Chapter 26

Link slowly opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He was still in his room and it was still dark out. How long have I been asleep, he thought to himself. He then got a better look at where he was. He was still in his older brother's embrace, although his brother was asleep. Apparently not long. Just as Link was beginning to move around a bit, Ganson woke up, feeling the movement. He looked down at Link and smiled.

"Feel any better, little bro," asked Ganson. Link smiled slightly.

"Yeah, now that all of that is off my chest," exclaimed Link. "Hey, Ganson?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks...for staying with me." Ganson ruffled his little brother's hair and laughed lightly.

"Do you honestly think I'd leave you alone at a time like this?" Just then, they heard a loud, frightened scream come from downstairs. Ganson and Link quickly got up and ran downstairs to find the source of the scream. They quickly made it to the courtyard where they saw a sight they didn't want to see. Ganondorf had a tight grip on Princess Zelda, a dagger to her throat. All the guards that were there lay on the ground, either unconscious or dead.

"Let her go," shouted Link, reaching for his sword. His eyes widened slightly once he remembered he was unarmed. Ganson stood in front of Link protectively and glared at Ganondorf.

"You heard him! Let Zelda go," he shouted at his father. Ganondorf simply laughed.

"I'm surprised he's still alive," chuckled Ganondorf. "No matter. I'll kill both of you later. If you want to see your precious princess again, you'll come to my fortress and fight me! If you don't arrive by midnight tomorrow night, I will kill her! See you then!" Ganondorf then laughed maniacally and disappeared with a screaming Zelda. Impa and the king quickly ran in and stared at the scene in horror.

"What just happened," shouted the king. Ganson and Link turned to the king and frowned.

"Ganondorf just kidnapped Princess Zelda," explained Ganson. "If we don't go to his fortress by tomorrow at midnight to fight him, he'll kill her." Impa then slammed her fist against the wall angrily.

"By the Gods, I should have been here protecting her," fumed Impa.

"Don't worry," started Link. "We're going there...and...we're going...to...fight him..." Link then shut his eyes and collapsed. Ganson quickly caught him and picked him up in his arms, frowning at him.

"What is he doing out of bed," asked the king in a scolding way.

"We heard Zelda scream and both of us came down here to find her," sighed Ganson.

"What are we going to do now," groaned Impa. "Link is in no condition to fight."

"I'm going to fight in his place. I can't let Link risk his own health like this. Besides, I have a score to settle with Ganondorf."