Chapter Eight Ambush

The royal gardens had always been a place of sanctuary for Zelda, a safe haven where she could meditate and collect her thoughts. She had spent a great deal of time there during the war with Ganon and his brothers, and despite the turbulence of the times, she had still managed to find peace there.

Now, with the remnants of her family scattered to the winds, there was little peace to be found.

Saria was with her now, having decided that after delivering Link's message, it was more beneficial for her to remain at the palace than return to the Lost Woods, and Zelda was glad of her presence. The young Kokiri had a way of making even the most of dire of circumstances seem a little brighter. "I'm sure you're tired of hearing this by now, but everything will work out," the green-haired girl told her. "You need to concentrate on keeping Hyrule under control. If word gets out what's happened…"

"There will be panic and a desire for vengeance against the Stygians," Zelda finished. "Which could very well lead us into another war. That's why I let Zarkomoff and the others return home. If I kept them any longer, it could have turned into an even bigger mess than it already is." Sighing in defeat, Zelda simply shook her head. "It's just that I hate feeling so useless! Every time there is a crisis I'm forced to watch events from a distance as Link or the Chosen or whoever else deals with it. Whenever I am of use, it's always at the very end, after everyone else has fought and bled for survival. Even now, when my daughter is missing, I'm forced to stay here and pretend as if nothing has happened!"

To Zelda's surprise, Saria was doing her best to stifle her laughter. Catching the queen's look of confusion, Saria elaborated. "I'm sorry, but you really have no idea, do you? Goddesses, you and Link are so alike it's scary sometimes. He always used to complain that he was never doing enough, that everything he fought for meant nothing in the long run. But the thing is, Link has the easy job; put the bad-guys in front of him and he knocks them over, simple as that. He doesn't have to worry about political consequences, or the subtleties of society. For all his strengths, and ironic as this may sound, considering his title, Link doesn't pay very much attention to the future, because he's always stuck right in the middle of the here-and-now. He doesn't have to worry about long-term repercussions to his decisions. You do. You're the one who has to maintain the balance that keeps us from falling into anarchy. Given the options, I'll take Link's job over yours any day."

Contemplating her words, Zelda smiled and gave Saria's hand a quick squeeze. "You know, for a girl permanently stuck at the age of ten …"

"…I sound amazingly old," Saria finished with a giggle. "Your brother says the same thing." After the brief moment of levity, Saira's mood became serious. "So, what do we know about the situation. We know that Kilix was working for someone else, and that Zarkomoff, however slimy he may be, had no idea what was going on."

"Yet Zarkomoff claims that Queen Miratha, whoever she may be, sent him and his envoy here for these discussions, which ultimately turned out to be a distraction to keep Link and myself occupied while the children were kidnapped." A small smile came to Zelda's face as the pieces fell into place. "And now Link is following after them while Shrike and Malon track down Kilix. Which leaves the job of discovering Miratha's role in this to us."

Nodding in agreement, Saria replied. "Well, where do we start?"

"Perhaps it would be wise to consult Balio in this matter," Zelda suggested, referring to her chief magical advisor. "With Rauru away on whatever mission he decided to undertake, Balio is the most learned man in history that I know. I'm sure between the three of us we should be able to discover something." Getting to her feet, Zelda motioned for Saria to follow. "Come, he's most likely in his study." She had barely finished saying this when she began to feel a strange disturbance around her. It wasn't so much environmental as opposed to…ethereal. "Saria, do you feel…"

Her question was cut off by a harsh flash of light. Throwing her arm up over her face as a shield, it still took her a few moments to get her bearings again. When her vision focused, she gasped when she saw one of Kilix's Dark Sheikah standing in front of her, flanked by three odd looking creatures that she had never seen before. Their skin was gray and craggy, as if they were made from living stone, yet they moved with the same fluidity and grace of a Hylian. And whatever they were, they were all armed with vicious looking swords. "Saria!" she called out in warning.

The little Kokiri was already in motion. Though she had never seen battle, and though her magical talent wasn't necessarily meant for offensive uses, she was still one of the most powerful beings in Hyrule, and far more resourceful than she appeared. Stretching out her hand, green darts of light flew from her fingertips, taking the shape of little fairies that proceeded to dance around one of the rock-creatures' head, zapping and flitting about, keeping it confused.

Golden rings of energy encircled Zelda's fists, and punching forward she sent a bolt of energy directly towards the Sheikah. Leaping out of the way, the black-clad warrior evaded the blast, but the rock-creature behind him wasn't so lucky. The magic caught it square in the chest and sent it tumbling into the wall. To Zelda's horror, the creature was on its feet a moment later, none the worse. "Impossible! I blast like that should have knocked it cold!" She had no time to dwell on this, however, as she was forced to bring up a golden shield of light to ward off the Sheikah's sword. Calling on her magic, she leapt high over his head, and glided to the ground behind him.

However, her situation was far from improved, as the two creatures rushed towards her. Once again gathering her magic, she spun on her heel, the magic forming a ring around her, a modified version of Link's spin attack. She caught both creatures with the attack, but again, they were back on their feet apparently unharmed, once again charging towards her.

"Zelda!"

Saria's voice rang out, and an instant later Zelda's attackers were surrounded by what appeared to half a dozen copies of the little Kokiri. Lashing out in confusion, the creatures were stunned to discover that their blades passed right through the green haired girl. Zelda used the confusion to leap onto one of the creatures, clawing at its eyes, magical force pouring from her fingertips. The golden energy seemed to seep into the eye sockets, and before Zelda realized what was happening, the creature exploded in a hail of stones, blasting her back onto the ground. Momentarily stunned, Zelda regained her senses just in time to watch as the Dark Sheikah brought his blade down towards her.

But the blow never fell, as another sword deflected it out of the way. A moment later Impa crossed Zelda's gaze, the fierce Sheikah woman battling the warrior back. Though highly skilled, the assassin's abilities paled to those of Zelda's bodyguard, her dual blades slashing and stabbing with lighting quickness. Zelda had known Impa her entire life, and had known of her deadly reputation, but she had never before been witness to it. It was both frightening and reassuring to see the fierceness Impa used to protect Zelda's life.

She had little time for further reflections, however, her focus returning to the other two attackers. "Saria!" she called. "Only their hides are invulnerable, attack from the inside!"

Nodding in understanding, Saria directed one of her copies towards the nearest rock creature. The copy dove towards the being and disappeared into its stomach. A moment later, green light began to seep through cracks in the creature's hide, until it too exploded in a hail of stones.

Turning her attention towards Impa, Zelda discovered that the Sheikah Master had matters well in hand. Her opponent made one final lunge, and with a quick twist of her wrist the sword flew from his hand. Spinning on her heel, she stabbed her other sword deep into his shoulder as she swung her leg around to sweep his feet from under him. Her sword pinning him to the ground, Impa hastily jammed her fingers into the warrior's mouth, pulling out a small red capsule.

"What's that?" Saria asked as she and Zelda approached.

"A poisonous capsule called a yunya," Impa explained. "Ancient Sheikah once used them to avoid capture and interrogation."

A frightening thought occurred to Zelda. "Wait! Does Shrike…"

"No," Impa cut her off, her voice pained and sad. "He knows of the technique, but I have never enforced it." Her face tightened as she fought back tears. "Despite the events of these last few days, I have always had his best interests at heart."

Zelda's expression softened at the pain she saw in Impa's face. "I know, Impa. But he is my husband, and you are my friend. And it seems at times that worrying is in my nature." Turning to the semi-conscious man on the ground before them, her gaze withered. "Regardless, it now seems that we have a welcome source of information regarding our enemy. Take him to the dungeons; I'll deal with him shortly. And see that his shoulder is attended to."

Motioning for Saria to follow, she cast Impa a devious smile. "Of course, don't let him get too comfortable."


The library of Balio was perhaps the most comprehensive source of magical history and knowledge in the entire land of Hyrule, a place where anything could be found if one managed to look in the right place.

For the last four hours, Zelda and Saria had been looking in the wrong place.

"This is getting us nowhere," Zelda sighed in frustration. "I cannot believe that in this entire library there in no mention of Queen Miratha!"

"Well, to be fair, there's still a whole lot of books and scrolls to go through," Saria grimaced.

"Perhaps one of the older volumes pertaining to political upheaval will yield the answers you are looking for," Balio said from behind them. The old mage had been with them the entire time, bringing them tomes and scrolls that he felt might be of some use. Heading back into the aisles, he disappeared from view while Saria and Zelda turned back to their books.

After a few moments, Saria let out a sharp gasp. "Zelda, take a look at this!"

Leaning over, Zelda read from the page Saria was pointing at, and immediately discovered what had got the Kokiri so excited. "…Avbrellion, often referred to as the Stone King, forced back the remainder of the Minnish army, claiming even more ground and ultimately overthrowing King Mangemon. Claiming the kingdom as his own, he added the lands to the already vast Stygian empire, and named Mangemon's wife, Miratha his queen and royal consort…" Zelda frowned as she finished the text. "But this volume is over three-hundred years old! How could this be the same Miratha that Zarkomoff mentioned?"

"Well, Gorons can live an awfully long time, and that's just biological," Saria reasoned. "Do Stygians live longer than the average Hylian as well?"

"No, physiologically they are identical to us," Zelda replied. "It must be some form of magic. And anyway, even though we now know a little bit about her, it still doesn't explain what reason she may have had to kidnap the children."

Saria reached down to turn the page. "Maybe there's more on the…" Before she could finish, the book suddenly burst into flame. Crying out in surprise, Saria jerked her hand away from the flames, as Zelda watched on in horror. The dry, brittle pages of the book were easy prey for the flame, and in a matter of seconds, the book was gone, leaving only ashes, and a sound that Zelda could have sworn was the noise of someone laughing.


As Kilix looked down on the construction of the device that would ultimately give him his revenge, he couldn't help but smile at the irony. It was always amusing how, no matter how hard anyone tried, the past just wouldn't stay buried. There was always some dirty secret or shady loose end that refused to be put to rest. One such secret was the machine his men were currently working on.

Another was himself.

Impa had done her very best to pretend that he had never existed, that he was one mistake that could simply be forgotten. And if the rumors he had heard several years ago were true, then she wasn't the only one who was embarrassed and perhaps even a little fearful of his potential legacy. Not that he blamed them; Kilix was not so self-delusional to not realize the danger he would have posed had he gotten hold of Shrike early on and began training him himself. Had the two brothers been united in the same cause, Hyrule would have undergone changes so drastic and so quickly that it would be nearly unbelievable.

But Kilix was not prone to worrying about things that could have been done differently under different circumstances. Instead, he chose to focus on what could be done because of those circumstances. No, he had not been able to train Shrike, but he had compensated by training others. He had not been able to strike out at Impa personally, so now he was striking out at those she loved the most.

He had not been able to change his past, so now he was going to write Hyrule's new future.

"When you look out on what you are creating," a voice from behind him prompted, "What is it that you see? Death? Vengeance?"

Smiling to himself, Kilix answered, "Justice, Scorpion. Justice."

Stepping up beside him, the woman known as Scorpion joined him in his observations. She was dressed similar to him, all in black with the red symbol of Kilix's clan on her chest, but her arms and legs were bare, showing taught and firmly honed muscles. She wore her long dark hair pulled back into a tail, and her violet eyes were constantly alert and focused, deadly and serene. She was beautiful, Kilix mused, but it was a deadly kind of beauty, identical to that of the creature whose name she had adopted.

"I come with news from the castle," she continued. "Both attacks were successful, and our man inside says that all is well."

Kilix nodded in understanding. "Good. That should please our friends up in Stygia for the time being. Oh, and should they ask for anymore of these little 'favors', my price has now doubled."

"Very well, master." She used the title as a formality, but didn't really mean it, Kilix realized. The thought that she was his equal amused him in its futility. As skilled as she was, only one man had the potential of meeting him on his level.

"Scorpion, make sure that work continues on the project. I'm going to leave you in charge for a couple of days."

Arching an eyebrow, she gave him a little smile. "It is time?"

"Yes," he replied as he turned to leave. "It's time to bring my brother home."