"Monsters?"
Zelda nodded. "Other than those spirits we fought in the forest, have you encountered any in Hyrule?"
Link paused to think. "No… There used to be rumors of stalchildren in Hyrule Field if you got caught out there at night, but no one's actually seen any in the last couple of years."
She stopped dead in her tracks, stunned. That couldn't be, Hyrule had always had at least a few monsters roaming about its wilds. It was supposedly common knowledge that Hyrule Field was a place where stalchildren came into being, there was no way to completely eradicate them! There had never been a time when the country not been troubled with at least the more minor beasts. "None at all? Not even the stray keese at night, or in lurking about in caves?"
"Nope." He was looking at her with growing concern and Zelda realized that she'd been growing more and more agitated.
With some effort she managed to at least appear calmer. "So you mean … That skull kid in the woods was the very first spirit, monster, or magical creature you've ever seen?" It was absurd. The depths of the forest she'd called home for so long had been teeming with them!
"I mean, they were everywhere a couple years ago." He pondered it for a moment and then continued, "But I'd say it was about five years ago that they started appearing less and less. A few months after I was made a squire was the last time I heard of a sighting…"
She exhaled, the already bad feeling about encountering the wizzrobe growing worse. It would have been one thing if the queen had summoned a few wizzrobes to serve as her Sheikah, but coupled with a sudden disappearance of wild monsters… "Link, what I fought back there wasn't a Sheikah or Hylian. It was a wizzrobe."
Link blinked, stunned, and Zelda felt something twist in her gut as she realized that the chosen hero had faced his first monster when they'd fought the skull kid's puppets. It seemed that he'd been trained to fight them based on his combat style, yes, and he'd been chosen by the Master Sword, but… She'd fought skull kids and their puppets, a handful of wolfos and a few deku babas, and now a wizzrobe. Goddesses, that was all the experience they had between the two of them with the darker creatures that roamed Hyrule!
And if what she was beginning to suspect was true? They were in over their heads. She had expected to overthrow a mortal usurper with a mortal army. A handful of wizzrobes was problematic, but not nearly impossible to deal with. But if all the naturally occurring monsters were disappearing, was it possible that the queen was recruiting them? An army of monsters…
"Hey," Link jolted her out of her thoughts. "The queen's got a few monsters, so what? Isn't that better than if her Sheikah had turned out to be actual Sheikah?" He gestured to the wrapped-up Master Sword slung across his back. "Anyway, that's what I have this for. I never fought any monsters before I met you, but… The gods chose me for a reason, right? They wouldn't have picked me if I couldn't handle it."
Zelda huffed a half-hearted laugh. That was it, wasn't it? Link had been chosen by the sword forged by Hylia herself. She clung to that piece of knowledge: The White Goddess knew what she was doing. She had to, her choice in heroes had never gone awry before… And from what she'd seen of him before, Zelda really did believe that Link was the right person to take up the hero's mantle. In hindsight, it had been foolish to think that the Master Sword would have been drawn for a mere civil war. Not when it had been made to be raised against things truly evil.
"Yes…" She smiled. "Yes, I think you can handle it."
His grin was bright. "Now, Malon and Talon should be waiting for us! We agreed on a spot about a league or so from here…" She almost pulled away in surprise as he took her by the hand, then relaxed and let him lead the way.
Zelda nearly sagged with relief when the two farmers came into view, safe and happily chatting as they waited. The cart and goods had been traded for an extra two horses, and all four had full-looking saddlebags. Did they intend to follow her and Link to Kakariko? It made sense since they would probably have to leave their farm anyway to escape the law, and travelling with two warriors would be far safer than trying to make the journey alone... But the new horses looked a little too thin to be healthy. If they were pursued, whoever rode them would be at a greater risk of being caught.
Malon caught sight of them and waved, smiling widely, but didn't greet them until the two groups merged. They were reasonably far from Floria but not entirely out of that particular danger yet, and it was sensible that they draw as little attention from possible passerby as possible. "Thank you, Sheik." Her eyes were red-rimmed and watery, and Zelda smiled beneath her cowl.
"Thank you, Malon." Had it not been for her, after all, they might not have known of the wizzrobes until much later. As it was, they were extremely lucky to have found out so early and that there had been only one…
Zelda let go of Link's hand to go inspect the saddlebag supplies while the three of them chatted. It seemed that Malon had reconciled her Sheikah identity with her genuine good will, but she wouldn't be surprised if her father had not. She'd seen the fear she'd struck into him, and while it had been necessary to save him she understood that he might prefer that she keep her distance. Since she wasn't participating in their conversation she tuned them out as she sorted through the supplies, not wanting to eavesdrop on what might be personal. She was the outsider here, after all.
All and all Link and Malon had done pretty well with the bartering. Enough food rations for one week on each horse and rough blankets for each of them, plus a small pouch of rupees. Her sword, now in a very crudely constructed leather sheath, had been tied to the saddle of one of horses. The same horse also had a pouch of extra deku nuts in her saddlebags, and Zelda assumed that it had been decided that this was to be her horse for the journey. It was a rather surprising decision, though: She was one of the horses Malon had brought from the farm, and Zelda had seen over the last few days that the young woman was very fond of her animals.
It made her wonder if they intended not to travel to Kakariko with them after all. If they did, it would make more sense to have her and Link ride the less healthy looking horses from Floria. If the group ran into danger, Malon and her father could ride to safety faster while they stayed behind to fight. But the reverse was true if they planned to part ways: Poorer looking horses meant that they looked less wealthy, and it would be less likely that they would have trouble from bandits and thieves.
"Shiekah." Zelda was jolted from her thoughts by Talon, who offered her the knife she'd given him earlier. "I guess I ought to return this."
She nodded gratefully and took the blade, feeling a little more balanced as she slid its familiar weight back into her belt. The other knife she lost in the town would have to be done without for now, but it was a relief to get even one of them back. "Thank you." His thanks in return was not expected. Until she reclaimed her throne, by rescuing him from his cell she'd also doomed both he and his daughter: They would have to live as fugitives, now. To go back to their home would court disaster, to go to any town or village within Hyrule would risk capture. Someone charged with not paying their taxes was probably treated far better than one charged with escaping jail… Especially if they linked him to a rouge Shiekah. "And my apologies, for frightening you earlier."
The man exhaled. "You did what you had to." Somehow she got the feeling he was referring to the jailbreak as a whole, not just her way of going about it.
"I did." The trip by wagon had saved them several days, and the provisions had been sorely needed.
There was a moment of silence, and she thought the conversation had ended when Talon spoke again. "The plan is to go our separate ways, after those two say their goodbyes." He gestured towards his daughter and Link. "We'll be heading for the land of Holodrum. It's far enough that the Queen's men won't find us, and we have family there." Zelda nodded. The journey would take them months, but since Talon obviously didn't have a stomach for battle... Leaving would be better for them than sticking around. Not when the only thing left for them here was recapture or fighting.
"I wish you good travels, then."
After parting with Malon and her father, they rode until the moon was high in the night sky before stopping to make camp. Zelda was thankful for the warmer weather as she did her best to get comfortable with her cheap blanket: They didn't dare light a fire. Floria was half a day's hard ride behind them, but neither of them knew how much that distance would do if wizzrobes hunted them.
Though they took turns on watch duty, Zelda faced the morning with very little sleep. It wasn't that she doubted Link's abilities, but being so close to Floria set her on edge. With the Queen having pet monsters, it would be foolish to assume that she hadn't heard of the Sheikah who'd killed her wizzrobe already. For all she knew, they would be ambushed at any moment.
Packing was quick, since they only had their blankets to worry about, and they ate breakfast in silence as they rode. Now that they had horses, Link estimated that it would only be a four or five day ride to Kakariko. Zelda guessed that that would be the next time she had a good rest.
Around midday they stopped to give the horses a rest and refill their waterskins. Rationally she knew it was necessary, that they had to give the creatures a rest to prevent them from burning out or being injured. In the long run it would get them there faster than riding straight, and they needed to take the opportunity to top off their water supply whenever they could. But she couldn't help but see enemies in every shadow, in every rustle of grass… Every instinct told her that they needed to get back on their horses and canter them all the way to the relative safety of the brewing rebellion.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Link's voice nearly made her jump.
Did she? It was kind of him to ask and she appreciated the gesture, but she didn't really want to talk about her fears right now. Besides, Sheik would do her best to control her nerves. Fear was a useful tool when one knew how to use it and could keep you alive in the right situation, but now that Link had spoken up she could see that she'd let it get the better of her. There was a line between being wary and being overly paranoid, and she was uncomfortably close to crossing it. Perhaps… Perhaps talking would take her mind off it for a while. "How much do you know about wizzrobes?"
He shrugged. "Well, I know they've got magic."
Zelda was surprised that he didn't know more, since based on his fighting style it seemed that the Lord of Eldin had been teaching him how to fight monsters. It would have been appropriate to have him read bestiaries to accompany that training, since without the proper knowledge he would be at a rather steep disadvantage… But teaching him would make for a good distraction until they reached Kakariko. "That's a rather important thing to know, but different types of wizzrobes use different kinds of magic…"
Hello, all! Thank you for all the support and I hope this chapter was alright, it fought with me almost the whole time and I apologize for the wait. That said, due to schoolwork and my midterm schedule, the next chapter will probably take me about two weeks. I'm personally really excited to write that one and the next two after it, though! As always, I would love to hear what you think of the story so far.