Chapter 22
Zelda
She couldn't say how long they had lain on the broad stone rim of the basin. Head to head, unspeaking, eyes closed, simply at peace. Multiple times she had heard his breathing slow when he nearly fell asleep. She would have let him, of course, she could see how tired he truly was. But he always brought himself back from the brink, simply to continue to enjoy this evening with her, which made her brain go completely mushy. Zelda loved the gentle murmur of the water, feeling his hair lightly brush against hers and, most of all, the absence of any bothersome thought.
When they had finally decided that they should make their way back, the sky was already dark. By the time they had fought their way back to the wooden gate it was night. For a while they had stood around after she had locked the little portal again. Neither of them really knew how to say goodbye after this afternoon and, unsurprisingly, neither of them wanted to. That beautiful boy, who could be so strong and full of wit, was shuffling around awkwardly, looking for appropriate words. Zelda knew, she wasn't faring any better. Torn between wanting to stay close and looking for some distance to put her thoughts in order…
"Tomorrow?" it finally broke out of him, as if he had carried that question until it burned his flesh. She was thankful that he'd asked. Otherwise she would have had to…
"We'll see…" Zelda purred coquettishly.
He gave her a look. She could see that he was awake by sheer force of will, so she relented and stopped teasing.
"Tomorrow. Same time." She whispered, flushing slightly.
He gave a contented grunt.
Waiting…
'Goddess, did she have to do everything around here?!' she thought, amused. She took a bashful step forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. That seemed to wake him from his torpor somewhat.
"The rest tomorrow, sleepyhead. Now to bed with you!" she commanded, smiling.
The moon provided enough light for her to see his exhausted grin. "Aye, your highnessness…ness!" he mumbled. She almost felt his hope for another little kiss when he slowly, hesitantly turned to leave under her grinning supervision. Good! 'Let's hope he won't be too… eager tomorrow…' she mused, very unladylike thoughts suddenly bumping her conscious. Thank Nayru he was already turned around… she was almost certain that the redness currently radiating on her face would be able to light the night crimson.
As she made her way back to and through the castle, Zelda was immensely thankful for the dark. Even with all her knowledge of the fortress' rat runs, the last few metres up the stairs and to her chambers were in clear sight of altogether too many guards. In the dark, if she was quick, they wouldn't see how utterly dirty her dress was. She hoped…
She forced herself to stride normally up the steps, even though she wanted to sneak from shadow to shadow. If any of the royal guards wondered about the peculiar new design on her garb, they didn't stir or ask questions.
Zelda opened the door to her chambers, very quietly so not to wake any of the maids that had their tiny rooms adjacent, and snuck in.
The few candles that her servants had left for light whenever she should return gave her bedroom a slightly gloomy colour.
She was about to shed her spoilt dress when suddenly…
"So, how was it?!" Sally whispered urgently.
Zelda nearly gave a shriek of surprise, but controlled it at the last moment by clapping her own hand in front of her mouth. Of course her nosy cousin would be here! If her thinking had been straight she wouldn't have been so caught off guard… Her mind, however, had still been rather busy with discussing in detail how exquisite a certain young Hylian had looked with wet hair.
Saria seemed a little shocked herself. "Sorry, Zelda, I didn't mean to startle you!" she said, wide eyed. Then her eyes wandered down to her dirt smeared garb. In her imp-like face played first a scherzo of confusion, then a thunderous crescendo of shock.
"You didn't!" she only squeaked.
Zelda looked down on herself, bemused. It's only a dress! What was Sally's prob… Princess Zelda, returning from a date with Link, clad in a dress that looked like they had rolled in dirt. It even had muddy handprints on it…
The implications one could very reasonably make hit her like a ton of rock.
Holy… sugar!
"No! Nononono we didn't! We did not! We weren't… we haven't… we…" she stammered, feeling both hot and cold.
"You are being a tad unconvincing…" Sally whispered carefully.
Zelda knew that, even if anything had happened, her cousin would take the knowledge to her grave. But still… if even mischievous little Saria, who had a keen interest in anything relating even slightly to boys, was clearly shocked, there was some explaining to do.
Goddess, how had she not realized how she looked? She must make a sight of someone who was dragged behind a bush and… well…
Holy trio, thank you for the unerring unwatchfulness of guards! Not only she would have been in immense trouble, but also Link! Now that she thought about it, he would be in trouble a thousand times over!
"Listen to me! Nothing of that sort happened. I swear it on the holy three, I swear it by fire, water and air!" The expression in her eyes must have looked sufficiently serious, for Sally backed off instantly.
"You don't need to swear to me, Zelda, I believe you! But goddess above, girl! Do you have any idea how you look? If I was your father, seeing you like that, I'd think about castrating every man in the castle!" she hissed, still utterly disbelieving.
"I just realized, thank you! I wasn't thinking!" Zelda whispered urgently, pulling the corpus delicti over her head in one swift motion and dropping it to the floor as if it threatened to catch fire.
"Weren't thinking, I can see that! That good, was he?" that insufferable imp giggled, switching effortlessly from outrage to ribaldry.
"Sally!" Zelda growled. Right now she was not in the mood for this type of joke. If any of the guards had looked closer, damn, if she had just happened to bump into anyone while traversing the castle… not with all her charisma could she have stopped them from basically sounding the alarm. This had been entirely too close to catastrophe, for both of them, because of her stupidity.
"Sorry." Her cousin apologized. "We need to get that thing washed. Or destroyed. Dress and grab your satchel! We're just two studious girls, off for a quiet midnight read at the library, right?"
Zelda nodded. The sudden, dangerous realization had blasted any tiredness she might have had out of her head anyway. Might as well go for a quiet midnight washing adventure!
Thank goodness for Sally's quick wits. She would have been too flabbergasted to react prudently right now. She would have probably tried to wash it in her bathtub, making a lot of unavoidable splashes that would have awoken her maids.
Not a minute later the two girls, armed with a candle and their satchels, walked off towards the library, chatting animatedly about whatever sounded appropriately scholarly. Thankfully the laundry was close, so they would raise hardly any suspicion. The whole way Zelda's head swam with horror scenarios of what would have happened if anyone had seen her. Her heart pounded in her throat. At every turn she expected to see an honourable knight stop them and demand to look inside her bag. An absurd thought, surely, but her head was currently not within the realm of reason. After they had passed a patrol of two guards, whose salutes gave her a fright, they darted around the corner and snuck into the laundry. Zelda's relief at finding the place dark and deserted made her feel light-headed.
Sally got to work immediately, opening her dazed cousin's pouch, taking exhibit A and tossing it into the nearest trough. Zelda snapped out of her trance, got down to her knees and started to scrub the stricken dress. Sally produced another brush and more soap and got to work on the other end.
After a while of concentrated scrubbing she piped up again. "So, apart from that little intermezzo, how was your evening?" she asked sweetly.
Zelda was grateful for the distraction. And, naturally, she itched to share her exploits with her best friend. Some of it, at least.
'Gossiping like washerwomen...' she thought, amused.
Where to start?!
"Well, you won't have to smash our faces together, as it were." She had tried to sound nonchalant about it but… well, damn it, it had been her first kiss! Of course it blubbered out of her as if she had had it on her tongue for ages! The light and fluttery feeling in her chest returned for a pleasant encore at the thought of the wonderful way his lips had touched hers. She felt very warm in her face…
"I knew it! The way you two looked at each other when we met was damn near nauseating…" Pause. Sigh. "Awww I'm so jealous!" she mumbled, clearly torn between being cynical and sincere. "How was it?" she asked, her brown eyes sparkling with eager excitement.
Zelda giggled like a maniac. The relief at having safely eliminated the threat of the dress, paired with her cousin's cute curiosity, made her relive the emotional flight of fancy the day had brought. She remembered feeling his nose against hers, hearing his jerky breathing, smelling his scent that filled her knees with jelly. She remembered feeling his heartbeat as clearly as her own, sharing in that moment so much more than simple closeness. So many racing emotions, two minds at high alert, yet still forming one calm together.
Sally's shoulder bumped into hers, tearing her away from her sweet daydreaming. "Less fawning, more talking!" she ordered in her best governess-voice.
"It was… beautiful." Zelda said, remembering the idiotic line, trying her hardest not to burst out laughing again. She failed.
"Dear goddess, do I need to dump you into the trough to cool you down? What's that supposed to mean, 'It was beautiful'?!" she huffed, flicking a few drops of water in her cousin's face.
"Hey! None of that!" she threatened, but then mellowed and continued her deliberations.
"It was… you know how you sometimes wonder how your first kiss would feel? How you would think it would come as some sort of grand gesture? How you'd be certain that it would change your whole world?" she mused.
Saria made a face. "A few times a day, honey. And?"
"Poppycock. We were standing in the wild garden, up to our hips in bramble, I was saying something I can't even remember and it just happened. He walked up to me, took my hands and there we were. Simple as that. And it couldn't have been more wonderful. I think, in the end, we didn't just wait for the perfect moment… we created it. And I'd say we can create it again, as often as we want…" Zelda pondered aloud, having stopped her scrubbing as she was lost in thought. She found back to the present, turned to face Sally and grinned at her open-mouthed face of surprise.
"Apparently kissing also turns you into a philosopher. I knew there was a catch! The horror!" she shook herself in mock disgust. Then she fell silent for a minute. Zelda watched her, her features, usually twisted in some sort of sneer, now uncharacteristically serene.
"It does sound wonderful… is he a good kisser?" she asked, once again full of eagerness. That girl can give you emotional whiplash…
"What would I base the comparison on?" the princess asked dryly.
"Kenrick of house Jormund." Sally said without skipping a beat, her face perfectly emotionless.
Zelda rolled her eyes. "We were eight! And, if I recall correctly, you kissed him too. But, if you insist on an answer, yes! Link is a better kisser than an eight year old. I didn't feel my legs for at least half an hour." she added, giggling slightly to herself.
They were done with the dress. It wasn't spotless, but now it didn't look as if a crime had taken place around it. 'It looks like most of my white dresses after I've worn them.' Zelda thought with a pang of guilt. How many hours had these women scrubbed their tomboy-princess' dirty clothes?
Sally gave a sigh. "Well, we'll see how my date tomorrow goes. Pray that your lover-boy doesn't forget to tell his friend, or a filthy dress will be the closest you two ever get to the actual thing." she growled menacingly.
Zelda liked the idea of that 1 ½ metre gnome going up against her 'lover-boy'. She could certainly nag him to death…
Instead of doing anything to dignify her remark she just went over and hugged her. "Thank you so much for your prompt help! And I hope your date goes at least as well as mine!" she murmured into her ear, rocking the smaller girl slightly.
"I think, I will attempt to abstain from any physical activities that require a midnight excursion to the laundry." she said pertly, hugging her back.
Zelda sighed. "I assume I will never live this down, will I?" she asked with a defeated chuckle.
"Not as long as either of us breathes, love!"
After Zelda had returned to her chambers, hung up the dress to dry and had herself a quick cat bath, the stress that had kept her running had evaporated and had left her exhausted. But happy.
As soon as her head had touched her pillow she fell asleep. She couldn't remember what exactly she had dreamt, but it hadn't been as pleasant as she would have hoped. The only thing she remembered clearly was the polite but urgent knocking on her door. It felt as if she had only slept for five minutes before she was so rudely awakened once again.
"Yes?" she asked drowsily. The room was oddly dark… she looked at the window. It was still night! Who would knock on her door at this hour?
One of her younger maids entered, looking half asleep herself.
"Beg your pardon, my lady, but one of the royal guardsmen has come. The king has requested your presence in the map room."
Zelda wouldn't waste any time asking stupid questions like "Now?" or "Why?". If her father asked her to come to the room where war strategies were plotted with his generals in the dead of night, it was urgent.
Suddenly wide awake again through the power of curiosity and worry she swung her legs out of bed.
The maid started bustling around her, dressing her diligently yet quickly in an appropriate dressing gown. She also quickly bound her hair to a loose braid, so it would stand on end. Zelda hated being fussed over like this, but this way was quicker than doing it all by herself. Two minutes later she was already out, being escorted by the royal guard.
Immediately upon entering the map room, she could feel the tense atmosphere. Her father and Sir Alistair were poring over a map of Gerudo Valley with the adjacent desert to the south; a province of their large country, though frequently troublesome. The warlike Gerudo had caused more than one international incident in history… What could have happened now?
"Your majesty." Sir Alistair greeted her warmly. This caused her father to look up from the map and focus on her. "Excuse the hour, Zelda, but this will be important, I fear. We are only waiting for the Gerudo ambassador." he mumbled.
"What has happened?" she asked, alarmed.
"She sent a runner fifteen minutes ago, telling us that she had received word of an emergency from Saqqara. Apparently they are under attack."
"By whom? Were there any signs of provocation in the last weeks?" Zelda wanted to know.
"None that we know of. But as we all know, our friends from the red sands don't tell us all we would know." her father scoffed.
"Last month's report from the garrison did not mention any border disputes, nor any civil unrest. Apparently Saqqara has sent riders asking for aid. With enough horses they could travel here in about two weeks." the blademaster rasped.
This was certainly worrying. But somehow Zelda felt that there was more to this. "Do you suspect that this attack is linked to those that were aimed for me?" she asked plainly.
The king looked back at her, his face hard. "I must fear so. It would be a very odd coincidence otherwise. But if it is not, I still want you here for your way around truth and lie. If I assemble my army, I must be sure that the ambassador speaks the truth."
He doesn't want me here so I might learn something, or simply because I am his heir, Zelda noticed, discontented. She didn't say anything, however. Now certainly was not the time.
Only a few seconds passed before Shahi of Saqqara, the Gerudo ambassador was announced. Zelda had always been rather fascinated by the woman. She was extremely tall, towering over most men, thin as a stick but with wiry muscles rippling under her dark skin. Her hair was slowly turning to white and she always wore it in complex topiary-like hairdos.
"Strength and honour be with this house." she announced the official Gerudo greeting of a guest.
"May you find peace and a warm hearth for the night." the king, slightly gruff.
"My liege, forgive the lateness of the hour, but I would not have called for this meeting if I hadn't been certain. The request for aid the riders have brought me not two hours ago has Sha'ira's seal and signature." she spoke quickly, clearly alarmed.
Zelda knew that she and Sha'ira, the current military leader of the Gerudo, and the ambassador were half sisters. In a society where men are so scarce they have to basically import them, it is no rarity that one mother might have several children, all from different 'voe'. Although apparently, if you can believe the stories of men bragging about their conquests, once a male is accepted as future father, he has quite a lot of rather… hungry Gerudo to deal with. This rumour is certainly very profitable for the dark-skinned warrioresses, as it provides them with a lot of male-dominated tourism looking for… fulfilment.
Usually Zelda would have scoffed at such behaviour. Now she stopped herself mid-thought, reviewing the occasional fantasies she'd had over the last few days.
She snapped out of her musings when the king offered her the writ he had been given. Focus, damn it!
The heavy roll of parchment bore a few lines in a grandiose hand. It described that dozens of refugees from the two southernmost oases had flooded Saqqara. These people spoke of nightly raids destroying their homesteads.
A vision snapped into her mind with sudden force. Close to a hundred women, Gerudos mostly, being treated in a large hall, looking emaciated from their hasty flight through the merciless desert. Many stared with stony, empty gazes at nothing, even when helpers offered them water. Whatever these people had seen, they had caught a glimpse of hell. Zelda caught a glimpse of a stone faced woman, clutching her weakly bawling baby, unable to wrest herself from her stupor to provide for the child. The few warrioresses that had escorted the refugees through their harrowing escape were talking animatedly to their peers of the main city. They had to flee so suddenly, they hadn't even been able to bring flasks of water and the sands to the south were now a grave to many languished women.
The vision ended abruptly, but Zelda had seen quite enough. She swallowed and looked wide-eyed at her father. By the change in his expression, paling and eyes widening, she could judge how miserable she must look.
She continued reading. The fugitives have unanimously agreed that they had been attacked by monsters, though which kind was less clear. Zelda was blessedly spared a second vision of such disturbing clarity. She only saw a glimpse of the dead of night, vague dark shapes moving within it. They weren't the shadowy miasma she had encountered on the north road… she did see a few distinct moblin-like figures. She heard a faint echo of screaming people and a roaring horde of creatures, she smelled burning wood and ash and fear.
The writ wasn't expressly asking for aid; that would not be like the Gerudo. It only insinuated that they would need additional help to secure and protect all other southern outposts. It was indeed sealed and signed properly, but Zelda had no need of these insignia.
She looked back up at her father and nodded gravely.
"Did the riders say anything else? Any information about the creatures at all?" he asked calmly.
"There was talk of Bokoblins, Moblins, even Lynels… The warriors that stayed to allow the inhabitants to escape were not heard of, it would seem. If we count them, the dead number 211." Shahi was clearly shaken by the news she bore.
"How many fighting men and women at Saqqara?" the king asked gravely.
"400 in the garrison, 250 Gerudo militia." Sir Alistair wheezed.
"Sha'ira will have sent other riders to the larger outposts. We can muster another 500 within a week. We must stop this assault before it consumes more helpless oases!" the ambassador snarled, slightly overstepping the line of courtesy.
Zelda didn't hold it against her, neither did the king. "We do. We have 400 more soldiers at Vasheer outpost. We will send them as immediate reinforcement to Saqqara and send another battalion of less seasoned men from the heartlands to take their place. In the meantime Hyrule will assemble its army." the king planned, looking briefly to Sir Alistair as his chief strategic advisor, who nodded slowly.
Shahi was clearly relieved to hear that. "Thank you, my liege. The Gerudo will do everything in their power to garner information on this threat so we can prepare properly. And we will attempt to slow them in their wake. The desert is still our harsh mother. She will aid us as well." she said grimly, bowed in their traditional fashion and excused herself.
Zelda was deeply worried. A force of monsters, strong enough to overrun two Gerudo villages at nearly the same time… and they had nothing but the panicked descriptions of fleeing people looking over their shoulder. To Zelda it seemed that since the assassination attempts had failed, they were now facing an open attack. She said as much to her father. He looked at her with tired eyes and nodded gravely. "That is my fear also. When destabilizing us from inside didn't work, they chose to bite at us from outside." he grumbled.
"Who are they? What have you found out? I think it's time you told me." she urged.
He was once again poring over his map. "Preciously little. Even less makes sense. I do not wish to divulge half-information and conjecture to you. Suffice it to say I do not think you are in immediate danger." he said with that cold face that Zelda was growing to loathe. He clearly knew something, yet he still refused to tell her.
"This is not just about me any more! 211 dead! You have summoned me to witness this discussion, now you want to shut me out again! We are all under attack! Why…" she stopped mid sentence. A cold shiver ran down her spine. She whipped around.
A tall woman in a dark cloak stood at the door. Sir Alistair reacted instantly. He darted in front of Zelda, pushing her slightly back and had his blade at the intruder's throat before any of them could move a muscle.
"Impa!" the king snarled. "you insolent wretch, how dare you show your face in front of my daughter?"
"I already know her!" Zelda said quickly. "Sir Alistair, she is no enemy!"
She could feel the king's cold rage at her words. "You dared to contact her without my permission?" he spoke with deadly calm.
Impa wasn't moving a muscle. From what Zelda could see from her expression she had not been prepared for the blademaster's instant response.
"I did. As I said I would, many years ago, when the time was right." she said, her voice quiet. "And the time is now right for you to act, king."
"Careful how you speak to me, assassin. Sir Alistair, lower your blade but stay alert." her father commanded. The knight slowly drew his blade away but did not sheath it or relax whatsoever.
"I have come as soon as my spies told me of the attack on the Gerudo. This is clearly the doing of the agents of the Threat. And I find that you have still kept your daughter in the dark. What must happen before you act, king?" she hissed, ignoring the blademaster's angry twitch at her inappropriate tone.
"I am acting, wretch. I will defend my country with my troops and not risk my daughter's life in some phantasmal search for the mystic salvation you promise. I assume your investigations have, once again, turned up nothing?" the king growled with uncharacteristic sarcasm.
"I have told you at our last meeting that both Zelda and the boy should be led to the sword's resting place. I am positive that the temple would reveal information to them that it would keep hidden from us. But you seem ever keen to ignore my counsel, yet keep demanding it." she said reproachfully.
Before Zelda's eyes flashed a glimpse of a domed stone hall, a pedestal… she had seen these images before, after the attack on her life at the arena. This time it continued an instant longer; a sword was stuck through the top of the pedestal… ancient, rusted… then it ended.
Her head was spinning. Her father had known this woman for a long time… and whatever they had plotted had involved her… but her father did not want her to be part of this. He was scared…
"I will not risk my daughter's health, both physical and mental, unless you can provide evidence. Not speculations." he uttered, his voice threatening.
"You yourself stand in the way of evidence, king! I begin to doubt that anything I say would convince you! You risk thousands of lives because you refuse to act the way you should!" Impa was barely able to keep her voice cool now.
Zelda felt like a leaf in a storm, blown this way and that, unable to control her path. What did Impa want her to see? Why didn't he want her to see it, if it was so important? What was that sword in the stone? They were talking over her head as if she wasn't standing in the same room! Once again she was being treated like a jewel, handed from person to person, nothing but a thing to be used. She felt a hot fury rise in her. If she was in the centre of all this, as evidenced by the attempts at her life and the arguing of these two, she would not be shoved around like cattle!
Her father was about to make another scathing remark when she stepped right in between them and, at the top of her lungs screamed "ENOUGH!"
The candle-lit chamber seemed to, for a second get a lot brighter, but it might have just been her imagination. She looked from Impa to her father and back, glaring at their shocked faces.
"Who do you think you are, deciding over my head what to do with me? Both of you will stop this idiotic bickering and –immediately- tell me what this is about!" She yelled, mostly at her father. When he just looked at her, aghast, she roared "Out with it! I will not continue to give you the pleasure of standing by meekly while you dictate my fate. Speak!"
The king actually took a startled step back, which surprised her and let her take back some of her calm. Zelda turned to glare at the Shiekah. "You do not get to tell me where I should be led. Either show me or keep quiet!" she snarled, the she turned back to him. "And you will stop this 'protecting me' nonsense. You have, twice, failed to protect me. It was me and Link Andrésson that ensure that I am still alive. Not! You!" she hissed through gritted teeth. Zelda knew her words would sting her father in the soul, but right now she cared not. She'd had enough of his inaction and empty promises to involve her.
Something bothered her mind… her and Link had saved her once… Impa had mentioned a boy… him? The one who saved her when no-one else could? …that would have to wait for later. Now she wanted to know what it was they kept from her.
Impa bowed before her. "I beg your forgiveness, princess. I did not mean to decide for you. I have spoken out of turn and, in my anger, have offended you. If you wish I will show you the temple I have spoken of. We, Hyrule, the world needs your help. You are a child of fate… if anyone can learn from this place, it would be you." She spoke. More half information and allusions, Zelda thought vexedly. Her father did have a point with this woman… still, she would press the information out of her when she had to.
Zelda looked back at her father. Not for permission, that time had now ended. Simply to hear if he had any reasonable objections.
For once, she could see through him, his façade of calm had cracked beyond repair. He was immensely afraid for her. He felt extreme guilt at not having been able to protect his only child. He wanted to bury himself in shame that he had allowed his daughter to be attacked and nearly killed.
She could not feel sorry for him, not right now. She glared at him, daring him to say anything untoward. She could see him faltering under her gaze. His shoulders slumped and he looked down. He suddenly looked twenty years older.
"I will join you, of course. I will personally show you and tell you anything you wish to know, Zelda. But please, tomorrow. I cannot leave here tonight, I need to oversee the preparation of the army. Allow me to accompany you tomorrow night. I swear I shall no longer stand in the way. I swear it on your mother's grave." he had his face buried in his hand.
Zelda felt her eyes starting to grow wet, seeing her father so defeated. But she would not relent so easily, even if it didn't bring her any satisfaction. She knew at least that he would rather die than lie on her mother's name… and she doubted that another day would make a difference in this.
She forced her eyes to stay dry and her voice to stay stern. "Very well. I will meet both you and Impa here an hour before midnight." she commanded in her most regal tone. She knew she had won, but it brought her no pleasure.
"What of the boy? Link?" asked Impa carefully.
Zelda felt her stomach cramp. So her feeling had been right! An accident that she would meet him the day after the first attack? An accident that he was the one who saved her when all seemed lost? An accident that she… fancied him? It seemed too much of a coincidence. But what would that mean for him?
Her father stirred. "We can not be certain that it is him. Leave the boy out, for now. We cannot be wrong about his identity, or we might destroy his life." he muttered softly.
Zelda felt herself agree. Whatever it was that she would be shown, both her father and Impa were deathly afraid. And she had absolutely no idea what she might do to help. Before she subjected this life that had become so dear to her to such terrifying knowledge, she too wanted to be sure. She just couldn't risk his happiness on a whim.
"I agree. Tomorrow, then. And Impa! I want you to be sure about what you tell me as fact and what as conjecture. Do not doubt that I will know when you embellish or omit." Zelda threatened.
The Shiekah that had sworn her fealty bowed even deeper. "I will do neither. You too have my word."
Zelda felt that this was as good as it was going to get.
"Good. And now I will go to bed. Sir Alistair, please assist my father to the best of my abilities."
"Aye, your highness. Rest assured." he rattled, with an appreciative, even admiring look on his face.
When Zelda had stepped out of the map room the wakefulness she had summoned withered in an instant and tiredness nearly knocked her to her feet. In a way she was thankful… her brain was too exhausted to keep her awake pondering. Tomorrow she'd have a long day ahead of her…