Chapter 6:

The last 3 hours were a blur. Link slowly and silently walked back towards the village centre.

"Sally" and he had arrived at the blessedly empty smithy and he had shown her around. At first he thought he would just have to explain everything cursorily while she stood awkwardly in the middle, afraid of touching anything because of all the dust and soot. But no! She wanted to touch everything, know everything. He could hardly stop her from jumping head first into the coal room. Within minutes her delicate hands were so grimy, every blacksmith would have been proud. When he commented on that, she just said: "So? Nothing that can't be washed off." He had to bite back a comment on that not being very "princess-like".

He showed her the workings of the bellows, explained what kind of steel they were using, the general method of working it with tongs, hammers, cutting tools and whetstones, described the hardening process and tempering… everything, really. From some of the questions she asked he could tell that she had done some reading on the subject. He jokingly asked if she wanted to blow the bellows, expecting a scoffing remark. Instead she had jumped to it as if she had waited all her life to hear that question. Her squeal of delight when a big cloud of ash erupted from the cool forge was irresistibly cute.

He had shown her his father's work. He always kept a few finished swords in case someone wanted to buy immediately. She had held one of the blades that had about the right dimensions for her, but she gave nothing away about being able to use it. Drat.

After he had shared pretty much all his knowledge with her, they had separated. She had said that she had to return to the princess to tell her all she had learned. Link hesitated only for a second before asking when they could meet again.

She had thought intently for a long moment. She seemed to get sadder every second.

Finally "Sally" had answered: "Tomorrow, hopefully. Before we leave for the city. I don't know if I'll be allowed to." then she had nearly run the way back to the tavern.

Link's head buzzed with all that had happened. He was at that delightful stage of not knowing whether he had made a complete fool of himself. And then there was the whole mystery about Sally's identity.

Had he really, truly just spent half a day with the princess of this country?!

The thought was absurd. Ludicrous. Moronic. And yet… His gut feeling told him that he was right.

On the other hand, he had been so bored lately, that maybe he just wanted it to be true, purely for the excitement. He wasn't sure. He promised himself he would find out, or he's probably never be able to sleep again. Even if he had to ask her straight up, the next time he saw her. If there was a next time… the thought wrenched his stomach a little bit.

Wait… stomach?

Goddesses above, he had skipped dinner! He, Link Andrésson, had skipped a meal! And he was already at the old Knight's gate for his lessons! Din's fire, what was happening to him?!

You know perfectly well, what's happening to you, a nasty little voice giggled in his mind.

He sighed. Well, this session would suck too, it seemed.

He stepped through the gate and onto the training square, when he had another gut wrenching thought. He had forgotten to run his 10 kilometres! He actually facepalmed. Well, this session would suck exceptionally.

At that moment Sir Russel exited his house, dressed in full, polished armour. Link was taken aback. The old bear never wore that, why would he now?

The knight only now noticed Link standing in the square. He looked surprised and a little shocked. "Nayru's Wisdom, what are you doing here? Did André not tell you?"

Link shook his head, befuddled. "Apparently not."

"The funeral, boy. It's in a few minutes! It wouldn't be proper if I were to miss it. Wouldn't be proper for you, either. I asked André to tell you that I'll make it up to you tomorrow morning. You are excused from work. An hour after sunrise, here at the square. Don't forget your running." And with that last barked order, he was off.

Link was momentarily nonplussed. Then he remembered the dead soldier at the back of the caravan. He had meant to ask Sally about that, but had completely forgotten.

He hastened after the knight and walked beside him.

"Where were you that you missed your father the whole day, anyway? Because I do not think André would forget to relay a message." Sir Russel grumbled.

"I spent the whole afternoon with a girl." was what he didn't say. He'd rather fight the old man with real weapons than admit that. Instead he settled for "Observing the royal retinue."

"Gawking, you mean. Ah well, can't really fault you for that." He mumbled.

"Sir, why are they staging the soldier's funeral here? He wasn't someone of this village." Link wanted to know.

The old knight sighed. "The lad was from Hyrule city, aye. It's four more days travel. The body would keep poorly in this heat. It wouldn't do. But they also didn't want to just bury him in a ditch in the middle of nowhere. Trust me, that doesn't feel right either. Next best thing is to hold a funeral somewhere within civilization and offer the lad's ashes to his next of kin. It's not enough. But what is?"

Link heard a lot from the man's sad tone of voice. He had been in that situation. Possibly more than he could imagine. And the peace in the heartlands of Hyrule was not indicative of the goings-on in the wilder parts, Link knew.

They walked the rest of the way in silence. In the fields west of Ord was the gathering. Ord's 82 inhabitants flanked by about 25 knights and about 100 soldiers. In the front were the few noble dignitaries that accompanied the retinue, attended by about 80 servants, Link estimated.

In the centre of the semicircle they formed was a large pyre. It was high enough that the body could only just be seen.

Sir Russel marched off to join the knights with a curt "Tomorrow, then."

Link looked for his friends. Luckily, Ricco was usually easy to spot in a crowd. Marten was beside him, as expected.

"I wondered when you'd show up. I had hoped that maybe they had caught you and you were fodder for the dogs." Ricco grumbled as greeting, still a bit miffed about Link's earlier stunt.

"Yeah, sorry about that. But hey! No trouble for any of us, right?" Link said conciliatory.

"For once." Ricco growled. But Link could tell he already mostly calmed down.

"Was there even any point to your little excursion? I thought you mainly wanted to talk to noble knighthood…"

"Well, it was definitely interesting. I'm sure Marten has told you all about it." Link deliberately kept it vague, so he didn't have to mention his afternoon activities. That hope was dashed when Marten cooed: "Sure. But why don't you mention the young lady that you so expertly ensnared? I saw you ambulate away into the fields."

Ricco was all over that saucy bit of news. "Oh?! Did our Linky have a pleasant afternoon?"

Link's temper flared at the suggestive implication and it showed in his eyes. "Careful." He just said calmly and ice cold. It was not his own honour he was defending, though… mostly.

The two immediately retreated and raised their hands placatingly. "Sorry, brother. We didn't mean… you know. It was just teasing. Nothing serious." Ricco apologized sincerely.

Link still had to laboriously control his temper but didn't want to cause a fight with his friends. "No offence taken." He said, his voice very clearly indicating that that topic was off limits.

They were silent for awhile. Link didn't miss Ric and Mart's brief questioning glance at each other.

When Link had finally subdued his heart rate, he asked: "So Mart, did you find out anything with the soldiers?"

He shrugged. "Hardly. They understandably weren't in the mood for talking. I didn't want to pry or they might have gotten aggressive. But they are seriously shocked about what happened. Definitely don't mention that, you know…" and he lowered his voice considerably. "…that you let that thing go. They'd skin you alive."

"Hadn't planned on it. Knowing what I do now, I probably wouldn't have spared it."

Ricco chimed in: "I overheard that Lord Gorridan talking with one of the knights, the herald. He wanted to keep the reason for the soldier's death a secret from the village. Would reflect badly on the king, he said. The knight, exceedingly politely, told him to sod off. It happened a day's voyage away, so he had already told uncle Boro."

Link shook his head at the world in general.

At that moment the crowd suddenly silenced. The princess was walking over the fields in her simple but figure-enhancing white dress. She had a black sash tied around her waist and her hair was bound tightly with a black ribbon. She walked with her head bowed, so Link again couldn't see her face clearly.

He looked around. Everybody's gaze followed her every step. He couldn't really blame them. The princess was flanked by two servants and two knights. All of them looked sombre but determined.

When she had reached the pyre she gave a short, hushed command. One of the lords jumped up and made for the princess, but she just shot him a withering glance and he sat back down. At that moment Link was all but certain that she was Sally. Those eyes, even when they were momentarily filled with rage, were the same. The two knights had by now placed a wooden ladder against the pyre.

There was a brief perplexed murmuring from the crowd when Zelda herself was climbing up. The princess doing funeral rites for a lowly soldier?

Link looked at the soldiers. While they had previously been bent with grief, now they all stood pridefully straight, staring intently at their lady.

She stood over the body, bent down and placed two coins on his eyes and one on his mouth. Three coins, one for each goddess, forming an upside down triangle, signifying death.

She then removed the black sash from her hips, and spread it over the dead soldier, like a blanket. After a moment of concentrated looking that she hadn't made any mistakes, she clambered back down.

She stood in front of the pyre, at the centre of attention.

"We, who have gathered here, to bid farewell to this man, stand now as guardians over his passing." She intoned, her voice shaky in the beginning, but getting stronger as she continued. "Thodric Theosson, called Thod, has perished, his soul returned to the realm above. He was a brave man, gave his life to save another man. For this I honour him. He was a selfless man, gave his life to protect a princess he had never met. For this I thank him. He was loved man, liked and respected by the men and women that were his peers. For that I love him. He was only nineteen…" She said and her voice very nearly cracked.

"I ask you, all of you, to be his family today. Honour him as if he were your son, your brother. Let your kindness be what guides him to the heavens."

And with that, she closed her prayer.

If Link had heard her words yesterday, he would have felt like applauding sarcastically. "Bravo, good show, you almost had me convinced that you give a damn!" he would have thought. Now he was not at all sure what to think. She had clearly informed herself on the lad. Her prayer had not been generic mumbo jumbo. And she had herself performed the rites, which was practically unheard of. This was the same girl that had bustled about in his smithy, not afraid to get her hands dirty. He was sure of it now. She had changed her voice just slightly, when she had been with him, a tiny bit deeper and huskier. Her real voice was high and clear, like a mountain rivulet in which the rays of the sun reflected.

Link made a slightly bemused face. Where had that flowery analogy come from?

He took one more glance at the soldiers. A lot of those hardened men and women had rather dewy eyes. They couldn't have stood more to attention if they tried.

Princess Zelda was offered a torch. She took it and turned towards the pyre. Another torch was held by the herald knight, a third by one of the soldiers. As one, they lightened the straw under the wood. The fire caught quickly and soon it was completely ablaze. Zelda had taken a few steps back and was now standing off to the side, alone. True, she was still accompanied by servants and flanked by her two knights, but Link felt that she was alone.

There were no more doubts in his mind. She had been that brilliant girl he had spent the afternoon with. He didn't know what to think of that. No matter how he turned it, it got complicated.