Approaching The Wanderer's Inn, Maritta, Early Evening of the Second Day after Hero's Day
Zelda smiled when the light from the first few buildings of Maritta came into view, the warm glow of candles through windows beckoning travellers in the night. She'd been in Maritta once before and had quite enjoyed it.
She found herself suddenly wondering whether the Hero would be expecting trouble here as well, like he had for Midah. Judging by the fact that Link had a song that led here, it seemed likely that he was familiar with Maritta, but that was just a guess, she couldn't know for sure. She'd hate to think he'd be needlessly apprehensive about going to such a welcoming place. IF it was indeed as welcoming to everyone as its reputation claimed and her own experience led her to believe.
"Poe, Peace," she said. Then: "Hero? A word please?"
Link turned his eyes on her and stopped Butter. "Of course, your Highness," he said. "Is Poe still nervous?"
The question was legitimate: Poe had lost her mind upon being magically transported by the ocarina's music and the Hero had spent a good long while patiently soothing the mare and his own stallion, whose nerves weren't helped by another horse panicking right next to him.
"No," Zelda replied with a smile. "This might be rather foolish on my part, but I was simply wondering whether YOU were. What do you know about Maritta? Your song hints that you've been here before, but it could be that someone else taught it to you, or that you haven't been here in a long time."
"A very fair concern after our experience in Midah, your Highness. I am glad to say, however, that I have never had cause to be weary of Maritta: I travel here several times a year, and I have always found it to be very hospitable, provided you have at least a few rupees to spend. Its prosperity is entirely dependent on visitors, after all."
"Your experience matches mine then. I'm very glad to hear it," Zelda said. "Let's find an Inn."
They weren't long doing exactly that: the very lights Zelda had spotted were from The Wanderer's Inn, a large establishment fronted by a billboard advertising "Comfort and merriment to soothe your wounds and ease your weariness".
They were met near the door by a stable hand who took their horses and welcomed them absently, then got around to looking at their faces and froze.
"Hero? P...Princess Zelda?!" the stable hand dropped to the ground on his knees. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude, I..."
"You weren't rude at all!" Zelda said, smiling. "Please rise. There's no need for any of that, we just want to stay the night."
The stable hand got back to his feet but did not meet her eyes, instead choosing to stare at Link's boots.
"Thank you, Princess. We'll take good care of your horses. Please have a pleasant stay. Hero... you too?"
"Yes," Link said with a small bow. "Thank you, Mister Paguen."
The stable hand's eyes shot up to the Hero's face, his mouth agape. "You... remember me?"
"Of course," Link said, smiling. "You were working for a baker when we last met, and you were so generous as to give me a delicious cake for assisting your cat in coming down from a tree. I hope you are doing well?"
Zelda caught herself staring and forced her eyes away from the Hero and on the stable hand. She'd read countless reports of the hero's good deeds – she remembered thinking on more than one occasion that he didn't seem to go anywhere without managing to help at least a few people. Seeing it with her own eyes through his defeating a Lynel for Sahesro and now hearing about a deed that hadn't been reported, she felt that if anything, he was even more prone to be helpful and kind than anyone knew.
"I... yes," Paguen stammered, grinning. "Yes! Thank you. I better... horses. Enjoy your stay!" He bowed deeply to them both and clicked his tongue at the horses.
Butter started walking. Poe nickered and planted her hoofs.
"Begging your pardon, Mister Paguen, but Poe is a guard's horse," the Hero said.
"Right," Paguen said. "Poe, onward."
Poe moved, Butter followed, and Zelda looked back at Link.
"He was very glad you remembered him," she said.
"I could hardly forget, your Highness," the Hero said with a small smile. "The poor cat was terrified. I do believe he would have left scars if not for red potion. The cake, however, truly was delicious."
Zelda smiled back.
The Innkeeper was less star struck, but still showed impeccable hospitality and manners – which just meant that Zelda had to tell yet another person they could rise. He showed them to a comfortable room with two beds and its own latrine and bath in a small room within the room, and listed off several options for a late dinner that could either be brought to them or served them in the dining room.
They ended up eating in the room itself, mostly to avoid an overabundance of questions on what they were doing that would have kept them up for longer than they wanted. As planned, they went to bed early. Zelda was asleep the moment her head touched her pillow.
She dreamed of the Master Sword being free of the curse on it, restored to perfection, the blade glowing in Link's hand.
Birds singing by the room's window woke her up. She blinked blearily, looked out and found the sun was just peeking over the horizon. She stretched before sitting up on her bed. The dream floated back to the surface of her mind, making her wonder whether it was prophetic. She dismissed the question: trying to guess whether a dream with no useful information was prophetic or not was just a path to madness.
The Hero was already up and dressed in fresh clothes, the hero's garb put away for now in favor of a much more innocuously colored pale yellow shirt and dark blue pants. He was sitting on his own bed with his back to her.
She idly scratched her jaw and froze at the familiar stubble.
She hadn't thought of that when she'd set out to travel with the Hero. She knew he was aware of her anatomy and his behaviour so far clearly showed she didn't need to worry about his perception of her, but still…
The thought of being seen with a morning scruff was absolutely intolerable. Her hand wandered to her neck: she wasn't wearing a scarf either, of course. She never slept with one. She told herself for the thousandth time that her Adam's apple was not visible anyway, never was, and it worked as well as all the other times she'd attempted to make herself less self conscious about her throat: that is to say, it didn't work at all.
She swallowed. At least the Hero's back was turned right now. She hurriedly turned her back to him.
Link must have heard her move because he spoke then.
"Good morning, your Highness," he said. "I… I do hope having my back to you is not actually rude. I've been taught that ladies did not like being seen before they'd had a chance to compose themselves in the morning, although I am not completely certain Pyr was not being facetious in this case. I felt it would be easier to face you should you request it than to take it back if I didn't grant you a measure of privacy. I'm very sorry if I'm causing offense by assuming a concern that does not exist."
Zelda turned around before she thought better of it, delighted but very much wondering whether the Hero really had been taught this bit of manners by Pyr or whether he'd just guessed that she, in particular, would want this morning privacy.
"That's very considerate of you, Hero," she said. "As a matter of fact, I do prefer to freshen up before being in company. If you'll excuse me, I'll come back shortly."
"Of course, Princess," Link said.
She grabbed her toiletries and some clothing from her bag and walked to their small latrine and bath room. The hero, perfect gentlemen, turned slightly towards the opposite wall to keep her completely at his back.
It was still very early morning by the time Link and Zelda arrived at the dining room for breakfast, and they found the room nearly empty. They were showed to a table by a window.
"I hope you don't mind the rusticity of our dining room, Princess Zelda," the woman who'd showed them to the table said with a curtsy. "We're very honored by your visit. And you too, Hero, of course. My name is Floria, Mistress of this House. I'll be serving you this morning if you'll allow me. Are you still partial to fresh milk, Link?"
Link's eyes widened slightly but he smiled. "I am, thank you, Mistress Floria. I didn't realize I'd been in town often enough for my tastes to be known. I am touched that you endeavored to find out."
Floria blushed and smiled and turned her eyes to Zelda. "I'm terribly sorry to have been unable to unearth as much information on what would please her Highness," she said. "We can offer a variety of teas, wines, ales, fruit juices, milk of course, and our well water is well known to be sweet and fresh."
"Any tea you would recommend would be lovely," Zelda said with a smile. "What can you offer for breakfast this morning?"
"Anything you'd like, Princess. We have omelettes, fish, sausages, breads, rice, fruits, sweets… we can prepare most anything you might like."
"Omelette sounds lovely," Zelda said. "With some fruit, please."
"Good choice, your Highness." She turned to Link. "Hero?"
"If it's not too much bother, might I please have the fish, along with any accompaniment you'd recommend?"
"Sure thing," Floria said. "Won't be long!"
She curtsied to Zelda and hustled off.
"About the temple…" Zelda mused. "You mentioned that you've seen it, but didn't know its name. Do you know any of the history Master Sahesro alluded to?"
"Very little, your Highness. I did know that some believed the Canyon Temple to be older than the Kingdom itself, but I was unaware that the theory was widespread or supported by any actual findings. Somehow, I had also never heard of a connection between the temple and the Master Sword."
"Neither had I, up until yesterday," Zelda said. "I do know some of the findings and theories around it, but the idea that the chamber inside the Goddess might have once housed the Master Sword… it's an extraordinary discovery if it turns out to be true."
"Sorry to interrupt, Princess," came Floria's voice. "Only I'm sure you'd rather your food nice and hot, and besides, you're up so bright and early, and you're together, can't help but assume you can't linger too long."
She put a platter in front of Zelda with an omelette, some bread and an assortment of berries. To Link, she gave a dish of fish on rice, with a vegetable soup on the side.
"Enjoy!" Floria said, and with another curtsy, she was off again.
After a quick meal and a trip back to the room to gather their bags, Link and Zelda were soon reunited with their horses and about to set off again.
Just as they were about to mount, however, a loud cry of "ZELLY! LINK!" suddenly sounded a few steps away and before either of them could react, a Zora shaped blur had tackled Link in a hug.
"Figured you'd bat me away if I went straight for her," the Zora said, immediately releasing Link and turning to Zelda with a grin.
Zelda grinned back and opened her arms. "Fitzi!"
Fitzi didn't waste time to jump away from Link and into Zelda's arms. She was still small for a Zora, being barely old enough to count as an adult among them, so the tackle was manageable.
"Zelly, what are you DOING here? And with Linky? Wait... is something going on?"
Zelda glanced at the hero to see if he was going to offer a reply, but he was scanning the street and the courtyard.
"Oh wait," Fitzi said, her expression turning grim. "The attacks…"
She disentangled herself from Zelda and turned back to the Hero, going so far as taking his hands in hers. "Are you okay? What about your home? It was the enemy, right? Is everyone..." she trailed off.
"Everyone home is fine," Link said quickly. "Thank you. I don't know how the others fared." He paused, swallowed, closed his eyes, then shook his head as if to chase the thought of the attacks away and locked eyes with Fitzi again. "We do think it was the enemy, yes. Fitzi, it's always nice to see you, but where is your escort? You're not travelling alone, are you?"
Fitzi rolled her eyes at him.
"You're just as bad as the Queen," she said. "I'm a healer! I can heal myself too! And I'm not that bad of a fighter either."
The Hero bit his lower lip. "There's been a lot of monster attacks," he said. "You shouldn't be travelling alone right now."
Fitzi laughed. "There's always some monsters around, silly. Most of them don't swim."
"Lizalfos do," the Hero insisted, "and it doesn't matter because there's no river anywhere near here for you to swim in. I'm serious, Fitzi! You can't be travelling alone!"
Fitzi rolled her eyes. "Stop being a Dad. If you must know, here comes my escort now."
She pointed at the back door to the Inn: three Zora guards had just come out into the yard. They froze when they saw Link and quickly drew their weapons.
Link bowed to them. "Loyal protectors to the healer Fitzi, it is an honor to meet you. You have my word that I am a friend. My name is Link, also known to some as The Hero. Might I please introduce Her Royal Highness -" he extended an arm towards Zelda – "Daughter of the Hylian King, Princess Zelda?"
Fitzi snorted and elbowed Zelda. "Doesn't he sound funny when he goes into formal mode?"
The Zora guards bowed to Zelda and to Link. She nodded at them absently, fighting mental whiplash: Fitzi was correct in pointing out that Link sounded different when he was being formal: his voice, cadence and even his stance and expression had changed completely between talking to their common friend and talking to the strangers that were Fitzi's guards.
And the worst part was that his manners were even more formal whenever he talked to her – she hadn't even seen this casual side of him until now. Was she making him uncomfortable? If she was, what could she do to make him more at ease?
"I've been an official adult for over a year, but you'd think I'm still some baby, with my three babysitters…" Fitzi was grumbling.
"You ARE a baby. Barely hatched," Link said with a wicked smile.
"I'm older than you," Fitzi replied, poking out her tongue at him. "Zelly, make him stop being a Dad!" she added, turning to the Princess.
Zelda snorted. "No. Call it payback for never telling me you knew the Hero."
"Didn't I? Uh. It's not that I was hiding it... guess it never came up."
"The guards have nothing to do with your age," Link said. "You know that, right? The roads are dangerous right now. I'm really glad you do have an escort."
Fitzi huffed. "Well at least SOMEONE is. The Queen sent a bird yesterday, I've been waiting here since then to meet up with them," she said, pointing at the guards who stood quietly at attention. "Total waste of time! I have patients waiting for me in Ludfos!" She took a long, slow breath. "But hey, at least I got to see you two."
She smiled as she said that last, but immediately acquired a serious expression again. She turned slightly towards Zelda and leaned down towards her. "Don't know if you've had a chance to hear of it yet, but watch out with this one," she said, pointing at Link. Despite her body language, she was not talking quietly at all. "The hero of heartbreaks, they call him. Rejects EVERYONE."
Zelda felt heat rise to her face and a quick look confirmed the Hero was also looking completely flustered. Fitzi burst out laughing. "Now that you're properly warned, I better get going. Patients waiting and all. Besides, Linky's probably about to start tapping his toes, he hasn't moved in at least fifty seconds and that's about his limit."
She blew them both a kiss and skipped away back inside the Inn, her guards following.
Zelda cleared her throat. Perhaps this could be a chance to lighten things up with humor?
"I admit that's one title I hadn't heard before for you, Hero. Shall I add it to the official list? Farore's Favorite Child, Master of the Sword that Seals the Darkness, Hero Chosen by the Goddess, Reborn Once More to Save Us, and Hero of Heartbreaks?" She smirked.
The Hero smiled and even let out a small chuckle. "If I may offer an opinion, your Highness, perhaps we can abstain? I rather feel that the current list is already an exercise in memorization. I must admit, however, that if we were to add to it, I would have less objections to Hero of Heartbreaks than to Hylia's Beloved Consort."
Zelda chuckled. "I think we'll wait and see if we come across an even better one before we decide," she said. "For now, let's get going. Mysteries await, and hopefully some answers."
Link nodded and mounted Butter, the motion as smooth as ever. Zelda wondered how many of those hearts he'd supposedly broken had first been impressed with his skills, as opposed to his kindness or his looks. She mounted Poe with her jaw clenched: it was idle wonderings, especially considering that none of it was having an effect on her beyond making her grateful the Hero they all depended on was so… well, dependable.
They'd been riding for about an hour and Link was fighting the ever growing urge to dismount, put on the Pegasus boots, grab the Princess and just dash to the temple. It was sheer madness: he couldn't even figure out how the Hero of Legends had ever had a regular use for the boots, they were impossible to control unless you wanted to go in a perfectly straight line. Not to mention that he could hardly just GRAB her Highness.
He knew there was no rational reason for his impatience, either: they'd left early, just as they had planned, and they were making good time.
Princess Zelda had put the time to good use, too, by telling him everything she knew about their destination. As it turned out, the Royal Family had quite the interest in the place. None of it was a secret, but it seemed that theories and unanswered questions about an old inaccessible ruined temple with no actual known history just didn't exactly spread all that much.
It mostly summed up to what Sahesro had told them: the temple was impossibly old, presumably tens of thousands of years old, predating the very kingdom by long enough that it was believed to predate the curse itself. The Princess had veered off at one point on how the Temple compared to other older sites, elaborating that many places had layers: there was a Castle Town under the current Castle Town that predated the one that had been on the Great Plateau and been recreated there; there were at least two distinct castles and towns buried under the plateau itself, one much older than the other; fossils showed giant trees surrounded by large forests in two distinct locations other than the current Lost Wood's, hinting that various generations of the Great Deku Tree did not always take roots in the same area; the list went on. Meanwhile, the Forgotten Temple had no under layers at all, the one fixed point on the ever-changing landscape of Hyrule. It was fascinating, despite the near absence of new information on the temple itself.
Link found himself suspended on her every word.
Just the same, his eyes scanned the horizon endlessly and saw none of the monsters attacking people, and his thoughts kept circling back to the Master Sword dying on his hip, and he wanted nothing more than to get to the old temple already. They could see the site ahead and below when the path came close to the canyon: more of the roof had been unearthed since the last time Link had been in the area, revealing that archeological work was ongoing. But although they weren't physically very far from the temple, the only way to get to it on foot was quite a bit further off, around the end of the canyon, in Tabantha. It would take the better part of the day to get to the path, follow it to the floor of Tanagar Canyon, and to then use the collection of ladders and stairs that led to the actual entrance to the temple.
"Hero, do you see that?" the Princess suddenly asked.
Link glanced at her: she was pointing straight ahead of them. He looked and his eyes widened slightly: he'd been so focused on scanning everything else that he'd pretty much lost sight of the road itself and he hadn't noticed the figures ahead of them.
"I think they're coming this way," the Princess continued. "Can you tell yet whether it's people or monsters?"
Link squinted at the figures: he could just make out that there were three individuals, and that all three were definitely red at the top. "I believe it's three gerudos, your Highness," he said.
It became obvious a mere minute later that he was right, as the small group of gerudo merchants got closer.
The gerudos stepped to the side and waved as they got within a few steps of Link and Zelda. It was impossibly rude not to return a greeting offered on the road, and not tempting anyway: long trips were monotonous, and chance meetings were welcomed distractions. The Hero and the Princess stopped and dismounted.
One of the gerudo looked them up and down and her eyebrows shot up.
"Princess Zelda?" she said. "Sun above! That is unexpected. And seeing your escort is only one single Voe, I have to assume your companion is none other than The Hero." She curtsied to them both. "The Gerudo honor the destinies you have both embraced and will stand with you even against our former King and Oppressor, if necessary," she recited. "I'm Yajin, a jeweller. These are my assistants Adrah and Nelin."
Adrah curtsied.
Nelin scoffed. "Curtseying to voes, boss? I'll excuse the Hero, he's reputed to be a worthy fighter, but the delusional Hylian prince? Really?"
Zelda's breath hitched and she felt blood going straight to her head, but she didn't have time to actually react. She heard a sword being unsheathed and suddenly, the Hero was between her and the gerudos, a thin, wickedly sharp looking sword pointed straight at Nelin.
"Apologize immediately," Link demanded. "I will not allow you to insult my Princess so."
Nelin snorted. "Like you EVER fight people?" she said.
"I will NOT allow you to insult my Princess so," Link repeated more firmly. He changed his stance, going from having his sword pointed at the Gerudo to affecting an actual fighting stance.
Zelda felt a shiver go down her spine. Nelin was right, Link never fought people. And after seeing him dispatch a particularly powerful lynel in less than a minute, Zelda felt she understood why better than ever. So then, what was he doing now? Bluffing? Or going against his own principles?
The offending Gerudo swallowed but planted her heels. It didn't do her any good when Yajin and Adrah both tackled her, dragging her to the ground. They ground her face in the dirt and raised their own to Zelda.
"Our most sincere apologies for allowing our stupid sister to run her stupid mouth, Princess Zelda," Yajin said. "She will be dealt with. As I trust you know, the Gerudo at large have nothing but respect for the Princess of Destiny."
"Thank you, Hero, for not slicing her down on the spot," the other assistant said. "She certainly deserved it."
Zelda noticed she was hissing breath through a clenched jaw when the tension started to lessen. "Thank you for your consideration," she said. "If you'll excuse us, we have matters to attend."
She turned back to Poe and mounted. The Hero followed suit and after a strained exchange of wishes for a safe journey with the two gerudo vais who did not currently have their face into the ground, they were on their way again.
Zelda waited a few minutes to allow some distance between the gerudo merchants and themselves before she turned to the Hero.
"Would you truly have fought her?" she asked. "I wouldn't have expected you to even consider it."
The Hero's eyes lowered. "I was hoping to intimidate her into choosing not to fight me," he admitted. "I was relieved to see the other two make that decision for her."
"You were bluffing?"
"Bluffing is a fair word for it, your Highness. If her sisters hadn't stopped her, I would have disarmed her and prayed for that to be enough. I was very relieved it didn't come to that."
Zelda nodded. "Thank you. I know that one individual's opinion should hardly matter, but..." she sighed. "I'm not sure whether my reputation extends very far beyond the palace walls, so perhaps it is more than time I offer... not a warning, not for you, but well..." she took a deep breath. "Truth be told, if you hadn't interceded on my behalf, I'm not sure how much control I would have been able to maintain. I... let's just say that my brothers Prince Hylrick and Prince Naydri often tease me on my temper."
The hero titled his head. "If I may be truthful, your Highness?"
She blinked at him. "Always."
"Her insults were doubly unfair. She knew that you must always try and remain courteous not only to your subjects but to those like herself outside of your jurisdiction as well, and she knew that remaining calm and detached, at least outwardly, is part of your duties. Whatever her opinion was of your ability to live up to that ideal, she was not only insulting you but putting you in an impossible situation, diplomatically speaking."
"Perhaps," Zelda allowed. She sighed before meeting his eyes. "Refusing to see me as a woman is no more common among the Gerudos than among any other race, it simply takes a different form. Hylians have to contend with my position and so often limit themselves, in my presence anyway, to calling me "Your Highness" or "The Highness" exclusively, and to avoid saying any pronoun at all. But Yajin WAS right about most of the Gerudos: I'm welcomed in the Closed City and in the Palace, and I consider Cerafis and Minari friends."
The Hero's eyes had widened. He swallowed. "I've been calling you 'Your Highness' most if not all of the time," he said, not meeting her eyes. "I'm sincerely sorry. I had no idea the phrase was often used maliciously. Do you prefer Princess Zelda, or Her Highness?"
"I never once thought you were using the phrase to avoid calling me Princess," Zelda said gently, "and it never offended me coming from you. It's actually the way most people default to calling me, I don't assume intent to label me a man every time. It's only when it is paired with avoiding pronouns and my name that I notice a pattern." She paused and took a deep breath. This was another chance to impress upon Link that he did not owe her nearly as much deference as he was showing. "But if you really do wish to know my preference... for you in particular, I would very much like for you to simply use my name."
Link nodded. "Understood, Princess Zelda. I'm relieved you never took offense before, but..."
"You misunderstand," Zelda cut him off. "JUST my name. We are equals in the eyes of the Goddess. There is no need to call me Princess, or Highness. Just 'Zelda' would be perfect, especially if you'll allow me to call you Link in return."
Link's eyes had widened a bit more with every word. He audibly swallowed and one of his hands went to the back of his neck. "I... I would be delighted for you to call me Link, Princess Zelda," he stammered, "but I'm not sure I can make myself call you by your name alone. I would feel as though I am being incredibly disrespectful."
Zelda nodded: the answer was not surprising. "In that case," she said, "may I ask that you keep the request in mind, so that if you ever do feel comfortable doing so, you'll remember that you have my blessing? And although it will for now be one sided, do I truly have your permission to call you by your name?"
Link swallowed hard again. "Of course, Princess. Thank you for your understanding."
He started scanning the horizon again, trying to take his mind off the whole episode. Although the altercation with the Gerudo merchants wouldn't have happened had he been by himself, the fact that the Princess's company was slowing him down again was not at all what bothered him: she had done absolutely nothing to make the encounter longer, HE had. And he'd done so by nearly coming to blow with Nelin.
He was horrified at the thought. He wouldn't have hurt her, but he'd been so angry that the thought of scaring her or embarrassing her by overpowering her, despite the absence of any actual danger to anyone, had been tempting rather than repulsive. This wasn't like him. What had gotten into him? But then, the alternative would have been to not stand up for the Princess, and that wasn't acceptable either. But his skills were meant to help people, not police them or fight them. But then, he HAD helped someone.
He clenched his jaw and looked at the landscape harder. It was no good dwelling on the incident, not when he still needed to save the Master Sword and find and defeat the Enemy, as well as to try and cull the monster outbreak that was endangering everyone. He needed to focus.
Afternoon of the same day, Lower Tabantha, near Rayne Highlands
"Whoa," said Remiss.
"You do have a way with words," Shade teased. She would have been hard pressed to make a more intelligent comment herself: the sight before them was in fact 'whoa' worthy.
The archery contest that Remiss hoped would be attended by his non-existent replacement Hero seemed to be attended by half of Hyrule. It had just become visible, the uneven terrain and various hillsides and stone pillars blocking the view until this moment.
They had been able to hear it since crossing over into Tabantha, thanks to the sound bouncing off the rocky slopes that surrounded them, but Shade had assumed, and she assumed Remiss had as well, that the gathering was smaller and closer.
It was not that close, still at least one hour away for the main gathering that they assumed was the actual site of the contest, but it was massive. They reached the first of the merchant wagons and campsites that usually surrounded such events in half that time.
Even this far from the main event, there was a bit of a crowd: not enough to make movement difficult, but the merchant wagon, a travelling restaurant as it turned out, was surrounded by a couple of dozen people, among which a few zoras and sea folks. Shade felt it was a safe bet that there were Gorons around too, just not by a restaurant that only offered food they were incapable of digesting.
Bits of various conversations could be heard, many of which about the attacks on the Sea Folks settlements, and some on the rumors concerning the Master Sword and the Hero. Remiss was downright leaning his head towards the talks about the Sword and the Hero, so Shade left him to it and focused on the ones concerning the attacks.
She didn't like what she heard. Looking for a reliable source of information, she scanned the crowd for the familiar purple of the Royal newsletter. She soon spotted it at someone's feet and stopped her horse next to person in question, a Zora woman gulping down water from a canteen.
"Excuse me, Mistress Zora?" Shade said. "That newsletter at your feet, would you please be so kind as to pass it to me?"
The Zora stared at her, then at the ground where Shade was pointing. She picked up the newsletter and held it up. "Tis?" she asked. "Wannte?"
Shade nodded, silently berating herself. Zoras had their own language, there had been no reason to assume this one would understand her. Shade was just too used to the Zoras envoys who visited the palace and spoke perfect Hylian. She took the offered newsletter and smiled. "Yes. Thank you."
The Zora smiled back, then turned back to her companions.
Shade quickly scanned the newsletter for the number she'd heard, found it, and cursed.
Remiss snorted. "You do have a way with words," he mocked. He then turned her way, saw the newsletter in her hands, and frowned. "What is it?" he asked, all traces of teasing gone.
"Follow me," she replied through gritted teeth. She turned her horse around and spurred the mare into a trot. She wasn't long finding what she'd been looking for: a small path branching off from the main road. It was going uphill, a bit steeply but nothing the horses couldn't handle.
She stopped and dismounted when the noise from the crowd had dimmed enough for her liking, and turned around. Remiss was right behind her. He stopped too, dismounted, and waited.
"One hundred and two," Shade said. She felt like throwing the newsletter at the Colonel's face. A hundred and two casualties… what good had the guards been?
Remiss tilted his head, clearly confused. Shade guessed that he didn't know what she was talking about. He'd been so focused on the rumors about the Hero that he hadn't even heard the people who were talking about the attacks. She glared at him and felt her upper lip curl. She knew she was being unfair, but she absolutely couldn't help it right now.
The Colonel's eyes suddenly widened. "People were talking about the attacks… Is that the number of casualties?"
Remiss was having a hard time getting his footing, he'd never heard of a Sheikah upset enough to actually show it, and the number she'd just thrown at him wasn't helping. He was having to resist adding "that's it?" to his question.
"Yes," she hissed. "Why were there so many?" she asked furiously, clenching her fists. "Where were the guards? How long did it take YOU to get to Given? How long would it have taken if it was a Hylian town?"
"We made record time," Remiss said, scowling. "We moved as soon as we heard, half my troops had their armor put right on top of whatever they slept in and we just slathered balm on our horses the whole way. I expect it's what every unit closest to the settlements did. We are Royal Guards, we serve the King's subjects. That includes the Sea Folks!"
Shade deflated. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just..." she trailed off.
"To be honest…" Remiss said carefully, "that number? It's... it's a miracle. There were a LOT of monsters, Shade. Don't get me wrong, it's horrible. One victim is horrible, always is, every time. But... I honestly expected a much, much higher tally. I did the math in my head, figured out how long each unit would take to get to the settlements, how spread out they were, whether there were easy escape routes or natural hiding spots... I expected at LEAST a thousand dead."
Shade tilted her head, then looked back at the newsletter. She frowned.
"You told the King there had been hundreds of monsters in Given," she said.
Remiss nodded. "Close to three hundred is what I figure. Definitely more than two hundred."
"Some guards reported a higher number in the communities they were sent to," Shade read, her brow furrowing further. "Those higher numbers cannot be confirmed at this time and may have been a misperception."
Remiss frowned in confusion. "Err... What?" he asked.
"Reports are that dozens of monsters, possibly as much as sixty in Beginning, attacked each settlement," Shade read. "Versus your two to three hundred," she added.
Remiss's frown deepened. "That's not right," he said. "I could be off, sure, but not by that much. It was more than two hundred or at least very close to it, I'm sure of it. Listen, it SCARED me. That all of those monsters were just dispatched in about an hour, and there were a bunch of hinox and lynel remnants, and we were hearing that it was basically the work of just one person… at the time I thought at least my fear was irrational. But once I knew the one who did it all isn't actually the real hero..."
"That's not all," Shade said. "The article also mentions that the guards who fought in the attacks all reported a lynel or a hinox among the monsters, depending on the location."
"As in ONE? One lynel, OR one hinox?"
"Yes. Are you catching on yet?"
"That the article is wrong?"
Shade showed him the newsletter, opened at a spread that took a full two pages and which mostly consisted of small compact text. "This is the Royal Newsletter, Colonel. Don't be insulting. They are always accurate. Besides, they interviewed several people. The numbers are mentioned a dozen times by as many different guards and civilians."
"But that would mean that every other settlement was attacked by WAY less monsters than the Hero's home," Remiss said.
"You expected ten times as many victims," Shade reminded him.
Remiss swallowed. He suddenly understood where Shade was going with this, and Hylia help them, she was right.
"Given was sent a lot more monsters than the others, and more very dangerous ones," he said shakily. "Nayru! The Enemy knew Link was there. They knew where Link was and they attacked all the others anyway."
Shade nodded grimly. "That's bad for two reasons. You see it?"
Remiss nodded. "One, they knew where Link was and two, they're killing for no strategic reason. It wasn't even to hide that they know, the difference in the attack forces made it too obvious," he said. "They have an informant at the castle. But who? Hardly anyone knows where Link lives!"
"I didn't even know until your interview with the King," Shade said, putting an extra emphasis on the 'I'. "All the times I've been the one on duty when the King was talking to other people, or just shadowing one of the majesties or highnesses, and I didn't even know!"
"And then there's the fact they killed for nothing," Remiss said with a sigh. "I thought I was sure of it already, but this makes it more real than anything else so far... this IS a cursed age, we're looking at sheer evil." He let out a shuddering sigh. "And the Hero is unfound, and his sword is dying in another's hand..."
"I sympathize for the added stress that delusion is causing you," Shade said, "but you'll be glad to hear that my opinion on your quest is unchanged: finding more heroic individuals would be useful either way."
"Will you give up on your own quest, then?" Remiss asked. "Hyrule Watch doesn't believe Link is the Hero, but the Enemy obviously does. They're plainly not one and the same."
"Hyrule Watch wants its READERS to believe Link isn't the Hero," Shade said. "We don't know whether they actually feel that way themselves or not. I'm definitely not giving up, I still think they could be connected to the Enemy."
Remiss nodded resignedly. "The contest still seems like a good place to start. Shall we?"
Shade nodded and jumped back on her horse. "Lead on, Colonel."