Lovasi woke up slowly. She felt as if she'd been dragged through a cactus forest backwards. Her eyes didn't want to focus, and when she went to rub them, she found her arms were heavily bandaged.
"Oh! You're awake," came a voice from some point on her left.
"Wh-wh-wh-whe-where-?" She whispered.
"I'll get the Duke."
"N-n-n-n-" but there was the soft click of a door, and then silence.
As she lay there, she began to study what little of the room she could. It seemed she was on a canopy bed, pillows keeping her head slightly elevated. She tried to turn her head and look around, but she suddenly felt sick, the room spinning around her.
The door opened again, and a thin man with a pointed beard and arched eyebrows came into view over her.
"Good, you're awake, and alive."
"Wh-wh-where am I?" She tried again.
"You are in my home. I am Duke Holden. What is your name?"
Lovasi struggled, but she couldn't quite remember. "I-I-I'm s-s-s-s-s-"
"Come now, it's quite alright. The doctor did say you may have some memory and speech troubles on account of the nasty bump you got."
Lovasi felt tears spring, unbidden, to her eyes. "Wh-where-"
"You're in my home, at the edge of Corinth. Seems you fell into some trouble heading towards the Dagger Peaks. Those nasty brutish monsters that wild tyrant in Hyrule cooked up were after you, nearly killed you."
Lovasi could remember little flashes now; her horse had flung her and run off, and she had landed badly on one leg, and got up to keep running.
"I've had my own personal patrol on the grounds to protect my acreage, and they saw the commotion around you and were able to shake the beasts off and save you."
She'd failed. She'd failed. She'd failed.
Lovasi thumped one fist angrily down on the bed and gasped as pain came back to her, her back on fire, feeling as if her muscles were being torn out.
"Whoa now, be careful!" The duke leaned back slightly, laughing to himself. "I know Gerudo are feisty, but I didn't expect the fire to come back so fast! Now-" he leaned over her, his eyes bright. "What is a girl like you doing so far from home?"
"P-p-pr-pri-pr-prin-" she inhaled as deep as she could, then exhaled, trying to get control of herself, her whole body shaking. "Princess-" she forced the word out at last.
"You are a princess? I did not think Gerudo had such a custom."
Lovasi shook her head, feeling sick.
Holden waited silently, trying to be patient. His wife was growing frustrated with his 'pet project', as she called it, cursing about the cost of the doctor for some sand rat who was likely to die anyway.
Lovasi looked around, her vision sharpening over time, and she saw at last what she thought were her clothes, neatly folded on top of a short wardrobe.
"Ah, your garments, we had them washed."
Lovasi started to struggle, and Holden gently put a hand out. "You've been through a great deal. Relax."
"P-p-paper-"
"You wish to write?"
"I h-h-had a n-n-n-"
She tried again to sit up, gasping in pain.
"You had something- your bags?" And he snapped his fingers.
A maid, invisible to Lovasi until she walked into her field of vision, appeared with a bag in her hands.
Lovasi whimpered as she looked at the maid, a dark haired older woman who smiled kindly at her.
Lovasi was helpless and enraged in her helplessness. She looked at the bag meaningfully.
"Search it," Holden said, and the maid opened it, quickly retrieving Zelda's note.
Lovasi watched, her eyes huge, as they studied the wax seal.
"This is the royal Hylian mark."
Holden opened the note, cracking the wax, and read it. He frowned.
"But the princess died with the queen?"
Lovasi took a deep breath and focused on her words. "No, it w-w-was a lie. Prot-t-tection." At least it seemed her ability to speak was returning.
"Why do they need help?" Holden's voice had gone soothing.
"Kill g- Ganon."
"Hmmmm." Holden folded the note carefully, tapping it against his palm. "And you were taking this to the king?"
Lovasi nodded carefully.
"Now why would a Hylian princess be sending a Gerudo to the king to seek help against one of her own?"
Lovasi's heart and head began to pound. "Fastest rider, she trusted m-m-m-"
"How do we know this isn't a ploy to lure the king's forces away?"
Lovasi shook her head, feeling sick and nauseous, her pain coming in like a sledgehammer.
"My Lord, if I may speak. Surely if it were a ploy, they would have sent more than one rider?" The maid suggested.
"Hm, no. I doubt it. The Gerudo are cunning people!"
"If-if I came on h-h-his behalf, w-w-why did they atta-"
"An easy enough ruse, besides, those monsters are so violent they attack each other from time to time."
Holden's kind face, she now realised, was like that of a child toying with a pet. Interested, but he would ultimately get bored.
He sighed at last, and ripped up the letter, tossing the shreds into the unlit fireplace.
"Now, I don't consider myself a bad person which is why I saved you, but I do love my country. And I'll do anything to protect it. You can stay around here until you're healed, that i find acceptable, but once you are better, I will be reporting you to the king for attempted espionage."
Lovasi kept her mouth shut, taking deep, calming breaths, looking for her center. She needed to leave that night.
Nabara made it into Akkala without incident, her horse keeping a good pace. Through sheer luck, she had been able to evade the roving monsters that patrolled the border. She had to stop for the night, to let her horse rest and get a few hours' sleep for herself. It went uneventful, and in the morning, they kicked off again, at a quicker pace to make up for the lost rest.
It was easy to follow the main road to the castle at the center of Akkala, taking almost four days in total. Gerudo weren't unheard of in Akkala, but they weren't terribly common, so she did get interested looks on the road, especially when at speed.
She slowed only when she got to the main gates, where all were being asked to pay entry.
"I've no money, I'm on an urgent errand from the Hylian princess, i must see the king," she explained hurriedly to the guards.
This wasn't the first time they'd heard an excuse.
"There is no princess, just an old king and now some madman calling himself emperor."
"Yes- the- he calls her the empress but she was born to the former king, and hidden. I have a letter." She handed it to what she judged as the smarter of the two guards. He looked at the sealed letter and the Hylian crest on it.
"Please. Just a short audience."
"You have weapons on you?"
"I… I do. Just a dagger." And she handed it over.
"What do you think?" Whispered the other guard.
"Better ask the captain."
They had her wait to one side so other people could pay their entrance, and Nabara dismounted her horse, taking a brush from her bag and dutifully tending to the poor creature, thanking it for its hard work. Hylian horses were heavy things, but at least they had stamina.
The captain approached and Nabara retread the same ground with him. He looked carefully at the horse with its Hylian equipment, the seal on the letter, and finally he eyed her.
"I'm going to read this letter."
"Please do."
He opened it and read it once or twice, a bit surprised. If it was an elaborate ruse, she certainly had to put detail into it. The captain studied her critically, weighing the likelihood of this being an attempt to attack an unguarded castle.
Finally, he relented. Let the king decide.
"Why don't you take a break?" Carson said, and slapped Link on the back.
Link nodded, his face ruddy and damp with sweat. He'd been taking to repairing the swords, starting with the smaller, shorter blades and working up. He'd worked in his armor off and on, and while Carson had protested at first, Link was determined to better his strength in any small way he could.
Link left the smiths shop and stepped out into the midday sun. He winced against the bright light until his eyes adjusted, and finally he removed his armor, setting it piece by piece down next to the armory. He'd been in Kakariko three days at this point, and Carson was optimistic they may actually fix up all the weapons by the deadline.
Link looked around, glad to hear something other than the roar of bellows, the clanging of hammers on anvils. Some children were playing in the main thoroughfare, vendors arguing with shoppers, and curiously, he realised he heard music.
He followed it to the center square, where there was a musical troupe performing, playing flutes and doing small juggling tricks while the ringleader, a tall thin man with dark curly hair, sang to charm the crowd.
The few people who gathered clapped politely at the end of each song, and Link found himself thinking hard, as the troupe took a minute to rest. Before he could reconsider, he approached the singer, assuming him to be the leader.
"You go all over Hyrule, yeah?"
"Well, not so much the center bits, but yeah." The leader smiled at Link, wary of where this was going. They'd been chased out of towns for busking before.
"You ever go to other countries? You ever performed for kings and queens or anything?"
Now the singer was on edge. Who was this investigative smiths apprentice?
"Well I've performed in the kings Square in Corinth, the great hall of Hyrule-ah, before, you understand, at the city center of Akkala, the castle grounds of Montrose-
"Okay. So you travel."
"Have to, to be successful."
"Right. Uh…" he looked around at the group. "Is your tour just beginning?"
Was he asking to join? The last time they let someone in on the band, it was a disaster. He and his four bandmates had a good thing going.
"No, we're reaching the end of our tour, only a few more towns south to go before winter."
Link looked around at them, then shrugged. "Can I buy you all a drink?"
Kakariko had one small tavern and inn run by an old man and his daughter. They'd both taken a shine to Link shortly after he arrived to Kakariko and started helping in the smiths shop. The daughter looked up in surprise when he entered with the singing group, and immediately ushered over drinks.
"Anju, can we have the room?" He asked her quietly.
"Of course," and she hid herself in the back, listening carefully.
The singer and his bandmates stared at Link. Their drinks went virtually untouched.
"You want us to… travel and ask aid from each kingdom?"
"Yeah. I can't go too far myself, or I'd do it, and the princess has a short leash without Ganon. I know it'll be a lot, but if there's any way you can… perform and, i don't know, tell the rulers that we need help to defeat him."
The band looked at each other, uneasy.
"How are we to get past the monsters that patrol the borders?"
Link shook his head. "That I've no real suggestions. Best bet is to just use your cleverness."
The lute player of the group, a young woman, shook her head. "Sending us to our deaths."
"Look, he's gonna start working his way to other countries. The bastard is powerful, and all he wants to do is control everything. So eventually we might die either way."
"Y'know…" mumbled the young man who played their drum, "I think maybe… The Queen of Strom is pretty superstitious."
"Oh?"
"So even if we can only get to one country, if we make it that one, tell her this is something that'll affect all countries…"
"She may spread the word for us," said the singer.
"Yeah."
"And other rulers may be more partial to one of their own class than us."
"Look-" said the other guitarist, a petite young man who Link could swear was barely a kid, "my parents had to leave the family home when this all went down. They left behind everything to get away. The home me and my siblings grew up in." His youthful face darkened with hurt. "So maybe I'm being sensitive, but if going on this mad dash to Strom means we can maybe defeat the son of a bitch, then…"
Link held out his left hand, hoping his last trick would clinch it. Reluctantly, the band put their hands over his, the lute player holding back until the singer nudged her. Once they all had their hands out, Link pushed outward.
His hand took on a bright green glow that enveloped all the band's hands, and they gasped in shock. He hoped that of bravery he could give them would help.
"You are the hero," whispered the lute player, her eyes full of shock.
"Yeah," was all he could say.
"We'll head out immediately," the singer declared.
"Thank you," Link added.
Nabara knelt before the king of Akkala, her eyes respectfully lowered, the guard captain introducing her.
"She looks like a Gerudo."
"She is, Your Majesty."
"But she comes on behalf of Hyrule?" The king was quite old, and it was hard to tell if he was being doubtful or genuinely confused.
"I am in service to the princess of Hyrule, your majesty," Nabara offered.
"Is that so? … isn't the princess dead?"
Nabara dared to glance up. The king was on his throne, and was probably one of the oldest men she'd ever seen. His long gray beard reached to his belt, and his eyes were a faded blue grey under bushy eyebrows. He looked so diminutive in his massive royal robes.
"How do i know this isnt a ruse to lure away my troops?"
The guard captain approached with the note, which the king took with a shaky hand. He tried to study the note, adjusting a small pair of glasses onto his nose as he did, but his hand trembled too much, and it took him several minutes as he mouthed along with his reading.
"So. A note, a Hylian horse, and a Gerudo who slipped by Ganons monsters on our borders without a scratch." The king lowered the note at last to focus on the girl.
"It was sheer luck and speed, your majesty," Nabara replied. "I am one of the best riders of the Gerudo women. It is why the princess chose me."
"Hm. I think… I will test your story."
"How?" Nabara looked up, rhen down again. "Your majesty," she added hastily.
"Keep you here in the castle awhile. See if anyone comes to collect you and destroy me."
So, she was to be a prisoner then?
"Fine."
The fourth night, Link went outside during a break, taking in the refreshing night air. It was late; the moon was high in the sky, and Kakariko was still, besides the busy armory.
Link looked around, not really with any goal, observing and wondering if Zelda was still faring well. He picked at a burn scar on one hand, the skin starting to peel, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
Immediately he looked around again, but sharper this time, trying to see what was there. He didn't dare call out, scanning the shadows.
There- under the awning of the building across the way, he saw the faintest outline of a figure, black on black.
It shifted, then slowly approached, a person clad in shades of midnight blue and charcoal.
"You saw me?" They asked in surprise.
"Yeah." Link looked them over carefully, glimpsing an emblem in the weave of the fabric over their chest. "You're a sheikah?"
"You know what I am?" They shook themselves, regaining composure. "I am Palu, one of the sheikah that resides here. And you are the hero."
"How'd you know?"
"I saw you in the pub yesterday, with the musicians."
"There was no one else there, I checked."
Palu shrugged. "We can be ignored if we deem it necessary."
Link frowned. "Aren't you supposed to protect the Royal family?"
"Yes."
"So why'd the king die? Why is no one in Hyrule castle right now to protect the princess and defeat Ganon?"
Palu sighed. Link couldn't read their face- the only thing not covered was their eyes.
"A great many of us actually did die trying to save him. The magic Ganon carries is… it twists the shadows, so we cannot travel them. It has enveloped the castle, so we cannot even break through. I wouldn't be surprised if the princess was struggling to have visions; his hatred clouds the mind's eye."
"You know she has visions?"
"We knew her mother; she had the gift as a child and we trained her to open herself up to it. We were planning to do the same with her daughter, but when the queen had a vision of Ganon, things changed. We were permitted in the convent, but only to protect, not to teach." They may have smirked under their mask. "Philosophical differences."
"So what now then? You know we could use your help," he couldn't atop himself from being angry.
"We heard rumors it was the princess and hero in the castle with him, but were unable to confirm until now."
Link leaned back, glaring, still distrustful of this person. "So now you know, how do you plan to help us?"
Palu hesitated. "I will have to discuss this with the leader. Our old one died trying to protect the king."
"How about helping us bring people together to stop him? Reach out to other countries like I'm doing?"
"I will suggest it. Or even that we ourselves will come to help."
Link swallowed around a bubble of bitter nastiness, thinking a fight between them would not help. "Look, there was an island… that we were on for a bit. The Goddess gave her a bow and arrow, she was able to wound him with it. Can we get those somehow?"
"Oh." Palu thought. "Was there anything special about the bow and arrows?"
"I don't think so, besides that… the arrows had a glow to them?"
"She was able to manifest light arrows?" Palu genuinely sounded surprised. "She taps into her inner light, divined directly from Hylia. Anything can be imbued with that power, if she wills it. That she was able to do it on her own without training… we may stand a chance."
For the first time in a few months, Link dared let himself feel more than just a glimmer of hope.