Disclaimer: anime animal was not given the Legend of Zelda for her birthday, I don't think Mr Miyamoto likes her enough to give it to her as a present. She did get that new laptop she's been banging on about for ages, and her own copy of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so she doesn't have to nick her friends' copies anymore!
A.N: So now the end is near, and so we face the final curtain! Last chapter of Endeffera, which really serves as more of a prologue for *drumroll* the sequel- Blood of the Hero! Stick around at the end for my traditional end of story banter.
OK, so I didn't get it out by ten past two, but at least it's only a few hours late as opposed to days.
Dedication: Of course, to everyone who's read it and stuck with it through updates and lack thereof. However, two special mentions go to thepiccolopixie and Bonnie, who had reviewed almost every chapter throughout not only this part of the saga but also the previous. Big huggles to them- this chapter's for you guys ^_^
Chapter 15: Hyrule Tournament - Again
two years later
I can't believe those stuck up, stupid-"
"Navali..." Orla warned, looking across at Amalia who was staring at the Gerudo girl with wide, innocent blue eyes and puzzled look on her face. "My parents would kill me if Ama started repeating stuff like what you are about to say."
Fang appeared to nod her head in agreement.
Navali rolled her eyes and flung her hands skywards.
"Those idiots won't let me register for the Tournament!"
"I told you," Theo said matter of factly.
Navali glowered at him.
"Well, guess it proves it after all," Theo chuckled. "Boys are better than girls."
"Not true!" his sister argued, shoving him in the stomach.
The small group of children were sitting behind the refreshment tent at the Tournament. The adult archery had been in action for a while, and none of them had really felt the urge to watch. The only one missing was Ranlink, who was practicing his archery. He had been practicing for seven weeks straight.
"What exactly," Orla asked slowly,"did they tell you?"
Navali had folded her arms across her chest in a sulk.
"Girls can't enter. They are physically weaker and tire easier."
"Did you say that you're a Gerudo?" Amalia asked.
Theo shot his cousin a withering look. Anyone could see that the blonde girl was of Gerudo origin.
"Gerudo are forbidden to enter due to their, and I quote, 'unpredictable and savage attitude, despite being possessed of all the skills required.' This is racism and sexism!" Navali cried angrily.
Orla frowned for a moment and then smiled.
"Theo, keep an eye on things for me."
Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed Navali's hand and whistled for Fang to follow her.
"Where are we going?"
"You'll see."
******
"You're totally crazy if you think this is gonna work."
Navali sat cross legged on a crate as she sharpened her miniature scimitar. The pair were taking refuge in one of the storage rooms in the courtyard so that no one would spy on their highly covert operation. Orla frowned at her and continued to pull a boy's tunic on over her head.
"Navali, have I ever done anything crazy in my entire life?"
Navali arched a blonde eyebrow and put down her blade.
"Hmm, let me think. There was that time last summer and you persuaded me to take you to the Colossus even though it was mating season for the Leever, and then when you thought it would be fun to go and tease the Skull Kids about their ugliness and oh yeah, that time when..."
"OK, OK, so I'm not a genius, but haven't I always managed to get us out of trouble?"
"No Orla, your dad has always got us out of trouble."
Orla sighed and buckled a small brown belt around her waist.
"So, whaddya think?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips and letting her friend see her disguise. "Do I or do I not look like a boy?"
Navali jumped off the crate and walked around her friend, critically eyeing her disguise with a look of contemplation on her face.
"Well, clothes and stuff are fine but you've still got girl's hands and your hair is still too long."
Orla grinned and produced a familiar looking green hat which she placed on her head, conveniently hiding all her blonde tresses with the exception of the scruffy bangs that fell haphazardly in her midnight blue eyes.
"Now do I look like a boy?"
Navali began to giggle uncontrollably and then burst out laughing so loudly that her laughter filled the entire room. Orla frowned and folded her arms across her chest.
"What's so funny?"
Navali wiped the tears of laughter from her eyes and took a few deep breaths to compose herself.
"I can safely say that you look like the biggest dork I've ever seen in my life!"
Orla's lips set themselves in a thin line as she glowered murderously at the Gerudo.
"This was my dad's hat when he was a kid," she said crossly.
"Yeah, but you still look like a dork," Navali commented, rubbing her knuckles against her pants. "And besides, surely everyone would work out who you were if you went wearing a Kokiri hat. Only one person has ever worn one of those hats and everyone knows that that person is your father so they'd automatically know who you were."
"So what do you think I should do then?" Orla asked, taking the hat off.
"Cut your hair."
"What, are you kidding?!" Orla squeaked, grabbing her blonde locks protectively. "Nuh uh, no way. Not doing. No."
Navali giggled again.
"I don't understand you some times Oz, really I don't. You wanna prove to everyone that you're just as good as any guy when it comes to fighting but you won't even make a small sacrifice to do it."
Orla frowned.
"I just like my hair. Is that a crime?"
Navali shrugged and hopped back on top of her crate.
"I guess not."
Orla put the hat to one side and instead tied a bright red scarf around her head, tucking as much of her hair into it as possible while keeping the scruffy blonde bangs on the outside.
"Hadn't you better get goin'?" Navali asked. "They close entries in five minutes."
Orla squeaked.
******
"I'd like to enter the Tournament please."
The official looked up from his desk and smiled at the boy in front of him.
"You're just in time, I was about to stop taking entries. I need your name and age please, son."
The boy's blue eyes twinkled merrily.
"I'm ten years old and my name's Orlando Sarref."
"Orlando... Sarref. OK, good luck."
Orlando walked away with a spring in his step until he walked past a tree.
"I cannot believe you just got away with that."
Navali was leaning against the trunk with Fang standing beside her, her tail wagging. Orla grinned and rubbed her knuckles against her shirt front.
"Me neither. Still, there's no going back now."
"Hey look, there's Ran," Navali smirked. "Let's try it out again."
Orla giggled and walked towards her cousin, adopting her best swagger and praying that he wouldn't recognise her. Or his shirt. Or his boots.
"Mornin', " she said cheerfully.
"Hey," Ran responded, his features knitted into a frown of concentration.
Suddenly he stopped and did a double take.
"Orla? What the-"
Navali clapped her hand over his mouth and dragged him behind the tree with them.
"Ssh, you'll give it away!"
Ran frowned, not from concentration.
"What the hell are you doing wearing my clothes?"
Orla laughed.
"Making a statement to all the sexist pigs in the kingdom and standing up for women all over Hyrule!"
Ran looked perplexed.
"You're turning into a cross-dresser?"
Navali punched his arm.
"Ow!"
"No idiot, she's entering the Tournament."
Orla laughed and performed a mock bow.
"Meet Orlando Sarref, the winner of this year's Junior Tournament."
Ran took one look at her and burst out laughing. Fang cocked her head to one side with a puzzled expression on her face.
"You think," he spluttered, "that by tying your hair in a pony tail, hiding it under a bandana and wearing my clothes is going to get you to win the Tournament? They'll find you out in a moment!"
Orla frowned.
"No they won't," she said slowly, "'cause you're going to vouch for me."
"Oh no I'm not!" Ran protested. "I'm not going to break the rules. Besides, you'll only end up getting hurt and I'll get into troub-"
"You won't help Orla get past the judges because you're scared she'll whup your butt."
Navali's comment was said plainly and matter-of-factly, but it had the effect of a match being placed next to a pile of dry brush.
"I am not!"
"Prove it," Orla taunted, picking up on Navali's game immediately.
"Alright then," Ran snapped. "I'll get you past the judge. See you in the finals."
With that, he stormed off towards the registration tent. Orla giggled.
"Boys. Why are men so useless?"
Navali shook her head.
"Boys are useless. Honey, it is only because there is a slight chance that boys may turn into men that I tolerate them."
******
Zelda snuggled up beside her husband in the box and squeezed his hand as the junior competitors paraded around the arena.
"Another six years and it'll be Izak out there," she smiled, stroking the two year old's head.
Zak beamed up at his mother and stretched his hands out for some more candy.
"Yeah," Link replied. "And he'll wipe the floor with Theo."
Zelda recognised the competitive tone to her husband's voice.
"You can't stand the fact that Aidyn's beaten you in something, can you?" she teased. "Does it really matter that he's the first one to have a son in the tournament?"
King Harkinian laughed and touched his son in law's arm.
"This takes me back. Your father and I had a similar competition between ourselves when Zelda was on the way. We'd set up your first tournament years before you even knew what a sword was."
"Not true," Olaran argued. "He knew what a sword was, he just didn't know how to use one."
Link laughed.
"Nice to know I had your backing before you'd even seen me fight, Dad."
"Of course you had my backing. You're a Ferras, it's a sure bet."
"Disappointed that you never got to see that match?" Zelda asked.
Both Harkinian and Olaran shook their heads.
"This is a much better outcome."
Link shot Zelda a sideways glance and smiled.
"I'll say."
Zelda smiled too and kissed Izak's cheek.
And who says we don't have matches of our own?
Link's eyes widened momentarily before his smile matched his wife's.
Of course, you always come first.
Not true. It depends on the event.
Either way, I'm not complaining.
No, you never do.
Nor do you. You do moan a lot though.
Says the pot calling the kettle black.
Link laughed and got a puzzled look from his father.
"What's so funny?"
Zelda shifted uncomfortably in her seat.
"I was, er, thinking how interesting that kid's bandana was," he lied.
He gestured to a small boy wearing a red green bandana on top of his blonde hair. Suddenly he did a double take, as did Zelda.
Is that Orla?
******
Orla shifted nervously under the scrutinous stares of her peers, painfully aware that she was one of the smallest competitors. Ran stood beside her, breathing calmly as he surveyed their fellow competitors.
"Nervous?" he whispered to her.
"Hell no! You?" Orla replied, wishing that she wasn't.
"Nah," Ran replied with much the same thought in his head.
A lot of the competitors were already in their mid-teens, and Orla found her gaze inexplicably falling on a small group of some older boys talking boisterously amongst each other. She rolled her eyes distainfully as she recognised a trio of Gerudo girls leaning against the railing and flirting with them whilst shivering heavily in their winter cloaks.
"Gods they're pathetic," Ran muttered as he noticed Alanya's group.
Orla nodded and tried to focus on the task ahead of her, which was difficult seeing as everytime she looked across at the Royal box her father seemed to laugh, and her mother seemed to smile directly at her.
Did they know?
If it was that easy for them to recognise her then surely her grandfather would too, and as he was the senior judge of the event it wasn't exactly convenient.
"How's your archery?" she whispered.
"Not too shabby," Ran replied. "How's yours?"
She shrugged.
"Hopefully good enough."
The parade over, the participants trekked inside to the tent whilst the archery targets were being set up. Ranny chose that interval to manipulate his popularity to Orla's advantage.
"Hey guys, this is Orlando, my third cousin once removed on my dad's side."
Choruses of 'hellos' were raised while Orla cheerfully returned them, striking lively conversation and creating an instant rapport among them.
However, of all the competitors there was one who remained detatched from the friendly banter and camaraderie. He was wiry and quite tall, dressed in a charcoal coloured shirt and tan breeches that seemed moulded to him. His hair was deep, dark brown and long and would have fallen in his eyes had it not been for a black headband tied around his brow. Orla watched him quietly from the corner of her eye, slightly apprehensively.
What was it about him...
As if the boy had read her thoughts, he turned to stare at her icily through his dark grey eyes. Their eyes met and she found herself unable to hold his gaze for long. It was cold, too cold. She looked away quickly.
Ran looked at her quizzically.
"What's up?"
She turned her attention back to him, smiling confidently.
"Oh nothin'. Who's that guy over there?"
Ranny looked over her shoulder and shrugged.
"Dunno, not seen him before."
One of the Tournament officials blew a whistle, silencing all competitors instantly.
"Five minutes boys, archery begins in five minutes!"
******
Link stood beside his brother, waiting for the first competitors to step up for the duels. Secretly, he was bursting with pride at the thought that Orla would be fighting in the tournament this year. Zelda had been startled and alarmed at first, demanding that someone say something until Link had said one word that silenced her immediately.
"Sheik."
She hadn't said anything else after that, but had sulkily turned her attention to Izak.
"So do you know much about this Galahad kid then?" Link asked Aidyn.
Aidyn shook his head.
"No, nor does anyone else. It's as if he appeared out of nowhere."
The archery had been of particular interest to Link, who'd watched keenly as Orla clocked a respectable four hundred and seventy points while Ran had got four eighty. Aidyn had been beaming as his son held onto the lead until the final competitor.
Galahad.
He and he alone held a perfect score.
And, much to Aidyn's dismay, this elder boy had drawn to fight Ran in the first round of the duels. Orla had been matched against a powerful looking teen named Burl, though Link had no worries about how his daughter would fare. She was good, even if he did say so himself, although he was concerned as to how she'd fare against an older and stronger boy when she was used to facing Navali, Ran and himself, although the pair of them were well aware that he wasn't even close to trying when they sparred.
"There he is, good luck Ran!" Aidyn cheered enthusiastically.
Ran's determination never wavered as he walked out beside the taller boy, although his cheeks coloured on his father's enthusiastic greeting, which was echoed by the majority of the crowd.
"Go for it, knock 'im dead kid!"
"Sock it to him tough guy!"
"Seems he's got himself quite a fan club," Olaran commented as he joined his sons at the railing to the arena. "There's quite a following for him among the other boys."
Link glanced over at the other competitors and was amused to see Orla leading the cheers.
"That's funny, I can't see Orla anywhere..." Olaran muttered to himself.
"What's that Dad?" Aidyn asked, not turning his attention away from Ran and his opponent.
"Well, the others are all over there but no Orla."
Link followed his father's gaze and pretended to look surprised as he spotted Amalia, his niece and nephew and Navali desperately trying to keep a grip on Fang, who was trying to break for the arena, presumably to look for Orla. He bit back a laugh.
"I wonder where she's got to?" he pondered, trying to keep the smile from his face.
"Fight!"
The announcer's call was barely heard over the deafening roar of the crowd as the boys flew at each other. Ran's face was grim with determination as he ran at his adversary with both hands on his sword. Their wooden swords met with a crack as they stood at stalemate until Galahad forced the younger boy back with a brutal shove.
"No! Ranlink, spread your weight evenly on both feet! BOTH FEET!" Aidyn bellowed, not that his son would have been able to hear over the racket the crowd was making.
Galahad appeared to say something to Ranlink that made the black haired boy furious. With a savage yell, he barrelled towards him, feinting to his right before spinning on his heel and attacking from the left.
"YES! NICE WORK!"
Olaran glanced across at Link.
"I think we're going to have to bring in some new rules for restraining parents..."
Link grinned.
"And I suppose you didn't act like this when he made his first appearence?"
"Of course not. I was judging."
Aidyn was beaming.
"I taught him that move. Little something I was cooking up for our rematch."
"And I still beat your ass."
"I had a cold!"
"Yeah yeah, save your excuses. I could take you any day of the week with my right hand and blindfolded."
"Children please," Olaran interrupted. "You might want to pay attention to the action inside the ring before making your own outside it."
Aidyn blinked and returned his focus to the match.
Something about the scenario didn't seem right to Link as he watched. The more he looked, the more apparent it was that Galahad wasn't trying at all, in fact he seemed almost bored. Granted Link himself had fought with that attitude on his first appearence at the Tournament, but he had good reason to. This boy however did not seem in the least bit concerned about Ranlink and was toying with him the way a cat did with a mouse before killing it. Just as that thought crossed Link's mind, Galahad snapped to attention almost and crouched low. As Ranlink made another charge, the older boy moved, darting across the space between them with his wooden sword raised. Before Ranny had a chance to realise what was happening, Galahad's sword smashed hard against his unprotected belly.
"WHAT THE FU-" Aidyn bellowed.
"Aidyn," Olaran snapped.
Ran doubled over, gasping for breath as Galahad moved in again, this time knocking the sword out of the younger boy's hands easily. The crowd booed and hissed violently as Galahad tucked his sword into his belt and marched out of the arena, not acknowledging anyone. Meanwhile, Ran appeared to be having trouble breathing and was attracting medical attention. Already his mother was on the scene, being part of the medical team. Aidyn leapt over the fence and was by his son's side in a matter of moments, along with the rest of the medical team. Link could hear the shrill tones of Catrine's furious reaction.
"That was an illegal blow Aidyn, you know as well as I do! Ran could have been seriously injured, that boy needs to be disqualified."
"Catrine-"
"No! I know the rules well enough, no blows are to be made to the torso or above the neck. I'm sure my biological knowledge is sound enough to know what classifies as torso and-"
"Mom please," Ran pleaded weakly, "don't kick up a fuss. I lost. If he gets disqualified and I advance then everyone's gonna think it's because of Dad and Grandpa. I lost."
Aidyn helped his son to his feet and patted his shoulder gently, proud of his maturity.
"He'll be warned. One more strike and he's out."
The other officials nodded.
******
Orla stared in disbelief as Ran's sword flew from his grasp. The boys around her were in uproar.
"That dirty cheat!"
"Someone needs to sort him out!"
"He can't get away with that!"
Galahad was walking slowly towards the tent, his eyes straight ahead and focused. Everyone around Orla tensed, some of the smaller competitors stepping back as he approached.
But not Orla.
The princess strode to the front of the others and folded her arms, glaring angrily at the older boy.
"Well, that was impressive. How do you plan on beating your next opponent, tripping 'em up or maybe even stabbing in the back?"
There was an angry although slightly less enthusiastic murmur of agreement behind her.
"I don't have time for this," Galahad grumbled, stepping to her left.
Orla moved left too, barring his way.
"Yeah you do, 'cause if I'm not mistaken you're not fighting for another two matches and I'm not on until after this, so you are gonna listen to me."
Her hard blue eyes bore into his grey.
"And lemme tell you this, if you think you got away with what you just did to Ranlink Ferras then you are sorely mistaken."
Galahad's lips quirked into a sardonic smile.
"Really? And what are you gonna do about it, little boy?"
Orla resisted the urge to pout.
"I'm gonna take you down, that's what. Your ass is mine."
Galahad chuckled.
"Looking forward to it."
With that, he walked past her and into his corner. His father, or guardian at least, patted his shoulder and shot a dirty look at the rest of the tent's occupants. Orla returned it gladly, only turning her attention to other things when someone tapped her shoulder.
"Hunh?"
"Don't worry about him kid," her opponent Burl said cheerfully. "I don't think either of us'll be the one to put him out of action. General Olaran's coming, and he looks mighty mad."
Orla busied herself with tucking her pants into her boots as her grandfather walked past, her mind already concocting ways to beat Galahad without drawing the Kokiri sword and slicing him in two.
******
With a loud yell, Burl charged at Orla, considerably slower than he had been earlier. Orla smiled, her tactic working perfectly. Due to her small frame, she was able to flit around her opponent like some kind of butterfly, her wooden blade dancing as she struck the other's time and again, each time building more and more strength. Occasionally the blade would wobble as she succumbed to a particularly forceful attack, but nonetheless she was impressed by the way she was faring.
Not bad for a girl, eh?
She wished that her father knew what she was up to, he'd be proud to see that all of his training wasn't in vain. She glanced across at the Royal box to watch Link's reaction, only to be disappointed by not seeing him there. Sighing inwardly, she decided to up the ante as she attacked agressively, thrusting her wooden sword at Burl and knocking his blade so violently that she felt the vibrations through the wood of her own weapon. She smiled.
Time to put this one to bed.
Adopting the crouch Navali had taught her earlier, Orla waited for an opening as Burl charged. Every muscle in her tensed as he drew closer until she leapt into the air and spun like a dervish, her sword extended. Burl looked stunned, particularly when the speed and force of her attack led to his sword flying through the air to the ground.
The crowd went wild.
Orla picked Burl's sword up from the ground and grinned.
"Good match huh?"
"Y-yeah," he stammered. "How'd you-?"
"Oh, that. My mother's good friends with a Gerudo. She taught me."
Burl blinked.
"Screw what I said earlier man, you've got that Galahad guy nailed with a move like that!"
Orla nodded grimly.
"I'd better."
******
Link watched Orla's fight with great interest, trying not to applaud as energetically as he wanted to when she won. A huge part of him was elated that she'd beaten Burl (not that he was surprised, she was his daughter after all) but there was also a smaller part of him that was filled with dread.
Her next fight was against Galahad.
He walked slowly around the arena, ignoring the excited whispers at his presence and concentrating purely on his thoughts.
There was something about that boy...
Zelda thought so too, she had caught his eye after Ranlink's match and had spoken telepathically to him.
Whatever you do, make sure that you talk to Orla if she has to fight him. Something isn't right.
"Fang, come here! SIT!"
Link's attention snapped back to reality as he heard Navali's protest and grinned as he was struck by a stroke of genius. He whistled sharply.
Navali was desperately trying to control Orla's wolf, who had been trying to escape into the tent to find her mistress. Hearing Link's whistle certainly didn't help as she bounded forward out of Navali's grip and darted towards him, an irate Navali on her tail.
"You dumb wolf! Come here you- oh!"
Navali ground to a halt and blinked as she stared at Link.
"Um..."
Link cocked his head to one side and looked at her pseudo-quizzically.
"And Orla is where?" he asked.
"Um..."
Link laughed and scratched behind Fang's ears.
"Would you please get a message to 'Orlando' and tell 'him' to meet me in the stables please?"
"Um..."
"Navali, I'm not going to bust 'him'. I need to give 'him' some advice. Would you send 'him' to the stables please?"
"Er-"
Link walked briskly off in the direction of the stables, drawing up strategies as he went.
******
Orla walked out of the collecting tent a few strides in front of Galahad. The audience cheered her rapturously, all of them hoping that she beat this bully. She felt her stomach turn somersaults as she realised just how many extra people this match had attracted, and with a pang of anger realised that it wasn't her they'd come to see.
They all wanted to see what Galahad would do next.
Scowling, she glanced back over her shoulder at the boy, realising that he wasn't even in the slightest bit intimidated.
Her father's words came back to her as she took up her position opposite him, wooden sword at the ready. He'd been leaning against the door to Epona's stable, feeding the mare a carrot.
"You wanted to see me, Your Highness?" she had asked, dropping her voice and trying to act as unlike her as possible by scratching her behind.
Link looked up and laughed.
"Sweetheart, you're really a sight for sore eyes dressed like that! Your mother nearly had a heart attack."
Orla jumped.
"She knows?"
Her father nodded.
"Don't worry, she thinks it's great," he lied.
Well, Orla certainly didn't get the cross dressing gene from him.
"Really?" Orla asked sceptically.
"No," Link admitted, "but I do. I've got to talk to you though, about your next fight-"
"Dad please," she protested, "I don't want any advice or help or anything. I'm going to beat him my way-"
"Orla, there's something about Galahad that bothers me and I just want you on your guard. Don't underestimate him."
"Daddy-"
"I'm serious. Don't underestimate him, let him underestimate you. I hope that you didn't use everything in that fight against Burl."
Orla had grinned.
"Don't worry Dad, I've got it covered."
She raised her sword and bowed.
"I'm going to enjoy making you suffer," she murmured.
Galahad smirked, faintly bemused.
"Keep talking."
"Fight!"
Galahad attacked first, charging at Orla with startling speed and a sure and steady strike. She braced herself as the swords made contact, throwing her weight back against her weapon to keep herself from falling back. Galahad was five years older than her and at least a foot taller than her. She grit her teeth in determination.
"My turn," she announced, leaping forward and bringing her sword diagonally down to meet with his blade.
He regarded her haughtily, fighting back with equal gusto.
"Well met," he said grudgingly, "but not well enough."
"We'll see," Orla grunted.
******
"Give it to him, teach him some manners! Go on, GIVE IT TO HIM!" Navali bellowed.
Nabooru rolled her eyes at the amount of attention her daughter was receiving and shrugged. The girl had to get interested in boys someday...
"Come on Orlando, show him what you've got!" Ranlink called from beside the Gerudo.
Fang stood beside him, her frontpaws balanced against the arena railing, snarling maliciously at Galahad. Her amber eyes were narrowed, her snout wrinkled in hatred, the fur on her hackles bristling as though she was ready to strike. Every once in a while, her teeth would appear as her growl rumbled in her chest.
"What is the matter with that wolf, is she in season or something?" Nabooru asked.
She was met with no reply, although Ran's hand found itself on Fang's shoulders.
There was a sudden uproar from the crowd as Orla tripped on something.
"CHEAT!" Navali hollered.
Orla raised herself angrily from the ground, kicking a clod of dirt away with her boot. The protests died down.
"You shouldn't judge the boy for the mistakes he made in the past," Nabooru scolded her daughter.
Navali snorted indignantly while Ran laughed a bitter laugh.
******
Orla was feeling considerably flustered. No matter how hard she attacked, Galahad was still coming at her and throwing everything that she had back in her face. Now was the time to act.
She crouched low before him, her eyes challenging him to attack her. Galahad laughed.
"That trick again? How stupid do you think I am?"
Orla grinned.
"Stupid enough to think that I'd use the death spiral," she remarked.
Galahad had no time to think as Orla's wooden sword began to buzz.
******
Link tensed, staring at Orla in disbelief.
"No way."
With a sudden yell, his daughter let her attack go, spinning with the force of the Spin Attack. Blue magical waves flew around her, tiny fragments of wood sailing through the air as her sword began to splinter.
Galahad calmly extended his sword and met Orla's blow for blow.
There was a sickening crack.
******
The majority of the wooden sword soared through the air and landed on the ground, a sorry excuse for a weapon. Its wielder regarded it with horrified realisation that perhaps they'd been a little too hasty to act.
And Galahad laughed.
"Wood doesn't conduct magic very well, or didn't your father tell you that?"
Orla looked up from her broken blade in confusion.
"What?"
Without waiting another second, Galahad strode across the arena and ripped the head scarf from Orla's head. A gasp of surprise, followed by a stunned silence filled the air as everyone stared at the little girl in shock. The red fabric fluttered to the ground in the breeze.
"I said, didn't your father tell you that magical sword attacks are useless with wood, Princess?"
He spat the last word so scornfully that Orla felt cold.
"And now, I'll beat you in front of everybody."
His sword effortlessly battered Orla's from her grasp, the force knocking her back onto her behind. There was a collective chorus of protest from the rest of the crowd, followed by angry hisses. Orla stared straight ahead at Galahad, barely noticing anything else until Fang leapt over the crowd barrier and cannonballed across the field, standing guard over her mistress. The she-wolf snarled viciously, every nerve tensed and ready to snap should she be provoked.
Galahad extended his hand and, much to Fang's dislike, reached out to help the fallen princess to her feet. She growled loudly in protest, even though Orla accepted the boy's assistance.
No point in being a sore loser.
The applause was thin as the pair walked from the arena, Orla's cheeks burning with embarrassment as she became the major spectacle of the day. From the corner of her eye she caught sight of Nabooru attempting to restrain Navali who had drawn her scimitar. Orla rolled her eyes and stroked Fang absent-mindedly, causing her to look lovingly upwards at her before she growled at Galahad for good measure. The princess smiled slightly and then shot a reassuring smile at her friends before glancing over her shoulder at the Royal Box. Her mother stood applauding her, little Zak imitating her while her grandfather looked extremely puzzled. She wondered briefly where her father was.
Until she saw him applauding her from the collecting tent, looking proudly at her with a smile on his face.
******
The final battle came and went, and to no-one's great surprise it turned out to be the reigning champion Feon against Galahad. After a not particularly spectacular battle, Galahad unsurprisingly defeated Feon easily. Orla sat bravely throughout the contest, although she was painfully aware of all eyes on her, waiting to see her response. Zelda was proud to note that her daughter hardly flinched when Galahad landed the winning blow. She reached an unseen hand across to squeeze Orla's, which earned her a small smile of appreciation.
King Harkinian cleared his throat.
"Congratulations Galahad, that was a commendable victory," he announced with his well projected voice.
There was a spattering of applause.
"I hereby award you with this medal and a seat to my left this evening at the victory ban-"
Galahad had raised his hand in protest and stopped the king short.
"With all due respect Your Majesty, I don't want either of those things."
There was an angry murmur from the crowd, with snatches of 'rude little-' and other things audible in the half silence.
"Well," Harkinian began again, a little more slowly, "what do you want?"
Galahad stared straight ahead of him, beyond the King to the seat beside Zelda.
"I'd like a duel with the Prince."
"Link?" Harkinian asked in surprise, before chuckling to himself.
There was a loud outburst of laughter from everyone assembled, and Galahad himself joined in the mirth.
Three people didn't, however.
Orla knew from that same stony look worn by the boy that had given her earlier that there was no humour in his challenge. He was deadly serious, in spite of the laughter he was now involved in.
The challenge was still there in his eyes.
And her parents saw it too.
ENDEFFERA - THE END
Well ladies and gents, that was the end of Endeffera. And I realise that it's almost taken me a whole year to write, but hopefully it was worth it. I have to say, I didn't enjoy writing this as much as Heroes of Hyrule, but then again it was much darker. The next enstallment will hopefully be a little more exciting, as it's going to have everything- swords, sorcery, angst, romance, comedy and the appearence of an old friend who we all thought we'd seen the back of...
And for Venus- lots of Ranlink and Navali, who are certainly going to be verrrry good friends...
And what about Orla? Have I tortured her enough yet? Hell no! Not quite as badly as she's been tortured already, but then again what can be worse than dying for a second time? Hmm...
Thank you all very much for your reviews throughout this venture, and I'm happy to say that the next instalment isn't going to be quite so dark/gloomy/morbid as this one was (and let me tell you, some bits were not easy to write *coughcoughkillingOrlacough*)
Tradition demands it, so here it is, the snippet from Blood of the Hero!
"You're going to go and see him again, aren't you?"
Orla jumped as she caught sight of Izak, standing by his bedroom door in his nightshirt and staring at her accusingly. Worse still, Navali was by his side, looking at her with disappointment painted across her face.
"Of course not, I'm going for a walk," she countered.
Zak raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest, looking worryingly like their mother.
"I'm not ignorant, I know that you're going to warn that scumball about Dad."
"You know, I don't have to justify my actions to a kid, perceptive or not," she growled, storming past him.
"Wake up Orla and open your eyes!" Navali cried. "Your brother nearly died, and you're protecting the very person that hurt him! Do you know what this is doing to your family? Kora won't stop crying, she's sitting on Kael's bed crying right now, and try as she might Ama can't get her to stop. Your mother hasn't moved from Kael's side all day, I've never seen her so worried. And Kael, has it even occurred to you that if that bastard had been two inches taller that you would have lost your brother?"
Orla turned her back to them, biting her lip as she did to stop the tears from threatening.
"Yeah, it hurts to hear the truth, doesn't it?" Zak growled. "If you love anyone in this family, then you'll let Dad cut him to pieces."
"How can you suggest that I don't love my family?" Orla cried. "Zak, do you have any idea what you just said?"
"Then why," Navali asked softly, "are you protecting him?"
Right, I'm off to lose myseslf in Hogwarts for a few hours. Thank you very much and goodnight!
