The peace of Kakariko
I was afraid of breaking something. If I touched one of the sheikah patriarch Riedam's vases, it would shatter. There were ten of them, arranged from smallest to largest, each one "narrating an epic scene", Barpa, the matriarch, had told us. To me all the pictures looked like horrible and dark monsters, apparently, incarnations of evil.
We were waiting in a corner, the boys and I, while the governors of Kakariko village talked to my wife. Not that they cornered us, not at all, they had the generosity to offer us a bed in their own house, a huge construction that smelled of resin and wood, on the basis of a waterfall. It looked like one of those fairy-tale places. But we hadn't been cornered. We just backed away. Fridd's eyes widened, hands behind his back. Ardren whispered to me that he hadn't bathed in weeks and felt dirty. And I was simply afraid of touching something and upsetting the strange balance that floated everywhere.
The sheikah were strange people. Not in a bad way, but they seemed to find an art in perfection. And even the simplest activity was done with care and mastery, as if it were the most important thing in the world. I was infused with respect and understood Impa and her iron discipline better.
"That one over there is the Imprisoned," Barpa whispered to me.
"Is the meeting over?" I looked around and saw that everyone had left the hall except me, I got distracted with the vases and the paintings. The woman smiled at me. She had so many wrinkles, it was impossible to tell how old she was.
"The Imprisoned was the first one to come back," she continued, "but he always comes back. I mean your black smoke."
"Is that thing in the painting my black smoke?"
"In one of its many manifestations, indeed. Don't be afraid, Link. You fill my house with energy, with a light I haven't seen in a long time. Don't feel so stiff."
"No... I don't feel stiff or anything," I blushed. The woman spoke to me without any protocol, like my acquaintances in the West.
"In that case, come with me and enjoy dinner. Eri has cooked for such noble guests, she will be looking forward to us trying her food."
"We didn't want to disturb..."
"Bah, bah. Nonsense. Impa warned of your arrival and hosting our princess and her husband and friends is an honour. Hospitality is important to the sheikah. By the way, Impa must be on her way, I don't think it'll take her long to arrive."
Before dinner was served, the sheikah invited us to take a bath in their hot springs. The village had some of these springs that were used by everyone, behind a small grove, but we got the deference to be the only ones using them since we were "important guests". Zelda was also invited of course, but I lost sight of her and I don't even know where she got in, she disappeared in laughter with Eri, the granddaughter of the governors.
"You will corrupt these waters with your scum," Fridd grumbled, "I feel bad. We should do something not to get the spring dirty. I've never seen such clean waters."
"Hey, you're dirty like a boar too," Ardren replied.
"Don't make a fuss. Can't you see the silence there is? People here don't speak loudly, so lower the tone," I scolded them.
"I never thought I'd go this far, in my whole life. And look at us now. In a village in East Hyrule. My father won't believe it," Fridd mused. We all started to relax a little bit with the bath, it was warm and pleasant, "do we have to climb that mountain, Captain?"
"It seems so," I said. The shadow of Mount Lanayru didn't give me a good thorn. It was a huge, menacing mountain. It towered above all the hills surrounding the village, "Zelda thinks it's important for us to go there, and you've heard the patriarch already. There are strange stories about people lost on the mountain. Maybe the problems will hide there."
We didn't notice, but someone came to leave us some clean clothes on the edge of the spring. I had grown a little beard, but this time I decided not shaving. Zelda didn't seem to mind, she complained at first, when it started to grow she complained that I left her chin "red", but now she said it felt soft and "tickled" and she liked it. Her lips always tickled me.
"What are you doing, you moron? It doesn't get like that," Ardren said, releasing a laugh. It made me laugh, Fridd was putting on his sheikah robe upside down.
"This thing has no buttons, no ropes to close it, go to hell," he growled.
"I think it works that way."
I put on my robe and crossed it over my chest, then wore that kind of wide belt made of fabric and fasten it to my body.
"See? That's how the sheikah wear it," I said to Fridd, who squinting, leaning into the detail, and then put on his.
"Well, we're already clean and scented, like damsels," Ardren joked, "these sheikah have had a very courteous way of saying we were stinking."
"It's their customs, that's all," I smiled, shaking my head.
"What will their food taste like?"
Their food turned out to taste perfect, the same as everything else. They served us a few portions of rice, fish and vegetables, all cut accurately, the same size. It almost looked like it wasn't real what was on our plates.
"It's not wrong to eat using your hands, Link," Barpa told me. She sat next to me at the table, "you see?"
She grabbed a share of each thing to combine everything and took it to her mouth. I imitated her and tasted great, really. But I blinked twice and there was no more food on my plate, they were already serving us a black burning tea. And some tiny cookies.
"The patrol we sent to the Spring of Wisdom had to return to Kakariko because there was too much snow on Mount Lanayru. It's not convenient to ascend with a blizzard," Patriarch Riedam said, sipping his tea.
"Will the weather be better soon?" Zelda asked. She had also been dressed in sheikah clothes, a robe similar to mine, with a flower-embroidered belt that would probably fetch a fortune in the West. She was so beautiful. She was actually beautiful with anything and it was hard to take my eyes off her.
"Just wait a couple of days, a couple of sunny days will be enough to trek the mountain" Barpa said, "it's better not to get impatient. You know the climb is complicated."
"We can send help to Akalla in the meantime" the patriarch Riedam offered, "to support that group you've left behind to fulfil King Rhoam's command."
"It's not really needed, thank you" she smiled, "an entire troop from the Akalla fortress offered to help when we told them that we couldn't complete the whole mission by changing the plans. And the region seems safe."
"Her Highness is right, Ried, the trouble is here," Barpa intervened, "luckily Link has come to help us."
"Who? Me?" I looked at Barpa, who smiled at me. I felt warm on my cheeks and I wanted someone to start another conversation.
I'd agreed with the boys that we would offer to help clean everything up after dinner. We were three dirty, scruffy barbarians, strange animals for these people, and we had been treated so well that I felt in need of help. Barpa declined the offer, but she laughingly told us that if I was so keen to help, I could chop wood the next day, Riedam was too old and grumpy for that. I agreed, proud to be able to contribute at last.
We went to sleep soon, the trip was very exhausting, since spring entered Hyrule had only rained, and the stony road connecting Akalla with the Necluda region was not comfortable. It was actually a pleasure to be clean again and with dry clothes, under a wooden roof.
"Big-Ears, come here," Zelda pulled my arm, as we went up the stairs behind Eri.
"What's up?" I asked since she moved us away instead of following Eri to the second floor. She laughed and scanned my cheek with her hand. She smiled as she touched me, good, I was right not to get rid of the beard.
"This is a small house. Even if it's the governor's home, it's an unostentatious place."
"It's not the north wing of Hyrule Castle," I joked.
"It's not. So I wanted to inform the Lord of the Nest that tonight I'll sleep with Eri in her quarters. She's made a bed just for me, she's been making preparations all day to make me feel at home. You'll go with the boys to the only free bedroom, where they host the visits."
"Wow, another day without being with my wife... what a novelty," she laughed again, so close to me that I began to feel the tickles.
"Thank you so much for following me on all this without making questions, Link."
"You know I have them."
"I know. The answers will come soon."
"Visiting Kakariko is okay. At least there are no monsters, and you haven't dragged me to any horrible hole. For now, I can resist this punishment."
She kissed me gently. I sighed and couldn't hide the frustration I felt when she separated and I couldn't be with her like this forever.
"Can you imagine when we get back to the Nest? The two of us in our married quarters, at home," she whispered, as she smoothed my robe with one hand.
"Yes, thinking about it is just what I need now...," she laughed and denied me a second kiss.
The sheikah had put three thin beds on the floor. At first I thought it would be awkward, but those thin mattresses turned out to be a lot more comfortable than I thought. A small fire was burning in the fireplace, but the room was very warm. I looked at the logs for the fire, all carefully placed as if they were a kind of symmetrical construction, cut the same size. From the window you could see the square in front of the house, and the roofs of other houses. They all smoked, most of them with the lights off. It was the same peace that I felt when I first set foot in the village.
My friends fell on their beds and got asleep almost in seconds. I couldn't sleep a wink. I peeked out the window. I wondered if Zelda would be asleep by now. I wondered what her dreams would be. Then I started thinking about Dad and my siblings. And, above all, I felt a huge hole in my stomach. That's what kept me awake, by Or and by all the goddesses of Hyrule, I was so damn hungry. I decided to get up and stretch my legs, there was a nice porch at the entrance to the house, and the night wasn't too cold.
"Insomnia, Captain Link?"
"Hell, I hadn't seen you..."
Impa was also in a corner of the porch, with a tea in her hands, observing the empty streets... Like a ghost. I hadn't seen her before, I hadn't heard her breathe.
"When did you get here?" I asked, more composed after the initial surprise.
"Recently. You all were sleeping already. The journey from Faron is long."
I nodded and rested my back against the wooden facade of the house. I had no idea where the hell Faron would be. Except for us and a cat that sniffed around the porches of neighbouring houses, there was no life in the village.
"What's the matter, Link?"
I looked at her, a little surprised by that familiarity. I didn't mind, the strange thing was that she sounded so far away all the other times we spoke.
"Nothing."
"You sure?"
Damn it.
"Well, I'm a bit hungry and that's why I can't sleep. I don't mean to say that the dinner wasn't delicious, it really was amazing. And I am honoured by the treatment even though we are foreigners. The dinner was good, they did it very well indeed. And I am grateful to have dined at the same table as the governors."
"Stop, stop for a moment. There's nothing wrong with getting hungry, you should have said that before."
"It doesn't matter. If I concentrate hard I might forget my hunger until tomorrow."
And that's why I was there, maybe the calm of the village would help.
"What the… Link... I don't think a meditation exercise undoes that appetite I've seen before. Wait here."
She left her tea in my hands and went into the house. She came back with a plate full of food. Really full, not like that dinner plate I've seen before. There was a huge thigh of what looked like some kind of roasted bird, cheese, grapes, rice, a piece of smoked sausage and a loaf of bread.
"Better?" She asked. I sat on the floor to eat without protocol, I was so hungry...
"I'm sorry to be a barbarian," I said. I'd have to chop more firewood the next day.
"It's not your fault, and being a barbarian has nothing to do with this. The sheikah elders eat little. At their ages they no longer train and live a quiet and discreet life. They don't need the same energy as someone like you or your men. I imagine they'll be hungry too."
I shrugged. Maybe so, but they were so tired that sleep overcame hunger for them. Gradually I began to feel much better, as my stomach settled I was more and more relaxed. I'd eat another plate full of good again, identical to what Impa had brought me, but it wasn't convenient to abuse.
"When I'm hosted in foreign houses, I try not to look rude," I said, setting my plate aside, "I don't want to hurt Zelda. And this isn't my house, I don't know the customs."
"The elders wouldn't take it as an offense if you'd come down to the kitchens to grab something to eat, don't worry. But I'll help you with that problem, I'll tell Eri tomorrow."
"Thank you."
"Would you like some tea?"
I grinned, nodding, and she went looking for tea for both of us. We sat on the floor of the porch, teas smoking in our hands. That felt nice.
"What has the princess told you about the change of plans? About why we're here right now and not fulfilling King Rhoam's command," she said, taking a small sip on her tea.
"Nothing."
"What? Nothing?"
"Nothing. I'm serious. She told me she received a message from you asking us to meet here and we just changed our plan. I... things with Zelda are going really well now, you know? If she thinks we should be here, she's probably right. I don't want to spoil it."
"I'm a little surprised. You're very similar in that respect. If she hasn't told you anything I think it's for the same reason."
"I don't think so...," I smiled.
"I've known Zelda for a long time."
We drank our teas. I thought she'd say something else about my wife, but she didn't.
"I think you have to know everything, Link," she resolved, "but there's nothing you can do about it. I can explain the reasons why you are here, but you're going to have to act like you don't know anything."
"Then it's much better if you don't tell me anything. I'm no good at that kind of game."
"I feel safer if I know you know the truth, and I know you'll keep your word" she said.
It was strange, because I always had the feeling that she didn't trust me. Maybe I was wrong.
"I will, of course... " I gave in.
"We are very close to finding the culprit who poisoned Zelda."
"What? How is that possible? Damn it, I knew Zelda was up to something, but I didn't imagine it would be such a serious thing."
"If you don't calm down again, I won't say anything else. I prefer to talk to the meditative Link I've discovered in the village than to the barbarian who insists on taking my punches in a sword duel."
"I'm the meditative Link, I promise," I said. There was actually some kind of volcano inside me.
Impa didn't open her mouth until much later, I didn't even think she would say another word to me.
"Well, now that your waters have returned to normal, we will continue. The princess found out something important while we were in the castle. She found a sample of the Eyes of Death. We needed to be sure if it was the same substance which poisoned her, so as soon as you arrived in the village I asked her to visit my sister to help us check it out."
"I don't know if Zelda has gone to see your sister, we've barely separated all this time."
"If she's been with you for sure she hasn't met Purah yet. It'd be wise to play clueless so that she can act."
"Alright." I sighed.
"The key to all this is that we are suspicious about who the poisoner might be. And it is a risky assumption, which still confuses me to this day."
"So?"
"Prince Kahen."
I felt like the blood was leaving my body and I was frozen. That fucking bastard... of course, if she had told me while in the castle, I'd have finished what I started a long time ago, when he killed Eve's little sister.
"This hurts our princess a lot, as you can imagine. No one expects to be betrayed by a brother," Impa continued, although I was devising ways to grab Kahen by the throat to get him to confess the truth.
"I guess so."
"And the worst... come on, Link, look at me because I know what you're thinking."
I forced myself to look up and focus for a second.
"As I said, the worst part is that we still don't know if he's guilty," she said.
"What the fuck? Of course he's guilty! He tried to kill my Zelda, my wife, why? Who does something so horrible to the family? What is it that he fears about her? Because I swear, if I stand in front of him and he dares to admit that he has done that, I-
"Well, you can have all those reactions now, so you can shut your mouth up after this conversation."
"What did you find out in Faron Woods? Is that why you went there?"
"I haven't found out much," she sighed, "the prince seems a little distracted, but I have no proof against him. We must be cautious and continue to investigate without arousing suspicion."
"What did you tell him to get out there?"
"That I was needed in my village. He never liked me being around... tried all the time to get the king to assign me to a different mission..."
"And how did you convince the king to go with Kahen?"
"He is the crown prince of the kingdom. It took little effort to make it clear that his protection is important."
"Damn stupid prince, that fucking moron…" I mumbled.
"Well," she stood up, "are you better off after filling your stomach?"
I nodded vigorously. She held out my hand and helped me get up.
"Go and take a rest, Link. We don't know what new surprise that mountain holds."
"Will you come with us?"
"Of course," she narrowed her eyes, studying me, "I trust you. I hope you don't break this trust."
"I won't."
The next day, before dawn, I went out to chop wood. My friends were still snoring, mouths open and sheets flapping, like two big kids. I tiptoed around the house even though, hell, the floorboards were creaking a lot. I pressed my ear to the door of Zelda's quarters and silence reigned. Good. It was good that she slept. She was good and innocent, how could her brother do that to her? Still vivid in my mind was the image of her, pale in her bed, with a heart that seemed to be slowly fading. Hatred rose in my throat and I swallowed it down again. I had given my word to Impa.
The sheikah elders had several tree trunks stacked near the house, next to the shed and the block. Someone had already prepared them to make firewood. They were straight, quality trees, that made the job easier. I got to work. The sun came up and I started to feel warm, it was spring in the village.
"Link! Dear gods! I didn't think you'd keep your word so strictly!" Barpa exclaimed, ascending the small slope to the shed carrying a jug of water.
I drank all the water, then I realised that I had almost cut all the logs, it was a good job.
"Thank you," I smiled, " I'm just a little short of finishing."
"No, no way! You must be starving, Eri has prepared a great breakfast, go down with me."
Impa was right, surely Barpa and her husband were making do with little and now we were going to raid their pantry mercilessly. What if no one had taken care of providing enough food for those old people?
"Come on, don't make that face. And put your shirt on because you have a small audience around you."
I looked up and... Yes, right. There were people curious about what I was doing, and they looked away or turned away when I caught them looking.
"You're an unexpected gift to the villagers, but you don't want to catch cold, we've barely left the winter behind. Come, have breakfast, then I want you to come with me and do some errands in the village."
Breakfast was spectacular. But really spectacular, in every way. Eri had prepared a pork roast with rice and beans. I don't know where she got it, but there were huge loaves of crispy bread on the table. Cheeses, fresh fruit. I think I saw poor Fridd cry with happiness at such a feast.
I looked up and saw Zelda smiling at the sight of us devouring food like three boars. Why didn't she tell me about Kahen? Okay, I understood that she hadn't done it in the castle, but what about afterwards? Didn't she trust me enough?
Later I instructed Ardren and Fridd to take bows and arrows and go into the forest, to hunt something. There was a forest before the village, on the north-eastern flank, and surely they could hunt or gather something to replenish the larder.
"Link, I'd like to go with Impa to visit her sister and her family," announced Zelda, who had waited for the boys to leave to talk to me alone ,"do you mind if I go?"
"Go."
She frowned and examined me, tilting her head. Some strange idea seemed to cloud her gesture, but she quickly dismissed it.
"It's very nice what you've done for Barpa and Riedam. Now they'll have a lot more firewood than they probably need," she grinned.
"My logs are not all the same size, though I've really tried to do it perfect."
That made her drop one of her strange laughs.
"See you later, Big-Ears," she leaned toward me and kissed my cheek before leaving.
I accompanied Barpa to several places. To a fabric shop. To a grain and spice shop. We strolled through the orchards and... hell, all the carrots I saw in the sheikah garden were identical, identical! The same size, healthy and orange and they even seemed to grow in the same direction. It looked like magic... if Manroy could see something like that...
Later Barpa said her knees were aching, and we sat down to rest at a fountain in the village square. There was an artist trying to draw the stone statue in the centre of the fountain. He was quite talented, and I remembered my days as an artist. Since mother died I had not drawn again, but now there was a work in progress which I kept in my quarters in the Nest. I was to finish it as soon as I could, as it was my wedding present to Zelda.
"You seem down," Barpa observed.
"I'm good."
"Have you ever seen an effigy of the goddess Hylia? There're all over Hyrule. Usually surrounded by water, they are important places."
"Is that thing a statue of the goddess Hylia? It doesn't look like her at all."
Barpa let out an outrageous laugh. It was rare to see the sheikah laugh, for a long time I thought they didn't laugh at all based on what little I knew of Impa and her Eyes, but Barpa was kind and always laughed.
"As if you knew what the goddess looked like." she hinted.
"I don't know what she looked like. But she's not like that. She's nothing like that."
I don't know why Zelda's image came to my mind, laughing as she watched me devouring breakfast. Fridd would consider it a kind of sacrilege.
"Your mother raised you a little bit in Hyrule's culture, didn't she?"
"Yes. Mom taught me to pray to your goddess."
"Do you?"
"Not very often," I shyly admitted. Prayers were old things, really, but that woman must be two hundred years old and I didn't think it was polite to confess that to her.
"Link, your light is special," she repeated, "heed your instincts. Mine tells me that fate holds you beyond being our princess' consort."
I didn't add anything else and we were both quiet for a while. It wasn't until I got back to the house later that I heard my wife talking all the time, and laughing with Eri. At least she was happy, that was good. Maybe she had some good news after analysing the mushrooms, I don't know. I couldn't help but feel dejected, because... why didn't she tell me the whole truth? I was a rude barbarian sometimes, but I'd do anything for her. Anything.
As evening fell, I went out onto the porch with a cup of tea. From there, too, I could see Mount Lanayru. We'd decided to leave the next day and had all the preparations ready, there would be snow, but Barpa believed that there would be no more blizzards and that the pilgrimage route would be clear. Zelda found me there alone, trying to put some order in my head.
She sat down next to me and took the cup from my hand to drink some tea herself. Seeing that I was not in a very good mood, she began to tell me about her day, about the sheikah, about Necluda, about the Mount... everything but what she was hiding from me.
"Are you mad about something, Link?"
"Huh?"
"Huh, yes, no, okay, go. Only sounds and monosyllables come out of your mouth."
"What? Not at all."
"Come on, I know something's wrong with you. It's my fault?"
"No."
"Another monosyllable," she said, "I've already told you how much it means to me to have you join me in this. And... Hey! Tomorrow we'll finally find out what the map we found in the cave indicates, isn't it exciting?"
I didn't say anything, I just drank my tea. I don't know why she complicated what was easy. Link, my stupid brother tried to poison me. Don't twist his disgusting neck, please. Easy.
"I've already told you that I'm looking forward to coming home to be with you," she continued, "and for us to be together, in peace. The twins will be fine, you don't have to worry. I don't want you to worry about anything."
I turned to look at her and saw her suddenly despondent, twisting the edge of the fabric of her dressing gown. I put my hand on hers to stop her; if she kept it up, she was going to tear a piece off. She immediately relaxed at the contact. I could be angry with her for not trusting me, but I couldn't let her worry or suspect anything unusual. I promised Impa, that's all. And yes, underneath her laughter and chatter, the princess of Hyrule was worried and sad. And that hurt me even more than her not telling me anything.
"I don't want you to worry about anything," she repeated, snuggling on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, I won't."