Chapter 2: "Exploring the Castle"

Link found himself at the bottom of the hole, his headed throbbed a bit, suggesting he hit his head on the impact. On top of that, he was laying a pool of freezing cold water which made the rain from before seem welcoming, causing him to quickly scurry out of it and onto the dry, stone floor. It took him some time to gather his wits again. Once he did, he had to regain his focus before he realized that it was too dark to see anything down there. He groped about in the dark for a few moments, having to return to the pool to find his lantern he brought along with him. He got his hands on it and shook the water out of it, hoping now that it wasn't ruined. Link attempted to light it a couple of times, and it eventually caught. Link gave a sigh of relief.

Link moved along the wall, heading down the hallway until he reached a staircase leading up. He hoped this would take him to the keep somehow, though he was undoubtedly motivated by the fact he had a path he could follow now. His thoughts strayed to his uncle. Link didn't know how he would've got inside, if he was even inside. Link then wondered if his Uncle had left that note there for him to follow along. Those were just thoughts, however, and they soon became worrisome and filled with grief as the sight of bodies lined the side of the path. Link counted only three, but no doubt, they were killed. Link kept his lantern close as he navigated his way through the hallway. His heart skipped a beat when a deathly sound that resembled a moan echoed through the halls Link was walking. He quickened his pace but kept his steps lighter and softer. Link couldn't comprehend what was the source of that awful noise. His mind froze almost at an instant as a terrible thought that it might be that of his uncle. Link didn't think of how he might react to that.

Though, something poked at the back of his, some dreadful thing that seem to keep hold on what seemed inevitable. He entered into the first doorway he saw and his worst fears came to pass. Link scanned the room and that was when he saw his uncle, leaning against the back wall brokenly. Link could already feel himself breaking down at the sight of him. He scurried over to his uncle and fell on his knees.

"Uncle? What happened to you?" He said quickly, worried beyond belief.

He slowly opened his eyes which he had shut tight in order to combat the pain.

"Link... I thought... I told you to stay at the cottage, my boy." He rasped, trying to hide the pain from his voice, though he gathered up the effort to show Link a smirk. "You never did listen to me, really, but... that's alright."

Just those few sentences were enough to cause him to force out a deathly moan. Link shivered at the sound of it.

"Uncle, please! Where are you hurt?" He pleaded to know.

Link's uncle shook his head and spoke softly.

"Forget about me, m'boy. I'm not important, but there is someone in this castle who is. That voice of the girl you heard, she is in this castle, and she's in grave danger." Uncle explained, trying to keep his voice from fading. "It's up to you now. You have to sneak into the castle and rescue the maiding. I know you can do it, Link. I believe wholeheartedly in that."

Link couldn't fight back tears. He could not accept that he'd have to go on without his uncle, on some quest to rescue someone he had no knowledge of. It seemed preposterous to him.

"Uncle, I can't leave you here alone to die! I definitely can't save that maiden by myself! Please, I need you to come with me!"

Link's uncle laid his head back, greatly fatigued from suffering through the wounds he acquired. He closed his eyes again and breathed a labored sigh filled with pain.

"Link. You have to do this, because no one else can. If the maiden is sacrificed, things will take a turn for the worse. Please, m'boy. Take my sword and shield, and just go. Do not worry about me. I've always taught you what you needed to know. You need to put that all into practice now." He said to him, before falling silent.

Link sat right there next to his uncle, the only person who he ever knew as family. He was passing, and there was nothing Link could do to fix it. It was a doomed situation. Link waited and waited until his uncle addressed him one last time.

"Link, m'boy, know that I love you and am proud of you. You must carry on by yourself."

He said before he breathed out one last breath and then he was laid to rest. Link began calling out to him, but no response came. Link was alone now, and there was nothing he could do about it. This burrowed heavily into his heart, and it seemed to harden as he stood and took up the weapons of my uncle.

He stood there, now completely alone. Something inside of him begged earnestly not to go on, and just sit there next to his uncle. He decided that he didn't want to do anything for the maiden, but he knew he had to, for his uncle. He seemed so set on Link saving her, he must've have known something that Link didn't. Link questioned whether it would be worth it. Link forced himself into it. He'd save Zelda, somehow. He didn't think about what would happen afterwards, that was to say if there was going to be an afterwards. It could all end in failure without a second thought for him. There was no way to tell exactly what he was getting into.

He walked until he found himself amidst a change of scenery. He left the murky, cold stone chambers and entered into an elaborate, dazzling palace room. He could see all of the colorful carpets and banners, the marble wals, the stairs, and padded seats. He could see the vaulted, polished stone roof. Link was so lost in the beauty that he almost didn't realize that there were sounds of footsteps approaching. Link snapped out of it and went for the first place he saw that would provide him with cover. Once he we was sure the sound was gone, he moved back out to the open. Link noticed that those footsteps seemed too systematic, too mechanical for traditional, evening patrols.

Another element of that place he was in that he noticed was how big the place was. He continuously got side-tracked by the winding hallways, massive staircases, and the dozens of rooms, that after trying to open, Link discovered were locked. Link found it to be a tedious problem getting around further into the castle floors. Link felt exposed even in hiding, which made moving around the patrolling guards even more nerve-racking. Though, occasionally, Link found it possible to take the keys from guards. Some were easy to snatch, others were so difficult that he was sure he was going to get caught. The silence inside the castle made Link feel claustrophobic in that gigantic place. It was so strange to him.

The elegance of the main palace and hallways seemed to begin to deteriorate away as he left it for the lower levels of the castle, most likely the dungeon levels where Zelda would be located. The thought then passed through Link's mind regarding why exactly that Zelda was in danger. He had no idea what he going up against, all he knew was that he had to break Zelda out. This was just another reason why he began to dread this whole task itself. It irritated him, that he was the only one to save Zelda, as his uncle told him. He was no hero, and he knew that. He was just a simple boy who live in a simple house. There were no qualities in him that denoted him as a hero.

Regardless of that, he had to do one thing if he did anything at all, and that was to find out who was responsible for the death of his uncle. He didn't know what he'd do then, but knowing who he was after would get him half way.

His time to think was soon spent as he reached the lowest level of the castle, he subconsciously led himself here. He found little reason to turn back so he kept forward, eventually coming upon the last door at the end of the hallway. Unfortunately, the door was locked. He did not have a key either, and the last guard he saw was at least two floors up. Link hardly had the intention of trekking all the way back, so he had to find another way into it. He slowly trailed the hallway, thinking maybe he missed something, but nothing at first glance spoke to him. So, he began to despair, and he fell to the floor by the door, sliding against the wall. His decent was interrupted by his back scratching against a brick in the wall. Link felt the brick shift further into the wall, and the lock mysteriously fall off of the door.

Link was surprised by this, but he hurriedly got up and went for the door. He pushed it open and peered into the room. It didn't take him long to realize that his search was over.