Zelda opened her eyes. She was alone in a small room.
She pressed her hand to her side and sat up slowly. She gritted her teeth against slashing pain and stood. She walked stiffly around the room's perimeter.
There were no doors she could see, but there had to be one.
How else would I have gotten in here?
She heard groaning a little ways away. She thought over yelling out.
It can't do any more damage. Gannon won't kill me yet.
"Hello?" she called through the stone wall, "Hello?"
There was a choking noise, a long spell of wheezing, and , finally, an aswer;
"Princess...?"
The answer was rasy and pained, but Zelda was releived. It wasn't Gannon and it wasn't a Gerudo.
"Yes... I'm in a closed off room. Where are you?"
There was another gagging sound.
"In... a ... torture chamber..."
Zelda shivered as coughing laughter made it's way through the walls.
She looked carefully at the walls surrounding her. They were plain sandstone and they all looked the same. A glint across the room caught her eye. She walked to it, moving around the bed and chair.
A single, tiny ruby was embedded in the stone walls.
Honestly... how stupid would someone have to be?
She put a finger to the ruby to press it in.
---DIE YOU EVIL---
She drew back hurriedly, holdinf her hand as if it had been burned. She tried again.
---DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE---
Zelda sighed. A spell that scared the wits out of the person trying to leave. Just like Nabooru. She took a breath and pressed the stone, pushing it all the way in.
---ROT IN HELL AND BURN IN DIN'S FIRES! GET OUT AND STAY OUT YOU CARRION EATING---
The wall moved, grating against the floor. Zelda stepped out as soon as there was enough room.
There was a man tied to a chair directly in front of her. She froze, seeing the ugly, bleeding hole where his eye should have been.
Zelda walked as fast as she could to his side and began untying his arm. She kept her eyes averted from the broken bone and exposed flesh where his wrist ended.
"Don't... princess..."
She knelt in front of him with some difficulty.
He coughed and opened his eye.
"Princess... escape now... Gannon... Nabooru... are gone."
Zelda looked at him, trying not to cry, and resumed her work untying him. He laughed a little as she freed his stump.
"Princess... you're waste... wasting your time..."
She untied his good arm and started on his legs.
"Zelda..."
She looked up at him. She had to force herself to look at his face.
"If I die... it doesn't matter..." he spoke with obvious effort, "If you die, then... the kingdom..."
Zelda stood painfully once she had undone the knot around his ankles.
"I'm not leaving without you, whoever you are. No one deserves to live like that..."
She leaned on a table, facing away from him. Her side was throbbing and stinging.
"No... no... no one... does."
There was a wet slicing noise. Zelda turned quickly and gasped.
The man slid down in the chair, knife through his heart. By the time Zelda reached him, he was dead.
She wiped away tears and sat down in an opposing chair. She was facing his body, but it didn't make much difference to her. She was used to dead bodies by now. Link... Papa...
She let her tears fall. People around her had a tendency to end up dead. There was a thundering crash from below, but she didn't even flinch. She put her head in her hands and tried to think.
Now what?
