Kyou's War - Part 2


-Village of Jouto-

Zelda's hand pulsed hysterically. The door of the estate burst open. Her eyes snapped open. Instinctively she reached for her sack beside her where her sword, bow, and quiver were. She settled for the sword on quick notice and left the curtained bed. Thankfully there was no one attacking them. Instead, in the middle of the one-room estate was the slave boy holding... Midna.

This was worrying for many reasons. The girl was supposed to be at the palace. She was not supposed to be here. She was not supposed to be in the same place as Zelda and thereby revealing the plan. She was not supposed to be bleeding.

Zelda had been hearing rumors that the situation in the capital had reached its conclusion, and now she had proof. There was only one reason for Midna to be hurt: Kyou had attacked the capital and tried to kill her. Kyou had succeeded in taking the capital in so far as causing a wounded 'Zelda' to flee.

Impa's plan had reached its second stage.

"What the realms is going on?!" Link demanded furiously. His gaze locked on Zelda, and she felt the pulse in her hand pick up rapidly.

She had the faint impression it was her heartbeat, but her heart did not beat this quickly. She was calm. So why was her hand pulsing with an erratic heartbeat? Question for later.

"I don't owe you an answer," Zelda responded. She looked to the mayor. "If she came all this way, she either escaped or was let loose. Prepare to flee either way."

"Let loose?"

"So she could be followed," Zelda explained. "However she escaped, she will be tracked. I promise we are not dealing with amateurs."

Zelda turned to her belongings and set them up. She had taken very little with her from the palace. Salted meat, water skin and charcoal filter, a knife, sword, bow and quiver, and money to buy more if needed. She had her bag ready every night should she need to flee. This night was no exception.

The mayor would not leave Midna's side. He tried to stop the bleeding, but Zelda could tell from how pale and weak the girl was that she didn't have long left. "Unless you can get a doctor now and replenish the girl's blood supply, you are wasting your time. You must flee."

This logical statement, meant in their best interest, apparently invoked a reaction in Link. He took Midna's sword off her back and pointed it at Zelda's face.

"That girl has a name! Midna! Say it!" He snapped.

"Saying her name won't help her or us," Zelda replied calmly. "You are running out of time. If you insist on staying, then stay. I am done with this foolishness."

"I'm sorry... princess," Midna muttered in her half-conscious state.

"Princess?" Link gasped.

Zelda sighed. Of course, her cover had to be blown. Oh well, no matter. The mayor already knew, and what was a slave to do with the information? It was too fanciful to be reliable. It was a mistake on Midna's part, but Zelda refused to be angry with a dying woman.

Zelda looked down at her and said, "You did well, Midna. You gave me the feint I needed. I do question your choice in coming here, but I cannot refuse your choice of where to die. It is the very least you deserve. I wish I could give you more, but the comfort that it will be worth it is all I can offer."

This did seem to offer Midna some comfort, as she stilled. Pity Zelda had not met her in other circumstances. Link wept and the household had its fair share of tears.

Zelda moved around Link, and out the door. It was as Zelda feared, the distant village was red with flame and torches grew closer in the distance.

Link chased after her into the rain. He grabbed Zelda and spun her around. "You are going to tell me what is going on! Or I swear by Nayru! Why did she-" Link coughed on his tears. "Why did she have to die!"

"You want the short of it? She was a decoy to protect me and, if need be, to die for me." Zelda responded. That seemed to answer his question, as he fell to his knees. He bowed his head in defeat.

Zelda looked to the mayor, "Ketsu's army is nearing. They already burned one village. My guess is it was the one Midna passed through. If this escalates we may be looking at civil war."

"Wh-what do we do?" The mayor asked.

"Gather everyone in the village, take only what you can carry, and flee west. Leave Midna. Let them believe they killed me. Do not tell anyone of me or her death will be for nothing."

"Yes, your highness! Will you be joining us?"

"No," Zelda answered simply. It was better that they don't know where she will go, for her sake and theirs. She darted into the darkness away from the town. She prayed a silent prayer that the rebels would not catch the villagers, and she prayed for Midna's soul. She didn't know where Midna would pass on, but she hoped the girl was taken somewhere happier than here. Anywhere was better than here.

Zelda ran in the night. The clouds wept and raged for the deaths caused today. Lightning illuminated her path in the trees.

Torches!

Zelda slid behind a tree and stopped to catch her breath. The cold damp air filled her lunges. They were soldiers, that was for sure. Most likely rebels judging from their proximity to the rebel army, and they were fanning out thin to cover more ground. Distant movement told Zelda there were also men without torches in the middle of the formation. Anyone reacting on instinct would run towards this gap in the torches not realizing it was a trap.

'Clever.' She thought. But how to get by? They were coming closer.

Seeing no other way, Zelda ran parallel to them, but someone still caught sight of her. They yelled that someone had escaped. The next moment an arrow impaled itself in the ground and horses forced their way through the underbrush.

Gritting her teeth, Zelda dropped, slid to the side, and rolled. The horsemen's spear pierced the ground where she was. Zelda rolled to her feet, aimed her bow, and let loose an arrow. Light pierced the horsemen and steed and made several trees in its path explode and collapse. The ground shook.

The soldiers panicked momentarily, allowing her only enough time to shoot another into their midst. Three men by her count were taken out this time.

The men rushed her. She dropped her bow and blocked an attack with her sword while simultaneously kicking the man where his future children would feel it. She swiped widely, cutting a second man's finger off his hilt, but there were too many. They tackled her. Zelda struggled. She was strong for a girl her age, but it would only do so much for her against adults.

The men forced her face down until she drowned in mud. They took her hands and pinned them behind her, and shoved their boots into her spine; only to stop as another entered the fray. They turned their spears on him.

Link stopped. He didn't move with the spears pointed at his chest. He looked angrily down at her, and judging from the irrational fury bleeding from his eyes, the only thing keeping him from attacking her were the men who were both her captors and protectors by the power of irony.

"The princess is mine," He told the group. Zelda could only sigh. Her cover was blown. She hadn't planned to kill them all, as her guise as a villager would suffice. Now it was them or her. She couldn't have word returning to Kyou.

The soldiers looked at each other confused. "Princess?" They wondered.

Out of their midst, another man looking like a mercenary stepped down from his horse and grabbed her hair to get a look at her. He laughed when he saw her.

"Look at this boys! We caught ourselves some royalty!" He brought out a large blade and put it up against Zelda's neck. "Double luck for me." He smiled widely. "I get to cut this pretty face twice in one day!"

Twice.

"I take it you are the one to kill my body-double." Zelda guessed. Hoping her spontaneous idea would work.

"That's right. Good plan you had, fooled everyone. But it seems the Goddesses are smiling on me this day!" He rubbed the sharp blade light enough to make her neck bleed, without piercing the skin. "Kyou will pay handsomely for your head! I can't even imagine how much he-"

Zelda winced as the pulsing in her hand grew more and more rapid, and it started to burn. A triangle had flashed when she released her arrows, but now a second triangle was forming next to it, searing itself into her hand like a hot iron. Another small light drew her attention, and Zelda looked past the man holding her to see Link's hand was lighting up beneath his glove.

What? How? Zelda would have to consider this moment later, as it meant something, but for now, there was something more to pay attention to. Link's eyes were angry, furious, and wanted to hurt her, but it was a somewhat passive desire, but as the mercenary taunted her, that anger and fury were no longer passive. He shook in the effort to restrain himself.

As she wanted.

"You?..." Link whispered. "You killed Midna?"

One moment he was standing there, the next moment he was in their midst. The soldiers gasped in surprise and turned. He moved fast for a youngster. He swiped at the mercenary.

The mercenary saw him out the corner of his eye, and barely had time to move out of the way before Link clipped him in the side. Link was on the mercenary like a dog on a bone. He was throwing everything at the man, every bit of pain, every bit of anger.

The mercenary drew his sword and blocked the teen's furious blows. The soldiers split into securing Zelda against the tree and helping their captain, but the wild strikes and constant movement kept them from being able to actively contribute. They spent more effort trying to stay out of the way in the end than anything.

Link, despite being young, caught them off-guard. He had trained in his way all his life to be skilled with a blade, strong, and swift. His fury gave him strength, his instincts led him on, and his passion made him swift. They could barely keep up with his movements with the naked eye as it was. His only setback was that he had never used anything as heavy as a real sword before, so his strikes and aim were off, and the increasingly muddy ground threw off his balance, but it would be a testament to his raging emotions and skill and strength that he had the trained mercenary on the defensive, struggling to keep up.

It reached a point the boy almost seemed to blur. The mercenary struck back at him, but his aim missed. It was as if he had pierced fog. The boy was there, then simply wasn't. The boy retaliated with another shallow strike into the man's torso.

Growling, the mercenary caught him by the hair and kicked him. The kick propelled Link across the ground into a tree. Link fell numbly. He struggled to get up, but the world was spinning and he looked winded.

"Are... are you the princess?" One of the soldiers asked.

Zelda considered them. They were anxious and starting to panic. She could try to lie, as even stating the truth didn't necessarily mean they would believe her, but she felt the real question was about whether they knew they were rebels or were kept ignorant. Did they know who they were here to hunt? Foot soldiers wouldn't be informed of the finer details.

Not that it pardoned them for killing innocents they had sworn to protect.

"I am," Zelda stated. "I don't know what you were told but Ketsu sent you all to overthrow me and subvert Qin."

Zelda watched as fear overtook them and they squandered amongst themselves. Some wanted to kill her as a liar, some wanted to kill her because she wasn't lying and would have their heads for their treason, and some wanted to spare her as if to hope on her mercy. She didn't look like a princess, but her power gave her divine proof that they had trouble denying.

She had to keep pressing. They were wavering. "I can see you are not like him." Zelda nodded towards the mercenary. "You are ignorant."

"We were told to keep rebels from escaping through here!" One of them defended.

So that's what they were being fed.

"Then it is unfortunate that you yourselves are the rebels here." Zelda wiggled enough to show her hand. She willed her power to manifest itself gently. She had only learned to do so much with it, but the least she could do is make it light up. "This symbol proves me to be chosen by Nayru herself. I am the firstborn of the king of Qin. I am chosen by the courts, by the priests, and by the last will of my father to be the heir apparent. Any that try to subvert me rebel against the king, the kingdom, and her goddess."

The men shook in fear until some passed out. The rest decided to free her. They bowed themselves and begged for her mercy.

Zelda rubbed her wrist. This was more like it. "What are your names?" They answered. She put them to memory. "Help me, and I will see to it your families are taken care of."

"And what of us?" One asked.

"You have played an active role in mass murder, treason, and civil war. Ignorance only buys you so much understanding... How much mercy I can give depends on how much you play a role in stopping it from going further." She narrowed her eyes at them. "Decide for yourself now. Are you with me, or against me?"

"We are with you!" They said.

Zelda nodded. She rose to her feet. Things had nearly gone for the worst, but she had managed to influence the situation back into her favor. Now there was only one thing she wanted here.

Link... Having seen the symbol on his hand, she was convinced he was part of her vision.

It was at this time that the mercenary knocked Link down, and rendered him stunned. The mercenary paused to catch his breath and looked at them all. "What is this? You lot a bunch of turncoats now?" He scoffed. "Looks like I gonna have to kill the lot of ya' after I'm done with this brat."

Link struggled to get up, but it was as though all the energy he possessed had left him. His body just wouldn't cooperate.

Zelda understood his problem. He had been winded, his head spun from being thrown into the tree, but more than all of that, Link was afraid. He had likely never been in a real fight.

Zelda said to him, "Just think of Midna. This man killed her and he is going to kill you because you are afraid. If you have to, then don't think at all. Just act."

That seemed to get a rise out of him because Link dashed away from the mercenary's blade and swung back with a blow that forced the large man to take a step back.

"Shut up!" He barked. "Shut up! Shut up! You have no right to say her name! None! She had a good, happy life! It would have been fuller over the years, she would have had ten children, a hundred grandchildren, but you and your Din-damn brother had to start squabbling over a CHAIR!"

In his sorrow, and need to focus, Link stabbed himself in the leg. It was a shallow wound, but the tears ended. The resolve and focus sharpened with his pain. "I am not done with you, princess. But first... I'm going to kill the one who killed her."

The mercenary and Link continued to fight. Link wasn't as ferocious as he had been before, but now his blows seemed to carry a stronger weight behind them. With each block, the mercenary staggered. It became increasingly hard to keep up until finally, Link broke the mercenaries blade with his own in a blow that pierced the man's shoulder.

The mercenary fell defeated. Link kept with him as he crawled, but some honourable part of him stilled his blade. Despite his fury and his words, Link hesitated to kill a defenseless man.

"Please, don't make my children orphans!" The mercenary begged.

This stilled Link. He was an orphan too. Was he willing to make more only for vengeance? Taking a deep breath, and feeling some of his anger dissipate in victory, he lowered his blade. Perhaps he found it in him to forgive. Even he could not say.

"Oh thank you! Thank you!" The mercenary struggled to his feet. He reached into his jacket to stifle the bleeding.

Next moment his head rolled across the floor. His body collapsed headlessly. Link stared in shock before turning on Zelda. "He was a defenseless man! He had surrendered!"

"Unlikely," Zelda replied. She pried the man's cloak open to reveal a knife was hidden. "If I hadn't killed him for you, you would be dead now. Your soft heart will be your undoing. You should only hold a weapon when you are prepared to kill or be killed."

"You mean for me to be like you?! You are cold and heartless! You are called an ice witch! And for good reason, what with how everyone is just a pawn to you! This man you killed, the capital you fled, Midna, the v-village!" He punched Zelda in the face. "We are all pawns to you! You killed them all!" He punched her again. "I will never be like you! You should have left us all alone." Once more he punched her. "Why didn't you just die!" He threw another fist, but the blow never connected.

Zelda grabbed him by the throat, lifted him off the ground, and pinned him to a tree. Link struggled against her grip, but he realized too little too late the girl was not near as fragile as she appeared, and was taller than him. He was exhausted from his fight as well, and could only dangle his feet.

"You are right." Zelda spat blood from her mouth. "You are all pawns to me. I choose when you live and I choose when you die. Do you think that makes me heartless? Do you think that makes me cold? I hope you can bear the weight of the living and the dead with a bleeding heart because you would be better than I. We are all pawns, including me, in this game of politics and war. My role is to command, to lead, and to protect, but every decision I make will kill someone somewhere, and I have to make the judgment on what decision is best, how many must be sacrificed to save others. That is my burden and I failed. Every pawn that dies is another failure on the list of my mistakes because I was too weak to stop this and too cowardly to find a way. I have no courage. I have no power. I only have the wisdom to learn from my mistakes to keep more from dying."

Zelda continued, "But you want to know who had the courage? The power? Midna! She had the opportunity to protect a nation! The power to change everything! And she took it! Not as a slave... but as a free woman knowing the risks. She could have walked away freely. I all but told her it wasn't her fight! But she had the courage I didn't have to take it, to become, for a moment, something more! To become exactly what this country needed! You know what! I admire her, and your attempts to provoke me, your anger, is only spitting on her sacrifice. She chose this, Link! She wasn't forced! Her choice was her power, and accepting that choice was my honor. Do you want to honor her? Make sure what she set out to do succeeds!"

Link nearly passed out from her grip so she dropped him. He fell, exhausted physically and emotionally. His anger left him empty, and he wept, screaming into the rain.

"Let these be the last tears you have for her tonight. Remember this feeling, and lock it away. You can mourn another day." Zelda said more gently. She too was spent. She sighed and looked up at the rain. "The one who ultimately killed her was Kyou. Help me stop him, and honor Midna's sacrifice."

-Kanyou, Capital of Qin-

Ketsu rushed his large self into the throne room. He threw himself down and prostrated himself. He dared not speak first, for fear of the prince. They had seen eye to eye all his young life, but of recent, ever since that girl took his throne from him, something in the way of madness had taken hold of him. Even the boy's doting fiancé would not see him in this state, and she was perhaps the one female the prince respected.

Prince Kyou glared down on his favored servant and said, "Speak."

Ketsu said, "Your highness! We have it! We have the head of Zelda!"

Kyou smiled. Day after day he demanded her head since she escaped. Day after day he had an official executed for failing him. Day after day he dreamed of this moment.

"Show me!" Prince Kyou demanded.

Ketsu bowed, and after leaving a moment, returned with a body over a stretcher. The carriers laid it down among all the officials, the ministers, and before the throne. Kyou stepped down from his throne to see, to be sure, even as all whispered amongst themselves. He looked down on the body and was satisfied.

Zelda was dead.

The room gasped as Kyou slapped the body across the cheek. Again and again he slapped her until his hand was raw. Feeling mildly satisfied, Kyou composed himself. He didn't see the fear everyone held for him at this moment, but if he did it would have pleased him.

"Hang her from the palace gates. Let everyone know this... half-blood woman is dead!" He spat. "Her father may have been king but her mother was some harlot, and I will not tolerate anything short of absolute royalty on the throne. She will not taint this kingdom any longer. Ketsu, gather more troops. I want no one defying my rule!"

"You may find it difficult, young prince." A voice said.

The man to speak was large, standing at eight feet tall, and strong, with arms like trunks, and armored by several hundred pounds of armor as though it were nothing. General Ouki Mitagi, the Great Bird of Qin, stood passively to the side, seemingly entertained by the court. "Seeing as how you just murdered dozens of court ministers, half the palace staff, and burned entire districts of Kanyou, I wonder if even one noble family will give you their loyalty," Ouki smirked. "Because I know mine won't."

The statement was a slap to the prince's authority, but on this occasion, the prince knew better than to respond. Not just because the man was twice his size and four times his width in raw muscle, but because the power behind him could compare to the entire kingdom on his own. Ouki was the greatest general in Qin's history and was supposedly the greatest, and most feared, general in the seven kingdoms. He could point his finger at a fort and it would surrender at the sight of him.

It was a testament to his power that the man could stand in the nest of his enemies, alone and without guard, and they feared to say a word against him.

"Then what would it take to buy your family's loyalty?" Ketsu asked.

Ouki laughed. "Even if you possessed all of Qin now, all of its land, its wealth, its women... you wouldn't be able to buy my loyalty. Do not mistake my intentions. I am not here to fight you. I am loyal to whom I choose. Until then I am content to observe. Go ahead and play king, prince. I won't stop you, but nor will I help you."

-Somewhere in Eastern Qin-

Out in Qin, between two cities, lied a road. Upon this road was a temporary campsite as a team of thousands worked to upgrade the road with a new material Chancellor Ryo Fui wished to experiment with. To the regular eye, the road looked to be covered in nothing more than a tannish paste. To the Chancellor, he saw rupees.

The Chancellor stooped down by the side of the road and tapped it with his finger. His finger submerged into the paste. Sighing in defeat, Ryo removed his finger, wiped his hand, and returned to his chair. The governors of the two cities the road connected were also in attendance.

"Not what you wanted?" The first asked.

"Not yet," Ryo said.

"What exactly is it?" The second asked. "It's like you just pasted pudding on the dirt. How is this supposed to help us?"

Ryo sat down and grabbed from his table a glass of wine. He took a sip and swirled it around. "It is something interesting. At first, it is a liquid, but when baked becomes solid, and once solid will become harder than stone. And it is made from materials that are all around us, making it reasonably cheap and able to be mass-produced with the proper supplier." Ryo held out his glass. "You see, the rocks may have been removed from your road, but it still jostles and shakes a load. Shipments usually find many things on them that are broken. This much we can agree with?"

They all nodded.

"Well, imagine this road as this wine here. As I swish it and let it be liquid, it jostles and moves. But when I let it settle and bake." He placed it on the table. "Granted, wine won't bake. But imagine it will bake into the shape you see." The wine stilled as it stopped being shaken. "And it becomes smooth as a crystal lake."

"Now I see." The second governor nodded. He smiled widely. "This will help the markets greatly! Prices won't need to be as high to account for crates broken on the road!"

"Might even mean faster, safer travel." The first added. "Where did you acquire this, Chancellor? I have not heard of it."

"As you know, General Ouki has a westerner for his second in command. The westerner described to me something called 'concrete' that was used in producing the greatest buildings of one Roman Empire. He thought it could be used for making walls and fine buildings, and granted I want to see how it works with such things, but using it for roads? This could help boost Qin into greater prosperity." The Chancellor chuckled. "I may be a greedy man, but I am still Chancellor of the Left. I must ensure Qin's economic prosperity."

"To greater prosperity!" The two governors saluted with their drinks. Ryo returned the gesture and they drank.

"How long till it is done? If it is as effective and cheap as you say, it could be used throughout Qin, and the technology could be sold to other countries for a fine profit!"

Ryo shrugged. "That I don't know. He described the process as baking, so let us allow the entirety of the day's sun to work before we check on it again. I hope you all can join me for-" Ryo hesitated briefly as a messenger entered the tent. He waved for the man to hold on for the moment. "I hope you all can join me for merriment tonight. I have brought fine wine and fine women."

The men chuckled. They agreed.

Ryo ushered them out, saying, "Now, I know how you men love a good game, so let us convene in an hour. I will have an attendant acquire a game table, and we can get down to you two losing your hard-earned money."

"I don't know about that, Chancellor. My hands have become legendary!" One governor challenged. None of the less, they left for the moment to return to their tents.

Ryo looked to the messenger. The messenger was exhausted, winded, sweating, and filthy. He was of the military. The only ones to stay in the tent with them were Ryo's guards and Abhdan. As the messenger had his undivided attention, the messenger said, "I bring word from High Prince Kyou. As he has retaken control of the throne, your forces are to return to Kanyou and join him."

"And what of Princess Zelda? Does she have something to say about Kyou calling himself 'High' Prince and sitting on her throne?"

"Zelda is dead, Chancellor."

"I see," Ryo said. He didn't so much as blink at the news. "You may inform the Prince that I will return shortly to ensure the peace of Kanyou is preserved in these troubling times." Ryo waved the messenger off without another word, and after a quick salute, the messenger departed.

"Have him killed on the road. Make it look as though he was on his way here." Ryo ordered. "Send word to the six kings that Prince Kyou is to be labeled a 'kingslayer', and that I shall return to Kanyou on behalf of the seven kingdoms to extract him and hand him over to them for punishment and-or execution."

"And naturally to kill Chancellor Ketsu for treason and 'kingslayer' as well?"

"Naturally, but no need to mention that part. Let me take the pleasure of killing that oaf in Kanyou personally." Ryo replied. "Now go. Send word to those loyal to Zelda and us in the neighboring cities and generals of Qin. Let us pretend to be ignorant for a time while they gather. This way we will return to Kanyou as heroes seeking justice for the murder of our heir."

His guards departed, but Abhdan stayed.

"Go," Ryo ordered.

"Oh-ho. You think yourself old enough to boss me around, boy? I'm ten times your age!" The old man laughed.

"Hardly." Ryo tried to smile, but couldn't. He reclined in his chair and sighed. He rubbed at his temple to massage away a headache.

"You look troubled for a man about to become king," Abhdan observed.

"I am," Ryo admitted. "I won't deny I relish this. This is what I always wanted after all, and it is being given to me freely as if a gift from heaven. You know how I analyze everything, and this appears to be too good to be true... but at the same time, I don't see the downside. Kyou has few loyal to him, Zelda is dead, Ketsu is incompetent, we have good relations with the surrounding kingdoms and loyalty throughout Qin. I planned to bring Zelda here to put more pieces on the board to fight Kyou with, but it is as though he put himself into checkmate for me. Could I possibly be so blessed that the entire kingdom is falling into my palm? It is hard to conceive."

"I know. It seems too easy, but even when things come easy to you, you don't seem this down... is it about Zelda? You feel sorry she died?"

Ryo laughed. "You must have lost your sanity along with your virility, old man! If anyone here feels sorry it would be you. All the blasted stories you told me about your perfect little pupil. How she all but begged for more and more lessons and absorbed it all like a drowning man given sweet water."

"Ah, well perhaps I am sorry for her loss, as her former teacher."

"I can respect that." Ryo considered. He sighed. "Perhaps I do feel something myself."

"Oh?"

Ryo thought out loud. "I expected more from her. As you saw, there was potential in her, in her lineage, and her cunning. Perhaps she just got into the game too late to be able to solidify her position against her rivals. Perhaps she needed the safety of time to finish her education and stand on her own two feet with a guardian before being thrown to the wolves. Perhaps I just feel... disappointment."

(Edited 2/29/2020)