A Link to the Heart Chapter 24
The Knight was probably dead but he had to be checked anyway. Link turned over the body and winced at the sight of guts and entrails protruding through sundered chainmail. The face was pale and the eyes open, to stare at the setting sun, whatever sights he was seeing now none in the world of the living could know. Link covered his nose and let the body fall as he straightened up and sighed.
All around him Hylian folk laboured over the ashes of the battlefield. Teams of sad-faced labourers sorted through the dead and looking for the living. Hundreds of men were busy retrieving armour and swords for the army to reissue, stripping the dead of boots and chainmail. That many of the workers were pinching small items of jewellery and pouches of rupees went unremarked. Looting the dead was a tradition as old as history, more old soldiers than could be counted retired on the pickings they claimed after a battle. Link himself wasn't above salvaging valuables from defeated foes but they were usually monsters. Somehow looting fellow Knights wasn't nearly as appealing.
Across the fields men and women wandered, calling the names of lost friends and loved ones. Link tried not to look at these desperate folk, many of them civilians from the camp following. He knew they searched in vain, probably looking for men who were already dead. Occasionally a living soul was found, sadly a rare occurrence. Cries for aid were answered by healers bearing jars of Lesser Fairies in their arms. The tiny magical creatures were saving many lives, fulfilling their purpose without a qualm. It was heartening to know many would live, thanks to the selfless creatures, but Link could not help but see those who were beyond help. The laws of magic were clear, once death became certain the Lesser Fairys could do nothing. For these poor unfortunates there was only the mercy of a sharp knife and a swift thrust to the heart. It went without saying that the Gerudo survivors met the same fate, the army of Hyrule was angered and in no mood for taking prisoners.
Link sighed as he turned about and saw Epona standing silently behind him. The loyal horse had survived the battle with only a few bleeding cuts, a fortunate mercy. She was bobbing her head about sadly, not understanding what was going on. Her back bore Link's heavy armour, a fact he was grateful for as he doubted he could carry it in his exhausted state. Link rubbed her neck softly and muttered, "Maybe we should call it a day."
From beside him Jortan called, "Tired already, I knew you had no stamina."
"Leave off," Tarren groaned, "I'm in no mood for your jokes."
Link glanced at the pair and saw their wounds. The Knights hadn't come through the fight unscathed, Tarren was nursing a broken rib and Jortan walked with a limp. Still they were lucky, less than one-tenth of the men comprising the left flank could walk off the battlefield, the rest were being carried away on litters or left to rot.
Link pulled a water bottle from a saddlebag and asked, "How many have we counted?"
Tarren shrugged, "Hard to say, a few lads went down among the spearmen, but we Knights took the brunt of it. Best guess, five hundred good men died this day."
"A tragedy," Link sighed.
Jortan however refused to be sullen and said, "A great victory, I counted three Gerudo bodies for every Hylian."
"Small comfort to the dead," Link muttered as he gulped a draught.
Suddenly there was a flutter among the survivors and heads craned to look about. Link turned in confusion, only to be shocked to see an entourage of Knights approaching, surrounding the persons of the King and Princess. Delphna looked harried and tired, he had been leading his army personally and it was his orders that had seen many men slain. Yet his head was high and proud, refusing to show weakness before his men. Princess Zelda looked pristine as always, daintily stepping among the dead like they were no more than fallen logs in her path. She did not seem disturbed by the sight and Link wondered how many battlefields she had seen in his absence, in person and through her powers of foresight.
All bowed to the King as he drew up and said, "There you are, we've been looking for the one responsible for this debacle."
Link was put back by that and spluttered, "What?! But… but we won the battle."
Delphna glared at him and sneered, "You call this winning?! My orders were clear; the Knights were to hold the Gerudo in place until we could destroy them utterly. Instead you hared off, chasing glory and let half of them escape! My reserves gave chase but they were too swift, now I must hunt them down another day."
Link refused to be browbeaten and replied, "I was there and I say the position could not be held. We had not the numbers to resist; the Gerudo would have broken out regardless of anything we did."
Delphna hissed, "Don't think to lecture me on how to fight a campaign. Your glory-seeking won a battle but may have lost me the war."
Link grew aware that many faces were staring at the exchange but then Princess Zelda spoke up, "Father, we should not chastise the Hero who won the battle. We should be thanking him."
"Don't question me in public, daughter," Delphna snapped
Yet Zelda didn't reply, instead she did something most unexpected. The Princess took three swift steps towards Link and before he could understand what she intended she placed both hands on his chest then jumped onto tiptoe to kiss him. Link was stunned by her move and felt her lips press against his. It was a chaste kiss, lasting only a couple of seconds and Link was more stunned than aroused by it. Before he could react she dropped back to her feet and Link heard sudden scurries of whispers, as the gossip began to spread.
Link was left dumbfounded as the Princess turned to her father and smiled. Delphna unfortunately had a face like thunder and growled, "You two, come with me."
The King strode off, leaving Link to follow. He hastily turned to Tarren and passed over his water bottle and said, "Watch Epona for me."
"Of course," Tarren replied, "Golden Goddesses save you."
As Link walked off he heard Jortan muttering, "Suddenly everybody's kissing him. What's he got that I haven't?"
Link left them behind as he walked off the battlefield, trailing the angry King. They marched past the labouring workers, back into the camp setting up behind the battlefield. Link had no time to stop and stare as the King stomped into his royal tent. Link entered and found it barely erected, the poles and canvas covering nothing but grass and sealed chests. No rugs or furniture had been set out and the retainers seemed startled by the interruption. Delphna yelled at them, "All of you get out!"
Link watched the attendants scurry away, followed by the royal bodyguards, leaving the trio alone. He felt like events were spiralling out of his control and said, "Your majesty…"
"Don't flatter me," Delphna snapped with an angry retort, "I won't be made a fool of by you two."
Link was desperately confused now and protested, "I don't understand what you mean."
Delphna barked, "Don't play dumb. You two led me here to this place, then let half the Gerudo escape. Then kiss in public, sealing your place as the Hero of the day! Admit it, you planned this together!"
Link was incensed and objected, "I planned nothing. The left flank couldn't hold; it was never going to. A general of your experience should know that."
Delphna growled, "Don't add insults to your lies."
Link's anger flared and without thought his hand drifted to his sword's hilt as he hissed, "King or not, no man calls me a liar."
Delphna glared for long seconds, eyes narrowing slightly in calculation, then he snorted, "You have some spine lad. I see the truth writ all over you. You're a brave one, not very smart, but bold and honest. More used to swinging a sword than whispering courtly intrigue, I'd wager. I accept you didn't plan this."
It wasn't an apology but it was as close to one as a King could get. Link lifted his hand and said, "Thank you, but may I ask why this victory upsets you so?"
"Not very smart at all," Delphna scoffed, "Winning a battle is not the same thing as winning a war. I wanted the Gerudo obliterated in one day, instead I face a drawn-out campaign. Chasing them from one end of Hyrule to the other. This is not what you promised me: daughter."
Link's head snapped around to stare at Zelda but the Princess remained unflappable as she replied, "I never said the war would be over in one fight."
Delphna's face screwed up as he spat, "You swore a great victory was at hand. You swore Twinrova would be here and fall to Link's blade. Destiny you called it, it was fated, you proclaimed."
Zelda didn't seem concerned as she stated, "I foresaw Link winning a victory against deadly magic. I have also seen Twinrova die under Link's blade. These are not necessarily the same event. The river of time may take unexpected turns, but it always leads to the same sea."
"There it is," Delphna snorted, "Always the same with prophecy: vague portents and grandiose promises. But when I ask for tomorrow's weather or the winning hand in a game of cards suddenly the omens become obscure and your foresight dries up."
Zelda coolly replied, "Destiny does not yield to the petty concerns of mortals. I told you foresight is not intend to be used to help you cheat at cards."
"You were singing a different tune last night," Delphna growled, "You had my vassals convinced the war was all but won."
Zelda shrugged, "Fate is complicated, they are simple men. Simple men need simple answers."
"So I am a fool?" Delphna retorted.
Zelda stated icily, "Had you heeded my warnings earlier then we would have four times as many men marching under our banner."
Link was realising he was stuck in the middle of an old and bitter argument and interjected, "Do you want me to leave?"
"Oh no," Delphna growled, "I have a special place for you."
Link gulped but Zelda protested, "Father, he won us the battle!"
But Delphna snapped, "You're not the queen of Hyrule yet girl! I have been fighting wars since before you were born and winning them without any assistance from destiny. I shall send my Knights where I damn well please!"
Link didn't like where this was going and affirmed, "I want to stay and fight."
Yet Delphna declared, "You swore to obey my commands. You did me a good favour this day, now I'm going to do you a bad one. Word comes from the castle that the refugees grow in number daily, too many to house or feed. At this rate they'll have depleted the granaries in a month and when winter comes my capital will starve. I'm sending parties of Knights back to collect the refuges and spread them across the land. You are to take a few likely lads and escort a group to the Lost Woods, to establish a new settlement."
"You want me to escort refugees?!" Link started in shock.
Delphna grinned, "Zelda thinks to run my kingdom for me, but I refuse to be pushed around like a game piece on a board. I accept no fate, save that which I make for myself. I would knock some sense into her, but unfortunately I can't spank a princess before the crowds. You however, I can do as I please with you."
Zelda's cool broke for the first time as she accused, "You're being petty and small-minded."
"The nice thing about being King is you can afford to be petty," Delphna scoffed, "I shall separate the two of you, let's see destiny find a way around that. That'll teach you for kissing my daughter without asking for my blessing."
"She kissed me," Link muttered but was roundly ignored as Zelda's eyes narrowed and she snapped, "You cannot swim against the river of time."
Delphna snorted, "Maybe not, but I can throw a boulder into it and see what happens. If you're right Link should have no bother finding his way back and winning the war single-handed. If not, then I lose one sword. Either way I have fifteen thousand more spears marching to my side. I can win this war with or without destiny on my side. Now get out, the pair of you."
Link was left with no choice but to bow and make his departure. The Hero and the Princess stepped outside but there they paused and Link rubbed his neck and lamented, "I can't tell if he's an angry general or an angry father."
Zelda looked at him with her startling blue eyes and said, "I'm sorry for kissing you. I got ahead of myself. I forget you haven't seen the future, nor has my father. I've seen our love blossom, seen our wedding day and watched our children being born. It felt like the natural thing to do."
Link's lip twitched as he confessed, "I didn't say it was bad."
Zelda's eyes twinkled as she replied, "Stay in your tent tonight and I'll come to show you some things. I'll show you the future and the patterns that define our lives."
Link's heart swelled with a juvenile surge at the first sentence but it was abruptly quashed by the second. He sadly realised she didn't mean bed-play, but yet more talk of philosophy and destiny. He knew it was important but frankly he was getting sick of Sages lecturing him. Being Zelda's future consort wasn't nearly as much fun as he'd dreamt on his travels. In a flash of maturity he grasped his mental image of Princess Zelda was mostly formed of distorted childhood memories and adolescent fantasies. He didn't really know the Princess in any meaningful way, the woman before him was not the one who had lived in his dreams.
Zelda walked off, leaving Link to mooch back to his own tent. He managed three whole steps before he remembered he was sharing a tent with Malon and she would be there when Zelda came calling. His stomach dropped to his knees at the thought, then hit his boots as he wondered if the gossip of the battlefield kiss had reached her yet. A sense of looming dread settled upon him and he sighed, "I am in so much trouble."
