Author's note:
The lyrics for Saria's Song were taken from an old youtube video by the currently inactive channel Sarah LeeAnn.
"Come quickly, follow me,
Into the Lost Woods where the leaves are green
It's so serene…
Over here, over there,
Look around you, beauty's growing everywhere
It's okay to stare…"
"Stop."
Vanova unclasped her hands and opened her eyes. "How was that, Dame Mila?" she asked, a smile on her face clearly showing she was looking for praise.
"It's Lady Mila now. Remember that." Mila menacingly smacked the wooden cane she was carrying against the ground, causing Vanova to flinch.
"My apologies, Lady Mila," Vanova corrected.
Mila smirked. Ever since receiving the title of 'Lady,' she'd enjoyed the sound of it whenever someone addressed her properly.
The Kokiri girl and her squire stood upon the plateau outside of Akkala Citadel. A small crowd of soldiers had gathered on the battlements below. Perhaps they had heard the singing and merely wished to listen, but given that it was mostly men in the crowd, Mila knew they were likely there just to ogle her beautiful squire. Mila did not mind, however. She enjoyed flaunting her power and authority in front of the rank-and-file all the same.
"What must I improve upon?" Vanova asked.
"Your intonation of 'beauty's growing everywhere' is off," Mila informed her. "It must be more like this." The Kokiri girl cleared her throat and closed her eyes.
"Over here, over there,
Look around you, beauty's growing everywhere
It's okay to stare…"
As she sang, she held out the wooden rod in front of her and moved it along in a wavy motion, matching when she pitched her voice up or down.
"Oohhhh…" The crowd of onlookers below sounded impressed, and began clapping once she was finished.
Mila smiled.
Perhaps these oafs are more cultured than I give them credit for.
"I see," Vanova said, clapping along with the crowd. "May I attempt it once more, my lady?"
"Of course," Mila replied. "Proceed."
Vanova cleared her throat, returning to her singing pose.
"Come quickly, follow me,
Into the Lost Woods where the leaves are green
It's so serene…
Over here, over there,
Look around you, beauty's growing everywhere
It's okay to stare…
Though your heart may want to wander off
Don't lose sight of me no matter what
The right path leads to a place with goods
The wrong path leads back to the beginning of the never ending Lost Woods~"
The crowd below again ooh'd and ahh'd, clapping loudly once Vanova finished. The round-eared girl smiled proudly, taking a bow to her audience.
"Better," Mila said, giving Vanova some mild praise.
That seemed to be enough for her, however. Vanova smiled proudly. "Thank you, my lady."
"I think that's enough for today," the Kokiri girl declared. "Let us return to the citadel."
It had been a couple of days since the Blood Moon. Such nights had always been awful back in the forest. The Kokiri were a peaceful people who relied mainly on the protection of the Great Deku Tree to defend themselves from monsters. Mila had never felt safe when the dead rose in the woods. Having spent the most recent Blood Moon in the second largest castle in the world, Mila could safely say it was a preferable experience. Watching from a balcony as hordes of Stalcreatures were gunned down by the canons had been entertaining, too. Even now, the troops on the ground below were still cleaning up the bones from that night.
"You know, my lady, there is a Lost Woods in Holodrum as well," Vanova remarked as they walked back to the citadel. "I have never been to Holodrum, but they talk about it in Labrynna."
"Is that so?" Mila asked. "What do they say about it?"
"I've heard space works differently there," the round-eared girl replied. "You could walk in one direction forever, and you may never get out."
"Sounds just like my Lost Woods," Mila replied. "There is some truth in the song. It can be a beautiful place. But it can also be a nightmare. You'll be walking in one place, then suddenly appear in another, with no way to make sense of it. One may even end up in another world." She smiled to herself, pulling out her sword and examining it. All who saw her sword knew it was valuable due to it being covered in gold leaf, but few knew its true value.
A relic from another world, carried in the sheathe on my back.
After reentering the citadel, Mila began making her way down to the barracks level. Having received her new title, she'd been able to convince Governor Vryciaro to part with some of his soldiers permanently. Lady Mila had some idea of which ones she would like to keep under her command.
However, before she reached her destination, she was stopped in the halls by a messenger.
"Lady Shadowgale," the plain-clothed servant said, sounding relieved to have found her.
"What is it?" Mila asked irritably, somewhat perturbed by the interruption.
"Prince Percival has called a council," the servant replied, handing her a small scroll. "There is some distressing news from the capital. Please proceed to the prince's council chamber at once."
Mila raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
Perhaps war has broken out in Hebra this time.
"Understood. Now get out of my way," Mila ordered the messenger.
The man flinched, then nodded quickly and fled.
"Have you heard any news from the capital?" Mila asked Vanova.
"No, my lady."
The Kokiri girl wished she knew something about the situation before going into this emergency meeting. If she had time to prepare beforehand, she could impress the prince with a solid plan as soon as she heard the bad news.
Perhaps my new title will allow me to hire some Sheikah spies going forward.
Nevertheless, she knew she was good at thinking on her feet. Whatever horrible events had transpired, she was confident she'd be able to make the most of it.
The prince's council chambers had previously belonged to General Alchon, as had the entire fortress. However, as Mila had hoped, Prince Percival had been quick to claim control of Akkala Citadel as soon as his uncle had died. The Kokiri lady couldn't help but smile as she reflected on that. The general's murder had been a stroke of good fortune. No one but her loyal retainer had any idea she had let him die. With the easily manipulatable prince taking his place, everything she had planned would go so much more smoothly.
"Wait for me out here," Mila commanded Vanova once they had reached her destination. "Speak with the other guards and attendants while I'm in there. I want to know what their masters are saying."
"Yes, my lady," Vanova said in a hushed voice, holding the door open for her liege.
Mila nodded as she passed her, stepping into the council chamber.
Those in attendance were most of the people Mila had grown used to seeing at gatherings like this lately. Prince Percival was there, sitting at the head of the table. Prince Silorn was still there, too, although Mila wasn't exactly sure why. Her worthless previous master, Governor Vryciaro, was sitting quite close to the prince. The bishop Mayro was also in attendance. He had been quite busy since the Blood Moon, performing funeral rites for the fallen and consecration rituals on the undead. And then there was Lady Kaifa, who had previously been General Alchon's lieutenant, but she now served Prince Percival. Mila got the distinct impression that she saw this as a downgrade. There were about a dozen others seated around the table as well, but although Mila had familiarized herself with them over the course of her time in Akkala, she did not think of them as important.
The look on Prince Percival's face was strange. He'd never had the best attitude, but he looked kind of angry at the moment. More than that, the way he seemed to avoid meeting anyone's gaze for too long came off as rather timid. Whatever the bad news was from the capital, it must have been upsetting to him in some way.
"You're all here," Percival simply stated once all the seats had been filled. "Let us begin, then." Holding up his arm, he showed everyone at the table that he was holding a long scroll. "I have just received this message from Toren Remoth, Lord Paramount of Hyrule Ridge." For some reason, saying the man's name made Percival toss the message down onto the table in disgust. "My father is dead," he declared.
Expressions of shock and disbelief echoed throughout the room.
"King Tychon is dead?"
"My word!"
"What in Hylia's name happened?"
It took all of Mila's willpower to keep herself from giggling with glee. Another piece had fallen into place without need of her intervention. With Prince Percival, her new patron, being third in line for the throne, she was well positioned to better her station in life even further.
This is better than I could have hoped.
Percival waited for the noise to die down before continuing his explanation. "The warding spells within the capital's walls failed during the Blood Moon," he said bitterly. "Unless some halfwit royally fucked up, someone must have sabotaged them. The undead spilled into the city, and then, as if by some cruel joke, a headless demon appeared in the capital and killed Laemora."
"A demon?"
"Laemora is dead?!"
"We are doomed!"
Prince Percival turned to address the bishop Mayro, who was perhaps the most shocked by this news. "Sage Aurun is dead, too. Both he and my father were killed in the chaos. My youngest sister has gone missing as well."
Mayro's face slowly descended into his hand, as if his entire world were falling apart.
The news of Laemora's death intrigued Mila greatly. As a creation of the second Great Deku Tree, she was well aware of the fact that even gods may die. However, one being killed within her lifetime suddenly made her dream of killing Cyclos seem that much more plausible.
What must I do to obtain the power to kill a god?
If this new demon that had arisen had truly obtained such a power, then perhaps she could steal it.
"This is a most unfortunate tragedy, my prince," Lady Kaifa said. "Have we received any word from your elder sister?" With the king dead, the next in line for the throne was Princess Zelda Victorique, who had left the capital for Gerudo at the same time Prince Percival had left for Akkala.
"Remoth's letter states that she is on her way back to Hyrule," Percival replied. He clenched his jaw, as if he were angry about what he was going to say next. "We are to take our armies southwest to Gerudo and fight in her stead."
"My word. Has the situation in Gerudo worsened?" Prince Silorn asked with concern.
"Dreadfully so," Lady Kaifa replied. "The Gerudo have taken Yarna. Hyrule no longer maintains any significant footholds in the province."
"I cannot believe my sister would fail so spectacularly," Prince Percival said bitterly. "Taafei should never have fallen to these rebels in the first place. What message does this send to the other provinces?"
"The timing of this rebellion in Gerudo and this demon incursion in the capital seems quite suspicious," Mayro added. "Could they be related? Perhaps the Voe is following in his predecessor's footsteps."
"Come, now, friend," Silorn replied. "I find it unwise to make a scapegoat of the Gerudo so easily. We have no reason to believe this calamitous event in Hyrule had anything to do with them, or their sole male champion."
As Mila observed the higher-ups' discussion, she was amazed by how quickly the topic had shifted. It was as if they had all immediately accepted the orders from Lord Remoth, and were now focusing on Gerudo rather than the throne.
Have you so little spine?
"My prince, if I may?" Mila asked, interrupting the current proceedings. She felt all eyes on her, so she tried to sit up to appear taller, which was rather difficult for one trapped in an eleven-year-old's body.
"What is it?" Percival asked.
Mila was quite peeved by the fact that he did not even address her as 'Lady Shadowgale,' a title he himself had bestowed upon her. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to waste time complaining. "Why is it that we are discussing Gerudo when the City of Hyrule has just been attacked? Our king was murdered. We should be returning to the capital, not talking about traveling southwest."
Lady Kaifa furrowed her brow. "Our orders came from the queen-in-waiting," she replied.
"Wrong. They came from Lord Remoth," Mila corrected.
Prince Percival narrowed his eyes at her, then grabbed the message off the table and read it again. "Remoth is relaying orders from my sister."
"And you believe that?" Mila asked, intentionally making it sound as if he must be somewhat stupid to do so.
"What are you implying, Lady Shadowgale?" Kaifa asked.
"I am not implying anything, but the circumstances certainly are." She gave Lady Kaifa a somewhat contemptuous gaze, then directed her attention back to her liege. "My prince, ask yourself: why would your sister relay her orders to you through Lord Remoth in the first place? Surely she would have sent the message to you directly."
Prince Percival considered her suggestion. He was beginning to look even more disgruntled, as if angry that he had not thought of it himself. "True. My sister does share our father's love of efficiency," he mused. "If she had wished to order me around, she would have done so herself."
"Perhaps she simply did not wish to take the time to transcribe so many letters," Prince Silorn suggested. "I presume Lord Remoth is acting as regent at the moment, no? He must have informed the queen-in-waiting of the events that transpired during the Blood Moon, and she must have responded with a request for him to relay her orders throughout the kingdom while she journeyed home."
Mila did not appreciate Silorn's attitude. The Zora prince seemed much too trusting; always giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. It made tugging at Prince Percival's darker impulses that much harder.
"With respect, my prince, but that is nonsense," Mila replied. "We all know what kind of person the Lord of Spikes is. Can we truly take him at his word when it is so probable that he is lying to us?"
"I would be careful with the nicknames, Lady Shadowgale," Mayro responded, clearly not appreciating the lack of respect she was showing in this setting. "Or shall we call you the Devil of Shadow Pass?"
Mila smirked at the Hylian's use of her unofficial title. Clearly the bishop would not be fond of anyone who was thought to be a devil. "I earned that title, yes," she replied smoothly, and even a little proudly. "But that's all the more reason to recognize that the Lord of Spikes has earned his. One who impales his enemies upon oversized spikes and then displays them for all to see - would a man like that truly be above deceit?"
Prince Percival pondered this for a moment. "Remoth sits upon my father's throne, moments after his blood has been spilled…" he seemed to realize something. "What the hell is he doing in the capital? He was supposed to be in Hebra with my brother and Sophitia."
Yes. Exactly. It's all adding up.
"Perhaps he received word of the demon's invasion and came to help," Prince Silorn offered charitably. "It has been quite a while since we've received word from your siblings, but I believe Lord Remoth was tasked to wait in Midoro until he was needed, so he would have been close by."
"That seems reasonable," Lady Kaifa concurred.
Prince Percival begrudgingly nodded along with it as well.
No, no! You fools!
"I still don't like it," Mila responded. "The timing doesn't add up. If things happened the way the Lord of Spikes claims, it would have had to have happened like this…" Mila inhaled, mentally mapping out the timeline so she could share it with the others. "The demon invades the capital during the Blood Moon. A message is sent from the capital to Midoro requesting aid. Lord Remoth travels to the capital and sends a message to Princess Zelda in Gerudo. The princess then sends her response back to the capital, and finally, Remoth sends his message to us here in Akkala. All of that happens in a few days' time?"
Everyone else around the table took a moment to take that all in. Mila could tell it had been convincing. Even Prince Silorn seemed to find the timing suspicious now.
Check. Now, mate.
"Exactly," Mila declared authoritatively when no one offered a rebuttal. "The way the timetables add up, it seems as though Lord Remoth sent us a message immediately upon assuming his role as regent. He saw that the king had been killed while all of his children were conveniently off in different provinces, and he made a move to take the throne for himself. Hell, for all we know, he could be the one behind the demon attack!"
"That is a bold accusation," Mayro warned her sternly.
"Good," Mila shot back. "Someone here ought to be bold. Lest we take the word of a traitor and do nothing while our kingdom falls."
Prince Percival leaned back on his throne. "You clearly think very highly of yourself, Shadowgale."
As do you.
Mila could have said a lot in response to that, but as safe as she felt speaking her mind to most of the others in the council now that she was a lady, she still had to stay on the Prince's good side. "Yes. Well, I like to believe that I have earned it."
Percival smirked. "Perhaps. But, that aside, you raise many excellent points."
Silorn did not appear happy about that. "My fellow prince, surely you do not mean what I suspect you to be meaning?"
Mila quirked an eyebrow. Something about the way Prince Silorn spoke always seemed odd to her. Hylian was not her first language either, but the Zora prince always took so many words to say nothing.
"The manner in which these orders have been delivered to us is much too suspicious," Percival went on. "I will not sit idly by while Remoth oversteps his authority and usurps my father's throne. He has no business delivering orders to a prince. We shall not take our armies to Gerudo where my sister has made a mess of things. No. Instead, we march for Hyrule."
Mila steepled her hands to hide her self-satisfied smile. Of course, she fully believed Lord Remoth was up to something. Were she in his position, she would be, too. She was not convincing the prince of a lie. All she was doing was pointing him in the right direction - the direction that was best for him at the moment, and even better for her in the long run.
No must press harder now. We'll see what happens once we arrive back at the capital.
"I agree that this is the best course of action, my prince," Lady Kaifa said, glancing uncertainly towards Mila. "However, I feel it is best that we consider all possibilities, and that we exercise all proper cautions and courtesies."
"Meaning what, Kaifa?" the prince replied.
"Meaning, if your sister, the queen-in-waiting, truly is on her way back to Hyrule now, it is possible that she might arrive before we do," Lady Kaifa explained. "We should send a message ahead to explain our intentions. Otherwise, it may appear as though we intend to defy the queen's orders, or, worse still, steal the throne from her ourselves."
Mila grit her teeth.
Dammit.
She cursed the Hylian woman's lack of ambition. Sending a message to the capital would do nothing but inform Lord Remoth of their intentions, not Princess Victorique. It would ruin their element of surprise.
Prince Silorn smiled brightly. "Yes! It is only right for us to do so. Percival, imagine the look on your poor sister's face if she were to see you taking your armies home when she wished for you to help defend Gerudo?"
Percival stared at the other prince blankly for a moment. "Victorique's expressions are not particularly difficult to imagine," he deadpanned. "Nevertheless," he said, turning his attention back to the rest of the table. "I suppose it would be prudent. I will write up a message and send my best Rito to carry it on ahead of us. Anything else?"
Mila opened her mouth to object, but quickly stopped herself. As much as she tried, she was unable to think fast enough to come up with a good reason not to send a message, and a way to say it in a way that wouldn't reveal her true intentions.
Curses. Still, it is only a minor setback.
Ultimately, she did not think this would change anything, unless Lord Remoth was bold enough to meet their armies head on upon their arrival. With the advantage of Hyrule Castle, he may have been able to succeed if he had the numbers, but surely even he had an image to keep up.
"Good," the prince continued. "Make all necessary preparations. We must be ready to march as soon as possible. Dismissed."
Mila stood and filed out of the room with the rest of the prince's council. Despite a few issues, she was satisfied with the way things were progressing. As far as she was concerned, there was a perfect opportunity to leverage here, and she was going to take advantage of it to the fullest extent possible.
Having traveled from Akkala to Central Hyrule before, Mila could confidently say that this time was the most comfortable the journey had ever been for her. Despite the number of soldiers she'd suddenly ended up with under her command, she was still a bit light on servants, but she'd managed to secure a carriage for herself before they left Akkala Citadel, at least. So, while thousands of Hylians and Zora marched on foot or rode on horseback outside, she was able to sit and relax in comfort and relative safety.
However, she did not spend the whole journey relaxing. The road was long, and she had plans to make. While she was quite happy with what she'd come up with for the prince, her plans were quite risky, and she needed a contingency plan.
If only I knew more about Toren Remoth.
Having come from the south before moving to the northeast, Mila didn't have much experience with the lords from the western part of the kingdom. She knew Lord Remoth by reputation, but she did not know him personally. How did he think? Who was loyal to him? What resources did he have at his disposal? Was his daughter a weak point for him? All of those questions would have had useful answers. Mila cursed the lack of time she had to prepare.
The Kokiri girl also had doubts about the rest of Prince Percival's current court. Governor Vryciaro had been the only one she was confident in her ability to control, but he had elected not to come with them to the capital. She wondered if she should have continued to take things slow and let the other lords and ladies warm up to her, rather than being so bold as soon as she attained her new position.
No. This is not the time for taking things slow.
Mila didn't expect to get another opportunity like this anytime soon. She didn't even know for certain whether or not she was still immortal now that she'd left Kokiri Forest, even if she didn't appear to age like the humans did. Making enemies among the nobility would certainly be an issue, but surely the benefits outweighed the costs, especially if her plan was as successful as she hoped.
The carriage slowed to a stop when the convoy arrived at the eastern gates of Hyrule. When the Kokiri lady opened the door, her round-eared retainer was there to help her down to the ground.
"Was the ride comfortable, my lady?" Vanova asked.
"Quite," Mila replied tersely. She was not paying the other girl much attention. Striding forward, she tried to observe the city walls as best she could. It seemed as though Lord Remoth - or perhaps the to-be-crowned Queen Victorique - had prepared for their arrival. Mila had anticipated this, but she still cursed the prince for sending that damn letter.
Atop the wall, dozens of soldiers could be seen. They were armed as if prepared to resist an invasion. Even the catapults had been set up. Aside from the guards posted at the gate, nobody was outside the walls to greet them.
"This looks bad," Mila mumbled aloud. "But it could be worse."
Most of the soldiers were wearing the uniform of the City Guard, but Mila could see some of them wearing the distinctive black and red colors of House Remoth. While Mila would have preferred to accompany Prince Percival as he moved into the city unopposed, Lord Remoth would be a significantly easier obstacle to overcome than Queen Victorique.
As much as the prince might resent her, I doubt I'd be able to convince him to fight his sister. At least until he is already on the throne.
Prince Percival had not asked anyone but Sir Onnick and the rest of his personal guard to accompany him to the gate, so Mila did not approach him, although she did move closer to make sure she'd be able to hear everything. The sound of trumpets announced the prince's arrival, and atop his white horse, he rode up to the gate.
There was a pause. The expectation was that one of two things would happen. One would be that the gates opened to allow the prince inside, at which point he would proceed to Hyrule Castle to speak with the regent. Alternatively, the regent or a representative of his would come out to meet him. However, neither event occurred. Many of the guards looked confused, but no one made a move to do anything.
"Your prince has returned!" Percival announced, putting all of his pride into projecting his voice. "Open the gates!"
"I am afraid that is not possible at the moment, my prince." One of the black-cloaked knights stepped closer to the parapet, bearing the Orhat symbol of House Remoth upon his armor.
"And for what reason might this be the case?" the prince called back, the irritation obvious in his voice.
"We are under orders from your sister, Queen Zelda Victorique Hyrule," the black-cloaked knight replied.
Mila was surprised to hear that. This worried her. If the queen had already ascended to the throne, then everything truly would be more difficult than Mila had planned, especially if Lord Remoth's forces were supporting her in addition to her own.
"Why would my own sister wish to bar me entry into our home? And why would she send the likes of you to tell me this?" Prince Percival had apparently elected to skip the pleasantries at this point. He did not seem the type to like being told 'no' by anyone, let alone his elder sister.
"It is merely a temporary precaution," the Remoth knight explained. "Given the sudden and unexpected death of her father, the queen does not wish to risk her position being unlawfully usurped by any jealous siblings before she is given her official coronation."
Damn. Smart girl.
Whether or not it was a result of the message that had been sent to the capital ahead of them, it seemed as though the queen-in-waiting had thought things through carefully. Stealing the throne would be infinitely harder once she had already been crowned, so barring any potential threats to her reign from entering the city until that point was a reasonable move.
"This is preposterous!" Prince Percival declared. "I demand to speak with my sister at once!"
"I am afraid Queen Zelda is not present at the moment," Remoth's knight replied, completely unfazed by the prince's demands.
"And where might she be, then?"
"She still holds the Coliseum, fending off the Gerudo invasion," the knight informed him. "She is to return once the rebellion is crushed."
Mila narrowed her eyes.
She isn't even here?
That was rather suspicious. She accepted it may have been possible that the princess had relayed all of these orders through Rito messengers, but it all seemed too convenient.
Perhaps Zelda had nothing to do with this, and this is all Remoth's doing.
"Send out Remoth, then," the prince ordered. "I would speak with your master, knight."
The dark-cloaked man shook his head. "That will not be possible either, my prince. The regent is quite busy handling affairs of state. Anything you wish to tell him, you are welcome to pass it along through me."
Mila almost laughed at the look on Prince Percival's face. It was as though he had never been more offended in his life. "Tell your master he will regret this insult."
It was difficult to see from a distance, but Mila was pretty sure the dark knight upon the wall grinned. "As you wish, your highness."
The prince turned his horse around and signaled for everyone to follow him. No one had unpacked anything to make camp yet, so it was not difficult to move the convoy back. Once they were out of range of the city wall's archers, Percival ordered everyone to stop again.
"Get my tent sent up immediately," he told his servants. "Councilmembers, follow me. Everyone else, make camp." After doling out his orders, Prince Percival climbed down from his horse. Mila and the rest of his lieutenants rushed to his side, but he did not wish to discuss things in front of the whole camp. Instead, he and Sir Onnick led them a short way off of the road to the east towards the Hylia River.
"What are we to do, my prince?" Lady Kaifa asked once they had some privacy. "Shall we proceed towards Gerudo tomorrow to help your sister?"
"Certainly not," Mila chimed in as quickly as she could. "Are we truly to believe a word of what Remoth's lackey said? We discussed this back in Akkala already. The man is lying to us."
"That much is clear," Prince Percival agreed. "Remoth is not acting on orders from my sister. I doubt he is even in contact with her at all. Aside from notifying her of my father's death, perhaps."
"Are you certain, my prince?" Mayro asked. "If Lord Remoth and his subordinate are not telling the truth, that is one thing. But what if their orders truly did come from the queen? Disobeying them would be treason."
"I can conjure no possible world in which my sister would bar me and the rest of my siblings from entering the city," Prince Percival declared, sounding rather sure of himself.
"Precisely!" Prince Silorn agreed exuberantly. "I know Victorique quite well. She is an honest, caring woman. I could never believe she would turn her back on her family like that."
"She cares too much about our family's image to do it," Prince Percival went on. "It would make us appear splintered and weak, rather than united and strong."
Mila was pleasantly surprised Percival hadn't been fooled by Remoth's façade.
At least he's not a complete fool.
The smarter he was, the harder he'd be to manipulate, but at the same time, it would make him a more effective tool.
"It is settled, then," Mila said, hoping to end the conversation with everyone in favor of her preferred course of action. "Lord Remoth is a traitor to the kingdom, and he is making his bid for the throne. We must remove him from his position immediately."
"Then how shall we proceed?" Lady Kaifa asked. "I recommended we march for Gerudo anyway. There, we can explain the situation to the queen and join our forces with hers. We can return to reclaim the city together."
"Yes! Brilliant idea!" Silorn concurred. "We must all work together to ensure the rightful queen may take her place upon Hyrule Castle's magnificent throne."
Mila smiled, imagining herself on the throne.
Rightful queen, indeed.
However, she knew she shouldn't be thinking that far ahead. She was still working towards putting Percival on the throne first. To do that, she had to get him there before Victorique returned from Gerudo, and then she had to convince him to simply claim the throne for himself. She may not have been capable of convincing him to do so at the moment, but after he put in the effort to storm the city and kick the usurper off of the throne, perhaps he would think himself deserving of the position.
"We don't have time for that," Mila argued, voicing her disagreement with Kaifa and Silorn. "Lord Remoth controls the entirety of Hyrule Ridge. As soon as he catches wind of what we're doing, he'll call for reinforcements and sure up his defenses before we even reach Gerudo. Besides, we can't take Princess Zelda's forces for ourselves now. If we do, who will reclaim the Gerudo province?"
"You would have us lay siege to the capital?" the bishop Mayro asked. "Such a thing should only be done if absolutely necessary. Even if Lord Remoth has betrayed the kingdom, there is no way the entirety of the Castle Guard, the City Guard, and the citizenry support him. If we return with the rightful queen, Remoth will be pressured to let her into the city, regardless of what treacherous acts he has been attempting."
"So long as the Lord of Spikes sits on that throne, he will never give it up peacefully," Mila stated. She didn't actually know Lord Remoth enough to be sure of that, but as long as she said it confidently, the others would be inclined to believe her. "If the citizens revolt, he'll just put a few hundred heads on pikes as a warning to the others, and we'll have made no real progress."
"Even if reclaiming the city by force is our only option, we must still retrieve Queen Zelda beforehand," Lady Kaifa argued. "We cannot take the city with our forces alone."
Mila had to try her hardest to resist a smirk.
Right into my trap.
"Oh? You do not believe the prince is capable of such a feat?" Mila turned to Prince Percival. "Your highness, was it not you who defeated the Earthquake Sage when your uncle could not? Was it not you who succeeded in bringing peace to the province your father assigned to you, while your siblings brought war to theirs? It is you we need, not your sister." When she was finished, she waited, hoping for Percival to take the bait.
"Now, now, young fairy lady," Silorn said, holding out his finned hands in a disarming manner. "Lancel and the Zelda Sisters are all quite talented as well. I do not think it is prudent to blame them for the unfortunate state of Gerudo and Hebra at the present moment."
"I agree," Mayro interjected. "Besides, this is the City of Hyrule we are discussing. We cannot make decisions about bringing conflict upon our capital so lightly."
"No, she's right," the prince spoke up, much to Mila's satisfaction. "Between my forces and Silorn's, we have more than enough to take the city on our own. We'd best do so before Remoth receives his reinforcements from the Ridge."
He gave his own justification for it, but Mila knew the deciding factor had been his ego. He was riding the high from his victory in Akkala, and he did not want to appear as if he required his big sister's help.
This was almost too easy.
"We shall return to camp now," the prince went on, apparently not interested in hearing any argument. "We must make preparations immediately."
