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Ch. 69: Purification Rituals
Celessa Varney of Nessuary in Holodrum, warrior, adventurer, woman, hurt. She was pretty sure her left arm, her good shield-arm, was broken in at least three places. One of her ribs was at least bruised, too, given how hard it was to breathe. She was cut and bleeding in four different places she could see at a glance, and more than a dozen smaller scrapes that still added to her level of pain. And the bruises… well, given how much her left side hurt, she was glad that particular bruise had been caused by her arm hitting her rather than the Hinox itself.
Her trusty shield, her Wall, Bruce, was broken and shattered beyond repair, too, and that stung worse than most of the physical wounds. He'd been with her from the beginning, before she even left Nessuary for the port city of Carfax, which had brought her north. He'd been her uncle's, named for his best friend, who had died at Castle Town.
One punch. That Hinox had punched her one time, and done all that damage even through her shield.
Losing the shield was, in some ways, a benefit because Celessa was certain that Zelda would let her keep the Sheikah-made barrier she now wore loosely strapped over the swollen limb. And, from a practical standpoint, it was just better. Better crafted, lighter, even a bit larger. It could probably take a few Hinox punches without flinching, unlike her.
But Bruce was her friend, her stalwart companion. Losing it- losing him- still hurt. Even if it was just a thing, in the end. The link to her past, to her family who had once lived in Hyrule, was a pain Celessa wasn't sure she would ever heal from. A void that might never close.
All hope wasn't lost, however.
She might find that connection again, or build it anew. Celessa wasn't sure how, of course. She was no great philosophine or wise woman to know the secrets of the universe, of the future. She was simple in many ways, born the daughter of farmers and soldiers, raised plowing fields and swinging blades. But she knew her chance at connection involved the woman who had yelped childishly as she fell a good eight feet onto probably already-injured legs.
"You alright over there, Princess?"
The groan she got back in response was pained too, and sent a stab of worry through her, but the words the blonde woman sent back was a little more reassuring, "I'll live… I think. You?"
Celessa chuckled, though she cut the sound off quickly as it made her ribs twinge painfully, "Battered, bruised, bloody, but still standing. Sort of. That… that was insane."
"I can't… I can't believe we're alive," Zelda agreed, huffing. It was hard to make her out through the swelling over the eye Bruce had impacted, and the dust still settling that the cyclopean giant had stirred up, but the warrior had to admit to herself that just seeing the golden-haired princess alive was a reassuring thing, too, and brought a wane, shaky smile to her face.
"I've seen squads take down a Hinox, sure… they're a little bit stronger than one of the Stone Talus giants, but not quite as durable. The eye's an obvious weak spot too, of course, but still… two of us, and we took it down. It's a miracle, is what it is."
"Mayhaps," Zelda agreed, sounding tired. She stepped closer, clearly favoring one leg if not quite limping, using her Sheikah-crafted, man-catcher style spear as an impromptu crutch, and bent to retrieve her bow on the way. "We… well, I have to admit, the Goddess Hylia has given me a little more to work with than you might think, but still. It's good to know the things you've said about your skill are true."
"You as well," Celessa laughed, more jovially this time, "I mean, I believed you. I caught the tail end of the battle in Hateno, and seeing what you did to those Pebblits in the Ovli Quarry… well, I had a suspicion you weren't lying. But this, I mean… a Hinox. Not just everyone, or even every squad, can take one down. If it's just regular troops of Holodrum, it might take a whole Platoon… or it might wipe them out, instead!"
"Then we've proven ourselves to each other," Zelda nodded wearily, "but we shouldn't tarry. That thing's roaring and shouting was sure to attract the attention of the Lynel."
"P'raps not," Celessa shook her head while she took a moment to adjust the shield on her arm for a little more comfort through the swelling around where it was broken. It was hardly good as a makeshift splint, but it was, at least, serviceable. "The two don't really get along. Even seeing them this close together's unusual. Both top predators in their own right, you know?"
"Ah, I see," Zelda nodded, holstering her spear and straightening her Fairy-enchanted clothing a bit, "Still… better not to waste time. Let's gather up what it left behind, check its lair perhaps, and see to our wounds. I've a couple poultices and elixirs we can use to get us both patched up."
"That sounds amazing," Celessa sighed, "I'm not much of a healer myself. I can patch up basic wounds, but that's about it. Wasn't looking forward to trying to set my arm… it's broken in a few places."
"Oh," Zelda cried, dropping her own replacement shield where she'd been fiddling with its strap and hurrying toward her, "you should've said- I'm not sure it's a good idea to give you a healing elixir without setting it, though. It might make it grow back incorrectly, and that's… well, I imagine it's not a good idea."
She winced, "Yeah, I suppose, now that you mention it, some of the older Holodrum Marines and soldiers I've spoken to talk about wounds like that. Damn… do you happen to know how?"
"Not- not really," Zelda murmured, sounding unsure of herself, which seemed odd to Celessa. Normally, she exuded confidence, and had ever since their first meeting when she'd convinced the princess she was no Yiga, or Calamity sympathizer. "I… I think I know the theory, but I've never actually…"
She sighed then, "Well, I've had to do it before, so I know how, but it's not easy. Harder alone. We'll- we'll need to take the shield off, I suppose, then get me laying on my back. Brace a couple of large stones around it, and kind of just… pull and twist, and then let go, and hope it sets back into place properly."
Of course, it wasn't that simple. Celessa was used to pain, had broken bones several times before, been stabbed, sliced with sword and axe, clubbed in the brainpan, and all number of other bits of damage one might accumulate in a lifetime of hard work and half a year and more of regular combat against the monsters that infested Hyrule of late.
They had to pull, tighten, rearrange, and tighten her arm six times before she and Zelda both agreed that her arm was as set as it was going to be. The first had gone off without a hitch, though of course it had hurt. The second had misaligned as the princess reset it, and the third attempt had pulled the first out of place. Once all was said and done, though, the golden-haired woman displayed incredible skill in wrapping her arm firmly but not tightly, poultices included where they could be around the half-splint that would then be applied with her shield (and an admonition to avoid taking any blows there if she could for at least a few days), along with the strangely cherry-flavored red potion the woman fed her last.
It was that which Celessa had thought was another miracle, for within moments her pain was a fading memory, barely more than the ache of old injury. The minor scratches and lacerations sealed and began to close almost immediately, though the swelling and bruising around her arm remained, it became muted and dull. "Amazing…"
"I- It's nothing special," Zelda demurred, rather cutely, Celessa thought. "Anyone could make these with the right ingredients."
"If you say so," Celessa muttered, "but I'd bet there's less than a dozen people in all of Hyrule that can make elixirs of that quality. I've certainly never had one work so fast or well… and it even tastes pretty good, unlike most of them."
For some reason she couldn't quite pin down, the beautiful princess turned pink. "W- Well, at any rate, your arm should be movable in a few days, but don't put any strain on it- don't lift anything heavier than your shield, and don't grip at all aside from that- for a week. After that, you should be more or less healed. If you do end up straining it, it could take weeks or months, or maybe even never heal quite right, and I know you don't want that."
Celessa shuddered, feeling cowed in the same way she would be by her Nana when being scolded. "No, I'll- I'll be careful. I need that arm."
"Good. Now, come on, let's gather up our things and see what we've earned," Zelda said, now beaming, and stood to offer her hand to help Celessa up too. At least she'd offered the right one, her sword-arm was much less painful.
It turned out, they hadn't gotten much. Even inside the small overhang that had served as a roof for the gargantuan beast, most of what was there was considered offal by both women. Rotten fish long gone bad, a smashed frog with one good leg (also rotten, however) that held it to a string, and a very great amount of, well, shit. The Hinox had been so foul as to defecate in the same stream that it probably fished from, but at least it was below the relatively clean water in the pool itself.
They didn't claim nothing, though. A knight's broadsword was added to Celessa's belt, since her trusty soldier's blade was showing significant wear and tear from the Hinox. It had taken significant cleaning to show its value, but Celessa was happy to have the backup weapon for when her older sword finally wore itself to the bone… it was, after all, far better made and quite sharp. Zelda had come out of the battle with a new soldier's bow, too, and a brace of unbroken arrows, but the majority of the rest of the Hinox's treasure was beyond worthless. Of more value overall were the gemstones sitting there, just on the surface of the cliff surrounding the waterfall that fed the pond. After adding a few handfuls to her own collection with an even cut to the princess, Celessa felt much better about it all.
"Good thing we didn't just fight the thing for a reward," Zelda chuckled as she finished a final scan with a hand on her hips at a jaunty angle, "because while we've certainly profited as far as weapons go, it wasn't much, and definitely not worth the pain and injury."
"No," Celessa found herself agreeing, "but at least there's one less gigantic beastie threatening the rare traveler up here. At least until the next Blood Moon."
"Indeed," Zelda agreed, "one last thing to do then," the added with a glance at the sun high in the sky, "investigate that altar."
"Right. Lead on then, I suppose. Maybe keep an eye out for giant footprints, and a nose for the stench." Thankfully, her joke, poor though it was, at least made the princess laugh. Zelda had a very pretty smile, she decided, and resolved to see it more often.
Zelda had to force her gaze away from the crystal-clear water, which looked far to inviting for her filth-covered clothing and body to examine the simple stone structure. It was crudely made, to her eye, but remarkably straight and linear all the same. The surface of the stones was nearly smooth, unpocked by rain or wind, each angle pristine. Only the stones and crevices between them showed that the altar had likely been constructed from rough stones from a slide rather than any river or quarry-work. The flagstones, mostly covered by grass now, were equally smooth on the surface, but with large gaps and uneven spaces between from which the greenery grew.
The whole thing, of course, was covered with wind-blown pine needles, dry and cracked, from the heights, and greener leaves from those lower down the slopes of the mountain to the west, and the far larger one to the east. She brushed it off with a hand, reverently, and stared.
There was a symbol, a single symbol, carved delicately into the largest stone at the center of the rectangular shape, which stood at the height of her waist, and a little longer than she was tall, perhaps two of her deep. She could not, at first, make head nor tails of where she had seen it before. Three crescents, backs to each other with the tips out, and a circle held in each.
It niggled, it tore… and as she stared, Zelda realized they were no mere lines carved into the stone. They were letters. Runes, words… a spell. A spell she whispered, spoke aloud though she did not know the language, only knew that it was far older than Hylian, or ancient Sheikah, or any other language she had ever heard of even in the oldest texts.
"Ni maru-na alohai-ne-maru, alansi ako male maru nagai. Et ven aru sholo si'et nadon. Whakka elensi maru, alohai-ne-nanaan. Hei-et maru gannansi-wo, alash alak maru."
She did not know what they meant. What she should do at this mysterious altar. The Princess of Hyrule knew nothing at all, in that moment, of the present. Instead, she dwelt in the past.
Not far, a mere century or so.
Because once, she had known that language's name. Had not been able to speak it, truly, but could read it haltingly, unsurely. An older her still, from times past before she was even a glimmer of hope in her great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother's many hundreds of times removed's eye, Zelda had spoken the language as if born to it, for she had been.
Outside Zelda's body, outside her mind and her soul, Celessa of Holodrum saw her Princess, the one she was thinking seriously about swearing an oath of loyalty and servitude to, saw Zelda go stiff, her eyes shining with white-golden light, and then turn to walk around the altar.
"P- Princess? What are you… that's where the Lynel is! You can't- don't get too close!"
All Celessa could do was follow.
All the Princess could do was remember.
"I don't understand," Link, her Champion, her Appointed Knight, her Annointed Knight, now, her love, her lover despite all her father's admonitions otherwise, said.
"It's quite simple, really," Zelda told him. "You need to service me. And I need to service you. Preferably, at the same time… as we're on a bit of a time limit. I don't know how long it'll be before Revali goes for a scouting flight, or Daruk simply gets antsy and comes after us."
"But I don't… isn't this… sacred ground?" the bearer of the Sword that Seals the Darkness asked, "Isn't that… you know, wrong?"
She grinned and stepped toward him, and rested a hand on his muscled chest, "My dear man… it's right. Think of it… this altar implies a connection between the people of Hyrule and its rulers, my family line. Those who serve… and those who serve. We serve Hyrule by providing protection and leadership, governance, and the people of Hyrule serve us by providing protection too, donations of their time and effort in the form of taxes, and so on. And we both, of course, provided loyalty to the other. This is simply another way to do so. A more intimate way, yes, but it's not like we haven't done this before. If you recall, when we were last in Eldin, Daruk almost walked in on us?"
"N- No, I remember," Link coughed, turning red. It was strange, to her, how sometimes he was so shy and unsure of himself, of his place beside her, and yet other times he was so very confident. Not just on the battlefield, but off it, too. Even in her bed, though he'd never so much as touched the actual piece of furniture, for they dared not share intimate moments in the Castle.
Her father's eyes, after all, were everywhere. Only in the wilds were they safe to do… well, that. This. "Link, please. Trust me. I read the Hygardi script accurately. We're not necessarily to make love, but to service each other in the closest way we can. The word used has many meanings, but for us? Two people who love each other? Well, there's not much more we can do. Please."
"Sure of yourself," he chuckled, trying to deflect, "though of course you're right, as always. Alright… but if we're going to do it, we should find cover."
"We can't," Zelda told him with a shrug, turning to extend one arm to the altar behind her, "we must do it on the altar itself, as many royal family members have done before."
This time, his blush was very deep. "You mean-"
"Yes," she teased, "my grandmother, possibly even my own mother performed the same or similar ritual, maybe even with my father. Why? Does that embarrass you, Knight of Hyrule? I'd always thought you were the more worldly between us. Especially since you were the one who was just watching me bathe."
"I- It's not that," he lied, "I just…"
Zelda relented, and took his hand in hers, mindful as always how much more calloused his fingers were, and tugged him forward, "Come on, no more stalling. I want you to climb over me, Link, and put your lovely mouth to work. And in return, I'll do the same for you. Just don't be too rough, alright? I don't think there's room to do it side by side, this time. Or maybe there is… we should check."
"I've never been too rough before, have I?" he asked worriedly, "I mean, I love it when you do that, but if it hurts or chokes you, I-"
"Nonsense," Zelda told him, rising a tiny bit to kiss him gently. When had he grown even a little taller than her? She'd been taller for more than a year, since they had first met! "I love it when you're rough there, too. But for now, we have to service, not take. That's why you need to be gentle, silly man. Now come on, we've wasted too much time as it is. The last thing I want is for one of the others to get curious about what's taking so long… even if they aren't supposed to pass the gate, you never know. Revali's eyes are keen."
Link nodded, and as his princess disrobed, he freed himself not quite as fully. She looked down at his shaft, which was half-hard at best, and took it in her soft, scholar's hands as she sat on the edge of the smooth-cut stones, turned, and lay down. "Link… hurry. I want this."
"Strangest ritual ever," he chuckled again, pretending to be sad about it, though the stiffening member in her hand told the princess he was anything but. "Well, happy birthday, I suppose."
"My birthday's not for two more days," she laughed, "we've got to climb the mountain before that, if we can. There's no telling when the Calamity will strike. Now, as I said, we've no time to waste. Lick me, my Champi-aaahhhn!"
Celessa stared as the Princess disrobed, and her golden shining eyes turned toward her, "Join me, my knight," she whispered, and stepped into the clear, clean water.
It wasn't that the warrior-woman was compelled, exactly, but she could suddenly think of nothing else she would rather be doing than getting clean. Physically clean, bathing in the crystalline water with the fish and frogs, among the gently-flowing reeds and mosses.
So she did. Worry that the taint of the Hinox would sully the pool somehow faded, as Purifier Lake (for all that it was barely more than a small pond) was more shallow than it looked, and the current thus faster. It moved quickly, carrying the offal, muck, and sludge along with the dirt of their battle away downstream, to be lost or diluted or cleansed amid the further, much larger flows into the Lanayru Promenade, or perhaps one of the many small falls that moved down the Robred Dropoff. Celessa didn't really care. What she cared about was that the water was cold enough to make her nipples stiff as she bathed, but it still felt so very good.
Brisk, clean, thrilling.
But all too soon, over.
That was, she thought so… until the princess, still with shining eyes though they were starting to fade back to her normal agate green, shook and trembled violently, and the last bits of golden glow disappeared. "Come," she murmured, taking Celessa's hand much like she had Link's, so long ago, and pulled her up out of the water toward the altar.
"An act of service from me to you," Zelda told her, "and from you to me. That's a requirement of the ritual we- I- must undertake. The exact nature of the service can be fluid, mutable, but it must be something significant. The most significant thing we can do for each other at that time."
"H- How do you know?" Celessa asked, "What was that light? You did it before, down on the Beach when we rescued you, but I haven't…"
"It's not that important right now," Zelda told her gently, "though I'll explain later if I can. Our time is limited now that we've bathed. The ritual has begun, we must complete it, or we'll both fail. Your answers will come, Celessa, unless we die first. That I promise. But for now, an act of service. Something profound."
She swallowed.
Zelda leaned against the altar, looking every bit the princess of a lost land despite her nakedness. Strong, powerful, wise, beautiful.
Celessa of Holodrum could think of nothing better… but somehow, as she took a knee, she felt it enough. Her new knight's sword left its sheath, held horizontally in both hands. "Princess Zelda Hyrule, I-"
The other woman's hair dripped as her eyes widened with an accompanying gasp. "Are you- are you really-"
"I am," Celessa told her firmly, their eyes meeting fully for the first time since she had stepped out of the pool after her princess.
Zelda sighed, her eyes closed. "Very well. My full name is proper: Zelda Amaryll Hyrule."
Celessa nodded, and started over. "I, Celessa of Nessuary, formerly of Holodrum, am descended from a line of soldiers and knights of Hyrule. I would take my place among their number once more. I swear myself to the service of Hyrule, and to its rightful heir, Princess Zelda Amaryll Hyrule. I shall be a warrior in her service, devoted to her cause, and to the salvation and security of Hyrule, and all its peoples."
She… felt strange, saying the words. Celessa could not put her finger on why, exactly, but it was as if the weight of a hundred thousand years was carried behind her words, words she had read a thousand times in her grandfather's old books and scrolls, but never spoken aloud.
She had just sworn an oath of fealty to a naked princess. Now, all that remained was…
Zelda took the sword from her outstretched hands, and held it easily in her own despite its weight, despite even Celessa having to work a little to hold it. It was held point down before her breast in both hands for a moment as the princess closed her eyes. Then they opened again, shining not golden, but white and verdant green. Ageless wisdom thrummed from within her, and Zelda's words had weight, too, as she twisted the sword in the air to lay it first against Celessa's right shoulder, then her left. "I accept your vow, Celessa of Hateno, soldier of Hyrule. Nay, Knight of Hyrule, first of our reborn land. Take thy blade of station, and wield it well in service. Your offer is worthy, as worthy as your heart and steadfast devotion."
Celessa took the blade, which suddenly seemed just a little lighter in her arms, and sheathed it once more.
"Rise," Zelda told her smoothly.
She did, and sheathed the weapon, but was utterly unprepared for what the princess said next. "A hundred years ago, the last Knight who had sworn his service to me directly lay with me, on this altar, as we gave each other the pleasure of lovers. I cannot yet act in my full capacity as the sovereign or even princess of Hyrule. But there is something I can do, if you are willing. I can do for you what I did for him."
Her eyes widened, and Celessa gasped again. "You mean-"
Zelda stepped closer, but somehow slipped gracefully around her so that her back was to the altar, and gave a gentle push. The warrior, completely off-guard, stumbled and fell onto her rump. "I…"
"If this is acceptable, I will service you as a lover, too," Zelda whispered. "If it is not, I will find some other way."
Celessa could only gulp. She hadn't even suspected… surely not! How could the beautiful young woman she so admired like her in that way? She wasn't even someone who loved other women, though she enjoyed how many of them looked! She'd never even lain with a man, for she'd sworn not to do so unless one could beat her in a fight, after her last trainer had asked her to swear that oath for her own protection!
How could she…
Not?
"I… will not refuse you, Princess," Celessa whispered, "If service to the subjects of Hyrule is your duty, then I will happily, er, let you service… me."
The blonde woman grinned, and looked down at the equally naked warrior who had just sworn a knight's oath, whether she knew it or not, and sank to her knees. Her hands pried Celessa's legs apart to gaze at the still-dripping folds between them. "You're so very beautiful," she whispered, and leaned in.
Celessa just had time to swallow down her nerves, before the first kisses ghosted themselves up her thighs along with a silken touch, one sliding high to cup her left breast, the other around her waist, under the thigh, and somehow, seemingly everywhere.
She began moaning and gasping almost immediately, and had completely lost track of the time by the first orgasm. By the time she was spent, panting, gasping, moaning for the princess to stop, to give her a break, she was exhausted, and the sun was drawing low behind the Peak of Awakening, though it hadn't quite set.
And the Princess, as she stood up with a glistening face, looked very proud of herself. "Feel better?" she asked.
Celessa couldn't even answer, she had to catch her breath, first.
Somehow, Zelda seemed to understand anyway as she stepped back from the altar, "Well, I think it worked, anyway… that was fun. I won't say no if you want a repeat performance. You taste quite good."
"Th- Thanks," she gasped.
She'd never thought she would be an actual soldier, or an actual knight. This day had changed everything, and she hadn't even found the Spring of Wisdom, yet!
Thus, Celessa of Hateno, Knight of Hyrule, found renewed purpose in her quest… and gained purpose, as well.
