Chapter Three - Judgment
I had always hated riding in Hyrule Field. Its flat, spacious expanse seemed to rush out to infinity on all sides, leaving me exposed on every angle with nowhere to hide. It gave me more visibility as well, true, but the paranoia that came with it had me throwing my head around every which way and raising false alarms over a distant tree or jut of rock until even Epona looked like she wanted to slap me.
The Hidden Village where the Sheikah resided was a maze of crevices shoved away into the recesses of Death Mountain, the streets so narrow and the light so scarce it seemed even the sky had a hard time finding it. Of course, this was the idea – while the Sheikah were a band of deadly and cunning warriors, their numbers were so scarce that to be found meant certain extermination. And so, they slunk away to the shadows which became their birthright, away from the trees and the clouds and the sunlight the Hylians had claimed as their own.
It was in that cavernous labyrinth of stone and cold that I was raised, and it was there that I was returning.
I knew there was no longer a place for me there. There never really had been, actually – through the kindness and authority of Impa and Sheik, I, a nameless Hylian orphan, had been allowed to survive and grow among their people, but this acceptance had not spread to other members of the clan. A Hylian was a Hylian, and no amount of training or spiritual practice could change the color of my eyes or the tint of my blood.
And yet, I had no other place to go. I had no idea how ridiculously easy it would have been to join the mobs of people milling about Castle Town (there must have been 100 blonde boys my age there alone), and Malon's Ranch was about the last place on earth I wanted to be. All I knew was that there was a void somewhere in me, and every day I spent away from the straight-lined society I was so used to made it wider and more open and harder to know which way I should go. I needed someone to tell me what to do.
And I was risking death for it.
I could feel their eyes all around me. Jagged and whispered, they slunk along the sheer rock faces all along me, staying hidden in the ruby sunset laden mountains. Epona walked ahead with a staunch pride, but I could feel the same agitation and anxiety broiling within her bones as mine. When the sun's last hand receded from the crags and peaks, they would make their move. I had to try and make it to the village before then.
The first shy stars budded in the sky, and I breathed deeply, keeping my heartbeat steady and expression steadier. They would not descend into the valley as long as the sun still touched the land, I told myself. But I couldn't help but feel that they were getting closer. Navy swallowed ocher in the clouds above, and all of a sudden they were upon us.
The first stepped out of the shadows directly before us, and I thanked the Goddesses that Epona wasn't some stupidly skittish farm animal. Three more quickly followed from the remaining cardinal directions, leaving me surrounded on four sides. I remained perfectly still and ordained that Epona do the same, lest I give them an excuse to attack.
"Why have you returned, Hylian?" The one before me spoke slowly, lips solemnly confined behind the sneer of his cowl, though I still recognized him as Hatham, a Shadow of about my rank.
I half gulped and readied my voice to speak for the first time in weeks.
"I have returned to reaffirm my loyalty to the House of Sheik."
He considered me for hardly a moment, cinder eyes made brighter and almost hungry by the barely-lit horizon. "You'll find no further refuge here," he scowled.
I chanced a glance at the Shadows to my flanks, not daring to turn to face the one I knew was lurking behind me. I knew that making further comment would be an invitation for them to kill me.
"May I speak with Elder Impa?" My voice sounded flat and far off.
"We cannot allow you to go any nearer to the village. We have no way of knowing that you aren't being... followed." The statement was like a cold knife in my lungs. They thought I was a traitor. They thought I was trying to lead the Hylians into the village.
But how could they? I was sure they had been monitoring my every move – if I had so much opened my mouth to shoo a fly away, they would have known and acted on it.
And then it hit me. Regardless of if I had said anything, letting a Shadow go free was far too dangerous; I knew too much, and could put the entire clan – and race – in jeopardy. By all means, they should have come to either take me back or dispose of me right away. Sheik had held them off and tried to give me a chance to escape. A chance I had just pathetically wasted.
Hatham took a step forward. The others followed suit. I inhaled and fought to keep my eyes open.
"You realize we can't allow you to live any longer, don't you?"
I nodded.
"Draw your blade."
I shook my head.
Hatham took another step forward, though the other three stayed put. He glared briefly at them and then back at me, gritting his teeth. "Draw your blade."
Epona stomped at the ground and looked ready to charge at him, but I held her steady and gripped her reigns till my knuckles burnt white. My heart beat up into my throat and a sort of razor-sharp clarity pulsated through my vision, but I would not move. I would not become a traitor.
"Then you will die a coward." Hatham hissed and lunged.
"That's enough." The utter presence of command donned in that voice was enough to stop time in its tracks. Hatham looked as if the blood had frozen instantaneously in his veins, rendering him motionless, but very slowly he turned around and creaked into a bow.
Stepping out from the hushed blackness were Impa, head of the council of Elders, and Seif, chief in command of the Shadows. The other three Sheikah quickly fell to their knees, and I would have done the same if not mounted.
"Explain yourself," Impa shot at Hatham.
"Elder Impa," Hatham spoke clearly at the ground. "This Shadow has returned after an eleven day absence following his failure to complete a mission. As such, I believe he is-"
"Yes, I am aware of that." Impa's hardened ruby irises bored in on the back of his head. "Now please explain why you attacked an unarmed kinsman."
Hatham faltered following an almost seizure-like twitch in his emotions at the word "kinsman."
"Y-yes, Ma'am. By the decree of our law and the guidance of our mantras, any Sheikah who leaves without informing us of their whereabouts may be considered a threat to the Village's safety and must be killed."
"I am well aware of what the law states," Impa stated severely. "And if indeed his death is in the hands of fate, it shall be dealt out by a proper judgment and a proper execution. Seize his horse; he cannot walk." She turned lithely on her heel and stalked heatedly into the darkness.
Hatham looked like his chest was bursting with protests, but as if reading his mind Seif turned to him and with all of the precision of a hawk on the hunt, breathed "You will obey the Elders."
The three lower ranked Shadows quickly formed a triangle around Epona and started heaving her forward, and she neighed in fury and would have kicked them to the ground had I not nudged her ahead myself. She looked indignant and glared sidelong at the escorts as we paced through the increasingly narrow crags of the deep mountains, snorting and jerking away each time one brushed up against her.
It had been a long time since I'd seen Impa that angry. I'd grown accustomed to the glint in her eye that served as a warning, the slight flare of a nostril that told me I was way over my head in trouble. But seeing her snap like that was a hurricane in the usually static winds of her composure. Her peppery grey hair glinted brilliant white in the moonlight as she swam in and out of shadow ahead of us, pacing quickly and silently and not giving me so much as a backwards glance. The three escorts stared blankly ahead, and I could feel Hatham's eyes bore into me whenever he glanced back. Seif's ever watchful and calm gaze was like a cold breeze from behind.
I was being treated as a prisoner.
We came to a cliff side so sheer it almost looked to be a wall, and with a few hushed words and a trace of her fingertips across its smooth surface, Impa undid the illusion that cloaked the entrance to the Village. I had seen magic preformed many times and could handle some powerful offensive spells myself, but seeing the stone surface being eaten away by a churning hole of blackness like vines slithering out to form a doorway always made my blood coil.
One by one we entered the vortex, Seif staying behind to make sure I didn't try to escape – not that it would have been possible, anyway. A wet chill passed through me as I entered, and the air seemed that much colder and closer than ever before. Like I was drowning.
Impa had still not met my eyes.
We traversed the alleys in silence, and I knew right away we were going to the council room. I of course had known there would be a trial, but I had expected it nowhere near this suddenly, and this above all else made the fear settle frostily in my bones. I needed to talk to Sheik, or Impa – the only ones who would hear out my story and realize that every waking breath from my body was an apology and that I would rather die ten times over than disgrace and betray them.
"Keep him here," Impa ordered and disappeared behind the beaded tapestry that led to where the Elders conferred about and upheld the laws of our society. Now that she was gone, I was sure that room would be my death.
Seif nodded to Hatham and the others before swiftly following her. The lower-ranked Shadows stood starkly around Epona and maintained stony-faced vigilance, as they should have – but I could sense Hatham's irises smoldering behind me with a trace of indignation masked by a sort of wicked satisfaction.
After a few minutes two Holy Guards stepped out from behind the tapestry and fluidly swooped into the darkness. My heart swelled with warm relief. They were going to get Sheik.
Seif appeared from the council room and held Epona's reigns with enough force to keep her from rearing her head. Impa was nowhere to be seen.
"Dismount," he said in that quiet way of his that made you unsure exactly if it was an order or not but made you twice as likely to oblige. I struggled to get my still bound leg from the stirrup and clumsily fell to my feet, willing myself to neither blanch nor flush. Seif nodded solemnly to one of the Shadows and handed him the reigns, motioning the other two to accompany him. Epona's nostrils flared and she rose wildly on her hind legs, shocking the young Sheikah white and nearly catching him in the chest with her front hoof. The others drew daggers with blinding speed and I was surprised I shouted "Stop" quickly enough to make them hesitate by reflex. By the time they realized it was I who had uttered the command, Seif had his hands placed lightly over their weapons and had scooped them away from the madly flailing equine.
I knew I had made a dire mistake by shouting, but Seif just gazed calmly at me and said, "Calm her, please."
After a moment's startled hesitation I hobbled forward, placing my hand gently on the side of Epona's neck and guiding her to the ground. It took a few moments to get her to look me in the eye, and even then her deep sienna irises were filled with alarm and anxiety. I held her gaze until she stopped stomping in agitation before turning to Seif, but he answered before I could even open my mouth.
"We are merely taking her to the stables. We will not harm her." I half-nodded slowly and turned back to Epona, palming her muzzle and mouthing some reassurances under my breath. Most of them, including "I'll be fine," were lies and she knew it, but she begrudgingly allowed the three Shadows to lead her away.
"Wait here," Seif ordered Hatham and motioned for me to enter the council room. My stomach churned. I hobbled a step or two forward before catching a flicker or motion out of the corner of my eye.
Seif and Hatham fell to one knee within a heartbeat of Sheik's arrival. I choked down my urge to call out to him and instead practically threw myself to the ground, hoping the gesture would be an explanation in and of itself. His cool sanguine eyes passed over me like water, betraying not a flicker of emotion or even recognition. I knew right away that he understood. In less than an instant, he had disappeared beyond the blood red tapestry without a breath left behind.
I lurched my way to my feet, Seif already holding the thick fabric aside patiently to allow me to limp into the flame-lit passageway hidden within.
I had never been allowed in the council room before – ironically, the only ones who were were the Elders and Sheik - who our people viewed as holy - and the worst of criminals who came to have their fates decided and dealt. I had no doubt which category I was currently placed in.
There was another, larger tapestry a few feet before me, concealing what I took to be the council room itself, as well as two carved corridors that stretched out to darkness on either side. Seif took the right corridor solemnly and led me along for what felt like an eternity to my sore limbs and back before stopping beside a heavy metal door and stepping aside to let me in.
"You will wait here," he stated simply. I shrugged past and slouched into the darkness, feeling a final breath of cool air flit past me as the door passed shut.
The room was small and pitch black. I slid back against the dank wall, pressing my cheek flatly against the smooth marble surface and allowing the solid sensation to sweep through my body. No matter what kind of training I had gone through, riding a day straight on horseback with my sustained injuries was far from comfortable. My muscles seemed to sigh into the calm stone, sending throbs of ache and sparks of pain filtering down through its grainy granite and leaving my body light and almost void of feeling.
I waited.
Against all odds, I felt my eyelids beginning to droop and I had to jerk myself back to awareness. I hadn't even realized I was falling asleep. This kind of stony silence held in every inch of sheer darkness, the static air void as the deep breath before the plunge – it was exactly what I was used to. It had been so long since I had been in the presence of true emptiness. Cold and stark and unfitting as it was, it was what I knew. Returning to it was... comforting.
Still, I didn't forget what I was there for. The weight of my crimes lingered like an intangible blade against my mind. Impa... the one who had taken in and raised me, my teacher and guide, the reason I was alive at all... she hadn't even let me sully her peripheral vision. Really, I understood why; she couldn't let the slightest shred of affection slide by, lest her objective judgment be questioned and my fate left to the two remaining Elders. And yet the dull hurt in my chest was still there.
I had grown farther apart from her in recent years, once I began proving my qualities as a Shadow and told myself I didn't need her support to keep myself afloat any longer. Still, providing I was in the Village, hardly a day passed when I didn't receive at least a glance from her.
Sheik was a completely different story. I hardly got near enough to see him anymore, let alone speak to him. At times it was almost hard to believe we were allowed to be so close as children. But Impa had a way of getting what she wanted. As Sheik's Aunt, she was next-in-line to be his mentor when his Mother died giving birth, and had somehow managed to manipulate her high status and fearsome reputation to the extent of being allowed to not only raise a Hylian as a Sheikah, but train him side by side with the future ruler.
Impa was the farthest thing from motherly a woman could be. Stern and distant, she would ride on us for the most trivial errors and make us repeat drills tirelessly many times after we could complete them perfectly. Every day was an endless flood of exhaustion, both mental and physical, and sometimes she'd make us train through the night without so much as a bite to eat or a word spoken. But sometimes, at the end of the day, she'd give us a small smile and nod so full of pride it was like finding a rare gemstone gleaming under the grimy sands. Those little acknowledgments made it all worth while.
And through it all, Sheik and I were together. Through the grueling hot days and shiver silent nights, there was hardly a time he wasn't by my side. We didn't get to spend much time talking, but we had a sort of tacit understanding that we were both being kept isolated for exact polar reasons, but we had each other and that was all we needed.
All that changed when his Father was killed. Hardly fourteen at the time, he was thrust upon the role of overseer and protector of the whole of the Sheikah clan where his every waking move could rule the destiny of his entire race. His name became his title, as was tradition, and he was elevated to a level of reverence and near godliness I could never hope to reach. He was kept mainly in the sanctuary, making trips to the council room and war council flanked by two Holy Guards who would point a spear at you simply for sneezing within a 50 meter radius. And yet all it took was far-off eye contact every few months to know that no matter what the outside world had done to him, he was the same strangely shy and contemplative boy I had spent all those long hours with.
Caught up in my reverie, I had no idea how much time passed before a jolt through my senses told me the massive iron barrier was being pushed open.
I painfully remembered my injuries when I tried to shoot to my feet, instead stumbling harshly against the wall and faltering to the floor in the most un-Sheikah-like way imaginable. My eyes widened and I was glad my gaping mouth was hidden behind a mask as I crawled hastily to my feet, hardly believing what I was seeing. I had been prepared for anyone except the very subject of my thoughts.
Sheik glided in silently, nodding slightly to Seif, who was stationed imposingly outside the door and who at Sheik's command slid silkily out of sight.
My throat gave some sort of weak croaking sound as I steadied myself against the wall and every thought I had never gotten to tell him over the past four years came rushing forward at once until they were all a big jumble of nonsense that twisted and condensed into two simple words: I'm sorry.
"Link," he stated softly.
It had been so long since I'd heard my name.
His voice had gotten lower since I had last spoken to him, but it still had that feather-soft and withdrawn quality that perfectly matched his gently inquisitive eyes. He was everything that was expected of a Sheikah: the very definition of svelte, observant to even the smallest details, intelligent and quick-learning without ever opening his mouth to ask a question. And even when being open, utterly stoic.
I was torn between trying to abide by the laws of society and just wanting to talk to my childhood friend again. I settled by sort of hunching over and mumbling down towards the ground.
"S-Sheik, I – I should never have come back, I just... I didn't... I don't know why, but I just couldn't attack her, and then I fell out of the tower, and Epona – she brought me to that ranch, I didn't mean to, and I left as soon as I could, and I never said anything to the girl. I didn't think – I knew I broke the law, but I thought – I would never betray you, and even if I have to die... I never wanted to cause so much trouble for you!"
He patiently let me finish rambling before speaking.
"By decree, you should be executed. It's taken every measure of Impa and my power to spare your life." He let the depth of his words sink in before continuing. "...However, this is not without it's price. You are no longer a member of Sheikah society." Any warmth that had seeped into my heart instantly flooded out. "You are to be bound by a magical Oath of Silence and expelled from the village. What you do from there is up to you, but you may never return." His eyes never strayed from mine.
I stared at him in dumbfounded silence. The thought of being executed had hung heavily over my conscious, but returning only to be exiled was something I had dismissed as an impossible nightmare. And to have it stated so simply, especially by the one person who I thought could save me – he might as well have shoved a sword into my chest.
"Wh-what?"
"This is all I can do. The council is vehement already, and I cannot allow any more discontent to spread among the people... I'm overstepping the law as it is."
Suddenly, it was hard to imagine him as the person I had known so well. His features were all there, but for the briefest of moments, he wasn't. The shadow of his burden dulled over his eyes, his stature and mannerisms and voice weren't his but that of who he was made to be. A stone-faced leader. It was the first time in my life that I had not simply viewed him as Sheik, but as The Sheik.
"Is there... nothing I can do?" It was almost hard to breathe.
He considered me for a moment and then Shiek, the one I knew, was back. It was the strangest feeling, knowing it wasn't because of anything he had said or done but simply because my mind couldn't handle the thought that he – one of the two people in the world that I trusted – had uttered such words to me. Betrayal, even the slightest tint of it, is a funny feeling: it can instantly turn the deepest of loyalties to sheer abhorrence and make even the most beloved of one's angels into wretched demons. At least until the despair settles in.
"Perhaps... there could be a way."
"Tell me!" I instantly forgot all manner of respect and let my voice crack in desperation, recoiling within myself and mumbling yet another apology when I saw the slightest glint of shock in his eyes.
I thought he was going to take a small step backwards in his usual shy manner, but he stood his ground and let his head tilt forward, voice dropping even below his mellow pitch.
"Are you so sure you wish to return...?"
I almost didn't hear him. He was gazing sidelong at the wall, and for the first time he gave off an almost traceable spike of what I perhaps mistook as anger, though maybe it was closer to disapproval or even envy.
"Excuse me?"
"No, forgive me. It was nothing." He shook his head lightly and looked back into my eyes.
"So, what can I do? Please tell me – I don't care what it is." He sobered his gaze, but it did nothing to extinguish the fanatic flame of hope he had placed in me.
"If you were to complete your original mission – capture Princess Hyrule and bring her to us alive – I might be able to use her as leverage to grant you your previous status." The huge surge of relief that pulsed through me must have been made obvious on my face, for he raised his hand before I could express my utter gratitude. "This is no guarantee. The other Elders will not take to it kindly, as you have already failed once, and it will certainly be no hero's welcome. This mission is of the utmost importance, and as you must realize, your failure has made it all the more difficult by informing the Hylians of our intentions... As such, Seif himself is going to lead a small band of elite Shadows in hopes of capturing her as soon as things calm down. Possibly within four fortnights."
I exhaled slowly. It was not unusual for Seif to take on the most imperative and often secretive of missions, but for stability's sake he was never gone for more than a few days and left the deadlier tasks to Shadows of my rank. But this did not alarm me so much as that he was taking a squad – from the beginning, Sheikah of any stature are trained to rely on nothing but their own power and cunning, and for Shadows especially to work together was virtually unheard of.
Sheik peered into my eyes gravely, no longer searchingly but as if warning me to hurry. "If you have any hope of re-acceptance, you must capture her before they do. Otherwise... there is nothing further I can do for you, Link."
Hearing my name again seemed to bring me back down to reality. The blazing inferno of renewed hope Sheik had brought me diminished to what it should have been: the tiniest flicker of a rapidly shrinking candle.
The task at hand was virtually impossible. Not only did I still have but a fraction of my usual fighting power, but the Royal Guard would be on the look out for the slightest hint of trouble. Even if I had the time to fully recover, reaching her before Seif would be like outrunning a horse. It was a fool's hope... but that was all I needed.
Sheik looked almost surprised to see the bright glint in my eyes – the glint of fiery determination that would come to cast me as a hero that never gives up in the eyes of some and a stubborn mule in the eyes of others (read: Malon). As long as I had something to cling to, no matter how improbable, I could move on.
"Thank you... Sheik." I chanced his name and got a timid nod, like a wisp of light in the dark room.
"I must be getting back to the Council. Impa will come later to preform your Oath of Silence. Goodbye." He put no implication on the word like he believed it was the last time he would utter it to me.
The final flicker of hope seemed to waver pitifully into dust-colored smoke the instant the door closed behind him. But I held on, kindling it far within me so at least the ashes would always remain.
I withheld my farewell.
-A/N: Sudden saves, flashbacks, plot devices, HORSE ANGST, BLAZING INFERNOS OF HOPE~~ etc. etc. etc. It will start getting to the main plot soon I promise OTL
Reviews are much appreciated! :D
