Twelve
Link leaned back a little in the sun, wondering if he was going to burn his nose or the tips of his ears first, and realized it was the first idle thought he’d had in quite a long time.
It had been three days since he’d met his supposed enemy on the roof, three days since Ganon had drawn the Master Sword and proven he was not their enemy. Nabooru had started calling him Ganondorf, in respect for what Ganon had been, what this man was, not the creature that had succumbed to the darkness. The rest of the party quickly followed suit.
The Gerudo thief had taken off the next morning, with her usual half-coherent explanation. A hunch and a rumor to follow, a few comrades, masters of thieving and tomb raiding that might know more about the Chaos Glass than she did. Sad to say it was the closest thing they still had to a plan.
Zelda had declared the need for a few days of rest, and other than the constant knot of anxiety clenching in his gut, Link could find little to complain about in the sleepy village. All the changes the Glass had made here seemed to be mainly superficial, save for the tiny, stinging mackerel he’d unfortunately encountered in a field while practicing his swordplay.
Link did everything he could to perfect his technique, and thought about it until he all but ran his mind into the ground. Trying to think of what advantages his female body might give him, what would be unexpected. Any small difference, any surprise could be the deciding factor against Dark Link.
Thankfully, there’d been no sign of the evil creature or Ganon’s troops, and the Sheikah’s patrols had come up equally empty, no suggestion they were in danger of an imminent attack.
It didn’t make much sense, but perhaps the Triforce on his double’s hand, in such close conjunction with the other two, had driven the dark creature back. Maybe it had even shielded them from Ganon’s sight. Zelda thought it might be possible, and she knew more mythic lore than Link thought he could ever learn.
Currently, she was walking somewhere in town with Ganondorf. Impa had gone along, one of the Sheikah with her. Trailing quietly behind, less suspicious of the enemy who was not their enemy than just cautious, always cautious with the princess she was sworn to protect. Link himself had a jolt of irrational anxiety when she’d left, but forced it away – Zelda could take care of herself. He needed to put his attentions back on his real enemies, and getting them all out of this alive.
//I wonder what they’re talking about, though. If she’s as surprised as I was, by how much he knows.//
Strange as it seemed to think it, Ganondorf and Zelda did seem to have a great deal in common. Link had noticed it, as the Gerudo had become more comfortable with them. Enough to speak out on occasion, though it was still in a halting, cautious tone. It wasn’t quite hesitance, but Link had the feeling that each word was carefully chosen, meant to treat the listener with the utmost respect.
//He even /looks/ different than Ganon. All the small gestures, even the way he moves.// That he had let his hatred blind him was still a heavy shame in Link’s heart, especially with his own dark twin out in the world.
A small shadow passed over him, and Link looked up at the bird high overhead, half-disappointed as it wheeled away from the sun and he could see its feathers were all black. He smiled, so used to Malon ignoring his orders and doing whatever she wanted anyway that he half-expected her to return. He hoped her father could talk sense into her, or at least guilt her into staying away. Helpful as it might be to have eyes in the air now, it made her too much of a target, as fighting Dark Link had already proven.
//I just wish I knew where Ruto was... or what she was, now.//
Link heard the softest whisper of a purr, looked up to see a small tuft of gray fur, the edge of a paw visible on the landing above. The Sheikah had done well, employing their feline forms as a logical excuse to pile up and sleep in the sun.
Across the courtyard, Epona was patiently letting a little girl plait her mane with truly garish flower-print ribbons, the chance to play with a talking horse obviously the high point of the child’s life. Epona caught him watching, and glared in a way he never thought a horse would have need for. Link put a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter, they’d never needed words for what was really important.
//I wonder when Nabooru plans on coming back?//
“I need to speak with you.”
If he hadn’t been thinking about the thief, hadn’t instantly recognized her voice, Link certainly would have jumped out of his skin. His heart still made the attempt, and he tried to speak normally while it pushed itself as far as possible between his ribs.
He glared back, wondering if this was what an annoying older sister was like. “Oh, hello. I didn’t hear you /sneak up behind me/.”
“I didn’t sneak, I just sort of... slid.” One of her hands drifted in front of his eyes, shifting from skin to golden sand before she snapped her fingers, making him jump again.
“Will you quit that?”
He turned to scowl at her bright, teasing smile – but Nabooru wasn’t smiling. His heart pulled itself out of his ribcage just to plummet down to his toes.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
His eyes scanned her body, searching for injuries even thought it seemed impossible she could have any. Nabooru finally realized what he was doing, and smiled.
“We need to talk. /I/ need to talk.”
Talk was good. Talk was better than ‘grab-your-sword’ or ‘run like hell’ or ‘I’m on fire’ but he was still worried as Nabooru moved away, gliding along the path that skirted the edge of town. Drifting so quickly, preoccupied with her thoughts, that Link had to run to catch up. It was rare, that the thief paid so little attention to the outside world, and Link steadied himself for whatever she might say.
“Did you have any trouble?”
“Only the usual patrols, or as usual as they have been since the Glass broke. Ganon is being more cautious, I think, now that he doesn’t have his piece of the Triforce.”
Nabooru reached into a pack at her side, drawing out a tightly-rolled scroll.
“A friend of a friend of a... you get the idea – found this among their many antiquities, after I started a little inquiry about the Chaos Glass. He was willing to part with it for... well, for more rupees than ten scrolls this valuable were worth. Unfortunately, he was under the assumption a temple robber only stole from temples.”
Nabooru glanced down at the scroll, and cleared her throat.
“At the heart of the mountain
Where the earth has turned to sky
You will find the path you seek
Upon the lake of shattered glass.”
She tapped the map against the knuckles of her other hand, before twisting the scroll around and letting it swirl through her arm, a new adaptation to her old set of nervous habits.
“It’s called the ‘Light of Order,’ although the exact physical description is a bit sketchy. The ancient Hylian seems authentic enough, though I know Zelda will want to examine it more closely. It’s supposed to be west of here, inside an underground temple. You know, the usual. I heard a few stories, ever since the Glass was broken, that there are strange lights coming from the mountains, some other stories too. Hard to know what to believe, considering all that’s happened.”
“Could be nothing.” Link murmured thoughtfully. “Could be a trap.”
“Could be.” Whatever was bothering Nabooru, this wasn’t it. Link waited, but she only looked at him, and then away – and such nervousness certainly didn’t suit her. He was just about to ask what was wrong, when she blurted it out.
“You trust Ganondorf, now that he’s proven himself?”
“Yes. Yes I do.”
//Here we go.//
Link had been waiting for this conversation. Nothing he’d said to Ganondorf had been a lie, about her feelings for him. He knew what Nabooru was thinking, what she’d been debating with herself for every moment she hadn’t been talking, the preoccupation clear to everyone, though Link thought only he’d figured out the reason for it.
“If we undo the effects of the Glass, he’ll disappear.”
“Yes, he might.”
Link had to admit he’d tried not to think about that outcome, after he’d first realized it could happen. Ganondorf hadn’t brought it up, and Link had been grateful for that, though he must have considered the possibility by now. Nabooru certainly had, hours of worry quite apparent, hanging heavy in her eyes.
“I know many people have suffered because of what happened – but do we just want to put things back as they were? It wasn’t a good place, Link. I know you agree with me.”
“I know what you want, but we can’t do that. I can’t leave Malon the way she is, I can’t... and we were /lucky/, Nabooru. Other people have had their entire world destroyed – they can’t live their lives like this.” He gestured down at his own body, perhaps a shallow point but one that needed to be made. “I don’t know how much longer /I/ can live like this. I want my own body back.”
“You could adapt. You adjusted well enough to all the other hell Ganon put you through, I know you’ll find a way now. Just imagine if we did defeat him, Link, without changing things back. The Moblins are one new disaster away from total chaos. Any direct attack would be enough to send them running.” Her eyes flashed, challenging him. “Do you really believe Malon wouldn’t think it was worth it?”
“We can’t, Nabooru. I’m sorry... we just can’t.”
The thief turned away, entire body tensing with the strength of a deep breath, although when she turned back Link couldn’t tell if she’d been angry or about to cry.
“... I know.” She glowed golden for a moment, emotions so turbulent it was difficult to keep a solid shape. “I know. It was unfair of me to ask. It’s just...” Her hands clenched. “He’s the leader I’ve always dreamed would come to lead our people. The type of leader I always wanted to follow, and stand beside, and-”
Nabooru stopped abruptly, turning away so fast Link thought she must have heard something from off the path, danger in the forest, though he could see nothing unusual. It was only when he turned back to her that he saw the real reason she had looked away.
“Nabooru, are you blushing?”
Well, this was a fine turn, after all the years he’d spent with her teasing him about Zelda.
“No, I’m /not/ blushing,” she said, glaring, only to turn a deeper shade of crimson when he grinned. Link laughed, but the amusement didn’t last long, his next thought much too sobering.
“Whatever you found, whatever it is, there’s really only two possibilities. We’ll either have to beat Ganon there, or it’s a trap, and he’ll be waiting for us. I know it’s sudden, but if you care about him, you should tell him. You might not get another chance.”
A pause, and a very solid Gerudo hand hit his shoulder, nearly knocking him down. “You too, hero.”
“Zelda knows.” She had to. Increasingly, his care for her was the only thing he was absolutely sure of.
“Tell her anyway,” she winked, “A girl still likes to hear it now and again.”
Link nodded, knew he was blushing a little himself, and quickly changed the subject. “So, tell me more about this ‘Light of Order’.”
----------------------------
“It’s a trap.”
Nabooru and Impa had never been the best of allies, not surprising considering their positions as thief and royal bodyguard. Still, Impa had barely let them start to explain the plan before she crossed her arms, expression staunch in her disapproval.
“You can’t even give me the benefit of the doubt, until I’ve explained everything?”
Nabooru slammed her hand against the table hard enough to send most of her palm flying apart, a golden cloud that quickly reformed as she lifted it, gesturing in frustration. Whatever doubts she’d expressed to Link earlier, they all seemed to be gone now, or she was too proud to parade them in front of Impa.
“No, because there is no doubt. We go there, Ganon surrounds us, it’s the end of all we’ve fought for. I will not willfully let the princess walk into such danger.”
The Sheikah behind her didn’t say anything, but their tails twitched in what Link thought was probably agreement. The business with Ganondorf, the knowledge of what they were going to have to do was not doing anything to help Nabooru’s temper, and it was clear how strongly she was trying to hold herself back. Link was vaguely glad things couldn’t come to blows, Impa being incorporeal and all, though he still hoped things wouldn’t end in a badly controlled shouting match.
“This from the great and powerful Sheikah who, unlike a certain unreliable thief, never /did/ manage to get into and out of Hyrule Castle – more than once, mind you – without being seen, while Ganon was in the city.”
It was a bit of an exaggeration, Ganon’s proximity to the castle, and just how much good Nabooru’s impromptu visits did for the risks she took, but Link wisely kept his mouth shut. The Sage of Spirit was undaunted, tapping her finger hard against the map spread out on the table.
“Listen, the reason no one’s bothered going after this before, is all the rumors were that it was just some holy relic. Some ancient scroll – sentimental value, but no rooms full of treasure around it, no ruby eyes to pluck out of huge gold statues, nothing. So lots of people in that area know about it, at least a little, but no one’s ever had any reason to go out and get it.”
“Besides,” Link added, remembering dungeon after dungeon he’d crawled through in search of some hidden artifact he’d never thought could have a purpose, “how many times has the solution been invisible until the problem appears?”
Nabooru nodded. “I know my sources, they’re the most reputable group of thieves and ruffians you could ask for. I’m not so keen on this plan myself, but we don’t seem to have another. Unless you think we should try to take Hyrule Castle by force.”
“It will take us... five days to get there?” Zelda touched the map, and even Nabooru went silent. No matter how much they argued amongst themselves, in the end it was always Zelda’s call. She glanced at her bodyguard, and then at the thief.
“If it is a trap, we’ll know it before we get there. As Link said, even if this ‘Light of Order’ can’t undo the effects of the Chaos Glass, it can’t hurt to have it. We’ll go, and we’ll be as careful as we always are, and get there before Ganon does.” She glanced at her bodyguard. “I understand that it is a risk, but it isn’t as if anywhere in Hyrule is truly safe.”
Impa leaned back, nodding once, unhappy with the plan but willing to back her princess and her order regardless. Probably doubly unhappy with her current form, phantom body no use if it came to fighting to keep the princess safe.
Link gave Zelda’s hand a gentle squeeze under the table, and though she only glanced at him, her expression serious, her eyes still shone with affection. Still strange to see the princess as a prince, and what he had said to Nabooru was true, no matter how shallow or pathetic a claim it was. He wanted his own body back, wanted to hold Zelda with his own arms. Others were suffering worse – truly suffering because of the Glass, and they had no choice but to make things right.
//Even if it means... even if it means we lose some things we’d rather keep.//
As they broke from the meeting, Nabooru went to where Ganondorf was sitting – he’d been invited in on their talk, but was too meek to join, not wanting to interfere even though it affected him as much as any of them, if not more so. Nabooru said something, perhaps making that very point, but he shook his head, smiling gently back at her. Whatever she thought of him, it was clear he shared those feelings, at least. Link turned his eyes away, it was too private a moment to watch.
//Can you really do it? Can you destroy a good and innocent man?//
Link didn’t see how he had a choice.
--------------------------
“Zelda... don’t. You can’t... Zelda!”
She was awake instantly, looking for the danger with a hand on the sheath at her ankle. Link turned over in his sleep toward her, his face tight with fear, caught in the middle of an ugly nightmare. It was strange to see him like this, with his eyes closed he looked less like her hero and more like some ordinary Hylian girl, a stranger sleeping next to her. Not that she’d been able to sleep without a shirt on, no matter how flat her chest was.
“No!” It was easy enough to reach out and gather Link close to her, not the first time she was glad for close quarters, although it had been terribly awkward, wanting to kiss Link but not with a man’s mouth. Luckily, he’d seemed as embarrassed as her, and they’d laughed themselves to sleep. She’d been hoping it would be an easy night, but he’d had few of those, even before the Glass had shattered.
He’d thrown the blankets away, and his skin was chilled. Zelda was grateful the longer span of her arm, able to wrap them both up before sliding her arms gently around him.
“Link. Link, wake up.”
He woke with a started gasp, struggling a little before he realized who was holding him. It wasn’t the first time they’d done this, and he quickly recovered, though the remnants of fear still clung to him, his expression distant and haunted.
"Oh.” He shut his eyes, and sighed deeply. “I’m sorry.”
“You never have to apologize to me.” The Triforce glowed gently on her hand, as she reached up, brushing the hair from his eyes. “You were having a nightmare?”
"Yes.” All she would get out of him, but there were very few things he refused to tell her, so it was easy to guess what he’d been dreaming about. Only one thing that haunted his dreams so steadily.
The first time Zelda had seen the aftermath of a fight between her hero and Dark Link, she had still been masquerading as Sheik. So many years had been spent cloaked in that identity that it seemed impossible to ever cast it aside. Zelda was the name of a young girl who lived in a land of peace, but there was no place for her in the land Hyrule had become.
It had not been difficult, then, to keep her silence and her identity a secret from everyone. At least until she had met Link as an adult, and watched him look to the horizon with eyes full of loneliness. Zelda knew she had the luxury of time to adjust to what Ganon had done, Link had only moments, no preparation and no training for the ruined world he was suddenly thrust into.
Zelda had finally revealed her identity, though never intending it, on the same day that she’d first heard of Dark Link, and that she’d seen Link truly defeated. Yes, he’d fought Ganon before without vanquishing him, and at many junctures the Hero of Time had been deceived and hurt, but never broken, never as lost and frightened as he was when she’d found him on the floor of the Temple of Time.
--------------------
It had been raining steadily all day, enough to prove that the rumors of Sheikah being able to dodge raindrops were entirely untrue. Still, Zelda had taken care that her path could not be traced before she entered the temple’s sanctuary. Ganon was still not strong enough to destroy the holy shrine, but they had done their best not to draw attention to it, or who was often inside.
Link was on her mind as she made her way in, although he had been on her mind more often than not, ever since they had met. It was about time to find him, to see how he was doing and perhaps provide him with a few new clues, though she knew she could not do much more than that, did not dare to alter time so directly. She wondered if he had found shelter for the storm – and felt the thought come to a screeching halt in her mind as she stared down at Link, collapsed on the floor.
He didn’t move, she couldn’t tell if he was breathing, and her own breath left her in a rush. Ganon had defeated him, discovered her, and left the body here for her to find. What could she do now, what could any of them do if he was dead? Cautiously moving closer, Zelda was relieved to finally see his shoulders rise and fall slightly as he breathed, though the paleness of his skin and the wide puddle of red-tinged water beneath him did not bode well. How long had he been here, all alone?
“Link... Link?”
Zelda reached for his shoulder, alarmed by the sharp whimper that came from her gentle touch, and before she could move his eyes snapped open, blade slashing out as he leapt to his feet, lunging for her. He could barely stand up, weak and confused, or else Zelda knew she never would have been able to knock the weapon away, catching him in a hold before he could injure himself further. He fought, but had no strength for it, and she could easily restrain him, hands behind his back and her mouth pressed to his ear.
“Link. Link, I am not your enemy.” Repeating it again and again, unsure of whether he finally realized she was a ally or just ran out of strength. He sagged back against her, panting softly, and she could feel the heat of a fever through the cuts in his tunic. It was only when she let go, turning him to face her that she saw the full extent of the bruises, and the blood.
“Sheik? It’s really you?”
A wary, uncertain question, one that troubled her even more than his wounds.
“Who did this to you, Link? What has happened?”
He tried to answer, but only let out a little gasp, and Zelda was grateful for how fast she could catch hold of him, as his knees buckled, head lolling against her shoulder as he passed out.
Thankfully, the possibility of such emergencies – even in the Temple – had not been overlooked, and it did not take long for Zelda to get him to the hidden, inner room. She quickly divested him of his wet clothing, any sense of embarrassment meaningless compared with her worry, and the bruises and cuts marring his pale body. He came awake as she was carefully mixing what medicine she’d carried with her with the potion she’d been wise enough to save.
“What... where are...?” Link put a hand on the compress over his head, and she quickly lay her own hand on top of it to keep him still.
“I found you wounded, in the temple. We are there still. Who did this to you?”
“Sheik?” Glazed eyes studied her, Link frowning slightly as he tried to push through his weariness to make sense of her words. He was growing thinner, each time she saw him at the end of a battle he seemed more worn. Always victorious, but the fights were not without cost. Link’s eyes widened, and he tried to rise.
“I shouldn’t be here, it’s dangerous...”
It wasn’t necessary to try and keep him still, his body too battered to support the move, and he quickly slumped back against the bed.
“No enemy can enter the temple, and I can handle any threat from outside. You are safe here. Who attacked you, what happened?”
Link shuddered and shut his eyes, his stilted breathing the only sign he was not unconscious. “He looks like me, but he’s not me.”
“What?”
“Ganon must have... it looks like me, and it fights like... No, it’s faster than I am, and /stronger/. I don’t know how I-” Link’s eyes locked with hers, a move he usually thought too impolite.
“He laughed, when I put an arrow through his heart. Maybe he didn’t have a heart? I couldn’t... he just laughed... and his eyes were red. What was he? Do you know?”
It was difficult to always remember, with how willingly Link put himself in danger just how young he was. His bravery and determination were quite fragile, even if it did not appear so on the surface – and with how hard he fought to prove himself in her eyes.
“You are safe here,” she repeated, and helped put his hands around the cup, leaning forward to lift his head. “I do not know what that monster was, but it is gone for now. Here, this should help bring down your fever.”
Link drank the potion obediently, though his eyes never left her face, watching her for so long Zelda wondered if he hadn’t discovered her somehow.
“Thank you, Sheik. I never... I don’t think I said that before, and I should have.”
If only he knew. Would he thank her, if he knew she was the cause of all his misfortune?
“It isn’t necessary. Do you want me to play for you?”
Link nodded, a polite ‘please’ swallowed up by a large yawn. He was already drowsy, and it didn’t take long before her song had lulled him to sleep. Zelda had waited to tend to the worst of the damage until he wouldn’t flinch at her touch. Her fingertips brushed lightly over the wide, ugly bruises on his chest, several deep cuts and scratches on his shoulder and – what shocked her the most – what looked like a set of nail marks slashing from neck to navel. A very personal sort of wound.
Zelda leaned closer, wishing she’d had a few more supplies with her, or a fairy, though the potion would help heal the wounds, and she had enough in her pack for a numbing salve and bandages to wrap his shoulder with. Link twitched and mumbled from time to time, still running in his thoughts, fleeing his pursuer, and she wondered just how long he’d been in the temple, just how long he’d been chased across Hyrule.
The hero didn’t look much younger when he was asleep, already full of the earnest nobility that gave him a seemingly timeless youth. Zelda had loved him from the moment she’d seen him, though it had taken a long time to admit to it. Refusing, to keep from hurting him because of who she was and what she had to do, or just to keep from losing anyone else. At times she even wished for a prophecy declaring they would never be together, just so she could be sure of it, just so she could stop worrying.
It was a princess’ duty to love, as much as anything else. Impa had said that, and they both knew who she had been speaking of, who was first in Zelda’s heart. The Sheikah’s high opinion was not an easy thing to gain, and that she thought so highly of Link was nearly as good as prophecy itself.
Zelda reached up, pulling down at her face scarf, leaning forward, one hand against the least bruised skin on Link’s chest – still too hot, though she thought the flush was fading already from his cheeks. So strong, and so brave – how had she ever convinced him to be her champion?
“I love you.”
It was a weakness, but Zelda thought she deserved it, even if only for one moment. She closed her eyes, leaned in and kissed him. Just the once, while he was asleep, because who knew how long it would be until she saw him again – and this had been too close, too near to losing him entirely. Zelda let herself linger slightly longer than she should have, and startled as his lips worked against her own, leaned back to see that he was watching her, utterly confused.
“Sheik... what?” He blinked, and even as Zelda hurriedly reached to cover her face, she saw awareness dawn in his eyes – he knew who she was, maybe in some way he’d always known. He sighed, too weary to do much even with the major epiphany, and she reached down as he turned on his side, stroking the soft hair at the back of his neck. Link sighed again, much more contentedly, and drifted off again.
Zelda’s hand stilled, something cold and icy wrenching at her heart, the same sort of feeling as when Ganon moved nearby, or one of his creatures stirred in the darkest dungeons. The potion she made had worked well enough that Link slept on, oblivious, even as the Triforce mark on his hand burned brightly enough to match her own.
//You’re safe here. He’s safe here.//
Unless it was Ganon himself, absolutely determined to destroy the hero, now that he was defenseless. He would have a difficult time crossing the boundary, but... Zelda reached for her own knives, and stopped herself, reaching down instead for where she had propped the Master Sword against the wall. Silently, she moved across the hall to the front door, and just as silently cracked it open – and very nearly took an arrow in the eye, the shaft trembling in the door, less than an inch from where she looked out into the darkness. It had been an intentional miss.
The ReDead had gathered close, as they did when there was any nearby commotion, but mindless as they were, even they knew to keep their distance from the figure on the dark horse – not Ganon, but just as terrible in his own way.
//He looks like me, but he’s not me.//
Dark Link slowly dropped his bow to his side, sweeping his hat off in a mocking bow, crimson eyes glinting with a very deliberate cruelty, enjoying the fear that was there even if she didn’t show it. Zelda readied herself, but the creature only pulled on the reins, letting his monstrous black horse rear up, hooves lashing out, before he turned and rode away – and /over/ a few of the ReDead too slow to get out of the way.
Just to let her see him for herself. Just so she’d know he was watching. Zelda didn’t let herself think about what would have happened, had she not been there, had Link not reached the temple.
It was the last time Zelda had seen him in that future. Link had fought him again, but never spoken of the battle, of how he’d won or how close he might have come to losing. He’d never spoken of kissing Zelda either, not until years later when she’d admitted it and he’d told her he’d convinced himself it was all a fever dream. Now, she could kiss him, and profess her love, and he knew it, and felt the same – and Dark Link had returned to threaten them both.
Zelda didn’t have to be a Sage to know that they would likely meet the creature before this was over, that Link’s dark twin would do whatever it took to bring about a final fight.
//... but Link won’t be alone, this time.// She wrapped her arms around him, smiling as he leaned back against her. //Never alone again.//