Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda or their characters. They all belong to Nintendo except for Zanna.
Chapter 3: Twilight Scurge
Freya was left to the care of the King's stable boys, and Impa led Zanna through the vast hallways of the castle. On the way, they passed a girl in royal attire, with her hair covered in a head dress. Zanna caught her gaze. In only a moment, they read each other. Zanna knew without being told that the child was Princess Zelda, and there was a mutual distrust between them. Zelda turned the other way, and as she walked in the opposite direction, she whispered, knowing full well that Zanna could hear, "You're not an ambassador... You're a pitiful slave..." The bloodlust was back, and with a vengeance, and it was all Zanna could do to control herself. Impa glanced at her sideways, and saw a brief glimpse of pain on Zanna's face, which was quickly replaced with a resolute stare.
They reached the throne room, and Impa approached the King.
"Your Majesty," she said, with a bow. "A messenger from Ganondorf, the King of the Gerudo."
"Your Majesty," said Zanna, who also bowed.
"Welcome to Hyrule Castle," said the King. "What brings you to Hyrule Castle Town?"
"Your Majesty, I have come from the Gerudo Desert as a representative for Lord Ganondorf," replied Zanna. "My lord sends his regards and desires to establish firm relations with the kingdom of Hyrule. It is an honour to meet you, Your Majesty."
"Indeed, it is an honour to have Lord Ganondorf's ambassador in my castle," said the King.
"I respectfully offer my services to the Hylian Royal Family in the hope that our people will peacefully unite as one," said Zanna. She felt like she was lying, somehow. She'd never spoken like this before. Nevertheless, orders were orders. "I pledge my loyalty, Your Majesty."
"Most excellent," replied the King. "However, for centuries, the Royal Family has been under the protection of the Sheikah. No threat has ever come to us under their protection. Impa, who is Princess Zelda's attendant, is a fine example of the loyalty bestowed upon us by them."
Impa managed to contain a smirk upon hearing this. She didn't trust Zanna, either. Any good Gerudo citizen, true-born or otherwise, was a dead one.
"Your Majesty, it has come to my attention that your enemies, whoever they may be, would expect such action," said Zanna. "They would never expect me to turn up on their doorstep. Make no mistake, I am not here to replace the Sheikah, but to work with them. If we are to build an alliance, then we must have mutual trust. I can earn your trust, Your Majesty."
"Aren't you quite the sweet-talker?" thought Impa, amused.
"You might be right," said the King. Stroking his grey beard thoughtfully, he continued. "I would not want to insult your King, young Zanna. One problem has been plaguing me for sometime, now that I think about it. The town's milk supply, which is vital to the economy of Hyrule, has been cut short. Our milk, which comes from Lon Lon Ranch in the south, is being cut off by bandits. Why they'd target something so simple as milk is beyond my comprehension, but it's affecting the income of the ranchers, and that of the vendors, and we're not getting any either. I could have sent my soldiers, but the bandits would see them coming, and we'd never catch them. It should be easy enough for you. Stop this senseless raiding by any means necessary, but let them live so they can be tried. If you can do this simple task, I will consider you for a more wholesome task when you return."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" said Zanna. She departed immediately. Once she mounted her horse, she rode straight out of town and headed towards the ranch. "I'd be happy to deal with those bandits," she thought with a smirk. "But don't expect me to keep them alive! If they deserve it, they'll get a rather fitting punishment. Now if I knew where to find them..." Her biological senses went into overdrive at the thought. Her horse was unusually silent. She didn't think much of it. Even with the sound of Freya's hooves hitting the ground, she could still hear the most silent of sounds.
Zanna was just outside the ranch. It was nightfall now. No point in entering now. In the dark of the night, and the faint moonlight, she could see shadows skulking towards the ranch. Since delivery had stopped, the bandits apparently decided to go and get their loot without waiting. "Well, this won't do," thought the young assassin. She carefully dismounted.
"Now be very quiet, Freya," she whispered.
"This is me you're talking to," Freya silently replied.
Zanna discreetly followed the group, unsheathing her sword as she did so. She heard whispers, as clear as the day.
"It's not just the milk, is it?"
"No, he really likes the owner's daughter."
"But isn't she like, ten?"
"Ha! You think that bothers me?"
Zanna frowned. What was that old fart on about?
"We'll kill the slob, and the irritable old man, and we'll..."
"We'll what?"
"We'll have a gang bang!"
Zanna's rage went into overdrive. Rape a ten-year-old girl, would they? No way. The King could forget all about keeping the bandits alive. He could forget all about mercy. Such a Hylian concept! No, the Gerudo way made more sense. Kill the bastards. Make them pay! Thinking about it was just as bad as doing it. Zanna would exact her judgement upon them. She walked right up to them, not even caring if they heard her footsteps. They all turned around. Since all they could see was a hood and no face, and a raised sword, they were terrified. Even more so when a piercing purple glow was emitted from her eyes.
"No mercy!" she hissed between her teeth as her first victim was gutted where he stood. His organs fell to the ground and his body followed. She severed the limbs of the next two, and swiftly cut off their heads. The remaining three were stabbed through the chest and their heads removed. And even after the men were dead, she continued to hack away at their bodies, until blood painted the grass and the men were no longer recognisable. She hacked until her anger drained, and her blood lust was satisfied. She caught her breath steadily, used a cloth to wipe her sword clean, pleased with herself that her clothes remained unstained. Her eyes gradually stopped glowing, and she walked back to her horse. The next thing she was concerned about was explaining to the King about the manner in which the men were killed. She decided that the best thing was to go and get some rest, and return to the castle in the morning.