"Zelda," the soothing voice of the ancient high priestess pulled the brunette from her silent prayers, "we have our rounds to make." Zelda nodded slowly and stood carefully from her kneeling position before the altar to the three goddesses. Zelda pulled the hood of her cloak up over her head, obscuring her face from view. She followed the oldest priestess from the temple, the sun beating down on her cloaked shoulders unforgivingly. Dutifully, Zelda moved to the hobbling old woman' side, taking her bony arm gently and helping her down the steps. "It has been a long time since you first came to be under my care, it has been a pleasure watching you grow... The goddesses have truly blessed you Zelda," her voice was steady despite its age, a fact that would surprise you if you glanced upon her weathered form. Zelda walked with her, slowing her stride as they neared the marketplace.

"...countless dead," a merchant was mid story, making Zelda slow her pace even more.

"Do they know what did it?" a farmer asked over his shoulder as he placed some cabbage in the bin on his stall.

"A dragon," the foreigner said and Zelda froze in her steps.

"Dragon?" a new voice made her heart speed up, not out of joy either. She tried to keep walking, but as Link's blonde hair bobbed into view, his wife Ilia on his arm, she felt frozen to the spot. Of all the men in the town, Link was by far the most attractive, a true warrior that had proven himself against the monsters in the nearby forest. He was also the most promiscuous, even after his marriage to the daughter of the mayor. On more than one occasion he had tried to seduce Zelda, even after her insistence that her vow of purity to the goddesses was to never be broken. "There hasn't been a dragon in this area in generations."

"I saw the smoking remains of the cottages sir," the merchant sounded a bit offended that his word wasn't trusted, "massive claw marks in the ground, the mutilated bodies of cattle in fields... They say the dragon has been expanding it's territory, that it is on the move-"

"We shall pray to the goddesses for protection," the high priestess said and to Zelda's surprise Link snorted.

"It can't be a dragon, there are none left," he said firmly.

"Time will tell sir," the merchant said, eyes darting to the sky worriedly. "It attacks after dark."

XxX

"DRAGON!" the terrified screams ripped Zelda from her sleep. She sat up quickly, grabbing her cloak and clasping it around her shoulders tightly. She slid her feet into her modest straw sandals, hoping beyond hope that it was somehow a false alarm. She flung open the door that lead to the sleeping quarters of the priestesses, gasping at the fire lighting up the night sky. A roar ripped through the air overhead, and she instinctively crouched, putting her hands over her head. The roar was deafening and shook her to her core. Zelda realized in that instant what true terror felt like.

"Zelda," the normally calm voice of the high priestess was frazzled as she pulled Zelda to her feet, "we must open the temple doors for the people!" Zelda stared at the aged woman, not understanding for a moment. "Open the temple doors child!" That got her moving, and Zelda took off, feet slipping in her sandals. The priestess quarters were on the other side of the temple, a small wrought iron fence and gate separating them from the rest of the town. She made it to the fence and skidded to a stop, fingers fumbling with the latch on the gate. Her chest heaved as she gasped down air, and she found herself looking up, eyes finding a dark shape in the clouds above. It was just a dark smudge from this distance, but Zelda had never seen anything so terrifying. Another roar ripped through the sky, flames bursting from the dragon as it turned around, now angling towards her.

"For Farore's sake!" Zelda quickly kicked her terror frozen brain back into motion, eyes focusing on the task at hand and not the impending doom flying ever closer. Finally the latch creaked open and she flung the gate aside, the metal groaning in protest. She made it to the temple steps, feet faltering on the slick cobblestones. She pitched forward, hands scraping on the stones as she tried to catch herself. She winced and glanced up, seeing the dragon's closing distance. "Din protect me," she prayed as she tried to scramble to her feet, feeling for the first time in her life that a prayer might be futile. The strap on her sandal broke, unnoticed by Zelda as she scampered up the steps, already seeing the townspeople running towards her. She reached the heavy wooden doors of the temple and strained to pull them open, the dragon closing in. Her knuckles white on the heavy iron pull handle, she looked up as the dragon flew by overhead. A new wave of terror seized her. It was massive. The glow of the flames lit up it's underbelly, and if it wasn't the most horrific moment in her life, she would have marveled at the sight. Finally the hinges groaned and the door gave in, opening as the first of the townsfolk made it to the steps.

"Hurry!" she motioned to them, eyes following the dragon as it spun around again. Briefly she wondered if huddling everyone together into the temple was such a good idea, but dismissed the thoughts as the people ran in. The goddesses would protect them. Another blood chilling roar sounded and she stared in stunned horror as flames leapt from it once more, scorching a group of men running towards the steps. They screamed in pain and terror, the smell of burning flesh churning Zelda's stomach. Her meager dinner spilled itself onto the steps before her as the people moved passed her. Shaking violently, Zelda looked up as the dragon set fire to the inn, the screams resounding from the now burning building confirming her fear that people were still inside.

"Zelda," Link was at her side, startling her as he shoved her inside the temple, "get your ass inside dammit!" He looked out at the dragon and scowled as he grabbed the door and began to close it. Zelda was very conscious of Ilia glaring daggers at her, and Zelda pulled her hood up to hide the blush that had crawled up her cheeks. There was nothing there for the pretty blonde to be worried about, but she apparently didn't think so. Not only that, but was now the time for petty jealousy? "Where's Bo?" Link asked Ilia and she whirled, looking for the mound of large muscle and fat that was the mayor.

"Father?!" she called out, panic in her voice.

"I'm here," his voice boomed and Zelda moved away from the reunion to try to find the high priestess. As she moved through the herded people, she murmured soothing words, knowing that they mostly fell on deaf ears. Outside there were more screams, followed by another roar from the dragon, which Zelda tensed at but kept moving. She felt panic rising as she came to the end of the group. The high priestess wasn't there.

"What do we do Mayor?" one person shouted out, the others adding their own voices to the din.

"The dragon is real!"

"Send Link to slay it!" a few people roared in approval over that, and Zelda saw him pale at the notion.

"Dragons like gold! Let's give it gold!" someone else shouted and the people mumbled their agreement.

"They like sacrifices!"

"This thing," Zelda shouted out over them all, her voice holding power that surprised even her, "is an abomination to our sacred goddesses! We must kill it, not offer it our possessions!" the people nodded in approval, Link glaring daggers at her. If they sent anyone after the dragon, it would be him. "It should be slain in their holy name!" The people cheered once more and she stared Link down.

"QUIET!" Mayor Bo roared and the entire gathering immediately fell silent. "Listen," he said softly, and they did. There was nothing. No screams, no roars. All had gotten quiet. "Someone check." It was an order, and Link moved to the door, cracking it slightly. In the tiny sliver he opened the door, smoke seeped in along with the stench of death. He eased the door open slowly, more smoke sending tendrils in as he searched the night sky.

"It's gone," he said confidently after a moment of looking.

"For now," Zelda muttered, mind already on finding the high priestess.

XxX

The carnage and devastation caused by the dragon in just that short amount of time was alarming. As Zelda crept slowly around the temple with her eyes on the sky as if it would just appear in front of her, she decided that this unholy abomination needed to be destroyed for the sake of preserving her goddess's holy land. Houses were burning, blackened smoke pouring from the ones that still housed occupants. Deep gashes were cut into the earth from claws that had to be as long as her legs. She came to the wrought iron gate leading back to the area for the priestesses and froze in horror. The little building that housed their rooms had been destroyed. Rubble and burning beams lay strewn about like a child had thrown a temper tantrum with a toy, and Zelda had to swallow back bile at the sight of her fellow priestesses burned upon the ground. Her eyes fell on the high priestess and a shrill cry of anguish escaped her throat as she fell to her knees.

"Goddess damn you!" she shouted at the heavens, almost hoping the dragon heard her.

XxX

"My good people!" Mayor Bo's voice boomed out from the altar of the temple, one of the few places left untouched in the attack. "We have a very serious problem. This dragon has ravaged the surrounding areas, we need to do something about this!"

"Send Link!" someone called out, and the people cheered in approval.

"Link will slay it!"

"Link's our hero!" Zelda stood stoic and silent, her grief robbing her of her voice. The high priestess, who had long ago given up her own identity to better serve the goddesses, had been the closest thing to a mother she had ever known. She watched them yell and argue, some saying gold was the way to go, others saying that a fat calf might do the trick. Zelda's eyes landed on Link, who was glaring daggers at her once more, and her heart fell.

"The one thing," Link's voice quieted the agitated crowd almost as fast as Bo's, "dragons savor more than gold and jewels... Are virgins." His eyes locked with hers, a devilish smirk on his lips. She paled underneath her hood, wanting to back away and hide from those eyes.

"You're suggesting we sacrifice a virgin?" a woman asked incredulously. "Slay one of our daughters?"

"No," Link pointed to the hooded Zelda who felt her heart stop, "just her."

XxX

"Please don't do this!" she begged as Ilia and another woman, a red head named Malon, tore her modest priestess garments from her body. Ilia shoved a white gown towards Zelda, a gown she recognized immediately as Ilia's wedding gown. She had been married in spring, allowing her to have a gown with thin straps and a low neckline. The high priestess had remarked to Zelda later that wearing such a gown on a day so holy was inexcusable, and Zelda had wholeheartedly agreed. "Ilia please-"

"Link looks at you with want," ilia growled at her, eyes filled with anger, "I would do anything to assure that I don't lose him."

"Ilia I would never do that to you," she said honestly and Malon snorted. Zelda looked to her, trying to fight the gown going over her head. Malon yanked it down over her ears, and ilia smoothed the skirt.

"Virgin white," she said with a smile filled with wickedness, "perfect for you." Malon ripped a brush through Zelda's tangles, somehow taming the mess of hair into a braid that fell to the middle of her back.

"Perfect," Malon said and Zelda felt her last shreds of hope fade away as Ilia pulled out a dagger. "Ilia-"

"One last touch," she said and drug the dagger from the hem of the skirt up to Zelda's thigh on the left side. "Now she's ready."

XxX

"Link please," she begged, trying one last time as he shoved her over to the scorched wooden beam salvaged from the inn that had been erected just for her on the outskirts of the town. He grabbed a thick rope and lashed it tightly around her waist, ignoring her pleas. He tugged the rope until it was tight, the rough twine poking at her through the thin gown. When the knot was secured, he finally turned his eyes to her.

"It's a shame all this is wasted on a vile creature," he said softly, a rough hand touching the exposed skin on her thigh. She jumped and he smirked. "You shouldn't have turned me down Zelda..."

"I have a vow of purity-"

"And it's landed you on a dragon's platter. That thing will land and devour you, then what good will all that sacrificing have done you?" He hitched up an eyebrow and she wanted to slap him.

"A place of honor you will never know," she sneered and he backhanded her. She gasped past the pain, blinking tears from her eyes. With that he hopped back on his horse and rode off, leaving Zelda to her fate.

XxX

An hour of discomfort passed as the sun began to stroll down into night. Her nerves were building to a point, and she was beginning to feel like if the dragon didn't show soon she would die of anticipation. She heard a roar, an earth rumbling, heart stopping roar and she looked up, eyes locking on the dark shape angling towards her. She had a brief thought, one brought on by absolute terror. Would a creature such as this even know what she was supposed to be? How in Din's name did it know she was even a virgin?

A scream built up in her throat, one she bit her lips hard enough to draw blood to hold back. Eventually it won, and ripped from her throat in a horrific way as the setting sun was blocked from view. She was bathed in blue light, which confused her but she didn't have long to ponder that, because a moment later, with an alarmingly soft landing, the dragon was before her.

XXX

I wanted to do something completely off the wall! Let me know what you think so far! I'm excited about this one because it's so different! Much love, Leigh