The princess was still unconscious when Raegis handed her over; in fact, he was beginning to worry that he had overdosed her. Afraid of what would happen if he failed to take down Impa with the first strike, he had laced the food with his entire supply, but now Zelda's breathing was slow and her face looked even more white and drained than usual. Periodic spasms jerked her fingers.
Rainfall made the muddy path slippery, but Raegis kept his balance and held her carefully as he crested the hill and saw his contacts, a band of about ten men in well-worn armour. Their leader, Korus, was far less gentle with her than Raegis had been. He tossed her into the back of their wagon with the same carelessness he showed when he tossed a small bag to Raegis, who opened it to examine the gleam of rupees within.
"Where is Impa?" Korus asked as his man climbed up next to Zelda with a length of fine rope and started to bind her.
Raegis shrugged. "Dead, if she's lucky. If not, she's laying at the bottom of Stal Gorge with broken legs wishing she was dead."
Korus raised an eyebrow. If it weren't for Impa's knives, which Raegis was now wearing on his belt, he would never have believed that the skinny little man before him could take on one of the most famous Sheikah that had ever lived. He could not help but feel a little bitter – she must have been tired, injured, sick – she could not possibly have been at full strength. Perhaps Korus and his company could even have taken her themselves. What on earth had they paid the exile for?
He almost said the last part out loud, but something stopped him. Raegis had gotten his hands on the red potion, and his eyes shone like the edge of a flame, somehow pulling all attention from his ill-used appearance. With the right armour, he could have passed for a real Sheikah.
Faint groaning behind Korus caught their attention; the princess was stirring. Raegis appeared suddenly uncomfortable. "I'm going home," he said abruptly, already mid-turn, but stopped and looked back. "Keep her safe. Perhaps we can work together again some time."
Brow furrowed, Korus watched the exile's patched and faded red cloak blowing out behind him as he stepped back onto the road to Gharan. Perhaps they would work together again. They were a good combination; Raegis had completed his Sheikah training prior to his exile, and so he had skills, knowledge and resources that common mercenaries like Korus could only imagine. However, Raegis lacked in contacts, and aside from that he could not enter Hyrule without inviting the wrath of every Sheikah yet living, however few that might be. Korus could never have killed Impa of Kakariko and captured Princess Zelda himself, and Raegis could never have delivered her back to Hyrule. It had been a profitable partnership, or at least it would be once the girl was sold.
Keep her safe? Dead, Princess Zelda was worth a small fortune. Alive she was worth a very large fortune, but what exactly was she to be kept alive for? What would the desert king do once he had her? Even Korus, with his decades of experience doing absolutely anything he was paid enough to do, felt a stab of pity.
She was not really awake, just making noises and small movements as if gripped by intense dreams. Korus' deputy was nearly finished tying her up. "And gag her," Korus told him. "If she screams, anyone could come. I won't have her stolen away."
He climbed up onto his horse, a signal to the rest of the company to do the same. They had all been wandering and fighting together for many years, and like bees they had formed a system where each knew their place and could follow the wordless signals of the others so well that they rarely had to speak. In fact, they sometimes rode whole days without a word.
Silence would be their protection now. They had been close to the mountains – the princess had made a predictable dash for Snowhead – but Korus would take her East, his money and provisions making it easier for them to travel the long way round. They would skirt the Ikana desert, barren, dry and most importantly, rarely travelled, all the way down to the woods, and after that it was only a week through hard terrain and they would be in Hyrule. Once they were there, the biggest problem Korus foresaw was getting her all the way to the castle without some other mercenary band trying to steal her – and her bounty – for themselves. It would not be an easy road, but he had chosen the path least travelled to reduce the risk of bumping into allies of the princess; he had heard very little of these, but he had no doubt there were more of them around than anyone knew.
He pulled his cloak tighter around himself as they set off riding, leaving the path behind and heading instead across the open fields. They were two weeks from the border of the Ikana, where they would find dry, sandy wastes, full of scorpions, snakes, bandits, slavers… and heat. A slow smile formed, twisting his many scars.
Foul breath washed across her face. She could feel its cold, wet nose on her cheek as it snuffled at her. Nearby, the quiet rustling of other feet crushing dead and brittle leaves told her she was surrounded. Another muzzle prodded at her back, trying to nudge her into life like a cat poking sadistically at a half-dead mouse, trying to make it wake up and play. Tiny flashes of pain ran in stripes down her body as clawed paws ran over her arms and legs. Keeping perfectly still, she breathed as slowly and quietly as she could, eyes shut, not sure whether she was pretending to be asleep or dead.
Something warm splashed suddenly onto her cheek, and she could not suppress the shudder that betrayed her. Something grabbed her hair and yanked upwards, but for a moment - just a moment - she thought something soft brushed against her fingertips.
