The Legend of Zelda: Cursebreaker

The Ancient Heroes

By the time Hilda dropped her off near the gates of Hylia, the sun was just beginning to rise. The timing couldn't have been better: Exchanging the mask for what Lady Faron had promised wouldn't take long, and with any luck Link would either still be asleep or just waking by the time she slipped back into the inn. If he asked any questions, she'd just say that she had been struck by a sudden inspiration about where to find the information she needed.

Everything was going well, all things considered. But as Zelda hurried down the streets to the castle, unease seeped into the back of her mind. The mask in her hands seemed harmless enough, though the choice of a dragon was a questionable one. Dragons were monsters, wicked demons who rampaged and devoured everything in their path. Why anyone would want a depiction of one hanging in their home was beyond her, even one as serene in appearance as the one whose face was on the mask.

More than that, though, was the Salesman. She'd been too relieved at the time that she had found him so quickly to think about it, but now everything about the encounter struck her as unnerving. In hindsight it seemed less that she had found him and more like he had found her, more like he had known she was searching for him and known when and where she would appear. Which wasn't possible, Zelda knew, but the whole interaction set her on edge regardless.

As the guards let her in to the castle, she very pointedly did not let her mind stray to wonder what would happen if the bill came due and she could not pay.

When Lady Faron came, she had eyes only for the mask. Delicate hands trembled as she reached out for it, and Zelda worried for a moment that the noblewoman would drop the mask as it changed hands. "You have my deepest gratitude." Faron bowed her head in thanks, passing the vial of sacred water. "I know the journey is far, but the Great Fairy you seek can be found at the top Death Mountain."

Her shoulders sagged with the weight of her relief: The Bolero of Fire could take them there, and then they would have plenty of time to search. The mountain's peak wasn't so large that it would take more than two days to find the Fairy Fountain, after all, and from the stories it seemed that the chosen hero had a natural knack for finding them. "Thank you, Lady Faron." Zelda turned to leave: There was no time to waste.

"Wait!" The noblewoman stopped her, and Zelda was taken aback by the uncertainty in her demeanor. "Should you... Should you ever find yourself in need of aid or protection, know that you have an ally in me."

Something nagged at the back of Zelda's mind, an itch of familiarity she couldn't quite place. Did the noblewoman know what exactly she might be getting herself into? If it came to that, and Zelda needed shelter from Ganondorf and his forces, there was no way to know if the noble would hold true to her word. It would be wiser to not, and Zelda wouldn't fault her for retracting it... But her instincts told her the offer was genuine, and she felt her lips curl into a smile. "I'm not sure that's an offer you want to make me, Lady Faron, but thank you." For now, she would just thank the Goddess for how well her encounter with the provincial ruler had gone.

In hindsight, perhaps it had gone a little too well. The entire past twenty-four hours had gone well, enough so that the end of her luck should have come as no surprise.

------

"What do you mean, he's gone?!"

Zelda felt numb with the ice of fear as she stared at the innkeeper. The man sighed, the look on his face apologetic but not terribly concerned. "Said the two of ya were just acquaintances from the road, that he didn't wanna wake you up before he left."