Hello readers, Chapter 161 is here!
This week Link and Nabooru attend the first day of the roundtable meeting, but will things go well, or disastrous...?
"Thank you all for coming here, it is time this royal meeting finally commences."
King Reinald Ingelramnus Hyrule, the ruler of Hyrule, stood before a large round table in a room of the castle. There was banners hanging all around with symbols of the various tribes representing Hyrule.
Sitting around the table was King Reinald, as well as Link, Nabooru, Zelda, Darius, Ruto, Darunia and Vekai. Impa was also there, but only standing by Zelda's side. There was seven seats still empty, those of the Hylian Parliament.
The king spoke, "These next few days may decide the very future of our kingdom as we know it. The fates of the people lay in what shall come from it. I ask that everyone here speak wisely and well."
"As you wish, Your Majesty." Ruto bowed her head.
"Thank you for having us here." Darunia said.
"To think this day has finally come." Nabooru spoke with a smirk, "How are you holding up Link?"
She looked to Link, who gulped nervously.
"Been better." he squeaked.
"Well suck it up, we're going to pull this off." Nabooru said patting his back.
Link took a deep breath and nodded, "Right."
A voice then spoke up, "Greetings King Reinald. We apologize for the wait."
They all turned to see the doors open, and in came the seven members of the Hylian Parliament.
"Yogogogo, this better not be a waste of time. I'm taking time out from my rupee polishing to attend this!" spoke Duke Geronim of Wealth and Finances. He had a very round figure with skinny arms and legs. His mustache was crooked into a v shape on both sides. He wore a sparkling gold suit with a long skinny top hat on his bald head. He spun a cane in his hand before catching it and sitting down at a seat.
"Finally, it is time to judge those who may bring order or chaos to our kingdom." said Judge Isambard, head of Hyrule's court of Law and Order. He was an exceptionally tall Hylian clad in a black muumuu with a white stripe going straight down the middle. His shoulders were covered in bronze pads with a chain connected to both that lead down to a golden scale-shaped necklace. He also wore a powered wig, and he seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face.
"It seems everything is indeed in order for now." muttered Marquess Haralden, head of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. He wore a classy green nobleman's outfit with gold shoulder decorations. His hair was neatly combed back without a single strand out of place. His skin was perfectly clean and shaven. He wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses that gleamed as he sharply looked over everything.
"Order will remain for now, I've already done my final inspections of Ganondorf's prison for today…" spoke Minister Odleh of Supernatural and Religious Affairs shuffling in. She had to struggle a bit to get into her chair, as her body height was so short the table would had almost obscured her, if not for the tall purple bishop hat she wore. She also wore a matching purple cloak with religious markings lining it, as well as a necklace decorated with small replicas of the three Spiritual Stones decorating it.
"You say that, but it seems there's still plenty of chaos going on out in the market town, Loohuhuhuhu…" spoke Countess Roesia, head of Hylian Public Relations, a beautiful mature woman clad in a skin-tight red dress that showed off her curves. She wore a large red hat that matched her dress. Her lips were a crimson red and she sported a white pearly smile as she drank from a martini glass, "Much of the crowd is cheering support for the Gerudo as we speak."
"If you would stop drinking that booze of yours for five seconds, you'd see there's just as much protesting against them as well." Odleh pointed out.
"Yes, we'll see how long that support lasts after this meeting…" spoke the army Captain Andreas of the Hylian Army. He was an extremely tall and heavily muscular man who wore heavy bronze armor and a galea helmet. His face was shadowed by his helmet save for his bloodshot eyes, and he had a large spear strapped to his back, "If this does end in war, let it be known I shall show no mercy to these desert rats on the field of battle."
Roesia gazed at Andreas with narrowed eyes, before she sat herself down and folded one long leg over the other. She glanced at Link and smirked a bit, giving him little wave with her fingers. Link was a bit weary of the woman, but subtlety smiled and gave her a wave back.
"Thank you King Reinald, and all of you for your patience." spoke one last voice, as everyone turned to the door to see who it was.
He was a tall bulky man, clad in a white suit and a red tie, with a purple flower decorating the lapel of his suit. His hair was done into a short black pompadour. He had a thin black mustache and flat goatee that decorated his chin. Attached to his side was a long sword secured in it's sheath.
This was the mysterious leader of the Hylian Parliament, Governor Balterius.
Balterius sat down on his own chair in-between Andreas and Isambard, and adjusted his tie.
"We can only hope by the end of this meeting, that the truth shall be made known, and we bring about the end of the conflict we have endured all these years."
"…" Nabooru just stared across the table at Balterius intently.
"Then with that, we shall begin this meeting." King Reinald spoke, "The first order of business shall be introducing our newest guests, the Gerudo King Link, and his Grand Queen Lady Nabooru."
"It's an honor to meet with you all here." Nabooru spoke as she and Link stood up, they both bowed before everyone,
"Since the time of our earliest ancestors, we Gerudo have lived as thieves and marauders of the desert. All we ever cared about was survival and personal gain. Such selfish ambitions have only led to us becoming the willing servants of the evil demon king Ganondorf."
"…" Balterius sat with his arms folded, watching Nabooru speak.
"However, it has thanks to the capture of Ganondorf that we've been given the opportunity to reflect on our ways of the past, and instead work to become a real tribe. To break free of the shackles of that evil man, and to bring our own unique talents and skills to this kingdom, to build a better future for this land."
"I see, thank you." King Reinald said, "As for you, Gerudo King?"
Link gulped a bit and stood himself up.
"Thank you." he spoke, "I was chosen by Lady Nabooru to become the new King of The Gerudo, and while it took time for me to adjust, I'm honored to have the position, so that I can do what is needed to bring true peace to Hyrule. I've spent the past years with the Gerudo and saw they are all people with hopes and dreams for their lives, and I wish to do what I can to give them that opportunity."
Zelda smiled softly at Link's words, as Darius chuckled lightly.
"Thank you Gerudo King." nodded the king, "Now from what I understand, Queen Ruto, Chieftain Darunia, and Ms. Vekai of the Kokiri have all pledged support to the your people as allies, is that correct?"
"Of course." nodded Ruto with a smirk, "It's taken time to establish, but I can firmly say the Gerudo are true to their word of allying with Hyrule."
Darunia spoke up, "I met Link when he was just a young lad, but his valiant efforts to help my brothers made me declare him my Sworn Brother! I'll do whatever it takes to support him!"
"Interesting. And what of you Ms. Vekai?" Reinald asked.
"King Link himself was brought to our forest when he was a mere baby, and grew up with us for ten years." Vekai stood up, adjusting the roots on her face made to resemble glasses, "While our people treated him unfairly, he persevered through everything, and earned his place within our forest, even as an adult today."
"…" Balterius focused on Vekai's words, and looked to some of the Parliament, whose eyes were wide with shock.
'Th-Then this means he was right…' thought Roesia, 'The Gerudo king… he really is that person?!' she put a hand to her chest and gasped, feeling a strange sensation deep within.
"And as the representative of Kokiri Forest, just what is it that your people hope to contribute to our society, little one?" spoke up Odleh.
Vekai explained, "As people of the forest, we have many rare herbs and mushrooms rare to outsiders, many of which can provide helpful medical purposes. The Gerudo's head doctor has even confided with Kakariko's famous 'miracle doctor', Granny Truttlo, who has backed up the potential the medicine can provide."
"Truttlo backs up that claim, you say? How interesting…" Odleh spoke, "…however, it's not quite as simple as you put it. Such foreign plants must be properly examined and verified by my own experts to make sure they will provide no harm to the people."
"I suppose that true…" Vekia muttered.
"Plus," Duke Geronim spoke up, "There's the matter of distributing such a commodity. Our kingdom's medical board must approve of such a thing before it can be prescribed to the people," he grinned a toothy smirk, "…and of course there's the matter of general taxes that would need to be issued for all sides, not to mention liability issues. Do you have the collateral to pay for potential damages caused by your 'miracle' herbs?"
"W-Well, we aren't exactly a wealthy village…" Vekai spoke, her nerves starting to catch up on her, "We have a modest store, but the rupees we use are traded to merchants passing by the forest…"
"Tsk tsk, don't tell me you were just thinking of handing them out for free?" Geronim smirked, "If you're going to handle things that carelessly, what's to say we couldn't just handle the distribution ourselves?"
"N-No!" Vekai spoke out angerly, standing up and slamming her little hands on the table, "That goes against the Great Deku Tree's wishes for us to use his gifts to reach out the people!"
"Now that doesn't seem far!" Darunia spoke out, "You can't just march into someone else's territory and take as you wish!"
"But by acknowledging they're part of our kingdom they must also take on the responsibility." Geronim spoke, leaning back in his chair, "You know that all too well, don't you Chieftain?"
"Grrrrr…" Darunia narrowed his eyes.
"Maybe we should speak up Nabooru?" Link whispered.
"Unfortunately as new representatives, we don't have the authority to speak up on unrelated matters unless specifically told." Nabooru whispered back through clenched teeth.
"Ugh, I knew I should have studied more." Link groaned.
"…" Zelda sat there silently, looking as if she was about to speak up, but looked to Governor Balterius and stopped herself, unable to force out the words.
Darius glanced over at the princess, and smirked lightly, standing up and speaking himself.
"If anything, I say you may be overstepping your boundaries a little Duke." Darius said, putting a hand to his head in an over-the-top poise.
"What'd you say, you snotty prince?" Geronim exclaimed.
"The Lost Woods isn't just some place your knights can just waltz in and take what they choose, when they choose. That place has a curse that will reduce any wayward wanderer to a Stalfos. Even the Kokiri must tread lightly there, or face the fate of life as a Skull Kid."
'Nice call Darius!' Link thought to himself.
He looked over to Zelda, who was looking up at the Fargent prince with a faint thankful smile.
"I-Is that true?" Geronim asked shaking like a leaf, "I wouldn't want to be a skeleton!"
"He is correct." Odleh admitted, "Those deemed intruders would eventually fall victim to such a fate if they become lost. While the Kokiri do indeed have a similar issue, their experience puts them at an advantage there over our men."
"So it would seem the Kokiri are tin the best position to gather the ingredients they wish to offer." Reinald spoke, "I think some leeway in taxing would could be made for the Kokiri's service."
"Grk…!" Geronim broke out into a cold sweat, "I suppose so…"
"Not so fast." spoke a voice, as everyone looked to Balterius, he was tapping at the table with his index finger, his eyes unreadable behind his sunglasses, "I'm afraid this isn't that simple. The Kokiri have only just been recognized as a part of Hyrule recently."
"Your point…?" Darunia asked.
Balterius spoke crossly, "According to Article 15 page 4 of the Hylian Parchment, any new elements with magical properties introduced into our society must be given a mandatory evaluation by a representative of the royals. We cannot have the Kokiri introducing anything without that approval, and that can take some time."
Vekai spoke, "But there are people who could use the herbs to-!"
"I'm afraid until the plants are properly analyzed, we must forbid their use for now." Balterius spoke.
"I'm afraid he's right. I had nearly forgotten that law." King Reinald admitted, "We'll discuss the evaluations at a later time. For now, we should continued the next order of business."
'That Balterius does his homework.' Nabooru thought to herself in annoyance, 'Just who is he…?'
"Ah ha ha ha! It appears I may have spoken a bit too soon…!" Darius spoke, falling back into his chair, "I'm sorry about that, my princess."
"…n-no, it's fine, dear." Zelda shook her head, gripping at Darius' hand gently, "Thank you for at least trying. It's more than I could have done."
But as the talking continued, Zelda hung her head down, whispering softly to herself, "So as it seems, I was right to not…" she gave a heavy sigh.
Link meanwhile watched Zelda carefully, frowning at the sadness in her eyes.
The meeting continued on very similarly, with everyone debating offers and deals among each side, usually it ended with
"You can't be serious?! Another increase?"
Darunia shouted out as he slammed his fist down, the Goron leader fumed at Duke Geronim.
"We've stepped up production in mining for jewels in the Goron mines to trade with you, and yet you intend to impose more taxes on us?"
"I'm afraid so Chieftain. Your hot spring resort has been drawing in tourists, but with that additional revenue comes higher taxes to contribute your part to the kingdom." Geronim spoke, balancing three red rupees on his finger. "Of course I wouldn't expect one of you rock-biters to understand basic economics."
"Grrrrr…." Darunia clenched his fists.
Nabooru glanced to the Goron leader, and smirked a bit.
"Well Chieftain, perhaps if they're going to undercut you, you'd be interested in some of the offers we Gerudo would have for your merchandise." Nabooru spoke, "We Gerudo highly value jewels for both fashion and ceremonial purposes, and we can give you some nice offers that don't include exorbitant taxes."
Darunia looked to Nabooru with wide eyes, grinning widely at Nabooru's trademark wink, recalling she talked with him before about this very thing.
"Bwahaha, that sounds nice Lady Nabooru! We can discuss it later, over a feast of prime rock roast!"
"H-Hey now, you can't just take business from us!" Geronim spoke up.
"Then if that's the case, you should consider easing up on the taxes?" Nabooru suggested.
"Lady Nabooru, if you think you can just assist the Gorons with this haggling, then you're mistaken." Balterius spoke up,
"Or really, and how?" Nabooru spoke narrowing her eyes.
"The Goron people you see, have a contract with us to produce a mandatory amount of ore for Hyrule. If they failed to meet their projected expectations and pay the appropriate tax rate, we can seize control of their hot spring resort."
'Hmph, I figured as much. Just like what they tried to do with Lon Lon Ranch.' Nabooru thought to herself, she spoke up,
"Seems to me like far too much of an overreach by the Parliament. How do we know there won't be a sudden raise in quota just as things are going well for them again?"
"Are you suggesting we'd do something like that?" Geronim spoke up, tossing the rupees into the air and catching them in his hand, "How dare you slander us, Gerudo!"
"I'm afraid he's right Lady Nabooru, please refrain from unproven accusations." King Reinald spoke.
"Hmph." Nabooru leaned back with her arms folded.
"…so what do you intend on doing about it, Zora Queen?"
I've already told you, my men are doing what they can to deal with the Zola pirates." Ruto spoke.
"We've had five ships attacked within the last year!" Judge Isambard shouted, slamming his gavel on the table wildly, "It is an injustice that must not be allowed! As queen of the Zora, you are the one who has the authority to do something permanent about it!"
"Hmph. If it was as simple as a ruler telling outlaws to stop with their law breaking, I imagine a lot of issues with this kingdom would be over quickly." Ruto spoke with her nose high up,
"Besides, the Zola have the Jellectrics at their command, they're dangerous to Zoras, and I won't have my men risk their lives for the sake of your overseas trade!"
"The trade is not just for goods and wealth, but to establish relations with foreign countries." Haralden spoke, grooming his nails, "I would have expected the new Queen of The Zora to be able to understand that at least, but it appears I was mistaken."
"Wha- How dare you!" Ruto exclaimed, standing and slamming her hands on the table, "I can understand wanting to bolster relations with other lands, but I will not do it at my people's well being!"
"…" Captain Andreas looked over to Balterious, who nodded.
"Queen of The Zoras, I understand you're new to your position…" Andreas spoke, "But you must understand that sacrifices must be made in war." the knight stared down at her with his bloodshot eyes not even blinking,
"It is unrealistic to think you can perform your duties without at least some causalities on your end. You can only be naively optimistic for so long before you have to make a firm choice."
"Hmph." unable to think of an immediate counterpoint, Ruto sat herself back down.
"This is getting out of hand." Nabooru muttered, "These Parliament members are doing everything they can to interfere with what our allies want to do."
Link looked to Ruto, wanting to do something for her. He wondered if he'd be overstepping his boundaries, but he couldn't leave this be.
"…I don't agree with that Captain." Link spoke up, getting everyone's attention, "I get your point about foreign relations, but sending out her men into a battle like that should be a last resort, and there has to be other possibilities for what to do."
"I believe you are in no place to be speaking out of turn Gerudo King." scowled Captain Andreas, "I advice that you remain silent unless told to."
"…" Zelda looked to Link for a moment, she took a deep breath and spoke up, "I think… we should hear from the Gerudo King on this particular matter."
"W-What? The princess?" Andreas spoke with wide eyes, not expecting her to speak on his behalf.
"I have to agree. You may take the floor, Gerudo King." Reinald spoke. Link nodded and stood up.
"Well then, what would you propose then to deal with the Zola pirates and their Jelectrics?" Roesia spoke with a slight smile.
"I…" Link paused, seeing all the eyes in the room looking to him caused him to lose his nerve for just a second.
"Go on Link." spoke Nabooru with a smirk, "You can do this."
Link looked down at Nabooru's warm smile and nodded. He took a deep breath, and spoke out.
"To start, we can go after their weaknesses." Link suggested, "As a child, I once fought an electric monster who was untouchable by my knife, but could be weakened by a boomerang."
"Huh, so you beat up an electric ChuChu or something?" Andreas spoke, "You understand this is far more complicated than just throwing sticks at some slime, Gerudo King."
"…" Link glared at Andreas, before he continued, "No, it was the bio-electric anemone Barinade, a parasite that was infecting the body of Lord Jabu Jabu, the Zora's deity."
There was a collective loud gasp from some in the Parliament.
"Oh, that's right!" Ruto realized, recalling back when Link defeated the jelly parasite that was infecting Lord Jabu Jabu back when they were children, seeing his bravery was what caused her to fall in love with him to begin with.
"Wait, the one who saved Jabu Jabu, was YOU Gerudo King?" Odleh spoke.
"That's correct." Ruto nodded with a smirk, "It's because of that he earned my respect at such a young age."
Zelda added, "The Queen told me about what he had done, and that's why I think it would be for the best if we heard what he had to say on this matter."
"Thank you." Link nodded, "Now what Captain Andreas mentioned before about throwing sticks at slime… while I don't think that would work, I believe the best solution should be something similar."
"…go on Gerudo King." Balterius spoke.
"If the Hylians go on with support with long range attacks like ship cannons, they can blow the monsters out of the water while the Zora take on the Zola directly themselves." Link proposed.
"Allying our armies together to take on this threat does sound plausible." Reinald spoke.
"Nonsense, you wish for us to cut into our war resources?!" Andreas shouted, slamming his fist to the table, "How can you suggest we waste them without a second thought?!"
"Funny, you were talking so much about making sacrifices, yet you seem so quick to draw the line at your own." Ruto pointed out, glancing to Link and mouthing a 'thank you' to him.
"Yes, it would seem as though you treat the Zoras' lives as secondary to our surplus." King Reinald spoke up, looking to Andreas with narrowed eyes.
"Louhuhuhu… very sloppy of you Andreas." Roesia spoke, "You'd risk our relations with the Zora by suggesting their lives to be so easily disposable?"
"I hate to say it, but Roesia has a point." Haralden nodded, "It wouldn't look good to our foreign relations either."
"Damnit…!" Andreas muttered as he sat back down.
King Reinald nodded, "Very well, if it's for the sake of relations with the neighboring kingdoms, we shall add more to the naval military budget so that they can assist the Zora in fighting off the pirates."
"You wish my liege." Balterius spoke, he looked to Geronim, "Duke, make the appropriate changes to add to it."
"But we-" Geronim spoke, only to look away muttering, "As you wish Governor..."
'Not too shabby there Link.' Nabooru looked to her friend with a smirk, as the meeting continued.
"…I think we'll bring the meeting to a close for today." King Reinald stated, "Tomorrow we'll begin negotiations about the Gerudo's position in Hyrule. With that, thank you all for attending."
Everyone nodded, gathered up their papers and items, and began to leave the meeting room. The Parliament all left first, King Reinald, Zelda and Darius went to their living quarters, leaving Link, Nabooru, Ruto, Darunia and Vekai to their own.
"Well that could have gone a lot better." groaned Darunia as they walked down the hall, "Graaaah! That egg man really boils my blood!"
"We did get some things straightened out here and there, but those Parliament members are just too stubborn." Ruto sighed out.
"They know how to say things to get under your skin as well." Vekai spoke, looking to Darunia angerly taking a bite out of a pillar, "I never knew working with royal and governmental figures could be so daunting… Mido isn't going to be happy to hear this news."
"It's okay, we'll figure out something." Nabooru assured her.
"Hmm…" Link stared downwards in thought.
"Wait's the matter Link, focusing on those flirty glances Countess Roesia was giving you?" Nabooru spoke with a wink.
"Wha-?" Link spoke, "N-No, I was moreso thinking about that Governor Balterius person."
"I know what you mean." Nabooru nodded, "No one knows where he came from, yet had enough authority and influence to take on his position, and hire on such experts in law and fiances and relations."
"He must have come from a place of high esteem." Vekai spoke, "He's very well read to know all the laws and use them to counter our arguments."
Nabooru pondered, "What's really odd is, I feel like I've seen him somewhere before…?"
"Hey Dad!" called out a voice, as everyone turned to see Link-Goron running up to Darunia, alongside Zopem and his red-scaled zora knight partner.
"Son, good to see you're well." grinned Darunia, he looked to the two zora, "Thanks for looking after my boy while we were at the meeting!" he laughed out and slapped Zopem on the back, "You guys are alright!"
"Urk… you're… welcome Chieftain…" groaned Zopem, rubbing at his back, "How did the meeting go my Queen?"
"It could have gone better." sighed Ruto, "If not for Link's effort, we would have been in a bad situation in regards to our problem with the Zola pirates."
"I see." Zopem nodded, he looked to Link, "You have my thanks for helping my queen."
"Indeed!" spoke up the red-scaled zora knight, he stepped up to Link, his lean height easily towering over the Hylian, "It's good to finally meet you Gerudo King Link!"
"Uh, likewise." Link waved. Strangely, despite having never met the zora, he resembled someone he had met no too long ago..
"Would you mind your place, rookie?" Zopem protested.
"Ah, forgive me!" the zora said, standing upright and backing up a bit, "I just got too overexcited!"
"When are you not overexcited about anything?" Zopem exclaimed.
"Hey Ruto, who's the new guy?" Link asked as Zopem was shouting.
"Oh, that handsome man?" Ruto grinned smugly, she walked over to the zora and brought her arms around one of his, "I'm glad you could finally meet him. He's one of the first of my personal concubine."
The others all paused blankly for a brief time, trying to comprehend what Ruto just said.
"…huh…?"
Link himself stared for a moment, shook his head and spoke,
"Uh, excuse me?"
"My personal concubine." Ruto repeated, "I am royalty after all, and a grand queen such as myself needs some… shall we say extra pleasure once in a while. He's quite a well-built specimen for that, wouldn't you say…?"
"I, uh…" Link looked back and forth between the red zora and Ruto.
"What are they talking about, Dad?" Link-Goron asked.
"I… don't know?" Darunia asked just as clueless.
"Oh, is something the matter Link?" Ruto asked with an increasingly smug grin.
"Uh, gee…" Link muttered, rubbing the back of his head, "I-I mean, I'm probably the last person to be bothered by this… I guess I'm mostly just surprised to hear you're forming a-"
"Oooooohohohohoho!" laughed out Ruto, "I'm merely kidding you Link, he's just one of my newest bodyguards! His name is Sir Kaidon," the queen turned to the zora, "Say hello, dear."
"Greetings! Another pleasure to meet you Gerudo King!" Kaidon said with a pointy toothed grin, "I've heard much about you from my queen and Sir Zopem, and I've been interested in finally meeting you!"
"He already knows about you being my fiance." Ruto clarified.
"Ah, I see…" Link chuckled sheepishly, feeling relieved to know Ruto had just been messing with him, "So where do you come from Sir Kaidon? I don't think I've seen any red zora in Zora's Domain."
"I hail from the waterfall basins of the east." Kaidon spoke.
"He's a shark zora, a rare breed if my teachings are correct." Ruto spoke.
"Interesting…" Link nodded, thinking about a certain individual he came to know recently, "So how did you end up in your position as Queen Ruto's concu-"
He coughed out as Ruto and Nabooru both laughed,
"I mean, as her bodyguard?"
"Well after her official coronation, our great majesty started organizing the forces of the zora guard." Kaidon explained, "After my younger sister said she was moving out here to Hyrule Castle Town to practice nursing, I decided to make something of myself as well, and joined the Zora knights!"
"He's a bit too overeager for my tastes, but he does his best." Zopem nodded, "I suppose I can relate to him in some ways."
"Kaidon has this fascinating ability that I took note of, he can channel hydration into his spears and use it launch water-based attacks." Ruto said, "It's not as powerful as my own abilities, but I felt that strength could be put to use, so I had Zopem train him into his position!"
"That's interesting." Link nodded, "Thank you for watching out for Ruto for me. It makes me happy to know she's been under such good protection while we've been apart."
"It's my pleasure, King Link!" Kaidon flexed an arm and bore a pearly white smile that gave off a sparkle, "Being able to protect the queen has truly been an honor, and I can only hope to support your Gerudo people's desire to become a part of Hyrule!"
"Not too bad." Nabooru smirked, "You can sure pick them, Sister Ruto."
Then a thought occurred to Link, "Wait, you mentioned you had a sister in the castle town?"
"Indeed, her name is Meifa! She moved from home with the vow to become a great doctor here!" Kaidon nodded, "Have you met her since coming here?"
"Actually yeah, She helped to heal me after I got caught in a building fire." Link said, "She's really skilled, I felt way better than I thought I would afterwards."
"Astonishing, it fills my heart with glee that my dear little sister has come so far!" Kaidon gasped out, "If only I could congratulate her in person!"
"Perhaps we can make an invitation to the palace so you can be reunited?" Ruto suggested.
"That sounds great, maybe she could make some of that chili she told me about!" Link said, already drooling at the thought.
"Wait what's this about chili?" Ruto asked, she raised an eyebrow, "Just how close are you to Kaidon's sister anyway Li-"
"Did you say her chili?" Kaidon exclaimed with wide eyes, "That sounds extraordinary! It's been so long since I've had her cooking!"
"Is it really that good…?" Vekai asked.
"It's four meats mixed together exquisitely with the perfect combination of herbs and spices!" Kaidon said flexing an arm, "Just one taste and it will take you to the next world!"
"Okay, now you two are making me want to try it." Nabooru grinned, "You should check with Princess Zelda about it Sister Ruto, she'd be the one to confirm the invite."
"Okay, okay. You twisted my arm. I admit I'm curious about it too." Ruto laughed, as she walked off to go meet Zelda she stopped and looked over her back, sporting a smirk,
"Heh, and to think you got all jealous about the idea of me and Kaidon."
"I didn't say anything." Link muttered.
"Wait, what are we talking about again?" Kaidon looked around in naive confusion.
"I'll… tell you some other time." Zopem sighed.
Ruto went down the hallway of the castle, seeking out the private sleeping quarters of Zelda and Darius. She had known Zelda for so long that she was able to find it pretty quickly. She approached the door and was about to knock on it when she heard some voices.
"…I'm sorry Darius, I just wish I could have done more back there…"
"Zelda…?" Ruto whispered, leaning closer to the door to get a good listen.
"Don't let it get you down, my lovely princess." Darius spoke, "That Parliament has always been as stubborn as mules, as just about as pleasant."
"It's not just them…" Zelda spoke, "Back when we were talking about the Kokiri situation, I wanted to speak up, but I just couldn't… I didn't have the courage to speak my thoughts… you knew what I was trying to say, and spoke up for me, but it just ended the same way… because I didn't take into account that law…"
"Don't take it too hard. Honestly the royal parchments has so many laws I can barely remember three of them!" Darius laughed out.
'That's not really something to be proud of.' Ruto thought sweatdropping.
"I just wonder…" Zelda spoke, "…when it comes time for me to be queen, if I truly can lead Hyrule…"
"…to be able to make just decisions, without just causing more destruction than if I had left things alone…"
Ruto gasped out a little, realizing Zelda was referring to her plan to thwart Ganondorf that resulted in him stealing the Triforce anyway, and caused the dark future Link had to put a stop to.
'To think… all that had happened was because of me...'
Even though Link had succeeded in the end, it seemed her friend was still feeling guilty about it. That her choice could have caused the destruction of Hyrule.
"My Princess…" Darius whispered, he knelt down and took her hands in his, "I may only know two of this kingdom's laws, but I do know one thing, that you are an extraordinary woman, the one I came to respect and love, and eventually marry."
"Darius…" whispered Zelda with a light blush,
"You don't have to worry, anytime you falter, I'll be there to pick you back up." Darius spoke with a warm smile, "You can relay on me to help voice your thoughts!"
The princess stared down at Darius, and the deep compassion in his eyes. The man she had only married as part of a relation with Fargent, turned into something much more between the two. They had a connection, and he would support her every step of the way.
As she stared down in his eyes, she felt a desire from deep within.
In that moment, Zelda wondered, could it finally be time for the two of them to…?
"Th-Thank you, my dear husband…" Zelda spoke with a blissful smile, as she slowly leaned forward, about to kiss him.
"Ooooh!" Ruto watched discreetly with excitement, as she had never seen the two kiss before.
"Well then!" Darius stood up and walking off, causing Zelda to almost stumble forward,
"With that, shall we turn in for the night? We have day two of that meeting tomorrow, and afterwards we have the royal dance. We should rest up!"
"O-Oh, yes." Zelda admitted, realizing it probably wasn't time for what she had intended to do. She sighed, and got up to go change into her nightgown.
Meanwhile, outside Ruto had faulted over from Darius breaking the moment.
'The prince may be a good man…' Ruto thought getting up, 'But when it comes to love, his skull is thicker than Link's used to be!'
Deciding to speak to Zelda later about the invitation for Meifa, Ruto went off down the hall.
Meanwhile outside the castle, the royal horses were relaxing in the stable. The knights couldn't keep tabs on them the whole night due to staffing issues, so they were all locked up inside.
Epona on the other hand, was clearly restless, as after changing fully back to a horse due to someone getting into her Chateau Lon Lon supply, she practically bouncing off the walls.
'Ugh, can you just chill out for like five minutes, you stupid mare?' snorted Thunder, Nabooru's new horse she received from Lon Lon Ranch, 'Some of us are trying to get in our daily three hours of sleep!'
'Gaaah! I can't help it!' Epona neighed out, galloping around the place, 'I've been getting eight hours of sleep each night as a human, so it's throwing me off not being to sleep for as little as a horse! I really need to get some of that milk so I can change back!'
'Jees, I honestly can't figure out why anyone would want to be a human.' muttered one of the knight horses, 'My master's always getting tortured by that army captain boss of his. Least all we have to do is carry our masters to wherever they want.'
'Hey, don't knock it until you try it!' Epona said clomping her hoof, 'It's so much fun being able to be a part of human society! My master's been teaching me all he can about it!"
'I'll tell you why she likes being human so much.' snickered Thunder to the knight horse, 'It's because she's got the hots for her master.'
'Huh? Seriously?' one of the horses neighed.
'Put a muzzle over it you big oaf!' Epona shouted, 'You're just jealous that I rejected you back at the ranch!'
'T-That's totally not the case!' Thunder shouted out in a furious fit.
'Oooooh, low blow.' one of the horses snickered to his buddy.
'Shad up!' Thunder shouted to the two of them, he looked to Epona with a bitter scowl, 'Well, whatever. Just go into the other room and let us all get some sleep.'
'Fine, fine.' Epona snorted. She took a drink of water from the trough, before trotting over into a separate room of the stable to one of the windows to look out at the night sky. She slumped her head down against the rim of the window, with her tail slowly swaying left and right.
As Epona looked up at the stars in the sky, the horse found herself thinking back to when she was taking Link on his journey to find Navi. She fondly remembered the nights the two would set up a camp for the night, and Link would lay back against her as the two would watch the stars shine.
In the time they hung out together, Link would often tell her stories about the dark future he had gone to, the weird and horrific encounters he experienced in Termina, and even his time when they got separated in the Era of Warriors. It pained Epona at times to know she couldn't actively help him outside of giving him a ride around the land. She wanted a chance to assist him with his struggles, to fight alongside him…
To help lift the burdens he dealt with…
'Link…' Epona neighed softly, her eyes starting to go tired all of a sudden. Her tail stopped swaying as she closed her chocolate eyes and laid herself down on some soft hay, until she found herself dreaming…
Her dreams consisted her as a human once again, but wearing a beautiful lacy white dress and holding a bouquet. Flower petals were falling down around her as as she walked up to Link who was dressed up handsomely in a suit. The two of them surrounded by Togau, Malon, the people of the ranch, and all of Link's human friends. Despite her being a horse once, they all happily recognized as a human now. Link would embrace her tightly in his strong arms, as the two were about to share a gentle kiss together...
But just before Link could kiss her on the lips, he stopped with alarm and stared down at her.
Wondering why he stopped, Epona curiously brought her hand up to her face, only to instead feel a horse's face. She looked down to see she was changing back to a horse again, her body ripping out from the beautiful wedding dress. She let out a cry as her dress was ripped to sheds, leaving her as a horse once again. She looked up in panic to see Link was moving away from her into the darkness.
Epona tried calling out to Link, but could only neigh. She then realized she was now wearing reins made from thick steel and spiked leather around her neck. She struggled with the reins, but flinched from the pain. She looked to see a large shadow looking down over her holding the reins with a wide grin.
'No… NOOOOO! LIIIIINKK!'
Epona suddenly snapped awake, realizing it was a dream. She let out a deep sigh of relief.
But as she tried to get up, she felt something around her neck. She then realized how real her dream was, as someone had put a collar around her and locked it into place! It was one of the Hylian knights, who was standing beside a much taller and darker looking man.
"Okay, it's secured Captain." the knight spoke, "Just in time too, looks like she just woke up."
"Excellent." spoke the tall man, it was Captain Andreas looking down at her with a wide grin, "Putting those tranquilizers into the horse's water trough was a good idea."
She tried to call out to Thunder and the other horses, but she realized she was wearing a muzzle over her snout that prevented her from making noise. She tried to fight against the knight and managed to pull herself away, but then Andreas grabbed the rein and held her in place with his incredible strength.
"I don't know how he did it without being seen, but it was very good of the Gerudo King to bring you right to me." Andreas smirked, gazing down at Epona with his bloodshot eyes, "That day I saw you at the ranch, I knew you had the potential I've been seeking…"
"…the potential to breed the greatest warhorses this kingdom has ever seen!"
"!" Epona struggled and fought against Andreas' grip, but he yanked her, causing her some pain, and she was forced to stop.
"Stop trying to resist you damn horse." Andreas sneered, "You're going to help bring out the future of Hyrule for us all!"
As the captain escorted the defeated Epona out of the stable, he gazed up at the castle and narrowed his eyes.
"Besides, if things go as Balterius suggests, your master will no longer be needing your services anyway…"
Meanwhile, in one dark room a certain shadowy person walked in.
"I received your note, what was it you wished to talk with me about?"
"I'm glad that you came. I've been looking into your past life, before you got to your current position."
"Hmph, that's rather rude."
"Forgive me, but it was thanks to that I could see the cruel injustice you suffered, and that terrible man who caused all of it to happen."
"…it's been along time since then. It still hurts each time I think about it… and both of them… But why would you even care about something like that?"
"Because we both have an interest in the same thing, we want him dealt with."
"So what exactly are you proposing we do? Spit it out already!"
"I'm saying that tomorrow, we have the opportunity to put an end to it. We can finally make him answer for what happened to you."
"… … very well, I'm listening."
And that ends this week's chapter, next time we move on to Day 2, where it's time to speak on much more important matter for the Gerudo, and Hyrule.
Sorry if this chapter wasn't too thrilling, despite all the build-up towards this meeting, I'm not very fond of writing political matters like these, but it's a necessity for the plot. I also didn't want it to drag out too long and end up like 'that' scene from Star Wars Attack of The Clones, you know the one.
Anyway, I promise the next chapter will be a lot more engaging.
Thank you all for reading! Please leave a like or follow if you're new, or leave a comment or send me a Private Message at your leisure. Your feedback is always encouraged!