July 11th

All is on hold.

Things were progressing perfectly well, too, or so I presumed. I returned to Sanidin Park just after midnight, where the full moon cast a generous glow upon the now eerie forms towering around me. Squinting from horseback at the base of the northern tree, I could not discern any trace of my arrow. After circling it a few times I decided to dismount and search from an alternate angle to be certain, but no sooner than I'd taken two steps I felt something underfoot, withdrawing to find the fletching end of a broken shaft. The other end, from which the head was also broken, jutted diagonally from the earth a few inches away. I surmised that Ichabod must have stepped on it as I crouched and plucked it free, and by my lantern's additional light I then saw it - the note I had dropped in the outgoing bin that morning, pierced through.

A giddy grin still stretched across my face when I ambled in my front door, far too amused yet to even fathom turning in for the night. Judging by his rate of participation, the boy was evidently enjoying this little game as well...though certainly not as much as I. A mischievous chuckle escaped me as I seated myself at my desk, glancing over the note I had prepared for phase four.

LOOK DOWN AT THE MOAT SOUTH OF EVIL'S PEN.

Slightly more challenging, but presumably still obvious, this puzzle referred to the moat bridge south of Castle Town Prison. It's not at all far from my home; I had walked to the location earlier in the night to attempt to secure the prize, but there remained too many persons out and about, too many potential witnesses. But now it neared three o'clock, and I remained staunchly awake.

"No sense in wasting momentum," I convinced myself, swiping a small leather pouch and a length of twine from my desk on my way out the door. Upon the moat bridge, I briefly surveyed my surroundings, this time spotting no one. I began to tie one end of the twine around the cinched mouth of the pouch when the latter slipped from my fingers, tumbling with a heavy series of thumps across the stone floor. "Clumsy fool," I chided myself, quickly stooping to retrieve the bag and pulling it open to examine the contents for any breakage. Inside, a fist-sized opal rabbit stared back at me, having survived the fall without so much as a chip. I smirked at the irony of the gift, a symbol of good fortune for someone upon whom I wished nothing but devastation. Satisfied, I drew the bag shut and proceeded to finish tying on the twine, then fastened the other end around one of the merlons of the bridge's battlement ledge, leaving the pouch suspended along its side. One would have to peer over the ledge in order to see it, but knowing the bridge receives minimal traffic regardless, I was fairly certain no one else would disturb it.

Afterward I actually managed a respectable night's sleep, having determined it best to send off the note during the day. Not a moment I wasted once I arose, however. My trip to the post office preceded even breakfast, for today I would feast on the delectable gratification of observing my prey. The instant my fingers released the envelope into the outgoing bin, I pivoted about and cleft a straight path to the nearby market sector, where I treated myself to hot tea and one of my favorite pastries, known as a moblin claw.

Local mail deliveries have typically occurred by five o'clock, but ever since the postmaster employed the genius of hiring all Ritos for carriers, it's not been unusual for them to complete their routes by three. My having finished breakfast around noon meant I had at least a few hours to spare - and I knew precisely how I'd spend them.

Phase six.

I hadn't yet begun work on phase five, but that would surely be simple enough. The sixth and final phase, however, called for more elaborate preparations, some of which even necessitated research. My mission beckoned me straight into the depths of the castle, where I wandered each and every passage with my poetry journal in hand, jotting down elements of interest. At various areas along the way, one servant and a total of three guards inquired as to whether I was in need of assistance, to each of whom my response was the same.

"Just seeking inspiration."

It placated them without exception, as no one suspected a mere poet could be devising anything other than next week's royal digest. Within two hours I had gathered sufficient data for my purposes and then stationed myself atop one of the square towers of the western curtain wall, which proved the ideal point for my observation. Slipping a book out of my bag that I had acquired in the library, I kneeled beside a crenel and folded my arms upon it, now prepared to wile away the wait.

I'm uncertain how many additional hours transpired. At one point I roused from an unexpected nap, jerking my head up from my arms and peering down at the bridge to find, to my relief, that the pouch remained undisturbed. I was halfway through the book and had consumed two snacks when I began to ponder whether I'd made the puzzle too difficult for him. But, admittedly, the boy does have one trait to which I will attribute credit. He's never failed to show.

The sun hovered low in the sky, just beginning to graze the western landscape, when at last an approaching figure caught my eye. I blinked and squinted, clambering to my feet and leaning cautiously over the crenel. He undoubtedly bore a blue tunic...but was it him? His head turned as he neared the moat bridge, behind it whipping that eyesore of a ponytail in the gusty winds. I cracked a sneering grin, now positive. My fingers gripped the crenel as though talons, my eyes launching arrows right through him, if only they could. Once on the bridge, he located the pouch rather swiftly, drawing it up onto the ledge and loosing its twine bond. After a fleeting peek he reached in, his expression indistinguishable as he lifted the rabbit into proper view. Then came the wide-eyed realization. Yes, idiot. It's opal. By your standards, you're rich.

"Enjoy it while it lasts, you miserable wretch," I uttered quite audibly, far from any danger of his hearing. "Hmhmhmhmh-AAAH!" I lunged back against the battlement, having just turned to find Carlaisle standing directly behind me. My arms sprawled wide, attempting to gain enough traction on the stone surface to right myself as I heaved to catch my breath. "W-what are you doing all the way up here?!"

He stared for a moment longer, one gray eyebrow arched high. "I was just about to ask you the same question." He then directed his gaze past me, to the object of my disdain. "...Why do you hate him so much? Does he have something to do with your behavior lately, or is this just another symptom?" His eyes returned to mine as I straightened myself and brushed the dust off my back with both hands.

"What do you mean?"

He crossed his arms. "Don't insult my intelligence. I've known you to be a little uppity at times, but you've never carried on like this, not even toward Ganthe." The individual to whom he referred is a nobleman, in title only, with a well-deserved reputation for contention. The man relentlessly goes out of his way to somehow argue with everything everyone says, and I've likewise gone out of my way to avoid so much as crossing his path. But Carlaisle reserved a valid point; even two years of tolerating Ganthe had failed to produce as much animosity in me as the boy had in a few months. However, Ganthe had never lured away the epitome of everything my heart had come to deem precious. "Something has been making you out of sorts for quite a while now, and I've been trying to refrain from prying, but at this point I am seriously concerned about you. I want to know what's going on."

For a few seconds I stood speechless, grimly aware that any truths I divulged would severely amplify my risk in the wake of my master scheme. "I...don't know what to tell you. Perhaps I've been a bit more stressed than I've realized." As I spoke I turned somewhat aside, glancing down at the boy as he strode back into the midst of town.

"What does Link have to do with it?"

At that I turned back to him quickly, surprised that he'd known his name. "Why would he have anything to do with it?"

"You were cursing him into eternity just a minute ago, and now you just looked at him again. Not to mention you ran him off like a dog that time in the castle, then got soused on our cider and-"

"I was not soused!"

"You've been acting strangely is my point! You've not been yourself for a while, and I want to know why. Is Link part of the problem or not?"

"You're the one who keeps insisting I have a problem! I don't have a problem!"

"Really." He glared for a moment, clearly unconvinced. "Then would you care to explain why you missed our collaboration meeting this afternoon with Hugh and Sabon?"

My mouth hung ajar and my eyes grew wide. "...That...that was today?"

"Yes, Edwin. We waited for you because we knew it wasn't like you to miss an appointment."

"Oh my word," the words barely filtered out as I slapped my hands over my face, then proceeded to rake my hair. "Did you get it rescheduled?"

"I asked, but they weren't too eager to oblige. Hugh is particularly annoyed about it. You know how he is about wasting time."

"Ugh...ugh! I can't believe I let that slip my mind!" How I ever more despised that cursed Link!

"Do you understand now why I'm concerned? After they left I looked all over for you, thinking something terrible might have happened to you. I checked your house and half the castle and finally climbed up onto the wall to see if I could spot you, and that's when I saw you all the way over here. Do you know how difficult it is for a sixty-four-year-old, two-hundred-and-eighty-five-pound man to climb one of these ladders? Twice?" He paused, perhaps expecting that I would respond, but I had resigned myself to sulking by this point. "I'm asking you as a friend, not just a colleague, to please tell me what's going on. I just want to help."

That snapped me back to myself. "I don't need your help! There has been something troubling me, yes, but I've no desire to involve anyone else in it."

"Okay, if you prefer to handle things yourself, that's your prerogative, but considering how much this problem has already affected both of our careers, I think I at least deserve an explanation."

I hesitated, pondering what more to say. In that very moment spawned another tactical strategy:

Include him in the setup.

"...All right," I finally began. "I will tell you what's going on only if you swear not to breathe a word of this to anyone."

"Of course, Edwin. You can speak to me in full confidence."

I drew a deep breath, nervously contemplating my words. "I have reason to believe that something dreadful is about to happen."

His brow furrowed. "You mean this Calamity thing we've been hearing about?"

"No. This matter concerns the princess and her appointed knight. As you know, recently I was privileged with the opportunity to accompany Her Highness once a week for lunch, before her duties rendered it impossible for her to continue doing so." He nodded, rubbing his chinstrap beard, so I continued, "Over the course of those meetings, she disclosed details to me of growing concerns she holds regarding the very individual who had been assigned to protect her."

"You mean her knight?" he inquired, to which I nodded. "Who is her knight?"

"Link! Link is her knight!"

"Link? Oh, so he does have something to do with it!"

I exhaled irritably. "Try to stay with me here if you would, please."

"Okay okay, I'm with you now. My apologies!"

"So as I was saying...the princess is concerned that her knight Link is up to no good."

"W-well did she give any explanation as to why she feels that way?"

"She's refused to go into much detail, but I haven't any reason to distrust what she says. She hasn't spoken to the king about it because she fears it would be dangerous to do so. If this isn't handled precisely right, the results could be disastrous. I'm extremely concerned for her safety."

"Wow...that...that just doesn't sound like Link at all!"

I practically snorted. "How would you know?!"

"I worked with him pretty closely for almost a year back when he was still a child."

"Doing what?"

"Attempting to help prepare him for a career entirely different from the one he ultimately chose. He has a gift that could have secured him a life of luxury, but he wanted to be of more meaningful service to his country. He always cared very deeply about helping others."

"Yes, well, a few years and a sudden promotion can make a tremendous difference in a person," I asserted as I retrieved my book and nestled it back into my bag. "Remember, not a word of this to anyone, no matter what!"

"I still have a hard time believing it, but I promise, no one will ever hear it from me. Thank you, Edwin, for sharing this with me."

I nodded as I approached the ladder. "I need to be going. Please extend my apologies to Hugh and Sabon if you should see them again."

At last I escaped, making subtle haste down the ladder and through the maze of passageways to the one that would that would most efficiently lead me out of the castle. Along the way I caught sight of Her Highness in the round hall, about to exit through the door opposite what would be mine. I lifted a hand in greeting, prepared to exchange the usual formalities, but after glancing my direction she merely continued through the door, which had clasped shut by the time I arrived. I remained there for a moment, uncertain what had just transpired. I was fairly sure she had seen me. Perhaps she hadn't recognized me from that distance? Or was she deliberately avoiding me now? Once again my heart bore the weight of yet another point to ponder.

I've been mulling the entire situation over since I arrived home. Writing it down as I have usually serves to provide an element of relief, but today it's merely proving to compound my anxieties.

Frankly, Carlaisle was right. I've been allowing my frustrations and overwhelming desire to destroy Link detract from every other aspect of my life, however meager. Even the princess, once a dear friend, has undoubtedly come to question my worth of her time. The consequences of this fact I've been attributing to him, but the reality of the matter is that I've no one to fitly blame but myself.

As for the master scheme...whether or not I've nurtured its success or hurled it all into jeopardy remains to be seen. Whichever is the case, the safest course of action at this point is to take none at all. As stated at the summit of this mountain of an entry, all is on hold - all, that is, except what remains of my actual life. There's no benefit in vanquishing my opponent if I also defeat the purpose in the process, after all.

Time to saw the dust off the violin.