Chapter 4:

The temporary chambers to which the Lord had been assigned were simple to say the least. If one hadn't known better, they might have said that this room belonged to the meekest of servants. But fancy and flare were not at all necessary now that the first step had been taken.

He chuckled to himself, but stifled his laughter before it grew into a loud, hearty, cynical cackle. Had Hyrule become even more ignorant and stupid as to not recognise whom he was? Even the King, the first Hylian he had ever acquainted himself with did not see through the flimsy mask that he wore. He had suspected that there might have been some small sign as to inquire about his appearance, yet there had been none made, and now the princess of Hyrule was as good as his!

The Lord lifted away his helmet and drew the cloak away from around his mouth, making sure the door was securely fastened before doing so. It wouldn't be doing to have the plan ruined after the very first stages being completed successfully. He ran his dark, tanned hand through his flaming red hair feeling the grime and grease stick to his fingers. If he was going to take this any further, the first thing he would have to do during his obliged absence was to bathe. The thought disgusted him. Living in the heat of battle, the blood, the sweat, was what he lived for. He was going to have to touch the cleansing and purifying liquid that so many people called water. He shuddered.

Taking his thoughts elsewhere, the Lord congratulated himself on creating such a fantastic story. It had been easy enough to lie. He marvelled at the King's gullibility. How could anyone have succeeded in leaving the country with that infernal wood surrounding the borders? Yes, he had to admit that there were a few plot-holes in his tale, but on the whole it was quite remarkable. It was true that he had grown prosperous in a distant country, but the image the Lord had conjured was merely a repetition of Hyrule, with a few twists of course. But the countries that lay beyond Hyrule were truly fascinating. Termina had been a strange place, for time seemed to pass much quicker there, as had many other lands, all choosing their own path in the time stream. Nearly always the Lord had checked his gossip stone and reported every morning to the receiver, yet a month in Termina equated to only a day in Hyrule, and it appeared that I was reporting nearly every minute, much to their annoyance. How strange time was.

"Ah, I can almost taste victory! Soon I shall be wed to the princess of Hyrule and then her Triforce will be mine. No one will then forget the reign of darkness I shall govern! And this time no one can stop me! Link is no longer alive and Zelda will be rendered useless. How I long to hear the name 'King Ganondorf' on the tongues of everybody in the land!"

The day proceeded into the hours of the afternoon, the chill in the air growing ever colder. The sun was beginning to sink in the sky, casting out bloodied water into the sky as the rain glinted in the sunset. There had been no celebration that day, and the villagers presumed that there would be none the next day or the day after that. There was nothing to be celebrating, now that the heir to the throne had been lost. Before the discovery of his skill in combat and his power over the people, he had been an ordinary man commencing in ordinary tasks, and had never ceased to be that role in the eyes of the people.

Even as the leader of Hyrule's army, Link had been a man who had still paid visits to friends and strangers in the Market Square. He never left them behind, and neither did he exert his superiority over them. Humility had been a virtue in him, as had his patience and fortitude, and the people had loved him for it. All except the two women that stood beneath the shadows of the smallest alleyway. It wasn't their nature to be mixing so socially with mere mortals. No one hardly knew they were there, and most passed by without the smallest sign of recognition. If they did they turned their heads away toward the floor and hurried past. An eerie presence hung over them like a stalking storm cloud, so many departed quickly from their vicinity. Even the creatures that roamed the streets at night dared not to go near them.

It was just as well, for the company of mortals disgusted them. They were a sickening species that should have been exterminated long ago. They found pleasures in such mundane, idiotic activities, that it made the two women shudder in disgust. If humans were going to be of any use to the world they should study the arts of magic and sorcery. Now those were the way forward in life. If only all mortals were as brilliant and clever as Lord Ganondorf was.

Currently, the two women were scuttling through the alleyways and small roads of the village, walking with an eager haste that could be reminiscent of wild animals. Pushing past unfortunate bystanders with both fiery and icy fingers, they made their way to the borders of the Square where the Royal Forest met the town.

Such cluttered spaces were uncomfortable when a previous home had been the glorious Gerudo desert of eternal sandy plains that stretched as far as the eye could see. So many buildings destroyed the beauty of the land, and were so troublesome to build and maintain. But the weakness had to be tolerated. Not all beings were as advanced as these two were.

They waited there saying not a word to each other; their minds were quite capable of managing speech.

"How do you think the master has managed, Koume?"

"Humans are too stupid to recognise their enemy, Kotake. Only when he strikes them in the back do they turn and see."

"True, true my sister. I was foolish to even think that anyone would dare question such a glorious presence."

The bushes stirred within the woods, and out from behind the trees emerged a figure clad in a dark cloak, his face securely veiled from the world. "There you are, my witches. I hardly recognised you in those new skins."

They both knelt to the floor and bowed their heads. "The Gerudo shall not miss two of their lowest guards for much longer. Their return is due soon, Master," Koume said aloud.

"I am glad," he replied. "You shall be pleased to know that an accord had been made, and I am now to take the correct absence. In two months we shall meet again. Be sure to keep an eye on things for me while I am away."

"Yes Lord Ganon - "

Their heads moved in one motion as if they had heard someone coming. "What is it?"

"N-Nothing, my lord," Kotake said. "May you have a quick return."

"Indeed," he said, turning back into the forest.

"Something stirs in the earth's spirits, Koume."

"I feel it too, my sister. Yes, it is nearby; I sense a power that should have been extinguished."

Link needed to get out of the castle. Impa had saluted to him, but why? At the opportune moment he had walked through the balcony door and heaved himself over the stone bars and had landed without a sound on the grass below. Had she seen him, or was it a figment of his own ghostly imagination? No, he thought, she specifically looked at me, but why?

A guard came from around the corner and Link halted immediately. The sound of his armour scrapped against silence of the wind, but there wasn't that final clink as he stood to attention. The soldier kept walking without a care in the world. Link sighed and rubbed his forehead. Maybe it had all been a dream. She couldn't have seen me…

As the late morning sun rose high into the brittle sky of arctic winds, Link walked across the gardens above the gates. Butterflies hovered and fluttered around the long grasses, and a remorseful image appeared in front of him. Here had been the spot where he would often sit with Zelda, threading the small flowers through her hair and whispering sweet nothings in her ear. Link could almost hear her flattered laugh and her warmth against his chest. He would talk to her often about what lay before them, the peaceful sight of the town and the houses and beyond that, the thick forests. He could see her sitting there on the grass, smiling blissfully as she turned around and offered him her hand. Link could only smile back and take her pale, non-existent fingers in his, but the image disappeared as soon as their hands touched.

There were no flowers anymore. The winter snows had eaten away at the soil, and taken Hyrule's beauty along with it, and Zelda was no longer with him. Link's hand tightened into a fist as he hurried on, the wind whipping away the moisture in his eyes. He strode through the iron bars and down the hill into the Market, bringing with him a cold wind that brushed by the townspeople as he crossed the square and out into Hyrule Field.

But what lay before him was not the field that he and Zelda had so often talked about. All the grass had been stamped into the ground, littered with foot and hoof prints in its place. The ranch had been torn down and all that was left was a ruin of charred wood. Malon, her father and the horses had all been evacuated safely, but their home had been less fortunate. His home, the Kokiri Forest was barely existent. Only a hollow shell of scattered trees and their huts could be seen through the thin curtain of the Lost Woods. The river was a muddy bog, and Link could hardly remember the days when fresh, clean water flowed in the moat. The dirt and the blood as well as more than a few bodies had all been shoved into the convenient ditch for as long as the war had started.

Dark clouds had begun to gather across the blood-stained horizon. This was too much to bear. Link turned sharply and headed back to the castle. If Impa really can see me then maybe she might be able to help, he thought.

One last look at the once beautiful field was all he could take. But something other than clouds were building up on the East Side of the ruined ranch. Two small dark figures appeared amidst the billowing dust clouds, and they seemed to be approaching the castle. Link looked harder, and he recognised them as Gerudo horses. The black and brown war-horses were a strong breed of beast, and they had always been a particular favourite with his soldiers, but something about their riders told him to go back inside.

Why do the Gerudo need to come to the castle? Link thought. Never in his whole life had a Gerudo dared to enter the Market Square. Their people had been banished along with Ganondorf from ever entering into civilisation again. Because of Ganondorf's heritage, the Gerudo had been marked with the sign of outcasts, never permitted to leave their home. They were dead to the rest of Hyrule in the fear of producing another man such as Ganondorf.

While they were still mounting the hill, Link walked back inside and manoeuvred himself to a point where he could still see the drawbridge, while carefully hidden in the shadows. He waited there, expecting to see the thieves attempt to try and sneak in, but it was silent. Not a shadow stretched across the entrance.

Feeling uneasy and suspicious to say the least, Link ventured forward and peered round the corner stone of the archway. There they were, just looking at one another. The two women were as still as the water beneath his feet, when suddenly they leaped into the air, scaling the castle wall like spiders. They hopped over the wall and were gone.

Link almost ran back inside, curious as to their strange appointment within forbidden territory. Heading in the direction from which they entered, he caught sight of the flame red hair flash through one of the small roads. It wasn't easy tracking them. They moved with the agility of a phantom, and with the light feet of a landing Guay.

Were they planning an attack on the castle? Down the back-roads of the town, there was rarely anyone patrolling, let alone any of the villagers walking about. The Royal Forest lay ahead, a perfect place for secret infiltration. Link cursed inwardly. It had been something that he hadn't realised before, and something that he wished he could correct. No guards were this far down, and the forest grew right up to the sides of the castle. Now, coming at it from the angle of the Gerudo, he wondered just how many other places were this unprotected.

"There you are, my witches. I hardly recognised you in those new skins," a voice said suddenly from not too far away.

Link stopped dead and, out of instinct, crept soundlessly to where the roads came to an end. Had it not been for his many years of strict discipline, he would have walked straight out into the open to observe the conversation. It was the only thing holding him back.

Witches? Skins? What in Din's name is going on? Link thought.

They kept talking, but something odd and something strangely familiar made his heart tremble. That power craving darkness, those cackling screeches… He had heard them before. Each word they spoke confirmed the rising fear, the confusion, and the sudden panic.

"Yes Lord Ganon - "

Link didn't hear anymore. He fled and ran as fast as he could back toward the castle. Too many thoughts cascaded through his mind to make any sense at all. 'This can't be happening. No, it cannot be true. I killed him - he was banished - and I killed Twinrova too. How could they be alive? Zelda - what is he planning to do? I need to find Impa and tell her - ' But then those thoughts cleared, replaced by something that made him feel even colder.

He couldn't do anything at all.

Ah, it's only a few days until school starts again .. Oh well, half term was fun while it lasted. You better be prepared to wait a little longer for the next chapter ;;

Hououza: Looks like that break didn't last long eh? XD. Yeah, I liked that part too :D Thank you again for reviewing both this one and Dead Letters!

serenitythefaierikin: Yay! Thank you for the review!

ManicAlpha: Thank you!

zeldaisthebest: Thanks. I quite liked the last chapter, but this one I felt was rather un-eventful. Next chapter is where the action and exciting things start to happen D

Lenipez sideshow: This is happening after OoT, but they remember what happened (unlike my other story). Ganondorf has been banished and is now planning an evil take over, or at least something like that Oo;

someone: Thanks!

Lady Kumiko: No problem ; Having to marry Ganondorf would suck muchly, but don't worry. He'll pay D