I HAVE CHANGED MY MIND! Seeing as I am the author, I am allowed to do that! Instead of this being the end of the series, it will be the end of the second trilogy, and a third trilogy is yet to come! You lucky dogs you! lol im j/p wit ya ppl...but I really am making a trilogy of trilogies! OK! No more waiting! Plunge yourselves into the depths of this fic...but you'll have to be patient, cuz the cliffhanger is kind of intense! heh...heh...heh...ok enough of my stupid balbbering......PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!
Part Six: The Sound of Death
Zelda held the unconscious hero in her arms, not knowing whether to laugh with joy or cry in panic. What came out was a mixture of both; her face twisting as if to sob, while laughing at the same time. "You won't...you won't kill him...like this?"
"No, princess, of course not! I have more honor than that, you know. He got this far, he at least deserves a fair fight!"
This seemed to relieve Zelda somewhat, but she had seen what Jutaur called a 'fair fight.' Snipers on the roof with bows, spectators with hidden throwing knives, etc. But now all the guard was dead. This would really have to be a fair fight after all. She smiled briefly, and gently laid Link down on the floor.
She put her hands palms-down over his eyes, closing her own, and focused on the fatigue that was on the brink of destroying the young hero. She slowly began to absorb it. When she had taken as much as she could from Link, she opened her eyes and removed her hands from his face. Zelda slowly stood up, hardly able to do so from all the tiredness she had absorbed from her friend.
After ten minutes of waiting, she saw Link's eyes flutter open. They closed just as quickly, but at least they had opened. "Link?" She ventured.
He groaned, then opened his eyes again. They stayed open this time, and he saw her clearly for the first time. "I did it," he smirked, "I finally found you. And now here I am layin' down on the job."
Zelda tried to laugh at the joke, but her laughter was just as forced as the joke had been. "Where can we take him to rest?" she asked Jutaur.
"Follow me." He pressed another upraised tile and a ladder dropped down. Jutaur went up first, and the Zelda, helpng Link as she went. When they were all on the ground floor, Jutaur led them throguh some narrow corridors to the prison area. It wasn't much; just a pillow and a small bed, but it was obvious Link was grateful all the same. He layed down, and no sooner had his head hit the pilliow than he fell asleep.
********************************************************************************
Link woke up in utter darkness. He faintly remembered a ladder...then a long walk...and from then on everything was blank. There was a reason he was here...what was it? Why WAS he here? This definitely wasn't hyrule. 'Zelda!!' As soon as that thought hit him everything came flooding back...bashing walls...seeing Zelda and Jutaur...climbing the ladder from the basement...and then falling asleep. How long had he been in here? Just then he heard footsteps from further down the corridor. A moment later Zelda came into view.
"You're awake! I was so worried. You've been asleep for three and a half days!"
"Three and a half?" Link asked groggily
"Yes. You should eat."
As soon as she spoke the word 'eat' Link bacame aware of a ravenous hunger gripping him. "You have food with you?"
"Yes," Zelda told him as she produced a few small bottles, similar to the ones he had used on his journey.
Link took it gratefully and extracted a piece of beef. That was all he had been eating, and had grown quite sick of it. Now, though, food was food. He took huge bites and nearly choked many times from not chewing his food enough before swallowing. As he slowly filled his stomach, however, he began to slow down and eat at a more reasonable pace.
If Zelda was disgusted by the way Link was eating, it was masked perfectly by her relief that he was alive and had an apetite. She occasionally made him stop and take a drink of water, and sometimes an herbal tea that she told him would help replace any muscle tissue his body had digested from lack of food.
After about an hour, Link finally gave the magical bottles back to Zelda and lay back on his pillow. He felt very refreshed, but still not ready for battle. His arms still ached from smashing the walls of the labrynth down with his hammer. He asked Zelda if she could help, but she was still tired from the fatigue that she took from Link once he had found her.
"You just need to rest for a couple more days," she informed him.
"Well I certainly am not tired...so what have you been doing these past years? Your father was so worried when you disappeared. Everyone thinks you're dead, you know."
"Dead?"
"Yes. Only a few knew you weren't...but none of those few could say where you were, either, so they were ignored when they tried to talk some sense into the people. They would not even listen to their King, or the Hero of Time. Even some of the Sages began to doubt that you lived. Before I set off only Darunia, Saria, and Rauru believed you could be found, and even Darunia looked unsure."
"The Sages? This is worse that I thought. I must go back, but...."
"I know. You still feel an obligation to the people here."
"Yes.... We will just have to wait and see...maybe everything will work out."
**************************************************************************************
Two days had passed since Link woke from his long sleep, and the pain in his arms was nearly gone. He and Zelda had shared every meal together, talking about what had happened in Hyrule since Zelda had left, and what she had done in this world while she was gone. Once Link had asked Zelda why she had to leave. She didn't reply, but rather broke down crying. He decided never to ask her that again.
Jutaur was getting impatient. He wanted battle, and he wanted it now. The only thing that stopped him from forcing Link into a battle the moment he awoke was Zelda. He would not do anything that would risk losing the slightest possibility of them as a couple. Instead, he focused on polishing his armor and sharpening his battle axe.
It was evening now, and Link and Zelda were having dinner. It was the same as it always was; beef and water punctuated here and there with some tea.
"It was Impa," Zelda said suddenly.
"What?"
"Impa. She was the one who forced me to leave. While you were off scouring the temples...she put ideas into my head. She told me that if I stayed in Hyrule once Ganon was imprisoned, he would use me as the key to returning to Hyrule. I didn't know how he could have done it, but I had known Impa all my life. She was wise, and she was a fellow Sage. I saw no reason for her to lie about it, so I never questioned her. But here...here they have myths about Hyrule. I read them, and every one was exactly true. One said that seven powerful beings, along with a young hero, would imprison the King of Evil. It also said that if all seven of these beings were not in the same world, the prison would weaken and eventually be broken, and the evil king would run amok once more. The night after I read that 'myth' I was captured by Jutaur's minions, and have been unable to escape back to Hyrule. Could it be that Impa is not who we thought she was?"
Rage suddenly filled Link. Zelda sensed this, and suggested that he sleep. She quietly gathered everything they had used for dinner and slipped out of his cell.
******************************************************************************
Link woke up with a cold sweat covering his forehead. He felt his pillow. It, too, was soaked. He couldn't recall much of the dream he had just had, but what he could was enough. He had been back in the market, with the people up to their usual hustle and bustle. Then a few things happened that he couldn't remember, and after that Ganondorf was standing in front of him. He had drawn a blade, and swung it at Link's neck. Link found himself unable to move, and right as the blade would have made contact he woke.
The pain in his arms was gone. He was back to his full strength, and the battle with Jutaur was scheduled for that very day. Later, of course; it was still very early in the morning. He tried to recall how long he had been living in this cell. It had been a week since he woke up at first...plus the three and a half that he had slept, which made about ten and a half days. He wiped his brow, turned his pillow over, and went back to sleep.
"Link. Wake up, Link. You need to eat before you battle."
Link opened his eyes and found Zelda waiting there, holding food. Not beef, he noted with a happy sigh. It was eggs.
After a large, harty meal, Link began to prepare for the battle. He bathed, polished and sharpened his sword, checked his shield to make sure it would not give way under even the heaviest of blows. Jutaur had offered him a set of his old armor, but Link refused. Armor seemed only to work against him, slowing his movement to a crawl, giving him little agility. Agility was his strongest point- he could not remember a battle he could have won without it- and having it hampered to that degree would be disasterous.
In huge contrast to Link's light tunic was Jutaur's heavy golden plate armor. A sturdy breastplate covered his chest, joined to another plate on the back by a shoulderpiece. Underneath the breastplate he wore a thin layer of chain-mail. Plates covered the front of his legs, while still more chain-mail guarded the back. His knees were also covered by the strong cloth of metal links. Plates covering the knees would have made movement next to impossible. Jutaur's arms were covered by plate aromor to just above his elbows, and from there more chain-mail ran to his wrists. On his hands the would-be tyrant wore huge steel gauntlets, with small spikes protruding from the area of his knuckles, making a single punch lethal. He wore steel plates over his heavy leather boots, with a blade sticking out of the top, making contact with the top of his foot something to be avoided. His helmet was rather plain, covering all of his head and face except for some slats to see through. More chain-mail was connected to the bottom of the helm, protecting the man's neck from being cut. To top it all off was the axe. The handle itself was as tall as a man, a huge, black crescent blade on either side; sharp enough to prick a finger at the slightest touch.
They walked outside to a paved square that had somehow escaped the litter of bodies. Link drew his sword and got out his shield. Across from him Jutaur stood, holding the huge battle axe in both hands.
"Let the battle commence," Jutaur roared. As quickly as his armor would allow he lumbered forward, each of his footfalls tolling the sound of.... 'What does that remind me of?' he wondered, but no sooner had he asked the silent question than the silent answer came. Each of his footfalls was tolling the sound of death.
*~~* THE END OF PART SIX AND THE SECOND TRILOGY *~~*
[A/N: The final trilogy will be titled "Link's Quest to Find Zelda: Out of the Frying Pan..." or if that wont fit "Link's Quest to Find Zelda: Of Peace and Chaos." Tell me via e-mail (IMANUT1717@aol.com) which you like better, or just state it in your review. Thank you for all your support so far!]
Part Six: The Sound of Death
Zelda held the unconscious hero in her arms, not knowing whether to laugh with joy or cry in panic. What came out was a mixture of both; her face twisting as if to sob, while laughing at the same time. "You won't...you won't kill him...like this?"
"No, princess, of course not! I have more honor than that, you know. He got this far, he at least deserves a fair fight!"
This seemed to relieve Zelda somewhat, but she had seen what Jutaur called a 'fair fight.' Snipers on the roof with bows, spectators with hidden throwing knives, etc. But now all the guard was dead. This would really have to be a fair fight after all. She smiled briefly, and gently laid Link down on the floor.
She put her hands palms-down over his eyes, closing her own, and focused on the fatigue that was on the brink of destroying the young hero. She slowly began to absorb it. When she had taken as much as she could from Link, she opened her eyes and removed her hands from his face. Zelda slowly stood up, hardly able to do so from all the tiredness she had absorbed from her friend.
After ten minutes of waiting, she saw Link's eyes flutter open. They closed just as quickly, but at least they had opened. "Link?" She ventured.
He groaned, then opened his eyes again. They stayed open this time, and he saw her clearly for the first time. "I did it," he smirked, "I finally found you. And now here I am layin' down on the job."
Zelda tried to laugh at the joke, but her laughter was just as forced as the joke had been. "Where can we take him to rest?" she asked Jutaur.
"Follow me." He pressed another upraised tile and a ladder dropped down. Jutaur went up first, and the Zelda, helpng Link as she went. When they were all on the ground floor, Jutaur led them throguh some narrow corridors to the prison area. It wasn't much; just a pillow and a small bed, but it was obvious Link was grateful all the same. He layed down, and no sooner had his head hit the pilliow than he fell asleep.
********************************************************************************
Link woke up in utter darkness. He faintly remembered a ladder...then a long walk...and from then on everything was blank. There was a reason he was here...what was it? Why WAS he here? This definitely wasn't hyrule. 'Zelda!!' As soon as that thought hit him everything came flooding back...bashing walls...seeing Zelda and Jutaur...climbing the ladder from the basement...and then falling asleep. How long had he been in here? Just then he heard footsteps from further down the corridor. A moment later Zelda came into view.
"You're awake! I was so worried. You've been asleep for three and a half days!"
"Three and a half?" Link asked groggily
"Yes. You should eat."
As soon as she spoke the word 'eat' Link bacame aware of a ravenous hunger gripping him. "You have food with you?"
"Yes," Zelda told him as she produced a few small bottles, similar to the ones he had used on his journey.
Link took it gratefully and extracted a piece of beef. That was all he had been eating, and had grown quite sick of it. Now, though, food was food. He took huge bites and nearly choked many times from not chewing his food enough before swallowing. As he slowly filled his stomach, however, he began to slow down and eat at a more reasonable pace.
If Zelda was disgusted by the way Link was eating, it was masked perfectly by her relief that he was alive and had an apetite. She occasionally made him stop and take a drink of water, and sometimes an herbal tea that she told him would help replace any muscle tissue his body had digested from lack of food.
After about an hour, Link finally gave the magical bottles back to Zelda and lay back on his pillow. He felt very refreshed, but still not ready for battle. His arms still ached from smashing the walls of the labrynth down with his hammer. He asked Zelda if she could help, but she was still tired from the fatigue that she took from Link once he had found her.
"You just need to rest for a couple more days," she informed him.
"Well I certainly am not tired...so what have you been doing these past years? Your father was so worried when you disappeared. Everyone thinks you're dead, you know."
"Dead?"
"Yes. Only a few knew you weren't...but none of those few could say where you were, either, so they were ignored when they tried to talk some sense into the people. They would not even listen to their King, or the Hero of Time. Even some of the Sages began to doubt that you lived. Before I set off only Darunia, Saria, and Rauru believed you could be found, and even Darunia looked unsure."
"The Sages? This is worse that I thought. I must go back, but...."
"I know. You still feel an obligation to the people here."
"Yes.... We will just have to wait and see...maybe everything will work out."
**************************************************************************************
Two days had passed since Link woke from his long sleep, and the pain in his arms was nearly gone. He and Zelda had shared every meal together, talking about what had happened in Hyrule since Zelda had left, and what she had done in this world while she was gone. Once Link had asked Zelda why she had to leave. She didn't reply, but rather broke down crying. He decided never to ask her that again.
Jutaur was getting impatient. He wanted battle, and he wanted it now. The only thing that stopped him from forcing Link into a battle the moment he awoke was Zelda. He would not do anything that would risk losing the slightest possibility of them as a couple. Instead, he focused on polishing his armor and sharpening his battle axe.
It was evening now, and Link and Zelda were having dinner. It was the same as it always was; beef and water punctuated here and there with some tea.
"It was Impa," Zelda said suddenly.
"What?"
"Impa. She was the one who forced me to leave. While you were off scouring the temples...she put ideas into my head. She told me that if I stayed in Hyrule once Ganon was imprisoned, he would use me as the key to returning to Hyrule. I didn't know how he could have done it, but I had known Impa all my life. She was wise, and she was a fellow Sage. I saw no reason for her to lie about it, so I never questioned her. But here...here they have myths about Hyrule. I read them, and every one was exactly true. One said that seven powerful beings, along with a young hero, would imprison the King of Evil. It also said that if all seven of these beings were not in the same world, the prison would weaken and eventually be broken, and the evil king would run amok once more. The night after I read that 'myth' I was captured by Jutaur's minions, and have been unable to escape back to Hyrule. Could it be that Impa is not who we thought she was?"
Rage suddenly filled Link. Zelda sensed this, and suggested that he sleep. She quietly gathered everything they had used for dinner and slipped out of his cell.
******************************************************************************
Link woke up with a cold sweat covering his forehead. He felt his pillow. It, too, was soaked. He couldn't recall much of the dream he had just had, but what he could was enough. He had been back in the market, with the people up to their usual hustle and bustle. Then a few things happened that he couldn't remember, and after that Ganondorf was standing in front of him. He had drawn a blade, and swung it at Link's neck. Link found himself unable to move, and right as the blade would have made contact he woke.
The pain in his arms was gone. He was back to his full strength, and the battle with Jutaur was scheduled for that very day. Later, of course; it was still very early in the morning. He tried to recall how long he had been living in this cell. It had been a week since he woke up at first...plus the three and a half that he had slept, which made about ten and a half days. He wiped his brow, turned his pillow over, and went back to sleep.
"Link. Wake up, Link. You need to eat before you battle."
Link opened his eyes and found Zelda waiting there, holding food. Not beef, he noted with a happy sigh. It was eggs.
After a large, harty meal, Link began to prepare for the battle. He bathed, polished and sharpened his sword, checked his shield to make sure it would not give way under even the heaviest of blows. Jutaur had offered him a set of his old armor, but Link refused. Armor seemed only to work against him, slowing his movement to a crawl, giving him little agility. Agility was his strongest point- he could not remember a battle he could have won without it- and having it hampered to that degree would be disasterous.
In huge contrast to Link's light tunic was Jutaur's heavy golden plate armor. A sturdy breastplate covered his chest, joined to another plate on the back by a shoulderpiece. Underneath the breastplate he wore a thin layer of chain-mail. Plates covered the front of his legs, while still more chain-mail guarded the back. His knees were also covered by the strong cloth of metal links. Plates covering the knees would have made movement next to impossible. Jutaur's arms were covered by plate aromor to just above his elbows, and from there more chain-mail ran to his wrists. On his hands the would-be tyrant wore huge steel gauntlets, with small spikes protruding from the area of his knuckles, making a single punch lethal. He wore steel plates over his heavy leather boots, with a blade sticking out of the top, making contact with the top of his foot something to be avoided. His helmet was rather plain, covering all of his head and face except for some slats to see through. More chain-mail was connected to the bottom of the helm, protecting the man's neck from being cut. To top it all off was the axe. The handle itself was as tall as a man, a huge, black crescent blade on either side; sharp enough to prick a finger at the slightest touch.
They walked outside to a paved square that had somehow escaped the litter of bodies. Link drew his sword and got out his shield. Across from him Jutaur stood, holding the huge battle axe in both hands.
"Let the battle commence," Jutaur roared. As quickly as his armor would allow he lumbered forward, each of his footfalls tolling the sound of.... 'What does that remind me of?' he wondered, but no sooner had he asked the silent question than the silent answer came. Each of his footfalls was tolling the sound of death.
*~~* THE END OF PART SIX AND THE SECOND TRILOGY *~~*
[A/N: The final trilogy will be titled "Link's Quest to Find Zelda: Out of the Frying Pan..." or if that wont fit "Link's Quest to Find Zelda: Of Peace and Chaos." Tell me via e-mail (IMANUT1717@aol.com) which you like better, or just state it in your review. Thank you for all your support so far!]