Link woke to the nervous snorting of Epona and Fury. He gently pulled his arm from under Zelda's head and quickly put his boots on. Grabbing his bow and sword, he quietly stepped outside. He saw what was making his horses nervous. Three bulblins were passing by a little ways away, carrying barrels of... something. Link climbed the tree and focused on the slowest bulblin who was being left behind by the others. He could faintly hear what they were saying.
"'urry up! We're almost to the storage. Don't be late... Kobra will have yer head!" the leading bulblin hissed. The second bulblin sniggered and snorted as he adjusted the barrel over his shoulder.
"Well go on then! I know my way to the damned storage house, no need ta wait for me!" the last bulblin snarled. The other two bulblin shrugged and hurried along, quickly leaving the third behind to roll his own barrel.
"It's not like rollin' this fuckin' thing is hard or anything... no no, let me roll this barrel of milk by meself and you bastards take the lighter barrels... no stinkin' problem at all!" the bulblin grumbled to himself. So they were taking food to the warehouse... this was perfect. The moon provided enough silver light to aid Link in his aim. Calmly, steadily, he aimed at the bulblin and then released his arrow. It pierced the bulblin's head and he fell dead on the dirt. Lithely jumping off the tree, Link said soothing words to Epona and Fury as he stroked their strong neck. He saw the other two bulblin farther away, but well within reach. Aiming for one of them, he shot an arrow and watched as it fell to the ground. The last bulblin shrieked and looked around, trying to figure out who had killed his partner. Link stepped out into the open where he knew the bulblin would be able to see him. Sure enough, the ugly creature shrieked again and ran straight at Link, holding a knife over his flat head. Link shot his bow yet another time but missed. The bulblin was closer now, screaming obscenities at Link. Shooting another arrow, he was able to kill the last bulblin who feebly tossed his knife at Link but missed terribly before he succumbed to death. Putting his bow away, Link walked to the fallen bulblin. He flipped him over with his foot to make sure he was dead. He was. And so were the other two. He was about to check the bulblin's dirty clothes for a key when there was a strange digging sound. Link unsheathed his sword immediately as the sound intensified. Something was coming out from beneath the dry earth. It was digging its way up from underground and making snarling noises. When whatever it was broke through the surface, the hairs on the back of Link's neck stood on end. It was what appeared to be a large dog, but it had no skin or flesh. It had a tuft of hair running down its bony spine. It was a dog skeleton that was still alive for some bizarre reason. Link readied his sword, but the skeletal beast paid him no mind, as if it did not see him. Instead, it sniffed the dead bulblin and began to eat him. Disgusted, Link turned away and was going to check the barrel that was nearby, when the digging started again… and again... and again. Suddenly a whole pack of these skeleton dogs had dug their way through the dirt and started devouring the dead bulblins. Link slowly stepped away even though the creatures didn't seem to notice him. Now there were at least twenty of these goddess-forsaken creatures Link had never seen in his life. Link decided it was best to come back when the beasts had finished their meal but when he turned to leave, the beasts began to snarl. Turning around slowly, Link saw that the beasts were now focused on him; the only things left of the bulblins were tattered clothes and bones. Fine, if these creatures wanted to attack, then so be it. He readied his sword and waited for the first skeleton to strike.
And strike they did. He cursed himself for not bringing his shield with him, but he fended the attacks with his sword, striking the fell beasts left and right. Fortunately, one blow of his sword made them crumble. He did a backflip and readied his sword, and right as the remaining monsters attacked, he did a spin-attack that struck the majority of the creatures in one go. There were now only five left, growling at Link getting ready to attack him again. Link was about to strike them when a soft light engulfed the beasts and they crumbled to the ground. Link looked around to see who had helped him. Zelda made her way to him, hands on her hips.
"Why didn't you wake me?" she snapped, tapping her foot.
"What for? I had it all under control" Link said, sheathing his blade.
"What if it had been a more dangerous foe? What if you had needed my help?" Zelda asked, crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at the young man before her.
"If it had been more serious, I would have woken you. It was nothing. I don't even know what those things are or where they came from" he said, trying to calm the princess down.
"Exactly my point! Link, you can't go wandering off on your own... we're a team, aren't we?" she asked, her face softening. "Don't do things you wouldn't want me to do" she added, and with that, she walked over to the remains of one of the bulblins. Link scratched his head and sighed. He knew she was right, but he couldn't change it now. He went to inspect the remains of a second bulblin.
"Gross..." he heard the princess mumble. She found nothing so went to inspect the last bulblin heap of rags and bones.
"Anything?" Link asked as he came to her side. She shook her head, but kept looking.
"Wait... here... I feel something" she said as she dug her hand into the bloody, tattered rags. A second later she had in her hand a large, heavy key.
"Yes! I bet that's the key to the storage" Link said triumphantly.
"What should we do?" Zelda asked, holding the key out to her friend.
"Look for it. Then distribute the food" Link said. Zelda chewed her lip for a moment, before nodding.
"So where do we go?" she asked.
"They were headed straight that way, so we'll just follow that path and see where it leads... I think it leads to the castle" he replied as he secured the key on to his belt.
They walked quietly along the dirt path that was illuminated by the silver moon overhead. Thankfully, no more of those skeletal creatures appeared, making their journey proceed quickly. They reached the barbican and found the gates closed.
"There's a door there, look" Zelda pointed. Link took the key from his belt and tried the lock. It opened.
"Be careful... there might be guards in here" whispered Link before slowly pushing the open the wooden door. A single torch lit up the spacious room. A lone bulblin sat on a chair, fast asleep, drool dribling from his chin down to his chest. Link used his bow and a second later the bulblin fell dead to the floor, never knowing who or what had offed him. Keeping his bow ready, Link pressed his finger to his lips and motioned Zelda to follow quietly. The room led to a set of stairs that led down to a basement of some sort. They made their way quietly through the door to the basement and followed the stone passage in complete darkness. A few minutes later they saw a light shining through a half-open door.
"Get ready..." Link murmured. He pushed open the door and for a few seconds, the three bokoblins just stared stupidly without moving, confusion registered on their ugly faces. Then they recovered quickly and, snarling, lunged at Link and Zelda.
"Quick! Alert Commander Kobra!" one of them shrieked, pushing his chair aside. The bokoblin closest to the second door turned around and made to run out, but Zelda blocked his path by making a pellet explode in his face, blinding him with bright light. She somersaulted over the table and towards the blinded creature and ran her sword through his chest.
Meanwhile Link had slain another and had the last one pinned against the wall, sword pointed at his neck.
"What do ya want? We don't got no money!" the bokoblin panted, struggling against Link's grip.
"Where is the food storage?" Link asked calmly.
"Why the fuck should I tell ya?" the bokoblin snapped, flecks of spit hitting Link's bearded face. He pressed the tip of the sword against the monster's neck drawing blood.
"Alrigh'! I'll tell ya!"
Link eased the pressure on his sword a little. "Jus' follow that damned door there and ya will reach some stairs... go up the bloomin' stairs and into the west courtyard... the storage is there" the bokoblin huffed.
"Who else is there?" Link asked.
"At this time? Ain't no on there now, it's the fuckin' middle of the nigh', ain't it?"
Without another word, Link drove his sword through the bokoblin who crumpled limply to the ground.
"Guess we better get going" he said. They followed the directions the bokoblin had given and where soon out of the basement.
"I never knew that passage was there" Zelda said quietly. Link looked back at her and smiled.
"Probably new. They may have built it recently" he said.
Once they reached the storage room, Link tried to open the door with the same key but it did not work.
"Kobra must have the key" Zelda said in a hushed voice.
"No problem... we'll just break the lock" Link said, and with that, he swung his sword down on the lock and it broke in two pieces.
"Well that was easy" Zelda said. She pulled the door open and smiled. The room was full of barrels and bags of rice and beans and vegetables. Already the sacks of provisions for the next few days were ready.
"Great! Now how do we distribute all these goodies?" Link asked, scratching his auburn beard.
"Easy... we use magic" Zelda answered.
"Except I'm not very good with magic" Link said.
"That's ok... I think I can handle this... otherwise you might get us caught" Zelda said. Link nodded in agreement.
"I'm gonna snoop around... see if I can find anything" he said. He watched as Zelda spread her hands before her and the bags of food levitated. She crossed her arms in the shape of a T, fists closed, and she vanished before Link's eyes. He chuckled. She really was skilled in magic. He looked around the almost empty room. The table had plates of half-eaten food. The bulblins and bokoblins ate well, it seemed; far better than the towns people, anyway. The plates were laden with roasted cuccos, smoked ham, cheese, bread, and wine. It made him sick to think that these bastards ate better than the hard-working people of Hyrule who could barely afford to feed their children. He noticed a small desk at the far end of the room. There was a pile of papers there, next to a quill, some ink and a stamp. Link picked up the stamp and noticed it was an official symbol. He leafed through the papers. It was a list of names and any crime they had committed. They were petty crimes, and to Link, they were almost necessary. Things like "took an extra milk container" or "caught sneaking two loaves of bread" were written next to some of the names. The next page was titled "Dangerous" and the crimes written next to the names on this list were more serious. "Attacked guards" was one of the crimes, followed by entries like "killed soldier on duty" or "attempted to murder Commander Kobra". Link grinned. All these so-called crimes were all against Zanthos' people. It was good to know that not everybody had given up hope. He kept reading and reached the bottom of the paper, where the punishments had been written. "To be quartered by bullbos" was one punishment and another said "to be fed to the moinks." Link shook his head in disgust as he read through the rest of entries. The last one said "To be taken to the Arbiter's Grounds and await execution."
"Better make a note of these Grounds..." he murmured to himself when suddenly, there was a creaking sound, as if the door had opened. He wheeled around and could have sworn he saw a flash of bright orange slip through the door. He ran after whatever it was, but once outside he found nothing, no one. He knew it couldn't have been Zelda... her disguise was that of a brunette, and why would she hide from him anyway. His guess was that it was one of the guards and he was sure their time here had come to an end. He would search for Zelda and they would leave the castle's grounds immediately, before Kobra found them.
Zelda found him only a few minutes later.
"Where were you? I was worried!" she said.
"Sorry, I think someone saw me inside the storage and ran away... I think they went to alert Kobra. We have to get out" he explained. "Did you finish with the provisions?"
Zelda nodded and followed Link as they quickly made their way back.
"It's funny... I felt a presence as I was distributing the bags, as though I was being watched. I wonder if it was the same person you saw?" she asked. They were now outside in Hyrule field, making their way to their resting spot, where Epona and Fury waited patiently.
"Maybe... We better get to sleep though, the sun will come up in a couple of hours and we need the energy" he answered.
Climbing into their makeshift bed, they finally drifted off to sleep.
A/N: Hi guys! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! I'm sorry for the long waits before each update but being a college student eats up my day! Anyway, with Christmas break coming up, I hope to be able to update more often! Please leave me your reviews and your thoughts! See you soon! Xoxo