Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Zelda Franchise... I wish I did.
Chapter 20 - The Start of a Simple Night
"Hgnnn, Aaah... This smell is the best." Link said with a longing sigh, stretching his arms above his head. "You know," Tilting his head slightly to the left, he drifted his azure eyes to his friends behind him. "I never thought I would miss home this much, never did before… it feels a bit weird."
Home, as the blond young man just said it, are the lush and green lands of the Kokiri Wilds. The place of so many fairy tales and dreadful legends for so many is instead the only familiar corner of Hyrule that Link would take as homeward.
Watching as Link wanders carefree in between the green patch of tall grass, Sheik folded his arms against his chest, a small twitch tugging at his lips. "Link," He called out to his Her- to his partner, getting himself a soft sideways glance. "You do know the right path to camp, right?"
Sheik's question was followed by a muffled giggle sounding from the feminine red-haired by his side, prompting the tall blond ahead of them to stop and give a glance at them; A mixture of smugness and offended look on his features.
With just a huff of a response, Link shifted his focus on the roadless path ahead of him. Casually crossing his arms on the back of his head, the blond warrior sped up his pace a little more as to show how much he could walk there by himself.
Vahn just laughed away, his green eyes sparkling with joy. "Link can be such a child sometimes."
A soft breath came from the Sheikah's lips, the ghost of a chuckle. "Well, I don't like to linger on this thought… but in a way, he is one, even if a bit."
Vahn's laugher just grew as Sheik turned a few shades of reddish-pink on his cheeks. "Good for him that you are there to balance that out, right?"
Leaping to his left, the petite scholar latched himself onto his friend's arm, poking the slender blond at his side, managing even to get a few giggles from him before Sheik shoved the pesky red-haired boy away.
All the while, as Link led them with a bit of distance and the other two threw a few bits of conversation with each other, the silent Zora is just watching the group in pensive contemplation.
Her large round eyes drank on every aspect of her new companions.
To La'Azul these people are like an alien remind of a world she doesn't have anymore. They laugh, they joke, and despite the struggle and the ugliness of the world around them, there is a shine of never-fading light surrounding these people.
Despite being strangers, people she has never met before. They feel like home for her.
"La'Azul?" Someone called out to her, a concerned but gentle voice. "Something bothering you? Are you hurt?" Vahn asked softly, the smallest of the group slowly walking towards the Zora.
La'Azul glanced down at him, tilting her head slightly in confusion. "I… I'm fine."
Vahn didn't look convinced. Giving her a soft touch in her right arm, the red-haired boy rubbed his hand in a warm caress. "Then why are you crying?" He asked with tender, nodding with his head to the moist line marking down her cheeks.
Startled by her tears, La'Azul rubbed her face with the back of her hand, shaking her head in her immediate response. "Sorry, this is… I don't know why I would cry." She tried to laugh but it only came out as a weak giggle. This time her odd reaction made the red-eyed blond stop and move closer to them.
"It's okay…" Vahn said warmly. "We are here to help, right?" He gave a glance to Sheik, looking for encouragement, which he received in the form of a small nod.
"There will be no judgment on us against you." The Sheikah said with his formal and stern way, but his visible red eye betrayed the glint of concern in its glow. "I can only imagine the strain weighing on your thoughts..."
Sheik didn't want to put into words, not to offend the woman nor to remind her of painful memories. But his mind is on the horrible fate that befell the proud and graceful people of Zora's Domain.
Normally he never put his trust in a complete stranger. Someone they met out in the open, especially after a day like today. However, if there are one people he wouldn't be able to impute the crime of serving the usurper, those are the Zora. If anyone has suffered at the hands of that psychopath, that would be La'Azul's brethren.
Looking from Sheik to Vahn, La'Azul felt her lips tremble. Her fingers fidgeting nervously against one another. "I'm sorry…" She said with a sob. "I am so sorry." Both hands darting to her eyes, she began to cry in earnest, prompting Vahn to get closer and place a comforting touch on her back.
"It's okay. You have nothing to be sorry for. We are going to help you, get you to a safe place." Vahn said calmly, trying to reassure the distressed girl.
La'Azul shook her head fervently, desperately trying to wipe her tears out of existence. "No, please… just let me say it… otherwise I would never get the courage to do it again."
Standing a small distance from the other two, Sheik watched the girl with a newfound interest. His gaze turned to its 'Sheikah' way, professional and logical. "Feel free to speak." He offered, folding his arms again. "I promise to remain neutral until the end."
She nodded. Finally gaining control of her distressed nerves.
"I'm sorry… because I lied to you." La'Azul began. Her words made Sheik's eyebrow twitch ever so slightly. "I never managed to escape those horrible soldiers. I lied about that… there were too many of them, I couldn't… I would never escape on my own."
"But you were taken prisoner, right?" Vahn asked. "Someone saved you?"
A conflicted look appeared on the Zora's face, the light blue skin of her face taking a slight shade of very light pink to it. "They first took me to the capital with others. Then a scrawny, very scary-looking man bought me from the soldiers." She shuddered at the memory. "I can still remember his face… that ever-present creepy smile."
Vahn and Sheik looked at each other, both of their minds remembering very vividly a scrawny man with a creepy smile plastered on his face.
"The Zora in the aquarium inside that weird magic marketplace; that was you!?" Vahn's voice raised as his eyes widened.
La'Azul nodded weakly. "I… I remember seeing you two there in a glance. That day… or night, I couldn't tell the difference anymore."
Sheik's pale face turned even paler. The young Sheikah averted his gaze away from her, his eyes pained with a look of shame. "If anyone should be sorry or ashamed… it should be us. We left… we didn't try and help you out of that place."
Waving one hand in front of her, La'Azul smiled at him. "What could you two have done? You would be in great danger if you tried. Not only from the black-wearing soldiers present at the moment but also from the guards of that place. I don't blame you, for anything."
Vahn, who also wore a look of shame in his features, perked up a bit. His green eyes sparkling with that shine of curiosity they so often get filled by. "However, you managed to escape that place. How?! I mean, that place is not only twisted with magic but also filled with armed guards… There's bound to be an amazing story behind how you gained your freedom, no?"
La'Azul tensed. It was subtle, as if her shoulders just stiffened from a colder breeze hitting her body. But for the trained eyes of a Sheikah that was more than a hint. She was struggling with the truth or the prospect of telling said truth. But instead of pressing on it, Sheik just continued to watch in silence, waiting for her to present her story in her way.
"As I said… I could… never have escaped on my own." She fidgeted again. Her round big eyes going everywhere but to those earnest green eyes staring at her with so much interest. "He… He saved me."
Vahn bounced up and down in excitement. "A dashing hero?" He giggled softly. "Is he okay? Who is he? Why didn't he come with you?"
"He… he told me to lie," La'Azul said and then shook her head as if what she said didn't sound right. "He asked me to not talk about him. Said it would be better if I just forgot about him and just seek you. In a way, he did that to protect me."
A very distinct feeling erupted from within the Sheikah. A faint tug coiling at his chest, a familiar one, a painful one. "La'Azul…" He called out to her. The feeling increased as her eyes traveled to meet his. "Who saved you?"
Her mouth moved but just a faint little breath escaped her lips. La'Azul sighed. She was the one who started this, her sense of what is right compelled her to tell the truth, she couldn't let her hesitation and fear stop her now.
And so, she shook her head firmly and loudly said. "Link. He saved me… he was the one that killed those bad people."
Sheik frowned and so did Vahn.
Link didn't know a thing about the secret marketplace they visited, if he did, the energetic blond would never keep his mouth shut about it nor would he be skeptical when they told him about the place.
And if their Link didn't venture into that place.
"Sheik… you don't think…" Vahn breathed out, his green-eyed widening more and more at the sour expression showing on his blond friend's face. "Goodness me… Nayru help us if what I'm thinking is true."
Closing his eyes and rubbing his temple to try and soothe the incoming headache, Sheik slowly knelt onto the grass and breathed loudly. "Well… shit."
Where would one go when his home is denied to him?
To where a weary soul should cast its shadow if where they belong is no longer within reach?
Like a hollow tree trunk, Link finds himself drifting without aim, without a place to be. Guided only by the soft breeze of the afternoon, he walks at the dead center of the main road of Hyrule field.
From time to time he raises his head, a searching gaze trying to find what has been the only reliable constant in his life, trouble.
Yet as much as he defied fate by marching on the open road, not a single patrol came his way. As much as Link is standing on the desolate plain of the ruined country, not one of Ganondorf's dark-clad soldiers has found him.
This is unusual occurrence is as vexing as is puzzling.
'At the one time I'm looking for it, trouble seems to be evading me.' He growled quietly, chewing on the inside of his cheek in annoyance.
Then his stomach growled louder than him, remembering the pale blond that despite what may have happened in his life, he is still very much mortal, and right now he is very much famished.
Trailing his sight along the road ahead of him, Link tried to find an easy source of food for his irritating growling stomach. Any fruit tree, edible shrooms, or even any small game around him, at this point Link isn't above cleaning some critter to roast it over a bonfire.
However, look as much as he did nothing came to view. Any tree that once thrived in this place is either dead or so close to it that no fruit would ever grow on it. And no animals to be found either, seeing the great number of horse trails dotting all over the place, this constant traffic of soldiers is sure to scare any creature away.
Link growled again, his sight then going to the tall hill on the left, his eyes landing on the tall walls of Lon Lon Ranch a few minutes away from him.
Letting out a defeated sigh Link turned his march over the ranch. With purpose and truly not caring if anyone would recognize his likeness, he all but jogged on the road, quickly reaching his destination.
Right on the edge of the open gates, he noticed the reason for his lack of trouble before. Lon Lon Ranch is crawling with Ganondorf's soldiers. Some are standing in duty, holding their weapons on attention and wearing serious expressions on their faces; others are just chatting, laughing, or smacking each other on the head in a heated argument that turned into a fight.
Feeling the fingers of his right-hand twitching to reach for his weapon, Link decided to listen to the nonstop noises coming from his belly and just stroll casually inside the gates.
The soldiers standing on guard gave him a mean look, one that meant to scare him out of any ideas of creating trouble. Link only glared back at those guards and moved further in, ignoring the chatting and fighting occurring around him.
When inside the property, he observed the noticeable changes done to the place. Where once there was a humble but very large house, now sits a large building that is both reinforced and pretty in its design; almost a keep but not stuffy enough to be treated as a military building.
To the right, the ranch stables still stand, but its walls changed drastically. Gone are the sturdy but old wood walls, replaced by the grey color of masonry, with ghoulish red windows resting far up above the ground. Those red glasses of the window made in detail akin to a mosaic, the art, of course, are nothing but drawn praise to the new sovereign of Hyrule.
A sight that made Link snarl in anger. Ignoring the stable as a whole, for now, he moved over to the entrance of the tall building on the left, a tall wooden sign dangling above the door.
'Welcome to Ingo's Palace' Reads the sign, with a small drawing of the sickly-looking man on the right bottom corner of it, the drawn figure giving a slimy grin, most likely Ingo's attempt of appearing endearing and trustful.
Snorting at least once to the grinning man on the sign, Link shoved his hand against the brown wooden door, revealing a fairly populated Inn on the inside.
People sit on sturdy-looking chairs, chatting away, or eating a warm meal at their tables. Everything almost felt too real and nice, as Hyrule used to be before Ganondorf's invasion.
However, one look closer at the people inside and he noticed the hidden malice present within each of them. From the burly men drinking their fill of alcohol to down a horse, to the rich dressed people sharing a private and suspicious chat at the corners.
'Yeah, this place too reeks of rotten.'
Ignoring the people mingling about the place, Link marched his way to the counter at the north side of the room. With a firm move, he crashed with his bottom onto a stool and leaned over the large marble table.
He glanced onto the counter, almost expecting someone to puff into existence to attend him, yet no one looks to be tending the place, maybe because they are busy tending to everyone else in here.
Link then tried to find a worker to take his order or just give him a piece of goddesses-damn bread.
One glance to the left and his brow slightly twitched. Another one, now to the opposite end of the room, and his lips twitched this time, a faint little snarl escaping him. At the third glance, his whole face twisted into a scowl.
His anger raised yet again. Not because he failed to spot any worker, or no he did, and easy enough. Going from table to table the diligent workers are tending the drunk, taking orders of people's meals, and even cleaning the mess some customers left.
But every single one of the people working at this place is children, small ones. The oldest he spotted is a girl that doesn't look older than twelve.
"My, my, Good afternoon." Came a voice from behind the counter, shifting Link's attention back to it. "Sir, I hope you weren't left waiting here for a long time, hehe… Today is a busy day here in Ingo's Palace."
There he is, the slim bush-brown swindler himself, Ingo. Standing tall and wearing a proud-smug little grin on his face.
Rubbing his hands together, the man studied Link for a moment, gritting his eyes ever for just a moment, before offering one of his slimy off-putting smiles. "Well sir, how can we serve you here today?"
Link watched the man, his scowl still present. "Food…" He declared before his stomach could answer for itself.
"Of course, good sir. You probably heard of our famous potato porridge, huh?" Ingo clapped his hand excitedly. "It's one of our most requested recipes, easy to swallow and good for the body. A soldier's delight to be sure." He said and then hinted with a nod of his head to the sword resting on Link's back.
The blonde's red eyes glared on those black dots Ingo has for eyes, not liking to share a conversation with him. Yet his belly growled hungrily again, forcing Link to grit his teeth and just nod his head.
"Good, sir. Very good." Ingo clapped his hands a bit louder, one of the children quickly came rushing to answer his call. "Doda, please fetch a large bowl of Potato Porridge for our patron, if you will."
"Y-Yes, mister Ingo." The little girl replied meekly, never meeting the man's black eyes.
"Ah, ah." Ingo clapped his hands again, stopping the little girl that was more than ready to run into the kitchen. "Also, brings him a large plate with roasted chicken, with a pint of lemon liquor." He looked at Link and smiled. "The good sir looks in need of a good meal."
Doda gave a firm nod and then darted as fast as she could away from the large saloon.
"Would you care for a table or would you rather eat here, sir?" Ingo offered, raising his large eyebrows just a bit.
In a first moment Link would just grunt a reply to the man to force him to leave him alone, but then his eyes spotted another kid running into the kitchen as another one came out holding a heavy tray in her hands.
"The kids…" His red eyes traveled back to Ingo, who just stood there looking at him. "Why are there only kids working here?"
Ingo sighed, crossing his arms in a gesture to appear refined and cultured, but his lack of grace only made him look weird. "A question I often hear from new patrons. Good sir, I tell you that this isn't in any way something that I was looking for."
Link brought one hand to his cheek, resting his head against it as Ingo continued.
"When our great King gave me ownership over Lon Lon Ranch, I, Ingo the great entrepreneur, moved fast to transform this place into a thriving and busy hotel." Pulling a chair on his side of the counter, Ingo took a seat and rested his arms against the marble. "At first I tried to employ hard-working women. You know, they complain less and work better than those ruffians evading the army conscription."
A slight frown played at Link's brow. He never heard of any conscription, he thought that everyone banding together under Ganondorf's greedy banner was just as greedy as him.
"Well, that worked rather well… at the start." Ingo continued. "The women worked hard and fast, we began to gather a bigger and bigger clientele. But, as you can observe around you, most of our customers are soldiers, and most of them come here to burn out their frustration, be with drinks or foods… or in other ways."
Ingo's tone of voice tried to convey sadness or even grief, but his emotionless face showed only annoyance and indifference as he went on.
"Took very little time for the drunk soldiers to notice that the people serving them were women. You put together drunk buffoons and a few good-looking wenches… a recipe for disaster." The Inn-owner puffed out, his lips twitching with a small hint of anger. "Each day they broke one of my staff members and each day I had to go around looking for a replacement. Can you imagine to hassle?"
"OR you could keep those bastards away from them." Link growled back.
Ingo glanced at Link, standing in silence for a moment and then he laughed. "Old fragile Ingo jumping in to fight off armored brutes? Please, sir, I didn't know you are a jester. Anyway, instead of risking my neck like a moron, I began to employ children. A risky gamble for sure, who knows what those freaks like to play with, but thankfully by the mercy of our lord we went on without incidents ever since."
Link went silent. His face is complacent and his body is mostly still, but deep inside he is trembling with a rage he never felt before. His chest is burning with need, a mind-bending desire that is almost consuming his consciousness. Ingo… those bastards drinking in this place, the ones standing outside; he wants to kill them.
Each and every single one of them deserves to die, his body is screaming at him to stand up, pull out his sword and cleave them all in twain.
As the bottom of his boots pressed against the floor, prompting him up from his seat, a small form appeared beside him.
"Y-Your food… sir." The little girl from before called out to him, resting the large tray with food on the counter. Doda tried to give Link a small peek, taking the courage to raise her gaze and look at his face, seeing his seething scowl she recoiled back and rushed back into the kitchen again.
"There you go, sir." Ingo offered with a smile, seemingly unperturbed by Link's expression. "So, will you take a table or not?"
Glancing at the open door to where the little girl fled, Link growled and glared back at Ingo. "I'll take the blasted table."
Taking the tray in his hands Link stormed off from the counter before his temper could get the better of him and Ingo could lose his head. Walking to the right side of the room, Link found an isolated table with a grumpy-looking man sitting on one of the chairs.
With purpose, the blond marched to the table and stopped next to the gray-haired man.
"Whatcha want, halfwit?" The man growled, showing his pointy teeth.
"Get out." Link growled back, placing his tray on the table.
"The fuck was that?" Cursing a few more words in an inaudible tone, the man raised to the challenge and pressed a firm grasp on the blond's shoulder. "Have any idea with who are you talking to, fuckwit?"
Reaching with one hand, Link grabbed the man's arm and twisted it enough to make a loud crack noise. The man cried with enough force to make a few others glance their way.
"I said… get out…" Link practically snarled onto the man's face, his voice and the furious glow on his red eyes enough to make the burly man squeak and recoil away from him.
As Link shoved the man away, he heard not even a pip in reply but just the hurried steps of the most likely a soldier scrambling his way outside.
Soon enough all the gazes that were pointed at him began to shift away and people forgot all about the little commotion that happened.
Brooding on his dark corner, Link began to stuff his face as if he has never graced his mouth with a piece of food before.
The implication of this thought did not evade his thoughts as his mind went to the memories of the years of imprisonment in that temple.
'How long have I gone without eating…' He stuffed a large piece of chicken in his mouth, washing it down with his drink after it got stuck in his throat. 'How did I survive so long without eating… why do I need to eat now?'
His frown only worsened at each question popping on his head, but as his thoughts began to shuffle together in frustration, his body continued to work in perfect motion to shove as much food as possible into his mouth.
Not longer than a few minutes and Link slammed his tankard on the table, finishing the last bit of his meal with one large gulp of his drink. His pale cheeks getting lightly tinted with red, a soft warm spreading over his face.
As the sensation of loose behavior began to take over him, he took a cursing glance towards Ingo. 'That bastard gave me a spirit drink and I took it… such a moronic mistake.'
Growling quietly, Link pushed his back against the comfort of his chair, his vision slightly hazy in his drunken stupor. Even then, with the drink's effect working, his sharpness of mind helped him stay cool and collected, helping him just stay quiet and wait for the worst part of it to be over.
Letting his wandering eyes travel all across the line of the masonry wall at his side, Link began to study the structure, counting how many blocks are on each side, trying to guess how tall and long the walls are, everything to try and overwork the alcohol out of his system.
Then he heard the soft shuffle of clothes in front of him, the sound of someone politely taking a seat on the chair opposite to his on the table.
"Good evening." A man called out to him, his voice is smooth and regal, almost as if a very important noble has decided to take some time off his day and annoy the blond away from his peace. "You are… a very hard man to find."
As much as Link tried to ignore the man and his words, it is clearly not working, so instead the blond turned his gaze to the newcomer and gave him a very nasty glare. "Some man works very hard to not be found… in my case, someone else did the job for me. Who the hell are you and what do you want?"
A soft chuckle came from the man in front of him, the face completely hidden behind the nice fabric of a scarlet silk cloak.
Link tried to shift in his seat, his hazy vision not helping in his quest to identify this stranger.
Seeing the blond's effort the man chuckled a bit more and then leaned closer to the table. As if in a cue, a powerful thunder raged in the sky outside, its bright light invading the interior of the Inn, casting itself against the shadows that surround the man's cloak.
In this small moment, the entire face of this man became visible. In this small moment, Link froze in place.
The yellowish-green olive skin, that flaming red hair… those piercing yellow-green eyes.
As if drawn by a perfectionist artist, and a masochist, the face looking back at Link is a perfect reminder, an exact copy of the face he last saw before his life came to ruin.
For a second all the food he chomped down threatened to come rushing right back out, however, Link managed to swallow it down together with his shock.
"Ganondorf…"
Now, all that he has left is burning hatred pumping in his chest.
Sheik and his other two companions did finally reach the edge of the hidden camp, and right there in between two large trees Link is sitting on the ground, looking bored and annoyed. But as his blue eyes caught a glance of the three, he perked up and a simple smile played with his lips.
"What took you guys so long?" Link asked with a hint of mirth. "Got lost from the path?"
Sheik had to fight his urge to roll his eyes. Trust Link to hold a grudge about a small little joke and turn it right back at him. But instead of retorting a proper answer to the question the young Sheikah placed a hand on his cheek and tried to look slightly ashamed.
"Something like that…" He explained simply, and mostly with a lie. But he found it better and easier than to say that he and Vahn spent a long time speaking with La'Azul about the other Link and what that person wants. Link doesn't need that on his mind right now and so the three of them decided to keep it away from him.
Link glanced at Vahn for a moment, an eyebrow slightly raised. The petite boy gave him a sheepish grin and so Link laughed.
"Well, flying squirrels in a jar. The day has come that I outwitted Sheik on something." He sang cheerfully, enjoying this way too much in Sheik's opinion. But then Link proved his heart of golden by quickly walking over to them and looking mildly concerned. "No one is hurt, right? If you take one wrong turn inside the Lost Woods the forest will eat you up."
"No Link, no one is hurt," Sheik replied, calmly hiding a soft smile under his persona of strict Sheikah. "We only had a few… distractions along the way, nothing for you to worry about."
The young blond smiled and nodded, shyly reaching in with one hand to touch Sheik's arm but stopped before he felt anything on the tip of his fingers.
"Okay, that is our reason for taking so long to get here. What is your reason to be daydreaming out here in the open?" Sheik asked with a subtle grin. "I'm more than sure that our princess would love to see you again and most likely rent your ears for a good hour or two."
"That was the plan… but I don't think is a good idea for me to go in there right now." Giving a short glance to the opening behind him, Link rubbed the back of his head, looking slightly troubled by something. "Everyone is in a hurry in there. There are people all around and the soldiers are looking like someone poked their bums with a hot stick."
"Bums and hot stick?" Vahn stepped closer to Link, eying his friend with a quirk on his brow. "Link and his weird analogies. Each time it gets better." He finished with a small giggle.
"Or worse," Sheik replied, shaking his head. "Okay, let us see what is this commotion you're talking about."
"Dunno, Sheik. People are acting up in there." Link shrugged but still fell in line behind the other blond.
Casually Sheik turned back and gave Link a warm smile. The other blond arched his brow in slight confusion but quickly smiled back, then Sheik reached within the scarf around his neck and pulled his face mask up. Only then Link realized that Sheik was giving him one last smile with his face showing before he covered it up like his Sheikah protocol demands of him.
After sharing a special little moment with his blue-eyed blond, Sheik turned his attention to the quiet Zora walking behind them. "La'Azul, are you okay coming with us? I understand if this is difficult for you, it will be a lot of snooping eyes in there."
"I'm fine... really." She replied with a hint of a smile, rubbing the side of her left arm with her hand. "Curious as they may be, at least I know we will be among allies."
A fidgeting Vahn stepped to the side, chewing on his bottom lip as he glanced to the faint glow of torches up ahead. "Will I be okay too?" He asked softly, giving both Link and Sheik one scared little look.
"Why wouldn't you be?" Link asked with a frown. "La'Azul is right, we are between allies here."
"I don't know, Link." Vahn said softly. "They may trust La'Azul fine and dandy, but I… am different. I look like a-"
"Gerudo." Sheik finished for him and Vahn shuddered at the word. "Your concern is understandable, Vahn. However, you are not the only one with a brown skin color among our forces. Still, some people may give you a nasty look here and there. Just ignore it. It's what I do."
Vahn nodded, his panicked expression cooling down into a slight frown of worry. "There are others… huh." Pressing both hands together, the young scholar readily took his usual position when he feels scared; right behind Sheik with his right hand clutching the fabric of the Sheikah's vest.
With Sheik on the lead, the group walked into the clearing of the camp, and they managed to march halfway into the tent lines until they stopped at the scene Link had described beforehand.
As Link had painted with his words, the main camp is an absolute uproar. However, in a completely different sense to what Sheik had in his mind.
The refugees and civilians are going by with their day as if nothing has changed much, a few groups here and there sharing gossips but that is most of it. Now the truly abnormal behavior stands from the professional and well-trained soldiers of the resistance army.
Each soldier in camp is on attention, their face is hardened and twitching with distress, even then not one of them is stepping out of the stiff formation they have separated themselves in.
As it is, the entire army has been divided into five divisions, each one forming a line going from the center hub of camp to the east side from where Sheik and his group came from.
"Okay… this is very weird," Vahn said in a rush tone, the red-haired young man stepping from behind Sheik's back to get a proper view of the soldiers. "They are in a line, but their formation is so wrong." The red-haired comment surprise the Sheikah a little bit, the blond not expecting his small friend to be versed in any shape about military tactics and formations.
Sheik, studying not only the five lines of soldiers in front of him but also the petrified look on their faces. And it all dawned on him.
"I see…" The red-eyed blond breathed out, his comment getting the other three to look at him. "As you may know, our army is all but the remnants of what the princess managed to salvage from the Royal Army. As large as this force is, we only have one of the previous five grand commanders. General Val."
Link nodded his head, not grasping the explanation fully but still showing that he is not clueless about it. La'Azul only stared ahead to the line of armored Hylians, a little hesitation showing on her face. Now Vahn, his face is a mess of jitters and excitement, and this weird reaction didn't go undetected by their blond spy.
"What sort of formation is this?!" A thunderous voice echoed in the air, forcing a few of the men ahead to yelp meekly. "Captain Briar have you allowed my soldiers to turn this soft while I was gone?"
"I-I, No, Sir!" Poor Captain Briar stammered in his voice, still, his troubled face showed his confusion on how in the world would this be his fault. "Proper line soldiers. Are you going to stab the companion at your side when you draw your weapon? Proper space awareness, for goddesses sake."
The little scene was enough of an explanation for the rest of the group, so Sheik just turned his attention forward and led them to the start of the line.
"Hm…?" The booming voice came out again, its owner taking notice of the odd movement between his soldiers. "Ah, Master Sheikah. Good evening, lad."
"Good evening, General Val." Sheik gave a small bow, in reply to the commander of Hyrule's rebels.
Welcoming their group at the center of camp are the two of the highest-ranking officers of this army, Captain Briar, who Link has met before, and General Val, the one who makes grown men and women shake in their boots with just a mean-looking glance.
A towering man clad in a beautiful set of platinum armor, General Val has a mean-looking face, with stern green eyes, a long and slightly crooked nose, and an ever-present snarl on his lips. He has flaming red short hair and light-brown skin, with more than a few pale spots that are most likely scars from the battlefield.
Sheik's arrival has brought with him more than a few subjects that caught the giant man's attention, to the sweet relief of the soldiers scared out of their witts of the man.
Taking just two large steps forward, General Val almost engulfed the distance between him and the small group, his sharp eyes going from the blond young man with red eyes to the taller blond young man with blue eyes.
"This is him?" He asked firmly, not tearing his gaze away from Link. "A bit short and scrawny… has a naïve looking face too." Pitching the bridge of his nose, General Val sighed. "Not what I expected."
Looking more than slightly offended, Link stepped past Sheik and stood face to face against the way bigger man. "Since when someone needs to be a hulking oaf to be able to fight?" He retorted simply, not even bothering to present himself properly.
Every soldier standing in attention grew pale at the response coming from the blond. Those standing close to them broke formation without care, they just stepped aside to get as far as they could.
General Val glared down at the spunky blond, his nostrils flaring up enough to puff a hot stream of air from them. "You have guts, boy." The man said back, with the tone he used no one can say if it is a compliment or not. "A soldier is not measured with the strength of his arms, but with the willpower of his spirit… Huh… I like you, lad."
"General…" Captain Briar called out from behind, the young black-haired man rubbed his left temple, already feeling a headache incoming. "I don't think it's a good idea to persecute the Hero of Time. Our Princess will not be pleased to hear about it."
"Quiet, boy! I'm persecuting nobody, just evaluating the worth of this young man." General Val all but howled back, his green eyes shooting back to Briar. "At least he has courage. However, I still would like to test the prowess of our fabled hero."
Boldly announcing his intention, the tall red-haired man took a hold of the giant spear that is resting at the holster in his back.
Link didn't back down one bit, instead, he stepped forward and wore a face that can only translate to 'Come and get it, old man.'
But before they could start any sort of physical altercation, Sheik stepped between them and gave one glare to each man.
"Sorry General, but this is not an appropriate hour, place, or even situation to have." The young Sheikah all but commanded the scene, his defiant red-eye ever so still in its glare, enough to make the General sigh and back away. "Thank you for understanding. Now, is our Princess unoccupied? We have an urgent matter to discuss with her."
Captain Briar took it upon himself to reply as he walked over and stood right next to the General towering at his side. "Princess Zelda is currently discussing the terms of an alliance with our guests from Arturia."
Sheik's expression shifted within his mask. "They arrived, huh…"
"Yes they did, that lazy lot." General Val practically roared with his words. "Took me and our men less than a week to reach their kingdom, yet we wasted more than a month to come back because that spoiled brat couldn't take three steps before stopping to sightsee."
Sheik offered a small smile to the older man, knowing how much General Val hates frivolous people. "I hope we didn't have any… incidents in your way back."
The red-haired man stared down at the blond, his expression very unamused. "Please, Master Sheikah, you know how much I hate roundabout words. And no, I didn't strangle any one of them… despite wanting very much to." The last part came out mostly as a whisper, but with how loud the General speaks, anyone close to him still could hear it very clear.
As Sheik moved around to wave one hand to the General, the old man noticed the silent Zora woman and a small spot of red standing out from behind the Sheikah.
"Pardon me, are you a refugee from Zora's Domain?" He asked as softly and caring as his booming voice allowed.
La'Azul felt startled for a moment, not expecting the fearsome man to direct his attention at her. She looked at him and then at Sheik and Link that are looking at her; her response being only a shy small nod.
"I see… fear not young lady, we will provide you with safety and comfort to the best of our efforts." General Val offered. "The Zora are a proud and elegant people, to whom I have nothing but respect for." Then his green eyes shifted back to the person he is more than sure that is hiding behind Sheik. "And you, the one hiding behind Master Sheikah. Care to present yourself?"
Vahn almost jumped out of his skin, a small hint of panic crossing over his features. Seeing how distressed his friend has become, Link leaned over and pressed a reassuring touch to the boy's back. As Vahn looked towards Link, the blond offered him a simple but warm smile.
Taking solace in that smile and the warmth coming both from Link and Sheik, Vahn took a deep breath and then stepped out from behind his friend. His green eyes were glued to the ground, but slowly he did his best to raise his gaze until he meet two green eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
"V-Vahn…?" General Val said softly, almost scared of being wrong.
"H-Hello… Papa."