The Downfall Timeline
Book 1
Chapter 5: The Bond
Nearly Midnight, July 16, 609 GK
Northern Hyrule's Grasslands
Impa and Princess Zelda rode hard through the driving rain for several hours. Though the princess could not see their pursuer, her guardian had warned that Gannondorf was close behind.
As she rounded Lon Lon Ranch's plateau, the sheikah retrieved a small handful of stones from the little pouch at her hip and threw them onto the ground behind their horse. She then turned the beast sharply and sheltered against the southern rock-face, just below the ranch's palisade.
Zelda, panicking at the idea of stopping, tried to object, but Impa firmly clapped her hand over the princess' mouth, "You must be absolutely silent princess!" she whispered.
A moment later, over the sound of the thunder and the pouring rain, the faint gallop of hooves upon wet grass could be heard from the path behind them. The warden strained her ears for the right moment, then whispered a word in sheikahn.
The little stones that she had dropped suddenly hissed and began to smoke violently upon the path. "Be... perfectly... still." She hardly breathed into Zelda's ear.
After only a few seconds, Gannondorf's great black steed charged around the side of the plateau, following Impa's path, right to the stones. The desert chieftain cruelly pulled back upon the reigns, forcing his mount to skid to a sudden halt in the mud.
He cursed angrily aloud - certain he had caught a glimpse of the white horse in the last flash of lightning, but now they had disappeared. Clenching his teeth in rage, he slowly turned his head from side to side - searching for his prey, his evil eyes passing directly over the princess.
She shuddered and struggled against Impa's arm, but the sheikah held her tight.
He narrowed his eyes and carefully scanned the wall of the plateau. The air here was thick with mist, in spite of the rain, and that made him suspicious.
Leaping from his horse, the deadly sorcerer crouched down and searched the mud for hoof-prints. The storm was rapidly washing away all evidence of his prey's flight, but he believed he could see tracks leading toward the rocky plateau.
Stooped low, almost at a crawl, Gannondorf began to approach the two terrified women.
Zelda's heart was pounding against her ribs and her breathing was turning frantic. Impa, very slowly, slipped her right hand down to the hilt of her kodachi, and with her left hand, covered the princess' mouth and nose.
She would not allow the girl to be taken. If necessary, she would leap from the horse and command it to run. She would fight Gannondorf alone and give the princess a chance to escape!
As the Gerudo drew closer, she could feel Zelda's heart beating faster and faster as the child struggled to hold her breath.
"Goddess Hylia, mother and guardian of life, protect us… please!" She plead silently in her mind.
Suddenly, a blinding flash of white light burst over them and a terrific crash of thunder stung their ears.
In the distance, the faint whinny of a terrified horse could be heard, just after the crash. In one swift movement, the dark predator leapt back onto his horse and drove him hard to a gallop around the southern face of the ridge and disappeared into the darkness to the Northwest.
When she was certain he had truly gone, Impa released the princess and quickly returned her hands to the reigns.
Zelda gasped desperately for air. "How dare you?!" she angrily sobbed at her attendant.
The warden, still very alert and continuously scanning the countryside, returned their horse to a southerly path.
"I beg your forgiveness, your Grace, but we could not risk any sound at all. The sheikah's spell of concealment is a fragile one and easily broken by careless sound or movement." She answered.
The young royal did not care for her guardian's excuse. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she continued to struggle at regaining her breath.
She had never been so terrified in her entire life! In little more than a few hours, the most traumatic events of her life had just occurred: A peaceful evening in her chambers were shattered by a sudden explosion within the castle, she had witnessed the deaths of her parents, was forced to flee her home into a storm-lashed night, and now… she was being hunted by a ruthless murderer on horseback.
Several hours passed in silence as the two carefully made their way further south. Eventually, the rainstorm passed and the moon lazily hung low in the western sky.
"Daylight will be here soon." muttered Impa.
But the princess did not hear her; her mind was blank and unfocused. Once the adrenaline of Gannondorf's chase had subsided, her body began to grow weak and her mind was trapped upon all of the terrible events that had just happened.
Everything was gone: her parents, her home, her wealth, everything.
The girl's mind could not accept it. She clenched her eyes shut, and willed herself to wake up from this horrible nightmare.
"It can't be! It just can't be!" she thought to herself, "They can't really be gone!"
But when she opened her eyes again, she was still sitting on her horse – just an orphan… soaking wet… and wandering the wilderness. The hard reality of that word: Orphan, began to press down on her and she shook with a new fear.
"What will become of me? Where will I go?" she wondered.
As her spirit crumbled, she began to sob. Impa wrapped an arm around her and said, "I know child... I know. It will be alright. I'm here."
They avoided all of the main roads within Hyrule; choosing instead to travel over country. The elder did not know how widespread Gannondorf's attack was, or for how long he had kept spies and assassins within the kingdom. Any of Hyrule's small villages could have a trained killer waiting for them.
As the eastern sky grew brighter, Zelda spotted a small village in the distance, away to their left, but Impa refused to take her there.
"We must avoid all eyes, your grace," she explained, "He will likely seek us out at any refuge we could reach. We will have to fend for ourselves."
Slowly, silently, dawn came as the sun steadily rose over the mountains in the East and its light steadily shone down upon the landscape. Normally, the sheikah were more comfortable moving at night, but the bright sun helped to ease Impa's anxiety - Gannondorf could now be spotted from a great distance and the Hylian knights would be hunting him.
The princess now leaned back against her protector and let her head droop onto her chest. Exhausted from the lack of sleep and from the night's terror, she dozed uneasily as Impa held her.
"The poor child," She thought to herself, "to lose both of her parents so young."
Her concern stretched beyond that of charitable pity for an orphan; she pitied Hyrule itself.
"Her mother was going to instruct her on how to use her power." Impa remembered, "Her dreams, and her intuition about the boy... her power must be starting to awaken."
The sheikah knew that the duty of guiding and instructing the princess now fell solely upon her. In the absence of the queen, she would have to do what she could to guide the young sovereign's path.
Without warning, a sudden tremor rippled out over the landscape, accompanied by a wave of intense power bursting free in the North. Impa, jarred by the sudden sensation, turned in the saddle to look back.
At the very edge of the horizon, the tops of Hyrule Castle's towers could be seen in the morning light as well as the spires of the Temple of Time. Zelda, jolted awake by her matron's sudden movement, feared that Gannondorf had been spotted.
"What? Where is he?!" she shouted in terror.
"It's not him, your grace, be still. It is the boy." The warden replied solemnly, still staring to the north.
"Link?" she cried, "Where is he?"
For the first time, the princess' dark thoughts and painful memories were broken by the idea that the young hero might somehow be nearby. He was a friend and something wholesome that her mind could hold on to from her past.
After a moment's joy however, she realized that he was not there, and the sinking sadness returned.
"He's opened the door, your grace," Impa started, "He has entered the Sacred Realm."
Zelda too now turned anxiously to the north. "That's good. He will keep the Triforce safe from Gannondorf." she said confidently.
"Are you sure it was wise to trust the boy with this your grace? We barely know him." replied Impa.
"I know him." said Zelda, "He's the key to saving Hyrule... I just know it."
Returning to their journey, the young woman began to plan the next steps:
First, Link would get the Triforce and use it to protect the Sacred Realm and prevent Gannondorf from getting its power.
Next, Zelda and Impa would return to the capitol. The young hero would give the Triforce to her and she would use it to banish Gannondorf back to his desert forever.
It was all so simple - nothing could go wrong! Assured that all would be well, she leaned back against her companion again, and let herself doze a little more.
The sounds of the horse's steady hoof beats on the ground and the slow, deliberate breathing of her protector gradually drifted away, as the girl was carried to a cloudy, dream-like place.
She was standing on hard stone, but she could not see anything around her. The air was thick with cloud… or smoke. Faintly, she could hear the echoes of shouts… the whinnying of horses… the ring of steel, the crash of thunder and… something else. Something very frightening. A growling or very distant roaring in the darkness.
The young royal felt very cold and fearful in this place. There was something out there in the smoky blackness… something evil.
"Go Back!" the voice of Link suddenly rang out in the fog. "Go back where you came from!" he shouted again.
For an instant, Zelda was elated to hear his voice, but, very quickly, she began to feel his fear.
"He's terrified." she muttered to herself. "What in the name of the Goddess could frighten him so much?" she wondered.
"Link?!" she called out, "Link, where are you?!"
The sounds of the battle were becoming clearer and were quickly drawing closer.
"Link, where are you? Link I'm here!" she shouted, running through the fog toward his voice.
The little hero's heart was beating very fast. He was more than afraid; he was certain that he was going to die!
Frantically, the princess ran through the darkness calling out to him. Suddenly, a large shadow rose upward and took form in the cloud ahead of her.
Agahnim, the terrible sorcerer, stood tall and quickly raised his hands.
The princess looked up at him, overcome with terror. "I have to do something!" the words echoed through her mind, "I have to stab him!"
As she dove for the master sword's grip, Agahnim struck her with all of his power: "Die and bother me no more!" he bellowed.
The princess, leaning against Impa as she dreamed, suddenly went very rigid. Every muscle in her body seemed to contract and the girl shook with a sudden violence.
"Your Grace!" Impa cried as the little sovereign fell from the horse - screaming in agony.
The sheikah hurriedly leapt down from her mount and tried to cradle her charge as she thrashed and screamed. No matter how hard she tried to shake or call to her, the princess would not snap out of whatever fit had taken her.
Finally, sensing a source of magic flowing within the girl, Impa focused her own power and attempted to break the connection. For a brief moment, the sorcerer's lightning bit at her too, but she was able to snap Zelda's mind away from Link. The girl quickly fell limp and began to breathe easier.
"Your Grace, Your Grace are you alright?!" her guardian asked frantically.
Slowly, the princess opened her eyes and looked up at her attendant. Impa's face was wracked with worry; small tears had even begun to form in the corners of her eyes.
"Oh Impa..." she whimpered, "They're killing him!"