LEGEND OF ZELDA
BOOK VI OF THE HYRULE TERMINUS SAGA
THUNDER PLAINS
CHAPTER II
DISTANT PASTS
The three of them sat down and Shadow said, “I have a gift from the Great Fairy Queen. It's called a memory charm. It lets you see into your past, as well as those connected with you.” Pulling out a crystal that was radiating a soft white glow, he continued, “Even though only an instant passes, it seems much longer. All you have to do is touch the crystal, and you will see the knowledge it holds.” Looking at the other two, he said, “Keep in mind, what you see, you cannot be unseen. So think hard before we do this.” Sheik said calmly, “We can't help Link if we don't know the truth about all of us. I'm in.” Saria nodded and said, “It's not really like we have a choice.”
Shadow nodded and held the crystal and said, “Then it's agreed. Let's do this.” The three of them touched the crystal and were engulfed in a bright flash of light. When it faded, the three of them stood in Kokiri forest during a terrible storm. A Dark World Kokiri was running as though chased by the demons of hell themselves. He took a quick look behind him and yelled, “Esmeralda! We have to Hurry!” A beautiful female who was obviously Kokiri caught up to him and said, “I think we lost them for the moment, Vale. But it wont be long before they find us again.”
The man called Vale nodded. “They won't rest until they slay the four of us.” Saria moved over to them and say an infant Link in her hands and Shadow in the father's Saria said stunned, “Twins? You and Link are twins?” Esmeralda and Vale started running again as an arrow barely missed them. Shadow, Saria and Sheik ran in pursuit. Saria yelled, “Why are we running? We should be helping them!” Sheik shook his head and replied, “This is a memory. We might be seeing everything...” he then deliberately ran through a tree, concluding, “We don't exist in here. We don't have solid forms.”
Shadow smiled and said, “So you've used this before?” Sheik shrugged. “No. I was told about these crystals by Impa. She has quite the collection.” After a while of running, Vale and Esmeralda took cover in the bushes. The female said, “If he still uses this path, Mikar will be passing by to hunt. If we leave Link here, he'll be found. The soldiers haven't seen the children, so they may stand a chance.” Vale shook his head and replied, “If Mikar doesn't pass, he will die.” The female nodded, wiping tears from her eyes, said, “I know, but if the soldiers find us, we will all die.” After a moment, Vale nodded in surrender. “Alright. We'll leave him here and pray to our Deities that he is found safely.” The father handed the infant his sword and the mother her shield as a sign that the child was Kokiri and again ran from the hunters. Shortly, a haughty Kokiri wandered down the path and found the child. Looking at the items and a small note, he said, “Well, my little missing Link. I hope you weren't hurt. Let's get you home...” taking a couple of sniffs, he muttered, “And changed.”
* * * * *
The air blurred around them and they found themselves in different area of the forest. A Sheikah, Gerudo and two Kokiri in the same fashion as Link were running. The difference was that there was a female green haired infant and a blond male infant with dark skin in their arms. They were running fast in fear, and considering two of them were elite warriors, said something about the severity of the situation. They fleetly traveled and the female Sheikah said, “Our pursuers are gaining fast. How much farther to the river?” The female Kokiri said, “Not close enough!” The Gerudo male said, “We'll need to split up to keep from being found. Saria, Sura. You two head to the river and we will draw them away.”
Saria shook her head and said, “No! You'll be killed!” The muscular Badlands Kokiri smiled. “I told you when we wed that I would give my life for you without question. The time to fulfill that promise is now. We won't defeat them, but we can at least buy some time. The other two made it to their uncles, now we have to make sure the other two remain safe. You know what's at risk if we don't do this. You had the vision. Our children and a set of twins. And the creature that almost destroyed all existence all those eons ago. We have to make sure they last long enough to prevent that nightmare from becoming reality.”
Saria nodded. “You're right.” She kissed her husband one final time and said, “I'll meet up with you after.” Sura said to her husband, “Don't kill any of them, or you'll have me to deal with on the other side.” The Gerudo smiled and said, “Well, then. Maybe I'll bring one or two with me after all.” After a solid smack to her husband's head, the four of them split ways. The two females ran as fast as they could until after a short time, they could hear their husbands death screams. Saria wanted to turn around and run to her husband's side, but she knew that there was far too much at stake. She had seen so herself.
They continued until they reached a river. Saria said, “This river will bring them to the village. We need to hurry.” They took a pair of wooden cradles off their backs and placed the infants in them. After, the lay the makeshift boats into the water and let them travel with the current. As the infants left their line of sight, Sura was hit in the back by an arrow and fell to the ground, lifeless. Saria yelled, “Sura! SURA!!” Knowing that her friend's time in the world had ended, she looked at the soldiers and raised her arms to her sides. Three arrows hit her in the chest and she fell to the ground. As the last of her life drained from her body, her gaze fell upon a lone forget-me-not blooming not even a foot away from her. She whispered one final wish that she would be remembered by her children as her spirit left the world forever.
* * * * *
In Kokiri village, a five year old Link was playing in the river, happily splashing water in the face of a red haired child two years his elder. The haughty man who found them yelled, “Link! Mido! Don't go too far out into the currents. I don't want you both wearing yourselves out before sword practice.” The pair yelled, “Yes, papa!” and continued playing. Mido went to pounce and Link prepared to dodge when the blond child noticed something floating towards them. The elder child landed on top of him and put his head under water, saying, “Don't get spacey, Link!” The child popped his head above the current and said, “Mido! Look!” The red haired child laughed. “I'm not falling for that again.”
Link began moving deeper into the river with the elder saying, “Hey! Papa told us...” he stopped when he noticed what Link had found. Turning to the shore, he yelled, “Papa! There's something in the river! I think they're cradles!” The haughty man rushed over to the bank and his eyes widened. “Link! Mido! Fetch those before they go upstream!” The two children swam out into the current and retrieved the cradles. Mikar looked at the notes and said, “You two are excused from sword practice today. Something important has come up. Mido looked at the crying child and said, “You mean changing them?”
Link looked at the two children and waved at them. When he did, the crying stopped. Mikar smiled and said, “Well, Link. It looks like you just made two new friends. Let's go to their new parents.” Link was about to question the comment when he noticed that one of the cradles had blood on it. He knew at that moment what happened to the real parents and said, “Papa. If it's okay, I'd like to help look after them.” Mikar smiled and said, “That's very grown up of you. I'm certain that there will be no problems with the parents in letting you into their lives. Come. Let's get them home.”
* * * * *
Saria and Sheik looked at Shadow as they returned to the plains. “I didn't know that he had been with us our whole lives like that,” Saria said softly. Sheik added. “It does explain a lot about what's going on.” Shadow got to his feet and looked at the sky for a moment before saying, “The two of you needed him for so long, and now he needs you. And come hell or high water, I'm not going to turn my back on him either. Let's go.”
