The Assassins of Hyrule
**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, I do not own Legend of Zelda or Assassin's Creed. Those are owned by Nintendo and Ubisoft respectively.
Chapter 2: A Hood Amongst the Tribe
Chapter 2: A Hood Amongst the Tribe
Waking up at what many soldiers called, the "asscrack" of dawn, Kev'n began his day by shaving off what facial hair was growing already on his face. As an experiment, he wanted to see how much will grow while he was gone on his mission.
He then donned his blue jacket, with a navy blue tunic, chainmail, and pauldron, and taking all of his weapons and supplies he had the previous day. He also packed a two week supply of dry food, two water skins, a spare pair of pants, his dual robe from the other day, one set of sleepwear, a few pairs of underwear, and four other tunics, including a Zora and Goron tunic.
Kev'n double checked to see if all his bag was packed and secure. He jogged towards the castle walls, the cool air tickling his face. As he hurried to the stables, he reached into one of his pouches on his belt, and removed a blue potion. A small sip of it filled his stomach in place of a proper breakfast. On his long trips away from the castle to deal with monsters or Templar scouting, Kev'n and Link discovered a way to feed themselves in a way to not waste time finding and preparing real food. The blue viscous concoction oozed slowly and torturously down his throat like a squirming ChuChu, and he forced down the urge to gag, knowing it was best to get used to this before leaving.
Once he reached the stables, he showed the guard there his orders, allowing him access to the stables. From there he found his horse, Blackjack, blending in with the darkness and waiting to bolt outside. He fastened his bag and travel supplies to the horse's saddle and started to head towards the main gate. Once the path was officially clear, the two bolted to the desert.
After riding for a few hours of across the empty Hyrule Field, Kev'n felt only a little liberated from his troubles. He was growing worried about Kakariko, not about the soldiers defending the town, but about Lord Vance. The suspected Templar only cared for himself and his colleagues. Kev'n was always wishing to find a damn strong piece of evidence of his misdeeds, that would throw that corrupt noble into prison, have him executed, or even excuse Kev'n of plunging his blade into his fat chest.
Upon realizing what he just thought of, Kev'n immediately shook the vengeful thoughts from his head. He knew he had to be patient, to not be fueled by anger. In due time, Vance will pay for that tragic day.
Lucky for him there were many people besides fellow soldiers who were thankful for the deeds he has done. Many citizens, from shop owners to fisherman, were grateful for him. Well, him and his hidden identities, the Ghost and Shadow. Many citizens were thankful for his interference with local crime in the kingdom, while some were understandably scared of him. Few nobles like Vance were worried about this vigilante, believing that he was undermining the kingdom's authority. Some in the Brotherhood some suspected that some nobles hired local thieves to steal from the citizens, and return to them with their gains. Corrupt bastards.
Deciding to change the topic in his head, he started to wonder if Link was following through with his instructions, if he went to talk to Malon.
'They're great for each other. Malon was nice, sweet, and she had her eye on Link for quite some time now. were Link needed a girl like her.' That made Kev'n think about his own romantic life. Sure there were some girls in the Order who were interesting. Most however just flirted and teased the other Assassins for their own entertainment, and Kev'n has been on the receiving end at least once. Sighing, he pulled Blackjack's reigns and led him to a small stream.
"Drink up, boy, this is the last stream we'll see before we get to the desert." Of course, he didn't need his encouragement, and he watched him lap greedily from the creek. When he lifted his head back up, he decided not to get back onto him right away and lightly brushed him with his fingers. "Do you think there is more for me to do with my life, besides being an Assassin?" Predictably, he did not answer, but he did not need him to. Kev'n removed his pauldron, switching his jacket for his robes. With the sun fully out, the white should help against any extra heat. He placed his pauldron back on his left shoulder, his cape partially covering his left arm. Kev'n chugged down the rest of his water from one of his skins, refilling it once it began to run dry. He washed his face in the stream before remounting Blackjack and leaving.
*Link POV*
Link headed out of the castle grounds on Epona, heading directly towards Lon Lon Ranch. He started to think about Malon, would she accept his feelings? Would she even agree to join him for dinner? Would she even let him help out? Link started to get nervous, but because of Epona's speed, he didn't have to dwell on it for very long.
He ended up at the entrance in less than 10 minutes. Epona then slowed down, trotting up towards the open field in the ranch. Link then saw the beautiful redhead. Malon had her usual attire on. A white blouse with a yellow handkerchief tied loosely around her neck, the knot resting in the front. She also had on a long, dark pink skirt, with a small brown apron hanging from her waist.
He shook his head to snap out of his stare. He noticed Malon was running a little back and forth. He then realized she was chasing around cuccos, and the pen was broken. Dismounting from Epona, Link jogged over to her, vaulting over the low fence.
"Malon," he called out, she stopped and looked up, finally noticing the knight.
"Link," She jogged over in his direction. "It's so nice to see you, you kind of caught me at a bad time.
"Actually I have the day off, so I came over to offer my assistance." Link replied.
"Well, isn't that nice of you, Fairy Boy. Since you're here, could you catch the cuccos while I hold the pen closed."
"As you wish, my lady." Malon giggled at his strict knight impression. Link then spent the next twenty minutes gathering the cuccos, while Malon held the pen closed. "By the way, where is your father? Link asked as he carried the last cucco over to the pen.
"He's in Castle Town selling milk. The pen broke a while after he left. Here, hold the pen closed while I grab the tools." Link reached down to keep the pen closed as Malon moved to grab some tools. After a few minutes of work, Link got up from the now-fixed pen.
"What else can I help you with?" Link asked.
"Well, the day was going to be taken up by me moving the bales of hay onto the cart by the entrance. But now now that you are here..." Malon trailed off when glancing at his muscled arms.
"It will go by faster?" Link finished her sentence. Malon then snapped out of her own trance.
"Huh, oh, yeah." Malon said trying to hide her blush. With that being said, Link and Malon then spent an hour moving the bales, which would have taken longer if not for Link. Once they were done, Link took a deep breath.
"Malon, uh, I need to ask you something."
"What is it Link?" Malon questioned, unsure of what to expect.
'Spill it! You have the Triforce of Courage for Nayru sake!' He yelled internally. "Wou-" Link coughed and cleared his throat, "Would you be interested in joining me for dinner in Castle Town?"
"Did you just ask me out on a date, Fairy Boy?" Malon asked back.
"Uhhh" Link uttered, not knowing how to respond. Malon giggled.
"That sounds like a great idea, pick me up before sundown?"
"Uh, yeah. Yes. Yes, I shall pick you up then. I have a reservation setup." Link informed her. He wasn't lying. As of this morning, he set up a reservation just in case before the ride over.
"One more thing, how should I dress?" Malon almost forgot to ask.
"Uh... semi-formal." Link answered.
"Thanks, see you tonight Fairy Boy." Malon teased as she walked back towards her home. Once inside Link mounted Epona and rode back to the barracks to prepare. Once he was far enough away from the ranch, Link threw his head up towards the sky and shouted.
"WOOOOHOOOO!" 'Thanks for the tips Kev'n.' He definitely had to tell Kev'n about this when he returned from the desert.
*Kev'n POV*
He long passed the canyon bridge almost three hours ago. The howling of passing winds did little to take Kev'n's mind from his troubles. However a familiar chorus soon reached his Hylian ears: grunts, weapons colliding, and deep-throated gargles of pain urged him to speed up. Though a moment ago he thought he would be relieved by this, the knowledge that someone other than him was being attacked horrified him, and spurring Blackjack into action, he galloped across the last stretch before Gerudo Valley, forcing his cape to billow in the wind.
Blackjack kicked up dust from the bare earth as he ran, but Kev'n had no trouble seeing the struggle ahead. Four women, Gerudo, fought their way through a group of monsters, and Kev'n realized that Kakariko wasn't the only place the moblins were targeting. The Gerudo were heavily outnumbered, and one was on the ground, Kev'n wasted no time.
He drew his bow with an arrow immediately notched. His first arrow hit a creature in the back of the neck, the one closest to the downed Gerudo. A quick glance was spared his way, the female warriors paid him little mind and used the distraction to cut their way through the aggressors. Scimitars clashed with spears. He notched two more arrows at once, resulting in two more fallen beasts at the back of the flank. But there were too many, and the moblins were closing in on them too quickly. If he wanted to save them, he needed his boots on the ground with them.
As soon as Blackjack got closer, he tucked his bow through his quiver, readied himself and jumped off his horse. His two blades sprang from his wrists, plunging into two monster skulls, tackling the moblins to the dirt. Jumping off the ground, Kev'n pulled off his shield and unsheathed his broadsword. He made a cut clean through an arm and leg with a yell of fury.
'Got to be quick. I can't let anyone here die. No one else can get hurt!' Brushing aside an incoming spear with his shield, he lashed out with his sword arm again, he unshackled the raging demon within that he normally held back against people. His energy quickly ignited throughout his body like a forest fire.
Block. Jab. Roll. Stab. Slash. Shield Bash. Somersault. Slice. Kev'n's mind went instinctual. Heads rolled. Spears snapped. He was everywhere. Blood stained his sword and the ground, and soon a mess of bodies was all that remained of the threat. As he calmed down, Kev'n and the three conscious fighters stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. One of them was at least ten, maybe fifteen years older than him, but the others were much younger than Hyrule's knights, and he wondered why they were here instead of someone more experienced; they couldn't have been any older than him.
The adrenaline wore off, and he struck his blade into the sand, and hung his shield by the strap on the cross guard, and approached the fallen one with a bottle, only to be stopped by the eldest.
"What are you doing?" she asked harshly. "Who are you? We were waiting for an ambassador from your kingdom. Are you his messenger?"
"No madam, I am the ambassador. Here, this potion will heal her."
"You aren't dressed as a diplomat," she accused. "You arrived just after those things did. How do I know you are not somehow involved? For that matter, how do we know that's potion and not poison? Your royal family has never been fond of our kind." He resisted the urge to remind her that he just saved their asses. He took a deep breath and spoke.
"This is not the princess's design. I brewed it with a shop owner. If it doesn't work, feel free to hold me accountable. I'll even take a swig myself if you want." He spoke calmly and firmly, and held the bottle out to her. "Pour what's left of it over her wounds." Not hesitating despite her apparent suspicions, she snatched it forcefully from his hands before following his instructions.
"…Oni?" Judging from how startled they were when he turned his eyes to them, the other two women obviously did not expect him to hear them whispering to each other, and they stopped. Kev'n said nothing, though he wondered what the word meant. He was sure he'd heard that name before, but for the moment it escaped him. He was far more worried about why moblin activity had been so high lately. Dead eyes stared at him from the ground, and he couldn't help thinking of the other dead eyes that would have stared at him had he arrived any later.
"Amena, can you hear me?" the middle-aged one asked, and the girl in her arms groaned as her eyes opened before looking around in confusion.
"Yes, Samiyah." Letting her stand on her own, the apparent leader, Samiyah, faced him again.
"Thank you," she forced herself to say, though there was no gratitude in her voice. After rising to her feet, Amena glared at the cloaked newcomer. Her eyes bore though his skull and out his hood, but Samiyah spoke before she could get a word in. "You three go ahead and let our sisters know our guest has arrived, Amena," she ordered, apparently not needing to turn around to see her subordinate's anger. Amena and the two others obeyed.
"She has a limp," Kev'n observed as he picked up his shield and started cleaning his sword with a small rag.
"She will be fine."
"Even so, once we arrive I can give her more medicine if you'd like." Kev'n sheathed his broadsword. He could not tell if her expression was a glare or another look of suspicion.
"We would appreciate that. What is your name?" Samiyah asked.
No "May I have the pleasure of knowing your name" or "Honored to make your acquaintance". Despite her obvious hostility, he allowed himself a friendly smile at the absence of pointless pleasantries. He removed his hood, letting it fall on his back.
"Kev'n," he answered, following it up with him bowing his head with a fist tucked into his hand. She seemed not to take offense at his short response.
"Let's catch up to the others." She eyed Blackjack as he began leading him by the reins while adjusting his bow. "Your horse is very brave. It did not abandon you during the fight."
"He's the best." Blackjack snorted. "Hey, hey, we're almost there, just a little bit more, alright?" Blackjack once again replied with a snort. With his back turned towards the lady, Kev'n locked his blades back up. No need to cause an accident that could jeopardize the treaty.
The others were nowhere in sight. He was curious as to how quickly they must have disappeared. 'Almost as if the were trained as Assassins.' They made their way under what appeared to be the outer gate. Soon the fortress was visible in the distance, looking much like Link described it in his stories. Apparently Link had to sneak in to keep from getting caught, but now Kev'n had the chance to look at it for himself.
His escort remained stiff and silent, but as more people came into view he noticed that everyone seemed to be looking at him. Each red-haired woman stopped whatever she was doing and stared at the stranger when he walked within sight of her. He also saw quite a few children standing among them, ranging from kids as old as Miri, and as young as two years old.
"Don't worry about them."
"The attention is just a bit unnerving," he admitted.
"It will take them a day or two to get used to you. There hasn't been a man here in our village since…"
"Ganondorf?" She shook her head.
"That was seven years ago. And aside from him, most of the Gerudo have never seen a man, besides the occasional traveler. For many of us, this is going to be strange."
It looked like it would be strange for him too. But he wouldn't let a little awkwardness get in the way of enjoying himself. For Kev'n, he always got along better with fighters rather than nobles. A few friendly spars sounded like a great idea, provided the Gerudo were friendly enough to allow an outsider to participate in their training. His guide, though far from polite, did not seem to resent him for coming to their home, and he hoped the others were the same way. A young woman perhaps about his age approached him with nervous excitement. From what he could see was that her smile was as bright as the sun and her green eyes sparkled like rupees.
"Hello,"
"Oh, uh, hello." he was caught off-guard by the politeness in her voice. Blackjack turned towards her and nuzzled his head against her shoulder, "Oh, sorry about him, You seem to already get on his good side." Kev'n joked. Letting out a small giggle, the girl started petting Blackjack's muzzle, then girl turned to Kev'n and asked a surprising question.
"Are you a prince?" Caught off-guard again, he stuttered.
"Uh... n-no. I-I'm just a diplomat from Hyrule."
"You don't look like a diplomat. Diplomats are weak. You're obviously look strong, so you must have some important position. If not a prince, are you the king?" His guide stopped and turned towards the girl.
"Givura, that's enough," Samiyah interrupted harshly. "He already told you what he is. Let's not make our relations with the Hylians any worse than they already are." Her eyes widened and she squeaked out an apology, running away immediately.
"No, wait, it's... alright" Kev'n finished too late. She seemed nice: open and honest, unlike all the conniving and empty talk he was used to hearing in the court. And it was nice to be acknowledged for his strength for once. He had definitely made the right decision coming here.
But he could not ignore the whispers. Turning to Samiyah, he was reminded that the Gerudo did not have pointed ears, and since they were likely as ignorant of Hylians as Hylians were ignorant of them, they probably didn't know that his pointed ears gave him better hearing than theirs. Again the word "Oni" drifted to him over the wind, this time whispered by multiple people, and he pretended to focus only on the path ahead.
Kev'n's instincts were never wrong. They had saved him countless time, and presently he sensed that something was not as it should have been. He didn't know whether that was good or bad, but he kept his guard up. He had to be ready, no matter what happened.
Hope you guys enjoy the re-edited story so far. I plan to adjust the course a little of how things are built up, as well as some minor dialogue and grammar alterations. Any positive criticism is appreciated.
