CHAPTER 7: FIERY RAGE
A strong, young man strutted through Hyrule castle, his long, green cloak swinging from side-to-side. There was a large Triforce symbol on the back of his cloak, indicating that he was in the Hyrulian army. He wore black khakis, and dark brown boots.
He stomped through the halls, searching to find the room where the court held their meetings. He knew that they were talking about him right now.
Finally, he finally found the double doors to the court room. He burst through the entrance, startling the court members mid-conversation.
"W-what on Earth?" one of the court members stammered. "You cannot just simply barge in here like that! These are private conversations that you should not be hearing-"
"You're not discussing possible options for me to marry, are you?" the man interrupted, his eyes widening in anger.
The court members nervously glanced at each other.
"General," another court member started. "You are almost twenty-two years old. It is about time that you start to actually consider some options that we have for you."
The general closed his eyes in frustration, clenching his fists.
"I don't care about your pathetic options," he spat, clenching his teeth together. "I don't care about any of it. I am simply not just going to marry someone for the sake of duty."
The head of the court, Darrien, stood up and made direct eye contact with the general.
"How dare you speak to us that way," he said angrily, pointing his finger at the general. "How dare you so ignorantly disregard your duties. You are responsible for taking the throne in the proper way you are supposed to. We cannot afford to leave this kingdom with just one ruler for another year. It is time you stop with these childish games and begin to actually consider your future."
The general pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly irritated.
"I am just a little irritated at the fact that I have other men discussing my future," he stated, throwing his hands in the air.
"General Jack, with all due respect, we simply have no other options," Darrien argued. "Your father left your mother without any other children besides you, who could've actually considered marrying someone. But, unfortunately, that's not the case. You are Hyrule's last hope for unity."
Moments of tense silence passed as Jack began to process Darrien's words. There was absolutely no getting out of this.
Suddenly, Jack abruptly turned around and walked out of the court room, dramatically slamming the doors behind him. He was too drained to even try and argue.
Jack stomped all the way up to his chambers, growing angrier and angrier the more he walked. He quickly walked into his chambers, slamming the door behind him.
"My, my, aren't you a fiery one today."
As if Jack was unfazed by the random voice in his room, he casually turned around, rolling his eyes to the back of his head.
"Gods, do you ever shut up?" Jack snapped. "Leave me alone."
Jack walked to his mirror, quickly fixing his hair and studying his features. He looked a lot different than the awkward, lanky kid he was six years ago. He grew about four more inches, now standing at over six feet tall. He doubled in size with muscle, with his jaw extremely defined. He had two silver hoops through his ears, and one diamond stud earring pierced through his right cartilage. His hair was now a bit longer, stopping at the nape of his neck and curling up at the bottom. His dark, thick hair now grew over his ears, also curling up at the bottom. His hair was neatly parted on the side of his head, framing his face perfectly. There was no denying that Jack grew up to be incredibly attractive.
"Why so snippy?" the voice teased. "I'm only kidding."
Jack rolled his eyes again. He studied his facial features, making sure everything looked perfect.
Suddenly, a cloud of darkness moved into the reflection of the mirror.
"Can you get out of the way," Jack snapped, trying to see his face.
"You are so obsessed with your appearance," the darkness said. "You're practically a woman."
Jack sealed his lips shut and closed his eyes in frustration. He stopped looking at himself in the mirror and walked over to his enormous bed. The darkness followed him, floating beside him as Jack sat down.
"I see that you're a little against marrying someone," the darkness said. "You don't want to get married? Settle down with a woman?"
Jack huffed in frustration.
"No, I find no desire to do so," Jack stated. "I find it nauseating having to spend the rest of my life with one person."
The darkness only laughed in response.
"That's because you're an absolute whore."
Jack snapped his head towards the cloud of darkness, his eyes widening in anger.
"You know nothing about me," he hissed. "You don't know a thing-"
"Oh, but I do," the darkness stated casually. "I know every single little thing about you. You should know this by now."
Jack clenched his jaw tightly. He then angrily threw off his cloak, tossing it carelessly to the side.
"You're going to have to marry someone if you want to accomplish your goal," the darkness continued. "You'll be better aided in your search."
Jack sighed, knowing very well that the dark spirit was right.
"It would also probably break your mother's heart," the spirit continued. "That poor woman. She's already stressed enough."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Like you care."
The darkness only snickered in response.
"That woman is a complete mess. It's probably better that you're taking her place-"
"Don't talk about her that way," Jack threatened dangerously.
The cloud scoffed.
"What are you gonna do?" the darkness teased. "You're nothing without me. Without me, you wouldn't have been even strong enough to lead that pathetic army of yours."
Jack angrily clenched his fingers together, his fingernails digging into his palms.
"I'm done talking with you," Jack said lowly. "I'll see you tomorrow."
The darkness snickered. Suddenly, the cloud disappeared out of thin air, like it was never in the room to begin with.
"Your highness? Your highness! Are you alright in there?"
A maid frantically knocked on the doors leading into the Queen's chambers. It was already eleven o'clock, and she was supposed to be up.
The maid heard an irritated groan from inside the room. The maid sighed and knocked again. She dealt with this constantly.
"Your highness! You need to get up! The court wishes to speak with you!"
The maid heard another irritated groan in reply.
"Alright!" the maid shouted through the door. "If you don't open this door, then I'm coming in!"
The maid waited for a response. She heard nothing.
"Alright! I'm coming in!"
The maid slowly opened the door and walked inside the Queen's bed chambers, shutting the door behind her.
"Queen Zelda?" the maid questioned, inching slowly towards Zelda's bed. "Are you alright?"
"Just…go away Jessica," Zelda mumbled into her pillow.
Jessica sighed and attempted to smooth out the wrinkles in her dress. She noticed a large bottle of wine on Zelda's nightstand. It was completely empty.
Zelda lay face down onto her bed, her face buried in her pillow. Her legs were sprawled out at a weird angle and her feet stuck out from under her covers. Her hair was messy and frizzy, sticking up everywhere.
"Your highness," Jessica said soothingly, walking over to her and shaking her gently. "It's time to get up. I'll help you get ready."
Zelda groaned into her pillow and then finally dragged herself out of her bed. She stood up, pressing the palm of her hand to her forehead.
"Gosh, what time is it?" she asked Jessica, sounding extremely tired.
"It's eleven o'clock, your highness," Jessica told her politely. "Come. I can help you get yourself ready to see the court-"
"I thought I told you to stop addressing me formally," Zelda interrupted, slurring her words a bit. "Just call me Zelda, for gods sake."
Jessica sighed, drooping her shoulders in annoyance.
"Alright, Zelda, please come to the bathroom so I can get you ready."
Jessica took Zelda's hand and walked her into the bathroom. She then let go of Zelda's hand and went to grab a hairbrush.
"Why do you have to brush my hair like I'm some baby," Zelda complained, obviously slurring her words. "Give me the brush."
Zelda turned around and attempted to take the brush from Jessica. Jessica backed away from her, trying to keep Zelda from taking the brush away.
"Your highness, are you drunk?" Jessica asked nervously.
"I thought I told you to call me Zelda," she slurred.
Jessica huffed out in frustration.
"What did I tell you about day-drinking?" Jessica scolded. "You simply cannot just down a bottle of wine and expect to get through the day!"
Zelda rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Oh, please. I'm not even drunk. You're just being ridiculous."
"Your highness, with all due respect, your behavior is extremely noticeable, along with the way you smell-"
"I just told you to call me Zelda!" Zelda shouted angrily, throwing her hands up in the air.
"Alright, alright," Jessica said quickly. "I'm sorry. I'll call you Zelda from now on. I promise I won't forget."
Zelda nodded in approval.
"Thank you," she said. "You can start whatever you were trying to do now."
Jessica gently grabbed Zelda's hair and began to detangle it. Jessica then got Zelda changed into a casual, white dress, accessorizing it with a silver necklace. She then applied mascara to Zelda's long eyelashes, making her eyes pop out a bit more than normal. After she was done, Zelda studied herself in the mirror.
"I look like shit," she stated harshly. "I hate my hair."
Zelda's hair was now shoulder length, with short bangs to frame her face. Her face and body type remained unchanged, except for the few wrinkles she had around her eyes. Her skin was still pale and soft, having taken good care of it since she was a child. She was still beautiful, despite of what she constantly said about herself. She didn't look a day over thirty-five.
"You look wonderful, Zelda," the maid replied sweetly.
Zelda waved her off, not believing a word she said.
"Yeah, right."
Moments of comfortable silence lingered between them. Zelda still continued to stare at herself in the mirror.
"Um, your high- Zelda?" Jessica asked nervously. "Would you like me to call off your meeting with the court today? I really don't think it's a good idea to meet with them in your, um, state."
"Yes, please," Zelda replied, sighing with relief. "I cannot deal with those snobs any longer."
Jessica chuckled quietly.
"I'll do that then. Would you like me to escort you down to the dining hall?"
Zelda rapidly shook her head.
"I don't wanna go down there," she mumbled. "I'm not hungry."
Jessica sighed.
"At least try and drink some water," she recommend. "Maybe I could try and bring your breakfast up to you-"
Zelda suddenly threw her arms around Jessica, holding her tightly. Pretty much used to the random affection from the Queen, Jessica hugged her back.
"Thank you for being here," Zelda slurred. "I'm so glad you're here. You're like my best friend. I'm so glad you became my personal maid after he left."
Jessica closed her eyes, feeling sorrowful for the Queen. She had been through so much.
"I'm glad I'm here too," she replied. "I love talking to you."
Zelda reluctantly pulled back from the hug and gave Jessica a lopsided smile. She then stumbled out of the bathroom and jumped back into her bed.
A firm knock came from outside Zelda's chambers.
"Who is it?" she mumbled.
"It's Jack," a deep voice outside her door answered.
"Okay, come in."
Jack opened the door to her chambers and quickly shut it behind him. He then walked over to her bed, sitting on the edge of it.
"Gods, mom," he started, noticing the empty wine bottle on her nightstand. "You need to get yourself together."
"Oh, please," she slurred, her face planted in her pillow. "I'm completely fine."
Jack sighed and handed her the glass of water that sat on her nightstand.
"Here," he said. "Drink this. Please."
Zelda sat up and crossed her legs together, grabbing the glass from her son. She then began to chug the water, not stopping for any breaks before finishing the glass.
"I'm sorry," she said, placing the empty glass of water back on her nightstand. "I just dread having to meet with the court."
"Mom, I hate meeting with the court too," Jack stated. "But I don't drink away my annoyance."
Zelda pinched the bridge of her nose.
"You called off your meeting, right?" Jack asked. "You cannot just simply not show up-"
"Jessica called it off," she interrupted. "It's fine."
Jack sighed with relief.
"You need to stop drinking," he stated. "I'm not the only one worried for your state. The people in the castle know."
Zelda pressed a hand to her forehead.
"Whatever," she mumbled. "I'm fine."
She buried her face in her pillow again and sprawled her body across the bed, facing away from Jack. Moments of silence passed between them.
"Jack?" Zelda slurred, breaking the silence.
"Yes?" Jack replied.
"Do you miss your father?"
Jack's eyes suddenly widened in anger. He clenched his fists, digging his fingernails into his palms.
"No," Jack finally answered after a few beats of silence. "To hell with him."
Ralio and Barnes sat in Link's living room, awkwardly looking around his house. Barnes shifted uncomfortably on the couch, clearly feeling a little awkward.
Barnes was a big, beefy man with huge hands and huge arms. His hair was jet-black, cut into a short mohawk. He stood at almost six feet and seven inches, practically towering over everybody in the Hyrulian army. Despite his intimidating size and strength, Barnes was quite anxious, nervously blurting things out whenever he could.
A dog barked loudly from Link's room, seemingly trying to claw its way through the door.
"Ace! Quiet down in there!" Link shouted.
Barnes scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. More silence lingered between the three men.
"So, uh, how have you been?" Barnes finally said, breaking the silence.
Link just blankly stared at him, sitting in the chair of his kitchen table. Ralio face-palmed immediately, dragging his hand down his face.
"That's seriously the first thing you ask him?" Ralio hissed. "That's what you ask the long-lost King who's been gone for years? How have you been?"
"I don't know!" Barnes said, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's just a question-"
"I've been fine," Link interrupted, answering his question.
"Oh!" Barnes blubbered, a little surprised that Link actually. "That's…good."
Ralio rolled his eyes to the back of his head in annoyance.
"Sorry about this guy," Ralio said to Link, jabbing his thumb towards Barnes. "He's a complete idiot."
"Hey!" Barnes shouted, clearly offended. "It was your idea to follow him out here! Don't call me the idiot!"
"How am I the idiot? I'm the one who found him! I did something in one day that the whole entire castle couldn't do for six years!"
"Yeah, by practically stalking him! You should be lucky that I even agreed to your stupid spy mission!"
Link just watched with a blank stare on his face while Ralio and Barnes continued to bicker. After a few minutes, he finally spoke up, not being able to take it anymore.
"You guys done yet?" Link interrupted.
Ralio and Barnes immediately stopped arguing, turning their heads towards Link.
"Oh, uh sorry," Ralio apologized, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I guess we just got a little carried away. Whoops."
Link continued to stare at his old friends with an emotionless expression on his face.
"Can I ask you both a question?" Link asked, still staring at the soldiers.
Barnes and Ralio both nodded their heads.
"Why on Earth did you guys even follow me?"
Silence passed between the three men. Ralio had honestly no idea how to answer that question.
"Well…uh…" Barnes spoke up, breaking the tense silence. "I mean, you're the former king who suddenly disappeared six years ago. Everybody in the castle has been looking for you, but hasn't found one trace of you, until now, that is."
Ralio nodded his head in agreement.
"There was search parties to try and find you," Ralio said. "When you first disappeared, the court sent out a few small search parties to try and find you. As years passed, the castle became more and more desperate to find you. They ended up sending out these massive search parties and would pull groups of men from the army to search throughout Hyrule."
"Our motives to find you also changed a bit over the years," Barnes added on.
Ralio's eyes suddenly widened in shock. He turned towards Barnes and shook his head rapidly.
"Barnes…" Ralio started nervously. "I don't really think we should-"
"Who cares?" Barnes interrupted. "We already followed him out here anyways. We might as well tell him what's been going on."
Link raised an eyebrow at Barnes, now curious.
"I mean…" Ralio sighed. "Where would we even start?"
"Just start with how you got demoted from general," Barnes blurted.
Link's eyes widened, almost popping out of his head. Ralio face-palmed, a little embarrassed.
"Y-you what?" Link shouted. "How did that even happen-"
"Your son," Ralio stated harshly. "That's what happened."
Link froze, holding his breath.
"Yeah, pretty much," Barnes added on, ignoring Link's shocked expression. "He convinced the court to make Ralio step down from his position and to give the general position to himself. Don't even ask me how he did that. I honestly couldn't even tell you how."
"Yeah, it was strange," Ralio said. "I remembered the kid to always reject becoming general."
"If I come to think of it, that kid's been acting strange ever since you left, Link," Barnes stated. "I figured it was because he was having a tough time adjusting with no father, but he just became…different. Like really distant from everybody, even his mother. Right Ralio?"
Ralio nodded his head in agreement.
Link quickly ran his fingers through his hair, trying to process what the two soldiers were telling him. Exactly how much had changed since he left?
"H-how's the, uh, army been then?" Link asked, stammering.
Ralio and Barnes nervously eyed each other.
"Uh…well," Barnes started. "It's doing okay, I guess-"
"Aw, don't sugarcoat it for him," Ralio cut in. "The army's doing awful. I mean, completely awful. Like completely pathetic."
Link's eyes widened in shock.
"Yeah, I know," Ralio continued, noticing Link's shocked expression. "The men aren't even disciplined anymore. They're all pathetic drunks who can barely even put up a fight."
Barnes snickered.
"Yeah, they're all idiots with beer-bellies now," Barnes said, laughing.
"H-how?" Link stammered, still stunned. "How did they even get like that?"
Barnes and Ralio went silent, eyeing each other nervously.
"Well, I mean…" Barnes started. "Jack's kind of, um, well, you know-"
"No, I don't know," Link interrupted.
Ralio gulped nervously.
"Your son," Ralio started. "He kind of, um-"
"Spends more time in the bedroom than anything else," Barnes blurted.
Link's jaw dropped, practically almost hitting the floor.
"Barnes!" Ralio scolded. "Why would you say that you idiot!"
"What?" Barnes shouted back. "You told me not to sugarcoat anything!"
"I told you not to sugarcoat how the army's doing!" Ralio argued. "Not that his son is a freaking whore!"
Barnes immediately face-palmed. Ralio realized what he just blurted out and quickly shut his mouth, reddening in embarrassment.
"So much for sugarcoating," Barnes mumbled under his breath.
Ralio looked up nervously at Link, already feeling guilty. Link's face had gone completely pale, and his jaw was dropped open dramatically.
"Uh, sorry for saying that about your, um, child," Ralio stammered out.
Link just pinched the bridge of his nose, honestly too shocked to even care.
"I cannot believe…" Link started, not even able to finish his sentence.
"Yeah, I know!" Barnes shouted. "He went from this really awkward kid to some complete-"
"Barnes, let's just change the subject," Ralio interrupted. "Please, for the love of the gods."
Barnes sighed, nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, so basically, that's why we pretty much followed you out here," Barnes told Link. "Because we wanted to really know if it was you and that we really need you back at the castle. Like, desperately."
Link shook his head immediately.
"There is no chance I'm even going to consider going back there," Link said. "I can't face all those people again after what I did. I just can't. And I for sure cannot even face my son or Zelda."
The two soldiers went silent, awkwardly shifting in the couch.
"Link," Ralio started. "I hate to say this, but we need you back there. Very badly. I know the court can't crown you king again, but we need you in the army. You can at least help something in the castle get fixed."
Barnes cringed, shaking his head rapidly from side to side.
"Gods, tell me about it," he mumbled. "The castle is a complete mess. The Queen's drinking problem isn't helping it out much either-"
"Barnes!" Ralio shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? Are you the biggest idiot on planet Earth? Do you have absolutely no filter?"
Barnes sealed his lips shut.
"Sorry," he muttered.
Ralio eyed Link, scanning his face. There was an extremely sad look in his eyes. He looked genuinely hurt.
The house got awkwardly silent. The two soldiers didn't even know what to say to Link.
"We should, uh, probably get going," Ralio told Barnes awkwardly, standing up from the couch.
"Yeah, I agree," Barnes said, quickly getting up and walking towards the door to Link's cabin. "You can forget about what we said, Link. You don't have to come to the castle."
"Yeah," Ralio agreed. "I'm sure it's pretty hard for you. We understand."
Barnes nodded in agreement and reached towards the doorknob.
"Well…I guess we'll see you around," Barnes said nervously.
"Yeah," Ralio agreed. "See you later."
Ralio and Barnes opened the door to Link's cabin, starting to walk out of it.
"Wait."
Ralio and Barnes whirled around, surprised that Link spoke up.
"You need me," Link stated. "I can come."
Candle lights flickered inside a dimly lit room. The room smelled of mildew, practically suffocating anyone with the smell when they walked in. There was a small desk and a stack on books on top of it, along with a few dusty bookshelves tucked away in the corner of the small room.
Jack sat at the desk in the room, reading a book. The room was an extremely old library, closed off to all the residents of the castle, except for Jack and the Queen. The books in there held secrets that nobody but people with royal blood ever knew. The room could only be found by walking through a secret entrance in the castle.
A night guard stood outside the door of the room, guarding the library and blocking off anyone who tried to walk in there besides Jack and Zelda.
Although the guard was forbidden to walk into the room, his curiosity of what was actually in there grew on him, especially since Jack spent about two hours a day in there. He wondered what Jack could possibly even be doing in there during all that time. The Queen was rarely ever down in the room. Only Jack visited it frequently.
Suddenly, the guard heard footsteps coming near the entrance to the room. The entrance swung open and Jack stepped out of it, shutting the door quickly behind him.
The guard immediately saluted.
"Good evening, General Jack," the guard said a bit anxiously.
Jack just eyed the guard suspiciously, like he thought the guard was up to something.
"I'm going to be right back," Jack told the guard. "Don't let anybody inside."
With that, Jack walked away, his cloak swinging from side-to-side.
The guard looked back suspiciously at the door to the room. What could he possibly be doing in there?
Curiosity overflowed the guard's mind. Why did he even spend all that time in there? Why was he so weird about it?
The guard checked the dimly lit hall for any signs of Jack around. He was gone.
"I've got to see what's in there," the guard thought anxiously.
The guard again quickly scanned the hall, his heart pounding. He was going to do this.
The guard turned around and reluctantly placed his shaky hand on the doorknob. He turned it slowly, cracking open the door. He then slipped through the crack of the door and shut it behind him.
The guard looked around the small, dusty room, a little underwhelmed by the way it looked. He was expecting something really interesting, but it only looked like an old library to him.
The guard then caught sight of an open book on a desk in the corner of the small room. He inched towards the desk, curious to see what the general was reading.
The guard picked up the book in his hands and studied the pages of the book, squinting hard.
"Is this even in English?" he thought, a little confused. He started to flip through the pages of the book, trying to find a part where there was some English.
The words sprawled on each page seemed to be in a completely different language that the guard couldn't even recognize. It was written in strange, dark symbols, not even close to any language that the guard knew of.
The guard continued flipping until he found a page that caught his eye. A strange, grotesque drawing of a weird creature was on the page. The creature looked animalistic, or almost devilish. The strange language was scribbled around the drawing, seemingly repeating the same ten symbols over and over again.
The guard's heart began to beat rapidly, his head spinning. He didn't understand what was going on. Why on Earth was the General reading this?
Suddenly, a thought struck him like a bolt of lightning, causing his heart to beat even faster.
"These are dark spells," the guard realized in horror. He rapidly flipped through the book, not even being able to process what he just discovered.
"I thought you were forbidden to even be in here."
The guard gasped, dropping the book in shock. He shot his eyes up, seeing Jack standing with one hand behind his back in front of the door to the room. Jack shut the door behind him and took a step closer to the guard.
"What are you reading there?" Jack asked casually, cocking his head to the side.
The guard gulped nervously, his heart practically pounding out of his chest. He had never been this scared in his life until now.
"I-I...uh...um," the guard stammered. "I read this book right here." The guard pointed a shaky finger towards the strange book he was just looking at seconds ago. "I couldn't understand any of it, though. I'll be on my way out."
The guard quickly started to shuffle towards the door, until Jack stepped in front of him, blocking his way out. The guard stopped dead in his tracks.
"That won't be necessary," Jack stated coolly, a wicked smile growing across his face. He stared down at the guard, his eyes darkening and his pupils widening.
Wild panic washed over the guard. He was so scared, but he couldn't call for help. It was only him and Jack down in that room.
"I-I want to leave," the guard stammered. "I won't come in here again, I promise-"
Jack suddenly pulled out a knife from behind his back and sliced the guard's throat in one swift motion. He grinned devilishly as he watched the night guard's body collapse to the ground.
I hope you all found this chapter to be a little more interesting than the last. This is where the true plot is starting. It's basically a stepping-stone to the plot.
The plot of this book is going to become complex soon, so if you have any questions or see any plot-holes, let me know in the comments. Or you can message me. If that's even a thing on this website, I don't know. I don't really know how this website works that well, if I'm being honest.
I'm also going to the beach with my friends for a week, and then right after I'm going to the beach with my family for another week. I won't be able to update for about another two weeks, so don't be warned if I haven't updated in a while.
Okay, done talking. Please review! See you all in a few weeks!