"Oh dear, the poor thing." Cassandra giggled to herself and looked back.
Sir Fredrick kept his eyes trained on the road ahead, but allowed himself a curious grunt.
"The Princess is nodding off a lot." Sir Evans explained with a smile. "She keeps slipping off the saddle, Sir."
Age 6, Princess Zelda was a cute thing, so small and surprisingly patient for a child. Her eyes were closed, and her head kept falling forward. With every step the mare took, he could see her sway to each side almost slipping every time despite the guard seated behind her.
Fredrick swung his leg over his horse and hopped to the ground and walked over to Sir Evans' mare where the princess had been dozing off. He leaned a bit on the pommel of the saddle and tapped the small princess' arm with the lightest of touches.
"Princess, wake up."
Little tired green eyes looked up at him through mostly closed eyes.
Poor thing is so tired. Fredrick pulled out his pocket watch and read the time. He looked up at the sky towards the setting sun. They had two or three hours left at most, and they weren't far from the castle either.
"Come on down, time to stretch a bit."
The princess nodded and put her arms out and allowed herself to be lifted out of the saddle by the captain. She was quite limp in his arms, but still half asleep as he was bringing her down to the ground. The girl had been in the saddle for nearly nine hours at this point, and she'd pushed and pushed to keep going until now.
Kids this young shouldn't be in saddles this long to begin with. Princess Zelda had insisted on coming to Gerudo Town with them. He didn't blame her; the prospect of seeing 'Auntie' Urbosa had been a strong one, and one they'd been entirely unable to dissuade the princess from.
He put her down, but noticed she was still very close to falling asleep standing up. He wondered if when he let go, would she fall over?
Sir Evans had already dismounted his mare and was performing a few stretches not too far away and a few others were doing the same. Fredrick didn't blame them, the saddles weren't the comfiest to sit in for hours on end, getting the blood flow back into his legs sounded like a dream right now.
"Do you want to stay up?" He asked the princess.
He received a quiet nod from the sleepy princess and he hoisted her up to his hip where she all but fell asleep against him the moment her head had a support.
Grass shuffled behind him. "I don't think I've ever seen her so exhausted before." the Queen's voice came from behind him. "I think she was trying to prove herself."
"Well, you did tell her she wouldn't be able to do the trip." Fredrick reminded Cassandra of what she'd said before they all left the castle three days before. Something about Zelda being too young and she'd complain too much.
Her daughter had insisted she wouldn't be any sort of burden and had saddled up with one from the Princess Guard and, amazingly, just as she'd promised, she hadn't complained a single time until they reached the desert.
Then it quickly became "It's too hot." and "I'm thirsty" which were sentiments shared by just about all of them so they let that one slide.
"And she proved me wrong, I know." The queen skipped off with a giggle to herself. He heard the woman unclip and ruffle through his pack. He shot her a deadpan stare as she slowly turned with an apple in her hand. She took a bite and froze when she caught the look. "You have the better apples." Was all she said before taking a large bite out of it.
That was my snack. Oh well, he'll just have to take one of hers later when she's not looking.
He looked around at the guards who were talking, stretching, taking a snack or just a break to let their horses graze. The last time they'd gotten the chance to do this was when they left the Canyon just after having encountered a surprise monster camp right before the last rope bridge into Hyrule.
So Fredrick got to doing his own stretches, though limited with the sleeping princess, now snoring lightly in his arm.
Link was far fussier when he was held and tired, but not unmanageable, but the Princess was always calm when he had the opportunity to hold her.
He hoped this trend of trying to prove themselves at such a young age wasn't going to be a life-long thing, even Link and Aryll were trying such things around the house.
When the thought of a snack popped into his mind, it almost scared him when his second-in-command was by his side, worries etched into his face.
"What is it?" Fredrick asked quietly, minding Zelda asleep.
"Sir, don't you think it's odd?" The other man asked. He looked around cautiously to the others around them, but then to the outer fields.
"Odd?"
"It's quiet." Sir Matthews commented. "I know there's a few of us, but usually you hear something, right?"
A wide open field of long grass, the nearest tree line was quite a ride away, but still visible. Mabe Village had come into sight, but they'd still have to ride for a bit before reaching the small town.
But his second-in-command was right. The field was quiet. The wind blew and birds flew around them, but not a single chirp and they were flying away. There were no chirps of crickets like he would expect from a field like this, nothing.
Just… eeriness.
"Let's ride the last stretch." He gave the order quietly and watched the guard go off and tell everyone, then come back to mount the nearby horse. He moved over to Sir Matthews' horse and carefully passed him the slumbering princess, making sure not to wake her.
The Queen patted his shoulder to grab his attention. "Is something the matter? I thought we were resting for a moment."
He couldn't put his finger on it. "Something isn't right," was all he replied back. "Go back to the horse, I'll be there in a second." he whispered. "Don't run. Act like you're just getting something from your saddlebags until I give you the signal."
Years of hunting and guarding his back in the mountains had told him they were being watched or followed, but the grass wasn't that tall. He couldn't smell anything odd nor could he see anything out of the ordinary.
That is, until the wind changed directions.
They'd barely started to move when the smell of smoke filled his nose, but the stench was unmistakable.
In the blink of an eye, fires raged all around, the tall grasses catching and spreading faster than any of them could possibly hope to control. And with the fires and smokes came the loud whinnying and bucking of horses.
Few of the guards had the chance to mount when he'd given his orders, but with the fires now blazing, many were bucked off immediately.
Then that accursed laughter filled his ears.
Like a cacophony everywhere, the laughter mixed with the soft explosions which characterised their magical summoning.
No.
Everywhere he looked, horses, fire and those red uniforms and the masks.
Never had he seen so many of them in one place. Nor so organised.
Rather than spread haphazardly everywhere, it seems to surround them in a deliberate manner.
There was immense relief at seeing Sir Matthews' horse dash through the flames, into four Yiga clansmen and scattering them to the ground. He managed to break away and ride off safely with the Princess at full speed. There was another guard on horseback who followed behind, but Fredrick could only see the shadows of the dark horse through the tall fires.
That relief washed away immediately when he realised that most of their horses had been spooked away by the flames. Fredrick hadn't needed to count to know they were very much overwhelmed by sheer numbers alone.
His sword was out immediately to parry the first sickle that came his way, then the second and the third when he realised he and the queen had been surrounded and cut off from the rest of the group.
Six Yiga, all blades out, surrounded them with bloodthirst he knew all too well.
He tried to slow down time as he usually did, but it seemed to resist him. The sudden disappearance of his gift resulted in a blade nearly colliding into his side. It had always responded to his direction before, its absence as jarring as if he'd suddenly found his leg missing.
Fredrick hated killing in front of Cassandra, he hated that she'd have the memory of blood imprinted in her mind—only soldiers and fighters should ever have to bear witness to such a grotesque and traumatising sight—but today, he couldn't care less. He struck them down mercilessly one after the other, slicing at the neck, major arteries and veins, kicking away a Yiga that had come too close in the solar plexus.
He forced himself to ignore the gargling of another guard hitting the ground, unable to risk looking away from his own battles or let himself lock up at the sight of the mutilated corpse.
The crowds refused to thin, rather his own warriors were being cut down. For every Yiga that fell, two more rushed them from beyond the flames despite how many he must've killed already, so many that had come close to killing them as well.
In the chaos of the burning fields, grunts, blades and shields clashing, and loud whistles, there was one thing in particular that pierced through the fog.
A pained cry. A very loud, shrill cry of pain.
It was as though he'd taken a dip into the frozen rivers of Hebra.
No, no no. He knew what had happened, it would be forever ingrained in his memory until the day of his death—maybe that might be today, he thought. He swivelled after one last slice and froze.
Everything seemed to slow, as if his gift had returned only to ensure he never forgot the sight he beheld, blood spreading through the queen's clothes faster than the world around her. An arrow—that cursed arrow—pierced through her dress just below her ribs, part of the arrowhead protruding through the front.
Fredrick would never forget the fear in her eyes, the disbelief and confusion. For a moment her gaze met his again, a silent question passing between them.
I thought you would protect me?
She couldn't understand why he'd failed her. How this could have happened. Fredrick had no answers for her.
He was powerless watching his comrades fall one by one at the blades of the enemy, they'd been far outnumbered, too much to properly counter even with a plan. His guards were good, but defending against so many attackers at once was not within their skill sets in this capacity.
Unlike most days, even he had trouble today; too many had attacked him at once, but his eyes had been glued to his charge's.
Why was the fear in her eyes directed at him?
He only saw the glimmer of the sickle in that of the opponent's own blade as it made contact with his left shoulder, but it was far too late to block or dodge.
His fault. It was his and his alone. She'd been hurt due to his incompetence and the memory was now his burden to bear.
He deserved that blade more than anyone.
...
Fredrick woke up with the worst cold sweat he'd had in a long time. His hand immediately clutched his left shoulder. The scar ached as did most of his body—he could blame his hangover for that one instead of the bad weather for once. His head pounded something fierce this morning and he could thank Link for that.
His memory was foggy, no particular memory surfaced when he tried to think about the day before, but the more he tried, the more it hurt.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." He heard his wife mock from the door. "It's nearly noon, are you getting out of bed soon?" She asked. He could hear the eye roll without even having to look at her.
He was just thankful the blinds hadn't been opened. "Soon." He rasped. His mouth and throat were drier than the desert, almost like he'd willingly taken a mouth full of sand.
"Do you mind telling me why I found your son sleeping on the floor in Ari's room?" She continued from the door. He heard the flicking of the newspaper follow her words and the ridiculously loud siping of a cup of tea. She never did that unless she knew he'd been drinking.
His head felt as though there were multiple axes beating on the inside of his skull. "I do not control where Link chooses to spontaneously nap."
He heard his wife scoff. "He's a grown man, why's he sleeping on the floor? He has a bed, I made it for him!"
"I'm sure he knows that."
"Then why didn't he sleep in it? Did he not like it?"
The only thing he really wanted right now was to bash his head in with the dining room table. "Maybe he slept there because Aryll and What's-His-Face didn't come back until morning? Babies still need food." With how often Arina seemed to wake up at night, it didn't surprise him that Link had taken to using the floor as his bed of choice.
"What's-His-Face has a name, you know."
"And I can barely remember my own, can I have five minutes to wake up first?" He snapped.
He heard Madeleine scoff loudly and the paper be folded up roughly and tossed about in her hands. "You need to stop drinking like you're twenty."
It wasn't like he had plans to drink last night. Who drinks while babysitting an infant? "You need to tell Link that. Speaking of, is he still here?"
"Oh please, two ounces of wine gets him in the state you're in and he was fine when he left this morning."
Fredrick snorted. His son's comically low alcohol tolerance would always be funny to him. How does it get that low when Fredrick drank enough to be compared to Arn and even Madeleine drank more than the average person?
"Link left when I woke him up. He was curled on the floor with a throw pillow and small knitted blanket next to the bassinet. He had an empty bottle next to his head."
"Well at least Ari wasn't hungry for long."
"While we're on the topic of babies, you wouldn't guess what I heard from my sister last night." Her tone had switched too quickly, he just knew what was about to follow. "Link wouldn't have mentioned anything about Princess Zelda being with child, would he?"
That's Link's problem, not mine. Maybe he could find a way to trick Link to come back and take care of that news since it was his to begin with. "I don't know anything about that-"
"You are such a liar!"
Zelda lifted the tea to her nose and took a short whiff of it before pulling away with a grimace.
"Something wrong?" Link asked, sipping his cup. He looked tired today, and seemed to savour the wind, and jumped at the smell of a pipe before the smoking noble came strolling down the path.
Zelda thought about sipping the tea, but shook her head vigorously at the thought of drinking mint tea. It was among a common tea she was known for disliking. "I don't know who put mint in this, but I think I'll pass." She pushed the cup away and tried to settle the burn in her oesophagus by eating a small biscuit.
Link shrugged with a smile. "Suit yourself, more for me." He sipped happily.
"You can have it all," Zelda grabbed a biscuit. "Did I tell you what Robbie's been up to since we got back?"
"You have not."
Zelda happily sat up and put her biscuit down. "So he's been running his own little experiments over in the Akkala lab and he's been making weapons!" She clapped to herself, beaming with excitement.
"Weapons?" Link put his cup down and leaned closer.
"Yes! Blades, mechanical rotating saws, arrows," she started going on. "They glow like the guardians but their power is overwhelming, they all use the same parts!"
"So… They're guardian weapons?" Link said, uneasiness lacing into his voice all of a sudden. "Tell me it's not alive as well." he prayed.
Zelda waved off the concern with a smile. "Turned on, yes. But I wouldn't dare say they're alive in the sense the guardians are." she reassured him. "They have no eyes or legs and they have a small lever you pull to shut off."
She could see the confusion in Link's face, as if he was trying to imagine what it looked like.
Zelda had seen the prototype deactivated, but she knew the mechanism worked to create a rotating blade capable of slicing through just about anything, but Link had never seen anything like it.
"Like… a saw…that goes back and forth?" He asked. "Wouldn't you get tired?"
"No no, the gears do it on their own." Zelda corrected him. She knew he was imagining a plain wood or tree saw simply going back and forth.
Yesterday, Robbie had shown her the large blue saw. It had come as an extension of his arm with far greater reach, and it had been very large and imposing. Half of the blade glowed blue but he'd held back from turning it on after the debacle in the desert, but he had assured her that it could cut through anything. He described it and demonstrated by pulling on the chain that surrounded the gears and support, showing her how the small blades could move all together to create a terrifying weapon.
Zelda didn't think the sharpness of the blades would matter in the end, anything that moved as quickly as Robbie claimed would do more than adequate damage.
Seemingly satisfied with her explanation, Link took his cup back into his hand and continued sipping. "When's the next time you want to go back into Castletown?" He asked between sips.
"I'm not sure, oh the other day was wonderful! I'm still thinking about it now." Zelda gushed. She'd be lying to herself if she said she hadn't been dreaming of that evening extending. She'd dreamt of dancing in the town square with all of the street lamps lit and a wonderful orchestra playing just for them. Of course, this was but a fantasy she'd enjoy for herself, but maybe one day she could have that, but at this moment was unlikely, the castle officials kept telling her not to go out anymore. "I would go out everyday if I could, but confinement."
She watched Link roll his eyes from above his tea. "Right, confinement. When's your next check-up again?"
Zelda thought to the last time she'd gone to see Dr. Finri. Two weeks ago, she'd been cleared for most activities on the grounds apart from heavy lifting—not like she did much of that—and there was no further mention of any health concerns. "I think tomorrow or the day after, I'll have to check my engagement diary." She wasn't worried one bit about what would come from that.
Link poured himself another cup of tea. "Barns keeps telling me I have one of those too but neither of us know where it is or what's in it."
Zelda laughed, completely caught off guard. "What do you mean you have an engagement diary and you didn't know? How do you know where you need to be during the day?" Oh now that she thought about it, it seemed like Link was finding himself more and more freetime away from naggy councilmen.
"Someone usually comes to find me."
That works too. She shrugged off and enjoyed one of the sweeter biscuits.
She enjoyed the breeze in silence while Link seemed to run through the cup of tea, then pouring himself another.
"Thirsty?" She asked, amused. She couldn't recall the last time someone had gone through the tea like that.
Link stopped drinking the cup and his gaze switched from the tea to her, then back to the tea, his cheeks pinking at her statement. "It's just a bit hot right now." He muttered.
Hot? I thought it was pleasantly cool. The breeze flew through often enough and it was nice and cloudy with just enough sun to peak through occasionally. She wasn't sweating one bit, but Link… She could see his skin shining in the sun.
"Should we move indoors?" she offered. If he thought it was hot, then maybe it would be for the best if they moved to one of the shaded parlours.
"I like the view of the gardens though, it's refreshing to look at." He wasn't wrong there; she could definitely go a few days without staring at the opposite parlour walls and the vases filled with extravagant flowers.
Zelda shrugged it off then. If he preferred the gardens, then that was it. "You know, I can always call for some cold water instead of hot tea… that might help." she offered, still staring at Link with a bit of unease.
She studied his eyes for a bit, they were a great indicator of his lying, but what she saw wasn't indicative of lying. His pupils were unequal, with one visibly smaller than the other and the other bigger.
"Are you sure you're alright?" she pushed further. She tried to ignore the way he readjusted himself in the chair every few seconds now. It wasn't in any particular way, but she recognised this behaviour from the time he had conveniently forgotten to mention his ribs had been bruised up.
He finally pushed away the cup of tea. "I think water would be good." He muttered, a tinge of strain in his tone now.
"I think it might be time we head back inside." Zelda suggested, getting ready to pick up her things.
When Link started fanning himself, Zelda raised a brow in concern. This no longer seemed like a 'warm day' issue. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? I don't think so." She leaned forward and peered closer. Link's skin glistened with a thin layer of sweat, one that hadn't been there ten minutes ago. He was also rather pale.
"I'm just a bit tired." He blinked multiple times in quick succession. His pupils remained the way they were before, still unequal.
Zelda looked down at his hands and found that his nail beds weren't the regular pink tone and his skin seemed to lack the distinct warm tan it always had.
"I don't think you're fine." Zelda turned in her chair and motioned a guard over. Did someone poison him? This seems like poison—he's not allergic to anything as far as I know. Maybe he's sick? No he was fine this morning when they woke up.
His friend was quick to jog to the table to take a look at Link without needing another word.
"Your skin's clammy." The taller man said, feeling his hands, then his forehead. He was quick and methodical about it, his hands only lingering for a second before moving on. "Your eyes are all out of focus."
"Princess, have you had any tea?" One of the maids asked immediately, taking away the tea and the cups. "Has His Highness had any?"
Since when have they been referring to Link as that?
The answer came immediately with Link glaring at the poor maid, although it wasn't very threatening with the way Link was about to fall out of his chair. "I haven't and don't c—don't call me that."
"You need a doctor now."
"No I don—" Link couldn't finish his sentence before he doubled over in pain, still in the chair.
Zelda turned to the maid and looked at the teapot, lifting it and swishing it around to get a feel for the weight. "I think he had three cups? Link, how many—" He lifted four fingers while he emitted a heavy groan of pain.
"Right, let's go now."
The guard unceremoniously picked Link up in both arms and carried him toward the healer's quarters. Zelda hitched up her skirts and jogged after them, fear sluicing through her veins as she heard Link moaning in pain.
Before they could reach the closest entrance, she heard Link scramble out of the captain's arms.
"Put me down." was repeated three times followed by Link throwing his head into the nearest bush.
Zelda gagged in sympathy and plugged her ears.
...
Doctor Finri was ready for them when they arrived.
Despite having already thrown up six times on his way to the infirmary, Link was made to throw up twice more in the infirmary until the doctor was satisfied he'd gotten rid of the contents of his stomach. He was pale, the colour gone from his skin and his eyes red from the vomiting and crying.
His blood pressure was taken and heart rate monitored, but it quickly appeared that he'd be fine after a quick check of his vitals.
They were left to their own devices on the bed after Finri had asked him so many questions. It was until he returned a half hour later with Captain Barnabus and the guards from earlier in tow.
"It seems you've had a rough afternoon, Sir." Doctor Finri made his way over with his clipboard. He had a less than pleasant expression, which worried Link and Zelda.
Zelda was the first to speak up. "What happened?"
The doctor looked between them both and pulled out a small pouch of tea leaves. "It would seem Link has consumed a worrisome amount of pennyroyal tea today."
"Pennyroyal? I've never heard of that plant before." Link commented.
"Well it's unlikely you'd have heard of it, granted you're a man and an alpha at that." The doctor gave him a hearty chuckle, a smack to the shoulder and threw his board onto his desk. "It's often used by ladies of the night and noblewomen alike wishing to 'get rid of a problem'." he quoted with his fingers. "I've often seen it overused in brothels and ladies who've heard things through the grapevine."
"Are you saying Link consumed an abortifacient?" Zelda asked, baffled and quite disturbed.
Doctor Finri nodded. "That would be correct. Princess, have you consumed any amount of tea this afternoon? Even a sip at all?"
Zelda shook her head. "It's common knowledge among my servants that I dislike mint; the tea smelled like mint so I didn't touch my cup."
"Not one sip? Did any of the biscuits have any hint of mint to them?"
"No, I don't think so."
"If you feel any type of discomfort in the next twelve hours, visit me immediately." The doctor told her. "It is often used in early pregnancies due to the presence of a compound that encourages uterine contractions, but I would not want you to go into premature labour so early into yours."
"I have a question." Zelda stopped the doctor from leaving. The man looked at her expectantly. "How is it that Link had any reaction to such a medicine?"
"Well it's quite simple. While pennyroyal is a herb hailed as an abortifacient, it's multifaceted and quite versatile in the right dosage." He explained. "Consumed in extreme dosages, your liver and kidneys can take damage and it has quite a few neurological symptoms as well. Besides, the tea mixture included more than just pennyroyal. I currently have a local herbalist taking a closer look to identify as many components as possible."
Zelda blinked. "Is Link going to be okay?"
Doctor Finri smiled and placed a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Link will be fine. He threw up most of the contents of his stomach but considering we haven't seen any other symptoms apart from the nausea and his blood pressure dropping, he seems fine. Rest should be all he needs for the next few hours."
"Who would you say may have done this?" Zelda inquired further, but quietly this time.
"I couldn't say. The maids who brewed the tea claim it was already batched up in a jar for them but they've found a few different herbs scattered on the kitchen floors. Whoever did this was careless, knowledgeless with tea and of your dislike for mint." the doctor explained quietly. "There are a number of herbs that would have catered to Your Highness' tastes far better than this herb would have and still have done the same job, but it seems odd this was the choice considering you have an avid abhorrence for the substance."
So not my father. Not any of the staff I would personally know. The staff knew Zelda's tastes down to the specific herbs she had a minor dislike of. Any new staff would be told of these preferences almost immediately, especially if they were attending her. Someone had snuck into the kitchens in a clumsy attempt to get rid of her child.
"If anything, I'd like to commend Link for his extraordinary constitution. That amount would have surely thrown his vitals for quite the spin if he'd been anyone else." The doctor joked as he picked up his clipboard once more and left.
Link watched Zelda with amusement in his eyes. He was already comfortable in his sheets, but Zelda was at work again, fixing his blankets and pillows just the way she wanted. Exhaustion tugged at his bones and eyelids, and his throat was hideously sore, but watching Zelda fuss over the arrangement of the pillows and blankets brought a smile to his face.
No less than a few minutes before, Zelda had run to her room, barefoot and in her nightgown, and had returned with a pillow of her own.
His bed was looking like a veritable pillow fort with a mismatched array of blankets.
"Are you enjoying yourself yet?" He asked her. He felt much better after being tended to by Doctor Finri. His intestines were a little weak and he felt a bit wobbly around the knees—and the idea of eating anything but buttered toast sounded disgusting—but he was almost back to full health.
Zelda climbed back into his bed and began fixing the new pillow behind her back while occasionally rearranging the ones around him. "I do hope you don't mind." Zelda asked without glancing his way. She fixed the blankets ever so slightly to the right, then back to their original position.
"Feel free to do as you please." he scooted into his sheet and laid down comfortably. Who knew this many pillows would be so nice? "I might need to request a bigger frame," he joked. If Zelda was going to keep bringing pillows into his bed, it was inevitably going to become just that and there'd be no space for them anymore.
"I would use my room but the maids always wreck everything." she grumbled cutely. "Why do the maids never come into your room?" She inquired, spinning around and kneeling adorably before him.
Link snorted. "Oh I may or may not have gotten mad once."
"You got mad?!"
Link lifted his hands in his defence. "Alright, it was terrible timing; my rut had been right around the corner, and I'd already told the staff four times not to touch my stuff."
"So now they don't come at all?" Zelda looked around slowly, as though in thought. "How do you get everything cleaned?"
"Oh I slap something on the door handle." Link pointed to the twine he had next to the window. He'd stolen it from the barracks a long time ago, but it had been so useful in tying things together, how could he ever let go of his useful string?
"I see, so they only come in if you tie the twine up?"
He nodded. "Exactly. Haven't had my stuff touched without it since." He remembered the one time the twine had vanished from the handle and he'd gone looking for it for almost an hour before finding it on the floor three hallways in an entirely different section. It was a ridiculous thing to do at two in the morning, but he needed it back.
He opened his arms and welcomed Zelda into the blankets. "I was so peeved at the time, I had rearranged so many things precisely and I came back to it out of order again and I was so angry already—I still feel terrible about the poor maid."
"You're evil," Zelda laughed hard. "I didn't think you had it in you to do something like that."
"It was one time—just one time."
"But if it worked…" Zelda looked around as though she wanted to attempt the same thing.
"Zelda no." He wanted to laugh. "Please."
"I have a proper excuse." She puffed her chest proudly. "Who's going to tell the pregnant woman she can't be emotional about her nest?" She patted the blankets and pillow around her. "You're the evil one here, I've never gotten so mad the maids avoided me."
"Are you kidding?" Link asked dumbfounded. "Do you not remember what you did when you were sixteen? Half the castle avoided you for nearly two years."
Zelda giggled and ignored his words, simply choosing to remain comfortable with her devious little smile. She buried herself into his side, smushing her face into his shoulder and nuzzling him.
"Can I ask you something?" He asked her quietly. The tealight was nearly extinguished, the wax entirely melted but bright enough to give them a small light, flickering low and golden.
He heard Zelda hum. "What is it?"
He'd left the topic alone for a few days, but he couldn't leave it alone forever. "Why have you started sleeping in my room?"
Zelda sat up and searched his face for something. "Do you not want me here?"
Link shot up immediately after. "No I do!" He reassured her with a kiss to the lips. "It's just… Before you seemed apprehensive to come to my room and this is the third night straight you've done it with all of the night guards knowing. I just wanted to know if something had changed or happened."
Zelda pulled back and he immediately recognised her downtrodden eyes.
Something did happen.
She sat up against the headboard and pulled her knees in as far as they could. "I just like sleeping with you." She answered plainly. "I feel lonely in my room." she let her head rest on her knees, sadness overcoming her.
Link pulled Zelda into his side and ran his fingers through her hair. That pit in his stomach called to him in full force. "The fault is mine, I should have come to you sooner."
She looked up at him with a hint of confusion. "You've been fine, spectacular even. I'm afraid it isn't the same kind of loneliness you've thought it to be." She leaned her head back against him. "No, it's with my father." She admitted.
Rhoam. It was always Rhoam, he should have known. "What happened? Was it the night you came to me for the first time?" He inquired further, but not wanting to push too hard in fear that she closed herself back up.
She nodded. "I was so excited, he wanted to talk to me after so many days," he saw her expression of extinguished hope and it hurt him. "We barely held a full conversation. It started so well and then…" she trailed off.
"It fell apart?"
Zelda's eyes filled with tears. "Yes. It just fell apart." Her shoulders slumped further. "I wanted it to go well so much and it… I was just disappointed again."
Did he want to ask what exactly Rhoam said to have caused all of this? Link was no stranger to his words, but Rhoam was getting out of hand with his treatment of Zelda. The last he'd experienced of Rhoam's treatment of his daughter was weeks ago, before he even found out Zelda was pregnant. Link had been hiding in the closet at the time when Rhoam had appeared.
"Did you want to tell me what happened?" He pushed a bit more.
Zelda shook her head immediately.
"You don't need to tell me then, but I'm here if you want to, it doesn't matter when."
Zelda nodded and thanked him quietly before sliding down under the blankets again. "I'm tired, I think I'll just sleep now."
He slipped down under the covers as well and let Zelda snuggle into his side. When she was comfortable, he fixed the ends of the blanket over her shoulders. "Just sleep now." He told her, giving her upper arm a small squeeze.
He blew out the small tea light and closed his eyes.
"Hey Link?"
"Yes?"
"What do you want for your birthday?"
"Just sleep."
"I'm getting you something."
He patted her head two or three times then put his hand over her mouth to muffle her giggles. "No you're not. Sleep now."
...
When Zelda finally turned away from him, Link slowly climbed out of bed and tip-toed around the room, putting on his boots and grabbing his sword. He looked back at the princess' slumbering form, watching her chest rise up and down slowly. She was fast asleep. He picked up the Master Sword and strapped it to his back.
He prayed Zelda would forgive him for what he was going to do.
He slowly turned the handle of his door and slipped out, careful not to hit anything on the way out of his room.
"Where are you going?" Barnabus asked him. He was leaning against the wall next to the door, likely on duty until the night shift changed.
"That is none of your business." Link answered with a whisper.
His friend raised a brow. "I see." was all he said. He looked away, carefree.
"Make sure Zelda doesn't leave the room while I'm gone."
"And what do I say if she comes looking for you?"
"I got hungry and wanted something to eat."
"Have fun doing… whatever it is you're doing."
Link waved him off and walked through the dark halls until he reached Rhoam's study. His heart beat heavily in his chest and he felt warm under his tunic but it was manageable.
Link looked at Arn, who stood next to the door. He was casual in his stance, but still intimidating.
"What are you doing here?" Arn asked, leaning against the wall. "Shouldn't you be fast asleep with the Princess?" He asked, a little teasing tug of the lip.
"I'd love to go back to that but I have business with Rhoam." Link stated as vaguely as possible.
Arn checked his watch. "At half past midnight?"
Link nodded.
"Should I be worried?" Arn asked, eyeing the Master Sword cautiously. "You don't usually carry that thing too often these days." He looked at Link, studying him closely before looking around the hallway. He pushed himself off the wall with a sigh and grabbed his one handed sword that had been leaned next to him. "I suppose I can say I was investigating an odd noise." He winked and turned to walk in the opposite direction. "Do try to keep the volume to a minimum, I wouldn't want to pull my attention." He said quietly and left his post.
Stand your ground. He hurt Zelda and he's been warned. He deserves this shit.
Link waited until Arn was down the hall before knocking and entering the study at the first answer of the old man's voice.
"Captain, you know you needn't knock—" Rhoam stopped talking as soon as he spotted Link entering the room. "Late for a talk, isn't it?" The friendliness vanished from his tone immediately and the jovial mood soured.
"If you're awake, then anytime is fine." Link answered plainly.
Rhoam turned back to the lit fire with a scoff.
Not having received an invitation to sit, Link simply stood in the middle of the study, blade hung across his back.
"Well, out with it. What do you want?" He asked in a gruff, demanding tone.
"I just have one request." Link tried to keep his voice firm, but it was hard to ignore the heat and drumming in his ears. He remembered the last time he was alone with Rhoam. "I want you to leave Zelda alone."
Rhoam turned his head towards Link but Link still couldn't see his eyes. "You want me to leave my daughter alone?" Rhoam laughed. "You sure seem to have gained some confidence. And why should I do that?"
Great, he was being mocked. Maybe he should try a different path? "How do you expect her to unlock her powers if she's so unhappy?"
Rhoam shrugged in his chair and sat back as though he'd done nothing wrong. "She'll get over her tears, she always has, she's not a child anymore."
Link suppressed the urge to hit the ex-king over the head with his bottle of liquor. "It's not good for her health, don't you care?"
Rhoam didn't look him in the eye. "You don't scare me."
Why did he avoid looking at them so often? He barely looked Zelda in the eye, Rhoam only ever looked him in the eye during their last face-to-face at the ball. Link calmed himself and took a breath.
Sweat, but it wasn't his own.
He's hiding. He's refusing to face me because he knows he can't without giving himself away.
"While you're here, tell me something since you seem so protective of my daughter." There was a silence filled only with crackling logs in the fire. "Why do anything for her sake when she's proven herself little more useful than a simple broodmare? Your pitiful father couldn't even tell me why."
Broodmare? Link's hand tightened around the pommel of the sword. It wouldn't be right for the blade's first taste of Hylian blood to be Zelda's father… but boy did he deserve it right now.
This was the second time Rhoam was having this conversation then… What the hell was dad doing here? You know what, it doesn't matter right now.
"To say it simply, Zelda is the love of my life. If you need a reward to help someone you love, then I don't know what else to tell you."
Rhoam laughed. He laughed and it made Link's blood boil in his veins.
This conversation could be finished by a simple slice of his sword. Arn wasn't there, if anything, he probably had his fingers stuck into his ears while looking out a window. Who would stop him?
He's still her father.
Rhoam stood up from his chair but he remained in front of his crackling fire. "Then I hope you're happy accepting gossips dragging your name through the mud in association with hers." He glanced momentarily at Link.
Gossip this and gossip that. Link was tired of hearing the same words repeated over again. With the amount of time he's spent in public disguised, he's rarely heard negativities spoken with Zelda's name. Only from haughty nobles who'd never met her, and those were mere whispers in the wind now.
If the King wasn't going to converse with him face-to-face, then he'd have to do it himself. Link marched his way across the room until he was sword's length away from the old man.
"I don't care what the gossips say, and quite frankly, I'm not sure who you're listening to. The subjects of Hyrule do not whisper of failures and inability to protect." Link didn't bother allowing space for the King to speak. "They speak of an overworked princess, a woman so preoccupied by the state of her subjects, she cannot hide her exhaustion no matter how hard she tries."
"A princess of the people is not what this country needs."
"And how is she to rule if you do not let her?" He shouted back. Keeping a lid on his anger was starting to be harder than he thought. "You send her to the chapel morning and night, you make her read prayers for two hours daily, you don't let her leave the castle grounds, and yet you expect her to know the needs of this nation by heart. You don't allow her to listen to council meetings yet you expect her to know policies like the back of her hand!" Rhoam sat back, quite tense, as Link seethed. "You berate her for powers but do nothing to help her. You demand salvation from the Calamity but refuse to allow her to help in the ways she can, in the ways we need! You put Hylia on a pedestal but dishonour her last living descendant with your own need to be the most powerful person in the room simply out of fear!"
"Her powers will awaken through prayer-"
"Bullshit!"
"You will watch your tongue, Sir Link. You are speaking to your King-"
"I don't give a shit about your title, Rhoam. You're going to sit your ass down and you're going to listen if you know what's good for you and this country." His fingers were itching to draw the Master Sword, even if the sword herself felt ambivalent about the whole situation. He was tempted to find out what Hylia would do if he used her sacred blade to threaten an ordinary person. He was sick to death of her ignoring Zelda too.
"I was so excited, he wanted to talk to me after so many days," she'd said.
That look she'd had, he was tired of seeing it everytime Rhoam came into the conversation.
Link disregarded any worries he previously had and pulled the sword from his back in a smooth motion and lifted the blade.
How easy it would be to rid myself of that problem now…
No, restraint was key, he had to keep a lid on his anger unless he wanted Rhoam to get an edge on him.
I ought to cut your knees off and bring you down to the ground. His sword was levelled to the ex-king's throat, his arm unwavering and firm.
"This is tantamount to treason! How dare you threaten your ki-"
"Put me on trial. Go ahead. I dare you." Link kept his unblinking glare locked on the king. "Watch how many of your guards will obey your orders, Duke." That title was a joke, he didn't hold the title of Duke anymore, Zelda's cousin Deilia did. She was the rightful Duchess of the territory for the last four years.
He noticed the crinkle at the corner of Rhoam's eyes, the suspicion.
"You have run on thin ice long enough with me," Link threatened him, pressing the tip of the sword to Rhoam's neck.
Enough of seeing the tears run down Zelda's face, he'd had enough of his deprecating words to Zelda, enough of the harsh condemnation that was nothing but thinly-veiled projection. As patient as Link was, there was a limit and Rhoam seemed to enjoy running to that line.
"Upset her one more time, and you will see why I am Hylia's Chosen. Am I understood?"
"You've enjoyed this, haven't you, boy?" Rhoam growled. "This was all some scheme cooked up by that good-for-nothing father of yours, wasn't it?"
Link pressed the sword further until he saw a small dribble of blood seep from the old man's neck. A sliver of fear entered Rhoam's pale green eyes and Link felt a hint of satisfaction. He kept it there until he abruptly thrusted it downwards between them.
There was a clang and flare of bright blue light.
The Master Sword stood upright, a third of its blade embedded in the stone at a mere inch from Rhoam's evening shoes.
Cracks radiated through the flagstones around it, and Link knew that none but he could remove the blade again.
"Go on," Link said softly. "If you think you have a chance of doing it better, pick it up."
"Champion—"
"Pick. It. Up."
"I cannot—"
"No you can't," Link snarled. "I can. Zelda can. You, on the other hand, are an ordinary, weak old man who flings his own insecurities onto his child and expects her to win a war for him, a war he cannot even fathom. You want to rule this kingdom? Rule your fear first."
Rhoam nodded silently and sat back into chair, trying to avert his eyes, but he found it difficult with how close Link was standing.
"A death threat is hardly original." The king commented humorously despite the visible shake and flinch Link had seen.
"Please, killing you would be far too easy. I'd much rather give you an experience you'll never forget."
Link turned around and walked out, leaving Rhoam staring at the Blade of Evil's Bane.