Chapter 79: A Promise Fulfilled

The ocarina had returned. She could feel the lingering presence of the Great Deku Tree, even through the door and all Rauru's enchantments. The portal had reopened, and someone had come out.

Link.

It had to be him.

Navi flew to the door. But what if she was wrong? Her breath came out unsteady. What if someone else entered the Sacred Realm and took the ocarina for another purpose? She'd lost count of how many people had come and gone while locked in this vault. Many had powerful magic with them. Perhaps it was not even the ocarina. It had been so long since her father's death, so long since she sensed any part of him that did not come from her own spells.

Her hands went to her head. She flew back and forth, rocking and shaking. A trick, it had to be a trick. She had to be wary, just as Rauru commanded her.

But what if it wasn't? What if it was true?

"Come on, he's here!" A voice came from the other side. "Open. Open!"

"No, no, no," she whispered. That wasn't him. That wasn't his voice. This one sounded like grime and damp sludge on the forest floor. It was a voice that could not be trusted. She couldn't open the door for him. She wouldn't.

What if it was Ganondorf returned? Or those two that followed him? The pair that felt fouler than anything locked inside with her.

They could not take these treasures. She would keep them safe from evil hands forever if she needed to.

Forever.

She groaned. What if she was wrong? What if Link did stand outside?

Forever was so long. How could she last, stuck beneath stones that seemed to press closer and closer every day? If there were even days anymore. Here time did not span days and nights but drifted endlessly, never changing, never stopping, unceasing, uncaring, and empty. She hated this timeless hole without the shadows of trees, the smell of grass, and the touch of soil. Without even the laughter of her children.

Only the magic lasted. Even after her time supping upon it, much remained. The artifacts that shared her prison could keep her going for many years to come before she drained them. And once that happened, she could undo all the spells she'd laid across every inch of the room. She could live in this cell for so much longer.

But would she last?

No.

Even if it was only her desires preying upon her, the thought that Link stood just outside gripped her. Her boy, alone, waiting for her to open the door. And if he wasn't, then what? Would she spend the rest of her days stuck within these walls? Doomed to never again see anything but the pressing stones? Unthinkable.

She needed to breathe. When had it become so hard to breathe?

And if it was a trick, her years had not been idle. It would take only a thought, a single spark, to set her spells alight and let fire fill the room. Just as Rauru asked, no one would get their hands on these artifacts. It likely would also mean her end. But she could not stay here a moment longer.

She had waited so long, so painfully long.

Please be Link. Please.

She flew toward the voice and pressed her palm against the door. A single touch was all it took for Rauru's works to fall away. Seal and ward all shattered; their magic dispersed, tumbling upon each other, cascading until nothing remained. The priest had been a master of the craft, but now his last work was gone.

The door opened.

"Link," her throat ached as she called. "Is that you?"

Light from outside entered her prison. Painful. Blinding. Air came a moment later, chilled, and fresh. She squinted through the pain of the light and saw the shape of a man.

He stood at the doorway with a grin so wide it looked painful. It stretched and deformed his face, forcing his eyes into a sinister squint. She'd been tricked. Every part of Navi screamed to her that this man was no friend, that he could not be trusted.

He let out a burst of a chittering laugh. "May I come in?"

"No." She shut her eyes and called upon the heat of flame. I'm sorry, Link. I couldn't wait any longer.

Something slammed into the door.

When Navi looked, a young man with dirty blond hair leaned on the door. He breathed hard as he pushed himself ahead of the smiling one. His legs moved in a stumbling jumble, as though he could not remember how to use them. Lurching forward, he near tripped on the smooth stones.

"Navi!" The man said.

She dispersed the flame. "Link?"

He had grown so tall. The child had become a man, but he had the same eyes and the smile she remembered so well. She flew to him, only stopping when she touched his forehead.

"It's you," she whispered, not believing what she was saying.

"I thought you were dead," Link said, his voice breaking into a sob. "He told me he killed you."

"I'm here, I was always here. I promised I wouldn't leave you again. Not for all the world. I promised."

"Beauty and painful sorrows end once family is reunited. I do so love the demonstration of the powerful bonds of fidelity. However, the two of you are in the way. And we are pressed for time, I'm afraid."

Link turned his head to look behind them, forcing Navi to flutter back. Another strange companion had joined the smiling man. The second hid his face beneath a shroud and cloth mask so that all Navi could see were his piercing red eyes that roamed over the room.

"Who are these two?"

"I have no idea," Link said. "But I think they helped free me."

"There will be time for introductions later," the shrouded man said, "we must hurry."

"Of course," Navi said. As they moved aside, Link raised his hand for Navi to land on, then brought it to his shoulder. She climbed onto him and sat down.

The newcomers went around the room scavenging everything that remained. The shrouded man took a bag from his shoulder and dumped its contents out. "If I knew this was still here, I would have brought more bags." He muttered as he began filling his with relics. Few still held any power; only a couple of wands, a great curved horn, the silver bow, and some of the arrows that went with it. The man seemed to know which held magic and which did not, as he avoided all others as he worked. Once the enchanted equipment was tucked away, he went to the books and scrolls. "I can't take them all," he said. "Link, can you carry some of these?"

"I think so," Link lumbered to the man.

"He can barely walk," Navi objected.

"I can still hold things."

"Give him something small."

"I can still lift heavy things. Give me that horn, it looked big."

"You'll hurt yourself."

"Hylia's crown, stop it. Here," the man fished out the wands and handed them to Link. "Try not to land on them if you fall."

"I won't," Link said.

The man went to a set of scrolls that Navi knew from before her imprisonment, the set Link and she climbed a tower to obtain. He placed them with delicate care, then looked at all the other books and scrolls that still lined the shelf or stood on pedestals.

"I don't think it will all fit," Link said.

"Really?" The man said. "Thank you for that insight. I never would have realized."

"It's only- never mind."

"We can't leave it here," the man said.

"I know," Navi said. "The priest who once protected this place told me they could not fall into enemy hands. He gave me instructions to make certain that never happened."

The man's eyes narrowed. "No. You can't. The knowledge within this place is too valuable. If you destroy it, it will be gone forever."

"It's either that or let the Gerudo have it," Link said. "The enemy are still the Gerudo, aren't they?"

"Yes," the man hissed. "Be quiet a moment and let me think." He paced along the room, touching each of the books and scrolls, reading over each of their titles. "Time," he said, "I need more time." Then with a flick of the wrist, a dagger appeared in his hand. He opened the largest book and cut the pages free from their bindings. He put the stack of papers into the bag, then went to the next book and did the same. By the third, the bag looked full, yet he cut out the pages of another book and shoved them inside.

"You're going to rip some of the pages," Link said.

"Better than destroying them." The man forced the bag to close. "Salesman, can you... what are you doing?"

The man with the creepy smile stood in a corner with his back to the rest of them. He had not moved in some time. When he turned to face them, she saw he had been crying. His hands gripped what had once been the most tainted relic stored in the vault.

"Why?" his voice was feeble and pleading. His fingers pressed into the painted surface of the heart-shaped mask, leaving streaking scratches along its front. Its wide orange eyes which screeched with madness whenever Navi looked upon it now remained silent. "Why?" he repeated.

His gaze found Navi, perched upon Link's shoulder. "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

"I-" Navi tried to explain, but before she could say more the man raised the mask and slammed it onto the ground, causing one of the spikes along its edge to break.

"What am I going to do?" He yelled before hunching over and clutching his head. He pulled his hair so tight Navi feared he would tear it free from his scalp. "There's no way out." The sadness drained from him, replaced with a fearsome scowl. The light from the hall left shadows across his face in deep black lines that turned his anger into a feral glare. With a howl, he charged at her from across the room. His hands outstretched, reaching, grasping, ready to crush her in his grip.

Steel slipped from leather and Link raised a sword. Light caught it, and the blade seemed to glow with a fire all its own. The point pressed against the madman's chest.

Navi yelped.

But the man had sense enough not to skewer himself. "It's empty. Why is it empty?"

"I needed it to survive."

"Why my mask? Of all the things for you to feast upon, why have you destroyed my precious mask?"

"Salesman, step back. Breathe in, breathe out. We can-"

"That is your suggestion; you entitled whelp? That I should breathe? Do you know what I've sacrificed? Do you have the faintest idea what she's stolen from me?"

"You should listen to your partner," Link said, though he did not sound like her boy. His voice had an edge, a threat he never would have carried as a child. "If you go for Navi again, I will test this sword of mine."

The man looked from Navi to Link and the shrouded man, and last to the sword that pressed upon his breast. "None of you understand," he moaned. "None of you know what it is like to be held from your home, to be locked away in some strange place. To be... to be..."

"Alone," Navi said. She flew from Link to the man. "I know."

A sob escaped him and then he crumpled in on himself, falling to his knees. Navi reached out and touched his cheek. There was madness within him, there was hate. But it was not born from wicked delights or evil desires. He was an animal, caged and taken from his home, forced to wander a land that made no sense to him. He hid behind a smile he did not feel to walk among these strange people.

"Link, put your sword away."

"What if he goes for you, again?"

"He won't. Help him up."

Link grumbled but did as he was told.

"We need to leave," the shrouded man said. "We've been down here too long as is."

"Help the man outside. I'll be right behind you."

Link and the shrouded man led the other out of the room. Though, Navi was uncertain how much assistance Link provided as he stumbled with his own feet.

When they were all safe and away, Navi began calling forth a spark. She gave one last look over the prison that held her for so many years. "Rest easy, Rauru. And thank you, for all you did." She released the spell. The lines of enchantments she cast upon the floor caught first. They spread to the walls, then the shelves that held the books that did not fit within the masked man's bag. Soon even the walls caught the conflagration, eating even the residue of what magic remained inside. So many days spent within this cheerless cell she'd dreamt of setting it all aflame. But now that she was free of it, she found no joy. It had kept her safe. She would miss this place, despite everything.

When the smoke came too much to bear, she flew after her companions. She met them at the top of the stairs. Link and the shrouded man looked much the same, but the other now carried a filled pack with masks hanging from it. He no longer smiled nor sobbed, but stared, as empty and broken as the heart-shaped mask. When she landed on Link the group continued into the ruined temple. They spent no time in mourning, though she and Link shared sorrowful glances.

When they left the building, the one called the salesman stopped. "Here I take my leave of you."

"Where will you go?" The shrouded man asked.

"Does it matter? You will not see me again," he sneered. "This place does not deserve my happiness."

"Goodman," Navi called as he turned to leave.

"What?"

"I know this place is strange, and the people are big, and they can be selfish. But there is good here, too, and beauty and kindness. You can find belonging, if you seek it."

He shook his head. "Goodbye, gentlefairy. I think I would have enjoyed meeting you under different circumstances. As to the young heroes, good luck. You'll need it."

"Thank you, Salesman. We would still be lost without you."

The merchant departed, slipping into the dark. Once he'd gone, the shrouded man led them through the barren city. They traveled through dark side streets and tight pathways. But when they reached a clearing where the buildings were far enough apart to see, Link stopped. He pointed up toward the walls before he turned and smiled at Navi.

The sun was rising.