Author's Notes:
I am a horrible person.
I swear I've tried to post an update since last year, but personal problems and writer's block have been digging at my back.
Since I do love and appreciate all of you, I decided to try and make this Valentine's week. That way we can celebrate the only way I know how:
By being incredibly awkward.
Enjoy
LLL
LLL
Zelda ran as the sounds of her bare feet splashed against the thick, red liquid on the ground. She didn't want to register what it actually was, no matter how putrid the smell managed to become, or how her feet got so quickly contaminated with it. She needed to get away as quickly as possible; Zelda couldn't dare to turn –wouldn't dare to turn- and see her pursuer. No matter how fast or how far she ran, she knew he was somehow getting closer. She heard calm, walking paces and couldn't figure how the man had managed to catch up to her with bare, timed strides while she ran like a possessed horse.
She turned a corner and then another. Zelda couldn't recognize the streets or the walls or the place she was in, but none of that mattered. All she needed to do was run and escape; this was the only thing driving her, a sick need to survive. Her heart beat erratically on her chest as the shadow behind her began to grow bigger. Zelda tried turning one more corner faster than she had managed to run so far, only to have her clumsy feet give trip on each other and make her fall; Zelda placed her hands in front of her to try to stop her unexpected fall and to, unsuccessfully and obvious to her, stop her from touching the floor. She fell hard, splattering blood all over her and sliding very roughly across the floor towards the edge of the other side of the wall. Her head made a harsh contact against the hard surface and Zelda bounced slightly forward, her vision blurring and going dark. She took one last glance at her chaser as his hand slowly and surely reached her.
"Zelda?"
Zelda's eyes fluttered open and, out of instinct, she shot up from her lying position, blocking the path of the blurry figures around her. She then felt a hand grasp her arm and slowly pull it down "Are you ok?" Zelda calmed down as Natya's voice rang a familiar bell through her ears. She let the hand on her arm push her back down and closed her eyes, feeling an intense headache rising.
"Where am I…?" she asked, trying to hear herself above the ringing in her ears.
"Back at the palace…" said Link. Zelda tried to adjust her vision as the figures surrounding her became clearer
"You have been out for almost a day now" said Natya, worry seeping through her words.
"What happened?" she asked, relieved that she could finally see Natya and Link on either side of her.
"We were hoping you would tell us" said Natya, looking all but happy "We found you and six other courtesans on the dressing rooms… They were all slaughtered but you were left unscathed…"
As Zelda heard the retelling of the events at the dressing room, she shivered, not willing to recall any bit of those moments any time soon. As Natya and Link stared at her expectantly, though, she had no choice but to tell them "It was Zant… He slaughtered them like they were nothing… He said I wasn't Gerudo so he spared me…" she didn't want to think of anything else, but something kept coming back "Wait, he left an envelope, he told me to give it to Thea"
"Oh… So that was him" said Natya as she looked worriedly to her door.
"What's wrong?" asked Zelda, noticing the concerned faces of both people in front of her. She changed to a sitting position, slowly being able to lift herself now.
"That letter Zant left is a foreclosure order for the Cabaret" said Natya, standing from her position on the bed. Zelda frowned, but before she could ask her about the letter, Natya made a move for the door, quickly disappearing from sight.
Zelda then turned to Link for answers "Thea is worried…" he said. Zelda lifted herself to a sitting position, glad that she could move freely "Zant has found a way to threaten her with a foreclosure notice if the requirements aren't met"
"And what would those requirements be?" she asked, flinging her legs to the side and testing their strength, happy to know she had no problem standing.
"No Gerudos" he stated, standing from his position in front of her.
"Isn't that illegal?"
"It is, but he somehow found a way to get them out, stating the girls aren't registered as Hylians" he said, watching as she walked to the closet and began rummaging for clothes, landing on a simple pink dress that she noticed she could wear with her boots. She placed both items inside the bathroom before returning outside
"Is this true?" she asked, turning elsewhere when their eyes met. She suddenly began to feel butterflies in her stomach, which she found to be strange since that wasn't the first time they were alone in a room.
"Thea is asking Agitha for confirmation, we won't know until she shows" he said. He made a move to leave, knowing Zelda was planning to take a bath, but was stopped before he opened the door
"Are we waiting for her?" she asked, not intending for their conversation to end so quickly.
"She should be here in a few minutes" Zelda nodded. She watched as he returned for the door and left her to her affairs. Zelda felt a bit disappointed for letting him leave, but she had to change and he probably had something else to do. After her short bath and the change of clothes, she walked down just in time to hear the door. Thea was the one to answer it, letting her best friend inside and giving enough space for her umbrella to fit in with her. Agitha lowered her umbrella, folding it to a cane and using it to place both her hands on top of it for support. She looked displeased, although her expression seemed more of a person who seemed annoyed with the situation rather than angry. A circle began to form around her, eager to know how Agitha planned to counter Zant's threat. Many courtesans had to agree that, despite the girls seeming psychological problems and overall psychotic behavior, she had impressive ways of dealing with problems, and this had to be the first time she was about to voice her thoughts outside of her own office, where Thea and Link would be the only people to know.
Agitha took one look around her and, as her eyes landed on Zelda, she smiled lazily. Zelda felt a chill run down her spine and wanted to return to Natya's room, but her curiosity was bigger than her discomfort and she ended up walking down the stairs, joining the other courtesans in the revelation.
Agitha continued her search and, landing on Link, her smile seemed more eager "I didn't expect so many to want to hear my simple idea…"
"You are notorious for having secrets" praised Thea with a smile.
"And mine aren't as big as those I have of my enemies… I should thank my dear husband for that…" her smile creeped to a mischievous grin "But I guess I have to call for a bit of help with this one" she pouted, seeming truly unpreoccupied by the situation despite the expression "Seems Zant is a master at forgeries… No matter where I looked, the files all seem to be legitimate… So there is one way we could handle this" he said, looking to Link as she did. Her eager smile showed once more as she said her next words "We need to make those documents disappear"
"And how would we do that?" asked Midna from a side on the circle.
"We burn them, of course" responded Agitha happily.
"The documents are in Zant's office, in the Hyrule Department of Archives, so we need to infiltrate the building and burn the archives in Zant's office" said Thea, making Agitha's simple statement a bit clearer.
"Sounds simple enough" said Navi
"So what do we have to do?" asked Midna, feeling eager about the idea.
"Nothing" stated Agitha simply. This made Midna raise an eyebrow.
"So why did you tell us if we're not going to do anything?" she asked, disappointment clear in he face.
"Because this particular idea is dangerous. We know that Zant has no problem killing you, even if it is on plain sight, so I came here to warn you not to move a finger" she said, making sure to catch as many courtesan's eyes as she could. This meant business "This is something that Link is to do, period" she stated.
The room began to erupt in complaints and groans as many courtesans didn't think it fair to just sit idly by while their lives are being bargained in white sheets of paper, but despite the audible protests and the clear discomfort in the room ,Agitha kept her calm demeanor, choosing to continue her conversation with the two who didn't mind.
"Sounds the safest thing to do" said Thea, knowing she'll have to come down the warrior women later. She was already having trouble dealing with the continuous deaths as it was.
"When do I go?" asked Link.
"In two hours… We need to make sure the documents are in his office or the whole ordeal will be in vain" Agitha answered "Go get ready"
LLL
LLL
Link was never a fan of the noble district. It always seemed like every time he stepped foot on the premises it was always because he had something to do. He never imagined he'd ever set foot there to actually enjoy the place and he had already grown to that idea. It didn't stop it from seeing like an attractive idea, though.
After much looking, he finally found the building. He realized it didn't look that much different from most libraries, court houses or schools around; or perhaps he was just getting tired of the expensive view. The building stood tall, with four floors and floor-length windows to decorate the entire front of the building. The curtains were white and drawn around the windows, which made the building look even less as what it truly was. Probably the only thing Link noticed differently was the long railing that covered the fourth floor, making it one rounding balcony.
It fit; an invisible building for a masked man.
He checked himself once more, making sure he was still completely covered in black before walking out of the cover of the surrounding trees. He lifted himself slightly from behind one to check his surroundings when he felts something pull him hard into the ground. He felt his head hit the ground and could only register so much before something coiled itself on his neck. Despite his own aching head, he managed to open his eyes to see a familiar yellow stare back at him "Hello, friend"
Link placed his hands on the performer's arms and felt the hold on his neck tighten. He could feel the performer had positioned himself on top of him in a way that would make it hard for Link to dominate, so he relaxed his grip and let him go and, to his surprise, felt the performer's grip loosen considerably. Link remained as he was, fearing whatever the crazed man had in mind "What are you doing here?" he felt himself asking, despite his better reasoning.
"I came to help you, friend" the man tilted his mask.
"I don't need your help" Link retorted.
"I promised I'd help you friend, here" he said, motioning behind him. Link's eyes widened at the sight of two of his masked people walking side by side by none other than Zelda, who look confused but otherwise fine "See? She's safe now" stated the performer.
"How the fuck is she safe here!?" asked Link, lifting himself on his elbows in defiance, the performer let him go. The blank eyes of the mask only stared back in an eerie glow as the performer lifted himself off Link, giving him enough room to stand.
"I'll come when it's time, ok?" he said as his servants threw a small stone on the floor, letting smoke rise quickly before vanishing with it.
"Link? What's going on?" Zelda asked after they had suddenly vanished.
"Are you ok?" he asked, moving closer to her to check for any sign of mistreatment.
"I'm fine, they just asked me to come, they said you needed me" she said, still unsure about the situation.
Many things were going on in Link's mind, most of them revolving around finding Majora and lashing at him. At the most, even ordering him to return Zelda to safety; but since any of those actions were out of the question, he was going to have to burn the documents while protecting Zelda.
"I guess we have no choice…" he said, coming to a silent conclusion.
"About what?" asked Zelda.
"The only way into the building is through infiltration, so I'm going to have to teach you how to infiltrate a building" he stated simply.
"Now!?" asked Zelda, unbelieving of what he was planning to do.
"Now" he confirmed, taking her hand and walked deeper into the trees "There are many people guarding this place under Zant's orders. He knows we'll be here to take those documents but I don't think he knows how we'll strike. The place seems heavily guarded, so we must approach this with caution. Causing the alarm of any guard will result in our deaths" he explained.
"What do I have to do?" she asked, feeling both scared and excited about the idea of being something other than bait.
"Copy me and you should be fine" he said and slowly began to walk out of the trees, making sure he wasn't spotted by anyone. There were several men already guarding the premises around the building, which meant he was going to have to lure them out one by one. This proved to be the easiest part since the trees would provide great coverage. Grabbing a rock, he waited until one man had enough distance away from the rest before calling his attention. Trying his aim, he threw the rock near his feet, careful not to hit the man in the process. If he were to suspect this was any sort of attack his plan would crumble almost as fast as he would at the several men coming after them. His plan worked, as the man stared curiously at the rock and then at the potential direction it came from. He began to walk towards them "Be silent and watch" Link whispered to Zelda as the man approached their position. Link made no move, careful not to stumble onto anything and give away his position. He saw his golden opportunity when the man stopped right beside him; Link stood as quickly as possible and covered his mouth and nose, making the man struggle against his arms before the lack of air made him fall limp under Link's hold.
Link grabbed the soldier by the arms and slowly dragged him away from being discovered so easily "… How can I do that?" whispered Zelda after watching in awe how easy it had been to take a man down.
"It'll be ok" he said before throwing another rock at the second soldier walking by, who also fell for the bait in a similar pattern. Link motioned for Zelda to try and she shook her head frantically, unsure that she would be able to. She didn't have time to feel fear as the man had approached them close enough. She watched Link remain motionless and could only swallow nervously as she suddenly jumped at the man and tried covering him the same way. This backfired, as she wasn't behind the man, but beside him. Before he could retaliate, Link took hold of the situation and suffocated him as well, bringing him gently to the floor and into the cover of darkness.
"That was awful" Zelda commented, feeling disappointed by her own actions.
"You just need practice and, fortunately for you, there's plenty of people to practice on" he said, standing just slightly to oversee the premises and decide that they could move position. He grabbed her hand and made a run for the east wall closest to them, where he looked over the corner just in time to see a man turning to walk in their direction. Link motioned for Zelda to remain quiet and she nodded, watching as Link waited for the man to approach before pulling him down by the leg and hitting him in the face, causing the man to faint immediately. Link leaned the man against the wall in case someone walked by. It would take them a few seconds to realize the man had been assaulted, but by then they would have been somewhere else. They proceeded to move around the corner and pressed themselves against the back wall of the building, where they saw servants entering a small back door.
Zelda lifted her head slightly as an idea formed in her mind. She watched the gerudo girls enter through the door and began moving quickly before they had a chance to close the door behind them. Link was puzzled by this sudden act but decided against stopping her and looked around to make sure they had not been spotted. Zelda grabbed the arm of the last gerudo girl as she made her way to the door, lightly startling the girl for a second before she stopped to stare quizzically at her. Zelda smiled politely, trying to look as unsuspicious as possible "Hello…" she started "Could I take your place tonight?"
Link turned his head to hear the conversation, wanting to hear more about Zelda's idea "Um… Why?" asked the gerudo, slightly raising a brow in suspicion.
"We want to get inside" she said calmly, pointing to herself and Link, who had to contain himself from sighing in exasperation at Zelda's blunt honesty.
The gerudo turned to Link and then back to Zelda before stepping outside and closing the door "Alright"
Zelda stared at her, somewhat taken aback at the girl's easy surrender "Really?"
"I don't know what is going on, but if you're asking me to do this, then you can't be that bad" she reasoned, earning a smile from Zelda and Link's surprise and slight admiration.
After agreeing to swap clothes, Zelda walked to the door, making sure to take a glance around before looking at Link's direction "Alright… I will enter and entertain. I thought maybe this could help you find the documents outside so I can get them easily" she explained to him.
"That's… A really good idea…" said Link, obviously impressed by Zelda's reasoning. She smiled.
"Thank you, now I'll see you in a few minutes" she said as she straightened her black dress and fixed her large, white apron and matching had before stepping inside. She knew she could not fool anyone by passing as a gerudo, but not all servants were gerudos. She stepped into the kitchen and grabbed a plate of champagne glasses before stepping into the large business area which was the first floor. Several tables where sprawled all over the place and many men occupied said tables in large square couches that seemed to act as blockers of the other's affairs. She saw many servants take the drinks around and began to imitate them, barely earning an acknowledgment in return. She looked around, finding a large staircase that led to the upper floor as well as a few men going upstairs. She noticed the many men inside the building just standing by the supporting pillars, knowing that this was just the security that Link was talking about. It seemed that they had one eye for every one of the guests inside.
Zelda turned to the stairs, needing to see what was on the second floor. She tried to glance over to the windows to see if she could spot any sign of Link, but found it hard to do because of the curtains. The second floor was a large library with various divisions for desks which were mostly stacked with books and loose papers. Less people populated the area but Zelda could see just as many men occupying the pillars and most of them were staring intently at her. She quickly realized she was the only servant on the second floor and began to feel nervous before a man called her over for a drink, quickly justifying her motive to be in the second floor in the first place. Perhaps that had somehow fooled the guards from taking their suspicions off her, at least a little.
She walked around the second floor, noticing that the windows showed no indication of anyone outside. Her plate had gone empty with the drinks and Zelda was faced with the decision of going down and getting more, before she turned to one of the curtains at her side. She could have sworn she saw the slightest of movements, despite the window being closed. She tentatively lifted an arm to pull the curtains aside before hearing a voice.
"I found them" Zelda froze and quickly placed her arm back down, trying to direct her attention to the many books in front of her. She had no way of reacting without seeming suspicious and she could already feel the stare of at least three guards boring into her as she stood still. Much to her relief, Link continued his train of thought "The documents are on the fourth floor on his personal desk, but you have to take an elevator to reach up to that floor" Zelda stiffened, getting inside and pretending to be the help was one thing but sneaking around with so many eyes upon her was something she couldn't do, especially when she could be incredibly obvious in her intentions; she could already feel the growing suspicion on the guards as she continued to stand there motionlessly "Try to reach for a book. They'll just think you want to steal" came the hidden recommendation. Zelda did as told and began lifting her hand towards the bookcase "I'll try to find a way inside if it's too difficult for you" came the last words before her hand reached a book.
"You!" Zelda flinched visibly at the harsh accusation, she turned fast enough to see the guard move from his position and grab her wrist "Touch anything and I will take your hand" he threatened "Get back down" he demanded, throwing her arm back at her. Zelda silently nodded and headed back down, grabbing a new plate of drinks for good measure.
LLL
LLL
It had been a while before she had gone back up, making sure to look the least suspicious as possible, but somehow knowing that these tactics wouldn't work too well with the guards. They took not of everything and anything and she knew this, as the same man that had reprimanded her had his full attention set on her. Although it was no crime for the servants to walk around, she knew he wasn't about to let her go so easily. Zelda calmly made her way to the third floor stairs before hearing the same guard call her to stop "Girl" Zelda turned to see a man by the stairs beckoning her "What are you doing? Get up here and serve me!" he demanded. Zelda saw the guard stop to a halt, give her a knowing glare and then return back to his position by the pillar. She didn't know f the Goddesses were helping her, but she needed to remember to give her thanks later.
She obediently headed up and gave the man his drink and even gladly accepted the nasty words he had to say to her lousy service. The third floor was a large reunion room with one enormously long table which filled almost the entire place up. To Zelda's dismay, there were pillars neatly aligned on either side of the table and there were as many men standing in front of them. She noticed that the third floor had begun to fill and there was already one more servant around. She looked around and found the mentioned elevator, but shuddered as she did so. It was right behind the master chair on the table, there was no way she was entering the machine without being evidently spotted.
Zelda walked around, giving her drinks and stopping every now and then to see if by any chance there was a possibility of climbing on the elevator, but her fears were confirmed when not only the servants made no move towards the device, but the men around didn't either. She was about to give up hope when she saw the small lift reserved for plates neatly hidden in the shadows and on the other side, where no one bothered to be. The thing was even out of sight of the guards, seeing that the pillars even stopped a bit far from the device.
She quickly moved around the crowd, trying to be as unsuspicious as possible and took off her apron to look less obvious around the place. Making sure she wasn't being spied on, Zelda lifted the door of the small lift and placed herself inside. She closed the door and grabbed the rope in front of her and began pulling it, slowly pulling her weight along until she reached the next door. She pressed her hand on the door and was about to slide it up when she froze, hearing voices inside "I see… Do you believe he's inside?" she heard Zant ask. Zelda could almost physically slap herself as realization hit her. She hadn't seen Zant anywhere in the time she had been roaming inside the building. Of course he would be on the most important floor.
"No sir, no male fitting the description has been seen inside" assured an unknown man.
"No doubt he wouldn't be able to just burst in…" responded Zant.
"Should we double the security outside?"
"No need. You couldn't take him on so easily anyways" Zant assured. Zelda could hear walking inside the room before everything turned silent "…You can leave now"
"But sir-"
"It's no problem, really" Zant assured. Zelda could feel a chill run down her spine; the man's dismissal had sounded too frightening. She knew Zant had figured it out that she was there. Footsteps got closer to the lift before they stopped, walking a little farther as the sound of the elevator suddenly rang "… In fact… I believe I will also go with you" Zelda heard another pair of shoes move towards the elevator before it closed, moving its cargo to the floor below. She could almost breathe a sigh of relief if it wasn't for the fact that everything about the situation felt wrong.
Having no other viable option, Zelda lifted the small door and exited the lift, looking around and confirming that she was, in fact, alone on the fourth floor. The room was relatively empty, except for a large desk that sat just in front of the largest floor window in the building and on top of a carpet that led from the desk to the elevator; several paintings and small decorations were scattered around the room, making it seem less empty than what it really was. She began her search a quick as possible, hoping that she could find the papers and get out of there as soon as possible. The sound of the elevator suddenly startled her as she quickly scrambled under the large desk, cursing herself for picking the obvious place in the entire room but knowing that making a dash for anywhere else was going to result in her being spotted. She heard the footsteps calmly approach the desk and desperately weighed her options, trying to figure how bad it would hurt if she tried to jump out of the window.
Her eyes widened as she saw Zant's face come from over the desk, deciding that he wasn't going to walk to the other side of the desk. She couldn't decide on what frightened her the most: the fact that he knew that she was there, or the look of utter confusion he was giving her "My, I wasn't expecting anyone up here" he said innocently, then looked at her more closely "… Have we met?"
Zelda stood motionless, unable to make any sort of sound as the man continued to stare at her. It was only when they both heard a crash and a loud explosion go off somewhere inside the building that they gave their full attention to the masked man standing in front of them with a bomb in his hands "You found them!" it cried in its twined voice, delighted to see Zelda standing across from him with papers in hand. The masked man held his hand out for her, or maybe he was expecting the papers, Zelda didn't know what to hope for. She wordlessly saw Zant walk out of the room, completely evading the masked man as it he somehow hadn't fit into whatever Zant had planned.
An explosion on the first floor racked the room, making Zant hurry to the elevator and leave Zelda with the madman. The performer turned from Zant's retreating form back to Zelda and held his hand for her to take. Zelda didn't have time to decide whether or not it was a good idea to hold the hand of the man who held a lit bomb and extended her own. The performer pulled her to him at the same time he threw the bomb towards the position Zelda had held a moment ago, almost as if he was making an exchange for her life. The psychopath made them walk to the elevator, which went safely down the floor below before the bomb exploded, making the floor above engulf in flames. He began to lead her towards the stairs in silence as she witnessed the mayhem he managed to cause. The corpses of various of Zant's guards lay splattered on the floor as many books and furniture fueled the fire that had begun to take over the building. Zelda began to cough as the smoke quickly rose around her and men and women screamed in panic, dying or trying desperately to find a way out.
She was halted to a stop when Link suddenly sprang from the flames around the windows to try and find her "Link!" Link's fear-stricken stare stopped at them as the performer waited for him on top of the stairs, uncaring of Zelda's difficulty to breathe. Link quickly approached them but stopped in his tracks when the performer placed Zelda behind him, keeping her in place with a rough grip around her arm.
"Don't you have other people to save?" he pointed to the gerudo girls blindingly trying to find a way out as both the flames and smoke overpowered their vision and breathing.
Link took a glance to them, then to Zelda, glaring at the soulless mask "Give her to me"
"You wouldn't trust me?" he said mockingly, laughing as Link's glare intensified.
"… Get her outside" he said slowly, almost threateningly. The mask turned to the side in amusement.
"Good… Friend" the performer declared, continuing his calm trek down the stairs.
Zelda remained speechless, afraid of Link's reaction towards the man who seemingly didn't wish to bring her any harm. She was pulled down the stairs and turn to see Link's concerned expression disappear in the smoke as he turned to help the remaining girls out of the building "Aren't you going to help him?" she asked as the performer quietly walked them to the first floor; the mask turned around slightly, one empty, bright yellow eye almost staring back at her. Zelda remained quiet, not sure if she wanted to know the answer he could give her 'He'll be safe… Link doesn't need help' she repeated to herself, trying to rid herself of the gripping feeling that the performer had deliberately planned to kill everyone in the building, Link included.
They exited the building through one of the floor windows that had not yet been lit by the flames before they went through. Zelda turned towards the building as the performer let go of her and watched the mayhem. The building was completely covered in flames and screams could still be heard inside, as well as what sounded like concrete falling in other places. Zelda had never heard these noises before and was growing increasingly worried; seconds passed and she could see gerudo women exiting the building, yet there was no sign of Link. She turned to see the performer calmly staring back at the building, barely bothering to move except to make an occasional crunching sound as his head twisted to the sides. Her desperation grew even more when the building started making its own roaring noise; whatever that was, it was bad.
At the sound of screams and threats the performer gripped Zelda's arm harder and dashed to the streets and away from the burning building. Desperate to go back to the building, Zelda clawed and pulled at the masked man's hand which didn't seem to achnowledge her existence at all as the man kept pulling her away from the chasing men,
And away from Link.
LLL
LLL
"Get him!" Zelda could see the men slowly approaching and could feel theperrormer slowing down, allowing her to finally be able to run at a good pace without nearly falling most of the time. The performer came to a sudden halt, turning abruptly and placing Zelda just behind him as he waited for the men to approach. The pursuers finally caught up but then stopped in their tracks, slowly standing a few feet away from the performer, noticing that he had taken a stance with shoulders arched back and his head slightly tilted to the side, facing forward like a predator. The men stood both weary and confused as the performer's masked men arrived, holding chains as they stood on either side of the performer. The pursuer's faces turned from weary to terrified, making Zelda wonder what had cause them to change their attitude before realizing that there was an enormous shadow covering most of the street lights that shone towards them. Zelda turned and gasped in horror at the mechanical monster that stood behind her.
The bull was monstrous, to say the least, and it was apparently made out of giant pieces of scrap metal, with a matching collar which was held together in sections; each section holding the other end of the chain. What amazed Zelda was not the intricate design of the machine, but the fact that it was breathing. Upon closer look, she noticed the beast to be moving as any normal bull would, making the metal screech in complaint as it did. If this horrible creation was indeed alive, Zelda didn't want to know how it happened.
Before the pursuers could even fathom the idea of running away, the masked henchmen pulled on the chains, making them tense before separating the collar that held the monster in place. The beast immediately came ro life, red eyes flashing as it cried in anger, rearing and giving the pursuers just enough time to turn around and flee as the bull charged against them, impaling one against its horns as the others tried not to join him.
Zelda fell to the floor in disbelief as screams of terror began to decorate the streets. The performer turned slightly to her direction before pulling on her arm, silently ordering her to get back up. Zelda obliged and stood up, not wanting to cause whatever posessed him to unleash a monster into the city to haunt her as well.
The masked murderer dragged her through the streets once more and Zelda managed to get a sight of the still burning building with no signs of Link anywhere nearby. There was too much confusion on the street for Zelda to find anyone remotely recognizable, but she tried nonetheless, hoping that Link had gotten out safely. She was confident of this.
Just before the building collapsed on itself.
Faint sounds of screaming were barely even noticed by Zelda as she stared in horror where there once stood a building. She didn't register being dragged forcefully away from the place, nor did she register her own thrashing movements as she tried to return and search through the rubble to assure herself that everything was fine. She did not register screaming all the way through the streets and she did not register being thrown inside an abandoned building, the last image on her mind being the masked performer placing a finger in the middle of the mask as a form of silence as many people soon began to chase after him, guaranteeing more madness in his wake.
Zelda immediately got up and ran to the door, trying to pry it open. She needed to run back to the building. She needed to look for Link. If something had happened to him she would-
The door refused to open, stubbornly clinging to its hinges as if something was holding it in place. She didn't remember the performer locking the door, but that was just one of the many things that didn't matter to her anymore. Looking around the desolate place, she found a chair which she could use to break the window beside the door. She quickly moved to the chair and grabbed it, ready to tear the faded glass to pieces before the door violently blew open, letting someone in before they slammed the door back in place.
Zelda let go of the chair, watching as Link tried to shake debris and ashes off him before looking around and noticing her in the room.
"… He wasn't lying" he said quietly, relieved to see Zelda where the madman had directed him to.
Zelda stood in her spot, staring as he approached her, eyed her for any kind of wound and mentioned a room on the second floor of the house.
"-we won't be able to return to the Cabaret tonight… That psychopath is running rampant through the streets and it's better we don't get caught in his wake" he said as they walked up the stairs and to the only room empty of the house's remains. Link tried uselessly to look for a light source before giving up, figuring the light emanating from the window to the end of the room would have to do. He also noticed a regular-sized bed and a small bathroom to the left. He checked for water and was relieved to find that, despite being abandoned, the water was still running.
He turned to Zelda, finding it increasingly strange that she not only remained quiet, but stayed in a state of disconnection from reality. She didn't seem to be there with him or in the room at all.
"Are you alright?" he asked, turning to face her.
"Fine" she barked. Link stared at her and moved to approach her before she held a hand firmly between them "Go take a bath" she demanded and walked as far away from him as the room would allow.
Link stared at her in shock. Whatever the masked maniac did, if indeed was his doing, Link was going to have to find out about it later.
Zelda didn't want him anywhere near her, and he had no choice but to comply.
