Thanks to Waffleface, James, SweetestChick and Lilac Gemani for reviewing. And thanks everyone for their patience.
Chapter 4: Misgivings
The day was overcast as most days were in these times. The dark clouds of Twilight shaded their world in greys and he found them wholesomely unappealing.
Around him lord Leon Raleigh could hear the constant scratch of pens on paper as his fellow council members worked to pass the time. With nothing better to do and at a standstill with all their planning, they determined to get enough work out of the way so that it didn't look suspicious when they eventually did put their plans to action. Only the frustrated grunts of commander Shira and the lengthy sighs of lord Arlen interfered with the overall silence.
Eventually, it became too much.
"Argh, I can't take this!"
A pen was flung across the room and all stares drew to lady Malic, surprised at her uncharacteristic and astonishing outburst. The normally level-headed woman met them with a defensive glare.
"What? I'm going stir crazy!"
Lord Dukart released a sigh. "I as well. It seems like it's been forever since I've gone out in my carriage. And it seems even longer since I've had a proper, hearty meal."
"Trust me, my Lord, you can do without those hearty meals," said lord Draven, as he stared at his work, penning yet another signature on his document - one of a million he'd signed within the last few weeks.
Before lord Dukart could express his indignation, commander Shira spoke up. "And it looks as if the rest of us could do with. I've become weak with the lack of nutrients. I doubt I'd be able to last a full thirty minutes on the battlefield."
"Is this what he intends to do then?" asked lord Arlen spitefully. "Wear us down. Weaken us until we have no strength to stand against him. Puppets to flip over at his every whim?"
"At least the soldiers can seek fulfilling meals elsewhere," said commander Shira. "I've seen them come in and out of Castle Town. But then why are the citizens so unconcerned? Shouldn't they have told the people about what is going on? Unless…"
Lord Raleigh stroked his black beard. It had grown longer during his time locked away, and he didn't really think the usurper would be kind enough to allow him a good shave. He didn't like it long. "Think, would you? You're the top strategist. What would you do if your positions were reversed?"
The commander nodded. "I see what you mean. There's a number of things that would still their tongues. Blackmail is at the forefront of my mind. He could be holding family members as insurance. He'd also integrate some of his own people into their ranks to act as spies. His power might be such that he could easily cast an illusion over them so that they appear just as regular Hylians."
"How frightful," said lord Dukart, his lips thinned with distress. "Imagine not being able to trust a fellow Hylian for fear that he or she's some monster in disguise."
Another thing was that they could be brainwashed, but lord Raleigh thought best not to mention it. He didn't want to fill their hearts with more unrest than they already were at present. Heaven help him if they knew his other thought, that some of the soldiers willingly switched sides. He wouldn't be surprised. Hylians were a decent sort for the most part, compared to the many other races that is. They took their worship of the Goddesses seriously, avoiding anything blasphemous or that would conjure the Goddesses' wrath. But they were also easily corrupted. Take the princess' grandfather for instance, a cruel and harsh man. It was a wonder the princess turned out the way she did with only her grandfather to raise her. But no matter how cruel and harsh he may have been, he had been great, as well as wise, none could deny that.
So yes, it was fathomable that many of the soldiers sought privileges among the usurper's ranks, although what those privileges were he could only guess.
"If only we had just one person on the outside who we could confer with," said the lady Malic in frustration. "I absolutely hate being ignorant."
"I'm more concerned about starting a rebellion," said lord Arlen. "If we build one up now we'd have people to safeguard the princess after her rescue. Then we could move in to attack."
"But how to reach her, that is the question. We've come up with nothing so far," hissed commander Shira. "No plausible ideas, nothing we can utilize. We have little to work with here."
"Perhaps a distraction," input lord Dukart. "Something to lure those dastardly Nut beings away."
"Darknuts, they're darknuts," shot lord Arlen. "At least know the monsters that you are up against. They wield huge blades and shields that they can pummel you with in one blow. They're covered with armor and because of that they're slow. But once their armor is removed you'd better be prepared to keep on your toes, because they'll run after you like the weak prey you are."
"Gone up against many of those in your lifetime, I see," said lord Dukart absently, leaning his chin on his folded hands.
"No, I read," sneered the young lord. "I went to Hyrule Academy, where do you think I got all my smarts?"
"Yes, too bad you could not retain any," said lord Draven blithely. "As I remember, the information went in one ear then out the other. Rather flighty of it, I imagine you have a hard time with the simple task of merely remembering your name."
This happened at least once every week where lord Arlen would lose his temper because of something lord Draven said. As presumed, lord Arlen shot to his feet, brimming with fury.
"You're treading on thin ice, Simon," he said in a warning tone, teeth clenched.
Lord Draven smiled. "Oh, am I?"
Lord Raleigh coughed abruptly. "Don't provoke him, lord Draven." He stared down at lord Arlen until he took his seat, huffing as he set to work once more.
For a while they all read and wrote and signed away quietly. Lady Malic stood after a full ten minutes of not being able to bear the stillness and walked towards the window, a common spot for any of them when they felt the need to take their minds away from their situation.
Suddenly lady Malic gasped.
"My Goddesses!"
When lady Malic did not elaborate they all became curious. She was staring out the window, eyes narrowed and speechless with… anger? Horror? Disgust?
"Well, what is it?" asked lord Arlen impatiently.
Lady Malic grasped for words. "That's – that's deplorable! Unjust! Simply abominable!"
Growing somewhat irritated that she could not just tell them forthright, lord Raleigh pushed his chair back and walked up to see what had her so upset. He looked out the window in the direction that lady Malic's gaze was fixed and didn't see anything wrong… at least at first. After a few more seconds of scrutiny, his eyes caught sight of what had drawn her outraged expression.
His heart filled with similar feelings of shock. What atrociousness was this?
"Egad!" cried lord Dukart, who had come up behind them.
That exclamation had the rest of them running forward to see what all the fuss was about.
"Dear Farore!"
"What sickening display is this?"
For there down by the battlements, strung up by her wrists to one of the poles meant to bear the royal banners that was sticking out of the stone walls, with heavy iron balls dangling by chains from her feet, a young girl hung with her head down, hair falling over her face.
Four twilight beasts patrolled the area directly below her and the area above was sanctioned off by a pair of bulblin bowmen. Soldiers and many of the servants were scattered around to witness the display, but none dared object to the cruelty of the hanging, they knew that they'd only make it worse.
One woman charged forward, screaming before a twilight beast reared up and she was tugged back by two other women who covered her mouth and embraced her closely, anything to keep her quiet. She struggled for a bit before hushing then weeping freely as she looked up at the young girl.
Lord Raleigh marveled with disgust. She was placed so that while everyone within the walls could see her, none outside could, not even those standing close to the gates.
"I knew it," hissed lord Arlen. "He plans on making examples of us and doing away with us one by one."
"The first part you have correct, but I do not simply plan to kill you all, oh no."
The shrill voice reverberated against their eardrums like a brutal falsetto. Commander Shira swerved around defensively, while the others turned with more trepidation or bristling with anger. Lord Raleigh faced the usurper slowly, with narrowed eyes.
The usurper still wore those same robes and headdress that he had donned when he'd first brought them to him. He stood on the table and paced down it with long strides, his cloth covered hands swaying, the ribbons at the sleeves fluttering.
Lord Raleigh didn't have to look at the others to know that they were all thinking the same thing. This was the first time that Zant had visited them, and they feared for the purpose of such an appointment. Did he know of their plans? Did he have a hidden spy within the room that they'd overlooked?
Why else then would he be stalking towards them like a threatening menace?
"Enjoying the view? Have you seen the new décor on the battlements? Adds a sort of appeal to the tame scenery."
Lady Malic stepped forward, hands fisted. "You filthy stinking evil little boar-faced swine! Who do you think you are? How dare you treat our people like that?!"
Before any of them could stop her, she had swung a hand around and aimed a ball of electric power at Zant. The usurper casually raised his hand, forming a dark static ball of his own, which met with lady Malic's and consumed it before dissipating.
"Such rude guests I have!"
"Guests!" shot lord Arlen, not content to remain in the background doing nothing. "We belong here! This is our home you have overtaken!"
"Yes," mused Zant. "And what is that marvelous Hylian proverb? To the victor goes the spoils? I think that applies here quite nicely. You should all accept your fate. It is futile to resist."
"What foul goal compelled you to do this to that girl?" said lord Raleigh, much more calmly than he felt at the moment.
Zant chuckled. "Oh, poor Lilly? I'm pleased you asked. As I said, your first assumption was correct. She is being made to provide an example to the rest of you mangy little Hylians. But do not worry, I'll have her taken down… eventually that is."
Lord Arlen snarled. "Why you-"
"She has broken a law and that merited her punishment. She had been caught wandering around at night. Didn't I explicitly say that none are permitted to leave their quarters come nightfall? You see, I'm fair, I'm just. Lawbreakers deserve punishment, do they not?"
"So you chose this? For something so small, you chose this as a fitting punishment?" shot commander Shira.
Lord Raleigh felt an icy shiver down his spine as Zant laughed outright and so pleased was the sound that it sickened him. Zant shook his head as his laughter subsided.
"That is where the best part is," he laughed. "I did not choose her punishment. No. It was your beloved princess who picked it, right out of that old book of Sheikah tortures."
His heart clenched at the mention of their princess. There was no way that her name should have been placed in that last sentence. It simply did not suit her.
Lord Arlen spluttered. "You – you fiend! You lie!"
"Denial is the first step to loss and grief," said Zant with a tone of immense pleasure. "Perhaps your princess is not as noble as you would have her? Does it infuriate you that her innocent character may have all been a ploy? Even as we speak the darkness slowly consumes her. She becomes like her grandfather more every day. Oh yes, I've heard of him. An admirable man whose name goes unsung. I'm afraid that your kind and peaceful little princess is dead. Grieve all you want, but it is the truth."
"You bastard! Where is she?!"
It took both lord Raleigh and commander Shira to prevent lord Arlen from leaping at the usurper, although the commander looked as if she'd loved to help him with tearing Zant apart. Rationality and the thought of their carefully laid out plans were the only things stopping them from doing so.
Zant lifted off of the table and hovered backwards, alighting before the door.
"Careful, Vance," he chortled amusedly. "Wouldn't want me to have to make an example of you as well. I can assure you, I would not be as lenient with you as I am with the servants. Remember? Your cohorts have already learned their lesson. They're regretting their foolhardy actions in the afterlife."
Lord Arlen stopped struggling and took to glaring as deadly as he could at the usurper.
"Do keep up the good work, will you?" Zant said as a parting word before fazing out of existence in a cascade of black matter.
The room became still. They waited as if at any moment Zant might pop back in. Lord Raleigh heaved a great sigh as five minutes passed and nothing happened. Commander Shira grumbled then hit the idiot young lord on the back of his head.
"Great Din! What was that for," he spat savagely.
This earned him another whack on the head. "Stop being such an imbecile! Your impulsive actions could have cost you your life! The only reason he spared you was because you are of use to him, and he can't risk losing any more of us. What were you thinking? That you had a chance against him? Against a sorcerer? You know no magic. And you, lady Malic, you attacked him!"
Lady Malic frowned. "He let it go…"
"For the same reason as this cretin! He may not find your attitudes so tolerable later on. Do you really want to end up like – like them!" She jabbed a finger at the mahogany table. Eight chairs stood, four on either side, and although all were currently empty, two seemed unnaturally so. Just like their monarch's seat, these two bore an empty void over them that went unfilled.
None of them would say their names aloud. It was still too recent, too painful. Lord Isaac Giles and lady Elva Madore had been the first and last to outright oppose their self-designated new King. They'd been disposed of without a thought, their remains ordered to be left where they were in the corridor where they'd been killed, denied the right to a proper burial or even cremation. Everyone went to great lengths to avoid that corridor now. At the very least the smell would be enough to turn anyone away.
They all felt a profound loss for their fellow council members.
"That adulterated misbegotten filth knows my name," gritted lord Arlen infused with anger.
Lord Dukart went over to pat his shoulder. "There there. He seems to know many things. It's obvious he's been doing his research. Know thy enemy, and all that. Perhaps he's been preoccupied with immersing himself in books."
"Which only makes him more dangerous to us," said lady Malic.
"You don't…" lord Arlen exhaled sharply and started again. "You don't think that Zelda really would… you know… order something like that, do you?"
"Could she really become like her grandfather?" muttered lady Malic quietly.
This greatly angered Lord Raleigh. Where was their sense of pride? Where was their faith in their princess?
"Of course not! You shouldn't even entertain such thoughts, especially you lord Arlen, who boasts that you know her highness the best out of all of us!" he spat sharply.
Lord Arlen seethed, his confidence renewed. "No, she wouldn't! I know that she'd take all the pain in the world if she could spare another."
"The enemy is full of trickery, you let him play mind games with you," commander Shira chastised as if he were a new recruit who didn't yet know the ropes. "Never should you take an enemy's word at face value. He will lie and he will deceive in order to get his way. He will cause doubt to fester and pit you against your comrades. You'll be falling right into his hands."
"The commander's right," said lord Dukart, who considered himself an experienced veteran, having once long ago been a soldier before he'd quickly taken on different more leisurely interests better suited to him. "For all we know he wants us all to turn on the princess and come to doubt her. Can you call yourself a good friend if you do not fully place your loyalty in your liege?"
"Stop questioning me! I understand it now! I know better! Don't have to bloody rub it in," lord Arlen snarled.
"But it does make one fearful, doesn't it?" a low voice spoke out. Lord Simon Draven had taken his seat and thought with a finger to his chin as he angled his head to gaze out the window. He tapped his finger and with each tap his pointed ears seemed to flick in sync. "Makes you wonder what could be happening to her highness? I doubt our deadly usurper would leave her well enough alone. What if he is… let us say… brainwashing her?"
Lord Raleigh sealed his eyes shut and pressed his forefinger and thumb to his forehead. That was one topic he wished to avoid. Their greatest fears manifested all at once. What power he could have with the princess as a puppet. He could easily win the people's devotion and slowly set himself up as the supreme ruler by making her abdicate the throne and pass it along to him.
"Not that I'm saying that's what he's doing, but he must have had some interaction with our dear ruler by now and I don't believe it be a mere social call. Tea and cake doesn't seem his thing."
"To taunt and flaunt, I wager," said lord Raleigh before any of them could input their more coarse ideas. They didn't need to be worrying about this. They had to keep their minds clear and focus on what they had to work with. They would breech that topic when the time comes.
The glance he exchanged with lord Draven spoke volumes of the younger lord's doubt, but he opted to keep tight-lipped.
Lord Raleigh was half-afraid of what state they'd find the princess in when they did retrieve her. But, he reasoned, any state would be better than finding her dead.
Zelda had not wanted to, but she made herself do this. She forced herself to peer out the window and witness the result of her trespass. It was as Zant had promised. From her tower she had the perfect view of Lilly's hanging down below. Zelda agonized over the state of her arms after so long a hanging and if she'd even survive it.
For a full hour she contrived to punish herself by watching the young girl before it became too much and she inevitably drew away.
Before her was a tub filled with steaming hot water that a Twili servant had brought in while she had otherwise been preoccupied. She didn't deserve any luxury. She had half a mind to wait until it cooled to spite herself but the tempting call of warmth and cleanliness proved too difficult to ignore.
Quickly she discarded her dress and undergarments, slipping into the warm tub with a sigh of pleasure.
Hygiene must have been important to Zant for he had a bath sent up to her exactly once every three days. It was less than the daily allowance she used to enjoy, but at least he hadn't denied her that along with everything else. It lacked her usual oils and hair ointments, she had to make due with only a bar of soap and a wash towel, but this was one comfort she wouldn't trade for any other.
She closed her eyes, basking in the warmth, determined to enjoy it as long as she could. She at once felt guilty. What right had she to allow herself such pleasures while Lilly was out there suffering? Truly she was a despicable person.
She washed herself quickly after that thought and got out, toweling herself dry and wringing her hair. She put on her slip and lay down on her bed, burying her face in the covers.
In a desperate urge for distraction, she sought out Link with the small bit of magic that she had. He was in Eldin as a wolf. He had just spoken to the Light Guardian Eldin and was now venturing to retrieve his light essence.
Feeling Link soothed her. She had not called on him in days and had not spoken to him since that time he'd defeated Diababa. She'd been too weak to do anything but brush against his spirit. He'd never noticed these little touches, and he'd been too busy heading towards his next destination to seek her out.
She felt him with her spirit until she was too tired to focus. She really shouldn't drain the last of her energy like this, she should be saving every drop of mana she could between instances where Zant would drain her, but she was never satisfied until she checked on Link and made sure that he was still safe. She felt his beating heart and took comfort in it. It beat more strongly than hers.
Her father was said to have been fragile and it had been a great relief when she had turned out as strong as she was, however at this moment she felt the fragility that her father must have experienced his entire life. It was the cause of his early death and the reason for being shunned by his own father in favor of his daughter. Her grandfather must have paid more attention to her in the short while that he'd known her than ever to his own son. Her father had died before he could even become king, now that reigning position fell to her, her grandfather having passed away six years ago.
Her grandfather had spent hours teaching her about politics, bringing her to meetings by as young as four years old that her father had been denied even at the age of twenty-seven. So many expectations had been placed on her young shoulders, so many statutes and regulations that she had to uphold.
She felt that she failed them both now. In her weakness she became what her grandfather had loathed above all and what her father had feared.
It wouldn't be the first time she had misgivings about herself.
