Chapter XXVII – Scars of War
"Aldar, stop acting like a fool! You must rest! The potions will aid your recovery, but your body is severely injured nonetheless. As a doctor, I order you to not wander around already!" Aldar ignored Minos's demand and tried to grab the mantle laying on the table next to his bed. He only managed to get it after a few attempts. "Look, you can't even see clearly!"
"I'll have enough time to rest once I'm dead. And as long as I can see where I'm walking, I'll find my way." Aldar put off Minos's complaint without looking at him. "There are matters that just can't wait."
"There are always matters that just can't wait every time I have you here in my care. Does this lame excuse never get old for you?" He sighed, obviously annoyed by Aldar's reluctance, yet Minos knew he could not hold him back. He never could. "But mark my words, I will see you back this evening!"
"That isn't necessary, is it?" asked Aldar in discomfort while he pulled on the mantle, watching out that he neither made a false movement of his stabilized arm, nor touched his face. Bandages covered Ganondorf's last slice, which now ranged from his hairline down to his chin, straight through the eye. The price he had to pay for underestimating him and becoming careless just because he believed him out of powers. And he knew: If it was not for his reflexes letting him avoid the biggest impact, he would now rest in earth instead of a bed.
"Aldar!" yelled Minos. "Just how often must I tell you that your wounds need further treatment?! And not only one, but multiple over time if you do not wish for them to cause infections!" Aldar looked bothered at him, though he only earned a desperate sigh. "You truly are one of my worst patients, if not the worst. I still don't get why you can face bravely steel even twice your size, but rather risk to get a gangrene than facing my tiny one. My friend, what have those doctors at war done to you that you still loath them and needles with such a passion? You even start crying like a little child when you just can't avoid them."
"There are things that better remain forgotten," responded Aldar and shivered by the mere thought of that tiny needle, only wishing to be out of here. He stood up and stumbled towards the door for he felt more insecure in the legs than he assumed, partly because of the pain, but also because of his missing right field of vision.
"Guess I can call myself lucky you remained unconscious while I treated your wounds, especially since I had to sew them." Aldar cringed, only to earn yet another sigh. "You're just a hopeless case. Be gone till evening."
Once Aldar reached the end of the hospital ward's corridor, he heard Minos shouting from behind, "But Aldar! Just so you know: If you don't come voluntary here this evening, I'll personally search for you, my friend, even if it means to roam the entire kingdom. I know you well enough, so don't even try to hide from me."
On his walk, Aldar pushed the unpleasant thoughts about today's evening aside, for now he needed to see Zelda. He would not find any rest as long as he knew Ganondorf still breathed. Never had he thought that the desert man had become that powerful and was able to execute a last strike when he already had been struck down with his lightning. Certainly, he was no one to trifle with anymore, because of his power and now because of his knowledge as well.
Truly unfortunate that Ganondorf decided to challenge him when he wore his heavy armor and he himself was left with one offering few protection, especially against such an uncontrollable berserker. Never had he imagined the fight between them would occur under such disadvantageous circumstances. Once the soldiers had taken Ganondorf away, his body paid its toll to the high amount of lost blood and he only regained his consciousness at the hospital ward later on.
Ironic that when he at least somehow began to tolerate Ganondorf within his lines, after he witnessed how he had improved his behavior and attitude, the Gerudo had decided to turn against the kingdom. Though he had always preferred to see him gone for good, he respected Zelda's wish to not act against him. After Ganondorf's attempt of murdering him, he would certainly fall out of her favor. At least so he hoped.
The wounds strained Aldar when he walked along the corridors. More than once he had to brace himself against the wall to wait for the aches to lessen. No denying, he had more than wished for laying longer in the bed without moving a muscle. It would have also spared him those pitiful views of his men and their compassion, sometimes even the fearing words he would resign after that incident. On the other hand, to see them caring for him and wishing he would soon return to his duty, delighted him. It felt good to be respected not only because of a title, but also as a person.
At Zelda's chamber, the guards stepped aside and let him enter. She sat at her desk, reading an old document about the kingdom's history, a habit of hers in the afternoon hours, before she lifted up her head. The moment she saw him, her joy vanished for horror. "Aldar! What has happened to you?!"
"I've become old. Probably even senile." Aldar tried to hide his pain to not make her unnecessarily worried as she hasted towards him. "Otherwise, I can't explain the foolishness that had befallen me and led to such injuries."
"They must be fierce when covered by such bandages. You should not wander around, it must be what the physician had told you, yet it would not be you if you had listened to his advice or dared to stay in his near for too long." Zelda smiled and lay her hands on his chest. "Let me take care of them at least a bit. My magic might not be as great as yours, yet it is not meant to hurt, but to heal."
Aldar, even though carefully, put her arms away. Or at least tried to as his right one proved to be useless. "You shouldn't waste it on me. Those wounds will heal on their own over time. At least most."
"Aldar, I have outgrown the age long since where you or any other supervisor had to take decisions in my favor."
"No, Zelda. It is my duty to protect you and by no means will I break this oath to His Old Majesty. And neither to you, of course," he responded, albeit he disliked to object her. "I can't allow you to share the aches because of my own foolishness. It's the price I have to pay for having become careless, by no means will I lay my burden on you."
"Aldar," she responded gently, yet with a rigorous undertone. "Did we not agree that you would follow your queen's orders, regardless of their matter, as long as she is the one demanding them from you?"
Aldar wanted to refuse her aid again, but her strict intonation and gaze silenced him. The only thing missing was her reaching out for his ear, though she probably refrained from dragging it due to his injuries. There was definitely no meaning in disobeying and even though he highly disliked to share his burden with her, because the healing arts, albeit mighty, proved to be hurtful for the user herself, he gave in.
Zelda forced him to take a seat and kept a straight face the whole time when Aldar felt her magic entering his body. If it would not be for his guilty consciousness, he would have called it a salvation. It lessened the burning, especially the one caused by the great slash through his face.
"Are you feeling better now?" Aldar nodded and seemingly her mood lightened. "Then tell me, what has befallen you and who is the one responsible for this brutality?"
That was the Zelda he knew, the one who cared deeply for the ones surrounding her and never wished to see them suffer. Though this benefit, for one man it must come to an end. Aldar breathed in deeply, knowing it would not be easy for her to accept the truth since it involved the man she had put under her protection to allow him to have a future beyond his origin. A future that man had destroyed so easily on his very own decision.
Zelda's sorrow, intermixed with disbelief showed through on her body when Aldar had finished from retelling the events, beginning from the moment where Ganondorf had shown up in the training hall this morning. She remained strong in her voice. "Maybe it was inevitable he would become aware of his true destiny one day. It was foolish of us to think we could hide it from him forever. Yet, Aldar, there is one thing I must know: Is this the whole truth? Did he truly attack you without you provoking him into it beforehand?"
"Have I ever lied to you?" Though it hurt to hear her mistrust, he could not blame her as he had often, sometimes even strongly, insisted to end that man's life before it might be too late. She knew very well that he, still up to this day, kept back from executing Ganondorf solely in respect to her.
"Of… of course not," stumbled Zelda and even avoided his view. "My apology, it is impertinent to call you even partly a liar when it is you who stayed termless at my side even in the darkest hours. I am dreadfully grieved I have not paid closer attention to my words."
"No harm done." Aldar put her worries off. "However, after his attempted murder of his very own accord against me, what do you intend to do with him?"
Zelda remained quiet and still avoided his view, yet her body language told everything Aldar needed to know. Unbelievable. Just unbelievable. "I'll probably never understand what you see in that man that you even hesitate to oppose him when just about everything stands against him," sighed Aldar and braced his head on his hand. "Surely, I understand that you wish to give everyone a chance, no matter his origin or deeds, and especially favor those who seem to be favored the least by life. But Zelda, he is not just a mere Gerudo, he is their king. A king who has raised his sword against your kingdom. He tramples on your pity for him because he is not any different than any of them. Far too proud and far too few morals and respect for life other than his own and maybe that of some he deems worthy enough."
Aldar tried to not break off, though his voice began to tremble. "Please, Zelda, don't allow any of those outlaws to maraud Hyrule once again. Believe me, the atrocities they have committed even against civilians are beyond words. I never wish to see or even worse, relive those ever again in my life…"
His voice broke and he felt the trembling in every part of his body. He had feared his old memories would crawl up into his mind when he concerned too much about this matter. Memories he had never shared with anyone and only wished to forget, but they clinched to him with an outstanding persistence as if they wanted to never let those old wounds heal. Wounds which reached back to a time where he had barely crossed his twenties, yet already stood on the brink of a promotion to a general and was ordered to scout the enemy's territory in the midst of the Great War. He and his company of about five men set out and even though they gathered value information, they got caught by an ambush of the desert foes. Bravely, his men had fought but the sheer number of their enemies overpowered them, forcing him to see his comrades getting slaughtered before his eyes as he, as their leader, failed miserably to save them.
Utterly defeated, in both body and mind, the Gerudo let him live, for now, since they claimed him to be a handsome Hylian who possessed extraordinary fighting skills. And they liked, even loved that. After they kept him prisoner for days, maybe even weeks or months, he had served his purpose and they abandoned him in the desert to let him either burn to death under the merciless sun or be eaten by its inhabitants. Their tradition forbade to ever lay their own hands on the ones keeping their bloodline alive, yet they would not let an archenemy survive either.
Having lost his consciousness soon, as broken and mauled as he was, it must have been a divine providence that another company of the Hylian's scoured this part of the wasteland and found him on the brink of death. For weeks had he then been tied to the bed as the injuries healed badly and he got plagued by infections, making the medical treatment another torture he had to endure, day in, day out. Yet not only did he survive, he also kept his sanity, a miracle the doctors said, who had given him nothing but a slim chance to ever return on a battlefield. Even back then his fighting spirit proved to be unbreakable, just as his loyalty to his kingdom and His Old Majesty.
After his recovery, he returned to his duty, not wishing to let this incident shatter his devotion. He swore to fight for his homeland and he swore to himself to stay true to this oath until death. Yet the massacring of his men as well as the abuse against him, turned his mere dislike for the Gerudo into a deep despise, even a murderous hate that could rouse by their name's mere mentioning. Despite their human traits, he could not see them as such anymore. Then again, humanity had found no place in this war and both sides tortured the other party's prisoners, the Shadow Temple being the prime example on the Hylian's side.
Over a decade had passed since that incident, the war nearing its end, when he, now a highgeneral, attacked one of the many Gerudo settlements with a whole army in tow. The hunt against the desert tribe continued, because if they lived on, it would only be a question of time before the next madness would shatter the Kingdom of Hyrule or even destroy it.
On that fateful day, he met them again. His tormentors. And at that point, even his own men feared him. His feelings of helplessness from those horrifying days of imprisonment arising, he had gone berserk. For the only time ever, he let himself entirely get consumed by blind rage, tasting the sweetness of vengeance and brutally massacred the Gerudo with sword and magic alike, showing no mercy as they had held none for him either. In their eyes, he was meant to die in the desert years ago and only got spared due to a miracle. But they, he would not allow them to be saved by one.
As Aldar unwillingly was reminded of those events, he remembered something else from that day, something he had forgotten in all those years passing. Back then, one woman escaped and she carried a child in her arms. The remaining survivors of the Gerudo protected her fiercely and once his soldiers could finally chase her, they returned with empty hands. Back then, he had never believed what importance that one child held, but now when he thought of Ganondorf's claims about his so called death knights and stated him to be their leader, it dawned him who this child was and watched him go berserk and slaughter his kin.
That was it. That must it be. Somehow, when he told Ganondorf about his true origin, he must have unknowingly reawakened some of his memories. Memories which caused him to go berserk at him in return, just as he had become when confronted with his tormentors.
However, no matter Ganondorf's motivation or how well he understood those feelings himself, it did not excuse his actions. In the end, there was only one rightful punishment for attempting to murder the leader of the Hylian army.
"Aldar? Aldar?!" Zelda's worries reached his ears. "You are looking horribly pale, yet you are covered with sweat which warmth alone cannot cause. Shall I call on a doctor to look for you?"
"No… no, it's… nothing bad," he stumbled before he found the way back from his terrified memories. "My apologies. I've gotten carried away by my thoughts. Have you decided what to do with that man now?" Aldar offered no further explanation as he had kept that part of his past to himself, always. It would only bother her to know and he wanted to prevent that by any means necessary. He preferred to be laughed at for his aversion of needles and doctors than to ever reveal the truth of his fears. Fears which indeed appeared to be quite embarrassing for a man of his rank.
Zelda looked suspiciously at him. She must have noticed he tried to distract her from his absent behavior, though she did not ask further about and only answered, "Does it truly have to be this way?"
Aldar always had difficulties to reject her when she spoke in such a heartbreaking manner, even though she remained strong on the outside, not even breaking a bit. But knowing her since birth, she could not hide her feelings. They screamed and begged him to find another solution for this misery, one that spared that desert man's life.
This time, he could not give in to her, seeing how determined Ganondorf was to kill him and turning against her kingdom. "I'm afraid that I must tell you that this is the way he has chosen on his very own."
"There is no other way to solve this? None other?"
"None reasonable, I'm afraid."
Zelda remained quiet, only nodded. With that action, she gave him the permission he had asked for since the very first day he had brought Ganondorf to the castle's court. Aldar did not ask for any clarification, her struggle to speak out the execution of that man shined through in every part of her body. He truly regretted to have been unable to put his honor aside to kill Ganondorf immediately when he had a chance before Zelda would be in such misery because of him. It was like as if that desert thief had stolen her heart, a thought which alone made him feel utterly disgusted. Every time it crawled up in his mind, he dragged it away as fast as it came before he would lose himself.
"I will take my leave if you'll excuse me," said Aldar after Zelda had overcome her first grief.
"Yes, of course." He stood up carefully to not get overwhelmed by his aches, yet he felt a lot better thanks to Zelda, who looked up to him. "My apologies I cannot speak loud about it. My mind tells me the right path is to part, yet my heart… I just… I do not… I cannot…"
"It is alright, there is neither need to apologize nor to explain. I understand that this is hard for you to realize and more so to accept these circumstances, seeing what you have done for him. Only to see him fail utterly despite all your generosity," answered Aldar, as he knew how strongly it could affect him to see her, and only her, in such distress. Even strong enough that it could let him cancel his plans and he had to avoid that by any means. "I'll arrange everything necessary. You don't have to take part anywhere if you don't wish to."
"Thank you," she answered, tormented, before she regained a stronger, but also caring voice. "And Aldar, do not overstrain yourself. Rest if your body demands it, you only have this one. I don't want to lose you as well. You should go to see Doctor Minos, I am more than certain he has told you to be back under medical care despite your incredible reluctance."
Aldar wished she would have just spared him her last statement. Besides her friendly smile, he felt her inner grief about letting go of that man, even though she shed no tears. Certainly, a strong woman, yet to see her in such a desperate state because of one single man fed his own aversion against Ganondorf even further. Thankfully, the traitor would not linger in this world much longer to cause harm.
However, one last time, just one last time he had to see him, now that he was at his mercy, before he could finally close the chapter about the desert tribe who marauded the Kingdom of Hyrule.
Author's Note
Sorry for the long time between chapters, my time got sucked by courses and their finals. However, I'll see that the next update will be faster again. I hope you're looking forwards to it. :)