Chapter 8
Scarlett was furious.
They had boarded the Golden Skulltula, her landing vessel, an almond-shaped craft with a trio of powerful turbines in the rear, crimson wings like angled sails on the flanks, and a solid top of shining brass, shaped like a spider with a skull for a body. Zig was battered and delirious, his clockwork arm a mangled nub sticking from his shoulder, and his ribs cracked badly in several places. They had to keep him from choking on his own blood as he struggled to breathe.
The details of Link's escape and his trek through the temple to find them were questionable at best. The boy had admitted that he had crashed her dragonfly fighter into the temple and that was how he reached them, but he neglected to mention how he had managed to leave the brig in the first place. Somehow, whilst under lock and key on a ship crewed by more than fifty full-grown, fearsomely trained, battle hardened pirates, a single small boy had managed to not only get away from them, but also cause thousands of rupees worth of damage to her ship and destroy her only lightweight fighter. To make matters worse, if he hadn't gotten away with it they very well could have all died.
She didn't know who to whip for this one, the boy or her crew. Both, probably.
Gwendolin and Kef were completely engrossed in the care of poor Zig, and hadn't yet had a chance to be upset about Link's actions, but ever since they had left the Temple of Life Scarlett's eyes had not left the boy. There was something about the brazen youth, the way his blue eyes were always full of energy and the merry fashion the tail of his cap trailed after him as he moved, that made her feel like there was something more to Link that she was missing entirely.
Could such a headstrong and careless child really be a powerful magician? He certainly didn't act like one. However, there was no denying that she had seen him twice now awaken from a sleep he should not have ever awoken from. The cursed sleep which she had seen the power of and felt helpless to dispel and this mere boy could shrug it off like an afternoon nap.
Then there was the matter of the invisible attacker which had defeated the monstrous dekubaba and driven out the Wizard Nyarlath, who commanded power that Scarlett could scarcely imagine the depths of. Scarlett had crossed paths with Nyarlath more than once in the past and the old wizard had always bested her, a foe so powerful that she stood no chance toe-to-toe. Now he was running from invisible phantoms as if his heels were on fire.
The Princess Zelda she had stolen away from a grim execution at the wizard's hands had turned out nearly useless, but the boy was another matter. Even in recovering the sacred treasure, a feat which Scarlett had planned for months, he had bested her. There was no obvious explanation for it, but Scarlett was sure as she could be, Link was somehow the key to all of this. It had been he who had recovered the treasure and somehow it had been he that had driven out Nyarlath and his summoned horror in the Temple of Life.
"Will Zig be alright?"
Scarlett turned her attention to Zelda, who was now standing at Gwendolin's side next to the broken Zig. Gwen shook her head solemnly, "He's not in good shape. All we can do is get aboard the Stalfos as quickly as possible. Hopefully we'll be able to stabilize him with the first aid supplies we have there. The nearest city with a doctor is at least two days flight from this coast."
"C'mon buddy," said Kef, gripping Zig's good shoulder, "Hang in there."
The injured pirate coughed, and spat blood out of his mouth.
"Gwen," said Zelda, touching the First Officer's arm. Gwendolin rounded on the girl and it looked for a moment like she was going to say, 'That's First Officer to you!', but the pirate caught the look in Zelda's eye and she couldn't find the words.
"May I?" said Zelda, gesturing to Zig. Gwen looked from the girl to her fallen comrade.
"What can you do?"
"I may not be a brave pirate or a powerful sorcerer," said Zelda, kneeling down beside the fallen pirate, "But I am a Princess of Hyrule, and member of the Hylian Royal Family. I am not completely powerless."
The Princess laid her palms flat on Zig's chest. The pirate groaned painfully, but Zelda did not move. Link and Kef and Gwen all leaned in close to get a better look. Even Scarlett stood from her seat, craning her neck just a bit to see what the Princess was up to.
Zelda closed her eyes and said, "Mother Goddess, keeper of the light of creation, Our Lady Hylia, please give the gift of life to this brave soul. In your glorious name, so it be."
Zelda's hands began to glow with golden light, her hair wavering as if lifted on unseen currents. The electric light of the Skulltula's cabin seemed dim to the point of darkness when compared to the shining purity of the light emanated by Zelda. Scarlett had to hold a hand up to her brow to shield herself from the intensity, as gold saturated into blinding white. As the flash overtook her, Scarlett caught a glimpse of Zelda through squinting eyes. The princess' eyes were open now and they had turned into solid orbs of shimmering, pupil-less gold.
Slowly, normality began to return to the cabin once more and the collective group of them all had to gasp. Zig was breathing normally now, asleep soundly on the reclined seat. The blood was gone.
"How in the…?"
"Don't be stupid, Gwen," said Scarlett, walking around to the back of Zig's chair and reaching down to press his ribs. They were no longer broken. "Just as I thought, she's healed him completely. That shouldn't be any surprise though. You know as well as I what that was: the Light of the Goddess. Any Shiekah worth her salt knows that the Royal Family are the sacred keepers of that light."
"Wow, Zelda!" exclaimed Link, "That was incredible! Is Zig really gonna be okay?"
"It was nothing," said Zelda, her eye's locking on Scarlett's cyclopean gaze. "The least I could have done."
"Princess," said Gwen. Zelda was shocked to see the pirate bowing low beside her. Gwen looked up at Zelda, and there were tears in her brown eyes, "Thank you."
"I've seen enough," said Scarlett, still glaring at Zelda, "First Officer, remember yourself."
"Captain!" said Gwen, rising at once and saluting.
"Make preparations to dock with the Stalfos," said Scarlett, heading towards a door, her private cabin aboard the Skulltula, "Boy, come with me. I have some questions for you."
"Me?" said Link, glancing around at the group. Kef and Gwen, relieved by the sudden recovery of Zig, were already busy with operating the Skulltula's complex array of controls and said nothing. He looked pleadingly to Zelda, who tilted her head in a way that said, 'Just humor her'. Link gulped, not eager to come face to face with Scarlett's temper after damaging her ship and crashing her flyer.
Reluctantly, the boy rose and went after Scarlett into the cabin, glancing over his shoulder at Zelda, who only smiled back at him.
Once they were inside, Scarlett closed the door and locked it.
Scarlett's cabin on the Skulltula was smaller, but did not lack in any of the luxury of her quarters aboard the Stalfos. A bed with silken sheets, big enough to sleep two comfortably, was tucked into one corner. A desk of deku wood topped with polished marble made a centerpiece, behind which an antique chair, upholstered in fine Gerudo silk, sat like a throne. There was a globe near the door, hand painted and bearing the coordinates of many strange places Link had never heard of. Scarlett went to the globe and grasped the top of it, lifting it up, and the two hemispheres came apart to reveal a well-stocked mini-bar inside. The Captain produced a brandy glass and uncorked a phial of some amber liquid, which she poured into her glass then drained down her gullet in one swill.
"Look here, boy," said Scarlett, refilling her glass, "Ye've become a real pain in my ass, and I mean it. Yer continued presence on my ship has been a burden on myself and my men. Ye've cost me rupees, a priceless airship, and my own pride on more than one occasion."
"Captain Scarlett, you don't understand, I…"
"Silence!" Scarlett slammed her fist down on the marble table, sloshing some of the amber liquid in her glass onto the floor. Scarlett took another drink, composed herself and went on, "All of that being said, it's become clear to me that we cannot recover this treasure without you. Nyarlath would have put an end to us all right then and there, except something stopped him. I've got no clue how ye've done what ye've done, but clearly only you can recover these shards and make the treasure whole again."
"You…" Link couldn't believe his ears, "You need me?"
"Aye," said Scarlett, "Aye, I can scarcely believe it myself, but it appears that I do."
"Does that mean you'll be nicer to me and Zelda?"
"It means we won't be throwing you overboard when we get back for all of the damage ye've done to my ship!" declared Scarlett, sternly, "And, it means that you, boy, are going to have to learn to fight like a pirate. I won't have my men playing babysitter in every temple from here to the Gerudo Desert and back again. You're gonna toughen up, you're gonna work hard, and you're gonna get me that treasure."
"I'll help you, for Zelda's sake and because it's the only way to stop Nyarlath," said Link, "But you know that once the treasure is complete, I can't just let you have it. I'm sure you must see how evil Nyarlath is! Why not just help me and Zelda stop him? We could work together! We could be friends!"
"I'm not your friend," replied Scarlett, plainly, "And as for the potentiality of a treacherous turn of events after the treasure has been assembled, that is a bridge best crossed when it's come to. As things stand now, I need you to recover the shards, but you need me to reach the temples. Without my airship, you have no way to travel the considerable distances between them. So, for the time being, we are stuck with one another."
"…but Nyarlath has to be stopped. Can't you see that he's trying to destroy everything? It's your problem too."
"I've no love for that demon, this ye can count on," said Scarlett, "but there is another matter I must resolve before I can worry about him, and as it happens I need this treasure to see it through. I realize that that puts us at odds, but it's the way it has to be. Consider yerself lucky I don't just run ye through right now and have a go at it again on my own."
"There's nothing I can say to change your mind, is there?" said Link.
Scarlett glared back at him from her single, blood-red eye.
During the following days, things aboard the Stalfos changed considerably.
Scarlett had berated her men fiercely for allowing Link to escape, going so far as to administer ten lashes to the large pirate who's responsibility it had been to watch Link in the brig. Link had felt terrible about this, but Zelda reminded him that it was not his fault that Scarlett was so stern.
Zig had made a complete recovery, though his clockwork arm would take some time to rebuild. When the crew had heard what Zelda had done for Zig the pirates' attitude towards the Princess improved tremendously. No longer did they jeer and snarl at Zelda as she served them meals, and even Gwendolin spoke to the princess with a noteworthy degree of respect.
Link spent hours each day training with Kef and Gwen, learning to use a sword and even some of the secret ways of Shiekah martial arts. Gwen had even given Link his own hookshot, which could propel him all the way to the top of the highest mast in a flash. Link was already naturally strong and acrobatic from his danger-filled life as a thief back in the forest, and he learned the techniques of the pirates with relative ease.
Standing toe-to-toe with Gwen in a swordfight was no easy feat, and always the boy knew that the pirate was holding back her full strength when sparring with him, but that didn't detract from the incredible pace of Link's progress. Even the most seasoned of the pirates was forced to admit that the boy was gifted when it came to swordplay.
Scarlett had become withdrawn, rarely appearing in front of her crew, and passing down orders by proxy through Gwendolin. The pirates were accustomed to the Captain being mysterious and private, but Link knew that the real reason Scarlett refused to show her face had everything to do with him. On the rare occasion that he was in her presence, he could feel the Captain's stern, red eye upon him and it gave him chills.
He couldn't figure out why Scarlett was so hostile, though. Something about his ability to awaken from the deep, trance-like sleep of the Dreamworld seemed to make her irrationally angry, and he couldn't make sense of it. Whenever Scarlett spoke of her plans for the ancient treasure which they sought, her eye would acquire a glazed over, faraway look, and to Link she looked nothing like the angry pirate she usually seemed to be. There was a nostalgic kind of pain there, something dark and troubling, which the Captain kept hidden from the rest of the world as if it were the only vulnerability she had to protect. However, the curiosity of the Captain's behavior invited nothing but speculation, and there was no way Link could hope to guess what was really going on in Scarlett's mind without her giving him some kind of clue as to the nature of what this guarded secret might be.
One morning, the Captain announced that it would be one more night before they reached the Temple of the Mind, the next of the seven temples which their journey would lead them to. Link wondered what might lie in store for them there. The Temple of Life was rife with danger, and Link was sure that the Temple of the Mind would be no different, undoubtedly fraught with its own unique perils, though Link could not begin to guess at their nature. The whole day as he went about his chores his imagination was filled with exotic monsters, perilous traps, and devious magic.
As the sun was beginning to set, Link accompanied Gwen and Kef to the upper deck where they would be going over some last-minute combat training before the coming morning's excursion into the unknown. Zig went up to watch them, the components of his clockwork arm spread out atop a barrel beside him. With his working left hand he was busy at work constructing the thing, which at this stage in its assembly appeared nothing more than a skeletal nub of bronze-colored bone jutting from his shoulder. Princess Zelda sat beside him, watching Link and Gwen spar with a pleasant smile on her angelic face.
"I've never seen anyone so young fight like that, he's a real natural," said Zig, observing Link deliver a powerful jumping attack which Gwen glanced off the edge of her curved blade, "You really know how to pick 'em, Princess. He'll make a fine King one day."
"Excuse me?" said Zelda, her eyes wide, "Oh, no, you misunderstand. Link is my friend."
"Mmhmm," said Zig, tightening a bolt on his arm, "That's the best place for young love to blossom. You trust him. Can't fool me, Princess. I see the way you look at that boy; the way he looks at you."
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Zelda, but the blush on her cheeks betrayed her. Zig laughed, merrily.
"No judgment from me, Princess," said Zig, "We all need someone to care about when things get tough. No one likes to feel all alone."
"Someone should tell that to Scarlett," said Zelda, wryly.
"Don't make the mistake of thinking you know everything there is to know about the Captain, Princess," Zig chided her, gently, "Scarlett is a complicated woman. Leading the Shiekah is a huge responsibility. Her people count on her. Not so very different from being a Princess."
It bothered Zelda that she hadn't seen it that way before. Or perhaps she simply did not want to acknowledge that she had anything in common with the pirate. Either way, Zig's words struck a chord with the Princess, and she had to admit to herself that, if her kingdom or her people were threatened, there was not much she wouldn't do to save them. Was that what Scarlett was going through? Could it really be that her cutthroat exterior was just a front, a bulwark designed to protect her subjects from the dangers of the world? Fifty-some-odd pirates certainly didn't constitute a whole kingdom, but Zelda would gladly trade any treasure, even her own life, to save even one innocent subject. Had this same devotion, this same fear of failing her people molded Scarlett into the bloodthirsty pirate she was today? Was every threat, every dastardly, treacherous deed simply carried out in the name of defending that which was dear to the pirate's heart? If so, would Zelda turn out the same way?
She couldn't be certain. Scarlett had told her in the temple that she had to kill Zelda if it was the only way to reveal the treasure. She'd said that it was the only way to protect the things she cared about. At the time, Zelda had written it off as the words of a greedy pirate, driven to any lengths by the lust for treasure, but now she had her doubts…
"Zelda," said Zig, leaning closer to the Princess, "How well do you know the story of the Shiekah exile?"
"I only know what I've read in history books," replied Zelda, "I believe it was five hundred years ago, a Shiekah man tried to assassinate the King. Later, it was found that the Shiekah was working with the Gerudo, and the treachery sparked the Hundred-Year-War with the Gerudo that happened around that time. The King was so shocked by the Shiekah treachery, he banished the entire clan from Hyrule, and the Shiekah have been nomads, scattered to the four winds ever since."
"That is essentially correct, although there are some details missing from that version which some might consider important," said Zig, setting down his tools and giving Zelda his full attention, "The story really begins with a young Gerudo Princess by the name of Ruka. Tensions over trade routes had already been rising between the Gerudo and Hyrule Castle, and Ruka had accompanied her father, the Gerudo King of those days, to a diplomatic meeting where the intention had been to negotiate a truce between the two kingdoms. During this visit, a young Shiekah named Ryll met the Desert Princess, and fell in love with her at once. For the few days that Ruka was in Hyrule, she and Ryll were inseparable. It is said that their love was the purest ever known in this land or any other, but it was not meant to last.
"The negotiations between the two Kings did not go well, and the Gerudo King returned to his kingdom at once, taking his daughter with him. The two kingdoms began to prepare for war, but Ryll could not give up hope that he would one day be with Ruka again. Eventually, the longing became too much, and Ryll dressed himself up like a desert wanderer and snuck across the border into the desert, searching for his lost love. Brave Ryll snuck into the Gerudo keep, and defied death itself to see his Ruka once again. When he came to her, she was overcome with joy, but also sorrow at the thought of what might happen to him if he were discovered. With tears in her eyes, the princess urged the brave boy to run away and never return to that land, to forget about her and live out his days in peace somewhere far away from the coming war.
"Ryll would not forsake his love, though, and Ruka knew that there was nothing she could do to stop him from returning to find her. So, the lovers devised a plan to meet each month under the full moon in a secret cave near the canyon which divides Gerudo lands from those of Royal Hyrule. This seemed to work well for a number of months, but always the threat of the coming war hung like a dagger over their heads, and the lovers were never able to recapture the magic of those first blissful days in Castle town when they had fallen in love.
"One night when going to see Ruka, Ryll was followed by his older brother Kull, who had grown suspicious of his brother's monthly trips abroad. Tailing Ryll like a shadow across the plains, Kull was shocked when his brother's path led him to the Gerudo border. Silently he followed Ryll to the secret meeting spot, and there observed his brother consorting with the Gerudo Princess. Shocked by what he saw, Kull revealed himself, calling his brother a traitor to the crown for his secretive fraternization with the enemy. Ryll pleaded with Kull, but the elder Shiekah would not listen. The two of them fought, but in the end Kull was the superior warrior, and Ryll was struck unconscious. Ruka was now at the mercy of Kull, and the Shiekah decided he would abduct the Princess and deliver her to the Royal Family as a spy, in hopes of atoning for his brother's crimes.
"Ryll awoke to find himself back in Hyrule, and was devastated to learn of Ruka's fate. The Princess had been locked away in the dungeon under Hyrule castle, guarded by the most fearsome of the Shiekah's warriors. The King had decided that the girl was indeed a spy for the Gerudo, and decreed that she could not be trusted to return to Gerudo lands, for she may have learned things from Ryll that the Gerudo must not know if Hyrule was to be successful in the coming military campaign. Ryll disappeared that night, denouncing his brother and all Shiekah blood, and vowing to avenge Ruka. Ryll knew there was no way he could possibly save her from the dungeon, as the Shiekah guards who watched the Princess were expecting him, and they were of a skill far superior to his own. In desperation, the young Shiekah warrior decided he would assassinate the King, and face the executioner right alongside his beloved.
"Using all of his Shiekah skill, Ryll was able to break into the castle, and made it as far as the King's bedside before the Shiekah matriarch caught him. Ryll and Ruka were executed at dawn, before an audience of thousands, Ryll's own brother Kull among them. Word of the Gerudo Princess' death traveled on swift winds to her homeland, and the Gerudo rose up with fury in their hearts, beginning their war march that very morning. So shaken was the King's trust in his Shiekah protectors, and so furious was he about the coming war, that he renounced the ancient pact between the Shiekah and the Royal Family, casting the entire clan into exile. The rest is well documented in many Hylian history texts, but this is the true story of the fall of the Shiekah. It was the love of a young boy for a beautiful princess which caused us this great shame, and lead to the bloody Hundred-Year-War, which even today the Gerudo have not entirely recovered from."
"I can't believe that," said Zelda, shaking her head, "Why would the King execute the princess? He can't have really believed she was a spy. If what you say is true, then Ryll only did what his heart demanded that he do. He was only protecting what he loved."
"Perhaps that gives you a clue as to why many among our kindred still loathe the Royal Family of Hyrule," Zelda hadn't even noticed Gwen, Kef, and Link approaching, so engrossed was she in Zig's story.
"That's not fair though!" said Link, "It's not Zelda's or her father's fault what happened hundreds of years ago!"
"Nor was it the Gerudo people's fault that Ryll and Ruka loved each other, but Hyrule decimated them all the same. Now the Gerudo lands are barren and their people scattered. A king has not been crowned in the desert since then, and the women of Gerudo land struggle to form a solid government, while the Amirah's of the different tribes fight amongst themselves over who will lead," said Kef, "Nor was it the fault of any of we Shiekah who live today what the actions of our ancient ancestors were, yet still we live like nomads, drifting from kingdom to kingdom through the open sky, never making ourselves a home upon the ground."
"If it were within my power," said Zelda, "I would end the Shiekah exile, and welcome your clan back into my kingdom with open arms."
"And do you suppose your people would do the same?" said Gwen, "Prejudice against the Shiekah is more ingrained now in the minds of the Hylian people than even prejudice against the Gerudo. The Gerudo were always outsiders, and relations between the Desert and Hyrule have always been shaky. The Shiekah were once a trusted facet of Hylian Rule, a veritable hound that bit the master's hand. Reintegrating into Hylian society would be a harrowing thing to do for our kind."
"It does not seem fair," said Zelda, wilting a bit under the weight of the sad tale, "The legend said their love was the purest ever felt, and yet all it caused was death and sadness. Did you not say that trust and friendship were the best places for youthful love to blossom?"
"Even the purest love can end poorly," said Zig, "The only thing guaranteed about any decision that we make during the course of our lives is that it will have a consequence. Ryll had never suspected, when he loved Ruka, that it would lead to so much pain for those around him. How could he have foreseen that, by loving Ruka, he was dooming the Shiekah to exile, and the Gerudo to annihilation? Who are we to judge the value of Ryll's love, or the weight of its consequences?"
"There's something I don't understand," said Link, "Instead of trying to save Ruka, Ryll tried to kill the king. Why would he do that?"
"Ryll believed there was no way to save Ruka. It's unclear whether he even believed he could kill the king," replied Zig, "Many believe his motivation was simply to die at his lover's side. Of course, in Hyrule they tell the story differently."
"Love can drive a person to many things; even madness," said Gwen, "and the loss of a loved one can change a person completely. No more powerful force exists to shape our identities than the force of love. It is both a boon and a curse which no mortal is truly free from the burdens of."
"A force that shapes our identities…" Zelda's voice trailed, her gaze wandering off to the wheelhouse, where the stark silhouette of Captain Scarlett could be seen, one hand on the wheel, gazing intently at the oncoming horizon. Zelda couldn't help but wonder what did Scarlett love? Had she always been the cruel pirate she was now, or was there something more there that she didn't see?
"We should all get some rest," said Gwen, "We will reach the Temple of the Mind at dawn, and it's going to be a rough day for all of us."
Kef and Gwen began to walk away, and Zig was gathering up his tools and getting ready to head below deck. Zelda turned to head for her cabin, but Link caught her arm.
"Zelda," he said, "Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know I'll protect you."
She smiled at him, "Thank you, Link."
"C'mon, little green bug!" called Gwen, "Don't lag behind!"
"I'd better go," he said, releasing Zelda's arm, "Sleep tight!"
"You too…" she said, and she watched as he ran off to join the other pirates, disappearing down the stairs to the lower decks. For a while after, Zelda stood there watching the sun go down in the distant sky, and she didn't go to bed until she saw Captain Scarlett come down from the wheelhouse.