Chapter Zero: The Missing Hero
Author's Notes: Aw, yeah! I am so excited to be releasing the first chapter in the Hyrule Academy series, even though it's a pretty short chapter! I really think that writing books should be illegal for some people. Namely me. I feel so power-hungry, constantly fawning over the fact that I have an army of fifty or so characters at my beck and call. I can control them to my will. I can make them do whatever I please. I HAVE THE WORLD IN MY COMPUTER! MWAHAHAHAHA! Please enjoy chapter one of Hyrule Academy!
Our story begins on a balcony.
It's just a plain balcony. It's not a very special balcony. It's just where our story begins. I guess I should describe it, though. It was carved from fine marble, designed to depict a battle between (and I'm just guessing here) Hylian soldiers and some group of fat guys who look like they've had a bit too much TV time.
Oops, I guess there is one special thing about this balcony that I had forgotten to mention. This balcony belonged to a large tower, one of the seven towers attached to the Hyrule Castle. The towers seemed to touch the sky, grazing at the clouds.
The castle itself was a beauty. Its stone arcs marked the brick path that snaked through the humongous garden behind the castle. Enormous painted windows dotted the building, and looked like specks of rainbow when looking at it from the village that sat at the foot of the castle.
If you need numbers, then here they are: There are exactly 141 rooms in the castle, 217 windows, and 973 paintings. And, no, I did not just randomly think up these numbers. It's all fact; fact that I spent numerous hours having to calculate. So you're welcome.
Anyways, back to the balcony. There was somebody standing on this particular balcony, and she was staring out at the horizon, a look of worry creasing her face. She barely moved, as still as a statue, and she was standing tall, looking regal.
Indeed, she was imperial. And, if you have any experience with the Legend of Zelda series, you should know that this young lady was Princess Zelda. Her long, blonde hair flapped in the wind behind her, and dropped to her waist each time the wind halted. Her blue eyes seemed to be vacant, off in a sorrowful daydream.
"Where are you?" she whispered to herself. Her voice was soft and smooth, but it sounded like she had been crying. She had been crying, despite the fact that it had been three months since he had disappeared.
A man dripping with an unnecessary amount of armor appeared behind her, and she whirled around in great surprise as he touched her shoulder, "Princess," he seemed to cough, "We have found him. Are you sure about this?"
Zelda looked back out at the landscape. The town below her feet, the treetops that huddled, clinging onto the horizon, the ocean that waved at her from the west, and the desert that wheezed at her from the east. The sky was painted a deep blue haze, and even though it was blue every day now, it felt different to her. She gave a determined nod as she looked back at the soldier.
She followed him through the opulent hallway, lined with ancient relics placed on marble pedestals. A red rug spilled under her as she walked, but she paid no notice to it, as she had tramped over it so many times now. This was her life.
The hall opened into a large, magnificent room that was so intricately designed, that I'm almost too lazy to want to describe the whole place. But I will.
Two stairways chiseled out of marble (it seems like the majority of the castle is decorated and furnished with marble) arched outwards and then towards each other, meeting at a long platform. Two thrones sat side by side in all their glory; one was bigger, and laden with what looked like shavings of silver. The second one was a bit smaller, and was lined with red velvet.
The floor beneath her gave way to marble (cough), which swirled under her feet in streaks of ash and milk. Standing casually in between the two stairways was a tall pillar, and at the top, even though she couldn't see it from where she was, was a golden crown encrusted with a rainbow of jewels.
But Zelda couldn't have been any less interested in the riches surrounding her. Instead, her gaze immediately fell upon the man kneeling before her. He grinned up at her, and she wanted more than ever to spit upon him. But, of course, that was not the royal way to behave.
"Where is he?" she demanded, her voice standing up from its crouched position, growing stronger, "I know you did something to him!"
The dark-skinned man attempted to stand, but two soldiers identical to the one who had taken her here had the tips of their swords at his throat, ready for the slightest movement for a chance to slice through his flesh.
"Your majesty," he spat out the words, "I would never take anything that has so much value to you."
"The act is up, Ganondorf." She replied coldly, "I've always known that you were of evil. You cannot hide it any longer."
He snapped his fingers, "You're right. The act is up." Two of the knights were thrown across the room, slamming against the wall with a sickly groan. He stood up and stepped up to the princess, to where she could smell his breath. It was warm and dry, like the desert he had come from. His black armor was nearly pressing against her as he spoke, "I have no need to wait any longer. Today is the day that I take your kingdom away."
As he said this, he slowly pointed towards the stained glass window to the princess' left. She hurried over to it and glanced out, afraid of what she'd see. And, of course, she was.
Thick, black clouds were forming in the sky, and bolts of lightning were already appearing. "A storm?" Zelda turned back to Ganondorf, who was now laughing maniacally over the nearing rumbles of thunder.
"Not a storm." He swept his cape aside as the ground began to shake, "A portal."