Chapter 5:
They quickly walked away from the tavern. Running would have been a little too conspicuous. The lads stopped after a couple corners.
"Damn! I nearly wet myself when you opened that door. That was so stupid, I can't believe that worked."
"Was it too stupid or just stupid enough though?" Link, the philosopher asked.
"Whatever. Do we double back to the plaza?"
"Hmmmm. No, not right now. Let them forget about us first. We stay out of sight of the tavern at least." Link mused.
"Right. I'll skirt around the soldier camp, see if I can talk to them at all."
"Good idea. Let's try to meet Ric in the evening when the bustle has died down."
And with that they separated.
Link had no idea what to do now. His sword lessons wouldn't begin for another couple of hours and it wasn't even dinner time yet. After a brief pondering session he decided to go back to the tavern anyways, albeit carefully. When he reached the corner from where he could see the back entrance, he was surprised to see a few young maids standing around on the street. They were chatting in hushed voices. They all wore pretty much the same gowns. Black skirt with white blouse, a silver brooch in the shape of the royal crest, signifying their "importance", and a bonnet with white cloth hiding their hair.
Link thought about what talking to them might reveal about the attack they had apparently suffered. Not that much, he concluded, but wanted to try anyway.
He straightened his tunic and brushed his hair out of his face with his fingers. At least he, for once, didn't look like something the cat dragged in. He put on his best winning smile and strutted around the corner.
As soon as one of the young women spotted him, she silenced the others and all of them looked at him fixedly.
Talk about scrutiny, Link thought. "Please don't be alarmed. My name's Link and I…"
Through the open back door he spotted yet another maid cowering in the shadows. She too noticed him looking at her and motioned for him not to give her away.
He turned his attention back to the ladies. "… I must ask for your help in answering an important question. What are your names?"
They looked a little less standoffish. Apparently the "asking for help" line had hooked them.
"What do you want?" the oldest asked. She was at least thirty and her face told Link everything he needed to know about her. Everything about her expression said: "No distance on this earth compares to how much you are below me."
Link noted with a certain satisfaction that the younger ones looked at him with at least some interest.
"Very well, to business. While on a venture through the north forest, I happened upon a slain animal. A boar. I will spare you the details, of course, but no local animal or resident would have left such a mess. People are worried. I am tasked to shed light into this conundrum." He talked fast and like a noble to prey upon their serfdom-reflexes. "You might help in this endeavour. Have you, during your travel, heard of anything pertaining to such an attack?"
He knew he got them. At least the young ones. The older woman still looked sceptical but, Link suspected, enjoyed the opportunity to be important.
"Have you talked to the knights?" she snarled.
"Not yet madam." She liked the "madam".
"They seemed busy and the soldiers seemed grieving. I understand they lost a man?" The maid's face showed what she thought about soldiers.
"They have. Tragic, of course. A good man, I'm told."
Yes, thought Link sarcastically, I'm sure everybody tells you what they think. She definitely wanted to be important. Time to set the trap.
"I will of course have to speak to the knights in due time. But I thought it wise to inform myself beforehand at a reliable source and so I come to you, madam. Will you assist you in this grave matter?"
Her expression changed to conceited in an instant.
"Very well, young man. I shall tell you what you seek. Of course, I don't make a habit of speaking to soldiers, but one in my position needs to keep up with the happenings in the camp, you understand." she huffed.
"I fully understand, madam!" Link understood.
"It is a scandal, really, so I trust in your discretion. We were attacked! By snarling, slavering, screeching monsters!"
"Bokoblins!" said one of the girl-maids, happy that she could contribute. She beamed at him. At least until she caught the withering stare of her older colleague.
"As I was saying…" she returned her attention back to Link. "… Monsters! While travelling on the King's road, no less! The knights fought bravely and were victorious. We owe them our lives."
"The knights" Link noted. Not the soldiers, even though one of the soldiers had died for them. He liked this woman less and less. At least she was now liking the tone of her own voice.
"I of course did not wish to know all the gruesome details!"
Of course, thought Link.
"I merely overheard them saying that, while they got most of them, one of the beasts could flee. Dreadful, dreadful business." She concluded her deliberations.
"I see. I can see you came to the conclusion that our occurrence in the woods might have been caused by one of those stragglers." Link ventured conspiratorially.
"What? Oh! Yes, yes of course! That must be it. There is simply no alternative that I can see."
"Brilliant! I thank you from the bottom of my heart, even if the news is troubling." Link said demurely.
"You are most welcome, young sir."
"The poor princess. She was so sad when she heard of the dead soldier." The smallest maid sniffled. She was eleven at most.
"Kitty! No talk about the princess!" the older woman snapped.
"Was she?" Link asked and damn near bit his tongue. Stupid! But the old battleaxe seemed unperturbed.
"Yes, the princess felt responsible. She took the boy's death to heart. She is young." She sighed. As if that was a mistake!
Link caught another glimpse of the hiding maid through the open door. She looked at him imploringly.
He looked back at the woman. "Madam, you have been a great help, but I must not further intrude upon your time. I apologize if I have caused you ladies any inconvenience." And he smiled into the group, which earned him a few giggles.
"Apology accepted, young man. We will return to our duties. Come, girls!"
She strode through the back door, the girls following single file. One or two of them bestowed him with a little smile.
He watched them disappear around the corner inside the tavern.
He waited a few seconds.
"You can come out now." He said, amused.
The maid scrambled out of her hidey-hole by the large trough. She wiped her hands off of dust and looked at link gracefully. She had beautiful sky-blue eyes.
"Let me guess: you are skipping work." Link said with a sly smile.
She looked up, her expression angry for a second. Then it softened into a tiny smile of her own. "You might say that…"
"What's your name?"
"Sally."
"I am Link. I can't blame you wanting to get away from that old dragon."
She seemed to try keeping her face neutral but her mouth twitched into another brief smile. "She can be… domineering. She certainly keeps bossing me around."
Link guessed her age must be about the same as his. Even with the hair hiding bonnet, it was easy to see that she was beautiful.
"Well. Thank you, Link, for keeping my presence a secret. I will be going." She announced, suddenly almost haughty.
"Would my lady need a guide through this most sinister of villages?" Link asked playfully. Suddenly conversing with the knights was no longer a priority.
She seemed unsure what to answer. "And who tells me you are not at the heart of all that is sinister?"
"Nobody. But I know I certainly look like I might be." He said with his most angelic expression. "What does your female intuition tell you?"
"To keep away from strange men and their questionable intentions." She folded her arms and seemed to pierce him with her big eyes.
"Noble words from someone shirking her work to go out. What would your intentions be, then?" he countered, mimicking her pose.
She raised her dark eyebrow. "Touché. Possibly I am just as wicked as you, sir."
"If that is your whole potential for wickedness, I highly doubt it."
They looked at each other for a few seconds, wondering what to say.
Then they laughed.
When they had both calmed down again, Sally conceded: "Very well, then. Show me the wonders of Ord village, o mischievous one!"
Link had a brief internal "YES" moment. "Excellent. What can I show in so little time? The bold architectural marvels? The landscape in its fascinating beauty? Old Bruno lying drunk in the gutter? What can I show that you have not seen before?"
She curled her lips. "Pfff! You would be surprised how little you get to see in the princess' retinue. Cooped up all day looking after someone else!"
She let herself be lead away by Link. "At least you get to travel, see some parts of the world. The farthest I can hope to get is Hyrule city a couple of times in my life. It's so boring here."
"What?" she looked at him incredulously. "You can do anything here! I sit in that carriage, day in, day out with all these women nattering pointlessly and, above all, endlessly. And in the Hyrule city it is not much different. That is what I call boredom!"
Link had no good comeback to that, it did sound pretty dreadful.
He led them away from the village towards the open field. Almost all people would still be gawking at the plaza anyway.
"What do you do all day anyway?" she asked, genuinely interested.
"Blacksmith's apprentice. My father is teaching me." Link winced a little: "And in the evenings I train for the junior tourney of swordmastery."
She looked at him, astounded. "Truly? Not too many from outside the city participate… I've heard."
Link looked at her with a raised eyebrow. She really had gorgeous eyes.
She looked away again. He couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a tiny bit of blushing on her smooth cheek.
He felt himself blush and too looked back at where he was going.
"You hear a lot."
"I can't help it. The princess takes an interest in swordplay and sometimes talks about it. Sometimes I think I'm the only one who cares to listen."
"Why would the princess care about something like sword fighting? Doesn't she have needle work or something?" Link scoffed before he could stop herself. Sally seemed to at least have some respect for her charge.
And, as he feared, she stopped, her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Now listen here, you! First off, why shouldn't the princess be interested? It's the only damn exciting event where she has any roll to play ALL YEAR. Secondly, the princess is proficient with a blade herself, according to Hyrule family tradition. Thirdly, I will graciously ignore your imbecilic last comment, but only this once!" she spoke loudly and harshly. She was actually rather scary, fury glinting in her eyes, her full lips pressed together so they were white.
Link immediately raised his hands placatingly. "I apologize. I did not mean to be disrespectful. I spoke without thinking." He said sincerely. He had no interest in enraging this girl. But why would she be so indignant about an admittedly tasteless but ultimately harmless jibe?
"Hmph!" she hmphed. She seemed to calm down somewhat. Now she actually looked a bit sheepish, as if her outburst left her embarrassed. "I accept your apology. Under one condition…"
"Anything, my lady!" He bowed in mock subservience.
"I want to see your smithy."
"Huh? Why?" he wondered.
"I have never seen one before. Anything, my lady!" she mocked him.
"Very well. Follow closely, so you don't get lost in Ord's milling crowd."
Link led his new acquaintance toward his house. The one or two villagers they encountered threw them interested looks, but Sally didn't seem to notice, thankfully. The problem with living in a place where everyone knew everybody.
After their little quarrel their conversation had died off and had left a rather awkward silence. Link was determined to break it.
"How good is princess Zelda with a sword, I wonder?" he ventured.
"No idea. She has received lessons, but no one would actually fight her, of course. And who would really tell her the truth, if she was bad at it?"
"I suspect you might." He chanced.
"Me? I don't think I know enough to accurately tell!" she exclaimed.
He was silent for a moment.
"I think I would like to see a princess fight." He mused at last.
"Oh would you. I am sure a private audience can be arranged for that!" she said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
"Now don't be so standoffish, please! I didn't mean that in jest. I am genuinely interested now. From swordsman to swordswoman." said Link, getting a little bit irritated himself. Who does she think she is, the princess' governess?
Sally sighed, and mumbled "I'm sorry. You see, she would probably actually enjoy that."
All of a sudden, the girl seemed sad.
"What is she like? The princess, I mean?" he asked softly.
She seemed conflicted, her face betraying many different thoughts clashing in her head. "It's not really my place to say. But she is eager to learn. She feels that she knows nothing at all about her people, what they do, how they think, what they want. She does not want to be one of these nobles that think their position is divine right."
Her voice revealed genuine disgust.
A tiny suspicious thought arose in Link's mind. This girl is more than she seems. Possibly a lot more. But could that truly be?
"So she would, for example, want to learn the inner workings of a smithy?"
The girl stopped instantly and stared at him, wide-eyed. Link didn't know how to look back. Mildly? Neutrally? Inquisitively? He went for friendly interest.
Sally seemed to compose herself and relaxed a bit. She looked down at her own feet. "I think you got me." She said.
Now Link went wide eyed. "You are…"
She interrupted "The princess sends me out in maid's clothing whenever we stop travelling. I am to find out more about her people, talk to them, learn how they think and tell her all that I've garnered. She really is interested in a lot of topics and reading books isn't enough. I hope you're not mad." She gave him the puppy look.
Damn it, but those eyes are stunning, thought Link. "I am not mad. But why the masquerade?"
"Always the same reason. Who would talk honestly to a princess? Or even the envoy of a princess? A maid however…" she let it unfinished.
Link definitely wasn't sure whether he believed her. For a maid sent to be an inconspicuous gatherer of information she had done a relatively poor job, getting irate so easily. But could this girl really be… It was too fantastical a thought to be true. But still… He would look for evidence, not just flimsy suspicions. He wasn't sure what he'd do once he was certain about her identity. What would he do? No one would believe him, of course. And he started to like this girl…
"Well, better show you the smithy, then. My father will be out now anyway, so there should be no uncomfortable questions. For either of us…" he added.
Her face lightened up considerably. She awarded him a radiant smile that nearly knocked him out of his socks. "Thank you!"
And she skipped past him.