Author's Notes:

Enjoy! This is quite a long chapter, and I've also changed the formatting quite a bit...


CHAPTER 7

Uphill


Rusl Valle

"How's the wind?" Rusl asked the captain of the ship, turning head his away from what's in front of him, but only for the moment. In response, the captain shrugged, not giving a clear answer. Rusl sighed and placed his arms on the railing of the ship. Their ship was among fifteen to be in Juste Valle's navy, and they were right in the middle of the pack, so to speak. The ship had been up with cannons and supplies. However, their main goal was to provide more men to the eastern front when needed. Between the cargo in every ship, they had at least ten thousand men, waiting to be dropped off and sack Hyrule Castle. The reason why Rusl wanted to know the wind was because they were going upstream, against the current in Greystone River. As long as the wind was with them, they could make the journey without needing men on the oars.

"The wind will be with us the entire time," a man came up behind Rusl, somewhat surprising the swordsman. He outstretched an arm, and smiled at Rusl. The young man had black hair and hazel eyes, and slightly shorter than him. "My name is Blackthorne, pleased to meet you, Rusl."

Rusl was taken aback by the stranger's choice of words. Slowly, he shifted his head from the man's hand, looking him in the eyes. "If I've met you, then I'm sorry, because I've forgotten," he said, not raising his hand to shake Blackthorne's. Blackthorne shrugged, but remained unfazed.

"I command this ship. I named her Blackthorne, after myself. I also helped Harra. He's told me about you." Blackthorne sighed, and gripped at rails next to Rusl. "He says that you're the greatest swordsman Termina had ever produced. Many others say the same thing, so it is quite an honour to meet you."

If it were any other man, they would have been flattered. However, years of extensive training had humbled Rusl, and he no longer thought of himself that way. The only thing that he could say was that he taught the greatest swordsman who ever lived, and that was a boy, clad in green. Rusl shrugged the compliment off. "That's what they say," he forced a smile, "but I say that I'm not much more than an old man." Blackthorne nodded, and lowered his head, watching the seas below him.

"That's what your son, Colin, told me. And your nephew, Harra." Rusl glared at Blackthorne with a quizzical expression on his face. How did he meet Colin? was the thought Rusl's face emitted. "I know a surprisingly large number of people. I'll add you to that list as well, for future reference."

"And why do you need to know so many people?" Rusl asked, raising an eyebrow. He maintained his glare on the young man, expecting a snide comment. However, he got something much more memorable.

"One day," Blackthorne forced a clumsy smile, "one day, this whole goddamn ship is going to burn. Then, I'll need a new one. And I'll be going through the long list of contacts to find a poor old sap who'd give me one."

"Have you been drinking?" Rusl immediately asked, judging by the seafarer's clumsiness on the water.

Blackthorne frowned, "a little." The young man clumsily walked down the steps on to the main deck of the ship, holding his hands behind his back. He was prepared to go inside of the hull for a moment, but abruptly stopped. He turned to face Rusl once again, only to find that the swordsman kept his glare on Blackthorne. "The wind will be fine," he shouted. Then he sighed. "The wind will be fine..."

Rusl scoffed, and returned to looking forward. The river flowed quickly, but the wind was unusually strong that day. A cold breeze ran through the swordsman, and he shivered, ever so slightly. Rusl went inside, being tired, cold, and anxious of the peril that faced him. Once inside the master's cabin, he laid on the bed, idly looking up at the ceiling. A few faint sounds of bombs going off could be heard in the background, so he turned around to ignore them. If he was lucky, he might be able to get an hour's worth of sleep before they reach the middle of Greystone River, which was within horseback distance to Hyrule Castle. But anxiety kept him awake. Although it was quite irrational, he had the feeling that Hyrule Castle knew about the impeding naval invasion, and had plans against them. That was rather unlikely, considering the west and east sides of Hyrule Castle were being attacked, and the north and south sides were closely monitored. Nevertheless, he closed his eyes, hoping for momentary rest.


Petar De'Groot

"Fire!" an archer shouted. Instantly, several dozen flaming arrows went blazing from the top of Hyrule Castle, down to the advancing armies. Some hit men, downing them. Others missed completely. "Fire!" the archer shouted again. The arrows lit up the night sky, which was dark and cloudy, with no moon overhead.

The castle was not built in mind for archers in particular. In a typical castle, such as the one in Termina, there were circular holes on the roof of the castle where the archers would shoot from, but Hyrule's archers were completely exposed. On a counterattack, a few Kakarikan arrows hit Hylian men. One man fell down, clutching at his chest, and Petar De'Groot lightened his fall, looking in to the fallen soldier's eyes. Petar sneered at the sight of one of his best men dying in his arms, but there was nothing he could do. Instead, he picked up the soldier's bow and shoot a single arrow into the air. The arrow struck a Kakarikan archer down to the ground.

Petar lost his footing after a bomb hit Hyrule Castle's walls just under his feet. The blast made him lose him footing, and he dropped the bow down the base of Hyrule Castle. He struggled to stand up, but a fellow archer helped him. Horror presented itself in front of him as he glanced at what seemed to be Kakariko's entire army advancing on Hyrule's wall: twenty thousand men strong, complete with archers, vanguards, infantrymen, and catapults. They marched as a range of units, separated in to what seemed to be a wavelike advancement.

Sir Petar was tasked with defending the eastern side of Hyrule Castle. He was a favorite of Chancellor Zeal's, because of his maturity and composure, even at such a young age, being younger than even Link. Men seemed to line up to serve - and die - for him. He was that respected in the ranks, and Zeal always did admire that. Like Link, his hair was of a dark blond, but extremely curly, at that. His eye colour was grey which was a rarity among Hylians. With a sigh, Petar knelt beside his fallen soldier and prayed a few words for his safe journey in to an afterlife. Afterwards, he went away from the whizzing arrows to find replacements for the lost men.

A flaming arrow nearly hit him in the head, missing by only a few inches. It was impaled in to the wall behind him, and he ducked for cover. A few men cried out battle cries, and likewise, some men cried out in pain. The gates to Hyrule Castle were open, and Hylian infantrymen ran towards the advancing army. Petar raised his head to watch the battle take place. About eight hundred Hylian soldiers against twenty thousand strong... the carnage took only a few minutes. When the last Hylian soldier fell, Petar grimaced, and his thoughts were interrupted by a bomb collapsing a building in the city. Dust momentarily filled the air, and Petar placed his hand over his eyes to shield himself.

But that's when he had a new idea. Behind them was a bag of bombs. Petar took one of the bombs, attached it to his bow, lit it, and shot it to the distance. Moments later, there was a small blast on a catapult, destroying the machine. A few moments later, several more of the archers began doing the same thing, and the results became more catastrophic for the Kakarikan army.

"Fire!" the archer shouted again. Immediately afterwards, a bomb went off a few feet from him, knocking him against the wall. At that point, the archers appeared slightly less organized, and the arrows came by the attackers irregularly. A few more men hit the ground on either side, and more of the Hylian archers began to miss. Noticing this, Sir Petar patted one of the archers on the back. The man turned around, and received instructions to keep the archer's pace. The archer dutifully nodded, and yelled out 'fire' moments afterwards.

Another archer was hit, this time in the abdomen. The archer gripped at the arrow, and staggered back. With arms outstretched, Petar caught him, and turned to face the infirmary behind them. It was already overflowing, and many people were starting to be treated outside. "I have a child," the archer said, pointing towards a small house in the distance, just inside of Hyrule City. "He's in the third house from the right. Tell him to find his uncle. And that... I love him." His voice was raspy, and he clang to the arrow, as if he clang to his life. At once, he let go with the arrow, and permanently closed him eyes. Gently, he dropped the body.

Petar's squire came from the steps leading to Hyrule Castle's rooftops, with urgency. "Sir Petar!" he called out, running to the knight. "I've urgent news from Impa!" Petar turned around, and nodded to allow the boy to speak. His squire was clearly out of breath. "Impa wants you to watch over the west side of Hyrule Castle, against King Manni. She'll appoint somebody else to watch this side." Sir Petar nodded, and was about to go down the stairs, but stopped abruptly. He turned to face his squire.

"You heard what the dying archer said, did you not?" Flushing a bright red out of embarrassment, the squire nodded. "You know what to do." With that, Petar went down inside of the castle.

Many civilians were crowding the main hallways of Hyrule Castle, seeking refuge from the bombs that were decimating the city. This made it tough for Sir Petar to get to the other side of the castle, as he bumped his way through the crowd, consisting mostly of women and children. Petar eventually made it across the hallway, accessing the military personnel area. He was looking for his post to help command the defense, but Impa found him first. She gave out a sigh, largely out of relief, while giving half of a smile. "Thought I'd have to go dragging you here."

"How's it going?" Petar smiled back.

She shook her head in dismay. "Not that great. We need to pull out some men from the eastern side to here, considering Manni is having much more success. Link Ordon wants to track Manni down in that army by himself, but that's clearly suicidal. Finally, not only is help from Ralis not possible, but Juste Valle's navy is sailing down Greystone River to provide Seto with long range support." She grimaced, taking a deep breath, half expecting another bomb to go off, but nothing happened.

"No," Petar shook his head, "the Kakarikans have at least twenty thousand attacks in the east. That's just as dangerous."

"It's not. Manni has twice that many men on this side of the wall. The worst part is, I still don't have my damn tea!" she stormed away from Petar, leaving him confused. "And for the love of the Goddesses, where the hell is Shad? He should have been back by now!"


Shad

That day, Shad had gone to visit family, in a farm relatively close to Kakariko. They were all alive and well, and he also met Barnes on the way. Together, they traversed back to Hyrule Castle on foot, but the sight of the siege stopped their paths. Bombs kept on going off on the castle, and parts of it were breaking down. Likewise, there were some bombings on the invading forces. He sighed, torn on whether he should attempt to go to Hyrule Castle or not.

Shad waited on the hills of Hyrule Fields, just off of the coast of Greystone River. "The one day I leave Hyrule Castle to visit family," he grumbled. He turned to face his uncle, Barnes, who had become a messenger for Hyrule's military, after the Twilight War. "Is it possible to get in to Hyrule Castle?"

Barnes immediately shook his head, much to Shad's dismay. However, Barnes contemplated the thought slightly more, but arrived at the same conclusion. "No," he finally stated. "I don't know why you would want to go there, considering it's now grounds for war. That, and we'd get caught by Seto before we'll make it." Shad sighed. Barnes understood what Shad's body movements were telling, and nodded. It's the principle of the matter. I need to help, Shad silently implied. "I wish we could help, but it's too dangerous."

"We can help," Shad retorted, "we can always help." He thought of a way to somehow stop the invasion, but nothing came to mind. They'd get killed if they went anywhere near the Kakarikan army, and Zora's Domain was too far on foot, so that was also not an option. Shad placed his hands on his head to prevent crying out in frustration, but he stopped all actions from the sight in front of him. Dozens of Terminian warships were sailing across Greystone River, headed towards Hyrule Castle. They were equipped with dozens of cannons across its sides.

Shad stood up, horrified at the sight in front of him. Those ships must be have been carrying hundreds - if not thousands of men, and many more cannons and bombs to aid in the siege. Al the while, it proudly waved the turtle as its flag, signifying that it was Juste's fleet. As the ships sailed past him, he stood up, following them. Barnes also stood up from the hill, and followed Shad down the river. Realizing the full strength of the navy, Shad stopped in place. He sighed, and rubbed his head in frustration. After a few seconds, a smile rose from his face, and Shad stared at his uncle. "You made bombs, yes?" Barnes nodded, and caught his breath.

"Why?" Barnes asked. He gave a suspicious glare towards his nephew, thinking that Hyrule Castle's treasurer might have an idea after all.

"We can help Queen Zelda," Shad triumphantly stated. He walked away from Barnes, and towards Juste Valle's navy. In confusion, Barnes followed Shad. "Tonight... we're going to make the biggest explosion Hyrule has ever seen!"


Link Ordon

Link did no fighting up to this point. He was simply inspecting Hyrule Castle's defenses, to make sure they were up to par. At the same time, he kept a constant alert for Bruno, who was lurking in the castle, somewhere. Presently, Link was in the eastern side of the castle, in a hallway, which was the first direction Bruno ran off in. He checked each storage room one by one, but all of them came up empty. Finally, he stopped at another storage room, but it was slightly open, unlike the other ones. Cautiously, he drew out a dagger and opened the door, waving it around as he entered the room. Not a single thing stirred. Then, in a corner in the windowless room, there was a barrel that a grown man could easily fit inside of it, and what appeared to be hissing sounds came from it.

"Prepare to die," Link announced, drawing his sword towards the barrel. He lifted the lid, expecting Bruno inside, but nothing... but the hissing noise continued. Curious, he peeked his head in to the barrel only to see a bomb was lit inside. He immediately drew his head back, and ran from the room. By the time he was about a foot from the door, the barrel blasted open as the force knocked Link outside of the room. There was a scratch on his right cheek, and it bled slightly, but he paid no attention to it. He rubbed the blood off, and prepared to check another room, until he saw a messenger running through the halls. The messenger stopped when he saw Link. "May I help you?"

"Queen Zelda wants to tell you that she will find the traitor and wants you to help in the battle," the messenger said. Link did notice that it was a boy, about fourteen, standing comically short. The messenger had black hair and brown eyes... and would not stop staring at Link's wound, where blood seeped out of his cheek. Link became annoyed, and loudly coughed, bringing back the boy's attention. "I need a response, sir."

"Tell her," Link immediately began, but paused as he caught the boy once again staring at the open wound. The hero sighed, and covered up the wound with his hand. "Tell her that Bruno is planting bombs inside of Hyrule Castle. I even found one in a storage room." The messenger obediently nodded and ran off the direction in which he came from. Link wiped off some of blood, and headed upstairs to see how the Hylian army was doing against King Seto's men. Countless archers were on the roof, firing arrows from above. Down on the ground, the walls helped to blockade the invader's progress, but that may not hold long. Within a few moments, their army brought a battering ram on the doorway, which had been locked up. Link grimaced as he saw Hylian men slaughtered, one by one.

Unbeknownst to Link, the invaders placed ladders, from ground to roof, on the other side of the wall. Link turned his head, only to see a few men having climbed it, and attacked the archers on the roof. Many of the archers did not have any weapons on them, so they would try to back up and fire, but the enemies ran towards them, stabbing and slicing every Hylian man they could. Many of the Hylian archers retreated to Hyrule Castle's complex interior, and some Kakarikan men dared to follow. Two, however, stayed behind after noticing Link, who appeared unarmed. They grinned, and approached him from either sides. "Two against one," Link announced to them as they circled around him. "That's not fair." The duo shrugged; honour was unimportant. They were surprised, however, when Link dropped his dagger, sword, and shield to the ground, and cracked his knuckles. "Now it's fair."

"You've got a big mouth," one of them retorted, in a deep, gruff voice. "I reckon we'll have to fix that."

The other soldier swung a two-handed sword at Link, narrowly missing Link's head. While he took time to recover, Link quickly kicked the man, hoping that the armor was weak enough to make the man feel the impact. However, the guard seemed unmoved, and the armor was produced as high iron. Link backed away, turning to face the second man. Unlike the first man, the second man held two daggers, made of pure iron. He swung them at Link in rapid succession, forcing the hero to back away, and into plain sight of the Kakarikan army. The soldier jabbed the dagger forward, and it narrowly missed as Link sidestepped, with his back to his dropped weapons.

After a few more attacks, Link began to see a predictable pattern, and waited for the Kakarikan soldier to jab his dagger forward, and that allowed Link to respond with a swift kick at the man's chest. Despite the strong armor, the kick left him breathless, and the Kakarikan soldier clutched at his chest. Link prepared to knock him to the ground, but from the corner of his eye he saw the first soldier stand up again. The soldier charged at Link with the massive sword held high, and nearly nicked Link's shoulder, but the sword was slightly too short. Link glanced back at his fallen weapons, and back to the two soldiers, who walked towards him, with menacing glares. In one quick burst, he rushed to his weapons, and dived for his sword. Just as he sprinted, another bomb hit Hyrule Castle, and knocked Link off balance. The soldiers stomped him to the ground, and kept their weapons pointed at him. "Stand," one of them commanded.

Link placed his hands behind his head and stood up slowly. "He'll be worth quite a bit to King Juste alive," the other one said. "Or perhaps we'll sell his body parts to Zelda," he sadistically smiled. He lowered his sword slightly. "Cut each of your body parts, on by one," he said, and placed the sword on Link's shoulder, "perhaps we'll start with your shoulder."

"Perhaps you shouldn't," a voice called out. The three of them looked towards the staircase, where Impa was standing. She carried a katana in her hands, and glared at the two of them.

"Not another step," one of them threatened, putting a dagger right next to Link's neck. As much as Link tried to resist, he could not move, and stared at Impa for help. The soldier's eyes dared Impa to come closer, but she remained stationary. The soldiers smiled triumphantly. "We'll be leaving," one Kakarikan smiled. Immediately, his smile turned in to a face of shock, and he lost his grip of the dagger. The soldier fell to the ground, revealing an arrow to his back. A moment later, the other soldier also fell.

Impa smiled in relief that Link was okay. "Good work," she called out to the archer in the shadows, on the other side of the roof. She couldn't see much, but she could tell was that the archer lowered his Hylian cap in honor. She then approached Link, and tapped him on the shoulder. His eyes appeared to be crossed, and he seemed rather disoriented and pale. Immediately, he fell down, motionless. Impa let out a small gasp, and knelt next to him. She checked for wounds all over his body, but stopped when she saw blood on her hand... but she wasn't the one bleeding. She felt his shoulder again, and it seemed softed than what it should be. Impa removed part of Link's clothing - enough to have a look at his shoulders - and noticed multiple stab wounds, with blood seeping out of his body alarmingly fast. She grabbed on the wound with Link's clothing in an attempt to cover the wounds, and quickly picked Link up, running to Hyrule Castle's infirmary.


Impa, Royal Guardian of Queen Zelda Harkinan

The infirmary was so crowded that they started placing patients outside of the small building in Hyrule Castle's barracks. Fortunately for Link, Impa's clearance gave him a room within the infirmary. She continued to carry him to his bed, and Impa became mildly horrified by the sights she saw. Of those surviving battles, many had wounds cutting up their entire stomachs. Those that survived bombs that hit Hyrule Castle had missing limbs. Blood and gore did not horrify Impa in the slightest, considering she was trained to protect Zelda by killing absolutely anybody who posed some kind of threat to the Queen. However, blood and gore on such a large scale did scare her.

She gently laid him on a bed, and a doctor came within a minute to perform on Link. "I kindly ask of you to leave me to my practice," the doctor politely told Impa. Of course, she could have refused him (and should have, considering she was to guard him at all costs), but her mind was hazed with grounded fear. Fear for Link's life. Fear for these dying people. Fear for Hyrule Castle. She was on the verge of tears, but nodded, and stood just outside of Link's room. Eventually, news of Link's injuries had spread through the castle, and Zelda also came to see Link. She too was on the verge of tears.

"Bring me some milk and two veils silkis syrup," Zelda told Impa, "I've a headache." Impa nodded without saying anything, and turned to leave the infirmary, but Zelda spoke again. "And bring me Link's weapons." The last order hurt Impa, and she was sure that it hurt Zelda to say that as well. As was the case with all true warriors, they are buried with their weapons over them. Yet they both knew - or hoped, rather - that Link could cling on to life. He had so much to live for. Impa hurried out of the infirmary, and traveled to Hyrule Castle's kitchen. There were two veils clearly labelled 'silkis syrup'. Silkis syrup was a special (and expensive) extract from native bushes grown in Papuchia. They act as a tasteless painkiller, that can be added to drinks. She stuffed two veils of the syrup in to her suit, and brought a glass of milk to her.

Queen Zelda stared idly at Link. Halfway through the hallway leading to their room, Impa stopped and watched Queen Zelda without her knowing, almost like a shadow. Zelda's facial expression told a whole story, and it struck Impa deep. Don't die on me, she imagined that that was what Zelda was thinking. I love you. Damn it, don't die on me...

Impa took a step forward, and Zelda tilted her head, and welcomed Impa to Link's room. Link was extraordinarily pale, and the bandages they used to cover up Link's shoulder were stained in red. The boy did not move, and his breathing was faint. Impa decided not to look at Link any longer, and placed the glass of milk on a nearby table. Next, she placed the two veils of silkis milk next to it. "One drop will stop a headache," Impa reminded her Queen. "Four drops will put you in to a deep sleep. Nine drops will-"

Queen Zelda glared at her. "I know what nine drops do."

"Why do you have two?" Impa asked, suddenly becoming suspicious of Zelda's orders. However, she immediately corrected herself by speaking before Zelda could respond. "Just remember to have servings with at least three hour intervals. I'll bring Link's weapons." With a polite bow, Impa immediately left, leaving Zelda and Link alone. Of course, there was a doctor in the immediate area, and several dozen on the first floor, where normal soldiers were being treated.

Many say that nine drops of silkis syrup is the most peaceful and painless way to end a person's life. She contemplated opening it and swallowing an entire veil's worth of syrup, which contained eleven drops. She checked for signs of life on Link. He was still breathing, and still alive. So long as he was alive, she would also remain alive.

Because of the many perils that Link went through to save Zelda, and keep her safe, she vowed to always keep him safe. Link was willing to die for her, and almost did multiple times, but persevered to see her once more. "I am yours," were the words Link said to her before they kissed for the first time. "And you are mine," he said with a smile. She wanted to return the same sense of love. Yet she did little except send Link all over Hyrule on pointless quests. Now he truly did pay the price, and it was because of her. It was all because of her... he gave his soul for her, and this was her fault. She did not follow her vows to keep him safe, so she should be giving her soul for him. That way, they can live together in an afterlife, where she would be given a true second chance to correct their relationship.

She sobbed at the foot of Link's bed, and placed the veil back on the table without having any of its contents. A few moments later, Impa returned with a sword, shield, and dagger. Impa silently placed them on the table, and gave a quick glance at Zelda. The Queen clutched at the silkis syrup to the point that the veil may have broken, but it did not do so. Silently, Impa excused herself and walked away. That moment, she walked ever so slightly quicker. There was nobody in the known world more noble than Link. Yet his enemies could not let him die a hero. Ever moment, she walked faster. I'll kill them all.

I'll kill them all...

I'll kill them all...


Ralis Arias

The night was long for Ralis. He swore to protect Queen Zelda after the battle for Death Mountain. Yet his entire army was trapped in Zora's Domain by the enemy. Many of them were archers who were perched on hills, and shot any Zora they saw. Obviously, their main intention was not to attack the Zoras, but contain them, in order to prevent any intrusions during the siege on Hyrule Castle. Prince Ralis found this rather promising. This most likely meant that there are not as many Kakarikans blocking Zora's Domain as he originally thought there were, otherwise they would have attacked in to the cave.

Many bodies of the Zoras were scattered across the northern parts Hyrule Fields. It was difficult to attack the hills, considering that the Zoras only used spears, and no ranged weapons. Prince Ralis gave up on attacking the hills a while ago, and contemplated calling off their entire army. Perhaps Queen Zelda could not be helped. Perhaps he should take his chances that the Kings will leave him alone after they take Hyrule Castle. Perhaps they would call for peace with him if he did not resist their blockade. Yet he made a promise to Zelda, and it is a law among the Zoras to always uphold their promises. What would it look like if Ralis, their King, could not hold his promises?

Despite his promise, Ralis recalled all of his soldiers back inside, deep in Zora's Domain. He decided to wait the night out, in hopes that the Kakarikans do not have enough supplies to stay perched on the hills. Prince Ralis sighed, and dipped his feet in to the river once again. The water was significantly colder than when the war started, but the weather, on average, was still fairly warm. Tito, his grandmother, appeared next to him, with a content look on her face. "Are you just going to sit here?"

Prince Ralis shrugged, not knowing what to do. He was often a quiet boy, despite a strong command on his language. Yet now, he had no words. "So many of my men died. Men I've sworn to protect." Prince Ralis kept glancing at the water. "Mother would have known what to do."

Tito's expression became much more serious. She gave a stern glare at Prince Ralis for mentioning his mother, who was also her daughter-in-law, or Malin, as the word was typically said in native Zoran languages. Indeed, most Zoras in Hyrule were not native, and colonized the north some time recently. They spoke fluent Hylian, but many of them spoke New Zoran, which was the Hylian Zora's personal interpretation on the language. At first, many of the Hylian Zoras simply butchered words of the universal Zoran language because of their accent, but words were also created, and they entitled it New Zoran, feeling that the language changed dramatically from what it once was.

Tito was Prince Ralis' grandmother, on his father's side. His father, like many Zorans, died during the Conquest of Hyrule, led by King Manni many years ago. "Mother gave her life to keep you safe. So did your father." Tito yawned slightly. "They knew that you were worth saving. They saw promise, and a great leader in you." Prince Ralis idly stared at her, as she gave a smile. "We are Zoras. We swim in the water. We learn in the water."

"And we fight in the water," Ralis interrupted her. Tito immediately gave a nod. He stood up, removing his feet from the water. "We were born in the water. We hunt in the water. And we fight in the water." Tito smiled, and watched as many Zoran soldiers gathered around Prince Ralis. "We'll not attack by land, my friends! We are the masters of the sea! We shall swim deep in the rivers, and remove the blockade from behind!" Hundreds of roars of approvals went up simultaneously. An seemingly endless wave of men rushed in to the river, led by Prince Ralis. Thousands followed behind him, their spears pointed forwards. After the stampede was done, Tito was left by herself. She contently stood up, and walked away from the river. There, inside of the cave, Somra waited on a rock. Upon seeing Tito walk away, she got up to walk alongside her.

"Aren't you worried?" Somra asked. Tito raised an eyebrow, confused by the question. Somra cleared her throat, and began to speak again. "Aren't you worried about Prince Ralis' safety?"

Tito sighed, and turned to face Prince Ralis' future bride. "Men are attracted to death. Humans, Zoras, or Gorons, it doesn't matter. They don't fear death, but crave it. As a mother, or in my case, grandmother, you can't do anything except hope that they'll return."

"Will he return?" Somra asked.

Tito shrugged. "I pray that he stays safe. That's all I can do."

"You gave him the idea of attacking from the water," Somra replied, "that's something, isn't it?" Tito remained quiet, and walked slightly faster. Despite her young and petite demeanor, Somra had a tough time keeping up with the gargantuan of a Zoran woman. "I'd like an answer, if you may."

Tito turned around and her eye teared up ever so slightly. "This what he wants. As I watch him grow up, I know what he wants. Ralis wants glory. He wants honor " She sighed. "But above all, he wants to keep his promises. I gave him the idea. He went."

"You're his grandmother. He looks for your advice. When you give it, you know just as well as I that he will follow it unconditionally." Somra sighed. When Tito turned around to glare at Prince Ralis' future wife, Somra became a lighter blue, purely out of fear. That, however, did not stop Somra from pressing on. "I don't know what I'm trying to get at, to be honest."

"I do," Tito retorted. "I know exactly what you're trying to get at. You're accusing me of attempting to murder my own grandson, which is preposterous. As I said before, he's still the ruler, regardless of my opinions." Tito sighed, and sat down once again. "I do what I do for the good of our people. I would sacrifice myself if it meant that every other Zora could be safe. Ralis would also do the same, if given the chance," Tito said, forcing a weak smile. "And he's given that opportunity. Of course, he may survive-"

"You're willing to let your own grandson die?" Tito remained unmoved by Somra's sudden outburst. Slowly, the elderly Zora nodded. Somra sneered, "you'd let him die for the good of all Zoras? What good would his death do?"

"Without Ralis, Queen Zelda will lose the kingdom. With Ralis, she has a fighting chance, however small, of crushing her enemies. We have to help her crush Manni, Seto, and Juste, or else peace may no longer exist. Peace has a price, and some may have to pay the price for others to enjoy the benefits.

Somra sighed, and stood up to Tito. She stared the elder Zora in the eyes, but surprisingly, her expression was more curious than angry. Of course, the tone of her voice differed. "Why can we not stay out of the damn thing?"

"You saw what happened to the Gorons! They didn't want the war either, but that didn't stop bloodshed from knocking on their doorstep!" Tito and Somra exchanged glances, before Somra stomped out of the cave.


Impa, Royal Guardian of Queen Zelda Harkinan

After a few lucky shots by Manni's catapults, Hyrule City's clock tower went down. With it, the bell stopped chiming. Impa could only glare at the rubble and debris created by the destruction. The streets of Hyrule were practically empty, save for one or two people attempting to dig through the rubble, hoping to find loved ones. For the most part, Hyrule Castle also held together fairly well. The walls were close to shattering, but the main building was just too strong to be taken down. At least, that was what she was taught.

Now she wasn't so sure whether Hyrule Castle could survive the night of bombings. It was quite difficult to assign men to either side, and the area was not fortified properly for siege. Bruno must have done a damn good job of giving Seto information on how Hyrule Castle's army works, Impa thought sullenly to herself. Just then, another bomb went off, but inside of Hyrule Castle. It was planted just ahead of her, and smoke poured out of the hallway. A few bodies scattered the floor. Beyond that point, a cloaked figure turned one last time to see his work, and abruptly left. Impa cracked her knuckles, and gave chase to the cloaked figure. Past the hallway, he turned around once more, only to see Impa running straight at him.

The cloaked figure made a quick dash across the hallway, but Impa kept up. Eventually, the figure turned a corner, and closed one of the doors abruptly. Impa turned that same corner, only to have a seemingly endless sea of doors appear in front of her. The first one - locked. The second one - locked. Most likely, all of them were locked. That meant that the one that was open was the one the figure was hiding in.

Despite her training in such situations, she was filled with anxiety. No matter how much she wanted not to, she felt her fingers grip the blade, and she did not let go. Eventually, as Impa walked through the hallway, her anxiety increased. Who was the figure? Was it Bruno? If not, then why would he run? One door was open ever so slightly. She slid the dagger out of its socket, and held it forward. With a single motion, she kicked the door aside. The room was completely empty. Step by step, she forced herself to step inside of the room. She could feel eyes watching her. Her grip on the dagger tensed, and she swung it slightly. Eventually, she convinced herself that he was not in the room.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Impa immediately turned around to leave, but something stopped her. With a sudden scream, the figure thrust a spear at her head, narrowly missing. She ducked and backed away, bringing her dagger out. Once again, the figure charged at her. His spear left a dent in the wall, and immediately received a kick from Impa. The figure clutched at his stomach from the loss of air, and backed away. Impa was merciless, however, and kicked aside his spear. Despite his resistance, Impa managed to tackle him into the ground. With a single stroke, she removed the hood off of his cloak.

It was Bruno. Impa gave him a sneer, and he attempted to spit in her face. "Boy, you have no idea of your future."

"I understand it, and I don't care. My family has the money, so my job is done," he scoffed, "kill me." Impa slowly got up, and shook her head.

"You don't deserve death. For the trouble you've caused, I have a much worse fate for you. Now stand up, boy, before I chop off your arms and legs and carry you myself." She forcefully brought him up to the ground, and did so rather roughly. His dagger remained on the ground, and her's was pointed at him. "Walk." Bruno did as he instructed, placing his hands over his head. She smiled, in a sadistic sense. "Deep within Hyrule Castle's dungeons, there's somebody I want you to meet."

Bruno turned his head - but only for a moment. For that moment, she saw a smile develop on his face. "I look forward to it."

The walk through the empty spaces in Hyrule Castle was quite nerve-wracking, to be honest. However, Bruno kept his cool and restrained his anxiety. What does she mean by friend? Bruno thought. The tone of her voice - the regular professionalism in her voice was replaced with a lust for revenge. She wanted to see him suffer. If Impa feels that 'her friend' is a stronger punishment than death, then he had nothing to lose. The decision was hasty, but to be fair, he did lack choice.

The sudden elbow to her face had caught Impa off guard. Impa staggered ever so slightly, and attempted to gain focus once again. In the meanwhile, Bruno made a dash towards his dropped dagger, but Zelda's Royal Guard kicked him against the wall. He responded with a kick of his own, which was caught midair by Impa's hands, and Bruno fell over. He shifted himself backwards and got up at the same time. She struck at him with her dagger, but narrowly missed his neck.

"I normally don't hurt women," Bruno said as he backed away, "but you'll be an exception." He charged at her at full force, and kicked her right in the stomach. She staggered back, but did not fall. He continued to kick at her, keeping a safe distance at the same time. Eventually, he knocked her against the wall. In response, she tightened the grip on her dagger, and immediately slashed at him with it, creating a small and shallow wound on his chest. In pain, Bruno fell back a few steps, and looked back up to Impa. He moved backwards, and took a deep breath. Yet every time he breathed in, his chest pained him from doing so. He contemplated running, but she was evidently faster than him. Instead, he brought his fists up, ready to fight.

Impa was also evidently tired, if not hesitant, based on the way that she waited for Bruno to move. Instinctively, Bruno took this as an opportunity to charge at her. She held her knife up, prepared to strike at him, but Bruno slid outside of her reach. Instead, he picked up his own dagger from the floor, and held it towards her. She swung. He blocked. The sound of metal clashing against metal was deafening, but it did not stop. However, with a final thrust, she created another wound going across his chest, only this time, it was slightly deeper. Blood oozed out of the second wound, and Bruno fell to the ground, losing his grip on the sword.

Impa smiled triumphantly. Admittedly, she let her feelings get in the way of her professionalism, but at that point, he was a high value target. She managed to lift his unconscious body, and carried it to Hyrule Castle's dungeons. There, he would come to know suffering like none other. Grevius Sorell would undoubtedly teach that to him.


Shad

After some more running, Shad managed to outpace the ships by quite a bit. Of course, running on the hilly landscapes next to a river was no easy task. However, he made it. Yet his trouble had only started. After a moment, Barnes managed to keep up, but nearly collapsed from the distance. After a few more moments, Barnes fell to his knees, wheezing, and clutching at the grass. Shad couldn't help but smile, and helped his uncle up. Clearly, the years were against Barnes' favour. Nevertheless, he watched the ships in the distance, looming, in the far darkness. They posed a threat, and it was Shad's duty to remove any threat to Hyrule Castle. Thus, he gripped at his uncle from the man's left hand, and pulled him up.

"Can you make a bomb?" Shad asked, with a twinkle of hopefulness in his eyes.

Barnes was thinking of a way to word it nicely, but the message was already clear, based on Shad's facial expression. "Depends... what do we have with us?" Shad shrugged, and emptied his pockets. Inside of his left pocket was a flint and steel, and the other one had a small bottle of water. Barnes quickly glanced at the items. "No," he said, shaking his head. "That won't help us in making a bomb." Shad was about to cry out in frustration, but Barnes smiled. "But it can start a fire."

Shad looked up once again, and his eyes widened. He took a quick gulp, and forced a smile. "Perhaps that could work." He nudged his head towards the other side of the river, where a rather long yet narrow rock pointed upwards at the sky. "Do you have the chains?"Shad asked, constantly monitoring how far away Juste's navy was. Barnes nodded, and held out a rather long piece of chain they had found just off of the river a few moments ago. Another boat likely passed through Greystone River, and dropped the chains halfway through their trip.

Nevertheless, the chains were made of a rather hard steel that extended far beyond the width of Greystone River - and were rather lightweight. Shad removed his shirt, and took one end of the chains from his uncle. Although initially hesitant, Shad found the courage to start swimming the river. The current was strong, and the water was close to freezing, but little stopped him. That did not stop Barnes from worrying, however. After a few moments, Shad's head could no longer be seen, and Barnes became horrified upon seeing his nephew begin to sink. Barnes prepared to rescue his nephew, but Shad once again emerged, keeping his grip on the chains all the while.

After the trip was finally complete, Shad tied the chain around the narrow lock, and tested to make sure it could hold. After some more testing, he gave Barnes a thumbs up, and Barnes wrapped the remaining chains along a nearby tree. Of course, there was still enough slack in the chains for it to remain underwater when it ran through the width of Greystone River. Yet, it was invisible to the incoming warships. Barnes nodded, and waited as the ships came before them. Obviously, nobody on deck noticed Barnes nor Shad from a distance, or else they may have been fired upon. The ships were about to pass. Right before they did, Barnes tightened his side of the chains, causing it to be appear above the water. Some of the ships began to slow down upon seeing the metal chain that stopped their progress. Taking this as an opportunity, Barnes lit a leaf on fire, and placed it inside of the bottle. The corkscrew completely closed the bottle, and he could feel the pressure building inside of the bottle. The bottle was placed a slingshot, and he aimed for a window of the closest ship.

Barnes closed on of his eyes to properly focus on the shot, and the slingshot began to feel shaky from the bottle. With a sudden jerk, the bottle went flying, and barely went inside the window. A few moments later, a few deck members went upstairs to see what the chains were for, and saw Barnes. They started yelling at him, and he just smiled in response. Frustrated, one of them manned the cannons, and progressively aimed at him. However, he did not flinch the slightest. Before the cannon could be loaded, that ship burst into a brilliant flame, and the fires almost instantly decimated everything on board. That ship began to sink, and many of the soldiers had caught on fire.

The air was filled with screams of pain. However, before the rest of the crew could realize what was happening, the second ship caught on fire. Almost immediately afterwards, the third one also caught on fire. Within the matter of a few moments, Juste's entire navy was wiped out, and the remains of his power rested at the bottom of the river. Shad was crying out in excitement and victory, and Barnes also afforded a quick smile. No soldier ran out of the river to attack them. Some bodies rested at the bottom of the river, while others were carried from the current.


Juste Valle

King Juste, and his wife, Yul, had their own convoy just outside of Hyrule Castle. They had a carriage, and were covered on all sides by a thick velvet blanket. Several horsemen were on each side of them, escorting them just outside of Hyrule Castle. Inside of the carriage, Juste and Yul had to grip their seats every time a bomb went off in fear of being flung away, out of the carriage. The decision to bring Brandon was an easy one, in retrospect. Soon, in the future, Harra would be commanding Koholint's armies, Brandon would be in charge of Termina, and Seto... would probably create his own grave, soon enough. They would split Hyrule in to three separate parts, and an international triangle would ensue.

After Hyrule Castle falls, all Kakariko, Termina, and Koholint would have equal land and power. This would result in peace, for if one attacked another, the third nation would help the victim. This could not have been possible if Harra did not marry Manni's niece. Admittedly, Juste was often tough on his oldest son, but as a young child, Harra really did appear promising. However, he had difficulty with most things, and Termina's citizens would lose respect for his family if somebody like Harra was crowned as the heir. As a result, he was forced to give it to Brandon, who did not have trouble with such menial things, such as riding a horse, or reading.

Juste sighed; the world seemed to be falling against him. He was on the winning side, and so close to conquering Hyrule Castle, but there was so much wrong. As time goes by, his relations with his brother were becoming worse and worse, and Harra was becoming more and more disobedient. It was only a matter of time until the boy did something dangerously stupid. He looked again at Yul, who was patiently eating grapes while they waited. "Something isn't quite right."

She gave a nervous smile. Slowly, Yul shook her head. "There's always something wrong," she smiled at him. "The problem is that you worry too much." Her statement led Juste into a state of thinking, which abruptly ended when she kissed him on the cheek. "Everything is going perfectly. We managed to create peace between ourselves and Koholint. Seto's too stupid to fight us. And Zelda can't do anything either."

"You shouldn't be saying these things about Seto," Juste responded, in an ordinarily monotone voice. However, to Yul's surprise, a sly smile spread on his face as he continued. "Even if it is true." Yul gave a quite chuckle.

"You... are a king. Whatever you need to do..."

Juste nodded in agreement. "I am a king. Whatever I need to do..."

Yul smiled once again. "That's better. Now get rid of this 'we're not safe' attitude. We're fine." Yul kissed him, this time on the lips. "We're safe. We're happy. That's all that matters."

Their thoughts were interrupted when the carriage was brought to a sudden halt. Juste's eyes darted out of the velvet cloak, curious as to why they've stopped. After a few moments, a Kakarikan general came to greet them. He gave a polite bow, and escorted them just outside of the carriage. "This is as far as we're instructed to bring you. Any closer and you'd be at risk." Hyrule Castle was clearly visible in the distance. The western side was close to being completely torn down, being held together by only a few more towers.

"We'd prefer to stay in our carriage, if you may," Juste replied. "Bring us to King Seto." The general nodded. Juste and Yul once again entered the carriage, as it continued to move. The rest of their journey was short-lived. It came in an instant. In front of their carriage, the two could clearly see a bright light, followed by the carriage doing several rotations backwards. A Hylian attached a bomb to their arrow, and struck it remarkably close to the carriage. The carriage tipped over several times, and the couple were being thrown inside.

Once the carriage stopped, Juste opened his eyes once more. He was outside of the carriage, and it had been flipped over completely. He tried standing up, but there was a blinding pain in his knee. Clearly, a bone was broken. He was fortunate, however, since there were no open wounds to be found. The outside of the carriage had many intricate linings to symbolize Juste's wealth, but those linings were also sharp enough to easily cut skin. Despite the pain, Juste found the strength to stand up. Although walking hurt even more, he managed to limp a few steps, before falling to the ground. He clutched at the grass. Immediately, he shifted his attention to his wife, Yul, who was also on the ground, but did not show a single sign of moving.

He limped towards her, and lifted her face. A wound was across Yul's forehead, and she did not respond. He did feel a heartbeat that was steady, however, it was also faint. He picked her up, and limped towards the closest group of soldiers. He couldn't help but look down again. She was dying, and he can't save her. However, that did not stop him from limping. The soldiers took notice of him, and hastily helped the two of them with what little medical equipment they had.

One soldier attempted to bandage Juste's legs, but the king waved him off. "Help her!" Juste wanted to scream. To cry. However, he had a responsibility to stay strong. All of the soldiers did not pay attention to his leg, but instead were trying to keep Yul alive. A single tear left Juste's eye, but it was immediately wiped away. "Will she live?"

One soldier, who seemed to double as a doctor based on his expertise, shrugged. "Perhaps she will. Worst case scenario is that she dies. The best case scenario..." Juste quietly waited for the answer. Will she be fine? "Best case scenario is that she will be in a permanent coma. She's gone through a serious blow to the head." The doctor removed his cap in respect. "If she doesn't die, then she's lucky - this sort typically leaves anybody dead."


Zelda Harkinan

"I love you, Link," Zelda weakly smiled, rubbing her hand against Link's cheek. "I've always loved you." She sighed, and watched his heartbeat. Zelda glanced to check at the time, but could not stop looking at the silkis syrup right afterwards. Instantly, Zelda broke down in to tears. You've always watched over me as I went to parties anywhere. "You were scared of letting me go, remember?" she smiled, gripping his hand. "You were scared that some brave prince from another kingdom will steal my heart. Do you remember?"

There was no doubt in Zelda's mind that Link remembered. He remembered everything about her. "I love you," she repeated. It was the first time she actually said it out loud. Every day, Zelda patiently waited for the day that Link said it back. That was going to be the same day that he proposed to her.

Ever since she first laid eyes on Link, she knew that there was something special about the boy. He would do anything for her - and soon, she would do anything for him. They were going to be married, no matter what Zelda's father had said. At that moment, Zelda confessed her sins - her actions, which she did to keep her and Link together. Her crimes would shock anybody, but she kept them to a whisper. Only Link could hear them. "This is all my fault," she sobbed, staring at his face. There was no response.

"Perhaps... perhaps all of this is the price I pay for my sins," she said, quietly. There was little quiet, from the bombs that shook the castle. Each time a new one detonated, it felt more violent than the last one. "I love you."

Perhaps it was the heat in the room, but for a moment - just a moment - Zelda could have sworn that she felt Link's grip on her hand tighten. After a moment, his eyes opened for the first time since he entered the room. He smiled lazily at her. She rejoiced.

"You're alive!"

"It'll take more to kill me than a wound." Instantly, in her joy, she hugged him.

"Ow!" Link yelped as she rested her arm over his wounded shoulder. Zelda immediately withdrew that arm. After a moment of the pain subsidizing, he smiled at her again. "So, what did I miss?" Zelda lowered her head to conceal tiny amounts of laughter.

"Half of the castle is destroyed. You missed that," she jokingly said, smiling.

Link nodded, and helped himself up off of the bed. He clearly had no troubles getting up, so that was pleasing to see for Zelda. However, the wound still seemed bad - although Link did not mind. He stretched his arms out, and yawned. She expected him to approach her, begging for a kiss. Perhaps a hug. Instead, he walked over to where his weapons were. One by one, he strapped them on himself, and prepared to set out the door. "What are you doing?"

Link shrugged. "Half of the castle is destroyed. I'm going to save the other half."

"But you're injured!" Zelda protested.

"I've lost my home. I've lost my parents. I'm not losing you," Link stated. "I'll do whatever I can to keep you safe."

She embraced him once more, taking note not to touch him on the wound. "You're not going. I won't let you." Link's expression was quizzical, but Zelda remained resolute. "You're going with me to the throne room." Link nodded, and left first. From the table, Zelda grabbed the two veils of silkis syrup, and stuffed them in her dress. She caught up to him, and acted nonchalant.


Zelda sat on her throne. The entire room was empty, save for her and Link. He stood beside her, and kept a smile. She smiled back. "Tell me a story," Zelda commanded. "Anything. Anything at all."

Link quickly brainstormed the stories he had heard of as a child. He immediately smiled. "There was a forest. In this forest, there were many animals, big or small. There were deer, monkeys, bears - anything you can think of. And four animals wanted to be the leader of the forest: there was the snake. Nobody liked the snake:"

There was the turtle. The turtle was slow. He was also steady and consistent. Some liked him because he was honorable.

Juste was on the verge of tears at that point. He gripped his wife's hand, and sobbed quietly. He just kept staring at her. Yul's eyes were closed, and her face had bloodstains. The doctor was hard at work at bandaging and assessing her health. "She will definitely live," the doctor finally told Juste. Tears started to flow down the king's face as he jumped up, hugging the doctor in joy. Although he found it rather awkward, he did hug the king back. However, he moved back, and gripped Juste's shoulders, with a stern expression. "Her life comes with a price. She's in an indefinite coma at the moment."

One downside of the turtle was that he was too slow. As a result, he attracted danger. Worse, his brothers actively sought danger as well.

Rusl's body flowed down Greystone River. The ships were in ruins, and most of the men perished in the fire.

There was the crow. Everybody already knows that fellow crows compete with each other. Two of the four leaders were crows. The younger crow was the one that everybody loved.

Link continued with his story, and it put a smile on Zelda's face. She appeared to enjoy the story, so Link continued. "That crow was smart, kind, and beautiful. Every other animal in the forest marveled at her. Some became jealous, such as the other crow." Without Link knowing, Zelda's grip on the veil holding the silkus syrup tightened.

The fighting between these animals made other animals quite mad. In fact, some had to be dragged into the constant fighting! Others put themselves in it, and paid the price. They paid the price for hurting other animals in their pursuit for power.

Impa dragged Bruno down into Hyrule Castle's darkest dungeons. He had an undeniable face full of fear, which, perversely, filled Impa with a sadistic form of happiness. "Grevius, I have a present for you," Impa announced to the darkness. Instantly, a hunchback figure came from one of the cellars, and eyed Bruno, who tried to avoid eye contact. A smile started to spread on Grevius' face.

"I'll take good care of him, don't you worry," he said, smiling. Bruno gulped.

"I'm sure you will." With that, Impa left. Alone.

But no matter what, the true leader was the youngest crow. After all the fighting is over, every animal in the forest will bow before the crow... for the crow represents freedom in her majestic flight. With the crow in charge, the forest soared to new heights. It wouldn't have been long... but the other animals realized that their true leader was the winged beast.

Zelda couldn't help but laugh at the corniness by the end. "Alright, stop, that was excellent," she said. Link obeyed. Zelda gave a nervous sigh, and presented the silkus syrup veils. She once again eyed at the front of the throne room. "I don't want to see myself get captured. If Seto, Manni, or Juste walks through that door within the next few moments, feed me a full veil."

An expression of horror appeared to arise from Link's face. "Zelda... you know what it does."

"Please, do this for me." Her eyes showed a mix of grounded fear and want. However, there was absolutely no uncertainty in her expression. Link sighed, and sat upright, against the wall.

"I'll do it for myself," Link said, looking at her. "And you do it for yourself." Zelda gave a weak smile, and nodded. Slowly, Link took one of the veils. He and Zelda took off the caps for their veils, and held it close to their mouths. The sounds of war were heading closer to the throne room, and eventually, footsteps became audible. Zelda watched, curious to see who managed to take Hyrule Castle before she died. The footsteps were almost there.

A single figure appeared. It wore only armour, and carried a spear. By the looks of it, that figure was the leader of the group, as a dozen more armored figures came in to the throne room behind him. Slowly, the figure took off his helmet. Once it was fully off, Zelda gasped, and they both dropped the veils on the ground in shock.

"The battle is over," Prince Ralis stated triumphantly in audience of Queen Zelda. "And we have won!" Link and Zelda hugged each other in joy as Prince Ralis smiled at his victory - their victory.


END CHAPTER

Words: 10,936


Author's Notes:

Wow, that was quite a long chapter. The first one over 10,000 words! Yeah, a lot happened in this chapter, and as I promised, plenty of action, plus the regular drama that is expected per chapter.

Essentially, Prince Ralis managed to get through the blockade made just outside of Zora's Domain. None of the invading forces expected a counterattack from anywhere except the castle, so the Zoras took them all by surprise. Most of Zelda's enemies had retreated quickly.

As usual, please review!