Chapter 12
Her New Life
After being rescued by the mysterious girl from Oliver, Linkle was taken to what appeared to be a campsite in a wooded area, away from James's estate. At first glance, it seemed empty; there was nobody in the area to be seen. Linkle was brought to one of the four good-sized tent's scattered about, where she sat herself down on the grassy floor inside.
"Sorry about how sudden all this is." the girl told Linkle, "I know this is a lot to take in, so I'll give you a moment."
"Um..." Linkle responded, fishing for something to say, "Thanks for saving me."
The girl's eyes lowered a little. She seemed to want to avoid conversation on what had happened in the building where she had saved Linkle. "I'll introduce myself." she said instead, "My name's Lana. What's your name?"
"Linkle."
"...Linkle..."
A moment of silence passed by before Lana continued, "Like I said, I know this all may be a lot to take in. There are some...uh...interesting characters here at camp as well. I don't want you to feel overwhelmed, so I'll stay with you until the others get back."
"The others?"
Lana nodded, "I had two people with me when we broke through the gate to that place. Since there were three buildings, we decided to tackle one each. They should be back soon."
The two stayed where they were for the better part of an hour. From time to time, Lana would glance over at the girl, looking as though she wanted to ask her something. Eventually, a group of girls entered the tent. They seemed to number to about a dozen.
"Linkle?!" Epha called to the girl as she emerged from the crowd.
"Epha?!"
Epha ran over to Linkle and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm so glad you're safe!" she told her.
"Lana." a mature voice called as a woman with darker skin peered into the tent, "I need to talk to you."
"Coming."
Epha turned away from the two, and back to Linkle, "What about the others?" she asked her, "Where are they?"
"I don't know." Linkle said.
"She was probably involved with that commotion outside." one girl told Epha, referring to Linkle, "I saw a whole bunch of the younger girls running around by the fountain area. They were probably separated."
"I'm surprised they didn't catch you." another girl said, "I thought all of you were caught."
Just then, Falla emerged from the crowd.
"Falla!" Linkle called. She jumped to her feet and ran into a shared embrace.
"How did you two escape?" Epha asked.
"James left Falla in our room." Linkle explained, "I was with everyone else, but I hid in a vase in one of the buildings. I think everyone else was caught."
"I see."
"So what's gonna happen now?" Linkle asked.
"That guy over there said he'd take us to a village." a girl explained.
"That's a woman." another girl told her.
"Oh...is she?"
"I...think so...?"
"Linkle." Lana called as she poked her head inside the tent, "Could you come out for a minute?"
Linkle met Lana and the other woman away from the campsite. The massive sword on darker-skinned woman's back held onto her attention. As she stared, she could see that the woman was much taller than both she and Lana.
"I'm sorry to bring this up so suddenly," Lana spoke, "but do you know someone named Link?"
Linkle felt her very blood freeze at the mention of that name. She hadn't heard it spoken since the days of her mother. "Yes." she said.
Lana nodded, as if she was receiving confirmation to something she had already suspected. "You two were separated a while ago, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know where he is now?"
Linkle lowered her head, "No. I'm not even sure if he's still alive..."
"Oh, no," Lana chuckled, "he's still alive. We just don't know where he is."
"How do you know?"
Lana took in a deep breath, and extended her arms to her front. With several waves of her hands, a sky-blue orb manifested in the center of the invisible sphere her hands seemed to draw in the air. As Linkle watched on, she could see the image of a boy within the orb. She couldn't see much of him as he lay in what appeared to be a large cage in a darkened room, but she could tell that he was very angry.
"This is your brother. I can use this orb to look at him whenever I want, but what I see isn't enough for me to guess where he is."
Linkle's wide eyes remained fixated on the orb, even as it vanished into a swirl of blue light.
"We've been looking for your brother for a while now. We finally got a lead while we were in Faron two days ago. One of our friends overheard a conversation about a troublesome pair of siblings who were separated. She heard one was sold to a wealthy man in Eldin, and the other was sold to a man in Lanayru. We decided on Eldin because it was the easier trip."
"Of course," the dark-skinned woman spoke, "this means we'll be going to Lanayru next, so if things go well, you should be seeing your brother soon."
"You mean...you're gonna go save him?"
"...That's what I just said, yes."
The idea of seeing her brother again scared Linkle - she had no idea what to make of it. Though she resolved to leave her past behind her, she still felt as though she took Link's freedom away from him. "Can I go with you?" she asked. She felt that the least she could do for him at this point was help save him from his life of slavery.
"No." the woman answered.
The sudden answer she received stunned Linkle into silence.
"Why not?" Lana asked.
"There are many battles ahead to be fought in the near future. This girl lacks the mental and emotional stability to fight them alongside us."
"So? You weren't mentally capable of fighting either until you were trained to, right?"
"It doesn't matter how well you train her."
"I promise I won't be a burden!" Linkle interrupted, "A-And I don't have to fight! I-I could-...um-"
"It's her brother, Impa." Lana reasoned, "Can't you be more compassionate?"
The woman, Impa, apparently, sighed. After a few seconds of thought, she relented. "All right. But you'd better pull your weight."
"Okay." Linkle nodded, a wave of relief washing over her.
Impa turned to Lana, "I'll head back and see if there are any slaves we missed."
Lana nodded, "I'll take the ones here to the village after I introduce Linkle to the others."
"Very well."
"I'm sure the place is still in a frenzy, so I'll send you to one of the side buildings."
"Alright."
Suddenly, a blue, circular, object appeared over Lana's head. It looked to be segmented into three parts, each moving in a different direction, appearing to trace the surface of an invisible sphere. The strange object moved to hover in front of the three before expanding. Within the edges of the circle the object formed, Linkle could see the familiar sight of the ruined building where Lana had saved her.
"I can't leave the portal here because someone might see it. You and Midna'll have to walk back."
"Alright." Impa nodded, "Have someone make sure the path between here and the property is clear."
"Okay."
Linkle watched on, stunned at what she was seeing as Impa walked into the circle, and into the scene it displayed.
"What is that?" she asked Lana as the circle shrunk in size.
"Oh...uh... I'm not sure how to explain it simply. But one of the things it allows me to do is travel to any place I want."
"Why didn't you use that instead of running back here?"
"I wanted to make sure the path between that mansion and this campsite was still clear." Lana turned toward camp and beckoned Linkle, "C'mon. I wanna introduce you to the others before I take those girls with me."
"Where are you gonna take them?"
"There's a village we take rescued slaves to."
The two re-entered camp, where Lana took Linkle to another large tent.
"Before I bring you in here," Lana spoke in a low voice, "some of the people here look a lot different than you and I do. Try not to freak out if you mistake any of them for a monster or something."
Linkle nodded, silently preparing herself as Lana proceeded inside. "C'mon!" she beckoned with a smile, "Don't tell me you're getting shy now!"
Linkle followed the strange girl inside, freezing in her tracks as she looked around at the two odd-looking creatures inside.
"I thought you didn't want us around the rescued slaves." one of the creatures, the large orange one, said, "What's this?"
"This is Darunia." Lana explained, "He's a Goron."
Linkle had heard of Gorons before. She overheard one of the guards at James's estate talking about wanting to fight one. She had never seen one before until now.
"This is Ruto." Lana continued, extending an arm toward some sort of effeminate blue humanoid, "She's a Zora."
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ruto told Linkle, extending a hand.
Linkle shook Ruto's hand. It felt cold and wet.
"This is Tingle. We'd be lost without him. Literally! He made us a map of Hyrule that we use when we get around."
The short man's eyes lit up the second he layed eyes on Linkle, "A fairy!"
Everyone looked at Tingle.
"What's a fairy?" asked Linkle.
"Don't worry about it." Lana told her. She looked at Tingle, "She's not a fairy, Tingle, she's a Hylian."
"What's a Hylian?" Linkle asked.
"How do you not know what a Hylian is?" asked Darunia.
"It's because all they're ever referred to are 'Elves'." Lana explained.
"Well, what's an 'Elf'?"
"Could we talk about this later?" asked a blonde girl, who looked to be around Linkle's age, "Lana hasn't introduced me yet!"
"And this," Lana said, stepping to the side, and arm extended toward the girl, "is Agitha."
"Ahem!"
"Oh! Uh...Princess Agitha."
"Ahem!"
"...Princess Agitha of the 'insect kingdom'."
"A princess?" Linkle repeated.
"U-huh!" Agitha nodded gleefully, "It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Are you related to the Royal Family?"
Everyone paused.
"What royal family?" Agitha asked.
"Would it be bad if she was?" asked Darunia.
"Well...I heard the Royal Family were bad people."
"Do you mean Princess Zelda's family?" Agitha asked.
Linkle nodded.
"No, she isn't," Lana answered, "Anyway, I introduced you to everyone that's here. Impa and another one of our friends are out checking to see if there are any slaves they missed."
"Wait," Darunia cut in, "she's gonna be joining us?"
"Oh!" Lana chuckled, "I haven't introduced her to you. This is Linkle - Link's younger sister!"
Darunia and Ruto looked over at the girl, wide-eyed.
"Link has a sister?" Darunia asked, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"Do you guys know my brother?" Linkle asked.
"Well," Ruto sighed, "technically, yes, but...no?"
"I'll explain everything when I get back." Lana said. She turned to leave, "Get along now!"
"Wait!" Linkle called, "I wanna say bye to my friends first!"
Lana nodded with a smile, "Okay. Oh! And before I forget: Agitha, we need you to go see if the path between here and that mansion is clear."
Agitha threw her head back and groaned as Lana took Linkle back to her friends. By now, the fact that the girls inside were free had finally set in. They were buzzing as they sat in a near circle inside.
"I still can't beleive we're out of that place!" Epha gushed as Linkle sat next to she and Falla, "I can't wait until the others get here!"
"There's something I have to tell you guys." Linkle said.
"What is it?"
Linkle took a deep breath, "I'm staying."
The smile Falla had worn since she and Linkle reunited faded.
"You're...staying?" Epha nearly whispered, "Why?"
"My brother's still out there." Linkle said, her expression hardened by resolve, "I...feel like I should be the one who saves him. It'll make up for me being such a burden to him for so long."
"Are you sure you wanna do this?" Epha pressed before motioning toward Lana, "You know who that girl is, don't you?"
Linkle looked back at Lana. The strange girl waved at her as she waited patiently for Linkle to finish.
"No," Linkle said, "who is she?"
"That's the White Sorceress! I heard about her a long time ago!" Epha lowered her voice, "They say she's dangerous! And apparently she's been going around freeing slaves from all over! That's why I'm so worried about you doing this!"
"I have to." Linkle said. She turned to Falla, "Do you wanna come too? I'm sure your friend's still out there! We can save her together!"
Falla's eyes lowered, the light of spunk having left her eyes after James took her tongue, never to return. She shook her said, prompting Linkle's shoulders to slump.
"You two've really changed." Epha said suddenly, "Especialy you, Linkle. Before I left you guys, you were so quiet and timid. And now you're putting yourself in danger to save your brother. It's like you and Falla switched personalities."
Falla frowned at the notion. She pointed at her opening mouth, as if to remind Epha of her inability to speak.
"I'm gonna miss you guys." Linkle said.
"You'll come back to us after you've saved your brother, right?"
Linkle nodded, "Right."
The three shared a farewell embrace.
"Alright!" one of the older girls said, "Group hug!"
"They don't even know you." said another.
"Bye..." Linkle waved as she rose to leave.
"Bye." Epha said back, accompanied by a wave from Falla.
"Alright, girls!" Lana announced as Linkle made her exit, "Don't be alarmed at what you see, but..."
Linkle made her way outside as Lana carried on. She took a deep breath as she paused in front of the tent where her future allies were staying, her fingers curling into moistening palms.
She had decided that she wanted to get to know these people - she didn't want a repeat of two years ago, when she met her roommates at James's estate. She forced herself inside, and with a single breath said:
"Himyname'sLinkle!"
The others stopped what they were doing and looked at her.
"Yes," Ruto responded, "we know. Do you not remember being introduced to us earlier?"
Linkle froze, "U-Um..."
"So what's your brother like?" asked Darunia.
"Oh! He's-...uh..."
The blinking of her eyes was only movement Linkle made as she reached deep into her memories for an answer. And that was when she realized...
She had never really gotten to know her brother...
All she could remember was how distant he was with her, and how cold he had treated her after their mother died. Linkle shook her head.
No...don't think about any of that...it's all in the past.
"I never really got to know my brother." Linkle admitted.
"Huh." Darunia responded.
"Well, on the bright side," Ruto said, "that's one more thing to look forward to once we save him."
"In the meantime," Darunia added, "we'll be your brothers!"
Linkle blinked a few times, confused. "Huh?"
"Yeah!" he continued, "That's how it is in the Goron Tribe! We're all each other's brother!"
"But I'm a girl..."
"And besides," Ruto cut in, "she's not a Goron."
"You guys are missing the point..."
"Ooh, I know!" Agitha said, as she stopped by the tent's entryway, "How about 'we'll be close like my insect subjects'!"
"And now we're being likened to bugs," Ruto sighed, "Perhaps next someone will say 'we'll be closer than the dirt beneath our feet'."
"Well, what would you say?" Darunia asked.
Linkle couldn't help but laugh at this interaction. What was she so worried about? Sure they may look different, but being with her new allies was just like it was being with her old roommates.
They weren't able to find a good way to say it, but Linkle still felt the same way they did. She felt that they were all going to be great friends.
Thomas opened the door to the room where he kept the most stubborn slave he had ever been given. Inside, he was immediately greeted by another one of his slaves, the one he had trained to act as a dog in his presence. He smirked, "Hello, Fido." He looked over at the Link's cage, and sure enough, the boy was glaring daggers at him.
Thomas answered with a sneer. Somewhere in the past two years, perhaps, him trying to "tame" Link went from him simply doing his job, to some form of competition.
Yes...a competition. One where he would win once he had successfully broken the boy.
"I've been seeing one of your slaves for the last few years."
"Link. We've become close friends."
What a fool. Surely he thought in that tiny brain of his that he could have some sort of future with Malon. Surely he imagined what it would be like to have a woman like her to do with whatever he pleased. How shocked, how heartbroken, the boy would be to learn that Malon was now his, and his alone.
Thomas turned to leave.
Yes...this thing between them had turned into a competition. But he no longer needed to break him to win. Because he had already beaten him as a man.
Lana and Impa had returned to the campsite at about the same time. The sun had begun to set, reminding the two of them they had precious little time to clear out before the Hyrulean authorities zeroed in on their location.
"Did you get the girls to the village?" Impa asked Lana.
"M-hm!" Did you miss any slaves?"
Impa hesitated, "That's what I wanted to speak to you about."
Elsewhere, the conversation between Linkle and her new friends went from how they would describe their relationship, to why they weren't allowed to be around the rescued slaves.
"Lana says that we'd scare them." Darunia explained, "She thinks they're already overwhelmed by the fact that they're free, and that seeing us would be 'overkill'."
"Well," a new voice interjected, "can you blame them?"
Just then, some kind of impish creature opened the tent, floating - yes, floating - inside. They paused as they saw Linkle.
"Whose kid did you guys kidnap?" a feminine voice asked.
"Linkle," Ruto told the girl as she stared, "this is Midna. She is quite the character, as I'm sure you'll come to find out."
"Linkle, huh?" Midna said as she floated closer, "I'm pretty sure Mama Bear was supposed to take the slaves to the village."
"'Mama Bear'?" Linkle repeated.
"She means Lana." Ruto explained, "It's a long story."
"She's gonna be joining us." Darunia told Midna.
"What?" Midna chuckled, "This kid's gonna be fighting with us?" She turned to Linkle, "How old are you? Twelve?"
"Fourteen."
"...Huh. So why did you wanna come with us, anyway?"
"Apparently, this is Link's younger sister." Ruto answered, "You are younger, aren't you?"
Linkle nodded, "I...well, I wanted to help save him."
"...You're a good sister." Midna said.
Just then, Lana and Impa entered the tent.
"We need to pack our things." Impa told everyone, "It won't be long before the authorities come looking through here."
"Where are the others?" Linkle asked.
Impa looked over at her, silent.
Linkle continued, "...Did...you see them?"
"Come outside," Lana told her.
The two met further away from the tent holding the others as Impa gave instructions to her allies. The look on Lana's face as she searched for a way to begin her sentence worried Linkle, hinting at the sort of news she would receive.
"From what I've gathered," Lana started after a sigh, "you and your friends were in the middle of an escape by the time we saved you all, right?"
"Yeah," Linkle nodded, "but not all of us, though. The other girls you saved weren't with me."
Lana sighed again, "Well...when Impa went back, she found your friends...but...they were dead."
The words were like a sudden knife to the heart.
"Some of them had been shot," Lana continued, "and some were found by monsters. If any of them were still alive, Impa would have found them... I'm sorry..."
Linkle's lips quivered as the first sob passed them by, tears following thereafter as her head lowered.
Aesha...Shyla...even the girls she had been running with before finding a hiding place in the ruined building... They were all dead... She had just seen them all that morning, and now they were dead...
The pain was barely dulled by surprise as Linkle felt Lana's arms encase her in an embrace. The two lowered to the ground as the former wept into the shoulder of the latter.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Franklin asked as he sat on a stool next to Thomas.
"Two cups," Thomas told the bartender before looking at his friend, "I wanted to talk to you about our next event at the end of the week."
"What about it?"
"You know that boy Williamson came to see?"
"Yeah. What about him?"
"I wanted to remove him from our next event."
Franklin stared, puzzled, "Why? Isn't he our money-maker?"
"Yes. But I think too much of a good thing may be a bad thing. We should have them wait to see him. Maybe feature him once a month, and have a revolving number of slaves we use each week."
"...Um...whatever you say. You're the mastermind, after all."
"You look worried."
"I'm just not sure about taking that boy out of the event. I mean, isn't he the reason we're doing this in the first place?"
"Well, sure, but the people aren't gonna want to see me fail to tame a slave every week. It could be bad for business - slave owners may lose faith in me."
"...I...guess I understand."
"Alright. I'm gonna hurry here and head home. Gotta get started on fliers."
"I'll do the fliers." Franklin volunteered.
"You sure?"
"Yeah. Gotta feel like I'm doing something to help."
Thomas chuckled, "Well alright then. Guess that'll give me more time for what I want."
"What, did you have something planned for tonight?"
Thomas's signature smirk spread across his face, "Heh...something like that."
Link eased himself down against the apple tree, mindful of the wounds on his back from the previous day. He released his breath. Getting around was absurdly painful, but he couldn't sit in that dark room and listen to the other slaves there tell him how futile his resistance to Thomas was. He much preferred Malon's company, despite how bitter their last meeting was.
Speaking of which...where was she?
Link looked up at the setting sun. Well, he was later than usual. Perhaps Malon grew tired of waiting on him and left for home. Or maybe something came up at home, and left her unable to see him that day. It wouldn't be the first time after all.
Or...maybe it was because of their last meeting?
Link immediately dismissed the notion. He had done nothing wrong, he decided. However Malon felt about what he said to her was her own fault. He let out a sigh, deciding to enjoy the sunset as he awaited her hopeful arrival.
Thomas and Franklin concluded their meeting after a few hours. Thomas made sure to make it home by sunset, all in anticipation for the visitor he had been looking forward to seeing the entire day.
Malon's face pointed downward as Thomas answered the door, a grin across his own.
"So you came."
Malon said nothing in response.
"You must really care about that boy..."
Malon continued her silence, her head still lowered in an attempt at hiding her shame.
"Come in." Thomas told her.
The two situated themselves in the living room, where they sat in silence for several minutes. Thomas watched Malon closely. The girl had yet to so much as speak to him as she watched the floor.
"Do you love him?" he asked suddenly.
Malon tensed up at the question, her face burning as blood rushed to her cheeks.
Thomas chuckled, "That's okay," he said, "I'll fix that. Come with me."
Malon finally rose her head, watching as Thomas vanished around a corner, and into a hall to the left. She took a deep breath, trying desperately, though in vain, to calm herself as she rose to her feet to follow him. The two made their way into the right room at the end of the hallway.
"I was supposed to make fliers to advertise my next event at the end of the week, but a friend's taking care of that for me. Which frees the entire night for us."
Malon glanced around. Thomas had brought her to a bedroom.
"Have you ever been with a man before?" Thomas asked her.
"...What do you mean?" Malon forced herself to ask.
"As much as you help your father around the ranch, I'm sure you know. The birds and the bees?"
"...No, I've never done that before."
"Well if you're going to be my woman, then I'll have to brief you on the things you have to do to satisfy a man."
At a glance, one would say Malon's face had frozen, as if time itself had come to an abrupt halt. In reality, Malon was trying desperately to to keep her cool.
"Take off your clothes."
The sentence was a blow that Malon's composure simply could not withstand. Her mouth opened in shock, her eyes widening as they rose to meet the man who gave her an order she never expected this soon. She looked down at her attire, at her clothing items, none of which she was willing to part with.
"No." Thomas interrupted, "Better yet, I'll do it myself."
The poor girl trembled as the man approached her, emotions threatening to overflow from within.
First, Thomas removed her odd-looking brooch, followed by her scarf. He stepped back to look at her, his eyes scanning her body like a child would a present yet to be unwrapped.
Malon tried her hardest to mentally remove herself from the situation, thinking instead of the boy for whose sake she chose to endure this treatment.
Next, Thomas aimed for her belt, untucking her shirt as it hit the floor beneath. He breathed out, not trying whatsoever to hide his excitement as he grabbed at her breasts slowly and gently at first before his groping grew more vigorous.
"Lie down."
The request - nay, the command - snapped her back into reality. She looked up at him as if she hadn't heard him.
"Don't worry," he said, a lascivious grin spread across his face, "I'll be gentle."
Malon stared up at the ceiling as Thomas moved to sit on the edge of his bed. Her eyes were as wide as saucers as what she had just done sunk in while she recovered from a climax she had never before experienced.
"You can use the shower to clean yourself off," Thomas told her.
Malon took in air, and released it as a trembling breath, all the while reminding herself:
I did it for Link. I did it for Link. I did it for Link.
It wasn't much, but it kept her from breaking down on the spot.
"Will you keep your promise?" Malon asked as Thomas entered the hallway.
"I intend to," he answered, "Just as long as you keep up your end of the bargain."
Malon let out another sigh. This one, of relief.
She had done it. She had finally done it. For years, she watched Link come to her, bringing with him a new injury seemingly with every visit. Every day, she wished she could do something to help, to protect him from the harm Thomas would inflict upon him. And now she could do just that. And she was willing to keep protecting him from now on, no matter how she had to do it.
The next morning...
The previous day, Lana, Impa, and the others packed all their supplies into a number of wooden crates leaving the tents, blankets, and pillows they used as they slept through the night, before they were to leave their campsite at sunrise.
Linkle sat against a tree as the others finished packing, sniffling as she recovered from the shock of learning of her friends' deaths. She had been given more time to grieve their loss.
"Hey."
Linkle looked up at Lana as she dropped to a knee in front of her.
"Feeling any better?" Lana asked.
Linkle shook her head.
Lana moved to sit next to the girl. "I know how terrible you must feel. If you ever need an ear, one of us will always be willing to listen. We all understand how you feel."
Linkle sniffed, "You do?"
"...When I was younger, Hyrule was at war. In my village, I was a healer. We used magic to heal the wounds of those who were able to make it back. But...our magic wasn't perfect. Sometimes, I leave scars, and I can't heal broken bones... We weren't always able to save who we were healing. I've seen many people from my clan die because my magic wasn't good enough..."
"...I'm sorry." Linkle said.
Lana looked at her, "What?"
"I'm sorry that happened to you. I can't imagine-"
"Hey, I'm trying to cheer you up here!"
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to-"
"Linkle. Linkle. It's okay. Look, the point is, we understand how your feeling. And it's not just me. You see Midna over there?"
Linkle followed Lana's finger to the impish creature. She stopped in her tracks and looked back at them, her eyes narrowing accusingly.
"When her father was usurped, her entire family was killed. And look over there."
Linkle glanced over at Ruto. The Zora struggled to carry a wooden crate to a freight wagon.
"Her father was killed by our enemies. They were trying to instigate a war between the Zora and the Gorons."
"What do you mean our 'enemies'?"
Lana stared forward for a moment. "You know who Ganondorf is, right?"
Linkle nodded. There may not be a single Elf, or Hylian as Lana referred to her kind, who didn't know who Ganondorf was.
"Well he's one of them. And there are five very powerful people under him who are looking for us."
"Who are they?"
Ganondorf paused on his way to the conference room, his gaze gravitating toward a window. Outside, he could see Castle Town, as well as its residents, going about their day with little to no care.
The thought of how far he had come was the first to cross his mind, followed by how far he still had to go.
Not much longer... He was almost there...
Ganondorf passed through two large doors, and into the room on the other side. Already inside were the Disciples of Dragmire.
"Good morning, Your Majesty."
Ganondorf glanced over at Francis, of the Disciples. He looked as just as young as he did the day they met, years upon years ago.
Francis was the unofficial leader of the Disciples of Dragmire. It was he who lead the Humans from their previous home, and through the vast desert beyond the Gerudo Desert, where they were found by Ganondorf. The other Disciples were chosen for their position by Francis after Ganondorf usurped King Eran (pronounced "er-RAHN"), the last king of Old Hyrule. He and the other Disciples were given life eternal shortly after. Ganondorf held very few to a high regard, but he had always admired Francis's resolve.
The others chosen included Herbert, the first person chosen, mainly for his keen intellect.
George was another chosen, due to his role in ensuring the Humans' survival during their journey through the deserts outside of Hyrule.
Gerald was recommended to Francis by Herbert because of how his no-nonsense attitude would help the Disciples as a group.
The last Disciple to be picked was a man named Robert, out of appreciation for his quick-wittedness.
Behind Ganondorf, entered a woman. Her skin was bronze, and what passed as her clothing, pitch black. A mask of a matching color covered a face none other than Ganondorf have ever seen.
"The others are late," she said.
This woman's name was Cia, and she was among the group of individuals who, for hundreds of years, served as Ganondorf's sword and shield as he reigned over Hyrule.
Not even a second later, a tall man appeared in the room from nowhere, a cloud of diamond shapes announcing his arrival.
"Greetings, Master."
This was Ghirahim, the man who killed Link and Linkle's mother.
Just then, another man appeared, in the same way Ghirahim had, and gave a greeting identical to his through the large helmet he wore.
This was Zant, the ruler of the Twilight Realm. He was only one of two Saints who only appeared for matters of great importance.
The next to appear was a creature who appeared to be hunched over, it's body covered in violet robes. "Sorry I'm late," he said.
This was Wizzro, a mysterious wizard who very few in the history of Hyrule knew of, even after he had been labeled a Saint. He was the one who found the body of the Saint the White Sorceress killed five hundred years ago, and reported missing the article responsible for her reputation among the Hyrulean commonfolk, Majora's Mask.
Another pair of doors, in the corner opposite the ones Ganondorf entered through, opened, and through them entered a large man. He paused, offering a glance at all those present.
"Hmph."
This was Volga, the fearsome Dragon Knight. He spends his days in Death Mountain, keeping watch over the Gorons. He offered them freedom if they could defeat him in combat, all for the mere sake of entertainment, for battling was one of the few things he cared for. He was the second of two Saints who only appeared for matters of great importance.
In this room, generally, the five Disciples of Dragmire would meet to discuss the happenings of the kingdom as a whole, discuss new laws they wished to implement, or to simply meet and socialize, usually talking openly about their past. On rare occasions such as this, however, they would be joined by the Saints and even Ganondorf himself. This would only happen when matters of great importance needed to be discussed. That was when one chair - two in recent instances - were added to the table to accommodate for the increase in numbers.
The Disciples stood against any of the four walls as Ganondorf and the Saints took their seats...
...and awaited the sixth Saint.
The clicking of her footwear on the floor announced her impending arrival.
This girl was the only Saint who was known to mostly every resident of Hyrule, and was hated by nearly every one of them, Humans and slaves alike. She was made a Saint by Ganondorf himself as reward for exposing the plot of Colm, the Regional Lord of Eldin, which would have resulted in pitting younger Humans against the idea of slavery for Hylians, and by extension, the older generation who supported the idea. Despite Colm being her grandfather, she would go on to execute him herself. Many people were unsurprised by this, however, because treachery seemed to run in her family. To the kingdom at large, her mother was a whore who betrayed her marriage for personal gain, and her father attempted an assassination on Ganondorf, thus betraying the entire kingdom of Hyrule, as well as the contract forged by Ganondorf, and Princess Zelda of Old Hyrule, five-hundred years ago. These cases were merely among the more recent betrayals by said family.
This girl walked into the room, meeting the scornful gazes aimed at her with a stoic indifference, as though she saw all those inside as unworthy of her concern.
This girl was a young one of short stature. Her attire was as black as many would say her very soul was. It was a long-sleeved tunic, the yoke as golden as her long blonde hair. A black cape pinned to her shoulders by a twin set of gold epaulettes added a royal elegance to her look. Her black skirt was held to her waist by an extravagant gold belt, and extended to just above her knees. The form of her legs was traced by black tights that tucked into brown boots that topped halfway up her calves. Her gold bangs parted as they hung over her forehead, as if to show off the large ruby that adorned a tiara that matched her hair in color as it wrapped around her head. Her round eyes suggested an innocence that betrayed her reputation.
This girl was Princess Zelda, and she was the Sixth Saint of Dragmire.
To Be Continued!
Bonus Chapter
Mother; Part 1
Onia leaned against a wall as she slid down to the floor. The sound of whistling drew her attention to the doorway of the humble, single-room shack she called her home.
"Mes-sy," Onia's sister, Nima, said, referring to their home, "Onia," she directed, "go ahead and start sweeping the floor. I'll straighten up the bed."
"You can't do that!" Onia told her through a frown, "It's your turn to sweep the floor!"
"No it isn't - Mom swept the floor last time."
"Well you still can't decide who does what - you're not Mom!"
"But I am the oldest."
"We're twins!"
"So? I'm still older than you."
Onia and Nima were twin sisters living with their mother in Faron - near the southern provincial border of Central Hyrule. They lived in a forest, where their jobs were to chop wood. Every so often, the girls would track debris from their hours-long jobs into their homes. Their mother generally worked for much longer than the twins did, so she left it to them to sweep the twins' owner owned a large sum of land throughout the area. As such, his slaves' living quarters were scattered about his property.
"Why do I have to sweep the floor?!" Onia argued, "You never sweep!"
"Because your big sister told you to do it!" Nima argued back, "And if you don't get started soon, Mom's gonna come back before you finish!"
The twins may look identical, but the same was in no way applicable to their personalities. Nima was what her fellow slaves called a "ballsy tomboy" - she was never afraid to get into a scuffle with even the boys they worked with on occasion. Splinters and scrapes of the knees and elbows seemed to go unnoticed by her as well. Onia, in contrast, was much more timid than her twin. Her temperament leaned closer to what more traditional individuals expected of a ten year old girl like her, though one would never discern as much due to her habitual bickering with her sister.
The twins' mother was named Shea (pronounced SHAY-uh). On most days, she collected all the wood that had been chopped between the three of them, and took it to their owner's cabin near the center of his territory. This is out of fear over the many monsters roaming the Faron Province, as it was the province with the highest population of monsters. This allows the twins to get home early, usually before nighttime, when the monsters were most active.
"Well I'm not sweeping the floor!" Onia told her sister.
"Fine then!" Nima responded, "I'm not doing it either!"
Just then, their mother - Shea - appeared by the doorway. She stared down her daughters as they looked back at her, panic having frozen their bodies over.
"Why isn't the floor swept?" she asked.
The twins' stupor delayed any form of response.
"Well," Onia started, "Nima kept telling me to sweep the floor, even though she never does it herself!"
"I was just teaching her to listen to her big si-"
"Nima, sweep the floor."
"Yes, Mom."
"I don't wanna come back and see this floor not swept." Shea announced as Nima scrambled for the broom in the corner of the room, "Now, next, Onia will sweep. And then Nima, and then Onia again. Do you two understand?"
"Yes, Mom," both twins spoke up.