***ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY**
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In Sotto Voce
By The Wolfess
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Chapter 12
Impa's inauguration as Tribal Leader was a humble affair. The sun peeked through wispy clouds, but it was a gray day in Kakariko Village. This wasn't how any of them imagined Tribal Leader Tikala passing on her leadership. They had pictured Tikala as an elder, old and wizened, and Impa a General of the Hyrulian Army, Queen Zelda's right hand. They had pictured the whole of Hyrule Castle Court in attendance as a wrinkled Elder Tikala, on the last legs of her life, passed on her ceremonial robe as a sign of relinquishing her leadership as the Queen and King of Hyrule watched on.
Instead, Tikala had been at the prime of her life and her leadership. They stripped the robe from her body covered in her own blood and had to clean it in preparation for her daughter's coming. Not only this sorrow, but then Impa came to them in disgrace trailing a foreign princess who was certainly not Zelda. There was not only sorrow hanging in the air, but also disappointment and dishonor. At the ceremony, Impa presented the Sheikah Naginata for proof of her appointment as successor to the role, and then she recited a brief promise to lead the Sheikah Tribe honorably and faithfully, as a servant to her people, to the end of her days. This she promised to do as her mother had before her. They presented her with the cleaned ceremonial robe and that was it.
They went right from the inauguration to the funeral. Tribal Leader Tikala and two others had been killed in Kishla's attack. The Sheikah traitor had murdered them without warning, before anyone could realize what was happing, and then escaped before she could be caught. Kishla was an elder said to be stiffening with disease in her old age. She had served the Tribal Council and Sheikah Leaders, as well as the Royal House of Hylia, for many years. No one had thought twice about taking her weapons when she asked to enter the council chamber. Why would they have needed to? At least, that was what the Sheikah standing guard at the entrance had claimed.
The whole tribe turned up for the funeral, as well as Princess Ruto. The faces that surrounded the grave site were like those of lost children who couldn't understand what was going on. The new Tribal Leader felt the same lost child within herself, and she had no comfort to give them. The doctor's maggots and Ruto's magic may have healed her physical body, but her spirit felt like the wound was still bleeding. To have so nearly touched her destiny only to have it torn away along with the one person in her life who had always been her anchor—it left her feeling as sick and paralyzed as she had been in her sick bed.
As the last tribal members trickled in, Impa took a deep breath and came around to the open side of the casket. It was a nice day, really, and the corpse was still fresh, so the tribe left the casket partially open. They covered the wounds in her chest and stomach with flours and put some makeup on her face to make it more lifelike. Roses and other scented flowers were scattered around to mask the scent of the three corpses. It wasn't a perfect solution for the smell, but it was sufficient.
Impa had not actually looked at her mother's face yet. She had tried to several times, but felt fear hit her like a tidal wave trying to drown her and couldn't bring herself to do it. It was time now, though. She took a deep breath. All the tribal members bowed their heads and averted their eyes as the new Tribal Leader looked down at the open coffin.
Lying inside was a woman of fifty-three years. Her silver hair had gone completely white at a young age, like Impa's also had. She had the Sheikah eye tattooed in red on her forehead. The teardrop traced all the way down the bridge of her nose and landed in the middle of her chin. As a child, Impa always thought it made her look particularly scary when she was mad, but Tikala's eyes would soften every time she looked upon her daughter. There were crow's feet at the corners those eyes now, as well as smile lines around her mouth, but these signs of age only made her more fiercely beautiful. If her bare arms were showing, they would be covered in Sheikah tribal tattoos as well, and they would be well-toned like the warrior she still was.
Impa frowned and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the rim of the casket. Tikala had the best years of her life ahead of her. Sheikah were traditionally long-lived due to their strict dietary restrictions and physical fitness. She should be chiding Impa for kissing the princess and then helping her figure out what happened and how to fix it. She should come into her room later that night to ask what the kiss had been like and what the princess was like and to secretly assure her that Zelda would come around and everything would work out just as the goddesses had planned. She should be there to remind Impa to look for the good that still remained in the world, despite all the bad that had happened, and to never lose hope. Instead, Tikala lay in a coffin about to be lowered into the earth, just another casualty at the beginning of a war. Thanks to Kishla and whatever master that traitor served, the Sheikah Tribal Leader was dead. Impa's mother was dead.
Impa swallowed the tears back, curling her hands into fists that shook at her sides. When she was sure she could speak calmly, she turned around to address the tribe. "I will keep this brief, as I know you all are grieving as much as I am," she started. "Tribal Elder Tikala was a passionate woman who loved life and all the creatures in it. She sought to bring harmony and unity into the world, and to bring our tribe back to the earth. Back to its roots. The Sheikah Tribe has had no better leader in generations—you all know this to be true. She was taken much too soon from us, and by such violent and horrible circumstances. It is natural for us to wonder what might have become of the tribe under the golden twilight of her leadership, but we will never know." Impa's voice trailed off. Around her, she could see the accusation in the faces of her tribesmen: you were at the castle with Kishla, why didn't you stop her? The crown thinks you're a traitor, so aren't you? Did you work with Kishla to murder your own mother? It's your fault. Your fault, Impa. Traitor…murderer. Aren't you?
Across from her, standing at the front of the crowd in a small, black dress, Ruto smiled at her a little.
Taking consolation in the presence of her one supporter, Impa took a deep breath and continued. "I will lead an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Kishla's betrayal and the murders of Tikala and the two council members, Elder Sarahi and Councilman Zara. We will discover the truth of what happened and root out any of Kishla's supporters. Since you are all gathered here, I will tell you up front: if you come forward now, it will go easier on you than if I must root you out myself." She leveled a glare around the gathered tribesmen, and they lowered their accusing eyes to the ground. Impa had a reputation as a fierce warrior, on par with her mother or better, and none of them wanted to pick a battle with her in the open. "So be it. Then I will say the closing rites."
Impa stepped back from the coffin, made the sign of the Triforce over herself, and opened her hands to either side, palms open to the sky. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back in prayer.
"Holy Triune Goddesses," she started, "filled with mercy, dwelling in a land of light beyond the Sacred Realm, bring proper rest beneath the wings of ravens as they shepherd Tribal Leader Tikala, Elder Sarahi, and Councilman Zara to join the ranks of the faithful. Lighten our troubled hearts like the brilliance of the skies so that we understand that they who lie here are joining the great multitude of our beloved and blameless who have gone to their eternal place of rest. May the ravens, who are the vehicles of Nayru's mercy, shelter them beneath their wide wings and bind these souls to themselves in their eternal flight, that our dead may rest in peace.
"Remember, O Nayru and Farore, the Goddesses of Spirits and of all Flesh, that we are your faithful people. We stand watch at the doors of eternity. We are the guardians of the cycle and messengers of your will. Through watching over the bloodline of the House of Hylia, rulers of Hyrule, and through faithful vigilance to foresee the coming of He who Possesses Courage in the Darkest Hours, we have borne our duty faithfully. Remember us and give rest to our dead in the afterlife as they rise to join you in your Holy Place, in your kingdom, in the delight of Paradise, from whence pain and sorrow and sighing have fled away, where the light of your holy countenances visit them and always shine upon them.
"O great Din, who on this saddest of days will be pleased to accept propitiatory prayers for those who seek passage to your holy land, send down your consolation and the strength of your black wings. Establish these souls in the fields and feasts of the faithful who have passed before, and graciously vouchsafe unto them peace and pardon. Lastly, send your consolation unto the hearts and souls of those of us who remain. Increase our steadfast love for you and our faith in the Three, for the dead shall not praise thee, O Goddesses. They who await the raven's grace to raise them to your holy place shall not bring you glory. But we who are living will bless you, and will pray, and will offer you prayers for their souls. Goddesses, in your mercy, hear our prayers."
"Hear our prayers," the Sheikah echoed.
Impa opened her eyes, but kept her hands out, palms upward and open in invitation. "Please, take this time to share your memories of our dead. Share stories of their good faith and watchfulness that their souls may be smiled upon and shepherded to the Land of Eternal Peace where the Triune Goddesses wait. Raise your voices so that their messenger and shepherd, the Holy Raven, may hear." This was when the food was brought out in celebration and invitation. It was believed that if good stories were shared in a welcoming environment, the Shepherd would feel more welcome. A raven would descend among them and take the souls of the dead upon its strong wings to the Holy Land.
It was late into the night when the first raven came among them. They continued feasting and celebrating the lives of the dead until the second and third ravens descended. Silence fell in the presence of the carrion birds. They ate of the food on the table and hobbled among the Sheikah Tribesmen, and then they flew away. The souls of the dead would be taken. All was well.
Rising from their table, the Sheikah closed the caskets on the bodies—devoid of the spirits who once inhabited them—and lowered them into the ground. Once the dirt had been packed over the bodies, each Sheikah helped to move the feast into the great hall. Most of the tribe went there to finish eating, talking, and enjoying the company of those who remained. Some tribesmen walked over to the survivors of Elder Sarahi and Councilman Zara, but only a few came over to console her.
As soon as was appropriate, Impa excused herself and slipped away. She walked through the empty streets of the small village to Tikala's house, her own childhood home. It was a modest house containing two small bedrooms and a central living area. Her mother decorated it with earthy colors. She had a few wooden sculptures depicting Ravens, and others depicting women and men in elegant positions. She was always an admirer of natural beauty, whether that was the beauty of the earth or the beauty of the creatures and people who walked the earth.
Standing in their home, the new Tribal Leader could see that her mother had removed some of Impa's childhood stuff in favor of having more paintings from her favored artists and other abstract decorations around the house. Still, when the Sheikah wandered back to her old room she found that her mother had kept the second bedroom ready for Impa to sleep in when she visited. The little gesture made her smile. No matter how long she had been gone, she had always had a home with her mother when she returned to Kakariko.
"Knock knock?" Impa blinked and poked her head out of the bedroom. Ruto was standing in the middle of the living space with her hands cupping her elbows. "Door was open," she said, gesturing behind her.
"It's okay," Impa said, coming out to join the Zora. She went to their ice box and pulled out a couple chilled ciders. "Not much in here but some hard cider just thawing from last fall. Mom kept some on hand for guests." She handed one to Ruto, and they sat on the couch together.
They were quiet while Impa looked down at her cider, and Ruto looked around at the house. "So, this is where you grew up, huh?"
Impa nodded. "Yep. There's not much to it though."
Ruto picked up one of the throw pillows and smiled. "It's…charming," she said. "Your mother had great taste in decorating. Too bad it didn't rub off on her daughter." She smiled genuinely, and the Sheikah appreciated it. Shallowness would have been hard to grit down right about now.
"You know, you don't have to stick by my side every moment," Impa said. "Not that I don't enjoy the company or am ungrateful for everything you've done for me. You must be tired too."
Ruto stood up and started wandering around the house. "I know. You're a big girl who can take care of herself and all. But maybe I need someone right now too." Impa started to respond, but Ruto abruptly leaned in to examine some artwork closer. "Hey, this one almost looks like…"
Impa stood up and walked over to the painting the princess was looking at. She sighed. "Zelda. It is her."
Ruto raised an eyebrow. "Stalking the little princess—oops, queen—were you?"
Impa rolled her eyes. "No. Mom's favorite artist met the princess a couple years ago and he was so amazed that he did a whole series of interpretations of her face. Mom bought her favorite one of the series to…"
When she trailed off, Ruto reached over and hooked her pinky finger through the Sheikah's. "To?" she prompted. Impa looked at the portrait, and her face scrunched up as if in pain.
"To stand as a reminder…that our lives are not our own. That the Sheikah live and breathe for the sole purpose of serving the goddess reincarnate—Zelda. It is our divinely assigned duty, for the rest of eternity, until the last breath of the last Sheikah is spent. This…this particular painting…" she reached up and gestured to the way the strokes were short and rapid, yet flowed together in a harmony, and the way the artist leaned toward airy colors and winged figures behind the queen. "Mom loved it because she felt it particularly spoke to the goddess's lineage in the princess. Queen. In the queen."
Ruto raised an eyebrow. "So, every Sheikah believes that the sole reason for their existence is service to the reigning monarch of Hyrule? What a deal."
Impa shook her head. She turned away from the painting, unable to look at it. "Not any monarch," she said. "Just Zelda. Each Zelda in the line of Hylian Queens, and only them." She walked back over to the couch and sat down, drinking some of her cider and staring at the opposite wall. "We're not generally supposed to fall in love with her though, or kiss her. That's generally frowned upon."
Ruto kept walking around and looking at things, as if trying to figure out how to approach this situation. Eventually she stopped right next to Impa and slid her arms around the Sheikah's waist. Her head tilted to rest on Impa's shoulder. "Look, I know there's a lot of nuance to your way of life and this whole situation that I can't possibly understand. But I do care. And I'm here if you need someone."
Impa tilted her head to rest on Ruto's and leaned into the embrace. It felt good to be held for a moment. To feel like in this moment, with a friend's arms around her, she wasn't as alone as she felt. The Sheikah's eyes closed, and she sighed. Just for a moment, she thought, I'll allow myself this indulgence. And she noticed how, despite being a Zora, Ruto's arms were pleasantly warm and soft. But her duty to her tribe pulled at her with greater strength than her desire for comfort. Stuff like this could lead to something more, and Impa wouldn't risk her only friendship.
"Hey," she said, pulling away from Ruto's embrace. "Thank you for coming. For everything. Really. But I should start sorting through some of this stuff. Get my mom's affairs straightened out."
Ruto nodded. "Okay," she said, moving toward the door. "I'll go to my place. Thank you for getting me set up, by the way. It's nice."
Impa walked to the door with the Zora princess. "It should be," she said. "It's the royal suite. Usually, Zelda and the rest of the royal house use it. You're a royal too, though, so the tribe doesn't mind."
Ruto laughed. "Well, I guess as long as the TRIBE doesn't mind…" she shook her head. "Sheikah can be kind of uptight, huh?" Before Impa could answer, Ruto waved her hand in dismissal. "Never mind, not the right time. Look, thanks for the cider. And I meant what I said. If you need company, you know where I am."
Impa nodded. "I'm grateful for the offer," she said. "I'll keep that in mind."
Once the Zora princess was gone, Impa started gathering her mother's things to begin settling her affairs. There were few affairs to settle. Her mother had been the Tribal Leader for most of her life, having received the title through prophecy at a young age after the previous leader had been killed before naming his successor. Since she was so young when she took the heavy responsibilities, the tribe had adopted her as belonging, in a way, to all of them. She never wanted for food, clothing, or housing. The position of Tribal Leader came with enough money to live modestly, so she never wanted for her own spending money. She also never wanted for love, as the whole tribe was her family. On a purely administrative level, there weren't many investments, paperwork, or other such things to settle because of this lifestyle. On a personal level, however, Impa knew that once their suspicion was rooted out there would be many, many families to visit with and many personal debts to settle.
All of that was for the future, however. Tonight, there was one thing that Impa had to go through. One item she had been dying to know about her entire life. Sitting in the back of her mother's closet was an unassuming black chest. Despite not having been touched for years, as far as Impa was aware, the dust on it appeared to be the light accumulation of a week or two—indicating that Tikala had opened it just shortly before her death for some reason. Why would mom have needed this when she hadn't opened it in years? I wonder.
Impa took the chest to the living room, where she realized it was locked and would require a key. It took her another couple minutes to find it—hidden in her mother's underwear drawer of course—and returned to the chest. Blowing off the dust, Impa unlocked it and took a moment to gather her courage. Somehow, it still felt wrong. Tikala had forbidden her to touch it, and that was one rule that Impa hadn't broken. Something in the tone in her mother's voice always told her younger self that this was something serious. A rule too important to break on the whim of teenage rebellion. Finally, though, there was no reason for this secret to hang over their lives anymore. Impa would finally learn what it was that her mother found reason to hide in her life of openness.
The hinged creaked as the lid eased open. Inside, the chest smelled musty and old somehow. Impa pulled out the top handful of items. She turned them over and saw that she had a handful of old pictographs in her hand. "Curious," she said to herself. She set the pictographs on the couch beside her and pulled out the rest of the contents of the chest.
Settling back with her bottle of cider, Impa picked up the pictograph on top. There she saw a much younger version of her mother. She was standing in the castle, that much was apparent right away. What was surprising to Impa wasn't WHERE she was standing—it was WHO she was arm in arm with: the previous Zelda, Kishla's previous ward and the current Queen Zelda's mother. Impa looked closer at the women in the picture: this Zelda had darker hair than her daughter's, closer to an auburn color, and her eyes were a lighter shade of blue. She was very young, obviously still a princess, and a large smile was on her face. Her arm rested around the waist of an equally young Tikala. The pictograph's colors were fading—it was amazing that they were in color at all—but Impa could tell that her mother was blushing.
Impa set down the pictograph and picked up the next one. This one was the two women again, but this time they were lounging at Lake Hylia in swimsuits. Tikala's hair hung loose about her shoulders. Their hands touched on the beach blanket beneath them. Impa picked up the next pictograph, and the next. Each pictograph was either of them together, or just the princess. They aged through them, month by month, over the course of a few years Impa guessed. As time progressed, they seemed to get farther apart, but there was always a kind of intimacy just beneath the surface. Their pinkies touching. A look one of them was giving the other. One of them wearing something that obviously belonged to the other. The look of having just jumped apart, or was Impa just imagining that? As the new Sheikah Tribal Leader was flipping through the pictographs again, she started to notice someone else hidden in many of them: somewhere in the background usually, or on the side, a younger Kishla, perhaps in her late thirties or early forties, looking increasingly dour.
Setting these aside, Impa reached back into the chest. There, she found some letters wrapped in string, and something soft wrapped in brown paper. Impa took out the soft item first. Unwrapping it, she found a black cloak embroidered with intricate designs and the insignia of the Royal House of Hyrule. Wrapped up inside it was a little piece of paper on which a note was written in the finest, most elegant handwriting. "To keep you warm when my arms cannot. Happy birthday."
Impa's eyes widened. No… she thought. She wrapped the cloak back up and set it and the pictographs back in the empty chest. Untying the string that held the letters together, the Sheikah flipped through them to find the one that was dated earliest and opened it up.
"My dearest Tik,
I know you said not to write you, but I could not help myself. I have had so much fun getting to know you. You are like the sister I never had. Were it in my power I would never let you leave the castle, but I know you have duties of your own leading the Sheikah. You work so hard and all I do is study and get pampered. My mother and father will not allow me to help them with anything. They fear that I will not manifest any gifts if have not already, and I think they resent me because of it. I will not occupy your time any longer. I just wanted to thank you for visiting and beg you to come again soon. I have not felt so alive in years as I have with you, and I cannot get you off my mind it seems. Please write me back soon, or else I should die from worry over you.
Yours, Princess Zelda."
As Impa read through the letters, a story unfolded that shocked her to the core. Young infatuation between the future queen and the young Sheikah evolved into friendship as the young tribal leader found reasons to go the castle to meet with the princess. That friendship quickly grew into love and was hidden. The letters grew secretive and coded, difficult to decipher, but much of the code was based on Sheikah shorthand and Impa could make out enough of the letters' content to know that Zelda and Tikala had fallen madly in love…and, eventually, as they grew into adulthood and pressure started to come upon the maturing Hylian princess to date and marry, the two women had become physically intimate.
The letters stopped here for a long time. There was only one letter left, and it was dated several years after the previous letter. The letter was a long one, speaking of trivial matters of court and mentioning how much the princess missed Tikala. Soon, however, it took a twist that still surprised her somehow, despite knowing that the princess eventually married. The princess spoke of her arranged marriage with the much-older Duke of Lanayru, Duke Daphnes. She said that he was a kind man and had a good head for business, which she appreciated because she had never had much interest in the politics of ruling. She thought he would make a good king someday, but she said that her betrothal was a direct result of Kishla's betrayal of her confidence. Zelda wished that Kishla would have just minded her own business and never said anything to the king and queen, and that Kishla was just jealous because they had never had the same closeness that the previous Zeldas and their bodyguards normally had. Zelda begged for Tikala to write her back, insisting that they could find a secret place to meet, and that the engagement was actually a good thing. After all, the princess wrote in the letter, once she was queen no one could tell her not to meet with the Sheikah Tribal Leader. They could continue their love affair forever, if only Tikala would agree to keep their love a secret from everyone, and to please, please write back.
Judging from the fact that there were no more letters, Impa could only assume that her mother had not written back. "I love you to the moon and back, Tiki," the princess wrote as a closing to the letter, and then signed it "yours forever, Sheik the Shadow." Impa recognized this as the code name the princess used in the letters just in case someone intercepted one. It was the same name that her mother had used for the hero of the bedtime stories she had told Impa as a child, stories about a Princess of Hyrule who had to hide in disguise to prevent herself being discovered by the Evil King of Darkness. It was the same name that Impa herself had given to her own Zelda, thinking, innocently, to hide her from the public when they were out.
Impa read the letter again, more slowly this time, trying to read between the lines. In the earlier letters, the content was more coded, and the princess's letters could have passed as belonging to some random Sheikah. She didn't usually come right out and say the names of nobles or her parents openly, as she had in this letter. Judging from the water marks and the shaky handwriting, however, Impa guessed that the princess had been more emotionally distraught when writing it than she let on in the beginning.
Impa folded the letter up and tied it up with the rest of the letters. Putting the bundle back in the old chest, she closed and relocked it. Once the key had been hidden on her own person, Impa got up and put the chest back where she found it. Feeling numb, she sat on her knees in her mother's room and stared at the closed closet door. Her mother and Zelda's mother had been in love? Not just in love, but physically intimate, and kept it hidden from everyone they knew. Impa had not even known that her mother had been attracted to women at all, let alone had a love affair with the former queen herself. Not only that, but their love affair was broken up by Kishla, of all people. That couldn't be coincidence could it?
Impa's mind was churning. Puzzle-pieces of her life fit together in ways she had not thought to make them fit. Her mother told her that her father was a one-time fling that happened because she was heartbroken over someone else. Although the fling had been a bad idea, she never regretted it because he gave her Impa. Impa was the best thing that had happened in her life, she said. But that fling was the only relationship her mother had ever spoken of. Impa had never seen or heard of her have any interest in anyone else, of either gender. Tikala's entire life had been devoted to her tribe and her daughter—at least on the surface. As Impa thought back, however, a memory tickled at the back of her mind. It was one of her earliest memories. She remembered being present in an official meeting between the Queen of Hyrule and her mother. She was maybe around five and her memory was fuzzy, but she remembered it because the Queen had a toddler about the same age and her mother was very angry. She had never seen her mother so angry either before or after that moment. But what could have made her so angry? Was it the child? The marriage? Something else?
An idea started forming in Impa's mind. What if Kishla's jealousy wasn't just expressed in that one act of betrayal? Sure, she betrayed the young couple's love affair back then, and the king and queen made their young daughter marry against her will because of it. But there had to be something more than just 'why is Zelda closer with this other Sheikah than with me?' or worry over the succession of Hyrule. In order for a Sheikah of her rank and spiritual ability to betray two Zeldas and her own tribe, there had to be something deeper. But what was it, and what had she done because of it? Impa couldn't put the pieces together. She felt like she was missing some key parts of the puzzle. If she could figure out what those pieces were, then maybe she could figure out Kishla's motivation. If Impa could figure out the truth behind Kishla's betrayal, then she could clear her image in both the eyes of the Sheikah tribe and in Zelda's eyes. She could regain her honor.
"I love watching you think," came a soft voice behind her.
Impa stood up and spun around. Standing in the doorway to her mother's room was a figure that the Sheikah tribal leader couldn't believe she was seeing: a small, slightly-built woman dressed in a full Sheikah bodysuit with four kunai strapped to her outer thighs. She had long blond hair braided and wrapped, with a full turban on her head and a facial wrap covering her lower face. Despite her Sheikah attire, however, this woman's blue eyes were sparkling with mirth.
"Zelda?" Impa breathed, standing in the middle of the room with her hands hanging limply, dumbly at her sides. "Wha—what are you doing here? How…you're the queen now. Why?"
"The name is Sheik, remember?" said the queen. She sauntered over to Impa, her hips swaying and her steps cocky, confidant. She placed her hands on Impa's hips and pulled her forward until the fronts of their bodies touched. Belly to belly, breast to breast, Impa's heart started beating harder and her breath quickened. What the hell was happening?
"Why…how…none of that matters," Zelda said, her voice muffled by the face wrap. "The point is that I want you back. I need you. I have missed you terribly, my sweet Sheikah."
Impa's mind was screaming with protests and questions, but as she opened her mouth to speak Zelda placed one wrapped, manicured finger over her lips. Turning that same finger around, she used it to pull her facemask down around her neck. "I have wanted to taste your mouth again so badly," the queen whispered, leaning forward as she spoke. She captured Impa's protests with her lips. The kiss was hungry and passionate, lip on lip, tongue on tongue. Zelda's hands roved over Impa's body, finding the gaps in her clothing and slipping inside touch her skin. Her touch was hungry, like a wildfire burning through her. If she wasn't careful, it would consume her.
Still kissing, "Sheik" moved the tribal leader back toward the bed. She broke the kiss and pushed the slightly older woman down onto it, crawling on after her. Impa scooted backwards, her eyes wide. She was both terrified and eager at the same time. When Zelda got close, however, she just pulled Impa into her arms. Holding one another, the queen leaned her forehead against Impa's. She was smiling and twirling Impa's braid around her finger. "I love you to the moon and back…" she whispered.
!
Impa woke up. Her whole body was covered in a cold sweat. She looked around the house, but it appeared to be empty. She was still sitting on the couch with the last letter limp in her fingers, the open chest on the floor in front of her. When she sat up, the back of her damp clothes stuck to the couch. "It was just a dream," she said to herself. Unconvinced, however, Impa put the letters away in the chest and walked through the rooms of the house. She was, indeed, alone, and everything was exactly as she had left it.
Impa locked the chest and put it away, as she had in the dream. When she stood up this time, there was no Sheikah-dressed queen waiting for her. Impa crossed to her own room and started pulling the beads and braids out of her hair. She tugged a little harder than normal, frustrated by her own dream. Once her hair was down, she dragged a brush through it and went to lie down in her bed.
Impa tossed and turned for a while. Every little creak of the house or sound outside set her on full alert. Some part of her body was expecting the queen to walk in at any moment, but it wasn't going to happen. Not to mention that fact that every time she closed her eyes, she could almost feel Zelda's lips again, so warm and inviting as they moved against her own. Finally, after about an hour of this, Impa knew she wasn't going to get any sleep that night and she got up. She dressed in some fresh clothes and locked the front door behind her when she left the house.
In the main hall, some were still partying late into the night. Impa could hear a lone pipe playing a merry tune and a few people laughing, probably dancing. Others trickled back to their own homes. The tribal leader meant to walk aimlessly through the cool late-spring night and watch for the blink of fireflies around her. Her mind drifted back to her dream as she walked. She remembered Zelda's hands as they touched her skin and the way her hips moved when she strutted across the room. She remembered the taste of Zelda's mouth. It was the most vivid, and most disturbing, dream she had ever had. But something else stuck in the edge of her mind—something more important than pleasure. In the dream she had started putting together some ideas paralleling Kishla's current betrayal and her older betrayal. But what was she getting at? It was fuzzy now.
Impa was walking toward Ruto's door as the memory of her dream hypothesis came back to her. Whatever the thought had been, it was a decent concept to pursue. Perhaps if she learned more about that time than just what was in the letters, it could even prove fruitful. Going with her instincts, Impa changed trajectory and headed toward one house she knew would accept her at this hour, even now.
After Impa knocked, it was only a moment before a man in his late fifties opened the door. "Hey, Impa, it's pretty late," he said, squinting at her and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Do you mind, Uncle?" she asked. "I couldn't sleep, and I have some questions about mom."
The man nodded and opened the door the rest of the way. "Of course I don't mind. Come on in." He closed the door again once Impa was inside and ushered her into the kitchen. She sat down at the ornate oak table while the man went about getting her something to eat. He was always trying to feed her something, and it made her smile that some things never changed. Letaln wasn't really her uncle. He had been her mother's best friend since childhood. They were like brother and sister, so Impa had taken to calling him uncle a long time ago and it stuck. He was married to a very pretty wife and had three strapping boys of his own at various stages of development, but he had always treated Impa as if she really were a part of his family.
"So," he said, setting a sandwich and some water in front of her, "what do you want to know about your mom that you don't already?" He smiled when he said that. Impa and her mother had been more like sisters than mother and daughter. They shared everything.
Impa didn't return the smile. "Uncle…I've come to ask about Zelda."
He looked confused. "The new queen? Why, I don't know anything about her. You know more about her than I do. Though, if she is dumb enough to think you would ever betray her then I don't know about her being the holder of the Triforce of Wisdom."
Hearing his immediate support did bring a smile to her face now. "Thanks uncle," she said. "It means a lot to me to hear you say that. But I wasn't talking about her…I was talking about her mother." A few emotions shot very quickly over his face. Surprise, confusion, realization, and then his face became carefully blank. "You knew, didn't you?" Impa prompted when he didn't speak.
Letaln shook his head. "I have no idea what you're alluding to. I don't know anything about the late queen."
Impa raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you can't lie to me. And anyway, I opened the chest in mom's closet tonight. I already know."
The older Sheikah man sighed. His shoulders drooped. "Tiki told me never to tell," he mumbled. "I'm the only one she confidedthat particular story in. Gosh, we haven't spoken of it in years. I don't know what I can tell you that you haven't already read."
Impa took a bite out of the sandwich and washed it down with some water. "You can start with everything."
"I don't know why it matters," Letaln muttered. He was like a teenager again being put on the spot in a test. "It's ancient history."
Impa looked down at the table. "Sometimes history repeats itself."
Letaln dragged his fingers through his thinning hair. "Okay," he said. "Well, if you've read the letters then you know the basics. They met at an official thing. New Sheikah Tribal Leader, meet future Queen of Hyrule. But they clicked right away, and soon they were both infatuated. Your mom had this unshakable sense of duty, though, and she wouldn't do anything. It was Zelda who made the first move. She was a lot more outgoing than the current Zelda. Well, one day they were out on a late-night walk when all of a sudden the princess just took Tiki's hand, pulled her close, and kissed her. She said she'd been wanting to do that for months. That's when they started becoming romantically involved. Your mom was the first one to say 'I love you' and Zelda said it back right away. Tiki told me that the princess had said that standing there with nothing but moonlight in her silver hair, she looked like some moon goddess come to earth. That's where the phrase at the end of the letters came from. Love you to the moon and back."
Letaln got up and poured himself a glass of water. Coming back to the table, he took a drink and continued. "Their relationship escalated quickly. It was forbidden and exciting, you know how it goes. They were crazy for each other. The princess would sneak to the village dressed as a Sheikah. She'd call herself Sheik and spend time with your mom. At the castle they thought that she was just strengthening the royal family's political bonds by becoming friends with the young Tribal Leader, so they were all for it. They never suspected…but Kishla knew."
Impa leaned forward. "How long did she know? What do you know of her feelings about it?"
Letaln leaned back in his chair and scratched his head. "Well, when did she find out? Zelda was always slipping her to meet Tiki in secret. But it was hard to keep anything a secret from Kishla. She had the Sight, you know? She might have known from the beginning. But she confronted your mom with it shortly after the night they…" he trailed off and looked at Impa like a cornered animal. "Come on, Impa, don't make me talk about this. What does it matter anyway?"
Impa reached across the table and took his hand. "It might help me clear my name," she said. "Please."
Letaln sighed again. "If it will help clear you…but I still think there are something things you just don't need to know about your mother's life. Just to have that on the record."
Impa nodded. "Your reluctance to tell me about my mother's sex life is duly noted and appreciated."
"Fine. Well, the princess was here visiting when it happened. Tik told me afterward. None of the gory details, you know, but she was on cloud nine. They had been together for a couple years. Zelda's parents were starting to pressure her to see suitors, and if they were going to keep hiding their relationship then she had to start seeing men. One of these arranged dates went really bad and the guy kissed Zelda against her will. Kishla got him off before he could do more and threw him out, but Zelda had never kissed anyone but your mom and she was really upset. She left to come here right away. Again, I don't have all the details here, but what I understand is that the princess didn't just want your mom to kiss her and make it better, you know? She was curious and young and frustrated and pent up all the time, and she wanted more…so Tik gave her what she asked for. Tikala…she wasn't the same after that. Things changed. It wasn't semi-innocent kissing anymore. They had something really serious to hide. She felt like she was doing something really wrong by making love with the future Queen of Hyrule. Hell, Impa, she was doing something wrong. But they were old enough to marry, and they were in love. I told her to go for it and screw the politics. What would they do, cut ties with the Sheikah tribe? They can't afford that. We do too much for them."
Impa closed her eyes and nodded, rubbing her temples. "Yeah, list of things I didn't want to know: how romantic my mom's first time was." Despite how gross it was to hear about her mother's sex life, she knew how it was to feel like you were doing something wrong by following your heart. Luckily it was too late for things to go that far between them now. "Anyway, when did Kishla come into this?"
"Well," Letaln said, taking another sip of water. "Kishla approached her one day, out of the blue, and said that she knew and if Tikala didn't end it then she would be forced to act. Your mom told her to shut her trap and keep her 'eye' to herself, and that was an order. It wasn't an order that Kishla was okay with."
"What makes you say that?" Impa asked.
Letaln took another drink of water. "Well, observation of course." Seeing that Impa wanted him to continue, he explained deeper. "You see, Impa, your mom getting the Tribal Leadership when she was practically still a child…well, it came out of nowhere. Raskan was established and doing okay, but he hadn't named a successor. Rumors were flying around as to who it would be. Everyone suspected Kishla. She was the protector for two Zeldas, Zelda Harkinian Hyrule the thirteenth briefly in her old age and Zelda Harkinian Hyrule the fourteenth in her youth. She was one of the Sheikah's best warriors, and she had mastered the art of seeing the truth. Her advice was sought out by the highest nobles and generals at court. Everyone, or at least just about everyone, thought that Kishla would be named successor. She was the most natural choice."
"So what happened when Raskan was killed?" Impa asked. She had finished her sandwich and was relaxing back in the wooden chair.
"His last words are what happened," Letaln said. "Three people near him heard as clear as day: Raven's choice."
Impa's brow furrowed. Raven's choice was a ceremony of fasting and prayer in which the whole tribe sought for the Raven to show them the way. It was used when a big decision had to be made that affected the whole tribe. They sought out the Raven to bring down the Goddesses' decision, like a prophecy. "Raven's choice…but if it was obvious that it should have been Kishla, then why?"
Letaln shrugged. "I was too young. I don't know. Point is that the ravens chose your mom, and Kishla was never happy about it. Your mom was a kid. Even when she grew up, Tikala was a wildcard. She was willful and passionate, attributes that our tribe was sorely missing back then. Kishla could never see how that kind of passion could be good in a leader. She always wanted the Sheikah tribe to be more distant and cold, removed from the world and the affairs in it. She wanted us to be as insubstantial and dark as shadows. Your mom, though, saw the truth of it: that shadows move as the light does. Sure, they're subtle, as we are. But they're also flexible and beautiful. She breathed new life into the tribe. She made us relevant to the country and the world again."
Impa sat in silence. Kishla was supposed to be the next tribal leader, before the Raven chose Tikala instead. They represented two opposite visions for the future of their tribe. One, cold and distant, the other, passionate and relevant. Impa could see how that might cause some inherent resentment to grow in the old Sheikah woman, especially when Tikala started intruding on territory she believed to be hers: the castle, and its young princess. But was it enough to betray them?
"What did Kishla do when she found out that mom and the princess were continuing their love affair?" Impa asked.
Letaln shook his head and sighed. "She told the king and queen. She had been the queen's guard for a little while, before Zelda the Fourteenth was born, and she still had Zelda the Thirteenth's ear from time to time. The king and queen brought in their daughter and demanded the truth. The princess admitted everything and said that she loved your mother and wanted to marry her. The queen and the king wouldn't hear of it—the succession was as stake. They forbade Tikala and Zelda to have any contact. In fact, they forbade the young princess from seeing any women at all. They interviewed young suitors on her behalf. Often the princess wasn't even present. When they found Duke Daphnes to be the best option as a ruler for the Kingdom, knowing their daughter would likely not do much ruling, they declared the match official, and the rest is history."
Letaln sighed and shook his head. "Your mother never spoke with Kishla again, if you can believe it, and only spoke with Zelda when she had too. Zelda the Fourteenth became queen, was impregnated, had a child, and your mother never even wrote to congratulate the royal family on the birth of next Zelda. It was quite controversial you know. The next time they saw each other after that was when you and Zelda the Fifteenth were both really little still. Zelda called your mother to Court. It was a demand, not a request. At that meeting, she proposed that a pact be made between our two governments to repair the rift that had grown between us: Tikala's young daughter was already on a warrior's path. An agreement was made that when you were of age and skill, you would replace Kishla as guardian of the new princess. This was in keeping with the visions seen by the Sheikah Council of Elders concerning your destiny, and your mother agreed. Kishla was present to see that this agreement would be upheld, and she did."
All the air felt as if it had left Impa's chest. "So…I didn't get the appointment on my own merit?" Impa asked. "I wasn't really chosen because I showed any promise or skill? It was simply two women trying to make up through their children?"
Letaln frowned. "Now, Impa, don't look at it that way…"
Impa stood up from the table. She was getting angrier by the moment, but she kept her voice down for the sake of the rest of the family sleeping in the other rooms. "What other way is there to look at it, uncle? My mother and the late queen couldn't love each other like they wanted to, so they set it up so that their daughters might have the same opportunity? Was that their intention? Or was it purely political? And here I thought that I was chosen to guard her because it had earned the king's respect. I thought that I had earned it on my own merit. What a joke." She stalked toward the door and Letaln scurried after her.
"Impa, please, don't take it like this. I never thought you'd be angry. It was prophesied."
Impa turned with one hand on the door. "No," she said through gritted teeth. "It wasn't just prophecy or politics. It was my life, and my Zelda's life, and it was selfish of them. Now the world is going to have to pay the price. Think about it uncle. The position of bodyguard has always been an earned position. The strongest among us earns that appointment. If Kishla was jealous of mom and disapproved of her leadership style already, it makes perfect sense to me if she snapped when her Zelda made her take an oath to break that tradition and instill me as her successor despite the fact that I was only a child. History was to repeat itself, and there was nothing she could do to stop it—except for help someone else take down the whole 'corrupt' dynasty. I'm assuming that's how she sees it. Kishla was a powerful woman, uncle, and the amount of damage she might have done behind the scenes, given all the secrets she knows and the ears she bent…we're in big trouble. Now I need to see how far she went, how much damage she has done, and what it's going to take to stop it." Impa shook her head and opened the door. Despite herself, she still slammed it on her way out.
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Author's Notes: Revised chapter uploaded May 2022. Please find original author's comments below.
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So, not gunna lie and say that there was some plot reason for that dream to be in there. Nope. It's in there just because I wanted something awesome between Impa and Zelda to alleviate the sadness going on right now, and I'm not even sorry for it. ;o)
I hope you all like the chapter, and happy October everyone. I'll see you all next month, and, as always, please review.
Until next chapter,
