Impa and Urbosa were the first to meet Zelda as she climbed down from the battlements.
"Well, well…" Impa said good-naturedly. "I knew you could do it, Your Highness."
"Yes, you've done well, Zelda." The corners of Urbosa's shapely azure painted lips turned up into a comforting smile.
"I'm sorry to have worried all of you," Zelda said, apologetic, but beaming. What a reward it was to share that moment with them.
Her father approached slowly, and Zelda's smile faded as she regarded him. He focused on the triangular light on the back of her hand at first with silent awe, and then his eyes narrowed with suspicion. What had been the key to awakening her power only now? If not intense training and prayer, then what?
Zelda noticed that Urbosa and Impa did not take a knee to Rhoam as they might have before, the dire chaos the Calamity had wrought having destroyed all pretense.
"Where is—" Rhoam began in a gruff tone.
"Rhoam, don't do this…" Urbosa cut him off smoothly. "Not again..."
She placed a reassuring hand on Zelda's shoulder. "We are proud of you, Zelda… Aren't we, Rhoam?" Urbosa met the king's piercing gaze with her own look of determination, seeing a war raging within them, though this did not deter her. "You see? Our little bird's wings have grown so strong. She has awakened her inner power at last. Be glad in that."
A miasma of tension hung in the air, despite Impa and Urbosa's well-wishes. Her father did not look the least bit pleased.
"Urbosa, I think it best that you return to Vah Naboris and inform the other Champions to rally the Divine Beasts at Hyrule Field. I thank you for your aid," Rhoam said curtly.
Urbosa said nothing in response. The request itself was perfectly logical, but Zelda had heard the animus in her father's tone and she could see the subtle cynical arching of the Gerudo Champion's brow. Dread rose in Zelda's chest, and behind her, she could sense Impa's growing unease with the exchange.
"I'll be fine, Urbosa," Zelda asserted, holding her voice steady and graciously despite herself. "Go… I can handle myself."
"I know… You are more than capable. We will meet again at Hyrule Castle."
"Thank you, Urbosa…"
"Zelda, you had better give an account of everything you've done up until now…" Rhoam began a lengthy diatribe.
But Zelda's attention was elsewhere. She watched Urbosa cross the fort and grow distant out of the corner of her eye.
As the Gerudo Champion neared the entrance toward Blatchery Plain, Purah jogged to catch up with the vai, and they began to converse, but the rise and fall of Rhoam's voice coupled with the distance between them dashed any hope of Zelda hearing what was said.
The moments ticked by and finally, Purah and Robbie left with Urbosa.
Perhaps Urbosa will accompany them back to the lab?
Zelda sighed inwardly, and her father's voice still intoned, but his words were merely background noise that dragged on.
As Urbosa and the two sheikah researchers departed, the atmosphere around Fort Hateno shifted, becoming bleaker somehow. The wind whipped through Zelda's hair, like an omen.
"And now you have awakened to your power, despite how shamefully you evaded your duty. I lost all three of my royal guards…slain by those abominations sent out by Calamity Ganon... I am on my knees with anger, Zelda…but I was also worried sick for you the entire time."
This struck Zelda and she was ripped from her inattention. What her father seemed to have implied left her bereft of words.
"No…" Zelda gasped. Her chest tightened at the suggestion that there was blood on her hands.
It's all my fault…
"Please stop, I can't bear to hear it…" She stammered. "And it's certainly not Astor's fault. That is exactly what he warned the Champions about!"
"Where is Astor?!" Rhoam demanded. "The Goddess saw fit to bestow the sealing power upon you. Why have you not forsaken him?"
Zelda finally met her father's gaze with a vengeance. "Never… If it wasn't for Astor I would not have awakened my power. I did everything…and still, it wasn't enough…" Her voice broke with fury. "Why did you never believe in me?!"
Rhoam was taken aback. "Do you take me for a fool? You think I don't know who he is? The eyes of Ganon's Malice have manifested all over the kingdom, and we both know why those eyes look so familiar. Give me one reason why I shouldn't have that man executed for high treason! More fitting, I would expect you to seal him away along with Calamity Ganon. That should be your duty going forward."
Zelda felt her stomach knot and roil, but she once again steadied her voice. "That won't be happening, Father…" She'd had enough, and it was a struggle to withhold the building wrath within.
"Why do you disgrace your role, Zelda? Is your heart really that boundless?"
"I… I know how it must look… I have done so much for the sake of one man. Even the Goddess can see that. Astor received a prophecy from Her, and so have I. For the sake of the Goddess's line, ensuring Astor's safety is just as important as sealing the Calamity."
She didn't know why she bothered trying to explain this to him—knew in her heart that it would change nothing—but she couldn't stop herself.
A look of horror passed through Rhoam's eyes as Astor's wide-eyed, grinning stare clouded his mind—how he had appeared as if seeing beyond the veil of time as his yellow irises constricted and he proclaimed that phrase that haunted him.
Yes, my children. Go harass King Rhoam and do not disappoint me!
"He gave himself over to the Calamity! There is no redemption for him!" Rhoam raised his voice defensively. "I fear he has corrupted your mind with his lies!"
"Why do you not trust my words? Do they mean so little to you? All the royal daughters are born in Hylia's image—even me—a bearer of the blood of the Goddess, in control of her own destiny…" She balled her hand that bore the sealing power into a loose fist, her fingernails raking her palm"
"Your Majesty…" Impa interjected. "How can you look upon the awakened power on the back of your daughter's hand with your own eyes and continue to say such things? That power was well fought for… I know it. You know it. It took ten long, rigorous years for Her Highness to arrive at this long-awaited moment. Let us celebrate it, regardless of the circumstances that brought it about."
Rhoam, caught somewhere between indescribable shame and resentment he couldn't shake, fumbled for words. "That man will never be a part of the royal family! I won't allow it!"
The king turned suddenly and began to walk away, not knowing what more to say, motioning to Link who stood a few paces behind him. "You are still the knight to Princess Zelda. See to your duty." His voice still boomed coldly as he said this.
The young knight gave a brief and shallow bow and did as he was ordered, rejoining Impa and his charge.
As Rhoam disappeared behind the walls of Fort Hateno, Impa spoke again, this time to Zelda. The Sheikah aid pressed her palms together as if reasoning with herself and then searching for the right words. She let out a small sigh. "You are in a difficult situation…and It would be cruel to try to negate or minimize everything you must be feeling. I can't imagine what it must be like to live with the pressure that's been placed on you all these years. Nor can I even begin to guess what it must be like to develop an affection for your mortal adversary—really, an adversary to all of Hyrule… To have them return that same affection...so much so they forsook what they thought would give them purpose. It is unfortunate that Hyrule does not cherish its love stories as it does its legends."
Zelda's eyes brimmed with tears at her kind, sweet words.
"Let's change that… Even if it takes another 10,000 years…" Impa gave a reassuring nod. "Even if I have to create the goddess-damned tapestry myself."
Zelda smiled through her tears.
The silent knight stood with them, listening quietly with a gentle gaze.
Rhoam walked briskly through the grove of trees behind Fort Hateno, feeling the need to be alone and to clear his mind. He found himself at the edge of a stream where the water was carried by a modest current.
His spirit raged and despaired at once. Where had he gone wrong? Could it be true—that Hylia would ordain such a thing?
No… Of course, it's ridiculous… All a lie fabricated by that seer… Zelda, in her bid to unlock her power, was so impressionable… But she had awakened her power only now…after exhausting all other methods.
He knelt to splash his face with cool water. As he opened his eyes, he saw in the water's reflective surface another face staring back at him from over his shoulder—it was that of a woman with fine regal features, and his heart leaped. A grand crown sat heavily upon her lustrous blonde hair. She looked just as he remembered her, though eleven trying years had passed. And in the crystal clear glistening water gently streaming by he could just make out the faint teal flames that accompanied her. Tiny orbs of the same hue drifted above the ghostly flames and all around her, rising skyward and then winking out of existence.
"Rhoam…" The Queen's shade spoke in a whisper.
He turned, his look of surprise only growing as he turned to meet her face to face.
oOo
The hours passed and pure white clouds drifted placidly above West Necluda. There was no outward display of urgency to depart Fort Hateno. The soldiers continued their repairs and tending to their wounded while Link and the others offered support.
In time Astor awakened and emerged from the tent he had been assigned. The seer and the princess embraced and exchanged a few words before walking hand in hand behind the fort for a moment of respite in that sparsely wooded grove. They spoke in hushed tones, bits and pieces of their conversation drifting. The two came to a stop at the heart of the grove, the princess giggling and embracing the man in the faded and tattered purple robe. Above them, sunlight broke through branches and leaves and shone upon them, glinting off the princess's cascading golden hair.
A soldier approached King Rhoam, who watched the young couple, silently and from a distance.
"Your Majesty… You are fine with this? He is suspected of serving Calamity Ganon. I think the majority here have already condemned him."
Rhoam hesitated, coming to terms with what he had learned about the nature of the Goddess Hylia and knowing that her blood flowed through the veins of his late queen and now his daughter. It occurred to him then that he didn't know Her. She was not at all what she seemed—and that struck a certain existential dread into his heart.
When Rhoam didn't respond, the soldier clarified. "We found Her Highness unconscious in Blatchery Plain last night after we saw a vibrant dome of light go up and illuminate the night sky. That man was with her… I was sure he was going to cut and run, but he carried her in his arms all the way here… You could kind of tell it was a struggle for him…" The soldier mused.
Rhoam let out a sigh. "It was decided at the edge of time so long ago. Leave him be… I will be addressing the soldiers shortly regarding preparations to counter the Calamity. Make them aware of my intentions."
The soldier bowed and then retreated to the others, and Rhoam stared after the couple. The prophet turned, met the king's gaze, and furrowed his thin, black brows, but Rhoam saw no malicious intent there. The prophet jerked his head away, refocusing his attention back to Zelda, giving her a gentle push—an attempt to perhaps regain their privacy.
Rhoam numbly turned and followed after the soldier.
A short time later, Astor and Zelda sat under a tree sharing a honeycomb she had collected from a courser beehive. The seer had looked on dismayed as he'd watched her scale the tree to retrieve it, effortlessly as if she'd done it a hundred times over. The coarser bees began to swarm and descend upon her, but she had climbed down from the tree with a strange otherworldly poise, and none of the bees appeared to have stung her, quickly losing interest in the thief and scattering as they flew off. She offered the pilfered treat, bringing it close to his lips beckoning him to taste it.
From the battlements, Rhoam's voice boomed as he gave his address to the soldiers. His speech carried even outside the fort's high walls, perceptible even in the hearing of the princess and the seer as they rested against a tree.
"Grandpa Rhoam…" Astor said sardonically. Zelda giggled and nestled against Astor and closed her eyes, cherishing the moment of peace.
oOo
It was the desperate shouts of soldiers that ripped her from peaceful sleep. Her stomach plummeted before she had even managed to gather her bearings. She peered up at the sky through the branches and leaves that shaded them to see dark clouds blotting out the moon and the stars.
Zelda squeezed Astor's hand, which was intertwined with hers.
"Protect His Majesty and Her Highness at all cost!" The call of a soldier met their ears.
There were more shouts and calls for action.
Zelda rose on shaky legs, Astor rising after her. She pushed forward, crossing once more under the iron gate to see Link and Impa facing down a familiar adversary in a new form—and it was clear they were struggling. She recognized it at once from its red eye that pulsed outwards in circular waves.
It stood in the middle of the fort, vastly larger than before, its body covered in Malice. Its three segmented, mechanical legs were still at its base, though it now hosted eight thin insect-like appendages—the front most pair being a holdover, which still held a technological blue ancient weapon each. Its thick front arms, covered in several Eyes of Malice, held a larger set of ancient weapons.
Has it mutated?
The realization rendered her immobile, and it was as if time came to a grinding halt as she witnessed a pair of soldiers overtaken by Malice. Their anguished shrieks reverberated through her mind as they were consumed in one moment and gone the next.
"Oh no…" Those two words came out as a squelched scream. "No, not here!"
Zelda's heart beat in her chest rapidly. If she wasn't who she was—a direct descendent of the Goddess, she might have shared the same fate the night prior.
Must act… before…
The light emanating from the back of her hand gleamed and she pushed herself into action, charging forward.
She rushed to Link and Impa's side and staggered the mutated Harbinger squarely in its center mass with a burst of holy light.
"Die!" Her scream flew from her lips and was silenced by the sounds of battle raging around her, only perceiving her shouts thundering in her chest.
The Harbinger shrieked, her power rending the possessed automaton with shattering pain and it slumped forward, momentarily stunned.
Link and Impa turned their heads, both gaping at the immense power she wielded.
"Your Highness, you are instrumental to this fight, but please be careful!" Impa called out. This, too, was nearly drowned out by the sounds of battle.
Zelda threw everything she had at the Harbinger—could even sense the beast growing steadily weaker as she lobbed wave after wave of light at her adversary.
Astor joined the fight, taking up a sword dropped by one of the assimilated soldiers. He rushed forward, running the blade savagely through one staring Eye of Malice and then another.
He heard another battle cry ring out from one of the many soldiers in the same fight. "Don't stop until it falls!"
The Harbinger reared up, turning its hypnotic, undulating 'eye' towards its former prophet, and raised its left bladed arm high, ready to tear him asunder once and for all.
Astor stood transfixed, a look of terror in his widened eyes. He held in his last breath as he braced himself—only to feel a pair of large, sturdy hands shove him with all their might.
Astor collapsed some feet away by the sheer force of it. A tinny sound rang between his ears as he raised his head slowly to see the king of Hyrule lying in a heap where he had been standing a moment before.
Guest: Thank you for your kind words!
Lulu: Thank you. I try. :)
Tim: Thank you for reviewing and sharing your character insights.
Prometheus17: Thanks, I appreciate that. You are too kind, as always. I do try to stick relatively close to canon. (although perhaps I get a little too over-indulgent with certain male villains *cough cough* Not that there's anything wrong with writing your own original story with lots and lots of original characters as you do. I have enjoyed your fanfiction.