information so far. She cleared her throat too.
"Surely you can see that this is not the most efficient way for us to communicate with each other as partners?" she asked. "I assure you I will not be offended by any shorthand you feel comfortable using, and will not interpret a failure to state that you don't wish to be a bother as an admission that you do."
Link looked aside, his cheeks darkening again. Zelda dismissed the unwelcome and inappropriate thought that the blushing was cute.
Link was thinking hard. Truth be told, part of the reason he had dreaded the Princess joining him was precisely the fact that the level of formality he felt he owed her was irritatingly wordy. Having to consult a partner was already slower than just doing whatever he wanted, the idea of these consultations being quicker was certainly tempting.
"Try again," Zelda encouraged.
Link took a breath. He could do shorter. He WANTED to do shorter, and the Princess was requesting it. It felt a bit as if the King was requesting Link blow a raspberry at him, but it was still a fact.
"Your highness, may I please make an inquiry?" He resisted the urge to wait for permission and continued immediately. "I seek the Temple of Time. Would the Princess be able and willing to share any insight on its location?"
Zelda smiled. "Definitely better," she granted. "I don't suppose you'd be comfortable with 'Hey, do you know where the Temple of Time is?'"
Link's eyes widened in horror.
Zelda nodded. "I truly hope you eventually will be. In the meantime, allow me to declare once more that I do not need a literal invitation on your part to express it should I ever be unhappy about anything you say or do. Any request for permission, and any apology, for merely talking or asking is unnecessary."
Link quickly bowed his head. "Understood, Princess. Thank you."
"Now then, I think these few minutes were well spent, but we might as well get on our way. Let's head for the Garrison, we need to borrow horses and we can still ask them whether they have any advice on the best route to Midah."
Link chewed on his lips. He was pretty sure the guards here would not be too happy to lend him a horse, and truth be told, he didn't really want to ask them for one. Beyond that, he was also worried that clearing their reluctance would take a while and he was itching to get going.
Zelda was already walking towards the larger of the recreated Castle Town buildings. He trotted to catch up, biting back his reservations about her plan. They'd just see, wouldn't they? And if nothing else, meeting with the guards to get the Princess a horse was a clear, easy objective that was a nice change from trying to figure out how to break the curse on the Master Sword or taking care of monsters he couldn't find.