The clanging of swords and shouts continued to echo through the hall of the dungeon they were in, though neither Arn nor Link could see anything. Arn was straining against the metal bars, angling his head to see if he could see further down the hall but it seemed to be in vain.
There was a loud echo of metal chains unfurling and the loud crashing of metal gates.
"How far into their hideout are we?" Link asked Arn quietly. He didn't want to alert the nearby clansmen who were now on full alert due to the intruders who had suddenly appeared.
Arn sighed and slumped against the metal bars. "Based on how much sand is in the hall," he looked around before looking back. "I wouldn't say we're too far into the hideout at all. That or the Yiga enjoy carrying sand into the halls and dropping it half-hazardly."
Link remained quiet. What in the world was going on? An insurrection? No, why put down the gates and stop everyone from leaving the area if it was just someone who could poof out at a moment's notice? Had someone somehow infiltrated them? The irony tickled Link a bit.
He pulled on his chains again, but ignored the giant metal plate that hung from the wall by only its bolts and thick metal wiring. He'd done a decent bit of damage in his odd bout of rage a few minutes before.
The metal clanging of weapons soon began to die down to the point it felt as though most of the combatants had stopped.
And then the gates opened once more, the rewiring of the metal chains rolled heavily in the air.
"Whatever was causing that ruckus is gone now, I guess." Arn said depressingly. "Think they'll tell us what that is?"
"Doubt it." Link said back. He kept yanking on the chain and blew the sand from the new hole off his shoulder every few minutes. His arms were starting to grow numb once more and he simply wanted out of these chains. His wrists felt raw and his skin was starting to turn a deep red; Link was sure he'd bleed sooner or later and get an infection.
It's only a matter of time.
He wondered what had happened just down the hall. So much commotion and then nothing. Had they killed whoever had come? Had they thrown them out already? Imprisoned maybe?
Maybe not that one, we would've heard a cell door. That would only apply if there was but one area for cells and prisoners.
They waited for something, anything to happen, but the only thing that kept them company was the distant laughter of the Yiga Clansmen, and the crackling of the torches.
...
When he awoke once more, the first thing he noticed was a Yiga standing guard outside of their cell. The expressionless, faceless mask, simply stared at them from across the hall in the shadows, barely visible.
"Since when have we had a guard?" Link asked curiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a clansman watching them from the shadows. His only defining feature was the tuft of white hair poking out the top of his head but it was hardly defining when most, if not all, the Yiga he's ever seen had either white or black hair. "Or have I just not noticed?"
Arn groaned and stood up and made his way to the bars and looked out and glared at the Yiga before leaving a moment later and taking his spot back against the wall.
"Apart from the day they kept drugging you, we haven't had one stay with us." Arn told him quietly. "My best guess is they only had one when they thought there was a chance you might break out."
Link stared at the clansman as if he was trying to memorise him, but he looked like all of the other ones. There was no way he'd be able to pick this one out from the hundreds of other Yiga down here.
"If I was unconscious, why did they think I might break out?"
"There are quite a few people who wake up in a rage or panic when they've been knocked unconscious." Arn told him, getting up and coming to sit next to him. "Maybe they thought you'd wake up in a rage and try to break out earlier than expected?"
Link shrugged. He tugged at his chains and hissed in pain. He looked at his wrists and winced at the dark red marks around his hands, the healthy and damaged skin starting to peel and separate.
"Stop tugging on them." Arn told him quietly. "You don't want that getting infected in here."
"No shit." Link grumbled out. The guard was still actively watching him rather than just passively standing there bored. It was more like he was studying them than anything. "Hey Arn… Do you think they're here because whoever got in may not have been caught or killed?"
Arn shot him an incredulous glance of disbelief. "You suggesting they disposed of that many Yiga and managed to escape? Link, that sounds insane, the fighting went on way too long."
Link nodded, but didn't change his stance. "There has to be a reason they're watching us now. I don't know how many got in, but maybe one escaped? They have to be worried someone might come for us." he shot back quietly in a whisper.
Arn didn't say anything, but he glanced sideways at Link. That idea sounded insane. "They'd have to catch that person first."
Link tried to think of which individuals could successfully infiltrate the Yiga Clan successfully but couldn't quite put his finger on any particular person. A Sheikah perhaps? A few Sheikah? Was anyone in the Sheikah cans skilled enough with transformation magic to blend in?
No, they'd have to do it in front of everyone. They'd still be caught and swarmed immediately. "Who'd be so dangerous they'd give us a guard?"
"Maybe not who." Arn deflected. "Link, imagine if we managed to escape. We're a lot harder to imprison if we get out."
"We haven't had a proper meal in days. We have no energy."
"They caught us off guard the first time. If we had help getting out, they'd need to be lucky to get us back here again. Even on low energy, you are still worth half a battalion in strength. I wouldn't want you getting out either if my goal was to have you imprisoned."
Sure he'd heard people call him 'One Man Army' but that wasn't after a few days without food. He didn't have a weapon, he had no food and limited water, how was he to fight in such an exhausted state?
Well, he could always use his chains as a last resort, those were sure to hurt anyone they came into contact with.
But trying to fight their way out of the hideout seemed too risky of a plan. Too many obstacles, too many passages they didn't know. What if they went the wrong way? They had no weapons, but the entirety of the clan did. Arrows, sickles, swords, demon carvers, and who knew what else they could encounter.
"It's still too risky to attempt an escape. We know nothing of this place." Link said, dejected. They could always hope for someone else to break in but he had little hope for that.
He wanted to get back to Zelda alive and in one piece, and preferably have Arn in the same condition, but weaponless in this place? They'd have to wait for an opportunity.
Captain Reinhartd and Captain Randall were standing outside the Princess' bedchamber along with the other staff and two of her Ladies-in-waiting. Barnabus had been patched up and taken to the infirmary where he'd been given a drug by Doctor Finri. It seemed to have been a simple paralysis mixture that had been used on him, thus quickly cured.
The moment the Princess had seen the doctor and had been cleared, she'd made a beeline for her bedroom and the door had been shut in everyone's faces. She'd been dazed for over a half hour during her check up, the doctor couldn't seem to get any words out of her apart from quiet hums and a few stray tears that rolled down her cheek and now she refused to see anyone.
Captain Reinhartd took his colleague to the side, away from the servants and the ladies and exhaled deeply. "How many casualties?" They continued down a quieter hall overseeing the bridge and Castletown in the windows.
"The hallway alone had nine. Nine guards and knights. " Randy reported back to him.
Barnabus removed his beret and ruffled his hair painfully. "If this keeps going the way it is, we'll lose everyone sooner than later."
"No fucking shit." Randy hissed at him. "The three attacks from last week weren't a walk in the park either. It's only a matter of time before the General hears about them and informs Link—wherever the hell he is—about them."
They'd pushed those under the rug once they were dealt with. There had been one assassin, then it was two, then it was one again, but all seemed to have been scouts rather than proper assassins.
"Try to keep it under wraps-"
"We can't! Link is missing, we have no idea where he is or if he's even still alive. Not to mention, some of the Princess' guards are injured or dead. When he gets back, he's going to notice when there are only seven of them. His Second-In-Command and her substitute were almost killed, Reinhartd. They are going to say something and he's going to find out." His whispering grew loudly in volume, stress, anger and fear was starting to show in his body language and his tone. While they were alone in the hall, anyone could see it as clear as day that things were tense.
But he was right, Link was going to find out immediately if anything. His guards were trained to report back as soon as they could. They were not going to accept the 'Link has too much on his plate right now' excuse. The four guards that had intercepted the other three attacks last week had agreed to keep quiet when he'd told them to keep quiet when he'd brought up the new Crown duties and the impending baby business, but they'd been incredibly lucky it had been those soldiers.
There was an incredibly fine line between appearing like a traitor and wanting to care for his best friend, and it was starting to look like Barnabus was playing hopscotch with the line.
"You tell Link then."
"No, you can. It was your idea to keep it a secret."
"Well it was your idea to finally tell him, so you can tell him. "
"If he's even alive!"
"Oh he's alive. If he wasn't, the Princess would be in pieces."
The other captain looked at him for a moment in silence before pinching the bridge of his nose and throwing his hands in the general direction of the residential wing. "What the fuck do you call that?!" Randy's voice pitched high. "I'm just glad the only damage she sustained was a mental breakdown."
"Eh, she may be a bit spooked as well," Barnabus muttered, "I'm just glad I can feel my legs again." He groaned painfully as he took slow, heavy steps.
"It could've been so much worse." Captain Randy muttered out. The Yiga could've used a lethal poison, something painful, something to kill him quickly, something to torture the life out of him, but they'd been so lucky it had simply been a strong numbing agent.
They made their way across the hallway slow and steady, Barnabus' arm slung across his colleague's shoulder as they made their way to the infirmary. "Did the guards ever come back with Arn?"
Randy shot Barnabus a look. "Why Arn? Isn't it his day off?"
"It is." He said, looking out of the window. "But I have a feeling Arn isn't who he says he is."
"You sure 'bout that? It's quite the accusation."
"I'm sure alright." They stopped and Barnabus groaned painfully as he leaned on the wall. "Link and Arn got back on the same night in the same state. There's no way Arn wouldn't notice Link was acting strangely, even if it only took three days to uncover him."
"What a stroke of luck that His Grace was out on a hunting trip with his buddy, huh?" Randy rolled his eyes.
Barnabus had forgotten that Rhoam had gone out on a hunting trip with the Duke of Akkala yesterday and was due to come back tomorrow. What a stroke of luck indeed.
"You know the walls have ears, shut up." Barnabus hissed. There were a number of things to discuss in the castle, but a veiled attempt at throwing suspicion was not something Barnabus would have chosen on any day, good or bad.
I guess we're both throwing accusations around today.
"Where do you think the real Link is?" Randy asked him curiously, looking out to the courtyard through the window. "I'm surprised Her Highness didn't pick up on his disappearance. They are bonded, no?"
Barnabus nodded. "No damn clue, and honestly, they're both still new to this bond stuff, I don't expect them to pick it up immediately." It had taken him months to get used to a three-way bond with his spouses; the logistics of having a bond with two others shared as a triangle was awkward, quite the fumble, and comparable to walking into a strange dark closet while looking for something, but he had eventually learned to discern what it was that his wife or husband were feeling separately. A royal bond was said to work differently from a regular one, and Barnabus knew none of the details thanks to Link's private nature and the library's lack of information on the topic.
His own personal range to feel his spouses' emotions didn't extend quite as far as the castle, but occasionally, if he travelled to certain gates, he could feel a tinge if one of them were out on a walk. Who knew what the Princess and Link could feel through theirs?
"This whole business is a pile of horse shit." Randy scoffed, frustrated and kicked the floor lightly.
"You only say that because you're going to have a mountain of paperwork to fill later." he laughed with a joking jab to the ribs.
"You're also going to have to explain how you lost your own charge and couldn't differentiate him from the fake."
"Oh fuck." Barnabus swore. "Well, I hope you enjoy being the only Captain to 50-something guards in the castle for a few days." For losing Link and everything else that had happened recently, he could see himself receiving a couple days of suspension.
He glanced at his older colleague, who looked like he'd accidentally eaten a lemon. "On second thought, you're right. We can keep this a secret a bit longer."
"You really are one lazy twat." Barnabus started laughing, holding his side. Of course Randall wouldn't want to be in charge of 50-something guards and their schedules and papers. That sounded like a nightmare.
While Randall continued to suck on his imaginary lemon, Barnabus kept laughing. "I'm not lazy."
"And I'm a horse-"
"Captain!"
Barnabus was interrupted by the shouts down the hall. Two knights and a royal guard—the one he'd sent earlier from the training ground—had finally returned…albeit empty-handed it seemed.
This should be interesting. "Where's Arn?" Barnabus asked the two knights and the royal guard before him.
The three looked at each other before awkwardly looking back. "He was dead, Sir." The Guard told them.
Dead?! Did the Yiga get to him when the fighting started here? Barnabus looked at Randy with a seriousness that was unusual for him. "Explain." he told them flatly.
This time, the bigger of the two knights spoke up. "When we arrived at Captain Arn's home, we intercepted a fella who told us he'd taken care of it already. We were pointed to the body of a Yiga clansman and we were bid to return to the castle with urgency."
Barnabus stopped him for a moment and stared at the three. "Didn't I send four of you?"
"Yes Sir, but the guy took one of our horses."
Barnabus stared blankly at them. "The guy… stole a royal horse… where's the other guard that went with you?"
"He's still walking. It's a bit hard to fit two grown men on those horses when one's wearing armour." One of the knights said sheepishly.
"Right, right." As Barnabus turned, something caught his eye… or rather the lack of something. "Sir Austen, where is your claymore?"
"... Would you believe me if I told you it also got snatched?"
"And none of you stopped him? There were four of you!" Randy exclaimed, baffled by the sheer idea.
"Sir, with all due respect, he was gone before we could even realise he'd taken the horse. We blinked and both of them were out of sight."
"Yeah, I think it was better not to engage. When we found the Yiga clansman's body, it had two clean cuts—a slice at the jugular and one in the abdomen between the ribcage here," the guard pointed at the base of his sternum.
The signs of an experienced kill—rather he was tempted to call that the sign of a trained assassination.
"And neither of you caught this man's name?"
All three of them shook their heads.
"What'd he look like?"
The three looked at each other with uncertainty. "Blond? How old ya think he was?"
The other knight shrugged. "Probably middle aged? Guess 40s if I'm being honest? Think he's as tall as you, Austen. How tall are you?"
"Five eleven." The royal guard muttered.
"You are not five eleven. Maybe on your toes you are, but not right now. That guy's five eleven." The shorter of the two knights pointed to the taller one.
"I'm actually six." he quirked up with a smile.
"Same thing."
Randy looked at Barnabus with a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes as dramatically as possible, a look that screamed that this was going nowhere and derailing fast. "Gentlemen, back on topic, it's a bit urgent." He couldn't keep the bite out of his voice.
"Sorry, Captain." Sir Austen apologised profusely. "He was blond, my height, perhaps middle aged. He was last seen carrying a royal guard's claymore, some rope on his belt, riding a black royal horse and good with evasive manoeuvres.." He reported cleanly and quickly.
"Build?"
"Same as yours."
Randy and Barnabus shared a look. "You think he's an active soldier?" he asked, confused.
"If he's not active, he's freshly retired. Most villagers do not have those types of statues unless they actively do this sort of work… Or he's a farmer." Barnabus deduced. Sensing Randy's confusion to that addition, he added more. "Lifting a lot of heavy stuff, field work, labour work, keeps you in shape." he explained simply.
It was at that moment that a pair of rushed steps were heard coming from the hall.
They turned and saw two knights approaching.
Once they stood before them, they took a knee and spoke quickly. "Sir Arn's wife and daughter are at the gate and His Highness' mother and sister are as well."
"You know, I'll never get used to Link being referred to as His Highness no matter how much I hear it." Randy commented dryly.
"What is their business here?"
"Well, His Highness' sister wishes to see Her Royal Highness, but the others are demanding answers."
"Does Link's sister know Princess Zelda already?" Randy asked him curiously.
"Have to if she's wishing to have a private audience with her."
"Fair enough, let them in and bring them to one of the guest parlour rooms." The older captain gave the order and turned away as the knights returned to the gate. "We need to see if the Princess will leave her room."
Where is he? How could I not have known? Is he even still alive? Oh goddess, I bit that man, Zelda thought. She gagged a little, pressing a fist to her mouth as she sat in the middle of her nest. Link's champion tunic was in her lap, over her swollen stomach as if it could protect their little one in its father's absence.
Why didn't I notice? She thought, staring at the embroidery without seeing it. He was going to kill me. She thought of the prick of the knife on her stomach, and swore it still tingled. Under her skin, the baby kicked as if to defend itself in the womb.
Zelda shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. Her cheeks were wet with tears, and her breath came in heaving gasps. She couldn't quite fill her lungs.
The Yiga Clan infiltrated the castle, she thought. I can't—I can't be here. It's not safe. It's not safe, they're all dead—!
She gasped for air, clutching onto the tunic. Her wrists ached and stung as if she had rubbed them raw, yet no wound was visible.
A knock at the door made her jump.
"Princess, may I come in?" it was the voice of one of her maids—or someone who sounded like Zelda's maid.
"No—No!" Zelda choked out. "No, no no no," she gasped, heaving for breath between each syllable. She rolled out of the bed and began to pace, rubbing her wrists. How long has he been gone? A week? When did his behaviour change? Was it when he went out drinking? Was it earlier? Was it when he started his lessons?
It's no use, what if someone else has also been replaced? The very thought sent an icy chill into her veins. It could be anyone, anywhere in the castle. If she couldn't even tell Link from his imposter, then she had no chance for anyone else in the castle. I need to leave. I need to leave now. Someone could come for her at any time, even in her sleep.
The first item she reached for was Link's old riding cloak hung in her closet for safe keeping. With shaking hands, she rushed to clip it around her neck and grabbed her riding boots. She took a seat at her boudoir chair and stretched to put her boots on when a pain shot through her lower back, then a small kick in her stomach.
This has no business being so difficult. She stretched once more and managed one boot on before she felt a kick to her lungs, knocking the breath out of her for a moment. She let the other boot sit on the table while she tried to take a breath.
The baby continued to kick lightly, reminding her that none of this was going to be easy and it certainly wasn't going to be getting easier from this point on.
One more. She folded her leg across and managed to slip the other with little problem. She stood up and looked herself over in the mirror. There was no use getting out of her gown now but she was going to have to be content with what she was wearing.
She pushed her boudoir to the side of the wall and pushed the wall panel in, revealing a small passageway. It was one of three in her room that she regularly used, but this one led to the stables. She'd never revealed it to Link or anyone for that matter but regardless, Link likely knew of it, just not where it was.
She ducked her head low and stepped in. She then pulled her boudoir back in its original position thanks to the mark she'd made long ago with a screw, and pushed the panel back into place, making it seem as though nothing had been moved.
Her passageways were dark, dusty, stuffy, and reeked of a poorly ventilated cave but it had yet to do her wrong. The walls were dimly illuminated with small luminous stones dotting along sometimes, but it was barely enough to call proper lighting. It was enough to show her where the wall was in order not to smack into it, but that was its only use.
Well, it had yet to do her wrong up until now.
What was once a series of small tunnels she routinely used to escape her chambers and go to the outside world was now a few passageways almost too small to accommodate her in her current state. There were a number of turns and corners Zelda had to take a breath, then suck in to squeeze through, and others where Zelda had to duck low to get through, all designed to be able to lose any intruder should any find their way into the catacombs to begin with, but now it was proving to be an obstacle.
Zelda had now come to a standstill in her own escape path.
Tight spaces made for a princess to run through effortlessly were now made into nearly impossible obstacles for a pregnant princess to pass through.
And she'd forgotten about the hole she had to crawl through.
Can I even fit in there? She looked at her protruding belly, then the floor, then took a knee to look at the hole more closely. Generally it wouldn't have been a problem but now… I may need to rethink this plan.
"This is fine. It's fine, I'll be fine." Zelda muttered to herself and reluctantly got on her hands and knees. The ground was far more uncomfortable than she remembered. The gritty dirt was damp and dug into her hands as she started to crawl into the tight space.
The baby kicked again.
Zelda glanced down at her stomach. "Will you please leave my kidneys alone? I'm trying to get us out of here."
The kicks paused for a moment, then continued with renewed vigour.
Zelda took a deep breath and pushed through the tight area, unfortunately very aware of how it felt as though the walls were closing in on her. Every movement of an arm bumped into the wall, any attempt to raise her head was met with the ceiling, and she could barely look over her shoulder without smacking into the stone.
I need to start using something else. She missed the days where she could just throw herself in and come out three seconds later. She extended her hand and grabbed the edge of the hole and slowly pulled herself out.
Just on the other side was the last corridor before the long set of stairs that would lead to the stables. If someone had been following her, she'd have lost them quite a while ago around the first few turns.
Her heart continued to pound in her ears as she made her way towards the last staircase. The luminous stones dotting the path diminished at the stairs and soon, it was completely dark, safe for the tiniest streaks of light filtering in from the wooden wall at the end.
She looked back the way she came and shook her head. No, she couldn't go back. She couldn't risk entering into another altercation today. Too many people close to her had done something recently; the tea and the poisoning, Link disappearing, almost dying earlier that afternoon. She'd had a lucky break thanks to the chattiness of the imposter, but she couldn't let that slip away now.
Zelda made her way down the stairs, placed her ear against the wooden wall, and listened carefully for anyone present. She couldn't hear any voices, but she could hear the occasional faint whinny and she could smell the hay. She slowly slid the wall to the side and squinted at the bright light of the sun.
She snuck out of the passage and pulled it back into place. The exit came out near a few piles of hay that was kept close to the mares in case of a need for a quick escape.
Zelda snuck around quietly, keeping an eye out and straining her ear for any noise coming her way until she made her way to Abraxas' stall where the old gelding began to snort loudly and stomp on the floor of his stall.
"Let's get you saddled up hm?" She opened the stall and brought him out where he followed her diligently and allowed her to slip his bridle on. Zelda tacked him to the hall and grabbed one of the blankets from a nearby supply closet and threw it over Abraxas' back.
It was when she went to fetch the saddle that she literally ran into a problem.
"Watch where you're goi— Princess?! " she heard a high pitched woman's voice.
She'd somehow ran into Link's sister in the stables, who was standing near Epona, who was watching them quietly.
...
Epona, beautiful chestnut mare that she was, had her ears tucked back against her head, an unblinking stare trained right on Link and an almost deadly silence around her. She would've classified behaviour like that to be predator rather than prey.
Link extended his hand out towards her nose with a nonchalance.
Snap! He pulled his hand back just in time to avoid Epona's teeth clamping down on him.
...
Epona had been vicious a few days prior at the very sight of Link's imposter… and now she was calm. She was friendly. Her tail swished back and forth in a casual manner, her ears weren't tucked as far back as possible. She was looking at Aryll with bright brown eyes, her face soft and relaxed. Down the hall where he was tacked up, Abraxas looked like he was about to fall asleep.
"Are you alright, Princess? I didn't mean to bump you." Link's sister profusely apologised and looked her over.
Fantastic, the only people I can trust in this castle are horses.
Zelda kept a finger to her lips. "Shh, I'm fine, please no need to make a fuss about it." She whispered. Her head whipped around to the voices of the stableboys around the corner. She pulled Aryll's hand and brought her to a secluded corner.
"Wha—where are you going?" she asked, confused. "They said you weren't feeling well."
"I'm going to Kakariko." Zelda said, deciding on her choice of destination. Kakariko was safe from the Yiga for the biggest part.
Aryll snorted. "Good luck with that. They got everything on lockdown. I doubt they'll let you through the gate." She crossed her arms. "Is this what Link refers to as 'pulling a runner'?" She asked with a lopsided smile.
Zelda didn't dignify that question with an answer. She hadn't done this in a while.
"I'll take that as a yes—do you know where Link is?" She asked. "Poor Epona is starved of treats and he never lets her go without them."
Zelda stopped what she was doing and turned to look at Aryll with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Did she not know what had happened earlier that day? Was the news of the Yiga not yet among the general populace? The bells of the castle tolled far into Castletown, sometimes they could be heard further, and they only rang on those occasions. But Aryll… She still didn't know about Link's disappearance.
"Well, I suppose since you're here and I haven't seen Link anywhere or smelled him, he's not here." she guessed casually.
Zelda kept quiet on the matter. She wasn't ignoring Aryll by any means, but Link's disappearance was far from a comforting topic to discuss.
"So Kakariko, huh?" Aryll walked around, looking for any stableboys or guards. "I can't say it's not a good place to hide, but I'd rather not help add to the current chaotic state of affairs you guys have going on."
"I need to leave."
The smile fell from Aryll's face. "Is everything alright, Princess?"
Zelda mutely shook her head.
Aryll pulled out a sugar cube. "Here, I bet Abraxas would appreciate this." She pressed the sugar cube into Zelda's hand. The two women approached the gelding, who perked up as he smelled the treat.
Zelda cupped her hand under the gelding's muzzle and he plucked up the treat, crunching it happily.
"So, what's going on?" Aryll asked, detangling a knot in Abraxas's mane.
"Link isn't here," Zelda managed to say.
Aryll sighed deeply. "I'm sure he'll be back soon."
"There were Yiga in the castle," Zelda continued.
"Shit," huffed Aryll. "Are they still here?"
"I don't know," Zelda mumbled, wringing her hands.
A warm hand stopped her, and Aryll pressed a curry comb into her hands.
Zelda stroked the gelding's neck, intensifying the pressure when she found an itchy spot that made the horse lean toward her. "They took him," she whispered.
"They took Arn too," Aryll replied, sounding unsurprised. "Dad went off looking for them."
"What if he's dead?"
"You would know," Aryll said firmly.
Zelda broke down. She leaned her head against Abraxas's shoulder. "But I didn't feel it when he vanished. I didn't feel it when he—when it wasn't him !" She rubbed her wrists absently.
"What's wrong with your hands?" Aryll asked.
"Huh?"
"Do they hurt?"
"Well—I suppose," Zelda stammered. "It feels like something chafed but I haven't worn long sleeves. It doesn't matter!"
"That's the bond," Aryll said, tapping Zelda's wrist. "If I had to guess, you're feeling Link's wrists."
Zelda frowned, opening her mouth in askance.
"Concentrate," Aryll said gently, touching Zelda's wrists. She tapped her wrists with a bit more force, occasionally rubbing a finger or two on the place Zelda felt the burning.
Zelda hesitated. She thought about her wrists, and how Aryll's fingers felt against her skin. The sensation of burning achiness faded. The rawness of open skin was not her pain.
"He's alive," she whispered.
"Yes," Aryll said, holding Zelda's gaze. "He's probably trying to get free to come back to you." She released Zelda's wrists. "It's going to be okay."
"I—I can't stay here," Zelda whispered. "I need to leave."
"I get it," Aryll said quietly. "I really do, Princess. Whatever happened, it must've been horrible. But you need to think through this before you leave. Yes, Kakariko is remote, but you aren't familiar with every inhabitant. Nor is the town warded against teleportation like the castle is."
"Warded?" Zelda echoed. She knew her mother's room was warded, but had the castle itself been warded this whole time?
Aryll nodded. "There are spells and talismans woven into the foundations of the castle. Sota explained it to me. Neither the Sheikah nor the Yiga can teleport more than a few feet within the castle, nor can they bring a passenger with them. But in Kakariko, you could teleport to anywhere else on the subcontinent. If a Yiga spy managed to touch you in Kakariko, they could take you right back to their base." She held Zelda's gaze. "Please, Princess. At least consider staying here."
The trip to Kakariko was, at the bare minimum, a six hour ride. There would be plenty of opportunities for someone to do away with her in that time and none of the guards would even know.
Keeping me safe would be more difficult for everyone else if I were to leave, wouldn't it? Zelda thought.
Her baby kicked at her spleen as if in agreement. Zelda sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Alright. I'll stay."
Aryll nodded. "Would you like me to stay with you, princess?"
A lump formed in Zelda's throat and she nodded. Her eyes stung.
Aryll helped her finish grooming Abraxas and put the gentle gelding back in his stall. Arm-in-arm, the two ladies walked back up to Zelda's rooms.
...
Upon seeing the guards' faces—which were white with horror seeing that their charge had escaped without their knowledge again—Zelda and Aryll burst out laughing.
Aryll then chewed the guards out while Zelda prepared tea. Listening to Aryll rant about carelessness, dereliction of duty, what would Sir Link think ? And My brother taught you better! Zelda found herself smiling sadly.
Link was awoken by the sound of metal clanging, then something being dropped in his lap.
He opened his eyes the moment he felt the item drop, but he only saw Arn resting in the corner. He could have sworn he'd heard the clanging of the door cell opening and closing, even if it had been very brief.
Link looked to his lap and inhaled sharply before shifting his leg to cover the item.
A ring of keys.
He looked around the cell and into the hallway as best he could and exhaled in relief when he saw no one watching them.
"Arn." He called out.
The older man groggily opened his eyes and looked over. "What?"
"Can you check my wrists? I think they're bleeding?" He lied through his teeth. If the keys were for his shackles, it'd be perfect, but he'd seen a number of the footmen carrying them, clearly they could go anywhere.
"I don't smell bl—" he trailed off when Link started shaking his head vigorously to tell him to shut up. He slowly got up and moved over to sit next to him. There was still a brief look at his wrists but Link took one last moment to glance to the hallway before shifting his leg out of the way to reveal the iron keys.
Arn's eyes grew wide as he picked up the keys as quietly as possible, careful of any clanging that might be heard.
"Where did you get these?" He whispered, barely audible to him.
Link shrugged. "They just…appeared." Link told him.
Arn didn't need to be told. He simply took the first key and tried the first cuff, then the second cuff, then began moving through the numerous keys.
"I don't think any of them work." Arn muttered quietly. They don't seem to go for the shackles."
"The door maybe?" Link asked.
"Too risky, someone will probably hear or… see..."
Link noticed an odd glimmer in Arn's eye. He looked outside the cell almost curiously. He took the keys full in hand, ignoring that they might jingle with every movement.
"What are you doing?" Link asked nervously. "You're going to get caught, hide them."
"I don't think so." Arn said. There was an odd confidence in his voice as he pushed his arm through the cell door, keys in hand and started quickly trying each into the door, twisting almost desperately, then pulling it out and trying the next.
Link waited with bated breath as Arn moved through the many keys on the ring before finally…
Click!
Both of them froze as the door's lock clicked and the door swung open ever so slightly, showing it had been unlocked.
With haste, Arn reclosed the door and retreated back into the cell where he opened the ring and pulled the singular key off and stashed it into his pants.
"How'd you know you wouldn't be seen?" Link whispered. Neither of them knew how many of the Yiga were down the hall watching them from afar.
Arn turned back to Link with a smile before dropping the larger set of keys into the hallway.
Link looked at Arn with horror. "What are you-"
Then a gloved hand popped into view and took the ring of keys, but never showed themselves. Arn came to sit next to Link and pointed to the torch hung on the opposite wall. "Look at that torch and tell me if it looks weird to you."
Link turned his attention to the torch. It was lit. It was a simple lit torch on the wall. "There's nothing weird about it."
"Look at the way the fire flicks around." Arn told him.
Link strained his eyes and looked at it closer. The fire wasn't flickering. It was as though it had slowed to a near-pause. The flame wasn't dancing as it always did. It was motionless, almost inanimate for almost a full twenty seconds before it sped back up to its normal behaviour.
"What the fuck?" Link muttered out.
Arn smiled at him. "We have a friend." He told him.
Then they heard footsteps and clansmen talking down the hall, coming in their direction. Arn returned to the corner he'd been sat in and pretended as though nothing had happened. As though he didn't now have their cell key hidden away on him.
Link's attention was pulled to the other side of their bars where a rather rough looking Yiga member appeared maskless, his arm wrapped in thick white bandages and his face had a large bruise on the left side. He still wore that ridiculous leotard, but he could see his face.
That must've hurt. Link noted the immediate putrid smell of pus and rotting flesh.
Arn exchanged a glance with him, the both of them looking at the arm.
"I don't know what you've taught that bitch of yours, but I promise the both of you a painful end." The Yiga spat at them angrily.
That bitch? Generally that would have angered Link to hear someone slandering Zelda's good name, but given they were swearing now, he was a bit proud. Zelda must've done something to anger this particular guy and he was ready to bet it had something to do with the wound or the bruise on his face.
Link kept quiet, but looked at the bits of exposed skin between the badly wrapped bandages. A spotty rash had developed and was climbing his arm.
He bit his tongue not to laugh. He'd seen this over a dozen times on soldiers and knights who didn't have their wounds cleaned after a rather injurious battle.
"That bitch? Now what did Princess Zelda do to deserve such a moniker?" Link asked, half-interested. Did she scratch him? Stab him? Oh he'd be so proud.
The man snarled from the other side of the cell, his hands gripping the bars until his knuckles turned white. The bruise on his face seemed so much more purple now that the man's face was turning red.
"She probably stabbed him with a teaspoon or something." Arn quipped from his corner. He was hiding his face behind his hand, but Link could see he was trying not to laugh.
Link felt a snicker bubble up inside him. The imagery of Zelda pouncing on someone with a small spoon was too funny to keep to himself and he started giggling quietly to himself.
"I think she actually did." Link commented, adding to the frustration of the Yiga assassin.
The man was gritting his teeth as though he wanted to come into the cell himself to shut them up.
Short fuse, eh? Let's see if you'll come in here yourself.
"Aye, and what'd she do to your face? Hit you with one of her books?" Arn joked and pointed to the large bruise.
When the assassin's grimace only grew stronger, Link could no longer hide his giggling. "Goddess, she did! She got him in the face with her book!" He and Arn howled with laughter.
"She did not."
"Oh yes she did! I'm willing to bet it was one of the thick ones too!" Arn nudged Link. "You think it was one of her Sheikah ones or the biology ones?" Oh the tech ones were thicker and denser than all the other ones. "You're doing a great job, but have you perhaps thought of a career change?" Arn teased the guy more.
For a moment, in the heat of their laughter, Link almost forgot they were being held captive by this sad excuse of an assassin. "How bad at your job do you have to be to be taken out by an unarmed princess and a book?"
"Oh Link, that's mean, look he's sad."
In their laughter, the assassin unlocked the door and whipped it open, pulling a sickle free from his belt and going straight for Arn.
Arn noticed at the last moment right as the man was nearly atop him and barely caught the man's wrists before he could bring down the sickle.
"Stop! We can't kill them—the client wants them alive!" Link heard one of the guards shout from the hallway.
Interesting.
The assassin that had been on Arn whirled around with a smile—no it was more akin to a psychotic grin. "No, we can't kill that one." He motioned to Link by locking eyes with him. "No one said anything about this one."
Arn was still on his back, both hands were holding the assassin's hands and blade away from his neck, but his arms had a visible shake to them.
A client? Who's paying them to keep me here?
The assassin turned his attention back at Arn and tried to push the curved blade closer to his neck, slowly inching closer.
We can't stay here. They'll kill him the moment we're asleep. Link ignored the stinging of pain in his wrists and took a firm grip on his chains and began pulling with all his might. Arn. He just had to get the assassin off of Arn. That's all he had to do.
"Even on low energy, you are still worth half a battalion in strength."
Prove him right. This isn't the worst you've been in. He brought himself to his feet and manoeuvred himself to face the wall, pulled the chains taunt and braced a foot on the wall before pulling and pulling and pulling, using the cracks and the shouts in the hallway as encouragement.
There was a distinct pop in the wall, then, almost as if everything was slowed to a halt, he whirled off the wall and brought the chains and the joining metal plate and swung it across the cell.
Free.
He was finally free.
It swung in an arc around him, catching two Yiga footmen in its path and throwing them to the ground. He used the metal backing for momentum and continued to swing it in arcs as though he was wielding Daruk's Boulder Breaker.
Every swing seemed to amplify the next with Link as its anchor to the ground until he was content with the sea of unconscious corpses around him.
Everything moved as a blur as Link tackled the assassin off Arn by the waist and into the dirt, the weapon clanging against the wall.
His opponent was far bigger than he was—which opponents weren't was the better question—but it seemed moot to Link at the moment. All he saw was red and he let his rage consume him. His chains weighed light like the thinnest threads at that moment as he threw blow after blow into this Yiga.
He'd gone after Zelda. He'd gone after their unborn child. He'd probably gone after his friends and his guards. He'd gone after Arn. He'd probably gone after Aunt Elise and Arn's family. Who else had he threatened to kill? Who else had he drawn a blade to? Had he dared go after Aryll too? How many lives has this man taken since he started? How many did he know personally?
Before he could land another blow, the assassin threw him onto his back. The metal chains still on Link's wrists rested across him as the man got on top of him with the blade, ready to strike at his neck. Now that he was facing the blade without another weapon, he was realising just how long the sickles truly were. The blade's diameter was longer than his forearm, and at less than a full arm's length away from his face, the blade was too close for comfort.
His arms shook just trying to keep the Yiga away. He'd have been fine otherwise, but having only had a few bananas since his imprisonment, it felt as though he might give out earlier than his opponent.
Through his peripherals, Link could see Arn getting up and grabbing a handful of sand.
Link turned his attention back to the assassin and pushed against the man's blades as much as he could, momentarily pushing him further away for the briefest of moments.
Link turned and shielded his face from the cloud of sand that impacted against him and the assassin.
"Fuck!" The assassin shouted, reeling back with the blade. He was sputtering and rubbing his eyes, trying to get it all off.
Link quickly took the opportunity to push him off onto his back. He pulled the chain of one of his wrists taunt with the other and went for his neck, then pinned the assassin's wrist with his foot to the ground.
It all happened so fast. The assassin dropped his weapon, he was clawing at the chain against his throat, his eyes screwed shut, his skin was turning red, then a dark purple until finally, he stopped.
"Link, you can let him go." Arn called out, his voice hoarse and rough. "Link!"
He only let up when Arn finally put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.
The cell door was closed and locked shut, with three Yiga clansmen looking at him warily, even through their masks. None made a move to retrieve their dead comrade's body from the cell.
Arn grabbed the sickle and the demon carver that was still strapped to the assassin's belt and kept the weapon close, but passed the sickle to Link for safe keeping.
None of the clansmen did anything, simply they stared from the safety of the outside of the cell.
Let me just comment that I dislike the formatting differences of ff,net compared to AO3, so enjoy the awkward paragraph breaks.