Chapter 8: Happy
Malon waited by the gates of Hyrule Castle on her horse alongside Epona who had carried a slumbering Link on her back. She gave a tired yawn as she waited for the soldiers to lower the drawbridge into the castle. Then the sound of chains clanking and gears turning sounded as the soldiers worked the controls to lower it. As she watched it descend across the moat, a tall, dark man approached, Ganondorf.
Hearing him approach, Malon turned and froze with fear. Navi flew out from beneath Link's hat fluttering wildly. "Link! Wake up! We're in terrible danger!"
Link didn't budge.
Ganondorf approached them, Malon still frozen with fear. Her horse and Epona weren't budging either even as Ganondorf lifted up his swords over his head.
"Link!" begged Navi. "This is no time to sleep! You have to get up!"
Link was still fast asleep.
"If you continue to sleep," cried Navi. "Something terrible will happen. Please you have to wake up!" With a smug look on his face, Ganondorf attacked. "Link..."
"Wah!" cried Link jumping to his feet in fright. He crashed into a shelf of pots that were right in front of him. He heard something wobble overhead and saw the large pot at the begin to tip towards the edge. Reacting swiftly, Link managed to catch it and let out a sigh. "That was close," he panted. "And what an awful dream, but where am I and where are Navi and Malon?"
As Link pondered this, the shelf he bumped into then began to fall forward, the pots on it fell off and shattered onto the ground. The shelf then crashed into the next shelf off and started a chain reaction as every pot in the room was demolished in a matter of seconds save for the one that was in Link's hands.
"What in the world is all that racket?" cried a man rushing into the room. He was dressed in a shirt and pants that matched the earthy tones and patterns of all the smashed pots. He also had on a smock that was mostly strained brownish gray with chunks of dried clay everywhere on it as were his hand. The hair on his head was was brown, but half had turned gray with age and a the top of his head had become barren. When he saw the destruction and Link standing there in the middle of it all the man tugged his hair restraining his anger. "My pots! All my beautiful pots destroyed! What would possess you to do such a thing?"
"It was an accident," Link replied. "I had a nightmare and I don't even know how I got in here."
"You little friend, Malon, asked me if I could let you sleep here while she went to look for her father," he answered. "As for where you are, you're in my storage room. I'm Kiln the pot maker. It has been my family's duty for generations to make and supply the Kingdom of Hyrule with high quality pots and just like that my entire stock has been annihilated."
"I managed to save this one," Link mentioned, his voice meek, doubting if it would be any consolation.
"Oh!" he exclaimed excitedly. "The family pot! The final pot the very first pot maker in my family ever made. It is the one pot that could never be replaced! Oh, thank you for saving it."
"But what about all the pots that were broken?" asked Link.
"None of them matter so long as I still have that one," he told Link. Carefully stepping through the mess of broken ceramic, he approached Link to take hold of his most precious pot.
"Link, are you awake yet?" called Navi flying into the room.
"Oh, Navi!" cried Link desperate to answer her. He hastily handed over the pot to Kiln causing him to desperately and carefully fumble to keep it from falling to the ground. "Yeah, I'm awake."
"There's some breakfast ready for you in the other room," she informed him. "I'm sure you are hungry. Eat up and then we can continue on our quest. We've made it into Hyrule Castle Town so we won't have to worry about monsters here."
"That's a relief," commented Link following Navi into the other room.
Kiln, in the meantime had continued to desperately hold onto his prized pot, falling to the ground, but managed to keep it free of damage. "That kid is worse than any bull in any china shop," he swore behind gritted teeth.
Safely stashing away his family pot from harm, Kiln entered into the other room where Link was hastily eating his breakfast, a few slices of hammer, a couple of buttered biscuits, and a tall glass of milk. Kiln silently walked past him and sat down at the his spinning where where a partially molded pot sat waiting to be finished. Nearby was a kiln that was in the middle of heating and hardening a set of pots.
As Link neared the end of his meal, he slowed down in favor of watching Kiln work at his pottery wheel. After downing the last of his milk, he approached him to get a closer look. "Uh, so what's that you are doing over there?"
"This?" Kiln asked confused. "I'm shaping this clay into a pot. Once I finish this batch I'll cook them in my Kiln to harden them. I then coat them with several coatings of gloss and heat them again and then they will be like the many pots you so clumsily destroyed."
"Sorry," Link apologized again. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you? Maybe I can help you make a few pots to replace it."
"We don't have time for that," Navi reminded Link.
"It would take too much time to teach you the technique," explained Kiln. "And I've got a lot of orders I've got to complete and not much time to handle them all." Kiln continued to focus on the pot in front of him then out of nowhere, he clenched his fists and ruined all the work he had done on his current pot. "The special order!"
"Special order?" asked Link.
"I can't believe it slipped my mind till now," he panted getting up and wiping the clay off his hands and onto his smock before dipping them in water to clean them further. "I have a special order for a shopkeeper in town. It took me days and many attempts to get it just right, but I've just finished it only yesterday. It needs to be delivered today, but now that all my pots in the storage room are gone, I don't have the time to drop the order off and get ready for my regular deliveries. If you want to make up for earlier, you could do this errand for me. It won't even be out of your way. It is the last store right before the road to the castle."
"I can do that," agreed Link turning to Navi.
Nodding, Navi told him. "We do owe him plenty for helping us out and causing him so much grief."
"I am very grateful," he stated reaching for a high shelf and taking down something flat wrapped in a soft, tan cloth. He held it with as much care as he did his most prized pot. "Here it is. Now I don't think I need to remind you that you must be extremely careful when handling this."
"I will," promised Link. "But isn't it too flat to be a pot?"
"That's why it's a special order," explained Kiln. "Now, please hurry, but not too much. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the dangers you will face will be great and I'm trusting you to get it there without so much as a crack in it."
"Danger?" questioned Link. "But we're inside the wall, right? It isn't like there are monsters in here?"
"You really aren't from around here," he commented. "I trust you will heed my advice then. Do not lower your guard for even a moment."
"I will," nodded Link, carefully taking the special order in hand and approaching the door. Turning the handle, his muscles tensed for whatever dangers were on the other side. Opening the door, he was blinded for a moment as the bright sun flashed in his eyes.
Carefully stepping out, his ears were bombarded by a cluster of sounds coming from everywhere. As his eyes got adjusted he stared in awe at Hyrule Castle Town. From where he stood he could see how vast it was, able to see the other side of the wall along with the drawbridge entrance, but not the other sides. There were tons of houses neatly lined up that were built of the same stone as the wall. They were decorated with flowers along the windowsill and different colored roofs. They ranged from two the three stories, many with food stands built into the side of the first floor. Link also noticed the street lights, tall black poles with a glass box on top that contained a sizeable candle inside. Below his feet, he saw a tiled pathway leading from Kiln's home as well others leading from other houses as well.
Most anything else was obscured from view thanks to the endless crowd of people moving around the streets. Unlike the Kokiri that all dressed in the same earthy green and brown tones, the people here dressed in far brighter garb, many which Link thought resembled the brightly colored flowers and birds of Kokiri Forest. Taking a few steps forward, Link attempted to walk into the main street with everyone else, but his feet quickly became glued to the ground and his legs shook nervously.
"So many people," Link stated nervously.
"Hyrule Castle Town is the most populated area in all of Hyrule," explained Navi. "Approximately, there are ten thousand residents in here alone and about just as many travel here weekly to trade and buy goods. When we first arrived here, when you were asleep, there was barely any people outside, but now it looks like the entire town is awake."
"Out of my way! Can't you see I'm walking here!" snapped a man attempted to force his way through the crowd. His efforts didn't amount to much as he was shoved back by another man.
"Can't you see?" the other man yelled back. "Now keep your grubby hands to yourself!"
"It's so different than Kokiri Village," commented Link watching the two men continue to bicker along with several other fights breaking out all over. He then watched as men clad in metal armor and helmets worked their way through the crowds carrying spears as they went to quell the fighting. "They are getting into fights because of how crowded it is. I don't think I've ever felt so confined before."
"You'll have to get used to it," commented Navi taking refuge under Link's hat. "You'll have to get through that to reach the castle. I better stay in here so we don't separated, though compared to everyone else, your green tunic probably stands out the most."
Holding is delivery securely between his arms and chest, Link cautiously took his first steps into the crowd. He attempted to remain on the edge, but quickly found himself pushed and bumped deep into the crowd. All he could see at eye level was a forest of of legs and looking higher he saw the mountains of torsos. Only by looking straight up was he able to be comforted by the clear blue sky.
"How are you managing?" asked Navi speaking straight into Link's ear so he could hear her voice over the chatter of everyone else.
"I haven't been trampled yet," replied Link. "But I don't know where I'm going. I'm stuck moving whichever way the crowd is moving, but I can't even tell if I'm even getting closer to the castle or further away."
"I'll take a quick peek," stated Navi flying above the crowd for a moment and scanned the area before flying back down to Link. "We're getting closer, but it'll take hours at this rate, but I there is an area that isn't very crowded. If we can get there we should be able to make our way to the castle without any trouble."
"How do I get there when I can't even escape this crowd?" questioned Link moving as far away as he could when another fight in the crowd started to break out nearby.
"There's an open space nearby," said Navi. "You'll just have to force your way through."
"Force my way," repeated Link grabbing his shield and holding it out in front of him with one hand and keeping the delivery safe with the other. "Anything is better than being stuck in here."
Peering through the forest of legs, Link waited for his best moment to charge. The instant he saw a narrow gap in the crowd he rushed forward. He ignored the sensation as he pushed people aside and heard their gasps of shock and displeasure.
"What in Hyrule?"
"Such nerve! Doesn't that child's parents teach him any manners?"
"Look at the way he's dressed, dear. Clearly he's a street beggar."
"More like ruffian. You better check your money purse. Make sure he hasn't made off with it!"
Stumbling forward as he made his way onto clear space, Link finally felt content to inhale big and extend his arms outward and stretch. "I feel so much better out of that crowd, but what were they saying about me?"
"Uh, don't give them a second thought," answered Navi. "You've done nothing wrong."
"Hey, kid!" shouted a soldier angrily. "What do you think you're doing?"
"I thought I didn't do anything wrong," Link whispered to Navi before turning to answer the soldier. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No walking through the flowers," he snapped, pointing to a sign that said the same. Looking down, Link saw all the opened space was filled with flowers and he had inadvertently trampled a few. "It is enough work for all us soldiers to maintain the peace and order. We don't need a hooligan causing us any more problems."
"I'm very sorry," apologized Link to the soldier. "What am I going to do now, Navi?"
"You could either ignore the soldier and run through the flowers angering him further, but getting a more direct route to the castle," said Navi. "Or, you could get off the flowers now and work your way through the crowd like before."
"Are you getting off the flowers or not?" shouted the soldier waiting for Link to move.
"I am really, really sorry," Link apologized once again. Link then ran further through the flowers much to the soldier's chagrin.
"Hey, you brat!" he yelled. "Get back here!" Pushing and shoving through the crowd of people he started to give chase.
"He's coming after me and he looks mad!" cried Link. "What's he going to do if he catches me?"
"He won't kill you for just stepping on some flowers," Navi stated. "At best you could be locked in the dungeon for a day or two."
"I don't know what a dungeon is," said Link. "But it doesn't sound like some place I want to go to."
"Just trust me and you won't get caught," ensured Navi flying a bit higher. "Break through the crowd straight ahead and it'll start to thin out."
Following her instructions, Link forced his way through the crowd once more. He heard a lot more yelling and shouted towards him, but he continued to cry out apologies as he did so. Link stopped when he came up to a man and women holding onto one another's shoulders as they stared into one another's eyes and moved in circles together.
"Navi," called Link. "Another fight broke out. I think those two are trying to strangle one another."
"No, Link," Navi corrected. "Those two are just dancing."
"Oh, Honey," the man said nibbling at her ear. "Both the sun and the moon pale in comparison to your beauty."
"Darling," the lady spoke back with just as much affection. "I have not lived till I first laid eyes upon you."
"There you are!" snapped the soldier squirming through the crowd. "You won't get away from me, flower stomper!"
Running fearfully, Link ran in between the narrow space between Honey and Darling. "What an annoying person," commented Darling glaring at Link.
"Pay him no mind," cooed Honey. "Just focus on me, Darling."
Hurrying on as he watched the soldier give chase, Link collided with a large lady holding a dog in her arms. "Egad!" she cried in fright, her dog jumping out of her arms. "You hooligan! Watch where you are going!"
"I'm sorry," Link apologized once again. Looking up at her face, he could help but stare. Her hair was done in a bun that was easily as big as her head and her large lips were cherry red with lipstick. "What kind of creature is this?" Link tried to whisper to Navi.
"She's Hylian, but I agree she does share a startling resemblance to a Goron," Navi replied.
"Don't just stand there staring at my beauty," she snapped. "Go retrieve my little doggy, Richard." Looking over to him, she stared in horror as her dog began to play and chase after group of other dogs. "Look, a bunch of mangy strays are attacking my little darling. Bring him back quick before they give him fleas!"
"Uh, ok," replied Link approaching the dogs. "Which one was hers?"
"No idea," admitted Navi. "They are look the same and they keep running around in circles. The soldier is getting closer. Just grab one and give it to her."
Picking up the first dog in reach, Link carried it back to the plump woman. "Here's your dog back," said Link.
"How could you possible think that mongrel is my dear, Richard!" she snapped angrily.
"I've finally caught you!" shouted the guard nearly on top of Link.
"I'll have to find him later," cried Link running into the crowd again still carrying the dog in one hand and the package in the other. The soldier narrowly missed grabbing Link and in the process grabbed ahold of the lady instead.
"What is the meaning of this?!?" she bellowed at the soldier. "First my little doggy is frightened away and now I am assaulted by a soldier?"
"Madame Mamamu Yan," stuttered the soldier. "Please forgive me! I was in pursuit of that kid in the green tunic."
"Then don't just stand there!" she snapped. "Go and find him so he can bring me my poor Richard!"
"A dognapping crime too," he stated. "He's more of a troublemaker than I thought, but don't you worry, I'll catch him." He searched around, but Link was already gone from sight. "As soon as I find him again."
"We somehow managed to make it here," said Navi as Link trudged exhausted.
"Is anyone after us?" asked Link.
"Looks like you slipped away in the crowd that time," Navi told him. "Looks like you can take a break to catch your breath."
"Glad to hear that," replied Link putting down the stray. "Where are we anyway? There aren't any other people around."
"Some sort of temple," commented Navi looking around. "It looks a lot older than the rest of the town."
Approaching a sign, Link brushed off the moss covering over the words and read it. "The Temple of Time - Come hither and pay your respects for a brighter tomorrow." "Doesn't look like anyone has come around here in ages."
"Guess places like this get forgotten," commented Navi. "I'd be curious to take a look around, but we should get going when you're ready. The shop shouldn't be much further now and then we'll be able to head over to the castle."
"I think I've rested enough," replied Link starting to walk. He gave one last curious look to the temple before leaving the area.
"Welcome back, Lord Ganondorf," the adviser Augustine greeted him as the King of the Gerudos entered the castle. "I trust your trip to Zora River went as you had planned."
"As well as I could have hoped," Ganondorf replied. "The Zoras were most hospitable and I was even able to get an audience with King Zora. My stay here in Hyrule has been truly more than I could have hoped for or deserved."
"Perish the thought," he told Ganondorf. "We are only too happy to extend a hand of friendship. Now, your meeting with the king will be in a couple more hours. I trust you will want to freshen up after your trip."
"Very much appreciated," Ganondorf answered with a smile. "But I have some matters to attend to first in my living quarters." Taking his leave, Ganondorf proceeded up the stairs of the castle towards his room. As he walked, he overheard the gossip of the castle nobles unaware of his return.
"I don't understand why the king is giving an audience to some desert ruffian just because he calls himself a king."
"Indeed. A king of thieves perhaps, but not a drop of noble blood in his entire body."
"The king is far too kind-hearted and generous. He's offering to supply them with food and money as a gesture of goodwill. How ridiculous! It's laughable. Goodwill towards thieves."
"I heard Ganondorf has made several trips across Hyrule to the other races. Just yesterday he went to see the Zoras."
"If he's got an audience with the king then he'll have to be returning soon. You don't suppose he tried returning at night?"
"If he did, then he might have done us all a favor and gotten himself killed. Good riddance, I say."
"Such grotesque insects," thought Ganondorf with a slight chuckle. "Let them think what they want of me while they can."
Reaching his room, Ganondorf locked the door behind him and approached a large crystal ball. Polishing it with the palms of his hands, the colors within it swirled and contorted till the image of a room became clear in it.
"Sister," called a voice from the crystal ball. An elderly old lady short in stature with a an enormous nose and bulbous eyes with red corneas came into view She was dressed in a black cloak the concealed her entire body save for her head and her bone hands. Her long white hair was covered over with a turban. Embedded in her forehead was a blue gemstone as big as her eyes. "Have you seen my broomstick? It isn't where I remember leaving it."
"You've lost it again," another old voice replied and another old woman identical to the first appeared on the crystal ball, though the gem on her forehead was red. In her hands she held a broomstick. "You have to learn to take better care of your things like I do. See, I have my broomstick right here."
"Koume!" she snapped. "You old toad! That is my broom!"
"Kotake!" she retorted stomping her feet. "This is mine! Are you so senile you can't even tell what your broom looks like."
"I know that it's the one in your wrinkly old fingers. Now hand it over!"
"Over my dead body!" Kotake spat.
"I can wait," Koume replied. "You look half decomposed already."
"At least my heart beats faster than one every three hours," Kotake retorted as they continued to quarrel.
"As much as I love the sisterly bonding," Ganondorf spoke up quickly getting their attention. "I'd like to hear how things are going back in Gerudo Valley."
"Oh, Lord Ganondorf!" the two hags cried and quickly bowed their heads. "How goes things in Hyrule? Have you obtained the golden power yet?"
"My visit has been very welcoming," he told them. "I am all the more eager to take Hyrule for my own. Save for a few insignificants, nobody suspects my true goals. Unfortunately, being forced to wear this disguise is making it all the more difficult to obtain the golden power."
"If you used the magic we taught you then it will be only a matter of time before the Spiritual Stones are yours," stated Koume.
"That's another matter I need to address," Ganondorf added. "It appears that Queen Gohma has been defeated."
"Queen Gohma defeated?" cried Kotake. "By who?"
"I do not know," he answered. "Nor if the same thing will happen where the other Spiritual Stones are located. I will just have to pay closer attention and find out just who it is that is opposing me. Now, how is everything in Gerudo Valley. I trust that you two have managed to keep order while I was away."
"Of course we have," Koume answered. "You are seen as more than a king to the Gerudos. Even among the kings born to the Gerudos everyone century, none has been held in such high regards as you. They would never think to oppose you."
"What about Nabooru?" he asked. "Has she been behaving herself while I was away?"
"Oh, her," Kotake continued a bit nervously. "She did attempt something of a rebellion, but we quickly dealt with that right away."
"Then you have her imprisoned in the jail cells," commented Ganondorf.
"Actually, she fled into the desert," Koume admitted. "We didn't think to chase after her at the time, believing she would either return of her own volition or simply perish to the dangers of the desert, but now we've started to think she may have somehow made it to the Desert Colossus."
"If that is the case, then why have you not pursued her yet?" snapped Ganondorf furiously, the crystal ball shaking with his anger.
"W-we were just about to go there," Kotake cried. "We will find her and make an example of her."
"See that you do," stated Ganondorf sternly. "Anyone who will not bow before me will be eradicated. Nobody shall be allowed to oppose me. Not the King of Hyrule, not a member or my own tribe and when I find out who killed Queen Gohma, I will see to it that they no longer oppose me either."
"Is this the place?" asked Link as he reached the shop nearest the pathway to Hyrule Castle.
"Happy Mask Shop," read Navi looking at the sign that was shaped like a mask. "I guess so. Let's take a look inside."
Opening the door, Link stared at the numerous masks hanging on the walls made in all manner of shapes, colors, and designs. Some had happy expressions, some were sad and others were angry. Many had expressions that Link could not interpret while others did not resemble a face at all. "This place is more creepy than happy," Link commented trying to avert his eyes, but there was nowhere to look that a mask wasn't.
"Hiyeee!" exclaimed a man that seemingly appeared in front of Link while he wasn't looking. The scared knocked Link to the ground panting nervously. Looking up, he gazed at the man his height only a couple feet taller than Link. He was dressed entirely in purple fabric with golden bracelets on his arms. He had purple slippers on his feet the pointed upwards at the toe tips. He was a thin man with a very toothy smile that was made somewhat unnerving due to his narrow eyes. "Welcome to the Happy Mask Shop! We deal in masks that bring happiness to everyone!"
"Um, hello," Link managed to say once he finally calmed down. "I'm here to deliver a package to you from the pottery maker Kiln."
"Oh, is it finally today?" he replied excitedly and started dancing joyfully about one moment than bowing pleadingly the next. "Please let me see it right now. I beg of you."
"It's right here," said Link handing over the wrapped item, but as he did his heart sank as he felt the single object inside suddenly felt like two. "Oh, no..." Unwrapping the package, Link confirmed his fears. Inside was a clay mask made in a similar design to the pots Kiln made, but it was now broken in two pieces and looked almost ready to break into more. "It must have broke while I was bringing it over. I'm sorry, I messed up again."
"It's a shame, but it was an accident so there is no need to apologize," the Happy Mask Salesman replied picking up the broken pieces carefully. "But one must not give in to despair because things did not turn out how they hoped. One should hang onto their happiness on the inside even if they are not on the outside." Grabbing a mask off his shelf he put it on over his face. "See, my mask is frowning, but underneath I still have my smile." He then quickly switched for another mask. "Now I am angry on the outside, but I am still smiling on the inside." He grabbed another mask once again. "Now I'm smiling on the outside and on the inside." And once more he put on another mask. "And here... uh... well I don't know how I'm feeling on the outside with a face like this, but the smile hasn't left me on the inside."
Letting out a few chuckles, Link couldn't help but be amused by the Happy Mask Salesman's antics. "I actually feel a little better now," admitted Link. "Thanks."
"My first satisfied customer," he declared excitedly then held out his hands. "That'll be thirty-five rupees, please."
"What for?" asked Link confused.
"For helping make you happy, of course," he replied. "That's the whole point of this store of mine. This town is full of people who are constantly busy with their lives. You had to have seen that cluster or people pushing and shoving one another out of the way just to get where they are going. They live, but not happily and I wish to help them out with my masks. If they find one that brings them a little joy that will greatly help them out and I can earn a little money. Understand?"
"Uh, yeah," answered Link. "It makes sense."
"Good," the Happy Mask Salesman said happily. "So about my thirty-five rupees... you will pay me for making you happy... right?"
"Pay you," Link began to say meekly. "The thing about that is that... I don't have any rupees."
"None... at all?" he asked his voice cracking.
"None," Link admitted. "I can't pay, but I don't need to apologize because I shouldn't give in to despair... right?"
"Not despair," he answered, his body beginning to tremble. Without warning, he grabbed Link and lifted him up, his eyes wide open and bloodshot. "Rage! What do you mean you can't pay?!?" Violently, the Happy Mask Man began to shake Link about.
"Compared to all the other oddballs around here," thought Navi hiding under Link's hat. "This guy is in a league of his own." Slipping over to Link's ear, she whispered to him. "Before this guy decides to ring your neck, you better try and calm him down."
"Maybe we can work something out," cried Link desperately. "Some way I can pay you back!"
"Hmm," he pondered pausing abruptly from shaking Link. He then let go of Link and let him drop to the ground. "That'll work."
"It will?" groaned Link.
"Yes," he replied the anger in his tone gone and a smile back on his face. "From this day on you will be a Happy Mask Salesman. I will give you some masks and you will find the right person for each one. When you are done, you will come back here with the money you earned. Of course, your work does not simply limit you with selling masks. If ever you find anyone in distress it is your duty to make them happy."
"But I'm on a quest," Link told him. "I might not have the time to go out of my way to help everyone I meet."
"Just think of them as side-quests," the Happy Mask Salesman said. "In no time at all helping everyone you meet will be second nature. And don't forget to paid. After all, you aren't doing all this for charity." Link simply gave a nod in response. "Excellent. Now, which masks should I give you? Perhaps a couple cute ones and maybe some scary ones too. Yes, I think these four will do just nicely." He carried them over to Link and handed them over to him. "There, you should be all set now. When you are done handing them all out, come back and see me so we can discuss how you've done."
"So, then I can go now?" asked Link.
"Yes, you c-" he answered, unable to finish his sentence before Link bolted out the door. Without stopping, Link continued to dash all the way to Hyrule Castle.
