Love of the Daughter
Chapter 4
Midna was awoken in a start. The tavern shook and a glass rolled off of her night stand, shattering on the floor. Midna's heart raced, she looked over to see her brother, but he wasn't in bed, in fact, he wasn't even in the room.
Midna stumbled over her bed, her legs still weak from sleep as she hurried to stand. She could hear shouting outside. There was a loud whistling sound and Midna ran to her window and looked down. She felt gripping nausea hit her as she witnessed a young woman being gutted, her entrails and blood stained the street. Midna covered her mouth, her stomach heaved. The soldier who had done the act was unfamiliar; his armor red and golden, a plum of green bristles ran down in rows on his helmet. The whistling got much louder and Midna watched in terror as a large flaming projectile tore through the roof of the house next to her, steaming in the still pouring rain as it flung flaming wood and brick everywhere. The tremor shook Midna's from her grip on the window sill. People were scattering below her as they poured out from inside the building, screaming. Midna closed her eyes as she saw more foreign soldiers running forward, someone screamed as a sword was plunged into their chest. She realized she was shaking and her heart was thumping painfully against her chest, Midna turned away from the window.
"Rykan!" Midna shrieked as she ran towards the door. It burst opened to reveal Telma, looking spooked and serious.
"Your brother's fine." Telma said as she hurried into the room. "Get your stuff missy, I'm having a few friends get you kids out of here!"
"What's going on?" Midna said, tears brimming in her eyes.
"We're being invaded. The Lantharian army is already here."
Midna felt her knees almost give out in fear. She could die, she could easily by dead in a few moments if she continued to stay here. "Where's Rykan?" Midna choked, gripping for the wall. Telma turned towards her, her saddle bags on hand. She grabbed Midna's wrist firmly and pulled her through the door.
"Rykan!" Midna screamed.
"I'm here!" Rykan shouted. Midna's head shot behind her as Rykan was running down the hallway. She was too overjoyed to see him that she stumbled and gripped him in a one armed hug. His small, lanky, thirteen year old frame was fitted with a strange outfit; armor. He had a short sword strapped to one hip.
"Thank Din!" Midna said, visibly relaxing. There was another loud crash and the bar shook violently, sending everyone against the walls or floor. Midna clutched her arm, and noticed it was bruising, but she managed to stand up; helping her brother to his feet. He spit a wad of blood from his mouth and wiped his lip..
There was a rough tug on Midna's arm as Telma dragged both of them towards the stairs in a brisk walk. Midna heard screams outside and felt herself almost freeze. She gripped Rykan's wrist tightly and felt him grip her back. Telma paraded quickly down the stairs and Midna noticed that the bar was strangely empty. She also noticed that a great number of pieces of furniture were stacked up against the bar door. Midna heard a loud pounding beyond the door and the shouting of men's voices. She didn't recognize the language, but it made her jump.
"Thanial! Khir!" Telma said loudly. Midna's head whipped around, recognizing the names. Two men she hadn't noticed were standing in the middle of the room. One of them, Midna recognized as the young man who'd eyed her last night. He couldn't have been older then seventeen. He saluted Telma as he sat there at attention. The man beside her was very tall, large and had a great long beard of fiery red hair. His eyes were deep set and dark brown and he seemed to naturally wear a very severe expression. There was a long scar that traced from his forehead down one cheek.
"Ma'am?" The older one said.
Telma turned towards him. "Khir, these children are Master Link's, and you need to get them out of the city. Please!"
"Our orders were to stay and guard your establishment. I'm afraid..."
"I'm giving you orders to get the hell out of here and protect these children! These are the Hero's children! Do you want to be responsible in explaining to him when he returns that his kids are dead?" Telma shouted, stamping one foot. Khir and Thanial flinched visibly.
Midna noticed that there were about five other soldiers that were packing things up behind them. They all stopped briefly to watch the scene. She noticed Thanial looking at her, he looked confused.
Thanial's eyes flicked away from Midna and he frowned, raising his head slightly. "We'll do it!" Khir turned to look at him in distress as he spoke, then turned to look at Midna and Rykan. His gaze softened and he sighed.
"Yes... fine." Khir said.
Before Midna could stabilize herself, Telma's rough hands pushed Rykan towards them. She then grabbed Midna's wrist and twirled her to look Telma in the eye. "Midna, your father told me to give this to you if he was ever missing for more then four days..." Telma's eyes were so intense and steely that is scared her. Midna saw her dig one hand into her pocket and pull out a small satchel, and rest it in Midna's hand.
"Telma, what's going to happen to you?" Midna said, her shaking fingers closing around the satchel. Telma smiled faintly, and then wrapped Midna into a tight hug.
"Child, I'll be fine. Don't worry your pretty head over me." She let Midna go and then shoved her towards Thanial, who caught one of her arms and steadied her before she could fall down.
"Take them through the sewer, I had one of the Gorons take your horse to a safe spot outside the city. Get them as far away from here as possible." Telma ordered as she walked behind her bar. Telma returned with a large crossbow, and slid an arrow into in. There was another loud pound at the door and the tavern shook.
Telma turned towards them as everyone stared. "Get out of here!" Telma screamed, pounding one of her fists against the bar. Midna was tugged painfully around and walked towards the end of the bar and through a small veil of curtains. She glanced over her shoulder and saw that Telma and a large Goron, who had appeared at the stairs were gearing themselves up. The Goron wore armored plates across it's body and head, and had a pair of spiked knuckles. He pounded his fists together and grunted. Telma cocked her crossbow and aimed towards the door. Midna felt her body go cold as she realized she might never see them again.
Midna was shoved forward through a narrow entrance that had opened up by one of the tables. She looked to see Thanial behind her, he was focusing straight forward and looking scared and serious. Midna focused her attention in front as they were enveloped by quiet. Khir lit a torch as they walked. No one said anything, and time passed.
Soon Midna could feel cold water around her ankles and shuddered, looking down into the dark water, she wished she was home. Rykan was in front of her, one hand was resting on his sword and the other ran along the wall; feeling the cold stacked stone. Midna flinched again as the passage shook from an impact above them, she could barely make out a few voices. Someone above them on the road was screaming. A tendril of dust was shaken from one of the walls and Midna blinked, wiping it from her face and eyes.
Midna felt Thanial's hand grasp her shoulder and push her forward gently. She tensed at his foreign grip and shouldered off his hand; continuing to walk, this time a little faster. Khir turned to look at Thanial, his face was darkened in anger.
"I can't believe we're fleeing the city... when the Queen needs us the most." His voice was throaty, venomous. Thanial gave a low grunt, continuing his walk.
"Shut up and keep walking." Thanial growled.
Khir turned and did as instructed. Midna felt that weird, cold chill come over her again. She turned curiously to look at Thanial. He was looking down at her with a cold expression, and smiled a little, but there was something strange about his look. "We'll protect you, I promise." He said, showing perfect teeth. Midna frowned and turned away, some how is didn't comfort her when he said it, and she didn't know why.
-----
As they walked the sounds above them became fainter. Midna was holding one of Rykan's hands, and Rykan had taken out his sword into the other hand. The passage suddenly widened and dipped into a larger sewer system. Midna felt her chest tighten. There were a few lit torches down here and the sounds of gushing water and the smell of mildew was overpowering. Midna scrunched her nose.
"It smells awful." She said quietly. Rykan turned to look at her.
"Like you!"
Midna kicked him, frowning. "Ow!" Rykan whined.
"Quiet!" Khir said, his teeth gritted. "The enemy might be down here, so we must be as silent as possible, understand?" Midna and Rykan both stiffened and they continued walking in silence, eyes shifted to the ground. Khir turned away, holding his torch up. It cast a vague halo against the rotting ceiling and walls. A rat scurried by Midna's foot and she tensed, but forced herself not to make a noise.
Midna suddenly remembered that she was still clutching the satchel that Telma had given her, and that she didn't even know what was inside. Midna brought it in front of her, gripping the object, it was cool, and spherical against the leather holding it. Midna quietly undid the pull-string as they walked and plopped the sphere into her right hand. It sparkled turquoise in the orange light.
Midna's eyes widened as her hand instantly began to feel warmer. She tilted it a little in the light. There were strings of strange, looping letters carved deeply into it. The strings of symbols formed lines around it in rings. Midna looked to see that Rykan was looking at it over his shoulder with a look of awe. His jaw open slightly. The two met eyes briefly and then Midna rolled the sphere back into the satchel, tightened the pull-string and pocketing it quietly. She didn't want anyone else to know they possessed such an interesting treasure.
As Midna pulled her hand away she noticed that the tingle was still there, but it gradually faded. They continued to march for what felt like hours, and no one said a word. Khir was weaving them through passageways and up a flight of old, slick stairs. There was a hint of daylight in the passage now, Midna was sure. It was becoming stronger as they walked down this new, wide hall. Quiet. She squinted, seeing an exit up ahead. Rykan squeezed her hand a little and Midna returned the gesture, feeling herself relax more.
The passage opened into the afternoon haze and eerie, quiet fog. It was overcast and the ground was slick with mud. It was misting and uncomfortable. Midna looked back to see Thanial and the other four young mean exit behind them; weapons drawn and looking around wearily.
Midna looked into the fog, she could barely make out the contours of the land more then a few meters ahead. They were in Hyrule field, but had no idea what direction that were facing. Khir turned as Thanial brushed past Midna and hit his arm roughly. "Don't ever stand up to me like that again in front of perfect strangers, idiot!" Thanial hissed. Khir sneered.
Thanial turned and raised one hand. "All right, spread out and search for the horses." Thanial announced. Khir looked over at Midna and Rykan, who had instinctively huddled next to each other. Midna swallowed, and realized that she was shaking a little, unsure of what to do. Khir backed up and kept himself close to them, he briefly turned to Thanial.
"I'll stay with them." Khir announced. Thanial eyed him, shrugged and then walked forward into the fog. The group of four other young men followed him. Midna felt herself relax as he disappeared and they were left with the large red haired giant. Khir walked to one of the large rocks by them and sat down, sheathing his sword. He looked sad.
Midna felt compelled to say something. "Khir? Where are we going... when they find the horses?"
Khir shook his head. "Little miss, I apologize for this in advance." He said softly. Midna felt herself relax, but her chest tightened, he looked at her with brown eyes, full of sympathy. "He wants to infiltrate a Lantharian base in the east, and burn it to the ground." Khir slumped forward a bit in his seat.
Midna nodded. "Oh..." Her stomach squirmed.
Rykan walked towards him. "Khir... you seem so much smarter then that other guy, why aren't you in charge?"
Khir frowned. "Because Thanial is General Georg's son..."
Rykan chuckled and Khir shifted to look at him. "He doesn't seem like a nice guy... I like you better." Rykan sat down next to Khir and the robust man sighed a deep throaty sigh, he looked at Midna and the two paused to look at each other for a moment. Khir's mouth quirked into a slight smile.
"Missy, we'd best be getting you some armor, like your brother. Those clothes won't do if we get attacked."
Midna felt herself smile a bit at his concern. "Sure." She replied, her voice low, she walked to sit on the other side of the middle aged soldier. Khir shifted a little. "I'm honored to escort you young ones, your father is a great warrior and someone I admire." He coughed. "I'm so sorry that he's missing, it must be dreadful for Illia and you two." There was a tense pause. "I don't know how much help I can be, but if you need it, don't hesitate to ask."
Midna felt a wave of anger sputter out of her at the mention of her father, but she kept quiet and the three just sat there, waiting.
"Thanks..." Midna said, feeling truly grateful for his concerned, kind words. A cool wind blew over them, and Midna looked up as she heard the distinct clatter of horse feet approaching them. The five mounted knights appeared at a canter out of the fog, ghostly and strange. Sai was in tow behind them on a line, as well as Khir's armored steed.
-----
The party rode quietly through the fog. Midna and Rykan were sandwiched between two war horses on Sai. Thanial was out in front, while Khir took up the rear. Rykan clung to her as they walked. Both were wearing their heavy cloaks as the mist turned into little drizzle, thinning in and out as they moved. The day had dragged on and it was starting to get dark. They had been nervous all day; it seemed that Hyrule field never ended, and that Thanial had no idea where they were.
Rykan had whispered about seeing shapes in the mist. Midna had to admit to herself that she'd seen them too. But there were no sounds of war cries, no nocked arrows, not even the rumble of horse feet or the chitter of beasts. No war drums, no screaming, nothing. It was pure, dreadful quiet.
"Let's set camp." Thanial said suddenly, slowing his horse to a stop. The white steed flicked it's head, snorting. The rest of the troupe stopped and Midna dismounted. Her legs were trembling a bit as the fear subsided, she was getting more used to riding, but it still made her weak for a while afterwords. She unconsciously squeezed the horse figurine in her pocket as a reminder. Rykan slipped off soon after and the two began to unpack. Midna looked as Thanial approached them, his eyes fixed on her. He smiled widely, bowing a little.
"Allow me." He said, gesturing to the saddle bags as Midna began to untie them. Midna stepped back a little as she stared at Thanial for a strange second. Thanial went to work unbuckling the bags from the horses sides and patted Sai's whithers. Rykan didn't comply and ignored him, disconnecting his own bag and moving some feet before unpacking it. Midna felt suddenly useless. She looked around, and caught the flickering glances of the other four young men looking at her. She felt a ping of panic for some reason, and suddenly felt uncomfortably aware that she was the only girl here. Normally that wouldn't have bothered her, but right now, it seemed to. Midna jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see that it was Khir's.
"Miss Midna, do you and Rykan need help setting up a tent?"
"What?" Midna blinked, feeling a little dizzy.
Midna noticed Thanial turn from their horse slightly as they exchanged words. She turned to Khir and nodded, and the older man chuckled and patted her back gently with his bear like hand.
"All right then, follow me," He insisted, walking in the opposite direction, a rolled and bagged leather tent slung over one shoulder. Khir stopped a few feet from one of the other tents and dropped the sack to the ground. Rykan jogged to her side and Midna grunted as he nudged her.
Midna looked down at him, he looked concerned, but didn't say anything at first, just pursed his lips tensely. He searched her face.
"What?" Midna whispered.
"I don't like him..." Rykan said in a whispered voice, looking over his shoulder and gesturing with his head towards Thanial. Thanial had dropped their bags on the ground and wandered off, and was now talking to one of the other younger men. Rykan's face hardened and he looked back up at Midna. "I don't want to say with these people much longer," Rykan said. Midna noticed that Khir had turned one ear subtly to listen to them, but turned back to setting up the tarped tent as soon as Midna eyed him. Midna frowned.
"Okay..." Midna confirmed.
"Mr Khir, do you need any help?" Rykan asked, his voice a normal volume again, his face going back to pretending to be cheerful, childish. If Midna appreciated anything about her brother, it was that he could be a painfully good actor and think on his feet when it mattered most. He was more intelligent then he let on, and knew it.
"Yes lad, can you and your sister set up that side?" Khir said, pointing to the roll of stakes and poles.
Rykan and Midna hurried to set the tent and then settled inside. The evening grew heavy and dark, and the crew made a small fire in the middle of there circle of small tents. It was a foggy night, dreary, with no moon. The fire outside crackled as Rykan turned their oil lantern up slightly. Midna was sprawled on her back and Rykan hunched forward, peering out of the small opening to their shelter.
"You were going to look in Dad's journal again last night, huh?" Rykan said suddenly, he moved to close the final opening to their tent and turned to Midna.
"You were watching me?" Midna frowned.
Rykan shrugged. "You made a lot of noise standing up."
Midna sighed. "Yes, I was. Why does it matter?"
Rykan scooted towards her, looking worried. "I have a bad feeling... don't look at it while we're with these guys..."
"Rykan..." Midna started. Rykan shook his head vigorously.
"Seriously... please."
Midna relaxed.
"Okay, snot." She said in a low voice. Rykan nervously turned the light on the lamp down more as they heard the rhythm of footsteps coming towards there shelter from the bonfire. They stopped just outside and Rykan hugged his knees. Thanial's gloved hand and face appeared in there doorway.
"Come out and eat." He said, smiling. Rykan gave him a blank, cold stare and Midna didn't move. He made a strange grunt of annoyance. "If you're not hungry, that's fine too," he said. "But at least come out for a while," Thanial remarked, his gaze was fixed on Midna. Rykan's eyes flicked to her and then back to Thanial. He stood up slowly and purposefully blocked Thanial's view before exiting the tent. Midna sat up soon after him and exited. She felt Thanial offer his hand to her, but she ignored him and just walked to camp on her own.
-----
Thanial and Khir were arguing over the best strategy on how to infiltrate their goal; wiping out a regiment of enemy troops that was rumored to be based by Lake Hylia. The tension in the air was so thick you could practically bite into it. Midna spooned the awful soup into her mouth, forcing herself to eat while ignoring the argument. She wasn't sure when their next meal would be. Rykan was simply not eating, he seemed on edge and was watching the heated conversation with a weary eye.
The argument ended with Thanial retiring early and a strange silence fell over the group. Midna's stomach fluttered in an unpleasant way when she looked up from eating and noticed the steady gazes of the four young men on her again, this time they didn't really look away. One of them gave a weird smile as he chewed a piece of bread.
Midna stood up and walked back to her tent with the bowl, and Rykan soon followed. She could feel the sick gazes on her as she walked, and it sent another strange prickle up her spine. The next three days ended in similar circumstances. Thanial and Khir's discussions were becoming more and more intense. Thanial even plunged a sword into a tree afterwords violently. It scared Midna half to death. Rykan had clung to her at that time.
Midna and Rykan decided to sit closer to Khir every night as they ate, and ride next to him in the day. He was the only one not giving her those weird looks all the time. That day was silent, and the tension had grown worse. At any point someone struck up a conversation that was above a whisper, Thanial would scream at them to shut up. Midna's hands tightened against the reigns every time he yelled.
It was evening of the forth day and and Midna sat staring up into the ceiling of their tent.
"Sis?" Came Rykan's whispered voice.
"Yeah."
"I don't like how those guys look at you..."
Midna turned to him, a little embarrassed. "What... what do you mean?"
Rykan had a concerned, scared expression. "Let's leave tomorrow... I feel sick whenever I'm around anyone but Khir." Midna nodded. She didn't want to think that those looks were something unmentionable. That they were, in fact, lustful. But it was strange, frightening, predatory. Midna liked to think that they were just interested in her because she was weird looking or something. Rykan scooted towards her and stuck a hand down one boot. Midna watched him as he revealed a small dagger.
"I stole this from dad's study before we left. You take it. I all ready have a weapon."
"Rykan... I'll be fine, you're paranoid." Midna scoffed. Rykan's eyes were scared, pleading. He waited for a few moments and then re-sheathed it. His form visibly slumped. "I don't have a good feeling... please just be careful."
"I will... thank you." Midna said, patting his leg with one hand and squeezing his knee.
"Okay." He said, his eyes flicking away. Rykan rolled back into his bedroll and adjusted himself. "I want to leave tomorrow... okay?"
Midna sighed. "Yeah... let's do that." She sat up and turned down the oil lantern, then took a deep breath and slumped back into bed. Midna closed her eyes and listened. There was a vague wind that ruffled against their tent. But there was also two voices, two familiar voices arguing. Midna thought it was in her head at first and rolled to get into a better position and push out the rogue thoughts.
The voices stopped temporarily, but then Thanial's shouted loudly over the wind and Midna jumped, curling into a fetal position at the angry sounds. There was another shout from Khir. She heard Rykan stir a little.
She couldn't make out what they were talking about because it seemed they had wandered a while away from camp to speak. There were a series of clangs and then silence. Midna heard Rykan stir more, and felt him wiggling into her bedroll beside her. Midna put an arm around him and felt that he was trembling terribly. She tried to push all the awful thoughts of what had just happened from her mind and forced herself to go to sleep. She dreamed of silence, fog, and blood.