Chapter IX
For the first time, Link saw the personal chamber of the king, a very noble and spacious room. The furniture was ornamented and some parts of it were gilded or even jeweled. They sparkled bright due to the rays of the evening sun, which shined trough the large windows. Zelda had dragged him here because Daphnes tend to spend the hours at this daytime there, alone, in order to reflect about political and royal issues in privacy.
Zelda stood next to Link in front of Daphnes, who sat on his armchair with some papers on the table next to him. They both argued about the issue in the dining hall while Link remained silent. As it was more a matter between them, Link observed mentally absent the paintings which portrayed the royal family over the course of history instead of listening to their talk. Yet when Zelda mentioned the real reasons for their coming, he found back from his daydreaming.
"Ah, yes. You have mentioned an important issue this afternoon. What is it?" Yet it seemed like Daphnes guessed the answer in an instant when he sighed forlorn. "You are really dotty about him, are you not? It is without any questions that Ganondorf left a doubtful impression on you since this one day you have met him first." He smiled desperate. "I wish you would have this persistence on other topics as well. How often have we addressed this now? I have lost the count."
"We may have addressed it often, but it never lasted long and you only put me off," responded Zelda unperturbed.
"You see, Zelda, I have told you it more than once that I am not blind to Ganondorf's attitude or do not understand why some of my people loathe him. Still, this is a matter of political interest and I have my duties as a sovereign of Hyrule, which are my highest priority." Daphnes stopped in his explanation and after a short pause he added in a calm way, "You are still young and see the world with different eyes than I do. I do not expect you to understand it by now, yet I do neither see a meaning in discussing it further."
"How can you know I will not understand it if you have never tried?" complained Zelda and it was visible she had to hold herself back not to yell. "You never even gave me the chance, nor did you ever hear me out."
"Do not speak to me in that tone of voice!" interrupted Daphnes. The kindness of his face disappeared and he looked rigorously at his daughter whereas Zelda was quiet. Yet her body language showed that she had not finished.
The atmosphere was tensed when Zelda began to argue again with her father and complained that he permitted Ganondorf a much worse behavior without addressing it, unlike hers. Link dreaded that at one point, Daphnes would stop listening and just threw them out. It would be the worst scenario that could happen as it would equal the fall of the kingdom.
He had to admit that he thought it would be easier to inform and persuade the king, but from what he has heard from Zelda and seen himself it looked like he was not too trusting in words of children. On the other side, he almost never found himself in a situation where he had convinced someone with mere words alone. Normally he gained the trust of people when he solved their problems and gained the credibility of the different folks in Hyrule. But at this point he was unsure if Daphnes would recognize his sacred mark or only considered it a bad joke.
Link just hoped that Zelda was wise enough to know how she could get her father to listen and convince him. However, to Link's surprise, Daphnes seemed like a man who acted affable as long as he had no urgent business to do for his kingdom.
"My different treatment might seem unfair to you, yet if you do not want to have unnecessary conflicts, you have to consider cultural differences." Daphnes leant backwards before he continued, "I assume his attitude is a curse that lies on the Gerudo Kings. According to my grandfather, the predecessor of Ganondorf was not differed not much personality-wise. Due to his age he was of course more experienced and matured, therefore acting more behaved, yet he could neither hide his arrogance nor his short temper." Daphnes shrugged his shoulders. "In the end, I do not think you can blame them for this. Observe the environment they are raised in, combined with the almost godlike worship by the Gerudo themselves and it becomes pretty obvious why they develop those quirks."
"I do not deny that they have a different culture and a hard life because of the desert. Yet these circumstances are no excuse for how he reacts. Or takes whatever he desires without fearing punishment. I do not understand. Why do you acquiesce his rudeness and remain polite instead of putting him in his place? Why do you give him comfort that he does not even acknowledge, at all?" Zelda looked at him in full incomprehension. "He does not give you anything in return. His behavior rather shows the exact opposite."
The expression of Daphnes got again desperate. "That is exactly what I meant when I told you are too young to understand. The answer is within the question. What do you think would happen if I act in a similar manner as Ganondorf does?" Daphnes raised an eyebrow when he looked in the questioning eyes of Link and Zelda.
Interestingly, this was a question that sometimes came to Link's mind on his quest to save Hyrule. He never understood in the first place why the king got himself involved and trusted a man, who was even back then known as a bandit leader. However, he never got an answer that was satisfying enough.
"I tell you. It would not need a long time until we come into a dispute." Daphnes leant forward and lowered his voice in order to emphasize his following statement. "One which would not be settled with soft words but with hard steel. The price would not be uncomfortable agreements but valuable lives."
Although Daphnes turned his head away, Link felt his grief. "We encountered such an event in our recent history, which shattered our country. You both most likely have heard of it though you have been still babies when it finally ended after eras." He made a pause before he continued dejected, "Man died. Women died. Even children. I was there; outside on the fields. What I have seen; I will never forget. Never in my life. There are no words to describe the cruelty the Hyrulean Civil War had shown us before we were able to unify the country again after much effort and many losses."
Daphnes stood up and according to his body language, the memories of the event must torture him greatly. At this part, Link could understand him very well as he also had to face a lot of deaths and destruction, including seeing people he cared for suffer or even die. Things he would never forgot either, but just like Daphnes, he had to keep on going, no matter what happened, to finally put it to an end.
Link and Zelda watched Daphnes in silence as he walked towards the window and looked outside for a while.
"Yet what is more important now is that I never want to see anything similar ever again." He turned around and the rejection from before has vanished. "It is my responsibility as a king to keep away any harm that could affect my or the other's people. I could have only reign for my own benefit. The resources are here, yet I never wanted to. I could very well have drowned myself into depression, yet it was my love of life and trust in the people of Hyrule that got me over the dark era. I never want to lose either of these two."
Daphnes made a short pause and stroked through his hair. "What this has to do with the original case of Ganondorf is, if he lacks the empathy towards me, I have to fill in his part. And I do it without hesitation. Although this does not equal I spare him everything, yet if I would refuse it, the fronts between us would get hardened and the inevitable solution of it would be another bloody conflict. And the Gerudos are dangerous to deal with because of their high skills in combat."
It was impressive for Link to hear Daphnes' view. He never thought about it from this perspective. However, he could not help himself but to feel sick that the trust of such a man was so heavily exploited. His aversion against Ganondorf and his schemes grew even bigger as they already were. The same applied for his desire to stop him.
Similar to Link, it seemed that Zelda did not expected this reasoning behind her father's acting as well. Yet, she must have felt like him that the time had come that the King of Hyrule should finally be introduced to the danger, which she showed when she brought up Ganondorf's crimes again. Daphnes explained that he did not intend to take an action against him for the kingdom's sake, unless it was absolute necessary and he crossed the boundaries of their law too far. He feared that the Gerudo would take it as a declaration of war if he punished their king.
"If you are confident that at this point, he has not violated our laws long enough to interfere, then at least listen to his story. He knows Ganondorf's intention better than anybody of us because he has seen them firsthand."
"Your stubbornness can be exhausting. It must be inherited from your mother." Daphnes released a deep sigh as he dropped back in his armchair. "Fine, I will listen. Yet, let me clarify one thing. This is the last time. After this the subject is off the table and I do not want to hear about it or Ganondorf ever again from you." Zelda agreed without any sign of hesitation. She and Link knew that there would not be a later time to discuss it again as Daphnes would not see that day.
While Zelda enlightened her father about Link and his incredible adventure of becoming a chosen by the Triforce and was appointed to be the Hero of Time in order to defeat Ganondorf, Link could see that Daphnes did not believe a single word. However, he let her finish speaking.
"You really intend to tell me that your friend is a chosen by the Goddesses themselves?" responded Daphnes doubtfully before he lowered his voice. "Zelda, this is not a matter you make jokes about. This is blasphemy and you know that this is considered a capital crime."
Daphnes sounded displeased, extremely displeased, but it did not intimidate Zelda. "I am neither joking nor do I blaspheme our creators. It is on and off itself the inevitable truth. And the evidence for it is right here."
Zelda looked at Link but he already raised his hand that Daphnes could see the mark on it, who inspected the sign but it was more than obvious that he was not convinced by it either. "I have to admit, it looks authentic. You have found a sorcerer who is well versed in this magic school," he responded unimpressed. "Yet you two should stop. I was content to explain you my reasons of acting towards Ganondorf as you were curious about it. Yet this here is getting ridiculous. Up to this point, I can still pretend that nothing of this has ever happened. It will have no consequence for you, even though it should, if you leave now."
Despite the menace of her father, Zelda did not give up in her argumentation or showed any signs of doubts. Link watched the further conversation of Daphnes and her in silence as there was nothing he could contribute.
"In conclusion it means you stick to the assumption that he is a chosen one. One that is aware of the fact that Ganondorf's sole intention is to betray me in order to get the kingdom and the Triforce in his hands? And you gained all this knowledge because he defeated him in the future and travelled back in time to warn us? Is that your accusation?" repeated Daphnes baffled yet he recovered from his surprise when he added bothered, "Are you serious? This is the most incredible tale I have ever heard and you two can trust me, I have listened to a lot from very different individuals. Yet this surpasses them all."
It did not need a spoken out answer by Zelda for Daphnes to guess it. He must have known it in the instant he saw her face. "And you are aware that it has severe consequences for both of you if they turn out wrong?"
"Indeed," answered Zelda utterly determined while Link's look shared the same resoluteness. He did not overcome all the obstacles to give up now and there was no reason for it either.
"I can't believe it had come this far," mumbled Daphnes in disappointment as he stood up and made a gesture that they should follow him.
Soon they reached their destination, a large room with a gritty atmosphere as it was only lightened by small high-lying windows and candles. It reminded Link on the Lakeside Laboratory with all the containers and bottles, which were filled with either strange liquids or were inhabited by other odd creatures. Furthermore, the shelves contained a lot of books and other forms of scripts, yet some of them looked like they would fall apart any second if one was foolish enough to touch them.
While Link inspected his surroundings and observed the scientists, who were absorbed in their research, Daphnes spook with one of them. Shortly afterwards, the humpy man with a goatee beard crawled towards him. "He is Link who claims to be blessed?" His voice sounded throaty while the old eyes observed Link, "His name is Professor Mizumi, head of the alchemy laboratory of Hyrule. He has a widespread knowledge of all forms of magic and arts. For him it is easy to figure out the origin of them. Does he still intend to make demand of Professor Mizumi's time or will he save it?"
Link was a bit uncertain because of the choice of language the scientist used, but after he had familiarized himself with it, he only nodded. His decision stood for a long time and there was no turning back.
While Zelda and Daphnes waited in the entrance area, Mizumi guided Link across the small corridors. Even though the room was huge, it felt like there was not enough space. Link had to watch out to not accidently threw something off the table before the scientist finally offered him a seat.
Mizumi used various kinds of mixtures and spells. Although Link did not have a clue what exactly the man was doing and neither did this one offered an explanation, it was interesting to watch him. The fascinated expression of the scientist lightened, accompanied by some mumbles, with every part of the procedure he finished. Satisfaction filled Link as it was most likely that his mission would finally reach its end.
"His Majesty, this is fantastic!" yelled Mizumi in euphoria through the whole laboratory after he was finished. While he rushed back to the entrance, the other workers looked confused at their chief. Link followed him to not get lost between all the equipment, yet it proved to be not difficult because the man was slow on his feet.
"This is no human magic! This is a higher power! This is godlike! Think of it!" The man was unstoppable in his speech once he reached Daphnes. "All the legends told about the Golden Relic! About the existence of the Triforce! This is the best proof Mizumi encountered in his lifetime! He has no doubt about its authenticity! This mark is a remnant of the Triforce itself!"
Mizumi went on in his excitement but Link noticed that Daphnes' face got pale and his spirited features went away for a terrified expression. When he sat down on the chair behind him, the scientist stopped in his narration and asked him worried, "Is something bothering him, His Majesty?"
"It is… Excuse me, Mizumi. Could you please let me alone with these two?" Daphnes' voice sounded thin and his look was absent.
"As he wishes." Mizumi went to the other scientists to talk about his discovery.
"You two were not fooling me," whispered Daphnes when he stared on the ground. Zelda and Link looked at each other but they did not say a word. Though he felt sorry for Daphnes disappointment, it was a relief that they were not proclaimed as liars anymore.
Slowly the king lifted his head. "The things you have told me before." His voice trembled. "The intentions of Ganondorf. The invasion. Does he plan to usurp Hyrule? Does he really plan it? Tell me!" He sounded pleading as if he wished it was not the truth and still struggled to accept that he was betrayed by the Gerudo.
However, the only answer Zelda gave him was, "Yes, father. He does."
Daphnes turned his look away. "I had given him credit for many things. Even vicious ones. Still, this… I would have never thought he would go this far." Daphnes took a deep breath and put his head in his hands. "I am still unable to believe this. That I was this grievously mistaken in him. This means everything he told me was a lie right from the beginning? He only exploited my empathy and manipulated me into carelessness?" The keen disappointment was visible on his entire body. "I… I have no words for this."
"Father, please. I know that it affects you deeply, yet he is not worth to make you feel low. He is the one who should for being a high traitor." Zelda sounded pleading when she stepped towards her father and grabbed his arm. "Yet you are the only one who can act against him. Please, get him captured before he starts his evil scheme."
Daphnes turned his head to his daughter and responded spluttering, "I will think about it over the night. I need the time to arrange my thoughts. The following consequences will be fatal. There is no way back once the path is chosen. It is not wise to make such a decision rashly."
Though king's frustration was hard to look at, Link was more than glad that the truth was finally revealed before anything crucial had happened. Finally the tension slowly left him. The royalty and Hyrule would not meet the same fate again and neither would he.
Even if it only were a few days, it felt like a long road to come to this point. At first, back in the desert, it looked like he failed but thanks to an unknown savior and the Gerudos in general, he made it in time. Considering this, he felt bad for them as they made unknowingly a great contribution to their own king's downfall. However, it was the only right thing he had to do and he had no doubts about his doings. Ultimately, this time the end justifies the means.