Link stared at the guards, completely dumbfounded. "Wait. What?"
"You and your accomplice are wanted for murder!" the guard replied. "You killed two civilians and a guard in broad daylight!"
"But that couldn't have been us!" Amaterasu shouted in defense.
"There were ten witnesses!" the other guard exclaimed. "You are clearly guilty! Now give up any and all weapons on your person immediately!"
Link narrowed his eyes. Someone must have framed them somehow. There must have been some imposters or something. He looked over at Amaterasu, who looked at him worriedly. Her face then went tougher, and she nodded, apparently ready for anything. Link reached into his pouch and pulled out… some kind of nut. The guards looked at the nut cautiously. Suddenly, Link shouted, "Ammy, cover your eyes!" and threw the shell onto the ground. There was a bright flash that blinded not just the guards, but also Ammy, who couldn't shield her eyes in time.
She felt a hand grab onto hers and pull her away. She didn't offer any resistance, instinctively knowing that it was Link pulling her along. They went past several turns before they finally stopped. Amaterasu's vision soon became clear again. She saw that they were in an alley where there was a groove in the wall. In the groove was a door, next to which was a sign written in a language that she couldn't understand – most likely Hylian.
She heard the sound of rushing, armored feet go by. They quickly faded away. Ammy sighed in relief. She was afraid that she would have to use her powers to help them escape, but apparently, that wouldn't be necessary.
"I think they're gone," Link said as he looked out from their hiding place. He soon nodded affirmatively. "Yeah, they're gone." He began heading towards the door.
"Where are you going?" Issun asked from Amaterasu's shoulder.
Link faced them with a slight grin. "This is where my most trusted allies meet up. We'll talk to Telma. She has a way to get into Hyrule Castle discretely."
"She knows a secret passage?" Ammy asked curiously. Link nodded. "Does the queen know about it?"
"Who do you think put it there in the first place?" the green-clad hero replied as though it should've been obvious. He led them to the door, explaining that this was a tavern, and ushered the goddess and Poncle inside.
When she entered, she expected to see a bunch of drunken men staring at her. Instead, the place was mostly empty, save for a skinny man at a table drinking mug after mug of alcohol and muttering something about ghosts and dogs.
At the counter, a plump, dark-skinned, red-haired woman wearing a navy-blue dress stood cleaning out a glass. She didn't really notice either Ammy or Link until the Hero of Twilight walked up to her.
"Link!" she said with big grin on her face. She got away from behind the counter, approached Link, and gave him a welcoming hug. "It's been a long time since I've seen you around here. I heard about those killings, but every time someone pointed a finger at you, I always said that you would never even hurt an innocent person. You're just too good a person."
"Thanks, Telma," Link said with a grateful smile. He then motioned to Ammy. "Telma, this is Amaterasu, from the nation of Nippon to the east. She needs to speak with Zelda about something of grave importance."
"I see," Telma replied. She stuck her hand out to Amaterasu. "Well, any friend of Link's is a friend of mine. The name's Telma." Ammy nodded, bowed, and shook the woman's hand. "If you need to speak with the queen, then I can arrange for you two to get to the castle without having to worry about the guards."
"Thank you, Ms. Telma," Amaterasu said gratefully.
"Think nothing of it, dear," Telma replied. She turned to the skinny man who was getting drunk at the table. "Jovani! If you keep drinking like that, you're going to die of liver failure! Put that mug down!" The man grumbled and plunked his mug on the table. Telma returned her attention to Link and Ammy. "I'll send word to the others, Link. Auru and Ashei are already at the castle."
"They are?" Link asked. "I thought they were on an expedition to study the ruins in the Gerudo Desert."
"They were, but Queen Zelda called them back. Something about an offense from Nippon."
"An offense?" Amaterasu asked. "What do you mean?"
"A foreign emissary came saying she was from Nippon," Telma explained. "She apparently said that someone from Hyrule has stolen an important imperial treasure from the Nipponese emperor. After that, things got kind of out of hand."
"That doesn't sound good," Link said as he scratched the back of his head.
"It gets worse. Apparently, if the treasure isn't returned within the next three days, there's going to be war."
"WAR!?" both Link and Amaterasu shouted in unison. Telma nodded grimly. Amaterasu said, "But that's too much! The emperor wouldn't declare war over some trinket!"
Telma's face went beyond the seriousness she had been holding. "And that's not even the worst of it."
"THERE'S MORE!?"
"Unfortunately. It seems that someone has also stolen a priceless heirloom from out of the castle. The queen seemed to go into a really bad mood when she found out. From what Ashei tells me, there might actually be war."
"That's definitely bad," Link said as he took a seat at the counter. "Though I think I know who's behind all this."
Ammy nodded. "Ganondorf and Yami. If the two countries go to war, both sides will most likely be playing right into their hands."
"I don't know who this Yami fella is," Telma admitted with a distasteful sneer, "but I've read some of Shad's books regarding Ganondorf. If he really is behind all this, then things are only going to get more complicated. And I think framing you two might be a part of it."
"So that the people don't trust us," Link theorized. "Those bastards know that we're the heroes of our respective lands. Take away the trust that the people put into a hero, and you take away the hero. It demoralizes the people and soldiers when they think that their heroes are criminals."
Amaterasu nodded regretfully. "Regardless, we still need to speak to the queen. Maybe we can talk some sense into her, get her to stop before something starts."
"I can only hope that it'll be that easy," Link said with a sigh. "We can talk to her, but when royalty makes up its mind, it's next to impossible to change it."
Telma nodded. "Well, first thing's first. Let's get you two into the castle." She pointed up to a shaft on the ceiling, which led into a hole in the wall. "Take that tunnel up there. It leads to the underground waterway, which will lead you to the castle. It's an old waterway, so it might get pretty rough in there."
"We can handle it," Link said with a nod. "Right, Ammy?"
Amaterasu nodded in agreement. "Right. Let's go."
They made their way over to the shaft, where Link cupped his hands. Ammy stepped carefully onto his hands and reached up as he boosted her up into the air. When she was up safely, she reached down and grabbed Link's hand and hoisted him up as well. They headed down the tunnel.
Telma smiled and returned to cleaning the glasses at the counter. Things were getting pretty dicey, but with Link on the job, she was certain everything would return to normal soon. She hoped so at least.