Chapter 12: The Red Book
Zelda could immediately feel the unrest in the courtyard. Tension filled the Lord Generals who whispered severely off to her left, curiosity simmered in her father; and the crowd buzzed with bewilderment. But Link's shock weighed heavier than all others in her mind. In front of her, the kneeling Nabooru proffered the glittering silver handle of a single edge blade, hidden beneath a gold lacquered blue leather sheath. At the nub a small worn silver lion's head had been shaped, its silent roar captured in cold metal. Zelda stretched out her small hand, wrapping it around the hilt, feeling cool steel against the softness of her palm. With a flourish, she drew it out of the sheath, twisting the blade, subconsciously measuring the weight of it as Link had taught her. Holding the hilt at eye level, she examined the sword blade, noting the fineness of its edge, and was dazzled as the carefully polished metal reflected twisted rainbows of light from the numerous flames.
In that moment it struck her how complete her arm felt with the sword in her hands, it was not simply a tool; it was a piece of her. Regretfully she slid the blade back into the sheath while bending over to guide Nabooru to her feet. The historical importance of this event was not lost on Zelda, the commander of the Gerudo had sworn fealty to her, a throne less Princess of Hyrule. It was unprecedented, and if not handled correctly could lead to more trouble then the gesture was worth. Choosing her words carefully, Zelda amplified her voice just a bit, to ensure the Gerudo who still stood back heard her.
"I, Zelda Irule, daughter of Alish, Princess of Hyrule, accept, and pledge by my honor to lead the daughters of Aderes faithfully and justly. May the Goddesses forever hold me to my bond." Nabooru smiled, and Zelda felt some of the tension in her shoulders relax. She had been unsure of what to say, unsure what exactly was expected of her, but the oath she used was a strong one, and pleasing to her new people. Nabooru handed the sheathed sword to her, and Zelda took it gently with both hands. "Please, let your sisters come forward and make themselves known. All are welcome in the house of Irule."
Nabooru bowed in acceptance, and motioned for the Gerudo who stood behind to step forward. They came in two single file lines, and Zelda saw that her initial count of over twenty had been mistaken; the castle guards escorting them must have thrown her off. Fourteen women stood in a line before her, and the still hooded figure that stood behind Nabooru made sixteen. Nabooru herself introduced each woman, who removed their cloaks to reveal similar skirts and blouses, with hardened bodies tanned by the desert sun.
"Honored Princess, Iolan King, I am honored to present to you seven members of the High Council of the Gerudo. First Council, Alima, mother to the Meloras family; accompanied by her granddaughter, Airna." The two women at the front of each line removed their hoods, one a hard faced women, much older than Zelda's father, with silver hair. The other Zelda knew immediately to be Nabooru's sister, perhaps her twin; they looked almost exactly alike, except Airna had a scar that ran diagonally on her left cheek. They bowed to Zelda and her father, and stepped aside, forming a line of women exactly a pace behind Nabooru and the hooded woman.
"Marika, mother to the Nafuna family; accompanied by Nira." The two women who removed their cloaks were both much younger than Alima, leaving Zelda to wonder how long a family head ruled for. Next were Sumayah of the Bohdan family, accompanied by the beautiful Amely, who was at least ten years older than Zelda herself. Following them was Kara of the Dorin family, with her sister Kinat, both of whom looked older than Nabooru, and just as strong. The youngest member of the Gerudo contingent was Medila, a girl younger than even Zelda who accompanied Jalie, mother to the Altan family. Lira mother of the Karida family smiled kindly at Zelda, and was accompanied by the tallest woman she had ever seen, Aba. Last was Kada, of the Marda family, accompanied by Jena; both women appeared to be shy of their thirtieth year, with the steady eyes of warriors. Zelda noted that none of the women introduced after Alima were given a rank in the council, which she took to mean that all were equal after the eldest.
Only one Gerudo woman remained hooded. She stood behind Nabooru still, holding the long black box that Zelda's sword had come in. Zelda waited for Nabooru to introduce her, but the warrior chief had seemed to have forgotten her.
"Thank you Nabooru, you have honored us all with your presence. Hyrule is overcome with joy that our sisters have returned. Please, tell us, who is this woman who stands behind you Nabooru, we have yet to have the pleasure of her name, and I wish for her to be welcome in my home." Zelda hoped that she was not offending a Gerudo custom, perhaps the woman was a servant, and the Gerudo did not recognize them? Thankfully, Nabooru did not seem upset at her request.
Zelda watched as Nabooru stepped aside and took the box from the hands of the cloaked figured. "Certainly Highness, it is my pleasure you introduce to you our most honored daughter, Alysa of the Bohdan. She has been selected by the Council to serve as ambassador to Hyrule, and it is the hope of the Gerudo that she will be welcome to remain in Caisel Irule for years to come, where she will speak for the daughters of the Valley in all matters of state."
Golden hands emerged from the blackness of her cloak as Alysa bowed to the King and Zelda. Lifting her head she removed the hood that covered her beautiful face, a face that Zelda recognized immediately. Standing before her was the only Gerudo woman Zelda had ever seen, the woman that she had seen in Link's memories, the woman she saw in her dreams and nightmares for the last month. Alysa Bohdan, the mother of Link's daughter.
…..
The rest of the greetings passed in a daze for Zelda. She hugged and greeted each of the Council members, but their companions would not dishonor Zelda by touching her. Part of her could feel the coldness in the touch of Alima and Altan; the excitement and anxiety in Sumayah, Lira, and Kara, and she supposed that not all of Gerudo had been in favor of the oath of fealty. They were not the priority though, for Zelda was much more preoccupied in probing the mind of Ambassador Alysa. The woman was hard as a mountain, and Zelda knew instantly that she was not to be trifled with. The only information she could glean from Alysa was the image of a small girl, with the skin of a Gerudo, but the white blonde hair of Hylian plains girl. It was a mystery to Zelda, for she knew that part of the magic behind Mudora's talismans gave every girl red hair, to mark them as part of the Deserted.
After the crowd had been dispersed, the Gerudo were led to their quarters to freshen up. The King had ordered that the rooms adjacent to Link and Malon's be prepared immediately. They were the finest quarters available, having not been filled to give Link some semblance of privacy, and large enough to house each Council member and their chosen companions. Originally Zelda had thought it a wonderful idea, since Link was probably only Hylian that the Gerudo would be familiar with, but the prospect of Alysa and Link staying so close together was distracting her with jealousy.
After the delegation had washed and been feed, the members of the Council, Nabooru and Alysa met with the King and Zelda. The Lord Generals and Warden Donah had protested vehemently that they were excluded, even more when Link and Impa were to join, but the King insisted. A breakfast room adjacent to the Great Hall was prepared; it was one of the few rooms big enough to entertain such large group. The King sat directly across from Nabooru, with Impa at his left and Zelda at his right. Link sat at Zelda's right, with the Council Members filling in the rest of the seats. Alyson sat at Nabooru's left and Alima on the right. The table was lit only by a beautiful crystal chandelier, leaving the room beyond the table almost in darkness. Silver wine goblets and iced water jugs beaded sweat, and Zelda traced tiny Triforces in water streaks with her finger while she waited for everyone to be seated.
After the last Gerudo had been shown in, the King stood to welcome them once again. "Today is a joyous day for all of peoples of Hyrule. From the west Meloras' daughters have come to stay in the house of Irule. For the first time in over two hundred years, the people of Mudora, Aderes, and Rian will sit together. I cannot help but feel confident despite the darkness that lies over all our lands. Let us pray to the Goddesses that today we lay the path to returning light and hope to this world." A murmur of appreciation was silenced while everyone drank to his toast.
Zelda smiled at her father as he took his seat again. She knew better than anyone how true his words were. Since her return to Hyrule she had felt the difference in him. Her entire life he had loved her and taken joy in her, but his joy had always been tainted with a melancholy that she had never understood. When she was a child she could not comprehend what her intuition had been telling her, attributing his pain to the loss of her mother. With Link's arrival, and more importantly the return of the line of Knights, his sadness had turned into delight. His eyes still shone whenever he looked at Zelda, and tonight even more. Uniting the Gerudo and Hylians had ever been his goal since Zelda's birth, one he had worked at futilely until now.
Nabooru was the first to speak for the Gerudo. "Well said Iolan King. We are honored to sit with the great Impa Sheikah. Tales of her heroism and valor in battle have reached us in desert, they are ever popular among the Sister Army-in-training." All of the Council Members nodded in agreement, and smiled at the fabled warrior, who chuckled at the praise.
Impa was short, but not unfriendly with her response. "I hope that I can live up to your expectations."
Nabooru waved away Impa's modesty and turned her attention back to the King. "I must tell you Iolan King, it pleases me to no end to see that you have taken this Link of the Woods into your company. I am not sure if he has told you, but he was our guest in the Valley, and though it is odd for me to say, there are those among us who have missed him." Zelda's attention narrowed to Alysa, who made no move to agree with Nabooru, merely dropping her eyes under the Princess' gaze. The other Council members had varied responses, a few nodded in agreement, others maintaining stony faces.
Zelda put her hand on father's arm to silence his coming response, and let her eyes come to rest on Nabooru. "Thank you Nabooru. Link has saved the lives of countless Hylians, including myself, and we are very lucky to have him here with us. As you know, Link hails from the Lost Woods, where he lived among the Children of the Forest. I welcome his words as their representative and protector. Tonight, the people at this table represent the will of all people in Hyrule, and as my father said before me, we must bring hope back to this land. That is why I must speak plainly. For the past fifteen years Hyrule has been plagued by an evil that we have ever fought. It is a force that we cannot see until it strikes, but the shadow of its evil lies in the hearts of all our people. The Sheikah race was wiped out through this dark treachery, as was our line of Knights. Now the Gerudo have returned after two hundred years of absence. It would be a lie to say that you will be welcomed with open arms and joyous hearts. The nobility and common people in Hyrule will question why you have chosen now to return; the military command will question why you have sworn the fealty of your arms to a Princess who does not rule. I believe that you are true to your word, that you come to aid us in our battle against Ganondorf and the Apostates, but it is my father's duty, and my own, to protect our people. Please sisters, speak plainly and true, what has brought the Gerudo Council out of the desert?"
Silence was the only answer for Zelda at first. Impa and her father inclined their heads in respect at the way Zelda took command of the situation, which in her mind she saw as only natural considering the Gerudo oath of loyalty. Link had no reaction, his beautiful eyes distant, his breathing steady like a calming wind. Whether through their bond or simple intuition, she felt he knew the questions that preoccupied her, and expected her to deal with them directly.
Zelda kept her focus on the council members, specifically the trio of Nabooru, Alysa, and Alima. They exchanged wordless glances, until Nabooru and Alysa both looked with questions at Alima, who sighed and nodded in agreement to their silent request. It was Alysa and not Nabooru who spoke. "Honored Princess, we have come to fulfill the pledge of our mother Aderes Meloras. When the Valley was still as new to us, Mudora traveled from the Immaculate City, and met with Aderes, who was on her death bed. He gave her a great red book, in which he chronicled the history of this land and all its peoples, including the Gerudo. He wrote many prophecies, all of which have come true, including our role in the Thirteen Day war and our renewed exile from the descendants of Irule. One of the final prophecies concerned our Return, and the many portents that would signal the time for the Sister Army to join its forces with Irule's people. I will not bore you with all of them, but please hear the most significant, as it concerns some of us here at this table. In Mudora's words, this is the prophecy that has driven us for the past six years. 'When a shadow lies from the sea to the desert, the wolf cub shall defeat the lioness, and lay with the bear. The bear will give the wolf cub a white daughter, and the lioness will serve the hawk. The Red Army will march forth from the Valley, and defend the Immaculate City until Nayru's light returns, and be exiled no more.'"
…..
Link could not sleep that night. The meeting with the Gerudo Council members had dragged on late into the night, especially when the Gerudo revealed that their Army was only a few days march away from Castletown already. The Lord Generals will not be happy to hear their border patrols completely missed them. He wanted to talk with the Zelda, who was also awake, pacing back and forth in her room, talking with Impa. In truth he had been attempting to get a moment alone with her the entire night, but she had evaded him, and now shut him out of her mind. He was perched on the balcony outside his room, running his bare feet along the cool marble. Castletown was beautiful under the silver moonlight, and the quiet of the deep night was calming to him.
His thoughts wandered as he took in the beautiful city that he now thought of as home. Home, I never thought I would have another after I left the forest. Link had never really planned for anything beyond returning the Book. Now, he lived in the most luxurious palace in the world, spending his days training with the elite soldiers and secretly embracing a beautiful princess. Not even the finest authors in the land could make it seem plausible, but here he was, sitting high above the Hyrule's capital, letting the distant ocean zephyr prickle his skin.
The sparkling stars could be seen unimpeded in the cloudless night sky. Whenever he would ponder the path of his life, he would often think of the stars that, other than Epona, had been his most constant companion. When he first left the forest, he had eagerly awaited nightfall because the stars reminded him of the fairies that nested in the branches of trees deep within the forest. Those had been the days that he had missed the Kokiri the most, while traveling alone across the vast plains of Hyrule, attempting to find his way, to fulfill the destiny fate had brought him. His infatuation with Zelda, the burning desire to protect her, had erased the longings for home not soon after that. The day he killed the Gohma outside of Moiro, at the time, seemed like the culmination of his entire life's work. Each day with the Princess since then was better than the one before it, each morning sun a gift of unexpected beauty.
He had tried to tell Zelda this, but when he was with her, the words never formed in his mouth. Certainly she could feel his intention, appreciate his love without him saying it. He knew this was true, but…there was a need for him to say it, as though he needed to confirm it was real, that it was possible that he even had the chance to say it. If he still did.
The shock of seeing…Alysa…of hearing another Mudora prophecy was certainly weighing on Zelda, as it was him. Link understood of course, as much as he could. No matter how brilliant, beautiful or powerful, Zelda was still just a young woman, little more than a girl in much the same way that he himself was little more than a boy. Link supposed it was only natural that she would be upset. It was the timing that troubled him. "Not only the timing, something more, something greater." As much as he tried to ignore it, to trivialize it, Link too was upset. He felt…used. If the Gerudo had known the prophecy the entire time, why hadn't they told him while he was there? Link supposed that he could be just as angry with the Great Deku Tree, but he wasn't. The shock of learning about his family had overridden any potential anger. Now it seemed as though his entire life was the subject of one man's writings, but he had never known. Would he ever understand; would he ever be in control?