Link turned on Zelda, "He was a defenseless man! He had surrendered!"

"Unlikely," Zelda pried the man's cloak open to reveal a knife was hidden. "If I hadn't executed him, you would be dead by now. Your foolish heart will be your undoing. Only hold a weapon when you are prepared to kill or be killed."

"You mean for me to be like you?! You are cold and cruel! You are called Ice Witch! And for good reason, what with how everyone is just a pawn! This man you killed, the capital you fled, Midna, the v-village," he jumped Zelda and punched her in the face, "we are all pawns to you! You killed them all!"

He struck her again. Zelda stumbled back under his assault. "I will never be like you! You should have left us all alone. Why didn't you just die!"

He threw another fist, but the blow never connected.

Zelda grabbed Link by his exposed throat, lifted him off the ground, and thrust him into a tree. The preteen struggled against her relentless grip, but the princess was not near as fragile as she appeared. He could only dangle his feet.

"You are right," Zelda spit blood from her mouth. "You are all pawns to me. I choose when you live and I choose when you die. Does that make me heartless? Does that make me cold? I hope you can bear the weight of the living and the dead with a bleeding heart because you would be fitter than I.

"We are all pawns in this game of politics and war. My role is to command, to lead, and to protect, but with every decision, someone will die somewhere, and I have to make the dreadful judgment on which decision is best and how many must be sacrificed.

"That is my burden and I failed. Every pawn that dies represents another failure on the list of my mistakes because I was too weak to stop this and too cowardly to find a way. I have no courage. I have no power. I only have the wisdom to learn from my mistakes to prevent more senseless deaths."

Zelda continued, "But you want to know who had the courage? The power? Midna! She had the opportunity to protect a nation! The extraordinary power to change everything! And she took it! Not as a miserable slave... but as a free woman knowing the risks. She could have walked away freely. I all but told her it wasn't her fight!

"But she had the courage I didn't have to take it, to become, for a pivotal moment, something more! To become exactly what this country needed! You know what! I admire her, and your desperate attempts to provoke me, your anger, is only spitting on her sacrifice.

"She chose this, Link! She wasn't forced! Her choice was her power, and accepting that decision was my honor. Do you want to honor her? Make sure what she set out to do succeeds!"

Link nearly passed out from her grip so she dropped him. He fell, exhausted physically and emotionally. His anger left him empty, and he wept, screaming into the rain.

"Let these be the last tears you have for her tonight. Remember this feeling, and lock it away. You can mourn another day," Zelda whispered softly. She too felt spent. She sighed and looked up into the rain. "The one who ultimately killed her was Kyou. Help me stop him and honor Midna's sacrifice."

-Kanyou, Capital of Qin-

Ketsu threw himself down onto the floor of the throne room and prostrated himself. He dared not speak first, for fear of the prince. They had seen eye to eye all of his young life, but recently, ever since that wicked girl stole his throne from him, something in the way of madness had taken hold of Kyou. Even the boy's doting fiancé would not see him in this state, and she was perhaps the one female the prince respected.

Prince Kyou glared down at his favored servant, "Speak."

"Your highness! We have her! We have Zelda!"

Kyou smiled. Day after day, he demanded her head since she escaped. Again and again he had an official executed for failing him. Night after night, he dreamed of this moment.

"Bring her here!"

Ketsu bowed and motioned to the servants. A bloodied body was brought in over a stretcher. The carriers set it down before the throne. Kyou stepped down from his throne to see, to be sure, even as the ministers and officials whispered amongst themselves.

Zelda was dead.

The room gasped as Kyou struck the body across the cheek. Over and over he slapped her until his hand was raw. Feeling mildly satisfied, Kyou composed himself. He gazed at his trembling hand and clenched it angrily.

"Hang her from the gates. Let everyone know this... half-blood woman is dead!" He spit. "Our father may have been king but her mother was some harlot, and I will not tolerate anything short of absolute royalty on the throne. She will not taint this kingdom any longer. Ketsu, gather more men. I want no one defying my rule!"

"You may find that difficult, young prince," An amused voice said.

High General Ouki Mitagi, the Great Bird of Qin, stood passively to the side, seemingly entertained by the court. The man was large, standing at eight feet tall, and strong, with arms like trunks, and armored by several hundred pounds of armor as though it were nothing.

He smiled cheekily, "Seeing as how you just murdered dozens of court ministers, half the palace staff, and burned entire districts of Kanyou, I wonder if even one noble family will give you their loyalty."

The statement was a slap to the prince's authority, but on this occasion, the prince knew better than to respond. Not just because the man was twice his size and four times his width in raw muscle, but because of the power behind him. It was a testament to his power that the man could stand in the nest of his enemies, unarmed and unguarded, and they feared to say a word against him.

"Then what would it take to buy your family's loyalty?" Chancellor Ketsu stepped forward.

Ouki laughed, "Even if you possessed all of Hyrule, all of its land, its wealth, its women... you wouldn't be able to buy my loyalty. Do not mistake my intentions. I am not here to fight you. I am loyal to whom I choose. Until then I am content to observe. Go ahead and play king, prince. I won't stop you, but nor will I help you."

-Somewhere in Eastern Qin-

Out in Qin, between two cities, extends a road. Upon this route was a temporary campsite as a team of thousands worked to upgrade the road with a new material Chancellor Ryo Fui wished to experiment with. To the regular eye, the road looked to be covered in nothing more than a tannish paste. To the Chancellor, he saw rupees.

The Chancellor stooped down by the side of the road and tapped it with his forefinger. His finger submerged into the paste. Sighing impatiently, Ryo withdrew his finger, wiped his hand, and returned to his chair. The governors of the two prosperous cities and the road connected were also in attendance.

"Not what you wanted?" The first asked.

"Not yet. He described the arduous process as baking, so let us allow the entirety of the day's sun to work on this 'cement' before we check on it again. I hope you all can join me for-

Ryo hesitated briefly as a messenger entered the tent. He waved for the man to hold on for the moment. "I hope you all can join me for merriment tonight. I have brought exquisite wine and fine women. I remember how you men love a good game, so let us reconvene in an hour and we can get down to you two losing your hard-earned money."

"I don't know about that, Chancellor. My hands have become legendary!" One governor challenged. None of the less, they left for the moment to return to their tents.

Ryo looked at the messenger. The messenger was exhausted, winded, sweaty, and filthy. He was in the military. The ones to remain in the tent with them were Ryo's guards and Abhdan. As he had his undivided attention, the messenger cleared his throat, "I bring word from High Prince Kyou. As he has retaken control of the throne, your forces are to return to Kanyou and join him."

"And what of Princess Zelda? Doesn't she have something to say about Kyou calling himself 'High' Prince and sitting on her throne?"

"Zelda is dead, Chancellor."

"I see," Ryo didn't so much as blink, "you may inform the Prince that I will return shortly to ensure the peace of Kanyou is preserved in these troubling times." Ryo waved the messenger off. After a quick salute, the messenger departed.

Ryo counted down for a few seconds before snapping his fingers, "Have him killed on the road. Make it look as though he was on his way here. Send word to those loyal to Zelda and us in the eastern cities and generals of Qin. Send word to the six kings that Prince Kyou is to be labeled a 'kingslayer', and that I shall return to Kanyou on behalf of the seven kingdoms to extract him and hand him over for punishment and-or execution."

"And naturally to kill Chancellor Ketsu for treason and 'kingslayer' as well?"

"Naturally, but no need to mention that part. Let me take the pleasure of killing that oaf in Kanyou personally. Now go. Let us pretend to be ignorant for a time while they gather. This way we will return to Kanyou as heroes seeking justice for the murder of our heir."

His guards departed, but Abhdan stayed.

"Leave me," Ryo ordered.

"Oh-ho. You think yourself old enough to boss me around, boy? I'm ten times your age! Oh-ho!"

"Hardly," Ryo tried to smile, but found he couldn't. He reclined in his chair and massaged at his temples.

"You look troubled for a man about to become king," Abhdan observed.

"I am," Ryo admitted. "I won't deny I relish this. This is what I always wanted after all, and it is being given to me freely as if a gift from heaven. You know how I analyze everything, and this appears to be too good to be true but at the same time, I don't see the downside.

"Kyou has few loyal to him, Zelda is dead, Ketsu is incompetent, and we have good relations with the surrounding kingdoms and loyalty throughout Qin. I planned to bring Zelda here to set more pieces on the board to fight Kyou with, but he has placed himself into checkmate for me. Could I possibly be so blessed that the entire kingdom is falling into my palm? It is baffling to conceive."

"I know. It seems too easy, but even when things come easy to you, you don't seem this down. Is it about Zelda? You feel sorry she died?"

Ryo laughed, "Must have lost your sanity along with your virility, old man! If anyone here feels sorry it would be you. All the blasted stories you told me about your perfect little pupil. How she practically pleaded for progressively more lessons and drank it all like a drowning man handed sweet water."

"Ah, well perhaps I am sorry for her loss, as her former teacher."

"I can respect that," Ryo sighed. "Perhaps I do feel something myself."

"Oh?"

"I expected more from her. As you saw, there was potential in her, in her lineage, and her cunning. Perhaps she just got into the game too late to be able to solidify her position against her rivals. Perhaps she needed the safety of time to finish her education and stand on her own two feet with a guardian before being thrown to the wolves. Perhaps I just feel... disappointment."

(scribens edited 3/30/2020)