Chapter Six
Ganodorf couldn't take it any longer. He needed the Ida to return with the pendant as quick as she could. But he'd been waiting for over two hours and there was still no return. He stomped on the floor.
"Where is she?" he demanded an answer, "She should have been here long ago. I can't wait anymore."
His advisor tried to calm him down, "She'll be here and you'll get the pendant. Just wait a little longer."
Ganodorf slumped down on his throne and tried to calm himself by rocking back and forth. He was about to go ballistic when he heard a voice coming from the top tower.
"Dragon ho!" said the watcher from the tower. Ganodorf looked straight up see a man with a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He lowered the binoculars and pointed ahead, "Dragon approaching the castle. Ida is on it!"
"Anyone else?" asked Ganodorf at the top of his lungs.
The man pulled the binoculars to his face again, "Oh, yes. A young girl is with her too."
Ganodorf felt a leap of happiness as he saw the dragon come close into sight. He squinted at the two figures on the dragon and then saw Ida and Zelda flying about on it. He could hardly wait for it to land. When it did, Ida swiftly jumped off and landed into Ganodorf's arms.
"My hansom prince," she said, "I've brought you what you wished for," she reached onto the dragon and yanked Zelda off of it. She then grabbed her arms and held them roughly behind her back.
"I should have known you'd be the one after this," Zelda said, struggling against Ida's strong grip, "Just wait until Link gets here. You're in for it."
Ganodorf smiled and pushed aside her shawl she was wearing, "Give me it and maybe I won't harm you."
Zelda spoke behind clenched teeth, "I don't have it. Link does."
Ganodorf lost his smile, "Link?" he stroked his chin, "Great! I've gotten the wrong person. Now what am I going to do?"
"Shouldn't we just kill this one and get her over with?" asked Ida, "There's no use for her now since she doesn't have the pendant."
"No..." he said as he regained his smile, "She'll work just great for me. We'll use her as bait to catch the Link boy," Ida nodded, "But first we must know when and how to expose her to him without him gripping our plan. Anyway, until then we must hide Zelda. Throw her up in the high tower and we'll keep her there until it's time."
Ida nodded and lifted Zelda up with one arm. 'Turn yourself loose, Zelda,' Zelda thought to herself, 'Just maybe I could get away.' And with that, she quickly turned to Ida's side and gave her a hard pinch. She let go of her and she landed with a thump on the ground. She had to be on the ground within only two seconds, because as soon as she saw Ganodorf lunge for her, she got up and ran towards the gate. She had to get out of this creepy place and find Link.
"Get that girl!" she heard Ganodorf scream. And Zelda, still running, cranked her head behind and saw a group of Gerudo Thieves running for her. Two of them dove for her. But they landed only about a hair at her feet. So she cranked her head forward again and saw that right in front of her, about two feet ahead, was another thief about to grab her. She took mark and jumped to the side. She got up just in time for her not to get caught by the thief. She was only about twenty feet away from the gate when she felt a brush of wind slap against her face. Then, out of nowhere, the dragon came of from behind her and she felt a big, strong arm seize her and she was felt herself being lifted from the ground.
She bent her head down and bit the arm and she was released. But when she fell to the ground, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her left leg. She stared down at it and saw right there through her dress was a blue arrow. And she recognized the arrow. It was an arrow Link had told her about before, if it strikes you, you automatically faint. The last thing she saw before she fainted was a Gerudo picking her up from the ground and hand her over to Ganodorf.
Kohaku shook his head, "I'm still trying to find out where I left that book."
Link shook his head also, "You don't have any common sense, don't you?"
Kohaku gave him a weird look, "Of course I do. Why would you say I don't have any?"
"Did you ever, for the matter of a minute, think that maybe the people who took Zelda knew about the book so they stole it so you wouldn't find out what happens?"
"No...but that's a good guess. Where do you come up with all these ideas?"
"Kohaku, when you live in Hyrule for as long as I have and you're a hero to this place, you start seeing patterns and you get ideas on who's behind everything. For example, if you begin to lose a sense of some sort, it's the Zoras you want to come after. If you find that something just disappears, then it's the sorcerers you want."
"Well who do you think is behind all this?"
"I'm afraid it might be," he said, "I'm afraid it's the work of Ganodorf Dragmire. I'm afraid he wants this pendant."
"Do you know where this Ganodork lives?"
Link nodded, "As the matter of fact, I do. We'll take Epona and we'll go and have a talk with him."
She's awakened. No she's still asleep. But she's halfway with us. She gonna come to any minute now. And we'll tell her the news. Link is dead. Kohaku is dead. They're dead...they're dead...dead...dead...the words seemed to ring around in Zelda's head as she opened her eyes. She lifted herself weakly from the stone floor.
"Another bad dream," then she felt as if the dream had been a prophecy. And that made her burst in tears. She covered her face with her hands and cradled her head. She wanted Kohaku so badly. She was too scared to go on. So scared...she could have just let her life go just to see him again. She wanted to cuddle close to his warm body. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she was safe with him. Her sobs were interrupted when she heard a door from behind her open.
"Well..." she heard Ida's voice say, "You've finally awakened from your sleep."
She slowly turned her tear-drenched face to her, "Go away."
"Aww..." said Ida mockingly, "Does little Zelda want her daddy? Please! You're never going to see him again. Just like your never going to see your brother again either."
She wiped her face as well as she could with her wet hands, "You know about Kohaku?"
"Well of course I do. I've been watching you two very closely for the past couple of days. I knew about everything. The pendant...the book. And that's why I've taken the book."
"You took the book?"
She nodded as she gestured her to stand up and come to her. She did, "If you want to see Link again you have to follow everything I say, you hear me?"
Zelda nodded as she followed Ida down the corridor to the throne room, where Ganodorf sat in his throne. Immediately when he saw Zelda, he smiled and then laughed a bit.
"You said I'd see Link here," she said to Ida who was almost laughing herself, "Where is he?" they were both laughing now, " You're...you're playing some sick joke on me, aren't you? This is a joke."
And at that moment Zelda thought she could make a run for it. But it was already late. Ida had caught hold of her arm and she pulled her to a large pit of boiling lava.
Link and Kohaku dismounted Epona and looked up at the frightening castle. Link looked over at Kohaku, who was only looking back at him.
"You think she's really in there?" he asked.
Link nodded, "She has to be. And look, there's no guard at the drawbridge. And it's open. Ganodorf wants us to find him. He's wants us to come in."
"Should we?"
"We have to...for Zelda," he said and then he noticed a tear run down Kohaku's face. And he felt a tear run down his own. He wiped it and began to walk into the castle. As soon as they were completely in the long, dark corridor, they heard a big sound. They whirled behind themselves and saw that Ganodorf had closed the drawbridge on them. They had no choice now but to go on.
"You see what I told you...she's here and they want us to know that."
Link and Kohaku slowly walked into the huge throne room. The first thing they saw was Ganodorf, standing up from his throne smiling at them. The next they saw was Ida, standing next to him.
"So..." said Ganodorf, "I see you've come for a party."
"It's no party," said Link, "Give us back Zelda or suffer the consequences."
He shook his head in pity, "Give me that pendant, boy, and I'll give you your precious Zelda back."
Link felt his face go hot, "No...I'll never give it to you." He drew his sword.
So Ida smiled sadly, "Look, Ganodorf, they want to test us. Don't worry we will."
"That's right. Pull the lever."
Ida quickly jumped down from the throne and ran to a corner of the room where they saw a lever. She grasped the lever with both hands and jerked it down. Immediately after she did, a huge, bubbling pit of lava arose from the ground. It stood up about ten feet before it stopped moving. Then, after that, came a figure being lowered down to the pit. The figure was hanging by one foot upside down. That person was Zelda. And the rope she was hanging by just stopped when it was only a couple of feet from the lava.
Ganodorf laughed, "Do you still want to test us? If Ida pushes the lever up, Zelda falls down into the pit. Give me the pendant and she'll live."
Link stood there, staring at helpless Zelda. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them to see Ganodorf smiling with his hand out. Kohaku put his hand on his shoulder.
"Give it to him. Don't let Zelda go."
Link nodded and quickly pulled his hands to the back of his neck to undo the tiny clasp to the pendant. Then, having it in his hands, he slowly walked over to Ganodorf and placed it in his hands.
"Yes..." he said holding the star up like a trophy, "Oh, yes...the power is finally mine to keep."
Kohaku stood up, "Don't forget your promise. Cut Zelda down from there."
"Right, right," he said, "Guards! Bring these two to the highest tower. They've been pretty bad."
Before the two boys had a chance to react, a swarm of guards began to pounce on them, holding their arms and dragging them out of the room. Link was able to get one of his arms free and he yanked it towards Zelda.
"Noooooooo!" he said, "Zelda...I'm coming for you."
Ganodorf pointed towards Ida, "Pull the lever up!"
And Ida, with a little smile on his face, pulled up the lever and Link watched in terror as he saw the rope that held Zelda snap in half and then he saw her body drop into the pit. The last thing that was heard from her was a long, alarming scream.
Ganodorf laughed as he cranked the pendant high in the sky. He laughed triumphantly and then glanced a look at Link. He brought his hands to his face and gave him a scrawny wave. He had won! For once Ganodorf had won.
Ganodorf couldn't take it any longer. He needed the Ida to return with the pendant as quick as she could. But he'd been waiting for over two hours and there was still no return. He stomped on the floor.
"Where is she?" he demanded an answer, "She should have been here long ago. I can't wait anymore."
His advisor tried to calm him down, "She'll be here and you'll get the pendant. Just wait a little longer."
Ganodorf slumped down on his throne and tried to calm himself by rocking back and forth. He was about to go ballistic when he heard a voice coming from the top tower.
"Dragon ho!" said the watcher from the tower. Ganodorf looked straight up see a man with a pair of binoculars to his eyes. He lowered the binoculars and pointed ahead, "Dragon approaching the castle. Ida is on it!"
"Anyone else?" asked Ganodorf at the top of his lungs.
The man pulled the binoculars to his face again, "Oh, yes. A young girl is with her too."
Ganodorf felt a leap of happiness as he saw the dragon come close into sight. He squinted at the two figures on the dragon and then saw Ida and Zelda flying about on it. He could hardly wait for it to land. When it did, Ida swiftly jumped off and landed into Ganodorf's arms.
"My hansom prince," she said, "I've brought you what you wished for," she reached onto the dragon and yanked Zelda off of it. She then grabbed her arms and held them roughly behind her back.
"I should have known you'd be the one after this," Zelda said, struggling against Ida's strong grip, "Just wait until Link gets here. You're in for it."
Ganodorf smiled and pushed aside her shawl she was wearing, "Give me it and maybe I won't harm you."
Zelda spoke behind clenched teeth, "I don't have it. Link does."
Ganodorf lost his smile, "Link?" he stroked his chin, "Great! I've gotten the wrong person. Now what am I going to do?"
"Shouldn't we just kill this one and get her over with?" asked Ida, "There's no use for her now since she doesn't have the pendant."
"No..." he said as he regained his smile, "She'll work just great for me. We'll use her as bait to catch the Link boy," Ida nodded, "But first we must know when and how to expose her to him without him gripping our plan. Anyway, until then we must hide Zelda. Throw her up in the high tower and we'll keep her there until it's time."
Ida nodded and lifted Zelda up with one arm. 'Turn yourself loose, Zelda,' Zelda thought to herself, 'Just maybe I could get away.' And with that, she quickly turned to Ida's side and gave her a hard pinch. She let go of her and she landed with a thump on the ground. She had to be on the ground within only two seconds, because as soon as she saw Ganodorf lunge for her, she got up and ran towards the gate. She had to get out of this creepy place and find Link.
"Get that girl!" she heard Ganodorf scream. And Zelda, still running, cranked her head behind and saw a group of Gerudo Thieves running for her. Two of them dove for her. But they landed only about a hair at her feet. So she cranked her head forward again and saw that right in front of her, about two feet ahead, was another thief about to grab her. She took mark and jumped to the side. She got up just in time for her not to get caught by the thief. She was only about twenty feet away from the gate when she felt a brush of wind slap against her face. Then, out of nowhere, the dragon came of from behind her and she felt a big, strong arm seize her and she was felt herself being lifted from the ground.
She bent her head down and bit the arm and she was released. But when she fell to the ground, she felt a sharp pain shoot up her left leg. She stared down at it and saw right there through her dress was a blue arrow. And she recognized the arrow. It was an arrow Link had told her about before, if it strikes you, you automatically faint. The last thing she saw before she fainted was a Gerudo picking her up from the ground and hand her over to Ganodorf.
Kohaku shook his head, "I'm still trying to find out where I left that book."
Link shook his head also, "You don't have any common sense, don't you?"
Kohaku gave him a weird look, "Of course I do. Why would you say I don't have any?"
"Did you ever, for the matter of a minute, think that maybe the people who took Zelda knew about the book so they stole it so you wouldn't find out what happens?"
"No...but that's a good guess. Where do you come up with all these ideas?"
"Kohaku, when you live in Hyrule for as long as I have and you're a hero to this place, you start seeing patterns and you get ideas on who's behind everything. For example, if you begin to lose a sense of some sort, it's the Zoras you want to come after. If you find that something just disappears, then it's the sorcerers you want."
"Well who do you think is behind all this?"
"I'm afraid it might be," he said, "I'm afraid it's the work of Ganodorf Dragmire. I'm afraid he wants this pendant."
"Do you know where this Ganodork lives?"
Link nodded, "As the matter of fact, I do. We'll take Epona and we'll go and have a talk with him."
She's awakened. No she's still asleep. But she's halfway with us. She gonna come to any minute now. And we'll tell her the news. Link is dead. Kohaku is dead. They're dead...they're dead...dead...dead...the words seemed to ring around in Zelda's head as she opened her eyes. She lifted herself weakly from the stone floor.
"Another bad dream," then she felt as if the dream had been a prophecy. And that made her burst in tears. She covered her face with her hands and cradled her head. She wanted Kohaku so badly. She was too scared to go on. So scared...she could have just let her life go just to see him again. She wanted to cuddle close to his warm body. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay and that she was safe with him. Her sobs were interrupted when she heard a door from behind her open.
"Well..." she heard Ida's voice say, "You've finally awakened from your sleep."
She slowly turned her tear-drenched face to her, "Go away."
"Aww..." said Ida mockingly, "Does little Zelda want her daddy? Please! You're never going to see him again. Just like your never going to see your brother again either."
She wiped her face as well as she could with her wet hands, "You know about Kohaku?"
"Well of course I do. I've been watching you two very closely for the past couple of days. I knew about everything. The pendant...the book. And that's why I've taken the book."
"You took the book?"
She nodded as she gestured her to stand up and come to her. She did, "If you want to see Link again you have to follow everything I say, you hear me?"
Zelda nodded as she followed Ida down the corridor to the throne room, where Ganodorf sat in his throne. Immediately when he saw Zelda, he smiled and then laughed a bit.
"You said I'd see Link here," she said to Ida who was almost laughing herself, "Where is he?" they were both laughing now, " You're...you're playing some sick joke on me, aren't you? This is a joke."
And at that moment Zelda thought she could make a run for it. But it was already late. Ida had caught hold of her arm and she pulled her to a large pit of boiling lava.
Link and Kohaku dismounted Epona and looked up at the frightening castle. Link looked over at Kohaku, who was only looking back at him.
"You think she's really in there?" he asked.
Link nodded, "She has to be. And look, there's no guard at the drawbridge. And it's open. Ganodorf wants us to find him. He's wants us to come in."
"Should we?"
"We have to...for Zelda," he said and then he noticed a tear run down Kohaku's face. And he felt a tear run down his own. He wiped it and began to walk into the castle. As soon as they were completely in the long, dark corridor, they heard a big sound. They whirled behind themselves and saw that Ganodorf had closed the drawbridge on them. They had no choice now but to go on.
"You see what I told you...she's here and they want us to know that."
Link and Kohaku slowly walked into the huge throne room. The first thing they saw was Ganodorf, standing up from his throne smiling at them. The next they saw was Ida, standing next to him.
"So..." said Ganodorf, "I see you've come for a party."
"It's no party," said Link, "Give us back Zelda or suffer the consequences."
He shook his head in pity, "Give me that pendant, boy, and I'll give you your precious Zelda back."
Link felt his face go hot, "No...I'll never give it to you." He drew his sword.
So Ida smiled sadly, "Look, Ganodorf, they want to test us. Don't worry we will."
"That's right. Pull the lever."
Ida quickly jumped down from the throne and ran to a corner of the room where they saw a lever. She grasped the lever with both hands and jerked it down. Immediately after she did, a huge, bubbling pit of lava arose from the ground. It stood up about ten feet before it stopped moving. Then, after that, came a figure being lowered down to the pit. The figure was hanging by one foot upside down. That person was Zelda. And the rope she was hanging by just stopped when it was only a couple of feet from the lava.
Ganodorf laughed, "Do you still want to test us? If Ida pushes the lever up, Zelda falls down into the pit. Give me the pendant and she'll live."
Link stood there, staring at helpless Zelda. He closed his eyes tightly and then opened them to see Ganodorf smiling with his hand out. Kohaku put his hand on his shoulder.
"Give it to him. Don't let Zelda go."
Link nodded and quickly pulled his hands to the back of his neck to undo the tiny clasp to the pendant. Then, having it in his hands, he slowly walked over to Ganodorf and placed it in his hands.
"Yes..." he said holding the star up like a trophy, "Oh, yes...the power is finally mine to keep."
Kohaku stood up, "Don't forget your promise. Cut Zelda down from there."
"Right, right," he said, "Guards! Bring these two to the highest tower. They've been pretty bad."
Before the two boys had a chance to react, a swarm of guards began to pounce on them, holding their arms and dragging them out of the room. Link was able to get one of his arms free and he yanked it towards Zelda.
"Noooooooo!" he said, "Zelda...I'm coming for you."
Ganodorf pointed towards Ida, "Pull the lever up!"
And Ida, with a little smile on his face, pulled up the lever and Link watched in terror as he saw the rope that held Zelda snap in half and then he saw her body drop into the pit. The last thing that was heard from her was a long, alarming scream.
Ganodorf laughed as he cranked the pendant high in the sky. He laughed triumphantly and then glanced a look at Link. He brought his hands to his face and gave him a scrawny wave. He had won! For once Ganodorf had won.