Chapter 12: Shield
The heavy clang of turning gears came to a brief stop, as the long hand settled on the next hour. It was only a moment ago since the eclipse of the moon came to pass, but the steadfast ticking of time was a reminder that the night was not yet over.
A circular banner draped over the face of a magnificent clock, decorated with esoteric designs meant to match the legendary Clock Tower, an attribute to the theme of the festival. The tower was tall enough to oversee most of the castle, with a narrow walkway around the clock.
It was this tower, that one of the Hylian soldiers had been stationed to patrol during his shift. Fortunately, he did not have to stand at the very top, which eased his discomfort with the height - not that he'd admit his fear to the others. A job was a job, and it was keeping his family fed, so he would not complain.
He was about to hum aloud, until he heard indiscernible sounds coming from behind the clock. At first, he thought he imagined it, but when he heard them again, he tightened his fingers on the grip of his sword.
Pressing his back to one of the sides of the clock, he slowly craned his neck from around the corner to observe.
It was there, behind the clock, where two figures warped to their summoner.
They were both crippled from their battle with the princess and the dragon, hunched over on their knees with their faces bowed, possibly out of emotionless shame. Their actions and behavior were, after all, implemented by how the Dark Sorceress saw fit. In her eyes, they were the ideal henchmen; capturing the image of the Hero, with the potential, however limited, to develop fighting techniques.
But more importantly - they never questioned her orders. There was no sense of morals or reluctance to carry out her plans, no soul to define their beings. For they did not live, they simply existed.
And though they were ideal, they were not perfect. If they had been, they would not have lost their recent fights.
Two black heels clunked noisily back and forth, until they paused before her crouched followers. Shapely legs bent to their level, one of such legs exposing what appeared to be a reddish orange tattoo, a calligraphy in ancient Hylian.
"My poor minions," she cooed, tilting her own feathered mask as she studied them. One of the Dark Links had even misplaced his mask from his battle, a gash across his non-bleeding face. She lifted his chin with a finger, peering at his crimson eyes. "Perhaps I should have dressed you as Fierce Deity."
When she withdrew, she stood up. "Such a pity that I will have to crash their party. I was hoping to be able to blend in and enjoy the festival. I like the mask I created though, I do believe I will keep this for routine use."
A familiar voice answered in her mind, so synced with her now that it was almost as if she was speaking his words through her lips.
Do not act like such an overly eager child. You've depleted the last reserves of your magic with your summoning of the Dark Links, and you need to let your magic regenerate. They will annihilate you.
"Oh, please," Cia scoffed. "The dragon perhaps, could be a problem, but that dainty little flower? What's she going to do - blind me with sparkles?"
That dainty little flower defeated your dainty little minion, the voice jeered back at her. Do not underestimate her. She possesses an ancient power that I'm… all too familiar with…
"She was lucky," Cia said defensively. "She'll just wait and see until I learn how to bring my minions to their full potential. Until the Hero makes his appearance and graciously lends me more of his moves so that I can teach onto them."
Regardless, the voice warned. You should retreat into the portal before engaging in a battle. As if the means of flight wasn't enough to reach you, I should remind you of the sharp eyes of their general. She will search through every tower and behind every wall to find you.
Cia was about to protest when she suddenly heard footsteps from nearby, the sound of heavy armor moving - and failing, to be stealthy.
"Well, well," she drawled, her heels clicking on the ground as she walked toward the direction of her observer. "It seems we have a visitor."
A few seconds of silence, likely the moment of stricken realization of having been caught. Then the intruder appeared, clad in steel armor, the hand from which he held his sword shaking as he took a few hesitant steps toward them, eyeing both Cia and her minions with increasing wariness.
"Who are you?" the Hylian soldier asked gruffly. "And who are you talking to?" his second question was more suspicious than anything.
The Dark Sorceress laughed, but it was hardly one of sincere joy. "How rude of you to demand my name without introducing yourself first," she said, waving her hand, her bracelets jingling around her arm as she did so. "No, my dear, who are you?"
When the man didn't answer, the voice urged her mind. You should kill him now. If you let him go, he will speak of your appearance to the others, and you will be in danger. Thus, news of your potential identity could ruin our future plans.
"Yes, I should," Cia agreed, startling the man, since from his perspective, she was speaking out loud to herself. With her staff in hand, she motioned for her minions to go after him, to which they wordlessly complied.
The Hylian soldier readied his blade as the two minions surrounded him, swords drawn. One of the minions aimed for the soldier's equipped hand, just as Zelda had done to him, disarming the man. The other minion shoved him against the tower's wall, holding the tip of the blade at the man's throat. Both minions awaited Cia's orders for further instruction.
"Or," Cia said slowly, amused at the man's attempt to dig his gauntlet into her minion's face to try and break free. "Or I could use you as my training target to work on my powers to bend your will. You could simply come with us. I could train you to become our first Darknut." she pointed at the portal forming behind her, watching him with an expression of renounced interest. As if he should have been honored by her invitation.
He shook his head vigorously, finally succeeding in pushing one of her minions away, but the other kicked him on his chest plate, causing him to stumble. Both minions hissed, before grabbing the man by each one of his arms in an iron grip.
Cia feigned a sigh. "But of course, you're going to be difficult about it and force the situation. My precious Dark Links, take him away to my lair," she snapped her fingers, and in that instant, both minions began to drag the man toward the portal. "Lock him up once there," she added, rolling her eyes at his violent movements from their hold.
Foolish, the voice reprimanded her. Should have just gotten him out of the way. What will you do now? You need to warp out of here!
"I will leave shortly," she replied, her lips curling into a sneer. "However, I have some… unfinished business here. Don't worry, this will only be a few minutes before I go into the portal. I can't just let all that poison we worked so hard on go to waste, can I? They must know where the poison came from, after all."
Cia took a few steps toward the side of the clock that was facing the court yard, the one where the princess had been in a moment ago - and the one where most of the guests were in now. The witch made sure to keep herself as concealed as possible - even with her confidence, she didn't exactly feel like dealing with the general or that dragon anytime soon. Drawing energy from her staff, she aimed it at the center of the court yard.
"Only a matter of minutes before my darling will spawn," she said proudly, but as she did this, she felt a significant drain in her fatigue and magic. Finally heeding to her companion's suggestion, she retreated to her portal, before vanishing with it.
The King of Hyrule was definitely coming of age, but he was not senile just yet. He was well aware of what was going on, from the moment Zelda showed him the drink she had been given. He had connected the hints, put together the pieces of missing or unknown information, a trait that had practically been forced upon him at times of war.
Several matters were brought to his current attention; his daughter was nearly killed, and likely still being tracked. Volga was the masked individual who had danced with her, and spared her from the poison. Both of them, along with Impa were hunting after the assassins - and everyone within the castle was in danger.
His eyesight, sadly, wasn't the same as it was many years ago. So he had to blink several times to make sure he truly had seen his daughter ride Volga, and that there were indeed wings on his back, despite him not being in his… full form. The pair had been about to descend from the battlements when an abrupt turbulence from the ground caused everyone to gasp, disconcerted.
Barely an arm's distance from where the statues of the three goddesses were, a fissure tore open from the grass and concrete, nearly swallowing a group of terrified musicians. Screams of dismay filled the air as the guests scattered around like bugs about to get stomped on.
What looked like a Deku Baba surged from below, only it was at least three times the size of the average carnivorous plant. What was more, there was a peculiar coating surrounding the stem and the head, like a metallic armor. The durability of this covering soon became apparent, because when Impa ordered the archers to shoot at it, the arrows bounced off, like twigs trying to pierce through stone.
"The weapons are no use, General Impa!" one of the archers exclaimed, turning to her for input. "What should - w-what?! There's more of them!"
Sure enough, another Deku Baba sprouted from the ground, and then another, and once more - and the king soon realized that these weren't just Deku Babas. As the entirety of the four-headed creature was revealed, a dark magenta pool bubbled from beneath it. He had no doubt that the substance from that pool was what the poison had been made from, or at the very least, had some relevance to it.
"All guests evacuate the court yard!" the king ordered. "Soldiers, stand on guard and look for an opening!"
"Understood!"
Evacuating the guests was more challenging than it looked, not only because most of them were running around in panic, but because of the sheer number of them. So many, that it required both Impa and the king's efforts to try and get them to safety, whilst keeping an eye on the creature, which had already done more than minor damage to the area.
Impa turned to face him. "You should evacuate too, Your Majesty. Me, Zelda, Volga, and my men will take it from here."
He knew he should, really. He had not entirely lost his ability to fight due to his age, however he'd be more of dead weight to them, if something was to happen to him. He would have reluctantly retreated - if it weren't for the threat his daughter was under. The threat this creature posed at his castle.
This creature…
There was no recent record of such a monster, not in their world, not in their time. He had only heard of them through the myths of the other eras, the chilling tales of the Manhandla. The poisonous tree was usually something the Spirit of the Hero had faced, not a helpless crowd among unprepared soldiers, and the Royal Family.
And a dragon, he thought, watching as Volga released a blast of flames from the air, catching two of the wiggling heads. Angered, the other two heads faced his direction, clearly focused on Volga, and no longer on the soldiers who were trying to find a reliable way to strike it.
Though Zelda was but a blur on his back, the king could see the light from her rapier as she swung whenever she was in reach of the Manhandla, looking like a glowing baton near Volga's wings.
There was something extraordinary about the sight; aside from the fact that it was not every day one would see a legendary plant, or someone of the Royal Family riding a dragon, half-form or otherwise. It wasn't even their fighting abilities that stood out to him, or their reaction time when they avoided one of the bulbous heads that lunged toward them. The results of their training were certainly starting to show, but none of this was more apparent than how they worked together.
It was how they coordinated their movements with the situation given to them, how Volga would change his flight pattern to accommodate Zelda - allowing her to be within reach of the snapping heads, but in such a way that they would have to get through him to be able to touch her.
The flux of guests that Impa and the king had helped evacuate had lessened, but there was still enough of them to take away the time that could be spent helping Volga and Zelda fight the Manhandla. Saving as many as they could was a priority.
One of the guests however, was not so fortunate. The man bellowed in pain as one of the Deku heads slammed at him with deceiving reach, grabbing him by the leg with sharp jaws, and dragging him to the other salivating mouths.
From the ground, there was nothing he nor Impa could do to help this man, not with the toxic pool between them and the Manhandla. From the air was a different story, and the king could see his daughter's face, extending her body forward as she quickly analyzed the situation. There was no 'safer' way to get to the guest right now, and she knew this. So she went with the only option she had that could possibly save his life. Volga was not prepared for her reaction.
She had leapt off of Volga without warning, onto the top of the head that had snatched the guest, making sure not to land inside its mouth. The landing was not smooth, and Zelda had to dig her nails into the back of the creature's head so that she would not slip off. And even with Volga and Impa's indignant 'no!' the king could not pretend to be surprised. This was her mother he was seeing in her after all.
Zelda drove the rapier into the jaws of the head that had been clamped on the man's leg. She exchanged a glance with Volga that was spoken without words, and the dragon quickly understood what she was insinuating. The Deku head released the man, sending him toward the pool beneath it, but Volga caught him, heeding to Zelda's silent request. Volga set the injured man on the ground and out of harm's way, as quickly as possible so that he could return to the fight.
If the Manhandla wasn't vexed already, it certainly was now. Not only were two of the heads notably damaged, but one of them was practically on the verge of being completely cut off. Every head was attentive on Zelda now, as she jumped back toward the ground, the acidic pool so close to her that some of it splattered on her already torn dress, further damaging the fabric.
Suddenly, roots erupted from the grass, not part of the entire monster itself, but as one of its attacks. Up until this point, the Manhandla had only done some foundation damage, and shown the reach its stemmed necks had when stretching toward a victim. But now it was proving to be quite the challenge.
The roots surrounded her, trying to create a wall to prevent anyone from reaching her, including him and Impa. The king turned his attention from the guests to his daughter, taking the cutlass which had been for ceremonial purposes, and now hacking at the thick roots with his only good arm. Impa was far more mobile than he was, using both her blade and magic to try and break through, sending icicles into the air before crashing down at the ground, turning into water, clearing some of the poisonous puddles in the area.
"Ah-ngh!" what sounded like a cross between a gasp and a scream came from his daughter's throat. Horrified, the king glanced past the gap in the root barrier to see that some of the roots had strung around her legs, preventing her escape. Like a snake coiled around its prey, the Manhandla opened each one of its mouths, and for the briefest moment, the metallic covering around it dissipated, revealing its olive hue.
The old ruler wanted to close his eyes and look away, but he could not. He and Impa both yelled out her name, and then everything happened so fast. One moment, Zelda was on the ground, immobilized by the roots, with four lethal jaws wide open toward her. And then the next, there was a flash of red from the sky, and Volga was there, leaning over her.
Volga's arms and wings were around her, covering her entire frame. His back was toward the monster, protecting her from the onslaught of bullet seeds that had spurted from each mouth. The king flinched as they pelted on him, like sharp rocks raining from the sky. Volga was her shield, sponging her from as much damage as he could. And damage, he had indeed taken.
Because even in the few areas where his dragon scales helped reduce the damage, there was something very clear to the king: Volga had no armor.
"Impa," said the king hoarsely. "We need to help them. The metal covering around the plant is gone, now is the time for us to attack it! Strike at the stem with a ranged weapon while I try and destroy more of these roots!"
The Sheikah nodded at once, her red eyes wide with shock, as she pulled out her secondary weapon. Unlike the heavy, slow attacks of her giant blade, her naginata was light and quick - at the expense of not doing as much damage.
"Strike at the stem when the metallic covering fades!" Impa repeated the king's orders to the soldiers. The archers readied their bows. Impa tossed her naginata in a spinning motion toward the Manhandla, severing one of the heads, before the weapon returned back to her like a boomerang.
Arrows flew in the direction of the plant, dealing damage, now that the metallic armor was gone. The soldiers managed to slice through another one of the heads that had already been weakened, leaving only two heads left.
Light shone from Zelda's rapier as she managed to cut through the roots tying her legs, with Volga weakly but carefully ripping the remaining roots with his claw. As both stood up from the ground, he stumbled slightly from the beating he had taken, and Zelda immediately went to support him.
"I'll… be fine," he tried to convince her, but she helped him anyway. The king did not have to look into his daughter's eyes to know there was a fire burning in them when she glared back at the Manhandla.
Zelda had felt every tremor of his body from the pounding of the bullet seeds, had heard the repeated thunk of impact upon his body and wings. Had seen him bite his lip to try and suppress the sounds of pain which would have been hers instead, and yet it was as if she was feeling what he was.
A part of her did not feel so brave at the moment - a part of her wanted to run away from everything, to pinch herself awake and not acknowledge that her world was starting to turn upside down. But she couldn't. She had to stay strong, even for awhile longer. It wasn't over yet, and she owed Volga this much.
For him, she found herself deriving strength that she did not know she had. No, this wasn't physical strength, or even magic. It felt stronger than either of those attributes.
This had become more than just finishing this battle. This creature, along with the assassins from earlier, had essentially ruined what could have been the end to an enchanting night. Her father could have been having a good time, at peace from all the concerns regarding war, not straining himself right now to fight when he was in no proper condition to. Her guests and her soldiers could have been chatting still, and listening to the fine musicians that had been playing earlier. Someone could have been dancing with Impa, which would have been an amusing and enjoyable sight to see. Volga…
Blue eyes flickered back at him. Even wounded, he was still determined to put up a fight until it was over, and she knew that if she urged him to sit back and allow her and Impa to finish, he wouldn't have any of it. After what she had seen him do for her, on more than one occasion at that, the dragon would not be at ease until the princess was safe.
Let's finish this, my dear friend…
She and Volga ambled over toward what remained of the monster. Impa had done much work in assisting to clean the area from the toxins with her magic, facilitating their path toward the aggressive, yet weakened, heads. As the two drew closer to them, Zelda took note of the red, bulbous core from beneath the plants. This must have been the base of what kept the stems together, and likely a weakness of the creature, which explained why the core was so well guarded.
Raising her rapier toward one of the heads, Volga headed for the other, thrusting the pike at the conjunction between the stem and the core. The carnivorous plant gave an ear-piercing screech, having taken a fatal blow. As both Deku heads tumbled toward the ground, its core was struck again - for a moment it almost appeared as if the heads were going to regrow themselves back, but her father stepped forth, joining them as they finally destroyed what remained of the core.
There was an implosion on the ground, the color of the smoke unnatural and similar to what the acid pool had been, and the creature disappeared, just like the conjurations of the assassins had. All that remained aside from the architectural damage it had caused to the court yard, and the scattered puddles of toxins - was a seed. A tree sapling in fact, of the creature Zelda had come to acknowledge as the Manhandla.
There was very little Volga could remember that happened after the battle. He remembered Zelda at his side, helping him climb on something, remembered stretchers (had he been on one too?) and injured humans limping or being carried around him.
He remembered warm water, which both soothed and burned at his wounds, remembered the blood and grime that washed away when he bathed, and how it was a wonder he had energy at all to stand at the time. He remembered lying on something comfortable shortly after. And then there was darkness.
"That is the Dragon Knight, isn't it?"
"Din's blazes, have you seen the muscles on his arms? What does he eat that makes him so strong?!"
"Would you keep it down?" a somewhat familiar voice hissed. "You're going to wake him up. Let him rest."
Volga could hear the sound of curtains being drawn, and scurrying footsteps. He opened his eyes, adjusting to the sunlight paneling from the window, and took in his surrounding. He had been here before when he was a child, and the place looked almost exactly as he had remembered it. The main difference was that the atmosphere seemed… cozier, plants bringing color to the room. Some inside pots up against a corner, others, on top of night stands or guest tables. That and there had been paintings on the walls, less empty spaces compared to last time he had seen them.
Rows of beds were arranged throughout the room, each separated by a railing with a curtain, just as they had been before. Unlike last time, there had hardly been occupants. Now almost every bed was taken, the medical wing busier than he could recall being.
He spotted Impa, who had undoubtably been the one who had driven away the other humans. She caught his gaze. "Ah, you're awake. I hope it wasn't those people who were the cause of that. Good evening, Dragon Knight."
Evening? But it had been night time when they concluded the battle, hadn't it? Had he really been resting for a day, more even? He opened his mouth to speak, but found that his throat was rather dry. Impa pointed at a pitcher of water that had been on the night stand next to him, offering to pour him a glass, but he politely declined, attempting to pour the glass himself to bring back his sense of self-dependency.
"Zelda," he tried, voice still a bit parched, but functioning at least. "Is she alright?"
There was a pause, and the Sheikah spoke up. "She's suffered some injuries, but it could have been worse. She's currently helping our other healer treat the others who had been wounded."
"But," Volga could not stop himself. "But what about her? Is she being taken care of too?"
The usual neutral or grumpy features that defined Impa's face settled on curiosity for a moment, before going back to neutral. "She will be fine. More so of course, thanks to you."
Volga felt a little abashed at his sudden outburst, and even though he very much wanted to see how the princess was doing, he settled on a quick change of subject so as not to finish their chat on such an awkward note. "Who were those humans back there?" he asked. "The ones here a moment ago."
Raising a brow at the term 'human', Impa crossed her arms in her chest. "Well. It seems…" she gave him a strange look. "You have a bit of a fan club now. You and Zelda both, actually."
Volga nearly dropped his glass at her words. Surely, she was pulling his leg. The corner of her lip twitched in amusement at his reaction. "I mean, you know. When you arrived at the ball, I asked you to remain masked, for Zelda not to find out it was you. Next thing you know, Zelda is riding on your back chasing the assassin. So much for discretion… you two couldn't have made more of a grand appearance."
She snorted. "Naturally, nearly everyone knows who you are by now, especially those at the ball. And being that both of you were the main saviors of that night, you are both being spoken of as heroes."
He could tell that even through her sarcasm, she wasn't actually too upset with what had transpired. The term hero never would have fit in the same category to Volga before, so he wasn't really sure of what to make of it now.
"I didn't do it for them though," he muttered, knowing it sounded a bit selfish, but it had been the truth. "I did it for her."
"And in doing so, you have made a world of difference, Volga."
But it wasn't Impa who spoke. Startled, the Dragon Knight turned his head to face the king, who had been sitting quietly on a chair not far from him. How long the king was there, Volga did not know. "Don't worry," said the old man with a smile. "I've only been here a little bit before you woke up."
Volga tried to sit up from the bed to give him a courteous greeting, but felt a reverberating pain course through his back as he did so. He had almost forgotten what had happened to him, having been so caught up in everything else. "How are you feeling?"
Even with his wings not being present at the moment, he felt as if the expanse of his back had been blasted with canon balls, but he decided to spare her father the dramatics. He was not sure what to respond, for his mind had been in a whirl.
"Impa, if you could kindly leave Volga and I alone please?" the king requested.
"I'll be at the throne room if you need me, Your Majesty." And with that, she left the medical wing.
For awhile, Volga and the king said nothing, simply watching the other patients from the opening of his curtain. The Dragon Knight spotted Zelda from afar, who appeared to be dressed in a clean, healer's outfit, and an apron with a pocket of medical utensils, as she attended one person to the next. She caught Volga's eye and smiled, giving him a small wave. He felt his stomach flutter, and mirrored the gesture.
"She took good care of you," said the king reassuringly. "I encouraged her to get some rest soon, as she's been so busy trying to get everyone healed up. But you know how she is."
Volga frowned. "She spends so much time caring for others, and then forgets about herself. Honestly I… should have seen it coming. When she tried to save that human, you know? I could have helped her, she would have been safer too."
"You have done more for her than just about anyone ever would," he told Volga firmly. "Even Impa, as protective as her intentions are, would not have done what you did. She would have been more apprehensive. And certainly no soldier of ours would have gotten anywhere near those bullets."
He looked up at the king, who was looking at him with an expression that told of so much; gratitude, admiration… respect, even. It was not something he had ever seen the king show for him before. "Volga, I believe I owe you an apology."
Confused, Volga waited patiently for the old man to continue. "A long time ago, from when we last spoke, you told me you wanted to be a knight. And I rejected you with no hesitation, stating that we did not need a dragon hovering over our castle."
The memory, albeit vague, slowly came back to Volga. Yes, it was the day he was to leave for his trial. "And this is why I ask your forgiveness for my hasty decision, without giving you so much as a second thought. I'm not going to lie and say I still don't have some doubts about you… please understand this is mostly related to the war, not a personal issue. But after seeing what you had done for my daughter, it hit me. A dragon hovering over our castle is exactly what we need right now."
Volga took a sip of the water, his mind trying to process what the king was trying to suggest. "Even Impa knows it, deep inside, that we need you. Why else would she have contacted you to attend this ball? She knew you were capable… Goddesses, you're more capable than our entire unit right now. A normal man wouldn't even be standing after what you had endured. Even less so with no armor. Speaking of which…"
The king stood up from his chair. "While we've been in the process of cleaning the castle from what had happened, I've notified my tailor and smith about the possibility of forging armor for you. Of course, it doesn't have to be right now, but whenever you've healed up, and you're feeling stronger to move around again, let Impa or Zelda know, so they can arrange for your measurements to be taken."
This had not been something Volga was expecting, no more than a 'thank you' and then sending him back home, at the very least. "Please accept this as a token of my gratitude for what you have done for us. I would also like it to serve as a means for you to consider my offer, to stay with us for some time. I would be more than happy to allow you to join our recruits, perhaps get you started on the knighthood training that you had been interested in joining. If you're still interested of course, that is?"
He couldn't believe what he was hearing. The king was asking him to stay with them for awhile, offering him to serve their kingdom, even the knight position he had always wanted. Volga's pride was conflicting right now with what he wanted however, the part of him that wanted to reject the offer, just as the king had done to him before. But he had apologized, and it was genuine, a sacrifice of the king's own pride for his sake. And of course, for the princess's sake.
"There's more," said the king, rubbing the gray hairs on his chin. "It is my understanding this was not the first time you have helped my daughter. You also risked your life for her during your trial. I was rather skeptical when she told me this story at first, thinking she was simply trying to get me to see you in a better light. But I have no doubt about it now. My offer to provide you with armor and status simply do not seem sufficient to what this means to me. I would like to extend my reward to you and take you to my vault. I have vast riches, enough to set you for life if that is what you wish. I want you to take as much as you desire."
To just about any man or woman, such a generous offer would have made them ecstatic. Even to a dragon, the thought of having ownership of treasures was a tempting thought.
"Your Majesty," said Volga, bowing his head. "I appreciate the offers you have given me, and I will be giving it some more thought. As far as me staying, if there is anything I can do to help protect Zelda, I will do what is needed. However, please keep your riches. No amount of gold will equate to what Zelda's life means to me."
The sun was nearly at the point of setting by the time Zelda finally had a chance to take a break and catch her breath from how preoccupied she had been. There was a particularly ugly wound on her shoulder from when one of the Deku heads had tried to bite her, a wound she had to try to disinfect and bandage. It was frankly an irritating wound, because it required her to frequently change her own bandage, when she already had enough on her mind to worry with the injuries of the other patients.
There were two injuries she had examined that had been the 'worst' among all the others so far. One was from the man that both she and Volga had saved, the one who had the misfortune to be snatched by the Manhandla. The plants' venomous fangs had been sharp, and if it weren't for the antidotes they had prepared in advance, the man might have had to amputate his leg. But the bite was still deep, actually having torn bone and sinew from the poor man's flesh.
Volga's was the other one. Zelda had prioritized his wings first, knowing he'd likely not want to keep them out for long by the time he woke up. They were, thankfully, not broken, but they had sustained damage wherein she had to tap into her own magic to help where medical tools could not. Zelda had done the best of her healing abilities, both physical and magic, to be able to mend together the joints and carpals of his wings.
The blows on his back had not been forgiving, even after the blood was washed from his skin. Various bruises formed, the blue-ish black hue marring the skin along his back. It was a gruesome sight, but this wasn't the reason Zelda had felt particularly affected in treating him. She felt responsible, even if the circumstances had not directly been her fault.
Her father had been speaking with Volga from the far end of the medical wing for a long time. The king could go on a tangent when he wanted to. Something that made her somewhat at ease, however, was how welcoming her father appeared to be around Volga now, compared to all the years he regarded him. There was less discomfort, less suspicions about who knew what - and a growing admiration.
This admiration became so visibly obvious to her by the time her father left the medical wing, that Zelda was rather curious as to what they had talked about. Her father did mention to her that he was interested in recruiting Volga and rewarding him for what he had done. Perhaps Volga had accepted? The thought of the dragon staying awhile brought her comfort for various reasons. For one, she had not seen him in a long time, even with their encounter at the ball, they barely had a chance to talk since they had so much going on.
She was not sure if it was still even a good time to do so… he may have been tired still. At the very least, she could check up on the progress of his healing. Yet for some reason, it felt harder to approach him now that he was awake, compared to when he had been unconscious in her care. Even with everything that had happened during the battle, the events from before the battle, and in between, had not gone away. Zelda approached him, hoping she would not make him feel as awkward as she did.
"Hi."
It was such an un-princess-like greeting, that Volga chuckled. "Good evening, Princess," he replied, the two staring back at each other for a moment. Zelda noticed he had made an attempt to sit up from the bed from when he had been interacting with her father awhile ago, but had not moved much since, likely the soreness from his back making it difficult to find a comfortable position.
"It helps to lie on your chest by the way," Zelda suggested. "That way all the pressure isn't on your back. When you sleep, I mean. You're fine right now. Do you mind if I take a look at your wounds?" her normally clear speech was slightly more clumsy than she would have liked. Why in Goddesses's name was she so nervous?
Volga did not seem as jittery with nerves as she was, or at the very least, he certainly didn't show it. "I don't mind. How are you holding up?"
How could he possibly worry for her sake when he had gone through far worse? It seemed unfair to complain or voice out that her injuries were actually bothering her. So as usual, she chose to ignore them, nodding in response, and focusing instead, on a more difficult task. To get Volga to lift his shirt so that she could inspect him.
This had been easier to do when he had been barely conscious, not to mention, her mind was hardly on anything else but the injuries at the time, rather than that she'd have her hands all over the masculine torso. It wasn't as if she had never done so before, so this shouldn't have been any different. Right?
He saved her the hassle of asking him to lift up his shirt by doing the menial task himself. Zelda honestly shouldn't have been surprised that he didn't appear uncomfortable; going around half-naked in the Eldin Caves did not seem out of the realm of possibilities, especially if the Lizalfos clan cared very little for clothing.
I'm acting like a silly, teenage girl, Zelda scorned herself, which was ironic of course, since this was exactly what she was. She had been told numerous times that she had been on a maturity level closer to that of a grown woman rather than a young adult, but there were times she begged to differ.
This should not have been such a challenging check-up. Zelda took a deep, inward breath. She examined what little of his unbruised skin was left, being very careful not to touch those sensitive areas. She felt him tremble at her touch, and she worried she had touched somewhere painful. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"You… you're fine," he seemed to be making a great effort to distract himself from whatever was on his mind. "How bad is it?"
There wasn't really any way to sugarcoat it. The bruises were hideous, blemishing his skin, stretching upon his toned arms and back, almost in an attempt to ruin the appealing imagery. Even so, his body was a sight to behold, and she had to tear her eyes away several times other than to add herbal salve on his skin, and lightly spread them along his back.
There was a peaceful silence as she did this, a little strained at times where some distinct bruises pained him, but Zelda could tell he had been trying hard not to flinch. "You don't have to hide your pain from me," she said soothingly. "This one of all things, is my pain as well as yours. If it hadn't been for you…" she trailed off.
"Thank you, Volga," she said, feeling a strong need to get this off her chest. "I would like to express how grateful I am. I know my father has probably already offered you his rewards by now, but if there is anything you would like, anything that I can do, please tell me?"
Volga turned around to face her as she finished tending to his bruises. "Zelda, you don't need to -" he began, but he paused from his sentence, and Zelda tilted her head to where he was looking at. It had been the wound on her shoulder. The bandage that had been covering it was growing dark from fresh blood, signifying that it needed to be changed soon.
"Oh," she said tiredly. "This bite was nowhere near as bad as the one on that man's leg we had saved, but it's still a bit of a nuisance. I'll go get them changed later, easier to do so in front of a mirror so I can see where the punctures are bleeding from."
Her friend silently reached for the wrap of fresh gauze that had been on her medical tray. He scooted closer to the edge of the bed, to where her shoulder was clearly in his view, close enough to touch it. "May I help?" he asked, making sure she did not feel uncomfortable with what he wanted to do.
Zelda could feel his gaze searching her, likely noticing the circles under her eyes that she herself had not paid attention to, not when she had so much to do. It wasn't until now that she truly felt her fatigue take over her, and she was too tired to try and think of a reason as to why she would decline his question. She nodded, trying to mouth a 'thank you' again, but her words were caught in her throat.
For someone with a fist or claw strong enough to likely crack through a slab of stone - his touch was considerate and gentle. She had not felt any pain as he cleaned up her wound, not beyond what he could control, of course. Looking away from the sight of the small dots upon her skin, the puncture marks of the bite - she glanced back at Volga's face. The markings around his eyes were still prominent, but not more so than the eyes itself.
She had always seen his eyes as expressive since the day she removed his helmet. But it was even more clear to her now, his emotions were so vivid in the green depths, even if she did not understand all of them. She could see mostly concern, but there was something else too. A tenderness that seemed to hold a more complex meaning. Something she had seen in his eyes before even as a child, something she had also seen in her father's.
"Zelda?" he asked thoughtfully, as he finished patching the bandage on her shoulder. "When you said I could ask you for anything, nothing immediate came to mind. But now, I have thought about it. Would you accept my request?"
The princess blinked, then nodded. "Of course. What would you like?"
She could see that emotion in his eyes again. "Please get some rest. You've been overworking yourself, making sure everyone has been taken care of, but barely taking care of yourself."
Zelda had not been prepared for such a response and she found herself fumbling with her words. "But Volga, you and the others-"
"I've gotten plenty of rest for now, and I can manage being on my feet again. You have at least one other healer to help take care of the wounded, so they will still be attended to. But you also need to recover," he said quietly.
She knew he was right, though a part of her wanted to keep fighting sleep. Even if she did go to sleep in her bed room, who was to say the castle couldn't be under attack again? Or that the shadowy assassins wouldn't succeed in spawning in her room, and…
"Your Highness, I apologize for the interruption," one of her guards headed over to her, holding pages of parchment. He handed one of the pages to her. "I just came to report to you the progress of the clean up of the court yard, and I have an update. I'm afraid I have both good news and bad news."
Zelda's drowsiness was temporary cast away, and she looked at him in alert. "The good news is that we've gone through the entire list of attendees, and that there have been no casualties, only injuries." He sighed at the relieved look on her face. "The bad news is that… one of our men has been reported missing. Duncan was supposed to be patrolling the Clock Tower on the night of the ball. But all we found was his sword, and his body was nowhere to be found."
An ill sensation swarmed in the pit of her stomach. Duncan was one of soldiers who had been working to rank as a Hylian Captain someday. The man had a family, and dedicated to his training to give them better lives. "Father and I will write a letter of condolences to his family," said Zelda decisively, her mind trying to organize the handling of the situation. "Please arrange for our scouts to begin a search for him beyond our castle. Notify Impa for us to set up posters of his description in town, and report any updates to either one of us."
The soldier scribbled down her orders on the parchment. "General Impa has been prioritizing recruiting more soldiers over a search party. Should I raise this matter to the same level of priority?"
"Absolutely," said Zelda, and the soldier nodded, giving her a bow, before hurrying off to carry on her requests.
When he disappeared, Zelda felt an overwhelming wave of exhaustion hit her, something she had been holding for too long. She swayed slightly from where she had been standing, her vision dizzy as she felt strong hands on her middle and lower back, supporting her.
"I… I'm alright," she told him gratefully. "I just…"
"You're just overexerting yourself, and your body is finally starting to resist," he said, frowning. "Please get some sleep, Princess. This is all I ask."
Zelda could feel him guiding her out of the medical wing, her mind wanting to tell him that he shouldn't be moving much, but he was just as stubborn as she was. When they left the room, she had taken the lead from there, since he probably didn't know the direction of her bed room. He was aware enough however, to acknowledge the door to her bed room by the time they reached the area, and he paused, not wanting to intrude her privacy.
"If you need me," he said softly. "I've been asked to guard the court yard of your balcony. I suppose Impa or your father felt that it would be… easier for me to reach you from outside, being what I am, in case something happened. In case those shadows tried to spawn there."
She felt a reassurance from knowing he'd be so close, not just for the sake of her protection, but because she wanted to see him again soon. The two still didn't really get a chance to talk properly, to spend time together, when they had so much to catch up on. With a sleepy smile, she gave his hand a squeeze.
"I'm happy to have you here again, Volga."