When the girls awoke the next day, the nurse was bustling about in their bedroom, fussing over them. “Come come, girls! Let’s have you up and ready for breakfast, no lazing about now!” She shook each of them in turn when they didn’t get up. “Come on, you silly girls! You sleepyheads! Get washed up and get downstairs!” She hurried out of the room, and the girls struggled out of bed and over to the fountain.
“I was certain I was back home until she came in,” said Alex groggily, referring to the nurse. She shuddered as she splashed cold water over her face.
“You’re not still homesick, are you?” Amy asked incredulously. “After last night? I thought you were enjoying yourself?”
“Well, I was,” admitted Alex, “but… I don’t know. I just feel like we don’t belong here, or we shouldn’t be here.”
“Princess Zelda seems to like us. She won’t let anything happen to us.” Alex hoped she was right.
That morning at breakfast, as the girls entered the dining room, they saw a hooded figure seated at the table. Even though his face was hidden in shadow from the nose up, they could tell he was male by his build. He was carefully eating his breakfast so that his food wouldn’t drop onto his robes, and didn’t even look up as the two entered.
“Ah, good to see you girls on time for breakfast,” said Princess Zelda, who was sitting at the head of the table to the figure’s left. “Sir Link still hasn’t arrived.” She motioned to the hooded figure beside her, saying, “This is mister Lupus, the one who predicted your arrival.” The warlock dabbed at his mouth with a napkin, then finally looked at the girls.
“It is a pleasure to meet you,” said the man quietly. His voice was raspy, as though he didn’t use it very often. The girls curtsied as the nurse had shown them, not knowing what to say. They were still suspicious about him, and his mysterious behavior didn’t help much.
“Lupus,” said Princess Zelda, moving over to the girls, “this is Amy,” she came and put a hand on Amy’s shoulder, “and this is Alexandria.” She did the same with Alex. Lupus had shown little to no interest in Amy, but seemed to be staring at Alex, who suddenly self-conscious. It seemed he was looking into her very soul.
The awkward silence was broken as the cook swept in, bearing the two girls’ plates. “Breakfast is served!” he said grandly, and Alex thought that she detected a hint of a French accent in his voice. But maybe it was just her imagination. She sat down in her chair gratefully and began to eat, all the while aware of the constant staring gaze of Lupus.
Link bustled in shortly, and received a frustrated glare from the Princess for being late. “Sorry,” he said, slipping into the seat opposite Lupus. “I forgot the time.” His plate was brought out, and he began to eat ravenously. Zelda rolled her eyes, and then turned her attention to the girls.
“Now that we’re all here,” she began, “I would like to discuss the means for your returning home. Now, don’t look at me that way!” she said sympathetically to Amy. “We are not trying to get rid of you! We simply want what is best for you, and if you feel like you need to return home immediately, we will do anything in our power to help.” Alex found that she had mixed feelings about this whole situation: She wanted to go home, but she knew that Amy wanted to stay, and she didn’t want to ruin it for her.
“In any case,” Lupus said, interrupting her thoughts, “I’m afraid any immediate action is impossible. The portal that the girls entered through is now closed, and it will not open for another five days. It would be both difficult and dangerous to try to use a different portal, were there any open at this time, and to try and open one would take a full week, without any definite results.” He took a sip of his drink. “Our only logical course of action would be to keep them safe until the portal they entered through opens again, as I said, five days from now.”
Amy looked excited, and Alex decided to keep an open mind. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad here. After all, it was Hyrule, a land she thought previously to only exist in a video game!
“Very well,” said Princess Zelda. “I trust you, Lupus, and so we will follow your advice. For now, girls, you are more than welcome to stay at the castle, and you may explore this beautiful land to your heart’s content, but I would advise taking Sir Link with you. Hyrule, though wonderful and mysterious, is a dangerous place, even during peacetimes. However, Link has dealt with an army of monsters during his lifetime, and you will be safe with him.”
Alex stole a glance at Link, and saw that he was looking at her an Amy. He winked, and she reddened and became suddenly focused on her breakfast.
They didn’t see much of Lupus after that. He spent that entire day in his room in a castle tower, preferring solitude to company, and the girls hardly missed him. Aside from not trusting him (even though the Princess had clearly stated her trust in him), they were much too busy having fun. Link was keeping them entertained with his archery and horseback riding skills, and even let them take turns riding with him around the track. After lunch, they went back to visit Saria and the Skullkids, who treated them to a small concert, dancing about as they energetically played a happy tune on their ocarina and flutes. At sunset, they left the forest and rode out over Hyrule Field, just the three of them on Epona. Alex was amazed at the sheer beauty of Hyrulian sunsets, the red sun sending splashes of gold and orange across the sky and the grass. It was evening when they finally got back to the castle, and after supper they all shuffled up to bed. Other than a few complaints from Amy about not feeling good, it had been a perfect day. Alex fell asleep that night feeling a lot better about being away from home.
That night, Alex awoke in the early hours of the morning, shivering. She realized groggily that she’d kicked her covers off, and sat up to retrieve them, but stopped. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and her body was tense, listening for any sign of movement in the darkness. She heard someone draw in a breath, and she looked around. Right outside her window were two glowing red eyes, and a crouching shadowy figure. She opened her mouth to scream, but then the figure disappeared, and with it the glowing eyes. She stared out the window in horror for a moment, and then moved over to Amy’s bed. “Amy!” she hissed, whispering and trying not to yell. “There’s something outside our window!” When she didn’t get a response, she shook her friend by the arm. “Amy!” she said, forgetting about being quiet, “Amy, wake up! AMY!”
She started to panic. Her friend wasn’t waking up. “Ohmygod…she’s dead!” she said, not thinking to check for a pulse. She ran out of her room, yelling, “LINK! NURSE! SOMEBODY, HELP!”
Link burst from his room, hair tussled and wearing only pajama bottoms. Alex would’ve been extremely embarrassed if she wasn’t so scared. “What’s going on?” he asked worriedly.
“It’s Amy!” said Alex, growing hysterical. “She won’t wake up! And there was something outside my window! It was like, a demon or something!” The nurse had joined them by now, and she was trying to comfort Alex, who was starting to cry. “Link, hurry!” the girl said. “Something’s wrong with Amy! Hurry!” Link was off in a flash, and Zelda had come out to join them. Alex collapsed into the nurse’s arms, sobbing uncontrollably. The nurse did her best to calm her down, and Zelda hurried off to see to Amy once the nurse had explained the situation.
Alex stayed there like that for several agonizing minutes, sobbing quietly into the kind old lady’s shoulder as Link and Zelda checked up on her friend. After a short while, they came back down the hall, and Link knelt next to the poor girl, saying softly, “Alex?”
She lifted her head, and wasn’t embarrassed to see him so close to her. She was too frightened. “Is she, dead?” Alex could barely get the words past her lips.
Link face softened. “No, she’s alive,” he said gently, wiping away a tear that threatened to fall from her reddened eyes. “But something has happened to her. We think she’s been cursed. Don’t worry, she’ll be ok. It just keeps her from waking up, nothing else.” He smiled, and then helped her up. “Come on. We’ll get you a new room, one without a window. The nurse will be in to keep an eye on you.” He escorted her to her room, and she slipped into bed tiredly. “Goodnight,” he said, then began to leave.
“Wait!” said Alex, and he turned around. “Um, could you stay here? Just until I fall asleep.”
Link smiled again. “Sure,” he said, pulling up a chair next to her bed and sitting down. She smiled back, then pulled the covers up to her chin and closed her eyes. It wasn’t long before she was sound asleep, and Link quietly left her room, meeting Zelda in the hall.
“I’m sure you’re thinking the same as me,” said Zelda, a worried expression on her face.
“Yeah,” replied Link, staring at his toes. “Someone wants something to do with the girls. But who? And what?”
“Do you think…” began Zelda hesitantly, “maybe… Lupus had something to do with it?”
“To think such a thing would be ignorance,” said a voice behind them. Even as they looked, Lupus appeared out of the darkness. “I actually put a spell of protection on young Alexandria.”
“Why didn’t you put one on Amy?” asked Link angrily.
“Because her presence is of little consequence,” replied Lupus matter-of-factly. “It’s Alexandria they want, not Amy.”
“Why?” asked Zelda. “What’s the difference between the two?”
“I’ve been trying to figure that out all day,” said Lupus. “As far as I can tell, there is hardly any difference. But the enemy sees a difference, and that is what counts.”
“But who is the enemy?”
“I’m not sure. It is not the Ganondorf who I have read about, the one who once plagued this land with monsters and black magic. If my sources are correct, he was sealed up in the Sacred Realm, and there is no energy escaping that place as far as I can tell. It must then be some new threat, an outsider like me. Though I’m not sure why he, or she, would want either of the girls, but it stands as obvious fact that they are both in danger, and should be kept under close watch.” He bowed. “It is late, and I have had a most trying day. I believe it would be wise for me to get some sleep.” He turned and began to walk away.
“But, what about the visitor at the window?” asked Link. “Who was that?”
“I believe it was someone you know,” said Lupus vaguely. “Perhaps you should ask Alex in the morning. Her description of the unwanted guest may surprise you.” He disappeared into the darkness, leaving Link and Zelda staring after him in confusion.
Finally, Link said, “Let’s get some sleep, Princess. I have a feeling that it’s going to be a very long five days.”
