Chapter 20: Three Disasters
The courtyard of Hyrule Castle was full of people, awaiting a speech from the last living member of the Royal Family, Princess Zelda.
In the days since her return, only a handful of the townspeople had seen, let alone spoken to, the Princess. Her only companions were her bodyguards and a strange old mask maker. The common opinion was that Zelda had been lost in the battle, and, confused and alone, had lost herself in Hyrule Field until she had been found by the strange Korok, Makar.
No one yet knew the truth of Ganondorf's treachery.
No one yet knew about the death of Sir Marcus.
No one yet knew that a lone black clad rider was thundering across the fields at top speed towards the castle, a rider with flaming red eyes and orange hair…
Ereb was nowhere.
He stood on an endless expanse of empty whiteness.
There was just… nothing.
His back no longer hurt. The wound had somehow vanished. His foot touched something. He picked it up.
It was the knife.
He sighed, sticking it into his belt.
He felt utterly, completely and totally alone.
"Hello?" he called.
No answer.
"Hello!"
"Hello!" came his echo.
Ereb dropped to the ground, or at least onto whatever was supporting him. He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples.
When he opened his eyes again, he gasped. An oasis had appeared before him; small and solitary against the blank infinity that surrounded it, but there.
He ran to it at top speed, hoping it was real, believing it was real. He jumped into the pool of water.
He laughed as he felt the water drenching his clothes.
It was real.
He clambered out of the water, and lay on the ground, looking up at the leaves of the trees. They moved gracefully, blown by some wind Ereb could neither feel nor hear.
Someone laughed.
Ereb jumped.
A creature stood over him. It was small and round, with massive white eyes and tiny, stubby limbs. It reminded Ereb of the Koroks.
It laughed again.
"Are you here to break the Night?" it asked softly.
"What?"
"Are you here…" the creature repeated, slowly and deliberately, "…to break the Night?"
One word flashed through Ereb's mind. Moon!
Night. Moon. Was it possible?
"Are we inside the moon?" Ereb asked. The question sounded absurd as he asked it.
The creature laughed again. "So you have come to break the night. Yes, yes, this is good. She was wise to attack you then."
"What?" Ereb muttered, totally confused. His memory was a blur. Then he remembered.
The old woman, the story teller who had known his name, was the one who had stabbed him.
The creature laughed; it was a strange, hypnotic laugh. It waddled around Ereb. He sat up.
"We have waited long for this. The end of the Hero's lineage, and hence the last threat to our dominion."
Ereb gasped. Memories of the Sacred Chamber flooded into him, memories of what he had overheard as he lay pretending to be dead…
The white expanse surrounding the oasis slowly grew dark, until all Ereb could see was the huge white eyes of the creature. They blinked several times, moving closer and closer to Ereb, until the next time they opened, they were right in front of his face. He heard the creature's soft voice again.
"Look to your right."
Ereb obeyed. He saw nothing for a few moments.
A beam of light suddenly shone on a long, gleaming object. It shone with a fire of its own. Ereb grabbed it.
It was a sword.
A long, broad, powerful sword that felt much lighter than it should have. Its polished blade was like a mirror, and Ereb looked into it.
He saw the reflection of himself, concentrating on the blade. But then he saw other things.
Just behind him, a small yellow circle of light appeared. Another, at the same height, appeared next to it.
And following the two yellow circles, a frightening mask appeared…
Zelda was sitting in a chair in the throne room. Before her were the doors to the balcony, overlooking the courtyard. She saw the masses of people there. They were all looking up at her, to her, seeking answers, seeking guidance.
She took a long, steadying breath before standing.
A hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder and whirled her around.
She saw Ganondorf's leering face before her.
"Y-You!" she stammered, terrified.
"Yes, me." Ganondorf growled. He knocked her out with a backhanded strike to the face.
The Princess crumpled. Ganondorf did not look at her again. He strode to the doors, out onto the balcony.
The people below gasped and murmured.
"The Princess is ill." Said the traitor. "She has given me her orders."
He allowed himself a tiny smile before continuing.
"She has decided to relinquish the throne to me."
The people had no idea of how to react. Some, who liked Ganondorf, cheered. Others felt as though they had been in the dark for too long.
First the king was discovered dead along with several new Knights, then an ambush was sprung, then the Princess was found to be missing, then their champion Sir Marcus and the two surviving Knights left without warning, and now, after the unexpected return of the Princess, Ganondorf was proclaiming himself to be king.
It was all too much to digest. Something had gone wrong somewhere, and they wanted to know what.
But before anything else happened, Ganondorf was announcing the day of his coronation, and saying that a new army, hired by himself, would replace the current soldiers.
Shouts of outrage flew at Ganondorf, but before anything could happen, he was already back inside.
The lake monster slowly approached Link until it was right in his face. It growled menacingly. Link took a shaky breath, and slowly reached out his hand to it. If fighting was not an option, perhaps an attempt at friendship would save him.
It took all of his will power, but he forced himself to continue extending his hand until it was just before the creature's maw. It became silent.
The lake beast gave a loud snort. Link trembled with fear.
The monster's eyes narrowed, and it began to growl again. It reared up, and struck at Link. He barely dodged the attack, rolling to the side as its monstrous head struck the stone wall. Link looked desperately for an escape route, but could find none. One final, desperate idea struck him.
He sprinted to the edge, and leaped off of the ledge. The beast roared behind him. He fell fast. The water rushed up to meet him.
The air was knocked from his lungs as he crashed into the river…