For What It's Worth
Chapter 1
Zelda sat at a large table with Link next to her as her guard. Across the table sat another woman, the leader of the Gerudos. Zelda was trying to organize a peace treaty between Hyrule and Gerudo Valley. The Gerudo leader had been pretty impatient with the Hylian princess. As Zelda finished signing the paper, she passed it to the Gerudo leader. She signed it and Zelda picked it up. "So it's official." She said, "Hyrule will supply Gerudo Valley with weapons and Gerudo Valley will supply us with troops." The Gerudo leader nodded, stood up, and left the room. "That went well." Zelda said to Link. "I suppose it did," Link replied, "but I can't help feeling like this will lead to something bad." Zelda looked at him questionably, "Well, you're off duty for today. You can go home." She told him. Link nodded and left the room. Waiting for him outside was his horse, Epona. He mounted her and took off outside the castle. The ride from the castle to Ordon went smoothly. No monsters, no beasts, no criminals. Even if Link wanted a peaceful life with Midna, he still longed for some action, at least. As he approached his home, he dismounted Epona and leashed her to a nearby tree. He climbed up the ladder and opened the door. Midna wasn't there. Suddenly, he felt arms wrap around him from behind. He turned around and there was Midna. She smiled at him and held up a fresh Greengill. "I caught our dinner." She said. Link kissed her, took the fish, put it on a pot, and cooked it over a fire. Midna laid down on the bed, "So what happened today?" She asked. "Hyrule has finally made peace with the Gerudos." Link replied. Midna sat up, "Wow, that's great!" She exclaimed. "But I can't help feeling that this will lead to something bad." Link said. "Something bad? Like what?" Midna asked. "I'm not sure, but I just can't shake the feeling." Link replied, "Well, dinner's almost ready."
…
Link woke up early the next morning and got out of bed, making sure he didn't wake Midna. He put on his tunic, boots, gauntlets, and hat. He then put the Master Sword and Hylian Shield on his back and stepped out the door. It was still dark out. He mounted Epona and rode slowly out of Ordon. When he got far enough from the village, he sped up. By dawn, he was at the castle. He hopped off of Epona and walked into town. It wasn't as busy as it was in the day, so it was easier for him to get through. As he passed the fountain, he dunked his hands underwater and wiped his face off, then proceeded to enter the castle. He walked up the revolving steps until he reached the princess' room. As he opened the door, he smelled something both strange and familiar, the stench of blood. He looked over to his right and saw the bed sheets soaked in deep red blood. Some was dripping off the side. He walked over to the side of the bed and found Zelda's bloody corpse. She was dead from, what looked like, a clean stab straight through the gut. From the looks of it, she had been dead for a while. At least four hours…Link stared in shock at the body. He slowly backed out of the room and ran down the stairs. He rushed out of the castle and to his horse outside. As he mounted Epona, he felt something strange. As if something worse was happening. He sped off to Ordon. It was just rounding duck when he arrived at Ordon. The sun seemed to have a red glow, making him feel uneasy. As it slowly went down to night, Link could feel his blood tingle within him. He heard a scream from just outside of the village. He turned around and quickly headed to the exit. As he got out of Ordon, he spied six or seven horses. Each had two bandits mounted on them. Link looked over to the one trailing at the end and saw a woman, "Midna?!?" As he had suspected, it was indeed Midna, kidnapped by Gerudo bandits. What they wanted from her, Link didn't know. All that mattered was saving her. He pushed Epona on and caught up with the bandits. He was nearing Midna when a bandit shot an arrow. Link plummeted to the ground as the arrow lodged into his chest. He was unconscious the moment he hit the ground as blood quickly leaked onto the ground.
Midna watched as her love got shot down. She looked up and one of the bandits knocked her unconscious. Later when she woke up, she was staring at the ground as the bandits dragged her up a walkway. The heat of this place was familiar, as well as the bright rays of the sun. The desert… She thought as she looked over to her side. She could see the entire lay of the land as high up as she was. Where am I? She asked herself as she looked at the bandits drag her by her arms. Finally, she reached a large platform and the bandits stood her up. The bandit leader walked up to her, "Open the door." She ordered. "What do you want from me?" Midna demanded to know. "To open the portal!" The leader answered. "Why?" Midna asked. "That's not your business!" The leader answered. "Why should I open it?" Midna asked. The leader walked up to her, grabbed her shoulders, pulled her down, and kneed her directly in the lungs. She fell down to the ground coughing and straining to breathe. The leader bent down to her eye level, "Because of what I'll do to you if you don't." She said. Midna looked up at the woman's evil face, "I…can't." She replied, "The mirror is shattered and the pieces are scattered all across this chamber." The leader had an unpleasant look on her face. She turned around and pointed to two bandits, "You two," She said, "Find the mirror shards and reassemble the mirror." She grabbed Midna's arm and yanked her to stand up, "And you come with me." She said as she led Midna to a prison cell and threw her in, "You'll stay there until it is time to open the portal."