Hi !
This is a rewrite of "A quiet place" , since Age of Calamity came out (yeah it's been a few years) I keep considering remaking it because the old version was uh ... well just too OOC so here we are !
No this is not a Sooga / Zelda pairing chill.
No this is not about Zelda becoming a villain.
Yes Roham is an abusive father and a jerk (Always has been since windwaker).
And uh ... nah that's spoiler.
Yes there will be Link.
Now read would you or else I'm giving you the eyebrows ._.
It all began exactly one year and six month before the calamity appeared again after it was sealed thousands of years ago. That day princess Zelda spent exactly 6 hours and 43 minutes working with the Sheika scientists to reactivate a guardian, 5 hours and 25 minutes meditating in the cold waters of a river and finally the princess spent 7 hours and 12 minutes managing the kingdom economy and concluding exchanges with a Rito envoy.
Even the bird person noticed the the princess was barely able to stay focused on their conversation, Impa, the princess assistant, personal guard, magistrate of Hyrule and close friend wasn't sure how she was supposed to help the princess.
The Rito ended up pretending that he had to go back to Hebra in emergency and promptly signed the contract the princess had carefully prepared a few days ago.
And just when Zelda thought this day was finally ending, her father entered inside her office, almost sending the door to collide with the wall, the princess knew too well what was about to happen.
"You failed again did you ? How long is it going to take for you to finally unlock your powers ? You should have done that years ago, the calamity could rise again at any moment and you would doom us all because you aren't making everything in your power to-" despite the aggressive tone that her father was using and his slow advance toward her Zelda kept her composure and patiently waited for her father's tantrum to end ... this time though she spoke back, it was a mistake and she new it after her first word got out of her mouth.
"Father I swear I am doing my best, but perhaps the time hasn't arrived yet, I didn't feel anything different this time, just like all the other days I spent praying, we should be patient, I can still work with the Shei-"
"YOU DARE RESPOND ? And even worse you find yourself excuses, I can't believe your mother let you be-" the king seemed to hesitate, he couldn't find his words he was breathing quickly and Zelda saw his facial expression hardening in an instant what she didn't see was her father's hand moving up above them and suddenly changing his trajectory to-
SLAP
"Princess !" Impa did not see it either, she never thought the king could so such a thing, she knew that Roham would sometime cross the limit between the worried and concerned king and the abusive father but this was definitely going too far.
Zelda fell down, her father's hand collided with such strength, something was wrong with her jaw, she felt it. Why ? Why did her father do this ? Was it not enough ? Helping Hyrule for 15 to 20 hours every day ? Restoring the guardians, the divine beast ? The countless hours she spent praying ? Now it had come to this ?
Impa grabbed the shoulders of the princess, she stared back at the king in order to dissuade him from reiterating such a foolish act the worse part is that the king did not gave any sign of regret, his face translated his shock of course but at the same time it seemed like he was proud of finally crossing the line.
The magistrate thought deeper about this, if anyone at the castle ended up learning about this event the king would be in trouble and as a result the kingdom could end up in a state of chaos and revolt ... despite her newfound hatred toward the king Impa's priority was Zelda, her friend was starring at the ground and shaking, the Sheika saw the red mark left by the king, it was turning blue, really not a good thing.
No one in the castle should know about what happened this night.
They couldn't go the the castle apothecary ... no, Impa knew someone from the outside she could trust with her live, and so she could entrust's the misery of the princess and all her secrets to this person.
Impa grabbed a cloak from Zelda's wardrobe and dragged the princess outside, she made sure to lock the door behind them, Roham Bospharamus Hyrule had done too much in a single minute, he should probably take some time to think about the repercussions of his action against his own daughter.
A very tall and muscular man entered inside the apothecary shop of castle town, he wasn't alone, four other people followed him, they were all wearing long grey coats. Even though it was raining outside they weren't dressed this way to protect themselves from storm.
The apothecary was an old woman, she had seen many type of injuries and other worldly horrors that the war brought on it's path, she wasn't scared to see five members of the Yiga clan walk inside her shop unannounced with one of them near death door "Sooga ... this is neutral grounds but still, you shouldn't be here, I hope you really didn't have the choice." The old woman gestured for the Yigas to move in the backroom of the shop.
"I would never risk the life of one of my kind on the simple basis of doubt ... we have been caught of guard by a group of soldiers, fifty of them, they thought it would be funny to blees us to death. Idiots ..."
The other Yigas helped their comrade to lay down on a medical bed while the apothecary began to examine their injury.
"Tcchhh ... recruits who have never seen a real battle I presume ? If only I was strong enough to teach a lesson to whoever is forming them." The old woman sighed out of relief and went to prepare a treatment. "Nothing alarming, it's a deep cut but the organs were not damaged at all, I will give him some chuchu jelly to ease the pain and help his body to heal itself."
She looked outside through a window, just as she did the sky flashed white, a thunderbolt, the storl wasn't getting any better "You should stay here until tomorrow, or at least once this storm is less chaotic, what a da-" a bell rang, the Yigas looked at each other in silence, then they all looked back af their leader, Sooga, and Soga directed his gaze back at the old woman.
The apothecary gestured for them to stay in the room and to not make any noise, then she said "I will be right here ! I'm in the back !" Loud enough to be heard.
"Miss Balba ?" The apothecary knew this voice very well, Impa, the Sheika magistrate ... she gestured for the Yigas to straight up change, she didn't need a conflict between the two clans and possibly the kingdom in her shop.
"Ah young Impa, give me just one more second- ah there you are with-" as miss Balba went back into the waiting she noticed that Impa wasn't alone, and after taking a closer look she now feared to be right about the identity of her friend.
"Impa ... is sh-"
"Yes, we- ... we can't go to the castle apothecary." The two girls walked toward the counter of the shop so Balba could see what was happening to the princess.
"Why ?"
"We just- ... we just can't, please can you keep this visit a secret ?" The old woman was skeptic, the injury wasn't serious, but still, the muscles were traumatised, her cheek turning blue and the princess obviously felt a really great pain each h time she tried to even move her head.
"Who did this to-..." Balba saw Impa looking away, the Sheika would not answer ... now the apothecary was starting to make her own theory about the culprit, it didn't make the situation any more simple. "I'm going to ease the pain a lot ... but I'm going to need some muscles for-" Balba knew Impa might hesitate to actually put back the princess jaw in place but perhaps- ... "Sooga, mind coming here for an instant ?"
Back in the other room, Sooga looked back at his fellow comrades with hesitation, but Balba had always been willing to save their lives when they needed help ... the Yiga used his mask to take another appearance and left the backroom. "Yes ? Can I- ?" He now looked like a town folk, but his face was covered in bandages, when Sooga saw the princess though, he regretted coming out of the room. "-Help ?"
"Yes, this young lady here needs her jaw to be put back in position, I trust you have chirurgical hands right ?" Balba's allusions to his skills would have made Sooga laugh if he wasn't about to somehow help the one personnel they were supposed to kill.
"Of-of course ..." broken jaw ? The Yiga didn't pay attention until now, he went toward the group, his eyes drifted toward the princess to have a better look ... Sooga understood what was wrong with her jaw, what he couldn't understand though was how or even who somehow had the right to even do that to the princess without getting themselves burned alive on a pyre.
And whoever did this made sure that the princess wasn't prepared, a clean strong hit, Sooga knew this kind of injury, it wasn't uncommon for Yigas to forget their strength and injure their comrade during spares ...
"Wait here Impa, I will take good care of her." Balba then turned toward Sooga "Lift her would you and bring her into the other room I need to give her something to make her muscles go numb."
Sooga was already against the simple thought of helping the princess, but actually giving her a pony ride ? The Yiga had a hard time containing himself. "Y-yes."
Impa kept looking at Sooga, the Sheika couldn't explain why but she felt that the mysterious man was disturbed ... but Balba trusted him so Impa could trust Sooga ... at least she hopped so.
"Princess I'm gonna have to ask you to swallow this green potion, it will be painful to do so but trust me once you do so you won't feel any pain ... and uh ... you might not be able to move your jaw at all for the next hour. I can't prevent you from getting even more hurt with another method."
Zelda nodded and grabbed the potion vial that Balba was handing her, she went though hell to just open wide enough t let the liquid flow inside her throat, it was even worth to contract her muscles to actually drink it, but the old lady wasn't lying, the pain was gone.
"Good ... Sooga, you know what you have to do, be gentle though."
The Yiga forced himself to not display any anger, it was humiliating enough to be forced into this situation, he couldn't even be angry at Balba, the clan had a debt toward her, instead he simply replied "This will be quick." He just wanted to leave the room.
His hands moved swiftly, just like if he had had his swords in hand, a slow draw and then a quick hit to seal the deal, the princess barely felt a thing and Sooga was even proud of his work.
"I will tell Impa that we are done, but now you need rest, I won't let you go until I'm sure you aren't feeling any more pain or discomfort. Sooga will watch over you right ?"
"Wait-" but the old lady was already gone. Sooga sighed and looked at the princess, she was avoiding him, obviously she didn't want any kind of attention. In a way the Yiga understood her, he didn't like to be a symbol in the clan, even though earning his people's respect was his pride it meant failure would be more painful ...
What about her though ? She was the heroin of this land, the one chosen by the goddesses to seal the great Calimity ... she had magic powers, hell she was considered to be Hylia's reincarnation, what could she possibly fear ? And this injury, she could have healed it with her powers right ?
Sooga bit his tongue "Who did this to you ?"
The princess gasped, Sooga's voice sounded more aggressive than he expected "It's- ... It's nothing really, just- ... just an accident, we- ... they got carried away and they didn't mean to-" the princess was doing her best to speak clearly, despite the possible pain and the potion rendering her muscles almost numb.
"Whoever got carried away must have been REALLY strong to dislodge the princess's jaw, I recognise this kind of injury when I see one ... if you wish to keep for yourself it's fine, I was just curious."
The two remained silent for a moment ... but Sooga had already analysed the personality of the princess, even if she didn't want to speak about a subject, she would attempt to suggest it ... and she was most likely not the kind of people who can easily keep their suffering hidden for a long time.
"Have you- ... have you ever been asked to do something that's literally impossible ? Like- ... climbing a 100 meters tall tower without your hands ?"
Sooga chucked "This sounds oddly specific, no I haven't ... but I understand what you mean."
Zelda shivered, the Yiga almost heard her sobbing "I- ... I had a disagreement with a person who asked me to do this kind of thing and- ... even though I tried to peacefully reason with them, even though I keep trying my best to do things right they- ... I probably bothering you with-"
"I asked the first place princess ... please do not cry, you do not have to, this would probably make the person who did this to you even more satisfied." Unknowingly Sooga mentally stab the princess, it took her an iron will to pretend that she found this funny and compassionate.
Sooga understood too late that the princess had already given him all the answers he needed ... Who had the power to give orders to the princess, who could possibly get away with harming the princess, why try to keep this secret ?
...
The king
Her father
Sooga felt murderous before this farce, Master Kohga would laugh for hours at this, the others Yiga would do the same but Sooga ... oh he wasn't in this mindset at all, he was thinking a lot about this ...
The princess looked through the window, the storm wasn't calming at all "Sometime I wish the kingdom wasn't under the constant threat of an angry divinity ... I wish we could just all live in peace without having to murder each other to get some kind of happy ending. I could just run away and help people in my own way but- ... no I have other responsibilities I-"
"Would you do it though ?"
"Uh ?"
"Run away, live that life you wish for, make it happen ? That world where no one had to fear for their future ?"
"If I had the opportunity ? ... would you hate me if I said yes ?" The princess looked at Sooga as if she knew his answer she could be surprised.
"I wouldn't ... this is the life I chose too, but it was different, I had a debt and I do not think I finished to pay it. I was dragged away from an existence of misery and uncertainty by the very people I would have wished to avoid years ago. Now I see the world differently, I fight for what I believe to be right, I have seen things that could blow people's vision of this world ..." Sooga knew how ridiculous he was at this moment, speaking and somehow ... befriending their worst ennemy ?
Hell, as Balba said their were on neutral grounds ... but perhaps he could-
The Yiga offered a strange device to Zelda "I think me and my comrades should be going now, you have earned my respect princess. Please take it."
Zelda hesitantly took the strange object from Sooga's hand and began to examine it, it looked like ancient technology but the design was different, less complex and more modern at the same time. Some sort of ... badge ? Icon ? She had seen some guardians with a symbol similar to this one on their external frame but this was definitely not comparable in terms of design.
"If you ever want to run away for a while as you said, just use it." The Yiga left the room before the princess could protest or question him. In fact as soon as he was back in the other room the other Yigas all left the apothecary shop in a hurry with two of them carrying their injury comrade.
Balba attempted to tell them that it wasn't safe to go out at this hour but it was pointless ... anyway the old lady doubted that this bunch could ever get in any real trouble.
Impa was also suspicious, she immediately went to check on the princess who, to her relief, was perfectly safe, the blue mark on her face was almost gone already. Balba could really do miracles "Princess, if you are feeling better we should head back to the castle."
Impa thought she had seen something in the princess hand when she went inside the room but it was probably nothing important Zelda just answered almost absent "Y-yes you ... you are right we should."
Zelda locked herself inside her study, she didn't want to see anyone until tomorrow, especially not the king. Impa made sure that no one would be able to spread the word about tonight's incident ... but it might already be too late, after all they weren't alone at Balba's shop.
The princess layed down in her bed, the words of the stranger who helped her at the apothecary were still occupying her thoughts ...
She took out the unidentified object from her vest, what did he say again ? "If you ever want to run away for a while, just use it." Zelda didn't even know what he meant, or how she was even supposed to use this object at all ... the more she looked at it though, the more she began to identify it as some kind of beacon.
Zelda's mind began to work, it was a reflex, she couldn't prevent it. When she had a piece of technology in her hand she simply had to know how it worked. She turned it in her hands, tried to estimate it's weigh, shook it a few times to see if it was perhaps hollow, by accident she rubbed the surface of the object and it ended up glowing with a warm red light.
The princess almost dropped it with the surprise, unable to understand if it was dangerous or not she simply extended her arms away from her body and turned her face away ... until she heard a bipping sound emanating from the object.
A small ... sphere of light had appeared above it, and some sort of trail was stretched away from the sphere, pointing in a specific direction. The princess moved the object around the room, but the trail always oriented itself in the same direction.
In the end she was right, she had been given a beacon ... a beacon to guide her, but where ?
... and this moment she looked through her window ... the storm was gone, the wild was silent, only the wind and the sound of water flowing around the surroundings of the castle would break this silence. She wished that this could be her life, nothing to fear, nothing binding her to this ... cursed princess life.
... What if she just tried ? What if she just left everything behind her ? The people of Hyrule didn't need her, the only reason she was still here was that she could "potentially" unlock some divine power to seal the great Calamity when it appears again.
But she had no power, she was just wasting everyone's time, if they focused on the other objectives, the divine beasts, the guardians, the master sword ... yes, she had to leave and let the people of Hyrule focus on the greater task.
Zelda grabbed everything she felt essential, a travel bag she usually only brought with her when she has to work with Pruha or the other Sheika researchers, a small dagger that Impa had secretly gifted her for her last birthday, her father would never let her learn how to use a weapon. A decent amount of money, some spare clothes ... and a small relic that her mother had never managed to understand, at least one souvenir from this place.
Would Impa understand ? Perhaps yes ... Zelda also left a short letter destined to her best friend and bodyguard, she wouldn't allow the magistrate to feel guilty.
Getting out of the castle seemed easy, the guards were, to Zelda's displeasure, completely inefficient, was if physically possible to be so bad at a simple task ? She was like a shadow, Zelda reached the dock in the basement of the castle, even though the guards were blind, they would most likely notice her sneaking by the front gate, no she had to use the river around the castle to finally leave.
Once she had manoeuvred her way to the other side of the river Zelda stopped one last time to reconsider her decision, she could still turn back and pretend it never happened ... she did not. When the princess finally had both of her feet on the ground she ran in the direction indicated by the beacon, she never stopped.
Eventually she reached the forest, she took a moment to catch her breath, it felt good, she wanted to run again like she just did, just to experience again this sensation of freedom. But she would not have the time to do so, a certain someone had been catching up with her.
"I'm- ... surprised you even considered my offer and you did so quickly." Zelda recognised the voice, it belonged to the stranger from the apothecary shop. She searched around her, but she couldn find anyone, the princess took out Impa's dagger, was this a trap ? Had she been stupid enough to run straight into a trap ? "Sh-show yourself !"
"I won't hurr you I promise, back when we met we were on neutral grounds. Even if now the situation is different I think we can take some time to speak without having to resort to hurting each other ... though I doubt you could hit me with such a weak posture, no offence princess."
Zelda shivered at the comment "Wh-who are you ?"
"My name is Sooga and-" Zelda turned around when she managed to identify the location of the voice, when she did so she was face to ... well torso considering the size of the person in front of her but anyway, she was standing in front of a member of the Yiga clan.
She was dead, or about to be. Zelda expected to be slain in the next seconds but Sooga just stood in front of her, waiting for something. "Look I won't do anything to you, I just wish to speak with you."
The princess slowly lowered the dagger "You were at the apothecary shop, the man with his face covered with bandages, it was you."
"A simple disguise but quite efficient, we weren't even expecting your visit, one of us was injured and we had to take care of them in emergency. You princess, just happened to be here at the same time."
"We were alone ... why did you not use this opportunity to kill me ?"
"Neutral grounds ... to my dislike, but I respect the rules of war, we Yiga have our honour, and we shall not lower ourselves to accomplish our task ... I admit though it was tempting." The Yiga felt something hitting his mask, it was raining again "There is a cave nearby, let's continue this conversation here, unless you turn out to love a good shower."
Zelda felt no hostility, and this was perhaps the most troubling detail about this encounter "Y-yes."
Sooga did not lie, it was more like a deformation in a cliff than a real cave but it could provide shelter for at least twelve people "I wanted to confirm something ... please be honest with me, do you have any kind of magic power ?"
Zelda looked at Sooga, the Yiga was looking at the horizon ... he figured it out, her father never specified to the people of Hyrule if she indeed had the ability to seal the Calamity or not, the people of Hyrule just assumed she never use her powers at all, only those who knew the details of the prophecy could tell that she should have already manifested these powers.
"I do not ... I never had, and never will."
Sooga looked down "Thank you for your honesty, I had to know, because if you did nothing would have changed, the Yiga would still be hunting you ... but you are no threat without these powers, you aren't a soldier, you aren't a warrior, killing you would be the same as killing an innocent in this war."
"But- ... you are trying to bring back the Calamity or-or at least you are ... supporting it. It's going to bring the ruin to the kingdom, it's not about winning it's just-"
"Bringing pain and suffering ? Princess, the Calamity is not what you believe it to be, you praise the goddesses, we praise the one who is willing to listen to us ..." Sooga stretched and sat down at the opposite side of the cavern. "Do you plan to go anywhere now ? The king is going to look for you, right ?"
Zelda forgot to take a moment to think about this part of her plan, Sooga forced her to rationalise the reality of her escapade, she had nowhere to go and ... well she knew how to hunt, or at least she knew what she could or could not consume ... but a place to stay ? She couldn't ask for Urbosa's help, in fact she couldn't hide in any "populated" region without risking to be found or to involve innocents into her schemes.
"I-I have a few ideas actua-"
Sooga interrupted her "No you do not. At least I know for sure that you were not lying before about not having any power ... You want to avoid your father's influence but you also want to stay in a place where you will be able to survive am I right ?"
Zelda nodded, she was usually good at hidding her emotions, even though she would put more effort to do so during official events.
"... Come with me ?" Even Sooga sounded unsure or aware that what he just sad sounded completely absurd. The princess looked at the Yagi, she believed she miss heard him.
"You-You said something ?"
"You could come with me, hide with the Yiga, considering you aren't a threat anymore you could be under our protection until your father gives up searching for you, I meant what I said about the Calamity being something else than a mindless beast ... I wish to share our point of view with you."
"B-but- ... what about the other Yigas ? What if-"
"If they try to hurt you, they will have to go through me first. I'm not forcing you to do anything, I'm just offering another option."
Zelda was divided between ensuring her survival and the curiosity, the Yigas as far as she knew were just a bunch of thieves, assassins and fanatics but- ... Sooga was different.
"I- ... What would I do ? How would I repay you for your help ?" Sooga began to overthink Zelda's concerns ... to repay something ... he understand that, but the princess wasn't in any danger, and he couldn't just ask something from her because he "spared" her life.
"I suppose we can figure this out later." The Yiga stood up "The storm is about to stop, if we go now we can find a place to rest before dawn."
"Wait- ... you- ... you do not fear that I might communicate where the Yigas are hiding ?"
"Would you? "
Zelda looked down "N-No."
"Then I do not have anything to fear ... I just thought, I can't go around calling you princess or Zelda so ... what should I call you ?"
The princess was focused on following Sooga, the Yiga was walking faster than she expected, he wasn't expecting them to reach their destination before dawn, they "were" going to reach their destination before dawn at this rhythm. Between two breath Zelda accidentally said the first thing that her mind could process "Sh-Sheik-" she almost tripped on a stone, but Sooga caught her.
"Sheik then ? ... sounds good enough for me, well Sheik, I'm honoured to have you among our ranks." Sooga helped Zelda and continued on his trail.
...
"WAIT WHAT-"
