Chapter 2
The champion.
"On a simple yet mysterious night,
The darkness came to me.
And when it arrived, it brought hell;
What the world would come to be.
It took my life and everything that I knew
And changed it with a mere glance
And all I ever hope for, from that night on,
Was only one more chance."
Zelda ran ahead at the sight of the castle, weaving in between trees. Damn that girl was excitable. I ran after her, but she had stopped at a line of trees. They were only small, and I didn't see why she hadn't just jumped over, but then she yelped in pain, clutching her hand. I jumped to her, grabbing her in a tight embrace, trying to see what had happened. "That must be the Business Scrub I heard the soldiers talking about." She said somewhat irritably. "They were saying a Deku Scrub had been hassling all the passersby. Link, do something or we can't get to the castle! If only we had some way to defend ourselves against those nuts of his."
I felt myself getting more and more annoyed. A Deku Scrub had no business even being near Hyrule, let alone hassling people. And it had hit Zelda. I drew my shield, and stood in front of the Scrub, ready for the impact. The nut flew through the air and hit my shield. Luckily, the small thing wasn't as weak as it looked, and reflected the nut straight back at the business scrub. He span around, yelping in pain, and a grin spread across my face as Zelda cried out and clapped her hands. I walked up to the Scrub, preparing to push it out of the way so Zelda and I could continue.
"Please! Forgive me, sir!" It cried out in a high-pitched whiny voice. "I heard there was a festival and I came to town hoping to hawk my wares. Unfortunately, we scrubs have a tendency to spit nuts while we speak! Everyone got scared and ran away, and no one would buy anything!" He pleaded with me, rocking back and forth as he tried to convince me to spare him. He must have seen that I was getting impatient because he shook his head, looking down at the ground, "This is a terrible place to do business! I'm going back to my cave!" He span around once and disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving nothing behind but his spare nuts.
I swallowed deeply, looking back to Zelda. She was bright eyed again, and not in the least bit ruffled by what happened. She was still clutching her right hand though. "Are you okay?" I asked, looking her into her cerulean eyes. She nodded silently, smiling as she looked back at me. I nodded, worrisome, but continued on all the same. A light breeze played with my hair, and ruffled my green tunic, obviously mussing Zelda's hair too by the way she tutted. The castle drew near, and the banners flapped more dangerously in the wind, until one ripped off, fluttering down to land in front of us. I didn't know what it was, but when that banner fell it felt like someone had flicked a switch. From that moment on the world had gone dark. That last banner would be the ending to my peaceful happy life living in South Hyrule Field, and the start of a terrible war had begun.
Zelda knew not of what I had just sensed, and I thought it better to keep her in the dark for now.
We passed through the main gates, and both guards nodded in turn to me and Zelda. So they had not sensed it either.
Whilst one side of my brain was chattering on about how the world was going to end, the rational side told it to shut up impatiently. Silence filled my head, letting me hear the sounds of birds tittering away in the treetops. Two long flowerbeds closed us in, the flowers swaying in the light breeze that ruffled my hair so. By the main doors, I spotted an elderly man by the name of Potho. He stood there, looking at the sky in a peculiar fashion, as if he was expecting something to fall from it. Upon our arrival, he snapped back to reality, as if he were in a trance. "Oh! Link!" He exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear as he shrilled out his shaky greeting, "You brought the sword did you?" I nodded, and Potho straightened his back, "Then, as minister to the kingdom of Hyrule, I, Potho, accept this blade."
It was a very formal acceptance, but all in good manner. I handed over the blade, and Potho took it carefully, turning towards the castle. "You came just in time time." He said, "The award ceremony will begin soon."
I turned to Zelda, and smiled. She was chewing her bottom lip. "I'm sorry Link, but I'd better go. I have to prepare for the ceremony. I had a good time at the festival. Thank you for coming with me!" She smiled, kissed me lightly on the cheek, and skipped off into the castle airily.
xX~~***~~Xx
Four guards marched outside into the stifling air, carrying a large, red chest. Embedded in the chest was a glowing sword. Shimmering almost; and not just because of the heat.
"Do you know about that sword Link?" Potho asked, keeping his eyes on the sky like previously this evening. I nod -I had heard a lot about this blade. Master Smith told me numerous fairy tales about it, but never in much detail. Potho was still staring at the sky, so he took the silence for a no.
"It is called the Picori Blade, and it locks much evil away in that chest. The Picori Blade is sacred among the people of Hyrule." He continued, still gazing up into the sky. "The legend has it that, long ago, the Picori gave us this blade. Whoever wins the competition earns the honour of touching the sacred blade." Potho finished, looking down at last.
At that very moment the king of Hyrule marched down the stairs, beaming like a child learning about the Picori for the first time. Zelda was at his shoulder, and she gave a very discreet wave to Link.
"Let the award ceremony commence!" the King pronounced, "Vaati, champion of the competition, you may approach the blade!" The King smiled, sweeping his arms towards the bottom of the garden, like he was unveiling a great wonder. Clapping broke out to my left in a strange, off-beat pattern. Potho clapped enthusiastically, like a whole crowd were joining in. He finally subsided, and the King gave him a wide grin, as always.
A strange man with snow-white hair, and a deep purple cloak strode up to the chest.
He cackled again, and whispered something inaudible under his breath. Something was not right with this man. The guards must have heard what he said, because they rushed toward him in one big group. But with a simple wave of his hands, the purple-cloaked man sent them flying backwards onto the ground, where they stayed. Nothing went through my head right then except Zelda's safety, and the terrified look on her face, so I charged forward, flinching as I anticipated the blow. And it came hard and fast. It felt like the world had been swept away from me, and I was soaring through the air without a care in the world. But then I hit the ground with a massive thud, knocking all my remaining air out of my lungs.
Everything from that point on was a terrifying blur;
Zelda freezing where she stood, Vaati grabbing the blade in both hands, pulling it free of the chest. The blade shattered into two pieces, and Vaati scowled, flinging the broken blade at a wall, "That's it?" He wailed, before I blacked out, still trying to reach for Zelda, who now stood as still as a statue.
