Chapter 48: Opportunities Within Our Problems
"Navi," the familiar voice tore through her daydream. "Navi, are you paying attention?"
"What?" she shook her head, to clear away her fantasies. Strange, she found she already forgot them. They must not have been important, though they left her wistful and sad for some reason. It's funny how one's mind can wander and form vivid flights of fancy only to disappear in an instant. "Of course, I'm listening Boshi."
Her oldest friend grunted. He never was much for conversation, but that didn't bother Navi. He had other qualities, no one else in the fountain was half as dependable and level-headed. Why even when they were children, Boshi was the one who kept his head when they both got caught in that spider web. There was no one Navi trusted more, except perhaps their Great Mother herself.
"Then why aren't you moving?"
Navi sighed, she should have known she wouldn't get one past him. "You have me, I wasn't focused. What's the matter?"
"Outsiders are coming! As I said. We have work to do."
Outsiders? They've never had to deal with outsiders before. The Great Mother kept them safe from all those who trod above the ground.
"Do we know who?"
"Not the same one," Boshi muttered. "Things can't ever be easy. These will be dangerous by the sound of it. And we have work to do."
The same one? What one? None entered the Great Mother's fountain but other fairies. No one could ever get in. No one ever had before.
But-
Stop. Stop. That's not real. "Whatever task the Great Mother has for me, I will gladly do it." She smiled to him, a fake smile, all while a battle raged in her mind.
She'd let her guard down, and the Great Fairy's lies had clawed their way back into her mind. A fight she faced every morning, which raged throughout the day. Some days she lost completely and lived just as the Great Fairy wished. But today she won, and she must continue fighting until the moon rose and her eyes could stay open no longer. Not that she'd see the moon stuck beneath the ground.
Boshi was not her friend. The fountain was not her home. He was her gaoler and this place her dungeon. He had not saved her from a spider's web, they played no games in their youth. And he must never learn what she was planning.
"What work does our Great Mother desire from me?"
"We have been directed to bolster the wards around the fountain." He gestured toward the white tiles that surrounded them. Spells etched with magic weaved along the outer walls and across the ground. "She wishes for us to work as long as we can, pour all the magic we have to strengthen our defenses."
"Boshi, you're frightening me. Is this outsider truly that dangerous?"
The fairy shrugged. "The Great Mother has given you your task, get to it."
"I will do my best."
He nodded, directed her toward the nearest wards before he returned to the central chamber, where the Great Fairy lay.
The Princess, it has to be the princess. The Great Mother had expelled Zelda from her domain, but the princess would return. That must be what has gotten the Great Mother so rattled. Navi had not know the girl long, but she did not seem the type to accept defeat. When Zelda once more appeared, Navi would make her move.
She would not be useless again.
A century ago, the Great Deku Tree taught her and his fairies to cast enchantments to protect his new children from the wars that raged around them. And when one ravenous wolf broke inside and mauled poor Tweli's arm, Navi made her own advancements in the village's protection. She'd even taught Mido when he asked how best to aid the family.
She knew well the magic the Great Fairy used around her tunnels. A sprawling web that ran over the walls like vines. Invisible to all but the most attuned of the large folk. But to the fairies, they were as easy to read as a scroll. The basic form of the enchantments was familiar, designed to twist the mind of those who entered without the Great Mother's protection. Making their eyes ignore what they saw, and ears only hear what was spoken. For most, they could walk right next to the Fairy Mound and not notice anything different about the little green hillock. For the exceptionally dull, they might not notice a fairy even if one flew out of their home a foot away from them.
Those spells had no chance to work on the princess, so Navi strengthened them. Touching the shimmering writing and fortifying them with a fraction of her power. If Boshi or anyone else watched, they would have no reason to suspect her of any wrongdoing.
She looked down the tunnel, focusing on the shimmering lines of the various spells. There had to be thousands. Navi took a breath and went to work, renewing the lines with her power. Reading all she could. When she found a new design she was not familiar with, she took the time to understand it. If the lines of the spell spiraled out of her vision she had to make guesses to the best of her ability.
This one turned the eyes. That one masked the scent. Navi scowled as she found another that would fill a person's mind with desire to please the Great Mother, binding their will to hers. It was not the most powerful spell she had seen, but if some poor weak-minded soul was ensnared by it, they would be enchanted forever. Just as the Great Mother tried on her.
But it would not be strong enough to take the princess' mind.
"I'm sorry," she whispered as she touched the line. She poured her power into it and watched as the ward grew brighter and stronger. It wasn't the kind of spell she sought, but what if some poor villager stumbled upon them? What if she just doomed someone to a life of slavery?
Navi suppressed a shudder before flying to the next ward. Some questions she did not wish to learn the answer. She needed freedom, she needed to find Link. Then she could come back and right these wrongs. Though even as she thought it, she knew she never would. When she was free of this place she would never return.
For hours, she worked on the wards. Strengthening all she knew were too weak to inconvenience Zelda. Stopping only when other fairies drew close and gave her friendly performance. Playing the part of the empty-headed loyal fae everyone thought her. All the while she maneuvered herself deeper into the tunnels, to the heart of the fountain's magic. To the Great Mother's pool itself.
The lines of magic scrawled across the ground and over the walls pulsed with energy. She flew back, to get the full view. These wards were the oldest and most powerful by far. She struggled to make sense of them.
Three fairies flew past her and stayed above the still waters that shimmered though no sunlight gleamed beneath the ground.
No, don't call her now.
"Great Mother," one called. "We stand before your pool and ask for your guidance! We have finished, Great Mother. Is there more you wish of us?"
The pool condensed and exploded as the laughter of the Great Fairy filled the room. "Wonderful my little darlings! Wonderful!"
The sight of her made Navi's skin prickle. But what could she do? She dared not tinker with the wards with her nearby. Just look small, and don't draw attention to yourself.
"Is there more you desire, Great Mother?"
"Oh, there is so much more work to do! The western wing, beneath the roots of the cherry trees. We don't want anyone uprooting the trees to make their own entrance, do we? No. No. No! Then after you've finished there, you should practice your own spellcraft. Illusions, I think, would be best. Of yes. What fun we shall have when they arrive! Turning one against the other. What fun!" The Great Fairy giggled and clutched at her stomach, writhing in overabundant mirth. "Ahh-haha! Go my darlings! Go!"
The three fairies flew through the tunnel to the west. Navi stared at the Great Fairy. Please return to your pond. No need to stay, no need to watch me.
But fortune, as ever, was not her friend. The Great Fairy did not return to her waters, instead her eyes landed on Navi and her smile widened.
"My darling!" she beckoned for Navi to draw close.
"Yes? Great Mother?" Navi squeaked. That was it, she was discovered. She would never stand against her mind and power in full.
"Come along, my darling. Don't be such a pout." The Great Mother extended her long arms, that seemed to grow wider until they filled up half the grotto.
Navi forced herself to smile and flew to her captor, hoping no one could hear the pounding of her heart. "I'm sorry, Great Mother. I did not intend to sulk."
"All is forgiven, darling. Think nothing of it, but when I say come what must you do?"
"I will come, Great Mother. I was just so excited to be brought to your presence."
"Of course you are, darling. Of course you are! Now, how are you feeling? Boshi has been telling me that you have had some trouble sleeping?"
"Just some foul dreams, nothing you need burden yourself with."
"Foul dreams? What could possibly cause foul dreams in my domain?"
Dreams of being forced to live a life that is not mine. Dreams of a cave I can never escape. Dreams of you, and your maddening voice. Dreams of never seeing the children again. "Oh, I can't even say, Great Mother. Just a sense of foreboding." Navi made her eyes go wide. "You don't think it is… a premonition, do you? I've heard that some fairies get them."
"Oh, my little sweetling, only the wisest and most powerful of fairies get premonitions. Me and my sisters had them on occasion. One such as you? I can't possibly imagine." She laughed and all the fairies in the room joined their voices to hers. Their condescending cackling echoed through the grotto so even the walls seemed to mock Navi. She tried to laugh with them, but it caught in her throat and turned into a pained wheeze. Did it look natural? Please it it be convincing.
"Well, maybe not a premonition." No, why am I still talking? "But we all are preparing for some attack, aren't we? There's some danger coming for us."
"Oh, my precious little one," the Great Fairy managed to contain her gale until it was little more than a giggle. "You must be so worried about this little nonsense. Think nothing of it, my darling. Nothing at all to make you fret. Some outsiders are coming, and they will be repelled. Have no worry. No worry at all."
"Perhaps," Navi stopped. Would pushing for more information reveal herself? She couldn't risk it. "No, I am sorry Great Mother, I did not mean to impose."
But her tormentor did not dismiss her. "You are imposing nothing my child. Ask me, ask me anything at all. In fact, I command that you ask me precisely what you wish to know."
Pressure bore down against her skull, compelling her through those simple words. She wanted to know how she could leave. She wanted to know where to find Link. She wanted to know how to free herself.
I will leave when the princess returns for me. I will find Link on the path to the stones. I will free myself. I have my answers.
"You are so kind, Great Mother. Perhaps, I would feel - we will all feel - more comfortable if I knew what these outsiders want. If I had some idea why they were attacking us. I know I am not the only one here who wonders why they are coming."
"Oh, how silly of me," the Great Fairy flew away from Navi. "I have told you, have I? No, no I suppose I have not. Be not afraid, my child, the outsiders are not after you. No, they will never take my children away from me."
I am not your child.
"They are after this." She waved her hand over her chest. From the tangle of vines and budding plants she wore she plucked a small green flower.
"What is it?" Navi asked, though she well knew. But she could play the part of a fool.
"Something very precious, little darling, and very powerful. But do not worry your tiny little head," the Great Fairy let go of the bud. Instead of falling it twisted back into place among the vines. "These vile outsiders will never have it!"
A chorus of support came from around the room. This time Navi matched their voices with her own seamlessly. But her eyes never wavered from the small budding flower. Green with a tint of white around the edges, on her chest, but close to her right shoulder.
"Thank you, Great Mother." Navi bowed her head. "That is such a relief. And hopefully, will bring the end of these dreams."
"Think nothing of it, darling." The Great Fairy smiled as she started to sink back into the water. "But if you remember anything more vivid in your dreams, do come talk to me. I so enjoy speaking to you. Or if not me, tell dear Boshi. He does worry so about you, if you open up to him I know you two will grow all the closer."
"I will, of course I will, Great Mother."
And in a gale of laughter, she disappeared beneath the waters. Leaving only Navi flying above the center of the pool, as the rest of the fairies returned to their work. "Well," she said to herself, finding the words of the Great Deku Tree coming to her. "Now return to thy duties. For there is no higher blessing than performing labor out of love."
She returned to the edge of the room and gazed upon the weave of the Great Fairy's spellcraft. Navi's head still ached from the pressure of her. But she was gone, and none of her minions looked over Navi's shoulder. With a deep breath to steady herself, Navi read through more of the wards.
There! One swirled with a verdant crackling energy. This was a spell of power, and one that Navi had never seen before. Her eyes followed the line down, it snaked across the floor and led into the fountain itself. This wasn't an illusion, or some enchantment designed to stave off the weak. This spell bolstered the Great Fairy herself, one she could call upon in a time of need.
Exactly the kind of ward she sought.
Navi pressed her hand against the spell, forcing all her will into her fingers and slid them across the glowing lines. The power severed. The swirling magic shriveled up on itself, until the green streak of light disappeared.
Had anyone noticed? Her stomach fell as Navi glanced around the wide grotto filled with fairies. She should have checked before she shattered the spell. How reckless could she be? Even Link would have more sense than that.
But no one looked at her. All the fairies continued their arts of strengthening the wards or chattering amongst themselves. She let out a nervous quivering giggle. Her arm shook. But it worked, one of the major wards of protection was gone. And the Great Mother had not taken her mind. I can do this. I can help.
She flew to the next ward and the next, empowering the weak and when she knew she was safe she severed the strong. Each time her fingers brushed across a spell she could not tell if she was terrified or excited. Whatever the emotion, she would not let it control her. Stay focused, stay cautious, and only deplete the magic when she knew no one was looking.
When she came to another of the great spells, she took a moment to study it. Trying to piece together how this one worked. Definitely strong enough to hinder the princess, but how? It wasn't her usual tricks of illusions or domination of the mind. It had something to do with fire, but more complex than setting a simple blaze. This flame would reach out from the Fountain, for miles. But where would it go?
"And what are you working on?" a quiet voice came from behind Navi.
She spun around. "What?" she squeaked, before she forced herself into that vapid smile. It took a moment to recognize who spoke to her. "Telti! Why Telti, it has been so long. What has happened to you?"
The pink fairy had a haggard look about her, half-starved with shrunken cheeks and bags under her eyes. She flew to Navi and leaned forward, her expression grim, like a haunted sprite. Navi had to stifle a fearful chill down her spine. Did she know? Navi hadn't severed the spell yet, how could she know? Had she watched her destroy one of the others?
"So," Telti said. "You know who I am."
"Of course. We've been friends all our lives. I-" Navi paused. What had been her relationship with Telti? What false memories did the Great Fairy implant in her? She could let down her guard and let the flood of lies fill her mind. But what if she could not claw her way back out? The wards would be prepared, and Zelda would arrive into a trap. No, she needed something else. "I have not seen you in some weeks. I was worried about you."
"Were you?" Telti cocked her head to the side. "I did not know you cared."
"Of course, I care about all my brothers and sisters."
"Hmm," Telti finally pulled away from her, and flew about the wall, gazing critically at the ward. "Powerful magic you're working with."
"Yes." Navi did not know what else to say. Best to be simple, not give anything away. Is this how Telti normally acted?
"It's strange," Telti said. "I've spent almost a century enforcing the Great Mother's works. They've kept me and my siblings safe and secure here. I thought they'd protect me above, as long as I didn't stray too far. I've always been told they would. And all our enemy needed was a glass bottle to take me. He'd enforced it with magic, I could tell. But not from a fae, something darker and stronger than even the Great Mother. I couldn't read it, I didn't understand how it worked. Perhaps if I studied it for months, I could interact with it. But I thought I'd be dead long before I figured out a way to free myself."
"I'm so sorry Telti, that's horrifying. I had no idea. How did you get out?"
"I had help," Telti said. "But I was at the very top of a mountain. I had never been that far from home and knew of no source of magic to sustain me as I returned. I was so hungry. You must have felt the same when you- Hmm. I thought I was going to starve. I nearly did. And yet, I still cast a spell to help a dying Hylian. Tell me, Navi, why would I do that?"
"I don't know," Navi said. "I don't think the Great Mother would like you helping out Hylians."
Telti snorted. "No, I don't think she would. We'll just have to make that our little secret, won't we?"
"I-" What was she supposed to say to that? Would it be better for her to run to the Great Mother and say what Telti told her? Was this some kind of test? But what if Telti is telling the truth? She looks as if she had just struggled for her life. In the end, Navi plastered that vapid grin back on her face. "Of course, anything for a friend. I'm just glad you're back and safe."
"Thank you, Navi. It's surprising, even if I know your words don't mean anything, it's nice hearing you say that."
It had to be some kind of trick. How would someone who has no idea what she's talking about respond to this? "Why would it mean nothing? You're confusing me, Telti."
The small pink fairy took flight again and drew even closer than she had been before. Navi fluttered back, trying to get some space, but Telti pursued. Always so close that Navi could see the bloodshot lines on the corner of her eyes, more, the dark empty well that stood behind them.
Just get it over with! Navi wanted to scream. Tell the Great Mother, denounce me! I don't care just do something! But the pink fairy only stared, and Navi forced her smile to remain.
"Oh," Telti finally said as she drew back. Giving Navi the space to finally breathe. "And I have a message for you."
Navi gave Telti her most confused look, it was not hard. As for the first time in what felt like weeks, her expression was genuine.
"The Hylian boy, he hopes you are happy."
Link? Was Link the one Hylian she saved? Or was he involved with her escape somehow? Was he still alive? What did Telti know? Where was he now? Was he still on the Mountain? Could she get to him? All those questions raced through her mind chased by a hundred more. She needed to get out.
"I'm sorry Telti," she said with proper and practiced poise. "But I have no idea what you're talking about. You're worrying me, with all this talk of Hylians. Perhaps you should go speak to the Great Mother yourself. You sound confused."
Telti grinned. "Maybe I am. Thanks for your kindness, Navi. I'll leave you to your work."
Navi watched the fairy fly away, deeper into the tunnels. But she did not call the Great Mother, she did not order the other fairies to attack her. Navi felt the tension release from her chest, leaving her gasping for a clear breath. She'd made it. Turning back to the wall, Navi pressed her hand against the ward of fire and severed it.