A/N: Follows, Favorites, and Reviews are appreciated. Let me know what you think.
The labyrinth of underground passages was as still and silent as the grave. These tunnels had no name, and they appeared on no maps. Only the most foolish of men would dare walk these halls, for even the most novice of adventurers could feel the corrupted taint of the blackest sort of magic performed here. It was practically dripping from the walls.
A lone figure was making his way slowly across the deepest of these passages, a large meeting hall with a low ceiling. He held a small torch aloft, illuminating a dozen feet of shadowy ground ahead of him. Skulls and other bones littered the ground, dully shining white in the firelight. Their flesh had long since rotted away. He squinted to lengthen his vision, bloodshot eyes betraying countless nights of sleep. His tattered clothes and empty sack betrayed his desperation. For what, he was not sure.
The nightmares had started suddenly, almost a year earlier. It was the same thing every night. Bloody bodies writhing in pain, red hot fire against his skin, and the voice.
The voice terrified and enthralled him. It drove him forward even as he wished to flee. Every night it would push him towards his destination, berate him if he faltered. And it was all leading up to this. He just had to find whatever it was in this room that called to him, and he could rest.
His body ached. He could scarcely remember anything from before. His family, friends, and even his name seemed like a distant memory. All that was left was the voice.
The room was dead. Nothing living had touched these floors for a thousand years. The nearest town had been a week's journey. But something was here. And as he made his way to the end of the long hall, he could see it.
It was a treasure chest, raised up on a dais. It must have been secure at one point, but time had nearly destroyed it with rust. He ran to it.
With trembling hands he grabbed the lock, feeling it crumble in his hands. He tossed it aside. He slowly lifted the lid, his breath catching in his throat.
There it was, staring back at him. Here was what he'd been looking for, he knew it without a doubt. He picked it up gingerly, as if it would break in his hands. He stroked it once before raising it aloft.
His maniacal laughter echoed through the silent halls.
They would all pay now.
"Again," Link barked, and the two young recruits jumped to obey, disengaging their swords from the stalemate they'd currently been stuck in. They took their ready positions.
"Go," Link said, and the two boys clashed swords.
They're not really boys, Link thought, They're nearly my age.
But it was hard not to think of them as such. Their swords clanged together impotently, their grunts of effort in sharp contrast with the effectiveness of their simple moves. They were dueling, not fighting. They didn't know what it meant to go for the kill; they'd never had to know. And Link did not know how to teach them.
"Stop," Link said quietly, and the boys disengaged once again. One of them put his hands on his knees, the other actually fell on his back. Link fought the urge to roll his eyes.
For two months he'd been here, teaching new recruits as best he could, and he still had no idea what he was doing. Every lesson in swordplay he'd learned had been one more sliver of hope that he'd survive his journey. He drank the shade's lessons in like water. But these recruits had no such motivation. Most were sons of noblemen, more interested in the livery of knighthood and what it would do for their place in society. The rest were commoners more interested in the meals and money that a soldier made. None of them knew the desperation and fear of battle.
And how the hell do you teach that? Link thought angrily to himself. His displeasure must have shown on his face, because the two recruits seemed to tense up. Link schooled his features quickly.
"That's it for today," Link said with a nod, and the young men saluted quickly before hurrying away. Link got the feeling they were afraid of him. He was aware that he was a sort of enigma to the knights and soldiers. Why would an 18-year-old be put in charge of training recruits? Link wasn't going to fill them in, and his tendency towards silence did not help elucidate the situation.
His silent musings were cut short as a familiar figure approached.
"Hey Shad," Link said with a smile. The scholar was always a welcome sight. Shad asked very little of him, and seemed to take his silence with more grace than most.
"Hello Link," Shad said, his arms full of books. He pushed his glasses up before they promptly returned to the end of his nose. "Just who I was looking for."
"Oh?" Link asked neutrally. If Shad needed him, it was usually for something he didn't want to do.
"Yes," Shad said emphatically, dropping a few of his books in his enthusiasm. "The envoy from Cadmia has arrived, I've been sent to retrieve you."
Link fought a groan. If there was one thing he hated more than anything else, it was politics. Yet more and more often, he found himself firmly entrenched in them.
He'd left Ordon Village just over three months ago. He'd been desperate to find something to do. Herding goats no longer appeased him, so he'd sought to offer his services once again to Zelda. She'd suggested training recruits as a way to keep sharp until something else revealed itself, and he'd agreed. But apparently, to Link's chagrin, someone had found out just who he was and what he'd done for the kingdom, and suddenly he was important.
Which meant the nobility saw him as a pawn in their game.
There wasn't a day that went by where he didn't receive a dozen letters: invitations to a party, requests for him to come to tea, or advice on something that a hundred other people could answer better than him. Link had staunchly ignored every single one of them, refusing to play this game of theirs. Which, as Shad had been all too happy to fill him in on, was still a way of playing the game. Link had nearly thrown the poor man out on his head.
And as much as Link wanted to ignore the envoy from Cadmia, he wouldn't.
Because she would be disappointed.
Princess Zelda hadn't asked for much since he'd been in Castle Town. In fact, Link rarely saw her. She was so busy meeting with her council, entertaining local and foreign dignitaries, and whatever else running a country entailed that he'd hardly spoken more than a few words to her. It pained him. They weren't exactly close friends, but Link liked to think they shared some sort of bond. The mark on the back of their hands was proof of that. But she'd remained distant, except for a handful of requests such as his presence for the Cadmian envoy. So he would go.
"Yeah, alright," Link muttered, and Shad seemed to brighten. Link had the impression that the young scholar had expected more of a fight.
"Excellent," Shad said, nearly losing the stack of books tucked under his arm. "I can lead you that way if you'd like, I'm supposed to be a part of the entourage of the Princess."
Link nodded absently as they began to walk. Shad had an unusual position as Historian to the Crown. It seemed to Link more of an honorary position, a sort of reward for Shad's effort in freeing the kingdom, but the young man took great pride in it.
"So have you seen the Cadmians yet?" Link asked, more to fill in the silence than anything. If you gave Shad a chance to educate or inform you, he could talk all day.
"Yes, I saw them a little while ago," Shad said excitedly, "There's a few dozen of them. Apparently they sent a few of their senior knights and a prince! It's all very exciting, I'm expecting great things from these talks."
Link grunted in response. Cadmia was a pretty good distance from Hyrule, and across the Gerudo Desert to boot, so there was little chance of war. Still, a formal peace treaty with a neighboring nation was never a bad thing.
"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Link asked, bracing himself.
"Link!" Shad exclaimed, "This is important, you should know this already."
"True," Link grinned, "But let's just say that I don't, just for fun. Give it to me."
Shad sighed, and Link took it as a victory.
"Look," Shad began, "You don't have to do anything. You're someone that Princess Zelda trusts, and you're one of the best swordsman in the kingdom. All you have to do is be respectful, look capable, and stay out of the spotlight."
"I can do that," Link said with a shrug. "And for the record, I'm the best swordsman in the kingdom."
"I wouldn't know," Shad said with a shrug, "Ah, here they are."
As they crested the small hill in the castle grounds, Link could see them. A hundred yards away, near the parade ground where tournaments and the like were held, were ten or so people gathered together. Even from this distance, Link could see Zelda as she spoke to a few of the foreign men. Her face was the picture of serene grace, and not for the first time Link was reminded of how beautiful the leader of Hyrule was.
As the two of them approached the group, the Princess graced him with a smile. But as soon as Link returned it, she was back to her neutral expression that Link thought of as her princess mask. And Link noticed, just as he always did, the thin scar that ran along her right cheekbone. He'd given it to her when she'd been controlled by Ganon. Zelda had waved it away after it was all said and done without a thought, but to say he regretted it immensely would be an understatement.
"Gentlemen," Zelda said once they had nearly joined the group, "Here is Sir Shad, my historian, and Sir Link, the man responsible for defeating the usurper to my throne."
Well that sort of introduction makes it difficult to fade into the background, Link thought. The men from Cadmia seemed to perk up at his introduction, and he gave them a respectful half bow. An older man with a well-oiled beard stepped up and offered a hand, which Link shook.
"It's nice to meet you Link," The man said warmly, "The Princess has spoken very highly of you. I'm Sir Edward Wallace, knight and diplomat for the King of Cadmia."
"It's nice to meet you as well," Link said with a smile, liking the man immediately. "I hope I can live up to the expectations of the Princess."
"I'm sure you will," Edward laughed.
"And I," a new voice rose up as a man near Link's age approached, "Am Prince William Cadmium, heir to the throne."
Link shook the man's hand. As much as he'd liked Sir Edward, this prince did not appeal to him. He was tall and lean, with dark hair that appeared meticulously styled. His clothes were exceptionally fine. Link could practically smell the entitlement on him.
"Your men say you're the best around here with a sword," Prince William demanded. "I'd like to test that."
"William!" Edward exclaimed.
"Just a friendly duel between men of neighboring nations," Prince William said with a smirk, his hands raised in appeasement.
Link was at a loss for what to do in this situation. A few of the soldiers finishing up with training had perked up upon hearing the prince's exclamation. Link looked at Zelda, pleading with his eyes for some sort of direction. She still looked maddeningly unreadable. But she did reply.
"I think a duel would be most interesting," The princess said, and that seemed to settle the matter for all involved except Link.
The soldiers nearby seemed to take this as instructions to go, for they seemed to jump to action, clearing the nearby ground of training posts, discarded armor, and anything else they could find. One of the men brought him his sword. And suddenly he was in a makeshift ring standing across from a crown prince of a foreign nation.
Life was funny like that sometimes. And apparently this was happening whether he liked it or not.
Link took a deep, steadying breath. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. It was not the Master Sword, but it would still serve his purpose. He studied the man across from him.
Tall, Link analyzed, his brain shifting into a battle-ready mindset. Long reach, have to watch out for that.
In truth, Link wasn't worried about losing this fight. He hadn't found a swordsman yet that could best him. But he had to win without embarrassing the prince, which meant he'd have to hold himself back. That would take a lot more skill. Still, he was up to the task.
Link drew his sword.
Prince William struck first, closing the distance between them quickly to cross blades. The impact made a resounding clang. They disengaged, and William stabbed forward as Link sidestepped. Undeterred, William swung his sword across, meeting Link's raised blade.
Quickly Link realized that Prince William was good with a sword. He wasn't great, but he was no pushover, which meant that it'd be even harder to fool the man into thinking this was a close fight.
Link pushed forward himself, striking several times. The prince was quick, and he nimbly sidestepped the blows.
Back and forth they fought, Link allowing the man to come close to landing a few strikes. One last strike had their blades cross, and William began to push down on him, trying to force him to his knees.
"I'm glad you're better than the rest of your soldiers," William grit out, "They're hardly fit to be called such."
Link spun out, using his sword to deflect William's descending blow to the side. The Prince was trying to goad him, but he would not take the bait. They exchanged a few more blows before once again began to speak.
"Come now, don't you want to impress your princess?" William laughed, "You'll have to do better than that!"
They circled each other, growing closer. Their blades clashed, once, twice, and a third time once again found their faces close.
"She's quite attractive," William said as if it had just come to him, "Do you think there's a chance of a political marriage?"
Link fought the urge to stab the man. Instead he focused on being the very model of self-restraint.
"I wouldn't complain," William said in a low voice, "Other than that scar on her face, she's damn near perfect."
Ah screw it, Link thought, self-restraint is for the birds.
Link pushed him off, separating them. Link did a spin attack, pushing William back. And then Link came after him.
Link was starting to feel it as he slashed at the prince; the adrenaline that came with battle. It seemed to fill him with energy. The prince was backpedaling, trying to fend off the flurry of blows, but Link kept coming.
A particularly hard slash caused William to stumble back a half-step, and that was all the opening Link needed. He ducked in, sliding the pommel of his sword under the prince's hilt and wrenching up, using his off hand on his sword's blade for leverage. William's sword left his hand. Link followed it up with a sharp punch to his chest, knocking him down as Link stabbed his blade into the dirt between his legs, no more than a few inches from the man's most intimate area.
For a long moment, no one moved. The only thing to break the silence was the two swordsman's heavy breathing. And just as Link came to the realization that he'd probably ruined relations between Hyrule and Cadmia forever, the prince started to laugh. And his laughter seemed to break the spell of silence. The Hyrule soldiers watching cheered, and Sir Edward seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.
"That," Williams said, his hands on his knees as he sat in the dirt, "Was a good knock right there. I knew you were holding back, I just knew it!"
Link reached out a hand, helping the prince to his feet, still a bit baffled by the man's response to the loss.
"Sorry about speaking ill of your men and your ruler," William said, "I was just trying to say something to get you to fight me for real. You were holding back so hard I thought you'd burst."
Link gave a perfunctory chuckle to match the prince's, but his eyes went towards Zelda's, looking for her read on the situation. Her face was still carefully controlled, but Link thought he could see a hint of displeasure. Still, at least things had worked out.
"I think it is time for us to head back to the castle for tea," Zelda said, "And I'm sure Prince William will want to freshen up after his duel."
The prince nodded his consent, and the party headed back towards the castle. Link assumed he was not required, and stayed behind.
"So," Link said to Shad as the nearby soldiers began to get back to work, "How was that?"
"You make me so angry sometimes," Shad sighed, "And I'm almost more upset that you won't be learning a lesson."
"I'm not so sure," Link said as he watched the back of the princess as she walked away. He had the vague notion that he needed to apologize.