Lemurian04: Morning, y'all.
Alex: LET ME OUT OF HERE! is struggling with around 2 km of duct tape
Lemurian04: Everyone, this is my muse. You might have noticed him half a year ago. The rascal thought he could get away with being abroad half a year, but no sir. With his help, I've made a new chapter. It's a day late, but still; Enjoy.
A/N: I don't own ANYTHING in Zelda! If I did, I would be rich. I ain't. Wah.
Chapter 7
Princess of Hyrule
Princess Zelda yawned as she awakened. The sun was already streaming through the windows showing that the day was already in full activity outside. Though it was said that princesses couldn't sleep with even something as small as a pea under her matress, it was true that they liked to sleep in when it was possible. But the people would never like a lazy queen. She arose from the silk sheets and stood on the carpeted floor. The room was what most people imagined a princess' bedroom would look like. White stonewalls, carpets with fine Zora-patterns, enormous wardrobes filled with dresses fit for a...well, princess and a massive four-poster double-bed. Though, she currently filled it alone. It was not entirely done, a princess at her age without neither husband nor lover, but noone talked about it. There was only one man in Princess Zelda's life, and he was far from here. If only she could meet him again...the always so discomforting train of thought was swiftly derailed when her maid knocked softly on the door and she came in.
Chesa was a nice young girl, only just 19, and was 3rd generation maid. She was dressed in the white yellowbonded livery that the servants in the Castle used, a dress that suited her golden hair nicely. She curtsied deeply for Zelda and then started the normal morning-ritual with dressing, combing and general readying for another day of courtal affairs. Zelda was not entirely happy about the whole deal, though. She had managed herself perfectly fine the years she had been living out in the wild, leading the Hylian Resistance against Ganondorf. But it was again not done for a princess to do those things on her own. The past princesses had given a very clear image of a real princess in the minds of the public and she could not disappoint them. So she had to put up with the foolish dance with Chesa dressing and readying her hair.
"Chesa is glad to see Her Majesty in such a good mood, m'lady." Chesa murmured while fastening her silk gloves. Zelda smiled down at her. It was a fine day with no other duties today than just taking the weekly inspection on the Royal Guard. She was planning to maybe go riding, or maybe even some falconing. "Why should I not be, Chesa?" Chesa looked up at her with shock on her face, but then her face rearranged into a more controlled smile. "Well, all things considered, m'lady." Now, Zelda was sure something was wrong. She stared down at her, the icy stare that she had learned after a long life of being the youngest ruler of Hyrule. "Like what, Chesa?" Her voice was an icicle, every word a swordstab. Chesa was white in her face. "The...the h-hanging, Your Majesty!" Zelda's eyes widened in shock. What hanging? There was no death penalty anymore except for Treason by Attempt of Murder. She rose abruptly from the stool she had been sitting on, causing Chesa to fall backwards in shock. She strode out the door, ignoring Chesa's pained shouts of "Your Higness!".
While walking, Zelda changed. Her clothes stopped being the fine silk dress and changed into a flexible blue-and-black garb with a white chest that followed each of her curve shamelessly. Except, she had no curves anymore. Her whole physique changed from that of a tall, but slim young woman into that of a agile man, but still muscular, maybe two years older. Her hair went from pale yellow to a more darker sort, and its form went from flowing down her back into just a long fringe that covered her face, but except from that it was short. Her magical disguise was finished with the addition of a headgarb that could hide all of her head except the eyes and the picture of a crying red eye on her chest. Zelda was now hidden from all eyes in the castle. Only Sheik was there. She darted down the corridor, hiding in the shadows whenever somebody appeared.
The magic was not a difficult one, especially for someone as experienced as Zelda. It simply used a trickle of the magic the Royal Family had been given by the gods to...alter things to get a bit more suitable, like the difference between a long dress and a much easier skirt. And the disguise of Sheik was perfect. It made no connection between Princess Zelda and Sheik, a nimble fighter that had been like a general in the Resistance, simply by just openly showing the complete differences, like hair, voice, eyecolour and physique. And gender, of course. Sheik was openly accepted as a man by other people and Zelda still used the disguises to check the morale among her Guard and the villagers in the pubs. Sheik was considered a good man to have around, and most liked him. But right now, a hidden Sheik was better than worrying the Castle with the news of Sheik walking in the corridors. Instead, she wandered from shadow to shadow, heading for the Traitor's Court.
Zelda did not like hanging people. But she could not accept traitors in her lands either, so they had to be executed. And she had forced herself to see every hanging. A good queen needed to be like a steel sword. Sharp and without mercy for those who betrayed her trust, but still there with the purpose to defend its wielder. And Hyrule was her wielder. But this hanging was different. Every hanging had to be declared by the Royal Court, the highest there was and then again had to be authorized by the ruling regent, in this case, her. But she had not authorized any hanging for half a year now, not since the hidden pocket of Ganondorf supporters had been taken under an assassination-attempt at her. And why had Chesa talked about it liked that? She needed to find that out now.
The nimble figure of Sheik snuck through the endless corridors, true as an arrow towards the Traitor's Court. Finally, the last arched hallway passed underneath her as she hung in roof above the unsuspecting guards. Finally, she could drop into a welcoming shadow, her magic making them envelop her like thick forest, inside the great amphitheatre that was the Traitor's Court.
The Court was built to intimidate. All who came to watch were to be shown what happened to one who tried to cause problems in the kingdom of Hyrule. It had been made, by personal design, by Queen Zeradel the Third, or the Blood Queen, who had used it frequently on citizens who had only had rumours on them for being traitors and there had been hangings for less offences than that. Stories said she had even hanged her lover there once, for looking at another lady. Great marblesteps went from the castle itself and down towards the opening where both the prisoner and audience came in. On the top steps, the Royal Family and their personal guards sat, with the throne for the current regent on the middle of the half-circle. Below there, the solicitours and judges of the Royal Court sat. Below came the Supreme Court and their members and representatives, then the National Court, followed by the Regional Court and lastly the City Court. There, the marble steps stopped and there was a sudden drop down to the benches where the commoners sat. Then it scaled down some more until there was an open area. Where the gallows stood.
Zelda crept closer, following the shadows along the walls until she could jump down to the commoners' benches. People had just started coming, and she easily hid in the masses of people. Though the citizens of Hyrule disliked hangings, they thought of it as an important education to their children. Hardfaced men and just as emotionless women came, with children around ten and older. Noone seemed to notice the man sneaking through the crowd, agile as a snake. This too was magic, of a sort. As long as she kept a low profile and attracted no special notion, people did not see her. Well, of course, they saw her, but then thought nothing of it. If they were asked later, they wouldn't even remember seing her.
Zelda finally exited the crowd into a shadow made by an outer wall and could finally get a clear view of what was happening. The people had stopped coming in and a pair of drums had started. Deep pounds of heavy clubs on bassdrums made the sound ring out as clear as a bell, but with a drasticly different message. First came the judge appointed to proclaim the hanging, then the heavy shape of the headsman, his black mask hiding every part of his face, then the prisoner. He was escorted by two massive lumps of persons, whose difference to Gorons were species more than size, on either side and another covering the rear. The prisoner was dressed in his own clothes, as the tradition demanded, but they were grey of dust and dirt to such an extent that their former was completely unknown. On his head he had a coarse sack, so that he could not even see where he was walking. On his arms where chains, binding him to the two guards on either side and his feet where clamped in hard iron chains making even walking a hard job. The man seemed to be walking in his sleep, swaying and hanging with his head and torso so deep that he looked already dead and his feet barely moved.
Finally, the swaying shape came up close to the gallows. The guards escorted the prisoner up the contraption, removing his chains so that he could manage the wooden steps. Finally, they reached the top, where three members of the castle guards were positioned for security. The headsman started fitting the rope for prisoners height and the judge took his place in front of the gallows. The prisoner was led to his place above the hatch and the judge started the Hanged Man's Speech, that started with a brief introduction of how much everybody should keep to the path of piece and not follow the prisoner's example. Then, the sack was taken off and the judge started listing the man's crimes. Zelda didn't listen. She kept staring at the face of the man about to be hanged.
His features were rougher than she remembered, but he still had that sharp nose, those sharp blue eyes and of course the sharps ears of a true Hylian. His hair were streams of pale yellow that framed that face she remembered so well. The face she has dreamed about all those nights alone in her bed, the very one face she longed every day to caress once more and the face that every man and woman in Hyrule knew, and whose legends were taught to the children in schools and at home. The man who was worshipped almost as much as the Godesses. The Player of the Ocarina of Time. The Bearer of the Master Sword. Vanquisher of the evil tyrant Ganondorf.
The Hero of Time. Link.
The headsman started readying the noose as the judge went through the list of offences. Zelda shook herself out of her frozen state and started charging for the gallows. Castle Guards near the gates stepped from their positions and moved to stop her before she could reach the gallows, but they all suddenly collapsed. Poisoned needles were Sheik's most exact weapon. Their poison could knock out any man within seconds after puncturing the skin. Zelda shrugged her right shoulder and another dose of needles fell slowly into her palm. One of the needles hit the judge in the thigh, removing him from any harm.
On the top of the gallows, the headsman had fastened the noose and was moving over to the lever for the trapdoor. Time was running out. Zelda nimbly jumped up on the floor of the gallows, between the Guards and Link. A flurry of needles from Zelda's left hand made the Castle Guards fall to the dirty wood and another round from her right hit the executioner squarly in the chest. The man fell. On the lever.
Already before Zelda had turned around, the trapdoor opened. Before she could ready another round of needles, Link dropped. And just before she could fire the needles, she was grabbed from behind. One of the jailors had not been hit by the first round of needles and now Zelda was being held by heavy arms, being squeezed like a rabiat cat. When finally Zelda could stab her assilant in the arm with one of her needles, Link had been hanging there for several seconds. She ran over to the rope, praying to all the godesses that she was not too late. She cut the rope with her small beltknife and Link fell to the ground below. Zelda jumped after.
When she landed, everything was in chaos. The spectators were shouting and yelling, and Castle Guards were coming from everywhere. It didn't matter. If she could just get Link out of those gates, she could hide the both of them quickly and find out what was happening. She turned to face Link. He was probably knocked out after all that time without air, she had to...
Link was back on his feet, flexing his muscles. He looked this way and that, taking the whole scene in. His face was decorated with a twisted smile and his usually clear blue eyes burned red with anger and hate. Zelda did not see that. She was looking at his neck. It twisted around and pulled out of joint. Noone should be able to breathe with their neck like that! Link turned to her and saw what she was staring at. He took his head in his arms and twisted it around and in place again. Zelda stared, and she could feel her stomach wring itself. That was impossible!
Link then went over to one of the fallen guards and took the sword of his body. Because of the inspection later today, it had been polished and sharpened to perfection. Link swung it here and there for a moment and then nodded in satisfaction. Then he turned towards Zelda. That evil smirk broadened and Zelda felt her heart freeze. Link charged towards her and raised the sword as to behead her. The blade came down, ready to bite flesh...
And Princess Zelda awakened, sitting bolt upright in the same bed as that horrible nightmare had begun. She felt at her back of her neck. It was whole. But a small trickle of blood was coming out of a light scratch. This was no normal dream.
R&R
