The Eastern Palace was quite a sight to behold, even more so on the inside. Link had seen the outside of the structure many times from afar, but seeing the interior of it was a different matter entirely. It was massive, well-decorated, clean, and furnished expensively. He couldn't believe some people lived like this.
Link did not have much time to admire the decor, however, nor was he particularly interested. His mind was still on his missing sister, and Dame Jeanne led him rather quickly to a sitting room, where he was told to wait. And so, he took a seat on one of the couches that encircled a tea table and waited.
He was not sure how long he waited for, as his mind was so preoccupied. However, eventually, the door to the sitting room opened once more. Dame Jeanne and Princess Seraphina had returned, bringing Governor Kochi with them.
"Greetings, young man," the middle-aged Hylian woman said, nodding her head respectfully.
Link quickly climbed to his feet and gave the governor a bow. "Thank you for meeting with me," he said nervously.
The governor gestured to the empty couches. "Please have a seat," she told everyone as she claimed the sofa chair across the table from Link. The knight and the princess sat down together on one of the other couches, and Link sat back down as well.
"Dame Jeanne tells me your sister is the Hero," the governor began.
Link nodded. "Yes. And she's missing," he replied, hoping to get right to the point so they could begin searching for her.
"Indeed. Dame Jeanne also told me you and your sister were on the naval vessel that was attacked by pirates. I am sorry you had to go through that, but as you've been told, I do not believe your sister passed through here," the governor reiterated.
"Yes, I know," Link said exasperatedly. "But she must be alive. Some Sheikah were after us, and I think they wanted to capture her alive. They could've taken her from the pirates, or the pirates could have been working for them, or maybe she escaped to go find the other key, or-"
The governor raised her hand for silence. "I sympathize with your situation, and I do wish to help you," she said calmly. "Perhaps you should take a moment, then start from the beginning."
Link took a deep breath, then did as she suggested, starting from the beginning. He detailed the major points of his and his sister's journey, glossing over the parts that did not seem important, but taking care to highlight everything he remembered about his interactions with the Sheikah and everything related to the keys they'd been sent to find.
He mentioned meeting the Sheikah shogun, Impa Sadashi, and her daughter, Shiho, in Old Kakariko, and how she'd sent them on a quest to New Kakariko. He told them about their two interactions with the Sage of Shadow, Impa Ichika, and the greater quest she'd sent them on to recover the keys from the Water Temple and the Forest Temple. He explained how his sister had managed to pull the Master Sword from the stone, and how a group of Sheikah had attacked them soon after they'd left the forest. Finally, he told them the story of how he and his sister had been separated during the pirate attack. However, he chose to leave out the part where he met the spirit of the Hero of Twilight.
"I know I can't say for sure that she's alive, but, but, the gods wouldn't simply let the Hero die so soon after she got the sword, right?" Link reasoned. "So she must be out there somewhere. She's probably going to look for the Kokiri who took Saria's brother's sword, or she's going to slay the demon, or, or something. So, please, can you help me find her?"
"Yes, of course," the governor answered plainly. "The well-being of the Hero is a matter of national importance, especially if the kingdom is under siege by a demonic threat. However, based on your story, we have another priority - the Sheikah."
"Much of what he said fits with what Sheik has said," Dame Jeanne commented. "The entire Impa Family is in on this conspiracy. That means each and every Sheikah we encounter could potentially be our enemy."
"Including Impa Ayako," Governor Kochi pointed out. "Queen Victorique could be in danger."
"Aya would never hurt Vicky," Princess Seraphina said, almost pouting as she asserted her belief. "And… Sheik…" The young princess seemed to want to say more, but could not seem to find the words. Her caretaker placed a hand on her back and rubbed it affectionately.
"Whatever the case, I believe our next course of action is clear," the governor declared. "I must bring the armies of Necluda to the capital. My other nieces and nephews must be informed of this Sheikah conspiracy. We can attempt to locate the Hero along the way. Once we are all united, we can work to rid Hyrule of these traitors and this demonic incursion."
Dame Jeanne nodded. "I agree, my lady."
"I'll come, too," Princess Seraphina stated. "Blumen still needs me to take him to the Light Temple."
Link watched the conversation unfolding in front of him with some interest. There was a lot going on that he did not know about. Most of their concerns were secondary to him, but he knew Linkle would care about them, so he paid attention.
Dame Jeanne gave her charge a cautious smile. "Little angel, perhaps it would be better for us to remain here, where it is safe."
"No!" The young princess stood up. "I'm coming, too! I want to see my brothers and sisters again. And Blumen is my friend. He said I'm supposed to be his sage. I have to help him get to the cathedral."
"Young lady, I have to agree with Dame Jeanne," her aunt told her. "Not only will the capital be dangerous, but there is one other place we must visit on the way there."
"Where is that, my lady?" the crimson-haired knight asked. "Old Kakariko?"
Governor Kochi shook her head. "No. The Coliseum. I am told Queen Urballa of the Gerudo has taken control of it, and she is using it as a fortress to stage her invasion of Hyrule. We know the identity of her daughter's killer now. Perhaps we can smooth over our relations with the Gerudo if we remand the perpetrator to their custody."
Princess Seraphina suddenly looked very worried. "What?"
Before responding to her niece, the governor turned to Link. "Young man, we may require a moment to discuss a few things in private. If you would, please head through that door over there. One of my servants will take you to your quarters for now."
Link was hoping they would leave to search for Linkle sooner rather than later, but he understood the governor probably wouldn't be able to mobilize immediately. He considered simply dismissing himself to head out on his own, but he tried to remind himself that his odds of finding her would be better if he worked with the governor directly.
"Alright," Link said, standing up from his seat. "Thank you for your time, governor. Please let me know as soon as possible when we plan to leave."
Luckily for Link, the governor had already been planning to take her armies to the capital, and her forces had been amassing in the city for days before his arrival. So, instead of having to sit still in the governor's palace for an extended period of time while he waited for her to be ready, they were able to set out the following morning.
The governor had been generous enough to grant Link some extra clothes as well as a new sword and shield. Beyond those items, the Hero of the Minish's boomerang, and the Hero of Twilight's earring, he did not have many other possessions. Nonetheless, he helped the governor's troops load the supplies they would be bringing with them into the horse-drawn carts before they set out.
As he finished loading the final cart, Link spotted Princess Seraphina and Dame Jeanne exiting the palace. Also joining them was also a young Sheikah man with streaks of gray in his hair. However, what caught Link's attention was the other strange companion they had with them. It was what appeared to be a giant, glowing, golden rabbit. When the young princess spotted Link, she smiled and approached him.
"Good morning, hero!" Seraphina greeted him cheerfully, gripping her dress to curtsy for him.
Link was about to correct her by saying he was not the Hero, but he remembered there was a possibility that he actually was. However, he figured Seraphina meant it in the looser sense of the word anyway.
"Good morning, Princess. Good morning, Dame." Link gave a curt bow to them both. The Sheikah man hung back and did not approach him. However, the giant rabbit thing hopped over alongside them. "Um…" Link held up a hand and pointed down at the glowing rabbit. "What is that?"
"How rude." To Link's astonishment, the rabbit spoke. "I am not a what. I am a who. I am Blumen, the new God of Light!"
Link stared at the alleged god for a moment, then looked to the princess and the knight for confirmation. Seraphina was smiling at Blumen, but Dame Jeanne nodded while shrugging.
"Okay." Link chose to ignore this new development for the moment. "So, are we ready to set out?"
"As soon as the governor is ready, yes," Dame Jeanne replied.
"You'll be riding in our carriage!" Princess Seraphina told him.
Link blinked. "You're coming, too?" he asked, remembering how Jeanne and Kochi had both been opposed to it.
"Mhmm!" The young princess nodded excitedly, apparently not feeling the need to explain how she'd changed their minds.
Link hadn't expected that, nor had he expected to be invited to ride in a carriage with royalty. The governor had agreed to help him, but she had other goals, and he did not expect her to view him as very important. He gave the princess a cautious smile. "I appreciate the offer, but I don't want to intrude. I'm good on a horse, so I don't mind riding with the soldiers."
"What? Nonsense!" Seraphina practically lunged forward, gripping one of Link's hands in both of hers. "You saved me and Jeanne back before the Blood Moon. Of course you should ride with us!"
Link wanted to insist, but the young girl's bright, wondrous eyes and cheerful smile were very tough to say no to. Instead, he looked to Jeanne, expecting her to object to having a relative stranger close to the princess for too long.
"It would be an honor to have the Hero's brother join us." She said it politely, but Link could see the hint of a smirk on her face, as if she found something funny about his reaction to Seraphina.
"If you insist…" Link reluctantly agreed, nervously adjusting the shield on his back.
Just then, trumpets blared, and most of the knights, soldiers, and servants in the area quickly stood at attention. Link mimicked their actions, standing beside Dame Jeanne. Governor Celessa Kochi exited the palace. She was escorted by four mage-knights who carried no weaponry and wore mage robes over their armor. A ring of soldiers also surrounded them, serving as extra protection.
Once the herald finished announcing the governor, she simply waved her hand, setting everybody back to work. She then approached the young princess, allowing some of her guards to part out of the way.
"Good morning, little one," Celessa said to Seraphina. "We are to leave shortly. Are you certain I cannot convince you to stay behind?"
"I'm coming," the princess confirmed, latching onto her bodyguard's side. "Right, Jeanne?"
The governor smiled. "I suppose that settles it." Then she turned to Link. "Are you prepared as well, young hero?"
Link nodded. "Yes. I'm ready. Please let me know if I can do anything to help."
"Will you be riding with us, Aunt Celessa?" Seraphina asked.
"I would love to, little one, but I've been advised to follow proper security protocols. I will be traveling separately," the governor replied. "Our first stop will be Fort Hateno. I shall see you all there." With that, Celessa dismissed herself and made her way over to her carriage, accompanied by her guards.
"We should go, too, little angel." Dame Jeanne took her charge by the hand. "Follow us, hero. And you, too, Blumen."
"Huzzah! We are off on our holy pilgrimage," the rabbit exclaimed, hopping on ahead of them.
"Right." Link followed them over to their spacious royal carriage.
Along the way, Link noticed the Sheikah man who had been with Jeanne and the princess earlier. A group of the governor's guards had surrounded him. One of them tried to grab him by the arm, but he angrily pulled away. Despite his resistance, he then walked along the road, escorted by the guards until he was loaded into another carriage.
Jeanne noticed it, too. "Do not worry about him," she instructed. "He will not harm anyone else, and the guards are on orders not to harm him unless it's absolutely necessary."
Link wanted to inquire further about the Sheikah man. Something about him seemed familiar. However, he noticed an uneasy look on the young princess's face, so he decided against it.
Once Link, Princess Seraphina, Dame Jeanne, and the strange golden rabbit 'god' had climbed inside the carriage, the convoy started moving. Next stop was Fort Hateno.
Hopefully someone there has seen her…
For most of the ride, Link spoke very little. Having spent most of his life among other commoners, he was not sure how to present himself among nobles, royalty, and gods for an extended period of time. Luckily, Princess Seraphina did most of the talking, and her guardian appeared to be very experienced with handling her admittedly cute ramblings.
"Your voice is very different from Laemora's," the princess said to the glowing rabbit god. "She spoke into my head sometimes."
The rabbit laughed. "Well, I should think so! Laemora was fully-realized. She had a lot of time to develop. The Golden Goddesses sent her into this world almost a full century ago to replace the four Light Spirits. Give me time, my child. I shall be as powerful as she was one day. With your help, of course, my sage."
The princess giggled, although it was clear that some of what Blumen said had gone over her head. "Then you're just like his sister!" she said, indicating Link. "The new Hero gets sent by Farore to replace the old one, right?"
Link smiled at that. Linkle used to talk all the time about how she must've been Farore's chosen champion.
Who would've thought she was right?
"Does the Hero of Twilight ever talk to your sister?" Princess Seraphina asked Link. "Like how Laemora used to talk to me?"
"Um… sort of." Link was once again reminded that he might've been the Hero instead of his sister. He could have told them about his interactions with the previous Hero, but he did not want them questioning anything at this point. "She has dreams about a lot of Heroes."
As he spoke, Link slid closer to the window and gazed outside. He recognized their surroundings. They would soon be coming to the fork in the road, where the western path would lead to Fort Hateno and the southern path would lead to his house.
"Is something wrong?" Dame Jeanne asked.
"Would it be possible to stop here for a moment?" Link requested. "My home is in this area. I want to check if my sister is there."
Seraphina seemed excited. "The Hero's house? Wow! Can we go, Jeanne?"
Her retainer put her hand to her chin. "It would probably be best not to stop the convoy, but if we go by horseback, we can probably afford a slight detour. We'll be able to catch up with the rest of the convoy afterwards."
"Yay!" Seraphina cheered.
"I'll ask the governor for permission."
Getting permission from Governor Kochi required Jeanne to lean outside of the carriage and request that one of the knights riding on horseback alongside them take a message to the governor's carriage in another part of the convoy. They then had to wait a few minutes for the rider to return. Once they did, Dame Jeanne leaned back outside of the carriage to retrieve the governor's reply, thanked the rider, and came back inside once again.
"It will be alright," Jeanne announced. "But if I am to bring my charge, we are to take half a dozen guards with us just in case."
With that, just as they were coming to the crossroads, Jeanne requested the coach driver bring their carriage to a stop. Link and Jeanne were each given a horse, and Princess Seraphina would ride with Jeanne. They told Blumen to stay in the carriage and sent it on its way. Then, along with the princess's extra escort, they took the southern road once they reached the fork.
"This place is beautiful," the young princess said, eyes open in awe as she took in her surroundings. "The grass, the forest, the pond, the butterflies." She smiled at Link. "You really live out here?"
Link shrugged. "Well. I did. I've been away from home for a while."
Seraphina nodded. "Me, too."
Link furrowed his brow. The princess went on gazing at the countryside with a smile on her face, but Link felt as though she'd just said something worth more than only a passing mention.
"I come from Hateno as well," Dame Jeanne commented. "I left many years ago, however."
"Is that how you know the governor?" Link asked.
"Yes. House Felltom has served House Kochi for generations."
"What is your House?" the princess asked Link.
"It's over there." Link pointed. His home had come into view up the road.
Seraphina let out an "Ooohh," and Link couldn't tell whether or not she'd noticed his joke.
When they arrived at the low fence outside of Link's house, Link dismounted, as did the rest of their party. Seraphina was quick to try to run to the front door, but Link instinctively threw his arm out in front of her. "Wait."
Jeanne nodded, seeming to understand his thought process. "Check inside," she ordered the guards.
"Yes, dame."
While they waited, Princess Seraphina grabbed the arm Link had blocked her path with. She began leaning back and forth, impatiently waiting for the chance to continue. "What do you and your sister do for fun around here?" she asked.
Link did not bother to shake free from her grasp. "Well. I like to make things," he answered. "And Linkle likes to hunt monsters."
"Ooohh." Seraphina clutched Link's arm tightly. "What kind of monsters do you have around here?"
"Little angel, you should have more respect for the young man's personal space," Dame Jeanne lightly scolded her.
Link waved his other hand. "It's fine," he assured her. "Around here, it's mostly Chus, Keese, and Bugblins. But we get Tallblins and Helmasaurs and such from time to time."
The guards Jeanne had sent into the house came back outside. "It's clear, dame."
"Yippee!" Seraphina let go of Link's arm and ran on ahead.
"Be careful," Link called after her.
Dame Jeanne stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can tell you are the older sibling."
Link looked up at the taller woman, seeing the look of approval on her face. "Yeah… You, too?"
Jeanne nodded. "It sounds like your sister isn't here, however. I am sorry, young man."
"It's alright. I didn't expect her to be." Link walked towards the front door. "She might have come through here, though. I want to check." Gently pushing the door open, Link stepped inside his house for the first time in quite a while.
"Link! Link! Link! Link!"
He barely made it through the front door before Seraphina was hopping up and down in front of him, waving a piece of parchment in her hand.
Jeanne stepped into the room. "What is it, little angel?"
The princess stopped jumping and held out her hand, giving the paper she held to Link. "Look! I found it on the table."
The paper was folded, and Link saw the words "To Link" written on the front of it. He stopped himself from getting too excited, knowing anyone could have left a note for him while he was away. Slowly, he unfolded the parchment and read the message silently to himself.
Link, the Sheikah captured me, but I escaped. They're trying to steal the Triforce. That's what the keys are for. I'm going to the capital to warn the Royal Family.
I know you'll find me. I love you.
Linkle
Link stared at the paper for a while, overwhelmed.
"What does it say?" Princess Seraphina asked.
Link was brought back to reality, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
She's alive.
"It's from my sister," he replied. "She's heading to the capital, too. She says she escaped from the Sheikah, and that the Sheikah are trying to steal the Triforce."
"What?" Dame Jeanne sounded shocked. "If this is true, then the Impa Family has betrayed both the Royal Family and the gods. Why would they have done this?"
"We could ask Sheik," the princess suggested. "Maybe he knows something."
"Maybe," the red-haired knight muttered. "Young hero, is there anything else you need from here before we continue? We should return to the governor's convoy as soon as possible."
"Let me just check to see if I have any supplies I can bring," Link replied, heading for his bedroom.
Jeanne took Seraphina by the hand. "We shall wait outside."
After a quick search of the house, Link did not find much that would be of any use. He and Linkle had brought almost everything of value with them the first time they'd left. However, before he went back outside, he decided to stop by Linkle's room. Inside, there were many story books about the adventures of various Heroes lining her bookshelves, and there was a chest filled with her old wooden toys in the corner. He smiled sentimentally.
We'll come back to this house together some day, little sister.
Stepping back outside, Link saw the guards standing around the perimeter, keeping their eyes on the princess. Seraphina was busy trying to climb the tree beside the house. Jeanne stood nearby, watching her.
Link stood beside the knight. "Careful on that long branch," Link called up to the princess. "It bends down if you put your weight on it."
"Okay!" Seraphina called back.
Jeanne chuckled lightly. "Did your sister used to climb in that tree as well?"
Link nodded.
"She and Seraphina sound a lot alike."
"They are. In many ways, I imagine."
Jeanne glanced at him quizzically.
"It's… the look in her eyes," Link said, speaking in a low voice. "She's seen a lot, too, hasn't she?"
Dame Jeanne nodded gravely. "A friend of hers was murdered while we were visiting in Gerudo. Then, when we returned home on the night of the Blood Moon, the traitors attacked us and her father," she explained. "Her father was killed that night. She watched the traitors murder the Sage of Light, too, and even more has happened since then."
Link was silent for a moment. "That's awful. Especially for someone as young as her."
"Yes. And, not to pry, but you say your sister has the same look in her eyes - I'd say you do as well, young man." Dame Jeanne gazed down at Link sympathetically. "Have you and your sister experienced similar tragedies?"
Link couldn't look at her, so he kept his eyes on the young princess as he spoke. "Nothing quite so traumatizing," he replied. "But we lost our parents and our other four siblings in the span of a couple years."
"I would call that quite traumatizing." The red-haired knight placed a hand on his shoulder. "They say the life of a hero is never easy."
Link knew that from the stories. All of the most famous Heroes had been orphans, and that's to say nothing of what they went through on their journeys.
Whether the Hero is me or Linkle, that means one of us is cursed.
"I'll be fine. As long as I have my sister," Link told her.
As he watched Seraphina playing in the tree, he noticed one of the guards start to walk towards her. For some reason, that struck him as odd.
Jeanne didn't tell them to do anything.
Glancing around, he noticed something else. "Dame, we brought half a dozen guards, right?"
"Correct," she replied.
"Then why are there seven?" Link instinctively drew his sword and charged at the guard approaching the tree. "Hey!" he called out.
The guard ignored him, but a moment later, a magical, dome-shaped barrier appeared around the suspicious man. It must have been Jeanne's doing, as she soon caught up with Link, holding her halberd with one hand while the other was raised towards the captured guard.
"Princess, get down from there!" the crimson knight shouted. "The rest of you, stay where you are!" she ordered, giving a quick glance over her shoulder towards the other guards.
The guard who was captured by the magical barrier suddenly disappeared in a puff of black smoke, a trick Link was familiar with at this point.
Sheikah.
However, the Sheikah reappeared a moment later, pressed against the barrier. He was apparently unable to shadowstep through it. Link thought this meant the danger had been neutralized already, but then, there was another burst of dark smoke from outside of the bubble. A second Sheikah appeared, this one dressed like a Sheikah ninja rather than disguised as a guard. Together, the two Sheikah began hacking at the barrier with their swords. The magical dome soon shattered and dissipated.
The Sheikah did not get much chance to do anything after breaking the one disguised as a guard out of his containment. Jeanne brought her halberd down on that one's skull, and Link tossed his boomerang at the other one. The boomerang did not cut him fatally, but it distracted him long enough for Link to run up to him and stab his sword through the Sheikah's chest.
"Jeanne!" By then, Seraphina had climbed back down to the ground. Still several meters away, she ran a few steps towards her caretaker, but before she got far, she was stopped in her tracks by another burst of smoke. She screamed as two more Sheikah appeared.
"Princess!" Jeanne cried.
She and Link ran towards her, but before they could do anything, one of the newly-appeared Sheikah grabbed the other one from behind and slit his throat, dropping him to the ground.
"Get away from her!" Jeanne shouted at the remaining Sheikah.
The man calmly complied, stepping out of the way, allowing Jeanne to reunite with Seraphina. Link joined them as well, but he was very confused by the situation at this point.
"Sheik!" Seraphina looked relieved to see the Sheikah standing before them.
Looking closer, Link could see it was the man with gray streaks in his hair who he'd seen earlier when they departed from Hateno.
"You said you would remain with the guards," Jeanne said to the Sheikah, speaking as though she were chewing him out for disobeying orders.
"And your idiot guards said they would keep me from escaping," the man replied, wiping the blood from his blade. "So, really, who's the bigger liar here?"
"Thank you again, Sheik," Seraphina said to him.
The Sheikah man said nothing. He looked irritated for some reason.
Jeanne sighed in frustration, protectively wrapping an arm around the princess and holding her close. "Are there any others?"
"None that I've spotted," Sheik replied.
The red-haired knight glanced around them, then nodded her head. "Do you think they were waiting to see if you would come back here?" she asked Link.
"I doubt it," Link replied, shaking his head. He reached into his pocket, pulling out his sister's note. "They wouldn't have left this for me to find - it tells us their plans. They must have followed us from Hateno."
"I see," Jeanne said. "We should hurry back to the convoy. We need to keep the princess safe and tell her aunt what happened."
Although Link and his party were able to travel quickly thanks to their horses, they had spent more time on their detour than they had intended. Once they got back onto the road, they traveled around the Cliffs of Quince in good time, but they did not manage to catch up with Governor Kochi until they found her convoy waiting for them at Fort Hateno.
When they arrived at the gate, some of Kochi's guards were there to greet them, along with some of the soldiers who guarded the fort.
"Dame Jeanne," one of the guards said as they rode up.
"Yes?" the knight replied, bringing her horse to a halt.
"The governor wants to see you and the boy. Bring him inside."
"At once." Jeanne waved for Link to follow her. The gate opened and they proceeded inside. On the other side of the wall, more guards directed them to the main building, saying they would find the governor there. Leaving their horses outside, they entered the fortress and moved through the halls.
Link and Jeanne found the governor in a council chamber. She was meeting with an older man wearing armor and a plumed helmet, who seemed to be the commander in charge of the fort.
"My sincere apologies for our delay, governor," Jeanne said, taking a bow as she entered. Link and Seraphina followed suit. "We encountered some hostiles. I can give you a full report in private later."
Governor Kochi bowed her head slightly in reply. "Understood. In that case, you have my thanks for keeping my niece safe," she said. "Link, please have a seat," she told the young Hylian man, gesturing to the chair beside hers.
Link sat down, suddenly a little nervous. The governor seemed to be acting rather serious.
"Commander, please show this young man what you showed me," Celessa said.
The man in the plumed helmet nodded. He put his hand on a large piece of paper and pushed it across the table until it was in front of Link.
Furrowing his brow, Link looked over the paper. He realized quickly that it was a wanted poster – for Linkle. Grabbing the poster, he pulled it closer to himself to examine it. "Murder and impersonating the Hero?" Link read aloud, appalled.
"Yes," the commander replied. "She killed three of my soldiers and two of our intelligence agents."
Link narrowed his eyes. "Did these 'intelligence agents' happen to work for the Impas?"
"Of course. And?"
"Then of course she killed them! They were probably trying to kill her!" Link shoved the poster back across the table. "And what do you mean impersonating the Hero? Did none of you see she was carrying the Master Sword? She's the real Hero!"
"Young man." Governor Kochi raised her hand for silence.
Link paused, then hesitantly leaned back in his seat, still quite angry at the man on the other side of the desk.
"Commander, did your intelligence agents attack the young woman in question?" Celessa asked.
"They shadowstepped behind her while we were attempting to detain her," the commander explained. "They were merely trying to assist my men."
"Is it protocol for these agents to assist in such arrests?" the governor continued.
The commander pursed his lips. "Well, I suppose not, but…"
The governor took a deep breath. "Commander, we have strong reason to believe the Impa Family have betrayed the Crown," she declared. "The Sheikah are also targeting the Hero. It is possible that your intelligence agents were attempting to kill or kidnap young Linkle, and she merely defended herself. And, yes, I have reason to believe that she is likely the real Hero."
The commander seemed shocked and troubled by this news. "I… I had not been informed of any of this, governor."
"That is understandable. The information is rather new," Governor Kochi told him. "However, I must order you to cease your search for the Hero. Retract any previous orders you've given your troops regarding her, and instead inform them that she is not to be harmed. Any updates regarding her whereabouts are to be sent directly to me as quickly as possible."
"Yes, governor. But what should I do about the Sheikah Cadre?"
"Leave them be. Act as if you suspect nothing. But if you learn anything about the Hero, do not share that information with any of the Impa Family's agents." Governor Kochi stood. "We must be going now. Time is of the essence. Thank you for your cooperation, commander."
"Wait," Link interrupted. "If my sister came through here, where did she go? Which way was she heading when she left?"
The commander regarded Link cautiously now. "West. She escaped into the Ash Swamp."
"I see. Thank you." Link stood, and together with the governor, he exited the room.
After heading down the halls towards the exit of the fortress, Link was quick to voice his concerns once they had a little more privacy. "We'll never catch her," he told his companions, speaking dejectedly.
"Because she's taking a shortcut through the swamp?" the governor asked. "Do not fear, young man. It may be a shorter distance, but the terrain is difficult. It will not be much faster than taking the road around the swamp."
"It's not just that. She has the Pegasus Boots." Link turned to Dame Jeanne and the princess. "After we helped you in Hyrule Field, you allowed us to take some of the Hero of the Minish's artifacts. She took a pair of boots that let her run faster. Between the boots, the shortcut, and her head start, we'll never catch her," he repeated.
"Don't worry," the young princess consoled him, smiling brightly. "As long as we're all going to the same place, we'll find her eventually, right? Me and Jeanne went completely different ways when we left the castle, but we found each other at my auntie's palace anyway!"
Strange as it was, Link found that sort of comforting. "I guess so. Thanks, Princess."
When they got back outside, the four of them rejoined the convoy and prepared to continue.
"If she's going through the Ash Swamp, she's probably going to take the path through the Dueling Peaks to get back to Central Hyrule," Link stated, even though he was certain everyone else had gathered that much already. "If we're taking the road, we're going to end up pretty close to Old Kakariko at some point along the way." If the Impa Family was their true enemy, getting anywhere near their seat of power sounded dangerous.
"Do we plan to take our forces to Kakariko, governor?" Dame Jeanne asked. "We could arrest Impa Sadashi and end this quickly."
"No," the governor replied. "We may not have the forces, the resources, or the time to prepare for a proper siege of a city nestled so safely in the mountains. We must continue on for now, and deal with the Impa Family after informing my other nieces and nephews of their betrayal."
"But what if they attack us?" Link asked. The last time he'd gone anywhere near Old Kakariko, he'd ended up kidnapped by Sheikah agents.
"Then we'll just have to fight back, protecting the princess and the governor at all costs," Jeanne replied.
Link looked down at Princess Seraphina. She didn't look at all worried, seemingly having infinite confidence in her guardian. However, he knew what their enemies were capable of, and he was overcome with a strong urge to protect her as well.
"Fine." Link nodded. "Let's hurry, then. Even if we won't catch up with my sister until we reach the capital, I need to find her as quickly as possible."