The rest of the day was pretty uneventful at Hyrule Castle. Just about everyone had turned in for the night. That is, everyone except Link and Zelda. They stood out on their balcony, looking up at the stars that hung in the darkness of night. Link stood behind Zelda, with his arms wrapped around her stomach and his head on her shoulders. They stood there in silence for quite some time.
"It really is a beautiful night, isn't it?" Zelda decided to break the silence.
"Not as beautiful as the woman in my arms," Link said seductively while kissing her neck. Zelda turned a slight red, but he wasn't able to see it in the dark.
"Oh, you," she teased. "I love you."
"I love you too," he said with a smile. "I couldn't be any more happy than I already am. You as my wife, a son, and a beautiful country."
She decided that it was finally time to tell him something she had kept from him for the past couple of weeks.
"Link, honey," she started.
"Yes?"
"Are you sure you couldn't be any happier?" She turned around to look him in the face.
At first, Link didn't know what she was talking about. Of course I couldn't be happier. The only thing that could possibly do that would be… Then it hit him. He held back any feelings of joy before she confirmed it. No use getting his hopes up over nothing.
"You mean…" He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to. Instead, he simply moved his hands over her stomach again, but this time, it was more of a cradling hold rather than a hug.
She smiled brightly back at him. No words were necessary. His feelings of joy erupted from him and were met with her feelings of joy. The two embraced in a long, passionate kiss. Then they just stood there in silence at the sky again, her head resting on his shoulders, and his head resting on top of her head.
"Absolutely nothing could spoil this moment," he said to her while still looking up at the stars. Perfect. That's the word he used to describe his life just then. The moment was perfect, and he felt invincible. The thoughts of Ganondorf, the dangers of the world, and ruling the country all faded away into the back of his mind. He didn't want to think about them right now.
While they stood there a while longer, Link thought he could here something in the cool, calm night. They almost sounded like the footsteps of a horse, galloping as fast as it could, going wherever it was directed. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it was gone. All was quiet. He continued to look around for the source of the noise.
"Link, what is it?"
"I thought I heard something."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous! It's the middle of the night, who would be out at this time?" She yawned and walked into their room. "Come on, come to bed."
"In a minute." He stood there in silence for a little longer, still trying to figure out what he had heard. He finally gave up and blamed it all on his imagination. He turned around and walked into his room and changed his clothes. As he got to his side of the bed, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. There, in bed, was Zelda, fast asleep. She couldn't have been lying there for more than a few minutes, but she was completely out. He smiled, pulled the covers back and got into bed.
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"You must let us see the Princess! It's an emergency!" Jacob was getting furious with the castle guard.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we are under strict orders not to let anyone through the gates until morning!" The guard was getting mad as well.
"Our town was attacked yesterday! My p… parents were…" Liz couldn't say anymore. She once again began to cry. Jacob pulled her close to him and tried his best to comfort her, but in light of the recent events, he didn't think it was possible.
John still had his head on straight and cut in for Jacob. John whispered into Jacob's ear to take Liz with him and sit over on one of the benches. Jacob nodded and slowly, he and Liz walked toward the benches. John turned to the guard.
"I'm sorry for my friends' attitude, but we were just attacked yesterday and we may have very well lost our entire families."
"I understand that, sir," replied the guard. He was relieved to be talking to someone who seemed to be able to control his emotions. "However, due to the release of Ganondorf, we cannot allow anyone to pass. No exceptions."
John nodded his understanding. Chris wasn't satisfied, though. "Well, what are we supposed to do? Our whole world has been turned upside down, yet you just stand there and don't do anything!" She was face-to-face with the guard and very angry. John quickly pulled her back away from the guard.
"Is there anything we can do right now?" he politely asked the guard.
"You will have to wait until morning to get into the castle. There are plenty of inns in town that would gladly accommodate you. That is, if you have the money."
John nodded that he did. "Thank you, sir. We shall be back in the morning." He grabbed Chris by the arm and headed over to where Jacob and Liz were sitting.
"Come on, let's get some rest. We can go to the castle in the morning." The four walked away from the castle, back into the sleeping town, hoping that they could find a place to sleep.
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Link found himself in Hyrule Field again. The now familiar tower standing in the middle, reaching upwards to the sky. He looked around him, but the dead bodies he seemed to remember were no longer there. He was alone. The sound of Ganondorf's laugh was echoing throughout the skies and in his head. He desperately wanted to scream, but realized he couldn't. The only thing he could do was walk to the tower. So he did, and along the way, he noticed the sky getting darker. Not because of time, but because of Evil. He easily reached the tower and stopped just five feet short of it. From here, he could see that it was surrounded by some sort of magic barrier, kind of like Nayru's Love. He reached out his hand and began to slowly step closer to the barrier. As his hand came into contact with it, sparks flew and he was thrown back almost twenty feet. The pain was unbearable, but he got up off the ground anyway. This time, he pulled the Master Sword from its sheath and approached the magic barrier. A little more cautious this time, he edged closer and closer. The Master Sword touched the barrier and a blue light traveled down the blade and into the hilt, sending the Hero into the air once again. As he lay there, he could hear three words repeating over and over in his head: Find the Amulets. Finally, he opened his eyes and found himself face-to-face with Ganondorf. He tried to move, but some force was holding him down. He looked up in horror as he saw Ganondorf raise his sword. Silently, but quickly, the King of Evil thrust his sword through the Hero's chest.
He awoke and found it to be morning already, though he didn't feel very rested. This was his first nightmare in almost a month. Last time, he had it when something evil was about to happen, which it did. Ganondorf had been released. But this was the same dream, well, kind of. What the hell is that tower anyway? And what Amulets? His mind was spinning around in circles and he decided that it would be best to just leave it be for now.
He got up out of bed and noticed that Zelda was not in the room. She always was a light sleeper he thought. He reached his hands in the air and stretched. When he got to his closet, he put on his favorite clothes: a green tunic that always reminded him of the forest, his childhood home. He still visited the Kokiri a lot, but he never felt like that was enough. Who knows what could have happened during those seven years of his life that were lost, never to be regained. Once dressed, he headed out the door and down the stairs to breakfast.
As he walked in the dining hall, he noticed that the same people were there as the day before: Nick, Aaron, Charles, William, and Robert as well as some others who worked in the castle. All his friends were always welcome to eat with his family and often did. He sat down in his usual seat between Zelda and Evan, and waited for the food to come out. He wasn't much of a morning person, but neither were most of his friends. Most times, they would sit through breakfast without saying a word. Any important matters were usually left to after breakfast when everyone was finally ready to face the day. However, on this occasion, matters came up before breakfast.
"The guards at the gate informed me of four teenagers that arrived here late last night." Nick told everyone. "They were turned away, but said they would be back this morning."
"Ah, so that's what I heard last night. I could've sworn I heard galloping horses." Link figured those four must have rode in just as he was going to bed.
As the food came in, Zelda turned to Nick. "Did they say why they wanted in?"
"Apparently they wanted to see you, Princess. Something urgent, but the guards would not let them pass." Zelda was deep in thought. What could they want with me? She let out a silent "Hmmm" which only Link could hear.
He leaned over. "Something wrong?"
"Hm? Oh, no. I was just wondering what they could possibly want."
They began to eat there food in silence, back to the normal way they ate breakfast. A good time through, a castle guard approached Zelda and waited patiently to be acknowledged. She finished her mouthful of food and looked up at the man.
"Yes?"
"Your Highness, four teenagers here to see you. They are the same ones that approached last night. Shall I send them in?"
"Yes, by all means. I should like to know what they want."
"Yes, Your Highness." The guard bowed and went back out the door he came in. Everyone at the table stopped eating, waiting for these mystery guests to enter. After a few moments, the door opened once again and the same guard appeared. He held the door open as the four guests walked single file into the room. Once in the room, they dared not approach anyone, for fear of being mistaken. Instead, they all stood next to each other in line with Jacob on the right, Liz next to him, then John, and finally Chris.
Almost immediately after the four entered the room and stood there, Charles shot up from his chair with a big smile on his face.
"Jacob!" He walked around the table and made his way over to Jacob. Once there, he gave him a firm handshake and then examined the rest of the teenagers. He had never seen Chris before, but he vaguely remembered John and Liz. "You two I have met. But I apologize, I can't seem to remember your names."
Jacob answered for the rest of them. "Sir Charles, this is John and Liz, whom you have indeed met once. But the girl on the end is new in town. She arrived after you left a few months back. Her name is Chris."
"A pleasure to meet you all, even if it is a second time for some," he said as he shook hands with John and kissed Liz and Chris on the back of their hands. They both blushed slightly, for they were not used to such treatment, especially from a Knight. Charles suddenly realized that they had come here for a reason. "So, tell me Jacob, what is so important that you four rode away from town and came to see us in the middle of the night?"
"It's very bad news, I'm afraid." Zelda motioned for the group to come closer to the table.
"Be not afraid of us, young man. Any friend of Charles is a friend of ours." Jacob bowed politely to the Princess before he made his way over.
"Two days ago, our town of Baru was attacked." Link jumped out of his chair. Any higher and he might have leaped clear over the table.
"Attacked?! By who?"
"More like by what. There were two dragons in the sky and a great amount of Moblins in the streets. They were killing everyone and burning everything that they could. No one was spared, not even small children."
Link needed no more information. He already knew who was behind the attack. "Ganondorf. So he finally strikes."
Charles couldn't believe it. The town he grew up in, his friends, his family, all burned to the ground. I wonder how they got out? He needed to find out.
"So, how in the world were you able to get out of there? Surely, you should have been killed with all the rest."
Jacob continued with the story. "We were inside the Town Center when the attack started. When we got outside, we could see the creatures throughout the town. I knew we had to get out of there, so we headed over to the stables. Luckily, they weren't hit yet and there were a few horses left. So we took two and rode out of town. It took us a day and half to get here, but we arrived late last night. But I fear that everyone else is dead." Tears had welled up inside the boy's eyes as he recollected that horrible day.
The Knights stood, or sat, stunned. The room fell completely silent for the next few moments as each individual tried to come to terms with the story the young man had just told them. Aaron was the first person to say something.
"My deepest condolences to you all. This is a tragedy that no one should ever have to live through. But we must not sit idly by. Ganondorf may be planning raids on other towns, so I believe we should begin planning right away."
"Aaron's right," Robert said, standing up. "Ganondorf will pay this time, I'll make sure of it! I came here for a vacation, but it looks like that's gotten cancelled! I will help out in any way."
Link nodded. "Looks like breakfast is ending early. Let's head to the conference room to discuss our plans." And with that, he walked out of the room. The rest of the Knights soon followed. After sending Evan up to his room, Zelda walked over to the four teenagers.
"You are welcome to join in on the planning. Since you lived there, you will know the layout better and from which way they attacked. If you don't feel up to it, you can go in the courtyard and wait for us there. The guards won't bother you." She walked through the same door as the others.
Without saying a word, the four knew what they were going to do. Jacob and John went to join the planning, while the two girls agreed that going outside was their best bet. They departed from the dining hall, hoping that all would be well once again.