Chapter Sixteen
A troop of ten guards accompanied King Edward, Cheyanna, Link Miyako, and Lance to the conference room. The guards divided themselves evenly at both entrances and left the five to their privacy. King Edward sat himself at the elliptical table and motioned for the others to seat themselves. Miyako sat gingerly, as being locked in a tower for a couple weeks does nothing good and everything bad for hygiene and cleanliness.
"Now." The king settled himself more comfortably in his seat and looked piercingly at Cheyanna, the Miyako. "Tell me what is going on. Who are you?"
"My name is Miyako Callahan, Your Majesty, and I hail from Kreya. My father was Nathanael Callahan, First Mate to Captain Lanceton Untille the Fourteenth," she replied quietly. King Edward digested this bit of news.
"Was?"
"He died shortly after my mother." Stubborn lines set at the corners of her mouth and showed that she would not pursue the matter any further.
"What are you doing in Selinta?"
"I was in Lythvia before I came to Selinta to find a ship that would take me to the Island of Light, but there were no ships heading in that direction, so I wanted to find a ship that would take me back to Kreya. I came to the castle to see if Lance might have stopped by, and was arrested by the princess on the account of spying, Sire." King Edward rubbed the base of his neck thoughtfully, then turned to his daughter, who sat fuming silently.
"And you, daughter, on what grounds was Miyako spying?"
"She was lingering outside my room, listening to a private conversation," Cheyanna replied stiffly. The king turned his attention to Miyako, asking the next question with only raised eyebrows.
"I passed by an empty storage room and overheard Selintan troop placements being spoken about, but not by guards or anyone I had ever heard before..." Miyako hesitated slightly, then went on, "and I looked in the room and saw the Princess speaking with King Viru."
"That is a lie," Cheyanna uttered indignantly, but King Edward held his hand up. Link and Lance watched and listened to the conversation silently, waiting for the king's approval to speak.
"As my daughter, I love you dearly, Cheyanna, but if Miyako is lying, then who could you have possibly been talking to that would warrant an arrest and imprisonment?" Blood drained from beneath Cheyanna's cheeks, giving her a vaguely ill appearance. The king was nothing if not shrewd.
"Well, I..." The princess stuttered but no coherent answer was heard from her. Link noticed that, although the king's face was neutral, there was a deep gravity resting behind his eyes, as though he had suspected someone in the castle leaking information; the worst of it being his own daughter. But the conversation was far from over. King Edward looked directly at Link.
"What precedent caused you to liberate this young girl?"
"I had several dreams about her, sir." Even that seemed an inadequate answer, and Lance was looking at him strangely. But King Edward accepted it wholly, nodding. He turned to Lance.
"Lanceton, would you swear on your honor that Miyako is no spy? If you two are truly childhood friends, then her story would be canonical on the grounds that she is not from Tophet and not a spy."
"Sir, not only would I swear on my honor that she is no spy, but I would also send for my father, who would swear on his honor." Lance's accent had disappeared again, but Link sensed that he was the only one who was really bothered by it. King Edward nodded, then glanced at his daughter will sad eyes.
"Cheyanna, I have believed you in everything you have said before this day, from your claims of illness to pardoning you from royal assemblage. But I would have you address a Truth Sorcerer and claim that you have no connection with Viru. If you truly do, speak now."
"I..." The emotions on Cheyanna's face conflicted, everything from anger to indignity to, finally, defeat. Link glanced at the doors at opposite ends; if the guards were still outside them, she would have no chance to bolt. "I have connections with Viru."
"Have you been giving him military movements?"
"Yes." Link had not expected a clean confession, and nor had, from the look on her face, Miyako. There had to be something else... King Edward leaned back in his seat, his face grave.
"Then it is so. The guards will take you to your room and see that you stay there. Your mother will need to be told of this, and I have no idea what I should do with you. But may I ask why?"
"No." Now it was Cheyanna's turn to look stubborn. The king nodded, as if having expected that answer, then called for the guards.
"My apologies, Miyako, for my daughter's actions. I suspected a traitor had been leaking information—how else would they second-guess our movements— but I would have never guessed my own daughter would be the one." He closed his eyes for several moments. The four of them were standing just outside the conference room, after watching Cheyanna be escorted to her chambers. "This is more terrible than I could have guessed." But he appeared to take it better than many other people would have, Link guessed, and decided the king had probably suspected her, but had wanted to believe it was not her. "What can I do to make this wrong right between us?"
"I should think a bath would be an excellent start," Miyako replied. "Then perhaps something to eat, as I have been fasting unwillingly for two weeks." The king smiled, and that lifted some of the sadness from his eyes.
"Then it is so. I will call for an attendant, wait here." As the king walked away, Lance threw his arms around Miyako and gave her a bear hug.
"Aye, I never woulda thought you'd be here!" He drew back from the embrace, all smiles. "Fortune smiles down upon me, so it does. What did yer aunt say about your leavin' home?"
"She, of course, was against it, but I didn't think her opinion really mattered, in the end. You can't fight destiny; it's just stupid to try. I had dreams about the Temple of Life, so naturally, I've got to go there. Someone gave me directions to follow." She turned to Link. "I know I've already thanked you, but I don't think all the thank you's in the world would be enough for what you did." Link shrugged and looked down at his boots.
"But I want to know, what in the world were you doing in Lythvia? Yer aunt's in Kreya," Lance stated, frowning curiously. Miyako shook her head and pointed at the attendant walking towards them.
"I'll tell you later. I stink to high heaven and I'm hungry beyond words. Trust you to set curiosity before survival." She followed the attendant away from them, and Lance turned to Link.
"I didn't know ye had more'n one dream about her, and stupid of me not to ask what the first one was for, aye." The sailor shook his head at himself.
"The Great Deku Tree told me I was sensitive to evil. The princess is a traitor, and that is evil, I guess. Or at least wrong." Lance sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Sure is, matey. I never woulda guessed. And she asked after you, too. I shoulda suspected some trickery, but never King Viru hisself. I spent a few years as her friend." He threw a crumpled piece of paper to the ground. "Are you still heartsick over her, matey? Has this whole affair broken her spell?"
"It must have," Link answered cautiously.
"But you still don't want to marry Princess Zelda, do you." This was not a question.
"You understood why, Lance. I'm attracted to her, but... I've got a feeling that it's the Triforce pieces at work, trying to harmonize. It draws Zelda, Ganondorf, and myself together. We are bound by destiny, but I don't think destiny always includes marriage. I'd hate to be king."
"If this war woulda never started, would you have?"
"...Probably." Link waited for Lance to ask why, but curiously, the sailor never did.
A troop of ten guards accompanied King Edward, Cheyanna, Link Miyako, and Lance to the conference room. The guards divided themselves evenly at both entrances and left the five to their privacy. King Edward sat himself at the elliptical table and motioned for the others to seat themselves. Miyako sat gingerly, as being locked in a tower for a couple weeks does nothing good and everything bad for hygiene and cleanliness.
"Now." The king settled himself more comfortably in his seat and looked piercingly at Cheyanna, the Miyako. "Tell me what is going on. Who are you?"
"My name is Miyako Callahan, Your Majesty, and I hail from Kreya. My father was Nathanael Callahan, First Mate to Captain Lanceton Untille the Fourteenth," she replied quietly. King Edward digested this bit of news.
"Was?"
"He died shortly after my mother." Stubborn lines set at the corners of her mouth and showed that she would not pursue the matter any further.
"What are you doing in Selinta?"
"I was in Lythvia before I came to Selinta to find a ship that would take me to the Island of Light, but there were no ships heading in that direction, so I wanted to find a ship that would take me back to Kreya. I came to the castle to see if Lance might have stopped by, and was arrested by the princess on the account of spying, Sire." King Edward rubbed the base of his neck thoughtfully, then turned to his daughter, who sat fuming silently.
"And you, daughter, on what grounds was Miyako spying?"
"She was lingering outside my room, listening to a private conversation," Cheyanna replied stiffly. The king turned his attention to Miyako, asking the next question with only raised eyebrows.
"I passed by an empty storage room and overheard Selintan troop placements being spoken about, but not by guards or anyone I had ever heard before..." Miyako hesitated slightly, then went on, "and I looked in the room and saw the Princess speaking with King Viru."
"That is a lie," Cheyanna uttered indignantly, but King Edward held his hand up. Link and Lance watched and listened to the conversation silently, waiting for the king's approval to speak.
"As my daughter, I love you dearly, Cheyanna, but if Miyako is lying, then who could you have possibly been talking to that would warrant an arrest and imprisonment?" Blood drained from beneath Cheyanna's cheeks, giving her a vaguely ill appearance. The king was nothing if not shrewd.
"Well, I..." The princess stuttered but no coherent answer was heard from her. Link noticed that, although the king's face was neutral, there was a deep gravity resting behind his eyes, as though he had suspected someone in the castle leaking information; the worst of it being his own daughter. But the conversation was far from over. King Edward looked directly at Link.
"What precedent caused you to liberate this young girl?"
"I had several dreams about her, sir." Even that seemed an inadequate answer, and Lance was looking at him strangely. But King Edward accepted it wholly, nodding. He turned to Lance.
"Lanceton, would you swear on your honor that Miyako is no spy? If you two are truly childhood friends, then her story would be canonical on the grounds that she is not from Tophet and not a spy."
"Sir, not only would I swear on my honor that she is no spy, but I would also send for my father, who would swear on his honor." Lance's accent had disappeared again, but Link sensed that he was the only one who was really bothered by it. King Edward nodded, then glanced at his daughter will sad eyes.
"Cheyanna, I have believed you in everything you have said before this day, from your claims of illness to pardoning you from royal assemblage. But I would have you address a Truth Sorcerer and claim that you have no connection with Viru. If you truly do, speak now."
"I..." The emotions on Cheyanna's face conflicted, everything from anger to indignity to, finally, defeat. Link glanced at the doors at opposite ends; if the guards were still outside them, she would have no chance to bolt. "I have connections with Viru."
"Have you been giving him military movements?"
"Yes." Link had not expected a clean confession, and nor had, from the look on her face, Miyako. There had to be something else... King Edward leaned back in his seat, his face grave.
"Then it is so. The guards will take you to your room and see that you stay there. Your mother will need to be told of this, and I have no idea what I should do with you. But may I ask why?"
"No." Now it was Cheyanna's turn to look stubborn. The king nodded, as if having expected that answer, then called for the guards.
"My apologies, Miyako, for my daughter's actions. I suspected a traitor had been leaking information—how else would they second-guess our movements— but I would have never guessed my own daughter would be the one." He closed his eyes for several moments. The four of them were standing just outside the conference room, after watching Cheyanna be escorted to her chambers. "This is more terrible than I could have guessed." But he appeared to take it better than many other people would have, Link guessed, and decided the king had probably suspected her, but had wanted to believe it was not her. "What can I do to make this wrong right between us?"
"I should think a bath would be an excellent start," Miyako replied. "Then perhaps something to eat, as I have been fasting unwillingly for two weeks." The king smiled, and that lifted some of the sadness from his eyes.
"Then it is so. I will call for an attendant, wait here." As the king walked away, Lance threw his arms around Miyako and gave her a bear hug.
"Aye, I never woulda thought you'd be here!" He drew back from the embrace, all smiles. "Fortune smiles down upon me, so it does. What did yer aunt say about your leavin' home?"
"She, of course, was against it, but I didn't think her opinion really mattered, in the end. You can't fight destiny; it's just stupid to try. I had dreams about the Temple of Life, so naturally, I've got to go there. Someone gave me directions to follow." She turned to Link. "I know I've already thanked you, but I don't think all the thank you's in the world would be enough for what you did." Link shrugged and looked down at his boots.
"But I want to know, what in the world were you doing in Lythvia? Yer aunt's in Kreya," Lance stated, frowning curiously. Miyako shook her head and pointed at the attendant walking towards them.
"I'll tell you later. I stink to high heaven and I'm hungry beyond words. Trust you to set curiosity before survival." She followed the attendant away from them, and Lance turned to Link.
"I didn't know ye had more'n one dream about her, and stupid of me not to ask what the first one was for, aye." The sailor shook his head at himself.
"The Great Deku Tree told me I was sensitive to evil. The princess is a traitor, and that is evil, I guess. Or at least wrong." Lance sighed and leaned against the wall.
"Sure is, matey. I never woulda guessed. And she asked after you, too. I shoulda suspected some trickery, but never King Viru hisself. I spent a few years as her friend." He threw a crumpled piece of paper to the ground. "Are you still heartsick over her, matey? Has this whole affair broken her spell?"
"It must have," Link answered cautiously.
"But you still don't want to marry Princess Zelda, do you." This was not a question.
"You understood why, Lance. I'm attracted to her, but... I've got a feeling that it's the Triforce pieces at work, trying to harmonize. It draws Zelda, Ganondorf, and myself together. We are bound by destiny, but I don't think destiny always includes marriage. I'd hate to be king."
"If this war woulda never started, would you have?"
"...Probably." Link waited for Lance to ask why, but curiously, the sailor never did.