A Shed of Hope

Chapter Thirty-two: Zelda

I open my eyes and look around me. I'm lying on the floor of my room, wearing my white nightgown. I sit up and brush my hair out of my face, noticing that all of my bruises from my fight with Estrella are gone. I get to my feet and hear my door open and shut with a slam. I look up at Impa, her face lined with worry and distress as she walks up to me and begins speaking quietly.

            “You will never guess what I just saw.”

            This happened before; the only difference is that I was sitting on my bed the time before. By the Gods, the Song of Time actually worked! But I know I can't let anyone know that I traveled through time, they won't believe me.

            “You saw the Happy Mask Salesman and he freaked you out,” I ask, just like I did last time.

            “Good,” she says, “but no. I saw Ganondorf lying dead on the path to the front doors of the castle.”

            “Really,” I ask, smiling like I did that night.

            “Really,” she replies, “someone killed him.”

            I stop the conversation here. “Impa, I need to tell you something.” I decide that only she and Malon will know about this outside of Link and I.

            “What is it, dear,” she asks, sitting down on my bed and patting the spot next to her. I sit down as well and start telling the tale, every detail of it from the moment she told me Ganondorf was killed to the moment Link played the Song of Time. When I am done, I look up at Impa and question her. “Do you believe me?”

            Impa smiles and kisses my forehead like she used to when I was little. “Yes, Zelda,” she says. “I believe every word you just told me, for no one could make something like that up.”

            “Only you and Malon will know about this outside of me and Link,” I declare.

            “Yes,” Impa approves. “I think that will be best. And for the record, I already suspected something was up. For when I woke Link up, the first question he asked was ‘where am I’.”

            I laugh. “Yes, that sounds like him when something happens.”

            “But,” Impa says as she puts a hand over mine. “Now that you know who killed Ganondorf, you need to stop her and bring her before your mother and father. After all, that is the reason you came back in time, am I right, to stop Estrella?”

            “Yes,” I cry, getting to my feet and quickly changing into a simple dress with a pair of flats. I run down the hall with Impa at my heels and even consider knocking on Link’s door, but I decide against it, see how he's recovering from the wounds Ganondorf gave him. I run down to the throne room and throw the doors open. I charge up to the thrones and tell my mother and father directly, who were having a meeting with the captain of the guards at the time, about Ganondorf’s fate.

            “Thank you, Zel,” my father says, “though the captain has already told us that.”

            “It’s such a pity,” my mother adds, bring a tissue to her nose. “He was perfect for you.”

            I flinch at the comment, but I will deal with that later. “I know who did it.”

            “Really,” my father says, getting to his feet, “who?”

            “She did,” a voice says. I look behind at the doors I left wide open and see Link come in, pointing the Master Sword, which seemed to have been brought back in time with him, at Estrella, who walks with a look of utter confusion on her face.

            “I didn’t,” Estrella cries, “I don’t know what you're talking about!”

            “Ganondorf was the holder of the Triforce of Power,” Impa says, “I guess there's only one way to find out.”

            Impa grabs my hand and guides me towards Estrella, who Link has standing in the middle of the room. He smiles at me, and I can't help but smile back. When we’re close enough, Link takes Estrella’s hand and holds it up so my mother and father can see the back of it and I reach up to clasp hands with her. Now, all three pieces are touching and the mark of the goddesses appears on all three of our hands. I can hear gasps ring all throughout the room and swords from the guards crashing on the floor.

            “Oh my word,” my mother gasps, finding her voice finally.

            “Ganondorf’s second-in-command has killed him,” my father says.

            “She must die,” my mother exclaims.

            “What do you mean,” the captain of the guard asks.

            “If Estrella has killed Ganondorf and is after the Triforce pieces, then my daughter is in danger,” my father cries. “My wife is right, the girl must die. Take her to the execution room!”

            Guards take Estrella from Link’s hands and guide her out, but before she's out of the room, she screams at us. “I swear if I ever find out how you two did this, I will have my revenge! This isn't the end!”

            “The people she works with have taken a strong hold in the Shadow Temple in the graveyard in Kakariko,” Link states plainly.

            “How do you know that,” my father asks, eyeing Link suspiciously as I stand next to him.

            “Estrella has been mumbling to herself from the carriage outside to here.”

            “How in the name of Nayru does a servant boy hold the Triforce of Courage,” my mother asks, plainly shocked and surprised.

            “I don’t know, your highness,” Impa says with a smile, “but he's a courageous boy indeed.”

            Link doesn’t say anything, but just smiles as he gazes at my parents. His gaze eventually turns to me, and I can see hunger written in his sky blue eyes: hunger for something that only I know of. In less than a second I'm in his arms and my lips are locked on his. I rub my hand over his chest, feeling his heart beat wildly under my hand. I feel his breath on my cheek, uneven every time we break apart to breathe. I don’t care what kind of rumors are going through the room right now, all I know is that I never want to leave Link’s side, ever.