There were no Stalchildren that night, an absence for which the children were grateful. The gates to Hyrule Market were still open and the torches glowed fiercely. A strong wind had picked up, tossing Sakina's braids behind her head and Navi was having trouble flying. They had to see Princess Zelda. They didn't want to be carrying around those jewels forever. They got to the gates and Link gasped.
"What?"
He didn't respond but stared at the open gate expectantly. It began to rain. A horse galloped furiously through the gate, bearing two riders. Princess Zelda and Impa.
"Here!" Zelda cried and she threw something into the moat for them to find. She rode off without a goodbye.
"What the-?"
Then, another horse, a black stallion reared at the gates, bearing a sole rider. Ganondorf. He stared down at the children.
"Where did they go?" He growled.
Sakina and Link looked bravely into his cruel eyes and wouldn't say a word.
"You kids have some guts." Magic crackled around him and he uttered a word and knocked the children down in a storm of green lights before disappearing.
"Quick!" Link said, yanking Sakina to her feet. "You can dive better than I can!"
Sakina didn't disagree and dove into the moat to fetch whatever it was Zelda found so important. In the swirling waters, Sakina opened her eyes and saw the stone bottom of the moat. There it was. It was an ocarina, shiny and blue, bearing the emblem of the royal family, the Triforce. She emerged from the water and threw it to Link, who caught it. A blue light surrounded him momentarily and his eyes closed. Sakina rolled onto the land and watched Link with fear in her green eyes.
"We have to go, to the Temple of Time." Link said firmly.
Sakina said nothing for or against but simply followed him. He knew what he was doing, but she had no idea. They ran through Hyrule Market and Link bounded up a set of stairs, closely followed by Sakina. The rain was really coming down now, making it nearly impossible for them to see where they were going. Sakina tripped on the stairs and pushed herself shakily up. There was an enormous booming sound as the doors to the Temple of Time opened and Link admitted himself in. Sakina ran after him, lungs grasping for air. Her braids fell wetly down her back. Link was standing at a pedestal of sorts, water forming puddles around his shaking form.
"Sakina, do you have the stones?" He didn't turn to look at her for a minute.
"Of course," she whispered, throwing him the bag. It fell at his feet. He bent to scoop it up. He pulled out the three stones and set them on the pedestal carefully. They hummed in the air. She wanted to know what they were supposed to do next, but Link already seemed to know. He pulled out the new ocarina and played a deep, mournful melody that shook Sakina's bones. The wall that had once been, disappeared and revealed another chamber. In the center of this chamber was a marble pedestal and in it, embedded to the hilt, was a sword.
Sakina's stomach felt as though it had been liquidated.
"Link…." She whispered.
He walked forward, paying her little mind. She was about to follow him when strong hands grabbed her without warning. Before she knew what to do, a hand had covered her mouth and she could barely squeal for lack of breath and mouth. Link had the sword in hand and he disappeared! With a great rumbling, the room became the sky softly possessed by clouds and the great surrounding blue. The golden Triforce floated for anyone to steal….
There was a clicking of boots on the ground. It echoed around the temple noisily and importantly. Sakina felt it match her heartbeat with uncanny precision. Ganondorf walked in front of her, flanked by four guards. Another guard held onto Sakina, who was beyond fright.
"I win after all, isn't it ironic?" He laughed.
Sakina began to struggle as hard as she could.
"LINK!" She cried, as the hand moved to hold her down.
"He can't hear you! Not where he is." Ganondorf teased. But he moved away from her and to the Triforce. He reached for one of the triangles and managed to grab onto it, but the other two disappeared before he could pull them out with his newly gained triangle.
"Power has been selected." A whisper echoed.
"What?" Ganondorf boomed. "What!" He clenched his fist. On the back of his hand was the Triforce imprinted on his flesh. "One third! This is a sorry day indeed!" He glared at Sakina, who shrank away in terror. He grabbed her hand and stared at the back of it, then threw it back down furiously. "Bring her to the castle. There is interrogation to be done."
The guards of the castle didn't ask Ganondorf for an explanation. They bowed nervously in submission to Ganondorf's buzzing power. He swept along the walkway. Sakina screamed and struggled, begging for help from anyone. She thrashed violently and all to no avail. The guards that held onto her tiny form barely had any trouble. In fact, they laughed at her.
"She's putting up a fight," one mumbled to the other. "It's sort of like my kid-sister's pet rabbit."
"Dunno, she's supposed to be a warrior," another teased.
Sakina felt her blood boil in her face. Her arms were held at uncomfortable angles and her legs were secured by brawny arms. The rain mingled on her face with salty tears of aggravation. And loss. No, don't think like that. Link is still alive. He'll be coming any second now, Sakina thought to herself more hopefully than confidently.
They entered the castle and Ganondorf led the way into the dungeons. The dungeons were rarely used as evidence of their cleanliness. It was apparent that the king had never had much thought for torture, as the rack and thumbscrews were dusty and forgotten in a corner. The bars were well-oiled but there was no one there save for a few renegade guards, who were presently shackled in their cells. There were lumps the size of goose-eggs on their heads and they were barely stirring from their positions on the floor.
"You've killed them," she whispered to Ganondorf's back.
"Eh? No, why would I ruin a chance at making a prime example to my public?" Ganondorf laughed cruelly, looking upon Sakina. He pulled out a chair to a table decorated with weapons of cruelty and sat down. Sakina was forced rudely into a seat across from him and chained down. Her feet dangled a few inches off of the ground but she couldn't swing them, not that she would have anyway.
"What do you want from me?" She growled, glaring into his cold eyes.
He leaned forward and smiled at her. "Oh, a few answers, my dear."
"Hah," Sakina laughed harshly. "Well you can just give up now because I'll tell you nothing!"
"I thought that might be your reaction," Ganondorf smiled malignly. "It's a pity Link is dead, because I might have learned more from him."
Sakina's crude front died with those words. "What?"
"Did I say something to disturb you?" Ganondorf said in mock-pity.
"He's… dead?" Sakina's eyes widened. Tears leaked from her eyes onto her already damp face. She refused to cry for long in front of this killer. She bit her lip and sniffed a final time.
"Yes, it was rather convenient to have him get the sword instead of me. It does kill the taker." Ganondorf continued to smile broadly. "But there are still things I would like to know. Why is it you two dress as forest-children?"
Sakina's brain was buzzing with information. How could Link, her best friend in the world, be dead? Zelda had killed them! No, no… that wasn't it. Ganondorf tricked all of them. He was obviously the one to be blamed. Sakina couldn't help thinking that Zelda must have been aligned with Ganondorf. She rode off with such cowardice.
"I asked a question," Ganondorf said harshly, glaring at his prisoner.
Sakina jumped. "We are forest-children," she said suddenly.
He grinned maliciously at her. "Do you truly think so?"
Sakina looked determinedly at him. "I know so."
"Then why is it you don't have a fairy?" He leaned forward.
"I… I don't know," Sakina said. "And it's none of your business!"
"I'll tell you why, young Sakina," Ganondorf continued, unfazed. "It's because you are Hylians if the legend tells true! Link's mother brought you both to Kokiri for protection; that would make sense." Ganondorf spoke to himself, putting the pieces of their puzzle together. "But what do you have to do with any of this unless…." He looked up at Sakina again and his grin widened. His teeth glittered eerily at her. "You are Zelda's sister."
"You're mad," Sakina accused, trying again to get out of her chains. "You hear me? You're crazy!" She shouted.
"That would be interesting, wouldn't it?" He spoke to his guards. "Ruthem! You were here during Princess Zelda's birth, were you not?"
"Aye, Highness," a particularly grim looking guard confirmed.
"Do you recall any strange details?" Ganondorf prompted, watching Sakina for reactions.
"There were two of 'em. Most babes have blue eyes but one had green. Like her eyes," Ruthem pointed to Sakina. "The king didn't want two princesses hanging around. He thought twins were a sign of evil, like those twin witches from the desert." Ruthem grunted. "So he gave the green-eyed one away to a woman who had born a son. She was from the village and was leaving soon anyway."
Sakina's heart dropped. She tried to keep her face as still as stone but was failing dismally due to a trembling lower lip which had always been a fault of hers.
"Speaking of her royal highness, any ideas of where she is?" Ganondorf asked Sakina in a gentle way that didn't suit his harsh face one bit.
"No," Sakina whimpered. Furious at her own weakness, she spoke again, "and even if I did know, I wouldn't TELL YOU!" She screamed at the sorcerer.
Ganondorf wasted no time in slapping her quite smartly across the face. "I see you need some time to think about your answers, young lady."
"KILL ME YOU CRAZY BASTARD!" She screeched again, face hurting from the hit. She had picked that name up in Kakariko from a livid carpenter. "What do I have left to LIVE for!?"
"Put her away." Ganondorf motioned with a wave of the hand, rose from his seat and left. She was dragged away into a room with no bars, no sight of anything but gray rock walls. Her arms were chained above her head and her legs chained to the ground so she couldn't move around very well. She could move her arms down to her mouth, but not much further.
Finally alone in this dismal room, she allowed herself to cry.
"Link… Link… how could you leave me?" She whispered into her sleeve. She didn't fall asleep until daybreak and when she had slept for little more than an hour, Ganondorf had returned. Her eyes were red from crying but she looked defiantly into her captor's cruel eyes. Her arms hurt like nothing she had ever felt.
"How did you sleep last night, Majesty?" Ganondorf mocked. There were no guards with him.
Sakina didn't respond.
"Now, tell me about Link," Ganondorf pulled up a chair to sit in and watch her from.
"Never," she rasped.
"Never?" Ganondorf raised his eyebrows. "That's a long time. How well did you know him?"
"He was my best friend and even if he's dead I would never say a thing about him, least of all to you." Sakina was terrified of the sorcerer but sensed imminent death either way.
"I don't like rude children,"
"Tough, you kidnapped me, not the other way around." Sakina spat.
Ganondorf cackled. "It's a pity about you. You're going to be quite lovely when you get older." He touched her young face in a mock-loving way.
"Piss off!" She struggled against his touch. He just laughed again.
"You've been betrayed by Zelda, and Link has abandoned you, how do you feel?" Ganondorf mocked her. "Fool to leave your forest where one such as I could get a hold of you!"
Sakina glared furiously at him, hating that he knew exactly how she felt.
"I have nothing more to ask you, as it seems you have nothing more to offer."
"Kill me then, I have nothing more to live for." Sakina hissed.
"No, I think you'll have a more positive affect alive. For me, that is."
"What? You have to kill me!" Sakina cried.
"I know very well about your Kokiri principles. Suffering is much more enjoyable than death, my sweet. You will come to love it as I do. But I can't have you allowed anywhere you want to go, so I'll have to find a way to keep you as a pariah. Ah, yes, that would be good. I'll be back in a few days. I'll have a guard to take care of you." And he left, slamming the door behind him. Sakina's arms truly ached by that afternoon. She thought she would die just by existing.
Later, that evening, a guard came in, lifted her up to give her arms a break for a moment and then put her back down. He forced some water down her throat and then left. Sakina was left coughing and spluttering. The next morning they underwent the same routine and same for that evening. Whenever she acted up, the guards found that was a suitable excuse to beat her, usually just a punch in the stomach, sometimes a whiplash across the back. This went on for three days. Sakina felt her hope dying slowly. There was nothing left for her. Nothing. She would be down there until she died after all.
It was the fourth day that Ganondorf returned. He smiled at her.
"I have quite the gift for you," a guard entered holding a branding iron. Sakina's empty eyes lit back up with fear. She thought she had suffered before but this…. "Before you go though, I should tell you," Ganondorf leaned into whisper to her. Her eyes were on the red-hot iron that was coming steadily closer. "Link is still alive."
She gasped and then screamed as Ganondorf pulled her head to the side and the iron was shoved into the flesh of her neck just above the shoulder.
Her scream could be heard all throughout Hyrule Market and even as far as Lon Lon Ranch. She thought her vocal chords would break, that her skin would explode that nothing, nothing would save her. The iron was removed but the pain wouldn't die! Oh the heat! Oh the stinging! Her ears ringed as she finally slumped over in defeat, the pain leaving her out of breath.
Her arms were released from her cuffs and her pain doubled as her arms fell down, aching so miserably that she feared she would pass out. She was dragged up out of the dungeon and out of the castle, past the flowers and trees which looked grim and sad. Her eyes were flashing red and yellow. The guards and Ganondorf reached Hyrule Market, which was only busy with rumors, soon to be confirmed.
A group formed around Ganondorf, who floated in the air, brandishing Sakina forth.
"I am your new ruler! A new time has begun! Look now! See you all, this girl, she is a traitor and bears the mark of a traitor! Any caught keeping her will be punished worse than she." He tugged her braid and revealed to the crowd Sakina's brand, the glowing red mark of the Triforce.