Of Royal Blood - The Legend Of Zelda

[] Midna
[] Malon

"Hey Link, you mind helping me with the rifle?" Malon asks, jerking a thumb over her shoulder to the stairs behind her "You've got the most experience with them, right?"

"Used one before, yeah," You say, getting up from your seat. Mipha and Paya were helping to clean up the dishes and transport the catatonic Romani to another room while Zelda and Irene had just left to finish up chores outside. Midna though had just outright disappeared while you weren't looking.

Malon nods, waiting a moment for you to hurry over before she makes her way up the stairs with you following behind her. Unlike downstairs which was more brightly lit only a few oil lamps were lit upstairs, just enough to keep you all from tripping as Malon leads you to what you can only assume was the master bedroom, her own room. You don't recall much about your time at Hyrule Castle so your main experience with luxury was mostly regulated to staying at Impa's manor which was certainly spartan compared to more Hyrulean styles but you imagine Malon's room would count as some definition of upper class. A large bed in a richly carved wooden frame dominated the centre of the room, the blankets richly embroidered though you note that strangely the pillows seemed rather plain and more along the lines of what you had back in your treehouse. A large flat-topped chest was at the foot of the bed, sitting on a large and rather comfortable looking rug. A wardrobe and small bedside table flanked on either side of the bed, a vanity with a polished mirror that was covered in empty perfume bottles and rather hastily covered jars of what you assume was makeup sitting next to the wardrobe, odd considering Malon didn't seem to be wearing perfume or makeup. Beside the Vanity was a dresser, on top of which seemed to be a few personal belongings; a small closed triptych and a small statue of the goddess Hylia more similar to the one you've seen belonging to the Sheikah, though this had a base where the royal crest of Hyrule was visible, the wingcrest below what you now know was the triforce. The end table on the other hand only had a small oil lamp and a sealed bottle sitting on top of it.

Across from the wardrobe and pushed up against the wall was a small writing desk, certainly not one would do most of the ranches paperwork at (You had spotted the main office downstairs) but one that was covered in books. On the opposite wall from this however was a fireplace, currently unused but which had a chair pushed in front of it with a small wicker basket of what you assume was a sewing kit sitting next to it, judging by the shirt sitting folded on top of it. Shoved into the corner you could see a metal tub peeking out from behind a set of folding wooden screens, several brushes and washcloths lying piled next to it. The windows in the room were open letting the cool night air in, the smell of cattle barely noticeable and were it daytime probably giving you an impressive view of the ranch.

What finally draws your attention however is the thin wooden case sitting atop the chest, small brushes and jars carefully set up on top of it, barely obscuring the inlaid design of the royal crest in the polished wood.

"So here it is!" Malon says, hovering behind you, her cheeks and ears turning a shade of crimson as she gestures, "I mean I haven't taken it out because it's really odd looking and figured an expert should get a chance to look everything over..."

You give a nod, and carefully you kneel down and move the bottles and brushes away before carefully opening the case up. Sitting, nestled in silk cloth was the most ornate and odd-looking rifle you'd ever seen. The whole thing seemed to be made of metal, with a thick dark coloured plate extending from the muzzle to the trigger, a golden bird design seemingly taken from the royal family crest decorated it with the head forming the trigger-guard and the wings sweeping upwards to cover the actual firing mechanism and strangely hold up a circle of glass with lines etched into it. The rest of the plate was inlaid with golden designs, swirls and the Royal crest firmly stamped onto the side and clearly visible. The muzzle was shaped like a stylized bird head, with wings again following the design of the royal crest sweeping downwards revealing what looked like a hole for someone to slot in a Royal dagger as a bayonet. The stock was coloured a light purple with gold inlays, with a gold plate at the very back. Picking it up you were surprised at how balanced it seemed, comfortably fitting in your grip. You hold the rifle up, looking down its and length and only then realizing that the glass seemed to be some sort of sight. Whoever made this certainly intended it to be frighteningly accurate.

Fiddling with it though there seemed to be an odd lever to the side and you couldn't quite make out the firing mechanism. Some instinct makes you hit something on the rifle, only for the entire front portion of the rifle to swing down, prompting a shocked cry from Malon, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"It's hinged," You say as you show it to Malon who peers at it closely, her shock turning to puzzlement, "I... think it's loaded this way. If you look closely it seems there's a mechanism to stop the bullet from falling down the barrel."

"Who would think to load a gun from the back?" Malon ponders aloud, cocking her head to the side as she squinted at the mechanism, "At least that explains why it doesn't seem to come with a rod but... hang on," She pauses, leaning in so close her red hair almost completely obscures your view, "There's two sets of firing mechanisms. There's the flint but the other is... a hammer?"

As she steps back for you to take a look you do confirm there was indeed two types of firing mechanism. Curious you take another look at the lever and noticing small writing you note the words "Powder" and "Sabot" with a quick test confirming the flint was for the powder while the hammer was for the sabot, the lever seemingly determining which was used.

"Link, do you know what a sabot is?" Malon asks after you repeat to her what you discovered as she takes the rifle from your hands.

"All I can think of is a sabaton, but why they'd fire foot armour at people I haven't the faintest idea, and why the hammer mechanism?" You ponder as Malon with surprising ease snaps the rifle open and close before quickly raising it up to her eye and mime firing, "You seem pretty comfortable with it though."

She shoulders the rifle, grinning proudly as she rubs a finger under her nose, "Weeeeeell, this isn't my first time using a rifle. Sure it's different, but I've got plenty of practice at fairs to know how to use a rifle."

"Oh?" You say with a smirk, "Maybe we should have a competition sometime then? I won many a cheese wheel back in my village."

"You're on," Malon eagerly replies, her grin growing wider as she takes a step towards you, crystal blue eyes shining, "We'll see if the knight can keep up with the farmgirl~"

"And would that farmgirl have a secret weapon?" Another voice asks, making you both jump and turn to see Midna floating beside Malon's bed, the bottle you had noted on her nightstand clutched in her hand. She tosses it to you which you deftly catch, and you take a look towards Malon. All colour had drained from her face as she stared at the bottle, her eyes widened in horror, pupils shrunk to pinpricks as her mouth worked silently up and down. The rifle slipped from her fingers, falling to the floor as her eyes began to dart between you and the bottle in your hand.

Concern welling up you properly inspect it, your heart sinking as you read the label on the bottle, "Sweet Shroom concentrate," You look up to farm girl standing before you who had recoiled at each syllable as if you had struck her, eyes fixed on you. You can only speak to her softly, "Malon..."

"And what is this sweet shroom concentrate? Some elixir?" Midna asks, looking curiously between you and Malon.

You take a deep breath before replying, "Concentrate from the poisonous sweet shroom. It's used to bait traps "humanely." The animal eats it and then drifts off to sleep only they won't ever wake up. In large enough quantities it works the same with humans. This should be enough for two..." You trail off as Malon wraps her arms around herself, shivering as she seems to curl in on herself.

Midna though has a reaction you didn't expect, the normally haughty expression on her face vanishing as she looks between you and Malon replaced with shock and to your surprise a hint of fear. With one swift movement she rushes over and snatches the bottle from your hand before it seems to explode, ripped apart by Midna's magics. Midna then just stands there, looking between you and Malon while breathing heavily, her eyes whenever they were on you conveying a desperate unspoken plea to you to do something, anything.

So you step forward.

"I-I can't l-let them hurt her," Malon whispered, stammering over each word, "I-I kept holding out but they kept winning a-and then Romani stopped... S-she can't even eat," Malon runs a hand through her hair, nails clawing at her scalp as she starts babbling, so much held-in pain finally coming out, "A-and she screams sometimes... she's in pain and I can't... I can't..." She looks up to you, eyes wild as she chokes out, "I can't let them h-hurt her more. I-if they win they'll... i-it won't just be me! A-anything..." Malon takes a half step towards you, her voice pleading, "I-I would do anything t-to keep her safe. S-so I... I-I told them it was for rats a-but if they'd win I... I... then you all came. Y-you fed us... stood up for me. I... I was going to throw it out but I forgot and you saw and now you'll... you'll..." She looks at you, genuine fear in Malon's eyes as she begs, taking another step towards you, "Please... please..."

You don't immediately reply and gently put your hands on Malon's shoulders. All strength seems to leave Malon then and you let yourself sink down to your knees with her, your hands still on her arms to keep her upright.

"Malon," You say, your voice steady as you look into her downcast eyes, "I swear to you we will do everything in our power to keep Romani and you safe. We'll get you out of here and find a cure for whatever afflicts Romani. I swear this as a knight and a friend."

Malon doesn't respond or change her expression, but you feel her arms lift up and wrap themselves around your torso. You bring her into a tight hug, and you hear a small intake of breath from the girl, her arms faltering for a moment before she returns it. She doesn't cry, doesn't make a sound but slowly you feel her holding you more tightly, feel her heart beating faster and faster in her chest before it slows back to a steady rhythm. Out of the corner of your eye though you see a black and grey form start to close in, moving to embrace and comfort Malon but Midna stops just short even as her arms wrap around Malon and yourself before she suddenly recoils as if burnt, turning her back on you so all you could see were her robes as she floated on the other side of the room.

After a moment you begin to hear a whispered "St-st-st-st-st-st-st-st-st-st-sta-" from Malon before she stops, and shakes her head into your shoulder. She pulls back from you and though you don't see any tears her eyes were bloodshot. She looks you in the eye and gives a muttered "Thank you..." before trying to stand.

You help her up, the strength still gone from her limbs. Malon makes a movement suddenly to move past you but you hold onto her arm and she stops, not struggling or trying to pull away. "Hey," You say softly, and Malon tilts her head slightly towards you, "You should sleep, you're exhausted. I'll bring Romani up, alright?"

Malon looks over to you, still looking absolutely drained but a flash of gratitude flashes in her expression before she practically slumps onto her bed. You take a moment to put the rifle back into its case and just barely catch Midna reaching out to the unaware Malon again but when you look up to see what Midna's expression was the Twili vanished, disappearing into the shadows.

With a sigh you make your way downstairs, running into Mipha and Paya who's expressions brighten when they see you enter, though Paya tries to hide her face behind her hands. Your expression must have gave something away though, as both suddenly look at you with concern but you shake your head, only saying that you'll take Romani to Malon.

Leaving your two friends behind, the catatonic girl in your arms you make your way upstairs but you pause at the top of the stairs, looking down at the girl as her unseeing eyes stared up at you. She was so light, so small and fragile seeming. She wasn't completely limp like an unconscious person but neither did she seem alive in your arms. Holding her you could tell she was practically skeletal, only the slight movement of breathing and the beat of her heart gave any indication she was clinging onto life. Someone had done this to her, robbed a child of her health and mind for seemingly no reason other than callous cruelty. You think to Koko and Cottla and all the pain that had been inflicted onto them and the harm you had narrowly saved them from, the suffering that had been inflicted on your friends as adults and children. "How many other children" was the thought that rose most prominently in your mind as anger and sorrow boiled up within you, but you knew it was nothing compared to what their family and loved ones must feel. Yet some part of you seemed to reach out to them, connect with something fierce and vengeful you didn't want to acknowledge as their grief and anger seemed to flow through you.

You looked down to Romani and whispered, "I don't know who you were Romani, but I can tell your sister loves you with all her heart. I promise you-" Your voice hitches for a moment, hands shaking slightly before you calm and a power seems to echo behind your voice, "I promise you she'll see you laugh and smile again, see you well and whole again. I know... I know that's what you desire with all your strength, I'll do everything to make that come true. And," your voice becomes growl as you see a strand of dark blond hair flash white for an instant as the back of your hand glowed, "I promise you those who did this will pay for what they've done to you."

Romani doesn't acknowledge you. With a tired sigh you carry her the rest of the way to Malon's room. There you see Malon wearing a thin smock that reached down to her shins sitting on her bed. She starts at the sound of the opening door, turning to look at you with glistening, bloodshot eyes, "Link-" She begins, before stopping short and focusing on the girl in your arms. She gets up, taking Romani from you and setting her gently on the bed, tenderly brushing away a strand of red hair that had fallen in front of Romani's eyes. Malon stared at her sister for a long time, looking at her with all the love and concern an elder sister could. Finally, she turns to look back at you, opening her mouth to say something but you hold a hand up to stop her.

"You don't need to say anything Malon, you and your sister should get some sleep. We've probably got a lot to do tomorrow," You say to her, before giving her a small smile, "I'll see you at breakfast, alright?"

Malon stares up at you for a second, before you see a very tired but thankful smile cross her face and she gives you a nod.

That night, as you lay in your bed with Sif at your feet you couldn't help but feel relieved that you didn't hear sobs coming from Malon's room, but you somehow knew she held her sister close the entire night, even when Malon finally drifted off to sleep...

Unaware to you a lonely orphan slumped against the barn wall, soaked in a cold sweat. What had been a flight to wallow in regret and sorrow had given way as she clutched at her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart as terror had suddenly consumed her and left her only able to ask, "What was that? What was that?!"

The morning was quiet, Malon's eyes were red and she lacked the energy she had showed but she seemed happy, almost relieved as if you had taken a weight off her shoulders. She greeted you with a smile and nod, making up for her lack of energy with the warm look she gave you throughout breakfast. Everyone else seemed fine save two exceptions. Midna who seemed to have not shown up, but you assumed that was due to the sunlight and Irene. Oh boy Irene.

Her eyes were just as red as Malon's, except her's looked like it was because she hadn't slept a wink. She was dishevelled and seemed to be nursing a massive headache. Mipha had determined that it might be allergies, something her powers did little to actually affect. You did learn though that illnesses and infections were tricky for her to deal with because her healing magic was indiscriminate. Diseases, as Zelda helpfully explained, were caused by tiny creatures called bacteria and viruses and sadly while Mipha could help soothe she ended up healing them as she healed her target. This was especially dangerous with herself, as while Zora were tougher than humans they weren't wholly suited for life mostly away from water. Thankfully Mipha reassured you all that she was feeling fine, which certainly pleased Irene as Mipha could at least relieve some of Irene's suffering.

Still, this did leave time for you all to discuss what chores needed to be done. While Malon would be abandoning this place some maintenance had to be done. Animals too needed to be fed. You could also get Mipha and Irene to go with you to check over Malon's land, see if anything suspicious was going on. Or perhaps there was something else you needed to do but had forgotten?

What chore do you do?
[] Feed animals.
[] Do maintenance.
[] Patrol.
[] Write-in.
GM note: Not sure on this one. Hopefully I covered the poison bit believably. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on it.