Noble by Nature

Chapter 25

Zelda stood at the bridge between her room and her study once again. Little dots of firelight were scattered through the night, but other than that there was no sign of life.
     It was quiet up here, and peaceful. Yet Zelda found herself wishing Link would come through the door and wrap his arms around her, like he had done so many times before.
     She hardly slept at all anymore. When she managed to fall asleep she was tormented by nightmares, worse than ever. In her waking moments she was plagued by worries about Ganondorf and fear for Link. In between, in any unguarded moment, she would suddenly find herself thinking of the child she'd lost. Whatever she did, she couldn't seem to escape her own thoughts.
     Zelda knew she had to find a way to get some sleep, especially now with this threat looming over them. She might need all the rest she could get sooner rather than later.
     A cold wind stirred her nightgown and made her shiver, but she hardly even noticed it, distracted as she was.
     Once again her mind had drifted off to Link, somewhere down in the south. She had no idea where he was, and if he ever made it to Gerudo Town.
     Sidon had dispatched nearly every single Rito he could find to try and get them some information before she even got there, and although they were now starting to trickle back, there was still no news from the desert.
     Nor had they heard anything from Goron City. With the town so high up on the volcano it was near impossible for any Rito to fly there, so they relied on the few brave souls that still dared to travel the roads. Of those there were fewer and fewer every day.
     From Kakariko Village they had learned that there had been fighting, but so far the monsters hadn't made it into the valleys on either side of the small town. Dorian had worked hard over the past year to train more Sheikah warriors, who were now keeping the monsters at bay.
     They were lucky their home was well protected by towering cliffs. Not everyone had that advantage.
     Zelda had long ago stationed soldiers at Fort Hateno again, and was now immensely grateful for her own prospective thinking. The small garrison was standing their ground against surges of monsters trying to reach Eastern Necluda, and were so far succeeding.
     Still, Hateno Village had been swarmed by monsters coming up from the beaches and out of the hills. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but her heart ached for the people they lost there.
     She thought of the kind, quiet folk that she had come to love during her stays at Link's house. They were families, children and old people, no more than simple farmers.
     Most of their able-bodied men and women who could hold a sword had been sent to the castle on her own request. Only those remained who couldn't lay down their work.
     And now all of them were under attack.
     She wondered if she would ever see those people again. Sweet and gentle Ivee who was always so full of energy; old Tokk and his prickly nature; young and quirky Teebo who didn't have many friends amongst the other children; wise old Uma who would tend to Link's house with love; and little Nebb who would ask Link to show him the Master Sword every single time they met. There were so many great, wonderful people in that little town, and her heart ached at the knowledge that they could have been hurt or killed.
     It was all her fault.
     At least Sidon had done everything in his power to help them, while she was off only thinking of herself.
     The Zora prince had sent some of his soldiers south from Zora's Domain, making use of their incredible speed in water by sending them east of Mount Lanayru, through the sea.
     With them he had sent a group of Rito archers to back them up, so that Hateno Village had at least some form of protection.
     The last news they had received had arrived the night before, and although the news had been hopeful, Zelda's heart was still heavy with fear and guilt.
     One of the Rito had flown back to tell them they had driven all monsters away from the village, and that they were making a stand at the Ancient Tech Lab.
     Purah had taken in everyone seeking refuge, and they had set to throwing up barriers that could easily be protected.
     For now they would stand their ground.
The other Tech Lab, high up in the Akkala Highlands, had so far remained undisturbed. Maybe they would never even bothered, considering it was only home to two people, hardly a settlement worth taking.
That couldn't be said of Tarrey Town, the prosperous little village farther south. So far it hadn't been breached. That was most likely part due to it being only accessible over the narrow landbridge and part due to the old Citadel being occupied once more. Another one of Zelda's ideas for which she was grateful now.
So far, all major settlements of the kingdom seemed to be relatively safe, as far as she knew. The same couldn't be said about the lands in between.
Several messages had reached her about the fate of the stables and the unlucky travellers caught unawares, all different, one more gruesome than the next, but they all agreed on one thing: people were getting slaughtered out there.
     She hated that there was nothing she could do about it. She felt a terrible princess, sitting here in her castle and doing nothing.
     She and Sidon had sent out almost every soldier, warrior or fighter they could spare, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to do so much more, but she could not afford to lose any more men. She needed all she could get to protect the castle and its town, or all those innocent lives would be lost as well.
     She sighed heavily, staring out into the darkness. One thought was grimmer than the next, but she wasn't helping anyone. The only way out of this was to defeat Ganondorf. If she wasn't going to sleep, she might as well make herself useful.