Chapter Four

            Night fell quickly upon the land of Hyrule, and the unknown of the dark that came with it lingered, causing fear for many. Two guards near the entrance of the courtyard stood rigid in the cold night's wind, just moving slightly to stretch their legs. Something was unnerving them.

"Do you see anything?" the guard on the left asked. His companion was looking at the dark bushes. "Well?"

"I thought I saw something moving in the bushes over there, but I must have imagined it," he replied in a tired tone. The other laughed at him.

"Sheesh. You're so desperate for some action you imagine it, huh?" he humoured. But the guard was still looking around, convinced he had seen something. A snarl sounded from behind them, and the men turned around, weapons drawing.

"How the hell did you get pass?" one man gasped. A girl was standing there, svelte in appearance, her black hair waving in the wind and her eyes blazing red. "You're in big trouble if you don't know that!" The men couldn't see the long canines as she smiled.

"I'm paying a little visit to a dear Zelda," she growled, leapt and kicked the man's throat. He stumbled backwards, coughing up blood before falling lifeless.

"You bitch! I'll kill you," the other snarled, thrusting his spear forwards. The girl danced across, taking hold of the spear and lifting the man up by it.

"The name's Nisih," she laughed, slammed the man onto the ground and impaled the man with his spear. "Two little piggies…one big piggy to go."

            "This is bad," Xanath murmured as he watched the posted guards fail to keep back the intruder. "It's as if they're nothing to her."

"Her?" Zelda asked. She was in the throne room with Link and Xanath, the only two who really were up to fighting potentially difficult people.

"Yeah. I can't see who it is though. Too far to determine," he replied. Link felt his stomach knot tightly. Could it be?

"We can't hold her back any longer! She's coming this way!" An injured guard warned them before collapsing on the floor.

"Hell. This isn't funny," Zelda murmured, holding herself and swaying side to side. "What possibly could she want with me?" Xanath stared at her for a moment before heading for the entrance to the castle.

"Link, stay here with Zelda. I'll ward her off the best I can. If you here me shout, take her away from here," the man ordered the boy, and then he ran out to face the intruder. The villagers who they had taken care off were running around in blind panic, grabbing their children and goods before fleeing.

"Crap. They're making things worst," he whispered. A guard was struck down, and Xanath finally rested his eyes on the killer. "Nisih? But, why?" The girl laughed.

"Why to see Zelda of course. She's in the way of my mission," she smiled. The man unsheathed his sword, the blade well crafted.

"You're responsible for this? How dare you," he snarled, moving into a battle stance. Nisih was growling from the depths of her throat.

"Let's get it on," she said slowly and too went into battle stance. Xanath cried out as he charged, sword over his head. He swiped downwards, and Nisih dodged him as if he were five seconds slow. Grinning she kicked into his back, and the familiar sound of cracking bone resounded. The man fell hard on his front, groaning in pain. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to dislocate your spine. Here, I'll make it better for you!" Nisih slammed a foot down on his back, crushing it.

"You're not going to get away with this…" Xanath breathed out. The girl smiled again, looking sinister. With a final kick she raced off into the castle, her mind solely fixed on getting to Zelda. She's not far from here, she thought.

"Do you think he warded her off?" Princess Zelda asked nervously. Link stared at her for a moment, and then suddenly at the door. His heart plummeted as he saw the dark haired girl standing in the doorway, arms crossed over each other.

"No. He failed miserably. You should fire him or something," she humoured. Zelda gasped, aghast.

"Nisih. You cold hearted witch," she sneered. "How dare you!"

"That's what the last guy asked and I beat him up. Do you 'high in standard' people all use the same vocabulary or what?" Nisih mocked, looking at her nails. The other frowned at her insolence. Link stepped up and stood between the two, anger ranging in him.

"Get lost Nisih. You have no business being here at all. Go before you get into some serious trouble," he warned, his voice low and serious. The girl stopped looking at her nails and stuck her tongue at him.

"You want to see serious trouble? Huh, do you? Well you'll have no choice!" She muttered, her teeth too sharp. "This is what you call serious trouble." The two watched in silent horror, as the girl seemed to be distorting, and growing. Suddenly they weren't looking at the Nisih they knew. A huge black wolf stood in the doorway, a low growl rumbling in her throat.

"What? A shapeshifter? I thought they weren't in Hyrule, let alone exist," Zelda gasped. Link snarled at the wolf crouched on the ground, the familiar pain arousing in his bones. A fine shivering had overcome him.

"Zelda, get to safety," he told her without looking at her. The princess was looking at him with fear, fear of losing him.

"No, I will not go! It'll be best if I stay here than get hunted down if you don't win," she said. "Besides, I don't want to leave your side." Link stared at her, his eyes shining with hatred, his teeth bared.

"You'll only get in the way!" he roared. Zelda shut up quickly, shocked by his outrage. He has never yelled at me before…what's wrong with him? "Go now!" The black wolf grunted as she crept closer, taking her time. She could kill them within a matter of seconds, so she wanted to savour the moment. It wasn't as if she had anything else to do after this. Link emitted a guttural sound, making it clear he wasn't going to let her get away with it so easily. He cringed as the change came over him worst than ever. Zelda saw his arms getting longer; saw his skin getting paler as fur bristled out. His boots were torn away and only the part that covered his shins stayed. At first she refused to believe what she was ogling at, but the sound of clothes being ripped told otherwise. It was a violent change, and it seemed to be extremely agonising. Zelda felt tears stream down her face as her friend too distorted into the same creature as Nisih.

"Link…" she sobbed.

Snarling savagely, Link lunged for the black wolf, fangs bared up to the gum. The other rolled aside, and snapped her jaws onto his neck, dragging him across the ground and throwing him into the wall. It shuddered upon the force of his body hitting it, but he was all right, he could take a hell of a lot more. Landing on all fours, he shook his head before charging at her. This time he caught her off guard, and the two rolled over each other, fighting in a blind frenzy. Princess Zelda had retreated into a corner, coiling up into a foetal position. Too frightened to look at the two beasts that were ripping each other, for what possibly? Perhaps to fight over who got to eat her. At that thought she closed her eyes, crying to herself.

Crying out in pain, Nisih pulled away, her throat almost torn open. She had severely underestimated her foe. He was…better than she had thought, and he was a quick leaner. Of course, she should have thought otherwise. He had fought many people, and monsters alike. He had more experience than any normal person she had come across. Link stepped back, once again putting himself in front of Zelda. He had gotten a deep gash on his loin, but he didn't seem to care at the moment. Nisih knew then he meant business. She was in his territory after all. Snarling at him she bounded over to the window and crashed through it. Gone, finally she was gone. Link turned around and stalked over to the shivering princess, trying to see if she was okay. He authorized a croon, nudging her cheek with his nose. Zelda opened her eyes, and started heaving as if she was about to scream.

"Don't hurt me…" she whispered, frightened at what might happen to her. He recoiled, saddened. He knew she was scared of him, afraid that he might hurt he. He couldn't blame her. Even he himself was struggling not to kill her, and he was afraid that he might lose control. It wasn't safe for him to hang around here. Almost sighing he left her side, paused at the window before jumping out.

"Zelda?" Xanath called out when he finally got to the throne room. "Are you alright?" The man had dragged himself here, but as he looked around he knew he was too late. Princess Zelda stood up, visibly shaken.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I didn't get hurt," she answered him in a frail voice. Xanath looked at the blood spattered on the floor, then at the shattered window.

"Where did that girl go?" he queried. "I really wanted to get my own back at her." Zelda laughed weakly.

"She changed into a big hairy beast and left out the window," she muttered. The man pulled his head back, his eyes widening.

"You mean she's a werewolf?! That would explain all those killings and everything. Damn it, why didn't I think of that?" he said in surprise, slamming a hand on his forehead. "And Link, where did he go?" Zelda turned her gaze away from him, tears welling in them.

"Link changed as well…" she managed not to burst out crying. "He's a bloodthirsty beast, just like Nisih." Xanath's arms dropped to the side of his body, limp.

"…He's like her? You know what that means," he whispered, his voice dry.

"He's responsible for killing those Kakariko villagers, responsible for hurting that child…oh Goddesses why?" she felt faint and light headed. The shock of the whole thing was hard for her to accept.

"He's also responsible for killing the chef this morning," Paer added, walking into the room. Although he was Zelda's advisor, he was too weak to be of any help. He looked around the room, shaking his head. "This morning, some servants had heard screaming from the kitchen but they were too afraid to check it out. Shortly afterwards Link came out, blood smearing his tunic. Harn's body had been mutilated." Zelda felt sick now, and she could feel the acidic contents of her stomach at the back of her throat. "My highness. You know what we do with creatures of this sort. Death is usually the best option." 

"I—we can't kill him," Zelda stammered. "I don't know how I will forgive myself if I agree to such thing. Let's wait till morning for him to come back. Then we can restrain him, and get some answers out."

"Will he come back? You know his secret," Xanath asked. The princess nodded slowly.

"He will. He doesn't have anywhere else to go…"