Riding Towards Lake Hylia, late morning
Link and Zelda were riding side by side, neither of them talking. They'd left the Great Plateau just minutes earlier and were on the road to Lake Hylia.
Link was debating whether it was rude not to make conversation or whether it would be more rude to assume the Princess would want to talk with him. He was happy with being quiet, himself, but he didn't want to ignore Her Royal Highness, either.
He thankfully didn't have to wonder for long: the Princess suddenly exhaled and spoke.
"Hero? I ran into my brothers when I went back to the castle, and they entrusted me with sealed letters for you," she said. "I'm sorry I didn't give them to you as soon as we reunited. I had no desire to share any of their content with Deemil."
Link nodded: the Princess had made it clear that she had picked up on some of Deemil's offenses, so the feeling was not surprising.
Princess Zelda opened one of her two saddle bags and produced two envelopes. She stretched her hand towards him. Poe stepped sideways a bit as the Princess leaned over, showing off her training by reacting to the shift in weight. Butter shook his head but stayed his course: his training had always focused on basics and on staying calmer than most horses would, so the lack of reaction to another horse stepping towards him was actually his own training showing through.
"Thank you, Princess," Link said as he took the envelopes.
"I was asked to get you to read those as soon as possible," the Princess said, eyes still on the letters he was now holding. "If they are not private, might I ask about their content?"
"Of course, your Highness. If I may...?" He held up the letters, asking for permission to tune her out to read them.
"Yes, by all means go ahead. I'll keep an eye on the road."
"Thank you, your Highness."
A quick examination showed who each letter was from. Link opened Hylrick's first as a matter of course: the crowned prince had to be given priority. He smiled at the sight of the writing: as per usual, the penmanship was remarkable. Hylrick wrote small and tight, yet immaculately: every character even and the whole letter free of the smallest smudge. Link always suspected that the prince wrote several copies of each letter until he was satisfied that it was perfect enough. He read through.
Esteemed Hero,
First allow me to offer our thanks and assure you of our continued admiration for your recent rescue of an infant at the Spring of Courage.
The knowledge of what happened there weighs heavily on my soul. Such crime as was attempted that day, and such crimes as may have been committed without your presence to miraculously prevent them, all on Holy Grounds... I am in great distress.
It is because of this distress that I find myself unable to restrict this letter to well deserved praise. I would not be dishonest with you.
My Father His Majesty the King related to me that you allowed the Children of Hylia to escape because you would have been unable to prevent them from doing so without injuring them. I have complete faith in your judgement in this and fully accept that in order to detain them, you would have had to hurt them.
I also want to let you know that thanks to your account of their location, Royal Guards, aided by a small group of Sheikah Warriors, were able to capture the would-be murderers.
The King has declared you blameless, and we are as always grateful for all the Hero's deeds, across all of your lifetimes.
However, I believe it to be my difficult duty to try and impress upon you precisely what you have done. In allowing the Children of Hylia to escape unscathed after they attempted murder in a Spring blessed and observed by not one but TWO Goddesses, her Grace Hylia AND the Golden Goddess of Courage Farore, who might I remind you BOTH grant you their particular favor, you have put the comfort of monsters above the honor due to the Goddesses, above the gratitude owed by you, the Hero, to these two Goddesses in particular. And not only that... had we not been able to capture the monsters, they might have later succeeded to do what you prevented this time.
Esteemed Hero, I trust you noticed my choice of appellation for the people who attempted to murder an infant on Holy Grounds and had the nerve to believe it may earn them the favor of the Goddesses.
It is well known that you systematically refuse to engage people in combat. Given your power, this is a mark of wisdom and courage on your part, except that as you have just demonstrated, you are unable to distinguish people from monsters who look like people.
I am your ardent admirer, and I know that you are as selfless as you are brave and kind. This is why I must do my best to help you avoid repeating what few mistakes you make.
Heed me, Hero. People can be monsters. People can be worst monsters than magical constructs that turn to dust when destroyed. Ganondorf Dragmire himself was very much a person, particularly when he killed your own past self, the Child made Grown, the Lost Hero of Time.
The people you allowed to escape were monsters as well. Don't allow them to fool you again.
Now that my dear sister has joined you, I beseech you as well to take good care of her.
Your friend,
Prince Hylrick.
Link took a deep breath. "Prince Hylrick's letter is not at all private, your Highness. I could summarize if you wish, but her Highness is welcomed to read it herself should she wish." Saying so, he extended his arm, holding the letter, towards Zelda. Butter did not correct for balance, instead offering an exhale that sounded a lot like huffing in disgust at Link and Zelda's inability to sit straight already. Poe nickered, as if in agreement.
Zelda frowned slightly and took the letter. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Link nodded. "If I may read Prince Naydri's letter while you read Prince Hylrick's?"
"Of course," Zelda said, her eyes already on her elder brother's letter.
Link opened the letter from Naydri and smiled again: true to his usual self, the middle prince was far more succinct than his older brother. He was also nowhere near as neat: the writing was uneven and sprawled, quite obviously penned in a hurry.
Dear Link,
I have seen Prince Hylrick's letter. He's a bit intense whenever the divine is involved.
For what it's worth, I think you did good.
I wish you both well.
Prince Naydri
After a few moments, Zelda folded Prince Hylrick's letter back into its envelope.
"Would I be correct if I were to guess Prince Naydri's letter is quite a bit shorter than Prince Hylrick's?" she asked.
Link held back a smile. "You would indeed, your Highness," he said.
The Princess chuckled. "May I see it as well?"
"Certainly, your Highness," Link said, handing it over.
Zelda hummed as she read. "I think I need to focus Prince Hylrick's words, not so much because of the relative length of their letters as due to the content. The Crowned Prince was quite stern. Are you all right, Hero?"
Link startled slightly at the question. Prince Hylrick had always been supportive, and the letter was mostly just Prince Hylrick being Prince Hylrick. The Goddess' Spring had been defiled with the attempted murder of a baby, of COURSE the Prince was in a state. He wasn't sure how to answer the Princess' question without sounding like he was dismissing her elder brother's words, however. He decided to focus on the main point of the Crowned Prince's lecture.
"I don't think I am qualified to judge who is and isn't a monster, your Highness," he finally said. "Not when it comes to people. Anyone I would judge a monster and decide should die, would. I... I don't think I have any right to make that decision."
"I'm aware of that," the Princess said. After a moment, she continued. "It could be that Prince Hylrick, in his distress, is forgetting it... I must agree with his observation on Ganondorf, however. It is entirely possible that the Enemy is once again a person."
Link felt a shudder run through him. "Yes, your Highness," he said. He didn't know what else he could say. She was right and he didn't want to think about it. If the Enemy turned out to be a person, he'd have to find a way to defeat them without killing them. And it was impossible to know for sure whether he'd be able to.
They stopped for lunch a little while after crossing the bridge of Hylia, by a little grove of trees.
"I was able to get a fresh meal from home for both of us," Zelda said as she tied her horse to a nearby tree. "Wrapped in Sheikah iced cloths. I figured we could delay reliance on hunting and gathering and on travel food for at least one day."
She fished the package out of her saddle bag. The Hero was looking at a map inside of a book, but looked up and smiled.
"An unexpected treat, Princess. Your Highness and the Royal kitchen have my gratitude."
Zelda smiled back. "I see you were just consulting a map. Can you tell me where we are and when we might arrive in Midah?"
"Yes, your Highness." He pointed roughly to the left and back. "The Spring of Courage is just North of here, so we are roughly halfway to Midah. We should arrive late afternoon."
Zelda tilted her head. "The Spring of Courage is close by? Do you not know the Ode to Courage?"
She couldn't imagine why Link wouldn't have used their ocarinas to shave some time off their trip. He had given a sense of urgency since the moment they'd met, and understandably so considering the state of the Master Sword.
"I do, your Highness," the Hero said.
He measured his next words carefully. He didn't want to insult the Princess, but the idea of crossing the area just South of the Spring of Courage by horse was laughable. Enough so that the Princess would surely not have suggested it if she was familiar with it. The best response was probably to simply educate her.
"Based on sheer distance, traveling to the Spring by ocarina would have been logical," he said, "but the area just South of it is impractical on horseback."
"Ah. I've only been once," Zelda confessed, "and as you know, the Ode to Courage will leave you right by the entrance to the actual spring. I do remember a river..." she trailed off.
Link nodded. "Your Highness remembers well: the Dracozu River snakes through the whole area. In addition to its serpentine path, it is prone to overflowing, making the forest floor muddy and almost marsh-like. The forest itself is also a factor as it is quite dense and devoid of proper paths."
Princess Zelda smiled. "It's no wonder you didn't feel the need to ask for advice on how to get to Midah," she said. "I should have expected as much with all your travels… you know the land quite well, don't you?"
"I know some areas better than others, Princess," Link said. He didn't particularly feel the need to point out Faron was less familiar to him than most of Hyrule due to his general policy of avoiding it as much as he could. He knew it well enough to navigate, especially since his mother's Safe Journey book included several maps.
Zelda kneeled on the ground, unfolding the outer layer of her package into a picnic blanket. Link hurried to help, pulling the corners out and smoothing the surface, all the while staying as far from her personal space as he possibly could. Disturbing the grass unveiled a blue rupee, along with two apples. He picked up the rupee and gave the apples to Butter and Poe, who promptly made them disappear.
Zelda didn't notice, busy untying the ice cloth. After some carefully choreographed untangling of the various knots, the Sheikah-made fabric opened up, crackled, and the ice that had been lining the inside of it evaporated, leaving the cloth and its content dry.
"Stuffed rolls, green salad and fruit cakes," the Princess announced, dividing up the food into two equal parts. "The rolls are stuffed with eggs. I hope that's all right?"
Link forced a smile: he wasn't fond of eggs. He ate them often enough, they were easy to find when on the road, but that very fact made him associate them with necessity rather than choice. "It's an honor to eat anything prepared by the royal kitchens, Princess, and this all looks and sounds delicious."
The stuffed rolls turned out to be quite nice after all. They ate quickly and were off again.
Zelda heard the town before she saw it: dogs barking, a cow's moo, voices and various noises gave it away quite clearly even with their line of sight blocked by the trees currently surrounding them.
"Your Highness?" the Hero suddenly said. "If I may share some information on Midah before we arrive?"
She glanced at him and was surprised to see his posture was tense. She opted not to point out she'd already given him leave to talk at any time and to merely repeat the offer instead.
"Of course," she said. "You may always tell me anything you feel you should."
He nodded. "Thank you, Princess." He took a deep breath. "Faron, generally speaking, is often not welcoming to Sea Folks. There are of course exceptions, but I confirmed while home that Midah is not one of them. It is likely that many of the townspeople will... not be friendly to me."
Zelda stared at him for a moment, too shocked to speak. An entire region, labeled as unwelcoming, and the Hero straight up expecting trouble in a town he was barely familiar with? Either the Hero was correct or he was falling pray to rumors. Either way did not speak well of the relationship between the people of Given and Faron.
"How would you react if you were to find just the opposite here?" she asked. "Syreene was certainly friendly, and her mentor lives here."
The Hero took a moment to answer. "I would be very pleasantly surprised and I would let others know things have improved, your Highness," he said. "Especially since it would give me hope that other places in Faron could be getting better as well."
"Do you think it likely?" she asked.
"I'm afraid not, your Highness," he replied. "People reported it to be unfriendly just this summer."
Zelda frowned, thinking. Her first thought was that it seemed unlikely that the Hero's concerns were perfectly valid, but then, as a Sea Folk, he might be aware of some issues she knew nothing about. The truth was that she couldn't know one way or the other.
"We do need Master Sahesro's cooperation, and I wouldn't want to insult his whole town. Can we… act as though we don't expect anything in particular? Even if you're understandably actually on your guard?"
The Hero nodded. "Yes, your Highness. Of course."
They arrived in view of Midah a mere few minutes later. The town was surrounded by a solid log fence twice the height of a man. The path out of the woods led to a gate that stood closed despite the sun still being up.
Link edged Butter closer to Poe and to the Princess. The Safe Journey book hadn't mentioned that Midah was walled, which made him think it was a new development. That and the gate being closed during the day seemed a pretty strong signal that the town didn't welcome visitors, or at least not all visitors.
"I wonder why they shut the gate early," the Princess mused. "I don't suppose they've been having trouble with monsters?"
Link's eyes widened. How had he not even thought of that possibility? The Princess was right, it was entirely possible that Midah had built a wall and was guarding the gates at all times because they were having to protect themselves against monsters.
"It's possible, your Highness," he said. "Considering the current monster outbreak, that could very well be exactly why the wall and the gate are here."
The Princess visibly startled and stared at him. "There's a monster outbreak?" she asked. "That's... that's terrible! And a shock! I would normally be aware of something like that!"
Link raised an eyebrow. If the Royal Family was unaware of the increase in monster activity, it certainly explained why they hadn't told him. How they could possibly be unaware, however, was beyond him. As was how the Princess might not have been told if they WERE aware. As curious as it was, though, the inner workings of communication to the Royals and in between said Royals, and why it had failed in this particular case, was hardly relevant right now.
"I was unaware as well, your Highness, until just recently," he said. "I've been closely monitoring my surroundings ever since in an effort to locate some of the monsters and help reduce their numbers, but I've had no luck at all so far."
The Princess hmmed in assent and remained lost in thought for a few seconds.
"I should have known about this," she repeated. She sighed heavily. "I'll just have to ask about it in my next letter. For now, we don't know for sure whether the gate is indeed to protect from monsters, but if it is, it's possible you'll have a chance to make friends here after all."
Link thought that supremely unlikely, but decided not to push the issue. They'd see what Midah was like once they were in the town proper. Assuming they were allowed past the wall, that was.
They stopped their horses in front of the gate.
"People of Midah!" Zelda called out in a carrying voice. "I am Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, and I am accompanied by Link, the Hero Chosen by the Goddess, Reborn. Please open the gate that we may enter your fair town!"
A Hylian man's head appeared above the gate. "Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and NOT fall for that," the man called out. "State your business!"
Zelda looked at him with her eyes wide, clearly shocked. "Well…" she stammered. "We… we seek Master Sahesro," she replied. "I have my seal, and the Hero has Farore's Medallion…"
"I won't leave a girl out there," the man said, "but the Sea Folk stays out. Are we clear?"
The Princess' eyes narrowed. "That is NOT acceptable," she said. "The Hero WILL accompany me. Send someone to verify my seal if you must because I command you to open this gate!"
The man's eyes narrowed. "Oh, is that so?" he said. "Cute. Fine. I'm calling the Mayor. Congrats, your prank is working, I'm going to go bother him. Enjoy it until he's done confirming you're a fake."
The man disappeared, leaving Zelda staring wide eyed at where he'd been.
"Do I look so very different from my official portraits?" she asked, turning to Link.
Link shook his head. The Princess' portraits displayed in various public places were more than accurate enough. "No, your Highness. I would never have expected anyone to be so convinced you were someone else."
"It's not unusual for people to request to see my seal," she said, "but... did you also get the impression this man was certain of his accusations?"
"Yes, your Highness," Link said.
The gate opened slightly, letting two men through. One was wearing a large pendant and luxurious clothing, the other had a chain mail worn over his clothing, along with a bright yellow scarf.
The man wearing the finery crossed his arms, scowling. "Come down from your horses," he commanded.
Link immediately complied. The Princess did not, instead scowling right back.
"Are you the Mayor of Midah?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied testily. "Now GET DOWN."
The Princess once again did not move, instead removing her ring and tossing it at the man, her scowl still firmly in place.
"Please inspect this before you attempt to issue me another command," she said. "Your guard has already greatly soured my mood, not so much because of his doubts as to my identity as because of his request that my escort stay out of your town."
The Mayor caught the ring. "We don't welcome his kind," he said, gesturing vaguely towards Link. He looked at the ring and his eyes widened. Quite theatrically in Link's opinion, he threw himself on the ground in a full pleading position: on his knees, face to the ground and arms extended with his palms flat on the ground.
"Princess Zelda, I beg of you, reserve your rightful justice for me alone, my guard was solely acting on my instructions!"
Zelda dismounted, losing her scowl but rolling her eyes.
"Who I am is hardly the main problem here," she said. "Please stand, state your name and explain why you'd even consider not allowing the Hero inside your walls."
The Mayor scrambled up and bowed deeply. "Your Highness. Mayor Mnemo, at your service. Her Grace Hylia's beloved consort is of course free to enter," he said.
Link's eyes widened and he felt heat rush to his face. Hylia's Beloved Consort? That was a new one, and so far probably the most disturbing thing he'd been called as the Hero.
"You mentioned his kind was not welcomed," the Princess insisted. "Am I to understand Sea Folks are not welcomed here, but that he's an exception?"
"That's correct, your Highness," the Mayor said. He swallowed. "I realize that this may seem strange, but the truth is, every time they came here, they brought trouble with them. I have to protect my people, and the next town over is only a two hours ride. There is no reason why Sea Folks would need to come here in particular, even if they somehow found a reason to be in the area at all. Towns are still allowed to refuse entry to strangers if they have reasons to fear trouble from them, are they not?"
Zelda sighed. "Indeed," she said. "Mayor Mnemo, I appreciate your willingness to at least allow the Hero within your walls. Would you be so kind as to direct us to Master Sahesro?"
"Of course," Mnemo said. He locked eyes with Link. "Hero, I need to ask you to relinquish your weapons."
Link raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Mr Mayor, but I cannot possibly part with the Master Sword and if I am unable to avoid being armed with the greatest blade in the land, I doubt parting with any other weapon would make me any less intimidating to your people. I do promise not to use them against your citizens."
"Then you will need to be restrained," the Mayor said.
"Absolutely not!" Zelda said forcefully. "Mayor Mnemo, I need YOU to stop this nonsense and to please just lead us to Master Sahesro."
Mnemo chewed on his tongue for a few seconds. "I can't cause a panic, your Highness," he said. "Regardless of what he's wearing, I assure you that most of my constituents will see a Sea Folk first when he comes down the street."
"Perhaps a few guards surrounding us would serve to make the townsfolk feel safer?" Link suggested.
Zelda rolled her eyes and groaned. "This is completely unreasonable! I'm tempted not to allow it, but very well. You can assign us an escort if it means we can finally proceed with our work!"
Mnemo swallowed, then bowed. He straightened again immediately and turned towards the wall.
"Six guards to me, immediately!" he called out.
There were obviously several guards nearby, because they started filing out immediately, wearing the same chain mail and yellow scarf as the one guard who had already been in the mayor's company.
Mnemo nodded at them and called out again. "Open the gate! The Princess and her companion are our guests!"
The walk through the town was not one that Zelda would soon forget. She was trying hard not to dwell on their welcome and not to draw conclusions on the obvious enmity between Midah and the Sea Folks, but she could not ignore what she saw as they made their way to Sahesro.
Conflicted was the only word she could think of to describe Midah. There was no conflict when it came to herself: most of the people they saw bowed or curtsied. When it came to the Hero, however... for every person scowling at Link, there was one bowing to him, or saluting him. For every person yelling insults at him or questioning why he was allowed in, there was another shushing them or expressing admiration for the Hero.
The Hero was ignoring the jeers and nodding to the greetings. On the few occasions where someone followed them for a spell, either to deride him or to praise them, he responded as a perfect gentleman, defusing where he could with assurances that he was here with no ill intention and thanking those who complimented him or greeted him well.
She wasn't convinced his efforts towards the naysayers were worth it, and she didn't think she'd have the patience to imitate him if their roles were reversed.
Mnemo finally stopped by a large house and rapped on the door.
There was some noise inside, and the door opened on a middle aged Hylian man with greying brown hair carefully slicked back. He was wearing silk and linen in blue and white, and he blinked at them all for a second.
"Mr Mayor, I assume you've verified the identity of this young Lady?" he asked.
Mnemo cleared his throat. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Zelda," he said in a ringing voice.
"Right," Sahesro said.
He stepped back and sank into a genuflexion. "Your Highness, it is an unexpected honor."
"Thank you," Zelda said. "My companion is Link, Farore's Favorite Child and Hero Chosen by the Goddess, Reborn Once More to Save Us All. Please rise, Master Sahesro. We come seeking your wisdom."
Sahesro rose and his eyes darted to the handle of the Master Sword on Link's hip before settling on the Hero's eyes.
"Hero, it's an hon..." he stopped mid word, his eyes suddenly widening. "Oh! Oh, Goddess!" he turned to the Mayor. "Mnemo, did you ask him yet?"
The Mayor bristled. "We can solve our own problems," he said.
Sahesro rolled his eyes. "Well, you're not stopping ME from asking. I need to get back to that field."
Zelda looked at Link, eyebrows raised in interrogation. The Hero shrugged helplessly.
"Master Sahesro?" she asked. "Are you saying we may be able to be of assistance to you?"
Sahesro turned back to her and joined his hands in front of his chest. "Yes! Your Highness. And the Chosen One!"
"I do NOT condone asking this," Mnemo interrupted. "Let it be known that Midah will not recognize a debt of gratitude for this."
A very slight sound was coming from Link's feet. Zelda glanced down to find she could see the hero's toes tapping against the upper of his right boot. He noticed her glance and stopped, his cheeks once again darkening slightly.
"Master Sahesro," he said, "I would be delighted to be of service to you and would certainly not consider your town or yourself to be indebted to me if you were to ask a favor of me that I could grant."
Sahesro beamed at him. "There is a field just outside of town, to the south, where I've been doing some archeological searches. I had to stop for the same reason we now have a wall: a lynel has taken residence."
"A fact which we are perfectly capable of dealing with ourselves!" Mnemo thundered.
"No, we're not," Sahesro said.
"As Mayor of Midah, I want to make it very clear that Midah is NOT requesting assistance!"
Zelda faced the Mayor. "That is understood, Mister Mayor. I am rather astonished to find you so determined to make it clear since I haven't once heard of the Hero collecting or attempting to collect any form of payment at all for his services."
"Sea Folks expect retribution for anything they do, and anything they don't do, your Highness," Mnemo replied. "Part of their culture: everything belongs to everyone. I'm not having them decide this town now belongs to them because one of their own did his job here."
"Mister Mayor, I'm afraid I must contradict you," Link said. "The idea that everything belongs to everyone is not actually one we generally ascribe to. I of course cannot guarantee that it is not held by anyone at all, but I am quite certain that if it is present at all, it is rare: I've honestly never heard of it. Perhaps there was some misunderstanding? We do hold that problems should be shared, in the sense that anyone with the ability to help someone in need would be expected to."
"One Person's Problem is Everyone's Problem, isn't it?" the Princess said. "Sir Pyr was quite charmed by the phrase and related it to us."
"Precisely, your Highness," Link said.
"Yes, it's very charming. Right until they decide that the fact they don't have as much as you do is a problem and is now YOUR problem," Mnemo said. He sighed. "Hero, I know you cannot be judged by the actions of your peers, but I still need to protect my town's interests and your people could easily choose to try and capitalize on your good deeds. Therefore I must again insist that this request is not from myself or from Midah. Should you choose to help Sahesro, it will be a personal favor to him alone."
Zelda could feel her blood thrumming in her temples, and knew herself well enough to guess she was going to start yelling at Mnemo within the next minute. She was impressed by the Hero's continued outwardly calm, all the more so that she had no hope of duplicating it much longer.
Thankfully, Mnemo excused himself by way of stalking out through the door without so much as a by-your-leave. She sighed: even though she was glad to see the mayor go, she'd now have to figure out how to react, officially speaking, to the rudeness.
"Are these views common here?" she asked, turning to Sahesro.
Syreene's mentor swallowed. "I... believe so, your Highness. We've had difficult relations with the Sea Folks. I haven't been involved in any of it myself, but there are a lot of stories circulating." He sighed. "For what it's worth, I don't share the Mayor's worries about any perceived debt."
"Thank you for that, Master Sahesro," the Hero said. "A field just to the south, you say?"
"Er... yes. But obviously, you don't have to..." he trailed off.
"Your Highness, if I may?" Link asked, turning to Zelda.
"Of course, but I'm coming as well," Zelda replied.
She didn't say out loud that she needed to ensure he was allowed back into town, nor that she couldn't very well stay inside the wall while he was outside after demanding he be allowed to come in with her. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but only briefly. He either understood or accepted. She turned to Sahesro.
"Master Sahesro, we still have need of your wisdom. Will we find you here for a while yet?"
"Absolutely, your Highness!" Sahesro replied. "I will not budge until your return. And thank you."
Hyrule Castle, Early Evening of the same day
Pyr stalked towards the Royal Family's private dining room, clutching a copy of Hyrule Watch in his left fist. His right hand kept going back to the pommel of the sword on his hip, no matter how many times he pried it away again. He couldn't remember ever wanting a chance to just fight every problem as he did now.
The two guards by the dining room's double doors today were Bohg and Durij: youngins, as usual for the easy post. No actual foe would make it this far inside the castle, so the guards here were only tasked with telling friends and allies to let the Royal Family dine in peace.
Both young men straightened when they saw him coming.
"I need to speak with the King," Pyr said. "Let me through."
"Er…" Bohg said.
"I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," Pyr said, glaring upwards at him. He'd long since perfected the upwards glare, being noticeably shorter than nearly everyone he ever dealt with.
"The King, the Queen and the Princes are at supper," Durij said. "You may wait here until they finish."
Pyr's glare switched target to settle on Durij. The Princess was absent, then. And the princes dining with their parents with no mention of Hylrick's wife or three sons meant the dinner was also a state meeting.
"This cannot wait any longer," Pyr said. "I'm already troubled by the fact I wasn't summoned much earlier than this. Unless you want me to shove you aside, LET ME THROUGH."
"We cannot possibly…"
Pyr pulled his sword out an inch. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important," he repeated.
Bohg gulped. "Just… just one moment please."
He opened one of the doors just enough to slip through the opening, and closed it right back behind him. Pyr didn't bother trying to eavesdrop: there was no need. The King would not refuse to see him.
Bohg opened the door wide a moment later and stepped to the side. Durij immediately imitated his fellow guard, opening his own door and stepping to the side as well.
"Sir Pyr, Knight of Hyrule!" Bohg announced.
Pyr nodded at him and stepped into the Royal Family's dining room. The double doors closed behind him.
The King, the Queen, Prince Hylrick and Prince Naydri were all turned towards him, their plates and cups forgotten.
He dropped into a genuflex, his head down and his right fist on his heart.
"Your Majesties. Your Highnesses."
"Rise, Sir Pyr," the King said.
Pyr's eyes widened before he could school his face into a neutral expression. The King usually called him by his name only, and everyone present knew it as well as the reason why. Did the King not feel like he could speak freely?
Pyr rose. "My apologies for interrupting your meal, your Majesty," he said. "I have an urgent request. I did ask for an audience, but it was scheduled for tomorrow morning and I fear the matter cannot wait."
"Would it be correct to assume your concerns were sparked by the issue of Hyrule Watch you're holding?" the Queen asked.
"Yes, your Majesty. The rumors within, coupled with the attacks on the Sea Folks settlements, make me worry for my former student."
Worry was a bit of a strong word: Pyr just felt two heads could be better than one to solve the current situation. Link was more than prepared for a lot of things, but the Master Sword potentially being cursed was not one of those things.
"Worry?" Prince Naydri said. He chuckled. "You haven't read Colonel Remiss' report, I take it."
Pyr tilted his head. Remiss was the Colonel in charge of the Akkala Fortress, which meant he would have gone to Given to try and assist during the attack, but Pyr hadn't heard of any report from him. He had heard that there had been no casualties in Given, something he was extremely grateful for since he was still very fond of the people there, but if any more details were known, they hadn't been shared with him.
"Colonel Remiss' report is not being shared outside of our family, Naydri," the King said. "Sir Pyr, are you here to ask for leave to try and join up with the Hero and attempt to assist him with the current crisis?"
Pyr nodded. "Yes, your Majesty. I was also hoping you'd be able to tell me whether the rumors circulating are at all based on anything resembling reality."
The King appeared to hesitate, but after a moment, he nodded.
Pyr felt the blood drain from his face. So there WAS something wrong with the sword.
"Sir Pyr," Prince Hylrick piped in, "we have received word that the Hero was on the Great Plateau this morning." The Prince's eyes darted to one of the empty chair at the table.
Pyr felt a shudder run through him. Hylrick was pointing out an absence, and unless Pyr was very mistaken, the absence the Prince was signalling was that of his sister's, Princess Zelda.
She was probably with the Hero already. That as such was not concerning, but the fact that the Majesties and Highnesses weren't outright telling him, as well as the King's silent nod to Pyr's previous question, added to their calling him SIR Pyr, left no more room for doubt: the Royal Family had reason to believe there was a spy in the castle and were guarding their every word.
"You are granted leave to visit the Hero," the King said. "We're not aware of where he is at the moment, but you are welcome to attempt to track him from the Great Plateau. We've been informed that the roads have been dangerous lately, so you will go in company of six guards. I will not hear objections to this, Sir Pyr. A knight you may be, but wisdom is called for here."
Pyr bowed. "Thank you, your Majesty," he said.
He'd have to get the rest of the story from the Hero himself, and from the Princess if she was, as he guessed, with him.