Kingdom of Power, of Courage, and of Wisdom

Zant's War - Meeting Ouki

-Genyuu Pass, Zelda-

"On behalf of Qin and the throne of Qin, I thank you for meeting with me on behalf of the Mitagi clan, Ouki Mitagi." Zelda greeted with her head high. "I hope this meeting will bring about a prosperous age and strong friendship between Qin and the Mitagi that will last many generations."

Ouki raised an eyebrow. He slowly leaned over towards where his English friend stood. "What is she doing?"

"She is being formal, sir."

"Ah." Ouki leaned back to a straight position. "Well, there is no need for that. I merely wanted to meet you on a whim. Have you ever tried English tea? Its addicting. You should try it. My friend makes the best tea there is. Our Qin tea pales in comparison!"

"You flatter me, sir."

"I can't say I have." Zelda blinked in surprise. The sheer casualness Ouki handled her greeting threw her off guard. Seems Elder was right in saying Ouki was whimsical. She wanted Ouki's loyalty, but if he was too whimsical than could she truly trust in his loyalty to be solid?

"You haven't?!" Ouki asked. His eyes grew wide in surprise. "We must fix that! Englishman, do the thing!"

"I shall prepare a batch, sir." His attendant bowed and left.

Zelda watched the soldier march off. The man wore ceremonial armor befitting a general, yet he served Ouki in the extent of a servant. Was it loyalty? Was it friendship? A debt? Or was Ouki merely supreme to other generals to this extent?

Just who was the Englishman? Zelda was familiar with every general in Qin and their accomplishments, and she knew nothing of this mysterious blond-haired, blue-eyed, funny mustache man.

"You seem to have a strong understanding with him." Zelda observed. "Just who is he? Did he earn his rank? I have heard nothing of him."

"Ah, him." Ouki chuckled. "I assure you, Princess, he is a beast in his own right. He is my champion and second for a reason. However you, and the court, have heard nothing of his accomplishments because he is a star. You cannot see stars in the day against the glory of the sun, but at night, when the sun is gone, the brightest star leads the way."

"And you consider yourself the sun?"

He shrugged. "It is a metaphor."

Ouki walked to the side of the wall, and Zelda looked back to the Englishman as he disappeared. She knew nothing of him, but Ouki had declared the man was more or less his heir. Did 'guiding light' mean she could depend on the mysterious man in the future?

She heard Ouki take a deep breath in the wind. "I love this. Standing here it feels like I can see all the way to the end of Qin. You know... Shorlin stood here right by me on this wall. Our enemy was before us and Shorlin said 'Ouki, all you see is your playing ground. Fly as far as your wings can take you, and conquer it in my name.'"

Ouki looked back at Zelda with a knowing smirk. "Did you pick this wall for the nostalgia?"

Zelda walked to his side and looked over the distance. "I considered you as a soldier who had spent his life at war. Your home is not a mansion or palace, but a tent. A field. A wall."

Ouki laughed. Zelda felt her cheeks go red from embarrassment. He was truly loud and boisterous.

"And already you have me more understood than your father!" Ouki declared.

Zelda felt a bulge in her throat. She didn't think much about him. In truth she knew nothing. He had few writings, few letters, and didn't socialize with Abhdan. The only one who would tell her anything about him was Impa, and that wasn't much.