Chapter Seven
As the clocks tolled ten, Link half-hid behind a statue. The guests had already arrived, but he had not yet thought of a method of meeting new women without having to explain to Fairy that he needed to meet as many women as possible because he needed to find a bride, but he wasn’t Link. He sighed. He had never expected to have this dilemma.
Fortunately and unfortunately, a witch saw him. Witch was actually very pretty, and she looked nice, plus he had someone to dance with so Fairy couldn’t seek him right off the bat. However, the fact that she saw him meant that he wasn't half-hiding well enough. It must be my nerves, he thought.
“Hi,” Witch said shyly.
“Hello,” replied Link. “Would you like to dance?”
“Sure,” she replied. From the look on her face, Link could tell that she was very shy, and very glad he had asked her to dance.
“So, where are you from?” he asked as the musicians started a slow serenade.
“Labrynna,” she answered. “You?”
“Hyrule.”
“That’s nice. Have you ever been to Labrynna?”
He’d better lie. “Not yet, but I was thinking of visiting there someday.”
“Oh.” Her face fell a bit. Link sighed inwardly. She thought he was Link.
Everyone suspected him! Why did everyone think he was Link? No one really knew what he looked like or sounded like unless they were from Hyrule, and some Hyrulians had never seen him, only heard of him. He hoped people thought that Liam was him, but now he doubted that. He glanced over at the corner where Liam stood. Butterfly and Fairy were obviously not here yet, for he was half-hiding alone.
After the dance with Witch, Link half-hid and slowly made his way to Liam. His brother saw him coming, of course, so when Link arrived he asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Excuse me, but everyone is supposed to think that you’re me!” hissed Link, so no one else would hear. “However, I’m finding that many women are asking me questions with small smiles on their faces as if I’ll trip up and reveal who I am. You have to dance with other girls, or else the masquerade won't work at all.”
“I’m sorry!” cried Liam. “It’s just…Butterfly…I’d feel so guilty…”
“Please, Liam. The last night, you can get her name and address so you can go visit her or something, but for now, just try to help me out. You should ask Fairy to dance, too.”
Liam sighed. “Fine. They’re not even here yet. You’re right, though. The ball is supposed to be fun.”
“Liam, I’m sorry. I know how much you’d rather stick with Butterfly…”
Liam gave Link a quick hug, the type guys give each other (They clasp one hand and sort of slap each other on the backs; you know what I’m talking about). “It’s okay. Don’t feel bad. I’ll get over it, I’m stronger than you. Besides, you’ve dealt with worse.”
“Thanks, bro,” replied Link. He gave Liam a small salute and skulked back to the spot he was in previously.
Afterwards, he came out of half-hiding and danced with a number of girls. To Link’s relief, Liam danced with some, too. The night was going very smoothly. Link and Liam met for an update at about eleven o’clock to discuss how everything was going. Link was pleased to report that no one since Witch had tried to see if he was Link, and Liam was excited to say that so far five women in a row had asked him several questions to try to see if he was the Hero. They had made fabulous progress.
Link had made a mental list of all the ladies, so far, that he would even consider marrying. They were Fairy, Din, Nayru, and Witch. Everyone else was either not right, or he hadn’t met them yet. He hoped he wouldn’t have to add too many more names to his list. Decisions like that gave him headaches most of the time.
At midnight, Link was dancing with Farore. She was nice, but not too bright, so she was not on his list. As they were dancing, he heard her say, “Oh, great. They’re here.” Link glanced in the direction of the door. Butterfly and Fairy were there! Link hid his joy at seeing them.
After his dance with Farore, who had hinted that she wanted to dance with him later, Link approached Butterfly. He did have to meet her to see if she would be on his little list or not.
“May I have this dance?” he asked.
She looked surprised and a little dismayed at seeing someone other than Liam, but she accepted. “So,” she said, “You’re the guy that Fairy was talking about.”
“I guess so,” replied Link. “She’s very nice.”
“She thought the same of you.” She looked thoughtful and paused. “Do you by any chance know Phoenix? That guy over there?” She pointed to him.
“No, I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that you sound remarkably like him. It’s weird.”
“It is. People have always told me that I have a unique voice.”
“Oh really?” She laughed a bit. “Well, now you have competition, don’t you?”
He laughed, too. “I guess so. Maybe we should have a contest to see who has the most unique voice.”
“Yeah, but it would be a tough decision, wouldn’t it?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never had to judge a contest like that before.”
“You wouldn’t have to. Fairy and I could judge. What would the prize be?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a year’s supply of orange toe-socks.”
“My, if you need a year’s supply, you sure wear them out quickly.”
This conversation lasted until the end of the song. Link decided that Butterfly was like Fairy, but a little less serious. She would be perfect for Liam, who was less serious by nature. While Link did help with the practical jokes, he wouldn’t do them at all if Liam wasn’t around. Besides, Liam and Butterfly had something special between them. Any girl who could leave Liam acting the way he did that day must be amazing indeed. Fairy was sort of a more serious counterpart. However, this was not saying too much seeing as Fairy wasn’t always serious.
After the musicians stopped playing, Butterfly thanked Link and went in the direction of a corner where Liam had just come out of half-hiding. Link smiled and shook his head.
Just then, the musicians struck up another song. Link felt himself being swung around a bit into dancing position. “Did you think Butterfly was nice?” asked Fairy.
“And ‘good evening’ to you, too!” said Link. “Yeah, she was pretty nice, but she just drifted magnetically towards that Phoenix guy.”
“Yeah, she really likes him a lot. I was a bit surprised. She told me that they didn’t even say anything at first; they just started dancing!”
“Weird! Why would they do that?”
“No clue. I was as confused as she was. She said she felt a snap in her chest when she saw him, and when they actually started to talk, he told her that he felt one, too!”
“What do you think it is?”
“I though it might be fate, but she told me I’m wrong.”
“Oh.” Time for a topic change. “So, why were you late?”
She looked uncomfortable. “It’s one of those things where I’d have to kick you.”
“Sorry.” Okay, wrong topic.
The second night passed just like the first. They talked about their interests for a while. Fairy was trying to convince him that the Zora and the Gorons had a common ancestor when a guard ran up to Link. Link saw another run up to Liam.
“Hawk! Another disturbance!” The guard was out of breath. “The Captain’s rooms! This time, we’re getting Phoenix, too.”
Now Liam’s rooms, too! What did this thing want? “Is it the same as last time?”
“Not exactly. It’s different, but just as bad.”
Link began to run again, this time, Liam joined up with him. “Great,” said Liam. “This is just what I needed. I wonder what they took this time.”
“I know. What could they want so much? They got the prophecy…The notes!” They ran faster.
“Can someone explain why both of you are going this time?” asked Fairy.
Link and Liam stopped short. Fairy and Butterfly were both behind them. “What are you doing?” yelled Link. “I wasn’t holding your hand this time, so you have no excuse.”
“I just wanted to see what was wrong,” replied Fairy. Butterfly didn’t give a reason.
“You both should have stayed downstairs,” said Liam.
“Why both of you?” asked Butterfly. “Phoenix, you said you didn’t know this guy!”
“Hawk told me the same thing,” added Fairy.
Link couldn’t think of any way out of this. “Okay, so we know each other. You know this whole ‘sacred ground’ thing?” he asked Fairy, who nodded. “Well, this is ours. Don’t ask questions, and stay here for now. We’ll come and get you.” Fairy and Butterfly looked angrily at the two of them, but agreed to stay.
The brothers kept running until they reached Liam’s rooms. At the door, they stopped. “That was just peachy,” said Liam. “Now, they’ll really think that I’m you.”
“No, Fairy knows that they asked me to come up here last night when Link’s rooms were destroyed. If she’s going to suspect anyone, it’ll be me.”
“Whatever.” He opened his mouth to say more, but then both of them heard a low, laughing sound. It was coming from Liam’s rooms. “The murmurs!” he cried. Liam burst open the door.
Whatever had made the murmurs was gone, but they had left a mess. The entire room was covered in goo. The goo was clear, but it was think and tinted black. It smelled terrible, almost like rotten cucco. The goo had soaked everything, including the papers on Liam’s desk. Luckily, there were more copies of all of Liam’s important lists and rosters that he needed as Captain of the Guard. They were stored in many different places, so anything on his desk was replaceable. Except for the notes. Link found them on the desk. They were right on top, but it wouldn’t have mattered if they were on the bottom. All of the papers were soaking wet and the ink had run all over the place. Nothing was readable, especially anything in Link’s handwriting.
Liam swore very creatively. “This is worse than what happened to your rooms!” he moaned. Link agreed. In his rooms, some things could be saved, but nothing here could. The goo had ruined everything. It also smelled to high heaven.
“Goddesses!” cried Link. “This has been a great night! First, two girls start to figure out who we are, and then this crap from hell soaks up your rooms! Just peachy, just peachy…” If Link or Liam said, “Just peachy,” it meant they were really upset.
“There’s nothing we can do now,” said Liam. “We’ll just get really smelly.”
Link thought for a moment and smiled. “Well, they didn’t get what they came for.”
“What do you mean?”
“They wanted to destroy the notes. They were the only irreplaceable things in your rooms. Practically,” he added. Liam did have items like gifts from friends, but he understood. “But they didn’t know that I not only took notes, but I memorized them and made copies.”
“Where are the copies?”
“I have feeling that if I say, whatever it is will hear me and find them.”
“Well, this proves that the notes were important, and Zelda was extra wrong to have yelled at you.”
“Thanks a lot, bro.”
They left the room and went to a public washroom (They have public washrooms in castles, too.) and used some cologne to cover up the horrible goo smell. Then they went back to their waiting ladies.
“What time is it?” asked Link.
“Ten of three,” replied Fairy.
“Let me take you back,” Liam said to Butterfly. She nodded and the two went back downstairs.
“Would you like to see another sight of Hyrule?” Link asked Fairy.
“Sure,” she replied. “You promised.”
“I didn’t promise, but I still will.”
He led her to another balcony. This time, the great expanse of desert loomed before them. Under the moonlight, the cacti cast long shadows, and the swirling sands danced with the playful breeze. The overall effect was even more stunning than Hyrule Field.
“Normally, I hate deserts,” said Fairy. “The larger one in Racona is always flat and boring.”
“Well, this one isn’t too pretty once you’re in it, I’ve heard. People tell me that you can’t see a thing once you go in farther. It’s a never-ending sandstorm.”
“It looks nice from here.”
The clock chimed the hour. “Time to go,” sighed Fairy. “Maybe tomorrow night, I can convince you that the Zora and Goron races are related.”
“Good luck,” said Link, and they both laughed as he led her back to the ballroom.
Two down, three to go.