Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Kingdom of Hyrule had been at peace for the last three hundred years, following a victorious war with the hordes of Ganondorf. Since that time, they have enjoyed widespread prosperity. The Hero, having been welcomed into the home of the Royal Family, had at once married his Princess Zelda and formed the Animo branch. They were the ones who would ascend to the throne as inheritors of the Blood of the Goddess and of the Hero's Spirit.

Nevertheless, there were those of the Royal family who did not take so kindly to this disgusting usurpment of the throne. "Surely," they would say, "the laws are unjust, as I am the one who should be next in line for the throne!" Of course, the lines of succession were disrupted so often, muddied and confused over centuries until the Great Evil Ganondorf came through, the one who bore the Blood of the Goddess became apparent as she sealed him away once more and became the Queen's line, and the bearer of the Spirit of the Hero showed up, took the credit, and left without another word.

That's what the dastard was supposed to do, anyway. Marrying into the royal family was completely unprecedented. What exactly would that do to the spirit once Ganondorf came back? Would it wind up getting two Spirit of the Heroes running around? Had that even happened before? No one knew, least of whom the ones it would affect most: the Royal Family.

Queen Griselda Abertha Animo Hyrule IX, known to her people as Queen Zelda the Ninth, was the current member sitting upon Hyrule's throne, though right now, she sat in her study. Of course, she'd inherited her line's occasional visions of darkness over the horizon. With the virtue of Wisdom passed along the Royal Family, she could conclude what those shadows could mean - and with her simultaneous virtue of Courage passed among those who carried the Hero's Spirit, she could act on her knowledge without qualm, as her mother had. The policies she'd set, she made with such conviction - and small wonder, when so few had ever turned out poorly for her people.

Her daughter, on the other hand... Zelda X seemed to have inherited far too much of the virtue of Courage, and not enough Wisdom. Oh, she was as smart as a whip, and knew how to use her smarts, too - but she was far too focused on gallivanting to pay attention to her royal lessons. It was at some times Griselda had the idle thought to have her sat down and bolted to her chair. But, that would do no good except to malign her in her daughter's eyes. Instead, she supposed she would allow her those dalliances. As an adult, she would find far less time for fun, with the pains of politics to drag her down so much.

"Ah, that reminds me," Griselda said. "Captain Renzo, your lesson with Zelda and her friends is later today, yes?"

Renzo nodded, holding himself straight up and his spine not even touching the back of his blue guard's uniform. "Yes, Your Majesty! Her Highness has been looking forward to me meeting one in particular, though she hasn't told me who."

Griselda smiled. Always one to save things for a grand reveal, her. "Well, I believe this friend of hers will give you quite a fight. Send in my advisor, then take the time to prepare. Perhaps you could round up a few other guards, as well. Really give them a little taste of battle."

He scoffed and slackened his posture into his more comfortable pirate's gait. "You mean, she thinks one of those townies might be Royal Guard material? Not real likely, huh?"

"I can only say, I see a bright spot in the future. Give it your attention and let it grow."

"Aye-aye, Miss - Ah!" Noticing his grave mistake, he shot his back straight as a rod once more. "Yes, Your Majesty! I'll prepare at once!" He walked to the great door out of the study and opened it. "Yo, Shasashrala! You're wanted!" he shouted as he left.

"My name is Sahasrahla!" he snapped back. "You never do get it right, Lorenzo!" The sagely man, bearing an old faded-green-leather book and several pieces of parchment, shook his head as he walked in. "Really, that man can be so odious sometimes! There are occasions, my Queen, where he does get quite the rise out of me!" He huffed. "But enough about your Royal Guardsman, on to more important matters."

Sahasrahla deposited several letters onto the table. "As you can read, Holodrum and Labrynna have requested our presence at a peace talk - or rather, yours, my Queen. They are near to each other's throats, yet again."

"So it seems," Griselda said. "If I am the one who is necessary for them to agree to peace, then I must mark a date immediately."

"It will take one week, round-trip, if you can finish the talks in three days." He smiled wryly. "I say that as if you can't do it any faster. However, there is only one gap in your schedule until winter."

Griselda grimaced. "You mean the Picori Festival, Sahasrahla? I had promised Zelda I would join her this year."

"It seems you will have to break that promise."

She looked down. "Winter is too long of a wait. They will go to war by then." She nodded gravely. "I wish there were two of me, so I could go to both at the same time. I'd thought the festival may have been an enjoyable time, myself."

"Yes, how tragic that you will be unable to throw yourself into a pool of strangers," he said sarcastically. "I would only ever go to a festival if there were no people around to cough upon me." Sahasrahla did have a delicate constitution, but Griselda found that he could handle quite a lot more than he claimed to be able to put up with. Besides, a festival without people seemed a more lonely affair than anything.

"I will tell Zelda myself and make it up to her as soon as I can. Perhaps we can have an especially nice birthday celebration." She checked her calendar. "Yes, in one month from now. My memory doesn't fail me, yet."

"Indeed. Now, there has been another letter from Hytopia, who wish to see you model their clothes."

She laughed heartily. "They do love asking me, don't they! I dare say their messengers only exaggerate my beauty more and more with each passing week!"

"In every flatter exists an honest compliment. Yet, for honeyed words to taste so sweet, one must make sure they won't dissolve on the tongue."

Griselda smiled cheekily, glancing over the letter once more. "Oh? Sahasrahla, are you implying I'm not 'as ravishing as ten-thousand suns'? I didn't realize you were so callous!"

Despite himself, he smiled. "Perhaps your tongue is as scathing as that. As to your beauty, you are nice enough to look at. The people would not follow a hideous queen so easily."

"And now you're flattering me," she said with a laugh. "Draft a declinement, but thank them for the offer once more."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Next, there is the matter of..."

Zelda stretched her arms out into the air. "Mmm! It's such a nice day! You can see the sky for miles out!" She laid her arm across the shoulder of the other person in the seat. "Perfect for having a nice carriage ride and looking at the scenery, huh, Link?"

Link nodded. It really was a nice day. Zelda was a really good friend for paying for it - he was sure he'd have to pay her back for it somehow.

"Oh, please!" she pushed him lightly. "You know you don't have to pay me back for anything!" She shook her head. "All the time. 'Thank you, Zelda! I'll pay you back for this, Zelda!' You've got a real gratitude problem, you know that?"

She was always giving him nice things. She had to expect him to do something to earn it. ...And did he really sound like that?

"You do earn it, you goof." She nestled herself at his side. "You sit there and listen to me. That's really all I need."

The carriage drew to a stop where it had begun, at the stand in the Zelda VII Memorial Park, right in the center of Castle Town. Tipping the driver nicely, she walked back to the people waiting for her on a bench beneath a tree, arm-in-arm with Link. "We're heading up to the castle today, remember," she said as they walked back. "Don't say anything about the surprise, okay?" she finished with a wink.

Link nodded. He wouldn't say a word.

The first one to greet them was Marnie, bounding up and greeting them with a wide wave of her hand and a shouted, "Heeeeey!" That alerted the other three to their presence, and the bunch moved to receive them. "So, how was the carriage ride? I bet it was so romantic." She clasped her hands together and sighed wistfully. "Oh, I can't wait to go for a ride like that with my boyfriend."

"We still ain't met the guy," said Rossan. "When's he gonna come by for that carriage ride, anyway?"

She turned away and put on a haughty face. "He lives in a far-off country as a merchant. We're in a long-distance relationship for now."

"Ah-huh." He smirked. "Well, make sure you stay faithful, I guess. Don't go tryin' to snatch up anybody else's beau."

"Yes, thank you, Rossan," she snapped. "You don't have to worry about that. Your relationship with... that Rito girl - "

" - Quillia - "

" - Quillia is perfectly safe. You are not, and have never been, my type."

Rossan pretended to be shot in the heart. "Oh, I'm dyin'! You never heard a' holdin' back, huh?" He began pressing down on Marnie acting like he was dying, despite her protests to his weight.

"Oh, for Nayru's sake." Bantam stood, closing his book. "I've never had to deal with two people who enjoy each other's company so much. It's a good thing I like both of you, or I'd yell at you for interrupting my idle musing about Chuchus."

Rossan blushed. "Uh, sorry, man. I know those jelly things're important to ya."

He sighed. "It's fine. I'll just have to chase the train of thought a little bit more. And I do suppose the more I must go over an idea, the better for my research." He smacked his lips. "If only there were actual samples of Chu Jelly to study anymore."

"Just how it goes, hey?" Gulliver reclined himself on the bench still, blowing pieces of grass out of his hand. "'Sides, isn't it better that you don't get the chance? Means that monsters ain't around."

Bantam nodded. "I suppose so. It's only an idle lament. Now, on to more pertinent affairs. You said you have a surprise for us, right, Zelda?"

"Yep!" She smiled widely. "I want you all to finally come over to my house. That way, you know the way through it to where we're having my birthday party!"

"Big house, huh?" Rossan laughed. "Guess we already figured you were some kinda noble!"

"The only question was, how high up were you?" Gulliver said, rolling off the bench and onto the ground. "I bet it's..." He stood with a pop. "Local court!"

Marnie interjected with, "I say she's the child of the mayor!"

"You're both thinkin' too small," Rossan said. "She's obviously the kid of a royal official."

"I still insist the gem that passes from her palms marks her as the scion of a member of the merchant's guild," Bantam said, pointing his finger as if he were giving a lecture.

Zelda didn't even try to hold back her smile. "Well, we'll see!" she said with a lilt in her voice. "We're going to get picked up any minute."

Soon after, a wide and decorated carriage slowed to a stop in the road. The six of them piled in and they started off.

"So, how are you doing, Link?" Marnie said. "Excited to finally see where Zelda lives?"

He's been there before. Remember? Zelda had introduced him to her mother on his birthday four years ago?

"Oh, yeah," Rossan said. "You're the only one that's actually met her ma, that's right. What's she like? Harsh? Easy?"

Zelda's mother was, in a word, Powerful. Her entering a room sent a tingle down your spine. When she looked you over, it felt as if she could see straight through to your heart.

"Sounds like she's a real battleaxe," he replied with a chuckle.

"Not necessarily," Bantam said. "She could simply be a very particular person. I know I can relate. When Dad rearranges my potion shelf, I've half a mind to try mixing something nasty up."

Gulliver looked at him. "Are you talking about poison?"

Bantam blinked. "What?! No, of course not! I meant a potion of sulfur to make his bedsheets smell! Really, murdering my own father! How callous do you think I am, Gulley?"

Gulliver tilted his head down. "Ohh. Sorry about that."

"To be fair, that was what my mind jumped to, too," Marnie said. "Not exactly his fault, Bantam."

He paused. "I'll grant you that much, but I do love my father far too much to even think about doing that, simply so we're clear. I much prefer the life of an apothecary to that of an orphan."

"Same here," Marnie said. "Learning how to fire a bow on horseback at the farm was one of the best things I could have done. Now that I can hit a target from fifty yards, I might actually be able to get work with the Royal Army."

"Ain't they just lookin' for guys right now?" Rossan said.

"That's just for the demolition circuit," she said with a dismissive wave. "Hey, why didn't you take that job, anyway? You've got better blast resistance than a full Goron, right?"

Rossan hefted Gulliver up a bit, making the whole carriage rock. "Hey, I can't just leave my little bro to fend for himself! He'll just eat candy all day if I let him!"

"Hey, you like rock candy just as much as me!"

As their conversation drifted, Zelda looked at Link's face, studied his features. Who had been the family to drop him off? Still such a secret to everybody. It wasn't exactly uncommon for Hyrulean children to be given the name of the Hero, or if they were female, appending an "-le" to the end, if their name was unknown. That he'd kept it this long was a little more incredible. Usually, they would pick another name once they became adults or were adopted - or, in the case of the Kokiri like Gulliver, when they reached fifteen.

Still, it was more than a little charming. Zelda figured he held the tales of the Hero in high regard, and considered it an honor to be named after him. Of course, whenever she asked, he never answered. It wasn't that he never spoke his mind, but more... that he seemed fairly neutral on most things. Sure, he was grateful, but was it because he simply a grateful person? Or did it have something to do with her being the Princess of Hyrule? ...Either way, she supposed, she was glad for the distraction when royal duties got too annoying.

As they passed the last street in town before Castle Road, Bantam shot to attention. "What on..." He peeked out of the covered window. "You've got to be kidding."

Zelda scratched at her cheek. "So, you were counting the roads, huh?"

He looked her dead in the eye. "I'd apologize for my improprieties, but I get the feeling you don't care." He turned his head to Link. "So, we've been palling around with the Princess, huh?"

Link couldn't say anything... so he nodded.

Renzo looked over the five kids Her Highness brought into the courtyard, most of 'em gawking at the castle's high walls. A blond boy that was probably a Kokiri, a redhead girl, a bald one with a book he was writing in like he'd forget everything if he didn't, a Goronborn, and the one with dirty-blond hair that had his arm hooked into Her Highness's. Weird lot, but whatever. They were looking around and taking in the courtyard as Her Highness talked about her next birthday party.

"Arright, Your Highness, which one of these kids is the one you wanted me to meet?" As if he couldn't already tell, but hey, had to be thorough.

"Oh, right!" In a quick motion, she shoved the dirty blond forward. "This is Link! I think he has what it takes to be a great hero!"

Huh. Made as much sense as anything, but seemed like the old guard was right - the princesses tended to pick up kids named Link. Renzo gave him a good once over - not too bad, muscle-wise, even if he was a bit on the thin side. "Orphan or bastard?"

Kid was an orphan, as far as he knew. He'd been raised in the St. Gaebora monastery orphanage since he got dropped there as a baby. Explained the name, at least. Well, Renzo wasn't in any place to judge somebody on their origins. "Take a training sword from the rack o'er there." He gestured over his shoulder. "Your test starts as soon as you grab it." Kid nodded and started walking over.

Li'l Miss Zelda seemed to get the trick before he did. "Link, it's a trap! He's going to ambush you!"

Link's face was worth ruining the surprise. He whirled around so fast, though, that Renzo thought he might actually be a good fight. "Don't be shy, kid! They ain't gonna attack until the sword leaves the rack. Once they do, though..." He drew his thumb across his neck. "Say goodnight!"

"That's not fair!" said the redhead, stamping her foot. "Why does he have to deal with an ambush for his test?"

Renzo pretended to think. "You know, you're right. Havin' him go in without any backup ain't exactly gonna happen too often in a real battle." He pointed to the racks of weapons. "You can grab what you like, but we start when the kid picks up his sword. Of course, time's a luxury you won't always have in battle, so if he starts stallin', I'm gonna call the whole thing off."

Marnie swallowed, then took a shaky breath. "Alright, then. Link, don't hurry!" She turned on her heel and ran to a rack of bows. Testing a couple of them, she found one that was acceptable, along with a stock of training arrows - painful, but not deadly. "I did say I wanted a job in the Royal Army," she muttered.

Rossan, meanwhile, had lifted up a heavy axe with a blunted edge, while Gulliver grabbed a small stack of papers - he could use some kind of magic, then. "Ah, hang on," Bantam said, "there aren't any healer's canes here. How am I supposed to help?"

Renzo nodded. "Head through that door," he said with a point. "Third door on your right." The kid left with surprising speed and came back before the door closed gripping a white Heal cane.

"I hope you don't mind," Li'l Miss Zelda said, grabbing a sword of her own, "but I'm going to fight, too."

He smiled. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Your Highness." He turned his head back to Link, squatting in front of the rack and checking the swords without touching them. "Don't take too much longer."

He nodded, then placed his hand on the sword at the top of the rack. Thing might have been wooden, but it still stung when it hit. He cast one last glance at his friends. They gave him the OK without saying a word.

Zelda threw out her arm as Link's hand rose with the training sword and an axeman appeared from around a corner and took a swing at him. "Our aim is to take out the commander!" she shouted as Link flipped out the way of the blow. "Defeat Captain Renzo!"

"Knock 'em all out!" Renzo shot back, moving his custom-made spear (with three thin metal prongs for a head) into both hands to attack. He wasn't contradicting her, so that seemed to be the conditions of the battle.

"Marnie, behind Rossan! His tough body will protect you!" She closed her eyes for a fraction of a second. It was a general rule, as warfare went, for Powerful weapons to beat Wise ones to beat Courageous ones to beat Powerful ones. Renzo held a spear, a Wise weapon, so... the Bow and Axe were best! "Rossan, take Marnie and attack Renzo! Link, you're on bow duty! Gulley, axes!" Keeping their attacks out of range of counterattacks was important - Bow users may have been able to attack close-up foes, but it wasn't easy. The sword would be best for cutting them down. As such, she moved to intercept one aiming for Bantam - though she took an arrow to the breast for the trouble.

"Ah - Heal!" Bantam tapped the head of the cane against her shoulder and the wound healed. "Thanks for keeping me safe," he said. "I can get a good potion ready for that later. These things really only make good quick fixes."

"Sounds good." She ran forward and smacked a axeman threatening Gulliver. "I don't think so!"

He looked at Zelda excitedly. "I think I can use this for Kokiri magic!" He said a quick incantation as Zelda guarded him, and sent a bolt of green magic in the direction of Renzo, who smacked it out of existence as if it were standing still, while still fending off Rossan's axe strikes and Marnie's arrows - but his own counterattacks were slowing.

"Ain't half bad! Goronborn usually give me good fights!" Renzo said.

"Glad to know I'm doin' my brothers proud!" He leaned out of the way of Marnie's next arrow and brought his axe upward to throw him off guard. Another dodge - but a nearer one this time. One problem with axes - they were heavy and tough to hit with. "Pretty agile, huh? Used to dodgin' axes?"

"You had to be, on the open ocean!" he said back. "No room to move on a ship, and besides, if I try to put some spearpole between us, you can just chop it in half! Regular wisdom, really!" He reared back from the arrow that got him in the shoulder. He got to talking, didn't he? His mistake, and their gain. He'd just have to dodge the next one -

Marnie let the arrow fly and watched it as it soared past him. After that first arrow, she thought it would have gotten easier! No problem, though; she nocked another one and waited for after Renzo's next strike - wait, no! She pointed the bow off toward Link, who was dealing with a spearman of his own, only he couldn't deal with it as well, having a sword and all.

The arrow Marnie sent hit the guy in the side and set him stumbling against the wall. Not one to pass up an opportunity, he bashed the spearman in the head with the butt of his sword and let him fall to the ground with a cry of "Uncle!" Link nodded. That just left an axeman or two - no, one, Zelda already took one of them out. And then, he could help fight Renzo.

Renzo snuck a glance behind himself as he got glanced by an axe swing. Barely anyone left, huh...? Ah, well. This was just a test, anyway.

May as well go a little wild with it. Without missing a beat, the spear in his hand was exchanged for an small axe with a strange bend to it - and with a special flick of his wrist, it curved around Rossan's big body and into Marnie's (blunt-end out), breaking the string of her bow as it flew right back to his hand. Axe against axe - but Rossan wasn't as good with his weapon, and when it was axe against axe, experience separated the winners and the dead.

Experience Rossan clearly lacked, since he went down so quick. Alright, now to finish cleaning up... starting with the healer - huh? Renzo's foot was caught in the ground - no, it was caught in the blond kid's thorns! When did he - Renzo shook his head. It was nature magic. The kid was definitely a Kokiri, no doubt at this point. Clever little trick, too.

Link and Zelda moved in to attack with their swords, and Gulliver joined them. With Bantam coming in behind them with the Heal cane... nothing to do about it. Renzo dropped the axe at their demand and put his hands behind his head. No sense in trying to twist his ankle wresting his foot from the thorns.

Zelda jumped in the air as Renzo signalled his surrender. "Yes! We won! We beat Captain Renzo!" She picked Link up and spun him around in a fit of triumph. "That was amazing!"

With a little help from the Heal cane, the lot of soldiers they'd trounced got back up and became relatively better for the wear. Renzo nodded appreciatively. "Pretty good result! I would have been impressed if you'd taken down even one of my men. Put up a damn good fight, made me feel like I was half my age!" He rolled his shoulder. "Ain't had to take out the Hand Axe in a long time."

"That's was real impressive!" Rossan said. "What is it, Rito make?"

"Hyrulean-made by a Rito forge we've got in our back pocket. Impressed you knew that much. But we can talk shop later." He cleared his throat and stood straight as a rod. "Link, you've passed the test. As Her Highness has informed you, that clears you for joining the Royal Knights. Know that, if you accept this position, you will be expected to conduct yourself with the proper decorum befitting of a court official, as well as fulfill your duties as a member of an elite group within the Knights of the realm. Do you accept?"

He did.

"Very well! Then we'll get the paperwork started immediately." He relaxed a bit. "As long as we're here, I liked the way you all fought, too. And how you didn't just sit around and wait to see how things went. It's shows some good Courage, and we could always use more o' that. Any of you want to join, too? We'll pay pretty well."

Marnie raised her hand. "I'd like to, if you're offering. I've been needing to move out of the farmhouse for a while. Pa's been needin' my room for my stepma's art projects."

"If you're offerin' for Gulley an' me to join, I'll say yes if he does!" Rossan said, pumping his fist. "Sounds better than the demolition line!"

"I can put in the work, too!" Gulliver said. "I'll even try to grow taller, if I have to!"

"Won't be necessary, Gulley," Renzo said. "The Kokiri tend to be asked for things they can do pretty easy, stuff like weapon enchantment or growing our rations fresh. Think you're still up for it?"

"I can do that! I promise!"

Bantam declined, however. "I must be honest - I prefer apothecary service to being a battle medic. If I ask, though, will I be allowed to patronize the Royal Library when I visit?"

Renzo shrugged. "Don't see why not. Whatever works for you, aye?" He rounded up his new recruits. "We're gonna have to give you a quick rundown of the place. Li'l Miss - " He bit his tongue. "Ah, I mean - Your Highness. Could you escort your friend through the remainder of his tour? I'm afraid we've got work to do."

"Of course, Captain Renzo. Thank you for your service." The five of them left the courtyard and left her and Bantam behind. "Now, you said you wanted to read about Chuchus, right?"

"Your memory doesn't fail you, Princess - "

"Just Zelda, please. If I wanted to be your princess, I would have told you earlier."

"You're right, Zelda. Now, on to the Chuchus." He rubbed his hands together and cackled as they walked to the Royal Library.

Chapter Text

Zelda climbed the stairs to her mother's study with a light spring in her step. It wasn't often that Mother called her up to talk and spend time! Usually, it was just lessons about how to rule Hyrule. Even when she had a lot of paperwork, that was alright. She couldn't keep all of her mother's attention, of course! Pushing open the door to the study herself, she stood at rest and waited for her mother to address her.

"Zelda." The wrinkles in Griselda's face faded away a bit as she smiled warmly at her daughter's entrance. "Please, enter."

She bounded up to her mother's desk. "So, what are you working on? A new policy?"

"I'm chartering a boat," she said. "The royal courts do love to have these so far in advance. I'll have enough time to forget about this entirely by the time I actually need it. And then the official will get to tell me, 'Oh, Your Majesty! You've already done this two months ago! You're so on top of things!'" She scoffed. "I'll thank him for the compliment, and dance the noble's dance, and go to the embassy like I need to."

"The embassy?" Zelda asked. "Whose embassy are you visiting?"

Griselda nodded, her smile falling a bit. "I called you up here because I need to tell you. Yesterday, I received a missive from the leader of Holodrum, urging me to oversee peace talks between them and Labrynna. He is concerned there may be war on the horizon."

She nodded. "Well, if you have to, you have... to." She realized exactly when "two months from now" and "things her mother was doing with her" was. "You're going to miss the Picori Festival?" she whined.

"I'm sorry." She held out her arms and embraced her daughter. "I know you were looking forward to it so much."

Zelda fought back a couple of tears. The citizens of Hyrule were one thing, but it just wasn't fair that she needed to share her mother with Holodrum, too! "It's alright," she said, trying not to let her voice shake. "This is important. You should go."

Griselda hugged her daughter tighter. "I don't like having to break our promise. I can only say I'm sorry, Zelda."

She dried her eyes and broke the hug. "I know. And it's not exactly fair of me to want to keep you all to myself. You're the Queen, after all."

"You can still feel saddened about it," she said, placing her hand on her daughter's face. "Things can bother you even if you're my daughter. If it will help, I'll clear out all day on your birthday so we can spend time together."

She hesitated. "If it won't cause any problems."

"I don't think it will," she said. "There is no pressing business that will require my attention one month from now.

It had been a month since Bantam's family had joined the Royal Knights. Well, one of them - his other family, made up of him and his Korok father, was still in the apothecary, making potions for the people. He'd been in the Royal Library several times since he found out about Zelda's ability to access it, sticking to her like glue when he was at her home. Of course, the alternative was wandering through the royal courts, and that was a prospect a lowly apothecary couldn't exactly measure to, not with any grace. He still visited Link, Rossan, Gulliver, and Marnie every day and picked up all of their mail to put into the post, waiting in the Royal Library if he needed to for someone to write it.

To keep his family members up to date on their correspondences, of course, he never left the castle until he had at least one letter in his mailbag. It had nothing to do with all the books there.

Okay, it had plenty to do with the books. But seeing his family was important, too, and they were settling into their new routines well. Nevertheless, in his time between the towers of tomes, he obtained great scores of information - all painstakingly preserved and sealed where no vile hands could sully their pages. The procedures he had to perform to even look at the books were sometimes a little tiring, but the knowledge was worth more than enough. Why, the things he'd learned about Chuchus! Oh, it was enough to fill several books!

Scratch that, it was several books. With all he'd read on the subject, Bantam was a veritable expert on Chuchus!

A species of monster that would never exist within his lifetime. That deflated his ego a bit, but the information could be valuable in other apothecary methods. The method by which Chuchu Jelly was twice-distilled with sugar to reduce its horrendous bitterness and foul odor - fascinating! And the method could be applied to several other items that could be found at Curiosity Street. Which was why he was heading there at once, in the spare time he had before Zelda's birthday celebration.

Curiosity Street, named for the largest store that once called it home, was a cutthroat merchant's alley situated in a part of Castle Town where the town guard patrolled less frequently - just often enough to keep wind of any crimes that occurred. As such, people could make deals for items and services that were... slightly beyond the purview of the law, such as certain foreign reagents that hadn't been approved by Medical Counsel. All tacitly approved by the reigning monarch, of course.

There were still things you couldn't sell there, of course - people, chiefly, and fairies, but there were a few items, too. And when any of them were sold, all one had to do was bring it to a guard and they could arrest the seller. Bantam never did do business with those folks, since what would he do with another mouth to feed, or a book which (apparently) possessed the curse of the ancient Agahnim? (Not to be confused with that one noble he kept running into when he visited Zelda.) He wasn't much of one to play with fire.

Instead, he made his way to his regular haunt - a spot owned by and operated from the house of one Aspera, a kindly Gerudo woman who frequented the apothecary for her ailing back. She always made sure to keep things around that seemed interesting, and in exchange, Bantam gave her a slight reduction in her own bills on special soothing oils. "Well," she said as he strode up, "I figured you'd be back. Need a few new things to mix up?"

"You know me so well, Aspera. What have you got?"

"Well, I've got that lanolin extract from the sheep that you love mixing into your beauty creams." She slid a bottle of fat-like substance over. "I can put you down for the regular amount?"

"I'd say so. Stuff works like a miracle. Too bad you're allergic, huh?"

"Oh, if I were any more ravishing, I'd have to beat the boys off with a stick," she said with a laugh. "Nayru had to give me something to keep people sensible after Din worked her magic!"

"You mean you don't already?"

"Only when they don't have the Rupees to pay for their goods. Speaking of, I got some of that guano that you paid in advance for. It's in the sealed box over there. Take care not to open it, would you?"

Bantam located the box and nodded. "I know you don't like having to keep it in your house, but guano is so useful in all sorts of fungicides. It's great for growing plants, too."

"All I know is, I never want to touch that nasty-smelling stuff again!" She snapped her head to a bottle at the far end of the shelf behind the counter. "That's right, I got some of this other nasty-smelling stuff, too, just yesterday. Think you can make heads or tails of it?" She passed it over to him. "It's real potent."

The bottle's contents were a bright and bold crimson, and stuck to the bottom of it no matter what. Even shaking it did nothing to so much as budge it, only to make it wiggle. As Bantam popped open the cork, his nostrils were assaulted by an indescribably horrible odor. It wasn't exactly like rotten meat, but it was disgustingly similar. A bizarre muskiness and hints of what seemed to be strawberries formed a smell nearly powerful enough to send even his own constitution over the edge.

And that was after immediately slamming the cork back in. The fumes must have built up over such a short time - clearly, this substance was highly volatile. "That was the grossest thing I've ever smelled."

"I know! Doesn't taste like that at all, either - though it's still pretty bad. I figured you could maybe try burning the vapors to let some of the stink off?"

"That wouldn't help," he said with a slight cough. "Even if this does have some kind of use in potions, I'd need to use some sort of special extraction method - " His breath caught in his throat. A special method of extraction?

Like twice-distilling with sugar?

A foul-odored substance with use in potions? Colored bright red? That wiggled when shaken? It couldn't be. There was only one way to be sure - he opened the bottle again and, holding his breath, took a sample of it with his finger. It warbled at his touch. Quickly, he replaced the stopper and brought his finger in front of his face. Goddesses, it smelt awful. In one swift movement, he tried it - !

Bitter. Horribly, horribly bitter.

"Aspera, where did this come from?" he said, his hand trembling.

"Ah, you know I don't give that kind of info out, Bantam."

He turned on her. "This is important! I need to know, now!"

Aspera pursed her lips, and sighed. "I'll tell you, but only if this doesn't get back to your Dad, and if you don't go anywhere near it."

He leaned on the counter. "Deal. Now, tell me."

She nodded. "It got to me from some group of adventurers in the southeast, near the Gerudo border. Apparently, they saw something strange over there and when they went to investigate, they smelled that stuff. They figured somebody might pay good gem for it once they got back here, Farore knows why."

He nodded absently. "The Gerudo border." He hadn't even heard himself replying, his heartbeat was so loud. "Thanks, Aspera. Whatever you're charging for this, I'm taking it." He bolted for the door. "I'm going to talk to Zelda about this."

"You said you - "

"Your name won't come up, but this?" He shook the bottle, whose contents remained undisturbed. "This is bad. I need advice." He threw open the door and rushed back to the apothecary on the other side of town.

"Ah, wait! You've forgotten your guano!" Aspera ran to the door after him, then glared down at the box. "I do not want to keep this," she muttered.

Link was just about ready to head to where the party was starting, though they were all still early, on Marnie's insistence. How was everyone else doing? Marnie was just about ready, too - though Rossan and Gulliver were still lagging behind. They never did get up very well. They were probably glad for the day off that Zelda asked for, so they could sleep in.

"So, you guys are heading out to the Princess's party, huh?" asked Leaf as he laid along a couch. "Man, you really lucked out, huh? You ever heard of getting a day off in their first month, Neri?"

"It's pretty much a holiday, Leaf," she said. The two of them referred to each other by their names all the time. It made them feel a lot more distant than two siblings really should have. "The two of us have a relatively free day today, as well, and have been encouraged to make an appearance."

"Ah, but still. Lucky bunch of kids to get to be guests of honor. Think we could get that?"

"Not without going above and beyond in our line of duty."

He snorted. "Looks like that's out, then."

Kasuto shook his head. "You're never going to get ahead with that attitude. These guys are gonna pass you up right quick."

"We're not in the business of passing people," Rossan said, rubbing his eyes one last time. "Just doin' our jobs."

Gulliver, on his shoulder, mirrored him. "We're here to make Zelda proud, and keep the roof over our heads. That and some food is all we really need."

"Well, in that case," Marnie said, "let's get to the courtyard. Showing up early makes Zelda look good for giving us this chance."

"Yeah, yeah, got it," Rossan said, digging into his ear and pulling slightly-sandy wax out. "After you, Marnie."

They made their way there and got busy with last-minute preparation for the party, even against the protests of the staff. They were a family, so they would help make their "sister"'s birthday special.

In the middle of it all, Bantam threw open a door, panting heavily and holding a bottle. "Where's - " He gasped for air, put his hand to his chest. "Where's Zelda? I need to talk to her, now."

Link took a moment to think. She was probably out with her mother, spending time until the party. At least, that seemed likely. Link didn't actually know.

"Party?" Only now did Bantam seem to notice the streamers hanging from the trellis. "That's right, it's today." He stumbled over to a chair and collapsed, muttering all the while. "And with the peace talk happening during... This was the last time she'd get to spend time with the Queen for a while, huh?" He hefted the bottle in his hand, some weird red stuff sitting in it. "Fine present I've brought her, huh?" He slapped his forehead. "Dammit, I left my part of the actual present at the apothecary!"

"Hey, don't worry, Quillia's gonna bring it," Rossan said. "Now, what are you goin' on about?"

"This!" He held out the bottle. "Do you know what this is? Because I certainly do!"

Gulliver squinted at it. "It looks like a bottle of jelly."

"It's Red Chu Jelly!" His announcement seemed to lack its desired effect on three of them.

Marnie, however, was slightly quicker on the uptake. "That one monster you really like? So, in other words, it came from something that shouldn't exist?"

"There's no other way to get it. It came from near the Gerudo border, according to some adventurers that sold this off."

"It could very well have come from closer," she said. "Adventurers aren't exactly the most honest people. Some of them will lie like they drink - often."

"And this is dangerous stuff. The odor alone is enough to knock someone out - though thankfully, it doesn't linger. That's why I need to find Zelda and have her talk to the Queen."

"Why do you need to do that?" Gulliver said.

"Because this means monsters are coming back!" He hissed as he ran his hand over his scalp. "It could very well mean the return of - "

Link put his finger to his lips and hissed. There were few bad omens in the world. That was one of them. When inside Hyrule Castle, never mention that name.

Bantam grit his teeth. "Pesky superstition," he muttered. "Fine, but what do I do about this?"

"Well, they'll both be at the party. You can do it then."

"I'm not going to interrupt Zelda's birthday party by pulling her mother over and telling her about - " He looked at Link. " - the Gerudo Man. That would be incredibly callous of me!"

"So, what are you going to do?" Marnie said. "Wait until the party's over and tell her then? She'll probably be bothered either way."

"I'd rather Zelda hate me for not spoiling her birthday and waiting on the war than the other way around. You've heard how much she idolizes Queen Zelda. I can't interrupt their time for that."

She tutted. "I still think it's a bad idea, but you're the one holding the bottle."

The party had gone well, as far as Griselda saw. Leaf, Neri, and Kasuto had made an appearance as requested, and each of them had brought a gift; the siblings gave her a pair of special charms called a Power Proof and a Wisdom Proof for good luck, and Kasuto gave her a special knife he'd made in his spare time. According to him, it was especially good at cutting through wood. Rossan's girlfriend Quillia had gotten her some very nice Rito jewelry, with luminous stone embedded into its brass surface.

But more importantly, her friends had worked so hard to make this the best birthday she could have had. Each of them had put together part of one wonderful present: a handmade set of blocks, interlocking to form one greater whole. A green stone for Link, a red-like-her-hair wooden one for Marnie, a red-and-green-painted pair made of petrified wood for Rossan and Gulliver, and a light-blue one for Bantam, slightly clear-colored from the crystal he used for it. Together, they formed a tough-to-break equilateral triangle - with an indent of the letter "Z" on either side. "You had to have been working on this for months!" she'd said when she finally fit them all together.

"Well, sure, but you're worth it," Rossan said. "Tough part for me was finding the materials. Marnie had the shapes figured out like that," he said, snapping his fingers. They made a dull, stone-on-stone sound.

"It took a bit of whittling, but my stepma was more than happy to help me on it. So if you wanna thank anyone, thank her."

"Well, we were all going to just buy you something seperate before Link came up with the idea!" Gulliver said.

"Hey, yeah, that's right," his brother said. "Link was the guy in charge here. Even before Miss Luisa, he's the guy to thank."

Link refused responsibility for the present. He hadn't done anything special.

"As always, you are far too modest," Bantam said. "We were all running around like Cuccos with our heads cut off when we heard how old were you were turning. Link was the only one who kept a cool head."

Zelda smiled. The eighteenth birthday was an auspicious occasion for most people, since it was the day that they would be able to become workers in a trade, as opposed to only apprentices. Of course, as the Princess, it wasn't exactly the same, but for each of them, it was important enough to warrant special attention. Wiping back a couple tears, she pulled them all into a group hug. "Thank you, so much."

After the party, however, the mood took a turn for the worse once Bantam pulled her aside. "What's wrong?" she said.

His expression was pained. "I have to show you something." He took out a bottle of red liquid - no, red jelly. "This is Chu Jelly."

Zelda blinked. Then, she pushed him in the chest. "Bantam, you idiot! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!" Snatching the bottle out of his hands, she hiked up her skirt and ran over to the Queen, talking to Sahasrahla. "Mother, look at this!"

Sending the sagely man away, Griselda turned to her daughter and took note of the bottle she'd shoved in her face. Taking it in turn, she said, "And what is this? It certainly casts a dark shadow."

"It's Chu Jelly, apparently! Bantam's been here since before the party, and he just told me about it now!" Bantam, who had walked over to them in the interim, flinched at the statement.

Rolling the bottle around in her hand seemed to indicate it was some sort of jelly, at least. "If I remember right, Chu Jelly has a terrible odor and bitter flavor, correct?" Uncorking the bottle (and trying not to breathe), she took a single swipe at the substance with her index finger. Without giving herself time to convince herself not to, she tasted it. "Bitter enough to curl the tongue," she said, grimacing slightly. "As well, if this had been an assassination attempt, the smell alone would have been enough." She coughed into the crook of her arm. "Where is this from?"

"The Gerudo border, Your Majesty. I found it on Curiosity Street."

"I see. Do you remember which merchant sold it to you before you realized what it was?"

Bantam looked toward the wall behind Griselda's head - in the direction of the merchant, no doubt. "I can't recall, I'm afraid. I think they were a Hylian." It was a lie, and an obvious one, but it wasn't important that the merchant in question was likely Gerudo. The location he'd given was likely the correct one, considering both that Bantam had no reason to lie, and to which race the Spirit of Evil claimed to belong. She had heard the Gerudo had sired a chief, though his name had been Estan as she'd heard it. Idly, Griselda hoped the man had been usurped, rather than possessed and destroyed in soul, though the specifics of the Spirit of Evil's powers in the cycle were not well understood. Perhaps it had already been there?

Perhaps in this cycle of the legend, it could very well be broken. A hope to cling to in these trying times to come. "Thank you, Bantam. You have done well to allow me some brief respite before a round of parley."

"Mother?" Zelda said. "He should have told you earlier! Don't you agree?"

"As it stands, I will only be able to send a messenger under cover of darkness," she said. "The difference of these few hours were better spent without this burden upon our shoulders." A lie of her own, as every minute would count during war, but her strategy would not shift so radically with only a few hours' extra time.

"'Our'...?" She looked at him. "Wait, Bantam, did you..." Even if she was angry, the fact that he was thinking of her... "You didn't have to do that."

Griselda nodded solemnly. "Regardless, I must make a meeting immediately with the chief of the Gerudo." She turned to a gap between two columns. "Impa."

A old woman, haggard and frail, stepped out from within the shadows the columns cast. "I am here."

"Take a Gossip Stone to the Gerudo chief. Where he may be, I do not know, though he may march for the castle. Inform him of my desire to parley."

"Aye." With surprising speed, she vanished behind the column once more.

There was nothing else to do but wait.

Sound emanated from the Gossip Stone, a voice deep and damning. "This is the King of the Gerudo. Who is on the other end of this trinket." It was a demand; there was no question in his tone.

Griselda roused herself from uneasy slumber. "I am Queen Griselda Abertha Animo Hyrule IX. To whom to do I speak now?"

"Ah, a Zelda." He sounded... almost impressed. "Interesting first move, sending me this. I don't think it's happened yet - though these memories do tend to run together. You address Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo."

She nodded. "Then, my intelligence was correct. You lead the Gerudo nation now?"

"I do." He was proud of that fact - as any proper ruler should be, Griselda, let us not jump to conclusions. "And I should tell you, I have no intention of honoring your former deals with my people, so do not attempt to sway me with them. Save your breath."

"It is only natural. May I ask you, then, what you intend to do now that you wake once more?"

"What else? Raze Hyrule to the ground and build an empire in its place, with me as its emperor."

Griselda set her jaw. "And what will you do with all of the nations that resist your rule?"

He chuckled, a baritone that sent shivers down her spine. "All of the nations? My dear Zelda, even your own castle houses snakes who would all-too-gladly sell your holy soul for theirs."

"And would you grant them amnesty?"

"Of course not. Those traitors will die brutally as soon as their treachery can be turned upon me. I have no qualms about extinguishing such lives. Have you?"

"I have, yes. That sort of slaughter is against my nature. Are there others whom you would kill in such a fashion?"

"Yes." He paused, and a creaking could be heard - likely whatever he was sitting on. "Chief among them, you."

"Me? Do you mean as myself, or as Queen?"

He paused. "An interesting question; it's something I hadn't considered. I suppose I would need to see if you could be brought into the new world, or would need to be broken beneath my heel beforehand. However, that train of thought will go nowhere, since the very fact that you are a member of the royal family of Hyrule means you must die. After all, you bear the powers of light which could subdue my darkness."

"And naturally, you would slay the one who bears the Spirit of the Hero, as well."

"Naturally." He was... amused by the suggestion, she took it. His voice got distinctly lighter. "I cannot allow the Master Sword to fall into the hands of another Hero, even if I have heard stories that your Blade of Evil's Bane has been misplaced." Inwardly, Griselda cursed. That was a dangerous piece of information he had. "That is one of the two reasons I have kept my imminent attack upon your castle hidden - though it seems the other, my element of surprise, has been taken from me."

"When, then, can we expect you? My messenger will tell me if you do not."

"Ah, yes, the old Sheikah woman. Slippery one, wasn't she? And for one so venerable, it is truly a feat." He laughed. "A shame the Sheikah obey you, eh? I could use a few of them. Well, I should hardly wish to tax one such as her overmuch, the strain could kill her. Expect me one week from today. Prepare your white flags, and your deaths shall be swift."

"You will find Hyrule to be difficult to take, I believe."

That set him cackling. "Oh, my! I had never thought the Zeldas would take up telling jokes!" He continued for a short time, then settled down. "It has never been easy, Zelda. But on rare occasions, it is far less difficult than you would expect. Now, since I do not want you listening in on my mutterings to my forces - " A screeching pop echoed through the Gossip Stone - a result of it being shattered mid-contact.

Griselda sat for some short time after the conversation, watching the clouds crawl across the night sky. One was especially dark - it would rain soon. Then, she summoned Captain Renzo from his sleep. "Aye, Your Majesty!" he said as he stumbled in - he may have had his nightcap already.

"There is a traitor in our courts, Renzo. Find him. In the meantime, allow no noblemen to visit the guards' training grounds, or the storage chambers. Bar all members of the public from entry." She paused. "Bantam may only be brought directly to the guards' quarters and back again."

Renzo saluted. "Aye, ma'am!" He looked over to her desk, where no letters sat. "Is there any particular reason for the secrecy?"

Griselda felt a wave of cold air wash over her at what she was about to say. "We are at war with Ganondorf."

A crash of lightning lit the room, and a peal of thunder shook the stones.

A bad omen.

Chapter Text

Preparations for the war continued in secret for the interim week. Griselda's guard was hand-picked from the Royal Knights for both herself, and her daughter. Zelda's friends, though inexperienced, were strong enough of will to lay down their lives for their Princess should the need arise. She knew, as she had asked them herself beyond her daughter's ear. She would surely protest, but if anything were to happen to the Queen, the crown Princess must survive first and foremost. It was a sobering thought that she had asked these - these children.

She had asked them to die in her daughter's name.

A sin she would bear for however much time she had left.

There were those among her counsel that thought revealing Ganondorf's return to a few green recruits was folly, and perhaps they were right. However, they already knew, so it would take more energy to keep them in the dark than to give them something to do. As things stood, they would be Zelda's last line of defense. They stood the best chance of holding the enemy off long enough for her to get away - and Bantam had joined them for the time being, wielding a Heal cane, with orders to only heal Zelda if it were necessary to choose. She could only hope Zelda's sentiment for them would not cloud her judgement. Her depth of feeling was a great strength - but also a great weakness.

And for her personal guard to bring out to the battle itself... well, they were only a formality. Griselda herself could overpower any monster they came across with her knowledge of light magic. However, as certain obligations were expected of her, she made her way to the Royal Knights' quarters. "My own personal guard must be made. All able-bodied Royal Knights, present yourselves at once."

The lot of them assembled, and Griselda looked between each and every one of them. "I will take four of you. You will accompany me where I go, and obey my orders without question." She pointed to the brother and sister with red and sea-green hair. "Leaf and Neri, to me." Next, to the young man with dark hair and red-pocked blue eyes. "Kasuto, as well." She scanned the crowd for her fourth. "I specifically asked for every able-bodied person. Link is missing." A few groans escaped the crowd, a few sighs of relief. "Find him. I will be leaving the castle this morning."

"Over here, Your Majesty!" said one of them as he roughly shoved Link into the common room, still half-asleep.

"Link, you are coming with me," she said. "Get dressed; we are going before sunrise."

"Man, can ya believe it?" whispered one guard to another. "The Princess is gonna be crushed!"

"Psh, you bet?" A cold glare silenced them from making further comments against her daughter's honor.

Then, addressing all assembled, she said, "We face a foe today that we have fought before countless times. However, the Spirit of Evil will not triumph this day, just as he has failed before. We shall not allow it, none of us. There exists in each and every one of us the power to succeed - the Spirit of the Hero! Though his blood flows only in a few, his lessons and his bravery live on! It pervades this castle, this kingdom, and each one of its people. With it, we are indomitable! With it, we will overcome all challenges, all comers! We will not bow to his will, he will bow to ours!"

The group cheered.

"Let him break himself against us!" she said with a bold sweep of her hand. "And may Hyrule stand bright for evermore!" She exited the quarters to their rallying cries and made her way through the castle, trailed by her guards.

"So, ah," Kasuto said, "you actually believe any of that crap you spouted?"

The mask slipped for a moment and showed how haggard only the week's foreknowledge had made her. "The Spirit of the Hero has saved us before. It will have to do so again."

"But won't people, you know... die?" Leaf said. "Seems like a problem, if you ask me."

"Good people die every day," Kasuto said. "All the same, sometimes it's a little too tempting to be good, huh?"

"This is war," Griselda agreed. "Our foe has no love for our country. We must keep it alive at all costs."

"Even the cost of everyone living in it?" Neri said.

She flinched. As always, when Neri was around, she always cut to the heart of the question, the answer she didn't know.

Griselda could only admit it.

"In addition," she said as they saddled up, "the four of you will have a mission if things go poorly here: Find the Spirit of the Hero, and raise and train him until he can strike down the Spirit of Evil."

He wouldn't live long enough for the Hero to destroy him, they could take care of him there. Whatever she was thinking about her chances, she was underestimating them.

Griselda smiled regretfully. "You are Courageous, Link," she said. "Even brazen. If only you had the spirit of the Hero, things would be so much easier. After all, you're already friends with Zelda." She turned away from the sunbeam piercing through the castle's windows. "As it stands, the shadows I see now are black ones, indeed."

She made it sound she was going to die today.

She let her eyes trace the shadow of her body, black as pitch, and then said two words that never reached his ears.

"I will."

Link rode on the back of Griselda's horse, as Leaf's was occupied by Kasuto, and Neri's was occupied by Kasuto's heavy armor. They rode to the advance front the army had made to meet Ganondorf's attack. The sun had risen, and the enemy forces had made their appearance, holding back only for the war horn. They occupied their time with making disgusting faces at the Royal Army. Bunch of nasty things, weren't they? But they were definitely real. From what Bantam had told him of the old monsters, they were... Chuchus, Octoroks, Bokoblins, and one Stalfos, right?

"Unfortunately," Kasuto said. "Man, these things probably won't even give me a good fight. Maybe the Stalfos, but with my armor, I'm not even gonna feel the small fry."

"Well, why don't we shove you in front of them, then?" Leaf said. "I'd certainly prefer that to us getting shot up by arrows again, wouldn't you, Neri?"

"That was just you, Leaf. I have my Ocean's Wave, remember?"

Leaf smacked his lips. "That's right. Well, at least Link and I can make a good team, right?"

He reminded Leaf that he shouldn't be running ahead, even if he was cavalry. With his powerful magic ability, he was better suited for the back lines, behind Kasuto.

"Well, what am I supposed to do, since I can ride this horse? He can't run in that heavy stuff."

Wait for him.

The war horn sounded. It was time! Link drew his sword and charged with the rest of the army, hitching himself onto Leaf's horse as he charged ahead recklessly. Stumbling off, he knocked his sword against a Chuchu, and it wiggled and flapped even as it flew away into two others before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Not one to waste time, he plunged the blade into a Bokoblin's neck. Without waiting for it to set, he threw a right hook at the head of another. A rock struck him in the side - an Octorok!

Leaf's magic made short work of it, he thought, as the ugly-looking octopus exploded into shadowy smoke. "These ones aren't very cute, are they?" he said as he blasted another Bokoblin with the Bombos tome he had.

"Looking at them isn't very easy on the eyes, no," Neri called back as her Ether froze one solid. "Monsters these days - no one makes them look good anymore!"

"Shut up and help, you old ladies!" Kasuto said, dancing with his sword through the battle with surprising speed for one wearing such heavy armor. "I can't keep the queen safe by myself forever!"

Knocking one's head in that was going for Kasuto, Link slashed through Bokoblin after Chuchu after Octorok. Red faces as far as the eye could see, broken up only by the Queen's Guard's efforts to slash through them.

But they just kept coming. Horde after horde, mob after mob. The Stalfos had to be the one summoning them back from whatever grave they'd been in, so Link started shouting orders: Take out the Stalfos, that's the commander! Kasuto, go ahead, Link would double back for the Queen!

Kasuto smirked. "Exactly who I wanted to go for. Leaf, Neri, get over here and cover me!"

"Aye-aye, Kasuto!" Leaf said. "Ready, Neri?"

"Always, Leaf. Let's show these monsters what they're made of!"

"You mean what you're... forget it, just go!" Kasuto dashed forward, bringing his sword low and narrowing his eyes to slits. It wasn't exactly a light sword, so the fact that he didn't let it drag along the ground was commendable in itself. Leaf and Neri, meanwhile, forced their way over by slinging magic left and right. It was a marvel they hadn't collapsed from exhaustion or wounds by now.

A marvel, that is, unless you knew what Queen Griselda was doing from far behind the battlefield: casting as much healing magic as she could. Was she at risk if she kept doing that?

"I'll be fine, Link," she said. "This is natural power granted to me by Hylia's grace. I would be remiss not to use it."

Just because it was natural didn't mean it was healthy. Could she burn out, was what he meant.

Hesitantly, she nodded. "There's no point hiding it. If I use too much of my magic stores, I run the risk of exhausting my body. But you four are the only ones left with any ability to change this war." She looked at the soldiers coming back - were there really so few?

They could start with this battle, apparently. She didn't seem to have much faith in them. Look - by this point, Kasuto and the duo had already made it to the Stalfos! It would go down in no time, and then it was just a matter of cleaning up -

- wait. What was that in the sky?!

The battle paused to look - a hundred heads, human and monster alike, turning up to the airspace above Hyrule. A few small figures had shown up over the horizon, miniature things too small to see with anything but a Zora's eyes. They were birds, to be sure, but what kind? Rito, maybe? But the beaks' silhouettes weren't any Rito tribe Link recognized. Still, they were too... normal looking to be whatever monster birds there were.

And were they flying strangely, or was it just him? Ah, they were Rito after all - and holding something - !

Or they were.

As the strange objects fell from their grips to the ground, great and terrible flames erupted from the Castle Town Market - Bantam's father was there! Huge spires of ice shot up from the residential district - Quillia! Those Rito dastards were bombing their own people! Why?!

Griselda answered that question with a single action - a piercing arrow, as fast as a beam of light, shot from her finger and across the field. It cracked the Stalfos's skull on impact, turning it to purple smoke before it hit the ground. And with it, the vast majority of the monsters vanished into that same smoke, though not all of them. "A distraction," she whispered in horror. "Impa! Give me my cane, and get them out of here! Now!"

Impa reappeared without a word, holding a cane, gold-tipped Triforce on top and a bend in the center, almost like a bow. "Further orders?"

"I relinquish you from my service."

She flinched. "My lady. Do you think this wise?"

"I'm not your lady anymore, Impa." She was uncompromising, her face dark.

She pursed her lips. "Yes, Your Majesty. Kasuto, Leaf, Neri, Link, we must go. Our mission is forthcoming."

What was she talking about?! They had no reason to run! They'd taken out the Stalfos resummoning them!

"Not the only resummoner, boy." A disturbingly deep baritone heralded the appearance of a toweringly-large man from thin air. His skin was black, and his hair was blood red, tied in a traditional Gerudo style. "You see, I am a Conjuror, as well. And Zelda, it is good to meet you in person." His eyes shifted to Link, and narrowed, for some reason.

Her face set. "Ganondorf," she said. "I can't say the same."

He turned his attention wholly back to Zelda. "You are quite an impertinent one, aren't you?" He smirked. "We would have had to beat that streak out of you in that hypothetical. It is a good thing we won't have to waste the effort."

"You will make it no farther in your conquest, Ganondorf. I will stop you right here and now."

He chuckled. "Such a bald-faced bluff! You Zeldas never struck me as liars." In an instant, he got into a combat stance. "Let's make you so, just this once, hm?" Without warning, he charged and slammed his hand into her, a mass of dark energy surrounding it. Griselda flew backwards from the force and tumbled to a halt.

"I am no liar. I may fall here, but you will never take Hyrule." She pulled herself to her feet with the cane as she stared Ganondorf down. "After all, as long as a single heir to the blood of Hylia exists in this world, you will never be able to rest easy."

It had the desired effect on Ganondorf. His entire face twisted in rage, but his voice remained low, almost disturbingly polite. "An heir to someone named Hylia? Who is that, your first Queen? And what, pray tell, is this heir's name?"

Her smile was one with a royally haughty air - as if she were amused by the very idea that Ganondorf needed to ask. "As you are no doubt aware, Ganondorf, it is tradition in the Hylian Royal Family to change your child's middle name only if you should share every other." The Queen's knuckles were white as she gripped the cane. "I will tell you my name now. I am Queen Griselda Abertha Animo Hyrule IX. And my daughter's middle name, bar to the ears of the fairies, is Nadine."

Impa had, of course, rounded up Link, Leaf, Neri, Kasuto, and Griselda's horse while Griselda had distracted him. They were some four, five hundred yards away.

And yet Ganondorf's scream of rage reached them as if it were five feet away. "Damn you, Zelda! You will pay for this insult! Die!"

Was there even any way to stop Ganondorf from killing her if she was alone? Did she have some sort of power to save herself?

"No," Impa said from atop Griselda's horse. "Keep running! We're not out of range yet!"

"Range?" Kasuto said. "Range of what?"

Griselda's voice echoed through the air, coming from what seemed like the sky itself. It was a calm, stable voice, saying only a single word: "Seal."

"Seal?!" Leaf said. "Oh, garland, we've gotta go!"

"Isn't that the one where - " Neri's eyes went wide. "How far even is far enough?!"

"Keep riding!" Impa said. "Ride until your horse gives out, then run! Its sphere will only grow in range!"

Link, being the one on the back of the horse, could look back, as did Kasuto. A bubble of solid grey air covered the arena were they'd fought only a few minutes prior. Even from this far out, two things were obvious:

1. Within the bubble, nothing moved. Even Ganondorf, body mid-leap, summoned sword drawn to cut Griselda's heart out, was still.
2. The bubble was growing, alarmingly fast.

"So, ah, how fast do you think we need to go to keep aground of that thing at this rate?"

Too fast for the horses to go. They'd need a train.

Kasuto smiled weakly. "Yeah, 'swhat I figured. Hope my family's gonna be OK after those bombs."

"Do the Rito tend to drop explosives now?" Leaf said. "It seems like an unusual method - and their aim could use some work, too."

"Those Rito were members of Ganondorf's army, Leaf." Neri closed her eyes - not a good idea when you were leading a horse, Neri! "Of that, I have no doubt."

"Seriously?! Man, you can't trust anybody unquestioningly anymore."

The bubble's speed was slowing! They could slow down now and give the horses a rest -

"Then we make for the castle," Impa said. "I have unfinished business there."

Seriously? Wasn't she just released from service?

"From Griselda IX. Griselda X has yet to refuse me, nor any of her eventual children. I am a Sheikah, like my mother, and hers, and on. I serve the Royal Family, not any individual member. And for now, the Royal Family has given me an order. We make for the Royal Vault!"