Mila's new guest accommodations in Hyrule Castle were much better than the quarters she'd been given the last time she'd visited. When she'd accompanied Governor Vryciaro to the capital for the summit, she had been a knight, so she had not been forced to sleep in the barracks with the ordinary soldiers. However, her room had been smaller, her bed hadn't been nearly as comfortable, and she hadn't been afforded access to the castle's servants. Her new quarters even had a fireplace, next to which she sat, sipping a glass of wine as she contemplated the recent new developments.
The princesses had returned to the capital; all but Princess Seraphina, who was still missing and presumed dead. The child was of little note, however. The arrival of Princess Victorique and Princess Sophitia, on the other hand, had shaken things up significantly.
When Victorique had arrived, many had assumed she would be crowned immediately. She was technically the late King Tychon's legal heir, after all. However, her brothers had gotten in her way, and Mila suspected Lord Remoth intended to make another bid for the throne at some point. The outward fighting had ceased when Prince Lancel arrived and demonstrated the power of his flying fortress, but a new kind of battle had taken its place.
Unfortunately, it was more a battle of arbiters than a battle of spies. Mila had sent Luft to secretly observe some of the Royal Family's meetings, and while it could be said that they plotted against one another, they all seemed more preoccupied with researching legal precedent that would seal their place as the rightful ruler of the kingdom. Mila found it all dreadfully tedious and boring.
Why are you all so bad at killing each other?
Then, Princess Sophitia had arrived. With what appeared to be the entirety of the remaining Royal Family in the capital once again, Mila thought that perhaps things would get more interesting.
There are five of them competing now, including Remoth. How can I figure out which one will come out on top?
Princess Victorique was the obvious choice, since the law was likely on her side. Mila was currently backing Prince Percival, who seemed the easiest to manipulate, although Mila knew little about Princess Sophitia. She could be the dark horse in all of this.
Mila also had to consider how she could increase her station further. She was already a lady, although it was basically in name only. She needed land and money and vassals of her own. And, if the gods didn't get in her way, perhaps she could even become queen someday. It was a stretch, for sure, but one she still wished to consider.
The easiest way would be to marry the king, provided Remoth or one of the princes ascended to the throne. However, there was next to no chance of that ever happening. Mila wasn't even human, let alone Hylian, and she had the appearance of an eleven-year-old girl. Surely that would not be good for a king's image.
If only that damn tree had let me grow up…
Regardless, there were many other more powerful positions she could attain.
Perhaps I could replace that simpleton Vryciaro as governor…
That was certainly possible. Even if she couldn't be the one to kill him, somebody would sooner or later. And if no one did, she could outlast him anyway. Even outside of the forest's borders, she believed herself to still be immortal. If she wasn't, she was still much younger than he was.
As the Kokiri girl contemplated all of this, she heard a jingle from her window. Her fairy flew into the room, dropping fairy dust as she moved.
"Ah. Welcome back," Mila said with a smile, raising her glass as if in celebration.
"Yes, yes, 'Welcome back,' she says…" Luft muttered in annoyance. "How come you get to sit around drinking yourself into a coma while I have to do all the work?"
"Here we go. Always complaining." Mila rolled her eyes, smirking. "Now, come on. Out with it. What have we learned?"
"That these royal pricks have family issues," Luft replied, fluttering over to Mila and setting herself down on the table. "Apparently they'd made a bet with the king about who would get to replace him, behind Princess Victorique's back."
Mila laughed. "Truly? That's rather priceless. Who won this bet?"
"They all think they won." Luft grabbed the rim of Mila's wine glass, which was about the same size as she was, and carefully tilted it over, drinking from its contents.
"So they still intend to fight over the throne?" Mila asked for clarification."
Luft jangled in irritation, taking a moment to drink deeply. "I guess? They said they're gonna have an election to decide."
"An election?" Mila furrowed her brow. "Among who? The Grand Council? The royal court? The nobility?"
"They said they were gonna 'let the people decide.'"
Mila scoffed. "Why let the people decide? Is there anyone stupider than the people?"
"Beats me." Luft flittered her wings, rising back into the air. "But it sounds like you're backing the losing horse on this one, Mila. I don't think the commonfolk like Prince Percival all that much."
"Perhaps. Although, if he manages to receive credit for my defeat of the Earthquake Sage, he may earn some favor in the eyes of the people," Mila mused, putting her hand to her chin ponderously. "Princess Victorique is by far the most well-known and beloved. She should be the favorite. But then again, is she not responsible for losing the Gerudo Province?"
"Princess Sophitia lost most of the Hebra Province, too," Luft pointed out, jingling humorously.
"What?" Mila was somewhat shocked. "We lost Hebra too?"
"Not all of it," Luft clarified. "But the younger princess said she's letting the Rito decide whether or not to stay."
"Unbelievable." Mila shook her head. "The king only just died, and already the kingdom is falling apart. And now the king's idiot children are going to waste time with an election?"
"If Lord Remoth doesn't have them all killed in their sleep first," Luft speculated, lazily flipping through the air.
Mila leaned back in her chair. Lord Remoth was another factor to consider. If he did intend to try to steal the throne again, all four of his largest competitors had conveniently returned to the same place now. If the princes and princesses were all eliminated, the closest thing to an obstacle after them would be their aunt, Governor Kochi. He would be practically unopposed.
"Did the royal siblings mention Lord Remoth in their meeting?" Mila inquired.
"Hmm?" Luft fluttered about for a moment. "Uhhh… Oh! Yeah. They think he was behind the attack during the Blood Moon. He might even be the Headless Demon in disguise."
Mila nearly spit out a mouthful of wine. "Truly? I could see him being behind the Blood Moon attack, but a demon in disguise?"
The Kokiri girl thought about it for a moment. She supposed Lord Remoth shared a few similarities with the last great demon lords. Ganondorf had been a king who was unsatisfied with serving beneath another king. Vaati had been a sage's apprentice who wanted to be the master. Both had been powerful, but that had not been enough for them. They wanted to be the most powerful. Given Lord Remoth's position as one of the most powerful lords in Hyrule, it was easy to see how he might covet the Royal Family's throne.
"Hmm. Perhaps it's not that absurd after all," Mila said aloud. "So, what do they plan to do with him? A simple execution? Or are they to banish him to another realm of some sort?"
"Ugh, what's with all the questions?" Luft asked, stealing another few sips of Mila's wine. "They don't know what to do with him, alright? They're keeping him in the capital until they've confirmed he's the demon. That's all they said."
"How could they possibly not have a way to confirm such a thing?" Mila asked. "The Royal Family are supposed to be godlings. Can they not sense it?"
"What're you asking me for?" Luft jangled in irritation.
Mila tapped her fingers against her armrest.
If I can positively identify the demon, the Royal Family will surely be grateful.
Her first thought was to use the Sage of Light. Sorcerers who practiced light magic were often talented at sensing malicious intent. As far as Mila was aware, a demon was simply a being who had obtained immense magical power through immoral means or for malevolent purposes. However, the damn sage had gone and gotten himself killed, along with his Patron, so they would be of no help.
Nevermind that. I'll just try it the old fashioned way.
The Royal Family suspected Lord Remoth of being the Headless Demon, and Mila considered it possible as well. If she could catch him doing anything suspicious, she might be able to prove it, or at least find evidence of him working for the same group that served the demon.
"Luft, I have another job for you," Mila said.
"Ah, fuck," Luft complained. "Why can't you be the one to fly around spying on people for once?"
"If I sprout wings, I'll let you know," the Kokiri girl replied. "We need to investigate Lord Remoth. If he is the Headless Demon, or one of the conspirators, and I manage to bring him in, I'll be a hero in the Royal Family's eyes."
"Do we have to do it now?" Luft whined.
"Sometime before he kills the rest of the Royal Family would be preferable, yes," Mila said with mild irritation.
"If he can really kill the entire Royal Family, why don't you just join him instead?"
Mila raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Luft jingled in laughter. "I like that look on your face. It was only a joke, Mila."
"Maybe, but you make a good point," Mila decided. "It's possible this demon truly is stronger than the remainder of the Royal Family. Depending on what it wants, perhaps it can be useful to us."
"Hmm, I don't know about that." Luft flipped herself through the air beside her companion's head. "Demons are powerful, but they always get killed by the Hero in the end, don't they? The guy who used to own your sword killed at least one demon, ya know."
"My sword." Mila stood up and walked the length of the room. The scabbard holding her sword was leaning against the wall, and she snatched it up, drawing the blade. "Those Achemen attempted to steal it," she said, turning to Luft. "They almost certainly were acting on orders from the demon."
"You told me about that." Luft fluttered across the room, illuminating Mila's gilded sword with her light. "What do you think they wanted with it?"
"This was the sword Saria's brother used to slay the demon of Termina, was it not?" Mila asked. "Perhaps this sword is similar to the Master Sword. It could have some special properties that make it harmful to demons."
"So the Headless Demon sent some monsters to steal your sword because they're scared of it?" Luft delicately landed on the flat of the blade, dancing across it as Mila held it aloft. "I guess that makes sense. So what do you plan to do? Go around threatening everyone with your sword and seeing who gets scared?"
"Not everybody," Mila replied, smirking at her fairy companion's jest. "But if Lord Remoth is connected to the Achemen, then he should still want my sword. That may be just enough leverage to force him out into the open."
Despite Lord Remoth's current role as interim Grand Artisan during Rodan's absence, he did not often spend time in the mines or the workshops below Hyrule Castle. Instead, he spent much of his time in his new office, from which he sent out orders to the Goron and Hylian artisans under his command. Additionally, the monster slaves he'd brought to the capital were still mining the quarry for material with which to rebuild the city, and he regularly communicated with his overseers regarding the process.
Lord Remoth was clearly a man who valued his privacy. His new office had no windows, and Mila suspected this was an intentional choice on his part. He was a man who was already suspected of keeping secrets, and this was just another reason to believe he was up to something behind the scenes. Luckily, the lack of windows would be no issue for Luft, as fairies had interesting ways of getting into places they otherwise weren't supposed to be.
So, Mila went about her daily business, allowing herself to be seen in public interacting with various nobles, including Prince Percival, to whom she still currently reported. Meanwhile, Luft was tasked with keeping an eye on Lord Remoth. If he spoke with anyone, if he discussed anything treasonous, or if he turned into a demon within the privacy of his office, Mila wanted to be the first to know about it.
The Kokiri girl was having tea with Vanova in the courtyard when she next saw her fairy.
"Do you ever intend to return to Labrynna?" Mila asked the foreign girl, raising her teacup to her lips.
"Perhaps to visit one day, just to see it," Vanova replied, tilting her head upward as if daydreaming about something. "I do not remember it much. I was quite young when Mother brought me to Hyrule."
"I would like to see it too, someday," Mila said. "There are many round-eared humans here in the capital, and quite a few of them are not from Ordona. I am interested to know what the land beyond the sea is like."
Vanova nodded her head as she stopped daydreaming, then took another sip of her tea. "What about you, my lady?" she asked Mila. "Whenever you mention your home, you do not sound like you were fond of it. Do you ever intend to return to the forest?"
Mila lowered her eyelids.
Maybe to kill that damn tree.
"One day," she said. "Once I've made something more of myself."
"Pfft. Like you'll ever be satisfied with what you've made of yourself," came a voice from above Mila.
Mila and Vanova turned their heads skyward. Luft fluttered down from overhead, lowering herself down onto the table between them.
"Luft!" Vanova said excitedly, putting her arms on the table and leaning her face in closer to the fairy. "It's good to see you!"
Luft jingled appreciatively. "Hey there, round-ears." She turned to Mila. "You could stand to greet me like that sometime, too, ya know."
Mila sighed. "It's good to see you, old friend," she said.
"There ya go." Luft peered into Mila's teacup, but decided she didn't want any of the drink. "Anyway, I got something to report. Is it safe to talk here?"
Mila lifted her eyes to Vanova, then glanced about the courtyard. There was no one nearby, and she could see no good places to eavesdrop.
"Here is fine," she told her fairy.
"Shall I take my leave, my lady?" Vanova offered.
"No, you may stay," Mila replied. "What do you have for me, Luft?"
"Remoth just got done meeting with the Grand Minister and the Grand Watcher," Luft told her.
"Two other members of the Grand Council," Mila remarked. It wasn't too strange for them to be meeting, but the topic of their discussion would shed more light on that. "Did Remoth meet with them both at once?"
"No. Socicila showed up right after Malkori left."
"I see. What did he and Malkori discuss?"
"A lot of things," Luft began. "But it was mostly about the election the Royal Family intends to hold. He's in charge of setting that up."
"Why did he need to talk to Lord Remoth about that?" Mila asked.
"I dunno. The minister said he needed some help. Remoth said he could spare a few people, but the election didn't really matter anyway," Luft explained.
"Didn't matter, or didn't matter to him?" Mila asked, finding this to be an important clarification.
"Didn't matter." Luft rose up into the air, fluttering her wings. "Why? You suddenly care about Prince Percival winning or something?"
Mila shook her head. "If Remoth were merely indifferent to the outcome of the election, that would simply mean he didn't care which of the royal siblings won," she explained. "But, if he believes the election itself doesn't matter at all, it means he believes the outcome has already been decided."
"What do you mean, my lady?" Vanova asked, lazily watching the fairy hovering in front of her. "Does Lord Remoth think Princess Victorique is sure to win?"
While the election had not been officially announced to the public yet, the royal siblings had shared their plans with many of the nobles working in the castle. A popular sentiment was that Princess Victorique was the favorite to win. She was well-known and well-liked throughout much of the kingdom, and she was the late king's eldest child. To many, she was the obvious choice.
"That may be the case," Mila said, steepling her hands in front of her. "However, it could also mean he intends to rig the election in his favor."
"Huh? Is Lord Remoth a candidate, too?" Luft asked in confusion.
"No, but he may have his own favorite amongst the royal siblings."
"Who do you think it is?" Vanova asked.
Mila thought about it. Lord Remoth clearly did not like Prince Percival, and Percival would probably have Remoth executed were he to become king. He probably did not like Prince Lancel very much either, seeing as though Lancel had been the one to kick Remoth off of the throne while he'd been playing 'regent' of the kingdom. That left the royal sisters.
"Princess Sophitia has spent some time in the Ridgelands recently," Mila pointed out. "It is possible they've become acquainted. They may even be working together. Remoth may consider a sixteen-year-old queen to be easier to influence and control." The Kokiri girl eyed her seventeen-year-old retainer who sat in front of her; a girl who regularly obeyed her orders without question.
He wouldn't be wrong.
"Hmm… maybe," Vanova said, tapping her fingers on the table. "But aren't you assuming things, my lady? I mean, Lord Remoth still could have meant the election didn't matter to him, even if he didn't say it like that."
Mila nodded her head to the side, acknowledging the round-eared girl's point. "I suppose that is true. It warrants further investigation," she said, then turned back to her fairy. "Alright, so what did the Grand Watcher want?"
"He seemed pretty angry at Remoth, actually," Luft replied, descending down onto Mila's saucer and sitting with her back against the teacup. "I couldn't really see his face, but the way he talked sounded like he was chewing him out."
"Angry?" Mila rubbed her chin. "Interesting. What was he angry about?"
"Something about taking too long to do his part," Luft said. "I don't know what 'his part' is, though."
"Hmm. That certainly sounds quite incriminating, but then again, Socicila could just be yelling at Remoth for being too slow in getting the city repaired," Mila pointed out, knowing that Remoth had taken up that task.
"Did Remoth say anything in his defense?" Vanova asked.
"Yeah. He complained that he's been forced to work with one arm tied behind his back, and that because Socicila is providing him with so little help, he's basically operating blind," the fairy explained, standing up and stretching.
Mila considered those words. "It is said that Sheikah agents within the Watchers organization were responsible for the king's death," she said aloud. "Have the traitors been identified yet?"
"Dunno. I haven't heard anything about that," Luft replied. "But the royal siblings did say they've been purging members of both the Watchers and the Royal Guard in an attempt to replace them with people they trust more."
"That could be why Remoth feels blind," Vanova pointed out. "The Watchers are supposed to be giving him information, but if their numbers have been thinned by the purge, they may still be short-handed."
Mila tapped her hand against the table in annoyance. "That is likely the case. Unfortunately, that doesn't prove Socicila or Remoth were involved with the traitors." Mila sighed, standing up. "It appears Remoth is smart enough to be careful with his words. Even when he appears to be alone, he knows the walls have ears. I doubt he'll incriminate himself on his own."
"What do you plan to do, my lady?" Vanova asked.
"Simple," Mila said, slinging her sword over her back. "I'm going to speak to him myself."
"So, what are the odds you end up impaled on a spike for this?" Luft asked on the way to Lord Remoth's quarters.
"Is that what we're gambling on now?" Mila asked, turning a corner down the castle corridors. "Because I'd say odds are equally good you end up crammed in a bottle to be kept as an expendable revival charm."
"Hey! Don't even joke about that!" Luft flapped her wings, jingling in irritation.
"Relax, my friend." Mila smirked. "I know better than to expect you to give your life for mine any time soon."
"Yeah, well, not like you'd do the same for me, either."
When they reached the door to Lord Remoth's quarters, they found it guarded by four armored guards wearing black cloaks and face-obscuring helmets. The guards stepped in Mila's path when she approached.
"I am here to see Lord Remoth," Mila announced. "Tell him Lady Shadowgale wishes to discuss some matters of importance."
The guards exchanged glances, seeming confused.
"Shadowgale," Mila repeated, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Remoth and his people were from the western side of the kingdom, where she was not as well-known. They probably thought she was a mere child.
Damn that tree.
"Lord Remoth is not taking visitors at the moment," one of the guards said, speaking in an impatient voice.
"Go inside and ask him," Mila ordered. Deciding to test the waters, she reached behind her back and shifted the position of her sword, making its hilt more visible to the guards. "I have something he wants, and he'll want to hear what I have to say."
The guards again exchanged looks, only this time, one of them nodded his head towards the door, telling one of the others to head inside. The chosen guard grumbled, then knocked twice on the door with his gauntleted hand, bringing his head in close to listen for a response. Upon hearing a faint noise from the other side, he flinched. The hesitation he showed before entering painted him as plainly scared to speak to his lord, but he opened the door and stepped into the room regardless.
Mila did not like the way the other three guards stood there while they waited, staring at her silently. She'd encountered many unsavory types in her time in Hyrule, especially before she'd joined the military. The knight's armor she wore gave her some level of presence nowadays, but it had previously been much easier to mistake her for a mere child, and there were many who had seen her as easy prey.
If these three wish to try anything, they shall meet the same fate as all the others.
However, a few moments passed with nothing happening. When the fourth guard returned, he grunted in annoyance. "Enter," he said simply, as if he were unhappy with these results.
Mila smiled smugly. "Thank you, sir," she said, putting some light mockery in the way she said 'sir.' Stepping past the black-cloaked guards, she entered Remoth's quarters.
Walking a short distance through the entrance of his chambers, Mila found the Lord of Spikes sitting in a sofa chair beside a crackling fireplace. He was holding an open book, and he continued to stare down at it as Mila entered.
"You wished to speak with me?" Lord Remoth asked. He spoke slowly and politely, but he still gave off the impression he would rather be doing anything else rather than speaking with her at the moment.
"Yes," the Kokiri girl replied, standing just past the doorway. "I am Mila of House Shadowgale, Lieutenant to Prince Percival."
"I know who you are," Remoth replied, sounding unimpressed. He turned the page in his book. "What is it that you wished to discuss?"
"I know who you are, too," Mila replied. "More importantly than that, I know what you are."
"You mean besides irritated?" The Lord of the Ridgelands shut the book he was reading and set it aside on a nearby table, turning to look at her.
Mila raised an eyebrow. His cold gaze had slightly startled her. "I know quite a lot about you, actually," she said, not backing down. "The clandestine meetings with the other Grand Council members. The election rigging. The spying. The treason. The Blood Moon. Many, many things."
"Is that so?" Remoth asked. He said no more after that, letting his indifference hang in the air, continuing to coldly stare at Mila.
"Do not attempt to play dumb with me, Remoth." She had taken the lord's response as something of a challenge. If she was to confirm anything about him, she was going to have to force a more meaningful response out of him. "I have half a mind to report your activities directly to Prince Percival himself right now."
"And yet you haven't," Lord Remoth pointed out. "I was told you had something I wanted. Did you come here merely to waste my time?"
"How about we skip over the bullshit?" Mila stepped forward another few steps. "There's something big going on here, and I want in. So either tell me everything I want to know, or we'll see if the prince is more interested than you are."
Lord Remoth sighed, moving slowly to climb to his feet.
Mila cast her gaze upward, taken aback for a moment. She'd forgotten how large this man was. The height difference between herself and the humans was always fairly substantial, but it was even more pronounced with a man like him.
"I know quite a bit about you as well, little fairy child," Remoth said, approaching her. "A young, ambitious, up-and-coming, freshly-minted noble. Clawed your way there from the bottom, stepping on everyone who got in your way. Yes, I know your type. You think you know better than everyone else because you weren't dealt the easy hand they were, and you think speaking your mind and belittling those who would be your superiors somehow sets you above them."
Mila took a step back, her eyes opening wide as the man who towered above her got closer. His words were dripping with contempt, and there was a certain cold fury present in him that seemed to be slowly rising to the surface.
"You think yourself so important, so clever, so dangerous," Lord Remoth went on. "You'll never let anyone look down on you for having the appearance of a little girl. You've won a few battles, and you think that makes you untouchable. You've forgotten how to keep your head down. You cannot help yourself. You've lost that fear that keeps rational creatures alive, because you've forgotten what it is to face something that could truly kill you."
Mila felt something bump into her from behind, then realized she had allowed herself to be backed up against the wall. There was some truth to Remoth's words. She almost had forgotten what it was like to be afraid. Even the four fully armored knights who'd guarded these chambers had failed to raise even a single hair on her head. But there was something different about Lord Remoth. There was something dark inside of him.
Is he truly the demon?
"Now. Tell me." Lord Remoth bent forward, bringing his face down closer to hers. "Why should you matter to me in the slightest?"
A thousand thoughts shot through Mila's head. Ordinarily, she would respond to an insult or a threat with one of her own, often one that was much worse than the one given to her. However, she was certain Lord Remoth meant to kill her if she said the wrong thing, and for once, she wasn't confident in her ability to win the fight should it come to that.
If he actually is a demon strong enough to kill a god, what can I do in this state?
Instead of challenging him, Mila attempted to calm her mind, letting the fear drain from her face, replaced instead by a blank look of cold indifference. "Two reasons, I suppose," she said, meeting Remoth's gaze as he towered over her. "One, my fairy is watching, and if anything happens to me, she'll fly straight to Prince Percival, and everyone will know what you did and what you really are." Mila pointed upwards.
Lord Remoth tilted his head toward the ceiling. Luft hovered above them, flying in lazy circles. Upon the attention being drawn to her, she jingled humorously. "Hello, there!"
Somewhat satisfied in her safety so far, Mila continued. "And two, I still have something you need." Reaching behind her back, she pulled her scabbard over her head, then held it up for Remoth to see. Grabbing the hilt, she pulled it a few inches out of its sheath, exposing a plain iron sword; the kind often used by the castle guards. "I'm not foolish enough to bring the real one right to you, you see. And if you kill me, you'll never find where it's hidden."
Lord Remoth raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. He leaned away from her, standing up straight again. "What would I want with your sword?"
"You sent two Achemen to steal it from me," Mila asserted. "One of them escaped, which I'm sure you know. The other I killed, but he was very talkative before he died, with a little persuasion." While it was true she had killed the monster she spoke of, she lied about how cooperative the creature had been. She recalled the Achemen had been more afraid of its master than it was of her. It was not a stretch to believe Lord Remoth was the one it feared so horrendously.
"Not all of the monsters in this city belong to me, I'm afraid," Lord Remoth said, not sounding at all threatened by Mila's bluff.
"And yet my sword matters enough for us to be having this conversation at all." Mila continued to hold his gaze, taking the chance to call his bluff in return.
Lord Remoth was silent for a moment. Ordinarily, Mila would take this as a victory, assuming her verbal opponent had been stumped. However, with Remoth, she got the distinct feeling he was merely calculating whether she was worth more to him alive or dead.
"Do you even know what your sword is?" the Lord of Spikes asked after a minute.
"Of course," she replied. "It was forged by a master blacksmith from the realm of Termina. There is nothing else like it on this plane of existence."
"Then you really don't know what it is." Remoth turned and walked back over to his chair by the fire, leaving Mila confused.
Has Saria lied to me?
"You are wrong," Mila asserted, stepping away from the wall. "I know the whole story. The Sage of Forest told me. My sword once belonged to her brother."
"I'm sure it did. But that is not why it interests me." Lord Remoth replied, taking a seat. He gestured to the free chair across from him.
Mila hesitated. She wasn't sure why this man was being so accommodating to her now, after he had just threatened to kill her.
He must desire my sword even more strongly than I suspected.
The Kokiri girl cautiously took a seat. "Fine. I'll bite. Why did you attempt to steal my sword?"
"I will tell you," Remoth said. "But first, I would like to know. What is Prince Percival to you?"
"The prince?" Mila repeated, almost sounding disgusted. She considered for a moment whether to answer truthfully.
I have already accused him of treason. Perhaps he is attempting to bring me into the fold.
That was intriguing. If his plans held promise, she might have been willing to join. If they did not, at least she might get him to admit to something damning.
"He is a means to an end," the Kokiri girl admitted.
"I see." Lord Remoth steepled his fingers. "Then I suppose you could say, for me, your sword is a means to an end as well."
Mila was still somewhat confused, and she did not like the feeling of being the one in the dark. "And what end is that? Do you wish to travel to Termina? Is there something you wish to obtain from that realm?"
"No, fairy child." Remoth shook his head. "I have no knowledge of - or interest in - other realms. My interests lie solely in this one."
"What, then?" Mila pressed on, not appreciating the lord's nonanswers. "What other uses does my sword have apart from killing?"
"It is a key," Lord Remoth finally explained. "The sword itself does not matter to me; I merely need it to open a door. You may repossess it once the door has been opened and I have obtained my treasure."
"A key?" Mila furrowed her brow. She knew nothing about that. The sword had been around for almost two centuries, and it had spent most of that time on display in Saria's shrine to her dead brother.
What sort of door is opened by a sword?
"Fine, then. What is behind this door that you so desperately wish to obtain?" Mila asked, hoping Remoth's answer to this question would finally explain everything.
"Is it not obvious?" Lord Remoth replied, sounding almost condescending. "What is the one treasure for which its holder would go to any lengths to secure, and for which all others would go to any lengths to obtain?"
Mila instantly knew the answer, although the possibility surprised her. "The Triforce?"
"Yes." Remoth nodded.
"Why would my sword open the door to the Triforce?"
"Its original owner had close ties to the Royal Family," the lord explained. "He possessed a number of powerful artifacts. When the Triforce was sealed away after the Twilight War, an impenetrable chamber was constructed to house it. The door to this chamber was designed not to open without these artifacts, which were scattered to all corners of Hyrule."
Mila leaned forward in her seat, eying Lord Remoth with some skepticism. "And the Royal Family has told you all of this?"
"No." Lord Remoth shook his head. "I cannot reveal my sources, but I assure you, their intelligence is quite reliable."
The Kokiri girl did not like that answer. As far as she was aware, the secret of the Triforce's location was the most closely-guarded secret in the entire kingdom. Only true members of the Royal Family were supposed to know anything about it. If Remoth did not learn of it from them, then how reliable could this information truly be? Nevertheless, Lord Remoth did not appear to be lying, and Mila did not see the value in telling a lie as grand as this. The lord probably believed every word of what he was saying, even if he had been misled.
"You have been oddly forthcoming with me at this point in time, Lord Remoth," Mila commented. "How am I to interpret this sudden change of heart?"
"I think you're smart enough to figure that out, fairy child," her host answered.
"Then I am right to assume this is a 'join or die' situation?"
"Quite right."
"Even if my fairy were to inform the Royal Family of my death?"
"I think you'll find the Royal Family's reign to be quite near its end."
Mila's eyes opened wide at that bold declaration. This man did not only intend to steal the Triforce - he planned to murder the remaining members of the Royal Family.
Is that why he thinks the election does not matter at all?
Lord Remoth did not react to Mila's surprise. He continued to stare at her with cold indifference, apparently ready to accept having to kill her or not having to, depending on her answer.
"Is my life all you have to offer me, were I to join you?" Mila asked. "I imagine the Royal Family would bestow upon me a much greater reward if I were to reveal your traitorous scheme to them."
Lord Remoth leaned forward slightly. "In exchange for your sword, and for your assistance in dealing with the Royal Family, I offer you one wish upon the Triforce."
Mila felt her spine tingle at that idea.
A wish upon the Triforce…
There could be no greater payment than that. She could have anything she wanted, with no restrictions or limitations.
I could finally be the god I was always meant to be…
"Lord Remoth," Mila said, smiling broadly. "It appears I have greatly misjudged you."
Remoth's head tilted very slightly, betraying some curiosity. "Do we have a deal, Lady Shadowgale?"
"Yes. Yes, we do."