A/N: Top of the morning to everybody! (or afternoon or evening depending on where you are) :P so I am finally bringing in Zelda and today is the day she tries her desperate plan to break free from her enemy and save everyone from a terrible fate. And I also threw in a little bit of Link, Shad, and Ashei terrorizing some poor defenseless (actually fully armed) soldiers to liven things up a bit XD. I want to thank you all for reading; and may pleasant seasons and fair winds travel before you all! *dorky grin*
MiniJen- thanks for the vote of confidence I am trying my best to make it epic.
Gojira Geek- that's a pretty interesting theory and I think you could be right (at least in my opinion)
ArianandXaia- I personally loved Willow and the Brownies and Madmartigan were my favorites. There were a few creepy parts, but I still loved it. Yeah if you can't tell by the face the voice is always a dead giveaway XP
AssassinKitsune- thanks and I just couldn't resist making him say that XD
Anonymous- It's one of my favorites to I just found it for the first time about a month ago and I am super glad I did. I hope your heart attack wasn't fatal I'd hat for you to miss the end XD thanks for the review.
Da Amazing Po-Po-Pony- awwww thanks. Yeah those guards need to be knocked upside the head if you ask me. The chapter after this shall reveal Link's plan. :)
AnimeMaster24- yeah I suppose not I don't think I have ever read a book in which I drooled over every chapter. That being said I am sorry you did not like last chapter so much ;_; but one can only every try their best. Any suggestions as to how I can improve it? I hope this one will be more to your tastes. Thanks for the review! :)
Yami no Nokutan- thanks you! It's on Wednesdays because during the school year I had classes on every day of the week except for the weekends and Wednesdays (on which I did homework and found the time to write.) Now that school is out I suppose it could be another day, but after so many months it has become a sort of habit. I hate it when my favorite characters die. It seems to happen a lot to me, the characters I pick as my favorites either die or turn evil (either I have awful taste in characters or writers enjoy destroying the awesome ones. *pouts*) I am glad my story helped ease your sorrow a bit XD.
Whisty- Cool new name! I always thought it was hilarious every time Robin Hood did that in books/movies. Thanks for the review! :)
Guest- Thanks and I'll see what happens :)
UC394- Yeah I agree with you, we wouldn't want depression now would we :P thanks for the answer!
Scarlet Curls- My move now :P I loved that episode in Avatar. Poor Sokka XD I loved it when Zuko inadvertently called him a little girl in the battle at the end *sniggers* yeah I agree with you, gotta love the artistic freedom :)
xXx skytale xXx- how could you say such a horrible thing? XD poor Link, now you hurt his feelings :P Thank you!
Generala- yeah I think it is kind of cute when he's that way too. I have started to try to read some of your stories it just takes me a little while longer than usual because I am still new to Spanish so please forgive any reviews I make in the future that are rather awkwardly phrased. Thanks for the review.
The Last Ploy
Zelda sat up slowly in her bed and glanced around. Everything was quiet. Cautiously, she pushed her blankets aside and gingerly stepped onto the floor of her chamber. With silent footfalls, she crossed the room.
In two days, the Empress would force her to lead her army against Link and his rebellion. On that day her country would be forced into a civil war and her kingdom would be destroyed so a dark empire could rise from the ashes. Action had to be taken. And it had to be taken soon. It had to be stealthy; she could not let her enemy find out about her schemes. It was dangerous, she knew. But she believed it would be even worse to do nothing.
She had spent quite a lot of planning and now had a working two-pronged plan. She could not leave the castle herself — or things could turn fatal for everyone. But she could try to get a get a message out. There were only two nights left before the invasion and — she had learned by playing spy — that the Empress had recalled most of her troops from her cities and had moved them out onto the plains in preparation. This night was the perfect opportunity. Perhaps her only opportunity. If she were caught, then the Empress would have a hard time ordering her soldiers to kill her subjects when they were elsewhere. That was why she had waited till tonight to make her move.
She changed into her Sheikah outfit and headed for a picture on the far side of her wall. It was a blotchy landscape that had been drawn by one of her more artistic ancestors. The Empress had long since taken her sword and bow but she had a dagger hidden in her room. She slipped her hand behind the painting and withdrew a long slender knife. She took a small scrap of paper, on which she had painstakingly written an urgent note, and put it in her belt.
She looked towards her door. She knew guards were posted outside, but she had no intention of getting out that way. Her room was half way up the high western tower and she knew that her father's old room was directly beneath her own. That was where she wanted to go. She padded softly to her closet and picked out several thick dresses and cloaks. She put on a dark colored one and secured her dagger inside its folds. Then she took the others and began knotting them together to form a rope. When she judged it was long enough, she went to her window and silently opened it. She tied one end to her bedpost and then tossed the other end out her window.
By this time, her heart was pounding and her breathing was heavy due to all the adrenaline in her system. What she was about to attempt next was extraordinarily perilous, perhaps stupid, but it had to be done. She looked suspiciously at the dubious knots of her handmade rope and winced slightly. She had no great love for heights and the ground was head-spinningly far below her. By contrast, however, the window ledge to her father's room was not more than fifteen feet down. That was where she was headed.
Setting her jaw and taking a deep breath, she climbed out of the window and onto the ledge. She suppressed a small whimper as she let go of the supporting trustworthy ledge and latched on to one of her dresses. Clinging much like a leach, she slowly eased herself downwards.
When she had made it about a third of the way down, she thought she could feel her hastily made rope give ever so slightly. Her heart in her mouth, she darted her wide terrified eyes upwards to the knot she had just passed. As she watched, she saw the knot begin to give way. The cloth she was hanging from was slipping through its link with the other one, severely compromising its hold. Before she could do anything about it, it slipped completely free and with a squealed cry of, "Holy Hylia," she felt herself plummeting.
She squeezed her eyes tight shut a scream frozen in her mouth. In her mind she could see herself falling to the cobblestones of the courtyard far below. She gave a surprised grunt as she as she made contact with something solid, far sooner than she had expected. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that by some miracle she had landed on the ledge of her father's windowsill. Before she even had time to feel relieved, she felt herself teetering backwards, on the verge of losing her balance. With the speed brought on by reflex, she shot her hands forward and grabbed at the rough stone either side of the window, securing herself.
For a moment, she nearly felt she would pass out from panic. She shook the feeling off, took several deep breaths, whispered a silent prayer of thanks that she was still alive, and leaned towards the window.
She took out and unsheathed her dagger and slid it down the joint where the two glass paneled parts of the window met. Her knife caught on the latch and she gently pushed it aside, unlocking the window. She then sheathed her dagger, opened the window, and stepped inside.
Though there were guards posted outside her own bedroom door, there was no reason they should be posted outside an empty room. Also, she knew the castle as well as she knew her favorite book — which gave her the upper hand.
Right across the hall from her father's old chamber there was a secret passage that led to the guard room. It had been designed long ago by one of Hyrule's kings in case the castle walls were ever breached and the castle occupants needed to hold a higher position. She headed to the door and cautiously opened it. When she spotted no one in the near vicinity, she ran to the wall directly across from her father's old bedroom. The door to the passage was disguised to look like the wall, but she knew where it was. She slipped her finger under a particular brick in and found the latch. She opened the door and glided inside the musty, pitch black passage. She had gone down it many times during her childhood for fun, so she basically knew the way. She trailed her fingers along the wall of the passage so she wouldn't fall as she made her slow spiral downwards, parallel to the main staircase. Without warning, the passage made a sharp turn towards the guard room.
She emerged silently in the soldiers' bunkroom. She looked around the room of sleeping men until she caught sight of the soldier she wanted. She crossed the room to where he lay huddled in his blankets. His name was Owen, she recalled, and he was the captain of the watch. He had always been completely loyal and competent, in a word, perfect for the mission she had in mind. She slunk over to his bed and placed a hand over his mouth. He jerked awake and started to reach for the sword he undoubtedly kept by his bed. Then his sleep-muddled eyes focused on her face and the finger she held over her lips. He looked surprised but nodded, got up quickly, and followed her out of the room and into the darkened castle hallway.
"The kingdom is in danger and I need your help."
He looked completely surprised and opened his mouth to speak but she held up a hand.
"I need you to go to Faron woods, find Link, and tell him that I need him…" she paused for a moment as she tried to formulate a sentence. She was about to go on when the soldier interrupted her.
"Link?" he gasped in a horrified question, "But, Your Majesty, you had him banished for treason. He is an enemy of the crown. You have been hunting him down and demanding his death for four months now, why would he help you? And, more importantly, why would you want help from him?"
"That wasn't really me," she muttered, "and honestly I don't know if he will help, but we have to try."
She took one glance at the soldier's puzzled face, as he ran a hand through his salt and pepper hair in a confused gesture, and cursed herself for not being clear to begin with. She gave a nervous glance around, took a breath to calm her nerves and launched into a hurried whispered narrative. It felt so good to finally come clean about the whole thing to another person. When she finished speaking she was gratified to see belief and comprehension on her soldiers face. It was an angry understanding, but understanding none the less.
"Both I and many other soldiers have had suspicions that something was off for a while now," he admitted in a whisper, almost as if her were ashamed he had not mentioned it sooner, "Several of us noticed that we hadn't had a turn patrolling the upper levels of the castle, and yet they never seemed to be unguarded. Also, concerning Link, the day you had him punished for treason and he almost escaped, you said he was guilty of murdering in cold blood but, when we barred his path, there was a sword right by his feet. Link is a talented swordsman and he could easily have picked up the sword and murdered his way to freedom; but, instead, he merely looked at the weapon and surrendered, opting to take his chances with you rather than try to kill us. At the time I didn't relay pay attention to it — but lately I couldn't seem to get that out of my mind. It seemed terribly contradictory and illogical. Also, whenever one of our patrols do encounter him, there are reports of injury but, as of yet, no soldiers have been killed."
Zelda nodded her understanding.
"Everything makes sense now," Owen mused. "Does Link know that you were being possessed?" He asked as a hopeful afterthought.
Zelda shook her head, "No."
"I was there that day, as I have already mentioned," her soldier said softly with a grimace, "and I am honestly not sure Link will want to hear me out, or you for that matter, but I will try my best, milady."
"That's all I can ask for," Zelda said softly. "I want you to get your gear in order and meet me in my courtyard in fifteen minutes," she finished.
Owen nodded then saluted and slipped silently back inside the bunk room.
She set off towards the courtyard, snatching a decorative bow and quiver of arrows from the wall as she went. She knew that every minute that past increased the chances that she would be discovered. She headed silently through the halls to the outdoors, taking the most shadowy routes, and avoiding areas that would take her near the soldiers on watch. She knew that, if anyone saw her, everything would be compromised. When she reached the courtyard, she headed to the far south end where the messenger hawks and hunting hawks were kept.
What she had in mind now was the fail-safe to her plan. She put on the hawk keeper's gauntlets and reached for a bird. She tied the small letter she had composed earlier to the bird's leg. This hawk was trained to carry messages to Faron woods. She held it on her wrist. She was about to let it go when she caught sight of a shadowy figure slinking towards her. She tensed up when she saw it, then relaxed when she recognized Owen.
She greeted him quietly then led him to the small side gate that led out of the castles inner wall and towards castle town. She had picked this spot especially for its lack of guards and thick tree cover from the gardens. All of these would help to shield them from prying eyes.
"It will be easy for you to get out here," she whispered pointing to the gate. "Unfortunately, I don't know how to get you past the city's wall without getting noticed."
"My mother has taken ill and I got leave to go to Kakariko village to visit her," Owen replied promptly in his gruff voice, with the barest trace of a smile.
Zelda nodded approvingly, "Once you get going, don't stop for anything."
She watched as he stepped out from cover and headed towards the gate, still holding the hawk on her wrist.
"Halt! Who goes there?" The voice of the guard on watch challenged.
"Captain Owen with an urgent mission," came the confident reply.
The guard on watch called his assent and Owen unlatched the gate and headed off into the night.
As she watched him go, Zelda whispered softly to the hawk and lifted her arm slightly, giving it the signal to fly off.
It was at the moment, when she was starting to feel and elated sense of victory, that everything went wrong. From the tower where her room was situated there came a long, eerie, drawn-out cry. It sounded almost like the wind whistling through a crack in a house during a storm. With terror filing her heart, Zelda realized what it was. It was an alarm call, she could feel it. Her escape from her room had been discovered.
Seconds after her realization, the sentry on the wall gave a short cry and tumbled from the wall to the ground below and arrow protruding from his back.
Zelda wheeled around bow at the ready, to see the Empress striding towards her. Her black eyes were blazing fury but, by contrast, her mouth was curved upwards in a smile. Zelda felt fear clutching at her heart. She knew her plan was falling to shambles and she knew she had only one path left to take. The Empress and her army were like a poisonous snake, putting everyone at risk. But if the head were to be cut off the snake it could not bite and the body would be useless. Without a moment's hesitation Zelda sighted down the shaft of her arrow and released the tension of the bow.
Her enemy dropped her own bow and twisted to the side, just in time. Zelda's arrow sailed harmlessly off. At the same time Zelda felt a burning sensation in her hands, from the burst of magic the empress had hurled at her as she shot. She had tried to dodge but had been seconds too slow. With a cry of pain she dropped her bow as if it were red hot, and fell to her knees the pain was so intense.
The Empress stalked towards her, murder glittering in her eyes. Suddenly, behind her, there came the sound of a battle cry. Owen had heard Zelda scream and, forgetting his promise not to stop, he had charged back to the courtyard.
He thundered towards the Empress his sword upraised, only to be stopped by the same burning magic as he also didn't manage to doge out of the way of the magic blast before it was too late. Zelda and Owen knelt side by side, paralyzed by the pain, in front of their furious enemy.
"You dared to defy me?" she asked her voice icy cold, "You are lucky my soldiers are not in position to kill your precious commoners or so many of them would be dead by now. Or perhaps that was your plan in the first place. Your cleverness, however, will do nothing to stop me from making you pay. I already took the life of one of your soldiers so there would be no witnesses and I am thinking about taking one more. How much does he know?" she asked pointing towards Owen.
"Nothing," Zelda gasped.
"Well it's obvious he knows something now," the Empress hissed with a smile as she transfixed Zelda with her gaze.
Zelda tried to look away but was too late. She felt a cold fist of fear clench her heart as the Empress spoke.
"You told him everything," she laughed, reading her mind. "Well then that just makes him the perfect punishment. I told you that if you ever defied me people would die. I just can't afford to have loose ends."
The Empress drew the dagger at the side of her belt and stepped towards Owen.
"Stop please," Zelda pleaded, "I was the one who defied you. He did nothing. If you must punish someone then punish me."
"I am," the Empress said with a wicked smile. "Now Owen, that is your name isn't it? Say thank you to the princess for getting you killed." She drew back her dagger for the killing blow, "How amusing," she chuckled.
Owen let out a small grunt of pain before he straightened himself. "It was my own choice to turn back and my princess cannot be blamed for your actions or mine. This is war and a chance had to be taken. I die not for the amusement of a petty tyrant. I die for my kingdom and my princess in the knowledge that my sacrifice may one day help in bringing about your downfall."
Zelda was stunned by the man's bravery, a quality, that sadly, many of her soldiers lacked, but not this one. She felt her eyes prick with tears and they streamed unbidden down her face.
The Empress merely rolled her eyes at Owen's speech. "How melodramatic, you just keep telling yourself that."
"No matter what your forked tongue says, you cannot cheapen honor, bravery, and standing up for what is right," Zelda snapped defensively.
The Empress frowned and drove forward with her dagger. At the same time Zelda felt her hand thrum with power and she broke free from the debilitating burning magic. She leaped at her enemy knife upraised and the two of them battled, dogging, slashing, and wrestling with each other's knife hand. Fury gave Zelda power and she managed to catch the Empress across the face. Her enemy howled with pain and, with a vicious kick, flung Zelda backwards. As she fell, Zelda adjusted her hold on her weapon, sighted, and threw it at her enemy. The Empress tuned just in time so the dagger hit her arm instead of her heart. Screaming with pain, she snarled at Zelda. By then Owen to had gotten to his feet.
He, seeing an opening, rose to his feet and charged the Empress. She parried his sword thrust easily and thrust forward with her knife driving motion. Owen slumped to the ground without a sound.
"No!" Zelda screamed, she had tried to push him out of the way, but had been seconds too late; she had also left herself open for attack. The next thing Zelda knew, the Empress had incapacitate her with a sparking blast of magic.
"Don't you dare try to defy me ever again," the Empress warned clutching her wounded arm, "It only brings problems," she said gesturing at the fallen wall sentry and Owen.
Zelda felt tears building in her eyes at the sight of her soldiers as she lay helpless.
The Empress called for her guards. She set two of them to the task of escorting Zelda back to her chambers, and set two to the task of taking care of the fallen soldiers and concealing the evidence.
Zelda fell onto her bed with a sob, staring at her burned hands. She clung to the small hope that Owen and the wall sentry's sacrifice had not been in vain and that at least her message had gotten through. That small hope was crushed when the Empress stepped into her room with a smirk and a heavily bandaged arm.
"I was in near the courtyard when the alarm was sounded and I could not help but see a messenger hawk flying. I am quite a crack shot with my bow."
She stepped forward with a smile and unfolded a small piece of paper. "Dear Link," she read mockingly "I want you to know that I am sorry. I never wanted to see you hurt but I could do nothing to prevent it. A great evil has come into these lands and I am powerless to stop it. I am being controlled like a puppet and the kingdom is going to fall unless we can find a way to stop it. If you don't believe me ask the wolf. Even now the enemy is planning to march on you and your outlaws, she intends to start a civil war and we cannot let that happen or Hyrule will be lost. It has all the dates and numbers of soldiers and it is signed by you and even has your seal on the bottom," the Empress said with a laugh as she destroyed the note. "You even tired a lame attempt a coding it. This wolf sounds interesting, but it hardly matters now; you have just lost. I have taken the liberty to assign some of my personal body guards to watch you at all times from now on."
Zelda could do nothing but fix her enemy with a glare of hatred before her shoulders slumped in defeat; she knew she had been beaten, thoroughly beaten.
"You are going to lead your army to battle in two days and I can already see that this is going to be a problem for you, I don't trust you to do the job properly so I have an idea of making you more of a puppet. The problem is your magic is strong enough to keep me out unless you let me in. So I will give you all night to think about it, but if you refuse rest assured that you will pay dearly for it. There are many other suspicious soldiers and quite a few women and children in this castle."
All Zelda could do was stare miserably at her captor through her misty eyes, the Empress knew as well as she what her answer would be.
~x~X~x~
The following morning, Ashei sat in the outlaw's camp staring intently at Link as he paced back and forth under the forest canopy. His face was slightly scrunched, like it usually was when he was thinking hard about something, or was perturbed, or deeply upset.
He had looked like that quite a lot during the week that they were outlaws alone together after he had rescued her from punishment at the hands of the princess and her knights, but before the rest of the Resistance had joined them. He had been a major mess then though; he had woken her up with nightmares three times that week. He would toss, turn, shudder and then shoot up, practically screaming for Zelda to stop before he realized it had been a dream. She had never been the comforting type so she never knew what to do or say when that happened. He had mostly been either sad or angry during that week and he had hardly smiled. The only times he had shown a trace of his old humor, it had been laced with sardonic bitterness.
She felt a twinge of sympathy for him at the memory of that but, at the same time, she knew it was not that which was bothering him now. He had long since gotten over that. He would still get pretty upset on rare occasions but, honestly, who didn't? Ashei felt just as angry about their situation and Zelda as she guessed he did. However, she knew that what was bothering him now was the impending threat of attack.
He had announced his intentions the night before and had come up with a truly desperate, yet brilliant, plan for their survival. It was dangerous because he would bet everything on one move; but, if he were successful, he could stop the war before it started and keep all his followers safe. He would have to wait until the day that Zelda invaded to make his move and she guessed that all the waiting was making him edgy. Honestly, it was making everyone edgy, but it was more than that. For his plan to work he was going to have to come face to face with the princess. Ashei would bet her sword that it was this knowledge that had him wearing a furrow in the dirt with his troubled pacing.
All around her, the outlaws bustled about training for a fight and honing their weapons just in case Link's plan did fail. They had even spent some time booby-trapping the area around their camp on Link's orders as another fail-safe.
As she watched, Shad approached the perturbed Link and began to engage him in what appeared to be a somewhat heated discussion. What was going on? She wondered. Had Shad merely noticed his pacing and muttering like she had, or did he actually know what it was about?
As she stared, she watched them nod at each other, grab several packs from their possessions, and then slink of together into the woods. Intrigued and slightly angry that they had left her out, she pushed herself to her feet and stealthily followed after them. To her surprise, she found they were heading towards the main road of Faron woods, close to where the dense tunnel of the strong ancient tress opened out into the airy warmth of Faron field. The two youths stooped about a mile before the field on the forest's twisting path. They crouched down behind the thick brush near the roadside.
Ashei decided to reveal herself and walked towards them from behind. Shad looked up and nearly started in terror before he realized who she was.
But Link, without even turning around, merely said, "Hey Ashei."
Ashei returned his greeting with a slight frown of disappointment. She was almost never able to sneak up on him. That was why she had taken so much pleasure in it the day they went to go rescue the kid together.
"So, what are you up to?" she asked in a slightly peeved tone of voice, "And exactly why didn't you invite me along?"
"I saw you watching me and knew you would follow," Link replied with a half attempt at a grin.
Ahsei glared at him and rolled her eyes. "I know something has been bothering you, so let me in on it, yeah?
Link gave her a wry smile then spoke, "We know the soldiers are going to invade the woods tomorrow and we know that the Princess's army has already set camp in Faron field to prepare for their attack. However, you know as well as I, that they are not just going to blindly invade the woods in the morning. That tactic lacks foresight and borders on stupidity — and her Highness had never been known for stupidity."
"Both Link and I were worried that an elite group of soldiers might be sent into the woods to gather intelligence on our whereabouts before the battle," Shad finished.
"And we were right," Link took over, "Shad spied on the camp this very morning and saw the Princess herself assembling such a group. If I am correct, they should be headed down this path around twilight, intent on using the cover of darkness to get the information that the princess wants."
"What are we doing here then?" Ashei demanded, "We should tell the others! If we all get together we can stop them!"
"Link and I thought about that," Shad said as he pushed his glasses into place, his face deathly serious, "and there are two reasons why we decided to go it alone. If we assembled a large group of our own warriors to counter them, it could be the spark that leads to a full pitched battle. Also, simply sending some of our forces to counter them would only stall them untill they send more troops. Which brings me to the second point, why bother risking the lives of our men when we can defeat them and keep them away for good without shedding a drop of blood on either side?"
Ashei stared critically into Shad's shinning eyes before turning to Link. "I take it you have some brilliant plan to accomplish this?"
"Yes," Link said softly, "I have a way… It's just…" he rubbed the back of his head and sighed.
"Just what?"
"If I act on this plan of mine, it will mean I will have to embody all the things that I want to clear my name of."
"Elaborate, please" Ashei urged impatiently when he trailed off again.
Link took a deep breath and began. "While Shad and I were trapped in that storm a while ago, he was telling me about some illusions that could be produced with chemistry and physics."
Shad nodded, "It was a book in old Hylain that I found in the Hidden Village."
"You two give the worst military briefings I have ever heard. There is something called a point, yeah?"
Link grinned at her, "Patience is a virtue you weren't born with I see."
Ashei glared at him.
With a smile, Link began to outline his idea. When he finished, he settled his gaze on her as if waiting for a response of some sort.
"I see what you mean about having to become what you wanted to prove to everyone that you weren't," she said finally. "But I think, in this case, it's worth it. I have serious doubts that the kingdom will ever accept the truth that we didn't commit any form of treason. Besides, this is the princess and the soldiers we are talking about, they will think of you as a bokoblin no matter what you do."
Link frowned, wincing slightly at her words, but he nodded his agreement or resignation. "Well," he said shaking his head, "if I am going to destroy my last shreds of honor I might as well have fun doing it." He finished with a dark smirk. "I might as well become what her Highness wanted; she had left me with nothing else."
"Your plan is good," Ashei said, "but I think we are going to need some fairies and fireflies to add the finishing touch, and I think some bomb arrows will make it more dramatic, yeah?
"Fireflies and fairies?" Link looked puzzled for a moment before his face brightened. "Oh, I see."
"Kindly explain, because I don't," Shad said still puzzled
"Eyes," Link told him simply.
"Oh," Shad said with a chuckle, "brilliant."
"Here," Link smiled, tossing Ashei one of the satchels he had been carrying. "We only have a short time to set up; twilight is in a couple hours."
~x~X~x~
Ashei crouched in her hiding spot, camouflaged in the folds of her cloak. She watched as the soldiers uneasily stepped through the tree shadowed forests of twilight. They were huddled closely together as if they feared stepping off the path. An unnatural mist swirled around their feet, swallowing up any sight of the ground as it shifted slowly in uneven swarthy patches like foreboding shreds of cloud. The soldiers had no way of knowing that the eerie mist was made from odd crystals Shad had found that reacted when put in water to form the hazy vapor that they stepped through. They shifted nervously as they saw that, not only was their path was shrouded by the abnormal groping tendrils, but the way to travel further along the road was blocked by a near solid wall of mist.
Ashei admitted that the wavering wall would probably have put even her on edge had she not known that the thick cloud came from Link's smoke bombs.
The soldiers and their obese commander, whom Ashei recognized as Zelda's most ruthless commander Arsacir, came to a dead halt in front of the shifting wall of mist, only to step back in simultaneous shock as a dark figure seemed to materialize out of the wavering cloud. Ashei could not contain the shudder that ran down her spin as she saw Link standing there. He seemed to be embraced by the darkened mist around him, as if he were a part of the twilight itself. The hood of his cloak failed to hide the dark smile on his face. Gone was the Hero of Twilight, her friend, and in his place was the symbol of all his supposed crime and treachery.
"Sir Knight," he greeted Arscair in a sarcastically cordial manner, "to meet you twice in a week seems far from coincidence."
The ten soldiers in Arscair's retinue shuffled fearfully at the sight of Link, their hands tightening on their weapons.
"You," the fat knight growled, "I am going to insure that both you and the people of your precious Resistance and rebel army pay for the insult you give our kingdom with your presence. And I will make you pay dearly for the insults you've have given me personally."
Link's smile faded immediately, "So, you would rather I had killed you than given you the mercy to let you live? I do not appreciate the lack of gratitude, sir." Link's tone was soft, purring, and dangerous; the effect was to make the ten soldiers slink back slightly.
"I don't care anything for what you feel, I will insure that you die upon my blade. Men look," he said tuning to his cowering soldiers, "he is but one. Not even the former Hero of Twilight is invincible. What are you afraid of men? He has no bow wielding outlaws at his back this night, we can take him."
His soldiers seemed to bit a little encouraged by his words and began to step cautiously after their leader as he edged nearer to Link with his sword drawn.
"One? Your lack of foresight has just sealed your fate;" Link snarled. "Have you forgotten who I am? My name is Link; I am slayer of the warlord Ganondorf, rebel against the corrupt rule of Hyrule. I am the leader of the Resistance and countless outlaws, and," he said slowly raising his hand, "commander of the dark army."
As he spoke, Ashei recognized her queue and brought up Link's sturdy powerful re-curve bow that she had borrowed. She prepared a bomb arrow. As Link clenched his raised fist, she shot the bomb arrow to land a safe distance behind him. The effect was a deafening boom and flash of light seeming at his command. His smoke bombs had started to dissipate from a solid wall of fog to groping fingers of fog, so when the soldiers' eyes readjusted from the shock of the bomb they saw clearly what stood behind Link. Ashei could hardly contain the shiver that coursed through her at the sight of the apparitions that seemed to be at Link's command. An army of cloaked warriors loomed behind him. They shifted with the shadows of the night and the mist, and all their eyes glowed with an otherworldly light that wavered only when they blinked. Link took a step forward and the dark army seemed to glide in his wake. There came the sound of countless swords being drawn.
All the soldiers cried out in simultaneous terror and ran. They had been prepared to fight a lone warrior but not a warrior who commanded a vast magical army.
When Arscair saw he was alone he had no choice but to back away.
"This forest is mine!" Link yelled after him, "Return and death will find you swiftly. I have long since tired of toying with you."
For added drama Ashei launched another bomb arrow as Link pointed at Arscair. It landed close enough to knock him to the ground and break his last shreds of courage but far enough away so as not to actually wound him. Arscair got to his feet in a hurry and scurried down the darkened path, nearly whimpering in terror.
As soon as the soldiers were gone, the three teens let out there pent up snickers.
"Can you believe how gullible and stupid they are?" Ashei chuckled.
Link shot her a wry smile, "Oh, I am more than acquainted with that aspect of Hyrule's people. But really, a bomb Ashei? You nearly hit him." Link said with a chuckle as he turned to start disabling the poles that held up each cloaked member of his false, crudely made scarecrow army. Without the mist one could clearly see their true design even in the dark. "Your sense for dramatic flair is starting to worry me."
"I think it was an excellent touch," Shad put in from his position in the ground behind Link. He tried to untangle himself from the numerous strands of thin rope from which he had controlled the pots, pans, pieces of metal, and rusty knifes that had provided the sword drawing sound effects, and the moving shadow warriors. They were merely more outlaw cloaks hanging from rope runners.
Ahsei smiled and began to neatly fold all the cloaks they had used. Shad released the fireflies they had used as the glowing eyes, and Link released and thanked the fairies he had borrowed from Ordon spring, which had also served the same purpose. The great fairy had released many of her fairies to the springs of Hyrule when he had made it through the Cave of Ordeals, which he jokingly called The Cave of Oppression. Fairies were slightly temperamental and one never knew when they would appear, and he was more than thankful that a few had appeared this night. Pity they had not shown up at Ordon spring that dark night not too long ago when he had really needed them.
When they were finished clearing up, the trio headed back along the moonlit path to the outlaws' camp. Shad was grinning happily and Ashei chanced a sidelong look at Link to see his expression. His smirk was gone and his face was once again slightly scrunched in that perturbed look of his.
"Are you worried you made the wrong choice?" She asked softly.
"I would do it again in a heartbeat," he said, shaking his head, "it's just sometimes I almost feel like… I don't know…I am losing sight of who, or rather, what, I am."
"Well at least you have an amazing dark army to compensate for your troubles." She teased.
Link's face broke into a broad smile. He looked critically at his two followers and shook his head, "You have to admit that it is a pretty sad looking army up close."
"True; but we're the only army you have, so deal with it, yeah?" Ashei said with a laugh.
"The three of us shall devastate any opposition we are faced with. Your dark army may be small but their brains are large-"
"Metaphorically speaking," Link interrupted Shad with a chuckle.
"Do you want to lose your army?" Ahsei asked in a teasingly threatening manner, "Because if I hear one more degrading comment from you, I'm deserting."
Thanks for reading, don't forget to review :) (Cause it makes me happy and you don't want an upset author writing near the climax when so many things can go tantalizingly wrong *mwha ha ha ha* XD )
Before anyone get to terribly upset that Zelda's brilliant plan failed let me assure you it was necessary for that to happen in order for me to create the dramatic climax that I want. A slight warning, things are going to get worse before/if they get better.
**Time for another History Geek's moment :D** So for the last part of the chapter, dealing with Link, Ashei, and Shad, I was inspired by the World War II Ghost Army. For those who don't know, it was a United States tactical deception unit. It was a 1,100-man unit tasked with impersonating other U.S. Army units to deceive, mislead, and scare the enemy. Ghost soldiers used their brains and talent to create elaborate rouses and illusions. Many of the ghost soldiers had been artists, architects, actors, set designers and engineers. They used equipment such as dummy tanks and artillery, fake aircraft and giant speakers broadcasting the sounds of men and artillery to make the Germans think they were about to be attacked by an upward of a two-division 30,000 man force. Their efforts helped deflect the German military from the actual allied combat units. (Not to mention the fact that they were totally awesome)
QUSTION:
What elements/themes would you like to see in the next Zelda game?
Personally, even though I know it's not likely, I would like to see a game where the three bearers of the triforce are on the same side for once, facing a huge enemy like Demise. It would be totally epic. I mean, I know that power can easily corrupt, but if the person imbued with power was already blessed with some wisdom and for some strange reason lacked an overpowering desire to dominate, then maybe it could work out. Nayru and Farore are always making good choices of who to pick so why couldn't Din do it right for once? It would also be cool to be able to play as Zelda or have a woman be the hero, but that's just me. :P
OPTIONAL BONUS QUESTION:
How do you think Link is going to react when he finally meets with Zelda face to face?
Until next time, I wish you all a blessed week. :)