The Well Of Three Features

by Tom Tyrrell

This fanfic takes place during the seven years Link spends trapped in the pedestal of Time in Ocarina. It is a semi-sequel to my earlier fanfict, Zelda’s Sheik.

Sheik took a gulp of the water and spat it out with a snarl of distaste. Even though her blunt, unhoned senses could never hope to rival Impas, she could still taste the foul corruption on her tongue.

"What do you say, Sheik?" Impa asked beside her.

"Poison." Sheik said thickly.

"Exactly." She turned to the townsfolk of Kakariko, gathered in her house for an important meeting. Anju was there, her eyes still red and running from her allergies. Her boyfriend Kafei was beside her, an arm around her shoulders. The crabbed form of Granny was huddled in a corner, and an emissary from the house of Skulltulla dangled from the ceiling. "My friends, we all know of the fever that has swept through our village. Many have fallen sick from the plague - Dampé the Gravekeeper has already succumbed to the illness. Were it not for our efforts and the potions of Granny, many more of you would have been lost." Granny jerked her wrinkled head in recognition.

"For days now, every time we could spare a moment, my apprentice and I have been searching for the cause of this disease. Now we have found it." she continued. "Water from the Well of Three Features is no longer safe."

A general groan of discontent ran through the crowd. An edge came into Impa’s voice. "I'm sorry, but it cannot be helped! My apprentice and I will investigate the well in due course - in the meantime, you'll have to take your water from Hyrule River."

Sheik understood their uneasiness. Taking water from Hyrule river not only put you at risk from attack by the ghostly Poes, but put you far too close to the blackened ruins of Hyrule Castle Town. Who knew what evil lurked in the shadows of that light-forsaken place?

"How will we protect ourselves?" someone called from the back of the room.

"We will give you bows and arrows to defend you from the Poes." Impa replied. "It is the job of every able-bodied citizen to fetch water for those unable to manage. And that includes the House of Skulltulla!"

Sheik withdrew into her own thoughts as the town meeting went on to other topics. Sheik's apprentice was a mystery to the townspeople, who often gossiped about her in hushed voices, casting a nervous eye towards Impa's house every so often. Her appearance was certainly mysterious - Sheik was clad from head to foot in tight-wound blue rags, like a walking mummy. Of her face, only a single reddish-brown eye and a tuft of blonde hair could be seen. It was even a subject of speculation amongst the townsfolk whether she was male or female. Not one of them guessed she was royalty, that behind the rags and veils and spells of disguise the Princess Zelda, the daughter and true heir of the King of Hyrule, was laughing at them.

"And that concludes our business." said Impa sharply, bringing Sheik out of her reverie. "Go back to your homes and nurse the sick and helpless among you. Tomorrow, my apprentice and I will investigate the well. Good night."

As the last Kakarikan shuffled out, Sheik turned upstairs towards her bed - Impa caught her by the collar. "And where do you think you're going?"

"To bed?" Sheik asked hopefully. "From what you tell me of the Well of Three Features, we'll need our sleep."

"There are still three people in this village at death's door from the plague!" Impa exclaimed. "The evil down the well can wait – there are lives in peril. You take the Shannons, and I'll take the McBones."

***

Both Sheikah were rubbing their eyes the next morning as they gathered by the deep and empty well. According to the Keeper of the Windmill, most of the water had been drained out of it in a fearful storm some five years ago. That was all they could get out of him - he was still angry with them for putting his water pumping scheme out of business. You could tell by the way he wound his music box faster every tine they came near.

"How’s your patient?" Impa asked wearily.

"No change. Yours?"

"Getting better."

"Good."

Sheik put a hand on the wooden post and bent over, peering into the well. The crumbling, mossy walls of the well seemed to stretch down and down to the centre of Hyrule, but if she squinted she could just see the glint of water at the bottom.

"Dark. Narrow. Scary." she said dispassionately.

"Those are the three features." Impa nodded. "Come on, we'd better get started. I want to be back in the sunlight before noon." She swung a foot over the edge of the well and groped for the first rusted rung. Sheik followed nervously.

"What do you think's been causing the disease?" she asked as they clambered down into the dark.

"Well, I hope it's just a dead Cucco or a Keese that's fallen down here and rotted in the water." Impa said solidly.

"And what do you fear?"

They climbed down in silence for a while, the darkness thickening around them moment by moment. Finally, Impa spoke, her hollow voice echoing up the well like a dreadful secret.

"Before Kakariko Village was founded, there was a fortress here, a terrible place of torture and pain. It was ruled by an malicious spirit, a dread power from the depths of the evil realm. Eventually he was driven from his fortress, which has now become the Temple of Shadows, and was sealed here by the Seven Sages. However, since the breaking of the Triforce, the forces of evil are stronger and more numerous than ever before. Poes gather in the graveyard in huge numbers, Tektites clutter the slopes of Death Mountain, and there are even rumours that the dragon Volvagia has reawoken. Ancient seals are weakening, and it is possible..." her last words were softer than a whisper "that Bongo Bongo has returned."

There was a soft splash as Impa slipped from the last rung into the murky water. Sheik followed suit, letting out a pained squeal as she sunk to her knees in the icy depths. Even in the darkness of the well, she could feel the burning fury in Impa's look.

You're not a Princess anymore, she told herself sharply. Harden up.

Impa produced a lantern from her belt and lit it. The flickering flame cast more shadow than light, but Sheik could be sure of one thing - there was nothing lying dead in the water. The only thing she could see was a faint green streak on the water, glowing with an eerie luminescence. The trail stretched back deep into the darkness of the passage ahead.

Impa dipped her fingers into the slick and sniffed it cautiously. "Poison."

"Does this mean..."

"I'm afraid it does. Stick close behind me."

Impa forged ahead, beating a path through the darkness with the flames of her lantern, Sheik following cautiously. As they went further the poison slick grew thicker, and so did the terrible stench that felt as if it was rotting their lungs away from the inside. Sheik rapped her veil tighter around her nose and mouth. They made steady progress until...

"It's a dead end." said Sheik disbelievingly, staring at the blank brick wall ahead of them.

Impa cast her a scornful glance. "Are you sure, my apprentice?"

"Yes!"

"Then how come the water is flowing through it?"

Sheik glanced down. Surely and impossibly enough, the water was flowing freely out of a solid stone wall.

"Look again." Impa urged her. "See with the eyes of truth."

Sheik concentrated fiercely, channeling Triforce magic into her sight. The brick wall faded away like fog under the morning sun, revealing something stronger – an implacable barrier of sacred stone, sealed with the mark of the Triforce and the crest of the royal family. The poison spilled out from a jagged black crack at the foot of the door.

"Trust nothing." Impa whispered to her. "Bongo Bongo likes his illusions."

BONGO BONGO! BONGO BONGO! BONGO BONGO! They cringed as Impa's voice echoed through the well, filling every corner of it with the monstrosity of sound. BONGO BONGO! Bongo Bongo! Bongo Bongo! The last echoes were dying away, and Sheik and Impa untensed themselves. Bongo Bongo! Bongo bongo! bongo bongo! bongo... BOOM!

They jumped. It was a drumbeat.

BOOM!

BOOM!

"It's him!" Impa moaned, looking as terrified as Sheik had ever seen her. "Oh, blood of my ancestors, why did I say the name?"

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The walls shook under the impact of the drums. The crack in the wall split wider, the stone cracking and crumbling under the strain.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The wall gave one final shuddering creak, and then exploded outwards. Sheik and Impa were engulfed in an all consuming wave of black, fetid venom.

don't get it in my mouth Sheik thought frantically, her legs scrabbling for purchase. can't open my mouth don't breathe can't breathe don't open my mouth don't let it in...

Her feet found the floor and she jerked herself upright, bursting out of the poisonous waters and taking in great breaths of air. Frantically scrubbing the pollution from her eyes she forced them open.

The whole passageway was outlined in a eerie green glow from the waist deep poison. Sheik could just make out a tiny tunnel ahead of her – a passageway barely big enough for a child to crawl through.

But something was coming through nonetheless. A dark cloud from the shadows, like a swarm of killer bees. The walls shook with the drumbeats as it came. Bongo Bongo!

A hand fell on Sheik’s shoulder, and she spun around with a start. She looked into a face dripping with slime and gunge, two bloodshot eyes staring at her through a veil of muck-plastered hair, and stifled a scream

"Run!" It was Impa's voice! It was Impa’s face staring into hers! "We must make for the final seal!"

“Final seal?” Sheik asked in confusion.

“Above the well – the wooden posts! They’re the last resort – our last hope of safety! Come on!” Grabbing Sheik's hand Impa tugged her away. They dashed blindly down the tunnel, stubbing toes and stumbling through the waist high waters.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The drums were loud and fast behind her. It was gaining! It was gaining! They had to seal it in!

The slime swished around Sheik’s burning thighs. Faster! Faster!

There was light ahead. The end of the passage! The well! The steps! It would catch them as they climbed the steps!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As they shot out of the passage, Sheik shook Impa's hand from her shoulder, turning to face Bongo Bongo and summoning all the power of the Triforce of Wisdom to help her. For a moment, a bright, true light burst into the well, and the shadow beast cowered back before it.

Long golden hair cascaded down Sheik’s shoulders as she momentarily assumed her true form. Veils and disguises flew away in this light, the pure and true light of the Triforce itself.

 “Bongo Bongo, I seal your shadowed soul once more!” the Princess Zelda cried.

There was a shimmering like fairies around a magic fountain, and Zelda felt a sudden great rush of power from her self and soul. She could feel her magic, her reserves, her very life force itself, all draining away into this task she’d attempted. “Hold on…” she murmured, teeth gritted against the pain as she fought to keep the pressure constant and complete the seal “Must hold on… hold on… hold on…”

Her head drooped in weariness. The rhythmic BOOM! BOOM! of the drums was accelerating into the light rapid beats of an execution. Zelda struggled against the dark form of Bongo Bongo, trying desperately to maintain her hold. “Must… hold… on!”

There was a brief flash of something that might have been triumph. Then there was darkness and all light went out.

Zelda woke up to find herself once again in the form of Sheik. She was lying in the fetid water at the bottom of the well, and Impa was crouched over her.

“Sheik?” Impa asked softly.

Sheik raised her head. “I’m fine. Just drained. Did I…?”

“See for yourself.” Impa said, with a patient smile.

Sheik craned her head behind her and saw the passageway sealed by a massive, lopsided slab of stone, looking truly solid and impenetrable. Only a faint rainbow shimmer gave away the fact that this was magic, not matter.

“I did it.” she breathed.

“Well, it won’t hold forever.” Impa said critically. “Last time it was done with the combined power of the Seven Sages – this time you were on your own.”

“How long?”

“Two years, at a guess. But by then the Hero of Time should have returned to Hyrule, and all will be set right.” Impa sighed. “And a great many things need setting right these days. Come on then, back to the real world. It’s nearly noon outside.”

The warm noonday sun was shining on their shoulders as they climbed back out of the well, making everything easier to bear – the rusted rung biting into their hands, Sheik’s almost complete exhaustion and most of all the dreadful, lung-biting stench that was rising from their slimy bodies. Sheik found her thoughts turning once again to Link, Hero of Time, imagining him seven years older, wielding the Master Sword, the blade of evil’s bane. She saw him in her minds eye, striding through Hyrule with sword drawn, striking evil wherever he found it and finally riding the land of the seven year shadow of Ganondorf. The thought, as always, never failed to give her strength, and with one final heave, she pulled herself out of the darkness of the well and into the bright sunlight and sweet breezes of Kakariko Village.

THE END

This is my second Zelda fanfic. As before, any comments, death threats or love letters may be sent to squirre11@hotmail.co.uk

Thanks for reading!

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