The next morning came much too soon for Link's liking. He looked to his side and saw the brunette lying next to him which confused him for a split second before he remembered that both he and Zelda were in disguise. He woke her gently.

"Today is the day" he said, scratching his auburn beard. They stepped outside and found the day to be bleak. The sun was hidden behind grey clouds, making the morning appear darker than usual. After washing up, the both of them packed up their belongings and secured them on their horses.

"I can hear something, Link" Zelda said, placing her small hand on his arm. Link strained his ears.

"Seems like the whole town is busy" he said after a moment.

"Let's go see what's going on" she said nervously.

Indeed, Castle Town was awake. It seemed everyone was gathered at the town square. Women and children were huddled together, fear in their eyes. The men were all standing in a circle surrounding the great fountain that decorated the town square, as if to shield the women and the children. They looked grim and apprehensive. From the castle's main entrance came Kobra and a few of his cronies. He looked livid.

"ALRIGHT!" he barked, making some of the children squeal in fright, hiding their grubby faces against their mothers' skirts. All eyes were on the lizard man. "Which one of you low-life scum thought it would be a good idea to raid our warehouse and steal our provisions?" he asked, walking around the formed circle, glaring at the men. At these words, Zelda felt her heart drop. Would the towns' people be punished for her actions? She wasn't sure she could stomach another person suffering because of her… again. Link grabbed her hand and pulled her close, trying to get through the throng of people blocking his path.

"Speak now and you shall be spared" Kobra was saying loudly. No one spoke. "You thought it would be ok to steal the food and pass it around town, did ya? It's alright, I understand. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Tell me who did it and I shall spare you… otherwise, I will start killing the children" the dynalfos sneered. There was a collective gasp from the women and the circle moved in unison in a protective gesture over the children. A small moan escaped Zelda's lips.

"Oh Link… what have we done?" she whispered urgently. "We can't let him do this… it's our fault!" Link turned to face her.

"I know. I won't let him. You wait here" he said.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

"I'm going to stop him" Link answered darkly. Zelda looked into his eyes before shaking her head.

"No. I want to do it. I did this. I will stop him" she whispered. Link shook his head.

"No, it's too dangerous" he said firmly. Zelda glared at him as Kobra kept making threats in the background.

"I know how to take care of myself. I did this. I will fix it" she said stubbornly. Link stared at her for a moment before nodding.

"Fine" he said. He stopped her with a hand on her arm. "Be careful"

Her petite size helped Zelda maneuver easily through the multitude of people until she reached the front. Her heart was pounding, but she knew what she had to do.

"ANSWER ME MAGGOTS!" roared Kobra as he pushed the men aside. He seized the child nearest to him, ripping her from her mother's arms. The child's mother gave a shriek as the father lunged at the humanoid lizard. Immediately Kobra's subordinates grabbed hold of the man and brought him to his knees, keeping him down with a sword to his throat as the mother sobbed and pleaded.

"Last chance, pathetic filth… tell me before I rip this girl's throat out" snarled Kobra.

"It was I" Zelda said, stepping into the clearing. There was dead silence. The stunned dynalfos stared blankly at her for a second.

"You?" Kobra repeated stupidly.

"Me" Zelda said again. She stood defiantly in front of him.

"You're the wench that came into my shop yesterday and asked for provisions" Kobra sneered. "You're not even from here… what's it to you?"

"I hate those who are like you" Zelda said. "I hate greedy, power-hungry worms that take delight from the suffering of others."

"Is that right, poppet? And you thought this would empower the people? Maybe get them to stand up for themselves? Look around you, darling. Look at them… they are weak. They are scum. They will never rise against me. To do so would be to go against his Highness, King Zanthos. How pathetic. You have caused more damage than can be repaired. I will kill the children for your folly" Kobra snarled. He picked up the terrified child by her neck and raised her in the air. Her mother let out an awful wail of despair. "Just remember… you did this" the dynalfos said. In that instant, Zelda drew her blade and swiftly, like a shadow, moved up to Kobra and promptly sliced the hand holding the child clean right off the dynalfos. She caught the child in her arms as Kobra howled in pain, grabbing his bloody stump.

"To try and kill an innocent child… you sicken me" Zelda said coldly. The little girl was clinging to the princess, face buried against her neck in fright.

"You'll pay for this, you bitch!" the dynalfos roared. The frightened mother hurried to Zelda and took the child from her arms, whispering a tearful thank you before hurrying away in the nick of time. Kobra was upon Zelda, slashing and stabbing with his own sword. The princess blocked each of his blundering blows with ease. The dynalfos turned to his cronies. "Don't just stay there like maggots! Do something!" he snarled. The bokoblins released the man they had been keeping guard over and rushed to their commander's aid. Even three at once were no match for Zelda's agility and skill. And still, the gathered town's people remained quiet and immobile. Cutting down the last bokoblin, Zelda turned to face Kobra who looked close to a panic now. He turned and attempted to flee through the crowd, but the men pushed him back into the clearing. He stumbled and fell at Zelda's feet.

"Coward" she said. "Stand up. Face me and accept your fate!"

"Never! I will not die by your hand, you whore!" the dynalfos raged, and with that, he drove his own sword through his chest. For a split second, Zelda was shocked at his actions, but she recovered quickly. There was a moment of stunned silence and then the crowd erupted in cheers. Zelda scanned the crowd for Link. A moment later, he came to stand beside her.

"Very nice Princess" he said. She punched his arm. A heavy hand landed on Zelda's shoulder.

"How can we ever thank you?" It was the father of the little girl Zelda had saved.

"Don't thank me. It was the least I could do" she said. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw a couple of men take the bodies of the dead away.

"One thing you could do for yourselves is fight. Fight for your rights. Fight against the tyrant" Link said. But at that moment, the huge, wooden doors to the castle opened once again. An eerie silence fell upon the town yet again. A tall, thin figure cloaked in black calmly strolled out into the town's square. His face was hidden behind a silver mask with strange markings on it, but there was no mistaking who he was. Link could never forget. Following close behind him were two of the most hideous and grotesque creatures Link had ever laid eyes on. They were huge, almost as big as a bullbo, but they were crouched close to the ground. They were willowy beasts, with strange, large masks were their face should be, and long, flowing tentacles that mimicked hair. They had no eyes and their entire body was pitch-black with red markings upon their torso, and they carried themselves more like apes than anything else. They were the most bizarre things Link had ever seen, like something out of a nightmare. Instinctively, Zelda drew closer to Link. Slowly, raindrops started falling.

"It seems" Zanthos said, "that I have lost my best commander." His voice, cold and empty, carried well throughout the plaza despite the heavy mask. The tension in the atmosphere was so thick it was almost palpable. "It amuses me, really. Clearly he was not fit to be my best commander if he could be bested so easily. For showing me how weak he was, I give you my mercy" he continued. "However, today, as you know, is the day we have all been waiting for."

The men shifted uncomfortably on their feet. A baby could be heard crying somewhere in the crowd. After a pause, Zanthos continued.

"Step forth, brave men; winners of this year's Grand Games."

There was nervous muttering before three men stepped forward. They were young, no older than twenty-five at most.

"As this year's festivities have been interfered with, things will progress differently than other years… but come, let this incident not dampen the celebration" Zanthos said. He raised a long, pale hand and with that, everybody moved. They moved together in a mob towards the gates, filing out into Hyrule field. It made Link furious.

"How can they just do as they are told?" he fumed as people pushed past him and Zelda.

"They have no choice" the princess said sadly, looking around. "Look at them Link… my people… they have no hope. Their spirit is broken." Together, they followed everyone else outside.

Just like in the plaza, the town's people stood in a circle, but this time it was many times bigger. Zanthos sat upon an elegant palanquin raised high above the fowl beasts' shoulders so that his highness was not at the level of the humans. The three young men stood in the middle of the clearing, their heads held high, hands clasped tightly behind their back. But Link knew they were terrified. He could see it in their eyes, in the way their shoulders shook. He didn't know what else they were waiting for. He looked around but everybody was just standing, quiet and frightened. A couple of seconds passed and then he heard a child say "He's coming mommy"

From the direction of the castle there was, indeed, someone walking very slowly towards them. It was what appeared to be a man. Dressed in heavy, dark armor from head right down to his very toes, he wielded two enormous axes. Slowly, ever so slowly, he made his way towards the clearing. So this was it. This was the Iron Knuckle. Link had been itching to meet him.

A/N: Hello guys! I am soooo sorry for taking this long to upload another chapter. I do hope you enjoy it, and I would greatly appreciate your feedback! To make up for the long wait, I will try to upload another chapter by tomorrow (I'm already working on it!)