Author's note: Special thanks to Crazyfreak for promoting this piece of mine and that lovely sketch of Miles. Progress on this piece has been greatly buoyed by your enthusiasm.

Chapter 2

The Rake and the Witch

Miles didn't like going to the Broken Tether inn and tavern, and there was a good reason for that: It was a den of thieves. He heard that it was a place even the town guard turned a blind eye to, and as such it was a good place to go to get lost. It was pretty easy to get lost just trying to find the place. Once you arrived in the castle town market you had to navigate a veritable maze of back alleys and side streets with only the smell of cheap grain alcohol to guide you.

He also heard that hardly anyone ever got mugged in there these days, but considering the source of this assertion was a career highwayman, he decided to take precautions. He dressed up in the most roguish attire he had, which happened to be his dueling garb. It was a mostly leather affair, coat, greaves, gloves, boots and all, with mail sewn into the lining. Back at the hotel he thought it looked rather tough, but after seeing some of the toughs that wandered these back alleys he started to feel like a sheep in a dogskin walking amongst wolves.

He arrived at the Broken Tether, though he almost walked past it. It wasn't exactly a place that advertised itself. He walked in and was greeted with a dozen pairs of dark piercing eyes that looked him up and down, settled on the sword on his side, and turned away. He pushed his way through the almost tangible gloom and found himself at the bar where and unbidden tankard of unpleasantly chemical fluid was already being set down for him by the least distinguishable man he'd ever seen.

He pulled a silver coin from his pocket and slid it towards the barman. "I'm looking for Ritter Creed."

The coin disappeared somewhere into the barman's apron and he gestured with his head towards the back of the room. Miles looked in that direction and saw his cousin near the back of the establishment drinking alone. He seemed to realize he was being looked at and looked up and flashed a mischievous smirk as he saw who it was.

A careful observer might see the familial similarities, the same jawline, the same nose, the same general build, but there the similarities ended. Miles's complexion was clean and light, while Ritter's was more dark and weathered. Miles also kept his posture straight while his cousin was much more relaxed. As was his respect to the law.

"So then, what brings my favorite cousin to a little dump like this?" Ritter asked cheerfully as Miles took a seat next to him.

"As much as I hate to say it, I need your help." Miles explained as he tried not to inhale the fumes from his cousin's drink. "Do you know anything about that boy who princess Zelda recently took on as her protector?

Ritter raised his tankard to his lips as he thought about this. "I was there long enough to catch the tail end of the duel if that's what you're asking. Other than that, I can't say I know anything about him."

Miles sat up expectantly. "Tell me how he fights. Does he use the Court style, maybe he's self taught?"

"Now what would little old me know about fighting?" Ritter flashed his trademark smirk.

Miles laid his palms flat against the table. "Come on Ritter, we used to spar together when we were kids, surely something rubbed off on you. Come on, this is important!"

Ritter put down his drink and met Miles's earnest gaze. Eventually he sighed. "Like I said, I only caught the last bit of the fight. The rest I picked up through hearsay, so take that for what it's worth. They say he favors sword and shield, though when I got there he was fighting with just a single sword."

"Was he using it one-handed or two?" Miles leaned in closer.

"One. Sort of like that style we used to spar in."

"Ah, Calatian Court style. Easily recognizable for its reliance on thrusts and-"

"Yeah, except not." Ritter cut him off. "He was fighting like the princess: lots of cuts and swings."

Miles rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he digested what Ritter told him. After a while he asked, "Is this man ambidextrous by any chance?"

Ritter blinked. "How did you know?"

This time it was Miles who was smirking. "Some people call it Hylian Court style, the practice of using a single straight sword without a shield or dagger for backup. It's a compromise between power and speed, but it's exhausting to keep making effective strikes, so they say experienced practitioners learn to switch to their off hand to keep them in the fight longer."

He stood up. "I think I know how to beat him now. Thank you Ritter, you've been more help than you know."

He turned to leave but stopped as he felt Ritter's hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, if you like I can ask some friends of mine if they can dig up anything else on this guy."

"That would be very helpful Ritter, thank you." Ritter looked at him expectantly so he added, "What?"

"They'll want paying..."

Miles sighed and dropped a purse of silver coins into Ritter's outstretched hand.

Some blocks away a bell rang as the door to a run-down potions and curiosity shop opened. The shriveled old woman who ran the shop hobbled to the counter and beamed at the newcomer.

"Seele! What a surprise to see you here."

The red-headed hylian girl at the counter smiled warmly. "Sorry to drop in unannounced Dame Hexus, but when I heard you set up shop in the neighborhood I just had to drop by."

"That's sweet of you Seele. Why don't you take off that mask and relax a bit?"

The girl nodded and closed her eyes. There was a flash of light and Seele, in his dark robes and white mask, appeared in the girls place holding a copy of the girl's expressionless countenance in his hand.

"I'm afraid have business to discuss with you." he said as he tucked the mask into the recesses of his cloak. "Privately."

He made a movement with his hands and put up a series of defensive wards so that no-one could listen in on their conversation. With a sharp cutting motion Dame Hexus destroyed his wards and held up a hand to silence his protests.

To the open air she announced, "That's certainly a nasty curse you've gotten onto yourself dearie. Come into the back and we'll get that sorted out for you."

She silently lead him through a bead curtain to the pungent back room where a great number of reagents were busy bubbling away in squat cauldrons or drying in bundles from the ceiling. She twitched a rug aside and opened a hidden trap door into the cellar. It was cool and damp down there, and the walls were lined by numerous barrels and casks the contents of which he could only guess at. Hexus lit a candle in the center of the room before she turned to confront Seele.

"For someone who knows how to hide so well you certainly don't know how to not draw attention to yourself." she snapped. "Didn't that cult teach you anything?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked politely.

"Magical defenses. If you put them up, people are going to wonder why they're there." she explained slowly. "The king here as people, spies which have a natural affinity for magic. They nearly caught me once, and now I can't sell my specialty goods because they're always watching me."

"It's good I came to you first then." he said. "You probably shaved a month off my investigation with that alone."

"What investigation?" she asked suspiciously.

He explained his situation, how he was back to working for Ganon and his mission to kill or otherwise remove the princess's personal bodyguard, and how time was not on his side. When she made an unsolicited comment about his choice to work for Ganon when it nearly got him killed the last time he tried it, he tried to mention the manner of his payment. He ignored the disparaging remark that followed and pressed on.

"...And so I was hoping you could help set me up with a base of operations." he concluded.

Dame Hexus gave him a long, thoughtful look. She sighed. "I still say you're a fool for going along with this...but there is a spare room in the loft. It used to belong to my niece and I promised to keep it in order in case she came back.

"I didn't know you had a niece." Seele said. "Is she likely to come back?"

Dame Hexus looked away. A heavy silence descended on the two as the darkness around them seemed to deepen.

"...If it's any consolation," Seele eventually ventured, "It seems that you have a long-lost granddaughter."

She looked up at him quizzically.

"Don't you remember? She entered your shop just a while ago with a nasty curse, and she told you who she was after you helped her with her little magic problem. Now she's looking for a place to stay as she tries to make her way in the big city."

It clicked. Dame Hexus gave Seele a conspiratorial smile and patted him knowingly on the arm.

"Come on then dearie, let's get you settled in shall we?"