Chapter Two

Epona nuzzled at Link as he made sure the cinch fastening the saddle to her was secure, and he patted the mare gently on the nose, absently murmuring a vague reassurance. The morning sun was just cresting the tops of the trees, bathing Ordon Village in its gentle rays. The young knight had been up for a few hours already; the sooner he left, the sooner he'd be back at the castle and the sooner he might have another lead to go on.

Link patted himself down, making sure all his pouches and equipment was secure on his person. He carried a lot, he supposed, but he never knew when one item or another would prove useful. The Captain-Commander of the Royal Knights, Roam, had offered to assign him a squire to help him, but he preferred travelling alone. Besides, growing up as a farmhand had given him a strong back and he didn't mind the extra weight terribly much. He was happy enough to carry everything just so long as nothing restricted his movement.

"Heading back so soon?"

The familiar voice brought a brief smile to his face before he turned around, "I can't afford to waste too much time. You know I enjoy visiting you and the other villagers, Rusl, but there are still many things that need to be done."

The older man gave a wry smile, running a hand through his dirty-blonde hair and straightening his headband idly with a finger before putting on a more serious expression. "If you ever need an extra sword arm, you know where to find me, alright? I'm sure the rest of The Group feels the same way as well."

"Thanks Rusl, but you're needed here. Uli, Colin and Senna need you. Besides, Shad has already been helping Tuli here and there with her research when he can." Senna was Rusl's baby daughter, born not long after Link had cleansed Hyrule.

"Hah!" Rusl snorted. "He'd probably be a bit more helpful if he didn't spend so much time in that City in the Sky with those bird people. Maybe you should have held off on telling him what you did about the Oocca a bit longer."

Link grinned as he put a foot in the stirrup. "Maybe. Say hi to Auru and Ashei for me next time you see them." Swinging up onto Epona with ease, he put a fist to his chest in the customary salute of the Knights of Hyrule. "See you around, Rusl."

Rusl nodded pensively. "Good luck with your search. Something will come up soon, I'm sure of it." He gave a vague wave of his arm before turning away and slowly trudging back towards the house.

Link reined Epona around and set off at a trot, heading up the path that led north away from Ordon Village and past the Light Spirit's Spring that he and Colin had been training near the previous day. The Ordon Woods were more peaceful these days, with the threat of the Twilight a distant memory. During the early days after defeating Ganon, Link would take his time riding through this area on his frequent trips back and forth, enjoying the peace and natural beauty of the area. Now, he had ridden this trail far more times than he could count, and he paid little heed to his green surroundings as he made his way swiftly through the woods and eventually into the Faron Province and the southern end of Hyrule Field.

The open morning air was crisp and fresh, carrying the smells of spring with it as a slight breeze played over his body. He enjoyed being around his friends, but the solitude of travelling across the kingdom was as welcome and refreshing as the cool breeze. Sometimes he caught himself glancing at his shadow, half-expecting to see a familiar figure jump out at him.

Eight months. It had been eight months since Link had defeated Ganon and the Twilight had been lifted from the land of Hyrule. Eight months since Midna had shattered the Twilight Mirror, severing the only connection between their two worlds. Eight months of futile searching and research. Eight months trying to undo what Midna had done in a single moment. Eight months of frustration as he hit dead end after dead end after dead end.

He hadn't been riding for more than a few hours before a flicker of purple up ahead startled him out of his reverie, and he scowled irritably when he recognised the familiar sight of a raiding party of violet-skinned bokoblins making their way across the field ahead of him. Narrowing his eyes, Link slowed Epona to a walk while he took out his bow and drew a feathered shaft from his quiver. The runty creatures had already seen him, and were gesturing excitedly towards the lone mounted figure as they jabbered in their crude language. He must seem like an easy target to them.

There had been a point during his quest to save Hyrule from the encroaching Twilight when he would have completely ignored the creatures and let Epona's speed carry him past them without having to waste his time dispatching them, but things were different now. As the Princess so often reminded him, he was a Royal Knight of Hyrule, and had a responsibility to the people to keep the land safe from bandits and raiding parties of monsters like these.

At least monsters had become less common since the bulblins had retreated back into the Gerudo Desert. After Link had fought with King Bulblin at Hyrule Castle basically all of those creatures had returned to their main base camp near the Arbiter's Grounds deep in the wasteland, giving the Hyruleans one less group of monsters to worry about.

A twinge of guilt made him sigh – he really had spent most of his time during the months since Ganon's defeat searching for ways to reach Midna. Captain-Commander Roam and Princess Zelda gave him a lot of freedom with his activities, and he had wrung that freedom for all it was worth. What made it harder to argue with Zelda was that he agreed with her to a degree. He really had been neglecting his duties as a Royal Knight, but he couldn't stop. Not now. Not until he was reunited with the Princess of Twilight. He just couldn't. He needed to see Midna again.

Bringing his bow up, he nocked the arrow he had drawn, pulling the bowstring taut and sighting along the thin length of wood. He made a silent count of the creatures as they broke into a run towards him, whooping and jeering. Unlucky thirteen – unlucky for them, at least. Though, it was a relatively large group of them considering how far south they were. At two hundred paces, the lead bokoblin pitched forward, a feathered shaft from Link's bow in its throat, and was trampled underfoot by the rest of the group as they advanced. They didn't even slow down.

A hundred and fifty paces and Link loosed another arrow, this one taking a raider in the eye, and the felled creature disappeared beneath its companion's feet just as quickly as the first. The creatures were incredibly stupid; easy to pick off one by one at a distance. Bulblins had adept archers among their ranks, but the bat-faced bokoblins lacked ranged troops entirely and depended on overwhelming enemies with sheer brute force. A group like this was no credible threat to him.

Link put up his bow as the bokoblins closed to a hundred paces, easing his sword from its scabbard and spurring Epona into a canter towards them. Veering off slightly at the last second, his blade arced upwards through the lead creature's collarbone, sending a spray of thick black ichor into the air as a second brute disappeared with a crunching of bones beneath Epona's flailing hooves. Placing his free hand on the pommel of his saddle, Link pushed down hard as he swung his leg over the saddle and sprung off into the throng of creatures, tucking low into a roll as he hit the ground and hamstringing the nearest bokoblin as he took up his shield and rose to his feet in a single smooth motion. The creature fell to the ground squealing in pain as the others converged on Link, swinging their wickedly curved blades wildly.

Gripping the hilt of his sword tightly as the creatures swarmed around him, Link felt vitality surge down his arm and into his blade as he swung it in a massive arc, throwing his entire weight into a Great Spin that sent the bokoblins tumbling, three more dead before they hit the ground and the remaining half dozen scattered and stunned from the powerful attack.

Not missing a beat, the young knight leapt into the air towards the closest stunned bokoblin and brought his sword down, his Ending Blow piercing the creature's ribcage and ending its life in a mist of ichor as he backflipped from the corpse and landed lightly back on his feet.

Already, a pair of the bokoblins were back on their feet and closing with him, swords flashing. He battered one's sword away with his shield and thrust deeply with his blade, biting deep into the creature's chest. It made a gurgling sound as it collapsed, and Link ducked as the second bokoblin's swung it's sword in a high arc, narrowly missed his head. The slight overextension was all the opening Link needed as he drew his blade across the creatures belly, disembowelling it and sending it flying to the ground in a single sudden strike.

Bringing both hands around to clasp the hilt of his sword, Link leaned back, putting all of his weight on his left foot as the remaining bokoblins reeled in confusion, fear gleaming in their beady eyes as they took in the sight of the bodies surrounding them. Feinting with a quick slash that one of the creatures awkwardly blocked with the flat of its blade, Link bounced on his heel and used his momentum to jump into the air and bring his blade crashing down in a crushing Jump Strike. The force of his blow cleaved the creature's skull in twain as it slammed the already lifeless body to the ground. Even as his sword touched ground, he reversed the movement and brought his sword across the ribcage of the last of the creatures, stunned yet again by the shock of his onslaught, sending it tumbling to lie still in a heap on the ground.

The entire combat had taken less than a minute. Link re-shouldered his shield in a fluid motion with a practiced flourish of his sword. Spinning the blade easily in his hand, he slid it back into its scabbard on his back before turning to where Epona stood, away from the site of the battle. As soon as Link had dismounted, his steed had veered around in a tight circle and stopped just as he had trained her to. She had been alert during the fight, in case any of the bokoblins had taken it into their head to attack her, but now there was a distinctively disinterested look in her large brown eyes as she regarded him.

He mounted once again and wheeled Epona around, taking one last glance at the bodies of the bokoblins, left to lie where they had fallen, before he rode on. The stalhounds and other, natural scavengers that preyed in this region would take care of them soon enough. Tomorrow, little would remain of the bodies themselves, and a week from now it was likely that not even Link's keen eye would be able to discern that a skirmish had taken place here.

The hidden sword techniques taught to him by the Forgotten Hero had helped him prevail against seemingly hopeless odds on countless occasions. The long-dead swordsman had told him how he regretted not having taught others his skills while he was still alive, and in honor of his memory Link had started to pass on the techniques to those he could in the time since the fall of Ganon. Colin was picking up swordplay fast, considering his age, but the real achievement was the rebuilding of the Royal Knights.

The membership of the Knights of Hyrule had been severely diminished during the Twilight's invasion, and most of the newly promoted knights from the standard soldiery were fairly green. Captain-Commander Roam had picked up the hidden techniques even faster than Link himself had, and the other knights were having them drilled into them alongside their standard training. Once the knighthood's forces were fully replenished, Hyrule would have a formidable circle of skilled blademasters to protect it from future threats.

Spurring Epona on, he set off at a brisk pace. Captain-Commander Roam would likely want to see him when he returned to the castle. So would Princess Zelda, for that matter, but she always seemed to be summoning him for one reason or another. He hoped he'd arrive with enough light left in the day to see Tuli before tomorrow.

- - - - - -

The sun climbed high into the sky as Link rode across Faron Province, reaching its zenith as he stopped to let Epona have a rest and a drink at a stream while he made a meagre meal of hard bread and heady Ordon goat cheese. His journey continued on into the afternoon, and scant hours before the onset of sunset Epona was picking their way through the narrow pass leading to the southern gate of Castle Town, the bustling economic and political centre of Hyrule.

The plaza in front of the town gates was empty of people save the two liveried soldiers standing guard; not much traffic passed into the town from the Faron Province, and so the southern entrance was used infrequently at best. Dismounting as the flagstone steps grew closer, Link tied Epona's reins to her saddle and patted her gently on the nose before continuing on foot alone, leaving the mare to her own devices. She disliked crowds, and there would be plenty of people cramming into the streets of the town at this time of the day.

Captain-Commander Roam had goggled at Link the first time he had seen him turn Epona loose in Hyrule Field like that, but Link didn't even think twice about it anymore. To one used to more ordinary horses, letting one run free across the provinces and then expecting her to come back when you called might seem like a good way to lose a horse. Not so with Epona. The sound of the wooden horse call Link wore on a simple leather thong around his neck and tucked inside his tunic carried on the wind for quite some distance to a horse's sensitive ears; a few short notes blown on it and Epona would find him easily wherever he was.

The guards straightened up as Link approached, saluting him respectfully as he came closer. He returned the gesture with a grin; he still wasn't used to having people recognise him all the time, but he supposed it came with the territory. As a highly decorated Royal Knight and hailed by many as the saviour of the kingdom, these days he tended to be noticed whenever he went. Passing the soldiers by, he headed into the town itself as the sun slowly crept towards the horizon.

Market stalls lined the cobblestone streets, jammed in every available space, with merchants and traders of every kind hawking their wares. Most of the people crowding the streets were hylian, but Link noted the presence of several hulking, rock-like gorons touting fine metalwork and even a couple of the lithe, aquatic zora with their coral jewellery and shimmering, waterproof silks.

The buildings in the town were packed close together, built of strong stone and mortar with tiled roofs; most had two or three levels, with open-air balconies enclosed with wrought iron balustrades. Link made his way through the crowds, cutting straight through the middle of the town and into the central square. The plaza here was dominated by a massive central fountain, and the young knight skirted the wide stone basin as he made his way to the northern end of the square, heading straight towards the castle.

He saluted to another pair of liveried soldiers on guard as he passed through the gate leading from the square and onto the bridge that spanned the castle moat. Crossing quickly, he approached a group of four more guardsmen that stood watch over the large set of double doors leading into the castle courtyard at the end of the stone bridge. A quick gesture from the lead guard as he recognised Link and a second later two of his men were pulling the doors open by the large handles, straining under the weight of the heavy stone slabs.

Stepping smartly through to the castle courtyard, Link swept his gaze over the gardens and flagstone paths as he walked through the area, taking in the familiar sights and sounds of the daily activities of the stronghold. Several servants scurried across the courtyard, going about their duties, and a four man patrol of guardsmen marched smartly through to the western wing of the keep while the young knight watched idly.

Passing the tall stone monument to the Royal Family that stood in the very middle of the yard, Link approached the mahogany door that led into the castle proper, giving a small smile and nod to the maid who held it open for him as she dipped into a low curtsy. He stepped through and smiled again, this time at the two fellow Royal Knights who were crossing the cavernous antechamber towards him. Bain and Talis were among the handful of knights who had escaped death during the Twilight invasion, and ranked highest among the order save Captain-Commander Roam and Link himself.

Bain was tall, standing a hand higher than Link, and wore his long fiery-red hair was gathered at the nape of his neck with a rough leather cord. A leather strap cut diagonally across his forest-green tunic and held in place his single piece of armor, a lone polished steel spaulder atop his left shoulder. His face seemed to be set in a perpetual scowl and his brilliant emerald eyes constantly watched his surroundings like a hawk. A large two-handed sword was strapped to his back; though none were visible, Link knew that the red-haired knight had anywhere between half and a full dozen smaller blades hidden on his body at any given time as well.

Talis was shorter but older, with close-cropped brown hair, a sun-darkened complexion and a nose that looked like it had been broken one time too many. He wore a heavy steel cuirass with matching gauntlets and greaves; a forest-green tunic was partially visible beneath his heavily polished armor. His sword and shield were a match for Link's own, and he wore them in the same manner as the younger knight.

Link stopped long enough to exchange some brief words of greeting while he clasped forearms with each in turn before continuing on, and the pair of knights fell into step flanking him as they continued deeper into the castle.

"Roam had a long audience with Princess Zelda yesterday. From what I could find out it seems that you were the main topic of conversation. It looks like they may be intending to try and tighten your reins a bit." Bain spoke quietly to minimize the chances that one of the stray servants going about the halls would overhear. Link didn't need to ask how the other knight knew what had been discussed; Bain had a certain knack with women, especially the maidservants who waited on Princess Zelda, and he tended to be able to massage whatever information he wanted out of them without too much effort.

There were murmurs among the Royal Knights about Princess Zelda's choice of Captain-Commander of the order. Roam had been the most senior surviving knight after the lifting of the Twilight, and had ranked fairly highly even before then, but many of the knights believed that Link was more deserving of the title of Captain-Commander, Talis and Bain more openly than most.

Link was careful not to actually ask them to do anything for him, lest it be seen as an attempt to overstep his bounds, but they tended to gravitate towards him whenever he returned to the castle and fill him in on what he had missed. Despite his reluctance to deliberately use them, Link was fairly certain that if he did ask them to do something they would likely obey without question, likely even if it countermanded one of Roam's orders.

It was useful to have them around, but the truth was that Link was glad that Princess Zelda hadn't asked him to take on the title. From what he had seen, Roam was constantly run off his feet and always had paperwork that needed reviewing. With all his time eaten up by all those duties, Link wouldn't have had the time he needed to chase after Midna. The lifestyle of the Captain-Commander didn't seem conducive to adventuring, and Link valued his freedom.

Sighing, he nodded. It was beginning to grate on him; it had seemed like the princess was taking every opportunity to stymie his efforts to find a bridge to the Twilight for months now, though she had never directly tried to dissuade him from it. "I will keep that in mind. Do you know where Tuli is?"

Talis went to speak, but closed his mouth again as Princess Zelda turned around the corner of the hallway ahead of them with an escort of two guardsmen. Resplendent in her traditional royal gown of white and purple samite, her golden tresses crowned with the golden circlet that proclaimed her ruler of Hyrule, she glided down the hall towards the group of knights, who all bowed deeply along with murmurs of "Your majesty." Soldiery and lesser knights would have been expected to drop to one knee if she addressed them, but the protocol was slightly more relaxed for knights of their status. Link often got away with just a slight dip of his head, but not in front of other Royal Knights.

"It is good to see you again, Link." She said congenially.

"The pleasure is all mine, your majesty."

Princess Zelda turned to the other two knights, "If you will excuse us, Link and I have matters to discuss." After a brief exchange of glances, Bain and Talis bowed once more and murmured a token reply before turning and striding off the way they had came. Though she tilted her head slightly to take in the guards behind her, her gaze remained fixed directly on Link. "Link and I will be taking tea in the Red Room, thank you."

- - - - - -

Despite its name, the Red Room was more of a light dusky pink than anything else, and by the time they arrived a maid was already lighting a fire in the regal stone fireplace. The remaining guardsman took up a position by the door as they entered, and Princess Zelda stepped lightly over to one of the high-backed, dark red leather armchairs as the maid hastened over to a silver tray sitting on a side table. Annoura, that was the maidservant's name, if Link recalled correctly. He had a vague recollection of seeing her on Bain's knee on at least one occasion.

Teaware of fine zora porcelain chimed softly as the Annoura prepared the tea, and Zelda gestured to an armchair across from her, "Please, sit."

Link pulled off his leather gauntlets and doffed his cap, placing them on a small table that stood near the door before walking over to where the princess sat and reluctantly lowering himself into the armchair she had indicated. Annoura lifted the silver tray and delicately proffered it to Zelda, who accepted one of the brimming teacups with a smile. Curtsying shallowly so as not to spill any tea, she then offered the tray to Link, who managed to slop a little over the side of his teacup as he carefully lifted the cup and saucer from the tray. Curtsying again, the maid took one step backwards towards the door before turning and leaving to afford them some privacy, gently closing the door behind her.

Link wasn't really very surprised that she had ambushed him like this basically as soon as he had entered the castle; he had become rather adept at dodging her invitations to join her for tea whenever she sent someone to fetch him, so it seemed she had decided to take it into her own hands. Princess Zelda paused for a minute after Annoura left, sipping at her tea and letting the warmth of the fire begin to permeate the room.

Waiting patiently, Link tasted the tea the maid had made for him and suppressed a slight grimace at its sweetness. Too much honey. He had been expecting it, he well knew from other occasions that the princess liked her tea with an extra dollop, and while she was entertaining guests the maids never seemed to remember anyone's preferences but hers.

"Did you have some… trouble on your return trip?" Princess Zelda studied him with a pensive expression on her face as she spoke, her teacup in its saucer resting it lightly in her lap.

Looking down, Link realised he had a few dried splatters of ichor from the encounter he had earlier in the day. "Oh. I cleaned up a bokoblin raiding party in southern Faron Province on my way in. They won't be troubling anyone again."

The princess nodded in approval. "It is good to hear that you are still helping to keep the people of Hyrule safe from monsters."

"Of course. It is my duty as a Royal Knight, your majesty."

"And what of your most recent expeditions? Did your investigations into the Sheikah lead anywhere?"

His search for a connection between the extinct Shadow Folk and the Twili had hit a brick wall, but he wasn't giving up on that avenue just yet. "After I've consulted Tuli I'll have a better idea of where we stand on that issue." It was a lame answer, but the best he could come up with for now.

"I see. It sounds like you have the situation well in hand." Zelda's tone made it apparent that she knew exactly how well in hand he had the situation.

"As well as can be expected."

Taking another sip of her tea, Zelda gave a small smile. "Well. The reason I asked you here is that I am intending to conduct a personal tour of Hyrule, to inspire and bring hope to the common people, and also so that I may see the current state of our kingdom firsthand. I would like you to lead my retinue."

Link had to concentrate to avoid goggling at her. "Wouldn't Captain-Commander Roam be a better choice for that sort of thing?" While he hadn't exactly been avoiding his duties or Zelda herself – not exactly – he imagined that going on an extended expedition away from the castle with her would be trying to say the least, as well as being however many days or weeks wasted that he could be using to search for Midna instead.

"The people will want to see their princess with the hero that saved their kingdom by her side. I've already had the journey planned and preparations are well underway." The princess's quiet tone had a slight edge to it.

"…when did you want to leave?"

"The day after tomorrow."

This time, Link gaped openly. "The day after tomorrow…? But, I…"

"Is that a problem?"

Warning bells went off in Link's head at the princess's tone, and he forced himself back into a modicum of restraint. "I'm… No, your majesty."

Zelda gave a warm smile. "I am glad. You may leave me now – the hour has grown late, and I believe I will retire to my chambers."

"Yes, princess." Link stood quickly, placing his lukewarm tea on the side table as he retrieved his gauntlets and headgear and making a shallow bow as he moved towards the door.

"Oh, Link?"

The knight hesitated a second before turning around, "Yes, your majesty?"

"It would probably be best to leave off visiting Tuli until morning. As I said, it's getting rather late and it ah, might be better not to risk a repeat of your last visit." Zelda gave a knowing smile.

Link felt his face grow hot as he fumbled behind him for the door handle. "Yes, your majesty." Getting a firm grip, he opened the door in a smooth motion and backed out smartly. The guard standing in the hall beside the door eyed him curiously, and Link glared hard at him before stalking off.

This was decidedly inconvenient. He wondered how much of this came from him shirking his duties and how much came from trying to divert him from his search for Midna. A tour of Hyrule would likely take two or three weeks at best, and it grated on him that she had given him so little notice about it. It might give him a chance to go back over the places he had been in the past few months and try to pick up any clues he might have missed the first time through.

Zelda was right about Tuli, though. It would probably be best if he left off seeing her until the morning. Besides, he was tired. Turning left where the corridor intersected with another, he headed towards his own personal apartments deep within the castle.