Fan Fiction ❯ The Mirror Tells All ❯ Fifth ( Chapter 5 )

You Wish! Productions presents...

The Mirror Tells All

A Legend of Zelda fan fiction

By: Blue Taboo

Proud member of Darkscribes.org

Link wasn't even on his second step out of the royal wing when he heard Damen's voice calling after him while the Old Knight strode down the north wing towards him. Vesta was nowhere in sight, obviously gone off to other chores or more important things, probably since Link was now to be invested into his "uncle's" care. He met Damen at the intersection of corridors that was pretty much the only place in the castle Link could really claim to be familiar with.

"Ah! Look at you!" Damen exclaimed, seemingly pleased as he too studied Link like all the other people who had seen him the day before. "In that color red, you truly do look the part, my boy! Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. I felt exhausted last night, even though I hadn't really done anything draining," Link told him.

"Oh come now!" Damen seemed very jovial and pleasant, unlike the strange, quietly demanding front that Link had met the day before. He began to wonder if all the Old Knights were two-faced like that. "I'm sure that gaining a new identity is draining enough, and other such things should count as so. It doesn't have to take a day of swinging a sword or shooting a long bow to tire one out, you know. The mind often tires faster than the body, simply because we take it for granted, but enough of that. We have business to attend to, and it's not very wise to speak of your transformation, shall we say, out in the open like this," he told Link, gesturing to the empty corridors.

Link decided just to take his word for it, but asked on another point he'd made. "What business?"

"Why, getting you into the life of a Squire at the castle! Her Highness requests that your mornings be kept free for her planning, but after that, you come to the Old Knights to learn our ways. We already have it planned out for you too. Cortain will teach you the histories of this land, all the boring old facts every good man should know. Wrasten will work on your chivalry and teach you all the proprieties of this place. Banon will further your weapons skills. However, I take the greatest pleasure in my task..." Damn trailed off, looking nostalgic.

"Which is?"

"Teaching you about the family you've been given, and making sure that you are a proper member of the House of Red Lions," he said with a grin, like it was supposed to make sense to Link.

"House of Red Lions?"

"Why yes, boy," Damen laughed. "Each noble family in Hyrule is called a house. Their function is determined by color and they each have an animal that represents them as a symbol. Red is the color of the Knights, and our house is the House of Red Lions. You see?"

A memory popped into Link's head from the future everyone forgot. Some shopkeeper was telling him about the Hylian shield, and why there was a red eagle under that Triforce symbol. The man said something about wondering why he kept making them with the red bird, and how it would be easier on him, just to make them without. "Then the Royal Family is the House of Red Eagles?" Link concluded from the fuzzy memory.

"Yes!" Damen sounded overly thrilled to watch Link come to the realization. "The house of the King gets its symbol on the shields of Hylian soldiers. Your shield has the Red Eagle on it, doesn't it?"

Link nodded.

"Ah! I see where you know that from then. Well, that's all very well then! If you can draw those kind of conclusions, you can learn quickly, which is exactly what we need you to do. The sooner you know what you need to know, the sooner you can help us."

Link looked at Damen, still a little perplexed to see the man in such high spirits, and so talkative. Damen looked right back at him, his piercing green eyes searching Link's own blue eyes for the reason behind their staring contest.

"What's troubling you, boy?" he finally asked looking away from Link's gaze, at a loss for a reason.

"I'm just wondering why you are so different from the way you were last night." The young swordsman thought it better to just tell the truth.

Damen then looked back at him, this time, with a more serious face. "You just remind me of old times, better times," Damen said, then sighed. "I supposed we should get going, though. Before that, go get your gear from your room. Banon wants to see how well you wield that fancy blade of yours."

Link couldn't help but be slightly weirded out by Damen. He could only guess that he would eventually know the whole story behind the family they'd made him a part of, and why Damen was reminded of, well, whatever he was reminded of, at the sight of him. He went to his room and grabbed his sword from where it lay in its sheath on the top of the chest, but on a second thought, Link grabbed all of his weapons and gear, thinking he might need them. Everything was safely stored in his belt, some things with enchantments that made them tiny and easy to store in various pouches, others in normal fashion, which were kept on a strap behind his shield. His bow and quiver of arrows were among those. Link even remembered his gauntlets. He longed for their snug fit on his arms, but he only knew this when he caught sight of them, lying on the floor by his bed. They would also serve to cover up an annoying mark on his hand...one that tended to attract unwanted notice if kept uncovered. He put them on gladly, needless to say.

Once again, he was in tow of another and whirling through the twisting halls, but this time, Link tried to get a mental map going. He had to learn the layout of the great stone structure, if he ever wanted to be left on his own again.

This time, he did not arrive in a stuffy room, but rather, a large open courtyard, which was in no way a garden, simply because the grass was sparse, and only a thin birch tree dared to stake a claim to one of the corner's of the great square opening. Amidst a few nearly empty wooden racks stood Banon and Wrasten, arguing minutely over something.

As soon as Damen shut the door that lead out to the courtyard, though, they both turned to face the two intruders.

"Ah!" Banon shouted as he began to stroll leisurely over the open ground towards them, "Good to see you've made it!"

Wrasten walked up to them a little more speedily and did as all the others had done. He looked Link over, now that he was illuminated by daylight and had changed. "You will do," the other two-faced Knight concluded with a bit of a grin.

"My, my," Banon then commented, having arrived to greet them. "He does clean up well enough, doesn't he? Fit for your house, Damen?"

"Incredibly so," the still beaming Old Knight responded. Then he turned to Link and gestured to the two men standing before him. "Now I can formally introduce you to Sir Banon of the House of Red Bears and Sir Wrasten of the House of," Damen cracked a smile, "Red Badgers."

Wrasten did not seem amused at Damen's...amusement.

Banon just laughed outright and said, "Suits him, doesn't it, lad?"

"With that said and done," Damen continued. "I'd like to introduce you gentlemen to Link of the House of Red Lions."

"May you never turn green or blue, and always preserve your honor!" Banon and Wrasten cried in unison.

Link only responded by looking confused.

Wrasten scoffed at him, then Damen. "I don't think he bothered to tell you much else, did he? Blue is the color of Dukes, green is for Counts and Barons. They are not Knights, and by the old code of this land, we consider that to be shameful, since all noblemen of Hyrule are supposed to be Knights, as it used to be, but the rest of that lesson can wait. You are Banon's for today. We are only here to watch, since old men are considered to have nothing better to do."

Banon then grinned so that Link suddenly felt his sword arm itch. "It's my turn then, lad," he said, and beckoned Link to follow him over to the center of the spacious courtyard. The hero did, feeling strangely eager at the idea of a fight. Normally, he dreaded going up against most anything. Whether it was a Stalfos, or a ReDead, Link hated to fight them. They were just another chore, something to be done that he really didn't feel like doing. However, even if he had only been in the castle one night, something about this place put him on a strange new edge. It made him want to go out and fight whatever came to challenge him in Hyrule Field, or Lake Hylia, or Death Mountain...it didn't matter.

"Forget about all the other junk you've got," Banon told him as he took a fine red-hilted broadsword from the rack, along with a Hylian shield that was lying unceremoniously on the ground. "All I want is to see how you are with the sword and shield."

Link gladly dropped all the extraneous weapons and items, along with their containers and straps. He grabbed his sheathed sword and strapped it over his shoulder, than he hung the shield where he'd always put it, and couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable, and a little more at home.

"I'm ready. Draw and come at me when you are, Link. This is only a test of skill, though, and I will not wound you, so therefore, you know that you will not wound me, correct?" the bald Knight asked, just to make sure.

"Of course," Link said as he drew his own sword and unhooked his own beaten, but not broken, Hylian shield. He couldn't help but notice Banon's look of surprise...and Wrasten's offering of the reason for it from the wall where he and Damen watched.

"Aha! The boy's left-handed! Isn't that troublesome for you, old friend..." the snappy man cried out vehemently.

"It's nothing new," Banon told him, still facing me, then said, "Come at me, then. I may be an old man, but I have confidence enough to let you have the first strike."

Link did not even nod or give any affirmative. He knew that all in battle was deemed inevitable, and if Banon wanted to let him strike first, then he would strike. There were no rules here, other than the fact that it was only a game, with that as the game's only rule. It was liberating, to say the least, for Link to charge across the packed earth of the courtyard, and to hear his blade meet with the ring of steel on steel with that of a worthy adversary. Link had battled for longer than he'd supposedly lived. He'd been the Hero of Time and the Hero of some many other things in so many short years. He had fought everything from Peahats to Ganon himself, but it was still a sweet sound to hear, when he touched blades with another, even if it wasn't a real fight.

He didn't have time to dwell on that, though, as he soon found Banon to be much quicker than he'd judged. The broad, bald old man was light on his feet, and heavy with his blade. As soon as he'd parried Link's first strike, he took his, only to be met by a well-trusted Hylian shield. They continued as such, in a vivid dance of swordsmanship, never getting a chance to get a hit on one another. Just when it seemed like Banon was about to get Link in the side after he'd fooled him with a feint to the younger man's shield arm, Link jumped nimbly out of the way. Then, just as Link seemed to have slowed the old man down, and was about to get a slash across his belly, Banon's shield flew to block it faster than the hero imagined it even could.

They both knew at that first ring of steel, that they would end up this way, joined in a deadlock, in a match neither would win. And since they knew, they fought not to see who would win, but rather, why it was they were so evenly matched. Surely a Knight with 60-odd years of life experience and professional training could out-do a mere boy, who had sprung from nowhere but the Princess' stories. Surely, though, the Hero of Time himself could easily strike down an old rotund man who had never known a fight against the blinding rage of true evil. No...there was something else there, beyond all the titles and every battle that each had won and conquered. A bond, like that of a swordsman to his blade was strengthened every time they clashed. Whether or not they were who they were, or had done what they'd done, they were swordsman and warriors all the same. Knight and peasant didn't matter in this game, and that, is why they stopped.

"Oh come now!" Wrasten complained from afar upon seeing the two very evenly matched men stop and catch their breath. "I have money riding on you, Banon! I don't get anything from it of you call it a draw!"

"A draw...it is..." the old swordsman said, grinning through his short breaths.

Link nodded in acceptance as he to huffed from the exertion.

"Pity," Damen added. "I would've liked to have seen if either of you could have even won that round."

Banon swallowed one last gulp of air and then patted Link on the back. "He would have, eventually. The boy lacks the discipline of a Knight, but he has the stamina of a youth. My old bones would tire long before his."

"So that's what you'll teach him, then? Discipline?" Damen asked as he approached the two.

"Yes. I'm afraid that it is all I have to teach him that he has not already learn. Tell me, lad, who was it that taught you swordplay?" Banon pondered, obviously impressed by the hero's skills.

"I pretty much taught myself," Link explained. "Ever since I found a dagger in the woods, that was a sword enough for me when I was small, I just did what was necessary. A few people gave me tips along the way, but most of it I learned when trying to defend myself from Moblins and other such--"

"Whoa there lad! Moblins you say? There haven't been any of those since I was your age, and believe me, that was quite a while ago," Banon pointed out.

"Ah...it's difficult to explain...but there have," Link told him, hoping that would suffice enough for an answer. He wasn't even sure if he could tell the Old Knights about the future that never was, and what happened then. No, they wouldn't believe him. Besides, he had never told anyone. They didn't need to know of the horror that had befallen Hyrule...

"Well, I trust your word enough," Banon responded. "It takes some rare evil creature to teach a young man such as yourself to fight so well. Tell me one more thing, though, lad. How are your skills with a bow?"

Thus began a round of target practice. Banon had been prepared with a bushel full of rotting apples that the castle's cook had been glad to dump off on him. He, with the help of the other Old Knights, set them up along the highest of the racks. Link's goal was then to shoot as many of them off as he could. Needless to say, he didn't miss one. Again, Banon wondered at where the young man's skills came from.

"Also in the woods, at a different time, that is," Link told them, "I found a bow while I was freeing this one, um...place from the monsters that plagued it. It turned out that the monsters causing the problem were these four ghosts, who could only be wounded by arrows. I learned what I had to know fast enough, or else I would be a fifth ghost there..."

At a loss for any use of the time, Banon asked a little later on, after they had cleaned up the apples and the arrows that were stuck in them, "So what else have you simply come across and learned how to use?"

Link, at a loss for a coherent explanation without giving them the entire, unbelievable story, just showed them. He pulled out all of his various weapons from their pouches and slings. The Old Knights had never seen a boomerang used by anyone other than a monster, and were amazed at Link's skill with it. They had him finish off the last of the apples with it, even though they demanded that he kept showing them how he could bring an apple from the top of the highest rack, far from himself, back to him on his boomerang completely unharmed. They also greatly enjoyed the hookshot, though there was nothing very impressive to test it out on, other than the old birch tree. Banon even asked to try it out, and Link just assumed that he was capable of using it. He showed Banon how to work it, but when the Old Knight let the chain retract, he lost his grip and landed face first in the dust, much to Wrasten's amusement.

The others they were less enthralled with, having seen plenty of bombs and Deku nuts in their lives. However, Link could sense a new kinship with the Knights forming. He had proved to them that he was indeed a fine warrior, more than they expected from a commoner, and slowly, but surely, he knew he was earning their trust, as well as their respect.

"I'll have to give that device of yours another try," Banon said as Link started to put away all his basic gear. "But definitely not today, or even tomorrow. Right now, though, I think a bit of lunch would suit us. Am I right, friends?"

Damen nodded a sharp affirmative and Wrasten chimed in, "I thought you'd never ask."

Link didn't notice, once again, that he was even hungry until food was mentioned. However, as soon as the words tumbled from the older swordsman's tongue, he couldn't help but agree. "As long as it's not as formal as the Princess says dinner is going to be," he stated.

"Oh don't worry, boy," Damen assured him, leading their way out of the sunny courtyard and back into the castle. "Whenever the Knights aren't required to eat with the rest of the highborn, we eat like soldiers, straight from the kitchen."

"The food tastes better that way, fresher, you see," Banon pointed out.

"And you're the living proof of it!" Wrasten declared, jabbing the weapons expert in his flabby side.

"You're none to talk, Sir Badger!"

It seemed to Link that they did not stop this kind of bickering, even though it was all in god fun. Wrasten always initiated it, he had observed. It was what he found funny, for the youngest of the Old Knights always flashed a grin whenever he was poking fun of his fellow aging fighters.

Their late lunch began as soon as they entered the kitchen, with the old men warmly greeting the guards that were taking the same kind of simple lunch. A hunk of venison, straight from one of the many roasting spits in the castle's expansive kitchen, a wheel of sharp yellow cheese, a loaf of thick bread, and a pitcher of cool water were shared amongst the Knights and their Squire. Link realized then, his stomach full and his grin flashing at the jokes Banon was telling the assembled men that sat at the simple wooden table, that he could get used to life here, even if it was only temporary. So long as there was such a break, once a day, or even once a week, from the rules and judgment, he could stand it. He felt normal here, and at home, eating simple food and talking with normal people.

But it did have to end, and it ended very shortly. Banon patted his now slightly rounder belly and then said. "Well, we've got other things to see to because of young Master Link here, so good day to you, gentlemen."

The soldiers were disheartened to see Banon go. It seemed that they looked up to him, and all took quite a shine to him. It was another thing Link noted, simply because it was remarkable that all of the dozen men that stopped into the kitchen in that short time made especially sure to greet the weapon's master.

"So we have another half of the story to prove now," Banon began as they exited the kitchens. "You're supposed to have a way with the horse too, as the word going around the castle tells me. I don't suppose you have a horse, do you, lad?"

"Actually...I do."

Wrasten looked thoroughly confused. "Then where is it? Did you stable it somewhere in town, or do you hide it in one of those pouches of yours?" he asked spitefully, if only in jest.

"No and no," Link answered. "She's out in Hyrule Field now."

"Well unless you've tied her to a tree, I'm afraid that's not the case anymore," Banon told him.

"Now, now," Damen interjected, having kept silent again for most of the meal, but still looking bemused. "Don't take the boy for a complete fool."

"Oh, I don't have to worry about that," Link said, taking it in stride. He was used to people criticizing his strange ideas of horsemanship. "Epona comes when I call her. I guess I haven't showed you half of my weapons yet, since it involves that sort of thing."

"What do you mean?" Wrasten demanded.

Link really wasn't sure if he should tell the Knights about the magical properties of the dozens of songs he knew, or even the few spells that Great Fairies had taught him over various times and places. He decided, though, that it would be all right to let them know a little about the songs, and that he would indeed have to prove it to them. "I play a song on my Ocarina, and she comes. I learned it from the ranch where I bought her. They have a way with animals like that."

"Now this I have to see!" Banon exclaimed.

Link could see that the bald man didn't doubt his claim. Banon was already impressed enough with him, and eager to see what other new skills Hyrule's newest Squire possessed.

They all just stood around for a moment, waiting for someone to do something. Only then did Link realize that they expected him to lead them out and show them. "Uh...which way to the market?" he eventually asked, feeling slightly embarrassed at the fact that he could find his way around any dungeon or grotto well enough, but he still had no clue how to get around the castle.

Damen then let loose a little chuckle. "I think we just forget that you've been here only a day. Follow me."

No one in town thought it unusual for a pack of men from the castle to descend upon the market. They still went rushing about their business, as they had done when Link had left Hyrule. Granted, there were some Imperial soldiers here and there, making sure everything was orderly. Link could tell them apart by their uniforms. They wore a purple tunic under a highly polished steel breast plate, with tight black trousers and steel-toed black boots, as well as steel-plated gauntlets and arm bands. Unlike Hylian soldiers, they had swords sheathed at their sides, as opposed to spears, and they lacked the signature pointy ears of the native race.

Before Link even knew it, they were across the drawbridge, and a different set of three Hylian guards let them pass out onto the field. Link almost wanted to see the guards that had let him in the day before, just to thank them again, since he couldn't quite fulfill his promise to them yet. Maybe it was for the best, but regardless, he had another decision to make.

Link wondered, as they stepped onto the grass, if the Knights knew what the Ocarina of Time looked like, and if it would be wise to use it. Link still had his old Fairy Ocarina, but he hadn't played it since he was a child, and it was probably off a little, simply from neglect and lack of use. He decided just to go for it and use the Ocarina of Time. If the Knights recognized it and had questions, he'd try as best he could to tell them all the half-truths he could. They'd never believe the real story anyway.

Link slipped the blue instrument out of its respective pouch and into his hands. For some reason, he always felt calm when the cool surface of the ocarina hit his fingertips. He often played it even when he didn't need to, either to get himself to sleep, or to brush off the homesickness he'd often felt during his travels. Hearing nothing from the Knights, he set it to his lips and played Epona's simple song, all three notes of its melody whistling forth from the little instrument in his hands just like they had done countless other times. He knew there was magic in every pure tone that came from it, and it amplified when he played them in a pattern that put that magic to use. It still mystified him, after all the time he'd spent playing the little ocarina.

Sure enough, Epona came galloping up over the hill, glad to once again hear the sound that meant her master was in need of her again. Only then did Link hear anything from the Knights, and all but Damen gasped uniformly. He, on the other hand, did not seemed so surprised. The horse came right up to Link nuzzled his shoulder, demanding to be of service.

"Hey girl," he greeted in soothing tones. "These are the Old Knights. Well, three of them, at least. They're friends, all right? Don't be shy."

Epona then stared down and sized up the three old warriors, only to turn back to Link.

"She seems to favor you," Banon observed. "I won't even ask, though, how you came across such a fine horse."

"Actually," Link told him. "I bought her at the Lon Lon Ranch just a little over seven years ago. Right before I left Hyrule."

"Where you got such money as a boy, I'll never know, but knowing Lon Lon horses, she must've cost a fair amount," Banon said, inching closer to look the mare over, but trying not to scare her.

"Not too much," Link recalled. "She was wild, even when she was a foal. Talon and Ingo said they had no hope of breaking her, and after I managed to ride her, with some help from that song, they said I could have her for 500 rupees. It was all I had, but it was well worth it, right girl?"

Epona snorted on cue.

Banon then crept up close enough to reach out and touch her. "Then is she still skittish to others?" he asked cautiously, before moving to stoke her neck.

"A little, but I'm sure she won't mind you. She's had plenty of boys handle her in plenty of stables, but I don't think she'll ever let anyone ride but me," Link affirmed.

"In that case..." Banon gently stroked Epona's neck, and she simply didn't give him much notice. He wasn't Link, therefore, he didn't matter to her.

Damen then stepped up and stroked her nose. She tolerated him, still not giving him much mind, then turned her head back to Link, as if to ask him why all these strangers insisted on touching her.

Wrasten stood back still, a doubtful smirk on his face. "All right then, boy," he challenged. "If you can tame the wild beast, then let's see how you ride it? I'm especially keen on seeing how you direct a horse that's not wearing a bridle."

It was Link's turn to smirk then. Waving the other two Knights off, he put away his ocarina and mounted Epona. She then pranced and huffed beneath him, ready for a run. Link clamed her with a simple touch on her shoulder. It meant to both that they would run another day. Right now, he had to show the Knights that he could ride like he'd been riding his entire life, which was almost true.

"Want me to go through her paces first? I'll do the fancy stuff after that..." it was barely even a question, since Link didn't give them time to answer before he set Epona into a brisk, prancing walk. He circled a small area once this way, then let her trot. After circling again in the trot, he cantered one lap, then galloped another, finally coming to a swift stop, allowing Epona to rear, while comfortably keeping his seat upon her saddle.

His horsemanship was pretty unique, since he didn't have to use a bridle with her. Link couldn't explain why or how she knew what he wanted. He did squeeze her flanks with his legs and occasionally smack them with his freehand, but that only served to emphasize the point he was already getting across, without having to do or say anything. He could see that Wrasten was amazed by this, and he found himself taking great pleasure in it.

Then they set off in a run for a short length of fence along the road, jumping it with ease. They turned and went back over again, just to further the effect. Then for the finale, Link grabbed his bow and knocked a single arrow. He aimed, while still at a full gallop, for the sign that marked the location as Hyrule Castle, standing in his stirrups. He released the arrow and it hit dead center in the sign, just between the 'e' and the 'C'.

Despite Banon's cheering, Damen's grinning, Wrasten's fuming, and the yelling of one of the drawbridge guards about the arrow in the sign, Link couldn't help but feel good.

That was one thing in all his heroing days that he couldn't get over, even in all the growing up he was sent back to do.

Link still loved to show off.

It was strange, coming from a young man that generally didn't like to attract too much attention on a normal basis, who was even more secretive when it came to what exactly happened when he went into a dungeon, or fought off a powerful monster, but he didn't care. He had the skills. He had earned them and learned them, so why not let them see?

"Well done!" Damen shouted across the field to him.

This was Link's territory, out on the field with his horse, his weapons, and his hard won skills. He didn't belong in the castle, learning about rules and histories, but it was a quest of sorts, he then realized. It didn't involve sword fights or magic spells, but there were plenty of puzzles and enemies in store for him. That much he could see. It was just another dungeon that lay before him, but instead of looming ominously overhead, Hyrule Castle lay in the distance, its white stone sparkling in the afternoon sun.

But beneath the beauty and the propriety, there was, indeed, a dungeon, and not just the kind where traitors are thrown into. A new kind of monster plagued Hyrule. Link just had to get the Boss Key to fight it, but that key was going to take a lot of work.

He looked over his shoulder as the Knights bid him to put Epona in the castle stables and told him that it was time they headed back. As the wind blew the tall grasses, Link remembered the offer he'd made that morning and said to himself, his head still turned back towards what he knew, "When I come back, I'll introduce you to Zelda, Hyrule..."

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/_\ /_\ Blue Taboo /_\ /_\