Chapter 9 -
Revelations
‘Beth…is this really necessary? That we spy at him? Or—‘Yes,
yes this is very important, now be quiet’. Beth hurriedly answered as she waved
her hand at Illia. It was beginning to shift to early
night and the lights in Ordon village went out, the
main gate closing for the day. Hiding behind a large rock near the forest
spring, Illia and Beth waited for Link to appear,
together with the so unknown woman to them, the mysterious Princess Zelda. ‘I
can’t wait…this is going to be so exciting!’ Beth called out. ‘Quiet down, will
you? You will awaken the whole village…’ They sat as sisters rather than
friends, as they had come back from Kakariko village;
they had grown closer than ever before. Beth, being of the working class and Illia being of the higher class in the village hierarchy,
were very different, but still, they had found a new friendship as they both
shared the same level of interest in Link.
A chilly wind blew, autumn was in the air and the breeze of
summer was fading away. Soon, times would change, like they always did, to
colder, darker seasons. A shadow warily crept over the spring water silently,
making small ripples appear in the clear water. Lifting his head towards the
night star filled sky, Link howled a long, deep howl after his beloved.
‘Beth…what is that? It.it scares me.’ Illia whispered as she crept closer to Beth. ‘I don’t know,
but it sure gives me the chills. Hmmm…Hasn’t Fado
told me something about this before? Aha!! I know! Oh no…’ Beth lost her tone
as she realized what the shadow was. ‘Wait, Beth!’ Illia
pulled her arm, which was ready to fire an arrow at the beast. ‘Look!’
A cloaked figure walked over the grassy ground, coming
closer to the wolf, seemingly without any fear what so ever. ‘What is she
doing!? Get away from it!!’ Beth whispered anxiously. The wolf, wagging its
tail wildly, came closer to the cloaked woman, who removed her hood, revealing
her beautiful face. ‘That’s…that’s Princess Zelda Beth! I saw her the other
day!!’ ‘Shhhh…quiet down!’ Beth pressed her hand over
Illia’s mouth, silencing her. ‘I’m sorry I couldn’t
meet you up at the castle Zelda, I had to do some things.’ ‘It’s alright Link,
the important thing is that we’re here now’. Zelda embraced the wolf Link in the
calm moonlight, his pose changing from happy to friendly, his tail over his
hind leg, his ears flattened to their limit. Fire flies and fairies flew around
the pair, casting their dim and peaceful light over them in shades of yellow
and blue. Suddenly, the wolf gave way to the form of a man, and he embraced
Zelda back, kissing her with uttermost affection. It really was a romantic
scene being displayed to Illia and Beth, and to make
it ever the more beautiful, the white full moon revealed itself on the sky and
shone its dim light on the spectacle. It seemed that the moment would never
end, and it would be engraved into the hearts of Link and Zelda for eternity.
But Illia, seeing the form of Link
holding Zelda in his embrace, felt how her jealousy rose with speed. So they
were lovers! She didn’t care or simply ignored that she had seen a glimpse of
Link’s wolf transformation, but instead wanted to leave. She had seen enough.
Different it was with Beth. She was shocked to the extreme. Had that she seen really
happened? Or was it just an illusion? Had that woman gone to the wolf and then
embraced it? And…where ever did Link come from? One second he hadn’t been
there, in an instant he was there, kissing that Zelda woman. ‘Strange
how things happen, right Illia? Illia?’
She noticed Illia was gone and so were her bow and
her arrows Beth had had with to protect from potential beasts…
‘Zelda…’ Link ended the long kiss, and pulled her towards
him even more, so her head rested on his chest. Their hearts pounded strongly
after the passionate moment, and they held each other thinking of nothing but
themselves, and their love. The kind of love they had strongly resembled that
of wolves. The same, special bonding that kept them together for life, never
ceasing in strength was just like that wolves shared. They stood, watching the
full moon united, adoring its beautiful shimmer. Caught up in the moment they
both shared, another testimony of the bond they had always had through age and
time, Link failed to notice that Illia made herself
ready to fire an arrow, not at him, but at her, his most precious love.
The jealousy within Illia grew for
every minute. Here she had been, naively thinking that she and Link could be
together, and then that stupid royal woman had to come and ruin everything! ‘No
one other is going to have him. I deserve him for all I have known him.’
Feeling strangely stronger by these evil thoughts of jealousy, she pulled the
arrow back in its bowstring.
‘He is mine.’ Maru, standing
hidden behind a tree, had also witnessed the tender moment Link and Zelda had
shared. He didn’t care about their relationship, but the Dark Shadow had
foreseen him that he required the blood of the hero that had slain him to fully
reawaken. ‘Lord Ganondorf…soon Hyrule will be yours!’
He took out a special arrow, crafted from the energy of Ganondorf,
filled with sorcery of unknown power. It billowed out black light where he held
it, and seemed to put out all the light around him, fireflies or fairies that
flew near fell to the ground, turning into ashes. Grabbing his largest bow, Maru pulled back the string with all his power. ‘Now, my
servant, you must hit exactly at his scar, otherwise, he will not bleed. This
arrow will be his downfall, for I will gain control over his heart! Imbue this
arrow with all the evil you have, all the hate you house for him, and he will
suffer evermore!’ His hand quirking at the bowstring, Maru
couldn’t wait to unleash this arrow. But first, he needed that little farm girl
to fire hers at Zelda…
Link and Zelda, unaware of what was about to happen, sat in
each other’s embrace, warming and tenderly feeling their bodies closely
together. ‘Zelda, I…I love you. I always have, since I first laid eyes on you.’
‘I know, Link.’ She cuddled herself at his chest, feeling the strong muscles
under the thin tunic. Link, in turn, put his arm around her protectively, and
lowered his head onto hers.
But their serene moment of romance was broken by him, as he
sensed danger around them. His eyes rapidly changing color
to a darker shade, his nostrils flared and his hair wild in the wind, Link got
up with Zelda in his arms, fleeing the comfort of the spring, just as Maru unleashed his arrow, grazing Link’s arm, making blood
come out in a tiny rapid stream. The arrow, covered in his blood, disappeared
in a rain of ashes. ‘Damn! I was so close!’ Maru
cursed, realizing he had missed his target. Illia on
the other hand, was stopped by Beth, grabbing her arm tightly, forcing her to
let go off the bow which fell in the spring water with a splash. Illia wrestled and squirmed, trying desperately to escape
from Beth’s strong grasp but to no avail. Beth was stronger than her, she
couldn’t deny that, but her jealousy for Link’s and Zelda’s relationship made
her struggle till she couldn’t struggle anymore where she stood. Beth hugged
her tightly, comforting Illia as she cried, the anger
gone and only desperation left in the eyes of her. ‘Why! Why with her!!’ Illia screamed out.
‘Maru, come back! I have gotten
what I wanted!’ A commanding voice echoed in Maru’s
head, and he left Ordon spring, smiling like a sly
old fox, everything had gone as planned even if he didn’t hit the right target!
‘Soon, I will get my reward for all this!’ For Lord Ganondorf
had promised to promote him to his royal advisor and general after he had taken
over Hyrule, this proved to be a much better position than that pesky pathetic
woman who called herself ruler’s lifeguard. As general and loyal advisor, Maru would have more power than ever before. He could
conquer other lands and make them his own with the help of a new army, an army
of darkness, of power and terror. The army of Hyrule would stand no chance when
the darkness conquered the light. After Ganondorf had
finished off princess Zelda and that hero, Hyrule would fall into the hands of
its rightful ruler. One of power, who would take over the world and the Triforce, relic of the Gods, would be combined once more,
and through it, Ganondorf would make the world fall
under his feet!
Running along with Zelda in his arms, Link didn’t feel
tired, nor had he noticed how blood kept gushing out from his wound. The moon
had vanished into the dark clouds, and moonlight was scarce. ‘I think we’re
safe now Link.’ Where as he stopped, letting her down, and as he did so, he realized
they had entered a field, just like in that far away dream or fantasy they had
both shared once, in a long time back. Would they relieve their true feelings
here in this field? This beautiful, sorrowful and tragic night that just waited
for them in the distance, a love that passes time forever. A love of wolves,
waiting to be unleashed…
But this wasn’t needed, no; there was no meaning in the
wolves showing their love this late, because: They already knew. They had felt
it in their signs of affection, of tender moments, soft hugs and mournful deep
kisses of sensation, over and over. As wolves, and as Hylians,
they held together in all times, for life. Such was their relationship. One of
true love and affection, going deeply into their inner beasts, their earlier
lives, everything they had undertaken, suffered and prevailed. Like a phoenix
of red blazing fire rising time and time again from ashes of darkness and
flying into the sun, they were reborn and through each life grew closer and
closer together by the power of the Goddesses. The Goddesses gave them their
fate, to forever rise when a new evil threatened the world and to be each
other’s destiny for all eternity.
‘Link…your arm…’ Zelda had a sad look in her eyes gaze. It
was first then he felt the pain, like a curse taking over his body rapidly. The
blood covered gauntlet felt like thorns being pushed into him, and he ripped it
off, seeing the frightening state of the grazed wound. Blackened, it seemed to
take all his energy away for every heartbeat. His heart tingled a little on the
inside. Had something bad entered there? It suddenly felt heavier in his chest,
like carrying a massive burden or pressure. Removing his tunic he ripped it as
a sort of band-aid, carefully trying to fast wrap it around his arm, more
precisely his wrist, which bleeded the most. He
shuddered when he felt Zelda’s soft hand on his chest, making him stop what he
was doing. ‘That scar…what did you get it from?’ Her hand felt warm and light
against him, removing some of the burden within. ‘…A nightmare. A shadow
slashed at me or bit me, and I woke up with this blood filled large scar one
morning.’ ‘Tell me more.’
Maru stood on a cliff, largely
situated above where Zelda and Link were. Taking a last glance at them, he
disappeared from sight, riding back to the desolate cave. Upon entering, he
found a frightening man clad in black armor before
him: The Evil Lord himself, returned to his physical true form, his eyes of
yellow sparkling of revenge and hatred for the ones that defeated him.
‘The world…will end for them.’