Hey peoples! do you all hate me yet? Plz don't! I know this has taken 4ever! But, with school n my total lack of good ideas I kinda just stopped. Lol anyways first of all, I wanna thank my bud ShadowNinja1011 for her idea for my story and her help in gettin me writing again! Second, I don't own LoZ, the characters, or anything like that. Matt and Saber r my OCs. And finally, plz enjoy my new chap n plz review! Thx!
A Knight Like No Other
Chapter 7
"Whoa whoa whoa, back it up," Sheik was saying minutes later, "Zelda's what?"
"She's getting married!" Link fairly shouted. "Her father's practically already picked the guy!" He was pacing wildly back and forth in his room, while Sheik once again sat cross-legged on the spare bed.
"It's-It's just… I can't… What the heck am I supposed to do!" was all Link could come up with at last.
"Well, I mean she isn't seventeen yet, right?"
"Well…no, but…"
"Then it's obvious what you do! The same thing you were gonna do a couple days ago; go out there 'n tell her!"
"Ugh," Link flopped heavily onto his bed. "Do you really think it's that simple?"
"What could be so complicated about it?"
Link sighed, "Well, let's see, first of all, she's a princess. She needs to marry a prince not a… a farm boy."
"Oh come on! Yeah you used to work on a farm, but you're a knight now. 'N it's totally obvious Zelda likes you," Sheik added with a sly smile.
Link, reddening slightly, turned his back to his friend. "Well, either way I'm gonna have to talk to her," he said with another sigh.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully until it came time for dinner. Link had spent the afternoon riding Epona through Hyrule Field and now headed slowly back to the castle. However, just as he pushed the massive wooden door open, another man, coming out into the courtyard, slammed into him, knocking him to the ground.
"Hey, watch where you're going!" the man snapped.
"Why don't you?" Link growled back, irritated by the man's superior tone and the swirling thoughts in his head.
The man scowled at Link, looking scornfully down on him.
"What are you doing around the castle anyway, peasant?" He spat the last word as if it were a poison.
Link glared daggers at him, pulling himself to his feet. "It just so happens, I'm one of the Knights of Hyrule," he snarled back. "The name's Link."
The stranger looked shocked at this, but simply whirled on his heel and stomped back through the door he'd come. Giving a huff of annoyance, Link headed inside as well and turned toward the dining hall.
Link had soon taken a seat at the enormous dinning table and, shortly after, Zelda slipped through one of the large doors around the room as well. Link's cobalt eyes narrowed slightly as he saw that the man who'd run into him was speaking quietly with and leaning dangerously close to the princess.
Zelda was quick to sidle away from him and hurriedly took the seat right next to Link. Slightly startled, the hero shifted his gaze from the stranger to the young woman now seated to his right.
"Oh, you don't mind if I sit here, do you?" she asked quietly.
"No, of course not."
At this, the princess offered him a grateful smile and, for a while, the two ate their meals in almost complete silence.
To Link, an odd thickness seemed to hang in the air all around him. To his right, Zelda picked at her food with a look of unease. Occasionally, her gaze would fall on the stranger who sat across from them, but she was quick to look away, her expression all the more upset each time. At last, Link could stand it no longer and, turning to the princess, asked, "Who is he?" With this, he threw a quick glance at the man who, for the past fifteen to twenty minutes, had been giving him dirty looks.
Zelda's only reply was, "Meet me in the gardens as soon as dinner is over."
Link could only nod. Now more confused then ever, the young man was soon lost in thought.
XxX
The sun was sinking slowly below the horizon as Link stepped out into the gardens. Only a moment later, he heard the door creek open and turned towards it. The figure he saw was familiar; however, it was the last person Link had expected to see. The stranger simply stared at Link for a moment, dark eyes filled with something he had seen all too often in past battles. Hatred, rage, murder. The man appeared to be about twenty. He wore a black tunic with gold designs and white leggings. His black hair was pushed back and his eyes, a strange bright green, had an evil glint in them. The man reminded Link of his "evil twin," Dark.
"Looking for someone?" Link asked, an edge creeping into his voice.
"You," was the answer, it sounded almost like a hiss. The stranger gripped his sword hilt.
Link instinctively went for his weapon as well.
"Look, all I did was run into you and you're asking for a fight?"
"You," the man said again, "I know you're after the princess, but if you think I'm going to let you take my rightful position as king, you'd better think again."
Link stared, momentarily dumbfounded; rage gripped him and he had to fight to push it off. "Y- You're the one who's supposed to marry Zelda?"
"The name's Sale and trust me, I will marry her," The man grinned. "And then…" He stopped and a dark fire burned in his eyes.
Link had no desire to even think of how that sentence might end. But, there was one thing he knew, he could not let this happen. His chest constricted and, on his sword hilt, his knuckles turned white with his grip.
Then, something happened that link couldn't believe. Sale pulled his sword from its sheath with a malevolent grin. But, just as Link was drawing his own blade in defense, the man turned his blade on himself and carved a large gash in his black tunic. The resulting wound was not deadly, but it looked to be so. Blood made the midnight fabric darker as Link stared in shock. Without another word, Sale turned and departed, giving only a quiet chuckle.
If Link had found this move shocking, what followed was dumbfounding as Hyrule's hero soon found himself a prisoner of the royal guard.
Mere minutes after Sale's actions in the courtyard, Link had been summoned to the king's presence, his planned meeting with Zelda being now lost, as she too was called to her father's side. Both hero and princess now struggled to understand that meeting's result. Sale had been there, bandaged around the midsection, with a sorrowful look in his eyes when the king looked to him and a baneful one as soon as the king's back was turned. In a moment, Link had been sentenced to the dungeons, all manner of justice suddenly forgotten. Where had the king's reason gone? This was not his usual, just mindset and Zelda was almost sure she knew what…or who had changed it. Yet, there seemed to be nothing she could do about it.
Meanwhile, in the throne room, Impa, her thoughts much the same as those of the princess, was attempting to reason with King Harkaninian. Sale, unknown to the king, still stood in a far corner of the room.
"But Your Highness," Impa was saying, "this is unreasonable. We have no proof that it was Link who attacked Zelda's future fiancé. You hardly even troubled to hear Link's side of the story."
"We have Sale's word. Is that not proof enough?"
Impa sighed. "Well Your Highness, if I may speak freely?" Here, she paused until the king nodded.
"With all due respect Sire, no, I don't think so. In a case of one man's word against another, is it not wrong to…well…simply choose a favorite?"
Anger stirred in King Harkininian's eyes. "Are you saying this is what I have done?" His voice was low and strange, threatening almost. Impa paused, turning her gaze to the corner where Sale hid.
"Sire, may I ask a favor of you?"
The king's look changed from one of anger to that of confusion.
He paused before replying slowly, "Yes, of course."
"I would request that he be removed from the throne room," Impa said, pointing to the place where Sale hid. After a moment, he slid from the shadows.
"Sale!" the king said with shock, "this is a private meeting. Leave at once."
Sale bowed, looking as innocent as possible. "Yes your highness," he said quietly before turning and disappearing through the great doors behind him. Impa then looked back to the king and saw it was as if a cloud passed over his eyes and fled. Their usually light returned before a look of confusion once again overtook them.
"What…what's happening? It's as if...something else...has been controlling me," the king said slowly.
"My thoughts exactly," was Impa's reply. "Sire don't you see? Sale has been controlling you, poisoning your mind. It was less pronounced before, but this episode was the last straw. You must put a stop to this idea of Zelda's marrying him! It would not strengthen Hyrule as you desire, rather it would tear it apart! Sale is only after power and seeks it through marriage to the kingdom's future ruler."
The king sighed, "Impa, I fear what you say is true, but we cannot jump to conclusions. I will not force the marriage, but you know our laws as well as I; Zelda must marry by her seventeenth birthday."
Impa smiled, "May I request one thing more Your Highness?" the king nodded in answer. "The release of the hero."
"It is granted," was the king's reply.
"Thank you Your Highness, you'll see, this problem will practically take care of itself."
