Disclaimer: I own Zelda's Ancient Hylian language, but not the concept of an Ancient Hylian language nor anything else Zelda-related.
Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'm back after several weeks. Between a broken laptop, vacations, and writer's block, it has taken me nearly seven weeks to update. And the future isn't looking much brighter either, as I move into college next week. If I haven't already lost all my readers, I hope you'll try to stick with me through the transition, and I'll do my best to update as often as I have time for.
Enough about me, though. On with the story!
The young girl retreated deeper into the temple. The attack had been sudden and swift; half of her personal guard had died in the initial assault. She and the rest of her guard had been forced to retreat through the Haunted Wasteland, using the secret paths that only she knew to reach the relative safety of the Desert Colossus. Unfortunately, Nabooru knew that would be no escape. Ganondorf's storehouse was in the Spirit Temple, and he and his numerous followers took the Fortress. They were caught in the middle, and Nabooru had known it was only a matter of time before they were destroyed.
The attack came in the morning. A full twenty guards, with Ganondorf right behind, had attacked at dawn, driving Nabooru and her five loyal guards onto the steps of the Spirit Temple. While they fought bravely, there were simply too many. Now Nabooru was the only one left, and she had nine Gerudo warriors follow her into the proper.
Nabooru's thoughts were racing as she faced the dead end ahead of her. Ganondorf must also have maintained his memories of the other timeline. He would not have gone to such lengths to eliminate her if he didn't know she was the Sage of Spirit. And he'd done a good job of cornering her. The only escape was through his miniature army. She'd just have to remind him that cornering a Sage didn't make them less dangerous.
The leader of Ganondorf's group, a girl Nabooru recognized as Shalii, confronted her. "Nabooru, by order of the Great Ganondorf, we are to arrest you for treasonable acts."
Nabooru spat at the lieutenant's feet. "It is you who commit treason by continuing to serve that despot."
Shalii's eyes narrowed above her veil. "We will take you by force if you desire."
Nabooru drew her scimitars. "You shall never take the Sage of Spirit alive."
Shalii raised her right hand. In unison, the nine Gerudos flanking her also drew their two scimitars.
"Prepare to die, traitor."
As Shalii's hand dropped and the Gerudos charged, Nabooru channeled the power of Spirit into her body. A bright orange aura surrounded her body and she leapt into battle. The Sage was a whirlwind of slashing scimitars, somersaulting and rolling in among her nine foes at blinding speed. Every warrior she struck disappeared in a flash of bright orange light. Within five minutes, the Sage stood alone, her scimitar at the bewildered lieutenant's throat.
"Be a good girl," Nabooru whispered, "and I'll let you live."
Shalii glanced uneasily towards the entrance as a tall man in a dark cape entered.
"Ganondorf!" Nabooru challenged. "Come a step closer and she dies."
"Oh, really?" Ganondorf replied mockingly. "The Sage of Spirit would so casually extinguish one?" He did not slow, daring Nabooru to attack.
Nabooru's eyes narrowed. Ganondorf was calling her bluff. She wasn't willing to kill Shalii, even if it meant a long, hard fight was ahead of her. Snarling, she shoved the lieutenant away from her. Shalii landed hard on her hands and knees, just in front of Ganondorf.
The King of Evil glanced down casually. "A shame that a Sage needs help doing her dirty work." In one fluid motion, he reached within his robes, drew a sword, and stabbed Shalii cleanly through the chest.
Nabooru stood in shock as Ganondorf's blade began to glow with dark power.
"For your failure," Ganondorf taunted, expelling all of the dark energy into Shalii's body. The unfortunate Gerudo exploded in a blast of shadowy magic, her last scream dying between the stone walls.
Nabooru fought to keep her stomach down as Ganondorf's evil laugh echoed throughout the temple.
"Weak fool," he spat.
Nabooru straightened, her scimitars at the ready. "You won't find me such easy prey, you abomination."
Ganondorf drew his second blade. "No, indeed. This will be fun."
Nabooru launched herself towards the Evil King.
* * * * * *
Zelda walked slowly down the hallway, forcefully keeping up a serene façade. Inside, she was itching to get the Ocarina and get out of Hyrule Castle. Ganondorf's attack on Kokiri Forest had thrown everything out of order, and she needed time to sort things out and decide how they were going to get rid of him this time.
Obviously, her spell had misfired. When Ganondorf had been sealed away the first time, Zelda had used the Ocarina of Time and the Triforce of Wisdom to permanently reverse time seven years. Her power as Seventh Sage had allowed the other Sages and the Hero of Time to retain their memories, but something else had gone horribly wrong. Ganondorf was still supposed to be sealed in the Sacred Realm.
Once again, Hyrule was at risk because of her naïveté. Her mistakes.
Finally, Zelda reached the relative sanctuary of her rooms. The young princess fell onto her bed, fighting desperately to keep back her childish tears. Crying wasn't going to help anything. Even though she was back in her ten-year-old body, she was still the Seventh Sage, destined to lead them all. She had to be strong, or all of their efforts would be for naught. After a few deep, shuddering breaths, she collected herself and rose from the bed.
Moving to her bedside table, Zelda opened a drawer and emptied its contents onto the bed. Lifting up the false bottom, the young princess was confronted with the empty space it had concealed. She glanced around uneasily, then pressed her finger against the lower left portion of the drawer. An audible click sounded throughout the room as Zelda replaced the false bottom, refilled the drawer, and shut it. Moving across the bedroom, Zelda glanced up at a portrait of her mother. Zelda had been very young when she died, and this portrait was the only real memory she was left with. Shaking aside those thoughts, she took down the portrait to reveal a blank steel wall. Zelda took one last glance at the closed door, then held her palm over the top left corner of the steel panel.
"Ilum," she said softly.
A golden glow emerged from her palm, and the steel panel turned opaque, then transparent. Zelda reached her hand into the recessed alcove and removed the Ocarina of Time, slipping it immediately into the hidden pouch on her thigh. Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door, startling the young Sage.
"Xpihu," she undertoned, waving her hand. The steel panel reappeared as she said aloud, "Who is it?"
"It's your father, dear. May I come in?"
"One moment!" Zelda called, replacing the portrait of her mother. She smoothed the front of her dress, making sure the Ocarina was secure, then called, "You may enter, Father."
The door creaked open and the kindly face of the King of Hyrule peeked around the corner. Zelda smiled at her father as he entered the chamber and shut the door behind him.
"Father!" Zelda cried, giving the large man a hug. She pulled back and gave her father her best disapproving face. "I thought you were supposed to be in meetings all day!"
The king smiled at his daughter with his eyes. "I was, my dear. But the leader of the Gerudos, Ganondorf, sent word that there was some internal trouble in his country. He had to postpone our summit indefinitely, so that gave me a short time to spend with my daughter."
Zelda kept a smile plastered on her face even as her insides froze. "That's good news, daddy."
"Anytime I get to be with my daughter is precious," the kind man replied. "Sadly, I have to attend to the budget in a few minutes, but I just wanted to see how you've been."
"I've been fine, father," Zelda answered, her thoughts racing. He wouldn't believe her if she told. "Impa has kept me occupied."
"Yes, indeed," the king answered absently. He seemed deep in thought, and the room was uncomfortably quiet. After a moment, the king knelt and looked into his daughter's eyes.
"Zelda, I've been so busy running the kingdom recently that I feel like I haven't been able to be a good father to you," he started. Zelda was silent, letting him gather his thoughts and continue. "Now that I have a little extra time on my hands, I'd like to make it up to you. What would you say to a little picnic in two days time?" The king glanced up at his daughter nervously.
Zelda's insides were being torn in two. She had to leave the castle! Of all the times for her father to become guilty, this was surely the worst. At a loss, Zelda dropped her head and managed to stammer, "That… that would be wonderful."
Her father seemed pleased by her declaration. He stood. "Very good! A picnic it shall be, then!" He put his hand on his daughter's cheek and lifted it, smiling. "I'm looking forward to it already."
Zelda smiled sadly. "It will be fun."
"Unfortunately, the budget is calling," the king said, backing towards the door. "I will see you at dinner, Zelda dear."
Zelda nodded, unable to speak. Her father closed the door behind him, just as the tears Zelda had fought back earlier emerged to spill down her face.
"Goodbye, father," she whispered.
* * * * * *
Nabooru hit the ground hard, attempting to roll to lessen the impact. She came up unsteadily on one knee, a throbbing pain coming from her right side and shoulder. She clenched her remaining scimitar tightly in her left fist. The fight had not been going well. Nabooru knew she had little chance of surviving, but she refused to give in. The Sage of Spirit slowly stood.
Ganondorf regarded her with contempt, then gestured with his sword. "Enough of this," he said, sheathing his two blades deep within his voluminous robes.
Nabooru struck in that moment, hurling her scimitar straight at the Evil King. Ganondorf dodged quickly, and the sword caught only his cape, tearing the garment from his body and pinning it to the floor.
Ganondorf's eyes narrowed. "That was foolish," he growled dangerously.
Nabooru felt something trickling down her face. She wiped at her face, her hand coming away red. She said nothing.
"Your swordplay is impressive, Sage," Ganondorf continued, nodding at her. The Gerudo continued to stand defiantly, clenching and unclenching her fists. Ganondorf regarded her for a moment, then grinned evilly.
"Let us see how your magic measures up," he mocked, raising his palm.
A blast of dark energy shot towards the Gerudo. Nabooru gathered her energies and extended her palm, shooting a bolt of Spirit energy that intercepted the assault. The conflicting magics fizzled out in mid-air. Ganondorf fired two similar attacks, both of which the Sage intercepted with bolts of her own. As the next bolt flew in at her, Nabooru dove and rolled to the left, coming up on one knee and firing a bolt at Ganondorf. The Evil King simply backhanded the blast back towards the Sage. Nabooru caught the bolt in her right hand, absorbing the energy with much difficulty.
Ganondorf chuckled evilly. "Poor fool. Without your Sage brethren, you are no match for me."
Nabooru stood again, her only response to spit at the Evil King. The smile disappeared from his face, but his eyes still mocked her.
"Enough of this," he said, gesturing with his hand.
A pillar of dark energy formed around Nabooru, slowly closing in on the Sage. She grimaced and formed a similar column of her Spirit around herself, then extended her arms, pushing the pillar out against the encroaching darkness. Sparks flew where the two columns met, and Nabooru closed her eyes. As soon as she sensed a weak spot in her shield, she reinforced it with more of her Spirit power. After several long moments, Ganondorf ceased his attack, glaring at the Sage.
"You cannot last forever," he growled.
Nabooru opened her eyes, exhausted. "I have just begun to fight," she countered, forcing a conviction into her voice that she did not feel.
Ganondorf raised his arms above his head, forming an orb of dark magic. "We shall see."
* * * * * *
Link stood, hidden, in a corner of the courtyard. Zelda had gone to retrieve the Ocarina of Time, and then they would depart to wait for the Sages in the Lost Woods. Link's mind was whirling, leaving him frustrated to be doing nothing. Everyone else had some task they were carrying out, but right now, Link was just bored.
And worried. He hoped Saria would manage to be okay. She'd been through a very rough time in the last few days, and now she had to keep pushing herself for that much longer. Link hoped Ganondorf wasn't on his way to attack Death Mountain. That could be disastrous.
Link paced around in his little alcove, grumbling to himself. Zelda was taking a long time. Where was she?
Footsteps sounded in the hallway just beyond the garden. Link shrank behind the flower bush Zelda had told him to hide behind and waited. He suddenly got a whiff of one of the bright purple blossoms and had to stifle a sneeze. He'd have to speak to Zelda about hiding places.
The princess entered the main courtyard slowly, head down. Link began to let out the breath he was holding, thought better of it, and moved away from the fragrant bushes. He walked up to Zelda, who was still walking, head down. Link began to be concerned.
"Zelda?" he ventured. The princess looked up with a gasp.
"Link!" she cried out, wiping at her eyes. "You… you startled me."
"I'm sorry," Link apologized. Had she been crying? "Are you all right?"
Zelda was silent for a moment, then shook her head. She began to sob, dropping her head into her hands.
Link put his hand on Zelda's shoulder, and the princess suddenly hugged Link, sobbing into his shoulder. Link rubbed her back gently, while trying to figure out what it was with girls crying on him recently.
"Zelda, what's the matter?"
"It's…my father," she managed. "What if… what if Ganondorf attacks the castle? And I'm not here?"
Link stood, thinking. No one had thought of that.
"He's in danger, Link!" Zelda sobbed. "And there's nothing I can do about it!"
Link was quiet. "He probably wouldn't believe you," he said softly.
Zelda pulled back from him and nodded.
"I think," Link began, "that Ganondorf would go for all the Spiritual Stones first. If he attacked the castle looking for the Ocarina, he'd have to deal with the Hylian army for the entirety of his campaign."
Zelda looked up, a glimmer of hope shining in her eyes. "Whereas if he left it for last, then he wouldn't have the added complications. Oh, Link, I hope you're right."
Link smiled at her. "We're doing all we can," he reminded her.
"We'd better get moving," Zelda said. She began to hike up her dress and Link turned away from her in surprise.
Zelda laughed out loud. "Silly boy. Here."
Still turned around, Link felt Zelda take his hand. A cold, smooth weight pressed itself into Link's palm. He brought his hand up to find the Ocarina of Time, shining with its magic. Several memories flashed through Link's mind as he gazed at the sacred instrument.
"But, Zelda, why?" he asked, turning back around.
Zelda sighed, her mirth gone. "If we're ever found by Ganondorf, he'll expect me to have the Ocarina. So if you have it, he'll be less likely to find it."
Link nodded. It made sense. Zelda brought a harp out from behind her back.
"Is that the same," Link started.
Zelda nodded. "This was – and still is, I suppose – Sheik's harp." She played a couple of notes experimentally. "Now Link, do you remember the Minuet of Forest?"
Link looked at the Ocarina, mildly surprised. "I think so."
Zelda must have seen his surprise, for she smirked at him. "You didn't think we were going to walk all the way to the forest, did you?"
Link mock-glared at her. "Well that's how most people travel, you know. It's you crazy Sages that teleport all over the place…"
Zelda simply laughed and brought her harp up. "Are you ready?"
Link fitted his hands over the Ocarina and brought it up to his lips. He'd never done this before, and yet it was a strangely familiar sensation. He closed his eyes and listened as Zelda began the lilting melody. He echoed the harp's strains on his Ocarina, feeling the song's magic sweep over him as he played.
The music faded into the air as two swirls of green shot towards the forest.
* * * * * *
It was over.
She could feel her power fading, failing her. The King of Evil was simply too strong, especially with the Triforce of Power at his command. She'd put up a good fight, though.
Her orb of magic was being steadily pushed back by the dark magic formed by Ganondorf. Deciding to give it one last shot, Nabooru gathered all her remaining energy and formed her orb into a spear aimed directly at Ganondorf. She pressed it forward, through the darkness. Just before it reached its target, the entire spear was engulfed and destroyed by the dark cloud it was attempting to pass through. That same cloud shot towards the helpless Gerudo and threw her backwards against the wall.
Pain shot up and down Nabooru's body. She could not move, but she could certainly feel every part of her body pulsing in agony. Through the pain, she dimly heard Ganondorf walk up behind her.
"Don't worry," he said mockingly, "I will not kill you."
Nabooru found herself turned around so that she stood facing the Evil King.
"I have need of you," he smirked. Nabooru's blood ran cold. "Therefore, you shall not die… but sleep!"
Ganondorf passed both hands in front of his body. A large, pink crystal formed itself around the Sage, entrapping her. Nabooru fought to maintain consciousness.
A large jolt passed through the crystal, and all went black.
A/N: Next chapter we'll find out what happened to Saria and Impa. Oh, and in case anyone is interested, Zelda's Ancient Hylian is pronounced as follows: EE-lum and Zih-hew. Here's the long-awaited review responses:
Shadow Fox 05: Thanks for the compliments, and here's the update!
Lunatic Pandora1: Link may not do a lot of fighting in these first few chapters, but he acts as emotional strength to both Saria and Zelda, as you can see in this chapter. I think he's a much deeper character than most fics portray.
As for the romance part of it, it will be there, but in a very small portion. I've hinted at it already, only very vaguely. Link would be the main figure in these romances, and I have… plans… for him.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Veilius: Yes, we're getting into the meat of the story now. This chapter adds a new (and hopefully unexpected) twist. Ingo was fun to write: I just had to picture myself when I first wake up to get the right sense of grumpiness. Talon was fun, too.
Here's the next update, sorry it took so long!
Crab Apple Fairy: Maybe I don't have a lot of reviews because it takes me so long to update! As for the rest of your review… um… I agree with everything you said.
Oh, I tried to fix up the format a little this chapter, we'll see if it worked.
And no more hissy fits!
SilverCrystal Valkyrie: I'm glad you're enjoying my story, even at the expense of freezing your computer. Don't worry about the timing of your review, since as you can see it took me a really long time to update this! Thanks for being a consistent reviewer!
Dr. Sipp: Ah, I was right. Yes, the Sages are on the run now, and one of them is caught. Beware the sharp, pointy objects! Here's the update, don't poke me!
Natalie: I like your reasoning for attacking Death Mountain first, but I like Saria too much to torture her needlessly. And yes, I kept Zelda and Link together so we could see how they feel towards each other.
Sugar highs are fun. And one of my friends is a terror with a Pikachu on her side in SB, so I can appreciate the "dynamo of death." Although I still think I could take you…
Thanks for the review!
Wow, seven reviews for one chapter. Probably partly because I waited so long to update, but still, hopefully I can keep it up! If there are still readers out there, click the little button and let me know!
-AE