A Couple of Trials (ZeLink)

Chapter 64: A Wish of Luck

"Your master will come for you. Until then, you shall rest safely here," Zelda said down to the sword that now lay before her on the stone. The princess sat on her knees with her eyes closed and her hands clasped together in front of her. "Although the Slumber of Restoration will most certainly deprive him of his memories, please trust me when I say that I know he will arrive before you yet again."

"𝑰𝒇 𝑰 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅," a deep voice began to say. The princess looked up to whom the voice belonged and stood as it continued to speak. "𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕, 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔?"

The princess looked down at the sword now resting at her feet. Brushing her long, dirty hair away she spoke.

"The Master Sword... I heard it speak to me. It seems my role is unfinished. There is still something I must do."

"𝑰 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏," the tree replied. Smiling slightly, the princess placed a hand on her chest.

"Great Deku Tree..." she said slowly. "I ask of you, when he returns, can you please relay this message... Tell him I—"

"𝑵𝒐𝒘, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏," the one called the Great Deku Tree spoke up. "𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒗𝒐𝒊𝒄𝒆, 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌?"

Slightly taken aback at this, the princess stared up into the being's eyes before smiling, clasping her hands together at the thought.

"Yes."

"𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕," the one known as the Great Deku Tree said, "𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒆𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆."

"Thank you, truly," the princess said.

With a deep breath, she crouched down and took the worn-out sword into her hands. Slowly, she lifted it high above her head before lowering it into the pedestal before her. Giving it a final push, with a flash of light, the sword's tip stuck in the pedestal. With a deep breath, the princess looked down at the handle before turning her back toward it.

"Wish me luck, Link," she said, staring at the exit of the forest she stood in. "I'll be waiting for you, no matter how long it takes."

Stepping down from the stone platform, the sword remained in that pedestal for decades to come, waiting for its master to return, just as the princess said he would.

The fog felt like it was never-ending. Before, this was because of how thick the fog was, giving the air a literal sense of mystery as it obscured everything around it, from the sky to even the trees if they were too far away from those passing by. This time though, it wasn't the fog, nor the atmosphere that gave the woods its pathlessness sensation, for it wasn't Link's first time walking through these woods. He knew how to traverse the woods. He had done it many times before, taking a torch, and following the wind that guided him with the embers from the flames burn. No, what made his journey feel endless was the thought of what lay at the end of the path; the trial that awaited him.