The falling snow had significantly slowed their progress but they still rode on. After a five hours of riding through blinding snow, they reached the city limits. They followed the trail to reach the city's gates and alerted the guards of the oncoming attack force. "Help them prepare. I need to gather our troops for defense." the young hero said before he rode off.

Link dismounted his horse and headed straight for the barracks. Inside he found Lieutenant General Meiffert conversing with his subordinates over war tactics. " Lieutenant, this city is in grave danger. We need to fortify our walls and prepare to defend Hyrule. We need every troop available to help in the effort." Link said interrupting the conversation.

"Yes your highness, we were discussing that right now." the lieutenant general said.

"Lieutenant, I think that we need to speak in private. Excuse us gentlemen." Link led them away from the lower leaders. "Lieutenant, there are 100,000 men coming after us as we speak. They slowed but they should be here by morning. Gather up every man available and have him defend the city." Link turned his head. "The Termians intend to destroy Hyrule."

"Sir, that can't be. 100,000? That's 3 times what we have. And the Termians are near the Hylian Sea. They couldn't have come that far in such a short time. It's just not possible." the lieutenant told him.

"When was the last time you received word from anyone stationed at the sea?"

"Just today, after... Well… A messenger arrived with a report of an attack. But, I remember something wasn't right about that message." the lieutenant reached into his pocket and retrieved the note. He read aloud. "They are like a swarm. They keep coming at us with such number that it is frightening. We desperately need reinforcements. We cannot hold on much longer. They are not men, they are animals."

" See lieutenant? The sea has some of the best security. We need to fortify this place now. I want the city's gates closed off and 8,000 archers placed around top of the gate. Place the rest of our troops behind the gate. I also want everyone evacuated to Kakariko. It'll take all night, but I think we can do it."

"yes, Sire. I will see that your plans are carried out." the lieutenant bowed then left.

Link's next stop was the palace. He went to the room that he and his wife shared and found her sleeping. Two nurses had been keeping an eye on her. He dismissed them and gently shook her shoulder. "Link! Is she back? You have her? Where is she? I want to hold her." Zelda said, but much to her surprise, he held no infant "What's going on? Is something the matter? What happened?" Zelda was becoming worried.

Link looked in to her eyes and said, "I had to leave her. Ganondorf and Shitsuya have an entire army coming towards Hyrule. If I would have stayed, we would have been ambushed." he held her hand. "I couldn't lose you. I couldn't let those people die. I had to leave."

Tearfully, Zelda replied. "I understand. The lives of many outweigh the life of one." she held back a sob. "How many men do you think he has?"

"100,000. Now pack your things. I have ordered the evacuation of the city. I want you to be the first one out."

"No. These are my people, I won't leave until everyone else has left. " she told him. It was just like Zelda to care more about her people than her self.

"Fine but as soon as the last person is out, your gone. I don't want to take any chances." he kissed her and turned to leave.

Right before he left, Zelda called out to him. "Link," Zelda began. "she had silver eyes." he nodded and left.

Upon exiting the room, Link noticed that everyone was packing their belongings and preparing to leave. General Meiffert had successfully carried out Link's orders. He then returned to the barracks to inform his troops of what was going to happen. "alright men, they're coming from the South. So we need catapults and archers concentrated there. I also want a battalion to the East to ensure the safety of the evacuees. " they answered with a collective "Yes, Sir!" then left to take their positions.

The few hours consisted of Link and Zelda giving orders and assisting in helping everyone leave. Miraculously, they evacuated the entire city in only 4 hours. Link returned to the palace. He found Zelda in their bedroom packing some small items. "Come, let's go." he said and led her out of their quarters. When they got outside, it was dark. Link lit a torch he found and led her to a carriage he had arranged for her. "I'll lead you out of the city. There will be a small force ready to take you to Kakariko." Link gave her a hug.

"I wish that you could come with me. I'll be very lonely without you." she gave him a kiss.

Link mounted a new horse that had been left for him and led the carriage to the city limits. He said goodbye and told her that he would return safely. She responded with a tearful goodbye. Today was turning out to be the worst day of her life.

Link rode back into the city and went to the southern gate. There, he found that all of the city's troops were in position. He was directed by an officer to a tent that contained Lieutenant General Meiffert. "Lieutenant, I'm proud that you carried out my plans so effectively." Link said.

It was now nearly dawn and the ground began to shake. "They're here." Link said aloud. Both men ran out and shouted orders. Link told the archers to ready their bows while Meiffert instructed the catapults to light their charges aflame.

Moments later, everything went silent. Only the sound of one pair of footsteps was heard. It was their commander. "Something's not right." The soldier said.

Link knew they had their guard down. "Now!" He screamed. The archers let their arrows fly. The catapults sent their charges over the wall.

They hit the entire front line. Chaos ensued at once. Shitsuya's army began to launch an assault on the wall. They hacked and slashed at it but it was too strong. Link's troops reloaded. The commander screamed at his troops to make a battering ram. The men on the sides did as they were told and proceeded to cut down a large tree.

"Now!" Link yelled again and as before, thousands of arrows rained down on their enemy. They had hit the soldiers assigned to construct the battering ram. This pattern continued until they had killed at least half their force.

Lieutenant General Meiffert was behind the wall with the infantry. They were prepared to strike on his command. "Attack!" he shouted. They gates flung open and the Hylian army rushed out. They moved through the bodies and attacked their enemy. The archers backed them up and shot a great deal of enemy troops. Finally after hours of fighting, Shitsuya's men were forced to retreat.

"I don't know how, but we did it." Meiffert said.

"Yes we did." Link said with a sigh. "Now we have to bring everyone back from Kakariko. We better get started."

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Wow this is a really long chapter. The next chapter is going to develop the story more.