"Barter." Zelda repeated. She leaned back. "I'm listening."

Kei Ki said, "The first thing you should know is the priests were not on your side and would one day rebel against you, perhaps by claiming the original validation of your holy rule is false. Zant targeted them for solidifying your position on the throne, but we also learned Ryo is deeply involved with them. He bought them. Your own priests serve Ryo."

"Pardon?" Zelda asked in surprise.

"I do not know the accounting side of it, but have your minister of commerce go over the inventory of the priest's coffers. While the palace pays them in tax, the priests are far wealthier than they should be with a rupee here and rupee there, or even the heavy donations from the state. They are hardly despondent monks. I'm sure you will find they have been in Ryo's pocket for years."

Zelda shared a glance with Impa, and Zelda nodded. Impa understood the order. Zelda wanted this confirmed.

She was pleased. That was incredibly useful. The priests had been part of the foundation of her placement on the throne, and if they were in Ryo's pocket they could remove that foundation out from under her. But the thought also worried her: Were they working for Ryo when she was validated to begin with?

What was she thinking! Of course they were! Zelda being on the throne was all part of Ryo's plan to place a second heir in rival to the prince. An heir he could back and use to even the odds of the court. But now that the prince was gone, and the rival Chancellor was gone, that left only Zelda against him. Well... Impa and Zelda. Impa had returned, Zelda had to remind herself. But none of the less with a single move from Ryo, namely the priests proclaiming they had miss-read signs from Naryu in placing Zelda as daughter of the former king, would be an instant victory for Ryo.

Ryo had the kingdom in checkmate all this time, and Zelda had narrowly evaded it thanks to this mafia head.

"Go on." Zelda said.

Kei Ki smiled darkly, seeing he was succeeding. "The next thing I can bargain, Princess, is an army."

The court stirred and whispered among each other. Impa blinked and Zelda pondered it.

Zelda could not think of what he meant. There was another army? She knew of every army in Qin. She had even found armies that were said to be extinct to aid her.

"I find that difficult to believe," Impa said. "There is not a drop more of soldier blood to be siphoned than what is already known by the court."

"Unless that army is not made of sanctioned soldiers." Kei Ki said smoothly. "Princess... how many nations exist within Qin?"

"No riddles, Kei Ki. Speak plainly!" One of her court ministers said. Others yelled in agreement.

"Fine, fine." Kei Ki rolled his eyes. "Spoil my moment, why don't you! Princess, imagine the entire criminal network of Qin united into an army." Zelda's eyes briefly widened, even Impa was surprised and terrified of the implications. "Every bandit. Every murderer. Every assassin, torturer, prisoner, criminal, vagabond, and piece of scum-filled shit the streets of Qin has stuffed in its corroded crevices! The family of Ki is massive, all encompassing, and hidden within the very framework of the land! The mafia has a hand in everything and is powerful enough to be considered a country in its own right!" Kei Ki stood to his feet, and the guards did not stop him, for they too were stunned by his words. "Now imagine all of it... all of it united into one spear. One gloriously bloody barbed spear thrust into the heart of whoever you point it at!"

"Including my own?" Zelda wondered.

Kei Ki chuckled, "Betrayal? Is that what you think? Princess! Betrayal is so boorish! So predictable! I am not so poor in ambition that all I have is money and a desire for power! Money! I have had it and I found it worthless! Power? I can do with a hundred men what others do with thousands! So what is power to me? I am not some brute! I am an artist! Imagination flows best when you have to work with less! But grant me this, this permission, and I will show you what an army can truly do!"

"And how exactly would you do it? How would you unite the heads of the Ki family?"

"Beheading, of course." Kei Ki replied smoothly.

This seemed to trouble her court greatly, as they murmured with one another and their expressions were mixed. Zelda herself found herself conflicted, and so Kei Ki was placed under house arrest in one of the palace rooms until a verdict is reached. And the debate began.

Some spoke positively of the proposal saying, "Another army loyal to Zelda will strengthen our faction!"

While others questioned this saying, "How can we trust him?" Or "What reflection would it have on us to have his loyalty? Not a good one."

It was said, "It will lower crime to remove it from the lands, and benefit all in turning it into a weapon for Qin."

And this was countered by, "The means to unite the numerous heads of the Ki family, and to unite the bandit or lawless camps of the wilderness will bath the streets in blood!"

There were many more arguments made, but in all of this Zelda sat silently. She agreed with both sides. She balanced a need for power, of which she had in short supply, with the knowledge this man was a lower mafia leader, and most of all her uncle and brother to her mother.

Which, if patterns meant anything, meant she could not trust him. Impa's input did not help, as it seemed the royal family in the past had many dealings with the Ki family.

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There was also the question, "What will we do with him even if we reject his proposal?"

This kept the debate alive and no verdict could be made.

The debate was so heated that an event occurred that nearly caught them off guard. A soldier ran into the throne room and hastily bowed low.

Impa called for the court to quiet and said, "What is it that has come over you?" The soldier was shaking in fear.

The soldier exclaimed, "Princess! Ryo has come!"

Zelda's eyes widened. She had completely lost track of time. What a fool she was! Ryo was here!

"What?!" Someone yelled.

"Where is he?" Impa asked.

"He awaits permission to enter the gates as we speak!" The soldier reported.

Zelda gulped. Impa said, "His faction may now be a rival, but we cannot afford to slight him by making him wait. Princess, I advise we hurry to receive him. He is patient enough to wait a little while, but no more!"

"Agreed." Zelda nodded. She felt her hand shake fearfully and gripped it into a fist to halt it. "Go. I must prepare myself." Zelda closed her eyes.

"Everyone!" Impa exclaimed to the court. "Call the servants to prepare all quarters promptly and assemble in the throne room! Awaken all the guards and set them at their post! Fae Elder, please close off all passageways leading to damaged parts of the palace. Have all Fae take on a physical form and assemble in the throne room as well! Make sure everything is in order! Everyone is to return in half an hour even if you fail at this!"

Elder nodded and disappeared by sinking into the wood behind him.

Impa stepped down from the throne and approached Link and Ganondorf as the ministers hurried to work. "Lord Dragmire, as an ally you may stay among the ministers. Your presence will be helpful."

"I'd rather stay in the back." Ganon grunted.

"Very well."

"What do we do?" Link asked.

"Nothing." Impa answered him. "Besides sit in the back and stay quiet."

Ganon stared down at Link knowingly.

"What?!" Link exclaimed defensively.

Within a short time every servant, every minister, every Fae residing in the Palace Grove, and every guard was assembled. The servants sat around the edges of the room. The Fae stood before them as tall statues of wood and stone. The ministers stood at the front on either side. Impa stood on the first step down from the throne, and Zelda sat on the throne itself.

Zelda took a moment to breath. "Let Ryo in the gates."

A soldier rushed out to relay the order.

Before long the sound of horses and marching penetrated the throne room door from the courtyard. A few more minutes followed and shadows stirred under the door frame.

Every face turned towards the door. Their faces were set and hardened. This was not a warm welcome, but a show of strength and resolve against an internal foe. Zelda assembled everything she could here to offset Ryo. The one thing she wanted now more than ever was General Ouki's presence, he would complete the tone she wanted to have.

But without him... Zelda feared she would still appear weak even with all she had gained being presented.

A single guard opened the door large enough to enter and say, "I-I-I p-present, Chancellor R-Ryo. Request permission to enter?"

"Enter." Zelda permitted.

Immediately the door was opened. Link gulped and struggled to sit still. The atmosphere was thick and heavy as any battle.

Link had never met Ryo, but he had heard Zelda talk of him many times. Each time he was the one she feared and saw as her greatest enemy. Link had helped her fight foes already, but she always seemed to convey Ryo as being higher than them. As if he wasn't a person, but a living nightmare to her. He followed her with her every breath, into her dreams and wakefulness. Every decision she made was with him on the mind. She didn't say it openly, but Link knew: she was afraid of him. And the thought made him angry.

What entered could not be described as human.

Human means mortal, capable of weakness and death and limitation. The men who entered were, by all scientific classification, mortal, but they did not feel it. They felt like something more. They were the same height as any other man, yet Link found himself looking up at mountains. They were of flesh and blood as any other man, but his gut said they had muscle of diamonds and skin of gold. They walked as any other man, yet Link thought they glided as the wind.

They were nothing more than simple ministers in the court of Chancellor Ryo, yet to Link they had the overpowering presence of immortals. Chief among them were four men.

The first man was purely herculean, he was twice as thick in muscle mass as Ganon and just as fierce looking without a hint of red eyes. His hair was short and spikey.

The second man was nothing short of the most beautiful nobleman Link had ever seen, it was as if the man bathed in money, manicures, and had to spend hours working on his hair instead of sleeping. Yet despite the obvious OCD tendencies, there was a sharpness in his eyes that terrified Link, an attention to detail. While the first man ignored everyone with disregard, this second man took a moment to look at each and every one and notice everything.

And Link had no doubt he memorized everything right down to his measurements.

The third man to enter was similar to the second, but did not have the same eyes. Instead what the man seemed to be holding a scroll and was too busy reading to notice where he was walking.

The fourth man was old. More than that, he was ancient. He was a wrinkled up toad, leaning over, with a cane, and had a thin white beard reaching down to his toes he had to step over from time to time. He was constantly chuckling like a madman, could hardly keep his balance, and was looking around.

The moment the old man's eyes met Link's, Link felt his skin crawl. The eyes were far too sharp to belong to an old man near the end of his life.

These four men were the most noticeable among the troupe of ministers to enter. They had such an impact of presence that sweat bathed the skin of Zelda's men. It was of such a heavy presence over them all, that all men and Fae unconsciously bowed their shoulders under its weight, and Ganon instinctively reached for where his blades would have been.

"W-which one is Ryo?" Link wondered in a whisper.

"I cannot tell." Ganon answered. He scanned them all. "Any one of them could be fierce enough to be him, most of all those four leading them. Not the old man, assuredly. And the strong one most likely is a man of war, rather than a man of politics. It leaves the other two."

The answer came in in the form of the last man to enter. He did not have to say his name. He did not have to announce himself. Every man knew it. He had such a strong presence of glory, confidence, and power that it made even his great men pale in comparison. The sun shined on him like an angel descended from the heavens through the door.

If the ministers felt like powerful men to Link, and the four leading them felt like generals... this man felt like a god.

No.

"He feels like a king..." Link gulped. Link felt himself shake. He had been afraid many times, but this was the most terrified he ever recalled being.

Ganon nodded in agreement, his eyes wide.

Chancellor Ryo entered into the throne room and stopped just before his four champions. With one motion he bowed to his knees, and every one of his entourage followed in the same moment. Their knees hit the floor in the exact moment creating a boom that felt like the stopping of an event, having been followed by a new one. Like a day beginning with the rooster, a battle beginning with the war cry, or a noble man being announced via trumpet, the boom said one thing:

Chancellor Ryo was here.

Ryo said, "Firstly, let me say: There is nothing more important than seeing you unharmed, your majesty."

"I-"

"However," Ryo interrupted. Impa clenched her fists angrily and glared at this slight. Zelda did not react. "I must declare I know the identity of the one who sent the assassin." He took a breath. "Me."