This story is semi-AU. It features some areas from different Zelda games that have been put together as though Hyrule is set 100 years after the events of Twilight Princess. Just to clear that up.
Change of Ways
~Chapter 1~
Specks of sand flitted upon the tiled roof of Hyrule castle as multiple boots trod near silently along the ridge. The shadow cast from the spire that towered behind them cloaked the figures in darkness in the depths of the night as they crept forth.
A hand gestured forth to a window and the other members moved on ahead, scaling the wall with swift motion and entering through the open window, landing with delicate thuds on the other side.
A guard strolled through the adjacent hallway, the moonlight flitting over him with each window he passed. One figure shot forth from the darkness and grabbed the man in a choke hold. He gasped, fumbling blindly and struggling to yank the arm away, the attempt gradually growing more futile as the need for air grew stronger. Once the struggling ceased, the guard was dragged into the darkness before all other members pressed forward.
They entered a room that held priceless treasures. Velvet drapes hung from the ceiling to the floor near the centre of the room, laying either side and embellishing the memorial of the deceased Princess Zelda. Flowers lay scattered on the ground and fine jewels amongst other treasures were arranged neatly, circling a painting of the six year old princess. Her tiara was held on a stand above the painting, the encrusted emerald, sapphire and ruby reflecting a delicate gleam from the light that leaked through the door.
A large man stepped forth from the group, drawing back the hood of his cloak to reveal the characteristic amber eyes, dark skin and sharp nose of the Gerudo. Roses were crushed beneath the weight of his boots, petals falling loose, crinkled with the marks on his sole. He stopped at the memorial, the tiara's gleam falling dead as the man's shadow stretched over the relic. A sadistic grin curved his lips as he lifted the ornamental headpiece from its stand. "At last, we have the three spiritual stones within our possession. Pathetic Hylians made this all too easy." He chuckled darkly, turning back to the group and placing the tiara away in his pouch.
"Sir Ganondorf," a female voice spoke in a hushed tone, "Two Hylian guards approach."
Ganondorf drew up his hood before gesturing the group forward, concealed in the shadows as they weaved their way around the hallway, avoiding the sight of the guards.
The last member to leave the memorial room paused and watched the guards thoughtfully from beneath his hood as they approached from the distance, the orange lantern light held up by one of the guards flickering and bouncing off the walls, barely reaching a two metre radius. This light reflected in his eyes, tinting the blue of his irises in delicate hues of orange. He smirked subtly as an idea ignited in his mind.
The two guards jumped at the slam of a door, drawing their swords in reflex; prepared in a stance for attack. When no immediate threat presented itself they glanced at each other in confusion before rushing forward. The guard without the lantern barged open the door to the memorial room, his face dropping and movement halting almost instantaneously at the sight of the crushed roses and missing tiara, making the other guard bump into him unexpectedly.
"What is it now?" the lantern guard grumbled from behind the other man.
"I think someone stole the princess' crown." He replied slowly, staring at the empty space where the tiara once sat.
The second guard glanced over to the memorial before giving the man a flat look, "You think?"
"I spoke out of a daze." He defended.
The guard sighed before turning on his heel, "Come on, we must inform his majesty." He said, grabbing the other man by the shoulder before the two ran off back down the hall.
...
Ganondorf, stopped atop the ridge of the roof they had previously traversed, putting his arm out as a signal for the rest of the group to halt. He crouched and listened to the guards below stirring up a clamour as the group silently followed his lead. His eyes narrowed and moved slowly to the left as the roof thudded from the landing of another person, well aware of exactly who it was.
He, despite his sudden desire to murder the boy, remained silent and gestured the group forward once again. They crept back along the rooftop, constantly checking their surroundings and pinpointing the location of the various guards.
At the back of the group, the boy drew a green rupee from his pocket and dropped it on the left slope of the roof. Each of the Gerudo froze over, including Ganondorf as they each listened to the clattering of the rupee as it bounced and rolled down the roof, before finally falling the distance to the ground below, landing with a defined clink at the feet of a guard. Each member of the group turned slowly over their shoulders with the same silent, murderous intentions.
"Up on the roof!" A guard yelled from below and Ganondorf sprung into action. "Go!" he ordered, pointing to the right side of the roof where the castle wall stood at a two metre gap. The Gerudo slid down the right slope and jumped the gap to the castle wall, grabbing the square structured ridges of the stone whilst their feet pressed against the surface of the wall. Using the momentum they hauled themselves up before taking off in a sprint along the wall.
Guards burst out of the north-east tower that connected with the wall whilst more guards charged in from the south-eastern tower, trapping the Gerudo between them.
Ganondorf drew his sword as the guards charged forth and all other Gerudo followed suit, drawing out glaives and dual wielding scimitars as they stood in battle formation. The boy also drew out two scimitars from within his cloak, easily disguising himself amongst the Gerudo.
A fight broke out as the guards closed in, swords dancing and singing in metallic rings as metal scraped against metal. Spears and glaives lunged forth whilst people dodged and dived out of harms way, swinging and slicing at each other's throats.
In the midst of battle the boy managed to swipe the tiara from the Gerudo king's pouch, tucking it away in his own cloak. Ganondorf turned over his shoulder to catch him in the act, but the overhead swing of a guard forced him to block the blow. Out of frustration he gave an enraged battle cry and counterattacked with a fatal lunge through the chest.
He tugged his sword free without mercy and turned his bloodthirsty glare towards their traitor, ready to strike him down.
The boy ducked a swing of a sword sent his way by a Hylian guard as he ran for the edge of the wall. He jumped off the side and swung himself around in the air as he fell, drawing a hookshot out from under his cloak and launching the device into the stone structure. He swung down in an arc, his hood falling back in the force of the wind, until his feet landed perpendicularly on the wall and he dropped the rest of the way onto a roof on the streets of Castle Town, landing in a crouch with the chain of his hookshot retracting.
Ganondorf leaned over the edge, gripping the stone wall like it was the Hylian boy's neck. "Link!" he yelled in rage, glowering at the boy below.
Link looked back at him with a mischievous smirk as he got to his feet, blond strands of hair blowing around his face.
Ganondorf's glower somehow managed to darken at the Hylian's smirk and he watched with ever growing hatred as Link got away.
A clang of metal sounded from behind his head as one Gerudo blocked a blow directed at Ganondorf. "Sire, watch your back." The woman warned.
…
"Commander Viscen, one of them is getting away!" a guard yelled, pointing into the distance.
The commander turned, catching Link's retreating figure. His eyes narrowed. "Lieutenant, come with me. We will gather more troops and go after the boy. I'll bet he's the one with our relic." He spoke, striding quickly away with the lieutenant in toe.
…
"This is getting out of hand!" A Gerudo complained, parrying another strike before swerving out of range of a second slice.
Ganondorf kicked away a group of Hylian guards, sending them tumbling over each other like dominoes. He glanced around in the midst of combat, searching for a way out… and spotted it in the form of a river.
"This way!" he called over his shoulder, barging past the guards, striking and dodging attacks where appropriate. The Gerudo followed remaining in formation and guarding each other's backs.
They passed through the north-east tower, heading onto the front wall of the castle where a moat, leading onto a river lay below.
"Nabooru, tie these down." Ganondorf ordered, tossing her piles of rope, he picked up from the side of the tower. The rest of the Gerudo formed around her, protecting her as she tied firm knots in the ropes along the wall and tossed the ropes down towards the moat. "What's your plan here Ganondorf? You know they're going to cut our ropes before we reach the ground." She called over her shoulder.
"I count on that. That's why we have a moat below us." He called back, grabbing a guard by the neck and tossing him off of the wall, making some guards back away in fear at the sound of his screams.
Once the ropes were secure, each Gerudo grabbed a rope of the six that were tied and began descending as far as they could before the guards cut the ropes free and each of them fell to the waters below.
…
Link sat back against a chimney, hidden in the shadow casted by the light of the moon as he listened to the heavy clattering of the royal guards' armoured boots rush down the cobblestone streets from below, a commander calling orders amongst them.
He pulled out the tiara from his pocket and began removing the three gemstone centrepieces, placing them in a separate pocket before pulling out forged gems made from rupees and placing them into the correct slots in accordance with their colours.
"Commander, there's no sight of him!" A guard called from below.
Link's ears pricked to attention as he listened for the commander's voice, "Keep searching. Search the sewers and the rooftops! Lieutenant," he began, addressing someone else, "Send some men to search Hyrule fields. We can't let any of these bandits escape."
He waited for the area below to clear before placing the tiara away and kneeling forward. He use this position to propel himself forward, sprinting to the edge of the roof before jumping to the next, breaking his fall with a forward roll before continuing stealthily over the rooftops, sticking to the shadows where possible and taking divergent routes to avoid the guards.
Once he reached the outer wall of the city he withdrew his hookshot, aiming it up at the highest point of the wall before shooting the chain, the spike driving firmly into the stone. He retracted the chain, allowing himself to be pulled up. Planting his feet firmly on the wall's flat horizontal surface he landed in a crouch, drawing back his hookshot and peering over the wall at the guards that began spreading into the field in the distance.
He smirked in satisfaction before glancing down at the river that ran below, his smile quickly fading at the sight of the Gerudo pulling themselves from the water.
Ganondorf glanced up through the mass of droplets that dripped from his soaked hair and ran down his face. His eyes narrowed into a vicious glare at the sight of Link, the water on his face practically turning to steam in his seething rage.
"This way! He's up on the wall!" A guard shouted from behind. Link turned over his shoulder, eyes widening as a large group of guards began charging towards him from the rooftops and the streets below. Archers drew back their arrows, launching them in an arc at his back. He quickly rolled out of the way, keeping a kneeling position on the wall as he glanced down at the river where the Gerudo waited for him before glancing back at the advancing guards, breathing heavily as he contemplated his lack of options.
He exhaled heavily as he faced the Gerudo with a set decision. But before he could jump an arrow whizzed through the air, hitting him square in the back. He gasped sharply, his body jerking forward from the impact and causing him to fall from the edge, plummeting to the river below. A splash of water sprayed out over the Gerudo, forcing them to shield their eyes.
Ganondorf lowered his arm and narrowed his gaze at the submerged Hylian. Wading into the shallow end of the water and seizing Link by the collar of his tunic he dragged him out and threw him onto the grass.
Link coughed and attempted to heave himself up onto his hands and knees but Ganondorf stomped down on his back, forcing him to the ground with a choked cry. He yanked the arrow out from Link's back and tossed it aside, "Nabooru, Aveil, carry the boy. We'll waste no more time here." He ordered, casting a hard gaze up to the top of the wall. Fortunately the guards couldn't climb the wall and it would take them a while to reach the Gerudo with the river that cuts off the outer north wall of Castle Town from the outer east.
…
Thanks for reading. This will all be explained in the next chapter. And Zelda will also be in the next chapter! I really can't wait to get it up, so it might be up within a week. You lucky thing you!
Let me know what you thought. Reviews are always appreciated. Ciao!