-Spawned from the black pits of the netherworld is an unmistakably evil force that has been the pain and the ultimate downfall of many potential heroes.
Those who stand against the power either perish, or spend the rest of their lives in fear. Believe it or not, a leader with one of the most ruthless and tactically cunning minds in recent history commands this band of almost invincible creatures.
The Death Knights kill and maim under the strict hand of Treb, a defector from the ranks of Hyrule's army. They track down their targets with a hitherto unknown single-mindedness, never relenting until their prey is cold and dead.
A squadron of these elite killing machines have been sent by Gorkhan to seek out the Legendary Hero and destroy him...
Chapter Three: PERIL
The Desert Colossus
A Hylian man bowed low in the opulence of the desert tent of Gorkhan, the Gerudo King. His armor was finely made, his sword was sharp and ever ready, and his heart was as black as night. He knew he was a traitor, that he had betrayed one master for another. He no longer cared. At long last, he would command again, be the general he was always meant to be.
General Antono Treb received his orders and quickly exited as Gorkhan sat silently, lost in the complexity and brilliance of his own plans.
The king pondered the thought of controlling the Triforce of the Gods, of shaping the world to his own ideals and designs. There were barriers between him and his prizes, though. Standing from his chair, he moved over to his study area. He gulped down a bit of wine, all that was left in his goblet, and stared viciously at the scroll in front of him.
His own research had clearly shown him what needed to be done. The pieces would resonate when together. Capture and kill the owner, then take the piece for yourself from his or her cold, dead corpse. This is what he knew he had to do. He would need both pieces for himself if he wanted to have any shot at tackling the third.
The hero would be no match for his new general and the creatures he commanded. The best course of action would be to kill him as soon as possible.
Recalling the last time that he had seen Princess Zelda, years ago when she was still a puny little girl, the Gerudo King laughed as he thought of how easily she would fall under his power.
Lon Lon Ranch
"'Yeehaw! Lon Lon Ranch'!" Dreck exclaimed as he viewed the enormous sign above him from on top of the huge Goron's shoulder. "What a ridiculous thing to put on a sign. Such bad advertising."
"Yeah, don't get your tunic in a bunch. It's just a smelly old horse farm," Zeta said, not sure why this sudden outburst from the little Deku had been over something so insignificant.
Indeed, the horse ranch was not the largest in the kingdom, but it had enough acreage to be sizeable enough to double as a racetrack if it wanted to. Link stepped into the ranch's wide pasture as he breathed in the aroma of the all too familiar scenery.
The outer perimeter of the ranch was completely surrounded by a fifteen foot high, brick and mortar fence, built long ago for uncertain purposes. It was rumored that long ago in more ancient times that it might have been a fortress, and that the fence was, in fact, the remains of the great walls. None of those rumors could be proven true or false, as the records regarding the ranch had been destroyed many years past during the Hyrulean Civil War, when the town of Kakariko was sacked and burned and the library there turned to ash and charcoal.
Thankfully, the interior of the ranch did not match its truly dreadful exterior. Upon entering the gate, one would have seen the main farmhouse to the immediate left, a long building with multiple floors and a high roof. It was primarily a wooden structure, and was painted, though not with much skill, the same plain grey that most Hylian buildings were colored. The house, like the large stable building to its right, had only one human-sized door to pemit entrance, and the two buildings together, being spearated by about twenty feet, created something of a corridor that lead from the main entrace to the gates of the ranch itself.
Upon passing through the gates, one would have been met with a flat, though luscious green bit of acreage. The ranch itself was small, perhaps no more than a square kilometer, but within that was grown the best grazing grass in all of Hyrule. A eliptical, wrought iron fence stood in the center of this space, with gates every few hundred yeards or so, that separated the horses from the cows. About this fence was a dirt track, with jumping obstacles, again, every few hundred yards, that was used for training the horses as well as, on occasion, racing.
Link noticed that not a thing had changed.
Dozens of chickens were running about, occasionally darting underneath the hero's legs. Similar to chickens in other parts of the world, the Hylian cucco is known for its beautiful white feathers and it's independent spirit. Putting them in a pen is usually not a good idea, as they can fly for short distances. Their meat is always quite tender, and the eggs they produce are considered delicacies in all parts of Hyrule.
In the distance, several cows were grazing. Milk from these particular cows is considered very delicious, and can fetch quite a high price. A fully-grown bull from Lon Lon Ranch, sold simply for the purposes of animal husbandry, was worth ten times that of the best of horses raised there. This of course, made the ranch a piece of prime real estate.
The owners' simple farmhouse continued to stand in the foreground, looking for all the world like still it needed a few more coats of paint.
A loud noise startled Link from his recollections of days past as he witnessed a large horse galloping towards him from across the field. The brown hair and the friendly eyes of the animal were been a sight for his sore eyes. Epona the mare ran towards him, easily bounding over the obstacles that had taken Link so long to coax the horse into jumping.
Link bolted away from the group and ran towards his faithful old friend who had been there for him during all those times had saved the world. He had found a true companion in the horse years before, only to lose her when he was returned to his child-like state. The Legendary Hero started to laugh aloud when he ran towards his old mount, nearly jumping with joy.
Returning Epona to the ranch had been one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but he had done it stoically at the time. Link began to chuckle as Epona galloped toward him, suddenly overcome with emotion.
Blinded to the world around him by the sight of his trusted friend, he promptly tripped over a rock and smacked into the ground face first.
Recovering moments later, he rubbed his head and looked around before his eyes set upon yet another familiar personage. Talon, the father of Malon who had a strange way of falling asleep at the most annoying times, was standing directly over him. The rather portly Hylian man stuck his nose into Link's face and hollered quite loudly and with a thick accent.
"Howdy stranger!" exclaimed Talon. "Whoa! Looks like you done took a spill."
Link blinked a few times, then got to his feet. He was otherwise uninjured, save for a bit of pain in his neck.
"Yes, it appears I have," replied the hero, holding his head. "Thank you for pointing that out."
From behind him, Link could hear his companions laughing hysterically at him.
He steadied his feet and looked up to see Epona standing next to him. The horse sniffed him twice with its great nostrils, then licked Link's cheek once with its great tongue. Epona then appeared to have no more emotion, as if she too were embarrassed by what had just happened.
Talon scratched the mare behind the ear and walked off back towards the farmhouse, stopping only to say, "Don't steal nothin'!"
It had been a strange encounter indeed.
Link rubbed Epona's mane and gently patted her on her back, making her nuzzle up against his hand. The two of them both seemed to return to a state of bliss at their reunion.
"Why is he so happy to see a dumb horse?" Zeta asked as they all watched the Legendary Hero become simply ecstatic over an animal.
"Link and Epona have been through much. They have endured many trials together and have saved the lives of countless people. This excellent creature is one of the most highly held friends of the Legendary Hero," Zelda explained in the most haughty and know-it-all tone of voice she could muster..
The archer scoffed under her breath as the Princess continued to drone on about the marvelous beast that had aided Link many times in the past. Zelda went into some detail about Link and Epona's adventures in Termina, Holodrum, and Labrynna, but the Zora woman had ceased paying attention to the Princess almost immediately.
Zeta watched quietly as the Hylian patted the horse and she found herself smiling warmly at the sight. She had never seen the Legendary Hero grinning so broadly before. She was amazed at how he showed so much joy over a simple beast of burden, and yet could be so deadpan when it came to other matters. In her heart, she wished that perhaps someday she might be able to experience that kind of feeling again, but feared, as she always did, that it had already left her forever.
In order to keep up her callous facade, she rolled her eyes.
Link mounted his beloved horse and scratched the back of the mare's rough neck. He was now lost in recollection of his old travels with Epona. Just being on her back again, even without a saddle, made the feeling of the wind rushing through his hair return. Link had dreaded giving her back to the ranch time and time again, but no matter how much time he spent with Epona, the truth was she didn't really belong to him.
He gazed dreamily into the sky as a voice snapped him out of his trance.
Standing in front of his horse was a beautiful young lady, presumably one of the hired hands.
"Excuse me, do you have some business here?" the dazzling woman said as she gazed directly into the Legendary Hero's eyes.
The lady gripping Epona's mane had the very brightest of red hair. It was fiery crimson in color, and flowed down her back in a single sweep. Though her dress was quite plain, and rather dirty, it was form-fitting and showed off the luscious and overtly attractive form underneath.
This was Malon, the woman in was really charge of the ranch.
She had to take a good look before she recognized him.
"Wait a minute! LINK! By the will of the fairies I never thought I'd see you again!" Malon cried out as she rocked back on her haunches and then threw herself, bodily, at the Legendary Hero.
Link, naturally taken aback by this sudden outburst of emotion, grasped her tightly as she slammed into him at full force. The laws of physics stated that he should be knocked from his mount, and that is exactly what happened. He toppled off Epona and hit the ground with a bone-crunching thud as Malon fell on top of him.
Very suddenly, he found himself in a very compromising situation.
Of course, he felt something familiar, it was an unexpected and unwelcome feeling in public like this. Link wasn't entirely sure how to extricate himself from this new situation. As a burgeoning celebrity in Hyrulean society, he'd grown used to young women diving at him, and had learned to dodge them quite effectively. This time, however, with one of the girls finally pinning him down, he felt totally helpless and confused.
The young Hylian just didn't know how to deal with it. He was confused, but he liked it, and the muscles of his face betrayed him.
The Princess, momentarily startled by Link's name being yelled behind her, turned to see the Legendary Hero lying under a peasant girl who seemed to be grasping him tightly while he smiled stupidly and made no attempt to get out from underneath her.
What made Zelda furious was that Link continued to showed no effort to remove her from his body.
Something was burning now in the back of her mind. The flames grew and grew, pushing forward and taking over her body. Zelda's face grew hot, and she was turning colors. The heat began to spread all over, and when it reached her stomach, it began to turn it foul.
Never before in her life did Zelda have such negative feelings towards another person, except perhaps for Ganondorf, whom she legitimately hated, and for good reason. Years of attending banquets, conversing with nobles, and being catered to had instilled in her a sense that she should always be regal and proper. That went flying out the window when she laid eyes on Link being smothered by a common girl, who she deemed not worthy of his attention.
A very angry Princess Zelda stormed over to where Link was lying.
"What do you think you are doing?" Her Majesty snarled through her teeth.
Zelda's voice shook the young proprietress from her stupor, and she turned her head to see the source of the query.
Malon shrugged and climbed off of Link, pulling him up as she laughed aloud. The Hero opened his mouth to begin to protest, but the redhead held up her hand to silence him. Never being one to back down, Malon accepted the challenge present in Zelda's tone of voice. She couldn't care in the least how royal her adversary was, or what the consequences might be for what might happen in the next few moments.
"Where do you get off yelling at me?" Malon countered with her hands positioned hard on her slender hips. "This is my ranch!"
"Do you know who you are talking to, peasant?" the Princess roared.
"I really don't care who you are! I'm allowed to hug an age old friend if I feel like it!"
"I doubt the Legendary Hero would want such a lowly, pathetic tramp hanging all over him like some love-sick puppy!"
"Well at least he's better off with me then with some stuck-up, high-class, brown-nosed snob!"
"You are nothing more than a dirty, common whore!"
"Oh yeah, well you're just an ugly, egotistical trollop!"
The Princess had never laid a hand on one of her subjects before, but at the end of that sentence Zelda lost all of her self-control. She swung her arm out and slapped the beautiful girl square in the face.
Malon, violent with rage, swung back and left a scarlet handprint on Zelda's cheek.
No one had ever, in history, dared to strike a member of the Royal Family. Malon had crossed the line, and the Princess would make her pay. Before the farm girl could apologize, an outraged Zelda charged her, bringing her swiftly to the ground. Fists began to fly and hair started to get pulled and there was much screaming and kicking.
The group rushed over to try to break it up but Zeta held them back.
"Let them fight it out. Better not to get involved in a catfight like this," she said offhandedly, clearly amused. "Somebody's gonna get a bone broken."
"But we can't let them do this!" Gonga replied. "They'll fight to the horrible, bloody finish!"
"Gonga's right, Master Link," said Jaden. "Listen, I don't know if I should be jealous of you for having two ladies fight over you like this, or if I should feel sorry for you because I know you're stuck in the middle of it, but seriously, yeah, one of them is gonna die, and frankly, I've got my money on the redhead winning."
Knowing full well what he was getting into, Link dove between the two ladies to try and calm down the vicious squall that had been going on over him.
Two balled fists came rushing towards him, one from the left and one from the right. They simultaneously hit him with a force and a rage he had never known. Link could feel the jealousy present in the blows just as much as he could the intense pain.
His courage held up, but his body didn't. A dizzying pain came to his jaw as stars whirled round his head. In a few seconds was Link stumbling around, rubbing the red marks where Zelda and Malon had both punched him.
"Link!" the two girls both yelled as they realized what had just happened.
"See what you did you scum!" Zelda hollered into Malon's ear.
"Me? It was you who hit him!" the redhead screamed back.
Zelda and Malon continued to bicker and fight as Link stood up and dusted himself off. He'd never been punched like that before in his life. The power of their blows had knocked his green hat clean off.
The hero ignored the pain for the time being and glanced back at the two rivals. Jade and Gonga had already separated and restrained them, so he bent over and scooped up his fallen hat.
He placed it back on his head just before an arrow pierced the ground where the hat had been.
Then another hit the same spot.
This was followed by another.
That one was followed by yet another.
"Hide! Run!" Link bellowed.
He scooped up Malon under one arm and Zelda under another. Despite their protests, Link ran for the stables as the Renegades drew their weapons and waited for the attack to fully commence.
In the darkness…
It is said that in the deepest regions of the Gerudo Fortress there is a sacred training center for the most elite fighting forces. In his travels, the Legendary Hero had encountered only the most lowly of the assassins taught there, and they had put him through his paces much more than most other creatures had.
Now he would have to face two fully trained and extremely deadly women.
Out of the four deadliest Gerudo in the world, these two were sent to destroy the last faction of resistance against Gorkhan. The decree was written in an ancient language that had long since been forgotten. Upon this piece of parchment was the order from Gorkhan to the two assassins.
So'Prano and A'lto were the two that had been selected for this job. So'Prano was hired to take care of the Legendary Hero, and A'lto was to destroy the Renegades. One might stop to wonder how two ordinary human females were supposed to stop a band of fighters who could easily hold their own against the Death Knights.
Obviously, these girls were out of the ordinary.
So'Prano, an elite soldier of the Gerudo, was strong, beautiful, and if her hair had been placed in a different style and her skin more pale, one would swear she was a clone of Impa. She carried a long, curved sword of blood red and a dagger of pure darkness. The sword had seen many a battle and had felled numerous Hyrulean soldiers and warriors.
It was said that this instrument of mass destruction was bathed in the blood of one of the Great Fairies, increasing its striking power tenfold.
A'lto was a younger, more inexperienced fighter, but possessed the eyesight of a hawk. A warrior who had seen much bloodshed but never combat, she was a sight to see, an unwilling witness to the horrors of the Hyrulean Civil War. Her reddish brown hair appeared to sparkle, a distraction that could lead many to their deaths. She was armed with a bow and a quiver of black arrows that, when fired, seemed to darken the surrounding sky.
Gorkhan had trusted So'Prano with the utmost responsibility of the task. She was to guide and watch if the others failed.
She remembered the talk well.
A few days before at the Gerudo Fortress
"Well my little Gerudo, have you chosen to accept my offer?" Gorkhan asked of the shadows.
She warily strode from the dank corner of the dreadful throneroom. Her hair tight in her bun and her sword unsheathed in her hand ready in case a few Death Knights might be waiting to ambush her.
"My sisters and I will take the contract. But, my liege, I will take care of the Legendary Hero," she answered with a great measure of confidence.
"I have the utmost faith in you So'Prano," said the King. "And in case your sisters fail…you must uphold your end of the contract."
"We shall not fail my lord. We are Gerudo. Never have we failed a mission."
"You had best not!" Gorkhan sternly said. "And…I expect you to bring me the Legendary Hero alive."
So'Prano was taken aback by this sudden request, as she had never been asked to bring back a target alive. Every person she had been set against ended up dead or severely wounded. This new job disgusted her, and she showed it freely.
"Sire, we do not do our jobs half-assed. We finish off our targets and that is that. To ask us to bring him back alive is to ask us to go against our code of honor!"
Gorkhan's eye visibly twitched at her last statement.
"And to disobey me is to feel my wrath!" he bellowed as black sorcery shot from his hands and enveloped her.
So'Prano screamed in agony as the dark fire burned around her from, and she dropped to her knees, her sword clattering on the stone floor where it fell from her hand.
"This is pain, my dear So'Prano!" Gorkhan cruelly sneered. "You shall feel ten thousand times worse should I not hear what I want!"
The flames stung all over her body, charring her flesh. The Gerudo woman curled up into a ball, trying to make the pain stop by gnashing her teeth and retreating ever further into herself.
It kept coming. Bit by bit, it got stronger, overpowering her will so that she could do nothing but submit to her master's strength.
"Stop! Please stop! I'll do it!" she shrieked with all the air left in her lungs.
Gorkhan waved his hand through the air once and the black flames vanished into the nothingness from which they came.
Dazed, So'Prano slowly got to her feet. When she looked herself over, she found to her amazement, that there were no burn marks. The suffering her king had put her through was only to teach her a lesson in total obedience. She would not forget it any time in the near future.
Seeing that there was no real damage except to her pride, she quietly accepted the assignment.
As she headed for the door, So'Prano heard Gorkhan mutter one last thing.
"Women…they always want to do things the hard way. I must make sure that she doesn't ruin my plans…"
Back at Lon Lon Ranch
So'Prano snapped back to reality as her sister shot a black as night arrow into the open air towards her target. From their perch atop the storehouse on the other side of the ranch, they had a perfect view of their surroundings. The younger sibling drew back on her bow and unleashed another black arrow of death.
A'lto was known for her excellent trademark shot and supposedly never missing her targets.
However, this time she seemed to have been less than accurate.
"You fool! Has no one told you you're absolutely terrible at this?" the elder shrieked as the younger recoiled in fear of a swift blow from her sister.
"It wasn't my fault sister. The presence of the creatures has been distracting me!" replied the archer.
"No excuses!" her sister replied. "Death Knights! Charge!"
Twenty-five Death Knights rose up from underneath the ground. They split the earth and climbed out, bringing with them their giant swords. Ganondorf himself had learned the secrets of forging these armored Moblins, and he made many out of his pure evil and hatred for Hyrule. Each one a ton of sinewy muscle, these dark and desolate fighters would attack without mercy, and they lived only to kill.
They had never failed a task, primarily because they had never been deployed en-masse before. Today was that day, and the ground would quake at their passing. They would test themselves now against the Legendary Hero and the Blade of Evil's Bane.
They rushed forward, yelling their blood-curling scream into the air as the two assassins disappeared into the shadows.
The Farmhouse
"Oh shit! Here they come!" Dreck yelled from on top of his perch.
He had rappelled up onto the roof of the farmhouse, and stood now with his hookshot at the ready.
The Deku took careful aim as he watched the charging Knights scare the cows and horses into a stampede. Luckily for his friends, they were stampeding in the opposite direction.
At the front line stood Gonga and Zeta, silently waiting for the battle to commence. The first of the evil Moblins made a beeline towards the Goron, raising its gigantic blade above its head to strike a fatal blow.
Gonga reacted quickly, and rolled up into a tight ball. The Knight's sword clanged hard, but uselessly, against the rock man's mineral encrusted backside. Standing, the Goron prepared to strike back.
"By Farore's Wind you shall not have us this day!" Gonga yelled as he drew up his warhammer and brought it down hard on the head of the Death Knight. The creature's head was turned into a pulp, and the Goron balled his mighty fist and punched the charging, black armored Moblin that followed its now dead fellow, sending it reeling before following up with another strike with his hammer that put the beast down for good.
Stunned for a slight second by the truly noble and smart exclamation from the large Goron, Zeta snapped back into position as she heard the unmistakable sound of an arrow whizzing past. A solid black arrow buried itself into the ground at her feet. The dark tip sizzled and scorched the earth as it burned away the soil and grass.
"Son of a bitch…they have poisoned tipped arrows!" the Zora yelled to the others.
In revenge, she unleashed a flurry of her own arrows back into the evil mass swarming towards the barn.
Swords, arrows, hammer thwacks, and hookshot blasts flew everywhere as the two sides collided with each other. The opposing forces were totally lopsided, and it seemed the immense force Gorkhan had sent after the group would overwhelm the Renegades.
Then the sides were suddenly evened.
Bursting from the barn, Link cut through the Moblin ranks just in time as Dreck was knocked from the roof of the house. The Legendary Hero dove out and caught his little Deku friend. He placed him on his feet as he brought his shield up to block a crushing blow from a Death Knight.
The Hylian and the Moblin were now locked in mortal combat.
Sparks flew as the hero's sword hit the Moblin's. The Master Sword glowed brightly as it easily withstood the force of the evil blade opposing it. Link then swung the sacred sword in a sideways arc, cutting through the Death Knight at the weak point in the armor at the midsection in one swift motion.
As the Knight separated into two equal halves, Link rebounded and faced another group of hellions.
"Zeta, there are three behind you! Dreck you have two above you! Gonga keep up the attack! We've got them on the run!" the hero shouted triumphantly.
The only one who had yet to do anything was Jaden. His eyes were closed, and he was quietly listening to the sounds of the raging battle. With his large pointed ears, he could determine everyone's exact position just by the sound of his or her footfalls. The Sheikah boy inhaled slowly, waiting patiently for his enemies to reveal themselves.
He could hear light footsteps very close to him, and he could tell they were coming from someone other than his friends. Jaden opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of two figures darting past him. They moved speedily behind the action, ready to spring an ambush on the Legendary Hero.
Jaden bounded to where he saw the two shadows grouping. He drew his dagger and called out to the figures.
"Come out and fight cowards!" he demanded.
His voice seemed to startle them, as they both jumped up. One ran away in fear, while the other stood defiant and stepped forward.
From the darkness emerged a young woman. Slender and dark skinned, she was very alluring. In her hands she held a long curved sword, the steel of the blade a deep crimson red.
A look of contempt spread across her face as she stared at her opponent.
"Pathetic fool! You really believe you can stop me?" yelled So'Prano. "You'll feed my sword another coat of blood!"
With that, she attacked. Her speed was blinding, and she closed the distance between them in an instant. A slash of So'Prano's blade nearly caught the Sheikah, but he too was fast. He dodged her thrust, then parried with his dagger, frustrating the Gerudo assassin to no end.
She was quick, but so was Jaden. If he had been born anyone else he would have been dead and in several pieces by now.
But Jaden wasn't any ordinary boy.
"I am Sheikah! I was trained by the great Impa, and I will fall to no one!"
His taunt made her step back a bit, giving him the chance he needed. Jade jumped forward, spearing the Gerudo hard in the stomach with his shoulder and bringing her to the ground.
Her sword went flying out of her hands, landing some distance away near the farmhouse. The second she was unarmed, the boy turned on his heel and ran for the sword. He grabbed it just as a dagger flew past his face, lodging itself firmly in the wooden siding of the farmhouse. A warm trickle of blood flowed down his cheek from a long cut. Jaden would have a scar from that, and he briefly thought to himself that if he survived the encounter, it might make him look more dashing.
Jaden never got to finish his frantic musing as suddenly the woman bounded towards him, kicked him swiftly in the stomach, grabbed her sword from his hand, then flipped backwards.
Hesitation had been his downfall, allowing her speed to overcome his indecisiveness. He vowed to never again take his mind and his eyes off his opponent.
The young Sheikah, struggled to stand, most of the air already kicked out of him, and consigned himself to fate. He stared angrily at his attacker, ready to fight, but also ready to die.
Today was his day to meet the Goddesses.
She stood there, only five feet away from him, and held the blade at her side nonchalantly as an evil smile crept across her lips. The Gerudo assassin pointed the blade directly at him and moved to speak.
"Ha Ha Ha! The blood of many shall be joined by the blood of one more! Destroy this child, and send him down to the netherworld!" she screamed as she dove forward.
Her blade dug deep and pierced hard into the surface. Fragments of wood shattered around as she pulled it out of her target.
The boy had vanished.
The Gerudo woman yelled curses in four different languages as she witnessed Jaden bounding across the roof, still in one piece with no injuries worth noting.
He was followed by a small little Deku Scrub holding a hookshot.
Inside the Barn
"If he thinks I am going to sit here and wait for him, he's sadly mistaken," Zelda grumbled as she lifted her staff, readying for battle.
"Oh, Link saved me! I hope he comes out okay. I just need to thank him oh so dearly," Malon cooed as she dreamed of the silky blonde hero touching her skin gently. The red-haired woman stared down Zelda after she said this. Clearly it was spoken so as to get a rise out of her.
The Princess gagged at the mere thought.
"Muzzle it! As if he would give you the time of day!" Zelda mumbled under her breath as she slid out the back of the barn.
Zelda wasn't afraid of anything, not even the Death Knights. Underneath the surface image of a stuck up, regal princess was the heart of a warrior. However, what she was about to see would give her nightmares for the rest of her life.
While running over to join the battle, she saw a shadow bound up into the only tree on the entire estate. Wondering what it was, she moved closer to investigate.
Her answer was not one of delight but of horror. She glimpsed a bowstring being drawn back and an arrow fly from this unknown attacker. Zelda turned her head to see the arrow pierce into the skin of its target.
The black as night arrow ripped through the silky cloth and then through the ringed chain-mail as the target fell to his knees.
Zelda shrieked in terror as she watched the wounded warrior drop the brightly gleaming sword. The blade fell from twitching hands to the soft grass below, useless there as a weapon.
The Legendary Hero was hit.
The mysterious attacker jumped down, revealing her true face.
A'lto had finally hit her mark. Her arrow struck Link in the small of his back, and the assassin watched with pleasure as he began to slump over.
Zelda, crying freely, held her hand out to the fallen hero, unable to move. The sheer horror of the moment made her knees buckle, and she too dropped to her knees. Her blood burned, and her heart bled as if it too had been pierced by the arrow.
Link gasped, trying to grab at the arrow lodged in his back. Searching for his assailant, his eyes fell upon Zelda, and the Gerudo woman holding the bow.
Before losing consciousness, he used his last bit of strength to reach a hand out to Princess Zelda.
Then, the hero collapsed and fell.
End Chapter Three
Proceed to Chapter Four!
