Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If someone were to stand outside the gates of Castle Town on a normal day this is what they would see: people. Tons and tons of people, bodies pushing against bodies hurrying from one place to the next. The smells of market food— salted trouts, roasted pumpkins, and freshly baked pastries all shipped in from towns and villages across Hyrule. Many people lived within the walls, inside brick and stone buildings stacked on top of one another, but without the imports of lavish food that made the smallest Hylian’s mouth water people simply could not live in Castle Town. 

    At the entrance of Castle Town, a simple peddler or traveler would stare up and see the immediate glory that was Hyrule Castle. The majestic building towered over its city, its shadow like a clock’s hand traveled around the city to grace smaller buildings with its mere presence. No matter which entrance someone entered Castle Town, east, west, north, or south they were always greeted by the tall towers of Hyrule Castle that seemed to touch the clouds themselves. Somewhere inside that building lived the royal family, and somewhere in that building history wrapped itself within ancient shelves dusted every day to preserve the importance that is Hyrule. 

    Yet this story does not start with an excited traveler, a curious princess, or even within the vast library hidden from the rest of the world. Instead, this story starts on a tiny side street in Castle Town. Like all the buildings on its street, it is a small slightly-crooked building block attached to anything relevant adjacent to it. Above on the second floor is a tiny wooden balcony, which a sign dangles below it to read “Luriken’s Shoes”. 

    Inside the store, a man is hunched over at his desk. Next to him are dozens of papers with notes scribbled half-hazardly from a feathered pen which sits off-kilter on the desk. The man wipes his brow before going back to slowly stitching together a new sole on a worn leather boot. A loud thud shakes the room and he pokes himself with the needle. He curses silently under his breath, gets up from his desk, and walks upstairs. 

    “Mystique!” A woman yells, her back turned to the stairs, her hair hangs in a long loose braid while her hands are balled into fists. On the other side of the room, a girl stares at a broken vase in the center of the room. There are no tears in her eyes or worry on her face, there is only anger. 

    “I told you that I didn’t want to clean. You always make me clean!” She snaps back, her hair tousles wildly as she moves her whole body just to prove a point. She looks away past the woman towards the man on the stairs. Mystique’s face softens. “Oh, hello father.”

    The man sheepishly smiles at his daughter and wife as they both stare at him. “I heard a noise, so I came to investigate.”

    “Mystique threw the broom at a vase,” his wife replied. “All because she got upset that I asked her to clean before dinner.”

    “I didn’t want to clean though!” Mystique pouted. 

    “You’ve neglected your cleaning duties for days dear, you need to take some responsibility around here.” Her mother said. 

    “I’m only ten!” Mystique stomped her foot on the ground. Tiny bits of clay bounced against the floor. 

    “Well when I was ten I was cleaning the house which is more than what you are doing! Your father started his apprenticeship when he was ten, so you need to do at least something.” Her mother walked over to the broom, which lay lonely on the ground. She picked it up and handed it to Mystique. 

    “But mother, I’ve already told you what I want to do with myself. I want to deliver mail all across Hyrule!” 

    “I know dear, but that’s dangerous considering all of the monsters.” Her mother paused and looked down at Mystique’s face. There was a fire that burned against her eyes, and she hated to have to put it out. “You could choose something to do inside Castle Town maybe?” 

    Mystique pouted. She crossed her arms against her chest and dropped the broom back onto the floor. “That’s why I have Nivan. He can protect me while I deliver mail!”

    Her mother sighed and walked over to her husband still standing in front of the stairs. She leaned her body against his and rested her head on his shoulder. Underneath her breath she whispered her exhaustion in a way that only he could understand. He looked over at his daughter and furrowed his brow. 

    “Mystique, you know Nivan has dreams of his own too.” He said calmly. 

    Mystique bowed her head down, “yeah I know.” She paused, “but until he can be a knight he can still help me follow my dream.” 

    “How about this, why don’t you go find Nivan and bring him home for dinner. Afterwards you can clean up this mess for your mother… okay?” 

    Without another word, Mystique’s eyes lit up and she dashed out of the room and down the stairs. Her mother lifted her head from her husband’s shoulder. Several light blonde strands of hair wisped in front of her face, unable to hide the bags under her eyes or the worry lines on her face. 

    “Saffron, she can’t even read.” She whispered. 

    “She’ll have to learn eventually.” He sighed, “we can’t keep her away from her dreams forever.” 

    “But I don-”

    “Cerise…” Saffron placed a hand on her shoulder, “why don’t we get food from the market tonight.” 

    “That would be nice.”

    “Are you working tonight?”

    Cerise laughed dryly, “of course I am.” 

    Mystique ran into the busy crowded streets of Castle Town, her feet just barely not tripping against the edges of her dress. She was still small enough to weave through the crowds with ease, but clumsy enough to occasionally crash into a random passerby. Within Castle Town, she could hear the faintest whispers of gossip between merchants and traders, see the glowing amber light reflect against the second story windows, and smell the musky sweat on everyone from working a long hard day. Mystique ran through the center of Castle Town, past the large ornate fountain decorated with statues of Hyrule’s legendary figures, and into another alley way. 

    She knew where Nivan would be. He went to the same spot every day to practice. Roughly in the Northeast sector, where a little river dug from the moat and into the city was a small square. In the early morning people came here to wash clothes, and hum out little tunes. In the afternoon the place stayed empty save for one lone boy and his sword. When Mystique turned the corner into the washroom square Nivan was exactly where he always was. 

    Underneath the tree in the square, Nivan swung his sword against the air, he parried against nothing, and dodged only the wind. His hair was tightly pinned up into a bun as he practiced. There was no expression on his face as he swung. 

    “Nivan!” Mystique ran full force at him mid swing. He panicked and attempted to stop his attack, but she dodged him perfectly fine like she did every day. Before Nivan knew it, he was on the ground under the tree. Mystique rolled onto her side and laughed, kicking up dust with her boots. “The look on your face every time that I do that is priceless!”

    Nivan gently rolled Mystique away from under the tree. He smirked at her, “ You’re a little jerk, you know that right?” 

    “At least I make a better sparring partner than nothing!” Mystique stuck her tongue out at Nivan and sat up, “by the way, father told me to get you for dinner.”

    “Did he say what it was?” 

    “Nope!” She grabbed his hand and yanked him up off the ground. He lurched forward before he gained his balance. “Let’s go find out.” 

    When returning back home, Mystique knew better than to run ahead. Her heart yelled at her to dart through the streets, but when she looked over at Nivan she knew that she couldn’t. Nivan walked slowly, sword sheathed on his back and eyes that observed every passerby carefully. He stopped in front of the fountain in the square and looked up at the figures. 

    “Do you remember who these guys are, Misty?”

    Mystique pondered as she stared at the numerous figures sprinkled onto the fountain to tell a story. She focused on the one in the center, “well that one right there” she pointed, “is Princess Zelda. Not our current Zelda but a Zelda.” 

    Nivan smiled, “I think she’s the only statue you recognize. You always point out Zelda.” 

    Mystique pouted, “well, I know one of them is also Link!” 

    “And then there’s the sages.”

    “Yeah there’s…” Mystique thought for a second, “I actually forgot their names.” 

    Nivan walked away from the statue and back into the crowd, “maybe one day you’ll remember.” 

    “Hey! Wait up Nivan don’t leave me here,” Mystique darted into the crowd. 

    By the time Nivan and Mystique arrived home, the table was set with a delicious market meal of pumpkin stew and baked bread along with a few pieces of roasted cucco. Mystique’s parents sat next to each other with empty plates. 

    “You made it home,” Mystique’s father said. “Sit down and grab a plate of food.”

    “And remember Mystique, you still have to clean up the mess you made earlier.” 

    Mystique slumped into her chair and grabbed a piece of bread. She crammed it into her mouth before she could reply. 

    “What’d Mystique do?” Nivan asked.

    “She broke a vase.” Both parents replied. 

    Nivan nudged Mystique as he grabbed a bowl of pumpkin soup, “you know for someone so fast you sure are klutzy.” 

    “Shut it,” Mystique replied, her mouth still full of bread. 

    Saffron took a sip of his drink, “while you two were out, we had an idea.”

    Mystique looked up curiously, a spoonful of soup hung just below her chin, “what sort of idea father?”

    “I have some shoes that need to be delivered to the town of Jetier tomorrow. I could send them off to the mailmen’s quarters or…”

    Mystique dropped her spoon on the table, bits of pumpkin flew onto the floor. “You want me to deliver the shoes?!” 

    “Both you and Nivan can go,” Saffron answered, a small smile on his face. 

    “But you can only go if you finish your cleaning duties upstairs,” Cerise added.

    Within moments, Mystique inhaled all of the food on her plate and rushed upstairs. Cerise got up from the table, and bent over to kiss Saffron on the forehead. 

    “Thank you for the treat dear, but I should be heading to work soon.”

    “Be careful, okay?” Saffron held Cerise’s hand and squeezed it. Silently she strode out of the room and into the dark streets of Castle Town. 

    Nivan glanced over at the door. “Mr. Luriken…?”

    “Yes?”

    Nivan looked back down at his soup. In the bowl he saw his own reflection, and for a moment he thought he saw something else. He blinked only to see nothing but pumpkin stew before him, “... never mind.” 

    Upstairs Mystique raced around the room frantically with the broom and duster. She had no intention to leave a single speck of dirt or vase on the floor. As she furiously cleaned, she did not hear Nivan as he walked up the stairs, down the hallway, and onto his bed. She also did not hear as her father, tired from a long day of working, came upstairs to go to his own bed to rest. When Mystique finally stopped sweeping she looked down the hallway and out towards the little balcony. 

    Hesitantly, she put down the broom and walked towards the end of the hallway. She opened the door and was greeted with the cool crisp air of the night. She stepped outside and felt the breeze as it played with strands of her dark brown hair. Her hands held onto the balcony railing as she looked out onto the darkness of Castle Town. At night the town seemed to sleep, with only a few embers of light here and there glowing in the darkness. The Inn quarters always shone the brightest besides the lights that came from the fountain at Castle Town Square. 

    Mystique smiled as she looked off towards the distant lights. After a few moments of enjoying the lights, a chill crept down her spine. Confused, Mystique looked down onto the streets to see a pitch black figure, it’s gaze staring up at the balcony. A scream got stuck in her throat as she scrambled away from the balcony and back into the house. She ran from the hallway, not looking back to see if the figure had somehow followed her, and into her and Nivan’s bedroom. As she jumped into her bed, she squeezed her eyes tight and hoped that what she saw was just a nightmare. 

    There was a hazy fog around everything as Mystique suddenly appeared at the fountain. She waved her hands in front of her face to see a soft blue light wrapped itself around her fingers. Distracted, Mystique did not notice the tall dark figure as it emerged from the fountain waters. 

    “They forgot about me,” The figure, its voice dry and shaky, said into the night. 

    Mystique put down her hands and gazed up at the figure as it grew taller and taller. Around it, the figures of the fountain crumbled one by one until only the figure of Zelda remained. Fear briefly sketched itself across the statue’s face before the figure crushed it within its hands. Behind the figure, Hyrule Castle crumbled, a red flame scattered across Castle Town, the buildings quickly fell. Mystique felt a scream in the back of her throat, but she only watched as everything around her was destroyed by the figure.

    The figure bent down and craned its face towards Mystique, as it drew closer she noticed two small red eyes hidden in the shadows of its face. “You're not the one I was looking for,” the figure said. “You’re not the hero.”

    Mystique stared back, horrified. “The… what?” Around her the blue light took over the world. Around her she could see flashes of places. Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, the Great Deku Forest. All bathed in blue light. Behind the figure, a small child bathed in blue stood. Without another word, the figure turned around and loomed over the blue child. The child attempted to run, but there was no point. Mystique watched as the figure crushed the blue child and the world yet again bathed itself in a fiery red. The figure barred sharp fangs at Mystique, and that was the last thing she saw before she woke up. 

    The morning sun drifted bright warm rays through the window and into the bedroom. Mystique sat up straight in bed, her eyes wide open as her eyes darted frantically throughout the room. No one else was in the room except for her, Nivan’s bed was even already made. Slowly, she crawled out of bed and left her room. She glanced towards the balcony door, but with a quick shake of her head, she went downstairs instead. 

    “Good morning, glad you’re awake and ready for your first delivery.” Saffron said, as he handed her a plate of eggs and toast. “You better eat fast, Nivan already finished his breakfast.” 

    Over by the door, Nivan leaned against a wall holding onto a package. He smirked at her as she quickly tore apart her food and crammed it into her mouth.

    At the entrance to the Castle Town, the gate towered higher than any person imagined. To Mystique, she couldn’t imagine what possible monster caused the ancient family of Hyrule to build such a large gate. Two men stood at each end of the gate in a large tower, slowly cranking on the lever to open the gate. With a loud creak the giant wooden door fell against the moat and opened Castle Town to the rest of Hyrule. Outside the waking town, a large expanse of green went as far as the eye could see. Little stone and dirt paths etched away from the gate like veins, and a little wooden sign sprung up from the grass. 

    Mystique, holding onto the parcel, walked over to the sign and squinted at it. The sign was worn and faded but had several markers that pointed in different directions. She placed her hand on one of the markers and pointed where the marker pointed. Already lost, she looked back at Nivan. 

    “What does this sign say?”  She asked. 

    Nivan walked over and looked at all the signs. Without answering, he started to follow a path. 

    “Hey, wait! Nivan,” Mystique quickly caught up to him. “You didn’t say what the sign said!”

    “I just looked for the one that pointed towards Jetier. That’s where we’re going right?” 

    “That’s not fair, you know I can’t read.” Mystique walked ahead of Nivan and turned around to face him. “Can you at least tell me what Jetier looks like so that I know.”

    “Okay, next sign we see that says Jetier I’ll show it to you okay?” 

    Mystique nodded and ran off ahead of Nivan. He chuckled as he watched Mystique trip and stumble as she raced off into the distance. 

    The path that led to Jetier dipped in and out of the shallow hills that scattered across Hyrule Field. As it was a field, there was little geography besides the endless amount of grass and the occasional tree. To their left they could see the peak of Death Mountain as it loomed over the field. A ring of clouds circled the peak along with the occasional silhouette of a bird. Among the rocky terrain lived the Goron and further down the mountain the bustling town of Kakariko resided. 

    To their right the town of New Ordon rested against the edge of the forest, both the town and the forest looked lush and green as if alive. One tree reached higher into the sky  than the others, its branches spread apart like dozens of hands that reached for the clouds. Mystique knew that somewhere on the field existed Lonlon settlement, where the best milk came from, and Tilton— the town where vegetables grew along the sides of the streets. She had seen pictures of all these places in a book on her father’s shelf. Each picture felt vibrant and real when she had turned those pages, and someday hoped to see all of Hyrule. 

    Through her daydreams, Mystique didn’t catch herself as she tripped over a rock and smacked into a sign. 

    As the two arrived into the town of Jetier, the first thing Mystique noticed was how little of the town resided on land. Most of the houses and the streets sat on stilts that sunk into Lake Hylia. The smell of fish brought to the town of small boats filled the air. Mystique pinched her nose as she stared at the parcel in her hands. “Do you think we’ll see some Zoras here Nivan?” 

    Nivan cautiously took a step off of the shore and onto a dock. “This would be the place to see one wouldn’t it?” 

    “Yeah, there aren’t usually a lot of them visiting Castle Town. Do you think they have to be constantly wet to stay alive?” Mystique jumped up onto the dock with a loud thud.    Several people working on the docks stared at her with various expressions, none of them pleasant. 

    “I don’t think that’s how they work. Gorons don’t always have to be submerged in lava to live, do they?” 

    “Hmmmm, no they don’t. I’ve seen plenty of Gorons at Castle Town. What they’re selling is always super pretty, but super expensive.” 

    “Maybe the Zoras just don’t have anything to sell Misty.”

    “Hey Nivan, where are we going?”

    Nivan stopped in front of a man with a boat and a sign. He pulled out a few rupees and boarded the boat. Mystique without hesitating followed him. “We’re going to that little island on Lake Hylia. That’s who the package is for.”

    “Why does that person live away from the rest of Jetier?”

    “Misty, I’m not full of answers.” Nivan tapped the shoulder of the ferryman, “excuse me, do you know why that island isn’t attached to Jetier?” 

    The ferryman didn't turn his head. Instead he kept his gaze forward towards the direction the boat sailed. “I dunno kid, all I know is that he’s some sort of scientist.”

    “Ooooooh a scientist!” Mystique exclaimed. She leaned over the edge of the boat to get a better look at the island. 

    The lone building on the island was a simple house with a blue shingled roof. A small tower with a ladder led up to a deck that overlooked the lake. At the dock to the island was a small red mailbox with a name scribbled in white. A chimney puffed tiny clouds of smoke into the air. Carefully, Mystique and Nivan got off the boat and walked up the dirt path from the dock to the cracked wooden door. 

    “Should we leave the package at the door Misty?” Nivan asked. He squinted as he gazed up at the tower above the house. Seagulls flew in circles around the building. 

    “That would be rude. As a mail person I must make sure that the package is handed off properly.” Mystique banged her fist against the door. The seagulls aboved screeched and landed on the ground behind Nivan and Mystique. Concerned, Nivan moved himself closer to the door. 

    One eye could be seen as the door cracked open. “What do you want?” A voice asked, old and shaky. 

    “We’re here to deliver the shoes you ordered!” Mystique held out the package towards the door. The man’s head peeked closer. He had a long face, exaggerated even more by his goatee. A few of his teeth stuck out crooked from his mouth. 

    “Ah, right, my new shoes. Hurry-hurry come in before the gulls follow you inside.” Quickly the man opened the door. He grabbed Mystique by the arm and dragged her inside, Nivan followed without a second thought. As the seagulls flapped their wings, ready to enter the lake house, the old man slammed the door on them. 

    Inside the lake house smelled worse than on the docks of Jetier. Fish, rotted and dissected were strewn across tables and hung on walls by their tail fins. Mystique placed the package on a tiny dining table made for one, and pinched her nose. She noticed in the far corner of the room there was a pool of water. 

    The old man leaned against a counter, unconcerned with getting fish guts on his long blue robe. “Welcome to my lab. It’s nice to have visitors, even if you’re only here to deliver shoes.”

    “Thank you for letting us come in,” Mystique said, still eyeing the pool. 

    “I have to apologize for dragging you in so suddenly like that,” the old man replied. “Those damn seagulls are always after my research.

    “What do you research?” Mystique took a small step towards the pool.

    “I think he studies fish Misty,” Nivan said. 

    “Duh,” Mystique turned around and rolled her eyes at Nivan. “I mean what does Mr…. uh. What’s your name sir?” 

    “Professor Delirio, but just call me Delirio.” Delirio adjusted the cap on his head, letting strands of white frizzy hair escape and jut outwards. He hobbled over to the pool and knelt down beside it. “You seem interested in what’s over here, come take a look.”

    Mystique and Nivan stared down into the pool. Inside the pool was empty save for one shark which darted from side to side at the bottom of the pool. Deliro dropped a piece of fish gut into the pool and they all watched as the shark swam up to greet the flesh which it quickly tore into with its jaws. 

    “It’s a saltwater shark,” said Delirio. “My cousin brought it over from his lab so that I could have at least some company during my research. Sure, I see the occasional delivery person and the random Zora, but everyone needs a friend at least.” 

    “What’d you name it?” Mystique asked.

    “Ruto, after the great Zora sage of olden days.” Ruto snapped her jaws at Deliro as he dropped another piece of fish into the tank. “As for my research, I keep an eye on the levels in the lake. Make sure that everything within this ecosystem is healthy and thriving. Without this lake Hyrule would struggle to thrive.”

    “What are the Zoras like?” Mystique watched as another piece of fish guts floated down towards Ruto. 

    “They’re very cautious people,” Delirio answered. “They don’t like to interact with Hylians more than they need to. I think the only reason I see them is because they know my research. Sometimes they tend to leave fish for me, which speeds up my research.”

    Nivan got up, and instinctively brushed dust off of his pants. “Thank you for letting us come in for a bit Mr. Delirio, but we better start on our way back to Castle Town before the gates close.”

    “You won’t make it in time,” Delirio answered. Mystique and Nivan glanced at each other worried. “Here, let me give you some rupees along with my shoe payment to spend a night at the Jetier Inn. I’d offer for you to stay here, but I don’t have any accommodations for guests.” Delirio handed Mystique a small pouch of rupees as they exited the lake house. 

    Back in Jetier, the docks continued to be filled with Hylians carrying baskets of fish out of tiny boats. Each person dumped their basket of fish into a slightly larger barrel and repeated their tasks. As Mystique and Nivan wandered, looking for any indication of an inn, Mystique noticed a woman, her hair pulled behind a handkerchief. Without telling Nivan, Mystique turned down a random direction. The woman followed. 

    “Excuse me ma’am?” Mystique turned around to stare at the woman. Her dress was covered in stains and her gloves had rips and tears along the fingers. “Why are you following us?”

    Taken aback, the woman paused before she crouched down to be at eye level with Mystique. “Where are your parents?”

    “In Castle Town.” Mystique pointed in a direction she was confident led to Castle Town. 

    The woman could not hide the fear and worry as it took over her entire face. Her hand shook as she clasped them around Mystique’s hands. “You two are alone?! It’s so dangerous to travel here especially at such a young age.” 

    Mystique nodded her head towards Nivan. “That’s why Nivan’s with me. He’s got a sword.”

    The woman made a strange sound, like a snort and a gurgle combined. “But he’s just a boy.”

    “I’m training to one day be a knight of Hyrule, I’m sure I could handle any danger.” Nivan piped in, he held his hand on the hilt of his sword ready to pull it. 

    “No offense, but one boy against dozens of bokoblins and moblins isn’t going to end well.” The woman glared over at Nivan. 

    “Since when are there bokoblins about?” Mystique asked.

    “Did,... did neither of you see the monster camp on your way here?” The woman looked at Mystique flabbergasted. “They’ve been traveling around Hyrule Field near Jetier for weeks.”

    “Sorry, but we didn’t see them.” Mystique noticed a pretty blue and silver pin that held the handkerchief on the woman’s head. 

    “Can you tell us where the inn is though?” Nivan asked. 

    “Sure, it’s the first building on the shore next to the docks. One night's stay is twenty-rupees per person. If you don’t have the money I can lend you some.” The woman rummaged her pockets.

    “That’s okay, we have the rupees.” Nivan interrupted. The woman frowned as she got up and left. 

    At the inn only one room was available, but Nivan and Mystique didn’t mind. They followed the innkeeper up to a small room with a window that overlooked Jetier and Lake Hylia. The sun slowly drifted towards the mountains to the west, and something shined in the distance. Two plates of salted fish were left by the bedside table. 

    “This definitely isn’t as tasty as pumpkin stew,” Mystique took a bite of the salted fish. She wanted to gag, but didn’t. 

    Nivan ate his fish with relative ease, “As you get older you have to be less picky of an eater.”

    “Is that what happens when you turn twelve? You suddenly become an adult?” 

    “I’m more of an adult than I was at ten.” Nivan took a large chunk of salted fish and swallowed it. He smiled at Mystique with bits of fish flakes stuck in his teeth. 

    Mystique pinched her nose as she swallowed tiny pieces of her salted fish. She pondered over the possibility of having to eat salted fish every day of her life and she frowned. “Do you think we can go looking for Zoras?” She asked. 

    “It’s sunset, so I doubt any Zoras are around Jetier.” Nivan answered, his plate already empty. “We should get an early night so we can get home as soon as possible.” He placed his plate on the table and laid down in the bed. 

    After a few more bites Mystique finished her meal. She glanced at the wall as it basked itself in a warm amber glow from the sunset. Her shadow stretched across the room and onto the wall. Inside her, something sent a shock into her mind as she stared at her own shadow. A scream stayed stifled in her throat. 

    “What’s wrong,” Nivan glanced up at her. He propped himself up on his elbows. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

    “I had a bad dream last night,” she answered.

    “What about?”

    “There was this dark shadowy figure in the alleyway and then again by the fountain. It… it destroyed everything Nivan, and it kept talking about some sort of hero. That I wasn’t the person it was looking for.” 

    Nivan looked away from Mystique and towards their shadows against the wall. “Ah, you had one of those dreams.”

    “Have you had a dream like that before?”

    “Yeah, every kid in Castle Town has dreams like that once they turn ten.” Nivan laid back down on the bed and turned on his side. “Come on, let’s get some rest.” He turned his head and stared at Mystique. “But if you ever have that dream again please tell me okay?”

    “Okay,” Mystique said as she laid down in bed. She stared out at the window as the sun dipped below the horizon and she was greeted with darkness. 

    In the early glow of the morning, Mystique and Nivan set out from the inn. Even in the earliest time of day, people still stood outside the docks. Many Hylian men stood inside their boats, untying them from the docks, their oars placed within arms reach. At the edge of one of the docks, Mystique noticed a large blue person with a fishtail on its head. The person paced frantically back and forth on the dock.

    “Hey Nivan, I think that there’s a Zora over there!” Mystique tapped on his shoulder and pointed in the direction of the blue person. “Can we go say hi?”

    Nivan shook his head, “He looks rather busy, and we need to get back home. Come on.” 

    Mystique glanced back one more time at the Zora as it paced back and forth on the docks. It stopped a few Hylians and gesticulated wildly with its arms. After a moment, it shook its head and dove back into Lake Hylia. Mystique followed Nivan back onto Hyrule Field with more questions than answers in her head. 

    About a little ways away from Jetier, near a little sign which pointed in many different directions Nivan stopped. As Mystique attempted to stride past him, he placed his arm across her path. 

    “Do you see that?” He asked.

    “See what?” Mystique glanced across the horizon and noticed something that certainly wasn’t there yesterday. There, placed near several trees was a campsite. “Do you think that’s what the woman was talking about?”

    “Probably.” Nivan paused, “we should give the camp as much space as possible since they haven’t noticed us.”

    “Hey,” Mystique pouted. “I thought you said you could take on a bunch of bokoblins and be fine!”

    “Yeah I only said that to calm the lady down… and only if we had to fight them.”

    “Well I don’t see any bokoblins around, so I’m going to go take a quick look.” Mystique ducked under Nivan’s arm and ran towards the camp. 

    “You’re going to do what?!” He shouted as he chased after Mystique. 

    It wasn’t long before Mystique, well ahead of Nivan, reached the edge of the camp. Within the circle of tents the remains of a fire sat burnt and blackened against the dirt. Mystique placed her hand against the tent closest to her, and felt the cold smooth texture of leather. She shut her eyes as the stench of bokoblin hit her like a wall. Tears formed as she blinked a few times and rubbed her eyes as if that would have removed the stench from all around her. Nivan placed his hand on her shoulder, his sword drawn. 

    “We shouldn’t be this close, we need to leave.” He said.

    “It smells so bad,” Mystique coughed into her sleeve. “But there are no bokoblins around?”

    “They’re probably asleep, come on.” Nivan grabbed a hold of Mystique’s arm and slowly guided her away from the tents. 

    “Hey!” A mysterious voice echoed out into the open. Nivan dropped Mystique’s hand and raised his sword. He looked all around them, only to see nothing. “Look towards the big tent.” The voice said. 

    Mystique stared back at the circle of tents. One of them, slightly bigger than the rest with a skull half-hazardly stitched on top, a green glow emitted from inside. “I think the voice is coming from in there Nivan.”

    “It sounds like a trap Misty, we better go.” Nivan took a few steps away from the tents. When he turned around to see if Mystique had followed, he instead saw her next to the entrance of the big tent. His heart jumped into his throat, but he only let out a sigh as he slowly made his way towards the big tent. 

    Mystique peered inside the tent, her hands wrapped tightly around one of its poles. Inside the tent a rather large, smelly pile of leather lumped itself in the center of the room. Several clubs and bats leaned against the side of the tent, and on the opposite side away from the weapons was a cage with a glowing green light. 

    “Oh hey, you actually listened.” The voice said. “Why don’t you come over here and help me out okay?”

    Carefully, Mystique tip-toed over to the cage as Nivan slowly followed behind her. He let out a tiny curse as he watched the pile of leather take a large breath of air followed by a snore. 

    “We are in a room with a living breathing bokoblin Mystique.” Nivan whispered. “We need to leave now!”

    “We have to help what’s in the cage first,” Mystique stated quietly. When she reached the cage, she leaned in to see what was inside. All she saw was a glowing green light. “What are you?” She asked. 

    “Wow kid, you seriously have no idea what I am?” The glowing green light said. “Have you heard of a fairy by chance?” 

    “I’ve heard of them in a few storybooks my mother used to read to me.”

    “Guess what, I’m actually real. Save your awe and childlike wonderment for later. First let's get me out of this cage.” The fairy said. 

    “Okay, what do we have to do?” Mystique asked.

    “There’s a door to my cage. It’s locked.” The fairy stated. “The key to my cage is around the neck of big, smelly, and dumb over there. Can you get the key for me?”

    “Uh” Mystique paused and looked back between the fairy, the bokoblin, and Nivan who shook his head wildly. “Sure.” 

    “Mystique don’t do it!” Nivan whisper-screamed as Mystique crept closer to the bokoblin. 

    As she hovered over the bokoblin, she noticed two long ears that drooped down and curled at their tips. Two big pointy fangs stuck out upward from the bokoblins jaw, and a tiny horn pointed out from its head. A pig nose covered a large portion of the face, so when the creature snored in its sleep, a puff of hot air hit against Mystique’s face. She held in a gag as she focused on where the key was, a tiny piece of metal attached to a piece of leather underneath the bokoblin’s hefty chin. Recklessly, she yanked the key and snapped it off of the leather around the creature’s neck. The bokoblin let out a startled choking noise as it sputtered and gagged in its sleep. Mystique stood over the creature, frozen in fear. Nivan stood nearby with his sword raised, but after a few moments, the bokoblin went back to snoring peacefully. 

    “That was really stupid,” Nivan whispered. Mystique ignored him as she opened the cage with the little metal cage. 

    The cage door swung open, and the glowing green light darted faster than either of them expected out of the tent. Without another moment spent, they followed the light as it darted further and further away from the tents. After they ran after the light for quite some time, the fairy finally stopped at an intersection, far away from the bokoblin camp. 

    “Couldn’t you have at least said thank you!” Nivan shouted at the fairy. 

    “I couldn’t do that until I knew for sure that I wasn’t going to be that dumb oafs personal torch anymore.” The fairy floated in front of Mystique and Nivan, it slowly fluttered over to Nivan and rested on his head. “So, yeah thanks for saving me, but now all that flying has me tired. I’m just going to rest on your head.” 

    “I thought fairies were meant to fly,” Mystique asked as she and Nivan continued to travel. 

    “When you get stuck in a cage for years, your wings aren’t as strong as they used to be.” The fairy shuffled herself on top of Nivan’s head. “Hey, where are you two kids heading anyway?” 

    “Castle Town.” Mystique pointed in the direction she thought Castle Town was in. Nivan adjusted her hand so that she pointed in the actual direction Castle Town was in. 

    “I can’t say I’ve ever really been to Castle Town. This will be a fun trip.” 

    “You’re staying with us?” Mystique smiled.

    “I’ve got nowhere else to go, so sure why not.” 

    “What’s your name?”

    “Lumina.”

    Lumina yawned as Nivan and Mystique walked closer and closer towards Castle Town. Soon the tall towers of Hyrule Castle could be seen followed by the southern gate to the town. As the three drew even closer the loud sounds of bustle and conversation from Castle Town drifted over the moat and into the field. It wasn’t long before they were immersed in the crowds coming and going from Castle Town, and they were swept up into the streets of the city. The smells of roasted cucco and baked bread mingled with the flowery perfumes of pedestrians who walked about in nice outfits. 

    In front of Lurkien’s Shoes, customers entered and exited the building holding pairs of new and repaired shoes. Some of the people that exited her father’s store wore fancy dresses and wigs, while others dressed as any Castle Town shopkeeper would. Mystique, Nivan, and Lumina entered the store like any customer would: through the front door. 

    Mr. Luriken sat at his workstation in the little storefront carved inside his house. Several shelves filled with shoes lined up against the walls, and a couple seats filled the center of the room. A woman with reddish hair sat in one of them, trying on a pair of knee-high boots. Mystique’s father looked up from his bench and his face erupted in tears of joy as Mystique and Nivan entered the room. 

    “You’re back!” He ran over and hugged Mystique and Nivan in his arms. The woman trying on the boots watched awkwardly as she struggled to get the other boot on. Mr. Luriken ran over and up the stairs. 

    After a moment, Mrs Luriken followed her husband down the stairs and into the shop. Her smile quickly turned into a frown when she noticed the glowing green orb which sat on top of Nivan’s head. 

    “What is that?” Mystique’s mother said as she pointed at Lumina. 

    “We found a fairy!” Mystique exclaimed.

    “Mystique you can’t just be bringing in strange creatures from the wild,” her mother tapped her foot on the ground. 

    “Thanks lady, I can understand Hylian you know,” Lumina replied coldly. 

    “If you can understand me, then why are you outside of the Great Deku Forest? Aren’t you supposed to never leave there.” Mystique’s mother reciprocated the tone. 

    “I got a little distracted and ended up farther away from the forest than I realized.” Lumina replied. “Your children were nice enough to find me and help me. All I ask is that you let me rest for a bit, and I’ll be on my way.” 

    The reddish haired woman awkwardly handed Mr. Luriken a pouch of rupees before leaving the store. “Would you mind if we have the rest of this conversation in the dining room away from customers?” Mr. Luriken said. Everyone soon shuffled into the next room over from the shop. 

    “Mother can Lumina please stay just for a little bit.” Mystique begged. 

    Mrs. Luriken looked between her daughter and the glowing green orb on Nivan’s head. She leaned her head against her husband’s shoulder and glanced up at him. Without saying a word to each other they communicated what to do in this situation. Both Mr. and Mrs. Luriken stared at Lumina before an answer was spoken out loud.

    “Okay, she can stay, but only for a bit.” Mystique’s mother said. 

Chapter Text

Mystique sat on the balcony above Luriken’s shoes. Lumina floated beside Mystique as she watched passerbys drift by on the street like a current. She sighed, her hand placed on her cheek, as the broom rested against the balcony door. 

    “Man, what an exciting life you live,” Lumina said. “All you do is not listen to your mom and get grounded.” 

    “I had more important things to do besides clean.” Mystique grumbled. 

    “Yeah, from what I remember you running around Castle Town was so much more important than something she asked you to do multiple times.” 

    “Hey.” Mystique glared over at Lumina. “I thought you were my friend, why are you taking my mother’s side.”

    “Because,” Lumina floated near Mystique. “She’s right. That, and if I stay on her good side she’ll keep letting me live here.”

    “I’m surprised she’s let you stay for a month,” Mystique agreed. 

    “If you know how to please adults, anything is possible,” Lumina replied, confidence and snark rang out from her voice. 

    Mystique pondered as she continued to watch more Hylians as they traveled by. A man with a large sack and combed back hair struggled through the crowds as if he were a Goron. “Hey,” she started to ask. “Since you’re a fairy, do you have any special magical powers?”

    “You’re asking me because you want me to make your cleaning duties easier aren’t you.” Lumina scoffed. 

    “Yeah, duh.” Mystique turned her attention towards Lumina. “Well, can you?”

    “Only thing I can do is this kid,” Lumina replied.

    “Do… what?” Mystique asked as Lumina floated closer to her. Slight, small sparks erupted from the fairy, and before Mystique had the opportunity to move, Lumina charged full force into Mystique. She felt the sting of needles against her skin followed by the inability to move her muscles. “What did you do?!” Mystique said, fear climbed into her voice. 

    You asked what I could do, and that’s what I did, kid. It’s called paralysis. You’ll be free to move in a bit.” Lumina floated off of the balcony. “For now, I’m going to go take a look around Castle Town. I’ll be back in a bit okay?” 

    Lumina drifted away from the balcony and down into the streets of Castle Town. After getting knocked around by several busy Hylians who rushed without care, Lumina decided to float just above the crowd. She bobbed slowly, and took her time to observe the types of people who collected themselves within the walls of the city. She quickly noted that while Hylians smelled nicer than any bokoblin, there were a variety of scents that ranged from flowery to garbage. 

    As she turned down another street, she noticed a tiny stall with flowers which spilled out of the baskets and onto the street. Lumina flew close to the flowers and rested on a petal. The girl who ran the shop seemed to be a caricature of a flower itself. She wore a long slim green dress which clung tightly to her body. Her hair sprung out like petals themselves, and her hands were like thorns as she swiped Lumina off of her merchandise. 

    Not sure where to go next, Lumina drifted along the paths of the crowds until it led her to a square with a fountain. She had already seen the fountain several times, every day in fact. But the sight of the sages decorated around the hero and the princess left Lumina in awe. It had been rumored, back in an old legend, that fairies used to help the hero who destroyed the darkness. Navi was her name if Lumina remembered correctly. Lumina noted that there was no fairy near the statue of the hero and floated away, down another street. 

    Where Lumina ended up next was her curiosity to follow the sounds of voices. She had ended up weaving into the crowd when all of a sudden she heard a voice scream “Link!” somewhere in the distance. Going against the current, Lumina followed the screams for Link until she arrived at one of the few alleyways squished between houses. There in the narrow street, beside some boxes, were four kids. Lumina hid behind a box as she listened in. 

    In the center of the alley two boys stood face to face with wooden swords. The shorter one panted, with a burning confidence and courage in his eyes. His red hair clung to his face under a green handkerchief. He raised his wooden sword towards the taller boy. 

    “Do you really think that you can defeat me, hero?” The taller boy shouted. He had scruffy blonde hair and a larger sword. The red haired boy just stared at him. “I’m surprised that you even made it this far hero. It’s a shame that you took out my lieutenant.” 

   Over on one of the boxes sat a girl with long flowing hair. She wore a crown of flowers around her head. “Link can easily defeat you, you monster,” she cupped her hands around her mouth as she shouted towards the taller boy. “It’s his purpose in life to show up to defeat monsters like you. There’s a reason he defeated all of your henchmen so easily.”

   The blonde boy laughed, a big evil laugh. “He won all those matches only by luck, Princess Zelda.” 

   The girl stuck out her tongue, “Well I believe in Link and he’s going to destroy you just like he always has throughout history.” 

   The blonde boy glared at the girl, “You really aren't a wise princess. Do you even see the boy before you? Your hero can barely even lift his sword. Even in this weak body that I possess I can and will easily destroy your hero. For I have the triforce of power, and any attempt to destroy me for hundreds of years have failed. What makes this attempt any different? I am the king of darkness, and for every light in this land a shadow shall consume it. I shall—”

   Next to the girl with the flower crown, a boy sat on the other box. “Roul this is getting boring just fight Link already.”

   Roul rolled his eyes, “Oh for Din’s sake Hudde way to interrupt my epic monologue.” 

   “He’s right you know,” the red haired boy piped in. “You always go too long on your monologues.”

   “Well what do you expect the lord of darkness to do Link?” Roul pointed his wooden sword at the red haired boy. 

   “Guys this game is getting boring,” Hudde interrupted again. “Can I play someone else next game. I’m sick of playing the lieutenant and dying so early in the game, I’d even play Princess Zelda over the lieutenant.” 

   “You know the rules, Hudde,” the girl said.

   “That’s no fair Fiona.” Hudde whined. 

   “Rules are rules,” Fiona answered. “We all play parts closest to who we’d be in the story, and you resemble the lieutenant the most.” 

   Lumina fluttered out from behind the crate and towards Fiona and Hudde. “I don’t see your Link having a fairy sidekick so how accurate is your game really?” 

   At the sight of Lumina, Fiona screamed. She shot up from her crate and ran over into the arms of Roul. “Bug!” She howled. “Kill it Hudde! Kill it!”

   “I am not a bug!” Lumina screamed. “How dare you even think that about me.” 

   “Aren’t you the fairy that started following Mystique around?” Hudde asked while Fiona continued to sob and scream.

   “Good memory kid.” Lumina answered. 

   “You should tell her to come play with us again sometime. It’s always nice to have her play as Meegan. It’s a lot less lonely sitting on the boxes when she’s here.” Hudde smiled, several of his teeth were missing. 

   “I’ll let her know,” Lumina replied. “And I bet she’ll come to play so long as she doesn’t get grounded again.” 

   “Why’s she grounded?” Hudde asked. 

   “For the same reason she usually is. She doesn’t listen.” Lumina floated up and darted down the alleyway. She zig-zaged through the crowds until she landed right on the little railing of the balcony above Luriken’s Shoes. 

   Mystique shuddered and glared at Lumina, her eyes looked like war. “What did you do that for Lumina!” She screamed. 

   Lumina chuckled, “you asked what type of magic I could do, and that’s your answer kid.” 

   Mystique stomped her foot, “well it wasn’t funny. I couldn’t move for what felt like forever.” 

   “It was probably only five minutes.” Lumina sighed and floated close to Mystique’s face. She noticed that Mystique got her fiery eyes from her mother. “By the way, some kids in an alley told me to tell you to go play with them as Meegan.” 

   “Ugh,” Mystique replied as she turned away from the fairy. Lumina darted around to stare directly at Mystique’s face again. “I don’t want to play with Roul, Fiona, Link, and Hudde.” Mystique pouted. 

   “Why not kid?”

   “Roul and Link are absolute jerks to Nivan. They never let him join in the games.” Mystique leaned over the railing, “so since they won’t let Nivan play, I won’t play either.” 

   “Jeez, that’s rough,” Lumina bobbled about in the air before she landed on Mystique’s head. “Say, why don’t we go find Nivan and see what he’s up to.”

   “I’m grounded, remember?”

   “I’m sure your parents would be fine with you fetching Nivan.” Lumina pulled at a few of Mystique’s hairs, “now come on let’s go.” 

   When Mystique entered the house and went downstairs. Her father was at his workstation, fixing a pair of boots with splatters of blood on them. She stood in front of his desk for a few moments before he finally looked away from his work. 

   “I’m off to go get Nivan if that’s okay?” Mystique said.

   “Okay, be back by dinner,” Mr. Luriken replied, already dissolving back into his current project. 

   Without another word, Mystique slipped out of Luriken’s Shoes and into the busy streets of Castle Town. Lumina held on tightly to Mystique’s head as she darted and weaved seamlessly between the crowds and to where both of them knew Nivan would be. 

   When Mystique and Lumina arrived in the washing square, Nivan sat under the tree. He brushed some dirt off of his gloves and seemed to be off in his own little world. 

   “Are you going to do your magic trick on Nivan?” Mystique whispered.

   “Nah, I have a better idea.” Lumina carefully floated off of Mystique’s head and towards Nivan. As she drifted towards his ear, she jingled her entire body and sounded like a reckless windchime. 

   Nivan jumped up from the tree and spun himself around to face Lumina. When he recognized who was there, he frowned. “I wish we hadn’t rescued you sometimes,” he said. 

   “You know,” Lumina drifted closer to Nivan. He took a step back as her wings flapped against his face. “For a boy who practices sword fighting with no one you sure have a lot of guts.” 

   Nivan took a step forward and slightly nudged Lumina away from his face. “That’s because I don’t have anyone to practice with.”

   “I’m sure there’s someone in this giant  city that would be willing. How many young Hylians want to be a part of the knights of Hyrule after all?” Lumina started to fly circles slowly around Nivan. 

   He watched the fairy with his eyes, “you think I haven’t looked? Not many people like me here.”

   “Yeah Mystique hinted at that earlier,” Lumina sneered. “But don’t worry, I have an idea to improve your practice.” 

   “And what’s that fairy?” Nivan sneered back.

   “If you two follow me, you’ll find out.” Lumina, without waiting for an answer, floated out of the square and back into the busy streets. Mystique glanced at Nivan as he walked over to the tree and picked up his sword. Without another word the two of them followed Lumina.

   Lumina led the group to the eastern gate. The gate was smaller than the southern gate, with less foot traffic. On the other side of the moat a tiny terraced garden rested before the path to Hyrule field began. Several women in billowed dresses and decorative hats sat on the garden’s benches and chatted. Lumina floated by casually with Mystique and Nivan in tow. 

   “Where are we going?” Mystique asked. 

   “Just, keep following,” Lumina replied. The three of them had now started to walk on the stoned path on Hyrule field. 

   Mystique looked up towards Death Mountain as it loomed higher in the sky. Something large, she noticed, circled around the plume of smoke. She blinked a few times before she focused back on the path. Lumina flew off the path and followed a dirt road until the group stopped in front of a tiny farm. 

   “Why is this farm by itself? Shouldn’t it be with Lonlon of Tilton?” Mystique asked as Lumina floated over the gate. Gently, Mystique pushed it open to find out that it was unlocked. 

   Hesitantly, Nivan and Mystique followed Lumina until she stopped in a little fenced yard behind the farm house. There was a small patch of vegetables growing uncontrollably and a lone cucco pecking at  the dirt. 

   “Okay Nivan, fight the cucco.” Lumina said. 

   “You want me to fight the cucco?!” Nivan said, flabbergasted. “You took us all the way to this little farm to fight a cucco when we could’ve found one in Castle Town.” 

   “Stop talking and just fight it.” Lumina said. 

   “How did you know there’d be a cucco here?” Mystique asked.

   “I was hoping that there’d be a bokoblin here in the field or something,” Lumina replied. “But it seems that this little farm will have to do.” Lumina turned towards Nivan. “Now, fight the cucco.”

   Nivan unsheathed his sword and walked slowly towards the cucco. It seemed innocent and carefree as it pecked mindlessly at the dirt. The cucco did not care when Nivan lifted his sword and swung it towards the perfect white feathers on its back. Nivan stopped his sword just short of slicing the cucco in half and looked at it with pity. 

   “This seems unfair,” said Nivan. “Of course I can mindlessly slaughter a cucco like a farmer. This isn’t what a knight would fight.” 

   “Why don’t we give the little guy a fighting chance then?” Lumina said as she  bobbed over to the cucco. She let little sparks leave her body as she tackled the cucco. 

   The cucco shuddered and cracked its head towards the sky. It opened its beak like a gateway to hell as a loud screeching, “kwaaaaaaaaaaaaak” erupted into the air. Suddenly, there were cuccos everywhere. They emerged from the overgrown vegetable garden, from the tiny trees just outside the fence, and from the very sky itself. 

   “Whoops,” Lumina muttered. “Come on kids, let's go hide in the house!” Lumina, without looking back, raced towards the little farmhouse and flew inside it through a broken window. 

   Nivan stared frozen at the wall of enraged cuccos as it drew nearer to him. Mystique grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the farm house’s door. She opened the door and slammed it shut behind both of them before any cucco could even attempt to enter the home. Several loud thwacks hit against the door. Not knowing what else to do, Nivan pushed an old dusty table against the door to hold it shut. 

   Inside the house there was only dust and cobwebs. Mystique and Nivan entered the kitchen to find Lumina as she drifted around the room. There was a round table with a basket of moldy bread and several towels with holes eaten out of them. Wilted and decayed flowers sat in a vase by the broken window. 

   “Do you think a cucco can make it through the window?” Mystique asked.

   “I barely fit through that hole, so they better not be able to.” Lumina answered. She floated out of the kitchen and back into the main room. Mystique and Nivan followed her as she drifted into the bedroom. “I bet this was a cute place to live,” Lumina muttered. 

   “Whoever lived here is long gone.” Nivan said as he walked over to the dresser. On top of it were several frames with photographs inside. He picked one up and wiped away the dust to see a picture of a happy couple standing in front of the farm house. 

   “It seems like it’s only been abandoned for a few years… I think,” Lumina replied. She rested on the bed in the center of the room. 

   “How can you tell?” Nivan picked up another frame and wiped away the dust to reveal the couple in the garden. This time the woman is pregnant. 

   “I’m just guessing kid,” Lumina sighed. “Hey, do either of you know about Meegan?”

   “Yeah that’s the character that Roul and Fiona always made me be,” Mystique answered. “Did Hudde tell you about her?” 

   “What do you remember about her?” Lumina asked. 

   “It’s been awhile since I’ve played with them,” Mystique said. 

    “Misty’s very bad at history,” Nivan answered. He picked up the last frame and wiped off the dust to reveal the couple holding onto a bundle of blankets and looking down at it. “What do you want to know about Meegan Lumina?” 

    “Whatever you can tell me kid,” Lumina replied. 

    “In the stories I heard growing up,” Nivan started, “Meegan was known as the queen of all poes. She also earned the title Mistress of Shadows after seducing a figure known as the lieutenant, the right hand man to the king of darkness himself.”

    “Do you think she’s still around?” Lumina floated towards the other door in the bedroom. 

    “If she really existed then probably,” Nivan answered. “Poes don’t usually go away that easily.”

    “Doesn’t Hyrule have poe hunters for that.” Lumina replied from the other room. Mystique and Nivan followed her into a room with a tiny cradle inside it. Inside the cradle a stuffed cucco rested, dusty and worn. 

    “I’m sure we do.” Nivan said. 

    All three of them stood in silence as they stared at the cradle. Nivan rubbed his left arm while Mystique played with her hair. 

    “It sounds like  the cuccos stopped attacking,” Lumina broke the silence. “We should head back to Castle Town.” 

    Silently, the three of them exited the abandoned farmhouse and walked back towards Castle Town. As Mystique looked up into the sky, she noticed the yellow and orange glow of sunset, and began to quicken her pace. Soon Nivan ran after her, and all three dashed towards the gates of Castle Town. As the gate appeared on the horizon a loud cranking noise erupted into the air and Mystique ran even faster. She had reached the garden terrace when the gate had fully closed for the knight. Horrified, she turned around to Nivan who clutched his sword tighter as the last bits of sunlight disappeared under the horizon. 

    “This isn’t good.” Mystique whispered. 

    “Why are you whispering kid?” Lumina shouted.

    “Shhhhhhh,” Mystique answered. She put her finger to her lips and looked around the terrace. “Every Hylian knows how dangerous the field is at night.” 

    “Well, then Nivan gets to get some real practice now,” Lumina said. “Though, we are so close to the gate that I’m sure no monster will come too close to us.”

    The three of them sat on one of the benches on the terrace and stared off into the darkness of the field. Off in the distance, Death Mountain glowed warm red embers and the faintest lights from Kakariko danced in the night sky. 

    “Most cities have some sort of protection from the field,” Nivan whispered. “While most places like Kakariko, Lonlon, and Jetier have gates. Castle Town has the luxury of the drawbridge moats.”

    “This doesn’t feel like a luxury,” Lumina spoke back. 

    “It’s extra safety for the people of Castle Town. Harder for the monsters to break it down compared to a metal gate.” Nivan replied. “I wonder how that little farmhouse survived the nights on the field.” 

    “Clearly they left for someplace else,” Lumina replied.

    “Hey… guys,” Mystique whispered. Her hand pointed out to the bottom of the staircase, her fingers shaking. 

    A hand slowly pushed itself out from underneath the dirt of the field followed by another. All three of them watched in silence as several more hands erupted from the earth and into the night. Skulls tore their way out from the dirt, chomping their maws and rattling their teeth. The first creature to free itself from the ground looked up towards Mystique and began to slowly drag itself up the stairs. 

    “It’s your time to shine kid,” Lumina said as she shoved Nivan towards the skeletons. 

    Nivan held out his sword, and stood with his feet positioned apart. He waited as the skeleton came closer to the group. When it was within reach of his sword, Nivan swung and chopped the skeleton in half. A loud scream echoed into the night as the skeleton shriveled and squirmed against the stone terrace. Several more skeletons made their way towards Nivan and he continued to swing his sword at them. For every skeleton Nivan seemed to slay, five more replaced it. They all wobbled and dragged themselves mindlessly towards Nivan, teeth clattering and bones hissing and creaking. 

    “There’s too many of them.” Nivan shouted. He turned around and looked at Mystique with only fear in his eyes. 

    “We should hide.” Mystique yelled back. She grabbed Nivan’s arm and pulled him away  as more skeletons hobbled up onto the terrace. She leapt over the terrace hedges and onto a thick stone railing and crouched behind it. “Hopefully they won’t notice us over here,” she whispered. 

    “Kid, we only traveled a few feet, they can’t be blind.” Lumina replied. She sunk herself as close to the ground as possible. 

    After several moments of silence, Nivan peaked his head out from behind the hedge. “They aren’t following us,” he whispered. 

    “What are they doing?” Mystique whispered back. 

    “Take a look for yourself,” Nivan answered.

    Mystique peered out from behind the hedges and watched as the horde of skeletons slowly made their way towards the gate. She watched as the first few to reach where the bridge should have been fell helplessly into the water. None of the other skeletons noticed and wave after wave of skeletons fell into the moat. A low moan emitted into the air as more skeletons filled the moat. Mystique shuddered as she listened and watched. 

    Eventually, she noticed, the moat filled in with enough skeletons that some of them crossed over to the gate. The skeletons that reached the gate scrapped and banged on the large wooden doors, they whined into air and hissed as their fists helplessly knocked against the door. Soon, like the moat, wave after wave of skeletons pushed themselves against the door. 

    “Can you hear what they’re saying?” Lumina whispered.

    “No.”

    “Let us in.” Lumina replied. 

    One of the skeletons, who clawed at other skeletons, turned around and stared at the field. It yelped and pushed itself desperately against the others, not caring how the other skeletons reacted to it. Curious, other skeletons turned their attention away from the door and towards the field. They all had the same reaction as the first. It didn’t click with Mystique what had changed until the first skeleton horse stopped outside of the terrace. 

    When the rider disembarked from its horse, the first thing Mystique noticed was how much bigger the skeleton was compared to those clawing at the door. As it walked effortlessly up the stairs, followed by several other large skeletons, she saw the rusty armor that hung against their bones. She didn’t recognize any of the symbols on the armor before Nivan pulled her down below the hedges and out of sight from the armored skeletons. 

    Mystique looked confused at Nivan as he gestured for her to stay quiet. As she opened her mouth to speak, dozens of skeletons cried out into the night. The sound was the same sound that came from the ones Nivan had slain, except instead of one cry it was a chorus of terror. Mystique squeezed her eyes shut as the sound of shrieking skeletons filled the air. That was the last thing she remembered before she fell asleep. 

    In the pink haze of the morning, the eastern gate drawbridge creaked loudly as it opened. Mystique woke up startled, and almost fell off of the stone railing and onto the grass below. Nivan caught her, she looked up at his bloodshot eyes matched with dark circles under them. He smiled at her before a yawn took over his entire face. 

    “Good morning Misty,” Nivan said. “We should probably head home.” 

    Mystique furrowed her brows at Nivan and nodded. Effortlessly she hopped over the railing to the terrace while Nivan carefully crawled over. As the three of them walked towards the gate, several women in funny hats walked towards the terrace. One of them held a cage with a bug inside of it. 

    When Mystique, Nivan, and Lumina arrived in front of Lurkien’s Shoes, the door was still locked. Nivan banged against the door several times before the door swung open. On the other side, Mr. Luriken stared wide eyed, his face puffy and red. Before anyone could say anything, he pulled Mystique and Nivan into a large hug. 

    Inside the house Mr. Luriken scrambled several cucco eggs while Mystique and Nivan sat at the kitchen table. Nivan’s head bobbed back and forth as he struggled to stay awake, and on the basket on the center of the table Lumina snored. Mr. Luriken placed several plates of scrambled eggs onto the table with slices of toast and smiled. 

    “Are we in trouble?” Mystique asked as she poked her breakfast.

    “Of course you are,” Mr. Luriken smiled at his daughter. “Your mother and I were up all night searching for you three.”

    “Where is mother?”

    “She should be back soon,” he replied. 

    As if on cue, the door to Luriken’s shoes opened and closed. Within a minute, Mrs. Luriken entered the kitchen, her hair done up in a tight bun and a grey scarf wrapped around her face. Mystique could not tell what expression rested on her mother’s face as they locked eyes. 

    “I already told her that they’re all grounded dear,” Mr. Lurkien said as he got up and embraced his wife. “Come sit down and have some breakfast.” 

    “Let me change first,” Mrs. Luriken replied. She left the dining room silently.

    “What was mother wearing?” Mystique asked with toast in her mouth. 

    “That’s her work uniform,” Mystique’s father replied as he set up another plate of eggs and toast on the table. He walked over to the stove and put a kettle on. 

    When Mystique’s mother came back into the kitchen, her hair fell down in its usual loose braid and she wore her usual light green dress and apron. As Mrs. Luriken sat down at the kitchen table. Mystique thought she saw red on her mother’s face. 

    “Where were you three.” Mystique’s mother asked, clearly tired. 

    Mystique glanced over at Lumina and Nivan who were both asleep. “We were outside Castle Town mother.” She answered. 

    Mrs. Luriken dropped her fork onto the floor. The kettle hissed and shrieked as she bent down to pick it up off of the floor. When she stared again at Mystique, there was an unknown emotion etched across her face. “Where outside.”

    “On the field.”

    “At night?!” Mystique’s mother screeched. Mr. Luriken tried to hide his worry as he poured two cups of tea by the stove. 

    “We just missed the gate and didn’t know where to go.” 

    “Why were you even on the field so late.” Mrs. Luriken balled her fists on the table. Her husband placed a cup of tea next to her. 

    Mystique took a bite from her toast. She stared at Lumina fast asleep in the basket of bread on the table, and then over to Nivan who started to drool onto his plate. “We, I mean I thought it would be a good idea for Nivan to try and fight something to make him a better swordsman.” Mystique answered. 

    Mrs. Luriken sighed into her tea. She watched as Mystique glanced between her plate of food and the sleeping fairy. “It was the fairy’s idea wasn’t it.”

    “No,” Mystique answered immediately. “It was all my idea. We went out to the field and found a cucco to fight and then—”

    “It’s okay Mystique.” Mrs. Luriken interrupted her daughter. “Your father and I are just glad that you are all safe and in one piece.” She took a sip of her tea, “just promise to never do that again.”

    Mystique thought back to the night on the terrace, to the skeletons that pushed against the gates and the noises they made as they fell. She shuddered. “Yes mother, I promise to never do something like that ever again.” 

    Mrs. Luriken smiled at her daughter and relief washed over her face. “Good,” she paused. “You father and I have been talking recently, and we both think it would be good to have you deliver more shoes in town to customers. After you’re done being grounded you can start if you’d like.” 

    A smile cracked across Mystique’s face, bits of egg stuck in her teeth. “Of course!” She answers. 

Within Hyrule Castle it is rumored that there is a garden in the sky. On one of the many towers that pierce the heavens, a little balcony filled with plants from all over Hyrule exists. Ivy tangled itself over the railings and back into the tower where dozens of other plants grow and cling to the stone walls. On the balcony, a thin girl with straight brunette hair watched over Castle Town. She adjusted the necklace, gold and filled with jewels, around her neck, and caught her skirt as it danced in the wind. The tiara on her head looked large, and the pair of heels she should have been wearing were at the entrance to the balcony. 

    “Excuse me, Princess,” a tiny voice chirped from inside the tower. 

    The princess turned around and smiled. “You can come out onto the balcony Paige.”

    “Thank you Princess Zelda,” Paige bounced onto the balcony. Her blonde hair curled in numerous directions and made her head look almost circular. She picked up the pair of heels and handed them to Princess Zelda. “You should probably be wearing these.”

    “I hate those heels,” Princess Zelda replied. “I’ll wear them when I leave the tower and I’m in front of more people than just you.”

    “I’m honored that you can act so casually around me Princess,” Paige responded. 

    “Paige, we’ve known each other since almost birth,” Zelda said, slightly irritated. 

    “I am your servant Princess Zelda.” Paige bowed.

    “Yes, you are, and I’ve told you that you don’t need to be formal with me.” Zelda tapped her fingers against her necklace. “What brings you to the garden tower anyways.”

    “I was looking for you Princess.”

    “And who summoned me. Hopefully not father,” Zelda mumbled the last part.

    “Your mother, the Queen, has requested to see you in the royal library.” Paige said as she cheerfully ignored what Zelda mumbled. 

    Zelda directed her gaze below at the cramped buildings of Castle Town. From the tower she saw the fountain in the southern square, large and elegant as it stood as a barrier between the southern gate and the castle courtyard. Dozens of people, as small as ants, shuffled back and forth around the fountain. Zelda sighed and glided across the balcony and into the tower. 

    Paige, like a little bird, hopped behind Zelda as she walked down the tower’s stairs. Ivy draped down along the cracks of the walls and around the light fixtures. Plants with bright flowers bloomed from their vases perched on the window sills. In-between levels, the circular rooms hosted plants for each section of Hyrule and beyond. Zelda paused in front of the icy-cold room which represented Zora’s domain, a fountain filled with floating algae and plants that took up most of the space. Above the fountain, several jellyfish looking lights swayed. 

    Paige leaned over Zelda’s shoulder. “Did something catch your eye Princess?”

    “Not really, I just needed a moment to catch my breath.” 

    “We’re going downstairs Princess.” Paige rested her chin on Zelda’s shoulder.

    Zelda shook off Paige and proceeded to go back down the stairs. At the base of the tower a small space filled with test tubes and scattered remains of plants spread across a large round table. A sheikah laid sprawled against the table clearly asleep. The girls walked past, careful as to not wake the asleep scientist and continued on their way.

    The inside of Hyrule Castle sprawled out with long decorative hallways and high ceilings with chandeliers that dangled on polished chains. Artwork hung against the walls which depicted centuries of history within the Hyrule royal family. Occasionally, Zelda had always noticed that whenever a hero appeared in Hyrule, he was included within the portrait. Near the center of the castle interiors, a rather large portrait hung which illustrated the hero holding the royal family’s ocarina next to a Princess Zelda. No one had seen the ocarina since that painting, but no one had bothered looking for it last time Zelda had checked. She turned down a small intimate hallway and opened a shabby looking door which opened up to the great library of Hyrule Castle.

    Like the rest of the Castle, the library sprawled out farther and higher than any single Hylian could ever have imagined. Several large tables rested in the center of the room surrounded by rows of bookcases that needed ladders to reach the highest shelf. At one of the tables the Queen of Hyrule sat, her nose deep in a manuscript and dozens of books opened and scattered around her. Zelda cleared her throat. 

    The Queen looked up from her papers and smiled, “Good morning Zelda dear.”

    “It’s afternoon, mother,” Zelda corrected the Queen. 

    “Is it?” The Queen scratched her blonde head, her gloves covered in book dust. “I must have lost track of the time.” 

    Zelda leaned on the table and rested her chin on her hand. “What did you summon me here for mother?” 

    The Queen smiled, “I think I have gotten deeper into my research on the darkness and how we can prevent it.” 

    “You’re still on that?” Zelda huffed. “Mother, father says that there won’t be any darkness or dark lord any time soon. The last hero slayed him to bits and pieces.” 

    “That’s what the stories say every time.” The Queen said. “And I, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule do not believe them.” 

    Zelda rolled her eyes, “And why not.” 

    Queen Kasandra walked over to a book and flipped through its pages. After a moment, she stopped on a page and slammed it on the table in front of her daughter. On the page, an image of a Zelda with the triforce of wisdom rested. “You’re named Zelda,” Queen Kasandra began, “I did not name you that name out of coincidence like the dozens of Links which run around Castle Town.” 

    “We’ve been over this story, mother,” Zelda replied. 

    “And yet you don’t believe in your destiny. That the goddess Hylia herself came from the heavens while I was pregnant with you and told me to give you this name. For, every Zelda in our timeline has resulted in the resurrection of the darkness.” 

    “Then you should have named me something else if you didn’t want the darkness to arrive,” Zelda replied. 

    Queen Kasandra glared at her daughter. “I could not go against a prophecy to name you what I did.” 

    Paige watched as Zelda looked away from the Queen. “And, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule, how do we stop the darkness?” Paige asked. 

    Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule’s eyes lit up. She glided over to another book and flipped it open to a specific page. There were no images on it, just text. “From what I’ve read, there is no true way to prevent darkness, there are only ways to strengthen our forces to ward off evil. In order to do that, the next hero, as well as the sages, need to be found.”

    “Those are fairy tales mother,” Zelda tapped her foot. 

    Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule flipped her hair back and turned her attention towards another book. “Each sage has the ability to assist the hero and give him the power to slay the king of darkness. In some versions this is a medallion, sometimes it is through prayer, a few through music, and in an instance the sages physically assisted the hero. If we find them it will help prepare us for the inevitable.” 

    “And how are you going to do that?” Both Paige and Zelda looked towards the Queen with various expressions of curiosity, worry, and anger. 

    “I don’t know yet girls,” the Queen replied. “I’ve contacted Queen Rutamina, but I’ve yet to hear back.” Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule walked over to where both Paige and Princess Zelda stood. Without a word, she embraced both of them in a hug. “I just want to let you both know how much I care for you, you’re both like daughters to me.”

    “Thank you my Queen,” Paige replied. 

    As Queen Kasandra left the hug, she admired both girls. “I can’t believe in a few years we’ll have to find Zelda a prince to marry,” she said. “He’ll be a lucky man.”

    Princess Zelda blushed as she adjusted her tiara. “Is there anything else that you’d like to discuss mother?” 

    Queen Kasandra of Hyrule clasped her hands together. “No, that is all. You may both leave.”

    Zelda silently glided out of the library with Paige right behind her. As the girls shut the door Queen Kasandra sat down in front of the manuscripts. Next to her sat a tiny leather journal. She opened it and flipped through pages of notes until she found a blank page. She began to write:

It is early in the summer season as I write these notes. Within the last few weeks, I have received reports from Impa the increase of darkness dreams witnessed by citizens of Castle Town. Each dream varies, Impa noted, but all revolve around a similar theme. There is a black figure with red eyes searching for the hero of Hyrule. Neither myself, Impa, or anyone on her team have yet to witness the encounter with the figure of darkness. The first report of this dream occurred on Zelda’s fifth birthday. It has been almost ten years of reports on this dream. I have kept these notes secret from my husband, King Suehprom Patroclus of Hyrule in fear that he may burn all I discovered. Zelda and her servant have also yet to report any dreams or prophecies to me or Impa about the upcoming situation. I do not know when the darkness will strike us, but it will be soon. I pray that I find leads on where the hero and the sages are before the darkness finds them and curses us to eternal darkness. 

    Queen Kasandra closed her notebook and glanced back at the manuscripts on the table. She held up her arm to her face as she coughed. When she looked at the sleeve of her glove, there was blood. 

Chapter Text

It was a sticky hot summer morning when Mystique rolled out of her bed and onto the floor. Like a snail, she crawled over to the window and stuck her head out into the open air of Castle Town. She immediately regretted it. For, as she took in a breath of air, the putrid smell of sweat and rotted garbage filled her lungs. She coughed hysterically as she jerked herself away from the window. 

    Nivan snickered at her as he wobbled out of bed. He wiped his brow and removed his hair from its bun. Long locks of blonde hair drifted down to his shoulder blades as he scooped them up to put into a braid. Nivan hesitated in front of his shoulder piece.

    “Aren’t you going to put it on?” Mystique teased. She pouted towards her long sleeve dress and shawl. 

    “I think it’d be better to dress lighter today Misty.” Nivan walked away from his shoulder piece and out of the room. 

    Mystique pulled out a thin cotton skirt and a tank top from the chest near her bed. She dressed quickly before she ran after Nivan downstairs. 

    In the kitchen, Mr. and Mrs. Luriken sat, beads of sweat across their faces. Lumina, as usual, rested in the bread basket. Both of them wore casual outfits as they poked at their breakfast porridge. Mystique scrunched her nose towards the porridge placed in front of her chair. Without saying anything, Mrs. Luriken pushed the porridge closer to her daughter and placed the spoon in it. 

    “It’s too hot to cook anything,” Mr. Luriken said from his spot at the table. He took a large spoonful of porridge into his mouth. 

    Mrs. Luriken pulled out a fan and waved it in front of her face. “It’s too hot to do much today.” 

    “That’s why I’m closing up shop today,” Mystique’s father added. 

    “While you two were asleep, we decided that it’d be best to have a family vacation day. It so happens that Kakariko is having a festival today.” Mrs. Luriken said casually. She watched as Mystique’s eyes lit up. “But we can’t go until you eat all of your porridge,” Mrs. Luriken added in. 

    It didn’t take long until Mystique had inhaled all of her porridge and was standing next to the door. She hopped up and down on her feet as she waited for the rest of her family to get ready. Slowly, one by one, everyone got up from the table and stood by the door. As Mystique ripped the door open, a wave of heat blasted them all in the face. Mr. Luriken looked over at his wife concerned. 

    “Do you think traveling to Kakariko on a day like this is a smart idea? Won’t it be hotter that close to Death Mountain?” Mr. Luriken walked slowly in the streets of Castle Town next to his wife. They watched as Mystique darted ahead with Lumina on her head. Nivan struggled to keep up with her. 

    “I’m sure it will be fine, if anything it will be better than staying inside the house all day.” Mystique’s mother answered. 

    Clusters of people shuffled out of the eastern gate and onto Hyrule field. Mystique ran ahead of her family and weaved through the packs of people. Almost everyone who walked wore lightweight clothes, with hair pulled up and out of their faces. Several women waved bright colorful fans in front of their faces as they strode along the path. 

    At an intersection, several groups of people parted towards the south. Mr. Luriken watched the people as they slowly shuffled along. 

    “I bet Jetier is packed with people today.” He noted.

    “But we’re going to Kakariko right father?” Mystique asked as she buzzed by. 

    “Yes, we’re going to Kakariko,” Mr. Luriken answered.

    “We wanted to go somewhere where all of us could have fun.” Mrs. Luriken added, she glanced over at Nivan who now had Lumina on top of his head. He smiled cautiously towards Mystique’s mother. 

    “I bet the fair will be loads more fun than some water anyways,” Mystique stopped in front of her parents and wiped her brow. Sweat flew everywhere. 

    The crowd thinned as they got closer to Kakariko. At the gate to the village, several guards slouched in their armor against the tall rocky cliffs that surrounded the path to the town. One guard sat down, his helmet off as he took a large swig from a flask before he passed the flask to the nearest guard. Mr. and Mrs. Luriken nodded and waved at the guards as they passed through the gate and into Kakariko. 

    Mystique looked at the festival in awe. Normally the center of the town hosted a small grassy field for cuccos as they wandered about. Instead, large colorful booths popped up from the ground with people who stretched out as they wildy flailed their arms over a game or two. A band played jaunty music from atop a platform further away from the tents. Crowds huddled around anything and everything that was bright and colorful within the village. Mystique looked up at her parents, a wide grin spread across her face. 

    Mrs. Luriken handed her daughter a small pouch, and gave another one to Nivan. “This is all of the rupees you’ll be getting for today, so spend them wisely.” She opened her fan again and waved it against her face. 

    Mystique nudged Nivan, her smile only getting bigger. “Hey Nivan, do you think they have that archery game like last time?” 

    “Oh, you mean the game that I creamed you in?” Nivan laughed, “do you want a rematch?”

    “Duh, of course!” Mystique’s voice grew louder from excitement, “except this time I’m going to win!” Mystique began to run into the crowd, as she merged into the first wave of people she turned around, “and if I find the booth first I get a fifty point bonus!”

    “Wait!” Nivan yelled. “Misty, that's not fair!” He scrambled after Mystique, Lumina still on his head as he entered the crowd. Nivan glanced at every booth as he stumbled through the crowd, sweat dripped down his face and legs. 

    As he ran, he noticed a bombchu booth, a dunk tank booth, the entrance to a maze, and a tent filled with glass jars. It was at this booth that Nivan stopped and peered inside. Inside, there was a jar near the entrance that glowed brightly. Curious, Nivan picked up the jar and placed it close to his face. He squinted as he watched the orb inside the jar bounce around with no rhyme or reason. 

    “Hey, kid,” Lumina said from on top of Nivan’s head. She pulled at some of his hair, “Misty is going to win her bet if you don’t catch up to her soon.” 

    “She’s probably already found it,” Nivan mumbled into the jar, “she’s too fast for me to have a fair chance.” 

    From the back of the room a figure coughed into its arm. Nivan looked away from the jar and towards the source of the cough. As the person stepped into the light it pulled its purple cloak tighter around its head. 

    “That’s a poe soul you’re holding,” the cloaked thing said. 

    “Ah, so you’re a poe hunter,” Lumina floated off of Nivan’s head and further into the tent. 

    “I prefer monster hunter,” the figure chuckled as it hobbled towards the center of the tent. It pulled a glass jar off of a shelf and held it into the light. A giant yellow eyeball rolled around inside it. “This is a fermented Keese eyeball.”

    “Gross,” Lumina gagged. 

    “I also have a gold infused hinox eye, several bokoblin horns, moblin tongue, and several gohma larvae if you’d prefer.” The figure grabbed a stick and shuffled over to Lumina. It pulled back its hood to reveal what should have been a face. “Though I don’t have any fairies for sale, they're hard to come by.” It looked over at Nivan, “how much to buy this fairy off of you.” 

    “Hey!” Lumina shouted. “I’m not for sale you freak!”

    “I was asking the boy, not you fairy.” The figure tried to smile. 

    “She’s not for sale,” Nivan answered.

    “That’s a shame,” the figure walked back towards the dark corner of the tent. “I would’ve paid a great price for her.” 

    Lumina watched as the figure emerged into the darkness. As it stopped and stared back, a red glow shone from under its hood. Without another word Lumina darted out from the tent. Nivan peered at the poe soul one more time before he put it down and left. 

    The sunlight glared across his face as Nivan entered back into the crowded field of Kakariko. He placed his hand above his eyes as he walked through the crowd towards where he hoped the archery tent would be. As he got pushed and pulled through the crowd, he realized that he had lost Lumina. Nivan glanced back only to see nothing but more Hylians drenched in sweat. He wiggled his way out from the current of the crowd, and stood to the side near another tent while he scanned the crowds. Eventually, he saw a green orb flutter in between some Hylians. Nivan pushed himself back into the crowd.

    Lumina rested on a table next to Mystique, who pouted as she flung an arrow in-between two targets. Nivan stumbled out of the crowd and in front of the two girls, his eyes briefly grew wide as he stared at Lumina on the archery booth table. 

    “Hey,” Nivan glanced over at Mystique. “I thought this was going to be a competition.”

    “Yeah, well you took so long getting here that I thought I’d get in a practice round slowpoke!” Mystique stuck out her tongue as she shot another arrow. The man behind the booth ducked as the arrow flew over his head. 

    “That was yer last shot,” the archery man said. “If ya wanna play again it’ll be another twenty-rupees.” 

    Mystique rummaged through the pouch and handed over one red rupee to the archery man. She smiled at Nivan as she received a quiver of twenty arrows. “Remember to add fifty-points to my score!” Mystique laughed as she turned her attention to the booth. 

    The archery man, big and burly, stepped over towards a large crank at the side of his tent. He sighed as he cranked the lever with both hands. Small cuccos with targets painted on their backs danced across the back of the tent. Mystique pulled the string back on the bow and shot an arrow several inches above one of the cuccos. She shot again and hit the tent floor where there were no targets. Soon, the cuccos danced away from the tent without a scratch on them.

    Next, wooden octorocks popped up from the ground. These targets were bigger, with glowing eyes and a target painted on their floppy-shaped heads. Out of the five octorocks that appeared, Mystique managed to hit two before they disappeared. 

    Finally, wooden keese flew across the top of the tent on a string. Mystique aimed her remaining arrows and rapidly-fired them in the tent. The archery man ducked as several arrows whizzed past his head again. By chance, one of the arrows ricocheted into one of the keese. As the keese disappeared, a loud bell rang inside the tent. 

    “Time’s up.” The booth owner shouted. “You got seventy-points miss.” 

    Mystique pumped her fist into the air, “sweet that’s my best score yet.” She handed the bow over to Nivan. “Remember, you have to beat 120 points to win.” 

    Nivan pulled a red rupee out of his pouch and slammed it down on the table. Hesitantly, the archery man took the rupee and handed over a quiver of twenty-arrows. Before the archery man cranked the lever, he placed a helmet on his head. Mystique laughed behind Nivan as the music played and the game started. 

    The cuccos danced and bobbed across the screen like before. Nivan took a deep breath and pulled back the string on the bow. One by one the cuccos spun and crashed off of their pedestals and onto the ground. The archery man sighed as he watched not a single arrow go near him. When the octorocks appeared  they barely stood a chance as Nivan flung five arrows into the tent. With ten arrows left, he looked up at the keese at the top of the tent. Delicately he pulled back the string and sent an arrow right between two keese. He cursed under his breath as he took two more shots and missed. At the last second, Nivan hastily flung an arrow which barely skimmed and knocked the keese off of its hanger. Four wooden keese squeaked as they flew up and the bell chimed. 

    “You got 200 points kid.” The archery man took off his helmet and rummaged through a drawer. He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Nivan. “At 200 points, you get this neat coupon to use at any booth at the fair this week for either a free game or a free item.” 

    Nivan placed the coupon inside his pouch, “thank you sir,” he smiled at the archery man. The man nodded as Nivan, Mystique, and Lumina left the booth. “Hey Misty, I think I won again this year.” 

    “You got lucky,” Mystique gently pushed Nivan.

    “I think there was more than luck to that kid,” Lumina chided. 

    Mystique glared up at the fairy, “I just had a bad day with my aim is all.” 

    Lumina laughed as she slowly drifted onto Nivan’s head. “Is that what you called that? I’ve seen cuccos with better aim.” 

    Cuccos can’t hold bows Lumina!” Mystique shouted. 

    “That’s the point kid,” Lumina replied, still laughing. 

    “I’m done with this conversation, we should find some food.” Mystique walked ahead of Lumina and Nivan in the crowd.

    Near the windmill many picnic tables sprawled out against the grass surrounded by more booths. As Mystique ran up the stairs to the tables, she stopped and glanced around at all of the new booths. Nivan and Lumina had just caught up to her as she darted towards one of the booths. She slammed down several rupees on the counter where a Hylian roasted some vegetables. Happily, she danced away from the booth with a plate of food and sat down at a table. 

    Nivan sat down next to Mystique with his own plate of vegetables and meat. He slowly took a bite and savored his food while Mystique crammed several bits of vegetables into her mouth. Overby the windmill, several Gorons walked onto a stage holding large brass instruments. The largest Goron, who was double the size of the others, sat behind them on a drum set. The music they played filled the square with enticing groovy beats. 

    A slender girl in a ladybug dress casually sat down at the table with a cup of ice cream. She slowly ate her frozen treat while she bobbed her head to the tunes of the Goron band. “It’s so nice that the Crimson-Beat is playing today.” 

    Mystique glanced away from the music and at the girl now at their table. “Where did you get the ice cream?” She asked.

    “There’s a stall near the graveyard,” the girl took a spoonful and put it in her mouth. 

    Mystique shot up from the table and disappeared into the crowd. Nivan ate in silence.

    The girl stuck out her hand across the table towards Nivan. “Hey, my name is Agitha the 8th, and I just turned thirteen,” She said.

    “Uh,” Nivan swallowed his food. “Why did you introduce yourself like that?” 

    “Because,” Agitha smirked, “my ma always told me that when introducing yourself to a cute boy, you gotta let them know what to expect.” 

    Nivan coughed as he choked on his food. He slammed his fist into his chest several times while Agitha twirled her ponytails. Finally, he took a deep breath, his face flushed red. Above his head, Lumina floated and chuckled. 

    “I guess girls don’t call you cute often huh,” Agitha laughed.

    “No, not really,” Nivan’s face turned even more red. He slowly sank his head into his hands. 

    When Mystique returned to the table with two cups of ice cream, Nivan’s face was completely hidden by the table while Agitha kicked her legs to the beat of the music. Mystique placed a cup of ice cream next to Nivan. 

    “That was nice of you to get him some ice cream,” Agitha said. “The name is Agitha by the way.”

    Mystique stared at Agitha for a moment, a spoonful of ice cream in her mouth. “Doesn’t your mother run the bug store in Castle Town.”

    “Yea, ma runs the bug emporium. Our family has run it for generations. What about you? You from Castle Town?” 

    “My father runs Luriken’s shoes.” Mystique answered cheerfully.

    “Oh, I’ve heard of that store,” Agitha bobbed her head, “what about your boyfriend.” 

    Mystique stopped mid-spoonful and tilted her head at Agitha. “My… what?” 

    “The cute boy you got ice cream for? I clearly embarrassed him when I called him cute, but then I realized that he was with you.”

    Nivan screamed into the table. 

    Mystique’s face broke out into a smile before it dissolved into uncontrollable laughter. She slammed her hand onto the table. “Nivan’s my brother,” she sputtered out. “And, and I’m only ten, why would I have a boyfriend?”

    Agitha, spoon in her mouth, glanced between Nivan and Mystique. “You two don’t look anything alike. I guess bug genetics can be weird, so Hylians can be too but…”

    “We aren’t related,” Mystique smiled.

    “What?” Agitha frowned. “But you just said he’s your brother?” 

    “Because he is!” Mystique answered. “My mom found him and had him come live with us a few years ago.” 

    “...Like a pet?” Agitha asked.

    “He’s a person, so no.” Mystique nudged Nivan. “Your ice cream is melting.”

    Nivan lifted his head up just enough to take in a spoonful of ice cream. He glared over at Agitha. 

    Agitha pouted, “don’t give me looks like that all I did was say that you’re cute.” 

    On the bandstand, the trumpet Goron blared a long loud note that squealed into the air. Several Hylians in the audience clapped their hands as the band continued to play. A few Gorons entered the picnic table area and danced. Nivan continued to glare.

    “Tough crowd,” Agitha made a face. “Well, cute boy if you ever want to go on a date in Castle Town you know where to find me.” 

    “No offense,” Nivan started, “but I’m twelve and practicing to be a knight.” 

    “Practicing to be a knight?” Agitha asked, “Have you competed yet?” 

    “Competed in what?” Nivan raised an eyebrow at Agitha. 

    “In the Kakariko swordsmen contest, duh.” Agitha rolled her eyes, “for someone cute you aren’t that bright.”

    “For someone in a ladybug dress you sure aren’t nice,” Nivan replied. He walked away from the table, ice cream in hand. Quickly, Mystique grabbed her ice cream and ran after him, Lumina floating slowly behind. Agitha sat alone at the table and shrugged before she took another bite of ice cream. 

    Nivan shifted through the crowds of Kakariko, his spoon in his mouth. He stopped in front of a little sign which hung crooked from a tree. On it, it read ‘young swordsmen contest held by gates to Death Mountain.’ Nivan nodded at the sign as he changed direction towards the giant mountain which loomed over the city. When he was within eyesight of the gate, Nivan stopped. 

    Dozens of young boys stood around a platform, all of them cheered and pumped their fists in the air as two boys stood on the platform. Nivan moved himself closer towards the group, his eyes grew wide as he saw two Hylians clashing against each other in the arena. Both wore helmets slightly too large, and shoulder plates which dragged them down. One of the boys, slightly taller, stumbled and fell backwards. The other boy swung with his sword and hit the other’s chest plate. A loud clang rang out through the air as the taller boy tumbled onto the floor.

    From the background, a Hylian knight, broad-shouldered in well adjusted armor walked up onto the platform. He raised the hand of the boy still standing and the crowd cheered. Nivan watched confused, his hand pressed against where his shoulder plate usually rested. The Hylian knight lifted his visor to reveal a tanned face with stubble half-hazardously scattered across his jaw line. 

    “Does anyone else dare come up to spare and prove if you could be a knight of Hyrule?” The knight’s voice cracked halfway through his speech. Nivan pushed through the crowd and raised his hand. The knight looked down at Nivan and smirked. “I see we have another challenger. Do you have a sword or armor with you today?”

    “...No,” Nivan confessed. The knight reached down and plucked Nivan from the audience and onto the stage. Nivan stumbled as he caught his footing. 

    “Don’t worry, we brought extra armor for you to wear and fight with,” the knight proceeded to take the ill-fitted armor off the victorious boy, and dumped it onto Nivan. “Now, does anyone in the crowd dare challenge this spunky young lad with the braided hair?” 

    Nivan looked into the crowd as dozens of young Hylians sized him up and down. He felt his head start to sweat under the helmet as time passed slowly on. 

    “I’ll challenge him,” a voice said from the crowd. Like a sea, the boys parted to reveal a boy with floppy dark hair. He stepped onto the stage with ease, and pulled a sword out from behind his back. With his elbow, he pushed away locks of his hair and revealed his freckled face. 

    The knight handed Nivan a sword, heavier than he was used to, and gave the challenger the other set of armor. In the audience, the boys murmured to each other as Nivan and the challenger walked towards their starting places. Nivan glanced towards the audience and saw Mystique, her eyes wide, staring up at him. 

    “Okay, challengers,” the Hylian knight attempted to shout, “as per the rules, please take a bow and let me get off stage before you begin… okay?” The knight bounced off of the stage as Nivan bowed towards his challenger. 

    He felt the armor as it weighed him down closer to the ground. As Nivan lifted himself back up, he watched as his challenger had already started to approach him.  Nivan clumsily dodged as the challenger’s sword, quick and sleek, swung past him. He cursed under his breath while he lifted his sword towards the next attack from the challenger. 

    In the audience Mystique watched, her hand over her mouth. Around her Hylian boys chattered, cussed, and shrieked as the battle took place. One of the boys nudged Mystique, and held out a pouch. 

    “Hey,” the boy said. “We’ve been placing bets for each of these fights, do you want in?” 

    Mystique looked up at the stage as Nivan stumbled and attempted to parry his challenger’s moves. The helmet, too big for his head, shook every time Nivan dodged. Mystique clutched her pouch of rupees, “who do you think is going to win?” she asked. 

    “Well,” the boy began. “I don’t know about the blonde kid, but the guy he’s facing is no joke. His name is Owin, and he’s already been approved to one day train to be a knight once he turns fifteen.” 

    “The blonde boy I bet is pretty good too,” Mystique answered. She pulled out several rupees. “I want to bet some rupees on him.” 

    The boy sucked in air as Mystique handed over the rupees. “Sorry to burst your bubble, and I should’ve mentioned this sooner, but Owin hasn’t lost a single fight ever.”

    “That just means he’s going to lose soon,” Mystique answered. She dropped another rupee into the boy’s hand. 

    Owin quickly slashed towards Nivan, his movement speedy and calculated. Nivan felt the steel of the sword scrap across his clunky metal chest piece. He slid back and glared at Owin as he bounced back, confident and ready to take another strike at Nivan. 

    “I wish I had brought my sword,” Nivan mumbled as he watched Owin come at Nivan from his right. He just barely lifted the soldier’s sword and blocked the attack aimed at his shoulder. 

    “You’re pretty good at blocking in that clunky thing,” Owin smirked as he pulled himself away from his attack. “But if you want to be a good swordsman you’re going to eventually have to go on the offensive.” 

    “That would be easier to do if this fight was fair,” Nivan answered, he kept the sword raised as Owin circled around the stage. 

    “You have to be prepared to fight unfair fights… but I think this one is pretty fair.” Owin smiled. 

    “I guess you’re right,” Nivan frowned. 

    “Come on, I’ll let you get in a swing at me for free,” Owin opened his arms as wide as the armor would let him. 

    “Do you think I’d fall for that?” Nivan’s frown thickened on his face. Nevertheless he took several steps forward and closer to Owin.

     He analyzed where to strike the best blow, but on the final step, and as Nivan expected, Owin closed his arms and raced towards him with his sword. This time Owin came in from the left as his sword elegantly sliced the air. Nivan took the pommel of his sword and thrusted it sideways in the opening Owin had left during his attack. Two loud thuds echoed into the air around the arena as Nivan fell to the ground, the helmet around him buzzed. 

    The Hylian knight stepped back on stage and over to Owin, hunched over, but still standing. He lifted Owin’s hand into the air, “I declare Owin of Kakariko the winner of this duel.”

    The crowd around the stage cheered, loud and excited. Nivan, his head fuzzy, looked up at Owin from the stage. He could have sworn that the Owin had winked at him before the boy had walked offstage. Nivan did not have much time to think about it, as Mystique’s round face, her red eyes wide, took up everything that he could see. He blinked a few times.

    “How much of that did you see?” Nivan asked as he lifted himself up. 

    “All of it!” Mystique smiled at him.

    “And, she bet the rest of her rupees on that fight,” Lumina said as she floated somewhere nearby. 

    Nivan shot up, “you did what?!” 

    “Yeah, I uh, kinda have no more rupees left for games.” Mystique looked away from him. 

    “Why would you bet all your rupees?” Nivan got off the stage and shook the helmet off his head. He plopped the armor onto the ground as quickly as he could escape it. 

    “Because I thought you’d win,” Mystique tilted her head. “Plus that would have been even more rupees for games!” 

    Nivan glanced up at the sky and stared at the sun as it rested on one of the mountains. “Actually, we should find your parents to head home soon Misty.” 

    Mystique pouted, but followed Nivan as they walked through the thinning carnival crowd. When they found Mr. and Mrs. Luriken, they sat at a bench eating ice cream. They both smiled as Mystique and Nivan approached them. 

    “Good, we were just about to go looking for you two,” Mrs. Luriken said. 

    “Do anything fun today?” Mr. Luriken asked, he frowned as he noticed the bruises forming on Nivan. 

    “Yeah I got to go look at a bunch of cool tents and go through a maze and play the archery game with Nivan.” Mystique cheerfully bounced around.

    “Wait, when did you go into a maze?” Nivan asked, confused.

    “You took a really long time catching up to me in our race,” Mystique teased. She poked Nivan on the nose and laughed. 

    “What about you Nivan,” Mrs. Luriken raised an eyebrow at him. 

    “I did pretty much the same as Misty.” Nivan rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the coupon, “actually I still have this coupon I won, can I go spend it?”

    “Of course,” Mrs. Luriken said. 

     Everyone watched as Nivan ran into the crowd, he clutched his left shoulder as he did. When Nivan was only but a blur, both Mr. and Mrs. Luriken turned towards Mystique with varied expressions of worry. 

    “What did he do?” Mrs. Luriken said sternly. 

    “That’s from the swordsman competition he participated in,” Mystique said without missing a beat. She watched as both her parent’s faces relaxed. “What did you think he’d do?”

    “I think they both thought you got into trouble and he had to save your butt, kid,” Lumina chimed in. 

    Mystique made a face towards Lumina, “come on I’m not that reckless,” she said. “Besides, there’s nothing here to get in trouble with.” Mystique looked towards her parents who both silently ate their ice creams. “Mother, father, what did you do today?” 

    “Your mother insisted we take the mine carts up to Goron Village,” Mr. Luriken answered. “It was… very hot.”

    “I saw some Gorons today too!” Mystique exclaimed as she got closer to her parents’ faces. “They were playing in a band over by the food stalls, it was super cool.” 

    “That’s wonderful,” Mr Luriken smiled at his daughter. “I be-”

    “Wait!” Mystique interrupted, her head suddenly turned back to stare at Death Mountain. From inside Kakariko, it towered high into the sky, its peak hidden by plumes of smoky clouds. The nearby cliffs which surrounded the village paled in comparison to the height of the mountain. “Was there a giant creature up there when you went?” 

    Mrs. Luriken furrowed her eyebrows, “what kind of creature Mystique?” 

    “I dunno,” Mystique spread her arms out as wide as she could, “but it was really big and circled the mountain like a wiggly bird.” 

    “Ah, that must be what Dario was talking about,” Mrs. Luriken muttered under her breath.

    Mystique got closer to her mother, “what did you say mother?” 

    Mrs. Luriken shook her head, “it was nothing, don't worry about it dear. Death Mountain has plenty of giant wiggly flying worms.”

    “Can we see one up close some time?” Mystique asked.

    Mrs. Luriken raised her eyebrows, wisps of her blonde hair scattered across her forehead. “Maybe when you’re older,” she said. 

    Mystique frowned and crossed her arms. She looked away from her parents and towards the people as they shuffled between stalls. A few stalls away, Nivan walked towards the bench, he held a jar in his hand. He waved as he got closer, and as he reached the bench, he handed his pouch of leftover rupees to Mrs. Luriken. Curious, Mystique pushed her face towards the jar and stared at the glowing yellow orb inside it.

    “What’d you buy?” Mystique asked as she poked the jar. 

    Nivan sheepishly smiled as he looked away from the Lurikens. “A poe’s soul.” 

Chapter Text

Mystique looked down at the sketch her father had handed her. She glanced between the paper and the storefront she stood in front of, the smell of freshly baked bread wafted out from cracks in its open windows. Confident that the building matched the sketch, Mystique strode over to the door and went inside. 

    The smell smacked Mystique in the face and the warmth from the oven wrapped itself around her face. Counters filled with fresh breads and pastries lined the walls to the store, and a woman, a pink handkerchief tied around her head, hummed merrily behind the counter. 

    “Mrs. Knead?” Mystique called out into the store. 

    Mrs. Knead turned away from the counter, her face covered in flour, and smiled warmly. Strands of greying hair escaped from her handkerchief. “How may I help you today little one?” 

    Mystique walked towards the counter, and held up a box in her hands. “My father sent me to deliver your order to you.”

    Mrs. Knead’s smile grew more pleasant as she went around the counter and onto the store floor. Bit of dough, chocolate, and fruit juices stained her apron. “You must be Saffron’s daughter. Hold on one moment while I go get some rupees.” 

    As Mrs. Knead left, Mystique pressed her hands against the glass and stared at the breads and pastries. She noticed an entire section of croissants filled with chocolate, jams, and cheese. Several tarts and pies took up their own row. Mystique glanced at the next case to see all of it was filled with any type of bread she could even think of. Her mouth watered as she stared at some rolls covered in icing. She was too entranced with the delicious sweets to hear Mrs. Knead as she walked back into the room, and behind the counter. 

    “Would you like one?” Mrs. Knead asked.

    Startled, Mystique nodded. “What is it?”

    Mrs. Knead bent down and plucked a roll from the shelf and plopped it into a little bag. “They’re called sticky buns,” she placed the bag on the counter. “Why don’t you put the shoes on the counter so I can hand you the rupees.” 

    Mrs. Knead handed over the payment and the sticky bun as Mystique placed the box on the counter. Satisfied, Mystique darted out of the shop and back into the bustling streets of Castle Town. As usual, she weaved through the streets seamlessly, like a fish going downstream. At the southern gate square, she stopped and stared at the fountain as it spurted water up into the air. Behind it, a long straight path led to the gate to Hyrule Castle stayed quiet and pedestrian free. Mystique folded back the bag to take a bite of the sticky bun.

    She observed each figure on the statue, Zelda still stood in the exact center, her hands cupped against her chest. Behind her a figure lifted a sword high into the sky, water spurted out from behind him in long arches towards the rest of the figures. Mystique took another bite of the sticky bun and furrowed her brows as she tried to recognize any of the other figures. Suddenly, the fountain crumbled in front of her, and a long dark shadow emerged from the ground. Mystique squeezed her eyes shut, and waited with baited breath to hear the voice from her nightmare. After several moments of silence, she opened her eyes again to see the fountain still intact. She shuddered before she went on her way. 

    In front of Luriken’s Shoes, pedestrians walked back and forth like it was a normal ordinary day. Mystique looked up at several men in decorative blazers who waved their hands in grand gestures as they walked by. Next to the door, a Hylian knight stood erect against the wall, spear in hand. Hesitantly, Mystique tip-toed over to the door, she glanced at the guard who did not move a muscle as she opened it. 

    Inside her father’s store, Mystique immediately noticed a tall and slender woman admiring a pair of shoes in a mirror. Her white hair trailed out from a messy bun and down her back. At the sound of the little bell above the door, the woman turned to look directly at Mystique. Her eyes burned red against her tan skin, and a look of intrigue scanned across her face. 

    “Well you must be Mystique, I’ve heard so much about you from your mother.” The woman folded her arms, covered in bracelets, across her chest. 

    “From my mother?” Mystique asked. She placed the rest of the sticky bun in her apron pocket.

    It only took the woman a few steps to reach Mystique. She knelt down and cupped Mystique’s face in her hands. It was at this moment that Mystique realized that the woman wore a pair of baggy pants and not a skirt. 

    “My name is Impa,” the woman held a smug look on her face. “Now, tell me, where were you just now?” 

    “Delivering shoes for my father,” Mystique answered through squished cheeks. 

    A small smile appeared on Impa’s face, “that’s very sweet of you to do.” 

    “It’s great!” Mystique exclaimed, “it helps me get better at delivering mail.”

    Impa crooked her head to the side, “and why would you want to be good at that?”

    Mystique’s eyes grew wide as excitement filled her whole face. “Because I want to be a mail person when I’m older.” 

    Impa stared confused at Mystique, her mouth opened and closed a few times before she rested her chin on her hand. “A mailman? Why would you want to be a mailman and not something cool like being a secret service agent to the Hylian Royal Family?” 

    “That sounds like a cool job,” Mystique answered, she looked over at Mr. Luriken as he worked away on his newest shoe project. She noticed his eyes as they glanced over at her. “But I’ve always wanted to be a mail person since I was really little.” 

    “What made you decide that at such a young age?” Impa inquired, a little annoyed.

    “Well,” Mystique looked up at the ceiling, “there was a time when mother was gone for a really long time. It was just me and father at home. Every so often the mail person would come and deliver us some mail from mother, and father’s face always looked so happy to get those letters.” 

    Mrs. Luriken peered out from behind the dining room door. “Impa, you’re still here?” 

    Impa stood up, “I had to try on some of your husband’s shoes after how much you talk about them. And, I must say, that they are very well crafted. Maybe I can convince the Queen to order a pair.” 

    Mr. Luriken’s eyes darted to look at Impa, his mouth hung slightly open. Mrs. Luriken folded her arms as she fully entered the room. “Thank you for the compliment, but I also noticed you talking to my daughter.”

    “Can’t a woman inquire about her acquaintance’s kid?” Impa asked as she also folded her arms. “Mystique was just telling me about how she wants to be a mailman.”

    “Yeah!” Mystique butted in, “all I gotta do is learn to read and I’ll be all set. I’m already fast enough for the job!” 

    Impa’s eye twitched as she looked down at Mystique before she whipped her head to look at Mrs. Luriken. “Now I know the literacy rate in Hyrule has been down recently, but I wasn’t expecting you of all people to have an illiterate daughter Cerise!” Impa tapped her foot against the ground as she waited for an answer. 

    Mrs. Luriken sighed, “we’ve been looking for a tutor for Mystique, but it isn’t the easiest task.” 

    Impa smirked, “that’s an easy fix Cerise, Pom can tutor her, I’m sure she won’t mind.”

    “That’s very nice and all Impa,” Mrs. Luriken faked a smile, “but I bet it would be very hard to get Pom outside of the castle away from her research.” 

    “That’s another easy fix,” Impa snapped her fingers. “Mystique can be tutored inside the castle. And maybe she’ll change her mind about what kind of professions she follows. I’ll ask Pom today when I go back if she’s willing to take on another student.” 

    Mrs. Luriken frowned, her hand tapped furiously on her arm. “Let us think about it first, Impa,” she replied. 

    Impa snorted, “Don’t worry Cerise it’ll be fine. If Pom can handle Zelda and her servant I’m sure your daughter will be okay.” She turned towards Mystique, and bent down on one knee again, her face rested in the palms of her hands. “Before I go, I do have one more question for you.” 

    Mystique raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. “Yes Ms. Impa?” 

    Impa’s face remained stoic as she analyzed Mystique, “Have you had any weird dreams? Ones that involve a dark figure with red eyes by chance?” 

    In the background Mrs. Luriken sucked in air, her arms squeezed against her chest. Mr. Luriken placed the shoe he was working on down on the table and stared curiously. 

    “Yes,” Mystique whispered into the silent room. 

    “Can you tell me about it?” Impa inquired. 

    “I was on the balcony upstairs, I looked down and there was a shadowy figure in the streets. Next thing I knew I was standing by the fountain. Everything turned red and crumbled away as the figure grew larger. It crushed one of the fountain figures and told me that I wasn’t the hero.” 

    The silence weighed down the air as Mystique’s words drifted and digested. Impa, without hesitation stood back up. “Thank you for telling me,” she said. Impa pulled out a pouch of rupees and threw it onto Mr. Luriken’s work desk. “ That’s for the shoes, I’ll be wearing them out.” 

    Mr. Luriken looked into the pouch, his face turned red, before he nodded at Impa. Not before long the slender woman left Luriken’s shoes, her own shoes in her hands. All three of the Lurikens stared back and forth at each other, each holding a different expression. 

“Mother, who was that?” Mystique asked, confusion filled her voice.

    Mrs. Luriken pinched her face, her eyes squeezed shut. She let out another sigh, “just an old acquaintance.” Mrs. Luriken’s face softened, “I’m sorry that she bothered you with so many questions. She can be a bit… pushy sometimes.” 

    “Am I going to learn to read at the castle?” Mystique asked.

    “I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Mrs. Luriken answered. “The castle itself is like a whole different city. I’m sure we can find you a tutor with less baggage.” 

    Mystique opened her mouth and paused. “How… do you know someone in the castle?” 

    “Uh,” Mrs. Luriken’s eyes looked into the dining room. “We knew each other before she went to the castle.”

    “But why was she visiting you?” Mystique’s confusion grew louder. “Why did she ask me about my nightmare?”

    “She does a lot of weird work at the castle from what she told me,” Mrs. Luriken continued to look in any direction that wasn’t where Mystique was. “It must have been because of that.” She slipped behind the door and into the dining room out of sight. 

    Mystique tilted her head towards the dining room, expecting her mother to come back into the store. After several moments of stillness, Mystique walked over to her father’s work desk. Mr. Luriken greeted his daughter with a tiny smile and bright blue eyes. 

    “Do you have more deliveries for me to make father?” Mystique asked.

    “I wasn’t expecting you to deliver Mrs. Knead’s shoes so fast,” Mr. Luriken said as he pulled out a piece of scrap paper and a piece of charcoal. “You really have gotten fast. How about you deliver something to Mr. Bloom. I finished his work boots early, and I’m sure he’d love getting them today.” Mystique’s father reached for a pair of sturdy black boots and placed them into a nearby box. He handed the piece of paper and the box over to Mystique with a smile. 

    Mystique’s eyes beamed as she held the box in both of her hands. She glanced down at the scribble on the paper and ran out the door without another word. Mr. Luriken sighed, and walked over towards the dining room. He wiped sweat from his brow as he watched his wife patching up a scarf. 

    “Do you think we should tell her?” He asked.

    Mrs. Luriken looked up from her sewing, her face flushed from frustration. “I’d like to keep my daughter out of danger. If… if things weren’t happening right now I’d welcome it with open arms, but not now.” 

    “Is that what you talked about with Impa?” He placed his hands on Cerise’s shoulders. 

    “I reported what Dario had told me, and his agreement to search for the sage of fire.” Cerise stared up at Saffron. 

    Saffron sighed, “I hope that our Queen isn’t leading a wild goose chase, but if even our daughter had the dream… something must be up.”

    “Yes,” Cerise nodded, “something less kind than our Queen is looking for the same puzzle pieces. We have to get them first to prevent a tragedy.” She paused, “and, even Mystique saw the dragon around Death Mountain. 

    Silence sat around the dining room as Cerise and Saffron gazed into each other’s eyes. There was so much said, yet so little, between the way their eyes watched the other.

“Cerise, do you think it’s wise then to let Nivan train to be a knight?” Saffron frowned. 

    “As I am not really his mother, I don’t believe I have the power to stop him,” Cerise muttered out, her gaze towards the door. “I wish I knew where his parents were so I could ask them to intervene.” 

    “I bet you could find some answers in the castle about that.” Saffron tried to smile.

    “He’s not from Castle Town,” Cerise said. “I’m not sure where he could have come from but-”Cerise paused, she thought back to a cold night in castle town, the air escaped her in tiny little clouds. She jumped from roof to roof, and observed the barely lit streets of Castle Town. Cerise remembered she pulled out a piece of paper with elegant writing scrawled in detail notes, but the specifics weren’t important. For shortly after she had looked at that paper, she remembered seeing a lone figure as it dragged its feet through a small alleyway. She had jumped down silently and came face to face to a boy half-dead to the cold. “I’m sure one day he’ll tell us.” She muttered. 

Impa strode through the gates that separated the castle courtyard from Castle Town. As she held her head up straight, still holding her shoes, Impa passed perfectly manicured hedges and small fountains with sculpted fairies spewing water into the air. Several soldiers stood a few feet apart on both sides of the path. They saluted Impa as she walked towards the castle’s door. 

    Inside, Impa stopped in front of the long corridor, a staircase bookended a balcony at the end of it. She walked below the balcony and placed her hand on an off-colored panel. The wall spun around Impa as she entered one of many secret passageways littered throughout the castle’s infrastructure. The tunnel  turned pitch black as the door closed behind Impa, she snapped her fingers to reveal a glowing orb in front of her face. Impa smirked as she darted down the dark tunnels. 

    Queen Kasandra browsed books in the library, her eyes sunken and surrounded by dark shadows. She held her chest as she coughed into the book spines, her face grimaced as she observed the titles of the books in front of her. Somewhere behind her, one of the bookcases spun around and spit Impa into the library. Queen Kasanda turned around before Impa had even gained her composure. The sheikah scrambled as she saluted the Queen. 

    “How was your mission Impa?” The Queen smiled. 

    “I was able to get intel from Cerise about her missions to Death Mountain these last few weeks.” Impa opened a random book from off the shelf, she pretended to read it. 

    “And what did Cerise say?” Kasandra leaned against the table. 

    “She said what I suspected. Dario complied to search for the sage of fire.” She flipped a page in the book. 

    Kasandra smirked, “and knowing you, you clearly learned more didn’t you?” 

    Impa closed the book. “Of course my Queen.” She sat on one of the stools near the table and crossed her legs. “Cerise’s daughter experienced the dream.” 

    “Interesting,” Queen Kasanda pondered for a moment. “I wonder why Cerise did not report that to us herself.”

    “I have a feeling she didn’t know.” Impa rested her chin in her hand. “Cerise likes to keep her daughter in the shadows, so why should she tell her about a strange dream. The girl doesn’t even know how to read.” 

    “I’d expect more from Cerise,” the Queen sighed. “She’s never been the same since she ran away with that Hylian of hers.” 

    “Speaking of her husband.” Impa lifted her leg and slammed it onto the table. The boots were knee-length and were a solid bordeau with stripes of cream colored leather wrapped around to accent and decorate the wearer’s legs. “He makes lovely shoes, I think you would enjoy owning a pair. Maybe Zelda would like a pair too?” 

    Queen Kasandra smiled, “that was very sweet of you to support his business. But, tell me more about the daughter.” 

    “Well,” Impa started, “I said that I would get Pom to teach her how to read…” 

    “What about the dream?” 

    “It lined up with what other kids in Castle Town have reported. The only major difference is that hers took place in the southern courtyard in front of the fountain.” Impa replied.

    “That’s a first, usually it’s just a pit of darkness.” The Queen looked away from Impa, “do you think that means the darkness is getting even closer.” 

    “It always has been,” Impa said. 

    The two women stared at each other from across the table. Both of them exchanged conversations with their eyes, so when a regular ordinary castle guard entered the library he did not understand what he walked into. 

    “Queen Kasandra Tacita Hyrule and Impa Skygge. You are both summoned by King Suehprom Patroclus Hyrule and Princess Zelda Asteria Hyrule to the throne room.” The guard saluted. 

    Queen Kasandra and Impa glided out of the library and down the hallway closely behind the guard. Neither paid attention to the ornate details of the castle, the tall ceilings with chandeliers dangled above their heads while paintings littered the walls. Turn after turn in the labyrinth of the castle hallways, Impa always made note that the closer someone walked to the throne room, that the paintings all focused on the kings of old. None of the men in the paintings smiled, their faces stamped with the signature kingly frown and long white beard. Above a large door, decorated with iron, a painting of the current King sat, his eyes watched emotionless as Impa, Queen Kasandra, and the guard entered the throne room. 

    King Suehprom sat erect in his chair, his body pointed towards the guest entrance to the throne room. Beside him to his right was an empty chair, slightly smaller than his own. In the third chair to the King’s left, Zelda lounged while she swung her feet back and forth, her heels dangerously close to flying off her feet. Queen Kasandra smiled at both of them before she took her seat next to her husband. Impa stood behind the Queen’s chair, her arms crossed against her chest, she turned her head towards Zelda’s servant who clutched her wrists as she stood behind Zelda’s chair. 

    “Who are we seeing today, my husband?” Queen Kasandra asked.

    “You’ll see in just a moment,” King Suehprom said dryly. 

    Two guards opened the largest door at the end of the hallway, its wood creaked and groaned at the slightest forced movement. As the doors were about halfway open, a large man pushed them the rest of the way open with his. He scrunched his shoulders as he made his way through a door any Hylian easily walked through. The man’s steps echoed like loud claps of thunder in the throne room, and the muscles on his arms bulged against large swirling tattoos. As he bowed in front of the Hylian royal family, he exposed his jagged rocky back, it arched over his spine like his own personal mountain range. 

    “Queen Kasandra, King Suehprom, and Princess Zelda I, Chief of the Gorons Dario, thank you for listening to what I have to say.” The man stood up, his large round eyes, like gemstones shone against the candle light. 

    “What would you like to request Dario.” King Suehprom stroked his blonde beard, its tips frosted white. 

    “The Gorons are in need of aid. Recently over the last few months a dragon has been flying around our homes and mines on Death Mountain. We believe it to be the fabled dragon Volvagia. My people are defenseless against this creature, and the weapon within our stories to defeat it is nowhere to be found. King Suehprom, I am here to ask for you for the assistance of your army to slay this beast. A beast according to our stories that only is resurrected when the King of Darkness is near.” Dario bowed again. 

    King Suehprom glared over at his wife, his nostrils flared before he wiped his face with his ring covered hand. “What you are telling me Dario, Chief of the Gorons, are fairy tales. Death Mountain is known to be a hot and hostile place with danger that lurks around every corner. A dragon seems like a normal occurrence to me for a place like that, and I am surprised that you have no way to fight off something like it. I can send some troops to aid you, but if the creature flys, you might have a better chance asking the Rito Chief to the northwest for assistance. My men cannot fly after all.” 

    Dario opened and closed his mouth several times as he stared at the cold eyes of the King. Queen Kasandra grimaced, her eyes apologizing as Dario continued to process Suehprom’s answer. “Thank you for your honesty King Suehprom.” Dario started, “my son Egan always admires the architectural wonders of your buildings and the technology the Sheikah make to provide easier lives for the people of Castle Town. It surprises me that a race of people with so many impossible and wonderful things would so easily ignore a threat as it looms over them just because it turned into a fairy tale over time. You do not need to send me soldiers, as I take your advice and travel to speak with Tyto of the Rito people. Thank you again King Suehprom Hyrule.” Dario bowed one more time before he shuffled out of the throne room. 

    Silence filled the throne room as the guards shut the guest door. Impa broke the silence as she started tapping her foot against the marble floors while Zelda yawned. 

    “Take this as a lesson dear Zelda,” King Suehprom said.

    “What kind of lesson would that be, father?” Zelda looked up at the ceiling slightly bored.

    “Don’t let foolish men who believe in fairy tales strike fear into your heart. Don’t let them persuade you to give up your own valuable resources over something small and insignificant.” The King kept his gaze locked on the giant door. 

    “My king,” Queen Kasandra started, “I believe that you were too harsh on Dario. Even if he mentioned myths and legends they still have a problem that needs aid.” 

    “And my men cannot fly my wife,” Suehprom shook his head. “Logic outweighs emotion in order to rule correctly.”

    “If you say so my husband,” Queen Kasandra looked behind her chair to see that Impa had vanished. 

    In the castle courtyard Impa leapt down from one of the walls and directly in front of Dario’s path. She glared up at him, her scarf blew in the wind around her face. 

    “What do you want Impa.” Dario raised his foot over her, but placed it down after Impa stood still in his path. 

    “I wanted to apologize for the behavior of my King,” Impa replied. “I have a feeling you came here from the influence of one of my people and met a sour answer.” 

    “Correct,” Dario smirked bitterly. “When I told your agent Cerise that our hammer was missing, she informed me to ask for help here.”

    “I figured as much,” Impa swayed her head back and forth. “While you go to Tyto, I will send some of my agents to assist the Gorons.” She paused. “I’ll also have a few Sheikah research to see where your hammer disappeared to.”

    “Knowing our luck it probably got buried with the last hero who used it.” Dario grimaced. 

    “If that’s the case we can easily dig it up for you,” Impa chuckled. “I’ve dug up plenty of graves in my life.” 

    “It seems when your agent told me to come here, she probably meant for me to find you and not the King.” Dario asked.

    “Correct,” Impa smiled. “But having a unit of Hylian soldiers is a lot more appealing than a few Sheikah to fight your dragon isn’t it.” 

    “A little bit yeah,” Dario said. 

    Impa snapped her fingers and fire danced against the fingertip of her pointer finger. “I tend to disagree. Sheikah can use magic after all, and we finish our jobs silently and quickly.” 

    Dario’s eyes grew wide as he watched the flame dance on Impa’s finger. After a moment he glanced away and up towards the sky. “I don’t think I’ll make it to the next town before nightfall. Guess I’ll have to find a Castle Town inn to stay at.” 

    “Here,” Impa threw a pouch of rupees at Dario. “It’s the least I can do.” 

    Dario looked inside the bag and nodded at Impa before he walked out of the courtyard and into the bustling streets of Castle Town. Impa’s smile faded as she turned around back towards the castle and its cold stone walls. 

    “For Din’s sake,” Impa huffed. “How did we end up with a King who refuses to acknowledge the history of his own country.” 

    Impa strolled over towards a hedge in the courtyard garden. She pushed aside the branches and leaves as she reached for a wooden handle mangled between the trunks of the bush. Impa opened the trap door and slid down below into another hidden corridor etched into the castle’s infrastructure.

Mystique waved behind her, a flower in her hand, as she left Mr. Bloom’s shop. She pressed the flower close to her face and inhaled its simply sweet scent. The petals tickled her face and the stem felt waxy in between her fingers. Mystique placed the flower in her apron before she darted through the streets of Castle Town. Several cats sprawled themselves on top of boxes near a building that people always shouted inside. A dog pranced around with a stick in its mouth and a kid nearby chased after it. 

    When Mystique entered the western square, she stopped and observed as several people in the center of the square lifted color rugs and shook them into the air. Tents crumbled down towards the ground, and several Hylians lifted large boxes onto carts carried by mules. Two Gorons lifted large boxes of gemstones and shuffled away towards the western gate. A Rito wrapped their produce into sacks while they hummed an unfamiliar melody. Mystique gawked at the Rito as it strode past her towards the western gate. The Rito whisted as it went, ignoring Mystique completely. 

    “Hey Mystique,” a voice shouted somewhere in the distance. She turned in every direction trying to locate the source of the voice only to Hudde appear right before her face. “How have you been Mystique? Did your fairy give you my message?”

    “Yeah,” Mystique answered. “But Roul, Fiona, and Link are jerks.” 

    “That was rude of you to say,” Fiona said as she emerged from an alleyway. “And here I thought we were friends Mystique.”

    “We were until you were all jerks to Nivan,” Mystique glared as Link and Roul walked out of the alleyway. “Why are you guys here? Aren’t you usually playing in the southeast part of Castle Town.” 

    “We were following you,” Roul smirked, his blonde hair curled around his face. 

    Mystique took a step back. “What… why?” 

    “Because,” Fiona walked closer to Mystique, her green eyes gleaming. “Link noticed Impa Skygge leave your house today.” 

    From behind Fiona, a mischievous smile painted across Link’s face. 

    “Why does that even matter, I don’t know who that is.” Mystique folded her arms across her chest and pouted. 

    Link scrunched his face, “you don’t know who Impa is. How do you not know that?”

    “I have more important things to know about.” Mystique looked away from the group. 

    “Even someone as dumb as you should know who she is,” Fiona waved her hand in the air. “Impa is the leader of the Sheikah secret agents in Hyrule. She’s very important, unlike you.”

    “Or like any of you guys,” Mystique stuck out her tongue. 

    “I still don’t get why she would visit you,” Fiona stuck her finger towards Mystique. 

    Link squinted his blue eyes as he leaned in closer to Mystique. “I’ve heard rumors from my ma and pa that the Queen sent Impa to search for the next hero of Hyrule.” Link grinned, his teeth looked pointed and jagged to Mystique. “Maybe they think your weirdo friend is the hero of Hyrule.” Link laughed, “I doubt it though he seems too weak anyways. That’s why I always play the hero in our little games.” 

    “I thought you played the hero because your parents named you Link,” Hudde added in annoyance.

    “Speaking of that weirdo, where is he anyways,” Roul added. 

    “Nivan is out practicing in the field with Lumina,” Mystique answered. “And I don’t know why she was in my house, or if she was looking for a hero. All she did was ask me about some nightmare I had.” 

    All four kids gasped and stepped away from Mystique. Fiona’s long blonde hair waved in the breeze that filtered through the western square. Travelers shuffled by in the traffic and paid no attention to the five kids as they all stared at each other, their faces each carved with a different expression. 

    “So, you’ve had the dream too then,”  Roul puffed up some air at a lock of his blonde hair. 

    Link’s eyes grew wide, his hands shook as he held them up to claw his face. “Hylia that dream was something else.” 

    “Nivan said everyone gets the dream after they turn ten,” Mystique glanced over a shadow in the alleyway. She sucked in her breath until a cat strolled lazily out from the shadows. 

    “That sounds about right,” Hudde pondered. “I think I was ten when I had it.” 

    Fiona shook her head, “I had it at the beginning of this year, so I was eleven.” 

    Mystique stared at each kid, “do any of you remember what the shadow man said to you.” 

    The four other kids thought in silence, as if on cue they all answered at once. “You are not the hero.” They all replied. 

    “Is that what it said to you?” Hudde asked.

    “Yeah, of course,” Mystique answered. “I don’t look like the hero type.”

    “Has Nivan had it?” Link asked, he glanced quickly in multiple directions.

    “Yes,” Mystique said.

    “What did the shadow guy tell him?” Fiona placed a hand on her hip. 

    “I… I don’t know,” Mystique furrowed her eyebrows. 

    “Huh,” Roul laughed. “Maybe he is the hero, and maybe that’s why Impa visited you.”

    “Did Impa not visit your houses when you had the dream?” Mystique looked around concerned. 

    “Nope,” Roul answered. “I just told my ma and pa about it and that was that.” 

    “Well, we’re about to go play a game, do you want to join?” Hudde asked.

    Mystique looked at her feet, “thanks for the offer, but I’m good. I have to finish my delivery.” 

    Before another word was said, Mystique darted past the group of kids and towards home. The sunlight bounced off of the rooftops of buildings as she ran, the sun slowly sinking behind her. 

    When Mystique arrived outside of Luriken’s Shoes, she pushed the door open quickly and quietly. Inside, only her father was in the store, he swept the wooden floor with a broom that Mystique was older than herself. She walked over and placed the rupees on her father’s work desk and smiled at him. 

    “I did it father!” Mystique beamed. 

    Mr. Luriken smiled back, “you’re getting really good at this. Did Mr. Bloom like his new shoes?”

    “Yeah!” Mystique proclaimed. She reached into her apron and pulled out a crumpled flower, her face faltered at the sight of the once perfect flower. “He also gave me this, but I broke it…”

    Mr. Luriken watched his daughter as she placed the flower next to the pouch of rupees. “Don’t worry, flowers are just very delicate. There’s a reason I’m a shoe maker and not a florist.” Mr. Luriken laughed. “Why don’t you go grab some dinner with everyone else? I’m almost done cleaning the shop.” 

    Mystique hopped from floorboard to floorboard, her toes barely touching the floor with each hope, until she reached the dining room door. She pushed through with a loud crash, and from the other room the sarcastic remarks of Lumina and the teasing from Nivan rang into the shop. 

    Mr. Luriken continued to sweep the store, picking up fragments of dust into one dust mound in the center of the room. He tilted his head towards the dining room, and listened to the banter erupt between his family, the stern voice of his loving wife Cerise as she attempted to keep the peace. The stubbornness and youthful pride in his daughter Mystique’s voice. The sudden shift to shyness and words extracted delicately from Nivan, and the never ending sass from the newest member of his family. Saffron sighed as he swept. 

    “Dear Hylia, please if there is going to be a time of darkness, please let my family stay safe.” 

    After dinner, Mystique dragged herself up the stairs and into her room followed by a low flying Lumina and sluggish Nivan. Both kids plopped into their beds and yawned, the poe’s soul floated in its jar on the nightstand. Within minutes, all three of them were fast asleep in their beds. 

    Mystique woke up to the yellow glow from the poe’s soul, and the sound of heavy footsteps down the hallway. She pulled her sheets up tightly around her face and rolled over in bed towards Nivan’s bed. Her eyes grew wide Nivan’s sheets sat sprawled against the floor and his bed empty. Mystique jumped out of bed and ran over to the doorway to her bedroom, she peeked out into the hallway only to see Nivan as he stumbled. Carefully, Mystique followed behind the boy as he went downstairs into the dining room. She kept her distance as he entered the store, and she watched as he struggled to open the locked entrance to Luriken’s Shoes. After several pulls and pushes against the door, Nivan slumped onto the ground. His eyes were open, but instead of his icy blues, Mystique could only see the whites of his eyes. 

    “Not again,” she sighed. Mystique walked over to a cupboard inside the dining room and pulled out a blanket. She went back into the store and gently placed the blanket over Nivan’s shoulders. “I wonder why you do this.” 

    Instead of a cohesive response, Nivan began to mumble gibberish. None of it was Hylian as his voice grew louder and became more chaotic until it was only just screams which escaped his mouth. Only a few words made sense to Mystique, they were the same every time:

    "Please… no… please."

    Nivan screamed as Mystique leaned against the wall next to him. Her eyes drifted in and out as she stared at her father’s work desk. She heard footsteps from upstairs and listened as the sound went down the stairs. Soon, Mr. Luriken stood inside the store, a worried look plastered across his face. Nivan screamed again. 

    “He hasn’t done this for a long time,” Mr. Luriken whispered. “Do you know what caused it?” 

    Mystique shrugged her shoulders as she yawned. “No.” 

    “I’ll have to tell your mother about it when she gets back from work,” Mr. Luriken bent down and looked into the white eyes of Nivan. “Let me go grab some more blankets and pillows for everyone.” Mystique’s father disappeared back into the house, only to arrive moments later with as many pillows and blankets as he could carry. Cautiously, he placed a pillow behind Nivan’s head, and made a nest of blankets and pillows on the floor. 

    Mystique curled into a portion of the blanket nest and yawned. Mr. Luriken wrapped blankets around himself as he faced Nivan. Another spurt of gibberish echoed out into the store. Mystique attempted to stay awake as the night crawled on, but the warmth of the blankets cradled her into a deep sleep. 

    When Mrs. Luriken walked in front of the entrance to Luriken’s Shoes, she could see the outline of someone asleep on the floor through the store window. Without questioning what she saw, Cerise jumped onto the balcony and entered the house through that door, the faintest light of dawn illuminated the rooftops. As she strode into the house and down the hallway, she removed her scarf and tossed it on her bed as she entered her room. She quickly changed into a light nightdress, and made her way quietly down into the store. 

    Concern and relief took turns occupying her face as she stared at her family all fast asleep on the floor of Luriken’s Shoes. Somewhere, as the morning sun crested over the horizon, a rooster crowed.

Chapter Text

Salty air blasted Mystique’s face as she entered  the town of Salis, a knapsack slung over her back. She scrunched her face and sneezed while a breeze mingled the ocean with the land. Beside her, Lumina rested on top of Nivan’s head, his hair dishevelled and frizzed slightly. 

    In front of the two kids, the town of Salis sprawled wooden houses built on stilts to leave the grassy hills and sandy slopes intact. A stone path which started at the gates slowly morphed into wooden planks as the path guided anyone within the town out towards the large field of sand and complex docks. Mystique raised a hand above her forehead and stared out squinting to see if the docks stretched past the horizon. Several large ships rested out in the open ocean, their sails lowered. 

    “Do you think the person who ordered shoes is on one of those boats?” Mystique asked, now using her hand as a pretend telescope over her eye. 

    “While a pirate adventure sounds great Misty, the person we’re looking for lives in one of these houses.” Nivan lifted his chin into the air, almost knocking Lumina off his head. 

    Nivan began to walk into town, his eyes glanced at plaques and signs as they walked through Salis. “Hey Misty,” Nivan pointed at a sign. “Can you read this sign?”

    Mystique pouted, “no. Not yet.”

    “When are you starting lessons?” Nivan asked, a smirk on his face.

    “Mother said she found a tutor. I’m supposed to start sometime during the fall harvest.” Mystique ran her fingers across the sign.

    “You know that’s now right?” Nivan looked at Mystique, Lumina still sat in his hair.

    “Is it?” Mystique tilted her head. “You’re just teasing me aren’t you?”

    “There’s been posters all over Castle Town about the Harvest feast.” Nivan paused, “even if you can’t read the posters have really colorful images.” 

    Mystique pushed Nivan, “come on I’m too busy delivering shoes to notice those posters and you know it!” 

    Nivan’s smirk grew wider, “well if you’re going to be like that. I might as well race you to where we need to go.”

    Mystique laughed, “I always win those games.” 

    Nivan stuck out his tongue before he began to run away from Mystique. “Except this time you don’t know where to go,” he yelled. 

    “Hey!” Mystique yelled as she darted after Nivan. She quickly passed him on the street, leaving small clouds of sand behind her as she ran. Few people were around as Mystique flew through the streets with ease. The occasional resident of Salis, fishing gear in tow, walked casually by. Eventually Mystique reached a house at the end of the road and turned around, a triumphant look spread across her face. “See, I still beat you,” Mystique said. She gazed at the empty street in front of her, Nivan nowhere in sight.

    Mystique sucked in air and darted back down the street and again past the few Salis residents she had already passed. She ducked down a side path and ran up and down the length of the street only to find nothing more than a few more Salis residents. A sighed squeezed itself out of her lungs as she observed the large beach and the gentle waves of the ocean in front of her. She closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths before she ran back the  way she came and back on to the main street. 

    By this point, the few residents of Salis outside stopped and watched Mystique as she raced up and down, her skirt widely dancing against the sand. After the fifth street, Mystique came back to the original street that she raced Nivan, and screamed up into the air. One of the residents cautiously walked up to her and knelt down so that he was eye level with her. The Salis man was thin and broad shouldered, with definition to his arms. His hair was hidden under a red bandana. 

    “Do you need help, miss?” The man asked. 

    “I’m looking for a blonde boy with a fairy on his head,” Mystique stared at the tattoo that curved around the man’s arm. 

    “A blonde boy with a fairy? Like those old fairy tales?” The man chuckled. 

    “I guess,” Mystique answered. “His name is Nivan, he’s supposed to help me deliver these shoes.” Mystique dropped the bag onto the ground. 

    The man looked down at the sack, confused. “If you’re delivering something there should be an address on the package right?” 

    “I can’t read.”

    “Oh,” the man paused. He lifted the package up to his face and observed the elegant writing scrawled on the box. “Lucky for you I can.” The man chuckled. “And lucky for you I know exactly where you need to go.” The man stood up, he held the package as he began to walk down the road.

    Mystique looked around at the other residents of Salis who went back to their own activities. She shrugged her shoulders and followed slowly behind the man. He walked back towards the sign where Nivan had started the race, and turned in a completely different direction than the one Mystique had originally followed Nivan. She frowned as the man walked off of the wooden path and onto the sandy beach. Sand filled Mystique’s boots, rough and crunchy, as they walked. 

    On the horizon, a building residing on its own dock appeared. The building itself was half submerged into the water, and a tall ladder escaped towards a balcony several stories higher than the roof. Something clicked in Mystique’s memories as she followed the man up the stairs and in front of the entrance to the building. Nivan stood in front of the door, his head stared upwards at the dozens of seagulls as they circled the building. Mystique walked up to Nivan silently, and swiftly kicked him in the calf. The Salis man watched as Nivan crumpled to one knee as Mystique shouted at him. The glowing green orb on Nivan’s head cackled. 

    “I should hand this package back to you, miss,” the Salis man said, his eyes looking back towards town. 

    Mystique looked up from her shouting and smiled, “thank you for helping me Mr…?”

    “It’s Gonzo.” Gonzo placed the package on the ground and smiled. 

    “That’s a cool name!” Mystique grabbed the package. She smiled warmly towards Gonzo, but instead of a warm smile back, Gonzo stood frozen as he looked past Mystique and at the door. 

    “Why is there screaming on my porch!” An old voice attempted to shout. “Gonzo? Gonzo, why did you bring strange children to my house?”

    Mystique turned around to see an old man, his face like a skull covered with only a blue hat and his goatee, in the doorway. “We’re here to deliver you shoes sir.”

    The old man shuffled into the sunlight, his white lab coat and his entire body almost flew away in the wind. “You must be from Luriken’s Shoes. My brother has been raving about his shoes ever since he got them. Why don’t you three come inside before the seagulls decide that your package is lunch.” The old man laughed before he hobbled back inside his house. 

    Hesitantly, Mystique and Nivan followed with Gonzo slowly behind. Inside the house, half of the room was a giant tank of water connected to the ocean. Fish swam freely in and out of the enclosure while other fish decorated the cold stone walls of the room. A long table with many instruments and even more fish occupied a corner near a closed door. The old man pressed his hand against the tank glass and sighed. 

    “You know, for being my grandson Gonzo, you should visit me more.” The old man observed several fish as they somersaulted in the water. 

    Mystique glanced up at Gonzo curiously, while Nivan’s eyes wandered towards the table of fish.

    Gonzo looked away towards the long table. “Works been busy gramps, sorry.” 

    “How are your parents?” The old man asked.

    “Uh,” Gonzo glanced at Mystique and Nivan. “They’re doing good, good as anyone can at this time really. Gramps, you have guests besides me you know.” 

    “Right,” the old man turned towards Mystique and Nivan. “You can place the package anywhere you’d like, so long as it doesn’t get wet.”

    Mystique dropped the package on the ground immediately in front of her. “Do you study the water levels like Mr. Delirio?” She glanced at a slow round fish as it drifted into the enclosure. 

    “Are you really that curious child?” The old man raised an eyebrow. “I tend to not get too many people interested in my work besides my own brother.” 

    Mystique glanced between the skeletal and pale old man and Gonzo’s muscular and tan body. She tilted her head as she thought. “Well what you’re doing helps out Hyrule right?” 

    “The ocean is much bigger than a lake, with many other countries that share it with us. While I normally spend my days studying fish and how to harness them effectively as a stable food source without depleting it from its environment, recently other things have gotten in the way of my research.” The old man glanced back at Gonzo. “And I wish my grandkids nor my own children would risk going out into the ocean right now.”

    “It’s a risk we have to take if we want to feed everyone,” Gonzo refused to look at the old man and instead stared at Lumina as she lazily bobbed above Nivan’s head.

    “And several boats have already capsized with no survivors.” The old man crossed his arms.

    “Uhm,” Mystique’s voice squeaked as she interrupted. “What’s going on?” 

    “There’s a monster in these waters,” the old man answered. “I had read about such a creature in notes from a far away land, but it appears it has found our shores.” 

    “Like a shark?” Mystique prodded. 

    “No, sharks are harmless. I’m sure you met Ruto.”  The old man guffawed. “What I’m talking about is a creature named Gyorg. All of my time recently has been spent learning how to track and destroy it before it hurts more people from Salis.”

    “What far away land did Gyorg come from Mr.?” Mystique tilted her head. “Would they have a way to destroy it if you talked to them?”

    “Call me Babbel.” Babbel laughed a dry laugh. “It comes from a land called Termina. It would take too much time to travel there just to ask a few questions. Plus the ocean is too risky to travel anyways.”

    “Isn’t there a land route to Termina?” Nivan added in.

    “That would take even longer.” Babbel said. “Time is too important to waste and—”

    A loud knock came from the door. “Babbel open up,” a voice shouted from the other side of the door. 

    The old man shuffled over to the door and cracked it open. A tan and muscular woman kicked it open the rest of the way and strode into the room. She wore her red hair in a tight ponytail with a purple bandanna wrapped around her skull. Large gold hoops hung out of her ears and a scimitar clung to her waist.

    “Hammada, why are you here.” Babbel closed the door. 

    “I’m here to see how far you’ve gotten in your research, so that we can go kill it.” Hammada turned towards Gonzo. “Why are you here?”

    “I was helping these kids with a shoe delivery,” Gonzo placed his hand behind his head. 

    “That’s nice,” Hammada glanced back at Mystique and Nivan. Gold eyeshadow was coated around her green eyes. “Were you going to tell Babbel of your plan Gonzo?”

    “What plan?!” Babbel shouted.

    “He’s going to help my crew kill Gyorg.” Hammada smirked. “He is a trained pirate after all.”

    “He’s a what!” Mystique said, excitement scrambled into her voice.

    “Uh, Misty,” Nivan started to talk. 

    “Don’t remind me of my daughter-in-law Hammada,” Babbel glared at Hammada. 

    “I think she’s great Babbel,” Hammada glared back. 

    “She used to be your captain so of course you think that.” Babbel shouted. 

    “Uh,” Nivan started to speak again. 

    “Do you have any more research on how to stop Gyorg or what old man!” Hammada shouted.

    Gonzo looked over towards the tank, “...guys?” 

    “Research takes time Hammada I’ve already told you that. Hyrule wasn’t built in a day, and maybe you pirates need to learn some patience.” Babbel said.

    “We’ve given you plenty of time. It’s come to a point that people’s lives are being lost and we don’t catch enough fish to sell outside of Salis. Soon we won’t catch enough fish to feed even ourselves.” Hammada shook her head, her ponytail swayed. 

    “Guys.” Nivan said as he looked between Mystique, Gonzo, and the tank. 

    “Guys,” Gonzo repeated. 

    “If we get into too much trouble, surely Castle Town will send us aid.” Babbel ignored them all. 

    “Do you think that the King of Hyrule will really want to waste resources on a bunch of pirates and people who aren’t actually Hylian?” Hammada lifted her bandanna and pointed at her rounded ear. “Maybe they’ll help you old man, but they won’t help me or your grandkids.”

    “Hammada!” Gonzo shouted.

    “What!” Hammada screamed at Gonzo. 

    He looked at her, his face solemn as he pointed towards the tank. Hammada turned around and came face to face with a large fish, its fangs hung out jaggedly from its jaws. The beast swayed its body as it observed the people on the other side of the glass. Its fins stuck out sharp and crooked, every movement from the fish made the fins seemingly cut through the water like razors. The monster’s giant green eyes stared directly at Hammada, its mouth open and closed several times as it floated. 

    “What!” Hammada screamed at the tank. 

    Mystique and Nivan stared up at the fish, unsure how it had even fit into the enclosure. They both watched as smaller versions of the monster swam around it like a protective shield. 

    “...Gyorg?” Babbel opened his mouth as he looked at Gyorg behind the tank glass. “How did it sneak up on us like that.”

    “It’s been swimming this way for a bit,” Nivan answered. “No one wanted to listen to me.” 

    “I can’t believe that this monster just waltzed in here to give us the perfect opportunity to strike.” Hammada grinned. She ran over and grabbed one of the spears off of the wall and jumped up on top of a bookcase. Hammada jumped from furniture to furniture until she stood at the top of the tank, the spear pointed towards Gyorg. 

    “Hammada wait!” Gonzo and Babbel both shouted. 

    Hammada lunged the spear into the water and at Gyorg. The monster didn’t move a muscle as the spear delicately bounced off of its scales and drifted to the bottom of the tank. Hammada stared down at Gyorg, horrified. 

    “What…” Hammada whispered. 

    The monster, its eyes glazed over, opened and closed its mouth without a care in the world for the spear or the baffled woman at the top of the tank. Hammada cursed a few times under her breath as Gyorg did nothing but absentmindedly exist in front of her. 

    “Guess I’ll have to use a bit more fire power then,” Hammada clasped her hands together and began to chant. 

    “Hammada stop!” Gonzo yelled. 

    “Don’t blow up my lab!” Babbel added in.

    Nivan instinctively grabbed Mystique and dragged her towards the door as they watched a large glowing fiery orb grow between Hammada’s hands. As the orb grew to be the size of her chest, she thrusted it into the water towards the fish. A bright light exploded in front of the tank which caused everyone to shield their eyes. After a few moments, everyone looked back at the tank to see a completely unharmed Gyorg. Hammada screamed. 

    Instead of floating mindlessly, Gyorg began to shudder inside the tank, its jaws snapped several times as it shimmied its tail. 

    “Hammada!” Gonzo screamed. “Hammada move right now.”

    Hammada glanced down at Gonzo, and it only took those few seconds for Gyorg to launch its tail into the air, and slapped Hammada off of the tank and into the wall with a loud thud. 

    Gonzo ran over to Hammada, her body crumpled between the floor and the wall, a few fish surrounded her. Babbel shuffled over and began to hang the fish back on the wall. Hammada groaned as she clutched her chest. 

    “I think… I broke a rib or two.” Hammada muttered. “That stupid ugly fish shouldn’t have survived that.” 

    “But it did,” Babbel added dryly. “Which is why I think you should wait till my research is done.”

    “Personally, I think your research is pointless old man.” Hammada coughed and cringed from the pain. 

    “You don’t know that,” Babbel glared down at her. “What do you even know.”

    “I know enough stories,” Hammada said. “I know the bedtime stories my ma told me, and the ones her ma told her. I know that back when the pirates lived in Termina and were the Gerudo pirates, that Gyorg caused mayhem there too. The only reason Gyrog stopped there was because a young lad in green with a fairy slayed it. And that, that is all you will find in your research. Our current captain was hopeful that you’d find something else, but let’s face it. You won’t.”

    “That is a fairy tale Hammada.” Babbel scoffed. “Science does not condone to the will of a little fairy boy in a green dress and hat. There will be other more logical ways to defeat Gyorg.” 

    “You just saw that monster survive an energy ball completely unharmed. Tell me what else could possibly destroy it other than a little boy in green.”  Hammada glanced over at Nivan, Lumina floated around his head. “Why not have the blonde boy with the fairy take a crack at Gyorg. Maybe that will solve all our problems.”

    “What?” Gonzo and Babbel looked back at Nivan who still had Mystique braced behind him, his eyes still stared at the tank. 

    “Surely that isn’t the child of legend.” Babbel rolled his eyes, “one that child doesn’t even exist probably and two if he did why would he be delivering me shoes.” 

    “He does have a fairy though.” Gonzo added.

    Nivan glared over towards Babbel, Gonzo, and Hammada. “You guys do know that Gyorg already left, right?”

    “What?!” Babbel and Hammada diverted their attention towards the now empty fish tank. Both of them sighed and shook their heads. 

    Babbel shuffled over to a drawer, pulled out a pouch and handed it to Mystique. “I should pay you for the shoes after all of that Miss Luriken.” 

    “Thank you Mr. Babbel.” Mystique placed the pouch inside her apron pocket. “We should be heading back to Castle Town before the gate closes.” 

    “You won’t make it in time on foot.” Babbel stated. “But, I can have Gonzo take one of my son’s horses and bring you back in plenty of time.” Babbel turned to look at Gonzo. “Right Gonzo?”

    Gonzo lifted Hammada up off the ground. “Sure, I should probably bring Hammada to a Castle Town doctor then too.” 

    “Ask him for two horses then.” Babbel said. 

    Out on Hyrule field, the two horses galloped swiftly over patches of dirt and grass, they swerved on and off the dirt roads to avoid other travelers. On one horse rode Gonzo, Mystique, and Nivan. On the other horse, a tan and dark haired muscular man held Hammada. Without any time wasted, the group reached the northern gate to Castle Town with plenty of sunlight still left in the sky. Before they headed into town, they dismounted off of the horses and led them delicately into the crowds inside the gates. 

    “Thank you for your help Senza,” Gonzo smiled. 

    “Dude, we’re brothers, why wouldn’t I?” Senza laughed back, Hammada cringed as her body jostled with his laughter. 

    “I dunno, you can be a bit finicky with requests.” Gonzo shrugged. 

    “True. I also know ma would have kicked my ass if I told her I refused to help out the great Hammada.” Senza laughed again. 

    “If you’re going to keep shaking me like a jar of pickled fish let Gonzo carry me,” Hammada groaned. 

    “You heard the lady,” Senza placed Hammada into Gonzo’s arms.  “Which means I now have a free arm to go flirt with some pretty Hylians at a bar.” Senza winked before he disappeared with his horse into the crowd. 

    Gonzo chuckled before he glanced between his horse, Hammada, Mystique, and Nivan. “Hey would one of you mind riding on my horse with Hammada while I bring her to the doctor. 

    Mystique’s face beamed. “I’ll keep riding the horse!” She paused. “But only if you tell me his name.” 

    “This horse is called Niko. Senza’s horse is named Mako. How’s that?” Gonzo lifted Mystique onto the horse and placed her behind Hammada. Carefully, Gonzo began to weave himself and Niko through the always crowded streets of Castle Town.

    From on top of the horse, Mystique noticed how many older Hylian men had started to lose their hair, and how many of them weren’t as tall as she thought they were. She saw that Gorons had little hairstyles made out of rocks, and that on top of most windows there was a layer of grime and dust. It was only a short ride though, as the doctor’s office was located in the northeast quadrant of Castle Town, in the middle of a busy street and not down some poorly lit alley. 

    Gonzo tied the horse to a pole outside of the office and placed both Mystique and Hammada onto the street. He bowed towards Mystique and Nivan before he entered the doctor’s office, Hammada under his shoulder. 

    “Hey Nivan,” Mystique looked up at the sky. “I think I know why so many rich Hylians wear wigs now.”

    “Why’s that Misty?” 

    “They’re all secretly bald.” Mystique let out a tiny laugh. 

    “Wow look at you, a real philosopher.” Lumina butted in.

    “You’ve been quiet all day,” Mystique said as they started to walk home. 

    “I don’t have much input in family dramas,” Lumina said sarcastically. 

    “Do you know anything about that Gyorg thing?” Mystique asked.

    “I’ve never been to Termina last time I checked.” Lumina yawned. “Goddesses above I think Nivan’s stupid poe soul is taking away my beauty sleep.” 

    “Want me to hide it in a drawer or something?” Nivan said.

    “No, I’ll probably still know it's there. Why did you even buy that stupid thing.” Lumina now rested on Mystique’s head. 

    “Because I wanted it, why else?” Nivan shrugged. 

    “Did you see the creature that was selling it?!” Lumina shouted. “Mystique did you go into the creepy monster parts tent.”    

    “Nope.” Mystique said. 

    Nivan sighed. “You’re right he was a bit off, but he probably appreciated the sale.” 

    “I don’t think monsters care about sales kid.” Lumina jeered. “But whatever floats your boat.” 

The next morning Mystique awoke to her mother outside of her bedroom door. Mrs. Luriken eyed her daughter’s outfit, her light blue dress and apron, up and down while shaking her head, 

    “What is it mother?” Mystique asked. 

    “Remind me to get you a nicer outfit soon.” Mrs. Luriken gestured for Mystique to follow her downstairs. 

    “What’s wrong with my outfit mother?” 

    “It’s fine. It’s just old and a little worn. Your tutor will probably expect you to wear nicer garments today.” Mrs. Luriken walked into the kitchen. 

    “Today?” 

    “Yes, today is your first day of tutoring. “ Mrs. Luriken placed a plate of eggs and toast down on the table and sat down in front of another plate of eggs and toast. 

    Mystique sat down and poked at her food. “Where is father and Nivan?” 

    “Your father is already working, and Nivan just left to go train with the fairy.” Mrs. Luriken took a sip of tea. 

    “Her name is Lumina.” Mystique said, eggs in her mouth. 

    “Thank the Goddess it isn’t Navi.” Mrs. Luriken paused, “and don’t speak with your mouth full.”

    Mystique swallowed. “Why not Navi?”

    Mrs. Luriken sighed. “Navi is the fairy from that bed time story your father used to read to you. About the hero Link who saved Hyrule through time travel.”

    “People keep comparing Nivan to that guy,” Mystique said with uncertainty in her voice. 

    “Do they?” Mrs. Luriken raised an eyebrow. 

    “Yeah Hudde, Fiona, Raul, and Link did. And then Mr. Deliro’s brother Babbel and his grandson Gonzo also made a comment about it.” Mystique took a large bite out of her toast. 

    “It’s probably because the fairy, I mean Lumina, is glued to his side.” 

    “Yeah, that’s because a fairy is more useful for fighting than delivering mail is what she said.”

    “Technically Lumina would be able to help you read signs so she is useful for mail delivery.” 

    “She said I should be educated.” Mystique took another bite of toast. 

    Mrs. Luriken frowned. “Great, so even your new friend has opinions on that.” 

    “It’s okay mother, a bunch of Castle Town kids don’t know how to read.” Mystique smiled cheerfully. 

    “That’s not reassuring.” Mrs. Luriken sighed. “Technically everyone here should be literature at the very least, but things change depending on who is king and whether there is war on the horizon.” 

    “Has Hyrule ever fought Termina mother?” Mystique asked.

    “No,” Mrs. Luriken paused. “Where did you hear about Termina Mystique.”

    “Mr. Babbel mentioned it to me when he was talking about the monster fish Gyorg attacking Salis.” Mystique took a swig of juice. 

    “The… the what?” Mrs. Luriken squinted her eyes towards her daughter. 

    “Gyorg the monster fish from Termina that the hero and his fairy slayed long ago.” Mystique tilted her head. 

    Many emotions flickered across Mrs. Luriken’s face as she processed what Mystique had said out loud. “I bet our lovely King Suehprom Patroclus Hyrule is doing his best to fix that for the town of Salis.” 

    “I don’t think he knows about it, mother.” Mystique said innocently. 

    Mrs. Luriken took a long sip of her tea, long enough that the bell above the store door jingled, and Impa walked into the dining room with a book bag wrapped in her arms. Impa about to say something, stopped as she watched Mrs. Luriken continue to take her long sip of tea. 

    “Good morning Mystique.” Impa said. “Are you ready for me to take you to your tutor?” 

    “Why are you taking me to my class Ms. Impa?” Mystique asked. 

    “It is what your mother Cerise and I agreed upon.” Impa handed the book bag to Mystique. “I got you a present that will be useful in your studies.”

    Mystique held up the bag and looked inside to see a bottle of ink, a feather, charcoal wrapped in parchment paper, and two leather journals with the Hylian crest on them. On the bag itself, a red eye with a teardrop was painted on the side. “Thank you Ms. Impa.” Mystique smiled.

    “We should probably get going if you're all set.” Impa glanced over at Mrs. Luriken.

    “Actually, Impa would you mind if I tag along. I need to pick a few things up near the castle today.” 

    Impa stared at Cerise’s concern-speckled face and silently nodded towards her. Without another word, the three ventured off and into the streets of Castle Town.

    At the entrance to the Castle Courtyard. Mrs. Luriken stood and watched as Impa guided Mystique down the stone hallway lined with hedges and decorative fountains. When their two figures became only silhouettes as they entered the castle, Cerise Luriken walked over to one of the hedges and opened a secret door. 

    When entering Hyrule Castle for the first time, Mystique noticed how empty the hallways truly were. For a place so large and grande within Castle Town, it felt hollow inside. Through the winding paths of the labyrinth hallways with pristine carpets and elegant chandeliers, Impa and Mystique only passed a handful of people. The people they passed either wore bonnets and royal blue dresses, soldier uniforms, or scurried by with scrolls sprawling out of their hands. In a wing of the castle where Mystique had no idea where she really was, Impa pushed open a metal door. 

    Inside the room a short woman with her white hair piled into a gigantic bun squished her face against a table covered in scrolls.  Behind her, a blackboard with nonsense scribbled all over it took up the majority of the long and tall wall of the room. A ladder was perched in the corner, a cup of chalk balanced on the top rung. Another wall in the room was made completely out of windows. Mystique could see more towers and the outside of hallways, and wondered what was on the ground below. 

    Impa strided into the room and cleared her throat. The white haired woman’s head darted up, her large round glasses balanced peculiarly on her face as she stared up at Impa. 

    “Your new student is here for her lesson Pom.” Impa gestured towards Mystique who still stood in the doorway.

    “Oh, uhm, I must have lost track of time with my research.” Pom straightened her glasses on her face. “We agreed on one hour lessons with Cerise right?”

    “Correct. I’ll be back in an hour to bring Mystique home.” Impa bowed towards Pom, locks of her hair fell out from her braid and drifted into her face. She straightened her back and swiftly exited the room, leaving Mystique alone with Pom. 

    Pom cleared her throat. “Do you want to take a seat?”

    Mystique glanced around at all of the chairs covered in quills and scrolls. A few of the chairs had glasses and strange glowing pieces of metal on them. “Where?” Mystique asked. 

    Pom walked over to one of the chairs, glanced down at the notes on the scrolls and casually flung them across the room. She pulled over a small table covered in more scrolls, and gestured for Mystique to sit. Without another word Mystique obliged. Pom grabbed a piece of chalk off of her big desk and walked over to a clean spot on the blackboard. She began to write glyphs for a few moments before she turned around. 

    “What did I just write?” She asked. 

    “Uh,” Mystique stared at the glyphs, each one of them different. “They all look different.” 

    “It’s the basic Hylian alphabet.” Pom tapped her chalk on the wall. “It’s the basic building blocks to our current modernized language. There is also an alphabet for ancient Hylian, but we won’t get to that for a very long time.”

    “Will I need ancient Hylian to be a good mail delivery person?” 

    Pom turned to write more on the board, but quickly turned around and stared mouth agape at Mystique. “To be a what?” 

    “A mail delivery person.” 

    Pom’s voice increased with each word she said. “And not a scholar for the royal family. Or even a secret agent for the royal family? You are technically a Sheikah are you not?” 

    Mystique tilted her head. “I’m a what?” 

    “A Sheikah.” Pom shook her head and reached for a mirror. She brought it over and shoved it into Mystique’s face. “Your eyes are red dear.”

    “So are my mother’s eyes.” Mystique answered into the mirror, her red eyes stared back.

    Pom removed the mirror, her red eyes glared back through her glasses. “Your mother is a part of the Sheikah clan. How do you not know this?” 

    “No one told me.” Mystique shrugged her shoulders.

    “For the love of Hylia.” Pom grumbled while she paced in front of the desk. “How could Cerise be so irresponsible as to not tell you about your own heritage. Am I supposed to teach you everything about yourself even though you are not my child?” 

    “Ms. Pom, are we going to get back to the alphabet?” 

    “How much do you know about the Sheikah Mystique.”

    “Nothing.”

    Pom opened and closed her mouth for a moment as words escaped her. “Unbelievable.” She shook her head again. “The sheikah are a tribe of people blessed and trusted by the goddess Hylia to protect the people of Hyrule and follow through on the divine mission to aid the hero and the Hylia incarnate herself when the time rises. We are a people with access to advanced knowledge and technology. A people with the ability to be as swift as night and control the shadows to ward them away. This is what you are a part of. This is your history.” 

    Mystique listened, her mind processed the words as they floated in the room above her head. “So if the Sheikah are here to protect the people of Hyrule, and be swift as the night. Wouldn’t me delivering letters be helping aid the people of Hyrule and my speed can help me deliver mail faster?” 

    Pom’s eyes went wide, her glasses slid slightly down her face. “I should have given you credit earlier. You may not know much, but you have a solid head on your shoulders.” 

    “Can I learn about the alphabet now Ms. Pom?” Mystique took out one of the notebooks and placed it on the table. 

    Pom frowned before she chuckled and went over to the board. With her piece of chalk in hand, she tapped towards the first symbol. 

    “This is the start to the Hylian alphabet…” Pom droned. 

Everytime Cerise wandered through the castle hallways she thought she heard the pitter patter of tiny footsteps and the shouts of children. Yet, every corner she turned was desolate and empty. The door to the library was cracked ajar when Cerise came upon the overly simplistic door. The paintings which bordered the door showed wide expansive fields of Hyrule from other times, something that always stood out amongst the hundreds of portraits scattered throughout the castle. 

As always, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule sat at one of the large tables surrounded by manuscripts. Impa floated between the shelves within the shadows. Cerise closed the door gently behind her as she entered the musty room. 

“Is this where your errands took you today?” Impa responded from the shadows.

“I didn’t want Mystique to know that I was coming here,” Cerise glanced behind herself. 

“And why is that?” Kassandra did not glance up from her texts as she spoke. 

“As her mother, I have the right to keep her out of this mess.”

“I’ve heard being a mailman can be pretty dangerous too.” Impa smirked from the shadows.

“Cerise… your daughter wants to deliver mail?” Kassandra looked up quizzically.

“And that’s her choice.” Cerise stated. 

“I think that she would make an excellent sheikah,” Impa placed her hand on the table. 

“That’s not why I am here.” Cerise took a few steps forward. She hesitated as she glanced between looks from Impa and the Queen. “Well it does involve my daughter, but not her specifically.” 

“And what would that be.” Kassanda gently placed the book down on the table. 

“My daughter saw Gyorg is Salis recently.”

“Excuse me?” Impa slammed her other hand onto the table. “Your daughter has now seen two beings of darkness!” 

“She seems to have impeccable timing, yes.” Cerise sighed. “But more importantly is that there is now another being of darkness popping up. Another monster for the hero we cannot locate to slay.” 

“My task team has interviewed every family who named their child Link in Castletown with no luck.” Impa stated, a slight pinch of frustration in her voice. 

“It was nice of you to search Castletown for our hero,” Kassandra began to speak, her voice suddenly a little hoarse. “But every scripture of the hero has him come from a rural town.”

“Which is why I have other members of the Sheikah royal service searching those towns.” Impa reported. 

“Do we have any update on finding any of the sages at least?” Cerise asked. 

Kassanda coughed into her sleeve for several moments. “Unfortunately no. Dario has not had time to look since working with Tyto to eliminate his Volvagia problem. Queen Rutamina is hesitant to start her search and the kokori haven’t returned a single message.”

“So that’s zero out of six sages.” Impa added in.

“And the darkness gets closer every single day.” Kassanda scrubs something off of the manuscript in front of her. “This would be easier if the King supported this mission and we could search for the sages and the hero more publicly.” 

“Hopefully we find what we are looking for before he regrets his decision.” Impa said, her voice filled with bitterness. She glanced over towards the clock hidden near one of the bookcases. “Cerise, you should head home, I have to go get Mystique from her lesson.” 

Cerise nodded and walked out of the library through the normal door. Impa, in usual fashion, exited through one of the many hidden pathways woven within the architecture of the castle. With the library to herself, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule began to write: 

It is Autumn when I write this. I have just received reports of two creatures of darkness now freely roaming the land of Hyrule. Volvagia the great Goron eater and Gyrog the monstrous fish from other lands also plagued by darkness. I have yet to report to Impa or any of the Sheikah royal guard, that Queen Rutamina has potentially found another being of darkness frozen within the Zora ice caverns. I pray that it does not break free of its frozen prison to wreak havoc on the Zora people. 

My husband, King  Suehprom Patroclus of Hyrule  is still ignorant of the growing concerns of his land. If the city of Salis is plagued by Gyorg I suspect the town’s mayor, or even the captain of the ‘pirates’ pay visit to him for assistance. If he would not give aid to our good friend Dario, I doubt he would bat an eye at the coastal town of Salis, despite it being our biggest import of fish. If the city were to suffer, there could  potentially be a food shortage as Lake Hylia cannot supply the same volume of fish. 

Finally, my dear Zelda. She seems hesitant with her future of saving us from darkness, and having her ready is a task upon itself to take care of.  The training sessions between me, her, and Paige have gone neutral at best. From articles I have read of past princesses, many of them did not have their mother to guide them at all. I am blessed to be a part, even if small, within her training.  I would like to take the girls, along with Impa, to the sacred springs located across Hyrule before winter. But, with the Harvest Festival here already, it might have to wait until Spring. I will convince Impa to take us at least to Din’s spring as near Death Mountain is warm year round. Maybe we can even visit the Sage of Fire’s Garden while there… I hear it is quite lovely. 

Chapter Text

It was dark on the balcony which overlooked the interior courtyard of the castle. Zelda, wrapped in a shawl, stared out at the massive fountain surrounded by garden beds filled with flowers slowly fading to the crisp autumn air. She was unsure why she was up so late, her hands fidgeted within her gloves and moonlight bounced off of her tiara. In the silence princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule thought she was by herself. 

    “I don’t want to let mother down,” she whispered into the night air. “But I just don’t understand this magic business. How am I supposed to channel the goddess Hylia to repel darkness.” 

    Zelda paced back and forth on the balcony. Her slippers made barely audible clicks as she moved. Somewhere above her, the moon towered over the castle as it watched everything within its light. Below her, several rats darted through the grass as they foraged for something to chew on. Within the fountain, water lazily drifted out from the triforce held and surrounded by the goddesses. Zelda did not notice the additional figure position on the fountain. 

    “I am Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule, heir to the Hyrule throne, and prophesied to slay the darkness with a hero with the name Link by a Queen and a mother who a King and a father believes to be a false prophet. All of this training could be for nothing, and my mother will spend her days worried over a myth.”

    “Or you will all fail.” A voice said from the shadows. 

    Zelda screamed. Her eyes darted around the balcony and towards the moon. She thought she saw a sinister face, however brief, cascade across its pale round surface before her eyes settled on the additional figure on the fountain. Its eyes were red. 

    “Go away before I summon the guards.” Zelda shouted.

    “They won’t come.” The figure floated off of the fountain and into the air.

    “Excuse me?! Yes they will because I am—”

    “Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule.” The voice finished. It floated towards the balcony. Zelda automatically took a step back from the railing. “I know who you are, child of destiny.” The figure now loomed over the balcony. “And I know that you will fail against the darkness.” 

    Zelda initially imagined the darkness being bigger than one lone figure. “And what makes you say that?”

    “I say that because I am wise, and I know.” The figure sneered without a mouth. 

    “Those are just words, demon.” Zelda sneered back. 

    “I killed your hero.” The shadow tilted its head. “It will be very hard to beat the darkness without a hero.”

    Zelda gasped before she quickly hid her emotions like her father had taught her. “You have no proof of that either.”

    “Unsurprisingly his name was Link. He lived in a small farming town near the forest. He had a fairy following him and one of my poe scouts spotted him. He was roughly your age, and has now been taken care of.” 

    “You bluff. Finding the hero wouldn’t be that easy.” Zelda folded her arms. 

    “Every resurrection it gets easier dear princess.” 

    “So are you here to get rid of me as well?” 

    “No.” The shadow blocked out the moon. “I have other plans for you.”

    Zelda opened her mouth to speak, but within a blink of her eyes the red eyed figure rushed at her. She felt something cold and hard pass through her as her body fell onto the cold stone tiles of the balcony with a thud. Above Zelda the moonlight danced across her unconscious body and the courtyard, the figure now vanished into the night.

    By early morning, the streets of Castletown swarmed with people from all four corners of Hyrule. Gorons towered over doorways and hunched underneath archways. Ritos perched on top of balconies, their necks craned down towards crowds packed against the old stone buildings. There were a few gaps in the crowd where Zoras stood, their head tails swaying a circumference around their bodies. Several Hylias walked up and down the empty centers of the streets pushing carts full of souvenirs and salty sweet food. Unsurprisingly, there were no Kokiri.

    The Lurikens stood  south of the center courtyard of Castletown, the fountain barely visible beyond the variety of people, their heads turned towards the castle. Confetti drifted from the north and filled the streets with specks of rainbows which fell onto everything. A piece of confetti lazily floated near Lumina. She dodged it swiftly, the piece of paper half the size of her body, only to crash into Mrs. Luriken’s arm. 

    “Better be careful fairy, or the confetti will get you,” Mrs. Luriken commented, her eyes still glued towards the castle. 

    “I’d like to see you go against something coming at you half your size.” Lumina snarked as she landed back in Nivan’s hair. 

    “You’d be surprised what I deal with at work.” Mrs. Luriken glanced down at Lumina, her red eyes gleamed in the sunlight. 

    Mystique thought for a moment of her mother wrestling a giant piece of paper. She laughed as the thought continued until Nivan nudged Mystique. She glanced over at him, his expression serious. Mystique shrugged and turned her attention, like everyone else, back towards the castle. 

    Even behind the massive gates, which separated the castle from the town, a majority of the castle could still be seen as it towered over everything around it. Its shadow was like a sundial as time passed around the circular town established around it. If Mystique squinted she could have guessed that the spiral roofs were originally a crimson red, now bleached from the sun. She could have also guessed what the images on the stained glass windows were if she had paid attention during her lessons inside of the castle. But she didn’t squint nor did she remember these little details. She barely knew the Hylian alphabet after all. 

    In the distance, behind the fountain, something massive shifted. The concentration of confetti thickened in the air, and Lumina squished herself as close to Nivan’s head as possible. Cheers echoed loudly throughout the air as the large object turned around the fountain. As it came closer into view, Mystique realized that it was a float. 

    A dozen of Hylian soldiers carried a large platform that hosted three thrones. In the center throne sat a full bodied man, his blonde beard and hair frosted white. He wore a deep blue coat decorated with gold and jewels which accented the crown on his head. To his right was a smaller chair, barely filled up by a tall, thin, and bony girl with long straight brown hair.  Pieces of her hair were braided and pinned back by a tiara bedazzled with five jewels of different colors. Her royal blue dress complimented the man’s outfit. The dress, however, looked too long for her as it trailed well beyond to completely cover her feet. To the man’s left, a pale woman sat with layers of makeup on her face. Her blonde hair was pinned up in an elegant bun, a few strands coiled around her face. Someone had placed gemstones on her cheeks, which matched the ones on her crown. Like the other two, her dress was a deep blue except hers was decorated with swirls of ivory that weaved between the gold accents. 

    Behind the three in the throne two figures stood. The first figure Mystique recognized as Impa. She stood behind the woman’s throne, her eyes scanned the crowd like a hawk. Impa wore her hair down in a loose ponytail that was filled with bits of confetti. Confetti also stuck to the blue corset and her tights. Mystique smiled when she noticed the cream and brown knee high boots Impa had on.

    The other figure Mystique looked at quizzically. The girl stood next to the throne to the man’s right. Her hair, like Impa's, was filled with colorful specs of confetti, except instead of a loose ponytail the girl’s large blonde curls blew chaotically against the wind. Her face looked perplexed as her hands constantly scrambled to keep her hair in one direction. She wore a simplistic light blue dress that thankfully stayed in one piece so that the girl could focus on her hair. 

    Another figure, Mystique noticed, sat at the front of the platform, his hands cupped around his mouth as he spoke. “Behold today on our kingdom’s harvest festival, we are graced by the blessings of King Suehprom Patroclus Hyrule, Queen Kasandra Tacita of Hyrule, and Princess Zelda Asteria Hyrule!” 

    “Mother, look, it's your friend Impa.” Mystique shouted over the crowd. 

    “She’s an acquaintance dear, but yes that’s Impa.” Mrs. Luriken kept her eyes on the Queen, a flash of worry crossed her face. 

    “Who’s the blonde girl near the princess? Do you know her too?” Mystique watched as the float got closer to where she stood. 

    “My best guess is that is the princess’s servant. They have been attached at the hip since they were toddlers. The Queen had Zelda’s servant chosen that young.” Mrs. Luriken kept her eyes on the float. 

    The float lazily drifted past Mystique, and down the street. Impa turned her back to the thrones and stared towards the Lurikens until the float turned the corner and out of view. The crowd slowly dispersed, forming large clusters of people all trying to go to the next destination. Mrs. Luriken stood her ground, her family around her as they waited for the street to get a little more quiet. Lumina fluttered between Mystique and Nivan, no confetti to be seen anywhere. 

    “Do you think that the festival will be set up by now?” Mystique asked the air around them. 

    “The tents went up yesterday before sunset, so I would say yes.” Nivan walked down the road, heading towards the southern gate. 

    Mystique took a few steps, a smile spread across her face, before she turned to look at her parents standing still. “Mother? Father? Aren’t you coming?” 

    “I have to grab something at the house, I will meet up with the four of you later.” Mrs. Luriken leaned in and kissed Mr. Luriken before she quickly vanished down a side street. 

    Outside of Castletown, dozens of tents bloomed over the grassy empty field. A large wheel towered over everything in the distance as it spun smaller circles through the air. On the opposite side of tents, two large platforms spanned across a shallow pool of water. In the center of everything, a large tent stood wide and colorful, decorated with red, blue, and green stripes. Ritos flew gracefully in somersaults through the air and cuccos could be heard clucking somewhere within the chaos of the crowd. 

    “How many festivals do you people even have?” Lumina said, exhausted. “Wasn’t there just a festival at Kakariko.”

    “That was the Summer Festival,” Mystique chimed. “This is the Harvest Festival.” 

    “They’re months apart.” Nivan added. 

    “They’re still too close together, I think there should only be one festival per year.” Lumina floated in front of the two kids. 

    “Lumina, that would be boring.” Mystique whined. “Where is the fun in that?” 

    “Less crowds sound like a lot of fun, kid,” Lumina answered. “It’s not fun having to worry about being easily squashed by some random Hylian, Rito, Zora, or Goron.”

    Behind Mystique, Lumina, and Nivan, a man dressed in stripes handed Mr. Luriken a brochure. The man had a smile plastered across his face. Curious, Mr. Luriken opened the brouche and stared at the images in front of him before he crouched down and showed the brochure. 

    “What’s it say father?” Mystique asked. 

    “It says that there is a giant circus act starting at the giant tent soon. Do you three want to go?” Mr. Luriken smiled softly. 

    Before he got an answer, Mystique had already started to weave through the crowd towards the large colorful tent. The rest of the group slowly followed behind. 

    Inside the tent several rows of wooden seats rose into the air like sets of stairs. Dozens of people already sat in spots scattered across the circular interior of the room. In the center, there were only several torches and sand. Cautiously, Mr. Luriken moved his way towards a row to sit. 

    It was several moments, but felt like years to Mystique, before the tent filled to the brim. As the last person sat down on the only available spot left, a flashed filled the center of the room and a bald man stood between all of the torches. He wore a long red coat and held a cane. His white crimped collar puffed around his neck and mingled with his thin mustache. 

    “Ladies and Gentleman,” his voice boomed. “And all walks of life… welcome to the Gorme Brother’s circus.” He walked out from between the torches, as he did the rest of the circle lit up. “Today we have some wonderful acts from all over Hyrule, as well as a special treat at the end.” The man smirked before he threw something on the ground, his entire body disappeared in a cloud of smoke. 

    The audience ooohed and aaawed as the smoke cleared. Several Hylians emerged from exits of the tent riding around on bikes. They juggled milk bottles into the air like it was nothing. The bottles danced back and forth between the cyclists with ease.  Three bottles, one from each of the cyclists, soared higher into the air towards the darkness of the ceiling. The audience gasped as claws reached out from the shadows and snatched  the bottles before they could drop into the light. Three Ritos tossed the bottles between themselves and Hylians through the air. The audience continued to show their excitement throughout the rest of the act. 

    The rest of the acts felt like a blur to Mystique. Her mind wandered to what the special surprise at the end of the show would be. She remembered that she saw Zoras as they jumped through rings of fire. A Goron battled a dodongo, which she thought Nivan could easily do, and a very nimble Hylian danced upon ropes in the air. For that last act, Mystique wondered if she could be a circus worker if her dreams of being a mail person failed. She thought about the offer which lingered in the air from Pom and Impa. She knew she was most likely too clumsy to walk on lines in the air, so being a royal agent of Hyrule wouldn’t end well. 

    Lost in thought, Mystique did not notice the bald man as he waltzed back into the center of the ring. Nivan nudged her. A smirk crossed Nivan’s face as he pointed towards the ring. 

    “What do you think they’re going to do now?” He asked. 

    “I dunno, bring out Kokiri?” Mystique asked, a little dazed. 

    “That would be cool, no one has seen a Kokiri in decades.” Nivan continued to smirk. 

    “Don’t be stupid you two. This bald horrible looking man has no way of accessing the forest, let alone finding a Kokiri even if it walked right in front of him.” Lumina yawned after she spoke, her wings lay flat on Nivan’s head. 

    “Did you ever belong to a Kokiri?” Mystique asked. “I heard every Kokiri had one.” 

    “Well,” Lumina began. “Hey, wait what is that?!” Lumina shouted. 

    Mystique and Nivan snapped their attention back towards the stage, where the bald man began beckoning something large out from the shadows. Before it even emerged into the light, Mystique saw that it had one large red eye.

    “Ladies and gentleman,” the man’s voice boomed. “Come and witness the darkness.” From out of the shadows, one clawed and deformed hand dragged itself into the light. Another hand, slightly more human, followed. From there Mystique wasn’t quite sure what she was looking at as a body on all fours mixed in dark sludge and human flesh breathed heavily on the stage. There was a large chain wrapped around where its neck should have been, and two Gorons held the chains from a distance. In the light, brown clumps of hair rested on the top of what should have been a head. An empty and soulless howl echoed out into the area greeted by silence. 

    Mystique glanced towards her father and Nivan. Fear plastered onto both of their faces. She turned her attention back towards the arena, where the creature slowly slumped and dragged its body helplessly across the dirt. 

    “This is what happens when you chase the darkness.” The bald man tugged on his collar as he slowly walked around the creature. “Believe or not folks, this monster used to be just like you and me.” 

    The audience gasped. 

    “This here monster… yes, this monster was once a Hylian.” The man pulled a cane from somewhere on his costume and poked the creature. It wailed. “ Now tell me, have any of you seen this happen to an innocent Hylian before?” 

    Most of the crowd shook their heads no. 

    “It’s because this does not happen to innocent Hylians. This happens to those who dance in the night and play with monsters.”

    Mystique felt the fabric of her skirt swish as Nivan got up and exited the tent. 

    “This here folks, used to be a monster hunter. A Hylian who slayed the dark lord’s minions for their own material gain. But like all who dabble even remotely against the light… the goddesses will punish us all. Hylia will strike you down and make you nothing more than a monster for your own kind to one day put out of its mercy for the sake of the light.” 

    Confused, Mystique listened as the crowd shouted and jeered towards the center of the stage where the monster hunched what should have been shoulders. The beast took steps away from the man. Mystique saw something glimmer on the cane from the light of the flame. Before she saw anything else, Mr. Luriken’s hands were over her eyes as the crowd screamed louder. 

    Mr. Luriken did not remove his hands from Mystique’s face until they had left the tent. Outside, Nivan stood near one of the stalls, holding a sandwich, his face pale. Lumina floated to his side.

    “I’m so sorry you three… I didn’t realize something like that was going to happen.” Mr. Luriken stumbled over his words. 

    “Nivan, are you okay?” Mystique furrowed her eyebrows as she asked him.

    “I’m fine.” Nivan mumbled into his sandwich.

    “I can’t believe how bloodthirsty Hylians are,” Lumina said. “Darkness vs Light my glowing fairy ass!” 

    Mystique looked between Lumina, Nivan, and her father. “Does anyone know what happened to that Hylian?” 

    Mr. Luriken placed some coins on the booth’s counter and handed Mystique a sandwich. “That was a Poe Hunter.” 

    “But why did that person turn into a monster?” Mystique asked, fear crept into her voice.

    “Because they were a poe hunter.” Nivan replied. 

    “But why!” Mystique emphasized, her voice went up an octave. 

    Mr. Luriken opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it immediately. He did this a few times. “It’s a long story,” he finally answered. “The shortest answer I can give is that there was a mistress of shadows. Her name was Meegan. I learned about her briefly through stories and tales, but she was the Queen of the poes. There was a particular story that during the last great threat of darkness, she worked alongside the King of Darkness himself. There was a particular battle, where she lost many poes against one of the sages while the hero marched forth. It was always said as a way to get kids to behave so that Meegan survived the battle and swore revenge on any who hurt her kind.”

    Nivan slowly chewed his sandwich. “I always hated that bedtime story.” 

    “Not many children like hearing of Meegan.” Mr. Luriken said. His eyes wandered off to something in the distance and his face suddenly filled with concern. “Kids, stay right here, I’ll be right back.” Mr. Luriken paid for another sandwich before he raced off into the crowd, leaving Mystique, Nivan, and Lumina by themselves. 

    “What do you want to do now Nivan? Do you wanna race somwhere?” Mystique asked.

    “I’m not really in the mood Misty. Can we just find somewhere to sit.” Nivan said, barely audible against the noise of the crowd. 

    Instead of listening to Mr. Luriken, the kids wandered away from the sandwich tent and deeper into the crowds of the fair. Every booth oozed color and whimsy as they passed through. Some tents held even more sweets and savory smells, which wafted through the air. While others hosted games with bows, rings, and little plush cuccos. They wandered through aisle after aisle with little luck on finding a place to sit and rest. Instead, they ran into a group of kids play-fighting amongst the crowd.

    “Oh no,” Mystique moaned. 

    But it was too late. Link looked up from his clash with Roul. Fiona’s face sourced and a tiny smile was placed on Hudde’s face. It did not take long for Mystique and Nivan to be surrounded by the gang of kids. 

    “Look what the bokoblin dragged in,” Roul smirked, his wooden sword slung across his back. 

    “I’m not in the mood.” Nivan said dryly. 

    “Why… did you lose a fight to a turnip?” Link jeered. 

    “Stop being annoying,” Mystique butted in.

    “Let the boy fend for himself Mystique.” Fiona said, annoyance slipped into her voice. 

    “Why do you always have to pick on him?!” Mystique shouted.

    “Simple. Because he’s weird.” Roul answered. 

    “And it’s fun.” Link added. 

    “You’re all jerks, you know that right?” Mystique stomped her foot. 

    “Misty, it’s fine, let's just go.” Nivan said. 

    “Typical you, just quitting and leaving.” Roul followed Nivan as he tried to leave the circle and pushed him. 

Nivan stumbled but caught his footing. He looked back at Roul, his eyes narrowed. “Don’t do that.” Nivan said. 

“I bet I could beat you in a sword fight.” Roul sneered. “I heard you ate dirt at the Kakariko sword tournament anyways.” Roul nudged Link and Link awkwardly handed over his wood sword to Nivan. Roul stood ready to fight as the rest of the kids backed away. 

“This isn’t going to end well.” Lumina remarked. “Should I just use a little magic on the big blonde kid and end it?” 

“I’m not going to fight you,” Nivan spoke to Roul.

“Oh,” Roul briefly looked rejected. “Too bad you don’t have a choice in this.” Before Nivan could respond, Roul hastily swung his wooden sword. 

Nivan easily blocked the attack. 

“Well I guess it’s too late now,” Lumina muttered.  “The kid is going to get injured.” 

“Which kid?” Hudde butted in. 

“It’s pretty obvious if you watch,” Lumina said slightly irritated. 

In the middle of a crowded aisle, the two boys swung wooden swords against each other. The tall blonde boy with golden lazily swung his sword with little to precision. There was no aim in his attempt to knock down the boy with ice blue eyes who blocked every attack with ease. But that’s all Nivan did. He just blocked. As Roul continued to fight Nivan, frustration smeared itself across his face. Roul screamed as he thrusted for what could have been a final blow with a real sword. But instead it was a wooden sword, and yet another attack that was deflected by Nivan. 

“Roul this is getting stupid stop.” Fiona whined. 

“No!” Roul screamed as he threw another swing. 

In the crowd, amongst the variety of people a boy with freckles and floppy dark hair watched. He weaved through the crowd, as silently as he could, despite several Hylians muttering as he pushed them aside. When he reached the two boys as they fought in the crowd he continued to walk towards them. Mystique watched from the sidelines as the floppy haired boy unsheathed his very real sword and slashed Roul’s wooden sword in half mid swing. 

Roul yelped as he jumped back from the attack. “Dude you could have killed me?!” 

“I know how to aim, unlike you.” The floppy-haired boy smirked. “I also know when to end a fight he should have won easily unlike your friend over here.” The boy pointed at Nivan. 

“He’s not my friend.” Roul glared. 

“Then why are you sword fighting with him?” The boy smirked. 

“Who even asked you?” Link interjected. 

“The name’s Owin, thanks for asking.” Owin continued to smirk. 

“That’s not what I asked.” Link answered. 

“Well as Kakariko’s prodigy swordsman in training, I think I can have an opinion on play-fighting.” Owin turned and looked at Nivan. “You alright there?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Nivan responded. “I was handling it.” 

“Not if you were only blocking. If you want to win a fight you should go on the offensive.” Owin placed his sword back in its scabbard. 

“I wasn’t trying to win.” Nivan stared at the cuccos decorated across Owin’s scabbard. “I was trying to protect. That’s what the knights of Hyrule are supposed to do… protect.” 

Owin nodded, “you’re correct.” He stared back towards Mystique and smiled before he frowned at Nivan. “But sometimes protecting the people you care about requires fighting and winning.” 

By now the rest of the kids had run off deep within the crowds. People continued to bustle through the aisle now that the fighting ended. Several Rito children ran about with balloon swords while several Zoras stared confused at the fish sticks they bought.  A rancid smell wafted between the sweet and salty flavors already in the air. And, Lumina as usual, was the only fairy in the crowd.

“You’re a little full of yourself aren’t ya kid?” Lumina said from where she floated.

Surprised, Owin turned around. “Uh,” he paused while he tried to figure out where the voice came from. After a moment Lumina floated closer towards the boys. “I didn’t mean to be.” He answered slightly confused. 

“Usually an eleven year old doesn’t join a wooden sword fight with a real sword.” Lumina bobbed closer to Nivan. “And also you called yourself a prodigy.”

“Yeah, that’s what the people in Kakariko called him…” Mystique piped up as she pushed her way between the growing crowd to get closer. “You’re the boy who kicked Nivan’s butt in Kakariko at the summer festival right?” 

Owin laughed. “That’s correct, that's me… though I’m twelve “ He paused. “That’s actually part of why I intercepted the fight.” Owin looked over at Nivan, and frowned. “I saw you get up and leave that horrible show, and it made me wonder how your sword fighting skills have been since we last sparred.” 

“Nivan is great!” Mystique butted in. “He practices every day in Hyrule field and could kick your butt!”

“Misty.” Nivan glared at her. 

“You’ve got a good cheerleader.” Owin laughed. 

“Sorry, but I don’t have my sword on me.” Nivan said. 

“That’s okay,” Owin shook some of his hair out of his face. “I’ll be with my grandparents for the next couple of days. Just send your talking green orb to find me when you’re ready to fight.” 

“Talking green orb???” Lumina screamed.

“Don’t do it,” Mystique stepped between Lumina and Owin.

“And don’t assume things, kid.” Lumina replied. 

Mystique opened her mouth to respond to Lumina, when off in the distance she noticed her father as he scanned the crowd. She turned towards Owin, “It was nice talking to you. Thank you for saving Nivan.”

“Misty, he didn’t save me,” Nivan whined.

“But he did protect you,” Mrs. Luriken said from behind the kids. They all quickly turned towards the source of her voice. 

“Dear Hylia, how long have you been there?!” Lumina shouted. 

“Long enough,” Mrs. Luriken smiled. “Nivan, it might do you some good to practice against a real person, I would take up this boy’s offer.” 

“I uh—” Nivan began. 

Before any other words could come out of Nivan’s mouth, Mrs. Luriken waved towards Mr. Luriken. She grabbed both Mystique and Nivan’s hands as she dragged them through the crowd towards her husband. Nivan glanced back towards Owin and could have sworn he saw him wink. 

    The sun sat upon the mountain range of Death Mountain while Mystique and Nivan stood in the field. The misty morning fog drifted over the grass and in-between the scattered trees. From the stone steps, framed by the open drawbridge Owin walked down the stairs with Lumina. A smile plastered on his face, he waved.

    “You were harder to find than you realize, kid,” Lumina said as she floated over to Mystique. 

    “But you still found me,” Owin laughed. 

    Lumina grumbled and rested her wings on Mystique’s head. Mystique watched as Owin drew his sword and pointed it towards Nivan. Nivan, his sword already drawn by his side, watched with no emotion splattered across his face. The boys walked around in a circle, their eyes locked on each other’s sword. 

    “I’m waiting for you to first strike,” Owin said, his face serious. 

    “Most enemies don’t wait,” Nivan replied. He adjusted his shoulder shield with his free hand. 

    “Smart ones do,” Owin stood still, his back towards Castletown. “Not every enemy will be a mindless bokoblin.” 

    “I dunno, bokoblins are pretty smart,” Lumina shouted from the sidelines. 

    “Or you’re just not that bright to get captured by one.” Mystique snickered. She felt her hair frizz as electricity danced across her scalp. Mystique yelped as she frantically scrambled her hands through her hair. 

    Nivan looked away from Owin for a split second, just a split second, towards Mystique as she shooed Lumina off her head. But, that was enough time for Owin as he closed the gap between the two of them. Nivan reacted at the last minute to block a strike aimed at his chest.

    “That could have easily been a death blow you know.” Owin said, his face close to both blades while they clashed. 

    Nivan pushed Owin away and watched as he gracefully kept his footing. There was a brief moment where both boys locked eyes again before Nivan rushed in with his sword. He aimed towards Owin’s sword out of habit, and watched as his attack was easily deflected. A clear metal tone rang across the field. Somewhere, in the distance, a cow mooed in response. 

    Attack after attack the boys clashed sword against sword. While Nivan was excellent at blocking attacks, Owin danced around any attack with grace. Mystique watched as the boys fought across the field. Her eyes watched for what felt like an eternity. 

    As the fight progressed, Owin’s dodges became less elegant, and Nivan’s blocks became sloppy. Both boys breathed heavily, their faces glistened with sweat. 

    “It seems we are evenly matched,” Owin breathed out. “Except you still aren’t on the offense.” 

    “Are you sure about that?” Nivan took a deep breath before he answered. 

    Owin watched as a smile crept onto Nivan’s face. Confused, Owin held a slight defensive stance. Nivan took one step towards Owin, and then another and another and another until Nivan was only a few feet away. Owin held his stance, the confusion growing. 

    The attack came suddenly. Nivan swung his sword lower than Owin anticipated, which made him jump back. He stumbled as he lost his footing, his sword lazily drifted away from near his chest. Nivan lunged his sword, only to stop the tip an inch away from Owin’s chest. Owin looked down at the sword so close to his clothes, sweat droplets fell down his face and onto the sword. He smirked. 

    “Guess I was wrong.” Owin nervously chuckled. “Can you move your sword away from my chest?” 

    Nivan moved his sword towards his side. He smiled back. “Told you last time I would’ve done better with my own sword.” 

    “I believe you.” Owin sheathed his own sword. “So that’s your tactic huh. Just tire out the enemy to put in a fatal blow. That’s quite a gamble to do if you don’t know the stamina of your enemy.”

    “I’ve got pretty high stamina.” Nivan answered. 

    “More stamina than a King Dodongo or even the King of Darkness himself?” Owin raised an eyebrow. 

    Nivan placed his hand under his chin and pondered. “Well, maybe not them, but most enemies, yes.” 

    “And how do you know that?” Owin made a face. 

    “I’ve been trained well in that field.” Nivan answered. 

    “You have trained in this field a lot,” Mystique interrupted. 

    “That’s not what he meant,” Lumina answered. 

    “Do you want to explain?” Owin paused. “Or do you plan to keep that answer to yourself.” 

    Nivan glanced around the field. He looked up at the clear blue skies, the grass as it gently rolled against the wind, the distant clacking of hooves on trails. 

    “It’s just what I practiced the most with Lumina.” Nivan shrugged. “Hard to train on my offense when there’s nothing to fight.” 

    Owin made a face, while he stared at Nivan, Mystique, and Lumina. After a pause which felt like an eternity, he shrugged back. “Well you won, so how about I treat you guys to some pastries.” 

    Nonchalantly, the group walked away from the emptiness of the field and towards the bustling crowd of Castletown. Mystique took one last glance towards Hyrule field. In the grass, she noticed something swiftly shift and dart away and towards the mountains. She felt a tug on her sleeve as she was dragged across the drawbridge. 

    The walk from the Eastern gate towards Mrs. Knead’s Bakery was quick. Her little shop nestled itself on a corner just off of the main road leading towards the Eastern Square. Aromas of freshly baked goods and overly sugared sticky buns drifted against the smells of crowded streets. A basket of baguettes leaned against the corner, one of them with a large bite taken out of it. The faded sign for the store hung several feet above the basket.

    Confidently Mystique strode into the delicious smells of Mrs. Knead’s bakery with Nivan and Owin who trailed behind. She smiled as she pressed her face into the glass and admired the variety of pastries displayed behind their little glass case. A row of chocolate croissants caught her eye, but the sticky buns drew her attention shortly after. Her eyes bounced towards several small cakes neatly decorated with delicate flowers. She turned to look towards Owin and Nivan, her eyes pleaded.

    “You can’t eat everything here Misty, your mother would kill you.” Nivan said. 

    “But everything looks so good!” Mystique continued to plead. 

    “You each get one pastry. Anything else is rupees from your wallet.” Owin added in. 

    Behind the counter, Mrs. Knead watched with a warm smile. “Done with training so soon?” She asked. 

    Caught off guard Nivan stammered as a response. 

    “I see you walk by with that little fairy of yours every morning.” Mrs. Knead answered sweetly. “You two are pretty hard to miss in a crowd.” She paused. “Though I am glad that you have friends with you today. The fields are starting to get dangerous I hear.” 

    “What dangers?” Owin asked while he admired the pile of cookies. 

    “The Bokoblin camps have been getting closer than normal towards Castletown. Usually they stay near the forest or towards the canyons in the west.” Mrs. Knead wrung her hands. 

    Too distracted by the pastries, Mystique did not notice Nivan as he tried to get her attention until he waved his hand in front of her view of the baked goods. 

    “What?” She asked. 

    “You turned around before we came back inside, did you see a Bokoblin?” Nivan asked.

    Mystique squinted her eyes shut. “Uh, it was hard to see.” She opened her eyes. “It was quick and darted through the grass away from us.” 

    From behind the counter, Mrs. Knead pulled out a sticky bun, a little cake, and a cookie and placed them inside of a little bag. “You should report what you saw to one of the guards on post around town. We need to know if the bokoblins plan to attack the castle.” 

    Owin grabbed the bag off of the counter and nodded as he slid rupees her way. “Thank you ma’am, we’ll be sure to tell someone.” 

    Slowly, the kids walked out of the pastry shop, where all three of them turned around one last time and admired the baked goods. 

    Outside they walked until they found a spot on the sidewalk for them to sit and eat. It was near a cart full of flowers painted with rainbows of colors compared to the muted colored decorations which were scattered throughout Castletown. Mystique took a bite of her little piece of cake, the sugar flower tickled her nose. 

    “So, is this what it’s like to live in Castletown everyday?” Owin asked through a bite of his cookie. 

    “What do you mean,” Mystique answered with her mouth full. 

    “Is it always so crowded?” Owin paused. “And smelly.” He wrinkled his nose. 

    “Yeah!” Mystique smiled. “It’s pretty fun. There’s always something to do or see.” 

    “It’s nothing like Kakariko, that's for sure.” Owin watched as several Goron children recklessly rolled down the street. Several Hylians jumped out of the way. Tomatoes splattered onto the ground from someone’s shopping bag. 

    “What’s Kakariko like?” Mystique asked.

    “You wake up to the sound of Cuccos. Everything smells like sweet hay and corn feed. Each house has a little yard with a cucco coop. You can walk around the entire city and never not be near a tree. Sometimes the laughter of visiting Gorons shakes the ground. The windmill provides a gentle breeze. And our graveyard is given enough space to respect those lost, and not crammed into a corner where no one can find it without a map.” Owin looked off towards the East, his voice got quieter as he continued to talk. 

    “That sounds… different.” Mystique said as she tried to imagine a life like that. 

    “Castletown takes a long time to adjust.” Nivan said, his sticky bun already gone. “When I first moved here it was a lot to take in.” 

    Owin tilted his head, cookie crumbs on his mouth. “You aren’t from here?” 

    Before Nivan could answer, Mystique opened her mouth. “Yeah my mother found Nivan cold and alone in the streets of Castletown a few winters ago! She was out running errands and there he was!” 

    “I wouldn’t have guessed that,” Owin smiled. “What brought you to Castletown?”

    “It’s kind of where I just ended up on my travels. I used to live in a town that used to border the Canyons.” Nivan put his hand on the back of his neck. 

    “And you were by myself?” Owin raised an eyebrow. 

    “Yes.” 

    “You seem too young now to travel by yourself all that way.” Owin wiped the crumbs off his face. 

    “I was.”  Nivan glanced up and down the street. “I got lucky to find such a good family to take me in.” 

    “I see…” Owin stood up. “I’ll be in Castletown for a few more days if you want to keep sparing. It’d be nice to see you join the Hylian knights one day too.” 

    Mystique and Nivan watched as Owin merged into the crowd and disappeared into the cacophony of the town. Nivan sighed as he brushed crumbs off of his clothes and stretched. 

    “What do you want to do now Nivan?” Mystique asked, her eyes glued on the colorful flowers above her head. 

    “Anything except the bug emporium, how’s that sound?” Nivan answered.

    Mystique made a face as she laughed. Like Owin, the two kids blended into the ever bustling crowds of Castletown. The only way someone could spot them would be from the glowing green fairy, which bobbed between their heads. 

Chapter Text

Mystique rubbed her hands together close to her face as the first cold winds of winter blew across the docks of Jetier. A few days in front of her Nivan clutched his coat tighter around his chest, Lumina tucked inside one of his pockets. Many steps in front of them, Mrs. Luriken briskly walked across the wooden planks and past small quiet boats as they rocked with the water. Several Hylians walked, bundled in piles of scarves and hats, their heads down. Several firmly held baskets filled with cloth that reeked of fish as Mystique passed them.
At the end of a dock they walked down, a tall Zora stood. His long blue head fin curled around his waist as he looked frantically back and forth across the lake. Once his eyes locked onto Mrs. Luriken, his stiff body slightly loosened, only to become more rigid when he saw Mystique and Nivan behind her mother.
“Cerise you brought kids?” The Zora exclaimed, slightly panicked.
“This is my daughter Mystique,” Mrs. Luriken gestured towards Mystique. “She has been assisting my husband with delivering his shoes across Hyrule. Someone from Zora’s Domain ordered a pair.” Cerise smiled warmly towards the Zora.
The Zora frowned as it stared in confusion at Mystique. She pulled the knapsack from her back and opened it to show two pairs of simple leather sandals inside.
“Who ordered shoes???” The Zora said, frustrated. “We don’t wear shoes.”
Mrs. Luriken shrugged. “I’m just here to help my family Orujan.”
Orujan grumbled. “Glad I brought the boat then.”
Mrs. Luriken nodded as she delicately stepped onto the tiny wooden dinghy. Nivan cautiously followed while Mystique tumbled onto the seat. The Dinghy slowly started drifting away from the force, but did not get far before the frayed and old rope tugged it back towards the docks. Orujan quickly untied the boat before he took one long step into the boat. Before he had entered the boat everyone had fit with plenty of space. Now, they all crammed up next to each other as the Zora began to row away from the quiet little town of Jetier.
Across the lake, the dinghy rowed past a tiny island with a cloud of seagulls which circled around the roof. Several seagulls sat on the doorstep, their beaks pointed up towards the sky. As the boat curved around the island, Mystique saw several Zora as they kicked their legs in the icy cold waters of the lake.
“Why is Lake Hylia not frozen?” Mystique asked out loud.
“Parts of the lake are,” Orujan answered. “The parts where there is water constantly moving, not so much.” He paused. “Later in the dead of winter it might, but for now it is too early in the season.”
Mystique drifted one of her hands towards the lake. Instantly she swiped back her hand from the water as if it had attacked her fingers.
“The water is deadly cold, you shouldn’t touch it,” Mrs. Luriken said, her gaze away from Mystique and towards the other side of the lake.
“Do the Zoras like the cold?” Mystique asked as she clutched her wet hand.
“Yes and no.” Orujan answered. “A lot of us work in the ice mines just on the other side of Zora’s Domain, which is even colder than this water, but we also tolerate cold better than the average Hylian.”
As the boat made its way across the lake, the hills on the other side towered into cliffs and mountains. In the middle of the cliffs many seagulls and birds flapped in the air and rested on branches jammed into cracks on the sides. Orujan turned the boat with his head fin so that they were all heading straight for the cliffs. Mystique squeezed her eyes shut.
“We’re not going to crash,” everyone in the boat responded.
Mystique opened one eye. What she thought was one massive cliff was actually two, with a river sliced between them. The boat gently slipped between the cliffs and up the river. By now, Orujan used his head fin as well as the oars as he propelled them forward.
Between the two cliffs Mystique looked up to see lines that criss-crossed between the cliffs. Some of the lines crossed under the others while others descended into lower sections of the cliffs. It took her until she saw several dots as they moved across the lines to realize that it was a series of bridges.
When she looked ahead of the boat her eyes widened. In front of them there was nothing but a massive waterfall. She glanced around as their boat crept closer and closer towards the cascading water. Her eyes searched for some sort of secret pathway even when they became so close that she felt water droplets on her skin. Mystique looked back at Nivan who focused his attention towards the back of the boat. Mrs. Luriken and Orujan remained calm as the entire boat became submerged underneath the waterfall.
Past the waterfall there was darkness and the smell of damp stone. Only the glow from Lumina existed underneath the waterfall. There wasn't a lot of light, but it was enough for Mystique as she stared at the rest of the people in the boat. A loud thud echoed from somewhere behind the boat.
“If you were just a bunch of Hylians you would’ve been met with a wall.” Orujan said calmly. “Only Zoras or those with the seal of approval can use this entrance into the Domain.It’s much faster than traveling through the cliffs.”
Mystique’s eyes went wide, Lumina’s green glow highlighted Mystique’s face. “Who has a seal of approval?! That sounds cool!”
“Well,” Orujan started. “The leader of the Gorons, Dario, The leader of the Rito Tyto, Deliro and Babel the scientists, the Hylian royal family, and of course any and all Sheikah working under Impa… and any guest approved by any of those people.”
“That’s a lot of people. Doesn’t seem so secret an entrance.” Mystique retorted.
The boat drifted through the cave in silence. The kids occasionally yawned, and Lumina may have sneezed once or twice. It had felt like years that they flowed through the darkness. So, as soon as the first sight of light glimmered in the distance, Mystique did not know what to feel. It wasn’t a blinding light like the sun outside, but was instead a soft glow that bounced off of the walls of the cave.
From this light, Mystique saw how blue and shiny the walls were. As they got closer she realized that the glow itself came from rocks as they protruded off of the wall in jagged little clusters. Closer to the water, several mushrooms curled up into the air and provided their own soft glow different from the rocks. The rock omitted a greenish blue glow, while the mushrooms gave off a brighter white glow.
Further down, more mushrooms filled the cave, except instead of gently curving out from the water, they hung above the boat, clearly manipulated and twisted into elegant chandeliers. The blues on the wall mingled with the painted swirls of other colors. Mystique thought she saw figures of Zoras painted and woven between the swirls as well as the illustration of a giant fish. She thought back to Gyorg in Salis and wondered if there was a freshwater version of the monster. As she pondered this thought, the boat continued on, and the painting faded into the darkness.
Eventually, the boat drifted next to a dock made from the same shiny blue materials of the walls. Mushrooms curled around the railing and lit up the entire platform to illuminate a statue in the very center. Its arms were outstretched and welcoming despite the secretive nature of the entrance. Cloth fins draped down from the statue’s elbows and fell all the way to the floor. Three blue gems connected in gold hung around the statue’s neck.
Carefully, each member of the boat departed and placed their feet onto the dock. Mystique and Nivan looked up at the statue. The statue’s gaze looked outwards into the darkness, a smirk on its face.
“Hey Misty, do you know who that is?” Nivan asked.
“Nope.” Mystique shrugged.
“It’s Ruto.” Nivan answered. “The great sage of water that Deliro’s shark is named after.”
“Really?” Mystique thought back to the shark and then thought about what a Zora actually looked like, and it all began to make some sense.
“Stories have passed down for generations about how kind, wonderful, caring, and brave of a warrior Ruto was against the darkness. She saved all of Zoras from being frozen under the ice and going extinct.” Orujan stood next to the statue, his head level with the pendant.
Mrs. Luriken was much smaller than Orujan, Mystique noticed as they walked away from the statue and up the stairs. She wondered if all Zoras were as big as Orujan.
Zora’s domain hid in a hole surrounded by massive cliffs and water flowed everywhere. The sky above the domain shone a bright blue without a cloud in the sky as the group walked into the space. From the entrance they entered from, a long blue bridge stretched across water that was very far below them. Between the water and the bridge, networks of houses dangled from silver coils with blue paths curved around them which connected them all to a staircase.
“Looks like grape clusters,” Mystique whispered.
Nivan held a laugh as they walked towards the center of the domain. This time, when Mystique looked down, she noticed a large metallic tail coiled around the very center pole of the domain. Her eyes followed the tail only to realize that the center building within the domain was sculpted to be a giant fish, its wide open mouth was the entrance.
“Pst Nivan,” Mystique whispered. “Do you know what this giant fish is supposed to be?”
Nivan shrugged. “Not sure, I’m not an expert in this stuff you know.”
“But you know all about the sages!” Mystique shout whispered.
“Yeah Misty,” Nivan laughed. “That’s common information from bedtime stories.”
In the mouth of the building, a small pink Zora stood with her hands clasped in front of her. A tiny smile crossed her face as the group entered.
“Welcome to the domain.” She said sweetly. Her eyes glanced down towards Mystique and Nivan. “I see we have additional guests.” She smiled again and tilted her head.
“We are here with a shoe delivery with Luriken’s shoes.” Mystique excitedly held up the bag with the shoes inside.
“Those must be the Queen’s new sandals! She wanted something nice for the next conference, and Impa gave a very good recommendation!” The pink Zora smiled at Mrs. Luriken. “I didn’t realize that Impa’s fancy new shoes came from your family Cerise.”
“My husband is a shoe maker after all.” Mrs. Luriken tried to smile back.
The pink Zora turned her attention to Orujan. “Kelpie? Why don’t you bring the shoes and Cerise to Queen Rutamina and I can bring these adorable little Hylians to lunch with Rudi.
“Camaron…” Orujan grumbled. “Don’t call me that in front of the Hylians.”
Camaron smiled. “I already refer to you as that in front of Impa… what’s a few more.” She laughed.
Orujan grumbled as he took the bag from Mystique and walked into the mouth of the fish building. Mrs. Luriken followed behind. She turned around and waved at the group before she walked up another set of stairs.
“Who’s Rudi?” Mystique asked.
“The princess of the Zoras.” Camaron answered as she gestured for Mystique and Nivan to follow her inside.
Instead of climbing up stairs, Camaron went down a hallway deeper into the fish. After they followed her, Mystique noticed that she could see everything outside from inside the hallway. Camaron went down a set of stairs, which led into another set of clusters. Mystique felt a slight breeze as they traveled from the fish building and into one of the pods.
The pod was bigger on the inside than Mystique imagined. A circular table sat in the center of the room, and an intricate aquarium circled around the room and exited out of the front door. Several fish stared down from the glass. And, in the very center of the room a young Zora sat down at the table as she poked a dead salted fish with a fork. Her head fin curled up and she had two long wispy strands on either side of her face. She had black stripes against her yellow colored fin to go against bright green eyes. The Zora girl looked confused towards Mystique.
“What are those?” The Zora girl asked.
“Hylians.” Camaron answered as she set the table with three more plates of food. “I hope you don’t mind salted fish. We weren’t expecting guests.”
Mystique made a face that Nivan quickly covered up with his hand. “Salted fish sounds lovely, thank you so much.” He answered.
“How even old are these Hylians? Like 2?” The Zora girl whined.
“I’m 10, thank you.” Mystique said as she sat down in front of the salted fish.
“That’s so young,” The Zora girl poked the salted fish again.
“You look like you’re 10, why are you complaining?” Mystique stared at the salted fish. She could have sworn it blinked at her.
“I’m much older than 10 years.” Rudi answered, the salted fish in her mouth. She turned her attention to Camaron. “What are we doing today? I'm soooo bored.”
“We could give our lovely guests a tour of the domain.” Camaron said a little tired.
“The only interesting place around here is the ice caverns.” Rudi answered. “The rest of this place is just water and fish.”
“I don’t think showing the ice caverns is a good idea.” Camaron answered. “Hylians run cold.”
Rudi gestured towards Mystique and Nivan. “They came prepared! They’re in coats!”
“Princess… even you shouldn’t be going in the ice caverns.” Camaron ate a piece of fish.
“It’s not that dangerous.” Rudi answered.
“Why would it be dangerous?” Mystique and Nivan both asked.
“There’s rumored to be monsters in there.” Rudi said, her eyes went wide only for her to squint them into little slits. “But as Zora royalty I need to remove all threats just like the great Ruto did.”
“Nivan’s really good at slaying monsters too!” Mystique said excitedly.
Nivan shook his head, “I don’t think now’s a good time to test my fighting skills.”
“Do you have a sword, Hylian?” Rudi asked.
“Well yeah but—”
“Perfect! You can fight! Let’s go to the ice caverns!” Rudi quickly stood up from the table.
“No.” Camaron sighed. “You can’t go there.” She placed a smile on her face. “A tour will work just fine.” Camaron paused. “It’s either that or etiquette training with Echino.”
Rudi grumbled and swallowed the last bit of fish on her plate.
Zora’s Domain was beautiful, but within a few minutes of the tour Mystique realized that Rudi was right. While everything was scenic and glittered in the sunlight, there was nothing more outside of the categories of fish and water. There was an extensively beautiful bathhouse, full of water, a giant aquarium with fish Mystique didn’t recognize, but still all fish, and the market was full of both fish and water. There was a section of the Domain off to the side, where Zora’s with spears exited and entered that they weren’t allowed to enter. And one very elegant house that Camaron informed Mystique and Nivan that it belonged to the original architecture of the Domain, and that it now housed the head jewelry maker. The building was also apparently larger on the inside.
It was at the market where Mystique and Nivan stared blankly at a table of dead fish. Rudi stood next to them and laughed. “I told you it was a boring tour.” She paused. “But lucky for you I know how to get us away from Camaron and to the ice caverns if interested.”
“We probably shouldn't,” Nivan started to say.
Mystique shushed him. “No, let’s go have some fun.”
“Ugh, do you really want to go somewhere even colder,” Lumina said from inside Nivan’s pocket.
Rudi jumped back. “What was that?!”
Nivan opened his pocket. “It’s just our friend Lumina.”
“A fairy?!” Rudi gasped, she bounced up and down a few times. “Wait.” She shook her head. “Nevermind that, we need to go now if you wanna come.”
Mystique shook her head and smiled. Rudi grabbed Mystique’s arm and dragged her through the crowd and underneath a table. Nivan sighed and ran to catched up.
Behind the table was a secret hatch which Rudi pried open and jumped down. Mystique, without hesitation, followed behind. Both girls had already entered the hatch when Nivan caught up. He grumbled, and closed the hatch behind him as he went down.
Somewhere in the market crowds Camaron bought several bundles of herbs and smiled. She turned her attention back towards the market and immediately frowned. “Shit.” She said.

Cerise stood within the throne room. It was lit with a light blue light from something behind the massive thrones as Queen Rutamina stared down from her seat. Her face was painted with small delicate red lips in the shape of a heart. Her long head fin draped around the side of the armrest. The ruffles on her elbow fins matched the end of her head fin. She wore a sash across her chest and shoulder pads decorated with silver metal and jewels.
“Welcome to the Domain Cerise.” Queen Rutamina said. “You’ve grown quite a bit since I’ve seen you last… I hear you have children now as well?” The Queen smiled. “Who was the lucky Sheikah boy?”
“Thank you for asking your majesty.” Cerise bowed. “But I’m not here to talk about my personal life.”
The Queen’s smile faltered. “Very well. I get it. You’re here on business as usual.”
Cerise stood up. “Have you considered your search for the sage of water?”
The Queen’s face contorted. “Yes, I have.”
Cerise stepped back. “What’s with that face?”
“I know who the sage would be, but I am not telling your Queen that information.” Queen Rutamina glared.
“What?” Cerise fumbled for words. “But why not? If we have the sages we can stop the darkness.”
“Because.” Queen Rutamina looked away. “A sage must die to fulfill their duty, and I am not willing to sacrifice one of my people for something that we will outlive and the Hylians won’t.”
Cerise glared back. “My reports tell me that you have a monster problem as well? Just like Dario with Volvagia. Do you really think that the darkness will only spare your people?”
“We have that under control. Morpheel is frozen solid.” Queen Rutamina’s glare iced over.
“And how do you think you’ll have that under control? What will you do if the darkness freezes your people under the Domain? What will happen if that beast escapes into Lake Hylia?” Cerise calmed her voice as it raised higher out of anger.
“I understand that you are a mother willing to protect your child, but so am I. Would you give the Queen your child if they were the Sage of Shadow?” Queen Rutamina folded her arms.
Cerise’s face twitched, her hand clasped instinctively around the little dagger hidden between the layers of her skirt. “I…” She paused for a long time. Water droplets dripped down from tiny waterfalls within the throne room. Outside, the bustle of the Domain could be heard. A harp played stummed somewhere in the distance. “I hadn’t thought about that.” Cerise finally answered.
“That’s what I thought.” Queen Rutamina stood up. She towered over Cerise as she descended the steps and stood in front of her. “Be grateful that the King isn’t here. He would have given you a much harder time. All Zoras mean the world to him.”
Cerise bowed. “I understand. I’ll report your opinion to my Queen.”
The silence thickened between the two as Cerise continued to bow. Off in the corner of the room, a small pink Zora frantically waved her hands towards Orujan, who had been present in the room the entire time. He looked back at Camaron confused, before he silently slipped out of the throne room and followed Camaron down

Mystique was unsure how the trap door led them to the ice caverns, but it had. Several twists and turns within the darkness, and the walls slippery and cold, went in every direction Mystique imagined before they were spit out into a big empty room. In front of the three kids a massive door, etched with carvings of Zoras in a deep blue, wedged itself into a cold grey slab of a wall.
Rudi confidently walked towards the door. It towered over her as she took a key hidden behind her head fin and placed it into the lock. The door creaked loudly as it slowly opened, a gust of wind blew past the kids and into the empty and pale room. Rudi waved towards Mystique and Nivan before she ran inside. Mystique quickly followed while Nivan hesitated.
The three kids stood at the top of what appeared to be a massive cliff that plummeted down into a foggy abyss. None of them could see the other side of the room as a massive pillar stretched high above into the clouds. One rickety bridge connected the cliff to the pillar, and without any pause or consideration Rudi started to cross the bridge.
“Well, this looks dangerous.” Nivan said as he looked down.
Lumina peered out from Nivan’s pocket. “Well I can fly… not sure about you two.”
Mystique looked over towards the pillar, where Rudi already stood. She waved towards Mystique and Nivan. “Come on,” Mystique said. “Rudi made it across.”
Cautiously, Mystique and Nivan crossed the bridge. It swayed with every breeze and creaked with every footstep. By the time the two had safely made it across the gap Rudi had leaned herself against the pillar. She pressed a button and a door that neither Mystique or Nivan noticed, opened. Rudi gestured for them to enter.
Mystique glanced around the tiny square room confused, her eyes wide. “What is this?”
“Mom calls it an elevator. She got the idea from Dario when he gave her a tour of the Goron Mines.”
Mystique watched as the door closed and felt the sudden pull of gravity on her feet. Around her, only the light blue glow from several mushrooms lit the box. She felt like she was going to hurl up the salted fish she had eaten earlier. Mystique opened one eye and stared at Nivan who’s face became whiter than snow. Lumina chuckled from somewhere in the room. Or maybe it was Rudi.
She felt the entire floor shake as it abruptly pushed Mystique up into the air while the room shuddered. The doors to the room calmly opened up, and before Rudi could take a step, both Mystique and Nivan raced out of the room. Outside around the pillar was a layer of ice underneath the fog which soared above their heads. Another bridge sat glued frozen to the ice stretched out nothingness.
“That was neat right?” Rudi said loudly. “Before the elevators we used to have Zoras go through the mountain tunnels, but they were prone to collapses. We then tried to scale the cliffs with ice, but…” Rudi shrugged. “Zoras are bad at climbing.” She began to walk across the bridge. Mystique and Nivan followed.
“What kind of monsters are around here?” Nivan asked.
“Mostly just Keese from what I’ve seen.” Rudi said nonchalantly. “I’m sure there’s more but I have yet to see anything really dangerous.” Rudi led the group through a large opening which opened up into another massive room.
This time, the room was covered in ice. Sets of stairs were carved into the floor which led deeper into the mines. Mystique stared at the stairs. “How deep does this go?”
“I dunno.” Rudi shrugged. “I’ve never made it to the bottom before.” She began to descend the stairs, her head fin flopped up and down.
Nivan drew his sword as he followed Mystique down the stairs. The room grew colder the further they went down. The stairs felt never ending and soon when Mystique glanced up she could no longer see the top. Occasionally the stairs plateaued and broke off into several small tunnels drilled into the sides of the walls.
“Those tunnels led to more open rooms for us to harvest ice.” Rudi added nonchalantly as she continued down. “Each room has a pulley system like the elevator to bring the ice to the top room. Everyone else has to use the stairs though.”
“How do you know all of this?” Mystique asked, her breath visible in front of her face.
“I’ve done a lot of research over the years.” Rudi paused. “For a while, our main export to Hyrule was fish, but with the city of Salis having a larger pool to harvest from we needed a different export. That is when my grandparents came up with ice harvesting. Not only do we now make food last longer, we also saved ourselves from the potential threat of Hylians attacking us.”
“Why would we attack you?” Mystique said, confused.
“There’s a reason why the darkness always takes the form of a Hylian.” Rudi flipped her head fin.
“The darkness has also been a Gerudo.” Nivan added in.
“But it has never been a Goron, a Zora, a Rito, or a Kokori. It just exploits us for its little game with the Hylians.” Rudi answered.
“What would you do if the hero or the darkness was a Zora?” Mystique touched one of the walls and immediately flinched from the cold.
“That would probably never happen.” Rudi continued down the steps. “My mom says that all of this is just mythology crafted by the Hylians. Why would we be the heroes in their stories? We’re lucky not to be the villains.”
“What myths do the Zoras have?” Nivan continued to stay at the end of the group.
“Well we have the great Jabu Jabu and not Hylia for starters.” Rudi started. “It was rumored to be a great fish which brought us safely from the depths and dangers of the ocean to the shores of Hyrule. He gave us the gift of life through being able to survive on land and with fresh water. The first Zora princess, Rutella, carried an egg of Jabu Jabu to the Domain where he was reborn to live among us. Every Zora princess after, including the Sage of Water Ruto took care of this reincarnation till he died. When Jabu Jabu passed under the watch of Ruto, she was never able to find an egg. Since then we have built monuments and buildings in praise of him, hoping for him to return again someday.” Rudi smiled as she looked back at Mystique and Nivan. Mystique noticed that she had sharp teeth.
By now, they had descended deep enough for the walls to be littered with glowing jellyfish fixtures. They floated and bobbed around the air and provided the only source of light. Yet, they still brightly lit up the whole room.
“We’ve gone pretty far, we should probably turn back.” Nivan said as he watched two jellyfish lights as they bumped into each other.
Rudi opened her mouth to answer, but instead of words a loud thunk filled the air around them. The kids stopped and another thunk filled the air. The thunk repeated again and again and quickened its tempo until it was a constant hum within the air. “Let’s see what that is.” Rudi began to run down the stairs.
“Uhhhhh.” Mystique and Nivan watched her go down. Soon she disappeared around a corner out of sight. A high pitched scream echoed into the air. Mystique and Nivan ran down the stairs.
When they rounded the corner Nivan immediately raised his sword. They had entered a large open room with a giant blue door covered in chains. Rudi stood in the center of the room, frozen in fear as dozens of slimy Octoroks stared back at her, their tentacles suctioned onto the door. The Octoroks wriggled and squirmed against the door and made unintelligible noises as they one by one drew closer to the kids.
“Run!” Rudi screamed as she ran past Nivan and Mystique and back up the stairs. Without questioning anything, Mystique and Nivan followed.
Every once in a while Mystique glanced back down the stairs as they ran to see if the Octoroks had followed. She heard the squelching of the tentacles of the stairs and the high pitched whines of their voices. As the kids ascended the stairs, their legs became tired, and their pace slowed. Mystique turned around again only to see the Octoroks as they caught up. They crawled up the walls and the stairs after them.
“Use your sword, Hylian boy.” Rudi panted from the front of the group.
“I have a better idea,” Lumina said from inside Nivan’s pocket. She shook her wings out into the air and shivered as she floated towards the Octoroks. Several sparks flew off of her wings as she zapped many of the Octoroks in place. Without any remark she floated back up towards the kids who continued to climb up the stairs.
By the time the kids reached the entrance to the ice mines they gasped for air. Rudi leaned her hands against her knees, her head fin drooped as she inhaled a large amount of air. Nivan faced the stairs, his sword drawn as he continued to heavily breath. Somewhere below the stairs the Octoroks whined and chirped as they continued up the stairs. Mystique peer over the edge.
From where they stood, the Octoroks looked like a massive Chu-Chu as it crawled towards them. “We need to move!” Mystique shouted.
The kids quickly walked towards the open doorway just as one of the Octoroks surfaced.
“Shut the door!” Mystique said as all three kids made it to the next room.
Rudi rummaged behind her head fin and gasped. “I must have dropped the key.” She groaned. “The door won’t stay shut without being locked if all those Octoroks pushed against it.”
“We need to keep moving.” Nivan added in, he looked down at his pocket. “Lumina, can you shock them again?”
Lumina peered out from the pocket. “I used up all my stamina on the first shock. You gotta give me more time to rest.”
Nivan cursed under his breath, but loud another for Lumina to hear, as they continued towards the elevator.
Mystique darted across the frozen bridge and stared at the pillar. She glanced back at Rudi who had just entered the room with the pillar. “Hey, how do I open the door?!” She yelled.
“There’s a button!” Rudi yelled back. “Look for the circle.”
Mystique frantically scrambled her hands around the pillar until she felt a part of the wall be pushed in. Nothing happened.
“Why isn’t the door opening!” Mystique watched as an Octorok entered the pillar room. Nivan stood his ground.
“It must be at the top of the pillar.” Rudi stood on the frozen bridge. “Your friend will have to fight the monsters off until it arrives.”
Mystique watched as Nivan stumbled as he dodged a swing from the Octorok. Two more had entered the room and crawled their way towards Nivan. He walked backwards onto the ice as he sliced off one of the Octorok’s tentacles.
A high pitched screech omitted into the fog above them. Three more Octoroks appeared and tumbled onto the ice where one tentacle sporadically jostled about. Soon Nivan was surrounded. He cut into tentacle after tentacle as all the Octoroks swung at him. Nivan winced as one of the Octorok’s tentacles wrapped around his leg. Carefully he sliced through the tentacle, his sword now covered in purple goo. Another tentacle wrapped around Nivan’s arm.
A simple bell chimed as the elevator door opened, and a silver spear whirred through the air and into the skulls of one of the Octoroks. Camaron and Orujan ran out of the elevator and onto the frozen bridge. Rudi held the elevator door open and watched.
“Let me get the Hylian,” Camaron said as she already began to run across the ice.
“There’s too many monsters for you without your spear.” Orujan said as he raced past Camaron.
“No Kelp, don't! You’re—” Camaron reached out towards Nivan.
But it was too late.
A loud creak filled the air. And, in the blink of an eye, Nivan and all of the Octoroks fell through the ice. Camaron immediately dove into the water followed by Orujan.
Mystique watched, her eyes filled with horror as the water violently churned and splashed around the ice. Orujan’s head fin crested out of the water and sent an Octorok flying off into the distance. The elevator door attempted to close several times and created a jarring metallic ring as the doors pushed themselves open again. After what felt like ages, Camaron leapt out of the water as she held onto Nivan. She darted across the ice and into the elevator. Orujan emerged from the water shortly after. Once everyone was inside the doors finally closed and they all ascended. Nivan shivered and Lumina sneezed from inside his pocket.
When the group walked into the throne room, Mrs. Luriken’s eyes went wide with horror. She ran over and embraced both Nivan and Mystique. “Nivan you’re freezing! Why are you wet!” There was panic in Mrs. Luriken’s voice.
“He fell through the ice.” Camaron said, her eyes glared daggers at Rudi. “Someone thought it was a good idea to bring two Hylian children to the ice mines.”
“I’ve never seen that many monsters down there before!” Rudi gesticulated wildly with her hands.
“And I told you it was dangerous.” Camaron scolded.
“Are there any blankets or warm clothes around?” Mrs. Luriken interrupted. “Something?”
“I’m f-f-fine.” Nivan shivered out.
Mrs. Luriken raised her eyebrows only to immediately frown and glare. “No, you’re not. You’re going to get hypothermia.” She turned towards Queen Rutamina. “Can we light a fire?”
“There are fireplaces in the guestrooms. I’m sure there’s bound to be some Hylian clothes too, though they might be a little big.”
“I’ll g-go by m-myself.” Nivan said. “Th-thank you.” Nivan attempted to bow as his whole body shook.
“No.” Mrs. Luriken answered. Without another thought she picked up Nivan and wrapped him in her apron as she brought him out of the room.
Mystique still stood with the Zoras. Lumina had found her way out of the sopping wet coat pocket and onto her head.
“Are you okay little Hylian?” Queen Rutamina asked from her throne. Mystique noticed that the Queen was even bigger than Orujan. Her face hosted no expressions.
“I am worried about my friend.” Mystique answered. “There were too many monsters just for him to fight.”
Queen Rutamina raised an eyebrow. “Did my daughter not assist?”
“I was holding the door.” Rudi answered
“I have one of the finest Zora fighters to teach you and you don’t fight a few monsters while a Hylian boy with a sword does?” The Queen crossed her arms.
“There were a lot of them. Battle would have been pointless.” Rudi whined.
The Queen looked down at Rudi before she focused her gaze on Camaron. “And how did my daughter even get to take two Hylians to the ice mines under your watchful gaze, Camaron?”
Camaron fumbled for words. “The market. I, uh. They managed to find a path through the market.”
“Keep a better eye on them.” Queen Rutamina said coldly. “And Rudi, if you ever want to take over the Zora kingdom you need to learn to fight, especially if you were the one to cause the mess.”
“I didn’t know there would be that many monsters mom!” Rudi shouted. “They were banging and crawling all over a door covered in chains.”
Every adult Zora in the room stiffened. They all silently glanced between one another.
“Did you open the door?” Queen Rutamina finally asked.
“No… How could I with all of those monsters on it.” Rudi answered, her head hung low.
“Good.” The Queen sighed. “Camaron, why don’t you bring the little Hylian to a room to stay the night.”
Camaron bowed and grabbed Mystique’s hand. A gentle smile crossed the pink Zora’s face as she guided Mystique out of the throne room.

It was late at night when Cerise walked out onto the second floor deck of the palace. Queen Rutamina stood, her body silhouetted against the moonlight. Water sparked and ran from streams down into waterfalls from the cliffs which surrounded Zora’s Domain.
“You asked for me?” Cerise yawned.
“It appears that the monsters are trying to free Morpheel.” Queen Rutamina did not turn around.
“What?” Cerise rubbed her eyes as she walked over to the railing. The metal was cold to the touch.
“My daughter took your children to the bottom of the ice mines. They found the monsters crawling all over the door that I chained Morpheel behind. The monster is still frozen in the ice in that room, but it isn’t a good sign to see a bunch of monsters trying to break open the door.” Queen Rutamina leaned against the railing.
“What are you going to do?” Cerise looked over Zora’s Domain. She watched as several fish jumped out from a river which winded through the city.
“I’m unsure. If the monster broke loose it would be easy for my husband to defeat it I’m sure.” Queen Rutamina looked in the opposite direction, away from Lake Hylia. “But he is off on a journey looking for the next Jabu Jabu egg. He may not be back for months or even years. “
“Do you think that you could take on Morpheel.” Cerise formed her words carefully.
“Not as easily, but I would have to try. If I fail and my husband isn’t here then the Domain would fall.” The Queen held resentment on her face. “And the only way to receive help from the Hylians would be to accept this quest to assemble the sages.” Cerise went to open her mouth, but Queen Rutamina stopped her. “I have heard from Dario about the King’s utter lack of disrespect to help him with Volvagia, but he gained help from the Sheikah and the Rito. Neither the Rito nor the Gorons can help with a fish, but the Sheikah could.”
“So are you willing to tell me who the Sage of Water is?” Cerise asked.
“It’s pretty obvious. Every Sage of Water has been a princess to the Zora throne. It would be Rudi, my daughter.” Queen Rutamina’s voice wavered.
“You need to prepare her then.” Cerise said. “There may be a way to have her awaken her sage powers without dying. She just needs training.”
There was silence. Only the sound of flowing water filled the night sky. “I hope so,” Queen Rutamina finally said. “How is your little blonde Hylian?”
Cerise winced. “Nivan… he’ll be fine from this. The only garments we could find were blue tunics. He looks a little like the hero in that with Mystique’s fairy floating around him.”
“Do you think he could be the hero?” Queen Rutamina asked.
“Absolutely not.” Cerise answered.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eight: Ghost Stories

There was a long, drawn out pause in front of the crooked door. The building stood alone towards the Northwestern edge of Castle town, but still hid between the town walls and the shadow of the castle. It was made of the same material as every other building, and yet… this building felt older than anything else Mystique had laid her eyes upon. It felt ancient. 

    All of that changed when Owin promptly opened the door. His face beamed a smile, with a missing tooth, as his hair chaotically curled around his face and partially into his eyes. Mystique smiled back. 

    “Welcome to my granddad’s house.” Owin gestured for Mystique and Nivan to come in. Nivan waved to Owin as he casually entered the home. Mystique looked up and down the street before she followed the boys, a stuffed bag clung around her hip. 

    Within the home the same feeling crept in through the door with Mystique. There was typical furniture. A couch, a table, some chairs, and a sink. But something felt off. Nothing was dusty or reeked of mold. Mystique thought she heard spirits as they moaned and groaned in the air, but that is when she noticed the very old man who sat in a chair in the corner. 

    The man was hunched over, with a slight overbite and not a single hair on his head. He held a book in his shaky and mangled hands, and a pair of glasses slid to the bottom of his hooked nose. There was a rusty shovel next to the man’s chair. 

    “Is that your granddad Owin?” Mystique pointed.

    “I dunno, he could be a ghost Misty.” Nivan whispered underneath a laugh. 

    Owin clasped his hands together. “So, you two are the first ones here. Place you bags on the couch, but not on my granddad.” 

    The old man looked up from his book. “Are you sure you want to have a sleepover here? I’m sure your friends have a better place to rest.” 

    Mystique thought briefly about her home with the warm furnace and the slight smell of leather, which wafted everywhere within the shop. She thought about her room with Nivan upstairs with the two beds and the shelves on the walls her dad had traded some pairs of shoes for. Then she remembered Nivan’s face when Owin mentioned he had invited Agitha to the sleepover and how they were now in a house which smelled like death. 

    There wasn’t much time before a loud knock rattled the air from the door. Before Owin even had a chance to answer the door, Agitha the VIII waltzed into the house with a little suitcase. Hudde followed behind quietly without an entrance. 

    Again, Owin clasped his hands. “Welcome everyone to my granddad’s house.” He paused and looked over at the man still reading the book in his chair. “Please feel free to place your bags on the couch. My Ma packed some food which is in the oven. And it should be ready soon.” He turned around and vanished into a different room. 

    The four kids stared at each other in silence. Nivan hid slightly behind Mystique despite being several inches taller than her.

    Agitha broke the silence. “So this is what the inside of a grave digger’s house looks like. I expected more poes.” She laughed. 

    “That’s silly, does that mean your house is full of bugs?” Mystique said half jokingly.

    “Duh.” Agitha didn’t hesitate to answer. “Every bug has a dedicated terrarium. We let them all have high tea every Saturday at noon.”

    Hudde, Nivan, and Mystique all tilted their heads in response. 

    The old man cleared his throat. “Thankfully the poes stay in the graveyard out back, or else I would have moved long ago.” 

    Mystique wandered over towards the window next to the archway to the kitchen. She pressed her hands against the glass while she peered out into the darkness. There wasn’t much to see, as no light flickered or danced within the dark empty spaces above the rows of graves. 

    “Why are there so few graves Mr. Owin’s grandfather?” Mystique asked into the window. 

    “Most people request to get buried in the Kakariko graveyard including the royal family.” Owin’s grandfather paused. “It was nice to downsize to a smaller lot after spending years at Kakariko.” 

    Agitha jumped up and down suddenly in the center of the room, her little heels click-clacked on the floor. “Do you think that we will see some poes tonight Mr. Dampe?!” 

    Dampe rolled his eyes. “Why would you want to do that?”

    “Because!” Agitha excitedly shouted. “Because I have never seen one and I bet that it would be cool to see.” 

    “It wouldn’t.” Dampe cleared his throat. “Why don’t I tell you all a little story? Maybe that would change your mind.” 

    In the background the oven timer rang. Owin scurried away while the other four children sat on the couch. When Owin arrived in the room with plates and a platter of food, all of the kids somehow shifted to sit on the floor. All of them stared up at Dampe while they ate their dinner. 

    Again, Dampe cleared his throat. 

    “Why don’t I tell you the story of the Big Poe?” There was a long pause before Dampe spoke again. 

    The world of the undead is a curious thing. They all live under the law of obeying the King of Darkness, and for the longest of times we had all believed them to be senseless monsters with no ability to organize. No ability to think. And, no ability to live. It wasn’t until the last great war between light and shadow in which we saw how wrong we all were. 

    This time, when the hero swung the sword which banishes the darkness, there were no animalistic creatures hiding behind locked doorways, or only the king himself puppeteering the strings of the hero’s monsters. No, this time there was organization.  Behind every door a general waited or even an assassin ready to take away the relics gifted to the hero by the sages. 

    There were two generals that stuck closest to the sides of the King of Darkness himself. They were Lieutenant Darcy of the Stalfos  and Meegan of the Poe. There are many stories about these two and how they were lovers, how they almost succeeded, or even their demise against our last hero. 

    For this story, the hero journeyed across the bloodied fields of Hyrule in search of the sage of shadow. This sage always came from the proud Sheikah tribe. As the hero walked past decayed bodies and swords strewn within his path, he kept his guard up.

    Her name was Impa, and she was a great general of Hyrule. She was merciless in her attacks against the opposing forces, and never shied away from a situation when it got too tough.  When the hero found her she was standing face to face with an army of poe by herself. For a moment, everything was still.

    And…

    And suddenly, the poes began to merge into one. Now before the hero and Impa, one large poe towered over them both. Its mask tilted to one side and a high pitched eerie laugh echoed across the landscape.  The ground shook beneath the hero’s feet as he charged towards the creature. With one hit the giant poe exploded back into many smaller poes.

    But that is where the trouble for the hero and Impa began. Unlike the moblins, bokoblins, and many other creatures, the poes hid from the hero’s sword. They swung from behind  the hero when he wasn’t looking, and sent him running in circles. When the hero finally landed a hit on one of the poes it had already combined with another and just split into smaller ones. 

    Impa and the hero fought for hours throughout the darkness against these creatures, and only made it through due to the sunrise scaring the poes away. You would think that this would be the end of the story, but no. 

    Eventually the hero and Impa went back and slayed the poes, but no one really knows if they got all of them. Even after the hero banished the darkness we still had all creatures of the shadows lurking just behind every corner. There are still poes within this world, and they love to play in the places we do not. 

    I have seen quite a few through my years working the graveyard in Kakariko and now Castletown itself. I’m sure poes roam through the city of Salis, of Jetier, of Tilton and Lonlon. They may even exist in places like Zora’s Domain or Rito Village. 

    But, if you ever see two poes together, you should always run. Because they will merge and become a creature of your nightmares. 

    Dampe sighed. 

    Agitha immediately raised her hand. “How did the hero and Impa slay all of the poes Mr. Dampe?” 

    “It varies per iteration of the story.” Dampe answered. “I’m sure that the poe hunters, if they were still around, would know the correct answer.” 

    There was silence before Agitha raised her hand again. “How did the poe hunters come to be?” 

    “I’m not a historian.” Dampe looked down at all of the kids. “But the name always confused me as they fought all kinds of monsters. Not just poes.” Dampe paused. “You see, from what little I know, after the war ended there were still monsters running rampant throughout Hyrule. The king saw no immediate threat of evil, so he did nothing.” 

    “That’s stupid,” Agitha responded. “If there were monsters there was still evil.” 

    Dampe went to open his mouth, but closed it again. “Does anyone else have any stories they’d like to share?”

The bitter cold air wooshed past Cerise as she jumped from roof to roof. There was a small dusting of snow in the air as she gracefully landed onto the next building. She stopped and turned around. Somewhere behind her she thought she saw a small green light, but it was hard to tell between everything else mingled within the Castle Town landscape. Cerise pursued onwards. 

    Behind, between small flakes of snow, Lumina floated. She casually bobbed and bounced up and down as she followed Cerise across the rooftops of Castle Town. Whenever Cerise stood frozen, Lumina glided towards the nearest light to blend into the surroundings. The closer the two journeyed towards Hyrule Castle, the easier it was for Lumina to find a nook or cranny of light to hide herself in. Lumina was unsurprised when she saw Cerise jump down from the walls and into the Castle Courtyard. 

    It was here, however, that Lumina lost track of Cerise. The little fairy cursed under her breath as she glanced around the frost covered bushes around her. The door to inside the castle remained shut. There was nowhere to go except up. So up Lumina went, towards the large tower which pierced the heavens. 

    What Lumina had missed, and instead had gone up, was that one of the bushes was slightly askew. 

    Cerise ran down one of the many hidden tunnels in the labyrinth that was Hyrule Castle. The tunnels themselves only saw the occasional Sheikah, and because of that they all smelled of must and apples. As she ran, Cerise thought back to her childhood eating apples in the tunnels with Pom, Impa, and a few other Sheikah. She remembered the piles of apple cores stuffed behind the stone of the tunnels, and the rat infestation that followed. Cerise knew after that was punishment, but the smell of apples still lingered in the darkness. 

    When Cerise found Impa she was standing on a balcony overlooking a courtyard. 

    “The princess passed out here back during the Harvest festival.” Impa stated to the moon. 

    “Did she suffer any injuries?” Cerise asked, her face still covered by her scarf. 

    “No,” Impa looked back at Cerise. “But she said that she spoke with a demon.” 

    “Do you think it was Gannon?” Cerise walked towards the edge of the balcony where Impa stood. 

    “Maybe not directly, but I’m sure it was some form of him.” Impa paused. “I have had the Sheikah doctors examining the princess to make sure that she is not possessed.”

    “And what if she is?”

    “Then we have to lock her up.” Impa smiled bitterly. “We wouldn’t be able to get the demon out until the hero emerged with the seals of the sages I’m sure.” 

    “At least we have one sage figured out.” Cerise sighed. 

    “We have two figured out.” Impa answered. “But that still leaves five to find.”

    “We’re running out of time.” Cerise tapped her fingers against the balcony. “Have you had any more luck with the sage of Shadow?” 

    Impa frowned. “It would be easy if I was the sage of shadow, but Hylia has rejected me of that power.” Impa walked back towards the door and turned around to face Cerise. Impa held out her hand. “Follow me, I want you to try something.” 

The five kids walked through the Hyrule graveyard, the frost covered grass crunched beneath their feet. Mystique and Agitha held little lamps as they led the group through the lot. 

    The graves sat crumbled and decayed into the dirt underneath them. Nothing was polished or pristine, nor were the carvings on a majority of the graves legible. The occasional wilted flower leaned against a grave or lay in the middle of the dirt path. At the back of the lot a large monument with a door stood. Two half-dead trees arched in front of it, their branches manipulated into many different directions. 

    “If I were a poe I would hide in that mausoleum.” Agitha stated, with one hand on her hip. 

    “But what if it’s a big poe? How are we going to defeat it?” Hudde asked from the back of the group. 

    “Easy.” Mystique spoke louder than she should have. “We have two great swordsmen here to defeat them. And if that doesn’t work I’ll kick the poe in its…” Mystique paused and thought about where she could even kick a poe. “I’d throw a rock at its’ dumb head.” She answered instead. 

    “The rock will just phase through the poe if it sees it coming, Misty. “Nivan walked casually through the graveyard. “The key to taking out a poe is to take away its lantern if it carries one. Poes that carry lanterns tend to hide their souls in there, which makes them go transparent. If you take away its hiding spot it can’t hide.”

    “And then I hit it with a rock!” Mystique exclaimed. 

    Nivan chuckled, “yes then you can hit it with a rock.” 

    Mystique turned and looked back at Hudde. “See? We’ll be fine if we run into any poes!” 

    By now the kids stood in front of the Mausoleum. Agitha strode forward and easily pushed the door open. It screamed against the air behind it as darkness beckoned for the kids to come instead. Without questioning anything, all five children went inside the mausoleum. 

    Nivan immediately held out his arm and stopped any kid from walking further into the room. He turned back and stared at every member of the group and held up his pointer finger to his mouth. With his other arm, he pointed towards the center of the room. 

    When Agitha had guessed that there would be a poe inside of the mausoleum she was correct. What she did not guess was that there would be many poes inside of the mausoleum. They all floated in a circle within the center of the room. A beam of moonlight shone through a circular window on the ceiling and highlighted a stone tablet. Nivan gestured for the kids to follow him behind a pillar, where they all watched. 

    With how rhythmic the poes danced around the tablet, it took Mystique a few tries to count how many poes were in the room. Her best guess was that there were ten. They wore long transparent dresses which draped down to the floor and across their oval bodies. Each one held a lantern, and there was a high pitch squealing sound as they all glided around the tablet. 

    “What should we do?” Huddle whispered. 

    “Well we can’t just talk to them.” Agitha whispered back. “I’m sure they’ll be done with their little dance soon and then we can leave.”

    “Weren’t you the one who wanted to see the poes?” Hudde whisper-shouted at Agitha.

    “Yeah, but they are a lot scarier in person.” Agitha shrugged.

    “Should we stop what they are doing?” Mystique whispered. 

    “We don’t even know what they are doing… they’re just dancing.” Owin whispered, with a hint of confusion in his voice. 

    “They’re summoning something.” Nivan whispered. “We chose a really bad day to search for poes.” 

    “How do you know all of this stuff about poes?” Mystique whispered.

    “I read a book about it Misty.” Nivan kept his eyes glued towards the center of the room. “They must be summoning something big if there are that many of them in the ritual.”

    “There’s only ten?” Mystique questioned. 

    “No. There’s fifty.” Nivan answered. 

    “Fifty?!” The other four kids whispered. 

    Nivan nodded, his eyes glued towards the poes. 

    “I guess that we’re stuck here until they are done.” Owin whispered. 

    “Let’s hope that they aren’t summoning something that will come after us.” Hudde’s voice began to quiver. 

    All of the poes twirled, their lanterns raised above their heads. They all let out a loud shrill squeal as they bobbed up and down through their little dance. Mystique thought she heard something lower, something more menacing, being uttered underneath the screams of the poes. 

    It happened suddenly that the grey walls underneath the soft white of the moonlight turned purple. A fog rolled in from underneath the walls and the beam of light over the table began to crackle on and off. A louder squeal filled the room that made all of the kids hold their hands over their ears. When Mystique attempted to block out the noise, the lower voice became clearer. She squinted towards the group of poes, who now chaotically glitched in and out of existence throughout their circle. There was one poe, however, that remained still directly in front of the tablet. It wore a slightly different color robe, and a fancy little hat as it chanted. 

    Black smoke curled around the tablet and drifted up into the air. A figure formed through the shadows. It was hard to tell what the shadow tried to replicate as the trails of smoke drifted and twisted into many different designs, but one thing stayed consistent. Its eyes. Two red eyes stared out from the smoke and stared around the room. Mystique could have sworn that she saw a grin hidden just beneath the surface right below the eyes. 

    A few flickers of light crackled around the figure as it grew bigger towards the mausoleum’s ceiling. A roar bellowed out from somewhere within the figure and shook the pillars of the room. 

    “I think we are in trouble.” Hudde whispered. 

    A shadowed claw reached out from the center of the smoke and stretched itself to grab onto the ceiling. The arm wandered across the stone and traced the perimeter of the ceiling. All of the kids sucked in their breath when the hand glided above them. 

    “Soon.” A voice said. 

    The kids almost jumped out of the skins. 

    “She is too late.” It spoke again. 

    The poe in the fancy hat continued to chant while  the others disappeared into the smoke. 

    When it was just the creature made of shadows and the last poe. It stopped its chants and stared up at the beast before it. There were dozens of hands. Dozens of heads. Dozens of feet that the creature constantly shapeshifted between. The poe floated up to where the creature’s head would be, and floated silently as it was consumed by the darkness. 

    And suddenly, everything was gone, save for the kids. They wandered cautiously out from behind the pillar towards the dusty tablet at the center of a quiet and grey room. Owin walked up to the tablet and used his sleeve as he brushed several layers of dust off of the tablet. Mystique stared at the tablet and recognized not a single glyph carved into the stone. 

    “Can anyone read that?” She asked. Her voice cut against the silence. 

    “No.” All of the other kids answered. 

    “It must be a really old tomb,” Owin answered. “I can ask gramps about it tomorrow.”

    “I’m surprised that there are no spiders or fun beetles in here if its that old.” Agitha muttered louder than she thought.

    Hudde walked away from the center of the room and towards the door. “I don’t know about you guys, but I want to go be safe in my sleeping bag after that.” 

    Slowly, each kid followed Hudde outside of the mausoleum. Both Owin and Mystique stopped and stared back at Nivan, whose eyes never left the tablet as they left. 

Queen Kassandra Tacita Hyrule lay in bed by herself in a rather large bed. At the end of the room there was a small balcony with the door cracked open just wide enough for a chilling breeze in. The breeze danced around the room and made the drapery flutter as if fairies and spirits played with the fabric. Around the bed several layers of curtains flowed around the bed and hugged the mattress tightly. 

    The Queen herself laid above the covers in a simple white nightgown. Her eyes were open as she stared at the ceiling, droplets of blood speckled across her face. Deep shadows burrowed underneath her eye sockets, which accented how her bones stuck jarringly out from her face. She coughed and her whole body rattled. 

    The King was nowhere to be found. 

    From the balcony, a bony shadowy hand grabbed the frame before the rest of a body floated into the room. A long purple dress draped down to the tiles of the room and glided behind a tall skinny figure. When the creature got to the bed, it pulled aside the curtains and revealed the Queen, her body pale and fragile. The figure smiled with no teeth, just blinding whiteness against a ghostly face. 

    “It seems that your time is almost up.” The figure hissed. “You’ve failed.”

    The Queen coughed. 

    The figure smirked wider. The crown on its head tilted as it let its head fall back into a cackle. It stopped and looked back down at the Queen, and it let its ghostly long hands stroke the Queen’s face. “Poor little Hylian.” It cooed. “Poor little Hylian who had heard the words of the goddesses, only to be foiled by the ignorance of your husband.” The figure sat down on the side of the bed, its long purple gown weaved into the curtains. 

    Yet again, the Queen coughed. 

    “How many sages did you find?” It tilted its head. The Queen opened her mouth to speak, only to have the figure place a finger against her lips. “Don’t waste your breath. I already know the answer.” The figure laughed. “None.” 

    The Queen struggled to breath as she spoke. “Why… why… are you… here?” Her whole body shook as she pushed out those words. 

    The figure smiled. An ornate necklace dangled around its neck as it jangled its head back and forth to an unknown melody. “Is that what you really want to know?” 

    The Queen struggled to nod. 

    “I could tell you so many things dear Kassandra, like where all your precious little sages and your hero are. But, instead, you want to know about me?” The figure took several rings from out of its pocket and slid them onto its fingers. “I’m here to bask in the glory of despair and misery that will shortly befall Hyrule when you die.” The figure stared at the rings on its hands. “Do you know how beautiful that feels to me? And I’m sure my lovely little poes would feel the same. Your death might even be enough to fully resurrect the king himself.”

    The Queen coughed blood onto her white nightgown. She gasped and struggled to speak for several moments, a monologue of her own tried to escape into the cool air of the bedroom. Instead the Queen’s gasping was followed by silence. Her eyes stared past the ghostly figure on her bed and towards the little green light, which floated just outside of the window. 

    A ghostly hand, now decorated in colorful golden rings, wavered over the still Queen’s chest. Its fingers curled and pointed in unnatural directions as it stole an orb of light from outside of the Queen’s chest. The figure held the glowing ball of light in front of its face. “I know what you are looking for.” It said to no one in the room. “But you haven’t deserved that yet. You still have a job to do.” The figure placed the orb of light into a pocket within its long purple gown. When the figure turned around towards the balcony there was only darkness.

Chapter Text

Chapter Nine: The Middle Years

Snow drifted down from the sky and onto the casket placed in front of Hyrule Castle. Crowds stood silently, all packed on top of each other as more and more people filled into Castle Town. In front of the casket stood the King, he held his daughter in one arm and looked stoic towards the crowd.
Princess Zelda of Hyrule could not contain her tears as she openly wept into her father’s jacket. Her servant Paige continued to hand the princess a handkerchief to which she always refused. The princess tried to muffle her sobs as what felt like the entirety of Hyrule stared at her.
In the front of the crowd stood the leaders of the other factions of Hyrule. Each one held different expressions as they looked upon the black and gold casket decorated with blue flowers. Three stones, red, green, and blue stones were embedded into the front.
Queen Rutamina stood tallest amongst the crowd, with several Hylians who peered around her sides to stare at their dead queen. Rutamina held a stoic expression as she stared eye level with the casket. In front of her, she wrung her hands endlessly and played with the webbing between her fingers. Beside her, her daughter Rudi babbled towards her aide Camaron. Camaron continued to wipe the tears away from her eyes as she answered Rudi and held her close.
Dario frowned towards the casket. His eyebrow, made of jagged stone, peaked and crashed sharply against his face. His son Egan stood next to him and attempted to mimic the same intense frown on his own face. Egan, however, struggled as his face was still too young and round to gain the sharpness his father had developed over years. An older Goron stood behind them and only shook its head.
Tyto of the Rito looked bored, with his head rested against one of his wings. His eyes were slightly red and puffy as he stood alone in the front row. He glanced over between Dario and Rutamina and sighed. Next to Tyto there was an empty space which only held a tiny frog on a leaf.
Impa’s face changed emotions every few moments as she stared up at the casket. Her face constantly shifted between despair, sadness, anger, and helplessness. An arm wrapped itself around Impa’s waist and pulled her into an embrace. Kanchana, the Gerudo chieftain, stared down at Impa with a weak smile. A little boy, no more than ten years old, clung to the other side of Kanchana, his golden eyes stared widely towards everything.
Behind the first row, more notable people stood. There were the mayors of the towns throughout Hyrule field. Hammada stood somewhere in this area with Gonzo and his family. This was also the area where Mystique stood with her parents and Nivan. She did not have a good view of the casket, and only really saw the backs of those in front of her. She tried to jump up to get a better view, but all that did was tire her legs and gain a glare from her mother.
“Hey I don’t get why they have the tall people in front.” Mystique groaned.
“Hey, Misty.” Nivan looked at her. “This is a funeral.”
“Yeah, well the Queen was important to everyone so shouldn’t everyone be able to see?”
“It’s just a closed casket.” Nivan glanced around the crowd. “And it would be pretty hard to get everyone to see it.”
Mystique spun in a circle and saw the massive sea of people crammed into Castle Town. “Wow Castle Town sure filled up.”
“I’m not surprised.” Nivan sighed. “I hope that whatever happened to the Queen isn’t related to what we saw the other night?”
“You mean the poes dancing?” Mystique asked a little too loudly. Beside her, Mystique’s mother raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Nivan noticed Mystique’s mother glanced the other way. “They summoned something. What if that something killed the Queen?”
“Should I tell Impa about it?” Mystique asked.
“Uh,” Nivan thought for a moment. “How would you phrase that exactly?”
“Well—” Mystique began to speak only to be shushed as the King stepped forward.
King Suehprom Patroclus of Hyrule cleared his throat, and instantly the entirety of Castle Town fell silent. He held up his hand and silently stared at the crowd for an uncomfortable amount of time. Mystique, as well as several other children, began to fidget within the silence. Finally, he spoke.
“The world is a cruel place. Our land of Hyrule has taken our beacon of light and snuffed it out, leaving us in the darkness. My wife, your Queen, Kassandra Tacita of Hyrule, was a kind and gentle soul. A smart and caring individual who knew no bounds to help out others in their time of need. Every day and every night I had with her was a blessing. A blessing that should have lasted many more years than it did.”
He paused and no one spoke.
“I have never been the one to believe in fairy tales. I have always been a king of logic, as that is what Hyrule has always truly needed. I have heard stories of kings before me who wasted their years preparing for a fable that never came. My ancestors who built their entire identity around a little boy in green and a fairy. These ancestors of mine ended up going mad until their dying breath. I am here to tell you all that I will not repeat that same mistake.”
He held his fist to his chest. There were tears in his eyes.
“I wish that I had paid more attention to the rabbit hole that our darling Queen fell into. She spent many days in the library, always a woman of knowledge. Her thirst for knowledge is what brought me to her. Yet, even she fell into the madness of the curse. The madness of shadow demons and kings of darkness. A moblin is just a creature as is a bokoblin. They have no higher power nor no master to bid. Have you ever seen a poe in the graveyards at night? I haven’t. That’s because they are scary stories to tell our children to go to bed. I even invited, per the request of Impa, the mythical Kokiri and not a single one showed up. And yet our Queen believed in all of these things, and studied ways to prevent something that never really existed. She spent her days trying to protect her people, the people of Hyrule, from a nonexistent threat, and it cost her her life. Queen Kassandra Tacita of Hyrule could have been around to see her daughter Zelda married with children of her own, but instead she chose a myth. Our Queen, my wife, and a darling jewel of Hyrule, was taken from us too early.”
He choked a bit on the tears in his throat.
“But enough is enough. I want all of this nonsense to stop. I want all of these tales of the past, fabricated into whimsy and fantasy to cease. I want no more people looking into this false threat. I want whatever our Queen started behind my back to end today and never be spoken of again. We will fight threats that exist and have always existed. No more demons. No more fighting our own shadows because we think it is evil.”
He sighed.
“I want your Queen to be remembered as she truly was. A gentle soul who strove to protect her people. Someone who could recite a book of poetry on the balcony to her daughter, and someone who would smile at everyone in Castle Town. She was someone who always kept her composure even on her darkest days, and in the final days of her life here, she never stopped to show her weakness. Queen Kassandra Tacita of Hyrule will be truly missed by her people as well as by her family; but in order to hold her memory high we must bury the tragedies of her mistakes.”
He stopped and stared out at the crowd.
Dario’s face twitched and somewhere a child cried within the crowd. Above them all, high in the sky, it began to snow. Gentle specks of white landed on the casket as it was taken off of the platform and through the crowd. Everyone bowed as they were in the presence of their queen for the last time.

Time is a mystical thing to witness. A few seconds to someone may mean nothing but to another person across town those seconds are a crucial part of their life. When Queen Kassandra Tacita of Hyrule passed, and her body was brought to the royal crypt in Kakariko village, time seemed to fluctuate.
There are those, so depressed by the loss of their queen, that the span of a few years was merely a blink of the eye. They focused on their work and kept their head down to the world changing around them as their king had ordered. These people did not, and still do not, notice the landscape as it morphed around them into something more sinister.
And then there are others who have seen every second over the last few days go by slowly. They watched in horror as the little things turned bleak and sour. These people scrambled against a fight that they felt they were losing constantly as another negative plopped into a bucket filled to the brim with negative events and coincidences. Others struggled to organize themselves amongst the chaos as it raced through the undercurrents of the bustling world.
No matter how a person reacted to the flow of time since the death of their Queen. Time still passed, and what may have only felt like a few seconds to some, was actually a few years.

Impa leaned over the balcony railing and stared down at the field of soldiers below her. They all swung clumsily each with a different rhythm drilled into their own heads. Impa twirled her hand above the railing and sighed.
Dainty footsteps tip-toed on to the stone flooring, but were betrayed by the heels attached to the feet. Two teenage girls walked up to Impa.
One girl wore her brunette hair straight to her hips. A golden tiara adorned her head filled with blue and red jewels. White gloves went up to her elbows to compliment a light blue dress with white symbols and lines embroidered on the sides. She wore a dark blue corset with two golden epaulets held together with a golden chain. In the center of her chain was a blue stone in the shape of a teardrop.
The other girl’s hair was an explosion of blonde curls that jumped in any direction though possible. She wore a simple white dress with a light blue apron tied around her waist and a golden necklace hung around her neck. The necklace was of the triforce with a blue jewel in the center triangle.
Both girls looked towards Impa with big blue eyes.
“Have the new recruits come into the courtyard yet?” Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule asked.
“Not yet,” Impa said while she eyed the courtyard. “I am a little worried about this new batch of recruits.”
“Yes,” Zelda nodded. “I am not pleased with father lowering the age requirement either.”
“But it was what he needed to do. Violence on Hyrule field from Bokoblin and Moblin attacks is at an all time high. Our most expert troops have been sent to towns across the field to protect them from these threats, and the Rito, Gorons, and Zora are all too busy battling their own problems to assist us. I would reach out to the Gerudo.” Impa paused. “But I am sure that they have their own demons to face within all of this.”
“I’ve heard rumors of a darknut appearing near Lonlon settlement.” Paige whispered. She stared down at the soldiers and made a face. “I hope that these soldiers will get strong enough to fight a darknut.”
“They will have to.” Princess Zelda replied dryly.
Down in the courtyard, four teenage boys entered. Each one wore armor ill-fitted to their growing bodies, and two of them held swords clearly too big for them to swing. The other two boys arrived with their own swords and stood in the back. Immediately the two boys in the front rushed into the crowd and joined the messy swings swung by other soldiers not much older than the boys themselves.
“Well, it seems that you just made the cut.” Owin smiled.
“I was lucky that they lowered the age when I applied.” Nivan looked out towards the crowd.
“Nonsense, you were going to turn fifteen before your first day so they would have taken you even if the age wasn’t lowered.” Owin chuckled. “Plus you had some of the higher marks during the combat test, especially compared to those two goons.” Owin pointed towards the two boys, one blonde and one with red hair.
“Yeah that wasn’t hard to do,” Nivan laughed. “I’ve been able to beat them ever since I moved to Castle Town. They both fight too much on the offensive and don’t pay attention to their surroundings.”
Owin chuckled. “I vaguely remember fighting them back a few years ago, and I wasn’t too impressed.” He turned and stared at Nivan. “You, on the other hand, have always been a good sparring partner who has improved quite nicely over the years.”
Nivan made a face. “Our first match was unfair, I didn’t have my sword.”
“And every good swordsman should learn how to fight with what they have well, even if it is an unknown weapon.” Owin raised his sword towards Nivan. “Would you like to spar?”
Nivan raised his sword and smirked. He took a step back and held his stance. “Ready when you are.”
The two boys, with heavy clunky armor, began to slowly shuffle and turned their awkward movements into a slow and steady dance within a room of off beat movements. With every swing Nivan took it was met instantly by Owin, who parried and placed Nivan off balance. The armor, however, made him too slow and gave Nivan enough time to successfully block his attacks. As the boys continued to fight, several other soldiers took their eyes off of their own matches and watched before their opponent’s next strike.
Above all of the fresh-faced soldiers, Princess Zelda continued to watch with Paige and Impa.
“Hey, those two in the back aren’t too bad.” Paige pointed.
“I agree.” Zelda placed a small smile on her face.
“Well, they better be girls.” Impa looked back towards the balcony entrance before her attention went back to the courtyard. “The boy with the dark hair is Owin from Kakariko and the grandchild of Dampe the gravedigger. He was selected at a very young age to train to be a royal knight, and I see his time as a common soldier as being short. He has always been a natural swordsman according to the knights posted at Kakariko.” Impa paused. “There are also rumors that the boy has Sheikah blood in him given his stealth and speed, but his eyes would say otherwise. Silver is not red.”
“What about the blonde one?” Paige asked as she leaned over the balcony to get a better look. “He seems a little timid but kinda cute… like you Princess.”
Princess Zelda looked sharply towards Paige, her face now red. She grumbled a bit before she turned her attention back towards the soldiers. Paige noticed none of this.
Impa clicked her tongue. “Funny thing about the blonde one. His name is Nivan and he is the adopted son of Cerise. She personally asked me to make sure that he got into training here… but he scored so highly that I thankfully did not have to persuade anyone to let him in. It would not surprise me if he followed closely behind Owin towards becoming a royal knight.”
Zelda squinted. “You said he belonged to Cerise, but I am assuming that he’s not of Sheikah descent.”
“Correct.” Impa answered. “But there’s… something else up with him.”
“That’s very cryptic of you Impa.” Zelda said.
“A little green fairy used to follow him around through Castle Town, but Cerise told me that she asked the fairy to follow her daughter instead. Which was smart of her, the boy would get harassed if he had a fairy follow him around here.”
“Because of the story of the hero?” Paige asked.
“Exactly.” Impa answered. “Everyone in this castle wants to impress the King so badly that any relation to that story only leads to bad things.”
“Do you think…” Both Paige and Zelda started to speak.
“Don’t even finish that thought.” Impa walked away from the balcony. “I have a meeting to attend to, but I will come with you later to the welcoming dinner.”
Both Princess Zelda and Paige nodded before they returned their attention towards the courtyard of soldiers. The two girls pointed and giggled as they made remarks and nicknames for all of the new recruits as they stumbled and fumbled about, their boots clunked and barely stayed on their feet.
From the back of the crowd Owin and Nivan bowed towards each other. They both wiped sweat off of their foreheads as they placed their swords back into their scabbards. Both boys stopped and looked up towards the balcony where the girls continued to giggle. Both girls stopped and stood still when they noticed Owin and Nivan. Paige waved, her blonde hair bounced chaotically as she started to laugh as she waved. Both boys sheepishly smiled back.

Mystique sat on a rock and held her shawl tightly around her body. Around her were fields on pine trees which dipped down into the valley and stood sporadically on higher up ledges. A series of wires were strewn between ledges with little houses, which dangled in the air hundreds of feet above the ground. A few houses were built into the cliffside of the mountains and even a few houses stood on perfectly cut ledges on the mountain itself. A river ran somewhere far below Mystique but the sound of running water could be heard from where she was as it mingled with the sounds of bird songs and wind chimes.
A small rito girl with white feathers and red eyes sat next to Mystique. She wore a little pink dress which matched her feet and beak. She wore a pair of dark goggles on top of her head. As always, Lumina floated around nearby, nothing more than a green spec against the sunset.
“How do you stay warm up here?” Mystique asked towards the sunset. She pulled the shawl around her tighter.
“I have a lot of feathers to keep me warm.” The rito girl’s voice came out quietly.
“Man, I wish that I had feathers right now… and that I could fly.” Mystique peered down over the edge and watched several rito as they flew around the trees and hillsides.
“Our village isn’t really suited for long term Hylian stay.” The rito girl answered honestly. “I’m surprised that Tyto allowed it.”
“Well…” Mystique trailed off. “His exact words were ‘if she can tolerate it she can stay as long as she likes. I do owe you Cerise.’” Mystique air quoted around the last part. She made a funny face as she said the last word.
“You’re already cold and it isn’t even winter yet. We’ll have to get you some warmer clothes at one of the nearby ground settlements.” The Rito girl had a slight melody to how she spoke.
Mystique pulled the shawl tighter. “Hey Lumina, are you cold?”
“I’m a ball of light, what do you think?” Lumina answered from somewhere amongst the sunset.
“Do all Hylians have fairies, and are they always this sassy?” The rito girl asked. She played with a red beaded necklace around her neck.
“Nivan and I accidentally found her,” Mystique started counting on her hand, “about four years ago. Most fairies live in the Kokori forest.”
“Do Kokiri’s even exist? I’ve only heard of them in fairytales.” The rito girl asked.
Both girls stared towards Lumina.
“Do you think I have all the answers?” Lumina huffed.
“Well you are from the forest aren’t you?” Mystique raised an eyebrow.
“They exist. Why wouldn’t they?” Lumina bobbed up and down.
“Because who has ever seen a Kokiri?” Both girls answered at different speeds, their words jumbled into slight nonsense.
“If the rito, gorons, and zora exist, why can’t the Kokiri? They just can’t leave the forest.” Lumina answered, slightly irritated.
The girls sat silently for a moment and pondered the answer. Another rito, with brown feathers and a green bandana wrapped around his neck walked by. He stopped and stared at the cliffside.
“I bet you Tyto has seen a kokiri Abony.” The rito laughed.
Abony turned her head, slightly startled to look at the rito who just stood there. “Hi Cuphas.” She said a little sheepishly.
Cuphas smirked. “Or maybe your little Hylian friend is actually a kokiri. She does have a fairy after all!”
“Nah, Ty said that she was one of Impa’s people.” Abony glanced over at Mystique who stared back quizzically.
“I’m actually a Luriken. My father makes shoes.” Mystique clarified.
Cuphas chuckled. “You excited to learn to fly Luriken?”
Mystique shot up from where she sat and almost fell off of the cliffside. Abony grabbed her leg as a precaution.
“I’m going to learn to fly?!” Mystique gasped. “How?”
“In order to be a good mail person it’s fastest to fly.” Cuphas tugged on his bandana. “I’m sure ole Mr. Talon has something prepared for you.” He began to walk up the stairs which curled around the cliff. “Also you two should follow me, I know a much better spot to watch the sunset.”
Quietly, the two girls and Lumina followed Cuphas up the mountain.
Eventually, as they followed Cuphas, he diverged from the stairs and went off the beaten path between two lonely pine trees. From there, the path dipped back down and rounded around a narrow path where the other side was a steep plummet to the base of the mountain. Mystique held onto Abony tightly as they traversed the terrain. After what felt like too long of a trek between life and death, the path widened into a tiny little space nestled into the mountain side.
In front of them beautiful mountains and rolling hills expanded across the horizon basked in the golden glow of the sunset. On one of the closer hills a waterfall gushed down between the pines and into a stream big enough to be visible from so high up. At the bottom of the waterfall was a pool of water drenched in sunset colors. A small hut could just barely be seen hidden between the trees and the water.
“If you fly out west enough, past all of those mountains you would eventually hit the Gerudo desert.” Cuphas said. “It’s said that the desert was formed due to the Hyrule mountain range depriving the area of proper moisture.” Cuphas paused. “If you were a Hylian on foot you would struggle to deliver anything to the Gerudo women. With flying we travel to them with ease.”
“Ty has tried to be on good terms with the Gerudo.” Abony looked out towards the mountains.
“Unlike the King of Hyrule,” Cuphas added. “From what little gossip I hear from my da’ he hasn’t really been helping anyone with their pest problems.”
Mystique’s mind briefly flickered back to memories. She thought of the dragon she saw as it circled death mountain. She thought of Gyorg in Babel’s ocean fish tank. She thought of the giant frozen door covered in Octorok’s at Zora’s domain. Her mind then shifted to Nivan. Before she had left as she trailed behind her mother’s footsteps, she remembered Nivan’s face. He had a smile on but there were tears as he waved goodbye. Mystique remembered she had run back and hugged him tight. She promised to write to him whenever she could. Now that she could.
Mystique looked out towards the mountains and suddenly felt homesick.

Inside the royal dining hall dozens of new recruits squirmed around a large wooden table decorated with food and colorful table runners. Large blue banners hung down from a ceiling that went higher than necessary for even the tallest Hylian. Pillars rose in two columns, which framed the table.
Owin and Nivan sat next to Roul and Link at the table. Link played with his fork, he drummed out uneven beats on an empty dinner plate in front of him. Roul played with his blonde hair. A few locks curled around his fingers.
Nivan glanced around the room and saw a variety of similar expressions. All of the boys in the room looked too small in comparison to the chairs that they sat in, and everyone wore an expression of boredom, confusion, and fear. Nivan looked around the room for a mirror, and was met with the awkward face of a teenage boy with uncut scraggly long almost white hair. Owin’s dark hair waved upwards in contrast.
Suddenly, and without much explanation, dozens of servants entered the room, only to place hundreds of plates of food onto the table. They all disappeared without a single word uttered or breath taken in. Both Owin and Nivan raised an eyebrow at the table now filled to the brim with more food than anyone in the room had ever seen.
A glass rang quietly from somewhere in the room. All of the boys, some of which had attempted to grab cucco legs and chunks of bread, turned towards the source of the noise. Impa, in a simple navy blue bodysuit, leaned against one of the pillars. After a few moments of silence, she smirked and pointed one of her long fingers towards the front of the table. Slowly, all of the boys’ eyes drifted towards the table head, where Princess Zelda solemnly stood. As usual, Paige stood next to her.
“Welcome, new soldiers of Hyrule.” Princess Zelda calmly spoke, her voice even. “I apologize as my father is not here to greet you tonight.” She paused. “But he will make sure to give his warm welcome when he is now off attending to other business.” She tugged at one of her gloves as she stared at the table. She glanced up towards the sea of eyes, only to look up at the ceiling. “You are all extremely brave for joining our forces. I must tell you all that this is not an easy job, and there will be hardships as well as sacrifices. I hope that we will be able to provide you with the best materials to be as strong as possible so that you may be able to protect those that you love.” Zelda drew her attention towards one side of the table. “Some of you will work hard and be excellent guards and soldiers for all of Hyrule.” She shifted her attention towards Owin. “While others will even one day protect myself and the Royal family from harm.” She looked past all of the boys towards Impa. “But, wherever your future takes you. Please enjoy this meal as a gift from myself to all of you.” Princess Zelda sat down slowly. She stared quietly towards the sea of boys frozen in place.
Once one boy cautiously reached for a slice of bread, the rest of the table became a domino effect. Soon, every soldier had a heaping plate of food gathered in front of them and they all began to eat food that some of them didn’t even know existed.
Owin with his bowl of pumpkin soup and plate of greens with cucco, glanced at Princess Zelda’s plate that had only a few greens on it. He watched for a little longer than he should have, his face etched with a frown. Next to him, Nivan carefully dipped his bread into the pumpkin soup. He watched as Impa left the room.
“I wonder where she’s going,” Nivan whispered into his bread.
Impa let out a long sigh a few paces outside of the dining hall, her head rested into her hand. “Curse that man for being reckless with the youth of Hyrule.” Her eyes darted up and down the long, dark, and empty hallways before she disappeared down one of the corridors.
If anyone were to have walked down the hallways of Hyrule Castle during this time they would be greeted by nothing. For, all of the soldiers, as Impa knew, were either in their quarters asleep, posted to guard duty, in the dining room, or off on a mission. The servants had their own hallways hidden throughout the castle like the Sheikah and normally avoided the main hallways. Most Sheikah, Impa thought, would be as far away from the Castle as they could be either on missions she sent them or working in the secret Sheikah lab nestled somewhere out in Hyrule field.
When Impa came upon Pom’s old lab her face faltered shortly into sadness as she gazed upon a clean and empty room. The chairs were all pushed in and not a single piece of paper was out of place. On Pom’s whiteboard, ‘Mystique was her’ was scrawled in the corner. A doodle of a fairy was etched next to the phrase. Impa chuckled.
“Your daughter always finds a way to make light of a situation.” Impa stated into the empty room.
Behind her, Cerise quietly entered the room. She gently leaned against one of the desks. “I’m surprised Pom never erased that. It has to have been at least a year since she moved.”
“And I’m unsurprised that you didn’t send Mystique with Pom.” Impa’s smile faded. “I think that would have been the smarter move Cerise.”
Cerise frowned. “It’s not what she wanted.” Cerise looked over at the writing on the whiteboard. “I wanted her to be happy, so I sent her to a place where she could be.”
“She would have made an excellent member of my team.” Impa said. “I think her delivering mail is wasted potential.”
“I also wanted her to be safe.” Cerise answered. “She wouldn’t have been safe with you or Pom.”
“And sending her to live with the Rito is just as safe?” Impa raised an eyebrow.
“Well for one the Rito aren’t disobeying the King’s orders.” Cerise stared at Impa, her red eyes almost glowed in the moonlight. “And two I know the dangers of being a part of the Sheikah before our world started to turn upside down. I can’t put her into a situation that dangerous Impa.”
“And yet you let Nivan join the soldiers of Hyrule?” Impa kept her eyebrow raised.
Cerise shook her head. “I didn’t want him to.” She paused. “But I am not in a position to stop him. I just hope that they’ll send her to post far away from this Castle.”
“Zelda is already eyeing him and a boy named Owin to join the royal guards.” Impa said flatly.
Cerise cursed under her breath. “Can you sway her opinion?”
“I’m afraid not. I’m sure the King would overrule my interference anyways.”
Cerise frowned.
“I know that you want to protect both of them,” Impa put on a slight smile. “But we can keep them both safe if we keep working against the darkness.”
Cerise stared silently at Impa. Outside, the sounds of leaves rustling and the hooting of an owl echoed into the night sky. Outside the room and off in the distance the sounds of awkward laughter between boys and the clinking of silverware barely filled the walls of the castle. A wolf howled somewhere far away.

Chapter Text

Mystique stood at the edge of a cliff wearing a thick jacket around her torso and boots lined with feathers. A green glow emitted from inside one of the jacket’s pockets. In her left hand she held a wooden contraption with a thin lining of hyde strapped over it. With her other hand, Mystique tugged on the two ends of the wooden poles of the contraption to reveal that it spread out to catch the wind. A worried look danced against a smile on her face.
Abony stood next to Mystique, her goggles attached awkwardly onto the front of her face. She wore a pink scarf, which mingled with the wind. She watched as Mystique tugged and played with the contraption in her hands.
“Do you think that you’re ready?” Abony asked into the wind.
“Will this even work?” Mystique tugged again at the contraption.
“I’m sure it will.” Abony answered. “Heron is an excellent scientist. I'm sure his work won’t fail.”
“And if it does, one of us will catch you!” Cuphas yelled from the edge of another cliff fifty feet away. His voice echoed in the space between.
Mystique peered over the edge of the cliff she was on. The trees looked like little pieces of lettuce from where she stood. She took a step out and tugged the contraption open again. “So I just tug this open…” she took a few steps back. “And then I just run and jump.” Mystique looked towards Abony for confirmation. As Abony nodded, Mystique lifted the contraption over her head and ran off of the cliff.
Mystique was unsure what she expected to experience as she no longer had solid ground beneath her feet. The first thought was that she would plummet quickly, her feet like magnets hurtling towards the ground. Her second thought was that she would experience the brief feeling of euphoria before the contraption crumpled underneath the burden of carrying her, and then she would plummet into the ground below. The third thought was that the contraption worked, and everything would by some miracle work smoothly.
Thankfully the third option was what happened.
Above the ground, with nothing beneath her feet, Mystique wiggled her legs back and forth as she glided across the ravine. She let out a little laugh as she continued to slowly move about the sky in a straight line. “Is this what it's like for you everyday?” Mystique asked into her jacket pocket.
Lumina peered out, her wings folded into the glow of her body. “Sort of…” She yawned. “It’s a bit different when you are using your body to fly versus a piece of equipment. Different muscles and all that.” Lumina paused. “By the way kid, you better learn to steer this thing because you aren’t going to land on the cliff where the other Rito is.”
“Huh?” Mystique asked out loud as she slowly drifted past the cliff Cuphas stood on and further out into the open air.
“Hey, where are you going Mystique?” Cuphas called after her. He flapped his wings and flew into the air.
In less than a minute both Abony and Cuphas flew next to Mystique as she drifted in the air.
“How do I steer this?” Mystique asked as she looked down at the ground slowly getting bigger.
“Use your arms.” Cuphas laughed. “Pull your body the direction you want to go.” He glanced over at Abony. “Abi why are you wearing those stupid goggles?”
“They help keep the bugs out of my eyes.” Abony said calmly with a slight hint of irritation which crept into her voice.
“Do you really think that there are any bugs this high up to get into your eyes?” Cuphas responded more obviously irritated.
“That’s what Tyto said.” Abony stuck out her tongue.
Mystique began to drift slightly to the right.
“Tyto is full of worms if he told you that.” Cuphas argued.
“I wouldn’t disrespect our leader like that Cuphas.” Abony said.
“Leaders can be good and still say stuff that is full of worms.” Cuphas nudged Mystique to start going left. “If you kept tilting right you would have crashed into the cliff face, and neither of us could help you recover from that.”
“Where should I land?” Mystique glanced over at the cliff she obviously was not even close to hitting.
“You’re probably going to just have to land in the field.” Cuphas made a humming noise. “This is going to take a while.” He looked over at Abony. “We’ll have to report back to Heron about this trial run.”
“I agree.” Abony looked at the glider. “I know Hylians have used it in the past, but it only really goes slowly down. That’s not good to use for long distances if you’re delivering mail all over Hyrule.”
“Do you think Mr. Heron has a solution?” Mystique asked.
“I’m sure he could come up with something.” Abony answered.
“It’ll be interesting to witness the first flying Hylian in action.” Cuphas laughed. “Maybe you’ll grow a pair of wings?” He teased.
By now Mystique drifted just above the treeline. Her feet gently grazed against the tips of the trees and a heavy smell of pine wafted up into the air.
“Hey guys, am I going to have to walk back when I land?” Mystique glanced back at the cliffs farther in the distance than she realized.
“We shoooould.” Cuphas answered immediately. “But we’ll be nice and bring you back.” He paused. “This time.” Cuphas couldn’t keep a straight face as he laughed out his response.
“Ms. Impa would murder you anyways if we left Mystique out in the woods alone.” Abony chided in.
Cuphas’ face suddenly became serious. “I forgot about that bit of information Tyto told us.” Cuphas nudged Mystique again. “Hey don’t crash into the trees there I don’t want Ms. Impa to murder me because Abony tattled on me to Tyto.”
Mystique looked around at all of the trees decently far away from her and the contraption. “I’m surprised that Ms. Impa never learned to fly.”
“She’s used the glider before.” Abony answered. “But Tyto said that she didn’t like how slow it made her. She was the one who the glider was originally made for actually.”
“That makes a lot of sense.” Mystique said.
The dirt skidded against Mystique’s boots as she slowly crashed into the ground below her. The weight of her torso above her legs made her legs crumple into the grass and dirt.
“We’ll have to report this to Heron as well.” Abony stated to Cuphas as she flapped her wings just above the ground.
Mystique wiggled her arms as she lay staring up at the sky. “I’m going to feel this in my arms tomorrow.”
“You must have weak arms, little Hylian.” Cuphas teased. He slowly drifted closer to Mystique before he grabbed her shoulders with his talons. Within the blink of an eye Mystique was yet again up above the treeline and in the air. Abony flew slightly behind holding the contraption as they flew back to the village.
By the time they arrived back, the sun had started to touch the mountains. A warm hazy glow surrounded the village as Abony, Cuphas, and Mystique landed on the flight pad. A large slender blue Rito leaned against a tree nearby. Gracefully, he strode over to the flight pad, grabbed the contraption with a nod and walked away.
“Wait!” Cuphas shouted. “Don’t you want notes from the test flight?”
The blue Rito turned his head. “You can give them to me tomorrow, for now Tyto is looking for you three.”
They all straightened their backs before Mystique made a mad dash towards the top of the town and quickly past the blue Rito. Abony and Cuphas began to flap their wings and fly straight up.
At the top of Rito village sat Tyto’s nest, precariously hung against a ledge that jutted just far out enough to give some distance from the rock-face, while also giving enough support to host a metal home. A Bow and Arrow hung above a door cracked slightly ajar as Mystique, out of breath, made it to the top of the village. Cautiously, she opened the rest of the door to reveal Tyto, his back turned towards the door and instead facing the large open window at the other end of his home.
“I’m assuming by the footsteps that it’s you Mystique.” Tyto said nonchalantly.
“...yes.” Mystique said, still trying to catch her breath.
Outside the home, two voices could be heard bickering before Abony and Cuphas fell through the door and into the room.
“And I enjoyed the peace while it lasted.” Tyto said calmly. He still did not turn around.
“Hey?” Cuphas walked towards Tyto. “Why are you being all dramatic staring out the window like that?”
“Because you all took so long I started thinking.” Tyto paused. “And I like to stare at this view when I start thinking.”
“Thinking about what?” Abony asked as she walked over to Tyto.
Mystique watched as all three Ritos in the room stared out the window. Curious, she also joined them. The view outside of Tyto’s window felt like a standard Rito village view. Tons of grey cliffs with scattered green specs of pine trees and white dots of snow. Mystique felt like whenever she looked off at the Rito landscape it was always sunrise or sunset, with the world basked in golden glows.
“I am thinking about the future little sister.” Tyto answered a little too formally.
“You always think about thar Ty.” Abony answered back.
“As Rito Chieftan, it is my duty to do so. The small decisions and nuances I must think about can determine the fate of our village.”
“Did Miss Impa arrive again to talk?” Mystique asked.
Tyto glanced, a little startled, towards Mystique. “Yes.” He paused. “She comes here more frequently than I would like her to, given how times have been changing.”
“Ever since the Queen died.” Someone said but everyone thought.
“Ever since that obnoxious dragon appeared over Death Mountain actually, but yes even more so.” Tyto still stared at the sunset. “Please children, do not tell the rest of the village this, but I fear for the day some forsaken monster emerges from the clouds above or the desert to the west to destroy us and our peaceful ways. We, as a people, have been assisting so many other places, but I am unsure if the favor would be returned given how inaccessible we are from everyone else.”
“Wait…” Mystique spoke and there was a pause heavy in the air as she thought. “A dragon over Death Mountain?”
“Yes,” Tyto turned towards Mystique. “A few years ago the ancient dragon Volvagia emerged from the depths of Death Mountain to torture and consume the Goron people. Dario, the Goron Leader, asked for aid. He came to us after being humiliated by the King of Hyrule, and we accepted the task.”
Tyto sighed.
“And the Rito have chased and destroyed that beast several times, or so we think… but it always keeps coming back out from the lava.Every time Volvagia emerges from the lava the creature seems to become stronger, and more of my people get injured.”
Tyto shakes his head.
“And since then Impa has asked me to supply scouts to look all over Hyrule. We are by Lake Hylia, we fly over the Kokiri forest, we stop in Lonon and Tilton to rest and listen. It is never ending. Impa has even suggested sending female Ritos out to the Gerudo Oasis to look for…”
Tyto stopped and wiped his head feathers with his hand. “That reminds me, I have to head out to Hyrule Castle for a meeting for a few days. Mystique do you have anything for me to deliver?”
Mystique’s eyes lit up. “Yes.” She began digging in her coat pockets. “I have a letter for Nivan in Castle town, would you be able to deliver it?”
“Have you been carrying that letter all day?” Cuphas gawked.
“Every good mail person has a letter prepared to send.” Mystique laughed as she handed the letter over to Tyto.
A small smile crept onto Tyto’s face as he tucked the letter away in his bag. “I’ll make sure this letter is the first thing I deliver Mystique.” Tyto started to walk towards the door. As he stood in the doorway he turned around. “Oh, by the way I left some rupees in the bowl in the cabinet for you all to get food. Don’t waste it on frogs again.”
The three teens watched silently as Tyto flapped his wings up into the air outside the house and left.
“We won’t waste money on frogs Tyto.” Cuphas rolled his eyes. “We found out which frog was the fastest anyways.”
“Yeah well it wasn’t even your rupees to spend!” Abony jeered.
“Hey, it was two against one on what to do with the budget.” Cuphas shrugged.
Besides Cuphas, Mystique smirked.
“Mystique we aren’t buying more frogs.”
“Salamanders?” Cuphas suggested.
“If we waste our money on salamanders I am going to eat the fairy.” Abony replied coldly.
“And I’m not that edible,” Lumina replied from one of Mystique’s pockets.
“Hey,” Mystique thought out loud again. “Do you think the little Rito kids are practicing their singing again?”
“We can go check.” Abony said as she already started to walk outside.
Slowly Mystique followed behind Abony as she walked down wooden planked paths that mingled with the smooth stone roads carved into the mountain. When Mystique glanced out towards the speckles of green and white she wondered what the other Rito villages were like carved into the mountains.
Somewhere nearby, as the three teens walked, a babbling brook could be heard delicately carving a path into the rock. After a few gentle winding paths and small sets of stairs, they all arrived at a smooth opening with several pine trees scattered around the edges. The center of the stone was a small pool of water no more than a foot deep decorated with lily pads.
Between the trees at the other end of the rock stood a dozen little Rito kids. Their feathers still young fluffed out ridiculously and small feathers on their heads jutted out in awkward and funny directions. Some of the Rito kids looked extra fluffy as the wind jostled their molting feathers. Besides them a colorful Rito with a black beak and an accordion played a series of notes into the air. Somehow, despite their ages, all of the Rito kids seemed to know the tune and be able to keep in tune with the notes as they played. Several other adult Ritos stood near the stairs and watched the performance, with big smiles spread across their faces.
“What song are they singing?” Mystique whispered to Abony.
“The ballad of the hero.” Abony whispered back. “Kass has been teaching it to all the little ones ever since the Queen died. I’m not sure why, but I think it's to give us all a little hope when everything feels a little bleak.”

The streets of Castle town felt grey and empty as Nivan strolled with Owin and an older guard. Nivan thought back to several years ago, of all the people that bustled the street until it was bursting. He thought of the loud colors that decorated all of the coats and clothes and the overpowering smells of perfume and piss. Now he could only really smell the piss.
“It’s a quiet day today.” The older guard said. “Not a lot of people coming into Castle Town for trading it seems.”
A raggedy white dog scampered down an alley with a bone in its mouth, and somewhere something moaned.
“The last few patrols have felt rather quiet.” Owin said as he peered down the alleyway where the dog went. “It feels as if we have been doing night shifts but it is the middle of the day.”
“Well no shit.” The older guard answered. “At least you actually point that out. All the other knights just shake in their boots or think they are the hero themselves as they run around on this patrol.”
“It’s all because of the queen.” Nivan said to the open street. “That’s what I’ve read.”
“All propaganda.” The older guard snorted. “But,” he looked around, “I guess people are buying the bait.”
“What makes you say it’s fake?” Owin asked as he kicked a loose cobblestone.
“Because ever since the queen died people have become worried of monsters eating their cuccos and stealing their blonde children looking for the triforce. Come on, that sounds absolutely foolish… right? Like, if this was true why did the townspeople hear it over the actual guards of Hyrule.”
“That’s easy.” Nivan inspected a stain on the wall. “It’s because we work directly under the king, and the king doesn’t want us to know.” He paused. “I think this is blood on the wall.
“Yea and the people only seem to listen to that crazy crone Impa?!” The old guarded started to puff his chest full of air before he stopped and walked over to the wall. “Yes you’re right that is blood.”
“Hylian blood?” Nivan asked.
“At this height probably from some bar fight that got too rowdy for inside.” The older guard smiled. “I’ll have to have you two do a night patrol next time you’re on rotation. Those ones are much more interesting than the day shifts. Castle Town at night has always been… interesting.”
Nivan winced and took a step back from the wall.
The old guard jeered. “What are you afraid of a little violence boy?”
The air stood still as Nivan watched the wall, and the pause while short felt like an eternity before he spoke. “No, just thought of something.”
“Oh?”
Nivan shook his head. He thought of his first night in Castle Town, a cold and dark winter night. His small body shivered as he wrapped his arms tighter around his chest. The streets back then still bustled more than they did now, with people in capes that slinked around alleyways and figures in masks that resembled the moon. Loud Hylians shoved and pushed each other despite there being no need for space in the street. Nivan remembered finding the fountain in the center of town, the hero in stone stood tall surrounded by the princess and the sages of old. It was there that he slumped against the street, and there where Mystique’s mother found him cold and alone.
“It’s nothing important,” Nivan answered. “I bet a night patrol would be interesting.”
“Life feels strange since the Queen,” Owin looked around. “The night life in Castle Town has become stronger than its daylife.” Owin pointed down the street. “Over there used to be a wonderful bakery but now it's boarded up.”
“All the families left slowly and quietly over the years. No one wanted to stay in a town when they feared the demon king could strike any day. As knights of Hyrule it is our duty to protect the people, and I don’t blame them for leaving a place that has such a big target on its back.” Nivan began to wander down the street further past all of the houses boarded up.
“That is if the demon king even existed.” The old guard spoke. “Like I said, it’s all rumors spread by Impa and not facts.”
“Do you think the king is worried?” Owin asked.
“About the demon king? Absolutely not.”the guard responded.
“No, about the fact that the center of his kingdom is being abandoned.” Owin replied.
“The central city for Hyrule will just adapt and change over time. Another castle will be built. Castle Town wasn’t the first place Hyrule had a Castle I’m sure.” The old guard kicked some dirt into the air.
Above the three knights of Hyrule a white bird flew circles in the sky. It slowly descended towards the dusty rooftops of Castle Town and appeared larger than any ordinary bird. Soon, Tyto landed elegantly onto the street in front of Nivan. He brushed back some of his feathers that fell out of place and smirked. Without a word spoken he pulled a letter out from his satchel and handed it to Nivan.
“This is for you.” Tyto said nonchalantly. Again, without a word he flew up into the air and towards Hyrule Castle.
Nivan looked down at the letter in his hand. There was a big red M scribbled onto the front. He smiled.

Princess Zelda and Paige followed slowly and distantly behind Impa as she ascended one of the Eastern towers of Hyrule Castle. The two girls walked barefoot, shoes in their hands while they hid behind ornate statues and corners just out of the eyesight of Impa. They both watched as Impa slinked into a room and slowly closed the door behind her. Zelda darted up towards the door and pressed her ear against it.
Paige tapped Zelda’s shoulder and pointed towards the keyhole within the door. Cautiously Zelda peered through the keyhole and looked into the room.
Impa paced around the observatory. There was a table full of scattered papers and a telescope shifted into one of the room’s corners. A quick shadow flickered onto the large clear balcony door, and a figure stood outside. Quickly and silently Impa opened the door to reveal Tyto. Before he entered the room he bowed to Impa, who shook her head.
The words between Tyto and Impa were muffled through the door. Zelda motioned for Paige to push her ear against the door as she watched.
Both Tyto and Impa paced the room. Impa held up her hand as she walked and raised a finger for everytime Tyto responded to what she said. Some of Tyto’s responses went on longer than others. Slowly, Impa walked over to the table and pulled out a pen. She began to furiously scribble her pen against the parchment. Tyto walked over and watched over Impa’s shoulder. He nodded along with the scribbles.
Through the sea of nods and remarks Tyto shook his head and walked away from the parchment and Impa. He pointed towards the window and his voice grew louder within the room. Impa shushed him as she walked over to a map pinned to the wall with a few daggers. She grabbed a red ink bottle and began marking the map with her finger.
Zelda noted that Impa drew a large red circle around a large and empty portion of the map to the west with a question mark in the center. Tyto shook his head again. This time Impa’s voice grew louder. She walked towards Tyto and pushed an envelope into his hands. There was a long pause as Impa stared sternly at Tyto, her arm pointed back towards the map. Tyto sighed and walked towards the balcony door. He glanced back one more time, with a sad look in his eyes.
Tyto paused and squinted at the door. He said something quietly before he opened the door and flew away. Suddenly Impa whipped her entire body around towards the door and squinted. Zelda quietly gasped as she stood up and ran down the hallway, with Paige following shortly behind her.
Neither girl looked back as they sprinted down the hallways, their knuckles white around their shoes. Their skirts danced and trailed behind the girls like trails of smoke, and their eyes grew wider the longer they ran through the endlessly empty hallways of Hyrule Castle.
It wasn’t until the girls reached the center room that they stopped. They gazed around the large rectangular room towards the balcony and its twin staircases that curved towards them. Zelda quickly glanced at the entrance, a doorway that could fit several Gorons stacked on top of each other, only to see that it was empty. Both girls let out a sigh.
“We should keep going,” Zelda panted out.
“But… where?” Paige took a deep breath between each world.
“Impa, she probably took the hidden passageways. We should go to a crowded room.” Zelda attempted to smirk while still catching her breath.
The two girls stood up straight and both brushed down their skirts. They patted their hair and organized and loose fly aways before they calmly walked down one of the many doorways located within the main entrance. It was a walk both girls knew well, and before they knew it they arrived in front of a series of simple wooden doors inside of the lower courtyard. With one glance away from the doors and past the pillars, a series of crumpled and broken fighting dummies stared blankly into the sky.
Zelda selected a random door and knocked. She waited with baited breath as the ruckus and noise inside the room came to a halt. Slowly the door cracked open to reveal a young soldier in training, his face covered in bruises.
“Can we come in?” Zelda asked with the most posh accent she could muster up.
The young soldier nodded quickly before he opened the door to a room full of young soldiers covered in bruises and holding ice packs.
“What happened here?” Zelda asked.
“Uhm.” The soldier at the door responded. “We kinda had a little toss up after training. You know, wanted to keep fighting after training was done.”
“That’s not good.” Paige interrupted and stepped into the room. Her curly blond hair danced around her face. “All good soldiers of Hyrule should know that rest is important. You never know when disaster could strike, and you all would be useless and out of stamina at your current state.” Paige glanced back at Zelda and blushed as she covered her mouth.
“No, you’re right.” Zelda calmly replied. “Rest and stamina are just as important as being strong and—” Zelda glanced over to one of the many bunk beds and saw a soldier sitting in bed reading. “You should all take example of your friend over there. Knowledge is also as important as strength.”
A soldier with gorgeous wavy blond hair stepped forward and laughed. “Oh of course you would tell us to be like Owin, soldier prodigy extraordinaire.”
Owin glanced up from his book. “Maybe if you actually did anything other than punch everything in your path maybe you could get somewhere in your training Roul.”
Roul glared and bared his teeth towards Owin. “Stuck up little punk.”
“I’m just telling the truth.” Owin looked towards Princess Zelda. “It’s not like I am doing anything different than what I normally do to try and impress the Princess.”
Zelda and Paige both smiled.
Suddenly all of the boys in the room stood up straight and looked past Princess Zelda and towards the door.
“Princess, what are you doing in here?” Impa said as she placed one hand on the shoulder of each girl.
Zelda did not turn around as she stared towards the group of boys. Owin closed his book and watched without standing up. Zelda cleared her throat, “I’m just doing moral check ins like father informed me to do.”
Impa’s grip softened. “That’s very wise of you to follow the king’s orders. Remember to keep doing that so as to not fall into any trouble. I’ve heard of spies infiltrating the castle as of late, and we cannot let anything happen to you.”
“Understood.” Zelda barked out.
Impa let go of Zelda and Paige and disappeared down the corridor. Both girls sighed.
“Anyways,” Roul said. “Owin stop being so pompous and acting like you’re better than the rest of us.”
“I am not doing that.” Owin answered calmly. “I am simply trying to read my book after coming back from my patrol.”
“What book are you even reading?!” Roul shouted a little too loudly for the space he was in.
“Just the history and folklore of Hyrule.” Owin smirked. “I am currently reading about the fairy boy.”
Roul’s eyes grew wide. He immediately whipped his head around the room and stared at every single one of the faces in the room before he shook his head. “Speaking of fairy boys, where your absurdly pale friend of yours?”
“Nivan?” Owin shrugged. “He’s probably in the courtyard answering his letter.”

Nivan sat on the ground in the corner of the courtyard. In front of him a handful of training dummies were piled high enough so that he was sure no one would see or bother him. Carefully, he opened Mystique’s letter and slowly let his eyes read each and every line. After a few minutes, Nivan pulled out a book, quill, and a sheet of paper. He began to write.
Dear Mystique,
It seems that you and Lumina are doing well up in the mountains with the Rito. It’s rather exciting that you get to live in the biggest village of the Rito under the eye of their leader Tyto. I’ve heard that the village is referred to as Medoh after some sort of sage or song from their past.
I hope that you are okay from learning to fly the other day, and hopefully you are okay. It’s interesting that the Rito are developing a way for Hylians to fly. I bet you that maybe even Zora could use it… but a Goron probably not. Once the technology is perfected I wouldn’t mind taking a spring at flying over the field.
Currently in Castle Town the coldness of fall is starting to sneak up on us. We are actually using the scratchy blankets the king first provided us to stay warm. There are still an absurd amount of us crammed into each room, but I hear that soon some of us will be sorted into different housing situations. I bet it must be freezing up in Medoh, so hopefully you have some form of winter coat to keep you warm. Lumina doesn’t provide a lot of warmth if I remember right. Despite it getting colder here, my armor keeps me insanely hot, so it would be nice to be able to get stationed in a nice cold place to not overheat. I think I would melt if they placed me up on Death Mountain. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get stationed in Medoh and we will get to go on more adventures like we used to.
The only person here that we are certain of where they are getting stationed is Owin. I know I have mentioned him a few times through these letters, but he’s definitely become a really good friend. It’s nice to have another soldier in training not wanting to destroy everything in their way like Roul and Link. Anyways… we are all pretty sure that Owin will be appointed Zelda’s personal bodyguard. And, oh boy was Link jealous, his face turned the same shade of red as his hair. No one is really sure how someone gets appointed to be Zelda’s knight, but I assume that Zelda has some say, and the King has the final say.
As for my patrols they have been very quiet. I feel like we saw more monsters and creatures during our adventures as kids than I do now as a soldier. Maybe it’s because we are older that we just don’t notice them as much. I’ve heard from your mother that Medoh is one of the safest places in all of Hyrule right now, with little to no monster activity. I’m sure that makes you very bored when you aren’t learning how to fly. If it is such a safe place I doubt any of us will get stationed out there either. The Rito are very on top of keeping their corner of Hyrule safe and monster free… or maybe they are just very good at hiding it.
I am hoping within the next few weeks that I will either get to go on a night patrol through Castle town or an out of town expedition. I wonder how the folks in Salis are doing? I have heard rumors that Queen Rutamina of the Zora has been shipping fish up to them from her domain. Did Gyorg eat all of the fish? And whatever happened to that creature locked away in ice at the domain. Do you think it has escaped through all of the chaos since the Queen… you know.
This letter is getting on the long side for someone who did not have a lot to update you on. I’m hoping that the next letter will be filled with lots of exciting adventures and updates on the status of our home. Oh, your mother and father are doing well by the way. Your mother frequents the castle quiet a bit, and I’ve stopped by Luriken’s shoes to check on your dad. He says that business is slow in Castle Town so he has been traveling a lot to deliver shoes in other towns. He misses his old delivery team a lot. Okay I’m going to end this letter here. Best of luck and stay warm!
-Nivan.

Chapter Text

Chapter Eleven: A Link to the Present

A small white dog frolicked through the empty, dark streets of Castle Town. With a bone in its mouth covered by its scruffy white bread, the dog trotted to a stop in front of one of the few buildings with lights on inside. The glow lazily escaped the windows and into the streets. Despite the warm glow the shadows that chaotically danced between the little yellow squares made it feel cold. A rock shattered one of the windows and flew out into the street. Startled, the little white dog galloped away into the darkness with its bone. 

Nivan walked in his uniform next to Owin down a quiet side street. They both stepped cautiously as their armor loudly clanked and echoed within the silence. Somewhere ahead of them two other figures walked confidently in their loud jangled armor. 

“Do either of you know where our mentor went?” Owin called out. 

“Where he usually goes,” Roul turned back to look at Owin and Nivan. “The night patrol is pretty boring. Just a bunch of drunkards you gotta herd home.’ 

“And how have you been able to go on more night patrols than us?” Owin asked.

“Because we’re better than you.” Roul smirked. 

“Actually it’s because they split us into random shift teams and will switch the shifts after a certain amount of time.” Nivan smiled as he explained. “Though it appears we broke that rule.” 

Link stuck out his tongue. “It’s because you’re both know-it-alls and kiss asses.” 

The four boys turned around a corner and into the warm glow emitting from a single building. Without pausing, Link walked over to the door and pushed it open, with Roul following shortly behind. Both Nivan and Owin shrugged before they entered the building. 

Inside the building was a cacophony and dozens of men and women holding glasses while moving their mouths as they spoke. A set of stairs swirled upstairs to a balcony that held even more people. There was a chandelier in the center of the room, and a very fat cat asleep on the counter. Both Nivan and Owin’s eyes scanned the room to see several Knights of Hyrule slumped into chairs with mugs, including the one that they were supposed to train under. 

A woman with curled and braided orange hair walked over to the corner of the counter closest to the entrance and looked all four boys up and down. Her cheeks were plump and her eyes sparkled underneath a heavy amount of eye shadow. “I think you boys are a little young to be here.” The woman’s voice boomed through the room. 

“We’re just here looking for the knight training us.” Owin responded. Roul and Link rolled their eyes in the background. 

“Well, hun.” The woman tapped her hand on the counter. “You’re not going to get any training for anyone in my bar given the state they are all in.” She turned around and poured liquid into a small square glass before she slid it down the counter. 

“Then what do you suggest we do?” Owin asked. 

The woman smirked. “There’s a dog that keeps harassing my poor Louise. Do you think you can find him and find a way for him to leave my poor girl alone.” The fat cat yawned on the counter. 

Owin went to speak, but was cut off by Nivan. “Sure, anything we need to know about this dog or its owner?” 

The woman smiled warmly. “It’s a little white scruffy dog. I think he used to belong to one of the general store owners, but I’m unsure if she even still lives here.” 

Nivan smiled. “Sounds good. Anything else we need to know?” 

The woman smiled back. “No, that should be it. Maybe try to lure it with a piece of meat or something.” 

“Hey Telma! Can ya pour me another glass?” A customer shouted from across the bar.

“Only if you plan to pay for it,” Telma shouted back. She winked towards the boys before she strode to the other end of the bar. The boys watched as Telma slammed a large glass of amber liquid down in front of a slouched man before they left. 

Outside, the air felt cleaner and cooler compared to the warm sticky air inside the bar. The hum from the inside of the building could still be heard from the quiet street. All four boys stood around and glanced in every direction that they could look. 

“Which way do you think the dog went?” Nivan asked.

Link huffed. “Why did you even ask for a stupid task when we could have just stayed in the bar?!” 

“Don’t you want to help?” Nivan looked down one of the alleys. 

“Not really.” Link rolled his eyes. “She just sent you to do busywork.” 

“If you’re that upset about looking for a dog then just go back inside.” Owin replied. 

Link let out a big sigh. “No, it's too late now. Now Roul and I gotta make sure you two don’t get killed looking for a stupid dog.” 

Roul walked over and put his elbow on Owin’s shoulder. “And you two definitely need us.” 

Nivan crouched down. “If you all want to stop chatting I think I found something.” 

The three other boys rushed over to where Nivan was and looked down at that ground. 

“What are you even looking at?” Roul asked as he squinted. 

“There’s little muddy tracks.” Nivan answered. “Maybe they belong to the dog?”

“Or they don’t.” Link and Roul answered in unison. 

“If you disagree we can split up to try and find the dog faster.” Owin glanced back at the numerous alleyways that scattered out from the street. 

“No.” Link answered instantly. “We gotta make sure you two stay alive so we better work as a group.” 

Nivan stood up and started walking down the alleyway. “Okay, then follow me. We’re trying my idea first.” 

Owin without hesitation followed Nivan down the path. Both Roul and Link stared at each other with a mixture of annoyance and fear before they reluctantly followed. 

The path of the small muddy tracks zig zagged through the street, as if the owner was either dodging something or carrying a large object. Despite its movements, the boys walked mainly in a straight line down the alleyway. Only the light for the moon above was able to guide them as everything else around them was boarded up and dark. 

“Do you think it’s worth trying to train to be a night of Hyrule.” Link asked.

Owin looked back at Link and the red curls protruding from his helmet. “Why would you ask that now?”

“All the soldiers do is get drunk. Castle Town is the emptiest I have ever seen. None of us know what we are actually training or fighting for. The King has said nothing and Impa has swirled stories around the entire kingdom that we are all going to die to the King of Darkness.” Link paused. “So why am I here when I could be raising cuccos in Kakariko or fishing in Jetir or Salis. Maybe I could have even followed your crazy friend with the red eyes to be a mail person.”

“I’m not sure if you would have luck anywhere these days, Link.” Nivan said with his eyes glued onto the ground. “Salis has no fish due to monster infestations. Kakariko deals with landslides off of Death mountain. Jetir is freezing over. Lonlon deals with raiders. Tilton the soil is producing less. Every race of Hyrule is attempting to help each other while the King watches from the Castle… there are still people in Castle Town, they are all just hiding from the inevitable.”

“And what would that be?” Roul asked even though he knew.

“The return of the King.” A voice said.

All four boys stopped in their tracks, their eyes wide. In an opening at the end of the alleyway a figure appeared. 

“You can come near me,” I won’t bite.” The voice said. All four boys drew their swords. 

The figure stood still. Its purple robes bellowed in some sort of breeze that did not exist around anyone else. 

Nivan blinked and suddenly all four boys were at the end of the alleyway within a few feet from the figure. Upon closer inspection Nivan could only see two eyes within a void where a face should be. Something shiny sat above its eyes. 

“Can you take off the hood?” Nivan asked, “so that we can see your face?” 

Carefully two white gloved hands removed the purple hood. Instead of a dark void and two soulless eyes a pale delicate face with wispy blonde hair stared back. Her eyes were green. Roul, Link, and Owin all relaxed at the sight of the face, whereas Nivan took in a sharp breath. 

“See? Just a simple little dweller of Castle Town.” The woman smiled with perfectly normal white teeth. 

Nivan kept his sword by his side while the others had already put theirs away. The woman squinted at Nivan. 

“Oh,” The woman’s mouth twitched. “You don’t believe me do you?”

“Nivan, chill, it's just a lady.” Link said.

“A woman alone in a dark alley at night?” Nivan kept his eyes on the woman. “Can you…” Nivan paused before he began to speak again calmly. “Ma’am why don’t you tell us what you were talking about before we found you here.” 

The woman smirked. “All I said was the return of the King. I was merely answering your friend’s question as I walked home from the bar.”

“But which king,” Nivan said slowly. 

“You know.” The woman swished her skirt about. “The King.” 

“Of Darkness.” Owin said in the background. 

“Oh so she’s one of Impa’s believers.” Roul said instinctively. 

“Ma’am have you seen a little scruffy white dog around here?” Link asked nonchalantly. 

The woman tilted her head and stared at each of the boys. “You lot seem like a mixed bag.” She chuckled. 

A little white scruffy dog barked from behind the woman. Its ears pointed straight into the night sky as it hunched its body to growl.

“Oh thank the goddesses there’s the dog.” Link sighed relief as he attempted to walk past the woman and towards the dog. “Now we can go back and grab a drink.”

Link stopped in his tracks and gasped. A cough escaped his mouth and blood trickled down his lips. His eyes grew wide as he slowly looked down. 

All of the boys glanced at Link’s stomach where the woman’s hand went completely through his body. 

No one spoke. They all just watched. 

As if time went dramatically back into motion the woman ripped her arm out from Link’s body and he collapsed onto the ground. The woman just merely smiled. 

“Ah.” The woman said after a moment of silence. The boys continued to stare down at Link’s body as she spoke. “There’s too many young boys named Link in Hyrule these days.” She held a flickering orb in her hand and scowled. “I was hoping that a young boy named Link training to be a knight in Hyrule would have been a contender, but looks like this one was a dud.” 

Roul screamed, tears flowed down his face. 

“Ah.” The woman smiled, her teeth now looked a little sharper. “I have to dispose of all of you don’t I? How fun.” She lifted her bloody hand in the air. Her glove was now missing to reveal a long bone hand with pointed finger tips. 

Nivan dropped his sword and quickly dug his hands into his bag. Without a second thought he flung a bottle into the woman’s face. 

Blood curdling screams filled the alleyway as Nivan picked up his sword and ran. Owin and Roul followed shortly behind along with one scruffy little dog. 

None of the boys looked back as they ran back into the Castle Courtyard. None of them bothered to slow down as they barreled down the hallways of the castle. And, none of them bothered to stop and say hello to a very confused Princess Zelda as they ran by. 

Eventually the three boys entered their bedroom and crashed onto the floor. The other soldiers-to-be all peered out at them from the comfort of their beds before going back to sleep. 

Roul’s eyes were still wide as he stared at his shaking hand. “Holy Hylia Link…” He couldn’t finish the sentence. 

Owin sighed. “Do you think she…” 

“No,” Nivan answered. “She would have caught us by now.” 

All three boys shudder.

“What did you even throw at her?” Owin asked. 

“Holy water.” Nivan answered a little too casually. 

“What?” Roul’s voice shaked. “Why were you carrying holy water?! Where did you even get something like that?”

“There’s a sacred spring in the castle. It’s the one Princess Zelda uses to strengthen her bond with the goddesses.” Nivan said. 

“You threw Zelda’s dirty bath water at a woman.” Roul’s voice cracked. “Did you—”

“No, I did not see her naked. Now isn't the time to ask something like that.” Nivan whispered. “We have bigger issues on our hands.” 

“How did you know to throw the holy water?” Owin asked. 

“She was some sort of demon… wasn’t it obvious?” A tone of confusion danced in Nivan’s voice. 

“Well, yeah, after she killed Link. But even before she did anything you stayed tense.” Owin shrugged.

Nivan looked down to see Owin’s hands were also shaking. “Did you not see…” Nivan paused. “What did you see when she pulled down her hood?” 

“A normal Hylian face.” Owin answered. Roul nodded in agreement. 

“That’s not what I saw.” Nivan looked up. “I saw a face of decaying flesh and bone.” 

“Why didn’t you say that back then!” Roul’s voice cracked again. 

Nivan’s voice shook. “Because I didn’t want to aggravate her. I wasn’t sure what she wanted or what she was capable of. If I said something we could all be dead instead of just—”

A bark came from inside of the room. All three boys turned to look at the scruffy white dog with blood stained paws in the middle of the room. 

“I guess we have a dog now.” Nivan whispered. 

The desert air felt dry and hot as Mystique glided high in the air. Beside her, Abony flapped her wings to keep an even pace. Behind the girls the mountain range looked like jagged little hills the farther that they flew away. Somewhere behind the mountains, the tip of Rito village could be seen as only a speck. 

In front of the girls there was only the large expanse of sand and dunes. To the East and West tall flat mountains could be seen. Not a cloud was in the sky. 

“How much farther do you think until we reach the oasis?” Mystique asked. She wore goggles around her eyes and a scarf around her nose and mouth.

“Hmmmm” Abony squinted her eyes. “Ty said to look for a cluster of palm trees, but I don’t see any yet.” 

“Isn’t there supposed to be a city?” Mystique asked, her voice extra muffled this time. 

“Yes, but it’s easier to see the green from the trees versus the buildings the same color as sand.” Abony continued to scan the horizon. “We may want to glide a little closer to the ground; we may be too high up.”

“Is there a sand cloud in the way?” Mystique tilted her head forward and looked down. 

“There may be.” Abony answered. “But we also have to be cautious of the Helmaroc King if we fly too close.” 

Mystique’s muffled voice jumped up an octave out of excitement. “What’s the Helmaroc King?!”

“It’s the Gerudo Chief’s patrol bird. They use it to keep any men or Hylians out of their city.” Abony looked over at Mystique. “Which may be a problem given that you are a Hylian.” 

“Just means we have to be extra sneaky right?” Mystique laughed. “Is it true that Medoh is one of the safest places in all of Hyrule?”

“Where did you hear something like that?” Abony raised an eyebrow.

“From the letter I got from Nivan a few weeks back. He’s mentioned it a few times in letters actually.” Mystique said. 

Abony began to descend closer to the ground. “Well, I guess so if you are comparing it to Hyrule field. A lot of monsters have an easier time with flat terrain vs the mountains. We have our own monsters too, we just have a lot more space to share and avoid them.” 

Mystique followed suit and began to slowly descend closer to the ground as well. Sweat glistened against her forehead. “I actually miss the cold from the mountains right now. How can anyone live out in this heat?”

Abony laughed. “It will get cold once the sun sets, don't worry. The Gerudo also have clothes equipped to deal with the heat that is a lot better than what we could provide you.”

“Do you think that there are a lot of monsters down in the desert?”

“I’m not sure, but probably more than the mountains.” 

“What do you have for monsters in the mountains?”

“Mostly flying creatures like Keese, Aerocudas, Kargaroks, and the occasional flying Octorok… maybe a wizzrobe.” 

“That sounds like a lot.” 

“Well on Hyrule field there are Bokoblins, Moblins, Lizalfoes, Octoroks, more Wizzrobes, Deku Babas, Gibdos, Wallmasters, Peahats, more Keese, Skulltulas, Stalfoes, Lynels, Darknuts, Poes, and many many more.” 

“Wow, yeah that is a lot.” 

Abony sighed. “Yeah it is. Every area of Hyrule has their own enemies to deal with, but nothing compares to the field. I’ve even heard of bigger enemies hidden within the field ready to strike unsuspecting travelers.” 

“There’s also these skeleton creatures that come out at night and run up against Castle Town’s walls.” Mystique said casually. 

“What?” Abony said confused. “There’s what?”

“Is that not a normal thing?” Mystique asked now confused.

“Not really. It’s nothing I have ever heard of happening in Castle Town.” 

As the two girls continued to soar lower into the sky, neither of them noticed the large shadow which flew above them until it was too late. Swiftly and quietly the Helmaroc King scooped the girls in its talons and began to flap its massive indigo wings towards a large sand cloud in the middle of the desert. With one giant flap, a gust of air moved the cloud to reveal a forest of palm trees decorated on top of many flat roofed buildings. 

Abony’s eyes went wide as she looked between the city that appeared before them and the massive bird, which held them delicately as it descended onto a large flat roof with no palm trees. A symbol was painted on top of this roof in orange paint, and at the point of the symbol a tall muscular woman stood. 

The Helmaroc King floated several feet in the air before it casually dropped Mystique and Abony off onto the roof. It waited until both girls rolled out of the way before it landed itself. As if on cue, the Helmaroc King opened its mouth and swallowed a large piece of meat that the woman threw its way. It cawed and fluttered its wings as it swallowed the meat down its gullet. 

Mystique looked up towards the sky to see the woman now towered over her. 

“Both of you please get up.” The Gerudo woman said sternly. 

As both Mystique and Abony stood up, several more Gerudo women appeared with spears pointed towards them.

“State your business here.” The same woman said again. 

“We’re here to deliver mail.” Abony said as she shuffled through her mail bag to pull out a few letters. 

“And what about the Hylian?” One of the Gerudo guards asked. 

“She’s also here to deliver mail.” Abony answered. “She’s still training, and I thought it would be a good idea to bring her along to keep me company for this delivery.” 

“Take off your goggles.” The original Gerudo woman said towards Mystique. Without a second thought, Mystique removed her goggles and revealed her bright red eyes to the crowd. 

All of the Gerudo guards took a step back and raised their spears higher. 

The Gerudo woman grimaced. “Take this one to the dungeon.”

“What!” Both Abony and Mystique answered. 

Both girls stood still as a single guard grabbed Mystique and carried her away down a flight of stairs. Everyone on the roof watched until Mystique was fully out of view, and they all let out a sigh of relief. 

The Gerudo woman turned towards Abony. “Follow me.” She said and descended a set of stairs on the opposite side of the roof. Everyone followed. 

Mystique sat on a pile of sand inside of a prison cell. She kicked her feet back and forth, which created little dashes and patterns within the floor. Her face scarf by this point had slid down to around her neck, and her face itself had slumped into her hands. 

Inside the cell itself, the only Mystique had noticed was sand and a small wooden plank that dangled from the ceiling by two metal chains. There was no window, and no one in any of the cells she could see from her own. 

“What did I even do to deserve jail time?” Mystique muttered. 

“Well kid, I am sure there are a lot of things from your past.” Lumina said from inside Mystique's pocket. “Like that time you trespassed. Or the time you went out past curfew. That time you kidnapped the princess of the Zoras. You know, there’ s plenty to work with here.” 

“Yeah but the Gerudo know none of that.” Mystique whined. “They didn’t even ask my name. They just saw my eyes and arrested me.” 

“Maybe they don’t like red eyes?” Lumina suggested. 

“That’s stupid. It’s just an eye color.” Mystique answered. 

“And how many people do you know with red eyes?” 

“Well mother has red eyes. So does Impa, and my old teacher Pom.” Mystique paused. “And some of those folks wandering around Hyrule Castle have red eyes too.” 

“And what do all those people have in common?” Lumina asked. 

Mystique sat and pondered in the silence of the dungeon. Lumina bobbed around the room as she waited for an answer until no answer came at all, and instead footsteps could be heard emitting from somewhere within the dungeon. Eventually the original Gerudo woman stood in front of the cell with Abony slightly behind her. 

The woman, Mystique now noticed, wore a crown wrapped around her head with colorful warm toned jewels. A broad-collared gold necklace decorated her chest, which matched her crown. Her hair was placed into a high bun, with several curls of red hair framed around her face.

“You’re lucky that Tyto thought ahead.” The woman spoke and held up a piece of paper.

Mystique squinted as she read the official document to release her from jail signed by Tyto. She chuckled. “Wow how could he have known you would do that Ms..?”

“Kanchana.” Kanchana answered. “Now please follow me upstairs so that I can be a better host.” 

As Mystique followed Kanchana upstairs, she looked back into the dungeon to see a single skeletal hand that reached out from one of the cells further down. She shuddered. 

Above ground the streets of Gerudo town many tan red-headed women in cloaks and scarves bustled around the streets. Some carried baskets filled with fruit while others herded strange pig-like creatures through town. A cluster of little girls chased each other around a grove of palm trees in the center of town. From somewhere high up water fell and ran through little canals into a large pool in the center of the grove. Music could be heard being played somewhere softly in the distance. 

Kanchana led the girls up a set of large stairs guarded by half a dozen Gerudo guards. Mystique looked up towards the roof of the building to see the Helmaroc King perched and watching her as they entered the building. 

Inside the building more water poured down from the ceiling and into more little canals that led outside. A single throne decorated with the same orange symbol sat in the center of the room. A skinny boy with orange hair peaked out from behind the chair, curiosity plastered across his face as Kanchana, Mystique, and Abony entered. 

“You do not need to hide Levis” Kanchana stated. 

The boy emerged from behind the chair and awkwardly watched. He wore a scarab around a chain and his hair was messily pulled into a ponytail. Two brass bracelets wrapped around his arms with the Gerudo symbol sketched onto them, and his pants looked too baggy as he shifted his body weight. His eyes, Mystique noted, were gold. 

“I apologize for arresting you,” Kanchana said as she sat down onto her throne. “But a mother must always be cautious to protect her child.” She gestured towards Levis who immediately looked in another direction. 

“I thought the Gerudo were all women?” Mystique asked, confused. She glanced over at Levis again and noted that he was most likely closer to her age than she initially thought. 

“Correct.” Kanchana answered. “The Gerudo have only ever received one male born every hundred years, or so the legend goes.” She paused. “Most times though in myths and legends the Demon King takes that slot.” Kanchan placed her head in her hand. “Imagine spending all the time carrying a child you will love unconditionally and instead you release a monster onto this land accidentally.” 

“But He doesn’t look evil?” Mystique responded still confused. 

“Trust me, I know.” Kanchana answered. “When Levis was born not a bone in my body worried that he would one day be taken away by the witches of the desert and be dubbed the Demon King.” Kancha looked over at Levis again. “But truthfully that legend had never been too much of a worry for us until your Queen died. We hadn’t seen anything about the Demon King since the last big war centuries ago.” Kanchana stared back at Mystique. “But when your Queen died, and Impa saw my son at the ceremony, something clicked inside her. Ever since that day, someone I used to call a close friend has sent assassins to my lovely city of Booru’an.” Kanchana paused again. “All for my son. All because of a myth and not because of facts.” 

Mystique awkwardly laughed. “Well I uh, I’m just a mail person. I don’t work for lady Impa at all.”

“Really?” Kanchana raised her eyebrow. “That’s strange for someone of your kind.”

“A Hylian?” Mystique asked. 

“A Sheikah.” Kanchana said bluntly. 

“No?” Mystique answered. “Why would I be a Sheikah if my hair isn’t white.” 

“Who are your parents?” Kanchana asked. 

“Saffron and Cerise Luriken.” Mystique answered. 

“Your mother is a Sheikah. I used to work with her back when we were younger.” Kanchana smiled. “I guess she didn’t want you to know that though.” 

Mystique pondered for a moment. “You know, it kinda makes sense. She always worked nights.” Mystique’s eyes went wide. “Did my mother try to assassinate your son?!” 

“No.” Kanchana answered. “I doubt she would want to do that as a mother herself.” 

Kanchana stood up and walked over to a dresser in the back of the room and pulled out a little square. She walked towards Mystique and handed it to her. 

Inside the square was a picture of a much younger Kanchana holding a small child bundled up in layers of blankets. Next to Kanchana a much younger version of Mystique’s mother stood holding a red eyed and bald baby with a little blue pacifier in her mouth. 

“You didn’t have hair back then.” Kanchana said. “You look like both your parents so I apologize again for not recognizing you and thinking you were just a simple Sheikah soldier working for Impa.” 

Abony peered over to look at the photo. “Wow, Hylian babies are chunky. Do you remember this photo?” 

“I must have been only a year old in this photo.” Mystique stared at the picture before she looked up at Levis. “So that means you’re 14?” 

“Just about.” Kanchana answered. “Levis hasn’t been talking a lot lately given the gravity of the situation. He might not trust you given…” Kachana pointed at Mystique’s eyes. 

Mystique sighed and lowered her head.

“You have done a lot of apologizing today Kamchana.” Abony said. “We don’t want to overstay our welcome, and can go find the nearest place to rest.” 

Kamchana took the photograph and walked over to the dresser. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and jotted something quickly down. Casually, she handed the piece of paper to Mystique. “Show this to the innkeeper or else they aren’t going to let you stay the night. We are all extremely protective of Levis.”

Mystique grabbed the paper and nodded. Carefully, the two girls exited the throne room and emerged back outside into the bustling city of Booru’an. By now the sun had started to set over the flat mountains to the west, and a cool breeze crept between the palm trees. Mystique shivered as she walked down the steps and into the main plaza. Vendors still sat on their mats under tarps selling various goods and wares that ranged from more fruit to expensive and pretty jewelry. 

“I should get someone for Nivan.” Mystique said as she stared at all of the booths. 

“What would you get him?” And with what money?” Abony followed Mystique’s gaze towards a rather expensive looking shop. 

“Something small.” Mystique stepped up and stared down at several amulets at a jewelry stall. 

“Those amulets are excellent for any fighter you know.” The vendor said as she homed in on a potential sale. “Each one has a special ability that helps the wearer.” 

“Sounds fake.” Abony said. 

“Do any of these help against evil spirits?” Mystique asked.

“Ah,” the vendor smiled and held up a little purple amulet. “This amulet keeps away monsters for the low low price of…” The vendor looked Mystique up and down. “600 rupees.” 

“Mystique, you don’t have 600 rupees.” Abony shouted.

Mystique dug into her wallet and handed over 600 rupees. The vendor smiled and handed over the amulet. 

“Where did you get 600 rupees?!” Abony asked, shocked. 

“Frog gambling,” Mystique casually replied as she headed down the closest side street. 

Abony shook her head as she followed down the street. The little pitter patter of her feet echoed down the alleyway. Behin Abony, even quieter steps followed them.

When the girls entered the inn, they hastily handed over Kanchana’s note to the innkeeper, and were guided up a set of simple sandstone stairs and into one small roon. Two cots sat on the floor, and a large rectangular window overlooked the street outside. As the sun set over the buildings, the vendors below began to pack up their goods and shuffled away to their own homes. A few of the Gerudo vendors walked past the gates towards a round creature with tusks, and rode away. 

Mystique sat and stared out the window towards the scenes below her with a glisten in her eye. Abony perched next to her and peered over the edge of the window. Her eyes narrowed before they suddenly widened and she gasped. Curious, Mystique peered down the inn’s wall. 

Levis clung to the wall. Mystique was unsure what or even how he was holding on to the wall, but there he was. He wore a sheepish smile as he stayed frozen against the wall. 

“Did you follow us here?” Abony exclaimed. 

Without an answer, Levis climbed the rest of the wall and swung his legs over the window and into the room. He ruffled his hair with his hand before he eventually nodded. 

“Can you even speak?” Abony raised an eyebrow. 

“No.” Levis said sarcastically back.

“Okay smart guy, why did you follow us?” Abony crossed her wings against her chest.

Levis shrugged. A long pause of silence filled the room. “I wanted to talk more.” 

“Why did you talk earlier?” Mystique asked. She noticed the Gerudo symbol was painted onto his back. 

“I was embarrassed.” Another long pause hung in the air. “It’s embarrassing having your mom talk about you like that.” 

“I wouldn’t be embarrassed over that.” Mystique tried to sound reassuring. “She’s just extremely worried about keeping you safe.” 

Levis sighed. “Still embarrassing that I can’t protect myself yet.” He blinked a few times. “I remember your mom, she used to visit all the time… she’s very nice.” 

Mystique pondered for a moment. “This must be where she went on trips.”

“She always said that she’d bring you again, but after your Queen,” Levis imitated a knife sliding across his neck. “She hasn’t come back, and every Sheikah wants me also,” Levis repeated the motion. 

“Maybe all of this will stop soon so that she can visit again.” Mystique said, sounding hopeful. 

“So long as the King of Darkness potentially exists, that won't happen.” Abony interjected. “Ty talks about it a lot. The relationship between the Rito and the Sheikah have also been strained since your Queen died. We try to keep the peace and stay neutral, but Lady Impa is hard to bargain against.” Abony looked over at Levis, “but I think almost everyone is against the idea of murdering a child for the sake of mythology save for her… it’s already causing a rift with us. I’m not sure who else Lady Impa will have if she keeps behaving like this.” 

“Guess we’ll have to go find the King of Darkness soon.” Mystique said.

Levis looked wide towards Mystique. 

“What?” Abony said.

“Well how hard could it be? Everything is getting worse, so he must be out and about ready to be found.”

“Mystique, that's not how that works.” Abony sighed. “According to Ty, Lady Impa has been looking for this demon since before we were born. How can you find him by yourself?”

Mystique shrugged. “We can find a way.” 

Levis awkwardly smiled again as he started to climb out the window. “Thanks.” He said before he jumped down and disappeared silently into one of the side streets. 

“Wait,” Abony looked slowly over at Mystique. “What do you mean we?”

“You’re going to help aren’t you?” Mystique answered. “And I can ask Nivan for updates, and I am sure we can get Egan and Rudi to help. Maybe Gonzo and Hammada will help too?” Mystique looked into her pocket, “And Lumina will help too.” 

Abony raised an eyebrow. “That’s still not the size of an entire secret Sheikah team.”

“It doesn’t need to be.” Mystique said casually. “We just need to gain enough evidence that Levis isn’t the Demon King, and then Impa will leave him alone.”

Abony walked over to a cot and laid down. She closed her eyes. “We can talk about this more on the flight back. Make sure the fans in your glider aren’t clogged from the sand.” 

Mystique nodded before she pulled the long wooden pole off of her back. Carefully, as she opened it up, two small circular fans emerged along with the glider’s fabric. She traced the grooves and indents of the fans with her finger and yawned. Mystique slid to the ground and rested her head against the wall, the glider still fully opened in her lap. 

King Suehprom Patroclus stood over the bloody body of Link in broad daylight. Several guards patrolled the area as well as stood guard against any and all entrances to the area. Two guards stood immediately next to the King of Hyrule in silence. 

“This is the fifth Link this month.” King Suehprom Patroclus muttered out loud. 

“The seventh actually,” One of the guards answered.

“Thank you, Percival.” The King responded. “So, seven Links. Do we have any other Links working or training as knights in Castle Town?” 

“There’s about fifteen that I can think of off the top of my head sir.” The other guard answered.

“Thank you Arthur.” The King paused. “Goddesses above there are so many Links. Why do so many people keep naming their kid that name?”

Percival and Arthur both went to answer, but were stopped by their King. 

“I know the answer, but thank you both.” He responded. “Have all of the Links working in the Castle transferred to different towns and cities within the week.”

“Understood my King,” both guards answered.

All three figures looked back down at the body on the ground. Link’s eyes were still open as they looked up towards the grey clouds in the sky. The rest of his body slumped and bent in uncomfortable angles on the ground. The middle of his body, through the chainmail and armor, was the gaping and bloody hole. Over time, the blood had filled the crater and had leaked onto the surrounding area. 

“Was this Link alone?” The King asked. 

“No,” Percival answered. “This Link was on patrol with three other knights in training.”

“Are they alive?” The King asked.

“Yes.” Percival answered again. “All are alive and currently resting within the castle.”

“What have they been saying?” The King looked back towards Percival and Arthur. 

“Well,” Arthur began. “They have been saying that it was a demon who killed him. Potentially someone who worked for the Demon King himself.” 

“That’s impossible.” The King huffed. “The Demon King doesn’t exist. It must be some Impa believer going around causing these murders.” 

Both guards looked down at the hole in Link’s chainmail. 

“Have those three knights shipped out to different towns too. I can’t have them spreading rumors like this to others.” 

“I’m sorry my King, but that is not entirely possible,” Arthur responded. “Two of the knights, Owin and Nivan, have been chosen by Zelda to be her royal knights.”

“What?!” The King almost shouted. He took a deep breath. “Tell my daughter that she must choose a different knight and, wait,” the King paused. “You said two names, she only needs one knight.” 

“Princess Zelda requested a second knight to be for Paige.” Percival answered. 

“Paige isn’t allowed to have a knight.” The King said bluntly. 

“According to Princess Zelda, your late wife Queen Kassandra left specific instructions for Paige to also receive a royal knight.” Arthur said. 

“My wife did not inform me of this.” The King looked down at the body. “Tell Zelda to choose two different knights they can’t stay.”

“Well,” Percival began, “my King, I think that would be an unwise decision.”

“Both boys have scored the highest out of any other knight in training and are diligent to the tasks they are assigned. It would be a waste to send them elsewhere.” Arthur continued. 

“Your daughter would be safest with them. And besides, it might be easy to convince them to just keep their mouths shut.” Percival finished. 

“Hm,” the King thought. “What are their backgrounds to be so good and qualified for this role.” 

“You requested that Zelda gain a younger knight, so she looked at the pool being trained.” Percival said. “They may not outperform some of your more experienced knights, but they have the guts and the stamina of a youth. 

“Owin is from Kakariko and the grandson of Dampe the gravedigger. His father is a knight that was stationed in Kakariko village, and he has been training since a very young age.” Arthur said.

“As for Nivan, his records are a little more blank. He showed up in Castle Town at the age of six and was raised by Cerise and Saffron Luriken. Nonetheless, he is still rather good with a sword and is level headed. Owin stated that Nivan was the reason they did not suffer the same fate as their friend Link.” Percival said. 

“The shoe maker?” The King said before he shook his head. “Keep a close eye on both of them for the next few weeks after you talk to them. If they flub up I want them removed from Castle Town without warning. As for the third boy, send him off along with the Links.” 

Both guards nodded.

Dear Nivan, 

It’s been a crazy past couple of weeks here in Medoh. Tyto did confirm that is where I am residing. There is also Reval, Quillan, and Valoo for towns in the area. All of them are very cold, and I have had to keep buying warmer and warmer clothes as we get closer and closer to winter. 

You might have guessed before you opened this letter, but Lumina has asked to live with you for a little bit. She said that the cold was getting to her, and that she misses Castle Town. I told her that you said Castle Town is like a ghost town, but she said that she didn’t mind. 

I am also enclosing a little gift that I bought you while on one of my mail delivery adventures. My mail adventures aren’t as glamorous as our old ones, but they are still pretty fun. I bet that your patrols are like a different kind of fun as well. The weirdest part of my mail runs is that I am flying a lot more than running. Heron adjusted my glider so now it has little fans to propel me higher into the air when I take off from the ground. I tested it a few times at the foot of the mountain Medoh is on before I got to use it out in the Gerudo desert.

Oh! Right! I went about a week ago to the Gerudo town of Booru’an for a mail delivery and I got put in jail. It turns out that the Gerudo chief Kanchana has a son who keeps almost getting assassinated by the Sheikah. Kachana said that one Gerudo is born a male every one-hundred years, and that the Demon King was once a Gerudo male. I think Levis (that’s his name) is innocent. But I am now on a mission to find a way to prove to Ms. Impa that Levis is innocent. If you hear or see anything in Castle Town can you let me know? I’m sorry that I haven’t written back to your last letter in a bit, but being out in the desert took up a few days and I didn’t bring anything to write to you with. 

Lumina is also coming with you to be another set of eyes and ears to figure out more on the whereabouts of you know who as well. It’s a lot to put in a letter. I hope you don’t mind. But! To make things easier and safer for you, the gift that I put in this letter is supposed to protect the wearer from darkness and evil. Abony says that it’s a piece of garbage, but better safe than sorry am I right? 

Have you been assigned to a new station yet? I remember you saying that would be soon and that Owin was going to be the royal knight of the Princess. That’s exciting! I hope that you get to be stationed closer to here so that we can hangout more again. 

Have Roul and Link been nicer to you? I remember you writing that they still weren’t the nicest to you when you all joined knight training, but they better be nicer since you kicked their butts so many times in combat. It would be funny if they got stationed at Death Mountain or something, but they both might enjoy that. Hmmmm, there are so many things you will have to tell me in your next letter. I’m so excited to hear from you and…

One more thing. I found out that my mother was apparently a Sheikah, Which means that I am part Sheikah. That’s wild right? Kinda weird how I found this out from Kanchana while in Gerudo jail, but I probably should have been able to put two and two together. Oh well! 

-Mystique

Chapter Text

Chapter Twelve: Royal Duties

Several beams of sunlight danced through the large windows of the ballroom of Hyrule Castle. Many long pennants, bearing the symbols of each of the races of Hyrule decorated the walls between the windows. A little stage no more than two feet existed at the front of the stage where the King of Hyrule sat on a heavily decorated throne. No pennant hung behind the throne as the King took a sip from his goblet and watched the massive crowd pile into the room. Despite the room’s size, there seemed to be little space for anyone to move around.

Nivan stood somewhere in the crowd, next to Owin and dressed in his clunky training armor. Loud bangs and crashes filled the air as all of the soldiers in training fumbled about the back of the room. From where Nivan stood, it was hard to see anything over the waves of knights and their increasingly decorated and feathered helmets grew in size the closer they were to the stage. 

All around him, Nivan could only hear the murmuring of the other soldiers as they all gazed towards the front of the ballroom. Somewhere, if Nivan squinted, he thought he could see the King take another swig from his cup. 

“Welcome future knights of Hyrule.” The King’s voice boomed. “Today it is a special day for those of you who have trained with us for the last six months or longer. It’s time for some of you to be assigned to your new stations.” 

Murmurs echoed through the crowd. From within Nivan’s helmet something laughed. 

“Wonder where they’ll put you kid,” Lumina whispered from within the helmet. 

Nivan shushed her. 

“As you know, about a month or so ago, some of your fellow knights in training, and a few established ones, received their assignments early. I, as King of Hyrule, saw it fit to send those early as they had proved their merit at that time.” 

“Weren’t all of them named Link?” Lumina whispered.

“Roul also was sent off to Death Mountain,” Owin whispered into the helmet.

Nivan shushed them both. 

“Some of you, like those knights, may be sent off to far off towns and places scattered within Hyrule. While others may be present here in Castle Town, or stay within the Castle Walls themselves.” The King paused. “I King Suehprom Patroclus of Hyrule will oversee the assignments as my royal guard Percival and our beloved Queen’s royal guard Arthur read out the assignments.” 

One of the guards stepped forward. Nivan assumed it was Percival from the feather on his helmet. “Thank you my King, but before we begin, we thought we would let your daughter, Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule announce her royal knight first.” 

Nivan could not see the Princess from where she stood on the stage, but her voice rang clear through the increasing cacophony of the crowd. 

“Hello my valiant knights of Hyrule.” She began, her voice cracked ever so slightly. “Today, I Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule am past the age of 17, an age where I am now in need of one of you to follow and protect me. This was a long and hard process to decide who will stand by my side throughout my life. I—”

“We all already know it’s going to be Owin.” Someone from the crowd shouted. Many shushes escaped into the open air of the ballroom. 

Somewhere on the stage, Zelda waited quietly for the shushing to stop. Once silence eventually filled the room again, she cleared her throat. “Yes, to cut my speech short, the knight chosen by myself with my father’s approval is Owin of Kakariko. Owin please try to make your way to the stage.” 

Nivan glanced over at Owin. Owin shugged and placed a sheepish smile on his face before her slowly sifted through the crowd in his clunk armor. Some knights moved out of Owin’s way while others intentionally blocked his path from the back of the room. 

“While Owin makes his way up,” Princess Zelda spoke. “I have another announcement.” 

The crowd murmured again. 

“In my mother's final days, she wrote many things down.” Zelda began. “One thing in particular was for Paige to also be assigned a knight to protect her.” 

The room suddenly grew loud with shouts that varied from anger to pure confusion. 

“Will the housekeeper also get a knight?!” Someone from the crowd shouted. 

“Let your Princess speak!” Both Arthur and Percival shouted into the crowd, and suddenly the crowd became quiet. 

“Paige and I discussed who to choose as her knight.” Zelda paused. “This was an extremely unordinary situation to be placed into, and with much debate I let her choose herself with the assurance that she would choose a faithful and valiant knight. Paige, like myself, has watched all of the new recruits train as well as all of the older knights work since we were young. When Paige brought forth the name of the person she chose she gave these reasons.” Zelda cleared her throat. “They are someone who is patient and resilient. They find time to work to be the best that they can be, but there is a softer side to them as they spend time diligently reading and writing whatever they can find in the palace library. I have heard good words about their character from Lady Impa as well as from Tyto of the Rito and Princess Rudi of the Zora. At one point I found them at the sacred springs within the castle praying to goddess Hylia, which also proves their faith in higher powers…” 

Nivan’s eyes grew wide as he processed what Princess Zelda said up on the stage. 

“I have faith that the knight in training that I have chosen to become one by my side will bring myself as well as Princess Zelda good fortune in the upcoming years as Hyrule is brought back to a better state.” Zelda paused. “It is with my honor that I inform the knights of Hyrule that Nivan of…” there was another pause before Zelda spoke again confused, “of Luriken’s Shoes to be the royal knight of Paige.” 

Nivan watched as all of the knights around him turned back and stared holes into his helmet. Slowly Nivan shuffled through the crowd, his armor clunked and clanged against the others. As he shifted through the crowd, he noticed the closer he got to the stage, the nicer and more well fitting the knights’ armors were. By the time he reached the stage, the soldier at the very front had grown long beards and hosted several badges on their chest plates. 

On top of the stage, Zelda’s piercing blue eyes stared down and into his icy blue eyes. Her hair was put up into an up-do, with several brown strands delicately curled around her face as an accent. She wore a long pale purple dress with bronze armored shoulder pads. A bronze belt hung around her waist, and a piece of fabric that donned the Hylian crest rested in the center of her skirt.  She wore a serious expression on her face, and slowly extended her hand out towards Nivan in the sea of soldiers.

Behind Zelda, Paige delicately bounced up and down on her feet with a large grin on her face to match her bright blue eyes. Her curly blonde hair was attempted to be placed into a neat up-do but had already chaotically tumbled around her face in a wild and beautiful way. She wore a light blue dress with a triforce necklace around her neck. 

As Nivan grabbed Zelda’s hand to get onto the stage, he glanced over at Owin, who nervously shifted back and forth on his feet. The stares of the soldiers in the crowd could still be felt piercing Nivan’s armor. 

“Now that both of you are here.” Princess Zelda began with a small smile on her face. “Now we can formally knight you.”

Nivan glanced down and noticed the rather large sword in Zelda’s other hand. He made a face towards both girls that caused Paige to laugh and Zelda to raise an eyebrow. Owin stepped forward before Zelda and bowed. Cautiously, she raised the sword and placed it against each of Owin’s shoulders. As she did this motion, Zelda spoke something in ancient Hylian, a serious expression glazed across her face. 

Once she placed the sword down and Owin walked away, Princess Zelda’s eyes yet again bored into Nivan’s soul. Slowly he kneeled before her, and just like with Owin, she repeated the same steps. Nivan paid attention to the wooden paneling of the floor as Zelda spoke the ancient words yet again. 

What went different between Nivan and Owin, however, was that as Nivan raised from the ground his ill-fitted helmet tumbled off of his head. Quiet suddenly, before the crowd, a little green orb flew out of Nivan’s helmet and fluttered in the air right before Princess Zelda’s face. 

Nivan glanced over towards the King of Hyrule, whose eyes popped out of his extremely red face. Both Arthur and Percival had run over to the King to calm him down. Zelda’s face herself remained calm, while Paige bounced with glee at the sight of Lumina on the stage. Nivan didn’t even bother to look towards the crowd of knights. 

“Well…” Lumina started to speak. “This was a little unexpected.” 

“You can talk?” The Princess asked with a hint of disgust. 

“Everyone can talk, it just depends on if you can understand them or not, Princess.” Lumina sneered back. 

Paige ran over and smooshed her face as close to Lumina as possible. Lumina recoiled from the sudden Hylian within her personal bubble. 

“This is so neat!” Paige exclaimed, clearly not reading the room. She looked over at Nivan. “How did you sneak a fairy into Hyrule Castle? Where did she even come from?!” 

“Uhm.,” Nivan glanced back at Owin who raised an eyebrow at him. “She belongs to my friend Mystique, she sent her from Medoh to keep an eye on me because she was worried.” 

“Mystique has had the fairy for years,” Owin said. “She was notorious for walking around Castle Town with a little green ball delivering shoes.” 

“Oh, that must be Cerise’s daughter.” Zelda said, her voice relaxed a bit. “The Sheikah have always  been the superstitious type.” 

“Where did Mystique find her?” Paige asked, still clearly excited. 

“She found Lumina in a cage at a Bokoblin camp on Hyrule field during a shoe delivery.” Nivan sheepishly smiled. “We don’t know where she came from before that as she won’t tell us.”

“Yes I did kid,” Lumina responded. “I said that I came from the forest like every other fairy. 

“But you never said a town. Every race of Hyrule has towns and cities. It’s never just forest.” Nivan said, a little irritated. 

“I’ll tell my skeletons when you tell yours kid.” Lumina sassed back. 

Nivan’s face turned red as he hid it within his hands. Paige’s laughter echoed like chimes throughout the crowded and silent ballroom. 

Thin patches of ice floated around Lake Hylia unable to stay attached anywhere from the current of the water. Somewhere on the shore, a few specs of green poked their heads out of the dirt.  It was too late in winter and too early in spring for there to be any bird songs, so the only noise that echoed through the air was the gentle crashing of the ice. 

Mystique sat on a blue stoned dock alongside Abony, Rudi, and Egan. Egan looked nervously over the edge of the dock towards the water, his big orange stone body reflected back between ripples. Rudi’s legs dangled off of the edge of the dock, her feet fully submerged in the cold water as she snacked on some fish. Abony yawned and blinked several times as she stared at the lake. 

When Mystique looked over at Rudi, she noticed that despite the years that have gone by, she still looked the same as she did when Mystique was only ten. The only difference, Mystique noted, was that Rudi was decorated in more jewelry. Three blue stones sat in a golden brooch attached to Rudi’s sash. Mystique continued to stare at the brooch until Rudi herself turned and made a face.

“Mystique, it's creepy to look at a princess like that for so long.” Rudi glared.

“Oh!” Mystique blinked a few times. “I was looking at your brooch.”

Rudi placed one of her webbed hands onto the brooch and smiled. “This is the Zora’s Sapphire. It’s an ancient heirloom passed down through royalty.” Rudi’s smile grew bigger. “It is also something that the Sage of Water wore in the past.” 

“Sage of water?” Mystique raised an eyebrow. 

Rudi’s smile got even bigger. “Yes I am officially the Sage of Water. The proud champion of the Zora ready to aid and assist the hero when he fights the King of Darkness himself.” By now, Rudi had stood and posed. 

“But how do you know that?” Mystique asked.

“I passed the Sage test.” Rudi exclaimed. “Impa came here one day and took me into this room with a little stone. And, when I touched it it started to glow blue.” Rudi paused. “Besides, it makes sense that I would be the Sage of Water as every Sage of water has been the Zora princess in every myth and legend… or Queen. Honestly if Impa followed the myths she would have assembled all of her sages by now.” 

“No, there was that one male Zora,” Abony said with her eyes closed. “Not every Sage or hero is going to follow our stories exactly.” 

“Well I’m the Zora princess and the Sage of Water.” Rudi then pointed at Egan who clung for his life on the dock. “And Egan is the son of Dario and the Sage of Fire.”

“That’s not confirmed yet.” Egan said as he curled slightly into a ball. “If legends were true it would be my dad who was the Sage of Fire.” 

“Yeah but I eavesdropped on Impa and my mom to find out that your dad failed the glowy rock challenge… and so did Impa herself.” Rudi said. 

“What would Impa be a sage of?” Mystique asked.

Rudi rolled her eyes. “Did you not read any books as a kid? There are six sages that aid the hero Link and Princess Zelda in destroying the Demon King. There’s Water for the Zoras, Fire for the Gorons, Wind for the Ritos, Earth for the Kokiris, Lightning for the Gerudo, and Shadow for the Sheikah. The final Sage is Zelda who embodies light itself.”

“So Impa supposedly has three Sages known to her. Rudi, Zelda, and maybe myself.” Egan added in. 

“Hey Abony, who do you think the Sage of Wind is?” Mystique asked. When Abony’s response was only a snore, Mystique shook her awake.

“What?” Abony shouted half-awake. 

“Who is the Sage of Wind?” Mystique asked again.

“Why would I know that?” Abony responded. “It could be anyone, and Ms. Impa hasn’t really tested anyone around Medoh with glowing stones.”

“Okay,” Mystique shrugged and turned her attention back to Rudi. “If you really are the Sage of Water, shouldn’t someone be keeping a closer eye on you?”

“Camaron’s watching us from somewhere in the Lake.” Rudi shrugged. “She’s always been serious with protecting me, but since the news came she’s been harder to shake off to go exploring. She sometimes even gets Orujan to assist and he’s much bigger and faster than I am.”

Mystique gazed out towards the lake and swore she saw a small pink head fin dip back below the surface. 

“Soooo,” Mystique slowly said. “If all these myths and legends play out the same now, what are the odds that a Gerudo boy becomes the King of Darkness?” 

“Every Gerudo male has become a King of Darkness.” Rudi answered. “Why, is there one there right now?”

“Yes, but he’s innocent.” Mystique replied. “He’s a little awkward, but he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.” 

“Maybe the witches of the desert will take him or he’ll get possessed by dark spirits?” Rudi answered. “You never know how these things will play out.” 

“Impa keeps sending Sheikah to murder him.” Mystique said, irritation crept into her voice. 

“She’s just trying to protect her kingdom. The Gerudo aren’t exactly the most social folk, and they don’t really contribute much to Hyrule.”

“The Gorons and the Gerudo have a strong business in trading gems and jewelry.” Egan said. He was now curled up into a ball onto the dock. 

“What about food? Not everyone eats rocks Egan!” Rudi snapped. 

“They live in a desert, so they already struggle with food.” Abony added in. “But they provide all of the buildings in Castle Town and across Hyrule with glass for windows and other things.”

“You can’t eat a window.” Rudi whined. 

“Why are you on Impa’s side anyways?” Mystique said.

“I’m just following the books as a Sage.” Rudi shrugged. “I’m here to protect Hyrule, and if this boy is a threat, he is a threat.” 

“You’re useless.” Mystique threw her hands up in the air. “Here I thought you could help keep an ear out and find out any ways for an innocent boy to not get murdered, and here you are agreeing with the person holding the ax!” 

Rudi sighed. “If it means that much to you, I will keep an ear open… after all your friend saved our butts from those Octoroks all those years ago.” 

In Mystique’s mind, she thought back to that freezing cold day all those years ago. About how deep the ice mines dug into the world just beyond the cliffs and how that even in the darkest of places creatures still lurked. Her mind briefly flashed to Nivan as he fell into the ice, but she quickly shook that thought away.

“What ever happened to that creature in the ice mines?” Mystique asked.

Rudi walked off of the dock and turned around. “I can show you what happened.” 

Slowly, Mystique and Abony walked off the dock, with Egan rolling behind them. 

The route that Mystique took this time into the domain was through a small staircase carved into the cliffs. The stairs, despite the moisture, weren’t slippery and made of the same blue stone as the dock was. Several glowing stones rested on torches attached to the wall, which gave just enough light to not lose your step on the way up. 

At the top of the cliff, Mystique could see all of Zora’s Domain nestled into its basin of water. The long swirling bridges glistened in the sunlight along with the many silver pods of houses. Somehow, from this height, the giant fish building in the center of the domain seemed even bigger. From the tops of the cliffs, Mystique could see the building’s long tail as it curled around a large pole and its massive body, which hid underneath the walkway that led into the building’s mouth. Since last time, or maybe she never noticed, there were two fins that reached out sideways, as if the building itself were about to swim up into the sky. Like the bridges and walkways, the fish was made of the same blue stone material, save for its eyes which had large black gemstones.

“What is that fish supposed to be?” Mystique asked as the group followed Rudi along the tops of the cliffs. 

“That’s Lord Jabu Jabu. The Great Sage of Water Ruto took care of him way back when he was alive. He’s very important to us.” Rudi continued to walk without missing a beat. 

“That’s what he looks like?” Mystique looked down at the giant fish building again. “He’s a lot bigger than I thought.” 

“The building doesn’t do him justice.” Rudi said matter-of-factly. “He’s supposed to have bright blue eyes, but the architect who designed the building went with black. It’s insulting since Lord Jabu Jabu has been missing for so long.” 

“Didn’t you just say he died?” Mystique said, confused.

“I already explained this to you last time you were here. Ruto never found his egg after he died. We don’t know where he reincarnated.” Rudi huffed. 

At the opposite edge of the cliffs, nothing but fog could be seen for miles. Somewhere on the other side there were supposed to be more cliffs that led out of Hyrule and off to some other land, but with what little information Mystique had, she had no idea what lay beyond the borders of Hyrule. Maybe one day, she thought, she would deliver mail to some foreign merchants or even a Queen. 

While Mystique looked forward, everyone else in the group looked down. 

“Is there another set of stairs?” Abony asked. 

Rudi walked over to a little rock pillar that jutted out from the cliff and pressed a button. “Hold on.” She said as she tapped her fins. 

Somewhere, from far below the group, a horrible screeching sound erupted. As the group watched too closely from the edge, the noise got louder and louder until everyone who had ears covered them with their hands. Eventually a cylinder shaped room appeared at the edge of the cliff with doors that slid open. 

“Oh no, not this again.” Mystique whined. 

“You were fine last time.” Rudi said as she stepped into the elevator. 

Cautiously Abony followed Rudi along with a not so careful Egan. Mystique entered the elevator last as the doors shut. 

The drop down from the elevator this time felt smoother and less like everyone in the room was about to plummet to their demise. The sounds of metal scraping against the cliff-face continued to be heard from inside the machine itself. By the time the elevator made its descent, only Egan stood in the elevator without his hands on his head. 

Rudi attempted to be the first to leave the elevator as the doors open, but was stopped by Mystique who shoved herself out into the foggy air. 

“Be careful where you step.” Rudi shouted as she exited the elevator.

“What?” Mystique shouted back. She looked down to see her foot inches away from falling off of the wooden bridge and into the mushy ice beside it. Mystique swung her body back and forth on the bridge a few times to see that it swung with her instead of staying frozen solid within the ice like last time. 

“The ice isn’t as solid as it used to be.” Rudi said as she stepped out onto the bridge. 

Egan stayed in the elevator and Abony flapped her wings above the bridge as Rudi walked confidently down the bridge towards the opposite side. Mystique hopped from to plank as she followed behind. 

“I’m going to stay in the elevator.” Egan shouted towards the girls.

When Rudi reached the opposite cliff, she gently pushed open the door which led into the caverns. She turned around and beckoned for Abony and Mystique to enter first into the room. 

The ice, Mystique noticed, wasn’t as cold as she remembered. Small droplets of water dripped down into mush half-frozen puddles around the edges of the room. Several holes with sets of stairs that had led down to different mines were now supported with metal beams. 

Rudi walked over to a pile of boulders that blocked a set of stairs. “This is the mine path we took several years ago. Mom had it blocked off once the ice started melting.”

“Yeah,” Abony looked around the room. “Something tells me that all of this ice melting isn’t a good sign.” 

“My Mom has reasons to think that the monster she locked away is trying to melt the cavern to escape. But as a fish itself it probably can’t do that.” Rudi hummed for a moment. “Which means something else is helping the monster escape, and by doing so may drown Zora’s Domain and parts of Hyrule as a result… for the monster that isn’t a bad thing, but for us it is.” 

“Does Queen Rutamina have a relocation plan?” Abony asked while she hovered near one of the dripping walls. She squinted at the water as it slid down the wall in little droplets. “It looks like this could melt and flood the Domain at any moment.” 

“She has a plan.” Rudi answered. “We plan to start extending our buildings onto the cliffs and refurbishing lower houses to be suitable to be underwater as storage units. The town of Jetir might be in more trouble as despite the Zora’s warnings, they seem to not believe us.” 

“How long do you think that they have to move?” Mystique asked. 

“I say about ten years maximum.” Rudi said. “Which to all those silly little Hylians that’s a long time, but to us it's a blink of an eye.” 

Mystique grimaced. “Abony, maybe we should stop by Deliro’s island to warn him. All his research will be destroyed.” 

Abony nodded. As the three girls exited the entrance to the ice caverns, only the sound of dripping water could be heard, and from somewhere far below them the cavern shook. 

Nivan walked through the streets of Castle Town holding an amulet with a little purple gem inside of it.  Slightly behind him, Lumina floated and Owin followed. Nivan flipped the amulet around in his hand as he walked past multiple boarded up shops, and only a handful of people. 

“Congrats on the position.” Owin said with a dash of cheer folded into his words. 

Nivan just sighed in response. 

“How cool is it that you get to be a royal knight. Like, you get to go on all of these amazing missions and directly be there for the Princess.” Owin caught up to Nivan and showed a forced smile. 

Nivan sighed again in response. He focused his attention towards walking and playing with the amulet in his hand. 

“Okay, so you get to be the royal guard of Zelda’s servant Paige, but that’s still pretty cool right? You still get to follow Princess Zelda and me on fun little adventures and we get to protect them.” Owin now kept pace with Nivan with the plastic smile. 

“I’m just trying to find a magic shop. I don’t need a pep talk.” Nivan finally answered. 

“Magic shop? What for?” The smile was replaced with confusion on Owin’s face.

“To enhance this amulet.” Nivan said while still only looking at the amulet. “Misty gave it to me as she thought it would protect me.” He paused. “The vendor she got it from was probably trying to make some money, but I know a way to make it actually work.” 

“And how is that Mr. Magic Man?” Owin asked, tones of sass and curiosity mingled in his words. 

“I grab some ingredients and make a potion to dip the amulet in. Something simple like Poe repellant, or maybe something that causes monsters to hesitate enough to give a gap to fight or escape.” Nivan answered. 

“Things like that actually exist?” Owin asked.

“They do, but most of the stuff advertised is fake. No one can have a protection spell that makes you super strong to everything or unable to take damage from anything. There are spells that can heal you, but it’s usually only minor scrapes and bruises, never giant gaping wounds that would kill you. “ 

“What about resurrecting the dead?” 

“That’s not a thing that is really possible. There are rumors that monsters can be resurrected due to their origins of being made of shadow and not blood, but that is just a myth. A full resurrection wouldn’t work anyways as there would be no body to put the soul or spirit in.” 

“Could you put a soul into a jar?”

“That’s what we do with poe souls.” Nivan placed a small bitter smile onto his face. “Poes can take over a body if they so please, but over time the body rots and decays until it’s just a walking corpse twisted by a creature of shadow.” 

“How do you know all of this again?” Owin titled his head. 

“I read a lot of books.” Nivan answered. 

As the two boys walked, Nivan glanced over at a shop that still had all of its lights on. Vegetation hung out of the windows, and bright pink shingles decorated the roof. Butterflies were painted all up and down the walls to go along with a sign for the shop in the shape of a beetle.

“Let’s pick up our pace.” Nivan said with his head bowed down low.

But it was too late. 

“Is that Nivan?!” A high pitched voice squealed from just inside the shop. “You can’t just walk by without saying hi!”

“I forgot this shop was on this route.” Nivan mumbled under his breath as the two boys turned around towards  the bug shop. 

“Hi Agitha,” both boys said. 

In the doorway Agitha stood. Since childhood, she had grown taller but still held her slender build. Her ponytails were larger and twirled in two giant curls down to her hips. She wore a little plastic tiara on her head and a massively ruffled and poofed skirt paired with knee high stockings. 

“That’s right, you better come back and say hi.” Agitha pouted. “You never did take me on a little date Mr. Cute Knight. 

Nivans face turned red. He clutched the amulet tightly in his hand as he just stared towards Agitha with a grimace plastered across his face. 

“Ugh, what’s with him?” Agitha said with her hands instinctively placed onto her hips. 

“Don’t mind him, he’s been like this since the ceremony yesterday.” Owin answered. 

“Well why don’t you two come in then and relax with some tea.” Agitha placed a smile onto her decorated face and curtsied. She gestured towards the open door behind her and stood there in the same exact pose for an awkwardly long time. 

Nivan finally spoke. “You see, we’re going to the magic shop and don’t have time for tea…”

“Nonsense.” Agitha said through her smile. “If you don’t come in I’ll make you come in.”

“We have a dog to get back to.” Nivan said again as he slowly backed away from the bug shop. 

Agitha sighed and walked back into the bug shop. Nivan sighed and turned around, but was only able to take a few steps before he heard the sound of heels running against the stone street and felt something hard smack into the back of his head. 

Nivan woke up in a chair with a cup of tea in front of him. Cute little painted bugs decorated the rim of the tiny plate and along the cups’ rim. The table cloth was lavender and actual bugs crawled around it on the table and over a pile of cream puff pastries. Nivan blinked a few times and looked up to see Agitha sip out of her own cup of tea from across the table. Owin sat between them with a full cup of tea. Instinctively, Nivan reached for the back of his head and felt that it was tender to the touch. 

“Oh you’re awake!” Agitha said too cheerfully. “Welcome to my family’s bug emporium!” 

“Did you—” Nivan started to say, his voice groggy. 

“Hit you with my umbrella? Yes.” Agitha nodded into her tea. “You clearly needed a nice cup of tea, so that was the only way to get you to just sit down and relax.” 

Nivan sat there and processed the information slowly. He then looked over at Owin. “And you let her do this?”

“I tried to stop her, but that umbrella hurts.” Owin grasped his side as he chuckled. “She may have broken a rib.” 

Concern etched onto Nivan’s face before he concentrated his attention back to Agitha. “So you have us, now what?” 

“Hmm,” Agitha placed her free hand onto her chin. “That’s all I wanted.” She paused. “Though do you wanna tell me why you’re grumpier than usual today? Is it because of your assignment to protect Paige?” 

“No.” Nivan said. “How did you hear about that?” 

“The bugs told me.” Agitha smirked. 

“I told her while you were knocked out.” Owin answered. 

“Can we not pry into my emotions today?” Nivan looked towards a wall covered in pictures of bugs and also more real bugs. 

“You don’t get to leave until you do,” Agitha threatened with a smile on her face. 

“You could get in trouble for holding two knights of Hyrule hostage.” Nivan answered.

“And maybe you’ll lose you position if they found out you couldn’t defeat a normal Hylian girl.” Agitha took a long sip of her tea. “Now speak.

Nivan rolled his eyes. “It’s not the position I received. If anything I am happy to be a knight for Paige, she seems nice. What I am bothered about is.” Nivan pointed above his head where Lumina floated. 

“Excuse me?” Lumina shouted. “What do I have to do with this?!”

“Because you revealed yourself in front of the King and an entire crowd of Hylian soldiers.” Nivan crossed his arms. “Do you know what you even did?”

Lumina bounced around in the air. “I’m just a fairy, it’s not a big deal.” 

“To you it may not be, but to me it is.” Nivan sighed. “It’s not a good look to be a blonde haired boy with a fairy in Hyrule, especially in front of a King who wants nothing to do with any of the myths and legends of Hyrule.” He paused. “Before you came I was bullied constantly by all the little kids in Castle Town. When you came along things didn’t get better, but by then I learned to isolate myself away from all of them.” He paused again. “So now because of you revealing yourself at the ceremony, I now have a huge target painted on my back with every soldier in Hyrule as well as with the King himself. It’s not like a target wasn’t already there since Link died from that poe… I honestly don’t even know how to feel about Link dying considering he and Roul bullied me for so many years.” A long pause filled the bug emporium. “It’s all just a lot.” 

Nivan stared into the center of the table and thought back to the start of his time in Castle Town. He remembered how Mrs. Luriken told him to hold Mystique’s hand when they walked through Castle town. He remembered the crowded streets and the never ending list of smells that mingled in the air as they walked. He remembered his first encounters with Roul and Link, and how many times his face hit the stone street or pressed into a wooden crate full of fruit. The thoughts flowed to the many times Mystique stood up to them for him and then Nivan shook his head and wiped away the memories from his vision. 

I think we need to head out now.” Owin stood up from his chair and walked towards the door. “Thank you for the tea, but not for the umbrella beating. 

Agitha sat quietly and sipped her tea as the two boys left the bug emporium with a small green fairy floating behind them. 

The walk to the magic shop was only a few doors down. Both boys stayed silent as Nivan entered the shop and quietly placed several bottles and ingredients on the counter. The shop manager nodded and bagged the goods as Nivan handed over rupees. There was no noise save for the cawing of a distant crow as Owin and Nivan walked back towards the castle. 

Not a single light shone onto Castle Town’s graveyard. Dampe’s house, now boarded up, sat cold and dark amongst the tombstones. An old decayed tree bent into the fenced in lot of land and a layer of dust and dirt covered everything in the area. When the moon finally peaked out from behind several clouds, a small green orb of light could be seen as it bobbed up and down between the graves. 

“I don’t want to be here.” Lumina muttered to herself. “What a horrible meeting location.”

“I think it’s great. No one will disturb us.” Something said.

A purple cloaked figure emerged from behind the mausoleum. It glided over the dirt and towards Lumina. From underneath the hood, Lumina could see two glowing eyes and a sharpened smile. 

“Take off the hood Meegan.” Lumina said.

The glowing eyes squinted before two long and sharp bony hands removed the hood to reveal a normal Hylian face. “You’re no fun, what do you even want, little fairy.” 

“Well you’ve been impossible to get a hold of since I came back, and I have updates.” Lumina stated.

Meegan rolled her eyes. “I’ve been busy. What do you want.” 

“I found out that there’s a Gerudo boy in the desert. Do you think that is where the Demon King is?” Lumina asked.

“No.” Meegan yawned. “I already know where the Demon King is. I hid him nice and safe so that that nasty Impa doesn’t find him anytime soon.” 

“What do you have his soul in a jar or something?” Lumina sassed. 

Meegan paused. “Something like that.”

“Well, would the Gerudo boy work as a host for the Demon King?” 

“How old is it?”

“Fourteen.” 

Meegan sighed. “No, that would take too long.” 

“So what are you going to do? Just keep killing every guy named Link in Hyrule for funsies?” Lumina bounced as she sassed out her words. 

“It’s not like killing all those Links is pointless. It does raise the misery index.” 

“Misery what?” Lumina asked.

“All this tragedy and misery in Hyrule only makes me stronger and makes it easier to assemble the perfect body with some dark magic. I thought I would have had enough when the Queen died, but it was only enough to get my King’s Soul.” Meegan tapped her fingers on a tombstone. 

“And how long is that going to take you?” Lumina sneered. 

“Faster than a boy aging 30 years.” Meegan sneered back. “Do you have any other reports, fairy?” 

“Zelda and her servant have been assigned royal knights.”

“Are they any threat?”

“One of them is the one who threw holy water on your face.” 

Meegan hissed and reached up to her face. “Of course they chose him.” 

“He is the guard of Zelda’s servant. Zelda herself has a young knight named Owin.” Lumina answered. 

“Ah, Dampe’s grandkid.” Meegan looked towards the boarded up house. “My poes always loved teasing that old man. Too bad for him that he moved back to Kakariko where there are even more poes.”  Meegan laughed for a bit before she suddenly stopped. “I will have to rethink my plans.”

“What plans?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know fairy.” Meegan laughed again. “Maybe I can find something else to raise the misery index.”

“Impa is trying to assassinate the Gerudo boy for being the Demon King. Would that work?” Lumina asked. 

A smile twisted its way onto Meegan’s pale Hylian face. “That might be enough.” She paused. “I can send some scouts to see if it’s worth it. Anything else to report fairy?” 

“Can I—” Lumina started.

“In due time, fairy, just not right now.” Meegan answered. 

Without another word, Meegan vanished into the darkness of the graveyard, only leaving Lumina amongst the gravestones. 

Dear Mystique, 

How has your mission been going? From the last few letters I received from you it seems to not be a smooth journey, but I bet that you will find some answers soon. I unfortunately don’t have any updates to finding a way to prove Levis is innocent or to where the Demon King is. Lumina has no new information either. 

I wanted to wait to write you a letter until I found out where I would be stationed. It turns out that I will be working alongside Owin as he protects Princess Zelda and I protect her servant Paige. This is apparently the first time a servant of the royal family received a knight, but it was Queen Kassandra who orchestrated that Paige receive a knight. Paige seems very bubbly and full of energy compared to Zelda. If she wasn’t glued to the Princess’s side, I would assume she would run off and get into loads of trouble. 

While I am excited about this position, I have my worries. During the announcement, Lumina fell out of my helmet and presented herself to an entire crowd of knights and the King of Hyrule himself. I have a feeling that this may cause some misfortune in my future. It doesn’t look good to be a blonde boy with a fairy in front of the King given that the old hero of Legend fit that same exact description. I’m sure there will be people now trying to take over my position since I am on thin ice with the king because of Lumina. If I was chosen to protect Zelda herself I am sure that the King would have immediately banished me to Death Mountain or maybe to Medoh, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. 

I remember when we first found Lumina and she started to follow both of us around while we ran errands. I know you noticed it, but Roul, Link, and Fiona got a little aggressive with their bullying during that time. At the beginning when I first moved here it was nothing more than some name calling and some shoves. But when Lumina came it grew a little darker than it should have. I tried to go practice sword fighting earlier to avoid them, but I wasn’t able to. They always made sure to do it when you weren’t around as I don’t think they wanted you to tell your mother about all of it. Your mother eventually asked me about all of the bruises and sword practice was no longer a good answer to hide it, so I told your mom what was happening and it went back to just name calling as if that point in time never happened.

So it was conflicting to have Roul and Link join to be knights of Hyrule alongside me. I didn’t know how to feel except for the small piece of discomfort that I pushed down whenever it tried to surface. I didn’t want these two to get in the way of what I worked so hard for, and I couldn’t let anything get in the way… even the hurt from my past. Besides being in the same cramped chamber, I was never really assigned to go on missions with them. They always assigned me to go on missions with Owin, which was always a relief. The one time I went with Roul and Link I wasn’t supposed to be there and neither was Owin. We went because Owin was curious and they offered. 

If we weren’t there that night Roul and Link might have just stayed in the tavern to drink with the other knights. Or they could have run into the poe on the way home from the bar and both be… And now with what has happened to them both I honestly don’t know how to feel. That little crumpled up piece of discomfort inside of me has released, and I feel guilty that that’s how I feel when so many others are devastated over Link. I think with time maybe I would have been sad, but I only really feel conflicted. Does this make me a monster?

It’s strange to think how as we trained the bullying didn’t happen more than the occasional name thrown my way. It makes me think as if maybe I was over exaggerating my past and that I made up everything that happened. Maybe they never did what they did because why would they act differently now than they did in the past. Was it because Lumina was no longer flying around me? 

I’m sorry that this letter has been a bit emotional. Hopefully once I start protecting Paige I will have more positive updates full of fun adventures. 

-Nivan

Chapter Text

Chapter Thirteen: Through the Eyes of Many

The hot air scratched and scraped against Mystique's skin as she walked up the cliff path towards Goron City. Behind her, Abony slowly toddled along, and occasionally wiped her brow. Above them, the smokey haze from Death Mountain billowed out into the open blue sky. Below them, the houses and noises of Kakariko village appeared to be nothing more than little specs and dots. As the two girls trudged on, little clouds of dust danced up into the air from their feet. 

“Why does Death Mountain feel dustier than the Gerudo desert?” Mystique complained.

“It’s arid just like a desert, just higher up.” Abony answered.

“Shouldn’t it be colder?” 

“Mystique, it’s an active volcano. Just be lucky it won’t erupt anytime soon.”

“But how do we know that?”

Abony sighed. “Because the Gorons live in the volcano, and they would have told us if something were to happen.”

From the top of the path, the ground began to shake, and rumble. Several large Gorons rolled down the path, they bounced and crashed chaotically into each other as they descended the mountain. Quickly, Abony flapped her wings and launched herself into the air. Mystique, without a second thought, opened her paraglider and pressed a small button. Slowly, two propeller fans churned and turned until the paraglider lifted Mystique into the air just in time to not become crushed by the Gorons as they barreled further down the path. 

“I think we should fly the rest of the way.” Mystique shouted towards Abony. Abony nodded, and the two girls drifted in the air.

At the top of the mountain path, a large stone archway came into view. In the center of the arch was a bright red triangular ruby. Three black dots were painted above the stone, and on each side of the arch were Goron faces carved into the rock. 

Below the arch, Egan waited, his hands clutched his wrists. When he looked up into the sky to see Mystique and Abony in the air, a small smile spread across his face. 

The landing for both girls resulted in a large dust cloud, which consumed all three of them. Instinctively, both Mystique and Abony wiped away at their clothes until the dust settled. 

“Welcome to my home.” Egan said, his arms now spread out wide. “This is Daru, the one and only Goron hub of activity.” 

All three began to walk into town. “Are there no other Goron cities?” Mystique asked.

“There are a few mining towns deeper into Death mountain, but Daru is the only city immediately outside of the mountain. And, that means the only Non-Goron friendly city.” 

Past the entrance to Daru, Mystique noticed that the buildings were all made of the same rocks as the arch, and upon further inspection it was the same rocks that made up Death Mountain. A few houses were carved into the mountainside, with little amber lit windows and signs carved into the mountain as well. A fountain sat in the center of town with a lone Goron statue. He held a large hammer in one hand and stroked his pointy beard with the other. A cloth loincloth was wrapped around the statue's waist. 

Egan walked slowly through the city, at a few moments he stopped himself from curling into a ball and shook his head. By the time the three had reached the big building at the opposite side of the city, Mystique had counted that Egan attempted to roll to the location six times. 

There was no door to the big building as Mystique, Abony, and Egan entered. At the end of the room Dario stood, his arms crossed against his chest and a small smirk across his face. Next to Dario stood Impa who held a little brown box, and Mystique’s mother who hid her expression behind her mask. 

Mystique’s eyes widened before they narrowed as she stood behind Egan. 

“Dad, you’ve received mail from Tyto. Do you want to read it now?” Egan asked.

Dario cleared his throat, his voice boomed throughout the room with little to no effort. “Sure, I’ll read it, but you have an important guest.” He gestured towards Impa who still held the box and a stoic expression. “You may have heard from Rudi, but Impa is looking for the sages before the King of Darkness awakens. We want to see if you are able to awaken as the sage of fire.” 

Impa took several steps forward and pushed the box away from her chest. She nodded towards Egan who cautiously held the box with his large rocky hands. 

“We need to go to a room alone.” Impa said as she turned to leave down one of the doorways. Hesitantly Egan followed while he nestled the little box in his arms. 

In the room only Dario, Abony, Mystique, and her mother remained. The four stayed silent as they glanced towards the doorway both Impa and Egan had disappeared down.

“Why didn’t you tell me I was part Sheikah.” Mystique broke the silence. 

Cerise pulled down her mask and revealed a frown. “What are you doing here at Death Mountain?”

“Delivering mail. What are you doing here.” Mystique frowned back. 

“My job.” Cerise rubbed her hand against her forehead. “When I sent you to Medoh with Tyto I told him to keep you there.” Cerise glanced over at Abony. “Why did you let her leave?”

Abony shrugged. “I don’t control what Ty does. He saw passion in her and let her follow it.” 

“Why did you not tell me I was part Sheikah mother.” Mystique said again, her voice started to raise in volume. 

“Who even told you that information?” Cerise snapped back. 

“Kanchana told me.” Mystique said bluntly. 

“Kanchana?! You went to Booru’an. Mystique do you know how dangerous that was to do for you given—” Cerise stopped talking suddenly. 

“Given how Impa is sending Sheikah to murder an innocent boy? Yes I know that now after I got thrown in jail for no reason.” Mystique shouted. 

Cerise sighed. “I would have told you…” 

“When mother?!” Mystique interrupted. 

“When the time was right, and I knew that the world was safer.” 

“And when would that have been! Mother, there have been monsters in Hyrule for as long as I remember and if anything the world is getting worse from what I read and see on my travels. No time would have been good for you.” Mystique said. 

“I didn’t want you to know as I didn’t want you following Impa.” Cerise tried to say calmly. “It’s very exciting to learn that you are a Sheikah when young, and I didn’t want you flinging yourself into her dangerous ideas at such a young age.” 

“But you still work for her! Even when she is trying to murder a child.” Mystique shouted again. 

Dario raised an eyebrow and stared at Cerise. Cerise sighed again. 

Frustration rose in her voice. “I agree with her to look for the sages and to stop the darkness before the world gets worse.” Cerise paused. “But I don’t condone her behavior towards Levis. If you had joined the Sheikah royal guard you would have been sent out to perform the very task you are shouting at me about. You might have seen it in a different perspective too.” 

Mystique’s voice faltered in and out of the empty space in the room. “I wouldn’t have done that to Levis!” 

“Do you really know that though.” Cerise responded without missing a beat. “Do you really think after years of running around with the other Sheikah kids and admiring Impa you would really look at Levis and not follow orders?” 

“I would never do something like that!” Mystique shouted. “I would never do that. And you still follow her, what are you going to do if you get that task.” 

“I’ve been assigned the Levis task.” Cerise said with no emotion. “I was the first to be assigned that task actually… and I ignored it.” Cerise paused. “I warned Kanchana instead because I know Impa is wrong to make such a statement despite her thinking it's a good idea.”

Everyone stood in silence within the room as Cerise’s words floated amongst the empty space. Mystique’s mouth opened and closed several times, her hand raised to make a point with nothing ever coming out. 

“I think I need to go out and get some fresh air,” Mystique finally said, her voice deflated. She left the room without waiting for any response. 

Outside on the streets of Daru the distant sound of drums and horns could be heard blaring out from some hole in Death Mountain. The clouds mingled and brushed through the streets yet a clear blue sky could be seen just slightly to the left and right of the mountain. Several Gorons rolled their way through town, very few of them walked. For those that used their feet to move, they usually carried some form of box full of rocks or mining equipment. One Goron even rolled by with a wagon full of pickaxes and ores attached to its rocky backside. 

Mystique was unsure which way she walked as she figured the town seemed small enough and the building Abony was in was rather large, but soon she had wandered farther than she realized. Behind her, Death Mountain loomed, and the buildings in Daru now became more sparse and separated enough to have little rock gardens outside. In the yard of one of these homes, Mystique noticed a Hylian soldier sitting on the front steps. Without thinking, she walked towards the soldier and waved. The soldier looked up, and Mystique froze. 

There, on the front step of a house in Daru sat Roul. His once long curly blonde hair had been shaved down into a buzz cut and his green eyes stared with no luster in them. His face was speckled in tiny red marks with no rhyme or reason to their pattern. 

“You’re not someone I’d expect to see here.” Roul said with no emotion. 

“The same goes to you.” Mystique replied dryly. 

“Oh, that freak you call a brother didn’t alert you about what happened to me?” Roul rolled his eyes and sighed. “Or maybe they didn’t tell him before we all got shipped out suddenly in the middle of the night.” There was a slight twinge of hope as he said this. 

“Nivan got assigned to be Paige’s royal guard.” Mystique answered without any pause.

“...What.” Roul’s face twitched. “So are you telling me that I got woken up and thrown into a carriage at midnight with half a dozen dudes name Link while that piece of crap got to stay nice and cozy in Hyrule fucking castle?!”

Mystique's face twisted into a frown, before she paused halfway through a thought. “And Owin is the royal guard to Princess Zelda.” Mystique smirked. 

“Unbelievable.” Roul threw his hands up in the air, frustration smeared across his face. “Here I thought that all three of us were banished after what happened to Link, but it’s only just me.” 

“Well you might’ve ended up being posted here anyways. You just got the assignment early.” Mystique said, the words danced smoothly off her tongue. 

Roul stood up, he had gotten even taller and his look of disgust became exaggerated with the height difference. “And Link could have been assigned to Death Mountain and still be here with me. Instead he is dead because of your ‘brother’ and Owin looking for some stray mutt at night.”

“Nivan is also the one who saved you from dying like Link.” Mystique placed her hands on her hips. 

“Didn’t you just hear what I said?” Roul stared down at Mystique. “If your freakish ‘brother’ didn’t decide to go help the bartender, Link would be alive. We all went out when we could have stayed inside the bar nice and safe and warm.”

“And how was Nivan supposed to know that some Poe would come after you four? How can you blame someone trying to do good in the world and being a good knight of Hyrule over a random event.” Mystique puffed her cheeks at the end of her shouting. 

“Because sometimes being a goody-two shoes isn’t the correct or best option. Trying hard to please everyone isn’t going to make the world better, and maybe if those two knew how to relax and be normal everything would have been fine.” Roul crossed his arms across his chest. “But instead of them learning that they got rewarded with good positions and I am out here suffering and alone without Link. Did I really deserve that?” 

Mystique stood in silence and thought back to Nivan’s letter. Even before that letter she remembered childhood memory after memory that had missing elements in it that Nivan’s letter only brought context to. She remembered back before Nivan, back when she  played with Roul, Link, Fiona, and Hudde in the courtyard by the fountain of the hero and how innocent that time had felt. A time before their true colors were shown when Nivan came. Anger flashed across Mystique’s face. 

“Yes, I think you deserve this.” She said bluntly. 

Hurt briefly dashed across Roul’s face before he hid it behind his own anger. “Makes sense for you to take his fucking side you—” 

“Mystique there you are!” A voice said from behind Mystique. She turned around to see Abony as she glided just above the ground near Egan who rolled towards them. Both Egan and Abony held worried expressions on their faces horribly hidden by smiles. 

“My dad told me about the argument between you and your mom.” Egan said as he continued to uncurl from his ball position. “Sounded a little rough.” 

“I’m fine.’ Mystique said. 

“So—” Abony started to speak before she noticed the tall green eyed Hylian who towered behind Mystique. “Who’s that?”

“An asshole.” Mystique responded. 

“Oh…” Abony looked away from the Hylians. “Then why are you talking to him?” 

“It was an accident.” Mystique said as she started to walk away from the stone house. “Egan, is there any good non-rock food in Daru?” 

“The Bedrock Bistro might have some Hylian food?” Egan answered.

 He started to follow Mystique only to look back confused at Roul and then back towards Mystique. Abony fluttered in the air and stared at Roul a few moments, her head tilted, before she turned to follow. Both Egan and Abony followed at uneven pacing as they struggled to keep up with Mystique.

“Hey!” Roul shouted. “Apologize to me about my dead friend.”

Mystique stopped and turned around. “Apologize to Nivan for the countless years of unnecessary bullying you did first.” 

“There was a reason.” Roul said. 

“And what was that.” There was venom in Mystique’s voice. 

Roul stood in silence. After several minutes Mystique rolled her eyes and turned around, with Egan and Abony now walking by her side. Above them the sun just barely touched the edge of Death Mountain, and left rays of sunlight scattered between the clouds of smoke amongst Daru. 

The town of New Ordon smelled heavily of cow manure and sweet grass as the carriage rolled through the town gates. Compared to Castle Town, for every Hylian present there were ten trees. Leaves rustled louder than Nivan had ever heard with even the gentlest of breezes. The roads were made of dirt which kicked up clouds for every child that ran through the streets. Somewhere a cowed mooed. 

Within the carriage itself, Princess Zelda sat stiff in her seat, her hair coiled up into an extremely tight bun save for two curls of hair on each side of her face. Her dress was simple yet still elegant enough to pick her out from a crowd. Owin sat relaxed next to her, his eyes glued to something happening outside of the vehicle. 

Next to Nivan was Paige, who looked like nothing more than a common villager from how she dressed. The only way Nivan knew she wasn’t, was from the little triforce necklace she had around her neck. Paige, as per usual, bounced up and down with more energy than anyone else inside the carriage. And, as the vehicle came to a stop, she was always the first one to exit in one graceful bound. 

Like the last few trips, Nivan noted, there was already a little wooden platform assembled in what was probably the town square. In Tilton it was in the middle of the pumpkin crops, which were still too small in the season to damage with a wooden stage. For Lonlon, the stage was assembled in the cow pasture. Nivan remembered that a cow had attempted to snack on the Princess as she stood in the field. A small smirk crept on his face as he dwelled in this memory. 

“What are you smiling about?” Owin nudged Nivan as they both stood out in the open. 

“Silly thoughts,” Nivan answered, his eyes stared forward towards the stage. 

“You’re thinking about the cow eating Princess Zelda’s dress again aren’t you?” Owin kept in a chuckle as he spoke. 

Nivan let out a small laugh as a response. Both Princess Zelda and Paige turned around only to see two young knights with smirks poorly hidden on their faces. 

“If either of you see a cow come near the stage, you must chase it away.” Princess Zelda said with no emotion in her voice and only the slightest blush on her face. 

“Can I help chase the cows too?” Paige asked gleefully. 

“No, you need to stand by my side. You are my right hand person after all.” Zelda turned her attention back towards the center of New Ordon. 

The stage had three logs of wood used as makeshift steps to the tiny wooden platform. As Zelda picked up her dress, Nivan and Owin watched as the logs rocked back and forth with every step. As for the platform itself, upon closer inspection it seemed to be nothing more than some leftover roof to a horse stall or even a shed. Paige did not bother to use the stairs and merely jumped up onto the platform, much to Zelda’s dismay as the entire platform shuddered beneath them. 

“I think both of you with your heavy armor should stay off this platform,” Princess Zelda said, her face full of poorly hidden panic. “I’d rather not have either of you injured given who my father has lined up for backup guards.” 

“And who would that be Princess?” Owin asked, a smirk still plastered into his voice. 

“Oh Hylia, do you think that I remember?” Zelda sighed. “Probably one of the older knights with a hip problem waiting to happen or even one that lost all his brain cells to alcohol.” 

“Gee Princess, I didn’t realize you thought so highly of me with my young age and somewhat functioning brain.” Owin bowed towards the Princess as he said this. 

Nivan watched the interaction  between the two. With every speech both Owin and the Princess seemed to become more comfortable with each other so long as no crowd was around to judge. He noticed that Paige as well as himself, never really counted, and eventually if time allowed, Paige would eventually join in on the jesting. Nivan knew he did as well when they were all at Hyrule Castle, but every time they came out to the Hylian towns scattered across Hyrule, he could always feel a small knot cramping within his stomach. He quickly glanced around at the gentle and inviting town of New Ordon to see the faded shop signs and the occasional bird perched on top of a roof. There was nothing sinister out here, and yet it felt as if something was always watching. Nivan turned his attention past the quaint buildings of the town towards the forest and stared at the trees. 

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to find, but there has to be something right? 

Owin elbowed Nivan in the ribcage. “Hey Nivan the crowd is starting to form, you might want to look alert and not zoning off into the woods.” 

Nivan shook his head. “My apologies,” he answered without thinking. An awkward pause filled the air before Nivan spoke again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to zone out like that, I just was expecting something dangerous to come out of the forest.” 

“Makes sense,” Owin shrugged. “New Ordon woods eventually leads into Faron Forest, which then reverts back into the Lost Woods… and then somewhere within all of that are the Kokiris. No one really knows how much is in those woods.” 

Nivan glanced back towards the woods one last time before he turned his attention towards the crowd. Like every other town they had visited so far, the gathering felt small in comparison to Castle Town, but there would be no other activity around. That this small gathering of people was most likely the majority, if not the entire population that lived and rested within these buildings. There were bound to be people not at the meeting, those off working in the field or the woods or in a boat, but even then that number did not feel like a lot. 

The people of New Ordon were dust covered from early work days and many of them were fair haired with pale skin. Their outfits all seemed to stem from one universal beige tunic that every person accessorized with colorful scarves, sleeves, belts, or pants. There was one boy in the crowd that stuck out to Nivan. He was blonde, like many others, but there was an innocence to his face and a gleam to his skin. He wore green sleeves and his hair looked as if someone had recently ruffled their hands through it. Next to him a girl with two blond ponytails and a blue and purple dress stood confidently. Nivan wondered if the boy was even old enough to become a knight or if he one day aspired to be one. 

“Thank you everyone for taking time out of your busy days today.” Paige said, her voice cheerful and rang through the air like a bell. “Our beautiful, wise, and noble Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule has come a long way to speak to the humble, loyal, and hard working people of New Ordon.” Paige gestured towards Zelda as she took a few steps backwards. 

“Good Morning to the humble, loyal, and hard working people of New Ordon.” Zelda spoke, her voice neutral and clearly enunciated. “I, Princess Zelda Asteria of Hyrule have come to speak to you. You, the people of New Ordon who provide so much to the rest of Hyrule. You, who day and night enter the woods around you to provide the best lumber in the land. You, who forage and harvest the delicacies of the forest and share so gracefully with the rest of us. You, oh wonderful people of New Ordon who find ways to assist and help the other towns of Hyrule in any way that you can. When an awful storm on Lake Hylia destroyed Jetir’s boats, you sent over new wood and hands to help build new ships. When Tilton’s soil was dry and unable to carry as many seeds as it used to, you stepped up and increased your farming efforts. When Lonlon had too many cows, you offered to build barns in New Ordon to house them, which increased our supplies for dairy, meat, and leather.” 

Zelda paused and stared into the audience. All of them, Nivan noticed, watched the Princess with undivided attention, but every town always did. 

“After hearing of all the lovely and wonderful acts from New Ordon, I wanted to see and meet the people of this fair town myself.” Zelda started to speak again, her voice never changed tone. “I came here and hoped that the humble town of New Ordon would reach out their hands to help and assist myself and those of Castle Town and continue to extend their kindness. The people of Hyrule, our King Suehprom Patroclus of Hyrule needs your assistance in our kingdom’s time of need. We are in search of brave noble hearted young men to join the knights of Hyrule and to help fight away the growing monster hoards that invade our land. With enough courageous young knights we can easily defeat this problem that all Hylians face, and Hyrule could be at peace again. So, as Princess of this noble land, I asked you all to join our forces to eradicate  the monsters that steal our crops and disrupt trading between towns and cities. These monsters who murder and plunder and have no emotion or thought towards anything other than desire and bloodlust. If you are interested in joining the knights of Hyrule, I asked that you come speak to my loyal knights Sir Owin and Sir Nivan to learn more about how you can sign up and help Hyrule prosper.” 

Princess Zelda gestured towards Nivan and Owin, her motions well practiced to the point that it almost looked robotic. The crowds eyes all slowly gazed away from their princess and towards the Nivan and Owin, who looked out of place standing next to and not on top of the stage. 

Nivan never really knew how to react to this point of the visits. Sometimes he would awkwardly smile towards the crowd, whereas other times he would just stand stoically. At Lonlon he  was too busy removing the cow from Princess Zelda’s dress with Owin to really remember how he reacted or what he did. This time, he just merely gazed past the crowd and towards the trees and hoped for the best. 

Like with many of these town visits, there would be a few people who clapped at the end to break apart the empty silence that plagued the air. No one ever immediately came towards the little makeshift stage, and instead once the silence filled the air again, the women of the town would blush and sway their skirts as  they admired Zelda. One or two mothers would eventually push their sons towards the stage, and maybe someone would come talk to Owin on his own. Mostly a line would form for Zelda with everyone in the town who wanted to tell her she was pretty or to thank her. Or, that’s how they usually went. 

Niven glanced away from the trees as he waited for the standard routine of events to transpire, only to look started into the audience. For there, the innocent looking blonde boy pushed hastily through the crowd in an attempt to reach the stage, the blonde girl with ponytails close behind. By the time the boy had reached the stage the awkward clapping had started, only to abruptly stop upon seeing someone approach the knights. Whispers filled the crowd and murmurs danced between their words. 

“I just wanted to thank you all for coming to our humble little town today.” The boy’s voice cracked slightly in his speech, but there was a cherubic nature to his voice underneath. “My name is Link, and I am interested in signing up for the Royal Knights of Hyrule. “ 

Nivan stayed silent as his eyes grew bigger on his head. He quickly turned away from Link and towards Owin who kept his face calm as he stared at the boy. Behind Owin Zelda’s eyes also widened and she quickly shook her head towards Nivan. Paige just played with her hair. 

“How old are you Mr. Link?” Owin asked. 

“I know I might look a little young, but I fit the age requirement that the king put out. I just turned fourteen.” Link smiled.

“I thought the age requirement was fifteen.” Zelda mouthed silently towards Nivan and Owin. 

“That is on the younger side, with the orders from the King aside, do you think you are up to this monumental task?’ Owin said, his words drawn out carefully and hung delicately into the air. 

Before Link could answer, the girl with the ponytails pushed through. “How dare you speak to my brother like that!” She shouted. “Link came up here willingly to be a part of the Royal Knights of whatever you guys are and you aren’t gracefully accepting him and are instead belittling him? Don’t you guys need handouts or something? That's what I heard from my friend Romani over in Lonlon.” 

“Aryll, that wasn’t very nice of you to say.” Link looked down towards Aryll with only a little bit of sadness in his big green eyes. 

“We aren’t looking for handouts Ms. Aryll.” Owin started to speak as he stared at Link and not Aryll. “I am just making sure that Link here is ready to take on a big responsibility such as this.” 

“Well, duh yeah of course he is you old piece of toast.” Owin frowned as Aryll continued to talk, her hand waving in the air. “While all the silly knights of Hyrule floundered about it was my big brother who helped out New Ordon from pesky monsters from the woods. He helped a lumberjack crew get home safely while he fought off some nasty little deku scrubs and he also protected the younger kids from a miniblin attack while they were out berry picking.” 

“Well… that sounds like an impressive feat for a lad. I’m sure that we would love to have him as a part of the Royal Knights of Hyrule.” Owin forced a smile onto his face. 

Nivan glanced back over to Princess Zelda, who had a line of villages in front of her. Her head snapped quickly towards Owin and Nivan at the sound of Owin’s words. The Princess began to mouth something towards Nivan, but he did not have enough time to process it before she politely smiled and waved at the crowd. Cautiously on the wobbly platform, Princess Zelda marched towards the knights and Link. 

“I would hate to interrupt this very important discussion.” The Princess placed the perfect smile on her face. “But it sounds like this fine gentleman named Link is an excellent hero. It sounds wasteful to take him away from New Ordon towards the castle.”

Excuse me Princess, but wouldn’t it be better to take a talented swordsman and train him to become even better versus leaving him here in New Ordin? Or is this some sort of discrimination against Links?” 

Princess Zelda’s face remained calm as Aryll smirked. 

“You know Princess,” Aryll continued. “My friend Jan in Castle town told me that she saw a bunch of new recruits shipped out in the middle of the night. There’s been a rumor swirling around Castle Town and the rest of Hyrule that they were all named Link. It’s called the great migration of Links. Jan even told me there was a little flyer going about stating that anyone with a child named Link should leave Castle Town. Why is that Princess?” 

Not an ounce of emotion escaped Zelda as she answered. “I cannot speak on the orders of the King, but that is only a rumor. Anyone named Link is in safe hands and there are still plenty of Links in Castle Town as it is a very common name these days.”  

Aryll rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say Princess.” She walked back into the crowd, leaving only Link with the knights and Zelda. 

“I’m so sorry about Aryll, she can be very over protective sometimes.” Link ran his hand through his messy hair. “It’s just us, and I think that she wants me to not worry about her so she acts tough. But I think she’s worried and wants the best for me just as much as I worry about her. She’s always wanted to go to Castle Town. We both have, but it’s hard to make a new life somewhere unless we had the ticket to do so.”

Nivan and Owin stood silently as they watched the Princess. After an uncomfortable amount of silence, Nivan cleared his throat. 

“I apologize that this conversation probably wasn’t what you hoped or expected. Truthfully, there is a lot of worry these days since the King lowered the age required to start training as a soldier. I myself, started a few years ago as a barely fifteen year old kid. And, even then it felt a little rushed. Sure, I had trained a lot throughout my childhood for this moment, but I couldn’t help but wonder how my path would have played out if I waited another year to join. It sounds like you have a lot of potential Mr… Link. We just want to confirm that this is absolutely what you want to do.” 

“Would I be able to bring Aryll with me to Castle Town?” Link asked immediately. 

Nivan placed the smallest smile on his face. “Aryll couldn’t join you if you were to live in the knights corridors at  the castle, but there is someone I know who would love to have some company… so long as Aryll likes the smell of leather and occasionally helping deliver some shoes.” 

Link smiled. “I’m sure she would be okay with that. Thank you so much!” 

As Link disappeared into the crowd, Zelda’s eye twitched. 

Impa walked within the shadows down the street Her silhouette merely just another piece of the darkness of the night. There were few lanterns lit in the gentle lakeside town of Jetier, and the only noise audible was the gentle lapping of the water onto the docked boats. Above her the sky remained clear, with hundreds of stars scattered like a painting. Behind her, Cerise followed as Impa’s own shadow. 

When the two women removed themselves from the shadows and stepped onto the docks, a tall Zora in a hooded robe emerged from a long silver canoe. He held out his hand as he gently guided each woman into the boat. Without a sound the silver canoe glided out into the dark waters of Lake Hylia. 

After gaining some distance from the sleepy town of Jetier, Orujan removed his hood. His green eyes seemed to almost glow against the moonlight as he looked at something far off in the distance. With his giant head fin, he propelled the boat towards the towering cliffs on the other side of the lake. 

No one uttered a word as the boat glided across the waters. Instead of steering them towards the mouth of the Zora’s river, the canoe stopped near a small beach. Both Impa and Cerise removed their hoods as they stepped out onto the water-logged sand and towards a small patch of grass. 

Orujan placed his hand onto the cliffside and a soft click echoed throughout the area. Slowly, a tiny doorway emerged from within the cliffside and welcomed its guests with only darkness. All three walked through the entrance without a second thought or glance, and as they vanished, the door concealed itself back into the cliff. 

The room where Impa, Cerise, and Orujan entered was dimly lit with torches and already occupied. Sitting in an elegant and rather large chair sat Queen Rutamina, and beside her was the little pink Zora Camaron. Standing near one of the torches was Dario, and sitting on the floor was Pom. 

Pom twirled a pencil in her hair as she gazed up at Impa and Cerise. A pair of goggles rested crooked on her head and her lab coat pooled around her frame on the floor. “Nice of you two to show up.”

Impa wrapped her cloak tighter against her body as she walked around the room. You know Pom, it’s getting harder and harder to sneak out of Castle Town these days. The King is getting more paranoid about all of the wrong things.” 

“So he still does not believe in the King of Darkness coming back?” Queen Rutamina asked. 

“Correct.” Impa smirked. “The man thinks this is all my fault and the Sheikah’s fault and that we all want him gone. Does he really think that the Sheikah are going around plaguing the children of Hyrule with nightmares and murdering anyone named Link?” 

“Well, our King hasn’t proved himself to be the brightest torch in the room.” Pom stated. “But besides our King dearest, we should talk about any updates.” 

“To state the obvious, we still only have two sages officially confirmed. We went from two very likely guesses to who they were to now both of them holding their sage stones.” Impa looked at Queen Rutamina before directing her gaze at Dario. “This has taken us years, and it is something we need to expedite when looking for the remaining four sages.” 

“Earth, wind, lightning, and shadow.” Pom yawned. “Kokiri, Rito, Gerudo, and Sheikah supposedly.”

“How has been your attempt to reach the Kokiri Pom?” Impa raised her eyebrow.

“You know, they call it the Lost Woods for a reason.” Pom continued to twirl her pencil. “I keep wandering in and any way I enter I just end up leaving. These guys just do not want to be found.”

“You’re going to have to take a different approach then in contacting them. Have you done intel around the area?” 

“Impa, the closest town to the woods is New Ordon, and all of those people are young and full of legends.” Pom raised her eyebrow back.

“Maybe those legends are your key to getting into the Kokiri village.” Impa tapped her foot. 

“Well how is your luck going with the rest of the sage search.” Pom deflected. 

“Cerise.” Rutamina smiled from her chair. “I heard from Rudi that Mystique had visited Booru’an. Is she assisting us with looking for the sage of lightning?” 

Cerise scowled. Her eyes darted around the room, unable to focus on a single object. “No, I would never send her to go do that considering how dangerous that specific task is. She was delivering mail and got put in jail.” Cerise focused her gaze on a torch near  the middle of the room. “And Kanchana told her that she was a Sheikah and she was mad at me last time we spoke.” 

The room remained quiet only for a moment before Pom laughed. “Cerise I told your daughter she was a Sheikah during our first lesson.”

Cerise’s head whipped around and stared directly at Pom. “What.” 

Pom laughed a little bit longer before she cleared her throat. “I told your daughter she was a Sheikah after she informed me that she wanted to deliver mail, and that was an improper path for a Sheikah. She either forgot that I mentioned such a thing or just stubbornly refused to believe it was true… something she probably inherited from her mother.” 

“Well she believed Kanchana when she told her.” Cerise crossed her arms. 

“Mystique is also much older now for a Hylian than she was when Pom was her teacher.” Queen Rutamina smiled warmly. “Teenagers tend to take things to heart and understand the gravity and meaning behind words more than when they were younger. To Mystique, Pom’s words might have meant little more than a label, whereas Kanchana’s circumstance was… more intense.” Queen Rutamina directed her gaze towards Impa, and the warmth in the room dimmed. 

“We’ve spent too much time talking about this.” Impa took a big step towards the center of the room. “Kanchana has declined to assist with looking for the sage of lightning anyways, so that will be a later project to handle. What is important now is focusing on finding the sage of earth and the sage of shadow.” 

“What about the sage of wind?” Dario spoke, his voice echoed against the walls of the room. “Shouldn’t that be an easy enough task?” 

Impa frowned. “Tyto is taking more convincing than I would like to admit to joining the search, hence why he is not here.”

While everyone in the room remained quiet, glances crept and bounced between everyone in the room save for Impa. 

“Impa,” Rutamina began. “It might be best to focus on finding all of the sages at this point… including lightning.” 

“Kanchana already refused to assist and so has Tyto. My hands are tied on this for now.” Impa turned her back and faced the exit.

“Maybe you should go talk to Kanchana yourself and apologize.” As she spoke, coldness slid its way into Rutamina’s voice. 

“I have nothing to apologize for,” Impa said bluntly. 

Queen Rutamina opened her mouth to speak only to close it when she saw Dario signal to her. 

“If Kanchana is being unsupportive, we should still try to get Tyto on board since the search for shadow and earth is taking so long.” Dario said. 

“I’ll have some scouts go check out Medoh.” Impa replied. 

“Aren’t you going to go?” Dario asked. 

“My last conversation with Tyto did not go over well, so I’d rather just get intel.” Without another word, Impa casually walked out of the room and into the shadows. 

Dear Nivan, 

These past weeks, days, and months have all been a blur. It’s been a lot of traveling and delivering mail all over Hyrule while trying to listen and find ways to prove that Levis isn’t the Demon King when I can. The people of Hyrule are so diverse and distinct from every place that I visit. I never would have imagined a few years ago that now I would be traveling all over Hyrule to deliver messages and be as important as I am. My glider is definitely well-worn with how much I have been using it. It really is faster than running on foot! Though, to keep myself in shape, I have been running up and down the mountain roads of Medoh.

Speaking of mountains, I visited Death Mountain a few weeks ago. Daru was a really cool city to visit, with so much of its architecture based on the mountain’s landscape.  Egan was a great host and showed me and Abony all of the fun things about the city that didn’t involve us actually going inside Death Mountain and getting burnt to a crisp. 

The visit to Daru, while mostly fun, had some rougher moments as well. I ran into my mother while I was delivering mail to Dario, and she was not happy to see me. She was upset at Tyto for letting me deliver mail outside of Medoh. I thought the whole point of moving me to Medoh was so that I could grow and train to be a professional mail person. Turns out it wasn’t. 

It’s hard to explain the flurry of emotions  that happened while talking to her. I love my mother, but she always seems to keep so many secrets from me. Like, why did I have to learn about being a Sheikah from Kanchana and not from her. I vaguely remember Pom saying something back when she was my teacher about me being a good Sheikah guard… but I truthfully didn’t fully believe Pom as it was something I thought my mother should have told me. Why couldn’ any of this information come from her. Maybe I ignored the more important parts about who I am because I hoped that one day she would be the one to tell them to me. Instead I told her what Kanchana told me and about all of the horrible things it seems that are associated with being a Sheikah. What’s so cool about being super fast and nimble and blending into the shadows anyways? Clearly nothing considering they all want to hurt someone innocent just to stay on Impa’s good side. Pathetic. 

And to make the journey even less great than it should have been, I ran into Roul. The jerk still continues to be a jerk. I admit I might have been a little harsh to him in our conversation, but I don’t care. I don’t care that he got sent to Death Mountain, and I only care a little bit about what happened to Link. I have yet to be sent to Castle Town to deliver mail, as it is  the one place Tyto refuses to send me, so I only really know the details of Link’s death from what you wrote and from the whisperings of other Ritos. Cuphas’s cousin said that all the Links got sent out of Castle Town because they all kept getting mysteriously murdered. I know you said you ran into a poe and that is what killed him, but I wonder if it is that same creature doing this work or if it is a bunch of coincidences or even a bunch of similar creatures. I hope that they figure it out soon. I am worried about how Castle Town has become in recent years, and I hope that my father moves away soon. If he can. 

-Mystique 

Chapter Text

Chapter Fourteen: Special Orders

The smell of the Earth was crisp and fresh from the recent rain. Leaves rustled a cheery chime as the breeze danced through the forest. Nivan felt the softness of the dirt as he stepped deeper into the forest and heard the uneven and whimsical footsteps of Paige somewhere behind him. 

When Nivan and Paige had stood on the edge of the forest, the gentle hum and lifestyle of New Ordon behind them, he felt the smallest wave of unease coming from within the trees. When he had visited several weeks ago with Princess Zelda and Owin, he couldn’t put words to that feeling, but now standing so close to the trees he could label it quite clearly. The knots in his stomach curled and fumbled about and the will to walk into the forest felt like an impossible task. 

Yet, as he had unfortunately learned moments before, Link had gone into the forest for the day to help protect the woodsmen as they chopped and filled their quotas for wood. The boy, who had been one of several recruitments from New Ordon, had to be given special treatment by orders of the Princess. And, instead of waiting by his home with his sister Aryll to leave for Castle Town, Link had gone into the woods. Taking orders did not seem to be his strong suite. 

So, now here Nivan was, somewhere deeper into the forest looking for a Blonde boy with a sword and Hylia knows what else. A little smirk escaped across Nivan’s face as he thought about the situation until he heard a loud crash from behind him. Quickly, Nivan turned around to see that Paige had walked into a tree. 

“For Hylia’s sake, can you be a little more careful and quiet?” Nivan whispered. He was unsure why he whispered. 

Paige just laughed into the tree before she unsteadily waltzed back towards Nivan. “Shouldn’t I be the one in front?” 

“Actually, I told you to stay and wait with Aryll as it was probably safer.” Nivan shook his head. “I have no idea what kinds of creatures are out here as the woods aren’t really documented. The further we walk in, the more trouble there could be.” 

“Nivan, it’s just some trees you worrywort.” Paige twirled around.

“The woodsmen needed a knight and an escort, so that means there is something.” Nivan whisper-shouted. 

Paige tilted her head and smiled. “And yet here we are, in the woods.” Paige pondered for a second. “But actually we are only here because you let Link join the knights, and Princess Zelly Welly got mad at you and ordered you to retrieve Link yourself.” 

“And you could have stayed in Castle Town with Owin and the Princess, but instead you rushed out of the castle and followed me.” Nivan paused. “Who’s doing your job while you are out dancing around New Ordon woods?” 

“The Princess is an adult, she can handle herself for a few days. Plus, she has Owin and Impa and any Sheikah she asks to assist her in the castle.” Paige did a little dance around Nivan as she started to walk in front of him. “I honestly don’t understand why they even assigned a servant to Princess Zelda. I was told that my mother was close friends with Kassandra so it was just a favor to help me not be on the streets.” 

Nivan walked faster so that he walked next to Paige’s dancing. “I didn’t know that the Queen had friends.” 

“Everyone has friends, silly.” Paige laughed. “Like you and Zelda are my friends, and so is little Snowball.” 

“You can’t count the dog as a friend.” Nivan chuckled. 

A little laugh echoed from on top of Nivan’s head as Lumina bounced into the air. “I’m surprised you would even want to consider this knucklehead a friend, Paige.” 

Paige’s eyes widened. “Oh my Hylia I completely forgot about your little fairy! She’s soo cute!” Paige went to go pet Lumina, but just as quickly as Lumina lazily bobbed in the air she darted high towards the trees. 

“No touching,” Lumina said, a little tsk sound escaping after her words. “I’m not some dog and I will actually paralyze you.” 

Paige’s eyes went even more wide. “Woah, I didn’t know that fairies could do that. You see Hylians know so little about fairies as they aren’t really around for us to see other than in books that Queen Kassandra had Zelda and myself read and that they only associated with the Kokiri of the forest but no one has also seen a Kokiri in like forever and there were rumors that they could leave the forest but that they would take on a different form that the average Hylian did not understand or process and…” Paige took in a big gasp of air. “And do you think we will see some fairies or Kokiri?” 

“No,” Nivan and Lumina responded as they continued their walk. 

“Why not?” Paige asked, her footsteps uneven and her eyes looking at everything and anything she could. 

“Because no one has seen a Kokiri for as long as we haven’t seen a demon king.” Nivan replied coolly, his attention focused on the path immediately in front of him. “The King probably thinks of them as nothing more than fairy tales to tell to little Hylians.”

“But Lady Impa is looking for them, so there must be some truth to them?” 

Nivan glanced towards Paige. “And how do you know what Lady Impa is doing?” 

Paige twirls around, “Nivan I’m not stupid and I have eyes and ears. Impa isn’t really good at hiding her plans unless the King is standing next to her, but even then deep down he knows.”

“It’s kinda funny.” Lumina bobbed closer to Nivan’s head. “That you have a King that believes in absolutely nothing and then you have Impa that believes in everything and takes the past a little too seriously.”

“How so?” Paige asked. 

“History does repeat itself, but it can be fluid and altered in how it plays out. Like one of those fun house mirrors at a festival. It’s showing you something a little different than what you currently are. For example the sage of water has always been a daughter or son of a Zora royal, but who says that it can’t be someone else?” Lumina landed on Nivan’s head. “She also thinks that she can find the sages through trial and error and some magic box, but I bet you that box does nothing.” 

Nivan stopped. “Lumina, how do you know all of this?” 

“I get bored sometimes when I stay at the Castle and explore.” Lumina responded, her voice a little too casual. 

“I can tell you what is in the box.” Paige jumped in, a little hint of excitement crept around her words. “It’s full of sage stones. There is a stone for water, fire, earth, wind, shadow, and lightning. Whenever a stone glows for someone that means it is choosing them to be a sage.” Paige paused. “Actually there is an eighth stone in there meant for Princess Zelda, but I am not sure why Impa carries it around instead of delivering it to her.” 

Nian shook his head, “both of you are saying very secret information that anyone could hear right now you both know that right?” 

Paige and Lumina stop and look around the woods. Nothing can be heard save for the occasional tweet from the birds and the distant sound of chopping. 

“We must be getting close to the woodsmen,” Nivan said. “You can hear them.” 

The forest sighed and shifted as the group continued their journey. Nothing in the forest felt immediately sinister, as there were only trees and dirt for as far as anyone could see. Nothing seemed to be waiting behind fallen logs or hidden amongst the leaves waiting to pounce on any unsuspecting traveler. Nothing clawed at the group’s feet and screamed and hollered barbaric sounds at them as they ran frantically towards their destination. It was just a quiet and gentle forest until it wasn’t. 

The entropy in the forest seeped in abruptly as Nivan, Paige, and Lumina walked towards the sound of axes hitting trees. There was a loud, swift, thud followed by a prolonged echo of an ax hitting something hard followed by a scream not quite Hylian. Then, quite quickly the Hylian screams followed only to be drowned out by a medley of squeals and shrieks. 

It was at this point that Nivan began to sprint towards the noises, sword already drawn, with Paige further behind. 

By the time Nivan had reached the worksite, there was a horde of Bokoblins already consumed in the chaos of attacking the woodsmen. And, within that chaos, a small boy in green with a sword hastily attempting to scare the bokoblins away. 

“He’s outnumbered.” Nivan muttered under his breath as he ran towards Link with his sword aimed at the bokoblins. Nivan did not play and attempted to frighten off the bokoblins and immediately went for slashes that would deal a killing blow. Two bokoblins quickly fell. 

“Thanks,” said Link out of breath. “But now you’ve just angered them and we have to fight them all.” Link paused. “Normally they just tend to go away after stealing some fruit.”

Nivan’s eyes narrowed. “What.” 

Nivan was answered by the blood curdling shrieks of the remaining bokoblins, their eyes red as they thrashed about the worksite. The woodsmen held their axes steady as the bokoblins bounded and slashed at anything they could. 

Nivan sighed and easily took out three more bokoblins. Link followed suit and took out two more on his own. 

After what seemed like an eternity of shrieking and squealing, the horde dwindled down to only a few bokoblins. As they looked around the worksite, and realized there were more Hylians than them, they ran off into the forest, a piece of fruit in their hands. 

Nivan wiped his brow. “You know if you keep letting the bokoblins take from your worksite they will keep coming back for more food. They will see you all as easy targets, and if they came when you didn’t have fruit it could end up much worse.” 

There was confidence in Link’s voice as he spoke. “We’ve dealt with bokoblins in the forest for so long and their numbers just keep growing. This is what we have to do to get by Mr. Nivan.” 

“Just call me Nivan,” Nivan said before he amplified his voice to the crowd. “Is everyone okay?” 

Many of the woodsmen simply gave a thumbs up towards Nivan or nodded before they turned around and went back to work. Soon the forest filled with the rhythmic sounds of axes as they chopped into wood. 

“Guess we should stay here and wait for them to be done before I bring you to Castle Town.” Nivan said in no general direction. 

Paige lightly kicked a fallen bokoblin on the ground. “What are you going to do with all these bokoblin bits?” 

“The forest will take care of it,” Link shrugged. “No need to stress ourselves over it.” 

Lumina bobbed near one of the bokoblins and stared at its beady eyes and rolled out tongue. “You could harvest some of these parts and sell them. I bet that they’d do well on the black market.” 

Link looked towards Lumina with a face of disgust while Paige showed interest. Nivan simply attempted to ignore the comment. 

“What are the most prized parts of a bokoblin?” Paige asked.

“The teeth, horn, and claws.” Nivan answered immediately. “Some of them wear necklaces that can also go for a lot depending on who is buying, but many people see the necklace as a waste and it being rather ugly.” 

Link continued to look disgusted. “Why are you all talking about stealing off of a monster’s body? Just let the forest take it.” 

Nivan smirked. “The teeth, horn, and claws are sought after mostly by monster hunters and potion makers who see the items as good baselines for spells. The dullness or neutral component of a simple bokoblin horn is great at amplifying a more potent monster part such as something that can cause paralysis, burning, or frostbite. But even then these parts can be used for everyday uses such as cleaning products, mixtures to build structures, or even prized decorative pieces. Most people usually let others get their hands dirty so they let people such as the knights of Hyrule do the work.” Nivan pulled out two little blades from his belt and handed one to Link. “We better get started harvesting after all, there’s a lot of bokoblins here and as a knight this is one of your tasks.” 

Link hesitantly reached out towards the knife, the disgust only spread deeper into his face. As his hand wrapped around the butt of the knife a scream erupted from the worksite. 

Link and Nivan turned around and watched as a large boney hand grabbed a woodsman and dragged him deeper into the forest. The woodsman’s screams echoed between the trees as he disappeared. 

“Well, that’s new.” Link said, his voice a little shaky. 

Nivan strode towards the direction where the woodsman disappeared. “Come on Link, it’s time to go save someone.” 

Link tripped as he caught up to Nivan, as the two boys began their journey deeper into the forest Nivan suddenly stopped and turned around. Only a few paces behind them was Paige with Lumina floating by her side. 

“Paige, you need to stay here and not follow us.” Nivan said sternly. 

Paige smiled. “No.” She answered warmly. 

Nivan grimaced and turned his attention back towards the direction where the woodsman went. He ignored the humming from Paige as he followed the path. 

While he searched for the lost woodsman, Nivan noticed that the forest itself was changing around him. The air felt thicker, with little wisps of fog that slithered between the trees. Where there could have been sunlight that beamed between the leaves was only a slightly greenish glow. Bells could be heard off in the distance. 

“It seems we’ve walked straight out of New Ordon Woods and into Faron Forest.” Link said, his eyes watched the fireflies that drifted above them. “We usually don’t like to go this far unless it’s an emergency.” 

“I think someone getting taken by a wallmaster is an emergency,” Nivan said, his voice giving in to no emotion. “The real question with wallmasters is where would they drop whatever they’ve taken.” 

“Is that what that was?” Link asked.

“Yes, though that’s the first time I’ve ever seen one. They tend to be reclusive from what I’ve read. Not sure what provoked it to take one of your woodmen.” Nivan shook his head. 

“Strange…” Link murmured, his eyes shifted as he looked at everything around him. 

Paige danced between the wisps of fog at her feet, and around Nivan and Link. THe song she hummed as she moved within the woods was simple and slightly upbeat. Nivan raised an eyebrow as his attention drifted between where he was walking and where Paige existed within the woods. 

“Why did you follow us, don’t you know how dangerous this could be?” Nivan said. 

“Sure.” Paige smiled. “But it could have also been dangerous for me to stay with the woodsmen. You are supposed to be the one protecting me after all.” 

Nivan just simply rolled his eyes.

“What were you  humming?” Link asked. 

“The forest song.” Paige answered unphased. “Queen Kassandra used to hum a lot of old melodies to Zelda and I when we were really little.” She paused. “The forest song was said to be a way that a hero of old communicated with the Kokiri.” 

“I don’t think an old nursery song is going to make the Kokiri come running to you.” Lumina answered as she floated near Nivan. 

“How far do you think the wallmaster took Olric into the forest?” Link asked, his hand hovered near the hilt of his sword as his eyes glanced in multiple directions. 

“It most likely dragged him to a point of interest. Like, a landmark.” Nivan looked over at Link. “Is there anything like that documented in Faron forest?” 

Link shook his head. “No one really explores Faron forest without a reason. We were told as kids that this is the place where evil creatures lurk and steal little kids away to be lost forever.” 

“Right… so whatever landmark the wallmaster went to is most likely a geographic one.” Nivan paused. “Or a Kokiri one.” 

The group remained quiet as the trek led them deeper into the hazy mists of the Faron forest. While Link kept his hand near his hilt, Nivan walked calmly and slightly ahead of the rest of the group. 

Truthfully, within Nivan’s own mind he was terrified as the knot within his stomach grew and festered inside of him. Yet, with enough training he kept his face cool. Nivan was also unsure why, but with no actual direction to follow on the trail, he followed the sensation of the knot and prayed that it would lead them to something. Or worse, that they would not get forever lost in these woods. 

For how hazy and green the Faron forest was, there was a lack of creatures, Nivan noted. While in Ordon woods he could hear the rummaging of creatures within the leaves and the chirping of birds in the air. Now all that greeted them was the thickening green mists and the random chime someone near and yet far to them. It also did not help that there were no screams from the woodsman to follow, and that the wallmaster did not leave tracks on the ground. 

Nivan looked up to try and determine the time but all he saw was green and no sun. “This might be a lost cause.” He whispered. “For the love of Hylia let this not go on for much longer.” 

As if Hylia herself had heard his prayers, the group stepped into a slight clearing in the woods. Now, before them was a massive stone gate with walls that towered high into the sky on both sides for as far as the eye could see. A small wooden hut, covered in moss, stood near the entrance. Two torches rested on either side of the gate and were both lit. Their orange flames felt muted against the cool tones of everything else in the forest. 

There was no door for the massive gate. Instead, standing in front of it was a large suit of armor, its hands wrapped around a large ax. In front of the armor laid the woodsman, his body crumpled onto the ground. Link gasped and began to run towards the woodsman, only for Nivan to put his arm out in front of him. This time, Nivan drew his sword. 

The armor began to rattle and shake. Its arms struggled as it drew the ax out of the ground. With one might swing the ax now rested on the shoulder of the armor, and two red eyes glowed from within the helmet. 

“For the love of Hylia, why is there a darknut in the middle of the forest!” Nivan whispered, his eyes stared directly at the darknut. 

The darknut took one long step towards the group over the woodsman. Its armor clanked and shuddered loudly with each mechanical step. Nivan watched in anticipation of the creature’s every step before he began to walk away from the rest of the group. And as Nivan moved, the darknut changed its direction towards him. By the time the darknut got within a few feet on Nivan, it slowly raised his ax and swung. 

Nivan sidestepped out of the way of the ax and swung his sword into the darknut’s side. His sword hit the armor with a loud clang that did not stop the darknut in the slightest. The armored creatures turned towards Nivan again and swung its ax. 

And just like the time before Nivan sidestepped out of the way. This time he went a bit further back and aimed his sword at the gap between the armor. The darknut let out a grunt as it stepped forward. A look of relief flooded Nivan’s face as he retreated following the darknut’s next attack. The creature took its ax and spun around horizontally and twirled around the opening at the fastest it had ever moved. Nivan watched as the darknut slowed its momentum and left another chance for Nivan to strike between the armor plates, which he did as soon as he saw it. 

The darknut grunted again, and again the little dance proceeded between the two. The darknut would swing and spin and Nivan would sidestep and dodge until the opening to strike arose. It felt like an eternity as the fight dragged on through the forest. 

From the sidelines Link, Paige, and Lumina watched. Link held his sword in his hand and observed Nivans moves against the dark nut while Paige twisted her wrists between her hands. Lumina yawned. 

Link slowly stepped into the clearing and walked towards Olric the woodsman, his eyes glanced over to where Nivan and the darknut fought. Cautiously he grabbed Olric’s arms and dragged him towards the little wooden house next to the gate. With each clang and thud of metal, Link turned his head in the direction of the fight. He let out a small sigh as he felt the wooden door press up against his back. Link let go of Olric and pushed open the door to  the little house, before he dragged Olric in as well. 

The inside of the little house was dark save for a candle lit on the table. An aroma of moss and wet earth filled the room as Link shuffled Olric’s body towards a frayed rug on the floor. As he looked around the room he noticed that the house itself only had one room, with a table and chairs, a small section for a kitchen, and a tiny little bed. On the tiny little bed was a doll. 

Link walked over to the bed and picked up the doll. It was old and dusty with blue button eyes and blonde straw hair. The doll wore a little green hat with a matching green tunic. Two brown leather boots dangled from limp stuffed legs.

“I wonder who used to live here?” Link asked himself.

“Hey.” Something responded. “Hey, can you put me down?” 

Link yelped and dropped the doll onto the bed. As he stared down at the doll it stood back up and wiped the dust off its tunic with its little cloth hands. It shook itself before it floated into the air and stared directly into Link’s face. 

“It’s not polite to pick people up.” The doll said. 

“You’re a doll!” Link gasped out. “How are you talking and moving?” 

The doll shrugged. “I dunno. How are you moving?” 

“I’m alive.”

“So am I.” The doll answered. 

“Okay,” Link paused. “What’s your name?”

“Don’t have one.” The doll answered. “You can give me one if that makes you feel better.” 

“Okay.” Link stared at the doll and noticed a tiny white tag that stuck out from its tunic. He reached out and pulled on the tag to see what it said. To Link’s dismay, the tag was ripped and frayed. The Mario… is what it said. “I guess your name is Mario.” 

“Mario?” Mario asked. 

“Yeah that’s what your tag says.” Link glanced back towards the entrance to the house and could still hear the fight outside. 

“What’s going on out there?” Mario asked.

“My boss is fighting a darknut.” Link answered. “We came here to rescue someone and now this is happening.” 

“Interesting…” The doll drifted towards one of the windows. Somehow its button eyes lit up. “This is wild. I’ve never seen so many Hylians out here before.” 

“Who do you normally see?” Link asked. 

“Monkeys… the occasional Kokiri. Actually this is a Kokiri’s house. I wonder when he will be back.” 

“Are you his assistant?” 

“No, he just found me in the woods and brought me here. I’m sure he wouldn’t miss me if I left.” 

“Where would you go?” 

Mario turned towards Link. “Well why don’t you take me where you’re going. I’ll act all normal unless around you.” 

Link winced. “Uh, sorry no, that seems like a bad idea.” 

“Hmmmmm.” Mario floated around the house. “Then I guess I could blackmail you.”

Link’s eyes went wide. “You’ll what?”

“Blackmail you… I could take that man on the ground and possess him or something.” Mario floated towards Olric. 

“No!” Link shouted. “No no no don’t do that. I’ll take you. Just act like a normal doll though. I’m already on thin ice with everyone it seems.” 

“How so?” Mario twisted its little stuffed head towards Link.

“It’s because my name is Link and that name is bad luck right now it seems.” 

Mario lazily floated around in the air. He chuckled a bit as his head looked up towards the ceiling. He began to appear as he swam on his back as he glided about the room. Link glanced outside the window again to see the fight between Nivan and the darknut still going on, the fight slow and full of pauses. 

“I’m going to go back outside,” Link said as he looked up at Mario. “Just act like a normal doll when I come back to grab Olric alright? I’ll think of something if my boss asks about you.”

Without waiting for an answer, Link drew his sword and left the little cabin. Outside, he casually walked towards the fight between Nivan and the darknut. Link watched as Nivan dodged yet another swing from the darknut and struck between the plates of armor. As the darknut let out a groan Link drove his sword swiftly into the wound. He shook and wiggled his sword in the area until both boys heard the clang and clunk of a plate of armor as it topped onto the ground.

The darknut shook itself like a dog and the other side of armor fell onto the ground. Suddenly, the darknut began to rush Nivan and Link, its weapon already mid swing. Nivan just barely managed to roll out of the way, but Link was met with the darknut’s arm as it elbowed him down and into the ground. The air rushed out of Link in one big cough as his body landed heavily onto the soft  grass and earth. 

With its newfound speed, the darknut did not hesitate before it lifted its ax to swing down onto Link’s body. The ax glistened from the light from the torches near the gate, and Link’s face was covered in fresh dew from the ground around him. 

Time slowed down as the ax swung down towards Link with the full intention of splitting him in half. Nivan, at this point was up and in a full sprint towards the darknut, his sword out and aimed at the darknut’s torso. Paige, from the sidelines let out a little scream. She reached down towards the ground, her hands digging through the earth while her eyes were squeezed shut. Link closed his eyes. 

Instead of the sound of metal as it slashed through flesh. A light and delicate bounce, the sound of metal hitting rubber echoed in the Faron forest. The darknut, confused, stumbled back and away from Link only to be skewered by Nivan’s sword as he rushed into the creature. Another sound, a more guttural cry reverberated over the chimes of the forest as the darknut crumpled to the ground. Link opened his eyes just long enough to see the yellow glow and sparkle of something magical before it disappeared into the mists. 

Nivan's breath was heavy as he turned around towards Link, still on the ground and Paige who held a rock in her hand. Lumina bobbed in the spot where Nivan had been only moments before. 

“That was really stupid and you could have gotten yourself killed!” Nivan shouted. “Do you know how dangerous a darknut is?” 

“I… I was just trying to help.” Link said, his voice wavered. “The fight had been going on for so long that I thought I could have helped speed it up.” 

Nivan placed his head in his hand. “No, what you did was risky. You should have stayed by Paige and retreated with the woodsman’s body if things went sour. Darknut’s aren’t that fast after all.” 

Paige dropped the rock onto the ground, which emitted a delicate thunk. “You can’t fight all on your own.” She stated. 

“You’re right,” Nivan answered. “Normally there would be Owin, Percival, Arthur, or more Hylian soldiers. But as the only person with proper training here it was my duty to protect.” 

“I have training.” Link stated as he stood up and brushed the dew off of his pants.

“That’s different.” Nivan looked over at Link. “I used to spar almost every day in Hyrule field. My parents even trained me when I was really young. When I actually got into a real monster battle, while I fought as best as I could, I would have been a goner if not for the Zoras who saved me.” 

Link looked away from Nivan and back towards the cabin. “I’m sorry boss. I’ll go retrieve Olric’s body so we can leave this forest and be on our way to Castle Town.” 

“I’d appreciate that.” Nivan spoke. “Honestly you’ve made this day a lot longer than it needed to be.” 

Link bowed his head down as he went back into the cabin. He glanced down at the doll, which now rested on top of Olric and stuffed it into his shirt. Link grabbed each of Olric’s arms and dragged him back out into the forest. Nivan walked up to Link and grabbed Olric’s torso and hoisted the woodsman over his shoulder. No words were exchanged as the group walked back towards Ordon woods.

Somewhere, amongst the trees, several figures crouched on a tree branch and watched. Their orange and blonde hair curled and  pointed like branches themselves while their green eyes glowed as brightly as the mist within the forest. One of the figures went to open its mouth as it noticed a little green cap sticking out of Link’s clothes, only to have another figure place its tiny hands over the figure’s mouth. A bell chimed in the woods as the figures faded into the mists. 

Mystique looked over the starboard side of the ship, salt air whisked and whipped through her braid and frizzed the hairs around her face. For as far as the eyes could see, the massive blue ocean spread from horizon to horizon. Waves lapped up against the boat with rhythmic beats to add to the neverending chorus of the ocean. The boat itself creaked and groaned as the massive sails held wind and pushed the boat forward. 

Next to Mystique, Abony stood, her little pink feet attempted to curl into the floorboards and her goggles placed over her eyes. Behind the two girls dozens of crewmembers hustled around as they controlled the ship and ensured that everything stayed in tip top shape. To add on top of the beat of the waves, the crew hummed and chanted their own sea shanty as they continued on with their tasks. 

“It sure was nice of Ms. Hammada to let us come on board today.” Mystique said, her eyes wide as she looked around. 

“Sure…” Abony let out. “Though this rocking is making me queasy.” 

Mystique turned, wide eyed towards Abony. “Really? I wouldn’t think that a Rito would get queasy from a little movement.” 

“The air is different from the sea Mystique.” Abony reached her arms out to grab the rail, her head angled down towards  the ocean.

“Do you think that one day we will be able to deliver mail outside of Hyrule to distant lands across the ocean?” Mystique directed her attention back towards the horizon of blue. “I bet that there are so much interesting things out there.” 

Somewhere from behind the two girls, a hearty chuckle filled the air. A woman with a purple bandana wrapped around her head with big hoop earrings walked towards them. Her orange hair was tied into a knotted bun to match her casual attire of a striped shirt and ripped baggy pants. As the woman confidently took her place next to Mystique, she looked down towards her and winked. Mystique only looked up with her eyes still wide, but a little smile plastered onto her face. 

“Long time no see.” Hammada said, the chuckle still in her voice. “I see that you are still delivering mail.” 

“It’s been a wild time all these years!” Excitement crept into Mystique’s voice. “I have been to so many places and towns and I have met so many people you would have no idea!” 

“Well, I appreciate you taking me up on my offer after delivering some letters to me.” Hammada held several envelopes in her hands like playing cards. “After all, you do remember what happened all those years ago.” 

Mystique nodded her head. “Did you ever defeat Gyorg?” 

Hammada’s smile faltered for a moment before she directed her gaze towards the sea. “No.” There was a long pause. “I don’t think anything can stop that monster save for a hero.” Hammada gazed back towards the crew on the ship as they bustled along. “Thankfully the Sheikah stepped in a few months after your visit. They were unable to destroy Gyorg, but they were able to build large enough fisheries out here in the sea to temporarily stabilize the fish population. It’s worked so far, but even with the walls Gyorg still tries to destroy the fisheries to feed its own greedy gullet. So… so now we patrol the sea to make sure that Gyorg doesn’t destroy what little control we have over the situation.” 

“Ah,” Mystique glanced back at the crew. “That explains why we never really ran out of fish all this time.”

“It also helps that Jetier and Medoh have their own smaller quantities of fish for their own people and only need minimal assistance from our supplies.”

“And thankfully Gorons don’t eat fish.” Mystique chimed in. 

Hammada laughed. “If Gorons ate fish we would be out of fish even without the Gyorg problem. I remember being in Castle Town and I watched a Goron eat an entire pillar once.” 

“Really? That doesn’t surprise me Egan said that the Hylians accidentally used some of the best rock roasts when constructing parts of Castle Town, and the Gorons can’t resist the smell of a good rock roast when near one.” Mystique smiled.

“Interesting,” Hammada placed her hand up to her chin. “How does a Goron decipher what rocks are good to eat or not?” 

“I’ll have to ask Egan next time I see him.” Mystique exclaimed. As Mystique opened her mouth to add more to the conversation Abony removed her grip from the railing and walked over to a box. She slumped her tiny Rito body onto the ground and leaned back into the box. 

“I’ve never seen a Rito get seasick before,” Hammada murmured as she looked back towards Abony. She then redirected her gaze back towards Mystique. “But anyways, taking care of our Gyorg problem is still time consuming. This is my shift of Gyorg duty with my crew, and we have built a little something special for him if he shows up today.” 

“Do you think he will show up?” Mystique asked.

“Depends.” Hammada answered. “This fish truly has no pattern to follow as Babbel discovered. The thing just shows up. It isn’t following a fish migration route or the seasons. Ever since the barriers and the fisheries were installed, Gyorg has been as active either. It’s like it's waiting for something.” 

“What do you think that something is?” Mystique asked, her gaze now looked directly below at the water. 

“Darkness, or a potential hero to slay.” Hammada sighed. “The thing with that is that those are hard to properly track too. Babbel thinks that your friend with the fairy attracted Gyorg all those years ago, but he’s not here to prove that.”

A sadness washed over Mystique as she looked up at Hammada. “Nivan is a knight of Hyrule right now guarding Zelda’s servant. I wish he were here too.” 

“I see.” Hammada forced a smile. “That’s amazing that he is doing well as a knight of Hyrule, maybe he can disobey the King and come help us out sometime.” 

Slow shuffled footsteps slowly approached Hammada and Mystique on the boat. A skeletal old man with a white beard and a blue cap made his way next to the railing. 

“Ah, here you are Hammada.” Babbel almost shouted over the noise. “I see you found the shoe delivery girl.” 

Hammada rolled her eyes. “You know that you didn’t have to come on this trip, old man.” 

Babbel scrunched his face. “I needed to be on your stupid boat in the name of science Hammada! How else will I get my data?” 

“You could have had Gonzo tell you.” Hammada paused. “Besides you hate leaving your lab anyways, why is this different?” 

“I had a feeling in my bones.” Babbel hit his chest with his bony fist. “Scientist intuition.” Babbel looked around for a moment. “Where’s the blonde one?” 

Hammada sighed. “Nivan is a knight of Hyrule fulfilling different missions. We only got Mystique today because she delivers mail for the Rito.” 

Babbel shook his head wildly. “That’s a shame I thought you said we had both.” Babbel directed his gaze towards Abony asleep on the ship’s floor. “That explains the little Rito girl on the floor though. It must be amazing to see all of the fauna and flora of the mountains. Not many Hylians get extended stays to live up there.” 

Mystique looked away. “Tyto owed Miss Impa and my mother a favor.” 

Babbel’s face soured and he stuck out his tongue. “Ich that woman.” 

“I thought you would like her considering your traditional ways.” Hammada sneered. 

“No, I am a man of science Hammada. That is a woman deranged in fairy tales.” Babbel shook his head again like a dog. 

“I think there is a balance to both.” Hamamda sighed. “Science is important but science didn’t work on this big nasty fish, so there’s some magic somewhere in the world whether you like it or not.” 

Babbel let out a harumph and patted something off of his lab coat. “Something will scientifically make sense once we see Gyorg fall. Even if it is by a boy in green he might just have something we haven’t found yet… scientifically.” 

Hammada smirked. “Whatever you say old man. I’m going to go check on Gonzo in the crow’s nest.” Confidently, Hammada turned her back towards Babbel and sauntered off towards the ladder attached to the tallest pole on the ship. She climbed up the ladder gracefully and without breaking a sweat. By the time she reached where the sail began to billow and sway in the wind she was out of sight. 

“Did you know that Sheikah have a genetic trait that makes them more nimble and quick compared to the average Hylian? It has something to do with having lighter bones in their bodies. This makes them not only excellent secret guards but also at construction. The first Sheikah settlement before it was burned down was said to have been built faster than any Hylian city ever could be. The Sheikah people were also philosophers and said to have a higher IQ than the average Hylian as well.” Babbel babbeled out into the open air. 

“That’s… neat.” Mystique shrugged her shoulders. “Why do you bring this up?” 

“Small talk.” Babbel shouted. “I’m sure Hammada told you of the Sheikah’s assistance with these barriers and fisheries and I wanted to explain how it was all possible.” 

“Is that why so many of them live in Hyrule Castle?” Mystique asked, her tone teetering between forced and curious. 

“I’m no historian, but from what little we know is that the Sheikah were forced to either stay or leave Hyrule. Those that stayed ended up being servants to the Royal family and only servants. Over time it seems that the term became looser. It’s funny what time can do honestly.” Babbel let out a small chuckle, his body shook from the force.

“How so?” Mystique asked. 

“Just an old man’s understanding of the world.” Babbel held his stomach with his hand and hobbled over towards the center of the ship. “If you excuse me I have to make sure my inventions are ready for when that beast decides to show up.” 

Mystique placed her hand in her hand as she slumped down onto the railing. Besides the occasional seagull that hovered in the air and the continuous beat of the waves, not much seemed to change on the horizon. 

Mystique thought back to Castle Town and what she remembered the last time she was there. The crowds were already starting to dim, with many carriages filled to the brim with food, furniture, and Hylians departed. She remembered that the air no longer mingled with dozens of scents and the chatter between streets sounded uncertain and confused. That morning she had left with her mother, breakfast had been quiet save for her father’s tears into his toast. A pang hit  Mystique’s chest as she realized she hadn’t seen her father in years, nor had she seen Nivan. 

She wondered if Nivan and her father still looked the same, or had time changed them just like it probably changed her. Mystique shook her head as  the thoughts kept filling her head. Brief blips of her childhood ran in and out of her mind without any time to ponder. The bug covered parasol of Agitha. The wild red hair of Link. Roul as he towered over his gang. Fiona as she twirled her hair bored. Hudde’s brown eyes always looking shocked. Dampe as he hobbled through Castle Town. Rudi’s striped head fin as she wandered through Zora’s Domain. How big Orujan felt when she first saw him. How Queen Rutamina was somehow even bigger than Orujan. Deliro as he lovingly talked to Ruto. Shoes. Impa’s red eyes. Pom’s big bun. Shoes. Her father, Nivan. 

In her trance, Mystique did not hear as Gonzo and Hammada shouted from atop the crow’s nest. Within minutes both Gonzo and Hammada raced down the ladder onto the ship floor and waved their arms frantically. Hammada pointed at several crew members and shouted orders at them. Gonzo ran to the wheel of the ship and directed the helmsman. It wasn’t until the boat jerked suddenly that Mystique stepped away from her thoughts and stared around at the organized chaos. 

Babbel stood at the bow of the ship, his gaze focused out towards the sea. Mystique leaned forward over the rails to see a large spiked fin as it sliced through the blue waves. The ocean suddenly felt jagged and no longer one harmonious song. Mystique ran over to Abony and lifted her off of the ground. Together the two girls walked towards the front of the ship where Babbel still stood. 

“The stupid fish came after all.” Babbel muttered. “I wonder what the chances were.” 

Hammada ran to the front of the ship and took her position next to Babbel. Gonzo followed shortly behind. Silence fell onto the ship as the five of them watched Gyorg as it zig zagged through the water. 

“Steady.” Hammada said, her left hand raised high into the air. Gyorg raced closer towards the ship. “Steady.” Hammada repeated. 

Soon, Gyorg was only a few meters away. 

Hammada clenched her left hand into a fist. “Fire!” She shouted as she lowered her fist. 

Behind the group, the crewman lowered several objects into the water. There was no loud explosion from a cannon or any noise for that matter. Mystique watched as Gyorg stopped and turned the other direction. She could faintly hear the mechanical whirring of something as Gyorg fled further away from the ship and from the barriers. A faint clicking sound joined the whirring as Gyorg let out a roar and disappeared into the ocean. 

A smile crept onto Hammada’s face as the ocean around the boat turned back into its normal symphony. 

“I can’t believe it worked.” Hammada’s smile grew. 

“What happened?” Mystique looked over excited and confused. Behind Mystique Abony stood stoically. 

“Babbel’s latest invention.” Gonzo chimed in, the smile infecting his face. 

“I call them Ruto 2.0.” Babbel turned away from the bow and started to walk towards the center of the ship. 

As Mystique followed Babbel she noticed the crewmen lifting long metal objects out of boxes. When Mystique got closer she noticed that the long metal objects were shaped like Ruto the shark. She watched as the crewmen tossed in several more Rutos off of the boat. 

“The design was inspired by my brother’s pet shark Ruto.” Babbel said nonchalantly. “I was able to construct these patrol sharks with the help of some Sheikah tech and that nice Sheikah Pom. The final touch to them was using Hammada’s energy balls to charge them up. We will have to keep an eye on all these Ruto 2.0s of course, and Hammada will have to recharge them. But the brilliant predator the shark has become our ally in scaring Gyorg away from the barriers.” 

Hammada caught up to Mystique and Babbel, a large grin on her face. “And now we can focus less on patrolling to scare away Gyorg and more on actually building Salis stronger and better.” Hammada walked over towards the helmsman, the smile still growing on her face. “Alright, let’s go back to shore and celebrate a job well done folks!” 

A chorus of cheers erupted from all over the ship as the helmsman spun the wheel. Mystique felt gravity of the boat turn and pull the entire crew back around towards the sandy shores of Salis. 

Once the ship reached close enough to shore, Mystique watched as the crewmen threw the anchor overboard. It landed into the water with nothing more than a loud splash, with flecks of water flying into the air. The rest of the crewmen lifted and placed the gangplank onto the dock below them. The dock, Mystique noticed, reached far deeper into the ocean than any of the other docks in Jetier. The water below the dock was still deep enough that she could not see the bottom. 

Before anyone left the ship, Abony flew up into the air and raced towards the sandy shore. In the distance, a small plume of sand rose into the air as Abony landed. Worry stitched across Mystique’s face as she raced down the gangplank and down the dock. The town of Salis, which lived on stilts seemed to ebb and flow with the tide itself, the buildings rocked gently like ships themselves. Closer to the shore the houses rested on lower stilts, but still never touched the sandy dunes of the land.

By the time Mystique had reached Abony, she was sitting with her goggles back on top of her head and her whole body baked in sand. Mystique let out a sigh as she sat next to the little Rito. 

“That was quite an exit off the ship.” Mystique laughed. 

Abony just shook her head. “I just really needed to get off of that boat. The swaying was way too much.” 

“You should let Tyto know so that he won’t send you on any sea missions.”

Abony held her head, her eyes spun around a bit. “Yeah, Ty can send Cuphas with you next time any mention of the ocean is mentioned.” 

“I thought Cuphas was only allowed to take routes for Ritos.” Mystique stated. 

“That’s what Cuphas requested from Ty. He may like gambling frogs but the guy is secretly a worrywort. Plus, I think he enjoys his new task of fishing more than mail delivery.” Abony attempted a smile but immediately squeezed her eyes shut. 

Off in the distance Hammada and Gonzo walked down the docks and towards where Abony had landed. Hammada walked in front of Gonzo, her stance still confident while Gonzo’s figure towered over her as he constantly looked around. When Hammada made it to Abony and Mystique, she simply squatted down on her heels and smiled. Gonzo remained standing, 

“That was wild wasn’t it?” Hammada was still beaming. 

“Besides being sea sick, sure.” Abony’s eyes were still closed. 

“Hey Hammada,” Mystique said. “Babbel said your energy balls are what power the Rutos. How do you do that?” 

“Hmmmm.” Hammada placed her hand on her chin. “It’s something my mother could do and she taught it to me like her mother did for her. I just assumed it’s some sort of ability from Termina that the Gerudo pirates had.”

“Can anyone else do it?” Mystique glanced up at Gonzo who merely shrugged. 

“Some of us with Gerudo pirate blood sort of can, like Gonzo’s mom, but it seems that my mother and now myself are the only ones to master it.” Hammada looked away. 

“I wonder if the desert Gerudo can do something like that.” Mystique pondered out loud. “I’ll have to ask Levis or Kanchana next time I deliver mail there.” 

Hammada raised an eyebrow. “You really are well traveled aren’t you Mystique. It makes me want to go visit Castle Town again some time soon or maybe even travel to Termina to see what it is like.” 

“Termina might be more feasible than Castle Town at this time.” Gonzo said. “I’ve heard nasty rumors from the Hylian knights stationed in Salis that the place is a ghost town full of demons. Not sure why the King stays put with the Princess if that’s the case.” 

“Hey,” Hammada looked back at Mystique. “Didn’t you say Nivan is still in Castle Town? What about you parents?” 

Mystique’s face soured. “My father’s business hasn’t really been great from what I’ve heard, but he stays in Castle Town for my mother and her job. I wish I could go see them.” 

Hammada tilted her head. “What’s stopping you?” 

Mystique paused. “I just never really thought about it. Once my mother brought me to Medoh it seemed like I wasn’t supposed to go back.” 

Hammada placed her hand on Mystique’s shoulder. “I think you should visit soon. Who knows what will happen in the future.” Silently Hammada stood up and looked down at Mystique and Abony in the sand. “Now, if you excuse me, Gonzo and I are headed to the pub with the rest of the crew to celebrate. If you could drink I’d invite you, but maybe sometime in the future you can.” 

With her smile still intact, Hammada and Gonzo walked away and deeper into the town of Salis. Several seagulls swayed in the air above as the chatter from the pub echoed up into the world. Specks of sand flew off of Abony and Mystique as the wind gently blew on by, past the girls and out towards the ocean. Mystique stood up and brushed the sand off of her leggings. She extended a hand down towards Abony. 

The throne room was warmly lit to go along with the sandstone walls and furniture of the room. Kanchana sat on her throne, her hair braided into multiple rings that attached to one another and up into her crown. Her legs rested on a little teal pillowed ottoman that matched her top. She let out a sigh as she moved her left arm up and down, the bangles on her wrists slid and jingled to create nothing more than noise that filled the space. 

Cerise kept her head bowed as she entered the throne room, a Gerudo guard on each of her sides. A cloak wrapped loosely around her body, with the hood already taken off and crumpled behind her blonde hair. Her eyes kept steady as she looked up towards the throne and ignored the two spears behind her back. There was no warm smiles exchanged between either woman. 

“Why are you here Cerise.” Kanchana stated into the room, her gaze towards one of the windows near the ceiling. 

Water fell through the windows and down into the stream of water that surrounded the throne room. The air mingled with the sound of running water and Cerise’s footsteps as she stepped into the center of the room. Both guards stayed close to her, their gazes focused on Cerise’s hands.

“I am not here to follow any of Impa’s orders if that is what worries you.” Cerise kept her head lowered. “Afterall, I was the one who warned you of what was to come.” 

“And I appreciate the warning, but a mother can never be too cautious when it comes to the safety of her child.” Kanchana furrowed her brows as she spoke. 

“And yet you told Mystique that she was a Sheikah. Something that in itself is a danger.” Cerise raised her head and stared directly at the throne, her red eyes glimmered in the room’s light. 

Kanchana snapped her attention towards Cerise and stood up. She walked down the steps to her throne and towards the center of the room. “She is old enough to have known that about her Cerise. Keeping her ignorant doesn’t keep her safe either. Levis knows who he is and the history attached to him. He knows the reason that your boss and our supposed friend is trying to kill him.” 

Cerise grimaced. “You’re not the first to tell me this Kanchana. I will admit that I faltered in telling Mystique for fear of what path she would follow. I didn’t want to one day have her killed by Impa’s rashness, or even be the one to kill Levis.” Cerise paused as her voice cracked. “How awful would that be? Our kids pitted against each other like that. I meant to tell her but then the Queen died and I panicked. Impa became hysterical and everything became more intense. I wanted peace for Mystique and not whatever in Hylia is happening now.” 

“Trust me, if Levis could spend his days finding hydromelons and seal surfing I would enjoy that much more. I was hoping that he and Mystique could grow up together more. That we could even visit Castle Town without a worry… Instead he has to stay in Booru’an and never see the world, unlike your daughter.” Kanchana’s face lightened. “Maybe we should grab some tea.” 

Kanchana walked towards a hallway off to the side of the throne room. She gestured towards the room and smiled before she walked through. Both guards prodded Cerise with their spears before she followed. 

By some unknown entity, tea has already been poured into two cups that sat on top of a stone table. A teal and orange table cloth laid over the slab and several matching pillows rested on the floor. Kanchana was already sitting with a mug of tea in her own hands. Carefully, Cerise sat down and followed Kanchana’s lead. 

“You know I wish the same as you.” Cerise began to speak after a sip of tea. “The dream was to bring Mystique here yearly, but then other things got in the way. My Queen started her search after a nightmare of the Demon King and she recruited Impa to assist her. Impa then recruited me despite me no longer living in the Castle. I had sworn to not take part in Sheikah life after leaving and being with Saffron.”

“And how did Impa sweet talk you back to that life?” Kanchana took a sip of her own tea. 

“It wasn’t Impa. I refused her when she came.” Cerise smiled without her eyes. “So she got the Queen to order me back to that life. It still pays pretty well, but it would have been nice to just make shoes with Saffron.”

“What else?” Kanchana looked over at Cerise. “I can tell there is more.” 

“We ended up adopting a boy into our family named Nivan. Obviously he could not visit Booru’an, and it didn’t feel right to separate him and Mystique. They bonded like siblings very quickly.” Cerise paused to blow steam off of her tea. “It even hurt to separate them when I brought Mystique to Medoh while Nivan went to be a part of the knights of Hyrule.” 

“I’m surprised that you let him join the knights of Hyrule.” Kanchana placed her cup onto the table. “You are so protective of Mystique and yet Nivan is in the heart of the danger.” 

“I thought I could find a way to persuade them to post him in Medoh with Mystique.” Kanchana sighed. “Both Mystique and Nivan are stubborn and have had dreams since they were young, but Nivan was not initially raised by me and I could not hide the world from him. I honestly wish I knew who raised him because maybe they could have talked him into a different path.” 

Kanchana raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know who his parents are.” 

“I found him freezing cold in the streets of Castle Town in the dead of night. There were no parents around, and whenever I ask he never tells. No parents ever came around to find him after all these years either.”

“So the boy has secrets. Have you ever asked around in the other cities of Hyrule.” 

“I never really got the chance to do so.” Cerise frowned. “I wish that I had done that though. Though, I have a feeling that his parents aren’t around or want nothing to do with him now.” 

“I bet that there are still ways to find out if you are curious.” Kanchana raised her hand. “We have some excellent soothsayers and witches that could assist.” 

Cerise shook her head. “While it’s a nice thought, I’d rather wait until Nivan wants to tell me or anyone really.” Cerise took a sip of her tea. “Besides that’s not what I am here for.”

“Oh?” Kanchana smiled. “You didn’t come here just to apologize and talk about our kids.”

“I’m sorry.” Cerise said her head bowed. “I do sincerely regret everything that has happened to you and Levis all these years, but I came here on my own business. What do you know about the Sage of Lightning.” 

Kanchana’s face soured. “I see that even here on your own business that Impa still puppets your strings.” She took a sip of tea. “And unfortunately all I can give you is a story.”

“A story is better  than nothing.” Cerise placed her hands around her mug. 

“Very well.” Kanchana began. “The last Sage of Lightning was powerful. She could bend and will the skies to deliver deadly strikes of lightning and send bolts out of her own hands. She was the chief of the Gerudo at the time and willingly assisted the hero on his journey to defeat the Demon King. The enemies of the desert were no match for her. Any battle or skirmish on the Gerudo sands was an easy victory for her, and in the skies her Helmaroc took down anything in its path. Much of the war the Gerudos survived better than the rest of Hyrule. We aren’t sure if it's because the Demon King hailed from our land and went easier on us or if our chief was really that strong.” 

Kanchana paused to take a sip of tea and continued. “By the time the hero came and asked our chief for assistance, the Gerudo desert was manageable for our warriors. So, off she went as the Sage of Lightning with the hero to the fields of Hyrule to assist. Even in the grassy fields she showed no mercy in destroying waves of monsters. It was even rumored that she was the one who defeated the lieutenant and his army of stalfos. This made the Sage of Shadow jealous.”

Kanchana frowned. “Or that is how the story goes. We aren’t really sure how the next part transpired, but after evil was vanquished the King of Hyrule’s first objective was to banish the Sage of Lightning from the land of Hyrule. Some versions say that the Sage of Shadow, a loyal assistant to the king, grew jealous of her power and whispered darkness into his soul to banish our light. Other versions have the King fear her power and the potential that the Gerudo could still over take Hyrule with the Sage of Lightning leading them. And, even some versions have the King blame the eternity of the war on the Gerudo for birthing a male and punish them by sending away the Sage of Lightning to another land. But, every version the Sage of Lightning leaves Hyrule and her sister, who was a skilled fighter but lacked the power of lightning, to lead the Gerudo. That sister is rumored to be my ancestor.”

“Wait.” Cerise tapped her fingers on the table. “You’re saying that the Sage of Lightning lived after the war and was sent away? Don’t the Sages tend to die to aid their soul to the hero” 

Kanchana laughed. “No. Some Sages sacrifice themselves in some stories for the greater good of the hero, but the declaration of being a sage is not a death sentence. It just means that you are blessed with a gift from the gods. There are even some stories where if one sage fails another person could take their place if they have the blessings of the gods.” 

“I’ve never heard that before.” Cerise raised her eyebrow this time.

“That’s because you don’t study enough in Gerudo libraries Cerise. I’m sure the Hylian texts dramatize certain parts for flare.” Kanchana continued to laugh. 

“So what you are saying is that not only can a sage survive but that there can be multiple options.” Cerise shook her head. “If that were the case then why has it taken years just to find a Sage for each category.” 

“Maybe this time the gods only gave the gift to a select few.” Kanchana shrugged. “I don’t know how this works other than what I’ve read. If you want the Sage of Lightning, find a Gerudo who can zap people.”

“Do you know any Gerudos like that?” 

“Cerise,” Kanchana leaned on the table. “I don’t and our Sage got banished. Maybe the gods redistributed the Sage of Lightning somewhere else outside of the Gerudo. Or, maybe the Sage of Lightning is currently in some far away land.” 

Cerise sighed. “That would be horrible if that were true. Despite what you think, your story is probably the most useful piece of information we’ve gathered in awhile.” 

Kanchana chuckled. “Really? That’s sad.”

Cerise smirked as she sipped her tea. Both women sat in silence in the room with their tea cups pressed against their mouths. A small Gerudo entered the room with a giant clay pot shaped like a seal, the Gerudo symbol carved into its belly, and placed it onto the table. She bowed before she left and another Gerudo girl came in and placed a small plate of sliced hydromelon and cheese onto the table. Cerise reached for the teapot and poured more tea into her cup as Kanchana grabbed a slice of hydromelon. 

Outside of the guarded rooms, Levis walked through the throne room streams. His feet barefoot and a slice of Hydromelon in his hand, he hummed a tune into the air. 

Dear Misty, 

How have you been? Castle Town still isn’t great like you have heard. Your father is still here just like the last time I wrote to you and I try to visit him every so often. Your mother usually isn’t home when I swing by as I am sure she is off doing Sheikah things with Impa. I don’t think your father is going to leave Castle Town any time soon despite the decline in shoe orders from the area itself. He seems determined to stay. I actually sent someone to live in our old bedroom and assist him to help with everything going on. 

It’s a complicated situation actually. I accidentally recruited someone named Link from New Ordon, which you know is not a great name to have in Castle Town. And because I was the one to recruit him I was sent to pick him up. The person who is staying with your father is Link’s little sister. They apparently have no parents at New Ordon and Link did not want to leave her there by herself. The Princess saw that as an excellent way to keep Link away from Castle Town, but something just clicked in me to let him come be in Castle Town. I’m not sure what caused that. 

But I regret that decision because this boy was a pain to bring back to Castle Town. He did not listen to my orders to stay put and instead went into the woods. I was frustrated and annoyed and wanted to just get back to training, but instead I had to fight a darknut in the woods while Paige and Link watched. Link also almost got himself killed just trying to accelerate the dark nut fight, but miraculously survived by some unknown force. If that wasn’t weird enough he even packed a doll of the hero with him and the doll sits on his bed in the knights quarter. It feels a little heavy handed, but maybe he thinks he actually is the hero. 

The doll gives me the creeps and Lumina agrees. I’m not sure if the other knights give him a hard time for bringing a doll with him, but only time will tell. Despite all of the detours Link gave me in bringing him back to Castle Town, he has proven himself so far to be a competent swordsman through his current training. Zelda has assigned Link to be glued to my side, so he constantly follows Owin and myself around when we are not with the Princess and Paige. As soon as Princess Zelda enters the room we have been instructed to keep Link away from her. I sort of understand the reasoning that she does not like the boy at all. Or maybe the reasoning is that she doesn’t want to get close to him because he will be the next Link casualty. Or maybe, just maybe, she thinks he is the hero and doesn’t want to be too close to him just in case the Demon King himself came by. 

I do wish you were around to see all of this, but I am so happy that you are able to follow your own dreams just like I am following mine. Maybe I can convince your mother to let you come visit Castle Town sometime soon. It may be dull and dismal here right now, but in a there are rumors that there will be a big party for Princess Zelda’s birthday at the end of the year. I’ll ask to see if you can come to that as I bet you would love being there. There will be tons of people and music and dancing and possibly many people from your travels all appearing in the same place for you to introduce them to me. 

-Nivan

Chapter Text

Chapter Fifteen: Cucco’s Lullaby

Impa remembered the stairs to Medoh when they had just been carved. Sleek, smooth against her feet, and like a piece of art. There had been a slight shine to them as the sun shone high in the sky. Now the stairs had succumbed to time, with cracks between steps and tufts of grass sticking out from within any crevice. Impa kicked her sandal against  the steps, letting little pebbles fall down and added to the destruction. 

Instinctively, Impa placed her hand against the chunk of the mountain where the steps had been carved into. Her hand fumbled and grasped at the air and the space between where something should have been, but wasn’t. She glanced down and stared unamused at the little wooden pole, bent and broken where a railing should have started. 

The journey, as Impa continued on in silence, had nothing of note from her last time at the Rito city. The only difference, like with most things, was time. The Rito children that were once only as tall as her hips towered above her in height as they soared into the skies. Houses that were only concepts now stood tall and housed quaint little Rito families. But she, like everyone else, had been a living part of this. While these things all existed within her last visit, or maybe the last few visits, she remembered a time when it was all different. 

Impa stopped in a little plaza and stared in the directions of the mountains in the distance, the wind tousled her long braid as it danced past her. Somewhere in the vicinity of the plaza, several Rito children screamed as they chased each other through the air. The sound of Ritos as they passed through, their lives continuing on with every second of their day, tasks fulfilled in a lackadaisy manner. A Rito woman hummed as she carried a basket of fish up the next set of stairs. At that moment Impa just closed her eyes. 

She heard the footsteps of Tyto. His talons scratched awkwardly on the stone from the very mountain that he lived on. His beak, whether he realized it or not, made the tiniest clicking sound as he moved, and his necklace clanked and rang out from the rustling of the wind. To anyone around her, Impa knew that these noises meant little save for those who purposefully listened for them. For, as Impa listened to these noises she knew immediately when Tyto had stopped moving, and how he was now only about a foot away from her. 

Tyto cleared his throat. “Welcome to Medoh Ms. Impa.” 

“Thank you for letting me visit,” Impa said, her eyes still closed. 

“Would you like to take this conversation inside?” Tyto asked. 

Impa opened her eyes and looked up at Tyto. His white feathers jostled about in the wind and his gaze fell directly onto her. 

“You look tired.” Impa simply stated as she walked away from Tyto and continued up the stairs. 

“And you don’t?”

“I hide it better.” 

Tyto flew up into the air and past Impa. Impa shook her head as she continued the rest of the trek. 

As Impa reached Tyto’s house, he stood in front of his doorway, his arms crossed. Silently, he opened the door and gestured for Impa to go instead. Without a word, Impa entered.

The inside of Tyto’s home seemed to remain the same since her last visit. It always hung at the top of Medoh, out into the open air. The inside still remained as only one large open room, with a giant window that looked out onto the distant mountains. Two hammocks hung from the ceiling on opposite sides of the room. One had a desk covered in papers adjacent to it, while the other had several decorative pillows thrown on top of it that spilled onto the floor. The center of the room dipped down, with a table and several sitting pillows around it. Impa glanced towards the hammock covered in pillows and noticed something new. A little mattress on the floor, with a cozy blue quilt. A tiny table covered in ink, paper, pens, and a mostly burnt candle sat adjacent to it. 

“I see that nothing has really changed.” Impa walked into the room. “I’m just wasting my time here aren’t I?” She turned and looked back at the entrance, her arms folded across her chest. 

Tyto simply just walked over to the large window and stared out at the mountains. “If I am guessing what you are here for, it’s either to convince me to look for the Sage of Wind, help you assassinate a child, or to borrow even more Ritos to scatter them across Hyrule.” 

Impa rolled her eyes. Her foot tapped on the floor as she still stared towards the exit. “You know, I came here out of courtesy and from the request of the others to talk to you, but why do I even bother?” 

“I don’t know Impa, maybe deep down you know that there is something else you have to say. Like maybe an apology.” 

Impa turned and looked towards the window, her braid wrapped around her torso. “I don’t think I owe you an apology. I am here on business, and I will always put the people of Hyrule first. You are a leader of your people and should expect to do the same.” 

Tyto glanced back, his eyes squinted. “All you ever do Impa is ask and take from me and my people. You have never given back. My people have flown to Death Mountain to fight a dragon. We have watched ice slowly melt above Lake Hylia. We have swept in to assist Hylians away from moblin raids.” He fully turned his body towards Impa. “We have also respected the wishes of Kanchana and kept any Rito out of the desert unless it is to send mail. We have received thank you baskets of fish from Queen Rutamina, and Dario has sent Gorons to upgrade the paths to our smaller towns in the mountains. Even the Hylians we save sometimes give us some veggies as a thank you.”

“You shouldn’t expect gifts in return for assisting your country.” Impa took a step forward. “That just makes you greedy.” 

“No.” Tyto looked back. “I don’t expect these gifts, and neither do any other Rito. What I am trying to say is that you can’t keep giving and giving until you are all tired and barely functioning for someone who doesn’t spare any thoughts for you or your people. I have spent my time listening to Queen Rutamina crying as she has watched me crash from exhaustion and taken care of me. I have seen Dario nervous while also seen him fight with all of his might. I have even seen the gratitude and relief from your Sheikah helper Cerise as well as anxiety for her daughter through the letters she started sending and through a brief visit. I have seen nothing from you other than what you always show.” 

“Tyto, we are in times of war, we both need to stay vigilant.” Impa walked over to the window. “Being emotional has its flaws.”

“How long did you mourn.” Tyto said, his gaze still out towards the mountains. 

Impa paused. Her face twitched as she looked over at Tyto. “What?”

“How long did you mourn your Queen, Queen Kassandra when she passed.” There was a heavy pause in the air. “Did you even mourn at all for her Impa?” 

“Of course I did.” Impa’s eyes narrowed into daggers. “How could you say something like that?” 

“Because you don’t act like it.” Tyto looked down at Impa. “We all spent months mourning our friend, but you spent all that time hunting for sages.” 

“It’s… it’s what she would have wanted.” 

“Do you even visit her grave?”

“Every night.” 

“Ah.” Tyto smiled, but his eyes remained sad. “I see.” He placed a hand on Impa’s shoulder. “You never really stopped, then have you.” 

“If you cared about her you would help you know.” Impa pushed Tyto’s hand off of her. “Instead you’re like this. A neutral person when we can’t afford that.”

“I’m not being neutral,” Tyto sighed. “Can’t you see how much I’ve done to help everyone through all of this?”

“Then why won’t you help in looking for the Sage of Wind.” 

“I don’t know, maybe there are more important things to worry about first.”  

Impa strutted towards the door, her gaze set off towards some distant goal or land. As she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped and turned around. Her eye twitched. “That reminds me.” Impa reached her hand into her bag and pulled out a little envelope. “There are more important things in the world as you have said, but I promised the Princess that I would deliver this to you. It’s an invitation to her eighteenth birthday party. This is for you, your sister, Mystique, and anyone else that you would like to attend. The more the merrier, the Princess said.” 

Tyto slowly walked up towards Impa and took the invitation from her hand. A smile crept onto his face. “I’ll be sure to let the girls know when they return.”

“Where are they?”

“Off on an adventure.”

Mystique had never ridden a sand seal before. The slick rubbery body of the seal barrelled down into the sand while somehow being graceful and agile enough to accomplish the twist and turns it took without a second thought. The rope attached to the seal and its handle dug into Mystique’s palms as she shook and wobbled with every movement, the shield under her feet jostled frequently. 

Slightly in front of Mystique, Levis rode on a round little metal shield. He held the handle with one hand and kept his gaze on Mystique while his seal carried him forward. As Levis rode onwards, his seal raced for mounds of sand, lifting itself and the boy into the air. From what Mystique could see through the pair of goggles tightly fitted around her head, the shield Levis used was decorated with gold and gemstones. She thought she saw some form of symbol painted around the rim of the shield, and squinted her eyes to focus. It was then that her sand seal decided it was her turn to fly into the air. 

Mystique fumbled into the air, her glider tucked safely away, and landed face first into a pile of sand. The barking of her seal grew louder as it clapped its flippers together. Another seal joined in on the festive yapping. Underneath the cacophony from the seals, a soft chuckle escaped into the air. Mystique lifted her head to see Levis holding on to both sand seal ropes, his shield neatly rested in the sand nearby. 

“The trick is to pay attention to your seal. They always want to escape. I would offer you a hand, but mine are both full.” 

Mystique stood up and felt hundreds of grains of sand rushed off her clothes and back into the dune. “I was trying to figure out what the symbol is on your shield.” 

“It’s just the Gerudo crest. These shields are meant for battle, but they are also really sturdy to surf on.” Levis handed a rope back to Mystique. “Don’t tell my mom I’m using this shield, she might have a fit if she found out.” He jumped back onto his shield. “Besides, we still have a ways to go before we get to where we’re going.” 

Mystique smirked, her face quickly changed as she struggled to get her footing back onto the shield while holding onto the rope. “Where are we going anyways?” 

Levis’ sand seal had already started to pull him in circles around the dune. “It’s a surprise.” He said as he leaned his full body in the opposite direction the seal was pulling. The nubby ears of the creature perked, and followed the direction of the pull. “Remember to keep your eyes on your sand seal and you will be fine!” 

As Mystique’s sand seal watched its companion race off into the desert, it wiggled its entire body and blinked a couple of times. Suddenly, the creature lunged forward, its round body bobbed up and down through the sand dunes. 

Despite the urge to drift away from staring at a never ending stream of sand, cactus, and seals, Mystique kept her focus on the path ahead of her. Levis was always close enough and glanced back frequently enough for her to feel some sort of safety. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, while both her hands continued to hold the rope so tightly that her knuckles turned white. 

Truthfully, she wished that she could think about her status update and how to go over it with Levis. She wanted to think of their game plan. She wanted her mind to wander and wonder about how Nivan is doing or what he is doing right now, and if everyone else was actually going to help her protect Levis from Impa. But she couldn’t let her mind stray or else she would get covered in even more sand. The sand from the last fall, while most of it tumbled off, she still felt little grains nestled into crevices of fabric and hidden deep within her boots. 

And what about Levis. Mystique blinked. He seemed so calm despite the threats of death that clung to him. The myths and folklore that dug into the meaning of his existence and the idea that if these stories followed as strict a pattern as they did, that Levis would be evil. Yet  the idea of Impa assassinating him seemed nowhere in his mind or through his body language as he surfed through the sand. He looked content with the very moment he was living, his grip on his rope lax, his hair messy even before the occasional gust of wind, and the glisten in his eyes as he journeyed onwards. 

Eventually, after the hundredth or so cactus, Levis directed his sand seal to take a sharp right hand turn down a hill. Mystique leaned her body to the right and watched as her seal made a very wide right turn, its attention off towards a cactus with some fruit on it. From the turn, Mystique’s seal did a nose dive down the inclined slope of sand. She leaned her body backwards to try and not lose balance, her feet tilted backwards barely on the shield. Despite her efforts, her sand seal did not slow down. It continued to barrel down the slope, its body wobbled and jostled as if the seal itself had lost control of its body. Mystique squeezed her eyes shut.

Everything became still around her. Mystique slowly opened one eye to see that her seal had stopped and was belly up in the air as it rolled through some grass. Levis’ seal was chewing on some sort of fruit, juice and fruit bits stuck in sticky chunks on its mustache. 

Levis himself sat on a rock that jutted out into a small pond of water. There were palm trees outlining the field of grass and somewhere a bird sang a sweet melody. Several fish swam in the pool of water and left little ripples against the still water. 

“Welcome to one of the many oases scattered throughout the Gerudo Desert.” Levis said, his gaze was up towards the sky. “Some of them have been turned into trading posts, bazaars, and smaller towns, but the ones deeper in the desert have stayed simply as they are.” 

Mystique took her feet off her shield and tied her rope around one of the nearby trees. She glanced up to see big round green orbs as they dangled from the leaves of the tree. “What are those green things?”

“Do you mean coconuts?” Levis laughed. 

“I guess so, I’ve never really seen something like this before. I bet you have no idea what a turnip looks like.”

“I know what a turnip looks like Mystique, the Hylians will give us some when we trade goods with them.” 

“Okay, but then why don’t the Gerudo trade coconuts to the Hylians?” Mystique’s gaze was still focused on the coconuts as they dangled from the leaves. 

“We sometimes do, just not enough to have made it to your dinner table apparently. Besides, Hylians usually want glass or gemstones from us more than they want coconuts.” 

“What does it taste like?” 

“Do you want me to grab one of the coconuts?” 

Mystique simply nodded her head. 

She watched as Levis jumped off his rock and landed smoothly onto the solid ground. He grabbed the tree and shuffled up to the top. With a swift motion of his wrist, Levis grabbed and tossed a coconut towards Mystique. As she caught the green ball of coconut, her eyes grew large. The coconut was heavy and hard in her hands. 

Levis slid down the tree with a second coconut and brought it over to the rock he had been sitting on. He raised the coconut above his head and bashed it into the rock.A tiny crack emerged from it and water spilled out onto the ground. Levis handed Mystique the cracked coconut and took the other one from her. Carefully, she lifted the coconut towards her face and titled it. Sweet smelling water gushed out of the crack and onto her face. 

“The coconut water is safe to drink.” Levis said. He pulled a knife from her pocket and began to pry the second coconut apart. 

Mystique titled the coconut back again, and took a mouthful of the coconut water. It tasted like water, but it had a slightly sweet aftertaste that lingered in her mouth. 

“Hey, how about while I pry these coconuts open you tell me what you wanted to say.” Levis said. He glanced up towards Mystique, his golden eyes glittered in the sunlight like two large coins. 

Mystique sat down on the grass near Levis. “Well I don’t have good news. No one has found the lord of darkness, so Impa is still convinced that it will be you. I am sure your mother is keeping an eye on everything and making sure that no Sheikah under Impa’s team gets too close to you. I have asked Rudi of the Zora, Egan of the Goron, and my friend Nivan who is a knight of Hyrule to keep an eye on their parts of Hyrule and to report anything suspicious. Abony is also helping, but she is with me a lot, so she usually only hears what I hear…. Which right now is nothing.” 

The smile faltered on Levis’ face. Without a word, he focused his attention back to prying open the coconut and lets the sounds of the sand seals barking fill the emptiness in the air. Eventually he cracks open the fruit and exchanges a coconut half with the one in Mystique’s hands. 

“I wish that I could give more positive news, Levis.” Mystique said as she attempted to fill the heaviness in the air around her. “I really really wish that I had some magical clue that could put all of this to an end and let you live in peace.” 

The second coconut is cracked open and laid out on the grass. Levis wedged his knife and flicked a white piece of coconut into his mouth. “You know, I wasn’t expecting you to arrive with world shattering news about everything right?” He dangled his knife in his hand as he looked over at Mystique. “Honestly, just being away from Booru’an for some time without my mom worrying if I am dead is another good news for me.”

Mystique titled her head as she walked over towards the rock and the oasis shore. She placed the coconut halves down on the ground. As she stared at Levis, she noticed that there was not a single frown of worry line etched onto his face. He just smiled. 

“I don’t get it,” Mystique started to say, the words fell out of her mouth like rushing water. “How are you not worried or upset that you have to spend more of your life worried about what Ms. Impa and her followers might do to you? Don’t you want the freedom to live and explore?” 

The smile only grew bigger on Levis face. “I do.” He handed her a chunk of coconut. “I would love to leave the desert again and experience the world, and I know that I will some day again.” 

Mystique ate the piece of coconut, the fruit was more chewy than she had thought, and like the water inside of it, only tasted slightly sweet. 

Before she could respond, Levis continued to talk. “I am confident in who I am, and that I am not evil or the king of darkness or whatever Impa wants to call me. Plus, with so many people backing me up on this it is even more likely that this high and mighty Sheikah lady is incorrect.” Levis bit into another chunk of coconut before he spoke again. “So until she inevitably gives up, I’ll just live my days to the best that I can until they can be bigger days.” 

“I never thought of it like that.” Mystique sat down on the ground, the cool air from the oasis drifted gently between the leaves of the palm trees. “I just thought that the idea of….” She gestured with her hands. “You know. That you would want some peace of mind.” 

Levis laughed. “The Gerudo guards are top notch. It would take a very lucky Sheikah to make it past them or even my mom.” He glanced around, his eyes darted from tree to tree. “Even now, with how much my mom may trust you, there is bound to be a soldier or two nearby ready to take you down if you change your allegiance.” 

Startled, Mystique whipped her head and glanced at every angle of the oasis. She expected to see some trail of red hair caught in the wind, or a spear gently placed against the trunk of a tree, but there was nothing. Levis chuckled and slapped his hand against his thigh. 

“Are there really Gerudo soldiers here?” Mystique whispered.

Levis’ face grew serious. “Of course.”

“Where are they?”

“Now, they wouldn’t be good guards if they weren’t stealthy.” He stood up and stretched. “Besides, the good part about being out here is that I can finish a little errand I had planned out. Are you interested?” He held his hand out to Mystique. 

“What’s the errand?” Mystique raised an eyebrow as she grabbed Levis’ hand. 

“It’s nothing big, we just have to take the sand seals out farther.” Levis pointed deeper into the desert. “When you see a cluster of rocks you will know that we have arrived at our destination.”

Before Mystique could respond, Levis had already run over to his sand seal and began to surf off. Mystique grabbed her little round shield and hastily untied the rope to her sand seal. The creature gurgled and barked as she jumped onto her shield and pulled on the rope to make it move. 

When she had left the oasis, Mystique could see that Levis had actually not gotten that far from her, his seal lazily bobbed about the sand and guided him in circles. Once Levis saw Mystique however, he winked, and his sand seal suddenly had the vigor of a fleet of horses and darted further into the desert. As if on cue, Mystique’s own sand seal saw its friend disappear, and immediately attempted to catch up. 

It took both of Mystique’s knuckles turning white from her grip on the rope to keep herself from falling into the sand never to be seen or heard from again. Her goggles, placed on top of her head, were useless to protect her eyes from the grains of sand flung into her face by the sand seal. Mystique squinted as she watched her sand seal follow Levis’ seal purely on instinct or out of the desire just to follow something. 

The sand seal, thankfully, also knew when to stop this time. The cluster of rocks contrasted sharply against the gentle rolling hills of sand. There were four rocks that jutted out and above the sea of beige, with the biggest rock’s surface being flat enough to stand on. Levis stood near the rocks and gestured up towards the surface. 

“Have you ever shot a bow and arrow before?” Levis asked. 

“Uhm, I have at the carnival games in Kakariko.” Mystique looked up towards the platform. 

“How good were you at it?” 

“Not great.” Mystique changed her attention back towards Levis, who she noticed now carried a sword in his hand. “Why do you ask?”

“There’s a bow and arrow up on the flat rock. I need you to shoot the Molduga in the eye when it jumps out into the air.” 

“I need to shoot a what?!” Mystique’s eyes grew wide. 

Levis waved his hand in the air. “You’ll know it when you see it. Just let me know when you are ready.”

Confused, Mystique tied her sand seal around a rock and climbed up onto the flat platform. As Levis had mentioned, there was a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Cautiously she held up the bow and placed an arrow loosely on the bowstring. The bow felt heavier than how she remembered it. 

“Okay, I’m ready.” Mystique shouted. 

Down on the ground, Levs and his sand seal raced out into the open desert. At first nothing happened, just a boy and his seal weaving circles into the sand. But then, the slightest tremor shook the rocks where Mystique sat, and a pillar of sand charged towards them in the distance. The speed at which the sand moved was faster than any horse and carriage she had ever witnessed. There was no mistaking it either that the sand was heading directly towards Levis. Mystique stuck out her tongue as she pulled back the bowstring. 

What she saw next, Mystique was not expecting. She saw as the pillar of sand went underneath where Levis and his seal were. She saw an explosion of sand shoot up in the air, and Levis quickly ride away. Once the sand cleared, she saw a beast that she could not figure out what it was. It looked as if someone had taken a worm and placed cobblestones all over its body. There was a gaping maw shaped like a flipper, and it had fish fins. Mystique truthfully could not tell where the eyes were on this creature, but as its body sank back down towards the ground, she released the arrow. 

As the arrow zipped past her face, Mystique thought she heard the faintest sound of sizzling. It wasn’t until the arrow struck somewhere on the Molduga that a fiery explosion filled the sky and little black puffs of smoke mingled with the sand. The Molduga’s body fell to the ground with a thud. 

Levis zoomed back closer to the body, the sword drawn as he sliced through the exposed belly of the creature. There was a loud whine in the air as the Molduga writhed about on the sand. Levis took another pass and continued to ride around and slice through the Molduga until he eventually stopped near its flipper-like mouth. He held the sword high above his head and drove it into the creature. Just like that, the world fell silent. 

“Can you grab the sleds near where your seal is tied up?” Levis shouted.

By the time Mystique had scrambled down the rocks, found the sleds, and dragged them over, Levis had already started cutting chunks off of the Molduga and putting them into separate piles. “What are you doing with all of this?” She asked. 

“Molduga guts are good medicinals. The fins are a good source of nutrients and great for making tarps. And the jaw is strong and can be turned into tools for fighting, cooking, crafting you name it. It can be hard to take down one of these guys, so I try to do it whenever I have someone to help.” 

Mystique watched as Levis began piling guts, fins, and the jaw into the sleds. “Why don’t the Gerudo warriors do this?”

“‘Only a select few of us are trained to properly take down a Molduga. It helps keep their populations up. Plus it is fun to do something small to help out your community when you can. This was a decent sized Molduga, so these guts and fins should last Booru’an for a while.” Levis guided a sled over to Mystique’s sand seal and tied it to its rope. “The guts and jaw can be a little heavy, so I’ve given you the sled with the fins if you are okay with bringing that back to town.” 

The ride back to Booru’an was slower than the journey to the oasis. With both sand seals lugged down by sleds full of monster parts, they were sluggish and less chaotically driven to steer Mystique into a cactus or off a sand dune jump. When Levis and Mystique had arrived at the outskirts of Booru’an, two Gerudo guards waited by the entrance. They bowed towards Levis and silently took the sleds with them into the city. 

Mystique handed her rope back to the Gerudo sand seal rancher, a wave of relief flooded over her as she watched the creature roll back into its pen with its friends and jostle about a cloud of sand. Levis’ sand seal quickly followed into the pen with a similar mannerism. 

Quietly, Levis grabbed Mystique’s hand and guided her back into town. By now, the sun hung a little lower in the sky, and a golden glow glazed over the sandstone buildings of Booru’an. The stream that flowed from the tallest point down in waterfalls towards the town's center glistened and glittered as if filled with millions of little gemstones. In the center of the city, two rows of palm trees sat in an island surrounded by a man-made stream. Underneath one of these palm trees, Abony slept peacefully. 

Mystique and Levis walked up to Abony, past the stalls in the center of town still brimming with customers and with life and conversations. A smile crept onto Mystique’s face as she watched several Gerudo girls run around the plaza playing a game of tag. 

It surprised Mystique to see Abony sound asleep in the middle of the plaza, not a care in the world. A little book laid next to Abony, sprawled open with several pages bent from landing awkwardly onto the grass. 

“Hey Abony, we’re back.” Mystique said. 

Abony jostled awake and let out a little squeak. Her eyes darted back and forth as her breathing went from quick shallow breaths to deeper longer ones. “I must’ve fallen asleep.” She said. 

“You did.” Mystique and Levis answered. 

“Read anything good?” Mystique asked. 

“Yeah actually,” Abony picked up the book on the ground. Kanchana lent me this book. I might bring it back with me to Medoh to finish. 

The moon hung delicately in the air, the bottom of its curve rested on a pair of wispy clouds. As Nivan walked along the wall-walk, he kept his hand close to the handle of his sword. His uniform clanked unevenly and awkwardly against the stone floor. To his left, the buildings of Castle Town slept in a cold dark slumber. To his right, the moat and Hyrule field loomed endlessly in the darkness. Nivan could have sworn he felt a chill in the air despite the warmth of summer still dancing around him during the day. 

Behind Nivan, Link, Lumina, and Owin trailed several steps behind. Owin, like Nivan, wore his armor; it seemed to fit him slightly better as the metal boots clanged in a more melodic way. It was as if his presence on the wall-walk was harmonious underneath the night sky. His sword hung on his hip, but his hands remained still at his side. 

Link wore a simple pair of cotton pajamas and a leather pair of boots. He rubbed one of his eyes with his hand and attempted to comb down some stray hairs with his other hand. A little dagger rested on a belt hastily tied around his waist. No footsteps echoed from Link, as if he were just a ghost of the night. 

Nivan looked closer at the boots and wondered if they were a pair of Luriken shoes. He shook his head and continued his patrol. Instinctively he glanced in the direction of where Luriken shoes was in Castle Town. He thought briefly of warm breakfasts, the smell of leather constantly filling the first floor, and the chatter of Mystique between mouthfuls of food. Nivan, despite living in the same city still, realized that he only saw Mr. Luriken a handful of times since he became a knight. Sure, he visited and said hi, but it was never like it was all those years ago. The last time Nivan had seen Mr. Luriken, he thought back, was when he dropped Aryll off to stay. 

She had a small duffle bag of luggage, her hair slicked back into one ponytail, and accessorized her beige dress with red flowers and a butterfly necklace. Nivan had stayed long enough for a cup of tea and to guide Aryll to her new room. Nothing in the building had really changed. Both his childhood bed and Misty’s were still made as if they had just left. The shelves were empty from all of the books and the Poe soul he packed and were now replaced with little vases. One vase, Nivan remembered, had a Sheikah eye etched in blue. 

As he left Aryll to get settled, he went back downstairs to the familiar smell of leather. Yet Mr. Luriken was not working and his studio remained relatively sterile. Instead he sat with a cup of tea at the dining room table. Like the last few visits nothing much had changed. Shoe orders were on the decline. Neighbors and businesses continued to leave and shutter. Mrs. Luriken traveled for work more. Life was lonely. Life felt small, like a tiny ember that was once a part of a great flame. They both talked about Misy, Nivan recalled. They both talked about how much they missed her, and the adventure she brought to the smallest of tasks. He wanted to tell Mr. Luriken that maybe Misty would arrive for Princess Zelda’s birthday party in the winter, but he didn’t want the news to reach Mrs. Luriken. 

A few words brought Nivan back to the present. “Hey are you doing okay?” The words came from Owin. 

Nivan turned around and saw Owin was now only a step behind him. “Just lost in thought.” Nivan admitted. 

“About what?” Owin asked. 

“The good part about this patrol is that you can think a little bit while on it.” Nivan walked a few steps forward. His gaze fell towards the gate up ahead that was closed. The stone steps that led from Hyrule field towards the looming doors were quiet. “Whenever I get the chance to, I volunteer for this shift.”

“Is that why you disappeared some nights? I thought you were looking for bones for Snowball.” Owin chuckled. “You know that makes sense, you never came back with anything for the dog.” 

“I think Zelda would have killed us both if we let the dog chew on mysterious bones and trash I’d find in Castle Town.” Nivan smirked. 

“She wouldn’t touch a hair on either of our heads.” Owin countered. “Or else she would be stuck with Arthur and Percival every night instead of just tonight.” 

“It’s funny how fast they jumped at the opportunity to let you take this patrol with me.” Nivan glanced back at Link as he slowly kept up. “I guess that they would do anything to be in favor of the King.” 

Lumina bobbed between the three boys. “They’re both old enough that it’s probably all they have left going for themselves.” She paused. “And both just as delusional as their King who believes nothing.”

Owin raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth. He immediately closed it and placed his hand onto his chin. 

Nivan walked over so that he was just above the gate. He rested his arms on the wall and leaned over and looked out into the darkness. When he looked back towards Castle Town, he saw Owin still pondering on Lumina’s words, and Link half asleep. “There’s another reason that I take this patrol. You should both come over and watch.” 

“Watch what?” Owin rested his arms next to Nivan’s. His gaze stayed confused, yet focused on Nivan’s face. 

Link merely yawned and stumbled over. 

“Just look.” Nivan nodded his head towards the field. 

At first there was nothing. Just the blank space of the field, a few trees invisible and smothered in the darkness. The stars danced and little specks hidden and visible between little strands of clouds and the smoke that always circled around Death Mountain. There was absolutely nothing in the field until there was something. 

It started with one little skeletal hand as it shot up through the grass and pulled the rest of its body to the surface. One little skeleton turned into a couple and a couple turned into a dozen. A dozen turned into several dozen. Soon the skeletons fumbled and groped the stone stairs as they all ran towards the gate. The first few skeletons tumbled without a second thought into the moat. Like a never ending cycle the skeletons repeated the same mistake as the first few until the moat began to fill to the brim with bones. 

Nivan admitted that the view of this scene was different from the safety of the bridge vs the fear that gripped his heart all those years ago on the ground. If he had had the view he had now back then, he could have seen how harmless the skeletons were immediately. That this night, that night, and most likely every night, they recreated the same scene over and over again. The skeletons had no interest in anyone alive, they just wanted shelter from what always comes for them. Nivan had attempted to find books about the skeletons in the royal library with only small guesses as to what occurred. Either the history of these creatures was never truly written down, or the truth was thrown away. 

Owin’s mouth hung open as he watched the scene unfold below them. Link’s eyes turned into the size of saucers. Nivan merely listened for the first yelp of the skeleton below, mingled with the never ending thudding of bone against the wooden gate and the chorus they all yelled every night. 

“Let us in.”

“Let us in.”

“Let us in.” 

Nivan had learned that the bigger skeletons on their skeletal horses were stalfos. The armor they adorned was most likely from the demon king’s army from long long ago. The stalfos never emerged from the ground within eyesight, they always rode silently into frame on their steeds. A few in the back swung their swords in the air over their heads as the leader disembarked from his horse and began the carnage. The same carnage that occurred for years over and over again. Nivan wondered if there was a cursed item buried somewhere within Hyrule field that trapped them all into this ritual. Soon the sound of agony rang into the air.

“How do people sleep through this.” Owin whispered. “How have I slept through this.” He looked over directly at Nivan. “How did you know about this.” 

“Misty and I accidentally stayed out too late on Hyrule field one time when we were kids.” Nivan whispered. “I had always wondered if it was a one off event, so when I had the chance to check I did.”

“How often does this occur?” Owin’s eyebrows furrowed together. 

Nivan shrugged. “I would assume nightly. It has happened every single night I have patrolled.”

“Does the king know about this?” Owin asked. 

“If he does, he ignores it.” Nivan responded back. 

“How long does it go for?”

“Till dawn. Then they all disintegrate in little puffs of smoke.” 

Owin shook his head, his eyes grew wider with every second. “We have to do something to stop this. How could this have been going on for years and no one has stopped it. Does no one notice the scratches these creatures leave on the doors?” 

“There won’t be any scratches on the door.” Nivan peered down at the moat. “Either they are too weak to do any damage, or there is some magic involved in all of this.”

“There you go again with the magic talk.” Owin forcefully placed some sass into his voice. “Were your parents wizards or something. You talk about this so so much Nivan.” 

Link raised a sleepy eyebrow in the direction of Nivan. 

“I’ve already told you, I just read a lot of books.” Nivan walked away from the wall, his hand still attached to the hilt of his sword. “We should go relieve Arthur and Perceival of their shift… and we should bring Link back to the soldier’s quarters before he falls asleep and falls off the wall.” 

Owin stayed put as Nivan walked further away from the gate, Link shuffled slowly behind. With a loud sigh, Owin jogged to catch up to Nivan. 

“Why did you bring Link out on patrol anyways, the kid is half asleep.” 

“I’m only a few years younger than you two.” Link yawned. 

“Fourteen is still younger than seventeen.” Owin sassed back. 

Link blinked a few times and glanced away in a completely irrelevant direction. 

“I brought him here for education purposes.” Nivan said as he kept walking. “The world is a big vast place full of monsters and things that are unexplainable. He knows this from living in New Ordon, but even Castle Town has its lore.” 

“Well,” Owin paused. “You are supposed to be guiding him, so do it how you will. But, he better get enough sleep tonight for sword training tomorrow. A sleepy soldier is not a well-equipped one.” 

“Oh, are we pulling out quotes from your famous book of wisdom.” Nivan teased. 

Owin stopped and stared at Nivan, his face emotionless and still. Quickly, the facade faded and a smirk crept onto the entirety of his face. Through the boys fit of laughter, Link yawned and shuffled past them. 

By the time the boys had reached the soldier’s quarters, Nivan and Owin had dissolved into whispered fits of jokes and laughter. Link merely rolled his eyes and shook his head through a yawn as he went to his bunk. Once the door had gently closed, Nivan nodded and walked away from the door down the hall. After a few steps he paused and turned around to see Lumina as she bobbed up and down near the door. 

“What are you doing?” Nivan whispered, his tone shifted suddenly to serious. Owin kept walking down the hall, completely unaware. 

“I’m just going to float here for a bit.” Lumina said. “I’ll catch up to you both later, go get some sleep.” 

Nivan’s brows furrowed. “Uhm. I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Trust me kid,” Lumina laughed. “I’ll be fine.” 

Owin had already made it to the end of the hall when he finally turned around to see Nivan still by the door. He stopped and frantically waved his arms over his head.

Nivan sighed. He glanced between Lumina and Owin, his face still painted in worry. “I don’t like this. What if a soldier traps you?” 

“Kid.” If Nivan could see Lumina’s eyes, he expected that she rolled them. “I have lived much longer than you and know how to get out of situations. Go. To. Bed.” 

Nivan thought back briefly six years ago to the day him and Mystique found a little green fairy stuck inside a cage. He had always wondered what would have happened to her if they hadn’t come. Would she have been able to flee the bokoblin on her own. Would someone else have been stupid enough to rescue her. He shook his head of the thoughts and with one last look shook his head before he followed Owin back to their room. 

Lumina watched as Owin and Nivan turned the corner and out of her line of sight. Her little green body bobbled and bobbed about and she looked around the hallway. She floated near a statue of a suit of armor and nestled her body into its helmet. From there, she waited. 

When alone is a dark corridor of a castle in the middle of the night time passed slowly and fast at the same time. The time span in which Lumina sat inside the metal helmet of the statue could have been seconds, minutes, or hours as the only way to tell time was through manually counting. Lumina did not have the patience to count every second she sat and waited. She only concentrated on cold metal underneath her feet and the door to the soldier’s sleeping quarters. 

The door, like any door in Hyrule Castle, was not unusual. It was just a door. A wooden rectangle painted to match the theme of the castle’s hallway. This hallway, or section of the castle in particular, was plainly colored. Muted creams with a horizontal stripe of blue decorated the wall to go along with stone floors and a simple tattered blue runner rug. Shields and swords decorated the walls and the triforce sat painted on the doorway. There were no fancy chandeliers, and only a few sconces decorated the area completely unlit. A few windows let in the smallest amount of moonlight. 

Lumina was unsure if she had dozed off, but as soon as she heard the slightest creak she jostled awake. For there, exiting the soldier’s sleeping quarters was a floating doll. Its large head bobbed up and down with yellow straw hair and a little green cap as it floated down the hallway. Lumina waited for it to turn the corner before she followed, her glow dimmed as much as possible. 

When Nivan had brought Link to Hyrule Castle, Lumina had noticed something sticking out of his shirt. After Nivan left the room, she saw Link throw this doll onto his bed hastily. She could have sworn she saw the little blue button eyes blink as if the doll needed to adjust to the light in the room. Through trainings with Link, and dinners with the other knights, Lumina noticed that he never really brought up the doll. Nivan never really brought up her, so it shouldn’t have been unusual, but the doll was never hidden like she attempted to do around the other knights. The doll always sat on Link’s bed. Until the night it didn’t. 

It was a fluke the first time Lumina had caught the thing as it floated down a hallway. She also wasn’t expecting to run into a floating creature made of stuffing on her way to her own business, so the thing had seen her. The doll didn’t scream or shriek, It just narrowed its button eyes and changed direction. The second time she never saw it in the hallways of Hyrule Castle, she had just noticed it was not on Link’s bed after a long night of sparring with Nivan. Lumina rolled her eyes as her mind wandered to Paige as she cheered from the sidelines of the sparring match as she always did. Paige reminded her of Mystique if Mystique drank five cups of coffee in succession. 

Lumina shook her head, she was getting side tracked. The goal was to figure out where the doll was going, not to think about the Hylians. She had a mission of her own to fulfill. 

Some hallways as Lumina followed the doll were easy, there were plenty of statues and items to hide behind. Other hallways were long empty corridors where she had to wait until the doll turned a corner before she could follow. Each hallway and room felt the same, like one elaborate maze that had no exit or ending. It didn’t matter the minute detailing of the walls and the decorations that changed, to Lumina it all felt the same. 

As the doll turned again, Lumina peered around the corner to see that the new path was an exceptionally long and empty hallway. She shook her head and watched behind a corner as the doll floated smoothly down the center of the aisle. If there had been any soldiers on patrol would the doll be able to hide itself, Lumina wondered. When she glanced back down the hallway, she realized, to her dismay, that the doll had taken a turn while she wasn’t looking. Lumina cursed under her breath and bobbed a different direction into the night. 

When she arrived in front of the door to Owin and Nivan’s room. She hesitated and instead went inside the door adjacent to their room. 

Princess Zelda’s bedroom was ornate and deeply decorated. There was a bureau covered in little glass bottles of perfume. A gold framed mirror hung over it and matched a standing mirror in the corner. A coffee table littered with vases of flowers with various amounts of life in them rested over a blue rug with the royal crest painted on it. There was a bookshelf filled to the brim with books, some flipped open and their spines cracked. In the corner of the room a large bed with blue canopy curtains sat, with Princess Zelda nestled inside. She held a white horse plushie close to her chest as her brows furrowed and her face squirmed. 

Lumina flew over and rested her body on the pillow next to Princess Zelda’s head. “I wish that I had the ability to make those nightmares go away.” She whispered. “I only know how to do this.” 

The Cuccos come in twos and threes

Can you sing with me this sweet melody

To help them find their home

And for you to get good dreams

Two, four, seven, ten,

Thirteen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty,

Lumina continued to hum the tone, soft and sweet as the night drifted onwards. 

Dear Nivan, 

How are things going with training Link? Are you going to have him fight a bokoblin or a darknut? How about a stalfos? Hmmm, do you think he could fight Gyorg or Volvagia? THat would be really tough to do, it takes a whole ship with special equipment just to keep Gyorg at bay. 

Speaking of monsters, I saw a Molduga for the first time the other day! And I ate a coconut! Do you ever get to eat coconuts at Castle Town? They are weird to eat but also tasty. If you’ve eaten one before you know exactly what I am talking about. You never tell me about the food you get as a knight inside the Castle. Do you get special treatment with your meals or is it food just like what mother used to make? THe food in Medoh is mostly fish related with some root vegetables, which isn’t bad but I do sometimes miss breakfast with eggs and toast. I don’t think I have eaten any eggs in Medoh now that I think about it. 

Though I am sure you are more interested in the Molduga than food. It’s this giant scaly worm beast that lives in the Gerudo desert. I helped Levis slay one to harvest guts to use as medicine for the people of Booru’an. That’s right, I helped slay a monster. Are you proud of me? I bet you had a heart attack reading that line of words. 

It was very scary though. He rode around on his shield surfing the sand while I sat on a rock with a bomb arrow. When the Molduga flew high into the air I fired and aimed for its eye. The explosion went off before I could see if I had hit its eye, but I did hit it! Maybe I’ll take up archery, that might be a useful skill to have. After it fell Levis used his sword and took care of the rest of the Molduga. Neat, huh. Maybe you’ll get to fight one one day. 

And about Levis, have you heard any news to help clear him off Impa’s list? I know from your last few letters that life has been busy with recruiting for the knights of Hyrule and keeping a close eye on Zelda and Paige but you never know. Rudi hasn’t heard anything and has been on damage control with the ice mines. Egan has been investigating strange rumblings inside Death Mountain. Abony has been with me so her information is the same as mine… though she reads more books so maybe she has some information there. It’s a lot and nothing at the same time. Maybe, don’t tell my mother this, but when I visit Castle Town for Princess Zelda’s birthday we can talk about what we know. 

That’s right! Abony, Tyto, and I all got invited to the birthday party. Rudi and Egan will be there too I am sure, so we can sneak off and all talk. Well, I guess you can’t leave Paige’s side, so she can come too. I know that there’s many months before this party, but that just means more time to plan and gain information… wait. I just realized. Nivan, will I have to wear a dress to this party? I have been in leggings and a tunic since moving to Medoh, dresses are so restrictive with movement. Dang. Okay, I am sure we can get a few more letters in before Zelda’s big day! Write back soon! 

-Mystique