Hello again! It's been a while, I haven't updated since April! Oh well, all the more to work for a good long juicy chapter! It's long overdue, but I was writing so much of LOZ: TL that I kinda forgot about this story. Fear not though, I'm not neglecting this story at all. Anyway, expect more than one chapter to be uploaded by today, because tomorrow I am going on vacation and I won't be able to write for a while, at least a week! It'll be a fun vacation though, I'm going to ride horses on the beach, something I've always wanted to do. Anyway, all I can say is, this chapter will be a bit darker than the previous 3 chapters that I have written. This is one of those rated M parts. My mind feels a bit deranged today, so it will involve some gore and blood, but nothing extremely major, at least I think so. I can't promise anything though. ;)
Link's POV
Link groaned as he slowly opened his eyes to a peaceful sky with red clouds in the distance, signaling the beautiful sunrise. It had been a long day being tricked by Skull Kid, rescued by Zelda, and then presented the prophecy. He had collapsed onto the makeshift bed that he and Zelda had made while they stayed at their camp and fell into a restless sleep full of nightmares about the Skull Kid.
He slowly sat up and looked around for Zelda. As his eyes searched for any possible trace of her, he felt that something was very wrong. He quickly attempted to stand up and begin searching for his princess, but the pain of his chest told him differently. Sighing and groaning in pain, he laid back down. He pulled the blanket to his chin and began thinking of all sorts of crazy thoughts as to what might of possibly happened to Zelda.
She could be in the Skull Kid's clutches, or she could be attacked by a wild beast. Or worse, she could be dying at that very second, just calling out Link's name, begging him to rescue her. As much as this only added fear to Link's already terrified heart, he knew that he couldn't try to save her without possibly dying himself.
Link gasped at this sudden thought. He was acting completely selfish! He stood up again, this time with no intentions of laying back down. Instead, he would find his lovely Zelda and protect her at all cost. He suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his familiar green clothing, instead he was shirtless with another pair of khaki pants. He still had his trusty brown boots on, and his sword strap lay on the ground next to where he was sleeping. He picked it up, strapped it around his waist, and looked around for an extra shirt to wear. He finally spotted his bag that he had brought with him, and slipped on another familiar green shirt after searching through the bag and finding it.
He suddenly felt his hair and gasped. His hat was nowhere to be seen, and Link frantically searched everywhere for it. In it, he had always kept a special bracelet that Zelda made for him when they were very young children. He knew it was girly, but he still intended on keeping it forever. Also, he kept other things from Zelda, but that was the first gift she had ever given him. It was special to his heart and he would never want to lose it.
Spotting his hat on Zelda's side of the makeshift bed, he blushed a little and checked to see that everything was in it. He slipped it on his head and positioned it so it would stay on. Satisfied, he took his sword out of its scabbard and began to wander into the forest.
"Zelda? Zeeellllddddaaa! Are you around here?" Link asked, looking in all directions for his princess. He kept walking the forest, never once looking back at the camp. Suddenly, he was roughly grabbed by a strange man clad in black armor and a large black helmet.
"I found someone, sir!" the man exclaimed. "He was calling out Princess Zelda's name, we must interrogate him at once!"
"Good, take him back to the castle." A deep masculine voice was heard near their proximity. "I'm going to go see if I can find the princess herself."
Link heard loud hooves thunder as the other man rode his horse away in the distance. He turned his attention back to the man who was gripping his arm tightly, dragging him back to the castle.
As he finally released him, he roughly pushed Link down to the table, his head slamming against it. Link groaned in pain, but he had felt worse before.
The man slowly lowered his head until his mouth was right next to Link's ear. "Now listen prisoner, you are to tell me about the princess's whereabouts and you best tell me now. No lies here, I want the complete truth. You'll be punished if you tell any lies, but I'll leave you alone if you spill the truth." he growled in a low voice.
"You're not a solider of the castle." Link managed to say. His voice was muffled because his lips were pinned roughly against the table, along with his nose, eyes, and forehead, but the man didn't seem to care. "Why do you care about the princess?"
"I have absolutely no care for the princess at all, only for the extreme wealth that she possesses. My boss is willing to lend me a portion of the money he will get when he..." he suddenly stopped and looked down at Link. "You have no authority to ask me questions, boy. As far as you're concerned, you might not live to see the next day. Now, answer my question, or you will be severely punished." the soldier threatened at Link.
Link slowly chuckled to himself. "I don't care what you do to me. What's this boss of yours planning to do? Kill her?"
"No, that's too extreme and dangerous. He's going to do something much less violent. Now, stop asking me questions and answer the ones I've asked you!" the soldier exclaimed as he slammed his fist down onto the table.
"I'll never tell you the truth. I'd rather die then see Zelda in any kind of danger. I'm sorry, but you've got the wrong person, buddy. I've been in much worse situations before, what makes you think I'll just spill like that?" Link retorted.
The soldier growled, but decided to keep calm about it himself. He picked Link up roughly and shoved him towards a staircase that lead down into the dark. Link didn't know it yet, but he would soon come to feel the wrath of a new enemy...
Zelda's POV
After Farore kindly presented her and Link with the prophecy, Zelda witnessed Link collapsing onto the bed. She pulled the covers up to his chin, lightly kissed his forehead, and decided to venture deep in the forest. Link may of had the triforce of courage, but Zelda was feeling lots of courage as she went even deeper then she really meant to. She knew it was dangerous to explore without Link, but something was drawing her to come closer to it.
Zelda gasped as she suddenly bumped into something, or someone to be exact. She looked up to find herself face to face with a stranger. He had dazzling blue eyes just like her and Link, and a kind smile on his face.
"I.. I'm terribly sorry for bumping into you, mister. I should watch where I'm going." Zelda stuttered. She was only 11 years old, yet she found herself strangely blushing at the sight of this handsome man.
"Oh no, please forgive me, milady. I am Prince Luke of a kingdom nit far from here. Who may I have the pleasure of speaking to this fine evening?" he politely asked as he bowed to her.
Zelda was unsure whether she could tell him her true identity or not. Looking into his eyes though, she felt like she could trust him. She smiled at him and curtsied respectively. "I am Princess Zelda of this kingdom of Hyrule, at your service." she smiled.
His eyes widened. "Oh goodness, you must be the missing princess! Well, it's not save to be here, my dear. A bad group of bandits is here in the forest, and they are looking for you! They want your wealth, but fear not. I can take you back to my kingdom and keep you safe there.
Zelda gasped. "Wait, if you are to take me to your kingdom, you must let me get my friend Link first. He's here with me, but he's sleeping at the entrance to the forest."
"Well alright, I'll come with you. We must hurry though, we don't want to be spotted by anyone." Prince Luke advised.
"Of course, that would only be fair. However, I must ask, how old are you Prince Luke?" Zelda asked.
"I'm only 11, but I'm tall for my age. Honestly, people think I look much older than I actually am." he sighed.
"Well, that's awesome because I happen to be 11 myself!" Zelda exclaimed. "We'll make good friends Luke, I just know it!"
Luke smiled at her, but his face soon turned to a frown as they heard voices that could only belong to the bandits themselves. Luke gasped and proceeded to hide himself and Zelda within the bushes so that they wouldn't be seen. They heard a lot of loud shouting, and thundering hooves that belonged to horses.
Suddenly, Zelda heard Link calling her name. She wanted to respond, but she didn't want to give herself away to the soldiers.
"I found someone, sir!" Zelda heard a man exclaim. "He was calling out Princess Zelda's name, we must interrogate him at once!"
Zelda gasped as she heard Link crying out as the soldier dragged him farther and farther away. She tried to stand up and call out for him, but Luke kept a close grip preventing her from standing up.
"Zelda, no, you can't. It's too dangerous. I'm sorry those men took your friend, but if you try and rescue him, you'll just be captured yourself." Luke said. "We will need to think of a good plan to rescue him though."
"H-he's g-gone f-from m-me a-and i-it's a-all m-my f-fault!" Zelda sobbed. She hugged Luke tightly and sobbed into his chest, letting the tears flow continuously. "I need to save him, he's the hero of Hyrule the one who has saved me countless times. I'm nothing without him, I'm nothing without my Link!" she exclaimed, crying even harder.
Luke hugged her even tighter and comforted her. "Zelda, no matter the cost, I will help you get your friend back. It seems as though you really care for him." Luke smiled.
"I do, Luke, I do! He's always been there for me, no matter the circumstances! He always knows how to cheer me up, and make me smile. Most importantly, he's the only best friend I've ever really had. My father never let me meet any children my age, and so I was forced to play by myself. When Link came along, everything changed. I guess I'm just saying that I really miss him. I hope they aren't doing anything bad to him."
"Well, I can't have you captured from just hiding out here. Let's go back to my kingdom, I'll tell my father your story and he can help us to rescue Link. How does that sound?" Luke compromised.
"Of course, let's go right away. The faster we plan something, the faster I can be reunited with Link." Zelda smiled.
"I hope you don't mind Zelda, but I'll have to carry you there. It's quite a ways, but the ground isn't very smooth. I can run really fast, but I couldn't let a princess have her feet ruined." Luke said.
"Oh, ok. No, I don't mind at all." Zelda replied with a small smile.
Luke gently picked Zelda up and looked around. He then started to run very quickly, careful to not trip over any roots in the ground. It took a little time, but eventually Zelda could see a magnificent castle in the distance. Eventually, Luke stopped and let her stand again. He pointed to the castle and smiled.
"Welcome to the kingdom of Calithien, Princess Zelda. My father, King Rex, and my mother, Queen Catalina, rule this beautiful land." Luke smiled. "I'm sure they'd be delighted to meet you, let me take you to the castle."
With that, Luke showed Zelda the way to the front entrance of the castle. They walked a little ways before finally reaching the two large brass front doors. Two soldiers were standing at the entrance on either side and when they spotted the two travelers, they put their spears in an x in front of the door and spoke in unison with loud and deep voices. "Hault! Who goes there?" they asked.
"Tis I, Prince Luke of Calithien and my companion, Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Let us pass." Luke commanded. The guards nodded and brought their spears up next to themselves. Luke pushed open the door and held it for Zelda to walk in front of him...
Link's POV
Link struggled in his chains as he tried to escape. He was chained to the castle wall, with very little freedom to move at all. His feet were also in shackles, forced to lay on the ground. He didn't know what was going on, but Link was scared. He was scared about the fate of Hyrule, but most importantly he was scared about Zelda.
Suddenly, a loud cry caught his attention. He squinted into the shadows until he saw a figure slumped up against the cell walls. He tried to move closer, but his chains pulled on him. He instead decided to just try and talk to the figure.
"Why are you crying?" Link weakly croaked over the figure's loud sobbing. As the figure heard him, he turned around and gasped when he recognized who it was. "Link, is that really you? Where's my precious Zelda? Is she ok? Is she safe?" King Daphnes barely managed to whisper. Once a thriving and happy man, King Daphnes looked terrible. He had bruises, deep gashes through his once flawless skin, and dark black baggy eyes. He also had a lot of whip marks, all scratched and freshly made. He was so damaged to the point where none of his injuries would ever heal, but even as he laid there slowly dying, all he worried about was his beautiful daughter, Zelda.
Link let out a small cry as he looked at the king's dilapidated body. He could only imagine what pain and torture the king had experienced. As if the king could read his mind, he gave Link a little nod and started to speak. "I can tell you what happened, exactly. You must listen though, for I will only repeat this once. The memories kill me to revisit them, but I must tell you or else it will forever haunt me."
As the king was happily eating his breakfast in the large dining hall, he suddenly heard a loud scream. He stood up with concern and opened the door that lead into the main hallway, only to bump into the leader of the guards. He happened to have a terrified look on his face as he stepped closer to talk with the king. "Sir, we're under attack! Hide!" he exclaimed as he ran down the hall to warn the others.
King Daphnes watched him go, and then he began to frantically search for his daughter. He ran up to her bedchambers but when he got there, she was nowhere to be seen. "Zelda? Zelda, where have you gone?!" the king cried. He looked everywhere, but he couldn't find his dear daughter.
Running back down the hall, he searched in all of the rooms. He spotted one of the guards and ordered him to come to him. "Search the other side of the castle for Zelda, and warn the others. Zelda's missing and we must find her. I can't lose her, she's my only child!" he cried out.
The other solider nodded and ran as fast as he could. They were under attack and they didn't have much time, but Zelda was the main problem that they needed to deal with first.
Suddenly, the front doors flew open to the castle. King Daphnes flew down many flights of stairs as he heard the intruders break in. Standing at the door was a large mysterious man. "Hello, King Daphnes. It's been sooooo long since I've last seen you. Anyway, I'm here to tell you that you might want to prepare for the worst. The kingdom of Hyrule shall soon be mine, and there is nothing you can do about it." the Demon laughed evilly.
"D-Donovan? What are you doing here?" the king gasped. "I haven't seen you since army camp, what's going on? Why do you look so deranged and evil?"
"Mwahaha! You have no idea, Daphnes! Now, I have some buisness to attend to, but I will deal with you later. Take him to the dungeon, men!" Donovan ordered as he flicked his hand towards the same dark staircase that Link was lead down.
Two of his loyal minions roughly grabbed King Daphnes and dragged him down to the cell. They shoved him in and chained him up to the far left shackles on the wall. One of the men had a whip that he carried around with his belt, and he took it out to begin using it against the king.
Yeah ok, sorry to interrupt but this is the rated M part now, so bear with me. It's going to be a little gruesome and terrible, not something I usually do, but I have to show what really happened to King Daphnes for you to understand why he has no hope left in him. Nothing too major though, in fact I think it's a minor thing. It's rated M just for safety though. Anyway, I shall continue!
The minion smiled wickedly before he began to whip the king as hard as he could. It stung and hurt so much that the King had no choice but to scream out in pain. They didn't like that though, and so they gagged him and choked him so that he wouldn't make any noise.
As he only whipped him harder, the king cried softly, letting the tears roll down his cheek. He could see all of the whip marks that ripped his clothing. He was losing a lot of blood, and it made him feel tired. He could feel the blood roll down his back and splash onto the ground. Daphnes never understood why the minion was whipping him, but he didn't dare to ask them to stop. The whip curled around his wrists and ankles, slitting them open as the blood appeared. He tried to move his arms and legs away, but that only made the minion angrier.
The other minion went to work on hurting him with a knife. He stabbed him in the leg and tore the skin, creating large gashes that were extremely painful. He then scratched him everywhere he could, where there was no trace of whipping Daphnes whimpered and banged his head on the hard cell floor, wanting it all to be over soon.
Suddenly, he heard Donovan speak not very far from where he was laying down and crying. "Boys, that's enough for now. Let me see him." Donovan commanded as he came closer. The minions were shocked, but they respected their master's order. The one who was whipping the king dropped the whip, and the one with the knife dropped the knife, and they went back up the dark stairway.
"Ah, King Daphnes. What a terrible shock to find you in such a condition as this!" Donovan exclaimed as he pretended to care. Suddenly, he kneeled down and whispered in the king's ear, in a low and threatening voice. "Now listen up, buddy. You're going to surrender this kingdom to me this instant, or you'll never see your precious daughter again. I'll let you off easy if you surrender, and I'll only give you a minor beating, but you'd better make up your mind soon. You're surrounded by my men who happen to be all around the castle positioned in their ready positions in case you try anything funny. So, what'll it be?"
"I... I'll surrender. Please, please don't hurt my precious Zelda. She doesn't deserve this. Please return her to me, let me see her beautiful face once more." King Daphnes begged.
"Haha, you fool! I don't have your daughter, I don't even know where she is! If I do find her though, she won't be harmed. As long as you stay out of my way, that is." Donovan promised.
"Alright, I promise I won't. Can you please let me go?" King Daphnes whimpered.
"No, you can't be trusted. I will chain you here, but I won't whip you anymore unless you provoke me. I'll also keep you here as a threat to your daughter if she dares to try and stop me. Now goodbye Daphnes, I have other matters to attend to." Donovan said as he walked back up the stairway and slammed the door, locking it behind him.
Daphnes was physically exhausted from the amout of blood loss he had experienced during that terrible ordeal he had just witnessed. He sighed and collapsed on the ground, passing out in an instance.
"Then after that, it was extremely silent for a long time until they put you down here. I'm glad you're with me though, I've gotten lonely down here. I've lost hope of rebelling against him, because I don't want Zelda to get hurt. I can't lose her after I've lost my beautiful wife. It would be too much." the king sobbed.
"So the Demon's real name is Donovan? That's really strange, but interesting at the same time. You mentioned that he used to attend army camp with you, what was that about?" Link asked.
"Oh, I- I don't want to speak of it right now, Link. I need to rest." Daphnes sighed as he snuggled down to sleep.
"Wait, something doesn't make sense to me. Before you rest, please at least answer this. How did you not notice Zelda's disappearance sooner?" Link asked.
"She was with me the day before, and then she was gone that day. Why, do you know where she is Link? You must tell me! You forgot to answer my questions sooner, please answer them now!" Daphnes exclaimed as he sat back up.
Link sighed and began to tell the king the long story of him and Zelda running away and living together. He made sure to include the information of the encounter with the Skull Kid, and when he woke up to find Zelda gone.
"When I went to look for her, I was captured and dragged to interrogation. The odd thing was that the men who captured me didn't seem to be working for Donovan. They had their own separate boss with a much deeper voice and larger complexion than Donovan." Link concluded his long story.
"What did they look like? The minions that I encountered were wearing long black capes with a dragon pattern weaved on the inside of the fabric. They had red eyes, and dark hair as well. They weren't that tall, but they were very strong and husky" King Daphne described.
"I was right, my kidnappers looked nothing like yours. Mine had dark black armor on that covered their entire bodies, so I wasn't able to see their faces. They also were pretty tall, but lean and strong as well." Link said.
"Hmm, a mystery indeed. Well, I must get some sleep if you don't mind, Link, and I'd advise you do too. It might be a rough day tomorrow, there's no telling what'll happen." Daphnes sighed as he drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
Link sighed as he laid down and tried to fall asleep. The king obviously didn't catch the part about him and Zelda running away, but Link didn't care. He just hoped that wherever Zelda was, she was in safe hands...
Zelda's POV
Meanwhile, Zelda was in good hands. King Rex and Queen Catalina enjoyed her company and they welcomed her graciously. Zelda learned that Luke had an adorable younger sister, Princess Lauren, who was only 5 years old. She told them all about her native country of Hyrule, and they were all very interested to hear what she had to say. When she was done talking about the good things about it, she told them about the current conflict that was going on. "My friend Link, the Hero of Time that I've told you about has been kidnapped, is in grave danger. Would your kingdom mind lending a hand in helping Hyrule? I fear that our kingdom is in grave danger." Zelda concluded, looking hopefully at the king and queen.
"Well of course dear, we couldn't let Hyrule fall to ashes! We're actually good friends with Hyrule, I know your father King Daphnes, and I knew your late mother Queen Harriet." Queen Catalina assured Zelda.
"Yes, the kingdom of Calithien is willing to do whatever you need us to do. For now though, you must rest dear princess. I can tell that you're tired, and nobody as young as you should have to go through such a rough time this early in your life. You shouldn't have to be faced with this stressful responsibility, but yet you are. We will help you, I promise, but for now you should go rest." King Rex said.
"I'll show you to an extra bedchamber you may use as long as you wish." Queen Catalina smiled as she took Zelda's delicate hand. Zelda gave her friend Luke a wave before she followed the queen into the hallway. The queen carried a candle as she walked down the hallway, because the hallway was very dark. Zelda looked around in awe at all the portraits that hung from the wall. She made sure to stick close to the queen, but she was careful not to walk up right on her heels.
When they reached the bedhcamber, Queen Catalina opened the door and welcomed Zelda in. "Alright dear, I must get back to my husband but you may rest now. My maids shall fetch you in the morning to give you a nice pampering bath, around nine. Is that ok with you, or do you wish to sleep in more?" she asked.
"I'll probably sleep pretty late Queen Catalina, but they can come get me at eleven. Would that be ok or is that pushing it? I am ever so grateful for your hospitality and I wouldn't want to provoke anything." Zelda said.
"Oh no darling, you aren't provoking anything. I'm liking you more and more as I get to know you better. I shall let them know to come at eleven. Have a good nights rest, Zelda." Catalina smiled as she hugged Zelda gently. She kissed her on the head and then proceeded to gently close the door behind her as she walked down the hall.
Zelda was left alone to think clearly. She wondered why she never met Luke's family earlier, but she was glad that she had met them. She wondered what kind of secrets and experiences Queen Catalina had that involved her mother. She missed Queen Harriet very much, and she was very excited to find someone else that knew her besides her father.
Still, she couldn't help but feel terrified about her father and Link. She knew that Link was captured, but she could only imagine the torture that he was experiencing as a prisoner. She was very scared for him, but she also worried a lot about her father. She had no idea of his whereabouts, and the prophecy made it sound like he was in pretty bad shape.
As these thoughts clouded her mind, Zelda began to cry. The tears rolled down and continued to splash on the bed sheets, making a small dropping noise. Zelda cried until she began to sob, and then bawl. She cried herself to sleep with all the worries of the world on her shoulders.
.God. . ! I did a lot today and then came home 2 hours ago, sat down, and wrote this chapter from beginning to end. It's up though, it's finally up! No, I won't do multiple chapters today because this chapter was pretty long and my brain is just tired. There are some things I would like to point out before I continue with this story though. I think I'll survive till the end, I don't know though. I'm liable to just fall asleep right here on the desk, right under the computer...
1. Ok so first of all, no, Donovan and the "mysterious boss" are NOT working together. You'll find out other things later..
2. Why am I so obsessed with naming all of my villains something that starts with "D'? I swear that it's just a coincidence though, I named Dominique Dominique because the name just came to me, but I named Donovan Donovan because his name means "dark warrior" in some language that I forgot.
3. I'm going on vacation so you won't see me for a while. When I come back though, be prepared for at least Chapter 5 to be complete and uploaded. Anyway, see you in a week. Read my profile if you want to know where I'm going, but if you don't that's ok too. This is the longest chapter in NEIWIS (Not Everything Is What It Seems), officially, with 5,186 words! Woo!