To Stand For Honor
Summary:
It was two weeks since the fifteenth birthday of Princess Zelda, and the Sheikah woman Purah the scientist had come to Hyrule Castle with her younger sister Impa. They were in their early 20s in the spring of their womanhood, dressed in the traditional tan clothing of their people with hair as white as snow. For Impa it was long and fell about her shoulders, and Purah delighted to say that to look at her sister was to behold a mountaintop in the winter. But Purah was content to keep her own hair shorter and tied up, so much the better to not get in the way of her work.They had not been able to be there the actual day of Zelda’s birthday, on account of a research mission involving nearby shrines. Zelda had very much wanted to go, but had been told that this year she would be expected to remain to accept the well wishes of visitors to the castle that would be coming throughout the month. The pair had promised to return to tell her everything about it. But now their journey to discover where Zelda was had been interrupted, and they were drawn away from their path. Many people dressed in finery were all about the main courtyard, no doubt idling away their time before a scheduled audience.
But as far as Purah was concerned, they were all so much trash. The crowd was rife with gossipmongers saying whatever they pleased about their liege and friend yet again, with almost no care. It was a familiar sight, one that had often driven Purah to complain to her sister that machines merited more attention than people – or at least men, anyway.
“It’s ridiculous,” said one. “Completely ridiculous! Playing at becoming some kind of scholar when she’s only fifteen years old, talking to anyone who will listen about obscure little facts when she could be praying instead! The queen accessed her gift when she was half as young. What is the princess even doing, abusing her position to work with scientists that know many times what she does?”
Purah clenched her fist tight. Yes, there it was. Here were men speaking of things that they never even tried to understand.
“This much is clear,” said another. “It’s not that she won’t do what she was meant for, it’s that she can’t. The bloodline has thinned too much. She can’t really do a thing and we know it, so she wants the legacy of the Sheikah Tribe to carry the responsibility and she wants to take some credit for it in the end. I don’t care about that, I just hope it’s enough.”
Then the best dressed man of them all raised his voice to speak over his gathered companions, almost shouting. He appeared to be someone of great importance, but his name was not to be recorded by history. "Now see here gentlemen, that's enough! You have it all wrong about Princess Zelda! I say that she is perfect to me, just the way that she is!”
“All right, that’ll do. You’re drunk on wine or her beauty, or both. Give it a rest, this is serious.”
“Well, so am I! Let’s take it easy on their lineage, there’s nothing wrong with a fine decoration. I say that Princess Zelda’s gift was being more beautiful than the queen in exchange for having none of her ability, and that's the point.”
“Hey, keep your voice down!“
“It’s a good thing that father sent ME here to try at courting her! If you ask me, all she needs is a suitable distraction from those dumb machines. King Rhoam even thinks so, everyone knows it. Well, a bit of sweet talk and time from me and good blood will be coming into the royal family again. Two years can’t pass by soon enough! Let her have her fun now, and then the minute she turns seventeen I’ll be in the position to show her what a real man is. Then she can just leave the thinking to me and only focus on delivering a princess that will be useful, if you know what I mean!” Then there was laughter from him and others who were surely his friends, mixed in with some groans and protests from others - all too few.
Impa was unable to suppress a horrified gasp from around the corner, where the two of them were lurking. For her part, Purah was moved more to anger than her younger sister was. She had seen more of this but gotten no less used to it. Now her rage threatened to overflow as the sisters processed the most vile remark they had ever heard.
Before either one could do or say anything, a dull clang could be heard a ways behind them. The two turned to look at the nearby ground and saw that it was a Sheikah Slate, then they looked up. Standing nearby was a young woman clad in a blue dress that fell to her ankles, with long and flowing golden hair that they were all too familiar with.
The Princess Zelda had approached from behind them.
"Oh! How clumsy of me." She knelt and gracefully recovered her device, then rose again. Impa and Purah knelt at once, as was appropriate. "None of that now," Zelda said with a smile. "Welcome back, I heard you'd come, I'm glad to see you again this soon. Now that we’ve met I’d like to return this to you, Purah. Some adjustments have been made for the stasis rune function, and I have done my best to test the compendium feature as you instructed. Perhaps we could make time to discuss it all later, while you are here?"
"Y-Yes, princess, of c-course." So saying Purah stood up and took the device, and Impa rose also. Somehow the pair managed to maintain calm and even expressions.
"Very good." She smiled. "Well, Impa and Purah, I would stay but I have another engagement and I must be off. I can’t wait to visit more! May Hylia’s light guide your steps."
"And yours as well, princess," Impa responded appropriately with a bow. Then with a flourish, Zelda turned and departed.
Once she was out of sight, Impa shook her head and allowed horror to come into her face. "Did she hear that?" Purah only seethed. "There is no way she didn't!"
"But to hear something that awful, vulgar and cruel - to be insulted and disrespected so badly? She gave no sign. Maybe we're mistaken," Impa said hopefully.
Purah shook her head. "She doesn't just drop things. She did and said nothing to acknowledge it and she never will, because she has convinced herself she can't. As far as she’s concerned people will see kindness and dignity from Hyrule’s ‘Beacon of Light’ or nothing at all no matter how much it might hurt, no matter how much justice there would be in something else!” Purah’s voice was bitter.
Impa bowed her head. "Someone like this in court, and she will endure it and pretend he is honorable? He would at least touch her hand, or maybe even dance with her."
"I won't have it!”, Purah said fiercely. "One way or another, he goes."
"Perhaps if the king knew of this-"
"If she pretended in front of us, there’s no way she’ll tell him. And if we tell King Rhoam and he somehow finds out that she knew when we did and told him nothing, there's no telling how either one might react. If things get worse between them because of what we say, our friendship with her will never be the same."
Impa’s face was now full of distress. "I can't stand it!"
"This is no time for misery! We’re not helpless, we’ll settle this ourselves. Let's get out there right now!" I am with you," Impa replied.
The two women rounded the corner to venture into the courtyard, but in that moment a voice resounded like thunder to stop them cold in their tracks.
"TURN AROUND!"
That detestable well-dressed man Purah had meant to take on turned toward the source of the commotion, and in that instant a fist struck him squarely on the face. He was sent flying with terrific speed, crashing into a nearby window and shattering it. He slumped to the ground, face bloody. The witnessing crowd backed away from his attacker in surprise and fear.
Standing there clad in a simple Hylian tunic was a single young man with blonde hair. He was distinguished only by a sword of great length within a plain sheath. In this company, he seemed very much out of place. A number of voices began to speak at once.
"H-how dare you!"
"How did he do that?"
"You idiot, do you know who his father is?!"
"You've made the mistake of your life!"
There was a loud groan as the villain rose to his feet, holding his bloody nose. "You. How dare you, who ARE you?"
"Link."
"Link...what?"
"Link."
The villain scoffed. "No title? You are a commoner of no status with no last name and you struck another that way within this castle? The penalty for murder is death!"
"You’re alive, you imbecile.”
From afar, Purah guffawed loudly. "Oh, oh! I LIKE this guy!" That drew everyone's attention for a few moments. “Purah, please!”, Impa hissed. So it tended to be, with these two. Purah could be moved to mirth and anger to greater extremes than what would come from her sister. If she was the ocean subject to all manner of weather, Impa was more akin to a tranquil lake.
The villain seethed at his attacker. "Do you have any idea who I am?"
"You insulted her dignity and her honor, and even the late queen too. Be grateful I held back." Link's voice was one of pure menace.
Purah nearly gaped at him. That’s holding back? He's actually serious!
The man stepped backward, clearly intimidated. "Y-you...now look here, many people have said the kind of things that I did before!"
Slow to anger as she was, Impa’s temper flared now. "Most people joke about seducing the princess and making her a trophy, do they? As if she’d be taken in by you!”
The villain flinched as another wave of murmurs occurred all around them; not all who had gathered to witness this incident had known of his words.
"Y-you can't just-"
"If what you told me is true," interrupted Link, "then I'm surrounded by cowards who are no better than traitors."
Now the murmurs were ones of astonishment and indignation, but Purah laughed aloud with no restraint at all. "Know your place, boy!”, the villain barked. With a few words to the right people, you’ll suffer the consequences for this."
Link scoffed. "Go on, tell anyone what I did. You have more to fear from this story than I do."
But a fiendish smirk came to the villain's face. "Not if we go to the king and say that my words were yours."
"NO!"
With that terrified shriek Impa raced forward, her face alight with indignation and fear. The thought of this boy suffering unjustly because he'd stood up for their friend was unbearable. "We saw it too, we'll tell! We'll tell everyone!"
The villain was undeterred. "A common boy and two backwater Sheikah girls against my friends and those smart enough to know their place compared to mine. Who do you think everyone is more likely to believe?"
With that remark, Purah exploded like a volcano. "'Backwater Sheikah girls', is it?! Do you have any idea who we are in this castle? We are her friends and she heard you, BASTARD!" A wave of shock passed through the crowd, and at last a look of horror came to the villain's face as silence fell. "Oh, no."
"Oh yes," Purah snapped. "You can forget about the wedding bells, and that'll be only the start!" Link's full attention turned toward Impa and Purah. "What you just said. Is that really true?"
"Yes," Impa said solemnly. "I'm...I'm afraid that it is."
"I see. That changes things a little." Then at once, Link removed the scabbard from his back and displayed it. “I am a knight. Here and now, I challenge this man to a duel of honor. That’s allowed here." He looked at the villain with absolute contempt. "If I win you'll follow any order I give, and if you win you can have this sword and tell whatever story you want. I won't even try to deny a word of it." Then, to the wonder of all, he tossed the sword to the noble. "We won’t wait. Take that sword as your weapon, and I'm fine this way."
With that, many voices begin to speak again.
"Incredible."
"Craziest thing I've ever seen-"
“That’s not how these things are done!”
“A knight at that age? Ridiculous. Where’s his armor?”
"That hilt doesn't look normal..."
"If the princess really knows, then maybe all of us are-"
"N-no! Not me! I didn't say a word, it's not my fault!"
"No…that's why this is our fault.”
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" That would be Purah, incensed and incredulous. Here was a macho cretin showing off, about to ruin everything!
The villain rose to his feet, armed with the sword and the desperate hope that he could be saved. "Oh, you claim you’re something special? I am nobility, curse you! I'll teach you your place here and now, and then those hick girls will be taught a lesson too!” With that he drew the sword from its scabbard and swung downward. It was nothing but a wild stroke, completely unskilled.
Link did not move an inch from where he stood. Instead his left arm shot upward, and the blade was caught in his hand. His grip on it was like iron, but everyone could see that he was not bleeding.
The villain gaped. "Wh - what? I can't cut you, why can't this sword cut anything? How are you doing this?"
Link’s voice rang out loud and clear. “You are holding the Master Sword, the sword that seals the darkness. It isn't that the sword can't cut, it’s that it won’t cut me because it knows who I am and it knows what you are. And now everyone here does, too.”
Wonder and fear appeared. "It's a lie. That's impossible, you're nobody, this is just a sword like any other. It's ridiculous, things like what you described are fantasies told to children!"
"Yet here we are," said Link. With that, he raised his right arm and struck a mighty blow. The villain was sent crashing to the ground, losing his grip on the sword.
“So much for the worth of noble blood!”, Impa said.
The villain looked up. "D-don't. Don't kill me. I'll do anything."
Link’s response was immediate. "If I ever find out that you've even looked at Princess Zelda once, you will die."
"B-but...that means I can never return to this castle! People are going to ask why! That's a fate worse than death for someone like me! It’s exile!"
"So what?", Link said. "Take your trash with you." Nearby, Purah began to laugh again.
"N-no, y-you - you don't have the authority!"
Link did not answer him. He only caught the noble's gaze and glared intensely into his eyes.
Without another word, the villain fled in silent terror. His followers departed to follow him as quickly as they could manage. He would never be seen at Hyrule Castle again.
Link picked up his blade and returned it to its sheath. Then he simply stood still and looked to the open blue sky, seeming contemplative. Impa and Purah approached him, but all others either kept their distance or claimed to be heading off to some other engagement they had just remembered.
"You’re him,” Impa said. “Remarkable.”
"No miss,” said Link. “Today I was pest control.”
"What you did was more than that to me," Impa replied.
Purah smiled broadly. "We would have had that and you went and stole the best parts for yourself! But we appreciate it all anyway this time, Linky."
Link delivered a quizzical look. "No, it's Link."
"Yeah sure, I heard," Purah said. "But I've decided that I like you, so for me you're Linky now."
"That...that makes no sense."
"It doesn't need to...Linky. Hah! Yeah, it’s perfect. You should see the look on your face! Say, you seem strong enough, do you want to be a part of my experiments?"
Like raised an eyebrow. “Experiments?”
"Purah, come on," Impa said. "He’s going to think we’re weird!"
Purah wore a playful smirk. “Just like he is. What’s your point, little sister?”
Link sighed. "Call me what you like. In return, keep this matter quiet and don’t repeat what he said. But spread the word about him as much as you’d like."
"Linky," Purah said, "I do believe this is the start of beautiful friendships!"
“Come on,” Impa said. “At least let us buy you something! You like to eat, right?”
Link had decided to be annoyed about “Linky” but found himself suppressing a smile now. Well. If it makes them happy, it's fine. Good grief...what am I about to get into around here?
***
Even as young Link declared his “duel”, Princess Zelda entered her bedroom and shut the door. She approached her bed and let herself fall upon it, face down into her pillow. She made no sound and made no move for a long time.
At length a voice came from outside of her door. “Zelda. I would speak with you.”
She rose and drew a long and heavy breath. “Of course, I am coming.”
There stood her father King Rhoam at her door, when she opened it.
“I bid you a good afternoon, father.“
“We will get right to the point. Why are you here and not going to your courtship meeting?”
“I had it called off. I saw him before the appointed time and knew there was no point.”
“Zelda, be reasonable. It was only going to be one time for one hour.”
“That is true, father.”
“I know for a fact that you spent more time tinkering with that Sheikah Slate today.”
“I consider that a better use of my time.”
King Rhoam drew a heavy sigh. “Zelda, as much as we both may prefer otherwise, this is a responsibility. He was invited as a personal favor to another, he comes from a powerful family.”
“An invitation to the castle for him was promised to his father, and that was given. He does not like me.”
“That is not what I have heard. He thinks you beautiful, as we all do.”
“He does not like me, father.”
“Did you even try to really talk to him?”
There was a silence. “When I saw him, I learned what I needed to know.”
“That is no answer at all, daughter!”
Zelda did not answer.
“Why are you here and not attending to your spiritual training, if you are not there?”
“I prayed very hard this morning, father, from the moment I first woke up.”
“That is not an answer either!”
“I am sorry father, but these are the only answers I have to give!”
“Do not raise your voice to me!”
Zelda tensed up and looked down at the floor.
“Look at me when I speak to you,” King Rhoam said. His voice was stern, but it had become far quieter and much less harsh.
Zelda slowly rose her head to look to him. “If you want to know, father, I thought to pray here in my room. Pretending to be thinking about suitors just to quiet some gossip is time that could be spent on my training. Neither one of us wants me to be thinking about marriage at all. ‘For the moment the Princess Zelda considers her first duty to Hyrule more important than men, especially when she is too young to marry anyway.’ Couldn’t saying that to those who ask be enough to silence the criticism?”
There was a silence. “I will consider your wise words carefully,” King Rhoam said. “Your dedication is admirable, daughter.”
He left, and Zelda closed her door. She returned to her bed and fell face down upon it again. This time around, her hands clutched her sheets tightly.
Down the hall and around the corner, King Rhoam encountered an awaiting attendant. “Send word to her visitor. I will smooth things over.”
“About that, sire…there is a rumor that he is not here.”
“What’s this?!”
Princess Zelda, her friends and Link the hero would never discover how much King Rhoam would learn by the end of that day. However, the very next morning Princess Zelda would hear talk that her father had proved better than his word. No suitors were to be admitted to Hyrule Castle until after the sealing of the darkness, and even then not until she personally requested it.
THE END
