Just wanted to drop a brief note here - my beta writer (who is an amazing angel that I love) has said portions of this chapter are intense, and I won't disagree with that. The middle portion gets a bit dark. So, I don't know, if it's not your style feel free to skip over those tough paragraphs.
Also, I wanted to say a quick thanks to the new readers who checked out and reviewed the last chapter. And to all of you, thanks for your continued patience while I drag this along.
A Welcome Home
Chapter 14 - Alight
The cold crept into Link's bones, damp and unrelenting. Their meager fire did little to hold back the fog that accompanied the frigid spring rain.
Link stared into the flames, cloak wrapped around himself, and tried not to shiver. Around him, the soft pattering of endless droplets fell.
Two days out from the Sheikah village, and they had hit a roadblock. They had huddled in the cave for the evening when it grew too cold and wet to continue.
The road had grown slippery and practically impassible for the horses with the steady downpour. They'd gone on as long as they could and managed to find a small outcropping that provided some shelter. Sheik hadn't spoken since they'd settled for the night. In fact, she'd barely spoken in the days prior. Link had come to expect it.
She sat quietly against the rocky wall, her long legs crossed in front of her. Methodically, she removed each of her weapons, cleaned them, checked for sharpness, and placed them on a rough canvass cloth. First, it had been the short katana she wore on the small of her back. Then, the daggers that rested on each thigh. Sets of throwing stars hidden in ankle bindings, thin needles up each sleeve. A quiver of arrows hidden in a saddlebag. She carried more weaponry than Link cared to count.
He turned to peer out into the darkness at a speck of light in the distance. Castle Town.
They were almost a day's ride away but the flat plains of Hyrule Field made it just visible on the horizon. Link wondered if Allashua and her group had stopped for the rain too. She had barely been able to hide her excitement prior to leaving the village. Their party had been scheduled to leave shortly after Link.
"The Elder said Allashua and the others were joining the Whisperers in the capital." Link returned his attention to Sheik, "What are whisperers?"
Sheik paused her work, laying another arrow perfectly parallel to the others. "They gather secrets," she answered simply.
Her tone didn't seem bothered by his question or that particularly interested so, as she picked up another arrow to inspect its tip, Link pressed further.
"And they tell them to the king?"
She nodded a sharp, quick motion.
"Isn't that... I don't know," Link paused as he tried to wrap his mind around it, "wrong? Against what you stand for?"
"You don't know what I stand for," she said, the words cutting from her lips.
He took a deep breath. Conversing with Sheik was like navigating a maze. "Sorry. I just mean, your people mean to dethrone him. Why do you help someone you are fighting against?"
She looked up at him now, sitting rigidly across the fire. "The Sheikah were servants to the royal family prior to their... to Hyrule's downfall. After that, to survive, the Sheikah had to adapt. The king wasn't just about to let us wonder about, knowing our loyalty to a ruler he had just slain."
"So you agreed to help him?"
Despite only being able to see half her face, Link knew she found the question idiotic.
"We agreed to make him think that. The Sheikah were not only protectors. They were secret keepers. No one can collect intel like a Sheikah. So, we made a deal. We are to reside only in our hidden village and provide the king with any bits of information we can. It's how we are able to wander about Hyrule freely, so long as we provide a reason."
"What types of information do you give him? Useful things? What happens if you stop?" Link blurted out, overcome with curiosity.
"We provide only small pieces here and there because we are not permitted by the king to live outside our village. We like to say we don't know much, but we do offer pieces of information we're willing to give up. If we were to stop, he would probably order all Sheikah to be killed on sight," she explained without even the tiniest flinch. Evidently, the reality of her people's situation had long since sunk in.
Link paused, watching her as she picked up another arrow. It seemed her chattiness had finished, though he decided to press further just once more.
"What do you tell him?"
She didn't look up from her work as she answered, "the day after we broke into the prison we told the king we'd heard rumors it was Ricca who went missing."
Link couldn't contain his alarm. "What?!"
Sheik froze, her eyes glaring up at him.
"S-sorry," he apologized, regaining control of himself. "I just... isn't that awfully risky?"
"It's not like we told him Impa and some oaf with a sword did it. We knew the news would make its way back to the king eventually. Essa would tell him and we wanted to beat him to the punch. Make him look bad."
"But there's suspicion now that your people are involved," Link remembered, looking back to the flicker of light on the horizon. "Isn't it dangerous to be in Castle Town?"
"It's dangerous for everyone, but the Sheikah who whisper to the king are in a precarious situation, yes," Sheik agreed.
Link's attention snapped back to her as she huddled over one of the throwing stars. For a moment, she had a strange, almost too formal, accent. He considered asking her about it but thought better of it.
"We will be staying well east of the capital until we're far enough north. The Zora are only a two-day journey north of the city."
With that, she began to pack up her items, filling the quiver and replacing all of her hidden weaponry. Without another word, she pulled a thick woolen blanket over her shoulders, rolled to face the wall, and went still.
"I'll take first watch then," Link mumbled, leaning back against the stone, eyes still lingering on the dim lights in the distance.
The next day brought with it low clouds and a cold spring wind. The rain had stopped at least, which meant they were able to continue on their way.
Just before dusk, Sheik generously offered an update on their whereabouts. Something Link had quietly been questioning since lunch.
"There's a small town ahead. The last one before the Zora's Domain. We'll stay at an inn here tonight and reach the domain late tomorrow."
Link nodded, following along behind. As they neared the village a strange, unfamiliar scent reached his nose. The night was foggy, but in the distance there was a deep orange glow, shifting and changing through the haze.
"What is..."
Sheik didn't let him finish, interrupting his absent thoughts. "It's the smell of burning bodies."
For the first time, her voice sounded almost fearful. She spurred her horse into a sprint. Link was quick to follow her lead, trying his best to remain at her side.
As they neared, the thick smell of smoke and burning flesh filled Link's nose. Moments later, the smoke enveloped them and they found themselves within the burning ruins of the village.
With barely a pause, Sheik leapt from her horse and sprinted to the nearest building. Link secured their horses, terrified and frothing, to a nearby post. It was charred, but the building beside it had already burnt. At least there they would be mostly safe.
He paused to look around. The air was thick and hazy with smoke and he was unable to see more than a few feet around him. Ashes and bits of burning ember rained down from above, and the sweltering heat and soot left Link filthy covered in an ashy black mess.
Sheik emerged from the building she had entered empty-handed, darting across the street in front of him.
"Check for survivors! Do something you dolt!" she shouted at him before sprinting into another burnt out home.
Startled, Link grabbed the blue scabbard and secured it over his shoulder. He entered a crumbling home to his left, pushing open the door. Inside a few fires still burned, but the home was devoid of life. He stepped into the street again to see Sheik hauling a woman over to him.
She elder seemed barely conscious, her head lolling from side to side as Sheik supported her weight. As gently as she could she placed the woman in Link's arms.
"Stay with her. I'm going to look for more survivors and horses. Try to get information." she commanded.
Then she was gone, vanishing into the smokey haze before he could reply.
Slowly, Link laid the woman down. She coughed and he tried desperately to scan the area nearby for signs of water. Without luck, he returned to the woman's side as she seemed to wake.
"Mamm? Are you okay?"
The elder coughed again, her unfocused eyes settling on him. They opened wide with fear. It seemed like she was trying to scream, though her sounds emerged as weak moans as she desperately tried to crawl away.
"Please! Don't! You're hurt, and I'm here to help!" Link reached out, gently extending a hand to her. "Please. Can you tell me who did this?"
Her eyes fell to his chest and then, calming slightly, she spoke, "General."
Fear shot through Link.
"Essa?" he asked, "General Essa was here?"
The old woman nodded, reaching a withered hand to her throat.
Panicked, Link looked around. He couldn't see Sheik through the smoke and ash. With all the fire still cracking around them, it made it impossible to hear someone's approach. He couldn't hear her nearby, which meant she wouldn't hear any of the General's men if they still lurked about. He knew had to let her know who was responsible, and that he could still be around nearby.
"Listen, stay here. Okay?" Link instructed, "Stay by the horses. If anyone aside from me or the blonde girl who saved you come back, just ride. Take my horse and ride."
The women nodded, hiding at the base of a burnt out home a few feet from their horses.
Link wound his way through the streets, turning left and right in search of Sheik, the General, or any signs of survivors. As he ran, the damaged village became too much to bear. Everywhere he looked there was fire and wreckage. Any houses still standing burned bright with orange flame while the rest had burned themselves out to blackened husks.
He had passed bodies. Mostly men, some of whom seemed to be holding whatever they could use as weapons. Some had held pot lids or rakes. Others, bits of wood.
"They were defenseless," Link muttered to himself, rounding a corner and passing the body of another.
He stopped still, his eyes traveling over the carnage in front of him. A woman, the burnt remains of her lower half protruded from beneath a fallen roof. A few inches away, a tiny hand, reaching for the mother it would never feel again.
Link coughed, then gagged, then sobbed. He fell to his knees, staring at the tiny form before him. He covered his mouth, desperate to hold back the scream rising in his chest.
"Link."
He turned, spotting Sheik's blackened, sooty form. She carried a child in her arms.
"Essa. He killed them all," he managed to gasp, choking back his sobs.
Her eyes widened in fear. "I've got a horse over there. Get it. Get back to the woman. We need to leave. Now."
Her eyes drifted over his shoulder breifly before she turned on her heel, sprinting ahead and leaving him alone once more.
He sat for a moment, turning to the bodies before him. Gently, as softly as he could, he pulled the woman free from the wreckage. He lay her down on the rubble and placed her arms around the small figure nearby.
Link stood, turning his back on the destruction and gathered the horse Sheik had found. By the time he got back to Sheik, she seemed as furious as the fires burning around them.
But he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for making her wait.
Without a word, Sheik stepped forward. There was something in her eyes he hadn't seen before, and in his own sorrow Link didn't want to consider what it was.
She pulled the reins from his limp fingers and led the animal to the elderly woman. A moment later, she helped her up, securing her on the horse before passing her the child she'd saved.
"You're the only two left," she said, looking up at the pair. "Ride southeast. Go to Kakariko. Hyrule Field is not safe."
The old woman nodded, pulling the child closer to her and directing the horse out of town. A moment later, she vanished behind the thick curtain of smoke.
Sheik said nothing, pulling herself into her own saddle and watching quietly as Link did the same. He didn't look at her. He couldn't. Not after what he'd seen. The image still burned before his eyes.
"We need to go. If the fires are still burning, it means Essa could be nearby. He's probably off watching his work somewhere. We'll ride as hard as we can to get some distance. Let's go."
They didn't speak again after that.
A few hours out of the village and Link let himself cry. He felt the tears turn the ash on his cheeks to a muddled mess and tried to hide his sobs in the beat of the horse's hooves.
If Sheik noticed, she didn't let it on.
He knew she was angry. Her shoulders were taught and under the moonlight, he could see the way her knuckles were nearly white from furiously holding onto the reins. She said nothing though, and Link was left to wonder what she saw in her own exploration of the village.
He couldn't let himself think about it or picture the things he had seen back in the small town.
After a while, Link wondered if Sheik was angry at him, Essa or at what she'd seen in her own time in the town. Link couldn't pinpoint the source of her anger before he was pulled back into his own grief for the small child. He abandoned Sheik's anger, too exhausted to give her motivations further thought.
By morning they had reached the banks of the lower Zora River, but Sheik did not let them slow their pace. They rode nearly all day, stopping only here and there to let the horses drink.
Just before dusk, they began trotting up the steep roadway of the upper river. Link wanted to appreciate it more - the way Raya would have, but he was too numb. His mind couldn't seem to process the things he'd seen in the last 24 hours, his senses too overwhelmed.
Without a doubt the domain was beautiful. They rode alongside the river at the base of a wide canyon. On either side of them rose high, rocky walls slick with water. The road was narrow and often mucky. Sometimes it wasn't visible at all under the thick beds of moss. It was clear almost no one traveled the path via horse with any regularity.
Occasionally, they'd pass beneath a rocky overhang, and cascading waterfalls would pour from above them into the river beside. In those moments, Link's ears would fill with the pounding of plummeting water and the cool spray of the cascade would hit his face, giving him a jolt of energy.
It wasn't enough though, and in their haste they had ridden too hard, growing too tired and weary. Their horses staggered along, hooves slipping on the muddy riverside road.
Link would have never known there was a threat had Sheik not sat up straighter, her hand shifting to the hilt at her back. Even she had slumped in her saddle, her constant vigilance growing sloppy.
He barely saw the movement in the river, the dim light of dusk masking the strange shifts of water. In an instant, Sheik slid from her horse, but almost as soon as her feet touched the ground Link saw the tip of a spear at her throat. A strange being slithered along the ground, positioning himself out of Link's eye line. Sheik didn't react, simply raising her arms above her head in surrender.
"Off the horse," a strange, silvery voice called out from behind Link. He felt a sharp, cold metal through his cloak near the middle of his back.
Slowly, Link placed himself on the ground. His legs wobbled, exhausted from the endless ride, and gave out beneath him. He slumped to his knees in the muck, wet, exhausted and covered in soot. Tears stung behind his eyes.
A tall, bluish-silver form rose from the river in front of Sheik. Link watched, wide-eyed as the Zora approached her.
The being was nearly twice her height with dark oval eyes and a strange dorsal fin that trailed from the back of its head down its back. The Zora watched her and opened a small mouth to speak. Link watched the gills on the side of his long neck move with the intake of breath.
"Who are you?" the Zora's eyes darted to Link in mild disgust. "We do not allow Hylians into the domain. Especially ones so filthy."
Sheik shifted her weight, and the spear-wielding Zora who had his blade at her throat moved into sight, repositioning his weapon. Link stared in amazement at its muscles, smooth and streamlined beneath its taut skin.
"My name is Sheik, and that is Link. We need to speak with your king."
"The king speaks with no Hylian." The tall Zora spoke again, his tone appalled. "Your people do not simply wander onto our land and make demands. Not anymore."
"We're trying to save Hyrule," Link blurted out, "Some of the king's men attacked and destroyed a village on the way here. That's why we're so filthy. We tried...there was almost no one left...the king needs to be stopped, but we need your people to help."
"Our people have lost enough because of your king," the Zora hissed.
"Please. You need to listen to me -"
"Link, be quiet," Sheik snapped.
But Link refused to stop. He needed to tell the Zora king about what he'd seen, about the child and the bodies and the burning wreckage.
"That village was the last thing between you and the capital. It's only a matter of time before they turn in your direction. If you don't believe me...if you don't believe that I'm fighting against the king, go into my bag. Pull out my sword. You'll see."
The tall Zora nodded his head at the guard behind Link, and Link watched the creature step over to his horse and flip open the saddle bag. He pulled out the blue scabbard, throwing it onto the bank out of Link's reach.
"It's the Master Sword. Only I can wield it, and only the one who wields it can destroy the king," he continued to explain.
Sheik was staring at him, eyes wide with either fury or confusion. Link couldn't tell.
"I don't care for Hylian fairy tales," the Zora said, then nodded once more. "Arrest the interlopers. We'll decide on their punishment later."