"A woman…" he repeated to himself, softer this time.

I tried to get up again but just slumped back down to the ground, face contorted in pain. I touched my chest lightly and found it sticky with a thick liquid. Blood had seeped through the tunic, the white shirt and the corset I used to conceal my identity as female. Men in my time were, well, less then gentleman. You didn't get hassled as much if they thought you were one of them. I tried to get up again but Ganondorf rushed forward, knelt down at my side and pushed me back down by my shoulder as gently as he could.

"No, no, no, darling. It would be best if you didn't get up. You're hurt." He said softly, using his most kindest and sincere voice. It was a disturbing change from what I had witnessed only seconds ago.

"I wonder whose--" I tried to yell but my voice was stifled by a cough. More blood, I spit it off to the side but more took its place. The snap that I had heard was a rib; it had punctured a lung. I'm dying! My mind screamed for oxygen, as did my aching muscles. The pain seemed very far away at that point. My vision began to cloud up from lack of blood. I felt the man's large hands take off my coat then sweep the long dirty hair from my forehead and then rest it there.

"You'll be fine, I can help you." His voice was extremely calm considering the situation

There was no doubt in my mind that if he wished, he could crush my skull as easily as he would an eggshell with that hand of his. But instead of causing any further damage, I felt a warm, comforting sensation starting from my head and then spreading all the way down to my toes. I closed my eyes as I felt strange things happening in my body like my bones knitting themselves back together and my lung repairing the tissue. I spat once more and then there was nothing. I looked over to the man; his copper eyes seemed to shine with a light of their own as they gazed into my own.

"Are you all right?"

I was speechless for a few moments, but then I just exploded.

"Get the hell away from me!"

Startled, he stepped back a little while I scrambled to my feet. I glared at him as he stared at me curiously, quickly regaining his composure.

"You don't express proper gratitude, considering the fact that I just saved your life."

"You mean nearly killed me, you--you--" I struggled to come up with a creative retort, but failed. "--Asshole!"

He looked almost thoughtful, "I suppose that is true. My apology, if that helps at all." Like I said, truly disturbing. He continued, seeing as that I wasn't going to be won over with a simple apology. "Now, why would the country of Guinness risk one of its finest daughters, and especially one so attractive, to do men's work?"

I glared at him darkly, but with a little confusion. What was he talking about? I was not sure what I looked like, I'd never seen a looking glass and only had a vague idea of what I looked like through murky puddles in the ditches, but I could very well assume that it wasn't very pretty at all. And the way he said "finest daughters…" I must have looked dreadfully lost, as he continued once more. "Tell me, what is your name?"

What was my name? I didn't know, and was really starting to question his sanity. I was sure my parents had given me one, but assumed it had been lost long ago when I had been abandoned. I had been called 'Hey you', 'thief' and…well, names that were not so polite. Spill your guts or he might do it for you, I told myself. He did after all have the powers.

"Uh, Julia," I picked, purely at random. He raised his thick eyebrows in response.

"And a last name?"

"Salem. Julia Salem. Why?" I said quickly. Ganondorf narrowed his eyes in suspicion but then smirked.

"I know who you are, but do you know?" he answered. "When I attacked you, why didn't you just fire back?"

I took a few steps back towards the horse; there was something odd about how he said those words. There's no way he could know me, I've never met this guy in my life.

"So you don't know…Excellent. That should make things far easier for me." Suddenly, he lunged forward trying to take hold of my arms. But I wasn't crippled anymore. I jumped out of the way and snatched my sword from the ground where it had fallen. He paused, seemed amused as I stood before him, imitating the battle stance that I had seen knights use. "Do you really think you can face me and live to tell the tail? Put it down, 'Julia,' or I will introduce you to a world of pain."

"Try me," I hissed and brandished the sword and narrowed my eyes into slits. He smiled but not in the kind way he did before. It was cruel and sadistic; the sight of it made my hair prickle against my sleeves.

Some would later call challenging the mighty wizard a heroic and courageous deed. Others, myself included, would think it reckless and stupid. But all would agree it to be smarter than cooperating with him. I swear to the Gods it was the damn sword. It made me feel recklessly brave. Ganondorf, taking on a leisurely stance, drew a scimitar out of his boot with a metallic SHING and pointed it at me.

"Are you going to make the first move or shall I?" He snickered, not taking the situation very seriously. He knew I was unskilled. I didn't move a muscle. "All right then."

With a loud war cry that echoed across the grassland, he leapt at me with his Arabic style sword arched high above his head. Instincts kicked in. I went forward at the same time, blocking the heavy blow that would have killed me. Steel clashed against steel, sending a shower of sparks to the ground. The power behind his sword nearly knocked me off my feet but I managed to hold my ground. With a grunt, he kicked out at me but I avoided it and flipped backwards. The moves came so naturally one would think I had been trained for years. Wow, I'm better then I thought! He came at me again and once more he was blocked. I felt sweat dripping down my back but my face was cold. He slashed out at me, I missed it narrowly by jumping back, I felt the tip of his sword graze my tunic and make a small tear it the mid-section. I knew he wasn't putting any effort into those heavy blows; he was just playing with me as a cat would a mouse.

There was a horrifying scream; it pierced though the air like a siren. The kind of sound that made your hair stand on end and blood run cold. There was a clatter of hooves as a black shadow charged past me straight for Ganondorf. He veered suddenly and missed the warrior by less then inches. While he was distracted I lashed out at him and came very close to my target, I nicked his ear and a bead of dark blood trickled down the side of his face, his eyes widened as he blocked another attack. We moved in a slow circle and kept our distance from each other, his steps heavy, mine nervous and quick, both playing our roles in the deadly dance of steel. The black horse passed restlessly around us, tossing his head and flaring his nostrils, not taking the risk of attempting the same thing again.

But then the rules changed. The man smiled even broader, his brilliant white teeth appearing in his dark face. My vision seemed to ripple like a wave of heat had passed over my eyes. I glanced around me in horror. He was gone!

Where the hell did he--there was a whistle of steel and then a searing pain shot through my shoulder, almost making me drop the sword. I gasped sharply; it was a sword wound. Not very deep but painful none the less. I slashed at the air around me recklessly, desperate to strike my invisible foe. His hoarse chuckle filled the air around me, seeming to come from all directions.

"What's wrong, Julia? Afraid of what you can't see?" he taunted. I gritted my teeth together.

"Afraid to face me?" I growled, heart pounding in my ears. The chuckle turned into mirthless laughter.

Suddenly, I was slammed into the ground on my back. He was on top of me, pinning me down. I could scarcely draw breath with the weight. He leaned so close; I could feel his hot, disgusting breath on my face.

"I win," He said, still grinning. "Now I can claim my prize."

The look in his eyes was that of pure unabashed lust. Two fingers hooked them self in the strap of my leggings and began to pull down slowly. NO. Not right, too much like the dreams!

"Damn you and the whore that brought you screaming into this world!" I yelled, frantically twisting, trying to rid myself of him but to no avail.

"Come back to the forest with me," He said softly.

"Never!" I screamed. My fingers hooking into claws.

"That wasn't a question, it was an order--"

A large figure hurtled out of the darkness, slamming into Ganondorf from the side and knocking him off of me. I scrambled to my feet. And there was the man, struggling against the massive, battle-hardened orc. His eyes had turned from a yellow to a fiery red as he glared at Fenter who had neatly pinned him to the ground on his belly, hands behind his back. But Ganondorf was too strong, even for an orc; Fenter had difficulty holding him down. Ganondorf's hands, balled into fists, glowed with an eerie purple light.

"Run, human! Go and never look back! Find safety in Hyrule!" Fenter yelled to me.

"But--"

"Run, damn you!" he sneered, "I cannot hold him down much longer!" I picked up my sword and the black horse was at my side in an instant. I swung up onto his back and dug my heels into his side. He took off, swift as the wind. As we went by, I could feel Ganondorf's eyes following me.

Never had I felt a horse run so fast in my life, his tremendous speed made it hard to breath and the air whipping against my face stung my eyes, making them tear up. Blood was singing in my ears. I leaned forward as much as possible, became lost in the inky black mane. Thunder rolled from his hooves and cut away at the turf as we topped a grassy knoll just as a bright, purple flash in the sky signaled Fenter's death. I bowed my head and urged on the horse, fearing Ganondorf would hunt us down again.

He never came.

Sometime later after we had covered a lot of ground, we stopped at a small stream. By the light of a Poe lantern, I cleaned the wound on my shoulder. It hurt like hell but wasn't too bad. It probably wouldn't even get infected.

But what now? Where do I go from here?

My mind drifted back to the orc. He had given his life to save me, from what I could only guess. Why was beyond me…

Hyrule…What was in Hyrule? Why did he say to go there? But…perhaps it was safe; otherwise he just would have said to get out of the county. Did Hyrule have some sort of defense against the dark sorcerer? I sighed deeply and continued to swab the cut. After wrapping my arm in some cloth, I sat there for a few moments just thinking. The horse never left me, as I knew he wouldn't. He just stared at me with those intelligent blue eyes.

"Well, I guess I'm going to Hyrule..." I said to the horse. Yes, by god I was talking to animals again! But this was no ordinary animal; something set him beyond the reach of all others. When I looked in those eyes, I saw wisdom that no human could ever achieve. "You up for it?" The stallion grunted put his face close to mine. "I'll take that as a yes."

I got up and then we rode off to meet my fate.