zelda ew what a creeper amirite

another short one

and then the fun begins. o(0,0)o

enjoyyyyyy

xoxo

Chapter Twenty

Shadow of Queen

The queen gripped the arms of her throne so tightly that her knuckles began turning white. She felt the tension in her jaw, her teeth grinding against each other. Her patience was waning, her anger and frustration bubbling against her dam. She had ordered that she be left alone to sit on her throne and seethe—she did not want anybody to see the shade of red her skin was becoming. For she had woken up that morning and been told that her prisoner was gone. That somehow he had slithered through the stones of the castle walls and disappeared into the dark Hyrulean night. As if he had never been in the castle at all. Zelda had wanted so badly to wring his neck, suck the life out of him with her own two hands.

And she would, eventually.

But even as patient as she was, the situation was not ideal.

And, of course, there was the issue of the Triforce of Courage. For Link, even if he had not escaped, would have been no use to her in that area; he did not have it. All he had was a scar.

Just one more piece, that is all I need...

Suddenly, the door to the throne room creaked open, and in came the one person she had summoned—the one they called her shadow. Sheik walked in without a word, strode gracefully along the red carpet to the center of the high-ceilinged room, and knelt on one knee with his head bowed. Zelda straightened her back and forced her muscles, in her limbs and her face, to relax.

"Sheik."

"Your Highness," he said. He was wearing his suit, his yellow hair falling over his shoulder in a single braid. "You called?"

"Yes." She paused, her eyes fluttering among the tapestries hanging from the vast walls. There were so many, depicting so many scenes. Battles and coronations and marriages. "Link is gone."

"He is."

"How?"

"I don't know," he replied. "All we know is that his cell is empty and the person who was guarding his weapons is dead." He lifted his head slightly, just so that the queen could see the red glint of his irises. His expression was completely blank. Like a slab of stone. A pristine little slab of stone.

Twelve long years it's been since Sheik and I met. He is very different now. I am very different now, of course, but it is certainly more obvious in him. He no longer laughs, no longer jokes, no longer flashes me his hearty smiles. He knows me well. He knows not to smile the way he used to in my presence. He knows not to wink at me while he makes faces behind the council members' backs, he knows not to put frogs underneath the tables at dinner, he knows not to be casual with me. He knows that those days are gone. They have been gone for such a long time.

I wonder if he smiles in privacy, though. If that little slab of stone becomes flesh and he looks at himself in the mirror and smiles simply to remember what it feels like. It is interesting to imagine that—for I no longer see him as a friend. He is my shadow now. He does what I tell him to do without batting an eyelash, he heeds my every command. He is my secret weapon. Not my friend.

In a position like mine, friends are a liability.

But more importantly...

Friends do not exist.

Because a queen can trust absolutely nobody but herself.

Nobody.

"Should I send a warrant for his arrest, Your Highness?" he asked. His voice was hollow, too. Like hers. They were very similar in a lot of ways, actually.

"No. No, I don't want his name and face known throughout Hyrule," she said. "A fugitive like him can easily find friends, and we should not help him."

"We just let him be, then?"

"Don't be stupid. Of course not." She scoffed and turned her eyes to the ground, wracking her brain for some kind of plan. She called upon the wisdom that ran through her limbs, called upon the gifts the gods had decided so generously to bestow upon her. The image of the scar, so red and clear on the back of Link's left hand, flashed in her mind.

Where is it...why doesn't he have it...?

She recalled that night seven years ago. A night she had slept through so soundly, only to awaken to a completely changed world. She tried to remember every single minute detail, paint the most vibrant picture in her head. Give herself some clues about where the Triforce was, where Link was, how she was going to get to them.

And then she knew. She understood everything.

It made her feel so very powerful.

"If Link no longer has the Triforce," she declared, "then he will go searching for it."

"Will he, now?"

"Yes."

"He doesn't even understand what it is, nor does he believe in its existence."

"No, you are right," she smirked. "But he will search for it to keep me from getting it."

"All right," Sheik said, "but does either of you know where it is?"

"No." She paused. Sheik lifted his head all the way, staring at her with eyes narrowed in confusion. "But I know someone who does."

"Excuse me, Your Highness?" he said with a raise of his eyebrows. "Someone knows where the Triforce of Courage is?"

"Yes. And you will go with her to get it before Link does."

"Her...?"

Zelda grinned while Sheik's face grew pale.

"You don't mean—"

"I do. She knows exactly where the Triforce of Courage is, and she will take you to it."

As Sheik's eyes grew dark and his skin became nearly white, he stood straight up and looked into the queen's eyes. She was impressed by his straightforwardness, by his sudden courage to look at her with such drama, such intensity. Sheik never failed to amuse, she could definitely give him that.

"What makes you think she will do anything for us," he spat, "Your Highness?"

"She will have no choice," Zelda replied. "She will do anything I ask."

"Why is that?" He sounded so unconvinced, and in a way, terrified.

So amusing, my shadow.

"She will do anything to protect that which is holy to her. And I happen to have in my fingers just that."

"I don't understand, Your Highness. You have what is holy to her?"

"I have Link's life in my hands." She stretched out her left hand, wiggling her fingers just until small bursts of magic flashed there. "And I have your life in my hands." She stretched out her right hand, wiggled those fingers, as well.

Sheik could not reply.

"She will do anything to protect Link's life. And she will do anything to protect your life."

"How do you know that?" he hissed. She had never seen him so reluctant to obey her orders, so skeptical of her knowledge. But she was the wisest person in Hyrule—in the entire world. It was in her blood. Zelda stood from her throne and stared down at him, felt the bloodlust glistening in her eyes.

"Shadows are meant to be kept in the dark," she said. He maintained eye contact for a few moments, and for a split second, Zelda could see nothing but that red. And then, he bowed his head obediently.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Tomorrow, before the sun rises, you will go to her and you will give her my orders. Then you both shall go—and you will not return until you have the Triforce of Courage."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Unless you happen to find Link on your journey. In which case you will bring him here alive."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Good. Now go."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Sheik turned on his heels and made his way toward the door. But just before his slender, toned frame disappeared from sight, she opened her mouth and called out to him.

"Oh, and Sheik. Don't forget to give Impa my regards," she said. "After all, it has been such a long time."

She relished in the anguish that crossed his features before he said, in utter defeat, "Yes, Your Highness."