“Of all days for Ganondorf to return, it had to be yesterday.” Link complained. He looked back at Zelda for a split second, then looked back at the road. “We’re supposed to be married by now.”
“Believe me, I’m not all that thrilled about it either.” Zelda answered. “This wasn’t exactly my vision of what our wedding would look like.” The princess gazed off to the south. She saw the entrance to the Kokiri Forest off in the distance; her mind drifted to the Sages. Silently the princess wondered if each of them had successfully sealed their temples. Zelda knew in her heart that the temples, excluding the Spirit Temple, were safe from Ganondorf’s influence. The only question now was who the new Spirit Sage was going to be….
Her train of thought was broken by panic. Epona reared up suddenly, catching her by surprise. Zelda felt herself slipping; she grabbed for Link’s waist, but she was too late. With a frightened shriek, Zelda fell to the ground.
“Zelda!” Link leapt off of a still startled Epona and crouched on the ground beside the princess.
“Ow….” Zelda slowly sat up with Link’s help. “What happened?”
“Something spooked Epona.” Link replied. “Are you okay?” The princess touched the back of her head with the tip of her finger; there was already a small bump forming there.
“I just bumped the back of my head.” She assured Link. “I don’t feel sick, but I’m probably going to get a nasty headache. I’ll be okay.” Zelda smiled as Link lifted her to her feet. The Hero of Time’s attention turned to his horse. Epona was still rather shaken, but Link didn’t see anything that could have frightened her.
“What’s wrong, girl?” Link brushed his hand across Epona’s mane. He looked across Hyrule field toward their destination; Gerudo Valley was a mere half-hour away, Link estimated. There were no obstacles in their path, or anything else that could spook a horse. Yet Epona was still fidgety. Still seeing nothing, Link pulled the Lens of Truth from his satchel. Then he saw something.
“What is it?” Zelda asked.
“I’m not sure.” Link replied. There was a strange looking creature standing a mere three feet from Epona’s front hooves. It was definitely a Stalchild, but a bizarre black mist surrounded it. Instinctively Link pulled out his sword.
“Touchy, aren’t we?” Came a loud, piercing voice from the Stalchild. “I am but a messenger from the Master. The King of Evil awaits you at the Spirit Temple.” With those words, the Stalchild disappeared into the black mist, which then blew away into nothingness. Link put the Lens of Truth away and turned back toward Zelda.
“I guess that means Ganondorf knows we’re coming.” He stated. “Which means he already has the advantage.”
“Even getting to the Spirit Temple is going to be dangerous.” Zelda pointed out. “If only there was a way for us to travel without him knowing where we are. I can’t turn into Sheik again. Ganondorf already knows that disguise.” Link didn’t have to ponder the question for very long. He opened his satchel again and pulled out a smaller bag, gently laying the contents on the ground beside Epona. “Masks?” Came Zelda’s bewildered response.
“Not just any masks.” Link began. “When you wear one of these masks, you take on the form of the creature whose face is on the mask. You can turn back into a human when you take the mask back off.” Zelda considered this and looked over each of the masks. The princess picked up the Goron mask.
“Should I wear this one?” She asked. Link chuckled slightly.
“Not unless you want to be a white-haired Goron hero.” Zelda placed the mask back on the ground.
“They’re that specific?”
“Except for the Deku mask. That one just transforms you into a Deku child.” Link explained. Zelda immediately took the Deku mask and put it on. The princess quickly transformed into a tiny Deku Scrub with long, leafy hair. She looked up at Link and smiled—or tried to smile (it’s difficult to smile as a Scrub….) Link stifled a laugh.
“What?” Zelda placed her hands on her hips. “It’s inconspicuous!”
“That’s definitely true.” Link stated with a grin. He picked up the Zora mask and placed the Goron mask back in his satchel. “Well, here goes.” Link placed the mask on his face and became the famous Zora guitarist; he looked back down at Deku Zelda. “An unlikely pair. Let’s hope Ganondorf doesn’t figure us out.” Zora Link walked over to Epona and looked her straight in the eye. “Epona, go back to Lon Lon Ranch. It’s safer for you there, okay?”
Epona whinnied in response; the chestnut mare broke into a gallop and headed back to the safety of Lon Lon Ranch and Malon’s care. Link looked down at Zelda, who was still trying to get used to her new body.
“Shall we go?” Link asked. Zelda nodded her head and leapt into Link’s arms. “Uh, why’d you do that?”
“You have longer legs than I do! I’ll never be able to keep up!” Deku Zelda insisted. Zora Link shrugged his shoulders.
“Okay. Just hang on.” The disguised princess of Hyrule and Hero of Time made their way into Gerudo Valley. No one would suspect a tiny Deku child and a Zora guitarist—or so they hoped. With Ganondorf calling the shots, Link thought, nothing is certain
*~*~*~*~*
“So you spoke to the Hero of Time, I assume?”
“Yes, Master. He and the Princess of Destiny are on their way.”
“Excellent, my child. You may go.” The Stalchild bowed deeply to his new master and exited the chamber. Ganondorf chuckled to himself. Everything was playing out as he had predicted. Link and Zelda had taken the bait. It didn’t bother the Gerudo king that all but the Spirit Temple had already been sealed. In fact, he had almost expected it. It won’t matter soon. Once I have the other two pieces of the Triforce under my command, the rest of the temples will fall and all of Hyrule will be under my control.
“First thing’s first.” Ganondorf said out loud. He raised his hands high in the air and chanted a mystical sounding rune, calling upon the strength of the Triforce of Power to do his bidding. The same black mist that had brought Ganondorf out of the Evil Realm swirled around him again. Two points of light began to form in the air, slowly changing color until one point was blue and the other orange. Soon, the mist disappeared, revealing two old women floating in the air.
“What in the--?” The one with a blue stone on her forehead was the first to speak. She turned to the other with a shocked expression on her face. “Koume! We’re alive!”
“And look, Kotake, Little Ganondorf’s here.” Koume replied, looking down at the one who had just retrieved them from the Evil Realm. “Thank you, sonny. That little brat Link was a bit tougher than we thought.”
“He was tougher than I thought as well, unfortunately.” Ganondorf grumbled as he remembered his embarrassing defeat by the Hero of Time. “I won’t let it happen again, I assure you.” The Gerudo briefed the twin sorceresses on his new plan to capture the rest of the Triforce and Hyrule. “Once Nabooru was dead, this temple was easy to take. I almost took possession of the Fire Temple as well, but that cursed Zelda sealed it before I had a chance. The rest of the temples were also sealed, but the seals can easily be broken once the rest of the Triforce is mine.”
“And the brat fell directly into your trap. Excellent.” Koume eagerly rubbed her hands together. “We’ll be more than ready to assist you in his destruction.”
“We cannot underestimate him this time.” Kotake commented. “He is quite powerful. We’ll have to be on our toes, won’t we, Koume?”
“Definitely, Kotake.” Ganondorf grinned evilly.
“Very well. Here’s what I want you to do….”
