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The doors slammed behind her and all of the raised voices within the grand chambre ceased. Not a sound was heard except for the woman's footsteps as she climbed a set of stairs that lead to her personal podium. All in attendance were standing and all had their eyes upon their queen, whose determined and narrowed expression caused many of the Councillors to multiply their unease. Gracefully the queen sat and all her advisors sat after her, as all anxiously awaited for her to begin. Zelda could see from where she sat above the Elders and her noble Councillors that they all had questions. They had all been forced to abandon whatever activities, appointments or soirees they were having by the sudden and unexpected demand that they meet in the Council chambre. Usually the Councillors wore their best for the scheduled Council meetings but the unexpectedness of the current situation saw that they were donned in various attires; Elder Oplin even looked to be dressed in his sleepwear.
Zelda's gaze briefly scanned the room until her eyes fell upon the individuals she had been most hopeful would attend on such short notice. Prince Vahlymor and his fellow Noruidians were seated near the back of the circular room, each provided by a comfortable chair for their special attendance. No guards were allowed in the Council chambre and all were searched for weapons before being allowed in, so there was nothing to fear from the foreign men. Still, the queen could see the suspicious eyes of her fellow Hyruleans as they glanced at the outsiders and she surmised their thoughts as to why they would be allowed to enter the typically confidential chambre.
Taking one final steadying breath, Zelda interlocked her noble hands and addressed her waiting audience. "I address now the Five Councillors, the Heads of the Seven Noble Families of Hyrule, and a special word of thanks to my esteemed guests, Prince Vahlymor and his countrymen, for joining me here on such short and sudden pretences. Urgency and discretion was of the utmost importance when I ordered for this emergency meeting to convene and I assure you, ladies and gentlemen, that it is an emergency that we face that threatens the peace and prosperity of our kingdom".
"Please, do tell us what threatens our kingdom, Your Majesty," Council Elder Yrota said, his fellow Councillors nodding.
"Yes! What is this threat that you speak of!" called Matriarch Lienne.
"Hyrule prevails!" Patriarch Oris added.
The noise of the Council began to increase in volume until it still by a single hand gesture made by their queen. Once relative silence had claimed the room once more, Zelda informed them all as to why they had been summoned.
"Nay two hours ago, I was attacked by a being of dark magic here within the breast of Hyrule Castle itself. I have with great confidence that it was the same being that struck down Sir Link, Hero of Hyrule, and now it has made itself clear that it wishes to deal me a similar fate".
The instant Zelda spoke her last syllable the room exploded with noise. The thuds of a couple chair falling back upon the wooden floor as their occupants stood too quickly accompanied the chorus of calls and jeers of retaliation and concern for their queen. Zelda watched silently as each and every one of the nobility heads tried to voice their own opinion on how to proceed further: the only ones who remained silent aside from Zelda were the Council Elders and the Noruidians.
Zelda kept her gaze upon the foreigners for a moment longer than her fellow Hyruleans and her keen eyes noted the surprise in their faces at her admission of an attempted assassination, which wasn't entirely the truth, but revealing the truth of Dark Link and Link's soul would prove too problematic and complex. The Noruidians body language revealed that they were as surprised as the rest of the room, looking between one another with concern, but this behaviour quickly turned to defensive as the gazes of several nobles began to flicker back towards the foreigners. It was clear that suspicions were building with the passion of the room.
"Who was this beast who attacked you, Your Majesty?"
"Who is to blame!"
"Death unto the fiend!"
"Long live the Queen!"
"Call the soldiers up to arms!"
More members of the Council called out their words, their opinions, their appeals for actions to take but Zelda calming looked over to Councillor Yrota who gave her a small nod. The Council Elder knocked his gavel loudly upon his desk.
"Order! The Queen requests order in this chambre!"
The loud knocks of the gavel quickly returned order to the circular room and Zelda watched her Councillors return to their seats, some having to pick them up first. She waited until all were seated once again and all had their attention upon her. The Queen of Hyrule looked serene, collected, and regal, when in reality her heart was hammering and fear and anxiety were whispering doubt into her ears.
"I know that you are all concerned for my safety and the wellbeing of Hyrule and know that I hold your feelings and words close to my heart. However, now is not the time to act brash or move forward without consideration for this enemy. From what occurred during the attack, I believe that there is no clear way with how we may defend our kingdom without further investigation".
"Your Majesty," Councillor Yrota spoke up, drawing the queen's attention, "for the Council's record, could you please detail the details and series of events that took place during the attack. Perhaps once we hear what transpired, a possible solution might be proposed".
Several of Heads of the Noble Houses nodded in agreement with the Council Elder and murmured amongst one another, though their eyes remained on their queen in anticipation for her words. Everyone was curious as to who or what attacked the queen and, most importantly, how? How did an enemy manage to enter the heart of Hyrule Castle without rousing the attention of the guards and managed to attack their Queen? It was simply unheard of, worrisome, and raised a lot of questions.
Taking a small breath, Zelda began to recount her attack, though she chose her words very carefully and spoke slowly so that everyone heard her story.
"As many of you might be aware, once I was notified that Sir Link had been slain I had his body placed in a private room that was under constant guard until his murderer was discovered. Upon further investigation by myself and by the shaman, Renado, we discovered that Sir Link's body is not decomposing. We suspect that this is because the Master Sword's position in his body and that it's somehow preserving him. When I entered Sir Link's chambre earlier today, alone… though guards and Sir Arvid, my current Personal Guard, were right outside, I went with the intention of removing the sword".
A murmur arose from the Councillors and it was Matriarch Teria who spoke up, "But, Your Majesty-"
"I thought it necessary," Zelda said, interrupting the Head of the Triveni Family. "Sir Link has done innumerable services to the kingdom and as one of my knights he has demonstrated nothing but loyalty to myself and to the people of Hyrule. If nothing else, he deserves to rest in peace". The truth hidden in Zelda's words roused a shiver to disturb her spine; fortunately from her placement behind her podium, no one would be able to see her fingers trembling. "It was when I was about to remove the sword was I attacked".
"I did not see the being, nor had any inclination that I was in any danger until it was too late. Before I could react, hands bound my limbs and mouth and rendered me helpless. Only when I was unable to call out for help or fight back did my assailant reveal itself. It was a creature of flesh but also of shadow, formed by dark magics. It had assumed the likeness of Sir Link himself and it was the entity who revealed that it was responsible for slaying my knight. It had done such a heinous and unforgivable crime simply to be able to expose a weakness in order to get close to me. Sir Link, wielder of the Master Sword, was the only one with the ability to fight off such a creature of darkness. Before the fiend was able to carry out any more of its despicable plan, fortunately my guardsmen were able to break down the door and drive off the creature. I am uninjured but the attack has made me aware of just how vulnerable our kingdom still is. We are still recovering from the destruction that the usurper Zant brought to our beloved Hyrule. True, we have rebuilt, but our numbers are still few and our spirits are still healing".
Silence remained within the room when Zelda paused in her speech, her words clearly weighing heavily upon the minds of everyone in attendance as they all waited for what their queen was leading up to. Zelda took a breath, her mask unbroken. She had gone over in her mind what she wanted to say a dozen times before this meeting even started, but whispers of fear and insecurity still echoed in her ears. Her gaze glanced over to the Noruidians and for a brief moment, her eyes locked onto the eyes of Prince Vahlymor. His countrymen were still on edge but what Zelda saw in that fleeting moment of visual contact was a keen scrutiny of herself. The prince was an accomplished and veteran leader, had seen countless battles and knew how to handle a threat, while Zelda's only true experience was her surrender to Zant. While she had assisted with the downfall of Ganondorf, but the tyrant's death had been dealt mainly by Link, not by her.
As with Zant she was currently alone, she was the sole ruler of Hyrule, and this was her decision to make.
"For the past couple of weeks," Zelda continued after her pause, her eyes moving from the prince, "I have been experiencing dreams, or rather a single dream. While I have kept this silence as to now affect my duties, Shaman Renado knew how it has been affecting me, and tried to help my sleep. However, since the slaying of Sir LInk and now this attack by the shadow creature, I now believe that they are all connected.''
"What sort of dream, my Queen?" asked Council Elder Yrota.
"The dream is dark and always the same. I am on a dark island with a storm raging all around me. I wake each time after a great wave of darkness comes and crashes upon me and always with the sense the the place is real".
Zelda's words were true, as shallow as the truth may have been. She was not going to reveal to the Council how in her dream she also stood over Link's dead body, how it had been the Hero of Time who truly helped her connect all of the dots, and how it was Link in his wolf form who had saved her. She knew that hew guards were still arguing whether or not they had in fact seen a wolf or not, but as she had not said anything of the beast as of yet the arguments would soon fade into adrenaline induced hallucinations. For the sake of the Council, she'd reveal only what was necessary.
"How might you know that such a place even exists, my Queen?" Councillor Wharha asked, the knight's expression as curious as everyone else's.
"It was not until the creature attacked me that I thought that it was more than a dream," Zelda continued. "As some as you may be aware, but my mother was known for her prophetic dreams, as many women of my bloodline have been blessed with. It had occurred to me that these dreams could be some sort of sign of foreboding, but I could not have been sure. However, the creature in his guise as Sir Link, mentioned that it knew of my dreams and the way he-it… said it, implied that it was a real place".
"How can you be sure that this place, that these dreams, were not some trick crafted by the creature itself to weaken you, my lady?"
The queen looked up at Patriarch Oris and she noted how other Councillors were slightly nodding in agreement: such a dark creature of magic would no doubt try such a dastardly trick. This would make sense if not for the fact that Zelda knew better, of course, but she couldn't reveal how.
"That thought had occurred to me as well, my lord, but my conversation with Prince Vahlymor this morning confirms that the place exists. The site, an island, lies in the ocean the borders the Kingdom of Noruidia".
In that instant, every head turned towards face or glance at the Noruidians and the prince's entourage responded by tensing defensively, prepared to defend their prince. However, Prince Vahl remained unfazed and even from Zelda's distance she could see the faint smile on the man's lips in… amusement? Admiration? She was not sure but just then, everyone's attention was quickly drawn to when Lord Euros abruptly stood and declared, "Then it was the Noruidians who ferried this evil to our land! Either they brought it here or it followed them!"
Other voices began to cry out and voice their opposition or agreement and soon the chambre's volume climbed with the tension and heat of argument. The Noruidians were now on their feet, expect for the prince, and while all of their weapons had been confiscated, it was apparent that each were able-bodied and ready to take on the entire mass of Hyrule's nobility if needed. Zelda gave Council Elder Yrota a stern look and the man quickly pounded his gavel, calling for immediate order.
"Order! The Queen requests order! Everyone take their seats!"
Normally such an order would be instantly adhered to, but surprisingly the Council did not quiet, people did not return to their seats, and Zelda saw Prince Vahl's small smile turned to a frown when his own countrymen began to argue with the Hylians.
It was time to intervene and put an end to this madness.
Zelda stood, her position behind her podium meant she towered over everyone else, and she calmly gestured for Yrota to pass her his gavel. He did so with a slightly surprised expression which quickly broke with a wince when the queen forcefully and loudly smashed the face of the gavel upon the wood of her podium. The sound, though not deafening by any regard, was sharp and loud enough that everyone turned to see that their queen was standing, as many of the were as well, meant that many of them were directly disrespecting their queen.
Frantically those standing returned to their seats until it was only the Noruidians who remained on their feet, to whom Zelda turned to and calmly she said, "Gentlemen, please forgive the Lords and Ladies of Hyrule. No one is accusing Noruidia of anything, for I am not, and everyone is just on edge from this most recent attack against our kingdom. Please, understand".
While the Hyruleans bowed their heads in shame and apology, Prince Vahl smiled to the queen and motioned for Simin to sit and he did as did the other Noruidians. Silence once again claimed the room and Zelda remained the only person standing and all eyes were on her. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest and doubt was beginning to cloud her confidence, but it was now or never to speak.
"The main reason why I have called all of you here today is to ask you a question: would you permit Hyrule to pursue this villain that has threatened all of us? Not only has this evil taken our Chosen Hero from us, but it was even brazen and strong enough to attack myself in the heart of this castle. Even considering our most recent strides to build up our military strengths and defences, we as a kingdom are still weak. Hyrule lost much following the INvasion of Zant and the desecration of our castle by Ganondorf, but while we can rebuild buildings it takes longer to rebuild our sense of hope. Sir Link did that for us all, he returned hope to Hyrule by saving all of us and lifting the Twilight shroud from our land. He risked his life without being asked and he further committed himself when he pledged his loyalty and became a Hyrulean Knight. My Lords, my Ladies… I ask you to consider this venture of allowing myself to go beyond our borders in the pursuit of more information of this foe who stole from us Hyrule's Hero."
Zelda's voice carried her words with strength and courage and all in attention were captivated by her. All Hyruleans adored their queen and the passion within her message could be felt by all in attendance. The Noruidians at the back were enamoured, their prince held an expression of appreciation. However, when she reached the end of her speech the spell began to break across the audience and surprise, curiosity, and alarm could be seen in the eyes and expressions of the nobility. The Queen of Hyrule… leave Hyrule?
"Your Majesty, if I may," Patriarch Hompson spoke up, raising his arm but looking unsure with his words, "but are you suggesting that you wish to journey… all the way to Noruidia to find this-this island?"
"No, my lord," Zelda replied, turning her impressive eyes to the Amberl Family patriarch. "I have definite evidence that the assailant who slayed Sir Link is in fact from this island, but I do know with great confidence that within the mountains of the west lies a hidden village. If I am able to find this village, we may at least be able to find some answers to our questions."
"But I don't understand, my lady, why must it be you and how do you know this information, if I might ask?" Others nodded in agreement with Lord Oris' question and looked to Zelda for her answer.
Zelda nodded in acknowledgement of the question and neatly folded her hands upon the podium, her chin and posture still regal, and her expression calm. It was time to lie to her trusted advisors. "As many of you may know, and for those who do not, before Hyrule was divided by the Civil War there was a tribe who were utmostly loyal to the Royal Family. I am speaking, of course, of the Sheikah. After the War, however, the tribe was nearly wiped out and those who remained left Hyrule out of shame. It has been based down by the Royal Family that the tribe settled somewhere in the mountains and I believe that if we were able to find them, not only could we ask them if they know about the evil we face but as Queen I would like for all of Hyrule's people to return to our lands. In our time of weakness, we must find strength in numbers, our differences in cultures, and claim our past."
"Why the Sheikah tribe, my Queen? What good are former Royal guardsmen to helping us find out who killed Sir Link?" asked Lord Kaymib.
"Many members of the Sheikah were quite skilled using shadow magic. The being that attacked me seemed to be made of or at least was strong user of shadow magic, dark shadow magic. That is why I think the Sheikah may be able to help us."
"What if it were the Sheikah who were behind the attack, Your Majesty?" Heads and eyes turned to Lord Euros at his question, before peering back at their queen. The Gefion Family patriarch made a good point because, only Zelda knew the truth but she could reveal this to the Council members.
Zelda had anticipated these types of questions, but that still didn't help the twinge of anxiety from shivering down her spine. "We… I do not know, which begs more reason why we ought to seek out the tribe. However, as the Queen of Hyrule I should be the one to speak to these tribes members and ask them to return. They were loyal and protected my ancestors with their lives, so the most appropriate thing to do is for a member of the Royal Family to ask for them to return to their homeland. I owe them that."
"But why you, my Queen?" asked Matriarch Teria. "Why must you risk your life out there beyond the safety of our castle and risk the lives of soldiers for a tribe might even exist anymore, or might be the cause of this attack, or are so hidden that they cannot be found."
"Because, Lady Teria, I am not even safe in this castle as has been proven." Zelda felt herself beginning to lose support and she returned to her seat, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. "I will not ask for men to risk their lives to go in my stead," she continued, his voice slightly quieter, "and potentially not even be believed. We are in the dark against this enemy and we are vulnerable without any clue how to face it. If we do nothing and try nothing, will I ever be able to be alone again? Does being alone even matter? How are we to know that the evil is not in this room at this very moment?" Their queen's question caused a few people to look around nervously, apparently having thought about that. "We must take action and this is the only lead that I can think of or know. By all means, please offer up any suggestions if anyone thinks otherwise, but as your ruler and leader I am tired of sitting idle as out kingdom is attacked time again and we sit like helpless babes. Word is spreading of Sir Link's death and I fear that the fragile hope within my people will soon begin to fade as a result. As their Queen, I am a symbol of strength for this kingdom and for me to put myself at risk for the sake of all of Hyrule to try and find answers, then that hope just may survive. And if I were to die on this journey…"
Zelda paused and alarm spread throughout every face that watched her, hanging off the edge of their seats for her next word. The woman gazed down at her podium before looking up and once more met the eyes of Prince Vahlymor before she finished her sentence, "then it is no different than if I were to be slain as I sleep in my bed, or within my bath, or strolling through the gardens. We are blind and we must do something."
Finished speaking, the queen sat back against her chair and took a steady breath. Slowly, her councillors began to talk amongst themselves, keeping their voices low but their body language read loud and clear. The Noruidians too could be seen exchanging looks and whispered words, periodically looking up at Zelda with unreadable expressions. The Five Councillors at Zelda's side were also speaking amongst themselves, though Elder Yrota did lean towards his queen to whisper, "You spoke quite wisely, my lady, for it is not always easy to suggest a difficult or controversial path. Your father would be proud."
That small comment caused Zelda to smile and she nodded to Yrota in thanks. She knew that beneath his words he was letting her know that even if the Council declined her suggestion, it was brave of her to suggest it in the first place. Elder Yrota was once the royal blacksmith and a close friend of her father's, so she cherished his words and opinions greatly.
Minutes ticked by and Zelda made no gesture to disturb the discussions. Once in a while she did hear tidbits, a word or a phrase here and there: dangerous, possible, absurd, likelihood, throne… majority of what she heard was not promising. In fact, she knew that there was only a tiny possibility that the Council would agree to such a dangerous and unimaginable adventure. If anything, she expected that they'd propose to accelerate her marriage in hopes of producing and heir as soon as it was possible. That was the true problem that Zelda's words had brought back to the surface: she was the sole member of the Royal Family. If she were to die, then the line of succession would be broken, the bloodline of the Goddess Hylia lost forever. Going into the mountains and facing countless perils mattered little if Zelda said was true, that she could be eating her breakfast and this shadow evil attacks and slays her. Now, Zelda did not reveal that Dark Link had stated that he'd never hurt her and how Link had basically reiterated this with his explanation of the being's "obsession" of her, but… the point that Zelda truly wanted to present was that Hyrule was in fact vulnerable.
Zelda was doing this for Hyrule. For Hyrule… not for herself… not for Link.
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A/N: Hello everyone! I am alive... somewhat. I've been super consumed with graduate school and have felt no drive to write and... well, I heaven't really heard a lot from readers as of late so I really have not felt no desire to continue writing this chapter. Now, this is NOT to say that I am done with this story, it's just... call me selfish but I really enjoy hearing that people are liking my story and those boosts really help me push me to continue writing.
As it stands, this chapter is not even half finished and I have a lot planned to happen for this story. I have invested hours and hours into this and I don't want it to die.
Just your support, love, appreciation, comments, critiques, etc. would very much be appreciated!
Lots of love!
Sheik
