The thundering of hoofbeats in the distance only added to the chaos of Hyrule. Her heart was beating at about the same pace as the war drums, to the tune of the screams for mercy outside of the castle walls. Only a few moments ago, her father had dispatched the last few soldiers he could spare, and joined them to boot. Something told Princess Zelda that something was very wrong here. Her eyes turned to the various stained glass windows that lined the halls, and she winced. She could see the shadows of what was taking place outside of the sacred halls. Her hand tightened its grip on her sword, but she didn't sway from where she stood. Before her were the remaining Hyrulian guards, in formation, ready to fight if need be. She'd begged her father to let her fight too, but of course, he'd declined her request.
As she examined the stained glass images, her heart sank. Though these images depicted some of Hyrule's greatest and most loved legends, she was now wondering if that's all they really were- mere legends that meant nothing, in the long run. For a few moments, Zelda found herself shaking with rage as she gazed at the image of the young man in green clothing. He had never come. A light caught her attention, and she found herself looking down at her left hand. Her triforce had begun to glow, signalling how close the enemy was. It was funny, now that she thought of it, and a bitter laugh left her lips. Wisdom and Power both seemed to be true parts of the legends, the prophecies. Courage… courage wasn't here.
Her attention was grabbed, rather suddenly, by the sound of moblins just outside of the castle's magnificent mahogany doors. A memory seeped into her mind, just as a thick black smoke seeped into the throne hall from under those doors. The memory was a fond one- it was of the day they had to replace these doors, as a villager had accidentally set the doors on fire during a festival. He'd thought himself to be a famous fire-breather. He wasn't, and it had been an enormous fiasco that her father brought up every holiday, during the feast, much to everyone's mutual amusement. A scream of agony from outside of the castle reminded her that the firebreather was probably dead.
No tears formed in the Princess' eyes, however. She would stand strong, even in this. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the doors begin to tremble as a low, loud, and repetitive banging began to echo through the hall. With each bang, it became more and more apparent that there was a battering ram out there, and that it was being put to good (or bad, for Hyrule) use. The doors shuddered and creak with each of the bangs, and she watched with horror as splinters began to burst from the very seams of the entrance. The final blow to the door was by far the loudest, and a cloud of debris and dust billowed through the room, along with that horrid black smoke.
Over the heads of her guards, she could see the moblins dropping the battering ram- it dissipated into the smoke. Someone must have crafted it using foul magic, and in the pit of her stomach, and the depths of her mind, Zelda knew exactly who that someone must have been. Her teeth ground together as she looked past the moblins, to try and see if she could catch a glimpse of the fate of her people. Her vision, however, was blocked by the image of a tall figure which was slowly making its way past those minions, and into the hall. The figure, dark, and forboding, held up a hand- and the guards each fell, one by one, as if they had been nothing at all.
"Dear, dear Zelda. Sweet Zelda. Precious gem of Hyrule. Don't you think all this fighting is a bit… needless?" The voice that left the figure boomed through the hall, and yet there was a soft tone to it at the same time. Zelda found that her hands felt a little sweaty inside of her gloves- it was a sensation that she wasn't used to.
"You aren't welcome here." Her voice had a small waver to it- she was definitely not feeling as brave as she should have been.
"I think you'll find that it doesn't matter whether or not I'm welcome here." From his cloak, he produced a shining golden object- one that Zelda didn't recognize at first. He reached into the other side, and produced one more item, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. The second item was green. After a few moments, however, the Princess let out a cry- she knew just what they were.
In Ganondorf's hands were her father's crown and the Hero's cap, both covered in blood.
"Your options are simple, Princess. You can continue fighting, or you can surrender. Either is fine by me, because in the end, I'll win either way." He seemed so smug, and for the first time in her life, the Princess found herself actually truly, deeply hating someone. It was a feeling that she found she was not fond of- and she found this very quickly.
"You see, if you continue to fight, I'll simply destroy any living creature in your lovely kingdom. If you surrender- both you and your people will be kept safe." He continued to grin, as he tossed the crown and cap her way. They came to a clatter at her feet. "Your father and your precious legendary hero- neither of them could withstand my power. Please, do be rational. I'd rather not see any further…" He hesitated just for a moment, as if he was relishing yet another scream from outside. "...bloodshed."
His deep golden eyes seemed to bore into the Princess, and she found that she couldn't bring herself to look away. Instead, the only thing that she could feel was that hate she despised so much, and for a moment, she could have sworn she could have set him on fire just by looking at him. Her eyes flicked down to the crown and cap, and her fingers slowly loosened from around the blade's hilt.
"Wouldn't it be the wise thing to do?" He commented, gesturing to her hand- to the one with the triforce glowing brightly even through her glove.
Several thoughts raced through her head. Her pride told her that she should keep fighting, that Hyrule could and would prevail, no matter what the situation. This, however, she knew quite well, would be devastating. All she had to do was drop the sword, and her people would be safe. She also knew, however, that they wouldn't be free. A few more moments passed as she tried to decide whether or not the freedom of her people was worth living for.
"Choose. Now."
It became very clear, very suddenly, that as long as she was alive, there was at least a little bit of hope for her to save her people. And as long as they were alive, Hyrule would, hopefully, keep its spirit, and stay strong- perhaps strong enough, in time, to save itself. That, and what kind of monster would she be to doom all those innocent people out there to death, just for pride? Just for glory? Her hand finally released the blade, and it clattered to the ground.
For a moment in time, it seemed as if the entire world had gone still, just to listen to the sound of the sword clinking to the ground.
The moblins were quick to seize this opportunity, and she made no attempt to escape as they grasped at her arms, demobilizing her. Ganondorf strode forward, his grin gone, but the smug expression still on his face. He didn't even look at her as he passed, and settled himself down on the throne. One particularly feisty minion kicked at the back of her knees, forcing her down. "Kneel before your king!"
"Put her in her tower. I'll decide what to do with her later." His voice was dismissive, and Zelda gave the last glare she could muster before she was dragged away by the moblins, a rage in her heart like she had never felt before.