Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

The King's War - Haunted

-Kantan, Country of Zhao-

"This is her?" Dawn stared at Zelda skeptically. Zelda gazed back blankly.

Impa had done her best. She helped the girl bathe and clean up in a room overnight. Unfortunately, she could not fix years of mental, emotional, and physical abuse, filth, malnutrition, and bugs in one night. Transforming her into a proper princess would require years of training and care. Zelda had uttered nothing, and the distant stare was eerie. Impa feared for whether or not the girl was capable of being a leader of any sort.

Zelda stayed close, not moving out of arms reach since the day before. Her eyes were wary of the men and women around them. Zelda was visibly uncomfortable in the open and crowds where she was exposed.

"Yes," Impa confirmed.

"Don't look much like royalty."

"Yes, well, neither do you!" Impa snapped. Dawn had been grating at her nerves since they met. Her response earned him a well-mannered tease from his companions, and the man backed off under Impa's protective stare.

"This will do it." Midnight patted the barrels and motioned them over with an encouraging smile. "She gets into a barrel, and we ride through the checkpoints. Easy!" Despite his words, Zelda clung to Impa.

"Is it necessary?" Impa asked. "Zelda looks frightened by the idea."

Dawn grunted, "Unless you want to traverse the country and be caught by roaming war parties or bandits."

Midnight glanced down at Zelda and whispered, "We have an understanding with the guards. It's the key to our work. This is how it has to be done."

"I see." The idea begrudged Impa, but if it was necessary. She helped Zelda onto the cart, and with more encouragement, the girl climbed into a barrel. Impa promised to be beside her the whole time. The marketers checked everything one more time, and they were off.

The checkpoints the group passed would be the same ones Impa had already passed with credentials forged by Chancellor Ryo, so she wasn't nervous about being seen.

They stopped when they were in sight of the first checkpoint near midday. Twilight said, "Alright boys and girls, get comfortable and let me do the talking. Girly, you good back there?"

"Yes," Zelda said from her barrel. "It's hot... And it stinks..."

The man chuckled. "You can come out and breathe in a bit. Just be quiet and don't move. Our lives are on the line."

They approached the first checkpoint. Impa observed from the back as the soldiers performed an inspection, but it was an inadequate inspection by any standard. The guard captain and black marketer talked like old buds. The formality was a ruse.

In passing through, the second gate was immediately visible over the horizon, and before long, they had passed two checkpoints.

"This was easier than I thought. That looked completely routine." Impa observed.

"Once we persuaded the captains to our side, it's all formality," Twilight replied. He jerked the horses to a halt. They were far beyond the checkpoint. "Okay, girly, you can come out."

The men removed enough of the contraption to let Zelda out. The girl was gasping for air and sweating. Impa said, "She is suffering from heat exhaustion. We should rest now."

Midnight smiled for Zelda. His gentle nature contrasted with Dawn's gruff demeanor. "We won't reach the final checkpoint till tomorrow anyway. You can stay out. If you want a break, there is a creek south of here."