“He really had the Ways be rebuilt.”
“You mean Kafei?”
“Yes. I’ve kept my old remaining masks safely hidden though, but I’d have to throw the Deku Mask across the whole cavern for you.”
“What are you talking there, Link? Do you not know me enough yet?”
“Can you fly or what?”
“Maybe – but first of all I can jump very far. Forgot?”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re half Sheikah. Bla, bla ,bla.”, he murmured and made Zelda laugh.
“I cannot tell you often enough how excited I am to see the town. The picture I have in my memories is horrible. There were just a few completely damaged pieces of former walls in between the rubble of the moon. Let us hope that there had not happened anything else in the last seven years.”
“And I can’t tell you often enough how strange it is to see you in such a rural dress – without brilliance – without a tiara – ”
“Therefore I have decided to wear at last a bit of jewellery. But you can never part with this green thing, can you?”
“It can stand a lot. I’ve told you too many times already. Besides, you also know what I wear this cap for. I mean – just because you are unarmed, it doesn’t mean that I have to be. And who would help you to lug your whole wardrobe? Look at me. I just carry two of my weapons. The rest is in the cap. It is the best invention of all times. And it’s not even of the Sheikah.”
“Oh shut up.”, laughed Zelda. „And I am not as unarmed as you think. I just do not take the effort to carry my weapons.”
“Besides – ”, remembered Link the reins in his hand. “How would we get the horses on the other side?”, at Tortus’ memorial stone they stopped for a while. “I had a strange dream last night. I can’t remember exactly though, but it was something with rails.”
“Rails?”
“Don’t tell me, you don’t know what – ”
“Thanks to our progress, I know quite well what rails are.”
“Hopefully. But you were – a ghost. Which can’t be, as I was younger and you are still alive after all. And there was such a mad guy – I think his name was Cole. He was your chancellor or so.”
“You tend to have strange dreams recently.”
“I know.”
When they passed the heavy stone door, Link left a sigh of relief. The noise did hurt momentarily a bit in his ears but it was great to see the works of the Clock Tower still in function. They went aloft and Link pushed the wooden door, hesitantly. Well-known noises came to his ears. It was a hammering and knocking. As he had opened the door enough, a happy smile spread upon his face. Nothing had changed. The colouring of the walls was a bit different and everywhere on them hung huge masks, but the tower was the same in progress as then. A small, white dog jumped across the square as happy as could be.
Link stepped aside and watched Zelda, whose eyes and mouth, fascinated by the view, stood wide open. His smile became even bigger. Deeply breathing the cool morning air, he took another look around – and got a fright. Somebody stood on the stairs to the Laundry Pool. It was a little child, wearing an Ikana’n workaday-dressing. It had shoulder-length, at the bottom wildly sticking out, flashing blue hair, a size that made Link despair and in addition, carried a Keaton-Mask on the face.
“Anything wrong?”, asked Zelda and followed his eyes.
“No. Wait. That – no.”
The child left the staircase and – headed for them. About a three feet away from them it stopped. Link was seriously confused. He took another around, to make sure, not just having imagined the changes on the walls. Then he again looked down on the child, that now made a barely catchable bow.
“I welcome Mr. and Mrs. Ledaz to Clock Town with my whole heart. I was ordered to lead you to your accommodation.”, the voice was deadened by the mask, but it was definitely a girl – Link was pulled to and fro between relief and delight.
“Le- Ledaz?”, laughed Zelda.
“Is this not your name?”
“Oh – I – ”, she remembered that she didn’t want to stand out. “Yes. I just use my – surname – much too seldom that I sometimes get a fright when it is used.”, she wrested herself out of the situation, as at that moment, a man hurried past them.
“Tell me, kid.”, said Link and squatted down, with a heavy heart ignoring the unsure looking back Curiosity-Dealer. “Where have you got this pretty mask from?”
“My Daddy has got it – ”, she shortly turned around for pointing at the Curiosity-Dealer, “From him, when he was a child himself. One day he gave it to a very good friend but that one lost it unfortunately. But the Mask Salesman had found it in the northeast outside Clock Town. It laid there together with many, many other masks. As he knew whom it belongs to, he gave it back to my Daddy. Now it’s mine. He also put me into this old clothing of his. I don’t know why, but I hope he will tell me later.”, she took off the mask and revealed her stunning resemblance to her father.
“Did he tell you more about this friend?”
“Everything. Just everything. He’s a little boy. He saved Termina from the moon, that was controlled by an evil demon. And he helped him and Mummy to marry. And also many, many others he had helped. The whole country actually. As whole and almost every single person though. He is very powerful. With his Ocarina he can influence the time – or let it rain – fly from one place to another – remove curses – and even,”, she whispered now, “Call the Giants of Heaven.”
“He can?”
“Yes.”, she went on in her usual tone. “You know, this is strange. You wear the same clothes as he. And you got blond hair too. Just a bit darker than he described.”
“Really?”, smiled Link. “That’s getting more and more interesting.”
“Yes. He named my brother after this boy. He’s called Link. And I’m Tatl. Like the little fairy that helped Link – Daddy’s friend, I mean – saving Termina.”
“Now look at that.”, laughed Zelda quietly.
“Now tell me – where exactly is your loony Daddy now?”
„Loony, he is. He’s sitting above us, grinning up to his ears.
„Did you need to give me away?“, laughed a voice, familiar to Link and he raised.
In a rush of colours, Kafei landed gracile next to his little daughter. He took a step forward and gave Zelda an elegant kiss on the hand.
“My Lady,”, he really was grinning up to his ears and spread his arms, “My Lord, welcome to Clock Town!”
Then he threw his arms around Link’s neck. That one was so happy to see him in full size, yes actually, to have him back in front of him, that he couldn’t help returning his hug. Not until about half a minute later they let go of and looked at each other. Kafei was about four fingers broad smaller than Link and therefore the same size as Zelda. He also had the usual black makeup around his eyes.
“You got old, Link.”, Kafei smiled, seeming almost nostalgic.
“I’m fifteen.”, said Link cold.
“You got old anyway.”, insisted Kafei on it. “And – damn! Are you taller than me?”
“Probably.”, chuckled Link back. “Take it – ”, he gazed interested under Kafei’s hair. “Do you wear earrings?”
“Oh – them.”, Kafei wiped his hair aside and Link got to see his pointed ears for the first time, as they were usually covered by his voluminous hair. “I got them since my childhood. Yours are new.”
“Relatively, yes.”
“But apart from them, you haven’t changed a lot.”
“The same on you. Except for the fact – don’t you sit on them already?”
“What? Oh them – you mean my hair.”, he grabbed a bundle of his waving hair that fell to the hip. “No. Not yet. But so they don’t stand off that bad. Though they are still very awkward. Also my mother-in-law finally got along with the fact, that I will cut them only when I or her daughter find them too long – what the – Tatl!”, she had climbed onto his shoulders so fast that even Link noticed it in the last second. “I beg you. Go and search Silra. She’s up already for sure, waiting for you to come and play with her.”
“Only if I’m allowed to go on the walls.”
“All right. But not when she’s with you, yes? She’s not as good at climbing as you are.”, while sliding down, she gave her father a big peck on the cheek.
“And – may I keep this on? It’s so comfortable.”
“I don’t mind. Your great-grandmother likes to sew and Mummy can wash out the whole town then.”
“Thanks!”, she beamed.
She put back on the mask, ran, from her sight to the right, to the thatched stand and; neither Link nor Zelda believed what they saw; climbed with a few pulls onto the post, ran nimbly over the strew, jumped off, grabbed one of the masks on the wall, pulled herself up on it and ran on the wall towards northeast out of sight.
“Someday one of these masks will fall. I might probably sound like a heartless father, when I say I’m more worried about the decoration than about my own daughter, but she’s already been far more often on top of the Clock Tower than me. And also without stairs and Carnival. She’s not even seven and knows every tile. If I let her out of town alone, she’d climbed the Stone Tower for sure. I had to post additional guards on the roofs. It’s like we’re in war. She even passed the Master Course of swordplay. I’ve forbidden the guards to let her out nevertheless. I grant her many privileges, but I’m not irresponsible at all. You know, Link, you’re her biggest idol.”
“And how old is the little mister you have named after me?”
“Five. At least with him Anju’s genes had a small chance. His haircolour is even freakier though and his eyecolour changes, depending on his mood, between red and blue, but he is considerably calmer than Tatl. And he can cook better than Anju. Maybe it’s because he can’t stand her masterpieces either. I sometimes don’t believe it. Our children are still so small but as independent as adults.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m their idol.”, smirked Link, whereupon the other two had a laugh. “Go on not letting Tatl out. Otherwise the Field will soon be grassless and the Dodongos extinct.”
“Very probably.”, laughed Kafei. “But you are so armed again. One could think that you suffer from withdrawal symptoms. Have you got any other luggage? Or is this the same clothing as seven years ago?”
“Both.”, said Link. “It somehow grew with me. You have no clue about what happened in the last seven years to your neighbouring country and other regions, have you?”
“No. Not really. Two years ago there was a gigantic earthquake, Sorrei wrote. She lost her faith back then and laid down her duty as Priest, which was taken over by a Human, that according to her statement, are more numerous in Hyrule than ever and as well as that the Gerudos did a runner after the earthquake, though she doesn’t know where to.”
“Yes. Was anything of the earthquake to be noticed here?”
“Nothing serious. The walls were trembling. I think, the size of the Hinterlands was enough to cushion the quake. There had been more distorted. The whole upper river has changed except for the Èthrienni. The mountains are a bit different than in my childhood. Sorrei meant, that Kakariko isn’t to be recognised anymore?”
“No. It had become bigger. The spring that had fed the well, had broken up though, but the village is far away from being as green as once. Almost everything had been devastated. The whole rebuilt capital had collapsed. The grottos beneath entire Hyrule had fallen in. The whole Lake Hylia had sunken for a several dozen cubits. The Lakebed Temple had sunken with it and got destroyed completely, but the Zoras built it anew and a bit different. The upper dam at the actual origin of the Zora-River had broken and hadn’t flooded Hyrule just because the river bed had broken in deeply as well. It now flows raging through the field, in a broad canyon. A lot had moved. But you won’t believe, what an upturn we had managed over only the past two years. I’d say, technology wise, we’re tied with Termina, if not even further. I don’t know what happened here though.”
“Not much, except that Ikana is populated again. Very populated.”
“Oh. Yes – anyway, with the breakthrough of the river, the Zoras of the north had spread and the others had vanished totally. Most of all, because the majority of the others died during the earthquake. I tell you, it was horrible. But as said, Hyrule became big. We have the most gigantic bridges you can imagine. The country reaches the lowest borders of the Faron Woods – since recently, the mountains in the north also belong to Hyrule. The capital is considerably bigger than Clock Town and I think, in this case it is my fault that it is centralized and parted in four districts.”
“Really?”, giggled Kafei.
“Yes, we defended our country well. There were many attacks but Hyrule is still and again standing. And it’s more beautiful than before.”
“Ganondorf is – ?”
“Taken out, like many others.”, grinned Link. “With Ganondorf it’s over.”
“For now.”, said Zelda seriously.
“Oh stop it, will you?”
“I just say it. I have the bad feeling, that this was just the beginning.”
“Beginning? What he, Vaati and Co caused is what I rather imagine as a version of the end of everything. But right. Even if – let it be.”
“He has been imprisoned for too long already. You have seen with your own eyes that Vaati did not let himself be banned so easily. Sooner or later he will get out. Unfortunately I have the feeling that it will be rather sooner than later. In addition, I do not really like your dreams.”
“Oh come on. If he doesen’t blow up the Carnival, we won’t have to worry now.”
“You are right.”
“Everything clarified?”, giggled Kafei. “Good. Then well’ go denouncing my wife.”
“What?”, laughed Link.
“I just say Ledaz. But she can tell you herself.”
“Where can we put up the horses? Or shall we let them out of town?”
“You know that Clock Town was never really suitable for horses. So I suggest, you let them graze in the Field.”
~o~0~O~0~o~
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