The Waters of Nayru
Chapter 28: Parley
By, Frank Hunter
When the riot was finally quelled, the guards were given explicit orders to restrain the alleged Gerudo King and transport him upstairs, unharmed, into the soldiers' quarters on the upper floors of the Stockade. They were to hold him there until the Queen arrived, and they did.
Rigo felt a tingling excitement at the events of the day. It was the first time in a long time that he did. There was no need for that particular emotion in prison, no reason to ever feel positively about anything really. For the last five years, he had drifted by as best he was able, but rarely felt genuinely good. But now…now he had gotten back to himself. He had caused trouble again. His sense of purpose had been somewhat restored. Now he just needed to make sure his meeting with the Queen worked in his favor.
And, in going up to the higher levels, he got another opportunity he hadn't expected: the chance to look out the window again for the first time in years. He hadn't realized how much he missed sunlight. He sat there, at an unexceptional table, both hands shackled to the arms of his chair, and barely noticed any of it because outside the window, the sun was shining bright, and the golden light was coming in and warmly licking at the side of his face. It was beautiful.
When Queen Zelda finally entered the room, half-dozen guards came in behind her and fanned out along the wall. Colonel Tydus still accompanied her, just off to her right. From the glint in his eye, Rigo suspected he would be just as happy as Rigo to murder the other. Tydus had, of course, been trying his best indirectly throughout the course of Rigo's sentence. It had to eat him up inside that nothing had worked, that this boy had grown into a man and this man was now sitting before him more capable than ever.
The Queen slowly hobbled to the table on her cane and took a seat across from Rigo, keeping her eyes on him the whole time. Tydus stood at her side. Up close, Rigo had to admire the features of the Queen's face. Though her complexion was aged and her hair grayed, her eyes conveyed a look of the utmost concern, even through her obvious unease at being this close to Rigo. She was a compassionate person. And Rigo could also see that, in her youth when her skin was tighter and she had more of the energy of life about her, she must have also been a beautiful woman.
Rigo tried not to give away any of his own nervousness. Now that he had her attention, he wasn't sure what to do with it.
He swallowed, and decided to begin respectfully. "M'lady," he said, and bowed his head.
She nodded back at him. "Lord Gerudo," she said. "You are…not Ganondorf. Obviously."
Rigo smiled. "No," he said. "No, I'm Rigo, and I mean you no harm. I actually understand that you have seen our previous king more recently than we have, actually."
The Colonel scoffed. "My Queen, please. Do not feed into this farce. This man is nothing but a liar and a criminal. He is dangerous. He should be returned to his cell immediately."
A flash of stress pulled at Zelda's eyelids and, with an effort, she turned her frail body back to look at Tydus. "Colonel, humor me please. Are you familiar with the Gerudo tribe at all? Do you know their people or their culture?"
Tydus all but glared down at her. "With all due respect, m'lady, I am familiar with the only Gerudo that's ever mattered to the people of Hyrule."
"Then you're not aware," Zelda went on, "that the Gerudo, by nature, give birth to only one baby boy per century. That their religion dictates that boy be made their king."
Tydus said nothing, just turned his eyes on Rigo who met him with his own level stare.
"The mere fact of this man's existence means he is the Gerudo King, and the successor of Ganondorf, not his shadow," Zelda said. "So, please. If you insist on being present for this conference, I would ask you treat him with respect."
"Yes, m'lady," Tydus said, through gritted teeth.
She's smart, huh? Nabooru commented. That'll save some time.
Rigo remained silent through all of this, until Zelda turned forward in her chair again and regarded him.
"We have not heard from the Gerudo tribe for generations. I'd like to know how you came here," said Zelda.
Rigo considered what to tell her. He hadn't had much preparation time to come up with a plausible story, and he got the impression that the Queen was a particularly wise woman. She would be able to tell without trouble if he was lying to her on a whim. And, as the situation for both him and his people seemed to be about as bad as it could possibly be, he didn't have much to lose. He decided to do something grossly unfamiliar to him, something he'd traditionally avoided but felt the situation called for.
He decided to tell her the truth.
"It was five years ago," Rigo said. "In my childhood, I'd wanted to take a pilgrimage to the old Temple in the desert, to reclaim some of the treasure my people had abandoned there."
Zelda shook her head. "The Spirit Temple was converted to a prison after the Gerudo left it. It's called the 'Arbiter's Grounds' now. Nothing your people left there would still be there."
Rigo smiled. "With all due respect, m'lady, our vault was secure. I did find it."
He could see all manner of condescension and protest the Colonel wanted to voice flash across his face. Overall, Rigo suspected it was mostly an intense frustration that he was giving Zelda so willingly the information that he had refused Tydus when they'd first met.
"There was a small score of treasure I pulled from the vault. I'd intended to bring it back to our current settlement."
"Which is where, exactly?" Tydus cut in.
Rigo glared up at him. "Somewhere," he said simply.
Tydus flushed. He looked ready to lash out, but before he could get too heated, Zelda continued. "So how did you end up in the Stockade?"
"I had a few setbacks. I lost my supplies, and came to Hyrule to rest and restock for my trip home. But when I got here, I was detained, interrogated, and imprisoned without trial or cause. I've been in here ever since."
Zelda narrowed her eyes. "Do you know who did this to you?"
Ah, now this was interesting. Without any difficulty whatsoever, Rigo could point his finger straight at Tydus and accuse the man of everything. If the Queen believed him, he could cost Tydus his rank, his conscription, possibly even his freedom. The thought of him going into the Stockade with Gor Gurdy and the other murderers and madmen gunning for him was appealing as all hell. He'd have paid good money just to watch after all he'd been through.
On the other hand, Tydus was a cunning man. He'd already shown that he was comfortable lying and scheming to get what he wanted. If Rigo accused him, he'd likely flat out deny it. He'd probably have all manner of alibis and scapegoats to show that he couldn't have been responsible, and if the Queen believed him, it would paint Rigo as a liar and likely affect his chances of getting anything out of this.
He avoided the Colonel's eyes as he answered Zelda. "No," he said. "I'd never met the man before, and haven't seen him since. I have no idea who he was."
"If I may suggest," Tydus interrupted. "Any new incarceration would at least have to go through the Warden. If something foul has happened here, he would know about it."
The Queen glanced over at him.
"I'll take the lead on this investigation. I am prepared to make clearing up this…obvious misunderstanding my highest priority," Tydus added.
"No," Zelda said curtly. "I'd rather give the investigation to someone less involved with the prison system. You understand, Colonel. Though, I'd rest a little more easily if I knew you were planning to cooperate with my investigators as fully as possible."
Rigo tried to keep a smirk off his face. This was great. There was already tension here. Very obvious tension. Maybe, just maybe, the Colonel would get himself in trouble even without Rigo's help.
"Of course, m'lady," Tydus said.
The conversation again returned to Rigo, who greeted it warmly. "You'd said you wanted to negotiate a surrender," Zelda said. "What did you mean?"
"I heard you were seeing my people out in the desert," Rigo said.
"That's not for certain," said Zelda.
"But it is likely," Rigo injected.
"You've been imprisoned for five years now, you said?" Zelda asked. Rigo confirmed. "So how would you know anything about the movements of the Gerudo now?"
Rigo considered how to present the situation to her.
"Maybe I should elaborate on what I said before. The setbacks I had in the desert were caused by one of my own. The Gerudo Stewardess Sooru. She's the woman trusted to watch the throne until I was of age. She went for a power grab. She's the one who left me stranded."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Zelda said. "But I'm not sure how it ties in."
"When Sooru took my recovered treasure, she found something there that she was interested in. It was a relic that must have come from Hyrule during a war or conflict sometime in the past. You may know of it. It's a cup. A chalice, actually, silver with beautiful blue sapphires inset into it. When you look at it, it feels like it's…drawing you in, that's the only way I know how to describe it."
The Queen watched him with rapt attention. She ran her fingers over her collar and began inching a gold chain out from beneath her dress's neckline. When it pulled free, Rigo noticed that the chain had three small pendants hanging from the bottom of it, set with stones of green, blue, and red. The blue one was a familiar design, five-sided sapphires set in a triangular formation. Zelda held that one up.
"The jewels on the chalice," Zelda asked. "Did they resemble this?"
Rigo nodded. "That's it."
"The Chalice of Nayru," Zelda muttered. As she said it, there was a sense about her, as though the rest of the world had disappeared entirely. She obviously had deep reverence for the name.
"That's what I think," Rigo agreed.
Tydus, who had been holding his tongue for too long, finally let loose his opinion. "This is utter poppycock! The Chalice of Nayru is nothing but a bedtime story for children. Fountain of Youth nonsense without a basis in reality. It's not an actual cup."
"Your goddesses' Triforce was just a fantasy too," Rigo retorted. "That turned out to be pretty real though, didn't it?"
"Be that as it may, your uneducated impression of a cup you found in the sand doesn't make it a relic of the goddesses."
"It doesn't matter!" Rigo snapped at him, raising his voice to a shout accidentally. He hadn't realized how much the Colonel had been irritating him. The Colonel, also, had not expected the outburst and took a step backward with a hand to his sword's hilt, the flight-or-fight reflex at work.
"It doesn't matter," Rigo repeated, calming himself. He focused again on Zelda. She was, after all, the one who mattered here. "The cup either is the Chalice or it isn't. It doesn't matter. The point is Sooru thinks it is. When she took it from me five years ago, she said it would help her bring the Gerudo to power again."
The old Queen's eyes just bored into him, encouraging him to continue. He could see her soul drinking up the information he was giving her, balancing it on some eternal scale that would determine the proper outcome once she had all the facts.
"I think that she's back now with an army," Rigo went on. "I think she's planning to march straight into Hyrule to find the Waters of Nayru, and whether they're real or not, I think that if she does that, you're going to do everything in your power to stop her. Zelda, thousands of people on both sides will die if we allow this to happen, and that's the best-case scenario! If Sooru actually found the Waters…"
"The Waters are fantasy," Tydus scoffed.
"The Waters," Zelda interjected, "are safe."
Both Rigo and Tydus did a double take at that. They both stared into the Queen as if she'd grown a second head.
"The Waters are locked away in the Sacred Realm, to which there is only one known entrance. That entrance is sealed, and cannot be unsealed by any individual with a selfish heart or intentions for evil. And even if the entrance were breached, it would need to be the real Chalice in order for your Stewardess to raise Nayru's Fountain." Zelda leaned forward in her chair. "I find it unlikely that she would be able to reach the Waters. However, I agree with you, young King. If she tries, it will be in an act of war against the Kingdom of Hyrule, and we will have to respond in turn."
They stared at each other for a long moment, as Zelda let her words sink in. Finally, she said, "The Chalice needs to be recovered. It needs to be kept safe, and out of reach. What would you suggest?"
Rigo had thought long and hard on this. The real question, after all, was, "What do you want?" If there was anything he knew the answer to, it was that.
"I would request, humbly, that you release me from this prison immediately, and accompany me back into the desert to confront the Gerudo. Once there, I will expose whatever lies Sooru has told to my people about me, and show them that I am alive and of proper age. I will rightfully take the crown from her. If you can put me in a position to do that, once I've replaced Sooru, my first act as King will be to gift the Chalice of Nayru to Hyrule, as a token of our nations' renewed relationship. On the condition that it again be sealed away by your magic. In return, I would ask that you allow my people to leave through the desert, just as they came. I'll return them home, and you will never hear from us again. Not under my rule."
Zelda considered Rigo's proposal. From her point of view, it was fairly airtight, especially considering the notion that war was on their doorstep already.
"It seems to me," she said finally, "that your Stewardess may not be so apt to end her reign solely upon your return."
"Then help me end it without unnecessary bloodshed," Rigo said. "It's in both of our best interests."
Zelda closed her eyes, sat back, and steepled her fingers before her. It was a decision that had to be made, and one she couldn't take lightly. Rigo could appreciate that. He had, after all, been trained, first by Pureet and later Nabooru, in how to deal appropriately with people of stature. He would have to allow her the opportunity to make this decision and make it right.
"I'll need a little time," Zelda answered, "to determine if this course of action is in the best interest of Hyrule. And to look into the implications around your internment."
"I understand that," Rigo said.
"Then you understand I cannot release you from the Stockade until this has been cleared up?" she asked.
"I've been here five years already, m'lady," he said. "I can wait a little longer. But I stress that time really is of the essence here."
"I know," Zelda said. She pushed down on the arms of the chair and began the arduous process of getting herself up, taking cane in hand. Tydus gestured at one of the guards to open the door for them as they prepared to leave.
As Zelda worked her way out of the chair and to her feet, she shared one final thought. "Your predecessor would never have shown so much care for his own people," she said through a groan.
"I'm not him," Rigo responded.
"I'm seeing that," Zelda acknowledged. "And it gives me hope." She smiled and bowed slightly toward Rigo, who could not get up as his arms were still chained to his chair. "Farewell, young King. You will hear from me before long."
"Thank you," Rigo said.
The Queen exited the room slowly and the guards began to file out after her, but Tydus stayed behind. Alone with Rigo again, the old anger began to flood his features and he grimaced, bracing his hands on the table and leaning in toward Rigo.
"You couldn't just die, could you?" he growled. "Would have been too easy, would it?"
"I tell you what. Why don't you unlock these cuffs?" Rigo said, and he jerked his wrists up, jangling the attached chains. "See how easy it is. Or are you afraid I'll just balance out your other cheek?"
The Colonel's eye twitched on the side where the scar ran down his face. "Think you're clever, do you? That whole 'King of the Desert' thing may have the Queen fooled, but I know you."
"Right," Rigo said with a laugh. "You knew nothing about me until you walked into this room."
"I know that you are a filthy liar and a thief. You come from a legacy of treason and dark trickery, and even if you get out of this prison, I will expose you for the evil creature you are, and I will personally end your miserable life."
"You know what?" Rigo asked with contemptuous amusement. "I'm looking forward to it. Bring it on."
The Colonel jammed a finger toward Rigo's face. "I shall," he said, and though Rigo attempted to hold the man's eyes through this final exchange, he couldn't help but divert his attention to the hand that was mere inches from him. The gloves that Tydus wore were silver, and speckled with jewels. Rigo knew them. He recognized them.
They were his Silver Gauntlets. Rigo scoffed as the man walked away. And he actually had the audacity to call Rigo a thief.
