Chapter 2
In Which Urbosa Meets an Old Friend
I drew Selene up at the gates of Castle Town. A view I hadn't seen in over a year, and hadn't planned to ever see again. Quick glimpses of the castle flashed through my mind. Uncanny, how similar it looked across the ages. Was it the same building? Or had it been rebuilt, time and time again, in the same image?
I had wanted so much more than this place, yet here I was again. I wondered what things would be like once I took up my position beside the Princess as her appointed knight. I hoped we would be able to get off on the right foot. Reluctantly, I clucked Selene forward towards the Castle itself.
My first stop was to settle Selene in at the stables, and as it happened, the King was there too, looking over a horse that had just arrived from the Ranch.
"Link, my boy!" he boomed. "Stand, stand! Your father is away at the Training Camp, seeing to a few things. He'll be back before the ceremony though, not to worry!"
How clueless was this man, that he thought I would be at all bothered by the absence of my Father? I stood up and approached the King, cautiously. The horse – one of the iconic white stallions of the Royal Family – was barely under control by its put-upon groom.
"Zelda has gone into town to the Cathedral to make her devotions. This is her birthday present! His name is Tian, horse of the Heavens! It's time she had a proper mount, fit for Royalty. What do you think?"
I shuffled my feet awkwardly. I thought it was a terrible idea, personally. This horse was unmanageable, but I wasn't sure he wanted to hear that.
He carried on, blissfully unaware. "She'll be over the moon, I'm sure. I'm headed up to my office, walk with me, will you?"
Rhoam made his way out of the stable yard, waving off the guards who made to follow him.
"Never know who's listening, it seems like the very walls have ears in this place. I'd like to speak frankly. Now I'm sure you're wondering– what even is an appointed knight?"
I had been wondering that, actually. I had been getting flashes of Link the Hero's exploits by day, and dreaming his dreams by night. It seemed like he had usually worked alone.
"Zelda will be traveling throughout Hyrule, not only to assist the Champions in their duties but also to pray at the Temples and Sacred Springs. It is crucial," he said, punctuating the word by slamming his right fist into the palm of his left hand, "that she awaken the Sealing Power that is her birthright and her duty. So I ask of you, not only to protect my daughter against the trials and travails of the wilds, but to also protect her from herself."
I must have looked at him quizzically, because he explained, "You see, Zelda simply cannot apply herself to the task at hand. I'm afraid I was too indulgent of her after her mother's death. If she had a choice, she would never leave the library or the research station. Stay by her side always, even when she is in the Castle, and keep her on track."
I bowed my head in assent, keeping my eyes down and face clear of emotion. If I knew anything about the will of the Gods, it was that they didn't care about the opinion of pompous old gasbags like this one. Zelda's powers, whatever they were, would come when Hylia was good and ready. But, I enjoyed keeping my head attached to my body. I wasn't going to verbalize any of that.
Rhoam chuckled, slapping me on the back. "There's a good lad." He turned to head inside, then paused. "Oh, and one more thing: Zelda's ladies-in-waiting currently occupy both bedrooms at the base of her tower. They've been told to share one room. You'll take the other." Whistling merrily, he took his leave.
I sighed and squared my shoulders. I made my way across the moat, to the east side of town. The Cathedral was cool inside, and oddly hushed. I would have expected the soaring stone walls to have more of an echo. I heard the click of high-heeled shoes behind me, and turned.
"Well, well, well. Look what the Molduga spit up."
Before me was the Gerudo from the Tabantha Stable. Her hair hung down her back instead of in tight braids, and now she wore the customary jewelry and makeup of her tribe, but it was unmistakably her. She also wore a brilliant blue skirt, the blue of a Champion. I was confused. Wasn't the Gerudo Champion their chief, a woman named –
"Urbosa!" Zelda ran past me and flung herself into the Gerudo's arms.
I stared, mouth momentarily agape. Urbosa waggled her eyebrows at me as she smoothed Zelda's hair. I tried my best to compose myself as Zelda stepped out of the embrace and turned back towards me.
"I see you've met my so-called 'appointed knight.' I told Father it really wasn't necessary, but here we are."
"Oh, I don't know, Little Bird. It's not so bad having a voe around who's skilled with his sword. And I hear this one's better than most with that big thing."
I kept my eyes down and tried to physically will the color from rising in my cheeks. A mischievous smile played on Urbosa's lips.
Zelda craned her neck to get a better look at the Sword strapped to my back. "It's not that big, is it?"
Urbosa's smile widened. I was somewhat reminded of the way a cat luxuriated in torturing a mouse before she ate it.
"Anyway," Zelda continued as she headed out to the Cathedral's front stairs, "I am so tired of hearing about that sword! Let's talk about something– anything! – else. Would you like to see what I've been working on? Let's go back to my study."
"You say that now," Urbosa muttered, so only I could hear, and turned to join her.
One of Zelda's ladies followed behind them, throwing me a scathing look as she passed. It was probably her room that I would be taking over.
I followed behind the three women, an unwelcome shadow. Zelda walked with her arm tucked into Urbosa's elbow, peppering her with questions about the Divine Beast that had been found high on the Gerudo plateau last year. She kept it up all through town, across the bridge, and up the stairs to the wing of the Castle where her suites were. From what I could make out, it sounded like the artifact could generate its own lightning storms. Setting something like that loose in the desert sounded like a terrible idea if anyone were to ask my opinion about it, but no one did.
"Just think! Think what we could do with all that power!" said Zelda excitedly. "Imagine running a mill without flowing water or wind! Or illuminating a library without fire, wouldn't that be incredible?"
The women stopped on the bridge leading to Zelda's study, looking out across the landscape.
"Maybe one day, little bird, but don't get too ahead of yourself. I still have to learn to control the thing. And I've never put much stock in this 'Calamity Ganon' thing, but…" Urbosa looked down at Zelda, pursing her lips in maternal concern. "The signs have become too obvious for me to ignore any longer. The Gerudo are in danger."
"In danger?" Zelda repeated. "If it's a question of defending Gerudo Town, I'm sure Father would spare the–"
Urbosa waved her hand dismissively. "Gerudo Town has strong walls and its own source of water. It is no matter to withdraw behind the walls and wait out an enemy. But we've made the desert bloom outside those walls. Usually a few warriors is all it takes to scare the lizalfos out of the mulberry groves and palm orchards. Lately, though, they've grown bolder. Better armed. More numerous. And the Yiga, Goddess curse them, have become shockingly brazen. On nights when the blood moon rises, I can't help but think this is all being fueled by some greater evil."
"I will find a way to defeat Ganon, Urbosa, I swear it. I won't disappoint you."
Urbosa crossed her other arm, to place her hand on top of Zelda's and give it a reassuring squeeze. "You could never disappoint me, little bird."
Zelda looked up at Urbosa adoringly, eyes welling with tears. Arm in arm, they stepped into the study. I made to follow them, only for the door to slam in my face. I heard the click of a lock.
So much for getting off on the right foot.
…..
Several days passed in much the same way. I'd follow the Princess as she made her way to the Cathedral, and stand by the entrance as she prayed. She would kneel for an hour or more in front of the statue of the Goddess, nothing between her knees and the cold stone but the linen of her ceremonial dress. I admired her devotion. Her voice was flat as she recited the prayers, though, and I could tell her heart just wasn't in it. The daily pilgrimage must have been a mandate from her father. Often, courtiers and nobles would join the ceremony, whispering and giggling behind their fans. Zelda's powers were quite the subject of gossip at Court, and being the person who first saw them realized would be a social triumph.
She would then return to her chambers, change, and ensconce herself in her study. I spent hours pacing along the bridge linking the study to the main part of the Castle. Sometimes I would hear her talking to herself. I noticed she had a habit of keeping up a steady stream of narration and questions to herself as she worked. One afternoon, as I followed her back from the library, I made the mistake of answering one of those questions.
"But what keeps Vah Medoh aloft, I wonder? It seems too heavy to fly on its own."
I replied that there were a lot of updrafts in Hebra, which helped get the Rito into the skies and keep them up.
She tore her eyes away from the book she had been carrying and turned to look at me, a mix of confusion and disdain on her face. "I wasn't talking to you, sir knight."
I dipped my head in apology and wondered what had possessed me. I'm sure she would be happier if I would just hang behind her, silently, so she could pretend I wasn't there.
That evening, I stood outside of a gazebo where the Princess and her two ladies enjoyed the fresh air. Zelda leafed through a book full of complicated diagrams, occasionally jotting down a note on a sheaf of parchment. Jirri worked a backstrap loom, and Iquihi picked at some embroidery, languidly sprawled out over a bench.
"I'm boredddddddd," Iquihi announced.
"I'm almost out of thread, you could spin more for me," suggested Jirri.
"I'm not that bored."
"You're the one who complained."
"I hate spinning," Iquihi replied petulantly.
"Give it to Link," said Zelda breezily, not even looking up from her book. "He knows how to spin."
"Really? A man? How odd." She brought the distaff and spindle over to me. She stayed to watch as I started spinning, gawking as if a dog had learned to walk on its hind legs. Eventually, she lost interest, and flopped back down on the bench.
"I'm still bored though. Maybe I'll call that Bard over. He always has interesting ballads, and he is quite handsome. Even if he is a Sheikah."
Zelda did snap her book shut this time, glaring at Iquihi. "Don't do that, you well know that man makes my skin crawl. And don't insult the Sheikah, please, they have been loyal servants to my family for generations."
"What's your problem with him, anyway?"
"Don't leave me in a room alone with him, is all I'm saying," she muttered darkly, before returning to her book.
"Fine, fine. I'll just continue with this embroidery then, until I go blind."
Zelda snorted derisively and returned to her book.
When the sun went down, the trio retired to Zelda's chambers to continue their evening. I stood outside the closed door, once again. Spinning did have a tedious rhythm to it that at least kept my mind engaged.
"Link!" a familiar voice barked. I sighed. My father was back. He made his way up the stairs to the bridge where I kept my vigil. "They told me you haven't been to the Armory yet to pick up your uniform and equipment."
He pulled up short, eyes tracking the rise and fall of the spindle. I could see the familiar twitch of the vein in his temple, but it didn't scare me the way it had as a small boy. Let him be angry.
"I knew," he ground out. "I knew I never should have left you in Goponga. No wonder you turned out so…unnatural, surrounded by women and those filthy fish-people. Now you stand here, guarding the heir to the throne, out of uniform, improperly equipped, and making a damned fool out of yourself? The King may be fond of you, but you've got another thing coming if you think I'll tolerate this behavior from any of my soldiers."
I flushed with rage at his insult to the Zora. "First of all, I don't report to you, sir. Secondly," I gestured at the blue tunic and the Sword, "I am in uniform, and I am properly equipped. Lest you forget, I serve the Princess. I carry the Sacred Blade, blessed by Hylia. Not that I need it," I scoffed. "I could disarm you with nothing more than this distaff."
He sputtered. "Well that's just… I mean… don't be ridiculous."
"I'll wager you. You, with your sword, against me, with this distaff. If I win, you won't speak to me again unless spoken to. If you win, I'll wear your bloody uniform." I unslung the Sword from my back, setting it carefully on the ground behind me. Then I slipped the distaff out of my belt and unwound the roving wool, holding it in front of me like a sparring sword. I lifted the spindle up into my left hand, clutching it with my fist. It was a good weight, with a long spike of dragon bone for the shaft.
He stared at me for a long moment.
"What, are you afraid? Don't think you have it in you any more?" I challenged. That snapped him to attention. He never could tolerate an injury to his pride. He unsheathed his sword and adopted a fighting stance.
We stood there for a moment, sizing one another up. I pressed at him, taking a few wild swings with the distaff. I knew I had greater endurance than he did, making him tired would give me an advantage. I leapt around him, slipping behind him, keeping him on the move. I alternated striking at him with the distaff and coming at his face with the spindle in my fist. I knew he wasn't going to drop his defenses that easily, but it did seem to meet the goal of making him sweaty and frustrated.
With an angry grunt, he lunged with the sword, and I backflipped out of the way. As I turned through the air, time slowed down, and I saw an opening. I managed to get under his sword arm and give one, two, three hard strikes to his ribs before he struck back. He wore only a surcoat, no armor, and I could tell my blows winded him. I caught the flat edge of his blade against my bracer and pushed his strike back towards his body, coming at his face with the spike of the spindle. He ducked down, kicking out at me and landing a boot hard in my gut. I stumbled backwards, but I had an idea. I drew the thread – a very sturdy linen cord– off of the spindle and wrapped around my hand. I then tossed the spindle around his leg and into my other hand, creating a snare. I twisted around him, bringing the rest of the thread in front of his other leg. As he turned, I pulled back, sharply. He fell right onto his face. He pushed up onto his knees and made a last, desperate chop with the sword. I dropped the spindle and brought the other end of the distaff into my right hand, bringing it up across my face. The sword bit into the wood, lodging there. With a sharp twist I wrenched the blade from his grip and tossed it behind me. I heard the crack of the wood splintering and the clanging of metal hitting the stones.
"What in Hylia's name is going on out here?" I turned to see the door to Zelda's chambers wide open, Zelda staring open mouthed at the scene before her. Jirri and Iquihi stood behind her, necks craning to see over her shoulders.
With one last, withering, look at my father, I turned towards the Princess and dropped into a bow.
"Oh! Your Highness!" panted my father, struggling to get up. "Sorry to worry you, just a bit of friendly father-son sparring. Have to keep him on his toes, of course, if he is to keep you safe."
"It doesn't look that friendly," said Jirri in an exaggerated stage whisper.
"Did you break my distaff?" Iquihi interjected.
I apologized and offered to go down to Castle Town to fetch her another one the next day.
"Don't bother," she said. "I appreciate having an excuse not to spin, to be completely honest."
My father finally made it to his feet and swept into a bow. "Apologies for the disruption, Your Highness, Ladies. Please excuse me." He went out the way he came, trying to hide a limp.
Jirri and Iquihi lost interest, and turned back inside. Zelda stared at me for a few seconds. She then rolled her eyes and shook her head, before slamming the door shut between us once again.
….
The day before the inauguration ceremony, I was stuck on the bridge again. I held the Sword in front of me, gilt scabbard glinting in the afternoon sun. I'd spent the last half an hour – although it felt like three days– trying to get it to balance on its point. A wide winged shadow passed over me. I didn't pay it much mind, assuming it was just a Rito delivering mail, until I heard the click of talons touching down on the stone walkway.
"What are you doing here?"
I knew that sarcastic drawl anywhere. Revali. I could have asked him the same thing, but I didn't want to rise to his bait. I gestured vaguely at the Sword.
"So this is the 'Sword that Seals the Darkness'?" he asked, voice dripping with condescension. He reached a wing out as if to grab the hilt, but I snatched it away and slung it across my back again.
"Ooh, touchy, are we? What, afraid the sword might change its mind? Don't worry, Link, I don't want your puny little trinket. I have Vah Medoh to pilot through the skies, a much greater responsibility, don't you think?"
I was spared a reply when Zelda's door opened. "Ah, Revali, you're here. It's wonderful to see you again. I'm heading down for tea, would you care to join me?"
"An excellent idea, Your Highness, in fact, I have many ideas about the fight against Ganon that you need to hear. It's good for you that I've agreed to be the Champion, you're going to need a martial mind like mine if you have any hope of success."
Zelda pursed her lips slightly, then smiled politely. "Of course. I can't wait to hear your suggestions. Shall we?"
She brushed past me, and when she drew even with Revali, called over her shoulder, "Link, you've done quite enough for today. You're excused for the rest of the afternoon, I will see you at the ceremony tomorrow."
Revali gave me a satisfied smirk and followed the Princess out. I buried the impulse to make a rude gesture at him.
My stomach grumbled. I wouldn't mind an early dinner. If I was going to be so brusquely dismissed, I might as well make the most of it. I decided to head into town, to a tavern off the town square that had excellent stew. There was also a very handsome, broad shouldered boy who worked there bringing up the casks in from the cellars. I was too closely watched, too much the subject of gossip, to act on anything, but I could always admire the view. As I walked through the main gate, I saw a cloud of dust rising on the road ahead of me. A Goron with spiky back plates and a wild mane of white hair thundered past. It could only be Daruk. I was glad to have at least one friendly face at the ceremony tomorrow.
….
The next day seemed to pass by in a blur while simultaneously being interminably slow. The throne room was packed, and it was an unseasonably warm day. I stood at attention, sweat dripping down my back, while Rhoam droned on and on. I caught Mipha's eye and she gave me a shy smile. I wondered what she had said to finally convince Dorephan to relent.
Finally, the King wrapped up his sermon, and we filed out of the throne room. There was next to be a smaller ceremony at the Sacred Grounds, just south of the Castle gates, to formalize my role as bearer of the Sword and guardian of the Princess. Zelda was to lead the procession on her recently-arrived white stallion, but Tian had other ideas. He danced and reared while the grooms tried to hold him still enough for her to mount up. He seemed more interested in screaming at the mares in the stable yard and striking out at the grooms than taking part in any of the day's pomp. Zelda gazed on nervously. From what I understood, she had always been the bookish type and hadn't spent very much time in the saddle. This was definitely beyond her skill level.
My tenure as appointed knight wasn't going to last long if my Princess broke her neck on my first official day on the job. I tried to take the King aside and quietly suggest that we find a more suitable mount for her, there were plenty of quiet older geldings in the Royal stables.
"Nonsense!" Rhoam boomed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "She just needs the right attitude! Zelda, show that horse who's boss!"
I had to exert a lot of willpower not to roll my eyes at him. I could see the heat rising in Zelda's cheeks, fists clenched in frustration. Fortunately Urbosa stepped in to defuse the situation.
"You – give me that stud chain," she said commandingly to one of the grooms, who had been standing ineffectively to one side of the sad tableau.
Urbosa handed the chain to me, and I was able to get it through the bridle and across his lip. He seemed to quiet him a little. A crude solution, but probably necessary in this case.
"Now get on the other side from Link and hold his head there too. Just keep walking him in circles," Urbosa barked at the groom. "Zelda, come here." And with a fluid motion, she boosted the Princess up onto the moving horse.
"It's really too bad we need testicles to perpetuate the species, isn't it? It's ever so much better once they're cut off," She murmured in my ear, clapping me on the back before resuming her place in the procession.
The stallion jigged the entire way out to the Sacred Grounds. The situation was not helped by the scolding Rhoam gave Zelda for not getting the animal in hand. When we arrived, she practically leaped off of the horse and put as much distance between herself and it as she could.
Now, it was my turn to kneel on the flagstones through the long ceremony.
"The Goddess Hylia has deemed you worthy…" She lingered on that word before continuing with the rest of the liturgy. It must have pained her to say it. Zelda's voice had that same flat quality to it that I had recognized the night after the attack in Goponga, and every morning when she said her prayers.
I must not have been the only one, because I heard Daruk say behind me, "Gee, this is uplifting. She's making it sound like we already lost."
If he was making any attempt to keep his voice down, it wasn't obvious to me.
"Wasn't this your idea?" Revali sneered. "You're the one who wanted to designate the appointed knight with all the ceremonial pomp, grandeur, and nonsense we could muster! And if you ask me, the whole thing does seem to be overkill. I think I'm on the same page as the Princess regarding this…boy."
Daruk started to snap back when Urbosa interrupted. "Oh, give it a rest. That boy is a living reminder of her own failures. At least that's how the Princess sees him."
For Hylia's sake, would it kill any of them to whisper? There was a lull in Zelda's recitation. I tried to keep my head down, pretend I didn't notice anything amiss. But as the heavy silence continued, my gaze flicked up. Her brilliant green eyes were so full of hurt and sorrow, it nearly broke my heart.
…..
Music floated through the ballroom, led by the same Sheikah bard who had haunted the Castle halls in my childhood, the one Zelda apparently disliked so. The fortune teller had been banished, as the King had promised, but it seemed the singer had carried on.
Zelda was busy greeting a long line of courtiers and well-wishers, many of whom asked for her to join them on the dance floor. I was surprisingly popular too, with stately matrons practically throwing their blushing daughters in my path. Aryll found me in a back corner, trying to stay out of the way but keep an eye on everyone and everything.
"Link," said Aryll, grabbing each of my shoulders and searching my face with concern, before enveloping me in a hug. "How are you?"
I squeezed her back, chest slumped. I wished that I could pour out everything to her – Revali's insults, Father's disdain, Zelda's attitude, the KIng's demands, everything. Even Urbosa's ribbing, which was getting under my skin. But this wasn't the time nor place, and I didn't want her to worry.
"Everything's fine," I said with a shrug. "It's a boring job."
She pulled away, a hand still on each shoulder, and frowned. "You're a terrible liar, you know that?"
I shrugged. "I just wish people would leave me alone, I don't see why I'm so popular all of a sudden."
"Don't be daft," she said. "You're the brother of a Duchess and the son of the Captain of the Royal Guard. All the matrons were heartbroken when you left the first time, now they feel like they're getting another bite at the apple."
I wrinkled my nose.
"And now you're at the Princess' side all day, you're bound to have the good gossip. Everyone wants to be the first to know."
She checked over her shoulder, as if to see if anyone was nearby. "Look, there's something I wanted to talk to you about. Have you talked to Mipha today?"
Before the start of the ball, the Champions and a few of the Sheikah had rested in a gazebo in one of the castle gardens. Everyone had passed around and admired the 'control module' that Robbie had mentioned up on the plateau - a bit of ancient technology they were calling the Sheikah Slate. Many of its mysteries were still to be solved, but they had determined that it could freeze and reproduce images on its surface, like a true to life painting. Mipha had requested such an image of the group – which Daruk had responded to with a little too much enthusiasm. By the time everyone had gotten back up and knocked the dust off, a page had come to escort us into the ball. I hadn't yet been able to get away and have a proper conversation with her.
"I'm just wondering if you promised anything to her, or more importantly, to Dorephan, to get him to agree to Mipha being the Zora Champion."
I hadn't even wanted Mipha to be the Zora Champion. I recounted to her the conversation I'd had in the throne room of the Domain.
"Really? You said that to them, that you loved her the same way you love me?"
I stared at her, a little nonplussed. Of course I did, and I didn't see why that would be surprising given how we had all grown up together.
Aryll pursed her lips. "Well, it's just that… Mipha asked me to help her with…something. But she didn't say for wh–"
Aryll's head snapped to the right, eyes focusing in one someone making their way through the crowd towards us. "Oh, hell. It's my mother-in-law. She wants to move in with us when the baby is born. I've got to go. Tell her I, uhh, have morning sickness and had to go to the privy. We'll talk later." And she darted off.
A few moments later, Lady Cosimo made her way over.
"Oh Sir Link! How wonderful to see you again. We're all so proud of you, of course. I heard you and Her Highness are headed to the plateau tomorrow, you absolutely must join us in our box at the Coliseum, the Rito Players are in town again!"
I thanked her, trying to sound noncommittal to her invitation.
"Did I just see Aryll with you?" She continued. "I need to firm up my plans to move to Goponga, I mean, for when the baby comes, naturally. I have to make sure my little grandchild is brought up properly, don't you agree?"
I let out a long and evasive "hrmmm," hoping for an escape. I noticed the music had stopped, and when I looked up, I saw that Zelda was no longer in the receiving line. In fact, I didn't see her in the ballroom at all. Neither was the Bard. I quickly excused myself and started to search. I noticed a side door that had been propped open, leading out into the night air. I pushed out, finding myself on a stair that led up to the Castle walls.
Zelda stood a few paces away, back against one of the many towers punctuating the Castle's walls, and obviously looking for a way out. The Bard had one hand casually pressed against the wall next to Zelda's head. She tried to edge away, but she was quickly running out of space.
"You look positively ravishing this evening, Your Highness."
"Th-thank you. Maybe you should get back to the party," Zelda stammered out, "I"m sure people are missing the music."
"Who cares about those people? Why would I give them any thought when I'm under the moonlight here with you?"
I intentionally made my tread a bit louder than normal, and conspicuously cleared my throat as I drew near. For the first time ever, Zelda looked happy to see me. The Bard, however, scowled at the interruption.
"You're not needed here, Mr. Hero. The Princess is safe with me. Go on back to the party."
"Actually…" Zelda used the distraction to slip under his arm and step behind me. "I find that I am quite tired. Please escort me back to my chambers, sir knight."
I bowed my head in assent, and she made her way down the stairs. Once we were well away, I asked if she was alright.
"I'm fine," she snapped. I didn't press further.
We arrived at her rooms, and I bade her goodnight, turning to leave towards my own bed.
"Wait," she called. I turned back to see her hovering on the threshold, staring at me. "Never mind," she said, shaking her head. She went through the door, slamming it shut behind her.
