A different, slightly darker take on the time Zelda spent imprisoned by Ganondorf in Ocarina of Time.
Nintendo owns Legend of Zelda; I do not.
Chains, ice cold and wrought of iron, gripped a pair of slender wrists, crushing them within their steel grasp. Darkness pressed heavily against a delicate form within the confines of a small cell, its very walls restraining the body.
The figure hung from the chains limply, a torn dress draping off of her thin frame. Her labored panting splintered the silence, pain searing through her.
Was it five or six? The young woman struggled to regain her count of how many days had passed, revealed to her only by a clever deduction of how often the torches were changed. The only problem with this reasoning was her periodical bouts of unconsciousness...caused by the ceaseless torture delivered by her captor. Though she knew of this fallacy, she continued to count anyways. She desperately clung to her counting...lest she allow despair to overwhelm her.
In actuality, she hadn't seen sunlight in over a week.
She knew why she had not yet been killed...her captor had not yet found a way to take what he wanted from her. Death would rob him of it...and in addition to that, she was bait.
Feeling yet another lapse in her thin resolve, Princess Zelda felt a tear streak down her dirtied cheek. Ganondorf had decided to wait until he had Link before fully delving into extraction methods of the Triforce...for killing Zelda would only cause the fraction to reassign itself to a new chosen bearer.
Due to unadulterated exhaustion as well as mental and emotional stress, Zelda could no longer feel her telepathic bond with Link. This troubled her greatly...more than she cared to admit. Over the past months, even in her guise as Sheik, Zelda had always felt strongly towards him...beyond his role as Hyrule's savior.
He was her savior.
Though the blame rested squarely on her shoulders, Link was Zelda's salvation.
Yet now, as she hung in her chains, Zelda fervently wished Link would not take the bait. She hoped his heroic instinct would take a backseat to a small taste of wisdom. She prayed he would take the time to plan out exactly how to destroy her captor...but had a feeling he wouldn't. She knew he wouldn't understand her desire; She knew it wouldn't be enough to bring down her captor. Along with her captor's death, Link longed to rescue her. On top of his more than selfless actions to ride Hyrule of its evil, she knew he had fervently searched for her.
In her severely strained mind, Zelda couldn't fathom why Link would do this for her...she, the very one who had caused him all of this pain...a vague notion regarding her royalty stemmed through her troubled thoughts. Zelda suddenly longed to knight Link, to declare him Hyrule's savior. He deserved honor of the highest degree...not demanding questions regarding her disappearance.
The door to her cell opened, and the sound of a heavily gated figure sounded as she felt an all-too-familiar presence behind her. Pulling together the last of her strength, Zelda braced herself against her captor, hardening her resolve and concentrating desperately on the last of her diminishing hope.
She felt his hot, rancid breath against her ear; his hand passed under her arm to tip her chin up with a long, vicious looking knife.
"There is one thing I'll concede to that boy—his determination is admirable, but to a fault."
Zelda's eyes widened, but she said nothing. She let out a soft gasp as he pulled her head back by her hair, caressing the blade against her throat in a sickeningly gentle manner.
"He's on his way here now...and thanks to that lovely song you've taught him, he'll be marching to his death all the faster."
Zelda pulled together her resistance, and managed to choke out a lone sentence.
"He will destroy you—of that I am sure."
The princess jerked her head away suddenly in a deep cough that rattled her frame.
Ganondorf only laughed, entwining his fingers deeper into her scalp. Zelda let out a raspy cry as he yanked her head back further, wrenching her neck back to look at her. Despite the pain that lanced through her neck, she hardened her gaze against his sadistic yellow eyes.
"Once I take the Triforce from that meddling boy, I will enjoy taking his life as you watch." Before Zelda could retort, Ganondorf continued, "Fitting, isn't it? Rather a mercy for him, considering all the pain you've caused that boy."
Zelda fell silent, numbly limp against her chains.
As much as she wished to deny it...as much as she longed to snap back to Ganondorf that he was wrong...that it was solely him that had hurt Link so...
...she knew he was right. Link should never have been caught up in all of this. He should have been safe...at home..
Still, the balance of the world lay upon Link's shoulders...and even in her broken voice, Zelda whispered, "He was chosen...to destroy you...and destroy you...he will."
With a low growl, Ganondorf turned and struck Zelda across the face, jerking her harshly against her chains. She mustered together the most disdainful glare she could manage before Ganondorf turned on her.
He left her there, torn, bloodied, and half conscious.
Zelda awoke quite some time later and quickly wished she hadn't. At first, it was solely the physical pain that pierced into her...but then the image of Link rushed into her mind.
Zelda's grasp on time crumbled after the last torture session. From everything Ganondorf had put her through, she couldn't tell how long her recent bout of unconsciousness had lasted. Judging by the pain of her recent gashes which had dulled to a painful ache from their sharp pain, Zelda had to assume the better part of half a day.
Had Link come?A horrible thought suddenly crossed her mind: What if he fell to Ganondorf? Certainly it would be foolish to keep Link in the same cell as she. He only promised Zelda would witness Link's death; Ganondorf certainly never promised a meeting prior. Zelda let out a mournful whimper as the thought of Link being tortured crossed her mind's eye. She would never know...not until it was far too late.
But that was assuming he had come. What if he hadn't? Relief refused to wash over Zelda. There was too much to lose...she could not allow herself to believe he had not come yet. Was there time to warn him? If so, how? And warn him of what?
Did she believe he would fall? She certainly prayed he wouldn't. She even hoped to see him again...but certainly not if he was captured. Although Ganondorf had not yet found a way to extract the Triforce from her, she had little doubt he would find a way. She couldn't stand to think of him in this horrible cell...enduring the same torture she had.
She had seen many of her people fall at Ganondorf's hand...far too many deaths and executions of those noble and true.
She had also seen him in battle.
No, she thought, I cannot think like this. Link will win...he must win.
Zelda gave a soft laugh, followed by a harsh cough. Whether or not I'm alive by then is not the point.
Although death was certainly not something Zelda longed for, she knew at present rate it was inevitable. She simply could not hold up like this. Her torn dress was already deeply stained with her blood...and she knew she was still openly bleeding. She had been wasting away since she arrived here; Ganondorf only provided her with a small cupful of dirty water every few days. Zelda felt her normally strong mental hold on her surroundings crumpling. Barring a miracle...she knew she would expire before Ganondorf even returned to her.
It gave her a small bit of satisfaction...to know the Triforce would go with her...yet it was short lived and bittersweet as her scattered thoughts drifted back to Link.
Dare she admit she missed Link?
Dare she admit that she had grown far more affectionate towards him than what should be permitted for someone of her royal status?
As the image of the glorified Hero of Time crossed her mind's eye, her heart fluttered slightly. Perhaps her affection was merely misplaced gratitude...perhaps her longing was simply the desire to be rescued...
...But those reasons, of themselves, felt miserably empty to her. There was clearly more to it than that, she admitted.
Zelda opened her eyes as the soft realization hit her. The longing she felt was not for rescue...but for the hero.
But he was no longer simply a hero...some nameless knight in shining armor rushing in upon a story-book horse. She knew him to be a sensitive, caring individual...passionate, innocent, strong and sweet. She remembered the look of shock in his deep azure blue eyes as she revealed herself to him...the focused, clear expression whenever she taught him a new song.
She recalled the gentle, quiet emotions he could not conceal drifting across his face when he first awakened from his seven year slumber...and the question he posed to her guise: Please...where is Princess Zelda? Is she alright?
Zelda stiffened in pain, a single tear flowing from the corner of her eye as she gazed unseeingly into the darkness before her. She wouldn't see him again. The subconscious dreams of a future...the silent, brief day-dreams of giving him a home within Castletown...shattered.
Link...she thought as more tears dripped down her cheeks and splashed silently to the cold concrete beneath her, forgive me for this...
Her thoughts were cut short as she fell deep into unconsciousness...death looming over the young princess.