Author's Notes:
Even though this story doesn't really seem to attract reviews (even a simple "gj" is awesome), I'm amazed at the amount of views this story has gotten. This story has had about 120 visitors from every part of the world, which really is amazing. About two-thirds of my readers are American, but there are people that read this story from places I didn't know exist, like the Dominican Revar! Strange, Google Maps is telling me that the Dominican Revar isn't a real place...
Just a heads up, this story does contain character death, both canon characters and original characters. If this offends you, I'm sorry, and you should click away now.
Looking back through the chapters, the setting seems slightly confusing. Let me quickly explain what I've been going for:
Three years have passed since Twilight Princess. In that time frame, new islands previously unknown to the Hylian public were discovered. Those islands were Termina and Koholint. When the people of both islands were asked to swear loyalty and their lands to Hyrule, they refused, but peace still remained.
Termina is southwest of Kakariko (this is on the Wii version of the Twilight Princess map) and directly west of Ordon. Koholint is directly east of the desert.
Zelda's uncle Seto had built the castle in Kakariko, and breathed new life in to the deserted town. After that, the people proclaimed him the lord of that town, but he still swore loyalty to the king (now Zelda).
Manni, King of Koholint had funded a project to build a new city in the desert coast (eastern Hyrule) named Sand Port. This port was designed to make transportation between Koholint and Hyrule easier.
The only lapse in this story compared to LoZ : TP was that Zelda's father was the actual ruler, while Zelda appeared to be the ruler of Hyrule in Twilight Princess. That and Impa being in this story. And there's probably one other thing I'm forgetting, but I can't be bothered to remember it.
Also, I've changed the icon for this story. Before it was a picture of a castle. Now it's a picture of an armored king on a throne holding a sword. Atop it clearly says "The King's Last Words". I know that the bottom is a little hard to read. It says "Freedom has a Price..."
CHAPTER 3
Death Mountain
I
Kakariko
Link and Ashei were placed in a single cell, and two guards watched over them. The entire dungeon was below the castle, through a hidden entrance. The ground was cold and made of stone, and the cell was poorly illuminated by a single torch outside of the cell. Beside that torch lied the stairs out.
Two days had passed since they were put in the dungeon, and the cooks attempted to keep Link from knowing what time it was by the meals. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner: beans. However, they made a grave mistake in the sense that all three meals should be distanced at equal proportions. Instead lunch was served four hours after breakfast, just as it normally would, and dinner was served seven hours after lunch. Breakfast took place after the changing of the guards.
Since the rotation of who's guarding the cellar just changed, Link knew that this was his third day here, and it was morning, just before breakfast.
Despite figuring out the time, Link nor Ashei could figure out their fates. Perhaps they would be executed, to send a message to Zelda... or perhaps held hostage to keep Zelda from attacking. Ashei needed desperate medical attention for her shoulder, but couldn't receive it, no matter how much Link protested.
Link absolutely hated the cellar since he stepped inside of it. He felt defeated. But even worse than that, he felt useless. Link couldn't help squash Seto and his rebel allies to the ground.
One guard, who was burly and wore a full suit of armor, showed up, and beside him stood another one that looked quite similar. Their chests were decorated with the crow. The first one carried a tray of beans for the two.
"Hey, time to eat," the man said. Ashei watched him with a blank expression as he waved the food inside. Link sat in a corner, facing away from them. "Come on hero, time to eat."
Link did absolutely nothing at first, but recklessly pointed his middle finger at the guard. The first guard growled and opened up the cage with a whip. Link jumped up and smacked the guard to the wall, and took the whip. The second one blocked the door, and charged at Link, knocking him against the wall. Link's back was in an awful state, and he dropped to the ground. The guards muttered a few curse words and left.
"That was a stupid move," Ashei frowned.
"Needed to get the blood flowing."
Ashei raised an eyebrow, "for what? We're not going to be fighting any time soon." With that, Link sighed and lowered his head.
"I need to get out of here," Link replied as he gripped the bars, "I can't handle being a prisoner."
Ashei pondered for a moment, "Link... what's going to happen to us? Are we going to rot in here?"
"Hopefully not," Link sighed, "I'm planning on living to kill Seto myself."
"What if we die? Just here, and nobody finds our bodies? My culture says every person must die a beautiful death in order to go to Valhalla. Rotting in a cellar is not a beautiful way to die."
"What counts as a beautiful death?"
"A sword shall kill me on the battlefield. An enemy's sword."
"Strange," Link smirked, "when I die, I would prefer to be 80. With a stomach of wine and meat, and to die simply of old age. Most of all, I would want to say goodbyes to those that I know."
II
Hyrule Castle
Now was a state of panic for Zelda. Link should have been back by now, she thought. It was a pretty stupid move of her to send him there, but if anybody could come back and confirm that the message was delivered, it was Link. The hero could be dead. Or imprisoned. If he was imprisoned, then what items would Zelda give to free him?
She had called her council to decide on it. Normally to her right was Zeal, but he was not here. To her left was Impa. At the other sides of the council were Auru and Shad, both members of the resistance group three years ago. Between them normally sat Link, but he was also missing.
A victory tune came whistling from the postman as he walked in. Auru sighed, "we should have sent him to Kakariko first."
Everybody smiled, but the postman paid no heed. He took out a letter and handed it to Queen Zelda and took off.
"Read it out loud," Impa said.
"Under the influence of myself, King Seto, I formally declare Kakariko to be an independent nation, along with our new found ally, Termina. The land as part of my nation shall be the city of Kakariko. the gates surrounding the city, and the path to Death Mountain. We shall graciously create a new path to Death Mountain for you if you, Queen Zelda Harkinan, sue for peace. Otherwise, we will take the path by force, and declare war against any opposing forces."
Zelda immediately tore the paper in to small pieces.
Shad frowned, "They have Termina on their side? How? I thought Juste was an honourable man."
Zelda looked around, trembling, "I - I need advice."
"Let us go to war. Even without the Zoras, we outnumber them two to one," Shad said.
"If you want my advice," Auru said, "then we should be sending our armies east as well. No doubt that Manni will take advantage of this and attack us while we are unoccupied."
"Or he would join forces with Seto and surround us," Impa said.
"But we can't afford to lose too many soldiers to the east when we war against the west," Zelda sighed, "tell the general to fortify defenses along the desert. If he does advance on us, we'll know ahead of time."
"I'll give the orders," Impa left to find the army general.
Zelda took a piece of paper and began to write on it:
To Seto Harkinan
This is our formal declaration of war against Kakariko and its armies. We will not sue for peace, as Kakariko is not an independent nation, nor will we give the path to Death Mountain, as that has rightfully been given to the Gorons by our late king Harkinan.
Queen Zelda Harkinan of Hyrule Castle
III
Kakariko
Thousands of men, holding banners of the turtle, the official symbol of Termina, marched in to Kakariko, led by Juste Valle himself. The entire city crowded outside of the theatre, with King Seto himself atop the stage. Beside him was a guillotine, and a few soldiers.
"Traitors to Kakariko shall not go unpunished!" Seto yelled, and the crowd applauded. "Bring in the traitors!"
Two Kakarikan soldiers carried Ashei onto the stage, and behind her, Link, also being dragged by soldiers.
"Take their heads!" One voice yelled in the crowd. A thousand more followed, chanting the same thing.
"What in the name of-" Juste muttered to himself as he watched the display, wide-eyed.
Link also had the same expression on his face as they were brought to the stage beside Seto. Both were unarmed. I don't want to die like this, Link whimpered to himself. He wanted to die valiantly and in battle. Not in a public execution. Ashei also appeared scared, but it was tough for Link to tell, since she showed so few emotions.
This is not a beautiful death, she thought quietly to herself.
"Link," she quietly said, "if you can, burn my body. That's the only way left for me to go to Valhalla."
Her words drowned out midst the cheering of the crowd. His heart raced.
Thump, thump, thump.
"Off with their heads!"
"Kill the bastards!"
Thump, thump, thump.
Suddenly, his whole life flashed before his eyes. He could see many images of himself through the years. When he turned sixteen, his adventure in the Twilight Realm, meeting Princess Zelda, and defeating Ganondorf. He may have done good things in his life, but he was still too young.
Ashei was brought to the guillotine first. Her neck was placed just above the heightened blade, held up by a masked man. Jared, Kakariko's army general also watched on the theatre stage, with somewhat of a frown.
Thump, thump, thump.
"My king, this isn't appropriate," Jared whispered quietly to Seto.
"Nonsense, traitors go unpunished!" Seto retorted.
Thump, thump, thump.
The crowd was roaring in anticipation as the guillotine was brought to its full height. A few gasps went through the audience as the executioner did so.
"My god!" Juste yelled, horrified by what we was about to witness. Nobody paid him any attention.
Eventually Seto did see Juste, and motioned words that appeared to say, "I'll talk to you later."
Thump, thump, thump.
The roars of the crowd only got louder as the executioner finally let go of the rope holding the blade up. The blade went down, crashing down and slashing Ashei's neck. Her lifeless head rolled over a few feet before finally stopping. The executioner got a plastic bag and put Ashei's head in to it.
I'm sorry, Ashei. I can't give you your beautiful death.
The crowd began to clap their approval, and now it was Link's turn. His head was placed on the guillotine as the blade went up.
"STOP IT!" Juste's voice shouted above everybody else's as he ran to the stage up to Seto. "What in the name of the Goddesses are you doing?"
"You heard him, stop it," Seto gave the orders as Link head was released, "those two have attempted to kill me. Only fair that I return the favour."
"This is madness! Link is far more valuable to us alive than dead!"
"We'll talk about this after the battle," Seto grinned.
Juste crossed his arm, "and when is that?"
"It'll start within the hour."
Link was let up from the guillotine, and opened his eyes. Immediately he was knocked down to the wooden flooring, and dragged back to his cell. He eyed Seto, and Jared. There was a third man with them, but he couldn't quite see his face.
Seto's army was fully prepared. Along the front were vanguards, who carried giant shields that protected the rest of the army in their advancement. Behind them were soldiers, who thirsted for the blood of their enemies. Behind Seto's soldiers were Juste's soldiers, proudly carrying his flag. Behind all of them were the archers and cavalry.
At the twelfth hour of the day, they had advanced. From near the back, Seto and Juste watched the soldiers marching. Their soldiers cried out as they began to run, seeing the enemy uphill. The archers readied their bows, and fired at each other. All around their army, soldiers fell, but they still advanced. Eventually Gorons tumbled down towards their army, hitting vanguards and cavalry along the way. Some were killed along the way by a stray arrow.
Hylian men began to light their arrows on fire and aim them at the grass around them. Fires enveloped around them, but the armies proceeded onwards. In response, the sole catapult they brought flung rocks and bombs beyond the hill, shaking Death Mountain by the impacts.
It wasn't until Juste saw Hyrule Castle's banner that he began to worry. Atop the mountain, Zeal saw Juste's banners flying high, and Juste wanted to run away. To apologize for his actions. The last objective on his mind was to wage war against Hyrule Castle. That would be a war he simply could not win. He wanted to kill Seto for getting him involved in such an action. He wanted to gain a powerful ally in Kakariko. Not make any significant enemies.
"Charge!" One soldier screamed as he led the battle. An arrow impaled his stomach, and he fell to the ground.
Still, his army proudly marched onward. Many men screamed in pain as their chests were impaled with arrows. Blood was all around them, but they continued to advance uphill. Many of his men were dying around him, but the true battle did not start until the Hyrule soldiers rushed against them to fight face-to-face.
The sound of swords clashing was deafening. Juste looked to see Seto smiling. Despite the heavy casualties of their armies, they were advancing without too many problems.
"Keep going!" Seto commanded, "this battle is one that shall be remembered in history! The day Kakariko defeats the Gorons!"
One Hylian soldier ran up to Juste with his sword held high. Halfway in his path, an arrow impaled the soldier in the chest. He gripped the injury and fell down on the ground. When Juste finally made it to the point where the man fell, he looked the soldier in the eyes. The soldier looked back, straight at him. With great pity, Juste took out his own sword and ended his misery.
Most of his vanguard was taken out. Cavalry still rode strong on both sides as men fell from their horses. Just slightly ahead of them, the King of Termina witnessed a stray horse knocking one of his men down to the ground. When the man tried to roll over, the horse stomped on the man, undoubtedly crushing all of his rubs and puncturing organs in the process. Blood started to drip from that man's mouth.
On the other side of the battle, Darbus started to panic. Nobody had expected Termina's help, and they were heavily outnumbered. If they had the Zora's help, they might be on more even terms, but they're missing. Seto's army continued to advance midst the heavy archery fire. More and more Gorons rolled downhill to engage the enemy, but most were killed before they could reach the bulk of their army.
Zeal and Darbus exchanged worrying glanced. "This isn't good," Zeal quietly said. Darbus shook his head.
"We're not going to retreat. We've held this land for thousands of years," Darbus replied.
"Is that an excuse to let your people die?" Zeal raised an eyebrow.
"My people want to die defending their lands. It's the only way our ancestors will approve of us!"
Who cares what dead people think? Zeal thought to himself. He did not say anything however. A few feet away from them, a bomb exploded, and the debris left a small crater there.
The sound was deafening as men shouted and yelled and begged for mercy. That was never given.
Eventually, Seto's army pushed to the highest point on the hill. After that, it was downhill to Death Mountain. A second wave of archers began to fire at Seto's army from the heights of Death Mountain. Many Hylian men lost their spacing and had to back up. However, it was difficult to find a good rally point since they were going downhill.
The archers atop Death Mountain couldn't do hit anything, since they were up so high. Eventually Zeal ordered for his men to retreat and rally at the base of Death Mountain. Only a thousand Hylians remained, and fewer Gorons. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers poured uphill, and many of the Hylian soldiers fled.
"Go," Gor Coron whispered to Darbus and Zeal, "run away from here. You shall fight another battle on another day."
"What about you, my brother?" Darbus asked, looking worried for the elder.
"I'll be fine. Go!"
The two left Death Mountain as a white flag was raised by Gor Coro. Instantly, every Hylian and Goron dropped their weapons and bent low, signalling defeat. Juste and Seto were on horses, and approached the base of the mountains.
For the past hour, Link heard nothing but shouts and swords clashing. Then, it all stopped. Link sat down in his cold cellar. He feared the worst.
"How does it feel? To know that you've lost?" One of the guards grinned at him.
Link looked up, and forced a smile, "I'll ask you that once we've won the war."
The guard sat outside of the cellar, "this is the golden age for Kakariko. A turning point in Hyrule's history. After this war is over, we shall rule the kingdom."
"The royal family has not lost the throne in the past thousand years. What makes you think that you'll be able to take it?" Link retorted.
"King Seto is the rightful king. He shall guide us to victory and glory."
"One win does not assure victory."
"Better than one loss," the guard smirked.
Knights surrounded the mountain, and forced any civilians out of it. They rounded up every civilian, Hylian soldier and Goron into one group.
Juste found Seto midst the crowd and pulled him away, "explain to me what Hylian soldiers are doing here!"
"Queen Zelda has declared war against me after I refused to give up my lands and riches," King Seto replied.
"Great, now you've dragged me in to this war with you..." Juste felt like pulling his hair out, "this is an impossible war that we cannot win!"
"Relax, we've won this battle."
"This was one bloody battle! There are dozens more to come, and no doubt that we'll lose most of those!"
A servant brought Seto some wine. Between sips, Seto talked, "We'll win this. We just need to be smarter than them. This is what I say: I will take northern Hyrule for us while your armies head south and take the southern and eastern parts."
"Define 'eastern parts'."
"Koholint and the desert. In addition, you might as well take Ordon and Faron. Those two will be easy enough. With all of that, we can surround Hyrule Castle, rally enough men and siege the castle. I shall control what I have conquered, and you shall rule over Hyrule Castle and any areas you have conquered."
"What if we lose?"
"We won't lose," Seto grinned. With that, Juste left, frustrated. No doubt that Juste will remain on Seto's side, since Zelda won't take an apology from him. Of course Seto wouldn't give half the kingdom and Hyrule Castle away once they win. Seto can just... dispose of Juste and his family. With a grin, Seto took another sip of wine.
Juste continued to walk around and see the destruction. Half of him was happy of the victory. The other was unhappy about who his only ally was. Noticing all of the Hylian soldiers and Gorons being led in one small group to Kakariko, he immediately asked Jared (Kakariko's army general) what was happening.
"They're our prisoners now. We're taking Death Mountain," he answered, "we'll just lock them away in the dungeons. He eyed Gor Coron and the other elders, "we might have to kill a few to make room. But now we have both the hero of light and the Goron elders."
"What about Darbus?" Juste raised an eyebrow. Jared shook his head. "Zeal?"
"Neither of them are here."
Damn the elders, Juste thought to himself. They really were nothing but symbols to the Gorons. The real prizes were Darbus and Zeal.
IV
West Hyrule Fields
Darbus and Zeal traveled through the fields on foot. The journey stretched out beyond them and their food supplies were running low.
"I'm worried about Gor Coron," Darbus reminded the old man.
"Well, I'm worried about getting home without starving or getting murdered," Zeal retorted, "we should have brought some food."
"That can't be helped, brother."
Zeal searched through his pockets, and found a few rupees. He held it in his hand and began to count. 5... 10... 20... 40... 41... 42... 47.
"Can forty-seven rupees buy us anything? A horse, maybe?" Zeal asked.
Darbus began to laugh, "not a horse, no. A lunch, perhaps."
Zeal stopped in his tracks and looked around, "do you see any taverns?"
"I know of one only a few minutes away from here," Darbus smiled, "if you would like, we can go immediately and continue to Hyrule Castle later on. I'm starving."
"Wait, can't you just eat rocks?" Zeal raised an eyebrow.
"That's a stereotype."
The tavern was filled with laughter and talk as the duo walked in. Instantly, eyes went on the two of them as they entered. The entire tavern fell silent at once.
"We are sorry to hear of your loss," one of the men said, "but it really isn't safe for you to be showing your faces in public. Seto's paying anybody who captures and brings the both of you a handsome amount."
"You're lucky we're all sworn to the Queen. If it were any other group of people, they would have taken you in bags the moment they saw you," another man added.
Zeal cleared his throat, "well, we are grateful for that information. All we need is some food and we'll be off."
The two stood on stools as the laughter and talk continued. A waitress came to take their orders.
"Anything cheap, and a wine for my friend here," Darbus told her. She immediately went to find them something.
"I don't drink," Zeal replied The entire tavern went silent.
"How can you live without even a sip of wine?" A voice rose from the crowd.
"Drink!" Another voice chanted, and more followed.
"Drink! Drink! Drink!"
The waitress brought back a salad for Darbus and a glass of wine for Zeal. He waved it away, and many people started to yell louder.
"Drink! Drink! Drink!"
"I don't drink!" Zeal yelled back.
Even Darbus joined in, "drink! Drink! Drink!"
"I do not drink! Keep on chanting this and I will have every single one of you hanged!" Zeal shouted above all of the other voices. Instantly the tavern fell silent as he took the salad and handed the beer off to Darbus.
The tavern remained silent after that, up until the waitress brought the bill. All together, it costed the pair two hundred rupees.
"How?" Darbus asked, infuriated.
The waitress shrugged, "rumours of war have been driving prices through the roof."
"We don't have two hundred rupees." Darbus replied.
"I'm sure my boss will exempt the two of you from paying this one time," she said as she left.
"Well, that's nice, free lunch!" Darbus smiled.
"Have you no shame?" Zeal snapped at him as they left, "we are not so poor that we avoid paying for meals."
"Do we have any other choice?"
Zeal sighed in defeat. He made a mental note of visiting the tavern again to pay the full two hundred rupees.
V
Hyrule Castle
Zelda slammed her fist on the desk, "no!" Tears started to appear from her eyes. The battle lost, Juste betraying her, and Link and the Gorons captured. How can this happen?
Impa was beside her, comforting her.
"That was poorly planned on our side. We still have a numbers advantage, and relations with the Zoras are becoming much better. Soon enough, they may join us."
"They won't," Zelda quietly muttered, "they freeze in the cold. They won't step outside if there's so much as an inch of snow on the ground. I want Link back. That's the priority."
"The only way they'll release him is if we surrender," Shad said, "or we capture somebody more important. So for now, we must forget about Link."
"He's right," Auru added, "we have to protect the kingdom. Between Termina and Kakariko, their armies nearly match us. If Koholint attacks us as well, we cannot hold up for too long."
"What are you suggesting?" Zelda asked.
"We make peace with Koholint."
Impa shrugged her head, "they'll want too much in exchange for peace. That and Manni's words mean nothing. He's a born liar."
"It'll be better to find out what they want in exchange for peace," Auru added, "that'll be a start."
"If we ask them for peace, Manni's going to become less hesitant to attack us because it makes us look scared of him. That's not our goal."
"What can we do then?" Shad asked.
Zelda lowered her glass of wine, "send a spy to the Sand Port. That spy'll keep us updated on what happens on a regular basis there. If troops begin to flow in and out of the city more often, we get to know. If anybody important is in the city, we get to know."
Just then, Darbus and Zeal walked in to the main hall, and took seats. Darbus sat where Link normally sat, while Zeal returned to his regular seat.
"You know, the Sand Port has a very large Goron population," Auru said as he smiled, staring at Darbus. The Goron sat there, oblivious to what was happening.
"Alright," Zelda spoke, "Darbus, you shall head to the Sand Port, east of here. Act as one of the inhabitants there. Regularly report to us on what's new there."
"I come back from a battle that countless men die from, and this is what happens?" Darbus raised an eyebrow, "so many of my brethren died there. I would prefer to just mourn over the fact that I've lost my home... the home my ancestors have defended with their lives."
"Are you loyal to your queen?" Impa asked Darbus. The Goron nodded, "then you shall obey her without question."
Darbus sighed and looked at Auru, "Sand Port also has a large human population. Typically, Gorons and humans hate each other over there, so we might as well have a human spy there as well. Maybe..." Darbus smiled at Auru, "somebody who has experience of the desert?"
Queen Zelda smiled, "excellent idea! It is settled. Darbus, Auru: you two are to go to Sand Port as spies and report back any information you hear. Also, it would be safer if the two of you did not know each other. The two of you shall leave at dusk."
Auru glared at Darbus. Darbus smiled back.
VI
Sand Port
It was a bold move for Aman to move all the way to Sand Port. Under her father's orders, she was to watch over the city. Everything turned out well as she became acquainted with the officials there. However, on the most recent day, he showed up.
"Hello sister," Ramsi smiled as he entered the town hall, "I trust that you've been well, even without me."
For a moment, she was at a loss for words. "What are you doing here?"
"Uncle Manni sent me here. Don't worry, I won't be long."
"What are you doing here?" She repeated herself.
"I'm going to build a few ships in this town's harbour," he replied, "two days ago a fire broke out and we lost two warships, and the harbour in Koholint has been damaged to the point that it's unusable."
She frowned, "Sand Port doesn't have the men nor the materials needed to build ships."
Ramsi smiled again, "not yet. But it will."
Furiously, Aman rose up from her seat and left the town hall. The building was made out of marble on the inside, and it was fully carpeted. Many other people were there, whether they were paying taxes or addressing issues inside of the city. The richer population were made of humans, and the slums of Sand Port were inhabited by Gorons. The roads were paved of stone, and sand covered the city across. In the day, the heat was close to unbearable. In the night, the city was so cold that it was unbearable. No time to look at the city, Ramsi thought to himself, time to build ships.
In the next few days, shipbuilders, wood, and other materials were supposed to arrive here. Manni even said that Ramsi could name the ships himself.
VII
Kakariko
Link sat in his cell, with his face being held with his hands. He was hungry, thirsty, and cold. Worse, he failed his mission. He also led Ashei to her death. While he did warn her the path would be dangerous, he did not say that they could lose their lives.
Now she's gone, yet he lives. He led Ashei to her death.
It should have been me, Link thought sullenly, I deserve to die.
"Get up, King Seto wants to see you," one of the guards said to him as the door was unlocked. Link's hands were in chains behind his back, and he was too weak to fight. He silently followed the guard up the stairs, to Seto's throne room.
Seto stood in front of his throne, wearing a crown. "Hello Link," he said, "I have a few questions."
"I don't know anything," Link answered.
Seto smirked, "every time he refuses to answer my question, cut a wound deeper in to his right arm."
One of the guards unsheathed his sword, and placed it just above Link's arm as Seto continued, "what do you know of Zelda's plans?"
"She's planning on crushing you in to the dirt," Link answered, and spat on the carpet, right where the symbol of the crow lied.
"Cut him," Seto ordered.
The guard lifted up Link's sleeve just enough so that bare skin was visible. He pressed the sword against the bare skin and blood began to drip out. The guard did not move the sword.
"What do you know of Zelda's plans?" Seto repeated himself.
"I've already answered that!" Link retorted. The guard placed more pressure on the sword as it cut deeper into Link's skin. The hero ground his teeth together to avoid crying out in pain.
"What do you know? Anything will suffice!"
"I know that nobody will want you as their king after they realize just how hateful you are."
"Answer me, or else he shall cut deeper. Just a warning, hero of light... if he cuts too deep, you may lose control of your arm," Seto calmly replied.
"I know nothing!" Link repeated as the guard placed the sword even deeper into Link's wound. Link started to scream in pain and resist, but it was futile.
"Answer me!"
Link spat once again on the crow, and Seto stood up. "Guards," he said, "let go of him. I shall take care of him myself."
As soon as the guards let go of Link, the boy in green dropped to the ground, clutching his arm in pain. Seto grabbed Link by the hair and pulled him outside with one hand, and held a large rock with the other. The guards winced when they heard the sound of the rock hitting Link's face, leaving bruises and bloodstains. Link screamed in pain as Seto kept on yelling at Link, "answer me!"
The boy would never answer. After a few minutes, Seto finally let go of Link, frustrated as he went back to his throne. The guards carried Link back in to the dungeon.
After Link was locked up again, all of the guards left, except one. That one guard began to speak to Link in a way that no other guard spoke to him before.
"Link, was it? I'm sorry for your pain," the guard said, "I'm sorry for what he's done to you. To your friend as well."
Link got up and looked the guard in the eyes, even though he was wearing a helmet, "Thank you for your apologies."
Link grunted as he applied more pressure on the wound, but blood still dripped out.
"Here," the guard handed him a rag, "cover your wound with your own clothing, then cover your clothing with this."
Link raised an eyebrow and cautiously took the rag. He was expecting for the guard to quickly whip his outreached hand, but he did no such thing.
"Thanks," Link quietly muttered as he gripped his right arm.
The guard took off his helmet, revealing blue eyes and long brown hair, "my name's Bruno, by the way." He stretched a hand out through the cell bars.
Link smiled, "Link. Pleased to meet you," he said as he shook Bruno's hand.
VIII
East Hyrule Field
In the night, King Bulbin rides on Lord Bullbo, alongside his companions. Nobody knows what his first name is, not even himself. It's not like a Bulbin to assign himself a name, since the herd wants to stay in unison as much as possible, and anything differentiating people was frowned upon.
Three years ago, King Bulbin promised Hyrule that his days of pillaging were over after surrendering to Link. However, it was tough to stop, since that's what he was raised doing. He had a hunter's mind, just like Link.
Looking back at their relationship, Link and King Bulbin had a lot in common. Both of them were born to travel, and hated staying in one spot. They also rode a wild animal that they treated as an ally, and they rarely talked. It wasn't that either of them were particularly shy, it's just that they didn't talk. Link's changed from that, however.
Occasionally King Bulbin and his horde did patrol the roads along the Hyrule Fields for any citizens to scare and/or rob. After years of experience, King Bulbin could practically smell a foreigner on the road.
On that night, a carriage led by two horses passed on the road going from Hyrule City. A man and a Goron were sitting inside of it as they headed off Sand Port, the only logical destination.
Once King Bulbin saw the carriage, he drew his sword. The chase begins, he thought to himself as he followed the carriage in to the darkness. His horde sounded the attack horns. This is what he lived for.
END CHAPTER
Words: 6,149
Author's Notes:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are always appreciated, whether positive or constructive (just not hateful).
This story doesn't get too gory, in case you're wondering. There are plenty of deaths, however. As was in this chapter, you have been warned!