The Wolf With Steel Fangs
And here we are with chapter three. Now, with suspicion running high, there will be...a little chat...with certain people.
Paper unfolds. Complex destinies revealed. The Royal Black walks the land of Hyrule once again.
Be seduced by the music of wolves.
The Wolf With Steel Fangs
The Deception That Twists Reality
If I could change I
would take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I
made I would
If I could stand up and take the blame I would
I
would take all my shame to the grave
Just washing it aside
All
of the helplessness inside
Pretending I don't feel misplaced
It's
so much simpler than change
Link buried himself in books once again.
The look in that girl had unnerved him. It had seemed like she didn't understand speech. Not language, but speech itself. It was almost like words were foreign to her. But then, how did she write the words? Unless she didn't actually understand him, and was just copying something she saw. Link had too many questions, and not enough answers were coming to him.
(Frustration)
Two hours into round two, Link stopped. He wasn't one to be paranoid, but he had a distinct feeling that someone or something was watching him. He closed the tome he was reading and glanced around the room. There had to be something he had overlooked. He knew that someone was watching him. This was a feeling he didn't particularly enjoy. He didn't like being spied on, and he was certain that it was the same person that he had almost died trying to save.
But then Link found it. Unnoticed in a corner, between two books, was a familiar reflection of an eye. It looked straight at him, straight at him as he loaded his bow and sniped the gray eye through the crack. There was a scream, the scream of a soldier, and the clanging of armor falling to the floor. There were panicked sounds, soldiers hurrying here and there. Link scowled and grabbed one or two books. He had to make his escape, and he had to do it now.
With unparalleled grace, he leapt from his spot on the floor to the top of a bookshelf and ran on the tops of the shelves towards an open window. He heard the clamoring of armor below him, but he didn't dare look back. Javelins flew past him, missing by mere millimeters. One elegant leap took him through the window and onto the courtyard below. Zelda stood in that courtyard, looking surprised—not by Link's sudden entrance.
"Call off your dogs." Link said coldly.
Zelda didn't have time to say anything before a familiar figure in black sailed over her head and hit Link head on. Link whirled, pulling her from his body by the back of her neck and pinning her to the ground while she writhed and howled in fury.
"Stay." He hissed before whistling.
Epona sailed over the nearest hedge. She whirled, and Link swung into her saddle quickly. They were off again, before Zelda or the girl could get him.
(Escape)
Link was still clutching the two books, his knuckles were white. Epona headed towards the forest, but Link pulled her away. They needed to hide, to be lost, to vanish. Link turned towards the desert, and the thieves who would welcome him with open arms.
They did, of course. They hid him in the darkest recesses of their fortress where only the strongest may go. The room was dimly lit, but full of large fluffy pillows and dishes with food and flasks with water. In the center was a low-sitting table. Link sighed and sat down, opening one of his books and drawing the candles close.
The books, by pure shit-luck, were journals of two members of the Royal Black. Link sighed with relief as he began reading. But the more he read, the paler he became. The more he read, the more lonely...
(Ugly)
(Afraid)
...he felt. And he hadn't even found anything on the girl yet. Every little confession was written in these books. Every sin they committed, every lustful thought and impure action was scribed within the first few pages. They did indeed have a mission to carry out, but they only did half of it.
They had stolen an infant, only a few months old. A little girl...
Link slammed the book closed, not certain if he wanted to read anymore. He was shaking, beads of cold sweat appearing on his forehead. His eyes were wide and he was deathly pale. But the more he denied it, the more he felt like he had to read on. He reached over to one of the earthenware flasks and splashed some of the cool water on his face before drinking the rest. One shaky hand opened the book once more, and he began to read.
The girl never learned to speak. They trained her to be a killing machine, and that is what she turned out to be. Completely obedient to the members of the Royal Black. She never had a birthday or a nap in an open field under the summer sky. She was always locked in a dark room with ravenous dogs at night, and the dogs would be dead by morning. She was trained by weapons trying to kill her. Lances, swords, whips, arrows, anything. The faster she became, the less scars she had. She seemed to move with a superhuman strength, but it was simply because she only spoke body language. She was responsible for mass murders, massacres, kidnappings, anything during the final years of both the king's reign and Ganondorf's full term.
Link closed the first book. He couldn't read anymore, but he knew he had to. His entire body shook with fear and revulsion. He couldn't even imagine a childhood like that. Link glanced over at the last book, one bound by black leather and with no writing on the front, only a golden insignia of a jackal. Link's trembling hand slowly reached over towards the book, as if he was afraid it would bite him. Cautiously, he opened the pages.
The second book described everything in horrific detail. When the girl did well, she would look for a kind word and receive a strong blow to the temples. If she made a small mistake, the swords were unchecked. If she made a larger mistake, they would swarm her, raping her with their lances. This continued for years until Ganondorf came into power. Then she was turned loose, with missions, assassinations and kidnappings. There were plans to make an entire army of children just like her, to be called the "Black Wolf Advent." Only she survived though. Every scar on her body is a different torture, a different training exercise.
Did Zelda use her? Link had wondered about it before, but now was certain. That girl would not have attacked him if she did not. Hell, the Royal Black was still operating, why should she not as well? Now Link came to the question of why him? Why was he a target? Was it because Link had refused to marry the princess? Because he lived his own life? More questions, less answers.
Link heard the faint clattering of armor. Fear seemed to overtake him. He had read what they had done, and he knew what they could do. There was no way to run from the way he came. There had to be another way. Link dove beneath the mountain of pillows, finding a trapdoor with an escape route. He slipped in, covering himself well and snatching a candle. He closed the door behind him and headed through the narrow tunnel.
Light appeared, light of the outside. Link crawled as fast as he could, having killed the candle long ago. He heard the footsteps above him, and he hurried. He had to beat them, he had to be free. He whistled sharply, and the blessed familiar whinny of Epona was heard. But Link froze. There was a tone of distress. Shit. Link swallowed the growing lump in his throat and reached for his sword. He had second thoughts and reached for his ocarina. He had to go where no one would find him...
...Like the top of a mountain...
...or the bottom of a lake...
Link reached into his boot and pulled out a meshy, fish-scale textured tunic. It glittered in the low light. Link changed clothes right then and there. He knew that armor sank, and armor doesn't breathe underwater. A few echoing song notes later, he was leaping into Lake Hylia to take refuge in the Water Temple.
The wolf growled. She had seen the flash of blue and then her prey was gone. She had lost his scent. She backed up the tunnel and crawled out through the trapdoor. An angry, guttural snarl rose from her throat when she looked at the Black Royal members surrounding her. No words were exchanged. One of the members clubbed her with the end of his lance before she ran off, determined to find her prey.
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Another chapter, end.
Tell me your thoughts, the next chapter will make this one seem happy in comparison.