Chapter 110: After Stories - The Princess
"So, that's it, right?" Talo spoke.
From atop the great dune, they peered across the desert sands. Rockier terrain rose into a tall, vast plateau. Its ridge creased over the mouth of a cave. Unless the sun was shining directly over the entrance, it would have been concealed by shadows. The area seemed barren of life. However, they knew to expect the inside of the cave to be heavily guarded.
"Looks like it," Colin answered his friend. "Matches the description on the reports."
Dawn pressed her body over the ground so as to not be seen. The sand beneath her was growing warm through the morning, but not enough to burn yet. Her enchanted twilit sword weighed down on her back. She only had eyes for the cave that held what she sought.
"Any signs of the enemy, Aryll?" Colin asked.
His sister's blonde pigtails hung from underneath her green hood. Aryll placed a hawkeye mask over her eyes. She slowly scanned the landscape.
"There are two guards standing just inside the cave opening," she answered. "Plus, at least three lookouts atop the cliffs."
Aryll then glanced over towards her far right. "I can also see riders coming in from the north-west. Looks like a patrol coming back to base."
Talo followed her gaze. "That's north-east, Aryll."
"I knew that!" Aryll squeaked, blushing under her mask.
No. No, she didn't, Dawn thought. Her aunt's eyesight was keen even without telescopic lenses; however, her sense of direction was abysmal.
"Would have preferred it if the patrol had just left. Fewer numbers to worry about," Colin frowned. "Everyone keep your heads low. We'll have arrows all over us if those lookouts spot us."
"Aryll and I could take them out if we were closer," Dawn commented. Between her spells and Aryll's crossbow, three gerudo would be easy to take down.
Alas, Colin shook his head. "You'll be spotted if you get any closer. Let's meet up with Nabooru's warriors and rout the Frosts out together."
The Burning Frost Clan… Dawn had not been on this quest of hers for long, though the name of the rogue gerudo often came up when Uncle Colin visited her father. They and the Yiga Clan were collaborating thorns in Hyrule's side. Throughout all of Dawn's life, they had threatened her family. Thankfully, they had always failed to kill anyone she loved. A thrill coursed through Dawn's body at the thought of finally hitting back with her own hands. However, this was not her purpose here.
The Burning Frost Clan had captured someone from a foreign gerudo tribe. Survivors of the attack chose to share precious information to Queen Zelda: that the captive bore the Triforce of Power. When that news reached Dawn's parents, and to her through shameless eavesdropping, she knew that she had to meet this person.
On their way back to their horses, Dawn glanced down at her left wrist. It was barely visible against her dark, twili skin. Her father's mark was her vow to assemble all three pieces of the Triforce. If she could do that, she could heal her mother and father's bodies. The afflictions they had suffered during the war could be erased. Dawn could then finally see her mother stand tall and strong. Her father could wear his hylian face without magic once more. He might even get his lost eye back if Dawn made the right wish. Ever since she was a little girl, that was all that Dawn wanted for her parents. They had sacrificed so much to save their two kingdoms. They both deserved so much better than they had received.
"Thank you for caring so much about us, sweetheart. But your mother and I have lived like this for many years now. We've made peace with it," her father told her every time she spoke about it. When she declared her intentions to join this mission and refused to be dissuaded, Link sighed and hugged her with all his love. "If this is truly what you want to do, then take this with you. I hope that it keeps you safe."
With his blessing, Dawn had one part of the three she needed. If she could get her hands on the Triforce of Power, Queen Zelda had pledged to bestow her Triforce of Wisdom. Her first obstacle laid within that cavern. As much as she wanted to charge in right there, reason compelled her to follow her uncle's directions. All of this would be for nothing if either she or the captive were killed.
"You look like you have a stinkbug stuck up your nose."
Dawn turned to her bodyguard and dear friend, Talgen. The bulblin warrior bore a perpetual glower. Her mannerisms towards her charge offered not an ounce of reverence to her station as princess. It was just the way that Dawn liked their relationship.
"Just thinking," she responded. "I've been dreaming of this for years. We might finally be close to finding the Triforce of Power."
"And once you have that, you can restore your parents," Talgen grunted.
Although she supported Dawn's quest more than anyone else, Dawn knew that Talgen had her own agenda. If King Link's scars and damaged bones could be repaired, Talgen could challenge him for the title of orgr in his prime. The idea of her father and friend fighting one another worried Dawn. Yet, Link seemed untroubled by the prospect. He even told Dawn that Talgen might make a splendid orgr if she could defeat him. She had to trust that neither of them would do anything stupid when that fated day came.
"Goddesses, I hope the story is true," Dawn confessed. "If that captive turns out to be a fake, I…"
"Worry about that when we get to it," Talgen interrupted. "Thinking too much will cloud your head. You want to be fighting in the moment, not some dreamed up future that may or may not happen."
Dawn managed a smile. "You're right. Thank you."
"You don't need to thank me. Just stop thinking like an idiot."
"Well, see if I don't save your ass if you run into trouble in there," Dawn spat in mock-insult. She received a feral grin in return.
"If I needed my ass saved by a stick like you, I wouldn't be fit to watch over yours. Orgr will kill me if I let you bite it out here."
They could have bantered for longer, but the gerudo camp led by Lady Nabooru snuck up on the pair. Dawn followed her aunt and uncles as they reported their findings to the camp's commander. Within the hour, they would be ready to strike the Burning Frost Clan and learn the truth that Dawn desperately awaited.
Days later, Dawn walked into the Green Swordsman inn. The tavern room was brimming with a mix of people getting drunk to the sound of fiddles and flutes. Her eyes scanned for a man with red hair. She found him alone in a back corner, nursing a flagon. Dawn walked straight towards him.
"You made quite a fuss when you wandered off, you know that?" she told the man.
"Needed a drink and that castle was too stuffy," he grumbled. The man, gerudo in descent, glared at Dawn with golden eyes. "Here to drag me back, are you?"
"Not for the moment. I actually wanted to chat with you." Without waiting for an invitation, Dawn took a seat across from him.
The man studied her further. "You were one of the women who broke me out of that prison."
She gave a smirk. "Glad that you remember me. The name's Dawn."
"Jarydell," the man grunted. "Most just call me Jaryd, though."
"Pleasure to meet you, Jaryd. If you don't mind, I've got a few questions for you."
Jaryd stared down his proud nose at her. He drained the remains of his flagon and waggled it in the air. "Get me another one of these and I might have a few answers."
Apparently, the inn's proprietor recognised Dawn, despite her never meeting the woman in her life. She got a free round of drinks from the interaction, so she didn't complain. This Telma asked her to stick around for a bit. She said something about wanting to hear about Dawn's parents.
With two filled flagons in hand, Dawn returned to Jaryd's table. He took a greedy swig from one. His lips smacked in satisfaction. "So, what do you want to know?"
Dawn chose to get to the point. "Do you have a mark like this?" She raised her fist. Jaryl squinted in the dim light. A scowl crossed his face.
"Why do you want to know?"
"I'll take the lack of denial as an answer. Let me see yours and I'll tell you."
A few tense seconds passed with Jaryd glaring at her in silence. Almost aggressively, he pulled off the gauntlet that shielded the back of his wrist. The skin was branded with three triangles touching at their points. "Satisfied?" he challenged.
The sight kicked the wind from Dawn's lungs. She sucked in a breath and nodded, awestruck. Jaryd's patience wore thin. "So, what do you want with it?"
"I have a wish I want to make real."
"Don't we all," he scoffed.
Dawn stared down into her beer. "Before I was born, my parents fought in the war over twenty years ago. My dad was cursed for life and my mom was crippled. They gave up so much to help countless people, so I can't believe that they deserved what they got. I want to summon the Triforce so that I can heal them."
Jaryd's brow rose, yet his expression was not cruel. "Really? That's it? You don't want to be Queen of the World or live forever, or something like that."
"I don't care about that sort of thing. I just want my parents to be whole again." Dawn took a sip of her drink. It was bitter as hell. "Would you please give me your piece of the Triforce? Name whatever price you want. I'll pay it if it's within reason."
"Within reason, eh? Sounds like your heart's not as committed to this as you claim it is."
Dawn launched onto her feet. The chair and table both shook. A furious scowl showed her fangs. "How dare you!"
Yet, Jaryd appeared unperturbed. "Well, that reaction's a little more convincing." He leaned back and took another swig. "Actually, there is something I want. Those bandits your friends took down hurt a lot of people from my village. They kidnapped my sisters and threatened to hurt them if I didn't cooperate with them. Wanted me to become their leader or some shit. That's a funny way of asking someone to be your new boss."
"If your sisters are in danger, then we'll rescue them," Dawn promised.
"And there we get to the bargain," Jaryd said. "Those bitches messed with my family. I want them to pay. Help me make that happen and get my sisters back, and this thing is yours." He held his mark aloft. "Damn thing is what those bandits were really interested in. If this is the kind of trouble it gets me, I don't want shit to do with it."
Dawn nodded. "That much I can do. If the Burning Frost Clan is using your sisters as hostages, then Hyrule will also help us. My family has been fighting them and their allies for years."
"That's a strange thing to smile about," Jaryd remarked, observing her.
"It's just that my dad was in your situation when he was my age. It's also how he and my mom met."
"What, you think this is love at first sight?"
"Please," Dawn scoffed. "I already have a guy waiting for me back home. He's more the bookish type than an adventurer. So, don't get any ideas."
"Then this is all business." Jaryd extended his hand across the table. "And we have a deal."
Dawn smirked as she took hold and shook. "Agreed."
'Mom… Dad… I'm one step closer to turning you both back to normal. Just wait a little longer for me.'
Although it would be neat to continue Dawn's adventure in a brand new story, I have no plans of actually doing so. Feel free to imagine to your hearts content.
