nil sine magno vita labore dedit mortalibus (life gave nothing to a mortal without great labor)
- Horace
At the market square, Castle Guards and royalist knights withstood rioters attempting to pour up the path leading to the castle. Bottles, bricks, timbers and insults were thrown at the armored authority, though they remained an unmoving glacier as shards of violence ricocheted off them.
Among the rioters were also deserters and rebellious knights. The eldest knights' ages were apparent by their large, grey beards resting upon their breastplates like mats, clearly the ringleaders. The Castle Guards feared the rebellious knights, all of whom wore gilded armor of highest quality. Some were even crippled, fully equipped yet using their weapons as crutches.
All knights brandished their swords, calling out challenges to one another, though the guards stayed in their way.
"Traitors of the Royal Family!" royalist knights shouted. "Remember your loyalties!"
"Traitors of the people!" separatist knights yelled back. "Remember your bloody Shadow Temple!"
While opposing knights exchanged insults and blames, hooligans throughout town smashed windows, ransacking homes and shops alike. Citizens with the stomach for action defended their doorways, blocking access with large shields while clubbing intruders.
In the most extreme cases, bombs blew apart doors and walls, allowing troublemakers to seep into buildings, attacking and stealing from terrified occupants.
Amidst violence in the back alleys, a robed, hooded child scurried about. Hooligans noticed, then danced wildly as a Bombchu skated towards them! They leapt away as the zigzagging bomb whizzed after them and exploded, hurling several troublemakers into buildings.
As dust and smoke settled, the robed child ran around a corner, the victims dazed. Something bumped into the child, who gasped and spun around, unsheathing a dirk and raising it. "Oh, it's just you, Luna… Don't scare me like that!"
"It's just my turn to sneak up on you, princess!" the Kokiri teased.
"Well, whatever…" Princess Zelda sheathed her dirk, her robe opening, revealing Bombchus within. "Where's Sheik?" She closed her robe.
Luna shrugged. "I thought he was with you?"
"I thought he was with you!" Zelda lifted her hood, looking around. "Let's go find him before he gets himself hurt."
Off they went, more criminals rushing the streets. Zelda scurried past a tall woman wearing a Mask of Truth and a velvety robe, brown hair immense—a Bombchu whizzed down the street charging the criminals, all promptly knocked out by the explosion.
"Bomb's clear, move in!" Valioh yelled down the street, Luna and Zelda already long gone as another Bombchu skated over and blasted away more rioters.
As the explosion settled, a rioter sat up and coughed as a dozen guards swarmed the area, arresting criminals.
"Who the hell just gives bombs to kids!?" a guard complained.
"Apparently, they've been selling bombs to kids since forever!"
"Someone find those children before they kill themselves!" Captain Krin barked.
Whenever troublemakers amassed or approached Zelda, she unleashed Bombchus, scattering all in her wake.
"I really think you should stop with those Keaton bombs, Zelda!" Luna warned.
"What? Oh, you mean Bombchus?" Zelda juggled a few of them.
Luna shook her head. "I think you need to be more queenly."
"Oh, hell no! I'm more boyish than most boys!" Face plastered with an evil grin, the princess harassed clusters of rioters with her technological devices. Rather careless with her toys, she released one without looking; it went towards Luna.
The Kokiri stopped and calmly raised her leg; the Bombchu skittered underfoot and trailed off, blowing up fleeing hooligans.
The princess blinked once, twice. "Smooth move, Luna!" Off she went.
The albino sighed. "I think there's something wrong with her…"
"Move in, now!" someone barked, Luna turning her head.
Zelda turned around, tongue dangling, eyes big and bright. Several Castle Guards approached her, their arms spread out. At the last moment, she swung downwards and a great flash erupted.
"Aghh!"
"My eyes!"
"I can't see!"
When the guards regained their vision, the child was gone.
"Where did he go!?"
"He just disappeared!"
"He went that way!" Luna cried, pointing down an alleyway; the guards rushed off.
"Smooth move once again, Luna," Zelda chuckled, emerging from inside a pot that was, strangely enough, too small for her to fit in, but fit inside she had.
"I don't think Sheik is anywhere here," Luna said.
"Let's check the market. He's probably playing hero."
The girls went to the market, most attention focused on the wall of guards blocking access towards the castle.
Several rioters forced themselves into the Shooting Gallery, promptly hurled out by the owner, a gigantic man. "And stay out before I use your bodies for target practice!"
They obeyed.
Across the market, another storeowner, also a huge man, easily threw out everyone breaking into his store. He raised a Hylian Shield and blocked a thrown brick. "No respect with people these days…" He threw a bomb at the mob, blowing them off their feet. The rioters stopped pestering the shopkeeper...
Zelda and Luna searched the area, keeping low profile. Luna leaned over the fountain to check on the creature she left; it surfaced and stared back with its beady eyes.
Zelda's head popped over the fountain. "What's a Zora hatchling doing here?"
"Hm?"
"That's what that thing is, a baby Zora."
"Oh? I put it there."
"Oh, really? Boop!" Zelda poked the little creature's nose. "Where did you get it?"
"When I saw grownups travelling in a wagon, they were attacked by strange water creatures."
"River Zoras? They can be aggressive."
"Oh. Well, they took me with them. Inside their wagon was a sack with a big blue ball, so I took it. I just had a feeling to do that and I put it in here."
"Good thing that you did. It would have died without water."
The girls continued searching for Sheik but he was nowhere.
Zelda stroked her chin. "Hmm… Where could he be?" She looked at the steeple over yonder. "Ah, yes, he should be there."
Luna followed Zelda to the cathedral. Debris littered around, Gossip Stones and stain-glass windows cracked, though nothing was happening.
"I'm surprised there isn't more damage here," Luna commented.
"Yeah, me to."
"The Temple of Time naturally dissuades evildoers. Its presence commands respect."
The girls looked around for who spoke; Sheik emerged from the entranceway, disguised as a street urchin with a black wig.
"Oh, there you are," Luna said.
"Sorry for scurrying off, Luna. I had to make sure the Temple of Time was not blasphemed." Sheik walked down the steps. "There was a mob but I confronted them. I asked them if this was how they respected the Golden Goddesses… Asked them if this was how real Hylians behaved. They understood and left at that."
Luna smiled. "Very well done, Sheik!"
The prince blushed, eyes down. "Ha, I, uh… I was really scared but I tried my best to hide it. I pretended I was Mom's friend and, well, everyone listened."
"I would have just blown them up," Zelda said.
Sheik frowned. "I know you would."
"I just use the language they understand."
"I think explosions are a little more than words…" Luna commented.
Zelda smirked. "Boom is a good language."
Sheik shook his head. "I hope you can snap out of it, sis. Your bad behavior is getting out of hand."
"Oh, please, Sheik… Give me a break."
"Mother will show you how to deal with people. C'mon, let's go listen!"
"Alright."
The children returned to the market, awaiting the queen's royal arrival. Instead, the rioters and hooligans amassed in greater force, throats resonating with hatred as they gradually pushed the guards back, some injured, others with their helmets dented in.
The deserters and rebel knights raised their swords and shields; the Castle Guards raised their spears and halberds.
"Steady boys! Don't escalate anything!" the Guard Captain cautioned.
"With all due respect, Captain Krin, the rebel knights will easily destroy us!"
One of the royalist knights stepped out of formation, a very tall man armored in a coat-of-plates, sallet, arm harness and leg harness, visor and longsword raised. "Tanneguy du Châtel, I know you're out there! Show your face! Or do you wait in ambush with your ax like when you murdered the previous Guard Captain, Arn the Fearless!? Your men grievously wounded his mother, she fled to the forest then she and her fatherless son died there! Is that how you fight your enemies!?"
One of the old knights stepped forth, revealing himself, a robust man who wore excellent gilded armor. "Jon Séguinat, you were an inept secretary back then, a boy who knew not what he was looking at! You know nothing of knighthood. You will not lecture me about what you cannot understand!" He raised his battleaxe and motioned it, challenging his accuser to a duel who gladly approached him. Nearby knights of both sides readied themselves.
The Castle Guards rippled asunder as their queen marched through them. Contrary to how small she was compared to him, Zelda pushed aside Jon, emerging in the frontline, all knights halting. She donned mascara, red lipstick, a low top dress made of black leather, long leather boots and gauntlets, an immense purple cape, and a triregnum embedded with black diamonds. She looked amazing.
The would-be avalanche of violence paused, all knights' brandished weapons frozen above their heads.
Queen Zelda scowled at Tanneguy, and then glared at Jon just as he stepped out to swing his sword, that action halted by the queen's eyes alone. Jon was impassive to his queen's anger so she clasped her hands behind her back, straightened herself, and firmly walked across the hesitation, her boots thudding against the pavement. "You are both sworn to protect this land."
All attention was on Queen Zelda as she faced the mutiny.
"What I am about to tell you...isn't meant to stop you from destroying everything. As far as I care, you can do whatever you wish with the freedom given to you all." She spun on her heels and gesticulated, speaking with a stern face, "I only wanted you to know how you behaved towards me—and how I have treated you. I will begin, as is my right, with my late father, King Gustav."
The knights of loyalty and rebellion alike, listened.
"Before he became ruler of a unified Hyrule, you all were just boys, wearing a few skins and tending a few horses on a riverside that you could barely defend from your neighbors. Under him, you unified the lands of Hyrule at the cost of great bloodshed. It was a needless civil war divided by warmongers who desired conflict with the Zoras and Gorons in their war...and those who wished neutrality whilst the Gerudo deceived everyone. The Sheikah were nearly genocided because of the conflicts.
After the brutal civil war, you built cities, with good laws, good customs, all the freedom and prosperity you ever needed… Gustav turned you from boys into masters over the beasts and desert dwellers who would deceive and plunder you.
The Gorons once terrorized you! Now they are your sworn brothers and depend on you for trade. Their wealth became yours.
The River Zora used to raid you. Well, they are your trusted allies now. They need you for their protection!
The Gerudo always looked at you as a chance for plunder! Now they are so humbled they are nothing more than thieves and petty cultists of forlorn legends. You won without a fight.
All of this, my father did for you. As great enough as it is on its own, it is small compared to all of you. You are knights, landowners, masters, generals… What have I kept for myself that you cannot also have? Apart from my purple cloak and crown…nothing! No man can point to my riches to accuse me, they can only point to my trust in your loyalty.
What can I do with my riches even when they are kept in pots for any to take? What makes me different from you apart from my ordained destiny? I eat what you eat. I drink what you drink. I sleep when you sleep. Many nights I kept awake, fearful of what may happen if Ganondorf did this or that… I kept guard even as a child so that you could rest soundly. Who can point at me and say I have not worked any less than he has?
Come on! If any man has scars, show them to me. I will show you mine. I am scarred from every damage you can think of: by blades, clubs, stones, arrows, psychologically, giving birth… All because of my ordained destiny and for the sake of your lives, your wealth, your freedom, all of which would be lost were it not for a forest child we have forgotten…
Yet here I stand, leading you as a ruler…a woman who has never taken anything from any of you. We celebrated victories together. We cherished our weddings. We each shared our grief and glory. We lived side by side as brothers and sisters.
I've paid off your debts, neither asking how you got them nor for returns, even though you are all paid well enough. Some of you wear armor adorned with gold, badges of your courage and honor. Those who were killed by Ganondorf's forces or died peacefully in later years you buried with full glory. Their families are honored, they pay no taxes just like the unfortunate who were crippled or are too old to fight. All of you came home as heroes!
But, since you wish to destroy the very kingdom you created, repeating the same mistakes of the past civil war, then all of you…destroy! Destroy everything you see under the eyes of the Goddesses! Then tell the Gerudo and Moblins that Queen Zelda, holder of the Triforce of Wisdom, who ruled with freedom and prosperity, awaits by her father's tomb, abandoned and powerless. Maybe, when your former neighbors return to how you once remembered them, will you see the truth."
Queen Zelda caught her breath amidst silence. Unblinking, she held her breath, her blood rushing and heart heavily beating as she awaited her peoples' response. All around her, sunlit swords and armors glimmered. Few by few, all weapons...lowered.
The queen closed her eyes and slowly sighed. A mighty, invisible weight rolled off her shoulders. Her eyes moistened but she fought back tears.
Although tension was not completely smothered, royalists and rebels alike calmed down, some parting ways. The guards also sighed with relief, and most went out to bring order back on the streets. Most rioters and hooligans casually dispersed, taking the advantage to avoid persecution.
Link, clad in his black armor, great helm under his arm, walked through the knights and stood by Zelda.
She rubbed her eyes, smiling at him. "I was never good at telling stories, hunh?"
Link chuckled. "Legendary." The queen chuckled, too. "Zelda… I just don't understand. Why were so many knights so...disloyal? Half the knights I saw were among the rioters. I don't think the corruption from the gap between dimensions could be that powerful."
Queen Zelda pondered. "Like the Hyrulean Civil War, the reasons are unclear. I won't speculate further."
"Because men, by their nature, are designed for war," Jon Séguinat commented. Link looked up at the tall knight, not even up to his shoulders. Jon noticed and nodded at the dainty elven fellow. "And Mother Nature must run her course."
Zelda frowned. "Letting things slide like that isn't a solution."
"The problem is the solution."
"Loyalty and stubbornness do not work well together, Sir Séguinat."
"Nature is never in a hurry, yet completes everything. Be like nature."
"Be like a pruned garden, Jon."
He chuckled as if admitting defeat. "Perhaps."
Zelda sighed. She turned her head and paused. "Sheik? Is that you there?" Two robed children scurried off. "Sheik!?" The queen walked after them, though too many armoured men and former rioters in the way.
Jon chuckled. "Kids are such an armful, hunh?"
Link forced a silent chuckle then noticed an old knight walking by. The knight's battleaxe was quite large, single-bladed, the metal thick and dark, with a spike atop the shaft.
While the queen was beyond earshot, the old knight faced Link for several seconds.
"Well? What do you want, Tanneguy du Châtel?" Jon demanded. "I have plenty of time for dueling. We can go out in the field for one right now. Nobody can interrupt us there."
Tanneguy didn't respond, he just stared at Link, who silently stared back. "So you are the Hero of Time? Hm. You do not look like your father. You are definitely Medilia's son." He raised his visor, revealing swirling tattoos as blue as his eyes, unaffected by age. "Too bad you have no mother to weep for you, boy."
Link remained silent, lupine visage unfazed by the dark comment.
"Were it not for your age, I'd have no problem outright killing you," Sir Séguinat assured.
"Would you, now?"
"I'd cut your throat, in your own home, right in front of your family." Jon's comment turned many heads, including Link's. Several rebel knights approached but made no move.
Sir Châtel watched Queen Zelda return empty-handed. Considering her displeased look, she must have heard what Jon said, he unperturbed as usual. The old knight stared back at Jon's glassy gaze. "You can only threaten with outstanding words." Tanneguy looked at his queen. "Whereas I carry the threat of outstanding rebellion."
Zelda felt another flurry of disappointments. No matter where she turned, there was trouble waiting for her. "Both are you are meant to be noble knights."
"Agreed, queen. Agreed. Sir Jon Séguinat…" Tanneguy du Châtel looked at Link. "Mister Lincoln Green…" Tanneguy slightly bowed and left with his men.
"You're just going to let him go?" Jon complained to Link.
Queen Zelda thought for a second, trying to figure out a solution. "I will deal with him later. We both know I won't lower myself to his level."
"That's my honorable wolf," Jon complimented, now a happy fellow.
Zelda smirked. "So be like me."
