Fan Fiction Friday: The Man Behind the Masks – Part 5

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As it turned out, the tunnel was a squeeze even for me. I wasn’t afraid of tight spaces; I had hidden from Yasei many times in cramped tree trunks or under hedgerows, but the pitch black seemed to go on forever. I crawled on, dragging my satchel. The gritty soil sifted through my fingers until they met something cold. I snatched them back, licking my dry lips. Could this be the Fairy Fountain? Slowly, I flattened one palm onto the smooth surface. It felt solid enough. I reached out, flailing my arm around and above; realizing there was a lot more space than first thought. My confidence grew.

Green torches… I shuffled forward, blinking as I adjusted to the dimness. The rush of cascading water was all around, lit up in tones of twinkling purple and pink. Four gigantic columns etched with strange markings held up the mysterious structure. On closer inspection, they were a language I had never seen before. I skipped up the small steps that led to a tile with yet another Triforce, and stared. What a strange place for a fairy to live.

All was forgotten however, as I spotted a deep pond at the furthest point of the cave. As I came near, the water began to glow in hues of red and yellow as if it were an underground sunset. I felt compelled to touch the water, but it started to bubble and then a horrendous shriek echoed in my ears. What appeared to be a woman with crimson hair emerged; spinning like a top, sending a shower of water in all directions. My shirt was soaked.

“Welcome, I am…” She stopped, sweeping away the green ivy draped across her beautiful face.

“The Great Fairy?” I finished for her with a squeak.

Her violet eyes, with impossibly long eyelashes narrowed.

Perhaps interrupting a magical being is not the done thing? I coughed. “Pardon me for the intrusion, but how do you float in mid-air like that? Is it magic? How long have you lived down here?”

“Hey, boy!” Her tone reminded me of my old school teacher, Mrs Kibishi. A low, authoritative drawl that accompanied tongue twisters and chanting tables. The Great Fairy however, unlike Mrs Kibishi was suspended in the air.  She lay on her side, one slim arm resting lightly on her hip. “You don’t look like a messenger of the Royal Family to me.”

“A messenger of the Royal Family?” I scratched my head. “Well no, I suppose my attire is rather lacking in an official capacity, although I must admit, I never expected a Great Fairy to wear a leopard print leotard of all things.”

She turned in an arc, resting her face in her hands and studying me, as if I were the curious creature. “In the past, I have always been summoned by an ocarina,” she explained, “but you do not appear to have one. Who are you boy?”

“My name is Ronri Okane.”

“And what brings you here, Ronri Okane?”

Actually, I had put a lot of thought into what I was going to say, except now it came down to it, the reason sounded rather silly.

“I would like to know if a mask can give the power to cast spells.”

The Great Fairy raised an eyebrow. “Masks exist that do as you say. Some masks grant the ability to dance, grow tall or short and there is even a mask that allows the wearer to borrow the power of a deity for a time, why?”

Such powers sounded fantastical, a world away from my village of farmers and merchants.

“I have a mask,” I said, fumbling inside my satchel. “I believe it has magic inside of it.”

Within seconds, the Hero’s mask had vanished and reappeared in the Great Fairy’s hands. She sniffed at it, as if somehow the smell might be an indicator. Then she licked the paint and my stomach lurched. I tried not to feel ungrateful, but the thought of wiping fairy spittle off Yasei’s birthday gift was rather unsettling. Finally, she tried on the mask and sang a high-pitched scale that set my teeth on edge.

When my ear drums had recovered, the Great Fairy shook her head.

“No, there is no magic in this mask.”

“Oh.”

“I sense power in you though.” She frowned, placing the Hero’s mask on the Triforce tile in front of her. “Your presence was enough to disturb my slumber and that is rare.”

“Power, inside of me?”

“Indeed; so tell me, what do you know of ancient magic, boy?”

“I know nothing, I swear!”

“And yet… something led you to seek me out.”

“Yes, that’s right. A burst of dark energy. It hurt my father. I wanted to know what it was. I thought the mask-”

“No, this ‘dark energy’ you speak of, came from you and you alone.”

I had hoped the answer was a simpler one, but alas it was not to be. This information led only to more uncomfortable questions. “Please, how do I stop it?”

“You can’t,” the Great Fairy said simply. “You must control it.”

“How do I do that?”

“That I cannot say, fairies and your kind are very different. It would be like a fish trying to teach a horse how to breathe underwater.”

“But-”

She held up her hand. “Enough, my purpose here is to assist any messenger of the Royal Family with the gift of Din’s Fire. It is not to meddle with the affairs of other beings. I am sorry, but I will not help you any further.”  A long, manicured fingernail pointed back towards the narrow tunnel. “You must not return here, Ronri Okane, I will make sure of it.”

With these final words, the Great Fairy shrieked again and disappeared back into the pond.

“Please, is there nothing more?” I ran to the pool and forced my head beneath the water. “I don’t know who else to ask!” My plea became nothing more than garbled bubbles that raced back to the surface. I was forced to breathe again, choking in a fit of coughs and splutters. What did I do wrong? I asked myself, picking up the Hero’s mask and cuddling it to my chest.

At once, the floor began to tremble. A cave in. That is certainly one way of securing the entrance, if a tad extreme! I finally took heed of the Great Fairy’s instruction. As I fought my way back down the tunnel, I tried to ignore the awful “what ifs” whizzing around inside my brain. What if I can’t control the power? What if I hurt someone else? What if I’m buried alive?

By the grace of the Goddesses I managed to escape. But as I felt the chilly wind, the silhouette of an enormous boulder rolled down the cliff face towards me. I rolled out the way and could only watch as the Fairy Fountain entrance was blocked. I reached out and pushed against the boulder, but it was jammed firmly in place. I’ll never be able to move that.

With such a dismal thought, I felt a sting in my throat that would not go away and ran blindly into the night. Someone called out to me, but a shrill whistle sounded. Paralyzed, I tried to piece together where I was. Too late, there was a pull at my cloak and I was hoisted up high. In the glow of a lamp, I came eye to eye with a stern, bearded face partially hidden beneath a curved helmet. I saw the Royal Crest on his tabard and my heart sank.

I thought the guard was never going to stop bawling as he dragged me back to the gatehouse.

“Only going to visit The Great Fairy, do you think I was born yesterday?” he said.

I could imagine the bars on the cell windows already, hear the slam of a bolted door and gag from the moldy, lumpy porridge they served as food. But more terrifying was what Akisin would say, and worse still what she would do.

“If I see you hanging around here again, I’ll have yer,” the guard barked. And with that, he threw me out and slammed the gate shut.

*       *       *      *      *

Even when the guard was long gone, I still stared dumbly after him. “Is that all?” I looked at the moon and started to chuckle. The chuckle graduated to a giggle. I have powers and I need to control them… The giggle became a laugh, a deranged laugh that I didn’t like the sound of. I covered my ears. This is ridiculous. What do I do now? The muscles in my stomach grew taut and it began to hurt. My eyes watered and I knew I should stop but when I tried, the laughter was a flood pouring out of me. In desperation, I pinched the skin between my thumb and forefinger but it continued. I could hear Father’s voice now; “Pack it in,” he hissed. “Get a hold of yourself!”

Wait, that couldn’t be Father…

“Snap out of it, Ronri!”

“Akisin?” I hadn’t recognized the woman as she was wearing a stripy nightcap.

She grabbed my shoulders and gave them a shake. “Why are you soaking wet? Come on, talk to me.”

“I reckon it’s driven him coo-coo. I did warn him, you know.”

“Shut up Guru-Guru and make yourself useful.”

The warmth of their bodies as we staggered home was an immense comfort. Akisin had to hobble along the street though as Guru-Guru and I were a good few inches shorter than herself. By the time we reached the store, my coughing had worsened.

“Get a fire going,” Akisin instructed, wrapping a blanket around my quivering form. “Right, spit it out, what did that blinking fairy do?”

I hung my head, hot tears running down my nose.  “Nothing, anything… She didn’t do anything. She wouldn’t tell me anything.” I blubbered.

“I see,” the carpenter said at length. “Well, I knew you were up to something, but of all the cucco brained ideas I’ve ever heard. Sneaking out in the middle of the night. Waking up fairy folk, stirring up trouble, I thought out the pair of you, you were the responsible one.”

At that, I threw off the blanket. “I am being responsible!  Don’t you see?”

“Keep your voice down, do you want to wake the whole street?” She stabbed at the fire with her poker making the embers dance.

“But I feel it,” I croaked. “The Great Fairy said it comes from me.”

“That what comes from you? You better start making sense, Ronri. I’m getting too old and too crabby to lose my beauty sleep.”

Through my sniffles I tried to explain. “Dark power that bursts out… My hands red hot and then there were sparks… jagged sparks, and then a dark ball and then wachow!”

Guru-Guru shook his head. “Yep, she’s definitely fried his brain.”

I snatched a few breaths. “I am far saner than you’ll ever be!”

“You don’t sound it,” he sang.

The kettle whistled and Akisin poured some water. “Here,” she muttered offering the steaming mug. She eased herself into a chair. “Let me see if I’ve got the gist. We’ve lived under the same roof for six months, and in all that time you never thought to mention any of this?”

“I’m truly sorry… I have to know why… that was my whole purpose for coming here. If I can’t find the answers, then what was the -” I attempted to force out more words, to communicate, but they failed.

“Whoa, Okane. You look ready to explode.”

My hands clawed at my throat.

“Ronri, you’re taking in too much air, slow down.”

I heard a crash, brittle porcelain shattered as water sloshed across the shop floor. Voices rose but I did not comprehend. I could only focus on my wheezing gasps that grew more and more desperate. What is happening? I thought as the darkness claimed me.

 

Featured art: Alison Brunyee via Canva.com

The Man Behind the Masks is taking a break for a while. This is an origin story for the Happy Mask Salesman from my own imagination. So many have agreed this character deserves more development, so here’s hoping Nintendo do something about that soon. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have enjoyed the story so far. Good luck in your own writing hopes and dreams. All the best x 

Alison Brunyee is an Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She likes reading manga and collecting Japanese wind chimes. Her favorite Zelda game is Ocarina of Time.