The Night of Fire - Part I

I woke up with the soft cherry-like scent invading my nose.

I had fallen asleep and we were late, the sky was already clear enough and I intended to get up earlier. The reason for the pleasant smell slept soundly next to me. She had been lying backwards and had ended up half on top of me. I tried to move from my place without waking her up, but at the first attempt she jumped up like a hare.

"Take it easy! It's me, Link."

"Link?" she rubbed her eyes, still disoriented.

"Yes, you fell asleep while you were watching. What a watcher you are... I can't leave the camp security back in your hands."

"You haven't fallen asleep?"

"No. Not once."

She looked at me with total distrust and eyes still swollen with sleep and I had to hide from laughing in her face.

"Come on, come on, Your Highness. You can keep sleeping in the back of the honeymoon wagon as we reached our destination," I said, pulling her up.

"I've never been to the Steppe, do you think I have the slightest intention of falling asleep and missing everything?"

"Missing everything?" This time I couldn't help but laugh, "you can tell you've never been there... there's not much to miss."

"That's because you see the world with your barbarian eyes. I'm sure there are thousands of interesting things."

"Alright, whatever you want. But if you fall off the wagon dead asleep, it won't be because I didn't warn you."

We set off, I didn't want to be late. As we went along, some wagons, carts and horsemen overtook us or travelled close to us. I'd hoped that we would be more unnoticed, at least at first, but the reality was that everyone was staring at us. Especially at her. Zelda was quietly writing, only the gods would know what, but she was squinting, biting her lip, nibbling on the charcoal pen she used for her notes... she seemed oblivious to the stares, she was far from all that.

When we arrived at the campsite there was a huge tent with the Fort Hawk flag flying in the wind. Dad was always one of the first to arrive, and this year was no exception. It felt strange not to be there with them, helping to set up the camp or sharpening swords. When they saw our wagon, the twins ran off, Jannie jumped up and miraculously I managed to hook her arm so she wouldn't fall. Leri was running alongside us.

"Welcome to the Or Festival!" Dad welcomed us, arms open. He patted my back and then he bowed to Zelda, who bowed her head to him, smiling. "Settle by our side, I'll ask the boys to set up your camp."

"It's not necessary, Dad. I can do it myself."

"Bah. They'll do it, you come with your old Dad to share a liquor horn."

"Okay, but I'll help them afterwards."

"How was the trip?" He asked Zelda.

"It was really nice, I enjoyed the views and Link taught me many things about the Or Festival. I'm happy to learn about your customs."

"I'm glad to hear that. Princess Zelda, would you mind staying with Aldry and the kids? I want to kidnap my son, drinking a liquor horn is a tradition for us."

"No, sir. It's more than okay." She grinned.

Dad practically dragged me into his tent and made me swallow a whole horn of liquor that burned like hell itself.

"You brought your wife...," he said, with a distracted tone. My Father never messed around.

"I thought it was for the best. I didn't want to leave her alone in the Nest, she'll be safer here."

"We agreed to introduce her later on, at the winter dinner. The games will be won by Kruu, Ufal and other mountain brainless people. There will be tensions and you know it."

"Yes. And I also know they won't dare do anything wrong to her while I'm here. If I leave her alone in the Nest, she's vulnerable."

He chewed my words as I refilled our horns with more alcohol.

"Dear gods, son. This is being more difficult than I thought. Now Kruu thinks Rhoam has paid me and Grimla more than them. There will be more fights than ever this year," he said, dropping into an armchair made of furs and elk horn. Dad always travelled with all his favourite belongings in case the games lengthened or in case the bad weather forced him to camp longer than desired.

"They'll forget about Rhoam's rupees and gold as soon as they wet the beard in the mountain liquor." I reasoned, trying to calm him a bit.

"Well, let's see how we manage it. By now sit down a while with me," he patted my back and I sat on the carpet on the floor, near him, "So…how's it going with the princess? You haven't been to Fort Hawk in a long time."

"Everything's fine," I frowned. Would he know about the mushrooms? I forbade Ardren and Fridd to open their mouths.

"And how's it going in the Nest? What about Manroy?"

"They send you greetings and many presents, our wagon is loaded with things from them to you," I smiled, "Dad... You haven't visited Manroy and Frea in a long time, they'd love to see you around. And me too. We miss you there."

"Aldry doesn't like the Nest," he looked away and drank from his horn. Aldry hated the Nest because the Nest represented Mom.

"It's a pity you can't visit us, it looks great now. We've been reinforcing the wall and painted the stables. Everything's as good as new."

"Well done. Better to be prepared and safe, just in case. And tell me, is your wife pregnant? I've seen her as thin as a reed."

"She's not pregnant."

"Is something wrong? Many weeks have passed since you married."

"No, I've just told you everything's fine. Maybe she's too young for that, that's all."

"Youth is not a problem for that, son," he laughed, "rather on the contrary. I hope the problem is not that you're still with Thakmak's daughter..."

I knew this was going to happen, I knew that from the moment I agreed to marry a princess, all the chiefs in the west were going to stick their noses in my marriage, including him of course.

"No, father," I said, in the driest tone I could.

"You should stop going near Eve, Link. Meeting her would represent diplomatic problems with Rhoam. Zelda is his daughter, a princess, not a commoner."

"I know all that, thank you. And it doesn't matter if she's a princess or a commoner, she's my wife so I'm not going near Eve anymore. Is the interrogation over?"

"I only care about you," he said, gesture offended, "Eve and her family will come to the festival, like every year. They'll make and serve the roasts so we must be more careful than ever."

"I came to the feast with my wife, Dad. So, I repeat, I don't see anyone else but her."

"Then I hope everything goes well in your marriage. I remember Aldry got pregnant on our wedding night."

"For Or's sake...," I looked out the tent a couple of times, wishing to escape the lock-up.

"I know we haven't talked too much about this subject since your mother was… But you're now a man and I know you know what you have to do. Besides, she's an attractive young woman, that shouldn't be a problem. More than half of the men in the feast will have 'noticed' your wife before the sun goes down. Anyway, if you need to talk about it or you need any advice I-

"Can I go now? I still have to finish arranging my camp."

When I came out, our tent was almost ready, Dad's men were setting it up. I helped finish the work and sorting out our belongings inside. Aldry had kidnapped Zelda, which I didn't like. Luckily Zelda was trained in diplomacy much more than I was, I hoped she knew how to defend herself from my stepmother's bites.

By noon, almost everyone was settled on the snow plains. The air smelled like bonfires and roasted goats, there were men staggering from too much mountain liquor and the mountain clans arrived as they were accustomed: with drums and a lot of noise.

Zelda and I ate out of our tent, at my family's campfire. A few drunks tried to berate her, staggered to hurl some other obscenity at her, but Dad managed to tie them up in good mood, a good mood that hid a steady hand. Ardren came and asked me for permission to have lunch with his family and get ready for the sword tournament, and Fridd didn't even come close, he stayed with the White Bear Clan.

Kruu decided to come and greet us with a beard full of beer and drool protruding from the corners of his mouth. Not to be confused, he might seem harmless, but in that state he was more dangerous than ever. He was balanced by two scantily clad young women on whom he leaned, as if they were his canes.

"Grenmak!"

"It's good to see you, Kruu," Dad joined in to bump into his fist, as was tradition.

"It's weird that you didn't make yourself a gold chair... have you buried it to see if it sprouts more from the ground?" He guffawed and drank black beer from a huge rhino horn, the symbol of his clan.

"You know well the gold I've received, Kruu, not enough to make a chair..."

Kruu let out another grotesque laugh and then staggered to where Zelda was.

"Your royal majesty," he said, bowing exaggeratedly. Well, it was a mock bow.

Zelda looked away, but I could see like a flame burning in the green background of her eyes. I just hoped she wouldn't commit one of her recklessness.

"What about the big boy? The great fornicator of royals," he turned to me this time, to pat my back.

I held back so I wouldn't split his face in two. I could imagine it perfectly, a hard and precise punch, on the bridge of the nose, over the eyes. That would knock down a giant like him. He wouldn't see it coming from afar, he was slow and clumsy. He'd squirt blood through his nose and he couldn't get up in a day.

"The competition will begin shortly, Kruu," I mumbled.

"Right! We're running out of time, girls, I don't know if enough for both of you," he laughed and drank more of the horn, "I'll see you in the competition, big boy. Your majesties."

He kind of bowed again and walked away groping his two women.

"Kruu is a prankster, you shouldn't listen to him, Your Highness," Aldry intervened, her gesture twisted with the show. She hated the Rhino Clan, at least we agreed on something.

"I understand, it's okay" Zelda said.

But it wasn't okay. There was no sign of Zelda. Not the carefree, funny, and curious person who had come out with me from Eagle's Nest. Now she was adopting her defensive pose, yes, I knew it well, it was the one she kept with me when she was still afraid of me. It was as if she built a kind of invisible shield around her and took refuge in there.

After lunch, I retired to my tent, to prepare for the competitions. I'd participate in axe and bow. This year I promised Ardren I wouldn't touch the sword, he complained every year that I was too good with the sword and that the rest of barbarians didn't even have a chance to win. I loved the sword competition, it was politics free and it was my favourite weapon. I don't think I was so skilled as Ardren implied, it was more like barbarians weren't used to swords, they preferred heavy weapons like the axe or the hammer. But I didn't feel too motivated to participate either. Too many eyes were watching my every move.

"Keeping your notebook?" I asked Zelda. I found her crouched down, on the side of the tent she had chosen for her.

"Yes. I'll write down some other time."

I approached and saw that her notebook was soaked and she was striving to rescue it, although some pages were completely undone. I felt the rage rising through the mouth of my stomach. She wasn't hurting anyone, she was just a curious squirrel like Ardren said. Why the hell couldn't others stick their noses in their business and leave her alone? Why didn't they spill the beer on me? They didn't dare. Cowardly and envious brainless.

"Who was it?"

"Never mind, Link. It's just some spilled beer, someone did it by accident. It's… it's not a good time to write, with so much noise and many people back and forth."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she shrugged.

"I warned you about the barbarians."

"Yes... That's what you did."

"Has anyone told you anything wrong? Ha-... have they insulted you?"

"Everyone says everything around here," she smiled. It was a really grey smile, it had nothing to do with her light. I'd break the nose of the morons making feel her this upset.

"They don't know you yet, they'll get over it. You're a kind of a new bird to them, a toy coming from abroad. By night everyone will be drunk and forget you're here."

"I have to go now, Aldry told me she'd save me a place to watch the games," she said, trying to run away from me.

"Wait. Hey, you wanted to know how to make a barbarian's war paintings, didn't you?"

"Yes, of course.", she frowned.

"I have to wear the traditional war suit, and the paintings. I'll show you how they're made. And perhaps I need some help."

During those minutes we both breathe peace, after all the tension of the camp. She retrieved a few dry pages from her notebook as I prepared myself, and she wrote down everything I taught her. I painted my face and torso and noticed that she was drawing me on the paper to try to preserve the design of the paintings I made on my body.

"That guy doesn't look anything like me," I observed, "that guy has much bigger ears than me."

"I think you look a lot like him, almost like if you're looking in a mirror," she said, releasing a laugh.

"Mock all you want, but one day I'll paint you," I threatened, "so be ready to pose and suffer the consequences."

"Gentlemen don't do that," she said, with a kind of sudden seriousness.

"Don't they?"

"It's not right, Link. Stalking a lady like that."

"Stalking? What do you mean?" This time I was the one who broke up laughing. I got closer since she was blushing and avoided my gaze on purpose.

"Yes, staring so much at her with that look of yours. It's not polite, it makes me feel uneasy."

"What look?"

Her blush was now too big to go unnoticed.

"Anyway, I'm going with Aldry," she announced. And she left the tent before I could 'stalk her' to find out what the hell she meant by that. I went after her, but I ran into someone very different.

"Mo-Mopai..." I looked around and there was no sign of Zelda, she managed to escape.

"We need to talk, Captain of the Nest," she said.

Mopai had a very important role in the Or Festival. Together with the other druids she was, above all, in charge of directing all the ceremonies and offerings to the god of the mountain.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to see you, I've been busy, it's rained a lot, and the wall had to be strengthened," I apologized.

"Excuses," she growled, "tonight's moon will be stained with blood, Link."

"It wouldn't be the first time," I said, downplaying it. Sometimes the full moon had that colour, I don't know why, but I'd seen so many moons and nothing extraordinary ever happened.

"The spirits and the gods will observe us, and at midnight they will be closer to us than ever before. Something terrible moves in the bowels of the earth, and she has already felt it. Oh, of course she did, even before she set foot in this camp."

"She?"

"Your wife, moblin brain!" She grumbled.

"What has my wife felt?"

"We must be careful, Link. Those who aspire to the powers of a god… or goddesses… are capable of anything to obtain them."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Mopai," I started to get impatient, and the horns were already calling for the competition.

"Fate has interceded so you both can be together, Link. It's the only way to protect us from a major catastrophe. Watch her, and when you have to decide, don't forget to be by her side because that will always be the right choice."

She walked away from me with her limp and her hunched back. I'd like to believe all that was part of her old woman's riddles, everyone knew that since Mopai came back from the mountains she didn't seem like the wise seer she once was, more like she was talking about strange things that no one could understand. But she'd saved Zelda's life. And that was the only thing that mattered to me.

The log competition was the first. My axe was so sharp that I would barely use a little of its weight and the weight of my body to make deep cuts without exhausting myself. There were ten contestants in all, including Kruu and two of his sons, and a few more men from the mountain clans. I was the only representative from the south, although it was not the first year that I was the only one, the big wood cutters were usually mountain people. This year we had to cut three huge bases from three different trees, the first to finish would be the winner.

I started the competition with energy, and as I had assumed, my axe behaved well and I cut the first log easily. I looked up and saw that Kruu was cursing his log, his axe was stuck in the first log he had splintered (the base of a huge oak tree). His axe was rusty and unmaintained, and I saw several nicks in the blade. His sons left their own logs to help their father, but Kruu knocked one of them down with a punch. I looked around and the other participants had also stopped cutting to look at Kruu. Two of them were even with me, they had finished the first log, the rest were a little behind, but at a normal pace, nothing like the mess Kruu had organised.

I decided to sit and watch, what else could I do? Other years it was easier to disguise to let Kruu or one of his sons win. This year it was ridiculous. I looked up and saw Zelda beckoning to me from her place in the audience. She moved vigorously, pretended to wield an invisible axe and swung it to chop an invisible log. Then she pointed her finger at me.

"No, I'm not going to continue," I said. Well, I rather moved my lips and gesticulated so she could understand me. When she saw me standing, she folded her arms, looking disappointed. She didn't understand, no one should beat the Rhino Clan.

Kruu ended up vomiting a couple of times, and one of his sons decided to end his agony and started cutting his logs as quickly as possible. The rest of us got our axes back to pretend we were making the competition for him. He was a giant of a man with hair as black as his father's, but despite his size he had greasy arms that shook like jelly with every cut. Goddesses, this was never going to end. I looked out into the audience and saw that Zelda was laughing her head off at the spectacle. I wanted to laugh too, but I'd have to hold it in.

The competition came to an end and Kruu's son was named the winner. He was as pale as an old hen and had to sit on the ground to keep from getting dizzy from the effort. Then came the sword trial and I retired to prepare my bows and arrows, while others fought. I expected Ardren to be in a good position.

"What the hell was that?" Zelda broke into the tent, she must have followed me when she saw me leaving the games area. Jannie and Leri came in with her.

"Link, you're better than the others!" Jannie exclaimed.

"Of course he's better, he'd have split the logs in the eighth part of the time than that huge worm with jelly arms." Zelda interjected.

"He's the right winner," I said, filling my quiver with arrows.

"These jousts are ridiculous, ridiculous! Hyrule would never allow such an unfair and absurd competition," she grumbled, totally outraged.

"Oh, really? I mean, if someone faced your siblings in a joust... wouldn't they be forced to let them win out of royal deference?"

"Well... I don't know...," she hesitated.

"Well, it's the same here, Zelda. For all purposes, those guys are the kings of their clan."

"Is that hairy, drunk man a king?"

The kids laughed when they heard her talk like that about Kruu.

"I understand your outrage, but that's the way the Or Games are."

"Link always wins the archery competition!" Leri exclaimed.

"See? That part is my turn," I justified.

"But I'm sure you'd win anyway, you're a hundred times better than all those barbarians," she insisted, with a frown.

"If you've never seen me shot with a bow...," I said, releasing a laugh. Her outrage was funny.

"I don't need to see it. I know."

We were arguing a little longer about why it didn't make sense to organise a competition if there was no competition. I tried to tell her that traditions are sometimes absurd, but we still follow them. She wasn't convinced.

At last, it was time for the archery tournament and she walked away with the children to their place in the audience, as I reached the shooting range. I knew something strange was going on when I saw Kruu and Ufal there, with his son Ugal, from the White Bear clan. They didn't usually participate in archery, they never did. I was also surprised that the draw for the order of participants was made without me being present, and that I was drawn first.

"Go ahead, Royal Majesty, this year Or is with you and it's your turn first," Kruu laughed. He had recovered a little from his previous drunkenness and was starting a new one.

We got through the first rounds normally. The mountain barbarians didn't shoot themselves in the foot by a miracle, except for Ugal, who wasn't a bad archer and was only three points behind me. He and a boy from Nightfall qualified with me for the final, the final round in which I would declare myself the winner whether I did well or not. That's why I always tried harder, if all my shots were aimed at the centre it didn't matter if the others pretended to lose, because I would win in my own right.

Ufal and Kruu stayed at the shooting range, drinking beer and laughing in outrageous laughter. It was then, when they prepared the final three targets, that the huge murmur was heard among the audience. I looked up and was petrified. That's what they were up to.

"Go ahead, boy! Win the tournament!" The two barbarians laughed.

I looked into the audience and saw Zelda motionless, with a look of disbelief.

"I'm retiring," I announced.

Dad ran in strides to me, dodging audiences and participants.

"Link, Link! Don't listen to them, it's just a ridiculous joke, don't get into their provocations."

"I'm retiring" I repeated. I was burning in fury at the moment, I couldn't even look at him.

"Don't be immature..."

I felt like slapping Dad. I threw the quiver and bow to the ground and got out of there. I could hear the laughter and screaming around me.

I walked away from the camp and sat on the edge of a low grove. That's where Ardren and Fridd found me.

"You must admit that the artist was witty," Ardren said.

"I don't think it's funny." I grumbled.

" That's what we are here for. Drink a little and you'll feel better.

He held out his canteen to me and I drank it all, almost in one gulp. We drank in silence, the three of us.

"You could have shot," Fridd said, "it was just a stupid joke, you're the Lord of the Nest and you're above that. They are the ones who should be ashamed to manipulate the Or Games."

"If I'd shot, people would think I was making fun of Hyrule or even myself."

"You would have closed their stupid mouths," Fridd grumbled.

Three targets. On the first, a botched attempt to portray King Rhoam of Hyrule. It was so grotesque that they had written his name for the avoidance of doubt. The second was an imaginative depiction of Kahen Bosphoramus. Whoever made it had never seen the prince before. On the third was the emblem of the Eagle's Nest itself, but instead of the eagle with wings outstretched over the nest, there was the symbol of the three triangles of Hyrule. Ingenious, perhaps. Foolish... no doubt about it. They had done it to make me retire, to humiliate me publicly and make more visible my "betrayal" of the western peoples by marrying Princess Zelda of Hyrule.

"Did you know anything about this, Fridd?" I asked.

"Me? No, Captain!"

"I've seen you all day hanging around with the White Bear clan."

"I swear to Or, I would never betray you like this."

I sighed and took another drink. Fridd had flaws, but he was honest.

"I don't want to be a bearer of worse news, but...," Ardren said.

"Speak up, it doesn't matter anymore."

"That Ugal son of Ufal... Thanmak is rumored to be making a deal to marry Eve with him. Both of them are among the leaders who have protested the most about your... well, your marriage."

"My betrayal," I said, "I am a traitor to them. And Eve... All I hope is that she doesn't suffer from that deal. I hope she has something to say in all that crap."

"She doesn't know it yet," Fridd intervened, "I heard Thanmak talk to Ufal during the lunch, but only words between them."

"As I said... I just hope Eve doesn't suffer or is forced into anything."

"What about Zelda? Do you want us to go see if she's okay?" Ardren asked.

"No."

"But Link, we should-

"No. I'm tired of all this. Exhausted. Tired of striving, trying, remaining a foreigner to others, I always will be, and now even more so than before. She has nothing to do with this stupid show and I don't want her to see me like this. I'm a failure for my family. I've had enough for today."

"I'll go get some more booze," Ardren announced.

The night fell and I kept drinking until I forgot everything. A confused shouting, laughter, singing and the smell of roasting meat mixed with other less pleasant smells reached me. My head was spinning and I was a little wobbly even when I was sitting down.

I looked up and saw Fridd, was it Fridd? He was accompanied by my wife.

"I'll leave you two alone, I'll go see what Ardren is doing," he announced. He also left me another canteen stuffed with liquor, which I started drinking right away.

"You shouldn't drink anymore, you're drunk," Zelda said.

"T-thanks for the council, You-ur Highness."

She snorted and crouched down to sit near me. I offered her the booze canteen and she rejected it.

"Your family and I have been looking for you."

I tried to focus on her green eyes, everything was spinning around me.

"They've named Ugal the winner."

"Did he shoot your father?"

"Yes."

I let out a laugh, I don't know why. I imagined that stupid man celebrating and making Kruu and his father laugh.

"You know what? It's the first time... the f-first, that trophy is not for Fort Hawk. And I... the stupid dethroned hero of the West, I've allowed t-that... what did you call it? Worm with jelly arms?... that worm win being drunk as a barbarian on his damn wedding day. Fuck, I'm such a dis-disappointment."

"You're nothing like that. They set you up."

"Sure. W-what are you doing here? Uh? What are you up to?"

"I told you, Link, we couldn't find you, and I came here looking for you."

"Well... You found me."

"It's the Night of Fire, the offerings will start soon. Come on, I'll help you recover a bit, your father wants you to attend. Not a bad idea, it's better to appear normal."

"Norm-mal? Ha! I'm not going to do anything that stupid old man says. I'm s-sure it's Aldry's idea. Dad doesn't care about me anymore."

"Don't talk nonsense. And Aldry is not a bad person, today I've been with her and-

"Naive, naive p-princess... Aldrwy only wants one thing: Gold. Yes, Your Highness... she wants all of Rhoam's gold. That's why she... she's nice to you. She just wants your stupid gold."

"You're so sick, you never drink so much, Link."

"To hell with it. Aldrwy wants you to get pregnant to ask your father for more gold. That's what she wants. And that's why they just insist... Link, you should make a baby t-to your wife. You don't know how to do it, son, but I'll teach you. I'm a master making babies. So… It's about the gold, princess. It's not kn…kindness."

"We'll talk about that later, when you're sober, alright?"

"W-what? What do you want to talk about?"

"If a baby is needed so there's no trouble, we'll talk about it."

"You know? You're ab-absurdly pretty, true, and you smell really good and all that... but you're naive. All they care about is gold and war. Ikana could give Kruu more gold and it wouldn't matter how many babies we have. Now go and let me alone..."

"I'm not leaving, Link, I'm worried about you, let me at least stay and help you."

"I d-don't want you here. I don't need you. Go aw-way at once and stop complicating everything, leave me alone."

At some point I must have fallen face first on the ground. When I woke up I was thirsty and my mouth tasted like hell. I felt as if a hammer was being driven into my temple. It had been hours for sure. I had vague memories of what had happened. I drank with Fridd and Ardren. Then they went to the camp to get more booze and Zelda... Oh, goddesses. I jumped up and called out to her, in case she was nearby. I searched the forest and the surrounding area.

A strange feeling came over me. I ran striding back to the camp. The campfires were smoking, half extinguished. Everyone was asleep or lying drunk near the tents. The big fire in the centre, the ritual fire, was black and dull, and the horizon was lightening with a new dawn. I went to my tent calling for Zelda. She was nowhere to be seen. Gods, it was my fault, I was stupid. I couldn't quite remember what I'd have said, but it didn't matter now, there was only the anxious feeling that something was wrong.

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed the games. And… I know, alcohol, again. This time it was necessary. I can't imagine a barbarian feast without tons of liquor, noise and all that. Maybe you've seen in this chapter that my characters are not perfect. They have flaws and make mistakes. Link warned Zelda in the previous chapter about the barbarians, and yet he was the one who ended up falling for their provocations.

I'll post again next week, take care!

-Juliet