Chapter Five Backfired
It was very late when Link and his company returned to the castle and he personally ushered the Moblin into one of the luxurious guest apartments.
"I have to leave you under guard, at least until I have spoken to the King; I hope you understand. It will probably be the afternoon before he can see you; so you might as well make yourself comfortable and sleep in in the morning."
"I understand perfectly and will await the summons." The Moblin bowed with a slight inclination of his head and turned back into his room, the guards following; as they went to stand sentinel by the doors. Link heaved a sigh of relief for what he considered a job well done and after waiting a moment to make sure that he would not be needed; he left to find rest in his own chambers and to reassure Zelda that he was back, alive and well. He crawled into bed next to her and felt the familiar warmth and love that he cherished, as she leaned in towards him in her sleep; curling up with her arm possesively thrown over his body.
At breakfast the next morning, Link was waiting to finish so that he could have a private word with the his father-in-law. The atmosphere was light hearted as usual; Prince Tarin smiled indulgently as the Princesses Zelda, Sarah and Julia were all chatting away and talking about going to the market to spend money on anything they could think about. Then Tarin turned to the King;
"That was a good joke you played on us this morning Your Highness; I awoke to the smell of bacon, only to find it is still alive and in the next room to my own."
"I have no idea what you are talking about Tarin."
"Of course not, My Cousin Highness; you have no idea how a Moblin thief and murderer is enjoying the hospitality of the Palace and oinking away, loud enough to wake anyone out of their hard earned repose?"
"You are dreaming Cousin Tarin or having your own joke perhaps?"
"Not me, but I assure you that there is one of their vile breed next door to my suite. It is positively dangerous; come now, surely no one would put a creature like that there without your authority?" Tarin smirked to himself, he knew who had put the Moblin in the room, Tima had seen them all arrive and had informed him. Perhaps the King would now see how overly trusting Link was, when it came to security measures; the boy may be a 'Hero' of sorts but he didn't seem to live in the real world as far as Tarin was concerned.
His Majesty was stung by the implied criticism of his authority by his relative, having already faced a period of time when it had been questioned all too frequently; leading to the reign of Ganondorf when he had had to flee and go into hiding. All this had left him highly sensitive to his reputation and made his anger grow; what had started as a fairly harmless remark by Tarin, gained momentum in the King's mind until he became overly suspicious and resentful.
Unfortunately Link had not heard all of this as he had been pulled in to the girls' conversation; they required to know whether he would accompany them to the market, so they could get a male opinion on their purchases. However Jardan had heard, as he'd been alerted to the conversation by the smug look on the groom's face; so he went to alert his friend, that the King would be wishing to know the details of last nights expedition and now.
Link excused himself and went straight away to the King;
"Link explain."
"Explain, your majesty?" Link was confused and Tarin laughed,
"Explain why there is a live and squealing flitch of bacon in the room next to my own." Link finally understood; but was not happy at Tarin's derogatory comments and was about to chide him for them, when the King commanded;
"Well, I am waiting."
"I'm sorry Sire, I was waiting until after breakfast so that I could speak with you alone."
"You will explain now Link, why you have a Moblin who is our enemy, a murderer and thief; accomodated in one of the castle guest rooms and not in the dungeon where his kind should be." The King's voice was powerful and all now heard and were listening to the conversation. This was not the dignified way in which Link had wanted to present the Moblin's petition, but there was nothing for it now. Aware that he now had an audience, Link started to tell about the events of the prior evening and night.
As he spoke and relayed all that had happened; the King was aware of faint but definite sounds of approval from all those who could hear, including the guards at the door and he too could see the benefits to having the Moblins allied to Hyrule instead of running raids and perhaps even killing again. Link had done a good job and made a wise decision, but...
"So, you made all these plans and gave promises in the name of Hyrule to our enemies without first consulting your King? You made unilateral decisions as if you were the monarch." The King's voice was calm but very cold in tone and Link flinched. "Perhaps you think you can do a better job at ruling the country than I can, you wish to sit on the throne now instead of waiting your turn. You are very lucky my boy that I know you are not thinking of treason, but be warned; your presumption could cost you dearly in the future." Then he raised his voice so that all present could hear him.
"Link you will stay in your rooms under guard until I have dealt with the Moblin and be thankful I do not have you cool your heels in the dungeon. This is the problem when one has not been taught diplomacy and protocol; Jardan go with him." Now his outburst was over, the King instantly calmed down only to have his daughter start to berate him for his tirade against her husband. His anger grew rapidly once again.
"I will not have my authority questioned in this way; I am the King." Malon came to take the Princess in her arms and offer comfort as she too was in need of it; seeing poor Link's face go all white and then red with embarrasment and humiliation, was very upsetting for his old friend. Jardan and Malon exchanged glances as he gently led the stricken Link away to his rooms.
The Hero didn't feel like a hero at the moment, his legs were wobbly and his breathing shallow; if Jardan hadn't been there to support him when he stumbled sometimes, he would have fallen on his face. He did not notice the concerned and caring faces of the soldiers who stood guard at various points along the way, nor of the servants who glanced at him as he passed. All he cared about was the deep ache in his heart, caused by the words that were still ringing in his ears; from the only man whom he had ever considered like a father.
While Link was escorted to his suite, the news of what had happened travelled like wildfire the length and breadth of the castle as servants gossiped to one another. Most were sympathetic to the young man but one was highly delighted in what he'd seen. Tima had relished the expressions that flashed across the pinched and distraught face, as Link had had to endure those harsh words; he felt thoroughly vindicated by Link's humiliation in front of the court, enjoying the boy's stark misery. He had too much sense to show his pleasure though except to his Prince and other friends.
When the banqueting hall had been cleared and everyone had gone about their proper business, the King sank down into his chair exhausted. He was angry with himself for getting carried away and wondered if he had not overreacted. He was left in no doubt on that score when he tried to see Zelda. She turned to look at him but all she could say was;
"How could you father, how could you hurt him like that?"
"I cannot allow anyone to make decisions for this country without my say so Zelda, you know that."
"You made us Ambassadors for Hyrule, to strengthen our allies; does that not carry any weight for decision making?"
"In certain matters only, that is true."
"You were unneccesarily cruel with what you said father and in front of others." Zelda turned and with a little curtsey, she left her father with his thoughts. These however, were not comfortable when he remembered the pale face with the overly bright glittering eyes that winced at his harsh words as if under blows. The King felt a guilty headache coming on and decided to leave the interview with the Moblin until later in the afternoon.
In the meantime, Jardan had got Link to his room and sat him down with a hot, spicy glass of wine hoping that this would help him to relax and get the horrified look off his face. Link could hardly hold the glass because he was shaking so much, Jarden sighed and closed his hands over Link's own to help him steady the mix and with soft words encouraged him to drink. When just over half of the mulled wine had been drunk, Link's shudders slowed and Jardan went to get a blanket to put around his shoulders and sat down next to him.
"You remind me so much of a younger brother Link, or myself a few years ago now. I remember that once, my father gave me a tongue lashing that hurt me far more than any other punishment that he ever gave me; including birching."
"The King is not my father." Was the whispered reply.
"Oh Link, he's as good as your father and treats you like his son, he wouldn't have lost his temper today so much if he didn't, believe me."
"I don't understand, a father would not say those things."
"You were told off and sent to your room Link as if you were a disobedient child, that is all this is"
"I would rather be beaten than have him say all that."
"I know, my father once called me a disgrace to the family name and said he was ashamed of me and was disappointed that I was his son. I had overindulged in one of the alehouses and had been very rude to one of his female guests. Father waited until I was totally sober, to give me such a dressing down that had me broken down in tears. I have never forgotton it and I of course apologised for my behaviour. Later father came to me and told me that I was forgiven and that he had spoken in anger, but I remember the pain still.
"Anyway, what would you know Link, the King has never had you beaten? You are far too good." Jardan laughed trying to lighten Link's mood. But Link hung his head;
"It was not the King, it was the Deku Tree. I had got fed up with Mido and told him to find Saria in the Lost Woods, hoping that he would get lost and when he wouldn't go, I started to punch and kick him. The Deku Tree explained that I had been very wrong which I understood, but that was not enough; he held me tight and stripped me with some of that year's growth and beat me with some of his other new twigs."
Jardan laughed again;
"So Little Mr Perfect has been known to be a bad boy after all? I bet the horrible Mido deserved it."
"Well I thought so at the time, but the Deku Tree's methods persuaded me not to do it again." He gave a small smile to his friend adding; "Words hurt more. Leave me please Jardan."
"I cannot leave the room Link, you know that; but I can keep out of your way." Jarden said softly and Link nodded and went on to his balcony still wrapped in his blanket and looking very lost and alone. Jardan kept a sympathetic eye on him but respected his wishes and left him alone, even though he knew that the boy wept.