Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda or any of its related characters. All I own is the story and original characters.
Author's Notes: I can't take full credit for this story. It's actually an online RPG I played on Gaia. Unfortunately, it kind of died and I thought that was the end of it. Then a couple of months later I showed it to some friends, and they convinced me to turn it into a story. So I tweaked it up a little to make it flow better, and changed things until it became the story you are now reading. I apologize to the other members of Gaia who participated. Send me your name and I'll make sure to give you credit.
The Legend of Zelda: Dark Sheikah
A great horn blew, the sound deafening. The mighty Hyrule Castle was under attack. The remnants Ganondorf's hordes had regained their strength and were marching on the peaceful kingdom. Hylian soldiers took up their swords and spears, and rode out to meet the oncoming army, shining with a white brilliance. They were evenly a thousand strong on each side. The general of the Hylian army sat on a mighty rust-colored mare with a glorious white mane. His light blue eyes were set on the coming threat. His blonde hair blowing back, Link sat upon Epona, ready to lead his army to victory.
The castle was in chaos, the village in uproar, everyone trying to flee. They were afraid. Afraid their army would not succeed. Afraid their hero would not save them. "I want Zelda safe." Link had said as he strapped on the full-plate armor of the royal knights, his eyes scanning the darkness of the army. "Of course, sir." The guard replied and saluted, as the Hero of Time leaped on his steed and rode out the gates, the army behind him. This was war. He had killed Ganondorf and would kill his minions. He had to…for Zelda…for Hyrule…for the world. If he failed…everything would be destroyed. Link pushed the thought from his mind and drew his sword as the army readied their weapons. "READY!!" He yelled and the army gave a salute. "CHARGE!!" Both armies charged. They collided and so began the war to decide the fate of Hyrule and the world.
Chapter 1: The Dream
The long white curtain fluttered in front of the window as the morning breeze came into the bed chambers of Princess Zelda. The young princess sat on the edge of her bed running a brush through her long golden hair. It had been three months since that night. The night she had been awoken to the sound of that awful horn. The night Link vanished. The young woman sighed and stood, laying the brush on her bedside table.
Link and his army had succeeded in protecting the kingdom. But when the morning sun peaked over the hill, all traces of the dark army had vanished. As had Link and Epona. All that was left was a confused Hylian army, many dead soldiers, and a growing suspicion in the mind of one princess.
Zelda just knew that Ganondorf had somehow survived and was coming back. She also knew that without Link, the castle couldn't weather another attack. Too many men had been killed and many more were still nursing wounds from that last battle. With another attack Hyrule Castle would fall, and soon the rest of Hyrule would follow.
-
His senses buzzed as he dodged the soldiers' swords, as the blindfold forced him to fight blind as the soldiers attacked one by one. He could feel the wind from their swings against his skin, hear their footsteps on the dry ground, and smell the stink from their exertion. Finally, he grabbed one of the men's wrist, used the sword to block another's swing and slash him across the chest, before parrying the third soldier's sword and sliding his captured blade across his throat, and finally bringing the captured weapon back around on its master.
The soldier gasped as the wood slapped him on the cheek. Clapping could be heard as Lucian Roan shifted his headband, slanting it so his normal eye was uncovered while the cursed one stayed hidden. He had been made a full Sheikah just before the war with Ganondorf had started. He had been trained by Impa herself, and was among the best of the best. He still had a lot to learn though. With this pause in the war, he was able to put aside his duties of assisting on the battlefield and in spy missions and concentrate on his long term goal of being named as Impa's successor to the leadership of the Sheikah clan.
The shuffle of the soldiers standing at attention in front of him, wooden swords across their chests, brought Lucian back to reality. "You lasted longer this time," He said with a chuckle. "You're improving quite nicely." He bowed to the three men he had been sparring with and exited the training ground, pulling his steel plated gauntlets on as he entered the castle. Suddenly, Lucian stopped and listened. The Sheikah grinned when he heard the footsteps echo along the hallway. He'd know those footsteps anywhere. Soft, yet with a touch of authority. He looked around for a moment, then tossed the blade attached to the length of chain kept in his right gauntlet into a banister on the ceiling and pulled himself up, to hide until she was right under him.
-
Zelda had been walking the marble halls of the castle, still dressed in her bed robes, when she heard a commotion coming from the training grounds. She leaned out one of the windows to see Lucian, one of her bodyguards, busy training with some of the soldiers. She laughed softly, her hair blowing to the left slightly, as she watched the exercise come to an end and Lucian head back towards the castle. Pulling herself back in, Zelda quickly turned and ran down to meet him.
The princess rushed down the hallway until she came to the door she knew Lucian had to walk through. But when she got there she didn't see him anywhere. She looked down the opposite hallway and out the door, but he was nowhere to be seen. Zelda desperately turned her head back and forth, trying to spot him. Suddenly, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. "Is that you, Lucian?"
"Lucian, Lucian, Lucian. I swear he's the only one that gets any attention around here," said Kilina Valentine, a well-known fighter, and another of Zelda's personal guards. "What about Kilina? Kilina, I need to speak with you. Kilina, where are you?" The blue haired beauty looked at Zelda and grinned. "Don't get me wrong. I don't want you to confess your undying love for me like you would Lucian, but honestly."
Zelda placed her hands on her hips and glared at Kilina. "I beg your pardon? That is no way for you to speak to your princess." But Zelda couldn't keep a straight face as she tried to convince Kilina she was serious. "Don't you understand Kilina? It is you that I'm madly in love with." Zelda laughed elegantly as Kilina shook her head and walked off chuckling to the gardens, where she did her daily training.
"I didn't know you and Kilina were romantically involved with each other? Remind me to practice my stealth techniques more often." Zelda jumped slightly, but a small smile spread on her face. "Why should you practice something your already so good at?" She spun around to face Lucian, her golden hair flowing through the air as she turned, resting on her right shoulder as she stopped and looked at him hanging from the ceiling right behind her on his chain. "I'm going for a walk in the gardens. Care to join me?" She smiled sweetly, tilting her head to one side. Then with she said in a serious tone. "I need to speak with you anyway."
Nodding, Lucian flipped sideways onto the ground, drawing the chain and blade back into his bracer. "What's on your mind?" He asked, leading the way down the hallway Kilina had just left down, the one that led to the gardens. With it being summer, the gardens were in full bloom. Flowers of all kinds grew in a maze of shrubs that were carefully attended to by the castle gardeners everyday. There were roses and tulips, lilies and sunflowers, if the flower existed it was here. And to top it all off, there was a massive cherry blossom tree right in the middle of the maze.
Zelda led the way through the maze, hugging herself with her arms. "I didn't wish to say anything in front of Kilina, but... I've been having nightmares again. I had them a month before the castle was attacked and Link disappeared." She had her gaze on the ground. They all knew what the dreams meant. "I can feel it. Something is being planned." Zelda lifted her head and looked at Lucian. "Tell me I'm not losing my mind." She smiled weakly.
Lucian stared at the princess, a concerned expression etched on his face. He placed his hands on her shoulder and guided her down to sit on a bench, before taking a knee in front of her. "Zelda, I need you to tell me everything you remember from this dream. Twice before you've had dreams about the destruction of Hyrule and both times they've come true. What did you see?"
Zelda blinked a few times, then looked down at her hands clamped together in her lap. "Well...
The sound of metal on metal echoed through out the castle corridors. Villagers were lying in pools of crimson blood. Kilina was wounded and struggling to continue the fight to protect her princess, while Lucian was holding back men of his own. Princess Zelda was being escorted out of the castle's underground passages when a man with coal black hair and the most haunting grey eyes she had ever seen appeared. He had a kind face with soft features, but his eyes showed nothing but hatred within. In the blink of an eye, the guards that were escorting Zelda were cut down, and she was drug back down the passage and out in front of the battle for all to see. Kilina and Lucian leaped out in front of them. Zelda's captor stared at them, his face completely lacking emotion. "Behold the power of a true Sheikah." With that the man attacked in a flash of steel. Zelda screamed as her two bodyguards and loyal friends fell to the ground in front of her.
-
His black breastplate rattled slightly as he walked down the hallways of his dark fortress, deep within the Gerudo desert. Cold grey orbs remained dead ahead as he moved, his arms swaying slightly at his sides. Countless servants, informants, and various other people seemed to follow his every move. It annoyed him. Damien stopped dead in his tracks.
"Get the hell away from me." His soft voice echoed through the dimly lit fortress, low and ruthless. Everyone scattered. They all knew that Damien would not hesitate to strike down his own servants. His left hand shot out to the side, pointing at the single man who chose to move past him on his way out. "You. Go tell the Captain to prepare the first wave. Now." The man turned and ran to carry out his task as quickly as he could. "That foolish Hero of Time will pay for what he did to our Lord Ganondorf." Damien threw open the doors to his personal armory, and began readying the rest of his armor and weaponry for combat.
Soon everything would be set right. Damien thought of the glory he would find in the bloodshed of the Hylian people. He almost smiled.
A small man walked into the armory as Damien strapped his swords across his back and began tightening his spiked gauntlets. "The first attack wave is ready, my lord." The man said as he kneeled.
"Good. Send them out with the captain. I will follow with the second wave." The man started to rise. "Oh, and by the way. You will be going out with first wave. I do hope you've gotten over your little fear of bloodshed. Now go. Tell the second wave to begin preparing as you leave, and do be careful not to piss your pants." The man went wide-eyed as he heard this, then turned and ran out of the room. Damien's mouth twitched slightly at the corner. Perfect. Everything was going according to plan. Damien walked out of the armory and into his chambers. He looked around and shut his door. Damien made his way over to the life-size portrait of his master. He kneeled in front of it, then grabbed the edges of a raised block of the floor. When he pulled it up, he opened the chest hidden under the block and stuck its contents in a hidden pocket of his cloak. He replaced the block, stood, and left the room. Soon he would have what he wanted. Very soon.
-
Zelda had tears in her eyes as she finished telling Lucian about the dream. "It felt so... real. I could feel the heat from the fire, the painful grip of the man, and the sorrow of watching you and Kilina die and in front of me." She closed her eyes and lowered her head as she shook slightly from her quiet sobs.
Lucian took care full note of what the man in her dream looked like for future reference. A Sheikah. It just didn't seem possible. As a race, the Sheikah were sworn to protect Hyrule's royal family. It had been that way since his people had arrived in Hyrule from beyond the land of Termina.
Taking her hands in his, Lucian gave her a comforting smile. "Well now that we know what's to come, we'll be able to prepare against it." The Sheikah gave a reassuring nod of his head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to die anytime soon and neither is Kilina."
"Neither is Kilina what?" The beautiful fighter emerged from the castle doorway with her arms crossed. "Plotting against me again, are we?" She looked at the tears in the princess' eyes and her expression turned to concern. "Zelda..."
"It's nothing Kilina I'm fine." Zelda bowed to both of her loyal friends. She turned to Lucian. "Thank you. I'm sorry to have bothered you." With that she gave a weak smile walked back into the castle to get a bite of food and finish getting dressed.
"She's had another one of those nightmares again." Lucian said as he rose to his feet. The Sheikah then commenced to explain to Kilina what Zelda had told him. "I just can't believe that a Sheikah will be behind it. We've been the royal family's guardians since we came to Hyrule. It's our most sacred oath, taken the day we begin our training. But who could it be?"
Kilina shook her head. "I'm not sure. Maybe someone Ganondorf had influence over?" The blue-haired woman leaned against one of the walls of the maze. "Zelda seems pretty worked up. I wish she didn't have these dreams. She feels that what happens is her fault." Looked to the where the princess had entered the castle. "She's hiding something."
"Yes, but it's because of these dreams that we've been prepared for what's happened in the past. If not for Zelda, Hyrule would have fallen to Ganondorf long ago." Lucian replied, as he left to follow Zelda. Even during this troubled peace he was still her bodyguard and had to keep close to her. Not to mention that, as her friend, he wanted to be there in case she needed any comfort. Link's disappearance had caused quite a rift and he suspected she was beginning to feel the strain of it.
Kilina nodded and sighed. "I know that." She watched him walk off and turned, heading off in her own direction. If Lucian was going to stay by Zelda, then the princess was fully protected.
-
Zelda closed her chamber's door behind her and leaned against it with a hand over her heart. "Link...where are you?" She just wanted to know he was safe. The two of them had been close friends since he and his fairy companion Navi had snuck into the castle gardens to meet with her when they were both still children. Now for him to just vanish into thin air... "Come back soon, Link."
As she finished getting dressed, Zelda looked in the mirror. She had her hair pulled back, and finally had here small crown on her head. It was nothing like her father's, but...Zelda gasped. "I forgot to see Father today!"
-
As he continued down the hallway of the castle towards Zelda's chambers, Lucian began thinking about the dream again. How could it be a Sheikah behind all of this. It just didn't make any sense. He had thought all Sheikahs' loyalty to the royal family was as solid as Goron steel. Maybe she was just mistaken. Maybe she just thought the man said it because she was talking to a Shiekah.
Finally, Lucian resolved to inform Impa of this as soon as possible. If it was a Sheikah behind the attack, then Impa would know what to do, though he sincerely hoped that was not the case. Perhaps if he could find where the base was he could discover the truth. "Oh well, I can't do anything until after the ball anyways."
-
Zelda pushed open her chamber doors as she headed for the throne room. She had to inform her father of the dream, even though she knew he wouldn't take her seriously. The king had been acting strange lately. Upon reaching the throne room doors, Zelda knocked twice and waited for him to give her permission to enter. "Morning Father..."
-
About twenty minutes later, the king's belly laugh could be heard throughout the castle. "Another attack? Zelda, your just imagining things. Ganondorf is gone and so is his army. Link destroyed them all before the poor lad went missing. I miss the boy as much as you, but I assure you we are perfectly safe. Now, run along. I have things to do to prepare for the ball."
Zelda glared at her father, then turned and stormed out of the room. "More worried about that stupid ball then about the kingdom." She sighed. This "ball" would be in two days, and simply being put on so her father could find her an eligible suitor. Three months ago she had been all set to marry Link, but it never happened. On the night before their wedding that terrible horn had sounded, and marked the last time she had seen her Hero of Time. "What if they attack on the night of the ball?" Zelda gasped. There were a lot of people who knew about the up coming ball... and any enemy would want the element of surprise. "I have to tell Kilina and Lucian."
-
On his way, Lucian passed a group of servants and councilors talking about the upcoming ball to celebrate the peace Hyrule was experiencing. Idiots. They still think that, just because Ganondorf is gone, we've won. Lucian shook his head. Until Ganondorf's army is completely defeated, the war will never end.
When he reached Zelda's room and discovered she wasn't there, He started off to inform the castle guards the princess had been kidnapped. After he had ran for about fifty foot he stopped and hit himself on the forehead. He was over-reacting. Zelda had most likely met with her father, who by now had probably sent her away while in a laughing fit over her dream. It just went to prove that being born to royalty did not make one a fit ruler. He was pledged to serve though, so there was really nothing he could do about it.
-
Zelda made her way around the castle until she literally ran into Kilina. "Whoa, slow down there princess. What's the rush?" Kilina looked down and saw the scared look on Zelda's face. "Zelda, what's wrong." She said as her voice turned from joking to concern.
Zelda looked up at her faithful bodyguard, catching her breath. "The ball...the..." She closed her eyes and tried to calm her body. " The attack...it..." She just couldn't get the words out.
Kilina put her hands on Zelda's shoulders. "What about the ball... and what attack. What are you talking about Zelda?" She lowered her head to look the princess in the face. Zelda looked as if she were about to collapse.
Zelda shook her head. "My dream..." She took a deep breath. "The attack is going to happen at the ball."
-
Jarex Kildrag wiped his blades on the clothes of one of the Moblins he had tracked down. There were seven of them in all, and all of them were now lying on the ground at his feet, their lifeblood seeping into the ground. This particular group had been raiding a small village on the border of Hyrule when he first began the chase. The ranger smiled as he retrieved his arrows from the first Moblin carcass. "Never underestimate a man from Hyrule, my ugly dog-faced friends." With that, Jarex saddled his horse Grani, and turned back towards Hyrule.
Before he went ten foot, his falcon, Attios, soared down and landed on Jarex's shoulder. The bird made some chirping noises in his ear, and the ranger's eyes narrowed. "Where at, my dear friend." The falcon took off and flew deeper into Termina, as the deadly ranger followed closely on his mighty steed.
Before long they came upon a small building nestled into a steep bluff. The building was guarded by two Armos at the entrance, and Jarex could make out the form of a Moblin, a Wolfos, a couple of Stalfos, and a Lizalfos. When Attios rejoined them, Jarex secured Grani and made his way towards the building. Sneaking past the guards he made his way to one of the windows only to find it was barred. However, upon looking inside Jarex saw that there were four occupants chained to the wall. There was a giant of a Moblin and a strange creature that appeared to be half woman/half cat. There was also a rust-colored mare nuzzling a battered young man. He was wearing tattered blue pants and was barefoot. His body was covered with numerous cuts and bruises. The prisoner's long blond hair and beard covered up his face, but Jarex gasped in recognition when he saw the triforce tatoo on the back of his left hand. "Link."
Author's Notes: Please review and let me know what you thought about the story so far, and what you would like to see in upcoming chapters.
