Chapter 41: No Matter How Tender, How Exquisite, a Lie Will Remain a Lie
Zelda rested her head in her hands and rubbed at her eyes. Her father did the same when he had a headache. It didn't help at all. As usual, the wisdom of adults did not have nearly the benefit she hoped.
She took a deep breath and peaked out from between her fingers. Her light hung before her, brightening up the secret tunnel. On her lap was one of the largest segments of Nayru's work. After weeks of sneaking away to read snippets at a time, she had finally read all of it. Every word given by the wisest of the Goddesses, all the information they deemed their children would need to make their way through the world.
So why did none of it make sense?
The last segment was just a bunch of songs. The Minuet of Forest, Bolero of Fire, the Requiem of Spirit, and that was only half. She tried to memorize every note, but they seemed to slip from her mind as soon as she thought she had it. Why? They weren't particularly complex pieces, she should be able to keep them all in her head. She'd memorized all the kings and queens of Hyrule, every great battle against the Gerudo, and every technique Rauru had taught her.
But so far the only one of these songs she could hold onto was simply titled The Song of Time, and that was just a more detailed version of what she sang to open the Temple of Time.
Had the Goddesses done this on purpose? To make certain that no one could have them all?
But why were they so important? Nayru, you never did anything without reason, so why can't I find reason in this?
All the other songs that Nayru wrote down clearly had meaning behind them. They told stories, provided guidance, sometimes it was a bit cryptic for Zelda's taste, but it was there.
These pieces didn't even have words attached to them. They were just notes. When she read them the first time she had thought that boy, Link, had accidentally scooped up another scroll when he stole the prophecies. But no, it was the same parchment as the rest of work written in the same hand.
Was she supposed to sing them all in the Temple of Time? Or perhaps there was a Temple of Forest hidden somewhere. Maybe if she sang all seven songs in their respective temples it would strike Ganondorf down?
None of that sounded believable to her. But what else did she have to go on?
She read through the songs one final time before she tucked the scrolls back into their illusory compartment. No time left, if she had any judge of time she had read them all through supper. Missing it was not usual for her, but soon Impa would be looking to bring her to bed. She would need to make an appearance around the castle to leave the impression she was acting like a regular princess and not wandering off to go study the mysteries of the divine.
By the time she was able to sneak out of her tunnel undetected, spoke to guards and servants as friendly as she could. She was getting the hang of that. The more she forced herself to be as kind and friendly as the forest boy, or the matron the easier it felt. She did still slip up on occasion, one of the servants, Maise, could talk to long and about nothing that Zelda could not help but make a comment about needing to leave.
But overall, she was definitely improving. Soon, everyone would be completely loyal to her.
The whole process took over an hour. At the end of it, Impa brought her to her bedchambers, kissed her goodnight and left.
Zelda waited in her bed staring at the ceiling. Tonight was the night. She spent hours thinking over everything she had learned the last few weeks. Made certain she had every step planned out, going over the spells she'd need, and every piece of information she found from Mr Tingles Fabulous, Fervent, and Fastidious Facsimile of the Furtive and Fractious Fauna the Fairy. If this worked, she would never have to look upon that weird pictures of that man again. She would never again have to think about that title that made no sense grammatically.
By the Goddesses, she hoped this worked.
Once she was certain that all but the entrance guards were asleep she crawled out of her bed, put on a suitably regal dress, and sat down in front of her desk. Breathe in, breathe out. Every spell she would do tonight would be so much easier if she had an item of power to channel her will through. But she was not going to steal from the Temple of Time. After all, what was the point of all those hours of practice if she could not handle it herself?
She spread out her map of Greater Hyrule across the table and plucked a quill. Rubbing the tip of it along her finger to test that it was completely dry, it would be no good if she lined her map with ink. This would work, she was strong enough to make this work. She was Princess Zelda, all she saw on the map was hers to protect and guide with her magic.
She shut her eyes and forced all the power she held within her into her hand and the quill. Everything she had, until her heartbeat slowed, and her body felt heavy and drained. Placing the heaviest quill she had ever lifted onto the map she went to the next part of the spell.
The image of the boy she met filled her mind. His messy blond hair, that he covered in a green cap and wore a green tunic and shoes that looked like they had been handmade. On his hip there was a small ocarina of polished wood, and in that ocarina was her target.
The blue fairy, Navi. The way she flew about, agile on gossamer wings. There was a magic to her, faint, ever so faint. But there. How did it feel exactly? She needed to get it perfect. An old magic, the magic of roots growing strong underground. A magic of trees and wildlife, of joy and growing towards the sun. But that joy was tempered, the sun was covered. A magic of light and order within a woods of shadows and darkness. The truest sense of being lost.
That was what the fairy felt like. Exactly that. But could she find it?
She spoke the incantation soft, barely a whisper so that no one could hear. "That which is marked by the magic of the Great Deku Tree, I call to you. Reveal yourself to me."
The quill moved. Just a jolting tug along the map. But was it magic, or was it just the pressure she was putting on it? And as soon as she started thinking about that, the quill stopped. She peaked open her eyes. Somewhere just outside of Castle Town. That couldn't be right. There was no way they traveled all the way to Death Mountain and to the Zora's Domain, gotten both of the sacred gems and returned.
"Euuugh," she shut her eyes again. No second guessing this time. Clear your mind. Focus on the fairy. The ancient magic of the Lost Woods traveling out into Hyrule. Breathe in. Breathe out. Where was she?
She spoke louder this time demanding the magic obey her. "That which is marked by the magic of the Great Deku Tree, I call to you. Reveal yourself to me!"
Her fingers tugged forward. It had to be magic. It needed to be. Come on.
She clenched her eyes so tight it started to hurt. Reveal yourself. I need you to. Old magic, fae magic. Magic touched of cloudy forests and ageless children. Magic of strength and sorrow. Reveal yourself!
Her hand crept up the page, gently scratching at it. It wasn't steady. It didn't move in a straight line. More back and forth, gently tugging her hand closer and closer to something. This was it. It had to be it.
Her hand looped around. Then stopped.
She let out a breath and waited to see if there was anything left before she opened her eyes again. But there was nothing. Her hand stayed still.
Only then did she open her eyes. The quill was stuck halfway up Death Mountain. That's where they had to be. Zelda smiled down. The hard part was done. She shook her head and wiped away a thin film of sweat from her forehead. She would carry on, so what if she hadn't truly slept in days? She was Princess Zelda, and she was not going to stop when she had gotten so close.
The council of fairy representatives were listening to her speak. Navi could hardly believe it. She was a teacher of children, at best. Maybe she performed other tasks for the Great Deku Tree, but nothing so grand as speaking before all these fairies, who in turn spoke for all the remaining Great Fairies around the world.
"But it is important that we protect our fairy lives above all others," one fairy that wore blazing shifting colors instead of clothes said above the others. "The Hylians can fight and die if it pleases them, it is after all what they're good for."
"Agreed," said the one that seemed to have spun a shirt out of his own long hair. "In fact, it perhaps would be best if we get this villain Ganondorf of which you speak to wipe out as many of the Hylians as he can before we intervene."
This brought a chorus of agreement from the others.
Navi frowned, they kept thinking of Hylians as fodder, as tools to be used and discarded. It was infuriating. Not just that it was a vile idea, but for some reason she kept feeling as if she'd heard all these arguments before. Over and over again. Day after day. It was enough to make anyone go mad.
No that wasn't fair. These fairies had just arrived this morning. Perhaps she had heard other of the Great Mother's fairies speak of Hylians like that? Yes, that must be the case.
"We must protect ourselves," Navi agreed. "But the Hylians should be seen as our allies. Not our tools, think about what we can accomplish together. Think of this tragedy as maybe being a means of bringing our peoples closer."
The council all smiled at her. But she could tell they were not really listening. They never listened. No matter how many times she tried to tell them, they didn't listen.
Which, admittedly, was only once. She had never spoken to this council before. Hadn't she? Then why did this all seem so familiar? Navi rubbed at her head, massaging her temples.
"Are you alright?" said Boshi. "Is something wrong."
"No, no. I'm fine. Telti."
"Boshi," the green fairy said. "My name is Boshi."
"Right. Right," Navi shook her head. Why did she remember a pink fairy named Telti bringing her here? "I'm sorry- my head hurts."
"Does this council displease you?" Boshi's voice wasn't particularly friendly. It was more, bored than anything else. As if leading Navi around the Great Fairy Shrine was a cumbersome chore for him.
"No. The council can provide exactly the aid we need. It's only- I can't explain it. My head just hurts, I suppose."
"Hmm," Boshi said, he flew closer as if he was trying to see if something was wrong with her. But he made no hurry about it. He didn't care. None of these fairies seemed to care. "Perhaps it would be best if you rest closer to the Great Mother tonight. Let her power heal you."
"No it's not so bad, I don't want to leave Link. I should be there when he wakes up. It will probably be tomorrow, right?"
"Hmm?" Boshi said. "Oh yes. Tomorrow for certain."
"I'm sorry, great council," she turned back to the other fairies who had all gone silent and waited for her to continue. "My interruption won't happen…" something was shifting above them all in the air. "again."
Her eyes fixed on a shape she had not seen before, it almost reminded her of the mists around the Lost Woods, but they were more a glistening white.
"Is that, the Great Fairy?" Would she be coming to add her words to Navi's own? Finally someone who could actually be convincing.
"No," Boshi said, for once an actual emotion scraped out of his voice: fear.
The white mists coalescent into a shifting outline.
"Hello?" came a soft voice from the white shape. Two limbs twisted forward, lifting under the lump that could almost be called a head. "No, no this isn't good. Hold on."
The white mist shifted again, flickering. Then the mist condensed and a Hylian face started to poke through, color blossomed out of the white.
"Princess?"
"That will have to do," she said still looking at her hands. The seemed to shimmer through the mist, shifting like a reflection on rippling water. "I'm sorry, it's just the distance is so far away. I'm not used to this. It feels as though something is trying to force me out." Then she looked from her hands to Navi and smiled. "It worked! Fairy Navi! It is wonderful to see you again."
"Princess, the pleasure is mine."
"Who is this?" Boshi snapped. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, two fairies, that's a surprise. I must apologize if I intruded on something important. Navi would you be so kind as to introduce me?"
"This is Princess Zelda of Hyrule. She's one of the allies against Ganondorf I spoke of."
The princess did a curtsy, the white mist spreading around her as she moved that looked as if glowing rays of white radiated from her.
"This is perfect!" Navi laughed. "Everyone, the princess is precisely the kind of person I am trying to tell you about. This young girl has gone to great effort to deal with this threat herself."
"Thank you, Navi, but, everyone? Who is this everyone you're speaking to?"
"The council," Navi swept her hand aside to gesture toward everyone around them. But of course the princess couldn't see that, so she flew a circle above one of the closest groups of the delegation.
Zelda looked around, her eyes narrowing in confusion. "Navi, there's only the two of you here."
"What?"
That was when Navi took notice of the fairies around her. They had been silent, so silent for so long. Not a single one of them even indicating surprise at the princess that suddenly appeared in their midst. And their expressions, no longer did they all have their own mannerisms and make their own gestures. Instead they all glared, frozen in pure hatred.
"I only see the two of you. I'm sorry, I don't think I can maintain the spell for very long. Ganondorf has reached the Crown. The battle has perhaps already taken place. I need to know if you and Link have the Ruby."
"No," Navi said, then shook her head. This didn't make sense. "How could they have traveled so fast?"
"Fast?" Zelda said. "Everyone on my side has been commenting on how unusually slow Ganondorf has moved."
That didn't make sense. She had only been in the shrine a few days. Navi tried to tell her, but when she opened her mouth to speak the pain in her skull erupted. "Telti what's happening?" But that wasn't Telti, she had not seen Telti in what felt like weeks. Weeks. Telti was here weeks ago.
"Stop!" Boshi said. "Get out! Witch! Filthy lying Hylian! Leave us! The Great Mother will not have you. You will ruin everything."
"Ruin everything!" came a hundred voices in chorus around Navi.
The princess' jaw set, as she glared at Boshi. "What have you done to Navi? What have you done to Link?"
"What have I done?" came a voice from everywhere within the room. "I am trying to set her free."
Every member of the council melted, the color dripping off them. Navi screamed as they turned to a clear liquid. A thousand rain drops hanging in the air. Then with a splash they fell into the pool below them.
An angry howl rose from the water, followed by the head, arms, and torso of the Great Fairy. "I am setting her free and you are ruining it!"
Zelda frowned, glaring down at the massive figure of the fairy. "This does not look like freedom to me. You are the Great Mother, I presume?"
"And you are the royal brat, the soul of Hylia" the Great Fairy cackled. "Oh, I know all about you, yes I do. The one who gave her chosen few everything and when your Hylians used their place to conquer all they saw, what did you do? Nothing! When they drove my precious fairies deep into woods or hiding underground, what did you do? Nothing! And now you return?" She gave a cackle of pure scorn. "So long ago, but I remember. Yes."
Navi clenched her eyes shut hoping that would ease the ache. What was happening? Every word the Great Fairy said felt like another needle stabbing into her mind.
"What are you talking about?" Zelda said.
"Oh? Forgetful little fool. Shall I stick with only this life? You are the one who sent one of my precious darlings out into the world of danger alone. The one who was willing to throw her away to save your own lands. Yes, I know your kind well."
"And look what you've done!" The Great Fairy screamed. Navi felt the presence looming around her. But she kept her eyes closed. "You've hurt her, my sweet darling, my noble fairy. Look! Look! Look!"
"It is not my spell that is causing her pain," Zelda's voice was cold.
"But you do not care! See, my sweetling? Watch." And with that one word, Navi's eyes sprung open. The Great Fairy was right before her, looking almost exactly as she had looked when they first spoke, only now she had a necklace of interwoven green vines with a bud resting on her neck.
The Great Fairy plucked the bud from the vine and held it up. It grew between her fingers, pedals fell around it, and in its center was not a flower but the Emerald. "This is what she truly wants."
"How did you get that?" Zelda said.
"See? She cares not for you, my darling. One sight of this trinket and you are forgotten."
Tears welled up in Navi's eyes. But she could not blink them away, she could not shut her eyes at all. The Great Mother still wished for her to see.
"Navi, I do not know what's going on. But I will find a way-"
"Do not speak to her! You are dealing with me."
"Then release her. You are stationed within the territory of Greater Hyrule, given to my great-grandmother when the Gorons swore fealty to her. And there are no slaves in my territory."
"Your territory? No! No! No! You do not make demands of me!" the Great Fairy grew so large she filled the room, her red hair pressing into the polished stones. The Emerald looked like no more than an insect she held between her fingers "A fairy will never again be made below your kind! You use us for our healing, for our magic. You capture my darlings in bottles and force them to work for you! Never again! No, you insignificant little Hylian. I make the demands here, and I demand you leave!"
The fairy lifted her arm and Zelda transformed back into the white smoke. The Great Mother smiled, but the smirk curdled in mere moments. The cloud did not disperse.
"I have made," came Zelda's voice from within the mist, "no slave of your kind." Her voice was ragged, as if she was straining for every word. "Navi. We still need you and Link. We still need-"
"Be gone!" the Great Fairy screeched. From within the white cloud Zelda screamed in pain. "I banish you! I banish you! Leave!" And the white mist was no more. "Yes!" she laughed. Her body finally took a more regular shape as she shot around the empty council chamber. "Yes! Yes! In this life I am stronger than you, Hylia. I am the better!"
Then she seemed to notice Navi. She shrank and lowered herself, looking almost as if she was wounded. "Oh my darling," the Great Fairy said as she splashed back into the water, she held out her arms for Navi. "I have made myself weary just for you. But, you are in such pain. Let me comfort you. Let me make all of it better. No more Hylians, no more goddesses or princesses. See how generous I am?"
"No," Navi managed to say.
The Great Fairy reared back. "No? How can you say no?"
"How long have I been here? Where is Link?"
"Oh, my poor darling. You're hysterical. Let me fix everything."
"No! Where is Link?"
The Great Fairy's lips curled back into a snarl. "Away! Gone! Perhaps dead! Who cares? The fool boy did nothing but ignore you, did nothing but hurt you. You are so much better if you stay here. I can get you what you want. I can make you important, a royal advisor. A liaison to the outside world. A queen among the fairies, second only to me. Just come into my arms, little darling. Come into my arms and I will make it all better."
"No!" She screamed. Her head was going to come apart at the seems. The pulses of energy radiating off the Great Mother sent wave after wave of pain.
The Great Mother dropped her arms. "That is so disappointing. My little darling, you've been so corrupted that you want to be their slave. You want them to use you and throw you away. Don't worry, my dearest. This time I'll fix you."
The twinkling lights around the Great Fairy grew bright. So bright that the world turned to light and tore at Navi's mind, she screamed as it surrounded her, burning so deep she feared the light would bore straight through the back of her skull.
Then there was blackness. Navi's wings stopped beating. She fell, but she never seemed to hit the ground. She hurtled through the darkness, crying, screaming, calling for help. But if she made a sound she could not hear it. All that existed was the fall.
Until a kindly figure appeared before her, The Great Deku Tree, the one whose magic spun her into life. The wise old caretaker who taught her everything he knew and trusted her above all others.
And then he was gone. In his place the Great Mother appeared her hands open wide. Navi had always lived in the Fairy Shrine. Ever since she gained sentience she had frolicked in its waters and learned to hate the Hylians.
Then she was a teacher, lecturing the Kokiri children all seated around her. They learned right from wrong, how to spell, how to act. She laughed with the children as they played. Little Saria who would took to magic so quick, and would try to solve every problem with a hug. Fado and her love of all plants and mushrooms, who took the time to name every single one in her little garden as if they were pets. Mido, who tried so hard to be a leader, to be noticed, to be important. He was so close to becoming a truly great leader, he just needed to get that ego in check. To stop comparing himself to everyone else and lashing out. She could help him, if she was given the chance.
And then all the children were gone. She had spun from the Great Mother's magic. Her best friend was a green fairy named Boshi. They had spent endless days together, they had a game where she tried to make him laugh. She'd even succeeded a few times, though he won far more often. As humorless as he was, she could depend on him. Boshi was the truest friend anyone could have, he would never lie to her, never betray her. Both of them, lived to serve the Great Mother.
And there was Link. Her Link. She would never tell the other children, but he had always been her favorite. She loved him the moment she saw him, wrapped in bloodstained cloth. His mother dying but only wishing for his safety. She had never disobeyed the Great Deku Tree before, but when she saw him she almost flew out to save him herself had the Great Deku Tree not done it himself.
"Keep him safe," the Great Deku Tree had told her with his last words. "Keep him safe."
'I will, you know I will.' She had told him. She wanted to tell him again. But she couldn't.
Link was gone, as if he had never been there at all. She had not traveled to the outer world with him. She had never met a little Hylian boy who wanted to fight for the weak. Who rushed in to help even again and again, even though it always got him hurt.
He was gone, and there was nothing to replace him.
Her two stories fought through her mind. One life of beautiful joys mixed with crushing sorrows, a life of love and loss of children and death. The other complacent, happy but never joyous, some slight sadness but never so crushing she could do nothing but curl up in an ocarina and cry. A life with no children, no death, no hardships.
A life with the Great Mother.
"Isn't that better, darling?"
Navi woke on the shore of the fairy shrine. Alone. And that was normal, most her memories agreed. There was no Hylian boy beside her. And that was normal.
"Navi," Boshi, her closest friend, called from above her. He always got up earlier than her. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," she lied. "Was I sick?"
"No," he said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "I'm just here to make certain you're doing well."
"Well, I feel wonderful," she flew up to meet him, giving one glance backwards to the emptiness beside where she had been sleeping. "What are we going to do today?"
"Oh, I'll see what the Great Mother has for us," he said.
She had always lived in the Fairy Shrine. The Great Mother was always her mother. But in the back of her mind, a part of her wanted to scream. That was not normal.
"Well, we shouldn't keep our Great Mother waiting," Navi forced herself to smile at the liar.
I'm coming Link. Wherever you are, whatever has happened. I'm coming.
Author's Note: 41 chapters, and I finally got past the Ruby Arc. Needless to say, my initial plan was much shorter. Thanks to everyone who has been reading, commenting, and hopefully enjoying. There will be a slight break between this and the next chapter. Thank you for your patience.