X - A Knight's Call
Link stood on the wooden platform, leaning against the railing. From up there, he had a spectacular view over the greater Tabantha region. In the north, the snowy peaks of Hebra mountain towered in the distance, and in the south-east, he could see the massive Tanagar Canyon.
"Quite impressive, isn't it?"
Eagus joined him on the highest point of Rito village, a small cage in his grasp.
Link nodded. "How are Keet and Pipit doing?"
"Much better."
He opened the cage and grabbed the white pigeon. Link noticed the small note wrapped around the bird's foot.
"What is it?"
"A message to the king. We will stay in Rito Village until we receive new orders from the capital."
He held out his hand and released the pigeon, giving it a little shove. The bird flew away and was soon out of sight.
"I always wonder how they know where to fly to," Link murmured.
"Link," Eagus said, and his tone sounded serious, "we need to talk. You must tell me what happened to you."
Link did not tell Eagus the whole story. He couldn't even explain to himself why he let the enemy live, so how would he be able to justify his actions before his lord commander? Why did he pull away when his knife was pressed against the Sheikah's throat?
He closed his eyes, leaning back against the rock, breathing in the fresh air that smelled of fresh pines, and sighed. The Sheikah's face – or rather the bits that were visible – returned to his memory. There was no fear in these strange, intense red eyes, but they were full of anger and pain. Link had never seen such eyes before, and he was mesmerised by them. Was that the reason why he let him live? No, it couldn't be.
I hope we never meet again. Cause if we do, you cannot and will not spare my life. Until then, I hope you know what you have sworn to protect.
Link bit his lip in anger. What exactly did he swear to protect? Hyrule? The royal family? His dignity? It was just a hoax, an empty warning, he told himself, but that small voice in the back of his head wasn't easily convinced.
The flutter of wings distracted his thoughts. He lifted his head, watching one of the Rito make circles in the sky, his body carried by the air under his wide wings. Link sighed. That's what freedom must feel like, he thought. The Rito then changed direction, and before long, landed directly next to him.
"Good evening," he said, "the name's Teba. Who are you? A traveller?"
"I am one of the soldiers belonging to lord commander Eagus' unit. My name is Link."
"May I?"
When Link nodded, the Rito sat down and put his bow and quiver aside. Teba was tall, even for a Rito, with snow-white and grey feathers, a yellow beak and golden eyes. He looked Link over for a short moment, then pulled out a loose, itchy feather from his neck, tossing it to the ground.
"So," he began, "I suppose you have no idea either what this crawling monstrosity was that attacked you?"
"Did you see it?" Link asked.
"We killed it," Teba answered coolly, "quite the hassle. Didn't die easy."
Link's eyes widened slightly. "You killed it? How?"
"With airborne arrows. Bounced off its body like water of a fish, but hitting the eye did the job. Took many arrows to finish it off, though. Never seen anything alike."
"Thank you for saving us," Link said, and, a bit more ashamed "although we were sent to Tabantha to protect you and your village."
Teba laughed, and it was a strange laugh. It definitely sounded like a bird. Link instantly liked the Rito. They were much friendlier and more jovial than Eagus had wanted them to believe, and had provided shelter and food for the injured Hyrulean soldiers.
"My wife is making Salmon Meunière tonight, I think you should join us for dinner. I have a feeling that you won't be staying long in our village."
Teba's feeling proved to be right. Two days after Eagus had sent the pigeon, it returned with a rolled-up paper bearing the king's sigil fastened around its foot, and Eagus' unit, or what was left of it, was withdrawn from Tabantha. They left Rito Village that same morning and said their thanks and goodbyes, taking the same route back through the greater Tabantha region, past the Scablands and through the Breach of Demise. When they arrived at the checkpoint just behind the Carok bridge a few days later, Eagus motioned them to wait while he got off his horse and approached the guards. Link didn't hear what they were saying, but before long, Eagus got back on his horse and beckoned them to follow. The guards watched them silently as they rode through, and soon, the walls of Castle Town came into sight.
Although the sun was about to set, the city was still bustling with life when they rode through the heavy, metal gates, and Link was thankful for the change. They dismounted their horses and led them through the larger streets of the city leading up to the castle. After handing their horses over to the stable boys, they sat down in a tavern and enjoyed a hearty meal and a few ales. Eagus had left them to report back to the king, and advised them to spend the night at the tavern. Link noticed how quiet the boys were, even after a few ales. The incident in Tabantha and the loss of their comrades was still weighing on them, and all of them seemed lost in their own thoughts.
Link nervously adjusted the leather straps around his torso and fastened his belt. The mail coat was sitting heavily on his shoulders. He looked around and spotted Keet and Pipit not far from him, both boys looking quite lost between all the experienced knights. Eagus had, by order of the king, sent his boys to train with the royal knights, and they had gathered in the training ground in the courtyard. When a shadow shortly blocked out the sun, he turned his head to look upwards. On one of the bridges connecting the outer towers of the castle, he spotted a small group of people, and in their midst, the king and his young daughter. He groaned. With the king watching, he could not afford to make a fool of himself, and that put some pressure on him. The training then started, and Link did his best to concentrate on his footing, his balance, his defence and his attacks.
After half an hour, Link was drenched in sweat, his arm hurting from blocking the sword attacks with his shield, and breathing heavily. He risked a glance at the bridge, but the spectators were gone. And then a pain shot up his arm and he lost his balance, landing butt first in the dirt. The knight who attacked him laughed.
"Never lose your focus. If you get distracted, you die."
Link grunted unhappily as he got back up on his feet, his arm throbbing, but he knew that the knight was right. It was foolish of him to think that they would go easy on him just because he was a rookie.
Eagus picked his boys up after an hour. "Go get yourself cleaned up real quick, the king wants to see you," he said, and his face was stern.
Link glanced at Keet and Pipit, and they all wore the same, confused expression on their faces. They walked back to the armoury, put down their weapons and washed their face and hands. Eagus was waiting impatiently in the door frame and rushed them to hurry up.
Link's heart was beating faster in his chest as he followed Eagus down the long corridor, his boots making squeaky sounds on the stone floor. They came to a halt in front of a large, wooden door, and Eagus knocked. Two guards opened the door, nodded and let them in. The room behind was smaller than Link would have guessed from the size of the door, and it was flooded by sunlight shining through the high windows. Tapestries hung on the walls, and the wooden floor was partly covered with a dark green velvet rug. At the end of the room stood a large table, but the chairs were empty. The guard pointed at the open glass doors on the right side of the chamber.
"The king is waiting for you outside on the balcony," he said and slightly bowed. Link followed Eagus outside, his fingers playing nervously with the buckle of his belt. Eagus bowed respectfully and Link quickly went down on one knee, lowering his head.
"Get up, boys," the king said, and his voice sounded joyful, "welcome."
Link dared lift his head and gaze at the king, and he noticed that the princess was also present. She was a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, with long, golden hair and vivid green eyes. She looked tiny next to her father, almost fragile, and her hands were folded in front of her deep blue dress. Link couldn't help but notice her beauty and Pipit barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. She stood straight and tall, but Link sensed that she was very tense and felt uneasy, avoiding to look directly at anyone.
"I congratulate you on your training!" the king said in his loud, booming voice, "Hyrule needs more courageous knights like you."
Link gave Eagus a confused look, but Eagus just barely shook his head. His eyes said drop it.
"My dear boys, I want you to gaze upon the wonders of technology." The king walked to the edge of the balcony and motioned them to follow. On the other side of the courtyard, just beneath, they saw three creatures crawling around the space, and Link felt his chest tighten. The memory of being attacked by one of these machines was way too vivid.
"We call them Guardians," the king went on to explain, "ancient Sheikah machines, built to protect the royal family and Hyrule against evil."
He leaned over the railing, shouting down at the Sheikah engineers. "Give us a demonstration!"
Link observed the performance sceptically. The machines scurried over the grass like misshapen spiders, their heads relentlessly moving from one side to the other, while the eye targeted stumps of trees. Where the laser hit, only a gaping black hole remained.
The king laughed and clapped, obviously enthralled by the performance. Link peeked at the princess, but she did not seem to share in her father's enthusiasm. Her face was rigid, showing no emotions.
"Well well," her father said, "enough about this. I invite you to a big feast tonight in the ceremonial hall, to welcome all new knights or soon-to-be-knights and celebrate a glorious future. Konba, show the boys to their rooms."
The guard named Konba bowed, and was about to lead them away when Link suddenly heard a familiar humming, followed by agitated voices coming from the courtyard. He turned around just in time to see a red dot pointed at the princess' head. He heard a click and saw the red trail transform into a blinding blue light. He reacted instinctively. Within seconds, he tore off a decorative metal plate with the embossed royal crest from the wall, ran towards the princess and held his arm up. The laser beam deflected from the makeshift shield, hitting one of the castle's small towers instead. Link was thrown back from the force of the attack and fell onto the princess. They both landed on the tiled balcony, and somebody screamed.
He quickly collected himself and held out his hand to her, but she did not take it. One of the guards quickly rushed over and helped her stand, and Link felt his face flush out of embarrassment. Not only had he knocked over the princess, but he clearly lacked any notion of royal etiquette. He bowed deeply and flung a tirade of excuses at her, but the guard took her away and Link blushed some more.
He then felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Rise, my boy," Eagus said quietly, "you just saved the princess' life." His voice sounded proud, but Link felt nothing but embarrassed.
The incident was still on his mind when he sat at the large festively set table in the ceremonial hall of the castle, staring idly at his full plate. He couldn't shake off the bad feeling he had about the whole scene: it felt so unreal. Had it been a malfunction of the Guardian, or even an attempt at the princess' life? And why did no one react? Why did they all look so apathetic when the guard helped her up from the ground and led her away into the safety of the castle? And why did the whole thing looked so staged from the very beginning? Surely the king could not be that excited over a few random soldiers trying to join the knighthood.
Pipit put a hand on his arm.
"Hey, Link. What's wrong with you? Why don't you eat?"
"I am not hungry," he answered, and it was true.
"Oh come on, let's celebrate. You saved the princess' life, you are now a hero!"
Link huffed. He felt nothing like a hero. He spotted Eagus walking back towards the castle, and he excused himself, trotting off to join the commander.
"Eagus," he said as he caught up, "I need to talk to you."
"If it's about today, I'm afraid I can't give you answers."
"Didn't you feel like the whole thing was staged? It felt forced."
"It did," Eagus admitted, "but...don't try to wrap your head around it too much. You did good."
"By knocking down the princess and then offending her even more?"
Eagus gave him a surprised look. "Offended? Link, you saved her life. The king was mighty impressed."
Now it was Link's turn to be astonished. "Impressed?"
"Link...your noble action might have just given you a free pass into knighthood. You should expect to be rewarded."
"Oh."
Eagus laughed softly. "Sometimes I can barely believe that you're already over twenty."
"Twenty-three, to be precise."
They reached Eagus' chamber and stopped before the door.
"You're a good soldier, Link. You've always been one of my best trainees and you will make a good knight. Don't doubt your abilities so much. Your performance at the training today was respectable and your quick reflexes saved a very precious life. You can be proud at yourself. Good night, my boy, I'll see you tomorrow."
Link stared at the door for a while once it closed behind Eagus, and the commander's kind words pushed his nagging doubts into the back of his mind.
I had the pot lid incident on my mind when I wrote the scene, but then I thought why would they have pot lids lying around on a balcony, and so I had to change it. Just saying.
