CHAPTER 9: SHOCK
The crowd was deadly silent as Link walked down the ball room to the stage, his footsteps echoing off the walls. His face looked completely emotionless, refusing to look at anything but the stage in front of him.
Zelda's dropped her empty wine glass in shock, causing it to shatter into a million pieces all over the floor. However, the people in the room were so surprised that they didn't even notice the sound of the wine glass being dropped onto the ground.
Jack's eyes were widened in pure shock. He had expected the announcement of the dead body found in the castle, but he did not at all expect this. His body shook in both shock and rage, and a terrifying expression began to grow across his face.
Link stepped up onto the stage and shook hands with the man, trying his hardest to ignore how silent the room was. There was some things that he absolutely hated, and one of those things were long, tense periods of silence. He didn't dare to look at the crowd and search for Zelda or Jack, knowing immediately he might break down in a panic attack.
"It's good to have you back, Sir Link," the man said quietly, making himself almost inaudible. He then took a golden Triforce pin out of his pocket and clipped it to Link's breast pocket.
"Holy mother of the gods, he's alive?" a person from the back suddenly shouted, breaking the tense silence.
Link whirled around in shock, not expecting anybody to even say anything.
"There's no possible way!" another person shouted. "I heard his body was found in a hole!"
"I heard he killed himself!"
"How could he even be here?"
"What are we supposed to call him now? King or Captain?"
The people began to all collectively shout things, not caring how loud there were. Link just stood there in shock, not expecting this much of a reaction from the nobles.
"It's alright," the man on the stage said to Link kindly. "It's pretty normal for them to act like this. They don't hate you, they're just a little shocked."
Link gave no reaction to the man's kind words as he looked around in horror at the chaos in the ball room. People were shouting things and trying to talk over one another, creating a disaster. Suddenly, Link's eye caught sight of Zelda sitting with a young man in the middle of the room at a table. Zelda was practically gaping at Link, while the young man just stared at him.
Zelda looked possibly even more stunning than when he last saw her. Her hair was now shoulder-length, with bangs perfectly framing her face. She wore a long, maroon dress with a small slit at the right leg. Link's heart immediately began to race as soon as he saw her. A million emotions flooded through his body, and memories began to flash through his mind rapidly.
Link studied the man sitting across from her. He was very handsome, and looked like he was in his twenties. His hair was very thick and slightly long, naturally curled up at the ends of each of his strands of hair. He had a very muscular build with a sharp jawline.
"Who the hell is that?" Link thought confusingly.
Suddenly, him and younger boy made intense eye contact. Link's eyes suddenly widened, immediately recognizing the young man in front of him. He could recognize those dark eyes from anywhere.
"Jack?" Link thought in shock.
Link's eyes began to tear up uncontrollably, his guilt bubbling to the surface. He looked so much different than the last time Link had saw him. He was practically unrecognizable. He looked completely different from the awkward kid he had raised years ago, his physical traits now much more developed into the form of a young man.
Jack's stare suddenly turned into a glare, burning into Link's face. Link quickly averted his gaze, trying to look somewhere else than at his son's intense glare. Link suddenly regretted ever even coming to the castle in the first place. What did he think? That his family and the castle would welcome him back with open arms?
Suddenly, a warm hand gripped Link's shoulder. Link turned around and made eye contact with the man who had given his speech on the stage just minutes ago.
"We have to go," he said kindly to Link. "It's getting a little crazy in here."
The man then dragged Link towards the double doors, leading him out of the chaotic room. As Link left the ball room, he felt someone's gaze burning into his back. He knew exactly who that was.
Link silently followed the man around the castle. The man then walked into a hallway and stopped in front of a door.
"Okay, here is the guest bedroom for tonight," the man explained, motioning his hands towards the door. "Since you are captain, you'll be living here from now on, as you may already know. This room is only temporary."
Link nodded his head slowly, staring at his own shoes. His head was still spinning, trying to process everything that had happened just about ten minutes ago.
"You don't recognize me, do you Sir Link?" the man suddenly said, leaning over to the side to try and make eye contact with Link.
Link suddenly whipped his head up, staring at the man in front of him. Link studied his face, trying to recognize him.
"I, uh, don't," Link said awkwardly. "I-I'm sorry." Link nervously scratched the back of his head.
The man just smiled at Link, compassion shining in his eyes.
"I guess I've aged quite a bit," the man said, chuckling to himself. "I've lost a lot of hair."
Link squinted at the man, trying to recognize who he could possibly be.
"Is that why you're being so nice to me?" Link asked him. "Because you knew me?"
The man laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement.
"It's me, Damien," he said with a smile. "You don't recognize your old friend?"
Link's eyes widened in shock. He was almost speechless.
"D-Damien!" Link managed to sputter out. "I-you-"
"It's quite alright," Damien said kindly, waving him off. "I guess aging six years can really change an old man like me."
Link stared at his old father-figure, guilt gnawing at his stomach. He felt completely awful having left him behind all those years ago.
Damien did look a lot different than he used to. His hair, once long and black, was now extremely short and had turned completely gray. His wrinkles were much more noticeable, and a large amount of his hair on the top of his head was now gone, due to balding. He was still tall and lean, maintaining his slim figure over the years.
"I'm sorry, I know this is hard for you," Damien said, looking at Link sympathetically. "The people were just extremely shocked. They thought you were dead, including myself."
Link stared at the ground, refusing to make any eye contact.
Damien sighed at the lack of emotion Link was showing and dug into his pocket, pulling out the key to the guest room.
"Here, I'll show you how to use the things in the bathroom," Damien offered. "Sometimes, people stay here and get frustrated at the fact that they can't even turn on the shower. It's quite amusing."
Damien chuckled to himself and walked towards the door, opening it with the key. Link and Damien walked into the room, shutting the door behind them.
"So," Damien started, motioning his hands towards the enormous bed tucked away in the corner of the room. "This is clearly your bed. King size, I'm pretty sure."
Damien then walked into the bathroom and showed Link how to use the shower, the sink, and the toilet.
"It's pretty simple stuff," Damien stated. "Some people just need some extra help, so I decided to show you, just in case." He smiled kindly at Link, trying to spark at least some reaction from him. Link just continued to stare at his shoes, his face void of emotion.
Damien studied Link's face, looking at the large scar that ran down his left cheek and the other large scar on his neck.
"If you don't mind me asking," Damien started, interrupting the awkward silence between them. "Where are your scars from?"
Link looked up at Damien from under his eyelashes, gazing at him intensely.
"I'd rather not say."
Damien nodded his head, understanding.
"Very well," he said awkwardly. Damien then waited a moment before continuing to speak.
"The court told me to inform you that they would like to speak with you tomorrow about when you will officially start to become a captain. I will gladly escort you there, if you'd like-"
Link suddenly burst into tears, sobbing loudly. Damien stopped speaking immediately, a little startled by Link's sudden reaction.
"Link," Damien said softly, honestly expecting this reaction a little bit. He knew him too well. "It's alright. It's okay."
Tears were streaming down Link's face. He choked on his own sobs, crying uncontrollably. His tears fell rapidly down his face and onto the carpet below him.
"Link, it's alright," Damien repeated, attempting to calm Link down. "It's alright."
Damien took a step closer to Link and placed a warm hand on his shoulder. Link began to cry harder and hid his face from Damien, becoming embarrassed.
"I-I," Link choked out. "I-I'm pathetic-"
"You are not pathetic," Damien said softly. He then slowly wrapped his arms around Link, embracing him in a warm hug. Link hugged him back, squeezing his shoulders.
"I am not at all mad at you for what you did," Damien said to him, still holding him in a tight embrace. "I'm just glad you're back and that you're not dead. It was horrible what the people would say sometimes. It scared me so bad, Link. I missed you so much."
Link cried even harder into Damien's shoulder, letting all his emotions that he bottled up for years finally out.
Jack stood in his bathroom, staring at himself in the mirror. He gripped the sides of the sink tightly, his knuckles turning white. His mirror was extremely fogged up, having showered a few minutes ago. A towel loosely hung around his waistline, exposing his chest and abdominals. His hair was soaking wet and water droplets fell off it, falling down his exposed back and chest.
"Wasn't today the eventful one?" a voice suddenly spoke behind him.
Jack didn't dare to even look at the dark spirit behind him. He was in no mood for games right now.
"Get out," Jack spat at the spirit.
The spirit laughed and inched closer to Jack, hovering above his shoulder. Jack resisted the temptation to swat it away with his hand.
"Always so angry," the spirit said playfully. "You aren't happy your little deadbeat father is here?"
Jack gripped the sink even tighter, his knuckles turning even whiter. Instead of being in a state of shock like his mother, he was angrier than ever before. How dare him just show up out of nowhere after six years, like it was nothing. Jack didn't want anything to do with him. He figured his mother might feel a little different about the situation, but all he felt was boiling rage. He wanted his father dead, more than ever before.
"I guess him coming back throws a wrench in your plan, huh Jack?" the spirit teased. "You can't just kill him in broad daylight, since everybody now knows he's alive. You and I are now in a sticky situation, don't you think?"
Jack didn't answer that. His rage boiled inside of him, making him want to scream. He realized that he was going to have to see his father much more than he would prefer, now that they were both in the army. He wondered why on earth his father would just come out of nowhere and enlist in the army. It made absolutely no sense.
"I know what you're thinking," the darkness continued. "You wonder why he just popped up out of nowhere."
Jack said nothing, staring at the sink below him.
"Well, I'll tell you why, since you can't seem get it through your thick skull," the darkness said. "He obviously knows that this castle is a mess, including your pathetic army."
Jack's eyes widened in anger. He snapped his head towards the darkness, clenching his jaw tightly.
"You know nothing," Jack spat. "You know nothing about how I run my army-"
"Oh, please, your ruling is pathetic. You let your men turn to fat slobs who don't care. There's a clear reason why your father is here."
Jack clenched his jaw even tighter and faced away from the dark spirit.
"The destruction of your plan is your own doing, not mine," the spirit continued. "You chose to let your army turn to shit. You also made the conscious choice to leave that guard's dead body in this castle, putting yourself more at risk of getting caught if you wanted to kill him now. You are an idiot. And I mean that in the most offensive way."
Jack suddenly picked up a glass vase nearby and angrily threw it across the bathroom at the wall. The vase shattered, falling into a million pieces onto the floor. Jack then turned towards the spirit, his eyes dark and threatening.
"Get out," Jack said lowly.
The darkness floated there, unmoving.
"Get out!" Jack screamed, clenching his fists.
The darkness reluctantly vanished out of the bathroom, disappearing into thin air.
Link sprinted down a dimly lit hallway, his shadow dancing all around the walls. Torch lights flickered on the wall as he ran past each one of them.
A manic, evil laugh erupted from behind him, echoing around the walls. The laughing seemed to get closer and closer, causing him to panic wildly.
Suddenly, an ear-piercing scream ripped through the halls. Link recognized that scream immediately.
He began to sprint even faster, twisting and turning around the dimly lit hallway around him. The manic laughs around him grew louder, drowning out the blood-curdling screams. Sweat began to drip down his brow, the exhaustion from running so fast finally getting to him.
He then took a sharp turn into a dark room. The room had little torches, making it difficult to see. He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, noticing a body of an unmoving woman on the ground laying in a pool of blood.
Link inched slowly towards the woman, not wanting what he was seeing to be true.
"Zelda?" Link whispered in horror.
Zelda didn't move a muscle. Her neck was bent in a strange angle and there was a large gash cut across her throat.
"Zelda, please gods, no," he begged. He grabbed her shoulders and shook them quickly.
"Please wake up," he begged again. Zelda still didn't move an inch.
Link began to sob, gathering her dead body in his arms and crying into her chest. The manic laughs around him grew louder to almost a deafening level. They echoed all around him, causing his ears to start ringing.
"The deed has been done," a voice echoed across the room. "Now it's your turn."
Link woke up screaming. His hair and his body were both slick with sweat and his bare chest heaved up and down rapidly. His blonde bangs stuck to his forehead, completely soaked with sweat. He gasped for air, extremely frightened by his nightmare.
"Just a dream," Link thought to himself, trying to calm himself down.
Link took some deep breaths and looked around his temporary room. Morning light shined through his window, partially blinding him while his eyes adjusted to the light. He then calmed down a bit and began to breathe normally again.
A soft knock suddenly came from outside his door.
"May I come in?" a soft voice said from outside the room. It sounded like a woman.
Link quickly got up from his bed and threw on a casual white t-shirt over his bare chest.
"Yes, you may," he said after he changed.
The door creaked open, revealing a beautiful young woman. She was short and thin. Her hair was long and dark, with waves rippling through her hair. She had full, pink lips and dark green eyes with long eyelashes. She had a black and white dress on, revealing her to be a maid.
"Hi, Link," the maid said nervously, walking towards him and shutting the door behind her. "I'm Jessica, the queen's personal servant and maid. I was sent by the court to come and get you to meet them soon."
Link studied her face, faintly recognizing her.
"I know you," Link said, stepping closer to her. "Your mother was a servant here, wasn't she?"
Jessica's eyes widened. She was shocked that he even remembered her or her mother at all.
"Y-you remember?" Jessica stammered.
Link chuckled quietly.
"Yes, of course," he said softly. "You were such a sweet child. Your mother was also a wonderful cook. What was her name again? Francine, correct?"
"Yes. That was her name."
Link smiled at Jessica sweetly.
"I remember Francine tried so hard to teach you how to cook," Link stated, laughing softly. "I imagine it was quite difficult to teach a twelve-year-old child how to cook a filet mignon."
Jessica laughed quietly, reminiscing about her days before she was a maid. Her mother was a cook and a servant for the royal family. Jessica lived in the castle with her mother for as long as she could remember, never knowing her father. Her mother told her he left before she even gave birth to Jessica and before she moved into the castle to become a servant.
"Yes, it was quite difficult," Jessica chuckled, already warming up to Link's kind personality. She had expected him to be the same way she remembered him to be six years ago, but he wasn't. He didn't seem like the cold man she remembered him to be.
"Is your mother still a cook here?" Link asked politely. "I was wondering, since you still live here and are now officially a servant."
Jessica's smile immediately wiped off her face. Link noticed her sorrowful facial expression, his own smile also dropping off his face.
"She passed away around two years ago," Jessica said almost inaudibly. "She had become very ill."
Link went silent. He locked eyes with her, his bright blue eyes swirling with sadness and concern.
"I am so sorry," he said sympathetically. "I can't imagine what it could be like to lose someone so close to you."
Jessica said nothing, afraid that her voice would crack with emotion if she even uttered a word. She then cleared her throat and walked towards the entrance to the guest room.
"The court wishes to speak with you in about ten minutes," Jessica informed, quickly changing the topic of conversation. "There is a change of proper clothes in the closet next to the bathroom. Please quickly change and head down to the court room immediately."
Jessica then hurried out of the room, quickly closing the door behind her.
"Queen Zelda, please just listen to me-"
"This is a complete outrage!" Zelda sputtered, thrusting her hands angrily into the air. "Without my permission? Are you kidding me?"
Darrien pinched the bridge of his nose, both in stress and annoyance.
"Your highness," another court member named Lewis started. "The army is definitely in some need of reparation. The ex-king could most likely help it get back on its feet-"
"My own court is against me!" the queen said dramatically. "Making decisions without me! Who on Earth thought it was a great idea to bring him back? Who the hell even found him? This proves the court's dishonesty as to how I know absolutely nothing about this whole entire situation!"
Darrien took a deep breath of annoyance.
"It was not us who presented the idea," Darrien stated. "It was Captain Barnes and Captain Ralio. They found him at a meat market in Castle Town."
Zelda leaned fowards in her seat, her eyes widened in shock.
"T-those idiots?" she shouted. "Those idiots found him and brought him back here? Are you kidding me? Their positions should immediately be stripped-"
"Your highness, calm down," Darrien interrupted. "I understand why you are feeling this way. We are all a little shocked to even know that he's alive-"
"Your shocked?" Zelda cut in, laughing hysterically. "Your shocked? That's the funniest thing I've heard all damn year!"
Some of the court members flinched, preparing themselves for yet another angry explosion from the Queen. Darrien just stared at Zelda blankly, pretty much used to her shouting and complaining.
Zelda leaned even farther in her seat, pointing her finger right in Darrien's face.
"You have no idea what I'm feeling right now," she hissed angrily. "For you to so ignorantly bring him back here, without my permission, I might add, and send half of the castle into shock. You blindly listen to those idiots in the army and bring him back here, knowing exactly why he left in the first place." Zelda then took a deep breath and took her finger away from Darrien's face, attempting to push down her anger.
"So, yes, I am shocked," she continued, her voice softening. "But I am also very, very angry. It probably would have been better off if he was dead."
The court went silent. A few members cringed at the harsh words of the last statement that the Queen said. They knew they had been wrong in letting him back without her permission, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
"Your highness," Darrien said, interrupting the growing silence in the court room. "I know what we did was wrong, but-"
Suddenly, the entrance to the court room burst open. A tall, muscular man walked in, his footsteps heavy on the ground.
Darrien stopped speaking and looked up at the man in the room.
"Good morning, Captain Link," Darrien greeted. "I'm so glad you are here this morning. We have important matters to discuss."
Zelda whirled around in her chair, looking at Link who had just suddenly barged into the room. She suddenly felt extremely awkward, feeling tense and uncomfortable at Link's presence.
She studied his face intently, noticing every physical feature that had seemed to change since he was gone. His hair seemed to be a little bit shorter, now stopping a little bit above his jawline. He also seemed more muscular, his arms a bit bigger and his jawline a bit more defined. She especially noticed the huge scars on his face and neck. She hadn't seen them when he so suddenly revealed his existence to the castle last night.
"Good morning, Darrien," Link greeted politely, refusing to even look at Zelda in the room. His expression was blank and emotionless. Zelda figured he was either hiding his emotions, or he just plainly did not care that she was even there.
Darrien leaned over towards the Queen's ear, beginning to whisper.
"It might be best if you leave," he whispered almost inaudibly. "For our sake, and your own."
Zelda nodded quickly. She for once actually agreed with something he said.
She then got out of her seat and began to walk towards the exit. She kept her eyes straight ahead, not daring to even make eye-contact with Link. She quickly brushed past him and walked through the double doors, shutting them quietly behind her.
Darrien sighed in relief, happy that the angry Queen was finally out of his sight.
"Thank the gods that's over," Darrien muttered under his breath. Link snickered quietly, overhearing Darrien's side-comment.
"Okay, so we have many things to discuss," Darrien told Link. "First, I'm sure you heard Damien announce that a dead body has been found in the basement of this castle. When you officially start, you will immediately need to get your branch of soldiers to begin questioning people that may be suspects."
Link nodded in understanding.
"If you don't mind me asking," Link started. "When was the body found? And where?"
Darrien took a deep breath.
"Yesterday."
Link's eyes widened in shock. That recent?
"Yes, I know," Darrien said, noticing Link's shocked expression. "It was quite a scary thing to hear. His body was found in the room where only the royals could come and go to."
Link's eyebrows shot up his forehead. He knew exactly where that room was, having been in it himself.
"W-what?" he sputtered. "That means that-"
"Jack and Queen Zelda are now immediately suspects," Darrien cut in for him. "You will have your branch of soldiers question them immediately. It is protocol."
Link fiddled with his fingers nervously. His doubts about ever coming back to the castle began to grow again, gnawing at the pit of his stomach. He was going to have to order his group of soldiers to question his own son and ex-wife of murder?
"The questioning will not be very serious," Darrien reassured Link. "We are all almost one-hundred percent sure that your son and Queen Zelda had nothing to do with this. There is no reason at all as to why they would just randomly kill the night guard. We seem to think that the motives of the kill are attempting to frame the Queen and the General."
Link sighed in relief. The last thing he would want to see is for either Jack or Zelda to be thrown in the dungeons for murder.
"On to better discussions," Darrien started, eager to change the topic. "You will be training Branch F of the military. They are a smaller group of soldiers than the other branches. Most of them are new to the military, and some of them are incapable of being promoted up into another branch. You will need to train them properly. Their last captain was no help to them whatsoever."
Link took a deep breath. Branch F was the worst branch in the military. They were all practically notorious for being fat, lazy slobs. They were usually ignored by a majority of the military, practically considered a lost cause. Was the military really that desperate for better soldiers, so they were now paying attention to the soldiers that were once considered lost causes?
"When do I start?" Link asked Darrien, attempting to steer his doubtful thoughts away.
"Tomorrow," he replied.
Hey guys! I'm back from vacation, finally, so I will be back onto a regular routine of updating. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. It's a little boring, but it's necessary for build-up.
I'm glad to be able to start regularly updating again. Writing this story has made me realize that I really enjoy writing stories. I might not be the best at it, but it's just so much fun to write. After I finish this story, I will most likely write Zelink another story. It will be a Modern AU. There's obviously going to be a plot in this story also, because I don't like books that just focus on romance. I feel like for a romance story to be more interesting, there needs to be a plot revolving around the romance. Or maybe that's just me.
Anyways, again, please review. I would greatly appreciate it. See you guys soon!
Review Responses:
Soledge1: Hope you liked how this turned out!
Guest: Yeah, Barnes and Ralio are meant to be more of comedic reliefs in this book. Technically, they could sentence him to death, but that probably wouldn't happen because they already let him come back. And yeah, Jack is a bit of a psycho. I'm glad you enjoyed the update, and I did have a good time on my trip, thank you.
AzHasANewName1: Yeah didn't really go so well, as you can see lmao