Key Quest: Air and Fire by Judy Colella (first color ebook reader TXT) 📕

“But how did you know that?” he asked, wanting to keep the conversation going forever.

“I had a dream.” She stood a little straighter and cast a quick glance behind at the window before continuing in a lower voice. “In this dream, dark storm clouds were billowing over the Land of Hyrule.” She shivered. “But suddenly, a ray of light shot out of the forest to the west, parting the clouds. From the opening it left, something even brighter lit up the ground, and at first that was all I could see. But then the light turned into a figure holding a green, shiny stone, and was followed by a fairy.” She stopped and stared at Navi for a moment. “Anyway, because it was so real, I knew this was a prophecy – I’ve had them before, you see, and was told how to know the difference between a regular dream and one that foretold something.”

“And what was this foretelling?”

“That someone would come from the forest, so of course, I thought you might be the one. And this person – oh! I am so sorry! I got carried away with my story and everything, and didn’t even introduce myself properly!” She squared her shoulders, changing her stance to something that made Link feel like he should bow. “I am Zelda,” she told him with great solemnity. “Princess of Hyrule. What is your name?”

Gulp. “Link.”

She repeated it a few times. “Hmph. Strange. It sounds somehow…familiar.” Zelda seemed to shake off whatever was nagging at her subconscious. “Okay, then! Link, I’m going to tell you the secret of The Sacred Realm, a secret that has been passed down by the Royal Family of Hyrule. Please keep this a secret from everyone. It goes like this.”

As she began, he found himself wondering if it was the same story as the one the Great Deku Tree had told him, since his tale had also involved the Sacred Realm. Not that it mattered. He would have listened happily even if she’d started talking about the flowers. Soon, however, he realized her story was not the same at all.

Link stood respectfully as the Princess spoke. He would have preferred sitting down, but since she wasn’t, he didn’t think he should be, either. Besides, he was really enjoying the fact that she spoke to him with the confidential air of a long-time friend.

She began by making sure he knew what the Triforce was, then told him the rest. “The three Goddesses, as you probably know, hid the Triforce, which contained the power of the gods, somewhere in Hyrule. Now this power is simple – it grants the wish of whoever holds the Triforce in his or her hands. Naturally, if that person has a righteous heart, Hyrule will be led into a golden age of prosperity. But if someone with an evil mind has his or her wish granted, the world will be consumed by evil! Well, that is what has been foretold. So the ancient Sages built the Temple of Time to protect the Triforce from evil ones.”

“Excuse me – is this Temple the huge building I saw on the edge of town when I was heading here?”

“That’s right. Now, the Temple of Time is the entrance through which you can enter the Sacred Realm from our world.”

Link put his head to one side, thinking. “But…then anyone can just go into the Temple and get into the Sacred Realm, right?”

“Oh, no. Inside the Temple, the actual entrance is sealed with a stone wall called The Door of Time. In order to open it, they say you need to collect three Spiritual Stones.”

So that was why she’d called the Kokiri Emerald a “spiritual stone!” he thought. “And then what?”

“Well, as the legend goes, you need one final part of the key to enter – the Royal Family Treasure!”

A mosquito landed on his arm and bit him. He swatted at it, scratched, and nodded. “What’s the treasure? Another kind of stone?”

“Oh, no, Link! Something much better – The Ocarina of Time!”

He thought about Saria’s ocarina, and wondered how such a simple instrument could be of such great importance. Perhaps the Royal Family’s ocarina was made of some precious metal, or had jewels on it, or –

“Oh! I almost forgot!”

“Yes?”

She gestured at the window. “Before you came, I was, well, I was spying through this window.” She blushed. “I know better than to behave that way, and my father would be appalled, but…it’s the other element of my dream. The dark clouds.”

There were dark clouds inside the Castle? “What, er, what do you mean?” he asked carefully, not wanting to appear stupid.

“I believe they’re a symbol, that they represent a horrible man who has been spending time with the King. This window looks into the Throne Room, and the man is in there right now, talking to my father.” She stepped away from the window and half-whispered, “Would you look at him? Tell me what you think?”

He almost asked her why, since after all he was only a boy from the Kokiri Forest who knew nothing about all this legend and royal stuff. He didn’t, though. The look she was giving him was so full of hope, something else that confused him. With a shrug, Link nodded and went to the window. Which nearly caused a disaster – he had never encountered glass before, and knew nothing about windows glazed with it. It was a good thing, then, that only his fingertips hit it when he went to grasp the sill.

Pulling his hands back, he looked with surprise at the window, then at his smarting fingers, and finally reached out a hand, palm up, until it came to rest against the glass. Cool and smooth, this was not magic of some sort. But what –

“Our windows are covered in glass, Link. You probably don’t need it in the forest. But here, we get some pretty heavy rain, and what we have inside would be damaged if it got wet. Besides, the glass keeps people inside from hearing things outside.” She smiled.

How kind you are. “I see. Thank you.” Because there had been no smugness in her explanation or voice, he didn’t feel embarrassed about his ignorance. Grateful, he returned his attention to the window.

At first, all he saw were two guards standing against the far wall, a dark blue carpet like a fuzzy river going down the center of the room from left to right, nothing more. A second later, someone walked into view along the carpet – a tall, powerful-looking man with red hair, eyes that somehow gave the impression of slyness, of evil. He stopped when he was directly in front of the window and went to one knee before whoever was in front of him and to Link’s right.

One hand was crossed over the man’s chest in a gesture of fealty and he bowed his head, the jewels on dark, silver-studded leather armor, and a single red one in his ear sparkling in the room’s light.

“Who is he?” Link whispered, not sure why he was doing so. Surely the man wouldn’t hear him at this distance, and with a glass-covered window between them as well.

“His name is Ganondorf,” she said, her voice trembling. “He’s the leader of the Gerudo, who hail from far in the west.”

The Gerudo…Gerudo Valley…Link didn’t like the sounds of that at all, especially after the way the Know-It-Alls had described their prison.

“Even though he swears allegiance to my father,” she was saying, “I’m sure he isn’t sincere. I believe the dark clouds in my dream symbolize that man!”

Link leaned a little closer to try and see him better, but the man suddenly turned, his eyes boring into the boy’s, and an ugly smile split the man’s dark face. Startled, Link jumped back, his own eyes wide.

“What happened?” Zelda took his hand, her expression filled with alarm. “Did he see you?”

She’s holding my hand! Wow! “Y-He did.”

“Oh, dear. Not that I think you should worry. He has no idea what we’re planning. Not yet, anyway.”

We?! How wonderful that little word sounded when she said it! He suppressed an urge to clap his hands and start skipping. “Ah.” That sounded clever. Right. And then something occurred to him. “Hold it – you didn’t tell your father any of this, did you?”

“What – about my dream? Of course. I always tell him! Especially if I think something bad will happen to our people, or to the land. He is King, after all, and needs to know such things.” She sighed, dropped his hand, and turned away. “I don’t think he believes it was a prophecy, though.” Now she sounded sad. “Oh, Link, even if I’m wrong about that, I still think that man’s intentions are evil. Ganondorf must be after nothing less than the Triforce itself! I’m sure he’s trying to find a way into the Sacred Realm! Why else would a Gerudo come to Hyrule? They never leave the desert! I wouldn’t be surprised if he were trying to conquer Hyrule – the whole world, in fact.”

“And you told your father this, too?”

She nodded, visibly upset. “It looks like only you and I can protect Hyrule now.” Grabbing both his hands this time, she asked, “Do you believe me, Link?”

Had the Deku Tree not told him about his having a destiny, or that he had to seek out and speak with the Princess of Destiny who had to be Zelda, or about the Triforce, and had he not faced the evil of Gohma and those disgusting plants, he might have hesitated. Perhaps even considered the girl a bit daffy. But he’d been prepared for this, and besides…she was hold his hands, squeezing them, and he was elated in a way that left him short of breath. How very, very strange. He had no idea what that meant, but knew he believed every word of her story. So he told her that yes, he believed her completely.

“Oh, thank goodness!” She gave him a quick hug that nearly made his knees buckle, then released him. “I’m so afraid, Link. I have a feeling that man is going to destroy Hyrule.”

“How?”

“He has a terrifying power – I can feel it.” She put out a hand and touched his cheek, unaware that the gesture nearly caused him to faint. “It’s good that you’re here, Link, that you came to the Castle. I knew you would. We cannot let Ganondorf get the Triforce!”

“W-what can we do to stop him?” His voice came out about an octave too high and he felt himself redden.

“Simple. I will protect the Ocarina of Time with all the power I have,” she said, nothing in her response indicating she’d noticed his discomfiture. “He shall not get his hands on it! In the meantime, you must find the other two Spiritual Stones. Then together, we can get the Triforce before Ganondorf does, and defeat him!”

Yeah! We’ll…oh, boy. I need to sit down.

She dropped his hands again and turned away, reaching into a pocket in the elegant apron covering the front of her gown. “One more thing, Link.” She took out a folded piece of paper, opened it, and scribbled something inside with