Chapter 3

The Great Wizard

Link and Myra stood next to each other watching the others from afar who were standing close together in a circle discussing their options for escaping the castle. Naom stood to the side listening to the conversation as he began what appeared to be a lengthy, complicated process of removing all of that heavy armor. He was virtually wearing his own weight in steel, and since it was Naom…well, that was a lot of steel!

Like the others, Link still wasn't sure whether taking Naom along was wise, considering the situation. The idea that they would be accompanied by a man who, just several minutes before, had been controlled by dark magic to keep Zelda under lock and key was, needless to say, unnerving. Never mind the fact that he was an old ally. Rescuing him in addition to Zelda was taking an immense risk.

Yet, it was Princess Zelda, perhaps the least likely of them all, who insisted they help Naom escape with them. He thought that, if it were he in that cell, he'd be the most eager to leave Naom behind. He could picture the scene in his mind: shivering in the cold darkness awaiting some fate he couldn't fathom, and only the monstrous form of Naom and his emotionless breathing for company. It would have been easy to come to hate him for that miserable condition. And yet Zelda stood up for him. It was astounding, reckless even…and Link couldn't help but admire her for it. Somehow, she must have been able to still see the real Naom, buried and trapped somewhere in the stolen shell of his body. Lesser folks would have left him behind without a second thought.

Link turned his gaze from Naom, fumbling with his greaves, to Zelda's graceful form. She was among the adults in their discussion. She really was quite pretty. Now that she was essentially free of her predicament in the cell, and once he had gotten over the initial shock of her beautiful presence, he could discern a subtle air of pride about her. Wait, was it pride? No, not quite, more like confidence. He knew that feeling well, and he saw it only in a few people. Uncle Smith was one of those few.

Amidst the discussion among the adults, Zelda turned her head and noticed Link watching her. She smiled warmly and simply and raised a gloved hand to him. Link blushed and returned the smile rather weakly. Though he was sure they had never personally met, he had the impression that she knew quite a bit about him.

Myra sighed after a few minutes of silently watching the conversation between the adults. Link turned his head to look at her and saw a depressed expression on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Myra's eyes perked up from the sudden attention, and she turned to him. "What? Oh…it's nothing, really."

"You look disappointed," Link analyzed, "like things didn't work out."

Myra stared blankly into Link's eyes for a moment, then she sat down on the stone floor, pulled her knees up close to her chest, and rested her chin on top. "It's just that…I was half-hoping to find Sarah here."

"Your sister," Link confirmed, taking a seat beside her.

"Yeah." Myra shook her head as though she had thought of something stupid. "I don't know…I didn't really expect to find her here, not when I couldn't sense her anymore. I guess I just really wanted to. I'm not sure what I was thinking." She paused for a moment then added, glancing towards Link, "I'm starting to believe that what you said about staying home would have been the right thing to do."

"Probably," Link agreed, eying the adults again. "Even if everyone wasn't here, I wonder if there ever was anything we could do."

A loud clang echoed throughout the dungeon. Six irritated faces turned to glare at Naom. He was in the process of taking off his shoulder guards, and he had accidentally dropped them as they came undone. "Sorry!" he said with a sheepish grin.

Myra rolled her eyes. "Men…" she moaned, "…clumsier than a Goron with a set of knitting needles."

"I resent that!" Link shot at her.

"Why?" Myra shot effortlessly. "You only proved it earlier this evening. Remember? …When you almost stumbled out of the secret passageway into the two castle guards?"

Link contorted his face into the ugliest frown he could muster, be he had no defense. Myra smirked triumphantly. He quickly steered the conversation back to its original subject. "Your parents seem to know something about what happened to your sister."

"That's true," Myra replied. "They said more has been done for her than I know. What'd they mean by that?"

"Maybe they'll tell you if you ask."

Myra promptly shook her head. "No they won't. They're too protective to tell me anything important like that. And now that Sarah's missing, they're more concerned for my safety than ever. They think I'd go looking for her if I had any clues."

A grin cracked Link's face. "Well…they were right, weren't they?"

Myra couldn't help smirking also. "Yes, that's true."

"I know what you mean, though," Link continued, his thoughts turning to his relationship with Smith recently. "I know he's keeping a load of secrets from me, and he claims it would endanger me if I knew about them at all."

"It's not like I'm a defenseless child anymore," Myra protested to herself. "My final examinations are practically tomorrow, and I've been ready for them since last fall!"

"Examinations?" Link repeated.

"Yes," Myra confirmed. "Students in the magic schools have to take exit exams before they're considered a full-fledged magus."

"You mean, then, you're not a magus right now?" Link questioned with a raised eyebrow. "I thought you said you were…. Did you lie to me?"

"No, I didn't lie!" Myra cried back. "Stop sounding like I just spat on your mother's grave or something! I'm an apprentice magus, which is still technically a magus."

Link seemed to have accepted this, because he responded, "Well, you seemed skilled enough earlier this evening." He then added with a look of puzzlement, "…Even though I only really saw you cast one spell."

"Oh, you haven't seen anything yet," she replied with gusto. "I'm the top of my class, and most of my professors won't admit I'm even better than they are. And Sarah's just as good as me." Myra's posture and facial expressions had barely shifted as she said all this. There was something in her tone that told Link this probably wasn't a stretch of the truth.

Link's eyes again focused back to the discussions before them, watching Zelda in particular. "You know," he chimed in after a minute or two, "if your mom and dad won't tell you anything, maybe Zelda will. If your sister was here, do you think she'd know anything about it?"

"There's a possibility," Myra pondered doubtfully, "but at the rate things are going, I won't have a chance to ask her tonight. And once we're out of here, I doubt they'll let me near her at all. Mom and Dad may find out what she knows, but of course that information will never pass my way. In fact, after tonight, I'll be lucky to escape a six-month period of solitary confinement."

The two grew quiet for the final time as their full attention was centered onto the discussion between the others.

"So what exactly was your original plan, Smith?" Yunala asked acidly, responding to a peeved comment Smith had muttered under his breath.

"Well, it was simple, really," he replied. "Infiltrate the castle using the trap door just outside the wall, sneak through to the lower levels and dispatch the guards there, break Zelda out of the dungeons, retrace my steps, and escape back through the trap door."

"For the last time, we've already decided going back the way we came won't work."

"No," Chris agreed. "That hallway is too heavily patrolled. And getting everyone back up through the trap door will be too difficult."

After a moment's uneasy silence, Yunala suggested timidly, if not sarcastically, "There wouldn't happen to be another secret passageway out of the castle, would there?"

Another moment of silence, then Zelda answered, "Actually, there is: in the Great Hall, behind the throne. There's a passage that connects to some old sewers. There should be another passage somewhere down there that leads to Sanctuary."

"Is that so…" Smith hummed musingly. "I wonder if Harahn knew about that."

"Chances are he does," Chris replied. "That old man knows more than he lets on, as I'm sure you know."

"Why didn't he tell me about it, then?" Smith demanded, somewhat miffed that he was denied such important information for such an important mission.

"Well, you didn't exactly radiate the words, 'Please confide with me everything you know about the castle,'" Chris said with a smirk. "More like, 'I'm doing this alone, and I'll strangle anyone who says otherwise.'" Smith threw him a dirty look.

"The Great Hall will still be very difficult to approach," Yunala entered in quickly. "No matter where we end up going, seven people is still hard to keep unnoticed in a castle full of guards."

"Especially when three of those people are teenagers…and one of them is Naom," Chris added.

"We can split up," Naom chimed in, completely ignoring Chris's underhanded remark about his girth. He had finished discarding his heavy suit of armor. He was now wearing a thick leather tunic with wide shoulders, a short sleeve cotton shirt underneath it, and heavy pants and boots. He retained his massive war hammer, but he left behind the ball-and-chain in exchange for a large boomerang made from some sort of crimson metal. "If we proceed separately in three parties, we'll be less conspicuous. Each group can take a different route towards the Great Hall."

"It's a possibility," Yunala responded. "But what if one of the groups gets spotted or captured?"

"They can at least draw the attention of the rest of the castle to them, giving the others a better chance of escaping without being noticed," he answered. "I know it's risky, but I believe it gives us the best chance of getting Princess Zelda out."

The others considered it for a moment and nodded their heads in agreement. "So, then," Smith said, "Who will the parties be?"

"I will accompany Zelda, to be sure," Naom announced.

Smith and the others frowned suspiciously. "I don't think that's a good idea, not with you just barely recovering from dark magic," he said.

Naom looked deeply offended. "I have sworn by my life that I would not leave the princess's side until we are safely outside of the castle. I am not going back on my oath." Again, Link had to suppress the urge to laugh. Was he always this dramatic?

"Be that as it may, we cannot run the risk of Zelda being snatched up and imprisoned again should dark magic symptoms start resurfacing."

"Then let someone else come," Zelda interjected, her abrasive nature starting to show itself again. "I, for one, trust that Naom will be fine."

"Then let it be me," Smith volunteered, trying to avoid a lengthy argument. "This was supposed to be my job, anyway."

The others slowly expressed their concordance by nodding. "Alright, how about the other two?" Yunala asked.

"I think Myra should go with you, Yunala," Chris suggested. "She may not be entirely combat ready," (Myra's face nearly contorted with resentfulness), "but I think her powers compliment yours better than they do mine. That leaves me with Link."

Link's posture slumped a bit. He wasn't too keen on this plan. It wasn't that he disliked Chris. On the contrary, he kind of liked him and his light-hearted wit. But he wasn't familiar with Chris's talents. Smith's he knew intimately well from training with him all the time. He felt comfortable around Smith's swordsmanship. He felt safe with them. Magic was relatively new to him, largely untested ground.

Then again, Link had never actually seen his uncle in real combat before until now, and the results weren't as flattering. Granted he was getting along in years, Link had expected him to fair a little better than he had against Possessed Naom. If the others hadn't shown up, Smith could have been in far worse shape than a sore back and a bruised shield arm.

"So it's settled then," Smith recapped. "We'll make our way to the Great Hall. Naom and I will accompany Princess Zelda. Myra will go with Yunala. And Link will go with Chris. Any objections?" Smith eyed Link and Myra, who had risen from the floor, almost daring them to speak up. Link, however, resisted the urge to protest. He knew this just wasn't the time. If she had any objections, Myra seemed equally effective at repressing them.

"Alright, then, it's time to move," Smith announced. "No more dilly-dallying."

The whole group dashed down the corridor, around the corner, and up the dungeon stairs. The guards patrolling the lower level had not, thankfully, been replaced (Naom said replacements weren't due for at least another hour). They proceeded to the opposite end of the level and ascended the stairs back to the main castle. The sound of heavy rain still resounded throughout the hall.

Just before splitting up, Smith put a hand on Link's shoulder and held out the family shield to him. "Take this," he said simply.

Link hesitated and cocked his head to the side. "What for?"

"Just in case," he answered. "I'm hoping it doesn't come to it, but you may need something to defend yourself with. Besides, my arm's injured. I wouldn't be able to use it properly."

Link's hands slowly grasped the dented family shield. He looked up into his uncle's eyes with worry. "I'll be fine," Smith assured him. Then everyone split up.

It was agreed that since the second floor was less heavily patrolled than the first floor, each party would need to take one of four possible second floor routes to the Great Hall. Passing by the king's quarters was deemed too risky—they were closely watched since he became ill—so that route was ruled out. Since Zelda was the VIP, and it was considerably more difficult for Naom to keep as low a profile as anyone else due to his size, Zelda's group took the shortest and easiest path along the north end of the east wing, which would lead them straight for the Great Hall. That left the south ends of the east and west wings for the others, less direct routes that emptied onto the balconies above the entrance hall. From there they could advance to the Great Hall.

"I'll take the lead," Chris whispered to Link. "Don't move until I tell you." Link bobbed his head up and down affirmatively, the intensity of the moment starting to put him on edge.

Despite what had been said, it seemed to Link that the second floor hallways were more heavily crowded with guards than the ones below, but that may have simply been the affect of heightened levels of adrenaline. However many guards there really were they all remained none the wiser that many an infiltrator had been eluding their watchful eyes all night. If anything, they only seemed a little sleepier as the night wore on. Link could only guess what time it was by now. The hour he had gotten out of bed to follow his uncle into the boisterous storm seemed like ages ago.

Link and Chris had barely crossed the hallway after climbing a staircase when Chris suddenly started flailing his limbs to signal for Link to hide. He dashed to a nearby door and eased it open. It was a dark, vacant guest room. Link eased the door open a little more as quickly and quietly as he could manage, and slipped into the room. Chris thrust himself inside a second later and pulled the door closed, leaving just a tiny sliver open to look through. Link could here the steady approach of guards from several directions. The sound suddenly stopped rather than tapered off. He could just make out the defeated expression spreading over Chris's face by the light from the door. Chris left the door and led Link further back into the room.

"Two guards are just outside the door," he whispered. "They're not moving."

"You mean we're trapped in here?" Link responded.

"At least until they leave, and who knows when they decide to do that."

"Well, this stinks…"

"On the other hand, we get to sit and rest for a little while." He then followed his own suggestion by sitting on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Link felt far too restless to sit and wait until the guards decided to move on, but he reluctantly followed suit, forcing himself to sit next to Chris. At this point the only thing he could think about was getting out of the castle so that he could go home, snuggle into bed, wake up the next morning to some warm breakfast, and forget this whole night ever happened.

By now he severely doubted the legitimacy for his concern over his uncle. He felt utterly useless, and that by foolishly coming along he had only made things more complicated for everyone.

"I wish I had never left the house," he whispered to himself.

"Hmm?" Chris hummed back and turning his head to look through the dark at him.

"I…I should have just listened to Uncle and stayed in bed. It was stupid for me to come here."

"Well, I'll certainly agree with you on that point," Chris replied casually. Chris heard the faint ruffle of Link shifting uncomfortably on the floor. "Then again," he continued, looking back up towards the door, "It was rather stupid for any of us to come here at all."

"Better you folks being here than me," Link insisted.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, I'm only making things harder. What can I possibly contribute to the situation, huh? Nothing!" Chris gave a short chortle. Link felt affronted. "I'm being serious!"

"I understand," Chris replied gently. "But I don't agree with your argument."

"...Why?" Link questioned, surprised by Chris's response.

"The only way this situation can possibly get worse is if you keep doing that to yourself," Chris answered.

"Doing what to myself?"

"Convincing yourself that you're worthless. The truth is you're not. No one is useless."

"Yeah," Link huffed unbelievingly. "No one except me."

"It's all a matter of attitude, Link. You just need to think positively."

"I think it depends on more than that, don't you?" Link argued. "You can have all the optimism in the world, but without anything to back it up, you're just being delusional."

"Have you ever truly met someone who was perfectly incapable of doing something worthwhile? I've been around, Link, and I certainly haven't. Everyone has the capacity to do great things. The problem is their attitude. If they could just stop being so sour or lazy or whatever, they could tap into that store of potential and really make a difference in the world."

"I'm not looking to change to world, Chris," Link replied flatly. "I just want to go home and go to bed."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that," Chris commented, and he chuckled again. "The point is, Link, you're only as useless as you think you are. You have the ability in you. Have a little faith in yourself. Have a little courage."

Link tucked in his legs and rested his chin on his knees. "So, what am I supposed to do then?"

"Well, that's a question you'll have to answer for yourself," Chris answered simply.

Link signed heavily. "That's awfully helpful," he murmured sarcastically.

"Oh, come on," Chris encouraged. "You're Smith's nephew, aren't you? He's been training you, hasn't he? He speaks very highly of you, you know, says you're a natural."

"Really?" Link perked up considerably from this. It frankly made no sense to him at all. "But, he's never said anything like that to me. All he does is criticize my technique."

"Well, he can be harsh at times, but there's a reason he's known as the best swordsman in Hyrule. It's probably his way of making sure you don't start thinking you're invincible, or something. He was always impressed by how quickly you mastered all of his lessons."

Link felt a strange warm tingling sensation begin to build up in his chest. "I thought he was getting so frustrated with my incompetence that he just gave up and moved to something else."

Chris chuckled for a third time. "You see? There is something you're good at."

"Well, yes, but I kind of need a sword for that, now don't I?"

There was a brief silence in which Link could almost see Chris looking at him with his mouth half open. Chris made a strange noise that sounded like frustrated phrases being drowned before they could leave his mouth. "Sounds like he passed a bit of his smart mouth to you, too," he said finally.

The two settled into a prolonged silence again. Link thought about what Chris had just told him. Was it true? Was Link really not as clumsy with a sword as he thought he was? Had Smith really praised him for it, if only in front of others? Link couldn't be sure, yet that warm tingling feeling in his chest had spread to his face, and an involuntary smile had started to form.

Suddenly, a loud, clanging like that of a cowbell was distantly heard from the corridor outside. Cries of, "Intruders! On the second floor!" soon followed, and hurried, metallic footsteps drifted off down the hallway.

"Oh crap…" Chris muttered. He was already on his feet. "C'mon, Link. Time to look lively!"

Link picked himself up from the floor as Chris covered the distance to the door in several strides. Peaking through the crevice in the doorway he announced, "Guards are gone. Now's are chance."

Chris disappeared from Link's view into the hallway. When Link poked his head through the door, Chris was beckoning to him from halfway down the staircase. Puzzled, Link followed. More pounding footsteps echoed up from below. Chris ripped aside a nearby tapestry, stepped behind it, and yanked Link to his side. Chris muttered something under his breath, and Link noticed with interest as the bottom of the tapestry began to lengthen until it touched the floor. A moment later, the footsteps passed them by. Chris peeked around his end of the tapestry. With the way clear, he pulled Link along, and they continued down the stairs back to the first floor. Despite the sudden surge of panic and the instinct to bolt straight for their goal, Chris cautioned Link to remain as covert as possible. The longer they could remain undetected the better.

"I don't understand," Link whispered as they jogged cautiously along back towards the dungeon stairs. They were interrupted by another need to hide, another troop of guards thundering past. "I thought we were headed for the Great Hall from the second floor. Why are we back down here?"

Another brief moment of hiding delayed Chris's response. "Everyone's supposed to be on the second floor, right?"

"Yeah."

"And that's where all the guards are headed. We'll avoid most of the alerted patrols on our way more easily down here."

"Oh, I see," Link uttered breathlessly. They were now dashing down a windowless corridor somewhere along the middle of the castle interior. Distant shouts echoed throughout the halls as the guards pushed their way up to the second floor, pursuing whichever party of intruders had been found.

After several intense minutes of running and ducking behind furniture, Chris peered around the corner of an intersecting hallway from behind a column. He then ripped his head back. Link immediately followed his lead and dove behind a nearby suit of armor as a troop of guards in their noisy armor rumbled past them. When the clamor had died away, Chris glanced from behind his column down the several passages again and signaled to Link it was safe to continue on their way. Link barely took three steps into the intersecting space before he heard the words, "Oi! There they are!" A surprise group of guards had appeared down the side passage.

"Oh, for the love of Din…" Link swore. The guards brandished their spears and began to close the distance with a charge.

"Run!" Chris commanded, and he and Link bolted down another corridor.

Link had done a lot of running in his life. In fact, he almost considered himself an expert at running. Whether it was running for warmups prior to sword training every day, or running to escape Smith's outrage after playing a prank, or running away from mobbing youngsters in the Kakariko Town alleys, or even running after a pick pocketing punk who swiped twenty rupees off of him, whatever is was, Link ran an awful lot.

And then there was that time he crossed paths with a rogue cuckoo. One day, in the farmlands just north of Kakariko, Link was on an errand to buy some milk from Mr. Romani, owner of one of the finest dairy farms in Hyrule. Upon his arrival, he discovered that a dozen cuckoos had escaped from Anju, Mr. Romani's daughter. Link had offered to help her rally them up, but he hadn't anticipated how difficult it was to chase down one of the birds and apprehend it. One of the males had been unusually stubborn, so he had cast aside any attempts at gentle capturing strategies. But apparently, cuckoos can only take so much abuse, and after pinning the bird on the ground the cuckoo starting squawking some Din-awful cry. The next thing Link knew at least a dozen cuckoos were descending upon him from out of nowhere, madly pecking any part of his body they could reach.

It was once said that it was impossible to cross the Kakariko Town Market at noon in less than half an hour, because the streets were packed with pushy shoppers. Since that day Link visited Romani Ranch, it was now necessary to specify that it was impossible to cross the Kakariko Town Market at noon in less than half an hour without a flock of mad cuckoos hot on your heels. Because that day was also the day Link was seen sprinting across the Kakariko Town Market at noon in less than half an hour with a flock of mad cuckoos hot on his heels. The crowds had parted and scattered to escape bodily harm from the ferocious fowls. Link didn't stop until he was safe and secure within the walls of his house.

So, yes, Link almost considered himself an expert at running.

But now, never before had he felt such a desperate compulsion to run. Even that skirmish with the Romani cuckoos would have been like a morning jaunt through the park compared to the thought of what might await him and Chris should the castle guards, now in hot pursuit, manage to catch them. Every thought, every force of will was channeled into his leg muscles, urging them with every ounce of strength to push his body forward. Chris had a hard time keeping up.

The rattling of steel armor was close behind them. Chris began muttering a phrase of Ancient Hylian to himself. And as he chanted, Link could feel a subtle vibration in the air around him. He managed a glimpse at Chris to his side and saw a shimmering of some sorts forming in Chris's hand.

Seconds later, Link and Chris finally emerged into the entrance hall. To their left could be seen walls lined with towering columns and two great doors at least fifteen feet high, guarded by no less than twenty castle guards. To the right was a grand staircase leading to the upper level and the Great Hall. Directly opposite was another corridor. Yunala and Myra were a little ways down fleeing from another patrol of guards. The two parties met at the base of the staircase and immediately began ascending the steps.

"What happened?" Yunala asked between labored gasps. "Was it you they spotted?"

"No," replied Chris just as breathlessly as his wife. "We heard the alarm before we were detected."

"Same for us," Myra supplied.

"Must have been the others they found, then," Link suggested.

"Not important right now," Chris interrupted. "Less talking, more running!"

The staircase stopped momentarily at a midlevel landing and branched into two separate flights to its left and right that curved back towards each other to the final landing on the second floor. A set of tall doors just beyond led to the Great Hall. Halfway up the stairs to the midlevel landing, Link looked up to see Smith and his party flash from a second floor corridor out of the right corner of his eye headed straight for the Great Hall doors. Another troop of guards followed right behind them. Then, out of the other corner of his eye, yet another patrol emerged from a second floor corridor on the opposite end of the hall. The trio stumbled to an unexpected halt as those guards intercepted their path. Link and the others came to a gradual stop on the midlevel landing. The guards pursuing soon surrounded them.

The way to their escape was blocked. The entire room was motionless. The only sounds Link could here were the downfall of relentless rain and his own heartbeat pounding in his ears. Then a single soldier emerged from the patrol blocking their way to the Great Hall, a high-ranking officer by the looks of it. "Surrender, kidnappers," echoed a bland, emotionless voice from within his helmet. It made the skin on Link's neck prickle.

The sound of faintly resonating metal drifted down to Link's ears. Smith had unsheathed his sword. "I have never surrendered in all my life," he coolly replied. "And I don't intend on doing so now."

"Then you will die," the soldier answered without a change in his voice.

"Captain!" Zelda cried, stepping forward between him and Smith. "These people are not kidnapping me. They are rescuing me."

"Rescuing you…from what, Your Highness?" cooed a smooth, chilling voice from Link's right above the crowd. The whole of the hall swiveled around to gaze upon none other than the Great Wizard, stepping from the shadows of the second floor corridor.

"L-Lord Agahnim!" many of the guards managed to stutter, and they all lowered themselves to one knee in respectable bows.

Agahnim's figure dominated the attention of all those present as he glided towards the princess. He draped himself in heavy red robes that billowed widely as he walked. The length of the sleeves nearly reached his ankles. A turban and a triangular golden amulet topped his head with excess cloth draped loosely around his shoulders and neck. The symbol of his people, the Gerudo, emblazoned his chest and sash.

The Great Wizard scanned the room as he advanced as though a hunter studying his prey. His gaze turned to fixate upon Link for only a moment. But in that brief moment the Wizard's eyes were as piercing as daggers, as cold as ice, and as unfeeling as stone. For that brief moment, Link could see, could feel the Gerudo magus for who he really was, and it sent a petrifying wave of dread through his system.

"What, pray tell," Agahnim spoke again when at last he faced the princess, "do you think you need rescuing from?"

Zelda unwaveringly stepped forward to confront him. "From you!" she snarled, pointing an accusatory finger at his half-concealed face. The effect was essentially what she had hoped. A multitude of gasps, exclamations, or otherwise confused noises from the castle guards filled the hall. "It was you who had me locked up in the dungeons!"

Link couldn't help but gawk as Agahnim simply chuckled. "Now, Princess," he replied as though he were an amused parent, "it is understandable that you should be…less than friendly towards me. But forgive me in saying that you play a rather cruel joke in accusing me of such a fowl thing."

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Zelda demanded. "Perhaps you should ask my 'kidnappers' whether they think it a joke." A smile now crossed her face as her confidence grew, and she turned to the captain of the guard. "Captain, throw this traitorous magus into the dungeons!"

It was barely visible through the cloth covering his face, but a gnarly smile peeked from the Wizard's mouth. Zelda's smile dimmed.

"Tell me, Captain," he asked, no less coolly than before. "What think you of this situation?"

The captain looked at Zelda for a moment, eyes hidden within his helmet, and then he turned back to Agahnim. "It seems to me," he said with indifference, "that it is as you thought, My Lord, namely that the Princess is not well. If so, these people are nothing more than kidnappers trying to take advantage of her poor condition and hold her for ransom."

Zelda's jaw dropped. "What!" she shrieked, startling several guards near her.

Agahnim sighed very audibly and pressed his hands together in an outward expression of concern, although Link personally found this quite unconvincing. "I don't think leaving the castle at this hour in this weather with this company will do any favors for your current condition."

"Condition!" Zelda spurted with rage.

"Please calm down, Princess," Agahnim tried to console her, his voice losing none of its false sweetness. "Your dreams have made you confused and delirious, and getting angry will only make things more difficult. What you need is rest and time to recuperate."

Zelda's face contorted with abhorrence. "What nonsense are you going on about? There is nothing wrong me, except for the fact that I spent several days in the dungeons, thanks to you!"

Agahnim motioned for the nearby guards, ignoring the Princess's protests. "Escort Zelda to her chambers quickly. Once these intruders have been dealt with I will administer to her myself. The rest of you, take these ruffians and lock them up."

Four of the foremost guards moved to retrieve Zelda. The rest raised their weapons and closed in on the others. Zelda backed away, and Smith and Naom closed in around her. "How dare you!" she growled at them. "I swear, lay one finger on me or my friends or, by Din, heads will roll!"

"It's no use, Princess," Smith murmured into her ear, extending his sword. He, Zelda and Naom cautiously backed away towards the banister of the landing just above Link and the others. Smith glanced down at them, particularly at the magi. Link observed the slightest motion of a nod from Chris, and he turned to look at him. Chris flexed his hand…the one that was still shimmering.

"Earthen Pulse!" Chris bellowed, punching the wall underneath the landing. Like a ripple on the surface of a lake, a wave erupted from the stone of the wall, rushing out in all directions. The floor underneath Link's feet threw him several feet into the air enough to startle him and throw him off balance a little.

Then several things happened all at once. Yunala and Myra leaped forward to avoid the oncoming spell. Smith grasped Princess Zelda by the waist and hoisted her over the banister of the landing, and she landed rather clumsily next to Link. Smith and Naom immediately leapt after her.

As the spell progressed past Link, the immense ripple in the floor increased in speed and size. Agahnim's face contorted into an expression of shock and completely vanished into thin air. There was a cry of alarm from the guards around him as the surging stone slammed into them with tremendous force, knocking them up and scattering them across the hall in heaps. As the guards moaned and struggled to return to their feet, Agahnim rematerialized between the crumpled line of guards and the Great Hall doors. "Stop them!" he shouted. As though the words empowered them, the guards recovered from their stupor and reclosed their ranks.

Smith and Naom charged together up the steps, Smiths dashing up the right branch, Naom up the left. The guards from the landing above them began to spill onto the staircases on either side. Chris and Yunala turned to their rear to face the guards on the stairs below them. As the battle commenced, Link, Zelda, and Myra drew close together, huddling against the wall below the upper landing. Link instinctively raised his shield, and the three of them squeazed behind it like frightened kittens in a corner.

From behind the warped metal rim of his family's shield, Link marveled at the sight before him. To his left, Uncle Smith fought, now with more fire in his eyes and ferocity in his skills than Link ever thought him capable of. It was not the same warrior who had fought the giant in the dungeons. No opponent he met could withstand his wild attacks. In fact, he was doing almost as well as Naom on the right, who easily swept through the onslaught three guards at a time with his hammer. Link was now perfectly confident that bringing Naom along was the best idea suggested all night.

As soon as Naom had two seconds to spare, he pulled from the harness on his back his red metallic boomerang and launched it at the guards in front of him. The weapon pummeled through, clearing a way up the stairs. The boomerang then came whirling through the air back to Naom's outstretched hand.

"Princess, go!" he pleaded to her as he caught his weapon. "Now!"

Zelda immediately straightened. "Come!" she cried to Link and Myra. Grabbing their hands, she dashed forward, pulling them after her, ascending the stairs with Naom. But before they could reach the top, Agahnim dashed forward onto the landing.

"You are NOT leaving this castle, my dear princess!" he growled fiercely. All deceptive tones of calm and sweetness were gone from his voice.

"I beg to differ!" Naom shouted as he unhesitatingly lunged for the wizard with his hammer. Agahnim backed up a few steps to avoid the initial swing. He withdrew from his robes a scimitar that glinted iridescently in the light of the hall. The Wizard then lunged forward, unafraid of Naom's intimidating form, and clawed with his scimitar for Naom's face. It was soon apparent that Agahnim was not very skilled with a sword, and Naom easily avoided the attacks.

Myra suddenly screamed. Link looked to her in surprise. She was staring down at the battle back at the midlevel landing between her parents and the guards. Link looked down, too, and he cried despairingly. Chris had been pelted heavily by several attacks, and as his stance had drooped a spear attack struck him across the chest. He fell to the ground, and the guards advanced to finish him off. Yunala was too far away and too preoccupied to defend her husband.

Suddenly, there was a blaze of red and white light, an explosion of sparks. The guards surrounding Chris were on the floor. Link jumped back from Myra. A look of pure malice filled her eyes. She thrust her hands forward as though flinging fistfuls of rocks, over and over, each thrust launching a blinding, powerful stunning spell down upon the guards.

The weakening magi managed to pull away toward the stairs. Yunala reached her husband, now bleeding heavily from his chest wound, and helped him limp weakly up the stairs while Myra rained her blitz of spells upon their stunned attackers. Yunala laid her husband down once they were a safer distance from the line of guards, pulled another vial of red potion from her robes and poured it down her husband's throat. When Chris's copious bleeding stopped, the quivering in his body subsided and his breathing sounded less ragged and labored. Yunala then rose from his side to supplement Myra's attacks with her own spells.

Link heard a metallic ring from above, and he turned his attention back to the duel between Naom and Agahnim. The Wizard had blocked a downward plunge of Naom's hammer with his scimitar supported by both his hands. Agahnim huffed a short, "Heh!" and with an elaborate sweeping motion released his defensive hold, thrust his sword forward, the swept it back in an arc through empty air. As if thrown by an invisible force, Naom's body flew into the air. He lost his grip on his hammer as he flailed, which remained floating beside him. He flew in a path that mimicked the arc drawn by the point of Agahnim's scimitar, and he landed hard on his back on the other side of the landing. The hammer soon fell heavily onto his stomach. Naom gasped shortly in pain and writhed onto his side.

Agahnim laughed again and raised his scimitar to strike Naom down. Suddenly, Smith leapt onto the landing from the other staircase to block the fatal blow. He then followed up with his previous frenzy of sword swipes. He was a lot faster than Naom, so Agahnim's lack of swordsmanship put him at a severe disadvantage.

Smith did his best to give absolutely no quarter to Agahnim. The Wizard abandoned his attempts to counter Smith's blows and focused solely on deflecting and dodging. Amidst the clang of weapons and grunts and shouts, Link could distinguish the faint muttering of Ancient Hylian escape Agahnim's lips. Smith noticed, too, and quickened his assault to interrupt the Wizard's shortly uttered phrases. He was not about to let Agahnim start using any magic. The Wizard soon seemed to give up on summoning any spells.

Then, suddenly, Agahnim lunged forward and brought his scimitar right down in front of him. Smith was taken by surprised and just managed to bring his sword up in time to block. The Wizard pressed down heavily with unexpected strength, and Smith's hold began to tremble under the weight. Then the wizard unexpectedly released his pressure and swung low for Smith's belly. But Smith ducked just in time, rolled around to Agahnim's rear and thrust his sword into his spine.

A triumphant cheer died prematurely in Link's throat. He was expecting his uncle's sword to sink into Agahnim's raiment and flesh. But the tip of the blade had barely touched his red garb before Agahnim snarled an incoherent phrase that sounded more like a feral beast's growl than actual words.

Instead of Smith's sword impaling Agahnim's back, Smith was enveloped in a dark glowing shroud. He howled and writhed in pain then collapsed paralyzed onto the floor, his sword clattering to his side.

Agahnim turned slowly around and laughed cruelly at the two warriors lying on the floor. "Your skills are admirable," he mocked them. "Too bad they've all been for naught." He then stepped over Smith's crumpled form, raised his scimitar, and pointed it directly at Smith's heart.

Then the hall grew deathly quiet. Everything slowed down.

The steady thump…thump…thumping of Link's heart pounded in his ears.

Link's eyes focused entirely on the scimitar now plunging to meet his uncle. With each beat of his heart, the sword inched downward, closer and closer.

Every infinitesimally small moment was vividly perceived in his mind. Every second, one after the other, stretched on for an eternity. Every passing iota of time was like a frame flashing into existence and fading into the next. With each framed instant, the urge to move increased exponentially, and Link obeyed.

Flash. The scimitar was halfway down to its mark. Link was on the landing.

Flash. The scimitar was only inches from Smith's chest. Link was ten feet away.

Flash. The blade's tip met the skin of Smith's chest. Link's hand clasped the hilt of his uncle's sword.

Flash. The tip pierced through Smith's flesh like paper. A flame ignited within Link's chest, white hot and yet piercing cold. The flame pulsated with the beating of his heart. The flame grew with each pulse. The beats quickened. And everything sped back up.

Link swung his uncle's sword with all his might. The scimitar veered from its mark from the force of Link's horizontal attack, causing it instead to paint a deep gash across Smith's chest. He howled as blood began to flow freely from the wound. Agahnim stumbled backwards from his new opponent. Link responded immediately by thrusting forward. The Wizard barely blocked the attack. Link circled around to Agahnim's left side and struck again. He blocked but lost his balance, stumbling towards the stairs. Link struck again and again, forcing him back. The Wizard took one last rearward step, teetered backward, and began to fall. Link watched as Agahnim toppled into the air, a look of pure stupefaction on his face. He vanished into thin air before hitting the first step.

Immediately Link dropped over his uncle. Smith trembled as his chest became soaked with blood. Link examined the wound. It was deep, very severe…but not fatal. Thank Farore, it wasn't fatal. If they could get him out of here, they could properly care for him. He would live.

"Myra!" Link heard Yunala cry to her daughter. "Take Zelda and get out of here!" Link looked up from his uncle and over the banister. Chris was back on his feet and at his wife's side throwing more spells at the seething crowd of guards on the stairs just below. Myra detached herself from the crowd and ran with Zelda up the stairs.

"Godesses!" Myra gasped as she and Zelda reached the landing and realized what they saw.

"Is…is he…" Zelda struggled to say.

"He'll be fine," Link replied firmly, although his hands were trembling. "We just need something to bind the wound until we can give him one of Yunala's potions."

"I'm on it," Myra declared. She took off her cloak and muttered a simple spell just as Naom grunted and began to rise from his feet.

"Link," Zelda spoke desperately. "Come quickly, we're nearly there."

"But…!" Link stammered, his eyes still warily over his uncle.

"He'll be fine, I promise," Myra announced quickly between phrases of Ancient Hylian. The spell she was muttering was causing her cloak to rip into neat strips.

"Quickly!" Zelda pleaded. Link hesitated, but eventually obeyed. Grasping the shield more firmly and picking up his uncle's sword again, he made for the doors with Zelda. His sight lingered for a moment on his uncle's bleeding form. Myra was now wrapping the strips made from her cloak around Smith's chest. He faced forward.

Link and Zelda pushed the doors open to reveal a long and deserted hallway lined with torches and tall black windows. Flashes of angry lightning from the storm filled the panes with cold, white light every few seconds. The thunder that followed was loud enough to rattle the glass in their frames. Link and Zelda paid no heed as they sprinted down the empty passage. About halfway down, a creak from the door issued behind them. They glanced over their shoulders to see Myra flying through with Naom bounding right after her, Smith draped unconscious over his shoulders. Soon after, Chris and Yunala were dashing into the hallway as well, throwing a few more spells before slamming and magically sealing the doors behind them with thick, woody vines conjured from nowhere.

Link felt a surge of relief. They were almost there. They were going to make it. They were going to escape all in one piece. Then this nightmare would be all over.

A crack not wholly unlike thunder erupted directly behind him as he ran, the noise echoing throughout the hallway. He glanced back over his shoulder again, and the sight made him stop dead in his tracks. Zelda stopped, too. Agahnim had materialized directly into the hallway between Naom and Myra's parents.

"I have had enough of you worms tonight!" he roared.

"We'll be gone soon enough!" Yunala bellowed. All three magi instinctively threw ferocious looking spells at the Wizard. He flicked them away like leaves then raised his hands into the air. Both palms were enveloped in blackness, as though hold two powerfully bright anti-lights. The torches lining the hallway went out like candles.

Link now felt a fear he had never known before. It was as though all the warmth and energy around them was being sucked out of the room like a great wind. Yunala threw another spell at the Wizard, but its light was snuffed out before it could reach its target. Naom relinquished his boomerang and heaved it into the air, but its flight was soon stunted and ripped to pieces by an invisible force, like unseen hands tearing a piece paper to shreds and tossing it into the breeze. Naom's eyes popped out of his head, utter horror etched across his face.

The anti-light from Agahnim's hands began to grow. The conjured wind in the hallway intensified. "What do we do?" Myra cried in fear.

From the opposite end of the hallway, Link spied the two adult magi look at each other. They peered into each other's eyes for a second, and their faces shared the same look of uncertainty mixed with determination. Myra noticed the exchange as well, and she cried, "No!"

"Everyone, get out of here!" Chris shouted. "We'll hold him off!"

"No!" screamed Myra more loudly. "Don't do it!"

"Myra, leave!" Yunala pleaded to her daughter. "Now, before it's too late!"

"No! I'll stay and fight with you!"

"The thought is appreciated, Myra," Chris called to her, "but we'll be fine. Don't worry about us!"

"But…!" Myra shouted back, but she was cut off by Naom, blocked by a massive arm.

"Trust me," he said confidently. "They'll be fine. We need to focus on getting the princess out."

Myra gazed uncertainly up into Naom's eyes, then over to her parents, then over to Agahnim. The floor started rumbling at that moment. The black aura had enshrouded Agahnim's form and dark bolts were arcing from it and making cracks in the walls. At last she turned away and ran to catch up with Link and Zelda. Naom retreated right behind her. A tear was forming on her cheek. Together they heaved the Great Hall doors open and filed inside. The last thing they saw before they closed the doors was the instant at which Agahnim's black shroud erupted like a colossal explosion. The doors rattled violently, threatening to be ripped from their hinges.

Naom pulled in front of the door a heavy ornamental shelf set to the side. Zelda pointed to the far end of the room and said, "It's behind there; hurry!"

As fast as they could they crossed the Great Hall to the raised platform at the north end where two majestic thrones stood in the lonely darkness. A series of more ornamental shelves lined the wall behind. Zelda went straight for the second one from the left and pushed against its side. The others immediately began to help her. Even with the four of them all helping, the shelf was surprisingly heavy. After a few seconds, they had nudged the shelf just enough to reveal a narrow opening in the wall. They filed into the opening as fast as they could. Naom, being so large, had some difficulty fitting into the space, but somehow he managed not only to slip through but to scoot the shelf back in place in front of the hole. Out of breath, they backed away from the opening as far as they could into an extremely dark chamber.

They sat in silence and waited.

A series of muffled bangs issued from the Hall. Several shouts were followed by an angry cry that unmistakably sounded like Agahnim. Not one of them dared to breath. After a minute that seemed to go on forever, another frustrated outcry from Agahnim was heard, and the Hall grew silent once more.

It was another agonizing few minutes in the silence before they collectively sighed with relief. For a while more no one spoke.

Finally, Myra stirred first. "Do you…do you think they're alright?"

"I'm sure of it," Naom's low voice rumbled in the dark.

"I mean," Myra squeaked even more timidly, "that was…well, whatever it was, it looked serious."

"They'll be fine," Princess Zelda said to her assuringly.

"You…you sure?"

"I have a feeling," Zelda replied simply. "And my feelings tend to be quite accurate," she added.

A moment's pause, then Myra said, "Well, okay, I'll take your word for it."

"That's the spirit," Naom encouraged.

A faint groaning added itself to the darkness. "Uncle?" Link inquired. He didn't answer. "Is he okay?" he directed to Naom.

After a few seconds of shuffling, Naom answered, "He's fine, from what I can tell. But we need to get him somewhere for proper treatment soon, or he might not make it."

"Then let's get going," Link insisted.

In answer, Link hear Myra stand up from his side and say, "Man, it's pitch-black in here!" She muttered her Illuminating Globe spell. The light dazzled their eyes for moment, but once they had adjusted they could see the interior of a small stone room much like a room in the dungeons. A stairway in the wall to their right wound down an unseen distance. A faint dripping and trickling of water could be heard from below. The rest of the group got to their feet and descended into the shadows.

The stairs ended at a level earthen tunnel that stretched for several hundred yards. As they walked, the sound of water grew louder and louder. And as predicted by the princess, a series of sewers were waiting for them at the end.

"Ugh! Rats!" shrieked Myra after seeing a pack of squeaking forms shuffling around them dash into the shadows. Link happened a glance in Zelda's direction and saw that she did not look at all thrilled by the presence of rodents, either. He looked down and observed that the path dipped into a shallow channel of sickly colored water that smelled of mold and refuse. Drains lined either side of the channel, emptying copious amouns of rainwater into the sewers. There was no way around getting their feet wet.

"You know," Link commented as he dragged his feet through the shallow murky water, "even if it hadn't involved nearly escaping Hyrule Castle with my life, this is perhaps more than enough of an adventure to last me for the rest of my life."

"I second that," Myra chimed in. "Honestly, couldn't there have been a cleaner way to Sanctuary?"

"What would you expect?" said Zelda, directing them down a left junction in the tunnels. "It's a secret passageway. It doesn't get a lot of attention."

"How exactly did you even know it was here?" Myra asker her.

"My father told me about it. It only opens for one of the royal family, useful for escaping. It's one of those secrets only the royal family ever knows about." Link was just beginning to catch the irony of this statement and their predicament when Zelda added, "You won't tell anyone about it, will you?"

"My lips are sealed," Myra promised. She didn't fancy the place was worth divulging much about anyway.

Finally, after walking down one last stinking tunnel, they reached another winding staircase set conspicuously in the side of the passage. Faint light could be seen coming from above. A breath of cool air blew down on their faces. It was stale and damp, but it was so much better than the fumes of the sewers.

"That's it," Zelda said. "Sanctuary is just up there."

Link went up first followed by Zelda, Naom with Smith, and then Myra. The room above was identical to the secret room at the castle with the addition of small torches hanging on the two bare walls. A hole rested at the far end opposite the top of the stairs. Naom put Smith down gingerly and helped Link and Myra push at the object blocking the hole. They stopped when just a little crack was open to check if the coast was clear. Seeing nobody, they pushed the object away from the hole.

"I'm starting to think it was a good idea to bringing you along after all," Myra said to Naom as they filed out one by one.

"I was already convinced once I saw him bowl over several guards at once back in the entrance hall," Link added. Link and Myra smirked. Naom, in the process of squeezing through the hole, stopped squirming for a moment and blushed slightly. Zelda displayed a disapproving frown.

Sanctuary was an old but well kept cathedral in the middle of Kakariko Town. The nave boasted high stained glass windows depicting ancient kings and heroes of Hyrule. They had entered the building from a hidden entrance behind an impressive golden statue of the three Goddesses—Din, Nayru, and Farore—situated in the apse. Directly in front of them were a raised platform, several chairs, and a pulpit. To either side of the apse were doors leading into separate studies. Criss-crossing the nave were dozens of pews.

Link's body tensed for a brief moment. One of the pews was occupied. Zelda, however, was quick to identify the old man as Harahn, the lone priest of Sanctuary, and his fears subsided. Harahn was also asleep. His head kept bobbing up and down amidst the occasional loud snores. Through the windows, they could see the dark and rainy night. He was sleeping very well despite the raging storm outside.

A weak moan issued from Smith, still draped over Naom's side. Link examined his wounded uncle. The bandages Myra had produced were soaked thoroughly red with blood. "He needs some serious attention right now," Link declared.

"Are we going to wake him up?" Myra asked indicating Harahn somewhat uncertainly.

There was no need. After a loud bang of thunder the old man snorted loudly and woke up to find five sweaty, dirty, and somewhat smelly people standing before him. His jaw dropped. "Your Highness, you are safe!"

"Yes," she replied. "All thanks to everyone here."

"Really?" the old man questioned enthusiastically. "But I thought Smith was going alone…. Good Goddess!" He exclaimed as his eyes fell upon Smith's limp form. "What happened?"

"We'll explain later," Zelda dismissed. "He needs urgent care immediately."

"Well, yes, yes, of course!" Harahn agreed. "Please, take him into my study." He indicated the door to their right, and Naom rushed into the study with Harahn. Link watched them go with an uneasy feeling he simply couldn't shake.

"He will be okay," Zelda reassured him.

"I know," Link replied. "I believe you. Still…I don't like seeing him like that."

Link and the girls resigned to the nearest pew. Half an hour or so passed by before Naom reemerged from Harahn's study.

"We've administered several potions and managed to stop the bleeding," he announced calmly. "He's stable for the time being."

"What do you mean 'several potions'?" Myra inquired. "You only need one to do the trick."

"Apparently, Agahnim's sword was laced with a poison that resists curatives," Naom replied rather gravely. "Likes to play dirty, that one. In retrospect, I'm surprised we managed to make it here in time."

Link's feelings were divided between relief and anxiety. "He is going to be okay, right?"

"I think so." Naom's voice was straight, but it held a hint of optimism. "He'll be in bed for awhile, though, at least until we can cleanse the majority of the poison from his body. He's in good hands with Harahn."

The anxiety slowly leaked from Link's chest. A breath he had been holding unawares released itself. "Good, that's a relief."

Harahn then appeared from his study with his arms full of blankets. "He's asleep now. I'll look after him tonight. In the meantime, why don't you all get some rest? You've obviously been through a lot tonight, so we can save the discussions for tomorrow."

He began to distribute the blankets to everybody. Naom didn't immediately reach out for his. "No thanks. I'm standing watch."

"Oh, no you're not," Harahn said cheerfully. "You, most of all, after just recovering from dark magic, will need some sleep. There's nothing to worry about. No one's coming tonight." And without another word, he shoved the blankets into Naom's arms.

Myra looked a little confused. "How did he know about Naom being controlled by dark magic?" she aimed at Link.

"Well, he's part of the group that Uncle meets with all the time," Link answered simply. "They probably already knew about it."

Everyone spread out their blankets on the ground or in some of the pews and tried to cuddle into them as best they could. Naom stayed standing, however, limply holding his blanket.

"Oh, come now," Zelda said to him. "You heard Harahn. We all need our rest."

"After all that's happened, I couldn't bear to let anything happen to you again," Naom replied. "I must stand watch."

Zelda frowned slightly. Sometimes she thought Naom took his job a little too seriously. Then an idea popped into her head. "Well, if I sleep over here—" she said, indicating a space in front of one of the chairs behind the pulpit, "—you can sit there and keep watch." And she promptly set to spreading out her blankets.

Naom said nothing and remained where he stood. Princess Zelda saw the reluctance. Finally, pointing sharply at the chair she commanded, "Naom, sit!"

Naom managed to smile a little. With blanket in hand, he obediently sat into the chair, which creaked slightly under his weight. Smiling, Zelda sprawled out gracefully across her spread of blankets and slowly fell asleep. Naom laid his blanket across his lap, his eyes resting affectionately over his charge.

Link, lying in one of the foremost pews, felt rather uncomfortable with only a thin blanket between his back and the hard wood. But the moment he lay flat, sleep began to take over him like an old friend's embrace. The thundering storm seemed to take on the usual quaint character he was familiar with as he drifted off into dreams.