Chapter 10: Buried Bones
The long hallway was deathly silent. An unpleasant sense of death filled the air within the bare stone walls, plant life growing up from the cracks between the stone slabs of the floor. The doors all shut tightly, no form of light was present and all warmth was absent.
At one end of this corridor, a single door cracked open. No light came from the chamber beyond it, nor did any sound. The door opened further, though only long enough for the two figures to slip past it. They closed the door tightly behind them, being careful not to break the silence.
The two figures then looked about the hall. Each of them were dressed in tight-fitting suit, seemingly made of cloth, with various bandage-like clothes decorating their form. This included wrappings around their arms and legs and a hood that connected to a vest-like garment over their upper torso.
Both of them peered about the area through crimson red eyes, the long braid hanging freely out a slit in the back of their hoods swaying as they moved their heads. Moving silently, they made their way across the hall, watching each door as they passed.
Reaching the opposite end of the hall, the two of them pressed their backs against the wall on either side of the lone door. It was clearly larger than the other doors in the hall and was lined with a thick rim that sealed any seams there may have been around the door. They paused a moment to look at one another before nodding to each other as they stepped away again.
Stepping forward, one of the figures took hold of the handle with both hands. The chest of their slim body expanding as they took a heavy breath from beneath their hood, they pulled the door open with a single heave. The two of them peered into the darkness beyond the doorway, only the first several steps of the descending staircase visible.
"You think the dungeon's down there?" one of the figures asked.
"Only one way to find out" the other replied. Taking another heavy breath, the two of them started making their way down the stairs, carefully eyeing the steps, ceiling and walls as they went. The stairs curved as they got farther down, seeming to begin a spiral before ending at an open doorway.
A dim light flicked from within the chamber before them, the echo of pacing footsteps filling the air. Cautiously entering the chamber, the two figures narrowed their gaze as they peered about the room.
"So irritating…" hissed a voice up ahead. The two of them glanced at one another briefly before moving deeper into the room, the light revealing the room's interior as they approached its source.
The flames of a lone candle sitting at the center of a large wooden table, the light source brought warmth to the small area it reached out to. Within this sphere paced the cloaked figure, their arms folded behind their back as they walked back and forth in front of the large cell along the wall opposite the table.
The two figures stopped just beyond the candle's glow, their eyes locked on the pacing figure. The cell before him was empty, the walls and floor as bare as the rest of the chamber. His only company seemed to be the chair at the table's side and a large piece of parchment rolled up beside the candle.
"She has no idea how to run an empire!" the man grumbled, shaking his head furiously. Coming to a stop the man spun around, the outline of a young man's face becoming momentarily visible from beneath his hood.
"She is our superior" the man snapped, his voice changing notably to that of a much healthier and younger man "we have no right to question her commands." The man took several steps before coming to a halt, spinning around once more. A low snarl escaped his lips, a raspy, ancient voice returning as he spoke.
"We have no rights while you let her push us around" he spat, stepping forward once again "we've let this scum desecrate our home and are forced to tend to those spoiled brats!"
"We do as we are told!" the man barked, his voice changing again as he spun around "We gave our word to serve her without question!"
"You gave our word!" he hissed, turning around again as he began to pace again "I have sworn nothing…"
"Will you oppose me?" he questioned, coming to a halt as he looked toward the candle. The man remained still and silent, the sound of cracking bones erupting from beneath his robes.
The two slim figures watched him curiously from where the hid beyond the candle's light. They slowly moved back and away from the man as he stepped towards the table, reaching out and taking hold of the sheet of parchment. Slowly unrolling it, he laid it out across the table, using the palms of his hands to hold it down at the sides.
"You know well what would happen if you and I were to fight" the man, his voice still that of a young man's. There was another long pause as he ran a hand across the page. "Who would care for your beloved home?" he questioned, looking down at it "Who would discover the secrets that remain hidden still even to you?"
The man raised his head, the parchment rolling back up as he turned away and stepped back towards the cell.
"You're a cruel one to share a body with" he said quietly, his voice returning to its sickly unhealthy tone "but I suppose you leave me with no options…" A violent chill crept through the air as the sound of bones twisting and churning beneath flesh echoed through the room. One of the figures cupped their hands over their ears, biting down on their lip as they held back a cry of pain.
Tilting his head to one side and then to the other, the man slowly turned towards the stairway. The sound of his footsteps echoed through the chamber as he made his way to the stairs, disappearing up the stone steps. Once the man was gone, one of the figures moved to the other's side, placing an arm around their shoulders.
"Zelda, are you alright?" they asked, looking the other over thoroughly. Taking a breath, Zelda lowered her hands to her side, looking back at her companion before giving her a nod.
"I'll be alright" she assured them, looking back towards the table. Following her gaze, the other figure stepped into the light as the two of them approached the table. They eyed the rolled up parchment curiously, standing at one another's side by the table.
"Do you think this is the map we're looking for?" they asked, giving Zelda a quick glance.
"I don't know" she admitted, shaking her head as she glanced back at the cell behind them "the map was supposed to be in the dungeon where that girl was kept, but there's no one else here."
"Perhaps they were moved" they offered, looking back at her again "if she revealed to us the map was here, they probably moved her to keep her from seeing anything else."
"What is left down here to be seen?" Zelda asked, looking back at them.
"I'm sure this will tell us" they told her as they looked back down at the table. Taking hold of the parchment, they unrolled it out over the table and revealed the contents printed on its surface.
The page displayed a large, obnoxiously detailed layout of a labyrinth-like structure. Fine, indistinguishable letters and symbols littered the page with seemingly no structure across the solid lines of the outlined rooms and hallways. Disorganized images filled parts of the map, further disorienting the chaos of inked writings.
"What the hell is this?" the figure exclaimed, shaking their head in disgust.
"Reika, keep your voice down!" Zelda insisted, holding a hand over her lips.
"Sorry…" she huffed, taking a breath "But just look at this…" Zelda sighed as she glanced back down at the parchment, a look of disappoint me crossing her face.
"I'll admit I had expected a more… Proper map" she told her "But we are in a foreign land and we knew there was a chance they'd use different writings…"
"This isn't writing!" Reika pointed out, holding the parchment up to her "This is barely legible! My husband's horse could do better than this!"
"I'm sorry…" Zelda said softly, looking away towards the floor. Reika sighed, shaking her head as she tossed the page back down.
"I can't believe we came all the way down here for this" she grumbled "what good is it to anyone, let alone us?"
"Perhaps those who've learned the forger's penmanship" Zelda suggested, looking up and back at her.
"What do you mean?" Reika asked, looking back at her curiously.
"I mean maybe we can find someone who knows how to read this" she explained, picking it up off the table and unrolling it once more as she looked it over "someone in this place must be able to read this map."
"But how're we going to get anyone from this place to read it to us?" Reika asked, crossing her arms over her chest "We can't let them know we have it or they'll take it back."
"We could copy bits and pieces" Zelda suggested "take clusters of these symbols and put them on a piece of paper and then show those to a butler and ask if they can read it."
"How will we explain the papers?" Reika asked "And how will we know which clusters form actual sentences or words?" Zelda thought for a moment, rolling the map back up in her hands.
"I don't know…" she admitted, shaking her head "But there must be some way we can translate this."
"Well we'll hold onto it for now" Reika assured her, letting her arms drop to her sides "at least if it goes missing that's one more thing they're worrying about which means they'll have less time to focus on us."
"Right" Zelda agreed with a nod, tucking the parchment away in a pocket "we need to take any edge we can get."
"Now let's get out of here before Zmiaj gets back" Reika insisted, stepping past the other princess towards the stairs. Zelda nodded as she followed after her, the two of them beginning to make their way up the steps.
"Who do you think he was talking to?" she asked, looking over at Reika as they went.
"I haven't the slightest idea" Reika admitted with a shrug "he was probably just talking to himself: I can't imagine someone like him having any friends to vent at."
"That seemed like a bit much for someone who was just talking to himself" Zelda pointed out "it was like his mind was arguing with his body for control."
"I suppose it's worth taking note of" Reika admitted "if he has some kind of inner turmoil, we could use that to our advantage."
"And who is this woman he was talking about?" Zelda questioned "It sounds like she's the one who's making him do all this."
"No one makes people do things" Reika told her, looking back to her "he's made his own choices. We can't show him any sympathy or hesitate if we get the chance to beat him. Not after all the people he's hurt."
"I know…" Zelda assured her, nodding reluctantly "But if he's only a puppet and he could do so much… I'm afraid to think of what kind of power this woman has."
"She may not have any" Reika told her "powerlessness often leads to cowardice in the weak willed, which is probably why she hides while her minions do all the work."
"I guess" Zelda sighed, lowering her head "I just hope we have a chance against them… Even if we escape, that won't stop them from coming after us again and going into hiding would mean making our people sacrifice even more…"
"We're doing what we have to" Reika reminded her "we can't just sit here doing nothing while our people struggle without our guidance. They look to us for inspiration and we need to show them we're working just as hard as they are. Trust and loyalty is the one thing we share with our people that these monsters can never break."
"You're right" Zelda said with a nod, taking a breath "I need to stop feeling bad and work to aid my people... I have to-" Her words were cut short as Reika threw an arm out in front of her, both of them coming to an abrupt stop.
Standing in the doorway only a few feet ahead of them, Zmiaj held an armored skeleton a few feet off the ground at arm's length. The two princesses quickly moved to hug the wall, watching quietly as they tried to stay hidden.
"Why is this door open?" Zmiaj snarled, the sound of his voice no longer distinguishable from the two he'd spoken with before "I made very sure it was closed warned you idiots to stay out!"
"It wasn't any of us, sir!" the skeleton insisted, shaking its head frantically "None of us have entered this hallway until you called me in here!" A low hiss came from beneath Zmiaj's hood as he released his grip on the skeleton, dropping it to the floor.
"Then someone else has entered my realm" he growled, turning back towards the staircase.
"Shall we send a search party?" the skeleton questioned, glancing past him down the stairway.
"No" he assured it, looking back at it "they've trespassed on my property and I'll see to their eradication personally." The skeleton nodded as Zmiaj turned back to the stairs, beginning to walk back down them towards the unseen princesses "You return to your post and let the others know keep an eye out for intruders."
"Yes sir!" the skeleton replied with a nod before turning away and marching off down the hall. Reika and Zelda looked at one another in horror as Zmiaj approached, the sound of his footsteps sending a chill down their spine with each step.
"What do we do?" Reika whispered frantically, quietly stepping back down a few steps. Zelda bit her lip, placing a hand on the step before her as she watched Zmiaj grow nearer. Reika looked from Zmiaj to Zelda as the area around Zelda's hand gave of a momentary green flicker. Zmiaj came to a halt as the moment the light broke the darkness, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
"It seems my guests haven't left yet" he said with an amused tinge to his voice "I guess that means I'll get to work off some of this stress after all." As he resumed making his way down the stairs, Zelda moved back to Reika's side, taking her by the arm.
"Let's go!" she insisted, Reika nodding to her as they darted silently back down the stone stairs. Emerging once more into the candlelight room, Zelda pulled Reika towards the wall, the two of them becoming motionless against the wall beyond the candle's glow.
Coming down the final steps, Zmiaj came to a stop in the doorway as he looked about the room.
"Hiding in the shadows won't help you" he said allowed, stepping into the room towards the table "but do try your best to avoid me. It'll make your eradication all the more satisfying if I have to work for it." Reika and Zelda watched quietly as he stepped past them. He came to a halt beside the table, looking down at it curiously and tilting his head slightly.
"Let's see how important that really is to you…" Reika said under her breath, glaring at him with a burning hatred. Zmiaj turned to face the table fully, looking over its surface as a sickening cracking sound came from beneath the sleeves of his cloak.
"Little, thieving vermin" he said grimly, a skeleton hand revealing itself as he placed it down on the table "I suppose the proper term for your death will be extermination…"
"I think that answers our question" Zelda said quietly, a slight smile coming across her face.
"How I wish I could see the look of his face under that hood" Reika said with a smirk, glancing back at Zelda.
"Alright" Zmiaj said with a sigh, turning away from the staircase as he moved deeper into the chamber beyond the candle's light "it is time for you to meet your end." The two princesses moved silently along the wall, concealed by the shadows as they made their way toward the stairs.
"We'll see you at breakfast, you heartless bastard" Reika muttered, glancing back into the room as she went to step up the stairs. Her eyes opened wide, a look of terror crossing her face as she felt the invisible force that blocked their path. "He's blocked it off!" she gasped, looking back at Zelda "We're trapped!"
"Had you expected me to simply let you leave?" Zmiaj laughed as he reappeared within the candle's glow, walking casually towards the stairs "You aren't the first one to enter my home uninvited." Reika looked back at him with a scowl, clenching her fists at her sides as he came towards them.
"You bastard" she growled "he's trapped us in."
"Do you realize now your error?" he laughed, lifting the candle up off the table and carrying its light toward the staircase "You won't escape this place with your lives."
"What do we do?" Reika questioned, looking back at Zelda "The only way he won't kill us is if we tell him who we are."
"Just stay calm" Zelda assured her, looking back at her. Reika paused a moment, watching as Zelda took her hand and held it firmly in her own.
"What are you…?" Reika began to ask, her words trailing off as the light came over them, driving away the shadows that had hidden them.
"Ah, so you're the culprits" Zmiaj said with a chuckle, shaking his head "a pair of thieves who've no where left to run. I certainly hope you can put a fight. I'd hate for this to be all over so soon."
"Then I'm afraid you'll be very disappointed" Zelda told him, glaring back at him "because we're leaving, now."
"Oh are you?" Zmiaj laughed, coming to a stop a few feet from them "And how do you plan to do that?"
"Like this" she snapped, pulling Reika close to her as she held her arm out over their heads "Farore's Wind!" Zmiaj watched, holding an arm over his face as a blinding green light engulfed the two of them. The light persisted for only a moment longer before fading, the duo no longer standing before him. Zmiaj looked back at where they had been standing, clenching his fists tightly.
"Petty thieves…" he snarled, the fire of the candle dropping to the floor as he crushed the stick in his hand "I swear on her life I will find you… And when I do, you best pray you're already dead!"