Legends of the Hero of Time

by Ryan-Sinclair

Following the events of Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask, Link struggles to adapt to a civilian lifestyle. His obsession with his mission leads him to need to be rescued by Malon. The bond the two develop after helps him accept his new fate. However, his destiny remains uncertain as he must contend with a conniving Ganondorf, an army of Gerudo, and the consequences of Zelda's spell.

36. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

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[Time: 10:00 A.M. (Morning)]

[Date: Month 8 'Autumn', Day 15, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, City of Hyrule, Hyrule Castle - Royal Garden)

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It was mid-morning and although the sun shone through the thin layer of clouds in the bright blue sky, it was quite cold for an autumn day. Nonetheless, the beautiful Princess Zelda still insisted on visiting her usual spot there in the Royal Garden as it was the only place she could go so that she could have a peaceful time for herself. This tranquility allowed her to contemplate on important matters without interruption from advisors and annoying aristocrats, which in turn let her de-stress from the monotony of dealing with political affairs, military organization or hungry peasants.

Her usual regal outfit consisted of a gorgeous long sleeved cyan dress that was covered by a short, pink-sleeved white gown that had a fitted bodice. The white and purple wimple she had on her head displayed a golden emblem of The Triforce, while her purple tabard-like sash was adorned with the same depiction, except above a crimson-coloured Hylian Crest. Both golden bracelets she wore were just as exquisite as her decorative leather belt and its embossed buckle, just not as stunning as the ruby pendant hanging from her neck.

The sanctum she stood in was an octagonal atrium within the depths of the castle and at the end of the Royal Courtyard. It contained a sparkling reservoir where all the fresh water from the aqueduct flowed to. However, there was a raised garden bed in the center that the young girl often stood and meditated on. A short set of meticulously carved stone steps led across the water and up to the wall where a glass window gave her a decent view of the throne room.

She listened to the babbling of the crystal clear water around her as she thought about who she'd be seeing this morning. Even though it had been a while since they were last in each other's presence, she wasn't sure why she was so nervous. A major part of her felt like she was anxious because she had a feeling that he wasn't too pleased with the way things had turned out; how nobody remembers his grand deeds of saving the entire kingdom. From the very beginning, she knew that it was going to frustrate him, yet it was the only solution to their issue.

On the other hand, despite not wanting to admit it, there also happened to be a sliver of her that was merely antsy about seeing the handsome boy again.

Impa, her Royal Nanny and 'Last of the Sheikah' had previously divulged the dark secret about the girl's deceased mother having had an affair with her personal bodyguard. Zelda was aware that Link was the resulting love-child, thus making him her half-brother. Clearly this meant that she couldn't have a romantic relationship with him whether she wanted to or not. Still, no matter how little time they had actually spent together, she found that she had a deep connection with him that felt more than natural, it felt like they were destined to be in each other's lives.

"Your highness, they'll be here soon." Impa spoke from behind the princess. "We should make our way to the throne room before we're chastised for being late."

"Pray tell, are you convinced that he'll be there?" The princess asked her Royal Nanny.

Impa crossed her arms as she craned her neck. "Link? Yes, I would imagine that he would be."

"Good." Zelda straightened her whimple, doing a small gussy up in preparation of the Hero of Time's arrival. "My participation in this meeting is contingent upon his presence. Otherwise, what purpose does this conference serve?"

"What purpose?" Impa repeated and then analyzed the girl's poor choice of words. "It's still an important meeting because they'll personally confirm that Gerudo Forces have been deployed on Hyrulean soil AFTER their exclusion from the treaty." Pushing the matter further since she was trying to ensure the princess took it seriously, she mentioned how it appeared from her point of view. "Saying it like that makes it sound like you're enamoured with him."

Princess Zelda huffed, taken aback by such a sudden statement. She kept herself faced away from her nanny, looking up at the fluffy clouds in the sky in order to hide her rosy cheeks. It took a moment for her to respond and even then she had to focus on what she said so that her voice didn't crack. "You are in error!"

"Am I?" Impa continued to stand there as she tried to convince the girl to ready herself. "You're not looking at me, but I can tell you're blushing. I can see how red the back of your ears are."

"I'm not enamoured with him, Impa!" Zelda snapped back a reply in spite of her cheeks getting slightly redder. What she was hearing was frustrating her because she didn't want to admit that there was a pinch of truth to it. She decided to make up an excuse instead of confront the facts. "While he may indeed be a formidable hero, I proudly assume the role of a princess. We are of distinct lineage."

"He's also partially related to you." The sheikah made sure to remind her.

With a look of aggravation plastered on her face, the princess turned her head and glared at her nanny. In a perturbed voice, she shouted "I know that! I'm not stupid!"

"Don't you take that tone with me, young lady." Impa sternly demanded that the girl calm herself. "You might be the princess and I'm dedicated to your well-being, but I also raised you better than to speak so disrespectfully."

Zelda's ears tilted downward in shame as she exhaled dramatically. Fortunately, she managed to reduce her anger and immediately apologized for how she acted. "I'm sorry. You're right."

Impa walked forward and helped the princess tidy her dress by dusting off the back of it. While she did so, she proceeded to try and get to the bottom of the girl's strife. As a nanny, not only did she deal with physical needs, she also did her best to assist in mental advancement as well. "Tell me how you're feeling right now."

She didn't really want to discuss the subject any further, but after being questioned, she instinctively let out what was bothering her. "I guess it's just because he's the only boy I've been around who actually impressed me. The numerous suitors and young nobles my father has endeavored to introduce to me have proven to be nothing but juvenile weakling that elicited not even the slightest intrigue from me. In truth, I found their company exceedingly tedious." Closing her eyes, she held her hand to her lips prior to gazing down at her reflection in the surrounding reservoir. "Link's different. He's interesting and powerful."

"You respect him." Impa gave her the word she was looking for.

"Yes, exactly." Zelda acknowledged in advance of presenting a question of her own. "This is likely the reason for my inexplicable attraction to him, is it not?"

The nanny straightened the bottom of the princess' dress. Standing up, while bobbing her head side-to-side, she gestured to there being a possibility. "Well, that and the fact that he's your missing relative. I'm sure, it's natural to feel a connection. He's related to you."

As she continued to think exceedingly fondly about the amazing hero she had once worked with, Zelda instinctively fluttered her eyelashes while staring up into the cloudy sky. Her long droopy ears lightly twitched and stayed red from being intensely embarrassed. It made her further flustered to think about how strong and responsible he was for someone his age, how he had a humbleness that was far more attractive to her than the bratty princes she was often forced to be acquainted with. Thinking about it was so frustrating that it caused her temperature to increase until the cold air on her crimson cheeks produced a bit of steam.

"Princess…" Impa interrupted with pursed lips as she watched the girl unintentionally fantasize about her sibling. The sheikah felt there was another piece of important news that needed to be shared. "You are aware that he is in a relationship, right?"

Zelda's entire demeanor suddenly changed. She felt pins and needles in her royal heart upon hearing that. Yet, she tried hard not to show it, regardless of how her neck muscles twitched and her pulse increased. "W-What? With who?" Once again, she spoke in a way that made it seem as if she was head-over-heels for the boy. Doing so and realizing it made her feel as if her nose was ten inches long.

"I believe it's Talon Lon's daughter, Malon Lon."

"Talon? Malon?" She wondered about the names. "Oh, wait, the girl who was kidnapped, right?"

"Yes." Impa answered. "Link is in a relationship with the farmer's daughter." After telling the princess the news, she waited a moment prior to asking "Do you have a problem with that?"

Zelda's eyebrows both lifted as her eyes widened in surprise. She then quickly waved her hands to gesture against such an obscene suggestion. "What? Indeed not. Pray tell, why would I harbor any discontent regarding their relationship? My acquaintanceship with both has been rather superficial." Clearing her throat, she added "Plus, it's like you said, he's my half-brother. Any prospect of us being together is forbidden."

The royal nanny smirked at the girl's exasperation. "Just checking."

Knowing what the coy sheikah was attempting to figure out, the princess grumbled with frustration. Then again, she kept her composure instead of getting angry. In doing so, she became curious how this was determined in the first place "Speaking of which, have you also been inquiring about his well-being? How did you come by this information?"

"He's the Hero of Time, my dear." Impa confirmed the princess' suspicion. "It's important that we track him and know what he's doing, so there are several scouts that have been assigned to keep tabs on him. They have a lot of trouble because he moves so quickly when he's outside the ranch, but they do a decent job."

Zelda rolled her eyes before turning around to be face-to-face with her nanny. "I suppose that is a reasonable conclusion."

"Mhmm." Impa tried not to physically express the humour she felt upon seeing the princess blushing for a romantic reason. It was very cute and certainly a memory to adore regardless of the situation that caused it. But, the sheikah woman knew that they couldn't stand around daydreaming, that they needed to begin making their way to the throne room since the meeting would start soon. Considering that, she told the girl "Now, if you're done pinning for him, we must depart. You can come back here afterward if you need to contemplate what we discover."

"I'm not pi-...!" Princess Zelda was about to object to the notion of 'pining' for a boy, but gave up with one last drawn out sigh. "F-Fine. Let's depart."

Impa proceeded to bend down onto her left knee in advance of giving the child she'd raised since birth a loving hug. "Very good." Since it was more than a sense of duty that kept the woman around, since she genuinely cared very deeply for the princess, she chose to try and help set things right. "If everything goes as planned, I promise that I'll make sure to talk to your father, his majesty, about setting you up with suitors who suit your morals and tastes more than those he's chosen as of lately."

"Thank you, Impa." Zelda smiled softly in response.

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[Time: 10:24 A.M. (Morning)]

[Date: Month 8 'Autumn', Day 15, 8th Era]

(Location: Hyrule, City of Hyrule, Hyrule Castle - Southern Gatehouse)

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"Stay close ta me." Talon told Nabooru, who walked directly beside him as she and Malon followed closely behind Link. "Nobody'll question ya' if they're thinkin' that yer' my wife."

"Good thinking." Link agreed with the idea since it provided the trespassing gerudo with a sense of safety while being in such a highly restricted area. "But, I don't think anyone's gonna mess with you, especially not when you're with me."

Nabooru appreciated their concern for her, however she was more interested in the heavyset farmer's choice of words. Although he was only thinking of her safety, the fact that he added in the part about her being his wife made her feel a tad giddy. She pulled the hood of her cloak down further to conceal her flattered face and then giggled. "Oh, you'd just love it if people thought that, wouldn't you?"

"Huh?" Talon acted as if he didn't understand what she was saying.

Nabooru shook her head with a smirk. "You heard me."

Malon jumped in by stating the obvious. "I'm pretty sure auntie is teasing about knowing how you have a crush on her."

"I-I wasn't tryin'-..." The farmer became flustered at the subject; cheeks tinged rose coloured while beads of stress sweat formed at his temples. It certainly wasn't the time to be contemplating such trivial matters. Nonetheless, life tended to be that way. There was never truly a 'right' time to think about such things as being in love with somebody. "How 'bout we just focus on gettin' in the castle? We gotta look serious or else they'll think we're up ta somethin'."

"Yep. He's trying to escape from the conversation." His daughter narked on his avoidance.

Talon hung his head as he walked with them.

Nabooru kept her smirk as she gently nudged him. "Oh, I know he is. I can see right through a voe's advances."

Despite what she said and how she said it, the gerudo woman proceeded to reach over and delicately grab Talon's hand. Before he could so much as register her sudden action, she had already entwined her fingers with his. Compared to the surrounding air, his skin was comfortingly warm. It felt awkward to be hand-in-hand with another person, yet also strangely soothing.

This definitely wasn't an action she'd ever done with Lord Dragmire. She might have been Ganondorf's sultana, but he was by no means affectionate with her. Regardless of all the loyal years by his side, she'd only heard him proclaim his love for her a whopping five times. In the meantime, she and Talon had spent a sum total of a month together and he had told her that he loved her on more instances than she could count.

For a while, the affection her sister's widowed husband held for her was only platonic. Together, they had both mourned Najiyah's death, supporting and relying upon one another until they were able to move on from their depression. By the time Malon had turned six years old, Nabooru's relationship with her niece's father began to morph into more than a familial one. She figured it was the simple matter of her resembling her sister, which is why she remembered rejecting him when he initially flirted with her. Except, each additional visit afterward caused her defenses to increasingly crumble as she always felt the voe's eyes glued to her, always watching her walk, always watching her talk and staring at her plump lips in a rather obsessive way.

For the first time in a long time, it made her feel like a proper vai fully capable of seducing a voe with minimal effort.

He knew how to treat a vai right too. Without going as far as to admit to herself that she was attracted to his qualities, she conceded that he would be highly sought after by others her age. After all, he was hardworking, strong, had his own residence which doubled as his place of business and even adored children.

"I'd be honoured and lucky if I were your wife." She told the farmer as she walked hand-in-hand with him.

"W-Well… I-..." Talon was so tongue tied that he could barely form a cohesive sentence. However, it made him happy to hear such a thing after being apart from a woman for so long. "Thank you."

Following the dirt path, the group came around the corner of the mountain range surrounding the motte that the castle was built on. A large gale blew through the crisp air, making it feel even colder than it really was. Luckily, the sunlight provided enough warmth that they didn't feel exceedingly chilly. The breeze was also so loud that they couldn't hear anybody conversing. On the other hand, a short distance away, they could see a multitude of guards standing at the southern gatehouse. In addition to the sentries, they also noticed another man standing directly in front of the portcullis.

Link didn't want to point, so he gave a nod of acknowledgement in the general direction they were heading. "That must be the chamberlain King Nohansen wrote of in his letter."

"I'm getting nervous." Malon could feel her heart pumping faster the closer she got to Hyrule Castle. Her palms were sweating, but she was too busy keeping the hem of her dress from dragging the slightly damp ground to notice. What she did take note of was the extra energy pulsing through her core. "I really hope I don't make a fool of myself."

"Ya'll be fine." Talon stated.

Link agreed with her father. He knew that the girl had plenty of courage within herself. "Yeah, just act like you're making a business transaction. Be respectful and truthful."

Malon sighed at the poor analogy. "Yeah. But, these aren't customers and I don't usually have to worry about getting thrown in a dungeon if I'm not liked by them."

"Ya ain't gonna git thrown in no dungeon." Talon scoffed at the thought.

"I highly doubt you'd get thrown in the dungeon." Looking behind himself, Link once again agreed with the heavyset farmer. "Besides, what's not to like about you? You're sweet, smart and an overall likeable person."

The farmgirl blushed lightly as she flashed a smile at her boyfriend. Same as always, he knew exactly what to say in order to motivate and compliment her. He made her feel more confident in herself and that was the boost she needed to be the fiery redhead she was always meant to be. With that peptalk, she felt sure she'd be able to make it through her first meeting with royalty. "Okay, okay, don't embarrass me. You're too flattering."

"You deserve to be flattered." The hero calmly replied as if he were stating a genuine fact.

Nabooru snickered as she watched the farmgirl roll her eyes and blush harder than she already had been. It was a brief glimpse into the two kid's relationship that greatly pleased the caring gerudo woman. Getting to witness how upstanding the cute boyfriend was in addition to how he treated Malon like she were already his significant other, it helped the aunt know that her niece was in the safest of hands, hands that were just as strong if not stronger than the one she was currently holding.

"Yer' a damn casanova, boy." Talon laughed aloud as they approached the gate.

Quieting down their trivial prattle, the group of four proceeded to walk up to the barbican where all the guards were. The man Link had previously pointed out began to wave at them. His attire was quite interesting, consisting of puffy, knee-length paned slops that were burgundy-coloured. He also had black leather boots and a luxurious black doublet that covered a burgundy-coloured silk shirt. Similarly, his ruff covered his collar. Hung around his shoulders was also a decorative sash as well as his chain of office, to which a large golden key was attached.

"Talon Lon?" The man asked.

Hearing his name called, Talon stepped forward with Nabooru holding his hand. "Yes, sir."

"Great. It's nice to meet you, my name is Yoseph. I'm the chamberlain of this castle and I've been assigned to lead you to the throne room." The man acknowledged Talon's presence in advance of inquiring about the others. "Is your entire party accounted for?"

"Yes, sir." Talon repeated himself since it was the same answer.

Taking a list from out of his pocket, the chamberlain put on the pair of spectacles that were hanging around his neck. Following that, he read off the names that were on it. "Talon, check. Malon?"

"Here." The farmgirl replied.

"Link?" The chamberlain requested a check.

The hero nodded and said "Here."

After that, Yoseph glanced up from the parchment to look at the woman Talon was holding hands with. He looked back down at the list, flipped a few pages forward and then back. Unsatisfied, he decided to ask "And, who is this?"

"She-..." Link was about to say before being interrupted by Talon.

"This is my wife-..." Talon quickly cut Link off to say. But, he then realized it probably wouldn't be the best idea to announce her identification using her actual name since there could potentially be oppressive eyes and ears on her. With that in mind, he threw a pair of metaphorical dice by coming up with an alias off the top of his head. "Her name's Najiru. She came with me ta back-up my claims."

The chamberlain glanced at Link before looking back-and-forth between Talon and Nabooru. Before long, he gave in, assuming that he was being given correct information. "I see." With that figured out, the man used a charcoal stick to begin writing down the woman's name. "How do you spell that?"

"N,A,J,I,R,U." Talon was once again quick on the draw, trying to ensure no suspicion was cast upon them.

"Got it." Yoseph wrote down the name prior to putting the charcoal stick and letter back inside his pocket.

Now that everybody was accounted for and he had unknowingly given the disguised Nabooru access, he moved on to the regulations they must abide by; a typical speech given to members of the public upon arrival. "Before we go beyond this gate, there are a few rules that you need to be aware of and strictly abide by." Seeing how he'd said this so many times, he no longer needed his papers to read from. He spoke from memory. "The most important is that you know misconduct of any kind shall not be tolerated and runs the risk of you being removed from the castle or even imprisoned… Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." All four of them said in unison.

Giving a single clap, the chamberlain continued. "Good. Everything else is easy. You are not to stray from my side unless given permission, you are to be quiet and only speak when spoken to, you'll maintain a respectful distance from and never approach members of nobility unless given permission to do so and you will bow or curtsey to each you encounter." Scanning all of their faces, he double-checked to make sure they comprehended these rules. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Talon, Link, Nabooru and Malon spoke in tandem.

With a small bow of his own, Yoseph said "Excellent. Now, let us depart to the throne room."

The chamberlain then turned around. All that he had to do was simply wave his hand upward and the usual guard responded to him, yelling "Raise the gate!" Following a short pause, the portcullis began to steadily lift, the old metal creaking loudly as it did. The operator inside the barbican worked quickly to wind the chains.

Whenever the mechanism stopped and locked in place, Yoseph snapped his fingers, directing the group to walk with him beneath the portcullis. "Remember, follow closely."

Link walked inside first; preceded by Malon, who grabbed onto his hand for comfort. Talon and Nabooru trailed directly behind. As a group, they stayed just out of arm's reach of the chamberlain, which was close enough to satisfy the required proximity. Together, they walked beyond as well as away from the barbican, hearing the portcullis lowering with a thud whenever it resealed the entrance.

Considering they had somewhere to be and Link didn't have to sneak around the guards, they traveled with haste.

Malon kept up her quick pace by matching her boyfriend's. But, not long after they turned the corner of the path that wound upward to the motte Hyrule Castle was built on, she also found herself admiring the majestic view. Until this morning, she had never obtained such much as a peek. Despite the multitude of times she'd waited for her father outside the barbican they passed, the Royal Meadow had always been just out of sight. Now she was walking by it like everyone else who lives at the castle.

Link had seen it plenty and wasn't the least interested in taking in the sights. He was focused on thinking about what he was going to say to King Nohansen and Princess Zelda. Unlike their last meeting, aside from Zelda's trust, he hoped that the nobles would take him more seriously than they did, that they would finally believe the future events he spoke of since they were sincerely witnessing them play out live.

Talon had similar thoughts as Link, wanting to ensure the royals took the gerudo threat seriously. Nonetheless, he was also concerned with Nabooru's safety. They had made it past the first security check without any issues, but there was always a chance that the king or some other authority figure might take offense that he brought an individual who wasn't on their list. Worried for her, he increased his public display of affection by wrapping his arm around her shoulder and keeping her close to him.

Nabooru cracked a smile and giggled softly as she stared at him out of the corner of her eye. It was a tad flustering how close they were to each other. Having not really been pressed to his side like this until now, she was surprised to find that much more warmth radiated off his actual body than merely his hand. Funnily, he smelled a lot like the breakfast he had made too, the wheat berries having loaned him their earthy scent.

Yet, she was also amused by the farmer's choice of alias. Keeping her voice down, she asked him "Najiru?"

"S-Sorry." He whispered back. "I fig'red it ain't a good idea ta use yer' real name."

"So you combined my name with my sisters?" Nabooru pondered for a moment prior to saying "Good thinking." She kept her smile as they traveled on the path alongside the Royal Meadow. "Thankfully they didn't check for a ring on my finger or we might've been in trouble."

Talon pretended to be concerned with their volume, but he was just embarrassed. "Uhh-... M-Maybe we outta k-keep quiet."

Nabooru knew the farmer was too shy to put the moves on her, especially during such a stressful time, so she relented. Either way, she felt cozy, loved and protected with him holding her the way he was. With the castle entrance getting closer and closer, she stayed silent, but also leaned against him more than she actually needed to. She told herself it was to appear more like a couple, though she couldn't fully deny it was because she was enjoying it.

Coming to the end of the dirt pathway, a stone staircase took its place, leading straight up to the moat that surrounded Hyrule Castle. Once they ascended those steps, the grandeur of the grey-coloured structure was in full view.

A three-story fortified curtain wall protected the area by separating the outer-bailey from the inner-bailey, overseeing both with its four connected watchtowers. On the other side of those walls was The Keep. At eight levels high, it towered over any other location in Castle Town and rightly so considering it was the oldest known hylian facility that still functioned as it was originally intended. Following the initial four main levels, it narrowed as it went up, converging into a blue-shingled pyramid hip roof just above the bell tower.

"Remember to stay close to me." Yoseph reminded the four visitors as they walked across the stone path that intersected the dirt road alongside the moat. "Hyrule Castle isn't currently open to the public, so wandering the grounds isn't allowed."

After the reminder, he waved his hand at the gatehouse built into the curtain wall. The gatekeeper, ever vigilant, saw the chamberlain and worked on gradually lowering the drawbridge. It only took a couple of minutes to open, with the bridge falling toward the ground and making a loud thud those last few feet.

Now that the otherside was exposed, all four of them caught their first glimpse of the inner-bailey. Compared to the outer-bailey, otherwise known as the Royal Meadow, it was far less accommodating to nature; lacking trees and decorative boulders. It was simply a mostly empty field that surrounded The Keep. However, there were two giant banner flags positioned on both sides of the entrance.

A random guard passed by, patrolling the interior of the curtain wall.

When the group crossed the drawbridge, Malon looked down into the moat. She'd heard stories of alligators and snakes infesting the water, but was surprised to find that it was crystal clear. In fact, it was lined with stones, allowing it to stay purified.

Traveling inside and through the curtain wall, Link took the opportunity to glance left and right. He saw that it was essentially a narrow dimly lit corridor that extended in both directions. Despite being fairly cramped, it was large enough for two guardsmen traveling in opposite directions to pass each other, which was all it needed to accommodate anyway since its primary purpose was defence.

Aside from acting as a funnel that forced any invading army to enter in one spot, there were several other defensive constructions that had been added to increase protective capabilities. As intended, it was difficult to see from the outside, yet there were numerous arrow slits lining the exterior facing walls that allowed for soldiers to shoot arrows out of during any potential siege. There were also three murderholes built into the ceiling for scalding oil to be thrown on top of any incoming attackers.

Nabooru stayed silent and didn't make any attempt at examining her surroundings; doing nothing that would cause suspicion to be cast upon her. She merely walked with Talon, pretending to be his wife.

Talon spoke softly, remarking on the area. "Ya know, even after all the years of deliverin' goods 'ere, I ain't ever seen this spot. I usually gotta enter through the delivery tower."

"Hmm… Yes." Yoseph replied. "I must say, I'm rather fond of your ranch's milk."

"Thank ya." Talon smiled in delight that such a high ranking noble enjoyed the dairy his ranch's cows produced.

Glancing back at the hefty farmer, the chamberlain inquired "If I may ask, how do you get it so much creamier than the surrounding ranches?"

Talon's smile turned into a grin as he recited his usual spiel. "At Lon Lon Ranch, we pride ourselves in takin' better care of our livestock than our competition does. An 'appier animal makes a 'appy customer with a quality product."

"I can respect that." The chamberlain nodded as he proceeded to lead them out of the curtain wall and down the stone path leading toward The Keep.

Link and Malon both looked around now that they were officially inside the inner-bailey. There was a smaller dirt path connected to the left side of the stone path, appearing to travel around that side of the castle. On the right, there was a small vegetable garden and miniature grape vineyard. Besides that, there were hundreds of Silent Princess flowers lined up against the walls of The Keep. The forward facing walls themselves were adorned with three massive stained-glass windows, each of which depicted one of the Golden Goddesses.

"Wow." Malon expressed her amazement at being so close to Hyrule Castle.

Coming to the end of the path, there were two sets of giant reinforced heavy wooden doors that led inside. Up above these doors, in the middle of them, was a pedimental sculpture of the Triforce.

"This way, please." The chamberlain motioned for them to go through the doors on the left.

After Yoseph gave a gentle knock on the left-side door, it slowly creaked open, revealing a boy a few years younger than Link as well as an old man, both of whom were employed to open and close the entrance as needed.

Each member of the group traveled inside before the door was closed behind them in order to keep the heat in. There in the foyer, it was surprisingly chilly seeing how the stone walls and floors had poor insulation. Fortunately, there were two brass braziers burning charcoal on both sides of the room. At the other end, in the corners and next to the doors leading further inward, there were two decorative suits of armour which had been worn by the first Knights of Hyrule.

There was also a porter; a man dressed in a formal suit who monitored everybody who came in and out of the castle. However, since the group was already with the chamberlain, the guy paid no attention to them aside from giving a polite bow.

"Welcome to Hyrule Castle." Yoseph greeted them in advance of walking across the room.

Link, Malon, Talon and Nabooru followed closely behind the chamberlain. Moving into the next room, they found themselves in the lower entryway of the Great Hall. At three-levels in height, not only was it an enormous open layout, it was the central chamber to which the majority of the others could be accessed from. Two large chandeliers hung from the ceiling; combined with the torches on the walls, they made it well-lit. Servants occasionally walked back-and-forth conducting their duties as they traveled in-and-out of the surrounding hallways.

"Good morning, sir." One of the maids scrubbing the floor greeted the chamberlain.

"Good morning." Yoseph gave a quick nod of acknowledgement prior to walking forward, leading the group further into the depths of the keep.

After making their way up the short set of stairs, they arrived in the main section of the Great Hall. In the center of the room was a big circular red-coloured rug woven with a golden-coloured depiction of the Triforce. Encircling the stone floor was red-coloured carpet runners that neatly covered the transition to polished wooden planks. The left and right sides had these planks which extended across the length of the room and were lined with marble columns supporting the second-level walkway.

Straight ahead, there were several flights of stairs leading to the second floor, colloquially known as the Grand Staircase. It had two landings that separated the flights, the first big enough to be considered a platform. That one was large enough that it had a tall statue of Goddess Hylia residing on it, forever looking out over the Great Hall.

Right there in front of the Grand Staircase were two Hyrulean Royal Guards holding spears, with one standing on each side. Both of them weren't dressed like the regular guardsmen patrolling the perimeter of the castle. They donned a purple fitted tunic and trousers with white leggings, a chainmail hauberk, white metal bracers, grieves and sabatons, in addition to a sleek white steel breastplate that was polished to perfection and had large golden shoulder guards. While they had helmets similar to their traditional counterparts which obscured others from seeing them, providing them anonymity, there was a symbol of The Triforce on it as well as a depiction of the Royal Family Crest displayed on their abdomen.

"The Throne Room is right upstairs, second floor." Yoseph told them as he led them across the Great Hall toward the Grand Staircase. "The King is already present, but remember that you will remain silent until spoken to."

"Yes, sir." Link, Talon, Malon and Nabooru replied in unison.

Walking across the room, the group was specifically made to go around the regal red rug with the depiction of the Triforce on it; a purposeful sign of reverence for the sacred icon.

Halfway to the Grand Staircase, they were momentarily stopped whenever somebody on the second-story walkway called out to the chamberlain. "Yoseph! I am heading out to find a place where I can settle in for the evening." This was the Master Hunter, the man who personally acquired much of the meat used by the cooks here in the castle. He was almost middle-age, about forty-years old, rather brawny, with green eyes and a jet black braided mohawk. "Wish me luck."

"You have it, my friend." The chamberlain proceeded to give a thumbs up. "Here's hope that you'll bring back some venison for tomorrow's dinner."

"You know it!" The Master Hunter slapped his hand on the railing of the walkway in advance of walking away. When he turned his back, everyone could see the humongous compound bow he planned to scout for prey with. He didn't even have many arrows in his quiver, which made them think he was a sure-shot.

The chamberlain resumed leading them to the throne room. "Sorry about that."

Once they made it to the Grand Staircase, they passed the two royal guards and ascended the first flight. While on the landing in-between stairs, Malon examined the intricate statue of Goddess Hylia. Although she was supposed to stay silent, she quietly remarked on how exquisite the sculpture was. "The White Goddess. I wonder if that's what she really looked like. If so, she was probably the most beautiful woman to ever exist."

"I don't know about that." Link whispered back in response. "I think you're prettier than she was."

"Link-..." Malon rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's cheesy compliment. In spite of that, his words still made her stomach flutter from the true love he gave her. Being that she was anxious about where they were, the butterflies almost made her queasy. Thankfully, being hand-in-hand with her saviour was enough to quell the nausea.

"I know, I know. It's how I feel though." As seen through Link's eyes, he was telling the truth. He was honest about finding the natural farmgirl to be more attractive than a genuine deity.

Walking across the landing, they ascended the next flight. Arriving at the following landing, they saw that there were two more short staircases on the left and the right, both of which led up to the second-story balcony. On the other hand, they were heading for the door that was straight ahead. The doorway itself was bigger and more elegant than the others, with marble trim as well as another albeit smaller pedimental sculpture of the Triforce.

Yoseph knocked on the door, waiting a moment before it opened.

Making their way inside the throne room, Link, Talon, Malon and Nabooru were left speechless at its opulence. The floor was marbled with a grey gothic design and the two-leveled tiled walls were polished to absolute perfection. A total of three luxurious enlarged chandeliers hung from the peaked ceiling, illuminating the regal gold-trimmed blue runner rug which stretched from the entrance all the way to The King's throne at the other end. Ensuring there was enough lighting, there were also six floor candelabra, three on each side of the room. On each side of the middle candelabra were stone flower pots as well as decorative suits of armour. Tapestries hung behind the throne, depicting the Crest of the Royal Family.

As previously stated by the chamberlain, King Harkinian Nohansen VII of Hyrule was already present, patiently sitting on his throne. His gold crown shimmered from the flickering light; the symmetrically tri-tipped circlet and its adorned sapphire being his most noticeable feature. Then again, his solid gold belt buckle was recognizable too, being shaped like a Loftwing holding the Triforce. However, his bright red velvet regalia embroidered with strands of gold on the sleeves were important because they highlighted the prestigious outfit he wore beneath. With the robes open like they were, it showed off his high-quality blue silk shirt and white linen pants.

His personal bodyguard was a massive hylian towering at six feet, seven inches in height. The man was fully-equipped in heavy armour; with a steel cuirass, pauldrons, rerebraces, couter, vambraces, faulds, cuisses, poleyns, greaves and sabatons. An engraving of the Royal Family Crest was proudly displayed on his chest and from his hip hung a shortsword while on his back was a sheathed dagger.

There was a smaller throne next to him that had Princess Zelda sitting on it, waiting for the meeting to begin. She looked well-rested, yet slightly anxious.

Impa stood directly beside the noble girl and kept her safe.

The royal amanuensis, Jubahl, was in the corner at a trestle desk. He had numerous pieces of parchment paper, a giant plume and an entire inkwell, making him ready to record everything that was said during the meeting.

Numerous advisors of all shapes and sizes stood around in addition to behind the King's Throne, ready at a moment's notice to give their input on any political affairs. Unfortunately, most of these men had too big of an ego to properly fulfill their role. Either way, they were there.

"Ah, most splendid." The King stated upon seeing that the group had arrived. "My esteemed guests have arrived."

Yoseph led Link, Talon, Malon and Nabooru up to the king and princess, stopping them at about ten feet away. He personally positioned all of them, lining them up so that all four of them could be plainly seen. Afterward, he turned to the throne, gave a bow and then retreated to the corner of the room, leaving the group to stand there in wait for the meeting to begin.

Link swallowed his spit and inhaled deeply. He was quite nervous with anticipation that something would be accomplished because of this conference. But, when his eyes accidentally locked with Zelda's eyes, he stared at her for several moments before glancing away. Unlike the farmgirl, seeing the princess made him feel weird, as if his heart was about to pop from being violently squeezed by a giant. His face felt hot, except he wasn't blushing.

Zelda refused to look away, even after Link had. The princess hadn't seen the hero in so long that it felt as if it were a lifetime ago. With all her training and monotonous daily activities, she barely had time to think about herself, much less others. Good news was that he looked like he'd done well for himself, appearing to be both nicely fed and muscled thanks to his hard labor at Lon Lon Ranch. He was incredibly sad the last time they spoke, so she was glad to see that he hadn't given up on life. Considering the cute redhead that was holding his hand, she was also relieved of her perpetual worry over having totally ripped away everything he knew and loved. She was glad to know that he gained a relationship he didn't have beforehand.

Malon was too nervous to look at either of the nobles, so she didn't notice the stares between her boyfriend and the princess. Instead, she kept her head down and stared at the marbled floor. She was fine with waiting until she was called on to speak.

As soon as Talon realized that King Nohansen was staring at him, he gave a bow to be respectful as well as follow the rules.

King Nohansen gave a nod in return to the farmer, but didn't speak. When his eyes drifted to the so-called 'Hero of Time', he felt an angry nausea that filled him to the brim with disgust. He couldn't stand knowing that the bastard before him was none other than his wretched ex-wife's sacrilegious love-child from her own bodyguard; a man who's name has been forever stricken from history. If his furious gaze could burn, Link would be immediately incinerated.

In the meantime, Nabooru was doing the same as her niece since it was her best chance at remaining unsuspicious. Even though she lowered her hood, she kept her head down. It felt dangerously awkward to essentially be in the house of the enemy, standing in plain sight without anybody comprehending it. She knew getting caught would cause an uproar and probably get her cherished family in trouble, but also knew how important it was to pull the curtain on Ganondorf's nefarious plans of world domination.

"May I have your attention, please-..." A man standing off to the side of the king, the steward, clapped his hands to get people's attention. He was a tall, older man with a long face, deep set eyes and a large nose. In his hands was a scepter that signified his elevated status. What little graying hair he had was crammed into a black velvet bonnet. The dark-blue gown he donned, while less lavish than the king's, was quite fancy with its ermine fur-lining. "It is almost ten-thirty in the morning. We shall begin in just a few moments."

Behind the group, the doors to the throne room opened again, revealing more people. At least these individuals were familiar. They were the Officer and Captain of the Hyrulean Army, Kincaide and Clanncie. Most likely they were being called to give their testimony on what they heard and witnessed.

"Apologies for the tardiness, sire." Officer Kincaide pleaded for forgiveness for being late. He made up an excuse, but it was an honest one. The last thing he'd ever do would be to lie to the king. "My horse was very ornery this morning."

"I was with him." Captain Clanncie stated as the two approached to join in with the group.

The king rested his elbow on the throne's armrest and held his head in his hand as if he were bored. "It's fine. You haven't missed anything yet."

Officer Kincaide reached behind and across Nabooru so that he could give Talon a friendly pat on the shoulder. However, upon finishing, he seemed to take note of not only her being someone he hadn't met, but also her being a gerudo. Fortunately, before he could object or question her presence, the clock in the throne room chimed a single time to indicate it was halfway through with the current hour. This meant it was 10:30 A.M. and was time for the meeting to begin.

"We may now begin our conference." The steward announced. He then looked at the group and said "Please state your name and occupation."

Talon went first since it was his farm and his daughter that had been affected. He grabbed his hat off the top of his head and held it as he introduced himself. "My name's Talon Lon. I'm the owner a' Lon Lon Ranch."

"My name is Link-..." The boy went second. "I'm a farmhand at Lon Lon Ranch."

Malon continued to stare down at the floor until Link slightly nudged her. She looked up, saw the king, princess and everyone staring at her. This caused her to freeze up. Her nerves started to get the best of her. Even though she was afraid of saying something foolish, she started to make herself look like one by being silent.

Link came to the rescue by whispering to her "Your name and job."

"Oh. I'm so sorry!" She apologised before stating "My name is Malon and I'm a farmhand at Lon Lon Ranch."

As awkward as that was, upon landing on Nabooru, the woman suddenly realized that, for the time being, she'd have to lie about who she was. It was too soon to reveal her true identity. Taking that into consideration, the only thing that came to mind was to use the alias Talon had given her. "My name is Najiru, I'm married to Mr. Talon and work as a farmhand at Lon Lon Ranch."

Officer Kincaide let his mouth hang open in confusion regarding what he was hearing. Unlike the others in the room who didn't know very much about the heavyset man, he was positive that Talon didn't have a wife and hadn't for many years. Not only had he never seen the woman beforehand, during the many hours he spent at Lon Lon Ranch assessing the kidnapping situation, the farmer never mentioned getting re-married either.

He was going to ask questions, until he saw Link making the strategic decision to hold onto the gerudo's hand. This simple act made the officer stay quiet. A gut feeling told him that the boy had a plan that she was part of.

"Salutations to each of you four esteemed individuals." King Nohansen, with his big grey beard, spoke kindly to them. "Welcome to Hyrule Castle. I extend my sincerest apologies that your presence is not graced by better circumstances."

"It ain't yer' fault, milord." Talon said.

King Nohansen waved off the farmer's words. "You possess a benevolent spirit, Mr. Lon. However, I must declare that you are mistaken. The fault lies solely with me. It is my solemn obligation to safeguard the subjects of the realm, and I have faltered-... not only in my duty to you, but also to your precious daughter and beloved wife." Leaning up, he straightened himself upon his throne. "Notwithstanding the rectification wrought by destiny, I deem it of paramount importance to exert every effort to assure you of your safety within Hyrule."

"Thank ya, milord." Talon bowed.

Looking over at Malon, King Nohansen could tell that she was nervous, bashful and didn't really want to be there. He also knew that Talon was probably exasperated with recounting what happened.

Since the noble man was in a good mood, he decided to skip the majority of it to spare them the anxiety of remembering it all over again. "I shall not compel you to recount your entire narrative once more, for I am aware that you tire of repeatedly articulating it." Snapping his fingers at the steward, he continued by telling the farmer. "Since I've already read the report authored by Officer Kincaide and have entrusted my advisors with its scrutiny, I shall limit my inquiries to that which is essential for the formulation of my decision."

Talon lowered his head in a partial bow, but also clasped his hands together, basically praying to the king due to the kindness being shown. "Yer' truly the greatest ta live, yer' excellency. Thank ya kindly an' may the goddesses watch over ya."

Aware of what was being requested, the steward was quick to silently fetch a handwritten copy of the field report from one of the nearby advisors. He brought it to King Nohansen, placing it in the noble man's slightly trembling hand. Afterward, he bowed and then scooted off to the side in order to get out of the way until he was needed next.

Putting on a pair of spectacles, the king gave it another quick readover before beginning the process of verification. "At approximately eight twenty-five at night on the twelfth day of this month, Your presence was observed beyond the fortifications of Castle Town, subsequent to the elevation of the drawbridge. Upon apprehension, the guards stated that you told them quote: 'My daughter was kidnapped an hour earlier by bandits and taken to an encampment by the entrance to Gerudo Valley'. Is all that correct?"

"Yes, milord." Talon agreed.

"You also stated, quote: 'I don't know why she's been kidnapped and taken there.'?" The king kept up the interrogation.

Once again, the farmer agreed. "Yes, milord."

Princess Zelda huffed underneath her breath. Grumbling, she then whispered about what she was hearing. "It's fairly obvious they wanted Link."

"What's that?" King Nohansen heard and chastised his noble young daughter. "If you have something to say, it's best you say it with sufficient volume for everybody else to hear you."

Keeping herself from saying anything snarky or rolling her eyes, Zelda bit her tongue. However, since she'd been caught, she had no choice other than to repeat herself. "I said, the reason behind her abduction was obvious; they were endeavoring to reach Link."

"Impa." The king called the royal nanny's name, not bothering to say anything else as that was enough to convey what he wanted.

The older sheikah woman reached over and gently laid her hand upon Zelda's shoulder. Using her other hand, she placed her index finger to her own lips, gesturing to be quiet. "Your highness, please. You are sitting in on this meeting to learn, not to give your opinions. Try to silence yourself and listen to what's being said."

Hanging her head in temporary defeat, Zelda delicately placed her hand atop her nanny's. She knew it wasn't worth getting into an argument over since she wanted to stay there at the conference where Link was, so she did as she was told. "Yes, ma'am."

Going back to the report, King Nohansen read the next summary, intending to get confirmations on everything before making his final decision on the matter. With his daughter's insolence quelled, he asked "You also asserted that your adopted son embarked before you to apprehend these scoundrels, is that so?"

Zelda cocked her head and raised an eyebrow in surprise. Nonetheless, it also brought a small smile to her face to hear that Link had been taken in by a loving father-figure. It made her feel better knowing that he was taken care of. Despite often butting heads with her father, she knew how important family was. Because of that, she leaned over in her throne, proceeding to swiftly whisper to Impa about reminding her to do anything she can to potentially help further the adoption progress.

"Yes, milord." Talon nervously squeezed his hat as he answered the king's question. "H-He ain't really my son yet. I ain't 'fficially gone through with that 'doption process. But, e's a good, 'ardworkin' boy an' I love em'."

Link chimed in with a reason of his own. "I'm also his daughter's boyfriend."

"Mhmm…" Was all King Nohansen said, still not looking at the boy. Instead, he focused on the report.

Zelda, on the other hand, actually told Link "How delightful. The two of you appear positively enchanting together." Although she was being sincere, a painful twang in her heart made her pulse increase as she thought about the blonde boy and redhead girl being a couple.

"Th-Thank you, your highness!" Malon blushed and smiled wide at the compliment from a girl of such noble birth. "I think that you are far prettier than me though."

"You're so sweet. Thank you." Zelda forced herself to smile as she could tell Malon was nervous.

The king let out a loud sigh, glaring at his daughter. In his opinion, she didn't need to prattle with the commoners. Aristocrats were above such nonsense.

Once Zelda stopped talking, King Nohansen was satisfied. Going back to his regal duties, he enquired about how they discovered where the marauders had taken the farmgirl. "By what means did you ascertain her whereabouts of abduction?"

"Forgive me, Milord, I don't understand." Talon scratched the top of his head.

The steward stepped forth to translate the high-vocabulary speech down to simple terms a bumpkin could understand. "The king wants to know how you figured out where your daughter was taken."

"A dyin' bandit, milord." Talon replied "That an' Link found a bloodtrail."

"I followed it all the way to their campsite." Link added in.

Reading more of the summarized field report, The King then cleared his throat. He didn't show it, but he was certainly impressed with the fact that the once annoying pauper was able to track down a group of thugs all on his own, without the assistance of trained professionals. Regardless, he refused to react to it since the boy wasn't his blood. Instead, he merely asked "And you engaged them?"

"Yes, your majesty." Link confirmed.

Shaking his head, Nohansen asked "Why?"

"Sire, if I may?" Officer Kincaide piped up.

"Speak." The king allowed the official to add in his two cents.

Pointing over at Link, the officer revealed to everybody precisely how amazing the boy's combat skills were. "He might look like a young man about my son's age, but he surpasses everyone here in swordsmanship. Not only did he train under Lord Taburi, he also declared himself to be an honourary Knight of Hyrule. Most people wouldn't believe him, except I went the extra mile to speak to Captain Osun, who confirmed that Link is indeed a special member." Stopping, he let that information soak in prior to continuing "It's no wonder he annihilated these kidnappers."

Talon glanced over at his daughter's saviour, his own adopted son. He got an odd numbness in his chest and a foggy sensation in his head. A lot had been done over the course of half the year, a lot of attempts on Malon's behalf to convince him that Link was actually a soldier with combat experience and not a childish adventurer playing make-believe. It took him an exceedingly long time to accept that the boy was definitely more powerful than he ever could have anticipated and even capable of things other children weren't, but it wasn't until this very second that he was presented proof that the things he had been told were the truth.

"I'm aware of this." King Nohansen calmly stated prior to moving on to the next topic. "I find myself considerably more intrigued by the Gerudo woman reputed to be the ringleader of this band of brigands."

Looking over at the redheaded farmgirl, he said "Malon, you stated that a gerudo, this 'Eraka' woman, proposed to whisk you away to Gerudo Valley contrary to your volition, is that correct?"

"Yes, your majesty." Malon answered.

Lifting his head, he stared down his nose at her. "You also stated that she informed you she wished to take you to 'Lord Ganondorf', is that correct as well?"

"Yes, your majesty." Malon repeated herself, but also explained a bit more in-depth. "She wanted me to tell him everything I knew about Link."

Zelda nodded her head with a soft smirk, feeling cocky now that the farmgirl had stated precisely the same thing that the princess herself had mentioned just minutes prior. Regardless, she kept her mouth shut to not infuriate her father. She didn't need to object anymore as the story was validating the truth for her on its own; all she had to do was let it be told.

The king narrowed his eyes as he further contemplated the horrible situation. Glancing back-and-forth from Malon to Link, he begrudgingly came to the conclusion that his daughter might've been onto something whenever she told him that it was obvious why the kidnapping happened. His disdain for the boy made him temporarily blind to the facts, yet if the reason behind this tragedy was as it's speculated to be, he had to accept responsibility and deal with it accordingly. "Do you suppose this entire scheme was devised to entice Link into proximity of the Geldo Region, rendering him susceptible to an assault by the Gerudo Jundiin?"

Princess Zelda glared at her father while still remaining silent.

Malon nodded her head. "Yes, your majesty. I do believe that."

"I know it's true." Link announced despite not having been called on. "That's why after I defeated the bandits, I was attacked by several gerudo soldiers who had been hiding in wait for me to arrive."

"He speaks the truth, sire." Captain Clanncie spoke up now that he had the chance to do so. "My men and I were the first on the scene of the bandit encampment. Not only did we find the burnt corpses of the kidnappers, we saw the dead jundiin with our own eyes." Staring at the king, he tried to make it clear for him that there is no doubt about the location. "I can confirm with one-hundred percent certainty that these gerudo bodies were on Hyrulean soil."

Nabooru suddenly stepped forward, getting everybody's attention as she told them. "He does speak the truth, your majesty. I can confirm it for you."

The king blinked a few times, took off his reading glasses and then cleared his throat. Handing the summarized copy of the field report to the nearest advisor, the aging nobleman was slightly offended that this gerudo would speak out of turn. Then again, his curiosity conquered the snobbish aggravation. He wanted to know what kind of proof she could present, so he overlooked the mishap. Nevertheless, he felt as if something was off about the woman. "Who are you again?"

"She's my wife, Najiru." Talon was quick to butt in, trying his hardest to cover for her.

"No-..." Nabooru grabbed the collar of her cloak and pulled it up over her head, revealing her outfit beneath. She wore her usual midriff-baring outfit. Her golden, sleeveless top and matching harem-style pants were accented with purple detailing. Both boots were functional, yet stylishly suited for her role as a skilled combatant. The jewelry she had, such as her armbands and tiara, added to her own regal and powerful appearance. "Please forgive me for my lies. It was the only way I could get here to see you, your majesty."

Taking a deep breath, she informed them of who she really was. "I am not Talon's wife and my name is not Najiru. My real name is Nabooru and I am actually Ganondorf's sultana and head mushira." Before they could attack her, she immediately spat out the reason behind coming there. "I'm here to officially defect."

The advisors in the room all gasped loudly in advance of murmuring amongst themselves about the unpredicted revelation.

King Nohansen just stared, not reacting for a moment. Finally, he sighed and shouted "GUARDS! ARREST THIS WOMAN! SHE'S AN ENEMY OF THE KINGDOM!"

"W-What?!" Nabooru threw her hands up to show she wasn't a threat. "No, your majesty, please! I'm defecting to you!"

Impa grabbed Princess Zelda and physically yanked her out of the throne, pulling the girl behind her in order to protect her.

The king's personal bodyguard leapt in front of him as the steward began helping Nohansen retreat to safety. Six Royal Guard's who were already present in the throne room, who had stood still as statues, seemingly came to life. Four of them held their spears at the ready and darted forth, surrounding the panicking Nabooru. While they pointed the steel tips of their weapons at the gerudo woman, the other two brandished their shortswords in preparation for a potential attack.

In the blink of an eye, the doors flew open and a dozen more Royal Guards came pouring into the room.

Captain Clanncie was about to join into the fray even though he didn't currently have a weapon, yet was stopped by Officer Kincaide. The superior forcefully drug his subordinate away from the situation without giving any verbal explanation. Nonetheless, Kincaide felt something was awry, that they didn't need to get involved in this.

"AUNTIE!" Malon screamed.

"WAIT!" Talon flailed his arms. "JUST WAIT! YA AREN'T LISTENIN'!"

"DOWN ON THE GROUND, NOW!" One of the Royal Guards demanded. "DOWN ON THE GROUND!"

"PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD AND GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" Another stated basically the same thing.

"MOVE AND YOU'RE DEAD, BITCH!" A guardsman with his shortsword stayed at the ready.

"DO IT!" One of the Royal Guards that had just entered the throne room shouted to intimidate her. "I DARE YOU!"

"COME INTO MY CASTLE?! I DON'T THINK SO!" The bodyguard growled as he backed up, following the king and protecting his back at the same time.

Nabooru was beyond frightened. She was incredibly good at being a spy; meaning that she had never been caught. To have a bunch of people ready to brutally kill her at a moment's notice was immensely terrifying, so much so that she felt as if her bladder was about to impulsively empty itself. She raised her hands, placing them on her head. In the meantime, her legs quivered, her face grew hot and chills ran down her back. "Please, I'm not a threat!"

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Link took action since he knew he was the only one capable of doing so. Pushing himself in-between the aggressive guardsmen, he barged into the midst of the spears being pointed. Holding his hands up high, he yelled at the top of his lungs. "EVERYBODY STOP, NOW!"

"Wait!" Zelda grunted as she struggled against Impa. "Let me go!"

At this point, Impa was acting on her decades of training. She wasn't considering whether or not things were being blown out of proportion. The only thing in her mind was getting the princess to safety. "Your highness, please don't fight me!"

"I said let me go!" The princess slapped at her royal nanny's side prior to weaseling out of her grip. As the sheikah desperately tried to grab at her, Zelda ducked, held her dress to keep it from dragging the ground and then sprinted over to all of the guards who were surrounding Nabooru. "STAND DOWN!"

"GET HER IMPA!" King Nohansen demanded.

"I'm trying, sire!" Impa yelled back. "ZELDA! YOU LISTEN TO ME!"

Seeing that nobody was listening to her and knowing that Impa was about to tackle her, Zelda squeezed in-between the soldiers and joined Link in defending Nabooru. Holding her hands out to create a barrier, she stood in front of the frightened gerudo and demanded the guardsmen calm themselves. "I AM YOUR PRINCESS AND I COMMAND YOU TO LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!"

A couple of Royal Guards looked at each other, likely trying to ascertain whether they should obey the princess or ignore her orders. One of them that was holding a spear chose to back up, giving space for things to be figured out. The majority of them held steadfast. Nonetheless, several also requested confirmation on what to do. "Your majesty, what are your commands?!"

Now that his daughter was currently standing in the middle of a dozen armed Royal Guards, The king was forced to stop his retreat and think of a solution. He didn't trust the gerudo as far as he could throw her; being that she was as tall as him, that wouldn't be very far either. But, he wasn't so stupidly selfish that he'd willingly endanger his own heir, his legacy, simply because he refused to give an individual a chance to prove their innocence.

"Stop, stop." He ordered his bodyguard to cease forcing them to flee. "Let me handle this."

Turning to his daughter and the crowd of people, he cleared his throat, coughed a few times, cleared his throat again and then said "Zelda, this is not a game, so I'm only going to say this once-... You might be the princess, but you're still my daughter. I am the king, I am your father; I don't care how old you are, you will obey me and you will come here right this instant!"

"No!" Princess Zelda narrowed her eyes. "You're an old fool who's missing out on an opportunity to finish a war before it even starts!"

King Nohansen's eyes went as wide as dinner-plates. A vein bulged on his forehead from the anger brewing within him. He was becoming infuriated that his flesh and blood was not only refusing to listen, but calling him names as well. "ZELDA!"

"Link-..." The princess called to the hero. "Say something!"

"What am I supposed to say?!" Link groaned in frustration.

"Something that'll convince him!" Zelda replied, referring to her father.

Banging his fist against the wall of the throne room, King Nohansen threatened his daughter with punishment if she didn't listen to him. "ZELDA, YOUR IMPUDENT BEHAVIOUR IS UNACCEPTABLE! EITHER YOU LISTEN TO ME OR YOU WILL BE PUT ON RESTRICTION FOR A YEAR!"

"FINE!" Zelda shouted back at her father. "Do what you want! But, at least listen to what Link has to say!" Afterward, she glanced over at the boy, waiting on him to rescue all of them from the tumultuous development. "Just listen to him and then I'll stop, okay?!"

The king slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead. Nearly frothing at the mouth, he was enraged and in absolutely no mood to deal with his child's typical shenanigans. He had never in his life resorted to physical punishment of a child, yet a spanking was on his mind. After all, it was her stubbornness that put her into potential danger; because he would've dealt with the problem his own way. Unfortunately, he now had no choice other than to do as she said as it was the easiest way to ensure her safety.

Lifting his hand, he raised his index finger. With a sneer to the hero, he said "You have one minute, boy. Make it count."

"Thank you, father." Zelda exhaled in relief despite the droplets of nervous sweat dripping from her forehead.

Having been given the chance to explain the situation, Link quickly gathered his thoughts. There was a whole speech he had prepared that would've slowly explained who the gerudo woman was, which he intended to do were it not for Nabooru suddenly divulging her identity. Without what he had rehearsed, he had to improvise. Fortunately, he was able to formulate a cohesive revelation. "Nabooru is not a threat. She is with me and I know better than to bring an interloper into this castle. I brought her because she's working for me as a spy against Ganondorf. The information she holds from being by his side is invaluable to defending the kingdom!"

"How do you know that?!" King Nohansen wanted nothing more than to wring the boy's neck. He knew the kid was a problem, that the kid had always been a problem. But, it wasn't until recently that it was proven. Aside from being his ex-wife's bastard, he saw Link as an imbecile pretending to be smart enough to converse with royalty. In his opinion, a peasant knew nothing about political warfare. "How can you possibly ascertain that she is not present to gather intelligence upon us, and that you weren't unwise enough to escort her straight to the source?!"

"Because I almost thought that too!" Link admitted. "After the bandit attack and kidnapping, I thought she was with Ganondorf. But, she's not. She's been enslaved by him, her and all the others!"

Nabooru anxiously nodded in acknowledgement to what Link was saying.

"She lied about who she was out of fear of prosecution, this exact kind of prosecution that you're about to do to her!" Link stated. "The truth is, she's Malon's biological aunt and she wouldn't ever do anything to hurt her. That's why she's here, because she knows Ganondorf would gladly hurt Malon and all the other children in this kingdom if he thought it would give him additional power!"

Continuing to nod, Nabooru added "I swear, it's true. I love my niece more than anything or anyone in this world. I would never put her in harm's way!" Feeling her lips quiver, she tried to hold back her emotions. Regardless, tears were forming in the corners of her eyes and dripping down her cheeks. "I came to defect from my rank in the Royal Court, to tell you everything I know, because Ganondorf is a monster in human skin. I cannot and will not any longer knowingly send my people into battle for someone as black-hearted, someone as absolutely soulless as him."

"P-Please, your majesty!" Malon begged. "Don't hurt my auntie! She only wants to help!"

Link once again tried to persuade the king. "I promise you, your majesty, that you won't regret allowing her to join our side."

The following moments were dead quiet, with not a single soul in the throne room daring to make a peep. Nabooru kept her hands on her head while Link and Zelda physically protected her with their own bodies. All the Royal Guardsmen remained at the ready with their weapons pointed at the gerudo woman, refusing to back down until they were ordered to do so by the king.

"Sire?" One of the Royal Guards requested guidance.

Pulling his lips back as he seethed, King Nohansen grumbled loudly in frustration. No matter what they told him, no matter what he heard, he didn't have the desire to actively trust the intruder. Unfortunately for him, his headstrong daughter wasn't going to back down, which left him with no choice other than to calm the situation. He couldn't allow a fight to break out if it was going to generate a risk of the throne losing its heir.

"Stand down." He uttered, crossing his arms. When the soldiers didn't act immediately, he raised his voice to repeat himself. "I SAID STAND DOWN!"

The horde of Royal Guards obeyed the official command regardless of their personal opinion, either pulling away their deadly spears or sheathing their sharp swords. Afterwards, numerous guardsmen who were hanging around the exit of the throne room decided to leave. On the other hand, those closest to the gerudo slowly backed up, returning to their post while also keeping their sight trained directly on the woman. Nohansen's personal bodyguard relaxed a bit, yet still appeared to be on edge; he and the group of advisors who had been cowering in the corner or behind the throne.

With the crowd dispersing, Impa could've grabbed Zelda and punished her severely if she so wanted. Instead, the older sheikah stared at the princess with a mixture of disappointment as well as being impressed. She was disappointed that the girl put herself in harm's way, but also impressed that she was able to stop such a disaster from occurring.

"Thank you." Link told Zelda.

Zelda looked at him and flashed a genuine smile. "No, thank you. Thank you for your introduction to an individual capable of averting countless tragedies." Her smile gradually vanished as she looked around at all the guards eyeing the gerudo. "I extend my heartfelt apologies for the treatment you have all been regrettably subjected to."

Nabooru resembled someone who had just seen their life flash before their eyes; pale, sweating and wide-eyed. Thankfully, she was able to breathe now that there weren't a dozen weapons drawn because of her. Her breathing returned to normal as did the colour to her face.

Talon held his knees as he panted from the stress.

"Oh my goodness! Thank Hylia!" Malon sniffled as she hugged her aunt.

Nabooru latched onto her niece and embraced her. She wanted to be strong, but she was terrified. "It's okay, sweetheart."

Link waved his arms to get everybody's attention. "Can we discuss this like civilized people? Please?"

"Yes, I'd be most delighted by that." Zelda replied.

"Same." Talon coughed into his hand.

Nodding in agreement, Nabooru said "I agree."

"Father?" Zelda asked the fuming King of Hyrule. "May we?"

Sneering at her and the entire situation presented to him, King Nohansen barely held back the fury built-up within him. Nonetheless, somewhere deep within the back of his mind, he felt as if his daughter did this for a different reason, a reason she didn't mention and one that made sense only to her. The girl was too young to lead the kingdom on her own, needing far more training to succeed him when the time came. But, he knew for a fact that she was a genius like her mother was; that she was meticulous, analytical and more observant than three-fourths of those who were serving on his council. It was only due to her intellect that he even examined her suspicions in the first place.

Looking around the room, the king saw that everybody was staring at him. Not only were his daughter and the group of troublemakers he invited there all standing around with their eyes glued to him, the advisors and guardsmen were as well. To go back on his words or his actions was generally an embarrassing thing to do; basically him declaring that he was wrong. This had influenced his decisions on several occasions. Except, this time, he refused to let it cloud his judgment.

He was going to give Zelda a chance to prove that she was right. "I hope you have a good argument; the juiciest of intel. Otherwise, this won't end well for your and our 'esteemed' guests."

"We do." Zelda wasn't intimidated by the threat.

"I do." Nabooru confirmed. "You won't be disappointed."

Seeing that the hostilities had been temporarily reduced, Link requested further relaxation in order to help people be more open to different ideas. "Your majesty, can everybody return to their place? It seems inappropriate to discuss this matter with you standing and ready to flee." Glancing over at the gerudo woman, he continued "I promise that she has no weapons on her."

King Nohansen looked around the room, at his daughter, Link, the advisors and then Nabooru. He contemplated what the boy asked. Then again, he was still concerned this was a ploy. In order to satisfy his safety concerns, he leaned toward his bodyguard, cupped his hand to his mouth and whispered into the soldier's ear.

The others couldn't hear. Yet, the bodyguard listened, glared over at Nabooru and then nodded in acknowledgement. Without letting it be known what was said, the buff swordsman proceeded to walk over to the worried gerudo. He stopped in front of her and finally announced his intentions. "Please place your hands on your head. I have to pat you down for weapons."

"Excuse me?" Nabooru narrowed her eyes in offense, certainly not liking the idea of a stranger placing their hands all over her body.

Link scoffed at the requirement. "I just got through saying that she doesn't have any weapons on her. I'm an honourary Knight of Hyrule, does my assessment mean nothing?"

"I must have utmost certainty, boy." King Nohansen responded, refusing to use the kid's name. "It's nothing personal."

"This seems a bit excessive." Link tried to argue against the body search.

Nabooru interrupted by accepting the impersonal condition. She didn't want to fight anybody, especially not Hyrulean Nobility. Her goal was for them to work together, which sadly meant that she'd go as far as to basically be fondled. "Just get it over with."

"Nabooru." Link objected.

The gerudo woman shook her head at the boy. She understood his reason for feeling like the situation was wrong, especially since she herself felt that way as well. Nonetheless, it was the only way she saw being able to move forward. With that in mind, she didn't resist. "It's fine, Link. Let them do what they have to in order to have a sense of safety; anything that'll get this conference back on track."

Since Nabooru was standing still, with her legs spread and her hands on her head, the king's personal bodyguard took the opportunity to frisk her for hidden weapons. Walking up behind her, with his gauntleted hands, he started with the woman's fingerless gloves, feeling them all the way up to her elbows. Afterward, he cupped his palms over her shoulders, drawing them down and across her shoulder blades.

Nabooru didn't move a muscle, yet sharply sucked in a breath and felt her lip twitch whenever the brawny hylian bodyguard ran the side of his hands beneath the gerudo's breasts. To make matters worse, he even checked in-between and on top of them.

"Come on." Talon piped up at the sight. "Ain't that a bit much?"

"It's standard search procedure." The bodyguard refuted their concern.

"Sure it is." Nabooru said in a snarky tone.

The big bodyguard grumbled as he moved on, lowering his hands to her stomach and then her sides. He patted her hips, but unintentionally made her jolt and instinctually clench her core whenever moved the search forward by pushing his fingers between her groin and inner-thigh. Fortunately, he didn't linger, choosing to quickly pat down the insides of her legs. Coming back up the backside of her legs, he gave her buttocks a feel in advance of giving her a final order. "Take off your shoes."

Nabooru didn't say a word. As she expected, she felt defiled by the stranger. Regardless, she did as commanded by removing her shoes with the help of the opposite foot's heel.

Glancing inside of her shoes, once he saw nothing, the bodyguard was convinced that the woman wasn't concealing any weapons. Turning around to King Nohansen, he said "She's all clear, sire."

The king continued to stand where he was for an additional fifteen seconds. Finally, he sighed loudly and pinched the bridge of his nose from the massive disruption. He still didn't completely trust Nabooru since she was the second-in-command of enemy forces. It was going to take more than a proclamation of defection and having shown up unarmed for him to have genuine faith in her motives. On the other hand, were it not for his daughter and Link, he wouldn't be taking a chance at all.

Forcing himself to give the truce a try due to the promise he had just made to Zelda, the hefty royal man began making his way back toward his throne. His legs ached and he needed to sit as soon as possible.

Everybody kept their eyes glued to him as he began to slightly hobble whenever he got three-quarters of the way back to his throne. Grunting loudly, he nearly collapsed in his seat. It was then that he saw their stares. Most immediately looked elsewhere, but he opted to feign ignorance anyway by completely ignoring their observations. He was ready to find out if the temporary armistice was going to be worth his time and effort.

"Because of my daughter, I have rescinded my order for you to be jailed." He stated the obvious before saying "I'm willing to allow you to speak now."

The first thing that Nabooru did was show an abundance of appreciation. Having served under Ganondorf, she knew how to deal with snobby royals and excelled at sucking up to egotistical prudes who believed they were all that mattered in the world. "Thank you, my lord. Your graciousness humbles me and I believe you've shown great compassion by allowing me a chance to stop this war from occurring."

Now that the king had returned to his throne, everybody else seemed to return to a calm demeanor. The Royal Advisors were no longer fleeing; rather, they were highly intrigued to find out what someone as high ranking as Nabooru could tell them. Although the majority of the Royal Guards appeared on edge, at least the steward and chamberlain were relieved to know there wasn't an immediate threat.

Malon, Talon and Link were ecstatic that their plan was beginning to work.

Nabooru was merely glad to still be alive.

"Just tell me your knowledge." The King commanded the gerudo, barely registering the compliments.

"Very well." Seeing how that was all she was asking for, Nabooru gladly did as she was told. First, she started out with a re-introduction. "As I stated previously, my name is Nabooru. I am not only the sultana of Lord Dragmire, I am his highest ranking mushira. For those not familiar with these Geldik terms, they are labels that essentially make me his wife as well as his head advisor."

Zelda returned to her throne next to her father, who glared angrily at her for causing a scene. Surprisingly, she turned out to be the one who prodded for a reason why the gerudo would do such a thing; except, not because of disbelief on her behalf. The princess was testing the woman in order to demonstrate to the others where loyalties truly were. "Though I may be young, I find these matters of utmost importance. If I may inquire, as both his wife and head advisor, what would compel you to betray your allegiance?"

Nabooru wasted no time in answering with the simplest response she could summon. "Because he's evil."

The Royal Advisors nearby the king all murmured amongst each other.

"Can you elaborate?" Zelda wanted to dive deeper into the reason. However, she also wanted the woman to be comfortable. "By the way, at your leisure, do feel free to don your shoes again."

Nodding, Nabooru slipped her feet back into her shoes. "Thank you, your highness-..." Taking a deep breath, she then reminded them of what she had said to them earlier. "And, I'll explain to you exactly how evil this man is." Going above and beyond the moral call of duty, she unveiled all the dirty secrets held by her so-called 'husband'; all the corrupt, unforgivable things he'd done. "Lord Ganondorf Dragmire pretends to be a saint born to rescue my kind for our ancient curse and restore us to our former glory, but he couldn't be further from that."

"He's a monster who's fooled all of us-..." She kept explaining. "He claims he wants my people to have more trade for more goods, yet he's dissolved every treaty with every surrounding tribe and all the kingdoms that once dealt with us and helped us in our times of need. He says that he wants to open more communication so we can breed with a greater diversity, yet all he's done is keep us secluded to Gerudo City. He says he wants us to have more skills and creativity than ever before, but all he's done is take away our rights, our privileges and our luxuries."

Clenching her fists from the frustration that thinking about it caused her, she ended on a final note, which was also the most important. "He claims he wants to fix the curse that's been placed on us, yet he's only trying to empower himself with The Triforce."

Several of the royal advisors gasped upon hearing the sacred icon being mentioned.

"It's true-..." Nabooru continued divulging her leader's real objective. "My lord, what Link told you years ago, it was true. Ganondorf only came to visit you because he was scouting for a way to get into the Temple of Time."

King Nohansen closed his eyes, leaned forward in his throne and held his hand to his mouth as he contemplated. Once he opened his eyes, he said "Do you possess any veritable evidence to substantiate this claim?"

"Father-..." Zelda interrupted. "Is not the fulfillment of all that Link foretold sufficient evidence?"

Not knowing how to feel about the situation, the king leaned back on his throne. He didn't acknowledge his previous question since his daughter's answer was blatantly true. Instead, he moved on to trying to figure out what was going to happen. "What are his current plans?"

Again, Nabooru didn't dally in giving her response. Unfortunately, it was a surprising one to just about everyone in the room. "To kill Link."

Malon gasped and instinctively grabbed onto her boyfriend's hand as if to try and protect him.

Talon threw his hands up to signify his vexation. Despite having been forced to admit how much more there was to the hero than the farmer ever would've realized, he still found it immensely troubling that the actual Lord of the Gerudo wanted the boy dead. Part of him was enraged that someone with such high standing wanted to harm his little girl and adopted son. Then again, it was also hard to come to terms with. His brain couldn't handle it.

Zelda was a bit stunned that Ganondorf was pursuing a different path than he initially had; that all the work she put into foiling his plans only delayed the inevitable. She felt that she should have known better. Nonetheless, until now, she held faith that her plan had succeeded and the Gerudo Lord would back off.

Unlike everybody else, Link wasn't surprised. He knew Ganondorf was conniving, that the man's lust for power would overcome any attempt to subdue him.

"I take it this is his calculated ploy of retribution for divulging to me the assassination plot?" The King asked.

Nabooru wavered her hand as if to weigh the options. "He was sent into a frenzy whenever he found out Link was the one who blew the whistle on his plans and yes he was trying to track him down so he could probably kill him. But, he wants to do it for a different reason now." Looking back-and-forth between the king and the princess, she revealed the shocking news. "He wants to kill Link because Link currently holds a piece of The Triforce."

"WHAT?!" King Nohansen expressed his astonishment with widening eyes.

Zelda gradually looked over at Link, her head turning extremely slowly while she tried to ponder what this meant.

Every one of the Royal Advisors spoke louder as they grew excitable.

Bursting out into abrupt laughter, the king refused to believe what he was hearing. Not only did he reject the notion because Link was a kid in addition to because the holy relic was supposedly impossible to obtain, he also did so because he didn't entirely believe in the hocus-pocus of religion. "Is this a jest, perchance? What leads you to such an assumption?"

Nabooru stayed strong in the face of scrutiny. "I'm sorry, my lord. I'm not fully accustomed to Golden Ascensionism." Walking over to Link, she grabbed his left hand and raised it up. "Ganondorf received news from the woman who kidnapped my niece. She informed him that Link has 'The Mark of The Triforce' on his left hand."

Link didn't move a muscle.

King Nohansen put on his spectacles, leaned forward and then cocked his head to the side. "Are you perceiving that which eludes my own gaze?" Taking off his glasses, he held his thumb to his throbbing temple. "There's nothing on the boy's hand."

Nabooru quickly looked, accidentally jerking Link's arm in the process. She was thoroughly confused whenever she didn't see anything, no mark or sign on his hand. A wave of heat washed over her as she was worried the information was incorrect, which in turn could break down their communication if they believed she was making the intel up. "I-... I don't understand."

"It's okay-..." Link pulled his hand away from the befuddled woman. "I can explain."

"Please do." King Nohansen replied prior to snapping his fingers to get the steward's attention.

The steward quickly obeyed the beckoning. Upon arriving at the throne, he bent down to the noble man's seated level and listened to his whispers.

"She's correct about me having the Mark of The Triforce." Link informed everybody before stating the stipulation. "However, it's not visible unless I'm actively fighting or in harm's way."

King Nohansen slammed his hand down on the arm of his regal throne, once again laughing. "Oh! How convenient!" He belittled the boy by being sarcastic. "So, even though we seek it as evidence, it will not manifest because you dwell in safety? How remarkably convenient!"

"I'm telling you the truth, your majesty." Link asserted without trying to sound aggressive.

Having come to the conclusion on her own, for a good cause, Impa momentarily abandoned her post at the princess' side. She stepped forward, approaching the Hero of Time. As he stared up at her with curiosity in his eyes, the sheikah said "I think I can assist in this situation."

Link's shoulders sank and his mouth hung open as he came to the realization of what she was going to do. "Impa-..." He questioned her. "Are you sure?"

"What's going on?" Zelda asked with worry, unaware of what her Royal Nanny was about to do.

"Malon-..." Impa spoke to the farmgirl. "Could you please let go of Link and step aside?"

Link sighed. Even though Malon had a terrified expression plastered on her face from the unknown, he squeezed her hand. "It's okay. I'll be fine." Nudging his head in the direction of Talon, he told her. "Go stand by your dad."

"O-Okay." Malon whimpered in fear as she still didn't understand what was going on. Either way, she let go of her beloved and slowly ambled over to her father, who instantly held her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"Ready?" Impa inquired.

Link pursed his lips, shook his head and then shrugged. "I guess?"

Impa continued to stare at the boy for a few seconds as she calmly devised her strategy. Nonetheless, before he could react, her arm moved so fast that it was a blur. Within the blink of an eye, she brandished one of her wakizashi, whipping it out from behind her where it had been sheathed to her belt.

By a fraction of a second, Link managed to dodge the brutally swift Sideways Draw Cut.

Smirking at his prowess, Impa performed a palm strike that impacted him directly in the center of his chest.

Not only did it hurt, it sent him flying backward. Ignoring the pain, he slung his legs upward so that whenever he hit the ground, he transferred the remaining momentum into sending him into backward roll. Landing on his feet, he immediately ran toward her to prove his worth in hopes that the sheikah's scheme would work.

Impa waited for him to get close enough before doing a Kesa Giri. She lifted the wakizashi up, then swung it around the back of her head prior to swinging it down in a diagonal motion.

Having seen the sheikah's movement's and predicted what she was going to do, Link was able to step off to the side in order to avoid the attack. Rotating his body so he faced her side, he almost had the chance to take her off her feet with a swipe of his leg, but she was able to avoid him by jumping back.

Returning to the offensive, she came at him with a mid-section thrust.

Link saw his opportunity to end it and did so as fast as possible. Once she got within striking distance, he pivoted off to the side of her. This time, he slammed his elbow into the side of her arm and brought his hand down on top of her wrist, allowing her own momentum to keep going. Whenever she spun around to face him, he used his other hand to grab her wrist as well, bending it with all the might he could summon, forcing her down into a breakfall where he was able to safely disarm her of the wakizashi.

"Oh…" Was all that the king could say as he stared in awe.

"See?" Zelda poked at her father's disbelief. "I told you so."

Due to him being occupied with defending himself and trying hard not to hurt Impa at the same time, he didn't even notice the gentle glow coming from the top of his left hand. Sure enough, there it was; the Mark of The Triforce. The boy had The Triforce Symbol with the bottom left shining gold for all to see.

Impa stared up at Link with a raised eyebrow. "Did it work?"

"Yeah. I think so." Link replied as he stopped and then helped the sheikah up off the ground like a proper gentleman. To his dismay, by the time he looked at his hand, he saw the Mark of The Triforce beginning to fade away, going back to its dormancy. "I-..." He wasn't quite sure what to say. "Did everybody see it?"

Zelda raised her hand. "I saw it."

"I saw it." Malon added in.

"Y-Yeah." Talon agreed despite being frustrated with the entire situation.

The king was too speechless to communicate what he was thinking. He sat there silently, with his acquired atheism shaken off its foundation from bearing witness to the actual Mark of The Triforce. Deep within, he felt an intense warmth enveloping his soul. After all the years of having given up on religion, it was the first time in a long time that he felt compelled back into Golden Ascensionism and the Church of the Triforce.

"Father?" Zelda stared at him while waiting for his answer.

Waving his hand upward, he roughly swallowed his spit and then wiped at the nervous sweat dripping from his brow. Clearing his throat, he told the truth. "I saw it."

"Then it's settled." The princess stated for the royal amanuensis to transcribe. "Let it be known that Nabooru is telling the truth; that Link does indeed have The Triforce of Courage."

"I sincerely appreciate that, your highness." Nabooru bowed to the noble girl.

Link expressed his own appreciation, but for the royal nanny's quick thinking instead. "Thank you."

Impa gave the boy a pat on the back. "No, thank you. That was stupendous." Being as skilled as she was, she was severely impressed that he was able to take her down as quickly as he did. She expected it to take longer than it had since he wasn't even armed. Now she just wondered if she was getting too old to fight like she used to. "I haven't had a proper duel in a while. It was nice to test myself."

Zelda smiled softly and nodded to acknowledge the gerudo's thanks. However, she then gazed down at her own hand. She wondered why she didn't have the Mark of The Triforce like her half-brother did. If her spell from the future didn't take away Link's acquisition of his piece of Triforce, then it only made sense that she'd retain her piece as well. Despite that, she didn't. There was no indication that The Triforce of Knowledge was still inside her.

Were it not for the display which had just occurred in front of her, she probably would've gone on thinking she no longer held a piece of The Triforce. Fortunately, she realized that she might have to perform a specific action for it to surface; same as how Link had to fight for the mark to appear on his hand.

Being that she was the holder of The Triforce of Knowledge, she came to the conclusion that she might have to do something which relates to that. She could try studying at the library, working on a complex math problem or keep devising a way to deal with Ganondorf's hostilities. All that mattered was her finding a way to activate her own piece.

If she did find a way to surface the mark, it would definitely prove that she and Link both still held a piece of The Triforce. However, she suddenly comprehended that it would also likely serve as proof that Ganondorf still held his piece too, The Triforce of Power. Since the male gerudo was going to such measures trying to capture Link, she had a decent amount of confidence that he in fact wasn't aware of the relic hibernating inside him. But, she couldn't rely on that, nor could she pretend like he'd never figure it out since he was crafty enough that he'd eventually surmise the truth.

"What is his plan?" Zelda asked the gerudo.

Explaining the situation further now that they were inclined to believe her, Nabooru informed them of what Ganondorf intended to do. "He intends to kill Link so he can absorb the vo-..." She stopped herself from using Geldik terminology. "the boy's piece of Triforce. With it, he claims that he'll be utterly unstoppable, that it's all he needs to achieve unlimited power and take over the surrounding kingdoms."

"Oh, really?" The King grew irate at the notion of a rival acting so indignant. Ganondorf had been given many chances to join the Hyrulean Accord, yet he rejected the conditions every time. Hearing that he was plotting to come into Nohansen's land in order to kill a Hyrulean citizen made the metaphorical fire burn brighter. "And pray tell, how does he intend to accomplish this when his legions are exiled from the Kingdom of Hyrule?"

Nabooru knew it was going to infuriate the hylian noble to hear what she had to say. On the other hand, she also knew how imperative it was that he knew; that it was actually a good thing for him to get up in arms about the proposed plan. He had a right to be excitable since dealing with such a troublemaker was likely a horrendously stressful task. The latter motivated her to unveil her husband's secret schemes.

"My lord, he doesn't care about any of that." She bluntly explained to the king. "He doesn't care about your treaty with the others or the embargoes you've placed on our trade economy." Nothing she said was a lie. All of it was either her truthful statement or honest opinion. "Lord Ganondorf Dragmire cares not for diplomatic relationships. The only thing that drives him is a desire to be unstoppable. Because of that, he has devised a wicked plan to lure Link."

"Huh?" Link chimed in as he tried to ascertain exactly what the gerudo was talking about.

Looking back and forth from the king to Princess Zelda and Link, she said "He's plotting to use our Geldik Legion, to surround the front of the Castle Town with Iron Knuckles. Except, they'll just be a decoy army to keep Hyrulean Forces from mobilizing. In the meantime, he'll be sending a platoon of jundiin to capture Kakariko Village."

"I don't understand." Link shook his head. "How is that going to eliminate me?"

"Easy-..." Nabooru said exactly what Ganondorf had said whenever he was planning all of this out. "He believes he can appeal to your heroic side by putting the civilians of Kakariko Village in grave peril. By doing so, he expects that you'll show up to defend the helpless. Since you won't have the assistance of Hyrulean Forces due to them being blocked by the Geldik Legion, he's arranging to essentially throw every unit we have remaining at you until you're weak enough that he can take you out on his own."

"LIKE HELL HE WILL!" King Nohansen became thoroughly outraged. Standing up from his throne with a disgruntled huff, he angrily shook his fist at the menacing Gerudo Lord. More than anything, he wanted to see the man thrown in the dungeon to rot for the rest of his life. "I'LL BE DAMNED IF HE'S GOING TO DARE TRY PUTTING HIS MILITARY ON MY KINGDOM'S SOIL!" Pointing downward, he yelled "I SWEAR ON THE NAME OF THE ROYAL FAMILY, I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS TRANSGRESSION!"

Nabooru accepted that answer. In fact, she was glad to hear him say it. Nonetheless, she knew that he had to do more than merely get upset. She wanted him to take action or else all of this would be for nothing. "This is good. You are correct for feeling that way, my lord, because you shouldn't have to put up with such a thing. But, I warn you that it is what he intends to do. If you don't stop it, many innocent people will die for the sake of one madman and my people will be all the worse off because of it."

The king grimaced from the pain in his legs and back. Sitting back down on his throne, he focused on breathing calmly. Whenever the Throne Room doors opened, he was glad to see the royal physician and the man's aid enter.

Carrying a small carafe as well as a tiny dish with half a dozen pills on it, the doctor approached the nobleman. Following behind the royal physician was a teenage boy holding a white sheet in addition to a strange contraption that was known as a 'snuff machine'. The wooden box-shaped device was basically a miniaturized catapult used to administer a quick dose of powdered herbs up the nose.

Exhaling, the king said "Finally-..." Looking at Nabooru, he told her. "Apologies, one moment please."

Stopping off to the side of the king's throne, the royal physician remained quiet as he handed over the dish with multiple hand rolled pills on top of it. He watched and waited as Nohansen opened his mouth and swallowed all of the medication at once. The moment the king finished, the royal physician then handed over the small carafe of a thick and bubbly milk-like substance.

Drinking the frothy concoction, the king almost gagged. Once he finished, he glared at the doctor. Again, he was sarcastic as he asked "Might you have considered presenting me with a fresh drink to accompany it?"

Merely bowing apologetically, the physician still kept quiet. Afterward, he took the Snuff Machine from his youthful aid. He then unfolded three thin wooden legs that were underneath the device, thus propping it up to an average seated height. Opening a compartment on the side of it, he removed a small mallet in addition to a container filled with ground medicinal plants. As soon as he finished loading the powdered herbs into the snuff recess, he pushed the mechanism closer for it to be used.

The aid unfolded the white sheet and proceeded to hold it up to temporarily block the view of the king, giving them a moment of privacy.

Everybody else there stopped speaking, including Nabooru, who became totally quiet since she was unsure of what was happening anyway. The gerudo woman wasn't sure if this was a normal occurrence.

Nevertheless, the others knew it wasn't normal. Several of the royal advisors even seemed to be highly concerned with him taking medication there in the Throne Room. But, they knew better than to interrupt him or object to it. They just patiently waited for him to finish as that was all that they could do without risking making the regal hylian mad.

"Do it quickly." King Nohansen demanded as he placed his chin on the chin rest, using the built-in mirror to ensure his nose was directly over the snuff recess.

Using the small mallet, the royal physician gave the lever of the snuff machine a good whack. The resulting force caused the otherside of the mechanism to catapult upward, flinging the powdered herbs directly up the royal man's nostrils.

"Woo-..." The king reeled back from the burning sensation in his nostrils. He sniffled with wide teary eyes and also coughed a few times. "By the goddesses, that was rough." It wasn't exactly the most pleasant way to administer the finely-ground remedy, but it was certainly the quickest and definitely the most effective. "I can already feel it." While the pain pills had to take time to gradually be absorbed into his bloodstream, the insufflated stimulant was already increasing his blood pressure and releasing adrenaline to keep him going.

Finishing up his job, the royal physician pulled a soft-bristled cleaning brush off of a hook that was attached to the side of the Snuff Machine. He used it to gently remove the residual medication from around the king's nostrils. Once done, after giving another bow, he began packing up, putting the brush, hammer and container of ground herbs back inside the medical device.

The doctor's aid lowered the privacy sheet and proceeded to refold it into a neat square.

Before gathering the small carafe as well as the dish the pain pills were on, the royal physician picked up the Snuff Machine, folded its wooden legs and then gave it back to his aid. All without having said a single word, as soon as he had recovered everything he came in with, the doctor and the young guy then began making their way out of the Throne Room to return to whence they came.

"Okay-..." King Nohansen coughed and sniffled, ignoring everybody's judgmental stares. What they didn't know was that he needed the medication to continue functioning. Now he was able to focus on the task at hand without suffering. "Where were we?"

The Steward walked to the throne, leaned over and whispered to the king, reminding him of what had just happened moments ago.

With wide-dilated eyes, King Nohansen frowned while listening to the steward's whispers. His memories resurfaced and even though he was medicated, without the pain clouding his mind, he reacted accordingly. "No-… No, no, no. That's not happening." He said in reference to Castle Town being surrounded by Iron Knuckles as well as Kakariko Village becoming occupied by enemy forces. "This revelation alone is enough for me to declare war on Ganondorf."

The Royal Advisors gasped and murmured amongst each other at the mention of war.

"Father-..." Princess Zelda calmly attempted to persuade the king to look at it from a different perspective. "The purpose for Nabooru's presence among us is to avert a conflict, to spare ourselves from an immeasurable toll of lives adorning our cemeteries. Should we embark upon a preemptive assault against Gerudo Forces, the ramifications will remain shrouded in uncertainty."

King Nohanesen sneered at the suggestion. "I don't care. I won't sit here being contemptuous as another nation is preparing to seize control of our kingdom and its sacred relics!"

"You don't have to be." His daughter pointed out an even better potential scenario. "Now that we're aware of his intentions, we can find a way to put a stop to it before it even starts. We simply need to devise a plan of our own to counteract his plan. We must devise a cunning way to ensnare him." Staring at the polished floor tiles, she began formulating possible strategies for capturing the evil gerudo. Despite not coming up with much, she was sure there was something else she could do. "If we do that, then we can hold him captive in the dungeon."

"Then what?" The king was already peeved at everything that was going on. "He'll just escape."

Puckering her lips, the princess felt a bit overwhelmed by her father's overbearing stubbornness, not to mention his refusal to listen to anything she had to say. However, she wasn't going to give up that easily. She knew that going to war wasn't their only option, nor was it by far the best option. Because of that, she stayed strong and didn't let him disregard her superior planning. "There has to be a way. I just have to think of it."

The king nervously tapped his foot as he shook his head and grumbled. Crossing his arms, he glared at the gerudo standing in his Throne Room as well as his defiant daughter who was sitting next to him. Were it not for the medication keeping him clear-headed, he would've refused any alternative to what he came up with. Yet, deep down, he didn't really want to go to war either. He was often considered cold-hearted by his constituents, but he didn't want to send soldiers to their deaths and rip families apart no matter if it was for the sake of peace. The kingdom's resources were still stretched thin enough as is from the Imprisoning War. So, the only reason why he'd declare war is if he absolutely had to.

"Evil will never die." A voice said from behind them.

Nabooru, Link, Talon and Malon all turned around to see Burowdee, a Royal Sage from the Church of The Triforce, who was standing there in the entrance to the throne room. He was a heavyset middle-aged hylian man with a layer of stubble covering his rough complexion. On the back of the brown robe he donned, there was an embroidered depiction of The Triforce encircled by a halo.

"If you kill Ganondorf, his spirit will simply resurrect." He announced the revelation to the king as well as Princess Zelda. "Do you not remember what we taught you earlier this year about the 'Curse of Demise'?"

Nabooru expressed her sheer confusion at what they were saying by curling her upper lip and narrowing her eyes.

King Nohansen pinched the bridge of his nose upon seeing the wise man entering the chamber. He didn't trust a decision made by any of the royal sages because of what he believed to be their blind fanaticism. It was true that his atheism was wavering due to all that he'd heard and seen, except he still personally found the Church of The Triforce to be incredibly pretentious. "Not this again."

Zelda wasn't like her father. For good reason, she wholeheartedly believed everything the royal sages told her. Even this time, she took what he said to heart. Luckily, she wound up finding a solution relatively quickly, realizing that they didn't need to kill Ganondorf or lock him up, which would run the risk of him escaping and starting all over again. Instead, she thought up a better idea than either of those. As it turned out, there might not be a need to permanently imprison him, at least not in this realm. "What if we ask the goddesses to banish him?"

"Yeah, I'm sure that'll work." Her father snarkily replied.

The royal sage gave a soft chuckle at the seemingly too obvious suggestion. "If only it were that easy, your highness. Throughout time, many of us have asked for assistance from the Golden Goddesses. Unfortunately, it would seem that our pleas are falling on deaf ears."

"Non-existent ears." The King chortled.

Zelda rolled her eyes at her father's rudeness. But, she was about to surprise him as well as the Royal Sage with precisely how much she had been paying attention to her studies. Using her photographic memory, she recalled everything that was vital to the current subject and found something in particular to be intriguing. "I believe you're mistaken, your holiness."

"Am I?" Burowdee narrowed his eyes as the doubt cast upon him caused self-doubt.

"Yes-..." Zelda stated prior to explaining her reasoning. "From all the stories I've been told, I don't believe hylian-kind has beseeched the Golden Goddesses for their direct help. In fact, Golden Ascensionism didn't resurface until the end of the previous era. Up until now, our kind incorrectly believed Goddess Hylia to be our sole saviour, correct?"

With his eyes still narrowed, the royal sage slowly nodded to agree with the intelligent princess. "That is right."

A smirk formed on Zelda's face as she settled on a potential solution. Regardless, she kept calm and remained proper. "We've implored Goddess Hylia and she did all she could to rescue us from Demise. But, shouldn't we request assistance from the true divines of this realm? Surely they would be better suited to deal with our problem than even Her Grace was."

Burowdee lifted his index finger and opened his mouth, just about to give a rebuttal. Fortunately, he thought more about what she said and he came to the conclusion that she might be onto something. As ridiculously obvious as it was since it seemed like something they would've already tried, he wasn't certain a genuine prayer to the almighty Golden Goddesses had ever been formally submitted by the Royal Family of Hyrule. It was true that the majority of the hylian populace had lost faith in the Golden Goddesses, choosing their Patron Goddess over them. So, it was possible that society had all but forgotten how to seek enlightenment from Din, Nayru and Farore.

"Am I right?" Zelda stared curiously with both eyebrows lifted.

"N-No-..." The sage replied automatically prior to correcting himself. "I mean, yes. Or, maybe." Holding his hand to his head, he was stunned to think that he was unsure of such a simple thing. "I'm not sure, your highness. I'm sorry. Your question has stumped me as I was always under the assumption our prayers weren't going to stop this evil malice from swallowing our civilization, that it was going to be up to us. If you're right though, this could make for an unprecedented advancement in our cause."

"There." Zelda sat back on her throne. "See?" She asked for her father's opinion while hoping to soothe his anger at the same time. "Our only option isn't war. Ganondorf's only option might be brute force, but we must use our knowledge and our courage to overcome him. We can plan ahead, trap him, then with the help of the Golden Goddesses, we can banish him from this realm. That way he can rot in another dimension where he can never reincarnate as another evilness."

Almost all of the royal advisors who were standing around the king appeared to find the princess' plan an acceptable relief. Clearly none of them wanted to go to war either. They were glad to hear that there was another way around the brewing trouble.

"What about me, your highness?" Nabooru inquired, trying to figure out what she was going to do next. After divulging top secret information about Ganondorf, it would be difficult in addition to dangerous for her to risk returning to her regular duties as sultana and head mushira. She had just committed high treason and if caught could very well find herself being executed at the hands of the Geldik Imperial Court. "What shall I do?"

"You return to whatever origins from whence you came." King Nohansen plainly stated.

"But, my lord-..." Nabooru attempted to try and persuade the noble to think of something else. "If anybody knows I'm here, if any scouts on reconnaissance have seen me fraternizing with the enemy, they will report my presence here to Lord Dragmire and I will likely be murdered for this."

Malon's protruding lower lip quivered at the thought of losing her aunt to an execution by the Geldik Imperial Court, especially after having just secured her from being killed by Hyrulean Royal Guards. "Auntie, no…"

King Nohansen held little sympathy for the endangered gerudo and even ignored the fear that was in the eyes of her niece. It was a black and white situation to him. "That matter holds no significance for me. Although I express my sincere gratitude for the invaluable information you have imparted, it must be noted that you do not possess the status of a citizen of Hyrule. By the rules of the current Hyrulean Accord, this means that you are technically trespassing." Glancing at Link, he kept his dialated eyes on the boy as he proceeded to say "Although I have already waived your transgression, you still must return to the Geldik Region"

As expected, Link was the first to object. "That's not right! Not after all she's done for us!"

"Unfortunately it is. My father is correct that you must return to Gerudo City." Princess Zelda spoke up, surprising everyone as they assumed she would be on their side. Fortunately, she explained her reasoning. "Link says that you have been acting as a double-agent on his behalf, meaning you are capable of grasping the significance of precisely how important it is that you persistently scrutinize Ganondorf's every endeavor. Furthermore, your presence is a daily occurrence for him. Thus, if you abandon your duties now, he will undoubtedly grow suspicious and may very well alter each arrangement he has conceived to circumvent the foresight we anticipate."

Link sighed and shook his head. He knew that the princess had a point, but he was upset that they were essentially sending Nabooru back to her potential doom. Still, he wasn't sure what else could be done.

Malon held her hands up to her mouth as she whimpered with grave concern for her aunt. Same as Link, she knew that this sounded like it was going to be a dangerous situation for Nabooru, even more so than previously. But, she didn't speak up. Compared to the hero, she wasn't confident enough to protest a royal decision.

"Milord, yer highness-..." Talon wasn't afraid, yet would only go so far. "Ain't there 'nother way?"

The king was about to reject the farmer's plea whenever he was interrupted by Princess Zelda, who resumed voicing her own opinion of the matter.

"I'm afraid there's not." She stood up from her throne, making Impa focus on her. Without anybody realizing what she was doing, she reached over and grabbed the shortsword sheathed to the hip of the king's bodyguard.

The brawny bodyguard immediately craned his neck and stared in annoyance at Zelda upon feeling her taking hold of the handle. When she removed his primary weapon, he automatically extended his muscled arm with big-boned fingers poised to grab her. But, due to her being senior royalty, he stopped himself by balling his hand into a fist and instead shaking it to express his immense displeasure at her actions.

"However, unlike my father, I am truly grateful for your defection to us." Zelda spoke to the gerudo while approaching her with the shortsword in grasp. Even with everybody watching, she focused on providing a proper reward to the woman. "In light of this, I kindly request that you present yourself upon bended knee before your true king and princess."

Nabooru stared directly at the princess, then looked down at the sword the aristocratic girl was holding. She didn't feel threatened by the blade and even though she wasn't entirely positive about what was happening, she recalled hearing of an odd hylian ceremony where an eligible individual was granted greater privileges in return for the beneficial deeds they had committed. Either way, since it was an order given by Zelda, she obeyed. Without knowing what was about to occur, she did as she was told and bent down onto one knee.

"Bow your head." Zelda commanded.

Again, Nabooru did as she was told by bowing her head.

With the flat side of the shortsword, Princess Zelda gently laid it upon the gerudo's right shoulder. "Do you solemnly swear to always uphold the values of righteousness by displaying honour, courage, loyalty, compassion, justice, humility and strength?"

"I solemnly swear." Nabooru agreed to the terms as they were values she already abided by.

Lifting the sword up and across the top of the gerudo's head, the princess then laid it on the opposite shoulder. "Repeat after me. 'I swear that I will be faithful and swear allegiance to the Royal Family of Hyrule'."

Nabooru kept her head down in a bow as she repeated what the princess said. "I, Nabooru, swear that I will be faithful and forever swear my allegiance to the Royal Family of Hyrule."

Zelda proceeded with the next step. "In recognition of your outstanding service to the Royal Family of Hyrule and the many innocent citizens of our kingdom, in the name of Goddess Hylia, Din, Nayru and Farore, I dub thee 'Dame Nabooru'." Princess Zelda lifted the sword from the woman's shoulder and ended the impromptu knighting ceremony by gently placing it atop her head.

The royal advisors murmured amongst each other regarding their princess' decision.

King Nohansen grumbled obscenities from being drugged, but allowed his daughter to proceed.

Talon's eyebrows were raised and his lips were puckered in surprise over the developing situation.

Malon was smiling wide and had her hands clasped together in glee. Link slightly leaned against the happy farmgirl as he expressed his own sense of relief by giving a few claps. Both of them were truly glad that the gerudo was rightfully rewarded for being morally responsible by turning on her wicked master. They knew it took her every one of those damely values for her to do such a thing.

"Your graciousness knows no bounds, your highness." Nabooru looked up to meet the gaze of the princess.

Princess Zelda pulled the shortsword away from the newly damed Nabooru. "Don't thank me yet, because we still need you to return to your regular duties. Just know, you'll really be serving as an official spy to monitor Ganondorf Dragmire." As the regal girl calmly returned the commandeered weapon to her father's aggravated bodyguard, she explained further details. "But, do know that your honourary damehood entitles you to Hyrulean Citizenship as well as your own homestead. When all this is over, I promise you will be accepted by this kingdom with open arms."