Finally, after three or more months of total agony, I have completed the uncompleteded; finished the unfinisheded; did the unthinkable. I have finally, after long weeks of nothing, completed the long-awaited chapter 6.
Did I mention it's a 2-part chapter? ... oh crap, that means another three months. Oh, for crying out loud!
Chapter 6
Chaos in the Castle Walls - Pt. 1
"What did you say?" an agitated voice asked incredulously. "Do you mean to say that not only was it a woman, but she was also-"
"I'm afraid it is true, your excellency," the General interrupted. "I wish it wasn't so, but the gods have deemed it necessary to allow us such a fate."
"Do not bring blasphemy to my presence, General!" Nohanse yelled angrily, already shaken up by the news Ganondorf told him. The Gerudo man bowed apologetically, asking for forgiveness through his act of atonement.
"What do you feel we must do, your majesty? We cannot be hasty to bring her to be beheaded."
"I wish I knew, General." Nohanse sighed, falling back into his red-cushioned throne. He put his face into his hands, exhausted from the stress the problem had caused him. Zelda looked at him worriedly from her throne beside his, hoping her father will be all right.
I stood next to her highness, standing in an attention-like pose. As I watched the two men converse, I couldn't help but wonder about the problem myself. It was too strange of an occurrence that had happened during our absences from the castle. First off, Gerudos hunt in the west to avoid problems with running into Hylians on the roads, who travel along the east to mirror the Gerudos intentions. You wouldn't see a Gerudo in the forests situated in the east of Hyrule. Also, if something did happen there would be much more people in Hyrule Market Town when we came. Not many people were walking around, so I highly doubted there would've been a commotion. Usually when something like an arrest happened, curiosity takes place and people would be watching who it was being taken in by the guards. Nothing like that happened before our arrival. Just what was going on? Or better yet, what was Ganondorf trying to pull off?
"Has she confessed her reasons yet?" the king asked wearily.
"So far she hasn't said anything. The Gerudos will not be pleased to know of this incident." Ganondorf scratched the back of his head in wonder. "What can we do but to hope something good will happen soon?"
That's when Zelda stood up from her seat, and began walking to the door. I watched her with curiosity, wondering what she was intending to do. Her voice then demanded my attention.
"Lee," she called out with authority, not turning her head to look at me.
"Uh..." I looked at her like an idiot, confused about what she wanted. "Yeah?"
"Please go with General Ganondorf to the dungeon, so that you may talk to the Gerudo prisoner."
Both the Gerudo man and I stood in place, our mouths open in awe. It was a surprising thing to hear her say, indeed. Why does she want me to see the girl?
"Your highness, what do you intend to do?" Ganondorf asked, trying to convince the princess to rethink her decision. "We have done everything we could possibly do, and she will not say anything. What difference is there if we send the boy in?"
"Do you question the power of the gods, General?" Zelda gazed into his eyes like a poisoned arrow shot into an animal, something I never expected her to do. Sure she was strong-willed and persistent, but doing something as to give a nasty look to someone was beyond me. It must've had something to do with my first encounter with him, which was when I noticed hate between the two of them. Whatever it was, she obviously hated him with every bone in her body.
"N-no, I do not your highness," he answered timidly.
"Then do as I say, General, and take him with you." Zelda walked out of the room, but stopped by the doorway. "I will be waiting to go, as well."
"I do not think that is a good idea, Zelda," Nohanse spoke out. "The dungeon is no place for a la-"
"Father, please," the princess beseeched the king. "You promised me you wouldn't."
Nohanse sighed, leaning back into his throne. "I apologize, Zelda. Do as you see fit."
"Thank you." Zelda turned around. "When do you plan to take us, General?"
The Gerudo man looked afraid to speak, scared to say something that might offend the princess or her father. I walked to the exit, but stopped to cheer the General up with a pat on the back.
"Come on," I told him in a cheerful yet sarcastic manner. "You don't want to keep a lady waiting, do you?"
I heard him growl under his breath, which was a sign he was pissed off. This must be the best day in my life so far. When does anyone get the chance to taunt someone with high authority and get away with it?
Ganondorf followed behind us, soon leading the princess and I to the dungeon.
- - - - -
The smell of blood lingered in the cold air of the prison. The narrow halls were dimly lit by torches along the walls, unable to help us see where we were walking. Fortunately, the General's armour reflected the light from the torches, making our sight work better in the halls. The torches also didn't help much with warmth. It was very cold in the dungeon, forcing me to shiver from the low temperatures. I cursed under my breath from feeling the uncomforting breezes passing us by. Man, I knew I should've worn something on my back!
I couldn't have imagined the number of criminals that were kept in this dark labyrinth, but it seemed there were too many to keep track of; there were many criminals and people who may have been innocent, but all-in-all there were many people locked up. Most of the cells even looked over-crowded.
This place is freaking the hell outta me! The blood's scent in the air made me wonder if the place was haunted, for numerous prisoners were locked away, many who died of starvation, from torture, or who decided that living was futile in such a place. What if they haunt this place right now? My thoughts began scaring me, but I knew paranoia was not an option, not when I was supposed to be strong and fearless like I'm expected to be. I'm the Guardian of the Triforce! I knew something so trivial was nothing to be worried about.
As for Zelda, her face showed the utmost fear. She shivered from the cold air and of fear, as she was afraid of all the prisoners gazing at her from their dirty cells. Being a young lady, she was not safe from being watched by perverted eyes. It was what she wanted in the first place, so I didn't want to make her feel any worse. All I could do was hope she was okay.
Suddenly from one of the dark cells off to the side, an arm struck out toward us to grab our attention. An old man, his white hair dirty from the time spent in his prison, reached out to us with his bony arm. Both the princess and I jumped back from the surprise, Zelda screaming from the shock.
"Please, your highness, let me free from this foul place!" the man begged. "I'm innocent. Please believe me!"
"Quiet!" A foot kicked the bars of the cell swiftly, pushing the man back and landing onto the floor. "Do not speak to her highness, you filth!"
Ganondorf stared the old prisoner down with a frightening gaze, forcing him to be silent. The General continued on, telling us to keep following him. Without further delay, we listened and continued walking with him to our destination.
After what seemed like an hour of walking through the dimly lit hallways, we reached a lit room at the end of one corridor. Nearing the room I heard whipping sounds and small yelps of what sounded like a wolfos or some other beast. It was strange to hear such things, but I figured it was a misconception of some sort. I didn't realize that it came from where we were supposed to go.
Ganondorf stood at the side of the entrance, allowing me to enter first with Zelda. The intense candle light from the room caused my vision to become fuzzy and unclear. When my sight started focusing better, my mouth dropped open from what I witnessed, and Zelda couldn't bear to see it either.
A young Gerudo, undoubtedly the criminal in questioning, was being interrogated by two of the king's Royal Guards. Her shackled wrists were pulled up to be hung by, and she was stripped of her cloths with her entire body exposed to the eyes of those in the room, but it wasn't her body that shocked me. It was, instead, the blood on the floor that poured from the open wounds on her entire back. They continued to multiply and open up more with every lashing she recieved from the whip. It looked like the guards were at this for an hour or so, which would kill the average prisoner that usually comes here. Surprisingly enough the girl was alive, however I just knew she would have death rather than such seemingly unbearable torture.
The whipping stopped at the command of the guard . The girl whimpered from the pain, as the guard walked to her with an overshadowing gaze in his eyes, putting fear in the Gerudo. He grabbed her by the throat, looking into her eyes with that same gaze. It almost reminded me of what I did to Zelda on our way back from the Temple of Time. Was that me before? Was I that frightening?
"Tell us why you killed both those men, and we'll make this easy for you." The girl replied with silence, provoking anger in the guard. "Fine, if you wish to stay quiet-"
The guard motioned his hand to tell the other one to commence whipping the prisoner. He comfortably did so, almost wanting to do it with pleasure. It sickened me to see this, as well as it did so to Zelda.
"General, you monster!" Zelda yelled out with a saddened tone. "I thought you were cold-hearted, but to this extent?"
"To deal with criminals requires to be cold, your highness," he replied emotionlessly. "I cannot be soft on her because she's a girl, or because she's younger. Every criminal must be punished."
"Even criminals are treated better than this!" I irrestistibly bursted out. The amount of anger I held over this made me fear for turning into themonster I became before.
"You might be the Guardian, but you are still a simple-minded peasent as before we found you."
Let me free, it pleaded me. Let me awaken once more! I can help you! I held my head to try and stop the tempting voice from controlling my thoughts. It was the first time it literally called out to me. Just what's going on with me?
"Ganondorf, I demand you release her this instant!" Zelda ordered the Gerudo man. He, however, did not comply, and walked to the chained Gerudo in the middle of the room. The princess knew she was being ignored. "General, I order you to-"
"You don't seem to understand, your highness," he interrupted with a straight and calm tone. "She must be punished. She has killed two of the king's most loyal men, and her crimes mustn't go unpunished." He turned her around vigorously for us to see her front side. "She deserves no mercy for such a crime."
I looked up at her pretending she wasn't naked, being a guy and all, and I noticed something other than her feminine features. I looked at her, and knew who she was. I looked at her wide-eyed and couldn't believe what I saw. My mind was in doubt of the person, but I knew very well it was no illusion. It can't be...
The voice became more persistent and called out to me even more. Let me free! I can help you! I can help you defeat your enemies!
What enemies? What the hell are you talking about? Indeed, what enemies was the voice talking about? The Triforce - apparently that's what it was according to Zelda's previous explanation - became more demanding of its release. I knew that if I didn't do something soon, I would hurt everyone in the room, if not kill. It didn't matter what, but I needed to do something.
"Everyone, get out now!" I bursted out with aggresive authority. Everyone eyed me bewilderedly.
"What did you say?" Ganondorf asked, acting as if he didn't hear me the first time.
"I said leave this room now!" I shouted through clenched teeth, still holding back the voice in my head. Everyone in the room - the guards, Ganondorf, Zelda, even the prisoner - looked at me in a strange way. It made sense to do so, since what was going on with me was strange beyond belief.
Ganondorf let out an irritated sigh. "You two, stop the interrogation. We are leaving."
"But sir, we still haven't found out her rea-"
"I said leave," Ganondorf gave a dark look at the two of them. They followed orders from their superior, walking out of the room. Ganondorf followed behind, but Zelda stayed and looked at me with concern.
"Lee, what's wrong?" she asked with her usual soft and innocent tone. She placed her hand slowly onto my shoulder, but I shoved it off.
"I told you to leave," I repeated myself. She disregarded what I told her and instead became worried for me.
"What's happening, Lee? Let me help you."
"Please, just leave," I said once more, giving her an assuring look that showed I'd be fine. She nodded agreeably and left, still with her concerned look stuck to her face. She closed the doors behind me, only leaving me and the Gerudo prisoner in the candle-lit room. Once everyone was gone, I fell to my knees and breathed heavily to avoid fainting and stay conscious. The voice stopped begging for its escape out of my mind, and luckily no one was hurt. Thank the gods, I'm still myself.
I looked up, almost forgetting the presence of the Gerudo. She looked at me scared and dumbfounded, wondering what I was doing on the floor while she tried to ignore me at the same time. I figured she was still afraid after being tortured continuously, so I needed to show her I wasn't going to hurt her at all. What can I do?
I got up from the floor and slowly walked to the girl. She shivered from fear as I moved toward her with an almost stern face, although that wasn't my intention. I grabbed onto the Master Sword's hilt, scaring the Gerudo more into thinking I was going to hurt her. I then pulled it out from the cloth wrapped around it, and swung it to cut the thin chain holding her off the ground. She fell with a hard thump onto the blood-covered stone floor.
As I went to help her up, she looked at me more confused than scared. I put out my hand to show her I had no intention of hurting her, but her confusion just grew.
"It's ok," I explained softly. "No one's going to hurt you now, I promise you."
She slowly and cautiously went to grab my hand. I gave her a smile when she looked at me confused, thinking I was going to trick her. She looked for the small moment until she quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me away, quickly darting for the door out of the room. Reacting to this, I dropped my sword to the ground and threw myself onto her to stop her. I pinned her arms down and fought to keep her on the ground.
"I don't want to hurt you," I explained irritantly. "Just what the hell don't you understand about that?"
She said nothing to me, just like she said nothing to the guards before, but she yelped like the wolfos I thought I heard before when I neared the room.
"What are you, part animal or something?" I asked while fighting to stop her from escaping my grip. "Why won't you speak? I promised you I won't hurt you, so what more do you wan-"
I stopped my rambling as my attention turned directly to her neck. Bandages were wrapped around her neck to cover up something, presumably a scar of some sort. I took off the bandages to satisfy my curiosity while continuing to fight off the Gerudo, and under the bandages I saw a fairly large scar across her neck. Her denial to reply to the interrogations became more clear as to why. So that's why you didn't speak...
She fought her way out of my hands and pushed me back, heading for the door. In the moment she banged on the door to force it open, I remembered what Zelda told me about some of my power as the Triforce's Guardian.
"Your blood is one of the key ingredients to accomplishing many benevolent actions," she explained.
"My blood? What are you talking about?"
"Your blood is the cure to any sort of ailment that comes to mind. It can cure the sick, give sight to the blind, move the limbs of the paralyzed, and give them what they never had initially."
"So what do I do? Just give my blood to everyone?"
The princess looked away embarrassingly. "I don't know much about it. I only remember what I read in the Hyrulean archives about the Triforce. What I am sure of, however, is that once you see the Triforce inscribed onto the back of your right hand, you must cut open the palm of that hand and use the blood for what you must."
"And when will I know I need to do that, your highness?" I asked with friendly sarcasm.
"You will know when the time arises."
Looks like it's that time now, I assured myself once I noticed the Triforce forming on my right hand. I took my sword and swiped my hand briskly across the blade's edge, ignoring the pain from doing so. I hope this is how you do it, or by the gods will I get really pissed.
I slyly grabbed the Gerudo by the neck with the cut hand and smeared my blood across the wound. She fought me, but I attempted to fight back while barely holding onto her, but as soon as I lost grip I was pushed swiftly back and fell to the floor hard. I rubbed my bottom from feeling the pain of falling.
"How dare you?" the Gerudo roared at me."Don't you dare touch me, you dirty, lying, perverted son of a-" And she stopped the moment she heard her voice. The girl put her hand to her throat in disbelief, startled by gaining what she lost. "How did you-"
"Give your voice back?" I finished. "Long story short, someone told me I can do it when the time came." I gave her a smile, which was replied with a look of shock on her face.
"Are you the Triforce's protector?" she asked befuddled. "Have you been finally found?"
"Let's stop with the questions, and continue with your interrogation," I cut her off. "Why did you kill both men?"
"Heh, you as well?" she asked expectedly. "I knew you believed it too. I didn't do anything to those men, but they went after me."
"What do you mean they went after you?" I asked curiously.
"I was at my post at the valley entrance to the west, and this caravan passed by," she reminisced over the incident. "I found nothing strange about it, so I continued to watch over the valley entrance. That's when guards emerged from the wagon, which I first thought were goods because they were covered over with a large cloth blanket. They attacked me, covering my mouth before I could call for help."
"You were alone?"
"I asked our leader, Nabooru, if I could watch the entrance alone," the Gerudo explained. "She wasn't willing to let me go on my own, but I convinced her."
"So then what happened," I helped continue the story.
"They put a potato bag over my head, and brought me into their wagon, or at least I think it was their wagon. I soon found myself in the Kokiri Forests, far from the Gerudo stronghold. I was surrounded by Hylian soldiers clad in red, readying their spears and swords. I tried to fight them off, but there were too many and I was overwhelmed by their numbers."
"That doesn't make any sense," I whispered to myself. "Ganondorf said there were only two men, and he never mentioned those men were Royal Guards. Did he set the whole thing up? Does he know what the Gerudos would do if they know about this? The Gerudos' chances of signing the treaty willingly will be zero to nothing!"
"What is it?"
"Oh, n-nothing. What happened next?"
"Many fled after I defeated them, thinking I would kill them, but three remained and started to do... unspeakable thing." She looked away with tears in her eyes. Those damn bastards, I cursed. What were they thinking? I forgot about the thought and continued.
"Did you kill those men?"
"I did, but only because they were threatening to kill me after they were done with me." Fear appeared in her eyes. "I had no choice but to kill them. They taunted me while stroking a blade across my skin, threatening to kill me when I was 'of no use' to them."
I knew she wasn't lying, and that fear in her eyes proved it. It never happened to me, but I knew that no woman would fake something like that. Those that do, however, wouldn't have that scared look in their eyes. It's hard to act that out so well, and after being whipped for an hour and be given her voice back, I didn't think she'd start lying. So all I had to do was come up with a plan, and I just had the perfect one.
"Just one more question," I asked her. "What do you know about General Ganondorf?"
"Why are you asking?" she asked, surprised by the sudden question.
"I know he didn't become General such a long time ago," I explained. "Your leader would know a thing or two about him, and I bet you speak about him too. If you don't, I'm pretty sure you were well reminded about his faults. So what do you know?"
"Well, I don't know much," she answered worriedly. "Nabooru did mention him several times, but she spoke of him a couple of years ago."
"Just tell me what you know, and I'll handle the rest."
"What will you do?"
"I'll figure out something," I told her with a big smirk on my face.
So she told me everything she knew about Ganondorf. It wasn;t much, but it satisfied me enough. She looked at me puzzled.
"Why did you want to know?" she asked.
"I'll let you know," I told her, "But right now, I need you to listen real carefully." I explained everything to her in detail, and she seemed to understand well. I called in the guards afterwards and ordered them to have the Gerudo's wounds cleaned up and bandaged, and threatened them if they did something to her other than what I ordered. they complied and took her with them. I just hope this works.
