FicWad

Cleaning up the kingdom’s affairs felt endless to Zale. He seemed to be working nonstop since the defeat of Ganondra. At least the generals would be arriving today, so maybe they could lighten some of his burdens. He missed his father. King Gaepora would be so much better than Zale, but the task fell to the prince.

This morning, Zale had to figure out what to do with all of the Gerudo currently occupying the dungeon. The kingdom wasn’t equipped to handle so many prisoners. Not for much longer, anyway. He wondered if they had a leader, now that Ganondra was gone. He could work with a leader to negotiate peace. He decided to ask Lila about it and moved on to the next pressing matter.

Zale needed to announce to the kingdom about his father’s death. He had to wait for the generals to come back before that could happen, though. Was there anything else he could do to prepare? No. That task would have to wait also.

That left Zelda, a mysterious visitor. Zale went to her room, but the guard wasn’t there. Zale wondered where she could be, then thought about where he would go in her position: the library. He hurried to the library, and, to his delight, found Zelda curled up with a history book. Zale cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Hello, Prince Zale,” she said, not looking up.

“Are you enjoying the book?” Zale asked, sitting in an armchair beside her.

“Oh, yes,” she replied. “It’s interesting to see events from a different perspective.”

“Ah… yes,” Zale said, unsure of what she meant.

Zelda closed the book and set it aside. “That’s right. You don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“Link, Rova, and I have been traveling through time,” she said. “We have been gathering sacred objects after their usefulness was over.”

“What for?” Zale wondered.

“To protect them, of course.”

“Protect them from what?”

“Time, monsters, take your pick.” Zelda shrugged.

“That seems… unnecessary.”

Zelda shrugged again. “It’s what Rova told us to do.”

Zale said, “Rova… Link mentioned her before. Who is she?”

“She’s our mentor and our guardian. She raised us until we were old enough to collect the artifacts. She trained us and put us through trials. We owe everything to her.”

“I see,” Zale said, sitting back and putting a hand to his mouth in contemplation. “And you’ve never seen the Triforce of Power on her hand?”

“Correct,” Zelda replied.

“I take it you trust her?”

“Yes.”

Zale considered his next question before voicing it. “What would you do in my position? Would you hand the Master Sword to a stranger just because he had the Triforce of Courage?”

Zelda took her time answering. “Normally, yes, but there are two Triforces in play.”

“Exactly.”

“Then, no, I suppose I wouldn’t.”

“So you see my problem.”

Zelda sighed. “Yes, I do.”

The two were silent for a moment, both deep in thought.

“Perhaps… they could duel over it,” Zelda ventured.

Zale wanted to dismiss the proposition immediately for fear of Lila getting hurt. However, he saw no other alternatives. He mulled the idea in his head for several minutes. Finally, he said, “That seems to be the only reasonable option. Neither one will use the Master Sword in the fight, to make it fair. It might be a while before we can schedule the fight, though.”

Zelda cocked her head to the side. “Why’s that?”

“My–” Zale felt emotions well up inside him. He thought he had made his peace with this! “My father passed away recently, and I need to prepare his funeral.”

Zelda softened instantly. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “Of course, we can wait until after the funeral.”

“Thank you,” Zale said, his throat constricted.

Zale patted his knee, and he smiled weakly at her. Then he made his goodbyes and left the library.

Outside the library, he took several deep breaths and then said to Salvatore, “I thought I was doing better.”

Salvatore said, “Grief comes in waves. Sometimes you’re okay and other times you’re not. It’s okay to let the emotions take over.”

Zale sighed and shook his head. He didn’t want to be taken by emotion. He still had so much to do.

Salvatore said, “Perhaps it’s time for you to eat lunch.”

Zale sighed, “Yes, alright,” and headed for the dining hall.

Lila was there with Link. They were both chowing down fiercely, as though they were having a competition. A woman was with them. Zale assumed that was Rova. He hailed them, and Lila stopped eating to smile and reply.

“Good timing,” she said. “I can tell you all about our encounter while we eat.”

“Encounter?” Zale asked, sliding into the seat next to her. A servant immediately brought him a plate full of food.

“Yeah,” Link said with his mouth full. “We fought some monsters that were after Rova. That’s Rova, by the way.” He gestured at the woman without putting his food down. Zale noticed that she wasn’t eating. Her plate had been picked clean.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Zale said to his new guest.

“All good, I hope,” Rova responded politely.

Zale stared at her for a bit, taking in her appearance. Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place why. To hide his staring, he said, “I hope you have been treated kindly.”

“Actually, we were stopped on our way into town,” Rova said cooly. “Lila had to convince your guards that I wasn’t an enemy. Do all visitors go through such hostility?”

Zale said, “I’m afraid my subjects are a bit afraid of… Gerudo. We… recently had a battle against them.”

“Oh really?” Rova remarked.

Lila watched the two during the exchange. She felt uncomfortable even though everything seemed normal. Eventually, she broke into the conversation.

“Zale, why don’t you eat?” she said.

He looked at her, surprised. He had forgotten she was there.

“Oh, right,” he said and picked up his fork and began eating.

“If you don’t mind,” Rova said, getting up, “I would like to retire for an afternoon nap. Is there a place where I can rest?”

Zale nodded and waved Salvatore over. “Salvatore will take you to an open room.”

“Thank you,” Rova said. She curtsied before leaving with Salvatore.

Zale shot a concerned look at Lila, then masked his expression so Link wouldn’t notice.

“Zelda and I were just talking,” Zale said. “We have an idea on how to settle the dispute over the Master Sword.” Lila and Link both looked at him in anticipation. “We think it’s only fair for you two to duel.”

“You actually want us to fight over it?” Lila asked.

Link grinned. “Sounds good to me. You’re not scared, are you?”

“Of course, I’m not scared,” Lila quickly replied.

“When do we start?” Link asked.

“After my father’s funeral,” Zale answered. “It should be no more than two days from now.”

“Hear that? In two days, that sword will be mine,” Link said, but Lila put a hand on Zale’s shoulder. Zale smiled softly at her. Link saw the exchange and added, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“Thank you,” Zale said to Link.