-Outside Mitagi-

To Nabooru of the Majora, the Qin plains were a wonder. She very much enjoyed her ride through the country from west to east. It showed her just how vast the State of Qin was, and how small her clan was in comparison. It was a humbling thing, but it also became a matter of pride. Qin was willing to call the Majora equals, to respect them, and to give them opportunities to partake in the glory and pillages to come when it was time to take their place in the world.

Alongside Nabooru were representatives from three other clans the Majora had conquered, guards, the twin witches, a few Fae alongside their Elder, and everyone's servants for their journey. It ended up being a total of fifty men and women, not including steeds and wolves. A sizable caravan like theirs could not move too swiftly. It was large enough to worry cities and forts, but not quite large enough for them to immediately bar their gates.

It was all well and good. The Majora and Fae were content outside of cities. They were where Fae could be in easier terrain, a place without metal and stone. The wolves could run until they panted and collapsed with a smile. Most importantly, they were where Nabooru could gaze into the horizon. The world here was as a sea or an ocean of dirt or grass, flat and endless. It bothered her to have even a few trees block her sight, but it only increased her amazement when she could see as far as her eyes would allow once more

Then there was the fortress-city, the military capital of Qin. Mitagi was a wonder all on its own. One glance was all Nabooru needed to know they were mighty. The Mitagi alone could fight all of Majora and the mountain tribes and no doubt win. It made sense the Mitagi were the ones sent by the Betrayer King long ago to exterminate, enslave, and exile the mountain clans. It also made sense, now that Nabooru gazed upon their fortress, why the Mitagi were the ones who fought the Dragmire at the height of their rebellion.

"Amazing," Nabooru breathed.

"It is a powerful construct of man. In that, we are agreed," The Elder Fae said. "This city holds many powers and secrets. With them, this city stands as the greatest wall of defense against the Gerudo."

"You speak as if you know a few. Have you seen any before?"

The Elder nodded. "I have. In King Shorlin's day, this was a common point to expand east from. I have visited before then, too. There is a holiness hidden here the Fae know well."

Behind them, the twin witches cackled and laughed. "You speak of the Mitagi relics!" "Oh, what we would give to put our hands on a few!"

The Elder looked back at the twin witches and let out a resigned sigh. He was not fond of them, but he was tolerant. This made Nabooru smile. It was most unlike a Fae to express 'sighing' within their wooden constructs.

"Behave, ladies! We are here on business!" Nabooru chastised them.

The group approached the city, and on the outskirts they were met with liaisons from the Mitagi. Nabooru's group was escorted to the inner city and then into where a tall castle rested. From the first gates of the castle, stairs lead to a throne room. The throne room was not meant for a king, per se, but for the lord of the castle. However, no one sat upon the throne. All around it were men of war. People scurried in and out of the castle, and Nabooru gained the sense that there was much activity today.

Every eye turned towards their party, and more than a few were slightly judgmental. Nabooru recalled how the Princess Zelda walked into the halls of the Majora to similar judgement. The two cultures were far from alike. Mitagi were men with stone under their feet, stone on their walls, and metal on their chests. Majora were men of wood and earth, with fur and hide on their chests. The Majora wore few clothes in comparison, but Nabooru ensured her women were thoroughly covered as to not offend. They still kept no shoes on their feet.

A man approached and bowed at the waist. "Honored guests, welcome to Mitagi. My name is Lord Geoffrey, and I shall be your host during your stay. If you have any needs, please present them to me."

"What we have a need for-" The twin witches deliberated, "-is to rest these warts and blisters on our feet!" They tottered up to some empty stools and perched themselves. Sitting beside them were more men of war. The witches looked up, smiled, and winked. The men, with a sudden case of green, stood up and departed the room.

"Our need is to see our king," Nabooru said. "We wish to ensure he is here, safe, and well."

"Of that, you have my word," Geoffrey promised. "But I also fully understand the diligence of seeing for one's self. You shall see him, but first, there is a matter we must discuss... A matter in which we need the aid of your magics."

"What matter would this be that could come before us seeing our king?" Nabooru questioned.

The Fae Elder stepped forward and bowed to the Mitagi.

Geoffrey smiled and bowed back. "It is a pleasure to see you returned so quickly, Lord Fae. And to answer your question, my lady, there is great unrest in the city and safety has become a concern. I will relay more, but for this moment, I require the assistance of your magics. It is a... sensitive matter. Who among you has experience in your masks?"

The twin witches raised their hands.

Geoffrey motioned to the door. "If you could follow me, Lord Fae, my ladies. This is urgent."

The other Fae looked between them and consented to follow. The witches groaned and whined loudly but followed as well.

"This is a matter Qin wishes for you to be silent about. Only a select few know of what has transpired. I trust you, Lord Fae, because the Princess trusts you within her personal circle."

"The matter must be serious, then," Elder Fae concluded.

The four of them passed through several stairs and halls of the castle. Soon their route led to an area where there were no more guards, and a heavy, locked door stood before them. Geoffrey pulled out a ring of keys and unlocked the first lock. Then he undid the second lock; then a third.

"This is not-" Geoffrey stuttered between heavy breathes, "Normally sealed."

The witches came over to him. One brushed her hand over the metal locks. "It is rigged... unused. Resistant."

"As I said, it's something sensitive," Geoffrey repeated. He finished undoing the locks and opened the door. Everyone entered the space beyond, and Geoffrey shut the door. He looked uncertain as to how to lock it once more.

Elder put a hand on the wood of the door, and before their eyes, the door widened and groaned. It met the stone wall on all sides. He turned and said, "It is sealed by my hand. I will return it as it was when we are done."

"Excellent," Geoffrey said, relieved.

Geoffrey led them further on, but they did not have to go far. There was a great noise up ahead. Within Zelda's bedroom, running and crashing was heard.

"Ow!" A young man cried. "Hold still! No! Not up... great! Just great!"

Geoffrey opened the room's door and motioned them in. With the door's opening, everyone inside froze. Malon stood to the side, smiling, and Sarah fretted. Link was aggravated: there was furniture knocked over, and a small animal perched on top of a cabinet. The animal was a white fox. She sat on the cabinet in the manner of a cat, looking down on the inhabitants with her tail wrapped around her feet. Cats have an interesting way of appearing majestic, dignified, royal, and even bored in their dismissive disdain. The white fox carried this air perfectly.

"Oh... my," Elder breathed out. His wooden voice was full of wonder as he gazed on the fox. Though Zelda's mark was hidden beneath her tail, the Fae tasted the soul of Zelda, despite her change of flesh.

"How to explain..." Geoffrey sighed. He raised his open hand to the top of the cabinet. "I give to you... the Heir Apparent Princess Zelda."

"What?" The twins asked.

Meanwhile, Link pulled up a stool and managed to grab Zelda, but she hissed and clawed at him. He managed to pull her down, but not without paying for it. She latched onto his nose with her teeth and leapt away. Zelda jumped onto the bed with Sarah and curled into the girl's lap. Link seethingly held his bleeding nose. Even as a fox, the glare Zelda gave him was scathing.

"She has been transformed with Majora magics just last night. And it is not just her... we have received reports that many in the city..." Geoffrey hesitated. "Transformed over the night."

"Are you accusing us of treachery?" One witch snapped. "Or requesting us for aid?" The other asked.

"The matter is under investigation, but we believe it to be tied with masks sold from a certain salesman. The people were transformed into the images they bought from him. We do not believe your people are at fault, but the salesman is somehow tied to your tribe. Otherwise, he would not have your magics."

"What makes our magics great-" The first witch started. "-is that anyone can use it," The other concluded.

"How this man came across your powers is another matter, but for the moment we require your aid. Please, free Zelda of this curse."

The witches looked at Zelda briefly. They huffed and faced each other. "You say it?" One asked.

"No, shall you?" The other insisted.

"I was born six seconds earlier."

"Must you continue to remind me?"

Finally, the first witch said, "We require something from you in return."

"Speak it," Geoffrey said.

"We wish for our aid to be presented as a sign of fellowship in the coming trial. Do not mistake this event as anything shorter than a war of words, Lord General."

"-Yes, we know of you," The second interrupted.

"-In this event, our king will be placed on the sword, as well as our allegiance to this alliance. The Mitagi will side with Mitagi. The Majora will side with Majora. Mitagi will wish for King Dragmire's death, and we will want his life. The only one to be between is the Heir Apparent. If she chooses to let him live, despite knowing that King Dragmire showed his darkest part, the great Mitagi will be angered and she will lose her greatest army. If she chooses to have him executed, our alliance will shatter and she will find war on more fronts than she can handle. You are forcing her to choose between the feral Majora and the mighty Mitagi."

Geoffrey listened with a serious air and looked at the floor. "What you say is true, but surely the Majora can select a new king that can respect the alliance."

"And surely the Mitagi can swallow their pride, or do your tall castles and strong walls speak of a pride that refuses to bend?"

"And what of your pride?"

"King Dragmire is our pride." The witches smiled.

"I see then, we are truly at an impasse," Geoffrey said. "As such... I will personally present your efforts to help us in the council... as a gesture. As you wish."

"Then we shall aid you," The first witch said.

"Must we? She is so much nicer as a white cat than as a woman..." The other witch complained. Zelda glared at them.

"She is, but this is for Lord Dragmire."

"Ah yes... he always gets himself into such messes."

The two approached the bed. Sarah scooted back worriedly, uncomfortable by their presence. They reached out their hands, "The princess, if you will."

Sarah looked to Geoffrey, who nodded his consent. Sarah released Zelda, and Zelda stepped before them. The witches put their hands over her fox face. She flinched at first, but she soon calmed and allowed their movements. The witches' brushing movements ceased as they instead held their hands around her. They moved their hands around as if they were to search her body. They frowned.

"There is no mask..." The first whispered.

"But there must be a mask," The Fae Elder argued.

"And there is no mask on her to remove," The other witch refuted. "We can feel the mask's presence, but it is not there. She was transformed by a mask, but she is not wearing it for us to remove. Where is the mask?"

Geoffrey looked to Link who shrugged in response. "Search the room," He said. "Zelda must have left it somewhere."

They all searched Zelda's bedroom from top to bottom and found the white fox mask in a drawer. One of the witches held it lightly, like holding it too closely would transform her too.

"So the Princess was not wearing it when she changed..." Link murmured.

"Did she ever wear it?" The witches asked.

"Once, at least."

The witches glanced at each other. "Then this magician is one to be feared," One said. "He is learning quickly: learning by using masks on many people to discern the rules we have placed. While a priestess would take years of study, he is learning in months. Clearly, this is a man of education, of discerning talent, with a crafty mind. If he really orchestrated a mass transformation overnight, he would likely only stay long enough to see the results of his work. He has likely fled by now, maybe even using the power of the masks in his escape."

"So you believe him to be gone?"

"If he is not, then he is stupid," The other witch chimed in.

"What of the princess?" Geoffrey pressed.

"Oh, her." The first witch waved him off. "This is beyond us."

"What?!"

"The Heir Apparent cannot be returned by us. Though we are priestesses, though we create masks, we have never worn and mastered using them. Therefore our talent is limited in removing them. If the mask was still on her, we could make a mask to counteract it and peel it off, but..." the rest went unsaid.

Sarah squealed in fright and held Zelda tight. Zelda squirmed to be released from the tight hold, but with a weak mewl, she relented.

"Then what shall we do? What can we do?" Geoffrey asked, trying not to despair.

"Even one who has worn a mask and removed it themselves may not be able to do this... to apply a mask's power by proxy... It is only a trick meant for the greatest of monsters when there is no other way. Masks are meant to be permanent, more so than any other magic. No one has ever reversed or defeated a trick quite like this."

"But he can do it," The other witch argued.

"I suspect so, but perhaps not. It may be even beyond him. He never mastered his own masking."

"He never needed one. He was born with his mask."

Geoffrey interrupted their growing squabble. "Then there is one who can do it? Who?"

"King Dragmire."

Geoffrey balked at the idea. He suspected there were wicked thoughts and schemes laced in the unspoken request. "You wish to bring her to him so that he may kill her!"

Elder and his Fae stepped between them. "My Lord Geoffrey, many times the daughter of Nayru has been before the Demon King, but never has he raised a hand against her."

"And you think he will be of the same mind since his rise to demonology?!"

"You speak a good thought, yet ignorantly. The demon has always been with him. He is no different from then. We will be seeing King Dragmire as it is, so I say let it be an opportunity for goodwill before we make it an occasion for judgement. Prisoner or not, he is no weaker in your hold than out of it. The fact that he has not broken out by now, with his loathing for chains and cages, troubles me as much as seeing the flesh of your Heir changed. I, too, wish to see him so I may understand the state of his mind."

"The state of his mind is hardly my concern."

"The state of his mind is of everyone's concern!" Elder harshly barked. Everyone jumped. "Make no mistake, Lord Mitagi, that the one thing holding back the fearsome power of the Demon King Ganondorf Dragmire is the mind of the Majora King! Within Ganondorf Dragmire is two fearsome wolves fighting for the same body, and I assure you, the wolf we know is the lesser. The less hateful one holds dominance for no other reason than its raw will. Should that wolf be eaten or lay down before the other, the Ganondorf Dragmire we know will die, and the demon you fear will return without an Ouki Mitagi to send it back!"

The Fae came closer until he was right in front of Geoffrey. "I know you loved your lord. Ouki was a great man among huma, and I mourn him too. He was a warrior without hate. Love and song and innocent games were always on his chest. I understand you witnessed much with your own eyes, but please... be aware of what is at stake."

Geoffrey was silent. He looked around at everyone and saw their somber expressions. He sighed. "I apologize, Lord Fae. Perhaps I am not as neutral as I would hold myself to be. You are correct. There is much at stake. So, with that said, what makes you think King Dragmire will have the magic to restore Zelda?"

"Because he bears the Mark of Power," Elder answered. "More than that, his control over his power is high. So much so that amongst the Majora, without ever having completed their 'Masking', he is able to control their masks more than any other. He is even able to pull others from their effects. It is on his power that the Majora choose to hope for a brighter future."

"I see... then if this power is the only cure to overcome the Majora craft, then we must see him."

"With guards no doubt," Link muttered sourly.

"Actually, no," Geoffrey revealed to everyone's surprise. "I understand your surprise, but King Dragmire is already under guard. He is under perhaps the only guard in all of Qin that can contain him. I do not know his name. He is known only as the 'Guardian,' but compared to him, no number of guards will compare. It would do no good for us to bring more guards. They would amount to nothing in a conflict."

"If you believe so strongly in the guardianship of this man, then we have nothing to fear," Elder said. "I, too, am a capable warrior, if the need shall arise. As are many of us here. There is no need to fear."

"Truly. You are right," Geoffrey nodded. He cleared his throat and settled his resolve. He stooped before the bed. Zelda pulled herself from Sarah's arms and approached the Englishman. "Princess, if it be your will, we shall go and see the prisoner, King Dragmire, now."

Zelda put a paw on his face.

"Err- Is that a 'yes'?" Link wondered.