"I can't do this..." Link muttered. "What's wrong with me?"
Link was slumped against the side of the stone "hall" that lead to the Gerudo Fortress. He had never felt this way before. He felt like he couldn't to do this. Every time he tried to stand up and walk, his legs would give out. Why was he so afraid?
"I HAVE to do this..." he told himself. "I have to do it, now. In the name of the goddesses." He forced himself up and stumbled toward the fortress itself.
Eventually he gained his courage back. It took a while, but once he arrived at the gate he was ready for anything. He entered through the gates. It was exactly as he remembered it; guards patrolled every length of the fortress and there was a large building with multiple doorways to one side. He headed towards the nearest doorway.
"If the inside of this boulder is as complex as it will be 8 years from now," he thought, "it'll be hell looking for Stephin."
He made his way slowly and quietly towards the doorway, carefully avoiding the guards. There was a point where he thought one of them saw him, but she had tripped and was trying to regain her balance. When he finally got there he entered and felt a sudden change in the air; it was cold. How the Gerudo could stand being inside these walls with what they were wearing, Link never did find out. He couldn't try and figure it out now, though, he had things to do. He began his search.
The thing he forgot, however, was that there were also guards inside the house compound. He was resting behind a box after a few hours of walking around slopes and more doorways, when a guard turned a corner and caught sight of him.
"Hey! You kid! What're you doing here?!," she cried out. Link didn't hesitate. He jumped up and ran with the Gerudo woman running closely behind him screaming "stop!"
Eventually he outran her, or so he thought. He was hiding behind another box ("They sure have a lot of these," he thought) when suddenly he heard "THERE! There's the boy who intruded!"
"What?" Link cried. "How did you find me?"
"Green contrasts against gray nicely," the leading Gerudo said with a sneer. The other Gerudos she had gathered began to chuckle until Link began to run. "Dammit, stop laughing and go after him!" the leader screamed. "Idiots!"
The Gerudos, mumbling about how unfair that seemed to them, proceeded to chase after Link. Even though he had a decent head start, the women were taller and had stronger legs from patrolling and working all day; it was a no-competition to catch him. They dragged him, kicking, biting and cursing to their high stone chamber and threw him in without a single word. It was just like when he had come as an adult. He hit the floor hard and felt, once again, blackness shrouding his eyes.
When he woke up he was in the middle of the desert.
"W-what?" he mumbled to himself. His first reaction was to turn on his stomach in panic, which turned out to be very stupid; the sand began to burn the bare chest that was revealed from the tear in the thread that held the top of his tunic together. "Those Gerudos...must have torn it..." he grumbled. He got to his feet and started walking aimlessly forward. He knew this was it. Those damn Gerudos...they ruined everything. This was his last life, and he wasted it on them taking him out in this heat with no water; too bad he no longer had his ocarina; he could have easily called on rains to help him cool down. As he thought of his he became more and more angry; finally he couldn't take it anymore. He saw a long wooden pole sticking from the ground; he ran over and kicked it right out of the sand and at least half of a mile away. Then it hit him:
"The guide poles!"
Guide poles led to the left and to the right. Now all he had to figure out was which way to go. He chose the left way, and made his way down the desert terrain to, hopefully, the way out...and something to eat.
Link had walked for about 15 minutes until he came to the stone building where the mysterious Poe guided him to the Desert Collosus. Of course, that would be of no help to him now; there wasn't any water there. Unless he played his ocarina, which he didn't have any more, so he was basically in trouble. He made his way to the stone opening to the basement of the building for some shelter from the blowing sand. He was halfway down the steps when he heard voices.
"Okay, you enter through the path I set out through the courts and then down the moat...and enter through the opening on the side of the castle. There, you'll have to take out the guards, since this operation is at night..."
Link couldn't believe it. This could be who he was looking for. The man named Stephin...he could be in there, he could be the one making those plans...but he couldn't go after him just yet. He couldn't try and take him out right there, his henchmen were undoubtedly there with him. He held onto the ladder and listened some more.
"Right. Then, once you're in the main court, you will enter the hallway with the bedrooms through the first window to your right. Once you're there, you'll be able to find the rooms of the king, queen, and princess.
"First off, you MUSTN'T be seen under any circumstances. If you are seen, be sure to take the person out as soon as you can so they can't call for help or find reinforcements. Remember this. Be sure to take out the king and queen first; then take out the princess.
And always, ALWAYS keep your mask on. You mustn't be recognized. No matter what.
If all goes according to plan, I will be the next heir to the throne."
Link couldn't breathe. "Is he stupid?" he thought to himself. "He can't get away with this! Wait...he has before, and he can do it now...I need to be careful." He sighed and, once more, listened in.
"Remember: this Saturday at 7 o' clock, we begin. Be at the front of the moat entering the village an hour early so I can brief everyone once more. Remember: if you fail, it's all of our heads. Be sure you do this right!"
"Saturday at seven..." Link began. Then his arms and legs gave out. He had been hanging there a long time; he couldn't do it any more. He hit the floor with a heavy 'thud.' Everyone in the room wheeled around to stare at him, and he stared back. There was a pause, then the man, apparently Stephin, raised a crossbow and without a moment's hesitation shot Link directly between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Link opened his eyes to the bliss of heaven, surrounded by the goddesses.
"It would seem as though you have failed your quest..." Said the powerful sounding Din. "However..."
"...we wish for you to know something. So we shall send you back, once more, and give you one more chance to save those whom you love." Farore concluded.
"But this will be your last and final chance, ever. If you should fail now, you will never see them again. You can't have any other chances. Be sure that you do not make a mistake. Should you die, you will stay in that world forever, though everyone will be oblivious to you." Said Nayru.
"And if I succeed...will you give me life?"
"Of course." The goddesses said in unison.
Link kneeled down in front of them and they transported him to the gate of the Hyrule Temple Court. He stood up and saw a guard nearby. He ran to him and asked him what time and day it was.
"It's Saturday, around 6:30," the guard replied. "The gate doesn't close until 7 o' clock, do you need to speak with the king?"
"Um, yeah...yeah, there's something important I need to tell him."
"Well, if it's really important..." the guard opened the gate.
"Oh...thank you so much!" Link exclaimed while shaking his hand quickly. "You're a lifesaver!" He ran through the gate toward the castle.
A half hour later, Stephin's henchmen had entered the castle gates. Link had been standing in the castle lobby waiting for the right time to act. He had to get to the bedrooms before they did; but he couldn't go down the same path as them. At the right time, he headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms, preparing himself for a very important, and difficult, battle. However, when he got to the king and queen's bedroom, he found them both...
"Dead?!" Link cried, "oh my god! What?"
Lying on his bed, King Harkinian lay bleeding out of his back. His wife, the queen, lay underneath her sheets, very white. Link ran over, hoping she may have somehow survived, but no luck. They were both dead. He was too late.
"Zelda," Link said to himself, "Zelda!" He ran as quickly as he could to her room. A quick scan over the room told him that Zelda was not there. However, there was an open window and bed sheets hanging from them. "She might have escaped," Link thought, "there's no blood or anything..." He ran to the window and looked down. Zelda was not there; there was no sign, other than the bed sheets, that she had ever been there at all. But he had to see if she was all right. He climbed down the bed sheets halfway down the wall and fell into the moat, letting it carry him downstream. The moat dumped into a river, and he allowed it to pull him downstream again while he scanned both sides of the land for any sign of Zelda.
Eventually, he saw a small figure lying on the ground a few yards away. He climbed out of the water and ran towards it; it was Zelda.
"Zelda," Link said to her. "Please...please, don't be dead..." He bent down to check her pulse. There was none. He checked for any breathing; nothing. She was cold; it was impossible to bring her back now. She was gone forever. Link had failed.
Link was slumped against the side of the stone "hall" that lead to the Gerudo Fortress. He had never felt this way before. He felt like he couldn't to do this. Every time he tried to stand up and walk, his legs would give out. Why was he so afraid?
"I HAVE to do this..." he told himself. "I have to do it, now. In the name of the goddesses." He forced himself up and stumbled toward the fortress itself.
Eventually he gained his courage back. It took a while, but once he arrived at the gate he was ready for anything. He entered through the gates. It was exactly as he remembered it; guards patrolled every length of the fortress and there was a large building with multiple doorways to one side. He headed towards the nearest doorway.
"If the inside of this boulder is as complex as it will be 8 years from now," he thought, "it'll be hell looking for Stephin."
He made his way slowly and quietly towards the doorway, carefully avoiding the guards. There was a point where he thought one of them saw him, but she had tripped and was trying to regain her balance. When he finally got there he entered and felt a sudden change in the air; it was cold. How the Gerudo could stand being inside these walls with what they were wearing, Link never did find out. He couldn't try and figure it out now, though, he had things to do. He began his search.
The thing he forgot, however, was that there were also guards inside the house compound. He was resting behind a box after a few hours of walking around slopes and more doorways, when a guard turned a corner and caught sight of him.
"Hey! You kid! What're you doing here?!," she cried out. Link didn't hesitate. He jumped up and ran with the Gerudo woman running closely behind him screaming "stop!"
Eventually he outran her, or so he thought. He was hiding behind another box ("They sure have a lot of these," he thought) when suddenly he heard "THERE! There's the boy who intruded!"
"What?" Link cried. "How did you find me?"
"Green contrasts against gray nicely," the leading Gerudo said with a sneer. The other Gerudos she had gathered began to chuckle until Link began to run. "Dammit, stop laughing and go after him!" the leader screamed. "Idiots!"
The Gerudos, mumbling about how unfair that seemed to them, proceeded to chase after Link. Even though he had a decent head start, the women were taller and had stronger legs from patrolling and working all day; it was a no-competition to catch him. They dragged him, kicking, biting and cursing to their high stone chamber and threw him in without a single word. It was just like when he had come as an adult. He hit the floor hard and felt, once again, blackness shrouding his eyes.
When he woke up he was in the middle of the desert.
"W-what?" he mumbled to himself. His first reaction was to turn on his stomach in panic, which turned out to be very stupid; the sand began to burn the bare chest that was revealed from the tear in the thread that held the top of his tunic together. "Those Gerudos...must have torn it..." he grumbled. He got to his feet and started walking aimlessly forward. He knew this was it. Those damn Gerudos...they ruined everything. This was his last life, and he wasted it on them taking him out in this heat with no water; too bad he no longer had his ocarina; he could have easily called on rains to help him cool down. As he thought of his he became more and more angry; finally he couldn't take it anymore. He saw a long wooden pole sticking from the ground; he ran over and kicked it right out of the sand and at least half of a mile away. Then it hit him:
"The guide poles!"
Guide poles led to the left and to the right. Now all he had to figure out was which way to go. He chose the left way, and made his way down the desert terrain to, hopefully, the way out...and something to eat.
Link had walked for about 15 minutes until he came to the stone building where the mysterious Poe guided him to the Desert Collosus. Of course, that would be of no help to him now; there wasn't any water there. Unless he played his ocarina, which he didn't have any more, so he was basically in trouble. He made his way to the stone opening to the basement of the building for some shelter from the blowing sand. He was halfway down the steps when he heard voices.
"Okay, you enter through the path I set out through the courts and then down the moat...and enter through the opening on the side of the castle. There, you'll have to take out the guards, since this operation is at night..."
Link couldn't believe it. This could be who he was looking for. The man named Stephin...he could be in there, he could be the one making those plans...but he couldn't go after him just yet. He couldn't try and take him out right there, his henchmen were undoubtedly there with him. He held onto the ladder and listened some more.
"Right. Then, once you're in the main court, you will enter the hallway with the bedrooms through the first window to your right. Once you're there, you'll be able to find the rooms of the king, queen, and princess.
"First off, you MUSTN'T be seen under any circumstances. If you are seen, be sure to take the person out as soon as you can so they can't call for help or find reinforcements. Remember this. Be sure to take out the king and queen first; then take out the princess.
And always, ALWAYS keep your mask on. You mustn't be recognized. No matter what.
If all goes according to plan, I will be the next heir to the throne."
Link couldn't breathe. "Is he stupid?" he thought to himself. "He can't get away with this! Wait...he has before, and he can do it now...I need to be careful." He sighed and, once more, listened in.
"Remember: this Saturday at 7 o' clock, we begin. Be at the front of the moat entering the village an hour early so I can brief everyone once more. Remember: if you fail, it's all of our heads. Be sure you do this right!"
"Saturday at seven..." Link began. Then his arms and legs gave out. He had been hanging there a long time; he couldn't do it any more. He hit the floor with a heavy 'thud.' Everyone in the room wheeled around to stare at him, and he stared back. There was a pause, then the man, apparently Stephin, raised a crossbow and without a moment's hesitation shot Link directly between the eyes, killing him instantly.
Link opened his eyes to the bliss of heaven, surrounded by the goddesses.
"It would seem as though you have failed your quest..." Said the powerful sounding Din. "However..."
"...we wish for you to know something. So we shall send you back, once more, and give you one more chance to save those whom you love." Farore concluded.
"But this will be your last and final chance, ever. If you should fail now, you will never see them again. You can't have any other chances. Be sure that you do not make a mistake. Should you die, you will stay in that world forever, though everyone will be oblivious to you." Said Nayru.
"And if I succeed...will you give me life?"
"Of course." The goddesses said in unison.
Link kneeled down in front of them and they transported him to the gate of the Hyrule Temple Court. He stood up and saw a guard nearby. He ran to him and asked him what time and day it was.
"It's Saturday, around 6:30," the guard replied. "The gate doesn't close until 7 o' clock, do you need to speak with the king?"
"Um, yeah...yeah, there's something important I need to tell him."
"Well, if it's really important..." the guard opened the gate.
"Oh...thank you so much!" Link exclaimed while shaking his hand quickly. "You're a lifesaver!" He ran through the gate toward the castle.
A half hour later, Stephin's henchmen had entered the castle gates. Link had been standing in the castle lobby waiting for the right time to act. He had to get to the bedrooms before they did; but he couldn't go down the same path as them. At the right time, he headed down the hallway towards the bedrooms, preparing himself for a very important, and difficult, battle. However, when he got to the king and queen's bedroom, he found them both...
"Dead?!" Link cried, "oh my god! What?"
Lying on his bed, King Harkinian lay bleeding out of his back. His wife, the queen, lay underneath her sheets, very white. Link ran over, hoping she may have somehow survived, but no luck. They were both dead. He was too late.
"Zelda," Link said to himself, "Zelda!" He ran as quickly as he could to her room. A quick scan over the room told him that Zelda was not there. However, there was an open window and bed sheets hanging from them. "She might have escaped," Link thought, "there's no blood or anything..." He ran to the window and looked down. Zelda was not there; there was no sign, other than the bed sheets, that she had ever been there at all. But he had to see if she was all right. He climbed down the bed sheets halfway down the wall and fell into the moat, letting it carry him downstream. The moat dumped into a river, and he allowed it to pull him downstream again while he scanned both sides of the land for any sign of Zelda.
Eventually, he saw a small figure lying on the ground a few yards away. He climbed out of the water and ran towards it; it was Zelda.
"Zelda," Link said to her. "Please...please, don't be dead..." He bent down to check her pulse. There was none. He checked for any breathing; nothing. She was cold; it was impossible to bring her back now. She was gone forever. Link had failed.