Triforce of the Gods
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Category:
Zelda › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
8
Views:
2,102
Reviews:
6
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
1
Disclaimer:
I do not own any part of The Legend of Zelda, nor do I make any money from these writings.
Chapter 4
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of The Legend of Zelda, nor do I make any money from these
writings.
Triforce of the Gods
Chapter Four: The Masquerade
They walked the road in silence, all of them pulling their horses instead of riding them so that
they could move slowly and with little noise. Out of the corner of his eye, Link noticed that
Zanna seemed to be withering with every step. He kept casting nervous glances her way–
uncertain what to think of her earlier outburst, or of her present behavior. Zanna felt his concern
and his doubt, but it was nothing in comparison to what she felt up ahead: a cloud of emotion so
thick that merely being close to it was almost too much to bear.
intermixed with the low, hair-raising hum of human moaning.“What is that?” Resha asked tensely, unsheathing her scimitars.“It sure as hell doesn’t sound like a party,” Rowan muttered.“Then you’ve never been to a real party, my friend,” Resha said dryly.Suddenly, Zanna gave a soft cry and collapsed against her horse, shaking visibly. Link was upon
her in an instant, trying to buoy her up.“No, no– don’t!” she insisted in embarrassment, waving Link’s hands away. “I’m fine. Really.
I just–“ she gave a sharp intake of breath and winced– “I can feel the Gerudo. Ahead. They’re
suffering... a lot.” Resha noticed the way Zanna’s chest was heaving, and gently took her friend’s shoulder.
Resha’s empathetic powers were less than mediocre, but even she could feel the waves of terror
radiating from the people up ahead. Touching Zanna helped amplify Resha’s own ability, and
allowed her to pinpoint what was happening.“I can feel it too,” Resha said suddenly. “It’s almost like... mind-washing. Rowan, can you feel
it?”Rowan nodded grimly, staring fixedly ahead.“Wait, what’s going on??” Link asked uncertainly, somewhat frustrated to be excluded.“The Gerudo ahead,” Resha explained. “They all have the illness, and all of them are trapped
inside their own minds. They’re barely aware of what’s going on outside of them.”“They’re living their worst nightmares,” Zanna gasped, leaning heavily against Resha.Rowan’s eyebrows rose. “Ah. That explains it.”“So... what are you saying? The illness traps people in their greatest fears?” Link asked.The three Sheikah nodded. “It feels that way,” Resha said.There was a tense pause as everyone exchanged uncertain glances. The scraping and the
moaning was getting closer every second.“All right,” Zanna said as authoritatively as she could manage, her face flushing with effort as
she called upon every ounce of her strength. “Everyone mount your horses. We’ll have to break
through them.” She paused, managing not to betray the intense physical and emotional pain she
was receiving from the caravan of Gerudo ahead– although her teeth were grit so tightly she
thought they might crack. “They’re trapped in their own minds– I don’t think physical... f-force
will do us any good. Resha, keep up a barrier against the disease while Rowan and I use
concussion spells to knock them out of the way. We’ll just have to storm through. And, Link–“The hero looked at her expectantly.“Keep your bow ready. I know you understand that we can’t... kill them. But, if one of our lives
is in danger and there’s no other way...” She found that she could not continue speaking without
gasping in pain, but no further description was necessary. “And I’m sure you know... you have
to protect Colin.” Zanna’s speech was becoming more ragged as the Gerudo slowly closed the
space that was keeping them apart.Link nodded solemnly, swinging one leg up over Epona. “Of course” he said. “I’ll take care of
it.”“Okay then... Let’s move.” Resha helped Zanna into her saddle, begging her to share a horse
with Rowan so that she didn’t fall, but Zanna stubbornly refused. She did agree to let Rowan
lead the procession.As they rode slowly down the road, the groaning and shuffling got louder and louder. Colin’s
face was very brave, but his skin was exceedingly pale– and even Link looked tense. Finally a
bend in the road allowed them to see the shadow of the caravan cast across the cave wall by the
torchlight. It got larger and larger until–There were no wagons– probably because the donkeys that would have pulled them had been
killed. There was just a mass of over 40 Gerudo clambering over one another in a frenzy. Their
skin seemed to be decaying on their bodies– it was tinted yellow and green and seemed to hang
from their bones. Everyone of them had dark purple bruises under their eyes and many of the
Gerudo were bleeding or injured. Some of them were sobbing, others were screaming but all of
them pleaded for help. Blindly they groped at each other, desperately seeking relief from the
nightmares they were all individually experiencing.Rowan was so stunned by the procession that he momentarily forgot to act, so it was Zanna that
fired the first concussion spell. A stream of gold shot out of her palm and knocked at least three
of the Gerudo backwards. Gritting her teeth against the pain, Zanna kicked her horse into action
and pressed into the gap she had created– overtaking Rowan. The others followed.Rowan soon began firing concussion blasts from behind Zanna and Link was knocking away
Gerudo who got too close to his horse by slamming them with the bottom end of his bow. Focusing on her concussion spells was helping Zanna block out her empathy, so she soon began
unleashing the full brunt of her abilities. She let out a fearsome yell and fired a particularly
strong blast– a golden light shot out and hit an older matronly Gerudo head on, sending her
reeling and knocking away a group of smaller women in the process. The Gerudo pushed
desperately toward Zanna’s horse, clawing at her with hands, daggers, and even teeth.“Help me! Mother! Don’t leave me!” The cry distracted Zanna, and she looked down to see a
teenaged girl frantically reaching for her leg. The girl’s wide yellow eyes were clouded with
fear, but she looked so innocent and so sorrowful that Zanna couldn’t imagine cursing her.
Zanna had so much compassion for the girl and felt her terror so strongly that she suddenly had
an almost overwhelming urge to cast a healing spell. These people needed help. She had to at
least try– she couldn’t let them suffer this way.“ZANNA!” Rowan yelled, ripping his own powerful spell through the air. It hit the side of the
girl’s face and sent her spinning away from Zanna’s horse. “What are you thinking?! Don’t get
yourself killed!!”Zanna was startled. “I’m sorry!” she cried, shaking her head. Rowan was right– the only way to
help these people was to find the Winged Sheikah. Empathetic pain was building up in Zanna’s
mind again, so she fired another concussion spell and pressed forward. They were almost to the
end of the Gerudo– they had less than 12 feet to go– But unfortunately their horses were quickly
becoming spooked so that now they were fighting to not only keep away the Gerudo, but also to
control their mounts.“Come on!” Zanna muttered, smacking her stallion on the rump before firing another concussion
spell. The shot cleared an opening to the other side of the Gerudo, and Zanna wasted no time.Resha cried out in pain as her leg was grazed by a dagger, but the group pressed forward and had
soon cleared the caravan.“Is everyone all right?” Link cried, checking the group as they trotted steadily. When everyone nodded or answered, Zanna pushed toward the front of the group. “All right
then, let’s get out of here!” she cried, taking off. Soon they were all careening down the road,
racing to put as much distance between themselves and the plagued Gerudo as possible.At first it took every ounce of Zanna’s energy to stay on her horse and keep her empathy at bay,
but the farther away they got the more she was able to relax. After two hours of rigorous riding,
a pale blue curtain of sky was finally seen at the end of the road, and they burst through it
eagerly into the glow of the dying night.They came to a stop, and Zanna shakily slid off her horse. Everyone was tired, but probably no
one more than she. Still, there was one last thing to attend to.“Rowan, Resha,” Zanna called, beckoning for her friends to join her at the mouth of the cave.
They dismounted and returned to the cave’s entrance.“We need to seal it, don’t we?” Rowan asked, popping his knuckles.Zanna nodded wanly. “It’s the only way. We can only hope to the Goddesses that the first
group of Gerudo we passed will think to do the same thing to the other end of the road.
Otherwise...”“The village will be in danger,” Resha frowned. Zanna nodded again, and they all looked
gravely at one another. Resha briefly bowed her head in prayer, at which point Zanna turned
stiffly away.“By the way, are you all right Resha?” Rowan asked. “I heard you yell back there...”Resha shrugged. “I’m fine. I just have a small cut on my leg. All of the horses look injured,
though, so we’ll have to heal them before we go on.”“I need to rest anyway,” Zanna sighed. “We’ll break until the sun has fully risen. But first...”All three of them turned, stepping away so that they were equally spread apart.“Let’s just do this the easy way,” Zanna said.“Sounds good to me,” Resha smirked, amused despite her exhaustion. “On the count of three?”“On the count of three. 3... 2... 1!” There was a tremendous crash as they all released
concussion spells at the same time, exploding the mountain wall in a shower of falling rocks.
When the dust cleared, Zanna stepped back to admire their work.The roadway’s entrance was completely collapsed– reduced to a pile of heavy rubble. “If they
hit this end, that ought to at least hold them for a little while,” she muttered, wiping her hands on
her coat. “I’ll go ahead and put some protective spells over it just in case...”She held up her casting hand, but Rowan gently grabbed her wrist. “Zanna,” he said kindly,
looking at her with a mixture of worry and pity. “Let us do it.”For a moment, Zanna felt purely offended, wondering if she really looked as exhausted as she
felt. But as she looked between her two friends, both of whom were gazing at her with nothing
but concern, she relented. “All right,” she said, sighing. “Thank you. I’m... I’m pretty tired.”
She smiled thinly and Rowan and Resha returned the gesture wholeheartedly.“Go help Link start the fire,” Rowan suggested. “We’ll be finished in a minute.”
oXoXoXo
“Who do you think could place a curse as powerful as the one we saw last night?” Resha askedthoughtfully as they all packed up the next morning.“I don’t know,” Zanna frowned, fastening her horse’s saddle bags. “But there’s no way that
those Gerudo were suffering from an ordinary disease. It has to be black magic.”“Yeah, but who’s behind it?” Resha reiterated. “Who could be powerful enough to cast a curse
like that? And why have we never heard of them before now?”Zanna paused, unable to come up with an answer.“Regardless of who or what is causing this plague, we’ll put an end to it,” Link said firmly.
“We’ll find the Winged Sheikah, like the Princess’s prophecy says.”Zanna had her doubts, but said nothing. She, too, had dreamt of this strange disease... and in her
dream, no Winged Sheikah had swooped down from the heavens to save Hyrule. There had
been only the Goddesses– abandoning their people yet again.
oXoXoXo
They rode very swiftly into Castle Town, where Link intended to immediately visit the Princessand tell her what he had seen. Unfortunately she was out and would not return until that
evening, so the group left their horses at a stable and set out to visit the mysterious Fanadi.The three Sheikah were awed and wary as Link led them through the marketplace. Rowan had
never seen Castle Town, and so was nearly overwhelmed by its sheer size and diversity; Resha
had only visited it once. Zanna had actually been there several times to procure documents
relating to Sheikah history, but because of the large number of people she always felt slightly
claustrophobic there. There were so many emotions coming from so many different directions–
she could scarcely keep up with them all.“Down here,” Link said, guiding them down a road that was really small enough to be an ally.
He led them to a doorway with a canvas awning above it, and then paused. “This is it,” he said.
“Just remember that I was always doubtful that Fanadi would be the one.”“Well, we’ll never know until we try, will we?” Zanna asked stubbornly.Link smiled at her certainty and opened the door. “After you, then.”The inside of Fanadi’s shop was very small and dim, with faded colored scarves hanging from
the ceiling. No attempts had been made to make the room feel more domestic– the walls and
floor were all comprised of bare stone and the only light came from metal torches. In the center,
sitting proudly upon a threadbare rug, was a very large woman with a very large hairdo– who
Zanna presumed to be Fanadi herself.Sure enough, the woman’s forehead was tattooed with the Sheikah symbol, and her eyes were
bright red. Zanna smiled widely.“Oooooh, the herooo has returned, I see,” Fanadi said in a bizarre, mystical voice. Her face fell,
however, when all three of the Sheikah had entered. Her expression immediately changed to one
of terror. There was a long, tense silence as Fanadi stared at them as though she was looking at
the dead, and then, finally, she dropped her forehead into her hands and sobbed. “You’ve come
for revenge, haven’t you?”The travelers exchanged bewildered glances, but Zanna’s eyes were narrowed upon Fanadi,
brow furrowed as she attempted to pinpoint the cause of the guilt that was coming off of the
woman in waves.Rowan was the first to shake off his alarm, and he shook his head slowly. “No, we’re certainly
not–““Yes,” Zanna interjected suddenly, stepping in front of Rowan and peering down at the
distressed woman. “We are here to show you the same courtesy you have shown us,” she said
with slow, icy emphasis on each word. “Your dishonesty shames you. Reclaim your honor by
confessing, and we will show mercy.”“Zanna, what are you doing?” Rowan hissed, but Resha elbowed him hard in the stomach, her
body tense as she kept her eyes on Zanna. Zanna, in return, glanced at them over her shoulder
and did her best impression of Cedra– a look that said “play along or you won’t live long enough
to regret it!” Link looked uncomfortable, but he laid a hand on Colin’s shoulder to let him know
he was to play along as well.Fanadi had begun to shake. “I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered. She closed her eyes, and there was a
bright lash of light accompanied by a loud pop. When it faded, Fanadi’s ears were no longer as
sharply pointed as they had been, and her red eyes– a genetic trait that occurred exclusively in
the Yerlli tribe– had turned to a murky hazel. The Sheikah tattoo on her forehead also
disappeared, and the woman looked instantly cheaper– even pathetic– amongst her mysterious
scarves and the worthless glass orb she was passing off as a crystal ball.“She would have wanted me to do it,” Fanadi said quietly, taking Zanna’s hand in desperation.
“I was the only one who visited her and she had no family, I–““Quiet!” Zanna scolded gently, shaking off the woman’s grip.“Zanna...” Link said warily, but Zanna pretended not to hear him.“I do not care for your reasons,” she said brusquely. “Confess your actions. Leave nothing out–
you must account for all of it.”For a brief moment Fanadi looked so astonished and miserable that it appeared she might not
have the physical ability to speak, but then– slowly– she rose and retrieved a small jar from the
corner of the room. It was beautifully painted, and bore the Yerlli crest. Fanadi handled it
tenderly, almost reverently, and gently placed it on the table between Zanna and herself. She
remained standing.“This is the real Yerlli Fanadi. She died more than 30 years ago,” she said very quietly.“And who are you?” Zanna asked.“My name is Cass,” she whimpered, looking at each of the Sheikah’s faces as if begging for
mercy. “I did not do anything wrong,” she insisted. “Not really– I loved the old woman, I swear
I did nothing malicious–““Tell me how you came to impersonate her. Start from the beginning,” Zanna said. Her voice
was cool, but her gaze was blazing and constant. Cass seemed to shrink a little at the sight of it.
She took a shuddering breath. “I was born and orphaned in Castle Town, raised in an orphanage funded by the temple,” she
said softly. Her eyes clouded over as she thought back, shrouding herself in reverie. “Fanadi
was an old woman even then, but she was... very independent.” Cass smiled wistfully, her eyes
glistening with grief. “She worked here, in this very shop, as a healer... and sometimes as a
historian. She could identify tomes and artifacts better than anyone in the city, as was the
custom of her–“ she glanced suddenly at the three Sheikah– “of your people.“I worked for her my entire childhood. I swept, dusted her tomes, comforted the sick. But
mostly I just kept her company. Fanadi was the last of her people, or so I thought. She had no
children, no husband– she was all alone, just like I was.” Cass looked pleadingly at Zanna. “I
loved her, truly. We were family. When she died, I was devastated– I was!” she said fiercely. Then, with and edge she added: “But I was also out of a job. I hated the orphanage where I
lived, and I was already 16– nearly old enough to leave it for good. I knew Fanadi’s shop and all
of her possessions would go to the state if no family members could be located. So, I thought...”
She trailed off, and looked up at Zanna’s burning gaze.“Don’t you judge me,” she said with sudden venom. “How could you possibly understand what
it was like to have nothing– nothing in the world except for this kindly old lady? I was
desperate. I had no skills, no means of educating myself. I was facing a life of poverty! Very
few people born into my situation escape that fate– but I did! I did what I had to do. Using the
elementary sorcery Fanadi had taught me over the years, I disguised myself as a Sheikah of the
Yerlli tribe and claimed to be Fanadi’s great niece. I took her name, pretended to be named after
her. Her estate was left to me.”Zanna’s expression crumpled into one of disappointment, and she dropped her inquisitor facade.
“And then,” she said hollowly, “You used the magic tricks Fanadi had shown you, and the
mysterious allure of the Sheikah to convince people you were some sort of psychic. And that’s
how you’ve been making your living all these years.”“That’s right,” Cass said, puffing up like an owl. “That’s exactly how I’ve made my living. And
Fanadi wouldn’t have begrudged me a dime. She loved me. She would have wanted me to
prosper!” Cass’s words were sharp, but her face betrayed the distress she felt.Zanna looked at the woman with genuine grief. “You made a commodity out of a proud and
ancient tradition. You perverted the ways of a courageous and honorable people, and shamed
the memory Fanadi herself.”Zanna’s words had been so soft they were scarcely audible, but Cass crumbled as though she’d
been struck. “I know,” she cried, shaking her head miserably. “I know I did. I wish... every
day... that there had been some other way! But I had no skills, no way to earn money except for
selling Fanadi’s library, and when that ran out...”Zanna’s head snapped up, and her eyes widened. “What did you say?” she asked slowly, her
heart stopping.Spotting the trouble instantly, Resha laid a hand on her shoulder. “Calm down, Zanna. Let it
go.”Zanna just shrugged her off, advancing on Cass like a cat stalking its prey. “You sold her
books?”Cass looked genuinely confused. “Of course! I can’t read– how could I possibly have
appreciated them?”“You sold all of them?!” Zanna cried in distress, putting both her hands on Cass’s shoulders.
“You sold a historian’s entire library?! What were you thinking?!”“I told you, I can’t read!” Cass exclaimed. “There were many booksellers who were willing to
pay up to five or ten rupees per book, even though most of them were just old family trees. I had
no use for them, I tell you, and I was starving!”“You... sold an entire library of genealogy...” Zanna said faintly, feeling light-headed. She had spent years collecting pieces of her people’s lineage and stitching the scraps together
one by one. Here, in Castle Town, had been an entire library of complete family trees– bound
into books upon books!– and they had been sold to feed a fat, cheating Hylian who was too
stupid to realize that the books could have been sold to the right antiques dealer for thousands of
rupees. The complete library would have been valuable beyond measure.“You stupid cow!!” Zanna yelled suddenly, her anger exploding. “You have no idea what
you’ve done, do you?! You have cheapened and disgraced the Sheikah in ways you will never
understand!! I bet Fanadi herself would spit on you if she could be here today and see what
you’ve done!!!” She turned on heel, shoving her companions out of her way and storming out of
the shop, letting loose a frustrated cry as she slammed the door behind her, fuming.She couldn’t believe it. Oh, Goddesses, she thought, her heart burning with fury. You’re just
toying with me now. You are seeing how angry you can make me!! And laughing about it, no
doubt!! Zanna had never heard anything like it. An entire library sold for a pittance!! A greedy
woman who couldn’t cast a decent spell if her life depended on it, pretending to be a Sheikah
sorcerer just to turn a rupee!? Zanna was sick.All these years, she thought miserably, and it hasn’t gotten any easier to accept. We’re dying
out. It’s a terrible joke! And the Hylians are cheering us on.In the shop, Link looked apologetically at Cass, who was white and shaking. “I’m sorry...” he
said awkwardly, obviously feeling awful but not entirely sure how to make amends.Rowan went over to the woman and took her hands solemnly. “Our friend is troubled lately.
Please know that we don’t share her feelings– I completely understand your reasons for selling
the library.”Cass nodded numbly. “I didn’t know... it was so important...” she said. “Could those old books
really have meant so much to Fanadi?” Resha snorted and turned her back to them, crossing her arms over her chest in displeasure.Rowan nodded slowly, his eyes filled with sympathy. “It is possible that those books were her
life’s work, and an invaluable effort toward preserving the history of the Sheikah. But how
could you have known? You were not raised as one of us. You had no way of knowing
something like that. I hope you can forgive how horribly we’ve behaved,” Rowan said sincerely.
“I am certain that your mentor would not begrudge you the money you made from selling those
books. Everyone has to eat.” He smiled, his emerald eyes filled with warmth. “I know it’s not
much of an apology, but I’ll cast a protective spell on your home before I leave– that’s all I have
to give. I hope it’s at least some compensation for the trouble we’ve caused.”“No,” Cass said suddenly, and all four of her visitors looked up in surprise. After a moment of
Rowan’s flustered attempts to respond, Cass picked up the jar of Fanadi’s ashes and carefully
placed them in Rowan’s hands. “Do this for me instead,” she said softly. “Please give her a
proper memorial, as well as you can. Lay her to rest the way your people would have done it.
I... I would feel much better if you did. She deserves at least that much.”“Of course,” Rowan said solemnly. “I will take the ashes of Yerlli Fanadi to my village, and
scatter her ashes in our burial grounds. She will be greatly honored– I swear it.”“Thank you,” Cass said with a trembling smile. “Now please... leave me.”
oXoXoXo
“Zanna! Zanna!” Resha cried, jogging to catch up with the other Shiekah, who was marchingdown the street without a clue where she was headed. Link, Rowan, and Colin were close
behind.When she caught up, Resha grabbed Zanna by the shoulders and slammed her against the wall.
“What the hell were you thinking?” she growled, glaring as if she could bore holes into Zanna’s
forehead.“Resha, take it easy!” Rowan cried. “Let’s all just calm down.”“Calm down! Yes, let’s talk about that!” Resha exclaimed, dropping Zanna with a loud thump.
“Let’s talk about calming down, as opposed to barging in on some stranger and tearing her apart
bit by bit!”“You heard what she said!” Zanna exclaimed. “What she did is unforgivable. Do you have any
idea what I could have done with those texts? I’ve never heard of such a library– it would have
been the most complete record of our people in all of Hyrule!”“You don’t think I was upset about that?” Resha asked, throwing up her hands. “Of course I am!
But you should have controlled yourself! She was helpless! We don’t need that kind of
attention! The Gerudo have a word for that– boorena. It means that everything you do comes
back to you, and Zanna– you’ve got a hell of lot coming your way, let me tell you.”“Bickering is not going to solve anything,” Link said in annoyance, but his voice was totally
ignored by everyone except Rowan, who nodded and said “Exactly!”“I am not going to idly sit by while all traces of our culture are destroyed! I just can’t accept
that– we have to leave something behind!” Zanna insisted.“Oh, come on, Zanna,” Rowan said scornfully. “Stop being so childish!”Zanna looked as though she’d been physically struck. “Childish?” she asked, shocked.“Yes! You’re the one that always says that the Sheikah could survive if only we were willing to
change, and yet you’re acting like an old bear! ‘Our People’ this and ‘Our People’ that and, oh,
you’ve caused so much dishonor and disgrace!” His eyes narrowed, and he jabbed a finger
toward Zanna accusingly. “You were personally offended by that woman’s behavior, and you
treated her with all the self-righteous cruelty that you hate in other people.”“That’s not true...” Zanna protested weakly, looking anguished and very guilty all of a sudden.
“What she did was...”“Desperate,” Link supplied, folding his arms over his chest. “I don’t pretend to understand the
traditions of your culture, but I do understand that that woman loved Fanadi, even if she made
some mistakes. I agree with Rowan: you were cruel.”When Zanna looked stricken, Link added: “Zanna, you called her a cow.”Zanna’s shoulders slumped. “Damn it,” she sighed, clearly defeated. She rubbed her casting
hand, which was aching horribly. “You’re right. Grams would kill me if she knew I’d been so
rude.” Zanna’s face became agonized as the mantle of shame settled upon her. “I’m sorry I lost
my temper. I guess... I should go back and apologize?” she said uncertainly, turning toward
Madame Fanadi’s shop.“No, I don’t think so,” Link said, shaking his head. “Rowan patched things up pretty well. I
think we should just leave her in peace.”Zanna nodded numbly, the weight of the last 24 hours finally settling upon her. “I’m sorry,” she
said, looking at all of them. “I really am. A lot has happened in the last day, I think I just
snapped back there.”“We forgive you,” Rowan said, putting his arm around Zanna and smiling.“There’s nothing to forgive,” Resha said stiffly. “Just don’t put us in danger like that again– that
temper of yours is going to get you killed.”Zanna smiled blackly. “Resha is telling me I have a temper. I must have seemed a lot angrier
than I realized.”“Watch yourself,” Resha said, her eyes narrowing, and Rowan burst out laughing.“Not so loud,” Zanna winced as Rowan’s laughter rang right in her ear. “Trying to keep the
whole city’s emotions out of my head is giving me a horrible headache. I really need to lie
down...”“We could go back to the castle, couldn’t we?” Colin piped up, causing everyone to turn and
stare. He was so quiet, it was easy to forget he had a mind of his own. “I mean, if you want to
rest. We can just wait for the princess there.”Link nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, Colin. We could all use a break. And a bath,” he said,
wrinkling his nose.“Hey!” Resha protested. She made to elbow him in the stomach, but eyed his sword and then
thought better of it. Link laughed. “Come on, the castle’s back this way. We can be there in minutes.”“That sounds wonderful,” Zanna agreed, and they headed off in the direction Link had shown
them.They had just made it to the end of the street when Zanna’s eyes widened. “Oh no.”Rowan looked at her curiously. “What is it?”Zanna opened her mouth to speak, but it was too late. A group of eight armored guards rounded
the corner, and four more came up from behind the group of travelers, effectively trapping them.“Zanna Impree?” one of the guards asked, looking between the three Sheikah.“Impree Zanna,” Zanna corrected, scowling.“My apologies,” the guard said sarcastically. “Either way, we are placing you under arrest by
order of the Princess of Hyrule.”“What?” Link exclaimed, reaching out to stop the guard’s approach. “That’s ridiculous! This
woman has been summoned by the princess. She’s my guide– I brought her here by royal
decree!”“I’m sorry, Hero,” the guard said, looking genuinely regretful. “But these are my orders. I’m
sure you can take it up with the princess straight away.”“And I will,” Link replied heatedly. He looked at Zanna. “I have no idea what’s going on, but I
promise I will fix this immediately. Please go quietly for now and I swear I’ll have you out
before sundown.”Zanna was too exhausted to be upset. “It’s all right. I’ve never been arrested before. It will be a
nice change of pace,” she said drily.“Men, tie her up!” the guard ordered, and Zanna found her hands being bound behind her back.“Are you sure there’s nothing you can do?” Resha asked Link anxiously. “We can’t let them
take her!”“No harm will come to her in the castle prison. I’m going to go find Zelda immediately, and
figure out what the hell is going on,” Link said.“Don’t worry, Resha, I’ll be okay,” Zanna said, smiling wanly at her companions as the guards
began pulling her away. “Just behave yourselves and don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone!”It’s really kind of funny, she thought, laughing bitterly to herself. I of all people should have
expected a betrayal. Now she didn’t suspect the Goddesses were toying with her– she knew it.
Well, just keep it coming! I can’t find your Winged Sheikah if I’m in jail, and your prophecy will
be for nothing, Zanna taunted.Not surprisingly, the Goddesses did not reply.