Chapter Two: Bad Messages
Link left back to Hyrule Castle late in the afternoon after the Harvest Festival had come to a close the day before. Winter was coming, but the air was still warm and sweet smelling as he proudly trotted Epona across the field. Navi had stayed behind in Kokiri Forest saying to him:
"You go have fun by yourself for a change! Give everyone my best wishes!"
Now all Link needed to do was drop by the castle to let someone know that he had returned, then he could finally head back home for some much-needed sleep. When Link came over the crest of hill he could see the lights twinkling from Hyrule Castle Town and the enormous hovering shadow of the citadel behind it. He kicked Epona in the side lightly and she picked up her pace.
All was quiet at the castle, save for the guards on watch and the rattling of the cooks in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. Link dismounted and walked Epona into the stable and tied her reins onto a wooded post for while he was inside. She neighed and padded the ground alongside the other horses.
"It's OK girl, I'll be right back," Link comforted as the stroked Epona's nose. She calmed down and started to chew on the alfalfa from the bin in front of her. Satisfied, Link turned and walked up the hill to the giant stone archway of the castle. He poked around up and down the different corridors in hopes of finding one of the servants to deliver the message that he was back, but he found none. Not an unusual thing for such a big place he thought though. Eventually he made his way to the kitchen where he was sure to find someone. There were plates still scattered along the giant table waiting to be cleaned and four busy attendants at the sink washing, scrubbing and drying. Two others were placing the clean dishes away in their proper place for tomorrow's use. The Head Chef noticed Link standing in the doorway and called out to him.
"I see you have returned Master Link!" He bellowed in his usual jovial way. Link walked in smiling, removing his two gauntlets from his arms and relieved one of the young girls from her dish duty and started to scrub an unsettlingly dirty plate.
"You guys have a big meal or something? I haven't seen so many dishes in here since the King's birthday," Link laughed.
"While you were away…" the Head Chef began and then paused to think, "where were you anyway?" Link froze for a split second and then answered:
"Fishing Trip"
The chef laughed and continued: "Well did you catch anything big?"
"Nah, I almost had one though, looked about thirty pounds, but it snapped my line," he finished a dish and handed it to be dried.
"Ah well, maybe next time," the large man humored. "Anyway, while you were away the Queen of Adrean and her daughter came unexpectedly, we barely had time to prepare for them! I can't even begin to describe what a mess that was!"
"Sounds bad, are they still here?" Link questioned.
The man didn't seem to hear him at first for he had occupied himself with inspecting the crystal goblets on the tray in front of him.
"Yes, they're still here, I've heard they're going to stay until the end of the week so they can join King Harkinian for the party then," he said absentmindedly. Link thought for a moment and then resumed the conversation.
"Until the end of the week huh?"
"That's right," said the chef unsettlingly, "and the queen is mighty picky about her food to. Can't say that's a woman's company I'd enjoy!" He finished the last sentence with a 'harumf' and set a glass down. "I don't like them if you ask me."
"What about her daughter?" Link inquired with peaked curiosity. The chef smiled and a twinkle came to him eye.
"A beauty that rivals our own Princess Zelda!" He exclaimed. "I bet every young man in Hyrule would kill just for a glimpse at her!"
Link finished washing a dish and set it aside. "What about her as a person?" He sighed giving the chef a look.
"She may be a beaut', but I'd ratha' be in a pit full of snakes than with her!" A young man bellowed. He had just entered in through the same door Link had. "A bloody queer girl if I eva' saw one." The boy was dark of hair color and yet had fair skin, with dark brown eyes to match. His dull leather boots clunked noisily across the stone floor as he threw down a sack of flour before the Chef's feet.
"Here ya' go cook, flour like ya's asked me for," he said smiling, dirty from the white powder that had slipped through the burlap sack. "Hey Link," the young man turned to him, "did ye have a nice trip? I saw Epona in the stable and new'd ye be in here somewheres. Not eh' surprise I found ya in the kitchen!"
Link smiled at the stable hand and replied, "White's a good look for you Rook."
"Do ya like it? Thought of it myself!" Rook laughed, shaking the powder off him and out of his hair. "If I were you Link I'd stay away from Princess Adel, she's one of the reason's me family left Adrean. I nearly tripped over backwar' when I saw her coming toward me, good thing she didna' recognize me from when we war' kids! Me older brother and I used to have ta serve her meals to her back in ol' Adrean and I could tell you stories like none otha! The most spoiled girl there eva' was she is!" Rook's accent went full-blown.
"I take it you don't like her either," Link joked around. "You make her out to be some kind of horrible monster with snakes coming out of her head and such."
"She is! I tell ye she is! Will throw a tantrum if ye look at her so much as wrong! She's trouble if I eva' saw it!" Rook waved his arms in emphasis about him. "If she eva' comes inta' the stables again while I'm about I'll do best to get out of the way and you should too if ya see her."
In the middle of the conversation a young boy came running through a doorway and almost came crashing into Link. He was panting hard from his obvious scramble about the castle passageways and it took him a minute or to before he caught his breath. The boy looked as though he had something to say but he was in too much of a fluster to get it out.
"Link…I found you…" He panted. "The King…asked me to go and see…if you had come back yet…He needs to see you right away…" The lad drew in a deep breath and then exhaled, satisfied that he had delivered his message. Link looked to the Chef, and then to Rook, who was still partly covered in flour, before he followed the boy up the steps and to the King.
***
In the great chamber assembled a cluster of people shouting and waving their arms about them in immense confusion. The many candles lit the room retracting the darkness of night outside the windows. Link took a few steps in and caught a glimpse of King Harkinian, fists clenched in front of him and eyes shut tightly. The entire scene was that of frustration and havoc until the King finally spoke up.
"Quiet all of you!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs to have a hush of silence fall over the room. "I will not run and hide like a coward over this matter! I have my duty as King and I will be damned before I let something like this turn me tail and give in!"
"But your Majesty," one of the men said meekly, "this is a threat on your life, we must take at least some precautions for your safety." A murmur of 'here here' echoed about the group of men. Link walked in the rest of the way and squeezed his way up to the King's desk. King Harkinian spotted him immediately for he stuck out quite splendidly with his green Kokiri tunic and blond hair among the crowd.
"Link, good, you have returned," said the King wearily. "How was your trip?" King Harkinian was the only one who knew about where Link had really gone off and joined him in keeping Murieope a secret.
"Fine," he said. "What's going on here? I heard something about a threat on your life?! I'm gone for three days and something happens…"
"It's nothing," The King grumbled handing Link a letter, "just someone trying to scare me." He stood up quickly and slammed his fists into the desk. "It's not going to work! It is a very dumb man who thinks I'll run away from my problems…"
Link looked the piece of paper over reciting the words in his head:
King Harkinian,
Your time of ruling is up. At the Adviser's Ball on the new moon you will die.
"You don't have any suspects?" Link questioned looking up.
"No," one of the men spoke. "I don't think it's anything to worry about, probably some sick joke someone is playing with us." Another murmur went around the room.
"When did this come?" Link glanced from face to face.
"This afternoon, it was on the King's desk perfectly folded and laid out. Nothing else had been touched. Clearly the messenger had inside access to this room," another man in red added. Link cast a most surprised face.
"Do you mean…Do you mean to tell me that there is a conspiracy inside the castle?!" He said in a harsh whisper. Each man looked briefly with downcast eyes and then to the King whom had his head lowered. When he raised his head his look was very irritated.
"I will not have this, this man threaten me or any of my subjects!" King Harkinian declared angrily. "I want him caught and brought to me before he has a chance to hurt anyone do you understand? I will not have him putting lives in danger!"
"What about the ball day after next? Do you wish it to be canceled?" The man in red spoke again with a faint smile playing on his lips. The King thought a moment before answering his question.
"No, with it we can lure him out. He is probably expecting us to call it off so we will do the opposite. Let's let this scenario play through and see what scum will surface," with this the King walked out of the room, leaving everyone standing there in wonder.
Link left back to Hyrule Castle late in the afternoon after the Harvest Festival had come to a close the day before. Winter was coming, but the air was still warm and sweet smelling as he proudly trotted Epona across the field. Navi had stayed behind in Kokiri Forest saying to him:
"You go have fun by yourself for a change! Give everyone my best wishes!"
Now all Link needed to do was drop by the castle to let someone know that he had returned, then he could finally head back home for some much-needed sleep. When Link came over the crest of hill he could see the lights twinkling from Hyrule Castle Town and the enormous hovering shadow of the citadel behind it. He kicked Epona in the side lightly and she picked up her pace.
All was quiet at the castle, save for the guards on watch and the rattling of the cooks in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. Link dismounted and walked Epona into the stable and tied her reins onto a wooded post for while he was inside. She neighed and padded the ground alongside the other horses.
"It's OK girl, I'll be right back," Link comforted as the stroked Epona's nose. She calmed down and started to chew on the alfalfa from the bin in front of her. Satisfied, Link turned and walked up the hill to the giant stone archway of the castle. He poked around up and down the different corridors in hopes of finding one of the servants to deliver the message that he was back, but he found none. Not an unusual thing for such a big place he thought though. Eventually he made his way to the kitchen where he was sure to find someone. There were plates still scattered along the giant table waiting to be cleaned and four busy attendants at the sink washing, scrubbing and drying. Two others were placing the clean dishes away in their proper place for tomorrow's use. The Head Chef noticed Link standing in the doorway and called out to him.
"I see you have returned Master Link!" He bellowed in his usual jovial way. Link walked in smiling, removing his two gauntlets from his arms and relieved one of the young girls from her dish duty and started to scrub an unsettlingly dirty plate.
"You guys have a big meal or something? I haven't seen so many dishes in here since the King's birthday," Link laughed.
"While you were away…" the Head Chef began and then paused to think, "where were you anyway?" Link froze for a split second and then answered:
"Fishing Trip"
The chef laughed and continued: "Well did you catch anything big?"
"Nah, I almost had one though, looked about thirty pounds, but it snapped my line," he finished a dish and handed it to be dried.
"Ah well, maybe next time," the large man humored. "Anyway, while you were away the Queen of Adrean and her daughter came unexpectedly, we barely had time to prepare for them! I can't even begin to describe what a mess that was!"
"Sounds bad, are they still here?" Link questioned.
The man didn't seem to hear him at first for he had occupied himself with inspecting the crystal goblets on the tray in front of him.
"Yes, they're still here, I've heard they're going to stay until the end of the week so they can join King Harkinian for the party then," he said absentmindedly. Link thought for a moment and then resumed the conversation.
"Until the end of the week huh?"
"That's right," said the chef unsettlingly, "and the queen is mighty picky about her food to. Can't say that's a woman's company I'd enjoy!" He finished the last sentence with a 'harumf' and set a glass down. "I don't like them if you ask me."
"What about her daughter?" Link inquired with peaked curiosity. The chef smiled and a twinkle came to him eye.
"A beauty that rivals our own Princess Zelda!" He exclaimed. "I bet every young man in Hyrule would kill just for a glimpse at her!"
Link finished washing a dish and set it aside. "What about her as a person?" He sighed giving the chef a look.
"She may be a beaut', but I'd ratha' be in a pit full of snakes than with her!" A young man bellowed. He had just entered in through the same door Link had. "A bloody queer girl if I eva' saw one." The boy was dark of hair color and yet had fair skin, with dark brown eyes to match. His dull leather boots clunked noisily across the stone floor as he threw down a sack of flour before the Chef's feet.
"Here ya' go cook, flour like ya's asked me for," he said smiling, dirty from the white powder that had slipped through the burlap sack. "Hey Link," the young man turned to him, "did ye have a nice trip? I saw Epona in the stable and new'd ye be in here somewheres. Not eh' surprise I found ya in the kitchen!"
Link smiled at the stable hand and replied, "White's a good look for you Rook."
"Do ya like it? Thought of it myself!" Rook laughed, shaking the powder off him and out of his hair. "If I were you Link I'd stay away from Princess Adel, she's one of the reason's me family left Adrean. I nearly tripped over backwar' when I saw her coming toward me, good thing she didna' recognize me from when we war' kids! Me older brother and I used to have ta serve her meals to her back in ol' Adrean and I could tell you stories like none otha! The most spoiled girl there eva' was she is!" Rook's accent went full-blown.
"I take it you don't like her either," Link joked around. "You make her out to be some kind of horrible monster with snakes coming out of her head and such."
"She is! I tell ye she is! Will throw a tantrum if ye look at her so much as wrong! She's trouble if I eva' saw it!" Rook waved his arms in emphasis about him. "If she eva' comes inta' the stables again while I'm about I'll do best to get out of the way and you should too if ya see her."
In the middle of the conversation a young boy came running through a doorway and almost came crashing into Link. He was panting hard from his obvious scramble about the castle passageways and it took him a minute or to before he caught his breath. The boy looked as though he had something to say but he was in too much of a fluster to get it out.
"Link…I found you…" He panted. "The King…asked me to go and see…if you had come back yet…He needs to see you right away…" The lad drew in a deep breath and then exhaled, satisfied that he had delivered his message. Link looked to the Chef, and then to Rook, who was still partly covered in flour, before he followed the boy up the steps and to the King.
***
In the great chamber assembled a cluster of people shouting and waving their arms about them in immense confusion. The many candles lit the room retracting the darkness of night outside the windows. Link took a few steps in and caught a glimpse of King Harkinian, fists clenched in front of him and eyes shut tightly. The entire scene was that of frustration and havoc until the King finally spoke up.
"Quiet all of you!" He bellowed at the top of his lungs to have a hush of silence fall over the room. "I will not run and hide like a coward over this matter! I have my duty as King and I will be damned before I let something like this turn me tail and give in!"
"But your Majesty," one of the men said meekly, "this is a threat on your life, we must take at least some precautions for your safety." A murmur of 'here here' echoed about the group of men. Link walked in the rest of the way and squeezed his way up to the King's desk. King Harkinian spotted him immediately for he stuck out quite splendidly with his green Kokiri tunic and blond hair among the crowd.
"Link, good, you have returned," said the King wearily. "How was your trip?" King Harkinian was the only one who knew about where Link had really gone off and joined him in keeping Murieope a secret.
"Fine," he said. "What's going on here? I heard something about a threat on your life?! I'm gone for three days and something happens…"
"It's nothing," The King grumbled handing Link a letter, "just someone trying to scare me." He stood up quickly and slammed his fists into the desk. "It's not going to work! It is a very dumb man who thinks I'll run away from my problems…"
Link looked the piece of paper over reciting the words in his head:
King Harkinian,
Your time of ruling is up. At the Adviser's Ball on the new moon you will die.
"You don't have any suspects?" Link questioned looking up.
"No," one of the men spoke. "I don't think it's anything to worry about, probably some sick joke someone is playing with us." Another murmur went around the room.
"When did this come?" Link glanced from face to face.
"This afternoon, it was on the King's desk perfectly folded and laid out. Nothing else had been touched. Clearly the messenger had inside access to this room," another man in red added. Link cast a most surprised face.
"Do you mean…Do you mean to tell me that there is a conspiracy inside the castle?!" He said in a harsh whisper. Each man looked briefly with downcast eyes and then to the King whom had his head lowered. When he raised his head his look was very irritated.
"I will not have this, this man threaten me or any of my subjects!" King Harkinian declared angrily. "I want him caught and brought to me before he has a chance to hurt anyone do you understand? I will not have him putting lives in danger!"
"What about the ball day after next? Do you wish it to be canceled?" The man in red spoke again with a faint smile playing on his lips. The King thought a moment before answering his question.
"No, with it we can lure him out. He is probably expecting us to call it off so we will do the opposite. Let's let this scenario play through and see what scum will surface," with this the King walked out of the room, leaving everyone standing there in wonder.