Hi everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in five months. Ha. I promise you it won't happen again. Probably. Anyway, I felt like I should respond to some reviews! You know, to make up for the absence.
Phunky: Me too!
_: I thought so
alice29x: Stop, your embarrassing me!
Berlin's Brown Eyes: What can I say, I'm a pretty hip guy
Metal Chocobo: Yeah, Michael's an ass.
SailorZeldaTheLightAlchemist: I think it's just referred to as "the long toe"
Phunky: If by soon you mean five months, soon it is!
Aya: Yeah, I mean, yeah. Maybe one day!
SuperflousMan: I would like everyone to know my extended leave of absence is over
Mizunou: Thanks! I tried hard to make the summary decent
"The Ghul are highly trained in espionage and disguise. They know how to blend into our society, how to stay hidden. Finding them will be nearly impossible." Impa stated firmly. "Attempting to track them would take too long."
Link winced. He was quiet for a moment, his left hand clenching and unclenching. Captain Jacob had seen it before. Link was thinking.
"We will lure them into a trap. Something simple. Traps are best when they are simple." Captain Jacob scratched his wrist. Link was prone to such statements. What would he know of traps? He was just a boy. "We must play to their expectations. What would a King do to protect his daughter and her courtier from assassins?" Link looked straight at King Harkinian.
"You forget yourself." Captain Jacob said softly.
Link's eyes snapped to Jacob. "Sir." He bowed his head. "My liege. A thousand apologies."
King Harkinian nodded. "We can work on you manners later, boy. What would I do if assassins came to threaten my daughter and her courtier? I would keep them locked in my highest tower, guarded by my best men. Day and night. Until they were no longer threatened."
Link nodded. "A safe place. One entrance. Easy to protect. An excellent idea. Now, let's do the exact opposite. We will smuggle the Prince and Princess out of the castle. They will have spies here. We will set them up in a small cabin with a royal guard."
"A royal guard would be a dead give away. We only have five left. They know who you all are. They know who I am." Impa interjected. Captain Jacob itched his palm. It was unlike Impa to allow a subordinate to lead a discussion, especially when that discussion was about the Princess' safety. She had every right to push Link aside and take command. Jacob did not understand. Impa was usually quite... domineering. Jacob rubbed some dirt off his uniform as he prepared to speak.
"I have a suggestion. I will go. They saw me take a bolt. I am believed to be incapacitated." Captain Jacob stated.
"With all due respect sir, you are incapacitated. That bolt took you in your sword arm." Small Hans said. A big man by any measure, that one. Could really hammer you with that hammer of his. Captain Jacob smiled. Small Hans had never really bothered with analyzing an opponent.
"Captain Jacob doesn't have a sword arm Hans." Derrick spoke up for the first time. Derrick was a man of few words and unremarkable looks, which made many people overlook him. Captain Jacob had made that mistake once, long ago. He was the second most senior royal guard after Jacob himself, and he was Jacob's best man. They had been through a lot together, and Captain Jacob had seen first hand what Derrick was capable of. A master of the Void stance, he had never showcased his talents in the sparring ring. There was no sparring in Void stance.
"That is correct. I am ambidextrous. In my younger days I used to forgo a shield completely and fight with two swords. My left is a little rusty, but I have taken pains not to lose the talent. I believe I can still be of service." Captain Jacob had been a cocky bastard before he was a father. He had decided to set a safer example. That didn't mean he had stopped training with his left though. A man had to be prepared.
"If you were ambidextrous, why did you fight the Ghul on the beach with your wounded arm?" Impa demanded, turning to Captain Jacob.
"Shield was strapped to the good one. I was engaged before I could switch hands." Captain Jacob answered evenly. He scratched some dirt out of a fingernail.
"Fantastic." Link began. "Now we can discuss the other piece of the plan."
"Wait just a minute. You are sending me to a cabin? In the woods?" Michael spoke up for the first time. Evidently the thought of cabin life had distracted him from his distressed bride-to-be. "That is no fit place for the future King of Burna! I will stay in the castle. The tower the king has suggested sounds perfect. You said it yourself Link. It's an excellent place to hold against assassins." Michael was a handsome man. Not much else.
"Your grace." Link nodded stiffly to him. "The Ghul are relentless and crafty. Setting you up in the tower would not stop them. It would only postpone them. No tower is impregnable. They will find a way in. Eventually. This is what I suggest. We smuggle Your Grace and My Lady in to the cabin. We send decoys up into the tower. We post the guards in the tower. And we wait."
"Link, that's ridiculous! We wait? For what? For all nine of the highly trained assassins to throw themselves at the tower?" Lucien cut in. Jacob's nose twitched. "That's a lot of wishful thinking to think that all of them would go. It's even more wishful thinking to think that we could take them once they got there! We've already lost two men to these assassins. What makes you think we won't get killed?"
"They have been cautious before, he is right. They only sent two to attack us at the lake." Impa added.
"The Ghul will not be cautious in this instance. They will know the two will be heavily guarded. There is no other option left for them but an attack on the tower. We can make sure of this." Derrick said. Jacob nodded. Derrick always talked good sense.
"If we can get them into the tower room, we can spring a trap. I think we could find several crossbowman who are trustworthy." Jacob added.
Link nodded. "We can do this Lucien. We get four of us up in the room with the decoys, set up a firing squad in the antechamber. We will cut them down." This seemed to quiet Lucien.
Impa folded her arms. "Very well. I will make the necessary arrangements. Smuggling the three of you out will be easy enough. There are several locations I know that will do nicely. As for the decoys, one for Zelda is already prepared. Finding a trustworthy one for Michael in a short amount of time will be difficult but doable. The crossbowmen just need an established history. We will have to keep them in the tower room until the Ghul attack. Same goes for food. Also, It should be obvious that no one can tell anyone about this meeting once we leave here. Are there any questions?"
"Yes. One. Who will protect the king while we are occupied?" Derrick asked.
King Harkinian chuckled. "I have guards that aren't royal, sir. Do not worry about me. Zelda and Michael are the one's the assassins are after."
Derrick bowed. "Of course."
Major Superior Garzha scrubbed the floors. It was menial work, but work she enjoyed. Making a place beautiful was a lovely objective. So much better than what it usually was. She sighed. Three more years before Honored status. If she made it, perhaps she would become a maid. That thought made her smile. If she made it to retirement, a fortune awaited her. A twentieth of every mission she had been on. She could buy a small palace and hire an army of maids. Or she could just buy the palace. Then she could clean all day-
"Maid!" The Head Servant called.
"Yes, master?" Garzha asked quickly.
"The Sky Tower will no longer require cleaning. Pass the message along to the others, would you? I am very busy. Much has to be done." The Head Servant walked off at a quick pace, his polished shoes clacking off into the distance.
Garzha took a moment to digest this information. Sky Tower didn't require cleaning? That could only mean one thing. It seemed the King had decided on a course of action. Not a bad one, Gharza had to admit. A tower on lockdown only had one means of entry. She cursed. They would lose Ghul. But the mission had to be completed.
She took a breath. There were five others who operated inside the castle. She would need to call a meeting immediately. She was the most senior here. At least they had gotten their swords through a day ago. Right before they had cracked down on security.
Garzha began to walk to the Maids' Quarters. They would attack tomorrow night. The Leader wanted it done quickly.
Zelda could not feel her legs. After the meeting, Impa had sent for a filled laundry basket. She had then commanded Zelda, Michael and Captain Jacob to get inside of it. Zelda didn't know how long she had been inside the cramped, hot box with the two men, but she guessed it had been more than an hour.
A knock came from the side of the basket. Zelda hesitated, then knocked back. A short pause followed. Then the whole basket flipped. Zelda came out head first, a sheet wrapped around her legs, landing on top of Michael.
"Ow! Let go Zelda!" Michael pushed himself hurriedly out of the cloth, one of his hands using Zelda's face for support.
"Michael! Get your hand off me!" Zelda scrambled out of the laundry. They were in a carriage, if she wasn't mistaken. An older woman sat on a stool with a bucket and clippers. A brawny man stood by the tipped laundry basket. He hopped out of the carriage and put the back up. A moment later, the carriage was moving.
"Hello dearies." The crone began. "My name is Anne. I am in charge of disguising you three. Princess, if you would come here?" She smiled kindly.
"Of course." Zelda stepped over to Anne.
"I have been instructed to make you all look related. We can do that easily enough. The boys both have dark hair. I'll be dyeing yours a similar color." Anne began mixing water with powder. "The eye color will be trickier, the violet is too noticeable. I have some eye drops that can make them look a dark brown, but I'll have to apply it ever few hours for a day or else the color won't stick. Don't worry, it's not permanent. Aside from that, you all will be getting haircuts and a new set of clothes. That should do the trick."
"Why do I need a haircut?" Michael asked crossly.
"Are you serious Michael? Really?" Zelda spun to face him. "Assassins. That's why. People are trying to kill us. People that are really good at tracking down their targets. People that are so good at tracking down targets, they have never not tracked down a target in the entirety of their centuries long existence! So why don't we stop being an idiot and let the nice lady do what she was brought here to do and let her give us haircuts, kay?"
Michael stepped toward Zelda. He was furious. "In my country, women do not speak to men with such disrespect! I do not know where you learned such terrible manners, but you can rest assured that once this is all over and we are married, your little girlish tantrums will not be tolerated!"
Zelda looked at Michael disbelievingly. "Michael. Assassins. Ghul assassins. Have you not been paying attention? Can you honestly be taking our victory for granted when you choose your hair over staying hidden?"
"I am not choosing my hair! I will let the woman cut it. I simply do not care for your insults or your lack of respect! I am the future King of Burna! I will not be berated by a princess of such a miniscule kingdom!"
"Mini-"
"Enough. Both of you. I don't care for this bickering. I will not tolerate it any longer." Captain Jacob spoke up. He had been the first out of the laundry. He must have landed on his feet.
Michael's expression froze. He turned slowly towards the captain. "Bickering? You think the future King of Burna bickers?" Michael's tone was dangerous. He could not stand insubordination.
"Yes. I just witnessed it firsthand. It's annoying." Captain Jacob looked Michael square in the eyes.
" I'm annoying too? My my, such charming audacity! What an adorable trait for a commoner. Zelda, you may lack manners, but you surely don't lack compassion." Michael moved right up to the captain. He looked down at Jacob. "Because in my country, such insolence is grounds for execution." Michael's face bent toward the captain. "Do not think that I will forget this."
Captain Jacob burst out laughing. Michael stepped back. "You realize I am your only guard, right? If they find the cabin, I am the only man standing in between you and the Ghul. Are you such a child that you would threaten me? Princess, I don't mean to question your judgement, but this man might be an idiot. I hope you understand that." Captain Jacob chuckled to himself as he settled down against one side of the carriage. Michael face was half formed fury, slowly becoming more half formed.
Zelda was beginning to feel very unsure of herself.
Jeff needed to take a piss. His guard shift had just ended and he could not for the life of him find a servant's toilet. It was the price he paid for taking the promotion from gate duty. Some of the other guys had told ghost stories about guards who had gotten lost in the maze like corridors, doomed even after death to wander the halls. Jeff laughed to himself. He might be a country boy, but he knew such stories were tall tales. Hyrule Castle was a blessed place. No ghosts roamed these halls.
"Boy!" Jeff called. A servant was polishing a vase in one of the empty halls.
"Yes master?" The man called back. He had surprisingly tanned skin for a castle servant. Perhaps he had just been promoted too.
"Show me where the nearest restrooms are. Quickly."
"Of course." The servant hopped up. "Are you new to the castle, master?"
Jeff smiled ruefully. "That easy to tell? Yeah. I was just promoted from the gate. Are you new too? You look too tan for indoor work."
The servant smiled back. "Sharp eyes on you. I worked the gardens for several years. My cousin got me a job inside two months ago. Hope I never go back. The gardens were torture." They rounded a corner. "For future reference, the servant restrooms are placed in a grid next to every third juncture. They usually have a blue circle above the doorway. Here we are."
Jeff nodded in thanks. "You certainly sound like a castle servant. Know this place like the back of your hand! Thanks friend. I owe you one. My name is Jeff by the way."
"Grim." Jeff blacked out.
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