Sins of the Past
Chapter 3
The dark figure from the vortex began to gain color, revealing a giant man in black armor with red hair and tan skin. Definitely a Gerudo. And his eyes. Those golden eyes with red pupils. Jereth had never seen such a terrible look. Din's Fire, the man cannot be human, he thought.
The cold winds began to subside, and the vortex was closing. Whatever was in that void was now free from its imprisonment.
This man his mother called King Ganondorf dropped down to the platform on one knee, shaking the ground. His face was two feet from Jereth's, and he was panting as if he had not had a breath for a long time. Even though he acted as if his power was drained, Jereth could feel the violence and hatred pulsating off of him, like his very heartbeat pumped dark energy.
"All Gerudo, bow to your king!"
Forgetting the man before him, Jereth turned to see his mother and the others kneel in reverence. The ones from the great hall had now joined them too, and brought with them the girl Jereth fought down earlier, the princess. She was forced to a knee as well, though she could barely keep herself from fainting.
His thoughts were interrupted by the dark laughter he had heard earlier from the man. He'd caught his breath now and was marveling at the sight. Jereth turned fearfully to look at him, seeing that his gaze had now fallen upon Jereth as before.
But his laughter stopped, taking more of a confused, but never less sinister, glare at the boy holding the Master Sword before him. Something seemed wrong.
"What is this?" his voice boomed, although he spoke in lower tones. He examined Jereth closely, scrutinizing his hair and looks. "This isn't Link. This can't be the Hero of Time."
Link! Hero of Time!!
The man on the statue at the market.
What is this?!?
"No, my liege, he is not Link. It is one-hundred and fifty years since that time." Jereth's mind was racing wildly as he faced his mother again. "I am Zagita. This is Jereth, my son, and the descendant of Link. He has come here to free you."
WHAT?!
Ganondorf was silent for a moment, and then began to laugh again, louder than ever, more than amused by this. The echoing sound this close to Jereth was hurting his ears.
"The Hero of Time…" he said between laughs, "is a Gerudo!!" He could hardly contain him self for a while, then stopped, grinning at Jereth. "Incredible. So you, my son, have come here to release me. Then I must thank you for removing the key." He put his heavy hand on Jereth's shoulder. But then his eye caught sight of the medallion that Zagita had given Jereth. He took hold of it, and his eyes grew more and more full of joy, albeit dark. "It seems that I am actually in your debt."
The man's touch was putting chills down Jereth's spine, but the words he said a moment ago was even more terrifying. "Removing the key… Release me…" Was this the warning? More than anything right now, he wanted to get as far away from this inhuman man as possible, except it almost felt like his feet were stuck, too afraid to move.
Ganondorf took his hand off Jereth's shoulder and looked past him toward his mother. "So you have brought me the two pieces now, I presume."
Zagita rose from her bow to face him. "It could not be otherwise, highness. May I present to you Zelda's descendant, Princess Liliana." Zaniia pulled on the Sheikah's hair to force her forward, causing her to weakly yelp in pain. She was thrown to the floor, still too hurt to move. "We are your humble servants, and we would not disappoint you."
It seemed like every word spoken was adding to the confusion and fear racing through Jereth's head. Zelda? That was the woman on the statue with Link!! And just what by Farore's Wind were these "pieces?!" Why isn't anything making sense?!
He turned back to the giant man, and once again saw that something couldn't possibly be right. His smile just kept getting bigger and bigger by the moment, as if Jereth's confusion was linked to his content.
"Perfect," Ganondorf said in the lowest of tones, almost a whisper and a growl put together. He raised his right fist past Jereth's face and held it in front of his own. A strange golden light glowed from the back of his hand, forming one of the triangles Jereth had seen before, except the top on was far more radiant.
The energy coming from the man was utterly intoxicating to Jereth, but then he noticed his own hand began to glow. To his surprise, a triangle formed there as well, but it was the lower-right one that glowed brightest. The energy surged through his body, taking away his pain as the sword's power had before, save for this time he noticed something different: his wounds from the battle miraculously healed. Not even a scratch was left.
Before he got a chance to even think about it, yet another light caught his eye from behind him, coming from the princess's hand. This one shown brightest on the lower-left.
What in the name of Nayru?
"The Triforce parts resonate," said Ganondorf. Jereth began to get more and more afraid of this man. The hungry look in his eyes never left sight of him. No, not him, but the figure that was now shining on Jereth's hand. He could tell Ganondorf coveted it. Whatever it was, he wanted it more than anything, enough to kill for it.
"Jereth, Hero of Time and Holder of the Triforce of Courage," the man boomed in a godlike voice. "The time has come to restore the Triforce into its True Force. Return your piece to your king and affirm your allegiance with me."
Seconds seemed like hours, as Jereth stood there dumbstruck. He didn't know what to do. He knew his mother and fellow Gerudo expected him to do as this man whom they called king said. And he knew this man was extremely powerful, and would do whatever it took to get this power that he had in his hand.
But he also knew that for some reason, that would be a terrible mistake. Something inside him kept screaming at him to keep the piece away from Ganondorf, to just run. Get away from him.
RUN!
He didn't know why, and didn't want to think about it now, but Jereth turned from the man and started running as fast as his feet could take him. He heard the angry shouts from behind him ordering the others to stop him, and saw his mother furiously shrieking at him and trying to pull her pistol out.
She's pulling a gun on me?
He approached the princess, still lying on the floor, now unconscious. She had a figure on her hand too, and that meant she could tell him what's going on later. Not breaking in stride, Jereth bent down and scooped her up, flinging her limp body over his right shoulder. He found her to be surprisingly light.
The shot of his mother's pistol resounded through the room, it's bullet whizzing by Jereth's face. He continued running, but felt a sting and small trickle of blood roll down his cheek. It barely nicked him below his left eye. His own mother had shot to kill him.
He was about to charge through the Gerudos, then reflexively parried with the sword he had removed up to block Zaniia's glaive. She pulled back and slashed at his neck and chest. Moving out of her glaive's reach, he ducked and slashed upwards, knocking her weapon up. Seeing an opening, he quickly rammed her in the gut with his left elbow, doubling her over followed by a hard knee in her face. The force of the blow knocked her senseless.
Knowing that he couldn't stay there, he left her where she laid and turned to leave. The others began to draw their weapons as well, preparing to form a barricade. Running fast now, he screamed as he crashed through the Gerudos, and hoped none of them would stab him with something… and continued running through the other side, past the fallen women, jumped over the altar and its jewels, and flew down the great hall, out the Temple's doors.
As she watched her son sprint through the doors, Zagita couldn't have been more infuriated. He had left with the two Triforce pieces; he'd deserted them when they needed him most, and it meant he would have to pay the price when he was found.
Her attention shifted then to her comrades. Zaniia was obviously no match for the boy, and the rest had been useless in stopping him. Pathetic, one boy escapes nineteen able Gerudo.
Things were not going well at all.
"Uhnn…"
She turned around to face the platform where Ganondorf still knelt, to see him bend further over in pain. Something was wrong with him.
"Attend to his majesty!"
Four of the women rushed over to their king, two on each side of him. He was a heavy man, and they strained to support his body. Zagita walked closer and saw that he seemed to be turning a sickly pale. No, please don't tell me he's dying, she thought worryingly.
"All you alright, my lord? What is wrong?"
"I'm…" he was struggling to speak. "The void… it has made me weak over time. I needed…" He paused, taking in another gulp of air. "I was better while the other pieces were closer to me. I have to rest now." Lifting his head to face her, she could see how much pain he was in. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was sweating profusely. He spoke again between panting, "Take me… take me to… the valley."
Zagita nodded. They had to get him to their headquarters for him to regain his strength. At her finger snap, two of the women gathered up Zaniia and carried her over where the others gathered at the platform around the king, some of them helping the wounded along. One of the women who stood in the center began to cast Farore's Wind, causing a greenish light to envelope her. The light began to spread around the group, and a wind circled them, growing stronger by the second. The force fluxed at its climax-
-and the next instant, the group of twenty-four Gerudo vanished in thin air.
Jereth's lungs burnt as he ran down the alleys of Hyrule Town back where they had entered before. He kept thinking of the others back in the Temple. He knew they'd come after him, and probably kill him for his disobedience, especially if it was against this "king" of theirs.
Why? Why did this happen? Why is mother acting this way? It doesn't make sense!
He was at least glad that the sleeping powder used on the tower guards earlier would keep them out for another few hours, allowing him once again to move entirely unnoticed. A quick jump against the outer wall and a kick against the side of another house easily placed him on the top of the town's wall, leaving him with a three- or four-story drop into the moat below. He didn't know how the still unconscious princess would handle that, but at the moment his mind was still centered on getting his hide as far as possible from his former comrades.
He hadn't quite caught his breath from the running yet, but he took as deep of one as he could, and leapt of the wall's edge into the freezing moat below.
The shock of the cold water almost made his body go completely numb. He lost hold of the princess and the sword upon impact, and frantically started searching for them in the dark while fighting from blacking out. After a few dives under and feeling around, he took hold of the sword, but still no princess.
Come on; don't tell me I've lost her! I just know she has answers!
Throwing the sword on dry land, he continued to feel around for the lost Sheikah. Several minutes went by without success. Now Jereth was starting to panic. If she drowned, then he'd be alone against Ganondorf. He didn't even know what the Triforce he had mentioned earlier was, much less where to start in trying to protect it.
Maybe she's floated downstream, he thought. It was his last idea before he was about to give up, even more so because he was beginning to go into shock, so he started to kick his way down the moat, now trembling from the frigid current.
Finally, his foot felt a hand brush against it, and he dove once again to grab the princess and pull her up.
Jereth crawled out of the icy moat, and dragged the princess ashore. No longer having his strength, he rolled over on his back to catch his breath. He took in several gulps of air, struggling to keep himself from giving in to the fatigue.
After a few moments, his tiresome gasping calmed down and he began to feel better. Fortunately, his blood could heat him up very fast from his adaptation to the desert, but he wasn't so sure about the princess. He knelt beside her and tore away the mask that wrapped around her head, revealing her beautiful face. She looked like she might be a few years older. Shoulder length platinum hair; very fair skin, ruby lips.
But she wasn't breathing.
"Oh, please don't!" he yelled while shaking her violently. "Wake up! I need you right now! Don't you dare say your dead!" Receiving no reply, he dropped her limp body and continued to fluster. He healed himself earlier, but he had no idea if and how he could do it for her. He didn't have any potions or fairies on him…
As soon as the idea struck him, he felt stupid for not looking for one on her in the first place. Sure enough, he opened a small satchel she had on her belt, and there was a red healing potion. He sat her up against his leg, holding her head up and opening her mouth, and uncorked the bottle to pour some of the liquid down her throat.
Immediately several of her blood-spattered wounds began to close, but she still wasn't breathing.
Oh no, please don't say I'm too late, he thought, biting his lip. He poured the stuff faster. All of her wounds were closed now, and her skin began to gain some color. Still no breath though. The bottle emptied, and he felt the pain of hopelessness. What a waste-
-his thoughts were interrupted by a gush of water being spit in his face.
Falling back in shock, he looked over to see her coughing up the cold moat water. Thanking Nayru for this gift, he crawled back over where she laid. All the water was out of her system, and she was still coughing trying to catch her breath, but she was alive.
"Hey, hey. You alright? You really scared me there for a second?"
Once again, he received no response. She was sleeping now from exhaustion.
Oh well, good enough for me.
The Gerudo would surely be on his tail soon, hence Jereth wasted no more time. He wondered why they weren't here by now in the first place, but he really didn't want to know right now. Lifting the girl onto his shoulder and grabbing the sword again, he bolted off down the field.
"Bring his majesty in here!" Zagita ordered the others. It took eight women to carry King Ganondorf into Jereth's old room. Their arms were almost breaking from carrying the giant man, even for a short while. They finally got him to the large skin-covered bed and plopped him down, its boards cracking from under his weight.
The three wounded women and Zaniia were taken to another room for medical attention. One of the women looked as if her lower leg would have to be cut off, and another was stabbed deep in the stomach and the bleeding wouldn't stop. She may not be as likely to survive. A Sheikah had attacked the other woman with a club from behind, breaking her back and rendering her legs useless. Hopefully, some magic of a sort would save her later.
By now, Ganondorf's weakness had subsided a bit, and he wasn't on the brink of collapse. But he still could hardly move. He opened his eyes to see a well-lit adobe room with several trophy skulls and hides hanging on the walls, and looked towards Zagita. "Where are we?"
"You are at our headquarters, sire, in the middle of the Haunted Wastelands. No one knows we are here-"
"Haunted Wastelands?" He looked at her quizzically, and almost menacingly. "I told you to take me to Gerudo Valley. Why aren't we at the Fortress?"
Zagita cleared her throat and approached the side of the bed where he laid. "I'm afraid, sire, that it was not an option to take you there. Over the past century and a half, the whole of the Gerudo race has lost their loyalties to you and our heritage. They have sworn allegiance to Hyrule and are no longer a proud race of thieves. We," she referred to the other women behind her, who at once bowed down, "are the only ones who have kept your legacy. And we wish to restore the rightful throne to you. The current king is unfit for such a title."
He sat silent for a moment, looking somewhat stunned by the news. The Gerudo Thieves had forgotten him. They deserted him when he had lost the Triforce's True Force, and have abandoned the way of life that had been led for several centuries. How could such a thing happen while he was away?
How is it that such a small group is the only bit of fidelity I have left?
"And your… son?" The word was spat out, and Zagita's brow furrowed at the word. "Was he supposed to be loyal to me as well? Why did he suddenly turn from me?"
"I cannot lie to you, my liege. I fear the reason he may have betrayed us is because I never told him about anything beyond the Ocarina of Time before this evening. He had no knowledge of your existence."
"What?!" Ganondorf rose and shouted, only to fall back to the bed, not yet strong enough to even get angry. "Am I to understand that his disloyalties lie in your failure to tell him who his king is? That if it hadn't been for your incompetence, he'd have never run and I would have recovered the two pieces of the Triforce? Is that what you are telling me, woman?!"
"Begging your pardon, sire, I believe I had no choice!" Zagita quickly blurted out. The room fell into a cold silence for what seemed like an eternity until Ganondorf motioned for her to continue. "You must remember that the boy is indeed the Hero of Time. Being that, I believed that it would be unwise to tell him of you lest some part of him would force him to do otherwise. I never told him anything of the Triforce or the Sacred Realm or the Sages or even of who he was. I thought if I did, then he would've inquired to someone on the information and they'd have given him the same story that the entire kingdom knows about: that Link the Hero of Time defeated Ganond-"
"Stop," Ganondorf commanded as he held up his hand for silence. "I understand now. Somehow, he would've been fed that truth and he'd have never gone along with the plans." Zagita nodded. He sighed and looked at the ceiling. "But now that he has fled with the princess, we are short two pieces of a full Triforce." Another silence filled the room for a brief moment. "Soon the princess will surely tell him what everyone knows and he will become our sworn enemy."
Zagita shook her head and stammered to contradict him. "Th- that's hard to say. He's a proud Gerudo and has always been faithful to us. In fact, this is one of the few times he has ever defied us. If she lashes out at us, he may not listen to her because he defends his race." She paused for a minute as a thought lit up in her mind. She began to smile. "I believe he may still remain on our side."
Ganondorf turned his head to stare at her. "I beg your pardon?"
"He's probably only confused, my liege. He left because of the immense power that he had never seen or felt before and he only leaves us because he is so unsure of the situation. If we can find him and persuade him to come back, we can give him the right idea and he would gladly serve you."
Ganondorf lay there motionless and continued to glower at her. Her smile began to fade. Perhaps he didn't like the plan at all.
"You expect me," Ganondorf said in a dead tone, "to believe that the Hero of Time, Link's descendant, would call me master for the rest of his life? That he'd actually kneel to me? No. He's too dangerous to be kept alive, and he now wields the one weapon that could destroy us. We can't take that risk, we have to hunt him down and kill him." He turned his head back to the ceiling and closed his eyes.
Zagita stood agape at this command. Kill Jereth? Kill her son?
Why not? I tried to shoot him earlier, didn't I?
No. No, she hadn't meant to do that. She didn't even know why she made such a rash decision like that earlier. Jereth was too valuable to them to die. "My liege?"
He turned to stare at her again. "What now?" he said annoyingly.
She began slowly. "With all due respect, I simply think he may be more useful to us alive. When it comes down to it, he could be an incredible knight on our side. He's an excellent fighter and has always been a dedicated Gerudo thief and hunter. I believe he would be an asset at your disposal, one that would be invaluable. Please consider this."
Ganondorf remained still for a good while, looking as if he was conflicting on the matter very methodically. Then his eyes returned to her. "I will think on it when I have my strength back. Right now, I require my rest. The void has sapped my power over these past years and it may take a long time to regain full strength." He turned away from her to get some sleep. "Now let me be."
"Yes, sire." It was all Zagita could say. He was in no mood to discuss the matters now. All she could do was hope that his decision would be in her favor. She turned and walked back towards the room's only door and ordered the other women to leave as well.
"Just answer me this."
Zagita halted and faced her king. "Of course, sire."
"How did the Hero of Time become a Gerudo?"
She took on a solemn look before she answered. "Jereth isn't my son by birth. He does not know that he is not an actual Gerudo." She turned and left the room, allowing her king to sleep.
TBC…