Ch. 7

Zelda nodded, agreeing. "Yes, that makes more sense than going anywhere else, I suppose." She replied ponderously.

Haeda slapped himself in the forehead when a dawning realization came upon him. "I don't mean to insult you, Etota, but you're not quite big enough to carry two people at once with the baggage. Since one of us would have to walk, it'd take us too long to get anywhere!

But just as if to answer his tirade, a crystal note sang through the air. It was the sweet whinny of a horse! Princess Zelda and Haeda turned to see Pellopa on the ridge behind them, pawing the open air. She eagerly galloped down to them. Etota became ecstatic and the old friends embraced each other warmly. "Pellopa! You were following us this whole time?" The boy asked, relieved to see she was safe. "I should have known." A painful memory of Ruto flashed through his mind as he caressed Pellopa's neck.

Zelda laughed happily, a beautiful sound in the air. She jumped onto Pellopa, holding her reigns tentatively. "Well, aren't we going?" She asked quaintly as her mount pawed the ground.

Haeda quick mounted Etota. "Of course! But, we just need to figure out where we're going-"

"That way, silly!" the princess exclaimed, pointing to the horizon. With that, Etota and Pellopa broke into a gallop toward their goal. The morning was turning into afternoon, and the sunbeams started to slant and turn to oranges and reds. The rolling field had disappeared behind them a few hours before, and now patches of trees and brush almost the size of woods were appearing.

After a quick but refreshing supper, the travelers agreed to travel partially into the night to get to the temple faster. The dirt road became narrower and even thinned to nothing. The only clue Haeda and Zelda had was the rest of the road off a few hundred yards away. Once they even made a circle and wasted a whole half hour trying to find the road, which had been under their noses the whole time! The only thing that had kept it from view was a low ridge and a few boulders.

As the two cantered back onto the path, they groaned in frustration and embarrassment. Haeda felt the blood rush to his face when he realized that if he had just stood in his stirrups, he would have seen the path long ago. Luckily, the night hid his burning face. "C'mon, let's keep going!" He called to Zelda, but was almost knocked off of Etota's back as she rose to her hindlegs, neighing wildly. A dark aura had surged and swirled out of the ground in front of him, and a figure appeared as it wavered away. "Get away from here, now! Get to the temple!" Haeda yelled back to Zelda as he jumped off of Etota; sword in hand.

A despairing gasp escaped her as she turned Pellopa and raced off, before anything could be done to her. She was making a wide arc around to avoid trouble. Haeda, get through this! She pleaded in her head. What hope was there if he didn't? Sure, he was a kid, but what of the Legends of Old?

"Oh, so you are headed for the temple? Too bad, I'm going to kill you here and now. Too bad the princess got away, though. I'll just get her later." The dark figure spat, his features given away by the moonlight. It was unmistakably Ganon.

Haeda fell into a defensive stance, glaring at the man. "You'll pay for what you have done." He muttered in a low, threatening voice.

Ganon nearly smirked, malice swirling in his eyes. "No, I believe you'll pay for screwing with my plans. I've made mistakes in the past; I don't think I'll repeat those same mistakes now." And with that, he threw a punch at Haeda's face. Dark magic popped and sizzled around his fist as it headed for its target. Haeda dodged the attack, only to find that it had been a feint. He ended up being kicked hard in the gut by a big leather boot. He sprawled to the ground, coughing uncontrollably. Ganon clucked his tongue, not able to believe how easy this was. He trapped the boy under his boot, pinning Haeda to the ground.

The boy pointed his sword at Ganon's chest. The two were frozen into position, seeing who would make the next move. A breeze rustled Ganon's cape and it seemed that he divided some of his attention to it. But why? Haeda seized the split-second opportunity and thrust his sword forward. Dismay flooded his face as the blade merely glanced off Ganon's dark chest plate and clattered to the ground.

Ganon laughed at the attempt and pushed down harder. "So, little boy, which temple have you sent the beloved princess to? Forest temple, Water temple, hm?" The evil man assumed the answer already, but waited to see if the boy would lie nevertheless. Then, there would be opportunity to torture. Ganon smiled at that.

Haeda struggled under the boot. "You think I'd tell you?" He spat, resulting in a tighter press. It was getting hard to breathe, and it felt like his ribs were being bent. He gritted his teeth.

Ganon seemed to still be worried about the slight breeze, and then asked, "For your behavior, I think you need to be punished!" He growled, sending a shock of magic into Haeda's body.

It felt like the tips of his fingers were slowly burning off. His veins felt like they were going to pop. So this is what death feels like. I will die here, and for what? Ganon will surely find Zelda. What has Hyrule come to?

"Tell me where Zelda is!" The Gerudo yelled, pressing ever harder and releasing stronger magic. "Tell me!"

Haeda screamed and yelled in pain, but gave no answer. Ganon was satisfied. He knew he could easily locate the princess, and he'd had his fun with this kid. His hand balled into a fist, rising above his head for a death strike. Dark magic sizzled and sparked around it. Then with unbelievable power, Ganon brought his fist down with a roar. But just before the strike was delivered, a blinding blue magic surrounded Haeda. It charged outward, sending Ganon flying backward. Just as he landed on a rock, he dissipated to a dark smoke, retreating for now…

Haeda was lying there, not bothering to move. He was confused. Where had that magic come from? Just then, Zelda guiltily stepped out from behind a clump of bushes, leading Pellopa and Etota, who had quickly located them. "I told you to get to the temple!" Haeda gasped. He felt ridiculous on the ground, so he slowly stood up. His skin was still prickling from that strange magic that made him feel like he was struck by lightning. He shakily remounted Etota. "We should get there as soon as possible." He went on, but Zelda touched a hand to his arm.

"No, we need to rest. What if we confront Ganon once more? We would not be as strong."

Haeda considered this, and nodded. "Let's just find somewhere else to set up camp. I'm starving!"