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A Hero and a Goddess	By : Datsexypootisburdtho Category: -Misc Video Games/RPGs > Crossovers Views: 2287 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, Fire Emblem, or any associated media. All rights belong to Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and I make no money from this story.

Chapter List
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Two weeks. Two weeks since he got the news that Ishtar was to be married to Prince Julius, heir to the throne of Grannvale. He should be happy for her, that meant she would be Empress some day and have almost unmatched authority throughout the land. With a sharp mind, quick wit, and good heart like hers, that should be a good thing right? It… shouldn’t be this sharp of a sting, right? She’d been all but inconsolable the night when she told him the news, and it was… hard, unbelievably so to let her cry it out into his chest.

Tears weren’t his first response, though he would admit to a few here and there. No, no it was mostly… a dull emptiness. When it wasn’t like a knife between his ribs at least. Link knew that arranged marriages nobles in all walks of life, and even back in Hyrule, Zelda went through one herself. Then again, her father was the King and her suitor was most certainly the one that had the most to gain politically from the union. Even still, Zelda had been allowed quite a bit of sway over who her husband would be, so to hear that Bloom didn’t do the same for his daughter… well, it made him a little incensed to be honest. The knowledge that the situations were completely different did nothing to abate his frustrations either.

He hadn’t shouted at the man, nor given him the cold shoulder in the fortnight since, but he’d made his opinion on the matter very clear. To his credit, the head of House Friege seemed to regret not being able to allow his heir to choose her spouse, but that didn’t even come close to making it right in his eyes. Being made her sworn knight meant that he no longer had to try and make even paltry excuses to be with her now, but it was like a backhanded compliment, if he was to be honest.

And just to annoy him just that little bit more, the Imperial Family themselves would arrive very soon. On top of finishing the last few drills with the soldiers and castle guard, he now would likely have to start the regimen all over again with the Emperor’s retinue of men. Granted, Link would have done so anyway, but given his surly mood, the Hylian had looked for small and petty reasons to gripe about things as a way to vent. Immature? Oh yes, very. He admitted without even thinking about it. But dammit it made him feel a smidge better.

A sigh escaped as he walked up and down the rows of Friege’s finest knights, and despite how hard he had pushed them over the last two weeks, he was a little surprised about how much they still liked him. Their armor gleamed and shone in the morning light, every last inch of plate, mail, you name it and it had been polished to absolute perfection . Almost too much, but that may have just been how a reflection of the sun stung in his eye. Damned sun, couldn’t it tone itself down for a few minutes?

True, that would come with its own set of consequences that he would never be able to foresee, but that was besides the point. Briefly, the thought of using the Song of Storms to, quite literally, rain on the Imperial parade crossed his mind, but Link considered it for half a second, if even that. Petty jealousy should never dictate his actions, especially with the kind of power he wields through the Ocarina of Time. He wanted to leave it in a secure location within the castle, sequestered deep within chambers that perhaps not even Bloom knew about, but that was a shortsighted idea. No, the safest place for one of his most powerful tools was on his person.

‘Even if the Master Sword is somehow taken from me, no one in Jugdral could use it. But the Ocarina? ….. Farore help us if someone with ill intentions grabbed hold of it.’ All one needed was the right combination of will, magic, and enough time to experiment with the notes before they had an object that Ganondorf, King of Evil, had quite literally killed for in his attempt to gain.

A cry from the watchmen atop the gate roused him from a rather dark line of thought, and he made his way over to stand behind Ishtar and the rest of her family. Hilda had practically been over the moon with delight when news of her daughter being engaged to Prince Julius reached her ears, and it didn’t take a genius to see how she had begun to try and ensure that her dreams and ambitions of being Empress would be realized through her own child.

“.... they say he’s brilliant, for a boy his age.” Ishtar murmured in a low tone as the gates slowly swung open, and his eyes caught a small glimpse of fiery red hair. “His temper isn’t… the best however. More than one rumor of disturbing outbursts has escaped the palace.” Great, now he had anger issues to worry about as well, on top of everything else to deal with. What was it that Talon’s cynical farmhand, Ingo, used to say about times when everything seemed like it had fallen down all at once?

“When it rains, it pours. And we’re fucking flooded right now.”

Granted, it hadn’t quite reached that level as of yet. Hopefully it wouldn’t even get halfway there, but Jugdral seemed a fair bit darker than Hyrule, so perhaps it would be best to be prepared for things to go belly up. “Look, that’s His Majesty, Emperor Arvis right there. I don’t see Empress Deirdre… perhaps she’s sick?” A thoughtful hum slipped out as he scanned the crowd, and found his eyes drawn to the Emperor’s face.

“That man worries me. There’s just… a feeling in my gut about him.” Covered as it was by her mantle, Ishtar felt more than confident that she would not be seen as she reached back to swat Link’s chest with the back of her hand. “Don’t go smacking your sworn knight now, I might just up and leave for a more caring, gracious noble to pledge my sword to.” he breathed in her ear, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.

“..... you wouldn’t. Not even if I ordered you to.” Despite his bluff being both taken seriously and called, his smirk only widened as the leader of Grannvale dismounted from his horse. “And yes, you are expected to kneel along with everyone else. If I kneel, so do you.” His brow twitched as he nonetheless did as she told, and for a brief instant he felt a kinship with Ganondorf of all people.

Forced to kneel to a man whom you had no real loyalty for… no wonder he seemed so peeved that day in Hyrule Castle. Somehow, he managed to suppress the revulsive shudder that oh so badly wanted to break through at the thought of being similar to the Gerudo King at all, but he wasn’t a hero for no reason.

“Friege welcomes you, Your Majesty.” Bloom’s voice rang deep and clear in the courtyard, and the heir of Thrud was the first to rise when Arvis bade them all to stand with a motion of his hand. “We are honored by your presence here. We have prepared a feast for your arrival, if my lord will please follow me?” A low chuckle escaped the tall, middle-aged man as he scanned the gathered crowd, and his gaze paused on the man in green who stood behind his son’s betrothed.

“... I’ve heard that your cooks are particularly skilled when it comes to chicken and beef-based dishes, Lord Friege. I’m looking forward to this, it feels like I haven’t eaten all day.” Calm, leisurely strides ate up the distance between the Emperor and the doorway into the castle, and he paused to observe Ishtar just before he stepped inside. “... you’ve grown into a remarkable young woman, Lady Ishtar. Do try and rein in Julius will you? He can be a little… impulsive at times, but he means well.”

Then his attention moved off of the blushing face of his future daughter-in-law, and the bearer of Valflame locked eyes with the wielder of the Master Sword. Those around the pair recalled Link’s first meeting with Bloom, and quickly stepped away as the two matched wills in a silent, yet intense, encounter. Neither man was the type to admit defeat, nor could they be easily convinced to back down when there was a challenge to be faced.

But at last, some mutual acknowledgement was reached, and Arvis smirked as he clapped the Hylian on the shoulder. “You… you are without a doubt the most interesting man I’ve seen in the past twenty years. I look forward to seeing just what you’re capable of, Sir Knight.” His temporary foe merely grunted in reply, and the scion of Fjalar paid him no more heed as he entered into the castle.

‘.... I don’t think he and I will ever be friends.’ Perhaps not enemies, maybe, but he sensed too much ambition and veiled darkness behind that facade of his to feel comfortable with ever calling the other man a friend. That darkness was… worrisome. It felt far too much like the same shadow that had led him through the Lost Woods and into Jugdral to begin with, and not to mention the reaction that it stirred in his soul.

His time with the Sheikah Shamans had been extremely enlightening, not just about what it had meant to bear the Triforce of Courage and the Master Sword, but also about the history behind the blade. He had tried to reach out to the spirit that lay dormant within several times, but no response had ever come his way. Until half a year ago, when there was a pull towards a section of the mystical forest he had yet to explore, and just now when he had caught a glimpse of Arvis’ hidden nature.

‘This.... is going to be an enormous pain to deal with, isn’t it?’ Suddenly, that odd urge to bring the Blade of Evil’s Bane seemed so much smarter in retrospect. Such was the life of the Hero, eh? Darkness no matter where one went, even if the root cause behind it was still unknown.

As it turned out, he was wrong for once. Which left him a bizarre mixture of both happy that things were going, relatively speaking, smoothly, and annoyed that his streak of being right had been brought to a halt. The feast was rather jovial and pleasant, and he found that some of the Roten Ritter, House Velthomer’s sworn band of elite knights much like Friege’s own Gelben Ritter, were more than friendly and easy to get along with after some wine eased the slight awkwardness that always came with meeting new people.

Felipe in particular, the personal attendant of Emperor Arvis, had impressed his hosts with his impeccable manners and wise, easy-going demeanor. After seeing how flawlessly he had dictated the seating arrangements, paying proper respect to Bloom and his family while also rightfully prioritizing his liege, who merely grinned and raised a goblet before he paid the man a very sincere compliment, Link had to agree. Velthomer seemed to have people who knew their way around things and hadn’t yet allowed that to go to their heads.

Aside from the expected braggart tendencies from their knights, that is. Amalda, a very skilled General of Friege whom he had grown to appreciate quite a bit over the past few months, sighed and rubbed her temples as both squads of soldiers exchanged boasts and promised to settle things in the sparring ring at the first available opportunity. Thankfully they had seen the wisdom in holding off on such things until a more suitable time frame, even if said wisdom was delivered by a scarily-cheery Ishtore as his sister loomed over his shoulder.

But, even as he snagged each and every unclaimed baked roll and contemplated on how best to steal Hilda’s plate for his own amusement, Bloom caught his attention and motioned for him to come and take a recently-emptied seat by his side. Right next to Arvis himself. Well, this promised to be a wonderfully social chat, surely. He glanced down at his collection of still-warm rolls and decided that he very well could not just waste them, it would be a crying shame if they weren’t consumed after all.

And so it was that Link sat down with an unashamed look as he slowly devoured his possibly-stolen bread, much to Arvis’ bemusement and Bloom’s wonder at why he ever allowed this man to be the sworn sword of his daughter. “I take it that those are some delectable rolls then?” Two blond brows arched in disbelief as the ruler of the land reached out and snagged three for himself, and only table manners that Saria had beaten into him stopped his jaw from dropping slack. “ Mmmph , these are divine. Bloom, see to it that you tell me who your chief baker is, so that I might steal the man for mine own kitchens.”

The lord of Friege just stared at them both with the best deadpan expression that either of them had ever seen, and despite his earlier assessment, the Hylian found himself with a shameless grin that matched the one sported by the red-haired man to his left. “My apologies, but leading Grannvale is hungry work. Now then, our friend tells me that you have extensive experience regarding these beasts that have started appearing as of late, correct?”

Ahhh, so that was the reasoning behind his presence here then. He had figured as such, but Link had learned never to assume anything when it came to nobility or the thought processes thereof. Or, if he was to refer to the Hylian variety, the lack of thought at all. “... yes. Unless some new variety has shown up within the past week that I am not aware of, I have fought and killed at least a dozen of every last kind of monster that originated from Myrkviðr, and I have the scars to tell of it. Beatings too, but bruises fade.” Well, aside from that one that was always covered by his clothes and thus, nobody knew existed.

Across the hall, Ishtar sneezed and shot an inquisitive look over at her father’s table, Prince Julius momentarily forgotten as she scratched the back of her head. Odd, she could have sworn somebody had just called her name from that direction….

“So you would be able to train my men, the Roten Ritter and the Imperial troops I brought with me, on how best to dispatch them? From what I’ve heard you have already done so here, repeating it with disciplined soldiers should be relatively easy. Surely there are a small handful of men that could aid you in such a task as well, yes?”

A thoughtful expression formed on the blond’s face as he leaned back and considered the viability of the Emperor’s suggestion, and sighed as he realized that he would not be able to, in good conscience, turn the man down. “.... I wanna get paid this time.” Bloom groaned and dropped his head to the table, much to Arvis’ confusion and Link’s amusement. “Don’t you give me that! I admit that you had a point when you said that being allowed the privileges I was afforded was, to an extent, my payment. But this is entirely different.”

“... how so?” Asked the only man at the table who was dreadfully unfamiliar with the Hylian and his methods of amusing himself, and Bloom wondered just how badly it would reflect on Friege if he was to get blackout drunk within the next five minutes. Doing anything at all tomorrow would be out of the question entirely, and gods knew that he couldn’t push everything off onto Ishtore.

In a way, it was funny. Normally the eldest son would inherit his father’s position regardless of station, class, or role, but not in this case. His son would be relegated to an, important mind you, advisory position to his younger sister once he passed, but now with Ishtar being poised to ascend to being the Empress of Grannvale… Ishtore was now his heir. Thank Thrud that the lad was much smarter than he typically acted, or else he really would throw his responsibilities to the side and get hammered beyond comprehension.

“Because, your majesty, I technically owe you no direct allegiance. You are the Emperor, and as such hold power and sovereignty over all Grannvale. But I am not of Grannvale, nor do I have any real long-term plans of staying here. At any time, I could simply pack my things and return home, since I only came here on a whim.” He of course neglected to mention the reasoning behind said whim, but he had mentioned that to nobody since his arrival. “As such, given how I am an expert in this issue, and not directly reliant on you for room, board, and some measure of authority, I feel it’s only fair to want compensation in return for services rendered.”

The fact that his argument had a decent bit of sense and reasoning behind it did nothing to convince the grey-eyed man that it would be a bad idea to turn to the bottle. Perhaps if it hadn’t been brought up every couple of weeks solely to get a rise out of him, then Bloom wouldn’t have minded it so much. But Link could be as impish in his humor as he was reliable, and that meant he greatly enjoyed messing with people whenever he saw a decent opportunity.

“.... you know that as Emperor, I have the power to order you jailed, banished, executed, or any number of things, correct? While I acknowledge that what you just said was partially tongue-in-cheek, that does not mean I couldn’t use it as grounds to do any one of those things. You not being a citizen has no bearing on that, you are in the confines of my empire, ergo I have authority over you.” The bearer of Mjölnir paled as he felt a repeat of their earlier staredown begin, and he visibly relaxed when Arvis merely chuckled and regarded the blue-eyed man with a curious gaze.

“You are… very interesting Sir Link, I have to say. A shame that I can’t pick your brain about your homeland or discover just what makes you so… flippant about speaking as you do to wielders of the Holy Weapons. But, be that as it may, do not do that again. I am not Bloom, I don’t have his reasoning behind letting you speak freely like he does. You will treat me with respect, just as I will do the same in regards to this manner. Understood?”

He inclined his head and muttered an acknowledgement under his breath, which seemed to be enough for the heir of Fjalar. Though he’s not exactly comfortable with any royal save Zelda holding his allegiance, Arvis was right. Bloom allowed him to act as he did because of the results and competence he showed, and the rather apparent adoration of his daughter. Sloppy, very sloppy. “My apologies, your majesty.”

“Accepted. Now, let’s put that behind us so we can focus on more important business, shall we?”
“... and I still don’t see why we had to take so many men with us. Won’t all this noise alert the monsters in the forest?” Julius thought out loud as he kept a tight grip on his Volcanon tome, those red eyes alert as they scanned the treeline. They’d already been attacked once before, a small band of Stalfos that were quickly dispatched thanks to some very carefully applied fire magic.

“That is a possibility, yes. But more than likely, anything worth taking seriously already knows we’re here. Those Stalfos were a scouting party, meant more so to test us than kill us. Though, if they had managed it then that would have been just fine as well obviously.” He really should calm down, there was no need to be this nervous. They had many of the finest troops of both the Gelben Ritter, who held a distinct advantage over their Imperial counterparts, and the Roten Ritter. Not that the latter were any less skilled, if anything the opposite was true. But they also had not really been trained and drilled by him on how to kill monsters for over four months.

But he knew why his senses were strained to their limits, what drove him to have the Master Sword in one hand, and his Megaton Hammer in the other. Ishtar was with him, and though he knew she was more than capable of defending herself, that both Bloom and Arvis were there with the extraordinarily powerful divine tomes of Mjölnir and Valflame respectively, that did not make him feel any more at ease. If he had been any slower in going to that stream, or, Farore forbid, chosen a different path… only the goddesses know what would have happened to her that day.

“But surely… my father and Lord Bloom are with us now. I doubt any one creature could stand before their might alone, but together? We might as well be untouchable-” his instincts screamed at him to drop, and Julius did not need to be told twice. He dove to the ground a mere second before an arrow would have slammed into his shoulder, and the very next instant saw a disturbingly fast discharge of Arcthunder from Ishtar. She had sacrificed some power for speed, and was rewarded with an inhuman shriek of pain.

“Prince Julius! Are you ok?” She didn’t bother to check and see if her blast had finished whatever it was that had fired upon her fiance, for a green blur had thrown itself through the shrubbery and a death moan gurgled out shortly thereafter. “You weren’t clipped by the arrow, were you?” The blood loss and impact of the projectile was one thing, but it would likely be poisoned as well, and that would be quite a pain to manage.

“I… am fine, my lady. My pride is more wounded from my faceplant than my body, I assure you.” he said in a dry tone that belied the adrenaline that ran through his body, and he took her offered hand with a murmured “thanks” as Link stepped back into view. “... dare I ask what exactly took aim at me?”

“Bulbin. Good thing you dodged that arrow, by the way.”

“Poisoned?”

“Yyyyyyep. And I can’t use staffs worth a damn, so somebody else would have had to handle that.” Ishtar raised a brow as a healer gave the Prince a quick checkup, and slowly they started to make progress deeper into the forest once again. “... can I help you Ishtar?” Link said in a low voice as she quickened her steps to match his longer stride.

“... you can’t use staffs at all?” he shook his head, and shot her a curious look after she made a poor attempt to hide a chuckle with her hand. “It’s nothing but… I had begun to think that you could wield or make use of just about every kind of weapon or tool that existed. So it caught me off guard to hear you say that.” she didn’t miss the quick smirk at her words, but she did miss the approach of a black-scaled Lizalfos armed with a scimitar that looked like it would hurt, very very badly.

Squelch

“.... I need a moment.” Ishtar ducked out of sight behind a tree and only just barely managed to retain her lunch down after that sight. Link had lashed out with his left hand so fast that the Lizalfos hadn’t the slightest chance to react before its head was simply obliterated by his hammer. His green tunic was now stained with black blood and bits of bone and things she didn’t even want to identify, lest she expel what she had eaten.

“If you think that’s bad, then you really don’t want to see what a friend of mine could do to his enemies with this thing.” Darunia was many things, a powerful and capable chieftain of the Gorons, his sworn brother, and a surprisingly good dancer, but he was not a Goron who held back. While Link believed that he should only use as much effort as a battle dictated, the Sage of Fire brought and gave his all to every fight, whether it be a friendly spar, wrestling match, or a fight to the death.

“No, no I really don’t!” It took a titanic effort, but Link managed to restrain the urge to prod at the newfound chink in her armor lest she find out just how much lightning he could take before he passed out. He didn’t fight the grin however, and was rewarded with an elbow to his side that likely stung her more than it did him. “Even Julius only left those Stalfos burnt and blackened, he didn’t pulp them like you did that Lizalfos…”

“.... well, Ishtar it is dead beyond a shadow of a doubt right? Who’s to say he hasn’t been caught off guard by one of these creatures playing dead before, and wanted to make sure it could not do such a thing again.” The aforementioned young mage felt a little weird as he came to the Hylian’s defense, but he was rewarded with a look that seemed like… he approved of his observation.

“I was, actually. I’d thought it was done for after I landed what should have been a killing blow to it’s back. But I was a… little weaker than normal thanks to a recent illness, and thought I had cut deeper than I really did. Bastard damn near took my arm off with that rising swing it did, but luckily I got out of that fight in one piece.” He’d been used to his adult body and the strength and reach it afforded him, and had misjudged how much effort to put into his slash. A mistake he never repeated again.

Julius nodded and didn’t look like he wanted to question his brief moment of hesitation, but Ishtar… she had that expression on her face again. That “I know you’re not telling me something, and I want to know what it is sooner rather than later” look that she had given him one too many times before, which meant that he’d seen it at all to be quite honest. What he said was the truth, mostly. Only the illness part was a lie.

“...... um, Ishtar? Link? Have you noticed… just how quiet everything is?” The red-haired teen sounded like he really didn’t want to ask that question, and Ishtar was treated to a sight that made her blood run cold. Link’s face as the color drained from it, and without a second thought she dove to the forest floor even as he moved and threw Julius down beside her.

Dozens of arrows burst from the cover of shrubbery and whizzed just scant inches above her head. The dull thuds of their impact against trees and dirt was at once a relief and a sound that only made her worry spike. She knew he hadn’t had time to get out of the way, not after how he had ensured that the Prince wouldn’t get turned into a pincushion on his watch. With more dread in her heart than ever before, she lifted her head the instant the barrage ceased, and a sharp intake of breath was the only noise that escaped.

More than one arrow was embedded in his forearm, and a truly staggering amount had sunk deep into the bark of the tree around his body. His body that was somehow, mostly, untouched by the missiles that had been fired by their unseen assailants. Even then, he had still two or three that struck true and one that had to be agony in the shoulder of his sword arm. But what had really surprised her…

“Do you have any idea how much this fucking hurts?!” Was how he looked more frustrated at being shot than pained. A searing burst of flame that was more akin to magma erupted from the ground just out of her sight, and Julius let out a triumphant shout as his Volcanon burned more than one of the monsters to ash. Not one to sit around and be helpless, Ishtar lashed out with Thoron and caught three leaping Dynalfos in the chest, and they fell to the ground charred and twitching as the lightning coursed through their bodies.

“Hellfire upon you!” But even their spells paled before the show of magical might that they witnessed consume a silver-furred Lynel with ease. The bizarre mixture of Lion, Man, and gods alone knew what else barely had time to roar in pain before it was incinerated, and the surrounding trees and greenery vanished under the divine flame. Arvis had murder in his eyes as he advanced, a snarl and twitch of his hand called forth yet more of his Valflame, and his son watched in awe as his father demolished their would-be killers.

But they came with pause, and Julius tried to call out and warn his father of the disturbingly humanoid figure in elegant black armor, only to halt as lightning so bright, so powerful that it made Ishtar’s Thoron look like nothing, destroyed the false knight with ease. So that was the might of Mjölnir… Bloom covered the back of his Emperor as the two rained down hell, almost literally in the case of Arvis, upon their foes. Their men stormed in and entered the fray, and the battle was on in earnest.

“Move. Now.” As if he didn’t have arrows in his arms and one that must be agony in his shoulder, Link hauled them both to their feet and marched them away from the fight. His voice was like stone and brooked no arguments, and the growl that left his lips as a man in golden armor with an axe the size of Ishtar stood in their way almost scared him more than Arvis had a moment ago. With contemptuous ease he ducked beneath the axe and slammed the spike on the end of his Megaton Hammer into the helm of the gold knight, before twisting and lashing out with the Master Sword, severing the head of another one that came from the side.

“B-But our fathers are-”

“Holding their own at worst and winning quite handily at best. Now I said move dammit!” Ishtar hadn’t quite heard him speak in such a heated, “Do as I say or I will make you” tone of voice before, and to be perfectly honest, would be just fine if she never heard it again. She grabbed Julius by the hand and almost dragged him in her wake as she marched forward, as her free hand crackled with power as blast after blast of Arcthunder slammed into the numerous beasts in their way. It didn’t take long for the stunned Prince to get the hint, and his own volleys of Arcfire joined the golden lightning filling the air. Even still, they were surrounded and were only just barely able to continue forward. Monsters on all sides rushed them without pause or care for their own lives, and they would be overwhelmed and killed, or worse, in seconds if even one made contact.

If. Everything that wasn’t left a crumpled, twitching heap or a flaming chunk of flesh had received a first-hand demonstration of the exact reason why Link, and Link alone had been assigned as their guard. Boots with solid, Goron-forged iron lashed out and broke bones and snapped knees when they made contact, and that once pristine steel hammer was now soaked in blood. Four large shapes leaped out of what cover had remained after his father’s blast of Valflame, some sort of humanoid bulldogs over ten feet tall easily, only to fall into pieces as an orange wave of energy soared over their heads.

“.... remind me to never get on his bad side.” The Imperial soldiers had initially questioned why their lord had only set the one man to watch the Prince and his betrothed, but had assumed that the Emperor had known what he was doing. As they watched the carnage with some small measure of worry, that assumption was proven right and then some.

Slowly, far too slowly for Bloom’s liking as he was forced to ignore the almost all-consuming urge to rush to his daughter’s side, fully aware that Ishtore was of a similar mind, the assault came to an end and they managed to secure three Bulbins, five blue Bokoblins, and one Dynaflos that looked scared out of its mind as Link finished tightening the ropes around the bruised and beaten beast. “.... so. I think this counts as a successful trip, what about you guys? ….. What?”

“... Bloom. How badly would it affect your land if I were to burn these woods to the ground?” Arvis said as he slowly gained control over his breath, and began to inspect the condition the battle had left their men in. “Or would that even halt the spread of these monsters, Sir Knight?” A thoughtful expression formed on the blond’s face, and he turned to observe the now thoroughly-destroyed swathe of forest they stood in the midst of.

“Probably not. Maybe if I had come across this place when I arrived in Jugdral months ago, I could have halted them and ultimately dealt with the issue at its source, but as things are now? No. There’s… something dark that’s spawning them, and I don’t have the slightest idea of what it is.”

The eyes of the Emperor widened ever so slightly at his words, before he schooled his expression and stroked his chin. None had seen the way he reacted to the statement from the Hylian, more specifically the slight drain of color from his face when he had mentioned a darkness behind the birth of the monsters. None, save for Ishtar that is. The future Empress had always been of a curious mind, wanting to learn all she could from just about every fount of knowledge available to her. Now she had two before her that were closed off, and it did not feel right at all. And that would just not stand, of course.

He grumbled half-heartedly as gloved fingers slowly, carefully inspected where the arrows had been removed from his body, and violet eyes marveled at just how quickly he had healed. “You said these were poisoned… right? Haven’t you felt even the slightest bit ill?” Julius had been all but dragged to the healers his father had brought the instant they returned, his protests ignored and given absolutely zero regard.

Even as he shook his head, the lavender-haired woman still grabbed a Restore staff and shone the curative light over his form until she was satisfied. Better to be safe than sorry, after all. “I’d use a healing staff as well, but these seem more like scratches now than real wounds… did you even feel them?” Ishtar wondered aloud as she prodded at the marks and hummed to herself when Link showed not even a small sign of pain. Sure, it had been a week since that day but even so...

“... uhhh, not really? I sort of felt a dull impact, but then the fight started in earnest and, well… you know how it is when your blood’s pumping. You don’t notice you’re hurt until everything calms down, y’know?” Even if that hadn’t been the case, he’d taken worse. If she had seen his sorry state after that fight with that doppelganger in the Water Temple… goddesses alone know how she would have reacted to that .

“Still… do try to take it easy for a day or so for me, please? Relatively speaking of course.” Taking it easy for him was a day of hard work for anyone else, but the man almost physically could not sit around and do nothing if there was something that needed to be done. “Need any help with bandages, or are you even going to bother?”

He paused in the middle of reaching for his shirt, and made a show as he rolled his eyes and started to dress the shallow wounds. “Only cause you’d worry otherwise.” A sharp hiss slipped through clenched teeth as Ishtar pushed a finger into his shoulder, and she took too much satisfaction when Link shot her a dirty look. “Fine, fine. They hurt me more than I let on, happy?” He hated that smug grin of hers. Hated how it made her look more beautiful than normal, a task one would think was impossible.

“Happy? No. A little satisfied over being proven right? Yes. I understand that you traveled your homeland on your own, and might not have had anyone to fuss over you but… please don’t try to tough these things out. Do it for me, if nothing else.”

Link hated that argument. Loathed it, to be honest. It worked every single time she used it, and that was why she’d done so again here. Her arms circled around his neck as Ishtar joined him on his bed, her breasts pressed against his back as the two sat there in silence. “... still too late to run off together I take it?”

“... it would be nice. To just… let go of all my responsibilities, and just do what I want for the rest of my life.” He knew why she couldn’t make herself do it, and that was a part of the noblewoman that vexed him more than it should. And yet… he admired it at the same time. Her determination to do what she thought was right ran deep, deeper than even she knew more than likely. Once Ishtar had set her mind and decided on a course of action… it would take something unimaginable for her to change course.

“I could… have us both in Hyrule before tomorrow night. But you can’t do that to your family, can you?” he murmured as his hand reached up and gripped hers, and her head shook as he turned to face the only woman who managed to steal his heart. “Ish… there does come a time when one needs to set aside what everyone else says they should do, and make the choice that is best for themselves , not for those around them.”

Link had tried this argument before, and it hadn’t worked then and he doubted it would convince her now. But dammit, that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. “Don’t you want to be happy for the rest of your life?” They both knew her answer. It was obvious before she even looked at him with a sad, melancholy smile as tears ran down her face. As far as Ishtar was concerned… there was no choice. Her family’s needs came before her own, they always had and they always will.

The door to her room opened without a sound as he left with a heavy heart, and aimlessly wandered through the castle. Maybe… he should just go back home. Trust that Jugdral could handle itself against whatever evil lurked behind the scenes and take the easy way out. A derisive snort escaped as he dismissed that entirely, and let his mind ponder over the oddities that stuck out in last week’s trek into the forest.

They had never been that organized before. Small ambushes yes, but nothing on that scale. And the Lizalfos and Dynalfos absolutely hated one another , and yet they seemed to set all that aside without so much as a hint of in-fighting. And Darknuts weren’t prone to sneak attacks like that, no, the corrupted knights held some form of honor and would fight you, and kill you, head on. Iron Knuckles… never really mingled with anything unless absolutely necessary, or if an outside force had simply made them.

Whatever darkness was here in these lands, it had to have been behind the odd behavior of the monsters. They seemed more like an army rather than the chaotic beasts all of Hyrule knew them to be. If there was something out there that could whip them into shape and amass them into a disciplined, trained force… that did not bode well for anyone. At all. It took him longer than he would have liked, but Link found a passing scribe and borrowed more than enough parchment and quills to write all of this down, and ensured that the information would reach the ears of Bloom and Arvis. It was only going to get worse.

“Hey! I’m sorry Sir Link, but you can’t go this way. Only members of the Friege Family are permitted past this area.” Blue eyes blinked as he realized that his feet had taken him to an area of the castle he’d never cared to explore very deeply before, the dungeons. Oh sure, Ishtar had taken him down there before during his first week here, and had come back up with only a mild shake to her legs, but other than that… he never bothered to return as he had no reason to.

“... why’s that? Not trying to talk you into letting me pass, just curious.” he lied as easily as he breathed. Over there to his right was where he had gone months ago, but to the left… “Does Bloom keep family secrets down here or something?”

“... that’s not… entirely inaccurate. You’re aware of the innate magic present in every member of House Friege that bears Holy Blood, correct?” the guard said, a short sword at his hip and a small key on his belt. Link was not a betting man, but if he was… then there was no way those keys really unlocked that door down the hall. That would be the height of foolishness. “Well, in the case where a family member would have to be held, special cells were devised to ensure that they could not cast any magic. And just in case, restraints of the same make are locked around their wrists and ankles. They couldn’t make you jump even if they wanted to.”

“That’s… actually not a bad idea. I assume other houses do such a thing as well?” The middle-aged man nodded as he sat down in his chair, and the Hylian slowly lowered himself onto the floor, and began to make small talk with him. All he had to do was leave the man convinced that he really was just curious, and he’d be home free later on at night.

And as it turned out, that was easier than he would have thought. Damn good thing that particular guard wasn’t amongst the ones he drilled and trained, that was somewhat of a slip in discipline. In a way, he felt bad as he pulled a mask over his face, and strolled back into that hallway without even an attempt to quiet his footsteps. Thank Nayru that he’d taken the tools and items he’d collected from Termina with him, as the Stone Mask made this insultingly easy.

Short of actually attacking someone, or something, there was not a thing that would be noticed by the guards. The only exception he’d ever seen were the Gerudo in Pirate’s Fortress, and even that was limited to a mere four warriors. So it was trivial for him to walk away with the key he’d seen earlier during his chat with the guard, and while it did not open the door that lead to the dungeon proper, it did allow him to enter a room that contained a small chest in a rather cleverly-concealed
alcove.

This chest held the key that he needed, and Link was sure to place it back exactly as he had found it before he made his way down the stairs. Unfortunately, the mask did little to protect his nose from the stale air, but one must suffer through such torments in the name of exploration. He began to wonder just how deep the cells were when a pained whimper barely reached his ears, and his eyes narrowed.

That did not bode well, that did not bode well at all. He hastened down the steps as quickly as he dared, a level of caution that disregarded the properties of the Stone Mask. If it was possible for magic to detect him… then it would be best to act as if being caught was now very possible, instead of unthinkable. ‘I just hope that there’s nothing too terrible down… here… Din, Nayru, and Farore help me.’

In a cell against the far wall was a woman, bloodied, beaten, and bruised so badly it was a wonder she still breathed. Several burn marks marred her flesh, and he couldn’t tell if they were from fire or other means. What little scraps of clothing she had did nothing to protect her from the chill in the air, and her body shivered and curled into a ball to try and preserve what heat she could. A shudder wracked his form as well, but not from the cold, far from it.

A white-hot fire of rage seared through his being as he slowly examined the rest of the chamber, and once he made sure it was empty save for himself and the woman, he began to think on the best way to get her out of here in one piece. And then the sound of heels on stone echoed off the stone walls, while an all-too familiar laugh rang throughout the room. “Still clinging to life are you, Tailtu? You really are a pathetic little traitor. Can’t you be a good sister-in-law and just drop dead for me already?”

… the fires of his anger died, and were instantly replaced with a cold fury. He never really had a family as a child, Saria was the closest thing to it and even that only stretched so far. It was only once he got out into the world beyond Kokiri Forest that Link was able to see what he had missed, and damned if he didn’t wish he could have experienced the warmth, the love of a mother, a father, of his own.

To see this… wretch having abused and tortured a woman who should be a sister was… enraging beyond words. He’d thought Hilda was awful before, yes, but even that initial impression paled compared to this. Everything, all his interactions with Bloom and his house were suddenly cast in a different light. Did he know? Was the man aware of just what his wife was in secret? Or did she hide this from everyone… he hoped for Ishtar’s sake that it was the latter, otherwise… there would be a reckoning .

“.... y-you… s-stupid…. Bitch … I’m n-not… giving y-you the satis… satisfaction… of w-watching me d-die…” she whispered, and coughed blood that was far too dark for his liking onto the floor. Her back was turned but the outrage on Hilda was plain to see, and she stalked forward into the cell with an aura of malevolence so thick Link could feel it in his soul. The way the woman… Tailtu, if he had heard right, tried to shrink away made the decision for him. This would not go on for one second more.

“You’re lucky I can only go so far with my little games… Bloom has told me to just go ahead and put an end to this already… but I’m having far too much fun. So much fun, that I feel like another round of Burn the Witch” The venom in her voice was… horrifying, if he had to tell the truth. The dark-haired woman had only just raised her hand with a spark of fire at her fingertips when he reached out and caught it in his own, and while he would never consider himself a sadist… there was something oh so satisfying in the sound of her bones breaking in his grip.

“Argh! Y-You! H-How did, how are you-” her eyes met his, and in that instant, she knew what it was like to stare one’s death in the face.

He turned with a snarl that sent primal terror into the heart, or what passed for it, of Hilda, threw her against the far wall, and cared not if such an action killed her. With any luck, she would be alive but paralyzed for the rest of her days, but with the kinds of healing magics the healers had… it was unlikely. Link reached into his pouch and retrieved one of his scant few bottles of Blue Potion, and knelt down beside Tailtu and gently coaxed the healing liquid down her throat.

It did not do as good a job as he would have liked, but her open wounds had closed instantly, and it managed to partially heal her scars. ‘Take what victories you can get Link, she’s not in immediate danger of dying.’ The Stone Mask was placed onto the face of the mercifully unconscious woman, and he carefully lifted her into his arms. It would be a little difficult to escape like this, but… he’d been in worse situations before.

The stairs didn’t feel nearly as long this time, and he tried not to think about just how light she was as he stepped through the door. Slowly, he reached for his Longshot and took aim for the rafters in the ceiling, and prayed to any and every deity that would listen that this would go unnoticed. When he was concealed by the shadows and heard no sign of the guards raising an alarm, he breathed a sigh of relief. That was the first step over with… now came the harder part. Getting out and with a horse.

‘What I wouldn’t do for Epona right about now…’ Sadly, the faithful companion was not able to make the journey with him this time, and he would be forced to go on his lonesome. The rooftops made for a much quicker, more worrying path to the stables, but he had managed to get a horse saddled and Tailtu covered by a thick wool coat without being caught. His luck would go south once he left however, and he knew it.
Link looked up at the roof of the stable and took a long, slow breath. It would be some time before he could see Ishtar again… and that was a conversation he was not looking forward to having. But, he was the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, not Cowardice, so it was one that ultimately needed to happen. Just not now. Or tomorrow. Or next week for that matter. One hand on the reins and the other close to his hip, he guided his chosen horse outside and prayed that he could at least make it to the gate before he had to make a run for it.

That prayer died on his lips as a man threw open the doors to the castle and pointed straight at him, and with a long-suffering sigh he mounted the horse and turned the trot into an all-out gallop.

“STOP THAT MAN! HE ASSAULTED LADY HILDA!”

Link half expected them to cheer for such a thing, but he wasn’t that lucky. What he was , however, was outside of the castle before anyone had managed to really process what had happened. His lead would not last forever though, and he needed to find someplace safe to leave Tailtu before he returned. He couldn’t very well just leave Ishtar here… for good at any rate. Who knows, maybe she’d stumble over the truth behind her mother’s actions and depart of her own will…

‘Yeah, and I’m gonna make it out of this mess untouched.’ If he could just buy himself a moment to turn into his wolf form, and tie her to his back… they’d sent a group of men after him now, mounted archers whom he had worked til their hands bled. “I’d be proud if they weren’t trying to kill me.” he said as the Master Sword left its scabbard with a flourish, and he began to swat what arrows he couldn’t avoid right out of the air.

They chased him without halting even for a moment, and that twinge of pride turned into exasperation as each man staggered his shots to ensure they allowed him as small a reprieve as possible. This had begun to get annoying ten minutes ago, and now he was frustrated with both their persistence, and his lack of time to think of a plan…. If he had a free hand, he would have smacked his own forehead.

‘Thank the goddesses Nabooru insisted I learn this trick!’ He took his hand off the reins and directed the horse with his legs alone, and reached for an item he’d hoped he wouldn’t have to use. He brought the Ocarina of Time to his lips, and played the Song of Storms in hopes of losing his pursuers in the heavy rain and dark clouds that followed. Only, he had packed a bit more magic than normal into the notes, and wondered what exactly would happen.

“Look out!” The crash of lightning behind him was, in some ways literally, music to his ears as he soothed his borrowed horse and picked up the pace. He doubted this storm would last for very long… he needed to be gone by the time Bloom dispelled it. ‘I just hope the transformation won’t ruin the ropes when I tie her to my back…’

Ishtar watched with an empty expression as Link fled the castle, her Knight, her Sworn Sword, the Man She Loved… left her behind. For a moment… she could have sworn that he somehow sensed her gaze and turned to the window where she stood, but that must have been a trick of her mind. Before he faded from sight, she saw a brilliant golden shape bolt in the direction of Silesse, and she knew that they’d never catch him now. Ishtar was well aware of exactly how fast he was as a wolf, and with his stamina…

She clenched her fists as she turned on a heel, grabbed Mjölnir from where she had put it after this morning's training, and marched to her father’s solar. The turbulent storm outside was dwarfed by the one that raged through her soul, one that only intensified with every step. If what her mother, in her pain-induced delirium, had told the healer was true… then she might just join him in the land of snow.

As she paused outside the large, ornate doors, Ishtar heard the voices of her brother and Riza as Bloom cursed and demanded that someone bring Mjölnir to him this instant. She took a deep breath, and then threw the doors open with an expression that could cow Loptyr itself on her face. She brought forth the Divine Tome and dismissed the storm with an effort of will, and her father’s question of what, exactly, she was doing died on his lips. The storm was gone yes… but every last ounce of its fury was now in her eyes.

“Father. You have seen mother, correct?” Those grey eyes bored into her own, and he wondered when she had grown the backbone to interrogate him… that damned Hylian had changed her more than she knew. A hiss of pain escaped his lips as she touched his fingers with a small jolt, and despite the knee-jerk response his ego demanded… he’d never been more proud of her in his entire life. He nodded as he sat down, and Bloom noted how her brother glanced between his sister and himself, before he slowly rose to his feet and stood behind her.

“... how long.” she quietly intoned, and the muscles in her jaw twitched as he said nothing in response. Ishtar lifted a fist wreathed in lightning and smote his desk in two, murder in her eyes as she advanced. “I said how long! How long did you let mother torture your sister?!” This… was not going to be an easy matter to deal with.
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A Hero and a Goddess