Chapter 10: Traitor
Before Link's meeting with the king something happened that would cause a terrible chain of events. It was the chance meeting of a disgruntled Knight of Hyrule and the Gerudo King. It was this meeting that would change the destiny of many of Hyrule's Knights.
As Ganondorf was leaving the castle, he bumped into Toro.
"Pardon me" he said politely to the knight as they accidentally collided.
Ganondorf could feel his anger rise but he needed to keep up appearances.
"I'm dreadfully sorry."
"My fault entirely" Toro said, equally as angered but equally as determined to keep up appearances.
"I was ruminating and getting a little too lost in thought there. I should have been paying more attention" Toro said.
"That's quite all right" Ganondorf said, getting tired of wasting his time on this knight.
"I must take my leave" Ganondorf said before turning to walk away.
Toro thought for a moment and then decided to take action. He could use this man as a means of advancing his own position. He needed to find a way to get rid of the captain and a few other knights so that he might be named captain. With nearly everyone being so distrustful of the Gerudos their king was perfect for what he needed to do.
"Wait just a moment" Toro said.
Ganondorf stopped in his tracks. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He couldn't hold off his anger for much longer.
"What is it?" he asked, turning around to face Toro.
Toro sensed the anger in his voice and chose his words carefully. He could tell just how much evil this man carried about him and the power he was capable of.
"I was just wondering if you could help me" he said, his voice lowering to a whisper.
"I know how you really feel about this kingdom, its king and its people. Why not start taking out some of that anger with me? We could work together. There are a few knights I need taken care of. What do you say?"
Ganondorf paused as he let the words of this knight sink in. Surely he must be joking, Ganondorf thought. If he isn't then he's even more idiotic than he looks.
Ganondorf took a step forward, leaning toward Toro's face. His eyes blazing, he spoke in a malicious whisper.
"I don't know what type of fool you take me for. Why would I help you? Not only would I risk losing this alliance but it could be the final spark that incites another war. That is something I simply cannot afford. A war would ruin everything. I will not suffer you any longer, fool."
Ganondorf was careful not to reveal anything of what he was truly planning. He had been clever in his words so as to make it seem as though he genuinely wanted peace. With this man being a knight, he may use any information against him.
Ganondorf turned and walked away, leaving Toro there to think. While Toro had failed in getting Ganondorf to help him, his plan would not be stopped. But because of this setback he decided that he should continue to bide his time. But with this meeting the wheels were in motion.
Years Pass...
It had been nearly five years since the meeting with Ganondorf. Toro had waited for a long time but he finally felt that this was the time to strike. He had nearly gone mad from the wait. His behaviour changed so much so that others began to take notice. Others like those outside the Hylian Knights. Those who came to help the king in his edict for justice. People like Joran, who had just turned sixteen.
Joran was determined to help the king after he moved out of Kiel's house and onto his own. He remained in Verul but had his own small house. Working for the king is how he earned his living. He had crossed paths with Toro a few times and the two took an immediate dislike for each other. Joran had a sense that he and Toro were fated to clash swords someday but that day was yet to come. Joran had other business to attend to. There were rampant worries about the Gerudos again. This is why Toro felt the time to strike was now.
The knights had a meeting one night and Toro was sure to attend so as to avoid suspicion. After they were finished, Toro was the first to exit the meeting hall. He immediately disappeared from view as the rest of the knights filed out of the meeting hall. He had sent false letters to each of his three targets. He had managed to forge the Captain's signature for two of them and for the third he used the Lieutenant's signature to coax out the Captain himself. He intended to get each of his targets alone.
He watched from the darkness of the castle's looming shadow as the knights went their separate ways. He watched his first target, Lieutenant Benn, as he headed toward his Castle Town home.
Just as he was about to step out and follow from a distance, he heard a young man's voice call out his name from behind him.
"Toro? What are you doing over here?"
Toro turned to see the young face of Sir Orlin staring at him from the darkness. Apparently he had seen Toro wander off in this direction and became confused by his odd behaviour.
Toro and Orlin had struck up a friendship of sorts since Orlin became a knight. Toro held no real respect for Orlin but he felt a strange, begrudging, attachment to the young man. Toro felt like he saw a lot of himself in Orlin. He seemed to hold all of Toro's good traits. The traits he had long since buried deep within himself.
"I should ask you the same question, boy" Toro replied.
"Toro, I was wondering what you were doing. I noticed you walking in this direction and found it odd. Is something wrong?"
"Mind your own business, Sir Orlin" Toro said, his voice on the edge of anger.
He eyed Benn in the distance, trying not let Orlin figure out what he was doing.
"I would ask you to leave me. I need to be alone right now."
"I could help you, Toro. You've no need to hide anything from me. We're brothers in arms."
"I said leave me be!" Toro said, angrily. He kept his voice low to keep the others from hearing.
Orlin lowered his gaze when he heard Toro's tone of voice. He felt angered by Toro's reaction to his presence. He was only trying to help and Toro dismissed him. He decided to oblige Toro and leave him alone. But he wouldn't head home just yet.
Without another word, Orlin glared at Toro. He then turned and left the knight alone in the darkness again.
Toro found Benn once again and started off in his direction. He did not notice a pair of eyes watching him from a short distance away. The young man watching him moved on when Toro was out of sight and went his own way.
Benn had found the letter addressed to him. It told him to meet Captain Phineas in Hyrule Field alone that night. Lieutenant Benn had an uneasy feeling about it, but he fought against those feelings. Whatever the captain wanted to speak about was urgent but obviously not ready to be brought up with the rest of the knights yet.
Benn reached an area of Hyrule Field just outside the castle walls. The torch he was carrying flickered slightly in the breeze, illuminating his face with an orange glow. He looked around for Captain Phineas and did not find him. He decided to call out for him.
"Captain? I got your letter. Are you out here? I came as quickly as I could."
Benn heard nothing but the fluttering of his lit torch in response. As he turned to look somewhere else, he was suddenly struck with a stinging pain on the left side of his torso. He dropped his torch and it hit the ground and it extinguished. He fell to his knees as the pain hit him.
He clutched at his side and felt an arrow there. He pulled at it and, with great effort, managed to pull it from his side. He climbed back up to one knee and continued holding his side. He felt the warmth of his blood pouring from the wound.
"Who's there? You will pay for attacking a knight of Hyrule!" Benn said as he reached for his sword with his now blood-covered right hand.
He had only managed to put a hand to his sword and had not pulled it out its sheath when he saw the tip of another sword pointed in his face.
"I wouldn't do that" said a deep voice.
Benn's vision had become blurry and he tried to focus on his attacker.
"Who are you? Why would you attack me like this? What will injuring me accomplish?"
"Oh, Lieutenant, my goal is far worse than that."
Not too far off in Hyrule Field, another knight was also looking around for Captain Phineas. He, too, had received a letter for a meeting out in Hyrule Field. As he searched the darkness, he heard a cry of pain from nearby. He recognized the voice of the man in pain.
He hurried his way toward the cry of pain when he heard another sickening sound. It was the sound of a sword piercing flesh followed by another cry of pain. After another sickening sword slice there was silence. He continued on in the direction he heard these sounds coming from. When he finally reached their source, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he was aghast at what he saw.
He saw the Lieutenant of the Hylian Knights lying on his back, the grass around him stained red. The knight ran over to the Lieutenant. He knelt down beside him and felt his throat and his chest. There were no signs of life.
"Benn, how...?" the knight couldn't speak as he saw his friend lying dead on the ground. He then stood up and drew the sword at his side.
"Where are you, coward!?" he shouted to the darkness.
"I know you're still here! Show yourself and fight me like a man! You will taste my blade for what you have done!"
The knight did not know that a man stood a fair distance behind him with a bow drawn and an arrow ready.
"You always were a fool, Darius" he said before letting the arrow fly its deadly path.
The arrow hit Sir Darius' back and he fell face down onto the ground. The arrow pierced through his chest as well and he clutched at it, trying to get up. He still had a firm grip on his sword but he was now badly wounded.
Darius managed to stand up and turn around. When he did so, the tip of a sword was pointed at his throat. The face of Benn's murderer and his attacker was illuminated by the moonlight.
"Toro. Phineas was right. We'll have your head for this."
"Don't give me any ideas, Darius. I might just take yours as a prize."
"You will pay for this. How do you expect to hide what you've done here?"
"Gerudos did it. I saw them. No one really trusts them anyway. Besides, the only ones who know the actual truth are you and I and, well, I guess you know what that means."
Darius stood stock still as he tried to think of what to do. He suddenly leapt back and then swung his sword at Toro's head. Toro simply ducked underneath this and thrust his sword forward, straight through Darius' chest. His wound made him too slow to react to this.
Toro pulled his sword back out as Darius collapsed to his knees. Darius looked up at Toro and saw his fate in Toro's dark, angry eyes.
"The Gods will curse you, Toro. You are damned! There will come a day where you will pay with your blood."
"That may be, Darius, but before that day comes I will have what should be mine!"
Toro put his sword through Darius once more. Darius did not make a sound as he finally collapsed onto his stomach, blood pooling around him. It was only moments before he was dead as well.
Toro sheathed his sword and turned to lie in wait for the captain when he realized something. Darius and Benn had come at roughly the same time. Why hadn't Phineas arrived yet? As he walked away from his dead former comrade, he heard a familiar voice call out his name.
"Toro" said the voice.
Toro grew enraged when he heard whose voice it was.
"You dared to follow me, boy!?" Toro shouted as he turned in the direction of the voice.
"Didn't I make myself clear the first time?"
Toro drew his sword as he walked toward the direction of Orlin's voice. When he reached him, he lunged forward and tried to grab Orlin's throat. Orlin stepped deftly aside and landed a punch to Toro's head that knocked him to the ground. It was then that three swords were pointing in his face.
"What is this, Orlin? You would betray your own? And who is that with you?"
Toro could make out the faces of Colin and Jon standing beside Orlin. He then heard another voice from behind Orlin.
"It is not Orlin who has betrayed his own, Toro. I knew this day would come, I just didn't expect to pay such a heavy price."
Captain Phineas stepped up from behind the three young knights and glared down at Toro.
"By order of the King of Hyrule I place you, Sir Toro Beldar, under arrest for the crimes of murder and treason against the kingdom of Hyrule."
Phineas took hold of Toro's sword.
"Jon, Colin, take Toro to the castle dungeon. We will let King Guran decide his fate. Orlin, stay here with me a moment. I would speak with you."
Jon and Colin roughly grabbed each of Toro's arms and dragged him to a waiting horse and prison cart. Soon they were headed back to Hyrule Castle.
Phineas and Orlin walked over to where Benn and Darius lay on Hyrule Field.
"These men were my friends, Orlin. Look at what that power hungry bastard has done to them. If only we'd gotten here sooner."
"Captain we wouldn't have been able to overpower him like we did had it been just you and I. We had to get Jon and Colin. It'd likely be you or me or maybe even both of us lying there with them had we not done it. We made the right decision."
"Given the circumstances, Sir Orlin, this decision does not feel right at all. I could've taken him" Phineas said, with anger and sorrow in his voice.
"Sir, with all due respect, Toro would have done the same to you as he did to these men. You wouldn't have stood a chance on your own."
Phineas stood in silence as he lamented not being able to save these brave knights. He did his best to collect himself before speaking to Orlin again.
"I am grateful to you, Orlin, in spite of our terrible loss. You exposed this traitor and he will be punished for his crimes. I guess I'll take that into consideration when choosing another Lieutenant. But that will take time, of course."
"Yes, sir. Of course it will. Thank you for your gratitude."
The two knights then set off for their horses. They would be at the castle for Toro's trial and then set to making preparations for the burial of Benn and Darius.