Queen of the Banished

“Daddy, can’t I go to the castle with you?” Rabia pouted. Saul knelt down to look his daughter in the eye. He didn't seem to notice the dog hair and wrinkles accumulating on the suit he was wearing for his audience with the King.

“Sweetheart, you know I can’t bring you with me. You’ll have more fun here with your big brother,” he tried.

“But I don’t WANNA stay here! I wanna go with you,” she whined. Her big, gold eyes filled with tears and she looked up at him. Saul sighed, then stood and scooped her up onto his hip.

“Fine, but you have to be on your best behavior,” he said.

“I will, I promise!” Rabia wrapped her arms around his shoulders and he carried her out to the carriage.

After arriving at the palace, they were showed to the throne room where the King was waiting, his three young children standing at perfect attention beside the throne. Saul set Rabia down and bowed. She followed suit, though a little clumsily.

“Saul, thank you for coming,” the King greeted him warmly and walked down the dais steps to shake his hand. The two walked off into another room off the hall, leaving the kids in the quiet throne room with the guards. The triplets stared at Rabia with open curiosity, while she watched them nervously. Finally, the little girl ran over.

“Hi! I’m Zelda! You’re going to be my new best friend,” Zelda chirped. She grabbed Rabia’s hand and led her off to the play room with her and her brothers.

--

“Come on Zelda, let’s go play!” Rabia insisted, pulling on her hand. Saul had taken Zelda, Sheik, Tet, Rabia, and Rob to the nearby park to play. Rob was hanging out with some older kids, leaving the little ones to their own devices. They ran over to their big tree, giggling breathlessly as they approached. Tet looked up at the branches and got a mischievous smirk.

“Zelly, I bet you and Rabia can’t climb all the way to the top of the tree,” he said.

“We can too!” Zelda cried.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a very good idea,” Sheik said, eyeing his sister’s slippers nervously.

“Don’t be a chicken, Sheik,” Tet grumbled. Rabia eyed the branches curiously, then jumped and got hold, and started to climb. “Hey! Wait up!” Tet followed suit, starting to scale the tree after Rabia, who was giggling at him from up above.

“It’s not my fault you’re so slow,” Rabia called back to him. Zelda huffed.

“No fair! You started before me!” she pouted and started slowly making her way up the tree as well. “Come on Sheik, you have to come too!” Sheik shook his head and followed suit, making his way up the tree. He passed them all and reached the top first, settling into a branch delicate as a bird.

“Hey, how’d you pass me?!” Rabia called up to him. She strained to reach the next branch, and pulled herself up higher. Tet had almost caught up to her, too, but Zelda was still lagging behind. Sheik didn’t answer; he’d started making his way down, almost anxiously. “What’s wron-” she was cut off by Zelda’s scream. A muffled thud had them all scrambling to get back out of the tree. “Zelly?!”

“... I’m okay!” Zelda called. The three of them reached the bottom and took in the scene with some confusion. Zelda was fine, but there was another little boy there who was not. He was rather scrawny and small, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. His arm was bent at an awful angle, though he didn’t seem too upset by it.

“What happened, Zelly?” Rabia asked. She helped her friend up and pulled her into a hug. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“My shoe slipped off the branch and I fell. I was catching up, too!” Zelda pouted. “This boy caught me,” she added. She knelt down beside him. “Thank you for saving me,” she smiled at him. “What’s your name, Hero?” The little boy blushed.

“U-Uh, uh, um, I-I’m Link,” he stuttered. Before he could say anything more, Saul had run over with Rob behind him.

“Zelda, are you okay?” Saul asked anxiously. Zelda nodded.

“Yes, Mr. Hudson. Link caught me, but I think I broke his arm,” she answered. Saul knelt down in front of Link with a frown.

“Yeah, it certainly looks broken. Where are your parents, Link?” he asked. Link looked down at his lap.

“I don’t have parents,” Link answered quietly. Saul blinked, then nodded.

“Okay, you four go back to the carriage with Rob. I’ll help Link,” he said.

“Thank you, Link,” Zelda squeezed his hand and joined the others.

Once again, they stood in the throne room while Rabia’s dad talked to Zelda’s dad about something boring. She shifted impatiently while they talked, Tet doing much the same, though Zelda and Sheik were listening with rapt attention. Rabia snapped back to attention as the King descended his dais and knelt before Link.

“You saved my daughter’s life. You’re welcome to stay in this castle as long as you’d like,” the King said. Link looked uncertain of this offer, but then Zelda piped up.

“He’d love to stay!” she insisted. “Wouldn’t you, Link?” He nodded shyly in agreement.

“Well, then it’s settled!” He stood and ruffled Link’s hair. “We’ll see you and your dad later, Rabia,” the King said. He shook Saul’s hand and waved goodbye to Rabia, and the friends went their separate ways.

--

“Higher!” Zelda cried. Rob gave her and Rabia another hefty push each, laughing at their delighted shrieks.

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Perfect! Thank you!” Rabia called down to him. He stood there for another moment, watching them play, before heading back into the house.

“If you close your eyes at the top, it feels like flying!” Zelda said, shutting her eyes as the swing approached its apex.

“Watch this!” Rabia said. She shimmied in her seat and freed her arms from the chains as Zelda watched. Then, at its peak, she flung herself out of the swing with a delighted laugh. Zelda let out a horrified cry and hurried to stop herself. By the time she reached Rabia, Rabia was laying in a soft spot of grass, giggling breathlessly. “Flying!”

“You scared me!” Zelda stomped her foot with a huff.

“You’ve never jumped off a swing before?” Rabia asked, pushing herself up. Zelda shook her head and sat beside her, pouting. “It’s fun!”

“Rabia! You’re a mess,” Petra huffed as she hurried outside. “You know jumping off the swings is dangerous! Ugh, I wish your brother had never taught you that,” she sighed. She tried to brush the soil and grass off Rabia, and plucked a leaf out of her curls. “What is going on with this hair?” she sighed and shook her head. “Come inside for a moment, won’t you? Our new neighbor has come to greet us.” Zelda perked up and hurried inside. Rabia followed, scuffing her feet and grumbling to herself.

Petra led them into the living room. Zelda followed Petra in boldly but Rabia shuffled in near the back of the room, eyeing the tall man with wild blonde hair warily. She brushed some of the dirt off her clothes and fidgeted while her parents talked to him.

“... -y daughter, Rabia,” Saul said. Rabia batted his hand away as he pulled her out of her corner to meet the strange man. “Rabia, this is our new neighbor, Cecil, and his daughter, Kaikoura,” Saul said. A girl waved to her shyly from behind her father’s legs. Her long ears poked through her short blonde bob. She was around Zelda’s height, but was a couple shades paler with big blue-green eyes.

“Hi,” Rabia said to them, after a moment.

“...’Lo,” the girl replied.

“Well, isn’t she the cutest thing?” Cecil chuckled, kneeling in front of Rabia. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss Rabia.” He ruffled her hair and straightened. Zelda walked over and held out her hand to the girl.

“I’m Rabia’s friend, Zelda!” she said. “It’s so nice to meet you. Would you like to play with us?” she asked. Kaikoura looked up at her father.

“Would you like some tea, Cecil?” Petra offered. “If you have time, that is.”

“I would love some tea,” he answered. After the adults left, Rabia grumbled to herself and started trying to fix her hair.

“So what do you like to do, Kaikoura?” Zelda asked.

“Oh um… I like to play video games and play outside and do hair,” Kaikoura said.

“We were playing outside if you want t-” Rabia started.

“I think we should do each other’s hair!” Zelda said delightedly. Kaikoura looked between the two of them, and then nodded to Zelda hesitantly.

"Yeah, okay,” she said.

"Perfect! Lets go to Rabia’s room,” Zelda said, marching off to the stairs. Rabia looked at Kaikoura and shrugged.

"Sometimes it’s just easier to do what she wants,” she said, amused. Kaikoura shared a grin with her and they followed Zelda to Rabia’s bedroom.

--

A warm summer day found Zelda, Kaikoura, Sheik, Tet, and Rabia at the park. They had finished playing an intense game of tag, which had ended when Rabia called it off after being the only one chased around by the boy who was ‘it’. After that, the group separated themselves from the other kids and instead sought out their usual grassy spot under their tree.

Zelda and Kaikoura were weaving flower crowns out of the wild flowers growing around them and putting them on Tet to model. Kaikoura giggled every time Tet ran his hands through hair and made an over exaggerated ‘model’ face. Sheik and Rabia were reading their own copies of the same book, occasionally making amused comments to each other. They were pulled out of their activities when Link finally ran over to them.

“Sorry!” he wheezed. “I had to finish my lesson, but look!” he showed them the two wooden swords he was holding. “I got these to practice with!” he said proudly. “Does anyone want to try?”

“I do!” Rabia said excitedly, setting her book aside. Tet snorted.

“Rabia, girls can’t fight,” he said.

“Yes they can!”

“No,” Tet smirked. “They can’t.” Rabia scowled at him and stood, taking one of the swords from Link.

“Well then, watch this,” she snapped.

“Are you su-?” Link cut himself off at her glare and crouched into a fighting stance, which she mimicked. While they stared each other down, a small crowd of eager kids formed. Link made the first move, and the two started to fight. Rabia matched Link step for step, blow for blow, not that it was difficult - he broadcasted every move he was planning to make. She had just knocked his sword out of his hand when Petra came storming over. The King and Cecil followed close behind, following the sounds of commotion.

“Rabia! What do you think you’re doing?!” she snapped.

"We were jus-!” she started. Petra took the toy from her and thrust it back to Link, who stared at them with confusion.

“You know better than to play with swords, Rabia. You’re not trained and it’s dangerous. You could’ve gotten hurt, or hurt any of your friends!”

“But I didn’t!” Rabia said angrily. “I was winning. Why do you always ruin my fun!” she huffed. Petra gave her an affronted look.

“That was very well done, Link,” the King said with approval. He ruffled Link’s hair. “We’ll make a fine soldier out of you, yet!” Zelda let out a dreamy sigh at Link’s bedhead and blushed when Kaikoura giggled at her. “Rabia, your mother is right. If you don’t know how to use a sword properly, you could get hurt,” he said gently. Rabia’s face was flushed with anger as she glared up at her mother.

“Whatever,” she snapped. The other kids gathered gasped and ‘ooh’d’ at her. Rabia ignored them and Petra, and sat back in the grass, opening her book back up. Petra took a deep breath and started counting to herself as she walked away, and slowly the group dispersed.

“...I thought your fighting was good,” Link offered.

'Leave me alone,” Rabia muttered. Link looked to the others who shrugged in response. Tet stood and grabbed one of the swords.

“Come on, Link, I’ll show you how a Prince fights,” he said. The two stepped away from the group to play with the swords. Sheik nudged Rabia’s shoulder.

“What part are you at?” he asked, leaning over to look at her page. He picked his book back up to read with her. Zelda and Kaikoura whispered amongst each other, then Kaikoura reached over and put a crown of yellow flowers on Rabia’s head.

“Yellow looks pretty in your hair,” she said. “Do you want to play tag again?”

“...Just us?” Rabia asked hopefully.

“Yeah, just us,” Zelda agreed. “Come on, Sheik,” she added to her brother when he didn’t go to move. Sheik nodded and set his book with Rabia’s, and joined the girls in tag.

--

“Come on, Rabia, get out of bed,” Saul shook her gently. Rabia groaned and sat up, giving her father an unimpressed glare. It was barely sunrise on a cold Saturday.

“Whyyyy?” she groaned.

“Get dressed, we have to get to the castle,” Saul said. He made sure she was awake before stepping out of the room. Rabia huffed, but did as he asked, and soon they were on their way to the castle. The town was unusually full for such an early hour, and Rabia couldn’t figure out why until she heard the lonely clip-clop of a single horse’s hooves on the cobblestone. The crowd parted for a tall, dark-skinned man with fiery red hair riding into town on an imposing black horse.

“Who’s that?” Rabia asked, standing on her toes to get a better look. Rob picked her up on his hip so she could see better. The man’s gold eyes swept over the crowd and seemed to linger on her for a moment, then he spurred the horse into a gallop to the castle gates.

"Who was that man?” Rabia and Zelda were wandering around the garden, seeking shade from the hot summer sun under some tall plants. Zelda shrugged.

“He’s King of the Gerudo,” she said. “He wants Daddy’s permission to study here in Hyrule. Something about wanting trade agreements and ruling more like Daddy…” she shrugged. “It was boring and he used a lot of big words,” she pulled a face.

“Gerudo?” Rabia asked.

“Yep! They’re from the desert,” Zelda said.

“Ohhh, that’s why people were so interested,” Rabia answered. Zelda nodded sagely.

“He likes to play hide and seek in the castle,” Zelda said. “When he’s not being boring he’s fun!”

“Shh!” Rabia clapped a hand over Zelda’s mouth and pulled her into the bushes. A few moments later, Link snuck by, eyes searching.

“Found you!” He called a moment later, and Tet popped out from behind a vine-covered trellis with a huff.

“How’d you even see me?!” Tet cried.

“Your ear was poking out,” Link said. Tet swore, scaring the birds from a nearby tree. Link snorted.

“Come on, help me find the others,” he said.

"Well, I know where Rabia and Zelda are,” Tet said. Rabia started creeping along slowly, so as not to rustle the bushes, but Zelda caught her and tugged her back. The bushes rustled and suddenly Link pulled the branches apart.

“Found you!” he cried.

“Awe, Zelda!!” Rabia whined.

'You were gonna leave me alone!” Zelda pouted. Rabia rolled her eyes and crawled out of the bush. Link pushed the branches aside and helped Zelda out.

'Now I have to find Kaikoura and Sheik,” Link said thoughtfully.

“I bet I know where Kaik is!” Rabia said. She took off through the flower beds, Link hot on her heels. Zelda trailed behind with Tet, who was urging her to run faster. She ran down the path lined with cherry trees, green and full of ripe red berries, though there were still some pink and white petals littering the ground. Rabia stopped in the center of the garden by the elaborate white marble fountain. The tall, dark man sat at the edge of the fountain, reading a large text. He looked up at the sound of their footsteps, but Rabia ignored him in favor of the tall, weeping willow brushing the edges of the fountain.

“Kaikooooura!” she called up the tree. There was no answer. Rabia huffed and turned to Link. “One of them is up there, at least. I can’t reach the branches to climb it.”

“I can give you a boost,” Link offered. Rabia moved closer to the trunk of the tree and tilted her head. She could make out a couple of figures in the top of the tree. Suddenly, she jumped as high as she could and managed to grab hold.

“We can see you!” Rabia said as she hauled herself up onto the branch.

“...No you can’t!” Kaikoura called back. Zelda, having finally caught up, started laughing.

“Come down!” Link called.

“Ugh, fiiiiine,” Kaikoura grumbled. A few minutes later, she tumbled out of the tree, followed more gracefully by Sheik.

“How’d you know we were up there?” Kaikoura asked.

"You always hide there,” Rabia answered, hopping back off the branch. “And Sheik hides where you hide,” she added. Sheik blushed. Link frowned.

“Your face is really pink, Sheik. Are you feeling okay?” he asked. Tet started snickering and Sheik blushed darker.

"Yeah I’m… I’m fine,” Sheik stuttered.

“Are you sure?” Link asked. Rabia elbowed him in the ribs.

“Stop it,” she hissed. Link blinked in confusion and Sheik slipped away, pulling up his sweater to cover his face as he ran off.

--

“Psst, Rabia!” someone called. She glanced up from her book to see another boy in her class waving to her. She rolled her eyes and returned to her book. She only had a couple more questions to answer and she wanted to finish so she could read her book instead of this stupid school one. Zelda leaned over her shoulder and squinted at Rabia’s paper.

“Where’d you find number 3?” she asked quietly. Rabia took Zelda’s book and flipped her to the right page, and carried on while her friend scribbled away beside her. Kaikoura looked over at the page Zelda was on and flipped to that page. Tet and Link followed suit, scribbling answers down. After finishing the last question, Rabia took her pencil and lightly wrote the page numbers onto Zelda’s paper and winked at her. She shoved her school book and paper into her bag and stood.

“PSSST!” The boy waved over at her again.

“What?” she hissed back. The boy glanced over at the teacher, who wasn’t paying attention, then scrambled over towards her and Zelda.

"Hi, I’m Finn,” he said after a moment.

“... I don’t care,” Rabia answered. Finn’s face fell. She pulled her own book out of her bag and walked away, joining Sheik over by the window. He had also finished his work already and was a little bit ahead of her in the book they were both reading. Rabia wanted to catch up. A hand on her arm stopped her.

“Do you want to hang out sometime?” Finn asked. She shook his hand off of her and he frowned.

“No.” She settled beside Sheik on the window seat and they resumed their conversation. Finn stomped back over to his group of snickering friends

Finn approached Rabia and her friends again at recess, while they were playing jump rope. Sheik and Link were swinging the rope while the others were all jumping together to see how many jumps they could make as a group. Rabia was on Link’s end, making faces at him as she jumped to make him laugh. Finn jumped in facing her and Rabia sighed.

“What do you want?” she asked.

“Do you want to hang out this weekend?” Finn repeated.

“No, I don’t!” Rabia scowled. She jumped out and stomped off, trying to get away from him. He followed.

“Why not?” he asked.

“You and your stupid friends are always making fun of us and I don’t like you!” Rabia snapped. “You’re always so mean! Now go away!”

“You think we’re making fun of you?” Finn asked. Rabia turned and glared at him.

“What part of ‘go away’ don’t you understand? I don’t want to be your friend! Leave me alone!” The bell rang and before he could say anything, she had disappeared among the crowd of kids going inside.

--

A somber sunrise rose with even more somber news. King Hyrule had been slain in his sleep that night by King Ganondorf of the Gerudo. As the news spread amongst the Hylians, more and more people donned black clothes and headed towards the castle for the trial. Rabia sat between her father and brother in the front row of the many benches that had been moved into the great hall. The Gerudo King, flanked by two guards, was kneeling at the front of the hall before the Regent of Hyrule. Zelda, Tet, and Sheik stood nearby, their faces pale and gaunt in the grey sunrise.

“King Ganondorf of the Gerudo, for your crimes against the crown and against Hyrule, by order of Princess Zelda, you and your people are hereby banished from Hyrule until such time she rescinds this order.” The regent’s voice rang through the silent hall, the faces of all who gathered there shocked.

“I was certain he’d be executed,” Rob muttered to Saul. Saul gave him a warning look.

“Very well,” Ganondorf said. He bowed his head to Zelda. “We thank you for this mercy, Princess,” he said politely. Rabia frowned as she caught one of Ganondorf’s guards staring at her, eyes wide. She immediately looked away when she realized she’d been caught. Ganondorf straightened and the guards followed suit.

“Wait,” Tet’s voice rang out, surprisingly hard and cold for a child so young. Ganondorf paused and turned to face the youngest prince. “I don’t speak for my siblings or my people, but be warned, Desert King. If I ever lay eyes on you again, I’ll make you pay.” Ganondorf nodded to him once.

“Understood.” He turned and walked out of the castle, his head high despite the chains on him and his guards, and the escort of Hylian soldiers. The heavy doors slammed shut behind them, echoing in the silence. The reagent cleared their throat.

“King Hyrule’s funeral will be held here tomorrow afternoon, for anyone who wishes to pay their respects.” With that dismissal, she turned and swept the triplets through one of the back doors into the castle, letting the civilians to leave as they would.

The next day, Rabia and her family headed to the castle bright and early. The crowds were already large. Everyone in Castle Town was allowed into the Great Hall, but those in outlying villages were hosting candlelight vigils in the Castle Town square. Saul led them to their seats, his face somber and sad. Petra was dabbing silent tears off her cheeks, a hand resting on her very pregnant belly.

Zelda and her brothers were standing at the front of the hall by their father’s casket, where others were queuing up behind them to view the King before the service. As the three approached, Zelda refused to look at her father, her eyes filled with tears as she stared blankly ahead. She took her place next to the podium where the Priest stood, waiting. Tet mustered up every ounce of courage he had as he approached his casket, and leaned over to speak softly to his father one last time before joining Zelda. Sheik approached with silent tears running down his cheeks, saying nothing, but kissing his father’s forehead before joining the others.

Saul and Rob stood up to join the queue and Rabia followed. Petra opted to stay behind, not wishing to see a friend like that. The lid of the casket was propped open. Rabia approached with caution before she peered inside. She clasped a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp. Despite his condition, the King looked exactly as he had a week earlier. His beard was greying and curling at the edges, and his eyes were shut as if he were sleeping peacefully in his bed. His skin was grey and looked much like porcelain. Rabia thought to herself that he may leap out of the casket at any moment. As they passed her friends, Rabia reached over and squeezed Zelda’s hand, then followed her father back to her seat.

“We are gathered here today to honor the life of our great King…” the Priest began. Rabia shifted in her seat, fidgeting with the hem of her black dress. Rob reached over and took her hands in his to still her movements and she looked up at him with an irritated frown. Rob ignored her and linked their fingers together, giving her hand a squeeze. Rabia leaned against his arm while the Priest continued talking, describing the King’s great deeds and exceptional kindness to all. “...Princess Zelda would like to say a few words about her father,” the Priest finished and stepped aside. Rabia immediately snapped to attention for her friend.

Zelda stood and smoothed the front of her dress with shaking hands. she stood over the podium to speak. She was so small her head was visible over the stand, but nothing more. She cleared her throat before she went to speak.

"Greetings, good people. Most of you know father by his nickname 'The Good King'. He did everything he could to help Castle Town and Hyrule… My father works -- worked every weekend with Hyrule charities, and was close friends with the leader of the Gorons, the leader of the Zoras... and, due to his trusting, kind nature, he allowed an evil, ho-horrible man into our home... he believed everyone to be as kind as he was..." She trailed off with a choke, tears spilling over her reddened cheeks

"I-I can only hope... to be half as good as he was..." she stuttered, once again sobbing into her hands. She stepped back from the podium, trying to muffle her crying. Rabia squeezed herself out of her seat and ran up to the front of the hall, ignoring her father trying to call her back. She pulled Zelda into a tight hug, which Zelda returned with fervor. Kaikoura wasn’t far behind, pulling her friends into an equally tight hug.

“We’re here, Zelly,” she said, wiping a tear off Zelda’s cheek. Sheik wrapped his arms around his sister, too, burying his face in her long hair. Link broke away from his position with the other guards and joined the group hug, pulling Tet in with him.

“Though The Good King has returned to the goddesses and rejoiced with his ancestors, he will be remembered for his kindness and generosity for years to come,” The Priest said. “He will be buried alongside his family members in the Royal Family Tomb, gone, but not forgotten.”