3 A terrible mistake
My maidens had been fluttering around me since the first ray of sunshine struck the horizon.
"And don't forget to be polite, Your Highness," repeated Amy, who pulled the strings of my corset so hard that I thought I would faint right there.
"I won't be able to talk, because thanks to you I won't be able to breathe. One doesn't say rudeness if she's short of breath," I protested.
Amy snorted ignoring my words and looked at me again.
"This side is not the same as the other one. Mel! Fix those braids.
"The hairstyle is perfect, Amy," I growled, "almost as tight as the corset.
"Skies," Amy protested, as Mel laughed in disguise at my comment, "that young prince will be here in just a few hours and you're still half-dress."
"You've been working on my outfit for hours! Seriously, I now understand what Father meant when he said these processes take time...
Amy and Mel helped me fasten the dress. It was heavy as lead, pale pink (no experiments with blues are allowed when it comes to getting husband) and with silvery edges.
"You look so pretty... You remind me of your mother—Amy turned to wipe away her tears with her handkerchief. That's how she was, she could go from scolding me to crying from emotion in seconds.
"For once I agree with my mother, Your Highness, that dress suits you very well," Mel smiled.
"I feel like I'm in disguise. Does it look like I'm in disguise?
"No!" Mother and daughter exclaimed.
Giving up the idea of breathing, I went down as I could to the north hall. I had breakfast there often with Father and my brothers, it was less pompous than the other salons, its atmosphere was more intimate, informal. It only had two access doors, so it's not like there were more than four or five guards around either.
"Tell the cooks a cupcake has escaped from the kitchens!" Kahen joked when I showed up.
"Very funny... where's Father?"
"With your suitor. He arrived at the castle last night."
"Last night? I thought he'd be here this morning."
Kahen grinned mischievously, like when he put pepper in my tea and waited in disguise for me to drink. At the moment he was tightening the bow and carefully filling the quiver with long-tipped arrows.
"Aren't you going to stay at the castle?" I reproached him. I hated Kahen for being able to do whatever he wanted without anyone scolding him.
"No, little sister. I'm going hunting with my men.
"Hunting? Do you think hunting is appropriate with a neighboring prince visiting us?
"He's not here for me.
He winked and gave me a kiss on the cheek that I tried to dodge without success. He left the hall carefree, whistling down the corridors. He crossed paths with Gae, who sat down to devour breakfast without any protocol. I knew too well the hunger the sheikah training provoked, so I didn't tell him anything until I saw him fill his mouth several times.
"How did it go? Has Impa had you carrying buckets of water back and forth?
"Zel!" He exclaimed, noticing I was there for the first time, "you look very pretty!
"Kahen says I look like a cupcake..."
"Well, you look like one of those cream cakes," he laughed, his mouth full of food.
"Oh, goddesses Gae, I can't wait for this nightmare to be over. I'll try to engage Richard today and then I'll be back to work on my stuff. Hopefully I won't have to wear a corset again until the winter ball.
Gae let his food on the plate, a little dejected.
"Hey, what's the matter with you? Is something wrong?"
"No, it's just...
"Come on, you can tell me anything. I know that Impa can be hard, my arms and legs hurt just to think about her workouts.
"It's not that. It's just... I don't want you to leave home," he confessed. Although Gae was mature for his age, he was sometimes still too young.
"I'm not leaving home for a few years," I said, sitting next to him and holding his hand.
"What if the prince wants to get married now?
"I don't think that's the case. Besides, my opinion counts, isn't it? I'm the princess of Hyrule.
None of my comments eased Gae's regret. He no longer laughed, nor did he find it funny to call me Lady Zelda of Lumbar.
"I don't want Kahen to be king," he confessed. Well, we had both talked about it once, that our brother was too chaotic, that he was a little smug. But he never said it as seriously as he did at the time.
"Nothing can change that. Neither the fact that I marry Richard or not can change it.
"Zel, I've heard him talking to his men. That guy with the hooked nose, the captain of his guard. And the other two who always go with him.
"Oh yes, those idiots.
I warned Kahen that I didn't like the way his men looked at me sometimes. "They look at me like I'm naked, Kahen, they don't respect me." "You exaggerate. Besides, they're men, what do you expect them to do, to just turn their eyes away?" His closest subordinates only respected him, but they disguised their excesses with me and Gae very well in front of Father to look good and not to raise suspicions.
"Kahen wants to use the Triforce when he becomes king.", Gae continued.
"That's ridiculous, it's not something that can be used at pleasure. The power comes, it manifests itself, you know that.
"I know, but he's bent. He says we're wasting our time fighting at the borders, having such a powerful weapon hidden and unused. I don't want to be alone with him, I don't want you to leave.
"The Triforce must only act against darkness. And in the hypothetical case that we know how to get to it (which I doubt), trying to control it against other inhabitants of this world is as impossible as stupid. Kahen would end up hurting himself. Gae... ", I leaned in and pushed his hair away from his forehead a little bit, like when he was a kid—Kahen is sometimes an idiot, you know. He just wants to play the tough guy with his men, he wants to stand out, but I don't think he's going to do any of that seriously. And... it's not like I'm going to live at the end of the world, you know, I'll come to see you many times and you can travel to Lumbar whenever you want.
"You should be the heiress.
"Don't talk nonsense," I laughed, my corset choking me every time I flexed.
"It's not, Zel. You have skills that Kahen and I don't. And Father knows.
"If I were the heiress, I'd have to marry someone much worse than Richard," I joked, he drew a faded smile. I pushed his hair away his forehead one more time, this time to kiss him there.
"Augh, don't be sticky," he complained, pretending to move aside.
"We'll talk later, I need to go. I don't want to keep my future husband waiting any longer.
I winked and Gae smiled, cheering up a little. I went through the lobby and two flights of stairs. Two of the guards who watched the hall followed me, I don't know if by protocol or because they saw my awkwardness as I walked, and they were afraid I'd stumble upon the dress. I should have worn the other dress, the light green one. It was simple, with long and wide sleeves, tight size. It was just pretty and simple and it didn't have so many ornaments and lace that pricked me like needles. And it allowed me to breathe (a detail).
I arrived at the throne room of the eastern wing. There are several throne rooms in the castle and Father usually chooses a smaller and more discreet one to receive visitors, the large hall is only used for big events such as coronations, funerals or... even weddings (Goddesses, I needed to delay the wedding for at least two years, I expected Richard to understand). I found Father there with a tall man, much taller than Richard. When he turned, I discovered it was the gerudo prince, who smiled with that gesture that rang the Citadel Bell inside me. In Hyrule there is a special bell tower, it is in one of the highest towers between the castle and the citadel. That's the Citadel Bell, a gigantic artifact that shakes the ground with its wits. The bell has only sounded once in Hyrule in my life, during the fire in the royal stables, but the tragic and profound sound still resonates within me, like a warning or something. That kind of alertness is a hard thing to forget. I wish Prince Ganondorf didn't inspire that sense of danger in me.
"Here's my daughter," Father said, standing up. Father is one of the tallest men I know, but the prince was a bit taller than him.
"Your Highness, you look even more beautiful than the last time I saw you," the prince bowed.
"My lord," I replied, trying to bow down and not to breathe for the seconds that my slightest bending lasted.
"We'll discuss later, Lord Ganondorf, I need some time alone with the princess," Father said, moving a hand for him to retreat.
"All that is needed," he bowed again and grinned, with that chilling smile that for some reason my maidens found irresistible.
I didn't open my mouth until I was sure Ganondorf was completely out of there. Then I dropped on the stairs that ascended to the throne, I couldn't stand the corset anymore, the next time Amy would have to squeeze it less or I would put it on her to teach her a lesson.
"What is the prince doing here? Is there trouble in the desert?" I asked. I thought his compliment to see me had many interpretations. 'More beautiful than last time' might mean 'last time you looked like a bokoblin, now you're a pink bokoblin, we're getting better.' I held on to my laughter and thought I'd tell Gae later.
"He's here for the same reason as many others," Father said. I bowed my head, without understanding—to ask for your hand.
"What?
Although I was suffocating, I jumped up and started walking around the room, trying to calm down the blow of the news. Damn Kahen, he knew! He knew it wasn't Richard who arrived the night before!
"No way!" I exclaimed. It was wrong to speak to the king like that, especially with so many guards in the room, but I was not able to control myself —Father, we talked about Richard, you gave me the blessing and... and the emissaries to Lumbar, you sent them, Richard is on his way, he will be offended... and you don't want any conflict with Lumbar, we're at peace with them, what will he think if I marry a gerudo? Besides, even if he's a prince, Gerudo belongs to Hyrule, you wouldn't get any benefit with that marriage, I think-
"Zelda!" He stopped me. His voice sounded like thunder all over the room—Gerry, leave me alone with my daughter, please.
The captain of the royal guard (who was behind us) squared up. The royal soldiers went out through the doors they guarded and closed them to continue guarding them on the other side. Father sighed, took off his crown and sat on the stairs. I dropped by his side.
"I beg you...
"It looks like you don't know your old Father," he murmured, "I would never marry you with that man.
I wrapped my Father's neck with my arms. He stroked my hair like he did when I was a kid. I hardly remembered the last time he did something like that.
"He's not trustworthy," he continued, "luckily the captain of his guard helps us to control him. She's a trusted woman.
"Thank you," I murmured, and tried to stand up a little. I knew I had been in disrespectful and childish behavior, more typical of my brothers than mine.
"If I could, I wouldn't give you to anyone," he lifted my chin with his finger, "but if I don't, Ganondorf and many others will come to pressure, and I'd have to give in to one of them. It's politics, do you understand?
I just nodded.
"Better to marry my daughter to a noble and peaceful man like Richard than to force a more complex union, it is healthier to forge unions in times of peace than in times of war.
I took a breath and felt the air returning to my lungs. All my previous verbiage had gone silent from sheer tranquility.
"But… Zelda. We must handle these situations politely. A lot of men have showed interest in you, by letter. I have graciously rejected them. Those who make an appearance like Prince Ganondorf deserve polite deference, so I invited him to dinner, stay at the castle, and I promised him I would talk to you about his proposal. Then we will politely reject it and there will be no more discussion.
"And Richard?
"He's a man of honor. He will understand that there will be other contenders, he will not take it as an offense if he also shares the table at our dinner.
"I have a lot to learn from you," I admitted, with a half-smile.
"You will. You will rule with peace and wisdom, and you will learn many things while in Lumbar —he offered his shoulder to me and I rested my head against him.
"And... will I be able to go to the excavations?
Father let out a laugh that echoed on all the walls.
"I don't think this Richard knows where he's getting into...
After clearing things up with Father, I felt so much better. A Lumbar emissary later arrived, warning that Richard would be delayed several more days because of a storm, so we had to postpone the dinner until his arrival. I spent much of the day reading, I didn't even mind to accept to go for a walk in the gardens with the gerudo prince, despite the corset. Now that he posed no threat, I thought a walk through the gardens would be polite and nice, like Father had taught me. He was a good conversationalist and had a deep knowledge of Hyrule's history, he knew more about the goddesses than many of our priests. We differed a little as far as the goddess Hylia was concerned, he called her a minor goddess, a subordinate of Din, Farore and Nayru, but I reasoned that we did not know much about her, and that, although some legends tell she descended to save the world from the darkness, there is conflicting information about it.
"Just think about it, Your Highness. She's a goddess without any particular power, she seems rather taken from a troubadour's song.
"Perhaps her power was of a different nature," I speculated, "perhaps it was based on her love for the humans and the creatures that inhabited the world."
"Good answer," he smiled. It was a frank smile, devoid of double intentions, "this is where our walk ends, Your Highness. I have to retire now; it will be dark soon.
"Me too, thank you for the walk, prince Ganondorf."
"Thank you for letting me stay here for a few more days."
He made an attempt of reverence and seemed to leave when he stopped and turned back to me.
"You're not planning on accepting my proposal, are you?
I was surprised by his frankness, once again I was overwhelmed by his instinct and cunning. If he were more transparent, I'm sure his proposal might would go a bit further, but...
"No, I won't accept it. I feel honored by your offer," I replied. Remember Zelda: courtesy — but I'm afraid it arrived late, because there's a prior engagement with another suitor."
"Oh, really?" My answer caught him off guard, "who is he?"
"You may understand my lord that it's not polite to reveal something like this too early, out of respect for the other person."
"Of course, it's not polite. I'll see you again before I leave for the desert, I hope. Again, thank you for the walk and the conversation, princess. It was very instructive." He bowed and we separated our way, he left to the guests wing and I retreated to the northwest one, heading to my quarters.
The following days passed with monotony, if I ignore the fights with my personal maidens, of course. Under no circumstances was I going to wear the cupcake dress again when Richard arrived. I wasn't going to have dinner with that prison for the body, Amy crying about it or not. I had many other dresses and corsets that, without losing elegance, would allow me to breathe and eat and behave like a human. And they wouldn't make me look like a bun with legs that ran away from the kitchens.
I was finally announced that the prince of Lumbar had arrived at Hyrule's Castle after a crashed trip (several carriage wheel breaks included, thunderstorms and mud, lots of mud). The servants arranged everything for us to have dinner that night. Prince Ganondorf would join us too; he was still staying at the castle. It was a kind of violent situation, but it was not appropriate to dinner alone with a prince with another one staying as guest too. The same storms that had delayed Richard arrival had prevented Ganondorf's departure, so the uncomfortable situation was inevitable.
Once the sun set, I was ready to attend the dinner (in the light green dress despite Amy's whining). The banquet would be held near the garden, the autumn was about to start, and the evenings started to get colder, but not enough to not continue enjoying the outdoors. A pleasant smell of fresh flowers came into the garden lounge, and it was my favorite place to dine or have lunch from all the halls of the castle. I was mentally prepared about what I would say to Richard, I had to negotiate cautiously so that he wouldn't back down or be offended in some way. Like Gae, I was also afraid that the prince wanted to speed up our marriage and wanted to marry that same year, but it was a risk I was willing to take if that took me away from other political unions less convenient to me. It was a bit selfish, I know, but I had wrongly assumed that I wouldn't have to marry anyone if it wasn't by choice. Sometimes I'm a little naive.
When I got to the dining hall, there was a great commotion in the castle. There were guards everywhere, Gerry, my Father's trusted man, dragged me almost by pulling my arm to the living room, where Gae and the two princes were, their faces a little crooked by bewilderment.
"Prince Richard," I greeted, bowing. He bowed too, with such a perfect movement that it seemed taken from the protocol books.
"Princess Zelda, I'm so sorry I've been late and come at such an inopportune time. There are still summer storms whipping the plains and the journey took longer than expected.
"Don't apologize please, the important thing is that you have arrived safely," I looked up and exchanged a look with my brother, who was intent watching the guard's movements through the garden and the gates —Gae, what is going on? Where's Father?
"I don't know. Father asked us to wait here, that we would be safe," he said, shrugging.
"I don't want to sound impertinent," Prince Ganondorf said, he stood up to greet me, respecting protocol, "but it's pretty obvious that Hyrule has suffered some kind of attack.
"What? There have been no attacks for years...
"Your family's treasures are too valuable, it was only a matter of time," Ganondorf took a sip of his drink, and showed concern, as if he wanted to leave the room to find out what was going on.
Gerry returned to assign an additional patrol to protect us, and they closed the doors of the hall. We'd have dinner without Father and being prisoners in our own house.
"This is ridiculous," I murmured. While there was chaos everywhere, we were served a cold vegetable soup, the first course of a long list.
"Don't worry, princess. I'm sure this is a misunderstanding, the guards will protect us—Richard was sitting in front of me, and his face looked pale, he didn't convey much security.
"I have a troop housed in the castle, if you let me intervene, I will put it in the service of the king immediately," Ganondorf interjected. Like Richard he seemed anxious, but in his case for acting. I felt a little identified with him.
"Father ordered to wait," Gae said, sipping the soup like nothing. He was the most serene of all, he had that ability.
I could barely swallow a spoon of the soup and we were already being served some roasted partridges with raspberry sauce. My stomach was scrambled. At least the Citadel Bell hadn't rang.
"That's enough, thank you," Richard told the servant who was attending him. He had barely poured some sauce into his plate. He was as pale as if he were going to pass out right there. My future husband seemed on the verge of collapse; it was not a good moment to whisper anything between cheerful glasses of bland wine (they would never serve Necluda wine at such a reception). There was no room for plans, no deals, nothing.
Suddenly there was a terrible silence around us. There was so much silence that we only heard the squeak of the cutlery on the plates. I ate a portion of meat and couldn't prove anything else. Afterwards, we were served the third course: Faron beefcake with acidic fruits. The silence was more asphyxiating that if I had worn the cupcake dress.
"All right, this is stupid," I said, dropping the cutlery and standing up, "they treat us like kids. I demand an explanation."
"Zelda...," Gae murmured, waving his head to contain me.
"Princess, security protocols are designed to ensure that nothing wrong happens, you must not be distressed." Richard said, with his infinite correction. I was getting on my nerves.
"I'm not distressed, not as much as you are," my comment caused Gae's fork to fall on the plate and Prince Ganondorf to shed a laugh.
"You're right. It's time to find out what's going on," Ganondorf said, joining me.
"It's not safe, Your Highness! Protocol!" Richard exclaimed, chasing us.
"To hell with protocol," I said, before disappearing behind the door and forcing the guards to open the way for us.
Gae walked beside me through the corridors of the castle. We were closely followed by the two princes, both with the hand on the sword grip, though Richard's looked more like a letter opener. We went straight to the private Father's room, where I knew we could find him as well as the information we needed. I confirmed my suspicions by discovering Gerry there, his face fell when he saw we had escaped from our prison.
"I need to talk to my Father," I demanded Gerry.
"Your Highness, I asked you to stay in the dining hall.
"I can't wait any longer. If we're under attack or something we need to know right now. That lockdown is rude to us and our guests.
Gerry snorted, looked at the floor and then to the princes. After weighing it, he made his way only to my brother and me, for the moment. I thought it was fair.
There was a stir of maidens inside the room carrying buckets of water back and forth. Father conversed with Kahen's right hand, Elinald, the hooked nose guy, and I discovered with amazement a pair of rito in a corner, a little apart from the others. I was going to address them when Gae pulled my dress sleeve.
"Zel, look," he pointed the index to the front, at the big table near the fireplace.
Suddenly the maidens made their way, and we heard a cry of pain.
"Kahen has been wounded!" I exclaimed, and I ran to my brother.
He was lying on the table, and the court doctor warmed up some tongs in the fire so he could seal a wound which looked a bit infected, in his leg. Sweat squirts were running down his forehead, but as little as I could see, the wound was not fatal at all and seemed under control.
"Your Highness, what are you doing here? You could get dizzy, don't look!
Amy's youngest daughter Lel was there to help the doctor bringing water and clean cloths. But she was the one who seemed to be on the edge of the blackout, her look unfocused, and she retched every time she looked at the dark wound on Kahen's leg. I got a little out of that stir to try to talk to Father and understand at once what the hell had happened, Gae was already with him and Elinald.
"Father?" I just asked.
"Goddesses, I asked you not to move out of the room," he sighed, "and the princes?
"They wait outside," I said, "Father, Kahen has been hurt, what is all this mess? Are we in danger?"
"Maybe so, although it will have to be avoided at all costs," he held the bridge of his nose with two fingers, "Elinald, you can retire, I need to talk to my children.
The guy with the hooked nose obeyed the king and twisted the gesture as he walked past Gae and me. My Father led us to a smaller room, his personal office, where we could talk alone.
"Was it Ikana?" Gae asked, as soon as Father closed the door.
"If it were Ikana everything would make sense and weight less in my heart," Father snorted, exhausted.
"Then who? Who dares to attack a prince of Hyrule?" I asked, uncapable of restraining myself.
"I'm afraid your brother has caused a conflict," Father dropped into the chair behind his office table, "he's stupid and stubborn. I've forgotten how many times I've told him not to go hunting so close to the border, but he's hellbent on disobeying. The worst part is that this time his actions will lead us to an unexpected war.
"Father," I crouched down and held his hand.
"Your brother departed several days ago to the west, with three of his men. They rode for days to hunt the boar of the Rito Forest. They arrived exhausted, with the horses on the brink of collapse, only a fool would go hunting to such a remote place —Father waved his head again.
"The Rito Forest is on the border with the lands of West, we have permission to hunt there," Gae reasoned.
"It was dark, and they insisted on hunting. They had drunk, I suppose," Father continued, "and... they made a terrible mistake.
"What mistake?" I asked, anguished. I could read the horror in Father's eyes.
"They inadvertently shot some kids in the woods. The barbarian kids usually wear the furs of the tribes of the mountains. They adorn their heads with helmets with horns, imitating the adults. Kahen mistook them.
"Kahen mistook them? How the hell can he mistake kids with boars?" I said, alarmed, "please, tell me nothing bad happened to those kids. Father?
He snorted, moving uncomfortably in his seat. Dear Hylia, had Kahen killed a child by mistake? I felt vertigo and now I understood Father's fear of a new war.
"Kahen's men took the wounded girl to an inn near Nightfall," Father continued, "and they abandoned her at the door.
"Thousand hells," Gae growled, "how can they be such idiots?
"They didn't want their mistake to splash the crown, and they may have thought it would be better to run away without being noticed," Father reasoned, "but they acted in the stupidest and most inappropriate way possible. A group of warriors from Nightfall followed them, they're great trackers. They were hunted in the Rito Forest. One of Kahen's men died on the spot. Your brother just suffered that wound to his leg. Apparently, they discovered that he was the prince of Hyrule, and they let them escape.
"Goddess," I murmured, covering my mouth with my hand. There have been no wars since Father was a kid. He knew the gravity of losing our most powerful ally, losing Fort Hawk meant opening the door to an invasion from Ikana.
Father stood up and peeked out of the window of his office. He had to be thinking about how to solve that crisis, even though the murder and abandonment of a little girl didn't seem to have an easy solution, no matter how much one of our own had died and the prince was wounded. There was blood and both sides already had their hands stained.
"Chief Grenmak will soon arrive here with his troops and with other chiefs of the clans from the Hebra Mountains," Father murmured.
"And what are we going to do?
"We must avoid that war at all costs.