Back again, no review corner this time sorry, thank you for the support anyway.
Tears of the kingdom is coming out soon, if it implies time travel I'm dipping out, time travel never works ... unless it's return to the futur ... I guess. Anyway, I have big plans for the next chapters, someone is coming, and they have been waiting a long time.
"A side ?" Zelda repeated. "I left because I couldn't stand up to the expectations of my people, I cannot join any sides. And I do not think anyone should." The princess went back to sit next to Freya "This isn't a war, it is retribution, in the past our ancestors fought it, they spent all their resources to craft an army of unstoppable machines, the guardians, you have seen as much as I have, you know what was the extent of their powers."
Zelda gestured at the giant form of the Divine Beast, standing proudly in the desert. "Yet all the remains of them are a few sealed shrines, broken guardians ... and of course their most powerful weapons, Vah Naboris is but a fragment of what they had to use in order to defeat Ganon in their time, they are all gone now. If we were to fight to Calamity now, without an army of guardian and a powerful technology, do you think we would stand a chance ? We do not even have the sealing powers ..."
Urbosa felt sick, she never considered this, how did such a civilisation vanish ? They were facing the same disaster and in their current position they had literally nothing to fight against Ganon. "For how long have you been- ... for how long did you consider this point of view ?" She asked, worries about how much the princess had to handle, how weak she felt all this time.
"Honestly ? I did when the Sheikah scientists mentioned that it was possible to reactivate some of the guardians to make them fight on our side. The rest of the reasoning appeared by itself as I helped in their research, it's hard to keep smiling when you know it is useless to keep on going, but it helps when you know that you are giving a glimmer of hope to those around you." Zelda hesitantly grabbed the bottle of noble pursuit and filled up the cups on the table. "The bottle wasn't a bad idea in fact."
The Yiga prevented Zelda from pouring herself a drink by gently confiscating the bottle and pushing it away to her side "You are asking this question because you are in the same position, right ? The frontier being closed, Zel- ... I mean Sheik, left and her father went crazy and now you feel like you are being suspected."
Urbosa faced Freya, she had admit that this Yiga wasn't like the others she had encountered. She was- ... reserved, but smart, and caring. "Hylians are- ... racist, we have a long history with the Calamity, legends retelling that it's herald had been reborn time and time again among our people, on our lands. I do expect an attack at some point if Roham loses patience, anything might influence him."
Zelda recalled when the priests from the Great Plateau had informed the kingdom about the resurrection of the Great Calamity. These people were never polite or even human enough to hide their "conservative" beliefs. Fanatics, they only saw her as the messenger of Hylia, they blamed her for putting herself before the kingdom.
Much like her father, but at least they showed restraints, the nobles might have the power to influence the kings decision, but the priests ? Believing in something that doesn't exist, as far as Zelda knows, is a dangerous thing.
"What about the other champions ? Mipha, Revali, Daruk, they would never turn on you ... would they ?" Urbosa looked down when the princess asked "They are expecting to be considered as traitors if they do not assist my father." Zelda deduced.
"The Hylian army might be less stronger or trained than us, but they are thousands, have barely a hundred warriors ready to defend our land. And if I used the Divine Beast, I fear the other champions would actually turn on us to ensure the conflict does not escalate further." Urbosa explained as she sat back at the table. "We are going to get killed before the Great Calamity even appears.
The silence that followed was akward, urbosa fidgeted with the bottle of Noble Pursuit in her hands, considering if she should fall to temptation and allow herself some relief, Zelda was feeling guilty yet again, and between the two of them Freya felt like an intruder.
The Yiga stood up abruptly, she accidentally dragged it with her during her movement and almost made some of the plates drop down. As she regained her composure she managed to mutter her thoughts aloud.
"Th-then you sh-should join our s-s-side !"
Freya was practical, at least in her way of thinking, it was easy for her to end up with this solution, but judging by the confused and perhaps fearful expressions of the princess and the Gerudo chief she needed to develop her proposition.
"You-you need help to defend yourselves against the Hylian army, and you will be attacked anyway so- so perhaps we can come up with a compromise, it's useless to fight each other if we are both in troubles don't you think ?"
Urbosa seemed to digest the proposition for a moment, she chuckled, Freya thought she looked like an absolute idiot now, but to her surprise the Gerudo chieftain replied "You are willing to follow your beliefs, as a Gerudo I can only admire your courage ..." she closed her eyes to focus on the problem. "Zelda ... can they be trusted ?"
Zelda smiled at her friend "I do not think any of them are actual criminals, it's is subjective. They are- ... nice people, I do not think I ever encountered a community that is more supportive among it's own members than the Yiga clan. Perhaps you cannot form an alliance, but at least you might be able to arrange peace."
"Then their might be hope." Urbosa concluded. "I assume you can transmit a message to your leader." The chieftain walked to her desk and began to write on a parchment. Zelda held Freya's hand as a way to thank her, the Yiga replied with an akward smile. "Here, give this to your leader, it is just an invitation to talk together and- ... yes I guess I should give them a reason to trust me."
The Gerudo walked next to her bed and took the thunder helm, the treasure of the chieftain. "Urbosa, this isn't necessary, Mastee Khoga will-" Zelda argued, thinking that Urbosa wouldbfeel nervous without her prized armor piece.
"I am the leader of my tribe, this- ... Khoga is the master of your clan, if we are the same he will only trust me if he knows that we can't hurt each others. It pains me to separate myself from the thunder helmet, but I trust your judgment, and no fear shall ever make me give up on you." Urbosa handed the thunder helm to Freya who hesitantly took it.
"It's-it's kinda heavy." The engineer added to ease the atmosphere.
"A small price to pay for it's protection don't you think ?" Urbosa gently replied, at the same time they could hear someone rushing into the staircase. "Oh, I expected her to arrive tomorrow."
Zelda froze, she didn't want to face yet another person she left behind her, and yet Impa was standing right in front of them, exhausted, panting, most likely about to collapse, the poor Sheikah was trying to catch her breath but when she saw the princess, the real princess standing next to Urbosa, she just needed to make sure it wasn't an illusion, that Zelda was safe.
"Pr- ... princess-..." but her body gave up.
"Impa !" Zelda rushed to her side, she didn't know what to do, but she couldn't just leave her on the floor of Urbosa's apartments either. The Gerudo chieftain followed the princess, getting a cup of water on the way and forcing the Sheikah to drink.
A few seconds later a pair of guards entered inside the room, they sounded panicked and worried about Impa. "Chief we-we couldn't stop her, she sprinted inside the city and- ... we-we tried to speak with her but-"
"Do not blame yourselves, nothing would have been able to stop her, go get our healer, tell her we have an unconsicous Hylian in my apartments and that she has most likely been running all the way from Kakarico." Urbosa ordered at the same tied she tried to bring back impact to consciousness, the guards nodded and quickly left the room.
"W-who are they ? Did they- ... please tell me they aren't dead." Freya almost dropped the thunder helm in panick, to be safe she placed it on the table and joined Zelda's side.
"This is Impa, she- ... she was my only friend at the castle, she is the heir of Sheikah clan." The princess explained, leaving the Yiga mouth dropping down in panick.
"O-oh ... sh-should I be worried about her waking up then ?" Freya asked genuiely, earning a confused and worried glance from the princess.
"I sent a message for her yesterday, explaining I was suspicious about your identities, assuming she received it a few hours ago, she has been running a long distance just for you Zelda." Urbosa managed to make Impa drink a bit, the advisor's heartbeat was slowing down, she was resting at least.
"It's- ... It's my fault, she must have felt so guilty because of me." The princess shivered, she found it hard to cry. She was scared about the future at the moment, she didn't to face Impa, not now.
"Hey ! No crying ! If she ran all the way here it's to make sure you are safe and healthy ! What will she think if she sees you all gloomy like this ? No ! She is going to recover and I want you to give her the biggest smile you can !" Freya energetically shook Zelda's shoulder, making the princess a bit dizzy in the process, but it was enough to make her laugh a bit and forget her worries.
"Y-yes you are right Freya, you-you can stop you know ? I'm not crying anymore."
"O-oh sorry."
Urbosa laughed, this Yiga was too accustomed to "Sheik" rather than Zelda, no one in the kingdom would dare interact with the princess like this. This short moment of relief though was brought to an end as the healer arrived in the room and abruptly asked "Alright Alright I'm here, so ... who killed who ?"
This night was going to be longer than anyone would have anticipated.
Ilia held her breath, she had to remain silent, the guards were less "aware" regarding the king's orders but it was not a reason to be slacking. They had a plan and she had to give all she had if she wanted to regain her freedom.
"You need to rest." Her bodyguard stated as he put away his knife and extended his hand toward her.
"N-no I'm fine really." She tried to stop up but she underestimated her own exhaustion and almost fell down if Link hadn't caught her in time.
"This was not a question Ilia, we have worked enough, you are making a lot of progress." He had insisted on teaching her how to handle a knife, for her own protection, once they were on the run, no one would help them. Ilia had accepted of course, she understood the necessity ... but she wasn't a warrior, she was a shepherd, she lived in a farm and she never wanted more than what little happiness she already had.
Weapons kills, weapons hurt, weapon bring war, war brings more pain and more weapons ... but Link told her she didn't have to see this knife as a weapon in her hands, but more like a shield. A shield for herself, and if he ever showed weakness, it could become his shield.
"I thought we could head out to a small island to the East, the King wouldn't bother sending his men here ... and when the Calamity arrives, we might be spared from it's wrath." Link sounded confident at first, Ilia also thought this was a good plan, they didn't like each others that much, but they didn't have anyone else to turn to. Yet she felt it as Link's voice failed to reach the end of his plan.
He felt guilty, his duty was to the people of Hyrule, he had to protect them. But if their was one thing he couldn't possibly oppose, it was the authority of the King. She was one single Hylian, when there would be hundreds if not thousands left alone to fight against the upcoming tragedy.
"Link I- ... I think you are giving me too much, putting you own ideals aside for me. It's clear to me know that you keep your thoughts to yourself because you do not want to burden others, but if it can help, please, feel free to speak with me." Link seemed to ignore her, he was carefully hiding the knives under his vest, most likely to dispose of them later that night. "You can try to pretend but I know you ... I beg you, do not hold in your problems."
The young swordsman sighed and turned around "I- ... I feel like I'm doing the right thing, but I am not in the right place. It's like something is pulling me away, calling me almost, I fear that call. Did you ever consider that instead of being free to follow your destiny or tasked to follow it you were- ... forced into it ?"
"I- ... could you be more specific ? I-I mean, I can perceive what you mean but- ... you aren't into such a position, quite the opposite, you choose to help me, you decided to go against your orders, so what is making you think that way ?"
Link looked out through the window, in Hyrule it was raining, he remembered the time he spent with the Zoras, they said that they liked this kind if weather. He couldn't deny that being under the rain like this was a unique experience ... Mipha, he hadn't seen her in years, what would she think of him ? "That's exactly what I'm afraid of ... I do not regret the path I picked, but now it feels like I cannot divert from the events that will follow."
Ilia joined Link and gazed through the window. It wasn't a storm, there was no thunder, just the skies flooding the world. "Then we will have to fight our way through, and if it has to be this way, I don't want to give up until I have given everything I have."
Link smiled again, the rain allowed him to form up a different plan. They didn't have to go to the end of the world to be free, he had friends. He knew people who wouldn't blindly follow the Kings twisted plans "Forget about the island, I still have some friends in Hyrule."
The Gerudo healer explained that Impa was going through a state of severe dehydration, she was not injured obviously but it would take some time for her to make a full recovery. During this time she assumed that the Sheikah should be either resting or sleeping.
Urbosa requested that Zelda stayed by Impa's side until she woke up, the princess accepted of course, Freya kept her company even though she expected to make a terrible first impression with Zelda's closest friend after herself.
"I really like her haircut, I wish I could have the same style but it would get in the way during my work, I prefer keeping them short. It makes me less ... attractive I think." The engineer commented, the atmosphere was akward, a Yiga and a Sheikah in the same room, it was absurd.
Zelda chuckled "When I was younger Impa always wanted to help me with my hair ... it was- ... it felt nice back then, I would offer to do the same for her but she always refused, she said that I shouldn't bother with her. My father caught her in the act once, she never did again." This task was left to the maids, the poor girls barely addressed the princess, if Impa was protected due to her status, mere commoners could end up with far worse than a tantrum.
Freya stood up to bring over more water for Zelda and Impa "Your dad isn't here to mess up anything, your friend is just few meters away and- ... get-well technically you aren't a princess anymore soooo ... Again, I might be a bit oblivious to a lot of things in my life but as far as I can evaluate the facts you can now do things to each others hair without fearing interference."
The princess accepted a cup of water and held Impa's hand for a few seconds to check her temperature. "You didn't have to be so elaborate, but you are right. I lose some privileges for the things I truly like ... how about I do your hair ? I need to practise when she wakes up !" The princess gently dropped Impa's hand and was on her way to leave the room. "I-I will be right back ! I'm sure I can find a comb around here !"
Freya suddenly had a bad feeling about this, what did Sheik meant by practicing ? She shrugged off her worries, Zel- ... Sheik, she forced herself to mentally correct, couldn't be terrible at something as simple as combing hair right ? And no matter the result she shouldn't give a negative response, it's always good to try and-
For a second she believed the Sheikah had moved- ... oh.
"You can stop pretending." Freya announced, the Sheikah had been awake for who knows how long, pretending to be dead was hard, really hard, pretending to be unconsicous was doable as long as you had the ability to ignore anything around that would force your body to react.
Impa opened her eyes and grabbed the cup of water that Zelda had kept for her "I was wondering if the princess was going to notice my little act, in the end you figured it out, but it shouldn't be a surprise." After emptying her cup Impa sent the most horrible glare she had in reserve to Freya. "For a Yiga."
The engineer forced herself to not shiver "Th-That's the part were you kill me ?" At this point she couldn't tell how much of Impa's arrival was an act. She was the princess advisor, her closest friend and head of the Sheikah clan, but assuming she was in top condition she would already be pinned against a wall, being strangled or have her throat slit open. Thanks the Calamity she was still very much alive and healthy though.
"If you speak you might have a little more time ahead of you, I want the entire story, now." She tried to sound angry but in fact she was worried, and Impa could hardly pretend to hide it.
Freya crossed her arms "You should ask Shei- ... I mean Zel- ... I mean the princess ! Ah this is getting so complicated, why would you even believe a "Yiga" as you say ?"
"You didn't kill her, during all this time, why ?" The average Sheikah, believing they are all killing machines with no morals or principles.
"We didn't know she was-"
"Not your clan, I meant you, because she told you right ?"
Oh, that was unexpected ... "She is a nice person, Sheik is a nice person, she just wanted to be free from her demons, her lack of power, her abusive father, a war she never expected. I understand exactly what's going through her head, and I hope you do so, because at any moment she is going to walk back in this room and when you will finally be face to face again I can guarantee that a stab in her back would feel the same."
Impa looked down at the sheets of her bed, she tightened her fist "I would never blame her, no, I blame myself because I knew how hard it was for her, deep inside I wanted to tell her it wasn't worth it to fight for people that do not even recognize her efforts. If I told her to give up even once, how do you think she would have reacted ?"
"If I know her enough, she either gets mad at you, she ignores your help and she rushes in with more confidence than a burning sun, she pushes herself to her limits and she get hurts ... you didn't have any real means to help her, her departure had to happen or else-"
"I know !" Impa snapped. "I- ... I know she couldn't handle it indefinitely, does it make me a bad person because I chose to believe in her instead of my ability to save her ?"
"You ran across half the map of the kingdom, just because Urbosa suspected she was here in disguise, for a single rumour you stopped everything just for her ... speaking of which I hope it wasn't anything important, Kakarico is like- ... at least two days on foot from here ?" Impa turned around to look at the wall.
"I'm not going back." The Sheikah added, her tone giving an hint of regret.
"Uh ... you are head of your clan, I don't think leaving them on their own without even a small warning is a good idea-"
"They know, I am not head of the clan, the elders are ... I'm just the next in line, or at least I was." Impa sat straight up "I told them that if the princess ever appeared again I had every intention to go ... "rogue" and serve only the princess interest, not the King. I wanted to avoid dragging the rest of the clan with me, since I left I am now considered as a traitor and an ennemy of Hyrule." Impa brought her left hand over hey eyes, attempting the hide an obvious frown, she had never expected to found herself in this situation, she had been loyal to Hyrule all her life, she lived for it, but recently she figured out it had always been for Zelda more then the kingdom.
It was all clear now, she just wished that she had been able to understand her true motivation before Zelda ran away. It was a bit late now, but she could still follow her destiny ... If Zelda was willing to accept her.
"Oh ... w-welcome to the club then ? I mean- ... Technically de are a split of the original Sheikah clan so, in a way or another we are family right ?" Impa removed her hand at the statement, she was proud to have the capacity to feel someone's malice, as Lady Urbosa could. However this Yiga was either a total psychopath that could completely suppress it, or the purest thing in the universe.
"Yes, yes we could be ... does Zelda- ... does she agree with you about the Calamity ?"
"No ... not at all, but we agree on one thing, Hyrule has to change in a way or another, and if the Calamity is about to emerge again there is a reason." Freya went on to summarise the discussion they had earlier with Urbosa, Impa listened, asking eventual questions but remaining silent otherwise.
The Sheikah was confused as she had never seen the princess speak her mind with such- ... honesty, Zelda wantsd to protect everyone more than anything, she would never say something that might scare or anger another person, at least not in front of them.
Afterwards the conversation became akward so they agreed to start again, they introduced themselves, shared their motivations, giving private informations was more complex than expected. It turned out to be a fruitful exchange, now they weren't going to kill each others ... at least both of them hoped the other wouldn't pull up a surprise backstabbing move.
"It's funny, I never expected the Yiga to enjoy ancient technology, I wish we could have someone like you on our side to study the guardians."
"I'm not really Yiga, I am part of the clan but I was ... adopted to be precise, it's a complicated story but basically-"
Their friendly careless exchange had to end abruptly when Zelda came back holding a small vial filled up with a blue liquid in her hand. The princess had entered in a swift motion but when Impa starred directly at her she couldn't ... she couldn't face her friend.
It had taken a while for the healer to finish her hydrating potion, Zelda wondered what could be more hydrating than water ... when she headed back to the Gerudo Palace she heard loud chatter coming from Impa's room, she sounded happy, Freya had managed to befriend her ?
Zelda breathed out a sight of relief, Impa wasn't as angry as she thought. She acted without thinking, she followed her instinct and opened the door, but Impa's facial expression suddenly stopped her train of thoughts. She wasn't angry, she wasn't sad, or even happy to see her again. No ... being together again, in this specific context was-
"It's- ... it's a bit akward is it ?" The Sheikah spoke out, bringing up a genuine smile on her face "If-If I ask for a hug is it inappropriate or-" but Zelda didn't wait, she lunged at the Sheikah and wrapped her arms around her body.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"I know princess, I always knew ... I can never hold any grudge against you, you remember ?"
They couldn't tell exactly how long it lasted until the Yiga in the room reminded them of her presence "Do you need some alone time ? I-I can always just leave the room if-."
"It's fine, you can stay Yi- ... Freya, sorry bad habit. We have a lot to discuss right ?" Zelda let go of her bodyguard. Impa had never seen the princess so determined.
"We do." Confirmed the princess.