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The newborn Princess Zelda was their target.
Underneath a cover of darkness and rain, the sound of their footsteps concealed by roaring thunder, the Yiga Clan made their move.
A team of four clansmen made their way across the dark fields toward the castle, running at speeds no Hylian could ever hope to match. Their training had prepared them for this moment, the time to destroy the one thing in their deity's way: the power that would cultivate within the young princess.
Through the town they ran as shadows unnoticed by the sleeping populace. Lightning tore through the sky, illuminating the figures for a brief moment. Four inverted eyes stared intently at the baby princess's chambers from down below.
It would be swift and clean. No one would notice until tomorrow morning. Of the wails of sorrow they would hear tomorrow, there would be one less voice counted among them.
The Yiga Blademaster turned to the two grunts present.
"Viscen, Mutoh, scout ahead," he said. "Give the signal if the coast is clear."
"Yes, Master Sooga."
"At once, Master Sooga."
Viscen and Mutoh leapt to the walls of the castle and began scaling. They moved swiftly, like shadowy spiders crawling toward their prey, eager to drain away every drop of life within it.
Sooga turned to the remaining Yiga. "Master Kohga, do you believe we can pull this off?"
Kohga nodded. "Are you kidding? It's just some brat. It'll literally be like taking candy from a baby."
"I would argue it's even easier than that," Sooga said.
Kohga cackled softly. "You're right. And there would be less crying from this than taking actual candy from one."
Sooga nodded in agreement. "Yes. Far less crying."
Viscen and Mutoh reached the top and leapt through a window, appearing near where the little princess slept. They glanced in all directions, moving around carefully to gauge their surroundings in the dark.
The coast was clear.
Viscen took out a talisman and held it over the edge he'd just climbed. The Sheikah symbol on it glowed a faint orange, producing enough light for it to be seen in the darkness and rain.
Kohga and Sooga looked at each other and nodded, gathering their resolve. The two climbed the wall as quickly as they could. As they climbed, lightning flashed through the sky behind them, accompanied by an explosion of thunder.
Kohga signaled Viscen and Mutoh to take lookout positions. Then he gestured for Sooga to come along with him.
The moment of truth was approaching.
Sooga undid the lock that led to the baby princess's room. Silently, the door swung open.
There, swaddled in her crib and sleeping peacefully, was the baby princess, oblivious to the visitors in her room. She had come into the world only one month ago, already with a great task hanging over her head. It would be a merciless path for her to tread, one that typically accompanied princesses born in a time of approaching darkness.
Kohga felt it would be a kindness to spare her of all that pain.
The two Yiga approached the crib. They looked down at the defenseless baby. Her eyes were closed, and she only saw her dreams. It was the perfect image of innocence and purity, an image that would soon be sullied and stained by blood.
Kohga brought out a large dagger. Its metal was stainless and clean, and icy cold to the touch, like the hand of death.
The dagger rose above the crib.
And then it came down.
A streak of lightning flashed outside as the dagger struck something, splattering a warm liquid all over the blade and the crib.
And then there was silence and stillness—utter silence, save for the pouring rain outside.
Kohga raised the dagger back up, grinning darkly under his mask.
Sooga gazed into the crib to bear witness to the fruits of his master's efforts.
"Master Kohga."
"Yes, my good man?"
"You missed."
"What!?"
Kohga turned back to the crib. Sure enough, the little baby within was still sleeping peacefully. He could hear her breathing gently, somehow still sleeping.
"But I stabbed her, I'm certain! I heard her blood gush out!" Kohga said. He turned to look at his dagger.
Then he caught the smell of it and realized what he'd struck.
"Oh dear Ganon!" Kohga said, gagging, holding his dagger away from him and turning away. "That is...that is disgusting!"
"How do you stab a diaper and leave the baby unscathed!?" Sooga said.
"It's dark in here! Cut me some slack, wouldja!? All I see is a lump in a crib!"
The unfamiliar voices aroused the baby princess from her slumber. She opened her eyelids and looked up at the two scary, one eyed monsters that had appeared in her room. The two monsters looked down on her as the infant stirred, realizing what was about to happen.
"Uh oh," Kohga said.
The baby cried out loudly, shrieking over the thunder and rain outside. To her, it was a frightful sight that had scared her out of her mind. To her assailants, she may as well have been an alarm that alerted everyone nearby to their presence.
Kohga cursed. "What do we do!?"
"Just take her out and run!" Sooga said.
"Got it!"
Kohga raised the dagger again, hoping to shut the infant up forever. This mission was too important to retreat from now.
But he was unable to carry out the attack as Viscen and Mutoh hurriedly appeared behind them.
"Someone's coming this way!" Mutoh whispered.
"Oh, come on!" Kohga said, lowering the dagger. "Everyone, hide!"
Down the hall, the Queen walked toward her crying daughter's room. She carried a dim lantern to light her way and to not hurt her eyes in the darkness of the castle. She yawned, having been awoken by the sound of the baby's cries.
She slowly and gently opened the door to Zelda's room.
There she was, right where she'd left her. Her nighttime crying was nothing out of the ordinary, but Zelda was often calmed by stormy nights rather than frightened by them. She wondered what had caused her little girl to become so fussy that night.
"It's okay, Zelda," the Queen said. "Mommy's here."
She crossed the room toward the crib, placing the lantern on a nearby table and scooping up her daughter in her arms.
Meanwhile, the Yiga had hidden themselves out of sight on the ceiling, awkwardly bunched together and trying to keep a grip on the sides.
"It's just the Queen," Kohga whispered. "I say we just cut her down, too."
"That's unwise, Master," Sooga said.
"How come?"
"Despite all appearances, the Queen is one of the fiercest warriors in the castle," Sooga said. "Intel suggests that she has joined her soldiers on the battlefield during monster raids numerous times, and has skill that far surpasses her husband, King Rhoam. Even if we were to catch her in a surprise attack, she would doubtlessly fend us off with ease. I do not feel confident enough in my own skills to take her on, even while she's unarmed."
"Crap," Kohga muttered. "When did royal women stop being simple damsels in distress!? It makes kidnapping or assassinating them so much harder!"
The Queen held Zelda in her arms, smiling warmly and gently rocking her in an attempt to soothe her crying child. The little princess always seemed to calm down whenever she did that with her.
"It's alright, it's alright," she said gently as Zelda's cries slowly faded away. "I'm here. I'm..."
She looked down, and furrowed her brow in confusion. She looked back up to her baby's face. "What happened to your diaper?"
The baby did not answer. She just stared blankly at the Queen.
The Queen glanced into the crib. She turned up her nose at the sight.
"We should get you changed," she said. "Along with your sheets."
The Queen took her baby in one arm, picked up the lantern in the other, and headed out of the room to get Zelda changed.
The Yiga clansmen carefully descended to the floor, careful not to cause any unnecessary noise.
"That was way too close," Viscen said. "Thought for sure she'd look up and find us."
"Master Kohga, I suggest we retreat," Sooga said. "There's no way we can get close to the princess now. It's better we return at a later date."
"Nah, I say we go after her," Kohga said. "Our goal is within our grasp, and I'm not letting it go easily!"
Sooga shook his head. "With all due respect, Master, I believe we've missed our chance on this one. Pursuing her now could lead us all into grave danger."
"Grave danger, you say!" Kohga said. "I eat grave danger for breakfast!"
"Master Kohga, pressing any further would be suicide. Please take this seriously!" Sooga said.
"I am taking this seriously!" Kohga said. He exhaled in frustration. "Look, I get the risks involved in this. I get how dangerous this mission is. But we are this close to ensuring our lord returns to this world!"
"Master, please-" Mutoh began.
"No, no, let me speak," Kohga said. "We've come so far along in our quest, and to turn back right at the end, when our dreams and goals are assured, is not the road I want to take!"
"But Master-" Viscen interrupted, pointing past Kohga.
"I'm almost done," Kohga said. "Potentially dealing with opponents out of our league for the sake of our lord is just one of the risks we signed up for as members of the clan. And you know what, we can do it! The strength of the Yiga comes not from combat prowess, but from working as a team! We've been branded as outlaws and became social pariahs simply because we believe differently-"
"And because you continuously violate several laws and murder or kidnap people who believe differently than you," added a voice behind him.
"Yeah, that too," Kohga agreed. "But through it all, we have each other. And so long as we have each other, the clan is..."
Kohga whipped his head around.
Standing there, glaring at them, was the Queen. Two guards stood behind her, one of them cradling the baby princess in his arms, and the other one armed with a pike.
"You!" Kohga said. "How did you know we were in here!?"
"I wasn't too far away when you all started talking," she said. "These walls aren't as thick as they look, you know."
Mutoh, Viscen, and Sooga drew their weapons and took a fighting stance. Kohga leapt behind his troops, as per the usual protocol when he was under attack by his enemies.
The Queen placed her hands on her hips and stood her ground. She turned her head to the guard with a pike.
"Mind if I borrow that weapon?"
The guard handed it to her without so much of a protest. The Queen took it in her hands, and pointed it at the Yiga clansmen.
"Go and fetch some more guards to either arrest them, or take away what's left," she said. "I can handle this."
The guard nodded, and ran off to fulfill his duty.
"You go take Zelda to the royal chambers," the Queen said to the other guard.
The guard gave a salute with his free arm, and hustled down the hall.
"Oh, and make sure Zelda sleeps on her back!" she called after him. "And be careful, she's a kicker. Kiss her goodnight for me!"
The soldier gave her a thumbs up as he turned a corner.
The Queen turned her eyes back to the Yiga, prepared to battle.
Viscen leapt toward her, sickle brandished and ready to slash. The Queen held up the pike's shaft to block it. While she was blocking the attack, Mutoh pulled back on his bow and aimed at the Queen's head.
The Queen took notice and ducked. Then, in a split second, she lunged forward and made a calculated sweeping motion with the pike. It caught Viscen as he tried to leap away, flinging him into Mutoh and causing them to crash into the wall.
"Mutoh! Viscen!" Kohga yelled. "Are you okay!?"
"I...see a pretty moon falling above town...we gotta evacuate..." Viscen said.
"No..." Mutoh said. "The moon is a hoax..."
They're fine, Kohga thought.
Sooga rushed at the Queen next, wielding his dual blades. She was skilled indeed, but he had been emboldened by Kohga's speech. The strength of the Yiga was their ability to work together and having one another's backs!
With those values in his heart, he attacked the Queen with all the power in his body.
His attack was immediately followed by a blunt, forceful strike between his legs.
Sooga paused just for a moment, frozen in shock. Then, as his mind registered that he'd been hit, the pain flared up, becoming worse and worse as the agonizingly long seconds ticked by.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!" Sooga's scream was high pitched and shrill. He collapsed to his knees, too shocked and in too much pain to take a breath.
Then the Queen twirled the pike and, with the force built up from the spins, delivered a blow to Sooga's head. The Yiga's second in command fell to the ground, unconscious.
The Queen turned to Kohga, the only Yiga still standing.
Kohga drew out his own weapon, an expertly forged circular blade known by the Yiga as a Demon Carver.
"You may have defeated my minions, but you won't defeat me, Queen...uh, Queen..." Kohga paused for a moment. "I just realized I don't know your name."
"What?" the Queen said. "How do you not know the name of the queen of your own nation?"
"It's not like it's written down anywhere!" Kohga said. "The hell's your name, Sweet Cheeks?"
The Queen gave Kohga a disgusted glare.
"Just for that, I'm not telling you," the Queen said. "For that comment, I'll instead run this pike through your cheeks."
"Hah!" Kohga said. "Good luck piercing this mask, then! It's very durable!"
"Wrong cheeks," the Queen said darkly.
Kohga seized up thinking about it.
"Well, you know what I've gotta say to that?" Kohga said confidently.
"What?" the Queen challenged.
"And you know what I'm gonna do?"
"What, exactly?" the Queen said.
Kohga and the Queen paused for a moment, staring at each other intensely, waiting for any sudden moves.
Kohga leaned forward and spread both of his arms.
The Queen held her ground, and pointed her pike at the Yiga leader.
There was another pause as the tension reached its boiling point.
Then, Kohga made his move, the move that ended that brief battle with the Queen.
He flung himself toward the window behind him, crashed through the glass, and plummeted downward.
"You'll never take me aliiiiiiiiive!" Kohga yelled as he fell.
The sound of something crashing came from outside the ground floor.
The Queen rushed to the broken window and looked down below. Even in the rain and darkness, she made out the Yiga leader's form on the ground.
"This was a terrible idea!" Kohga yelled in pain. "I am not okay!"
And then he blacked out, leaving him to whatever fate the Hylian guards had in store for him.
The Queen returned to her chambers. She tasked one of the night watchmen to give the pike back to the guard she'd borrowed it from. After that brief interruption from her sleep, she was glad to get back to snoozing.
She walked in to see her husband, King Rhoam, still fast asleep, likely unaware of what had taken place. In the crib close to her side of the bed was little Zelda, who had been soothed back to sleep.
She went to the baby's side to give her one last check, just to be sure she wasn't harmed in any way by the sudden attackers. She gently picked her up, so as to not accidentally awaken her, and looked her over. She was unharmed, thank the goddess. And with that knowledge, the Queen's mind was at ease.
"Maybe you should sleep in our room for a while," the Queen whispered to the sleeping baby. "Goodnight, sweetie. Sleep well."