-Zelda-

Zelda opened her eyes with the first light and briskly rose.

The ad-lib leader among them, Matsubi, rose minutes after her and prepared some food to break the fast. He used the last of their combined rations and thinned it out with water from a nearby stream to make hot soup. He handed Zelda a bowl with a silent nod and a small smile.

'A resourceful, proactive man.' She noted. There was also a gentleness about him that defied her first impression as an enemy, while he was also strict with his peers. She couldn't place it, but it reminded her briefly of how Impa was at times.

Link was sprawled across the ground, arms and legs wide open, snoring and drooling. He was dead to the world. Midna's sword was several feet away from his hand. Zelda scoffed. He was wide open to being assassinated. Unbeknownst to him, she was a light sleeper and heard much of what was said last night. She was not pleased.

"Wake them," Zelda ordered Matsubi. "We can eat while we move. We should arrive before midday if we pick up the pace."

"Yes, your highness."

He awoke everyone with a kick. Link, in a half-awake moment of instinct, latched onto the attacking foot and bit down. The men laughed as Matsubi struggled to pry the kid off. Zelda shook her head at their behavior and started up the steep path.

The environment changed as they took the path from marker to marker. The forest became darker but also filled with more lights. The overcast against the sun became denser and denser, but it was thriving and alive. Hidden laughter filled the forest.

"Someone is out there," Matsubi murmured. "Anyone see them?"

"It's like they're toying with us!" Link barked as more laughter could be heard. Whoever was out there was too quick. His hand unconsciously reached for Midna's sword.

"Ignore them," Zelda ordered. "They are part of the forest's danger. If my guess is true, then at least some myths of this forest are true. Despite my jesting yesterday, the Fae are real. The children of Farore make their home here. They have been watching us since we entered their territory, but because we have stuck to the path laid out by the Sheikah they have not harmed us. If anything, what you are witnessing is their whimsical nature. Do not stray from the path, and they will not show how dangerous they can be."

"So you expect us to do nothing while they play like trolls!" Link argued. Zelda stopped briefly. She turned to look him in the eye, with such a look as to dare his defiance. It stopped Link on the spot and his words caught in his throat.

"Yes."

She turned her back on him and continued.

Link felt the need to argue, to defy her, to be uncontrolled, but after the look she gave him he couldn't. Never had he seen someone so distrustful and merciless. It chilled him to the bone.

While Zelda knew where their destination lied, even she was unprepared for what was found past the final marker. The Sheikah marker pointed to a crevice between rocks. It was brief, with the passage opening wide. The men in front of her gasped in awe, and feeling curious, she squeezed her way between them.

What laid before her eyes snatched her breath away, and for a moment she fewlt something enter her heart alight to a gentle flame. Unlike the endless void, she constantly bore, the warmth of what she saw spread through her limbs and into her face until she smiled.

Before them was a water-filled alcove in the rocks, like the top of a volcano filled with water. Water-lily and flowers floated and filled the earth around it, while beneath the water, and above it, were moving lights.

No. Now that they could see it more closely, they were Fae. One such Fae flew up to their faces. Zelda was surprised to see how much the Fae looked like a tiny girl with an eternal smile on her face. Despite the myth, there was no wing on her tiny form. The Fae was one with the wind and floated effortlessly. The Fae dived into the water at her feet and seemed to move and be one with the element just as much as the other. It shifted their attention downward, and again the men gasped.

Beneath them was a city. The crystal-clear lake descended seemingly forever. The darkness of the water was denied by the glow of the Fae and their shell buildings. The buildings themselves were shaped naturally as shells along the edges of the lake bottom and were fashioned together as smoothly as a tree entwines itself with nature.

Floating in the middle of the lake before them was a majestic building, painted in white and green and red. Its taller size was suitable for humans. The building seemed to defy nature in its freshness of wood and paint. Above it, Zelda saw Fae flying in and out of the alcove as their preferred way of passing between their city and the surrounding forest. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw what looked like a child's head regarding them from the top of the alcove.

Many Fae gathered like a school of fish beneath the surface and flew out of the water. Their formation encircled the group playfully before diving into the rock surface around them. Though they could not perceive it, the Fae swam through stone and rock as easily as they did air or water.

The earth beneath them shifted and moved, causing most of them to stumble and lose their footing. Zelda fell into the water. She feared for a moment she would drown since she didn't know how to swim in deep waters, but the water kept her afloat. She rose to her feet on the water.

The earth beneath them moved across the water to construct a bridge. More earth followed and encircled the floating hut to create an extended yard.

The water beneath Zelda moved as well, and despite her attempt to steady herself, she fell on her butt. The water didn't seem to mind though and carried her to the hut. Zelda placed a foot on the earth and stood by her own will. The soldiers ran to catch up with her.

"Wha-what is this place?!" Matsubi wondered. His eyes swerved in their sockets as he tried seeing everything around him. The place was beyond imagining, even for Zelda though she knew of this place by written account.

"I'll explain shortly. For now, stay here and rest. We are safe here. The Fae will not harm us so long as we aren't threats. I am expecting guests, so let me see if we are late. My guests will attack you if you are the first thing they see." Matsubi grimaced but nodded. He laid down his spear on the ground and advised the soldiers to do the same. They laid down their weapons and rested.

Link was already resting in his way. He dived into the water and tried to grab at the Fae. Thinking he was trying to kidnap them, the water threw Link out violently, and he landed on the earth. The earth sunk his hands and feet and entrapped him. "Hey! What's that for!" Link protested. He struggled against the bindings. One Fae stuck her tongue out at him. Childishly, he returned the favor.

Zelda entered the building. No one was there. Zelda sighed in disappointment. She was overdue, and yet Impa was the one to be last. That was against her punctual nature.

The building was made up of three rooms. The first and grandest room was occupied by a long table and an assortment of cushioned chairs. Windows were on the walls, through which she briefly saw Link be picked up by his feet by the Fae and slung around while the soldiers jeered. Zelda passed through the room and found the adjacent room was with a pot and bathtub. The final room had a cooking fireplace, a closet of food-filled bags, and a shelf of herbs. A box contained all the necessary equipment to cook and eat for many people.

She handled the food and rubbed herbs between her fingers. Intoxicating scents hit her nose. It was fresh. Did the Fae continuously resupply the stock expecting guests, or did the energy of this place give life and immortality to the organic and inorganic equally?

She returned to the main room to discover a man waiting, of sorts. This creature had the shape and height of the average man, but unlike a man of flesh and bone, this 'man' was of wood and vines. Its eyes and mouth glowed as it gazed on Zelda. Deeper in the wood there was a faint glow near his chest that dimmed and lit, like a slow heartbeat.

"What is your purpose here, Daughter of Naryu?"

"Shelter," Zelda answered. "It is impolite to suspect my motives before introducing yourself."

"I am Fae. My identity cannot be spoken by your tongue, but you may call me what you wish. My position among Fae is that of the patriarch."

"Then may I call you Elder?"

"If you wish."

"My name is Zelda. I am heir to the throne of Qin. In some years' time, I will be King."

"We know of Qin and its king." Elder's voice was throaty like wind through leaves and his every movement was the creaking of bark. "Where is The Betrayer King, King Aou? Has he passed into the eternal realms?"

"He was my grandfather and was passed on by my father, King Xiang. Both have passed."

Elder was silent for a moment. He, for it had the appearance of a male, bowed his head, "I am sorry to hear that. We were not in good relations, but I loved his father as much as I could any mortal. For Shorlin's sake I honored his son to the end. Much time has passed since the royal family of Qin has honored us with a visit. What is it you fear, Daughter of Shorlin?"

"Who says I am afraid?"

"You seek shelter as if to imply you are seeking an escape from a threat," The elder replied. Zelda accepted the rebuke. She had not considered her usage of words to imply it and had given more than she wanted.

Elder continued knowingly, "You are not here for a diplomatic visit between Qin and the Fae, but to flee from danger. You have respected our territory by not straying from the path set by the Sheikah, whom we respect, so we will shelter you so long as you do not seek to do us ill will, and so long as what you fear does us no harm."

"Much appreciated," Zelda said. "I know we intrude, but I hope we are not a burden. Your words are true, we do flee from danger. I am expecting guests to arrive, more Sheikah who knows the old paths. We agreed to rendezvous here."

"Hmmm... It might have been nice to beseech us first..." Elder grumbled.

Zelda smiled apologetically. Despite his tone, Zelda didn't sense any hostility behind it. Elder didn't seem to be holding a grudge at their unannounced usage of his land. It could be considered an invasion of sorts, or an insult, but the Fae seemed to be taking it well in stride.

Zelda offered, "Despite it all, I do hope we can seize this opportunity to learn from each other and revive some dialogue between us. The Fae represent nothing more than legends now, and it sounds like you are behind on the times beyond your forest."

"I can agree with that. For now, it seems you have had a tedious journey. Eat your fill and rest. You will find blankets under the flooring beneath the table. Our home is hospitable, but as I understand it, you huma like them."

"Many thanks."

Elder sat in the corner of the room, and after a moment, a Fae left him. The wood left behind lost its glow and life and became like a normal tree in the shape of a man sitting in the corner.

Zelda left the hut and announced, "It's safe. You may enter now."

Matsubi entered first. His eyes briefly widened, "It seems the Fae were expecting company."

Zelda nodded, "Yes, this place was built by my great-grandfather. It was his favorite retreat away from the palace. No one but the Sheikah, the royal family and this city of Fae know. Prince Kyou would know, but I doubt he expressed much interest in the personal scrolls of our fathers. The Fae said there would be blankets under a panel beneath the table."

"Makes for a great hideout then," Matsubi made his inspection of the hut. His men moved the table onto its side and unlatched the panel to find the blankets. The heavy blankets were all dyed red with gold fringe around the edges. On the center was a crest Zelda did not recognize. It looked like a bird with a triple-triangular head.

"It also acts as a good negotiation table," Zelda ran her hands over the table, lost in history for a moment. "King Shorlin was considered the greatest conqueror-king of Qin and built us to the border we now possess; however, that was not because just of the might of his armies and generals, but of the open freedom he gave them to conquer without politics holding them back, and his diplomacy with the clans still hidden within Qin. The Sheikah, Fae, and Majora to name a few. There are a dozen more hidden in the mountains, but those were the largest. All of them gathered here at this table."

"Amazing!" Matsubi breathed. "The Sheikah are well known, but the Fae and Majora are but legend, tales told to frighten children."

"Funny story. If you find it as amusing as my teacher did. The Majora is a barbaric mountain tribe. The tribesmen of my great-grandfathers day ambushed a patrol of Qin. They chased our soldiers off but kept the horses to eat. These were the personal horses from the king's herd, so he could have had their heads. Instead..." Zelda smirked. "He sent them wine with a message that the drink went well with venison."

A few of the men did chuckle, but Matsubi just seemed bewildered. "An unusual choice."

"It established dialogue with the Majora and King Shorlin met with their leader. Allegedly the two forged an intimate friendship, as my great-grandfather was written to be... eccentric."

"What happened, though? Were the Majora wiped out? You would think they would be nearby."

"I don't know about my father, but my grandfather was noted to be prideful and arrogant. Grandfather did not get along as well with Majora as his father did. I suspect they hid once more in the mountains."

(Scribens 4/11/2020)