Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 38

||  Part Thirty-Seven  ||  Part Thirty-Nine  ||

Part Thirty-Eight

“Welcome to Kingdom Bay!”

Osmond nodded to the young crier who stood atop a sign that read the very same as his proclamation. As the two horses slowly trotted into the town, a flurry of sensations swept over the travelers. The smell of the salt ocean clung to everything but most of all the cold breeze that sliced through the streets. Hollers from sailors to dockworkers in various tongues rose over the sounds of salesmen barking their latest offers. Businessmen haggled with merchants, merchants shouted at one another, and somewhere a schoolteacher chased after some young boys causing havoc with all the previous residents.

“I’ve never seen so much going on at once,” Zelda remarked.

“Kingdom Bay is an economic powerhouse. Day-to-day businesswise, it does nearly three times the daily turn in Castletown. You wanna know where all the money in Hyrule is, then have a look around.” Fado grinned, tossing a blue rupee to a woman standing on a balcony above.

A chorus of “oohs and ahhs” came suddenly and a group of women, collectively dressed to resemble a rainbow, rushed the horse Osmond and Zelda were on.

“A knight?”

“Stop by sometime!”

“Your armor looks like it could use a polishing!”

“How deep’s yer purse, sir Knight?”

Osmond felt his face turning red, but refocused as Zelda tightened her grip on his waist suddenly.

“Where are we headed, Fado?”

“A special inn I know. Just on the far side of town.”

The gaggle of ladies fell away as they pressed on, but the busy nature of the city remained the same. There were all sorts of wares from across the sea. Foreign fruits and vegetables, ornate works of art, and priceless jewels. Osmond could see why Kingdom Bay was such a highlight for so many.

When they turned down a dusty alleyway, Osmond began to wonder if they’d made a wrong turn. There were no shops or busy storefronts. In fact, the alley dead-ended in a small courtyard with a well. They stepped inside the courtyard and Fado waved his hand, closing a small gate that separated the courtyard from the alley.

A few shuttered windows were overhead, along with some clotheslines running between them. The faded blue paint on the walls in the courtyard was reminiscent of the sky on a clear day.

“Where are we?” Zelda asked.

“It’s called the Silent Princess Inn,” Fado said as he dismounted his horse. “You could say it’s a bit of a secret to everyone.”

He walked to the far side of the well and crouched down. As Osmond dismounted, he noticed there was a small flower painted on the wall near the ground. If you weren’t observant, you might think it had just sprouted out of the small crack in the earth nearby.

Fado crouched and held out his hand before him. He pushed his lips together and blew gently across his palm onto the painted flower.

As soon as his breath touched the petals, the flower moved.

It wiggled and danced, growing in size, and spreading out over all four walls of the courtyard. The ground shook and a flight of stairs appeared, descending around the outside of the well. When the shaking stopped and the dust settled, Fado smiled at the wide-eyed Zelda and Osmond.

“Well, come on,” he smiled, “these stairs won’t stay open all day while you two dilly-dally.”

They followed Fado down the winding stairs and entered a small grotto that was lit by two purple flames that flanked an old wooden door. A red eye with a long single teardrop was painted on the door.

“This place is… Sheikah?” Zelda asked.

“You didn’t think we’d be staying somewhere out in the open, did you?” Fado smiled as he pushed the door open.

The liveliness of Kingdom Bay above paled in comparison to the energetic nature of The Silent Princess. Clearly, a misnomer, the bar at the far end was filled with patrons loudly clinking glasses and toasting anything. A few workers ducked and dodged their way past wildly unobservant patrons. Ales and wines seemed to flow freely from the top floor, a man wildly played the piano in the corner, and several other musicians accompanied him around the room, but all playing vastly different tunes.

Fado motioned for them to follow and began to weave his way through the crowd. He ducked under a waitress carrying a dozen glasses filled to the top, he swerved around a rotund man reaching for what appeared to be his third drumstick of some bird, and lastly, he ran up along the side of a table and hopped over plates of food as if it were nothing.

Osmond pulled Zelda close and held her and tightly as they attempted to follow amid the chaos. He could feel her unease as she desperately tried to stay close. At one point, a Goron of extraordinary size stood up and forced the duo apart. Still, Osmond held her wrist with unfailing firmness and they were able to find their Sage compatriot on the far side of the room, next to the bar.

“Tell me we’re not just here so you can get a drink,” Osmond said bitterly.

“My dear boy, what have I ever done to give you the impression that I would risk-“

“Fado!” the bartender shouted.

A short woman who had been standing on a stool behind the bar leaped down and came to greet the trio. She was not much taller than Fado himself and wore a tattered dress covered in patches. Dark bags hung below her deep-set eyes, but the wrinkles were overshadowed by the smile that graced her face.

“Hello, Rassa,” Fado smiled, offering an embrace.

“You’ve been away far too long.”

“You’d like it too much if I were here more often. I’d never get any work done.”

“So, business has brought you back,” she giggled, “not me or Yoon or Lindsey?”

Fado smiled even bigger, “the three of you are reason enough.”

“Where are my manners,” Rassa turned attention to the rather uneasy duo behind Fado, “I’m Rassa. You could say I’m an old friend of Fado’s. It’s an honor to meet you, Your Grace.”

Zelda nodded. She had become accustomed to being recognized at this point, despite her best efforts to stay concealed.

“Don’t fret dear,” Rassa closed her eyes and cocked her head with a reassuring smile, “this place is safer than Hyrule Castle or that North Castle. When you’re here, I can swear that you’ll be safe.”

Zelda linked her arm around Osmond’s, “Well if all else fails, I have my knight.”

Rassa’s eyes shifted to Osmond.

As soon as they were set upon him, he felt a strange sensation reverberate down to his bones. It was as if her eyes were seeing into his very soul.

“Yes…” Her voice sounded airy and softer than before, “the brave nephew of a carpenter, taught combat by a scholar, and now innocent tied up in the toils of destiny. Sir Osmond of Castletown. Welcome to The Silent Princess.”

“How do you-“ Osmond started.

Rassa raised a finger to one eye, “Some can see more than is present.”

“We need two rooms and someplace quiet that we can discuss private matters. I did mention business, and this might be of the utmost importance,” Fado interjected.

Rassa, without breaking eye contact with Osmond, raised her hand and snapped twice.

“Yoon! Lindsey! Two rooms, then meet me in the private hall.”

Somehow, above the tremendous amount of noise that the happy-go-lucky patrons were making, two young women heard and obeyed the command.

A few moments later, the trio were being guided by Rassa and her employees to a pair of rooms near the top of the building. Fado was given a room with a small table and large hearth. The bed was perfectly sized for the Kokiri sage, and he was extraordinarily pleased when Rassa pointed to the fresh jug of ale that she was offering him.

Zelda and Osmond were shown to a ladder that led up to a loft. A window that overlooked Kingdom Bay sat at the end of the room, with a small reclining couch below it. A few boxes were stacked in one corner, but a large four-poster bed sat near the center of the room. Fire crackled from the fireplace opposite the bed, and the ladder could be pulled up and the passage closed off with a trapdoor.

“Your parents have stayed here once or twice,” Rassa smiled. “I imagine, had things gone differently, we might have seen them again soon. My deepest condolences, dear.”

Zelda nodded politely, “Thank you, ma’am.”

“You two take your time settling in. If you need anything, ring the bell and one of the three of us will be along.”

Osmond noted a string tied to the wall with a note that read, ring for assistance, positioned above it. He nodded, and the two of them were left alone. As he turned to set their bags down, he saw Zelda walking around the room and taking in the setting.

The expression on her face was one that spoke aloud what she was holding back. It was the same expression she wore at her mother’s funeral, the same expression she’d worn when Osmond left.

Slowly, he put his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. Her soft hands slid along his arms and she rested herself against his shoulder.

“I’m always going to be here,” he said.

“There’s so much I wish I knew about them. Knowing that they were here is surreal. Knowing they’ll never make it back though…”

“We will. When this is all over and Adok is stopped, you and I will come here.”

Zelda smiled, “Deal.”

They soon retired for the evening.

A few hours into their sleep though, Zelda rose with a start.

The room was dark and cold. The fire had gone out and the window hung open. Pulling her nightgown tight, Zelda climbed out of bed and began to cross to the window. When she reached it, she stared out into the harbor for a moment.

A thick fog lingered out over the water and the lights from a distant ship could be seen. The ship floated closer seeming to bring the fog with it. When it was almost close enough to dock, a man on the docks started shouting and ringing a bell furiously. Nobody came to his signal though and the fog quickly swallowed him up.

Within seconds, the entire town vanished before Zelda’s eyes in the dense fog. She slammed the window shut and began to back away in horror. A faint green mist began swirling from the ship and Zelda rushed to wake Osmond.

“Do not be alarmed.”

Zelda whirled her eyes around the room, looking for the source of the voice.

“It’s alright, Zelda,” the voice said, sounding less haunting than it had at first. In fact, it sounded familiar.

“Wh-who’s there?”

The outline of a woman began to form in the window. When it passed through, her figure was more apparent. She wore a long white gown that fluttered like it was hanging in the wind. Her golden hair floated behind her elegantly. Lastly, her gentle face came into focus and Zelda fell to her knees.

“M-m-mother!”

The queen’s ghost extended her arms to her daughter and put them around her, “Hello my dear.”

Zelda’s tears that had been drawn out of fear now turned to a deep longing. She could feel her mother’s embrace, but it was cold and otherworldly. It wasn’t the same as she had felt in her youth.

The queen patted her hands on Zelda’s back, “Shhh… It’s alright now. It’s okay.”

“Mother I-I’m so sorry! I’m sorry!” Zelda sobbed uncontrollably.

“It’s not your fault. You are not to blame. There’s nothing you could have done to save me.”

“I should have been stronger! I should have listened to you before! I’m so sorry!”

“Now that wouldn’t have been the daughter I raised or love,” the queen smiled, looking down at Zelda. “You are strong and independent. Your powers are ones that I could only have dreamed of. You will do great things because of who you are. So do not go blaming yourself for what happened to me.”

“But I-“

“Zelda,” she hushed her daughter once more with the look only a mother could give. “I am so proud of you. You are everything the world needs you to be, and then some. I love you.”

Zelda placed her head in her hands attempting to stop her tears. She felt her mother’s hands rest on her shoulders and memories of her returned in a flash.

“I do not have much time, I’m afraid,” her mother started, changing the subject. “My being here is what some call an echo. Although because of who you are and what is coming, others might refer to it as a prophecy.”

“A prophecy?” Zelda lifted her eyes.

“There is still some evil at work. Rutela is neither the beginning nor the end. She’s a pawn in somebody else’s game.”

“Adok?”

“Adok is involved, but I have seen something far worse at play. When Rutela struck me down, there was more than greed or hatred flowing through her… There was fear. Genuine fear of something else.”

Zelda felt a pit in her stomach.

“Zelda,” the queen said, “I am here to ask that you seek an ancient relic that may provide the answers you need to save Hyrule. To save your friends. To save your family.”

“What must I do?” Zelda asked, mustering all the composure she had.

“Go to the catacombs in Castletown. Beyond a door marked in song, beneath the great doors of life and death, and on a pedestal of time rests this which the royal family hid away. This is the passage I am told will lead you to a powerful tool your ancestors once used in the fight against evil. Go, please.”

“Castletown catacombs… door marked in song… life and death… pedestal of time… Okay… We will go.”

The queen’s figure began to fade.

“My dear, sweet daughter…” she held her hand to Zelda’s face, who clung to the ghostly hand. “I wish you peace and happiness.”

“Please…” Zelda’s tears began to return. “Just a little bit longer.”

“I love you…”

“No, please! Mother! Please! Goddesses!!”

“Good…bye…”

The room returned to normal. The fog that had appeared, vanished. And Zelda sat on the floor of the room on her knees, tears streaming down her face as she clung to the void where her mother’s ghost had just evaporated from.

Osmond awoke and ran to her side.

A short while later, the duo were seated at a table downstairs with Rassa, Fado, and the two girls, Yoon and Lindsey. It was the dead of night and the room had emptied out considerably. Only a few patrons were seated around sporadically. Some were asleep in booths or on the table before them. A small group were quietly playing a game of cards, but keeping spirits merry.

“An echo you say?” Fado asked when Zelda had finished recounting the appearance of her mother.

“The queen was right to call it a prophecy, I say,” Rassa said. “Have you ever experienced this before?”

Zelda shook her head.

“I met with Queen Ruto atop the Sleepless Waterfall,” Osmond interjected.

Rassa eyed him curiously, then nodded approvingly.

“All the songs and poems I know about the Royal Family, and not one mentions the catacombs,” Fado grumbled.

“Nor would they,” Rassa leaned in. “Those haven’t always been used for the most savory things. One of the old kings was said to have buried the bodies of his enemies in the walls, while another tried to offer his son to the Goddesses as a sacrifice because there hadn’t been a daughter in the line to inherit Hylia’s spirit.”

“You really should have kept teaching children, you know?” Fado chided.

“I have,” she motioned to Yoon and Lindsey.

Fado shrugged and took a drink.

“Do you know what relic my mother spoke of?” Zelda asked.

“No, I’m afraid I don’t. There are countless relics the Royal Family has hidden away, and even more that they’ve forgotten about. That said, the locations you mentioned do sound familiar so it’s possible I could navigate you there if given the chance.”

“Returning to Castletown would ruffle some feathers, that’s certain,” Fado said.

“So, don’t come with,” Rassa said.

“Come again?”

Osmond and Zelda exchanged an uncertain glance as well.

“You and Sir Osmond carry on tracking Rutela while I escort the young princess to this destined area.”

“I’m her sworn protector, I can’t allow that,” Osmond spoke up firmly.

“And I’m sure every person in this kingdom and the next knows that,” Rassa fired back. “Fact is you’re not an army. Three Sheikah and a disguise would be better at defending her than you would be on your own.”

Osmond fumed.

“Even with Fado at your side, you’re vulnerable if his magic runs out. Fact is, she’s more at risk with you two than she would be in the most populated city alone.”

“I have plenty of magic, thank you very much!”

“I would protect her at all costs!”

“Even to death? Lot of good you’d do her then.”

“How dare-!”

Zelda stood up, her hair hanging down to hide her face.

“I’ll go.”

The table went silent.

“I’ll go,” she repeated.

Fado let out a long sigh and sat back in his chair. Rassa, wearing a smug grin, sat back as well. Osmond, shoulders dropping, sat back last.

“Can you be ready by tomorrow morning, Rassa?”

Rassa snapped her fingers, “Wagon, horses. We ride, girls!”

The two girls bowed their heads and set off without hesitation. Osmond, still trying to wrap his head around this, turned to Zelda.

“We just set out. It’s also my job to stand by your side and protect you. I swore to your father that I-“

“I know,” she interrupted. She took his hand in hers and continued, “if what my mother said was true, then we have little time. This relic might be what ensures we have the upper hand for good. It’s too important to wait until you’ve captured Rutela. We can have this relic at the same time as you bring her back and then we’ll be set.”

Osmond looked down at her hand, resting gently on the back of his. He raised his eyes to meet hers. The vibrant blue hue of them stood out more with the tears filling the bottom of them.

“I know we hoped this trip would be our chance to be together away from the chaos, but we will have plenty of time together when this is over.”

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, holding his face with one hand.

Swallowing his pride, he nodded in approval.

At dawn, they would go their separate ways.

*          *          *          *          *

The first rays of light cut through the streets of Kingdom Bay. No businesses had started their operations and the docks were still as the mountains to the East and West.

In the courtyard above The Silent Princess, Yoon and Lindsey loaded the final crates of supplies onto the back of a covered wagon. Two horses stood patiently at the front of it, eating some oats from the feed bags tied to their faces.

Zelda stepped out from the stairway, followed closely by Osmond. Zelda was wearing a cloak over some old light Sheikah armor that Rassa had stashed away. It looked as thin as any shirt, and Osmond had raised some concerns. Rassa quickly put them to rest though when she demonstrated a perfectly sound knife shattering the moment she tried to stab through it.

“Enchantments and blessings,” she smiled.

Osmond helped Zelda onto the cart and stared up at the princess.

“Be careful,” he said.

“I will be. You do the same. Don’t be late getting back to Castletown.”

Osmond smiled.

“Right, let’s get a move on!” Rassa hollered, leaning on a cane as she came up the stairs.

The two girls bowed quickly, then hurried to help their elder climb onto the wagon. She glanced at Zelda and smiled.

“You ready, dear?”

Zelda nodded.

Rassa took the reins and snapped them on the backs of the horses. They gave a loud sniff and began to pull the wagon.

Osmond leapt up onto the side of the wagon and kissed Zelda. She clutched his shoulder tightly. Their embrace broke, and Osmond watched as the wagon rolled around the corner and out of sight.

Five minutes later, he and Fado were galloping out of town in the opposite direction. Toward the gray peaks of the Lanayru Mountains.

Towards the Wind Temple.

 

David Wayne Nystrom is a Staff Writer for Zelda Dungeon. This story is an imagining of the final days in Hyrule prior to the Great Flood talked about in the opening cinematic of The Wind Waker. The first seven chapters are available in audio podcast form and there’s a complete soundtrack for the first volume here. Head over to erawithoutahero.wordpress.com or follow the story account on Twitter @ZeldaTEWAH where you can keep up on information regarding the future of the podcast, soundtrack, and other TEWAH news that will be coming soon! David’s top three Zelda games are Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Skyward Sword. He’s also an avid Smash Bros. fan. Every Era Has Heroes…