The Legend of Zelda
Chapter Ten: Darknut the Overwhelming
Jumping down from his horse, Prince Façade was grateful to have a few moments of cover as he placed the large animal inside an empty stall of the nearby barn. It was raining even harder now, and it was odd that there were no other horses in the stalls, since candles could be seen in the windows of Manji Estate, meaning that someone must be home. After all, it would be strange for the candles to be lit when everyone was out, being that a fire could start from even one of them being knocked over.
"Steady on, Perfection." Façade said while patting his horse. "The storm should pass soon, and then we'll be on our way."
It was a stroke of luck that the compass directed him to this place, being that it was where Zelda's cousin, Miranda and her father usually spent most of the summer months. Not only would this make it far easier to find what Zelda had hidden there, but once they were made aware of Zelda's situation, they were sure to provide him with food and a place to rest during what could possibly be a very long quest. Thunder suddenly crashed again, letting him know that the rain wasn't going to let up any time soon, so the Prince was forced to make a run for the main house.
He was fond of Lady Miranda, and she was certainly a beauty, but as he kept his arms over his head to protect his hair from the rain, Façade knew that there was only room in his heart for Zelda. He only hoped that the girl wouldn't want to join him on the quest, being that she seemed to have a strange hunger for danger and excitement. Perhaps he should only share the details of the whole dreadful business with her father, and then when Princess Zelda was finally rescued, her cousin need not know that she was ever in any danger in the first place.
"Hello?" He called, knocking hard on the door upon reaching it. "Lord Rul? Lady Miranda? It is I, Prince…
His words stopped as the door slowly swung open in response to his knocking, but there was no one behind it. Inside, the whole house was dimly lit by candles, allowing him to see that no one was moving about. Not only did the Master of the house not appear to be present, but nor were any of the servants. Perhaps everyone was asleep, and he was just about to quietly enter, when there was another crash of thunder, allowing him to see something in the flash of lightning that followed that made him gasp. The lock on the door had not been merely left unlocked… but the lock itself had been broken off as if the door had been rammed.
"Miranda!" The Prince yelled, drawing his silver sword while barging into the house. "Miranda, where are you?!"
Regretting that he had left his magical shield on the horse, Façade dared not go back to the barn to get it, in case it gave whoever dared to accost this house time to escape. Even without it, he still had the sword and ring, meaning that he was more than a match for any ruffians who… what was their plan, anyway? Robbery? Kidnap? Murder? Zelda would never forgive him if he allowed something to happen to her favorite cousin, so he moved through the house, going room by empty room, searching for any sign of her. It was almost impossible to see in the candlelight, but now that he was looking, it appeared that the house had been searched. So it was robbers, after all.
The Prince had just gone back into the hallway after investigating a guest room, when he couldn't help gasping as he stopped in his tracks. There was a large figure at the end of the hall, shadowed by the flickering candlelight, but he was certain that it had not been there before. Then it moved, causing him to jump a little, but he quickly regained his composure. Well, at least now he knew that there was an intruder in the house, but there was still no sign of the occupants. He was starting to get worried that Miranda had been taken away just as Zelda had, but she would not be a captive for long.
"Hold there, intruder." Façade warned while pointing his sword. "I am Prince Façade of Arcadia, and I demand to know what has befallen the owners of this house. I was taught to rule with mercy, so if you free them now, you may go on your way without incident. But be warned… if you have harmed Miranda in any way… you will not be spared my blade."
"Oh, how adorable." The figure answered with a deep, empty voice. "The handsome hero has come to vanquish me. And what a fitting name… Façade… flee while you can, boy, or it is you who will not be spared."
The whole house seemed to vibrate as the figure began to advance, and there was also the sound of squeaking metal, meaning that this person was wearing a heavy suit of armor. He was armed as well, raising a dark sword with one hand while holding a shield defensively with the other, but the Prince had no intention of backing down. So he attacked, advancing toward his enemy while swinging his silver sword, but this dark armored knight, or whoever he was, possessed a lot more skill than Façade realized. Easily deflecting his strike with the sword, the armored knight immediately struck the Prince with his shield, sending him stumbling back several steps before falling on his rear.
"I told you to flee, boy." His opponent continued. "You are no match for Darknut the Overwhelming, so run away like the coward you are, or I will stop holding back."
"I am no coward." The Prince replied as he scrambled to his feet. "You have one last chance to disclose Miranda's location and leave this place… or I will stop holding back."
Darknut responded to this by laughing as he advanced again, so Façade advanced as well, their swords clashing as they met halfway. It was difficult to attack the knight while also avoiding being bashed again by his shield, but the Prince had an advantage as well. He was wielding his sword with two hands, enabling him to make more powerful attacks than someone who was only holding his sword with one, but there his advantage ended. Overwhelming was a perfect word to describe this battle, since the knight showed no sign of fatigue no matter how many times their weapons clashed, and Façade found himself being driven back no matter what he tried.
In a desperate move, he tried to throw the knight off balance by making an attack toward his armored feet, but his attempt failed. Darknut blocked with his shield before bringing up his heavy boot to strike the Prince in the chest, knocking him down once again. As before, Façade started to get up, but this time the knight swung his sword, making the Prince cry out as it tore through a piece of his armor. If not for the protecting power of the ring, his arm might have been sliced off completely, but instead he just got a nasty cut that caused him to fall over sideways. The knight attacked again, but Façade turned his fall into a sideways roll, that allowed him to escape while the sword cracked a floor tile.
There was no way for him to run away from this fight, not without knowing whether or not Miranda was safe, so instead of running out the front door when he got to his feet, he scrambled up the nearby staircase. Darknut was clearly amused by this, his empty laughter echoing as he followed, but his heavy armor slowed him down, allowing the Prince to reach the top of the stairs before the knight had even reached them. It was nice to have a little extra time to think, but when the knight's heavy footsteps began to thump up the stairs, Façade realized that he had gained no advantage by heading up there.
"Yes, coward, run away." Darknut taunted. "I do not know who this Miranda is, but if she is important to you, then I shall make a point to punish her for your interference with my search."
There was no reason for the knight to lie at a time like this, which meant that he probably didn't have Miranda or her father after all. This was good news, but it didn't help the Prince very much as the knight's steps got closer and closer. There was nowhere to run, and with his injured arm, he was no match for Darknut in a fair fight… but maybe he could find a way to make this fight a little more unfair. There was only time to think up a single, and probably foolish plan, but it was all he had. So looking around for a small piece of furniture, his eyes landed on a wooden stand with a large expensive vase on top of it.
Sheathing his sword, Façade picked up the vase, and if he thought about how ridiculous his plan actually was, he would have talked himself out of it, so he decided to just act. Darknut was on the last step before the top, when the Prince screamed and ran at him with the vase held above his head. Of course, the knight blocked it, but the shattering vase, along with the item inside of it, was enough to distract the knight while the Prince rammed his shoulder into the armor. It was also enough to make Darknut lose his balance, making him tumble backwards down the stairs while the house echoed loudly with each hit.
The knight sent cracks spreading out to a dozen floor tiles when he finally landed on his armored face, but by this time Façade had already drawn his sword and followed. With a mighty yell and the last of his strength, the Prince leapt down the last few stairs with his sword pointed down so that it was Darknut's turn to cry out when the silver blade sunk into his back. The knight flailed around and screamed in agony, but the sword had him pinned, allowing Façade to start catching his breath as he slumped against what was left of the stairs.
"No one calls me a coward, you peasant." He said as the knight slowly got weaker. "I am Prince Façade, and when I become King after rescuing Zelda, I will mount your helmet above the North Palace gate for everyone to see what a weak and pitiful enemy of the Crown you really were."
Truthfully, Darknut was the best that Façade had ever fought, but no one else needed to know that, and the Prince was just about to get up, when he saw the item that had been hidden in the vase, sitting on the floor next to the fallen knight. It was a small chest with the emblem of the royal family. Groaning as he checked the compass mounted on his sore arm, the Prince saw that the arrow was pointing right at it, meaning that this must've been what Zelda wanted him to find. So he took it into his possession, and then the compass's arrow turned in another direction.
"Great, another one." He grumbled to himself as he leaned back on the stairs. "I shall find it as well, and then rescue you, my darling Zelda… but first… I need to take a short rest."