Chapter 27: The Darkness of Power

Link spurred Epona on as fast as he could as they raced back to the castle. Zelda held on tightly to Link. He wasted no time, jumping off small cliffs, making a harsh turn, pushing Epona in a way he wouldn't have ever wanted to, but that time demanded.

The castle came into view after several hours of hard riding, and he slowed as they reached Market Town. He gave Epona a pat on the head. She'd have her fill of rest soon.

"Link," Zelda said, her voice shaky. "Ride through the Market. Don't stop."

He nodded and illegally brought Epona through the crowded streets, earning him several jeers and hollers as he continued on. They reached the main castle gate, but the guard began to wave his arms in a panic.

"No! No, no! You can't have a horse here! You can't enter Hyrule Castle without permission!"

Zelda shifted away from Link so she was in view. Though she was disheveled from the ride, she looked no less like Princess Zelda. The guard removed his helmet and bowed.

"Princess! I'm afraid my orders are not to open the gate! I… I don't want to lose my job here!"

Zelda's voice was dark. "I command you to open this gate and let us pass, soldier."

He gulped visibly and pulled the gate open, slamming it the moment they cleared it. Link continued up the path, ignoring the protesting guards as they chased him. He urged Epona forward and she cleared the drawbridge before they could raise it, and clearing though the open front doors.

They stood in the foyer, surrounded by priceless artifacts and royal heirlooms. Link had never come into the castle properly. "Where do I go from here?"

Reaching around him, Zelda took the reins from Link and he scooted as far forward as he could to give her room. She led Epona to the stairs.

At first the horse protested, but Zelda urged her on and she began to clear the steps several at a time, as if she herself knew the urgency. Zelda continued to lead Epona until the next doorway with a spiral staircase was just too small for the horse.

Shouts from the guards who'd been following them began to get closer, but Zelda could barely hear them. She hopped from the horse and began to race up the stairs, Link closely behind.

Through several more hallways, Zelda continued twisting and turning before she threw her hands into a pair of doors, sending them flying. Link caught one before it could clip him in the face.

Sitting in a room around a small coffee table were several political figures. There were chancellors, ambassadors, diplomats, and the rest who came with them. Their solemn faces spoke volumes.

Zelda looked at each one of them. "What's happened? Why did none of you send word?"

Link watched Zelda's fury pour out, each word simmering and hitting the politicians with a sharp lash each time. He leaned against the wall, resting his hand on his bruised waist, and watched, unwilling to say a word.

"You knew where I was! How could you?"

A crowd of guards stood in the doorway, staring at the princess. Only one dared to speak. "Is that your horse…p-p-princess?"

Link turned to the door and nodded. If she'd responded, he thought that each of them might explode into Din's own fury. "It's hers. Bring the horse to your stable. She'll come when she's ready."

Though the guard gave Link a look that begged to know who he thought he was to command him, one look at Zelda made him comply. The guards all turned to leave, but a tall woman pushed through them.

Impa wasn't even able to enter the room before Zelda pointed her finger at the politicians. "I want them all gone! I demand that they leave!" She turned to them, her voice rising in panic. "Go! I command it!"

Impa pushed past the politicians as they hurriedly scrambled from the room and wrapped Zelda in her arms.

"Impa, what's happened to him?"

With a solemn glance downward. "He is gone, Zelda. He passed just an hour ago."

All the air was knocked from Zelda's lungs as she staggered backwards and into the couch. "How?" she asked numbly.

"It was sudden. He began to show signs of an illness yesterday. He worsened overnight."

"Let me see him," Zelda said, holding back tears.

Impa glanced at Link before kneeling in front of Zelda. "You don't want to see. There was a darkness in him, a power that consumed him. It physically impacted him. It's hot how your last memory should be."

Zelda stood up, moving quickly to the window and shoving as much of her body out for air as she could. Link and Impa moved closer, but let her deal with her grief.

"My last memory of him was him and I screaming at each other. I don't think it could get much worse than that. Show me."


Impa had escorted Link out that day, inviting him to stay at her home in Kakariko Village while she remained with the Princess making preparations for his funeral. The kingdom was in mourning, and many of her citizens were invited to pay their respects.

The day of the funeral, an envoy of Gerudo made the journey to offer their sympathy. The ranchers were among the crowd who offered their condolences. And Link stood beside Impa in the crowd surrounding the coffin and the princess herself.

She'd been given mourning clothes: a black dress with embroidered gold, and purple adornments that emphasized the surrounding symbols of the royal family. A large, pointed circlet sat on her head, digging into her skin with its sharp pointed crystal stones. The painful design was intentional, and demonstrated the physical suffering of the wearer. The last time she'd been forced to wear one was at the funeral for her mother.

Zelda's eyes were hollow as she stared out at the mourning crowd. There was no life in her, and no more tears to cry. Her face was gaunt, and she appeared to have lost weight over the past few days. Her hands constantly trembled, and her eyes were watery, though they never spilled. It left her face puffy and her expression solemn.

"How long does she have to endure this?" Link asked Impa. It was the first time he'd seen her since returning from the Spirit Temple.

Rauru said that the Sages grieved for her, but that there was no chance they could seal Ganondorf without Zelda. Her connection with the Goddesses would be crucial, and so they had to wait.

Patience.

Impa tapped her foot. "She endures this for too long. Her father's death has broken her. She is not ready for what comes next. Not yet."

Link crossed his arms. "She will be Queen."

Even in her darkest days, she oozed with regality and strength. There was a great courage it took to stand before a large, unfamiliar crowd and pretend, for their sake, that you are not going to fall apart. She stood, inches from his casket, for hours, unmoving, unfeeling.

The room had begun to divide into two, leaving the long carpet free that led to Zelda and her father. She'd taken a seat a while ago, though it was still placed in the center of the dais, all eyes on her.

Especially when the candle-lit room suddenly fell into darkness. A great storm began to rage outside, and there was a faint music in the back of her ears. She stood up and looked over at Impa and Link with a worried look on her face.

They moved forward, but she sent a force that knocked them both back. The light in the room brightened just enough that everyone could see Ganondorf standing in the center of the room, staring down Zelda.

Link tried to scramble to his feet, but this time, Impa held him back and pulled him along to stand in the crowd with a view of Zelda, though she didn't let go of him. He was firmly held in place by her strong hands.

Zelda climbed down from the dais and strode towards Ganondorf, her eyes steeled.

"Princess Zelda, I am surprised to see that you are alive. Your little knight foiled that plan. I'm forbidden from entering the temple again. Where is he?" Ganondorf looked around, and he looked straight at Link, but it was as if his eyes passed straight over him, unseeing, like a forgotten shadow in the sun.

"You tried to kill me, and you succeeded in killing my father. What is your goal? Do you want my throne? Take it. But know that you will have to pass my wrath first."

"You have no idea. You think that you are brave for travelling with the Spirit of Courage, but that boy doesn't make you special. You're a nobody. I have defeated princesses—oh, I'm sorry—queens in the past. Close your eyes, you will see them. Close your eyes."

"Do I appear to be that stupid?" she asked, tilting her head.

Ganondorf narrowed his eyes. "On the contrary. I believe you're wise. So wise, the Goddesses have bestowed their favors unto you. You would not be the first royal to bear the Triforce."

Zelda pulled off her gloves and dropped them, showing her hands. "I have no Triforce. I cannot help you, and I never would."

A guard ran out from the crowd and held out his spear. Ganondorf created an energy ball and flung it at the guard.

Instinctively, Zelda held out her hand, and the ball erupted as a green wind collided with it.

Ganondorf grabbed her wrist and pulled her closer to him.

Link fought harder against Impa, but she held him tightly and muffled his mouth. "He will not hurt her, but he will kill you the moment he sees you. This isn't time for your fight."

"Show me your power, Zelda," Ganondorf roared. "Show me the Triforce. You are the only one left!" He started to shake her. "Do I need to kill your attendant? Do I need to capture your knight? I've killed your father, and I will gladly do it again. I will burn down the Lost Woods! I will flood the great desert!"

Zelda wrenched back her hand and took a step away. "And I will refuse the call of the Goddess until my dying day, if that's what protects this land."

"When I find your knight and have you both locked away, you will wish for death. I will have you watch as I burn Hyrule. The power of the Triforce will be mine to command, and from the ashes I will raise a new, dark world."

"You can try," she said, raising her hands and letting light fall over her. It began to spread across the room, and as did the darkness, Ganondorf faded away.

She stood in the center of the crowded room, breathing heavily. No one spoke, no one moved. Most people were cowering, while others couldn't look away from the scene in front of them.

Impa and Link finally rushed forward, along with several other guards and diplomats. Zelda pushed her way through them, heading for the back room. "I need a moment."

Impa pushed Link ahead of her, urging him to follow while she began to organize an immediate evacuation of all non-essential personnel.

Link caught the door and locked it behind him. He walked over to Zelda and she dropped to her knees at the balcony window, staring out at the storm.

"I heard her," she whispered. "The Goddess. Just before he showed up, she spoke to me and demanded your safety." She turned to him, and he knelt down beside her. "She sounded beautiful and familiar."

Link grabbed her hand and waited.

"I can't do this, Link. This is the gift I was cursed with as a child. I don't know what to do with it. It's not within my power to fight him. That's you and the bearer of Wisdom with the aid of the Sages. I'm a nobody in this fight."

Link gently lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You aren't a nobody. This fight would be lost several times over without you. I'd be dead. Sages would be dead."

"Darkness has come to Hyrule. My father… he kept the light even through his own darkness."

She rubbed her hand and stared down at it. "They grant me powers I never wanted. They're giving me a life I have no wish to lead."

Link dropped his hand and looked out the window. "Then Hyrule is lost. Her Queen has forsaken her already."

Zelda threw her head into her hands. "I want my father back. I cannot do both! I can't rule and help find a way to stop Ganondorf. For all my father did, I loved him! I loved him, and I couldn't protect him. I can't let that happen to more people that I love! I love Impa, you, even your horse! How can I help when I have no role to play?"

Pulling her against him, Link closed his eyes. Though his ears had pricked up when she spoke of loving him, he was almost sure she didn't mean it quite so literally. Right?

Willing Rauru to come to him, Link was ready to fall to his knees. "Please, help me."

Rauru looked down, as if he could see the two in real life. "She's lost. You should prepare to fight Ganondorf alone. Her aid will be of little help."

"You're going to turn your back on her?"

Rauru sighed. "Her soul is becoming corrupted by an impenetrable darkness. The part she must play requires her to be surrounded by light, purity, love, honor. She is rejecting them to wallow."

"Her father was just murdered!"

"Your father was murdered. Your Gaebora, who was like a father, was taken from you. I am unable to be with you. Yet your soul remained intact through it all."

Link ran his finger over the hidden Triforce on his hand. "Let me bring her here."

"No."

"She was accepted by the Goddesses. She'll be allowed here."

Rauru looked around. "She will be, yes, but she may corrupt this place and bring darkness inside."

"She won't."

Closing his eyes, Rauru held his hand against the barrier to the Chamber of Sages. "You may bring her here once. She will not enter the chamber. You will not take her anywhere that is not here, in the outer area, do you understand?"

"Yes."

Rauru sighed. "Explain to her how you enter, and the Goddesses will help her the rest of the way here."