The King bolted upright from his throne and balled his hands into tight fists, digging his nails into the skin of his palms as the he heard the news. He felt the pulse in his neck quicken as the full connotation of all that was happening hit him, hard.

"Explain what you mean by 'they've been killed'," the King uttered, his voice betraying the worry and fear that had taken hold of him.

"They were kept in the storage rooms for some time, however the entire crowd just rushed in and...Some of the bodies are virtually unrecognizable," elaborated the messenger, head hung low.

"Impossible!" exclaimed the King, "And the Knights did nothing? They simply stood by and watched?"

"No, Your Majesty. The Knights were valiant but much outnumbered."

Breathing heavily, the King began to pace back and forth, hands behind his back and he reflected on all that he had just been told. Never before had the Hylians been so frightened by an enemy, and it was hard to imagine that the entire population would succumb to a villain's control. All the King could do was sigh.

"Well, those who deal heavily in magic are gone. That does mean that whoever is behind this will stop, am I correct?" inquired the King.

All the messenger could do was shrug. "I assume so..."

"You assume, but that is not correct," interrupted the same voice that had plagued the Hylians for hours.

Wearily, the King raised his head and whispered, "What more do you want? The sorcerers are dead, just as you wished."

"But Your Majesty, you have not gotten rid of the most powerful sorcerer amongst all of you," continued the voice, sneering.

"And who might that be, exactly?" asked the King, exasperated.

The villain laughed a loud, evil laugh and proceeded, "You know exactly whom I speak of."

The King furrowed his brow. "I have no time for games of this sort."

A pause, then the voice decided to speak, once again.

"Zelda."

A moment of silence as the King opened his mouth, gaping in disbelief. Quickly, he turned to the messenger.

"Order the Knights to bar all entrances to the Town. No one shall enter nor exit."

The Princess, she was the one responsible for all the bloodshed. She had to be, there was no other explanation as to why she was not to be seen anywhere. And while she was still breathing, their lives would not be safe. Staring at the bloodied corpses near their feet, the Hylians could not believe it. Their efforts were in vain, and somewhere in Hyrule, Princess Zelda, the key to their safety, walked about. At that instant, every man and woman in the center of Town had the same idea: They needed to seek Zelda. Feet pattered through the streets, making their ways towards the gates that would lead them into Hyrule's other locations. Various residents also readied their horses in a hurry, so that the search would not take long.

However, those already at the gates found themselves in a position where accomplishing their desires was impossible. Shouting and hurling all manner of items at the Knights, the crowd commanded them to open the gates, stating desperately that they needed to save their loved ones from further harm. Once it was clear that the Knights would not cede their places, many Hylians expressed a certain hostility that was foreign to Hyrulians in general.

"Down with the King!" cried one.

"Down with Zelda!" yelled another.

"Our selfish King does not have our own interests at heart! He only cares about his daughter and himself, that's all!"

The Knights looked at one another, an uneasy feeling betraying itself in their eyes. Every Hylian was getting more and more unruly as each second passed by, and it wouldn't be long before something drastic would happen. The King had ordered them stationed near all the entrances to ensure that the doors stayed shut, but that was proving to be much more difficult than they initially thought.

"We must fight for Hyrule!" cried some, "To the Castle! To the Castle!"

Every Knight was now alarmed, and a few grabbed a Hylian or two by the arm in order to stop them. But the swarm of Hylians was too much, and soon they flooded the streets once again, this time headed for Hyrule Castle. Laying their hands on whatever they could find, the Hylians approached the Castle at a run, the blazing sun shining on their backs. They were ready for even more bloodshed, for even more death. And all in the supposed name of Hyrule, controlled by an unknown evil whom they did not know. This time, they were keen on bringing down the very force that kept them united without thinking twice. However, the Hylians were so caught in their mental state that they did not notice the voice who, again, was intent on wrecking havoc.

"Time is up, Hylians. It's four o'clock, and I'm afraid you're too late. I, Ganondorf, will conquer Hyrule, regardless of whether or not your Hero arrives."

Then a succession of explosions, leveling buildings and engulfing many others with flame. Men and women screamed as the destruction replicated at their sides, destroying livelihoods and taking lives. Smoke soon filled the air, and a distant bell was tolling, its rings beckoning the people to put a stop to the chaos, a stop to the deaths and fire. From this havoc rose a feeling of grief and despair, as each Hylian soon realized that the enemy they were up against was too powerful, too totalitarian for them to vanquish. And so, many perished, in a state of utter desperation, clawing for a hold on their neighbours in order to find a sense of security. But even close friends soon became strangers, and families could not recognize each other. And all this while the Castle Town burned.

Hyrule being swallowed by fire, plunged into disorder in front of her very eyes. Ruto stared into the distance at both the Castle Town and the Lost Woods, the sight moving her beyond words. Never had the Water Sage seen anything alike. As she stood there on the cliff above the Zora's River, Ruto's most faithful captain, Garnus, approached her.

"Madam, should we save the Castle Town?" he inquired, his voice revealing that his troops were at the ready for mobilization.

Ruto placed her river-blue eyes upon her captain. Sadly, she answered, "They have closed their walls, we cannot hope to save them now."

"But they need help, Madam. The Hero and the Princess are somewhere out there, yet no one knows where. Let's help the Kokiri, let's save them, at least."

"The Kokiri will not fight," snapped Ruto, "Their only hope is for Hyrule's rivers to keep expelling water. That will be the key to their survival. At the moment, we sit and wait for the Castle Town to open its gates, that is the only way we will be able to be of aid."

Garnus nodded, however grudgingly. "Shall I send a messenger to the Gorons as well, my lady?"

Ruto pondered this for a moment, then nodded her head. "Should the Castle Town open, we will need their help. Send your fastest runner to the Gorons and urge them to be quick."

Garnus bowed, then slowly slid out of the Queen's presence. Ruto, for her part, turned back towards the devastation that was happening in the distance and watched. Her heart was starting to beat much more rapidly than usual as fear began to overtake her as well. She was about to descend from her viewing point when something shocked her into staying still.

"Hello, Water Sage," said a voice, "It's very nice hearing from you again."

"Ganondorf!" exclaimed Ruto, looking around and checking her surroundings.

"You can try and find me, by all means, however that would be in vain, Ruto. So tell me, how is Zora's Domain? I haven't been there in quite a while, you see."

"You're responsible for all this, aren't you?" asked Ruto menacingly, her hands balling up into fists.

Ganondorf laughed. "I must say you've always been quite intelligent, and because of that I've decided I'm going to give you two options at this moment."

"Two options?" scoffed Ruto, "Are you really going to bother negotiating with me?"

"Of course, Ruto! Now, listen to me," Ganondorf's voice seemed to lower in volume, "The first option is to join forces with me, Ruto. Imagine all we could accomplish together: You could rule Hyrule, and restore the Zoras as the nobility they deserve to be. You have been long denied by the Hylians, Ruto, isn't it time to stand up?"

Ruto swallowed. "And the second option?"

"Isn't it obvious? Say no, and you face the same fate as the Kokiri."

So that was what happened in the Lost Woods. Proudly, Ruto raised her head and smiled.

"No. You are alone in this, Ganondorf."

Ruto heard Ganondorf suck in his breath. "Then you've made your choice. Goodbye Ruto."

The temperature shot low, and as Ruto looked down onto Zora's domain, the water became ice. Her own fins were beginning to harden, and all the Zora Queen could do was close her eyes. Though the situation was dire, she believed in someone who had kept his promises and her hopes alive many a time. She believed in the Legendary Hero, and in her heart, Ruto knew that no matter how long the wait, he would arrive once again.

"Zelda!" cried Link, "The Castle Town!"

They had seen the fires from afar, but now as the Hero approached the Town, the full scale of the destruction roamed up to his very eyes. Fires rose above the walls of the Town, coating the entire area in a sheet of red and orange so thick that Link and Zelda could not distinguish any building, nor any person. The unbearable heat further distorted the sight before them, bending lines and rippling the air. Only the Castle was recognizable, everything else seemed to be burning in an inescapable inferno.

"We won't be able to enter the Town!" Zelda yelled from behind as the crackling of burning wood began to drown out her voice, "The gates are closed! We have to find another way!"

Halting their horses, Link and Zelda dismounted quickly. By that time, the once formidable gate of Hyrule Castle Town was being gobbled by flames.

"This way!" indicated Zelda as she darted to the left, "We'll try the Western Gate!"

Following Zelda, Link sprinted after the Princess as she ran along the outside of the wall. He could hear her panting, and from that it was obvious that Zelda was being stretched over her physical limit. This was another addition to her already difficult day, and her frustration mounted once she reached the Western Gate. The Gate had also been shut, and it became clear to Zelda that in times like these, there was no entrance to the Town. Panicking, Zelda turned to Link.

"We've got to find a way in! There must be some way, Link!" she was saying as she slammed her hands onto his shoulders, "We can't let Ganondorf take over the Town!"

Link immediately pulled her in by the waist and embraced her. She was breathing heavily, exhausted and excessively frightened, yet the fight would not disappear from her spirit. The Hero wrapped his arms around her, one hand across the top part of her back.

"We'll find a way in, don't you worry," he comforted her. But to Link's own disappointment, he felt as though he were making empty promises, as he himself had no plan as to how they were going to enter the Town.

"You know a way in?" asked Zelda, excitedly.

There was a pause as Link absorbed the question he dreaded from her the most at that instant. "I'm sorry," was all he could reply.

Zelda broke from his arms. "Then what was that for?" she asked, defensive, "Don't you waste our time. Can't you see what's at stake here?"

"Zelda, please," Link began.

"What were you doing?" she was walking towards the Northern Gate, "You're just like everyone else: You tell me things even when you're not sure about anything!"

"I was trying to calm you down," explained Link as gently as he could, "It doesn't help to panic."

The Princess looked at him haughtily. "And it doesn't help that almost everything that means the most to you is burning," she snapped.

Link, just as exhausted, felt his temper starting to rise as he strode after her. "Now see here," he countered, "You wanted to come along, and I let you. I shouldn't have, but I did! What you need to do is recognize that outside of those walls, you're not a Princess anymore. You're like me! And you know what that entails? I need you to stop acting like a Princess and expecting that people play by your rules! I'm trying to help Hyrule just as much as you are, but for some reason you snap. You get angry, and all because someone was trying to reassure you?"

Zelda was ignoring him and stubbornly charting her own course. He was talking, yet she refused to listen. How could a commoner such as he possibly understand her position? But what hurt the most was that Link did make a valid point: She wasn't Princess of Hyrule at this moment, she was a warrior just as he was. Yet this whole time, even an adventure such as this made her feel ill at ease, and there were times when she had felt herself stick out, unfitting in an image. There were so many times she tried to help, but she wondered where the Goddesses were. She was frustrated that her powers had not returned, as she needed them more than ever. Her emotions caused her eyes to tear, however Zelda proudly fought them back.

It was during this state of desperation when Zelda tripped and fell, her body hitting the ground below her. Turning back, she noticed that she had caught her foot on a figure on the ground who twisted their body to face the sky.

A while passed by before Zelda and Link identified who it was, and they couldn't believe their eyes.