I'd like to thank everyone for your reviews. This is DEFINITELY the most I've ever received, both in amount and in the number of different people who reviewed! Thank you!
Alright... this is the chapter where I'm going to start umm... introducing some more ideas and things that the game doesn't have... but don't worry... nothing will contradict the stuff that's already in the game... and nothing will be so powerful that it'll completely destroy the stuff that's in the game so err... if you don't like it... and think that it's un-canon... then just pretend that it's AU, 'k?
Wow... it's so hard to write stuff without the faces... Anyway... so yeah... watch the plot advance a bit more... watch some more mysteries unfold... and enjoy!
Chapter 13: Mysteries and Intrigue
Link sighed to himself as he took the final step out of the castle courtyard, heading toward the stables. Kira and Zelda were still in the princess' room, planning for the ball. Well, Zelda was the one doing most of the planning; Kira was merely agreeing with everything. He was lucky that they had not noticed him slipping out the door.
Why do they have to plan now? I mean... isn't the ball in a few weeks? There's plenty of time.
The Hero of Time shrugged and continued on his way, nonchalantly tossing an apple up and down in the air. Epona would be so happy to see him; she always did love his occasional visits, especially when treats were involved, and she always had a violent welcome prepared for those special times. Link smiled at the thought, but he could think of no better way to thank the mare for trying so hard to help him win. Besides, he could always clean up afterwards.
Deep in thought, Link rounded the final corner separating him from his destination... and froze in shock. The stables were in ruins! The ceiling had caved in; pretty much every gate or door was limply hanging to the side; horses were neighing wildly and stamping their hooves, with stablehands and soldiers frantically trying to calm them down. Rushing in, the Hero of Time grabbed the closest soldier to ask for an explanation.
"What happened? What caused this?" he questioned.
The soldier turned his face toward Link, eyes flashing with fear. "Th- The Calatian knight... he... he ran in here and g- got his black stallion and then he started swinging his... his axe around an- and he... he..." The man pointed a finger shakily toward the direction of the stadium. "He... went..."
Link released his hold on the soldier before the man could finish. Grabbing the knight's sword and ignoring the man's complaints, he marched to Epona's stall, fully aware of what he needed to do.
Deftly sidestepping several vicious hoof-blows, Link quietly approached his horse and ruffled her mane. "Epona, I'm here, girl. Don't worry..." he whispered soothingly to the panicking mare, petting her on the head. It was not long before Epona whinnied softly in response, and nudged her rider affectionately.
Link grinned. "So... you want to go and help me find the person who did this?"
The mare bobbed her head eagerly.
The Hero of Time grinned again and mounted Epona. "Alright then; c'mon girl! Let's go find that knight!" he exclaimed.
Epona needed no further urging as she charged toward the exit, nearly running over several unsuspecting stablehands and soldiers in the process.
Once they were a good distance away from the stables, Link discovered a trail of heavy hoof-prints leading to the stadium, most likely from the knight's black stallion. He urged Epona to follow the prints and scanned the road in front for any signs of the Calatian.
It did not take him long to sight the stallion, quietly standing next to the stadium wall, its coat glistening with sweat. Link directed Epona to a spot a small distance away from the other horse, dismounted, and silently walked toward the black stallion, sword held tightly in his hand. He scratched the horse behind its ears to assure it that he was merely a friend, and then quickly glanced around for Srie.
The man has to be around here; he can't have gotten far, especially with all that armor...
A small flash of bright light emitting from a nearby bush soon attracted his attention. The Hero of Time clenched his sword tighter, and inched toward the source of the light. Once he was close enough, he peeked over the tangled foliage, only to see a large cloaked figure kneeling with its back toward him, an axe off toward its side. It seemed to be mumbling something to a... large Guay perched on its arm.
What is he thinking? Guays are not... things that can be trusted! Unless...
Too late did Link notice that the Guay had caught sight of him. The bird let out a few horrible screeches and rapidly flew away while the figure stood up and turned to reveal... a cloaked object that seemed to be lacking a head.
The Hero of Time stepped out from behind the bush and pointed his sword toward the... former knight. "You... you are not a Calatian knight... Who are you?"
In response, the... figure tossed off its cloak, giving Link a good look at its true contours, a polished suit of armor complete with a helmet with two pointed horns - the very monster that the hero had constantly been reminded of, except with a black jewel in its torso.
Without lowering his sword, Link started to circle the creature. "You may be an Iron Knuckle, but I've beat worse than you. There's nothing stopping me from killing you," he threatened.
The Iron Knuckle did not flinch, did not move. "Death does not scare me," it announced in an empty, hollow tone. "My mission to my master has been complete. Nothing you do now can change that."
Link kept his attention on the monster. "So... you can talk," he said through clenched teeth. "Answer me this. Where is Srie? The real Srie?"
Even though the creature had no visible face, Link could feel the monster's amusement, could feel its twisted joy in every word it uttered. "Dead. His head skewered from his body by his axe. His corpse tossed in the Lost Woods for the Wolfos to feast upon. A fitting death, don't you think?"
The Hero of Time stared coldly at the Iron Knuckle. It was all he could do to keep himself from throwing his sword at the monster. "Your master," he finally said, changing the topic. "Just who is your master?"
"You do not need to know. He is far more powerful than you ever will be. After all, he was the one who ordered me to kill the knight and take his place in the tournament." Again, more glee and a bit of pride.
Link could not contain his anger any longer. "I don't care if he's more powerful than I am," he stated quietly. "I can not and will not let him take the lives of any more innocents."
With that final statement, he lunged for the jewel, driving his sword, or rather, the Hylian knight's sword deep into the target. The black gem exploded almost immediately, the sword shattering with it. The Iron Knuckle did not even have time to react; it let out a final anguished scream before falling to the ground and bursting into flames.
Link let the flames die away before retrieving the broken blade. Holding the hilt in his hand, he looked toward the direction the Guay had flown. "Let your death be a warning to your... master. The Hero of Time will not allow chaos to fall upon Hyrule once again," he told no one in particular, plunging the shattered sword into the ground for effect.
He turned and headed back toward Epona and the black stallion, which seemed a lot less menacing than it had been when it still belonged to the... monster. He rubbed both horses' noses thoughtfully and addressed the stallion. "Y'know... I'm sure Zelda would love to take you in."
At that, the stallion whinnied and nudged the Hero of Time.
"But we have to give you a name," Link continued. "How about... Firen?"
More whinnying and nudging, this time accompanied by some head-bobbing from both sides.
Link laughed as he mounted Epona. "You like it, don't you? Well, let's head for the castle... I have to get that knight a new sword anyway," he said as he directed his mare toward Hyrule Castle, followed by a new stallion friend. Amidst the cheerfulness, no one noticed the Guay from before fly away from the tree it had been hiding in.
Almost an hour later, the same Guay was sitting on a rock ledge, preening its feathers while a dark figure watched it thoughtfully. "So... my Iron Knuckle was felled... by the Hero of Time, most likely. It will be interesting to trade blows with him..."
Another figure, cloaked from head to toe, approached the first one. It threw off its cape to reveal a Stalfos. "Master, I have heard from the stadium stands... the Princess of Destiny will be dancing with the Hero of Time at the ball."
The first figure turned toward the Stalfos. "You have done well, Stalfos..."
"Yes, Master... Boss." the Stalfos hissed.
A tiny smirk appeared on the master's face. "But... we can not have anyone else knowing this little... tidbit of information. Can we?"
"No... no... Boss... Me won't tell. Anyone..." the Stalfos stuttered, happy at being entrusted with such valuable information.
Feigning surprise, the master answered, "Oh no. You must have the wrong idea. You see... 'we' does not mean you and me..."
Yet another figure appeared from the shadows. "It means him and me," it purred, placing a light hand on the first figure's shoulder, who continued with the interrogation.
"So... you do know what that means; don't you, Stalfos?"
The Stalfos waved its bony arms frantically. "Boss! You can't do this... Boss... you..." A silver dagger cut off its appeal... and its life. The beady red eyes rolled once in the monster's skull before its body was consumed by flames.
The first figure retrieved the dagger as the second figure pretended to look apologetic, "I'm sorry, Stalfos. But this is for your own good. I mean... what's better than a quick, painless death?"
Sliding the dagger into its sheath, the first figure turned to face his companion. "Meira, I do hope you know what you're doing..."
"I do, Skyler. The Hero of Time has the pendant AND the Triforce of Courage. The Princess of Destiny has the Triforce of Wisdom. Now... who do you think would be easier to defeat?"
"The Princess of Destiny, no doubt about that."
Meira rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Exactly. So we use her as bait..."
"I see, Meira. I am so very fortunate to have met you... my future wife."
A bit of hesitation, which Meira quickly covered up. "Of course, Skyler. Of course..." she purred.
Skyler did not notice his "wife's" slip-up, merely drawing his blade again and looking at it hungrily. "And the pendant will finally be mine. It shall finally belong to me, not to that little Hylian runt. It was foolish of our elder to let her have it; it was foolish of him to open our village to those Hylians. But no more! For once again, we shall rule Hyrule... with you, of course, Meira. Perhaps our two races could... work together? After all, we are the... unwanted races of Hyrule... are we not?"
"Yes... yes..." she quickly answered.
However, once Skyler had left the room, Meira grabbed an unlit torch from the wall and stepped toward the other side of the chamber. "But only one of these unwanted races... will rule Hyrule." she whispered to himself, lighting the torch with a bit of magic.
She brought the light up toward a cauldron in the middle of the room, filled with a clear liquid. Looking over the rim, she held the torch before her, illuminating a hazy face with a shock of fiery red hair. "My... love..."
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A/N: Well... umm... the villains have kinda been revealed... I guess... Tell me how you feel about them and your guesses on their identities. The ball's DEFINITELY coming next! Promise! I'm sorry if any of the info on horses is messed up... T-T I don't really have a horse...And I'm also sorry if the description of the Iron Knuckle is messed up too... 'cause I don't really remember their EXACT appearance... T-T Oh and... just so you know... all original names in this are pretty much just random letters thrown together... so... yeah... but a lot of Zelda names are kinda like that too so... don't kill me? Well... review please!