Sabotaged Love: A Zelink Story

Chapter 3: Norah

Zelda had no trouble getting past the guards on the castle grounds. She had snuck out of the castle plenty of times in the past and was exceptionally stealthy—she'd mastered the art of tiptoeing silently across stone floors and had memorized all of the secret passageways.
Once she'd made it outside of the gates, she pulled her mother's white cloak tightly around herself to stay warm in the chilly night breeze and pulled out the map Vilate had given her. The x marking the location of the Great Deku Tree was right inside of the Lost Woods. Zelda felt apprehensive about going into the Lost Woods—she knew it was a dangerous place where getting lost was almost inevitable—but she had to go.
It's just at the very edge. I'll be fine.
She soon arrived at the Lost Woods. Her heartbeat quickened as she peered into the mysterious purple mist in the thickness of the trees. She hugged herself more tightly and stepped into the trees, glancing around cautiously. Zelda walked briskly, careful not to make too much noise, as she tried to navigate her way through the woods. She tripped over a couple of roots hidden under the purple mists and got her hair tangled in a few low branches, but she was able to eventually reach the Great Deku Tree in one piece. She could distinguish the tree from the others because it was about five times as thick and surrounded by a huge pond of water. And it had a face.
Zelda hopped onto a big rock in the center of the pond and knelt down. Vilate had told her to "pray" to the tree. She felt very uncomfortable at this idea, but she knew it needed to be done.
"Oh, Great Deku Tree," Zelda whispered, afraid of being heard by a nearby monster. "Um... I need some of your wisdom about something."
She waited for a good minute or two, and nothing happened. This was so embarrassing! What was she doing, praying to a tree? She probably looked like such a fool, but she decided to give it another try.
"Oh, Great Deku—"
"I HEARD YOU, CHILD," the tree said in a booming voice. The entire forest seemed to shake from the noise, and Zelda clung to the rock so she wouldn't fall into the water. So this tree really did talk. How weird.
"Alright, so... I have a dilemma. There are three people who I can choose from to marry, but I don't like any of them. What should I do?"
The Great Deku Tree responded without a moment's hesitation, its massive lips moving to form words. "THE ONE WHO IS WORTHY OF YOU IS HE WHO WIELDS THE MASTER SWORD, FOR HE IS A TRUE HERO."
Zelda blinked. What on earth did that mean? What was the "Master Sword"? She asked the Great Deku Tree to explain further, but he only repeated himself. Zelda was tempted to get frustrated, but she realized that maybe Vilate would know what he meant. She said thank you to the tree and got up to leave.
"Master Sword... hmm..." Zelda thought as she walked. "He said I must marry a true hero. But none of them are heroes... at least from what I've seen. Then again, I only just met them today. Maybe father really is right—I should give this more time and more thought..."
Zelda walked through the woods much more carelessly than before, as she was focused on her thoughts more than anything else. When she did finally realize where she was walking, it was too late undo the damage done. She stopped and spun in several circles—her heart rate picked up speed as she chose a random direction and started walking.
I'm sure this is the way... Zelda's attempt at thinking encouraging thoughts was soon extinguished when she accepted the fact that she was indeed lost. After wandering the woods for an entire hour, she hadn't made any progress and was unable to find any recognizable landmarks within the forest.
"Ugh, I'm so stupid! I'm never going to get out of here," she said hopelessly to herself. She once again pulled her mother's cloak tightly around herself and wished her mother could be here now, guiding and helping her. She felt a single tear slide down her cheek. As she was wiping it away, she spotted a light out of the corner of her eye. She turned towards it and realized it was an end to the woods.
Yes, thank you, Zelda thought, unsure of who she was thanking. Maybe it was her mother.
She rushed forward and exited the Lost Woods. It was daytime, and the sun was shining brightly. She wondered how long she had been in the woods; certainly not for more than a couple of hours. Perhaps time worked differently in such a mysterious place.
She wandered down a hill and saw a little town ahead. She didn't recognize it, and she felt her stomach do a backflip. She had absolutely no idea where she was. How far had she wandered away from home? She couldn't be too far... could she?
She decided to walk down to the town and check things out. It couldn't hurt to talk to someone and ask for directions back to Hyrule Castle.
She walked more briskly down the hill and felt a pang of hunger. Grateful that Vilate had insisted she pack food, she sat down on the grassy hill and began to eat some of the fruit from her bag. Then she continued on into the town.
It was a little town, but it was busy. There were people wandering the streets, going about their day to day business. There were many shops. as well as what seemed to be private homes. Nobody seemed to notice her in the busy crowd.
Looking around at these people, Zelda figured she probably stood out a lot in her expensive attire. All of these people were wearing plain, worn-out clothing. She doubted any of them had ever seen, let alone own, a cloak as fine as hers.
Well, I guess the worst that could happen is getting mugged, she thought optimistically.
But still, she decided that if someone asked who she was, she would not tell the truth. The thought of everyone knowing she was Princess Zelda of Hyrule made her feel very vulnerable.
She approached a friendly looking man who was selling pots. He had a grey beard and a little brown hat.
"Hello, sir," she said to him. "May I ask you something?"
"Of course, madam!" he replied warmly. "We have a wide selection of pots available here. Any color, any size! I'll even throw in a free one if you buy two."
"Oh, no thank you," she said, and his expression turned to one of confusion. "I... I just need to know where I am. You see, I'm... trying to find my way to Hyrule Castle and got a little lost on the way."
"Oh, of course! No problem at all," the man said with a chuckle. "Do you have a map?"
Zelda showed him her map.
"Ok, see here—this is where we are. Terrey Town. Hyrule Castle is up here. The fastest way to get there from here is through the Lost Woods."
"Ok, thank you, sir. Have a nice day." Zelda turned away and feeling discouraged. She did not want to go back into the Lost Woods. She couldn't. She would just get lost again and end up in another random town like this one. She decided that she would need someone to guide her through. Maybe for enough rupees someone in this town would be willing to help her.
She turned back to the man selling pots. "Hello again, sir. Um... I know this is a big favor to ask, but would you be willing to escort me through the Lost Woods? You see, I'm not very familiar with those woods and I get lost easily."
"Well, everyone gets lost there. That's why it's called the 'Lost Woods'", the man said with a laugh. Zelda didn't find his joke very amusing.
"Would you escort me? Please, I'll pay you."
The man shook his head. "Nah, no amount of rupees would get me into those woods. I'm sorry, madam."
Zelda's shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Alright, I understand. Is there anyone you know of who would be willing to escort me?"
The man thought for a brief moment and replied, "Yes, actually. There's this lady named Norah. A blacksmith—a very skilled one—she deals in trade that forces her into those woods, from what I've heard. Try asking her."
"Do you know where she lives?"
The man pointed up the street. "She lives right over there. See that big red sign hanging down? Right there..."
"Thank you so much, sir," Zelda said. She bought an expensive pot from him to show her gratitude, then went to find Norah. A woman blacksmith. This was sure to be interesting.
Zelda approached the shop the man had pointed out right in time to see a woman come through the door holding a big box. The box looked to be heavy because of the way the woman was straining to hold its weight.
Getting closer, Zelda could see that the woman had brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair with a tint of red in it. She was definitely a good couple of inches shorter than Zelda herself and seemed to be built thicker in the arms, legs, and middle than most women. Her face and hands were blackened from working in the blacksmith shop.
Zelda got closer to the woman, feeling guilty for interrupting her work but nevertheless cleared her throat and said, "Hello—you must be Norah?"
The woman grunted as she set the box down and wiped sweat off her forehead. "Yeah, that's me. What do you want?"
     "I'm sorry to bother you, but I have a favor to ask," she said politely.
     "You've never been to Terrey Town, have you?" the woman suddenly said, laughing. "It's pretty obvious you came from Hyrule Castle."
      The comment caught Zelda off guard. "Why do you say that?"
     The woman shrugged. "Your clothing. And the way you walk. Very... polite? No; proper. Yeah, that's it. Proper."
     "I walk just like everyone else," Zelda replied, glancing at the other people around her. Did she really stand out that much with just body language?
     "C'mon, you've got to be from the castle! You aren't—you aren't by chance Princess Zelda, are you?" Norah asked, narrowing her eyes.
    "What—um—no! No, of course I'm not Princess Zelda! What a ridiculous suggestion! She's much too—um—important to be spending time in a common place like this," Zelda invented quickly, hoping her answer would satisfy Norah.
     "You also talk way too proper," Norah added.
     "You mean properly," Zelda corrected, and then blushed when Norah laughed.
    "Yep, definitely from Hyrule Castle," Norah said confidently, and Zelda felt herself boiling in anger. Norah's near-perfect perception was beginning to get very irritating.
     "Please, can I just ask you—"
     "If you aren't Princess Zelda, then who are you?" Norah pressed, leaning close to examine Zelda's features.
     "I'm—my name is Tetra. I'm one of Her Majesty's servants. I'm her seamstress," she lied, wearing what she hoped looked like an casual expression.
     Norah frowned. "Tetra. That's sort of a weird name."
     "Well, if you ask me, it's also weird for a woman to be a blacksmith," Zelda responded swiftly. "So anyway—back to what I was saying before you interrupted—I need someone to escort me through the Lost Woods. I need to get back to Hyrule Castle quickly, and I can't go into those woods alone. I get lost too easily. I heard from someone that you go into the woods often and know your way around."
     Norah wiped her dirty hands on her apron and placed them on her hips. "You want me to take you to Hyrule Castle?"
     "Yes, if you'd be willing."
     "What's in it for me?"
     "One thousand rupees."
     Norah's eyes widened. "Really?! Wow! If the seamstresses in Hyrule Castle are that rich, how rich is the king himself? Alright, Tetra—for that price you've got yourself a deal." She picked up the heavy box she'd been carrying. "Let me take care of this and clean up and I'll be right with you. Stay right here."
     Zelda did as instructed and within fifteen minutes Norah was back. "Stay there!" she said again as she ducked into her blacksmith shop and emerged shortly with her hands and face clean of ashes and  wearing a clean new outfit—a blue tunic with lightly colored pants. "Oh wait, let me pack a bag as well."
She was gone for another five minutes and then emerged with a brown leather bag slung over her shoulder. "Ok, where are the rupees?"
     "Oh, no, I don't have them with me. You'll receive your payment when we get there."
     "What? I'm sorry, but I need to be paid first!" Norah demanded, holding out her hand.
     "All I have with me is two hundred rupees. If you want the rest, you'll have to get me there first," Zelda said.
     Norah kept her hand outstretched. "Pay me your two hundred right now so I know I can trust you."
     "Fine," Zelda said, resisting the urge to groan out loud. She removed the pouch of rupees from her bag and placed it into Norah's hand. Norah carefully counted each rupee to make sure she wasn't being scammed.
     Zelda rolled her eyes. This was going to be the longest trip of her life, and she already couldn't wait for it to be over.