Prince of Shadows.
By Princemajora
Chapter 3
Revelations.
Vesan gave a weary sigh. She felt worse then when her abilities first appeared, the same time as puberty, and everybody knows what a living nightmare that is! Try having to deal and begin to understand the powers her family was known for. Communing with the spirit world. Gaining knowledge from ancestors. And of course, the visions given to her through dreams. If it were not for her mother, goddesses rest her, she would of been lost. She had had some real soul shaking dreams back then, but they were as nothing compared to the one she was given the night just past. Never had it been so vivid, so realistic, she could see the blood on the ground, hear the anguished cries and clash of weapons, smell the sickening mix of sweat and blood in the air. As if she was really there. Was it a vision of the bloody past of Hyrule? No, she knew in her heart of hearts, this had been a vision of the horror to come. The question before her was, could she prevent it?
Nesar looked with a concerned eye at his head adviser, and long time friend. They had known each other for years; they met back when Vesan's mother was one of his father's advisers. His father pooh-poohed the abilities they are known for, saying it was "A complete load of cow pat." Even though it had been proven many times, abilities that only run in certain families were common, his own having great talent in certain magic's. The stubbornness of some people like his old fashioned father still amazed him today. Even if he did get a bit stubborn from time to time, if he was right, Maybe the apple does not fall far after all and he was more like his old man than he would care to admit.
"Care to talk about it?" Nesar spoke in a soft, reassuring manner. Leaning forward in his seat, holding one of her hands, and resting the other on her knee, trying to coax the story out of her. Knowing it must have been a real bad one for her to be so shaken. He had know her a while, and never been so afraid for his friend.
Vesar turned her head towards him sharply, her eyes narrowing into a glare directed at him and pulled her hand out of Nesar's grasp. "Of course I do! Why else would I be here to meet with you?" She cried sharply her voice dripping with something close to sarcasm. Then, as soon as it had come, the rage quickly subsided into nothingness. Slowly Vesan turned her head back to looking blankly out the window, biting her lip tensely. Vesan raised her shaking hands to her head, rubbing her temples in slow circles, as if to push the pounding headache and evil memories right out of her head. "I'm sorry Nesar, I'm just so terrified, It was just...just so awful. So.... gruesome and...Just...just....... evil." Her eyes began to fill with eye stinging tears, remembering the pure terror she had felt, the bloodshed she had witnessed. Her friend was by her side in an instant, reassuring her as best he knew how.
"Sshhhhhh, Vesan please, if it's so awful, tell me so I may fix the situation." He said in the calmest voice he could muster, not only as a king, but also as a worried friend. "What was it that has frightened you so? Was it a vision of war?" Nesar bit his left index fingernail, fearing the answer.
Vesan's head turned slowly, her tear streaked face looking up at her beloved friend, remembering what she saw of his fate in the vision, and fought back more tears. "No, this was not war, war is organized, and there are rules of war. This was slaughter, unbridled, vicious murder, to all our people, women and children as well as men, none were spared, not one." Her face fell into her hands as the tears came again. Unseen seen to her, Nesar's face had turned the purest shade of white. A giant knot of terror building not only in his throat, but also in the depths of his heart.
On the other side of the castle, a pregnant, emotional, and very annoyed queen was causing havoc for all around her. And Faore help whoever stood in her way!
"What the hell is going on!!" She screamed at the guard at the door leading out of the royal master bedroom. While hurling another pillow from the bed at the poor man's head. "I am the queen for heavens sake! I hold a seat in the court! I have, no I demand an answer this very second, or there will be untold amounts trouble for whoever is in my way!" She paced around the room once more, wondering why in Nayru's name she of all people was confined to her room till the dinner. She had come out of the bathroom about two hours before, and told by this no name guard that she is not to leave the room! Renee was so tired of being babied because of her "condition". Yeah, sure, she may be a bit hard to deal with at the moment, but she was still queen, and should be treated as such! Renee gave another glare of death at the guard before her and said in a deathly quiet voice. "If you do not tell me this very instant what is going on, you will know pain of which you have never imagined could exist before!"
The guard was trembling slightly and sweat was starting to form on his brow. The queen was a wonderful woman, kind and generous, but since she fell pregnant, she was a very dangerous woman. He swallowed hard and fiddled with the sleeves of his uniform for a moment. "Your majesty, some messengers have arrived with bad news from the court of Hyrule. An emergency meeting of the court was held, and his majesty thought it better not to put any unnecessary stress on you so close to the end of your pregnancy. And that is all I know, Queen Renee, I swear!"
At hearing this, Renee's demure changed instantly, Her expression going soft and a she let out a small "aaawww" sound. She held her belly softly and walked across the room and sat back down onto the large bed, and slowly eased herself into a laying position. A huge smile graced Renee's lips, and tears formed in her already red eyes. "Did you hear that little one? Your daddy really cares about you and me, making sure we don't have any hiccups before your big day. He is always thinking of others, never himself, what a man, Oh how I love him so" She shifted slightly and scanned the room for her writing things. Remembering that she had not picked a good name for the child. Seeing it on the desk across the room, she strained to raise herself off the bed and walked slowly across the room. Reaching over and looking down the list, seeing that somebody had crossed out all her names, and circled just one. "Nesar" She whispered. "He must have picked it up when I ran to the bathroom." She ran her finger under the name he had chosen. "Majora" She said softly, "It is a fine name for a prince." Her eyes welling up again. She lowered her free had to run a hand over her large stomach. "Did you hear that, your name could be Majora." As if her unborn child had heard and approved of the choice, a few small bumps were felt just above her navel. "Well ok then, if you approve, then Majora it shall be, little prince." Her smile continued to broaden, her bad mood forgotten. She turned to the guard. "You may go into the hallway, I will now be dressing for dinner.." Renee said noticing that the sun was beginning to vanish below the horizon in the west.
The guard bowed slightly and murmured a quiet "Yes your majesty" And quickly moved himself to the other side of the door, not wanting to risk ruining the queen's good mood, and suffering her violent wrath.
Far below these happenings, the elder of the two Hylian messengers, who was walking slowly around the courtyard. His name was Lance, a thirty four year old messenger for the Hylian court. As the daylight was fleeting, Lance thought it best to find his young assistant and prepare for the evening meal. Walking with a faster pace, he headed for the last place he saw the young man, the castle library on the ground floor. Going briskly down the corridor towards the grand double doors that were the entrance to the library, the doors much the same to the throne room. As he pushed open the wooden doors, a moment of thought went to his wife and daughter, hoping they were well.
The younger of the too, A young man of nineteen, was a mere assistant. Saving the merger pay to become more educated, for his dream was to one day become a scribe. He had marveled at the sheer size of the Shiekah castle library. It's many shelves full to bursting point with volume after volume on almost any subject you could imagine. From history to myths, botany to horse raising. Scribes were well known for collecting all kinds of information from all corners of the world, the spies of the town being interrogated by them at every chance. So there he sat, on one of the reading tables, surrounded by piles of highly stack books. He had read many volumes of the Hyrule library's collection, but these were all new to him, he could of stayed there for days, completely content.
"Roy? Roy you boring book worm, are you in here?" The young man raised his head and brushed some red locks out of his face upon hearing his name. A few "Sshhh!" and a "Please lower you voice sir" from the hard working scribes could be heard. "Sorry, sorry" Lance murmured.
"Over hear Lance, near the windows." Roy called out softly. The desk he sat at was right in front of the tall windows on the west side of the room, over looking the town itself. He raised himself out of the chair, waving an arm to catch the attention of his friend and boss.
"Din above Roy!" Lance exclaimed when he saw the amount of books on the table; He picked up one and flicked through it for a moment. His eyes wide with disbelief. "Cucco Raising? It does not get more dull than that sonny boy." He threw the book back onto the pile with disinterest. "Well, pack it up, it's about time we got ready for dinner."
"What do you mean? It can't be that late!" Roy exclaimed in disbelief. He spun around in the chair and looked out the window, seeing the state of the sun. "Oh.... I guess time really flies when your having fun huh?" I embarrassed smile crossing his face.
Lance rolled his eyes. "Fun? How can a strapping young man like yourself find books fun? You could be a solder, a spy, or a messenger, but instead you bury your nose into these boring books." He made a face at his young ward.
"Well I find it fun, even if you don't!" Roy said with a huff. He walked towards the door in a rush. "Come on or we will miss dinner." He said with is nose in the air. His face slightly flushed.
Lance looked at his partners back with an odd look. "Did I say something wrong?" He shrugged and flowed Roy up to their rooms to dress for the coming meal.
Back upstairs in the king's tearoom, Vesan was beginning to recompose herself. "And that was it." She said with a final sob. "Everybody I know and love, you, Renee, and above all my daughter! I saw her Nesar, I saw my beautiful angel Cora murdered! In cold blood!" The sobs began once more. Nesar once again tried to console his friend and head advisor. "It will all be fine Vesan, I will do everything and anything to stop this from happening, the spirit world has given you this vision so you can stop it from coming to pass!"
Vesan's sobbing continued. "But what if Nesar, what if it was a warning, a warning to stop, to hide, or to run! The other races fear us! And with our alliance with the Hylians, we are a target! We have the capabilities! We have the choice! Let the Shiekah run Nesar, let us hide, stay out of this war, the Gerudo wants the Hylian's, Let them fight there own battles! We cannot risk ourselves for them! If we go to war Nesar we will die, it's that simple." Vesan said in a now deadly cold voice.
"Is that your advice as a friend and concerned mother? Or as the head advisor to the king of the Shiekah?" Nesar asked in a quiet voice, his hands trembling at the fear he felt deep inside, fear for his family, and his people.
Vesar took a breath and composed herself once more. She stood and straightened her hair and clothes. "I say it as both Nesar, but if you wish, yes, that is my official position on the matter, and I will make this clear at the meeting after dinner. The usually joyful Vesan was gone, chased away by fear. "I stand against war, no matter what the argument, I have seen what will become of it."
Nesar sighed deeply and also rose from his chair. "I shall take this into account Vesan, but I do not want to abandon our Hylian brothers. I signed that treaty, and I will protect our people at the same time, without betraying the alliance. That is what I believe I the right thing to do." He nodded firmly.
She looked at him cynically. "Even at the cost of not only your life, but your wife's, your people, and your un-born son?!" Vesan almost shouted. And stated towards the door. "I shall see you at dinner." She said quietly as she left the king by himself.
"I will have a son?" Nesar whispered. All thoughts of war and violence left his head, if only for a moment, his mind coming back to the peace of the morning. "Majora" He whispered.