Link slid down the opposite side of the dune he'd crested in a half crouch, and he made it to the bottom rather neatly. His horse snorted and stamped uneasily at the edge of the mountain before giving a little whinny of annoyance and frustration. "Come on!" Link shouted back to her, gesturing with his right hand for her to follow the edge of the dune at an angle. She was a pretty intelligent horse, and she followed his gestures carefully, slipping a little in the sands as she went. They were reunited at the bottom of the dune, and Link climbed up on her back, riding towards the sprawling fortress.
At first, Link thought that it was entirely black, but when he got closer to it he found that it was black only on certain edges; those that lay at a diagonal to the sky were a soft white, where as the flat vertical edges were black. During the brilliant daylight, it gave the illusion of the fortress being little more than massive floating blocks, the white parts lost against the brilliant sky. Link cleared his throat and approached it at a slow pace, trying to spy any guards. But the shiny black surface made that all but impossible at his distance. He crouched over his horse and could barely make out small, moving figures across the sand.
"Now," he muttered to himself, "if I were protecting something holy, I would have it in the very center and back of my massive… uh, fortress. Makes sense, yeah?" His horse snorted, and Link took that to be a confirmation. He jerked on her reins when he realized four of the guards were running for him, and he hopped down, unsheathing his swords that he'd kept from the dead Gerudo women. Their curved blades were strange, and the things were heavier than he expected, but he was able to handle them pretty well. As he met the first guard, a strange, olive-skinned man with pointed ears like a Hylian, he wondered if he should really slay these people or if he should try to disarm them. But the king had not seemed to care if he did kill anyone, as he would deny all connection anyway. So Link parried their attacks as well as he could with the crescent-shaped swords, and he disarmed them.
To his dismay, relieving them of their weapons did not stop the guards. They lunged at him with their bare hands and grappled him. Link dropped his swords and put up his hands, grabbing the first guard's hand and pushing it down at an awkward angle until the man cried out and pulled away. The second, he caught a fist flying at his face and shoved it away, turning to a third and throwing a punch. His fist was caught and flung away in a similar fashion, and the four of them half-jumped on him, grabbing hold of his limbs and using their combined weight to bring him to the ground. Link thrashed uselessly like a fish out of water in their grip, but they held fast and still, letting him tire himself out. When his muscles slackened and he lay panting on the sand, they extricated themselves from his form and hoisted him up, dragging him towards the fortress.
His horse did not agree with this, and she screamed, rearing and charging the group, lunging and trying to strike them down with her massive hooves. One of the guards turned back, one arm still holding Link tight, and struck her neck with a well-placed fist. Link's horse stumbled to one side, uneven on the sand, and Link started to thrash anew. One of the guards swore in annoyance and punched him in the side of the head, and Link blacked out.
-
When he came to, Link found that he was in a rather disgusting, cramped, and dark cell. He had a goose egg swelling on the side of his head, and when he stood up too fast, bright light flickered in his eyes and he almost lost consciousness again. Link coughed and looked around, trying to assess his situation. He'd been stripped of his weapons and money, of course, and his horse was, hopefully, keeping her distance and staying safe.
Link stretched his arms and looked around. There was really only one clear entrance and exit, the cell door that was locked. He walked up to the bars and looked out. It was a hallway just barely wide enough so that, with his outstretched arms, he couldn't reach the center of the hall. Link frowned and walked the perimeter, feeling the cool stones with his fingertips, trying to find weaknesses or grooves in the rock. There wasn't even a window.
"Come on…" he whispered to himself. Nothing. They'd built the cells very carefully. Link grumbled and grappled with the bars, testing their strength. He grinned when one rattled slightly in its holder, and he tugged on it, trying to loosen it. The grin faded fast, though; the bar might've been loose, but it was not coming out. He growled and slapped one wall with his palms, and started pacing nervously. He hated being cooped up, like a wild animal. It made his skin crawl.
He tensed when he heard a door at the end of the hall slam open, and two people started walking towards his cell, muttering quietly to each other. Link backed up into the corner of the cell, sitting down and glaring towards the doors. Two guards walked up and eyed him with a smirk. "C'mere."
He approached the bars slowly, and when he got close enough, one of the guards reached in with a rapidfire movement, grabbing him by his shirt and yanking him towards the bars. Link smacked his face hard on the metal bars, and his head snapped back. The guards chuckled to themselves as blood ran from Link's nose and mouth. He stumbled back a few feet, seeing spots of light dance across his vision as he tried to keep his balance. One of the guards undid the cell door and walked in, grappling Link's arms and wheeling him around to pin them behind his back, using rough, pre-tied cord to bind his wrists together.
Together, the two guards hauled Link from his cell and pushed his stumbling, disoriented self down the hall and up a flight of stairs. An underground cell; no wonder there were no windows. He wobbled uneasily when they got to the main floor, looking around and trying to orient himself. They shoved him to the throne room, an elegant but eerie sort of setup with more black slate and minor white stone decoration, including a massive throne upon which sat a man who smirked at Link. Link felt a jolt in the pit of his stomach, and a cold hatred for this figure. The guards shoved Link onto his knees and bowed to Ganondorf.
-
She'd been dead for an hour or two when they did finally find her. The first was a scullery maid, sent to hunt down the missing servant. On a whim, she checked the library, as a few of the regular employees were known for stealing a few minutes off their feet in the massive chairs. At first, she figured the young woman had fallen asleep, until she noticed how very pale her skin was, and its cold clammy feel. The scullery maid screamed and ran from the library, her hands to her face and her mouth open in horror. The guards came running. Most of them had been in the army during the war, and they were plenty on edge for any unexpected attacks. When they found the young lady, one guard immediately ran to inform the king, while the other two prowled the library, hunting for the assassin. But Dirmane was safely in his quarters, his pot of herbs steeping with the window wide to help leech the stink, reading a book.
The king shook his head in shame with a sigh. He was so much more grey than he should've been for his age, and the guard regretted informing him of the dead maid. "And it is absolutely clear that she was murdered?" the king asked in a low voice.
The guard cleared his throat. "Yes, your majesty. It is quite obvious that she was slain in some quick and silent matter. The… murderer is highly skilled."
"Find him. Find anyone who saw anyone leaving the library recently. Summon an undertaker and a coffinmaker, as well as alert her family. Put extra security on the princess' rooms as well." The guard nodded and took leave of his worried majesty.
-
Link was more sore than any amount of months spent on a farm could deliver. He wrapped his arms around his stomach, trying not to cough up the blood that was running from his mouth down his throat. He wasn't a doctor, but he was certain that at least two ribs were cracked. The guards took turns kicking at him now that he was down, and Ganondorf watched with a cold, malicious happiness.
Finally, he clapped his hands once, and the men retreated. Link gritted his teeth and struggled to lift himself off the ground with one arm. He glared at Ganondorf with an unknown fury, the hairs on the back of his neck tingling. Ganondorf raised his eyebrows, impressed. "Still up?" he asked, surprised. "I wasn't expecting that." Link coughed and spat out a gob of blood in response. Ganondorf rose to his feet. "You know who I am, don't you? I am chained to the memories of our battles, every single one. I remember every loss at your hands, and the hands of that holy artifact, the Master Sword. Do you remember?" Ganondorf had walked to Link as he spoke, and now he towered over him, his eyes blazing with madness.
Link stared up at him, weakened, and managed a blood-spattered "No."
"WHAT?!" Ganondorf roared in response. He clenched his hands into fists and wheeled. "GIVE US SWORDS!" he shouted in command to two of his guards. They eagerly turned over their weapons, and Ganondorf flung one at Link. It clattered on the floor next to him, and Ganondorf stepped back a few paces, holding his weapon high. "FACE ME!" he demanded, his eyes wide. "I CHALLENGE YOU, LINK!"
Their battle was disappointingly short-lived. Link rolled away from Ganondorf's boot, his sword dropping from his limp hand along the way. He landed on his stomach, his bruised face pressed against the cold stone floor and his eyes shut tight. Ganondorf growled in rage and disgust. "HOW DARE THEY SEND HIM TO ME? HE IS NO HERO!" He tossed his sword back to the guard that had offered it. "Throw him out into the desert to die! Let him haunt the sands like all of his Hylian brethren we slaughtered!"
Two guards hauled Link's body up in their hands and dragged his bleeding, beaten form out of the main hall and outside. They took him to several hundred feet outside of the castle's walls and flung him down. The sun had long set, and the warm sand contrasted with the cool air. One of the guards spit on Link's body, the other one sniggering, and together they headed back inside. Wind howled and screamed in Link's ears, and thick storm clouds gathered in the sky, throwing out flashes of lightning and growling with thunder.
-
Zelda gasped and opened her eyes wide. Her left hand was burning, and she pulled it from the tangled sheets, staring at the emblem that burned its way through her skin. "What in the Goddesses' names…" she whispered. Zelda stared at her hand with puzzlement, touching the emblem. She knew it, of course she did, it was in their crest and everywhere in their temples and on their clothes, but why it was a part of her now was a mystery.
-
Dirmane had no such mysteries. He cringed as Ganondorf raged and roared at him in the mirror. "YOU SENT THIS PITIFUL FOOL TO ME? HE IS NO HERO. HE DID NOT EVEN REMEMBER, HE DID NOT EVEN WEAR THE SYMBOL OF THE GODDESSES ON HIS HAND!"
"My lord, I am certain it is him!" Dirmane shouted back in a weak whimper. "I felt the chill of the Goddesses' stare when I locked eyes with him! I recognized him as your enemy of the ages!"
"I HAVE ALREADY KILLED HIM! HE WAS NOT EVEN A CHALLENGE! I would hope that something like that would be refreshing, but my thirst for blood and true conquest over my adversary has NOT BEEN TAMED!" Ganondorf's eyes were red with anger, and his teeth were almost constantly bared. Spittle dotted his lower lip, even. He roared again and pounded his fists on the arms of his chair. "DO NOT CALL UPON ME AGAIN UNTIL THE KING IS DEAD! DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
Dirmane bowed and straightened, closing the cabinet and trembling. He tensed when he felt someone's eyes on him and he looked up, locking gazes with the horrified serving boy carrying a bucket of coals for the fireplace in Dirmane's room. The traitorous man quickly approached the young boy and collared him, the bucket falling and hot coals scattering over the wood, scorching it. The boy struggled and kicked, and would have screamed if Dirmane had not instantly stuffed his fist into the boy's mouth.
He snapped his neck with the other hand, and dragged the lightweight body to the window, looking down into the moat before taking a chance and throwing the corpse down. He waited until he saw the splash of the water and saw the corpse bob to the surface. Hopefully it would look like the boy had merely drowned. Dirmane knew they discovered the maid, but he was so confident in himself that he doubted they would suspect foul play for this murder as well. He shuddered and turned, grabbing the tongs near his fireplace and fetching the coals quickly, lest they start a fire.
-
Zelda was not even awake for a minute when she was knocked unconscious again. This time, however, it was a deep and restful sleep that her body held, while her spirit flew with the goddesses over Hyrule. She saw it as it was when it was young and new, the lands lush and green. Even Gerudo had a few more trees than she had expected crossing its expanse.
Zelda, remember.
She looked to the left and saw a streak of green, and not much else.
You have waged this never-ending war against evil Ganondorf for hundreds of years, since evil was first sprouted onto our lands.
Zelda watched as a wiry black tree sprouted in the center of Gerudo, spiraling outward in a black radius.
"Why does he exist?" she asked aloud, looking around. To the right of her was a blue streak and a red one.
We ourselves are a neutral force, and we act through you three. Sadly, you are flawed creatures, and power always corrupts. You and Link are destined to keep Ganondorf in balance.
Zelda followed the three down to Gerudo, and she gasped when she saw Link, lying and near dead on the sands.
We must temper him yet again. Power has driven him mad.
Zelda watched as the green streak flew into Link's hand as if being absorbed, and Link's body shone briefly with a green light before it faded and his hand began to glow as the emblem took its place.
He will wake up, if you ask.
Zelda walked up to the prone figure, blood staining the sands. She knelt down and reached out with one ghostly hand, touching his hair. Her hand moved down to Link's left, and she took it in her hands. "Wake up. Wake up and defend Hyrule, Link."
-
Link jolted and woke up, gasping. He inhaled some sand on accident, and he coughed and sputtered, digging his fingers into the sands. Something new was coursing through his veins. Link sat up slowly, looking around and seeing the Gerudo fortress. He narrowed his eyes and started walking, slowly, back to the massive building. He was ready now.
-
Dirmane carried a tray himself as he crossed the castle towards the king's chambers. His hands rattled only slightly under the tray; his ears were still ringing from Ganondorf's raging abuse. On the tray were two small cups with saucers and stirring spoons, a pot of sugar, a small carafe of milk, and a steaming pot of water with a tea ball floating inside. He nodded to the guards, and one went into the king's quarters to announce Dirmane to the king. After a minute or so, he was allowed to enter. Dirmane set down the tray and poured two cups of tea, the king adding a spoon of sugar and stirring before taking the first sip.
"Your majesty, may I have your permission to speak freely?"
"Yes," the king sighed wearily.
Dirmane added sugar to his own drink and stirred it slowly, watching the king. "I fear for the princess. I do not believe that she will last, and that the boy we sent to fetch part of the Gerudo oleander is dead. Would he not have returned by now?"
The king took another drink before responding. "It is true, it is taking him a while longer than expected to return."
Dirmane stared down into his steaming cup with a little sigh of worry. "Your majesty, without an heir to your throne, the country of Hyrule will fall into chaos. I suggest that you name someone to rule in case of her passing, as a precaution."
The king held very still, turning his head and looking Dirmane over carefully. "And who do you suggest for the spot? Yourself, I assume?"
Dirmane managed to looked flustered and stunned. "Your majesty! Myself? Honestly, you do not believe that I would be a worthy replacement of your greatness."
The king frowned a little more. "No, I honestly do not think that at all."
Now, Dirmane was stunned. His mouth fell open, and he struggled to compose himself. "Of… well, I cannot say I blame you, good sir; after all, the people are unfamiliar with my face. How would they trust a random stranger?"
The king nodded slowly. "However, you have still raised an interesting point. Leave me now. I must think on this."
Dirmane bowed and left the room, turning his back quickly on the guards, his face a mask of rage and indignation. The king didn't trust him; something had slipped along the line. But Dirmane had to ensure himself as the next in line, to allow Ganondorf to rule through him.
The castle had a variety of hidden passages, which Dirmane had worked very carefully to discover in his time here. He used one of them now, and crept through the tunnels to the underground chambers with the most important rooms of the castle; one half devoted to the treasuries, the other half to the history books. He went to the last room on the left, the treasury side, and he paced silently through the worn desk in there, flipping through books, trying to find the king's will.
-
Zelda did not wake back up after her vision. Instead, she returned to her feverish dreams, her twisted and unfamiliar nightmares that she could not place. She tossed and turned once more, and her maids struggled to keep her bed sheets in neat order under her. She began to speak now in her sickness, mumbling and tearing at the fabric on her bed. The maids could do little but sit by and watch her grow paler. They gossiped and whispered over the princess; surely she would die at this rate. What was the king thinking, not naming a new heir in case of her imminent death? Was he even trying to save her?
"Sure, the death of the queen took its toll on him, but this is far different. She can be saved."
"He's had plenty of time to find someone who knows what ails her, don't you think?"
"You know," spoke up a third maid, who'd been sitting sheepishly by, "her bed sheets smell funny."
"Of course they do! She sweats off a pound a night!"
"No. Somethin' chemical, like."
The two other women silenced and crept up to the princess' bed. One took a corner in her hands and sniffed it; she wrinkled her nose and turned her head away. "Phew! That's no sweat stink. That's something else."
The women eyed each other suspiciously, and the one who'd sniffed nodded. "Let's change these."
-
Dirmane took the regular route through the castle halls, to place himself outside of the king's rooms and in a more public area, in case anyone should suspect him in the murder of a serving boy or the soon-to-come murder of the king. He nodded to the various guards as he headed to his rooms, stopping cold when he saw two maids leaving the princess' rooms with dirty sheets.
--------------------
AN: Well, it's been quite a while! Sorry about that; it's finals week, so my life has been pretty hectic and I haven't been able to write as much. Thanks for your patience and reviews, everyone!
