Chapter Two: Uncertainty Principle
~~~A cool evening breeze flowed through the wide expanses of the Battle Yard of the Castle. The sun seemed to stand on the ramparts of the Castle as it emitted a gold and orange array of light. A young man wearing a gray tunic that draped to his knees and black, worn leather boots stepped along the cobblestone walkway of the Battle Yard, making his way inward towards the main body of the Castle. Dried sweat and mud stained his attire and his face, diminishing his would-be appealing countenance. He was among the soldiers of the Castle Guard, training along with them. He along with the soldiers of Castle Guard was leaving the Battle Yard to either return home for the evening or to take up their post at some other location around the Castle or in Castle Town.
Lately, he had begun to notice a certain feeling of disquiet among the soldiers. He couldn't quite pinpoint the reason or when it actually started, but the tension was there. Nevertheless, he shook away the thought, dismissing it as nothing more than his own paranoia.
He entered the Castle's West Wing and navigated through the extravagant halls, lined with display suits of armor, shinned marble tiles, and chandeliers made of glass and gold. Various people, from servants to guards, nobles to civilians, walked the halls along with him. According to what he had read and heard, before the current King and Queen, average citizens were not allowed to go to and from the Castle unless appointed to do so. Now, the people were allowed to visit the Castle, rather it was for the sake of visiting, or seeking out the attention of the King. Though he believed that it was great to give the people a more personal look at the Royal Family, he felt that it would breed disrespect on the behalf of the people. They would see this brand of kindness as a weakness and try to take advantage of it. The General also seemed to feel this way, from the conversations he has had with him.
He made a turn at a junction in the hallway and went inward to the main body of the Castle. The chandeliers were already being lit by the servants; a host of them were making their way down the hall with long poles that held a small fire at the ends of them, lighting the wicks of the many candles that made up the chandeliers.
"I'm going to be late if I don't hurry…" he muttered to himself as he picked up the pace of his walk.
At last, after climbing many staircases and venturing down extensive halls, he made it to the Dinning Room of the Royal Family. He looked down at his clothes to see if they were in order, but he frowned slightly at the realization that he hadn't cleaned up since he left the Battle Yard. He wanted to use this as an excuse not to go to the dinner, but with the Dukes also attending, he wouldn't be able to do so without serious chastisement from the King and the Queen. He sighed and approached the door. The two guards posted at the door gave him a quick look and nodded, standing at attention. He waved his hand to them to relieve them and then he twisted the doorknob and went in.
Inside the room, there was a long table with a white table covering and many dishes of food spanning the table's length. He saw the King and the Queen at the middle of the table with the three Dukes directly opposite to them.
"Good evening, everyone. Forgive my appearance. I had just left my training before coming here," he greeted them, slightly bowing his head in an apologetic manner.
Duke Gregora gave a slightly taken aback look at him. "Have you been working hard, Prince Nohansen?"
Nohansen gave a bashful smile as he made his way to King Link's left. "Yes, Great Uncle. The General's been working me harder than ever, since I'm getting to be the age of a soldier." He took his seat beside his father as he finished.
Duke Gregora chuckled slightly. "Please, Your Highness, don't refer to me like that. You make me feel older than I am!"
"Just as long as you don't refer to me as 'Prince Nohansen'," Nohansen answered him with a playful look.
Queen Zelda looked over to Nohansen with a stern look. "Nohansen, you should have at least let the General know of our dinner so that you could have cleaned up."
"The thought slipped my mind. I'm sorry," Nohansen explained, hoping to dismiss any more conversation about his countenance.
"Do not worry, cousin, it is quite fine. I think it's good that the boy is working so hard to be a fine commander," Duke Aloiso assured Queen Zelda.
"Now that my son has arrived," started King Link, "Let us begin our meal."
As soon as he said that, the servants that were standing by around the room moved to the table and began serving the food on the table to them on their plates, starting with the main dish, a baked Cucco.
"How has Agri Village been?" asked Queen Zelda, in an effort to start conversation.
"The agriculture has been flourishing this year. Despite the bitter winter we had, the plenteous amount of rain we've been getting over the spring has proven to be a blessing for the farmers," answered Duke Gregora as he took his first few chews of the white, tender Cucco meat.
"And Lon-Lon Village is doing quite well with its Cows and Cucco," started Antoni as he sat down his goblet of milk, "Our trade with Kakariko Village is also robust too, despite their usual reclusion from the rest of Hyrule."
"I've also heard similar things from Kakariko's Village Chief about the good trade between them and Lon-Lon," King Link added. Suddenly, he looked up from his plate as his memory was jogged. "Oh, how is your family, Aloiso?"
Duke Aloiso sat his silverware aside. "They are all as lively as ever," he answered with a smile, "My two little girls are getting to that age of curiosity. Now they want to get into everything, so that makes the wife's job a little harder."
Duke Antoni sighed in a pronounced manner. "Your life would be much easier if you remained a bachelor; All the pleasures of marriage without any of the commitment." He glanced over to King Link. "Not to offend you, my cousin, but that's just my preference."
"Bah, listen to this fool," Duke Aloiso remarked in jest, "Nohansen, don't you grow up to be like him. Find yourself a wife and live a nice and steady life."
"Well, I do hope that we figure out where these rumors are coming from though, about this supposed uprising," Duke Gregora said, suddenly changing the topic.
Nohansen sat up straighter in his seat, intrigued by this topic.
"Yes," Duke Antoni added, "It is rather disturbing that someone would want to ruin this long peace that we've enjoyed."
Someone was planning an uprising? This was news to Nohansen.
"Now I know that this information is worrisome, but let's not talk about politics during dinner," King Link concluded the topic, sounding a little disdain about the topic.
Nohansen's eyes slightly fell at the early ending to that interesting bit of conversation. Even though it was none of his business, he always longed to have some sort of involvement in foiling a political plot of some kind or at least being able to see how it played out. Disappointed, he continued to eat his meal in silence as he listened to the generic chatter that they exchanged once more.
Moonlight, filtered by the glass of a nearby window, fell softly on Nohansen's face as he lay in his bed, restless. For awhile, he had been making attempts to fall asleep once more, but he was unable to do so. He was trying to gaze at the half moon, hoping to find rest within its incomplete shape, but foreboding thoughts continued to creep into his mind. He noticed that his father seemed quiet and intense in front of the Dukes at the dinner. In addition to that was the fact that they brought up talk of a rumored uprising. He thought that perhaps the uneasiness of the soldiers recently may be related to this also.
Something was going on, but he had no idea what. Frustrated, Nohansen got up from his bed and slipped on his night shoes, preparing to go for a walk. He needed to settle himself, and lying in a bed wasn't helping him. He opened the door of his bed room and quietly made his way out of King's Tower, where he and his parents lived. On his way out, he had to dismiss the guards posted at the tower's entrance.
The halls of the main Castle were overtaken with a sense of apprehension. The torches that lined the walls of the hall were barely enough to fend off the overcoming darkness. The vacant shells of armor that stood silently along the hall served to further stigmatize Nohansen's view of the atmosphere. He had heard terrifying stories from the General about an insane man that once ravaged through these halls in a murderous rage. According to him, it was the most horrifying moment in his life. Nohansen found it frightening that such an event took place within this very place. It was almost as unbelievable as the fact that a battle once took place on the grounds of the Castle too.
As he walked, he caught the sound of voices echoing not to far ahead of him. Their source seemed to be around a corner at the junction ahead of him. He cautiously approached the intersection of the hallway, quieting his footsteps as he went. The voices were becoming clearer as he drew nearer. He looked around for what he could hide in to avoid detection and found a table with a table cloth draping down nearly to the floor on it. He quickly crawled under the table and listened.
"Tomorrow?" a weathered and grizzly voice asked.
Nohansen recognized the voice almost at once: the General.
"Yes. Now, while we're in the Castle, is the best opportunity we'll get for another few months, if that," another voice responded.
Nohansen figured the voice to be that of Duke Gregora.
"Are you sure about doing it so soon, though? My soldiers are ready, but we can't wait another day?" the General petitioned, sounding unwilling to carryout whatever the object of their discussion was.
"In order to take the Throne by surprise, we must strike fast and hard. We can't allow another day for them to potentially discover what we're up to," a new voice added.
This voice was apparently Duke Aloiso. If those two were there, then Duke Antoni was also there.
"Exactly," another voice said; Duke Antoni's, "Don't forget that that Sheikah mongrel was present at the meeting earlier today. I live near their home village, so I know better than anyone about their ability to see the unseen; and even into our minds. He's bound to have uncovered a little bit of our plot already. If we wait another day and allow another meeting to pass, they'll know for sure."
"Hmm… You're right," agreed the General, "I've worked with that man for many years, so I know that he knows enough to incriminate us already." Footsteps sounded, moving toward the junction. "I'll prepare the Knights and soldiers who are with me to initiate tomorrow."
From his view under the draped table cloth, Nohansen caught sight of the General's brown boots as he crossed into view.
"There can be no mistakes," Duke Gregora called to the General, "Make sure that you've reconciled fully with this before time."
The General made a turn and continued down the hall, appearing not to be affected by Duke Gregora's parting words. The footsteps of the Dukes all began at once after a few moments. They passed into view as they made a turn in the direction that Nohansen had just walked from. After walking down the way for a bit, they began speaking to each other again, but their words were too soft to hear. Nohansen would have to wait a while before he returned to his room again, since he would have to walk in the same direction as them to make it back.
He felt jagged chills sting his spine as he attempted to process in his mind what he had just witnessed. This is the apparent rumor of the uprising: the Dukes were planning to usurp the Throne. What shook him to his core was that the General, the man he looked up to – the man he trusted – was involved in this plot. How could he betray his father so easily, so coldly? It all made sense to him now, though: the reason why his father seemed rigid at the dinner and the disquiet of the soldiers. The question on his mind now was if whether he had time to warn his father before it was too late. But the fact that the General suggested that he already had soldiers and Knights on board with the plan was also worrisome. How much influence had they gained at this point?
Nohansen crawled from under the table and stood up. He looked around quickly to ensure that neither the General nor the Dukes were in sight before he walked back to the tower.