Chapter Text
Link fixated his gaze on the man, and he stepped a smudge closer to Zelda; the soldier kept his head politely bowed in the formalities of the Hyrulean knights. "Bandits?" Link queried, repeating the man's announcement. The soldier fretfully nodded. "Do you recognize them?" The soldier shook his head.
"No, none of the guards or civilians, nor I recognize them. And they're strong."
"What have they done?" Link folded his arms across his chest.
"One of them snagged an apple, and when the merchant rebuked him, he and another created a violent public outburst. The guards stationed there went over to see what was going on, and then after that, havoc struck! I have been sent here to inform you.
"Thank you for notifying us," Zelda thanked, and the soldier nodded.
"If it is another case of bandits, then we should attend to them as soon as possible," Link stated as he started down the steps.
"I agree, we would not want a repeat of last year."
"Speaking of the event prior, are you sure these are foreigners? Not disguised commoners?" Link asked.
"I'm positive. They were not wearing masks."
Link now reached the foot of the throne. He bowed to the altar. "Princess, I'll settle this. Need no worry." From behind the throne, he could make out Shadow laughing at the statement. Zelda's face turned florid, and then to a smirk. "Only after you, oh Hero of Hyrule. May Hylia oversee your hind." The soldier awkwardly stood there, as they exchanged snickers. Link then turned around, "May I ask, what is your name?"
"Soldi," the guard responded with an amiable smile.
"Pleased to meet you, Soldi." Link offered his hand and the man shook it. "Now, let's go catch ourselves some bandits, shall we?"
As the two approached the ligneous doors, they suddenly burst open; another guard came charging through. They jerked back as he ran in shouting, "The bandits are in the castle!" On cue, a cacophony thundered; the castle's alarm bells had been rung. "How?" Link asked, "Weren't they just at the bazaar?"
"We couldn't hold them! The northern outpost spotted them sneaking in!"
Link resisted his scowl, as the soldier importunately rushed Zelda toward the safety room. "Be safe, Link!" She hollered as she exited the throne room. Now alone, Soldi and Link vacated the room as well, entering the long, carpeted hallway. Link warily shut the doors behind them, and started down the hall. They soon drew to the intersection. "I'll go right, you go left," Link whispered, and Soldi nodded. "And if either of us spots them, two sharps and a shallow whistle, got it?" Soldi made a thumbs-up gestured, and steered to the contrary side.
As Soldi's silhouette parted from view, Link began his way on the right side. Golden bars of the afternoon sun gleamed from the paneled windows and illumined the tight hallway, and his faint footsteps were narrowly audible from the padding of the scarlet carpet and the petrel-blue flooring. He patrolled beneath the first underpass, briefly scanning his backside as he progressed through. As he entered a square-shaped room, teeming with paintings of the royal family, he paused for a moment. The faint drips and drops of the shallow drizzle drew from outside, along with the serene chirps of sparrows and cardinals. What a perfect afternoon for a picnic, his thoughts rambled. After this bandit business ceased, surely Zelda and he could sneak off for a few hours, mess around with the wildflowers, and be back by dusk for supper. A radiant smile grew on his face as he fantasized.
A clamorous slam splintered him from his reverie, and he stared intensely at the opposing opening. His hand loomed over the hilt of his blade; a singular twitch of movement would trigger him to draw it. He remained unmoved for a moment more, before he declared that the door slam must have been from someone departing, not entering, for no additional sounds parroted down the corridor. He carried on. However, he took each step more warily than the one prior.
Now passing beneath his second underpass, he began to grow dubious. Had Soldi located the bandits? No, he would have sent the signal... How hidden were these bandits? Acknowledging the fact that these bandits contrived to withhold against the Hyrulean soldiers, who had been training ever since they could walk, they must be proficient, he concluded. He'd need to be vigilant. There was one of him, and Hylia knew how many he was up against. All he knew was that there was more than one, hence the 'bandits' instead of 'bandit'. Although, he supposed that it was a group bigger than two or three; bandits nowadays were usually not that skillful, except for straight-up pickpocketing or snagging a child's lollipop. His rupees were on a quartet. It was his lucky number, after all.
He was soon to his third underpass when he began to hear hyruleanistic noises. First, it was the scuffling of boots, most likely dragged because of exhaustion by its repetition. It was hard to dissect the sound, as it sounded like a clump of hefty movement, but he eventually deciphered four different sets of shoes. So he was correct then. He then realized that he was in plain sight, easily perceptible to one's field of view by his location in the center of the room. Nimbly, he tip-toed behind a wall; where he now hid. Secondly, he heard low chatter. Quiet, but volumizing not just from their closing distance, but in general it increased. The creators might not be the bandits, they could simply be patrolling guards or castle maids. If he lunged for an innocent civilian and frightened them, he'd been in a delight of scolding thereafter. He decided to remain there and to refrain himself from whistling and pouncing.
The chit-chat became more audible, he could certainly tell if they were the bandits or not from their conversation, and their unfamiliar voices. Their voices were different, that goes to say with each of their distinctive accents and pronunciations, not to mention their tone. He inhaled sharply, as their back-and-forth drew to a hearing range.
"-had to take the fuckin' apple-"
"-if you've never stolen something!"
"-hampion has plenty-"
"Guys, keep it-"
Their bicker was interesting, if not enjoyable and memorable, but what intrigued him more was their clumsiness.
A vulgar curse scowled as a stentorian shattering sound erupted; a vase's demolish, or a pot's destruction. Whichever it was, he hoped it wasn't one of Zelda's homemade clay projects, or that would have only increased their punishments.
"-hypocrite-"
"-sorry-"
"-not as bad as the sailor..."
"-in my blood-"
"-'cause of you, this era's whole damn army is-"
His question was answered. These were, in fact, the bandits that they were searching for. Instead of whistling, though, he settled to save that for the end of their foreword.
"-in the castle anyway-"
"-e're supposed to meet the others-"
"-in the castle? Who-"
He could now sense them lurking forward, nearly rounding the corner. Soundlessly, he unsheathed his blade and readied himself. As their loquacious prattle continued, and then approached closer, he, in unison with them, commenced out of his hiding spot. Abruptly, he paced himself and skidded out of his nook, causing three out of the four to jump back, and recoil from the surprise. However, the fourth one remained still, only his talk dwindled. From his view, Link could assume that they were teenagers if not older children. Juvenile features and figures, and their instinctive flinches. But the same could be said for him, he hadn't aged a day since his preteens.
"The infamous bandits, it's a pleasure seeing you all here," Link greeted, as he straightened his posture to look more presentable, or knightly. Though at first, none of them responded. They all skimmed him up and down, snickering 'kid' and 'pipsqueak', which he chose to ignore. Then, he could see them whispering more discreetly; exchanging rude commentary if he were to guess by their disrespectful pointing. Then, the one that had not jerked, dressed in a claret-red and lengthy tunic, stood in front of the others. Intimidating, he tried to appear, but his smirk diminished most of the effect, and his unrefined insult. "Listen, little kid. If you don't snitch on us to your pop, I won't make you go beddy-bye. How does that sound? Do you understand? I can draw an illustration for you if you'd like that, and then you can go see your daddy." His mockery stood obvious to Link because of Shadow's consistent sarcasm, but impressive, he'd give the pink-haired boy that.
"As much as I would like to pay my dad a visit, I'm sure I can do that whilst you four are being convicted," Link replied, closing the distance between them with a short stride. "No need for threats, yes? We can head there like big kids, hm?"
His offender flustered for a half moment, then drew a panicked countenance in a falsified dismay. "Oh dearie, those instructions are far too elaborate for such a youth, are you reciting?"
Link made a 'tsk tsk' sound with his tongue as he shook his head. "I'm afraid not, though that would be practical for dealing with ignorant fools."
The others behind the pink-haired one snickered, but Link was just getting started.
"Forementioned by myself, it's time for your afternoon catnap," the red-clad one declared.
"Are you mistaking me for yourself?"
"My words are clear, I thought you could understand them?"
"Speak up, Pinky, your puerile tongue is muffled."
"Can you even see my mouth, Midget?"
Unfortunately for the bandits, Soldi had lapped around, with a herd of soldiers, from the contrary side, like they had agreed they do to meet up. Perfect timing. One of the bandits, the shortest one, mouthed, an 'Oh shit' once he'd realized the situation. "Halt in the name of the Crown!" Soldi shouted, and all four of them froze. Link looked down at the red-clad hand, his fingers were counting down. They were going to run. Or at least that was their plan until in unison, including Link, all of the guards raised their blades to the bandits.
"Halt," Link ordered, the tip of the blade to the red-clad teenager's chin.
"According to the Hyrule Code of Laws, section 10.12, if parents or guardians do not show up, we have the right to hold you accountable for your actions. To follow, you have committed a series of crimes, such as assault on guards and public disturbance," a soldier recited, reading a handbook.
"Public disturbance? He smacked me!" The youngest said with a scowl. The others around him hushed him. "They'll be here soon," one in verdant green whispered. "They better," the one in claret-red grumbled.
Despite their actions, Link still felt sympathy for them. "We could wait a little longer, right? I don't believe we're in any sort of rush."
"And why are you defending them?"
"They're teenagers, not pirates."
One snorted.
"Fine, check the hallways again, will you?"
Link nodded and vacated the throne room. As he strode out, he noticed a group of four older-looking men peer out from the castle's entrance. They looked lost. He and one made eye contact, and he cocked a brow. "You wouldn't happen to be the guardians of four mischievous teenagers, would you?"
"Oh Hylia, what have they done-"
"Yes," the other cut him off. "Are they in trouble?"
"Nothing too serious, in my eyes at least. Follow me, they're right inside the throne room."
Link opened the door, allowing the four men in before himself, and he shut it behind them. "I've found their guardians, sir."
The soldier looked between the teenagers and the men. "So, who's going to claim responsibility for the near death of my men?"
"Ok, that's a big-ass exaggeration! I was acting in self-defense! It's not my fault your bony men can't take a kick!" The guards noiselessly gasped from their positions. One of the bandits found this hilarious, but abstained themself.
"Sailor, the eldest-looking one said. Everyone in the room then glanced at him. "I'm sure this is a misunderstanding."