-Kanyou, Royal Palace-

-Zelda-

Zelda sat in discussion with Shi Ketsu. He had approached her shortly after her talk with Matsubi.

Shi Ketsu had, over the years, worked up honor and respect again since the rebellion of his father, Chancellor Ketsu. It was thanks to his work that Zelda and her own faction had reorganized enough to resist Ryu. He wasn't as smart or filled with experience as Ryu either, but he had a good mind from growing up in court.

"The giving up of a fortress to the Mitagi troubles me," Shi said.

"You refer to Kankou?" Zelda asked.

Shi nodded. "The same."

"What is it that troubles you about it?" Zelda inquired further.

Shi thought a moment and considered his words. "It is not so much the Mitagi themselves, but their lord, Ousen Mitagi. Among our generals he is... different. The Duke, the Dragon Knight, Moubu, even the old man, they all set their sights and ambitions on war. They have land they lord over, but they have a clear desire to perfect their craft of war and to seek the stability of Qin."

"Moubu is a rival, though." Zelda argued.

"Yes," Shi Ketsu nodded. "But only because Ryo seeks the throne and Moubu is a tool of his. Moubu himself seeks nothing more than to be the strongest in Qin. He has said so multiple times, and to that effect has challenged others he considers strong."

"I see."

"And how is Ousen Mitagi different in your eyes?"

"It is not any one thing..." Shi said, hesitating on pressed for an answer. "It is a feeling I get from him when I look at him and his choices and relationships."

Zelda looked at him more curiously. She knew nothing of Ousen's relationships. "What do you mean? His relationships in court?"

"No but, even in court he is closed off. His marriage was of political purposes and when he no longer had a use for her he exiled her. Rumor is his relationship with his son is also volatile. Then you have his city, which is as grand as Kanyou with a castle that is... well..."

"I've seen it." Zelda inserted herself. "He built his castle to outperform mine."

Shi nodded. "It is not healthy for lower lords to be seen as trying to outperform their higher lords. And then you have his reputation and performance in war... Ousen has never lost, and numerically suffers the fewest losses, but also fights the fewest battles and is noted to, at times, retreat completely on a whim without ever fighting. He is just as likely to give up territory and cities than hold them and protect them."

Zelda frowned. It seemed Shi heard much in the way of rumors. She knew some things of Ousen and his reputation, but already Shi was saying more than she knew to start with. "Are you sure this is not merely a rumor?"

"I wish it was so, high princess, but past maps do show loss of territory he was selected to guard. And for a man who has never lost... How does one lose a fight one never loses unless they never fight to begin with? It seems to me he cares more about his undefeated reputation, of his houses prestige, and his own benefit over anything else. He is clearly intelligent and extremely selective, but selective in so far as if it benefits him. It is good to say he has never lost, and will only fight battles he knows he will win, but in the same breath the reverse is true: He will only fight battles he knows he will win. He will not prioritize the security of land and safety of our people over his own success. He will not take risks, he will not try."

"So you fear he will flee the fortress if he judges it unsuitable?" Zelda concluded from his distress.

"Yes. Ruboku is clearly intelligent in matters of court and war, and so will have taken measures to leave a weakness in the fortress he can exploit, and if Ousen Mitagi is as smart as I think he is... I think he knows it. So I conclude this thought in thinking him holding the fortess is nothing more than a farce as he will leave it at the first sign of danger. That is one fear. But then what if Ousen Mitagi can defeat Ruboku in this area, find the weakness, and make the fortress undefeatable as we wish? I also fear his clear ambition will turn on you if he can hold the fortress. Just as a lesser lord should not seek to outperform their higher, so also should no lesser lord have more holdings than their higher... and the Mitagi hold a dangerous amount of Qin. If my guess is correct: They hold more than half of the key strategic positions and passes. If the Mitagi were to truly rally against you, you would be unable to stop them."

"That is true." Zelda couldn't deny. "And it is a fear I have. I have judged Ousen to be dangerous on my own, but if these rumors are true, then as an enemy he is just as ambitious and dangerous as Ryo. As an ally, he is a double-edged sword. I might have become an enemy to the main house of Mitagi by gaining Ouki's support, as he was an outsider to them. Still, this is all a balancing game. Mitagi are not the only faction under me I must be wary of. There is also the Ki." Shi nodded in understanding. "I gave the fortress to the Mitagi for a reason. I lost nothing from it, as I never had it. In turn I gained some favor, even if it is superficial. Lastly... I think you underestimate the reprocussions."

"What do you mean?"

"The Mitagi hold the most of the south-east regions. The fortress I gave them on the edge at the north-most border. There is an entire country between the two, so if Ousen rebels, he will find himself cut off one way or another. It will make it more difficult for him to entrench it properly, with it being so far away, and so it may just be a farce, but I would rather have a farce that gives me honor and prestige, then to give him a fortress already close to his borders giving him enough of a size to seperate himself and form a complete nation."

"If I may, I disagree. The two-fold position would allow him to flank."

Zelda smiled and chuckled lightly. "Then it comes down to the strategim of whoever resists him."

"Fair enough. It may be that Ousen never tries to take the throne, as he is not in a position for clear victory. It may be the best way to fight him is to simply keep it that way, so his own nature never takes the risk."

Zelda hummed to herself in thought. It was all well and good to speculate, and if it was possible to keep Ousen and his ambition contained, she would rest more easily. Still there were factors that kept her wary. The prospect of a Prince Link Mitagi for instance. She trusted Link. She no longer doubted him, at least conciously. Yet it was not Link she had to fear, but those that would take advantage of him and what he could offer.

"It is well and good to use his own nature against him as a strategy in my court. If this is how you think we should move forward, I will take it into consideration. I hope, truly, it can be so easy as that, that Ousen will never surprise us."

Ousen was predictable. That, at least, Zelda knew. Didn't mean he couldn't surprise her some day by being impatient.

She returned her attention more fully to Shi Ketsu, as he seemed to have more to say. "Is there anything more, Shi?"

"Yes. Many matters have come to my attention, but there is one more matter I find most pressing and troubling."

"What would that be?"

"There are whispers... rumors..."

"There always are." Zelda smiled cheekily. He nodded in amusement.

"Indeed, there always are, yet these whispers show a growing mindset within your faction. You see... when Ryo kidnapped the Zhao harem he put Zhao in a position of facing a future with no heir. This is what made it so perilous for Zhao and why they went to such lengths to get them back."

Zelda frowned. She had an idea where this was going. "And you hear whispers that this has revealed a problem... here?"

"That is right." He nodded. He looked at her in mild surprise. "You know of it?"

"You are not the only one who listens when others whisper."

"And these whispers you hear, as I hear... is that Qin is also without an heir?" Shi questioned hesitantly.

He knew, as well as the others in the palace, how Zelda reacted to certain subjects. A few suitors had been presented early in her monarchy, were promptly kicked out, and had dwindled to nothing as she made herself unpresentable for suitors. The harem was a touchy subject as well, as Zelda insisted on one concubine (the most plain he had ever seen, at that), with very rare allowances allowed for occassional variety of women, and in all cases it is rumored that it was without the... expected intimacy. Not to mention that any question on adding men to the harem, since their not-yet-to-be-king was a woman (and the only one in Hyrule's history since the fall) was quickly and ruthlessly squashed. Then there were other oddities that left her ministers confused, such as removing all mirrors from the palace and a commitment to work that bordered on the workaholic. The last point is a good thing, so far as her ministers were concerned, but Shi saw it as another piece of the whole puzzle in regards to the subject of heirs and suitors. Just as it had its good, it also had its bad.

"They are. The question I ponder is just who is spreading it." Zelda replied coldly.

Shi gulped. Just as quickly as the subject came up, the smiling and almost-warm Zelda disappeared. He could all but see the walls thrown up as her eyes dulled.

"I believe, your highness, that no one is. I would not put it past Ryo to do so, but the whispering is too quiet and slow. If Ryo were to have been the orchestrate of it with his spies, then it would have a more visible impact on morale than just a mere curiosity your ministers ponder. I believe it is just the event opened their eyes."

Zelda 'tsk'ed. "I wouldn't put it past Ryo for a second. Even if he isn't having his spies whisper such things, it would no doubt have been a side-benefit of his little war with Ruboku. Whether it be his original aim or not."

Shi gulped. He knew he was stepping into dangerous water. "Yet, even so, the matter is one to not be ignored. The very fact it is a weakness in our faction, in Qin, that there is no heir in the event of your death -Goddesses never allow it!- is not something to be ignored. I fear the effect this whispering will have because of its legitamacy."

"No."

And that was it. Shi sighed inside. He had hoped she would be more receptive, but it seemed the icy walls were just as solid now as ever. He bowed down low, and said, "I understand, your highness. I will do what I can to squash the whispering and direct their attention elsewhere." He started to rise.

Seeing him rise, Zelda sighed, and said, "No. Stop. I'm sorry, you only seek what is best for me. It is just... you don't understand."

"Then help me understand." He pressed. "It is nigh impossible to help you properly in matters I cannot understand. I can do as you order me, and I can work within the confines of what you instruct, but I cannot act on my own as oppurtunity arises beyond that if I do not understand."

Zelda rose, looked out in the hall, and shut the doors closely. Shi looked at her curiously, wondering what the point of her nervousness was. At last she said, "What I am going to say does not leave this room. Impa knows it. Sarah knows it. But even my friends do not know to the extent of it, and as you are just as crucial to the palace as Impa is, it will help you to know."

Shi Ketsu said, "I swear nothing you say will leave my lips."

Zelda gulped. Her hands shook and she clenched them to try and stop them. It had been years since then, and she was coming into being a young adult, yet even still the memories shook her. She struggled to keep her composure, and merely focused on breathing for a moment before she started, "As you know, I was a hostage in Zhao..."

-Link, Impa-

"Link, what happened to Solitare's scars?"

Link stared at Impa for a long moment. He felt himself pale in horror, as a horrible sense fell over him that something was very wrong. He had an idea of why Impa would pose the question, but he dreaded the answer.

"What does it have to do with this?" Link evaded slightly, yet more directly going into why he dreaded answering her.

Impa paused. She knew Solitare had been ordered to be a part of Link's unit more long-term. And from the glimpses she had seen, the two teenagers were close. Link protected her in multiple ways and Solitare clung to him like a shadow. There was no easy way to answer him and she felt sorry for him a bit.

She answered, "Solitare is the one who tried to kill me."

Link closed his eyes, leaned back, and banged his head against the frame of the wall. He clenched his teeth in frustration. Despite the clear emotion running through him, all he uttered was a quiet "Din damnit."

"Link," Impa pressed. "Just last night at the feast, she was horribly scarred by fire. Now the scars are gone, and with it is a sudden change in her mind. I cannot ignore how coincidential it is the two, seemingly impossible changes to her body and mind, happened overnight. Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah," He answered.

"... And that is?"

Link sighed. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "Din Damnit! I was just trying to help." Seeing the clear confusion in Impa's eyes, he explained further, "She was burned by demon fire. I took her to various doctors and we have tried various treatments, but nothing has helped. Normal fire is difficult to heal but demon fire, as it turns out, is impossible to heal. The best we could ever do is ease her pain. It has been a year now since the battle and she has suffered all this time. I thought..." He sighed. "I thought the myth of Fae healing was worth a try, so I asked the Fae for a favor. They gave me some water, and she bathed in it."

He left out the part that he technically put her into it, as she was drunk, but that didn't matter for Impa. It was between him and Solitare.

"You. Fool."

Link looked up and saw Impa looking back at him with a wide eyes and a clenched jaw. Her complexion paled. She pointed at him and exclaimed, "Why would you do that?! She is a Sheikah!"

He looked down and away. He felt a rock sit in his throat. "So?"

"So? Sheikah and Fae magics never mix well! How thoughtless are you?!"

"How am I supposed to know the two don't mix?!" Link demanded. He roped his arms together and leaned away, aggravated with her anger. "You and Soli are the only Sheikah I have ever known! Soli doesn't say anything about her clan, and you know OUR relationship isn't exactly open!"

Impa narrowed her eyes at him, but relented. She sighed. It was true, the boy had left an ignorant life. She had met him as a slave and his life experiences since then had been one of war. The Sheikah may know and understand the effect Fae magics have on them, but most people outside of the Sheikah wouldn't know.

She rose to her feet. "It doesn't matter..." Impa decided. "It doesn't matter if what you thought was good or bad, thoughtless and stupid or selfless and ignorant, Solitare would never have accepted the 'bath' if she had been in the right frame of mind. The mind she has now is emotional, reactive, almost crazy. If the mask is broken... then I have something to do. Solitare is leaving and I need to stop her."

Link also rose to his feet. "You're not doing it alone."

"She is my responsibility."

"And she is mine!" Link snapped. "She is a part of my unit, is my friend, and if what I did caused this, by Farore I'm going to do something about it."

Impa watched him briefly while chewing it over. His presence aggravated her. His relationship with Zelda tested her. She knew of how Link had given a mask to Zelda, and what occured because of it. She saw Link jump around and act without thought at the feast the night before. Now he had let loose the madness of a Sheikah. He kept doing things without thought despite his best intentions, and as a former Sheikah, it directly pissed her off. No Sheikah acts without careful thought. She held her tongue with him and allowed his presence in the palace solely because Zelda insisted he was a friend, even though he could destroy the princess easily. He was a snake without knowing it or perhaps caring.

All the same, he was probably the only one who could stop Solitare right now without killing her.

"Fine," Impa said. "Then gather what you need. We are leaving immediately. I will meet you in the courtyard. I have a few things to do."

"I have what I need already on me. I'll meet you there." Link nodded.

He walked past her. Watching his back, Impa narrowed her eyes at him briefly before turning away and leaving. As a Chancellor she couldn't just leave on short notice. While the area she and Link had been in was empty, it didn't take long to find servants. Impa left a message for Zelda to be notified she would be gone for a short while on sudden business. Impa went to her room, pulled a small chest out of the wall, and retrieved gear she had no intention of using again. It felt... odd having her Sheikah blade on her back hip again. It felt odd having the gloves and skin-tight soft shoes on to reduce sound. She put on a few bits of heavy leather armor, and with each piece, she felt her Sheikah mask come into place again until she looked at herself and saw dim eyes and an impassive face. Her Chancellor garments lay on the floor behind her, its colorful, bright beauty contrasting with the dark practicality of the Sheikah.

Impa had a servant prepare a horse in the courtyard. Then when she had what she needed, Impa entered the courtyard to find Link already saddled and waiting, an empty horse waiting for her, and the word that Solitare's horse was absent from the stables.

"Looks like your guess is right," Link said. "She left. The stablehand didn't see her or realize the horse was gone until it was too late."

Impa saddled her horse and turned the beast around. "She has a small head start on us. Are you ready for a ride?"

He smiled and patted his bag. A pair of hooked clasps on his horses side held the spear for him at his feet. A bag on the horse's hip looked like it had traveling supplies.

"Ready as you are. Where are we going?"

"West." Impa kicked the horse into a small start. As much as she wanted to rush out, it would not do to trample people. They would gallop at high speed once they were out of the capital.

Link scruffed up his nose. "That's really not helpful."

-Zelda-

Zelda looked down from the palace window and saw two of her favorite people leave. The servant to give her the message of Impa's departure waited patiently, albeit nervously. Zelda watched them go through the inner gates until they were out of the palace quarter, and then she thought she could see a pair of dots moving through the valley outside of the city.

"Your highness?" The servant wondered, at last.

"You may go. Looks like it will be just me for a little while." Zelda dismissed him.

The servant bowed, turned around, and opened the door to leave, only to gasp and step back in. Zelda heard a pair of heavy steps enter the room. Out of the corner of her eye she saw boney wings and a very large frame. Inside, Zelda sighed. Impa's timing couldn't have been better.

Zelda turned to behold what was a giant skeleton wrapped around a being of flesh and stone. The figure stood nine feet tall, five feet wide, and had wings of bare bone to match. Its hands were large, its feet hooved, its reach from its hunched shoulders to its knees, and claws several inches long. The being stood before her entirely naked, but also without sexual organs typically associated with men or women. The skeletal head had extended jaws with large bared teeth extending from its boney lips, its empty eye sockets had red lights peering from within, and inside its rib cage Zelda could see skin of flesh and stone attached to its bone exeskeleton.

To many it was a monster, a myth, a creature of nightmare. Zelda knew differently. Didn't mean her heart didn't beat heavily at the sight. Few had seen a dragon-bone Goron before.

"I must speak with you," The Goron said. Its voice deep and hollow, and most of all, angry. "And I will not wait! I am patient but I will not be told to wait after what you did!"

Zelda didn't like it. Even as she worked to keep the Mitagi appeased yet controlled, Qin's relationship with Majora healthy, and to recover from the brief conflict with Zhao, she found herself at odds with old allies. The Zhao-Qin truce may have given Qin a nice boone and set the stage to take control of the five-hundred war, but it also had a cost. The Qin's relationship with Gorondis had been mutually beneficial and good, yet the truce would allow Zhao to focus its full attention on Gorondis. They would see the Zhao-Qin truce as a deep betrayal.

"I figured as much," Zelda commented. "I apologize for putting you off, but today has been busy and we are few. Already my favored Chancellor is gone and the other has returned to his estate for the week, but now I have time to talk and I am sure we can work something out."