Auru was gesturing for Link to follow him onto the large, frozen pond that sprawled across their path. The pale winter sun peeped out behind grey clouds, casting the frozen woods and the two boys in a clear, cold light.
Walking uneasily out onto the ice, Link tried to stay on the patches of snow to give him some traction. Looking up at Auru's smiling, freckled face, he said, "I don't know if going this far is a good idea."
"Oh come on. If we keep going, we're sure to find a fairy fountain. Don't you want to see a fairy again? I read all that Purel has about fairies, but I'm sure that it's nothing to actually seeing it!"
"I guess—"
Link froze, hearing a loud cracking noise. The ice beneath his feet seemed to move on its own. He and Auru both looked down. The ice underneath his feet was riddled with small, spreading cracks.
Desperately he looked back up, but did not move, his seven year old body paralyzed. He had never even been on any frozen body of water before. After all, Zora's River never froze over fully, and his association with ice was limited to puddles and the floes that came down from the waterfalls in late winter.
Now he looked up at Auru, and his friend's three years of seniority was suddenly very important. They were usually equals when it came to their boyhood friendship; their time was just spent playing, hunting, and studying, each seeing the other as equal competition. But now, Link resisted panic and looked desperately to Auru. Last year, he had been gutsy enough to cross the river one morning when it was half-way frozen. The entire village had watched, shouting at him, anxious as he almost slipped or fell to his death several times, yet managed to reach the other shore safely.
Yet at the moment Auru only stared, his young brain trying to figure a way out of the situation. Link tried to step away from the cracks, but the moment he shifted his weight the ice rumbled. It moved again, sliding apart, almost pitching him off-balance.
"D-don't move," Auru said, his voice low, shaking. His face was pale with a fear that was perhaps greater than Link's, but his movements were steady as he slowly eased out towards his young friend. Slowly he pulled out a rope.
Beneath Link the ice cracked again, shifting, sinking; he could see flowing water underneath the ice and snow. Looking down, he held his breath, not daring to even blink.
Before he looked back up, Auru had thrown a lasso around him. Tightening it hastily, Auru yanked Link forward off his feet, both of them falling back on the cold, solid ice. Link hastily scuttled away onto the solid ground, pulling Auru along, even though they were safe.
Auru was grinning, laughing in relief as he got up, saying, "See! We're fine!"
Link gulped. "When we go back, let's go back a different way."
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, good idea. But we've still got a lot of time. Let's keep going!"
Link only nodded, and followed Auru. Their bodies were still trembling with fear and the thrill of escaping danger, but they continued on with little stumbling and no stopping.
They spent the rest of the day going deeper into the dark, cold winter woods. Once they reached a small clearing dusted with snow. There were several large rocks and wide frozen puddles of water. Around here they searched, lifting up the cold rocks together with their red, freezing hands. There were no signs of any hidden holes that fairies would live in. They did find a snake hole around noon, and Link managed to flush the snake out and kill it. Hurriedly they cooked it for lunch, and despite Auru's complaints he ate it readily. Link was not at all finicky, while Auru was always the first to complain about anything strange, new or something that was just not his favorite; however he still had enough sense to eat whatever came his way.
As they finally began to head home in the twilight winter woods, Link shivered underneath his small cloak that was wrapped around his shoulders and arms. It had been a long winter, and with a younger sister and two elderly parents, he had often eaten less. When it came to eating the midwinter feast, Link was known by the other children as the runt who was easy to steal from, though this was mainly done by Bolek, who was incredible at hogging food. Link never complained to any of the adults, though he always put up a fruitless fight.
As they walked back in the darkening woods, Auru stopped and pulled out something from his small bag on his back. Link gasped to see the old village lantern, lit as always.
"How did it not get your pack all hot? Or burnt?" he asked, standing close to Auru, looking in awe at the lantern. He had never seen it this close before.
"It's not hot. It's definitely magic!" Auru put his hand right on the glass of the lantern. "See? It's fine."
Link slowly reached out and touched the lantern gingerly with his fingertips. The glass was slightly warm, but was certainly not at all hot. He drew his hand back readily, unsure what to think of this mysterious thing.
Auru, talkative as always, held the lantern aloft as they continued and chattered about all the magic he had ever read about. Link listened, once again feeling guilty for not keeping up with his reading. He was literate, but was not nearly as good as Auru. Bolek was not exactly studious, but he kept ahead of Link by a little out of what seemed to be sheer spite.
They kept walking, and the woods were silent, extremely peaceful. There were a few snowflakes falling, but that was the only sign of movement. Auru's voice was the only noise, other than the frozen ground and the snow crunching beneath their feet.
With a jolt, Link stopped. He realized he remembered all of this, the woods, the walk, the near-accident with the pond. All of this had happened before.
This was a dream.
And they were approaching a steep ravine. Auru was still walking, not noticing where he was going. Link gave a warning shout, reaching out to grab him.
It was too late. He slipped, stepping and falling right down the ravine. The last sound was the sound of his startled cry.
Link woke up with a jolt, sitting up in bed. Immediately the cold air snapped at him, and he pulled his blanket up close to his chin. He was in his quarters in the castle that the knights were letting him use; the small stone room was lit dimly by the single candle above him, hanging from the ceiling.
He became aware of a groaning noise, both above him and beside him.
Looking around, he saw Auru sitting up in his own wooden bed. He was facing away, his head down in his hands, leaning over as if he was in pain.
Link turned in his bed, aware again of the faint, powerful groaning above their heads as he faintly called, "Are you sick?"
Auru jumped, looking around. His eyes were wide and tired, yet there was no fog of sleep in them. In his hands was the leather pouch that had the engagement necklace inside. He quickly put it into his pocket.
"Link, you're awake." He sighed. "Did I wake you? Sorry."
Shaking his head, Link asked again, "Are you sick?"
"No, I…" He ran his hand down the side of his face wearily. "It was a dream. Actually, I…" He turned around in bed, facing him. "It's nothing."
Link frowned, and hesitated before asking, "You aren't sick? Was it the dream?"
Auru shook his head again. "No, not really. It's nothing."
Link gulped, noticing just how pale his friend looked. "Was it an unlucky dream? Purel always said you need to talk about those or it'll−"
"Yeah, yeah." Auru ran his hand over his mouth. "Alright. It was strange." He shook his head. "I've had this kind of dream before. But it was different this time. I don't know why or how, but this was just strange. I…" He cleared his throat before continuing, "In the dream, well, it's dark all around. But then there are these stars above me, and there are these voices too, and the more I answer them, this line appears of light, like the sun on the field, and the more I talk the lighter it gets. But the voices, I didn't understand them before. But I could this time, I could."
Auru did not say anything else. Link sucked in his breath, unsure what to do. Suddenly, the moaning from above became louder, and he realized it was the wind.
Frowning, he looked up at the ceiling. "Wasn't the weather supposed to be clear after the Magician's cast that storm away?"
"You're right." Auru slowly stood up, also looking at the ceiling. "Maybe we should do something, or tell someone, or something."
Link, who was still fully dressed in his day clothes, hurriedly tugged on his boots and pulled on his hat. Auru was pulling on his normal shirts when they heard the distinct sound of glass crashing. They both froze at the sound. Link dashed over and grabbed his sword, forgetting his shield. Hurried over and opened the door, not bothering to look out before walking right into the hallway. Out of habit, he closed the door behind him, though Auru was still getting ready to follow him, pulling on his last day shirt.
The halls were empty, dark save for the torches on the walls. Now the only sounds were the faint noises of the knights in the other rooms, some snoring loudly, others waking up, muttering and talking to each other. Yet no one was coming out into the hall, and the moaning noise grew louder with each passing moment.
Auru stepped out of the room and walked beside him as they silently headed towards the stairs that led up to the first level of the castle. The first window they reached showed that it was still night outside. All the clouds were indeed gone, but the wind was strong, blowing the snow and ice shards all around in the moonlight. The moon itself was not visible from where they were, facing the south. They hurried through the castle, dark save for the lanterns and torches lighting the way, and when they came to a window facing the west, Link looked to see the moon was nearing the black mountains.
"The sun is bound to rise in just a few hours," Auru whispered as they went along.
They turned a corner and faced the dark silhouette of a fat, muscular man about Link's height. Coming to an immediate halt, they both stared. The man did not move or speak. Link tensed, ready to draw his sword, but noticed the top of the man's head was pointed and his arms were inhumanly long.
"Dolo?" Auru asked, also recognizing the tell-tale signs of the Goron.
Starting a little, he turned around and walked into the moonlight from the single, large window in that short hallway. Dolo was rubbing his eyes, which looked tired and yet not drowsy.
"What are you two doing up?" Dolo asked, his voice sounding unusually mellow.
"We heard the wind and it sounded like someone had broken a window," Auru answered readily. "You haven't seen anything like that, have you?"
Dolo shrugged. "No. Maybe you dreamed it. Hylians dream, right?"
"It wasn't a dream, we both heard it," Link answered.
"Gorons don't dream?" Auru asked, looking curious and intrigued, almost all of the weariness gone from his voice and face.
"Usually not." Dolo frowned deeply. "Though, I had one that woke me up this morning. There were these voices, and fire everywhere when I talked to them−"
The window between them was cast by a great shadow, nearly blotting out all light. Link instinctively drew his sword, jumping back, Auru and Dolo both backing away slowly, staring. At the window, peering in, was what looked like a short man, covered in long black cloaks, even over his head. In place of his mouth and nose was an ivory beak, which also spread up and masked around his eyes and forehead, reminding Link of Purel's books on masked Plague Doctors from the distant southern lands.
One look at the eyes and Link realized that this was no man, but a monster: the eyes were luminous, like a cat's in the light, except they had no pupils and were instead just pure, glaring red.
Dolo was swearing under his breath and Auru had grabbed onto Link's arm, his hands shaking, and he was muttering, "It's a monster, what's it doing here? A monster, here…"
Its beak opened and it let out a barking shriek. It rushed past them, filling their ears, echoing off and down the dark halls. Link readied himself, expecting the creature to break the window and attack. However, it jumped back and away from them, disappearing into thin air.
Down the hall was the sound of windows shattering, glass falling onto the ground. There was the rough sound of heavy stomping, clattering of steel on stone, and the sound of many voices. Dolo began to hurry down the hallway, away from where they had come, ignoring Link shouting after him.
"Should we follow him?" Auru put out the question even as they began to run.
"At least until the knights come out," Link said, keeping his gaze open and around all.
As they caught up with Dolo, they were hurrying into a large front hall. They could hear the sound of scuffling and fighting ahead, knights shouting and unearthly, inhuman barks and growling. They stopped, pausing to listen, Dolo slowly backing away. The corner ahead was empty save for the noise.
The sound of the knights died. One was thrown into their hallway, hitting against the wall. Blood smeared down as he fell to the ground, not moving.
Monsters came around the corner, stomping, hurrying noisily in the dark, clubs in their hands.
They were Bokoblins, all a little taller than Link. Their rough, dark red skin looked pale in the darkness. They had wide mouths with sharp teeth, short pug-like noses and deep, small round yellow eyes that reflected the moonlight. They were bald, and had crude helmets, some made of animal skulls, pulled over their bare, flat heads and their wrinkly ears looked like shriveled lettuce. They had shrunken chests, with small pot bellies and thin, though still muscular limbs. They had no shirts, but belts and short pants that were so ancient they looked like garbage. Their large feet had old leather wrapped around them, and their enormous, thin hands bore crude clubs, some of which had uneven spikes. Some of these clubs were dripping with blood.
Grunting and barking at each other, they were loping into the hall, easily ten in number. One, bigger and less unhealthy and sallow-looking than the others, gave a low cry, pointing at them. Immediately the others also shouted out, as if in response, and the sound sent chills down Link's spine. They rushed towards them, their clubs raised.
Dolo immediately curled up and rolled away quickly, leaving the floor torn and ruined. Link and Auru ran after him, hurrying as fast as they could over the strewn, uneven stone. Out of the corner of his eye, Link could tell the monsters were gaining. Looking back, he saw that only one was at hand; the Bokoblins all seemed to be running at different speeds. Some were limping, while others were bearing their heavy weapons with difficultly.
"Auru, keep going!" Link turned around, facing the first Bokoblin. It raised its club and he immediately lunged out, piercing its unprotected side. The monster began to collapse to the side, but he hit it in the side of its chest with the flat of his blade, sending it flying back onto the Bokoblin running up from behind. Startled, it fell to the ground, upon which Link rushed forward and stuck his sword down, slicing through its neck.
He looked up and lifted his sword just in time as the next Bokoblin brought his club down. The heavy weapon made his blade nearly quaver and his wrist hurt with the weight and direct shock of the blow. The Bokoblin drew back with an effort, and Link stumbled backwards, making ground between them, his hand and arm stunned, throbbing.
The Bokoblin lunged again, literally jumping at him, bringing its club in a full arc over its head, thrusting all of its weight into the movement. Instinctively Link rolled to the side and the Bokoblin's club collided with the ground and the monster lost its balance. Link quickly thrust his sword into its side, neatly between its ribs, visible underneath its sick, stretched skin. It collapsed, and two more monsters lunged forth in its place. Link stood up, ready, watching their movements.
There was a loud cracking sound behind him. The Bokoblins halted for a moment, giving Link enough time to turn and run again. The cracking sound came again, down the hallways. He could hear someone shouting, maybe screaming. He ran towards the sound, a sick, cold feeling creeping upon him, though he did not stop. He came to a stairwell, and the rivets that Dolo had mad in the floor vanished.
There was an unmistakable cry of pain, echoing down the stairs towards him. Tightening his grip on his sword's hilt, he raced up the stairs two at a time and turned the corner.
He ran right into a stone wall, bouncing off. Rubbing his jaw, he looked up to see he had not run into a wall, but a Goron. It was Durmuni.
Without a word, Durmuni looked Link over quickly, his eyes lingering on his sword, and then began to hurry away down the hall towards where the cracking sound was still coming. There were no more screams or shouts. Link followed him; they passed a ravaged body of a solitary knight, whom Link did not recognize. All the windows they passed were shattered, and they ran right over a few dead Bokoblins who looked as though they had been ground to into the floor and crushed.
They came to the end of the hall, a circular, open, pure stone area. There were long, thick banners hanging down between numerous tall windows, all smashed open, letting in a cold wind. Outside amongst the dark were close, flickering lights and movements. The sound of battle, steel, shouts, grunts and barks, came from the darkness, along with the torches of the knights.
"They're all outside."
Link and Durmuni turned to see, uncurling from the shadows behind one of the long banners, Dolo. He did not step out into the light. "They're in the castle courtyard, but they're running−"
"Why are you cowering back there?!" Durmuni's voice was louder than Link had ever heard it; its loud angry, exhilarated tone seemed to fill all the air. "Let us aid them this instant!"
"You don't get it." Dolo shook his head; his voice sounded pitifully small and feeble. "There's something weird about this. That Wizzrobe, it paralyzed me. It was trying to capture me! Why would it do that?!"
Link looked around the dark room, then asked, "Where's Auru? Did he catch up to you?"
"Yes, yes! I stopped and let him catch up to me. I knew he would be in trouble on his own. We ran up here and I−"
"Enough with your yammering!" Durmini snapped. "Where is the man now?"
"The monsters…" Dolo shuddered, then pointed at the window nearest him. "They broke his arm when he fought, and took him with them."
Link stared at Dolo, who did not say any more, but just looked down at the floor. Sheathing his sword, he turned and ran towards the window. It was just out of his reach, so he ran straight towards the wall and jumped onto and off of the wall, pushing off and propelling himself just high enough to grab onto the ledge. He used the momentum to swing his body up, ignoring the remaining shards of glass.
Severe winds buffeted him, almost sending him flying; he leaned down, clinging to the sill. When there was a second's break in the wind's currents, he jumped off the sill, rolling in the snow to soften the impact, and smoothly coming to stand on his feet.
The courtyard was largely deserted, but crowded with the signs of battle: glass, broken armor and weapons, general garbage and blood were strewn about. There were no bodies of knights, though several monsters lay dead.
The knights were at the gate, the large southern gate, chasing the rest of the monsters out into the castle grounds. Link dashed after them and kept away from the knights, who were bunched together at the end of the drawbridge and sidled along the gate wall in the dark. The minute he was out above the frozen moat, on the drawbridge, he jumped away from the knights and onto the ice, hurrying on the snowy patches and into the field, following one of the paths that a Bokoblin made through the high snow.
Eventually he reached a snow-covered fence and stood upon it. The wind had settled, so he easily crouched down on the fence, quickly looking around all the castle grounds.
The knights were still crowded by the gate and the drawbridge. They made a racket, but did not move to chase the monsters. All of the Bokoblins were either slain by the gate or were running away in the grounds. Strangely, they did not head towards the gate of the city, but instead made for the tall hill in the middle of the grounds. Squinting, Link could see a cold shaft of light on the hill's summit, like a small, tall, pale fire that did not flicker or dance. Two short, dark shapes flanked the light.
He stepped off of the fence and hurried cautiously towards the light, keeping low. Eventually he branched off from the paths left by the Bokoblins and headed a different way towards the middle hill, giving the monsters a fair berth, staying out of their sight. As he neared the light, he saw beaks on the two dark figures standing by it. Within a stone throw of the hill, he saw red eyes shining out from the figures and realized they were the same monsters as the one in the window.
Now he was as close to the light as the Bokoblins, at the foot of the hill. Hurrying along in the dark at a distance, he watched the monsters. The moon was closer to setting, but it still shone down freely, clearly, and he could easily make out their figures, heights and shapes. Their clubs and strange hats sometimes distorted their appearance in the dark, making them look more frightening and larger than they actually were, but he could always tell they were monsters and not men.
Then, he spotted a different shape, slung like a bag over the shoulder of the largest Bokoblin. Link squinted at it, but could not make it out. Running ahead up onto the hill, he hid behind a thick, frosted evergreen tree and watched. The monsters drew closer, and the first began to pass him. They ran right up the hill and into the light between the two beak-monsters, upon which they disappeared. He now realized that the light was an geometric, sharp shape, much like a doorway or open gate.
The large Bokoblin was about to pass him. Link craned his neck, peeking out, risking being seen. Over his shoulder was slung the shape of a man. Leaning forward, he saw in the light the man's simple, layered clothing, his pale skin, the dark brown hair; it was Auru. Holding his sword out, he took a breath, readying himself to lunge out.
There was a barking noise, and the monsters suddenly stopped, looking around dumbly. Link was about to rush out regardless, when the wind suddenly began to blow at his back, flicking snow and ice at him. The moonlight that had been shining on the snow near him was suddenly gone; all the ground was swallowed by shadow.
Behind him was a faint fluttering noise, and he immediately turned and rolled away just as a beak-monster lunged at him out of the dark, its talon-like hands aloft. The Bokoblins had begun to hurry away again towards the light, some of them growling loudly or barking at him as they passed. Twisting around, Link saw the one with Auru.
"Auru!"
Only silence.
Link sprinted after him. Three, twirling fireballs flew at him, blocking his path. Skidding to a halt, he jumped back, out of their reach.
The beak-monster had a long, thin, crooked wand in one of its hands, and was waving it, with dark, ugly trails of thin smoke issuing from its end. Floating above on the shadows in the air, it swooped in and out of reach on the wind. Link tried to run after the Bokoblin again, but the beak-monster conjured another fireball which narrowly missed him, singeing some of his hair and clothes. He tried to rush at the beak-monster, reaching with his sword, but it danced up into the air, again out of his reach.
Frantically, he spun around to see the Bokoblin and Auru almost at the gate of light. Turning back to the beak-monster, he dodged another fireball, and then held his sword up. Flipping the grip around in his hand, he held it like a spear, throwing it at the monster. It pierced right through its chest, and with a crow-like screech, the light in its eyes went out. The sword threw flew it and it was torn apart, the shadows of its garments being thrown about in the wind and vanishing.
The earth was shaking, but Link hardly noticed as he hastily retrieved his sword and raced back towards the gate of light. The Bokoblin and Auru disappeared into it. The other beak-monster had vanished, and the Bokoblins were pouring into the gate, almost all of them gone. Some tried to clumsily swipe at or throw their clubs at him. He dodged them and just kept running, pushing through the heavy snow, focusing on the gate of light solely even as the earth began to shake more ferociously. The Bokoblins behind him were screaming.
There was the cracking and snapping noise of bones being broken, and Link finally looked over his shoulder to see a Goron rolled up, plowing over the Bokoblins like a singular landslide. The Goron was so enormous Link knew it must be Durmuni.
The gate's light had begun to flicker and fade. Link pushed himself onwards, forcing his legs through the snow faster than before, ignoring their flaming ache and his lungs burning with the effort.
There was a shrill, feminine scream and Link stopped. Looking around, he spotted a Bokoblin that had stopped, and was pulling something from the snow, a gloating look on its face. In its gigantic, gaunt hand, shivering and shaking erratically but not breaking free, was the teal fairy.
Only looking once at the ever-dimming gate, Link changed course and ran towards the Bokoblin and the fairy. The monster spotted him and barked, growling, but lacking its club it turned and tried to hurry past him towards the gate. Link rushed it halfway and, after dodging an ill-aimed punch, cut its head off.
The fairy flew out of its hand, but Link had already turned and made for the gate.
With one last sharp beam of light that made him cringe and cover his eyes, the gate flickered once and disappeared.
Still he ran up to where it had been, and stood on the summit of the hill. He circled it, looking around wildly, waiting for the light to return. There were still a few Bokoblins, but Durmuni was still rolling, crushing them, chasing them. Link paced around the summit, his sword dangling numbly in his hand. Finally stopping, his breath still wildly, dangerously fast, he looked around the grounds. The moonlight now revealed all, but there were no other lights, no more beak-monsters, and all the Bokoblins now lay dead.
There was no sign of Auru.
Link looked down at the snow and ice around him. It was torn up mostly by the marks of the Bokoblin's footprints, though on the other side of the hill, the side of the gate that none had entered, it was clean snow. Link wandered over, helplessly searching every detail.
Admist all the white, something brown stood out. Immediately he let his sword go and squatted down, picking it up. He dusted the snow off of it, and lifted it up into the moonlight, out of his shadow. It was Auru's leather pouch, and opening it, he found that the engagement necklace was still inside, safe and unharmed.
He heard Durmuni walk up behind him, casting him in shadow, saying, "Those Wizzrobes made a portal for the monsters to escape through. Cowardly, but effective." He walked over, looking down at the pouch and necklace. "These things, did they belong to your brother?"
Link sucked in his breath and nodded as he slipped the necklace back inside the pouch.
"Strange." Durmuni shook his head. "Bokoblins and Wizzrobes normally avoid each other. For them to work together, apparently just to kidnap one Hylian−"
"Why?" Link barely managed to whisper. His lips suddenly felt very chapped, thick, hard to use and speak through. His throat had gone tight, and as he forced himself to stand up, he was not sure if he could speak again.
"I do not know, and I doubt anyone could tell." Durmuni snorted, as if in frustration, though he stroked thoughtfully at his stone beard. "Perhaps one of those so-called diviners or soothsayers might be able to say, but I doubt that much. Perhaps the King or the Princess could say. They know more about monsters in this area than I do."
Link shook himself, and forced another nod. Still unable to speak, he tied the pouch onto his belt and picked his sword up, sheathing it silently. Turning, he walked back towards the castle. Durmuni followed without a word, though every now and then he would curl up and roll away across the grounds. Link supposed he was searching for signs of any more monsters. Each time he kept coming back to join Link, and they entered the castle together.
Before he passed through the gate, Link looked back once at the hill. He thought of the fairy, but he did not see any sign of her. Easily letting the thought of her go, he turned away.
Zelda suppressed an irritated sigh as Impa stepped into her study.
That morning she had been awoken early, hours before moonset, by the battle, and had fluttered down the stairs to assess the situation. Apparently, very few knights had died or been hurt, and the monsters had not stolen anything. Still, they caused a lot of damage to the castle, and Zelda was in charge of its upkeep and managing the household. The King took counsel with the knights and went out for a survey of the grounds as she hurried about, setting servants on different tasks, calling in different craftsmen to do different repairs, etc. She knew that many of the repairs had to be done immediately, before the winter chill made working too difficult and made the open, broken windows unbearable.
After everything was finished and she had finally had supper, she retired to her study, telling Impa to leave her be unless if it was something important. Now that she entered, Zelda said a morose farewell to a period of rest.
"What is it now, Impa?" she asked, rising from her seat.
"Excuse the intrusion, but there's a boy here who insists upon seeing you," Impa said, gesturing at the doors.
"Who is it? What does he want?"
"It's that civilian that saved the fairy. I did not ask him for any details, but he seems very distressed. The knights say he helped fight the monsters, and even helped chase them out into the field."
Zelda frowned. "So, what? Does he want a medal?"
"Zelda." Impa frowned at her.
Sighing, she sat back down heavily. "I know, I know. I need to hear him."
"Besides, Princess, if he wanted something like that, I don't think he would have been waiting silently for so long. He asked an audience with you early this morning, but he did not complain when I told him to wait. I saw him helping with cleaning during the day. And as I said, he looks distressed. I highly doubt he wants any sort of profit."
"Yes, yes. You are right." Zelda arose from her seat, not feeling very princess-like as she ambled to the door, her legs and feet aching sorely in her good heels. She had worn high-quality clothing that day, not to show off, but rather to boost morale. Firstly it was for herself, as she knew that dressing better than you feel lifted her spirits. This in turn allowed her to behave better and pay more attention to directing others in the most bearable fashion. And with the castle in disrepair, seeing something fine would bring back the reality of the good state of the castle as it was just a day ago, and that it could certainly be restored.
Still, wearing her nice, tight dressy shoes instead of her boots or flats was taking its toll, and she fought wincing with discomfort with every step she took.
Impa opened the door. Standing with his back to the far wall was the boy. He still had his sword, sheathed at his hip, and a pointed green hat was pulled carelessly over his dark, blonde-brown hair. When the door opened, he looked up from the ground and directly at her.
She paused. She had not realized before just how sharp his eyes were. They were a light blue shade that was not at all pale or washed out, but instead vivid; she had only ever seen that hue on animals such as wolves.
Yet perhaps his eyes just stood out because of how pale he looked, and the red around his eyes, signaling weariness that comes from more than a lack of sleep. He stood up straight when she came out, but he still seemed to be stooping or slumping, as if there was an unseen weight upon his back.
"How can I help you?" Zelda tried to smile, but could not quite manage it. "What was your name again?"
He cleared his throat roughly, saying, "Link, Princess. I…see, my friend, Auru, he was taken by the monsters."
"He was killed?"
"No, they took him. Through the gate of light. I don't know why."
Zelda looked at him uncertainly. "Are you sure? That seems highly unlikely. Is there anyone else who would confirm this?"
"I could do that."
They all turned to see Durmuni walking down the hallway, followed by the shortest of the Gorons traveling with him. Durmuni looked grave and serious as always, but the short Goron had a peculiar expression. There was none of the haughtiness Zelda remembered seeing earlier, but instead he seemed rather disturbed, unsure.
"I saw the young man being taken," Durmuni said, stopping as he reached them and folding his gigantic arms. "I do not understand why this would happen though. They also attempted to kidnap Dolo." He jerked his head at the short Goron, who hardly acknowledged this.
Zelda's hand cupped her chin and the other held the elbow of that arm as she wondered aloud, "But why would they do that? I understand that this was no ordinary, random Bokoblin attack. After all, it was preceded by that magical storm, which itself was also unusual due to its wide reach yet low degree of damage. It was just a mere nuisance, a hindering force, but not destructive. And now this attack, where there was no attempt to besiege myself or the King nor any of the aristocracy. Additionally, the Bokoblins were working with Wizzrobes, correct?"
Durmuni nodded as Link said, "Two of them."
"And then all they do is try to kidnap Dolo and they do kidnap one Hylian who has no political or societal or religious significance. All in all, it seems like a very well-planned, but extremely strange…prank is the only word that suits it. Yet if that were the case, why would they have gone to so much effort? Bokoblins do prank and raid randomly, but not with Wizzrobes. They only kill and attack strictly as needed." Zelda shook her head thoughtfully.
"So, you don't know why this happened?" Link asked.
Thinking him a little slow, Zelda answered, "I'm afraid not. I do not know of anyone who could discern why the monsters would act in this way, primarily because Dolo and your friend do not have any good reason to be kidnapped. And why kidnapped? Where would they take them? Why not just kill them? Why−"
"Princess." Impa interrupted in a low voice.
"Oh…yes, I apologize." She looked at Link and the Gorons. "I do prattle on when I am weary from a long day."
"Where would the monsters have gone?" Link asked.
"It's hard to say. Bokoblins roam about the outskirts of the land, and Wizrobes are the same, though they usually travel alone, so it's strange that there were two of them at once. Just another mystery. But, no, I don't believe we could pinpoint where the…you said, a gate, I suppose it was teleporting magic, taking them to another area of the land…we don't know exactly where that could have taken them. There are no sure signs." Noticing how Link's shoulders were slumping again, she raised her voice, making it lighter, "But we shall certainly do all we can. After all, the knights did not protect your friend, and that means that the fault lies with us at the moment. We certainly owe it to him to do all we can to track down the monsters and rescue him, if possible."
Link nodded, his expression clearing a little as he asked, "What can I do?"
Zelda looked at Impa, who gave a curt nod, then answered, "Nothing, I'm afraid. You're brave, certainly, but…" She shook her head. "This sort of thing will involve a great deal of danger, and you must not put yourself in this. Besides, I must be honest and say that there is not a great deal of a chance we can track him down. I mean, we shall do all we can, but…"
"What if I go out and look?"
Zelda tilted her head, smiling and asking in her best patient voice, "And what do you mean by that?"
"I can just go and search for him myself. If this sort of thing, with the Wizrobes and the Bokoblins together, is so unusual, someone else would have noticed it wherever they went through the gate to. If I keep looking around the areas where the monsters usually are, maybe−"
"No." Zelda was frowning, and spoke loudly, firmly as she said, "Going out alone, a green traveler? That is far too dangerous. Even if you can use a sword, and even though you are willing, this is a far too reckless idea. You're a boy, and you must leave this to us. I am sorry, but you have far less a chance of finding anything than we do. After you've finished any business here and in the city, you must go home immediately." Link's expression did not change; he still looked so resolute and firm that Zelda took a step forward, almost glaring at him. "I forbid you, as your Princess, from trying to do such a thing as you suggested. You would certainly die. Do you understand?"
Link's expression still stayed the same, but he nodded, and kept his eyes down. "I do understand."
"Very good. You should probably leave sooner than later." She turned to Durmuni. "Is there anything you would like to discuss with me?"
He shook his head. "Not at the moment."
"Very well. We should all retire for the evening, I think. It has been a long day."
Without another word, she turned and did not wait for Impa to open the door to her study; she flung it open herself and trod inside. After Impa closed it after her, she plopped down onto her chair ungracefully and finally kicked off those atrocious heels.
The Legend of Zelda and characters copyright Nintendo
"The Legend of Zelda: Deluge" writing and original concepts and characters copyright Mahira / Mahira-chan
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