HELLO ALL yes I am late again, I'm soRRY. But here's chapter 12, enjoy :)
Zelda sat back in her chair, listening to the birds outside as the meeting came to a close. Deep breaths, small steps, Link had told her. She snorted.
I don't get to take small steps, she'd responded. I have to take the biggest steps of them all.
And when you trip and fall because you took a step you weren't ready for? Link had challenged her.
She hadn't had an answer for that one.
It was no matter, Zelda decided. The meeting had gone smoothly, and Holodrum had finally agreed to supply foodstuffs for the Voyage. A pet project of Zelda's that had blown up after Dinsel had blurted it in last year's Summit.
Zelda smiled to herself, picking up her papers and making her way to her room. Her mind was elsewhere, not quite in the present, recalling faces no longer with her, voices she hadn't heard in many years.
Her smile didn't fade, not quite, but . . . She felt the setting sun warm her back as she exited the castle by the Sanctum doors, shining on her scars. It had taken a long time--longer than she had wished, and yet not long enough--for her to wear open-backed dresses. An old conversation came to her, an-almost argument in the royal tailor's apartments, eliciting a chuckle from her.
Zelda wondered what her friends would think of the Voyage. Lulu would have loved it, she considered, smiling sadly. Laruto as well. Urbosa would have been all about such a trip, an adventure to see what was beyond the empire's borders, to find new lands, if there were any. And Daruk--he'd have wanted a ship of his own.
Zelda laughed again, entering her hidden rooms. Her guards followed close behind, not claustrophobically close, but enough to intervene if needed. Their presence now was a painful reminder, and she struggled not to let it show. She knew they blamed themselves for causing her pain. But it wasn't a pain anyone could relieve.
Her smile was gone by the time she reached her room, casting a glance into the cavern below. Glancing closer, she could see the twins playing down there, and her lips twitched. Perhaps they could relieve it, she thought.
Speaking of her children. "Link?" she called.
"Hm?"
His voice was close. Zelda waited at the window while Link exited their room and came to her side. "What is it?"
"Where's Hazen?" Zelda asked. "I haven't seen or heard from him all day."
"You've also been in meetings all day," Link reminded her, but she saw the crinkle in his brow and knew he was wondering as well.
"Midna said they were all going riding today," Zelda murmured. "But it's nearly sundown. Shouldn't they have been back by now?"
An old fear wiggled in her mind--a fear kept close by memory and the guards at her back--and she pushed it down firmly. No, she thought. Not again.
But Link saw it. "We'll find them, Zel," he said softly. "They'll be fine."
Zelda nodded, unable to agree. "Let me change,"she muttered, and left before Link could answer.
Once in their room, she yanked off the dress for the day and strode to her closet, leaving the pile of silk on the floor. The diamonds round her neck seemed heavier than ever, heavier even than the day she'd worn them first, and she swallowed hard, nearly ripping her choice off the hangers. She tossed it on the bed and breathed in deep, trying desperately not to think about all the things her mind threw at her, all the things that could have happened.
The clothes were still as crisp and clean as the day they were made. Paya was an excellent handmaiden. Zelda reached out with a trembling hand and touched the fabric, almost able to see the bloodstains since washed out. Her eyes burned as memories piled in, scenes of fire and blood and death and fear, and sucked in a shallow breath.
They were here, in this jacket, these pins, these pants. They were in the very fabric--Lulu and Laruto, Daruk, Revali, Urbosa and Mipha, Kilan and Nabooru and Rauru and her parents and everyone. She could feel them, see them, hear them.
Zelda shut her eyes tight, pushing it back. She would not fear--not yet. Not until there was something to be afraid of.
Minutes later, she left her room, clad in her uniform and hair tied into a loose knot. The diamonds lay on the bed--she didn't want their weight. Didn't have room for it.
Link's eyes were dark as he followed her down to the receiving room. He saw the difference in her as clearly as others did. This was the Empress who had won the war, who'd fought and bled in that blue of the Alliance. They stopped and bowed as she passed, noting the sword strapped to Zelda's hip.
It wasn't unusual to see the empress in uniform. There were many military events, and she often had to wear it when visiting foreign dignitaries or meeting with military officers. But the knowledge of those events was common: when and where they were to take place, and with whom. And the castle staff knew there were no such events that day.
So perhaps they bowed a little deeper when she passed, unaware of the reason behind her dress, but unquestioning. Zelda made her way out of the receiving room and down to the stables. The stablehand was directing the boys when she approached, and he turned and bowed. "Your Majesties," he intoned, rising. "What may I help you with today?"
"My son," Zelda said. "And his friends. Prince Hazen, Princess Saval and Lord Tessen went riding today, did they not?"
"Yes, empress, they did."
"Have they returned?"
Link glanced at Zelda, watching her swallow, as if to hide the tremor in her voice.
The stablemaster shook his head. "No, Your Majesty. They have not."
Zelda didn't answer. Her chest rose in a deep breath, the kind she took before bracing herself, and Link felt his chest tighten.
The sablemaster seemed to realize something wasn't right. "Shall I send out a search party, Your Majesty?"
"A half-dozen, if you please," Zelda said, voice strained. "And a horse for Link and I as well."
"As you wish, Your Majesty," the stablehand bowed his head to her, to Link. "Your Majesty."
He strode off, selecting Sanidin and Epona from their stalls, already brushed and saddled. "They're just back from a gallop, Your Majesties," the boy said proudly, handing them the reins. "Got to keep them fresh for you."
Zelda found her smile wasn't as forced as she thought. "And we thank you for it," she said, and the boy smiled brightly before the stablehand shooed him away. "Off with you," he murmured, though he watched the boy go proudly.
"Thank you, Talon," Zelda said, already mounting Sanidin. The stallion crow-hopped, excited to have his favorite rider on his back. "We appreciate your hard work. The stables are privileged to have such a fine horse master running them."
Talon bowed his head. "You honor me, Your Majesty. Thank you."
Zelda nodded, and Talon went back about his business. The stables were a flurry by now, news of a search party having spread. The soldiers mounted their horses, and Zelda hardly waited for them to grab their reins before pushing her heels into Sanidin's sides.
Perhaps she was overreacting. Perhaps Hazen was simply fooling around in town somewhere, or riding willy-nilly around Hyrule Field, worrying his mother for nothing. Perhaps nothing had happened at all, and she would return to the castle after dark and find the three of them on the couch in their rooms, drinking Link's favorite wine and watching the twins argue.
Or perhaps she was right. Perhaps they were in danger, or injured, or attacked, or something. It was possible, and it was that possibility that kept Zelda hunched over the saddle, her eyes fixed on Kokiri Forest.
It was possible.
The sun was sinking below the horizon when they reached the fringes of the forest. The path was beaten, and leaning over the saddle, Zelda could see hoof prints in the dirt. "They were here," she called. "Spread out on the path, but do not stray."
She nudged Sanidin forward, into the forest. It was darkening quickly, making it hard to see the hoofprints, but she knew she was on the right track. She knew it.
Zelda stopped Sanidin in a clearing, looking around. She glanced at Link, who nodded. She dismounted, kneeling in the dirt. Her fingers traced the shapes, the overrunning footprints, the trampled dirt and torn up ground.
She looked behind her at the path. The soldiers had joined the clearing and were spread out in the woods. Zelda turned her gaze back to the ground, and Link knelt beside her. "You see it?" she murmured.
"I see it," he answered, his fingers tracing the imprints. He met her gaze.
A horse's whinny made them jump, moments before it dashed out of the trees, still saddled and more terrified than it should be. Zelda stood quickly and snatched its reins, shushing it softly until it had calmed slightly.
Link was standing at the saddle, his hand gripping the horn, his face white. "This is Hazen's horse," he said, swallowing.
Zelda felt a lead weight settle in her gut. She straightened and called out, "Search for signs of a struggle! Telun and Kisa, ride out to the fields and look for the other two horses, still saddled."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Their horses thundered away, leaving the rest in the clearing. "Something happened here," Zelda muttered. "Something to spook his horse, badly, something that sent them to the ground. If Hazen is missing his horse, it's safe to bet the other two are as well."
"He might have jumped on one of theirs," Link suggested.
"He might have," Zelda agreed. "But it doesn't hurt to consider all avenues."
Link swallowed. "Can't hurt."
Zelda circled the clearing again, straining to see, straining to understand what happened. What could have sent them into such a tizzy? The trampled dirt, ripped up ground, overlapping footprints--there was clearly something, some kind of struggle. As she stared, something glinted in the grass, and Zelda went to her knees to inspect it.
It was an ornament of some kind, a pin--
Zelda's soft curse captured everyone's attention, and they clustered around her, catching a glimpse of the pin. A wolf's head, snarling in miniature. Link's gift to Hazen, along with a new cloak. And she'd seen Hazen put it on when he left that morning.
She stood in a swift movement as Saoirse, the captain of their patrol, barked out orders. "Send word to Commander Impa, the Prince Hazen, Princess Saval and Lord Tessen are missing! Signs of a struggle are indicated, last seen in the stables at Castleton, evidence of their disappearance found in Kokiri Forest, about a mile in from the west entrance."
"Yes, captain!"
Link's voice rang out. "The undergrowth is broken here. Signs of a chase. Bring the hounds--we'll start here, where it leads through the trees."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Zelda listened to it with a ringing in her ears, clutching the pin as if her life depended on it. She felt her chest rise and fall, knew she must be breathing, but all she saw was that night, all she could hear was the Lizalfos hissing, all she knew was that someone would die. Nayra, her, anyone.
True to memory, rage surged up, lifted her head, filled her eyes with burning. Yes, someone would die. But it would not be her. It would not be Hazen, or Saval or Tessen, no matter how far they were from her, no matter if they were on the other side of the Necluda Sea.
Whatever had taken her son from her, wherever it had gone, would be begging for death when she found it. And she would find it. Even if it took years, even if it took her to the other side of the world—even if it took her life, she would meet it in the afterlife, and it would learn what fear truly meant.
Review replies!
To thelinkmaster001: AHAHA, this makes me disproportionately happy. You'll be infuriated to know that answers are not forthcoming lol. Enjoy this angst instead :)
Well bye for now, I'll post again in a couple hours bc y'all deserve it (def not because I missed again, lol no way) so enjoy!!