With the end of the Edo dungeon over, all that's left to do is continue on their way to leave the island and start their journey to Wedinburgh, but there's a huge problem: until they reach Hyrule's old capital, they'll have to cross a huge land that's rightly occupied byAppleton, This would be extremely risky as it could also reveal the identity of the nine girls and thus bring everything to a tragic end for Hyrule, which will depend a lot on the girls' planning so that they manage to be clever enough for this journey into the lands of Hyrule, except that the Empress has made a point of helping with everything so that she doesn't reveal the girls' identities in any way.
It was already the day after the group had gone to the dungeons, so they took the opportunity to rest up, but the real planning had already begun. They gathered in the throne room to talk about the plan that would involve making the journey as safe as possible without risking revealing the identity of any of the nine.
"Very well girls, you already have a detailed map of the lands now dominated byAppleton and I'm already thinking here about how to get you to Wedinburgh, you'll need to be very careful, from what I can see this road must be well guarded" said Reiko.
"And how are we going to do that? There's no way we can pass unnoticed" said Diana.
"Mari and I have the perfect plan for this, as you're not as shapeshifty as they are, we have some special masks that can help you when you have to reveal yourself, then you'll be able to follow the path ahead, at least fool some of Appleton's soldiers" said the Empress.
"The only reason the masks weren't used on Akko's rescue mission was because it would have jeopardised our disguise for the bigger mission, which is why the majesty made a point of holding back a little beforehand, these masks can practically give you a magical disguise, you'll look like an Edo girl for hours" said Marianne.
Some servants are called and hand over boxes, some of which contain masks, and there were nine boxes with different faces, and even hair styles, so that it is even possible to maintain a disguise, which they then try on, feeling a magic flow around their face, the mask that seemed more like something simple begins to join with the skin as if it were part of it and totally changes the features of their face in a very convincing way, as if it were a new skin.
"Look at this, we're practically like other people, love, you can't even recognise us, this way we'll be able to pass easily, there are lots of masks and types of hair here, you can even change the colour of your eyes" Akko said in surprise.
"Crimson eyes could be a big problem and a very recognisable trait of yours Akko, in addition to your Edo appearance, so we have provided masks that change colour to others, something that Appleton has no way of recognising and we can pass smoothly, apart from that you now have a completely new tunic and even the sword has changed, this makes it even easier for us to cross the lands dominated byAndrew" I said to Leclerc.
"The plan doesn't end here, as Andrew could arouse a lot of suspicion and come after you at full speed and try to somehow discover your identities, I thought big here, I had already been formulating a plan with the Edo merchants themselves and many of them as soon as you arrived have been packing up and are in the city of Nagasaki, just waiting for you to leave on many of my ships" said the Empress.
"Wow, I thought the mission was going to be really complicated, I thought we wouldn't even have a chance to get across, that we'd have to wait for Appleton to weaken or something" said Atsuko in surprise.
"Several merchants will be leaving with you, a group that will be heading to Wedinburgh will be the one you'll be taking with you, accompanied by some of my trusted guards disguised as ordinary merchants, which unfortunately I can't take you as if you were the noblewomen you deserve, as it would give away the disguise, but I hope you enjoyed your time with me here in Edo, come whenever you can when all this is over, in my lands you are welcome" said the short girl.
"We really appreciate it Empress Reiko of Edo, we're going to have a great relationship from now on" said Cavendish.
"You can be sure Queen Diana of Hyrule, go back to your castle and reclaim the throne you so deserve, our kingdom will be honoured to do business with you, you can be sure of that, I'm honoured to meet a queen as wonderful as you, even though you haven't reigned yet, I can see that you'll be the best, I'll prepare everything for your farewell, Edo won't leave it at that, you're legends around here" said the empress.
With that, the girls grabbed their things from their suitcases, filling them with clothes and everything they could carry, as well as weapons, making sure they had everything in hand and putting them in the carriages, which Reiko helped with her servants, as she accompanied each of them on that important mission, then she began to start a royal parade through the capital before the nine of them went down the road to the exit of the city.
They even opened the roofs of the carriages and waved to the people in the street who kept shouting their names and repeating all the time how happy they were to see them there, also waving to the majesty.
"Wow, they love us" said the impressed Kagari.
"They just see how important we are, I'm so relieved, it's a feeling I haven't had since I was Princess of Wedinburgh, I remember when it was like this at royal parades with my mums" said the one with the platinum blonde hair.
"We're just doing what needs to be done, these people trusted us" said the crimson-eyed woman.
The parade continued throughout the capital, passing through streets and streets, people waved and shouted, the musicians played a song in honour of the kingdom of Hyrule, with the Empress announcing that the queens of that land were there and would be taking their leave to return to Hyrule again, with an important mission, and it went on like this for some time, the inhabitants really having enormous respect for the young Empress and the queens alike.
When they reached the entrance to the road leading out of the city, the Empress got off her horse and went to the carriage where the nine queens were.
"From now on, it's up to you, I'm saying goodbye to you for the last time and it may not be the last and I hope it isn't, as soon as you pull into Nagasaki, you'll go with the disguise I asked you for, split up into some carts behind the capital's merchants, I've selected some of them to accompany you, they're some of the kingdom's trusted families, so Appleton will have no idea that you're the nine, even if you all go together on the same route, you have to be careful, I'll accompany you" Reiko said.
They followed the majesty, separating into four groups, three pairs and a trio, going in separate merchant wagons, already with the first disguise to be used, thus passing themselves off as more ordinary people. Before they even do this, a curtain is first raised by the soldiers, which completely prevents the locals from seeing the entire entourage that is parading.
This made it look like part of the parade and was enough for the nine to separate into each of the wagons, putting on masks that resembled the people in the family.
Akko and Diana were the first pair, the second pair was Marianne and Hellene, the third Amanda and Constanze and the trio was formed by Jasminka, Lotte and Sucy, each in a separate wagon, while from the same wagons came nine people who started wearing masks pretending to be the nine girls, who got into the carriage as the curtains went down, the merchants following along the road, while the carriage with the fake girls.
All the nine real girls saw was the queen waving to them, which they responded to with a smile on their faces and so they began to continue their journey, in what seemed like a veritable exodus of merchants travelling along those winding roads, up into the mountains, while the Edo capital marvelled at the royal parade.
"She's thought of everything, even keeping us anonymous without them knowing we're leaving, now we're going to something important" said the blue-eyed girl delightedly, looking at the capital from a distance.
"We are the Yamaguchi family, we have the pleasure of accompanying you on this trip, the Empress has been planning this for a year between us, she already knew what was going to happen, now it's happening, I hope everything will be a great success, I'm Ren the leader of this family, this is my wife Harumi and my daughter Keiko, you'll be impersonating my other daughters, Rina and Sayuri, they'll be in Edo looking after the house, I hope that all of this really does give us a nice reward, from what I've seen it's of immense importance to Hyrule" said the patriarch of the family.
"Oh, so we're going to pass ourselves off as your daughters, and we're a couple? Well, we'll try to be discreet about our romantic relationships along the way, apparently" said Diana.
"Ahhh, we won't be able to kiss on the way, at least we'll be able to at the campsites, right?" Akko said and saw his wife nod.
"We'll make a point of keeping you private for the whole trip, you'll have your own tent to use as a bedroom and to bathe in, while you were in the dungeon, we heard a lot from the Empress about your lives, so it'll be interesting to get to know a bit more, as well as the traditions of Hyrule outside of Edo" said Ren.
"I can't wait to get to know everything, it's going to be so magical, even if it's a bit scary because they say Appleton is a kingdom full of tyranny, I still want to explore a lot of what lies ahead, you look just like my older sisters" said Keiko.
"That's the intention of the masks, well we're going to do very well on this road, it seems, we need to cross some specific places" Cavendish said.
"After you arrive in Wedinburgh, the queen will change the family, you'll pass yourselves off as another family of merchants that we'll soon get to know, we'll still keep it quiet in case the worst happens, or we have to change our plans, but in any case it'll be a great help" said Harumi.
And so they followed the roads out of Edo towards the port city of Nagasaki, which was very safe, without any problems, even though the snow was very heavy at the top of the mountain, it calmed down as they descended again, soon arriving in the city.
Once in the capital, the parade came to an end and the empress returned to the castle, with the city celebrating the presence of the nine legendary warriors, especially the one who was so mythologised by Reiko. On returning to the royal palace, all the euphoria of the festivities had passed and the nine girls in disguise were taking off their disguises.
"I'm very grateful that all of you have done this for us, it's not just anyone who does this for the empire, you're real heroes, you're saving not only Edo, but all of Hyrule, without Hyrule we don't have Edo, they're our great heroes and we can't risk this news being spread throughout the land about them leaving or else the tyrant of Appleton himself who will turn up here one day wanting to know everything and that will be inevitable" said the empress to all the girls.
They even bow gratefully to the queen and are then rewarded with a lot of gold from the soldiers who then escort them out of the castle, while the majesty looks reflectively at the doors of the throne room, just thinking about what might happen next, with a certain amount of concern.
(I hope the trade mission works, there will be traders scattered all over Hyrule who will pretend to be just ordinary traders, but some will be checkpoints precisely to help the girls explore that place without arousing suspicion, they still have five more dungeons and those can be very hard work, I hope that in Wedinburgh everything can go very well, I'm counting on you residents of Edo...) I don't know if we'll be able to stand it when Andrew steps foot here, from what Akko herself told me, he's powerful and very powerful, I'd rather not risk that much, but I can't show any fear if he shows up).
The empress held her pose, still thinking about the future affairs of the kingdom, since it was no longer up to her to protect the girls who were on a mission to save Hyrule and that from that moment on they would be one step away from being in the hands of the tyrant.
As time passes, the girls dock at the first harbour town, which is not yet in Appleton's domain due to the peace pact between the kingdoms of Edo and Appleton to allow trade between the two islands and the transport of people, which all the merchants in the group take advantage of to rest around the place. The next day they take the first road that leads to Appleton's land and there is already a large guard to prevent anyone from passing through without permission.
"Standing there, where are all these people going?" asks one of the guards.
"With Empress Reiko's permission granted by Lord Andrew for a trading trip, we are allowed passage to Appleton's lands, we are just traders" said one of the Appleton soldiers at the front.
"Very well, I'll have the permission checked and then we'll clear the passage or you can all go back to Edo" said the guard.
There was a bit of tension building up, the soldiers were going through several of the carts searching and trying to analyse the people, soon the guard came back with the authorisation to pass, but no one had been released yet, the guard still barred the passage and a bunch of soldiers turned up for another process.
"Very well, it's not a sign that we're going to clear the passage yet, as you know there's a fugitive from the lands of Edo and eight more accomplice girls, which is a case of priority in our lands, as you're all from Edo I ask all the young women to get off the wagons and line up, we'll analyse each one of them, one by one, to find out if they really are the person we're looking for" said the guard.
Things got even worse, Appleton really wanted to insist on finding out the girls' identities, but it was something that was expected to happen, so the various young women were forced downstairs and there
went the soldiers, analysing the facial features of each of them, who even looked like Akko, but didn't have the features, such as the obvious crimson eyes, they soon got close to the one who was disguised.
(By the Triforce that disguise really fits, I don't want to have to make a mincemeat of Appleton's soldier right now, don't make me have to go on the attack, he's getting to me, try to stay calm Akko, it'll pass soon).
The guard arrived to search Atsuko, looking into the girl's eyes, even holding her face, searching her clothes, searching her back and front, which was already irritating the girl deeply as the guard even showed an expression of happiness, but then he received a scolding from the colleague next to him who was searching Diana who was in disguise.
"More respect Hank, if one of these is the real one and she tells the lord he'll cut our heads off" said the other soldier.
"What's the suspect's name?" Ren asks.
"Her name is Atsuko Kagari, better known to her friends as Akko, she has crimson eyes, pale skin, a height very similar to your daughter, but it's not really her from the features of her face, apart from the fact that your girl has a mole under her eye, it's definitely not her, her hair is brown and she looks good, what's your daughter's name?" Said the soldier who was searching Kagari, who was furious inside.
"The oldest and tallest is Sayuri, the one in the middle is Rina who you say looks suspicious, the youngest is Keiko, we are the Yamaguchi family" said the shopkeeper.
"Very well, they don't match so much, they even come close to the characteristics that were given, you have beautiful daughters" said Private Hank.
"More respect Hank, this is a serious job, anyway, we've done what we had to do here, let's move on to the others, you can get in your wagons" said the other soldier who had searched Cavendish.
(Finally, this arsehole has searched us too much, I never thought I'd be so disgusted, his hands are disgusting and big, even with these gloves, now I just hope we can actually get through and don't have to be searched again, this disguise really worked).
After a long time, the Appleton guards arrived at the gates leading out of the harbour town of Dover, which give access to Appleton's lands, and they opened them, finally giving the Edo merchants access to leave.
"You can leave, there are no suspects, all of you in Edo are just like each other" said the guard.
And so began the long journey to Wedinburgh, with the various merchants' entourages starting to take to the roads after more than an hour of the guards alone searching the young merchants' girls.
They were already getting some distance from everything and could talk more calmly about what had happened.
"The disguise really worked" said a relieved Akko.
"Let's not talk too much along the way, love, but it worked, now all we have to do is get there in one piece, I hope it all goes smoothly" said Diana.
"These guys from Appleton are shameless, they search in a disturbing way, I felt their thirsty gaze on me" said Keiko.
"Even in Edo there's no such thing, but don't be like that, we've been through the worst, now just get on with it, no one will realise it's you" said Harumi.
They tried to talk about something else to relax, something that wasn't about the mission, in case any Appleton soldiers passed by, the tension was still there, this time they were all in hostile territory, the nine girls couldn't arouse suspicion in any way until they reached Wedinburgh.
A few days into the journey, no one was aware of the various camps of Edo merchants forming, which were already spreading out in groups, in the case of the entourage going to Wedinburgh there were more than 50 people with their families and full of things to go to trade, while the others were spreading out across the land of Appleton.
That was enough time for Andrew to arrive in Appleton's capital after a disastrous mission of espionage chasing to find Akko's whereabouts, and he was soon welcomed to the throne by his messengers.
"My lord, the Edo merchants have finally arrived in our lands, should we do something?" asks the messenger.
"Don't do anything, I've already given that child permission, I just want to know... Did you look for Blackwell?" The lord asks.
"My lord, we've had no news of Blackwell, at least not around here. According to what we've been able to gather, he was last seen riding at high speed, he seemed to be heading towards the port of Dover, I think he wanted to travel to Edo again, my lord" said the messenger.
"Dover? Oh so that's it... Bloody hell, he knew all along... So that's where they went?" Hanbridge said, standing up.
"Please, sir, don't punish me, I just wanted to get as many messages and information as I could, it's relatively recent news, since it arrived here two days ago, from what they said it was at least a week since the last sighting" said the messenger, already tense and almost begging for his life.
(They sailed across the ocean to the north, that's why they turned round, they didn't want to be detected and took the risk of going through the glaciers, that way they'd cross everything without any worries and? That's right, they're going to dock in Edo so that they can get away from me and fulfil the mission, ah but this time they won't, they won't get away, there's no way they'll be able to leave Edo any time soon, even the whole process that the damned Blackwell did against her, I'm sure it earned a lot of time in prison, now that I'm actually going to Edo).
"I'm leaving again, tell everyone to leave the regent in charge of the lands here and to continue searching for the suspect and her friends, I'm going on a journey alone to one more place, I have something important to sort out" said the dark-haired man and soon saw his messenger nodding and saluting.
"Yes my lord, I'll let everyone know the news, I won't question your sudden departure" said the messenger, leaving the throne room.
(If she's cleared, you won't be leaving Edo any time soon, even so, you'd have to be an imbecile to try to venture out of Edo, there's nowhere safe for her to be and get to some dungeon, she has to not know what she's doing, and my guards are everywhere watching the places where she's likely to be, Anyway, I'll go to Edo soon, the child empress deserves a visit, I let her bring the merchants, but it's because I want to do business and get some very advanced things that the kingdom of Edo has, it might be interesting to copy to bring my creatures here).
Andrew soon left the castle again and got on his black horse, as always showing elegance with every step he took, but with the grace of a great lord, he rode off at high speed towards the island of Edo, travelling along the roads with the intention of getting closer and closer to finding out where Akko had gone.
It was a race through the days, each dayAndrew got closer to Edo and he didn't even want to go to the town of Dover, he went to the coast of Appleton, until he spotted an entourage of merchants who passed by ignoring only that none of them were where Atsuko was hiding, on the other side Kagari with the Yamaguchi family was quietly getting closer and closer to Appleton.
they soon arrived and saw the walls of the ancient city of Wedinburgh, which appeared to be quite abandoned, which was quite strange, and at the same time intriguing. The queen looked at it and a few tears fell from her face, from emotion, the vision of what the castle used to be, all clean and full of life, the surrounding countryside preserved, gave way to broken walls, ruined towers, grass that was very high and also vegetation that could be seen from afar occupying those walls.
"Wedinburgh, at last Wedinburgh, we're here..." Diana said, crying.
"We're here... After six years I can see how everything has changed, it's been abandoned all this time" said Akko.
"So that was your house, this town is really abandoned, are you sure there are any people here?" Ren asks.
"We'll know when we get into the city, we can't turn back" said Cavendish, who snorted when he saw the whole wall from afar.
"Look, there's a sign here" said Keiko, pointing to the sign.
"Beware, vagabonds, if you pass by here you'll be robbed and it's your responsibility" said the one with the platinum blonde hair reading the sign.
"It's funny that there aren't any soldiers around, when we passed through Dundee it was full of them, the city is practically a military fortress with so many of them there, while here it seems like an abandoned place" said Keiko.
"It was to be expected, I warned you that you wouldn't like what you saw, Andrew throws all the marginalised of the city of Dundee, those who can't afford to pay taxes are thrown into Wedinburgh, it has become a city where vagabonds live, there are no guards because even they are disgusted to pull into the city, people considered to be refuse are thrown here, sick people, thieves, commoners of the highest poverty, in short... Welcome to Wedinburgh, Appleton's rubbish dump" said Akko, pointing at the town from afar.
And off went all the merchants in the group, who nevertheless kept going with the carts. It wasn't quite what the daughters of the old queens had expected to see, just along the small road that led to the city walls they could already see some of the abandonment, the tall grass and everything else, around them, as there were many, the thieves hiding in the grass didn't even come out to do anything as they didn't want to risk it, it was a lawless land.
Meanwhile, far from there, Andrew was riding out to sea, using the powers he possesses with the black horse, he simply decided that he wouldn't use a boat and rode out onto the water, but a storm was brewing, what seemed to be very intense winds, which was making the boy's horse very frightened, even though it was a magical creature manifested by the lord himself.
"Come on, keep going, it's just waves, it's just a shower, stop being lazy" said the boy, hearing the horse screaming and even going so far as to get out of the way, and with that the mighty tyrant fell into the water.
The waves were high on the high seas, they looked like real mountains, they were breaking, with intense winds, thunder, a dark sky, it looked like night was coming early, but it was just the sea getting rough.
Even though Hanbridge was powerful, he was taking a risk against a force greater than himself, the force of the sea, which didn't want to see the lord there either, but he soon felt something grab his arm as he struggled to get afloat and swim, amidst the sea and waves breaking over the leader of Appleton.
"You can try all you like, but I'm still going to get to this pathetic island, it's no use trying to stop me, sending heroes or whatever, I'm Andrew Hanbridge, the leader of all Appleton and Hyrule, I'll be the one in charge here" said the boy as he was being carried by the magical manifestation that had turned into an eagle and was enough to carry him a little higher, but the wind was still strong.
(Damn it, why did I have to face the sea like that? I don't care, I'm the most powerful of all, I'll make it to the other side, whether you like it or not, I have the power of the Triforce... Actually, I left it in the castle, but that doesn't make me any weaker, I'm still capable of causing enormous damage without needing the Triforce, come on).
The bird found it difficult to carry the boy, even more so with the wind, which had to get bigger and bigger, so that the wind didn't affect him, but on the other hand the flight speed was being greatly reduced and that was the wayAndrew found to at least get close to Edo, by choosing to go in an unconventional way.
(Damn, I'll be a while, but until this storm passes I'm safe from everything, it's a sign that nature doesn't want me to get close, nature knows I'm about to reach my target, it knows I'll defeat the whole plan, thanks for the help Ganondorf, you can always help me get to the other side).
The waves were high, the winds intense, the rain never seemed to stop, but Andrew continued to fly and it was like that for a long way, night had fallen and soon he managed to dock on dry land, on one of the many islands that make up the archipelago of Edo, where he set foot on a deserted island, which he was relieved to reach, but then he looked at a vast expanse of nothingness.
"I've arrived Akko, you'll be mine forever" said the boy with a wicked smile.
Then he started to make a cosy shelter so that he could stay the night before leaving for the capital of Edo, so that he could find Akko, although he was being tricked without having a clue, since his target was a long way away.
The farewell to the island of Edo began as a very complicated place due to the trap set by Louis, but it soon proved to be the opposite when Akko was cleared, she was welcomed by the empress who proved to be a vital ally for this whole journey, as well as managing to conquer one more of the seven words and also one of
the nine dungeons, already reaching the halfway point, but this was only the part where the journey became easy, since from here on in will come the part that will really show that the difficulty exists.
See you, Edo witches...