Another chapter so quickly? Well, until my boss delivers my computer so I can work from home I'll be cranking these out. Once a week is the goal.
Thank you everyone who reviewed! I'm a bit shocked that so many people are still following this. It means a lot to me. Also a huge thanks to those who supported me on ko-fi! Stay safe everyone!
Enjoy!
Chapter 18:
Talk had spread, the gossip mongers at work, until all the castle now knew. While the servants, under oath of their employment contracts and therefore magically bound, were sworn not to utter a single word against the Hyrulean monarchy and so took no part in the rumours, no such sanctions were afforded to the aristocracy. And so they prattled and postulated freely, and narrowed it down to the single most rational conclusion. That the queen had inherited that unfortunate gene that had characterized the most nefarious, the most depraved of her predecessors. That she was in the works of going insane.
And the unfortunate thing about it was that Hadrian could not contradict their suppositions. Oh, he did so when asked directly. He was one of the queen's most loyal knights, and thus had been bombarded with inquiries and interrogations as much as Sirs Justin, Wilkins, Thibault and whomever else was closest to her. Unlike her personal bodyguards, however, who all refused to even deign their questioning with an answer, Hadrian valiantly defied their queries. Queen Zelda was as much in her right mind as anyone else. The scene in the council chamber was due to the presence of a rat, which her majesty couldn't abide.
He didn't think any of them believed him. He had heard her screams. They'd echoed far down the halls. Had rushed in defense of his queen and joined the guards that had escorted her to her chambers before remaining stationed with five others at the doors to prevent her nosy court from pushing their way inside.
It had not been the startled scream at the sight of a rodent. What he had heard, what they'd all heard, were the cries of someone fighting off death.
And still he defended her sanity despite what he knew, what Impaz had revealed to them the night before. That this curse was slowly driving her mad. Some hexer was out destroying her reputation and if the curse accomplished its full purpose to its end, would beget her death as yet another raving monarch.
That notion made him think. He deliberated on an idea slowly forming in his head. Could it be that Zelda's ailment was not an isolated occurrence? What if it were a reprise of sorts? A re-enactment of a political play performed many times throughout Hyrule's history. Perhaps the alluded gene for madness did not exist. Perhaps in each instance an outside force had plagued them such as it plagued Zelda right this moment. Had they too been cursed to madness?
It was a purely distressing concept. And he wouldn't doubt it if her majesty had already theorized the exact same thing.
His morbid musings were cut short as Ashei tromped up the stairs and peaked into the room. "All set?"
Hadrian took one last glance around the modest room of the townhouse. It was sparsely furnished, with two beds, and a single chair. Scattered around were assorted packs and boxes. A few bomb bags stuffed to the brim occupied space at the end of one of the beds next to a trunk with folded clothes. Supplies for some future purpose.
Hadrian had a small inkling as to what it was.
"Yes, it's all done," he replied.
"Good," said Ashei. "Now hurry it up. I haven't slept in a day and we still have things to do, yeah."
"I still don't see why it had to be purchased under my name," muttered a voice from the doorway.
Rusl was there, leaning with his arms crossed against the threshold. Brow poised with inquiry.
Ashei slapped him on the shoulder. "Because your name is not directly associated with the queen, yeah."
"But I am associated with Link," he bantered.
"Oh tosh, Link's affiliated with the province of Ordona," Ashei countered. "Nobody pays attention to its other inhabitants. Nobody knows you. You're fine."
"If you say so." Rusl shrugged. His amused grin evidence that he was not at all bothered by this. "By why this sudden investment, I wonder?"
Both Hadrian and Ashei exchanged wary glances. So far they'd kept Telma and Rusl out of the loop about the real problem behind Zelda's troubles. They no longer held meetings at Telma's bar, and had advised the two against taking part in any further investigation, due to their busy professions and Rusl's home life. But if asked Link had given them leave, with heavy warning, to tell them. But they'd have to be all in. There'd be a halt in their personal lives until this whole debacle was over with. It had made sense to leave them out because they were the two who had the most to lose.
Fortunately, Rusl only rolled his eyes in a lighthearted manner and shook his head. "Never mind about that. Some contrived plan of Link's I wager. He's always been clever like that. I'm willing to lend a hand when able to. Besides, now I have a place to stay whenever I come to visit. I suppose Ilia and the others might want to use it too eventually."
He turned and made his way back downstairs.
It was in fact a scheme orchestrated by Link. It had been a shock when, at promptly four in the morning, Link had contacted Hadrian by way of the gossip stone earrings, thereby tearing him from his heavy slumber, and ordered him to go out and buy a house. As it had been far too early for such dealings, Hadrian had been forced to stay awake and listen as Link railed on about secret passages, escape plans, maps and routes and so on.
It only occurred to Hadrian later, as the morning waned on and his mind lost its tired sluggishness, that Link was planning on leaving. Hadrian mentally recapped everything they'd learned yesterday and from that he'd been able to perceive the same outlook that Link had.
Impaz had mentioned a focal point. The focal point had to be fed copious amounts of blood on a regular basis, therefore killings would have to happen, and human stock would have to be brought in. As there was no such place in Castle Town where such a thing could possibly occur, logically it meant the location of the focal point had to be elsewhere. Link was making travel plans. Preparing to depart as soon as Impaz provided them with the means of tracking down the focal point.
He still didn't quite understand where the secret passages and escape plan parts came into play. But he was confident Link had something in mind in regards to them.
He looked to Ashei. "It's astonishing really. How Link could arrange all this and set it all up in less than a day."
Ashei nodded her head, seeming to be in deep contemplation. "Link's a bit different from your regular hylian, yeah. While everyone else is focusing on plans a or b, he's already jumped to e, f, and g. Planning and solving puzzles come naturally to him."
"Thank Hylia we'll never have to face him as an adversary," said Hadrian, heading toward the stairwell.
"I wouldn't count on that," mused Ashei, following after him. "Sometimes he seems almost… feral. Like a predator, yeah. If anything happens to somebody he loved, the Ordon kids, or even Zelda, I feel like it would change him. There would be no reasoning with him then."
Hadrian raised his brows in speculation. "I don't think Sir Link would ever become so irrational. He's one of our most noble knights. He doesn't seem the type to let his fury get to him."
But Ashei was shaking her head. "It was during our first few months out on the field. Link's always been touchy about when the Ordon kids were kidnapped. Probably because at the time he hadn't been able to stop it. It really got to him, y'know. What could have happened. If things had gone differently, he might not have ever seen them again. They could have disappeared for good, and no one would know what happened to them. That's why he wanted that assignment. He wanted to ensure that no family had to suffer like the people of Ordon almost had. It disgusted him that there were hundreds of kidnappings during the invasion. It disgusts me too, yeah. That some decrepit pieces of shit had used the Twilight Invasion as a means to profit in the most deplorable way. In exchange for resources and loyalty to Zant, they were given the freedom to do as they pleased."
She went quiet, collecting her thoughts, a distant effect in her eyes.
"We found a child once. A single little girl, about eleven or twelve. She was one of the few we personally managed to rescue. She had been bought by a Holodrum human male. He liked that she was hylian. Liked her pointed ears. Her pretty eyes. Her youth."
There was a tightening of his shoulders as a heavy coil formed in the pit of his stomach.
Ashei went on. "We apprehended him alright. Since he was not a native hyrulean we could do nothing to him in his own country. Not to the extent that hyrulean law allowed. But the second we crossed the border, Link was on him. The bastard barely made it to the arbiter's grounds alive and cried grateful tears when he was slapped in a cell for the rest of his life. Far out of Link's reach."
Hadrian's emotions vacillated between respect and nauseous. He'd always admired Link for his battle prowess, and for his ability to remain level-headed when faced with hardships. But he'd never known – could never imagine – Link so violent.
She looked at him hard then, her tone the most severe he'd ever heard it. "The queen cannot be allowed to die."
Their loyalty to their monarch already ensured that promise. They were under oath to serve and protect their sovereign. None of them would hesitate to sacrifice their lives for her, and it killed him inside that she was being tormented by entities none of them could prevent. But this added to the enormity of the prospect of failure. Link was his own force of extraordinary power. Thinking on what Ashei had just told him and what he knew of Link himself, he feared what Link would do, what he would become, if the queen should die.
They'd simply have to make sure that didn't happen. Prevention was key, after all.
They continued down the stairs in relative silence. Broken only when Ashei threw him a glance over her shoulder.
"On a lighter note, do you think Rusl has realized yet that we actually bought three houses under his name?"
Shad took no more than two steps out of the library before he was abruptly waylaid and yanked into a secluded alcove. He considered it a triumph that he only made a small 'meep' of surprise. A few papers filled with notes fluttered from the stack of books he'd been carrying as he stumbled.
"He's the one," said a smooth voice, and a crown of black hair popped into his vision. "The scholar."
"Oh good," said another, of slightly higher pitch. His eyes connected with swirling gold. "Now tell us, what's going on with Zelda."
Shad's mind was going round, and he fought to reorient himself.
"La-Lady Anne? Lady Sybil?"
Anne, the one who had, in an impressive maneuver, slung him in the alcove and was pressed forward directly in his face, released his tunic and took a step back. Shad readjusted his collar. He then bent down to gather his fallen notes.
"Yes, it is us," she said. "La, but you're Shad, right?"
"Er – ahh, yes." He coughed, looking between the two in apprehension. He wasn't at all used to being accosted in the hallways by highborn ladies. Much less Zelda's closest associates. He straightened back up and smoothed his hair, full of nervous tension.
Lady Anne considered his stuttering with a light smile, while the Lady Sybil looked him over, scrutinizing. Going by the slight thinning of her lips, she wasn't at all impressed.
"To think she confides in this one over us, her closest companions," muttered Sybil sardonically. "Very well. You are to disclose to us what really happened in the council chamber, and what Zelda's lamentable bodyguards are intending to do to keep her safe."
"Don't be so harsh, Sybil," said Anne, before facing Shad. "We only want to know how to help her. She wouldn't talk to us the other day, and well, she seems very upset. Is there something going on? Is it about Desra?"
"So, you don't believe the rumours then," said Shad carefully, in an effort to divert them.
Anne blinked, then her face morphed to indignant. "What, that Zelda's gone round the bend? Tchah, sir! Of course not. I haven't known her as long as poor Desra, but I can say with acute certainty that she doesn't have the disposition for madness. It's a waste of her time and efforts to allow something that absurd to befall her."
He swore he saw sparks fly from her fingertips. Miniature charges of electricity that danced from finger to finger.
Sybil stayed the other woman's hand and insisted to Shad, "Tell us everything."
Oh bother, why did they have to corner him? He bemoaned privately to himself. He already knew the answer to that. He was the least intimidating of the lot, and the most vulnerable to coercion. There was not a single fierce bone in his body, and it seemed everyone knew to take advantage of that. Still he'd be damned if he gave anything away. He would not betray Zelda's confidence. Not even to her dearest friends.
Shad puffed out his chest importantly, hugging his stack of books and papers to him. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. Her majesty was startled by a rat, wasn't she?"
"Please, Shad, we only want to help," Sybil entreated. Shad tried to remain unaffected by her heartfelt pleading. "We know you and a number of others met in Zelda's chambers last night."
Damnation. Ashei had been certain that they'd not been seen when they'd sneaked out. They'd even slipped through a few of the secret passages, just in case. Only the guards on watch had any knowledge of the meeting, and they were sworn to silence. A congregation of important person's like that was certain to raise alarms. It was no wonder these two were so concerned.
He felt helpless under the pressure of their beseeching gazes.
"I – I …" He swallowed, and fidgeted with a slip of paper. He wished Ashei were here, but she'd been up all night standing guard over Zelda, and then left at the crack of dawn with Sir Hadrian for some errand. He had no clue when she'd be back, but she was sure to be cranky, the perfect repellant for pestering nobles.
"I'm sorry, my lady, but I simply have nothing to tell you."
Flustered and annoyed, he swiveled on his feet and hurried along the corridor. Thankfully the women didn't follow him.
Flippin' hell, he'd only wanted a few peaceful hours of studying to occupy his highly active mind. He had meant to be in and out of the library in less than an hour. But all day things had been whispering to him, watching him. Luckily, Zelda had been kind enough to grant him access to her private study where the wards would keep everything out and the effects of the ghosts would lessen. He only had to make a quick stop to his room first before he could at last find some peace and pore over the books on dark curses.
Until Impaz could retrieve her Sheikah texts, he supposed these would have to suffice. They had briefly glossed over a few tomes on dark magic while in the midst of trying to figure out what was wrong with Zelda in the beginning, but the thought of her being cursed, or haunted for that matter, hadn't ever crossed their minds. As any proper scholar would do, Shad wanted to be well informed on all aspects of the subject.
Soon he arrived at the rooms he shared with Ashei. He fumbled with the lock for a moment, all the while balancing his stack of books. At the click, he shouldered his way in, thankful to put down his heavy load on top of his desk and rest his arms. He hurried about, eager to sequester himself in the safety of Zelda's study.
He should really ask for Impaz to ward his room as well. Or maybe he could request the aid of another mage. Surely if it were just him that wouldn't raise suspicion. He could claim he simply wanted to protect his valuable collection of old tomes and various other knickknacks and artifacts that he'd acquired while researching. Lady Anne looked like she could do magic. And if she'd studied at the same academy as Zelda, she'd be well learned in the ways of warding magic. Well, he assumed so. He didn't know if it was a generalized branch of magic that everyone could learn, or if it needed more specific instruction.
Gathering his writing implements, as well as a fresh notebook, and his Sheikah dagger, - which he'd forgotten to equip that morning. If Ashei ever found out he'd be toast - he went over to the desk once more to assemble the tomes neatly in a tote bag, but paused when something gleamed from the edge of his vision.
He ceased all movement, eyeing the object. His breath caught in his throat as a coarse chill ran down his spine.
In shear disbelief, his hand quavering, he reached down to the bureau and plucked the battered item resting atop the stack of books he'd just brought from the castle library. An item that hadn't been there a second ago.
Shad released a pitiful bleating sound.
It had a wire bent at an odd angle, glass cracked on one lens, the other missing altogether.
They were his glasses…
The very same pair he'd dropped down the well in the hidden village.
Legault had told him once a little while back that Link possessed an immunity that no other noble had. That he was exempt from most of their social standards. That he could get away with almost anything –barring the law - with little repercussion.
He had felt that thrall of immunity when challenging Lady Crevan, a woman not even Raleigh had dared talk back to. A woman that no one ever spoke to the way he had. It had been heady, exhilarating. And he had done it in consideration for his queen, not just as a senseless power trip. He had elicited an order and it had been obeyed forthwith. No one had countered him. After years of being the quiet one, it felt good to be heard by people other than soldiers.
He felt a new profound sense of confidence and it stayed with him as he and Zelda headed for the throne room, where a swarm of nobles lay in wait for them. Trailing after Zelda, as he'd been doing for the past few days, Link felt himself more capable now than he'd ever felt before. Able to guard her in a capacity that was not just physical.
Link's gaze was focused on his regal queen. Her hair swaying with each step, the elegant ornament holding it back glinting in the sunlight. She was determined to act as if everything was normal. She had heard the murmurs, of course they all had, but she refused to let it affect her.
Even as she entered the throne room to hold court and everyone in attendance hushed, she kept her chin raised, browsing the many faces that greeted her, some wide eyed and curious, others scornful, while most were of hesitant concern. She allayed them all by smiling brightly and rather than taking her seat at the throne, she went to mingle among them.
At length the assembly was put to ease, and everyone returned to their conversations, although there was no more talk of the episode in the council chamber, at least not in their hearing range. Instead they chattered about the upcoming highlight of the social calendar. Farore's feast day was to take place in a sennight. And lunatic or not, Legault had warned that there were bound to be hundreds of prestigious young males with glowing pedigrees and overflowing coffers presenting Zelda with gifts in offer of courtship.
His thoughts darkened with that realization as he scanned all the males in attendance. None were hesitant to approach the queen, and he effortlessly discerned which ones were serious in their romantic pursuits and which ones were all play. None of them were to his liking. He had been honest with Legault before. He couldn't envision Zelda with any one of them. He didn't want to envision her with these fops and dandies. She was better than them. They didn't deserve her.
He watched his queen with keen awe as she circled through the room.
Zelda was in her element. Everyone wanted to speak with her, subtly garnering clues as to her mental state. As poised as ever, she conversed naturally with them all, silently rebuffing their unspoken queries with the vitality of her speech and the melodic peel of her laughter.
She drifted among her peers, roaming from group to group, all the while he flanked her closely.
Over on the opposite end of the room the Crevans stubbornly ignored them, refusing to seek her out, a snub that was considered highly offensive to a ruler. But Link wasn't of a mind to care. They could wallow in their inadequacy to their hearts' desire. The further away they were the better. He was sick of watching the Crevan hag constantly chastising Zelda for every single act she considered a misdemeanor. Goddess Blessed or not, she'd forgotten her place, and it had been with wicked delight that he'd established it for her.
He spotted Lord Raleigh hovering close by, consorting with a few of the older gents, while also keeping a steady eye on the queen. Link's gaze drifted further along to where Sir Justin and Thibault were standing on either side of the throne, eyes peeled and aware. All around the room guards stood on alert, unknowing that the enemy was not one they could touch. Ignorant of any enemy at all, other than perhaps some would be assassin.
His attention was drawn to the woman beside him as Zelda suddenly went stiff. She reached out a tense hand and Link automatically took it, folding her arm over his. He waited as Zelda bid good day to the noble lot she was currently speaking with before moving along to the next.
She leaned in close to him, whispering so only he could hear. "There's a woman on the throne. Covered in blood."
Link surreptitiously glanced over but saw only a vacant seat. Still, he knew she was there.
"Don't pay her any mind," he advised her gently. "She's not doing anything, right?"
Zelda gave an imperceptible nod. "Just sitting there. Goddesses, she looks horrible."
He clutched her arm firmly to him. "If she comes near we'll excuse ourselves and deal with her outside quietly."
After all, he hadn't had a chance yet to try out his new toy, and he was eager to tear up a few phantoms.
"I hate this," Zelda mumbled to herself.
He couldn't agree more. Whoever this hexer was he wouldn't mind tearing into him too.
They made their rounds and Zelda felt comfortable enough to release his arm. The lack of touch didn't set well with Link, so he kept a hand pressed to the small of her back, winding marginally around her waist. Zelda gave him a sidelong glance but made no remark about it as she continued prattling with the minister of ceremonies about preparations for the masquerade.
It was later, amid listening to an ebullient couple around ten years his senior, going on about the state of affairs in the Lanayru region that a courtier in heavy sprawling robes swaggered up to them.
"Ah, Queen Zelda," said the man Link remembered as Sir Geraude Danvers. Not a knight, but a baronet, and one of the very few people Link had a strong aversion to. "What a delight to see you up and about."
If he'd attended court yesterday he'd have known she'd been up and about then too, he thought irksomely.
Zelda forced a pleasant smile on her lips and elegantly held out her hand for him. "Geraude, what a delight."
Geraude grinned broadly, placing a delicate kiss on the back of her hand before releasing her after a prolonged amount of time. Link silently seethed at the action.
"I was a bit worried. I heard word that you had undergone some sort of fit the other day." Geraude's eyes were near gleaming. "It reminded me of the history lessons my governess used to teach me, specifically the story of Prince Algernon. He hadn't like rats either, I was told. But then this was before he went on his little spree and well, you know."
The spree Geraude alluded to was well known and a massive Harkinian scandal of unwarranted slaughter. Algernon had been one of Zelda's crazed ancestors, said to have have been completely psychotic. He'd become so paranoid over the years, so obsessed with rooting out spies and traitors that he'd condemn almost anyone. Not even his closest cohorts had been exempt from prosecution. The public executions he'd ordered had been the bloodiest affairs Hyrule had ever seen, and Algernon delighted in watching every single one.
Oh Link definitely didn't like this bastard. He was filching for comparisons.
He detected Zelda's back stiffening. Her brilliant slate blue eyes sharpened as the corners of her lips tugged upward. She didn't like him either.
Geraude hadn't accused her directly, but only a clueless fool wouldn't be able to interpret what he had implied. The nobles watched raptly, exchanging whispers with their neighbours. The couple Zelda had previously been chatting with had gone silent.
Zelda brushed aside an errant tendril of hair and responded evenly, chin raised with imperious calm. "Not many people like rats. It's not an uncommon trait."
Geraude's features remained placid. "Indeed, it is not. But nor are other certain traits."
She appeared unaffected, but Link saw her unspoken annoyance at his continuous implications.
"Indeed." She smiled easily and tilted her head. "How's your father these days?"
Geraude's haughty grin at once became tight. "He's doing well enough. I hardly ever associate with him anymore."
"I would imagine you wouldn't want to," inserted a distinct sophisticated voice. "Noya prison is not a pleasant place to visit. Not that I've been there myself, of course, but there are rumours."
Sebastien entered the conversation, all pomp and righteous hauteur. He then directed his attention to the queen and grasped her hand. "Zelda." He spoke her name with reverent familiarity.
She graced him with a kind smile. "Seb. A tad late are we?"
"Better late than never," he returned, quirking an elegant smile at her.
It occurred to Link just then. Noya prison. The name Danvers.
"Ah, Sir Louis Danvers is your father," Link surmised, his intrigue peeked and a smooth smile spread over his face. "Now I recall. Traitor to the crown, was he? Swore fealty to Zant and then Ganondorf. He seemed to like worshiping a dictator. Just another mindless servant to the dark lord. Disposable at a whim."
And for reasons unknown to Link he hadn't been taken to the block yet, as was the fate of all traitors. He probably held valuable sensitive information that they'd hadn't been able to extract yet. Or was being held back by the latest decree Zelda was trying to push for approval forbidding executions entirely. Link knew that as long as she allowed her council power her proposal would continue to be rejected. Hyruleans were known for their unforgiving desire for justice, and her ministers were of firm mind that some people were better off dead for the sins they committed.
Geraude had been momentarily stunned when Link – ordinarily silent - spoke up, but quickly collected himself and resumed his smug jeering. "It's rather astonishing that you'd know about that. A man of your status doesn't seem the type to concern himself with political affairs. Roaming heedlessly around the countryside and causing mass mayhem seems more your scope."
"Yes, I see," said Link with avarice. "Overthrowing two usurpers and restoring the hyrulean monarchy had no political effect either, did it?"
Sebastien took his cue to scoff. "I'd say it's had very little effect. We're all still caged in our homes being monitored by twilight beasts, are we not?" He gestured to the spread of highly entertained nobles around them.
Geraude raised a petulant brow. "Little Agitha not with you today? Pity, I've been missing her dreary bug stories." He scoffed in amusement. "A young girl like her, on the cusp of adulthood."
Link was one wrong word from drawing his sword. He was mitigated by the steady hand that appeared on his arm. Zelda cast him a look of silent warning, which he reluctantly heeded. Resigned to simply glaring at the baronet.
"Yes, she is a very bright child, isn't she," Sebastien answered to the barb against his cousin. "Brave girl. She's not at all ashamed of her personal hobbies like some are wont to be."
"Hiding dark secrets of your own, are you?" inquired Geraude jovially. "Oh don't look so upset. We're not all that different. Everyone has something they'd kill to hide. A disowned relative who'd brought shame to the family, some matter of incompetence, or a personal failure." His gaze slid to Zelda at that point, smug and accusing.
Link narrowed his eyes.
He was attempting to embarrass her in front of her own court. It was no secret that many had disapproved of her actions during the Invasion. Zant had taken them by surprise. He'd been prepared with an army at his back. Surrendering after such a humiliating defeat, hardly a battle at all, was a mortifying mark in Hyrule's history books. But it had been a common agreement that at that time it had been the only recourse.
"Nothing on my end," uttered Sebastien spitefully, diverting the focus of the conversation back to him. "But that father of yours, dear me, Geraude." He shook his head ruefully. "And your poor darling traitorous sister. Tell me do they let relations share a cell in Noya?"
"Of course you've got nothing," spat Geraude. "All your brothers are dead."
It was a low blow, and evidently the wrong thing to say. Sebastien's eyes narrowed into virulent slits, the edges of his mouth curling in an acidic little smile.
"Enough of this, Geraude," said Zelda, a warning to both before things could get too heated. "I will not tolerate any solecism in my court."
Under the pressure of the onlookers, and under the queen's express command, he could do nothing but acquiesce. Geraude looked at her with astringency before it was tempered by an engaging smirk, as if it was all to his amusement.
"Forgive me, Sebastien," he said, without the slightest trace of geniality. "I was out of turn."
Sebastien's dainty lips thinned. He directed a short bow to the queen, eyes meeting no one's. "Apologies, your majesty. I just remembered a pressing issue that I must attend to at once."
Link had learned over the years of attending court that this was the most common excuse a courtier used when they'd had enough. A way to back out of an event with the utmost politeness.
"Yes, of course," she said, understanding his plight.
From what Link gathered, Sebastien had loved his brothers dearly and had been devastated at their loss. It was uncouth to bring them up in the way that Geraude had.
Sebastien offered Zelda a single low bow then hastened out of the throne room.
Zelda threw Geraude a hard stare, to which he smirked at.
"I'll have my gift ready for you in the next few days. Do consider it this time."
With that he moved on to another crowd of peers, blending with them with natural grace.
Zelda gave a small sigh and peeked over when she picked up the minute zing of a blade being set fully in its sheath. The blade Link had partially drawn tucked away for another time.
His hand returned to the curve of her back as she glided over to the next circle of nobles.
"Fiend," he whispered curtly for Zelda's ears alone. "And what does he mean by 'do consider it this time'? What gift?"
Geraude hadn't meant a courting gift, had he? After that insolent display of ill breeding. Would she be receiving a gift from pretty Sebastien as well? Link could see him as a viable contender. Sebastien had prestige, lineage, wealth, and the education and sophistication required of a monarch. While Link possessed only two years worth of inconsistent tutelage that Raleigh forced upon him. He'd have to be devious in his play for her affections. Charming to an outrageous extent. He'd actually have to practice what Legault had been attempting to teach him.
Unbelievable.
To his right, Zelda cast him a brief humorous look.
"A pretty piece for the masquerade, as always," she responded in a hushed voice.
As always? This was a regular occurrence? Had she rejected all his previous gifts?
Satisfaction swelled at that thought. His queen would sooner see herself a bachelorette for the rest of her life than deign to wed that cad.
"I don't like him," he muttered with distaste, and was pleased to hear Zelda hum in agreement.
"Neither do I."
He grinned complacently and drifted back as more people approached her.
He'd have to inform Hadrian to pick up the gift he'd ordered for Zelda before the day was out. He hated to admit it, but thank the Goddesses he'd gone to Legault when he had.
Zelda was conflicted.
A reoccurring predicament of hers in recent years. Although for once it had nothing to do with the phantoms surrounding her, and everything to do with her most prized knight.
There was a change in Link. She'd been acutely observant of his behaviour over the last few days, and did not know what to do about it, or if anything should be done.
He was more forthright at court, acting less as her guard and more her escort, but not in the same manner during the previous times he'd escorted her, silent and watchful. No, instead now he took an active part in conversations, bantering with the lords and ladies as if he'd been engaging them for years, and whispering in her ears his sardonic opinions. A woman's outrageous fashion choice – "she's not colourblind, is she?", or someone's personality flaw – "King bulblin had more decorum than that one". Each instance it was an effort not to giggle.
If that had been all she'd have assumed he only wanted to cheer her up after her few harrowing encounters with more nobles trying to undermine her authority. All of whom had been shot down by Link in a similar vindictive manner as Geraude. Each point dissected, their own flaws laid bare with nary a hesitation. It surprised her how perceptive he'd become. Where had he learned so much about her courtiers? If she didn't know better, she'd swear he was taking lessons. Or was this the result of hours of analyzing to try to determine who the hexer was?
Whatever it was, she regarded him in mute awe with every repartee he delivered. Things she could never speak because of her position, he declared freely, remorselessly, and almost smugly. Anyone who approached them with a foul word was swiftly taken to task and brought down. And the rest of her court fell in line thereafter. Shepherded like his Ordon goats.
All this was understandable. It was evidence of the lengths he'd go for her protection, both emotional and physical.
The conflict, however, arose in his lingering touches and the heat of his gaze. She was used to having physical contact with him, a hand to the small of her back, escorting her by the arm, lifting her on and off her horse, even fixing her earring when it had become tangled. But these weren't the hesitant fumblings from before, where each action had been a chivalric duty to his monarch.
Now his every touch was a longing caress. Each stroke of his fingers suave and burning. His hands were constantly touching her in appropriate places but very sensual ways. Grazing along her sides, down the length of her spine, the back of his hand brushing her cheek, brushing a loose strand of hair from her face then lingering, simply staring into her eyes until she blushed. He no longer held her at a modest distance, but would keep her firmly right up against him. In her rooms while she'd be occupied with studying, he'd loom over her to look at her notes, so close that she could feel his breath caress the back of her neck. Or sometimes he'd pull up a chair and sit beside her, their legs pressed together from thigh to knee.
But the tipping point that really clued her in came one night at dinner. She had decided to dine in the great hall with the other nobles for once. Link had been sitting beside her to the right, Lord Raleigh to her left.
It was if he'd taken a scene straight from one of those erotica fictions he'd refused to read – although now she was certain he must have secretly indulged behind her back.
A speckle of pudding had clung to the corner to her mouth. And before she could perforce to wipe it off with a napkin, he had leaned forward and delicately licked it away, sighing with a contented hum. To all else present, but for Raleigh who was seated directly opposite to Link, it had appeared as if he'd leaned in for an impromptu kiss. Raleigh had gone red with suppressed rage, while she had been left flustered for the rest of the meal, unwilling to meet anyone's eyes. The cad had even asked about her in concern over the flushed tone of her skin, all the while grinning mischievously with full knowledge of his effect on her.
She'd refused to speak with him for the remainder of the day.
It had only escalated from there. He gave her no quarter, continuing to find new ways to render her a blushing mess of nerves. No other male had ever affected her the way he did. But then no other had ever dared take such liberties with her. Liberties she freely allowed, and come hell and high water would not relinquish.
She might assume that Link was trying to seduce her. Not so dreadful a thought.
It was well worth considering.
Thus her conflict. She didn't know quite what to make of his new forceful character, and she couldn't tell if his intentions were legitimate or innocent play. They had to be legitimate though, right? He must know what type of cues he was sending. Where had her bashful stammering young knight gone? It seemed he'd vanished the night she finally had opened up to him about the haunting.
It was after a long day of attending court then spending hours walking around her private gardens with Sybil and Anne that she at last was able to retreat to her rooms to rest.
Audiences with the people had been held in the early morning and the council had determined a few days off would not be unwarranted, so she was left with a rare evening with little to do. She fully intended to sit in the solarium and contemplate her and Shad's notes about curses and shadow magic. Of everyone, she regretted Shad's knowledge of the ghosts the most. The phantoms took no end of pleasure frightening him and messing with his mind. It had taken a while for Ashei to calm him down after he reported the return of his glasses, the ones he swore he'd dropped down the well. He'd been locked up in her study ever since. Only leaving if Ashei or another knight was there with him.
Only when she was barricaded behind the sturdy doors of her personal chambers did she let out a gusty sigh.
"That was a long winded one," said the bright young source of her aggravation. Link, who had followed her in her rooms a step behind her, as always.
Zelda removed her crown and set it on the table where a number of heavy volumes were spread open. She then sprawled across one of the divans, uncaring if her dress wrinkled.
"No meetings again today?" he asked.
"None," said Zelda, not looking up at him, her voice muffled in her arms. "Elvira accuses me of having too much cortisol in my blood. She say's I'm overstressed so the council has decided to postpone any meetings until after the masquerade." Which was only two days away.
"Good, the bloody ministers did something right for once then," he said acerbically in reply.
A knock issued from the servant passage and Link went to open it.
Before him was, Melissa, one of Zelda's personal maids. She flashed him a cheery smile, bearing a tray with supper for two on it.
"Do you never leave, Sir Link?" she asked him with good-natured humour. He'd been there every time she'd come in over the past few days.
Link responded with a grin of his own. "Not even the Queen of Hyrule could kick me out."
Melissa laughed with glee. "Nothing seems to stop you these days." She ambled over to the coffee table, unperturbed at the sight of said queen draped listlessly over the divan. She set the tray down and arranged it in the way Zelda liked it.
"A few more packages arrived for you today, your majesty," she announced busily. "I believe one is from Sir Danvers."
Zelda did her best to contain her groan, but was unable to withhold it.
"The guards had them checked, as usual. I placed them in the solarium."
It was the downside to holidays. She received gifts aplenty throughout the entire year, but when the four feast days came along it became ridiculous. She already had enough royal jewels from her inheritance to buy another castle, even after selling half of them to help pay for the reconstruction of the towns and villages that were damaged during the invasion. Now she'd have to go through the debilitating process of rejecting them all and returning each gift back to their owner.
Melissa tidied up a bit more before departing, bowing a small goodbye to her monarch.
Zelda remained where she was, suddenly finding herself having lost her appetite.
"Geraude seems like a pleasant character," Link piped up, boots tapping against parquet as he strode over to inspect their meal. "A fine specimen of manhood."
"That would be the greatest satire ever."
The lid of one of the plates clinked at Link removed it. "And why is he giving you a gift? How could he think you'll ever accept it?"
Zelda lifted her head and surveyed him, somewhat perplexed. "Why should I not accept his gift?"
She had no intention of doing so, but she was curious as to Link's harsh attitude about it.
Link scowled in distaste. "You want that sort of man courting you? That pompous, flagrantly arrogant, contemptuous louse?" he ranted.
So Link had realized the meaning of the gifts. "He wouldn't be so unpleasant if I accepted his suit. I've seen the most egotistic of men become positively amorous at the ratification of a lady."
Link smiled and shook his head. He set the lid aside and prowled toward her. "I know you Zelda. You wouldn't deign to have a man like that as your husband. Much less as prince-consort. The gall of him, speaking to you like that."
She hastened to sit up, finding it difficult to breathe properly under the intensity of his stare. Had he always carried this much of a presence? It took an untold amount of willpower not to back away. "I suppose you think Sebastien is more suited then?"
"I can't imagine bending down on one knee for him either." He leaned over her, a hand supported on the slope of the divan, face nearly touching hers.
"Is there anyone you'd bow to?" His proximity was doing things to her. Overwhelming her.
He had an impish quality about his features as he replied. "You."
She rolled her eyes, silently pleased, and threw her legs over the opposite end of the cushion and got up. "Honestly, Link. Do I need to have your approval for choice of husband?"
"I would prefer it."
She'd never thought she'd be having this sort of conversation with her formerly silent knight. Her friend of two years now. No one spoke with her directly about it. The council knew better than to question their monarch about finding a spouse, especially when she had a list of heirs prepared for them if ever she were to die childless. Second cousins and their offspring who could accede the throne should she choose to rule by herself.
She made her way to the solarium, determined to see what Geraude had bought her this time.
"Who would you select then?"
"Not one of your courtly fops."
"A knight then," she deliberated. "Most of them are of noble birth, but I suppose any other knight would do. Or perhaps someone outside of Castle Town. Or outside of Hyrule. I know of plenty of men from Labrynna – Oh!"
She cut herself off and blinked a few times, gaze arrested by a single large box sitting on the table amid clusters of other vastly smaller gifts.
There was no emblem to determine which store it came from or what it was. Simply a blue package tied shut with a ribbon.
She hesitated for a moment before approaching to examine the gift.
"This cannot be from Geraude," she said looking for a letter, a signature, anything to divine who it was from. The very notion of Geraude purchasing something this big for her was horrifying.
Link said nothing as he watched her flutter around the package.
With delicate precision, she pulled at the ribbon until it came undone then cautiously lifted the lid of the box, peering inside.
A gasp escaped her at the sight. "Oh my…"
Her fingers glided over delicate folds of silk and chiffon. Pulling it out from the box, she held before her an elegant cream coloured gown with gold and sky blue accents. It cascaded to the floor, a silken waterfall in her hands. And there was more. Underneath a few layers of wrapping was yet another box, more akin in size to the rest of her gifts. Opening it revealed a matching gold necklace and earrings, set with blue zircons.
"It's beautiful." She would have difficulty returning this one to its owner. "Please let it not be from Geraude."
"With that garish wardrobe he was sporting today? I think he lacks any refined taste for fashion."
Zelda whipped her head toward him, scrutinizing. "Well then whoever this is from must have wanted to make a big impression."
"Of that I wouldn't doubt."
She eyed him sidelong, suspicious, then turned back to the dress. Admiring it. "Does he even know what the magnitude of such a gift to a woman means?" She expected confusion to cloud his features, before abject horror took place as he fully realized his naivety as to the implications of his gift.
Link stalked up to her stunned form in smooth strides. "His pest of a friend might have explained a thing or two about it."
He'd all but outright confirmed it with that remark.
He had bought her a dress. Not content with only a small trinket to declare himself to her, he wanted his claim of her to cover her entire form. None of her other potential suitors had ever bought her something this exquisite. No one had ever thought to.
She arranged the dress gently back in its box, careful not to wrinkle it. "Do you mean it, Link?"
She couldn't dare hope. Dare to breathe.
"Only if her majesty wishes to be wooed by a lowly goat wrangler from Ordon." He was right up against her, hands glossing over her hips before settling fully when she gave no sign of discomfort or resistance. Rather she leaned into him. "And if she doesn't accept my intentions I'd want her to keep it anyways. I bought that gaudy outfit with her in mind. I wouldn't know what to do with it if she tried to give it back to me."
Zelda laughed lightly. The dress was elegant and refined. Anything but gaudy.
"Even with all that's happening. With these worms inside of me…" She blinked at the few teardrops spilling from her eyes.
He was far taller than her. His height exemplified by their proximity. He'd grown quite a bit over the past couple of years. His face angled and mature, his hair falling around his face in wispy tendrils in a way that was sinful in its attractiveness. No one else could pull off such a mixture of refined ruggedness the way he could.
"Cursed by no fault of your own," said Link, fastidiously, drawing her near. He cupped her chin, tilting her head up. "Will you accept me, Zelda?"
Their breaths intermingled. Delightful goosebumps spreading all over her body. Oh Goddesses, she was going to swoon. His face was closing in on her, gaze soft as they drank in her features, settling on her lips before sliding up to her eyes, searchingly.
"Please, Zelda."
Consider her seduced.
"Yes," she whispered breathlessly.
He was almost upon her. She could feel the entirety of his frame pressed against her, solid and unyielding. Firm beneath her fingers.
His cobalt irises darted back to her lips, his intention clear as day.
He looked uncertain for a moment, the shy boy from the past rearing its head again, before it was at once overpowered and shoved aside.
"Your permission, my lady," he breathed in her ear, voice husky and low.
Just when she thought her heart could take no more.
"Granted."
And then he kissed her, and Zelda saw stars.
Zelda had been kissed often enough before the invasion, but the stark contrast between then and now, with whom she shared her lips, made all the difference. Link was the only man she had ever adored, the only one she'd truly desired, truly loved. His kiss ignited a raging whirlwind of passion within her. She felt her heart burst and shatter all at once, and wondered if he felt the same.
He angled his head for better purchase, one hand digging into her scalp, the other embracing her to him. Her eyes pressed close. All cognitive functioning shut down. She wanted to know nothing but the heat of his body against hers. The long line of his torso, the feathered locks of his hair brushing her cheeks, the press of his mouth. Oh goodness, this was heaven!
Minutes passed and their kiss deepened. Desiring more intimacy, Zelda parted her mouth. Link seemed stunned for a moment, but then took full advantage. Groaning audibly, his tongue darted past her teeth, caressing her own.
Yes she wanted him. She wanted him to court her, to be with her. She wanted his life and his love. And she would die if this turned out to all be just a glorious dream.
Zelda gasped in a huge breath when at last they separated. Link held her and she leaned heavily against him, panting, barely able to support her own weight. He continued kissing the corners of her lips, along her cheeks, the tip of her nose.
She buried her face in the crook of his neck. It was all so sudden. So new.
"Link, I-"
But she was interrupted by an eerie sweet voice echoing in the chamber.
Silly blueblood…
Link's entire being stiffened against her, while Zelda moaned despondently.
You can't keep us out…
There's nowhere for you to hide…Why even try?
"Blasted ghost brat," Link growled.
It had been days since she'd seen the ghost boy. The charms Impaz had provided them had quelled the number of apparitions they'd all been seeing and she'd thought it had fended him off too. He'd chosen the most inconvenient time to reappear, and Zelda had no patience for him.
Neither did Link, apparently. With a firm but gentle push, he nudged her back then crossed the room to the nearest window. He yanked open the drapes and came face to face with the moon-faced child.
Link sneered with unconcealed contempt. "Filthy carcass. Your days are numbered."
The child swayed his head and giggled gleefully.
Not if we kill you first…
The Sheikah is useless. She can't help you…
You can't run, and we won't stay away…
Link bared his teeth, and spat snidely. "Tell your master that I'm coming for him. He'll wish the arbiter had taken him by the time I'm through."
But the child disregarded Link entirely. He looked past him, further into the room to where Zelda stood with her back to the table. She felt herself pinioned by those twin black orbs. And shuddered when he slanted a manic grin at her.
We're coming for you, blueblood monster…
Soon... you're going to die…