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Title: Dawn's Early Light
Chapter 4: Irremediable
Author: Sailor Song
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IRREMEDIABLE (adjective): Not capable of being repaired, regained, or undone
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Satisfied. There was no other word that could more perfectly describe how she felt when she began to stir the following morning. Perhaps well-fucked was more accurate, but that was too crude for her to say out loud. She had been raised as a lady after all.
She turned over and reached out her hands, only to find that she was all alone in the bed. Disappointed, she sat up and looked around in the still darkened room.
Determined to not allow the previous night to be an anomaly, she grabbed the nearest garment and threw it on before moving into the adjoining room.
"Hello, sister."
Shit, not him. Not today.
"Who keeps letting you in here?" she asked. Her surprise at his being in her room caused her to speak to him with more venom than she normally used when navigating through a conversation with him.
He either didn't notice her tone or ignored it. "I see you are appropriately dressed in a manner that befits your reputation," Daltus replied, looking down at the white chemise of Link's that she had pulled on. "You need to come with me," he said gruffly as he locked his grasp around her arm.
"I will not," she said as she tugged against him, but to no avail. Against her will, he pulled her roughly from her quarters and into the hall. A few of the servants moved quickly out of their way by flattening themselves against the wall as the pair walked past. "Let me go. I'm not dressed."
He ignored her, even as she tried to struggle against him. The castle's drafty halls brought a chill from her bare legs up to her rear end, causing her to constantly keep tugging down the bottom of the shirt to keep herself covered. It distracted her so much that she did not even realize where they were going until he suddenly came to a stop.
"Father's rooms? Daltus, what is going on?"
Outside, the castle bells began to ring. It was rare to hear them for they were meant to warn of attack, to celebrate occasions of great joy, or to announce times of great sadness.
"Go on," he said, finally releasing her.
She walked in to see a bustling of servants, many of whom were covering furniture in linens. One in particular drew her attention as he took a black cloth and draped it over the large floor mirror.
"No," she whispered. "No. No no no- Daddy?"
She rushed past them all until she made it to the inner chamber. In the center of the bed, covered with a thin veil, was her father. The King of Hyrule was dead.
"Princess Zelda," the deep voice of her father's butler said as he draped one of her father's heavy robes around her, "you should not be here, at least, not alone."
"Bastian, I don't understand." There hadn't been any change in his condition in all this time. "What… how… when did he…"
"Sometime in the night, Princess. The maid was in the next room and said he did not make a sound. Let it be a comfort to you to know that he was not in any pain when he... It was a peaceful passing."
She looked at the shell of the man. He looked exactly the same as he had during all of her other visits. "Can I have a moment alone with him?"
"Of course," he said. With a clap of the hands, all of the servants set down what they had been doing and quietly left the room. "I will be in earshot. You need only call, and I shall return."
"Wait. Would you send for Link? I could really use him beside me right now."
"At once, Your High- I mean, Your Majesty," he said with a bow.
She watched him leave, not having the strength to look back to the bed where her heart would break all over again. Her breath caught as she watched one foot after another move forward until she reached the edge of the bed. Gasping she looked up. Gone? How could such a strong man no longer be alive? Why, after everything that had happened, had the goddesses decided now was the moment to take him from his people?
"About time the old man finally gave it up."
Her breath quickened as she attempted to figure out how to get away from him, but in her grief, she could not think clearly. With blurred vision, she barely managed to keep her feet.
"It must be a great relief for you and your… hero."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, come now, you know" he said, seeming to insinuate he was in on some secret with her. "While our father slept on, you two could do whatever you wanted. But if he woke up, if he protested the marriage and nullified the ancient queen's proclamation, he would stand in the way of your plans."
What plans? she asked herself, but having slipped up once, she avoided speaking.
"What plans, you must be asking yourself?" he continued anyway. "Or more accurately, you must be wondering how I know about them."
"I have no idea what you are talking about," she said, unable to help herself.
"Oh." His eyes softened and became full of pity. "Oh my dear sweet baby sister, you really didn't have any clue, did you?"
"You aren't making any sense," she said. "Where is Bastian? I asked him to get Link."
"Your precious hero isn't coming," her brother replied. "He is in the dungeons awaiting trial and execution for murdering the King of Hyrule."
She stared at him in disgust. "Your jokes have never been funny."
"I'm not joking," he said in a voice that emphatically expressed that he wasn't. He became very serious and even conveyed a look of concern as he continued. "You have to tell me that you had nothing to do with his plan to kill our father. It is urgent that you do this moment, and I will do everything in my power to keep you out of the cells."
"What, Daltus, I… there was no plan. Last night was the first time I had even spoken to Link since our wedding."
"Good, I will tell the council that."
"What? Daltus, I-"
"Don't worry. I'll look out for you. Maybe they'll take pity and only give you life in prison. Guards!"
Zelda cried out as a group of soldiers entered.
"Take Princess Zelda back to her chambers."
"No, don't. Please, don't," she cried out as they surrounded her and began to lead her away. "I didn't get to say goodbye to father. Please, please, let me say goodbye. Let me say-"
"Show some decorum, sister," he interrupted. "If you are lucky, I may be able to get permission for you to attend the funeral."
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In the land of Hyrule, the passing of a member of the royal family was celebrated with a three days of mourning, known better as a celebration of life. On the first day, the body is draped with a green cloth and brave Farore was honored with clippings of the deceased's hair and nails planted with a new crop of trees. In the goddess's name, the people are comforted in knowing that part of their beloved monarch will live on by nourishing life throughout the land. On the second, a cloth of blue is added and wise Nayru was honored as stories of the deceased were shared and documented for posterity. In the goddess's name, the monarch's life will be recorded for his or her subjects and predecessors, either by inspiring through a life of good deeds or serving as a cautionary tale of the pitfalls a ruler should avoid. On the third and final day, the body of the deceased was covered in a red and final cloth, offered up to powerful Din in a great fire. In the goddess's name, the people pray for the monarch's soul to join the goddesses in the sky. The belief held by many was that the best and most worthy rulers would become constellations to guide and watch over the land for eternity.
Zelda had spent the first two days of her father's funeral confined to her chambers and under the watchful eye of Hylian guards. She was not even permitted to use the privy without one of them following her, as though they suspected her to climb down through the filth just to get away.
Well, perhaps the idea had crossed her mind more than once.
The easiest solution was to use the secret passageway to try to escape, but Daltus either knew about it or suspected its existence by now, hence the aforementioned lack of privacy.
On the last day of mourning, she was given permission to attend the service under very strict orders that she was to dress in all black, including a veil to cover her face. The condition she had to swear to follow at all times was to stay within arms length of the guard assigned to her. Wearily, she surrendered to the terms, knowing it was her last chance to say goodbye to the king. To her father.
It hit her hardest as she watched her father's pyre begin to burn. In all of the confusion over Link and what role he was accused of playing in her father's death, as well as having to defend her own innocence, she had forgotten to actually mourn the loss of her father. Seeing his outline begin to catch fire, she became overwhelmed, suddenly grateful for the veil that hid her away from the prying eyes of curious citizens..
"Sir knight, I'm afraid I am going to collapse," she whispered to the guard who had been escorting her since morning.
He nodded and turned away to speak softly to his comrade.
"Keep her safe," the soldier replied. It seemed an odd thing to say, but she supposed that, given the heightened alert in the castle, the guards were on edge.
The guard signaled for her to walk ahead, but he kept very close - so close, in fact, that she could almost feel his hand guiding her. It was only when they had passed through the southern gate that she realized they had walked quite farther than she'd thought.
"It's so quiet here," she said. "I suppose that's because everyone's at the funer…" He remained silent and let her wander a little further out, so she walked to the railing and looked down at the water spilling down and collecting in the pool below. There was a treasure chest sitting in the middle of a platform. She stared at it curiously, wondering how it even got there.
"Missed that one," the guard mused to himself.
She turned to him curiously, but a sudden feeling of queasiness struck her. She ran down to the grassy area and closed her eyes as she retched out the contents of her stomach. Her nerves had been in knots for days, and she hadn't been able to eat until she was practically forced to - threatened to - that morning. When the last of it was out, she tried plucking some of the long grass to cover her mess, but it did little to help hide the sick.
"Allow me," the guard said. He swung his sword fiercely, cutting down a pair of branches that he handed over to her. A reckless move to make so close to the princess of Hyrule. Almost like when Link had launched an arrow at the rat, because he knew he would not miss.
She looked up at the guard, whose face was partially obscured by the helmet. His eyes. Were they...
"Zelda, what are you doing all the way out here?" her brother hissed with a legion of guards at his back. He walked up and kicked aside the branches, revealing the mess she had just made.
"I got a little sick-" she began, but Daltus cut her off.
"That's more than a little sick. Could it be… are you pregnant?"
Pregnant? Her hand flew to the part of her stomach that gave a slight flutter. Pregnant with Link's child? The man accused of killing her father?
"I… I don't know…" she sputtered out. They had only twice been intimate. She was not naive; she knew once was enough. She just hadn't really thought it was possible.
"Has he not been visiting you in secret, dumping loads of his seed into you during this period where you should be mourning the death of our great father?"
Goddesses, he was infuriating, even now. "What do you mean? Of course I haven't seen him. Don't you have him locked up while he awaits trial?"
"Trial? There will be no trial. The second I locate that bastard he is dead, and if you keep protecting him, I will make sure that you both die together."
"I haven't seen him," she said. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched her guard shift slightly. At once she understood. Daltus never had Link locked up in the dungeons. She had been misled, hidden away, used as bait to trap and capture him.
She had been a hostage once, held with all of the people of Hyrule as collateral. No freedom until the moment she gave her life force over to Midna. She would rather die than spend one more moment in captivity again. Never again.
Her mind made up, she spun around and grabbed the sword from the guard's scabbard.
"Zelda, just what do you think you are doing?" Daltus said, throwing his hands up when she pointed the blade in his direction. The sword was much heavier than her rapier, so she knew instantly that she could only keep up this act for a short time. "You are only making a scene."
Unfortunately, another wave of nausea hit her, and in the split second she began to heave, the knight reclaimed his sword.
"Ah good good. You've had your fun, and I daresay you've earned a few extra days of solitary confinement for this little adventure. Let's go back and-"
"No," she said, wiping the sick from her mouth. "I'm never going back. I won't let you lock me in that cage again."
"You have two choices: either you come back with me RIGHT NOW, or you die!"
So, in essence, death was her only option. Behind him, the smoke from her father's funeral pyre could be seen rising up to the sky. As she watched it, she could hear water flowing nearby.
"What will it be?"
"I won't be anyone's prisoner," she replied. "Not again." Knowing she wouldn't get far in Hyrule Field without a horse, that left only one option. Having already slipped off her shoes, she rushed past the guard and headed for the sound of the water. It was an act of desperation, and there was every possibility that she wouldn't survive.
"Get her, get her!" she could hear Daltus screaming. When she turned, the guard had already closed the gap between them, coming within inches of her. His footsteps had been so silent. She looked at him, and suddenly, she couldn't believe she hadn't recognized him sooner.
"Link?" she whispered. At first she was relieved to see him after so many days, but then upon remembering why it had been so long, she backed away, edging dangerously close to the water. "Did you do it? Did you murder my father?"
"No," he answered simply. "I swear upon my life."
Of course he didn't. She believed him, but fear of her brother, of what he was capable of doing to them both if she blew Link's cover, caused her to freeze.
"After we made love that night," he continued, "I waited until you fell asleep and I left to take care of some wolfos outside of town. I had intended to be back before you woke, but I was ambushed, delaying my return. By the time I reached the walls, the bells had already begun to ring."
So Daltus had lied to her. One look at her brother confirmed it. She knew that wasn't a stretch to believe, especially when he taunted, "Come now, Zelda, your hysterics are causing a scene. End this now and come back inside before you make things worse for yourself."
She looked back to her disguised husband, his hand outstretched to her. "What will it be, my little adventurer?"
With only a second's thought, she grabbed his hand and said, "Explore."
She heard her brother curse before he cried out, "That's him! Get him. Do not let him escape!"
"Come on," Link said as he hurriedly pulled off his helmet and chainmail. "The water is the only way out."
"Wait! I don't know how to swim," she realized in a panic. "Link, you'll have to go without me."
"Never," he replied as he wrapped his arms around her. Without warning, she felt her feet leave the ground, and in seconds, the cold waters of the Zora's River enveloped her. After what felt like forever, her head emerged above the icy current and she took in a mix of air and water. Her vision was blurred as she looked to the man holding her, his face no longer obstructed by the helmet. "This next part will be the worst," he shouted to her over the roar of the rapids. "Take a deep breath and hold tight to me."
She did as she was told and shut her eyes tight, but the roar of the waterfall was impossible to miss. As they went over and crashed down into the waters below, she felt herself separated from Link and dragged below the surface. She was soon desperate for air, but it was impossible to attempt to pull herself upward as her funeral dress was becoming heavy from the weight of the water it had absorbed. Weakened, she struggled to keep up the fight.
Her thoughts soon darkened, and as she sensed that this might just be the end, she felt something, a foreign power deep inside her, begin to stir. From a hidden place within her heart and mind, it felt as though it was clawing its way back into existence in its desperation to survive. The presence was tearing apart her very soul as she felt a shadow begin to overtake her.
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Everything was black, blurry, cold. She was faintly aware of her body convulsing, expelling the cold water that felt like lavas of Death Mountain expelling from her lungs. The first sensation she was aware of besides pain was of warm hands gently running along the sides of her face.
"Mama?" she tried to ask, but her voice was sore and strained from the coughing.
"No, not Midna," Link said softly to her. "It's only-" Whatever else he said was lost as she cried out in pain. She could feel his hands gripping her arms. "She's so cold." There was a hint of alarm in his voice that she was not used to hearing from the cool-headed Hero of Hyrule. "Why isn't she improving?"
There was a voice, new but somehow familiar. "It is as you feared. The King of Evil was never going to stop. He corrupted her when he took control of her body."
"But Midna returned her life force. Shouldn't the Triforce of Wisdom have cleansed her of his presence?"
"Yes, but the mind contains caverns that even the brightest light cannot penetrate. It had been lying dormant, waiting for an opportunity to resurface. Has something caused her distress lately?"
She tried to open her eyes, but the light was so bright it was painful. All she could do was listen as Link described everything she had been through lately: her brother's return, her father's death, her being forced into marrying him. At that moment, she wanted so badly to speak up, to tell him that he had been her only comfort through it all, but the pain was rapidly getting worse.
"Her skin is getting pale," she heard Link say. "These veins, I've seen this before-"
"It knows," the other voice said. "You are out of time. It's chosen possession instead of rebirth. Link, this has to happen now if you want me to save her."
"I won't lose her. Not now." She could feel Link's lips on her forehead. "Save her, Lanayru. Please, save her." His voice was cracking.
"Zelda?" the voice said. "Princess Zelda. Open your eyes."
She did as she was told, and the last thing she saw was a serpent before being swallowed by golden-white light.
