The Legend of Zelda: Transient (third book in the Timeless series)

Chapter 27

The inside of the castle was dark and the air was heavy. The only light came from the few windows on the top floor. The floors were covered in papers and books, though the rest of the library was almost unrecognizable. Stuffing from the chairs was strewn everywhere and the wallpaper was torn off in claw-like strips. Zelda's canvases were ripped, broken, and ruined with an inky liquid. The canvases that held time capsules of the early days of their marriage, when she would sit for hours in front of the huge windows and paint whatever inspired her. Now they were no more than colored confetti littering the wood. As he slowly walked forward, something caught the corner of his eye. A framed painting had fallen from its place on the wall and now peeked out from behind a fallen bookcase. As he approached it, he saw himself. The image was covered in dirt and grime, but even then there was no mistaking it. He pulled the portrait out and began to see the differences. His hair was neater and shorter with more silver speckled in. He was clean-shaven, and there were more lines around his eyes. Laugh lines, he noted. He looked noble and proud and like a completely different version of himself. It wasn't a portrait he remembered, and as he turned it over, he saw a single faded line written in Zelda's script.

What would he look like now?

He felt a sting in his chest as he set it back down.

The corridor connecting to the library was even darker, a musk seeping the air without the ventilation from the windows. The walls around him almost seemed to pulse with an energy too big for it to contain. As he slowly walked down the corridor, he heard a screech from nearby. He immediately threw open a nearby door and hurried in, shutting it behind him as quietly as possible. He stood with his back against the door and held his breath. In a couple of seconds, a bitter cold began to seep through the door, chilling him to the bone. It slowly got more intense before there was a large boom somewhere deeper inside the castle. The shadow screeched again, this time seemingly right on the other side of the door, before streaking off, banging into several things on the way by the sound of it. The cold faded immediately as he let out his breath and took in his surroundings.

He instantly recognized the room as his old cabinet. Dust covered everything in the room, as if nothing had been touched since he had last been inside. Maps covered his desk, yellowed with time. He could see the path he had scratched down, back when he thought the trip would be simple. He didn't give it much thought though as he rushed forward, pushing the bookcase in the back of the room aside. Behind it was a small plain door painted to match the walls around it. He grabbed the knob and pushed, but it didn't budge.

Damn it, it's locked.

He turned back and pulled open his desk drawers, digging through them with growing frustration. When none of them held the key, he stood and his eyes flickered over to another door. He suddenly remembered that his cabinet was connected to his bedchamber. He sighed, walking towards it. As soon as he neared the door, a recognizable chill washed over him. He creaked it open slowly to see several dark masses flitting across the room, destroying everything in their wake. He took a deep breath. Fear pierced through him as soon as he saw them, making him glance down at the back of his hand, now empty. He had never realized how much he took it for granted until then.

An idea passed through his head, and his body moved immediately as to not give him time to talk himself out of it. He quietly hurried over to the door leading to the corridor, peeking through it before opening it wide. Then, he threw all of his weight into the bookcase, knocking it over with a loud bang. Link then pulled the chamber door open, hiding as far back into the corner as he could and holding the knob tightly. The shadows shrieked and flooded into the cabinet, zooming around the room before racing out into the corridor. He waited a moment before following and shutting and locking the cabinet door behind them before dashing into the bedchamber. He immediately shut another door leading to the corridor before slumping against it and letting out a shaky breath. There was no time to rest though, so he ran forward. The key would have most likely been in the wardrobe beside the bed, but after the shadows had ransacked the room, the contents were now scattered everywhere.

After several minutes of digging through the litter on the floor, he could hear the demons coming back. With panic washing over him, he dropped to his knees, shuffling papers with more urgency. Then, a flickering of gold caught his eye. He reached his arm under the bed and sighed with relief when he felt the cool metal on his fingertips. He grabbed the key and ran back into the cabinet, shutting the door right as he heard the shadows smash back into the other room. He wasted no time shoving the now-fallen bookcase out of the way again and shoving the key in the hole. He pulled on the door again and this time the steel opened with a groan. He went inside as soon as he could and shut it behind him, clicking the lock back in place. In front of him was a tiny room with metal walls. The only openings were a door that led to an even smaller bathroom and a small air draft in the ceiling. One wall was covered in non-perishable food and another held blankets. The wall he was most interested in though was in the back of the safe room. Several sheathed weapons were mounted on the metal, of which he grabbed a sword and shield, several daggers and a bow. The cold was spreading over him as he grabbed his weapons. His breath was visible and shaky as he slowly approached the door, resting his hand on the handle. The cold intensified, and he heard a loud hiss on the other side. He steadied himself and in one fluid motion, he unlocked the door and threw it open.

The shadow immediately dived for him as he swung his blade upward, cutting it in half between the eyes. Its scream cut off and it instantly exploded. Link planted himself to avoid being sent backwards before jumping forward and cutting the head off another. He heard a screech from behind him and whipped his sword over his shoulder, sinking the blade deep in the shadow's stomach. It let out a last frosty breath on his shoulder before exploding, blasting him with a thick inky substance. He grit his teeth and wiped his face, flicking the goo onto the floor.

Then, he tightened his grip on the blade and walked forward, throwing the corridor door open. Another shadow streaked forward and he threw his arm out without turning, slicing it in half and sinking the blade into the wall. With an easy motion, he pulled it out and continued on.

Now, it was a whole different game.