The autumn brought about a crispness to the air. The leaves were just beginning to turn their red colors on the couple of trees around, and dew was starting to form on the large plain of uncut grass. The moon wasn't there – or at least it appeared so, as no light was shining upon it – which gave the stars a slightly brighter twinkle. One could really enjoy this night… if they weren't running for their life.
Faster! Faster! Etana thought to herself as she pumped her arms and pushed her legs to their limit. The cool air began to burn her throat because of how desperately she was inhaling. But it was of no use. The broken shackles wrapped around her wrists and ankles jingled and weighed her down, as well as gave away the fact that she was escaping.
"Halt!" one of the three Kondian soldiers yelled in pursuit. Oh, yeah, because I'm going to listen to you, she thought sarcastically, still running. They were gaining on her, and the pain in her legs was slowing her down, too. Etana attempted one last burst of speed before she was tackled to the ground by one of the soldiers.
"RELEASE ME!" she screamed in fury as she writhed beneath her captor, desperately attempting to escape. The man on top of her held her down while the other two forced her arms behind her back, where they were then cuffed together. But she didn't give up. Still writhing and screeching in anger like a child, they lifted the escapee to her feet.
The three men all seemed to be about twenty, and had a muscular build. One was a bit taller than the other two, with short dark hair, hazel eyes, and a chin that jutted out slightly from the rest of his face. The man next to him was as tall as the former's shoulders, with longer hair of the same dark color, and his dark brown eyes stared right through Etana as she was being recaptured. The one who tackled her, who now had his arms wrapped around her torso to restrain her, was in between the two height-wise – just taller than Etana – and had a thin face that held green eyes and short light hair.
"Listen, girl. You lost," said the one restraining her. "It's over." But she didn't stop trying to break free. She began to tire herself out, and still wouldn't give up. She would not subdue to the scum bottom-dwellers of the Kondo province.
"Ivan, you sure you got her?" the taller one asked as he took a step forward to help.
"Trust me, she's not going anywhere," replied the one called Ivan. He pulled Etana tighter against his light soldiers' armor, securing his hold on her. The tight hold on the captive forced her to finally give up. But not for long…
"How did a little girl like you manage to break free, anyway?" the taller one asked the girl with a smirk.
"I'm not a little girl!" she yelled back. Granted, she was younger than the men, but only by a year or two. She was almost as tall as Ivan, and she was significantly more muscular than most girls her age. The only thing "little" about Etana was the fuse on her temper.
The men laughed at her reply. "Well, you won't tell us your name," started the shorter one, "so we'll just have to call you 'little girl.'"
"Come on, little girl," commanded Ivan as he shoved her along back to the tall, grey castle. "You're going back where you belong." Etana bit her tongue and followed the soldiers. When she got back, she would just break free again, anyways. This fight was not over.
"Hey, guys, wait a second," the shorter one said as he stopped walking, and the others halted, too.
"What's the problem, Itachi?" Ivan asked, not loosening his grip on Etana.
"We're out here alone, aren't we?" Itachi asked as he stepped toward the prisoner. Ivan and the taller one gave each other a confused look. "Why don't we have some fun with her?" he asked in a sinister voice as his gloved hand grazed the thigh of her skin-tight black body suit.
"Itachi, no!" Ivan replied as he spun around, putting himself between the girl and the harasser. Etana's eyes shut in fear and let the guard hold her, feeling unusually safe in the enemy's arms momentarily. "Drury, handle him, please!"
The tallest one, now revealed as Drury, placed his hand on Itachi's chest to keep him from coming any closer. "Listen, kid," he said, looking down at him. "You're new here, so that'll be strike one." He pushed him back with his one hand. "We have a code."
"Th...thank you," Etana whispered to her saviors.
Ivan shoved her forward to the castle in response. "Don't take it personally. You're still going back into a higher security cell."
The short walk back to the castle was taken in silence. Etana was taken up one of the towers to another cell, where she was again chained to the wall and floor. The cell had a grey cement floor, three stone walls, one barred wall, and a small bed.
"Are these chains necessary?" she asked Ivan, who sat on a chair just outside the cell in watch, as she tugged against her metal restraints.
"I don't know how you got out of them the first time," he began, staring at her inquisitively, "but you're a slippery one. We're taking all precautionary measures."
Etana sat down on the cold, hard floor, causing the shackles to jingle, and leaned her head against the side wall. Her eyes began scanning the room intensely, looking for something and devising a plan. There has to be something…
"What are you doing?" Ivan asked when he noticed her observing the room.
"Planning my escape," she replied nonchalantly as her eyes darted back and forth, looking for sharp objects or vents.
"Oh?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow. "And to where are you escaping, exactly?"
"Back to-" the prisoner began before she was cut off.
"Don't say back to Ilom. That land will be vanquished soon enough by the forces of Kondo."
"Darkness will rise and seize the Sacred Realm!" Etana declared.
Ivan rolled his eyes. "I don't think the goddesses will let it go that far. They overpower any and all mortal beings in this land. Your efforts are useless."
Etana stood up and held on to the bars loosely as she stared at the boy. "We have magic. We can try."
Ivan again rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. "What's with all this 'we' talk? You're not one of them."
"I am an Interloper!" she exclaimed, getting angry and tightening her grip on the bars.
Laughing, he replied, "I've seen those Dark Interlopers. You're nowhere near their level. And even then, our swords can still cut right through them."
"How do you know I'm not powerful like them?" she asked, glaring.
"They sent you here on a suicide mission. You're useless to them."
"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Etana screamed, her grip on the cell bars becoming even tighter as she fought back tears of anger in her eyes.
"Stealing the Dusk Stone from General Hyrule is not the job of one little girl. You were sent here to get caught and relieve the burden from the Ilomians." The girl began to growl. "Why do you think we haven't questioned you? You know nothing."
Etana wanted to shriek, to destroy everything around her out of pure rage. The anger built up inside her as the blood in her veins pumped harder, until it became the only thing she could feel and hear. The devastating part was that this was all true. She could never master the simplest of dark spells. They didn't want her. She wanted to kill Ivan for confirming what she denied in her heart, but all she did was fall to her knees in silence.
It was true. She had nowhere to go, and no reason to live. It was as if her denial had kept her going, and now that was vanquished so that the truth was revealed, and it hurt. She was so angry at the land of Ilom, at Ivan, and at herself, but she could say nothing in rebut. Etana began scanning the room again, this time for something with which to end it all…
"That was harsh…" Ivan started as he approached the cell. "I'm sorry."
Etana remained silent, not acknowledging the boy's existence. She stared down at the floor in defeat and let her short, wavy blonde hair conceal her face. Ivan sat down on the floor in front of her and tried to catch her eye.
"I got caught up in my hatred for Ilom. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. You probably hate them as much as I do, now," Ivan confessed. The girl thought this over, still not looking at him. It was true. She hated them, but for different reasons. He hated them for trying to abuse the power of the Triforce, while she hated them for what they had done to her. She didn't care about power, even when she was still on the Ilom side. She just wanted to prove herself, to be worth something.
"Etana," she mumbled in response.
"What?" Ivan asked, confused.
"My name. It's Etana."
"Oh… I, uh," the boy stuttered. "I'm Ivan." He reached his hand twixt the cell bars to shake hers.
"Don't try to be civil after you told me I'm worthless," She spat back at him. "Why the sudden change of heart, anyway?"
Ivan pulled his hand back. "My job is to keep prisoners in line. You're not a prisoner." Etana looked back at him and caught his eye, but before she could respond, he continued. "You're lost."
The girl glared at him, not willing to accept his kindness anytime soon. "I don't know what kind of sick game you're trying to play, but I'm not falling for it." She rose to her feet in anger and plopped down in the opposite corner, bringing her chains with her. "Just leave me alone and let me rot here in peace."
Ivan opened his mouth to say something, then quickly shut it and went back to his chair where he sat in silence. Nothing he said was going to make Etana think any differently of him. She's been through too much mental trauma for one day. It'd be better if she didn't let things get more confusing.
After a few minutes of angry silence, a fairly large, older man appeared in the doorway of the cell room. He wore an orange tunic with the symbol of the triforce in yellow, along with a strange bird-like figure holding it up. His hair was beginning to grey, but it added a distinguished look to his already commanding face and stature. Upon noticing his arrival, Ivan stood up.
"Good evening, General Hyrule!" Ivan greeted with a salute.
"At ease, Captain Kinley." He sat back down in his chair. Captain? Etana thought, confused. Then why on guard duty? "Young lady," he began, looking at her. The girl only looked up at him, then back to the ground in her corner. "I need to ask you something."
"I know nothing," she replied plainly.
"Tell me this, young one. After we arrested you again this evening, we found several of our guards hidden in closets. Dead." The General began to slowly pace the small room.
"I don't understand the question."
"Was this your doing?" He stopped and raised a suspicious eyebrow at her.
"What's it to you?" Etana responded after a quick stare down. Ivan, listening intently, widened his eyes at her. He would never have suspected this girl to be such a warrior. No, more like… assassin.
"It's quite impressive," Hyrule answered. "The only reason we knew you had escaped is because we spotted the chains that broke off in one of the corridors."
"Why is any of this relevant?" she asked.
"Captain, release her," he commanded. Ivan gave General Hyrule a confused look, but, knowing better than to question the judgment of a superior, did as he was told. He took the keys from where they hung on the side of his belt and unlocked the door. Then, he walked over to Etana to unlock the chains that restrained her. She watched him with an untrusting glare as he used the key to release the hold of the shackles on her ankles, and then as he took her hands gently and released her wrists.
"Why?" she asked with a harsh and suspicious tone as she massaged her sore wrists.
"I'm giving you a second chance," he replied. "Your talent could be well used as a Kondian soldier."
"How do you know I won't run? I could easily do what I did before."
"Don't be so foolish," said a voice from behind the doorway. The tall guard, Drury, appeared, and leaned against the stone wall with his arms crossed. "You're getting a second chance at life, at proving yourself."
"What are you doing here?" Ivan asked as he hooked the keys back onto his belt.
"I'm here just in case little miss berserk here," he nodded his head at Etana, "tries to pull something."
"I…" she began, not sure how to respond to this offer. It would be another chance, but her pride kept pushing her to refuse and call them all fools.
"Listen, girl," Drury continued. "You can restore your honor and become a warrior with us, or you can die in this cell. Your choice."
"Am I… that good?" she asked guardedly.
"Apparently, you took on several of our soldiers without problem," Ivan answered. "But don't flatter yourself. You still wound up in here."
"However," the General continued, "you will still have to be trained, which will be done by these three." Etana was about to ask "three?" when Itachi entered from where Drury did, causing her to plant her feet and growl.
"I don't think that's such a great idea," Ivan confessed as he stood between the two.
"Oh, I'll watch him," Drury volunteered with rolling eyes. Etana relaxed as she remembered how Itachi almost showed fear earlier when he was confronted by his taller, stronger coworker.
"Wait," she said, still guarded. "Why do you want me so bad, anyway?" They seemed like they were trying too hard to convince her to join them. Don't they have enough soldiers? Or are they so desperate that they're using prisoners now?
"Ilom's headquarters has extremely high security. Magical even," Hyrule began to explain.
"You want me as a spy," the girl said plainly.
"You're known there. They would let you in. You could probably even-"
"Sabotage," she cut him off.
"You catch on quick," Drury responded, impressed.
"I lack magic, not logic," she spat back.
Ivan turned to her. "Are you in?"
Etana blew her bangs up in front of her face in thought. "Whatever keeps those chains off of me."