Before this chapter gets going, I guess I'd better put in my first author's note; I will try to cover as much as I can so I won't have to put in too many more. First of all, the Legend of Zelda video games, and all of their characters, were created by Shigeru Miyamoto (hope that spelling is correct), are distributed by Nintendo, and feature soundtracks by Koji Kondo (yes, I'm a music nerd). Second, I realized before the last chapter that my idea for a Triforce transfer would be unpopular, not to mention difficult to explain my way out of. I shall endeavor to do this either in the next chapter or the one following that. My own main purpose in it was twofold: to create inner conflict for Brian, and to make his "operation" more difficult. You'll see why here. Third, I have received intelligence that people are wondering if I will pair Zelda and Brian. I will confess that I have seriously considered this. But it isn't final yet. I figure I will let the characters themselves decide on this (they've become voices in my head at this point). Finally, I wish to extend my thanks to a certain reviewer, whose identity I do not know, for pointing out my mistake as far as which hand Triforces appear on, as well as which part is which. I have realized my blunders, and have fixed them. Hopefully the last chapter will show up in its edited form. Now, without further ado, here is the next chapter; I hope you find it to your liking.
...
We got to the enemy fortress in good time. The sun was in the dead center of the sky when we stopped at the edge of a cliff, twelve feet above the top of the highest structure of the fortress. For several minutes, we looked downwards, watching the numerous ill-clad guards patrol the ground behind the main gate. These were armed with lethal-looking curved blades affixed to long staves. It was probably best to avoid them, I reasoned.
As we stood watching, Zelda spoke, for the first time in thirty minutes. "I hope our Triforces stop resonating once we're inside the fortress," she said. "I'd rather not have our position betrayed by some stupid buzzing."
I nodded soberly at that. I still wasn't happy over the brilliant mark on my hand. "How do you think it left Link?" I asked. "Has Ganon killed him?"
"I don't know," Zelda replied. "If he is still alive, we will have to speak with Rauru on this when we return. He has lived longer than anyone in Hyrule, and is well-versed in the workings of the Triforce. He, if anyone, will know what is going on."
Once again, I nodded in response. This time, though, I had nothing more to say. After another forty seconds, I finally produced the spike and drove it into the rock at the top of the cliff, taking great care not to make too much noise. This done, I tied one end of the rope to the spike and let the other end drop. The vast majority of the length went unused, and coiled atop the top of the fortress. I slid down the rope, followed by Zelda, with Impa bringing up the rear.
As Zelda touched down onto the smooth, flat rock of the fortress, I asked her, "Which way is the most likely?"
"This way," she replied, grabbing the rope and dropping it off to our left. We descended to the second level in this manner, myself nervous the whole time, in fear of discovery. Fortunately, none of the patrolling Gerudo looked above or behind them. We slipped through a dark opening in one of the structures and entered the maze of passages of which the fortress was comprised.
We crept along in the shadows and the dim torchlight for what seemed a few lifetimes. Zelda and I often covered our right hands in order to mask the light emitted from them. Once, a guard on the inside came so close to us that I nearly uncovered my hand to pull out my sword. Thankfully, we evaded notice the whole time. We came across several large chambers that held cells. But all of these were empty. This fact filled me with dread; it meant that Link might have been killed already. But whenever I thought such things, my right hand vibrated all the harder, and the fear subsided, though I began to worry each time that it would lead to our discovery and capture. I forced myself not to have any alarming thoughts from that point on.
At length, we began to hear voices at the end of one of the halls we were passing through. There was light coming from around a corner. We stopped short of that light, and crouched behind a wooden crate, listening to hear what the voices would say.
An adult, male voice spoke first: "My attempt to confiscate that meddler's piece of the Triforce has failed. When I willed it to join the Triforce of Power, it left his hand, but I have not seen it since. Not on my hand, not in the Temple, nowhere!"
"Patience, my lord Ganondorf," answered a female voice. "The Triforce of Courage will turn up. Perhaps it will be dropped into our laps willingly." I stiffened at the thought, but this voice continued: "Once you have it, Queen Zelda should be easy enough to capture and the Triforce of Wisdom will be won."
"You're a queen now?" I whispered to Zelda.
She nodded, putting a finger to her mask where her lips would have been. I shut up and continued to listen.
The first voice was back. "Very well," it said. "With any luck, the Triforce of Courage has not wandered far. In the meantime, our so-called Hero of Time should be transferred here from the Temple of Spirit. Organize a party tomorrow morning to collect him from there and bring him here."
The second voice emitted a low laugh. "Of course," it came. "Once he is here, the Hero of Time will add more warriors to our ranks, as one day all men in Hyrule will."
Zelda swore under her breath, and I came close to doing the same. The second voice's words hid nothing of the intentions of the Gerudo people towards Link. The thought of him meeting such a fate made my pulse and anger rise. I began to reach for my sword, but Zelda put a hand on my arm to stop me.
And then we heard the first voice say, "The Triforce. It is resonating. A bearer of it must be near." We stopped cold at that. I realized that I had uncovered my right hand, as had Zelda, and the Triforce symbols were blazing furiously. We were now in very real danger of being caught and captured. Link wasn't even held here, which meant there was no point to us staying, and to do so would put us more at risk.
"Time to go," I whispered, grabbing Zelda's wrist and stealthily booking it for a different passageway. The three of us – I, Zelda, and Impa – hurried along one corridor after another, all of us tensed and ready to be ambushed at any moment. We had gone from being the hunters to being the hunted. It was not a feeling I particularly enjoyed.
Not too long after we left the area of Ganondorf's chamber, we heard a horn sounding throughout the valley. An alarm, I was willing to bet. Gerudo fighters began to jog along the passageways, often coming too close to us for comfort. Once, we blundered into a guard coming around a corner. She and I were just as surprised to have run into each other, but I managed to get my hand on my weapon more quickly. I pounced and hammered the butt end of the sword into her forehead, sending her into unconsciousness.
She was the only guard who saw us, thankfully. After I'd switched places in our file with Zelda, we managed to navigate to the opening next to which our rope dangled. Letting all caution leave us, we all leapt up the rope in quick succession, climbing furiously to the top of the second level, then the top of the third, then the top of the fourth. As we made our way to the top of the plateau, a lone Gerudo spotted us and shot futilely at us with a short recurve bow. All three of us made it to the top, the Triforces on our hands outshining the sun, after which I gathered our rope and spike, and we took off across the plateau, bound for the familiar grassy plains.
