***ALL STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY**

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In Sotto Voce

By The Wolfess

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Chapter 20

Before the gray half-light of pre-dawn gave way to the bright hues of sunrise, the queen received news that the day's engagement had already begun. The open areas of the desert were full of monsters who moved in during the night to reclaim their territory while Hyrulian troops huddled around their campfires. Who knew that one of their greatest enemies was going to be the elements themselves? Zelda read books about great battles fought over those haunted desert sands and the troops had tried to prepare for both heat and cold, but none of those books truly conveyed the severity of those extreme temperatures. And none of them warned her about the Stalfos.

As soon as reports of the undead trickled in, dread crept into the queen's heart. She had her suspicions before, but now they were all but confirmed. The Demon King was somehow influencing this battle. Whether he was completely back or just influencing it from the shadows, Zelda didn't know. They would all know before the war was over, though, she was sure.

"They're going to be okay."

Zelda looked to her right where Link was standing. "What?"

"Ruto and Impa. They're going to be okay," Link elaborated. "You just looked really worried about something."

Zelda looked back down at the latest battle report in her hand and sighed. "That is not what I was thinking of, it was…" she sighed. "I am beginning to wonder about who is at the end of this campaign waiting for us, and if we are truly prepared for them. We do not have the blade of evil's bane to protect us if their master is who I suspect he is."

Link's eyes widened. "Blade of evil's bane?" he seemed to be testing the words on his tongue like he was trying to discern whether the flavor was familiar or not. "What's that?"

"It is a holy relic left to the people of Hyrule by the Goddess Hylia herself. Only that blade has the power to defeat the Demon King. Ganondorf."

Zelda noticed Link's hand tighten on the hilt of his blade at the sound of the gerudo's name. She wondered if he even realized he was doing it. "Where is the blade?" he asked.

"What are you going to do, go there now? In the middle of a major battle?" The queen laughed. "And do you really believe in your heart that you are the Hero's reincarnation?"

Link clenched both of his fists. "Maybe I am. You said so yourself not so long ago. And if we need the sword to win this thing, then why shouldn't I go? Epona is the fastest horse in the world. I'll be back here with the sword before you know it."

She sighed and shook her head. "I do not doubt you, but that is not the problem." Rubbing the bridge of her nose with one hand, she continued. "The Master Sword is in the Temple of the Sacred Sword nestled deep in the ruins of Old Castle Town. Our main settlement was there many, many generations ago. It has since fallen into ruin and the legends say that it is still guarded by the ghosts of soldiers past. Still, it is not so simple to draw the blade even without its ghostly guard—if they are real. Even if you are the Hero and even if you truly believe it in your heart, the sword may not accept you. It is…picky about who it accepts as its master. You must have proven yourself worthy to wield it. If you try to draw it too soon, before you have proven your worth in battle, then trying to draw it may kill you—hero or not. I will not ask you to risk your life."

Link fell quiet. The queen could tell that he was offended, but she hoped he also understood her point. He was untested in battle, and she cared about him too much to send him on a wild goose chase for a mythical sword that might kill him anyway. Knowing that this was a problem for another day, Zelda returned her attention to the battle at hand. More reports were coming in from runners and messenger hawks.

According to the reports, the second phase of their plan was underway. This was the most important phase. From their southeastern vantage point, the Gorons were pressing into the narrow gauntlet of the ridge pathways. There was another small keep in the southeastern-most point that should be easy to take to start the day. From those two southeastern keeps, the Gorons will press upward to the east-central keep. It will be a long, hard push. Their intel indicated that the mountainous rock of Gerudo Desert's ridge area is full of monsters. The Gorons will truly have to claw their way up the paths to join their fellows in the central keep.

The Sheikah and the Zora were tasked with taking a small keep in the north central part of the map, another easy victory, followed by moving into the narrow passageways of the ridges. There, they will move slightly south into the key keep of the entire battle—the central keep. This keep connects all four areas of Gerudo desert—the western portion that the Sheikah and Zora had been battling in, the Southern portion that the Gorons and Hylians had been fighting in, the Southeastern portion that the Gorons will push into today, and the northeastern portion where their enemy had set up their home base of operations. The Hylian soldiers will push directly up into the central keep to assist once the Sheikah and Zora arrived to press from above.

Once the Gorons take the east-central keep and the combined forces of the Sheikah, Zora, and Hylian soldiers conquer the central keep, those two positions will be key in making their final press into the northern part of the map. There was one keep just north of the central keep, and two man-made hallways made of enclosed stone. Those hallways, which will likely be full of the enemy's higher-ranked monsters, empty out into the central chamber of the Arbiter's Grounds. There, the enemy generals are likely positioned and will be taken down—if all goes according to plan, at least.

The day started strong. The Sheikah and Zora easily took the small northern keep and the Gorons took the southeastern keep at the mouth of the ridges with more difficulty, but eventually found success as well. The Hylians focused on keeping the monster rabble out of their newly-captured territory in the south while keeping an eye out for their allies to the north.

It was late morning by the time the Sheikah and Zora forces pressed their way down into the central keep. They met with considerably more Stalfos and Lizalfos in the ridge paths, as well as one dive-bombing Aerofos. By the time they were poised at the mouth of the central keep, they were pecked at, wounded, and sweaty. They were also determined to succeed. They would take this keep if it was the last thing they did.

Impa and Ruto led the way in the northern entrance to the central keep. Seeing their allies charging in, the Hylian generals led their troops in through the southern entrance as planned. Inside the keep they found an enemy not encountered elsewhere on the battlefield: a fully armored Darknut. Ruto and Impa shared a look. Moving in tandem with one another, they rushed at it, hoping to throw it off its balance. Ruto created a pool of water under its feet while Impa slashed at the cords that held its armor together, hoping to slice pieces off and expose the soft body beneath.

The Darknut was smarter than the other captains they had encountered on the battlefield, though. It swayed in Ruto's trap but maintained its footing enough to move out of the way when Impa lunged at it, causing her Biggoron Sword to scrape against metal, not soft chords. Frustrated, the two women tried a different approach. Ruto swirled around the Darknut, swimming through the air like a dolphin through water. A ball of water appeared around the Darknut, engulfing it entirely while Ruto swam around the ball in a circle, making it bigger and bigger. That worked. The Darknut was completely immobilized, and the Sheikah matriarch moved in.

Impa used the water created by Ruto to slice through the cords holding the Darknut's armor together. Once it was all separated, Ruto let the water sphere go and the armor clattered to the ground—followed by the soft, wet thump of the Darknut's armorless body. Impa didn't hesitate. She leapt in with a somersault in the air, her great sword flipping over her head and landing like a guillotine on the Darknut's neck, severing his head clean off his shoulders.

Their victory was short lived. As the Darknut's body fell to the ground, lifeless, two more came into the keep from the northeastern entrance. The soldiers were doing their best to contend with the Stalfos and Lizalfos, in addition to the lesser Bulblins and Stalkins, but they had their hands full. Ruto and Impa were on their own.

The two women each chose one of the Darknuts, took a moment to communicate their choice with the other, and then they maneuvered through the throngs of battling enemy and allied soldiers toward their prey.

Ruto approached hers with a flurry of small, icy blasts, putting the armored soldier off guard. While he stumbled back into the wall and tried to collect himself, the quick Zora princess was already onto her next move. She crossed her arms over her chest, her eyes half-closing in concentration. She made a humming sound that started soft and grew in intensity and volume. Water droplets collected around her, condensing at her feet where a large body of water was swelling like waves on the ocean in a storm. Abruptly, the princess's arms were thrown down to her sides, her eyes flying open as a battle cry flew out of her mouth. Simultaneously, the swells of water at her feet rose, towering over their heads and rushing forward, as if propelled by Ruto's cry. It grew as it moved forward, crashing into the Darknut and all of the enemy forces around it. He was caught up and thrown around in the wave, his body smashing against the rock of the canyon walls and the metal of the gate like a small ship tossed in a storm.

When the Darknut's body fell to the ground and the water died down, he lay there groaning and coughing up water. Some of his armor was dangling off his body. He pushed himself to stand, his hand still gripping the handle of his large sword. Before he could get his feet under him, however, the Zora princess was pelting him with water again, refusing to let him stand. Finally, the princess drew a long three-pronged trident made of water. She cooled it down until it was an icy spear and then threw it at the Darknut's exposed chest. He gasped as it sunk into his heart and dropped the great sword in his hand. He had presence of mind to grip its shaft with both hands but fell short of pulling it out. Breath left him, and he slumped to the ground dead.

Meanwhile, Impa was faring well with her foe. She remembered the complex move she had been practicing for her showcase—a time that seemed so long ago now. Working with exceptional speed, the Sheikah matriarch swirled the great blade around her. One blade, identical to the Biggoron Sword but made of water, appeared in front of her. As the speed of her blade's circles increased, so did the number of swords. Soon there was a full circle of giant, watery Biggoron Swords in the ground around her body. She sliced forward with strength and purpose, sending one of the swords flying at the Darknut. It cut across his body, sinking into to the cracks like shards of glass.

Impa followed it up six more times with six more watery blades. Pieces of the Darknut's armor fell off with each stroke until finally the Sheikah got the opening she needed. Moving quickly, she swung the giant blade into its sheath and swung her hands out in front of her, planting her feet in a wide stance. Impa swirled her hands in front of her and hummed under her breath. Water formed around the Darknut. It looked around as if in panic as it was raised into the air and the water bubble encasing it grew. Impa concentrated on forming the stable, perfect sphere. She hadn't done this move very often, but now was as good a time as any to try it.

The water sphere engulphed the Darknut completely. It clawed at its throat and thrashed about, trying to breath or break the sphere, something, but nothing worked. When its thrashing started to lessen, Impa made her move. She stepped forward and drew her Biggoron Sword at the same time. Swinging the sword with all her might and letting its own momentum carry it through, she sliced clean through the middle of the sphere. The water bubble collapsed. The Darknut fell to the ground—cleaved in two pieces at the waist.

The two women regrouped and looked around. The battle for the keep seemed to be stable, perhaps even winding down. They were about to launch themselves into the fray, turn the tide of the stalemate in their favor, when there was a loud crashing sound followed by something that almost sounded like a roar—or a buzzing sound passing for a roar. It was coming from the southern desert, so the Sheikah matriarch and the Zora princess moved to the south gate to get a better look.

They didn't have to look hard. Rising from the sandy center of the southern portion of Gerudo Desert was a giant, disgusting creature. It seemed to be a mixture between a crab and a spider. It had an orange exoskeleton, one giant red eye, and eight legs. It stood on four legs, held the largest two up over its head poised to strike, and the final two seemed to be holding two large, half-moon-shaped shields.

"Dear goddesses," Impa said, her eyes growing wide. "It's a gohma! They're supposed to be extinct."

Ruto laughed. "Well, it obviously isn't," she said. "Whatever brought back those skeletons also brought back something much, much nastier for us. I thought this was too easy!"

Impa drew her sword and prepared herself to sprint into the battle. Before they left, however, she shot a look at Ruto and said, "whoever kills big ugly gets ten points!"

Ruto laughed again. "You are ON, Sheikah!"

The ghoma was stamping its feet on the ground and swinging its spiked appendages in wide sweeps. The soldiers attempting to attack it were either thrown to the wind, knocked over by the shockwaves, or impaled. The worst part of it was that their weapons had no effect. They just glanced off its exoskeleton or shields without leaving a scratch.

"Go for the eye!" Impa shouted to Ruto as they drew close.

"No really?" Ruto shouted back, her voice dripping with humor and sarcasm even now.

The two women set upon the eye together. At every turn the monster blocked them or forced them to retreat. It thrashed about and stomped and stabbed, each movement deadly and wild. It was all Ruto and Impa could do to stay alive and on their feet. They just couldn't get an opening.

Suddenly, the ghoma's eyes widened. Its red pupil turned an unnatural blue, and its body seemed to brace. Alarm bells went off in Impa's head. When she saw light beginning to gather around the creature's pupil, she grabbed Ruto's shoulder. "Get down!" she shouted, pushing the Zora down with her as a giant beam of light shot out of the ghoma's eye. They flattened themselves and the beam passed over them, sweeping across the desert. The two women could feel the heat of it like a white-hot fire as it passed over their prone bodies.

It was over as suddenly as it started, and the two women started to scramble to their feet. "That's it!" Ruto said, sounding triumphant. "It's finally tipped its hand! Hit it in the eye when it's charging the beam! That's our—" before Ruto could finish, the gohma slammed its giant front claw straight down on her. Her reaction was just a hir too slow, and the tip of the claw pierced her right arm fin. It ripped down the middle as it continued to pass through and sink into the ground. Ruto screamed and crumpled where she stood.

"Ruto!" Impa shouted. She hacked at the gohma's leg with all her strength. Aggravated, it yanked the appendage up to get it away from the annoying thumping of Impa's sword against its exoskeleton. Infuriated, it rounded on the two women, its attention now fully fixed on them. Ruto was bleeding and cradling her arm where the fin had been. The torn appendage was lying on the ground, bloody and mangled beyond recognition. The Zora princess tried to raise her good arm to summon a defensive ice shield, but the pain was too great for the magic to come to her call.

Impa looked at Ruto and then up at the gohma. Its arms were poised to finish off its wounded prey like the mindless beast it was. She didn't think twice. As the gohma brought down its giant spiked arms, Impa jumped in front of it. The spikes hit sooner than she expected. One sunk into her shoulder, severing the leather strap that held her triangular armor piece on, while the other buried itself in her abdomen.

The ghoma yanked its claws out of Impa's body and backed away. Blood poured out of the wounds and the severed armor piece fell to the ground with a clattering sound. Her sword arm hung limp at her side. The Biggoron Sword lay useless on the ground. She doubled over, clutching her stomach with her good arm as blood pumped out of the wound. Her head swam. Things in front of her started to blur and double. Impa was lying on her back next to Ruto. She tried to look around, tried to see where the ghoma was, but she couldn't focus her vision and swiveling her head made her feel like she was going to vomit.

She closed her eyes. Impa hadn't expected to die now, but at least she got the warrior's death she always hoped for. If only she could have saved princess Ruto first. The Zora princess had so much to live for. And Zelda…what would become of her? Who would console the queen in her grief? Who would keep her heart warm as the darkness threatened to take it again?

The last thing that Impa heard before she blacked out was a hissing, gravelly voice right above her. She tried to open her eyes and react to it in some way, but she couldn't. "We have her…" it growled. "Leave this place to the rabble. Return to the Master." She felt clawed hands raise her up. She tried to thrash her body, tried to free herself, but the more she tried the fainter she felt. She blacked out shortly after.

!

The rest of the Hyrulian forces roused to Ruto and Impa's aid right away, but they weren't fast enough. They managed to take down the ghoma using the tactic Ruto discovered, but by the time they accomplished that all the enemy captains had gone. The Darknuts, the Stalfos, the Lizalfos, the Aerofos…all of them were gone. There was some base rabble left which was taken care of easily. The Gorons came charging into the central keep, ready for the battle to really start, and found everyone standing around scratching their heads.

The unified march into the center of the Arbiter's Grounds, the supposed enemy home base, confirmed their fears. It was empty. There was no one left except for a few dumbfounded Stalkins who would be of no help in an interrogation. It was almost an insult—here, we'll leave someone for you to kill, but you won't get information from them. They checked every corner of the desert, every keep in every section, and found nothing but mindless Stalkins. Defeated, they took up post at the keeps while the generals returned to report back to the queen.

They trudged into their home keep like dogs with their tails between their legs. No one wanted to deliver the message to the queen. Would she blow up and take it out on the person who delivered the message? If so, would she take it out on their career, their reputation, their physician wellbeing, or some combination of these things? None of them thought of her as the most stable leader, not after the whole fiasco with Impa. How would the queen take the news that her newly reconciled champion was missing?

It was Auru who finally stepped forward. The old general had the respect of the queen and the country. He was not afraid of what she could do to him. After all, as he had said to the rest of the fearful lot he called his colleagues, Queen Zelda was just a child at the end of the day. A child of eighteen with the weight of the world on her shoulders who has lost everything that meant anything to her in her life. If everyone they ever loved was killed or taken or betrayed them, wouldn't they also grow suspicious and fearful? Have some compassion.

"General Auru!" The queen exclaimed. She and Link both looked disheveled from their ongoing defense of the home keep, but neither of them appeared hurt and both were in good spirits. Zelda walked over to Auru with Link trailing behind. "I am so glad that you are here," she said. "I have heard such contradictory reports. We are victorious, and yet everyone seems sullen. There was a giant monster in the Southern field, but no one will tell me how it was taken down. And what about our enemy? What happened in the enemy base? Who took down our foes?"

The queen looked beyond him, craning her neck to see past the collection of generals. "Auru, where is Impa? And Ruto? I have not seen them, and no one I speak with seems to have news of their wellbeing. The battle is over. Surely, they would check in here at their earliest convenience."

General Auru sighed. He held something behind his back. "Your Majesty, I come bearing unfortunate news. It may be wise for you to sit down." Zelda's expression shifted and her body stiffened, but she did not sit. Auru could not read her to determine a possible reaction.

One of the soldiers brought a stool for the queen, but she didn't even acknowledge them. Link came to stand behind her, silent and steady as a mountain. "Report, General." Zelda commanded.

General Auru bowed, and then straightened to give his report. "The battle went exactly as planned through the central keep. We were aware of a possible trap and were proceeding with caution, but no red flags or warnings went up as we progressed through the battle. We were in the central keep when things changed. General Impa and Princess Ruto took out these three huge Darknuts—they made it look easy, actually. Right when we were all bracing for the next wave of monsters to come at us, the gohma dug its way out of the sand in the southern desert. Our men were being slaughtered, and their attacks were having no effect on the creature. It had these shields it used to protect its weak point and its whole body was armored…but that's neither here nor there at the moment."

He cleared his throat, a little embarrassed by his enthusiasm for understanding how the monster thought and functioned, before continuing. "General Impa and Princess Ruto went ahead of the rest of our forces to protect our soldiers. Their attacks were equally ineffective. Princess Ruto figured out that the monster's eye was its weak spot, but she was wounded before getting a chance to target it herself."

Zelda nodded slowly. "Is Princess Ruto okay? Where is she now?" The queen asked.

Auru shook his head. "One of her arm fins was torn off by the ghoma. I am not familiar with Zora physiology, but it seemed to be a very serious wound. She has been taken to the medical tent and is receiving treatment. It is yet to be seen whether the fin can be salvaged or not. It would have been much worse, though, if Impa had not stepped in when the gohma was going in for its second attack." He paused, looking at Zelda with trepidation. Link put his arm on the queen's shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

"Well?" the queen said, her voice oddly cool. "Do not keep me waiting."

Auru nodded. "Yes, your Highness. My apologies. General Impa leapt in the way when the gohma was coming down on Princess Ruto for a killing blow. I saw it with my own eyes, as I was on my way to join the battle. It all happened so fast…I am sure she acted from an instinct to protect her friend. The gohma stabbed her through the shoulder and somewhere around the abdomen I think. She collapsed. No sooner had she fallen when monsters moved in and took her with them. They just…grabbed her and vanished. In a puff of purplish-black smoke. Gone. There was no way for us to reach her in time. Ruto tipped us off on how to kill the gohma, we evacuated her, and took down the vile creature. By the time we had done so, the enemy had completely evacuated their high-level forces."

He brought his hands forward from behind his back. In them was an item wrapped in a dirty brown cloth. Auru held it out to Queen Zelda and bowed. She reached for it with an unsteady hand and took it from him. Swallowing, she unwrapped the cloth. Sitting in the middle of the brown fabric was the triangular armor piece she knew belonged to her Impa. It was covered in a dried splash of blood. Still tied to the leather strap, and covered in blood as well, was Zelda's own delicately embroidered Favor.

The general swallowed and straightened. While the queen held the item tightly in her hands and stared, he continued. "It was a trap, just as we had thought, but we didn't realize that it was a trap to capture a specific person. Why would they have sacrificed so many of their troops to capture one person? At this time, we have no answers. We do not know why they took her. We don't know where they took her, or if she is alive or dead. We know none of this—but we have not given up hope. I have search teams combing through the desert. If we find enemy forces who can speak, unlike the Stalkins we're finding everywhere, our troops have orders to capture them and get the information using whatever means necessary."

His report finished, the general stood still as a board. Behind him, the others watched the young queen and waited. Everyone seemed to have their breath held. Even Link bit his lower lip a little.

Queen Zelda blinked a few times and took some deep breaths. She drew the blood-stained armor piece and the handkerchief close to her body. Eventually she nodded, the movement slow and stiff. Then she seemed to shake her head a little and looked back up to the generals.

"I would like to commend you all for your efforts in this battle, both your forward thinking and your perfect execution. What happened to General Impa and Princess Ruto was an unforeseeable turn of events. We will be tireless in our search for Impa's whereabouts, and I will personally monitor Ruto's recovery process. Please keep me abreast of any developments. I want to be the first notified the moment we discover new information. This is not a setback. It is just a bump on our road to victory. We will not be discouraged."

The queen looked about the faces of her military leaders. Fear and trepidation were replaced with obvious relief. Some even looked bolstered by her words, encouraged to press onward in their quest for Hyrule's safety and freedom. General Auru bowed once more out of respect for his queen.

"I am sure you all have better things to be doing right now," Zelda continued, waving her hand in dismissal. "Please go about your tasks, but remember to keep me updated. I will be in my private tent. Do not hesitate to call upon me if there is an update."

The generals all bowed as Queen Zelda turned. She had a small tent set up back from the battle, and she did not hesitate in her retreat from the eyes of the public. Link followed at a distance, knowing the queen would need her space, but his eyes did not stray from her. Even he was struggling to understand how she was feeling.

Zelda ducked into her tent and closed the flap behind her. Link took up a position outside. At first, he heard nothing but the sounds of the army not far away going about their business. He watched the sand blow and the soldiers hurry at their tasks, wishing that he had been out on the field today. If he had been there, would he have been able to save Impa and Ruto? Would anything have been different? He would like to think that Impa would be rejoicing with them, and the enemy leader would be dead. If only he had been out there instead of strapped to Zelda's side.

As Link was contemplating the what-ifs and could-haves of the situation they found themselves in, a strange sound came from within the queen's tent. It sounded like a strangled gasp. Thinking the queen was in trouble, perhaps being choked by someone, he drew his sword and shield and jumped into the tent.

"Zelda!" he cried, looking about the tent. "Are you okay?" He searched the small tent, but it was soon apparent that there was no one in the tent but the queen. If someone had been there, they were gone now. Instead, Queen Zelda was doubled over on the ground clutching her abdomen. Satisfied that no one was there anymore, Link sheathed his sword and knelt by the queen's side. "Zelda, are you hurt? Did someone harm you? Was someone in here?"

The queen's face was veiled by her hair, which was now lose from its clip. She shook her head, but Link still couldn't see what was going on. Worried, the Hylian man placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, Zelda, talk to me. I need to know you're okay."

Zelda did look up then. Tears wetted her cheeks and dripped from her eyes. She seemed to be holding in her sobs, and her body shook with the effort it took. She opened her mouth to say something but seemed unable to speak. She closed it and opened it again, like a fish out of water.

Link's heart broke for her. He wanted to hold her close and tell her it was going to be okay, but he didn't. Instead, he reached out and placed his hand over hers. "I'm sorry about Impa and Ruto," he said. "When you feel up to it, we can go visit Ruto and see if she's okay. And Impa…I know she's your best friend and your relationship with her was just healing. I'm sorry this happened. I hope she's okay, and I'm here for you if you need to talk or cry or…whatever, okay? Just don't hold it in this time."

Zelda let out an audible sob at the mention of the Sheikah's name. Her voice seemed to break free of the lump in her throat. She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut tight. "Link...you don't understand."

"What?" the boy asked. "Please, tell me. It won't go out of this room, whatever it is."

Zelda took a rattling breath. The blood-stained armor piece was clutched in her hands, and she looked down at it now while she spoke. "Impa… and I…" She swallowed, and her face twisted up in renewed pain. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "Link…I am in love with her." This time she sobbed audibly and covered her eyes with one hand while the other clutched the armor piece to her heart.

Link blinked. He didn't say anything, didn't ask a word, but the queen didn't need prompting. Now that the truth was out in the open between them, she seemed to have a need to confess everything.

"I have been in love with her since the moment I first saw her on the training grounds," she said. "I did not know it then…and by the time I realized what I felt, my father was murdered. But we reconciled the night before the ball. And when we got back from this battle, I was going to announce my intentions toward her publicly and court her. I wanted to love her and be loved by her. Maybe we could have spent the rest of our lives together. Who knows what could have happened?"

The words came out in a rush. She had been holding the truth inside for so long. Now Impa was gone, maybe dead. If only Zelda had come to her senses sooner… if only she had kept Impa with her, rather than sending her out into the battle. Why did they take her specifically? The queen didn't understand. It was too much to both grieve and process what had happened.

"It is too late," she sobbed. "I am too late, again, and the person I love is gone. Why does everyone I love die?" She looked directly into Link's eyes. It was as if she was asking him for a real answer to the ludicrous question. He didn't have one, so he said nothing. Zelda laughed. It was a bitter, broken sound. "You are lucky that I did not fall in love with you…" she said, casting her eyes at the floor again. "I do not want you to die as well when you have so much to live for."

Link didn't know what to say. His mind was spinning. Zelda was in love with…Impa? And he could only assume that the Sheikah felt the same way. When he thought back on everything that had happened since they met the princess, suddenly everything looked different to him. He felt hurt. Hurt to have been kept in the dark and hurt to have been used by Zelda to make Impa jealous. Still, he knew that love could be a kind of madness. It could make people do stupid things. Link could not begrudge his friends the temporary madness of love, especially when the responsibility of monarchal power and the fires of war were involved.

The swordsman sighed. "I will not die and neither will Impa. I know her—better than even you, I dare to say. If there is any breath left in her body, she will fight to return to you. So don't give up, Zelda. Don't do her that disservice. Believe in her and fight for her. We will find her, and we will rescue her. On my honor as a soldier of Hyrule, I will see that it is done."

Zelda looked in Link's eyes. There was such conviction there. He was so sure, and so passionate. She wiped her cheeks clean with the back of her hand and nodded to him. "Okay. You are correct…and your words are wise. I will choose to believe in her, and in you. We will save her." His hand was still covering hers. She slipped her hand out from under his and patted the back of his hand. "I am sorry for all I put you through. It was wrong of me. You are a good man, and worth so much more than that."

Link smiled. "Thank you," he said. "I forgive you."

Zelda smiled back, despite the tears drying on her cheeks. She looked at Impa's armor piece one last time and then slipped it into one of the hidden pockets in her dress. Standing, she waited for Link to stand as well and then turned toward the mirror. "If we are going to find her, then we will have to leave this place. Nothing will get done if I am hiding inside my tent feeling sorry for myself, right?" She dipped her hands in a basin of water sitting near the mirror. Most of it was evaporated by now, but there was enough left. "Let me freshen up, and then we will go visit Ruto."

Link nodded. "I will wait for you outside then." He exited the tent with a bounce in his step. For the first time since he took up this post so long ago, he felt hopeful.

!

The main medical tent was located toward the back of the Hyrulian encampment, close to the border in case they needed to send a runner back for more essential supplies. As the queen and her knight approached, they could hear the cries of the soldiers before they ever stepped inside. Although they tried to let in as much natural light as possible, it was the nature of a tent to be dark inside. Lanterns lit the patients that were currently being worked on by the medical professionals, but the rest of the patients had no such luxury and lay on cots or bed rolls on the ground in shadows.

The sounds they had heard were coming from a few sources. There was a young man in surgery toward the back. They surrounded the procedure with a curtain, but the lanterns cast shadows on the fabric that were almost more horrible than getting to see what was happening. Elsewhere in the tent, other soldiers groaned or cursed in various states of pain. Nurses made rounds with bandages and red potion, but there was clearly not enough of anything—not enough nurses, not enough clean bandages, not enough potion. The queen bit her lip a little, her breathing quickening as she took it all in. The last time she had been in a medical tent after a battle, it had been after the attack that started this whole thing. At that time, she had been too distraught by her personal loss to really look around her at the losses suffered by her people. She never listened to the cries of the solider who lost her arm. Never noticed the nurse in the back checking a pulse and then dragging a sheet over a soldier's face. Never smelled the sour odor of rot, medicine, and blood. She had never really understood the consequences the wars of Kings and Queens had for the people who fought them.

A strangled whimper close to her left cause the queen to turn to see what it was. A woman in a soldier's uniform with long brown hair woven in a tight, bloody braid lay on a cot. Wrapped in bloody bandages in desperate need of a change, the woman was deep in a feverous sleep. Whatever visions were dancing through her head must have been awful for she cried and whimpered in her sleep as if being tortured. Seeing a bowl of water and a cloth nearby, Zelda moved on instinct to the woman's side. She dipped the cloth in the water and slowly ran the cool water over the woman's forehead.

"Oh, your Majesty!" a voice behind her squeaked. Zelda didn't need to turn around to know that the person, whoever they were, was bowing. "We didn't know you were making a visit to the medical tent. Shall I take you to the head physician? He is in the back working on the Zora Princess, but—"

Zelda waved a dismissal of the idea. "If he is engaged, then I will not distract him." She put the cloth back into the bowl of water and turned to look at the person who had greeted them. Now she could see it was a young man in a nurse's uniform. "Tell me, what is wrong with this soldier?"

The young nurse swallowed a little, clearly nervous speaking with the Queen of Hyrule. "A poe, your Majesty. She was attacked by a poe. Her physical wounds will heal eventually, but the poe did something to her mind. She seems…trapped inside a nightmare. They do not know if she will wake. Only time will tell."

The queen frowned and turned back to the woman. She placed her gloved hand on the woman's forehead and closed her eyes, but her power was not strong enough to be able to see what was going on inside. All was fog and darkness and fear.

Zelda jerked her hand back and then sighed. "Very well," she said, rising back to her feet. "I have come for an update on Ruto. I heard that her wounds were very serious."

. "The Zora Princess is in treatment, your majesty. A Zora specialist is attempting to sew her fin back on, but it is a long and complex surgery. Our healers are doing everything in our power to assist."

"Will she survive the procedure?" Zelda asked.

The man nodded. "We are hopefully she will survive. It is more the question of her quality of life afterward."

"When she wakes, please alert me," the queen said. She started to inquire after the other poor souls in the tent to see if there were any additional staff they could allocate or supplies they could spare that might assist when a messenger ran in.

The soldier bowed quickly in front of the queen. "A report from the generals, Queen Zelda."

Zelda's shoulders stiffened and her hands clenched. She could see Link tense as well out of the corner of her eye. "Please proceed."

"Our scouts have tracked the monsters who escaped with General Impa and have a loose idea of where they are heading. The generals has requested an audience with you…." But Zelda was already on the move before the man could finish speaking. She swept out of the medical tent in a rush, leaving Hyrule's faithful medical team and its soldiers to fend for themselves a little longer.

!

A couple hours later, the Queen of Hyrule was walking back to her tent with her faithful knight at her side and an entourage of guards trailing behind her. Link was speaking earnestly, his hands moving in front of him to emphasize his words, but the queen seemed not to hear him. She looked at the ground in front of her without actually seeing it, her gaze distant.

"I know this seems like a hopeless situation," Link was saying, "but Hyrule's soldiers need you right now. And we can't give up hope—Impa's strong. You know that, right?"

Zelda blinked, as if snapping out of some personal reverie, and nodded. "Of course, Link. I saw the scene at the medical tent today as well as you did, and I have received the reports from the front lines. The enemy may be retreating, but we suffered significant losses in this battle and there are some skirmishes still. We must fall back and treat our wounded, not charge into the heart of the enemy camp on a suicidal rescue mission." She stopped at the mouth of her tent and placed a comforting hand on his forearm. "I appreciate your attempt to comfort me and your sensitivity to how difficult this situation is for me…but I really am okay. After all, the answer was not 'no' forever, right? Just no for now. We have the meeting tomorrow morning to discuss it further. I will put my hopes in my generals. They were chosen for a reason, and I truly believe they will not abandon the leader of the Sheikah Tribe to the whims of the enemy."

Link sighed. It might have been a sigh of relief, but Zelda suspected it was more a sigh of exasperation as he ran a hand through his hair. "If you say so," he said. He moved a little closer and lowered his voice so the other guards wouldn't hear. "Just don't bottle it up this time. Talk to me if you need to. This is a lot for anyone."

Zelda smiled, and this time it reached her eyes. "Thank you, Link. You are very kind." Suddenly, a big yawn overtook her. When it was over, she apologized. "Excuse me. It has been a long day and I am very tired. I believe it is time for me to turn in for the night. Link, will you wait outside here for the other guards for a while? Then you can be excused."

Link bowed. "Thank you, your Majesty. Of course. Good night."

Zelda ducked into her tent and tied the flap closed. Standing in the middle of the dark space, she closed her eyes. She took a deep breath in, feeling the air move through her lungs and rejuvenate her body. She held it for a moment and then slowly let it out. Opening her eyes, she moved over to her small wardrobe and began to take her battle gown off. All the armor came off and was carefully packed away. She slipped out of the elaborate dress and hung it up. Her shift came off as well and was packed away, leaving her in nothing but her undergarments in the darkness. The queen shivered as the chill night air raised goosebumps on her skin and she wrapped her arms around herself for a moment. In her mind's eye, the queen could see the soldier on her cot crying in a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She could hear the screams of the wounded and the dying. She could imagine Ruto with a fin missing, forever scarred by this war that Zelda never asked for. This war that was dumped on Hyrule's doorstep by her mother's selfishness and an old Sheikah's jealousy.

Taking another deep, measured breath, the queen shook those thoughts from her mind and turned again to the portable wardrobe. Her night gown hung on the right side, easily accessible next to the gown she had just removed. She hadn't brought many clothes, but she had needed to bring something for them to hang in. Everyone knew that this was going to be a multi-day expedition, and there were some creature comforts a queen simply couldn't live without.

Zelda reached into the wardrobe, but she didn't take the night gown off its hanger. Instead, she reached into the hidden pocket of her battle gown and pulled out the small brown cloth. She didn't need to unwrap it to know what was inside. The pattern of the blood spatter on the garment felt seared into her mind's eye. She held it in her hand for a moment, looking down at it without actually unwrapping it, and then she set it on top of the wardrobe. Abruptly, she used both hands to push all the hanging clothes in the wardrobe to one side. The bottom of the portable wooden wardrobe looked much deeper on the outside than it did on the inside. Sure enough, Zelda hooked her finger in a small, hidden groove and pulled the fake bottom out of the wardrobe. Folded on the bottom was the Sheikah outfit that Impa had given her the day of their fateful expedition into the city.

As the Queen of Hyrule, Zelda knew that she had a duty to her people, to Hyrule, and to destiny itself. A path had been chosen for her before she was ever born—and not just by her mother. No, fate had chosen her path before she ever opened her mouth and let out her first cry into the universe. This was the way of every Zelda. They were descendants of the Goddess herself, tied to a cycle as old as time. Every step of her life was preordained. So it had been written and so it would be. Yes, as the Queen of Hyrule Zelda knew all of this without question. But as a woman, she was beginning to understand different truth at play in her life.

The queen began the process of putting on the Sheikah armor. As she did so, the memory of that day with Impa replayed in her mind. She spent so many of those lonely nights trying not to remember this moment. So many of her dreams revisited every look and every slant of light, and then abruptly turned to the horrible sight of her father on the battlefield later that same day. It had been simultaneously the best and worst day of her life. But she could still remember the way the Sheikah looked in that upstairs room: so timid and so earnest as she gently showed Zelda how to put on the armor. Zelda could remember how Impa's skin felt beneath her fingers, and how hard her own heart had beat within her chest.

The truth was Zelda's mind was made up before she ever walked out of the medical tent: there was no time to wait for the generals to decide when was a good time to mount a full-scale rescue operation. Impa would likely be gone before they ever reached her. If the queen had the information about where Impa was, which she now did, then she could take matters into her own hands. Zelda would rescue Impa herself.

She finished dressing, sheathed her knives, and then picked the brown cloth off the top of the wardrobe. She couldn't take the whole armor piece with her because it was too big to hide in her uniform. Instead, she untied the blood-spattered handkerchief from the severed leather strap. Her thumb brushed slowly over Impa's blood staining the delicate garment. Tears threatened to boil in her eyes again, but she pushed the impulse back. There was no time for that now, not if she ever hoped to rescue the woman she loved. She tucked the handkerchief into her suit, put Impa's armor piece securely in the hidden compartment of her wardrobe, and walked over to the back of her tent.

Zelda peeked out the back tent flap. The guards kept regular rounds. As she watched them, monitoring their patterns, she could hear Link talking with someone toward the front of the tent. It must have been a solider coming from the battlefield as she could make out enough of the words to understand the man was talking about the latest developments on the front lines. For a moment, guilt seized her. She was the queen. Hyrule was at war and her people were depending on her leadership. She looked back into the darkness of her tent and listened to the soldiers going to and from about their duties. They followed her command. What would they think when dawn rose and the queen was gone? What would they do? Was she being selfish, just like her mother before her?

Zelda closed her eyes. She could feel the weight of duty on her like shackles. Her breath hitched, but she breathed in purposefully and let it out again. The movement of air through her body brought her back to herself. She opened her eyes and clenched her teeth, setting her jaw. For countless lifetimes others have fought her battles. They have given their lives, literally and figuratively, to defend her birthright. And for what? If she fell, the blood of the goddess would find another to fulfill her role. She was just one face in a millennium of doppelgangers. Hyrule was greater than one vain woman, and it would go on long after her body returned to the dust. It was the will of the goddesses.

No, thought the goddess's incarnation. I am done being a pawn of fate. Tonight, I will follow my own will. I will not let duty take her from me again. This is my fight, not Hyrule's, and I will no longer put my battles in other hands. She saw the opening she had been waiting for in the guards' rounds. She ran from the tent, a shadow in the night, unseen and unheard. Duty be damned. Fate will find me one way or another—it always has.

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Author's Notes: Hello again! As promised, all chapters of this are complete and here's the next upload. I was originally thinking upload day would be Sunday, but I've decided that Friday is better so everyone can read over the weekend. So until next Friday...enjoy.

Thanks for the warm welcome back and thanks for reading! And a very warm welcome to those of you discovering this story for the first time. I hope you enjoy the ending.

-The Wolfess