"What?" Zelda stared at Impa, mouth gaping. Her eyes moved between Impa and Link with frantic confusion, but she found no answers. Link's hard gaze was locked on Impa's.
"What are you talking about?" Zelda snapped. "What is this about?"
"Link went against Impa's orders," Dorian said sternly. "He destroyed the Yiga Clan."
This did not clear up Zelda's confusion. "Isn't that… Isn't that a good thing?"
"We were planning to infiltrate them and bring their members in for interrogation. We needed to see what their connection was to Ganon, now and for in the future so we could be better prepared should Ganon rise again." He narrowed his gaze on Link. "Of course, that's impossible to do since Link brutally murdered them all."
Zelda turned her gaze back to Link. He was uncomfortably quiet, his gaze now on Dorian's. She snapped back to Impa, hoping the old woman would see that they were being completely absurd.
"Link was following my orders," Zelda said quickly.
"Zelda," Link hissed.
Zelda ignored him. "I asked him to destroy the Yiga Clan so Ganon would have no additional defenses."
"You had no power to make such a command," Impa said. "Link's orders come from either Dorian and I or the king himself."
"You had your own orders, Zelda," Dorian said. "Are you telling me you went against those orders? That we should be banishing you as well?"
"She's lying," Link said before Zelda could answer.
Zelda started to panic, her heart racing in her chest. "N-no! You… You can't do this! You can't kill the man that saved this country!" She straightened, her hands balling into fists at her side, and she forced her voice to remain strong and level. "As Hyrule's new queen, I demand that you -"
"The decision has already been made," Dorian said, raising his voice above hers. "When the king was murdered and you were elsewhere, Impa took command. Her decision is final."
Two Sheikah soldiers moved forward from their place against the wall, and Link felt the cool metal cuffs clasp against his wrists. His weapons were pulled out of their holsters, leaving him defenseless. He stiffened, but didn't dare fight against them. He glared at Dorian, his lips pulled back in an inhuman snarl before he was pulled away and pushed out the door.
"No!" Zelda tried to run after them, but Dorian's hard hand gripped her wrist, twisting her around until she was looking up into his cold eyes.
"Link will die in the wasteland," Dorian hissed. "Just what a traitor deserves."
Zelda tried to pull her wrist out of Dorian's grasp, but he was too strong. "Traitor? You're the traitor! It's because of Link that Ganon has been defeated!"
"He knew this was his fate. All you need to concern yourself with is returning to the palace."
"Let go of me," Zelda snarled as she tried once more to pull her arm away from Dorian. "How dare you put your hands on me!"
A sly grin pulled at Dorian's lips. "Do you think Link is going to stop me?"
"You," Zelda hissed. "I'll kill you myself!"
Dorian pushed her towards the wall and she fell to the floor.
Zelda scrambled to her feet, her eyes on Impa, pleading with her, but Impa's gaze was just as cold as Dorian's. Lifeless, almost. Something wasn't right. Impa would never let anyone touch her like that. Impa was good. Impa was good…
Zelda turned to run out the door, but she found her way blocked by two more Sheikah soldiers. Their hands rested on their holsters, but Zelda knew they wouldn't rely on such simple weaponry when they themselves were capable of so much more. It was merely a warning.
Her heart sank in her chest. She turned once more, hoping Impa's demeanor would have changed, but Impa had her back turned to her.
"Be sure she doesn't follow them," Impa said, her voice cold and hard. "Tomorrow, escort her back to the palace."
The two Sheikah soldiers each gripped one of her arms and pulled her across the room. She shouted at them and struggled to free herself, but it was useless; they were much too strong, and her cries for help fell on deaf ears. They dragged her easily up the stairs and threw her into an empty room, closing the door as she thew herself against it. Her hands gripped the knob, but it locked with a sickening click before she could throw it open. She shouted and pounded against the door, then leaned against it and fell to the floor, sobbing.
She stayed on the floor for a long time, her arms wrapped around her knees. She stayed there until she heard the familiar sound of a helicopter over head. She scrambled to the window, pressing her nose against the glass, her eyes on the sky as one of the Sheikah helicopters emerged. It rose higher and higher, then pushed forward through the sky, over the city, and headed south towards Gerudo Desert.
"No!" She slammed a fist against the window and tried desperately to pry it open, but with no luck. Even if she could get it open, the sharp drop down surely would have caused her injury. The building was too heavily guarded, and even if she did manage to come away from the fall unharmed, the Sheikah soldiers would have been on her quickly. She didn't stand a chance against them, and she wouldn't dare use her power to harm anyone.
She fell to her knees and cried. After all she had been through, why did it have to end like this? How could Impa make such a selfish decision? It wasn't right. Something wasn't right. And she had to do something about it. She had to figure out what was going on. She stayed there on the floor, trying desperately to put the pieces together, to understand why Impa would come to such a decision, and why she, Hyrule's Queen, suddenly had no impact on Link's fate. Despite Impa's long time, high ranked standing, she still reported to the royal family. This just simply wasn't Impa. But Zelda couldn't come to a logical conclusion. There were pieces missing, and she started to wonder how much Link had known and kept from her.
She sniffed and wiped her arm across her wet eyes. She stared across the room, her brows knit together in deep thought. Her body started to ache on the floor after a while, and she moved to the bed, pushing herself into the corner and hugging her legs close to her chest. The sun moved across the sky and began its descent, darkening the room and casting long shadows across the floor and walls as she sat on the bed, turning all she knew over in her mind. She looked up and squinted as the sun's rays moved beyond the edges of the window and into her eyes. She hadn't realized how much time had passed, and chances are, they had already dumped Link into the desert.
And that's when another thought occurred to her – perhaps they weren't bringing Link to the wastelands to die, but simply to hide his body. The Sheikah were deadly, and with the way Dorian and Impa had been acting, it was possible Link was killed before they even left the city. She bit back a sob and got to her feet, frantic. There had to be something she could do. Anything.
She hurried quickly across the room, pressing her ear against the door, but it was silent. She turned around and let her eyes scan the room. There had to be something she could use, as a tool or as a weapon. A way to pry the door open and knock out a couple Sheikah guards. It wasn't the best plan. It wasn't even a good plan. But it was a plan, and it was all she could think to do.
Of course, the Sheikah weren't dumb enough to leave her with such an option. The room, except for a bed and a light on the ceiling, was empty. There weren't even blinds or curtains on the window.
She let her hands run through her hair and her fingers brushed against a bobby pin. She pulled it out quickly, then pulled out the second one on the other side and hurried over to the door, but there was no way for her to pick the lock from her side of the door. She cursed under her breath, replaced the pins in her hair, and searched the door in hopes of finding another answer. But unless she wanted to scratch her way out, it seemed there was no way for her to escape.
She inspected her nails, her fingers, her knuckles. She couldn't punch her way through – she'd break her hand before she even made a dent. But she had a pretty good kick, and her boots had a decent sized heel. It was less than stealthy; if anyone were around, there was no doubt that they would hear her trying to bust through, and they would be quick to put an end to that. But, it was worth a shot.
She lifted her leg, sucked in a breath, and let her heel fly into the door with all her might. The door cracked slightly under the force, but otherwise did not budge, and she was knocked onto the floor. She sat up and proceeded to remove her boot, trying for another option when there was a sound from outside the room.
"Don't waste your energy, Sweetheart," a voice said cooly through the door. "You're not going anywhere until we tell you to."
Zelda glared at the doorway, then let out a sharp breath. She tied her boot back up and got to her feet. Busting out was looking impossible, and even though the hospital had given her the okay to leave, she still felt weak and tired. It seemed if she wanted to escape, she would have to wait until they let her out themselves. She probably couldn't fight through them or try to surprise them, but maybe she could take a more stealthy approach. Run when they had their backs turned or something. It was a desperate move and probably wouldn't work in her favor, but she wasn't about to give up.
She started pacing the room. In the morning, they would take her back to the palace. Heavily guarded, of course. She had no phone, but it didn't matter because she didn't have any contacts that could help her, anyway. She sat on the edge of the bed and put her face in her hands with growing frustration. It was likely she could escape once she reached the palace, but waiting until then would just be wasting time, and she didn't know how much time they had left. She didn't know what was in store for Link in the wastelands, but they were referred to as the wastelands for a reason.
She stood up and resumed her pacing, her mind moving frantically. The night crept on as she tried to come up with a plan, but everything she could think of seemed to end in failure. She wasn't good at this kind of thing. She wasn't a fighter, she wasn't a spy; she had absolutely no skill that would benefit her in a situation like this. One thing was for sure; she would make sure that her future children were trained to defend themselves and that that training would be pushed upon all the future descendants of the royal line. She wouldn't let the future descendant of Hylia be a useless princess that had to depend on her soldiers. She would be an ass kicking hero capable of taking care of herself. It only seemed right after all she had to endure herself.
Zelda's pacing froze as she heard what could only be a struggle of some sort - a fight - on the other side of the door. She listened as there were two distinct grunts – one male, another female – and two bodies seemed to drop, hitting the floor with hard thuds. The door opened and Riju's small frame stood in the doorway, a triumphant grin on her face and a hand on her hip. Behind her, the two Sheikah soldiers that stood guard lay motionless on the floor, but still breathing.
Zelda's stunned gaze met the Gerudo leader's. "Riju?"
"We've got a helicopter to catch, Your Highness." She stepped inside the room and took Zelda's wrist. She pulled Zelda out the door and down the long corridors, taking the steps two at a time and moving through the seemingly empty building until they were outside. To Zelda's surprise, the scene before her was a scene unlike anything she had seen before.
Sheikah soldiers, in all their strength, lay scattered, motionless on the ground. Across the way, Zelda recognized Dorian and Impa, but they were held back by Sidon and Yunobo. Teba stood before them, his weapon drawn and pointed at them.
Zelda's mouth dropped for a moment and she turned to Riju. "What's going on?"
"Nothing can get to the wasteland without intercepting Gerudo forces, you know," Riju said with her hands on her hips. "When I heard that Link was on board, I knew something was wrong. I called these guys and we're going on a rescue mission." She turned and met Zelda's gaze. "I assume that's alright with you."
Zelda hesitated and turned back to the bodies on the ground. "Did you do this, Riju?"
Riju smiled and snapped her fingers. Lightning struck the ground just yards away from them. "We have power passed through our family as well," she said proudly. "Don't worry, though, they're alive. They'll be up on their feet by the morning. I'm not a monster."
"Let's go," Teba growled at Riju. "We don't have all night."
Riju pulled Zelda across the road to where a vehicle waited. Zelda slid into the passenger seat as Riju took the wheel. She leaned out the window and waved to Teba.
"Don't take too long," she called to him. "We'll see you in the desert." And without waiting for a response, she stepped on the gas and peeled away from them. She sped out of Kakariko and onto the interstate, heading south towards the desert.