Hello readers, Chapter 141 is here! After having successfully stopped an assassin from killing the king and Zelda, Link now finds himself dealing with a new threat, the princess' own husband Prince Darius! How will Link get out of this situation?
"How'd I get into this mess...?" Link asked himself as he stood in the middle of the Hyrule Castle Courtyard.
Across from him was Princess Zelda's new husband, the Prince of Fargent also known as Darius. He was standing straight and tall, giving Link a cross stare, and not speaking a word.
Sitting to the side was Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa, Ashe, Princess Zelda, Impa and Counselor Xebes, as well as a number of Hylian, Fargent and Gerudo guards, all standing by just in case. It would be an underestimation to say the atmosphere there was tense.
"I trust you're prepared, Gerudo King." Darius finally spoke in a low tone, glaring coldly at the young lad, "I shall not hold back on you."
"Link..." Nabooru whispered, before taking a look over at Darius with her eyes narrowed.
Link gulped as he thought back to what has transpired shortly after the king's attempted assassin Marceau the Mirror had been dealt with...
Flashback – One hour ago
"Prince Darius, hold on a second!" Link pleaded to the prince from the Fargent kingdom as he stood among Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa, Ashe, Zelda, Impa and Counselor Xebes in a private room, "I know this looks bad, but if you'll just let me explain myself, what happened back at the waterfall was-!"
"To think one with that awesome but dangerous power is within this castle, and so close to my lovely wife and my beloved father-in-law..." Darius said looking away, then leering down at Link coldly as he drew his sword and pointed it at Link, "I cannot allow you and that power to remain here any longer..."
'This is bad. I knew that incident was going to come back and haunt me again, I just didn't think it would be like this!' Link thought breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Hold it!" shouted a voice, as Aviel held out her crossbow, aiming it right at the shoulder of Darius' sword-arm, "As the Gerudo King's bodyguard, I ask that you stop with your attack immediately!"
"Aviel?!" Link exclaimed.
"Withdraw your bow Gerudo!" shouted a Fargent knight, about to unsheathe his sword on Aviel, but the Gerudo archer remained unflinching, narrowing her eyes at Darius.
"Hey Aviel, be careful!" Nemisa shouted, trying her hardest to hold back from attacking Darius herself, "You remember the law, right?! One injury on the prince and it could led to war!"
"I don't care about that stupid law, I won't let him hurt Link!" Aviel shouted angerly.
There was a tense silent pause in the room. Everyone was on their guard for what might happen.
"Aviel, please lower your arm." Nabooru finally spoke up, breaking the silence.
"But Lady Nabooru...!" Aviel spoke.
"It's fine, I'll handle this." Nabooru said. The archer was hesitant, but did so as the Gerudo leader spoke, "Prince Darius, I can understand you'd be bothered by that power our king possesses, but I can assure you he has it under his control. And I swear to you that he wouldn't hurt an innocent with it."
Nabooru wished in that moment that the other Gerudo were there to vouch for him as well, but they were all stuck in safe rooms until things in the castle settled down.
Impa glanced over at Zelda, she was looking downcast, as if there was something she wanted to say, but couldn't bring herself to speak up.
"If that's truly the case, then he'll need to answer with his blade." Darius spoke, "King Link, I insist that you accept my challenge to an honorable duel in the courtyard, a clash of steel to prove whether you can remain here with us."
"Huh? But what about the law?" Link asked, "You heard what Nemisa said, if I so much as injure you it would led to a war between Hyrule and the Gerudo!"
"Not to worry." Darius said, he gestured to Xebes who had just finished writing something, and handed them a piece of paper with what looked like a red ribbon attached to the bottom, "We just need to both sign this."
"'Accordance to a Royal Duel'?" Link read the wording on the top.
"Shortly after the Gerudo Banishment Law was passed, the previous captain of the guard had included this into the law." Darius said, "It's a contract that assures there will be no breach of the law if either of us are injured in this duel. So you'll be in the clear even if I get hurt."
"Wait Darius, you can't...!" Zelda gasped out at his words, but stopped herself.
"Hold on, let me look over that paper." Nabooru said taking and reading it, "...hm, according to this, if the contract is destroyed by any means, then the agreement would be rendered null and void." Nabooru pointed out one paragraph, "That seems potentially dangerous."
"Good catch. But don't worry, my counselor will keep it safe." Darius nodded.
"Look... contract or not, I don't feel right about doing this." Link said shaking his head, "I have no reason to fight you Prince Darius."
"You do if you wish to meet with the king about heroically abolishing the Gerudo Banishment Law, correct?" Darius spoke with a sneer, "If you truly believe in your cause, you'll face me."
"..." Link was hesitant, but nodded as he reached down to sign the paper.
End flashback
Link found himself back at the Hyrule Castle Courtyard, a distance away from Prince Darius. A Fargent knight came up and handed Darius his sheathed sword, and he properly equipped it to his side.
A Gerudo solider came up to Link's side and handed him his own sword. The soldier gave Link an uneasy look, but Link gave her a nod to assure her as he took the blade, equipping it to his side as well.
"Is Link really gonna do this?" Aviel asked worriedly among the others watching, "Wouldn't it be bad if the king found out they were fighting?"
"The king is currently still resting from the assassination attempt and preparing for the second half of the meeting from what I was told." Impa said, "This is their only chance to have this duel."
"What about the Hylian Parliament though? Even with that contract agreement, they could try and use this against us!" Nemisa said, she turned to Zelda, "Your Majesty, forgive me for speaking out, but can't you do something about this?"
Zelda just stared silently at Link and Darius, her hands gripping slightly at her knees, and for some reason Nemisa felt like the princess was holding herself back.
"...we'll see soon enough." Zelda simply spoke, baffling Nemisa. The Gerudo looked to Impa, who turned her head away silently.
"Link..." whispered Ashe. She should have been excited to see Link and the famous Prince Darius in a duel of blades, but right then she could only feel concern for her fiance.
"Now are you ready to face my blade of heroic justice?" Darius spoke to Link.
"Are you sure there isn't another way we can settle this?" Link negotiated, "How about chess, or a hot wing eating contest? Or maybe even a greased pig chase?!"
"I have absolutely no idea what made you think of those ideas, though hot wings sound oddly good all of a sudden." Darius said pondering to himself. He shook his head and held out his blade, pointing it at Link, "But there is no other option than this. Now face me, Gerudo King!"
With that, Darius lunged at Link with his sword, forcing Link to unsheathe his own blade and block off his attack.
"Nice reaction." Darius spoke.
The prince brought back his sword and swung again at Link, who quickly blocked it. Link did a back-flip to avoid another swing, as Darius darted out and swung to the side. Link blocked yet another attack, then did a quick roll to the side to keep his distance.
"Wait a minute, I-!" but Link was forced to block yet another swing by the prince. Darius did a horizontal swipe, and Link did yet another flip to avoid it. Darius swung his blade down at Link, forcing him to bring up his sword up to block it again. The two held their ground for some time, as Darius stared at the weapon Link owned.
"That blade is that of a Hylian knight's... I pray a poor soul's life wasn't stricken down for you to claim it." Darius asked with an accusing sneer.
"The knight gave it to me, as a sign of goodwill!" Link explained himself, surprised at Prince Darius' great strength, "He's a dear friend that I owe a lot to!"
Nabooru meanwhile glanced over at Zelda in that moment, barely noticing a small hint of a smile grace the princess' lips at Link's words. Nabooru smirked to herself and looked back out at the battle.
"Then prove yourself to him and use it properly!" Darius didn't seem to care about Link's words though, and kept up on the offensive, swinging his blade left and right, while Link remained on the defensive, evading and blocking each attack. The prince started attacking him more aggressively, and despite Link's attempt to block, started to get scratched and swiped.
"Link!" Aviel shouted desperately, Nemisa was about to get up and fend off Darius, but Nabooru held her down with one arm.
"Girls, don't try to interfere. That's an order." Nabooru said.
"But Link..." Aviel spoke, staring out at the battle.
"Come on already Gerudo King, this is a sword duel, not dodgeball! Attack me already!" Darius shouted, doing a horizontal slash, "Show me your true strength!"
Link did a back-flip from the swing and gasped out, Darius had an impressive technique in battle. It was clear he wasn't just some dressed-up spoiled prince like most he had heard of in his past travels. As strange as the prince came off as at times, as a warrior he was the real deal.
'I don't want to do this, but I guess I have no choice.' Link thought, gripping at his sword. Taking a deep breath he charged at Darius and struck his blade against the prince's. They held that pose for a second, before they started clashing at each other. Link quickly dodged a swing and brought his sword down against Darius' blade.
"...impressive." Darius smirked, as they continued clashing at each other. Darius came down with an overhead swing, but Link quickly rolled out of the way and brought his sword up at him from the side. Darius quickly turned to block it, but Link instead dodged the swung and struck at the prince from the side.
"Gah!" Darius flinched from the blow, giving Link a chance to leap away before going in for another strike. Darius found himself bringing up his own sword in defense to block off Link's attack, but the young king managed to get a few hits on him.
"Oh wow, look at him go!" Ashe gasped. Link was showing just as much moxie as he did back when they dueled in Gerudo Town. As she watched the absolute concentration on Link's face, she felt a strange excitement brewing deep down inside her...
Link was driving Darius back with each swing, before leaping forward with a flip, spinning his sword out to deflect away the prince's blade and slashing at him again.
'So this is what he's like when he's serious.' Darius thought to himself as he took a step back, "Alright, guess I'm going to have to take things a step up!" he said as he brought back his sword.
Link and the others watched curiously as the prince went into a stance with his blade held to the side. His eyes were closed as he seemed to be focusing power into it, before he opened his eyes with a wide grin as he swung his sword out again, this time releasing a powerful wave of energy from it that swept across the ground and blasted into Link, sending him flying back.
"Gack!" Link shouted, sliding back, "I can't believe it, that attack...!"
"What the hell was that?" Nemisa exclaimed.
"I've heard of this before, that's known as the 'Crissword Wave' technique!" Nabooru gasped, "Manifesting one's own energy into their blade, and releasing it as a long range force attack... It requires the user to be perfectly one with their weapon, I'm surprised the prince has mastered it!"
Link blocked another wave, but fell back and tumbled over, before quickly jumping back up to his feet.
"Whew... this is tough..." he gasped, looking up at Darius as the prince stood ready to keep fighting. Link gripped his blade, and ran right back into battle.
"Still want to continue? Fine by me!" Darius said, swinging his blade out with more energy waves.
This time though, Link quickly sidestepped from one wave and rolled out of the way of another. He leaped after a third one and swung his blade in a midair spin attack which Darius blocked, but Link quickly withdrew to dive down and swipe at the prince's side. Darius gritted his teeth and swung his blade out in a circular swipe, creating another wave all around him that knocked Link back.
"Ah ha ha, it's been awhile since I fought someone who can stand up to the Crissword Wave!" Darius said, "This is getting fun!"
"I'm just getting started." Link said with a slowly growing grin, he ran right back into battle. The two of them went into another back and forth round of sword clashing. Darius released another Crissword Wave, but Link quickly did a flip forward over it, then rolled across the ground to avoid a midair swipe, before pulling off his Spin Attack technique to knock Darius back. Before the prince could even recover Link came right up with another slash, sending Darius backwards.
"That's the way Link!" Aviel cheered out wildly.
Link and Darius took steps back and stood staring each other down, both sides gasping out a little.
"Looks like what I've heard about you is true after all." Darius said, "But this fight isn't over yet, Gerudo King!"
"Bring it on." Link grinned.
But then in that moment, Link looked up at a second-story walkway overlooking the courtyard where there was a denser amount of bushes. There he saw Counselor Xebes staring down at the battle, apparently having left as everyone was watching. Link was confused as to what he was doing there rather than at the benches.
He then saw the old man sport a wicked smirk as he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a piece of paper with a familiar red ribbon attached to it.
'What's he doing with the contact...?' Link thought with worry.
That was when it happened, Link could only watch with horror as the counselor held up a small flame which ignited the contract and burned it to cinders within seconds. The flaming scraps fell to the ground in ashes.
'You got to be kidding!' Link thought to himself, he looked over to the others, who due to the bushes around the walkaway and the angle they were sitting, none of them noticed what happened, 'Was this all a trap by that old man? If I hurt Darius now, Xebes could easily report this and-!"
"Now for round two!"
But Link was forced to stop thinking as Darius lunged at him with his sword, making Link go on the defense again. The prince swung his blade wildly at him, and Link did everything he could to block and evade attacks. Even though Darius' attacks gave Link plenty of potential opportunities to strike back, but he couldn't bring himself to do it after what he saw.
"What's wrong Gerudo King, losing your nerve already?" Darius asked, clashing his blade at Link and getting in a few hits.
"Wait, hold on!" Link exclaimed, "We need..." another clash of steel, "...to stop! It's been...!" but try as he might to explain himself, he had to focus on blocking attacks.
"What's going on? Why's Link not fighting back anymore?" Nemisa asked with worry.
Link backflipped a slash and took some steps back only to have to bring up his sword to defend himself from another overhead swing, "Hey time out Darius, we need to call off the duel right now! I just saw your Counselor destroy the contract!"
"Huh?" Darius looked down at Link curiously, before bringing up his sword for another attack.
"WHAT?!" exclaimed the others.
But Darius just disregarded Link's words and fired off a Crissword Wave that made the young king jump out of the way to avoid it. He rolled to a stop and looked to Darius walking toward toward him.
"Heh, as if he'd do something like that." Darius spoke, "If you're making up things to get out of this duel then you got another thing coming!" he laughed out loud, "Now come Gerudo King, this battle's going on to round four!"
"I think he skipped a round." Ashe said sweatdropping.
Link gulped as he contemplated his actions; it was clear Darius wasn't going to hear him out. He noticed Nabooru and Impa had both gone missing all of a sudden, and even if he tried to ask the others for help they wouldn't be able to interfere without risking injuring the prince.
The young king took a deep breath, contemplating his choices, and came to one decision.
"Sorry, gotta go!"
With that Link sheathed his sword, and took off running towards the stairs.
"What?!" exclaimed everyone else.
"What in the heck is he...?" Darius stood blankly for a moment. Before he went into a fit and dashed after Link with his sword, "Hey, where are you running?! Get back here!"
Link ran up the stairs, but seeing some confused knights positioned at the doorway in, he quickly turned and dashed along the walkway circling around the courtyard, with Darius in hot pursuit. The prince tried to get a couple slashes in on Link, but the nimble young king jumped and ducked under each attack. The prince's attack only managed to cut through the potted plants lined along the walkway.
"I'm here to duel you, not the royal vegetation!" Darius exclaimed swinging his sword around wildly, "And the vegetation is losing! Draw your blade and let me face you!"
"Like hell I am!" Link shouted back, using his sword to cut a hedge to the ground on the walkway to slow Darius down, "You put away that sword of yours, I just wanna talk to you!"
"Use your sword to do the talking!" Darius shouted, running right into the hedge, only to burst out the other side covered in leaves, twigs and with a bird's nest on his head, "I can assure you my own sword has a way with words! He leaves plenty of impressions on my enemies, usually scarred ones!"
The knights standing guard were all looking in confusion as Link and Darius were running circles around the outer walkway of the courtyard. Their heads turned to the left and then to the right to keep their eyes on them both.
"Is this still a duel?" asked a knight in confusion.
"Didn't you hear what Link just said?" Ashe spoke, "It's that Counselor Xebes, he destroyed the contract they signed! If Link fights back it could end badly!"
"But what do we do if we can't use force to stop the prince?" Nemisa asked.
"Please Princess Hilda, you gotta talk him down!" Aviel pleaded to Zelda.
"I..." Zelda spoke.
For a brief moment, the princess recalled earlier that day when she was arguing to a certain man in her personal study room. They seemed to disregard what the princess said and gave her a sharp glare as they spoke down to her...
"..."
"Your Majesty?" Nemisa asked.
"I..." Zelda trembled, as she stared down at the grassy ground, "If I do... will he even listen...?"
"..." Ashe stared at Zelda, confused at what was going on, but she looked up at Link and narrowed her eyes.
Link soon came to a dead end, the pillars and hedges making it impossible to go anywhere else. He turned and saw Darius was standing before him with his sword out.
"I don't get what you're trying to accomplish by doing all this running around like the local postman." Darius said, "But this duel isn't over yet! Draw your blade Gerudo King!"
"Darius, please! I don't want to fight you! I told you the contract was destroyed!" Link shouted.
"That's impossible, I trust Xebes with my life, and he would never do something so low." Darius said, "Now fight me so we can finally-"
"Prince Darius!" shouted a voice, as Ashe jumped up over the fence with her blades out, "Sheath your blade! I know King Link is telling the truth!"
"Lieutenant Ashe?!" exclaimed a knight, "What the hell is she doing?"
"I don't know, but I'm scared to stop her!" said another knight trembling, "You've seen how she fights in the training grounds!"
"What's Ashe trying to do?" Aviel asked in a panic.
"Don't tell me..." Nemisa spoke with realization, "The knights don't know she's a part of our family. Unlike us, she could attack him without it instigating a war between the Hylians and Gerudo!"
"You're raising your sword to me, Lieutenant?" Darius asked looking back at her, "What if Captain Andreas hears of this...?"
"..." Ashe paused, recalling it wouldn't be good if the knights knew about her relationship with Link. But she took a look at the young king before narrowing her eyes and taking a step forward, "No, I won't let you hurt him! I'll put a stop to you right now if I have to!"
"..." Darius just stared at her.
"Ashe, don't do it!" Link exclaimed, "You wanted so much to become a knight and worked hard to get to where you are! Don't ruin it for yourself on my account!"
"But you've worked hard to get where you are too!" Ashe shouted, "You did this for everyone!"
"..." Link paused for a moment in thought, before he puled out his sword and stared down at it.
"So, ready to fight me after all Gerudo King?" Darius asked.
But Link only kneeled down on his knees, placed the sword on the ground before him, and propped his hands up on his legs,
"Huh?"
"No. By laying down my sword, I concede this dual Prince Darius." Link spoke, "I don't care anymore if I lose this chance for a peace treaty. The Gerudo are my family, and I will not lose them on account of an idiotic war brought about by own hand." he said, he glanced up at Ashe who stood confused, "And I can't allow the Lieutenant to risk having to break her vow to protect the people of Hyrule she cares so much for."
Link bowed his head down before Darius.
"Do with me what you will. Any pain or punishment I suffer is nothing compared to what I could cause... again."
There was a long tense moment for everyone there. The knights were unable to move, Ashe held her battle pose with her swords, and Zelda, Aviel and Nemisa just watched on.
"..." Darius' head was lowered, until they could hear a strange little sound coming from him.
The sound started to get louder, and sounded like a small chuckle. That chuckle turned to a masculine giggle, before becoming more of a small laugh. That laugh then grew louder as he brought up his hand and slapped his forehead, throwing his head back in hysterical laughter. He slouched over, strained from his laughter and hugging his sides with one arm to keep himself from collapsing.
"HUH?" everyone else exclaimed, aside from Zelda whose eyes widened, and she placed a hand to her forehead with a clearly annoyed look on her normally pleasant face.
"Ah... ha ha ha ha..." Darius' laughter started to subside, wiping a tear from his cheek as he stood upright, "It would seem as though my little charade went just as I had hoped!"
"W-What?!" Link exclaimed.
"It's okay everyone." spoke up a voice, as they saw Nabooru and Impa both walk into the courtyard alongside Counselor Xebes.
Impa bared a similarly annoyed look as Zelda, as she held up the contract Link and Darius had signed, showing it was completely intact, "It seems we've all been played like fiddles in this little incident."
"Huh?" Link exclaimed.
"Can someone explain what's going on here before I start hitting people?!" Nemisa shouted.
"Please forgive me King Link." Darius chuckled, wiping away a tear, "But it would seem my guess earlier wasn't wrong. As I said before, I already knew about the details of the incident at the waterfall bridge thanks to Captain Andreas' report." he put a hand to his side and stood tall, "But I was dubious about the truth of his account from the beginning, so I wanted to see just what kind of man you truly were."
"Ah, now I get it." Nabooru said, "This duel was a test to see how far Link would go in battle. You had your counselor pretend to destroy the contract in order to see if Link would risk fighting or if he'd hold back."
"And he heroically passed with flying colors!" Darius nodded, he stopped forward and held his hand out to Link, "Well met my friend, you dueled with magnificently, with a mighty brain and clever muscles! I only hope I didn't scare you too badly with this test."
Link was in stunned silence for a moment, before he smiled lightly and took Darius' hand, allowing himself to be helped up.
"No, it's fine. Maybe it would had been better if I was more honest about the Fierce Deity to start. If you knew of that power I held, I understand it'd worry you that I was coming here." Link said getting to his feet, "But knowing you'd go this far to protect the princess and the king, I can admire you for that."
"I'm glad to hear that friend." Darius chuckled.
"Oh Prince Darius...?" Zelda spoke up from Darius' back, making the young prince freeze up in horror as she grabbed his ear, "I think you, Counselor Xebes and I need to have a little chat about this later..."
"Oh dear, have I stepped out of line again?" Xebes realized, he started pummeling his face around with his fists, "Bad Xebes, bad!"
"Y-Yes, of course my princess." Darius chuckled to Zelda worriedly, "But not to worry, for no harm came of me!"
Just then though, some blood started to leak from Darius' head, making everyone gasp out.
"Gackm, my prince! Are you okay?" Counselor Xeres exclaimed in horror, he turned to Link, "You accursed Gerudo King, you really did hurt him!"
"What? No! I didn't even-" Link shouted defensively.
"That was just an injury from his mission, Counselor." Zelda sighed as she tried to help Darius stay stable, "Please have the knights escort my husband to the medical clinic to have his head healed so he doesn't shed blood during the meeting."
"Geeeeeh..." Darius groaned with spiraling eyes.
"Thank you all for gathering here." King Reinald spoke, as he walked into the meeting room a couple hours later that day, "We have much to discuss."
"Indeed, I saved the most important matters for this time." Nabooru said siting alongside Link.
"Prince Darius, is there a reason why your head is bandaged like that?" King Reinald asked curiously as he saw the prince siting beside Xebes, Zelda and Impa.
"Ah, just a minor slip up, it's nothing." Darius shrugged.
"Nothing my foot, your head is bandaged up like a Gibdos!" Xebes exclaimed with worry.
"Do you need to be briefed before we begin, my son?" Reinald asked.
"No need, I already have new undergarments on. A fine white with knights mounted on horses engraved on them!" Darius said stretching out his pants a bit, causing the others to fault over,
"And besides, Xebes has already informed me on everything you've discussed yesterday while I was having my head treated, so we can skip straight to the heart of the matter."
"...?" Impa glanced over at Darius curiously.
"Very good." the king nodded, "Now Lady Nabooru, you had an important matter to start with?"
"Yes, thank you." Nabooru sported a serious expression as she looked to Reinald, Zelda, Impa and Darius,
"As of right now, there's a group of Gerudo out in the desert we've been dealing with over the past few years. They refer to themselves as the Ebony Sisterhood, a rebellion that directly opposes me and King Link's rule over the Gerudo..."
Nabooru went on to explain all that they knew about the sisterhood, including that they intended to kill Link and free Ganondorf from his prison.
"Ganondorf?" exclaimed the king, he angerly pounded his fist on the table, "As if we will ever let those fiends so such a thing! That man can never be freed!"
"Exactly our thoughts." Nabooru nodded, "But this rebellion isn't just a small group of thieves, from what we've dealt with they have assess to many powerful war monsters, as well as strange tools and technology far beyond what we were prepared for."
She went on to explain much of what they had dealt with, included the power tonic FZ-501, the Beamos Walkers, and all the monsters she fought at the Gerudo Fortress arena.
"This is crazy... and who leads this twisted rebellion?" Darius asked.
"It's a woman you would know all too well Your Majesty." Nabooru said to Reinald, "The Gerudo war commander Imono Dragmire."
"Imono?" exclaimed the king, "But I was told ten years ago she died in the great war by the hands of the late Captain Gereminus!"
"Turns out she was more resilient than anyone could have thought, we only just learned recently of her true identity ourselves." Nabooru said.
"They're also aided by Ganondorf's own daughter and heir to the Gerudo throne, Princess Ghilmarelm." Link said, "I fought her before, and I can tell you she possesses some of the demon king's power for herself."
"To think this was all happening behind my back." Reinald said slapping his forehead, "If we had made time to make contact with the Gerudo these past years maybe something could have been done..."
"Don't blame yourself Your Majesty. The Banishment Law is pretty broad in preventing any sort of chance for that." Nabooru said, "Worst case scenario another war could have happened sooner."
"I suppose you're right." nodded the king, "That law is indeed too overreaching in my opinion, but we had no choice after all that had happened."
"This sisterhood sounds more foul than that irate Cucco that pecked at me on my way over here." Darius said rubbing at his bandaged head, "Tell me, do they have any other extraordinary power on hand to fight you...?"
"Yeah..." Link said looking downward, "Commander Imono wields a sword that I had to fight against as well, she called it the Soulbinder, a blade infused with the dark power of Ganondorf."
"I've heard legends of that blade, and Zelda has mentioned it to me once or twice, but to think it was real." King Reinald said.
"All of this for that despicable Ganondorf..." Darius spoke, "When do they plan to launch this attack?"
"In about six months from now, we learned it from a prophecy they're following." Nabooru said, as she quoted what they had learned from Foluma's database,
"When the blood moon is cast over the field of battle, the blood of Hylian and Gerudo alike shall be spilled, and only then when the false king is struck down, shall the true Gerudo King rise to power again."
"The blood moon? By the goddesses..." King Reinald gasped, "That's the night the monsters of Hyrule grow exponentially stronger! Even Captain Andreas refuses to allow his troops to go out at that time!"
"So they're using this prophecy to plan their attack, with their warbeasts powered up they'll be an awesome but deadly threat to us all." Darius said.
"I do find that prophecy part rather unusual though..." Zelda pondered, "Do they really think trying to kill King Link would free Ganondorf from the binds that the Light Sage Rauru sealed him in? I've heard of potential resurrection spells done with a hero's blood, but never such a thing as that..."
"They've tried to kill me a few times in the past, so they weren't following it to the letter." Link said, "But I guess now that their attempts to kill me have failed they're falling back on this prophecy." he put his hand down on the table and took a deep breath, "Which leads us to the next matter that needs to be discussed."
"Go on." King Reinald nodded.
"After having fought against the power of the Soulbinder myself, I don't think normal weapons will do anything to defeat Commander Imono, she's become far too powerful with it. What we need is a stronger weapon to match hers..."
"To win, we'll need the sacred blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword."
"What?" gasped the king, "How do you know of that blade?"
"Because of something else we've been meaning to tell you." Nabooru said.
With that, Link and Nabooru told the group everything about Link's adventure; collecting the Spiritual Stones, going forward in time to the dark future, defeating Ganon, and returning back to his own time.
"I... can't believe it." King Reinald said, hanging his head down and trembling, "So that's what you were referring to back at the graveyard Gerudo King..."
"I know it was a long story, but thank you for hearing us out." Link said.
"To think such a horrible fate happened to my people, and all that my daughter went through..." King Reinald looked up to Nabooru, "Not to mention Lady Impa, Chief Darunia, Queen Ruto, and even you Lady Nabooru were all prophesied sages..."
The king turned to Link, "And you Gerudo King, are really the chosen one of the Golden Goddesses to wield the Master Sword."
"I'm surprised you're so accepting of a tale like this." Link said.
"Zelda once warned me about dreams she had as a child, of Ganondorf betraying us. But for the longest time I thought she was just mistaken due to stress she was going through.".the king said, "After Rauru appeared to show his support in stopping him I realized it had been me who was in the wrong."
Zelda nodded, "King Link is the reason I even knew about Ganondorf's plan to attack a week from that day, and we were given the time to set up that trap with Rauru's assistance."
"A shame he had to give his life to do it..." Prince Darius frowned, "I didn't know the Light Sage myself, but I've been told how much of a good man he was."
"I admit was rather surprised when Zelda said that it was you who supplied that information King Link. She trusted your word without hesitation." King Reinald nodded, "And to think you'd eventually become the new Gerudo King, I'll admit I had been wrong about you in the past as well, my boy."
"Ah ha ha... don't worry about it my king." Link grinned sheepishly.
"Sometimes we underestimate the smallest voices, when they can deliver the most powerful message." Nabooru said, looking away for a moment, before she smiled brightly, "When he helped me out of a bad situation with the Twinrova witches, I knew he had the heart to become a great king of our people."
"Yes, if it hadn't been for your courage King Link, then Hyrule would had been doomed." King Reinald spoke, "We owe you a great deal for what you've done for us."
"I only did what I had to." Link nodded, "But back to Imono, with how strong she is with the Soulbinder, I believe the Master Sword will be our only shot to stop her. I need to go to the Temple of Time and get it from there."
"But if what you told us is true, then removing the blade will open the way to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce lies..." the king spoke, "To think that old temple was the gateway this whole time."
"That's right, so we need to discuss a plan as to how Link can use the sword without putting the Sacred Realm at risk." Nabooru said.
"That won't be easy I'm afraid." Reinald said, rubbing at his beard, "Minister Odleh of the Parliament is the one who watches over the Temple of Time these days, and I highly doubt she'd be interested in granting you that permission."
"It is quite a risky plan of heroics..." Darius muttered scratching his chin, he looked up to Link, "But I trust Link to his word. I vote that we do what we can to help him, for the good of all Hyrule."
"I agree." Zelda nodded, "Ganondorf can never be freed from his imprisonment. The horrible future Link mentioned..." she narrowed her eyes, "That can never come to pass."
"Agreed. " the king nodded, "With that, I'd like to conclude the preliminary meeting. The discussion of the upcoming war with the Ebony Sisterhood, as well as procuring the Master Sword will unfortunately have to wait until the official meeting with the Parliament one month from now. I need to speak with the Parliament about this Ebony Sisterhood personally, but hopefully I can hep them grasp the severity of this situation."
"Thank you for that." Link bowed his head, "I only hope we can come to an agreement, for everyone's sake."
As the king left out the door, Darius stood up straight and tall, looking down at Link with a proud smile and a hand to his side.
"Fear not my friend, I'll provide whatever support I can to assist in the meeting." Darius said, he flashed a big grin and gave Link a thumbs up, "After having dueled you, I know there's no better person who can help us towards making this kingdom truly thrive. As long as the king and myself have your backs, the Master Sword will be in hand soon enough!"
Link stared up at Darius, he had first heard about his engagement to Zelda way back when he and Nabooru were vacationing at Lake Hylia, and he didn't know what to think of him back then. Link had to admit he had been a bit unsure of the young prince taking the princess' hand in marriage, but after having dueled him in the courtyard, he understood Darius' strength and resolve. It was clear how important both Zelda and the king were to him.
The young king smiled and nodded, "Thank you Prince Darius. I promise I won't disappoint you."
Zelda smiled softly herself at the sight of Darius and Link getting along once again. She stood herself up, "Well then, I think we should all go our quarters for rest. I'll be sure to let the guards know that your people are free to come and go into Hyrule Market Town as they please now."
They heard a coughing noise, and all looked over in the direction of Aviel and Nemisa standing guard. Aviel was whistling innocently to herself while Nemisa was rubbing her face in her palm.
"And we'll make sure your people get back their equipment, I'm sure Ms. Aviel will be espeically delighted to have her wings back." Zelda giggled.
"Thanks for that." Link grinned, though something about her words confused him for a moment.
"Well with that, we shall be on our wa-" Darius said, but he was cut off by someone grabbing his ear.
"And as for you my dear Darius..." Zelda started, while still sporting a sweet smile, her eyes just drilled into the young prince, "I think we need to have a talk about that little trick you pulled with Link out at the courtyard, yes...?"
"Ah heh heh... my lovely wife is such a fine lady, isn't she?" Darius gulped nervously, "So sweet and mercifuoooowwww! Please mind the ear, my love! I still have a slight cut on it from earlioooooww!"
Zelda dragged Darius off by his aching ear through the doors. The knights all looked to each other and gulped, before they all left the room after them, leaving Link, Nabooru, Aviel, Nemisa and Ashe alone.
"Well, well. Seems this prince is quite a wild card, isn't he?" Nabooru chuckled.
"You're telling me. What happened out there was terrifying!" Nemisa said, "I can't believe he pulled such a trick!" she scowled as she looked downwards, "And neither of us could do a thing to protect Link thanks to that damn law."
"Yeah... I know it was all just a test, but what if it hadn't been? Link would've been in big trouble and we couldn't do a thing about it..." Aviel said with a sad gaze, she looked to Ashe, "Thank you so much for looking out for him Ashe, but you took a big risk trying to start a fight with Prince Darryl!"
"I didn't know what I was thinking confronting the prince like that..." Ashe spoke in a daze, "If Captain Andreas had found out I rose my sword to him the consequences would have been severe..."
"It's okay, Darius has already said he and the knights won't speak a word of it." Nabooru assured her, "Besides, I know exactly what you were thinking." she leaned on the table and smiled, "You wanted so much to protect your future husband, that in that moment nothing else mattered to you."
"I... did...?" Ashe spoke.
Suddenly the lady knight felt Link embrace her in his strong arms.
"That's right Ashe, thank you for helping me back there. After what happened with the Fierce Deity back at the waterfall bridge, I was worried of what you thought about me. But knowing you'd go that far to protect me, it makes me love you even more than before."
"Link..." Ashe whispered, leaning against him.
"Well now that we've been granted the freedom to go to town, I think it's time we get out there and meet with the people!" Nabooru said standing up, "We're going to need to gather support for the peace treaty to go through, and I have plenty of ideas for that!"
"You mentioned that earlier today... and I'm still worried." Link said sweatdropping as he held Ashe.
"Not to worry, you'll find out when the time comes, my king." Nabooru winked to Aviel and Nemisa, "Right girls?"
"Of course." nodded Nemisa.
"Hee hee, just you wait Link! You're gonna love it!" Aviel grinned.
"Aaaand now I'm even more worried." Link muttered.
Meanwhile, perched onto the ceiling of the meeting room was a very tiny mono-eyed spider-like creature called a Tektite. It peered down at the group, namely Ashe, Nabooru and Link. It's eye shifted around, before it discretely crawled into a small hole.
The tiny Tektite emerged out of another small hole in a certain room, where someone reached down and gently picked it up. They gazed at the creature, and saw an image of Link embracing Ashe in the reflection of it's eye.
"How fascinating... so the new lieutenant is indeed aligned with the Gerudo royal clan after all."
The figure placed the Tektite into a cage where there was a number of others like it, before walking off.
"Well no matter. Things are still going according to plan."
The figure peered out a window at the vast fields of Hyrule, and their gaze focused on Gerudo Desert. They reached over and picked up what appeared to be an empty hourglass nearby.
"It won't be long, before that man finally reclaims what was lost to him..."
The figure then looked back out the window where a breeze blew by, as they recalled a time long, long ago, when a dark figure stood looking at a small stone statue of a girl, before they turned and smirked, reaching out their hand to shake...
"...and when the right opportunity comes, the great master will finally be free to do as he intended all that time ago..."
And that ends the chapter. Next week, Link and his friends get to go out to Hyrule Market Town. But what surprise does Nabooru have in store for the people? Find out next time!
Thank you all for reading! Please leave a like, follow, post a comment or end me a private message if you choose! Your feedback is always encouraged!
