~ The Price of Sins ~
Hey everyone! Another week has passed and another chappie will be posted. Sorry about the cliff-hanger from the last chapter. At least that one will be resolved. Btw, I GOT HYRULE HISTORIA YESTERDAY! XD! Unfortunately, some of the stuff in it goes against my theories such as how the Gerudo reproduce. CURSE YOU NINTENDO! NOT EVEN YOU COULD THINK OF A THEORY LIKE MINE AND YOU'RE CONTRADICTING THE GERUDO'S HATRED FOR MEN! Sorry about that rant; Hyrule Historia is still awesome but I just happen to disagree with some of the stuff it says.
I'll just thank these people before I start going on about random crap again:
Da Amazing Po-Po-Pony: YAY! XD! Thanks for the cookie *gobble gobble* (Mouth full of cookie) Tank-oo for re-eiwing, it eans alok. (Translation: Thank-you for reviewing, it means a lot.) *swallows noisily* Why aren't you replying to my last PM? I MISS YOU! I get that you're having your summer holiday and stuff (*sigh* I still have a week to go before my two week break) but surely that would mean that you would have more time to send me something! Oh well, I look forward to hearing from you again!
Tr1pp89: Darn me and my cliff-hangers! I will say this again; no reviews, no updates, no sending you everything I've written so far and no full story until I have written and posted everything! Sorry, rules are rules.
Icetail of WindClan: I STILL haven't read any of your fanfics yet! I'm so sorry! You should really write something from Zelda though! Thanks for the review! Zelda will come to remember who she is in chapter 11 and I have big plans for her relationship with Nabooru, MWAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!
Professor Brown Raven: XD! MBROW YOU ARE AWESOME AND I'M GONNA FAVOURITE YOU RIGHT NOW! *click* I've been telling Po-Po about you in my PMs too so you guys should contact each other cos you're so similar in randomness! Thanks for reviewing btw. *hugs* Welcome to Fanfiction fellow Wafflenana!
AreiaCananaid: So you didn't FFR but I've read your latest chapter and it's awesome! Good guesses to my question. I actually have two theories; one of which will be explained in chapter 12. Thanks for reading! I'm glad that I gave you rainbows! Reading what you said about me gave me rainbows! I will review your fanfic after I post this chapter.
This was way longer than normal and let's face it; what is normal for me is still SUPER long! Um… Just read the chapter!
Chapter 10 ~ A Hero's Weakness
The suction of the portal doubled in strength but I did my best to fight it. My efforts were useless and I just felt myself sinking faster. I looked up to the sky and reached for it with my hand. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe it was because I knew that it was going to be the last time I would ever see it, or maybe it was because I thought that by some miracle, I would be able to grasp a piece and pull myself free. Instead, I sank deep into a cold darkness, knowing all too well of the meeting that was about to take place.
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
"Lord Ganondorf, we have splendid news!" Twinrova flew into the throne room and once again, set themselves before Ganondorf.
"Zelda has successfully captured both the traitor and the Hero Reincarnated!" exclaimed Koume excitedly.
"She's on her way here now and should be arriving tomorrow." added Kotake.
Ganondorf gave a small sigh of relief which earned him a few raised eyebrows from the witches before saying, "Well, Zelda has proven herself to be more useful than the two of you."
"My Lord," began Koume, "Please remember who brainwashed Zelda into believing that she was your loyal servant."
"And do not forget that it was we who gave you the information about the Hero Reincarnated and his connections with that treacherous brat." said Kotake.
"Still, you have yet to prove yourself." Ganondorf replied, "And I believe that your chance has passed already. Once I force the Hero Reincarnated to talk, the Triforce is as good as mine."
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
"You are going to give up your powers and immortality to become Hylian?"
Hylia nodded, "If the Goddess's Chosen Hero does not succeed, I will have to claim the Triforce in his stead, as it is our last remaining means of abolishing Demise. You know as well as I do that only a mortal can wield the full power of the Triforce."
She sighed in reply, "I know, but if you are killed, you will cease to exist as both mortal and goddess. Time could be thrown out of balance without you there to maintain it!"
"I have weighed both options and the scales are balanced. On one side is the possibility of the Hero perishing as well as I, both will result in chaos on Hyrule. But on the other side, if either one of us succeeds, Demise will be truly defeated and peace will reign. There may only be half a chance of success, but that is enough for me." said Hylia.
She smiled, "One of the hardest things about being a goddess, is making difficult decisions. I'm proud of you Hylia." she said, "Did you not say that you were to ask a favour of me?"
"Ah, yes." Hylia replied, "I have sealed away the Triforce in a separate time zone from that of Hyrule and it can only be crossed to if the True Master Sword is presented by the Goddess's Chosen Hero. As it is currently in the form of the Goddess Sword, he needs to purify it with the three sacred flames, however, to access them he must obtain three sacred treasures." She held out three objects; a dragon scale, two clawshots and a fiery red earing. "To obtain these treasures, he must pass three trials." she explained, "They will test his courage, wisdom and power. Will you create these trials?"
She gave Hylia a nod, "You have hidden the Triforce well Hylia. (A/N: I agree, well done Nintendo!) I will be honoured, but surely this is not all you ask for?"
"You know me too well." she said, smiling, "There is one final trial that must be created to open the resting place of the Triforce." Hylia gave her a red gem with the symbol of Hyrule embedded in it. "It is to be opened with a sacred melody, to be played on the harp that you have so generously given to me, the Song of the Hero." Hylia gave her the gem and closed her fingers over it, "There is one more thing I ask of you. When either the Goddess's Chosen Hero or… I perhaps, unite the Triforce, will you use the forth piece to unlock it, without either one of us gaining knowledge of it?"
She gave another nod, "I will, it may be dangerous but, as you said, it is our last and only hope. If it means that peace will be restored, then it is worth the risk."
"Thank-you," said Hylia, "Now I must go, if you do not mind, I will be taking the harp you gave me into my mortal life. The other Hylians may not know what you have done for them, but at least I will." A tear rolled down her cheek, "I'll miss you. Goodbye, Goddess of Life."
The two embraced, "Goodbye, Goddess of Time."
Then they broke apart and she other woman placed a hand over Hylia's eyes. "By the power bestowed upon me, I will now send you to the world of mortals. May you succeed in ridding our beloved land of evil and live a long and happy life before returning as a goddess who truly knows what it is like to live. Go, it is your destiny." Hylia then dispersed into sparkles. The other knew that she would not see her for centauries to come.
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
The first thing Nabooru noticed when she started to regain her consciousness was that she was lying on something hard. For some reason, she could hear hooves trotting and felt herself bumping up and down. Her eyes fluttered open as she tried to sit up only to find that her arms were restrained by something. She eventually managed to sit up and looked down at herself to find that her hands had been tied behind her back. What? No! She scanned her surroundings and it looked like she was in some kind of cart. Then her eyes fell on Link.
He too, was tied up like Nabooru. She saw that he was leaning against the back wall of the cart and appeared to be sleeping. The sight pained her and she felt as if this situation they were in was all her fault. The last thing she could remember before waking up was Zelda grabbing her wrist and then she suddenly had another vision like the one from the Spirit Temple.
No doubt she had fainted again and Zelda had captured them. But what if there had been opportunity for Link to escape? But he didn't because that would mean leaving her to save himself.
Then she realised that this was caused by something long before her dream. Remember how Malon told Nabooru the story of how the Hero of Time and Epona out-smarted Mr Ingo? The two had laughed so loudly that both Mr Ingo and Zelda heard. The former princess must have figured out who the farmer girl was hiding so she returned a week later when the three of them had conveniently forgotten all about her.
Great! Just Great! Now they were stuck on this cart and on their way to have a little chat with Ganondorf. Then a question slapped her so hard that she could see no reason why she did not think of it before! What does Ganondorf want me for?! Twinrova must have told him that she was alive and travelling with the Hero Reincarnated.
But there was no way they could have found out about the Triforce Key! Then she remembered the duet painting in the Spirit Temple, Koume and Kotake had lived there for as long as she could remember, and many years before that. Could they have seen the lightly engraved key hole above the duet scene? Even if they did, there was no proof that she had it.
Nabooru almost jumped when she heard someone sigh in relief, "Oh good, you're awake!" It was Link, he did not seem too bothered about the situation he was in. "Are you okay?" he asked.
She shot him a death stare, "Do I look like I'm okay?!" she started, "Do you really think I would be fine sitting in this bumpy cart worried sick about Ma…"
"Malon's fine," Link assured her, "She even found a way to take back the ranch from Mr Ingo."
This remark made Nabooru realise the possibility that more than she thought could have happened while she was unconscious, so she asked him to fill her in. After he was done, she asked, "So let me get this straight, she let go of Malon, she no longer had a hostage and you still didn't try to escape?!"
"But you were unconscious, Zelda could have easily killed you if I stepped out of line." Link argued.
"But you're forgetting one thing; Ganondorf wants both of us alive. Surely Zelda would have been given instructions to not kill either one of us."
Link looked away and Nabooru immediately regretted what she said, "You're right, this is all my fault." he said.
"No, I didn't mean it that way, I just meant that you could have saved yourself." she tried to assure him, "I may still get captured but at least I would be alive and you would still be free to defeat Ganondorf."
"Would I really?" he asked her, "Do you even know why he wants you alive?" Nabooru shook her head in reply. "What if he just wants you to get through to me?!"
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
After a few hours, Zelda must have stopped the cart so that she could get some rest. It was freezing cold for Link and Nabooru but neither of them could sleep. They were scared stiff about what tomorrow would bring and hung tightly onto their last hope; that Ganondorf would not find out about the Triforce Key.
Nabooru also told Link about her most recent vision. Neither of them had heard of the Goddess of Life and Link admitted that he had always thought Hylia had the powers that Nabooru had described to him.
They both noticed that Zelda had not given them anything to eat. This was strange since they both knew that they were to be 'delivered' to Ganondorf alive. Maybe he just wanted to make them both too weak to escape. Link was regretting the promise he had made to Malon. Of course Zelda had heard him and thought he was planning something. Well, that part she got wrong and now there was even less of a chance that they would ever see the light of day ever again. It seemed that everything he did on the night they were captured made the situation worse than it could have been now.
It was around midday when they all reached the castle. Light flooded the inside of the cart when two Gerudo guards opened the doors. They dragged Link and Nabooru out and looked to Zelda for orders, "Take them to the Great Ganondorf straight away, he's waited long enough."
They both nodded in reply and cut off the ropes binding the two before handcuffing their hands behind their backs. Neither of them could put up a fight because their hunger was taking its toll, it was not bad yet but they could not see any means of escape.
Zelda held out to a third guard a thin package that Link and Nabooru both assumed to be the Master Sword wrapped up, "Keep this somewhere secure, as far away from these two as possible." she ordered. The guard gave a small bow and Nabooru noticed that she seemed to do it a little reluctantly before she disappeared through a corridor of to the side of the stables.
The other two guards and Zelda forced Link and Nabooru to stand and start walking through another corridor that led to a grand hall. Nabooru noticed the accompanying guards looking at her with pure hatred in their eyes. Did they really believe that she had betrayed them?
Then she noticed how they treated Link, Nabooru knew that most Gerudo hated Hylians because they persecuted them after the Imprisoning War but she had never really blamed the Hylians because she knew that Ganondorf really just wanted to use his people to help him seize the Triforce. Obviously, many of the Gerudo still held a grudge. Nabooru noticed that they would look upon Link with even more hatred, shove him a little harder than they did to her.
She looked around as she walked down the hallway at the passing guards, some stared at the two with the same malice, some completely ignored them and some, surprisingly showed pity and longing at the sight of Nabooru.
There were many tapestries hanging from the very high ceiling. No doubt Ganondorf had decorated the castle to his liking when he first took over. These tapestries depicted three women bowing before a giant beast with a fist raised in the air. This had the Triforce symbol glowing on it. Nabooru assumed that the beast was Ganondorf and that the three women were the Golden Goddesses; Din, Farore and Nayru.
The prisoners, guards and Zelda eventually reached a grand door which obviously led through to the throne room. Most people would feel very honoured to be invited to such a place and wonder about what lay beyond those splendid doors, but Nabooru did not marvel at endless possibilities because she knew exactly what was waiting for them, or rather; who was waiting for them… and it was nothing to marvel about.
Sometimes, even the greatest beauty can hide something terrifying…
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
Zelda appeared in the throne room from a corridor off to the side, "Lord Ganondorf, the prisoners have arrived." she told him blankly while kneeling before him.
"Bring them in." he ordered.
The giant doors to the throne room magically opened and two guards came in, each trying to push a struggling but obviously weak person into the room. One of the prisoners was a tall woman with long, flowing red hair and the dark skin of a Gerudo who was clearly Nabooru; once a great leader among her people until about a month ago. The other was a teenager with elf ears, golden-brown hair and blue eyes, he was wearing the very same green tunic that was once worn by the Hero of Time. His only difference was a faint scar across his right eye; courtesy of the very woman next to him, and yet, he would still put her life above his own?
What a shame, Ganondorf expected much more from this so-called 'Hero'. The only reason why he was here now rather than earlier was because of that traitor and the Spirit of the Sword. Did they not see that there was not even the slightest chance that this boy would ever defeat him single-handedly? The creators of Hyrule must have been really desperate if they would resort to measures such as these.
But that just makes taking the Triforce for himself easier. He had his answer and he had his weapon. Both were being forced onto their knees before him in chains with the two guards holding them so that they could not resist.
The boy looked up at Ganondorf and he watched with satisfaction as the last of the colour drained from his already pale face. So this is Ganondorf? Link thought with fear. He was looking up to the very man who had started the Imprisoning War, killed Hyrule's king, forced Nabooru to kill his mother, brainwash Zelda and left Nabooru to drown in the river at the bottom of a valley, not to mention… well, the list goes on for miles, to sum up everything, he was the most dangerous and powerful man in all of Hyrule.
Ganondorf had fiery red hair with a heavily built, muscular body. His eyes were gold like Nabooru's but showed no mercy.
Link noticed that Nabooru was looking up at Ganondorf with pure hatred rather than terror. Her eyes reflected the years of pain that she had gone through because of him.
Ganondorf stood up, "Welcome to my castle." he said, raising his arms to gesture at everything around him to say that it was his, including them. "To ensure that we are on the same page, I will ask you; Do you know why you are here?"
"Of course we do!" snapped Nabooru, "You just want to take the Triforce of Courage from Link!"
"That is true," he said, "but what would be the point if the Triforce separates again?" Ganondorf asked, "The Goddesses must have entrusted the information of how to truly unite the Triforce to the Hero Reincarnated."
"And what makes you think that?" he replied as confidently as he could, but there was a slight tremor in his voice.
Ganondorf merely laughed, enjoying the boy's fear. "There is always a back-up plan that the goddesses have up their sleeve. I have proven myself to be too much for even the Hero of Time and do they really think that the same plan would work twice? You will need the power of the Triforce if you are to stand any chance of defeating me. But now I am only a few steps away from claiming it myself."
"Even if I did know, I would never tell you!" he said with a little more confidence.
"Then I guess we'll just have to do this the hard way." he said crudely before focusing his attention on Nabooru. "Such a shame, one small mistake you made seven years ago cost you your whole life. Once you were a great leader amongst the Gerudo and you hid your hatred of me well. But all that changed when my surrogate mothers discovered you plotting against me. I still remember that meeting we had back then." Nabooru shuddered at the memory. Ganondorf smirked and continued, "But three weeks ago you humiliated me before all the Gerudo, and this boy's answer just meant that I could get my revenge!" he said menacingly. "Zelda, bring her to me!" he ordered.
She grabbed Nabooru by her ponytail and dragged her by her hair to Ganondorf. She shrieked in pain and all Link could do was watch as Zelda threw her down at Ganondorf's feet. He grabbed her by the neck and forced her onto her knees while she gasped for air. She met Link's eyes and they seemed to desperately say, Don't tell him, everything will be lost if you do! But he did not know if he could restrain himself from doing so.
"It was always said that the hero of any legend had an unbreakable spirit, now we shall see if that is really true." and when he finished saying that, an electrical surge of energy travelled from his hand and through Nabooru. She screamed from the unbearable pain. Link struggled like never before and it took both guards and Zelda to restrain him. Ganondorf smirked, "I'm certain you know how this will work," he said, grinning. "Either you tell me or watch her die!"
"No! You can't tell him! Plea…" she was interrupted by her own scream when Ganondorf electrocuted her again. Link did not know what to do. Once again, Hyrule's fate rested heavily on the shoulders of a young hero, but this time, evil had found his one weakness. For many years, he had loved no one, but everything changed a month ago. Now, the one and only person he cared about, who understood his pain and that he had been through so much with, was being used against him… it was time to choose.
It looks like our hero will truly be tested, but what will he choose? Her life means Hyrule's death…
~†~ The Price of Sins ~†~
Yes, I know; another cliff-hanger that's even bigger than the one from before! I know that Link cares about Malon to but he wasn't really thinking about her and she doesn't mean anywhere near as much to him as Nabooru.
I've almost finished chapter 16 too. I'd much rather be one or two chapters ahead rather than five or six but at least this way, it means that you get a new chappie every week! Now you'll just have to wait until Friday evening if you live in Australia like me or Thursday morning if you live in the USA.
Can I just say that it's great to be hearing from people on the other side of the world as well as people I already know.
Just going to remind you of some things to make sure that you stick around for the next chapter. Who is this goddess of life? What do these visions mean? Will the curse on Zelda break? What will happen to Nabooru and will Link end up telling Ganondorf about the Triforce Key? And let us not forget about Fi.
Some of these questions will be answered next chapter but others will have to wait for many chapters to come.