What If Istar Had Been Made Kind Of Corel?

What If Istar Had Been Made Kind Of Corel?

WHAT IF ISTAR HAD BEEN MADE KING OF COREL?

“Hey Matelda!” Ramus shouted. “There you are!” Remus added. “Quit gawking at the scenery and head over to the throne room!” The twin knights said in unison. The girl they were talking to was a fellow knight as well. She had long mousy brown hair that was tied back in a red hair band on the right side of her head and dark green eyes hidden behind red round rimmed glasses. All Trisham Knights shared the same purple unisex uniform with jade green trim. Emblazoned on the front was an abstraction of Trisham’s Emerald Dragon and on the backs were crests specific to the wearers’ family.

“I-I wasn’t ‘gawking’ at anything! I mean, I was just admiring the castle, that’s all!” Matelda protested. “That sounds like gawking to us!” The twins countered as they leaned down a bit on either side of Matelda, looking at her eye-to-eye. This gave her an up close look at their icy blue eyes and short red hair. But what really caught her attention was that their uniform jackets were wide open; a habit of theirs she couldn’t stand. Matelda used to always tell them to button up whenever they were on duty, but gave up when Ramus had pointed out that his blue undershirt and Remus’ green undershirt were the only way people could tell them apart. Despite the height difference Matelda was twenty-one years old; seven years their senior.

Matelda let out a sigh of resignation, “Fine. I suppose you two are right. I guess there’s a first time for everything.” She said as she turned her back to them and began to walk off.

“That’s right we’re-“ Ramus began until…”HEY!!” The two boys yelled in protest just as Matelda had rounded a corner and disappeared from their sight.

Corel Castle really is massive. I hope I don’t get lost again. Matelda thought to herself as she made her way through the castle hallways. This had been Matelda’s first time outside of her home world of Trisham. The reason she had even been able to travel to Corel was because of the recent marriage between King Istar Knavenor of Corel and Queen Sarai Divnah of Trisham. The Queen had requested that a small handful of knights volunteer to help her settle in. Matelda had been one of the first to jump at the chance.

“Greetings. I am Matelda Astrid. I was told that King Knavenor and Queen Divnah wish to have an audience with me.” She stated to the two Corel guards stationed at the throne room entrance. They nodded and let her pass. She took a deep breath before pushing open the massive and ornately decorated doors. Matelda made a concerted effort to walk with as upright of a posture as possible without looking ridiculous.

The Queen, a few inches shorter than her husband had long dark brown hair that flowed to her waist. Her bright green eyes looked dully at Matelda as she approached. Everything about her gave off an air of beauty and regality; from her striking features to the extravagance of her clothing.

When Matelda reached the royal pair she bowed deeply, gently took Queen Divnah’s hand, and kissed it. The young knight couldn’t help but stare for a moment at Divnah’s new wedding ring. It was a gold band with three large gems on it: a sapphire on the left, an emerald on the right, and a diamond in the center. After repeating the gesture with King Knavenor she stood upright and listened as her queen began to speak.

“Matelda Astrid. When I asked your captain which one of his men was the most hardworking and loyal your name came up. I also was informed that you were among the first to volunteer to come here to Corel; despite knowing full and well that you would remain here for half a year.”

Matelda blinked in surprise at that. She honestly thought her captain never noticed anything she did. In her eyes many others were better received than herself in all areas. “I-I am honored by my captains’ kind words!” Matelda said with a slight stutter. She wasn’t sure what else to say, but she felt she had to say something.

“As you know, now that Istar and I have become one we now share each others problems as if they were our own. I asked for loyalty because that is the issue that is at hand. Can I count on you, Matelda?” Queen Divnah asked. The way she had asked the question sounded more like a challenge and lacked any kind of desperation.

Matelda gave Divnah’s hand a second kiss. “Name it and I will do it for you.”

“Very well.” The queen replied as she gave a sideways glance to Istar, silently telling him to explain the situation.

The King, a tall man with long dark blue hair and adorned in finery, lent forward and beckoned her closer with one hand. His presence was imposing, leaving an impression even after she had left the room later, but his voice was soft as silk when he spoke.

“Matelda we have a . . . situation that has arisen these past few years since I have become King. You may be aware that I am the first King in recorded history here on Corel, before me there has been an unbroken line of Queens, and the populace have had trouble . . . adjusting to this change. There are even those who have chosen the make life difficult for us here, a minor rebellion of sorts. Normally these things are dealt with quickly and decisively by my Home Guard, but somebody in the castle is aiding them. We want you to find the identity of this person and eliminate them, quickly and quietly. You will have access to all areas, unrivaled support from my men and carte blanche to do what you deem necessary to achieve these ends. Do you think you can manage that?”

His voice seemed perfectly reasonable, but there was a hard edge behind it, as if this were a man who did not accept no for an answer and always got what he wanted. He was a good match for her Queen, whose politics were her own.

Behind them, a younger man with similar short cut blue hair detached himself from the wall where he was leaning and straightened up. His regal clothing was as fine as that worn by the King himself, but he wore it with the air of somebody forced into the garb against his will. Throwing Matelda a wary look, he left the room, disappearing into the hall beyond where servants were busy hanging pictures of the Queen. The double doors were opened for him as he left and clicked shut behind him by two blue-robed servants who bowed, but he paid them no attention.

“Well?” The King asked, his fingers subtly taping against the arm of his throne. “Can I trust you with this?”

“Of course King Knavenor. I will not fail you.” Matelda answered while giving another bow. “If it would please your majesty I would like to begin immediately.” It was obvious she already had formed a plan on how to uncover the identity of the traitor.

“Good.” The King indicated the exit with a wave of his hand, “then begin. My wife and I have more urgent business to attend to and we wouldn’t want to keep you from the task ahead.”

Matelda replied with a slight nod and exited the throne room. Oh great…Matelda thought to herself with a mental groan. The twins seemed to have been talking to the guards stationed outside the throne room for sometime now, and while the men seemed polite, it was pretty obvious that they wanted Ramus and Remus to leave. But before she could protest, the twins were already in her face asking about her audience with the King and Queen.

“Enough!” She yelled abruptly, causing the twins to back off a step and actually listen to her. “I can’t tell you what it was about. It’s supposed to be a secret.” And to be honest you two couldn’t keep a secret to save your lives.

Then without warning or reply Matelda quickly meandered through the hallways in an attempt to lose them. When she had given them the slip Matelda realized she was completely lost herself and sheepishly asked a passerby to direct her to the bedchamber of the royal advisor. It was a mere few minutes until she came upon a door with a single guard placed at its entrance. After explaining herself to the young man he knocked on the door and an older looking man with thinning grey hair poked his head outside.

“Ah, yes, you must be Matelda. King Knavenor told me to expect you. Please, come in.” He stated cordially as he gestured for her to come inside.

“Thank you.” Matelda replied, bowing her head ever so slightly.

Just before Matelda entered she glanced back at the guard and said, “Oh, one more thing. If you see a couple of red haired knights wearing uniforms like mine and asking for me; pretend I wasn’t here, ok?” The guard was a bit confused, but nodded nonetheless.

As Matelda entered his room she was first struck by the fact that it resembled more of a study room than anything else; with books lining the walls. “Have a seat.” The advisor had said after he rounded his desk. It seemed as if she had caught him during a busy time since his desk was covered with various papers.
“I apologize for interrupting you in the middle of your busy schedule.” Matelda began after taking her seat. “So I’ll get straight to the point; I need you to give me some records. What I mean to say is that things like munny and weapons transactions. Of course I wouldn’t mind if you added any other records that you might see as important. I hope that this isn’t too much trouble for you, but with your position being what it is I thought you would be the best person to go to for this task.”

There was a brief moment of silence before the advisor spoke. “That is an interesting request to say the least. Normally I would question a person’s motivation behind such a request however…The King said to accommodate any request you made without question. Therefore, I shall make sure that all desired records reach your quarters as soon as possible.” With that he stood up and extended his hand.

“Thank you. I really appreciate the help.” Matelda replied with a firm handshake.

***

“Of course I had to say ‘I wouldn’t mind if you added any other records that you might see as important.’” Matelda let out a loud groan of frustration. “I should’ve known that men like that think all records are ‘important.’” She had been looking through the piles upon piles of papers for hours now and had yet to find anything that struck her as out of the ordinary.

I don’t see anything that shows an unusual number of weapons being taken out. If I was going to assist a rebellion that would be what I would try to steal. Maybe I should try looking through more of the munny logs to see if there’s any out of place spending.

Just as she had picked up the new set of records there was a knock at the door. “Who is it?!” Matelda yelled, not bothering to get up from her seat. If it wasn’t something important she really didn’t want to waste time in idle chat.

“I’m here with the food you ordered earlier, Miss Matelda! May I please come in?” Called out the mousy voice of a young woman.

“Just a moment!” Matelda said as she fumbled with the lock for a moment then opened the door. When she had gotten the door open halfway it was shoved suddenly shoved wide open by Ramus who had quickly jumped in front of the maid who looked no older than 16.

“Join us in the mess hall!” Ramus demanded. She had been able to avoid him quite successfully up until now.

“I’m just going to eat dinner here. The sooner I start the sooner I can finish.” Matelda quickly answered. She hated having to sift through these records and feared losing momentum by taking an extended break.

“Come on, Matelda! You’ve been cooped up in that room all day!” Remus yelled as he absent mindedly slammed his open palm on the table; causing papers to fly everywhere. Matelda was less than thrilled to say the least.

“Why do you have all these records?” They asked in unison. Then Ramus picked up one of the loose papers and examined it. “Are you trying to balance the royal budget? You should’ve told them how notoriously horrible at math you are.”

“That’s not what I’m doing.” Matelda grumbled under her breath. She had a strong temptation to violently punch and shove them out the door but restrained herself. Instead she turned her head to the maid who had begun to speak to her.

“Uhm, if you don’t mind Miss Matelda…” She began before Matelda cut her off. “Oh, I apologize. Just set the tray down on my table here…It’s much clearer now.” She said through gritted teeth, flashing an aggravated glare at Remus. When she looked back at the tray of food she noticed the potatoes she had requested weren’t there. “Not to sound rude but I ordered potatoes as well.” Matelda said absently while picking up some of the many papers that hade fallen on the floor.

“Oh wow! They spent that much on Queen Divnah’s wedding dress?! I could buy a year’s supply of apples with that!!” Ramus exclaimed happily.

“They’d rot.” Matelda and Remus replied together almost instantly, a first for them.

“Not if I ate them in one sitting.” Ramus quickly stated triumphantly.

Before Matelda could open her mouth to reply the maid cut in, “I’m sorry to say that we’ve recently run out of potatoes and had to reorder them. I hope that’s not too much of an inconvenience.”

Didn’t I see a huge shipment of potatoes less than a week ago? How could all that be gone already?! Wait a minute…This is…!! Unbelievable. I would’ve never put two-and-two together if it wasn’t for those two barging in. The record I’m holding shows that the number of potatoes being taken out doesn’t match what was shipped in. Because it’s food I can see how this was overlooked.

“It’s no problem. Just leave it here.” She replied absently, deep in thought as the maid did so and closed the door behind her.

“You know I should probably thank you two for visiting me tonight. Because of it I may actually finish my assignment ahead of time. In fact, if things go like I think we’ll go to eat in Corel. I’ll pay.” Matelda couldn’t help but feel cheerful. What she thought was going to take days, weeks, or even months might be done on the same night she had started.

***
The night would be the best time to try to sneak out supplies without being noticed. Let’s just wait and see if this thief dares to make his move. Matelda thought to herself as she was crouched behind one of the larger chopping tables. It was already past midnight and it seemed eerily quiet. Just as she had thought that perhaps no one was going to come she heard the shuffling of feet and listened intently.

Someone’s coming in. She thought as she leaned her head slightly around her hiding place to see what appeared to be a man in a dark blue cloak. She watched as he took more food out of storage and placed it in a bag at his side. But how can someone not notice something like that? How is he able to get away with it?

As if to answer her question the cloaked figure walked over to what seemed to be an ordinary wall and pushed against it to reveal a secret passage and quickly disappeared. So that’s how he does it! I better hurry or I may lose him!

Matelda was surprised to say the least as she entered the secret passageway to find a long and winding series of stairs that eventually led her directly out of the castle walls. She didn’t have much time to be amazed, as the thief was running towards an inn. Well this is it…I don’t have a choice now. I have to call him out here and now.

“Turn to face me and prepare yourself for death!” Matelda yelled out to the cloaked figure as he was but a few feet from the entrance of an inn.

The running figure paused mid-step and then bolted, darting off of the path and into the woodland surrounding the inn quicker than Matelda had expected him to be able to carrying the weight of that much food. Giving chase, she followed through the gap in the bushes through which he’d disappeared and started into the dark foliage.

As she slipped through the gap she paused to get her bearings, and while she was letting her night vision set in, she was caught in the chest by the weight of the bag of food, hefted like a weapon and winded. Falling to her knees she gasped for air and blinked away spots as the blue-robed figure darted away between the trees. When he was a reasonable distance out of sight he tied the top of the bag tightly closed and paused at the base of a hollow tree to hide the food, sliding it safely into the hidden alcove. He was so engrossed with his work that he didn’t notice Matelda sneaking up behind him until she put a hand on his shoulder and yelled, “You’re under arrest!”

For a moment it looked like he was going to give up, but instead he swept around in a blur and pulled Matelda towards himself, at the same time dropping to the ground and sweeping away her legs from under her. She swung wildly with her sword as she went down but failed to catch anything, noting that he was drawing a flat-bladed sword from the recesses of his robe. Springing back to her feet, the pair of them exchanged blows, but although the other appeared to be skilled with a blade he didn’t try to cut at her, using it only to parry her own cuts whilst looking for a means of escape. With a suddenness that she hadn’t seen coming, her sword was pulled out of her hand and it stuck quivering in the dirt by their feet. The figure held his own sword in front of himself for a moment, then turned and sheathed it, trying to run away.

Matelda had lost the thrill of the chase now and was firmly set in the belief that whoever was under the cloak and hood could use a firm beating. Launching herself weaponless through the intervening space between them, she caught hold of the edge of his cloak and yanked on it hard, causing the man to slip backwards and choke as the material closed around his neck, toppling him to the floor, and for the first time his hood fell away, revealing a mess of dark blue hair and a face she recognized.

“Prince Knavenor?! You’re the thief?!” Matelda exclaimed wide eyed and in complete disbelief. It was only a brief moment but it felt much longer to the young knight as she seemed to examine every inch of his body.

His blue hair, his blue eyes, and the royal garments he wore earlier today. It’s him…It’s really him…!!

After she had composed herself she walked over to where her sword lay, extracted it from the soft earth, and placed it back in her sheath. “Explain yourself.” Matelda stated in a harsh tone then looked back over to the Prince.

Brushing himself down the Prince stood and faced her, “I don’t need to explain myself.” He commented simply, and for a second Matelda thought that he was going to pull rank on her, but before she could properly process what she’d do in that situation he pointed to the inn, “If you follow me you’ll see for yourself. Then I’ll leave it to you to decide where we go from there.”

***

The door to the inn swung open and something barreled towards them as they entered, Matelda drew her sword instinctively but the flying object hit the prince mid-section and stopped there, and on closer inspection it turned out to be a little girl. She had her hair up in pigtails and was hugging the life out of him.

“Hey there Priss,” He smiled down at her and ruffled her hair, “Are the others here?” She nodded and then eyed Matelda, stepping backwards closer towards the Prince with a wary look, her focus on the sword she still held in her hands. He put a hand on the little girl’s shoulder. “It’s alright, she’s with me.” He assured her, and indicated that Matelda should put her weapon away.

The inn was empty apart from the barkeeper and his daughter, the big man wiped his hands on an apron and flung them open to embrace the prince as he approached. “Knave!” he grinned, “You’re late, we were getting worried. I thought perhaps with all the excitement at the castle this week you’d forgotten about us.”

“Not at all,” Knave smiled back, and passed him the sack. “Are the others downstairs?”

“They are indeed, and . . . who’s this?” The barkeeper paused and took stock of Matelda, noticing her knights garb and sword for the first time.

“Her name’s Matelda.” Knave commented and she wondered how he’d known, had he checked into her before leaving that evening? He had to have known that his brother the king had put somebody on his trail. “I’m giving her a lesson in my brother’s graciousness.”

The barkeeper nodded and showed them into the private section behind the bar, opening up a cellar door in the floor that led them down a flight of steps and into the storage area below.

“Knave?” Matelda commented.

“Old nickname, my mother used to call me it. I like it.” The prince didn’t even glance at her as he said it, his eyes on the steps ahead.

“Where I come from it’s a word meaning villain.” She commented dryly as they reached the bottom of the stairs. The barkeep laughed when he heard that one, a big full-chested rumble that echoed in the passageway. He pulled open a door that took them from the dingy passage and into a brightly lit room filled with people.

Blinking so that her eyesight adjusted, Matelda could see maybe twelve families, women and children and a few of the older generation scattered around on seats or in corners. They looked like peasants from what she could make out, dressed in more tattered clothing than she’d seen in the town around the castle.

“They’re starving.” Knave stated simply. “There’s one person here from each family in the village and a few representatives from those further away. When my mother was queen she saw to it that anywhere that had a bad harvest was well provisioned for the winter, but Istar hasn’t upheld that policy. I love my brother but he’s taxing the people beyond their capacity to give and while we sit at the castle with plenty he’s letting his people starve. I take the surplus from the stores and do what I can, we’re in talks with Hyrule for regular shipments of food and medicine to help, the princess there is a friend of mine. Until then this sees them through.” He handed the sack to the barkeeper who took stock of what was inside and added it to a pile, drawing out a ledger and splitting the food up between families and villages alike.

“There’s worse,” one of the older women commented from a stool behind Matelda. “The knights who serviced the castle used to be honorable men, but now they’re violent thugs. People who speak their mind are publically executed, and young girls are taken away to the palace and never heard from again. Whole villages have vanished because there’s been a plague and instead of sending aid they’ve been cut off, left to die. My family among them.” She indicated Knave, who was a little way away now, helping to give medicine to a sick infant. “Prince Veo is a good boy, I used to serve at the castle as a maid. His mother once told me that he’d be a better choice for king, but she died soon after. Istar came to the throne immediately after that. Veo does what he can for the people, but he’s not willing to openly speak out against his brother. He won’t bring civil war to the land he loves, and it might just kill us all if he doesn’t.” She coughed and hacked, then looked Matelda up and down. “You’re a pretty girl, despite the uniform you wear so proudly.”

“Thank you. You’re too kind.” Matelda replied bashfully. She wasn’t accustomed to being called pretty except by her own parents or drunkards at a bar. Both she didn’t take too much stock in.

She briefly glanced over at Knave who was gently rocking the infant back and forth after administering the medicine. “I don’t know if I would say I wore my uniform with any more or less pride than the next person, but I am reminded of Prince Knavenor fidgeting with the collar of his royal garments earlier today. He looked as if he had the desire to strip himself naked right then and there. I really don’t understand him. He should be proud of his birthright; of being a Prince. Simply put, a Prince should dress like a Prince.” Matelda stated adamantly, making sure to say the part about how ‘a Prince should dress like a Prince’ loud enough to reach Knave’s ears.

He glanced up at her and raised one eyebrow, fixing her with a look that said everything all at once. This was a man who took the measure of a person from what they did, not what they wore. He slipped the infant onto his knee and passed her back to her mother before picking up the bottle of medicine again and looking around for the next child.

Matelda had eventually tired of waiting and walked up to Knave who was now giving medicine to a boy who looked about 6 years old. She leaned in and whispered softly in his ear. “After you’re done with everything we need to talk outside. I’ll be waiting for you at the inn’s entrance.”

***

Matelda was leaning against the inn’s outer wall when a yawn escaped her lips. It had been a long day and it was finally starting to catch up with her. She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of a door closing. She turned her head to the right to see a fully cloaked Knave.

“You said that I could choose where to go from here.” Matelda began, her tone was serious, and her back no longer leaning on the wall. “I have to admit that what you and the others said is very different than what your older brother, the King, has told me. Even so, as a knight I can’t in good conscience simply ignore orders. Especially when they come from not only King Knavenor but from my Queen Divnah as well.”

Knave nodded and sat down on the step, leaning his back against the door. “Yeah, I know what you mean,” he smiled “It wasn’t easy knowing that your orders clash with your moral code. Those people in there will die if I’m not here to help them, Istar doesn’t even know they exist. He’s not wired that way. From what I hear neither is your Queen. The pair of them deserve each other in a twisted kind of way.” He looked up at the stars again. “There are hundreds of worlds out there, I always imagined I’d be exploring them all firsthand, but these people need me here.” He sighed, “So the way I see it there’s two options open to you. You can take me in and Istar will have me executed for treason, or you can help me keep these people safe. I’ll go along with whatever you decide, I’m not about to split my world down the middle by starting a civil war. I’ll even come along quietly if you promise to keep these people safe until Princess Zelda sends supplies from Hyrule.”

“I don’t know what kind of things people have been telling you but I don’t appreciate you inferring that my Queen is no different than your brother. It’s obvious that she was deceived by him. I refuse to believe that she would willingly agree to making up a false story about some kind of rebellion.” Matelda replied in an irritated tone then let out a slight sigh.

She then sat down next to Knave and looked up at the stars as well. “You know…This is my first time visiting another world. To be honest I volunteered to come here because it sounded like it could be like an extended vacation. Plus, I was really curious to see what Corel would be like. But…If I knew I was going to have to deal with this kind of mess I would’ve rather stayed back at home. What I don’t understand is why King Knavenor had to deceive me. It seems I have no choice but to believe that your brother knew that what he really wanted had no honor in it and had to make up something that sounded more reasonable.”

“No. To him this kind of thing probably is insurgence and betrayal.” Knave commented, “In a way it is, you see he doesn’t differentiate between the big lies and the little ones, all that matters is that there are people lying. He’s a man of fixed ideals. Light and dark, black and white. I guess it all comes down to if your ideals match up, or if you’re willing to live in a world where shades of grey exist.”

Matelda was silent. His words had really struck a cord with her. Could she really hold herself up to that kind of rigid standard? After all, he had only stolen just enough food to feed those families. If King Knavenor believed in those kind of standards why would allow his people to starve? Being good means doing good things, right? Prince Knavenor refuses to fight his brother for the crown to make the kingdom right. Not only that but now that I think about it he could’ve killed me when he disarmed me. Even in the fight he was just trying to get away…He had a chance to run away just now. I left him alone. I don’t understand why he’s leaving his life in my hands like this.

Matelda stood up and stretched her arms behind her back before turning to face him. She had so many thoughts racing through her head she wasn’t sure what to say at first, but the words eventually came. “I’ve decided that I’m not going to tell your brother what you’ve been doing. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to retire for the night.” It was a surprisingly simple statement considering how mixed up this whole incident had left her feeling. And with that she turned to walk back to the castle.

Knave watched her go, and a slow smile spread across his face. Leaning back against the wooden door he looked once more to the stars, and to a thousand worlds.