Chapter Thirty-Three
Hurricane (I)
Deep within the darkness of writhing shadows, glittering crimson eyes watched through hooded lids as tense conversation flowed around the small table. An unnatural chill seeped from burning skin. Fingers slowly curled into scarred palms as muscles twitched with the quickness of summer lightning. Each steady beat of a strong heart sounded like a war drum within overly sensitive ears. Normally ruby lips were pulled back in a silent, primal snarl, baring white teeth to oblivious prey.
With nearly excruciating focus, Impa followed every move they made. He made. She smothered a hiss of disgust as she saw his hands tremble when he grasped a goblet of water. A bitter laugh almost spilled from her lips as she watched his eyes dart around. Poor boy, he only had water to drink. Such a pity.
Wrapped in the shadows which were her birthright, she observed her Charge, the glowing, golden light within the consuming black that was her thoughts, as she laughed. Steady, studious and loyal Mikal sat on the right of his Queen, her left shielded by quiet, analytical Shad. And before her, weakened by a substance she dared not touch for the reason he did, wasLink.
Pitiful, deceitful, disgusting Link.
They thought she didn't know. When asked, both dripping from the melting snow which had clung stubbornly to their clothes, Zelda had told her the truth, with Link confirming her words. They had taken a walk and played in the snow. She had said something foolish, something that had hurt and angered the younger man. Then she had slipped. Not only because of what she'd said, but… She had looked away then, as if ashamed, and her voice had become a bare whisper that grated on the Sheikah's heart. She had also slipped because she kept thinking about them.
Even if it had been the truth, it wasn't all that happened. Truth and honesty were not exclusive.
She hadn't believed Zelda's story had been the full tale,not at all. Link's actions, his shuffling and refusal to meet her eyes, had only told her what she'd already known.
Something had happened.
Something Zelda was keeping from her, something Link was afraid she would find out about….
Something which made Garo keep his eyes on the Hero.
Her gaze slid to the growing pup as her eyes narrowed further in consideration. Where she had previously considered the mutt an annoyance, she now knew otherwise.
The fact that Link had tried, and failed, to hide a limp for the past two weeks had done nothing to endear her to their story.
The dog, as intrusive, loud, conniving, and maddening as he was, had found a new place in her heart in the last fortnight. She knew he knew what had happened. And by the Goddesses, a half-Wolfo trying to tell her without words wasn't the oddest thing she'd ever encountered. But it wasn't his attempts to communicate that drew her to him.
It was his treatment of the boy.
Without obvious reason, yet with a discretion most would think an animal couldn't possess, he had tormented Link. Every day.
And better yet, he had not let the boy within touching distance of her Charge.
Which only further confirmed her suspicions.
Swallowing her rage, she leaned against the corner she had chosen to hide in.The shadows wrapped tighter around her, hiding her from the Hylians. It was probable Zelda knew she was there, but not entirely impossible she didn't. The young Queen was clearly distracted, her pallid face barely conveying her amusement.
Also noticing his brunch companion's silence, Shad questioned his Queen and her Adviser of their plans for the nearing Solstice. It was only days away, they all knew, surely they had some sort of plans? None for Mikal? That wouldn't do, he told them in a quiet, stuttering voice. He, his father and Link were going to have Sabbat supper on the holy night—surely Mikal would join them?
Assured of the flustered Adviser's intent to attend the meal, he turned to the monarch, and with a mischievous grin so frequently absent from his face, inquired as to her plans—as a concerned subject, of course.
He laughed softly when she pointed her fork at him and told him, in no uncertain terms, that unless there was an emergency, she was to be left alone for the observance of the Rebirth of the Golden Gods. Seeing her weak smile gain some true happiness, he nodded to himself and turned his attention to his depressed (and depressing) lover. Kicking the other male under the table, he glared pointedly at Link's food. Afraid of his increasing mood swings or not, he wouldn't let the Hero starve.
Which was really too bad. Garo growled silently to himself as he watched the traitor alpha pick at his food. If he died, everything would be a lot better. Ahh well. Couldn't have everything. At least he'd left…well, basically everyone, alone for a while.
Turning to the older two-legger male next to him, he looked upwards and whined softly. He was always good for a bit of food.
Mikal laughed to himself as Garo begged, handing the pup a piece of sausage. He smiled when Zelda protested. "My Lady, you feed him treats at nearly every meal. I don't think this bit will change much," he told her calmly. When she mumbled to herself, he shook his head and tried not to laugh.
Zelda pressed her lips together in vain attempt to hide a smile. Barely resisting the urge to stick her tongue out at the old man, she waved her fork. "Watch it, Mikal."
He swallowed another laugh and nodded with feigned solemnness. "Yes, Majesty."
Within the shadows, Impa watched the proceedings thoughtfully. Though her heart lifted slightly in relief at seeing her mate, her Charge, happy…she knew it wouldn't last. Something stirred within her, warned her. But what would happen to shatter that happiness, to scatter its fragments like the lazy snowflakes upon the ground, wasn't known. Only that it, whatever it was, would happen.
Whatever it was, she wouldn't let the young woman go through it alone. Not again. Not this time and not ever, not if she had her way.
As she watched them, as her eyes slid over the table and landed upon the suffering Hero, determination filled her. She would have her way.
[-]
The vaulted ceiling of the central chamber shone with holy decorations, strands of evergreen winding down the vast stone columns to the ground floor. Songs, sung angelically by some and piercing by others, echoed lively around the grand room, filtering through the many corridors and seeping through closed doors. Children ran around bustling adults, some tasked by those who watched them and others merely playing. Many laughed despite several near misses, carefully raising their burdens out of harm's way.
The sound of merry song and happy laughter twined easily, creating a melody of peace which very few could resist. Yet those who did, those few who were unable to wrap the holiday joy around them as the rest had, mourned. A father mourned his son, a lover his partner, a sister her brother, a brother his acts, a protector her ward. Theirs was a circle of pain and bitter tears unmarred by the lively festivities around them.
Silence would do that, no matter how justified it seemed.
Running a hand through her hair, Zelda stared at the frost melting on the window. Her eyes followed a single drop of ice water as it curved down the pane. It wove through the streaks of frost and rolled down the frame, undeterred until it fell upon the snow-laden sill.
She winced as her fingers caught a knot at the nape of her neck. It took little time to clear the knot as she slowly turned her back on the opaque portal. She glanced down the hall, noting with sad pleasure that it was desolate save the hidden Sheikahs. She paid the men no mind as her eyes glided over the shadows, searching, waiting. She could feel...could sense...
There.
Paying no mind to her dress, she leaned against the unforgiving wall, the biting stone against her back a welcome distraction. She watched Garo stride purposefully to a door near the end of the hall, Impa at his heels. She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She knew the red-eyed woman was only doing what was natural to her, but there was something about her posture, the deliberate way that she moved, the fact that she tried to cloak herself from Zelda's presence like an animal stalking its prey...the attempt to hide...
Something was going on.
"Impa." The name, so softly spoken, all but rung through the silent hall. It wrapped around the flickering sconces and arched against the ceiling beams.
The air became charged as the Shadow Sage swung around, hand atop her dagger. Their eyes met across the long hall. Grey-green discs became hooded as crimson rings narrowed from dilating pupils. Chapped pink lips thinned and pulled back ever so slightly in a silent challenge.
"Zelda." Once more, a single word flew between them. Rather than filling the space around them, it merely hung between them like a thread pulled taut.
Neither looked away as they closed the distance. Zelda ignored Garo's gentle scratching against her leg, her entire focus on the older woman. Without thought, she hesitantly raised a hand and pressed it to the other woman's chest, feeling the steady beat under her palm.
"What are you doing?"
A simple question became a weighted inquiry with that single touch. Feeling the younger woman's slender hand pressed to her heart, Impa swallowed. In the empty enclosure of the castle's pathway, she allowed her walls to drop. Knowing her tribe was around them, watching, protecting, knowing the mutt who proved himself smarter than many up-right beings was beside them, she allowed the truth to flow. Rather than a steady trickle, the knowledge of what she felt, of what she fought, flooded their bond like a tidal wave.
"Searching. Guarding. Loving," she replied. "I am doing what I have to, what Ialways will do."
"Searching…for what?" Zelda whispered as fear wrapped around her heart. Deep within her mind she closed the cellar doors tighter and checked for leaks. She refused to remember what happened that night. If she refused to remember it, then she didn't have to acknowledge its existence. If she refused to acknowledge it, then she didn't have to accept that it happened. If it didn't happen then it wasn't true.
She stared into the worried eyes of her keta. "He is a threat to you, always has been. I need to find the truth about what happened that day, about why he continues to limp when he only 'fell'.
"I am your Guardian, my sesha-nole. That doesn't change for anything. My instinct is to neutralize and destroy any threat to you…including Link. I haven't yet, because I don't have proof…and because acting rashly would destroy you more than it already has," she breathed.
"He's my brother," came the choked plea. The world blurred and wavered as burning tears filled her eyes. She looked away, unable to meet the penetrating, knowing gaze of her Maderone, her lover.
"He's hurt you," she stated with unwavering certainty. "Whatever happened in the past, distant or recent…it's hurt you. You've drawn away from the world, from your family, from me. He did something, said something, that scared you, that triggered you…that keeps triggering you. You think I don't see it, but I do. It's in the way you act around him, around Shad, around Mikal and myself."
"He's my brother. I love him."
"I know you do Zelda...I know," Impa whispered as she wrapped her arms around the crying woman. "But that doesn't change the fact that something has happened between you two."
"Nothing did," Zelda pressed her face into the older woman's neck. "Nothing happened."
"Whatever it was that went on that night has made you pull away, has frightened you so badly that you lie without realizing it.I know you love him. I know he's your brother, your family. I know he was there for you when I wasn't...is still there for you. But if he's hurt you, which I believe he has, then I can't let him stay."
"Don't kill him. Please Impa...don't kill him. Please please please. I know you don't like how he helped me in the past, I know you don't like that he still helps me. But please...don't kill him for something that's not his fault." She knew as the words fell from her lips that she was slipping, was admitting guilt if nothing else. She knew, but she couldn't not ask...she couldn't not ask for mercy for the one man who had so much for her.
Delicate lids lowered over red eyes as a quiet breath escaped slowly. Like a fist around her heart, she could almost hear the restrained words, could almost feel the truth through their bonds. Her Charge, her Queen, was so close to telling her...so close to acknowledging something had happened. Yet as much as she wanted the truth, she wouldn't push. Not like this. Zelda had to choose to tell her or it would tear them apart.
The Goddesses Themselves knew she wanted to push, not only so she could act, but for Zelda's sake...and if she listened to that tiny voice buried deep in the back of her mind, for her own as well. But it hurt to know the younger woman so refused to trust her judgment that she feared for the one that was doing her the most harm.
"You know that I can't do that," she finally admitted. Her voice dripped with pain, knowing she couldn't give the woman in her arms the one thing she asked for. "Making a promise that I might not be able to keep."
I can't promise. I can't. Can't.The word echoed through Zelda's mind, shredding through every defense, every futile attempt to hide from the truth. The honest admission drove a knife into her heart and tore jagged holes in her spirit.
Can't.
Somehow...the knowledge that her Guardian-mate couldn't let Link live hurt more than the fact that the older woman wanted him dead.
[-]
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AN: Oh boy...
Songs:
Hurricane by 30 Seconds to Mars
