Chapter 11—Foul Play

Paris numbly listened to the news that flew through the Hylian camp. He knew he'd be called to the Count's tent soon. He walked without feeling, broken and torn, back to his tent.

He flipped the flap open and crawled in. Tears welled up in his eyes anew; the bed where he and Savannah had made love was still a mess, covers twisted, pillows thrown everywhere. Their combined scents still lingered there.

Collapsing and taking up a pillow to inhale her fragrance, he let his emotions run high, run away. Now that he'd given her the potion and let her go, now that she was too far for him to retrieve and there was no going back, he let his bitter anger go, let it consume him, like the night consumes the earth, taking the soil, rich and otherwise, away from the sun, inch by inch.

How could she leave him? After what they had shared there, in his tent, and beyond, in her fortress-prison? He loved her just as surely as she loved him. Damn his sense of honor that gave her the chance to escape. He wanted her, needed her; she was his!

He raged at himself, cursed Savannah, and did both to the Goddess Nayru. What an irony that the goddess of love would forsake him in the matter. What laughable irony, but it didn't help his battered heart.

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"Where is Paris?" King Link asked. He was lounging in the Count's tent, a wineglass in one hand, there to deal personally with the matter of war with the Gerudo. Everyone else seemed tense and rather unease, but after two years as the Hylian King, Link was used to it. Now, he paid it no heed as he waited for his question to be answered.

"The general, my lord?" the Count asked.

"What bearing does that boy have here, in such a…high profile matter?" Another asked.

"Paris led our troops when battle was given, did he not? He saw to his people, kept them warm and fed and looked after them. If he is the one who physically was fighting this war, then he had every bearing. Where is he?" Link was suddenly in no mood for this. He wanted to see the young Hylian who had asked the transformation potion of the court wizard. His queen had been worried about the whelp she'd taken in and raised for the later parts of his childhood. And, as an expectant father, it was his duty and honor to see to anything that might trouble his queen.

"In his tent, I believe, my lord," the Count said when no one else spoke up.

Link, indifferent that his actions could be interpreted as rude, stood and sat the wineglass aside, leaving without a word to those gathered. He knew which tent was Paris's by the unique markings of Paris's house. He stopped outside the cloth door and listened.

"Paris?" he called, almost softly into the air.

There was no answer but something shifted inside. Link waited a few seconds more, but heard nothing else, so he went in.

He stood still for a moment to let his eyes adjust, then saw a huddled heap of person on the far end, in a tangle of covers. The air smelled…Link became confused. If he didn't know better, he would think it smelled like love.

"Paris?" Link went around the various objects scattered in the tent to kneel next to the huddled figure that was Paris. The younger Hylian was weeping, curled in on himself. Link placed a hand on his shoulder as the pieces began to fall into place.

"Tell me of her," Link whispered softly. Paris continued to weep and, with his head still buried in his arms, he shook his head, too wrecked to even have the strength to lift his head.

Link stayed there with Paris for a long time, trying to comfort him. It was in vain, whatever the bond between the Kokiri Warrior and the Hylian Warrior had been was shattered now, and in that breaking was Paris's soul. He would not be comforted, he would not eat and would not drink. Nor did he sleep. But the pain that gripped him and kept him in a dark abyss lasted many days. He cried until he was incapable of crying any longer. But his heart, even when his eyes' salty tears were gone, continued to howl.

To Be Continued in the sequel "The Hylian Warrior"...

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Author's Notes:

Well, this is the end of Part 1. To be perfectly honest, I had intended the story to end here, with Paris a little forlorn, but not broken like he really is. But things did not follow my neat little plan. Thus, there will be a sequel, and I will PM those of you who have asked for notification when it's ready. Allow me time, though, I've got eight classes happening right now and finals week is coming up fast.

Now, a thanks to each of my reviews: Zequistis Free Spirit, OrcishHorde, Spiritual Stone, ZombieDragon, TheFireSage, and all unknown, un-reviewing readers. A very special thanks goes to Thawn716 for continued feedback; nothing here thrills me more then an interested reader. Thank you all!

Happy Writing and Reading

DreamWeaver010

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For those of you wondering, what sparked this mini war in the first place, here is an additional short story to explain.

Reasons for War: The Gerudo's Story

The devastation was total. The Gerudo Fortress had been ransacked. Many of their people lay dead and dying, while others brought water, tired to bring the shattered gate down to provide some protection, and ran to and fro. Everywhere, the pain and suffering, physical and mental anguish, was vibrating through the air in panicked cries.

Abinan, the self-appointed Queen of the Gerudo people, stood at the top of their beautiful, complex stone fortress and watched the aftermath of the attack, playing it through in her head. Blaine, a Hyrule advisor, had led the attack that had taken so many lives. It was outrageous, unacceptable. Could the Queen and King of Hyrule—their friends!—have ordered such monstrosity? Why would they? For many years, Zelda and Link had been at peace with all the peoples in Hyrule. This voided all trust, destroyed the peace and freedom they had known for years.

Her anger mounting, Abinan let her eyes burn with bright flames as she stared blankly at the pain and suffering.

"Nina," Abinan said softly. Her right-hand-warrior stepped up from where she had stood back.

"Yes?" Nina's voice was soft and quite. Despite her capabilities with a bow and horse, she was young, seventeen only, and had seen nothing of battle or death or pain.

"Gather the Council; this is war."

Nina, with her haunted eyes still fixed on the bloody, gory scene below, nodded slightly with the whisper, "Yes, Abinan,"

The council gathered quickly, though they had lost two members to the death-sweep. Abinan had little time to mourn them, and none of it was now. Nina did as she was bade by her queen with a numb soul; she'd never thought to see anything like this in her life, and at least not so young, so soon.

Voices echoed off the stone walls, demanding why this had happened, what the implications were, what was to be done. Some called for immediate contact with their royal highnesses, Queen Zelda and King Link. Other called for immediate war. Immediate blood.

"Sisters!" Abinan said, taking her throne at one end of the large room. Her shouted echoed, gathering all attention to her and the room grew silent.

"For many moons now, we have suffered ill-trade." Abinan said calmly. A cheer of approval and concurrence went up. Abinan went on, "For many more moons, our representative in Hyrule Castle has not represented us but himself. Not two moons ago, many of our sisters were taken away from us, without explanation, without promise or word that they would be returned." Furious screams erupted at the mention of the Gerudo Roundup, something Blaine had also seen to personally. "And now they sweep through our home and kill more of us then has died in over a hundred years! Now, what will we do about it?" Abinan did not consider that it might not be wise to encourage them; her own anger had mounted beyond peaceful negotiations.

"My lady!" Yetta stepped forward from the crowd. An elder Gerudo, she was wise beyond her years, with a strong voice that silenced those gathered as thoroughly as their queen's had. "The King Link is an undefeatable warrior and a capable leader. He is Hylian! But where did he come from, I ask you? He was once Kokiri!"

As others caught on to what she was saying, they cheered her on.

"If we take a Kokiri child away from the Forest and make it one of us, it would be unbeatable; our prefect weapon against all Hylians not Gerudo."

Abinan sat back as the cheers went up and on. Who was she to disagree with her people? And her people did indeed like this idea. Abinan smiled a secret smile. A Kokiri Child... A Kokiri Warrior...