Zelda
Chapter 7: Gauron’s Mask
I’d lost him… Gauron was gone… And all that was left was a mask… I had obtained masks like this before, healing those who needed it desperately using the Song of Healing. Whenever the song is used to heal a soul filled with regret, it allows the wearer to take on the shape of the deceased. This time, it was Gauron… I held the mask that etched out his face perfectly. I couldn’t bring myself to put it on… Gauron’s shape was something I could never use, because I could never live up to the man… He was the greatest of all the Hylian Knights, a General. He was a man of valor, and boundless courage and power. He could have easily taken either mine or Ganondorf’s place as a Triforce bearer. But now, he was gone… And there was nothing I could do except grieve…
“Link?” Zelda called from outside my door. “Are you okay? Can I come in?”
“Yeah…” I replied, answering both questions in a single word. The Princess slowly opened the door, carefully walking in… She wore a white dress, lined with blue on the edges and making various patterns of knotwork along the long skirt and top portion. Her arms were bare, and she still wore the golden tiara-like headpiece. She walked up to my bed and sat down. “It’s… just so hard to take in…” I stated.
Zelda placed her hand on my shoulder. “I know how you feel… Five years ago, my mother fell ill… All of the best physicians in Hyrule couldn’t save her, and she died… It was around that time when Ganondorf showed up… I suddenly became very seclusive, and only really spoke to my father and Impa… When you suddenly showed up in the courtyard that day, two years ago, I knew that I could trust you… Especially when you stated how much you believed me… You… You even went after the Spiritual Stones… And nearly got killed, so many times… for my sake… I… I’m truly sorry I put you through all that…”
I looked into the glimmering sapphire eyes of the Princess only to see tears streaming down her face. Soon afterwards, I found that I was holding her close, letting her sob into my chest. Apparently, this ad been a hard week for all of us…
“Zelda…” I started, not knowing what to say. “I appreciate your concern for me… I really do… But…” I loosened my grip on her, and touched her chin, guiding her eyes up to look into mine. “I did those things for you because I wanted to. You don’t have to apologize for anything… So please, don’t cry… It’s not befitting of a princess of your calibur.”
She looked at me and made a weak smile, wiping the tears from her face. “Yeah… Imagine… Me crying over something that’s not my fault… but… It feels like it is… And… It hurts…” I looked inter her deep blue eyes… They were full of kindness, compassion, and love… Then I realized why I had made the silent vow I had yesterday… I loved her too much to let her go… We fell apart, both sitting on the bed, and stared at Gauron’s Mask, now laying on the floor. I soon realized what had to be done with the mask…
“So… It looks like I need to go to the Forest Temple…” I stated. “I have to make sure Gauron can pass on without regret…”
Zelda looked at me, knowing full well why I had to do it. Not only was it Gauron’s last wish to save the one he couldn’t, but the one I had to rescue was the first friend I ever had…
“I’ll go with you…” she said. “You may need the help, and… Besides… If I can keep you from getting…” She looked away, obviously unable to finish her sentence.
I immediately looked at her with a serious face… “I’m sorry, Zelda, but I have to do this alone…”
“Why?” she asked. “Why can’t I go with you? Is it really that bad?”
“Well…” I started. I was a bit shaky on what I was about to tell her. “You see… now that Gauron’s gone… You are the only thing keeping me here, where I have a home, that I’m truly welcome in… If… If Iwere to… lose you… I would never be able to forgive myself… I could never live with myself for the rest of my life… Yesterday, I decided, I wouldn’t lose you like I lost Gauron… I won’t let you die, not ever… I can’t promise that nothing will ever happen to you, because I can’t promise the impossible, but if there is one thing I can’t do, it’s lose you… It would hurt… far too much…” I said it, and I meant it… Zelda looked at me, completely silent… I merely stood up, picked up Gauron’s Mask, and put it up to my face…
When it came on, the mask wrapped around my entire head, and soon encased my entire body. Gauron’s features started to form on me, and I grew in size, to that of an adult Hylian in silver armor. I became Gauron, wearing the stunning armor, and a dark green cape. On my side was an axe, it held a chain on the end that hooked onto the armor on my arms, allowing me to use it at a distance for whatever was necessary at the time. Zelda stared as I took on the shape of the long-lost knight, as I took out a harp, what would have been my ocarina, and played the Minuet of Forest, sending me on my way to the Sacred Forest Meadow…
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