The Legend of Zelda: Real Courage [Version 2]

Chapter Twenty-Nine: True Wisdom

Lila played around with the ocarina on her way back to camp. She had three notes of the forest's song down by the time she returned. All of the light had faded into night.

As the people prepared for bed, heads continued to turn as she passed, and the music only had them turning faster. She still felt self-conscious, but her playing, however inaccurate, seemed to bring happiness. Soon she felt like a fairy herself. She allowed herself to be proud of the hope she created.

Before long, she made it to Zale's tent. He came outside when he heard the music. The look on his face made Lila smile. She finished whatever she was playing to talk to him.

Zale wondered, "Where did you get that?"

"From the Kokiri," Lila replied lightly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Kokiri? Huh..."

"Yeah, they said the Ocarina of Time is missing and that this might help me find it."

His mouth hung open and his eyes went wide. "How... but where... Now?"

Lila cocked her head. "What's got your tongue?"

Zale lightly shook his head. "I didn't know the Kokiri were real. Although to be honest, if anyone were to find them, it would be you."

"What do you mean?"

"No one has ever actually seen a Kokiri, or at least not written about it. They're only ever mentioned in the legend of the Hero of Time, so not much is known about them. You said the Ocarina is missing? How would they know? I thought it disappeared with the Hero."

"Um... I don't really know," Lila answered. "I didn't even know any of what you just said. Maybe they didn't want the Hero to leave with it?" She shrugged.

"I'll have to do more research. Unfortunately, we can't exactly visit the castle library right now, so it'll have to wait."

"Yeah, I guess so. Speaking of, do we have a plan?"

Zale nodded. "Mostly. We're having a war council tomorrow. I told the generals you would give us intel, but the basic plan is solid. I'll tell you all about it then."

"Aw, no fair," Lila joked. "Why do I have to be left out?"

"You're fighting Ganondra, does that count?"

She pretended to think. "Hmm, I suppose. What will you be up to?"

"I'm staying in the command tent until the field is cleared a bit, and then I'll join the archers. Something about not wanting the prince to die," he added with a smile.

"Meh, you probably won't be much help anyway," Lila teased. Zale only smiled back.

"It's getting late," he told her. "You should head to bed."

"Are you not going to sleep?"

"I am. I just want to make sure you're well rested."

She crossed her arms and said, "You don't need to tell me what to do. You need to be well rested, too."

"Of course, or else my mind won't be as sharp. Shall I walk you to your tent?"

"Psh, I can handle myself." She turned around to leave and then realized, "Um, am I supposed to stay in the medical tent?"

Zale giggled. "You could sleep with me if you'd prefer. There aren't many other beds."

Lila's face burned. "Why would I do something like that?" He only continued to laugh, and she heard some of the others around them chortle as well. That made her blush even deeper. She stormed off while muttering insults under her breath.

∴

Lila woke the next day to the sound of nurses and doctors – and Zale shoving her.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" he said. "You're late for the meeting."

She bolted up in bed. Could he not stop teasing her? "You didn't tell me it would be this early!"

"It's almost lunch. There will be food while we're talking."

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Fine. Give me a minute, will ya?" She went into the private room to calm herself down.

A few minutes later the two stood over a map of Castle Town and Hyrule Castle. There were five other people there, all official-looking, and most adults. Lila tried to make herself look more mature. Three were Hylian, but one was a Goron and the other was a Zora. Two of the Hylians were female.

Zale started, "Right. Now that we're all here, let's go over the basic plan again. We will have mounted archers here and here. Our main units—"

"Excuse me, Prince Zale," said a dark-haired man. Lila was surprised to see the anger on his face.

Zale gave him a calm look as he replied, "What is it, General Davros?"

"Why should we listen to a child like you?" the man demanded. He smacked his hand on the table. "With the king gone, the command should fall to me."

Zale raised his arms in defense. "I didn't mean to step—"

"How do we even know you're his legitimate son?" This time a woman with red hair similar to that of the Gerudo.

"Pardon me, General Eri, but you of all people should know—"

The woman looked appalled. "How dare you speak to me that way!"

As everyone in the room started to get riled up, Lila had just about enough of their useless fighting. She stomped her foot and commanded, "Stop squabbling! If you don't trust Zale, trust me." She took off her glove and showed the glowing Triforce for emphasis. "Ganondra is not going to back down just because you don't attack her. Her lust for power drives her to subjugate or kill all who oppose her. And if you're not killed right away, she toys with you, tortures you with sticky sweet words, and causes you pain for the fun of it. I should know."

She took a deep breath, looking into each of their eyes. The generals looked at her in astonishment, some even with their mouths open. On the other hand, Zale's expression was soft and warm. She gave him a smile back.

"So what do you want:" Lila concluded, "a life of terror or the courage to stop it? Listen to Prince Zale; he's saved me on a number of occasions because, guess what, he has the Triforce of Wisdom! It pays to be willing to listen to the wise."

The tent was silent for some time. Lila noticed a slight redness in Zale's cheeks. Hah! It was her turn to embarrass him! She smirked and folded her arms, waiting for the adults to come to their senses.

The last Hylian, a blonde woman in furs, spoke up first. "If I know anything about history, it's that the Hero of the Twilight knew how to save Hyrule from the darkness. I'm sure his descendant will do the same."

The Goron added, "I've heard of Zale before, goro. Some of my people grew fond of him before anyone knew his true identity, goro. I say we give these two a chance."

They all looked at Davros. It seemed Eri had already changed her mind. The general's arms were crossed, but he grumbled, "Fine. But our deaths are on him."

"More like our lives," Lila said. She turned to the prince. "So, what's the plan?"

The rest of the meeting went smoothly after that. Even when it was Lila's turn to share what she knew about Ganondra, the Gerudo, and Kotake and Koume, the others didn't give protest. It was harder asking them to capture instead of kill as many Gerudo women as possible, but she made it through by reminding them of the other enemies they would face.

The planning went on until after nightfall, so food was brought to them twice. Lila was surprised at how exhausted she was but still felt pumped for the battle tomorrow. She didn't even mind that she would have to wake up early.