A young woman was kind and honest enough to buy bandages for Link, though her true motive was probably to brag to her friends. She giggled incessantly the entire time Link spoke to her, and as she skipped back to her group, where she started talking in whispers. Loud shrieks would rise from the gaggle of girls and die to whispers again. Link was used to this, and he stood up slowly to get ready to leave. He steadied himself for a moment before attempting to move any more. His leg told him it wasn’t quite ready to move yet, so Link sat back down on the floor and sighed.

A moment or two later, Link was finally able to start hobbling back to the castle. It took him a while and it was well after sunset before he made it. He thought about the old man’s words the entire way.

“The end of the year, end of Hyrule... shorter days... aging... I don’t get it. OW!”

His right foot managed to find a small pit in the ground. When he tried to take another step, he managed to twist his knee and fell to the ground, howling in pain. After a few minutes, Link was able to stand and steady himself, with his weight mostly on his good leg.

He suddenly realized he was silly for trying to walk and called Epona to carry him back the rest of the way. With every stride of Epona’s, though, his legs slapped against her sides, causing a sharp shooting pain through Link’s injured leg. He simply gritted his teeth and bore it, though pain-induced tears began to stream down his face.

It’s not much longer; there’s the castle up ahead, he thought.

He grimaced. Another stabbing pain overtook him.

Once through the castle gates, Link managed to dismount Epona without too much trouble. He gingerly tested his leg, and found he wasn’t able to put much weight on it at all. Apparently, his knee was very badly twisted, and it would cause him problems in the future, and horribly affect his fighting.

“I need a faerie,” Link thought out loud, as he scanned the courtyard after leading Epona back to the stable. There wasn’t one in Epona’s saddlebag; he knew that for certain, because it was empty. There weren’t any on his person and none happened to be flying around at the moment.

“Of course not,” he said, and hobbled slowly back towards the castle (which, thankfully, wasn’t very far), going very easily on his leg. When he got to the castle gates, Faji, who happened to be passing, noted his plight.

“Link... something the matter?” he asked. Faji managed to keep a peal of laughter stifled; Link’s strange green clothes were hilarious.

“Yeah... actually...” Link admitted, climbing the stairs at the entrance of the castle. “I twisted my knee. Can’t put too much weight on my leg...”

“Let me help you, then,” Faji said.

“No, no... it’s all right... really,” Link said breathlessly. He rested in the doorway, exhausted from his efforts of walking a few feet and climbing six stairs.

“Nonsense, I’ll help you back up to your room so you can rest.”

“No, really, I-- WHOA! PUT ME DOWN!”

Faji effortlessly hefted Link, jackknifed, over his shoulder. His upper body hung down Faji’s enormous back, and his legs were short enough so that Link’s toes failed to reach Faji’s chest. Link also tried to keep himself propped on his elbows on Faji’s back so his face didn’t hit the rock. He bounced with each step Faji took, but tried to keep his right leg straight to minimize further injury. It disoriented him, too, since what was “up” to Link was “down” to the rest of the world. Even scarier was the long fall that appeared to hold Link if Faji accidentally dropped him, and the size of Faji’s calves. Link was able to see them rather clearly, and from his angle, they appeared to be the size of his torso.

“This... really... isn’t... neces... sary... Faji...” Link said as he bounced.

“Don’t worry, we’re here,” Faji replied. He roughly removed Link from his shoulder, but gently placed him on the ground, sitting. Link stayed motionless for a moment to reorient himself.

“Are you going to be okay?” Faji asked.

“I think so. I’m kinda dizzy, though. All that blood in my head,” Link answered, holding his head. Could the hallway stop spinning for just one moment?

“I meant your leg,” Faji said, motioning. He bent over backwards to stretch out his back, which seemed to hurt him a bit.

“Oh,” Link said dumbly. “Yeah. I’ve got faeries. Are you going to be all right?” Link asked, noticing Faji stretch.

“Yeah. It’s just my back. Lately it’s started to hurt from lifting things.”

Link blinked, absorbing his statement.

“Well, okay, I’ll leave you, then,” Faji said, and he turned to leave.

“Faji?” Link started.

The Goron turned around and lifted an eyebrow.

“Thanks,” Link said meekly.

“You’re the Sworn Brother of Darunia, and a Knight of Hyrule. I have no choice.”

Something strange happened.

Faji’s face broke into an unmistakable smile.

Link was taken aback for a moment before returning it and raising his hand to wave.

Faji continued down the corridor, turned, and was out of sight.

Link sat on the floor for a moment, slightly dumbfounded, but came back to reality when his knee screamed in pain again. He reached for the doorknob and used his arm strength to pull himself upright. He opened the door to his room, and hopped over to his dresser. He pulled out a bottle with a flickering pink light on the inside. A faerie. Link held the bottle near his leg and opened it; the pink light floated out of the bottle and around his injured right knee. Instantly, his knee felt warm, soothingly warm as though bathed in summer sunlight, and the pain lifted away, like magic. The faerie healed it, grinned and giggled before taking one last circuit about Link’s leg, and flew away. Link rested his leg on the ground to test it. He could put weight on it now. He stood on it, leaned to the right, and then he jumped a few times. Good. It was sturdy. He decided to wrap it in his new bandages anyway, just as a precaution.

Thoughts of what the old man said in the square slowly crept back from the recesses of Link’s mind. What could his cryptic words mean? Aging, the Queen -- of course, that was Zelda -- the end of the year? It was only June. But... it felt like... September. Could that be part of it? Maybe...

Link rushed to his mirror. He’d never really stopped to think about his reflection recently, but now he noticed drastic physical changes. He noted the same changes he saw in everyone else. He looked older.

“Strange...” he commented. He continued to inspect his reflection and found hints of gray showing up in his blond hair... only the blond was starting to turn brown, like when he got it wet. He plucked some hair to get a better look at them, and winced as he did. Sure enough, what was once yellow turned brown, and what was brown turned gray.

“What the hell? I’m only eighteen!” Link cried, exasperated. Something was not right. He dropped his hair and studied the mirror once more. There was only one thing he could do.

A long time ago, when Link first started on his journeys, Impa would constantly remind him that if he needed to, he should ask for help.

“You very well may turn out to be the Hero of Time, Link, but you’re not indestructible. If you need help, ask for it. If it’s given to you, take it. There’s a saying amongst my people, ‘When one’s in need of sage advice, one must seek out the one who’s wise.’ You will find that asking for help can only make you stronger, instead of stubbornly refusing it.”

Of course, now would be the perfect time to seek out Impa’s help. Link took one more look at his reflection, as though he were trying to memorize his own features, and left his room. What he was thinking was going on was crazy, but Link knew from experience nothing was too crazy to not happen in Hyrule.

***

A half-packed suitcase lay open on the floor. Since Zelda’s ascent to the Throne, Impa found that she steadily had less and less to do for her. While it was true that Zelda wasn’t a little girl anymore, she didn’t know everything, and would still need guidance, or at least someone to talk to every now and then. Unfortunately, her help was refused, and Impa decided it was best if she left the comforts of Hyrule Castle for a bit and went back to Kakariko to take care of what was left of the denizens of her native town. It was a hard decision. Something told her that Zelda needed looking after, and Zelda seemed to be growing so distant from Link since she got back from Labrynna. It annoyed Impa to find Zelda acting so uncharacteristically, but she assumed the sudden change was brought on by the feeling that she needed to pick up exactly where her father left; and that her father’s death was eating her up on the inside. Impa would think about Zelda’s behavior from time to time, and how it could affect the kingdom. In the midst of the recent string of deaths, it was sure to be detrimental, especially as Zelda seemed to ignore that particular problem.

Impa just decided to take a break from packing. She lay down on her bed to thinking, when she heard a light rapping on her door.

“Come in,” she said, sitting up, and groaning slightly in complaint. The door opened a bit and a head poked its way into the room; it was Link’s. He spoke simply and straightforwardly.

“We need to talk.”

Impa only looked at him, slightly confused, head cocked, before she allowed him to enter.

***

“Tonight is perfect,” she thought out loud. “With that stupid Link out of commission with his bad knee, I can go where I want and do what I want,” Lily cackled.

She looked at the reflection of Zelda in the mirror. She was starting to look much older, almost forty or so. Zelda didn’t feel it. She still had the same weightless feeling she always had for the past few months. She’d gotten used to it somewhat, but still, she felt like there was nothing in the world better than being in control of her own body.

“And I think I’m going to go lakeside tonight,” Lily said into the mirror.

There was light knocking on her door.

“Who’s there?!” Lily demanded, in Zelda’s voice.

“It’s me, Zelda. I was wondering if I could go with you,” Link’s voice answered.

Go with me? How much did he hear?

***

“Remember when I first came to the castle eight years ago? Remember what you told me about looking for help if I needed it?” Link began.

“Go on,” Impa prompted.

“Well, I need your help.”

“With what?” Impa asked, standing and crossing her arms.

“I think I figured out what’s going on in Hyrule, with respect to the deaths...” Link said, and explained everything he’d deduced about the weather and the deaths, and his own injuries and aging. He spoke about the old man and how he was vital in helping Link piece together his hypothesis. He tried to mention every detail he could, but when it came to Zelda’s detail, “the Queen shall grow cold,” Link failed to come up with how it tied in to the rest of the goings-on in Hyrule.

“...but it doesn’t make sense how you haven’t aged... and you’re one of the oldest people I know!”

“I think you should keep a closer watch on her,” Impa said, rubbing her chin in thought. “Wasn’t it that not too long ago, you started to get closer?”

“She’s been pushing everyone away since her father died,” Link said.

“It’s true, but there you are. She’s been acting coldly. It’s also unlike her to shun either you or I. You should look after her.”

“But if she’s going to be all--”

“I don’t care how you do it. I only care that you do,” Impa ordered shortly.

Link swallowed a rather large lump in his throat and rose from his seat on the floor. One of Impa’s socks decided to stick to him, and he peeled it off and threw it back in the suitcase, chuckling. He remembered only a few months ago when it was a slightly more embarrassing lilypad he removed from himself... when Zelda acted like herself....

“As soon as possible, Link, please,” Impa added, trying to sound as calm as possible, and not yell.

“I’m going,” Link said, taking the hint. “I’ll think of something; I’m sure of it.” He started to leave.

“Link,” Impa said. He paused and looked over his shoulder. “Don’t you want to know where I’m going?”

He wondered what she was up to. He turned around fully, crossed his arms, and leaned slightly to the left, with a questioning look on his face.

“Kakariko,” Impa said. “To help out.”

Link only nodded and continued out the door. He thought the entire time he walked to Zelda’s room, and, as a result, he was surprised when he made it there faster than he thought he should have. On the other side of the door, he heard her talking loudly. He decided to press his ear to the keyhole to listen.

“And I think I’m going to go lakeside tonight,” he heard. Without thinking, Link knocked on the door.

***

Zelda threw open the door and shouted angrily at Link.

“How dare you eavesdrop on me!” she screamed.

“I only thought you could use some company, is all,” Link said, as he was pushed out of the doorway. Zelda, obviously disturbed by his presence, shoved her way past him and moved quickly through the hallway.

“We haven’t spent much time together at all recently.”

“Well, I don’t want anyone coming with me,” Zelda said, quite deliberately. “I can do this on my own.”

Link simply stood there dumbfounded. Do what? He let Zelda have her space, and addressed her properly.

“As you wish, Your Majesty,” Link said softly. He bowed and left. Zelda’s eyes cast a piercing glare over the Knight as he walked away. He turned down one of several corridors in the hall.

“Good,” came Zelda’s voice, half-frustrated, half-pleased.

Time to wreak more havoc.

With the soft whoosh of her skirts, Zelda continued down her hallway, through another, navigated a winding passage and left the castle, having decided to leave now instead of that night. The guards stood motionless, but only watched the Queen leave. No one knew where she was going, save herself, and Link, of course.

Link poked his head out from around the corner of the corridor he was hiding in. No one else knew where Zelda was going, but he certainly did and he was going to find out why.

***

Halfway on her way to the shack, Lily showed her true self again. She continued on her way, not having the slightest idea she was being followed. But even then, her follower was confused. One minute he was following Zelda… the next thing he knew, he ducked out from behind a tree and saw a strange Sheikah woman, with no trace of the Queen. He followed anyway.

It took most of the day for Lily and her follower to reach the shack, as they traveled by foot. Link hid behind a tree while Lily went inside. He waited to catch his breath, test how much more his knee could take (it seemed fine) and make sure she was staying in. When he was satisfied, he moved closer.

As he approached the house, he drew his sword, and it reflected the moonlight onto the ground... but there was something strange about the ground. Link knelt in the grass, about 20 feet away from the tiny shack, picking up a few of the blades and rubbing them between his fingers, studying it curiously. Some of the grass was brown, and the soil dry, as it was in the rest of Hyrule, but as it crept closer towards the house, it was still green, and the earth soft, as though unaffected by the weather.

But how can that be? Link asked himself. He was suddenly reminded of the woman inside and crept slowly to the back of the house. He flattened himself against the thin wall, sword still unsheathed, and moved as close as he could to the shack’s lone window. A few beads of sweat ran down his face. Why was he nervous? You’ve faced the unexpected countless times before, and this is no different, he told himself.

“I suppose,” he whispered aloud.

Right, so just look inside the house so you can see what you’re up against, Link instructed himself again. He obeyed.

Under normal circumstances, it would have been a most unsuspicious scene. A Sheikah woman was moving quickly around what appeared to be her home doing what appeared to be cooking. Of course, it wasn’t so simple.

I have to get her out, Link thought, turning back so that he lay flat against the side of the house. But how?

Light managed to catch his face. It came from inside the house, and it was awfully bright. Instinctively, he looked back inside. Fire.

That’s it, Link thought suddenly. I’ll set a fire.

Without thinking about the consequences, he took out a fire arrow and aimed it towards the base of the shack. It caught alight instantly, and began to burn very quickly. Unfortunately, the few dry leaves Link carried over on his boots caught fire as well, and soon, the ground around the shack was ablaze. The fire grew as the land around the house burned, and as the flames licked closer to the drier grass around it with each passing second. Link stared, wide-eyed, shocked. He couldn’t move, but he could still feel the heat from the fire. He felt the sweat forming at his hairline and slowly plotting an itchy path down his face. His palms were sweating too. His heart beat faster and seemed to jump into his throat. The fire danced in front of him, hypnotically, as though begging him to watch. It succeeded in catching his gaze for quite a few moments, but the sound of broken glass shook him loose. It only dawned on him, too late, that everything around him would burn... as well as everything in the house.

“ZEL-- huh?” he started, reaching and taking a step towards the house, but cut himself short as he saw a figure rush past him. It was the Sheikah woman. She fled, carrying a few things with her. Link watched her run for a moment, but realized there were slightly more pressing matters to attend to; like the ground he was standing on was fodder for the fire. Quickly, he picked his pack up off the ground and looked through it. There was nothing that would help him. He patted himself down for any item he might have had, no matter how small. Nothing.

“Shit,” Link cursed, looking up at the raging fire, helpless.

He’d find out who that Sheikah was later. For now, there was nothing he could do but turn... and run.