Part Six: Euphoria: The First Symphony

Chapter Twelve: These Lovely Rats

The basement of Hyrule Castle was a place that seemed to alienate the rest of the castle.

No more stone marble walls and floors that were so well polished that you can mistake for glass.

Doors of heavy oak that reeked of mold and moist. Purple fungus spawns and spews upon each stone. Red fungus scents the air and ripens next to rotten meat.

Spider webs that were weaved in the corners as a replacement for curtains.

Rats as large as cats feast on any prisoner that becomes unfortunate to be locked up in a prison cell. Stories recount of these large vermin cleaning a thief named Hilts the Bowlegged of every strip of meat on him.

Poor Hilts.

He was sent to die of starvation by the royal family after being accused of murdering Princess Zelda.

Word had it that they found the raven haired beauty with two forks stuck in each of her lovely green eyes while a white handkerchief was stuffed inside her mouth and her nostrils.

Asphyxiation. HA HAH HA HA HAH!

They gave the man the worst sentence possible: they didn't feed him for a day.

That is where the rat kingdom comes in. First they crawl out of their hiding areas. Next they expect you to offer them your meal. When their bellies are not satisfied, they expect the prisoner to pay them tribute with a part of them.

"Feed us, OFFER TRIBUTE TO THE RAT KING!" cries Prince Dimitri as he perches on top of Hilt's shoulder with his leather-like tail curling around the man's neck.

The man would turn toward the gigantic beast. Its fur as brown as earth and a crown of pooters upon thy head.

"I do not wish to die Rat King. I know I am indeed a sinner, but I did not kill thee. All I was doing was just fishing and the next moment I am tried for murder."

Tee hee, so silly. So sad. So true.

"LIES!!! Alll LIEESSSS!!!" screeched the three pregnant rats as they waved thy paws into the air.

Foolish Hilts rolled his eyes at the rat king. "You got to be…"

"LIESSSS!!! SILENCE THY TONGUE!! DO NOT CORRUPT THE BABIES!" they shrilled some more.

At first Hilts the Bowlegged offered them a pinky. And then a middle finger. And then a toe. And then another toe.

But alas twenty or so of this vile kingdom poured out of the hole and surrounded the thief into a perfect circle.

Poor Hilts.

He stopped giving them tributes. He was not going to die to a couple of gigantic rats.

HA HA Silly Hilts.

You underestimated the Rat kingdom of Hyrule.

All of a sudden, with wave of perfect balance, all twenty rats sat up on their back hind legs.

"VA VOOM! VA VOOM! VA VOOM! VA VOOM!" they chanted over and over. Their heads bobbed from side to side with their little crud noses sticking towards the heavens.

With that, hundreds of rats, each as large as foxes stormed on top of the man. He screamed as their teeth sank into his flesh and ripped off strips of meat.

The solders outside his door merely hummed as the Rat King chewed on his beating heart.

Poor Hilts.

He never realized how careful the rats are. They make sure he suffered. They made sure he lived as long as possible to maximize his pain.

Poor Hilts.

Poor Hilts.

Poor POOR Hilts.

OH MIGHTY RAT KING! I BOW BEFORE THEE!!!

Zelda's eye twitched while a guard on either of her sides stared on.

"What… in Din's name… was that about…" she muttered as her chin felt like it fell to the floor.

"Sorry Princess. We warned you she was… not quite there," spoke an officer as he rolled his eyes.

A woman with frizzled red hair that was so long that it fell past her feet grasped her prison's bars. She grinned wildly as her red eyes glared back like a reflection in the mirror. Her scruffy long nails were a dark brown while the potato sack she wore for clothing had mites and lice crawling in and out through the holes as if the insects have created a city network within the bag.

Oh, and she smelled quite terrible too.

Zelda merely frowned as she walked away from the cell. There was a slight hobble in her stride like there was a weight attached to her foot. Her ankle swelled. Purpled and ripening; Link would've been more merciful had he ripped it off.

Goddess, I don't know what to do. I cannot go to Rauru or Impa for help… they may try to purify him… and frankly I don't trust those methods. This was the only lead. THE ONLY LEAD… dammit… why does it have to be… .

"Go ahead, the sooner the better."

Zelda's head rose up a little. She turned toward a soldier who leaned against his thin wooden spear.

"Did you say something to me?" she asked. The man shook his head as if awakening from a small nap.

"Errr, what did you say your highness?"

Zelda looked to the left. "Nothing, I thought I heard something but…"

"…fifteen… thirty? I don't care how you do it… JUST DO IT! AND DO IT NOW!"

Zelda's head jerked around. The soldier readied his spear as he pulled down his helmet and placed his hand over on Zelda's left shoulder.

"What is it, Princess?" he mumbled toward her ear.

"Did you hear it?"

The man lifted his helmet up. "Hear what?"

"The shouting! Goddess, didn't you hear it? It echoed throughout these walls and…"

The man sighed as he placed his spear to the ground. "Princess, the only people in here is you, me, Private Bellows, and that crazy brood who probably creates pottery with her own droppings."

He walked over toward a small dusty table. Its brown color faded with time, held various drinks and fruits on top of its dull surface. His shaking hand reached for a off-white teapot and poured a rich orange fluid from its hole and into a matching cup. Steam and the scent of orange tea filled the air as he walked over and gave it to her.

"Princess, this place is riddled with madness of those who were imprisoned before. This is not a healthy place for one such as your self to be in. Its best you leave… go relax with a warm bath. Finish old stories that are held in time by your bookmark. But please, we have lost precious friends, and the last thing this old soldier needs is more guilt that he failed his princess by allowing her to go barmy."

Zelda stared up at him as she felt the warm fluid slip between her teeth and down her throat.

The woman poked her head through her bars. Her left hand held a large brown rat in it while the other gently stroked the top of its oily head.

"The rat prince wishes tribute from thy visitor of his kingdom…" she spoke as she grinned a brown toothed smile.

Zelda merely ignored the words of the deranged and concentrated on her own thoughts.

He's right. I'm better off using my time doing something else than listening to stories from some flea ridden hag. I just hope Navi found more leads. Something… anything…

"… I… don't… need your help…"

"… I refuse to accept the help…"

"… Savages…"

Zelda stared at the old soldier. His eyes didn't flinch once. What are these voices? They sound like a male… but the accent was so heavy… it sounded like Old Hylian? You like to torture me day and night… don't you Romano?

"I hope your blood boils in the confines of hell… Curse this kingdom… damn it all…"

Zelda grumbled as she carelessly slams her cup into her lap.

"HOLD THY TONGUE THOU WICKED CREATURE!" she yelled. The broken porcelain pieces slit her fingers and dug into her knees. Zelda began to cry as the pain of her hasty action streamed throughout her body.

Zelda wrinkled her lips as she sobbed heavily. She turned toward the right of the room, only to realize that it was just one of the soldiers in a prison cell. He stood next to a body that had hung itself. The soldier was merely reading off a line from the suicide note.

Captain Hills walked toward her and began to pull out each piece. Each wound was deep and severe inside her fragile flesh. He than reached for his handkerchief and tore it into several pieces. He gently bundled up her wrists, hands and part of her thighs. He stood back, and looked deeply into her.

"Private Bellows… watch this area for me. I need to escort the Princess to Master Rauru for… purification."

"Aye Aye Captain…" spoke the soldier as he brought his hand to his helm for a salute.

"NO! YOU WILL NOT TAKE ME RAURU!" she shouted. Zelda pushed Captain Hills from her side and bolted toward the door. She felt like a young child, trying to avoid taking her medicine. However, Bellows, despite being a young recruit, had the sprint of a cheetah as he tossed his spear aside and locked her arms tightly at her elbows.

Zelda jumped and kicked as Captain Hills walked up to her and placed two iron chains on her feet. "These were the cleanest I could find," he spoke as Private Bellows placed handcuffs on her wrists.

"Goddess forgive us for ever resorting to this…" the young man mumbled.

Captain Hills reached for some spare cloth and handed some to his fellow comrade. "Wrap these around her wrists. That way they won't cut into her skin.

Zelda jerked her head at the young man and sneered. "If you dare send me to Rauru, I'll have you both drawn and quartered for all the townspeople to see!" Zelda held the bold look in her eye.

A small tickle of delight overcame her when Private Bellows immediately retracted back. His eyes were pulsing with heavily as large amounts of sweat transformed his scarlet shirt underneath into a dark purple.

Goddess! I've never threatened my own men before…

Captain Bellows rose up from his kneeling position and placed his hands on her shoulders. He calmly stared into her eyes as if doing a small interrogation. Zelda focused on holding her look but alas, she was not trained for it.

The Captain shook his head a bit and releases his grasp of her. "You will always have my honor princess… but nevertheless, you are a horrible liar," he spoke as he began to gently push Zelda out of the prison area.

"Sir, what if she's not?" mumbled the young man. His eyes glassy with thoughts of his body's organs being ripped out. He held his helm close to his body as Captain Bellows walked up and gave him a one armed hug with the other still holding Zelda's chain.

"I am in charge. I am in charge of your actions. If thou desire a drawing and quartering, then only one body shall be present."

The man smiled. "You're a good leader. I'm proud to serve under you, Sir."

"LOOK MY LOVE! SHE DOES! SHE DOES PAY TRIBUTE TO THEE!" squealed the woman in the cell as she pushes the fat rat through the bars and watched it scurry to the puddle of rich red fluid on the ground. Its small tongue lapped up the liquid quickly in cleanly.

Zelda, ignoring the disgusting scene, turned her head away from the two men. Guilt built up her stomach. She should have never said such a thing. These people did their best last night only to die protecting her. She had no right. No right at all. Spitting on their corpses had more integrity than this. Sometime, she wish she could go back in time, and take back some things she said. Not just take back, but said more things. Tell more people that she cared about them.

Poor Link.

Chapter Ten: Love and Wine are Equally Intoxicating

The wine cellar was filled with the cold and damp air of aged drinks. It's said that although wine becomes better with age, its sin that it brings about never changes. In this room lies a sin that has increased with time. The body of a man with the soul of the tortured.

He lies on his side in a sweet puddle of liquor, blood and drool in the darkest corner of the room. No light dare touches his body. Now it is enveloped in a complete blanket of darkness. Is it day? Or is it night? Right now the stars are shining outside. But his body felt too drunk to move any more than it has to.

He felt as if he was floating upon a river red. With no purpose. No will. Just death.

Death

Death Blood

So much blood but not one drop from Zelda. Except on his gauntlets. Whenever he licked them, his body felt like it was going to burst in pure pleasure. More blood, more pleasure. What a simple equation!

His body rolls over to his back. His chest bathed in blood, rises up and down as he lightly began to float above the red liquid, causing scarlet drops of sweet rain to fall from side to side. His hand with the bitter red varnish rises into the air, to reach up toward the heavens.

His face twists in agony as his spirit throbs with his accursed memories of the last few minutes of life. His fingernails dart against his clammy face and begin to dig into his cheekbones. He releases a wail of as his right hand grabs onto his heart, reliving the moment the letter opener was jabbed into his body. Over and over even when his heart stopped, the jabbing didn't stop.

But no ears can hear. No soul was around. Instead every guard was probably around Zelda, protecting her from every angle of the room.

Protecting from him.

But why not look for him? After all, when they knew a name in the past, they search every nook and cranny. But right now, there was no one looking for him. Do they not care? Or do they not know?

Don't be an idiot, it's most definitely the latter.

Are they watching over her now? Just because she was attacked, doesn't mean they have elevated security.

Link coughs briefly as his body gently floats back to the floor. He folds his hands across his chest and continues his sleep completely unaware of the small objects that begin to circle around his head.

The plate with an old faded violet flower pattern and a dull gold ridge approached the sleeping lad. "Oh dear, could it be? Master Romano!"

A teapot with the same decorations spun in delight. "It is him! IT IS! MASTER! MASTER! MASTER! Alone, away! We will bring the Lady!" Link merely nodded his head as he listened to the tapping of ceramic bouncing off.

"Little ones, you were always so good to me as a child…" he mumbled unconsciously.

He waited patiently. Time doesn't matter to him right now. It never mattered. When you walk around for about 500 years, the tedious and trivial of chores pass like a blink of the eye.

This was a fine body he's chosen. Although the amount of Link's spiritual residue on it was astounding, it didn't bother him enough to not pick him. There was something about it that made him feel almost… god-like.

He turned and looked over towards left side. He felt a warm light approach him. But he did not fear it. No, he embraced it! His eyes weakly opened while a small smile formed on his lips. "Lauretta…" he murmured.

A bright figure phased through the far end ceiling. Her body held a delicious set curves… each one in the right spot. Her light brown skin glowed in the room while her brown almond eyes stared into his. She took a little time to tuck a strand of ivory white hair from her face that was as long as her back but as soft as a cloud in the sky. She was ravishing as she gently skipped from the top of each of the barrels and finally floated down to her lover below.

He weakly reached up and stroked her glowing hair. The light. So blinding. So beautiful.

She gently laid her head against his heart while grasping his left hand into her right.

"Remember, you must kill the princess. Kill her. For me. So that I will live once more!" she spoke with a slight echo in her sultry voice.

Link turned toward her and stared deeply into her eyes. He would do anything for this woman. Why? He doesn't know. Nor does he care. "Yes… Yes I will…" he softly spoke as he pulled her towards his lips. His bloody fingers slipped through her hair as she forced herself down closer and harder against him. She reaches behind her glowing bronze back and unclasps her top.

She allows the piece of clothing to fall to the side into the puddle of sin.

She then makes love to him even through his half-sleep state.

A silent figure darted around the house of Lon Lon Ranch. Her body was draped with white cloth like some bride of a poe.

She only had one mission.

She proceeds quickly until she reached the north-side of the old fashioned building. She stared at the upstairs room. The window was wide open with cotton brown sheets wafting in the breeze. She leaped into air and floated toward the edge of the window pane. She was able to crawl into the small room filled with various tokens of Link's past. She sulks in the shadow as the noise of a heavy man approached.

Talon knocked on the door and proceeded to open it. His fat fingers gripped the handle while his round bearded face poked through the door.

"Pumpkin… is everything alright in there?" he asks as he raised his candle high. The aura lit his Pikachu pajamas as the woman crouched underneath a table.

She carefully placed her fingers on her forehead and finally looked up.

"I'm fine Daddy. Just go to bed, you need your sleep tomorrow for the harvest," she spoke as she tucked in some of her shoulder-length red hair.

Talon stretched his arms and sucked in a deep yawn. "You're right. Well, just make sure ya don't stay up to late. Nighty-night, sweetums," he spoke.

"Night, daddy," she replied as she waved from under the table.

Talon smiled as he closed the door. The woman sighed as she waits a minute to ensure he would not be back. When the coast was clear, she rolled over towards a bright teal and yellow trunk. She pulled out magic pin and shoved it into the hole. The lock magically disappeared and she was free to pull open the lid. A bright glow illuminated her white silk cloak. She reached down and pulled the object into the air.

"I commend you Princess for surviving the first night. But now, I hold the key to ensure tomorrow will be your last sunset," she hissed as she tucked the Fierce Deity mask in her pouch and leapt right out of the window.

Talon walked inside of Malon's room for a moment. He started to giggle as he walked towards her bed.

"I'ma sorry pooky; I almost forgot to give you a kiss good…night…" he muttered as he pulled the sheets to reveal two pillows acting as a decoy for a body.

Her body glowed as she floated throughout Hyrule Field. Her head turned as she watched two trinity Poe hunters race after her.

"Fools!" she spat as she jumps fifty feet into the air and over the castle wall. The two hunters scratch their head and lowered their bows. The castle door was already up and they were forced to find new game.

The woman merely bounced from rooftop to rooftop. Her white scarf around her neck waved back and forth beautifully as she finally reached the castle.
Clothes lay all over the place in the dark damp wine storage room. Link continued to lie in the puddle of blood. His body exhausted, his hair so covered in the sticky fluid that the once blond strands were a fire red color.

But he doesn't care.

Lauretta floated nakedly toward an empty bottle of wine. She lifted the piece of glass up. The aura she produced caused a reflection to appear on the bottle. Her calm neutral expression started to twist into an intimating rage.

She screamed with flash of anger as she took the bottle and smashed it against the ground.

She fell to her knees and held her arms.

"Damn you, Lauretta…"

Lauretta turned as a woman in white sheets approached her. She bowed before her and held the mask up.

"I have what you desired, Master."

To Be Continued…