I do not own or profess to own the characters and storyline mentioned in this story. This is a creative interpretation of the video game Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and is in no way connected to the official game.

Having said that, I hope you enjoy!

Hero of Twilight

The castle was the most impressive structure that the Hero had ever seen. The entire courtyard was encased in a fortified wall twenty feet high and built entirely of impenetrable granite slabs over a foot thick. Just inside the walls several tall, slim towers were arranged around the central keep. The towers were visible just about anywhere in the fields of Hyrule, and it was said that the main keep itself, a massive compound, could be seen all the way from the Peak of Death Mountain. The granite stones of the walls were weathered to a dull gray by centuries of rain, snow and sleet, and each tower was capped by a spindly green spire. The castle had remained in the hands of the ruling noble family since its construction, and thanks to the dedication of the royal guard, there had never been any major threat to the safety of the Kingdom. The castle stood as a warning to any bandit or monster that lurked in the fields, and generations of citizens had been born under its comforting shadow.

Yet on this night, with the rain beating down heavily and the wind howling in the empty streets of Castle Town, the dark pall cast by the castle seemed less than comforting. The sentries towers were devoid of the warm yellow glow cast out by the guards' lanterns, and no light could be seen from within the keep itself. This had never happened before in the history of the castle guard. Regardless of the weather the lanterns of the watch had never been dimmed, and the royal guard had maintained its surveillance of the surrounding lands with unyielding discipline. The fact that that the towers were black mean that the watch was no longer watching, and Castle Town was open to invasion.

Of course this wouldn't matter if Hyrule had already been invaded. The hero adjusted the sword and shield on his back and made his way through the unguarded main gates without being stopped and ventured into the inky blackness.

Once inside the courtyard, Castle Town seemed to disappear entirely from the hero's view. He glanced back over his shoulder to see that a dark shroud enveloped the castle completely, extending all the way around the wall and even reaching up above the very tip of the keep. The courtyard itself did not appear as it usually did: although it was well past midnight and the night sky was black, everything was lit in a strange way, as if some source of light emanated from within the objects surrounding him. The colors were distorted: the normally brightly colored flowers were oddly washed out and dull, and everything gave the suggestion of darkness even though it wasn't dark. Inside the grounds of the castle, the hero did not see a single human being. It was surprising enough that there had been no guards at the main gate, but in the event of a crisis it was possible that they would withdraw to the main keep, to protect the royal family. But even here there was no one.

On closer inspection of the grounds, the hero did find some activity: strange lights, orbs of blue flame that were painful to look at directly but that he caught just out of the corner of his eye, were flickering around the courtyard. Most were huddled together in corners, away from the open lawn, while some danced about in lazy, aimless circles.

It wasn't until the hero came to the steps leading up into the main keep that he found something living. It wasn't a guard though, and even though it was heavily wrapped in leathers furs – nothing like the metal armor the royal guard wore – the hero immediately knew it wasn't human at all. It was much shorter than any normal man, mostly due to a severe hunch in its shoulders and back. It carried an axe with a short handle and vicious looking blade in a hand that was abnormally large and bony, as well as being a sickly green color. The beady eyes that peeked out of its brown head wrap were dark red and angry looking. Another one of the creatures squatted a few steps above the first one, this one armed with a crudely-made short bow.

The hero went for his sword and shield, preparing to defend himself against these Bulblins – how he knew they were called that he had no idea – but, they didn't even seem to notice him. They looked to each other, made some odd gurgling and burping noises, and meandered off into the grounds together. The hero moved on into the grand hall, his sword and shield still in hand.

He found himself navigating several stairwells and passageways inside the keep, making his way further and further upwards. Towards what, he had no idea, but his feet seemed to be moving of their own accord. He passed more of the green-skinned creatures, but like the first two they didn't even realize there was an intruder in their midst. Tentatively, the hero reached out to touch one of them. His hand passed right through its skin, and the creature didn't even bat an eye. After what seemed like ages he found himself at the top of one of the main towers, facing a heavy wooden door with iron bands running across it. Unlike the ornate and decorative doors he had passed on his way up, this door was clearly meant to keep something out, or possibly keep something in.

The guards at the door were further proof of its importance. Up until this point the hero had only seen the stumpy, green-skinned bulblins meandering through the halls. They were dumb, short-tempered little monsters and quick to resort to violence, but they didn't pose any real threat to the royal guard. They couldn't have been the reason for the invasion of the castle. Bulblins could hardly manage to function together in small groups, let alone band together into an entire, functioning army.

But the guards at the door suggested a more sinister presence at work.

He had seen similar decorative suits of armor on his trek through the castle corridors, but the two standing at attention in front of the door were... different. The other suits of armor had been made of polished Goronian Steel that shined in the moon light, but these were made out of an intensely dark metal that seemed to suck up the surrounding light. These armors were six inches taller than the rest - nearly an entire foot taller than the Hero. These armors were also armed as well, each armor carrying a massive sword and shield made of the same metal as the armor itself. The hero took a step forward and peered into the visors of one of the coats of armors and stopped in his tracks as it immediately turned to look at him.

There was nothing inside the armor.

Darknuts.

Someone - or something - had transfigured two of the original suits of armor in the castle into their new forms using very old, very powerful dark magic. No bulblin had the kind of power or knowledge to create them. The same entity that had created the darknuts must have taken control of the bullbins in Hyrule.

And somehow they could see him. The Hero slowly reached out to the door, his eyes locked on the darknut's visor as it followed his hand. He slowly pulled the door open, but the Darknut didn't react. It could see him, but it didn't attempt to - or couldn't - stop him. He walked through the door unhindered and shut it behind him.

The room at the top of the keep was very finely decorated. Several chests of drawers constructed out of ebony-polished wood were pushed against the walls, and a massive, ornate four-poster bed took up nearly the entire western wall. Despite the finery, it seemed as if no one lived there, or at least no one had for quite some time. The torches mounted on the walls were all unlit, and a thin layer of dust covered every flat surface and puffed up as he stepped on the thick carpet. Then he noticed something: a plate of food sat on a small wooden table, untouched but obviously fresh. Even if no one lived there now, someone had definitely been in the room recently.

Lightning flashed outside and a jolt of thunder boomed so loud it rattled the furniture. The hero looked up with a start. The lightning had briefly illuminated the room, and in a chair directly in front of him sat a person wrapped in heavy purple robes. He couldn't make out any clear features, but it was clear that whatever it was, it was human, unlike the rest of the castle's current inhabitants. Its head was bowed down, looking at its lap. Another crack of lightning, another thunderous clap, and this time the robed figure looked up from its lap to have its face briefly exposed. The hero froze.

The woman – and it definitely was a woman, the hero could finally tell – had the most striking eyes he had ever seen. They were a pale, pale blue, made even paler by her porcelain skin and long blonde hair that framed her face. The hero saw that she couldn't have been much older than he was, judging by her face, but everything about her – her white skin, high, defined cheekbones, and narrow chin – radiated a quiet dignity, nobility that didn't match her age.

She was also looking right at him.

Every other creature he had encountered so far hadn't paid him even the slightest attention, their gaze sliding right over him as if he was a part of the wall. But her eyes were obviously locked on him, and the intensity of her stare – with those blue eyes, distant but not entirely unkind – stopped the hero in his tracks. They remained there, staring at each other for a few minutes, until a noise broke through the silence. The hero and the girl shifted to look back towards the hallway were footsteps could clearly be heard coming up the staircase, and he knew from the heavy sounds they were making – as low and loud as the thunder had been – that whatever was coming up was much bigger than the bulblins.

Whatever is was it rattled the girl. Fear flashed through her eyes as she looked back at the hero, and her hands clawed tightly at the fabric of her robe. He looked at the door: he had left it open, just a crack, but whoever was coming up the stairs would see that someone had been there. He needed to leave. The window was open, and he went to the girl, to pull her up, just as the footsteps reached the top level. He grabbed her hand, but she didn't budge: looking down, the hero saw that her hands were chained together. On the back of her hand, so tiny in his, was a strange mark: it wasn't a brand, and not a birthmark, but almost like a tattoo: three black triangles arranged to form a bigger triangle that began to glow white. He had seen it before: he turned their hands over to look at the identical mark on his hand, glowing even brighter through his glove, before looking back up in to her eyes. She whispered two words to him before the door flew open.

"Save me."

And then everything went black.

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of Hero of Twilight. This one was rather short, I know, and in the future the chapters will most likely be longer. Any comments or critiques are greatly appreciated. I enjoy reading thoughtful criticisms of my work, no matter how harsh they may be, and hopefully your suggestions and ideas will help me to improve on my writing as the story continues! Until next time, thanks for reading.

~Revatio