The Downfall Timeline
Book 1
Chapter 27: Choices and Consequences

February 1, 610 GK, The War of Imprisonment, Day 200

Lake Hylia

Link and his master continued their journey back to the lake at a slow pace during the night. Despite the successful attack on one of Ganon's strongholds, no enemy patrol approached them as they traveled to the hylians' refuge.

As the stars gracefully turned above them, the squire's head began to droop and he lightly dozed upon Epona's back. The marshal was tired as well and his arm ached and throbbed awfully, but his mind remained restless. Now that the apprehension over the boy's disappearance had passed and the beast in the Forest Temple had been dealt with, Alfon was pondering how his squire should be punished.

Several times since he had taken the oath, he had pressed his master for permission to go to the forest and search for his friends, but Alfon had denied him every time. Now, at his first chance, Link had slipped away when his lord was incapacitated and done what he had been commanded not to do. Such acts of disobedience often brought harsh consequences in the Hylian Army.

The knight turned his head and studied his dozing ward with a deep sigh though - his heart was not made of stone. The boy had been in terrible pain and fear over the destruction of his home and the loss of his family for months. To complicate matters further, he had been right to go to the forest. Some of the Kokiri had survived and needed rescue - on top of the evil that was slowly spreading outward from the Forest Temple.

Link mumbled in his sleep and slowly leaned forward to lay against the back of Epona's neck. The young filly proudly kept her head held high as her little master slept. The marshal smiled and turned his eyes back to the road. He would deal with his squire, but he would be tempered and fair.

They approached the gate to the lake-road just after sunrise and met with Captain Corin. Ever since he and Alfon had parted at the forest, the old veteran had kept a number of mounted soldiers ready to ride, just in case the marshal should return with a pursuit.

The three, along with the captain's escort, now re-entered Lake Town and made their way to the stables.

"See that the horses are fed and watered, then get some sleep." The marshal commanded his ward as he dismounted.

"Yes master." the squire replied with a yawn.

"I must report to the Princess and the Minister." He finished as he and Corin trudged away.

Link rubbed his eyes as he led the three horses into their stalls. Soon, he had filled their water buckets and thrown large armfuls of hay into their feed bins. Returning to his small tent, the young warrior pulled off his boots and dropped onto his bed, asleep.

As the captain and marshal made their way over to the temple, Alfon quickly filled Corin in on the events in the forest.

"So, the temple was being controlled by some... beast sent by Gannondorf?" Corin asked in disbelief.

"Yes," answered his lord, "and he seems to be calling himself 'Ganon' now. At least, that is what the kokiri said."

His eyes were sore and heavy and his arm was still aching, but Alfon swiftly made his way to the Princess' council room.

"Lord Alfon, Marshal of the Armies of Hyrule, your highness." announced the chamber guard as he entered and knelt before the princess' throne.

"Your Royal Highness," he greeted, bowing his head, "your servant awaits your command."

In his fatigue, Alfon did not notice the grim faces that Impa and Zelda were both wearing.

"Arise and report." answered the princess stiffly.

With a soft grunt, the man returned to his feet.

"My princess, I have located my squire and returned him safely to the camp." he began with a smile, but froze when he caught Impa's glare.

"Good. Now we can clear this up!" she snapped as she turned to the princess.

Alfon glanced between the two of them. Confused, he asked, "Clear up what, my lady?"

"The situation is more serious than we originally thought, my lord." Zelda replied, "It seems, that your squire disobeyed direct orders from an officer."

A small shiver of fear ran up the marshal's spine. He had told no one of Link's requests to go to the forest... how could they have known?

When he did not answer, Impa stepped in, "The captain of the infantry company, who aided you on the field, reported in last night. He claims to have ordered Link to escort yourself, the injured girl, and the rescued horses back to the lake. By breaking off and entering the forest on his own, your squire has not only disobeyed orders, but abandoned his duty during war!"

Alfon was shocked, the boy had said nothing about orders from an infantry captain, only that he had entered the forest to look for his family. He quickly explained the events in the forest and stressed that Link had in fact found several of the Kokiri alive and in need of rescue.

For a few moments, both the sheikah and the princess seemed to forget Link's transgressions as Alfon described the Forest Temple, its monster, and the Kokiri who spoke of becoming a new sage.

"We would never have learned these things if he had not been there." The princess said softly, casting a sidelong glance upward at her regent.

"No..." muttered Impa in deep thought, "But no matter the happy outcome, the boy is a soldier and committed crimes against the soldier's law. He must be punished." She quickly added, returning to herself.

"Punished?" echoed Alfon with a confused tone, "He's only a boy."

Zelda pursed her lips and remained silent - looking down at her lap as the minister continued her attack.

"He is a boy who was deemed ready to take the soldier's oath. Thus, he is bound by the soldier's law!"

The knight grew angry at her rigid interpretation of the army's code.

"He is my squire then, I shall see him punished." he growled, attempting to settle the matter.

"It is not that simple." countered Impa with a sigh, "If this had been some small infraction against you or another 'close comrade' then we could have settled it quietly through hard labor or additional duties. But your squire defied the orders of one of our field captains. Orders that were given to him in front of an entire company. If he is not punished – publicly - then word will spread that he is favored or... that the kingdom's leadership is soft and weak."

The princess squirmed uncomfortably upon her throne as her minister finished. Clearly, she was unsettled by the sheikah's words.

"Soldiers, for all of their training and discipline, often step outside of their bounds. It is in the nature of being a soldier." Alfon argued, "and their sergeants, captains, and lords are granted leave to punish them as they see fit. I ask only to be granted the same privilege to discipline my squire as I see fit."

"Were there any way, I would," answered Impa, dismissively, as she turned her attention to the door, "Captain Corin, come in here!"

Corin, startled by the unexpected summon, quickly entered the room and bowed.

"My Lord, My Lady, Your Highness. How may I serve?" he greeted.

"Tell me captain, what is the punishment for a man who abandons his duty during war?" Impa asked sharply.

Corin raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Alfon.

"Answer her." the marshal growled under his breath.

"Normally," the soldier began cautiously, "the presiding authority has leave to prescribe the sentence of death to any soldier who - by abandoning his duty during war - causes the death of another Hylian, My Lady."

Zelda gave a slight whimper and covered her mouth with one hand.

The regent ignored her and continued, "And if a soldier has abandoned his duty, during war, but not caused the death of a Hylian by doing so?"

The captain furrowed his brow and began to ask, "My lady, is there something-"

"Just answer her!" bellowed Alfon, cutting him off.

"Lashes, my lady. Any man who abandons his post or his duty during war is flogged before the assembled company. Lesser punishments may be assigned by the commanding officer if there are any mitigating circumstances, but lashes are the punishment by law and tradition." he finished, completely bewildered.

"You cannot possibly mean to flog the boy." Alfon said, shaking as he strained to control his fury.

He and the minister continued to argue for some time as the militia captain looked on in disbelief. The princess, still sitting quietly on her throne, had debated furiously with her guardian on the subject of Link's punishment late into the previous night.

She strenuously resisted Impa's position that the boy should be dealt with harshly, but she could not resist her forever. The sheikah was regent, and until Zelda came of age, was the actual ruler of Hyrule. If needed, she could override the Princess' authority on these matters. In addition, messengers had arrived from the lesser kingdoms bringing ill news.

"After his outburst at the Princess, we cannot allow him to do as he pleases! The Kingdom will see the crown as weak!" Impa shouted.

"The crown? or the Minister?" hissed Alfon, jabbing his finger at the sheikah's chest.

"How dare you?!" she shrieked in disbelief.

"I will not allow my squire to be beaten in the square just to satisfy your ego Impa!" bellowed the lord.

Her eyes blazed with fury as Corin swiftly leapt between them and pushed his marshal back.

"My Lord please! You forget yourself!" he plead.

"The kingdoms seek independence." Zelda muttered softly in the tense silence between her chief councilors.

In a moment, all of the fire and fury within the room vanished as Corin and Alfon turned to stare dumbly at the princess. Impa flushed with embarrassment and dropped into her seat beside the throne.

"What? Your Highness? What was that?" the marshal stammered.

"The kingdoms have sent envoys requesting that they be 'allowed' to raise their own armies. To 'protect their homelands' from the evil at Hyrule Castle." she quietly explained.

"That... That does not mean that they seek to rebel against the crown, your highness." he objected.

"They have already acted upon it, Lord Alfon." The minister answered, "Our agents have reported that the Governors of all three of the Lesser Kingdoms have begun to organize small armies of their own and they have sent less than half of the men they have promised to support us in this war. They are preparing to break away. They see the princess as a weak child and with Gannondorf overthrowing the capitol... they see their opportunity to escape Hylian control. We must show them that the royal family is still strong! That it is still to be feared!" Her voice was firm and determined as she finished, but her eyes betrayed her own doubt.

"You would flog a man - a boy - as a 'show of strength'?" Alfon said to the princess, "Forgive me Your Highness, but I do not see any wisdom or grace in that!"

Corin drew a short gasp and his eyes widened in fear as he looked back at his marshal in disbelief.

"Careful, my lord," warned Impa, "Or you will stand beside the boy!"

"I stand by him now!" the knight shot back, as the princess raised her hand for silence.

"Captain," she began quietly as Corin snapped to attention, "Have you ever prescribed lashes to a soldier?"

"Yes, Your Highness, once. A man was found sleeping while posted on guard duty a few months ago. He was flogged and - after being treated by the healers - returned to duty." he finished smartly.

"How many lashes did you give him?" she asked, still with a quiet voice.

"Ten, Your Highness." he answered.

Zelda carefully considered her next move. She knew that Impa would not allow her to overlook Link's actions and she did not want to force the regent into a position where she would exert her authority over the Princess.

Nor did she want to see her friend punished in such a barbaric way. He acted out of love and courage, not malicious disobedience.

"Five lashes then." she commanded. "Ten for disobeying orders and leaving his duty, but we shall take back five for his service in the forest."

The minister narrowed her eyes for a moment, considering the judgement, then inclined her head. Alfon ground his teeth and desperately tried to think of any argument that could either spare his ward entirely or at least reduce the punishment to something lesser. But when nothing came, he too bowed his head and accepted the sovereign's judgment.

"Bring him." she finished.

As the leaders of Hyrule debated Link's fate, a tall, slender man slipped into the squire's tent.

"What are you doing sleeping lad? It's the middle of the day, and there is work to be done!" he said as he gently rocked the boy's shoulder.

"Viscern!" he shouted after rubbing his eyes, "You made it through!"

The ranger smiled broadly as he sat on the small stool inside Link's tent.

"Yes, and Russel too, though he may have come back with a fresh scar or two." He finished with a light chuckle.

They talked for nearly an hour as each explained what had happened. The two captains had turned north and made for Kakariko as they attempted to bring down several bats with their bows. They managed to force some to retreat back to the capitol with several arrows stuck in their hides, but one had swooped particularly low and attempted to take Russel from his horse.

The bat's claws tore into his left forearm as it tried to lift him, but old veteran swiftly hacked its leg off with his broadsword.

Laughing, Viscern finished, "I imagine it will be very hard for him to land when he gets back to his master!"

Fortunately, the bats' claws are not poisoned like their fangs, and the captain was able to bind up his own injury until they reached Kakariko.

Though still very tired, Link regaled his adventure from the ranch, to his own battle with a giant bat, to the forest, and back to the lake. When the ranger frowned doubtfully at the boy, he produced the three fangs he had taken from his satchel.

Viscern began laughing again as he studied them, "Oh, Russel will be furious! He has a claw, but you actually managed to take some fangs!"

"They aren't all mine." replied the squire, "One is for Alfon and the third is for Malon - the girl we saved."

The captain smiled proudly at him and patted his shoulder, "You're a good lad, Link! I'm sure you will make a brilliant knight some day! His lordship must be very proud of you!"

The sound of heavy boots approaching ended their conversation, as one of the princess' guards pushed his head through the tent's entrance and glared down at Link.

"Boy! Come with me! The princess has summoned you!" he barked as both squire and captain stared at him.

Link rose, and reached for his sword and belt.

"No weapons!" the guard bellowed.

"What is this about?" Viscern asked, "The squire has just returned from a dangerous mission and needs his rest."

The soldier scowled angrily at the ranger. "A courts-martial is being convened. Now MOVE!" he shouted.