If Maleficent had one character defect aside from general lack of morality, it was her penchant need for elaborate planning. Why had she cursed Zelda to die after sixteen years instead of killing her outright? Because she needed time to plan. Magic was not so easy to control; getting the curse to work out exactly as Maleficent wanted it to was going to take much concentration and preparedness.
Malficent's "castle" of the wastelands was becomming stuffed with monsters. Those creatures, called Maleficent's Goons, were amongst the most stupid beings of the dark world. She had summoned them by use of portals. Maleficent chose them for their idiocy on purpose, for it was easier to manipulate a fool than a cunning demon. However, the Goons' weaknesses did give Maleficent a problem when the other monsters that were plaguing Hyrule learned of her presence outside Death Mountain. Stalchildren had begun attacking her fortress every night, but her Goons were not doing a good job of defending the castle.
Maleficent found it increasingly necessary that she gather some more powerful allies to her side. That would not be easy, for although she possessed great defensive capabilities, she was not very knowledgeable in the art of fighting dark magic; her only experience was against sheer force. However, she was too hell-bent on revenge to worry about her own shortcomings.
"I have nothing to fear but fear itself," she declared.
Maleficent had gathered her Goons together for a ceremony. That day, she decided to summon another dark being to aid her.
"Uh...What iz 'feer'?" A rather normal-looking crocodile had the audacity to question his mistress while she gave her speech.
She yelled back at him, "Fear is for weaklings! I would not know its true attributes or cause!"
That was an outright lie. After Harkinian's mother banished her, Maleficent was the most scared, most trembling, worried person ever to walk Hyrule. She certainly had no courage to boast about.
The sorceress knocked the crocodile's jaws closed with a tap of her dreaded sceptre. "Now shut up and listen to what I am about to do!"
Some Goons stopped chewing their plugs of tobacco to focus on her. In some ways, Maleficent's Goons were much gentler and more civilizied than most monsters. Although their lack of intelligence inhibited their speech, the Goons could carry on decent conversation and show acts of kindness.
"Ah! Today I shall show you my true powers! I will bring a dark being into our world and subdue him and force him to do my will!"
Maleficent lifted up her sceptre, causing a green orb to appear in the middle of her castle. The swirling mass of magic was a portal, a link between ages that could be used to duplicate the life of anyone from the past and send it into the present—a dangerous weapon indeed.
Maleficent spoke some obscure words, the "hocus pocus" of her dark magic, and then lifted her sceptre into the air with a scream. The green orb exploded and a burst of smoke filled the entire room, and—she was successful.
When the dust settled, an peculiar red knight stood in the middle of a circular rug. It was Volga, the Dragon Knight. He, like Maleficent, had once been a normal human, but he had deformed himself by using dark magic on his own flesh. The result? During battle, Volga could transform into a fire-breathing dragon. Not many stories were known about him, but he supposedly regretted his actions and was a man of honor. It was not going to be easy for Maleficent to get him to help her accomplish evil.
Volga spoke up. "Where in the world am I now?" He was tired of being abused by evil forces.
Maleficent kept him surrounded in sealing magic and walked closer to him. "You are outside Hyrule, many years after your true time." She laughed wickidly. Maleficent was going to enjoy bringing the knight to his knees.
"And what are you? A witch?"
The Dragon Knight got on his feet, and Maleficent gave him a death stare. "Only my enemies refer to me in that manner."
"As I suspected! I will have nothing to do with you. Cia was the last sorcerer that will ever beguile me."
Volga's Fire began to swirl around him.
"Cia? I see you have good taste in women."
Maleficent should not have taunted him...
"Silence yourself or I will take the liberty to rid you of your tongue!"
Volga was ready to transform into a dragon within a second's notice.
"Haha! You are a fool. It is I who will subdue you! You will serve me whether you like it or not!"
Maleficent laughed evily and concentrated her magic around her sceptre, ready to send electrical attacks. While the two villains made silly insults, Maleficent's Goons were getting very worried. As Volga began to transform, the little monsters ran everywhere. In his dragon form, Volga could not speak or show feeling. He only knew how to do one thing: kill.
Volga was the first to attack, spewing airborne fire toward Maleficent, but she quickly teleported behind Volga. Instead of attacking him, Maleficent decided to do something else: she rammed her entire sceptre into the Dragon Knight's back, melting through his scales with dark magic.
Volga screamed out as Maleficent put all her strength into sapping his power out of him. The two stood in the position for a whole minute, sparks flying everywhere and dark magic swirling in confusion. The Goons were terrified and shaking in their skins with their paws covering their eyes.
Finally, a bolt of electricity, somewhat resembling lightning, struck the two battling foes, and a small explosion occurred that created a giant cloud of smoke. A few stones fell out of the walls, and some of the Goons lay wounded. Both Maleficent and Volga were on the ground, perhaps appearing dead, but Volga had returned to his human form.
"I hope you are satisfied," Volga said to her.
He dusted himself off and walked over to the limp witch. She had sacrificed all her physical strength to steal his powers from him. Volga was totally unharmed, yet he could feel that something was different. It must have been disheartening when he realized what had happened: Maleficent had finally ridden him of his dark magic. For a brief moment, Volga was relieved that he was once more a normal man; however, his dark dragon magic was now in the body of Maleficent. She could not be allowed to use it.
"Prepare to die, wretched woman." Volga picked up a sword that was dropped by the Goons in their scurrying. "You shall not plague this world a second longer."
As Volga lifted up the sword to strike, several Goons ran up to him and strangled him.
"Unhand me, you imbeciles!"
"At least you little monsters are not completely useless."
Volga turned his head to see Maleficent standing up again, her bizarre head tails half-broken.
"Put him in the dungeons!"
The Goons shoved Volga to his feet, as he resisted the tugging.
"I would rather die then live to see your ugly face again!" He swore to Maleficent.
"I will execute you when I am ready. It is too bad you were unwilling to cooperate, but at least I got something out of the deal."
As the witch spoke, Volga's Fire surrounded her body, signifying that she indeed had the same powers Volga once possessed.
"Ha ha ha! I will make sure you suffer. Send him away!"
The Goons carried Volga down to the dungeon and placed him in a cell filled with bones—human bones. He slouched down to the floor and balled his fists on the stained stones. He contemplated suicide, but quickly dismissed the idea as cowardly, shameful, and morally wrong. He would not give up. He would endure whatever he was to be subjected to. He even prayed for the first time in many years.
"Goddesses...I never really put much trust in you; my faith has always been weak. I know that I am worthy of nothing, but for goodness' sake...do not let this witch go unchecked. Stop her before she becomes too strong!"
A rat ran by and Volga noticed many spider webs carrying alarmingly large arachnids. The lighting was haunting and extremely subtle there; the only major light source was a barred window too high to be reached. The floor was covered in dirt and moss and had visible signs of decay. Remains of past victims gave the place a sickening metallic stank. Volga observed a skull that had been unnaturally cut in the jaws, probably due to the teeth being salvaged for silver or gold.
"Have mercy on me," he begged.
000
Back in the upper floors, Maleficent was totally recovered, but she had not learned her lessen. Instead, she felt that her endeavors had been quite fruitful. Only an hour after her first attempt, she again gathered her Goons to observe another ritual. Even if she could not get someone to help her, perhaps she could continue stealing the ancient powers of fallen warriors?
Maleficent created another portal and took her time examining the many choices she had to choose from. She observed the demons of old and was sure she got a glimpse of Demise himself.
"Hmm...Ghirahim." she muttered.
The Goons lifted their eyebrows, wondering what crazy plan their leader was cooking up now.
"I shall bring that haughty, perverted, fabulous, self-proclaimed Demon Lord to his senses!"
Maleficent lifted her sceptre into the air, dark magic swirling about and making everything a blur. A violent explosion threw several Goons into the air. When the dust settled, the celebrated Demon Lord appeared in Maleficent's castle with a protective ring of diamonds around him.
"Welcome to my castle." Maleficent gave him an evil grin.
Ghirahim looked much like a hylian, except for his grey skin. He had a somewhat handsome face and silver hair that covered one of his purple eyes. He wore a clinging one-piece that was complemented by a unusual red cape that covered both the front and rear of the body and the neck. Diamonds figured greatly in his raimant; he wore two sapphire blue diamonds as earrings.
Ghirahim pushed his iconic hair back arrogantly and then gave the castle a quick glance.
"Charming—an unexpected pleasure." Ghirahim was one of the few villians that had manners. "I am Lord Ghirahim. And who, may I ask, are you?"
"I am Maleficent, and you are in my domain."
Ghirahim again patted his hair down. "The last thing I remember was that my Master was about to duel a commoner for the sport of it." Ghirahim frowned and suddenly became tense. "That commoner—that boy!—sometimes I shake with rage thinking of him!"
Ghirahim lost himself a little, evidenced by the slight tint of green in the air surrounding him. The boy he spoke of was none other than the first Link, the Hero and founding father of Hyrule. Maleficent wanted to get everything over with; Ghirahim was one who would keep talking just because he had a tongue.
"I am to be your new master." She was blunt but got her point across.
The Demon Lord stared a second to see if she was serious and asked, "Er...what?"
Maleficent desired to do things peacefully if possible. "That is to say, mistress."
Ghirahim laughed. "Woman, you are terribly confused. I am a servant of his majesty the Demon King Demise."
Ghirahim's ill feelings towards the "boy" wained as Maleficent sidetracked him. He knew that something was definitely messed up with the witch in order for her to say such a stupid thing.
"From this moment on, you are under my command!" Maleficent proclaimed as she prepared her electric magic.
Ghirahim scoffed, letting out a puff of air. "How pathetic. Do you really think that I am that easy to exploit? I do not even see reason to share breathing space with you a second longer. I will take my leave."
Maleficent sent an electric arc at Ghirahim, but it was too late.
The Goons grunted and looked around:
"Where'd he go?"
"Huh?"
"What happened?"
"Dis is bad fellas!"
"Run fir yer lives!"
"SILENCE!"
Maleficent was hot with anger. She had just spent so much energy bringing Ghirahim to her aide, and now he had vanished with the snap of a finger.
"Don't just stand around! Do something! FIND HIM!" Maleficent's screeching voice echoed throughout the whole castle.
Volga, who had been beating his head on the wall of his cell, heard the outcry from the upper floor. He looked up at the vibrating ceiling and said to himself, "What a despicable witch. The only good thing about death is that it kills obnoxious beings like her."
Goons went scurrying and searching through the castle, but not a sign of Ghirahim was anywhere to be found. That made Maleficent furious, outraged, sick with anger!
000
"My liege, the people are beginning to say slanderous things about the Royal Court. Could we not at least give them some—ANY information about the princess?"
Secretary Renado, the king and queen, and the rest of Hyrule's leading officials were discussing the problem of Zelda's absence. For many years, Zelda had been a continual topic of debate in Hyrule's government. The people and even the army had begun questioning whether or not they knew the truth about Zelda. The stories they were told were not easy to believe. Who had ever heard of such a thing? A princess was born and then quickly taken away from society altogether. The people began circulating rumors about her being dead or physically deformed, perhaps cursed, and King Harkinian was becoming cross that even his closest advisers were betraying him.
"Secretary Renado, it is of the utmost importance that Zelda's current status remain secret for her protection. I do not even tell the Royal Court what she does, and yet you expect me to divulge information about her to the public?"
Renado did not want to anger the king. "What I meant is...can we at least tell the peoples of Hyrule why she is hiding?"
When he said "peoples," the three leaders of Hyrule's tribes—Ruto, Darunia, and Nabooru—gave Renado a disapproving glance. The Zoras, Gorons, and Gerudo had not been pressing the king for any information about Zelda; only the Hylians were demanding that they know more about their princess. Ruto, Darunia, and Nabooru wanted nothing to do with the conspiracy.
Harkinian frowned. "The very cause of her asylum is not something to be dealt with lightly."
Gaemora, the leading general of the army, got up from his seat. "Considering the large monster attacks recently," Only a few days earlier, Hubert's caravan had been attacked by monsters and Hyrule had lost three men, "I think the people's main concern is for her safety. Perhaps we can simply assure everyone that Princess Zelda is safe and guarded? I am sure this will work wonders to improve morale."
Gaemora's officers had been probing him for information regarding Zelda, claiming that the troops were losing faith in the monarch's words.
Harkinian looked at his wife Leah at the other end of the room. Was Zelda really safe all alone in the Kokiri Forest, which was infested with little monsters, with only a single Sheikah to protect her? Harkinian hoped so. Queen Leah nodded softly and smiled, giving him her suppprt.
Harkinian gave in. "...yes, I can assure Hyrule that Zelda is safe and in good hands." The Royal Court murmured in approval and Gaemora and Renado, greatly satisfied, sat down. "All of you are to tell your respective subordinates that I give my word that the princess is safe and well."
There were many influential people in the Royal Court: Ruto, leader of the Zoras; Darunia, leader of the Gorons; Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo; Secretary Renado; General Gaemora; High Priest Rauru; the other secretaries and advisers; and many lesser figures such as a representative from Castilla, Mayor Bo of Faron Province, and even Tingle the fairy elder.
"Now, let us continue with our business."
With Zelda out of the way, the Royal Court could continue its conference smoothly. One of the first decisions they made was to send an invitation of knighthood to the boy (who was none other than Link) that had helped defend the royal family of Castilla during the recent monster attack. Hyrule knew little of the boy, except what the Hylians present at the monster battle had told them: he was a young Hylian that was quite a "devil" with the sword. However, that boy just so happened to have already formed a friendship with Prince Phillip.
It seemed that Link was going to be forced to pick between Castilla and Hyrule for better or for worse.
000