Chapter One:
"Who sent you?"
Silence was the only response she received.
"I will only ask one more time." The woman placed her arms on the table in front of her as she leaned closer to the man on the other side. "Who sent you?"
"I used to be quite the snake hunter you know." The man stated. The woman was caught off guard by the man's tangential comeback. He took this as a sign to continue. "I could spot a rattler in the sands of gerudo desert, take on the cottonmouths in the deku swamps, and even avoid the tackling of a rope." He said with an almost reminiscent smirk.
"If you won't talk then there's no reason to bother." The woman turned to leave the interrogation.
Seeing his opportunity fleeing before his eyes, the man hurriedly made his point. "What I'm trying to get at here, is that I can spot any kind of snake in any kind of place. Even the royal council." This last sentence got the woman to pause in her step, and the man knew he had her attention once more.
"Go on." The woman said as she turned her head to glare at him.
"A pardon. A ship. 200 Rupees." The man declared. "If I get all of this, then you'll have one less snake to deal with."
The woman scoffed at his proposal. "You're dreaming."
The man confidently placed his hands behind his head and responded, "Then I guess your little princess will be sitting right next to her father real soon."
The woman grabbed the man by his collar and pulled him in close. "Is that a threat you're making?"
"I'm not the one making it." The man replied. "But meet my price and I'll tell you who is."
"Did you get anything out of Byrne Ma'am?" The guard standing outside of the room asked upon her exit.
"I want a warrant out for the arrest of Chancellor Cole. Now." She said simply, not even making eye contact with him as she hurried by. "And set aside a ship and 200 rupees." She heard a distant "Aye ma'am" as she hurried down the corridor of the building. Managing to get outside, she was greeted with a street level view of Castleton, capital city of Hyrule. She made her way to the car that had carried her here, a limousine used exclusively to carry royal bodyguards. Despite the increasing availability of hovering technology to the masses, the King had insisted that royal vehicles steer clear of such blatant displays of opulency. He was truly a humble man.
All the more reason that this current predicament was so tragic.
Within minutes she was at Castleton Central Hospital. A few more, and she stood before the pair of guards in front of the hospital room doors. To be asked for her ID when it was so blatantly obvious who she was annoyed her, but a quick flash of the badge later and she was inside the room.
King Harkinian lay on a hospital bed. His face was weary, his breaths were ragged, and wires of all kinds ran up the length of his arm to connect him to the variety of medical machines at his bedside. But those weren't the only things by the King's side. A teenage girl with golden blonde hair sat there as well. She had fallen asleep in that position, and even with the bags beneath her eyes denoting her exhaustion, she kept her hand firmly grasping the king's. The show of love brought a melancholy smile to the woman's face as she walked over to the girl to wake her up.
"Come on Zelda, you need your rest." The woman said as she shook the younger girl's shoulders.
The girl came to, and awareness of her surroundings soon followed. "I...Impa?" She asked.
"Yes your highness." The older woman responded.
"I-I don't want to leave his side Impa." Zelda stated with exhaustion lacing her voice.
Impa tightened her grasp on Zelda's shoulder. "I know, your highness. But when is the last time that you have eaten proper food or slept in a proper bed?"
Zelda looked back to her father. "Since he was admitted." She stated simply.
"I'd think he'd want to wake up to a healthy daughter. Wouldn't you, your highness?" Impa asked.
Zelda's subsequent sigh of defeat quickly turned to a yawn, denoting just how little energy she had to argue with Impa on the matter. A kiss of her father's hand later, and Zelda made to leave the room. Before she could reach the door however, a doctor came in through it. He almost bumped into her as he entered.
"Oh!" He exclaimed. "I'm terribly sorry your highness. I just heard that Lady Impa had come in an-"
"That is enough." The woman herself cut the doctor off. She then turned to Zelda. "Go now your highness. I shall catch up within a short time."
Sensing that the doctor came with information of her father's condition, Zelda protested. "Impa, whatever news he has for you I deserve to hear as well."
"Zelda. You must rest for now. I'll relay the details to you when you aren't on the verge of collapsing." Impa sternly declared, the use of her actual name making it clear to Zelda that she would not have her way here. With a sigh, the girl exited the room and closed the door behind her.
Impa's eyes flickered with a downtrodden look for a second. First she had to guilt Zelda with her father, and now she reprimands her for simply wanting to know his condition. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to remind herself that this was all for the better, before talking with the doctor. "What is it?"
"It's Likelike poison." The doctor explained. "That assassin sliced deep enough that the poison in his system will kill him unless an antidote is administered within two days."
"Tell me you have the antidote." The head bodyguard glared at the sudden bad news.
The doctor's shoulders visibly sagged at the request. "That's the thing. Our studies show that the major ingredient in the antidote is the Exotic Flower."
"So?" Impa inquired, incredulous as to how a simple plant stood in their way.
"That flower died off back in the ancient days of Hyrule Ma'am." The doctor replied.
Zelda's heart stopped in that moment. Despite Impa's insistence that she go ahead, the girl had chosen to lean against the hospital room door in order to hear what the doctor had said. No matter how bad she thought the news was, nothing could have prepared her for the thought that her father was assuredly going to die within a matter of days. She backed away as the door opened, Impa none the wiser as to what she had been doing.
"Come along Zelda." She said solemnly. "Let's get you some rest."
Despite all that she was worried for, Zelda soon fell to sleep upon returning to her room in the royal castle. But not before she made one last request of her loyal bodyguard.
"Please...don't let him die…"
If ever there was a time where Impa wished she were a great fairy of legend, it was then.
A/N:
I know, I know. I can't even keep up a schedule for ONE story. How am I supposed to juggle two? That's gonna be my trick here. This story will serve mostly as a means of anti-burnout. Whenever I feel stuck with Unlikely Four I'll come to this fic to write a lighthearted chapter or two. Whichever story I happen to finish first, the other will get my full attention then. But for now, how about a little guessing game? I based the premise off of a movie. Care to guess what movie it is?