Chapter 20

A loud bang roused Link from his sleep. He quickly checked on Zelda, and was relieved to see her still asleep, thankfully peaceful. Her nightmares had been bad at first, and she'd woken up in cold sweat or screaming many times.

He laid down to go back to sleep, when another bang made his eyes shoot open.

Something isn't right.

He jumped out of bed silently, careful of the woman beside him, and grabbed his sword. He opened the door to the bedroom, and stepped out into the main room. Fully expecting someone to jump out at him, his senses were on high alert.

But nothing happened.

A few moments later, there was another loud bang, this time sounding like it was a lot closer. Link moved to the window, squinting out into the night.

And then he paled.

Coming towards the settlement was a row of warriors, holding torches. It seemed the banging noise had been them using magic to pick up boulders and project them towards the small town, which luckily seemed more of a scare tactic rather than to actually cause harm, as none of the houses had been hit.

Link wasted no time. He left the house, sword in hand, and sprinted to the school. He ran into a knight on patrol, but as he told the boy what was happening he nodded grimly and explained that a message had gone to the headmaster a few moments prior. Just as he finished talking, the bell in the tower began to toll, announcing the arrival of the enemies.

They were coming.

The battle started with the archers.

The Skyloftians lined up, and fired off a few arrows, hoping to pick off the main brunt of the melee fighters before they had even made it to the town. The Hylians returned the fire, and Link threw up his shield, a loud clang ringing out as an arrow bounced off of it.

First contact was a lot bloodier. Somehow, the Hylians had replenished their army since Link had left, and they outnumbered the Skyloftian knights (along with anyone who could fight) by at least 2:1. Men fell from both sides, and Link cursed, ashamed that his own men had been slaughtered in the same place they had celebrated a new world.

A sword caught Link's chest, thankfully not cutting deep enough to cause more than a scratch, but enough to remind him that he was still in his nightclothes. He cursed his terrible foresight, and dispatched the Hylian that had caused the wound.

Link could see that his men were failing. It seemed living underground had given the Hylians incredible night vision, and with the element of surprise and better numbers it was clear the Skyloftians were fighting a losing battle. But Link did not give up, the feeling of failure spurring him on.

They couldn't let the Hylians win.

"There's a woman on the battlefield!" Someone cried, and Link looked up.

He could see Zelda coming towards him through the battle, miraculously not getting hit by anything or anyone. He panicked, and ran towards her. As he encircled her protectively in his arms, he could see that she was crying.

"They're gone," She wailed. Link felt his heart drop.

"What?"

"Aria and Eric, they're gone." She burst into fresh tears "Karane came to the door to shelter with us, since Groose was fighting. I only left them for a few seconds!"

Link picked up the woman, and quickly took her back to the house. He dodged swings of swords and arrows, opening the door and shutting it behind her, locking it tight. He went to the bedroom, and found Karane sat on the floor, Lee curled up with his face smashed into her dress and the baby screaming. Karane was hysterical.

"Zelda!" she cried, and Link put the woman down. She fell to her knees in front of Karane, and Karane put her free arm around Zelda, pulling her close. Zelda burst into fresh tears.

"Did you see who took them?" Link asked, but both women shook their heads. Link put Zelda in the care of Karane, and left the house.

To his surprise, once outside he realized that the Hylians were retreating. The Skyloftians were cheering, but Link yelled out.

"No!" he shouted, earning confused looks "Don't let them go! They took the twins!"

The men whipped back round, but it was too late.

The Hylians, and the twins, were gone.

"We have to go after them." Link did not leave room for anyone to argue his command. Even with the Skyloftian forces severely depleted, there was no way he would let them take the babies and get away with it. He couldn't stand to look at Zelda one more time like this, seeing her face grey and unfeeling. She refused to move most days, staying curled up in bed. She even refused to see Karane or Horii.

He had to get the twins back.

They left three days later. Finn had come to him last evening, and said that even though his magic was weak, he could feel a disturbance and that it was probably the Hylians. He explained, as best he could, that there was something calling him to walk into the woods, to go and be present at the ritual.

So they set off, Link and Finn leading them into the woods once more.

It didn't take them long to get to the clearing where Finn could feel the magic draw at its strongest. Link had planned to be stealthy, but soon he realized his presence had been noticed.

"Link of the Skyloftians," A familiar voice that held no emotion greeted him. Link saw Dariil appear in front of him, his wounded arm in a sling.

"Dariil," Link grabbed the hilt of his sword "Where are the twins? What have you done with them?"

"We told you we needed a sacrifice," Dariil's eyes narrowed, "We needed someone with a pure heart. The girl was perfect, but you refused to let us have her. So, we found the next best thing."

Link growled. "Where are they?"

"I won't tell you," Dariil warned him "We may have accepted you as the leader of the warriors, but you sure as hell aren't one of us, and you can't order me to do things anymore. Finlaay may have followed you like the blind idiot he is, but I won't tell you a thing."

"I will kill you," Link pulled his sword from the sheath, and Finn did the same. Dariil barked out a humourless laugh.

"You already took my sword hand from me," he motioned to the stump at the end of his arm, "I'm useless as a Warrior now. To kill me would be a blessing."

Link snorted, dropping the tip of his sword. "I won't put you out of your misery."

"Link," Finn caught the man's attention "Something's happening in the clearing. The magic, the feeling I have, it just… changed. I think it's getting stronger."

"They must have opened the portal," Dariil chuckled as the knights pushed past him, moving into the clearing.

When they saw exactly what was going on, Link came up short. The Hylians stood in a circle, all with hands raised. Green light surrounded them, and a green orb floated in the middle of the circle. The five elders stood in the middle. The three in the middle were holding the items; the necklace, the box, and the sword. They must've gotten it in the time between Link leaving and them coming for the twins. The other two each held one of the twins, Aria on the left and Eric on the right. The children didn't cry, and looked on with awe.

But that wasn't all. Another man stood in front of the five elders, also with his hands raised. He was must bigger than the Hylians, both in height and also broadness. He wore a long, dark cape with feathers around his shoulders.

Link cried out, but no one moved. He took a step forward, but as he did, the portal opened. The green orb folded in on its self before blowing outwards, the light so bright Link and the other knights were forced to shield their eyes. When it died down, all that was left was the portal.

The man in the cape turned.

"It's done!" He cried out in glee, and the elders cheered. The man's eyes flitted up to rest on Link. "Oh," he started "Looks like someone has come to ruin the party."

"Give me the children back!" Link shouted, pushing his way past the outer circle. The man moved past the elders to stand between them and Link, and the two men stopped about two meters away from each other. Link pointed his sword up towards the other man. "Give them back or this ends in blood! I won't ask so nicely again."

The man stared at him, a look of bemusement on his face. Finally, he began to laugh. Once he had calmed himself down, and comically wiped a tear from his face, he spoke.

"You are brave, child, but I don't think you know who you are talking to."

"I don't care who you are," Link spat. "Give me the twins, now."

"I don't like a man who can't keep a promise," the man chucked, phasing Link for a second. "You said you wouldn't ask me again; and yet, you just did."

Link growled.

"Very well, little boy," the man taunted. "I'll tell you who I am. My name is King Savant, the second." He dipped into a low bow. As he came up, he smirked at Link. "I come from another realm. In my realm, we are known as the Loup Noir."

Everything suddenly made sense. The dreams Zelda had told him about, Faale saying she thought the elders were being indoctrinated. Everything lead back to this.

Before Link could say anything, King Savant turned back to look at the portal.

"We better move," He spoke in a sing-song manner. "The Demon is coming."

The monster came through the portal at a gallop, running in circles before sliding to a stop in the centre of the clearing, raising its head and letting out a gut-wrenching howl.

Link had never seen anything like it before; the monster had a grotesque head which resembled a pig, and a body that was covered in rippling muscles. He stood on his back legs, which ended not in feet but in trotters, which shone red in the sunlight. His arms ended in normal hands, which clutched at a large spear.

King Savant began to laugh.

"Child, give up now and go home. Go back to your people, your family, and live out the last few days you have in bliss. We are going to poison this land with darkness, and you can't stop us."

"I will never!" Link shouted. The older man shrugged his shoulders.

"You will be the first to die, then." He raised his hands, and cried out to the monster in a strange language. The monster stopped, looked to him, and then once King Savant had finished, the monster turned to Link.

Holding its spear out, it moved towards Link. It then ran, swinging the spear around. Link hopped back, narrowly avoiding it. Panting, he ran around the back of the monster, trying to get a hit in. Before he could, the monster turned on him, clouting him out of the way with its free arm. Link flew, smacking into the ground hard. He sat, dazed, his vision swimming. He could hear the monster coming towards him, and his brain cried out for him to move, but he just couldn't.

It all happened in a blur.

Link heard Finn cry out. The younger man ran, putting himself in between the monster and Link. Finn raised his sword, praying that he had been quick enough.

Link watched on in horror the monster rammed his spear through Finn. He hadn't been quick enough.

Shocked, Finn spat blood. He dropped his sword, and touched the wood that protruded from his chest. Link sat, paralyzed as the monster swung his spear around, throwing Finn's body. The boy crashed into the floor, unmoving.

Link felt the anger build up, until it overflowed. He screamed, bloodthirsty, his eyes streaming at the pain of loss. He ran back at the monster, almost uncaring. With inhumane speed and strength, he ran around the monster, slicing at it as fast as he could. Link could feel his body tiring, but the anger drove him on.

The beast fell.

"You killed it!" King Savant moaned, almost disappointed. Then, he smiled. "I must admit, that was one hell of a show! The way that boy sacrificed himself for you… c'est magnifique!"

"Shut up!" Link screamed, and the man froze, looking taken aback. Link looked away from him, and ran to where Finn lay. He put a hand on the man, and Finn coughed.

"S-shit." He said, shaking, "Shit, that wasn't supposed- to happen."

"Finn, shh." Link felt the tears biting at his eyes again. He'd seen men die before. But Finn seemed… too young. Too innocent. This shouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry." He shuddered, spitting a glob of blood onto the grass. He coughed out a laugh "Don't let Joole see me like this, she'll dump me."

Link looked away, choking on his own tears. He heard Finn sigh, and looked back.

"Don't let them win," Finn whispered, before sighing once more, his eyes fluttering shut. Link clenched his fist.

He stood and turned, to see King Savant walking towards the portal, the twins in his arms. Link ran after him.

"Give the to me!" Link shouted. King Savant turned.

"Oh, you don't need them!" He laughed, "They shouldn't have even survived being used to bring that beast through the portal. When they didn't die, I was going to give them back; but then you ruined my fun."

Link wasn't waiting any longer. He ran forwards, intending to crash into the mad king and push him over. The twins would get hurt, but not seriously. And nursing them back to full health was better any day than them being taken away.

The man stepped backwards. Aria held out her hands.

"Papa." She said.

"How sweet," King Savant cooed, looking at Link who had stopped a little ways away, panting. He tossed the girl towards Link, who grabbed her quickly. He sighed in relief as he caught her, but then he looked up and his face turned to horror.

King Savant was stepping through the portal. Link started towards it, but the portal flashed brightly causing Aria to start to cry. When the light died, Link cried out.

The portal had closed.

King Savant was gone.

And so was Eric.

Woohoo!

And that brings us to the end of Unplanned Sequences! It's been a long time coming, and I'm glad to finally have it finished. It took me 51 months and 13 days to write all of this, would you believe…

And back to the story… what a cliff hanger! Poor Eric! What will happen to him? And who is this mysterious and crazy King Savant? And just where did he come from? I hope this gets you all excited for book three, which will be the final book in the Unplanned series!

And a final note: I will be going back through these chapters over the coming days, editing them again and fixing the MASSIVE PLOT HOLES I left in there... who noticed that Zelda goes to the Academy for about two years, and yet doesn't know where her father's office is because she 'rarely visits'? *face palm*. I'll try to get everything, but as always I am always happy for people to let me know if they find anything out of place, so please don't be shy!

I also want to eventually re-write Unplanned Consequences... I still get a fair few reads of it each month, and I feel like I should at least try to make it the epic saga my 14-year-old self wanted it to be!

Thanks for reading. None of this could have happened without you guys, my readers!

On to book three...

Meiko x