-Kantan, Country of Zhao-

Impa sat in the shadowy corner of the inn, waiting. It was the height of the day, so most were busy with their business. The market outside bustled, and the view of the Zhao palace was marvelous, standing proud and tall against the sun. Impa turned the panels of the window shut as if it might look back.

At the expected hour, out of the crowd of the market entered two men. One was gangly and the other large. They didn't look like much, but their eyes were attentive. They saw Impa out of the corner of their eyes and approached.

The thin one had disheveled hair and a cold look in his eye, immediately looking down on her. "You the woman we looking for?"

"Depends," Impa moved her cloak out of the way to reveal a short blade hidden behind her hip. She didn't like his tone, and the last thing she needed was to be bothered by a couple of horny men. "Are you looking for pleasure or business?"

"He said you wanted some labor in moving some goods." His eyes moved momentarily to her knife but only sharpened in turn. He seemed to have some grudge against her from the start, and despite the implied threat, he did not budge.

So they were the black marketers she was waiting on.

"That would be correct."

Whether to her relief or detriment, as the former man was difficult, they sat down. The larger one bowed slightly and said, "We just wanted you to know we are thinking about the job."

Impa slammed her fist on the table. She raised her voice slightly, "What the realms do you mean you are still thinking about it? Didn't you come here accepting the job?!" She glanced toward the doorway. She hoped no one had heard her outburst. She had expected them to be here, and so promptly and punctual, precisely because they had accepted it. She did not want further setbacks.

The first said, "Nah, that isn't it. We came here so we could decide whether or not we'd accept the job. So hurry up and tell us what it is."

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself? I will not divulge it just because you ask. It is too delicate a situation. If I were to tell you, and you refuse, I would have no choice but to kill you."

The black marketer met her glare head-on. "Aren't you the one getting ahead of yourself, woman? I only need to yell out that you are of Qin, and every man for miles will run to tear you apart and rape the pieces."

The man leaned forward on the table. His temperament grew angry yet controlled. "It has been a decade since Chouhei, but I promise you. We have not forgotten that pain."

Impa examined his eyes and saw he also suffered from that battle.

What could Impa express to appease the pain this Zhao man held in his heart? The anger and hate he kept contained? What of the whole country? She likewise had suffered from constant wars. No one hadn't. In her heart, she wanted the wars to end, but to convey such an idealistic philosophy would fall on deaf ears. All that would satisfy in this cycle of vengeance was further vengeance.

The second black marketer rebuked the first, "Don't give her grief, no need to hassle the lady. We are over here to discuss business, not politics."

The first man grunted.

A third man entered, and from the greeting between the men, Impa considered that they recognized each other. He must be the last of their party.

"Relax, Dawn. She is just being cautious because it is an urgent matter," The third sat down. "It is no small matter to 'smuggle a small person'."

"And how are we to place the importance of this person?" Dawn asked. "It could be some slave woman's newborn child to one of the king's children. Or a dwarf."

The third man sighed. "I apologize, my lady. He is as cautious as you are. He tends to get heated up."

Impa did not know their names but knew they wanted to go by the names Dawn, Midnight, and Twilight.

"No apologies necessary."

"Let me see if I can guess the importance of this." The third man, Twilight, said. "First, there are rumors down the trail that the king of Qin is dying."

Impa narrowed her eyes. News this big would grow, but she had hoped the information wouldn't spread this quickly.

"Second," Twilight smiled. "While it is believed that crown prince Kyou will inherit the throne, I happen to know a man who knows there is still hidden in Zhao one who can contest the crown."

Impa gulped but expressed nothing.

Midnight asked, "Who? The Qin king only just fathered one child."

Dawn mused, "Actually, come to think of it, didn't he leave behind one of his women in Zhao as a hostage? And wasn't there a rumor she was with child?"

"That is right," Twilight said.

Midnight gaped. "Wait, 'smuggling a person' right?! Could it be that you want-?"

"Be careful what you say," Impa looked to the third black marketer. "You know a great deal."

Twilight simply smiled. He shrugged. "In that case, all that is left is to confirm the product we will be handling. Once we verify it, we can agree. I don't care you are from Qin, but as a merchant that is the decision to be based on."

Impa replied, "I don't have it... yet."

"What?!" Dawn and Midnight yelled. Twilight shushed them, and after a moment, they settled down.

"I have searched, but I have yet to recover her," Impa explained. "I had hoped to acquire your services so that once the package is retrieved, we can make haste. Because then my time may be extremely limited."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"A sensible decision, yet also leaves us in the dark," Twilight said. He leaned back. The others fumed, but this man was calm and thoughtful. He was their leader. "Two thousand."

"Two thousand Rupee?"

"Extra. Each."

Impa's eyes nearly bulged out of her skull. "What?!"

"This has gone from a smuggling mission to a 'find and extract' mission. It is extra work to find the kid, and it may involve kidnapping if the kid is not in the loop. This is proving to be a lot of hassle and the risks have increased ten-fold with the value of the merchandise. We want two thousand bonuses. Each."

Impa gulped, "I don't have that kind of money."

"I know, but your Chancellor does, and I know how much he likes to handle things like this quietly."

Impa analyzed the man. He spoke as if he knew the Chancellor. It was not a statement without understanding, and the man maintained connections across Hyrule. 

Was he Ryo's spy?

Impa could not come right out and ask, but her gut led her to believe it was so. She breathed out in relief. "I will make certain he pays."

The spy nodded in contentment. "In that case we will do our part. I will require a day to make arrangements. We will meet here in two days."

"Two days is not enough time to find one child in a city this vast!"

"You don't need that long. There are only three places a Qin child hostage can be. In the palace as a prisoner, in the slums without any official protections, or..."

"Or?"

"The grave," Twilight finished darkly. Dawn expressed no remorse for the idea.

-Later-

Impa used her training to blend in. She suspected Twilight was the spy of Ryo, and already knew where Zelda was, but Impa wanted to ensure this part of the mission was complete personally. He could search as well if he wished, but Impa did not want to rely on them more than necessary.

 Impa entered the seedier part of the capital. The spies 'guess' made sense. Any Qin would be ostracized here and be unable to support a proper business. She prayed silently as she walked so that Naryu might guide her feet. Impa felt everything up to this day was their perfect answer to her prayers.

A distant ruckus captured her attention. A thief had stolen bread. Child thieves were common, so she paid it to mind only long enough to judge the child's gender. Thus far, they had wholly been boys that she observed lurking.

Impa drew nearer and started to hear yells from the crowd that pursued the child. "Qin shit! Still lurking like a dog are we?!" "Filthy thief!" "Seize her! The brat snatched some food!"

'Her'? Impa's nerves rose. She rushed into the crowd.

True enough, the child was a young girl. Or at the very least a tomboy. She had the clothes of a street urchin and no shoes. Bruises, cuts, bugs, and filth smeared her body. Her hair was blonde and filthy, unlike the natural brown hair. But the most striking thing was the sky-blue eyes. They were not the eyes of a person. They were utterly feral, wide, crazed, unfocused, and filled with an instinctual fear and hateful defiance both.

They surrounded her from all sides. A man lunged at her but recoiled when her knee broke his nose. "THE BITCH!"

It required several men to stop the child and hold her down to beat her. One pulled out an ax. "You took my brother. The least you owe me is an arm, thief!" He lifted the ax to remove her arm.

"Wait!" Impa yelled. She ran into their midst and grabbed the ax handle. "Do this and you are no better than the Qin that took your family!"

"So what?!"

"She is a child!"

Some of the men recovered their senses and suffered a change of heart. They released the girl. While the ones with the most hate turned their attention to Impa, the girl leaped at the chance to break away and disappear. Impa followed the girl from the corner of her eye. The girl looked back once before running down an alley.

Without the thief for them to aim their anger towards and punishment for thievery dished out through bruises, most of the crowd dissipated. Without a group to justify their actions or hate, the rest soon walked off, scoffing at her.

Impa walked down the street the thief had gone down. Her skills as a Sheikah aided her in tracking her little target, and before long, she encountered the girl sitting in a dark, damp corner nibbling on a mere scrap of the bread she had snuck away.

The girl stared at Impa like a feral animal, cautious and frightened. Impa gulped. She did not approach too close. The girl looked like she would flee at the slightest move.

"Are you named Zelda, by chance?" Impa asked.

The girl did not respond.

"Where is your mother? Your father? Are either of them here?"

No response. Did the girl speak an ordinary language? It would prove problematic if the girl didn't understand her.

"Do you understand me?"

Still no response. The girl stared at her with wide-eyes.

Impa sighed. It would appear she had been lead on a wild chase. Impa turned to leave, but as she took a step away, she felt a slight tug on her cloak. Impa paused.

"Im...pa..." The girl whispered.

Impa sucked in a breath, "How do you know that name?"

"Dream... You are Impa?"

"I am." The woman replied. "I am looking for someone named Zelda. Do you know anyone named that?"

The girl nodded. "I am Zelda."

Impa could have wept. Her mission was a success, but also her heart tore from seeing her charge in this condition. Zelda was barely clutching on to life and was seemingly too frightened to speak.

Impa slowly lowered herself to be at Zelda's height and got a decent look at her. The girl looked to be a pre-teen. She was obscured in small scars and was malnourished. Nothing that wasn't manageable with some proper care. The more fundamental problems would be in her mind. A need for confidence would have to be first and foremost, as well as an education, but Impa felt there were many problems deeper down she would be learning about over time.

"Well, Zelda." Impa smiled. "I'm here to bring you home."

"I have a home," Zelda whispered.

Zelda probably didn't grasp what Impa meant. But all the same, if Zelda had a home, then her mother was possibly there. "Do you now? Can you show me?"

Zelda nodded, turned, and entered the alley. Impa clasped the girl's hand and let her lead. The walk took them out of the city towards the outskirts. Amid the trees was a broken hut, and near was a shallow river.

Zelda stopped. "Wait... here."

"Alright." Impa nodded. She let go of the girl's hand. Zelda walked to the hut door and peered within, seemingly changed her mind and sat by the river. Impa looked at her curiously and joined her.

"Mother has a man in there... don't let me near when working."

"I see." So the mother had to sell her body to survive... Impa felt for the woman. Regrettably, it was just how the world was.

Impa didn't say anything, and neither did Zelda. The girl merely watched the river and the moon with dilated, unfocused eyes. Impa used the time to study her further. With further observation, she was able to distinguish between the bruises. Most were simple bruises on her arms or back, but there was one in the shape of large hands around her neck.

"I am ashamed," Impa whispered. "If I had intervened sooner, then men wouldn't have suffocated you."

"Suffocated?"

"Where they put their hands around your neck."

Zelda stared at her in confusion. "Men? No. Mother. She says it's all my fault."

Impa stared in horror down at the river. Her hands clenched and dug her fingernails into her palms. Impa wanted to scream but did not want to frighten the girl. With each minute, her day was becoming more and more surreal. She felt trapped in a horror tale.

"Zelda... has she done this before?"

Zelda nodded. "A few times."

Impa could not take it any longer. She wasn't tolerating this one second more. The woman shook furiously and the knowledge of what she needed to do. She took Zelda by the hand and left. The mother be damned. Zelda followed along as listlessly as sheep. Impa wasn't sure if it was due to trust, or a lack of caring. On the one hand, the girl was defiant before men, but she would keep going back to the same violent woman. Her unfocused eyes frightened the woman.

"Why don't you tell me about this dream of yours? The one that told you about me?"

"In my dream, I was watching the moon. The moon took the shape of a good-looking woman and fell to the water. She stood on the river and said a dark-skinned woman, named Impa, would come to take me away."

"That's exactly what I am here for," Impa confirmed, smiling at the young girl.

(Grammarly 8/19/2020, scribens 3/11/2020, Gradeproof 3/12/2020, brief update 4/10/2020)