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Dislcaimer: I don't own Zelda
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Part I
Chapter Two
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"I am appalled at your behavior!" King Daphnes thundered, his gray eyebrows pulled low. "Why didn't you consult with me first?"
"I didn't know first!" Zelda protested, throwing her arms out. "My Triforce started speaking to me during the executions."
"And what did it say?" he asked gruffly, unwilling to let that explanation slide.
She sighed, shaking her head. "Like I've told you before, it doesn't actually speak. Not verbally. But I can feel its messages." When her father heaved a frustrated breath and turned away, she shouted, "I'm telling the truth!"
They were in Zelda's bedroom, some hours after the executions had finished. Her father had left without saying a word to her, and Jon had given her a suspicious look, but didn't question further. As she had headed to her room, she could feel the curious stares of those who had been in attendance. Wondering why the criminal had been saved – even if it was temporarily. Wondering what could have happened that made her shout so dramatically at the last minute.
Her room was mainly white with some pastel colors for accents. Luxurious furniture and detailed woodworks sat about. Flowers adorned every corner, and her multi-colored curtains stirred in the warm breeze from her open balcony doors. Her room had a serene, feminine, sunlit garden feel to it.
Daphnes was glaring hard at one of the paintings hanging on her wall – a sky scene that she'd actually done herself – refusing to look at his daughter.
"I'm telling the truth," she repeated firmly. "Why won't you believe me?"
He turned, his arms crossed. "You want to know why? Because I know boys like that criminal. I know they're handsome and charming, I know you dream of their smiles, but they – he – is dangerous. And you can do better than him."
She gaped, blinking in surprise. "You . . . You think I like him? Dad! That's not it at all! I'd never stoop so low. I know he's a bad person." But why would the goddesses choose a bad person as the Hero? a small part of her mind whispered. "But the Triforce was telling me to spare his life. I don't know why, but it was. Just give me time, and I can figure it out."
He was still visibly angry, but his tone was less confrontational as he said, "I don't want you going near him."
Zelda sighed. "Dad, I have to at least talk to him."
"No! I won't have it."
"Just once. Please? It will help me learn what the goddesses want."
His broad shoulders sagged. "Just. Once. No more." He raised a finger, shaking it at her. "And I swear to you this, Zelda. He's safe so long as he stays inside that cell. But if he takes one step outside . . . he's dead."
The princess nodded, relieved that she'd gained a little bit of ground. "Yes, thank you."
Daphnes grunted in distaste and left, closing the door after him.
Zelda sat heavily back on a wicker chair, pulling her hair loose. Well, there's that. I don't know if this boy is the Hero or not – it's very unlikely – but he is important. I just have to find out why.
She was yearning to go speak with him, but she was emotionally exhausted already. Deciding it was best to wait until tomorrow, the princess read for a few hours to calm herself. She took a brisk walk about the castle and ended up eating supper with some of the highborn men and women staying in the castle. Afterward, she organized her wardrobe before falling into a fitful sleep.
The next morning came, and her early bath had washed off the blue paint on her hand, but she never kept a design for very long. She painted some vine-like patterns over her foot in green to help ease her anxiety as she got ready for the day. She chose a floral patterned dress that was mostly greens which had cut-off sleeves and came to her knees. Keeping her hair loose, Zelda took a calming breath before she headed down towards the dungeons.
She'd only been twice in her lifetime. It was cold and dark and smelled of dried blood and urine. It wasn't a place she liked to be. The steps took her down and down as she was led by a guard, her sandals making loud claps as they hit the stones. The torchlight danced in front of her, barely cutting through the darkness.
They reached a wooden door that opened with a creak. She passed another group of guards as she and her escort walked down a line of rusty, small cells. A few prisoners were in them, some calling out to them. For food, for freedom, for sex. Zelda stared straight ahead, feeling sick in her stomach.
"Here he is, Your Highness," the guard said, gesturing with the torch to a particular cell, the ones on either side empty.
Zelda stepped closer, looking in. The torchlight caught a pair of blue eyes as they stared up at her. The young man gave a lazy smile, sitting back against the far wall. Grime and dirt coated the area, and she thought he'd looked cleaner at the executions than he did now.
"Hello, Princess," he said. "Come to see your handiwork?"
She glanced back at the guard. "Give us some privacy, please." After sticking the torch into a wall sconce, the guard complied. She turned back to the prisoner. "What was your name again?"
He gave a low, sardonic laugh. "You don't remember the name of the person whose life you saved?"
She pressed her lips together, frustrated. "I've slept since then. Remind me."
"Link," he replied, after a pause.
"Link," she repeated, "your . . . your list of crimes was extensive."
He shrugged noncommittally.
"You have nothing to say to that?"
"What do you want me to say?"
She looked away, irritated. "I . . . I know you felt it. Don't try to deny it." She looked back at him. "You felt the Triforce."
His expression stayed calm as he answered, "What on Hyrule are you talking about?"
Zelda paused, her thoughts derailed. She stammered for a moment before replying, "The . . . The Triforce! I saw the way you looked at me when my piece was active. And you looked back at your hand. It was obvious you felt something."
Link tilted his head to the side, seeming weary. His blonde hair, dirty from the dungeons, framed his face. "The way you kept staring at me was making me nervous. My shackles were hurting, so I looked back at them. It had nothing to do with the Triforce."
Zelda couldn't believe this was happening. She hadn't been wrong. She hadn't. Why was he refusing to acknowledge it? She stepped closer to the bars, scrutinizing him. He had to be about her age. What a waste of a life, to throw it away to crime so young.
He met her gaze before looking at her foot. "The princess likes body-paint, I see."
"I do," she answered, her voice like steel. "But I'm not here for conversation. Tell me the truth. We're alone, you have nothing to fear." The way he tilted his head back with a bitter laugh made her angry, but she pressed on, "Are you the chosen Hero?"
A small smile stayed in place as Link observed her. Then he responded, "The princess still believes in fairy tales, does she?"
She scoffed. "It's not a fairy tale. It's a prophecy."
"That legend is older than modern civilization." He gestured theatrically with his hands. "A brave Hero, all honor and valor, aided by a wise and powerful woman will destroy a terrible evil that arises!" He shook his head, dropping his hands. "It's the stuff of children's daydreams. It's not reality."
Zelda frowned. "The prophecy was reaffirmed the day of my birth. I have a piece of the Triforce. And I'm seeking the Hero I'm to help. I saved your life because I thought you might be him." Her frown twisted into a glare. "Obviously I was wrong. You make no apology for your crimes, and you sit there and mock a message from the goddesses. I'm sorry I saved your life, since you were so eager to die!"
"I was!" Link snapped, his smile and humor gone. "It was what I wanted!"
"I'll have to see if I can grant that wish!" She turned on her heel and walked back the way she had come, practically jogging. Her face was hot with frustration. She just wanted to be alone right now and think about things. She didn't even return the guards' nods as she threw open the door and hurried up the steps.
Zelda went down the busy hallways, up more flights of stairs, and got to her room as quick as she could. She strode across it and threw the balcony doors open. She was hit with wind and sunshine, and instantly the tension in her eased. More relaxed, she walked across the round stone balcony and leaned on the intricate railing, looking out at the world. A small courtyard was below her, gardeners at work tending to the flowers. There was another castle wall, though this one lower and smaller so she had an unobstructed view of Hyrule Castle City. It was quite a beautiful sight, even though Zelda never spent much time in it. Full of tall stone buildings, painted signs, and markets alive with merriment. The wind blew her hair back from her face and rustled her dress as she went deep into thought.
Maybe Link wasn't the Hero. But who was he, then, that her Triforce had been so insistent on saving him? And should she make sure he never was executed, or should his death only be delayed?
"Hmph," she huffed, "it's not like he cared."
What kind of a person didn't care if they lived or died? She supposed someone who had nothing in their life. No cares, no loves, no desires or goals or dreams. The very idea was almost enough for her to send him straight back to the Hangman and forget this whole mess. And yet . . .
And yet the way he'd said that he wanted to die . . . the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice . . . it had caught her attention. There was a desperation in it, a deep hurt. And the way he'd looked at her when her Triforce was active, that smirk gone and so many emotions running over his face . . .
"No," she decided, "something is going on. And I'm going to find out what."
And she knew that needed to start by founding out who Link was.
Zelda left her room and made her way into the old parts of the castle. She was going to see their national record-keeper, Sahashrala. After a long trip through seldom-used halls, she found him in the old library buried among ancient books.
"Sahashrala?" she asked, stepping into a dusty room lit by sunlight.
"Oh?" he looked up, jumping slightly and creating a smudge with his quill on a parchment. Fussing under his breath, he put his quill up and regarded her. "Oh! Princess Zelda!" He stood, his long white beard lying over his orange and yellow robes. He hefted a tall wooden cane in one hand. "How can I be of service?"
"I'm looking for information about someone. I think he's an orphan, if I remember right," she answered, coming over to the table he was at. "I was hoping you could help me."
"Oh? What kind of information? Recent, or perhaps older?"
"I know recently he's been involved in crime," she replied. "I was more interested in where he was born, and who his parents were. What happened to them."
"Alrighty," he stroked his thick mustache. "Orphan, you say? Yes, yes. Do you have a surname?"
She gave a helpless shrug. "I don't. But his first name is Link."
Sahashrala nodded. "Link isn't a very common name, so that should help. How old is he?"
"He must be around my age."
The old man muttered to himself, looking hard at the floor, before smiling back up at her. "Well, I will check through my records and see if I can find anything for you. Why don't you come back tomorrow morning? We'll see what I've got then."
Zelda smiled in return. "Thank you, I appreciate it."
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LoZ
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The private dining room of the castle was a circular space, shining with cherry wood and ornate tapestries on the walls. The table was also round, with cushioned chairs encircling it. Here much of the constant noise of the castle was muted, and the scent of wax came from the candles.
Zelda was having supper with the king and the captain of Hyrule's army, Karane. Karane was a blunt, feisty, middle-aged woman with blue eyes and red hair she kept tied back. She'd served her entire life in the military, much like Jon, and had been Captain for a long time.
"I swear if I have to break up one more rookie riot, I'm going to send them all to patrol in Trash City," Karane was grumbling, cutting into her steak roughly. "And I won't care if they never come back."
"Peace time makes soldiers careless," Daphnes commented. "You should fill their heads with threats and they'll straighten up."
"I only wish that worked so well with our criminals," Karane replied. "Careless, reckless, self-centered people that they are. We need to tighten our response or we're going to get overrun, I promise you that."
"I think we do well enough," the king responded. "Hyrule's population has been booming, and with that comes a rise in crime. If it doesn't level out in a few years, then we have a real problem."
"Or if we took more decisive action in making examples of others," the Captain stated, looking pointedly at Zelda.
The princess blinked at her, fork halfway to her mouth. " . . . What?" Then, realizing, she sat the fork down and narrowed her eyes. "One man saved from execution is hardly going to destroy your whole system of authority, Captain."
Karane looked back to her plate, messing with the vegetables, her voice icy cold politeness as she said, "I just wish you would tell me why he was pardoned so I can confer it to my soldiers. Plus it would help me sleep better at night."
"I already told you it was a Triforce matter," Daphnes said patiently. "Zelda is more attune to things than we are."
Karane's pursed lips conveyed exactly what she thought of that.
Zelda's mouth twisted to the side as she glared at the captain. "Why does it matter so much to you if Link is executed or not?"
The other woman snapped a look at her. "Because it's my job to keep track of, profile, and hunt down criminals. It's my job to keep Hyrule safe. Link has been a nuisance for almost ten years now. He's brave enough to do his work in broad daylight as well as at night. He commits crimes all over Hyrule with no discretion and that makes it very difficult to find him again. I can't even count how many times me or my soldiers have chased him for hours only to end up losing him again. What's worse is that he's brash and cocky. After one of those chases, my soldiers and I returned to our camp only to hear report that he'd come back by and stolen a bag of rupees and a horse. Plus several pairs of underwear." She put her fist down hard on the table, leaning closer to the princess. "So forgive me if I don't take kindly to you pardoning a man that has caused us so much trouble." She sat back roughly, eating again.
Zelda wasn't sure what response was appropriate after that, but she knew laughing was not. So she bit down on her tongue and looked back at her plate.
After a prolonged moment of silence only broken by the noise of silverware and glasses being picked up and sat down, Daphnes said, "Link is not pardoned, Captain. He will not be leaving the dungeon until the situation is cleared up. And once it is, Zelda will not be the sole determiner of his fate. You and I shall consult together."
"Good," Karane responded simply.
The king turned to Zelda. "Have you spoken to him yet?"
"I . . . did, yes," she answered.
When she didn't elaborate, he raised his eyebrows. "And?"
Zelda shook her head. "He gave me a lot to think about. It was more of what he didn't say that struck my interest. I'm going to need some time to consider it."
Karane huffed, but that seemed to satisfy the king. Though Zelda knew he didn't like the whole situation.
They lapsed into silence for awhile, the princess thinking over Karane's words, before a curiosity got hold of her. She glanced up at the captain. "So . . . how did you finally end up capturing Link?"
A half-smile tugged at one corner of the woman's mouth. "I think his life caught up to him. We found him during a standard patrol sitting in an alley. He was panting and sweaty and scuffed up. It looked like someone had been chasing him for a very long time. He tried to get away from us, but his ankle was sprained so he didn't get far."
Zelda nodded slowly, digesting this. "Could you remind me of his crimes again?"
"Let's see," Karane sighed, sitting back as her expression turned thoughtful. "He has a long history of stealing. Smuggling is his other big crime. We have a little bit of vandalism, mostly breaking into places. That also covers his trespassing problems. And some deceit, which is mainly him lying about who is, feeding false information around, and things like that."
The young woman considered this before a realization came to her. She blinked, turning to Karane. "These . . . these are all non-violent crimes."
The redhead smirked. "Ah, yet another person who sees crimes in which no one gets hurt as lesser offenses. Well let me educated you, honey. Property, or even rupees, go missing. The owners have to find a way to replace them. And if the property that was stolen belongs to the castle or military, then it's coming out of the taxpayers' money. If a shop gets enough items stolen, it has to raise the price to make up for the loss, which puts strain on the average citizen. You'll get some of these stolen items smuggled through the black market. You'll even get weapons put into murderers' hands, illegal drugs passed around, and people smuggled across borders. And I'm sure you know what sort of problems that causes."
"I . . . see," Zelda replied, not having looked at it that way before.
"Oh, I wasn't even done yet," Karane said mildly. "But I won't go into the cost of vandalism on taxes, the way trespassing makes your people feel insecure, and how annoying false information can prove for the army." She gave a sugar-sweet smile. "Non-violent crimes? Don't kid yourself. There's always a victim."
Even by the time Zelda went to bed, her room cast in shades of silver and blue, she couldn't shake Karane's words from her head. Her Triforce had led her to believe Link wasn't as bad as he seemed. But he was still a criminal. He was still a bad person. And she shouldn't think of him as anything more.
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LoZ
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Link stared vacantly at the criss-crossing bars. The rust that coated the corners, the way their shadows flickered faintly from a torch in the far distance, and the heavy metal lock that secured the door. He was glad he had a few layers of clothes on, because the cold in the dungeon was thick. The floor looked as if it hadn't been washed in years, and Link brought a dirty hand up to rub at his face. He needed to shave; he could feel a blonde stubble growing.
Ever since Captain Karane and her soldiers had succeeded in capturing him, he'd felt overwhelmed at the events around him. And so he did what he'd always done when he felt this way; he just sat back and let things happen, reacting when he needed to. If only he hadn't hurt his ankle sliding down from a rooftop, he wouldn't have even been captured. But that was a long time ago now. He'd spent two weeks in the city jail before being brought to trial. He knew there was no reason to defend himself. Every one of those judging him knew who he was and what he'd done. When they'd decided he'd pay for his crimes with his life, Link hadn't been sure what he'd felt. There was fear, anxiety, regret, sadness, but also a very strong relief. Relief that his suffering was about to be over. He wouldn't have to run anymore.
The next few months in the prison had been difficult. He didn't like to be confined to one space. While some of the other prisoners had been pleasant to talk to, others just annoyed him and there was no way to get rid of them. It had been hard to watch some he'd thought of as his "prison friends" be taken off to get executed. He wasn't sure if the waiting had been the easiest or the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.
The day of his execution, he'd vomited in his cell. The world was a whirlwind around him as the guards had shackled him and led him through a long, dark, cold hall to the execution chamber. He knew he'd never forget that walk. He'd felt each step and been aware of each inch they'd drawn closer.
The chamber had seemed to engulf him. He felt so small before all those people. Before the Hangman. Before the noose. He'd felt sick and crazy and alive and he hadn't known why his heart was pounding so hard. When that rope was tightened around his neck, he had accepted death. It was coming, and that's all there was. Everything else just ceased to be.
So when Princess Zelda had pulled him from the brink of that abyss, he hadn't been sure what to think. He was a mess of emotions. He felt everything all at once. He'd been taken straight to the castle dungeons and just left there. For awhile he couldn't stop shaking. Then he couldn't stop laughing. It took a guard coming over and threatening him with a whip to make him stop.
But after a few hours he'd finally calmed down. And he replayed these events over and over to make sense of them. To get a grasp on that fact that that had really happened.
Then Zelda came down asking him all these questions. Who did she think she was? He'd touched the edge of death and come back, there wasn't anything that could scare him now.
Link paused in his thoughts, his eyes glancing about. That was a lie. There was still one thing that could scare him.
I'm probably safer in here than I was out there, he told himself. This dungeon is well protected.
He wondered if Zelda would come back. She was quite pretty, but had that obliviousness and righteous judgment that all upper-class held. He wondered if she would ever realize how dark and nasty the world could get, and how she would react when her perfect view of life was shattered. He couldn't help but envy her, though. Because for him, the world had never been perfect. It had always been dark and nasty. And he had never been safe.
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