Disclaimer: I'd much rather own Blizzard. Maybe then they'd hurry up and make a sequel to Starcraft (another hint).

Note: The Link in this story is Link IV. He is only (according to ZHQ's order) in the Oracle games and Link's Awakening.

Ambushed

The next day marked another rude awakening by Impa. She said that the 'concerned citizens' had returned, this time in far greater numbers. Several of them had threatened to camp out on the stone steps until some kind of answer was given. Luckily, Zelda was prepared to face the press this time and quickly got dressed and went outside. As she had expected, a mob of several hundred was banging on the walls with sticks and waving several signs around (of the type that would get them arrested). As soon as the Princess stepped out on to the balcony, all went silent.

"People of Hyrule," she began, "I am afraid that I must confirm the truth of some of the rumors that you may have heard about the events of-"

A woman spoke up. "So you'll confirm that the Gerudo are hell-spawn that ought to be burned at the stake?"

Zelda cleared her throat. "I will not tolerate such talk in my own court. How many Hyrulians have killed their fellows out of greed? I can think of plenty. Should we all cast ourselves into the sea, then?" The crowd seemed to need a moment to think this over. "Nay, as such would be foolish indeed. The acts of an individual should not dictate the fate of a race. Is this not true?"

"Then this thief and murderess shall go unpunished?"

"Of course not. Police will be dispatched and the situation taken care of. The Gerudo officials have always cooperated in the past. Let us hope that recent events have not altered their opinions." Thinking that this would be all, Zelda turned and prepared to leave when a voice cried out:

"What about Link? Is he really here?"

"Well...yes. Link is here. However, he is very sick and cannot see anyone for the time being. I can guarantee that he will sign autographs when he is feeling better."

Zelda didn't like to lie. It hurt her even to suggest that Link would recover because she knew that he wouldn't. Impa had told her that he would die, and that was that. Zelda trusted Impa above all others, and if she didn't think that there was hope then there was none. She sighed to herself. The people would find out soon enough anyway.

Zelda tried to keep her mind off of these things by concentrating on the mystery of what Link had been doing for the past three years. His unconscious mutters often mentioned an island, but that didn't help much. After all, what else could you find in the sea? After sifting through his clothing, she found a few trinkets that gave absolutely no clue at all as to where he had been. A copper disk, a bag of seeds, a bright red flower that looked as though it might have just been picked, about fifty rupees, a glass eye, and a piece of soggy paper with two barely legible phrases on it: 'Don't forget' and 'You will be repaid'. Forget what? Zelda had no idea, and it brought her no closer to figuring out where Link had been.

By far the most disturbing of Zelda's discoveries was that Link had been in combat. Not just fighting monsters (that was all in a day's work), but beings of real power. There were several new scars along his back, one on his forehead, and one around his right wrist. It appeared as if something had tried to sever his hand. Even Ganon hadn't come close to doing anything like that. This meant either that Link had been careless or that there was something across the sea that was stronger than Ganon. Zelda decided that she didn't really want to know anymore. She left the guest room and returned to her own.

T

Ingo pulled a little harder on the reins of his horses (they were actually Talon's horses, but they ought to be his. How often did Talon use them, anyway?) to prevent them from running out of control. This wasn't really necessary, considering how tired they were because of the long trip from Holodrum, but he didn't want any problems just in case. The last time he had forgotten to slow them down it had cost him two months of pay plus the cost of the eggs he had been hauling. Of course, it probably wouldn't have happened if Talon hadn't insisted upon selling the things in Hyrule, where they might make perhaps an extra rupee a dozen...

Before Ingo could complete this thought, he felt something close around his mouth and eyes. He was struck with a momentary fear, hoping to himself that it wasn't one of those Gerudo come to exact vengeance upon helpless villagers. He wasn't exactly relieved when he heard the his captor yell:

"Somebody tell Princess Zelda that if she doesn't agree to send out soldiers and destroy everything in Gerudo valley, I will kill the people of this land one by one, starting with this man!"

Ingo wasn't sure what to do. He tried to yell to his captor that he was from Holodrum, and that he supported Gerudo-burning with all his heart (he didn't, but he felt he needed to say something), but the hands on his face prevented any sound from reaching the outside world. Before he could even consider coming up with another idea, he heard the whistle of a blade and assumed that it was over. When he opened his eyes, however, he saw that he was not in the afterlife but in the same market he had been leading his wagon through before he had been attacked, which could only mean... He wasn't dead! If this was so, who had been the owner of the swinging sword? Ingo looked around and found himself staring into the eyes of Link, the boy (he wasn't really a boy anymore, though) who had saved the entire land of Holodrum.

Link smiled momentarily, then fell to the earth, nearly impaling himself upon the point of his own sword. Several nearby merchants ran over to his fallen form, trampling the corpse of the fallen terrorist, and with Ingo's help, Link was hoisted into the wagon. He crushed several dozen eggs, but Ingo wasn't worried. He begged the horses to go as fast as they could, and they did so, bringing the cart to the castle within minutes.

Despite a few complaints from Link ("I feel fine, really. I'm not tired at all. Come on, can't I just go for a walk around the courtyard?"), it wasn't very hard to get him back into bed. After insisting that he needed rest, no matter how good he felt, Impa left. This time, she made sure that the door was locked. His little excursion was promising news, but not proof that his condition had improved at all. What it did prove was that the Imperial Police needed to be dispatched immediately.

T

Killing the current Queen proved to not be very difficult. Despite Lack's apparent clumsiness, she found the fight to be pretty easy. The voice had told her which moves to make, which strokes to block, even which taunts to use. The whole battle had taken less than fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes, and every Gerudo in the valley was at her disposal. Step one was over.

Lack now sat in a throne that had once belonged to Ganondorf Dragmire, admiring the elaborate carving of the arms. She didn't need to give any orders for the moment. The voice had told her to let the Hyrulians or the Gorons make the first move, and here she was. Suddenly, a young sister that had once been her friend rushed past the guards that had been stationed by the door, blazing across the floor of dirty tiles and bowing down in front of the new Queen.

"I beg your pardon, your highness, but the Hyrulian peacekeepers have arrived to apprehend you." she said breathlessly. "They believe that we will hand you over without questions. What shall we do?"

"How many are there?"

"About fourteen. They are not heavily armed. It would take no time at all to kill them."

"Then do so. Do not disappoint me."