#soty23

[katedoesfics]

Shadows of the Yiga | Chapter 23

At the cemetery, the rain fell lightly. Aryll sat on her knees before the two marked graves. She let her fingers trace over the engraved names in the stones and swallowed at the painful lump that formed in her throat. The cemetery was large, stones of various shapes and sizes marking neat rows across the manicured lawns. Despite this, the graves of her parents seemed to be in a newer section of the cemetery, and there was an empty space between her father's grave and the next grave that seemed all too convenient. It was as if life were taunting her, playing a sickening joke suggesting that her brother would be next, and she would be left alone in the world.

She closed her eyes and tried to force a breath as the lump in her throat grew larger, but she only choked and sobbed. Her fingers dug into the dirt, grasping and pulling out the wet strands of grass angrily. She threw the clump of dirt and grass at the ground, and it came to rest at the corner of her father's grave. She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. Feeling a presence, she got to her feet, but did not turn around. She patted her palms against her jeans in an attempt to brush the wet dirt off of them.

“Why are you so quick to give up?” she asked softly.

Link shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes cast on his father's grave. “I'm not giving up.”

“It feels like you are.”

Link sighed and made his way to his sister's side. His eyes moved to the side to regard her, but he did not face her. He shrugged with one shoulder. “I'm a realist,” he said. “Back up plans need to be expected.”

“You're an idiot,” Aryll muttered. “You don't give a shit about anything.”

“Don't you think if that were the case, I would have let Hyrule rot?” Link crossed his arms. “I think I'm a pretty selfless guy. I gave up a lot for this damn place.”

Aryll was quiet for a moment. “You're arrogant,” she finally said.

“Nothing I do is good enough for you, is it?”

“No,” Aryll said through gritted teeth. “I expect you to stay alive.”

Link dropped his arms and turned his gaze back to the two graves before them. “I can only promise so much.”

“I'm not burying the only family I have left!” Aryll barked at him.

Link’s chest ached painfully. He couldn’t bring himself to make promises to his sister that he could not keep. He could fight all he wanted, but there was no telling how long he would have. There was nothing he could do to stop it from happening.

“Aryll,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “You should know by now; I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I can’t very well do that if I’m not around. But this is beyond my control. I’ll do everything I can to stop this. I don’t want this, Ary.” He sighed. “I never wanted any of this. I don’t want to die , especially not for this damn kingdom. I’d give my life for you, but I don’t even want to do that, because I can’t do that to you. I won’t leave you. Not as long as I can control it. But I can’t control this. And I won’t let this win. I won’t let the Yiga win. If it’s the only way to keep you safe, then that’s what I need to do. I’m not going to make false promises to you. But know that I will do everything in my power to beat this.” He hesitated. “And if that time comes, you know you won’t be alone. You have Mipha. You have Urbosa and Daruk. Even Revali. They’ll do anything for you. You will never be alone.”

Aryll said nothing for a long moment, fearing she would only break down into an uncontrollable mess. She continued to stare at the two graves before them. She wanted nothing more than to be strong for her brother; that’s what he needed from her, just as she needed his strength. But she couldn’t possibly imagine a life without him. Growing up without a mother didn’t feel all that bad, not when she never knew her mother. Which made the loss of her father that much greater, giving her a large, empty presence in her life. At a young age, still a child, she was left with no parents. And even then, her father’s loss never felt as great as it did now, when she knew she could very well lose her brother, too, the only family she had left.

The thought weighed heavy on her mind, but she did everything she could to push it aside. If this was what it came down to - if her time with her brother was so limited - she didn’t want to waste a second of it fretting about her future. It didn’t particularly make her feel any better, but he was right; she would not have to go through the pain of losing him alone. She would not be alone in life.

She wrapped her arms around her brother, breaking into a sob when his arms wrapped around her tightly. They stayed like that until the rain began to drop more steadily in heavy drops, falling down their faces along with their tears. He pulled his sister quickly through the cemetery and into the safety of the dry car. They sat in silence for a moment, with only the purr of the engine and the soft thud of the rain on the roof, until Aryll finally spoke.

“What do we do, now?”

Link hesitated. He turned his gaze out the windshield, glancing one last time at the two marked graves. “We try to fix this.”

“How?”

“I don’t know,” he said softly. He turned and smiled at her. “But we’ll figure something out. We always do.”

It wasn’t a good answer, but Aryll didn’t press further. “Can we go home?” she asked softly.

Link nodded. He started the car and navigated out of the cemetery. “I guess we should get Mipha, first.”

Aryll smiled. “You left her at the palace?” She turned to look out the window. “That’s awkward.”

“Why?”

“Because she probably hates Zelda.”

His brows furrowed. “Why would she hate Zelda?”

Aryll glanced at him and shook her head. “You’re so stupid. Did you forget you tried to bang her on the kitchen table?”

“Oh.” Link frowned. “Come on, they’re over that. It meant nothing.”

Aryll barked out a short, sarcastic laugh and rolled her eyes. “Typical guy.”

“Whatever,” he muttered.

*****

“I still think that shrine is worth looking into,” Urbosa said.

The Champions were wandering the halls in the palace, slowly making their way outside, though they were still discussing their ideas on how to handle the Yiga and fix Link.

“If I can’t fix it, what makes you think a healing shrine will be able to?” Mipha said, growing frustrated with them.

“If he’s so capable as big, bad, Dark Link,” Revali started, “don’t you think we should use that to our advantage?”

“We don’t know enough about what’s happening,” Daruk said. “We can’t encourage that - what if he doesn’t come back?”

“Maybe,” Revali said thoughtfully. “But you have to admit - he could take on the entire Yiga Clan by himself. We barely stand a chance as we are now.”

“I could take ‘em,” Riju said. She punched at the air excitedly. “I’ll take ‘em all!”

“You’re not part of this,” Urbosa said.

“I can be a Champion, too!”

“Are you twelve?”

“Shut up, Urbosa!”

As they stepped outside, they saw Link and Aryll, seemingly waiting for them.

“What took you so long?” Aryll called. “Link can do his hair quicker than that.”

Revali grinned. “It takes a lot of work to get that uncut mess to fall just right.” He punched Link’s shoulder as he walked by and toward his own car. “And shave that stupid beard.”

Link rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “I like it.”

“You look like a douche bag.”

“You’re a douche bag!”

“This is familiar,” Urbosa muttered.

As Mipha joined Link and Aryll, she studied them carefully. It seemed that they were back to their normal selves, but she didn’t dare press for information as to where they had run off to.

Zelda watched as one by one, the Champions dispersed, leaving her and Teba alone. She didn’t speak until they were out of sight, and even then, she didn’t turn to regard Teba.

“Impa knows,” she started. “I’m sure she will tell my father.”

Teba’s brows furrowed. “He’ll try to stop you.”

“I know.” Zelda turned to him. “That’s why I’m not telling him.”

“You shouldn’t be doing this alone.”

“It will be quicker if I do,” she insisted. “And I need you to be my eyes here. He’ll try to get his hands on Link. He’ll kill him if it comes down to that.”

“Perhaps, then, he should get out of the city now.”

Zelda hesitated. “Let me try to talk to Impa, first. But if you hear anything, get him out. Understand?”

Teba nodded dutifully.

*****

Zelda let herself into the shrine. It had been ten years since she last stepped foot inside. To her relief, Impa didn’t seem to be around. She let herself into the Sheikah’s office, quickly examining the room. She noted the camera in the far corner of the room, and knew there was one in the central room as well. But she was not concerned about them, knowing that Paya had taken care of them just a few minutes earlier.

She quickly set to work, moving behind Impa’s desk and perusing through the items on her desk. She first checked through various files in one drawer, then flipped anxiously through the notes and books on her desk. She was sure the Sheikah was smart enough not to leave things out so openly, but she couldn’t be too careful.

When she found nothing of note, Zelda moved to search the rest of the office. She quickly scanned the books on the shelving, then opted to remove them to check behind them for something more secret. When that came up empty, she started to grow frustrated. Impa had to know something, otherwise, it didn’t seem likely she would work so hard to keep Zelda in the dark. But perhaps that knowledge was simply in her mind, and not something Zelda would come across in the office.

She was bent over the keyboard of the computer in a desperate attempt to hack into it when the doorknob turned, and she froze. She straightened quickly in an attempt to seem innocent, then breathed a sigh of relief when the opening door revealed that it was only Paya.

“Find anything?” she asked.

Zelda shook her head. “No. Nothing.”

“There’s a chance that Purah has more information on the shrine,” Paya said. “Though, I suspect that she won’t be anymore likely to hand that information over. Not if my grandmother has anything to do with it.”

Zelda sighed. “I want to leave as soon as possible,” she said.

“We can search Purah’s office,” Paya said. “She’s in Hateno.”

“If there’s nothing there, I’m going to the shrine myself.”

Paya frowned. “There won’t be anything we can do if we don’t know what we’re doing.”

Zelda pinched her lips in frustration. “I can’t just sit idly by and let the darkness overcome him.”

“I had another idea,” Paya started. “If we are unsuccessful, we could try to search around Faron. There’s supposedly a shrine there, dedicated to the Goddess Farore. There’s also a shrine in Eldin for the Goddess Din, and in Lanayru for the Goddess Nayru. As you know, each one represents a piece of the Triforce. Farore’s represents the Triforce of Courage - the piece Link possesses. If there’s something that can be done, maybe we can find the answer there.”

“The darkness just needs to be removed,” Zelda said, growing excited. “Surely all we need is a little Divine intervention. Hylia herself went to Link. She could stop this.”

Paya hesitated. “That’s the thing,” she started slowly.

Zelda’s brows furrowed. “No. No things.”

“Hylia cannot intervene with life. People are born, and people die.”

“No,” Zelda said quickly. “Link already died once, before he had a chance to defeat Ganondorf. She brought him back. She can do it again.”

“The Hylians are dying out,” Paya said fiercely. “When they are gone, there will be no one left to fill the role of Chosen Hero. Hylia’s powers are weakening with every generation. She’s growing desperate to keep the race alive and the world safe. And every time she intervenes, it takes a heavy toll. She cannot continue to sacrifice herself for a hero whose time must eventually come. The world will be safe until a new generation of heroes is born.”

“No!” Zelda turned away from Paya, her hands balled into fists at her side. “No. Not like this. This isn’t what was supposed to happen. I won’t allow it.” She hesitated, then turned her gaze back to Paya. “Hylia has planned for everything. Surely she has a plan for this.”

“I cannot know for certain,” Paya said softly. “But you must accept his death as a very real possibility. There may be nothing we can do to stop this.”

“That may be,” Zelda started, “but I will not rest until I have exhausted every other possibility. I will do everything in my power to fix this. To fix him.” She turned a pleading gaze to her advisor. “Will you help me?”

“Can you accept it if you fail?” Paya asked. “Will you be able to live with yourself if Link dies?”

Zelda tore her gaze away. Her eyes moved over Impa’s desk, as if searching for the answer she needed to hear. “Of course not,” she said softly. “But at least I’ll know I tried. If that is how it must be… I will let it be.”

*****

Teba made his way through the barracks. There were more soldiers milling about than usual, given the time of day. He paused in front of the captain’s office, then knocked twice. A voice answered, and he entered.

“Lieutenant.” He looked up briefly as Teba entered. “What do you want?”

“Planning something without me?”

He regarded his lieutenant for a moment, then turned back to his paperwork. “I didn’t think you could be unbiased.”

Teba raised a brow. “Unbiased?”

“Roham has asked us to take Link in.” He glanced up at Teba. “Didn’t say anything more than that.” He turned his attention back to the papers in his hand. “Didn’t think you’d want to tag along since he’s your friend and all.”

Teba hesitated. “Zelda -”

He pushed himself noisily away from his desk, cutting Teba off. “Well, you know how it is. Queen Zelda isn’t exactly unbiased in the situation, either.”

Teba’s gaze narrowed. “What do you think you’re going to do with him?”

“That wasn’t discussed,” he said as he stood. “I do what I’m told. I don’t ask questions. Neither should you.”

Teba watched as his captain stepped around him and left the office. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and promptly texted Zelda.