Chapter Ten
A Change of Order
I'm going to do it… I will.
At least, that's what Zelda kept telling herself. As much as she disliked the idea, Purah was right. She should apologize to Link for berating him the day before. After all, he was only acting on instinct, anyone could have made a similar mistake. But she had wrestled with her emotions for hours on end now, and even when she tried to escape the trappings of her mind by calling upon her loyal bard to sing a play soothing tunes, the sensations of anger and frustration continued to boil in her blood.
Four weeks they had spent getting that Guardian back in working order, and now it nothing but warped metal and shattered stone.
I will do it.
She promised Purah she would apologize, it was the decent thing to do, but that didn't mean she was happy about it. Far from it, actually.
"I heard about what happened yesterday," Lini commented, brushing out the last few knots in Zelda's hair after her long morning soak in the Sanctuary prayer pool. "The servants' quarters is a gossiper's delight down there. Did he really save you from that… thing?" Lini didn't particularly like the ancient Sheikah Relics, Guardians especially, so she refrained from saying their names out loud, as if saying to brought a curse upon oneself. Zelda suspected they frightened the old woman more than she let on.
"I suppose," Zelda replied solemnly. "But he blew up all our hard work in the process."
Lini tsk'd disapprovingly. "Well, maybe its best those old clunking things stay buried in the ground like they've been for thousands of years. Such things are not… natural."
"You're taking his side on the matter?" Zelda's eyebrow rose ever slightly, denoting her displeasure with the idea.
"I'm taking no one's side but your side, Princess," her maid replied resolutely. "All I'm saying is that I find his actions agreeable―as agreeable as a man's actions can get, mind you. He did save you from being blown to smithereens after all."
"I guess he did," Zelda said sardonically. "I'm sure Father will want to reward him… You know how he is."
"That I do, Princess," Lini agreed with a chuckle. "I'm assuming that's why Sir Link has been locked in the King's office with him for the last hour." That did not bode well, considering that was exactly the same place she had been called to by the King's own summons.
"Where did you hear this news?"
"One of the footmen told me," her maid said, pulling the last of Zelda's golden trusses behind her ears. "Apparently Sir Alaric is in there with them."
"Why on earth would Sir Alaric be dragged into any of this?" It was certainly odd. Bizarre, even. Surely her father wasn't admonishing Sir Alaric for not being in Link's place, was he? The man was at no fault, it was all just circumstantial timing. She knew full and well that Sir Alaric would have done as just a good job at pushing her out of harms way. In fact, she was certain he would have been able to do so without blowing up all her hard work. Unlike Link, he knew how important her research was. He would have taken more care.
"Who knows, Princess, who knows." Lini gave her hair a once over, and finally declared her fit for service, sending her on her way to face whatever new scheme her father was inevitably planning.
When Zelda arrived at the threshold of her father's office door after the long march from her room, she heard Sir Alaric's deep voice resonate on the other side. He did not sound very pleased, not in the slightest, and it was almost always accompanied by a sigh. Not a good sign, she thought anxiously, but pressed in regardless. Whatever this mess was, she wasn't going to be able to clean it up if she just eavesdropped by the keyhole for an hour.
Zelda took two steps in and halted. As she had feared, Link was still there, standing stiffly like a soldier in formation, ears open wide to hear the commands of his general. He had positioned himself near the far wall where he could keep keen eyes on things from afar with something solid at his back… like a wolf cornered and ready to fight in the blink of an eye, she imagined.
Zelda scowled at him coldly, quickly forgetting her promise to Purah to apologize. She almost wished to see a smug grin on his lips mockingly, confirming that the destruction of all her hard work at his hand was no accident at all. She could be angry with him without resignation then, but…
He received her glare as a stone wall would: unchanging, absolutely blank.
It set her teeth on edge. Was he truly so in control of his emotions that he could test a stone's patience and win? Was he even Hylian? Were it not for his furrowed eyebrows the day before Zelda could have written him off as no more capable of emotion than the damned Sheikah machinations they worked so hard to resurrect. Was this all just a cruel joke from the goddesses themselves?
"Princess."
Alaric sat opposite of the boy, seemingly deflated and defeated in his chair as he stroked the tails of his short mustache, as was his habit when he was stressed. But he perked up hastily and rose to bow at the Princess's entry. Link mirrored his fellow Knight, but did so silently.
"I see I have walked in on something rather… uncomfortable. Shall I return later?" Sir Alaric's eyes danced towards her knowingly, before rounding on the golden-hair boy opposite of him, regarding him with a sort of annoyed disposition. Not anger, just innate frustration. The pieces were already falling into place in her head, but she tried to deny the bigger picture coming together.
"Uncomfortable or unorthodox, as Sir Alaric says it," the King remarked, "you are here, my daughter, all the same. You might as well hear it." Zelda swallowed slowly, the muscles in her neck tensing like they always did as she forced a deep breath. She took the seat Sir Alaric readily offered her, and he took to standing at her side like a hound loyally protecting its master.
"Well. There's no dancing around it," her father said, leaning back in his chair and lowering his reading glasses. Zelda readied herself for whatever nonsense was about to come pouring out of his lips. "After hearing of yesterday's events, I have decided to transfer the role of Sir Alaric's position as your Appointed Knight to Sir Link. He is to take his place as your protector."
"Father that is ridiculous," Zelda protested loudly. "I hardly know Sir Link, but Sir Alaric has been at my side ever since I was a child, and not once has my safety ever been put into question since then! Why on earth would you disservice such loyalty on the whim of a boy who got lucky with a pot lid?" A pot lid! Goddess, that made it all the more infuriating. Of all the impractical and outlandish happenstances, he deflected the full power of a Guardian beam with a pot lid! Where did he even get the blasted thing?
"That boy," he father scorned, wholly ignoring the stone-faced knight standing to his right, "is the wielder of the Master Sword, need I remind you?"
"You don't! I am well aware of that since he parades around with it on his back all the time, father, thank you very much!" Zelda's icy stare had no effect of Link. Or at least, that's what she thought.
The King's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward in his chair, thick fingers impatiently drumming on the top of his desk. "Then I should not need to remind you why it is important to have you two close and at hand at every moment possible," he said with a tense pause. "Ganon could strike at any moment, and if you two are separated more than strictly necessary then we are doomed with all certainty. And since Sir Link has proven himself to be of a sharp and capable mind, I see no issue with having the Hero Chosen by the Sword serving as your closest protector. If we cannot trust the man who Hylia has chosen herself to serve as the champion of our people, then we cannot trust the goddess herself."
"Oh spare me the religiosity, father! You yourself did not trust Sir Link when he first arrived, and now you wish to indulge favor of Hylia with tidings of faith. Do you even hear yourself right now? Do you not see the hypocrisy of your own words?"
"At least I am willing to admit when I have done wrong by the goddess, Zelda," her father retorted harshly, standing to his feet and leaning his palm against the flat of his desk. Her father was an imposing figure to begin with, standing far taller and wider than most men, but brooding over her as he did now, Zelda's courage waxed and waned like the dying flame of a candle, but she did not crumble yet.
"Perhaps if you learned the same humility Hylia would see you fit to inherit the powers bestowed upon this bloodline like your mother and her mother before her." That was a low blow, and he knew it. To call upon the name of her late mother for the sake of turning blame on her.
"You don't think I have been humiliated enough?" Zelda kept a tight grip on the arms of her chair, grounding herself in any sense of stability. She was so torn between anger and fear now she worried her delicately assembled sense of fortitude would fail her. "You don't think I have suffered enough being the bad end of a sour joke in this family? The inept Princess of Hyrule… the sovereign doomed to fail… do not think I have not heard the whispers of our people?"
"I don't have time to argue frivolities with you Zelda," the King replied with a deep grumbled. "Sir Link is your new Appointed Knight, that's that, and its best you learn to live with it. Both of you!" Zelda shot cold eyes at Link and wondered… Does he disagree with this as well?
"Your Majesty," Sir Alaric intoned calmly, glancing at the Princess as if to reassure that he would try. "If I might have a word in all this?" the King sank back into his chair with a long sigh and nodded.
"I beleive what the Princess wishes to express is that she is still uncertain as to Sir Link… proficiencies. I won't deny that he did save her from the rogue Guardian, a feat fitting of a Hero, yes. But they are little more than strangers, lacking in the nuances of mutual understanding. Surely it would be wise to allow her time to get to know Sir Link before you have him replace me. After all, the position of an Appointed Knight is a rather intimate station, it must be built on trust and honor." The King's eyebrow crooked.
"I do not mean to question the Hero's integrity, of course," Sir Alaric quickly said with a sincerity only fitting of him. "I merely wish to do what is honorable by my station."
"And I do not wish to dishonor you, Sir Alaric," the King replied in a quieter, more reasonable tone. "It is true that you have served my daughter and my family with the utmost loyalty, and I promise to reward such stalwartness. You will be moved into the ranks of my own Royal Guard, I assure you, where you may continue serving the Royal Family for many years to come."
He paused and looked at his daughter. "But for your uncertainties, I'm afraid you will just have to learn by live by faith. These are trying times, I know, but its for the betterment of our people. And it's not as if this is a permanent change. Once this whole Calamity Ganon mess is dealt with, Sir Alaric will be returned to your original position beside the Princess."
"But it could be years until that happens," Zelda persisted. Goddess, she hoped it wouldn't be years. What the Princess wouldn't give to wake up the next morning with her powers finally unlocked at last and slay the damned Beast before tea time. A foolish wish, yes, but a wish all the same.
"Or it could be days," the King replied solemnly. "We can't truly know. That is why we must exercise every precaution."
"Father―"
"Enough Zelda," her father nipped. "Sir Alaric, I herby officially relieve you of your role as the Princess's Appointed Knight, and bestow it upon Sir Link, the Hero Chosen by the Sword. In the exchanging of this role, Sir Alaric you will inform Sir Link of his responsibilities as the Princess's Appointed Knight. You are all dismissed."
For a long while all Zelda could do was sit there in abhorred silence, and Sir Alaric did much the same. As if things could not get any worse her only chance of being out there in the wide-open world of Hyrule, free from her father's pressure, free from the sight of that gold-haired boy with that damned blade, was promptly thrown out the window.
But she swallowed that pain. Swallowed it and internalized it, and then stormed out of her father's office with nothing but a bitter resolve to keep walking until her legs gave out from exhaustion.
Or her horses' legs. In fact, she very much intended to do just that. If Link was to be her new bloody Appointed Knight, then he was going to have to work for it.
Sir Link didn't say much, that was for sure. But as long as he did his job and did it well, Sir Alaric could find some peace in that, if even a little. After all, he was the Hero Chosen by the Sword. Surely, Link alone could keep her safe when their world faced its darkest hour.
Of course, that didn't exactly make the dull ache of his wounded pride feel any better.
He was a Knight after all, and a Knight's pride was in his duty and honor in service to his King. Even when that King called him to step down and give his place over to another man. Sir Alaric knew he would be lying if he said that didn't anger him. It did. But despite the bitter taste in his mouth, there was nothing he could do now to change it. He could only make sure his replacement did well by Zelda.
"The Princess has a strong spirit, Sir Link," Sir Alaric said, clapping a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "Its best to learn when to be resilient, and when to give in. Be hard when you need to for the sake of her safety but don't be afraid to let her chose her own way sometimes." He paused, gave it a thought, and then laughed a little. "In fact, that's good advice for any woman really. It's like winning a war, lad. You got to pick and choose your battles. Some are worth winning, and some are not. But it's always the little victories on both sides that make all the difference… you understand?"
Link nodded. Not exactly the most encouraging answer, but it would have to do.
"Also, if you ever find yourself staying out there in the wild, be careful when you try to wake the Princess up in the morning. She's quite jumpy, you see, prone to being easily startled awake." Unconsciously, Sir Alaric rubbed his nose, remembering a long-gone pain from where it had been punched by accident.
Link nodded again.
"And one last thing." Sir Alaric was much taller than Link was, so he bent down to level his eyes with the young Hero, and calmly yet grimly said. "If you ever do anything to bring question to the Princess's honor, I personally will see to it you will be split open from navel to nose. Hero or no Hero. Understood?" The Hero matched his eyes pupil to pupil, neither cowering away nor challenging him.
"I wouldn't expect any less," he said. It was a simple reply―and admittedly in a far deeper pitch than he was expecting―but it bore the weight of truth, and Sir Alaric was satisfied with that.
"Good. Keep a close eye on her for me, Sir Link. I'm putting my trust in you." As his last expression of solidarity, Sir Alaric offered his hand to the Hero. Link took it with a tight grip, and firmly shook.
Sir Alaric watched as the young Hero left, solemnly crossing his arms and sighing deeply. The Princess wasn't going to go easy on him, that was for certain. It was terribly out of character for her despise someone so, she truly was a benevolent little thing, but it seemed that Link had pushed every right button―intentionally or unintentionally he could not say―and that wasn't going to be an easy battle to make peace with.
But for the sake of his kingdom, Sir Alaric prayed devoutly for their unity under one goal.
I feel bad for Sir Alaric, dude just wants to do his job.
But, you know how the cookie crumbles. Besides, it won't always be daggers and cold feelings, I promise. I hope you enjoyed.
On another note, just wanted to let you guys and gals in on a story I've been reading recently that I feel really outshines anything I've written before. Its by a writer named nomansland, and the story he/she wrote in particular is called "Legacies and Bloodlines" Its a really really good Zelda fanfiction and I highly recommend you go read it. And leave a review and let the author know who sent you!
As always, stay classy
-Bold
