#mirnada

“No! Monsters in the dark! Monsters! Please, please don’t go! I don’t want to be left alone. Please Mr. Boveir. P-please.” The tears streamed down her eyes as she refused to let go of him. Klinge crushed the door handle subconsciously and walked away. He brought her into this mess. He allowed her to be taken by that monster.

"I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here, okay?" Doctor Boveir assured the terrified elf. "Look, I'm here tonight, along with three other nurses, all right? There's no monsters in the dark. Look around." He gestured to the medical bay, lit by candle light. "Now, you have multiple broken bones and you need to rest from your healing session."

Miranda sniffed, slowly letting go. “I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She tucked herself into bed, the tears only making her more tired.

"Now, now, there's no need to apologize." Doctor Boveir patted Miranda's head. "We all get scared sometimes. It's normal. Close those eyes, and try to sleep. If you need me, I'll be right here." Once the elf appeared to have drifted off into an exhausted slumber, the doctor placed another blanket on the sheets to keep her warm.

Only Miranda wasn’t talking to him. She lied in bed, staying awake for a while listening a praying she didn’t hear anything.

Doctor Boveir was doing his usual rounds and checking on patients. The darkness hid most due to the lack of light. Though Bonegrinder had his way of moving around Hyrule castle without being seen.

"Tiny snack... little elf... if you do not behave, you will lose more than just your life." Bonegrinder's voice came from within the wall behind her bed. "Would you like for the monster to go after your mother? Your friends? Eat them while you watch? You were warned not to traverse into the catacombs, but you did not listen. Tsk, tsk, stupid little elf..."

Miranda grew bug eyed, holding the sheets close to her and over her head. “No! Please. I-I’m sorry! I never should have gone near you. Please don’t hurt me or my mother. I’ll do whatever you ask. Please, please go away. Please I’m sorry.”

"Do you think apologizing is enough for what you did?" Bonegrinder scoffed. "You have alerted the undead commander to not only Bonegrinder's presence but those of the others in the catacombs. All because of your insistence when the prince ordered you to let it go... silly elf, don't you see now that the pretty prince was trying to protect you? And here, you doubted him, went behind his back to the undead tool. If he comes after Bonegrinder, those in Bonegrinder's home... then you will be the first to die, you stupid girl." The snake threatened. "Warn your commander to stay put or you will meet more monsters who Bonegrinder will gladly share your flesh with."

“No! NO! PLEASE MR BONEGRINDER!!! IM SORRY!!!” Miranda started to frantically scream and cry again. “This silly, stupid elf is yours! Please just don’t hurt me or my mother! PLEASE!!! Oh god have mercy, PLEASE!!!!!”

Doctor Boveir heard Miranda's frantic cries and rushed over to the elf.

"Miranda, Miranda, calm down! It's was just a bad dream, you're here, you're safe!" The doctor motioned for the nurses to come over to the bed as well. "There's no... no bone-monster here! There's nothing here! It was just a nightmare, there's no such thing as monsters."

“HE’S IN THE WALLS!!! OH GOD IM SORRY!!! PLEASE! I HAVE TO TELL RALNOR AND KLINGE I WAS WRONG!!! HE’S GOING TO EAT ME!!! CANT YOU HEAR HIM?!?!” Miranda frantically pushed against the doctors.

"Doctor, she must be hallucinating from the pain or the medication."

"Administer a stronger sedative and have a volunteer sit with her." Doctor Boveir ordered. "The girl is troubled mentally. We need to keep an eye on her." He then said with a frown. "And I need to have a talk with Commander Klinge about what happened. We cannot help until we know."

“NO! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN’T LEAVE ME!” Miranda bit one of the doctors hands as she attempted to run away. “Mother! I have to see my mother!”

Seeing Klinge watching from the end of the hallway she screamed at him. “Please don’t go after him! PLEASE!!!”

Her cries of lunacy and panic practically woke the castle. Klinge was glad he was wearing a helmet, because he couldn’t bear to look her in the eye. “I’ll end him....”

"Oh good goddesses, someone sedate her, now!" Doctor Boveir had to pry the girl's mouth away from his hand and the nurse quickly gave her a shot to put her to sleep. Shaking his head, he was pissed that the girl was acting so erratic and speaking of monsters. What if she had some sort of poison in her system? What if it was a dangerous gas that she breathed? He had no answers and no idea how to treat her. "Commander Klinge!" Normally, Doctor Boveir was a calm guy and it took a lot to get him angry. "I want... no, I need some damn answers, right now! The girl is out of her mind! What happened?!"

Klinge stayed calm, a little bit of spite in his voice. “You can ask Prince Ralnor, though I’m sure he will simply tell you she’s insane. I think the King and Queen would love to know the truth as much as you.”

"... I don't have time for your mind games." The doctor dismissed Klinge's statement with a huff. "Speaking of monsters in the walls. It's bad enough the maids say the castle is haunted and now you're in on this prattle too. I don't know what this girl saw or what the devil happened when you two went into that tunnel of madness, and I have a feeling I'm not going to get a proper answer. Until she is completely better, both physically and mentally, she is not to return to her work. Is that clear?"

“And she won’t be better until I deal with her monster. You can tell the Prince, the King, and the Queen I no longer take their orders until the matter is dealt with. Now go take care of your patients doctor. Before you receive something far more strong than a bite from me.” Klinge wagged a finger of warning at the doctor before walking to Tulilaid and Kelly, who had arrived to investigate the commotion. “Captains. I have a special assignment for you.”

“Yes, Commander Klinge?”

Tulilad quickly brushed back his hair and tried to wipe off any lipstick evidence on his face that might have been left there by Kelly. Clearing his throat, he stood up straight and faced his superior. “What assignment?”

“….I need you to go on a grocery run. Cake needs a casing. Might be rats in the wall. The Queen wants to take a cruise ship out to sea.”

Kelly kept a straight face, with only a flinch of concern. This was special code used only for emergency situations. Klinge handed Tulilad as list. “I’m taking a holiday. Be good.”

Oh shit. Grocery run was a vital hush hush mission. The cake needing a casing was a VIP needing protection. Her eyes studied her surroundings. Rats meant a spy or something listening in. And the cruise ship meant taking a garrison to take someone far away from Hyrule for their own good. Klinge was really laying it on them. But it was the vacation that worried Kelly. It meant Klinge was going rogue on his own. Who knew how long. She and Tulilad had to get somewhere private and read the note.

~

The Undead filth was becoming a thorn in his side. The criminal heads, his ‘Hive’ as he called it, were bringing him multiple complaints. Evidently, this commander was declaring war on him and his brood for what happened. This was nothing new to the Anagari. Sooner or later, there would be a mistake. Then, he could take advantage of the situation. A man with revenge on his mind was liable to act irrationally. The second prince could not control the undead like a puppet, despite Bonegrinder’s insistence that he be kept on a leash. Still, it was not Ralnor’s fault that Klinge would not behave. The prince was too soft to use necromancy magic to keep the bag of rotted flesh under his thumb. So Bonegrinder waited patiently, listening and watching… until every person was in place.

As the Hive gathered, Sheer-Kahn trotted in. He was an old and ancient creature. With four hooves he walked with a clack of every step. His upper body had two powerful arms for carrying his weapons of choice, a massive sharpened club and a bow that shot arrows the size of small tortoises. His main was silvery white, with a grey body. He was a Lynel.

In times much older, he might have been King here. But Hyrule’s darkest corners now held creatures far more adaptive then him. As powerful as he was, not even he could move an immovable object. He took his place and waited patiently. Here, his code name was Hades. For if anyone sought death by angering his master, he’d send them to the Underworld.

“Sheer-Kahn… my loyal friend, my trusted warrior.” Bonegrinder motioned for the Lynel to come into his personal chambers. He had the deeper sections of the catacombs suited for living. No one under his command wanted anything more than they needed. Every need and want was catered to within reasonable request. One thing was for sure, Bonegrinder took care of those who were loyal to him. Certain areas were nothing short of luxurious, despite being underground. The Anagari took a slow inhale of his pipe and let the smoke float out of his nostrils. “The undead filth has been a thorn in our garden for quite some time now, hasn’t he?”

Sheer-Kahn nodded. “More so now that he has discovered your presence. He’s always taken care to destroy the criminal element that has been created by you, even if only unintentional and previously unknown to your presence,  simply because it is ‘the right thing to do’. Now he’s targeting the infrastructure himself.”

“He doesn’t realize that what we do effects not just our brood, but those under us, those we take care of, the rejects no one wants.” Bonegrinder’s underground empire was ran to benefit some of Hyrule’s most unfortunate. Those who had nowhere else to go, came to the Hive for a home. However, Bonegrinder ran the underground organization like a tight ship. There was no room for error. A threat to him was threat to all under his command. If Klinge wanted to play dirty, then he could do so as well. “This old snake won’t have the others suffering because of it. The three he keeps close to him… the half breed, the kid elf, and the small guard. We need to bring them here.”

“They are in the heart of the castle. That could prove to be difficult.” Sheer-Kahn took a bow. “But nothing is below me. What would you have me do?”

“If the little elf is taken… the others will follow.” Bonegrinder slithered up to Sheer-Kahn, his claws holding up the Lynel’s chin. “You are strength and might incarnate, trusted friend. Nothing you put your mind to will ever fail. Though it is not unnecessary to ask for help when it is needed.” He then gestured to the figures in the dark. “Morowa and Negasi will accompany you if you wish it?”

Sheer-Kahn thought it over. Klinge needed to be distracted and taken away from the castle. Hades’ existence could not be made publicly known to the general population, so he couldn’t enter the castle, but he could take Klinge’s attention away. “Will you listen to my plan my friend?”