It had only been two days since Nabooru's meeting with Skorn, but already she was being summoned to Rolondrof's tent. In her opinion, things were finally starting to look better. It was around noon when she the page found her and told her that Rolondrof requested her presence, and the sun shone clearly in the pale blue sky. She made her way through the camp, ignoring the fearful and angry glances the other soldiers shot at her. Impa would be circling around the long way. As she reached the large tent she paused before entering, go over the plan once more, searching for any faults. Finding none, she took a deep breath, straightened her back, and sauntered through the flap.
Rolondrof was sitting crossed legged in the center of the tent, still wrapped in his heavy dark robes, eyes closed. He opened them once she had taken several steps in. She placed one hand on her waist and tilted her hips seductively. He grinned wickedly up at her. "You're Ashnu, I presume."
"You presume correctly," she drawled, taking a step closer. "I've been waiting a long time to finally meet you. Your reputation is…shall we say…legendary."
His grin widened as he got to his feet. "Let me assure you that it is well deserved. Now," he removed his heavy top-cloak. "Shall we begin?"
* * *
Skorn watched patiently as the new recruits were led into the camp. He had thought that all the mercenaries in Hyrule and all the surrounding countries had already joined, but apparently there were always more skulltulas to crawl out of the woodwork. This batch looked just as disreputable as all the others.
Skorn despised the hiring of the mercs, believing that fighting for money was about as dishonorable as one could get. Still, contrary the beliefs of his brothers, he was neither stupid nor naïve because of his code of honor; he understood that this was the only way to achieve their vengeance on Zelda and the Sages, and that came before anything else he may want.
"Take them to the training ground," he ordered his sergeant, a tall, heavily built Lizaflos. "I wish to see their skill." The sergeant nodded and began herding the men and women towards the center of the camp. In the commotion, at the rear of the group, seven of the mercs subtly broke away from pack and began spreading themselves out around the camp, blending in with the other soldiers. At precisely the same moment, they began counting down.
* * *
Rolondrof was now stripped down to his undergarments, and Nabooru was as close to a state of panic as she had been in her entire life. Besides the fact that Rolondrof's scrawny body was far from attractive, she and Impa hadn't thought this part of the plan all the way through, and Nabooru's mind was scrambling for the next step. Planting what she hoped was a seductive expression on her face, she drawled, "Why so fast, my lord?"
Rolondrof paused, looking confused. "What I mean is that if you want something done right, you must be willing to be patient." She stepped up to him and pushed him not into a chair, a little rougher than she should have, perhaps. He stared up at her with an ugly expression of confusion and arousal. She then began swaying from side to side, dancing in a way she had seen Putnian whores do.
Apparently, Rolondrof had seen them also, because his expression immediately brightened. Nabooru fought back a wave of nausea as she began plotting how to get a piece of Rolondrof without killing him. Then again, the thought had more than small amount of appeal.
She was spared from that decision by the explosions.
* * *
"Put out those fires! Untie the horses! Quickly, quickly!" Skorn yelled the commands over the curses and screams of the soldiers as the fought back the fires the explosions had caused. He ran to where one of the catapults was about to collapse onto their bomb supply. Running under the beam, he caught it just as it was about to fall. Hefting the log aside, he began searching for any source of the explosions. All of their bombs were there, and any sabotage would have been noticed. Where could they have come from?
Then he saw them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a batch of the new recruits he had just met make their way through the crowd, towards the northern edge of the camp, and then he knew what had happened. Furious at the cowardly tactics Princess Zelda was stooping to, he unsheathed his massive sword from his back. He hurled the blade like a boomerang, and the blade spun through the air, easily clearing the twenty feet between them. The spinning blade decapitated two of the fleeing spies and landed point down a foot into the ground. The others stopped for a moment to see what had become of their comrades.
By that time Skorn was on them.
He grabbed two of them by the throat and smashed their heads together, killing them instantly. Two of the others drew their swords and charged, while the last continued to flee. Skorn blocked the first strike on his right gauntlet. He grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him right into Skorn's waiting fist. The man's legs buckled, lifeless, by Skorn maintained his hold on the man's sword arm. The last attacker, a woman, slashed at Skorn's waist, followed by a thrust across his torso. He easily blocked them, batting the woman's blade aside. Before she could regain her balance, he brought his own blade—still in the dead man's grip—down onto the woman's wrist.
The woman screamed in pain and grabbed the stump where her hand had once been. Skorn let the dead man drop and grabbed the woman by her tunic, lifting her off the ground until her eyes were level with his A small object fell from her tunic; a bombchu. Skorn looked down on the little bomb, then back up at the woman. "I hope you are satisfied," he said, his voice calm and even. "Five of your companions are dead, you have done little damage to our forces, and you are about to die. This cowardly attack has gained you nothing."
Though her face was clenched with pain, the woman managed a defiant grin. "The princess wanted to send you vermin a message," she growled. "We're not going to just lie down and let you walk all over us. This is our land—and we intend to fight for it." She then spat in Skorn's face.
His expression did not waver. He simply placed his free hand on the top of her head, waited a moment, and twisted. Dropping the lifeless husk to the ground, he retrieved his sword and made his way over to his brother's tent.
What he saw when he arrived was not at all what he expected.
Rolondrof was sprawled on the floor, unconscious, with a broken nose, a large bald patch on his head, and missing his right index finger. There was a large slash in the tent's rear wall.
Skorn leapt to his brother's side and lifted him off the ground, gently shaking him. Rolondrof groaned as he made his way back into consciousness. "Brother?" Skorn asked, "Brother, what happened here?"
The smaller man groaned again brought his hand up his nose. The action caused the pain of his missing finger to flare up again, and he cried out in pain, tears beginning to pour from his eyes. "That…that woman!" he croaked. "That bitch! When the explosions happened…she…she…hit me, and then…then…" He cried out in pain and frustration. "I'LL KILL HER!" he shrieked. "IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO I'LL KILL THEM ALL!"
* * *
Nabooru and Impa, mounted on Epona's back, rode swiftly north towards the castle. "You realize, of course, that you did not need to take his finger," Impa told her companion. "The hair will be more than enough for the king's antidote."
Nabooru, mounted behind Impa, was removing the fake nose and rubbing the make-up from her face. "I know," she replied with a grin. "But it was the least that little leever deserved. Next time he'll think twice before using a woman so callously." Epona whinnied her assent. "But what of those explosions?" Nabooru asked. "Your doing?"
"No," Impa replied. "But I must say the timing could not have been more perfect. The distraction was much needed."
"Indeed. But where did they come from?"
Impa was silent for a moment as she thought of the answer. When it came to her, she allowed herself a rare smile. "Zelda," she confirmed. "I am amazed she would think of such a tactic."
Nabooru was still confused. "What?"
"Infiltration," Impa explained, "Was one of the Sheikah's best tactics in their battle with Necron, before they disappeared from Hyrule. Small groups would infiltrate the enemy base and then sabotage it. Weapons, personnel, and the like. One method the used was known as 'shadow bombing'. They would slip in unnoticed, carrying bombs or bombchus in with them, and then spread themselves among the base, choosing spots where they could do the most damage. They would then detonate their bombs simultaneously, causing panic and destruction. Then the infiltrators would slip back out of the camp, before the enemy could catch them."
Nabooru nodded, impressed. "A clever trick. But what did Zelda hope to accomplish? Surely she did not think it would cause much damage."
"No," Impa agreed, "But that was not her intention. This attack was a warning. She is saying that Hyrule will not go gently into oblivion. She is telling Ganon and his brothers that we will not go out without a fight."
Nabooru laughed and slapped Impa on the shoulder. "My friend, that is the best news I have heard in weeks. Your ward will make quite a queen."
Impa felt her chest swell with pride, and again, she smiled. "Yes she will…yes she will…"
Epona once again whinnied her agreement, and drove them back towards the castle.
* * *
"Was it a success, do you think?"
"Don't worry, princess. Everything worked out fine."
Zelda, Saria, and Navi stood on a balcony in one of the palace's towers, looking out towards the setting sun. Saria and Navi had lost count of how many times Zelda had asked that question since morning. Zelda wrapped her cloak closer to her body as the evening chill set in, her golden hair streaming out from underneath the hood. Saria sat beside her on the railing, also cloaked, and Navi floated beside her, constantly on the move. It had been many years since she had seen Navi, but Zelda still remembered how energetic the little fairy had been the first time they had met.
The same day she had met Link.
"Navi," Zelda said, fighting back tears. "You said that you spent the last eight years living in the Sacred Realm, and that the goddesses had given you knowledge of the past."
"That's right."
"Do you…could you tell me of my past? Of why Link and I were separated at birth."
Navi's light dimmed a little, as if the question saddened her. For a moment Zelda thought that she wouldn't answer. But the fairy said, "Do you want to hear this too, Saria?"
"Of course," the Kokiri nodded. "He was like my brother as well. I'd like to know how he came to be."
Navi sighed a little, almost sad, and then began.
* * *
"To understand what happened, you have to understand this: the goddesses have watched your family very closely for over a thousand years, waiting for the day when their prophecies might come true. Over the ages, your ancestors have been fulfilling prophecies set down at the beginning of time, some good, some bad. Your father, for example, was destined to defeat the Stone King eighteen years ago and unite the people of Hyrule for the first time since the battle with Necron. And your mother…well, your mother's destiny is the reason you were born.
"Your mother was born in Kakariko Village. Her father owned one of the shops in the town, and her mother was a fortuneteller, a mystic. It was the mother who foresaw the path her daughter, Sanna, would take. She raised her in the arts of healing, teaching her to be calm, composed, accepting. She knew that Sanna would die delivering you and your brother to your destinies, so she did her best to raise Sanna with the knowledge that the goddesses were always watching after her, that everything that happened to her was a part of their greater plan.
"Years later, before your father, Jax, defeated the Stone King and became king, Sanna was making a delivery for her father to Jax's village, a small farming community. As she was about to leave for home, Moblins under orders from the Stone King attacked the village. Jax saved your mother, along with the rest of the village. Now, your mother was deeply connected to the magic of this world, though that power was latent within her. She had a sense—a feeling deep down within her—that the brave young man who had saved her was the man she was supposed to be with. She stayed with him in the village repairing the damaged the Moblins had caused. Shortly after, they were married.
"When the Stone King began his campaign of dominance over Hyrule, your father lead the resistance. Sanna was pregnant with you and Link. Ulpa and Impa, the last remaining Sheikah, were friends of your father, and Jax had asked Ulpa to watch over you while he led the final attack on the Stone King. Impa was away in Kakariko, leading the battle there.
"Unfortunately, the Stone King struck first, and your father's forces were caught off guard. He begged Ulpa to take your mother to Kakariko to stay under the Sheikah's combined protection. After much arguing, she agreed. It was the last time they ever saw each other.
"They were far south, close to Lake Hylia, and their journey was long, as they had to avoid the Stone King's forces. Your mother gave birth to you and Link in the wild, at the southern borders of the Lost Woods. Sanna had just enough time to name you before she met her destiny. The Stone King's Golems came on Sanna and Ulpa several days after your birth and attacked. Sanna's power awakened within her, and she realized the roles her children would one day play in the goddesses' plan. Taking Link, she ordered Ulpa to leave her, to take you back to your father. Ulpa refused, and Sanna used her incredible power to teleport you and Ulpa a safe distance away from that spot, closer now to Jax then you were to her. Ulpa finally obeyed a carried you back to your father, though the effort and the trials ultimately killed her.
"Meanwhile, your mother fled with Link deep into the forest. The Golems gave chase, but through the combined magic of your mother and the forest, they were destroyed by the creatures of the Lost Woods, but not before Sanna had been fatally wounded. She fled further and further into the forest, her magic pulling her in the direction she was meant to go. Finally, she reached the Kokiri Village. Shocked to see on of the 'Big People' in their home, the Kokiri brought the injured woman before the Great Deku Tree. Sanna begged the Tree to take Link, to care for him. The Great Deku Tree realized Link's importance and agreed, and for the first time in the history of our world, a Hylian was accepted into the forest.
"Your mother died shortly after, and the Kokiri buried her before the roots of the Great Deku Tree, in order to spare her the curse of the Staflos that befalls all who enter the Lost Woods. Link was raised with the latest batch of Kokiri created by the Tree, the batch including Saria and Mido. The Tree never revealed his mother's fate, nor that of his father or his sister, who made it safely back to Jax and became the princess of Hyrule.
"That is your story. The story of how one man's courage and one woman's love gave birth to not only a nation, but to the two children who would one day decide its fate.
"That day is now."
* * *
Navi fell silent. Zelda's head was lowered as her tears fell far to the ground. Saria was also crying, her small arm wrapped around Zelda's shoulders. "I'm sorry," the fairy whispered, fighting back her own tears. "I wish there could have been an easier way to tell you."
"There is no easy way to talk about death," Zelda sobbed. "Especially a death that stemmed from love." She looked up at Navi, eyes bloodshot and cheeks streaked with tears. "I've waited my entire life to know how my mother died. Now I do. Thank-you, Navi."
"What about her grandparents?" Saria asked, wiping her eyes. "What happened to them?"
"They died during the War of Unification," Navi replied. "Zelda is now the last of her line."
"Sisters?"
The three women turned to face Darunia. He looked extremely uncomfortable at the situation and lowered his eyes. "Im…Impa and Nabooru have returned. Their mission was a success, along with the attack. The first battle is ours."
Zelda and Saria exchanged glances that the Goron chief could not read. Then, wiping the tears from her eyes, Zelda stood tall, the hood falling from her head. The waning sun created a halo around her body, as if the goddesses themselves had been reincarnated in her. When she spoke, her voice was firm and steady. "Thank-you, Darunia. Now, let's go. We must save my father before Rolondrof has a chance to strike back at us. I may be the last of my line, but by the goddesses, I will not be the only one."
* * *
"Well, Shrike, it has been two days, and we have yet to free our comrades. And after seeing this, I am afraid that task may be damned near impossible."
"Nothing is impossible Mattalla," Shrike assured his friend. He poked his head up over the ledge once more, then brought it back down and sighed. "Hellishly difficult, but never impossible."
The remaining Chosen were on a high ledge over looking the citadel of the Horik-tai, a massive structure that seemed to be a melding of trees and stone. Horik-tai were crawling all over the battlements, and their waspish steeds kept a firm aerial lookout. Shrike and Mattalla had found the fortress on the first day of their pursuit, and had spent the remainder of their time trying to figure out a rescue plan.
"If the castle lay-out is like every other castle, then our friends are most likely being held in a lower level," Mattalla observed. "Our best plan would be to find a way in through the sewage system."
"Assuming they even have one," Shrike pointed out. "But getting in isn't the problem. They real trouble will come when we have to sneak three extra people out."
Mattalla sighed deeply in frustration. "Agreed. Does your Sheikah training give you any idea on how to quietly storm a hostile fortress and then quietly escape?"
Shrike shook his head. "Unfortunately, no."
"Neither has it taught you sense an enemy."
Neither Shrike nor Mattalla had a chance to see from where the new voice had come; both their worlds faded into darkness.
* * *
Bazillo watched as Shrike and Mattalla were carried off deeper into the swamp. The little sprite was crouched in the branches of a tree, hidden from sight. "Hmm, an interesting turn of events this is, a whole new shadow unto this shady biz," he mused, stroking the bottom of his beak. "Hmm, faced with a puzzle now, poor Bazillo be, the solution of which may affect his strange destiny. Go with those two to make sure they don't fight, or aid the red-headed one and her friends in their plight."
He sat there a few moments longer, trying to choose the best course of action. He should never have let Navi talk him into this scheme, he thought. Bazillo preferred to watch events from the sidelines, as he had been doing for thousands of years. Now he was being asked to take an active role in the goddesses' plans, for which the repercussions might be disastrous. In other words, this was no position for any self-respecting sprite to be in.
Finally making a decision, Bazillo sighed and leapt off the tree in the direction of the citadel. "Hmm, you're stuck in it now, Bazillo my friend. So I might as well see it through to the whole bitter end."
