Shadow Warrior - Ekyom, Rainy_Writes (2024)

Chapter 1: In Which We Don't Name The Hero

Chapter Text

The world of Twilight is a lovely place for those that are able to recognize its inherent beauty. The oceans far below coming and going with their light. The clouds above, heavy, but comforting in their proximity. To the people who live there, it is their normal- but that doesn’t diminish all the wonder the realm holds, amongst its islands and amongst its life.

Of this, two boys huddled behind a collection of rocks with a mischievous plan brewing in one and anxiety wracking the other. They watched a group of dark-winged creatures, a harsh contrast to the golden sky, coming closer to the area just past their hiding spot.

The taller of the two peered over at the flock of beasts before moving back behind the rock cover to look at the other.

A manic grin grew on his companion’s face while his own scrunched up. “Do you ever listen to me? We shouldn’t be doing this, it’ll be the third time we’ve gotten in trouble this week!”

‘Only if we get caught.’ The plotting boy signed, otherwise silent, determined in his goal of causing some kind of trouble. ‘But you can back out of you’re scared, Mateja...’ he continued, chuckling to himself and raising an eyebrow in an unspoken challenge.

“This isn’t about being afraid and you know it!” He glared at his cackling friend before tugging on the earring on his right ear. It stung, but it had been long enough since being pierced that it wouldn’t bleed. “You know why I’m hesitant about this.” Mateja looked back up at his gradually disquieting friend, “I’m fourteen now, and as heir to the throne I’m expected to start actually growing up…”

The boy huffed, looking over at his friend and resolute in his goal. Mateja acted like he had the world on his shoulders sometimes; he needed a break in the form of doing something dumb and reckless. The fact that he wanted to ride the shadow kargaroc wasn’t influencing his goal of dragging the prince along at all. Nope, nosirree. Only good and pure intentions here.

‘Look,’ he signed convincingly, ‘think about all the cool stuff you could learn about from riding them.’ His grin reformed on his face, ‘Could even write about it in your nerd book.’

“Journal!”

‘Adventure diary.’

Mateja reconsidered, looking over to the beasts and back. Being fourteen now be damned- Prince duties or not, he had a responsibility to his friend.

“...Fine.”

‘Nice. I’ll give you dibs on which shadow kargaroc we wrangle.’

Mateja watched as the other braced himself against the rock, ready to pounce and capture one of the kargarocs for his mischievous pleasure. Despite himself, Mateja sighed.

“My mother’s going to kill us.”

Far off, there was very little to be celebrating.

The tall study walls are lined with shelves filled with books, magical items glowing faintly amongst them, like stars, studding the room. A lone figure sat at the desk, tense and hands clenched over a surprising delivery brought not long ago, something she never expected to receive from a world she never wished to talk with.

The portal had opened.

Just for a brief moment, or so she was told. The guard that had delivered the parcel had only said it was open, and the message came through before closing again. Whoever was on the other side either didn’t want anything coming out from Twilight, or wanted the matter over and done with.

But what would possess anyone to send something from such a tragic world of light?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a bang, and not long after, screaming.

She didn’t need to think for very long on the cause. It seemed nearly every day there was some disaster of non-mysterious origin, and at this rate, she was going to kill them personally.

Her entrance into the throne room was greeted by a small handful of guards panicking, an even smaller number saluting to her, and the rest of the room taken up by a thrashing shadow kargaroc. It must have been the leader of the flock, she figured- its size and the bravery of her son’s friend deemed it no other. It was thrashing about violently, probably confused, breaking things, and nearly beheading a guard with its wicked tail.

“Mother!” Mateja was hopelessly trying to calm the creature, arms up, and making vague soothing motions that might have calmed a person, but no beast.

And there he was, that mischievous storm of a boy, firmly in the creature’s grasp and having both the best and worst time of his life.

“Your Highness!” The guards called for her help.

“Ruler Kade!”

“Help!”

Ignoring the majority of the chaos invading her palace, Kade strode right up to the rampaging beast destroying the place, and the boy holding on for dear life.

She raised her hands, her long braided hair followed the motion, and formed two hands at the base of the braid. She sent it out, grabbed the boy off the flailing beast, dropped him behind her, and whipped the hand back out to the kargaroc and threw it out the large doors it had surely been flown in from.

With the creature dealt with, she turned back towards the two boys with slow, deliberate movement and gave them a boiling glare that Mateja shriveled under. She had enough to deal with without her son and his hooligan friend causing even more issues. The guards, who seemed relatively unharmed, broke out of their stupor with the beast’s leaving and promptly bowed at the presence of their ruler. The young prince’s friend however was undaunted by her presence, and quick to defend himself.

‘You can’t be that mad. I didn’t even break a window this time!’ Cheeky, even after having his life saved.

Kade scowled at the signing boy, “Leave.” She said, deciding this time there were far more dire matters she needed to take care of than serving another punishment to the most notorious criminal in the realm.

Mateja looked over at his friend and back to his mother, “Shouldn’t we make sure everyone is alright first?” he looked over at all the scruffed up guards, wincing a bit at the knowledge that his mother was most definitely going to kill his friend and then himself.

Kade’s glare sharpened, “They will be fine. Now leave.”

The blonde boy raised his hands again, as though to sign something in protest, but Mateja set his own hand on his friend’s arm before he could. They looked at each other in a silent conversation, the mischievous boy’s brow scrunched in concern before giving a resolute nod and scampering away.

Kade slammed the door behind him, thankful to be rid of the nuisance and alone with her son. Mateja looks upon the slammed doors and feels the fear of the goddesses in his soul, not having to look to know that his mother’s eyes moved right back to him.

No reason not to face the music. He turned back around, ready to face whatever punishment she had for the third time that week.

“Mother.” It came out strong but finished weak as she turned to return to her study.

“Come, Mateja.” She didn’t check to see if he was following as she traced her steps back down the familiar path. “We have a lot to discuss.”

The prince shamefully followed her, tense at the idea of whatever punishment was coming to him.

Outside the palace, the blonde boy presses up against the doors that were slammed behind him, his ear-bending from the sheer force of will as he tried to make out any of the words being said between Mateja and his mother.

The muffled sounds of prince and ruler pittered out, and soon he was listening to nothing but silence. He pouted and pushed off the door to size it up, not one to be defeated by mere doorways.

The door towered over his head well over a dozen feet, and far above if one squinted was a large window that brought the light of the realm into the throne room. The obsidian walls of the building were smooth, sheer, with very little ornamentation, but still regal and beautiful in their slick design.

The boy gave the building a solid look-see, his head moved up and down, craned to see the top window, and one thought went through his mind.

I can climb that. He rubbed his hands together, and prepared himself to pounce onto the wall when a large hand went down on his shoulder.

“I know what you’re thinking, and you’re absolutely not allowed to do that.”

He jumped in surprise and turned to see one of the few guards not involved in the bird heist giving him a disapproving look. Oh great, It was his father .

Doing his best approximation of innocence , the boy turned around and signed back with an easy, and unconvincing, smile.

‘Not allowed to stand around?’

His dad heaved a deep sigh, “You know exactly what you were about to do.” He ran a hand through his dark hair.“How many times have I told you to not scale the castle building? Besides, don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble for one day?”

‘You know about that?’

“I saw a giant kargaroc go in and out of the castle with the prince screaming,” his father raised an eyebrow. “There’s no doubt you were involved.”

Darn. his dad knew him too well.

A sudden thought came to mind, that- out of everything that had happened so far that day- brought some semblance of fear into the child’s mind.

‘Are you going to tell mom about this?’

The three seconds of his father thinking were hopeful. He rubbed his hands together with anxiety, knowing that if something like this was known to his own mom of all people- Mateja’s anxiety would have been for a real reason.

“Well… She doesn’t have to know- so long as the castle’s clean by the time it gets dim.” Fatherly secrecy gave him some hope of living through the day, the boy nodded and immediately agreed.

‘Deal.’

It was a little further in the Twili’s day, and after the boy had long retrieved a broom and started sweeping, that saw a curious collection of individuals gathered in the throne room by the ruler herself. High-ranked Guards with shiner-than-average cloaks, embroidery at the hem in intricate designs, designating their rank. Three advisors stand amongst them, all wearing glimmering jewelry; only outdone by the royal family.

After the last incident , it was now commonplace for the ruler of the Twili realm to have multiple advisors to avoid another uprising.

The group spoke to each other in hushed whispers, nervous and gossiping as to why they could have all been called here with no prior warning.

The murmurs halted as, Ruler Kade herself, strode into the room. Electing to stand with them and present the scroll of high concern.

One of the advisors looked back at the door she had walked through, as though waiting for something, and turned back towards their queen. “Will the prince be joining us?” he asked, curious enough to ask about the particular lack of an individual.

“No.” Kade responded. Guards and advisors waited for her to continue, but instead were disappointed by the different, and far more important information, they were being given. “The portal to the world of light has opened.”

Appropriately, the others looked alarmed- well, save for one. A particular guard was in attendance, high-ranking but dressed far differently from the other guardsman, instead his own uniform crafted of deep blue. He surveyed the room and visible halls, keeping an eye out for his son trying to sneak out of cleaning duty. Multitasking with an important meeting was easy, the boy wasn’t exactly subtle.

Kade continued, “While we have seen it open only once before in our lifetime, this time a different ‘gift’ came through.” She gave Haidar a sharp look, causing him to focus back on the meeting for a moment and not his wayward son, as she unrolls the bright scroll she received earlier and passes it on, allowing the advisors to look over the parchment. Perhaps through theatrics or perhaps through genuine alarm, they read over the message written in neat script with oversold horror at the mere thought of being contacted.

“What do we do?”

“We cannot afford to send one of our own warriors. The world of light hurts us; we can only stay until sunrise.”

“We should ignore it.”

“Bad idea.” Kade smoothly cut them off, knowing the kinds of winding solutions these advisors could get into. “We can not ignore it. They may consider it flippant if we do not provide at least a response, and while I don’t expect anything to happen, it may be harmful long-term.” She let them give the scroll back. “I believe it wise to send just one, to find out more about what is going on. A representative.”

“Haidar.” The guard peeled his peepers away from the door, his attentive vigil over making sure his son didn’t escape interrupted. “My least trusted but most skilled guard. You are a Hylian. I need you to go through, and see what they want.”

Haidar hesitated, thinking through the most elegant way to say no.

“I don’t know if my wife would be alright with that.” He waved his hand in a so-so motion. “Also, I’m not exactly a diplomat.”

Kade gave him a withering look, not of anger but of annoyance. Haidar wouldn’t be allowed to back out of this.

“Even so, you are the only one that won’t be harmed by the world of light.” She wrung the scroll in her hands, speaking in short-clipped sentences. “I suggest you smarten up for your new role as an ambassador.”

“ Ambassador? ” One of the advisors scoffed, piping up in indignation. “A guard?”

“Unless you want to fry.” any disputes silenced at her threatening tone.

Having thoroughly been told off, Haidar sighed and conceded. “At least let me say goodbye to my family.”

“There’s no time.” Kade motioned to the outside, where the portal would most likely open again. “You need to leave now so you may swiftly return with news from the princess by Hyrule’s next twilight. I will assign a guard to your position until you return.” She held out a hand, unsubtly asking for him to hand over his weapon. “Leave now.”

With resolve, he handed his sword over. To the best of his ability, he would not disappoint.

“Yes, your majesty.”

Elsewhere in the castle, his son was furiously sweeping in the prince’s wing. Said prince was sitting on a windowsill, playing with a piece of his hair and watching his friend.

“How exactly do you plan to clean the whole castle in so little time?”

‘I don’t know!’ the boy stopped sweeping to desperately sign back, speed of the essence. “But if my mom finds out I’ll be dead .” he looked over at the dimming sky turned back to Mateja, his blue eyes large and pleading. “If I die, can I take your royal funeral rights and be flung off the side of the main island?”

“This is no time for your morbid fantasies! I have more important things to worry about than your mortality…” He sighed, hand on his earring, and thought about the abrupt conversation he had with his mother. Mateja had been told off and banished to his wing to think about what he had done- the kargaroc incident was dangerous, his mother reasoned, and falling to the mischief of his friend was starting to be a habit that was getting out of hand.

If this kept up, she had told him, then she may take matters into her own hands to assure things like this never happened again by separating him from a certain bad influence.

Mateja was brought out of the line of thought by a tap from his friend.

‘Why aren’t you at the big meeting that’s going on?’ Mateja’s look of confusion brought more explanation. ‘Aren’t you supposed to attend those things, princely duties, and whatnot?”

“ The what?” Mateja’s eyes widened.

‘Prince-ly du-ties.’ The blonde boy repeated the sign slower.

“No no no that’s a normal thing, what’s the not-normal thing you just said that I’m not involved in?”

Mateja watched his friend roll his eyes, lean the broom he was holding against the wall, and rub his hands together to prepare for a good explanation.

‘My dad was called to a meeting with your mom and other guardsmen, and the advisors. Spotted them in the throne room- it looked serious.’

Mateja wilted, bemoaning that of course, something important would happen when he’s freshly punished. It felt like all the most important things happened when he was in trouble, which, considering the nonsense his friend got up to, was pretty often.

“No. No, I wasn’t invited.”

Mateja jumped down and pointed an accusatory finger at his friend. “Probably because of the mess you dragged me into.”

The boy rolled his eyes, taking the sharp words and accusation lightly, and took up the broom again to keep cleaning. Not to be outdone and ignored, the prince huffed and followed his friend around the wing, thinking of some clever comeback.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t the more witty and clever of the two, so was stewing for at least a couple hallways’ worth of travel with his cleaning companion. Even when he was able to think of something that would give his friend the what-for-

The blonde boy stopped suddenly, Mateja bumping into him with a “Hey!”. He pointed out the window. Mateja followed the point out to where they could see the royal gardens- and Haidar, walking through them.

Before either of them could brush it off, they both started as something- bright, white, circular and intricate- spun its pattern into the sky. The boy was wide-eyed and confused. The prince was wide-eyed and in awe.

“I’ve never seen it open before…”

‘What does that mean, what’s opening?’

Mateja held a finger to his mouth in a ‘shush’ motion, ignoring that his friend could only sign and, thus, had no shush to enact.

“Let’s get a closer look.” His friend got excited at the conspiratorial and, perhaps, misbehaving glint in his eye. Adopted from their miscreant activities, no doubt. “I’ve only ever been able to read about it!”

With that, the prince grabbed the boy’s wrist and led him down the hall closer to the garden. It wasn’t like he could say no to the prince, but the boy still followed along in the sneaky jog excitedly. Breaking rules was fun .

They managed to sneak into the garden sunroom before Mateja decided that was far enough, stashing them away behind some immaculately cared for twilight plant or another. Peeping through the large windows, they got a clear look at Haidar as he approached the sigil burned into the sky.

The two boys watched as Haidar regarded the symbol, bracing himself. While they couldn’t hear him, no doubt he was saying something to himself to steel his nerves for… whatever he was about to do.

“Is he gonna-”

Haidar stepped forward, and he dissipated into squares.

Mateja gasped in delight at being able to see the show of ancient magic. His friend, however, was seeing this in a much more negative light.

“Oh wow, that’s so cool!” The prince, from a pocket in his cloak, grabbed a small writing book and started to jot down what he had seen.

‘NO!’ The boy signed quickly, panicked, looking to the prince for guidance. ‘MY DAD WAS JUST EVAPORATED INTO SQUARES!’ The boy grabbed at Mateja’s cloak desperately, searching his eyes for some answer to this clear predicament.

“Uh-”

‘Is he part of the world now?’ The boy continued signing. ‘Those things are EVERYWHERE-’

“He’s fine.” Mateja attempted at calming him down. “Don’t get so wound up-”

But it was too late. The boy was already going.

‘I give up my rights for a royal funeral, please I need him to be remembered fondly or else my mom will KILL me too for not saving him-’

“He’s not dead, he’s just in Hyrule.”

The boy gave him the most concentrated ‘that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard’ face, somehow, through all the panic and onset of mourning.

‘That’s not a real place, that’s some baby myth.’ Mateja rolled his eyes and continued to write in his book.

“It’s not a baby myth, it’s a real place.” He started to explain. “Haven’t you read any history books? Don’t you know what happened way back with the advisor Zant? My great-great-something-grandma helped Hyrule’s hero to save us.”

‘You KNOW I don’t read.’ The boy dismissed the mere concept entirely. ‘And- and now my dad is squares.’

Mateja looked up from his book in bewilderment.

“Sometimes I wonder if you’re an idiot on purpose. You’re my friend and I love you, but this still perplexes me.” He looked up to where the portal still was, completely missing the boy’s slight blush and noting that there were no other guards or anybody in the garden. It was entirely empty. “This probably has to do with what the meeting was about.”

‘What?’ He recovered quickly. The prince shrugged in response.

“Well, the Twili and Hylians haven’t formally interacted in over a century. They say the mirror between our worlds was broken, but since they’ve fixed it…” He trailed off. Most of Mateja’s readings were far from recent, so he wasn’t entirely sure of the situation on the other side.

‘Why would they fix it?’ It wasn’t like the blonde boy could be ungrateful for it.

“There are only two reasons they would do that.” Mateja flipped to a new page of his book, starting to illustrate his point. “Trade, or they’re searching for help. Based on how my mom was acting… it sounds serious.”

There was a blessed few seconds of seriousness between the two before the rancorous spirit of youth and mischief came back to the prince’s friend. He grinned wide, that same look of a bad idea brewing in his brain making Mateja pause.

“Oh goddesses, I know that look. We just got in trouble, we can’t do another thing.”

‘But dontcha wanna see what’s on the other side?’ The boy signed anyway, charisma yoinked all the way up and the most convincing grin on his face.

“No, that’s a terrible idea.”

‘It’s only a bad idea if we get caught.’

“You said that about the kargaroc! AND the rats!”

A faux dreamy look washed over the boy’s face. ‘The rats…’

“That isn’t- eugh. You get me into too much trouble, and I never stand up for myself. I’m putting my foot down on this one!” With the one hand, he snapped the booklet closed, packing it away back into his cloak. He wouldn’t fall to this, he wouldn’t go with his friend on another escapade.

Mateja wouldn’t lose him.

‘But don’t you wanna see what that meeting was about? Don’t you wanna see Hyrule to write about in your nerd diary?’ He upped the ante with an eyebrow waggle to highlight all the pros and none of the cons. Mateja, overall, was unimpressed.

“First, it’s a journal. Second… It doesn’t matter if I want to see it, what matters is that we’re definitely not allowed to go.”

‘We’ll be in and out!’ His friend motioned back and forth between the Twili palace and the portal. ‘No one will even see us, it’s empty out there!’

It was empty out there…

Mateja thought it over. Sure, it would be absolutely amazing to see the world of light. Sure, it would be great to be the first Twili prince in centuries to meet the Hyrule royalty and make good relations. And sure, he may come back and lose his best friend for it.

But what was life without risks?

“Fine. In and out.” His friend pumped his arm in success. “And I mean it this time! No messing around with stuff, just a peek and we leave!”

The boy shot an ok right back, quite smug that he won another argument. Another tally on his expanding list of convincing Mateja to do something unprincely.

The boy was first to rise and sneak to the sunroom door, double-checking that there truly were no guards to catch them. Coast clear, he motioned for the prince to follow him as they worked their way through the garden, to the gigantic portal in the sky.

Mateja, meanwhile, was murmuring disappointedly to himself.

“Why do I always get into these kinds of things?”

He couldn’t be too mad about the situation though, for as they got closer the prince’s sneaky walk slowed to a stop a few feet in front of it in awe. The portal was, easily, over thrice as tall as either of them and was probably the closest Mateja figured to the sun they would get. He’d never seen anything like this, not beyond elaborate spells his mother would construct for important events.

It was breathtaking.

His friend, on the other hand, took no such philosophical pleasures.

The prince managed to look down long enough to see the boy poised over the matching sigil on the ground, ready to pounce and go for it.

‘READY?’ Was all the warning Mateja would get for the short window of time he could object. ‘SET GO!’

And the boy leaped in. Without a moment of hesitation, the magic did its job, dissolving him into squares and teleporting him through. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it moment, and unfortunately, Mateja missed it. He held up a hand to try and stop whatever was happening, but it was too little too late.

“Hey, wait aaand he’s gone.” Mateja let his arm fall to his side as he watched the last particles of the magic go through the sigil. “Didn’t even hesitate, does he have zero self-preservation?”

Having seen his friend go through, the prince looked again up at the portal. This close, it was intimidatingly huge and bright, almost searing the symbol in the middle into his eyes. It spun with no regard to him anyhow, ready again to transport someone to the realm of light. He was curious, unbearably so, but knew that jumping in with no regard to grace or caution was a bad and dangerous idea. It was what his friend was known for, but not him.

Okay. Time to go through.

Mateja walked up to the edge of the matching mark on the ground, sizing it up and trying to feel the sort of magic it exuded. Old, maybe even a bit dusty. It was some time since it was last used, after all.

He took a deep breath, readying himself to step through and enter the other realm.

Before he could follow his friend, however, the mark on the ground faded away. He was confused for a second before looking up at the portal- it was folding in on itself.

Either someone was closing it, or Hyrule’s twilight was over.

Mateja stood there, staring and watching as it flattened, folded, and disappeared from the sky. His friend went through that.

“Oh no.”

Chapter 2: How Can He Ask For Directions When Nobody Knows What A Teenager Is

Chapter Text

He decided that, overall, it was a bit of a queasy experience.

It wasn’t a fun teleportation spell Mateja would play with, or how it felt to melt into a shadow. Put simply, he was in the Twili Realm, then he was somewhere else entirely, with a faint twang of motion sickness to match. Luckily his eyes had been closed, else he might have been dizzy on top of that.

After waiting a few seconds for the unpleasantness of the trip to subside, he blinked his eyes open and looked around.

He ended up in what could only be a chamber, huge and spanning high over his head with windows studding the ceiling. He stood on some kind of stage, a platform, sitting in the center of the room facing a group of large rocks that stood out starkly from the careful masonry of the room. He faced a large mirror, just over his height, bright and polished surface set into a rusted housing that had seen its fair share of weathering.

All in all, it was confusing to see.

His eyes had to adjust quickly from the dim light of his world to the same tone of this one punctured only by the bright white of the mirror, fading now that it’s job was done. He ended up squinting, looking around and waiting for Mateja to come over with him, cast some spell to help illuminate their adventurous path.

World of light , he thought. Since when?

Still, his success in the travel bade him to look around for his princely friend who, undoubtedly, was right behind him in line for magic portal transport. He took a step to the side, crossed his arms, and prepared the most ‘I was right’ smile he could muster.

It lasted for two stiff minutes before things started to go wrong.

Right in front of him, the elaborate sigil that had remained still since his arrival collapsed on the rocks, and the mirror he faced dimmed as the room around him followed suit.

His smile fell as realization over his friend not coming finally hit.

Oh no.

He was reeling from the shock of witnessing his way home disappear as the room around him went from the dim purples and reds to nearly entirely dark. The windows, though plentiful, could only bring so much light to such a large room.

Eventually, all he really had to light the way was the fading glow the mirror gave off and his own markings, bright in the dark as if his magic knew it was finally a chance to shine.

Any other time he would have been grateful. But in about 30 seconds, he couldn’t be more rueful of them.

“HEY!” He whirled around at the shout, seeing what were absolutely guards judging by their matching uniforms, at the door and pointing spears at him. “Don’t move!”

He couldn’t stay.

So, instead, he bolted.

He heard the hustle of the guards as they started their pursuit. He leaped off the platform and ran, rounding the rocks that reflected the glow of his Twili markings, trying to find someplace to hide. He was so rusty at spellcasting, he couldn’t even remember how to hide properly.

What was that spell? What was that spell?

He looked back and forth in some kind of panic, searching desperately for a shadow proper. He realized, after a second of searching 360 degrees, that he was standing right in the center of one- cast by the rocks from the bit of torchlight coming through the open door. It was a weak one, but it would work.

As Twili are known to do, he melted into the shadows just in time before the guards could round the corner and see him.

He moved from under them to the shadow on the surface of the rock, watching as they appeared confused and lost from not seeing the boy of their pursuit.

“It has to be here somewhere!” One of the two claimed.

“Tell the others; a glowing creature is loose in the castle.” The other responded. The boy would have huffed indignantly if shadows had sound. Rude. Hadn’t they ever seen a teenager before?

He waited until they left, until he heard the doors close and the room dim again, before emerging from the darkness back into the world. He was glad for the fact that particular spell hid his glow- he would have been caught for sure.

But, why was he going to get caught?

He peered around the corner of the rocks to double-check the guards were gone and thought over the situation.

His father had come through the portal last- did Haidar somehow know his son would try to sneak through? Try to come to Hyrule?

Probably. His dad always seemed to be a couple of steps ahead of his schemes and mischief.

But now he was trapped here, in this new world, with no idea what to do. With Mateja, it was just going to be a quick back and forth, a hop skip and jump between the world of light and back. Nobody would miss them, nobody would know.

He looked up through the windows, through the darkness, and seeing the dots that patterned the sky.

Stars .

His father had told him about them, but the boy had never actually seen them before. He remembered when his dad first mentioned them, gazing up at the dimmed Twilight together and surrounded by the magic specks dispersed in the realm. This is when Haidar first mentioned them, the similarity between the magic of the Twilight Realm and the specks of light that once hung in the sky. At the time, he had thought that the story was some fake thing of a realm that didn’t exist as an excuse for his dad being so weird compared to the other Twili.

He squinted and thought of the, no doubt, wild and reckless plan that would either get him in even more trouble or get him home.

His dad was from here, therefore his dad would know how to get back.

For such a clever trick to work (and didn’t all of his tricks work?), he’d have to actually practice what little magic he knew.

While any Twili would have detected him in the shadows immediately, it looks like the senses of these guards were dull enough that they couldn’t tell some half-rate magic boy was hidden in their very darkness. That could work to his advantage while he looked for his dad.

So, the plan of action: Shadow-parkour around all the guards, find his dad, apologize insincerely, and crank the sincerity back up to ask to get back home. He’d tell Mateja that Hyrule was bad and he shouldn’t come and they should just stay home, as there was no way the prince wasn’t waiting right there for him to come back.

Good enough! It was settled.

The boy judged how much magic he really had in him. Normally, back home, he’d feel… full, was a word, of the magic they used. Brimming with it. Out here, the spell he cast was so small, it was only a few drops out of a lake- but it was still a lake, and with use, it would drain. He didn’t have to be particularly preservative of his magic, but it wouldn’t hurt if he was quick about finding his dad.

He crept up to where the guards had come in, and once again hid in the shadows to sneak under the door and through the halls.

He had no idea of which way to go, so he followed his gut and went uphill. Important things were always higher up.

Through the shadows he managed to avoid the guards, navigating on every possible angle of the hallway to stick to the shadows their torches produced. He had to cheat every now and again to move a shadow, to make sure he was still able to hide, and each one plucked more and more at his magic reservoir. He tamped down any worries with foolhardy confidence; he would get to go home soon, and get out of this topsy-turvy world.

It took a little longer than he expected to navigate the castle he was in. It may not have been as labyrinthine as the Twili Palace, but the sheer scale of this place was enough to throw him for a loop. Nonetheless, he still worked his way through the halls as he found them, having no thought that he could possibly be wrong.

That didn’t mean it wasn’t a chance to goof around, of course. Despite the risk of the situation he still played little jokes to keep himself entertained along the way, like puppeting the humanoid shadows of guards as they walked off and pretending his face was those of the paintings that occasionally lined the walls.

It was in a quiet moment, between guards passing each other and leaving that section of hallway empty, that he finally managed to hop out of the shadows and get a breather. He didn’t feel at risk around here- there were a lot of things hanging off the walls to strike darkness across the hall- so took the moment to consider where he was and take stock.

Or so he would have done if he hadn’t gotten a proper look at the portrait that he was pretending to be, and had to do a double-take as he just about mistook the painting to be one of himself. At another look it wasn’t him, but… Kind of was?

The hair was wrong, the clothes were wrong, the skin was all kinds of wrong. But those eyes, he’s seen a thousand times.

He stared for a second, thinking how his face was plastered up in a castle he’s never been in, before glimpsing at the corner of his eye another guard coming around on patrol.

Nevermind the painting! It wasn’t important right now.

He turned and rolled his eyes at himself- starting to see things with all the magic he was using.

He started to gain hope when, after a few wrong turns, voices started echoing through the hall in place of the rhythmic footfalls of guards or night sounds coming from occasionally opened windows. It was getting larger too, the very walls drifting apart as he approached through the shadows a pair of huge doors, guards at each side, just slightly open. Through it, there was flickering light and a cacophony of voices, yelling at one another about something he couldn’t really make out. He almost turned away, content to continue his search elsewhere, but instead heard the strong voice of his father ring out from the crowd. That certainly stopped him in his tracks, quickly pivoting from his wandering by drifting onto the ceiling and moving closer to make sense of what was going on.

He couldn't rightly tell what was happening per se, with so much noise going on, but that's besides the point. He zeroed in on Haidar's conversation, filtering out hushed conversation and the clanging of weapons.

"Haidar of Hyrule-" A voice he didn't recognize but struck a chord nonetheless.

"Your highness, there must be some misunderstanding-" The boy didn't recognize the tone in Haidar's voice, there was an alarmed edge to it he’d never heard before.

Kade had taken away his father's weapons as a symbol of peace. He didn't have any way to defend himself, neither blade nor spell.

He couldn't let his dad be harmed.

He jumped out from the shadow cast across the ceiling, landing deftly in front of the guards on either side of the door. They flinched in surprise at his appearance- he didn’t expect much else- and pointed weapons at him, shouting about the ‘glowing creature’ that was about in the castle.

Really, was there no respect for the thirteen to nineteen demographic here?

He ignored the yells as he dashed past the guards, doing a sick body slide under their spears, and burst into the room. Facing him immediately in the suddenly bright candlelit chamber were even more guardsmen and what he deduced in a moment's thought to be nobles of some kind, facing or otherwise surrounding his father.

Before any could react to him busting into the room, he dove into their own shadows on one side of the blockade and emerged on the other ready to protect his father from harm. He placed himself as well as he could between them and Haidar, not noticing as his own glow grew brighter against the candlelight.

Shouts of surprise and the sound of even more guards- how many of them were there??- moving to protect the main noble of the room.

"What are you doing here?" Haidar didn't seem harmed, thank the Sols. The boy ignored him though, fully aware that at this point he was his dad's only chance. There was no plan, not at this point, but sheer instinct had already taken him so far.

"What is who doing here?"

The voice sent a chill down the boy’s spine, though if pressed he wouldn’t really be able to describe why. Her cadence was mature and confident, but familiar in a way he didn’t understand and his mind refused to connect. He got glimpses through the quickly parting guards at the lady that soon stood over him, looking down with the confidence that if she commanded it, he and Haidar would be dead. She definitely wasn’t Twili, was his first thought.

The woman stood tall, shoulders back and electric blue eyes looking down her nose at the boy desperately keeping himself between her and his father. Her blonde hair was long, past her shoulders and the bulk of it pulled back and held together by a metal clasp at the end, similar to the two sections of hair framing her face. She was dressed modestly, very much unlike the Twili, unable to even see her hands covered by long white gloves clasped in front of her.

The guards surrounding her were still on guard and pointed at them, but shifted uncomfortably as some vibe the boy didn't catch swept across the room.

“I-“ Haidar stammered. He couldn’t rightly say his son, of all things, snuck through the portal. “I apologize, your majesty, I never meant for him to follow me-“

“Who?” She asked again. There were many layers to her tone- curious, annoyed, an air of always getting what she wants. It was different from the other royalty the boy had met.

Haidar averted his gaze. She, instead, zeroed in on the boy's hand, glowing a far different color than the rest of him, and offered her own for him to take.

"May I see your hand?"

He couldn’t rightly say no to her, could he?

The boy reached out cautiously, took her hand, and let her guide him out to be in the candlelight. Around her, the guards followed him with their swords and spears, but a mere twitch of her ear made them lower their arms.

He stood before them, before her, marks glowing the brightest he’d known and electricity flowing from where his and her hands touched.

“What is your name?” She asked, making eye contact with those brilliant blue eyes she recognized. Struggling with just the one hand, he signed:

‘Hylian child.’ She read it fluently but looked confused when he was done.

“You are far from Hylian.” Oh, right- she didn’t know that’s what his name sign was. Instead, he finger-spelled it.

‘L-Y-N-Q.’

“Linn-que?”

“Your majesty Zelda,” Haidar interrupted quickly. “This is my son, Lynq.”

“Link?”

“Yes. Lynq.”

And, in front of them, the two hands the princess and the boy held glowed gold with a holy symbol. Courage and Wisdom, in the same room, met for the first and second time.

Chapter 3: Oh God I’m So Sorry We Spelled It Wrong

Chapter Text

“You misspelled the simplest Hylian name there is.” Zelda berated Haidar, standing at her full height to tell him off instead of letting on just how surprised she was at this turn of events. As soon as she let go of Lynq’s hand, the triforce dimmed and faded away. Lynq squinted and rubbed at his hand; where did that even come from?

“It’s four letters , Haidar, how did you get it wrong?”

“It was my wife. She wrote it down when he was born, it’s Twili.” He looked at his son rubbing at his hand and bumped his shoulder, telling him subtly to at least act respectfully in front of royalty. Considering Lynq’s best friend was a prince, this kind of thing happened often.

“It’s incorrect.”

“Princess Zelda-“

“ Queen .” She turned her heel to get close, the sharp word cutting through whispered conversation amongst dignitaries and promptly silencing it. “I know you have been gone for some time, so this is your only warning. I am Queen Zelda of Hyrule- do well to recognize me as such, ‘ambassador’.” She waited for his obedient nod before backing off.

“If the Twili governance sent you, I will respect their decision and hold off on any sentencing. We have business to discuss later, and it appears-'' She looked at Lynq, “We also have business to discuss now .”

“ Right now?”

“Hylia would not drop the Hero at my doorstep if something was not about to happen.”

“What?” The guards and dignitaries around her exclaimed.

‘What?’ Lynq followed suit.

“No.” Haidar would have none of it. Zelda may have risen to the throne since he had been gone, but Lynq was Haidar’s son , and he would not allow him to be thrown into danger needlessly.

“You would defy the Goddess Hylia’s will? Your son was clearly chosen.” Zelda looked upon Haidar, her gaze steely, “You won’t be able to protect him from his destiny.”

“He doesn’t have a destiny here. You can’t claim a coincidence to be fate.”

Zelda and Haidar stared each other down, both unwilling to budge on their own when Lynq decided to remind the two that he was still currently within the room by pushing his way to be more noticeably between them. Lynq stared the queen down, leaving no question on his intention to protect his father in case things started escalating again. Some of the dignitaries around them bristled at the boy being so bold, but none made a move to stop him.

‘Explain.’

Haidar set a hand on Lynq’s shoulder, “There won’t be any need to explain, because we’re leaving.”

He begins to steer Lynq away, The guards already parting without a signal from Zelda to stop them. Before they leave, Haidar sees Lynq trying to catch his attention from the corner of his eye, with a very important question, ‘How?’

Haidar stops, “What do you mean how? Back through the portal, the one you snuck through.” Haidar was already running through the approved list of grounding methods that were actually effective with this kid. First the shadow kargaroc, now interplanar traveling without permission, and in one day no less.

Lynq broke his father out of his train of thought, ‘But it closed,’ he signed with a clear question, ‘Can you open it back up somehow?’

“Of course we can open it back up, we’ll just have to wait...” Haidar trailed off in sour realization.

“Until next twilight.” Zelda finished, her mouth curling up into a smug grin. She looked at the boy gazing at her with such a hard glint in his eye, it would not do if the latest chosen hero was so distrusting. After jumping in while she was speaking to Haidar, it was clear getting the hero to stay would be difficult. There was only so much time to earn his trust. With the fate of Hyrule depended on Lynq being at least agreeable, Zelda was nothing if not a masterful diplomat. She would find some way to convince him on staying. “So, I take it there will be no objections about accompanying me to take a moment outside? You do, after all, have nothing but time to spare.”

Haidar has nothing to say to that and Zelda took that as a victory, “Excellent. Come along.”

The two stayed put as nobles and guards dispersed alike at the queen’s command, watching as she walked through the same doors Lynq had come through not a moment ago.

“Hey.” Haidar put a hand on Lynq’s shoulder. “Relax. It’s going to be okay.”

‘She tried to hurt you.’ It certainly wasn’t okay.

“If she was going to, she would have already.” Still, Haidar looked to where the queen disappeared with wariness. “I know how she is, trust me.”

Lynq watched his father for a moment, searching for any crack in what could possibly be a lie. With no sign of deception or comfortable lies, he let his shoulders fall and the mark on his hand died down.

‘Okay.’

Zelda led them out of the room with a confident stride and a “Stand down.” to the guards around her, developing a plan as she walked. She had a day to convince the hero to stay and protect a world he never knew, after threatening his father it would be a particularly hard argument to win.

Zelda wouldn’t let that phase her, however. She’s managed in worse situations.

She really only needed to persuade Lin- ahem, Lynq, to stay and fulfill his duty.

Goddess, she’d never get used to that.

She turns to look at the strange boy, who was tilting his head back and twisting to observe the high ceilings and intricately detailed windows that peppered the castle.

“Lynq,” Zelda decided to address him, “I’m sure you’re quite surprised to be in Hyrule. Would you mind if we went for a walk? The night is beautiful outside and the castle absolutely gleams in the moonlight.”

Haidar huffed, it may have been a while, but he knew Zelda’s methods when he saw them. He was about to give her a firm no, my son hates architecture, when Lynq popped in excited to be spoken to, instead of at, for once since arriving in Hyrule.

‘I saw a lot of it already.’ Haidar raised an eyebrow. ‘I did!’

“You snuck.”

‘I’m allowed to be sneaky , it’s a skill.’

“Lynq.” Zelda interrupted.

‘I could go for a walk.’

“Very well.” Zelda said, abruptly turning down a different hall than the one they were already traversing. Lynq caught a glance of some guards that were talking but straightened at the sight of the queen approaching.

As soon as they finally left the maze of hallways and closed doors and walked out into the night air, it was the moonlight and the bright walls of the castle that lit their path. At first coming into the night Lynq paused, the vantage point high enough to look over not just the bright nightlife of the surrounding town but an expanse of fields that ended in hills at the horizon.

He looked over it in unabashed wonder. This place was huge . With no visible falls into the abyss, no less.

Haidar patted him on the shoulder, having long been trailing behind Lynq and Zelda at the boy’s insistence, and they carried on.

Zelda led them around the castle and through immaculately landscaped scenery, commenting offhandedly on the more noteworthy occasions or little landmarks they came across on the grounds. Lynq listened half-mindedly, honestly not finding much interest in any of it. He did, however, spy a suspicious number of guards looking down at them from all corners of the garden and castle balconies.

He fell back a little to fall more in line with Haidar.

‘You were from here? From Hyrule?’ Lynq posed the question to his father. He could see the tension in the man’s shoulders as he, too, noticed the watch.

“I was.” Haidar, despite himself, smiled. “But I didn’t stay.”

‘Mom really convinced you?’ Lynq knew the story of his parents well enough, but the thought of abandoning a place so bright, so big , was a bit perplexing to the boy, now being able to see what all those stories were about.

“She had good arguments.”

‘Do you miss it here?’

“No. I made my choice, and I don’t regret it.” He patted Lynq’s shoulder. “I bet you do, though.”

‘Oh absolutely. What were you thinking?’ Lynq made sure to roll his eyes in the most overplayed way he could, making his dad chuckle. At least he got a laugh. Things were getting uncomfortably tense with them being watched so closely.

“Ah-hem.” Zelda interrupted, apparently having taken notice not only of the boy’s absence next to her but also the small expression of joy from Haidar that she decided was strictly forbidden. With his experience in dealing with royalty, Lynq took it well enough as a sign to go back to her side.

‘So, what does the hero do?’

“You don’t know?” She shot another in what was turning out to be a series of withering looks to Haidar. “You didn’t teach him?”

All he could offer was a very incriminating shrug.

She sighed, “Very well. The Hero is an individual chosen by Hylia herself as her champion.”

‘Hylia?’

“The Goddess.”

‘The…’ Lynq furrowed his eyebrows and mentally double-checked that fact, counting the number of Goddesses on a hand. ‘One of the three?’

“Ah, of course. Your kind would not know much of Hylia, or revere her.” Zelda figured with an ancient people banished by the three Golden Goddesses, they would never have been introduced to Hylia. Haidar could have at least attempted to educate the boy, but if he didn’t bother to explain the hero why would a thought even grace him about the Goddess. “Nonetheless, the Hero is a chosen champion to protect Hyrule. While depictions and reincarnations have changed - I can show you later, of the history we have of them - some things remain the same.”

The slope they were on flattened out, path stones turning to grass. The gardens opened up to a clearing, surrounded by fencing still elegant despite it’s worn wood.

“They all have the Triforce of courage-” Lynq again looked at his hand, brow furrowing at the lack of the golden triangle on it at the moment. “Hylian blood-” He looked back to Haidar, who was slowly realizing what kind of point she was making to him.

“The ability to wield the sword of legend-”

As soon as they rounded the corner of the clearing it appeared, a large stable speckled with lanterns. Just outside, a stable boy was sweeping.

Haidar immediately knew what was happening.

“-and a divine mount.” A bribe. A blatant one, at that.

Haidar and Zelda watched as he immediately dashed forward at the word mount, that goofy grin that screamed his excitement in place of any sound. Lynq all but sprinted into the stable, ignoring the very confused stable boy staring at him (who should not be so confused, they shared the all-too-common teenager trait after all). Immediately, he was met with the sounds and sights of creatures he had never seen before. They were bigger than any land animals in the Twili realm, but unlike the kargarocs, the horses looked up at him in curiosity rather than immediate aggression or hunger.

Haidar took his time following his son, approaching Zelda to make sure there were no other tricks she’d play.

“He’s never ridden, you know.”

“That’s irrelevant.” She waved off the concern. “I’m sure he’ll learn quickly.”

“Let me rephrase- he’s never ridden a horse. ” Haidar politely nodded in greeting to the startled stable boy. “He’s already tried to claim every other creature in the Twilight Realm as a ride. He’s strapped rats to his feet before.”

“Then this shouldn’t be a proble- rats?” That got her. “ Rats? ”

“A mischievous boy will try many things to convince us to get a pet in a world where nearly all creatures are ready to eat you.” Haidar opened the stable door open for Zelda. He wouldn’t abandon manners to a queen, after all. “He’s been desperate.”

“He’d like a horse, then. Much safer than rats.”

Haidar was just about to retort that no, Lynq wouldn’t be allowed to bring a pet with him back home, before seeing his son in the middle of the stable just about overwhelmed with the number of tamed creatures in arm’s reach. Zelda stepped aside, watching the boy from the wall.

‘Dad, look at all these!’ Lynq’s smile was infectious to his father and the queen. ‘These- uh.’

“Horses.” Zelda supplied, signing along to provide a word he could say.

‘These horses! They aren’t wild at all!’

“You’re free to choose one.”

“To look at.” Haidar made sure to lay down some kind of rule. He wouldn’t accept his son bringing home a pet , especially one from Hyrule. It was rather irresponsible, with how little grass and no sunlight there was back at their home. Still, Lynq started to look at him with a desperate, pleading expression. “We’re not taking any back.”

Lynq could live with that.

He cautiously held out a hand to the closest horse in reaching distance. The horse pushed into his hand, likely searching for some food before huffing and moving away. Lynq pulled his hand back and stared at it in a sort of reverence, awestruck that his hand still remained attached and unharmed after touching such a gigantic beast.

He waved the survivor back toward his father, ‘Did you see?!’ flailing his hand more aggressively, ‘It didn’t go for the kill, or eat me, or anything!’

Lynq continued through the stable, not even waiting for an answer, now touching every horse close enough for him to reach. They’re just so soft , softer than any of the wild creatures he’d managed contact with in the Twili Realm, and they don’t seem to mind being petted at all.

He continued down the line, excited at the prospect of getting to touch over a dozen horses , until a particular horse on the opposite end made a loud whinny that struck a pause into him. Lynq stopped in his tracks to catch a glimpse of the one that caught his attention. If he had to judge it was much older than the others, but still keeping a vibrant brown color and looking just as well kept over the no doubt many years living in the castle stables.

The horse reacted as though greeting an old friend as Lynq approached the stall, pushing as close to him as the latched gate would physically allow. He reached to pet the horse’s nose, and oh. This horse, this was the one. Lynq could feel a similar spark to what was exchanged with the queen but… different. There was a sort of rightness at him being with this horse and he knew he just had to ride it.

He turned to Zelda, to tell her that this is the one, only to stop and really look at her. She was smiling, but unlike her smug grin she’s been giving Haidar for the past few minutes this one fell to something soft, small… sad. There was something really sad in her smile.

She reached out and petted the horse on the nose, “This is Epona, she is a fine mount indeed.” The queen stopped petting to look at Lynq, “She has seen many battlefields, and in her brightest moments, has traveled across all of Hyrule.” Zelda looked back towards Epona, smile falling because of course , the hero would choose this horse. “I’m sorry to say, this is the one horse that must stay here.”

Lynq pursed his lips and signed back to her, ‘Why is she the one I can’t take?’

“She’s very old, and riding her for too long will cause too much strain.” Zelda sighed, “You’ll have to pick another.”

Lynq frowned, not really wanting to leave the horse. She felt right in a way he didn’t really understand, but he looked at her soft eyes and sloped back and well… He didn’t want to hurt the elder creature, and when it comes down to it what the queen says goes.

He got one last pet in with Epona before moving on to other prospective mounts. After all there were a lot of horses, and if he couldn’t take Epona there must be another horse that would be right.

He moved past other horses that were neat, shaking off disappointment and gathering back that enthusiasm for stranger creatures that was now obviously doused. They’re still soft and friendly, but they aren’t the one .

At least until he reaches one horse. This horse has similar coloring to Epona, a charming reddish-brown and white, but this time was absolutely gigantic. An entire unit of a steed. It was probably twice his size and was definitely rivaling in size to a large kargaroc.

He looked in awe of this massive beast, craning his head to look it in the eyes, and motioned towards Zelda.

‘What about this one?’

Zelda chuckled looking at just how much bigger this horse was compared to him. “This is Cairo.”

‘Why is she so much bigger?’

“She’s a Clydesdale, they’re a much larger breed.”

That threw Lynq for a bit of a loop; horses came in more than one type? He ignored that for a far more pressing question, ‘Can I ride this one?’

“Yes, you can ride this one.”

Lynq immediately started fiddling with the latch as soon as permission was given. When that didn’t work and the latch refused to budge, he nearly vaulted himself into the stall. The only thing that stopped him was the stable boy, done with his chores, quickly pulling the boy back and releasing the horse himself. Zelda, trusting that the stable hand would safely be able to bring Lynq out with the steed, motioned for Haidar to follow her back out into the night, this time within the fences that surrounded a large patch of grass connected to the stables.

With the queen gone, the confused stable boy helped bring the large horse out with the excited Twili following beside him out to the yard.

Zelda and Haidar stood next to each other and watched as the horse’s rope was handed off to Lynq. The explanations of how to treat a horse went right over Lynq’s head as he blatantly ignored the stable boy, instead looking at the rope quite rudely tied around his new mount’s head. Now that wouldn’t do.

Zelda, luckily, found it more amusing than the warning sign of mischief Haidar recognized it as.

“So just to clarify,” Haidar decided to put the facts down. “Lynq isn’t the hero. It’s a weird Twili birthmark.”

“Your son undeniably bears the Triforce.”

“ He can’t be the hero. There can’t be two .”

He heard some guards wince out loud from the inside of a bush behind them. Looks like security was still being kept up.

Zelda didn’t miss a beat. “There is only one hero at a time, yes. He’s no longer with us.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.” The response was automatic. He didn’t really know what else to say.

“You should be.” Zelda didn’t turn to look at Haidar as she spoke. “Things have changed since you defected.” Another accusation managed to snap Haidar out of suspicion and send him straight to indignation.

“I didn’t- your highness, what happened? What happened to your hero?”

“He’s right there.” She motioned to Lynq, who was sneakily trying to figure out how to undo one of the rope knots as the stableboy didn’t notice.

“But-“

“Right. There.”

A moment passed between the two, stunned silence from one and resolute determination in the other.

“Give him a chance.” She graced him with a side-eye. “No Hero begins ready to go. None face their destiny without tests to pass and challenges to overcome.”

Haidar looked to Lynq, who was signing something in a one-sided conversation with a horse. The creature snorted at him but ultimately was unphased.

“He won’t live up to your high expectations.”

“I’ll make sure to lower them, then.” Zelda quipped. “Is he literate?”

“In Twili and some Hylian.”

“Then he’s on the right track. At least you did that right.”

It was lucky that horses only needed simple sound commands, else Lynq would have found himself clinging to the back of the huge beast as Cairo thundered through the small training field.

He thoroughly ignored all advice or tack the stableboy had to give before scrambling up the side of the horse, configuring himself to prime mount riding position, and yelling out a “Hyah!”. Cairo kicked into action under him, moving easily into a trot around the field.

Zelda and Haidar watched for a moment as Lynq whooped and hollered his excitement of being on any kind of creature before the queen brushed herself off and turned.

“I will instruct someone to take you to a suite when he’s done. I have some important matters to attend to.”

Haidar gave her a weird look. In response, she quirked an eyebrow, seeing if he would challenge her. He shook it off and offered a wave of his hand.

“Goodnight Zelda.”

“Goodnight, Haidar.”

She shook off the burning sense of deja vu and, instead of following the way they came, made her way up a different path that led back towards the castle proper. As she passed a group of shrubs, she looked down at the guards standing watch over the hero and his father. At her being there, they straightened to attention.

“Guide Haidar and the Hero to a suite when the boy is done,” Zelda ordered. “Any will do.”

“Yes, your majesty.”

“Keep a close eye on Haidar. I don’t trust him being here, Twili affiliation or no. I want them guarded at all times.”

“Of course.” Zelda nodded, satisfied with that, before continuing on the path to the castle. She had exactly the destination in mind.

It really was starting to get a little late. Guards were starting to switch shifts as she passed by, standing at attention as she approached before relaxing as she waved them down. Through the labyrinth of hallways and chambers that she had grown up in, known by heart, she was able to think about the revelation of the night.

A new hero.

Of all possible times, of course , a new hero would appear now. It wasn’t like she was making do without one. It wasn’t like she was already taking the lack of chaos as a warning sign, rather than a symbol that all was well.

Her own portion of the Triforce was already enough to dash those hopes. And now, with another piece having been revealed in a scrappy child (a familiar concept for the position), her heart sank further. What would be the fate of her people? What would become of Hyrule this time?

A horse he couldn’t keep wouldn’t be enough to make him stay, but that was the only chip she had to play.

It spoke to how often others besides her came to this place when she knew just the right way to open the chamber door without it getting stuck in that one tile that had popped out. No lanterns were lit here, leaving the echoing room cloaked in a darkness that was only remedied by bright moonlight filtering through. It left the tapestries hanging on the walls looking much more mysterious than they actually were. Zelda looked, just for a moment, at each story that hung there; each hero that was honored.

The one chamber where their storied history concerning the fated hero and his princess of the time would certainly have some kind of answer for her. Some had more documentation, some had faded relics of only observational importance now. She ignored the others in favor of the Hero of Twilight- the one who, no doubt, was the original catalyst of this predicament- and looked to see what kind of answers she would get.

Right under the Twilight tapestry, there were only a few things proving the events actually happened. Shards of the original Mirror of Twilight kept in a glass case, a wooden shield from the now-abandoned village of Ordon. While relics fascinated her, Zelda was far more interested in the small book that rested on a lectern directly underneath the tapestry. It was a rare tome, found at some point in the castle catacombs; an actual, direct account of events from that hero and other sources.

She flipped the book open and started skimming. It didn’t matter if she already knew what had happened by heart, it didn’t matter if she knew all of them off the tip of her tongue. There had to be something she missed, something helpful from this account. This book is the first instance that Twili are mentioned, all known history about them coming from this single event that, at the time, was impactful enough to call for fate to intervene.

Zelda knew, even before she opened the small book, that nothing would be of any real help. The hero of Twilight was, if nothing else, vague. His record wouldn’t be of any use. She snapped the book closed, placing it back in its spot and looking at all the other tapestries, other heroes. What had inspired them to take up their destinies? What truly made a hero tick?

The door creaked open, a couple knocks following, as a middle-aged man stepped through. Even in the middle darkness, his eyes still twinkled red typical for a Sheika, a worried look upon his face, “I’m sorry to disturb you at this hour, your Highness, but I have just received word from the neighboring lands.”

Zelda turned to address him properly, hiding her startle quite well at being so suddenly walked in on. “It’s no problem at all, Aloise. Please proceed.”

He handed her one letter, “Labrynna is unable to offer aid, as they’re managing with a recent natural disaster. The president, however, sends his regards.”

Zelda glazed over the parchment, trusting Aloise’s words but still wanting to see for herself. While she wouldn’t call a drought a ‘natural disaster’, she could understand where there would be no room to give what they could not. “Any response from Holodrum or Hytopia?”

Aloise handed over another envelope, “The King of Holodrum seems… Reluctant.”

Zelda read over the letter and of course , he refused. The words on the page were meticulously handwritten and clearly stated in the most flowery of terms, a message she was already quite familiar with as a response to any communication she sent: I will help, so long as you marry me.

Ew.

Zelda crumpled up the functionally useless letter and moved on immediately, “And what of Hytopia?”

“We haven’t received any response from Queen Minaudiere.”

“Not at all? That’s strange, coming from Mina…” Zelda thought of their options, or more so of just how little they had. Sending messages to any further kingdoms and allies would exponentially lower any chance of their aid. With their most immediate neighbors backing out… She wasn’t sure what else to do.

“Thank you for delivering these.” She shuffled the remaining papers together and handed them back. Aloise took them graciously, bowing his head just slightly.

“Of course, your majesty. I apologize for them getting to you so late, but I insisted on handing them to you myself.” He looked away, forehead creasing, deep in other thoughts. “Do you truly believe that strange boy that protected Haidar is the hero?”

Zelda didn’t make eye contact with him. “What choice do I have? I cannot deny that he holds the mark of the Triforce.”

“Do you truly believe such a reckless child would be willing to sacrifice so much for our land?”

She didn’t have an answer for that.

Aloise sighed, folding the messages and tucking them away in a pocket. He turned, making for his exit, before thinking twice of it and leaning back in for one last comment.

“You have quite the job ahead, to convince him. I really wonder, just where he proves more similar to his predecessors than meets the eye.” And with that, he was gone again.

Zelda looked to the most recent tapestry, holding very little underneath it, and thought of what Aloise had said. Looking at what had brought others to rise to the occasion, there was so little consistent between them all. Some had a sense of duty: that, she could rule out quickly. Others had their destiny thrust upon them with no choice lest their inaction comes with consequences. Considering the tentative peace for the moment, that wouldn’t do either. Many of them were, just as the boy outside, relatively young. Compared to someone she would normally trust with the fate of the world, astoundingly so. What made boys want to leave home?

She thought back to the expression Lynq held when looking out over the land of Hyrule, seeing a world he had never known for the first time.

Zelda turned to leave the chamber, knowing her exact ticket to get this hero to abandon his home, and begin helping her with whatever disaster was about to arrive.

What could no hero resist?

Adventure.

Chapter 4: How to Convince a Child That Killing is Cool

Chapter Text

It's red behind his lids.

He's surrounded by dancing orange light, flickering across his face and seared across his eyes. A matching creature- a wolf, if memory serves- walks through. Glowing a soft gold, it speaks to him. It must be speaking to him.

The voice is hard, it's urgent.

He's being dragged. It's dark and cold, he's surrounded by something.

It's smothering him.

The voice is muffled, unintelligible.

The feeling is gone but the darkness remains.

He’s in a place of a thousand doors, all of them too small.

He hears a scream.

He looks around him but sees nothing. He reaches out but feels nothing.

He feels wet, hot air hit his back.

Lynq jolted up, almost falling out of bed, grabbing at the side of the mattress to keep himself from falling face-first into the nightstand. He looked around, breathing heavily, to take in his surroundings. A loud snore reverberates through the room and he turned to see his father sleeping in the twin bed on the opposite side of the room. He’s still in Hyrule, and not where ever the dream… Nightmare? Had been. He’s uncertain as to what the dream could’ve been about. His memory of it is murky at best and fades the more he wakes up. He heard his dad let out another loud snore and knew he wasn’t falling back asleep anytime soon. He didn’t bring any earplugs and falling back asleep to his lawnmower of a father was next to reading in impossibility.

He didn’t bother to put the bed back together, tossing all the sheets and blankets aside and standing to stretch. He needed to get some air.

Lynq pulled on his cloak from the bedpost it hung from. He tiptoed past his dad and slowly opened the door, wincing as it went from a quiet squeak to an all-out squeal of hinges as he opened it just enough to slip through. He froze as he heard shuffling, relaxing as it died down and snoring continued. Phew . He was in the clear.

He didn’t immediately spy any guards in the vicinity, no sign of the ones that had escorted them to their room earlier. Taking that as an open invitation to roam, Lynq picked one of two directions in the hallway and started off at a relaxed pace.

At this hour, the castle was eerily empty and quiet. Few of the lanterns hanging on the walls were lit, just enough to make one’s way through the halls but little more.

It didn’t take long for Lynq to finally come across a guard, half-asleep and leaning dangerously on their halberd. He snatched the hat from their head and popped it on, giving them a bit of pity with a little bop on the shoulder to wake up and ran off as fast as he could with his stolen merchandise.

He took an immediately wrong turn and came face-to-face with a very awake, very alert guard as the lesser guard stumbled around the corner after him.

Zelda was, by now, on her fourth cup of tea for the night. She didn’t even bother to put any sugar in it anymore; just downing the bitter drink and continuing on was good enough.

The door to the library opened up smoothly without her notice. It wasn’t until the guard cleared his throat to garner her attention that she finally looked up from the notes and papers surrounding her.

The guard held Lynq by the scruff of his cloak in one hand, and the stolen uniform hat in the other. Lynq, hanging by the hold at least a foot off the ground, gave a shameless wave to Zelda.

“I caught this boy stealing.” the guard answered her unasked question, one of his eyebrows twitching.

She looked at the hat clenched in his other hand. With the combination of the late hour and this much caffeine on top of stress, she couldn’t really find it in herself to laugh at the absurdity of the situation.

“Sounds like that’s his hat now.”

The guard sputtered, loosening his grip on the article just enough for Lynq to snatch it back and defiantly slammed it back on his own head with an audible poomph .

“Now, if that is all.” Zelda gestured to the boy, still firmly in the guards grip, “Set him down and get back to your post.”

With that Lynq was promptly dropped as the guard grumbled going back to his previous position. Lynq brushed off the nonexistent dirt on him just for the show of it and watched him shut the door harder than was probably necessary.

“You will have to return that later you know.”

Lynq turned back to the queen who, despite the bags that were already forming under her eyes still looked a bit bemused by the situation.

‘No keepsies?’

“I’m afraid not. I’m sure the guard who owns that has already written their name in it, and at that point the law of finder’s keepers is nullified.”

Zelda gestured to the chair next to hers, quite frankly interrupting Lynq mid-turn in his bid to escape the library. “Have a seat.”

Bidden by the law of social contract, Lynq had little choice but to turn back and join Zelda at the large table she was standing at. A gigantic map was spread, accompanied by smaller, more region-specific ones. All across them little red flags on stands marked off different, seemingly random, spots.

“Would you like some tea?” She was already halfway to pouring out a teacup of it, of course not expecting him to deny. “It will keep you awake, I’m afraid, but I have the feeling you don’t mind that too much.” Lynq nodded just as she slid a full teacup towards him on a small dish, accompanied with sugar cubes and a small dish of honey. He ignores these though, instead readily taking a sip.

It was lucky that Zelda was looking away to write something in her notebook, as she completely missed the way his face scrunched up and he stuck his tongue out. The tea was horribly bitter.

‘Thank you.’

“Why are you awake at this hour, Lynq?”

‘Why are you awake?’ They stared at each other in a stand-off, Lynq reluctant to explain his dream. It’s a tense, long silence, one that Lynq awkwardly drank his tea through just barely concealing his expression of distaste. Hylians drank the weirdest stuff.

Zelda felt that it was inappropriate to tell the whole truth to who was still at this point an agent of another realm. A boy didn’t need to be worried about the state of a kingdom, especially one that was on its own.

“I’m planning.” She flipped a page in her notebook pointedly. “There’s a lot of places in Hyrule. A lot of people to account for.”

‘At 3 am?’

“I’ve had a rather distracting evening.”

Lynq didn’t even have the gall to look guilty, just nodded and tried to subtly scoot his tea away to where she wouldn’t notice.

The conversation lulled after that, Zelda tapping her pencil thoughtfully while she was deep in her task and Lynq sitting there with unbridled curiosity. The only real sound was the rhythmic tap, tap, tap and the crackling of a fire that had long faded to popping embers. This late at night, that was all it took to strike through the silence.

Lynq managed to sit for a whole five minutes with the silence- impressive, for him- before answering to the burning desire to know and pointing to a spot on the map, tipping over a couple of the little red flags as he did.

‘What is this?’ He lands on a portion of the map with relatively few markings, elegant illuminated swirls surrounding a floating island. Normally, Zelda wouldn’t have interrupted her work to humor anyone. She supposed this could be an exception.

“That is the ancient city of Skyloft.”

‘What’s that?’

“ ‘That’-” She gingerly propped the fallen flags back up, “is one of the oldest structures still functioning, and holds a lot of cultural importance in Hyrule.”

‘Do people live there?’

“Oh, Goddess, no. Not anymore. Long ago it was a home for Hylians, then for others that mechanically rose the city again when it fell. These days, it merely orbits every few years with whatever those old machines have left in them.”

Lynq was disappointed. Floating islands were pretty normal.

‘And that?’ He moved his point way across the map, thankfully empty of things for him to topple over.

“Hateno Town. They’re quite well known for having a thriving dye industry; Hytopia is fond of the colors they produce.”

‘Here?’

“That’s just a patch of forest.”

Soon the day passed, the moon was once again rising, and with it Zelda’s last opportunity to bring the young hero to her cause. She had described to him, in sparing detail considering the speed of his questions, every spot he had asked about that early morning. She was barely able to tell the name and description before he jumped to an entirely different location. It was a miracle that he even got tired after a little while, being so transfixed by the world marked on paper.

Lynq had spent the rest of the day basking in the sun, his hylian blood thankfully keeping him from burning to a crisp, despite the worries of his father who had outright panicked when he collapsed in the grass to absorb and enjoy the warmth of sunlight for the first time in his life. Meanwhile, Haidar had made it his personal mission to circumvent all of Zelda’s attempts to really talk to Lynq again. He didn’t know about the evening, that was evident.

Now there were only moments left before the portal to the Twili realm could be opened once again, Zelda had only this one, possibly last, chance to make a claim with Haidar and Lynq standing directly in front of the door back to their home.

“You know,” she started, grabbing both of their attention, “It’s a shame you couldn’t stay longer. You only were able to see the castle after all,” she gestured around her as a general approximation, “but there is so much more to see of Hyrule.”

Lynq turns to look back at her with consideration, as Haidar rests a hand firmly on his shoulder.

“He’s seen plenty.” Haidar didn’t look back at Zelda to make his point. “The castle has enough of a view.”

“Oh?” Zelda’s eyes burn into Haidar’s back, frustrated at him not regarding her but knowing that pulling a fit would ruin her plan. “And what of the vast cultures and areas within Hyrule? The crystal lakes of the Zora, the vast deserts of the Gerudo, the snowy mountains of the Rito? Lynq hasn’t even stepped foot into Castle Town. I’d say there is far more for him to see. Of course you could see all of these if you choose to stay,” she regarded Lynq again, “and I’m sure you’d enjoy exploring with the horse you had chosen yesterday.”

If Lynq wasn’t already pulled by the prospect of seeing what on earth a “lake” or a “mountain” was beyond an illustration, spending more time running around with Cairo certainly caught his attention.

“But don’t let that keep you. Twilight is almost over, your way home is almost closed.” Zelda rested a hand on the mirror, pointing towards the fading markings on it. “I will open it again tomorrow, to continue… communicating with your ruler. Of course.”

Haidar finally turned to address her, his voice clipped, “Of course, your majesty. I will let the Ruler of Twilight know.”

The portal began to glow as it opened through the large stones in the middle of the chamber. Haidar walked up towards the opening, the weight of his steps just shy of stomping, while Lynq hung back to give a quick wave goodbye.

Zelda didn’t get a chance to respond back as he dashed after Haidar, skidding to a halt just as he was taken home.

Arriving back to the Twili Realm was like getting a breath of fresh air, immediately refreshing and brimming with energy. Lynq had barely fully reconstituted back in the palace garden before being tackled by a very distraught Mateja.

“Thank the Sols you’re ok!” the force of his friend’s hug sent them both toppling over into the ground. Mateja leaned back to grab Lynq by the face, “Why didn’t you wait for me? What happened to in and out?!”

‘You know what, I immediately forgot about that.’ Mateja frowned at him, and Lynq knew immediately no amount of joking would help. The prince was hard to upset, but Lynq could tell his friend had been overwhelmingly worried. ‘It’s a long story. Did you know I’m an amazing hero?’

“You’re joking.”

" Haidar! " Lynq pulled his suddenly much warmer face away from Mateja's grasp. He leaned to the side to look past his friend's view-blocking head and at the path that lead to the portal from the palace. Coming towards them were two figures trailed by a small collection of guards. The one who yelled was a Twili woman, walking in what would be a frantic pace, if not for her efforts to keep in step with Kade and maintain some level of composure and respect while glaring daggers into Haidar’s very soul. However, under her scornful eyes, you could see the slight tremble in her lips that the tautness of her face couldn't quite conceal.

Kade, on the other hand, strode with the same intent and intensity as she always did, with long, unhurried strides as she came to meet with father and son. No doubt, she was ready to berate the half-Hylian boy halfway across the realm for causing trouble and to ask how Haidar had done on his mission.

Kade moved a bit to the left with impeccable timing as the Twili woman surged past her, like a dam bursting, to wrap Haidar into a firm embrace.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again! Where’s Lynq?”

“There.” Haidar pointed to where Mateja and Lynq were all but sprawled on the ground. Mateja was smart enough to let go and stand up as she switched from hugging Haidar to all but engulfing the small boy in a hug of his own.

‘Hi, mom.’

“Don’t you ‘hi mom’ me! The only reason you’re not dead right now is because your father was on the other side. Kade told me what happened.”

‘She knew I went?’ Lynq wrestled his head out enough to give Mateja a signature look.

“I, uh…” Mateja grinned sheepishly. “I might have panicked. And told her. And also scoured the library to find any way to open the portal from our side.”

“But now you’re back.” Kade stepped in. “I hate to interrupt a family reunion of one day apart, but we do have more important matters to discuss.”

“Yes, of course.” Lynq’s mother frowned, lessening her hold on her son. Before he could wriggle away, she managed to press a quick kiss to his forehead before finally letting him scurry off to stand next to Mateja. “But don’t think you got off free, Lynq. I’m pretty peeved at you sneaking off like that.”

‘I know. Sorry.’

“Haidar, come with me.” Kade turned on her heel, heading back to the palace garden that faced the portal’s spot, not even pausing to see if she was being followed. “I want you to tell me everything that happened.”

Haidar looked between the ruler and his wife, knowing he had a duty but wanting to make sure she was okay.

“I’m coming, don’t worry.” She stood, gracefully swooping to his side and taking his hand. “I want to know what you saw on the other side too.”

“It isn’t all that amazing, Rajiya. I had a lot of swords pointed at me at one point.”

“You think I don’t want to hear about the swords?”

They left the two teens back at the portal, Lynq watching his parents off with that lingering fear that his mother would come back and pinch his ear for doing something so reckless.

Mateja startled him out of the worry by all but snatching Lynq’s wrist as he guided the boy back to the palace, all of the prince’s previous concern now replaced by an insatiable need for knowledge. With only the one hand available, Lynq had little choice but to just listen as his friend’s enthusiasm grew.

“You have to tell me everything. No detail left out, no stone unturned. There’s so much we don’t know about the light world, I have to get a new journal for this.” Mateja finally let go as he quickly searched for his journal on his person somewhere. “So what’s this about being a hero?”

‘My hand started glowing.’ Lynq held up his left hand, at the moment the regular dull blue and containing no legendary mark to speak of. 'The queen was pretty convinced that meant I was a hero.'

Mateja paused in his journal search to glance at his friend, "Does she know that Twili usually glow? If everyone there is like your dad they might not realize that's pretty standard."

Lynq shook his head, ‘No this was different from the normal ones. It was like… a weird yellow triangle?’ He gestured with his hands to make the approximate shape that was currently nowhere to be seen.

“A triangle…. Tri-an-gle…” The description plucked at something familiar to the prince. Finally finding his book, Mateja's pace came to a halt and started flipping through it. Lynq peered around his friend to look, finding it an interesting sight that he was going through some of the earliest pages.

“When we were really young, we got into some trouble with… I think it was kargarocs." The prince paused to search for recognition in his friend's eyes only to view none. They got into trouble with kargarocs at least every couple of weeks, he'd need to be more specific. "I got a concussion?" Mateja prodded, "I don’t really remember. But I do remember that I saw this on your hand.” He finally found the crude drawing, a scribbled mess that looked to be drawn from charcoal, and was hard to make out from the smudging over the years. Despite this, the symbol on the drawing was still clear as day, three stacked yellow triangles. The prince held up his craftsmanship eagerly for Lynq to see.

‘Is that my hair?’

“What? No! It’s your hand.”

Lynq tilted his head, ‘That isn’t a hand.’

“I was five, I wasn’t exactly a stellar artist!” Mateja took a breath to calm down. He stared down at the childish drawing. He hadn't known what the symbol meant at the time. He thought it was just a trick of the light or the product of his concussed head, but to hear that it was the symbol of the hero from legends?

Could his friend- his manic, immature friend- be the hero for the world of light?

He tried to think back to that day. Mateja remembered being struck and hitting his head, of Lynq running to him, eyes wide and concerned. He remembered a sharp pain and pulling his hand from his head to see blood. Mateja doesn't think he'll ever forget the stormy look in his friend's eyes at the sight of it as his hand began to glow and he turned to face the kargaroc.

“Do you remember what happened?" Mateja broke the silence. " Do you know what you were thinking when it appeared?”

‘Oh definitely. I needed to protect you.’ Lynq continued inspecting his left hand, seeing if there were any remainders of the mark. ‘You were hurt, we were in trouble. I had to protect you.’

Mateja was touched.

‘You were also really hard to carry back.’

Mateja was less touched.

They managed to wind their way back through the palace halls to the throne room just as Haidar finished off his report. Other guards stood around but shooting a variety of expressions at each other, the three royal advisors present chattered to each other about what to do. Kade sat in her throne in silence, brooding carefully over what to do.

At spotting Mateja peeking in with Lynq, she waved him in.

“Mateja, come here. This is important.” The prince obeyed loyally, striding past Haidar and Rajiya to instead stand by his mother. Lynq stayed back, reluctantly stopping right behind his parents instead of keeping pace.

“You’re telling me, the moment you went over to the Light Realm, you were accused immediately of war crimes?”

“I wouldn’t put it like that. ”

“I would. In fact, I would say that making you the representative of the Twili, sent to a realm that has the power to destroy us, was a mistake.” Kade sat calmly on her throne, but the tone of frustration and anger was enough to make Haidar regret having even mentioned his many collective death threats in Hyrule. “I’ll take responsibility for that. However, I’m not going to further put my people’s safety in your hands.”

“Mother, maybe this is too far?”

“I’m not done, Mateja.” Even the prince was surprised at that. She was getting intense. “Their accusations may be baseless as you’ve claimed, Haidar, but this is the point where the extreme must be done to prevent harm. When the portal opens again, I’m sealing it.”

The room’s atmosphere immediately changed. Mateja, even, took a step back from his mother at her claim.

Sealing off the Light Realm wasn’t unheard of, but...

Hyrule needed help.

Lynq darted in front of his parents, ignoring the small “Hey!” Rajiya gasped as he did so, and stood in front of their ruler in confrontation.

‘Let me go to Hyrule.’

Kade stared down at him for a moment, unimpressed and nowhere near convinced. Lynq pressed on, knowing full well that this might not even work. ‘They need me. The Queen needs me. I’m the hero of legend.’

Kade didn’t react, just for a moment, before she laughed a little under her breath. Undeterred, Lynq stood true to his words, not backing down.

‘I am!’

“You are a child. ” Kade narrowed her eyes. “You have no destiny in the Light Realm.”

“Mother, I believe it’s true.” Mateja piped in. “I have proof .”

He pulled his notebook out, the stick of charcoal still on the same page marked with the Triforce, showing it to her. Seeing where Mateja was going with it, Lynq started thinking of any way to get it to show up on his hand. He shook it around, trying to see if it was motion-sensitive, as Kade considered the crude drawing.

“You saw this on his hair?”

“I did! No, wait, not his hair. On his hand! ” Mateja nodded. “It was a long time ago, but it was him.”

Kade considered her son’s words. He had no reason to lie; the prince was nothing if not honest. While she didn’t trust the boy in front of her, or any word he had to say, Mateja was a different story altogether.

“You would swear it?”

“I know what I saw.” Mateja nodded earnestly.

Kade turned to look back at Lynq, considering him. He was small, sure, and got himself into trouble more often than she was comfortable with. There was no way he was a true hero, not in the sense that he could save anybody at this point, but she saw an opportunity when it presented itself.

After all, if a hero was Twili, then Hyrule’s queen would be far more likely to forget that they harbored a war criminal in their realm.

“Fine.” Kade looked to Lynq, “Be their hero. I will not stop you.” She leaned closer to Mateja. “See to it that he’s prepared, Mateja. I trust your judgment.”

“Really?”

“I certainly don’t trust his.” Kade didn’t see Lynq’s put-out look at that. He could be responsible.

With that, the meeting was adjourned. Kade stood and called for her advisors, the group of them leaving the throne room with little else to say on the matter. Haidar immediately relaxed once she was gone, Rajiya striding forward and giving her son a proud pat on the shoulder.

“A hero?” Lynq had to crane his neck to see the wide smile on his mother’s face. He knew what that type of smile meant. “You aren’t going without some way to report back, right?” There it was. The catch.

‘I have a curfew? ’

“That’s not a bad idea…” Haidar muttered. Lynq still caught it though, looking between his two parents in betrayal.

‘I can do it on my own!’

“I know you can.” Rajiya ruffled a hand through her son’s hair. “And I’m sure your dad knows you can too. We’d just be worried about you.” Lynq wasn’t buying it, crossing his arms and pulling the best power-pose he had in his arsenal to try and prove his independence. He knew it didn’t work when his mother’s smile quirked to an amused one. “Go follow Prince Mateja, see what he can rustle up. I have faith that a member of the royal family will be able to come up with something.” She leaned down to whisper, “Plus, I think I need to calm your dad down. He doesn’t look very happy about this.”

‘He isn’t. He was complaining the whole day.’ Haidar read that, getting the gist of the conversation and looked properly offended.

“That’s him for you. Now get going!” She spun Lynq from her hold on his head, gently shoving him to where Mateja was patiently waiting. “Spend time with your friend before you head back out there.”

‘It’s another day until the portal opens again.’

“Then there’s not a moment to waste.” Rajiya winked, taking her hold on Haidar’s hand to tug him the opposite way. At the will of his wife, Haidar didn’t do anything to resist it. Lynq didn’t wait to watch them walk off, turning back and jogging up to Mateja still standing by the throne.

“Ready?”

Mateja had, evidently, different plans than just going to the armory and getting an enchanted cape. Instead, he led Lynq to an entirely different part of the palace, all the while trying to explain the deep dive he’d done in how to open the portal from their side. While it was impossible, the prince explained, he did learn a lot more about his great-great-something grandmother, as well as the mirror that opened the portal in the first place.

Lynq was only half-listening, really just appreciating that Mateja was talking about something he was passionate about: Unnecessary amounts of spiraling research.

“-and that got me thinking, what Rajiya said if there’s a way back. I don’t think there is outside of twilight or the mirror, but I know of an alternative!”

Lynq blinked back into the conversation and right into the realization that they had gone nearly halfway across the palace and Mateja was opening the door to the one-room Lynq had been in the least: the library.

More accurately, what there was of a library besides those in Kade’s personal possession. Paper was rare and precious in a place with no trees. Yet, as Lynq was led in he saw that the normally tidy room was in complete disarray. At least half of the books were off their respective spot on the shelves and were instead strewn across the floor, the table, pretty much any and all available surfaces. Many with bookmarks or left open to noteworthy pages. Mateja had said he ‘scoured’ the library to try and open the portal, but as Lynq observed the chaos within the room he’d say it was more torn apart in the search for a way to bring his friend back.

“I know you don’t like the threat of learning and being surrounded by books,” Mateja looked over his shoulder as he entered, “But you’ll need to learn a couple more spells than the standard shadow-walking for this to work.”

Lynq followed him in, stepping over a book, and watching from the side as Mateja grabbed a small box from one of the few shelves. He hated literature.

‘Can’t we just tie some cups to each other with some string?’ Despite his complaints, Lynq still sat across from Mateja as the prince motioned for him to sit on the ground. ‘Or make a mini-mirror to send letters back and forth?’

“Nope, neither of those will work.” Mateja cracked the box open, fishing around in it before producing a long necklace from it. While jewelry is a flattering gift, Lynq knew there was something weird about it just from watching the stone catch the light.

‘What is that?’

“It’s a speech stone. They were used back when the Twili were first banished, exploring the islands.” Mateja handed Lynq the one, grabbing another from the box. “Ever since the village was settled a few hundred years ago, there was less travel and no need for them anymore. Most of them were converted to Shadow Crystals for other magic purposes, but these were kept here.”

‘It’ll work in Hyrule?’

“I think it will.” Mateja grinned. “And I think I know just the right combination of spells to get it to work.” He looped the one in his hands over his neck, Lynq watching curiously as minuscule carvings along the surface of the stone started glowing the same shade of blue as Mateja’s. Following suit, Lynq put on his own. He didn’t really feel any different, but if Mateja said it would work, then there’s no way that it wouldn’t.

‘What do I do first?’

“Okay so, hold the stone in one hand…”

As soon as Lynq was gone with his friend after Kade’s meeting, Rajiya held off a little on her pace out of the throne room, bringing Haidar out into the refreshing middle light of the realm. Luckily, at that point, there weren’t any guards- many of them were stationed near where the mirror portal opened in the garden, worried about the safety of the Twili.

As they finally got out into the open air, Haidar let out a long sigh and squeezed Rajiya’s hand.

“Talk to me.” She looked up to the perpetually rolling clouds in their sky as she offered the penny for his thoughts. The pause after her request wasn’t strange for him; she could count on a hand when he would start airing his worries.

Three, two…

“I’m scared for him.” There it was. “I’m- I know what it’s like out there. What he doesn’t have. I’m scared that he’s going to get hurt, and we won’t be there to help him out of it.”

“Didn’t Queen Zelda have faith in him?”

“She has faith in an imaginary version of our boy that’s like the others she’s read about in dusty books. So many heroes before him have been younger, but… they’re from the light realm. They knew, even vaguely, what was out there.” Haidar looked to where Rajiya was holding his hand, paled skin from lack of sunlight contrasting with dark blue. Improbable, but not impossible. “I might be underestimating him, but- goddess, Rajiya, I’ve barely taught him how to use a sword. I never thought he’d have to use that knowledge.” He rubbed his face with a free hand and leaned on his wife’s shoulder. She took it a step further, turning and caressing her smaller husband as best as she could.

“Haidar?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re being dumb.”

Haidar snapped his head up to meet her eyes, surprised at having his fears invalidated so quickly.

“Let me finish. Lynq’s a troublemaker, for sure, and he doesn’t know anything about the realm of light.”

“Gee, thanks for making me feel better.”

“ But ,” She pointed out, “He’s clever. He’s not book smart, but I’ve seen him achieve wonderful things. He’s brave, and has compassion for others.” Rajiya smiled. “And if the Queen of Hyrule trusts in him, someone you’ve told me had high expectations of you , then I think we should believe in him too.”

Haidar thought about it for a moment. It was long enough for Rajiya to get a little worried, the silence that stretched from moments to minutes. She let him have it though, weighing the cost of their son to the cost of their trust. What would happen if everything went right? What would happen if everything went wrong ?

“You’re right.” Haidar squeezed her hand, miraculously still in his hold. “He has to face this destiny head-on.”

“Look at it this way,” Rajiya pointed out, “If we don’t let him go, he’ll just sneak out anyway.”

That broke enough of the tension for Haidar to laugh. He was worried- so was she, really- but she was right. They had to trust him.

“I know something that’ll make us both feel better about this.” Rajiya pulled back from the embrace, continuing down the palace steps towards the Twili village.

“Oh?”

“Let’s make him something. A reminder of home.”

The Twili Realm darkened just slightly as the day came to a close. In the back garden of the palace, one more time, a collection of individuals waited for the portal back to Hyrule to open at any moment. Lynq stood by the careful masonry marking the portal’s entrance, just taking it as his parents hugged him goodbye. Kade and Mateja stood back, surrounded by guards, letting the family say their farewells.

“My little baby boy is off to be a hero!” Rajiya was never one to cry, but this was definitely the closest Lynq had seen his mom to shedding tears. “Are you alright? Do you have everything?”

‘I think so.’

“Trick question!” His mother pulled out a folded bundle of cloth from behind her back. At his confusion, she insistently nudged it towards him. “You did forget something. Something I made you.” Lynq took the cloth gratefully but in confusion, only understanding when he unfurled it and a sleeved hooded cape unraveled itself. “It isn’t enchanted, but I thought you’d like something a little warmer than what you have now. Your dad tells me Hyrule can be a cold place!” Lynq pulled off his cloak, replacing it quickly with the hood. His mom’s sewing hobby really paid off.

‘Thanks, mom.’ He pulled off the hood to smile at her. ‘It fits great!’

“Of course it does, I’m an impeccable seamstress.” Despite her bravado, she still looked at just how good a fit it is. “Haidar, did I miss anything?”

“If he says it fits, it fits.” Haidar took a look. “I don’t know sewing very well, though.”

Rajiya would have responded with witty banter about how that means she didn’t make any obvious mistakes if she wasn’t interrupted by a sudden change in the air and a low, almost imperceivable drone. At the end of the island, the portal to Hyrule spun its way into existence, and the paved circle started to glow the same bright white. Seeing that it was about time for him to go, Lynq quickly reached out and grabbed his mother in a hug.

‘I’ll keep in touch.’

“Come back soon, alright?” Rajiya pulled back, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. “But not too soon. I need a vacation from you.” Lynq rolled his eyes, pulling out of the hug to give Mateja a wave goodbye. His friend returned it with just as must gusto. Kade just watched.

Lynq didn’t look back as he stood on the mark for the portal, feeling that same tingling sensation he did the first-

“Lynq wait, make sure to come backinacoupleweekssoyoudon’tdiefromlackofSolenergy!” Mateja yelled out in a quick rush.

-Wait what was that?

Lynq was gone before he could fully process what was said.

The next thing he knew, he was back in the darkness of Hyrule. Or what would be darkness as he expected, if at least a dozen lanterns hadn’t been lit and a gathering of armed guards wasn’t there. In the middle of them, Lynq realized, was Zelda, grinning self-assuredly at his return. She had definitely been waiting for him.

“Welcome back.”

Chapter 5: After That Forty-Eight Hour Cutscene, The Tutorial Can Finally Begin

Chapter Text

In the castle, gossip spreads like wildfire. There was little that could be kept a secret between the chatter from guards to handmaidens and attendants. It was no surprise that by that next morning everyone in the queen’s employment knew that a hero was once again within the castle walls.

Zelda heard the murmurs as she walked through the halls, the light coming through the windows soft and warm at dawn's break. They hushed as she came into view, doing a poor job at pretending they weren't just mid-conversation until that moment.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing that everyone knew a hero was here; it was about time some hope for the future came to be in Hyrule again. She only hoped that no one figured out who the hero was or, more specifically, who his father was.

If it was discovered that Haidar was Lynq’s father, if word spread that he had been in the castle, who knows what kind of uproar would arise.

“Your majesty!” She was called on the moment she set foot into the throne room. Aloise abandoned his conversation with a rather offended looking dignitary and glided over to Zelda before she even managed to properly enter the room. “Has the hero awoken yet?”

“Not that I know of, I have yet to see him today.”

“Excellent, I wanted to talk if you. Unless you're busy at the moment?”

“No, now is fine.” It wasn't. She was meant to be heading to a meeting concerning rising attacks on travelers and town outskirts.

“Well then, the perfect opportunity.” He made a vague motion to the rest of the throne room, nearly empty this early in the morning, but leaned in for the sake of secrecy anyway. “We need to talk about the hero.”

“What of him?”

“I’m concerned about the integrity of the boy’s intentions.” Aloise ran his hands together. “Fated or no, there could be some foul play if he has been previously influenced.” Zelda had to roll her eyes at that.

“Aloise, I’m sure we have very little reason to doubt Lynq’s ‘intentions’.” She turned to leave the conversation, only to halt as Aloise side-stepped in front of her to snatch the conversation back into play.

“Nonetheless!” Aloise held up his hands, as though to stop her from leaving before he could finish. “I believe we should keep a close eye on the boy. Keep track of him, so to speak.”

“I honestly don’t think that’s necessary.” Zelda wouldn’t play this game, walking forward and forcing him to step to the side to let her by. “Call it intuition, but I think Lynq is trustworthy.”

“...If that is what you believe, I won’t argue.” Aloise sounded hesitant about it, following just a couple paces back.

“I need you to do something involving him, though. Something discreet.” He nodded. “Look to see if there have been any strange areas that have cropped up recently. Right now, he doesn’t have any kind of fated guide to find his heroic tests- we might as well play the role.”

Zelda walked past him, her gait steady and even, only to stutter when Aloise called after her. “Please be cautious with the boy, your majesty. You never know what lies Haidar told his son.”

She swallowed, schooled her expression, and continued on. She would not succumb to paranoia.

Zelda considered that, at times, the speed of which gossip spread could be beneficial. In particular, when it concerned a certain hero and the knowledge that he’s awake and roaming through the halls. Lynq had just enough time to pilfer a bread roll- no, wait, it was a whole loaf of sourdough- from the castle kitchens before Zelda heard the word of it. Luckily, it wasn’t hard to follow his trail of wildlife-esque sightings.

The last known sighting of him was in the stables, but after being run out by the stable boy desperately trying to complete the morning chores, he was spotted going out to the courtyard. Zelda began her trek over back towards the opposite side of the castle to find one raucous child , already being spun into a bad mood with this extended chase scene. Couldn’t he just have gone to her? Did he need to start off with petty thievery?

She walked out into the courtyard, hearing before seeing the Hyrule castle guard running through their morning drills. Finding a glowing child should be relatively easy, but as her eyes scoured the field she could not see Lynq anywhere. Perhaps he has already left, she was about to head back inside and reconvene with the castle rumor mill when something sprinkled onto her head.

She brushed off her hair to find crumbs . It didn’t take more than a look upwards to see Lynq halfway up the castle wall sitting on a ledge, enjoying his prize and watching the guards, to confirm her suspicions.

How in Hyrule did he get up there ?

Zelda cleared her throat to try and grab his attention, absolutely eviscerating the next one when that didn’t work. It took an overblown theatre “AH-HEM” for him to even look down at her.

Lynq peered over the ledge he was sitting on. Holding on with one hand, he leaned over to keep from falling off and waved with his stolen goods, flinging more crumbs around and many more covering his face. He promptly shoved the rest of the loaf into his mouth. There was at least half of it left and Zelda was both surprised the small boy was able to fit what was left into his mouth while also being disturbed to see him do such a thing.

With his other hand free, Lynq decided to greet her properly, one hand still firmly on the ledge.

‘Good morning!’ He gestured with his newly bread free hand, he then pushed himself off the ledge, startling Zelda as she jumped back a bit. Likely for the best, as based on his trajectory and where he landed he likely would have fallen right on top of her. He brushed off the dirt and crumbs that were on him and then proceeded to act like climbing up castle walls and jumping off castle walls was a completely normal morning activity.

“What were you doing up there?” She decided to ask.

‘The view was nice.’

“ How did you get up there?” She feared the answer, and then watched as he grinned and started scurrying up the side of the wall.

It was impressive, she had to admit, to watch him somehow climb up the castle with little to no places to get a good grip on. Once he got up to a lower ledge than the one he had been resting on earlier, he dropped down again.

“Do you do this…” she watched him dust himself off again, “Often?”

‘Yeah! Well-’ he considered, ‘I usually get stopped halfway up.’

He went onto his tippy toes to peek over her shoulder and at the guards practicing.

‘What are they doing?’ he pointed towards them. Lynq had been watching them stretch, perform drills, and now it seemed they were using some kind of equipment that he’d never seen before.

Zelda turned to follow his gaze to see the men practicing archery.

There was no way. “Oh, they’re practicing their archery. Surely you’ve heard of it before…?”

Lynq shook his head. Of course not.

She sighed. “Do you at least know the sword?” Wait. “Do you at least know what a sword is?”

Thank Hylia he nodded, she wouldn’t know what to do if this child knew nothing.

‘My father taught me some.’ He gestured enthusiastically.

Well. It’s something.

No matter, she would just have to get him trained with a bow. It wouldn’t be wise to send out a child with minimal sword skills and hope for the best. It definitely wouldn’t be smart to just hand him off to one of the military instructors considering the meager attempt to keep him low profile. She’d teach him herself- and when she’s done with him, he’ll be able to catch an arrow mid-flight, notch it, and send it back towards his opponent just as she was taught.

Or in the very least, he’ll be able to hit a target. In an afternoon, it would be a miracle.

“Alright then, come with me.” She began walking off not looking to see if he followed, but knowing he was by the sound of his quick footsteps as he tried to keep pace with her strides. If she had to have all her morning work shoved to the side to ensure Lynq knew how to shoot, Aloise could handle it. He was good at paperwork.

‘Am I in trouble?’

“You tell me.”

‘Sorry for stealing the bread?’

“Try again.”

‘For not knowing what a bow is?’

She’d give him some pity. “You’re not in trouble. I’m just disappointed.”

Somehow that made Lynq feel even worse, even though it was most likely not necessarily him she was disappointed in. At least, he hoped so.

They skirted around the guards in the courtyard, Zelda giving a curt nod to those that noticed and saluted to her, bumping others to do the same.

“The Hero is renowned for having skills in both swordsmanship and archery.” Lynq kept his curious eyes on the guards as they passed, looking in wonder as they shot off a volley of arrows at targets set up in the large space. “If I have to teach you one, then so be it.”

‘You’re going to teach me how to do that!’ It wasn’t a question, he was that excited.

“I am.” She hoped she wouldn’t regret this.

The consensus was in and hindsight proved to be 20/20: Zelda did, in fact, regret being the one to teach him.

While the boy was quick to pick up the skill, the journey to even get to that point was excruciating at best. She wasn’t sure where the line between ‘mischievous’ and ‘wilfully obtuse’ was drawn, but it must have been closer to the latter considering just how long it took for him to even get the right stance and posture.

Nonetheless, the speed in which he picked up the skill after running out of Trouble Boy Juice was, in a word, astonishing. She didn’t know if it was some recollection from a different life or what, but he was actually shooting with passable quality in a mere fraction of standard training time.

Zelda still sunk four hours into teaching him, but she was sure Aloise dealt with any fallout just fine on his own. This was more important in the long run.

Once he could successfully get an arrow to hit the target, she called the impromptu lesson over. Lynq was a frustrating student through the end; her being impressed wouldn’t change that, and she had taken no pity on him.

Lynq groaned in relief, arms throbbing from the new exercise. He wasn’t used to using that much arm strength all at once. Zelda called for an attendant to take their bows and led the exhausted boy towards the dining hall.

“Let’s get something to eat, without any theft.” Lynq had the gall to look sheepish at that.

After cleaning up a bit, they sat down in the dining hall. The well-lit room had a large table filled with countless chairs and was set as though it would be full. At the moment the only occupants were Zelda and Lynq, they sat next to each other as they enjoyed their legally acquired soup.

“As for the next order of business.” She interrupted their soup time with business time as a familiar stately man, holding a large scroll, sauntered into the room. “Aloise?”

“Yes, your majesty, my apologies for interrupting your meal.”

“It’s no big deal. Did you find anything suitable for what I asked?”

“I’ve got a few to pass by you.” He rolled out a map with a flourish onto a part of the table that wasn’t covered in two entire soup bowls. “There’s been a series of temples that have been popping up the past few months.” Aloise pointed to a thickly forested area of the map, “The closest one of these being the Temple of Earth, in the Lost Woods.”

“The Lost Woods?” Zelda thought about this. It was surprisingly convenient, but she wouldn’t argue against the choice. “Alright, Lynq?”

Lynq looked up from nearly colliding his face with the map, already interested in paper , and up at her.

“You will go to the Lost Woods. That is where the sword of the hero rests.”

‘Sword?’ He looked almost too excited about that. ‘I get a special sword?’

“Yes, that is part of the Hero’s destiny. I told you this yesterday.”

‘I stopped listening after the horses were mentioned.’ She said the horse thing after mentioning a cool sword, but why hang on to the past? Aloise turned to Zelda and mouthed a confused horse? . All she could do was nod.

“You will retrieve the sword, Lynq, and then go to the Temple of Earth.”

‘But why?’

Zelda stopped for a moment, “Well… It’s a tradition. Every Hero goes through temples as a test of their wit, strength, and courage.” she looked him over, “Some need this more than others.”

Lynq looked mildly offended.

Zelda continued on as if she didn’t even see his expression, “But some went through a four or more temple system, so at some point it’s more of a performative task than a functional one-”

‘I’ll go.’ His excitement was undercut from the seriousness of his signing. ‘There’s a sword involved, I can’t not go.’

“Perfect!” Aloise yoinked the map from the table, nearly taking Lynq with it. “Relieving, actually. It’s surprisingly difficult to sort through reports of ‘mysterious entrances to unknown places’ that haven’t already been explored, and I’d hate for all the effort to go to waste.”

“That is where we end our assistance.” Zelda looked almost guilty about that. “From here, it’s up to you. We’re already playing this a little backward, but in lieu of an immediate disaster we might as well point the way. There’s no need to steer you far from your path.”

Lynq nodded, already starting to shovel down the rest of his soup to be finished earlier.

“You don’t have to leave right this second.” Aloise assured him, slowing Lynq back down to a comfortable pace.

With a plan in place, Zelda helped Lynq prepare for his journey to the Lost Woods. Once he was fitted in the yard with an appropriate trio of sword, shield, and bow, the queen couldn’t help but notice a glaring absence. “Are you positive you don’t want more… Protective clothing? Light armor, maybe?” Zelda looked over his Twili clothing, or more so the lack of it. The hood he returned with barely went past his pectorals, leaving him in what consisted of a relatively warm crop top. They could be enchanted, but that wouldn’t keep him from mortal wounds. At least he was wearing pants and some sort of sleeves, small mercies.

‘Nope, I’m good, my mom made this for me.’

Zelda pursed her lips, “You should at least take some boots.” She gestured to his horse being prepared for the journey, “It will make riding easier, and it wouldn’t do you good if you stepped on something sharp in the woods.”

Lynq’s entire face scrunched up at the thought, shoes? No, absolutely not. He drew the line at shoes. Besides, he spied a painting or two depicting past heroes decorating the halls. Clearly they had questionable fashion sense, influenced by their times. So no, Lynq would not be letting the very traditional queen decide his clothing anytime soon. As soon as she chose one thing, there’d be no doubt he’d be wearing the whole tunic next.

Zelda sighed. She wasn’t going to get anywhere with him on this; he could go shoeless, for now.

She saw the stable boy wave from where Cairo was getting set up in the corner of her eye. Lynq refused to ride with a saddle (he had a lot of refusals, didn’t he?), but his horse could still be equipped with some of the other necessities for their trip, like food and a sleeping bag.

She held out the map, marked with bright red with the best path he should take. Lynq handled it as though it would crumble in his hands.

“Now remember,” She pointed to the rolled-up parchment, “This map is marked for how to get to the entrance of the Lost Woods, but once you get there you will have to find your own way through.”

‘Why doesn’t the map show the way through?’

“The Lost Woods are… Different from normal forests.” She fiddled with one of her gloves. “The mists and the fog have a way of confusing unknowing travelers so that they go in circles. It’s all steeped with old, old magic, meant to keep outsiders away. But you don’t need to worry.” She rested a hand on his shoulder, “It is also where the Master Sword sleeps. You are one of the few people meant to be there, I’m certain the path will reveal itself to you.”

Lynq nodded and scrambled onto Cairo. Zelda watched in amusem*nt- of course, the small Twili chose their largest horse. It was hard to tell if it was a choice of humor or of genuine attachment. However, the boy did look thoroughly pleased with himself once he was on top of the gigantic mare and made sure the map was safely secured in the nearest satchel.

“Getting there should take about two days. You should be able to go, retrieve the sword, finish the temple, and return within a week.”

Lynq nodded, noting that time down. He could do a week, it was well within his arbitrary time limit. He still couldn’t believe he had a curfew of all things. Not even just set by his mother, but also whatever Mateja was trying to say that Lynq had only been able to parse as ‘two weeks or die’.

Lynq looked at the speech stone hanging on his neck and rubbed his thumb over the small engravings on it. Maybe he should call the prince? Confirm whatever he was trying to say? Lynq quickly dismissed the thought- it had barely been a day, he’d seem too clingy to his friend this soon. Besides, Lynq thought, Mateja is really responsible. He was sure that if he needed to tell him something important he would have sent it through the stone already.

Lynq was pulled out of his thoughts by Zelda, “Be safe on your journey; may Hylia guide your path.”

Lynq nodded and gave her a thumbs-up, and kicked Cairo’s sides with a clicking sound to bring her into a trot. Despite having had a whole few hours the other night having gotten to run about with his new companion, overflowing excitement at finally, finally having some kind of steed made him nearly jittery. He turned to wave goodbye to Zelda as he was turning the corner, and he was off.

The grassy expanse of the horse stables wound around the castle and lead to a gate in the wall, already open with guards watching dutifully for danger. As Lynq passed by, grinning down at them and receiving no response, one of them called for the gate to be closed after him.

A little rude, but not enough to distract him from changing between riding on grass and riding on cobble-paved streets.

Evidently, Cairo was already familiar with street walking, automatically taking one side of the road as she trotted through what must have been for her a familiar path. Lynq marveled at the tall, storied buildings, the interesting people that only gawked back at him, the colors . Being already noontime the city was in full swing, people from all walks of life roaming the streets and going about their business. Lynq looked in wonder, nearly overwhelmed by the sounds, the sights. It was lucky that Cairo was already defaulting to the way out because he wouldn’t have been able to read the map for the life of him with so much going on.

Then, just as suddenly as they were in the city, they were out. Cairo passed the outer walls of the city with little flourish, the guards there being just as distant as the others and not even giving Lynq a wave goodbye.

They could have been at least polite enough to give him a warning , as Lynq felt his breath absolutely taken away as he finally got to the field he had seen from the castle. It had looked so expansive, a sea of green, but actually being struck him into awe. He could go anywhere. He wasn’t limited by islands or the threat of plummeting to his death…

He was free.

That revelation put him instantly into a bright mood, clicking again to Cairo to shoot her into a gallop. The same mood didn’t fade as the sun started going down, as he let Cairo rest and walked alongside her for a little while. It didn’t go away as he rustled up some kind of camp, settled in, and saw stars for the second time in his life.

He could tell, this was going to be the adventure of a lifetime.

Following the map took some amount of effort- most of which was trying to figure out after the marked path ended which way was north, or what north was - but eventually, Lynq did find his way to the place Zelda had pointed out to him. He felt the magic before he even saw the woods, scattered trees thickening to a grove to a wood. It even put Cairo on edge, from the way her ears went from attentive and perked to lowered, her head followed as she scanned the woods nervously.

Lynq dismounted her just as things were starting to get spooky- not quite to the ‘lost’ part, he didn’t think, so surely the mare would do alright. He wasn’t sure how horses did in lost forests, and honestly wasn’t going to test it to find out. He wouldn’t forgive himself if she got lost to the whims of the woods.

‘I’ll be back for you.’ He assured her, knowing full well that she probably couldn’t read. Still, the little snort she gave in response was good enough for him to leave her there to face the woods. She’d be fine.

Immediately at letting Cairo go about her business, the fog of the wood engulfed the boy like a shroud. As he entered, the magic around him made quick work of making time stand still and the world outside disappear entirely. The orange glow of the midday sun faded as he went in, the warmth paling as it was shooed away in the heavy mist. Thick enough that even just a few steps in he could feel its weight. The deeper he went, the darker it became, and the harder it became to see. Soon, he could hardly see a few feet in front of him. The only light providing any way forward came from the faint blue glow of his Twili markings. Glancing around, Lynq could no longer see the way he came- only able to see the silhouettes of twisting trees, reaching out for him like mangled palms, and the shifting fog that enveloped everything.

He stepped carefully as he tried to avoid tripping over winding roots. Lynq heard the sounds of rustling, but brushed it off; it was probably just the wind or an animal. He changed his mind quickly once shuffles morphed into a tinkling of bells and distorted echoes of what sounded almost like a child’s laughter.

He spun towards one snicker, just about feeling the breath against the back of his neck-

Only to see nothing, just the twirling of fog from his movement, the sound of distant giggles around him, and the feeling of being intensely, unbreakingly watched.

He flicked his eyes back and forth, he swallowed and turned around.

The deeper he went the more suffocating the fog seemed to get, and the louder the sounds seemed to become.

He quickened his pace. He just needed to get through.

The laughter increased. He sped up in turn.

Through the shroud, he could sometimes swear he saw eyes that glowed like embers. He went faster.

He was stumbling over gnarled roots, branches grabbed at his cloak. He ran.

The fog was swallowing him. He couldn’t see.

The laughter was so close now. Hands clasped on his shoulders.

A whisper in his ear -

He’s back at the entrance.

Lynq spun around. How?

He was undoubtedly deep within the forest only moments ago. Yet here he was, Cairo grazing just a few feet away without a care, and he was facing the entrance like he never entered in the first place.

They say you don't know you're from a nightmare world until you leave it, which is probably why he hadn’t been phased so far into his journey. Everything was so peaceful. This deep into the wood, though, set off all kinds of creepy alarms in Lynq's head. He noticed belatedly that he was shaking slightly, his heart beating hard and fast as he wiped some sweat from his brow. He took some deep breaths and thought. He needed a new strategy. Running straight through didn’t work at all, he would have to come up with a plan to get through.

It was then that he realized just how much he came to rely on Mateja. He was the one who came up with the plans between the two of them. Sure, Lynq was the one who pulled them into hijinks, but it was always Mateja who thought through the how of it. And, more importantly, how to get out of trouble once they were in it.

And he definitely never felt afraid with his friend by his side.

Lynq held up the enchanted stone. He could always just call him, but…

He dropped it back down. This was his very first mission as the hero of Hyrule. How lame would it be if he called for help the first time he’s on his own?

He looked back at the forest looming over him. There was a path through there; he just had to find it. He wouldn’t get spooked, he refused. As he pushed down any lingering dread at the thought of going back in, he took a step into the forest for the second time. He was prepared for the mist surrounding him.

This time, he didn’t run blindly around or shove his way through the wood. He shoved down his apprehension as bells started jingling again, the whatever-it-was coming to try and mess with him again. Lynq ignored it, being much more careful this time to pick his path. He realized, really quickly, that he definitely wasn’t on his A-game today; this was a thinking thing. He could sense it, that same confusion that came with every problem he didn’t know how to solve with pure cleverness or wit. This wasn’t a brute force puzzle either, he couldn’t down a tree to force a path through.

Eventually, he figured that at least trying to stay steady was better than not moving at all, so Lynq picked a marker to follow and went. He ignored the creepy whatever in the mist, figuring that since it hadn’t really touched him he would be fine with not paying any mind.

It wasn’t a bad move, because he did come across something different than the twisted trees and faded trails; a huge, felled tree, entirely blocking his path. It was definitely too high to jump over, and upon trying to scramble up the side he slid right back down. The bark had long been worn away to smooth wood, preventing any fruitful climbing. Lynq tried again, and one more time, to scramble over the trunk, but slid down each time. His cheeks burned with embarrassment as the thing laughed at him from the mist.

He turned and made a sharp “shh!”, following up with ‘Quiet, I’m thinking!’. The laughing subsided, but Lynq could tell that it wasn’t gone. Just watching.

So, couldn’t be climbed. What else could he do? Lynq noticed, through the general gray of the forest, the faintest shadow from one of the trees was casting across the felled trunk. Would the forest let him do this, was it considered cheating? Only one way to find out. At this point, anything was preferable than the pace he was going at this rate.

Lynq quickly stepped back to make sure the shadow at least reached the top- it did- before melting into it and making his way up. Shadows were easy to traverse, and always reliable- they could go over anything, ignore any obstacle.

Wait.

Was that the answer?

Lynq pulled himself out of the shadows at the very top of the trunk, looking to the other side with a critical eye. Sure enough, he saw something through the mist- even in the middle light of the wood, shadows were still there. He could still do something.

Lynq slid down the other side of the felled trunk and cracked his knuckles- this would be a lot of magic. If the forest was letting him navigate like this, then he’s got a way through.

And the way, he used.

As he continued on, shadows pointed in directions definitely not determined by sun placement or any logical means. After getting kicked out once and getting dangerously close to being put back at the beginning a few times after that, Lynq didn’t question it; he followed the directions he was given.

As soon as the green started brightening and the fog was thinning, he figured that he had either gone the right way, or just came out the other side of the forest. That feeling of being watched and followed faded away.

He jumped into a shadow on one side of a bramble patch and came out to a vibrant and flourishing forest.

Chapter 6: I Tried Applying To Hero School But All I Got Was Some BBQ

Chapter Text

As Lynq entered into the bright and lush grove, the sounds of the forest opened back up as if the thick mist had muffled everything else. From where he had burst out underneath the brambles, a much more obvious path opened up versus the disorienting series of shadow-walking he had been doing thus far. Figuring that he would rather walk than turn around and get out of breath with so much spellcasting, Lynq followed the worn and ancient path deeper into the now significantly less spooky wood.

The forest seemed to come alive around him. Instead of the bleak, moss-coated trees that surrounded him before, the foliage was green and brimming with life. A soft yellow light trickled through the branches as the fog receded, and he made his way through a gigantic log. The deeper he went, a warmth returned to him that he didn’t realize was seeped away in the murk and mist. He could see the movement of small animals rustling through the branches overhead and heard the buzzing of insects fluttering about. With the drastic difference made across a single bramble patch, was this even the same forest?

As he gazed around himself in wide-eyed wonder, Lynq almost missed the little questioning ‘hwah?’ behind him. Had the thing that watched him in the woods followed him here? He turned to see not the glowing eyes that laughed through the mist, but what looked like a tiny tree. If trees could make sounds, wore masks, and move around. An advanced bush?

Lynq watched as the tiny tree thing, at being noticed, hopped over to him. Now, he was by no means a tree expert; until about three days ago, he had never seen a tree in his life. But, he would think he would notice by now if they were able to uproot themselves and walk . He dropped to one knee to be closer to eye level with the pinnate leaf mask acting as the tree’s face, a bit hesitant of the creature with the feeling fading as he watched the little thing jump to and fro on each of its stumpy legs.

“Wowee!” Lynq startled a bit at it speaking in a high-pitched shrill, “You made it through! I haven’t seen anyone do that in a while.” the little tree gave him a look over, its head tilting back and forth as its tiny stump arm moved up towards where it’s mouth would be. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like you either. Do people normally glow like that? You aren’t sick are you?” The little thing sounded incredibly concerned for not knowing him in the least.

‘No, I’m fine,’ he wondered if this thing could even understand sign language, ‘It’s a cultural skin condition.’ He didn’t actually know what they were.

The little tree slumped a bit as it sighed in relief, apparently able to understand him easily, “That’s good, um…” it looked up a bit nervously, “What are you then?”

‘Fifteen, or so I’ve been told. What are you ? Tree?’

The tree seemed awfully offended at that, practically huffing indignantly. “I’m not a tree!” The not-tree waggled its arms, “I’m a Korok. My name is Millo!” While ‘Korok’ meant nothing, a name was something Lynq could understand.

Lynq introduced himself back, carefully spelling his name and nodding as Millo got it right. ‘I was sent here to get an old sword. Have you seen one?’

The Korok seemed to light up at that, making a small cry as he hopped in excited recognition. “Oh! I know where that is! Here, I’ll show you!”

Lynq stood, brushed off his legs, to see the Korok holding up one of his arms to lead him. Not having the heart to refuse the petite creature, he leaned over to hold its stumpy arm to be led.

It was a bit awkward to walk bent over as he was only able to take rapid half-steps despite the speed the Korok was waddling. Lynq kept his head down to make sure he didn’t accidentally step on Millo only to see him wave outside of his periphery. He glanced up to what looked like many more Koroks, peeking around rocks and bushes to get a look. It seemed they came in all shapes, sizes, and foliage. While Millo in particular was short and stout, some were tall and lean, some had branches on their heads, and some were much larger than he expected, almost the size of an actual tree. As he glanced around him, Lynq could see more and more come out to observe him. Based on their chattering, they definitely seemed excited by his arrival; small exclamations of there being a visitor echoed through the forest.

“I can’t believe I found the hero!” Millo said in a gleeful tone, not halting in waving to others and almost presenting his discovery. “Everyone is going to be so jealous that I found you first!”

Lynq didn’t know how to feel about being the object of gossip for what amounted to a forest of Koroks, but Millo’s enthusiasm was practically tangible and was definitely starting to rub off on him in amused acceptance. He figured there was no harm in it and continued to listen to the boisterous creature, responding when necessary- at the moment, Millo tittering about what sounded like a betting pool regarding the hero’s return.

The forest path opened up to a large clearing, light streaming into the open area. The glade was brimming with delicate, blue and white flowers that Lynq tiptoed around to avoid squashing while Millo waded through effortlessly. On the outskirts of the clearing, he saw the soft glow of fireflies and fairies with tiny gossamer wings fluttering in the shade of the trees despite the midday sun that glared down. Faded flowers signalling the end of spring floated down from the canopy. Sitting at the center of it all was a large, stone-carved pedestal with the symbol he recognized from his hand inscribed on it. Within it, Lynq could see the sword.

He stepped up onto the plinth, letting go of Millo who stood back as he made his way towards what he knew to be the Master Sword. With the time that had no doubt passed, and the days the sword must have been left out in the elements with no one to properly care for it, the royal blue hilt had lost its luster to grime over the years. The once polished and gleaming blade was mildly rusted from the neglect to its upkeep, moss just starting to creep up the side. As it was, Lynq wondered if the blade could survive one solid strike or if it would crumble on the impact.

Maybe it could be fixed? Lynq had no clue but, despite his skepticism over the blade’s usefulness, he still felt drawn to it. He slowly reached out his hand, his fingertips a hair away from touching the hilt, when a booming voice filled the area.

“You are here so soon? Well, if fate called for another then there is nothing to be done.”

Lynq quickly pulled his hand back and craned his neck to look up and saw by far the largest tree he had ever seen in his life. He was different from the Koroks scattered around the edge of the glade, but also definitely no ordinary tree. This tree was deeply rooted, Lynq could not imagine him moving as the Koroks do, towered over the entire clearing. He spoke in a deep rumbling voice, the face in the middle of the trunk looking faintly amused at the sight of him.

“No doubt you are the strangest hero I’ve ever encountered.” Despite the way his cadence seemed to roll through the woods, the tree felt gentle. Like one of the kind elders Lynq knew in the Twili Realm, more entertained by his mischief than angry about it. “And yet, somehow, still the same.”

‘You know who I am?’

“I do.” The tree sounded amused. “Or better put, I know who you are meant to be.”

Lynq watched, a bit perturbed by the unnatural way the tree’s face moved. ‘Then you know why I’m here?’

“Yes, yet I cannot tell you if you’re prepared. I can see it, the spark of naivety that tells me you have not quite started your journey. Another strange thing, that you begin here.” The tree’s branches groaned as he tried to bend slightly to get a better look at him. Lynq was small, it was quite a far reach.

‘I was sent by the queen.’

“Ah, she is the impatient sort.” Lynq could gather enough from that to figure there was some history between the queen and this creature. It made sense; if something like this was in her domain, guarding a sword of legend, then there was no doubt they were acquainted. “The sword stands here as a test; a trial in of itself. To wield it is to profess your life to the protection of this land.”

‘Can’t I just use it? Zelda said I was chosen as the hero.’

The Deku Tree’s leaves shook as he laughed. “Young one, being chosen for your destiny is not the same as meeting it.”

Lynq supposed that was true.

"Now, tell me..." The tree asked, "What is it, young hero, that drives you to continue? What, truly, fuels your heart to do good?"

Lynq scrambled for an answer. The reason he had come? He wanted to find out what kind of destiny the queen had told him about, to help her with whatever trouble Hyrule was in. He wanted to be a hero. He didn't know why that was enough to have him defy Kade, have to leave his home for what appeared to be nothing.

Why was he out here?

'I need to help.'

He knew it was a flimsy answer immediately, but found that somewhere, it really was true. Despite his inherent troublemaking, wasn’t he here just to help others?

He hadn’t had to consider it deeply. At this point, he was going with whatever felt right.

‘It’s my destiny to be the hero. To help Hyrule and its people.’

“Intriguing.” The Deku Tree took it without further question. “So driven by others- a noble trait.

“You are welcome to try your hand at retrieving the blade. The sword requires your true strength, but as you are now I cannot say whether you would survive it.”

‘I have to try.’

The tree hmm’d at his quick and unconsidered response, “Very well. However, if you feel yourself weakening too much, I advise you to stop immediately.”

Lynq nodded and looked back at the sword, still feeling that power and drive to try and wield it. This was a different type of drive; the sword was meant for him, and in this time, him alone. With little hesitation, he grabbed the hilt with both hands and started to pull, not noticing as the Koroks around him scattered.

His muscles burned, Lynq straining against the sword as he could practically feel himself being drained away. It was similar to using a spell, but instead a drop out of a lake, a dam was burst and he was giving all he had to prove himself, to get this blade free and with it, conduct his destiny.

He thought that he was doing well until red-hot fire ran up his veins from his hands and the sword started to glow with a golden light. He’d almost thought this was part of the test, the idea dashed quickly as the Master Sword flashed with bright light, blinding Koroks and hero alike as Lynq cried out with the all-encompassing pain the sword sent through him.

Lynq pulled away fast after that, hissing and clenching his fists to will the feeling away. While his hands weren’t smoking like he had half expected them to, the pain remained, and the bright blue of his markings had darkened to a far more subdued hue. It took a few moments of standing still, trembling, and waiting for the pain to start fading before Lynq dared to breathe again, smelling something only slightly burning.

‘What was THAT?’ His hands shook, barely legible through the jitter of his aching hands.

“Very strange… I’ve only heard of this happening once before.”

‘You weren’t there?’

“The sword’s resting place has changed many times over the ages. I have not been privy to every master the sword chooses, nor their reclamation of the blade. However… the sword is meant to eradicate darkness, and vanquish evil.”

Now, Lynq didn’t read enough to know the majority of history- considering the Twili lived in the planar equivalent to a fishbowl, there wasn’t much history to be had so it was truly incredible that he knew so little- but he did know about one thing.

He knew about the Interlopers, and the dark magic they had wielded long ago.

It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots. The Sols, the spells, the very nature of their being all woven from a clan of sorcerers banished long ago- whether Lynq liked it or not, he was descended of dark magic.

‘I can’t wield it.’

He came all this way for nothing. Koroks popped out of their hiding places and surround him to give reassuring pats, but at this point, he’s just thinking of having to go home and not be able to help out where he can. Kade was going to destroy the portal. Mateja’s going to be so disappointed .

“Now, no need to give up so quickly.”

‘No, I can’t.’ Lynq held out his arm and pulled the sleeve up, revealing the glowing blue marks carved along the dark patches of skin. Despite the glow being far more dull, the blue was still remarkable. ‘I’m half Twili.’

The Koroks around him ooh’d and ah’d at the glow, curious. None of them knew what it was really, but the way the Deku Tree hummed a note of recognition told that he, at least, had once known what these markings meant.

“I suppose, then, you will have to prove yourself inherently good.” He had a twinkle in the eye that Lynq was suspicious about. “I did say you were at the beginning of your journey, did I not? You’d need to go through-”

‘The Temple of Earth.’

“The Temple of Earth, yes. The queen would have told you about that one, amongst others.”

Lynq wondered if that would work. How would the sword know if he finished the temple anyway? The Deku tree only seemed mildly surprised that he couldn't wield it. So, it must be somewhat normal for him to be unable to. Zelda said temple trotting was ‘ tradition’, skimming over the fact that it seemed to have a much more crucial purpose than even she realized. But would overcoming the temples be enough to override his blood?

It was then he really started to notice the acrid smell filling the air and started frantically searching his person. He patted his clothing, lifted, and searched his cloak for any singed trails causing the sudden smoky smell that surrounded him. He was about two seconds away from flopping onto the ground in a stop drop and roll tactic (the only fire-avoiding maneuver he knew), when he heard a fearful cry from a Korok, echoed soon by a chorus.

The little beings trembled like leaves in a harsh wind as they stared up into the sky. Lynq followed their line of sight and saw, forcing its way through the thick canopy of the bright forest, smoke streak across the sky in an ominous haze like blackened rain clouds. But instead of the petrichor of rain filling the air, Lynq coughed from the sudden, heavy stench of ash. He looked through the fade of the forest seeing it not go into a gentle green fog, but starting to taint a deep, angry red.

Chapter 7: Why Isn't This The Fire Temple

Chapter Text

Fire.

One like he had never seen in his life. Even at his current distance from the flames, he could feel the prickle of heat once thought to be from a particularly sunny day starting to peck at his face as he stared at the hungry flames. The moment froze, life in the grove stopping to stare, until the spell was broken by the alarm call of a robin.

Lynq held down the coughs that were rising from the slowly thickening air, that dreadful smell of something burning stinging his lungs. The fairies scattered and winked out of sight while the frantic Koroks trampled past him in waves, leaving as quickly as their little feet could manage. They headed in the opposite direction of the encroaching red light, disappearing into the brush.

The Deku tree was unmoved as he stared out at the flames that infringed on his home.

"You must hurry to the temple, young hero." The Deku Tree said, sounding relatively unbothered by the impending doom of the forest, and himself, that the wildfire promised. “Inside lies an ancient machine that can help you.”

'Where?' Lynq signed out, not even bothering with complete sentences. Thoughts of how to obtain the master sword all but disappeared; if there was something he could do to help, he would.

"Millo will lead you. Now go, quickly!"

He felt quick tugs on the bottom of his pants and looked down to see the one Korok that had remained with him in the clearing.

Millo scampered around the Deku Tree faster even than those that were fleeing. Lynq followed him around behind the tree, as Millo went deeper into the forest that, away from the grove, was spotted with huge boulders and ruined foundations. There, he saw a small stone structure still standing, almost melded into the ground from moss. Millo made an attempt to push the biggest stone out of the way, his feet moving uselessly over the ground as it refused to budge. Lynq took impatient pity on the creature and rolled the stone piece out of the way himself, to reveal a tunnel carved into the soil.

"The temple entrance is through here!" Millo gestured into the dark hole frantically. "Good luck Mr. Hero!" With his task done, he scampered off into the same direction his Korok brethren did, so fast that Lynq couldn't respond even if there was time.

With no hesitation, he threw himself into the tunnel and sprinted down the steep decline with only his Twili markings illuminating the pitch-black space.

At the end of the tunnel, stained with dirt, was a large pair of half-buried doors. He gave one an experimental shove with his shoulder, meeting nothing but resistance. Lynq placed his hand on the door to stabilize himself as he tried to push harder. Lynq paused as the same mark on his hand that had appeared with Zelda glowed, a matching mark appearing on the ancient doorframe. He stepped back as the floor started to vibrate and the pair of doors split and rumbled from the effort to open.

Lynq didn’t even wait for the way into the temple to open all the way before dashing in, ducking smartly to avoid smacking his head along the top of the opening as his feet hit tile. The air that blew from the entrance was, surprisingly, pretty fresh. It was a welcome reprieve from the smoke that was starting to fill the forest above.

Lynq worked his way down the rest of the path, following the twists and turns. He didn’t really pay much attention to where he was going; at least, not until it all opened up and he was faced with a facility that he knew had no business being underground.

It reminded him of the garden room back at the Palace of Twilight, and he scrambled to remember any other name for it since this was much different than the cushioned area that was more for luxurious lounging than actual gardening.

Oh!

He was in a greenhouse.

He wasn’t sure why this greenhouse was underground, and it definitely didn’t appear to have been there at some point. The walls were all made of fine glass set into a metal skeleton, but behind them dirt and moss were packed up all the way to the ceiling. It didn’t seem to be entirely buried, though, as some spots along the ceiling were cleared, letting shallow rays of light in. That certainly didn’t seem to stop the plants, having far overgrown their planters and scattering themselves in every crack of the tile floor and little corners of windows where dirt had collected.

Cutting through the foliage in maze like patterns, large wooden roots kept the larger plants at bay.

Lynq never really was one for plants- that was more his mom’s specialty- but he could tell that what was here definitely shouldn’t have stayed alive long enough to become this unruly with only the dappled light forcing its way into the large cavern. The only significant item that could have been a clue for how the plants keeped this green stood at the opposite end of the greenhouse- a gigantic thing set into the wall, rusted copper pipes reaching into the ceiling, flanked on either side by large, decorative animal wood carvings in different states of destruction. From the floor, the faintest red glowed between the blades of unkept grass that swept away to different parts of the greenhouse.

No question, that was definitely the machine.

Lynq picked up the pace, avoiding tripping on any loose tiles in the floor and avoiding any particularly protruding vines or roots that forced their way out of their original designating containers.

As soon as he got to the machine, he immediately started looking around for some way to turn it on, operate it, anything . The most reachable part was mounted with two long sets of keys, chipped from years of neglect. They were coated in a thick layer of dust, once ivory keys browned with age and, occasionally, a faded or worn marking that designated some function or another that Lynq absolutely could not decipher from symbolism alone.

He pressed one roughly, seeing if anything would happen, but the only response was a faint wheeze from one of the pipes overhead. He furrowed his brow in a bit of frustration and tried another, getting a slightly lower-pitched wheeze from the last pipe on the end in return. At trying one of the marked keys, a deep grinding noise from below accompanied yet another tired, ancient sigh from the organ.

What was he doing wrong?

He backed away from the contraption, pacing around it and leaning over to look around it to find the source of the grinding sound when he noticed features set into the tile. They were relatively shallow cut and crystalline, dark and dull where the surface was scuffed, clearly built into the structure with the machine in mind. Eyes following the red lines spreading from the inset crystals, Lynq saw they led off into four separate areas of the greenhouse. Lynq wiped away some dust from the keys and pressed another, in a futile attempt to get the machine working and the dark crystals to light up in some way, but when it gave another groan in protest he knew it was no use. His best bet was to follow the lines and hope that at the end of them, there would be some way to fix it.

With that in mind, Lynq sprinted away from the machine and picked a way to follow at random. He’d need to be quick; the forest above was counting on him to get this machine working. He didn’t have a moment to lose.

The first line led to a much warmer section of the building, sand escaping through a large set of doors that had long been glued open with copious amounts of well-grown but yellowing moss. Dappled sunlight filtered through amber-toned glass, lightly illuminating the oddly shaped foliage that grew further in the wing, making the large room feel even dryer than it already was. Unlike the leafy greenery of the previous area, many of the plants here were coated in small needles, fewer bearing strange-looking fruit and flowers. Lynq scrunched up his face as he stepped on sand, the texture absolutely abysmal on his feet.

Things got even weirder when he had to stop dead and let a little… thing? Walk past right in front of him, else he would have stepped and squished it. Instinctively he skirted around it- a lifetime of deadly bugs and furious rats will do that to you- but he did grab that double-take when he noticed the glint of rusted metal, and a glowing blue crystal embedded into what would probably equate to its head. It was also, interestingly, carrying quite a lot of water in a jar on its back.

No wonder the plants were still alive despite being down here for so long. Even with the machine down, the greenhouse was still being cared for.

He continued to follow the red streamline as it wound angularly through the desert, disappearing underneath a spilled pile of sand or gravel before appearing again not too far from there. He did occasionally come across more of the little mechanical bugs, with different levels of water and shades of crystal between blue and red.

His guiding line did eventually disappear entirely. Lynq looked around to try and locate where it led to, finding nothing in the immediate vicinity. It was when he looked up that he saw it wound around one of the metal columns holding the ceiling up, and connected to where a large, deep blue crystal was hanging from the ceiling. How was he supposed to get up there?

There weren’t any substantial shadows to swim through, what with the crystal glowing as brightly as it was.

The column was sleek and smooth, but that didn’t stop him from attempting to scramble up the side.

All acrobatics were worth double-checking.

Lynq managed to get a couple feet up the column while repeating ‘sticky hands’ in his head to somehow summon fate to his aid. Hope came when he managed to stick for a few seconds, but was quickly dashed as he slid right back to the ground. He puffed his cheeks out in frustration- now he had to think.

Normally he had Mateja around to do any of the heavy brain work, but he didn’t have the time or surface area to meticulously describe every detail of the head-scratcher before him to the prince over the speech stone.

Lynq was on his own and he had a time limit to deal with. He gave the column another look, trying to unlock the secrets this puzzle held when he noticed a slight gap between the line leading to the gem, and a small glow to the part the jewel connected to. It had likely broken over the years the greenhouse stayed relatively abandoned, if he could find a way to fill it completely would that fix it?

Lynq kneeled down to get a better look at the line on the floor; was it metal?

He gave it a lick. Oh yeah, definitely metal.

He pulled out one of the metal tipped arrows Zelda had given him, along with tugging off the matching bow. He wasn’t a perfect shot but if he made it, maybe it’d be able to fill the gap?

Lynq decided he had nothing else to lose and notched an arrow aimed at the little broken slot, sticking his tongue out as he aimed.

An arrow whistled through the air and lodged itself into the gap with a satisfying thunk within seconds of him releasing it. So long as you ignored the arrows scattered around the pole, then it counted as a first try.

With the metal in place, he jumped as a loud and unexpected pop accompanied the wood of the arrow exploding. He watched in anticipation, hoping that he didn’t have to try and get that target again. His hopes were founded as the flint stayed in place, allowing the cool blue glow of the crystal to flow back down the rest of the line from whence he came- back towards the organ.

Lynq ran after the illuminated line to see it reach the machine, one of the black crystals flickering then blinking on to blue. The one solution didn’t prove to be universal, though, as the two others still stayed dark. He stayed for a moment to watch, to make sure nothing actually changed, but saw nothing. Not even a sound from the machine.

Lynq didn’t give himself the time to find the thought of hunting down all three broken sources tedious, instead turning tail and following the rightmost red trail to the opposite section as the desert.

Where the last wing had been arid and the doors open, this one instead had the entrance firmly shut.

He pried the glass doors of this wing wide open, thinking it best to rush through, but instead was hit by a wall of heat and humidity. He could feel all the air getting sucked out of him just by looking at this place, it was so humid.

Lynq pulled aside the vine curtain obstructing most of the doorway and braved the wet anyway. This part of the greenhouse was the complete opposite of the last one- large, green plants practically growing on top of each other towered overhead, some even bending over from having hit the ceiling in their quest for light. This one had a much richer soundscape, deafening compared to the rustling silence found in the rest of the compound. Water dripping, leaves rustling, a humming drone Lynq couldn’t place and had no hope in identifying.

He didn’t pay as much attention to his dampened surroundings this time, finding the way less immediately stabby and dangerous. Nonetheless, as he wandered deeper and the plant cover grew thicker, he could only watch hopelessly as this red line disappeared under layers of dirt and moss. The only glow he could see from it was already behind him.

Still, Lynq trusted in his sense of direction, and pressed on.

It took a few minutes of manic adventuring, and a couple turns in the dim light under the capped canopy, but he did eventually come to the realization that yes, he was lost.

The wing couldn’t have been that big. If he just kept going, he’d find his way through eventually. It wasn’t like anything was there to stop him.

This was, of course, when something hit his face with a little thwap and jingle sound.

Lynq swatted haphazardly around his face and watched the offending critter get slapped away. The bug was about the size of his palm, the tinkling sound it made when it moved coming from the little silver bars that dangled from its body like tiny legs. As it shook itself off from the hit, there was the same melody of the chimes hitting each other and a little puff of pollen. The little fly zoomed off before there could be much more made of it, its little buzz fading off.

Lynq only walked a few more steps when he heard an array of tinkling chimes quickly getting louder, and coming for him .

He turned to face the unfortunate crescendo, already knowing that what he had done was a mistake and he should feel bad about it. The little fly had returned with the rest of the swarm with vengeance on the mind, their tiny silver bodies sparkled and from this distance looked like a twisting body of glitter. If they weren’t gathering in revenge, he might have admired the display.

Lynq turned and ran, pushing away large leaves and branches that considerably slowed his pace. When that wasn’t fast enough and the drone got steadily louder, he slashed away at the plants to cut his way through instead. While it proved more efficient, and he lasted a few more paces, it didn’t stop those things from catching up to him.

They crowded around him, the pollen on their bodies making his eyes water and a sneeze come on. What felt like tiny little hooks latched onto him, scratching and tugging and pinching at what exposed skin he had. He tried to swipe them away again, but nothing came of it- the cloud didn’t dissipate.

Lynq squeezed his eyes tightly shut- it wasn’t like he could see anything anyway with his much they were watering- and backed away, giving himself just a couple paces between himself and the swarm. With blade at the ready from acting as a makeshift machete, he took a few experimental swipes. When he could feel and hear the plink of it hitting their little metal bodies Lynq continued to swipe at the area in front of him with abandon, form disregarded entirely.

The tinkling of some of the chime flies hitting the ground drowned out the sound of any remaining ones flying off, dissuaded from the scene by most of the swarm now being gone. Lynq finally sneezed as he managed to breathe in some more of the pollen cloud that had billowed up.

He spun around, rubbing at his nose and gathering what little bearings he had, squinting through the brush to see any hint of red anywhere ahead of him through the tears in his eyes. It took a few seconds of rather thorough squinting, to be sure, but eventually saw that one direction was just slightly more crimson than anywhere else, reflected off the water gathered on the surface of the giant-leafed plants.

Turns out, it was much easier to slash his way through the jungle brush without being pursued. It didn’t take long at all for him to make it through the most dense part of the wing, cutting his way out of the thicket and into a relative clearing. Lynq wiped off the sap from his sword on his pant leg and carefully sheathed the blade, looking ahead to where the red line reappeared- just feet away from the next blue crystal set into the ceiling.

At first glance, he couldn’t tell what was wrong. Along the surface, a few of the chime flies were perched and unmoving. None of them had the same blue crystal that he assumed signaled power- all were the same shade of red.

He was going to regret this, wasn’t he?

He aimed an arrow at the same little slot as the last broken crystal, assuming it would be the same general problem as the last one.

His intuition proved correct. The crystal flickered as power to the line was restored, glowing in turn.

The chime bugs, also, lit up blue as the crystal’s power flowed again. Lynq reached for his sword, ready for another squabble, but was surprised when they simply flew off to service the greenhouse. Had they just… been out of power?

The journey back to the entrance of the wing proved much faster than the way in, the blue brighter and easier to see amongst the green foliage. Lynq didn’t come across anything going after him on the way back, but did notice that the drone sound here in the jungle wing was louder, with more chiming to match. At least the blue calmed those things down.

Lynq made sure to close the wing back up behind him as he entered back into the realm of cool air. He took a moment just to stand there, clearing out his sinuses acclimating back into a world that was far more reasonable in humidity and oxygen. No way he’d ever go someplace that wet again.

He spared a glance towards the organ- two crystals down, one to go- and swerved sharply left, to the last wing of the temple’s three that still had a red line going to it. Most of the roots were leading here as well, an ominous sign that Lynq hadn’t registered when entering the temple but figured wasn’t very good on second thought.

Unlike the other two directions in the greenhouse, this one wasn’t sealed away by a door or any other obvious obstacle. No, this way was open entirely to the rest of the building. The only sign that this was a different area was the growing difference in the plants, from a mixmatch of moderate climate plants to a forest more matching the area that lay above the compound. Throughout it, a labyrinthian maze was constructed of the intertwining tree roots that reached both from above and from the aged trees around, pink with flowers that seemed awfully out of season.

Lynq continued through all of this, thankful that nothing major was keeping him from just following the last red line and finding the remaining crystal that kept the machine from working. This place was surprisingly peaceful compared to the other two sections.

He trusted that this wasn’t something to worry about, it would be fine.

The path came to an abrupt stop- far more abrupt than the previous two sections- with the line leading right to its own crystal. The roots ended here, many coming together and sourcing from one surprisingly small pot, considering the size they eventually became, set right under the crystal. Lynq didn’t have to look hard to see what the problem was with this one.

The connection seemed fine- some amount of blue was making it about a foot down the line, before fading out and being won over by red. The crystal itself was a deep purple, half powered, but in of itself that wasn’t the issue.

It was absolutely covered in mechanical creatures.

Some chime flies, some water bugs, and a few other kinds that he hadn’t even seen the whole time of him being here. While none of them immediately jumped him for interrupting their coveted crystal time, Lynq was sure that this was the problem. They must have been sucking all the power out of what had been the last functional one.

That wasn’t too bad. A simple solution for a simple problem.

Lynq sheathed his sword and, instead of hurting any of them, shooed them off the surface of the crystal. Disturbed from their charging nap, the little automatons flashed blue and scattered under his hand. As the orchestra’s worth of instrumentation fled the area and got back to work, the crystal slowly faded back to a bright and brilliant blue.

In the distance behind him, Lynq heard a low-pitched bellow and a croak.

Was that all he had to do? No real fighting, no nothing? Lynq smirked. He was living on easy street, this was too easy. That machine would get going and everything up top would be fixed in no time. Right on time, too- he was starting to smell smoke down here.

He didn’t dare dawdle, turning and dashing back to try working those keys again. Leaping over entangled roots and avoiding stepping on any mechanical creatures that were getting back to work.

As he got within hearing distance of the machine he could catch it’s sounds, faint whistles and air and something deep underground gaining traction as the grinding noises lessened with every rotation. Lynq ran faster, not willing to waste another second-

Only to stumble and trip when a loud crack resounded in the area. The entire building shook with it, the leaves of the greenery that surrounded him trembling as dust fell from the ceiling. A low groaning sound, like a branch about to snap, could be heard nearby as Lynq moved towards the source, picking up speed as the initial tremors died down.

He turned the corner just in time to skid to a stop and see the source of the strange sounds and tremors; a huge, awakening creature.

It was completely made out of wood with triangular ridges going down its spine. At one point, it may have been fully painted, if the faded and scratched designs were anything to go by. Time had long done away with the nice finish, the wood now dull with age and having the start of plants growing out of it.

Lynq watched as the wooden creature began to rip its rooted paws out of the ground to reveal massive claws, far sharper than wood had any right to be. It was gigantic, twice his height and at least quadruple his size in length. And that was disregarding the creature's long, club-like tail that swished back and forth in aggravation.

Its three blue crystal eyes flickered and glowed with life as the beast gave a ferocious roar that shook the building and showed off its fang-filled maw, snarling at Lynq.

Lynq tried to run past; he definitely didn’t have time to deal with this.

The creature didn’t give him the chance, ramming Lynq in the side to take him down before he could go much further.

He tumbled a few meters, completely unprepared for the blow. His ribs seared with pain as he scrambled to his feet, clutching his heavily bruised side. The thing- wolverine?- paced around him, baring its teeth and growling at him. He recognized it immediately; one of the wooden statues that had framed the organ, except this time it was far more lively and glowing with matching crystals.

Lynq reached for his sword, keeping eye contact as the wolverine watched his every move. It bristled at the unsheathed blade, raising its tail. Lynq braced as it ran the club-like tail over its ridged spine, making the same croaking noise as before but in a somehow far more menacing tone when bellowed right in front of him.

He took it as the warning it was. As soon as the wolverine finished its woody croak it charged, bounding towards him with the regular tic of wooden claws against the stone floor. Lynq knew he wouldn’t be able to roll out of the way in time- he had to have a different strategy than just going for it.

He waited for the wolverine to leap, the goal to pounce and pin him down. Instead, it landed on nothing as he took the split second chance he had and melted into the mass of shadow the creature cast. He didn’t sit around as the wolverine looked around in confusion, though- Lynq leapt out behind it, just managing to swipe at its side before it could turn and try to get him again.

He wasn’t really sure what to expect, but only managing a small gash and getting his sword stuck in its hide was not it. Lynq pulled back on the blade, thinking it would at least dislodge, but instead a nasty burst of pain went up his side from where he had been rammed. He didn’t have time to pay attention to it, though, as the wolverine was already rounding on him again and taking a swipe with its sharp claws. He had barely managed his spell in time as he just avoided the claws that reached for him, swiped when he was already gone.

Each time he resurfaced to the light- a seal out of the ocean, really- he managed another few splinters of attack before it turned after him again. None of the gashes were really doing anything. This entire creature was made of wood , but there had to be a weak point somewhere.

It was only a matter of time before his timing was off.

The wolverine, evidently, was tired of the game, and Lynq a little too stuck a little too long trying to pull his blade free of the wooden hide. When he tried to sink again, it caught him, taking all his breath with it as it dragged him back out of the shadow he was already halfway in. This surprised Lynq more than it hurt- luckily it had only grabbed him by clothing- but it made a dangerous opening he wasn’t ready to defend. It tossed him aside, getting a good landing right on that sore spot.

He heard the click, click of those wooden claws come closer, taking only a few seconds to realize he could tap along. He turned to look how far the wolverine was, and saw three bright, glowing eyes glowering at him from its face.

There was a rhythm, and there was a target.

The creature’s repetition became his guide as Lynq dove in and out of shadow with renewed purpose, defense and offense dictated by an internal rhythm lead with the wolverine’s movements. He slashed, it struck, he hid again.

Lynq found his chance again. The wolverine was, after a couple back and forths, pretty predictable. He waited for his chance to strike and took it, trading out his sword for the bow strapped across his chest, popping up from the beast’s shadow in front of its face where it had expected him to show up behind again. Jumping back to avoid another timely swipe, Lynq nocked an arrow and struck out the leftmost eye.

In such a point-blank range, there was no chance he would miss, but nonetheless he was surprised that it actually hit. Shards of blue crystal shattered and scattered across the floor, going red then dimming to black before hitting the floor. The wolverine screeched, cupping the now empty socket left as a gaping wound.

Lynq was halfway through a premature celebration when it turned and hit him square in the shoulder with the end of its much longer range tail.

Again he went sprawling, this time a few feet. With an eye missing the beast kept its face away, watching with peripherals as Lynq got back up and tried to aim again for another eye. He jumped back as it swung with its tail again, slamming into the floor and splintering the tiling.

He kept out of range of that tail as he tried again to get a good shot at another one of the wolverine’s eyes, following the internal rhythm as he avoided swings from the heavy mace.

He thought he finally had a good shot when, as the beat hit again, it lashed out and snagged him by the pant leg. Lynq couldn’t find purchase to hold himself back as the wolverine dragged him closer, raising that tail again. Before it could slam it down, Lynq snatched his sword from its place and stabbed the rightmost eye.

It splintered as Lynq pressed the blade in as hard as he could, flickering between red and blue before finally going dark. He scrambled away as the wolverine let go to scratch and rub at its face, growling as the splintered pieces of the dead crystal fell to the ground.

Lynq was about to take advantage of his proximity and the pause to try and break the last eye, but was beaten to it as the wolverine skipped all propriety, took a stance, and bellowed at him. He could feel it moving him, and was sure that if he had been standing it would have knocked him off his feet. He had just enough contact with the wolverine’s cast shadow to pull himself into it again as it swerved and slammed the macelike tail down on the spot he just was.

He couldn’t stay this close for long. The wolverine kept spinning around, leaving the strikes Lynq attempted only to keep slicing against the wood. With only one more eye left, he had to take the risk- the smoke smell was getting stronger by the minute.

Lynq rolled out of the way of the tail only to be swiped at by the creature's massive claws. He narrowly avoided them as he sunk into the shadows, feeling air blow across his face as he dodged the attack, and moved through the shadows to the other side of the wolverine.

Without a thought he leaped out, using his momentum to stab the beast in the side and haul himself up by the lodged sword onto its back while it roared.

The wolverine jerked from side to side to throw Lynq off of its back while Lynq both tried to pull the sword free and cling to it for dear life during its rapid movement.

With a final yank, Lynq ripped the sword out of the creature's side, splinters flying as it howled. It smacked its tail on the ground, and Lynq saw the shadow before he saw the tail as it rose.

Lynq scrambled further up the beast's back, holding onto its back spines as leverage as its tail slammed into its own back.

The creature, stunned by its self-inflicted attack, stilled for a moment as it moaned. This was his chance, Lynq sprinted up its back and used its spines as a springboard to jump, the sword held high above his head into a downward stab and straight through the wolverine's final eye.

The eye dimmed, its broken fragments falling as the creature gave a final roar before slumping to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Lynq held onto the sword and waited for a moment to see if there was any more movement. With none in sight he carefully removed the sword and sheathed it, panting as he looked upon the fallen wolverine.

He wiped sweat off his brow and took deep, smoke filled breaths, and remembered he had no time to rest. He scrambled down the side of the wooden body and booked it back to the apse that housed the machine. It didn’t matter that he couldn’t catch his breath; time was up.

He could feel the rumble of something working deep underground. Where before the marked keys of the organ were dim, some were lit up the same shade of blue as the crystals Lynq had activated. He pressed one, and nearly jumped out of his skin as one of the pipes overhead droned a clear low note. He hesitated in pressing another, and a few more, random notes through the pipes that made the machine underneath him rumble along with the area getting just a hint brighter, and a draft of wind whisper along his hair.

The Deku Tree said that this machine could help, but what could Lynq even do with it? Unless he was mistaken, it was probably only rigged to the greenhouse. It couldn’t do anything to the outside, unless there was something significant he could do to extinguish the fires.

Lynq tested one of the keys that glowed a stronger blue, hearing the bright note just the moment before he felt a few drops hit his hair from… somewhere. He glanced up, only to see some of the same milky fog that permeated the rest of the building. He pressed a couple more of the bright notes and watched as the cloud condensed, just a little, and some more drops of water fell on him, but nothing else.

Some of these notes were familiar, catching at something in Lynq’s ear as he repeated them again to the same result. This was familiar, this order of notes that the machine was pointing out. He wiped some water droplets off his forehead, trying to remember why he recognized it-

He pressed the first note again, and a memory dredged up. Sitting on his mother’s lap as she brushed his hair, listening as his father whistled a tune. Asking, with uncoordinated hands, what it was.

“A song from a long time ago.” Haidar had smiled. “An old friend taught it to me.”

Lynq closed his eyes as he listened to the memory, bringing up all he could about what notes were involved.

He traced over the glowing keys, experimentally pressing a few to see what note coordinated with what. As he got a feel for which was where, he whistled along as he played the Song of Storms.

From underneath, the churning of the machine grew in intensity at a proper tune. The few drops that fell from the ceiling became many, then hundreds, as Lynq continued to play.

He jumped as a deep, thunderous roar from the sky shook the walls, and the sound of glass shattering quickly followed by the cascade of said glass falling to the ground. At nearly halfway through the song there was no sign of resistance from the ancient machine; It ran as if brand new.

As the song ran its course and Lynq played the last notes, the machine didn’t stop along with it. It continued to run, taken in by the completed song. As it ran, something happened within the housing Lynq faced. Something clicked , possibly triggered by the song, and a small panel in the center of the keyboard opened up. A few other gears ran, and the prize was presented:

A perfectly round, beautiful orb, shining in the heavy rain. Almost set within the smoothed surface instead of part of it, marbling of all different shades of greens and oranges seemed to go further and further without end. Lynq watched for a moment, waiting for anything else to happen, but no; it was offered with no further requirement.

He took it gingerly, almost needing two hands for the size of it. Surprisingly, despite being wet, it wasn’t slippery. He could hold it with ease.

With his newly acquired prize Lynq wiped his face off from the rain, surprised as it dripped off his hair. There was never rain like this in the Twili Realm; any water was precious. This much in one place…

The smell of smoke was dissipated from the air as the rain fell. As Lynq took leave of the machine’s keyboard, figuring his job was done, he wasn’t surprised to see that the shattered glass was indeed from the ceiling, and that the clouds and rain generated from the machine working flowing out to the forest above. He didn’t flinch as there was a flash from outside, not long followed by thunder that jittered the greenhouse glass in its frames.

He took the long way around the sea of shattered glass, avoiding the sharp edges that glinted in the blue light of crystal power. Stepping over tangled roots and little mechanical insects that rejoiced in the water.

Lynq didn’t look back as he pulled open the door that led him in, and returned through the tunnel he had arrived through.

The sound of the storm above only got stronger as he went back to the forest level, feeling the bass of thunder rumble in his chest. He clutched his orb close, lacking any pockets at the moment large enough to hold it instead. He could feel its importance.

His pace quickened as he saw the entrance ahead, light dimmed from the heavy rainfall he could spy.

Lynq released a breath he didn’t realize he was holding as he entered back into the empty forest. He arrived with no one in sight, in pain, and only the applause of rain serving as his congratulations.

Chapter 8: Spilling The Tea Over The Equivalent To Two Cups and Some String

Chapter Text

The storm was quick to retreat from thunder and lighting as the initial power of the song faded, replacing the thick smoky air with the smell of petrichor. The curtains of rain were thick enough to make it difficult to see far into the forest and Lynq, absolutely soaked and squinting through the haze, trudged through the muddy dirt as quickly as the slippery ground would allow and ignored how terrible the muck felt in between his toes. He needed to see if he made it in time. He gripped onto the stone in his hands tighter and ran back to the Deku Tree’s clearing, pushing himself to go faster despite his exhaustion. A heavy weight of dread grew in his stomach the longer he ran without any koroks or fairies in sight; their absence was all the more prominent when compared to the lively forest from before.

He squinted through the pouring rain and tried to see if there was any forest left or if it was just the burnt remains.

“You’ve returned.”

Lynq spun around at the sound of the rumbling voice and stumbled towards it, almost tripping over the bowed heads of flowers around the hazy silhouette of the Master Sword. ‘Is everyone okay?’

“Yes, the fire didn’t reach our home.” The Deku Tree came into Lynq’s range of sight, a mere vague shape in the downpour. “Though that was cutting it quite close, young hero.”

The relief Lynq felt at the Deku Tree’s words was immense, his tense shoulders finally slumped as he came closer towards the large and thankfully unscathed tree.

Lynq moved the stone to the crook of his arm to sign more easily, ‘Sorry. Had to fight, went as fast as I could.’

The Deku tree hummed, taking in Lynq’s battered appearance. “You must have faced the guardians of the temple. They are meant to protect from intruders, but it seems you were caught in their purpose. They are powerful creatures, you did well to defeat them as you did.”

Them? Lynq thought to himself, there were normally more than one? He held his battered and bruised side with his free hand and winced. He was lucky only one of them woke up, who knows what kind of state the forest would be in if he had to fight multiple.

Decidedly moving away from that thought, he motioned toward the stone in his hand and held it up for the tree to see.

“Ah, now that is a sight. You’ve obtained the Earth’s Eye. That will serve you well in your journey.”

Lynq pulled the stone back down, tucking it away. ‘What does it do?’

“Hmm? Nothing on its own, perhaps it would make a troublesome paperweight.” The Deku chuckled at Lynq’s disgruntled face, “Its importance is only relevant once you have acquired its sister stones. It would be wise to keep it with you on your journey.”

As Lynq struggled to try and see how in the Sols he would be able to keep this thing on him at all times, the Deku tree looked over the tree tops. While the closest of the forest was in fine condition, the damage was still close. A blackened wound left on the ancient forest.

“Take caution, young hero.” Lynq looked up from his stone fumblings and back at the tree. “This was no ordinary fire, I have no doubt it was caused by malicious intent. I think it’s no coincidence that you were here when it started.”

With the fire gone, the rain began to dwindle from the intense pour to a moderate shower. Lynq, with his ability to see more than a couple feet in front of himself restored, gestured to the Master Sword a bit behind him. ‘Should I try again?’

The Deku Tree gave him a good look, “I think not. You will want to be at your full strength before you make another attempt.”

Lynq looked back at the rusted old sword again. The entire purpose of him coming here was to retrieve it, could he really go back empty handed?

“Don’t worry about the blade. I’ve watched over it for the last few centuries, I’m sure it can wait a bit longer while you prepare to wield it. You can return once you are ready.”

Lynq nodded and, with nothing left to do in the grove, went to leave, his victory feeling hollow without the numerous Koroks filling the area with their excited chatter.

It was easy enough to tell when he left the grove when instead of having to dive back under a bramble patch, he stepped into the mists and onto ash.

The eerie quiet was haunting. Childish laughter and bells that had once accompanied him in his journey earlier were now distinctly absent. This left the forest feeling even more desolate, and him to wonder if whatever had been following him made it out before the fire razed through.

As he breached further into the wood, he could see the damage left from the fire. Even through the dense fog, Lynq could see the charred remains of what was once a thick forest. Large trees were now just blackened stumps, much like pikes pointing towards the sky as a warning.

It was weird, that the fire had gotten this bad when he had only just gone through here. He hadn’t even seen anyone that could have lit it.

In just as unfamiliar an area as the rest, something embedded in the ashen covered ground proved to be the first pop of color he’d seen since re-entering the lost part of the woods. He nudged the object with his foot and leaned down to pick it up, cinders drifting off the surface as he did so. It appeared to be a mask, the ceramic cracked and slightly singed but in relatively good condition compared to the forest surrounding it. He hadn’t seen the owner, but stashed the mask alongside the Eye for safekeeping nonetheless- maybe Zelda could tell him more about it. The laughing thing probably dropped it, the queen would know how he could give it back.

Perhaps the remainder of the forest could tell his intent to leave; his journey back out was much quicker than his way in, and didn’t involve any shadow jumping to do so. The absolute silence was no small factor either in quickening Lynq’s pace out of there.

The moment he started recognizing landmarks was when he realized he was out, the forest opening back up and the mist releasing him to the world. Lynq looked over his shoulder as he left. He’d be back.

Cairo was found not far away, lured closer by the farthest-reaching note Lynq could whistle across the plain. She was relatively dry compared to Lynq who was absolutely soaked- the heaviest of the storm probably only ranged over the wood and no further, but nonetheless drops fell from sky even out here. He checked her over to make sure she was okay, finding nothing but a little mud on her hooves and some of her mane tangled up in a leafy stick.

After taking the stick out and dusting the mud off, Lynq looked for somewhere to keep the Earth orb. He snatched a mealy apple from one knapsack, storing the Eye and the ruined mask in another together. He was sure they’d be alright, neither seemed like they would be pulverized into dust too easily.

Lynq scrambled up Cairo’s side to perch, still delighted to have a mount. As the adrenaline of having his life in danger wore off and the sensation of the storm’s windy chill returned, Lynq noticed his own shivering. While his mom’s cloak was comfortable, the long-sleevedness of it proved to be useless. Typical to Twili fashion, the thick fabric was highly decorated but wouldn’t keep a cold boy warm when wet.

This definitely can’t be good for his health.

Clicking for Cairo to head off only made him colder, the wind cutting right through the soaked cloth. Lynq clenched his teeth and figured he’d deal with it; getting out of the rain and making camp was priority number one.

He wasn’t sure where he had taken a wrong turn, but it turned out where he was going was not the same place he had taken the other way. Nothing was familiar. Lynq was about to give up and pull out Zelda’s map to see if he could spy where he was, but as Cairo rounded a hill he paused. There was a building… with a horse head?

It was weird, but Lynq wasn’t above strange. It was better than nothing for some shelter, and judging by the cloud of smoke forcing its way through the rain, they had a fire to keep warm. He pulled his hood up to hide the Twili marks on his ears- if the guards at the castle were anything to go by, people freaked out at both teenagers and glowing marks. He only had the energy to deal with one of them.

The tune of someone playing music floated through the rain as Lynq approached, chatter and bustle not long after. He paused as he passed by more horses, covered in their shelter from the rain and a stable boy- the stable boy?- brushing their manes out and setting hay out for the evening. The fire he had seen was just in front, covered with the same tent and lit in a small stone pit, with nothing hanging from the iron tripod above it.

“Ah, hello there traveler! Quite a storm out there!” Lynq looked to where a man was calling, leaning out of a portion of the building and waving him down. “Here to stay for the night?”

Well, he might as well.

Lynq hopped off Cairo and led her over with a gentle tug to her mane, figuring he would have otherwise been too high up to really talk to the guy. The man sat there patiently, seemingly unbothered by a mysterious boy coming in on a gigantic horse.

The man whistled as he looked Cairo up and down, “That is by far the largest horse I’ve seen here in quite awhile! Did you catch her recently?” He gestured to her lack of reins or saddle, “I can set you up with the necessary equipment, if you want? It’s part of our first time boarding fee!”

Lynq had no idea what this “fee” entailed, but he did know that he under no circ*mstances wanted a saddle on Cairo. ‘No thanks, I was just hoping to dry off.’

The man watched his moving hands with furrowed brows and there was a long silence.

Lynq repeated himself slower in case he didn’t see, and could see when a figurative light went off behind his eyes,

“Uh… You wouldn’t happen to be able to speak at all… would you?”

Lynq shook his head and heard a mumbled shoot leave the man’s mouth as he looked around.

The man pointed at Lynq, “Wait here, I’ll be right back.”

From there Lynq watched as the man went to every single person currently at the stable, mumbling something, gesturing towards Lynq, and looking more distraught with each answer he received.

He trudged back over to Lynq, defeated. “Bad news, kid. Nobody here really understands sign.” The man rubbed the back of his head sighing, “I couldn’t even find someone with some paper, then you could at least write something.”

He glanced at Lynq hopefully, “Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have…”

Lynq shook his head, crushing the man’s dreams before he could even finish his sentence. Though it probably wouldn’t have mattered if there was paper. While sign and speaking seemed to (miraculously) be the same in the Twili Realm and Hyrule, the written language was definitely different. Lynq could read Hylian, sure, but that was with the expertise of a second-generation bilingual that had only ever needed to read one language; it took him a while. He didn’t even try to think about how long it would take him to write.

“I’ll uh, try to make sure to keep it mostly things you can respond yes or no to then.”

Lynq gave a thumbs up in response.

“You don’t want any gear for your horse?” Lynq shook his head no. “Would you like to rent out a bed for the night?” No.

The stable master chewed on his lip and looked up at the sky. It wouldn’t be very nice to just leave the kid out to be wet.

“The good news is we have some extra space with the horses, and it’s unlikely anyone else will be coming in this late. I’m sure yours could squeeze in.” he smiled and gave a conspiratorial wink. “In this sort of weather, I won’t make a horse pay any rupees. And using the fire doesn’t charge, either. Sound good?”

Lynq didn’t get a word in edgewise to ask what a ru-pea was, but ‘free’ seemed like a good deal to him. He nodded and let the stable boy lead Cairo off to some shelter, following close behind.

Lynq didn’t waste any time after making sure Cairo was safe in her stall, quickly making his way back to the fire.

The tarp it was protected by was a mish-mash of different colorful pieces, haphazardly sewn together to create a tarp thick enough to keep the rain out so long as the wind didn't pick up. The fire underneath was safely kept, crackling softly with warmth and without concern of it growing beyond management with the carefully-constructed fire pit around the flames.

And, to the drenched and freezing Lynq, it was the perfect shelter for the night.

He made his way to the tarp, looked both ways for onlookers before pulling his hood down, and made quick work of untying his still soaked hair. He sighed in relief once it was released, the strain from the wet ponytail finally gone, and squeezed out as much water as possible. He gingerly combed through his hair with his hands, letting it dry by the warmth of the fire.

The first layer of his cloak was the next to go, wrung out and draped over one of the seats closest to the fire. He unclasped the next layer and did the same, peeling the long sleeves off and finally having the chance to look over his side.

A deep, purple-yellow bruise was the evidence of his soreness on the pale portion of his torso. Where it spread into the dark blue, the color turned almost black. There weren’t any bones sticking out or anything, so he was probably fine. He didn’t know any healing spells to help with the tenderness though- Mateja had said they were ‘too complicated for an average magician’, like Lynq was paying attention- so he’d have to let it be and heal on its own until he got back.

Thinking of Mateja, he hadn’t checked the speech stone this entire time, had he? Lynq looked to where he put it down to remove his poncho, sitting there with no indication of having received any transmission. He hadn’t bothered to cast the spell the prince had taught him to check to see if anything had come through. Everyone back home was probably pretty worried about him.

He plucked the stone and turned it around in his hand as he remembered the spell.

The grooves and engravings along it started to light up as he silently filled it with magic, the bright blue matching the shade of his markings. This all seemed pretty in line with what Mateja had taught him in the palace library. What was different, though, was the empty half of the stone; scored into the side was now a message, no doubt left by the prince judging by the handwriting:

“Let me know when you get this! Good luck!”

Lynq couldn’t help but laugh a little. Mateja had probably sent it mere minutes after he headed out from the Twili Realm days ago; that’s just how he was.

The return message was as natural as conversation; Lynq swept off Mateja’s words just how he was shown, and put his own, manifesting his message to be sent from one world to another.

‘ Got it. I think your luck helped.’

The answer was near-instantaneous, writing clashing over each other with inscribed vigor. The prince had probably been waiting.

“What was the delay? Hero stuff?”

‘It was absolutely hero stuff. I know how to use a bow now.’ Lynq leaned against one of the posts, wincing as his side protested the move. ‘You don’t happen to have some non-speaking healing spells on the mind, do you?’

“Not that I can teach over a stone. Are you hurt?”

Lynq hesitated in answering one moment too long.

“You’re hurt. You’re probably dying, it’s delayed Hyrule exposure or- actually, knowing you it was probably from some kind of weird plant. Did you eat a mushroom?”

‘If only. Got banged up a bit in a fight, but I’ll be able to last until home to get it fixed.’ The addition of ‘by you’, Lynq avoided. ‘I’ll tell you more when I get back. How’s my parents?’

“Rajiya’s more relaxed than I’ve ever seen her.” She did say she was looking forward to a vacation from him, didn’t she? “Practically lounging when she isn’t working in the palace gardens. Haidar’s been on post around there more lately, my mom’s switching between putting him to watch over the portal area or as far from the palace as possible. He looks worried.”

‘That tracks. Next time you see them, pass on that I love them.’

“Anything else?”

‘I miss them.’ Lynq wasn’t embarrassed to admit it.

“And?”

‘There doesn’t always have to be a third thing.’

“There’s always a third thing! I know you better than that.”

‘I miss you, too.’

Judging from the pause after that, Lynq figured that got a good smile out of his friend. He sat down and leaned against some seating around the fire, watching his stone with a smile and pushing down the stab of homesickness that unexpectedly rose up. He’d talk for only a little longer while he dried off, then go get some food beyond a single apple from one of the knapsacks Cairo still had on her and figure out where they were to get back to the castle. Zelda, no doubt, was waiting for his return.

At least, that was the plan. Instead, Lynq found himself talking to Mateja deep into the night, not even noticing the chill be seeped away by the warmth of the fire.

Chapter 9: Home is Where The Live Laugh Love Sign Is

Chapter Text

Your Royal Highness Queen Minaudiere,

I hope this message finds you well.

In succession with past letters, I write again with a call for aid. Hytopia and Hyrule, as long-standing allies, have long kept a strong relationship that, while tested, has not fallen. As Hyrule has helped your people in the past, I ask you to help mine. I regret not being able to deliver this myself but, despite the cancelation of the Skyloft Festival, recent events have henceforth held me preoccupied. Much has happened, and most I don’t dare put to writing.

To be brief, fate’s strings are being pulled once again, but I cannot face them alone.

All precedent aside, I’m worried for you Mina. It’s quite unlike you to not respond to a letter; I hope you’re doing well, and this is simply a case of being busy instead of something being wrong. With that in mind, I ask you to respond with urgency.

Your Friend,

Queen Zelda of Hyrule

Zelda was just stamping the letter with a wax seal- her personal one, marked with a flower instead of the royal crest- as a commotion rose from outside her window, out on the murky castle grounds below. She placed the stamp back in its place, and stood to investigate.

Ever since the plume of smoke from the Lost Woods had been spotted just a few days prior, everyone had been on edge. Zelda had been spending the last few days consulting with villages around the area, making sure that the fire hadn’t spread to where any of her people resided. While she made no mention of the Koroks that lived in the woods or the boy she had sent in there, she still found the time to worry and fret. Even if most heroes eventually succeeded, she couldn’t imagine the blow of having sent him to his death, and what would happen when a people as powerful as the Twili found out one of their own had been lost while under her command. Not to mention the sharp uptick in Yiga attacks since the fire began…

Zelda rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming.

She was this close to going to the woods herself, knowing she was one of the few that could see the magical creatures that lived therein, when the storm started.

Over the last few days, the steady rain had assured her that the flames had died down. Aloise had reported that a majority of the forest still stood, as far as travelers and villagers could see. There had been nothing about a strange boy leaving the woods.

The churning sound of the gates opening could be heard over the steady downpour as the guards announced the hero’s return, their calls echoing through the halls. Zelda made quick work of putting her writing tools back in their case and snatching her letter up, to be given to Aloise later for delivery; Hytopia could wait a little longer.

It was a wonder that the castle attendants were able to dash out of the way quickly enough as Zelda rushed through the castle, aiming to meet Lynq at the courtyard. A few knights scrambled after her to keep pace, their armor clanking in their haste.

In the middle light of the overcast dusk, Lynq’s blue glow was the first thing she saw. Like a firefly, he attracted curious eyes. The castle once again ready to run its mouth with gossip. Zelda was no less imbued with curiosity, ready to hear of his trip and the events surrounding it. Her first impression she got seeing the boy was that he looked terrible.

Tired? Absolutely. Beat up? She could easily spy the discolor on his one side.

Nonetheless, she was glad to see him alive.

“Welcome back.” She forced herself to be calm, despite the pressing questions that she knew would have to be asked in time. “I’ll hazard that this-” she held a hand out to catch some of the rain, “-Is from you?”

“Mmhmm.” Lynq hummed a confirmation. ‘It was part of the temple, and helped with the fire. The Koroks are all safe.’

Despite herself, Zelda smiled in short relief.

“I appreciate you taking care of them in my stead. We could see the smoke from here; I’m sure the fire was devastating.” It was then that she noticed the sword on his back was not the glistening blue she expected, but instead the red hilt of the blade he had left with. “Did you recover the Master Sword?”
The way he winced told Zelda that it definitely didn’t go well.

‘No.’ He left it at that, or at least he tried to. Zelda eyed him for a moment, staring him down as she waited for a continuation that wouldn’t come without a bit more prodding.

“Surely there’s a reason.” She prompted when the silence lasted a bit too long for her liking.
‘The tree said I had to prove myself inherently good.’ Zelda furrowed her brow in confusion; that wasn’t normally what heroes had to prove. The blade, to her secondhand knowledge, usually was a test of strength or of will. To hear it denied Lynq on the grounds of not being good was unheard of; and what in Hylia’s name could he have done to be deemed as bad ?

Her posture stiffened, recalling Aloise’s warning words from before. Could he be right? Is it possible that Hyrule’s hero was so thoroughly tarnished by his father’s lies that the sword, which is his right to wield, would outright deny him?

Lynq continued, unknowing of the thoughts that raced through Zelda’s head, ‘I don’t know what this sphere is supposed to contribute to that though.’

Zelda straightened up at that.

“Take Cairo back to the stables.” She tossed the order over her shoulder to the crowd gathering with little subtlety to their curiosity. At being noticed a few of them scattered, enough to reveal the stable boy amongst them. Startled at being called upon so suddenly, he could only offer a stiff nod and stepped forward.

‘No!’ Lynq insisted, stepping between the queen and the hand. ‘I’ll put her away.’ Zelda looked him up and down, wanting really to get right to business, but gave in. She could grant a moment between a boy and his steed.

“Alright. Ask someone to bring you to my study when you’re done.”

He took some of Cairo’s mane in his hand, nodding to the stable boy to lead him back.

Zelda watched him go.

“I’ll get her stable ready, if you can take off all the tack.” The warm stable was far emptier than the last time Lynq had been there, what felt like weeks but really had only been a handful of days. The stable boy had stuttered something about how the rest were ‘out’. Considering it was still daytime, that made plenty sense. They probably loved the rain.

‘The what?’

“The- the stuff. On her. All the packs?” Stable Boy motioned in the general direction of Cairo. “The gear?”

Lynq’s eyes lit up in understanding. ‘I can do that.’

He tore off all the gear he could, not really knowing where to put it. Lynq shuffled it off to the side, hoping the stable boy would know and then put it away for him. Normally he would do it on his own, but he was soaked and tired; someone else could take over for him.

He pulled off the satchel holding the Eye and mask from Cairo, giving her a pat as she was finally done.

‘Thank you for coming with me.’ She could probably understand sign, right? ‘You deserve a rest, too.’

He gave her a hearty pat before handing her off to the stable boy, shooting the guy a thumbs-up. Lynq had directions to a study to find; Cairo would be safe here.

Zelda sat in her study, head in her hands as she thought, ignoring the scattered papers and reports she leaned over. The Master Sword has denied Lynq and she didn’t know what to make of it. In all of her studies she had never heard of such a thing happening. She’s read of heroes needing to reach a certain age, needing to grow in strength, but to prove themself good? This did not bode well for Hyrule.

Aloise was sitting nearby in one of the chairs, ever patient and a calming presence. He had already suggested that if need be, Hyrule had thorough enough preparation to get people to safety once the situation turned truly dire.

Zelda was aware of all the work they both had put into such a thing, but she’d rather not give up so readily to leave the land of Hyrule to ruin. And she had yet to tell Aloise the exact reasoning behind Lynq not retrieving the sword.

Is it possible Lynq has malevolent intentions? She thought about his current state, bruised and exhausted from protecting the koroks, and decided that no. The sword’s rejection must stem from something different, it has to.

He was just an inexperienced boy who put his life on the line for strangers, and come out the other side. She wanted to trust that this was merely a small hurdle to overcome and he had pure intentions to save Hyrule. She trusted that he’d be able to.

Zelda knew well the strength one hero could have.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as the chamber door quickly opened, Lynq slipping through and closing the creaking door behind him right after. With his hood still up, Zelda was surprised how much he looked the part.

“Ah!” Aloise turned, far less surprised than the queen. “Welcome. I hope your journey proved fruitful?”

‘Zelda already told you the sword thing, I can tell.’ Aloise’ expression fell at that.

“Well, yes, but…” Lynq vaulted himself over the other lavish chair in the office, spraying water everywhere from sheer velocity alone. Zelda only just managed to protect a few papers from water droplets at the very corner of her large desk while her advisor got the brunt of spray. Aloise continued unphased, “There was the Temple of Earth?”

Lynq perked up at being reminded. He pulled the satchel off his shoulder and cracked it open, peering in and pulling out the Eye of Earth.

Even in the moderate light of the study candlelight, the green of the Eye shone like glowing jade.

“I hadn’t expected a reward.” Zelda murmured. Aloise just looked glad, appraising the prize from afar.

‘The tree said this would be important. Something about other orbs? And, uh-’ He took the mask out as well, earning astonishment from Aloise and realization from Zelda. ‘I found this in the woods. I think it belonged to someone following me through the foggy part of the forest.’

Zelda recoiled as Lynq tried to place it on the desk, shooting out a hand to push it back to him. “Aloise can take that.”

‘Oh. Ok.’ Lynq placed the Eye back in his pack and handed off the mask to Aloise, who took it with far less disgust than Zelda’s reaction. Lynq slung the satchel back over one shoulder, making sure to fasten it securely before asking an important question:

‘Could you take me to the mirror? I’d like to go home for a little while.’

Zelda was, suffice to say, a little taken aback. Was he really backing out after only having gone through one temple?

“We have healers, if you’re worried about any wounds you’ve sustained-”

‘No, it’s a magic thing.’ He pulled one of his sleeves up to the elbow, revealing the dimmed blue of his markings. ‘Matej- The Twili Prince told me I’d get sick if I didn’t.’

Zelda felt a little relief at that. A simple limitation, not giving up. She turned to look out a window, catching a hint of sunset orange through the rain and overcast.

Without wasting any time, Zelda stood up and gestured Lynq towards the door, “Let’s go.”

She purposefully did not look at Aloise as she led Lynq away, trusting that he’d dispose of the mask himself. Thinking about it and acting was a situation she would deal with once Lynq was gone. After all, he was uninvolved- this was an ancient enemy.

In Aloise’s hands was an unmistakable find; while burnt and cracked, a Yiga mask stared back.

Lynq had managed to get through the castle to Zelda’s study without much attention, but as soon as he was with the queen he noticed all the little glances at him as they passed by. He wasn’t a shy individual- in fact, he’d normally be preening under such positive attention- but at this point was tired, hurt, and homesick.

While he didn’t recognize any of the guards that were now around the mirror, he noted that there were definitely more than before. The two that had chased him had multiplied to easily a half dozen.

“Security measures.” Zelda answered as he motioned to the bulked up protection in question. “It would be dangerous for the Hero’s way home to be destroyed from even the smallest of damages. Don’t worry, they’ve been thoroughly vetted.”

The mirror was already shining in the darkness of the chamber, the twilight of Hyrule dawning over the land. Lynq climbed up the short stairs to the pedestal and, with no real idea of how to activate the mirror, gave it an experimental poke on the frame. Immediately it brightened, and cast out the portal to the Twili Realm. Huh. Guess that worked.

Lynq climbed the remaining translucent stairs with haste. Right before heading off, he turned and gave Zelda a quick wave goodbye. She returned it, and watched him go.

As soon as Lynq arrived back at the Twili Realm, he breathed a sigh of relief. The air of the Twili Realm immediately wiped away the fatigue that had begun to pile up.

His second impression was that it only gave room for his side to ache more prominently. He grasped at his side and hissed, feeling the heavy bruising sting anew after being stitched together from the portal’s teleportation.

He looked up to see, just down the path to the portal, a collection of palace gardeners staring at him. One of them, driven enough to quickly put her basket down before she dropped it, quickly rushed to meet him from the portal.

“Lynq!” His mom called, using her sharp eyes gained from motherhood to scope out the weird way he was favoring one side. She raised him to walk more balanced than that. As she absorbed him into a hug, he clung back- despite the bravado, he truly did miss her. They stood there holding each other, the other gardeners going back about their business as the portal to Hyrule disappeared from the sky, for a precious few seconds before Rajiya found her moment. “Back so soon?”

‘I had to make sure your vacation was as short as possible.’

“Pah! I was just starting to forget you existed, too. I could have had another son to replace you.”

‘You’d do that?’

“I’d name him Lynq 2, in your forgotten honor.” Lynq met her eyes and gave a pout, but didn’t last long as they both broke into laughter. Like mother, like son. “Look at you, I bet you won a fight, huh?” With no regard Rajiya pulled his poncho up, inspecting the deep purple bruises that tainted his skin. “Does it hurt?”

‘Don’t touch- “AH!” Lynq cried out and smacked her hand away as she pressed into the sore ribs. ‘Mom!’

“Oh, whoops. Sorry.” She had enough gall to look sheepish and retreat. “Let’s get you to a healer. You don’t normally get banged up like this.”

Rajiya didn’t let him leave her sight, effortlessly keeping a hand on her son’s shoulder to make sure he didn’t run off to his best friend to immediately recount his bravery. The other gardeners called out greetings and quick questions of how it went in the Light Realm, of which Lynq gave a brilliant smile and a radical thumbs-up. He’d known all of them since he was an infant.

‘There’s more gardeners here than your usual team.’ He noticed quite a few faces from the village, unfamiliar to the palace gardens and certainly not the normal retinue his mother kept to maintain the primed flora.

“I’ve been asked to spruce up the front garden, in case we have any guests.” Lynq accepted that well enough.

“Call for Haidar, would you?” Rajiya murmured to one of the guardians as they passed into the palace proper. “We’ll be in the healer’s room.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The palace was bustling more than usual, the sounds of chatter and hammering echoing through the cavernous halls. More people were walking around the same back halls Rajiya lead Lynq through, probably to detour around the construction in the throne room from the last kargaroc incident. Lynq scanned around for any sign of Mateja, disappointed when every new face around a corner was someone else. The prince and his mother were nowhere to be seen.

Lynq didn’t have a chance to look much longer before being shuttled into the medical bay and immediately passed off to one of the healers. They hmm’d and haw’d at his injury, asking basic questions that he couldn’t help but embellish the answers to.

He was just getting Sol-infused water dabbed over the wounds as Haidar burst in, breathless like he’d run across the entire realm at a moment’s notice. Lynq didn’t even get to say hello to his dad before being thoroughly inspected again, Haidar brushing the healer aside and noticing what Rajiya had not. He narrowed his eyes at the thin claw marks across the boy’s cheek.

“What did this to you.” Lynq hadn’t heard his dad be so serious in a long, long time.

‘A temple beast. I beat it though!’ Despite the confidence, Lynq knew Haidar wasn’t convinced. He at least skirted a talking-to as his dad was shuffled away to continue the treatment, giving Lynq the time to breathe.

As the last of the healing spells were being cast and his parents were allowed closer to talk to him again, Rajiya was holding Haidar’s hand to calm him down to very little avail.

“You probably haven’t eaten in awhile, huh?” His mom took the first initiative between the two. Lynq thought about it, and came up empty; the road back to the castle had provided few chances for snacks.

‘Why, do you have something up your sleeve?’

“We have some things at home if you’d like.” The twinkle in her eye was trickstery.

‘No way.’

“It’s sunchokes!”

‘Mom, get me out of here. You can’t just tease me with sunchokes and expect me to sit still for this.’

Lynq collapsed into the comfort of his own, familiar bed after such a long journey and even longer time recounting it to equally interested and worried parents. He had experienced so much in so little time that his room felt almost foreign; It came almost at a surprise that there was no dust coating every surface. The bed was still ruffled and unmade from the last time he was there, up in a hurry to get ready and leave for the same journey he was returning from.

With the co*cktail combination of healing spells and fatigue pulling him in, he was out like a light for the next day.

He stuck around the Twili Realm for only a couple of days. While the healing spells were doing their work on mending his side, he still had to wait for his clothes to also be fixed up. Lynq also had to update Mateja on everything, making the trek up to the palace with his dad to reenact to the best of his ability the adventure so far to his endlessly curious friend.

“You got this from a temple?” Lynq wasn’t worried as the prince looked at the Eye every which way; there was no way he’d drop it. He was too careful with these sorts of things.

‘Right after I played the song.’

“I’ve never heard of the song you played, did you ask Haidar about it?” Lynq winced. “What?”

‘My dad’s not up for talking, lately. He’s pretty mad.’

“At you?”

‘No, mom told me he was angry at Zelda. Which is weird, she didn’t do any of this.’ Lynq motioned to his side, the bruise starting to fade but the color still visible on the lighter portions of his skin. ‘This was from the temple beast.’

Mateja finished his inspection of the Eye, gingerly handing it back.

“It kind of reminds me of the Sols.”

‘Anything that’s spherical reminds you of the Sols.’

“I’m the prince! The Sols are important to me!” Mateja played up his offense, enough to make Lynq smile. “But seriously, it kind of does. It’s not particularly magical, but it has… something. I can feel it. Can’t you?”

Lynq squinted, staring into the deep surface of the Eye of Earth. It was certainly an enchanting gemstone; the interior seemed to never end, going deeper and deeper instead of reaching the other side. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to feel for any hint of something more with the stone.

“No, you don’t need to work that hard. Relax.” Mateja’s hand on his shoulder prompted him to do so, relaxing but with eyes still closed, letting his magic flow into it to find something, anything.

A kernel, a small core of something, reaching out-

Lynq peeked an eye open, looking over to Mateja. The prince was watching him a little too intensely.

“So?”

‘I mean, maybe?’ Mateja’s bright expression fell into frustration. ‘It’s not very strong.’

“Well, duh. We’re not in the right realm for it to be overflowing with power or anything.” He held his hands out asking for the stone back, of which Lynq complied and passed it over. “That tree you were talking about was right. This is a single piece to a set; it won’t do anything on its own. Right now it’s just going to be resonating until it gets closer to however many others there are.”

‘Can you tell what it is?’

“Uhhh…..” Mateja concentrated his magic again. “It’s kind of weird, and hard to describe. It’s to open something, or maybe close it? A door. A key.”

‘Which one is it?’

Mateja shrugged. Lynq exhaled in defeat, snatching the Eye back and putting it back in its satchel.

‘I didn’t think being a hero would have so many confusing pieces to it.’

“What did you think it would have?”

‘I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking much at the time.’ He tucked the satchel away, sweeping some hair out from his face, brows scrunched up in thought. Because Lynq hadn’t thought about what it really meant to be the hero until now, mostly going with it purely off of a gut feeling that he should help. But was that enough? Should he have some grand plan or reasoning? Not exactly one to think too deep into things, Lynq was suddenly wondering just what it meant to be the Hero of Hyrule.

Mateja frowned, pointedly looking at the floor as he tried to think of something, anything, to help his friend out.

“...You know, it’s hard to say what would have happened if the previous hero hadn’t intervened.” Lynq rolled his eyes- the prince always managed to find some way to bring up an ancient legend or story he’d read, a phenomenon he was well acquainted with- but that only prompted Mateja to continue. “He destroyed the great beast that had gifted power to the usurper king. He gave hope to the Twili.”

‘Mateja, this is dumb. I know the story.’

“On his tunic he brought to us seeds, to make the realm flourish with life. With his blade of light, he inspired us. With his power, he saved us.”

‘Yeah? So?’

“Lynq, that was a Hylian hero. What he did for us, I think you’re supposed to do for them.” Mateja smiled. “We’ve really been meaning to pay the favor back.”

‘What does that have to do with confusing pieces?’

“Even if you’re having a hard time understanding how it comes together, I’m sure that everything will fall in line.” The prince stood, offering a hand to help Lynq up. “You’ll help as their hero just as we were helped by our own.”

Lynq didn’t hesitate to take the offered hand, pulling himself up with the satchel in hand.

“I’m coming with you back to Hyrule.” Haidar said, quite suddenly, over the last ‘family dinner’ Lynq was having in the Twili Realm before heading back.

‘Huh?’

“Your mom and I have been talking-” Lynq snapped to her, looking absolutely betrayed as she grinned sheepishly. “-And we think it would be best if someone was able to go with you.”

‘Didn’t you JUST say last time that it would be fine for me to go alone?’

“Kade and I also came to an agreement.”Looks like Haidar had been talking around. Lynq pouted. That woman never came to an agreement on anything. This must have been a big deal. “We were talking. While you can be a hero, you’re still Twili- so Kade wants to make sure you’re safe.”

‘She just doesn’t like you.’ Rajiya barked a laugh, as Haidar was put off. Matrimonial betrayal.

“No, she doesn’t. She definitely doesn’t trust me as a guard, either. But she trusts that since I’m your dad, I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

‘I’m safe! It’s just Hyrule. What’s the worst that can happen?’

“You went up against a mechanical beast and almost lost. What happens if you fight a real monster?”

‘Then I’ll win.’

The conversation went stale. Lynq stared down at the table in irritation, figuring that he wasn’t just some kid to watch and make sure he didn’t trip and skin his knee. Zelda needed him for something, and bringing the domesticity of life with him on missions didn’t feel right. It was babysitting.

“Lynq.” Haidar tried to reason, “I know this is all going back on what we’ve said. I know you’re probably really disappointed by that. But our decision last time was made with a lot of haste, with you having put yourself on the line for Hyrule, just because Kade was going to destroy the portal. I’m sorry to let you down like that, and let you get hurt out there.”

‘That doesn’t mean I need to be babysat.’

“No, that means you need someone looking out for you.”

‘Mateja can do that. With the stone.’

“He’s younger than you. ” Lynq slumped further back in his chair. “And if anything happens to you in Hyrule he would have no way of helping you. The prince can’t enter the realm of light, you know that.”

Haidar held the bridge of his nose in frustration, clearly this was going nowhere. Lynq was a stubborn boy, and it looked like he had his mind set. The deal needed to be sweetened considerably if Haidar was looking to go without a fight. “If I go with you, it gives you some time to learn more sword fighting.” He offered, as though he was promising dessert to a child if they ate all their vegetables. “I won’t intrude on hero things; I won’t get in the way.”

With the offer on the table, Haidar let it sit. Lynq chewed his lip and crossed his arms, clearly thinking over it at the way he avoided eye contact. The Master Sword came to mind; would he even be able to wield it once he proved himself?

‘Fine.’ His parents lit up at the bend. ‘But only because I want a sword refresher.’

“I’m glad that you’re at least giving it a chance.” Rajiya patted Lynq’s head. “I already made your father a cloak, anyway.”

Chapter 10: Lay The Wiimote Face Down To Calibrate The Wii MotionPlus

Chapter Text

The next coming twilight saw Lynq waiting for the portal to open, dressed in his mended cloak with tears patched and stains wiped away. Standing in the garden with the same entourage, scuffing a foot against the masonry impatiently, already felt familiar.

It was only that this time his dad was standing just a few feet away with the same goal in mind. His mom assessed the fit of a brand new cloak on Haidar, running her hands along the shoulders and clasp to check the fit as they made quiet conversation. It allowed Lynq to stew a little more over agreeing to this, now actually facing the consequences to his assent.

It was bad enough having a curfew, but now he had a full-on chaperone, and over what? Some bruises? A couple of claw marks?

What kind of hero had a chaperone companion for their journey?

As though sensing his poor mood, Mateja patted Lynq on the shoulder with a sympathetic smile. "It could be worse? Your parents could have stopped you from going back altogether."

Lynq stopped short of rolling his eyes. First his mom, now Mateja. 'I can handle it, it wasn’t that bad.'

Mateja averted his eyes, tugged at his earring, "You were pretty bruised though. I know it could've been worse but..." He trailed off, uncertain of how to word this. "Just think of him as a safety net. The hero of Twilight was accompanied by Midna on his journey- it’s like that but backwards."

Lynq didn’t want to admit his friend had a point, but had to give it to Mateja anyway. Sharing the journey with someone else might be nice. It would at least give him someone to talk to since Cairo proved to be limited as far as her conversation skills and it seemed like not many people could understand him in Hyrule anyhow.

Once again he was stuck wishing his friend could come along. If a previous hero could have a Twili companion, why couldn’t he? But for now, he was saddled with what felt more like a babysitter than someone to help him out.

Kade, watching as the two children said their goodbyes, found herself in the unique position of having a similar opinion to Lynq. Haidar’s last trip to the Light Realm ended in almost single-handedly ruining any chance of peace relations between the Twili and Hylians, and she did not want to give him a chance to make those strained relations worse.

She understood, however, the worry that came with being a parent.

Everyone turned as the garden was illuminated by the portal, opened right on time.

Kade strode towards Haidar, interrupting the murmured conversation between him and Rajiya. “You will be on your best behavior this time.” She kept her voice sharp, with no room for argument. “The last thing we need is another incident with you.”

Haidar huffed, “I hadn’t done anything. I took one step and had spears pointed at me on sight.”

“Then you must settle any misunderstandings the Queen may have. I won’t let your personal squabbles ruin our reputation.”

“Oh, don’t worry.” Haidar said, pulling a small bag Rajiya handed to him onto his shoulder. “I fully intend on speaking with her.”

Kade narrowed her eyes at his tone. It was far from apologetic and she could already feel the oncoming migraine from the mess that would follow. “If you cause any more problems in Hyrule and miraculously return in one piece, you’re not going back again. I’ll tie you to the palace if I have to.”

Haidar gave her a nod of understanding before turning his head to yell over his shoulder, “Lynq, it’s time to go!”

Mateja gave Lynq a quick hug, “Please check your stone this time?”

‘Swear on it.’ Lynq nodded, quickly miming a cross over his heart, and went to join his dad in front of the portal.

“Be careful you two!” Rajiya waved at them as they went through the portal again. Lynq only just managed to turn his head and wave back, getting one last glimpse of his mom and friend, before the Twilight Realm faded from view.

Dissolved into squares once more, father and son return to the World of Light to see the new rotation of guards turn at the sound of someone arriving through the mirror.

They looked at Haidar, looked back each other,

And aimed their halberds at him.

They had been under strict orders that no one, save for the hero, was to go through the portal, but how did that rule apply to those coming out?

And what of Haidar himself? Is he to be treated as a traitor, or respected as the hero’s family?

With all these things in mind, the confusion definitely showed in their unsteady stances and hesitant expressions glancing around amongst themselves.

Lynq hardly paid attention to it, attributing the weird air to these guards not having seen someone come through the portal before. It wasn’t like these were the same two that had chased him around. ‘We need to talk to Zelda, do you know where she is?’

They looked at each other once again and lowered their weapons as they made their decision. One guard gestured towards them as the others eased.

“Follow me.”

He led them through the castle as Haidar pointedly ignored the stares given from the few people they encountered in the quickly darkening halls. He must have looked a sight; once one of them, now covered head to toe in shadowed clothing and pale as death.

It had been ages since he’d worked in the castle, but muscle memory proved Haidar could have gotten to Zelda’s study with his eyes closed. Something about their approach to a pair of tall, dark doors, and the armed men standing there, Lynq noticed, made his dad falter.

The guard nodded to the others on approach, silent conversation that prompted one of them to turn and lightly knock on the door. They seemed almost too ready for a lack of response, but seemed surprised when a muffled affirmation came through to the hall.

Haidar and Lynq’s guide released a sigh, and opened the door just a bit. “Uh, Your Highness-“

Before he could finish his sentence Lynq ducked under the arm holding the door open and strode right in. The tall and airy room ran warm with a crackling fire providing light from a large fireplace, the last remnants of quickly fading dusk casting orange through tall windows. The queen herself was sitting at her desk, no doubt having been working considering the pen in her hand and papers characteristically strewn about the workspace.

“Oh, Lynq!” He saw Zelda visibly brighten at the sight of him, “Excellent timing, we just-“ Only for her joy to immediately curdle at the sight of Haidar still in the hall, Aloise’s ominous warning coming back to mind. “I see you’ve brought company.” The distaste in her voice was palpable. Sensing that things would go sour, the guard quickly ushered Haidar in, bowed, and closed the door.

“Give me one good reason I shouldn’t lock you in the dungeon like I so woefully failed to do last time.” She said with a chilling ice to her tone, putting her writing pen back in its case and closing the lid with a snap . Looks like she wouldn’t be getting much done after all.

“Lynq is here.” Haidar motioned to the boy, who gave a small wave. “Just like last time.”

Zelda huffed. He had a point. She couldn’t rightfully imprison the Hero’s father, least of all when said hero was right there.

‘So, my dad’s here.’ Lynq gestured to the all of Haidar. ‘He’s my chaperone.’

“Companion.”

‘The Ruler of Twilight let him make sure I don’t die since, you know, I’m under her jurisdiction. And dad’s the only one that can come to the light realm to make sure I don’t do that.’

Throughout his explanation Zelda had sighed and leaned back into her chair, hands together as she thought over the situation. It seemed ironic, really, that she was dealing with Yiga matters at the same time Haidar’s involvement in this went from far enough away that he wasn’t a danger to Hyrule to oh Goddess I was fooled into letting a criminal go.

She did have an ace up her sleeve; she wasn’t known to make mistakes twice.

“He’s not going with you.” It gave her no small amount of satisfaction to see Haidar’s face fall.

“I’m under orders-”

“I’m sure you are. I do believe the Ruler of Twilight- of whom I have yet to meet , or have formal correspondence with- is in the business of protecting her own citizens.” Zelda made a sweeping motion across the study. “But may I remind you, that this is not the Twilight Realm. I respect the Ruler’s decisions, but ultimately this is my ‘jurisdiction’, and I’m in the business of preventing criminals from wandering around freely. So you? Stay. Here.”

That took Haidar aback, his eyes widening as Lynq looked at his father curiously. Haidar was ready to be labeled a deserter, but a criminal? What in Hylia’s name did he do for a description like that?

"Your Highness..." His voice was tentative. Haidar felt like a man in a lion's den, searching for the words to not anger her further. "I don't know what I could have done to deserve being called a criminal-"

"You know exactly what you did you-"

" But- " He cut her off the same way she did him, practically inviting the lion's maw to snap down on him, "I am sorry I wasn't here when you needed me. It was my sworn duty to protect you and your father and I failed. For that, I am sorry."

Haidar swallowed a lump at her deepening glare, "I know my apology will likely never be enough."

Zelda didn’t look all that extinguished. In fact, she looked more offended than anything. “It isn't.”

But the heat of the moment was gone, replaced by an awkward air and unresolved frustration from both parties having put down their cards with nobody having truly won.

Lynq broke the silence, ‘So what was that about excellent timing?’

“We have found your next destination.” She side-eyed Haidar. “But I think Aloise can put it much better than I can.”

‘And he is…?’

“Out.” Zelda quickly covered the papers she was looking at before they had come into the study. “He’ll be back tomorrow. We can both bring you up to speed, but until then that gives you some time to prepare.”

Lynq was visibly a little disappointed in that. He was looking forward to new mission details. Haidar gave his boy a pat on the shoulder.

“Haidar?”
“Hmm?”

“If you cause any trouble, I’m not sending you back to the Twilight Realm.” She let the threat hang in the air, letting him take a moment to realize what she was implying.

Shocked, all Haidar could do was nod.

Haidar was hardly tired after that. Adrenaline and frustration from the one-sided argument boiled just under his skin, tamped down with knowing that Lynq was not far behind as they sped through the castle. The new watch Zelda had set on him followed closely, sneaky enough to stay out of sight but not out of hearing as the chink of their swords remained a non-coincidental reminder. At least they respected Lynq’s wish to not hound his dad.

The castle really had hardly changed, Haidar noted. He still knew every hall and turn like the back of his hand, surprised when decorations had changed or old masonry patterns were replaced in new stone. The gossip, however, would never change. He could hear the whispers of being a ghost, of being a traitor, of splitting the hero’s loyalty, just before turning a corner and finding the whisperers quickly retreating at the sight of him.

Whatever had happened, it had definitely gotten far out of hand. This was a weird fixation, even for the dull life of the castle staff that hungered for variety. Haidar should know; he had once been in the gossip circle just like everyone else, and never had something gotten so extreme. The most furious string of hot gossip was when...

Haidar more shoved than pushed open the doors that led outside with Lynq following close behind, determined to fill his end of the deal even if Zelda was keeping him in the castle under lock and key.

Though by now it had been days since Lynq extinguished the Lost Woods fire, the squidgy sound of mud came off their footsteps and dark clouds patterned the sky, leaving the moonlight dappled and the world dark. Lynq squinted through it, finding that his own blue light was hardly enough to illuminate three feet out.

“They’ll have the training field lit, nights like these.” Haidar supplied, leading the way down a path carved into the decline. “We used to challenge each other, and douse the lights to fight in the dark.”

‘We?’

“Me and-” Haidar looked over his shoulder. The watch was out of sight, but he knew better. “-and the rest of the private guard.”

‘Like them?’ Lynq pointed a thumb back with far less subtlety.

“Not quite. The private guard was assembled by the last king, to protect Zelda and himself.” Haidar lowered his voice to a whisper, hardly a breath. “I think it might have been disbanded. I haven’t seen anyone wearing the uniform, even in front of the study.”

The small path put them within sight of the stables, but in a distinctly different area than where Lynq had been before. The quiet of the outside was interrupted by the sounds of crickets and sparring, metal clashing as the confident disregarded safety over bragging rights.

There were only some sideways glances as they rounded on a fenced-off area close to the castle wall, double-takes as the watch followed close behind. Haidar didn’t recognize any of them back.

He plucked some wooden swords off the fence as they passed by, earning bewildered looks from the practicing swordsmen. Lynq caught the sword clumsily as Haidar tossed it back to him.

“If I’m not going with you, then I’ll at least fulfill one promise and make sure you can defend yourself properly.” Haidar hopped the fence into an empty sparring arena with ease, nostalgia spurred on through the familiarity. He gestured to Lynq, “Let’s start with a quick spar, get into your stance.”

Lynq moved into the basic stance he was taught years ago in the palace gardens, right foot stepping forward and brandishing the wooden sword in front of him.

With no indication that they were starting, Haidar went into an overhead strike, his sword speeding towards Lynq.

Lynq raised his sword to block, barely doing so in time before Haidar moved to strike again. But his father's attacks were swift and clean.

The seasoned swordsman was breaking down Lynq's defenses, leaving practically no room for a counterattack.

And Lynq knew it, could feel that he was being pushed back, but unable to stop it from happening.

Stuck on the defense, with little hope to turn the tides, Lynq searched for a solid opening.

In frustration, Lynq blocked Haidar's most recent side slash and attempted a jab.

His father moved to block the stab; going hilt to hilt and twisting the sword out of Lynq's hand.

Before Lynq could make a grab for it, he felt Haidar's sword lightly poke his chest.

Their first spar was done as fast as it started.

‘That’s cheating!’ Lynq was fast to point out the injustice, pushing Haidar’s sword away from him and retrieving his blade from where it had landed, thankfully, in a patch of grass amongst the mud. ‘You didn’t say go!’

“In a real fight, there is no go.” Haidar pointed out, “It’s not like you didn’t have any warning.”

Lynq couldn’t exactly argue with that, he was told to get into his stance.

“You’re going to be going up against a lot of foes, and you barely got by last time against one . You need to be ready for anything that’s thrown at you.”

Haidar gestured towards Lynq, “Get back into your stance.” Lynq squinted at him with suspicion “Not to fight this time, promise.”

Lynq went back into his basic front stance again as Haidar judged it, taking note of his stiffness when they sparred, “ Let’s start with a looser stance, give you some speed.”

Haidar demonstrated the position, “It’s similar to the one you're used to, just move your feet closer together and keep both knees bent instead.”

Lynq shifted, peeking at Haidar to make sure he was doing it right, doing his best approximation of the pose. Haidar adjusts Lynq as needed before nodding to himself, "Much better. You should be able to move quicker like that."

He worked with Lynq through the basic footwork, demonstrating as he went. "See, this stance is looser but less sturdy. You'll be focusing more on dodging and avoiding than blocking when you're on the defense."

'Isn't sturdy good?'

"Usually it would be, but not at your size. You’re a pretty small target." Haidar took one hand off his sword to playfully ruffle Lynq's hair, getting his hand swatted away in his efforts. "For now you should focus more on being agile than sturdy."

Haidar moved back to a sparring position, his strike slow enough for Lynq to dodge as he blocked. "See? If you move with your block it leaves a bigger opening so you don't have to force your way through."

Lynq nodded, seeing the much larger opening his shift to the side had made.

They worked through the stances, Lynq picking up the movements with ease and their movements picking up in speed as he gained confidence in his steps.

Haidar took a step back and lowered his sword, "Looks like you've got that down."

Lynq lost his stance to cheekily roll his eyes, moving his wood sword under his arm, 'This is easy stuff, when are you going to show me something cool?'

Haidar had to chuckle at his eagerness, "Something cool huh? How about some counter moves, you seemed to have a lot of trouble getting on the offensive..."

He continued to teach Lynq well into the night, showing him various ways to parry, and sparring so Lynq could utilize the moves in a practical way. By the end, the two were tired, covered in mud, and just about ready to pass out but grinning ear to ear.

They were taking a quick breather when Haidar chuckled, "I think this may be the first time you've listened to me in your entire life." He stated as he tossled Lynq’s tied hair, splattering dirt over his face.

Lynq ducked to avoid any more hair foolery, 'I can listen.'

"Clearly," Haidar grinned, letting Lynq escape for the moment, "I just hadn't seen much evidence of it until now. You’re usually a lot more bull-headed when I try to teach you how to fight. Trying to be a show-off instead of learning anything." Lynq half-heartedly blew a raspberry back at him.

Haidar moved to grab the sword again, "I think there's one more thing I should teach you before we call it a night." He gestures to Lynq to follow him back to their original spot, "I'm going to teach you a disarming technique."

Haidar demonstrated the move slowly to Lynq to watch and see how he twisted the sword to cause Lynq to lose his grip on his. Lynq repeated the motions, with Haidar coaching him when needed. After a few tries, Lynq had the relatively complex maneuver down and was able to start practicing it at a faster speed.

After some time, Haidar nodded appraisingly, "Alright, I think you got that down pretty well. At least your form is much better than it was when we started."

'Good enough to go on my own now?' Lynq asked jokingly.

“No.” Haidar’s hard cutoff was softened from the overall pride of his boy. “But I won’t be worried about you tussling with some road traveler anymore. So, definitely marked progress.”

Lynq furrowed his brow, and, after a moment, went back into a ready stance.

“No more training, that’s enough.”

‘I’m not stopping until you’re fine with me going on my own.’ Despite the exhaustion evident in his muddied face, he was still determined. Haidar tried to motion for him to relax, but instead blocked a hit on the forearm from Lynq’s quick reflexes and the wood sword. He took a step back, trying again to wave Lynq down, but only just dodged a swipe to his side.

“I can’t say you’re ready.” He went on the defensive, blocking concentrated hits from Lynq as the boy took every opening he saw. “I won’t, not ever.”

‘Why not?’ Lynq parried to make up for the opening signing left.

“It doesn’t matter how good you get- I’m worried because you’re my son.” Haidar twisted the hilts of their swords together, immobilizing both blades. “And I love you.”

He interrupted Lynq’s instinctive ‘I love you too’ with a kiss to his boy’s forehead. Squinting and scowling at having a gross mud kiss on his forehead, Lynq wiped off the muck instead of making a proper retort.

Haidar laughed and gave Lynq’s face a good wipe, smearing a little more mud on the boy’s face. He showed huge potential today, for the first time Haidar could see the hero Lynq would become, picking up advanced sword techniques like a fish to water. And yet, when it all came down to it, that was his same boy. Albeit a slightly more competent and far muddier than usual boy. “Come on, let’s clean up and get some sleep. My watch dozed off an hour ago.”

Chapter 11: That's Gonna Leave a Stain!

Chapter Text

‘A bath?’

“No. The ruins of a bath.” Aloise pointed to the spot on one of the many maps unrolled in the castle library. Zelda wasn’t lying when she’d said he had been out; his clothes still smelled like wind and grass, no doubt from rushing back to the castle as soon as day broke and his summons had been delivered. “The Temple of the Sea isn’t just some common tub. It was once the cleansing grounds for the Goddess, and served as a place of prayer for thousands of years.”

Zelda nodded sagely, sipping at her tea. That, at least, was a well-recorded history.

Lynq squinted down at the Hyrule map, then quickly looked to the regional one unrolled just next to it. As Aloise so helpfully finished ranting at him, unlike the last temple, this was an area accessible by most determined travelers, lacking a magical forest to keep common folk out. The bathhouse grounds were marked off in the more specific regional map with vague shapes that must have represented the remaining ruins.

“Most of the way you’ll be able to traverse by horse, but around this area-” Zelda circled her hand around an area with sharp trees and angular cliffs, “-you’ll have to continue by foot. A more nimble horse would be fine, but Cairo will have a hard time with those steep slopes. It gets rather wet around there especially with this last big rainstorm. She’ll slip.” Lynq scrunched his face at the thought of his horse receiving harm.

‘Have you been there before?’

“...No.” Zelda was hesitant to admit it. “It has been in ruins for ages, and is too dangerous otherwise. I wouldn’t normally send you there, but…”

“I insisted.” Aloise interjected. “There are no others that can enter, and no other place the next relic could be.”

Aloise held out his hand, "The Eye, if I may." The words he used were polite, but there was a forceful tone to his voice that held no room for nonsense. Lynq dug around in his satchel and produced the orb, but hesitated as Aloise reached closer for it. His best friend holding it was one thing, but this made him falter and, instead, met the advisor’s crimson gaze in defiance. After a long and awkward moment, Aloise clenched his open hand and settled it back on the table with a cleared throat. “The temple is labyrinthian; The Eye should resonate with its sister stone, provided the magic is strong enough and one is present. If you get lost, it may be a useful tool.”

‘How do you know?’ Lynq turned the Eye around in his hands, seeing no real difference in the endless surface, even trying to focus on the magic core to see if it felt any different in Hyrule than it did in Twilight. Aloise gave him a weird look.

“I made sure to brush up.”

Lynq passed the orb to one hand and reached over the maps to snatch a pinwheel from the tea setup Zelda had been looming over. He took a bite and screwed his face into a sour expression as the unfamiliar flavor of ham and cheese bit back, but nonetheless grabbed another.

Zelda continued as though Lynq wasn’t completely offended and yet absorbed by the tea treats. “It’s likely you won’t see any difference in the orb until you get within range of any other that may be there.” Zelda rolled up the map on the table. “For now, you should prepare for your journey. I’ll send for the proper equipment.”

She held a hand up to pause Lynq as he moved to put the Eye back in the satchel he’d been carrying it in, making the boy pause mid-place. “That includes something more suitable than a saddlebag.”

‘I like the bag just fine.’

“The queen is right.” Aloise interrupted suddenly. “With magical items, any break or scratch can result in disaster. Something a little… softer? May be best suited for a gem like the Eye.”

Lynq rolled his eyes, ‘Fine.’ He signed with a flick of his hand forward, before shoving one last pinwheel into his mouth and snatching another handful. While Zelda wasn’t territorial over food by any means, the quantity was still a little surprising.

“I can ask the kitchen to bake some more, if you’d like?”

‘No thanks, these are for my dad.’ Pastry crumbs fell from the handful as Lynq signed around them. ‘Did you want them back?’

“...No. You can keep them.”

Lynq nodded and skittered away from the meeting, eager to see his father before having to set out again. While he hadn’t been on board to have Haidar come along in the first place, he didn’t mean for him to get stuck in the castle. It meant being near Zelda, and while Lynq didn’t mind her abrasive attitude personally, he didn’t appreciate that she treated his father with such suspicion and disdain.

Haidar was no criminal, and so far, Lynq hadn’t heard a word of why they thought he was. Even so, there wasn’t much he could do about it at this point. He had already stopped his father from being executed, and for now he’d have to settle with that.

‘ Got a new mission to some baths. Think I should bring soap? ’ He sent off the message from his stone, struggling to form the letters with the one-handed grasp. Mateja would start to get worried if Lynq failed to contact like last time.

The suite Haidar was being kept in was, interestingly enough, the same one they had spent the first night in, so many days ago. The watch guard in front had doubled to four, only glancing at Lynq as he nodded at them and politely knocked.

It was a little awkward when the guard leaned over and opened the door for him, revealing the spacious room on the other side.

The curtains were drawn, leaving the space dim. Lynq wasn’t surprised to see Haidar in the center, doing pushups off the cold floor and counting under his breath. Hearing the quiet pitter-patters of bare feet on stone, he looked up and gave Lynq a wave.

The boy waved back with enthusiasm. ‘Is this a bad time?’

“Not at all.”

Haidar sat up and patted the floor next to him, inviting Lynq to sit alongside him in a cooldown. The boy took it, offering in return a pinwheel. At the flavor, Haidar took on a thoughtful expression.

“Did you take these from Zelda?”

‘Should I not have?’

“I’m not putting poisoning out of the question at this point.” Nonetheless, he continued to finish off the morsel. “If they’re hers, it should be fine.”

Lynq twirled some hair between his fingers, wondering how to bring this up.

‘Will you be ok here while I go out?’

Haidar eyed him and grinned. “I thought you didn’t want me to come along?”

‘Yeah, but that was with you at home.’ Lynq gestured towards the guarded door, no doubt being eavesdropped. There were perks to only half a conversation being audible, but that didn’t make the situation better. ‘Being stuck in the castle where everyone hates you wasn’t really what I had in mind.’

“Being home is better than being in the castle where everyone hates me, but being the hero’s father has some life-saving perks.” Lynq straightened up, confused.

‘I thought you didn’t believe I was the hero?’

“I don’t.” Well, that wasn’t very reassuring. “But that doesn’t mean I don’t think you can run around doing errands- you just can’t fight very well, and I was supposed to be your backup. I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.”

‘Mom said you’d make another son.’

Haidar choked on his cookie with a surprised yelp, crumbs spraying everywhere. “ Lynq! ”

‘I didn’t say it!’

Haidar pinched the bridge of his nose, fighting back a smile at Rajiya’s antics. “I just want you to be careful, okay? No more… fires.”

Lynq bit at his cheek, weighing the pros and cons of making a promise like that. He hadn’t told his dad everything that’d happened in the forest, and he wasn’t sure if Haidar would let him leave the castle again if he knew.

‘I’ll be careful. Promise.’

The road to the temple quickly devolved from well-trodden to derelict as Lynq disappeared from sight of the castle. Cobbled paths gave way to dirt trails marked only with the footsteps of hundreds before him. The way to the Lost Woods had been similar, going through unfamiliar territory, though the difference in the slowly gaining altitude was making Cairo nervous. Lynq may not have known much about horses, but this seemed more suited for a steed of… smaller stature.

It came to the point where the footpath ended, and was replaced by cliffs constructed of decrepit architecture. Even at some insistence Cairo refused to go any further, pawing at the ground and snorting at Lynq’s audacity at asking her to climb such things, going further than a draft horse could reasonably navigate.

Leaving her behind was different this time as well. Lynq patted her side and signed promises of returning (along with an apple as a little treat). With hardly any grass to occupy herself with, she only snorted and swished her tail.

Scrambling up the sheer walls almost reminded him of home, when smaller islands would fly close enough for the Twili children to cling to their undersides like urchins, playing chicken of who would let go last and have to be saved as the small chunk of rock floated away. He played only when he knew Mateja was watching from the palace, always wanting his friend to see just how brave he was, how he wouldn’t lose.

These cliffs, however, were far more slippery. The rain that the Temple of Earth organ created had long passed, but mist floated lazily down in its stead to certainly make his journey more difficult. Despite that, Lynq clung to every crevice he could as he clambered up the cliffs, row after row.

As he conquered the last stretch and reached the top Lynq kneeled for a moment, flexing the soreness in his fingers and toes away. That was pretty far to climb, even for him.

The cliffs had ended almost at a plateau, a gently hilled expanse before the rest of the mountain continued to rise into the sky. Overgrowth nearly obscured Lynq’s destination, but amongst the rocks it sat.

The baths.

It certainly looked like time had taken a toll on the structure. Ancient statues with their faces worn away dotted where Lynq stood. It may have been a front courtyard, judging by the spindly remains of woody rosemary and overgrown flowering heather surrounded by crumpled remains of a wall, going out to a collapsing half of a bridge.

The rest of the temple’s exterior was in the same state of disrepair, walls collapsing under their own weight and the rocky remnants of landslides that had long collided into them. A geyser crashed through the roof, the cause of all the mist. There was no sign of an entrance left under the boulders.

He gingerly walked past the faceless statues with a hand on his sheathed sword, a shiver running down his spine.

Lynq took stock of the landslides and debris, standing back and judging what looked loose and what looked sturdy enough to hold his weight. The easiest way, he figured, was up and over. Stock taken, he roughly wiped his hands off on his cloak and took to the rocky slopes.

As he reached the top, he hardly got to see what sort of area he was about to dive into when his hand slipped, knocking his jaw on a rock and tumbling down the rockpile straight into the baths.

Lynq groaned as he slowly sat up from the crumple he landed in, rubbing at his cheek and looking around. The slope he had slid down was, on this side, made only of small loose stones that still toppled after him. With that unstable of an incline, there was no way he was climbing back over this way.

The rest of the room- a welcome area, he presumed- was paved with foggy glass tiles that even after considering their age, shone in the light that made it through collapsed holes in the ceiling. The floor was covered in a thin layer of pink water, which highlighted the broken bits of shining blue and silver shards scattered under the surface.

Lynq reached and picked one of the round shards up for a quick inspection, making sure it wasn’t sharp. It bent a little under some force, but he didn’t feel a razor edge. Confident that it wouldn’t cut him up if he walked over them, Lynq dropped the piece and continued on.

After the last temple, Lynq was wary of being soaking wet all over again, but at least it wasn’t cold. Even all the way up here, the water was strangely, pleasantly warm.

In the center room was another worn statue, winged and alone as it pointed down the only other entrance into the lobby; a dark, gaping arch that turned to the left.

Lynq bit at his sore cheek, taking a peek down the left turn and seeing only a long hall with more paths branching off, each way for as long as the view would last. He had… no idea where to go.

He perked up, an idea popping in his head. Lynq pulled his new leather bag from around his shoulder and brought out the Eye of Earth, still shining green in all its brilliance. Gently he put it on the ground, if only to ask a simple request:

‘Show me where to go?’

It wasn’t surprising when nothing happened, the rock dim and lifeless on the ground. It was just his luck that it couldn’t see.

He clicked his tongue and picked it back up, first idea thrown out. He was really hoping that one would work, too.

Lynq squinted into the surface of the Eye, trying to think of something- anything- to get it to do what Aloise said it would do.

Still, in his hands, it did nothing.

He tried probing at it like Mateja had. Or at least, how he thought he saw Mateja do it. Lynq closed his eyes and breathed, in and out, feeling the flow of his magic against the wall that was the Eye. In Hyrule proper, he could feel the resistance of light magic as he tried to prod at it, versus the lazy way it had complied with his prying in the Twili Realm.

Still, there was something. Maybe it was what the prince had sensed, maybe it wasn’t, but it was there. A note that was calling out, quiet but nonetheless a stark difference to the silence and sleep Lynq had gotten back thus far. The resonance.

He walked towards one of the halls, hand out, listening beyond hearing as the Eye quieted by a hair. He went the other way, and it beckoned just slightly louder.

It was hard for him to concentrate on it. Magic was fickle with the two practices jamming against each other, and Lynq wasn’t skilled or knowledgeable enough to keep any connection going for a more considerable amount of time. He stuffed the Eye back into his bag, figuring that he’d check-up every now and again. There was no way he’d get lost.

He got lost.

Somewhere behind him a twist became a turn, a room with a steaming pool in the center looked exactly like the other, and Lynq found himself in decidedly, the middle of the maze. The large-headed weeds that attacked him, once taken out, served as a useless marker of where he’d been. The occasional pieces to a possible puzzle were all broken or didn’t work, and even so he didn’t know what door they led to. Brow furrowed in frustration, Lynq reached back into his satchel and pulled out the stone, still weakly resonating with hardly the pointed direction Lynq was hoping for.

He examined the rock, squinting at it as he turned it every which way in hopes of a clue. In a way, it did remind him a bit of the speech stone.

Was it a bit of a jump to compare his magic communicator to an ancient magic stone? Yes.

But with his limited magic knowledge, he had little to work with and decided that a magic rock was a magic rock, and they couldn’t be that different.

Shifting the Eye of the Earth into one arm, Lynq pulled out the stone from around his neck. The speech stone was glowing, and had a slight thrum of magic going through it, not entirely dissimilar to the feeling from the Eye, but definitely more noticeable.

Lynq thought back to Mateja's description of how to use the stone.

“It’s a give and take.” Mateja had held the speech stone in one hand, motioning towards the dimly glowing carvings with the other. “The spell’s already active inside, you just need to give it something to work with.”

So maybe he just needed to push some magic into it? He set aside the speech stone to focus on the Eye, doing his best to get some amount of magic past the wall. Lynq could feel the magic within the stone recoil at his own, not violently, but more so moving away and avoiding much like oil and water. He’d never made a vinaigrette before, but this definitely felt like it.

He stopped before anything bad happened, clearly just feeding conflicting magic into the stone wasn't the answer.

Lynq looked at the stone when a thought occurred to him, maybe pushing Twili magic into the stone wasn't the answer.

That however brought into question how light world magic worked. With his knowledge of his home’s magic being questionable at best, he was not looking forward to trying to understand Hylian magic. Or, push comes to shove, learning if he was even capable of it at all.

He gave a hopeless glance to his left hand, remembering the golden glow that hadn’t returned since meeting Zelda.

A glowing mark must be magic, right? Perhaps the glow of the Triforce was similar to the glow of his twili markings.

He tried to hone in on the feelings he had in those moments it appeared, but it was hard to pinpoint.

He never reached out to them purposefully, and for all he knew it was a disconnected attribute to magic altogether.

But with little else to go off of, Lynq continued down the trail of thought, and tried to pull from within himself a power he was uncertain even existed.

For a moment he was almost fooled, only finding the familiar Twili magic that pulsed through him.

He screwed his eyes shut and concentrated, listening to the tune of the Eye and feeling his shadow magic try to sync with it. Over and over, major hit minor and octaves never met up. Still, Lynq persisted, and listened ever closer.

Something was there.

Something quiet, muffled under the waves and waves of Twili magic, but present in his veins all the same. It sang along to the Eye's light, resonating so softly that Lynq would have never felt it if he hadn't paid attention.

Unseen past his closed eyes, a flickering Triforce just hardly showed on his skin.

With his focus on the Eye, the change in the stone was sudden when compared to how stagnant it had been the majority of his trek. The magic reverb increased from almost nothing to a steadily strengthening buzzing sensation, almost tingling in his palms.

That had to mean something, was the next stone somehow closer? Lynq looked around him for possible rock locations, confused on how he could possibly be close enough for there to be such a significant change when the already dimly lit room darkened further.

He looked down to see a large shadow encroaching underfoot. Through the fogginess of the glass floor, the figure was hard to make out. Even still, he could see its fluid movements pause at the sight of him. It sat there only a moment before leaving much quicker than it came.

The stone's magic quieted along with it.

Lynq had little time to consider any deductive train of thought as something slammed into the glass, knocking him off balance and almost sending the, once again, buzzing Eye high into the ceiling.

He quickly bagged the Eye back into its satchel before he could fall, recovering and unsheathing his sword as he did so. He hadn’t seen the thing, not beyond a retreating shadow, but it was a stark change from the disquieting silence the temple had exhibited so far.

He thought back to the wooden beast protecting the Eye of the Earth in the forest temple and made a split second decision as the shadow almost left his line of sight.

He scampered in pursuit, slipping and sliding across the wet glass.

He’d almost lost sight around a couple of corners and forks, but kept up the unstable haste as the sound of running water got louder.

He chased it into yet another large circular room, slamming into a wall when velocity had its way with him over the drowned tile. Lynq peeled himself off and appraised the room.

It was more brightly lit than any other room he’d encountered so far, creating a harsh shadow on the pipe-lined wall he’d extricated from. One end gave way to a dramatic geyser from a relatively weensy broken pipe, causing the excess of water that flowed in a quick and slippery tide. Caustics reflected onto the ceiling dimmed as the light mist overhead gave way to a darkening cloud. The air took on a sudden chill from the lack of light, one that persisted even once the cloud passed.

He paced back towards the center of the room, avoiding a pit in the floor that no doubt at one point was a bath, but now sat filled with collapsed tiles from the ceiling. Lynq locked his eyes on the spot warily, hands clutching his sword tighter, as the large shadow he’d been chasing circled erratically underneath. He paced the perimeter, only pausing to look up halfway across and immediately froze in unnatural horror.

His shadow hadn't moved.

It stood, a dark mirage flickering midair in the doorway he'd entered through minutes before. Cast on nothing and in the wrong direction despite the sunlight filtering through the roof right in his face.

Lynq was still connected to it; the black, tar-like bands stretched between them like cords. The hair on Lynq's neck raised as the shadow moved of its own accord, taking a step closer.

And another.

Lynq felt sick. In his chest, he could feel his magic twisting and writhing.

Run, run, run.

It stepped into the room, the connection snapped as the stretched connection disappeared, and Lynq gasped for air as it was sucked out of him.

Its inky black form solidified as it took that final step, shadowy tendrils coming together to form a perfect copy of himself, save for the pale and colorless inflection.

He raised his sword, his movements stilted and hesitant towards the unknown creature that had yet to move any further.

Red eyes blinked open and stared back at him. Lynq felt a shiver go down his spine.

With no time to register, Lynq moved, almost clipped by a sudden and unseen strike as he dodged. He stumbled as he attempted to regain his bearings, the room seemingly spinning from his abrupt jolt of movement.

That definitely wasn't normal. The bout of wooziness was persisting and, if anything, getting worse. But with the jab aimed towards him, there was no time to think about it.

He evaded another strike, centering his sword to go onto the offensive.

Lynq moved into a side slash, swiping at his double, who neatly countered the attack, pushing Lynq’s sword directly into a nearby pipe.

He yanked on the hilt, straining against the groaning metal that held it firmly in place. It was only when his shadow kicked him in the side did it dislodge, and sent Lynq sliding across the floor.

His shadow followed, unbothered by the slick floor and the water beginning to burble from the additional broken pipe, taking several quick surefooted steps. He made several succinct thrusts at Lynq, who stumbled and slipped while evading the attacks, attempting to riposte but unable to get proper footing.

When his doppelganger went in for another close stab, Lynq sank into the floor, narrowly ducking under the hit and escaping into the shadows cast by column remains.

Immediately, he was confused and regretful.

The normally cool and light-as-air feel of encompassing shadow was completely different as he trudged through something much too thick. The sludge clung to him like honey after shoving your hand into a hive, and the safety he normally associated with the darkness was replaced with the fear of being stung.

He practically had to claw his way out of the shadows, barely dragging himself out before his double landed a hit on his prone form.

Lynq gasped at the sharp pain and forced himself to roll out of the way, further aggravating the injury, and narrowly avoiding the sword as it was brought down on him again in a more brutal strike.

He brought his sword back up into a ready stance and did his best to stay calm even as he felt his chest tighten and his cloak stick to his back from the warm wet substance that definitely wasn’t water. A trail of pink water followed him.

Even with a searing burn across his back, Lynq’s mind scrambled to find some kind of answer. The shadows should not feel like that.

If he didn't think there was something wrong with him before, he knew there was now.

There was no time to focus on that though, not with how relentless his doppelganger was, keeping him on the defensive.

Lynq tried to push him back, but trying to push him was like trying to push a wall.

With that move ineffective, Lynq went back to blocking and attempting to counter his shadow’s attacks and give himself an opening to go onto the offensive. The training with his dad started vaguely flashed in his mind, but training and fighting were two different things.

Lynq went in for a stab only for the doppelganger to deftly move out of the way and into a counterstrike.

Lynq, in a moment of instinct, once again sunk into the shadows cast across the floor.

If before it felt like sludge, now it practically feels solid.

The dense substance was suffocating in how it encased his body. The consistency was not unlike dough, and left him desperately grabbing at the edge to drag himself out. He gasped for air as soon as he surfaced, crawling and stumbling away from his attacker across the wet floor. He was suddenly aware of the ever-mounting feverish feeling getting far worse after his second shadow diving attempt.

What did this thing do to him?

Brandishing his sword once again to meet his double in battle, his eyes unfocused and hands shaking, gripping his sword in a knuckle white grip.

He tried harder to recall the moves he had practiced not long ago with his father, the haziness making it difficult to think clearly.

Lynq's movements became sloppy and uncoordinated, too out of it to concentrate properly, heart beating rapidly as nausea sets in.

His shadow raised his sword overhead for a downward strike, and Lynq once again instinctively sunk into the shadows.

But instead of going under, he stumbled back. The floor solid and unforgiving, the shadows no longer accepting him.

His double’s sword landed with a solid clash.

The flat side of the dark sword hit the boy in the middle of his forehead and knocked him onto his back with a splash.

Lynq's already addled head thrummed like a harshly plucked guitar string, his vision blurring and barely able to make out the unimpressed stare of his looming doppelganger. He heard the water around him splash more than he felt it through his dimming senses as he fell into the deep irrigation trench that surrounded the edge of the room. In shock, he gasped weakly- instead of air, taking in a lungful of water as it burst from the newly broken pipe.

The sudden wave pushed Lynq back down as he scrambled for purchase on the slippery floor, coughing and hacking up water only to be submerged again as the room continued to fill. He flailed, no longer sure what was up and what was down, and still far too dizzy to try and make any sense of it. His eyes stung from foreign minerals, his vision darkening around the edges. His lungs burned for air, his frantic breaths only met with even more liquid.

Lynq’s chest clenched and sputtered as he succumbed to darkness.

…….

……

….

..

.

Blood trailed downstream as he was carried away by the current, the world passing by and carrying his lifeless body with it. Springwater runoff turned to mountain stream turned to shallow riverside, dragging him along for every stage of the water cycle.

He felt none of it. Lynq wasn’t there.

His journey halted as scraps of his cloak tangled into river weed, and he was found. A small girl, doused in crimson and scales sparkling in the fading sunlight, untangled him from the mess of weeds and lost fishing nets, moreso curious than alarmed. She pulled him out of the rushing current into calm water, surrounded by the blue crystal that made up her homeland.

The Zora princess paused to look over her catch.

Determining it was suitable for her collection, she started the process of dragging the body- not all that much larger than herself- back to the Zora palace. She hadn’t gotten a full Hylian skeleton just yet, and she was eager to get to work.

It was hardly the macabre that interested her; this was a far more material fascination. She just thought bones were cool, and this was quite the piece in progress!

She wove through the pillars of the Zora palace, unphased by the vast city that sparkled under the water’s surface and others that stared at her with restrained horror.

She pulled Lynq up a waterfall to the walkways above, carelessly dragging his body across the statue pavilion. She had to pause once she found her father in the throne room, busy with a party of scouts.

“We can’t find her highness anywhere.” The most decorated of them reported.

“Please, keep looking.” Her father looked just as tired as he had for the past week, but still kept up his cheerful support. “She’s got to be somewhere.”

King Sargass turned at the tip-taps of the princess’ claws on the tile, face lighting up at seeing her- “Hello, my little minnow!”

“Papa!”

-and immediately fell when he saw what she was dragging along behind her.

“Sweetie, that’s a dead corpse.”

Suddenly Lynq’s eyes fluttered, and he coughed up all the water he had breathed in and swallowed. The princess dropped him in alarm. A loud bonk! echoing across the throne room as skull met crystal.

“Sweetie, that's a living corpse!”