MindTrap

Chapter 7: Mirror, Mirror

Cam shuffled his feet. He'd fallen out of the old habits he'd learnt as a guard at the castle, and his legs were tiring from standing still.
His companion looked sideways at him. "You look rough, pal."
"Feel rough, Danno." He coughed. "Think I've caught a bug. Okay for you Gorons - you don't get colds."
"You say? My cousin Terka came down with the worst case'o flu you ever saw... Sneezing for days..."
"Eh. Not nice." Cam sighed, and tapped his pike on the ground out of boredom. He was already missing the ranch. Malon, especially. "You got a pack of cards?"
"Nope. "
He squinted down the road. "Shame. I learnt a coupla games from foreign parts..."
"At the ranch? Who taught you?"
He shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if I said." Only the old boss. Suddenly, something caught his eye. Down in the distance, someone was walking up the road. He froze.
That's not...
His heart fluttering, Cam turned aside. When he spoke, it was in a deadly calm voice. "Danno. Go to the castle. Warn whoever's on duty... that he's back."
"...He's back? Who do you..." He got an elbow in the side, although it hurt Cam's arm more than the Goron's chest. "Oh. I see."
"I think he might just be paying a social call." I hope. Malon said, they all said, but I can't believe he'd come back if he was still good inside... "But - if he's not... the queen has to know. She told me herself. If I'm not down to meet you very quickly... it's no good. For your sake, for her sake, for everyone's..." For a moment, there was silence. "What are you waiting for? Get going!"

As Danno rolled away quickly, leaving tracks in the dust, Cam walked on down the road. "Now or never..." he muttered to himself. "Hey! Link! Over here! Thought you'd gone..." He tried to seem calm. But it was a sham. Inside, his mind screamed and you're trying to be friendly with Oni?

White eyes fixed on red as the armoured figure approached.
Cam didn't hear the last words as the blast of blue light flared towards him.
The Fierce Deity strode past, sparing only one glance. "You escaped me so long... but no-one does."

The Goron barrel-rolled into Zelda as she walked into the library.
"What?" she yelled, surprised and shocked. "Why are you..."
"I heard you wanted warning if... your old advisor... came back. So that's what I'm doing."
She went pale. "Never. That's it. Have you seen Impa? I'm going away. And I want her to come with me."
"Haven't seen her - but going away, your highness?"
"Yes. Until it's all safe." Until he's gone. She began to walk away, and paused. "Thank you. You might have saved my life..." The last was in a whisper. Still, there was no time to delay now.

Zelda slowly proceeded away until she was out of anyone's view - before running as fast as she could, in a way that did not suit a country's ruler.
But if he's coming back... I'm no ruler any more.
Maybe I'm nobody...
But I've got to get away. Make time to think things through.
Making a rough guess, she began to head towards her chambers. Even if she didn't find Impa quickly, she could at least get rid of the worst of her royal robes - if she had the time. Anything that would make her less conspicuous, though she doubted that would help.

"Your highness! You look as frightened as a little kid! Where are you going in such a rush..." the voice she trusted the most in the world called to her, as she frantically sprinted through the halls.
"How many times, Impa... call me Zelda. There's no-one around. Not yet, anyway, and that's what I'm worrying about. He's back!"
"Who's 'he', then?"
"Two words for you. First one's 'Fierce'. You can guess the second."
"Oni? You told me that he'd apologised..." The sage looked on, worried. "He'd reformed, you said."
"I wouldn't trust his apology. Not after what I've heard." Zelda paused. "We've got to get out of here. You know how he treated you."
Sadly, remembering, Impa shook her head. "I see your meaning. I know you wouldn't abandon the castle if you didn't think it was serious." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I can get us out of here quickly - I hope. There's an old teleportation spell I used to use, though I haven't tried it for a long time... It won't take us far, just - say, to the stables... And you're not dressed for travelling."
"I know. But do you think..."
"Don't worry about getting to your room. I've got another trick for that... Hold my hand. I hope I can pull this off."

It was a different Zelda who rode free of the castle. Not the Sheik of another timeline - a young woman still, but dressed almost Sheikah-style.

"Hey - Alena? When did you get..." Malon commented on her friend's unusual clothing choice. Sheikah, though she couldn't recognise it as such.
"This was the stuff I brought from Termina, remember? Thought it would be best for riding in."
"You sure you still want to go? The weather's changing pretty badly..."
"It'll do me good to take my mind off things." She reached to climb onto Shara's back, but paused. "Wait. Let me go get something from the house, okay?"
"No problem. I left my whip in the barn. I never use it, mind, but helps if I hold it."
They split up, leaving Epona and her daughter alone. The horses whickered faintly. There was a familiar smell on the air.

As the horses pounded away across the drawbridge, Zelda risked a quick look back. Dark clouds seemed to be gathering over the castle's turrets. Much as they were doing in her heart. She could almost imagine the expression on that furious painted face now - assuming that he was interested in her for whatever reason. But there was no other logical conclusion she could draw. Why, otherwise, would he have come back? He'd apologised, true, the one day that she had seen him as who he had been before his transformation. She hoped with all her heart that it was the old Link, the hero she had once known, who had returned - but she knew that it could never be. The brewing storm was a testament to that much. It couldn't be coincidence, surely.
"H'yah, Moonlight!" She spurred her horse on. Behind her, she could see Impa increasing speed to match, her grey charger moving up into a flat-out gallop.

Eventually, they slowed to a walk, and began to talk.
"Fine, Zelda - we're out. I can only guess that you've got a good place to hide out now... I used to know a few. However, I think he knows them too."
"That's a good question. I wonder... do you think we'd be safe if we headed to the ranch? The Lon Lon place? Maybe not for long - but it would do to get our bearings. Is that alright?"
"We're at risk anywhere. At least we're promised a warm welcome there - just as travellers."
"I wouldn't want it any other way. If news gets about..."
"Right. Let's go." At a steady trot, they headed onwards.

Reaching the ranch, they dismounted. "Wait here," Impa commented. "I'll go find the owners." Quickly, she walked away.
Zelda waited for a little, but felt strange by herself. Insecure from a distant threat. She patted the horses on the nose, and made up her mind to look for herself. Shortly, she spotted a red-haired young woman her age - Malon, she guessed. She'd be the one to ask.

Impa spotted her royal companion's familiar figure walking away from the ranch house. She paused, surprised."Your highness... I thought you had remained with the horses..."
Alena span round hearing the familiar voice. 'Your highness'? Her mother had called her 'my princess' as a child, but that had only been a joke... Still, that had been her voice, surely enough. "Mum?..." The words choked up in her throat before logic could force them back. She knew where her mother was - a world away. This wasn't her.
"Zelda? What do you mean?"
"I'm... I'm not Zelda!"
"Sure." Impa's eyes twinkled. "I thought the Queen of Hyrule would be past this sort of joke..."
"No... I'm serious. You've got me confused with... with the queen." Even as she spoke, Alena couldn't believe it. Are we really that much alike? I mean, I can look at you, you look like my mother but I can tell you're not, now I've seen... but being compared to royalty... ha. I wish.
"Now - that's impossible. What are you trying to tell me?" The Sheikah's voice became harder. "And why would you wish to impersonate..."
"I'm not 'impersonating' her! This is the real me. It's a long story, and I don't know how to explain it... heck, Link would, but he's not here..."
The name didn't immediately register with Impa. When it did, it was only as a small boy she had met rather than the young man Alena had known - or the Fierce Deity he had become. "I'm sure I'd like to meet your friend... wait..." she whispered, suddenly remembering. "What do you know of..."

As Alena started to reply, she was interrupted by the sound of a voice almost identical - forget the almost, she thought - to her own. And its owner appeared to be bothered by something. She headed off to see what had happened. But who that was was not hard to guess.

"Did you get - whatever it was?" Malon yelled to the familiar figure waiting by the horses - no, different horses. She didn't recognise them.
"Who are you talking to?"
"'Lena, this isn't a joke! You're talking like... c'mon, it's just me..."
"I'm sorry - but you're making no sense, either! Do you mean you don't recognise me?" A sigh. "Zelda?"
Malon almost let out a shriek. She'd virtually forgotten. "Zelda - you're... your highness! I'm sorry - but you just look like... there's someone I know, she's been living around here a few months now. I didn't expect to see you here, so... you see?"
Zelda paused, confused. "Someone who looks like me? I don't get it... that sounds impossible."
"I thought that too, but a lot of impossible things went on the day we first met. I'm just wondering where she went..." She whistled. "Did anyone come with you, your..."
"There's no need for that. But yes - I brought my advisor, Impa."
Malon nearly swore. "Alena - that's my friend, your... your twin, almost - said that her mother was called... this isn't good... Hang on. Come with me... please. Any luck, she'll be..." She began to walk away, Zelda following.

The pairs met. And stopped.
Slowly, Alena and Zelda stepped forwards in total amazement.

In silence, they looked into their own eyes. Even those who knew them best had trouble telling the differences between them at a casual glance. Perhaps, now Malon and Impa looked more closely, they could tell the parallels apart - but, if they were so much as to blink, the pair would appear identical again.
Zelda and Alena each raised a hand, moving as if they were in a trance. Even the Triforce markings matched, as they reached out fingertip-to-fingertip.

"Nayru..." Zelda whispered, inaudibly. This stranger, yet no stranger - an entirely different personality lived behind the face she had seen in the mirror all her life. This could all have been the most elaborate of illusions.
"Farore..." Alena murmured under her breath. Even though she had already known of Zelda's existence, to come face to face with someone her exact double still took her breath away. It was almost like a waking dream.

As their fingers touched, they realised this was no dream. Two pairs of blue eyes locked in a strange understanding for one fleeting moment, before almost in shock they pulled away.

"Why... please, what are you doing here? Your highness?"
Zelda smiled. "There's no need for that - here, I'm not the queen. Just somebody trying to escape..." She sighed, shook her head, and looked back at her parallel. "The ranch is the safest place I know to rest a while."
"Escape what?"
Both Malon and Alena looked on in surprise as Zelda finished speaking.
"Oni's returned. I can't stay at the castle, not now... if you would be so kind as to let me stay here..."

For a moment, there was silence. Then the Terminian and the rancher spoke at once.
"What?"
"Link? How could he..."
"She said... I mean, he ...changed, but..."
"How? Why?..."

There was no need for the three sisters to use words to communicate. Any messages travelled from one celestial mind to the next at the speed of thought.
Emotions, too. And one of those was present in all three at once.
Fear. Not too strong a word to use, even of a goddess' state of mind.

He's returned.
We all knew that, Nayru - we gave him back his powers!
Not all... he's still an exile, remember! He's part-human, now. Can't come back to us as he was - before this happened.
I can't imagine that...
You've never been there in the worlds, Din, since the beginning. I thought he was happy as one of them...
How?
You don't miss what you don't remember.
That's the problem! We never thought - but he does! It's...
He's going to be angry.
I'd say fierce.
I'd say - dangerous. Even to us here... He's resourceful, human life has taught him that much.

There was one thing that the three sisters did not need to mention. If they were destroyed... Hyrule, Termina... all would fall in turn.

I can only hope that he can be stopped...
You won't try yourself?
I did! It's not so simple... he's immune to our powers from here. We'd have to stop him - down there...

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