Chapter 8: Deserters and Fugitives
Joachim had gotten to make observations on the three Sudain generals, so he had a good idea of what they were like. Kimbera was a practical woman, keeping her black hair short and her uniforms simple. She was the cavalry leader, specializing in archery, horsemanship, and both at once. However, she didn't strike one as a tomboy. She cared about the horses and people she led in a feminine way, sharing experiences and not being as competitive as a man would be. When he'd been called to address a problem in the area the knights' bunk area, he caught a glimpse of her off duty in a blue dress. She wasn't trying to emulate a military man; she was being a military woman.
As the oldest of the Sudai troops here, Leonidas commanded a lot of respect from them all. Even Ganon gave more weight to what he had to say. His hair was graying but strands of a straw blond still stood out. His skin was starting to wrinkle but he was strong enough that he held back during practice spars in the courtyard. With all his experience, he was Ganon's second in command, in charge of the foot soldiers as well as being a battlefield tactician. But he wasn't well versed in political or civilian matters, as he'd been quietly embarrassed to ask Joachim about how to manage the remaining Hylian servants and contact leaders of various communities without intimidating them.
Velken was the hardest of the three to figure out as Joachim didn't see much of him. He was in charge of the special forces, a group that included an assassin (at least one, and Velken was definitely another), some combat engineers (who may have had ninja training as their duties included sneaking behind enemy lines and sabotaging equipment), and various others who didn't fit the molds of normal soldiers. Of what could be seen about Velken, he was always alert and attentive whenever Joachim saw him. Velken had managed to get him to admit to communicating with those outside the castle, simply by asking if he was mailing things with magic. However, the mysterious general merely shrugged at that and showed no signs of stopping him from doing so. Joachim did take more caution after that in case those letters were being screened. He did appear to be most loyal personally towards Ganon out of the three, but there was a time or two when even he looked uneasy.
Joachim cooperated with Kimbera and Leonidas, making sure to ask daily if they needed any assistance. This paid off one evening when he got called out to the lobby of the castle. There were a lot of the Sudain soldiers in here, he noted as Velken brought him out of his office. However, there weren't any monsters to be seen. The other two generals were standing in the center of the lobby, waiting. "What matter did you call me out on?" Joachim asked, keeping his voice steady. His heart was beating a little faster than usual. Even if Ganon stated he was necessary to keeping things running here, he showed no hesitation in killing those who were a problem.
"Ganon left early this morning on some detail and we haven't heard back from him yet," Leonidas said, handing him a ring that seemed like a claw that would grip the finger. "While he's out, try this on."
That was the Falcon Ring; he recognized it from the book Zelda had shown him on one of his visits recently. This had to be treated the same as an attempt to purchase a valuable item as a lower cost by not showing his interest in the object. Instead, he let himself appear confused at the unexpected offer. "All right," he said, accepting the ring. Leonidas indicated his left ring finger as he passed it over; Zelda had mentioned that it was to go on the off-hand for a few reasons. When Joachim slipped it on, there was a brief shine of gold from it. Excellent. "Hmm? What is this?"
These were soldiers, so their reactions were mostly quiet. But as Joachim glanced around, he saw a mix of relief, tension, and concern in them. "It's the Falcon Ring, a holy artifact of our land and one that should only be wearable by our leader," Kimbera said.
Leonidas nodded. "It will draw blood from the unworthy. But to shine like that, it shows that the great falcon is looking for a new leader and has some interest in you." As he moved his right hand, Joachim noticed that there was a fresh scratch around his ring finger there. Same with Kimbera's left hand ring finger.
"Wait, but why did you give this to me then?" Joachim asked. "I do a lot of the paperwork around here and I'm a Hylian. You all seemed devoted to Ganon, which I found admirable on its own merits."
"We're military leaders, but we're not necessarily the best at leading all peoples," Leonidas said. "Ganon was, even as a very young king. He earned everyone's admiration through his selfless devotion to us. But he's changed greatly in the past year, almost into an entirely different person. He hasn't worn that ring in some time, so we were unsure of things. Seeing the falcon react to you, we don't need to be unsure anymore."
"We weren't sure if we should take the Falcon Ring back to Sudai and test it on someone else," Kimbera explained. "That would mean one of us getting out and trying to find someone who could be qualified. But then you were here making sure things got done under a lot of pressure from us invaders. You seemed like a good candidate. As you can wear the ring, you need to come with us back to Sudai to take the actual trial of the king."
Leonidas nodded. "It's your choice. Since the ring shows that the great falcon has no interest in keeping Ganon as our king, we'll be taking this chance to leave the castle to Ganon and the monsters. We can take you and the other Hylians out as well, but we must take this chance while Ganon is away."
"Could we get Zelda and Impa out of the tower too?" Joachim asked. "I can get the castle servants ready to leave quickly, but I'd rather not leave them alone here."
"We're not sure how long Ganon will be away, but we've got the keys to the tower room," Kimbera said.
"I will try to remain in place here as long as I can," Velken said. "It's good that we know the falcon's wishes now. Still, I do not think it is wise to keep Ganon unwatched. If Zelda and her handmaiden can't be taken with you, I will make sure that they continue to be treated humanely."
"Thank you, Velken, though I hope we can get everyone else out safely," Joachim said, giving him a bow of his head. "All right, I'll send the message to the servants and gather a few of my things. Do you want the ring back or should I hang onto it?"
"You keep it for now," Leonidas said. "Just be warned that if you do fail the trial, you will probably lose that finger for doing so."
"That sounds reasonable," he said. After agreeing to let Leonidas continue directing the Sudain soldiers, Joachim went back to his office to get prepared for the escape. He kept a prayer in his heart that Zelda would be able to come with them.
It was a lie to be saying that Hyrule had a faultless and clean history. There were plenty of ambitious rulers, foolish rulers, greedy rulers, and even some rulers who could be as bad as the villains of legend. While the Hylians had stayed in power under the favor of their goddesses for thousand of years, there were a great many peoples that had been extinguished to keep them in power. Even so, Zelda hadn't wanted to think of her own parents as being among those bad apples.
They had constrained her and hadn't taught her much useful for times like these. But as she tried to feel some of the late spring breeze through the barred window, she couldn't remember bad memories from her childhood. She'd played with other children in the castle gardens; she had enjoyed the lessons in dancing, sewing, and singing. Until she'd gotten to be thirteen and grew an interest in how the kingdom actually worked, she'd been fine with being a princess like that.
While she remembered it fondly, she also realized that she'd been protected from many things back then. She had childhood friends like Joachim, but they were always children of nobility. She was kept safe and separate. Because of that, she'd known nothing of the wars that turned other children like Link into orphans. Her parents had liked her like that, not so much when she wanted to try a hand at official governance even though she was the heir to the throne.
What had their plans for her really been? She would have liked to find their journals to figure that out; she knew that her father at least kept some. They could have put pressure on Ganon in order to direct him towards his role in this; the idea disgusted her, but it made sense. Similarly, they had pushed her into this situation. Maybe their refusal of Joachim had been a part of that? That seemed nonsensical to her because he would be good in a position of leadership. But what could they have done about Link? If they meant to have him take the role of a hero, it would have made more sense to give him the mercenary's license when he first asked for it.
There was so much like this that she wasn't sure of. The Triforce of Wisdom gave her visions, but she hadn't yet figured out how to direct that power to find out these things. Instead, it gave her some glimpses into things that were occurring now. Like how Link was caught up in a rough battle between a pair of monsters who only appeared at dawn and dusk. But as for why Link had been put onto the path of being a hero? Zelda knew that he'd been trained by a former knight who had quit his service to Hyrule a few months before the war against Sudai started. Gregio Rivers had disagreed with Albertos on some policies the king had instated and decided to go his own way. However, she knew that because of her research into the castle records, not because of the Triforce.
"Knowing the past is a guide into the future," she said to herself.
"True, but what do you mean by that?" Impa asked, rubbing her hands.
"The Triforce isn't being as helpful as I would like it to be," Zelda said. "There's not much information about how to use this kind of power, at least not that I've found. I just want to be able to do something more, not just fulfill a passive role."
"You'd think there was some way to direct that sight, but I don't know much information on that either."
Zelda looked over at her. "Are you doing all right?"
"It's just some aches of old age," she said. "I served your mother since she was a child as well, remember?"
She nodded. "Right. Did you know about what my father spoke of on that day?"
"I knew she'd gone with him," Impa said, moving from where she was and checking the area around the door. "They said they were going to get a peaceful surrender, but that's what they told everyone outside their closest circle. At the time, we believed that the Sudain royalty had set a trap for them in agreeing to the meeting."
"It's still hard to believe that she'd be cruel enough to laugh at a kid who'd just seen his parents die," Zelda said.
"She was rather unpleasant as a princess," she said. "I tried to teach her to be better, but everyone else around her made her feel privileged in everything. She didn't want to take on any responsibilities or real work, but threw a fit if she felt she was due praise when she received none. Many times, I considered quitting because she seemed nothing like how someone called Princess Zelda should be. But the pay was good and it was very worth it to get transferred over to you when you were born."
Zelda smiled a little at that. "You managed to teach me better than her, I know that."
"I had raised my own children by that point as well." Then she held a hand up, pointing to the door. Zelda nodded and got up from the desk to lean on the windowsill. While there were no letters this time to shuffle aside, she didn't want to give them an excuse to take the writing materials away.
After a couple of knocks, their prison door was unlocked. It turned out to be the general Velken; he had dark skin and dark hair, but not the right nose shape to be strongly of Gerudo descent like Ganon. "Come, you're leaving this castle to escape," he said.
Impa was skeptical, raising an eyebrow at that. Zelda went over to her side. "He's being honest," she said, able to tell that much from the Triforce. "But why free us now?"
"Ganon's out of the castle," he replied. "That's why now. Why at all, there's many reasons we've lost faith in him. The monsters he's summoned have vastly increased in numbers this past week and they're impartial, even running amok in Sudai. We asked that he at least keep our homeland peaceful, but he does nothing about it. If he abandons Sudai like that, Sudai will abandon him. We don't know when he'll get back, so get moving."
"We will, thank you," Zelda said, giving a bow before heading out with Impa. Velken and a couple of his men headed down with them, keeping an eye out for the monsters that Ganon had left behind. Along the way, they saw ghostly knights patrolling empty halls and an armored Stallord keeping watch in the throne room. Velken kept their pace so that they caught gaps in such patrols as they headed to the castle lobby.
Down there, Joachim was talking with the other two Sudain generals. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and broke into a smile of relief. It made Zelda feel excited as they could be out of here soon. "Zelda, I'm glad to see you out of that tower," he said.
"I'm glad to see you too, but let's get out of the castle city entirely first," she said, though she did hurry over to give him a hug.
"You're right," he said, then quickly explained the plan. He wore the Falcon Ring now, which the generals here had given to him. Since he did, they were leaving with Kimbera for Sudai in order to have Joachim take their trial. Kimbera and her troops had the fastest horse unit so that they would be out in the countryside for less time. With all the monsters roaming around, they were going to stick together even if the larger group was more noticeable.
The stable master for Hyrule Castle arranged for them to take four horses that could keep up with Kimbera's cavalry for the trip. The other castle horses would be taken out as well in order to help the castle servants and others get out. Meanwhile, Leonidas was going to take a company of foot soldiers and find an area in the surrounding countryside to make an encampment in Hyrule Field. They were going to find the scattered Hylian knights who would be loyal and protect the roads for civilians who were trying to find safe places to stay. It would also give them a place to potentially retake the castle from Ganon.
As Zelda was getting used to the horse she was given and heading out with the others, she found herself thinking about that possibility. If it was any other invader, she would have the advantage of knowing the castle to help direct (or at least advise) an effort to retake it. But Ganon held the castle now as a villain meant to be an embodiment of evil. It would take the Master Sword or arrows enchanted with holy light to truly defeat him. They might be able to drive him out, but he would remain out there as a threat to the whole world.
She rode out with the Sudai cavalry and left the castle town. Out under the broad sky with a wide expanse of fields in front of her, she felt free for a moment. But there were monsters out there, even under the friendly sun. They were still in a time of darkness.
Now, though, maybe now she could actually be doing things to end that.
Ganon had put all the pieces to this visit to Onduran together a full ten days ago. The monsters there were mostly Armos that wouldn't attack unless touched. With them in key places, he could still keep control over the town. He then spent bits of time as Gale around the college library and the inn so that people there could say that they had seen him around. He'd considered bribing a few or implanting memories with magic so they believed they had interacted with him too. But he'd decided to leave it be like that. If he did things right, Link wouldn't think to investigate him or ask others about him. Besides, his reluctance to speak with others unless needed would help out there.
But then Link got caught up with those Dust Devil Wizzrobes. Due to the way the totem in the desert locked the magic of that area away, Ganon hadn't been able to contact any monsters there or find out more than rumors about the place. He hadn't known that the leading monsters were capable of dragging someone else into their time shifts. He'd kept patient, but it had gotten to the point where he needed Link back in normal time. Ganon had accomplished a lot, including finding the real Septdraco hidden within the castle's wine cellar. But he couldn't keep the ruse up in Onduran up much longer and if the Gorons got past the issues they currently had, Link might do more there independently instead of coming to rely further on Gale.
Fortunately, helping him destroy the dust devil was no issue and intervening allowed him to control how Link entered Onduran at this point. Ganon brought him over to the tavern to get him dinner. Link did decline an offer to get beer with the food, although that would simply have made things easier to get away with at this meeting. As the town was occupied, only locals were in this place; they were talking and trying to forget about everything going on. It was entertaining to see them trying to continue on as if life was normal, ignoring the pair of them who didn't live here.
It made it hard to hear Link's quiet voice as he explained about what happened in the desert. "What about the totem?" Ganon asked.
He tensed again, looking towards the wall for a second. Then he recalled Ganon's earlier advice and looked over at him. "Sorry. I thought it was strange that the fire from that was so intense from just the Helmaroc's suicide attack. It looked normal, though I felt it was creepy when I got close to it."
"It had to hold strong and old magic to keep the Gerudo Desert cursed like it did," Ganon explained. "What you saw was a result of that magic being disrupted. We might not see the full effects of its destruction for a while, though."
"Oh right, that makes sense," Link said, wary as a barmaid came over to ask if they wanted some more drinks.
They were done eating now, Ganon thought. "Want to come up to my room? It'll be quieter there."
It was amusing to see how his eyes brightened from being happy to be asked that, then darted to look down at some thought that made him shy when asked by someone he was falling in love with. Then he drew his shoulders in as he remembered that the bar maid was right there and what was she going to think of that? Then Link tried to calm back down and act like this wasn't anything like that. "Sure, it's noisy down here."
"Could you get a pitcher of water and some glasses sent up to room 23?" Ganon asked the barmaid. Once she walked off to take care of that, they left the table and headed up the narrow stairs to the guest rooms.
The room itself was basic enough: one single bed with a tan blanket on it, a standing lamp, a table with a couple of overstuffed chairs, and a small room with a toilet to the side. It had the thick curtains drawn closed and a few books on marketing and metalwork to support his story. Since they could close the door here, Link relaxed and was able to relate the rest of his story on what happened. The phantom had cursed him to wear that summoning chain, which had some great potential attached to it.
"You've been doing such interesting things and I'm sure you'll end up doing even more," Ganon told him. "Although you could stand to speak up louder, especially in noisier spaces like downstairs."
"I don't usually speak up unless I need to give a horse orders," Link said. "I hope Epona's doing well, since I left her in the Zora town."
"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you again," Ganon said. "But it's night now so she'll likely be asleep. How about you? Do you mind staying up a little while longer?"
"The potion is keeping my aches dull, so I'm fine for now," he said.
"You should take another before you sleep because you were cutting it close with that battle," he said. Link was taking magical damage hard. Perhaps he should get some extra magical protection before continuing on? The Gorons might be able to help with that. Link did need to stay alive long enough to get the Triforce of Courage to manifest.
"Right, the Dust Devil was powerful," Link said. "I don't have any potions left."
"The inn might have some on hand, let me send them a message," he said, calling on a card to make the request. But not of the inn; this would go to one of his intelligent Wizzrobes to fetch a potion and make a delivery bag to send it to them.
"You don't have to do that," Link said.
"I will because I don't want you running around only half-healed," Ganon insisted, sending the message off. "In the meantime, we can work on those voice lessons."
"All right," he said, looking down again.
Ganon reached over and tapped his chin, getting him to look up and smile bashfully. "While you are awfully cute like that, I don't think we want anyone else to see their hero like this."
Link chuckled. "Maybe not."
Since the chairs were far enough apart that he had to lean over to touch him, Ganon got up and went over to push his shoulders back. "Try not to get hunched over with your shoulders drawn in; it makes you look and feel defensive. Open up those shoulders and relax," he had to nudge him some to get him in a more confident posture. "That's better. Your body and mind speak to each other, so if you can get your body into a more confidant poise, you'll feel more confident no matter who you're talking to. You feel better like that?"
He had that confidence in him, since he easily shifted to look less worried and more self-assured. "Yes, but then I am with you."
Ganon smiled at him for that. "I'm glad you feel that way, but I'm sure that you can do better around others. You may have had speaking difficulties in the past, but right now, it sounds like you're convincing yourself that you're not good at it. Get that defeatism out of your thoughts and you'll be just fine."
"I'm not too used to talking, but with some practice, maybe..."
He leaned down. "Say that again, but in a volume like I use."
At first, Link bit his lip and started moving back to a nervous posture. Ganon kept one of his shoulders held down, so he made himself relax again. He was still soft when he started, but made himself get to a more normal tone. "I'm not too used to talking, but with some practice, maybe I can."
"Right, you can," Ganon said. Now, he needed some random phrases before getting to something not random. "Would you repeat a few sentences for me? Start with: the general store is the one with the red sign."
"The general store is the one with the red sign," Link repeated. As he didn't have to think on what to say, he spoke clearly and with a normal conversational volume. It was noticeably recited, with no inflections nor emotions.
Still, he nodded since there'd been no problem. "If you need help with this, please ask the master blacksmith, not the students."
That took him a moment to recite the longer sentence. "If you need help with this, please ask the master blacksmith, not the students."
And Link had written that his problem had been a childhood lisp. "Sleep by the seashore soon after sunset as the city shuts out the stars."
Before trying something with all those 's' sounds, he took a deep breath and spoke carefully. "Sleep by the seashore soon after sunset as the city shuts out the stars."
Ganon ran his finger down Link's cheek. "Try that sentence again, but more naturally. Like you're advising someone to do that."
He nodded and tried again. "Sleep by the seashore soon after sunset as the city shuts out the stars." That did sound more natural, but he was losing volume again.
"Almost got it, again."
After a moment, Link leaned back in the chair and looked up at him. "Sleep by the seashore soon after sunset as the city shuts out the stars."
"That's a lot better, I could listen to you all night," Ganon said, making him smile like he was having fun now. "All right, let's try having you say something else, like… the dogs are being too noisy tonight. And again, sound natural, like you're saying it in a conversation."
"All right. The dogs are being too noisy tonight."
He wanted to be closer to have a great affect, so Ganon put a hand on the arm of Link's chair. "Good, good. Now try… you are a light of happiness in my nights."
Link immediately blushed at that, still smiling but he couldn't find the voice to speak with even if he had the words picked out for him.
Smiling back, Ganon stroked his face again. "Or do you not feel like that?"
Link couldn't remember having this much fun talking with someone before, even if he was just reciting things that Gale told him to. It was like a game, although the only thing to be won was getting it to last longer. But to say that? He could feel like his heart was beating in his throat and he wondered if Gale thought that even if they mostly wrote letters to each other.
"It's not that," he said, hearing his voice shake. He held onto Gale's wrist. "You are a light of happiness in my nights." Was that an innuendo? Or just some romantic phrasing?
He was happy to hear that if the way his gold eyes softened meant anything. "Nice, but it still could be more natural sounding."
Right, he had to be saying this, not forcing himself to say it. "You are a light of happiness in my nights." And it was happiness just saying that much!
Now Gale was practically sitting on the arm of the chair, even closer. "Better, but now try saying it like you really mean it."
It was too bad this room didn't have a couch, Link found himself thinking. "I could mean it, I mean, I do mean it. You are a light of happiness in my nights."
Apparently, Gale had the same thoughts as he did as he tugged him to come over to the bed instead. "Even better," Gale said. Now he was speaking softer, but the way he did it made Link feel kind of giddy. That intensified as Gale put an arm around him and spoke so close to his ear that Link could feel his breath there. "Now say it like you mean to seduce me."
"I don't know how to do that," Link said. He really wanted to; he didn't want to mess something like that up and make Gale think he was boring.
"If you mess up, I'll just forgive you and have you try again," Gale said. "I really want to hear that from you. Relax, do it how you think will work."
It was true that for this night, Link felt more than happy to be with him. And he wanted more times like this. Keeping close, looking at him eye to eye, he said, "You are a light of happiness in my nights."
"That wasn't exactly seductive, but that was honest enough that it was seductive anyhow," he said. "What do you want to say? Anything at all, be really honest to how you feel right now."
There were thoughts in his mind that Link had no idea how to articulate. Some of it was really reckless. He ended up saying the first thoughts that he could put words to. "Would you kiss me?"
For a second, it seemed like Gale would. Then he had to add on, "Is that all you want?"
"No," Link said before he could stop himself.
"We can start there," Gale said, and almost kissed him when something threw the window open with a bang. Gale still pulled him closer like he wasn't going to let go, but then saw the little winged eye that had opened the window. He made an aggravated mutter into, "What now?"
It was like waking out a dream when Gale let him go and took an envelope from the creature. Link's thoughts were in a haze from being focused completely on him to getting a rude awakening to things that were going on in the rest of the world. "What is that?" Link asked, wanting it to leave so they could get back to before that interruption.
"It's a Seeker, something we use to scout out places and send messages," Gale said, his voice already back to conducting normal business. It was almost impressive. Hopefully, he could shift back just as quickly. But the brief scowl on his face didn't look good for seeing that. "Ganon, huh? This is bad. Sorry, Link, I have to go take care of this right away or it's going to turn into even more of a headache. Go ahead and spend the night here, and here's the potion." He tossed the bottle with a blue potion on the bed, then closed the window and went to grab a traveling bag.
Link got up from the bed and followed him. "Right now?"
He stopped, looking back at him reluctantly. Then he sighed and nodded. "Yes, I'm really sorry about this. We'll meet up again sometime soon, I promise. I'll insist they leave me alone for the night next time."
"A, all right, be careful out there," he said.
"Take care of yourself now." Then he and the Seeker left, shutting the door and leaving him alone in this room.
It didn't feel right to be alone now. His heart was still racing and he felt warm from that. Dropping back down on the bed, Link picked up the potion bottle and opened that up to drink. He might as well not waste the gift. When he closed his eyes, he could still feel how Gale's arm had felt wrapped around him. How close he'd been, the moisture from his breath. How they'd nearly kissed if it hadn't been for whatever idiot out there was messing up in order to call him away so suddenly. Link didn't care about what else he was supposed to be doing, he wanted to get back with Gale and get that kiss.
This room was too quiet. Link got up to open the window just to get some nighttime sounds from out there. But, it was quiet out there too. It could be monsters around town that kept the animals spooked and silent. Maybe it was the monsters that Ganon was calling on that had caused whatever trouble that called Gale away. Even if it wasn't, that kind of thing was going to get in the way of them being together. It wasn't going to get better until he could do all that had been asked of him in order to get rid of Ganon.
Clenching a fist to his chest, he said to himself, "I have to put an end to Ganon's threat so Gale can be with me."
He'd been searching for the medals since it logically seemed the best way to help the most people, to go along with what Zelda asked of him. But this idea burned strong within him. It made him feel like this really was the way he was meant to go, the way he wanted to go even if it would be difficult. The risks and effort would be worth it at the end.
For tonight, though, he did need to rest up and make sure he was really in good shape after the battle with the Dust Devil. His mind was soon off replaying through this evening and wondering where things might have gone if they'd not been interrupted. He didn't have to worry what kind of recklessness might go on in his dreams.
Zelda had done some horseback riding before, but not for a few hours straight riding briskly across the open fields. The saddles helped, but she was grateful that Kimbera and the others agreed to stop for the night. For a little while, she paced around the campfire in order to stretch her legs out. They weren't even at the pass between the mountains yet; they'd have to ride get to Kakariko tomorrow and take another day through the pass itself. And then the castle in Sudai would be at least another two day's journey from that point. But maybe at the pass, they could arrange to get a wagon that would be easier for her to ride in.
Her and Joachim; he seemed just as glad to have the long ride done with for today. Even Impa was worn out, sitting by the fire and seemingly just thinking there. Joachim came over to Zelda when they happened to look at each other. "I've read adventures where the hero rides all day to get somewhere, but now I wonder how people really do that," he said, keeping his voice low so he didn't bother the cavalrymen with them. "The horses would be really tired too."
"Hopefully that means we can take several breaks throughout the days on our way there," Zelda said. "And it's not easy to talk to the others when riding. We might be able to slow down to something more reasonable as we get further from Hyrule Castle."
"Are you holding up okay?" he asked, taking her arm.
"I'm a little excited to be going so far from the castle," she admitted. "But I also feel guilty for feeling like that; we're going for important reasons." Smiling at him, she whispered, "And we'd better be a good polite couple around others because we need their support."
Joachim chuckled and kept his hold on her loose. "The things we have to do to keep a good face." Then he whispered, "Do you think they'll at least let us share a tent?"
While she tried to bite down on it, a giggle escaped Zelda. "That may be too much when we aren't officially engaged. And as much as my parents stood in our way, it's rather too soon to be making it official."
"Ah, well I can continue to be patient," he said, looking at her warmly for a moment. "If this works out as we hope, I'll finally be able to match you when we do wed."
"That never mattered to me," she said. "I have confidence that you can pass their trial. Just keep in mind that in doing this, you're accepting the Sudain people as your own. We will have to work hard to earn their full trust, but it will give us some extra security no matter how things play out here in Hyrule."
He nodded, his expression turning more serious. "Of course. But Zelda, I'm not quite sure how to say this, but you seem very different tonight. A lot has gone on in these three weeks, so of course you'd change with all that. But it seems like you've become something more," he clicked his tongue trying to put words to it.
As she knew what he wanted to say, her heart sank a bit. "I've become the princess of the legends, right? The Zelda, not just a Zelda of the Hyrule family line."
"You're right," he said uneasily. "There are times when I feel like I shouldn't be so close to you, but it's only been lately that it's more than a passing worry. But I want to be close to you. Every minute you were up in that tower and I wasn't, I was worried about you and wished I could do something about it all. I can now, so I don't want to be apart from you. I want to be able to keep you safe."
"We can't let my role in these times force us apart," Zelda said firmly. "My heart is decided on you and I won't be swayed. I'm really glad that this chance came to let others see how great you really are."
They looked at each other for a moment, then Joachim tweaked her nose playfully. "You know, we're making this really hard on ourselves to keep the good polite face."
She went ahead and laughed at that, stepping back. "It's the night, it's always the time our worries bubble out and we want a way out of worry." Zelda looked around. "Like I'd like to take a walk with you, but we really should be staying within this line of tents where we're protected."
"And how protected are you?" a dark stern voice asked her.
Her yelp of surprise caught the attention of everyone there, calling their attention to how they'd somehow missed Ganon entering their camp. Joachim tried to stammer out something, grabbing her arm and backing away with her. Shoving him aside without any effort, Ganon got hold of her instead. Zelda turned her head trying to make sure he was okay; he'd been thrown to the ground but was already getting back to his feet. And past him, Impa had gotten up from the fire and moved with a few others to get her back.
"Reckless fools," Ganon said, raising his other hand into a fist and making iron spikes shoot out of the ground to stop them from getting close. Some of them cut right up through Impa's body, dropping her to the ground with blood all over her back. "If you all wish to desert, fine, but I am not giving her up."
"Impa!" Zelda called out, but the scene was swirling around her. Black wings warped them all the way back to the room at the top of the tower. Not seeing anything else out of fury, she turned back around and punched at him. "You!"
Blocking with his other hand easily, Ganon then struck her face with the back of his hand. "Don't try to pick a fight with me, princess. Stay up here in the tower like I told you to."
"Why did you have to do that?!" she demanded to know, tears burning down her face.
"Because you ran off," he said sharply. In a jarring switch, he then spoke sadly. "And because no one was able to stop the force of legend."
"Stop faking that, you are a horrible villain!" It was her anger talking more than anything.
He looked at her in surprise for a moment, then changed over to a chilling impassive face. "Very well, I knew I couldn't keep that up long around the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom." Then he grabbed hold of her shoulders and lifted her off the ground. "I told you from the very start: I need you dead. This whole farce keeps your bloodline in place as the unquestionably divine rulers of the blessed kingdom of Hyrule. However, there is one major fault to this bloodline of yours. There is only one girl to be named Zelda born in every generation. If I kill you now before you ever have a daughter, then that blood line will end and the whole charade that is the Legend of Zelda will end."
"Then why don't you do that?" she asked. She realized that she was being irrational now, but she couldn't care that she was.
Strangely, he kept just as uncaring and told her straight out, "If I do, then the Triforce of Wisdom will make itself scarce. While you're alive, it's going to stick with you. You're staying alive until I can figure out how to resolve that issue. But if you push the wrong buttons with me, I will decide it's not worth it and just get rid of you." Then he threw her onto the bed. "You're staying here and that's that." Then he vanished out of the room; the door briefly rattled as he made sure it was locked.
And the room went silent for a moment. Zelda made a small scream of frustration and hit the bed. Then she recalled how she'd last seen Impa and shuddered. "Impa?" she said closing her eyes. "Come on, please? Please let me see that Impa's fine, please?"
Images passed through her mind, but not of the present. Not even of the near future. It was her memories of the past. Impa used to read her bedtime stories that praised morals such as fairness and sincerity. There were colorful illustrations of children did their chores and treated each other nicely, then went out to play with a wonder about how great the world was. After the stories were done, she'd hum an old lullaby and stay at her side until she was asleep. That was when Zelda had been a child, but she felt a resonance of the past. Others in her role had fond memories of such bedtime rituals, some of them even with Impa there humming the same song.
As long as Impa was there, Zelda would be safe. Her Impa lifted her as a child on a horse for the first time and led it around so Zelda could get a feel for how to ride it. She was there in her early teens when she and her parents began butting heads. Unless Zelda had gone too far, Impa was on her side to listen to her grumble later on. If Zelda had lost her temper too much, Impa would remind her of that and then listen to what had gone on. Impa had never failed until the day that Ganon took over the castle.
And she failed again just tonight. The spell had been a warning to everyone else, but to Impa? That was a warning that Ganon gave to Zelda. He was willing to kill those she cared about to punish her for disobeying him. While he got no pleasure from such deaths, he had no guilt either. Both she and Joachim were left with only bruises physically, but Impa? Impa was dead. There had never been a chance to save her. If they had refused to leave, then she might be alive.
"Impa..." Zelda said, shaking and sobbing as she grabbed for a pillow out of wanting comfort.
If the Triforce hadn't appeared with her, this wouldn't be happening at all.
Ganon knew his human troops were going to abandon him. He wanted them to; it was going to become dangerous for anyone to be near him in the future. From his observations of his three former generals and Joachim, he knew that they'd take him, and he'd want to take Zelda. And he had planned for his meeting with Link to get interrupted. But for all that to happen at once? It was such horrible timing on the interruption; the Seeker with the potion was supposed to come in at his signal, not as soon as it arrived. He killed the thing when he got back to the castle with it, before seeking out Zelda.
At least he had a strong army of monsters thanks to the fall of the totem pole in Gerudo Desert. It had been locking away a significant portion of his power as Ganon after the whole incident with the Twili in the past had not destroyed him completely. Its makers had intended for it to seal off his soul again, but he didn't let that happen. Since some of the castle patrols had been held by his human soldiers, Ganon called on several types of the stronger monsters to come back and hold those positions instead. If anyone was going to try getting to Zelda now, they were going to face heavy opposition.
While he was assigning positions, Ganon noticed that there was a third human in the castle. It was Velken, waiting in the castle library. Was he that loyal or did he have ulterior motives? Ganon made sure the castle and town were secure, then went back to the library to find out. Velken shifted his head once Ganon appeared among the shelves just out of his sight. "My liege?"
"What happened here?" Ganon asked.
"The others stole the Falcon Ring," Velken answered, turning to face him. "They gave it to the Hylian clerk and stole off with everyone else, including the princess."
"I've brought her back, only her," he said. "Why are you here?"
"I swore loyalty to you and I'm not going to leave with them," he said. There was no caution or hesitation on Velken's part in saying this.
Ganon still wasn't sure he could be trusted. But he was here. "Good, at least you remember that. See to it that the princess is taken care of. I have no desire to be near her until it's time for her to play her part."
"Yes sir," Velken said. But instead of going right off, he said, "If I may ask? What are we going to do with the others gone?"
As he felt the goals should be obvious, he didn't mind saying something about them. "The same thing I've been planning on all along. I will call on the dragons sealed within the Septdraco and take command of the full Triforce. Once both are accomplished, nothing will be able to stop me, not even if you abandon me as well. I'm nearly ready to complete the former goal. Then I will find out how to secure the Triforce of Wisdom and force the Triforce of Courage to appear."
"The dragons alone will cause a lot of destruction," Velken said. But his neutral facade was faltering; the idea bothered him. He couldn't be completely counted on now.
Not that it mattered; if he chose to stay close, he was choosing a great risk of death. "If the people submit to my rule, they won't be troubled. If they don't, they're on their own. I will let them know that."
"Very well, as long as they know," he said. "I'll see to the princess' security."
"Then leave," Ganon ordered. Velken vanished into thin smoke.
This evening had been messy, but things were rolling along again. Ganon went back to check over his notes about the Septdraco. Dragons did not like to submit to other beings and even he as the bearer of the Triforce of Power had to take caution of how he handled them. Although, there was the temptation of simply letting the dragons rampage freely. It would bring about so much destruction and despair. That could be so satisfying, to be responsible for the world's ruin.
No. He had to stop thinking like that. He was going to take control of the world, not destroy it. He had been working so long towards this that nothing was going to stop him now. He was going to destroy the legends, not the world.
And it would be even better if he could get Link to be hopelessly devoted to him in the process.