Chapter Text
Link certainly hadn’t been expecting to get a formal invitation to the grand funeral for the Prince of Hyrule, but the letter in his hands was definitely addressed to him.
Or, well, the person everybody at the castle thought he was.
“Shit,” Link cursed under his breath. He leaned back in his chair and forced himself to take a deep breath to steady his nerves. This could not be good in the slightest.
His eyes were naturally drawn toward the unassuming wooden trunk tucked in a corner of the modest room he had been renting in the Castle Town Inn. He had been here for the better part of a month now, pretending to be Sergeant James Renbough. Now, Sergeant Renbough was actually stationed at the border post between Gerudo Valley and Hyrule proper, but it had been easy enough to kill him and then fabricate some story about how he was taking a brief leave of absence to visit family in the capital.
It went without saying that Link wasn’t actually here to do what the official documents for his false persona stated.
Either way, that innocent-seeming trunk contained the two most damning objects in all of Hyrule: Link’s white mask emblazoned with the Inverted Eye and the poisoned dagger that had ended the prince’s life.
According to the letter in his hands, Queen Zelda was set to make a public statement about the death of her brother later today. The funeral for the late prince would take place in a week, and he had been cordially invited to the castle.
Him!
Invited to the castle!
If Link hadn’t been so worried about the possibility that he’d been caught, he could have laughed. They were doing all of his work for him, really. Inviting a Yiga assassin directly into the castle? Granted, everybody thought that he was a good-intentioned Sargeant with several minor military victories under his belt, but that was nowhere near impressive enough to warrant being invited to the prince’s funeral. The only logical explanation was that his contact in the castle had blown his cover during the night Link had chosen to carry out his mission- he was already behind, come to think of it- and now Queen Zelda wanted to draw him into Hyrule Castle to have him executed.
Damn it! If only he’d been able to get at the queen after killing the prince as planned. Then he would be long gone and back in the shadowy pockets of Hyrule where his clan thrived, probably already celebrating the fall of the Royal Family and another successful mission for the Silent Blade. But no, of course one of the castle staff had discovered the prince’s body sooner than he had planned for. Of course they’d sounded the alarm and sent the whole place on lockdown. Link had barely escaped before the Royal Guard came calling.
No, that was enough. He can’t dwell on what should have been. It wasn’t like him to botch a mission this badly, but it could be saved. Perhaps he could get up on a rooftop and use a poisoned arrow to kill the queen during her address today? Hmm. Too many variables. Better to stick to the original poisoned dagger to the back plan.
Link took another deep breath to further clear his head. When he was finally feeling calm, he rose from the chair he had been sitting in and crossed to the window. The letter was still in his hands, and he checked the time that the queen (or, more likely, a member of the castle staff) had so generously included for her address.
Well, he had about three hours to wait for the glorious moment when the beloved prince’s death would be announced to the public. Might as well make himself useful and craft a new plan to kill the Crystal Queen.
-/-/-/-
Link had seen countless portraits of Queen Zelda, all ranging in quality from a masterpiece to a hastily done sketch. Each of those had taken great pains to point out her beauty, but even the most painstakingly crafted image couldn’t manage to do her justice. He wasn’t even anywhere close to the balcony overlooking the main square where the queen stood, yet that much was clear to him.
The setting sun lit her hair up in gold, the angle of the light catching her features in just the right way. She seemed almost ethereal, a Goddess come to walk Hyrule with some kind of terrible omen in her wake. The black dress she wore, so different from her normal blue and gold attire, tipped off the people standing in the square below her. Link heard their whispers, each rumor getting wilder as it was passed around. Some people guessed that she had come to announce the death of Prince Sheik before the queen even started speaking, judging by her dress and the conspicuous lack of her aide Impa by her side.
Through it all, Link stayed silent. His eyes were locked on the queen- his target- and the guards behind her. Despite his decision not to attempt her assassination tonight, he couldn’t help but regard her with his trained killer’s eye.
From this distance, the moniker of Crystal Queen clearly suited her, even beyond her appearance. She appeared completely unbothered by the death of her brother, her face a mask complete with just enough sorrow to feel sincere, yet still display strength. How interesting. Link was tempted to find out just how far he would have to push before she broke, but then again… lingering longer risked everything he had been building up to until now. A quick death was more mercy than she deserved, but it would have to do.
The Yiga Clan would no longer be denied. The Royal Family would pay for their crimes against Hyrule and the prejudice they had promoted for so long.
“Citizens of Hyrule, while it pains me greatly to burden you with unfortunate news, you deserve to know the truth.” Zelda began, which was never a good start. The murmurs of the crowd turned from speculative to purely concerned, their anxiety and fear growing exponentially by the second. “My brother, Prince Sheik Ishida-Harkinian, has died.”
Gasps- and, Link was disgusted to note, sobs- ran throughout the square, a collective sense of loss sweeping through the crowd. The prince had been quite popular among the people for his sense of humor and how frequently he stepped away from the palace to hear their concerns. It truly was a shame that he had needed to die, but in the end, he was the same as all the other corrupt royals: blind to the true issues eating away at the center of the kingdom.
It was almost funny how he’d died with fear in those red eyes of his. Please, he’d whispered. Please, don’t do this! My sister, she can’t-
Link shook himself out of the memory of the handsome prince’s last moments. In another life, perhaps they could have been great friends. Or maybe more. Similar to his sister, the paintings hadn’t truly been able to do Prince Sheik justice. Though it was useless to contemplate such things, given that his blood was on Link’s hands, a guy could dream.
“He was murdered three nights ago, and his killer still runs loose. Rest assured that I will find them and bring them to justice as Hyrule’s law demands. If you have any information, I urge you to come forward. You will be well compensated for your bravery.” Queen Zelda finished, concluding her brief announcement. She might have said something else while Link’s thoughts wandered, but he didn’t much care. Just more boring royal drivel. Honestly, how did she live with herself while being so boring?
Link sighed and slid his eyes over to the clock tower. He could probably take his leave, even if the queen had more to say. Besides, if he stayed, he’d likely get himself riled up enough to go and sneak into the castle tonight, rather than waiting for the funeral.
It was easy enough to slip through the crowd without anybody throwing any second looks his way. His years of stealth training made sure of that. In addition, nobody who saw him would remember his face. That, coupled with his unwavering sense of duty and dedication to see his jobs through, made him one of the Yiga Clan’s best assets. The Master had said so himself. Link wouldn’t have gotten this job if he wasn’t good at what he does, though at the moment he wasn’t really feeling it.
After all, Queen Zelda shouldn’t even be breathing right now.
Link always had been known to hold grudges for a long time, and this was no exception. His contact in the castle had caused him to nearly botch his mission, and he was still angry about it no matter how hard he tried to pretend otherwise.
Though it pained him to do so, he kept a neutral expression on his face as he wound through the crowd who had gathered to see their Queen, even if it was just for a moment. Someone glowering their way away from the announcement would be bound to raise a few eyebrows. He simply couldn’t risk his cover being blown now.
Perhaps he’d find them after the Queen was dead and cut their throat as well.
-/-/-/-
A knock sounded at the door of Zelda’s study. She looked up from the papers covered in her brother’s messy scrawl she had been reading and subtly wiped her eyes, pausing for a moment to stow her grief away somewhere deep inside herself.
“Enter,” Zelda called out. Her voice was a perfect mask of calm. Nobody would ever know how deeply the loss of her brother had affected her.
Nobody but herself, of course. Hyrule could never see their Crystal Queen break.
Impa slipped soundlessly through the door and came to stand behind her. It was both good and utterly gut-wrenching to see her. Ever since Sheik’s murder had been discovered, Impa had practically disappeared into her spy network in a desperate attempt to find information. She must have found something, though, which meant her brother was one step closer to being able to rest in peace.
“You’re back. I’m glad to see you. It’s been… difficult,” Zelda whispered. She turned in her seat to look at her aide, feeling a painful twinge in her heart as she took in the deep eye bags under Impa’s eyes. Sheikah had more stamina than Hylians, generally, but even they had their limits.
“I have news,” Impa stated briefly. Alarmingly, she half looked like she was about to pass out.
“That can wait. Here, sit, please.” Zelda stood and moved her chair around in order to offer it to Impa. “You look exhausted.”
“You really don’t have to, Your Majesty,” Impa murmured. Even so, she lowered herself into the chair with a soft sigh and closed her eyes. She waited for a moment before opening them again and looking directly at Zelda, those red eyes of hers seeming to cut right through her soul. “He was assassinated.”
“I guessed as much,” Zelda sighed. Still, the words dug right into the raw mess of her heart, scraping all the barely healing wounds raw. “Who?”
“The Yiga Clan. I don’t know exactly who, but they’re still in Castle Town. It must be one of their highest ranked assassins, judging by the type of poison that was found in Sheik’s blood.”
Zelda’s hands curled into fists at her sides. “Of course.” She laughed humorlessly and cast her gaze to the single window in her study, which was currently covered by a wooden board in the name of safety. “I suspected as much.”
“Is that why you invited Sergeant Renbough to the castle?”
“He’s supposed to be one of the best at finding those who don’t want to be found. He’s in town for family affairs, but I hope to see him there in a week. I will personally oversee the investigation alongside him, if he agrees,” Zelda answered. Her voice betrayed none of the emotions coursing through her at the confirmation that Sheik had indeed been assassinated, mostly out of habit more than anything else. She trusted Impa, but constantly keeping her emotions suppressed made it difficult for her to stop.
Impa paused, her eyes sliding half-closed as she considered Zelda’s words. “I don’t have any concrete proof on this, but… my instincts tell me that the Silent Blade is responsible. If that’s true, I doubt even Renbough will be able to find him.”
“I trust your judgement. Assuming it really is the Silent Blade… do you think they were trying to take both me and my brother out at the same time?”
“It’s possible. They’ve likely sent one of the ten Devils, after all.”
This was… not good, to say the least. Hyrule was on the knife’s edge of oblivion already, and now the threat of her own assassination was about to push it over the edge. Especially now that Sheik was dead, it would be easy for her opponents to spread a narrative that she had ordered his death to prevent him from encroaching on her claim to the throne. He had been so popular with the common people, after all. Zelda would be a fool to think that she didn’t have a healthy share of people who distrusted her for some of her more… radical ideas and policy changes.
Sheik had always seemed to have a gift for the more delicate sides of negotiations. While Zelda was the perfect queen in appearances, she often stepped on the toes of the old, stuck-up nobles while pushing for change. Still, most people would agree that she was a good ruler, regardless of their opinions on how she got around to implementing her ideas.
“Fantastic,” Zelda groaned. She scrubbed a hand over her eyes, a grimace slipping through her crystal mask. She was so tired. Her brother’s missing presence felt like a constant ache at her side, and this knowledge hadn’t made it any better.
“Zelda….” Impa whispered. A brief rustle of movement sounded from the direction of the chair, and Zelda opened her eyes to see the concerned face of her friend looking back at her. “I’m not going to let you die too. I will see his killer brought to justice, even if it’s the damned Silent Blade himself.”
“I miss him so much already,” Zelda choked out.
Impa stepped forward and hugged her gently, guiding Zelda’s head to rest on her shoulder. The gesture was awfully reminiscent of her brother and his achingly kind heart, and it proved to be too much for Zelda to handle. She gripped the back of Impa’s dark purple tunic and finally let herself sob as she’d wanted to for a while now.
“I miss him too,” Impa murmured.
-/-/-/-
Link stood in front of the castle gates, feeling the dagger hidden in the black jacket of his “mourning” outfit weigh heavily on him. He wasn’t expecting to get at Queen Zelda today, but he figured that he’d rather have it with him just in case. A fairly steady stream of people moved around him, all dressed in clothes that were far more expensive than Link’s entire existence had been thus far.
He felt very out of place among the very people he despised with all of his being.
Eventually, he had to move forward, mostly because he spotted a noble complaining to one of the guards at the gate and gesturing in his general direction. Said guard was wearing black under his armor, rather than the vibrant red and gold that was standard issue. Such was the protocol when a royal died. Link should have been wearing armor himself, but he could easily explain away his lack of regard for regulation if the Queen asked- not that she would care about a lowly soldier, of course, but it never hurt to be prepared. This had been a “family visit” for “Sergeant Renbough,” after all.
Inside the main hall, a sizable crowd of black-adorned nobles mingled with each other, a low buzz of conversation running through the space. A very subdued attitude pervaded the hall, not helped by the raised platform at the very end of the hall with a white shroud draped over it.
Queen Zelda was conspicuously absent.
Link huffed out a sigh and picked a spot for himself to watch the proceedings at the far left of the hall. He had a good vantage point to observe everything from here. Not that he was actually going to pay attention, of course. All he needed to do was look like he was focused. Also, he probably needed to look at least a little bit sad, even if all he could think about this was good riddance.
That weakling prince deserved to die. He hadn’t possessed any sort of actual strength needed to initiate any of the changes Hyrule so desperately needed.
Link could tell himself that all he wanted, but that didn’t mean he could get that look Sheik had given him out of his head. He hated it. Killing was easy, especially when it was corrupt bastards like the prince.
So, then, why was he having so much trouble with this? Why did the thought of repeating the process on the queen both sicken and elate him?
Finally, Queen Zelda showed up, and the funeral proceedings began. Thankfully for him, it was easy to tune out both his conflicting thoughts and the proceedings themselves, as it was mostly an old Sheikah monk droning on and on about various things related to death, dying, and the life of the deceased prince. All of it ended with Zelda and her aide, Impa, accepting the unnaturally dark purple flame from the monk and setting fire to the white-wrapped body. It must have been Sheikah mage fire, given how quickly the body burned and the color of the flames themselves.
Link turned himself to face the exit, preparing to take his leave with the rest of the crowd, when he felt a presence behind him. The telltale signature of Sheikah magic crackled in the air behind him, and Link had to suppress a smirk as he spun slowly on one heel to come face to face with Impa.
“Sergeant James Renbough?” Impa asked, mostly as a formality. She knew who he was. Or, well, who she thought he was. To think that he was fooling even Impa, Lady of the Hawk’s Eye, with this disguise! Oh, this was a feat indeed. The Master would be pleased. Perhaps this would finally seal his promotion to First Devil, replacing that fool Sooga.
“Yes?” Link asked, doing his best to sound cautious, respectful, and reminiscent all at once. He was nothing if not a good actor, and Impa’s face softened just a tiny bit with relief. Good.
“Her Majesty, Queen Zelda Ishida-Harkinian, she born of light and carrier of Hylia’s sacred blood, High Priestess of Hyrule and… sole survivor of her family, requests your presence.”
Hmm. How interesting that she’d gained a nickname simply for being the only one of the Royal Family left. Even more interesting was Impa’s hesitation as she spoke the new nickname. Link mentally filed that away for later analysis.
Link bowed his head to Impa. “I would be honored.” Not.
Without another word, Impa turned around and led Link through the hallway leading to the rest of the castle. She took him on a winding path with multiple switchbacks and such, which would have confused him if he hadn’t already studied plans of the castle and had a nearly picture-perfect memory. It seemed as though she was leading him to the Queen’s private garden. Interesting.
His guess turned out to be right, as evidenced by the ancient stone arch they passed under at the end of their journey through the castle. Stepping through it was like entering another world. A riot of neatly kept flower bushes and short trees sprawled through the modestly sized garden. The air was thick with the scent of many different kinds of flowers, which bloomed around the garden in a riot of bright colors.
Queen Zelda stood at the center of it all, her back to the stone archway. Her snow-white hair stood out in stark contrast to her green surroundings, and the black dress she wore only accented her presence. She stood out like a sore thumb amongst all the gentle colors, a stone among a sea of grass.
“Your Majesty, Sergeant Renbough is here as you requested,” Impa stated. Her voice rang out across the space, cutting through the air- and his consciousness- like a blade. Link hadn’t realized how far he’d zoned out while taking in his surroundings.
Zelda turned around, and Link found himself momentarily caught off guard by how beautiful she was. Seeing her up close wasn’t unlike getting punched in the gut in the middle of a fight: you were expecting the blow, but it still hurt like a bitch.
“Thank you, Impa.” A small smile touched her lips, though it was cold and clearly manufactured. Link couldn’t help but wonder if she was always like this to her aide, or if his presence was causing her to bring out the crystalline demeanor she was known for. “Sergeant. Thank you for your service to our country thus far. I’m loath to get right into business, but… I hear you’re exceptionally skilled at locating those who have made themselves disappear.”
“That I am,” Link responded smoothly. Speaking so politely to her made his stomach turn. “Do you need my assistance, Your Majesty?”
“Correct.” Zelda nodded. “I want you to find the one who killed my brother.”
Oh, if only she knew who she was really talking to right now. Link could have laughed out loud at the irony of it all. Instead, he feigned shock and looked around the clearing. “Surely such a task would be better left to your aide? I’m just a soldier with some skill. A Sheikah would have much better luck than I.”
“I’ve conducted a preliminary investigation,” Impa cut in. “However, Her Majesty believes that it would be better if two pairs of eyes were taking care of this.”
“I want to find the Yiga who assassinated my brother before it’s too late,” Zelda said, really stressing the point. “They must be brought to justice so I- so Hyrule- can have closure.”
Link pretended to ponder the job offer for a moment. This was a monumental task Zelda was asking him to perform. At least, in the eyes of the man he was pretending to be. For him, this was honestly ideal. He could direct the investigation away from himself and pin all the blame on someone else, all the while getting closer to the Queen for her inevitable date with his poisoned dagger.
“I’ll do it,” Link finally stated. “Anything to bring such a deplorable bastard to justice.”
“Excellent. You’ll be working closely with me until the assassin is found. Impa will conduct her own investigation, just as a precaution. Knowing this, do you still accept?”
“Yes.”
Unless it was Link’s imagination, he could have sworn that Zelda’s smile grew a little more genuine at the complete lack of hesitation in his voice.
He definitely imagined the way his heart skipped a beat at the sight.
-/-/-/-
Link pushed open the door of Queen Zelda’s study, written report in hand. It had been three months since they started working together, and he had successfully diverted her and Impa off of his trail. They had been alarmingly close to discovering him before this, but now he had made sure that they suspected a different Devil. Neither Zelda nor Impa seemed to think he was anything but well-intentioned, thankfully.
All in all, he was only getting more successful by the day. Soon, he would find someone to pin the blame on, and he would get on with his mission to kill the queen.
When the thought passed through his head, he actually missed a step and nearly ended up tripping onto his own feet, sending him stumbling into the back of Zelda’s chair. Link cursed under his breath, then realized exactly who he was in the presence of at the moment.
“Are you alright, sergeant?” Zelda asked, amusement coloring her voice. She had twisted in her chair to look at him, those clear blue eyes of hers focused only on him in a way that froze him to the spot and made sure all his thoughts deserted his head.
“Yes. Fine,” Link spat out, more aggressive than the situation warranted because of that odd feeling he’d been getting while seeing her lately.
He hated it.
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” Zelda winked at him. They held each other’s gaze for just a little too long before she cleared her throat and turned away, facing the rather impressive stack of papers on her desk. “Have you found anything new?”
Not really. I wanted an excuse to visit you and find more reasons why I should kill you before my heart gets in the way too much.
“Unfortunately, no. Everything I’ve found recently really points in one big circle. It’s infuriating, but I’m sure that means I’m onto something. It’s possible that the assassin is aware of the investigations and is trying to cover their tracks, hence the circular evidence,” Link responded. He expertly pushed back the frustratingly jumbled thoughts to deliver his brief report in the same manner he always did: brief and to the point. Zelda seemed to appreciate that, and while he wanted nothing more than to frustrate her with long-winded speeches, Link couldn’t actually bring himself to do it.
Zelda sighed and reached her hand out for the folder containing his findings. At first, he had only visited once a week, but his visits had slowly become more and more frequent. Link tried to tell himself it was to familiarize himself with gaps in her schedule and plan for every little thing that could go wrong when he eventually made his attempt on her life, but deep down he knew that was false.
Not that he ever let himself think too deeply about the real reason, of course.
Link handed the folder over and waited for her to scan through the information, watching her face crinkle slightly in disappointment when she found the same inconclusive nonsense he’d been feeding her for the last month or so.
“They clearly know what they’re doing,” Zelda remarked with a sigh. “Are they hoping that we’ll give up and stop pursuing them?”
“Maybe. It’s also possible that their only mission was to kill the prince and leave you for another time.”
“Do you think that’s likely?”
Link almost answered that question honestly, but he stopped himself. Exactly how much could he give away before she got suspicious? This was a fine line to walk, but push on he would. “It’s hard to say. The Yiga Clan is hard to pin down. Given their overall motive, it wouldn’t make sense, but who even knows what their master is thinking?” Link answered carefully, mentally breathing a sigh of relief as Zelda’s face softened a bit in thought.
“You’re right. Still, I can’t help but wonder…” Zelda closed her eyes and trailed off, as Link had noticed she tended to do while deep in thought.
Link stayed silent and let her work through the puzzle in her brain. He was getting dangerously close to revealing things that could put his entire undercover operation at risk. Saying much more now could expose him for good, or put him under suspicion. Then he’d probably have to bail on the whole thing entirely, and his chances of ever becoming First Devil would go up in smoke.
“Ugh. This is terribly frustrating,” Zelda finally said. She threw up her free hand and sat up a bit straighter in her chair, opening her eyes as she did so. Then, quieter, she added “Sheik would know what to do.”
“May he rest in peace,” Link murmured, faking sorrow. He looked away from the queen and tried desperately to repress the wicked smile threatening to spread across his face. Now, if he had brought his dagger with him today, her seeing a hint of his true personality wouldn’t matter. He could just stab her and be out of the castle before her body even started to cool. But he hadn’t possessed the foresight to bring it today, and smiling at her despair over her deceased brother would surely give him away.
Smiling at it was easier than acknowledging the twinge of regret he always felt in the rare moments that Zelda allowed her perfect mask to drop for a split second.
“Did you have anything else you needed to say?” Zelda asked, shattering the moment of her vulnerability. A hint of pain still lingered on her face, which hurt some part of Link he didn’t dare acknowledge, but her mask was back in place once more.
“No,” Link replied. He paused for a moment and looked at the stack of paperwork on her desk, complete with his folder lying on top of it all. “Do you want to take a break from this?”
“Sergeant Renbough, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’re asking me out,” Zelda teased. She looked highly amused by his statement- more than he was expecting. Link’s face flushed bright red- damn it, that really had sounded like he was asking her out- and he couldn’t meet her eyes. “Yes. I’d like that.”
Oh hell. She wasn’t supposed to accept! He shouldn’t have said that in the first place! Oh, he was screwed. He was so very screwed.
“That’s- that’s good.” Link coughed awkwardly to hide his stutter. Every word he spoke only made him more flustered, and he hated it. “Um. The garden?”
“Sounds good to me,” Zelda agreed. She still had that stupid smile on her face that he hated (did he hate it or was he lying to make himself feel better?) and, to make matters worse, she didn’t seem flustered at all.
What Link didn’t notice, in his flustered haste to cover his mistake, was the way Zelda’s smile became less fabricated as befitting her queenly mask and more genuine.