VI
Link awoke with a gasp, the frigid air coiling about his lungs, choking him as he pulled himself upright from his cot. With a groan, he realized he wasn't in his own lovely quarters-but the dank dungeon cells underground. The noises cascaded down the halls of inmates much like it was a zoo-but there had never been enough crime in the city to have so many prisoners. Link bit his lip. Were people erupting into chaos? Were they seeing his visions, too? Were they losing control-even sanity?
On shaky legs, he grasped the railings of his cell and leaned heavily against them. Every part of his body felt so numb, and in the dark, hellish dungeon, he couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not. Townspeople speculated that there were so many deaths in the dungeon because of unsanitary conditions, they said, large rats that ate the flesh off the living bones of people. He shuddered, extending his arms through the cage, weakly gasping for help. Others chimed the same plea in the cells around him. Many looked like fine gentlemen-politicians, perhaps, all of Hyrule's finest wizards, even certain women. One of them caught his eyes, her lips puckered into a docile, exasperated frown. A grin washed over his face as he fled towards her, although the woman was more than two cells away.
"Impa," he beckoned softly. She didn't look too pleased to see him in her same squalor. Her hair was unkempt, greased in unruly directions, her skin was blotted with black patches of filth and grime, and her body looked terribly weak. She sank back onto a cot.
"I-I suppose they have found you too, Link."
He pressed his face to his cell bars. Something was terribly wrong.
"Impa, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing. I've done nothing at all that I know of. I was there, playing Zelda's lullaby in my quarters, and then these strange men came into my room. No, they were very large men, wearing the blackest armor I have ever seen-perhaps His Majesty decided black would be more tasteful a color," she said sourly. "As I was being dragged down here, I overheard men saying that since The Navean Prince has postponed his excavation of Death Mountain, he's decided to make an extended residence herein the Castle to assist the King with his decisions."
Anger arose through Link's veins. He had done everything in an attempt to save Hyrule and salvage his relationship with Zelda, but it seemed that nothing had quite worked. He'd lost everything he had always feared he would. Adrien had walked directly behind him, picking up the remnants of Link's shattered life to selfishly enjoy as his own.
"Link," Impa beckoned, her eyes solemnly set upon him. "They have nothing by which they can prosecute me. But the villagers of my hometown are saying they clearly saw you push the Princess. And they claim you were quite conscious."
"Impa, I swear on the name of all three Goddesses that I would never hurt the Princess. I love her more than anything I've ever been blessed with. Both you and the King have been like parents-to the both of us. You know how eager Zelda is to see her father walk down the aisle, and even better, her nursemaid-her mother-sitting there in the front aisle to see her daughter off in a blissful marriage."
Impa's lips puckered. "I don't believe you did it either, Link."
"Thank Goodness. Impa?"
"Yes?"
"What do your people think about your imprisonment?"
Her gaze fell to the floor, and the impulse to apologize overwhelmed him. With somber eyes, she paced to a small window, a minimal source of light, staring out it. Her lips opened so slowly, and in the light, he could see that she was deathly pale.
"I suppose they're extremely happy, proud of their soon-to-be Prince, Sir Tariesk. We have all been imprisoned for a day or two now, and, Tariesk traveled to Kakariko Village to make an announcement. Before he even spoke, all of them were screaming that they had seen what had happened. But there's a consistency problem, Link."
He blinked, a smile washing over his face.
"Some of the people who claimed to have seen you could not have. There is one family in general whose error came to light after they mentioned being away to Lon Lon Ranch for the weekend, yet they say they also saw your works despite the fact that they were at the Ranch the entire time."
"Impa, this is wonderful! Although-what about the rest of the people here?"
"Journalists," she answered softly, "the finest at their crafts. The finest soldiers and Knights are here, the finest journalists, of course, the greatest politicians, and otherwise, the most influential people in the Kingdom."
"So everybody who's even slightly important is behind bars."
"Yes. Everyone who could influence the public is here-everyone who could oppose Adrien Tariesk."
"Impa-what are you implying?"
"You know what I'm telling you, Link. That man is a detestable mastermind. He's successfully convinced the King to lock so many of us away. I doubt the Princess is even aware of half of these disappearances."
With a sigh of relief, Link sank back against his cage. There was hope with Zelda yet. Maybe everyone in the prison was perfectly innocent of any crime they'd committed. Everything would eventually be normal again.
But how long would it take?
Link awoke with a gasp, the frigid air coiling about his lungs, choking him as he pulled himself upright from his cot. With a groan, he realized he wasn't in his own lovely quarters-but the dank dungeon cells underground. The noises cascaded down the halls of inmates much like it was a zoo-but there had never been enough crime in the city to have so many prisoners. Link bit his lip. Were people erupting into chaos? Were they seeing his visions, too? Were they losing control-even sanity?
On shaky legs, he grasped the railings of his cell and leaned heavily against them. Every part of his body felt so numb, and in the dark, hellish dungeon, he couldn't tell if he was bleeding or not. Townspeople speculated that there were so many deaths in the dungeon because of unsanitary conditions, they said, large rats that ate the flesh off the living bones of people. He shuddered, extending his arms through the cage, weakly gasping for help. Others chimed the same plea in the cells around him. Many looked like fine gentlemen-politicians, perhaps, all of Hyrule's finest wizards, even certain women. One of them caught his eyes, her lips puckered into a docile, exasperated frown. A grin washed over his face as he fled towards her, although the woman was more than two cells away.
"Impa," he beckoned softly. She didn't look too pleased to see him in her same squalor. Her hair was unkempt, greased in unruly directions, her skin was blotted with black patches of filth and grime, and her body looked terribly weak. She sank back onto a cot.
"I-I suppose they have found you too, Link."
He pressed his face to his cell bars. Something was terribly wrong.
"Impa, what are you doing here?"
"Nothing. I've done nothing at all that I know of. I was there, playing Zelda's lullaby in my quarters, and then these strange men came into my room. No, they were very large men, wearing the blackest armor I have ever seen-perhaps His Majesty decided black would be more tasteful a color," she said sourly. "As I was being dragged down here, I overheard men saying that since The Navean Prince has postponed his excavation of Death Mountain, he's decided to make an extended residence herein the Castle to assist the King with his decisions."
Anger arose through Link's veins. He had done everything in an attempt to save Hyrule and salvage his relationship with Zelda, but it seemed that nothing had quite worked. He'd lost everything he had always feared he would. Adrien had walked directly behind him, picking up the remnants of Link's shattered life to selfishly enjoy as his own.
"Link," Impa beckoned, her eyes solemnly set upon him. "They have nothing by which they can prosecute me. But the villagers of my hometown are saying they clearly saw you push the Princess. And they claim you were quite conscious."
"Impa, I swear on the name of all three Goddesses that I would never hurt the Princess. I love her more than anything I've ever been blessed with. Both you and the King have been like parents-to the both of us. You know how eager Zelda is to see her father walk down the aisle, and even better, her nursemaid-her mother-sitting there in the front aisle to see her daughter off in a blissful marriage."
Impa's lips puckered. "I don't believe you did it either, Link."
"Thank Goodness. Impa?"
"Yes?"
"What do your people think about your imprisonment?"
Her gaze fell to the floor, and the impulse to apologize overwhelmed him. With somber eyes, she paced to a small window, a minimal source of light, staring out it. Her lips opened so slowly, and in the light, he could see that she was deathly pale.
"I suppose they're extremely happy, proud of their soon-to-be Prince, Sir Tariesk. We have all been imprisoned for a day or two now, and, Tariesk traveled to Kakariko Village to make an announcement. Before he even spoke, all of them were screaming that they had seen what had happened. But there's a consistency problem, Link."
He blinked, a smile washing over his face.
"Some of the people who claimed to have seen you could not have. There is one family in general whose error came to light after they mentioned being away to Lon Lon Ranch for the weekend, yet they say they also saw your works despite the fact that they were at the Ranch the entire time."
"Impa, this is wonderful! Although-what about the rest of the people here?"
"Journalists," she answered softly, "the finest at their crafts. The finest soldiers and Knights are here, the finest journalists, of course, the greatest politicians, and otherwise, the most influential people in the Kingdom."
"So everybody who's even slightly important is behind bars."
"Yes. Everyone who could influence the public is here-everyone who could oppose Adrien Tariesk."
"Impa-what are you implying?"
"You know what I'm telling you, Link. That man is a detestable mastermind. He's successfully convinced the King to lock so many of us away. I doubt the Princess is even aware of half of these disappearances."
With a sigh of relief, Link sank back against his cage. There was hope with Zelda yet. Maybe everyone in the prison was perfectly innocent of any crime they'd committed. Everything would eventually be normal again.
But how long would it take?