A Shed of Hope

Chapter Twenty-three: Link

I wake to the sound of dripping water echoing off the stone walls. I open my eyes only to find the same blackness I saw with my eyes closed. The air smells foul and disgusting. Where am I? I can feel hard, cold stone beneath me, some rocks digging into my back. I sit up slowly, clutching my throbbing head in one hand and feeling the stone wall behind me with the other. I remember what happened, the magic Estrella wielded to knock me out. Why does she want me? She probably wants the Triforce. I can only hope that Zelda got away.

            I hear the clank of metal against metal and look up. I now see that the torches are lit and that I'm in a cell, encased by stone. There’s a puddle in one of the corners where water drips from the ceiling, that’s what woke me up. I look up and see the bars of a cell door opening and watch as a girl walks in with Estrella and Milo trailing behind her. The girl has short white hair that only reaches her chin, wears a skin-tight, purple tights and shirt that has a red eye on it with a single tear escaping from it: the symbol of the Sheikah, the Shadow Folk. Her crimson eyes seem to glow in the dimness of the cell as her purple slippers shuffle along the floor, bring her closer to me. She looks just like the girl standing on the tower balcony in my dream! Estrella and Milo stop at the cell entrance while the girl, who seems to be Milo’s sister see that they both look alike, stops just a foot in front of me. I look up at her, still feeling too weak to stand, but I instinctively reach for the Master Sword . . . and realize that it’s not there. Of course, they aren't stupid are they?

            “Who are you,” I ask, not bothering to keep the harshness out of my voice, these were the people holding me captive.

            The girl looks down at me a second longer before laughing softly. “You seriously don’t know who I am?” I shake my head and she continues. “I, boy, am none other than Zara, the most feared dark sorcerer in Hyrule!”

            “Really,” I ask, trying to keep myself from cracking up. “Well, I've never heard of you before so . . . how can you be ‘the most feared dark sorcerer in Hyrule’?”

            Zara looks taken aback by this, but quickly recovers. “What do you know, you’re just a kid!”

            “A seventeen-year-old kid,” I correct her.

            “Enough of this,” Milo cries from the doorway. “Where is it?!”

            “Where's what,” I ask, confused for a moment before it dawns on me that they must be the ones looking for the Triforce. But, I still work hard maintain my confused expression.

            “Don’t play dumb,” Milo cries, “you know what I'm talking about, where is it?!”

            “Milo,” Zara tells her brother, “calm down, I can handle this.” She turns back to me and places her hands on her hips. “Where is the sacred power, you must know seeing how you are close with the princess.”

            “‘Sacred power’, what are you talking about,” I ask. “I am close to Zelda, but we never talked about anything like that!”