Disclaimers? Ch. 1.
I must admit I don't have WW yet, but I did play it at Best Buy (doesn't belong to me either) and I'm thinking on it. I have reservations, as I did with MM, and MM turned out to be a pretty mediocre deal. Anybody have an opinion on it one way or the other?
Ch. 25
The good die first
And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust
Burn to the socket.
-William Wordsworth
Zelda woke to the now-familiar sounds of the wretched slave who slept in the corner of her room.
His body was frail, his flesh waxy and color-less. Her heart ached just looking at him, and for the third time, she tried to get his attention. Rising from the hard bed she'd drifted away on, Zelda gathered the aggravating folds of her dress into her arms, and advanced towards him carefully. He looked up slowly, blinking. His eyes had sunk into his skull from emaciation, and both were glazed and dulled.
"Hello," Zelda said softly, kneeling by him. Aside from the crosshatches of old scars on his chest and arms, his upper torso was bare of even hair. Achromatic, she realized. Albino.
She reached out a hand, now shaky from the lack of food, like his was, and touched his sunken cheek bone.
He flinched, and dark, dead eyes flicked away. He hung his head, resting his skeletal arms back on the drab, faded trousers he wore.
She drew her arm back with a sigh, angry. They had no right to do this to them. To anyone!
Wherever they were was far away, that much she could tell from her two captors, and she had to wonder if there were any other Hylians imprisoned here. Everything was foreign to her, their language, their facial appearance, their lifestyle. It was all new, and not for once did she wish that her kingdom had held more contact with outside lands.
Zelda rose from her crouch, and began to pace around the room, thinking. After only a few minutes, a faint knock sounded on the door, and she turned to look at it in surprise.
The knocking halted, and a moment later, the door opened slowly.
Juno peek around the door, his bright blue eyes taking in the room before they rested on her, and he grinned. He stepped inside, and carefully closed the door behind him, only sparing a confused look at the slave before stepping towards her.
"I didn't know he was in here." Juno told her. "But I won't leave him to bother you."
Zelda felt a sudden twist of hate and disgust well up, but she forcefully pushed it down, masking her features in a blank look, honed from years of royal parties and courts. She wasn't sure of what he was saying, but he had looked towards the slumped form of the albino Hylian, and stooped to grasp him roughly.
"No!" Zelda suddenly cried, then jerked back in horror. However, he only turned in surprise, leaving the slave where he lay.
"...N'o...?" The blue-eyed youth said, curiously. He stepped forward again, and Zelda took a step back, tripping over her torn dress and stumbling. He was at her side instantly, taking her arm gently. She jerked away again, now knowing she couldn't hide her disgust for him. His gentle, serene face expressed confusion, and Zelda wondered in bewilderment how a monster could lurk behind the golden curls and soft features.
"Leave me." She said, pulling herself up to look down her nose at him.
He said something in his language, his features remaining the same, and she felt like giving up. She turned away from him, showing in body-language that she did not acknowledge his presence.
Juno sighed, unhappily, and turned to leave. He wrinkled his nose at the slave, slumped at the door, but walked past, and closed the door behind himself gently.
After a heartbeat, Zelda crumpled to the floor, dropping her face into her hands in defeat.
*************
Juno entered the double-doors, sighing as he walked. Kafka looked up from the scroll he was addressing, and watched his brother in amusement.
The light-haired youth collapsed into a wide, cushioned chair, and planted the tip of Domination into the carpet, holding the pommel of the hilt with a finger and spinning the blade with swipes of his other hand. Kafka twirled the quill in his hand, and smirked at his brother.
"Well," He finally said. "What did our lovely cat have to say?"
Juno looked up in annoyance. "Did you tell them to put that monster in there with her?" He asked, frowning. Kafka nodded, shrugging.
"I figured she'd what something to play with. You know how animals are... who knows when her mating season is..." He joked, a sly grin on his face. He stopped however, when the clatter of the turning blade stopped, and looked up. Juno's face was flushed, his brow furrowed.
"She isn't an animal!" He retorted, clenching his fists.
Kafka hesitated, then shrugged, beginning to spin his quill again. "So, has she a name?"
It threw Juno from his anger, and he paused, thoughtful. "She doesn't know our language. All I got from her was some word... I think its means 'no'."
Kafka let a smirk flit across his dark features, but said nothing. Juno missed it, and continued.
"I think she's unhappy-"
"Clever," Kafka cut in. Juno frowned.
"Not like that... I mean, of course she's unhappy... But I think she's unhappy in her room. I don't think she's going to cooperate."
Kafka idly twirled the long-feather quill, dipping it into ink to scrawl another line onto the scroll. Juno leaned forward.
"What is that?" He finally asked.
Kafka put the quill down, and cracked his knuckles.
"A message for our friend in K'Gar."
"A warning."
"Exactly." Kafka said, narrowing his eyes. "He wants to play the game of deceit. Well, two can play at that game..."
"Two?"
"Two. You're my brawn."
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Juno asked, coming to kneel over the scroll to read it as it dried.
"No." Kafka responded, stretching back in his chair as his brother finished reading. "Only that you serve a much, much better purpose in being brawn. I'm thinking big, my brother."
"How big?" Juno looked up finally, meeting his brother's eyes. This time, it was Kafka who had to look away from bright, wide blue.
"Land big. Conquering big. Like our father before us."
"But Majora failed." Juno countered.
"That's because he was a fool... They're all fools, you see. Reckless, power hungry fools. But you and I, we stop each other from being fools; keep each other in check. Its perfection; a balance. Together, we are unstoppable."
"You want to get that place, Hyrule, after all." Juno realized. "Why? Because of that magic?"
"Too many questions," Kafka sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Give me some answers."
Juno took a seat at the table beside him, and thought for a moment.
"Mijjori and Hyrule are cut off from each other," His finally said. "They wouldn't know how to react to each other. That means, since we went there, we have an advantage."
"Exactly." Kafka grinned, setting his booted feet up on the table.
"And if we have Hyrule, and all of its magic, it guarantees us Mijjori through blood... It means we'll have strongholds on two different fronts."
Kafka looked at him in surprise. "Good idea." He said. "That's what I need you for. You have military popularity, and tactical skills..." He trailed off, and mused farther. "And with our guest, the Princess, we have another one up on them. Hmm, that old bastard has unknowingly given us a valuable piece in the game."
He laughed softly to himself, a jarring sound. Juno took the newly-dried map, and rolled it up, summoning a servant to deliver it to the Temple in K'Gar, where their guest, the deadly stranger, was staying.
*************
This time, when the door opened, there was no knock, and Zelda was forced to stand up abruptly from where she had lain on the cold, stone floor.
It was the other brother. They were twins, that much she could tell. But not identical. This one was somehow darker, colder, sharper, than the one who had visited before. Where the blond youth had wide, blue eyes, soft blond hair, and a more muscular physique, this one had black hair and deep, coal eyes. He was not as muscular, but more trim and athletic, his eyes seemed perpetually narrowed, and he was not apt to smiling, it seemed.
Zelda backed away, although not so much out of fear. Although this brother seemed to physically embody evil, she wasn't as wary as him as she was of his brother. Here, she saw wit, and control.
He came forward several feet, not even bothering to glance at the slave slumped at the door, and held up a hand. Zelda flinched, but he only brought it to his chest, which he thumped.
"K'Lorn Kafka."
His name.
Or title.
Or both.
Zelda, taught in the ways of self-control and high-born will, was not to be intimidated. She held a slim hand out, still covered in a velvet white glove, though it had long since been soiled in her parents' blood. She brought the hand to her collar-bone, and tapped it serenely.
"Princess Zelda." She said, calmly.
The youth smirked, an unkind look. He made an approving sound, and folded his arms behind his back to circle her the way an artist must circle an interesting piece of art.
"Z'lda." He finally said, and she started in surprise. He knew the difference in title, she realized. He approved also of her surprise, and the smirk fell from his face. He finally stopped pacing, and turned to speak.
"Kafka." She interrupted, meeting his eyes daringly.
Kafka's eyes widened momentarily, and then narrowed. She was quick. Damn quick. Even now he could see the that she didn't inherit her throne with blood alone. And she was no longer afraid.
"I fear, Princess Zelda, that because of the language difference, there may be some trouble in our communication. I ask you to bear with me, and have some patience." He grinned, flashing pearly teeth. "We're all new at this."
She didn't understand any of the words, only that his confidence was immeasurable, and there was no kindness in his face, like his brother seemed to possess.
"Let's start with some simple terms that I think you'll understand," Kafka said, continuing. "First, there's the issue of your land, Hyrule..."
Zelda's eyes flicked up at the familiar word.
"...And the fact that it could provide my dear kin and I with a good starting point for our plans. Oh, I know everyone speaks of 'domination', and 'conquering', and no one seems to achieve it, but I plan to."
She caught words here and there in his speech that were familiar, but common sense told her they were most likely tricks of sound.
"I don't know what you're saying," Zelda finally cut in, lifting her chin again to look imperiously down her nose at him. "But I'll have you know that whatever you plan to do will be a waste of time. The land of Hyrule has felt the cold touch of evil before; and it has conquered it."
Kafka recognized the tone of voice, and the smirk dropped from his lips.
"There you go again with that haughty tone, cat." He said, his voice dropping to a deadly pitch. "You're threatening me, no doubt, with empty words and promises." He laughed. "But remember that I went to your castle, I met your soldiers, and met your sorcerers... I met your King and Queen. And where are they all now? Dead. Of their own stupidity."
Zelda felt a shiver down her spine, and abruptly, a faint tingle seemed to shoot back up it. Her eyes widened as she realized what was happening, and she tucked her hands into her dress folds, falling back and away from Kafka with a cry. His eyes widened slightly, and he let her fall back, hitting the floor. She sat up, wincing, her eyes suddenly an intense cobalt blue.
"Your hand," Kafka growled. She stared at him. He held out his own hand, pointing at her's. "Give me your hand!" Very timidly, she brought her left hand out, and let him see it. Quickly, he lunged for the still hidden right one, and wrestled it from its hiding place.
"No!" Zelda cried, trying to pull it back. It was too late, though, and Kafka saw the brightly glowing symbol on her hand.
"The symbol!" He hissed, twisting her arm painfully to see it. Zelda averted her face, dropping a blank mask over her features.
There was an abrupt banging on the door, and it was kicked inward to admit Juno, who leapt in, the sword, Domination, held loosely clasped in his left hand. He took in the scene, and looked at his brother.
"What's going on?" Juno asked. "I heard her cries!"
Kafka dropped her now-limp hand, and stood, running a hand through his short, feathery hair.
"She has the same symbol." He hissed. "The same as the old man's! Three triangles, made into a pyramid."
Juno lay his blade aside, and raced in to kneel by the Princess's side.
"Are you all right?" He asked, trying to help her up. Zelda suddenly seemed to come out of her trance, and looked up at him. She took one look at his worried features, and tugged her arm out of his grip, pulling herself up. Juno caught sight of the flashing insignia on her hand, and reached out to grab her wrist. "You're right!" He breathed, "It's the same thing-"
The symbol suddenly flashed searingly, and he was thrown back to hit the wall by an abrupt, invisible force.
Kafka's eyes widened, and he looked at her carefully.
Flickering in and out of his view, there came a solid barrier that encompassed her whole body. It was transparent, and azure blue.
"Damn... Magic." He was able to say, before Zelda stretched out her hands, palms up, and the whole room filled with a brilliant white light.
*************
Juno came sliding around the corner just as a servant started to approach at the piercing white light that filtered briefly down the hallways. He darted around the servant, and raced past. The servant peered around the corner towards the imprisoned Princess' chamber, but saw nothing else but Domination, leaning against the 'sill.
Abruptly, another shape came out, this time Kafka, clutching at his face with one hand. The servant jogged forward, and supported his master.
"Lord!" He cried.
Kafka jerked away, and removed his hand from his face, blinking rapidly.
"Damn it!" He shouted. His eyes focused, and he spotted the servant waiting anxiously at his side. "Send a message to every wing, to every guard! I want all exits sealed!"
The servant nodded quickly, and darted away to fulfill the task.
Kafka gritted his teeth, and looked down the hallway that Juno had taken.
*************
Juno chased the orb of light down the hallway, through the main dining room, into the kitchens, and finally out of the fortress. The bright light soared far ahead of him, but in his sheer stubbornness he would not give up.
He raced down the descending, rocky stairway, and onto the flat, dark-graveled beach. After another distance, the light disappeared, and he scrabbled to a stop among the craggy boulders and stones lying along the beach.
"No..." He panted, peering off into the distance. He ground his teeth, and with a cry, drove his fist into a nearby rock. Thin hairline cracks appeared in the rock, extending under the force. Easing back up, he looked to see his brother, walking swiftly down the steep, stone-way towards him. He met him halfway back.
"She's gone." Juno said, in a subdued voice.
Kafka was spitting mad.
"And the slave, too." He raged.
"What are we going to do?" Juno finally asked, the first to calm down again. Kafka's face twisted with anger, but suddenly the feeling dispersed, and his shoulders slumped with a sigh.
"She's weak." He finally said. "She can't have gone far... The problem, of course, is that if anyone sees her, and realizes we've been keeping her here, then we'll be brought before the Court." The same court their father had stood before years ago, and had been condemned by.
"We'll find her." Juno spoke up. "We can send horsemen out."
Kafka muttered something under his breath. He finally turned to head back towards the fortress.
"You left your blade laying out on the floor like a toy." He said quietly as they walked shoulder-to-shoulder back towards the double-doors of the building.
"I was trying to catch her." Juno responded.
"Even so."
"You don't have the sword of Command with you."
Kafka blinked, and then narrowed his eyes. "That's different."
"How?"
"Zelda."
"What?"
"That's her name. Since you couldn't do a simple thing like get her title from her, I had to go and do it myself. She calls herself Princess Zelda."
"Wouldn't she be Queen now?" Juno asked, clasping his hands behind his neck. He yawned, tired from the activities of the day.
Kafka made no response to the question, his cold, unreadable gaze far away.
They finally reached the double-doors, where the servant from before met them. Juno bade him shut and lock the door behind them, and he did so, closing out the weak sunlight that shone through the dark, dreary storm clouds high above.