Interlude at Hyrule Castle
Impa ducked behind the rubble of a collapsed tower just in time. The red searchlight passed over her head, remained there for a few seconds, and then moved on. Not far from where she was hiding, she saw Robbie lay down flat on the ground, not daring to move. The humming then receded and the flying guardian turned around the corner, disappearing.
"Quickly!" she urged him on, and they both sprinted through the castle's courtyard, hiding behind a wall before the flying guardian made its second round.
"They are all cool when you command them, but when they turn into your enemy, you're clearly fucked," grumbled Robbie.
"Robbie...someone's coming. Look!"
Robbie's gaze followed hers and he ducked a little lower when a group of Hylians came into sight.
"Where are they going?" he whispered.
"To the sanctum, it seems. But something is off. Why are they shuffling their feet like that? And why are the guardians not reacting?"
The group of Hylians made its way up the cobblestoned road leading to the sanctum and throne room, but their walk was painfully slow and uncoordinated, making them look like they were on drugs. A guardian stationed at the lower end of the road let them pass without even moving its eye.
"Let's follow them," Robbie suggested, "see what they're up to."
"Yes. But carefully. They are probably infected."
When the last Hylian disappeared through the open door, Impa and Robbie snuck up to the entrance, peering inside before stealing into the sanctum. It was dark inside. They heavy red velvet curtains had all been closed in front of the windows, giving the room an eerie atmosphere. It was unnaturally hot inside, but Impa shivered. The evil aura she had sensed in the whole castle ever since it was invaded was so concentrated in this place that it made her skin tingle and her blood vibrate in her veins.
The Sheikah chieftain let her gaze wander through the room, over broken pillars, a destroyed Triforce symbol and ragged tapestries. When she lifted her head, she almost let out a scream, pressing both palms flat against her mouth to suppress it.
Robbie had seen it too, and gently squeezed her arm. "What is that thing?" he whispered.
Both Sheikah stared at the lump of raw flesh hanging from the ceiling, pulsating and dripping blood, connected to the ceiling and pillars by abhorrent bloody tentacles. A smell of decay lay in the air, and Impa thought she saw a human foot disappear somewhere in the masses of flesh. She grabbed Robbie's hand so tightly that her knuckles turned white, but it took all of her willpower to not scream and run away.
The Hylians now had reached the lump of flesh and stopped underneath. A woman standing in the front row fell on her knees and lifted her hands skywards, starting to chant. One after the other, the people behind her followed her example until, apart from a few men standing at the back, everyone was kneeling and chanting. The lump of flesh responded with an intense red glow, and Impa saw one of the tentacles lower to the ground until it reached the first woman's head. Then it wound itself around her body, squeezing and squelching, and lifted her into the air. Impa never saw the woman's face or any signs of agony, nor did she hear her scream when the lump of flesh opened up and sucked her inside, crushing her bones. She felt sick to her stomach and had to suppress a gagging reflex. Her eyes darted over to Robbie, telling him to leave, and he nodded, his face as white as a sheet.
The axe fell with a loud clang on the floor when Robbie unintentionally kicked the decorative statue with his foot. He held his breath, not daring to look behind him, but he had announced their presence, and one of the men stationed at the back came running up to them, grunting unhappily.
"Run!" Impa shouted, but the man was faster, threw himself at her and grabbed her by the ankle before she could flee. "Robbie!" she screamed as the infected began to climb upon her, saliva dripping from his twisted mouth, his eyes a mad pink-red colour with black protruding veins.
Robbie took the axe and slashed at the man. Impa screamed as the severed head of her attacker fell onto her chest, and she quickly pushed it off herself. Where his blood dripped on her clothes, she felt a sting on her skin. Robbie grabbed the decapitated body by the ankles and pulled it off Impa, then took her by the hand and pulled her up. They both started running and fled from the sanctum in a helter-skelter escape.
Rhoam Bosphoramus walked up and down in his study, his chin resting on his thumb and forefinger. Robbie was kneeling beside Impa, examinating the small patch on her stomach where the man's blood had dripped on her clothing. A few Hylian soldiers nervously shuffled their feet as they guarded the doors to the library.
"I think the thick material of your overcoat saved you," said Robbie, "I can see nothing on your skin except that it's just a little red from the irritation."
Rhoam let out a sigh of relief and sat down beside them on a wooden chair.
"Your Grace," Impa said, "we need to leave. Sooner or later, this place will be swarming with the infected and monsters. We have been hiding in this place for too long."
The king nodded slowly. He looked very tired, but not yet on the cusp of resignation.
"Akkala fortress," he said, "it's a Hyrulean stronghold in the heart of the Akkala region. Built to protect the kingdom from invaders coming from the eastern seas."
Impa nodded. "Is there any way out of the castle that doesn't involve going all the way around?"
"The docks are accessible from the library, but we don't have enough boats to carry all of us." His gaze wandered over all the soldiers, maids, cooks and residents of Hyrule Castle that had assembled in the library. Their numbers had steadily increased with each day passing, but they didn't make an army.
"We will think of a way," Impa said, reassuring the anxious maids, "we just need to make a plan. Best we leave at night in the shelter of darkness."
Rhoam stood up from the chair, cleared his throat an addressed all the servants and soldiers in the room. "We need to make preparations. Gather as many weapons and provisions as you can. Some of you will have to go into the provision room and fetch whatever they can get. Another group will gather weapons from the armoury. You will be accompanied by four soldiers. The women will stay in the library with me. We will leave tonight, so make haste."
Impa got up as well. "I will go with them," she said, ignoring the king's orders to stay with the women.
Robbie glanced anxiously back and forth as he helped Impa secure ropes to the boats. He had counted them once they had arrived at the docks and it became quickly very clear that there weren't enough boats to carry all of them to the shore.
"We cannot risk to make two rounds. So those of you who can swim will have to swim. We have secured ropes to the boats so you can hold on to them if you are afraid to drown. Each boat needs two men or women who know how to row. Help the elderly and the weak into the boats," Impa ordered while walking around the docks. It made Robbie smile to see what had become of the once timid young woman who had ditched her abusive husband and had become the Sheikah chieftain; a fierce, strong woman who even the king looked up to.
Once the weapons and provisions had been stored into the king's boat, and everyone else was either jammed together in a boat or in the water beside it, Impa gave the start signal, and they quietly rowed out into the moat. Every once in a while, they stopped in the middle of the moat when one of the flying guardians made their rounds close by, but apart from the few interruptions, the darkness eased their passage. Before long, the first boat reached the shore, and Impa, the king and Robbie stepped out of the boat and pulled it on shore. While Robbie proceeded to get the weapons and provisions out of the boat, Impa helped the second boat on shore, and then the third and was soon busy pulling drenched people out of the water.
With dry land under their feet and no guardians in sight, the soldiers let out a sigh of relief and the maids started to cry. Impa reached into her bag and pulled out the Sheikah slate, handing it to Rhoam Bospharamus.
"My grace," she said, "it is time to see your daughter again."
When the screen lit up and Paya's and Zelda's face showed up, the king couldn't hold back a small tear as he smiled.
Ammyarts - your comment made me really happy. Thank you so much for your kind words.
