Chapter Six: Another Setback

A/N: Thank-you to Miss Piratess, zeldaisthebest, and Anonymous. I must say, Anonymous, you have impeccable spelling, which is a relief. I usually see anonymous reviewers fill their reviews with spelling errors, so it was very nice to read yours. I'm glad you decided not to be a lurker anymore! Thank you for the review, and I'm very glad you like my work. The reason I asked about The Wind Waker is because I'm considering using a large amount of background material for the next (but not final) "Alliance" story. And yes, I think I may write some more about Lute and Co. in the future, because they're just so much fun to write!

P.S. – Anni, the book that contains the Wendigo story is "Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark". Unfortunately, I was unable to find it on my trip to the library. May you have better luck!


Link was the first off of Aranel's back. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he whipped out the Master Sword (somehow or other Daphnes had rigged up a replacement for the Pedestal of Time) and started toward the entrance of the Desert Colossus. Barely in time, Lute made a grab at him and pulled the Hero of Time to the sand.

"Get off me!" Link cried, trying to wriggle out of the prince's grip. "I have to save Zelda!"

"If you get ambushed, she'll never be saved!" Lute protested.

"Ambushed?" Link asked. He stopped struggling instantly.

"Yes, ambushed," Lute said, standing up and brushing sand from his tunic.

"Then we have to be ready!" Link exclaimed, jumping to his feet and holding the Master Sword out in front him in what he believed was a threatening position. In fact, it looked more like he was about to sweep the sand, but everyone overlooked that.

Lute sighed and drew his sword, and Cassandra came up behind him, her sleeves pushed up out of the way, her fingers clamped tightly around her staff. Ruto was still on Aranel's back, and no one made a move to bring her down. So on Aranel's back she stayed.

"Good luck," Aranel called.

"Thanks," Lute replied, nodding to the dragon. "We may need it."


"Okay, here they come!" Falen whispered, watching the three shadows move toward the Colossus from the doorway.

Quinn, standing right next to him, rolled his eyes and said, "I know." Why in the world had he ever become friends with Falen?

"Do you remember the plan?" Quinn asked.

Falen nodded. "Yep! Messengers come in, we tell them how much money we want, they go get the money, give us the money, we give them Zelda and bolt before they can arrest us," he recited. "I can remember things, Quinn. I'm not dumb."

"I beg to differ," Quinn muttered.

The shadows were coming closer. There were three of them.

"We're outnumbered," Falen whispered. "What if they attack? We're not armed. They are."

"Then we die, Falen."

Falen gulped.


Link froze. "You know, I don't think they're going to hurt us."

"What do you mean?" Lute asked.

"Well, they don't look like they have any weapons."

"How do you know?" Cassandra challenged.

"They're standing right there."

"Let's get this over with," Lute muttered, striding ahead. Link and Cassandra looked at each other. The blonde shrugged, and they both ran off after him.

"Halt!" Falen cried as the messengers reached the entrance. "Who goes there?"

"Halt?" Quinn asked, staring at him. "What was the point of that?"

Falen grinned. "I felt like it."

Quinn, for what felt like the billionth time that day, rolled his eyes.

After watching the strange banter, Lute said, "We are messengers from King Daphnes Hyrule."

Falen looked at him as if he were an idiot. "We know that. I just wanted to say that, that's all."

Lute looked at Link and Cassandra, who stared back at him wordlessly. Cassandra spun her aroundfinger at the side of her head in a gesture that meant, "He's crazy!" Lute nodded.

"Well, are you ready to negotiate?" Quinn asked, itching to get everything over with.

"Yes," Link said. "Will you invite us in?"

Just then, there was a flash of light from beneath the door of the room Zelda was in.


A/N: MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! A CLIFFHANGER!!!