Chapter 22

Anju let out a deep breath, not realising for how long she had let it well up from inside, as she smoothed the hair of her sleeping son, Hobert. Sunlight flitted in through the curtains, rays of warmth that fell on the makeshift crib. The rest of the room, where the sun's breath did not touch, was still cold.

Angry voices floated up from the lower level of the Harkinian safehouse. Anju closed her eyes, wincing in pain. Another argument. Sometimes she wondered why no-one had discovered them, so loud were their sharp voices. It had been bad for all them. The constant waiting, the cramped environment - she marvelled at the fact that the whole Harkinian family, including herself and her son, had managed to live here for so long in such relative harmony.

Softly she padded her way to the door, a habit that she had acquired first from her marriage, and second from the birth of her son. Men, she realised, did not like to be woken, whether they were babes in a crib or fully grown adults. A wry thought slipped into her mind. Was there really any difference?

The wooden steps creaked under her feet as she made her way down, their protests mirroring the aches she felt from her weary body. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally. The events of the past few months and aged her; indeed, sometimes she would glance at her reflection in a passing window and be startled at what she saw. She no longer recognised her own self.

The voices grew louder as she reached the bottom and Anju imagined that she could feel a changing in the atmosphere, as though the air itself had become more tense, charged with nervous energy. It was a silly thought, she knew. They'd been waiting for - how long was it now? She shook her head, having lost track of time. Every day in the safehouse was so alike in its mundaneness that she could no longer differentiate between them. But, yes, they'd been waiting for a long time for the King's allies to arrive. Hope was no longer a familiar friend to her, and she faced each day with a numb sense of acceptance. Only the thought of her son prodded her to pull herself out of bed every morning.

She recognised the sensation. She'd seen it amongst the Harkinians, and amongst those women whose husbands beat them and amongst young men whose attentions were not returned by the objects of their desires. The physicians in the city had a name for the illness - Black Melancholy.

Then, as abruptly as she had thought about it, she dismissed it with a laugh. No. She wasn't sick. She was perfectly normal. It was those around her who were sick, and it fell on her to show them how to heal themselves. Bolstered by this notion, she entered the main room where the argument was being held.

Heads turned at her presence, their voices trailing off. Perhaps it was the way Anju was now carrying herself, perhaps it was the determination that had set on her face, but all of them seemed to be waiting for her to make some sort of grand pronouncement. Anju almost laughed again.

"How are you, lassie?" Fran asked. He sat at one side of the room, a significant distance between him and the King, with Mystral resting her head on his shoulder.

Anju tried to force the strength into her voice so she wouldn't reveal how tired she actually was. "I'm well. And you?"

Smiling, Fran bowed his head slightly. "As well as can be expected."

"The child," Montero said, Impa by his side. "You put him to sleep?"

"Yes," Anju replied, her voice testy. "Not that you've ever shown him any concern." She turned to capture all of them with her stare. "You'll wake him up with your petty disputes. At least let one person in this house have some peace." It was gratifying to her to see some of their heads drop, though she had known that it would only be Mystral and Fran who would do so. "What, pray tell, has irritated you all now?" Acid flooded her voice. "Can't decide which one us women will wash your clothes? Or perhaps you wish we were your mothers, ready and willing to coddle you? Is that it? Are you envious of Hobert because of that?"

Her words were aimed at her husband and the King, since the two of them were usually the instigators of any disruption. It was, with a nervous cough to attract attention, Kafei who replied. "I wanted the two of us to run food errands today instead of Fran and Impa. I thought it would be good for us to taste some fresh air and be out of this house for a while."

As usual, whenever Anju regarded her husband, her heart was conflicted with both intense hatred and pitying tenderness. Hatred that he had so callously betrayed the Harkinians, tenderness that everything he did was just so he could protect her and Hobert. It made her both swoon and feel sick at the same time. She seethed inwardly. Foolish man! And here, again, he was displaying that side of him, that caring heart that had drawn her to him so long ago. How could one person be so cruel and kind all at once?

"And I forbid it," the King interjected. His eyes honed in on Anju. "I know you. You'll want to take your son with you." His mouth twitched. "You don't trust us with him.."

"That, at least, is true," she replied.

He hissed, rolling his eyes. "And that is exactly why I won't allow it. The baby will be a liability. What if he starts crying? He'll draw attention to you, and that could draw attention to us."

Anju took a step forward, her eyes flashing. "In case it hasn't caught your attention," she spat, "a Hylian now rules this city. Not you. You can't forbid or permit me to do anything."

Montero's face drained of colour as Mystral gasped in the background. Anju didn't know exactly what had prompted her to say those words, but the irritation she felt towards most of the people in that room at that moment had become almost unbearable. She was determined to hold her ground in this clash. She was determined to show them that she wasn't some shy, retiring good wife who let her husband run her life for her.

Impa rose slightly. "His Majesty is concerned for all of us. That is all." It was clear to Anju that the young woman was moving swiftly to dampen the situation. She must have had a lot of experience to be able to react so calmly.

Anju opened her mouth to reply, but a movement from the King cut her off. Turning his face away, Montero dismissed her haughtily. "Be quick about it."

Anju blinked in surprise. Had she just won? And had she won so easily? Kafei, a grin perched on his face, gave her no time to ponder, taking her by the arm and pulling her out of the room. As she left, she managed to catch glimpses of Mystral smiling and the King scowling.

"Get Hobert!" he said, his eyes twinkling. His enthusiasm was infectious, and Anju even felt her heart soften to him once more. Smiling, she bounded up the stairs, gently picked up her slumbering son, and rejoined her husband outside.

Anju heard a call from behind her, and turned to see Mystral's beaming face. "Here," the woman said, pushing a bag of coin into Kafei's hands, "you'll need this." Now she turned to Anju, curling her fingers around her hands. "I have a feeling this will be good for the two of you," she said softly. Anju smiled, feeling touched by the hope she detected in Mystral's voice. For a moment she wondered who exactly this woman really was - how could Mystral so easily overlook Kafei's actions to care only about the state of Anju's marriage to him? It was too late for her to ask, even if she had wanted to, as Mystral darted back into the house,closing the door behind her.

Kafei's good humour hadn't left him. "Thank you, dear," he said, guiding Anju into the familiar streets of New Hyrule. The bag of coin now hung from his belt, tinkling with every step.

"For what?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.

He turned to her, an expression of pure adoration on his face. "For standing up for me in front of the King." He sighed contentedly, a proud gesture. "That's the girl I remember marrying. The one who would be a rock by my side no matter what."

Anju opened her mouth to reply, then thought better of it. He obviously thought that her little display of defiance had been for him and not for her own gratification. Seeing how happy he was, she didn't have the heart to tell him otherwise. She'd been married too long now to know that sometimes men needed boosts to their hearts like this, and it was far better - and far more convenient to marital peace -to let them think that they were, indeed, the center of the world like each of them truly believed themselves to be.

Shifting her son from one arm to another, they strode down the narrow pathways. This was supposed to be the Kokiri Quarter, but Anju realised that she had seen very few of the original inhabitants. Everywhere she looked she spotted her fellow Hylians, the tell-tale curve to their ears a sharp reminder of the change in the balance of power. No longer were she and her husband the odd ones out here. Now they fit in perfectly, though the pangs of alienation they felt bit deeper.

"Come." Anju raised her head at the sound of her husband's voice and saw that he had his arm outstretched invitingly. She tried to scowl, wanting to curse him for his foolishness, but found herself smiling instead. Again, the conflict bubbled inside - who had she married exactly? Who was this kind, cruel, honest, treacherous man?

Giving in with a mock-scowl, Anju settled herself in beside him, letting his arm curl around her. Her head resting against his shoulder, they walked along in silence, their quiet companionship not needing any words. She felt his heart beating in his chest, and breathed in deeply, savouring the serenity of the moment. Here, with her husband and her son, everything was at peace. Here was harmony. Here she was complete.

"Remember that?" Kafei said, pointing.

Anju strained to see what he was referring to, and smiled as her eyes came to rest on a small flower stall, once owned by a Kokiri, but now tendered by a Hylian. It was here that Kafei would come every day, buying a different flower each time, trying to win her over. It was a game that she had set - if he could buy her her favourite flower, she would then agree to speak to him. She'd been flattered by the attention and wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. The game, hastily devised as it was, lent her a little more time to ponder over things. In the end, the decision was taken out of her hands as Kafei, in a pique of frustration at being rebuffed every single day, finally bought all the flowers in the shop, the act itself costing him a month's salary.

The memory brought a laugh flying from Anju's mouth, and she quickly had to shush her son back to sleep, so disturbed he was by the sudden noise. Kafei chuckled, too, and she knew, without even having to ask him, that he had been recalling the same thing as her.

Anju curled her a strand of her around her finger. "I remember. You were so obsessed." Her teeth flashed in a smile, indicating that she was teasing. "I should have called the authorities."

Kafei threw back his head and laughed. "But you didn't," he said. "You couldn't hold back what you felt inside. Admit it."

Eyebrow arching, Anju looked at him with mock-surprise. "My, how sure you are of yourself," she said. "What if I had a stream of suitors with which I played the same game? What if I was bored and wanted to pick and choose?"

Her husband chuckled in response. "You didn't. And you wasn't," he said. "Even back then, I knew you well."

"Oh, you know me, do you?"

Kafei nodded, grinning.

"Well, tell me this," she said, her eyes narrowing, but her smile growing. "Exactly what is my favourite flower?"

Throwing back his head once more, Kafei laughed, a deep, throaty sound full of real joy. Anju grinned at his response. With a wave of his hand, Kafei gestured for her to follow. Anju's grin never left her face as she realised what he meant to do, though, at the same time, she knew it was wrong.

"Don't!" she protested weakly. "We don't have enough money."

He turned to her, a stern look in his eyes. "Madam," he said, the corners of his mouth quivering as he tried to stop himself from smiling. "I will not be challenged like that and not be allowed to respond."

Anju giggled, a girlish response that she'd thought she'd left long behind. Kafei reached the flower stall and stopped. His hand hovered over one yellow petalled stem, his face wrinkled in deep thought. Anju raised another eyebrow while she waited. Then, with a dramatic flourish, he turned around, winked at his wife, and plucked the correct flower - a purple rose - from the display.

Handing over the money, Kafei turned back to her and, his eyes filled with tenderness, pushed the stem into Anju's hair. She felt herself blush. How long had it been since she'd felt like this? "Thank you," she whispered.

They continued in silence for a while, before her husband said softly, "I have to credit him with some gumption," They walked on slowly as Anju waited for him to continue. "I never thought he'd be able to achieve all this."

A frown creased her forehead. "Who?"

"Servion," Kafei replied, looking around. "It almost makes me proud to be a Hylian."

A sour taste coated Anju's tongue as she was jolted rudely back into reality. "I'm not proud," she spat. A cocktail of anger and bitterness swirled in her heart as she recalled Kafei's betrayal. She suddenly felt very cold, her earlier goodwill evaporating. "How could you do that to them? They were your family."

He didn't reply, nor had she expected him to. They'd had this conversation many many times in the past few months, and it always ended in raised voices and sharp words. Her eyes dropped to the floor, Anju suddenly finding the dirt collecting on the hem of her swishing skirts far more appealing than anything else.

"You are my family." Kafei's whispered words broke Anju out of her musings. She didn't take any comfort out of them. He'd said the same thing before, and all it had done, despite him not realising it, was to make her feel worse. Guilt gnawed at her - if she hadn't entered his life, the Harkinians would still be alive now. It made her head whirl just thinking about it; and she felt the curdled taste of bile rise from the very pit of her stomach to her throat.

Anju, recalling her previous life in the Hylian Quarter, wondered if she knew any of the conquerers. She'd spent most of her life there, knew most of the people, too, until, when she had reached her sixteenth summer, she'd been whisked away from her father to live with Kafei and the Harkinians. She'd not missed her father much, her mother having died long ago. She was her father's only child and his presence in her life had been cold, as though he could physically suck the life from everything around him. No, she hadn't missed him, and the hollowness in her heart that had resulted from her life with him had been easily filled by Kafei's attention. She, too, had sacrificed her family for her beloved. Now she wondered if it all had really been worth it after all.

Kafei stopped, his arm dropping from her shoulders. The chill rushed in on her instantly, but she shrugged it off. In front of them was a stall selling, amongst other things, bread, fruit, cheese and water. It was enough for them. Fran and Impa had scouted the city during their first day in the safehouse, marking all the places where they could buy food. They had decided that they would not buy from the same place twice. That way, no one would easily remember them.

Fran had carried some coin with him, but mostly they had had to sell some of the remaining furniture in the safehouse in order to raise some money. Soon that, too, would run out. Anju hoped that the King's allies arrived before then, though she knew that even that was an unpleasant prospect. Instinctively she tightened her grip on her son - how was she to protect Hobert from the bloodbath that was certain to come?

After much bartering Kafei had bought himself a sizeable amount of food to carry home. Anju studied the package carefully, her mind quickly calculating. It would last three days, maybe a little more.

Kafei turned to her, his arm curling around her once more, and smiled. Her heart tugged as she saw the lines around his eyes, saw the tired expression engraved on his face. Once more, she felt her emotions battle within her heart.

"Let's go," he said. "It was nice to see everything once more, don't you think?"

Anju nodded, offering no words.

"Aren't you glad," he continued, "that I insisted on this?"

She wasn't going to correct him on exactly who had been responsible for this little outing. "I'm glad," she said, her voice sincere. "It seems so long since we had time to ourselves."

"Oh, don't worry," Kafei said, his spirits rising. "Once this is over, we'll have only ourselves to care about, only ourselves to share the rest of time with. I promise you." He faced her, and the earnest flush to his face made him seem ever so innocent. All his fatigue had melted away, leaving the young man that she'd once wished to spend the rest of her days with. It made Anju want to cry.

Looking away, they walked back to the safehouse, the sky turning violet from the approaching twilight. The Hylian traders began to pack up their wares, their windows snapping shut as thick, rusted bolts slid across their doors. The breeze pushed gently, scattering dust, paper, and broken pieces of wood. Darkness was falling like a shroud, but it had no effect on the couple. They continued their conversation; to an outsider, it would have seemed dull and empty, but to the two of them it was filled with meaning and memories, especially as they pointed out to each other signposts from their shared past. It occurred to Anju, at that precise moment, that it would be very difficult for her to leave him, so entwined were their two lives.

Kafei's arm suddenly stiffened, and Anju's eyes darted up to meet his, noticing the colour draining from his face. "What is it?" she asked, her heart thumping.

"We're being followed!" he hissed.

Throwing a quick glance behind her, Anju spotted Servion's guards closing in on them at a rapid pace. The shadow of fear fell on her heart, a grinning face that threatened to snatch away her small moments of happiness. How had they recognised them? How had they known they were here?

Her husband grasped her her wrist and tugged, making her cry out in surprise. "Run!" he snapped.

Hot blood rushed to her head as they set off. She heard a cry from behind them and knew that they'd been spotted. Tears fell as Hobert's eyes snapped open in panic. She pulled him tighter to her as he began to wail. The surrounding Hylians, confused at the spectacle, parted so as not to hinder the soldiers' chase.

Despite the panic coursing through her veins, Anju couldn't help but feel this to be a familiar experience. It was just like that night when a Hylian Royal Assassin had almost killed Kafei. Onwards they ran, their boots slapping against the cobbled streets, darting in and out of a throng of people either too slow or too mesmerised to move out of their way. Past the silk market they went, crowded with higher class women, through the Kokiri Quarter gate, ignoring the stares from the guards, past the sweetmeat market, the heady scents watering their mouths, but not soothing their burning throats.

A myriad faces flew past; the cheerful smirks from the children, the women weaving in and out, their large, long lashed eyes twinkling out from beneath their scarves, and the scowling traders, honey pouring from their tongues as they tried to coax people to buy their wares, pausing only to scratch their large bellies and occasionally belch.

Anju, her head swimming and her lungs straining from all the effort, pushed the muscles of her aching legs to breaking point. Kafei guided them, taking a sharp left down a narrow alleyway, then lurching to the right to enter a dimly lit, deserted alcove. They stopped, laying back against the crumbling wall and gasping for breath. Kafei looked over at her and smiled. She responded in kind, relieved that they had escaped.

He reached out for her, and their fingertips touched. The solid reality was comforting.

"It's alright," he cooed softly. "Everything will be alright."

She nodded out of instinct. She believed him; she needed to believe him. There was no one here. It was completely deserted. At least, it had appeared to be deserted.

Anju shrieked as the soldiers dropped from the sky. Her mind screamed in terror - how had they done that? Could they now fly?

Eyes as hard as diamonds bore down on the small family. One of the soldiers, clearly the leader judging by his clothing, stepped forward, signalling. A chorus of menacing hums rang through the air as the Hylians activated their crossbows. Anju felt hot sweat pour down her forehead and cold ice trickle in her heart.

The leader stepped forward, his crossbow aimed at Anju. "Look at this, a pair of traitors." He cocked his head at Kafei. "A double traitor, too." He waited for the smattering of laughter to die out. "Where are the others?"

Dread pounded Anju's mind as the steel tip of the arrow loomed large in her eyes. Somewhere in the back of her panic-wracked brain, she felt a sense of dark foreboding. Kafei! Kafei would betray the others to save her! "No!" she cried. "Don't tell them! Please, it's not worth it! I'm not worth it!"

Her vision flashed red for a heartbeat as she felt the slap sting her cheek. Blood rushed into her mouth.

"They're..." She recognised the voice as the sky continued to spin. It was her husband - sounding broken, forlorn and utterly defeated. "They're in the Harkinian safehouse."

"No..." she moaned, gasping.

"Excellent," a smug voice said.

Horror slammed into her confused heart as she heard the crack of a crossbow igniting; once, twice. She heard her husband grunt, then heard something heavy slump to the ground.

Anju stopped thinking. She just simply stopped thinking. She knew that, if she were to let her mind complete its thoughts, she would go insane. Somewhere a baby cried, and her soul split in two. Memories flooded her. Happiness, because of the birth of a new-born. Pride, as she cradled him in her arms. The baby screamed again. Why wasn't someone caring for the baby? What wretched parents he had!

Words bubbled to her lips, though she no longer knew what they meant or why she was saying them. "But I love you, Kafei."

Looking up, Anju could only see a grey landscape. Sharp, steely mountains stared back at her. Dimly, she remembered that she'd been in this exact same position sometime in the past. That time, she had been granted a reprieve. This time, she realised with dark certainty, there would be no such escape.

Anju heard a splintering crack before her world turned white, then red, then collapsed into darkness.