Randall pushed the top of Barnabus' head into the warm tub and scrubbed at his head roughly. Clear water turned pink once again. This was now the third time he was trying to get the blood out of his colleague's hair. It was hard to tell where the blood exactly was, Barnabus' hair was of the darkest brown, and thus almost impossible to see, especially when it was wet.
"Take it easy!" Barnabs groaned and tried to keep his face from dipping beneath the surface of the water.
Randy let go of his head and let Barnabus wipe his face with the towel as he tried to wipe the blood off. Instead of helping him wash his hair, he grabbed the long wet coat and flipped it until he found the blood splatter.
"I'm surprised you didn't kill him," Randy noted curiously. He tried his best to wipe the splattered blood off Barnabus' jacket, but it stuck and didn't seem to be too noticeable through the dark fabric. It looked only like it was wet, but the pungent metallic stench was a dead giveaway. The laundress would know how to do this. Would she ask questions? Probably doesn't matter anyway.
"Trust me, I wanted to," Barnabus dunked the top of his head into the bucket of water. While there was no difference in his dark hair, the water quickly turned a pink, shifting towards a red the more he scrubbed his hair.
"Too merciful for that kind of ass," Randy pulled the fabric closer to his face and scrubbed at some of the stains. Making him eat his own balls was too merciful, should've left him dickless too.
"And it's political and social suicide." Barnabus muttered, disappointed.
"Whole castle would be better without that duke if you ask me,"
"Yeah but he's got influence, and I'd make myself a target if I took him out."
"I know he's a powerful guy, but just how comfy is the fucker?"
"You don't know?" Barnabus was surprised. "Where'd you train as a knight?"
"Hyrule Garrison and the Colosseum." Randy answered.
Barnabus sighed. "I see, it makes sense why you don't know; Duke Peter controls most of the military power in Akkala, his whole family has for the last four generations."
"Like the Citadel? No way," Randy grumbled a profanity. Most of the military power's majority came from Akkala and Faron. "No wonder Rhoam and Peter are tight,"
"Killing him would also only place his brother back in a comfy position and I can't say I like that guy anymore than I like Peter at the moment."
Randy turned around, his expression morphing into one of disgust. "He's that bad?"
Barnabus nodded. "There's a reason you don't hear about his brother, he's been on house arrest for the last twenty years for crimes no one wants to talk about—and before you ask why he isn't in jail or prison, they say the duke paid triple his bail to get him out and wipe his records. I think it involved murder or something."
Well no point in digging into that any further. "Well, I can guarantee you Peter won't be taking his shirt off any time soon, and he definitely won't be getting laid either."
Barnabus chuckled darkly to himself. He'd branded the duke with a nicely carved word across his abdomen in large letters. He'd need a real strong Sheikah spell to cover that up, and not without at least a dozen questions beforehand, he thought to himself. Honestly, he would be shocked if any Sheikah would actually cast such a spell for the duke.
"May he get no bitches." Randy snickered behind his hand.
"Be nice to the girls, they work hard to line their pockets." Barnabus couldn't help but wheeze.
"I'd need at least six months of my wages to even think about his dick and that was before last night."
"How much would you need now?"
Randy snorted. "Five years of my wages up front and I might think about it."
Their laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls. Barnabus was on the ground, clutching his ribs and wheezing through the pain. "I don't even think the duke has that much."
"Probably not, if the bail story is true," Randy agreed, sparking more laughter from Barnabus.
The wolves hadn't returned, thankfully, and neither had the Yiga, but the large rolling snow boulders had given them a good lead to follow up the long hill. A monster camp of sleeping lizalfos was quickly spotted by the light of a very tempting campfire.
Link could feel himself almost salivating at the thought of sitting next to the fire. His body, while still frozen, felt a sudden revitalised energy.
He wanted that fire.
Arn seemed to perk up as well, quite interested in the fire in the middle of their blizzard. The winds and snows cleared bit by bit, and the snow became marginally less deep, easing their movements by just a tad.
But then came an interesting development.
Just before they could continue climbing the hill to round to the lizalfos camp, Link noticed it. The sky was starting to change colours from its deep blue-black to the slightest change above their heads.
Daylight. It was bound to get warmer, even by a bit, but it wasn't the only thing he'd noticed.
They could go to the left where the lizalfos camp was, there was a clear path beyond. If they were truly above the Gerudo Highlands, it would eventually open up to Southern Hyrule or the southern parts of Tabantha.
Or they could go right. A short climb and it was clear there was an open field. There, too, could be a path into Central Hyrule, then freedom at last.
"Which way do we go?" Arn asked, heaving against the snowy canyon walls.
To the right they avoided combat, but to the left they no longer had the camouflage of the storm to hide them from lizalfos. Link couldn't recall too many downward slopes from the Highlands into Hyrule… It was among the reasons why previous skirmishes against the Gerudo tended to fail. They had the single rope bridge or they could climb mountains and exhaust each other.
"We've only been climbing, right?" Link asked, studying the two options. "There's no telling what's up that way." There was clearly an open field on the right side, but who knows if they would come face-to-face with a talus or a lynel. He knew some were in this particular area from reports in the past, but they were so far out of the way, no one even bothered.
"Talk to me, what's going on in that head of yours?" Arn pulled Link from his thoughts.
Link gulped. "There's something up here," he concluded uneasily.
"Something? Like what?"
"There were Taluses and Lynel reports a few weeks back."
Arn sighed and leaned against the wall, semi-defeated. "If it's a talus, we could outrun it."
"Not in this snow we can't. We're too tired." Link cut him off. A talus moved slowly, yes that was factual, but they weren't on solid ground. Snow was nothing to a creature that large, and this wasn't Hyrule Ridge or Death Mountain. This was knee deep snow, and it threw boulders and snow. "We wouldn't be able to dodge it."
"Right. We'd be dead immediately."
"We're dead if it's a lynel too." Link pointed out additionally. "They run too fast and swing too hard.. I'd only be able to block it once or twice before I'd be done…"
The warmth beneath his skin waned, the spicy fruits' effects were nulled and vanishing fast.
"Our best bet is the lizalfos then?"
"Likely, yes. Assuming there isn't something over there either."
"Any good news then?" Arn asked, eyeing the fire.
"Beyond either of these points is sunny, grassy Hyrule."
"Good enough for me."
Link picked an icicle off the canyon wall and began drawing a map of Southern Hyrule as best he could. He drew the Desert then the Great Plateau and the mountain range that separated the desert from Tabantha.
Link chewed on my lip anxiously. "We were in the Karusa Valley right?"
"Maybe."
If we were in the mountain range, or in the Karusa Valley… "We only went straight or up, correct?"
Arn looked down the far canyon where their steps had vanished in the strong winds. "Straight and up are my assumptions."
Link wracked his brain for an answer..
There could be a downward slope to the left, but with how many times he'd looked over a map of the area and walked to the stables nearest to the canyon, he couldn't recall any feasible climbing area from the eastern face of the canyon.
Looking at the map closer, he realised the path to the right would lead them close or straight back into the Gerudo Canyon where it was already a known fact to him that it was a hotspot for yiga clan members to ambush travellers.
And if we kept going north from the valley… He drew the path with the icicle to the left path. They'd be just south of Hyrule Ridge… And a stable. Sure they could encounter a stable in the Gerudo Canyon, but they'd still be risking the Yiga clansmen on high alert for their escape, even on horseback.
"It's mostly wolves and moblins, but you can sometimes find bokoblins on horseback. The last time I came through here on my own, I encountered two Yiga Blademasters and I did not have a good time." Link recounted during the trip to the Gerudo Desert. "It has always been a rule that we do not rest inside the Canyon until we reach a safe point; too many opportunities for an ambush."
There would be no safe places to stop and rest, and no cover from the heat to recover from dehydration should they find themselves in the blistering heat.
"Go to the left." Link ordered, pointing to the lizalfos camp, still bathed in the night.
Arn pushed himself off the icy wall and picked up the blade he'd swiped from the Yiga courtyard. "Let's get to it."
Link reached out and tugged on Arn's sleeve, stopping him from moving forward. "Distract the lizalfos, they always have bows. Let me sneak in and grab it while it's still dark." He felt too sluggish for a heavy sword, and too slow for the lizal boomerangs with their enemies' long ranged spit attacks.
"On it then." Arn walked along the canyon's far wall around the area, letting the winds muffle his crackling steps through the snow.
Link approached up the slope on his knees, keeping himself out of view of the lizal watchtower set up on the opposite side of camp. He was lucky for the large boulder not too far away, but still, he'd have to run into the camp to catch any weapons, if there were any.
He peeked over the jagged edge of the rock and strained his eyes into the camp. Two sleeping lizalfos, one seemed to be dozing off. He spotted shining metal, the glint reflected from the fire, then the pointed arrow heads.
There were definitely bows then.
He looked over to the other end where Arn was crouched near the canyon wall, half hidden by a rock, his blade in one hand, and looking in his direction for any sign. The sky was quickly turning into a lighter morning blue, but the sun had yet to poke over the horizon. They would only have the cover of nightfall for a few more minutes, a half hour at most.
Link made an obvious motion with his hand behind him, signalling to Arn.
Arn crouched deep behind his rock, hiding himself. He cupped his hands to his mouth and whistled loudly.
The high-pitched whistle pierced through the winds and the snow, clearly reaching into the lizal camp.
One seemed to remain asleep, but the one awake immediately seemed curious, intent on finding the source of the whistle. Link watched it leave camp, soon accompanied by the 2nd sleeping lizal who'd been awakened. The one on the watchtower looked in Arn's direction, but the rock served as an appropriate cover.
Link moved out of place, sticking to the side of the rock and keeping low to the ground. He wouldn't have more than a few seconds to dash into that camp and grab any weapon he could find. The first he'd have to deal with was the sleeping one whose weapon he could use once it died, but the others would either see him or see Arn, and it would only depend on how long it took him.
Then he heard the snarl. His heart beat furiously in his chest when he saw the watchtower lizalfos jumping in its spot and grabbing its bow. Link threw stealth out of his mind and made a mad dash into the camp, picking up the first two-bladed boomerang he could spot and went straight for the waking lizalfos, dropping any formalities and care for the way he slaughtered it. Two hits to the head and the lizalfos slumped dead.
"Link!" Arn shouted urgently from the rock.
He looked up to see one lizalfos aiming its bow, and the other dashing straight back to camp. The watchtower lizalfos was already loosing arrows in his direction.
The warmth of the fire was already giving him much needed energy to assume a fighting stance, though his joints still ached from the strain of the winds.
A shining flame flickered, catching his eye.
A strengthened lizal bow and multiple arrows littered the ground.
He threw the boomerang as hard as he could in the direction of the lizalfos coming his way and threw himself to the bow and arrows, immediately taking a kneeling stance on the warm dirt and arming himself with the strengthened arrows.
He let fly one, then another before the first could even hit, both landing into his target.
Arn had jumped out of his hiding spot and had tackled the archer lizalfos near him to the ground, wrestling the bow from its grasp before using the shaft to bludgeon into the lizalfos like a possessed madman.
That's one way to use a bow, I suppose.
A sudden sting in his ankle had Link dive to the side with the bow and arrows. An arrow had shot into his ankle, nicking the flesh cleanly.
That damn watchtower lizard fucker. Link laced that same bloody arrow into his bow and shot at the watchtower and watched the monster fall off its post.
He aimed one more arrow at the recovering lizalfos closer to him and watched it die in the snow, slumped and bleeding out. Further out, Link continued to watch Arn use the bow like a mallet to the point even he was starting to feel some sympathy for the poor lizalfos.
"I THINK IT'S DEAD, YOU CAN STOP." Link shouted at Arn.
Arn took two more hard swings before picking up the untouched quiver of arrows and made his way eagerly to the camp where the fire continued to burn.
"What does lizalfos taste like?" Arn was looking at the dead lizalfos sitting only a few feet away.
"Why would I know?" Link asked, baffled by the audacity of such a question.
Arn, on the other hand, seemed surprised he had no idea. "I've seen you eat rocks from the dirt. I'm surprised you've never eaten lizards."
Link put his hand up. "I've eaten lizards, but somehow I doubt lizalfos tastes like lizard."
"Well, what does lizard taste like?"
"Cucco."
"That's what everyone says strange meat tastes like." Arn countered.
Link looked around the fire and spotted a barrel. He took the pointed end of one of the arrows and wedged it into the barrel, cracking it open after a few hits and spotting a few apples at the bottom. "I'll take my chances with the apples." He tried to reach into the barrel, but the bottom was out of reach. He tried once more until even one of his feet wasn't on the ground anymore.
"Need help, shorty?" Arn asked cheekily with renewed energy.
"No," Link said, stubbornly trying to reach the apple. He got out of the barrel, picked it up and threw it at the nearest boulder, watching it smash to pieces and roll the apples into the snow.
Arn laughed. It was almost refreshing to hear him so full of life again after everything that had happened. "Just ask ol' Uncle Arn for a boost, kiddo. I'll still help you pick apples." he teased.
He certainly hadn't missed the short jokes though.
"Never." Link picked up the other apples and brought them over to the fire before dropping them carefully around the firepit's stones. He didn't want to charcoal them, but a warm snack that wasn't bananas would be good for a change.
The very thought of bananas again made his stomach churn.
"Those smell nice," Arn reached for an apple, but Link lightly kicked his hand away.
"Go make your lizalfos steak." Link pointed to the lizalfos. "Harvest a couple parts while you're at it, we can sell it for a good coin." Link looked at the watchtower briefly. There was another corpse and likely more weapons considering that one had been an archer too.
He used the sharp end of a blade and pulled the steaming apples from the fire, then excused himself and walked to the watchtower.
"There's usually a chest up here," he muttered as he climbed the ladder. A few arrows here and there, he plucked each and placed them in his new quiver, then spotted the chest at the top. He kicked it open and smiled brightly.
Five arrows, all tipped red. My lucky day.
He took them without a second thought and jumped down from the tower.
He ran back to camp, waving one of the arrows high above his head to show him his new find. In the increasing daylight, they were now visible to much of the area.
"Nice find," Arn looked at the arrows with a new interest. "Shouldn't need to fear we're gonna be cold now," he tossed a hot apple to Link. "eat up, we can't stay long."
Link felt disappointment dampen his excitement. Right, the Yiga are just down there… He ate the warm apple and felt its strong heat almost burn his esophagus. It feels nice… He could've almost cried for how nice it felt to have something apart from bananas in his stomach for once, something with real nutrition and taste.
They'd soon be descending from the mountain range…
"We'll have a long trip back down," Link muttered, looking at the path they would follow.
Arn didn't respond, but he was clearly listening.
"Ever shield surf?" Link asked, eyeing the tops of the barrels that littered around the camps.
"It's been a few years."
"Get a refresher," Link pointed to where the sky was lightning up. "We leave when the sun breaks the horizon."
"Understood." Arn nodded and swallowed the rest of his apple.
Link looked back down the canyon to where the Yiga hideout had been. We could've left as three… Link just couldn't get the memory of their escape out of his head. Two yiga had actually helped them escape but when one had tried to follow them, he'd been thrown down a pit?
Why did they even let us escape then? Was it truly because of a deal fallen through? They'd been so hellbent on killing him for so long and now he was just being thrown back to the world, no injuries or anything apart from massive dehydration.
He looked back at Arn a few paces away. He was facing away, trying to balance on top of a barrel lid.
You knew who that was. Link was certain of it.
"It's no one—just a repentant Yiga." While Arn had said it, he hadn't refuted that he knew who it was.
It's not no one… You just want me to think that… Is it a sheikah from the castle? No, I don't think so, I know them all decently well—he has to be from Kakariko then, why else would Arn know some random repentant Yiga?
"Abandon your morals this one time!"
Arn knew Link would have gone back had he known this person's identity.
I hope I'm not walking into a trap.
He grabbed a spare lid from the ground and began balancing on it like he would a shield. Zelda. He had to focus on getting home to Zelda.
.
Link had been right about needing to brush up on the shield surfing. Once the sun had broken the horizon, he and Arn had taken the food and weapons they'd found at the lizalfos camp and had walked up the rest of the hill and were confronted with a very steep slope.
He'd never been more happy to see forestry and mountains. Flowing streams and rivers separated hills and forests, he could see the faintest semblance of the castle in the far distance with Death Mountain warming the backdrop of everything.
He looked down the slope. It was mostly snow, but halfway down it seemed to shift into rock. They could ride down but with such a steep slope, he wouldn't wish wiping out in such an area on anyone. The lids were barely held together as was, they'd break the moment they hit the gravel.
"I'll slide down sitting on the lid," Arn declared, slapping the lid on the ground and sitting on it.
Link debated what he'd do. "Just be sure to lean back or toss yourself off before the stone. It'll hurt far more if you hit rock first." The snow would cushion their fall and stop them from killing themselves falling off the mountain.
He felt an odd shiver run through him, then the hairs on his arms stand on end. This was familiar to the sensations he had during thunderstorms.
He looked around for any electric monsters, but found nothing until he looked up. A long white dragon flew above him, wandering aimlessly through the path. The dragon's mane was tipped with glowing green lightning and there was a captivating green glow beneath the dragon's stomach.
Farosh… The dragon of Faron, spoken of in legend by the locals in Lurelin and at the Faronese stables. They claimed Farosh came with lightning, and one could always tell the dragon was nearby with the static in the air.
I don't usually accept this stuff as a sign from the universe… But I could do with the push.
Link stepped onto the lid. His heart beat hard in his throat, and he could feel himself sweating despite the cold winds. He looked back, wondering about the Yiga.
He froze.
He could see the faintest view of three Yiga inspecting the area just before the camp.
"Arn, go." Link muttered.
Courage overcame his fear of recapture.
Arn glanced back and paled at the sight of the Yiga.
We're so close to freedom, we have to seize the moment now. Link was the first to kick off into the snow. The wind howled around his ears and froze his face immediately thanks to his sweating.
He tried to focus on the path ahead but his eyes were glued to the forests. Warmth. Home.
He banked left, avoiding a particularly big boulder.
He spotted the familiar horse head atop a far off stable. Tabantha stable maybe? He knew their immediate next stop once they were done here.
"Link! Watch your back!" He heard Arn shout behind him.
An arrow whizzed by his head.
Fuck, I'm not going back.
He watched the gravel quickly approach and threw himself into the snow just as it was too close to break. Arn did the same no more than a few seconds later.
He got back onto his feet as the clanmen began surrounding them. This time, there were only three, but fighting on the mountain side wasn't ideal.
He didn't wait for any of the clansmen to strike first, instead he took the two-bladed lizal boomerang and went for the first guy's neck, slicing faster than he ever could.
Arn seemed reinvigorated after a proper meal of warm apples and did the same. He used the blunt end of his blade and bashed again the top of one of the attacker's heads, knocking him unconscious on the ground. The third bounced away, disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappeared where the yiga's body was sliding down the mountain side.
"Let's go before they come back with reinforcements." Arn began walking down the rough mountainside, side stepping carefully to keep from tumbling down the steep face.
.
"Grass feels nice," Arn sighed happily. He laid in the grass, simply enjoying its feel and cool temperature. "I didn't think I'd enjoy it so much…"
As much as Link wanted to lie in the ground, just enjoy the cold, long blades of grass against his skin, he couldn't.
He looked up at the sky where he could see Vah Medoh perched on the distant rock of Rito Village, likely a day's ride away.
He knew where they were located, a direct line to the Tabantha Bridge stable, then Rito Village not far after that. It was just about midday with the sun blazing down on them.
Link strained his ear; he could hear the crickets chirping in the high grasses, the birds, the wind through the nearby trees, and the rushing of water in the nearby pond. It helped calm his stressing heart, but he wouldn't feel at peace until he had Zelda in sight, in his arms.
"We have to get going. I don't want to be out here after nightfall." Link told Arn. He knew past the two large hills before them were forests crawling with moblins and bokoblins, but a path lay close by. He'd taken the path nearby so many times he couldn't count anymore.
"Right, the Stals." Arn heaved himself off the ground and took to his walking once more. "Let's keep an eye for the Yiga too,"
Link nodded. Freedom and nature were in his palms now, he'd fight like his life depended on it if the Yiga were to attempt to drag them back to their hideout. A second escape would be unlikely should they end up there again.
By the next morning, Zelda was unsurprised of all the gossip coming out of servants and nobles alike, each story a different tale. Some people gossiped about a familiar noble who paid the duke a visit in the late night, another intriguing one was how the duke had found himself kicked out of the castle at the earliest daybreak with nothing but the clothes on his back—Zelda knew this one to be partially true with the commotion that had been caused at breakfast.
The wildest one of all was the one that piqued her interest the most. She'd heard it come out of a councilman in the hallway; something regarding the duke potentially knowing where Link and Arn were based on his spectacular timing with his advances.
When Zelda put some thought into it, it made enough sense. By the time the whole castle knew that Link and Arn had been replaced, the duke had already been at the castle with her father, and none of his wives were here either. He'd been known as opportunistic, but who in the higher classes weren't at this point?
But that was all she could really put together. Being opportunistic and close to her father were far from enough evidence to be accusatory towards a duke and claiming to endanger Hylia's chosen hero and the Captain of the King's Guard were crimes with severe punishments, especially given Arn's lesser known position as commander of the royal guards thanks to seniority and experience.
But there was nothing she could do about it now. The duke was gone, and she could breathe easily.
She hoped any future suitor got the message.
Well, some part of the message had been received, she'd yet to be bothered by any noblemen since, but perhaps that was thanks to the presence of the two guards and councilman Stura.
She stood next to the councilman as his page was up high on one of the ladders in the restricted archival sections of the library.
"This is quite the distraction you've requested, Your Highness," Councilman Stura commented with a smile. He held a few folders in his arms, all labelled separately and dated.
Zelda watched the page pull out two more folders. He looked through them briefly before descending the ladder and putting them on top of the already growing pile in Stura's arms. "I can't just let castle politics grind to a halt because Link isn't here."
The councilman hummed. "We didn't mind it, it gave us a much needed reprieve, even if it was for a few days." He turned to her, still holding the pile. "Don't tell His Highness this, but I'm actually glad it's you looking through these rather than him," he laughed nervously. "His lessons seem to go alright, but he's lacking much of the rudimentary theory behind many of the laws."
Zelda nodded. "I'll be sure to help him out… Captain Reinhartd tried, but even he mentioned it's quite difficult to teach Link."
The page went back up the ladder and pulled one more folder before coming back down and pushing the large sliding ladder aside back into its small storage area.
"Might I inquire about something, Princess?" The councilman put the papers down on the table.
"Go ahead."
"I've heard Link has quite the aptitude for military strategy, so why isn't he simply tending to those duties?" the councilman inquired curiously. "That alone takes quite a bit of time, and I feel he'd be irreplaceable in such a role rather than in a courtroom. He has extensive knowledge of flora, fauna, and terrain and knows it quite intimately, so one might assume it would be a natural role."
"Well it's not like this role was something Link wanted to choose; it was quite literally pushed onto him and he flees from his duties quite a bit." Zelda told him. She loved remembering all of Link's hiding places and how he would avoid court duties as much as possible.
"Why don't you take his place in the courtroom? Your understanding is far better and it seems natural for you."
Zelda laughed. "I wish, but the other councilmen don't quite like that idea." The last time she'd tried to go into the courtroom, they'd simply refused her entry.
"Oh Princess, you forget the power you wield sometimes." The councilman smiled as though he was hiding something. "The next time they try to stop you, simply replace them."
Replace them?! I can't just do that. "I could never, Councilman. How else would these laws be passed?"
He shrugged. "You are their future queen. It is but a show of dominance. Be stern, but not cruel. If they wish to kick you out, throw them out first and the rest will fall in line."
Zelda averted her eyes. "Seems a bit extreme, no?"
The councilman sighed quietly. "They're used to thinking they're the strongest around, but they're nothing more than low ranked nobles with the law in their hands. They need the reminder."
Zelda turned to face the councilman. He was oddly bold with the way he wanted them out. What was it that Link told me once about this guy? She remembered. "Is this because they keep making you the messenger of bad news?"
He averted his eyes and mostly kept quiet now.
Well-placed vengeance, I like it.
Zelda took a seat at the table and spread out the multiple folders before her. All were separated by time they'd been passed, and she quickly noticed they were all old policies dating over five years ago.
"Why did you give me such old documents?" Zelda opened the oldest of the files and took the first page, a paper covered in many point-form notes, a fresher ink than the rest of the pages.
"Your Consort requested going through the old policies first to get a grasp of the current political mindset of the council. Not a bad idea if you ask me, but he need not go so far back."
No, he didn't need to go so far back, but the shortened notes are nice. It was far easier to pick up the first page to skim the notes rather than flick through five pages of professionally yet vaguely written policies that allowed hyper-specific loopholes. Reading a few sentences off the first document, it was clear why Link had such a hard time with politics.
Much of the vocabulary was unique to the upper class and most of the terms were seldom used by the working class people lest they work in that field. Link did tell me he doesn't have an advanced vocabulary, written or spoken. Zelda was sure this could be comparable to reading a foreign dialect.
"I've heard Link has quite the aptitude for military strategy, so why isn't he simply tending to those duties?"
I couldn't even begin to tend to military duties and tactics… Maybe the idea isn't that bad. Link had been in military roles and positions since his early childhood and his parentage closely related to the same line of duty. He proved a master of strategy in the field and knew the training regiments from amateur soldier work to experienced royal guards. He could do all of it and not bat a single eyelash or worry about the political ramifications, but with court work?
Link was a stressed mess.
I might just swap duties with Link. It's a tempting offer.
As lower Tabantha usually did, it rained hard and it thundered loudly.
Arn and Link trudged their way through the path westbound towards Rito Village using Vah Medoh as a guide.
This might be the first time I'm thankful for Revali. Link shuddered at the thought of verbally thanking Revali for his large Divine Beast.
The path through the hills had been the longest point of their journey, but once they'd reached the path, all it took was following the road, reading the sign to Tabantha Bridge Stable and the familiar top of the horse head of the stable establishment was visible quickly enough.
Link stomach growled painfully and his head ached like never before. Very little water since they'd been captured, and the apples they'd found had barely sustained them, but they were alive and that was all that mattered at the moment.
They ate the remainder of their apples on the road to the stables until finally, they could hear the peaceful sounds of the horses, crickets, fire crackling and laughter of the stable workers.
Link felt energy return to him once more and he stepped up to the counter, ready to take out one of his spare horses. He had so many, there had to be one at most stables just in case.
"How can we help you—L-Link? Is that you?" Dabi, the owner of the Tabantha Bridge Stable, pulled out from behind the counter and rushed to Link and Arn's side. "Banji!" He called out to a woman from outside of the stable.
Link heard a set of rushed footsteps before seeing the stout woman rush over. "Well if it ain't Link! I'll be damned," She studied him with a worried expression. Her hand flew to his forehead, then to Arn's before leading them inside to sit at one of the free tables.
"We heard you both went missing," Dabi poured them both a large mug of water and set it down before them. He whispered to one of the children and shooed them away. He turned back to them. "Where've you been?"
"The Yiga clan." Arn coughed roughly. He took the tanker of water and downed quite a bit to clear his throat.
"Ah, them nasty folk," Banji cursed under her breath. "Heard about them lurkin' these parts." she informed them. "Thievery, attacks, everythin', I tell you."
Link glanced at Arn as he chugged his water. His skin was still so pale and clammy, but Link was just glad Arn wasn't puking anymore, but the man still worried him.
"Would you guys have any ale or something similar?" Link inquired. He didn't know much about alcohol withdrawal, but he knew one way to treat it was to dose it carefully if they weren't in a safe environment.
"Wine do the trick?" Banji asked, stepping behind the counter and pulling out what seemed to be a quarter of a bottle.
Link nodded and took the bottle and poured some into Arn's empty tanker. "For now, I suppose." Aunt Elise would know how to do this better. "Drink it slowly," he instructed, but Arn didn't seem to hear him and downed almost half of the contents of the tanker.
"I know y'all are in a rush to get yerselfs home, but rest up." Banji told them sternly. "Castle's too far at this time. Stals'll getcha."
Link nodded. He could see outside the stables where the mountains and the far off clouds were starting to change to orange-red hues. They'd get home around midnight if they left now, it was at the very least an eight hour ride by horseback.
"Don't worry about paying this time, just focus on getting some proper sleep and a meal in your bellies."
At that moment, one of the three children came back with a large pot in their hands, accompanied by one of their siblings holding a few utensils. They walked over and heaved the pot onto the table's free space.
The smell made Link's stomach growl loudly. He could smell wild game, carrots, rice, and other wild herbs cooked all together. It was heavy on the meat side, but there was most definitely an abundance of vegetables and grain.
A proper, hearty countryside stew.
"We'll add it to your tab for the next time you're around," Dabi winked and wrote it down onto his ledger. "Dig in, pick a bed, and get some sleep."
Link picked up a ladle and spooned some stew into the small bowls and gave one to Arn, then one for himself. It smelled divine.
Having only eaten bananas since their capture, horse manure might as well have smelled refreshing to him.
He spooned a piece of slow cooked game and took a tentative first bite. The heat, the smoked flavour and the juiciness of the meat made him want to cry. It had been too long since he'd had such a rustic meal.
The broth tasted strongly of bear meat and hyrule herb, but Link also detected a pungent hint of sting from radishes behind the meat and the earthy flavour behind the carrots.
It tasted like home.
.
When he awoke the next morning, he was greeted by the owner Dabi and his wife Banji. They both had steaming plates with eggs and slices of wild meat waiting for him. Arn was awake in the bed next to him and he'd regained much of his colour after the whole night's sleep.
The wine bottle from the night before still had a bit left and it sat on Arn's nightstand.
It's good then…he won't be affected by his withdrawals anymore.
Banji handed Link a plate of breakfast. "If it makes ya feel better, we kept yall a secret." she told them.
"If you guys had been missing for the whole week, we assumed you didn't want your current location known, so we kept from telling anyone you were here. No letters, no one got to see you, you could ride home in peace." Dabi told them. He walked to Arn's bed and gave him a plate of the food, piled much higher than Arn's. "Like we told you yesterday, don't you worry about the tab, just pay it next time."
"Or pay her at at 'nother stable and tell 'em!" Banji told them. "Works both ways."
"Thank you, you're too kind." Link began scarfing down his breakfast. Food in his belly was a strong push.
"Your horse'll be ready at the front for ya'." Banji told them and pulled Dabi away to let them eat. She pulled the privacy curtain to cover them from any incoming travellers, but she left the opposing side open so he could see Arn.
Arn had almost finished his whole plate while Link had been talking to Dabi and Banji.
"What are the chances that you kept a horse here?" Arn chuckled to himself.
Link scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He had a horse at nearly every stable in the country thanks to his proclivity to walk everywhere and train a wild horse whenever he found a particularly beautiful one. The only stables that weren't currently boarding a horse of his were the Gerudo Canyon stable and the Snowfield stable due to their distances. Link knew it was unlikely he'd ever be walking in those areas without a mount to begin with.
"It's actually pretty high," Link muttered and focused on his breakfast. "We'll leave when we finish." We can be home by mid-day. The thought alone had Link cleaning his plate as fast as he could.
He opened the curtain to look outside the stable and heard the whinnying of his roan mare by the name of Cookie. A pretty mare he'd found two years back, he'd found her not far from the stable and he had a wonderful time exploring the area bareback before boarding her up at the stable. She had a gentle temperament for a wild horse and she was rarely fussy, but she had a liking for cotton and leather.
I'll need to find the time to bring her back here eventually, I wonder if she'll get along with Epona, Storm, and Abraxas.
Once Link finished clearing his plate, Cookie had already been saddled up for two and ready for the road.
Thanks to their lack of belongings, it wasn't hard to get into the saddle with Arn. Being small was a blessing today, Link felt like he was twelve years old again and hopping into the saddle with his dad.
"Let's get the hell home, I want to see my wife." Arn pressed Cookie onto the path while Link sat in front with the reins in hand.
"So do I." They left the safety of the stables and trotted into the open path towards Hyrule. "Have your bow ready in case of unwelcome company." Link warned Arn. Link handed him the arrows he'd found in the mountains.
The sun was bright and the wind was at their backs finally.
Nothing was going to stop them from getting home.