From the shadows

I found it harder to leave the Nest than I thought. Zelda was right, the routine can become somewhat healing after so many strong emotions. It did me good to spend a few days at home, my new home.

But there were issues to solve, and they were stealing my sleep at night.

First, we had that problem about finding the guy who poisoned my wife. It was highly unlikely to be able to find him, but I asked Ardren to investigate in Nightfall, to ask for pedlars, traders, hawkers. I had decided to meet my men at a tavern in Nightfall, "The Old Wanderer". There they would update me on their enquiries, and I would have a few words with one of them.

The second thing that bothered me was more complex and I hadn't discussed it yet with Zelda. I was concerned about Hyrule. I felt that something wasn't right there, but it was a kind of feeling rather than a certainty, so I preferred to find out on my own before I said anything to her.

I asked for a beer and some cheese while I waited for the boys. The table was a bit dirty and sticky, but the food there was good. Just in case, in my bag I carried a whole loaf of bread and blueberry jam. Zelda had learned to make it from Frea's recipe and insisted that I take it with me because "it was good for energy and wouldn't spoil". She also insisted on coming with me to find out about her attacker on her own, she was extremely difficult to convince, but in the end she agreed with me that her presence would draw too much attention to herself, and that wasn't what we wanted. She was stubborn as a mule, if I had any preconceived ideas about what princesses were like, she changed them completely.

"Nice dump, Captain," Ardren smiled, sitting at my table.

"Why are you making us come to this hole?" Fridd asked, he ordered two more beers as he entered the place.

"Eve doesn't work here," I said.

It was obvious. She and I had ended up on good terms thanks to the gods, but every time we saw each other it felt awkward, I thought it was better to put a little distance until... until seeing each other was normal again. Nor should I visit her tavern so often in front of her father... the tension was slowly falling, but I knew more than enough that he disliked seeing me at the Inn of the Winds.

"It's a shame you have to hide like an outlaw, when the traitors are others," Fridd mumbled.

I tried to isolate his last comment from the conversation, because lately I was beginning to feel very upset about his continuing hints towards Hyrule and veiledly towards my wife.

"Well, on the mushroom issue I've spoken to almost all my trusted people in Nightfall," Ardren said, "there's a lot of movement at the border. At both borders. Not only the Ikana wraiths you killed in Hyrule, more of those things have also dared to cross the mountain range. Of course, there Kruu and the cold have taken good care of them and I'm not worried."

"To me it's worrying" I interrupted, "Do these raids seem normal to you? Because they're not. What are they looking for in Hyrule?"

"C'mon, Captain, easy answer" Ardren grinned, with his usual optimism, "the magical power of Hyrule Goddesses."

"No. There's something else." I'd think about it more calmly.

"On the other hand," Ardren continued, "the other frontier is also on the move. Many traders have used our good relationship with Hyrule as an excuse to expand their market."

"Good relationship? What imaginary world do you live in?" Fridd teased.

"Captain's princess is a woman from the West now," Ardren said, as if the answer was obvious.

"I don't think so, Ardren. I agree with Fridd that the situation is not friendly at all. But friendly or unfriendly, it's not my wife's fault. Let's be clear, she's totally excluded from this. Rather, it's all those who are trying to poison her or have tried to rise up against me or my family who have created this bad atmosphere."

"Anyway, the summary is that I don't know who could have poisoned Princess Zelda, Captain. The description that boy gave is too generic, it could be anyone."

"Well... thank you for your work," I said. I was frustrated, but Ardren wasn't to blame. I knew him well, and I was sure he would have asked and thoroughly investigated, and that he would have even involved his family.

"Is she all right?"

"Yes, yes. She's totally recovered."

"Fabulous," he smiled, "you can tell she's had the Captain busy these days. Looks like Linox's starting to let his guard down."

"I won't comment on it," I said, taking a swig of my beer, "you can go now, Ardren."

"Where the hell do you want me to go? Why are you talking to me so formally?"

"Go away, please. I need to talk to Fridd alone."

Ardren frowned for a moment, but he understood quickly. Above all they were my friends, but at that moment I was the captain, and he was one of my men, so he obeyed in silence.

"Is something wrong, Captain?" Fridd asked a little distressed to see Ardren leaving us alone.

"You know I like you; we are friends since we were very little. And I also understand your aversion to Hyrule. You know I've told you, hundreds of times, that I understand why you hate them so much." I looked up to look him in the eyes, "but you'll never meddle in my affairs with my wife again."

"Captain, don't-

"You won't. Never," I interrupted, "you will simply obey when I tell you to protect her, you will not judge her, you will not speak to her unless she does so before."

"I don't know what the hell I've done to get this reprimand," he said, with a nervous laugh that revealed nothing more than I was right. He'd tried to confuse Zelda and make things difficult for her with his stupid insinuations.

"Yes, you do. Don't make me feel ashamed, I don't want to say it out loud."

"What if she's a traitor? What if it's all Rhoam's plan?"

"Stop it!" Hell, he finally got me upset, "Zelda's not a traitor, and if you believe so then you will no longer be able to serve me."

"But what if..."

"Isn't that clear?"

"Yes, Captain."

"Good. Settled matter then. You can tell Ardren to come back."

We just had lunch at The Old Wandered, although the tension between us didn't completely go. Fridd was hurt in his pride, and I was in mine, but I was sure it wouldn't take us a day to get back to normal.

I spent the rest of the day investigating on my own, with Ardren's company. I sent Fridd to Fort Hawk to look at Dad's notes. In the Fort there was a daily record of all the carriages, wagons, merchants, passers-by, riders and anything that went through its walls. I asked him to investigate those books, to see if there was an increase in merchants as Ardren had said. I didn't want an episode like the one with the mushrooms could be repeated with one of the twins or the inhabitants of Fort Hawk.

It was difficult to investigate without arousing Dad's suspicions. I didn't want him or the clan chiefs to find out... we would raise such a storm that it would be impossible to find the culprit. The clan leaders knew only one way to combat such threats: violence. Most of them were brainless barbarians. I didn't want violence, I had married to avoid such violence, so whether my father was angry or not, I wasn't going to say a word to him about this attack.

It was getting dark and there was no point in investigating anymore. People lit their chimneys, a cold sleet fell on our heads and everyone took refuge in the houses.

"It's late, you can stay at my home, Link," Ardren proposed, looking up at the sky and the bad weather.

"No, I'm going back to the Nest. It won't take long, it's dark, but earlier than it looks like."

"Hey, I know it's none of my business, but the Fridd thing..."

"He must learn to control his anger against Hyrule. Sometimes he's worse than those brainless riots."

"Understood," he smiled. It was one of those smiles of his that showed that he was able to read between the lines.

"And with regard to that," I cleared my throat, "you will be from now on who will guard the perimeter of the Eagle's Nest when I'm absent."

"Am I no longer a threat to the young lady?"

"I hope you don't sing any of your ridiculous songs to her, all right? I think she trusts you a lot more than Fridd."

"I can't explain myself why," he chuckled, "but don't worry, Captain. I'll limit myself only to songs that aren't ridiculous."

A beautiful waitress kissed me, at the Crow's Inn

My wife doesn't know it when every day I sing

My happiness is the waitress, I got under her skirts...

"Or's sake…" I rolled my eyes.

"Good luck with the princess, Captain."

"Get out of here now," I pushed his back.

"Can I tell her that your real name is actually Linox?"

"Don't you dare to open your mouth," I had no choice but to laugh.

He went off humming and I set off towards the Nest. I had to wrap my cloak around me, it was bone-chillingly cold. I was tired and pretty hungry, so I decided to ride fast to get there as soon as possible. For the first time I felt like going home, back to my house. I didn't have the knot in my stomach of the other times, the feeling that I was a passing guest in the fortress, the desire to leave it as soon as possible to quell that feeling. The things were going better, there was a friendly atmosphere with Zelda, it was also great that she got along so well with everyone else, she had managed to create a kind of family atmosphere, it was warm and pleasant to eat together, to make jokes, to share tasks... nothing like those first grey and lonely days, where fear and mistrust reigned. There was still a dark weight in my heart, that of having to accept my fate without further ado, but at least it was not as horrible as I had thought.

Maybe hunger and the desire to get there fast were what distracted me, I don't know, but I didn't see the attack coming from any angle. I was riding and the next second I was dazed, my head in the mud. Something jumped from the shadows, something agile and silent. Next thing I felt was a dagger in my throat.

"Welcome to the lands of the West, Impa of the Sheikah," I murmured, as I could. She withdrew the dagger.

"You're so vulnerable that anyone would take you down," she growled. In the past she used those court protocols, now all of that was gone. Alright, better this way. She allowed me to get up, my head was hurting a lot, I must have hit the ground when I fell off the horse.

"You're too fast."

"No. You need to mature your skills, but everything will come," She sheathed her dagger, for my peace of mind.

"I was hoping you'd come, sooner or later," I said, she remained immutable, "you're welcome in the Eagle's Nest, Zelda will be glad to see you."

"It's not convenient for Her Highness to know that I'm around."

"Why?"

The woman clenched her jaw and stood silent. Oh, of course. Zelda would be angry if she knew she had the sheikah spying around her, turning her into a kind of "prisoner," which she hates most in the world.

"Then how can I help you? It's late and it might start snowing harder," I said, pretending to be carefree.

"I bring this from Prince Gaepora," she handed me a package, with a note tied in the strings that wrapped it.

"Are you sure you don't want to give it to her yourself?"

"No. You can tell the princess it's been left by a messenger at Fort Hawk by mistake."

"You know the princess a lot better than I do, and you know how complicated it's to lie to her."

Besides, I didn't want to do it. I felt unable to look at those green burning eyes and tell them any story. When I… every time I had to face her I felt somewhat clumsy, it wouldn't take Zelda two seconds to know I was hiding something.

"Okay, then. Handle it as you see best," Impa snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Is that all?" I arched an eyebrow. I knew she hadn't looked for me like that just to give me a packet.

"I wanted to...," she cleared her throat, "perhaps, I guess… thank you for saving the princess. You were fast enough."

"How did you find out?"

"Two of my soldiers have been around here... for a while."

"I've tried to find out who's the attacker, but it's not easy."

"I can help you with that," she said then, "I have those same soldiers investigating. My suspicions point to Hyrule."

"Are you kidding me?"

"These are dangerous times, Captain Link. Nothing is certain. You shouldn't trust anyone. I wanted to warn you in person. I feel like there's something conspiring from the shadows and we're all puppets of a bigger plan."

"Who?" I felt a shiver. A similar idea had already been around my head.

"I don't know yet, but I'll let you know. At the moment, Prince Gaepora is almost confined to the castle. There are monsters, dangers hanging around. There are few messengers these days in the roads and the king is afraid to send hawks from the castle in case they are intercepted."

"That's why she didn't get letters from her brother...," I murmured.

"That's why I came personally to deliver this."

"I… thank you, it will make her very happy to hear from the prince."

She whistled and a black horse emerged from the thicket. I hadn't even seen it, I didn't know it was there.

"I leave her safety in your hands," she said, climbing the saddle, "and I'll send you news as soon as I find out something about the mushrooms. My Eyes are behind the matter, and they will contact you in an efficient and discreet way."

"Eyes?"

"My people, soldiers of my tribe" she clarified, "will meet you at that inn you've been to today. You'll know they're near because they'll send you a message with this symbol. When you receive it, you'll come to the inn when the sun goes down. You alone, no one else, understood?"

Impa showed me the symbol she had embroidered on her robe, an eyelidless eye with a huge tear.

"Better to keep it a secret, I think it's a good mechanism to meet," I said, "but… again, I won't be able to hide it from her. She'll suspect, ask questions, and I repeat that I can't lie to her."

"Good."

"One more thing before you leave. Is there any way for Zelda to keep sending letters to the prince safely?"

"She should minimize them, for now. All I can think of is that you give the letters to one of my Eyes, whenever you meet."

"Got it. Are you leaving now?" She was already watching the road and settling in the saddle.

"It's dark, it's a while until you get back to your fortress."

"Next time, come see Zelda."

"I'll think about it," she moved away a little, and I got on my horse. My head was going to explode because of the pain of the blow. "Remember, Captain Link. Don't trust anyone. And protect her."

And so, as fast as she had appeared, she got lost in the shadows.

I arrived at the Nest just as the night became colder and the rain became entirely snow. There was smoke coming out of Manroy's cabin, and also from different points of the fortress.

I was late for dinner. I left the horse in the stable, and my feet crunched on the increasingly white ground when I crossed the yard to the door. Zelda would have already retreated to her quarters, there were some embers left in the fireplace in the small living room, next to the kitchens. My dinner was there, I was so hungry that I didn't bother to heat up anything, and when I finished eating, I stared at Impa's package. It was medium size, rectangular. It was from the prince of Hyrule. Zelda had been waiting so long to receive news from the prince… Perhaps I should go and check if she was awake. I didn't want to disturb, but… she always talked about the prince. She took me to those night meetings because she really missed him. She shouldn't be afraid of me now that we were somehow closer, I guess.

I went up to her quarters, pack in hand. I hesitated. I always hesitated when I was in front of her. It didn't take long for her to open when I knocked her door, luckily she wasn't sleeping yet.

"Are you back?" She asked, brushing her hair away from her face. Since she cut it she braided it a bit, but now she wore it loose.

"I haven't found the guy who poisoned you."

"I thought you'd be away for a while, perhaps a few days" she yawned, "do you mind if we talk tomorrow? I'm a little tired."

"Okay," she was going to close the door when I stopped her, "Zelda. I… I've been given this for you."

"What is it?" She frowned and examined the package, and the letter, "it's the hallmark of the castle!"

"It's your brother's, news at last."

Even in the semi-darkness I saw her eyes shining. She examined the package again, as if she were seeing it for the first time.

"How...? Who gave you this?"

"It was Impa of the sheikah. I ran into her when I was coming back home."

I saved myself from telling her about the takedown and the bump that hurt in my head.

"Impa? What the hell is Impa doing here? Why hasn't...?" She stopped and bit her lip, "I see."

"I'm sorry. I told her to come and see you, but she had to get back to Hyrule quickly."

"Father and his spies. I should have imagined it," she snorted, "Link, do you mind if I open this alone?"

"No. It's yours, it's okay."

"Thank you," she drew a dull smile.

"Then… I retire for now. See you tomorrow."

"Okay, take a rest, Link."

I went down to my quarters with a strange feeling circling my stomach. I felt like something wasn't right but, what wasn't right? The right thing was delivering her the pack and so I did. She didn't need me to be there to open a package, the idea was ridiculous. It was hers, she didn't need me for that.

Once in my room I took off my boots and fanned the fireplace, Manroy always took care of lighting mine and Zelda's so that the room would be warm at bedtime. It had been an exhausting day, I had left the Nest in the dark, at dawn. And my whole quest had been fruitless. I haven't been to the Steppe in a while, maybe I should look over there too. It was in the very north of our lands, almost inhabited but for the few small villages close to the mountains but… you never know where the danger hides.

I took off the robe and furs and lay on my back on my bed. I should be exhausted, my stomach was full and outside it was dark and snowing. I couldn't think of a better environment to snore for many hours in a row. But I couldn't sleep.

Ever since I met Zelda, I've never felt the same again, I was still kind of… out of myself. It was like there was something always around me, an invisible thing, something I couldn't identify but was even annoying because I couldn't be back to normal, not easily. And at the moment that same stupid feeling was right there with me, disturbing. Why should I be worried about a package from Hyrule? Nothing could harm her, it was from her brother, no danger could come from there. So, I should just close my eyes and sleep and stop thinking.

It took me a long time to realise Zelda was knocking on my door. Her first knocks were so timid that I barely heard them, and I was almost asleep when she came to my quarters.

"Zelda... what…?"

Her nose was swollen and red, and she was still sipping tears. But she was there, upright, as if none of that was happening, using that invisible force of hers that I'd seen before.

"Do you feel like talking about things that don't matter?" She asked, showing me a bottle of wine. "Or… maybe it's too late."

I made way for her and she entered in a swift move. I looked for cups or glasses, I thought I had something there. I only found two mugs made of bone. She said it was okay like that. I could just follow her with my eyes, I didn't know what to do, she'd been crying, why? While I was behaving awkwardly with my stupid silence she grabbed the pillows from my bed and sit on the floor near the fireplace. I imitated her, though I couldn't help but worry about seeing her this upset. Her eyes were still wet and looked a different colour.

"Gae's gift was this bottle," she poured wine on her mug and on mine, "it comes from Necluda."

Should I ask her about the letter? Was she this sad because of that stupid letter? After the mushroom thing she seemed fine, almost happy, she laughed often (of incomprehensible things, but…). I drank a sip of the wine. I couldn't ask her anything, she had to be the one talking if she wanted to.

"Your mother was from Necluda, wasn't she?" She asked, forcing herself to talk.

"From the village of Hateno, do you know the place?"

"I know it, even though I haven't been there. I've been to the citadel of Lanayru, a little further west. Mount Lanayru is very important for the people of Necluda. They go on pilgrimage to its summit to pray before the Spring of Wisdom. Pilgrims go there looking for... guidance, for advice. Some kind of enlightenment. May the Goddess cure them of an illness or give them blessings."

"Have you been to that spring?"

"Yes. When I got seventeen. I had to visit all the sacred springs." She sniffed a little and I handed her a handkerchief to wipe her nose. "Thank you. And you? Have you ever been to Hateno to visit your family?"

"No," I smiled resignedly, recalling all the times I had begged Dad to take me there, "I think I have an uncle, and I don't know how my grandparents are doing. I don't know any of them."

"It's a pity you don't know them," she sniffed again. Her voice started to sound clearer "but I don't know much about western customs. Maybe you aren't used to travel that far."

"It's not a western thing. My Dad's marriage was risky, choosing a foreigner and all that. And my grandparents never accepted him, barbarians… you may know. We are not popular in Hyrule. So, she only came back a couple of times. It was before I was born, then she didn't come back there anymore."

"Do you think she missed them?"

Her eyes shone and I realized her own nostalgia was too strong. And in her case it was even worse... at least my mother married out of love, but she was here obligated.

"I've always dreamed of seeing my mother's village. She told me a lot about her house, their customs. They raised goats and my grandfather was the guardian of the forest. You could only hunt there with a special permission from the king of Hyrule, my grandparent helped to protect the rules, protected the people in the village. In Hateno the houses are painted white and to the east there are cliffs and you can see the sea. Mom said it smells of salt and wind. And apples and grass. She told me about it, many times," I smiled. I could almost hear Mom's voice as I remembered it.

"When did she...?" She hesitated. She stopped herself to observe my reaction.

"She died when I was fourteen."

"I'm so sorry, you were too young."

"It's okay. She didn't suffer, it almost looked like she left in her sleep."

"I was six when mine died," she said, "they wouldn't let me see her when... when it all happened. Kahen keeps more memories than I do. Sometimes I feel like I see her in my dreams. But it's confusing. I don't know if it's her or not. She's blonde and tall as a mom... but she doesn't look like her, her voice is not the same, at least. Maybe it's all my fault, because I'm starting to forget her."

I don't know how we got to that point, but it wasn't a very cheerful subject and that didn't fix anything. I was a total disaster comforting people, and I was even worse with her.

"I'd like to travel to Hateno someday," I said, "and fill a lynel horn with wine from the barrel, as it's custom in the mountains."

"You'd be taken for a fool," she said, showing a shy smile.

"I would wear Or's helmet on my head all day and show my hunting paints so that the villagers would be afraid of me," she laughed, and I was glad to distract her a little, "I'm sure they haven't seen anything like that in the surrounding area."

"I'd really like to visit Hateno," she murmured, almost in a whisper.

"Nothing prevents us from doing so."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure. We can go in spring."

"And can I drink wine on a horn like barbarians do?"

"Of course. Although I don't know what Hateno people would think of their wild princess if they saw her doing that in the company of a barbarian."

"They won't think anything of me, for sure. They never think anything of me."

I frowned, not understanding. She hugged her legs and wet her lips with her wine. She wasn't really drinking, neither was I. We both stared at the fire, in silence. The flames made her hair look even more golden. Unconsciously I remembered that it smelled like cherries, that scent that lurked in the back of my mind and made me feel equal parts dazed and guilty. I... she was just so...

"Thank you for the talk, Link," she said, standing up and getting me out of my stupid trance.

"Are you leaving now?"

"You must be very tired and I'm interrupting your sleep," she grabbed the pillows and put them back to my bed, "but you're too polite to say so."

"You can stay a while longer, until you feel better."

"I already feel better," she grabbed my hand and drove it to her face. She moved it slowly on her cheek and held me longer than the other time, "eyes, nose, cheeks."

"In... in their place." I babbled, remembering her words.

"Good night, Captain" she grinned. Her eyes were still bright with tears, but there was an almost unreal light in her smile.

I walked her to the door. Well, I rather followed her to the door. It wasn't until I closed it behind her that I realised that my heart was beating louder than usual. I felt like when I was stalking a horde of moblins.

The weird feeling stood with me, but it was different now. I lay in bed much calmer knowing that, at least, she had gone to sleep without tears in her eyes. Her cherry scent lingered on my pillows.

Notes:

Do my characters drink too much? The idea made me laugh, as I was translating the story I realised that wine was present in many scenes. They don't drink too much, do they? xD

In this chapter, the wine was just an excuse. She needed comfort, she didn't know how to seek that comfort. It could be wine, milk, water... whatever. She didn't want to feel alone. He would have opened his door for her, wine, milk, water or not in her hands.

See you next week!

-Juliet