Chapter 4 - Ambush at the Stables
Ruto sent eight of the fifteen guards to the ranch that evening. It was just after dusk and Link, Zelda, and Malon were causally sitting around in one of the stables having some snacks after having ridden the horses. They were not prepared at all for an ambush. All eight of Ruto's guards began surrounding the stable assuring that no one would escape if they were to get past the ambush. They could hear the three chatting inside. One of the guards opened a back door to the stable quietly and found three horses standing nearby and a few cuccos wandering around.
Two of the guards sneaked along the stables trying not to disturb the horses. One of them inadvertently knocked a saddle off of the saddle rack. The horse made some grunts and began to move around a bit inside its enclosure.
"Did you hear that?" Malon asked the others. "One of my horses sounded like she was startled."
Link and Zelda looked at her unsure if they had heard anything. There was no reason for them to expect an ambush, but crime was common in Hyrule Field at night and it would not be the first time that Lon Lon Ranch was robbed or burglarized. Malon had always relied on the horses as an indication that something was not right. They were calm animals and did not stir unless they had a reason to do so.
A Zoran guard peered through a window and saw that the three were getting suspicious. He whispered to the others outside the barn to get moving and that they would need to ambush now. The two in the stable had begun to back out as they heard the three coming.
"You're going to get us killed." Whispered one of the guards as they snuck out the door and closed it slowly behind them. All three of the horses were getting antsy now. Link and Malon came near the door to find the horses disturbed. Link put his hand on his sword ready to confront an intruder, but he did not see anyone in the stable. He approached the door and opened it slowly. The guards were hiding just around the corner. Link looked out and saw no sign of trouble.
"Hey Link!"
He was startled as Malon called him.
"Did you leave your saddle on the floor? Look at it."
Link shook his head. He was a true equestrian and would never leave his saddle as such. At that point, he knew there was trouble.
Seconds later the door swung open knocking him to the ground. Malon screamed as she saw four Zoras come through the door carrying spears with daggers affixed to their belts. Link got up and punched one of the guards clear in the face. The force sent the guard flying through the doors of the horse's pen scaring the horse and the others around it. It charged out of the pen nearly trampling Link. He fell to the ground as another guard picked him up and delivered a strong blow to his stomach followed by another to his jaw.
Malon yelled to Zelda who could hear the commotion from the other room.
"Zelda! We're being attacked!" One of the guards began to chase after Malon, the fourth picked up Link as he continued to fight them.
Zelda ran to a door in the other room. As she approached it, two guards knocked it down and chased her back into the stables. Zelda yelled to the others, "Help! They're in here!"
Next door, Malon's father, Talon, heard the commotion. He knew that his daughter was there with Zelda and Link and quickly grabbed his double barreled rifle ready to confront who he assumed to be bandits. The last two guards were standing nearby as Talon ran out of his house. One of guards jumped him from behind as he was about to enter the stables. Talon hit the guard with the rear of the gun. Then he swung it at the other who ducked and pushed Talon into the stables. Talon picked up the guard by his neck and threw him through him through a window to the stables. He ran towards the others with the shotgun loaded and ready.
Two of the three horses were running around the stables. One guard in pursuit of Malon was kicked by a horse and knocked to the floor. She saw Link still struggling with the others who had him outnumbered. She was standing against a rack of bottles used to bottle the ranch's famous milk. Malon grabbed two bottles and broke one over a guard's head and stabbed another with the broken glass. That was four guards down: One in the horse's pen, one outside having crashed through the window, two down on the floor in front of her. That left four others.
One guard had a hold of Zelda as the other assisted in holding her legs steady as she tried to kick them. Malon ran to her and broke another bottle over the head the guard holding Zelda from behind. Now one was left with a grip on just her legs. Zelda tugged on his fins trying to break free. Five guards down, three to go.
Talon took aim at the guard wrestling with Zelda. He was not a great marksman and was not confident in his aim with the old gun. As he hesitated, he was hit by the guard that had confronted him minutes before. He dropped the gun causing it to fire. It shot at the wooden doors of the stable causing the splinters to shatter everywhere. Link, one guard, and one horse were hit with the splinters. The guard picked up the shotgun aimed it at all of them.
"All right! Everybody get on the ground!"
They stopped. All of them went to the ground. The remaining Zoran guards stood up once they realized that the gun was in the hands of a Zora. The horses continued to scare, but began to calm.
"Anyone moves and I'll shoot her." He said with his gun pointed at the princess.
"Now tie them up and put them in the carriage." he directed the others.
The last guard standing who fought Link grabbed a horseshoe and knocked him over the head. Zelda was tied up. The guard with the gun stood Talon up and told him to go into the horse's pen with his hands up. After he tied up Malon, he tied Talon to a chair and said to him, "If anyone comes here, you tell them you were robbed for your money. You got that?"
"You despicable beings." Talon muttered.
"I'll ask you again. What are you going to tell the Royal Guard when they find you?"
"You'll never get away with this. You have the princess!"
"I'm finished with you farmer-man." said the guard as he slammed Talon over the head with the shotgun.
"All right, into the carriage with them."
They were loaded into a horse drawn carriage waiting outside in Hyrule Field. The five injured guards were loaded into the back. They were off to Zora's Domain where they would be held captive until their day at Zora Hall.
