Chapter 5: Sheik
There should have been an argument, a struggle – anything. They had all braced for it, and now there was only a void. For a second all five of them stood paralyzed.
The Captain and the guards rushed in, throwing open the doors to the side rooms.
The shackles fell to the floor with a hard clang.
"He's gone!" The Captain's voice was a hoarse, terrified snarl as he dug his hands into his hair, all his training failing him – the training that had drilled him for a life of war, a short life, one that had finally, finally been promised peace… and now there was only terror of that hope crumbling, doubled by knowing he had enraged his Queen.
The same horror reflected in the guards' eyes. One of them even stumbled heavily against the wall, looking like he might throw up.
Zelda stepped into the room and looked around in a daze. An empty bed, a sturdy chest, a desk with some knick-knacks, a tapestry on the wall showing the map of Hyrule, an open wardrobe with a few changes of clothes. Everything of fine quality, but looking fairly simple. Of course Link was not the kind to like fancy things either, even though he must have been offered.
Through the open door beside the wardrobe, she saw the three marble pillars.
Her pulse beat in her ears, so loud she thought she would fall over. She had to grasp the edge of the table.
"You could have some faith in that idiot," the Queen said.
They all stared or blinked dazedly at her as she marched straight through the room, to the open window. The curtains fluttered in the wind, rising up to wave on either side of her as she bent down and snatched something off the floor. Then she leaned outside and looked around.
Sighing, she turned back.
"He must have flown off," she said. "We need to send out search parties."
Zelda gaped at the Queen, thinking she must have misheard. But the three men jumped to attention.
"He can't keep that up for long," the Captain said, scowling. All fear fled, replaced with steel-hard determination. "We can captu—" He changed the end abruptly when he saw the Queen's glare. "… find him!"
"No chains," she said.
"I— Your Majesty…" The Captain motioned towards the window, his mouth a thin, white line. Down below, the anxious, angry wail of the crowd rose and fell without cease. The sound made Zelda's stomach churn.
"Go down there, and tell the crowd that he ran off to search the nearby area, and we need to find him," the Queen sternly said. "Send out groups to search, as smoothly as you can. I will be there in a moment, but first I must see if there are any clues here." She motioned towards the Triforce room.
The Captain and soldiers saluted her, and hurried off.
Left alone with the Queen, Zelda struggled to think of something to say as the other woman leaned against the wall and rubbed her temples. The Queen only needed a second, though, before she stood straight with a steely look of determination. Without a word she marched into the room where the Triforce had been kept.
It was a simple room, without furniture. Only three carved stone pillars stood there, no taller than Zelda's chest. Sunlight shone in through the tall windows and banners with Hyrule's crest hung on the walls, all of it just seeming to underscore how empty the room felt.
The Queen walked over to the pillars and brushed her hand over the smooth top of each one, soft magical sparks flashing at her fingertips. Stepping back, she shook her head and glared at the empty spots, then hurried around the room checking each window. Zelda caught on and met her halfway around the room, having looked at each frame along the way.
"Nobody broke in," the Queen concluded, and Zelda nodded her head in agreement.
So, whatever made Courage and Wisdom return to their bearers must have simply summoned Power somewhere. Yet…
"But Link is alive," Zelda said, and the words felt like a soothing balm.
"Yes, so it can't be Ganon," the Queen said, her shoulders slumping in relief.
But the reprieve was short. A scowl dug into the Queen's forehead.
"Or it shouldn't be," she said through her teeth. "We don't even know if that rumor about sacrificing Link was true."
"But reviving… it can't be easy!" Zelda protested, knowing full well she just wanted to convince herself.
"No…" The Queen faltered, lost in thought.
In a distance, she heard the wail of the crowd soften, then rise again with renewed force. Both of the women stood silent, listening as the sound began to ease up. The Queen walked back into Link's room and gazed out the open window. Zelda followed her, watching as the mass of people below surged from the courtyard, spilling out the gates to the city. There had been raw terror, and they were still scared, but now they had a purpose.
Zelda tried to gather her thoughts. If not Ganon, then maybe some servant of his somehow had done it? But summoning the Triforce would not be easy, of that she was certain. Ganon might have created a spell for it, in case he was struck down? But would he do that, prepare something that could allow anybody else to hold Power?
She did not know, and she had no answers. The fact remained that Power was gone, and Link had run off like a fool…
A pang of guilt struck her as she saw her own part in making him flee. But he should not have done that, he should have trusted—
A memory struck. How had he gotten out, again?
"What do you mean, he flew off?" she asked.
A confused look passed over the Queen's face. Then realization struck.
"Ah, yes, nobody told you? How skilled he is with magic?" she asked.
"No."
"He can do a lot of things. Like turn into a fairy."
Zelda was too upset already to be surprised by anything like that. She simply nodded, accepting the new strange fact without question.
Sighing, the Queen raised her hand and studied the item she had picked up. Now that she had a closer look, Zelda saw that it was a compass.
"He must have been trying to recalibrate it," the Queen said through her teeth.
"Reca— excuse me?" Zelda said, distracted. She stared out the window, straining to catch any glimpse of a tiny, glowing shape.
"Look."
The Queen's hand on Zelda's shoulder dragged her back from her stupor, and she turned around. Confused, she gazed at the compass. The arrow was turned towards the Queen.
"That's not north…" Zelda muttered.
"It points towards the Triforce of Wisdom," the Queen said. "It can probably be changed to the other ones, but I don't know how."
"But if he doesn't have it, then he doesn't know where to go either!"
"True."
"What was he thinking?" Zelda snarled.
"Nothing!" The Queen stepped away, pacing back and forth through the room, staring at the compass.
The sound of running footsteps coming up the stairway made both her and Zelda snap their heads in that direction. The Gerudo delegation rushed inside. The butts of their spears played a swift staccato against the floor as the women formed a straight line, chins up and eyes hard.
"We heard you needed a Hero restrained and thought we'd help," Qiral said, knocking her fist to her chest in a salute.
"You're late," the Queen responded. She gave them a sardonic smile, which twisted into a grimace. "And I'd appreciate if everybody would stop trying to arrest him."
"Or we can all agree that he would look good in chains. What?" Qiral added the last with a grin at the look of the Queen's face, as the other redheaded ladies made more or less respectful attempts to hide their laughter. In an instant the discipline was shattered.
"Be serious!" Zelda snapped.
She was in no mood for any brutal Gerudo humor.
"He's running right into a trap, whether or not he can actually be used to bring Ganon back," she said. "We need to join the search parties!"
One of the other Gerudo women cleared her throat, and they all straightened up, mirth melting away. In a heartbeat they were soldiers at attention again, waiting for an order. Zelda, too, looked at the Queen.
After a moment, the woman at the center of their attention shook her head.
"We're not going to find him," she said, glancing out the window. "He made it through everything Ganon and his army could throw at him. Twice." She looked down at the compass, and motioned towards the Triforce room. "If we knew how, we could make this track him, but…"
Zelda rubbed her temples. It was too true. He would not be the Hero if he could not make it past any obstacle – either through or around it.
There was another way, however.
"Then, where would he go?" she asked. "If he doesn't have a compass to follow, where would he assume he could find the Triforce of Power?"
The response was instant.
"The Dread Lands," the Queen said. "South of Death Mountain. That's where Ganon's stronghold was."
Waving the compass around as she spoke, she moved over to the tapestry map on the wall.
"He already has a head start and he'll know we figured where he's going, so sending messages by bird to the towns won't help… he won't even go near them."
She traced a straight line from the palace on the map towards the southeast, across the grasslands to the mountains, speaking quicker and quicker.
"He wouldn't go southwest, he'd have to go through the swamps, he hates the swamps, so if we ride we can still— I can still—"
Stopping, she stared at the picture of the palace. Then she spun around towards Zelda, eyes wide and eyebrows knotted with the sudden frustrating realization.
"Curses! I can't… I'm a Queen now!"
"So we've heard…" Qiral murmured.
Zelda barely heard the Gerudo's comment. Meeting the Queen's stare, hearing her frustrated snarl, everything suddenly seemed crystal-clear. There was something she could do, something tangible – something real.
"I'll get him back," Zelda said.
The Queen glanced between her, the compass, the map and back.
"I don't suppose you could rule in my stead?"
For a moment Zelda wasn't sure if the other woman was serious or not. The Queen didn't seem to know for sure herself, judging by her knotted brow and weak attempt at a grin.
"I… don't believe that would be found acceptable," Zelda said.
"No, I guess…" the Queen said, her shoulders falling. She looked at the map again. "But you don't know your way around here, or Death Mountain."
Zelda almost protested, only to remember this was not the same Death Mountain she had known. Even now, her brain played tricks on her.
"Aren't there any maps?" she asked.
"It was too infested to explore," the Queen said, shaking her head. "And I only went through it twice, when I was captured and when I was saved."
"Wouldn't your Hero boy have mapped it out?" Qiral spoke up. Without waiting for an answer she marched over to Link's desk and pulled open the upper drawers, pulling out a couple of scrolls.
For a moment the Queen looked like she would protest against shuffling through Link's belongings, but then she grunted and walked closer to watch Qiral roll out the parchments. Zelda too moved there to look. However, at least those first scrolls disappointed. They were maps, but one showed an island and one a forest.
"We'll look here, the rest of you go down there and make yourselves useful," Qiral said over her shoulder, even while she carelessly tossed the scrolls aside and opened another drawer.
The other Gerudo saluted her and hurried out.
Zelda went to the wardrobe and ruffled through it. She glanced around at a creaking sound, seeing the Queen begin examining the chest's contents. Turning back, Zelda continued her own search, only finding more clothes.
"Hah!"
She snapped around at Qiral's call. The Gerudo held up an unrolled scroll, depicting a stylized mountain side with a dizzying number of dark spots representing openings. Twisting and diverging lines were drawn from each spot, some connecting them and some ending in angry red X symbols.
"Ooh, look how frustrated our boy got here," Qiral said with a grin, placing the parchment on the table and pointing to a furious bundle of red lines near the middle of the map.
Zelda had no time for jokes, moving to stand beside the Gerudo.
"Is this correct, you think?" she asked the Queen, who huddled up on the other side of Qiral to look.
For a few moments, the Queen just traced the lines with her fingertips, seemingly at random as a scowl dug into her forehead.
"Possibly," she finally said. "And it's a mess. But it's the only thing we have."
Even though the answer was far from satisfying, Zelda had to agree with the last statement.
"It's better than nothing," she firmly said. "I'll take it with me."
"Alright, but give me a minute to make a copy," the Queen said. "We might need it."
She grasped the edge of the parchment to pull it over, reaching for a blank paper in one of the open drawers. Zelda was so focused on the Queen that she almost jumped when Qiral's big, warm hand landed on her shoulder.
"I'll come with you, little Sheikah Princess. I've travelled here before." Qiral laughed, an airy chuckle. "And it would be fun to catch a Hero."
Zelda hesitated for a heartbeat, so used to travelling and moving alone – but she could not deny that it would be useful to have a companion in a completely new land.
"Very well," she said, and managed to smile a little. "Thank you."
"If you can catch him," the Queen commented with a slanted smile.
Qiral smirked and made a confident toss of her head. Then she looked between the scribbled map and the tapestry depicting Hyrule.
"It seems it would be quicker to go on the eastern side of the mountains instead of past Saria," she said. "There are far fewer caves to go through there."
"True, but if so you need to be careful by the great cemetery." The Queen stepped up to the tapestry and brushed her hand over the glum, purplish area covering much of the southeastern part of the depicted land. "Only approach it by dawn and make sure you're past it before sundown. And spare the horses, leave them at Mido. You can't take them with you through the caves."
"Just as well," Qiral said. "Too many things down south with keen noses and huge appetites."
She hurried off to get all her travel gear. Zelda moved her weight from foot to foot, impatient and yet unsure. She needed to do something, but she had nothing to pack.
"A moment, please," the Queen said in a distracted tone.
She found a pencil and began to quickly copy the map on a clean piece of paper. Finishing, she turned around with the original in hand.
"Here, this—"
Blinking, she recoiled at the sight of a masked Sheikah standing behind her instead of the young woman who had been there last time she looked. Zelda pulled down the scarf a little bit and managed to smile despite how tense she felt.
The Queen let out a deep sigh and handed over the map.
"I really want to go," she said. Her eyes narrowed. "And drag him back here by his hair!"
"I have plenty of ways to knock him out," Zelda said.
The Queen snorted, but the hard glint in her eyes said that she understood that it was not a joke.
"Good. Now…" Waving her hand in a beckoning motion, the Queen hurried towards the stairs.
Zelda followed the other woman back to the royal quarters. Soldiers and people hurried about, getting ready or on their way to join the search. Many threw confused looks at the Sheikah, but nobody had time or were foolish enough to get in the way with questions – Zelda could not see the Queen's face, but could imagine the look on it. People dove out of the way for the two of them. The only pause the two women made was when the Queen grabbed the arm of a servant and ordered him to get travel supplies in two bags ready and brought to the stables.
Reaching her chambers, the Queen ran through the first room into a side door. Following, Zelda found it to be a walk-in closet, but not a very lady-like one. All of the clothes hanging along the wall were sturdy shirts and pants – only in the very far back she thought she saw a couple of dresses, all of them too small for the Queen to wear.
None of that was the Queen's focus, however, as she threw open a chest and pulled out a simple bag in a soft yellowish hue. She stuck her hand into it and a glow rose up around the brim. Her entire arm disappeared down into the bag, far deeper than it should have been able to go, and the cloth did not move in the slightest. Zelda recognized the convenient magic, the same the Captain had used to hold those shackles.
"Never got around emptying this…" The Queen pulled her hand out, holding a pair of bottles between the bases of her fingers. A red liquid sloshed around in both of them. "Yes, good, but a couple more, to be safe…"
She caught Zelda's gaze and shook the bottles.
"Medicine," the Queen said. "Just don't rely too much on it."
Zelda nodded, recognizing the healing drink. Too much might feel good and save you in a pinch, but it would come back and haunt you the next day if not earlier like an excruciating hangover.
"And…"
The Queen dropped the bottles into the magical depths of the bag and bent over the chest. From the many items within it, she lifted out a bow. The string had a silvery hue, and gold inlays with Hyrule's crest adorned the curved limbs. Looking closer, Zelda noticed that the grip had faded symbols on it, but she could not make them out.
"Link took his own, and his silver arrows," she said. "You take this. I have my own!"
She added the last when Zelda started to protest. It quieted the objection immediately – there was no arguing against that tone.
"Here, try." The Queen held the bow out, and Zelda took it. "There's no need for arrows. A past Impa crafted a pair."
Now that she held it, Zelda could clearly see that the grip bore the Sheikah eye. It may have been worn down by many hands holding the weapon, but she suspected that it had always been faint by design.
Had she been more relaxed, she may have been impressed by how the Queen could tell that she too had trained with a bow. Of course, the Queen was a warrior and would instantly pick it up from her counterpart's build.
Tentatively, Zelda pulled the string back. A warm hum surged through her arm and a flickering arrow of pure light formed between her fingers on the string, resting on her thumb at the grip. It felt feathery, but she full well knew that it would be unwise to fire it. She gingerly relaxed the drawn string and the arrow faded. The hum remained in her arm for a moment, leaving the muscles a little numb.
"I shouldn't use this too much, should I?" she said, and the Queen shook her head.
Silently offered the open chest's content, Zelda picked out a few more items that might be useful – some rope and bandages among other things. The magical bag swallowed everything she took, though the magic glow flickered a warning about being at its limit when she dropped the last couple of items into it.
She went back into the other room, seeing the Queen straighten up from sealing a letter. Meeting Zelda halfway across the floor, the Queen offered the folded paper.
"Show this to any soldier, and they will know to help you with anything you need," the Queen said.
Zelda took the letter with a word of gratitude. There was nothing more to prepare, and together they rushed off through the castle and out the front gate.
The courtyard was a mess of people rushing about, but there was a more organized air to the panic now, compared to just before Link's foolish escape. Very few appeared to run around like headless chickens, and were instead forming groups heading out the gate.
Zelda followed the Queen to the stables, finding Qiral already waiting with two horses. A stable boy was just finishing fastening a bedroll on the second horse's saddle. He bowed away as soon as he finished.
"Barely recognize you, sleepyhead," Qiral cheerfully said as she swung herself up in the saddle. Zelda noticed that the Gerudo had exchanged the spear with a curved sword, resting in a sheath by the tall woman's belt.
"Call me Sheik." It felt a bit strange to say those words here, but also relieving to have a polite way of telling Qiral to stop it with the nicknames.
The Gerudo only shrugged in response.
"I'll get him back," Zelda reaffirmed the Queen, grasping the reins of her horse.
Nothing could have prepared her for the hug.
"Please," the Queen said, squeezing Zelda who just stood stunned in the embrace.
Unable to say anything even after she was released, Zelda simply nodded and got into the saddle.
"If we managed to find him here, I'll send a pigeon to Mido," the Queen said.
Zelda mutely nodded. They both knew that there would probably not be any such message.
Surrounded by scared but determined people, she rode beside Qiral through the gate past the safe walls – into the strange, new world she had only glimpsed until now.