Zelda clutched her head in her hands, and her attendant rushed to support her weakening body.
"It's getting worse," her aid said with concern.
The princess felt her head throb so fiercely she feared it might explode. "I'm fine," she muttered, even though it was a lie.
At first the dizzy spells and sudden loss of strength were just a nuisance. They had started as a mystery, until she remembered the last time she felt that way. It was alarming, but she did not want to cause her people panic, since they had been at peace for so many years.
The princess of Hyrule visited the sanctuary every morning, forcing back the evil seeping from the pedestal of the Master Sword, hoping to restore power to the blade, but its state had been degraded by the corruption of the King and Queen of Evil. The Triforce of Wisdom helped to keep her sanity, but recently the castle was overwhelmed by dark energy.
Zelda waited for as long as possible, much longer than she knew was wise, and searched far and wide for a new hero of legend, but he had not been reborn yet. Aryll had been his only surviving relative, but none of her children showed any promise of being the chosen one.
Time was running out.
The body spasms and headaches that night were the worst yet. Zelda tossed and turned in her sleep, and suffered the same nightmares of the previous three months. She leapt from the bed and rushed to her balcony that over looked the forest sanctuary behind the castle. In the shadow of the moonlight, it was difficult to see, but she felt in her bones that darkness was about to suffocate her kingdom of Hyrule.
Zelda called for her attendant immediately. While donning day clothing and slapping on her sword and musket, she requested that the guards on duty immediately convene at the sanctuary, but not to alert anyone else. She rushed out of the room to reach the Master Sword ahead of the guards.
Her heart raced and she struggled to catch her breath as she rushed toward the sanctuary. Could she make it in time? "No," she yelled. Her worst fears were realized.
A guard stood atop the statue, his hands gripped around the once blue hilt of the Master Sword. Zelda started toward him, but abruptly halted. It was clear by his vague stare and dull expression that the darkness of the statue controlled him, and forced him to do the bidding of the demon king.
"Fight it! Fight! Don't do it!" Zelda aimed her musket, but she was too quick, and missed. The loud explosion brought the man to his senses as if it had just been a dream, but it was too late. He screamed in horror. As the guards gathered around Zelda, they stared aghast at their comrade with the Master Sword in his hand.
The rock split from the hole left behind by the once sacred sword. It cracked and spread like an intricate spider web, until the stone crumbled to the ground in small chunks. Ganondorf rose like a beast from his knees to stand firmly on his feet. After being imprisoned, frozen in stone for so many years, he had forgotten his emotional, loving wife had clung to him just before their long night. He rested one hand tenderly on the back of her head, causing her eyes to flutter open. Ganondorf carefully detached his wife's arms from around his body, and was momentarily made breathless by her unchanged beauty.
Ganondora appeared groggy, but as her stunning yellow eyes searched her surroundings, she came to her senses. At last, her eyes focused on her husband, and her heart exploded with warmth to see him again. "We're free," she whispered, tracing her fingertips from his lips, around his eyes, to settle on his forehead where the sword had pierced him. "Your wound is gone, but so is your crown."
"That crown is irreplaceable, as it was designed to focus my power. However, I know you will ensure I have a new crown fit for the King of Hyrule," he said for only her to hear.
"That's just how well you know me," she responded with a smile.
Their attention was diverted by the whimpering of the nearby guard. Ganondorf stepped back and sideways to find it was a meager guard who had freed them. The man's will must have been weak, and easily manipulated, to be drawn in by an empty promise of power. A flash of realization sparked in his eyes when he focused on his hand gripping the Master Sword. He became determined, instead of afraid, and lifted the sword up high, then brought it down fiercely to strike a killing blow.
The blade met with a clang against the bracers on the arm of the Queen of Evil. Terror filled his eyes as she grinned at him wickedly. They comprehended how powerless the Master Sword was, and the tables were drastically rebalanced in Ganondorf's favor. Dora wrapped her fingers, like a claw, around the hand guard of the sword, and snatched it from the guard's grasp. She spun it once by her wrist and then impaled the guard through his torso.
"You will never change," Ganondorf remarked with a smirk.
"You would be disappointed if I were any other way," Dora said with a smile. She yanked the sword from the corpse, and flicked the blade to remove excess blood. "I think you have completely ruined this sword."
Ganondorf was not impressed, as if it was what he had planned all along. "Look who has came to welcome us," he said darkly, nodding toward the gate entrance.
Dora shifted her eyes to where her husband's gaze fell and found Zelda. Knights were positioned in a tight half circle to the left and right of her. After Dora finished scanning them, her eyes locked on Zelda again. There was only one question on her mind. "Where's Link?"
"He's dead," Zelda said, her voice tight with fear and determination.
Ganondorf chuckled. They were words he never thought he would hear. He was elated, despite the fact it made the search for the Triforce of Courage more complicated.
"I waited a long time to find out if my blade cut deeply enough to end his life," Dora responded sadistically.
"You are monsters, and you will not be leaving this sanctuary," Zelda declared firmly.
"She is trying to trap us in with a barrier. It seems she does have some magic ability. I am at full strength and ready to test my power," Ganondorf gloated. Dora took a few steps back and stood behind him, eager to see his display.
"Quickly, attack him," Zelda shouted.
The guards charged, their spears and swords poised to strike. They closed half the distance between the gate and their target before the explosion happened.
Dora felt chills raise bumps on her skin, and made her hair stand on end, when Ganondorf concentrated his energy. She rested her hand on his forearm, and enjoyed the electrifying sensation of his power that surged through her body.
Instead of a terrible boom, all sound seemed to be swallowed by the blast of energy. The heavy, choking silence was followed by moans and groans. The guards in the sanctuary were lifeless on the ground, while Zelda was protected by the Triforce of Wisdom, so she was terrified to learn the haunting sounds came from the castle and the nearby city.
"That was incredible," Dora praised.
"What have you done?" Zelda screamed.
"You should have left us at the bottom of the ocean," Ganondorf said smugly.
"So that you could be discovered and freed by some unsuspecting pirates? Never. I can stop you before you cause more damage," Zelda said defiantly.
He laughed and mocked her. "You are already dead."
The blade appeared from Zelda's stomach. Her hands snapped to the exit wound and she shrieked. Dora laughed evilly behind her and twisted the blade, causing the princess to tremble and shout in pain. Zelda grunted and turned to look into the eyes of her enemy.
Dora stared straight into her blue eyes. The golden light of pure energy emanating from Zelda repulsed the Queen of Evil. She used the sword's leverage to shove her victim away, and then clutched her spinning head in her hands. The light energy painfully purified Dora's body, forcing her to her knees, so she never saw Zelda raise her reloaded musket.
Bang!
Dora clenched her eyes, expecting a tremendous amount of agony, but nothing happened. In fact, the invading light retreated from her body. She opened her eyes and saw Ganondorf stood beside her.
The King of Evil was disappointed that he had to intervene, but it was not unexpected. The purity of Zelda's energy was difficult to combat without one's own darkness to control. Dora had an evil heart that he cherished, but she possessed no magical ability.
He knocked Zelda's weak body across the grounds with the back of his hand, and then leapt to where she landed. He wrapped his hand around the hilt of the Master Sword, and finished what his wife started.
Dora ran to catch up to Ganondorf, just as he removed Zelda's head from her corpse. "I was not expecting her magic to be that strong."
He glanced disapprovingly at her, barely able to take his eyes from the Triforce of Wisdom slowly forming above the corpse. "I guess that means you don't deserve this." The Triforce hovered just inside his cupped hand, and it followed as he turned to face Dora.
"Me?" she asked in disbelief. "You would... I mean I..."
"Do you see another woman who has stood by my side for centuries? Who willingly slays my enemies to bring me the great power I desire? Or sacrificed years of her life because, when being entombed by the Master Sword, she could not bear the pain of being parted from her king? No. I do not entrust any other with this important task, only my faithful wife."
His tone was dark and menacing, but his words were touching and true. Dora smiled happily. "This feels like your proposal all over again."
He cleared his throat. "Let's not mention that right now."
"This isn't going to give me a conscience or anything is it?" she asked, timidly reaching her fingertips toward the Triforce.
"No, but it might help you think before you act," he mused.
Dora glared at him. Oh how he loved to annoy her.
"Wisdom may not be your strength, but as I now possess it, I can give it to whoever I choose," he explained to reassure her.
She touched the Triforce of Wisdom and it was absorbed into her palm, until it appeared on the back of her hand.