AN: third chapter, bitches!
The path to the castle:
Link nodded to the guards as they accepted his certificates, going up the long road to the castle. It had been rebuilt with white hard stone, and flowers grew along the edges. He paused at the end of the road in front of the castle, and stared up at the immense building. "Goddesses.." It had become incredibly tall and immense, with spires that seemed to reach the sky. The moat had widened out as well. He was sincerely impressed. The guards checked his papers again, and nodded. "Excellent. The construction crew is down the long hall, second one to the left." Link thanked him, crossing the moat on the drawbridge and going into the castle.
It was amazing. The ceilings were arched with solid wood beams, Tapestries of red and gold hung on the walls, depicting the family crest, and battle scenes of utmost importance. The marble floor was blanketed with thick red carpet as well. Link looked around, giving himself a few minutes to examine it. Karavi followed him, quiet. He didn't turn at the hall- instead he continued walking, until he realized that he was up to the throne room. There were three chairs, all made of wood painted to look gold, ornately carved to best suit the person who sat in them. All of them were lined with red velvet cushions. The center, Link supposed, was for the king. The one to the left was for the queen, and the one to the right was for the princess or prince. He turned back, going down the hall and making it to where the construction workers were. He heard a loud clang, and a louder obscenity. Karavi shook her head. Some people need to learn to watch their damn mouths!" Link ignored her poor attempt at humor, coming upon the construction scene. An older man was glaring at an incompetent, lazy -looking young fellow sucking on his fingers. "And do you know WHY ye banged yer damn fingers?! Cus ye weren't payin' attention! Argh! in the name o' the goddesses..." he shook his head, removing his carpenter's hat and wiping his forehead. Link cleared his throat. The older man turned, seeing him, and brightened immensely. "Good! Yer here." he ran right over, shaking his hand. "We're glad yer here- we need someone with competent skills. Here's a hat-" he planted a hard cap on Link's head over his green one- "and now ye can start clearing out the big ol' vault. They told us ter make it a staircase leading to the other rooms, and' the vault is going farther downstairs. Plenty o' old junk in there..." Link was amazed at his luck. "Now ter give ye th' key..." he fumbled for a few minutes, before pulling out a tarnished, massive key. "Alrigh'. An' try ter be quiet about it- th' king is very busy." Link nodded, tucking the key away. "J'st go further down this hall 'n to the right, and you'll find it." Link thanked him, turning and walking down. He and Karavi turned down the left hall, walking along the marble and admiring the craftsmanship of the hall. Muffled voices were heard ahead, and Link stopped, blinking. He turned, seeing an ornately carved oak door, and jerked his head while looking at Karavi towards it, before going over and pressing his ear to it, hearing a demanding, loud voice. "... is no such thing as resurrection! The womenfolk simply rename their new queen of the era Nabooru. It is ancient Gerudian for mother." "Oh!" broke another voice, an old man's. "And I suppose Ganondorf is some ancient language's word for father?! Or perhaps END OF THE WO- AAAH!" Link backed up as thunderous feet charged to the door, and flung himself to the side as the doors burst open, an old man tossed out. He had on tattered blue robes, and a grey beard hanging halfway down his front. He remained crouched on the ground as the doors slammed shut, being locked. Link approached him slowly, stopping as the old man stood up, dusting himself off and grumbling quietly. "Accursed Hylian fat-man, not believing a wise word..." He straightened, reaching into his robes and pulling out a long staff, leaning heavily on it as he turned towards Link, smiling. ""Do you know of the old prophecies, young man?" Link shook his head. The old man nodded, using his cane to walk. "They say..." Link walked with him, listening. "That on the half-centennial of our hero's death, he would come back, along with the evil that plagues him, reborn and stronger than before. That is the part more well-known, anyway. But I'll tell you something." He fixed his glasses, Link still following him. "The rest is that the Goddesses would fall from the heavens to contain their brothers, only to be contained on their own. And the hero would fall... to save the world." Link swallowed hard. The man sighed, and patted Link's back. "At least someone believes me. With the Goddesses out of heaven, the gods would surely try their hand at taking over. Complete devastation of our world.." Link tensed his jaw. "But- the hero- what if he does come back and he saves us all? Aren't there chances of that happening?" The old man nodded. "Let's hope." He sighed, continuing on his way to the exit. Link stopped, letting him go, before turning and going back down the hall. He walked past the door the old man had been thrown from, seeing another on the other side of the hall a little ways down. He knocked, waiting for a response. Hearing none, he slowly pushed the doors open. The room had cool marble floors with dark red thick rugs overlaying. There was a glass roof, the sun shining in warmly. But what caught Link's eyes was the mural directly across from the doors, taking up one entire wall and framed in gold. The painting itself was composed of dark murky clouds, black as ink. They dipped down into funnel shapes, the ends like clawed jagged hands. Piercing through the clouds was a strong beam of sunlight, showing a small circle of green grass. And in the middle of the circle was the Master Sword. Link walked towards the painting, almost hypnotized by the image. When he was barely an inch away, he studied the painting as much as possible, his dark blue eyes darting over the image. When they focused once more on the Master Sword resting forlornly in the grass, he backed away, turning away from the painting and going back to the door.
A terrible rumble from behind stopped him in his tracks. He whipped back around, his eyes widening and his mouth falling open as the dark clouds started to move. He watched in horror and fascination as they tumbled and spun around the thin beam of sunlight. He took a step back towards the painting, horrified as the Master Sword crumbled, rusty, and the light faltered. A plume of smoky cloud leaked from the bottom of the painting, gliding with serpentine ease past the frame and down the wall, ghosting along the floor to snake itself around Link's ankles. He shuddered. The touch was cold as ice, and it raised gooseflesh over his skin. He shuddered again, trying to step back carefully from the clouds, more snaking free and reaching out to take him captive-
"Do you like it?" Link turned, one hand reaching for the sword that was not yet there, and he looked at the woman behind him. She had amber eyes and dark violet hair, and her skin was a deep golden brown. Her clothes were of Royal Gerudian descent, a light purple sheer robe over a darker shaded pair of pants and a silky tank top of the same color. Link looked back to the painting, stunned to see that it had resumed its original appearance. "I- I don't... I just came..." The mystery girl smirked, walking up to him as he stared. The Master Sword remained mute in the weak light, and the clouds remained still. The girl was soon next to him. "I painted this. I had a dream, where the sky was a beautiful mass of black clouds, with rolling thunder and deadly lightning. As I watched in ecstasy, a mysterious blade carved apart those lovely stormy skies, letting the damned sun through. And it embedded itself in the ground as a testament against the storm. But I..." here she paused, a hand going to her chest. "I destroyed that wretched thing." She grinned. "I commanded it to be gone with my mind, and it was... It rusted away. A weak symbol of a long dead empire." She lifted her chin, Link gritting his teeth behind closed lips. Woman or not, to call such disrespect upon the Master Sword was to slap him in the face. But he managed to speak calmly. "Why do you claim it is dead?" She looked at the painting as she answered, folding her arms. "Because as we speak, my father is drawing near to the Royal Family, his hands outstretched to clutch its throat. Soon, negotiations will commence to unite the lands of Gerudo and Hylia. " She lowered her chin, her face becoming one of slight disappointment. "Even if it means I have to marry the prince." She dropped her arms to her sides, sighing. Link looked at her, his eyes wide with shock and worry for his beloved Hylia. He'd worked too hard to defend it for this! "Why are you telling me all of this?" She turned and looked at him, smirking, and for a moment Link recognized a glint of malice in those amber eyes. "Because no one will believe a foolish peasant." She whipped around towards the door, almost shoving him aside as she strode towards it, leaving Link alone in the room. A cloud rolled over the sun, and the little glass space became dark. The clouds in the painting seemed to once again writhe, and Link quickly left.
Not seeing the princess as he exited, he went down the way he had been going down. At the end, he saw a giant tapestry. At first he could not make it out, but as he drew closer he recognized shapes. It was trimmed at the edges with gold tassels, and depicted a fantastic battle scene. Living skeletons were crawling up a black rock towards a lone golden figure, armed with a bow and arrow of light. The head of the arrow was aiming true, directly at the slobbering, terrible head of "Ganon..."
The artist, who had definitely not been there, had taken liberties with the images. The pig face was close enough, the eyes a deep blood red, seeming to glow and leave trails. Giant curling ram's horns protruded from the brow above the eyes, a slight hook to the ends. His massive hands clutched two enormous swords, with curving blades like scythes. Link felt a little chill roll through him upon seeing that terrible countenance again. He looked the tapestry all over, starting at the top and letting his eyes roll down, trying to ignore the way the skeletons' eyes seemed to glow dark blue, his sight finally resting on the gold tassels at the bottom of the tapestry. They were waving slightly, as if a breeze passed continually under them. He checked for guards, then pushed the heavy rug to one side, slipping behind it, pressing up against an enormous oak door. A keyhole made of polished bronze was at his chest level. And there was no handle. He pulled the key the woman gave him, and inserted it into the hole, wiggling it in an attempt to turn it. The key wouldn't budge.
"It's not right.." whimpered a quiet voice near his ear. Link jumped slightly, until he remembered Karavi was there. She climbed slowly from under his hat, holding on tight to his clothes. She was shaking badly. "That painting... it's..." She cleared her throat, straightening up slowly, and shaking off her chills. Link offered her his finger for her to hold onto, which she did for a little while. "Like I said- that -key- is obviously not right for the door." She grinned to pluck up her courage, and winked at him. "But I can get us in." She flew down to the keyhole, climbing into it and rooting around with her nimble fingers. There were loud clatters and a slight jingling noise, and then she withdrew. Link gently pushed it open, smiling at her. "It's amusing to think that the goddesses tolerate thievery for this," she whispered. Link smiled again, nodding. "Well, considering what I'm doing in exchange.." He made his way in, and Karavi followed quickly. They were at the top of a dark stairwell that descended into even darker settings. Karavi floated slightly ahead, illuminating the walls and floor weakly. Link frowned. "I hope I don't have to fight anything yet... but- just in case..." He looked to the ground, gathering up deku nuts and tucking them away. "These should help." He closed his satchel securely, and then he and Karavi headed down into the blackness.