Chapter 3
As Impa was sitting in the carriage on the way back to the castle, she spotted two horses approaching from the west. As they neared, Impa saw that the riders were red-haired women. She leaned out of the front window and addressed the driver, "Gerudos are coming! Quickly, back to town!"
Knowing that the royal carriages were an easy target for Gerudo robbers, the driver sped the horses up and they galloped across Hyrule field. They rode into Hyrule Castle Town with the Gerudo following close behind. Impa spoke to the guard on duty at the drawbridge, "There are Gerudos headed this way! Be on your guard in case this is a raid."
The Gerudo rode into the town moments later. When the townspeople saw them, they began to panic and run for their houses. A few of the men armed themselves with sticks and anything they could find nearby, desperate to protect their homes and families from being plundered. However, unlike a regular raid, the Gerudo ignored everyone and rode straight through the center of town, towards the castle.
The castle guards had just closed the gate after granting Impa's carriage passage through. When the guard outside the gate turned around and saw the Gerudo ride up, he almost jumped out of his skin.
"Halt!" he shouted, trying to sound as brave as possible. Usually Gerudo raiders left the castle alone, but this particular guard had been on duty in the town during some of their past raids and he knew how fierce they could be. "You thieves, leave now!"
One of the women leaned over on her horse and, with a swift movement of her curved sword, killed him.
"We are here to see the king," announced the other woman. "We have the princess and we will kill her like this foolish guard if he does not see us at once."
Impa had just exited her carriage and was walking up the path towards the castle when she heard these words. Her heart leapt into her throat as she heard the mention of possible harm to Zelda. She jogged back to the gate. All of the nearby guards followed her.
"Back to your posts!" she ordered them. "This may just be a distraction."
The guards scrambled back to their positions.
"What do you want?" Impa asked the Gerudo from the other side of the gate.
"We demand to see the king right now," one of them spoke. "Do not take us lightly. We have kidnapped the princess and we will kill her if he does not agree to see us."
The other woman dismounted off her horse and stepped towards the gate. "We are serious," she said quietly. She stretched out her arm through the bars of the gate and dangled something from her hand. Impa leaned forwards and her eyes widened when she recognized a golden Triforce pendant given to Zelda by her mother when she was just a baby. It was something that Zelda refused to take off. The woman started swinging it from side to side as if to taunt Impa, but the Sheikah kept her composure.
Oh Nayru, please say she found that necklace in the field, Impa prayed. Zelda, please be somewhere safe with Link!
"My name is Impa. I am Princess Zelda's attendant," Impa said at last. "I will go and pass your request to His Highness the King of Hyrule now, but you must wait there."
"Do not take," the Gerudo ordered. "If you try anything foolish against us Princess Zelda will die."
The Knighting Ceremony had just concluded, and Impa found the king heading towards Zelda's room at a hurried pace.
"Your Majesty," she called out.
Harkinian turned around. "Ah Impa, where is my daughter? I must have some words with her." He suddenly noticed how flustered Impa looked. "Impa, is something wrong?"
"There are Gerudo outside the castle. They say they have kidnapped Zelda and are demanding to see you now."
"Is this some kind of joke?" the king asked, turning pale.
"I do not know," Impa said. "But I gravely fear it may be true. This might explain why she never showed up for the ceremony."
Harkinian felt sick. "I think we should take them seriously. I don't want to risk anything happening to my precious girl, my baby Zelda. How many Gerudo are out there?"
"Only two that I could see," Impa replied.
"Arrange extra guards to escort them in. Make sure that only two enter in case there are more, and watch them closely. I will meet with them in the throne room."
"Yes sir," Impa did as he ordered. She assembled a group of the best guards currently on duty, and a couple of the knights who had attended the earlier ceremony. She quickly outlined the situation, and when they heard, the guards were more than prepared to help. Impa almost had to warn them to refrain from attacking the Gerudo. Ten minutes later, the Gerudo women were escorted into the throne room.
"What is the meaning of this? You dare to enter the castle and say you have kidnapped my daughter? Is this true?" Harkinian roared. His face had turned bright red.
"Yes," one of the women stepped forwards. She was wearing white pants, red shoes, and a white jacket over a cropped, sleeveless red top. Her red hair was cut short and styled into several spikes. Around her waist was a wide purple sash that held two cutlass swords. "I am Zanei, leader of the Gerudo tribe."
Harkinian paused for a moment. "Nabooru is leader of the Gerudo. Has something happened to her?"
"Nabooru is busy," Zanei replied. "I am acting in her place."
"Then you will respect the work she has done to create a treaty of peace between your people and the other citizens of Hyrule."
Zanei frowned. "Treaty? Ha! Nabooru is weak. This treaty is a pathetic attempt by her to suck up to you, Darunia and the King of the Zoras. All the while throwing away the Gerudo way of life! We have survived this way for hundreds of years. Who is she to change it now? If only our great king, Ganondorf Dragmire, were still in charge."
"Well I am your king," Harkinian said, "And I demand that you free the Princess Zelda immediately."
"That will only be possible if you grant our request."
"You have no right to do this!" Harkinian shouted, his blood beginning to boil. "I should have you executed on the spot. I was told that you have already killed one of my guards on the way in here. You should be arrested for murder."
"Hear them out," hissed Impa in Harkinian's ear, fearing that he might anger the Gerudo and cause them to harm Zelda. She laid her hand on his shoulder in the hope it would help him calm down a little. It worked.
"If you are not willing to co-operate it will be the princess who is executed."
"Fine," Harkinian said. "Tell me this request."
"Our request is simple. Money. Three million rupees."
Impa drew in a sharp breath. Three million rupees was a lot of money.
"You have until noon tomorrow. At that time, we will be waiting at the drawbridge. If we get our money, you get your pathetic princess. If you don't have the money, we will kill her. And if you even think about attacking us or pulling any other tricks, we will also kill her. Remember, noon tomorrow."
Zanei and her partner left. They were closely followed by the soldiers, all of whom had white-knuckled grips on their drawn weapons.
"Three million rupees!" Harkinian exclaimed. "Zelda's life for three million rupees? She is worth more than all the money in the world."
"I know," Impa replied.
"How dare she do this? How dare they hurt Zelda!" Filled with anger, the king rose out of his throne. Next to it was a small stand that contained a pitcher filled with water and a glass. Harkinian pushed the stand with all of his might, and it toppled over, sending the vessels flying to the floor. They smashed into a thousand pieces and water seeped into the richly woven carpet, creating an expanding dark patch. A footman appeared out of the shadows and set to work cleaning up the mess.
Zelda almost felt like doing the same thing. She controlled her rage, focusing it into a single ball and burying it deep inside. It would emerge some other time. "Now is not the time to get angry," she said, "For Zelda's sake."
"You're right," Harkinian replied. "We need to get her out of this situation. But if anything happens to my little girl..." The king did not finish his sentence.