Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or any of its characters. The only characters I own are Annabella, Hudo, and all the other OCs you'll see along the story.
Warnings: This is rated M for blood, gore, and swearing. Also, there is some major Zelda bashing, especially in this chapter. There are spoilers for the game and the manga, and I played around with some of the events in the game. Sue me. (Actually please don't all I have is a peanut and a glass of milk, it'd just be a loss for you... Unless you like peanuts and milk...)
With that out of the way, onto the review warnings. I DO NOT want reviews that complain about this not exactly following the story line. If you wanted a walk through then go somewhere else. I DO NOT want reviews complaining about the Zelda bashing and I DO NOT want reviews complaining about the fact that there is OC's in this. I realize that Link is not a girl. I'm not stupid. I played the game too. I have given you all a clear warning in idiot-proof bold freaking letters. Please, don't do it and we'll get along fine.
A/N: Thanks for reading this and let the story begin!
I huddled in the corner, shivering and burning in turns, the fiery cuts on my back weeping steadily. The thick air seemed to stick to my body, bringing with it the usual smells of week old feces and urine as well as, like myself, festering wounds and the collective aroma of months without bathing. I shut my eyes against the bright yellow of the mid-morning light as it leaked in through the one barred window high on the left wall of my cell and began to shuffle past it.
Shaking, I closed my eyes and touched a dry spot on the wall, moving my finger in soft, slow strokes. In my mind I saw Saria, sweet Saria, and held onto her smiling face until I could no longer ignore the approaching heavy footsteps of Hudo, my captor, torturer, and soon, executioner.
But today, there was another sound following his, the soft click of heels against stone. I could hear them speaking, but couldn't make out the words, only the audible squeaks and jumps of the stranger.
"... She awake, Captain Heeth?" A noble voice asked, shaking and muffled as though something was pressed against her mouth.
"Aye," he responded, stopping for a second only to spit before continuing, "She's usually up by six, usually the first 'un rising."
"Is someone watching her?" Their voices began to grow closer. I pressed my back up against the wall, curling my knees into my chest. My heart began to pound against the confining jail of my ribs with each of their steps.
"Why? Not like she can 'scape, yer highness."
The clicks stopped before the noble voice cried out, "She was the Hero of Time, Ganondorf's favorite spy and play toy, and the only person who could possibly know where the rest of his army is and you just leave her alone? I should-"
"Yer Majesty, you'll see what ol' Hudo is talkin' 'bout when ya see her. Her spirits been snapped, she knows she's not gettin' out 'till the day she goes ta meet 'er maker. She 'ouldn't try to escape." My breathing had stopped by the time I could make out the muscular body of Hudo. My limbs began trembling harder than they ever had before and my brows furrowed.
"Goddesses it smells in here." The noble voice's owner soon made herself present in front of my cell. She hadn't changed since the last time I saw her; blonde hair still trailing down to the middle of her back in waves, blue eyes still as empty as before. The crown atop her head was decorated with thousands of shining jewels and looked like it weighed a hundred pounds. Her lavender dress was adorned with the three sacred triangles, as well as the stark white glove on her right hand.
"Miss Anna, her majesty 'ould like a word 'fore we take ya out." Hudo called. Years seemed to pass in the seconds it took me to stand and slowly walk to the cell door. The chain attached to my ankle cuff slithered across the wet stones behind me like a dead snake.
When I finally made it to the barred door, I was inches away from her. I could smell the roses of her perfume and see my reflection in her icy eyes. My shaking hands gripped the iron bars on either side of my head. She smirked; no doubt about to say some remark about how much in awe I was at her. But she never got to make it, for right before she opened her mouth I collected all the saliva I could in mine and hacked it on her face.
Now, it was my turn to smirk as I said, "G'mornin' Princess. Nice to see you again." I couldn't help but feel somewhat fulfilled as she wiped the brown spit from below her eye, staining her oh-so-perfect glove fingers in the process. Her face was a mixture of horror and pure hate. So I'd say all went according to plan.
I was enjoying this feeling, finally being on top for once before a crushing sensation occurred around my neck. Hudo's demon's thick hand was wrapped around my throat, slowly depleting me of air as he yelled a stream of profanities at me. I began to gasp for breath, clawing at his hand as my eyes went wide.
"I suggest ya apologize to 'er Highness." He growled. My eyes flicked over to the Princess, who seemed to be waiting for my apology as she gagged at the stain.
"I'm sorry, Zelda," I gasped through breaths, "My spit would've been a lot… cleaner if we had good water." Hudo's hand tightened and I could no longer get any air through. My face began to get hot and my vision began to blur before I heard the damned voice coolly cut through my panicked haze.
"No, Hudo. She has to be alive for her execution today. We're making it public, remember?" Hudo released me with a grumble and took a step behind Zelda. Zelda took a step forward, her face only inches from mine as she finished, "We decided you were to be hung until moments before you die... and then burned. A painful death is fitting for the crimes you've done, isn't it?"
She giggled at the fear in my eyes, seeing it before I could hide it. She knew I was innocent. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut in first.
"Now, Anna, we're going to give you one last chance to spill your story and tell us where Ganondorf's army is."
"And what's in it for me?" I asked.
"I guess if you told us the full story… We could work out something. We could send you to work in the fields or to mine." I tightened my hands around the bars, biting down so hard on my tongue I started to taste the coppery blood that flowed out of it.
"If I tell you the story," I put emphasis on each word, "you'd let me go?"
Zelda smiled and dusted off invisible dust from her gloves, "Maybe."
I furrowed my brows in deep thought, she knew better than anyone that I had no story to tell. It was my so called destiny to kill Ganondorf, not join his wretched army! I muttered, "Fine."
Hudo took a step back, peering at me with cold blue eyes. "Y-Ya'd tell the story? All of it?"
"If it means I'll go free." I glared at Zelda, who only smiled even wider. She turned to Hudo, patting him on the shoulder.
"See, you just have to bargain with them, Captain Heeth." She said before making her way out of sight, I assumed out of the dungeon, "Oh, and before you take her to the room bathe her first. You could smell her from a mile away." She pressed a bright pink handkerchief to her nose as she did, and I heard the familiar yelps before she sprinted up the stairs.
Hudo stared at me in disbelief, which changed into anger, and then into confusion before it settled in hatred. He approached in heavy, deliberate steps, his smile a flash of black decay. A bloodied leather apron covered his sweaty girth and he carried a maul in one hand.
There was something off about him. I had never taken the time to examine my cell guard, but I'm sure his eyes weren't blue, and I'm sure he was fatter and shorter… And I've never seen the helmet that he wore today before, it covered his face, leaving a spot open for his eyes and ending right under his nose. He reached out and grabbed a handful of the rags I wore before unlocking and pulling me out of my cell.
He spun me around and grabbed my hands in his; the hands of my executioner were much more calloused than I thought they were. But when I heard a click and felt the weight of heavy iron cuffs around my wrist, the hands disappeared from mine. With a grunt he grabbed my shoulder, leading me through the winding hallways.
Bony fingers reached out from the cells, grazing what remained of my tunic or trying to grab the fabric in their hands. Each of the prisoners were beaten, bloodied, and starved, just like me. But when we passed one a small hand only reached out, a young face pressing against the bars. The child couldn't have been more than twelve years old, but he held the painful knowledge of one who was forced to grow up too soon in his eyes.
I could relate.
I gasped as Hudo pushed my shoulder harder than before. I stumbled over my own feet before he grabbed me in yanked my aching body upright. I muttered thanks before being thrust yet again, up a staircase this time. My mouth filled with more blood as my chin hit the stone steps, but I didn't have time to hiss in pain before being practically dragged up the staircase towards the light of the outside world.
A world that I'd been hidden from for five years.
A world that I was destined to save.
I chuckled at the irony, if only the goddesses could see me now.
The Great Hero of Time, destined to save Hyrule…
Unable to save even herself.
"Strip." Hudo ordered, crossing his arms over his chest. My face grew hot and I shifted my weight from side to side. My shoulders seemed to curve down and I focused on my feet instead of Hudo's eyes. He repeated himself, taking a step forward after a click sounded behind me and the weight of the iron cuffs lifted off my wrists.
"Do I… I mean, can't you… Would you please turn around?" I shuddered out, my heart racing as I waited for ages for his response. His reply was nothing more than a slap to the back of my head and the same demand again.
My fingers began to shake, whether from embarrassment or fear I wasn't sure, as they grabbed onto what remained of the hem of my tunic. I kept my eyes closed while I stripped off my remaining clothes, they almost seemed crusted to my body. I let out a gasp when I felt the flesh of my back separate, liquid spilling down almost immediately after. I couldn't tell if it was the pus that had been accumulating over the past few hours or blood from split veins, but my blush doubled when I heard Hudo scoff.
He grabbed my wrist in a grip that could split the bone as he pulled me over to the tubs. Mildew spotted the tiles and discolored baths and sinks that we passed. Chunks of something clung to the wall as well as a smell somehow worse than the rotting dungeon floating around through the air. I held my breath and decided I didn't want to bathe after all. I had five years of filth on me, what will one day of somewhat okay hygiene do?
Hudo came to an unexpected stop, my face meeting somewhat painfully with his back. He grunted and spun on his heel, towering over me. I began to feel self-conscious again, laying an arm over my chest and crossing my legs. I looked to the side, the moss growing between the tiles suddenly so much more important than the man before me.
"Ya got five minutes ta try to wipe all the shit offa ya before we have ta go." He grunted, purposefully brushing my shoulder as he stepped away from the tub. He only went about five feet away and didn't even bother to turn around as I tried to painlessly lower myself into the warm water.
I chewed the inside of my lip to battle the pain from protesting wounds all over my body. Almost as soon as I touched the water it began to turn the color of dirt. But, just as soon as I saw the brown swirls reach the edges of the square tub as if by magic the dirty water was drained out and sparkling new water poured in.
Their bloody geniuses! I almost screamed out loud, a smile cracking my lips as it spread across my face. I rubbed my arm with the slippery bar of soap and washed it off with the water. My breath hitched in my throat, for the first time in five years, I could see the tanned color of my skin and not the dirt and blood that coated it.
I began to do the same to my hair, finger combing through the black matted mess as best I could. I dipped the tips in the water as I untangled them and tears pricked at my eyes at the sight. The water had dissolved the filth that coated the tips, and for the first time in years, I saw the fiery hues of my own hair.
"There's been rumors spreadin' 'round town…" Hudo trailed off, picking at the dirt underneath his fingernails, "'bout some kind of resistance or rebellion er somethin'."
"Interesting." I murmured, more focused on cleaning myself than listening to his spiel. Hudo had always been a talker; he'd have twenty minute conversations with himself in front of my cell every day. Of course, his conversations were aimed at me, but I never spoke, only huddled in the corner and thought.
Thought about life, about Hyrule, about myself, about my friends…
About him.
I shuddered at even the mention of him and began to rub my shoulders with the soap.
"Apparently people 'round here don't like Princess Zelda. Think she's a pathetic ruler."
"At least I'm not the only one." I growled, clenching my fist around the bar, "Zelda is egotistical and selfish. I wouldn't be surprised if she used your money to buy her new jewels."
Hudo chuckled, a deep sound that seemed to resonate from his gut to his throat. "The goddesses musta blessed you with future-seein' abilities too. That's exactly what she's doin'. She's taxin' us left and right. Barely anyone can afford food, woman and children starve on the streets, bodies line the alley ways, and all for what, a new necklace for her highness?"
"It seems you don't like Zelda either." I commented, scratching at the persistent itch that had coated my body for months now. I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise and my senses begin to focus behind me on Hudo. I listened for anything, a shuffle of fabric, the squeak of leather against tile, anything that would tell me if he was approaching.
"No one likes Zelda. I've been prayin' to the goddesses this rebellion works-"
"Wait one second," I interrupted, turning around and facing the man, "why are you telling me this. I could easily tell Zelda what you've said in a few moments, aren't you scared of her reaction?" My brows furrowed.
"Aye," He chuckled, "but yer supposed to be dead in a few hours as well. Plus yer a villain, you think she'd believe anythin' you said?"
I held up my hands in mock surrender, "Okay, okay, you got me. So what am I, a dead man to vent to before you pull the lever?"
He shrugged, beginning to walk towards me. He held out a hand, lifting my sore body out of the heaven that was the warm water. He grabbed a towel off of a stand on the wall, handing it to me. I rolled my eyes, mumbling a thanks and drying myself off, gasping and chewing my lips until they began to bleed as well.
"Here," Hudo muttered, leaving to an old cabinet in the corner of the room and fiddling around with its contents, "Yer gonna have ta wear the same clothes, but I think you'd be a hell of a lot more comfortable if I bandaged up them whips." He returned with stark white bandages soon after.
With a sigh I wrapped the towel around my waist, holding my arms out to my sides. Every cut groaned in protest, but the feel of them being closed with the bandages was amazing. He wrapped the bandages around my back and chest more times than I could count before tucking the end of it behind the others.
"Done." He grunted, handing me my rags. I slipped the loose pants on first, incredibly grateful to be somewhat covered from Hudo's gaze. They had been a faded brown-yellow, like rocks that had been left in the desert sun for years, when I had been thrust into that cell. True, they weren't the cleanest then, discolorations from too many fights to count, but the years had taken their toll. The cotton was stiff, and I was forced to put the rest of my clothes on slowly from both fear of them snapping and from trying to keep my wounds somewhat closed.
When I had slipped my dark green, now almost black, tunic over my head, Hudo was behind me again. With another click I was pushed forward, to the room where I would bargain for my life with the person who I hated more than anything I had ever faced.
But, the knot that was forming in my stomach was beginning to break through my mind's walls, doubt and fear making themselves present as we walked down a dimly lit corridor.
I would die in this castle and there was nothing I could do about it.
It seemed like we had been waiting for ages in this suffocating room before her Royal Highness made an appearance. I twisted my wrists in an attempt to find a spot where the chains around them didn't rub spots of raw skin and sighed when I couldn't find one. Closing my eyes, I leaned my head back and tried to control my rapid breathing.
"So, Anna, why don't you just tell us where Ganondorf's army is hiding?" Zelda asked her voice sweet but her lips twisted into a vicious smirk. She flipped blonde hair over her shoulder and sat in a chair in the far corner of the room, crossing one leg over the other. Hudo stood by my chair, I didn't understand, it's not like I could magically leap out of the chains and strangle her Highness like I wanted to do more than anything, but I didn't comment.
"I don't know where their hiding." I sneered, sitting straight and keeping my eyes on hers even though my back ached in protest. The room was only lit by a single torch by the door, the fiery glow casting a creepy glow over Zelda's oh-so-perfect face and reflecting off of her crown's jewels.
"You'd die just to keep their secret?" She asked, "Oh, how courageous and honorable are you. If you would just tell us, we could let you go free. You wouldn't have to live in the cell you've called home since, well, I reported your betrayal-"
"I didn't betray anyone." I spat, leaning forward and clenching my fists, "You betrayed every one for your own selfish and egotistical needs. I saved this precious land of yours, sweetheart-"
"So you could take over and rule!" I rolled my eyes.
"I've never once wanted to rule this country; you've done a good enough job of turning it into a fiery mess yourself." Hudo placed a hand on my shoulder, pulling my back against my chair.
"If I may interrupt, yer majesty," He whispered, Zelda nodded, "Maybe, she could tell 'er story, then we can decide if she's innocent er not-"
"Do you doubt my judgment, Captain Heeth?"
His eyes grew wide, "No, no, no, yer majesty. I just… Maybe we can at least know fer sure if she is and where any possible hide-outs could be, Princess."
A long silence hung in the air as Zelda thought it over. I fidgeted in my chair, anxiously waiting. If she said I could tell the whole story, then she would risk being proved wrong or embarrassed in front of her head guard. But if she said no, then her citizens would be in doubt. I could be seen as a martyr, an innocent victim that will set rebellion in action.
"Fine." She whispered, leaning back in her chair.
"The… The whole story?" She nodded, and my heart lept. I looked up at Hudo, and mumbled, "You might want a chair, this'll take a while."
Zelda rolled her eyes as Hudo plopped onto the floor next to me, keeping one eye on me and one on the Princess. I closed my eyes for a second, briefly going over my past before I took a deep breath. Then, I began to tell the story I had kept hidden all these years, my story.
"It started in Kokiri Forest, in a small town nestled in a meadow that no human nor Hylian had ever stumbled upon before and came out alive. On the eve of my tenth birthday, I had a nightmare that would not only decide my own fate, but the fates and destines of everyone in Hyrule…"