The Ambivalent Hero: Book II

by ZeldaRubix

The story of Link and Zelda continues in book II. Will Link be redeemed? Will Zelda succumb to her vices? Find out in the concluding story of book I. This was originally uploaded in 2013. It will be re-edited later.

27. Chapter 27

Inspiration: Abruptio Placentae, forty strokes less one, and revenge.

Shout Outs: Skydragon74193, Shadowdragon, Claire, Nintendoer, The Guest, cantguesswhoiam (veni veni venias means "Come come O come" from 'One Winged Angel' Final Fantasy VII also from Carmina Burana the opera), thank you all for reading.

Word Count: 15,975

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Chapter 27

One Hour Later, Hyrule Castle, The Situation Room: Bastion's POV

Something was definitely out of the ordinary when I saw the distress signal flashing through the night sky from what I assumed was Ashei's arrow over Hyrule Castle. Why did I assume it was Ashei's arrow? She was instructed to only use a fire projectile in the case of emergencies. So, whatever was going on had to have been an emergency. At the time of my seeing it I was out scouting north over Hyrule Field, looking for more clues related to the potential whereabouts of the Rue Morgues. It was well into the late hours of the night, even going into the predawn hours of the morning, and my initial thoughts were two things: that my wife had gone into premature labor, or that there was a significant break in the investigation besides the one I had just ascertained. My latter thought regarding the investigation could be expounded upon later. In the mean time, if it was either of those circumstances I could understand the rash move on Ashei's part to want to alert me. However, there was one thing that was puzzling me, if she was in some kind of distress, why in the world was she shooting that arrow from the castle? Why wasn't she safe away at home? What business could she possibly have at this time of night? Did something happen to her father perhaps? Was Auru the one prompting her to do that? It was odd considering the time of morning, and the parameters with which she told to to use that arrow. However, there was only one way to know for certain. I stopped in my trek, then suddenly prompted my horse to trot faster from its standing position. My steed took off immediately. Worry, uncharacteristic of me, was starting to overcome me.

I certainly hope she's alright, I thought.

The thought of Ashei needing me made me ride faster, however, I did take note of something out of the ordinary on my way back to the castle. In the distance, possibly a hundred yards away or so, I took note of what looked like six or seven soldiers putting a large body into a burlap bag. The reason it was so noteworthy was because burlap bags were body bags for the dead. There was no other general use for them than that. I raised a brow at the sight, immediately feeling remorse for the fellow that fell victim to whatever folly that followed them. I assumed it was a scouter falling victim to an unruly horse. However, even though I was curious, I didn't stop my ride to clarify. I had to make sure everything was alright with my wife first. This was news I could possibly find out later in the morning. With that thought in mind, I rode a little faster. I hated the idea of Ashei being in labor and me not being there to support her.

When I returned to the castle, I placed my horse in the stables and I headed straight for the Situation Room. My first instinct told me to go to the midwife wing where all the pregnant mothers went for gestation. However, that thought quickly went to the wayside when I realized this was Ashei I was pondering about. Whatever the case might have been, pregnant and in labor or not, my strong willed wife was going to be in the Situation Room. Her sense of duty was stronger than mine at times, and that was saying a great deal. When I opened the door, I was not surprised in finding my wife already congregated there. However, to my surprise, I wasn't just greeted by my lovely Ashei, I was also greeted by her father Auru and Shad as well, and they all looked visibly distressed about something. I was right in assuming that this situation had nothing to do with the baby, and thankfully so, because we still had three months before the due date. Something else was going on here, and the serious expressions on everyone's faces only added more to the intrigue. What was really going on?

I raised a brow and did a quick scan of my comrades.

What's all this? I wondered.

Not bothering to verbalize my inquiries at the time, I unhooded myself and took a seat immediately at the table. After doing so, Shad got up from his seated position at the head of the table and locked the door. I was slightly taken aback at his actions. Why the need for the added precaution? Did we need to scan the room for bugs too? Whatever was about to be discussed must have had to retain the utmost secrecy considering all the extra measures being put into place. When Shad came to sit back down he didn't even bother to speak. Instead, he just stared at me for a few moments and then gestured for me to keep quiet. Afterwards, he opened a scroll of unused parchment and wrote down what he wanted to say. Once his scribble was done, he rolled the scroll over to me to read it. I looked from the parchment to him mildly confused, but I said nothing. I decided to just follow in step with everyone else, all of my questions were probably going to be answered soon anyway.

The scroll read:

Say nothing, what you're about find out cannot

leave this room.

I was slightly taken aback at that, and felt my eyes involuntarily at the warning. I then looked around the table again and both Ashei and Auru nodded in agreement at this. I was stunned at the blunt message and needed to know why. Why could we even speak on this matter?

I wrote in reply:

What has happened, and why the secrecy?

Afterwards, I passed the scroll back to Shad, who in turn, read what I wrote and proceeded to write something else. He rolled then scroll back to me.

The message said:

Earlier this night Link was accused of attempting

to break out of prison. The perpetrators of that accusation

were three scouters from south Hyrule Field who went to

the dungeon unannounced, accused Link without a proper

trial, and then administered what they called "the

queen's justice" illegally.

I stopped reading for a moment after that, and looked over at Shad perplexed. The expression on my face must have said it all.

'The queen's justice?' I mouthed.

He understood my confusion and prompted for me to keep reading. I sighed, knowing this news was only going to get worse.

The rest of the message read:

Link was flogged by those men and basically

left for dead. While that was all happening,

one of the dungeon guards hurried to inform

me what was taking place, and then I

in turn told the queen. The queen had no prior

knowledge of any of this, and has since ordered

the arrest of those men. She also ordered for the

immediate releasing of Link and for him to be

cared for by Dr. Borville in Castle Town.

Once I was done reading I looked over at Shad completely astonished. Link was flogged? How could the dungeon guards allow something like that to happen without just cause? Any flogging had to be mandated by a queen's order, that was the only way something like that could follow through. I still found this all hard to believe. First Link was unjustly arrested and now he had been unjustly beaten. I was in complete and utter shock, however, Shad simply gestured for me to keep quiet for now, he knew what I was going to ask.

It was then he decided to speak.

"As you can imagine, this has extreme political ramifications connected to it," he said quietly, "so it's of no wonder why this must stay veiled. The citizens cannot find out what happened to Link, if they do, we can all forget about civility, there will be an outright revolution because of it."

I was a little surprised at his choice of wording, 'political ramifications' was the last thing on my mind right now. More importantly, I wanted to know the state of Link's condition. The time to talk about would be revolutions could be after that. I shook my head trying to figure this all out.

"Do we know anything more related to Link's well being?" I asked. "Do we have an update from Dr. Boreville?"

Shad looked tired and shook his head no.

"There's nothing new to report as of right now," he said, "but I was going to go see him after we conferred here."

I decided to interject on that notion promptly.

I wanted to see him with my own eyes if possible.

"Do you mind if I check on him myself while you focus on whatever it was the queen had you working on?" I asked. "I want to make sure Link's alright."

After hearing me say that for some reason Ashei looked at me indignantly.

"We're all worried about him Bastion," she stated, "we all want to see him to make sure he's alright. You shouldn't just assume measures because you are the hero's best friend."

I shook my head, not meaning my words to sound the way she took them at all.

"I wasn't suggesting that," I replied.

However, Auru fanned off his daughter's apparent offense and agreed with me.

"I think that would be a better idea to be quite honest," he said, "it would look less official if Bastion went to go see him alone rather than a whole entourage of us parading into west Castle Town. Most people are aware of Bastion and Link's friendship, even the good Dr. Borville."

Ashei's mouth dropped a little in surprise.

"Father!" she snapped.

Auru ignored her and this time Shad took a minor offense to what was said.

"Contrary to what may be going on in your analytical head Auru, I consider Link my friend too," he stated, "and like Ashei stated very plainly, Bastion isn't the only one concerned about his well being, we all are. Hell, I was the one who brought you this information."

Again, Auru was either too jaded by the seriousness of the current situation to care about anyone's feeling, or it was just the nighttime hour getting to him.

"You're forgetting Shad that you are the queen's personal steward," he replied, "how do you think it would look to find one of the most important men in the country going to visit the county physician at this time of night? You can forget the gossip mavens, even the guards would have a field day with that."

Shad groaned in discontent.

"Auru-" he tried.

"Will you get it through your thick scholar skull that that wouldn't be the best course of action!" he said keeping his voice low. "We all care for Link! All of us! No one is doubting that, but as you stated before we have to think about the politics behind everything we do, and you or I or a pregnant woman going to west Castle Town is not a good idea."

Shad looked at him stunned and was rendered speechless for a moment as was Ashei.

Auru then ignored the both of them and spoke directly to me. "You will be the one to check on Link," he ordered, "the rest of us will carry on with what we were doing before hand. After you find out what's going on with him, you will report back here and let us know the state of his condition."

I hesitated for a moment while I looked at the others, but then obediently nodded in agreement. With that, there wasn't another word on the matter. However, given the look on Shad and Ashei's faces, there was no doubt they weren't pleased with Auru's dictator-like decision. However, even still, he was the mandated head of the CIT, and at the end of the day the decision was ultimately his. Afterwards, a silence fell over all of us, but it was tense and awkward to say the least. I could only imagine what Shad and Ashei were thinking right now. However, not wanting the previous conversation to cloud what was truly important here, I decided to break the silence by changing the subject. We needed to figure out what we were going to do next.

"What in the world prompted all this?" I asked. "Why did all this happen?"

There was another set of silence, but not as tense as the last. That was, until Auru spoke up finally.

"I think I may be able to answer that," he divulged. "Earlier yesterday, I was informed by Telma that some men were wanting to break Link out of prison. Naturally, knowing they were going to be unsuccessful, I took measures to preempt such actions. However, the most surprising thing in all this was that the ring leader was a man from Link's own village, someone by the name of Bo."

When I heard that, I felt my eyes widen again, and looked at him stunned, truly stunned. That was the last name I was expecting him to utter, and considering the insights I had regarding that man and his daughter, this news was nothing short of astonishing to say the least. This was turning out to be much worse than I thought.

Dear Hylia... I thought with a trail.

"Are you serious?" I asked rhetorically, realizing it was a silly thing to ask.

Auru nodded anyway and went on.

"Unfortunately, I am," he said, "I alerted Rusl to this, knowing that he also was from the same village. However, given the course of events tonight, I'm going to assume he was unsuccessful in trying to stop him."

That was an understatement.

"Where is Bo now?" I asked.

Auru shook his head and didn't have an answer for that.

"That I'm not sure," he replied, "but I would assume he was put under arrest given the circumstances. There's no way he could attempt what he did without first suffering the consequences of such stupid reckless behavior."

The older soldier was blunt, but he did have a point. It was ludicrous for anyone to think they could break into Hyrule dungeon and just retrieve somebody like a pumpkin or a bag of flour. The dungeon was heavily fortified, with extra security in place due the subtle uprising of the people. The plan had desperation written all over it. Why in the world would Bo put himself at risk like that? What would prompt him to act so needlessly? He was a father and a leader, such actions would only make things worse for the people he left behind. What about his daughter Ilia? How was this going to make her feel knowing her father could potentially spend the rest of his life in prison? She was already pregnant and worried about Link. I tried not to ponder over it too much as it was irritating to think about. Some men didn't think about the future, they only thought about the here and now. The here and now was fleeting, often wrought with dire consequences when no critical thinking was applied. This situation was no different. I just hoped Bo would be okay to stand trial. If the queen saw that his acts were those of a concerned surrogate father, or a paternal-like guardian to Link, or maybe even a desperate old fool, then perhaps he would be shown some mercy. Besides, to be quite honest, in the face of all that has happened, it would be good for the queen to show some mercy. It would soften the blow of all this bad news coming out.

I sighed.

"So what do we do now?" I asked.

Auru then abruptly got up from the table.

"For now we focus on what we were focusing on before," he said, "we keep this quiet so that no one knows outside of the parties privy to it. I mean that, no one can find out what happened to Link tonight. Those guards in the dungeon must be sworn to silence, and the men who committed this crime must be dealt with swiftly. We cannot have this news spreading like wild fire."

Shad interjected for a moment.

"What about the prisoners who saw what happened?" he asked. "Likely, they aren't going to remain silent like the guards."

Auru pondered that for a moment.

"There's nothing we can do about them," he said, "fortunately for us their crimes will be to their discredit. It's highly unlikely that the people will believe the gossip of a man thrown in jail for theft or murder over a guard who prevails to say it's untrue."

Auru's words were harsh, but he did have a point.

"I see," was all Shad said in reply with raised brows.

Auru then turned his attention to his daughter.

"I want you to go home and rest," he ordered, "you need to think about the baby."

Ashei and looked at her father upset.

"Father what good am I there?" she demanded. "This is ridiculous!"

Auru groaned.

"My dear all you're going to do is make everyone worry if you insist on being stubborn," he said. "Please, just do it for the sake of everyone here."

Ashei sat back and sighed, then rubbed her protruding belly.

"Fine..." she said finally, "whatever you win."

Auru then turned his attention back to me.

"The situation with the people is already delicate enough," he said, "Bastion, I want you to check on Link after we leave here."

I nodded in return, I couldn't have said it better myself, and despite the somber tone of the conversation, everyone was in agreement with what was being said. It seemed the seriousness relative to the situation with Link dispelled the hurt feelings once shared by Ashei and Shad. I was glad to see them both overcome that, even though Ashei was still perturbed about having to stay home. This situation was much more grave than worrying about whether or not their friendship was more valued by the hero or not. This was Link's well being, and there was no doubt in my mind that both Ashei and Shad were precious in the hero's eyes. Speaking of the hero, after Auru's utterance, I stood up from the table readying myself to depart. I didn't want to waste anymore time than necessary.

"I agree," I said, "should we reconvene in a few hours? I think I have a lead on the Rue Morgues I wanted to discuss with you all later."

Everyone nodded.

"That's not a bad idea," Shad said, "after all this is said and done, the sooner we find those bastards the better."

That was truer than any of us would openly admit to. With that, we dispersed and I headed straight to Dr. Borville's residence from the castle. There was an obvious sprint in my step.

Please be alright Link, I thought as I left the confines of the castle.

~SSS~

Meanwhile, A Little Earlier, Dr. Borville's Office: Link's POV

My head was continuously throbbing as the dull light of a lantern shined in my face. The luminescence was a minor sensorial shock to my senses, making my eyes both dilate and constrict rapidly. However, the slight discomfort was nothing like the pain I experienced earlier in the night. When the direct light was removed from my line of sight, my eye lids were then forced open and peered into like a specimen in a petri dish. Maybe that description was a little bit of a hyperbole, but it was true to what I felt like in that moment. I squinted reflexively from the doctor's rough touch as he continued with his examination. He must have been trying to determine if there was any damage done to my corneas. However, he wasn't aware that from time to time when I drank potions I often experienced a temporary onset of blindness. The doctor's large bifocaled eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as he adjusted the head apparatus he was wearing to test my sight. My vision had graduated from oblong shapes to translucent blurs, but even the blurred effect on large images was soon leaving me.

"Tell me what you see," Dr. Borville ordered me finally after a few moments of silence.

I involuntarily pulled away from the doctor's reach and closed my eyes shut to focus. I blinked several times before I opened them completely again and sat up on the small cotton cot to get a little more comfortable. The physician was standing at the rear of the medical bed now, still observing my condition. I ran a hand through my dirty hair and tried to make sense of how I got into his office at all before answering his inquiry. The last thing I remembered was a woman tending to me in the dungeon, and then afterwards being taken away to a carriage. That carriage must have brought me here while I was still recovering. My short term memory was hazy at best, but even still it wasn't completely gone. I still had vague inclinations of what happened in the night, especially that young lady.

Who was that woman that took care of me? I wondered suddenly. Why was she sent there only to just disappear?

She was so ever present in my thoughts, I decided to inquire about her before going on with the examination.

"Was there a young woman who accompanied me here?" I asked.

The doctor gave me an odd look regarding my question.

"A young woman?" he repeated.

I nodded, knowing I sounded vague.

"She was a peasant girl of some kind sent to the dungeon to take care of me," I explained, "at least that's what she claims. I need to find her. She had dark hair and a really beautiful voice."

The doctor raised a brow.

"Dark hair and a pretty voice?" he repeated with open cynicism.

I nodded, knowing it sounded far fetched.

The doctor cleared his throat and tried not to sound rude with his reply.

"There are a great deal of women who match that description Master Link," he replied, "are you sure you weren't dreaming? And no, no one was with you when you came. You were brought here alone."

I took in a deep sigh, disappointed at the reply, but knew it was a long shot in asking. Even still, I figured it was worth a try.

"I see," was all I said in reply.

There was a brief silence between us after that before the doctor redirected the conversation to his previous matter of concern, my examination.

"I know this may seem redundant to you, but I need for you to tell me what you can see now," he said, "I need to gauge how your sight is improving."

I ignored the doctor for now and groaned a little, slightly annoyed that I was going to have to begin at square one to find some of the answers to my probing questions. Who was that woman, and why did she say she came of her own accord, but then turned right back around and claimed she was sent by the queen? Which truth was it? How in the world did she know what happened to me? Why did the queen arrange for me to come here after what happened tonight? Did that girl deliver my letter to the queen? Was I still considered a fugitive? Was I going to go back to prison after I was healed? How were my comrades doing? Had they found out about what was going on now? Were they still diligently looking for Vincent? Was there any new leads? Was Morgana still hiding with him? I had questions, and I wasn't in the mood for an exam right now, my sight was fine. What I needed was some answers.

The doctor's patience was wearing thin with me.

"Link..." he trailed, "will you please answer the question."

I took in an impatient sigh and turned to look at him.

"I see you Dr. Borville," I replied in a way that wasn't helpful at all.

I realized my difficulty was only going to make the situation worse.

The physician raised a brow and cleared his throat to hide his annoyance.

"I know you see this as nonsense Link but it's imperative that you are honest with me," he replied, "what you tell me and what I see will determine if you need another dose of golden chu jelly or not. Please don't make this unnecessarily hard. If you just answer my questions I can better assist you."

The doctor wasn't being unreasonable, and I needed to better assist him in making his job easier. After all, all he was trying to do was help me. My not cooperating was only going to prolong my stay. I rubbed my eyes, trying to get my vision into better focus. Instead of arguing, I nodded at his words, then looked around the room to concentrate on specific images. Again, the blurred effect was all but gone, with everything being much clearer now: I saw the doctor's beakers and unguents, I could make out pretty clearly all the implements in the room, and the perpetual haze clouding my sight was slowly starting to leave me. I was grateful my optimal vision was returning to me.

I then looked over at the doctor and focused on his face. However, he, in turn, looked like he was staring back at a poe. I raised a brow at his open repugnance of my appearance. Did I look that bad? I assumed so. I glanced down at my tattered and torn clothes and soot latent skin. I must have looked a mess, and that wasn't even accounting for my face. I could only imagine what my face looked like right about now.

"I can see pretty much everything," I replied, then asked to preempt him, "can I have a mirror?"

He hesitated, he wasn't quick to answer my question.

"Uh..." the doctor trailed, "maybe you shouldn't until after you get cleaned up."

The doctor was blunt and I knew he was trying to spare me, but honestly it didn't matter right now. I was just grateful to be out of that goddess forsaken dungeon, and I wanted to know what the damage was.

I shook my head.

"It's alright," I reassured.

Dr. Borville hesitated again, but then sighed and nodded before going off to get a portable mirror in the other room. When he returned with it, he paused again before giving it to me.

"It isn't as bad as it seems," he said.

I just stared at him.

Dear Hylia do I really look that bad off? I wondered.

There was only one way to find out.

I took the mirror with no qualms and instantly realized why he was trying to reassure me. I did look that bad off.

"Wow," was all I could whisper in disbelief.

I looked terrible.

My eyes were surprisingly clear and bright blue, but that was where the positives ended. My skin was covered in grime and soot. The now closed gash at the bottom of my chin left a long and apparent scar, starting from the apex of my chin and ending at the corner of my left jaw. I hadn't been able to shave in all the time I had been in prison, so my face was slightly bearded with golden hair, well it would have been golden if it was clean. The hair on my head was the same story: covered in soot, caked with grime, and a total mess. I probably smelled as badly as I looked. I tried not to think about it, and tossed the mirror onto the bed at the end result. I could only imagine what the welts on my back looked like. I was aware they were scabbed over from the previous treatment I received before, but that didn't make them any more inviting to look upon. The doctor hadn't even bothered to gazed at them since he began his examination on my eyes. The wounds must have been deplorable. The beige prison tunic I was previously wearing was gone, which made sense considering it was torn off me during the scuffle anyway. In short, it was as I stated before, I looked terrible.

My appearance was discouraging at best, I knew that, but I hoped to remedy that with a little fortitude. I was not going to let what happened to me tonight be the 'be all end all' game changer for me. There were still questions that needed to be answered and things for me to figure out. Sitting here, looking like a destitute man, was not going to be an option if I truly desired to get to the bottom of this. With that resolution in mind, I tried to stand up at my first impulsive to do so. However, I instantly realized that that was going to take much more effort than I initially thought. I was still too dizziness to hold my own weight. I immediately sat back down before I fell, and grabbed my forehead to try to stop the sudden onset of vertigo. The room looked like it was spinning on an access.

The doctor walked over to me immediately to check on me again.

"Are you alright?" he asked me. "You looked like you were about to stumble over."

I shook my head and sighed.

My head was still pounding.

"I'm fine," I replied, "just a little dizzy."

The doctor groaned at my response.

"I'm going to get you another dose of golden chu jelly," he said, "I want to make sure all of your internal healing is healing properly."

Normally, I would stop him because it was such an expensive medicine for him to make, but in this case I knew he was right.

I simply nodded.

"Okay," I replied.

I watched as the doctor went to the other room and poured a small amount of golden chu jelly in a cup and then come back to give it to me. I took it with no hesitations and downed the concoction gratefully. It took a few moments, but afterwards the residual effects of the haze lifted and my vision cleared up completely now. My dizziness too left me, evidenced by the room not looking like it was spinning any longer. That certainly worked fast. Chu jelly was the stuff of wonders.

I wonder why it makes me go blind from time to time, I couldn't help but think.

That I may never know.

"How do you feel now?" Dr. Borville asked me.

I blinked again.

"Much better," I said honestly, "thank you for that."

The doctor fanned off my thanks.

"It's nothing," he replied, "the queen ordered for me to use every avenue possible to get you better. She even gave me a large stock of her own personal golden chu jelly to do it."

My ears perked when I heard that, but I had nothing really to say in reply. The queen was a touchy subject for me. I wasn't sure if I truly was beginning to despise her or not. My nature was too conflicted, because I knew she wasn't the type of woman I was assuming her to be right now, and in many ways I wished I hadn't openly told that peasant girl that. Half of what was happening to be was my own fault. What I said in the dungeon was my mind still being under duress. I didn't actually mean that.

I was quiet for a moment before I decided to reply.

"Was it the queen that had me brought here?" I asked finally.

The doctor scoffed slightly as if it was a silly question, and gave me an obvious look.

"What do you think?" he asked me.

I grunted and looked away.

"I don't know that's why I'm asking," I replied, choosing to be stubborn.

Dr. Borville wasn't going to play this silly game with me. He knew that I knew, and I knew that he knew that I knew. It was beyond obvious, the queen was the only person with the power to release me.

"How else would you have gotten out of that dungeon?" he replied. "I don't know what happened to you tonight, but you were in pretty bad shape when you showed up here."

I had no doubts about that, and I was suddenly embittered by the thought of it.

"A flogging tends to do that to a person," I said, without looking at him.

The physician's eyes widened at my words.

"A flogging?" he repeated incredulously. "Is that what happened to you? I thought you were beaten up by some inmates or something."

I almost scoffed myself at the thought.

"I had no problem with any of the inmates," I divulged, "they know their boundaries. The cowards who did this to me were in uniform."

The doctor still didn't understand.

"But then why?" he inquired. "Why would the queen order such a thing?"

I narrowed my eyes, not wanting to get into the specifics. It was a long and complicated story and one I didn't wish to recall tonight. I still wasn't sure of all the details myself. It had something to do with an attempt at an escape, and the men who did this to me assumed I was culprit. The question was, why? Why did they assume it was me?

"I don't know," was all I said in reply.

The physician was silent for a moment, and I figured it was because the answer I gave him wasn't good enough. He probably knew that I knew more than what I was letting on, which was true.

He shook his head.

"You don't find it a little strange that she would at first have you beaten, only to set you free and have you taken care of?" he asked. "Don't you think that is well out of her character? Also, isn't it rumored that she's in love with you?"

I rolled my eyes and looked away.

I completely ignored that last question.

"I wouldn't put anything past her," I said with a hint of anger.

The doctor studied me for a moment.

"Are you sure that's a fair assessment?" he asked. "Do you think you're judging her actions with a clear mind? Do you think perhaps you're being a little jaded by your bitterness?"

I looked at him surprised.

"How could I not be jaded?" I demanded. "She had me thrown into prison because I was looking for someone I cared for!"

The doctor looked at me taken aback.

He was completely thrown off by the comment.

"What?" he said surprised.

I shook my head and didn't bother to go on. I already said too much. I didn't want to bring that up again. I wasn't sure what went on in that woman's head any longer. Zelda was definitely capable of being an ironclad bitch, but even I had to question what was truly going on tonight. The dungeon guards themselves argued that the men who did this to me didn't have the official seal of the queen on the written order. If that was the case, why in the world would those men take it upon themselves to flog me without just cause? What was their motivation? Why were they so eager to commit such a heinous crime? It didn't make sense, and when something didn't make sense there was a bit of truth missing.

Something is not right here, I thought, and I have to figure out what that is.

"You're asking me questions I have zero answers to," I replied, redirecting the conversation, "I don't understand it myself. I'm just as in the dark as you. I need to find my friends and figure out what's going on here."

With that, I stood up and was going to let that be the end of this conversation. I needed to get out of here, and didn't have time to dawdle any longer.

"Thank you for all that you've done," I said, not wanting to appear as an ingrate,"I promise I will pay you back somehow, but right now I need to know if you have a quarters where I can wash up?" I asked. "Also too, if you have an extra set of clothes I would greatly appreciate it. I have find out what's going on and I need to do it now."

Even though I felt much better I still proceeded slowly out of caution. I was expecting the doctor to see things my way and direct me along the questions I asked. However, much to my surprise instead of directing me, the doctor proceeded to stand in front of me blocking my way to the next room. I was a little thrown by this and tried to walk around him, but he proceeded to block me again.

What in the world...? I didn't finish.

I was starting to get irritated.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

The doctor paused for a moment, then answered.

"You're in no condition to leave," he replied.

I groaned, not in the mood for such semantics tonight. I was perfectly fine. No headache was going to stop me from doing what I needed to do.

"Doctor-" I tried.

"I am under strict orders by her majesty," he interrupted.

I took in a deep annoyed breath at hearing that. The more he mentioned the queen the more irritated I was becoming. I couldn't care one iota what the queen wanted. As far as I was concerned, she was the primary reason I was in this mess. She threw me in prison because she was a vindictive jealous tyrant, and then proceeded to allow this injustice to happen to me tonight without due cause or process. There was no way I was concerned with what the queen wanted. I stared at the doctor, not wanting to disrespect him, but I wasn't going to be dictated to any longer. I was not going to sit here and let everyone else do the working and thinking for me anymore.

"I appreciate your concern," I started, "but you can't and you won't make me stay here. I'm leaving because there's much more to what's going tonight than meets the eye. What that all is, I still don't know, but staying here like a prisoner is not going to give me the answers I need. I thought you of all people would understand that."

For some reason Dr. Borville's features dimmed at my words, and he looked a little unsettled. It was almost like I unintentionally cued a conversation he would rather choose not to have. He sighed in a troubled way and ran a hand over his balding head suddenly.

"You're more right than you know Link," he said with a slight encryption to his tone.

I gave him an offhanded look just then, not sure what he was trying to convey with that statement. I paused for a moment, wanting to understand what he was truly trying to tell me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

The doctor hesitated for a moment, but then pursed his lips together and stepped back.

"I received another visitor right before you came," he said quietly, "a young girl you're well acquainted with in very bad condition."

I looked at him confused and shook my head.

"What?" I replied. "What do you mean?"

The doctor sighed again and looked more distressed as the thoughts of whatever was bothering him went through his head.

"I think someone who has more insight on the situation would be better suited to tell you," he replied.

He wasn't making anything anymore clearer, but instead of verbalizing my concerns, I watched as he went behind the curtain and called for someone to come into the room.

"Master Rusl," the doctor said surprisingly, "he's awake now."

My perplexity only deepened.

"Rusl?" I repeated puzzled.

What in the world was going on?

Why is he here? I wondered. Why isn't he home with his family? How did he know I would be here?

This didn't make any sense.

However, I was soon about to find out why.

A moment later, Rusl walked into the room looking tired and worn, with a nondescript expression on his face. I was still puzzled with his presence and I hoped he would avail some clarity for me. The night was getting more and more bizarre as time went on.

"Good evening Link," he greeted solemnly, "it's good to see you're okay."

I looked from the doctor to him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked immediately, skipping the pleasantries. "The doctor says you have more insight into what's going on."

My long time friend gave me a brief once over and paused before he spoke. He seemed very distressed with whatever it was he was about to tell me. I could tell from his mannerisms that he was conjuring all the courage he could to convey what he needed to tell me.

"I think you should sit down before we talk," Rusl said finally.

That immediately put off an alert in my head. I looked at him taken aback suddenly, knowing this was going to be bad news. However, I decided not to be difficult in this regard and question him. I followed his suggestion and sat down like he wanted. He then walked over to me and sat down next to me on the small cot. He ran a hand through his hair before he began to speak.

"Can you tell me about how much you know of what happened tonight?" he asked for some odd reason.

I gave him another offhanded look, not sure why that was important. I looked over at the doctor and then back to Rusl.

"I know next to nothing," I said honestly, "I was in prison, I was accused of trying to escape, and then I was beaten because of it, that's all I know."

Rusl closed his eyes at my words, particularly at the part where I mentioned being accused of escape.

"The doctor filled me on your condition while you were sleeping, and I overheard you saying you were flogged," he said in a low voice, then added, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, but I... I think I know why you were unjustly accused."

I looked at him surprised.

This wasn't sounding any better to me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

Rusl paused again before he spoke.

He then cleared his throat and continued.

"The story about wanting to break you out of prison has merit," he divulged, "the reason I say this is because... there was a lot of talk in the city of men wanting to get you out of prison. They were pretty adamant about their disapproval of the queen's decision to have you jailed."

I understood why he was telling me this, but it wasn't garnering the kind of clarity I was hoping for.

I shook my head.

"But what does that have to do with them thinking it was me who masterminded it?" I asked.

He was quiet for a moment before he went.

"It may be because one of the main conspirators to get you out was... was Bo," he disclosed.

My head bucked back involuntarily.

"What?" I said shocked. "Bo?"

Rusl nodded.

"As crazy as it sounds it's true," he replied, "he was the one who tried to break you out tonight. He had hatched up a plan with some other men to get you out of there. I tried to talk some sense into him yesterday, but he wouldn't listen to me. That's possibly the reason he went at it alone, probably as a desperation move."

I felt my eyes widen.

I couldn't believe my ears.

"And are you trying to tell me that when he was captured he told the guards that I was the one who put him up to it?" I demanded. "Bo would never do such a thing!"

Rusl shook his head.

"I don't know what happened when Bo was captured," he replied, "maybe he said something when he was under duress. Maybe something slipped that he didn't mean to intend. I just don't know how they assumed you were the man he was coming for without some acknowledgement from him."

The more I heard the more I couldn't believe.

I was beyond stunned.

"Is he mad?" I demanded, changing the subject slightly. "Does he not realize he could spend the rest of his life in prison for trying to aide a man who was in jail for treason? This is not a small thing! He may have ruined his life!"

All my questions were rhetorical, Rusl saw no argument.

"That's no longer an option for him," he said more to himself than to me.

I looked at him confused.

"What?" I asked.

Rusl shook his head and chose to forego the subject for now.

"I completely agree with you," he redirected, "and that was what I tried to tell him. However, he said it was imperative that you be rescued immediately."

I didn't understand Bo's thought process in that.

"There was nothing he could do but wait on the queen," I replied, "why in the world was he acting so irrationally?"

It was then Rusl looked at me and gave me an odd stare. I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, but the more he stared at me the more obvious it was becoming that he knew something that he probably shouldn't have. When I tried to look puzzled, he made his intentions more obvious that he knew I wasn't being altogether truthful with him. His stare was so pervasive that I had to finally question it.

"What?" I asked impatiently. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Rusl narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Come on Link, stop being evasive," he replied, "you know why Bo was so desperate to get you out."

I groaned, slightly annoyed with his assumptions. Rusl knew as well as I that anything could set Bo off. The man was a ticking time bomb when he was angry, which thankfully wasn't very often.

"I'm not being evasive!" I snapped. "I have no idea why Bo would do such a thing! It doesn't make sense!"

At first, Rusl looked like he still didn't believe me, and I still didn't understand it. However, after awhile, I was beginning to realize he was more in the know than I gave him credit for. It was obvious to me now that he was talking about a situation regarding the baby. Perhaps he had found out from Ilia or Bo himself.

Wait a minute... I thought.

I pursed my lips together and looked away.

"You know...?" I didn't finish.

Rusl nodded.

"Yes Link... I know about your situation with Ilia," he divulged suddenly, "she told me before her father went and tried to do this foolhardy thing tonight. You know why Bo was acting irrationally, it was because of you and Ilia's baby."

When he brought the words out in the open, I was dumbfounded for a moment, not expecting him to be so spot on. However, if Ilia was preempted into telling Rusl, then there was very little he didn't know about our situation. I kept my face turned away and stared down at my hands. I was embarrassed he had to find out like this. I wanted it to be a celebratory event.

"When did Ilia tell you?" I asked quietly.

Rusl sighed.

"Last night," he replied.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, realizing what was done was done.

"We wanted to get married before we told anybody," I felt the need to explain, "but I guess that can't happen now." I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck, trying to make sense of everything. "Where's Bo now?" I asked, redirecting the subject.

After my question, I was met with immediate silence. Surprised at this, and sensing a stall, I looked over at Rusl to see if he had heard my inquiry. However, instead of denying any understanding, a solemn expression suddenly crossed his face and he remained quiet. I had a terrible feeling what he was going to tell me next because of it, and not just him, the doctor too looked like he knew more than what he was letting on. He also bore a worried expression.

Oh no... I thought.

I looked between both men again.

"Rusl... where's Bo now?" I asked again.

The soldier again hesitated and ran a hand through his hair. His throat tightened suddenly and he closed his eyes.

"Bo's... Bo's dead Link," he whispered, barely able to get the words out.

I almost thought I didn't hear him correctly.

After his utterance I felt numb.

"What?" I replied.

Rusl swallowed hard, and he blinked hard not to cry.

"He's dead Link," he repeated, "I went after him to try and stop him, and while he was riding in a frenzy he fell off his horse and broke his back. I checked back to see if I could bring him back for treatment, but when I went back to Hyrule Field it was already too late. The coroner was already there pronouncing him as dead."

The shock never went away.

I literally found it hard to speak in that moment.

"He fell off his horse?" I repeated. "How? He's one of the best riders in Ordon!"

Rusl nodded and this time let two tears run down his cheeks.

"The man was a stubborn fool, and reckless to boot," he replied, "but in this case he was coming back to make sure Ilia was alright, and-" he stopped himself when he realized what he said.

It was almost as if the words slipped out of his mouth, because he quickly regretted saying them. He clamped his mouth shut and said nothing else, but the damage was already done, I heard everything he said. My breathing accelerated almost instantly.

"What do you mean?" I demanded. "What happened to Ilia?"

I jumped up from the bed.

Rusl looked up at me and chose to be silent for a moment.

"Link you have to calm down," he said, it sounded almost like a warning.

His words had the opposite effect.

I looked from him to the doctor.

"What happened to Ilia Rusl?" I demanded again. "Tell me! You can't keep me in the dark like this!"

Rusl looked over at the doctor and then back to me. I could tell he was torn in what he had to do. Again, I was met with hesitation, something told me this was only going to get worse.

"Ilia... is here," Rusl detracted slightly.

I looked at him confused.

"What do you mean 'here'?" I asked. "You mean here in the doctor's office? I thought-" I stopped when I realized that that was what Dr. Boreville meant when he said 'a young girl came in earlier tonight', he was talking about Ilia. "What happened to her?"

Rusl saw the look on my face and wasn't sure if he should go on, but he did anyway. He knew I had a right to know.

"She went after Bo to try and stop him," Rusl continued, "however during her pursuit, she... she fell from her horse."

I held in a shocked breath and felt all the blood run from my face. My knees nearly buckled from underneath me and I was finding it hard to breathe. I immediately regained my balance and tried to push past the two men. Rusl tried to keep me at bay, but I wasn't about to be stopped this time. I pushed past him with an extra unintended force.

"Link-" Rusl tried.

"Where is she?" I whipped around and demanded.

The doctor then stepped in.

"Link I know this is overwhelming news," he said, "but you getting upset isn't going to help better the situation."

I couldn't believe my ears.

This is what he had to tell me after what was just divulged?

The mother of my child just fell off a goddamn horse. How was I supposed to feel?

"Where is she?" I demanded again.

Both men were reluctant, but they knew I was going to find out. It was a very small office.

The doctor sighed.

"She's on the cot in the next room," Dr. Borville disclosed.

Without waiting for either one of them to try and stop me, I pushed past both men and went next door. When I went into the other room, I noticed immediately that Ilia was comatosed. She had some small wind machine in her face to provide her with air, as well as six of seven small plants to provide her with much needed oxygen. Her complexion was ghastly white, with purplish blue lips. She was breathing on her own thankfully, but she looked like she lost a lot of blood. I was going to go in further, but was stopped from behind by both Rusl and the doctor.

"What are you-" I tried.

"You can't go in there Link," the doctor interrupted "she's extremely weak and she's going to need these next seventy-two hours of rest for her critical care. I gave her golden chu jelly intravenously, and it is working, but she needs the sleep or she won't make it."

I immediately stopped my pursuit when I heard him say that. This was turning out to be an even bigger nightmare than I could have ever conceived. I turned to look at the doctor.

"What about the baby?" I asked, in a broken almost desperate voice. "Is the baby okay?"

I already knew the answer to that question.

It was just wishful thinking on my part now.

The doctor's face turned grim.

"I'm so sorry Link," he said in a low voice, "but she... lost the baby Link," he divulged, "when she fell the placenta tore away from her uterus causing massive bleeding, all the nutrition the baby was getting was stopped, she miscarried soon after well before she got here."

When I heard that, I just looked at the doctor without seeing him for a moment. What he was saying felt so surreal right now. Bo was dead and so was my child. The burden of all this news was too much to bear. My chest suddenly felt very heavy and I found it hard to breathe. I turned away as the emotion of sadness overwhelmed me, and a set of tears seared my eyes like I was being branded by a hot iron. I ran my hands over my face and just lost control for a moment. I slumped to the ground next to the doorpost and just let myself cry for the next few moments. I was aware that Ilia's and my circumstances weren't the best. We weren't perfect, we were clearly wrong in how we went about things, but I wasn't going to lie, I wanted that baby. I wanted to be a father. I wanted to show everyone that I was a man who believed in taking care of his duties. Now he or she was gone, and I would never get to know who they were. It was rare for me to just break down, but I think in this instance I was duly justified.

Rusl came up to me a moment later and placed his hand on my shoulder to console me.

"It's going to be okay," he tried to reassure, "it's hard right now, but it's going to be okay."

They were kind words, however, I wasn't so certain of that. How was it going to be okay for Ilia? She just lost her father and her child in one fell swoop. She was going to be devastated for a very long time. She now had no one. Nothing was going to 'okay' for her. I couldn't believe my mistakes was costing so many people around me so dearly. Bo was dead, Ilia was left without a father, the village was left without a leader, and this night was getting worse and worse. I had no idea what the political fall out from all this would be, and frankly right now I didn't care. I wiped my eyes and managed to pull myself together enough to stand back up. Nothing was going to come from my tears right now except more grief, and as insensitive as this may have seemed, I didn't have time to grieve right now. I didn't have time to grieve because I was too angry. I had to find a proper channel to redirect my anger, and that channel was going to be: Vincent and Morgana. They weren't the direct reasons for all of this happening, but in many indirect ways they caused a great deal of this. That damn trap that led to my imprisonment, the trial that led to Zelda's distrust, the reason for Bo's death -all of that one way or another led back to Vincent and Morgana.

They will pay for this, I thought feeling a sense of vengeance I didn't know I could feel, I stake that on the memory of my dead child, those sons of bitches are going to pay.

I took in a deep breath and looked over at the two men waiting to see what I was going to do next. However, much to my surprise and before I could speak, the door opened to the office and in stepped Bastion. His eyes widened immediately at my appearance, but he was more intrigued as to why we were all gathered in front of the door of Ilia's room. He walked up and unhooded himself, and without thinking he came up and gave me a hug. He was a good friend.

"Thank the goddess you're alright," Bastion whispered in my ear, but then pulled back to look at me, "everyone was worried sick about you."

I looked to the ground to avoid his gaze.

"I'm fine," I said finally, which wasn't very convincing at all.

Bastion then glanced into the room to see why we were all gathered there to find Ilia sleeping. He looked confused. "What's she doing here?" he asked no one in particular.

However, Dr. Borville circumvented him instantaneously. "Now's not the time to ask about that," he said, then quickly went to change the subject, "what brings you here Master Bastion?"

Bastion found it odd that someone of such significance to my life was being considered a secondary thought, but he had no idea of what was truly going on. I would fill him in later.

"I came to check on Link," Bastion replied simply, "but I also have some encouraging news for him regarding the Rue Morgues."

My ears perked immediately when I heard.

"What about them?" I asked.

But this time Rusl stepped in to try and stop him. "Is this wise to talk about this now?" he asked. "Link has just awakened."

I was not a child and I wasn't going to be treated like one. Nor did I want to be coddled either, after what Vincent's actions had taken away from me, he was going to pay, and pay dearly for what he had done. I wasn't speaking of Hylian justice either. He was going to be executed, by my hand and no one else's. I had no intentions of bringing him back to Hyrule to be tried in a court of law. He had abused and misrepresented everything that the court was about. The only fitting punishment for him was death. I was going to hunt him down like a vigilante. I had to go rogue on this mission. All I needed to know was where he was.

"This is the perfect time to talk about it," I replied ignoring Rusl, and turned my attention to Bastion, "what have you got for me?"

Rusl turned to look at me. "But Link-" he tried.

"Stay out of this Rusl," I interrupted in a warning.

Rusl looked at me surprised and there was a brief silence between the four of us. Bastion glanced over at me and could tell from the look in my eyes that I was a changed man. Nothing anyone was going to say to me was going to stop me from doing what needed to be done.

Nothing.

"What have you got for me Bastion?" I repeated a little more forcefully.

Bastion raised a brow at my tone, but decided not to question it right now either. "Maybe we should talk with the door closed," he suggested, glancing over at the unconscious Ilia, "too many ears aren't necessarily a good thing, and even sleeping ears are ears that can hear too much."

At Bastion's beckoning, the four of us left the entryway, closed the door to Ilia's room, and went back into the adjacent room I was previously occupying.

When we were reassured a little more privacy, Bastion began speaking. "Do you remember that money trail we stumbled upon over a year ago?" he began, keeping his voice low. "The one with the maps and such given to you by the generals?"

I raised a brow and nodded.

"Yes," I replied, "what about it?"

Bastion opened his satchel and pulled out another map, one that had been marked all over with notes. "I figured out something about some of the rupee patterns on the first one," he stated, "they're actually numbers for a code embedded with longitude and latitude markings."

I looked at him flummoxed.

"What?" I replied.

The doctor and Rusl too looked surprised.

"Why would he do that when there are longitude and latitude markings already on a map?" Rusl asked.

Bastion nodded at the question, probably considering that inquiry already. "That's a good question," he said, "and one where I think the answer lies more in how the numbers are scattered as opposed to how many."

Now he was losing me.

"I don't follow you," I said shaking my head.

Bastion then spread the map out completely on a table near the bed. "I know it seems are far fetched, but what I mean is Vincent had another set of coordinates in mind when he placed all these other ones on the map," he explained. "Look at this continuing number of thirty seven thousand rupees and then look where its placed." He pointed to several spots on the map where the numbers clearly made a circle. "All these numbers point to the same place, he made it look like it was just a money trail alone, but if you were the break the numbers down to coordinates three, seven, zero, and zero then you have a pair that leads to a location right smack dab in the middle, an unmarked area on the map."

I was amazed how he was able to figure that out given what was on the papers, however, something didn't make sense during his explanation.

"I understand everything you are saying," I started, "but that only accounts for four numbers, what about the last zero?"

Bastion merely shrugged. "It doesn't go with anything and I think it was initially there to throw anyone looking for it off."

I looked down at the map again as did Rusl who surprisingly said, "That's a docking port that leads out to sea," he stated, "I know that area because it leads to the kingdom of Balaam."

This was suddenly taking on a new premise.

"Balaam?" I repeated. "Isn't that where the queen's mother is from?"

Everyone nodded slowly in agreement after the divulgence.

"Yes," the doctor said quietly, "but what in the world would Vincent want to do there?"

I wasn't completely certain, but he may have found another access point to bring Vaati back. If that was the case, the rendezvous for such a trip was probably happening as we spoke, if not already. We needed to leave now if we were going to catch him.

"I think I know," I replied, "and I'm not going to waste any time guessing, I'm going to go look for him now."

The three men looked at me surprised.

The doctor started to protest.

"Link I already told you-" the doctor tried.

"I'm not staying here!" I snapped. "I don't give a damn about the queen's order! She'll thank me once that trouble making bastard is dead!"

It was then the others understood what my intentions truly were. They were all stunned at my daft speech.

Rusl stepped forward. "The orders were to bring Vincent and Morgana back alive," he said in a low voice, "they are to face a royal tribunal for judgement."

I didn't reply to that.

There was no way Vincent was going to come back to Hyrule breathing. He was one of the reasons my unborn child was now gone, and he was a pernicious thorn in the country's side. He attempted to kill thousands of people for the sake of sport, and felt no remorse in doing so. In many ways he was just as evil as Ganondorf. There was only one way to deal with a man like that. It was the same way Ganondorf had to be dealt with, and that was putting him down... for good.

Rusl could tell from the look in my eyes that his words were in vain. "Link..." he trailed anyway to no avail, "think about this."

I cut my eyes away from him.

"I have thought about it," I said quietly.

Bastion decided to chime in on Rusl's behalf. "Don't worry I'll go with him," he said.

I shook my head no.

"I'm going alone," I replied.

Bastion looked at me surprised. "Link-" he tried.

"I'm going alone," I interrupted firmly, "I don't want to hear another word on it."

Bastion looked at me stunned and there was a tense silence between the four of us after that. I probably sounded like an ingrate to my friends right now considering what they all went through to help me and resuscitate me back to health. However, I couldn't pretend that I wasn't seriously affected by my ordeal either. That man they knew before all of this was gone. I wasn't that same Link anymore. Actually, I hadn't been the same Link in quite some time. That was evident in my current dealings with my friends and acquaintances. However, with this previous set of events, there shouldn't have been any surprise that there was a change in me. As the silence prolonged, Dr. Borville took in a deep sigh. It seemed from his apparent change in disposition that he was going to be the yielding one of the group. It was going to have to be that way, because I was not changing my mind.

The doctor stepped forward.

"Fine, do what you have to do Link to be rid of this pest," he said, "I'll cover for you if anyone from the queen's guard comes asking about your recovery. All of us standing here is coming to no avail anyway."

Bastion and Rusl then looked at the doctor in surprise.

"Why are you encouraging this?" Rusl demanded of Dr. Borville. "This is ludicrous and you know it! He is in no condition to leave, let alone fight!"

The physician turned and looked at Rusl. "It's easy for us to say these things because we're not the ones who are directly affected by them," he replied, "we need to try and see things from Link's point of view."

Rusl was getting increasingly upset. "How in the world can you say that?" he demanded of the doctor. "Do you not see that young girl in there? Ilia's like a sister to me! And do you think it was easy for me to find out one of my dearest friends is now dead?"

Bastion looked between the two men thrown for a loop. "Wait a minute, what?" he asked on the back end. "Who's dead?"

Neither of them answered his question.

"You cannot say Link is the only one affected when people like Bo were a part of all our lives," Rusl continued speaking to the doctor, "and him rushing off like this would be a disrespect to his memory."

The doctor raised a brow. "I don't mean to be disrespectful to your friend," he started, "but wasn't it by your own omission that this man Bo acted out on his own irrationality? How and what does that have to do with Link? Bo's death is unfortunate, and to be quite honest it seems that he was the one who brought all this unnecessary drama to people's lives. Look at the state of his daughter, look at what just happened to Link. Link was accused of a crime he didn't commit and was beaten for it. I think it's safe to say you're romanticizing your dead friend's actions a little. To be quite frank, revenge would be better suited for Bo. It would be the only positive thing that came from his otherwise stupid actions."

Rusl looked at the doctor stunned, as did I, and Bastion to the right of me. Bastion even more so because he was hearing about Bo's death for the first time. But even with my hearing it again and in such a fashion, it still felt surreal to me. I couldn't believe Bo was dead.

"Dr. Borville-" Rusl started.

"What if it were you Rusl? What if you had woken up and found out you lost your child and a dear friend all at once? What would you do?" he interrupted in a thought provoking manner suddenly. "Would you be so apt to sit idly by and do nothing? Would you not be willing to bend the rules a little to see some justice served? It's very easy to look at things as just black and white, but that isn't reality. There are too many shades of grey when it comes to situations like this, and if you ask me, Hyrule would be better off without a man like Vincent."

When he put it that way, Rusl didn't have very much of a reply. All he could do was stare and think about what the doctor said to him. It was different now that he framed the question that way, and it was true, what would Rusl do if the shoe were on the other foot? Would he be so apt to talk like he is now? Or would he take action with his sword?

Rusl was quiet for a moment. "I... I couldn't be certain what I would be thinking," he said honestly, "truthfully, I might be feeling the same way maybe even more so."

Dr. Borville took in a deep sigh after hearing that and nodded. "There's no question about that, I think any man with a reasonable heart would," he replied, "so I think it's safe to say that arguing in amongst ourselves is doing us no earthly good. We might as well do what we can to support Link in his endeavors. If this culprit is the reason for his troubles, we're not in any position to keep him here." After speaking to everyone generally he then turned his attention solely to me. "There's some clean clothes in the main foyer closet and you can wash up there as well. Also, you can have access to anything you need in the potion closet. There are a couple of bottles of golden chu jelly the queen designated just for you. I know you have mixed feelings about her right now, but I seriously think you should take them. You may be a warrior by nature but your body is still Hylian, you need to take care of it."

I nodded at what he was telling me, and appreciated his seeing things my way.

"Thanks, you're right of course," I said, "and I will do that."

In the midst of the doctor saying all this, Bastion's eyes were still widened in disbelief at the realization of what was truly going on. Now he knew Ilia lost the baby. He looked over at me partially stunned. "I... I don't know what to say at a time like this," he stated.

I looked away, not wanting to think about it right now. All it did was feel like salt being poured over an open wound.

"You don't have to say anything," I replied, "I just found out she lost the baby too."

Bastion was still dumbfounded. "I'm... I'm so sorry," he said to me quietly, "I had no idea."

I swallowed hard and tried to keep it together.

I nodded.

"It's alright," I replied, "neither did I."

There was another silence that followed after that. One where I took the liberty to head into the main foyer and follow the doctor's orders and clean myself up and change into a proper set of clothes. After I was cleaned up, I returned back to the patient room where the others were. Bastion then handed me his sword and sheathe along with another set of condolences that I much appreciated. He above anyone right now could relate to me because his wife was still pregnant. He could see himself in my shoes. When I set the holster around my waist and sheathed my sword, Bastion asked me again if he could accompany me.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" he asked me.

I appreciated his concern, but I shook my head no.

"The less people there are in an entourage the better," I said, "besides, I have the element of surprise on my side. Vincent still thinks I'm in prison."

Bastion nodded.

"That is true," he replied.

I looked over at the map on the table, then without thinking, folded it and placed it in my pocket. I was going to travel light, this port looked to be a two hour ride by horse back.

I hope this lead pans out, I thought.

As I was contemplating that, I had another thought just then.

"Are there any ships leaving for Balaam this morning?" I asked suddenly.

Bastion nodded.

"That was another thing I wanted to tell you," he said, "there's a six o'clock departure for Balaam this morning. Chances are Vincent will try to take that ship out to sea. That's the only vessel going to Balaam departing this month so if he's going there, he will be on it. However, you also need to be careful, he may be cautious and not get on the boat if he thinks there's a trap waiting for him."

I nodded at his words, understanding all too well how important this was.

"This is why I need to go alone," I said, "he won't be expecting just me."

Again, Bastion nodded.

"Like I said before, that is true," he replied.

I took in a deep sigh as another thought came to mind. It probably wasn't an appropriate time to talk about this considering the circumstances, but it was something that was bothering me.

"I need you to do something for me," I said suddenly.

Bastion looked at me surprised at the request.

"Anything, what is it?" he asked.

I knew this was going to sound out of the blue, but it was important.

"I need you to request an audience with the queen to see if she got a letter I had sent to her this morning," I said.

Bastion looked at me puzzled.

"You had a letter sent to the queen this morning?" he asked. "How can that be when you can't write correspondence?"

I shook my head.

"I don't have time to give you all the details now," I said, "just do that for me. It should have been sent via the transport of a woman named Elga."

This was sounding more and more bizarre to Bastion.

"Who?" he asked.

I was aware it sounded crazy.

"She was a peasant girl who came to tend to me before I was brought here," I explained, "I gave her the letter to give to the queen."

Bastion raised a brow.

"A peasant girl came to tend to you in your dungeon?" he asked incredulously. "I thought you weren't allowed to have visitors. Are you sure this woman can be trusted, she sounds suspicious."

I didn't understand why he was making this so difficult. He just needed to take my word for it.

"She was sent by the queen," I replied, "I wasn't completely with it at the time of her tending to me, but there was something about her that was familiar. I don't know why, but I felt as though I could trust her. She said she works at Hylia's Tavern in Castle Town. I just need for you to make sure she got that letter to her majesty."

Bastion raised a brow and looked at me mildly perplexed, but being the good friend he was, nodded anyway.

"Fine, if you say so," he said with a shrug, "I'll look into it."

I took in a deep sigh.

"Thank you," I replied.

I then tied the sword Bastion gave me around my waist and put on a long dark brown cloak. Afterwards, I headed out the room to the front door. Bastion, Rusl, and Dr. Borville all followed me after me to send me off.

"Be careful Link," the doctor warned, "he's still a very dangerous man."

I nodded, but I wasn't too concerned with that.

He wasn't more dangerous than me at this moment. I no longer had nothing to lose.

"I will," I said, "look after Ilia for me okay."

The doctor nodded.

"Of course," he replied.

I then turned my attention back to Bastion and Rusl for any last words.

Bastion decided to be humorous for the sake of brevity. "When you see Vincent, tell him I said hello," he joked.

For the first time that night I smirked, and it felt good too.

I nodded.

"I may just do that," I replied.

Bastion smirked himself. "Be sure to," he replied.

Afterwards, I looked over at Rusl who seemed the most distressed about all this. He didn't have very much to say. He was probably still in disagreement with me that I was going.

"Just come back alive," he said quietly, "that's all."

I nodded at his words too.

"Don't worry," I said with a hint of confidence he wasn't used to seeing me display, "I will."

With that, I turned and headed down the alley into the night. I had two hours to make it to the port before the cast off, and I hoped this lead Bastion gave me was just that, a lead. If this proved true, this would be a rare opportunity to stop Vincent without giving him any prior notices. I was going to make this gift horse count. After leaving Dr. Borville's office, I paused briefly when I heard two guards patrolling the alley nearby. I stayed hidden in the shadows for a until they walked by. Afterwards, I snuck by unnoticed and went out the western gate. When I hit the clearing I picked up a blade of grass to call Epona. A few minutes later, my steed strolled up and I mounted her. She whined in excitement when she saw me. I smiled and patted her beautiful white mane. She must have had quite a night, but I needed her to be fleeter foot for me.

"I need you to make haste girl," I whispered in the mare's ear, "I need you to live up to your horse goddess name."

Epona neighed again, and as if at the beckoning of my words, the Hylian mare took off. I stayed low towards her back while we rode north towards the Lake Hylia. Any ships sailing out to sea had to make pit stops at Lake Hylia first. I was banking on that to buy me some time. My pace was constant and steady. It would only be a matter of time before I reached Lake Hylia.

Just you wait Vincent, I thought, just you wait you deplorable bastard... there's a reckoning coming for you.

I narrowed my eyes at my thoughts and rode faster.

I couldn't get there fast enough.

There's a reckoning coming for you alright, I thought.

I hoped his affairs were in order.

He was about to miss a boat to Balaam.

~SSS~

Twenty Minutes After Link's Departure, The Queen's Chamber: Zelda's POV

I waited impatiently for my guest who was to come see me. It had been a few months since I asked for him personally, but he was no stranger in understanding that when I called for him, it was because it was important. A few moments later, there was a knock on my door, but not from the usual location, from the secret passage way behind the head of my bed. Not wasting a second, I walked over to wall and let my guest in. The older man that greeted me looked tired, worn, and like he already had a long night. However, I needed him to remain steadfast a little longer.

You'll have a handsome reward after this, I promise you, I thought, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"Please come in," I said quietly, and closed the door behind him.

Master Auru bowed at my words, then looked around my large commodious room. He locked his eyes on the four corners to make sure we were safe. His eyes were ever alert, always watching, and that was why I trusted him to do the most serious tasks. I appreciated that about him.

"You called for me my lady?" he asked.

I nodded and signaled for him to keep his voice low.

"I did indeed," I whispered.

He raised a brow at my tone and held in a gasp when he finally got a good look at my appearance. I was still wearing the blood soaked night dress I wore when I went to see Link. I didn't care to change it because I had too much on my mind.

"Are you alright?" he asked in sudden alarm.

I immediately fanned off his worry.

"I'm fine," I replied, "it looks worse than it is, this isn't my blood."

He cut his eyes back to my face when I said that.

"I beg your pardon," he replied.

I rolled my eyes, realizing I made that sound terrible.

"I went to go see Master Link," I confessed, "it's his blood on my skirt. I couldn't help myself, I was worried about him."

Auru seemed surprised that I admitted that openly.

"I understand my lady," he said, "you don't have to explain to me."

For some odd reason tears filled my eyes just then. It was as if I was holding them back all this time.

"I never meant for any of this to happen to him," I whispered in a broken voice, "never."

Auru looked at me with open remorse and nodded.

"I know your majesty," he replied.

I pursed my lips together and decided to be more of an open book. Auru was always so good at listening.

"I'm in love with him Master Auru," I confessed, "I've been in love with him for quite some time."

He nodded again.

"I know that too my lady," he said softly, "I could tell from the way you two interacted that you had more than a feeling of fondness for the young master. You always seemed to be taken in by his words."

I was surprised at his candor and he must have seen it in my facial expression.

He grinned at me and lowered his voice more.

"I was young once too," he said.

I attempted to smile back.

"Indeed good master," I replied, "indeed."

There was a brief silence between us, but then I closed my eyes and took in a deep sigh.

I was distressed.

"I wish I could tell him," I went on, "I wish I could undo all of this and make everything right again."

Auru looked at me sympathetically just then.

"We all have regrets," he said, "and I'm sure one day, when the time is right, you will be able to atone for what has happened. Also, I believe deep down Master Link still cares for you a great deal too. He's just made life hard for himself by complicating it. I'm not saying he deserved any of what happened to him tonight, but he must know that he was partially a party to this end result."

His words didn't make me feel any better, but I understood where they were coming from.

"Do you ever think he loved me Auru?" I asked for no particular reason.

Auru took in a deep sigh, not sure if he should even answer that question.

"That's an inquiry best suited for the hero my lady," he replied, "I was never good at determining what was in someone else's heart."

I appreciated his candor, but would have preferred a little tickling of my ears for ego's sake.

"Wise words," I replied, then added, "have... have you ever been in love with someone you shouldn't have Master Auru?" I asked.

He seemed surprised at my upfront question and raised a brow. He thought about it for a moment, and then nodded very slowly. It was almost a methodical nod.

"Yes," he confessed, "she was a woman that was far out of my league. I don't even know why she looked my way when I first met her."

He seemed so sad just then, and I suddenly regretted asking him the question. I took hold of his hand to console him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized, "I didn't mean to pry."

He shook his head like he was lost in thought for a moment, then came back to reality.

"You didn't pry, she's just a woman I can't be with," he said softly. He then cleared his throat and redirected the conversation. "Was there another reason you called for me tonight my lady?" he asked. "I know it wasn't just for small talk."

I pulled myself together and composed myself. I was wasting time with what I needed him to do. It was time I mentioned the reason for why I initially asked him here.

"Yes, there is another reason," I said finally, "forgive me for taking so long to get to the point. However, at this time I must ask you to become the Protector Quadriennium once more for the sake of the kingdom."

He looked at me surprised, but didn't bother to question me at all.

"What do you need me to do your majesty?" he asked me immediately after that.

I looked him straight in the eyes and without hesitation said, "I'm renegotiating my order," I started, "as of this moment Vincent nor his sister Morgana are no longer protected by the shield of their title. This is off the record, but I want you to find the both of them and kill them without mercy, even if they plead for their lives."

Master Auru didn't flinch.

"And when would you like this done?" he asked.

My eyes narrowed a little.

"As soon as possible, in fact your assignment starts now," I said, "and I want evidence that they are dead."

He nodded.

"What would you prefer? Something like his signet ring?" he inquired. "Their robes?"

I shook my head.

"No, bring me their heads in a sackcloth bag," I replied, "I want full confirmation that they are gone."

He looked at me surprised at my blunt speech, but again didn't question it.

"As you wish my lady," he replied, "was there anything else?"

I shook my head once more.

"That's all for now," I said.

With that, Master Auru bowed, then turned and headed back out the exit. When the door closed behind him I let out a shocked breath, and closed my eyes. I couldn't believe those words just came out of my mouth.

Hylia help me for having vengeance in my heart, I thought, but I can't let this pass.

However, it was too late to ask for forgiveness from the goddess now. The cogs have been set in motion. Vincent's fate was sealed. There was no stopping it now. I looked out the window at the still pale moon and saw no evidence of day break even though dawn was in less than two hours.

"Wherever you are out there Vincent you will be found," I whispered, "you... can't hide forever."

It was then I broke my gaze from the moon, and finally decided to clean up and change. While I had Master Auru here, the three guards who took it upon themselves to chastise Link were waiting nervously for me in the throne room down the hall. They had been for the past ten minutes, probably wondering what in the world was going to be their fate. Yes, those men who lied about my seal had been found and now they were going to pay dearly for it. I wasn't going to waste their time with a long speech. I was simply going to tell them they were going to spend the rest of their lives in the dungeon for treason, plain and simple. Afterwards, I was going to have their crimes read to them. They would know immediately that such insubordination and disrespect to the throne would not be tolerated.

You cannot lie and abuse my power and think I won't find out about it, I thought, looking at what gown I was going to wear in the long standing mirror.

I decided to dress in red because it was a power color. I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath, and when clarity came to me, I opened them and headed for my door. I opened it and waiting for me on the other side was my royal escort. I centered myself between the four men and headed down the hall to the throne room.

It was a long slow walk that made me contemplate.

I'm doing this for you Link... my mind trailed, I'm doing this for you...

~SSS~

Meanwhile, Auru's POV

I was heading down the hall when I saw Bastion coming towards me from the opposite direction. He looked like he was heading towards the Situation Room. I stopped for a moment to talk to him.

"Did you see Link?" I asked.

The young soldier stopped and looked troubled.

"Hello to you too," he replied, "and yes I saw him."

I raised a brow.

"Well was he alright?" I asked.

Bastion sighed at the question and shook his head.

"He's been better," he said honestly, "but the hotheaded fool took off not to long ago."

My ears perked when I heard that.

"What? He took off? He took off where?" I demanded suddenly. "He's supposed to under the doctor's care until he's better!"

Bastion immediately realized he put his foot in his mouth.

"Uh..." he trailed.

I grunted in frustration.

"Where is he?" I demanded again. "We have to find him and bring him back!"

Bastion raised his brows and looked sheepish for a second.

"He's... off following a lead I had on Vincent," he confessed.

My eyes widened.

"What?" I replied.

Bastion raised his hands in surrender.

"I tried to stop him, but you know how he gets when his mind is made up," he replied.

I groaned.

"Where is he off to now?" I asked.

"He's off to a port in Lake Hylia," he divulged, "there's a ship leaving at dawn transporting goods to the kingdom of Balaam. Vincent might be trying to board that ship."

Dear Hylia, I thought.

We didn't have a moment to lose. I hurried past Bastion and gestured for him to follow me.

"Come on," I said, "we're going after him."

Bastion looked at me surprised.

"You think he may need our help?" he asked.

Link wasn't the type of man who needed help with a fight, his skills were exemplary. I had something else in mind.

"Unlikely," I replied, "but we should be there as back up just in case."

Bastion nodded.

"Good idea," he replied.

I quickened my step.

"Who else knows about this?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Rusl and the doctor," he replied.

"Good, let's keep it that way until this has cleared over," I stated.

We headed for the stables and got our horses from the registry. Afterwards, we took off to Lake Hylia. We rode fast and we rode hard due to Link having a much greater head start. I knew Link was after Vincent for one reason, I just had to be sure that he was going to finish the job.

Her majesty said no mercy, I thought.

My thoughts made me ride faster. However, I had no idea what was going to be in store for me there.

No idea at all.