A Shed of Hope

Chapter Twenty-two: Zelda

I pace back and forth in the guest bedroom at the ranch, my hair flying around with every turn I make. Where is Link? Is he okay? Did something happen to him? Is he on his way? By the gods I'm worried!

            “Spill it,” I turn and see Malon come into the room and sit herself on the bed. I can see the bags under her eyes from where she probably hasn’t slept since the last time Link and I were here. Her white dress drapes across her legs and her hair is tied up in a bun behind her head. She pats the bed beside her and I sit down next to her. “What in the name of Din is going on?”

            I sigh, is the worry that noticeable on my face? “Well, you know about the legendary Triforce, right?”

            “The sacred power of the gods, yes,” Malon replies, a look of confusion on her face.

            “Well,” I continue. “You and I both know about the legends about the Triforce: how the chosen hero of the age gets the Triforce of Courage, the villain has the Triforce of Power, and the princess has the Triforce of Wisdom.”

            “Of course,” Malon says, “then the hero ends up defeating the villain and the Triforce of Power gets sealed away with him.”

            “Well,” I say, “the legends have the truth written all over them.” I show her the mark on my hand, the one that appeared whenever I am touching Link or I will it to show. Malon gasps as I continue. “I'm the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom and Ganondorf was the holder of the Triforce of Power. Link and I have been on the run because Impa told us to and now we’re trying to find a way to find out who holds the Triforce of Power now.”

            “So that means,” Malon says, “that Link is the holder of the Triforce of Courage!”

            I nod and look Malon in the eye for the first time since I came over to the ranch a couple hours ago. I know I've just put her in danger, but I don’t know what else to do. If I lied, she would’ve known that I was hiding something and wouldn’t’ve stopped asking about it until I told her the truth.

            “So,” Malon asks, “what happened? Where’s Link?”

            That’s when I get to my feet and start pacing the room once again. “That’s the problem, I don’t know!”

            “What happened?”

            “We were being followed by someone in the woods not far from here,” I say, following the day’s events. “He told me to run and he ran off in a different direction and I did. I never saw him after that and we agreed to meet here, where we were planning to go anyways.”

            “By the gods,” Malon exclaimed. “What can I do to help?”

            “I don’t know,” I say, interrupted by voices coming from the window, which just happened to be open. Signaling for Malon to be quiet, I walk over to the open window and peer downward. Estrella stands directly below the window with a boy with snowy hair. They’re talking to each other in hushed tones, but I can hear, so I listen in and hope that they have information on where Link is.

            “So, has he woken up yet,” Estrella asks the boy.

            “No, he hasn’t,” the boy answers, looking around the ranch.

            “Well, Milo,” Estrella says, “the prisoner better wake up soon or he's probably dead. I may have used too much of my magic on him . . . Well, we might as well work on getting the girl. They did say they were coming here, right?”

            “Yes,” the boy, Milo says, looking back at Estrella. “They said they were coming here, to Lon Lon Ranch.”

            By the gods, they knew Link and I were coming here. That’s how they were able to follow us! And they speak as if the boy they have is a prisoner . . . what if they have Link?! What if he got captured?! I turn away from the window and confront Malon in a whisper.

            “Those two need to get away from here, they're after me!”

            “What do you mean,” Malon asks, also in a whisper.

            “Those were the ones following us,” I say, “and they have Link, I just heard it!”

            “You're saying he's being held captive?”

            “That’s exactly what I'm saying and now they're after me,” I say urgently.

            “Alright,” Malon says, getting to her feet and heading for the door. “I’ll just tell Dad that they're trying to steal something and then we can sneak away and try to find Link.”

            She heads downstairs and a minute later, I hear yelling outside.

            “Get out of here; you aren’t getting any horses, cows, chickens, or milk from this ranch!”

            I look out the window and see Estrella and Milo walking away.

            Go to the sacred springs located in Faron Woods, Kakariko Village, and Lake Hylia, a voice calls out to me. There, awaken the light spirits and once you do, they will guide you and give you a weapon to banish darkness. Together with the Blade of Evil’s Bane, the weapons will help banish evil and darkness from the land. You must hurry, there's no time to waste. The holder of Courage will make it out on his own, but you have a different path laid before you, though they meet in the end. Find the light spirits and they will guide you.

            “There,” I jerk out of the trance I was in and see Malon walk into the room wearing a red dress instead of white, a black traveling cloak, and carrying a small pack and a knife in a sheath on her belt. “I'm ready.”

            “And I know where to go,” I announce as I pick up my pack and weapons. I walk over to the open window and position myself to jump out.

            “And where's that,” she asks.

            “Lake Hylia,” I say, “it’s the farthest away.”

            “And what are we going to do?”

            “Awaken the light spirits.”