Chapter Fourteen
Full Frontal
"I can't believe I'm doing this."
"Don't worry," Link reassured Malon. "Someday you'll look back on this moment and laugh."
They were crouching in the trees surrounding the entrance to Kakariko Graveyard. They would wait till nightfall to begin the attack, meaning they would have to wait a few more hours. Understandably, Malon was becoming impatient. So she spent the time mumbling about her role in the plan and asking Link various questions about his travels and adventures. Link's answers were brief and to the point, as if something else occupied his thoughts. Malon could guess what that something was.
"Link," she started. "You haven't said anything about last night. It's just my opinion, but I think it's true. The king of Hyrule is your father."
Link nodded slowly. "I know, Malon. And your evidence is very good, and meshes with some of the stuff I discovered in the castle archives. It's just…I've known Zelda and the king for years, and not once have they mentioned anything about Queen Sanna or a long lost brother. If it is true, and they've known all along, then they've kept me in the dark purposely, for whatever reason. And if they don't know, how do I tell them? I can't just walk up and say 'Hey, we've been friends for years, but guess what, Jax I'm your long lost son, and Zelda, we're really siblings!' I can't know how they'd handle it. I don't even know how I would handle it."
Malon didn't say anything, and didn't push the point. Instead, she asked Link about how he had killed a giant ogre to the west three years ago. And so they waited, and soon nightfall was upon them. Link went over the first stage of their plan once more, and, drawing his bow and fitting an arrow to the string, slipped into the shadows of the trees. Malon sighed and stood up. "Well," she thought, "Might as well get this over with."
* * *
"Why do we even 'ave to 'ave a guard at the gates? The bloody townsfolk are already beaten. There's not a bleedin' thing we can't do!"
"I know, Sam, I know. But orders is orders, and we's gots to follow 'em. Pass that ale around."
Sam and Joxy huddled at the gates, sipping from a large bottle of liquor. Everyone else was roaming the camp just inside the gates in various levels of sobriety. They were the unlucky pair assigned to guard duty, and had spent most of their time grumbling and cursing over their bad luck. Joxy took a long drink and passed the bottle back. "But you know what would really hit the spot? One of them nice villages girls. I could use a nice piece of…"
"Did somebody say they could use a woman?"
A silky voice came from the trees in front of them, followed by a curvaceous figure. The guards stared in awe at the woman before them. She had flaming red hair that fell to the small of her back, with long legs only barely covered by a skirt made from a sheet wrapped around her waist. She wore a short-sleeved blouse with a plunging neckline and the front tied at the middle, showing a well-toned stomach. On her wrists their appeared to be many silver bracelets.
She parted her lips seductively and winked at them. "I was just telling myself that I could do with some manly company. Maybe you two would be willing to oblige?"
Grinning from ear to ear, Sam and Joxy rose to their feet. The girl smiled. "Why don't you bring some friends? But not too many…I'm shy." Sam quickly turned around and called for the two men nearest them. One glimpse at the inviting woman before them was all the persuasion they needed to leave the camp. She ushered them forward with her first finger and turned and sauntered into the trees. The men followed eagerly, almost tripping over each other to be the first ones there. They entered into the trees, but she had disappeared. "Oy, missy, where'd you go?"
"Maybe it was a ghost?"
"Nah, she's just teasin' us. She's hiding behind one of those trees."
"Either way, I'm goin' fir…"
He never had a chance to finish. An arrow had lodged itself in the back of his throat, the point coming through the other side. Before anyone could say anything, two more fell to arrows. Only Joxy was left, and before he could scream from help, he fell dead, the point of Malon's sword jutting from his chest. As he fell, Link jumped down from his perch in his tree and retrieved his arrows. Malon groaned in disgust at the grisly scene. "I still can't believe I'm just did all that. I feel so dirty."
"Well, if it's any consolation, I thought you were very convincing."
"I don't know whether to thank you or smack you for that."
Link chuckled. "Come on. Four down, twenty-six to go." They moved quietly through the gates, Link keeping them hidden in the shadows, a trait he said he learned while training with Sheikah. They moved closer and closer to the tents surrounding the fire. Occasionally, they saw another thug wandering the perimeter, and Link would take him out with an arrow and move the body into the foliage. Soon, the count had decreased from twenty-six to twenty. "How are you holding up?" Link asked abruptly.
"What do you mean?"
"You just killed your first Hylian. How are you handling it?"
Malon paused. She hadn't even stopped to consider what she'd done. Strangely, she found that she didn't feel any remorse. "I'm fine. I mean, I've had to put down animals before, and I cared about them a lot more than I care about some horrible beasts like those men. I'm sorry there wasn't another way, but I'm not sorry they're dead. The world's better off without them. Besides, after hanging out with you these past few days, I've realized that sometimes the only was to stay alive and help others is to kill."
Link looked at her for a minute, looking for anything that might lead to potential problems. Finding nothing, he said, "You've got a warrior's spirit, Malon. Just make sure it doesn't get the best of you. Let's go."
"Hold it!"
They turned at the sound of the voice. One of the mercs happened to be walking behind the tent they were huddled behind to relieve himself. The arm he had in a sling identified him as one of the men Link had saved Anne from earlier. Link drew his longshot in an attempt to keep him from sounding the alarm, but the man already ducked back towards the fire, screaming, "Intruders! Intruders in the bloody camp!"
"Damn it," Link cursed, drawing his sword. He got up and ran toward the fire. "Stay here!" he called back to Malon, and then he was lost in a sea of bodies. Malon weighed her options: she could stay in hiding, as Link had ordered, and wait for him to return, which might or might not happen. On the other hand, she could completely disregard his orders and dash into to help him. After a moment's deliberation, she took her sword in hand and ran after him.
* * *
"C'mon you snakes, he's only one man!"
"No way mate! He's a bloomin' demon that one!"
Link battled his way into the twenty armed and deadly mercenaries. He was in a constant state of motion, ducking and twisting, slashing with his sword, stabbing with his longshot. One dark haired merc charged him; he ducked and opened the man's stomach with his sword. Another tried to decapitate him with an axe; he kicked the man's legs from under him and stabbed him through the eye with the longshot. Five mercenaries had fallen, but the remaining fifteen were coming ever closer. Link didn't know what the odds were of making it out of this one alive, but then again, that had never stopped him before.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a half-naked shape with flowing red hair cut down another merc. Link groaned; he should have known that by telling Malon to stay put she would naturally jump right in after him. He had to admit though, as they both cut down another enemy, that she was holding her own surprisingly well. He began to wonder how good a soldier Ingo had been. Still, having her in the battle complicated things. He could take down twelve men, of that he was sure, but he would never forgive himself if Malon was hurt, or worse. He had to end this quickly. He began to pump his magic into his sword. When it began to pulse with blue light he yelled, "Malon, drop!" Surprisingly, she obeyed without question, hitting the ground. As soon as she was clear, Link spun on his heel, releasing the magic. The energy flowed from his blade in a wide arc, cutting down everyone in its path. Link completed his spin, and watched as twelve bloodied bodies fell into the dirt.
Malon rose, her mouth open in astonishment. "Wow," was all she could think of to say. She was disgusted by the grisly scene, but also amazed that she and Link had managed to defeat thirty armed men in a little less than an hour. She walked over to Link, who was on one knee, leaning on his sword. "Are you all right?" she asked.
Catching his breath, Link replied, "I'm fine. Using that much magic in a fight sometimes tires me out. Come on, we better get you some clothes and tell the people that the mercs are dead." He rose to his feet and turned towards the village, but then he stopped, considering something. "Wait a minute…" he said, and then turned back towards the graveyard. Malon, confused and suddenly very self-conscious, quickly followed.
* * *
"Link, I'm sure there's a perfectly obvious reason, but why are we standing here?"
Malon shivered—not from the cold, for it was another unusually warm night—but because they were standing at the far edge of the graveyard, in front of the memorial for the Royal Family. Link just stood there, thinking. "When I first came here," he explained, "I met two ghosts…"
"Ghosts???"
"…that told me I reminded them of Princess Zelda, that they could sense I had some connection to the Royal family. Then, when I went down into the Royal Tomb, I read this poem…The rising sun will eventually set, a newborn's life will fade…"
"I read that in one of the books I found in Zora's Domain," Malon interjected. "And Skorn said something like that when I first met him."
"…and Zelda even told me that I my name and I were somehow familiar the very first time we met. I never put it all together, but the clues have there since I left the forest."
Malon looked up at him, unsure what he was talking about. His eyes were wet, as if he were holding back tears.
"You were right, Malon. King Jax is my father."