The Reborn Light

They were standing in the palace courtyard. The grass was fresh and green under their feet, sparkling merrily from the drops of dew scattered across their green blades. Multi-colored trees towered above their heads, bushes of berries cropped up between their trunks, and flowers could be seen beyond the layers of trees. Saria loved it here. She always forgot that she was still within the palace walls, believing that she was free within the wild world of the forest. She spent much of her time here amongst the trees, her face bathed in the fresh sunlight. Her favorite pastime was leaping from branch to branch on her way to the brook in the eastern corner of the woods.

Saria placed her hands on her hips and glared at her younger brother. "You sissy! It's just a tree!" She sighed dramatically and turned to Link. "You're not scared, are you?"

"What if I fall mommy?" Link asked

Zelda's bare toes wiggled happily in the wet grass. Her slippers lay haphazardly where she had kicked them off several feet away, looking absurdly out of place amidst the several-inches tall grass of the wooded courtyard. It felt wonderful to step out of the cold marble of the palace and into the fresh grass of the courtyard. She breathed in the smell of the forest, that combination of sharp pine, subtle berry, and faint flowers, and felt her muscles relax. What a relief, after the weeks of travelling and the constant fear of being found by Ganondorf's forces, to simply stand here in the forest and breathe.

She knelt down and smiled at her son encouragingly. "Don't worry, Link," she said, brushing a few strands of stray hair from his face, "I'll be right here. See that apple?" She pointed at one of the lower branches of the tree, from which one of the fabled red apples hung. "It's not very high, see? I'll be right here the entire time, and if you fall, I'll catch you."

"Ok" Link walk to the tree and began to climb the tree. He climb to the red apple and grab it.

Taburi's eyes water a bit as he keeps his gaze on the tree. He watches as Link climbs the tree. "...don't like high..."

Saria rolled her eyes at her timid brother. "Please, Tabs, it's not that high! You could probably jump from there and be just fine!" She grinned up at Link. "Well, how bout it, Link? Be a hero and jump!"

Zelda hesitated. On the one hand, she didn't want her child jumping off from a tree-branch. On the other hand, he did possess the Triforce of Courage, and she wanted him to grow accustomed to making his own decisions. "I'll leave it to you, Link," she said. "If you want to jump, jump. I'll catch you, don't worry."

"Ok" Link said and jump while holding the red apple.

Zelda reached up her arms, bracing herself for impact. Link was only three, but he was still heavy after jumping. She doubled over after catching him, and laughed, throwing him up in the air and catching him. She held out her hand for the apple. "My hero!"

Saria smirked. "Nice job, Hero," she said. She looked down at her brother, and noticed his watery eyes. He was clutching his blanket tightly, and Saria's sarcastic comment died on her lips. "Don't worry, Tabs," she said kindly, "you don't have to climb it. Why don't you help me make some of these apples into a pie?"

"Oh," Zelda said, "I'd like that. How about it, Taburi? We can all go down now and make it."

"...okay...I like pie..." Taburi smiles a bit still clutching his blanket. "...don't like tree..."

"Did I do good mommy?" Link asked

"You did amazing, Link," Zelda said. "Now, let's go and put that apple," she nodded at Link's hand, "into a yummy pie!"

Behind Zelda's back, Saria gagged silently. "C'mon, Tabs," she said, "let's go and make some pie." Saria led the way through the forest until the trees thinned into non-being and grass was replaced with smooth marble. They walked through the hallways and eventually came to the kitchen. After talking quietly with the cook, the kitchen emptied of all but the four of them. Zelda bustled around the kitchen, taking down flour, pans, and various other ingredients.

"Alright," she said warmly, "let's make this pie."

One hundred miles away, a man in a dark purple cloak stood in the bright light of day. He was standing on a well-travelled dirt road, and he was completely alone save for the occasional bird. Beside him squatted the sign welcoming travellers to Labrynna. His hood shadowed his face, and only the tip of his nose and a dark pair of lips could be seen. He reached up a gloved hand and slowly pushed it through the air. The air around it warped and sizzled, and he snarled, pulling his scorched hand back. HIs white glove had been burnt, and he disdainfully pulled it off, crushing the ruined glove in his hand. Tongues of flame burst through the cracks between his fingers, and when he opened his hand the glove was gone. He replaced it with a fresh white glove and walked away from sign.

He stopped, rolled his shoulders, and whipped his arm around to point at the air. A crackling ball of dark energy burst from his finger and sped through the air like an arrow. It smashed into an invisible barrier, and somehow, the darkness was bled from it. The concentrated darkness was quickly smothered by the orb's energy, and what was left of the spell's magic was absorbed into the barrier. The man's expression did not change. He turned and left the sign behind, walking along the carriage tracks he had followed to this point. His mission was accomplished. He had a master to report to.

"Ok mommy." Link said

"...can I help...Ms. Zelda...?"

While the Bearer of Wisdom reassured a small child and handed him a sack of flour, the Bearer of Power stood at a balcony underneath a raging storm. The angry grey sky was tinted with red, almost as if it was remembering the fires that had burned through Hyrule Castle Town. Lightning flashed, and Ganondorf breathed deeply the scent of storm. He had been very careful in controlling the fire damage; he did not, after all, want to be the ruler of a razed nation. The fires had only destroyed what he wanted them to destroy, killing specific targets and terrifying the rest of the population into cowering obedience. The fact that the fires had coalesced into enormous fanged snakes and rampaging boars had helped with the mass terror.

Hyrule was his. The land blessed by the Goddesses was, at long last, his to rule. The citizens would struggle at first, he knew, but eventually they would come to accept their fate. The only thing keeping him from absolute power was the Triforce. He needed it to establish his absolute power. He thirsted for its golden shine as a drowning man thirsted for water in the thick of the desert. Once he had it, he could abolish all wickedness and strife from the world. The world would be as the Sacred Realm, devoid of evil and warfare, ruled by his just hand. To make this glorious vision a reality, however, he needed the Triforce. The Triforce!

Ganondorf gripped the marble railing of the balcony tightly, his dark knuckles whitening from the pressure. The Triforce of Wisdom had been so close to being his. He had stormed Hyrule and headed straight for the grand castle of white, prepared to wrest the Triforce of Wisdom from the Princess' life force. Yet the snake had slipped from his grasp, fleeing from Hyrule to another land entirely. The Triforce of Courage, too, had eluded him. The so-called "Hero of Time" had disappeared from the world of men, and he had no information as to the Triforce's whereabouts. He was hoping that the Triforce of Wisdom and Power, when combined, would be able to locate the Triforce of Courage's very unique power frequency.

Ganondorf sensed a disturbance in the natural order of the world behind him. A ripple, a tear in the fabric of reality. He recognized the magic. He did not look round, instead continuing to watch the storm rage. "Master," a smooth voice said behind him, "I have a report." Ganondorf's pulse beat faster, although he did not allow his body to show his excitement. He had sent the Wizzrobe out to follow the tracks that the Princess of Destiny's carriage had made. Could his servant have located the Bearer of Wisdom?

"They are in Labrynna, my Lord. The entire country is protected by a magical barrier." Ganondorf felt a rush of hatred and frustration, but only sighed regretfully.

"I see. Tell me more about this barrier."

The Wizzrobe, who by the sound of his voice was kneeling on the marble floor, quickly responded. "It prevented me from entering into the country, and it burned whatever part of me attempted to do so. Spells, even probing spells, are ineffective against it. It appears that the barrier leeches the magical energy from them and uses it to fuel itself."

"Could we overload it?" Ganondorf asked calmly. "Or contaminate it in some way?"

"Doubtful, my Lord," the Wizzrobe replied. "The shield extends across all of the country, and I doubt we could muster enough energy to overload such a large spell. It also leeches any traces of the caster from spells it comes in contact with, absorbing only the pure magical energy from them."

"I see," Ganondorf said again. He turned around for the first time, and gazed coolly down at the kneeling Wizzrobe. "Tell me, how was the grass?"

"The grass, my Lord?" The Wizzrobe said hesitantly.

"Yes," Ganondorf said evenly, "the grass. You said it burned you. How was the grass?"

The Wizzrobe licked its lips. "It," he paused, verifying what he was about to say. If he was wrong, his master would have his head. "It was quite intact. Unless the barrier was activated, there seemed no difference between the land on each side."

"Were there any charred corpses of birds anywhere nearby?"

"No, my Lord."

Ganondorf smiled for the first time. "I see. Bring me a human assassin at once, Wizzrobe. Make sure that he is thoroughly non-magical."

The Wizzrobe knew better to question, and anyway, he didn't need to. He was an educated mage, and he understood what his master was thinking. The barrier only reacted to magical entities, so he was to find an ally that was entirely mundane. "It will be done, my Lord." The Wizzrobe's magic ripped a hole in the fabric of reality, and he vanished into it.

Ganondorf turned back to the raging storm, leaning against the slick railing as he smiled into the flashing lights and howling winds. "Soon, I shall have you in my hands again, Princess. You will not escape me again."

Over one thousand miles away, the Princess in question handed a piece of pie to her son.

Link nibble on the pie and smile. "Yummy." Link said happily.

(Anyone here?)

(Yes, sorry. Lucario, are you still interested in playing the dude we talked about? Or does it sap some of the "yaa post!" feeling from you, in which case, would you like me to do it?)

Zelda leaned back against her chair, sighing as she bit into the apple pie. It really was delicious. Looking around the kitchen, she saw that they had made quite a mess of things. Still, when she saw the look on her son's face as he nibbled on the pie, she could not help but feel completely satisfied. She turned to Taburi and smiled.

"How is it?"

To Link, she said, "would you like some more?"

"Yes please" Link said politely to his mother.