Hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnggg…

Amidst the silence we, the castle guard, shared, there came a noise so unexpectedly, and it sounded alike to what you just read. Immediately, our mindset was abruptly switched from lazy lollygagging to surprised wonder. The horn was an alarm.

I, and several of my fellow kinsmen, sat in our barracks and listened to the alarm. We were afraid to question what caused it. First, we enjoyed ourselves in peace and game. Then, we sat and listened nervously.

We heard doors of other barracks being thrust open and hurried footsteps running across the yard. Immediately, our captain came in through the door with a sword drawn, and a breath so heavily taken that we suddenly recognized it— danger was nigh!

"To arms, men!"

I soon found myself with all of my armor upon my person. Armed with my sword—a weapon I was no stranger to—and my wits to listen to commands, I was out and running to the castle with my kinsmen.

Alarm and cry crowded the air. I saw nothing save the backs of my comrades as we raced through the castle. Our captain, the ever valiant, had not explained this chaos. He got us all together as if war was nigh.

I was still very young. I was the youngest in the company, in fact. All the older men had on occasion jokingly pushed me around just for the fun of it, but, they were men I could look up to. As we ran through the castle, I saw not their faces but their armored backs. I felt lost and confused.

"Hurry! Go! Go!" cried out the captain.

We continued on through the main hall. I could recognize the surroundings; the lamps, the statues, the rugs, the stairs, the heraldry of the Phoenix and its Ward, and the ancestry of it all. It still dazzles me to this day.

Our captain had taken us up the castle, now. We were close to the throne room, now. We knew what we had to do. I was well awake now to know what happened.

We had made it to the throne room at last. The wide expansion of the room was big enough to fit our company plus the Lady's personal guard. O, ere we came in, I saw her by her throne, with her guards standing close and ready for their martyrdom. I tried to see as much of her as I could, but our captain ordered us to fall in and we were facing towards the front of the hall.

"Men!" shouted the captain. "Tis our stance against him! He has penetrated our defenses!"

We all shivered. We dreaded 'his' coming.

"But make ye ready, men!" he cried; "thine lady there," he motioned to the Lady; "is ready for death as well as ye; but ye shall die in her stead! Remember what lays ahead of death, lads! Thou shalt find a place in the Heavens for ye when thou die for glory upon this day! Hurrah!"

The ground shook with our triumphant cheers. I myself was not ready for death, but the surrounding noise took me in and made me a part of it. I was a man of Hyrule.

"Stand ready!" he cried again. The men unsheathed their swords and brandished them. We fortified our stances around the main door, which stood a distance away from the throne.

We all became silent. I could hear us breathing. Most of all, I could hear our comrades fighting outside. The Enemy was already on the Royal Staircase.

There were cries of war. Screams. Monstrous roars. I heard the blood of our men splatter to the ground. I heard armor broken. I heard spirits broken. I could almost hear our faith being broken.

BANG BANG

They were at the door.

We trembled. I gripped my sword tightly.

Choooooooooooooooooooyyyy zhoooooooom…

When I first heard the note of sorcery, I lost my breath.

CRACKOOM!

The door burst open!

We saw the beasts. They rushed in and tore our men to pieces. All of us had fought valiantly. But we lost. It was a short battle, and only because we were the weakest of the fight.

Some of us were forced to abdicate. The Beasts of the Twilight had driven us back. I found myself nearer to the Lady.

I took a look upon the Lady. She was so afraid even with her sword in her hand. I felt so scared for her.

Then He came in.

Our eyes came upon the entrance. Two Twilight Beasts came in as escorts. They escorted the King of the Twilight.

He strode in like a god. His robe, all in black and gold and red assortments, made him majestic as well as bestial. Most menacing of all was his crown; a mask. The mask was of metal. Its face was daunting, with two eyes set on the sides like a reptile, and a long tongue curving sickly out and under the chin. There were no holes for him to see through, yet he moved with a confidence. He could see through that mask somehow.

The King of the Twilight strode down the red carpet, which led straight to the throne. He stopped a yard from the throne, and looked down at our captain. He was forced upon his knees by one of the Twilight Beasts.

The King look at him, and then drew forth a blade from his sleeve and cut him through the neck. Our Captain fell lifeless to the floor.

The King then looked to the Lady. She looked back in terrified contempt.

A monster at his side moved as if to rush her, but the King halted it with a lift of his arm. My heart skipped as this happened.

The king's attention came back to the Lady. He was deathly silent for a pause.

"It is time to choose."

We quivered at his voice.

The Lady stayed her glance upon him.

"Surrender… or die," he spoke again.

We all now looked upon the Lady. We waited for her decision.

I was ready. If she said fight back, I was going after the King!

Her face twitched.

The King laughed amusedly to himself. "Yes… a question for all the land and people of Hyrule. Life? Or death?"

As he said death, I remembered our captain. How horrible it was for him to die.

But the Lady!

Suddenly, I found the strength to stand up upon my feet again, and I forced myself to stand between the Lady and the King. I had my sword and shield up. I was facing the King.

The Beasts around us hissed and cursed, but the King made no change in gesture. His head inclined as if he were looking down on me. He seemed tall, now.

Then I remembered, there was a distance between him and my Lady. Now, I was looking up at him. How?
His hand was wrapped around my neck. Its vice was so hard and so cold, I felt darkness dig into my very veins. I struggled to be free, but no prayer could help me now. I had put myself into an inescapable situation. It was my time.

The King had looked to the Lady again. I could only see his mask.

"See ye, lady," he said; "the last true man of Hyrule. Will you sacrifice the last, small evidence of valiance of Hyrule for your honor and humility, or will you let him live by giving up thine realm— to me?"

I wished her to say no! I would die a thousand deaths for my Lady before the land would be his! Oh, with my last prayers, I wished her to say no!

The Lady, for all I knew, was going to say no.

But, after a long pause, that was not so. I heard her drop her sword to the ground. Its clang was so loud, I could feel the very life of Hyrule shattered by it. The glory of Hyrule fell.

My neck was then shattered. I died the day the music died. I was the last true man of Hyrule. The others were enslaved into the Twilight, and my Lady was gone. I never saw her in the other world. But I knew she was alive, still. I could not find her.

For a long time I looked for her. Well, it seemed so long. To people in the world of the living, I eventually became wise and ancient. I learned everything. I lingered forever in the afterlife, finding a way to reach the outside world.

I longed for hope. I was looking around the living world, when suddenly…