What's this? An actual update? Wow. Heh.
Seriously, it's been several months since I updated this-or any-story. The reason? I was busy with uni, mostly, and had a lack of motivation to write.
But that's behind me now, so I will actually start to update more now!
This chapter is a weird one simply because I started it way back after I finished chapter 11, wrote 2000 words of it, and then stopped. Now, months later, I've finished it. I hope it's up to the standards of the other chapters.
Oh, and when I last updated, at the end of chapter 11, I said that it's awesome that I have 87 reviews, which is almost 100 reviews. And now I've somehow reached 125 reviews! So I'd just like to think everyone who reads this story, and those who have left all the great reviews! I would never have thought that I would get more then 100 review for anything, so thanks so much.
I hope people are still interesting in the story to keep reading, and I'll see you after the chapter ends...
Oh, there's one "bad" word in this story, but it's nothing major, and it's a tad violent at parts...so, same as usual, then.
As Link went back into the large room which contained the holding cells, the prisoners behind the bars, upon seeing the girl in his arms, leaped up and began shouting at him desperately to free them.
"You there!" A middle-aged man with a receding hair-line shouted at him excitedly, shoving his way past the other prisoners in the cell to allow him to be seen. "I know you!"
Link squinted at the man and moved in front of the cell, Renna still in his arms. The man looked familiar to him, and he tried to work out where he knew him from…and then it hit him: this was the man he had seen when he had first been on his way to the graveyard, who had been hiding out in the ruined town with his daughter.
"What are you doing here?" Link asked him, somewhat shocked. "When I last left you, you were on your way to the safe houses, weren't you?"
The man nodded, gripping the bars with one hand. "We were trying to get there through the city, when my daughter Sharla and I were caught by one of Ganondorf's men, who was looting the town. I put up a struggle, but he was too strong and threatened to kill my daughter, so I was forced to surrender. We've been in here since yesterday."
"Where's your daughter then?" Link asked him, looking around the cell.
"I'm here," came a female voice, and a young woman with dirty-blonde hair stepped forward.
"You have to get us out of here!" Her father said, and at his words the other villagers in the prison all began speaking up in pleading voices, until Link was forced to raise a hand for silence.
"That's what I'm here to do. Except I can't exactly just wrench open these doors; I need the keys. Does anyone know where they're kept?" He asked, glancing from face to face.
The prisoners were silent, and then another man spoke up. "The jailor always has the keys with him at all times. He's a monster of a man though, so there's no way that you'd be able to get the keys off of him without getting caught and thrown in here with us, kid."
"Don't you know who you're talking to?" Sharla's father scolded the man. "This isn't any ordinary teenager. He's Link, the savior of Hyrule!"
The prisoners all began muttering in awe and surprise, and Link winced inwardly as he heard a young girl exclaim, "But mummy, I thought Link always wore green?"
But the man still looked doubtful. "I don't mean any disrespect to him or you, Prelin," he said, looking at Sharla's father, "but you haven't seen the jailor yet. He could break Link in two!"
"I think he's right, Link." Renna muttered weakly while the prisoners continued to argue about what was the safest course of action amongst themselves. "You might be a good fighter, but you wouldn't stand much of a chance."
"So what can we do, then?" Link asked softly, at the same time reflecting to himself that it would have been a good idea to have thought the escape plan through more.
Renna sighed. "I don't know. This close to my real body, I won't be able to project my spirit to walk anyone through the bars or anything. The only thing I can do right now is scout ahead through the castle for you."
Link thought for several seconds. "If we both walk away from the cells and into another part of the castle, wouldn't you be able to come back to this area in your spirit form and walk the prisoners through the bars that way?" He asked her.
The girl wrinkled her nose. "Yes, but I would have to take them through one at a time, which would take too long. The jailor and the other guards check this room regularly, so we wouldn't want them walking in while only half the prisoners are out and then raising the alarm, which would bring the whole castle running." She sighed once more. "The guards are probably going to check the cells soon anyway, so I don't know what we should do. I told you this was a bad idea! I wouldn't even have brought you in here if you hadn't made me promise to."
Link still wasn't sure how he could free the prisoners, but one thing he was sure about was that he and Renna shouldn't remain in the room for much longer. He acted quickly.
"I'll be back soon!" He told the still bickering prisoners, and ignored their cries of concern as he turned and hurried out of the dungeon's room with Renna still in his arms. He sprinted around a corner and down the long corridor that led away from the dungeon. Renna felt light in his arms, much lighter than a normal teenage girl should be.
He was half-way down the dark corridor when he saw a door open up ahead, and he had no choice but to veer to his left and into a dark alcove which was set into the corridor. He backed himself up against the wall as the sound of heavy footsteps approaching came to his ears, and he prayed that whoever was walking down the hallway would not look into the alcove as they passed.
He indicated unnecessarily to Renna to be quiet, and the two of them held their breath as the footsteps neared.
Two soldiers marched into Link's field of vision, one of them coming dangerously close to their hiding spot, and then they were passed them and walking further down the corridor, heading towards the dungeon.
"Link," Renna hissed fiercely once the two soldiers were well out of ear-shot, "they're going to discover that I've escaped!"
Link closed his eyes tight, bitterly reflecting that nothing could ever be easy for him. But this time he didn't need much time at all to think of what he must do.
He knelt and set Renna down on the floor against the wall of the alcove.
"What are you doing?" The girl demanded worriedly, and when he didn't respond she became even more upset. "Link, don't go after those soldiers! You'll be caught, and I won't be able to do anything to help you!"
"You've done enough," Link said, sighing tiredly. He could see that they weren't going to get out of the castle by sneaking around and hoping for the best; instead he would have to fight his way out...and hope for the best. Almost the same idiotic plan, but with perhaps slightly better odds.
He only had his sword and shield with him, but he supposed that they would have to do. He couldn't afford to make that much noise anyway.
"To be honest Renna, I don't think we're going to make it out of this. But I sort of knew that coming in here. I needed to try though. I've been at the end of my rope for a while now, and have made so many dumb mistakes, so maybe this is the last mistake I'll make." He whispered.
"What are you saying? That you're giving up? And this coming from the guy that convinced me to stay alive…" Renna muttered, staring up at him from the floor.
Link managed a weak smile. "I didn't say that I'm giving up. Far from it. I'm just being…realistic, that's all. Hell, I'm only a teenager, no matter what anyone thinks."
He looked down the corridor towards the soldier's backs, knowing that he was waiting too long, and that soon the soldiers would enter the dungeon and discover Renna's disappearance.
"I guess I just want to say goodbye, in case this doesn't work out." He said quickly, turning back to Renna. "And I wish we could have met under happier circumstances."
Renna wiped away a tear. "Before you go, I have something to tell you as well." She said, and beckoned him closer.
He knelt quickly beside her, wondering to himself what other revelation she might reveal to him, at the same time feeling the urgency of his need to chase after the soldiers.
Renna looked suddenly faint and weak, and she grabbed his left arm for support, or so Link thought. She leaned forward, pulling him closer to her, and her lips sought his. Link let the kiss happen, leaning against her body and enjoying the feel of her bare mid-section against his own, for his shirt had ridden up in the front.
Seconds passed, until Link pulled away breathlessly from Renna, his face flushed.
Later, he reflected that the intensity of the kiss they had shared had come partly from the fact that both of them feared that they were close to death. And he knew for a fact that he always felt the most alive the closer to death he was.
Renna looked embarrassed, but her face glowed with happiness. "Sorry…" she apologized needlessly, for they both knew that what had happened had been no accident, and that there was nothing to apologize for. "I guess that's one thing I couldn't do with my spirit body, huh? You need to go now though. Hurry!"
Link nodded wordlessly and turned and padded silently down the corridor after the soldiers, his head still spinning from what had just happened.
"...You know what I think, anyway. Everyone knows that that teenage girl has no powers! It's been months now, and have we seen anything conclusive from her? Hell no. Eliza probably got it wrong. How could she tell that the girl had powers anyway? She might even have been just yanking Ganondorf's chain!" The soldier rattled on, walking next to his comrade down the corridor. He hated the routine job of checking on the prisoners, so he liked debating news-worthy topics with his friend to pass the time.
The other soldier shook his head. "Eliza's not the type to mess with Ganondorf. Everyone else maybe, but not Ganondorf! But speaking of Eliza, where has that man-eater of a witch gotten to, anyway? I haven't seen her around the castle for weeks now."
The first soldier, who was a lot smaller than his friend, scoffed. "I don't know where she's gone, but I can't say that I'm not glad to have some peace from her! She's such an ice queen, and most of the men can't stand her. But enough about her. Have you heard that they've decided to release all of the Redead tonight?" He asked.
"What, all of them?" His companion said, sounding shocked.
"Yep. Ganondorf's tired of the resistance group that's still in the town, so he's decided to get rid of them tonight. Oh, and Link's been spotted in the town. Not only that, but Dark Link has been released, so you know that things are getting pretty hectic!" The smaller soldier chortled with delight.
His companion didn't reply, but instead seemed to pause in his step, so that the smaller soldier walked forward several paces ahead of his companion.
If the small soldier had strained his ears, he might have caught the surprised, guttural choke of his companion as the hilt of a sword was butted into his temple.
The small soldier stopped walking and turned around, idly wondering why his comrade had stopped in his step. To his surprise, he spotted the soldier lying prone on the ground, but before he could react any further, a dark shape darted in front of him, and he felt a heavy object slam against his face, as if a round plank of wood had been hurled at him. He warbled incoherently, swayed on his feet, and blacked out.
Link quickly checked that both of the soldiers lying on the ground were unconscious, his heart beating hard in his chest. He looked around him and saw that there were no rooms near-by in which he could hide the bodies, and the alcove which he had left was too far down the corridor to drag the bodies too, especially seeing as it wouldn't make much of a hiding place anyway. So soon more soldiers would come, notice the bodies, and raise the alarm. He didn't have much time. The prisoners needed to be released, and as soon as possible. He also felt worried by the words of the soldiers he had over-heard while sneaking behind them; Ganondorf planned to get rid of the Resistance tonight. He needed to get out of the castle and warn the townspeople.
He ran back to the dungeon, where the prisoners all began to demand what was going on. He raised a hand for silence, looked a prisoner right in the eye-the man who had been so skeptical before-and asked a question.
"Where is the jailor's room?"
The jailor's room, thankfully, wasn't far away from the dungeon with the cells. Link found the door described to him by the prisoner easily, and paused in front of it, weighing his options.
Supposing the jailor was in the room and just happened to be asleep, he might be able to sneak in and stealthily nab the keys from him. But what were the odds of that?
He could kick down the door open and charge in, he supposed, but that might be like a fly charging a Goron. He shook himself, knowing that he didn't have time to waste.
Stretching his arms and back muscles in preparation for combat, he simply pushed the door open quietly and entered the room.
Several lanterns were swinging on the walls around the room, illuminating the surroundings. He spotted implements of torture scattered on benches and on the floor, and a shabby bed lay in one corner. The room itself was larger than a normal room would be, and a large fireplace sat against the opposite wall, lending some warmth to the cold stones of the castle.
Link hesitated in the doorway as he spotted the only occupant of the room; a kneeling figure by the fire who was facing away from him and seemed to be sharpening an instrument on a grindstone. He couldn't tell if the person was a man or a woman, but he or she looked to be clad in a full suit of armor. It had to be the jailor.
Unsheathing his sword silently, he padded carefully across the room towards the figure, hoping that he could render the jailor unconscious before he was spotted, like he had done to the two guards in the hallway.
Before he could reach the jailor, a loud click sounded behind Link, and he whirled around, startled, to see that the door had closed by itself. In his haste to get to the jailor, he had left the door slightly open!
A loud grunt of surprise came from the figure, and Link turned back in time to see the chunk of armor unfolding itself as the person stood up, growing taller and taller. As the jailor turned around, Link could only stare up in alarm at the figure who towered above him, almost double his height.
The jailor wore a helmet with the visor down, covering his face completely, but Link could still feel his eyes (and he could see now that the jailor was a man) sweeping over him.
A cry of surprise issued forth from the helmet, as Link backed away a few steps.
"You!" The jailor growled, his voice deep. "What are you doing here?"
Link resisted saying something sarcastic, and instead pointed his sword at the jailor, indicating the set of keys he could see hanging from his belt.
"I want those keys. Now." He said, trying to keep his voice from shaking.
The jailor started to laugh loudly, and, bending, he scooped up a heavy-looking ball-and-chain from the floor next to him. The ball was iron, and covered with sharp spikes.
"Then come and get 'em. I'm going to enjoy torturing the famous Link for days and days, before I hand you over to Ganondorf and get a big reward," the jailor said gleefully, and to Link's horror he began to swing the ball around his head in faster and wider circles, making a whooshing sound every time it passed in front of Link.
Link cried out and hurriedly back-stepped away, seeking to put some room between him and the whirling ball of destruction, but the jailor simply advanced on him, giving Link no extra room to maneuver.
He knew he had to act, before he was pinned by the jailor and smashed up by the ball-and-chain. Timing the passing of the ball carefully, he waited until it had passed him and was coming around again, and then sprang forward, rolling past the ball and under the chain, and, coming up on his feet, slashed out viciously with the Master Sword at the jailor's mid-section.
But, while the sword made a huge dent in the armor of the jailor, it didn't pierce the skin. The jailor grunted, and the iron ball fell to the floor with a huge clang as he stopped swinging it around.
Link was about to duck away again when one of the jailor's beefy hands caught him around the throat, and he was lifted off the floor to face the helmet of the jailor.
"Bad. Mistake." The jailor hissed, and the hand around Link's throat began to clench, cutting off all oxygen.
His throat burning and his vision fading, Link managed to swing his arm around to catch the jailor a glancing blow on the side of his helmet. The attack had been too weak to cause any damage, but he had succeeded in knocking the helmet out of place and to the left, which meant that the jailor's vision was obscured.
The jailor clutched at his helmet with an annoyed cry with one hand, and thankfully his grip around Link's neck began to ease. Link started to struggle to get free, but before he could get away, the jailor twisted his body and then threw him head-first towards one of the walls of the room.
Link cried out as the wall got closer, and clutched his shield in front of his body, ready for impact. Gravity took hold of him before he reached the wall however, and he started to fall...right towards a table covered with sharp and lethal instruments of torture.
He could do nothing to prevent the collision, and his body hit the table with a crunch. What little air Link had left in his lungs left his body, and he felt the biting, searing pain as serrated tools cut into his forearms, legs, and parts of his body. Nothing impaled his chest or head though, and he realized that he was saved from what would have surely been a painful death by the fact that he had also landed on his shield, which lay mangled beneath him, stuck to the table by way of all the sharp tools it had landed on.
He quickly rolled off the table and hit the floor with a thud, blood from all his cuts staining the edge of the table and the floor. He looked up weakly from the floor to see that the jailor was struggling to get his helmet placed properly on his head.
"You still, alive, boy?" The man roared mockingly. "You better hope for your sake that you aren't, unless you want a lot more pain!"
Link didn't answer. His body hurt all over, and he knew that another frontal assault on his part would be useless, even if the jailor was now almost sightless.
He stood up shakily, horrified to find that his legs felt rubbery and weak. In this condition he would not be able to dodge the jailor at all.
With a roar of frustration, the jailor snapped the helmet to the right, centering it more or less back on the front of his face. He looked over at Link, bleeding freely from his numerous cuts, and then at the table which had his splintered and ruined shield still stuck to it.
The jailor chuckled. "Boy, you got lucky! Or should I say un-lucky?" And with that, he picked up the ball-and-chain once more, and began twirling it around his head again.
Link backed away, panicked, his mind desperately seeking a way to defeat the jailor.
The man's a fortress! He thought wildly. With his full body armor even the Master Sword would be hard pressed to cut through it, and he couldn't even get close to the jailor safely in order to attack him!
The iron ball was swinging around right in front of him now, and he was backed in a corner. Glancing to his left, he noticed a ceramic pot sitting on the ground, so he picked it up out of desperation.
As the ball swung toward him again and the jailor advanced, he lifted the pot above his head and hurled it toward the jailor. It by-passed the chain and smashed into the front of his helmet, the shards of the pot flying everywhere.
The jailor screamed and clutched his head again, and the ball fell to the floor. Seeing his chance, Link ran at the jailor, swinging his sword around to attack the front of the helmet.
But the jailor must have heard his footsteps as he approached, because he swatted Link away with an open-handed strike to the side of his neck.
Caught off balance, Link stumbled past the jailor and fell to the floor behind him, his breathing even more labored because of the additional blow to his neck.
"Ha, it will take a lot more than a cheap pot to hurt me, boy!" The jailor boomed, standing up straight once more and turning to face Link, who was coming to his feet.
Link should have been feeling nothing but despair, but instead he felt a renewed sense of hope, for when the jailor had been turned away from him, he had seen that the back of his helmet had ridden up on his neck, leaving a small area of skin uncovered. Whether it had happened because of Link's first attack on the jailor's helmet with his sword, or because of the pot he had thrown he didn't know, but at least now he had an opening.
The jailor started to twirl the ball-and-chain again, and Link's heart sank. He could see that there was no way he would be able to get behind him safely to deliver the attack; not with that weapon constantly being flung around the room.
He looked around him for anything he could use against the jailor, but came up empty. He did however see that the door to the room was now behind him, and that gave him an idea.
Turning around, he ran over to the door, and pulled it open.
"Huh?" The jailor cried. "What are you doing?"
Link turned back to the jailor and flashed him a cheeky grin. "What does it look like? I'm running away. I may not be able to beat you, but at least you won't catch me either."
With that he ran out of the room, leaving the jailor shouting after him.
"Coward! Come back and fight like a man! Don't think you're safe from me in this castle!" The jailor screamed, and Link heard his heavy footsteps pounding the ground as he gave chase.
Link hadn't run far, and was waiting for the enraged jailor several meters down the hallway.
The jailor skidded to a halt, the ball-and-chain ready in his hand.
"What? Decided to stay and fight after all, have you?" The jailor sniggered.
Link shrugged, his face calm. "Maybe. But why did you bring that weapon with you? You're not going to be able to use it here."
The jailor stared at the weapon in his hand, and then at the walls of the corridor to the left and right of him.
Link grinned. "It's far too narrow in here for you to swing that around. That's a pity."
Link was enjoying the tactical edge he had gained, but he also wanted to defeat the jailor as quickly as possible, for blood still streamed down his arms and legs, and he was growing quite weak.
The jailor dropped the ball-and-chain to the ground, and Link silently sighed with relief.
"You've just made this harder for yourself," the jailor warned, and Link watched, puzzled, as he reached behind his back and pulled out two black pieces of something, fitting them together with a snap.
As the jailor pointed the object at Link, he felt his heart jump to his throat as he realised that the jailor now had a crossbow. It must have been slung across his belt in two pieces, and in the frantic fight before-hand Link hadn't noticed it.
Link also realized that he had positioned himself in a narrow corridor, in front of a man who had a ranged weapon. He was a sitting duck.
He did the only thing that was available to him; he turned and ran, turning around a bend in the corridor as two crossbow bolts thudded into the wall next to him, missing him by inches.
I thought I was being so clever, getting rid of his weapon like that, he groaned to himself as he ran down the corridor, but now I'm being chased by a helmet-clad maniac with a crossbow. Fantastic.
He rounded another bend, and another idea hit him. The corridors were dark, and the jailor could only really see directly in front of him because of his helmet, he realized. The section of the corridor he was now in was also more narrow then the rest, so, moving as quickly as he could, he stretched his arms out so that he touched both walls of the corridor, and began to climb vertically up the wall, using his feet for further support. What made climbing the walls harder was the fact that he had to hold the Master Sword in one hand against the wall as he climbed.
His body was weak, and he could hear the jailor getting closer; soon he would come around the corner, spot him half-way up the wall, and shoot him dead. He tried to climb faster, sweat dripping down his face.
"You're dead, boy!" He suddenly heard the jailor yell. He wasn't far enough up the wall yet, and he must have been spotted. He braced himself for the crossbow bolt.
But instead the jailor rounded the corner and ran straight underneath him, the top of his helmet missing Link's leg by centimeters. Had the jailor not been wearing the helmet, he would have surely spotted Link, but as it was the helmet blocked the jailor's vision enough to hide him.
Link released his grip on the wall as the jailor passed under him, and he fell to the floor, which was a couple of meters below him, causing pain to shoot up his legs as he hit the bottom.
Gritting his teeth and recovering from the impact, he slashed out at the exposed section of the jailor's neck from behind him, the tip of the Master Sword catching him mere moments before he would have been out of reach.
Blood spurted from the wound, and the jailor's legs seemed to crumble under him, sending his body crashing to the floor, the noise of the armor hitting the ground reverberating off the walls of the corridor. The helmet rolled away from the rest of the body, and Link realized with a shock that he had be-headed the man. Not a sound had escaped the jailor's lips before he died.
Link stared down at the dead body, panting and shaking slightly from exhaustion. At first, he experienced a wave of relief; he was safe now. Well, safer. The jailor would have tortured and killed him, and then he would have found and perhaps killed Renna as well.
But then the guilt and disbelief set in. He had killed a human being, taken away someone's very life. And it wasn't the first time.
He experienced a flash of a memory; the witch Eliza, pinned to a tree, her eyes blank and dull, run through by his sword. He stood near-by, glaring with hatred at the dead witch, Malon by his side.
He blinked his eyes, becoming aware of his surroundings again-he was in the corridor of the dungeon of the castle. The memory-or vision-or whatever it was, had seemed so real that it had almost been like being back there.
He tried to shake himself. This wasn't the time for feelings of guilt and memories; he had to free the prisoners, and then somehow get everyone out of the castle.
Kneeling by the body of the jailor, he hurriedly unhooked the set of keys from his belt, trying not to look at the headless body or at the pool of blood that was spreading across the floor.
The keys now in his possession, he back-tracked through the maze of corridors until he reached the alcove where he had left Renna, all the while hoping that she was still safe.
He found Renna slumped on the floor, and at first he feared that she had somehow gotten hurt, as she wasn't moving much.
She looked up as he approached however, and, upon seeing his bloody and scratched body, gasped.
"Thank god you're alive, Link. You've been ages! I was beginning to think that you had...but never mind. What happened to you though? Are you in much pain?" She said breathlessly, not allowing him to get a word in.
"I went to see the jailor," he explained, and Renna raised a hand to her mouth in horror. "We didn't exactly see eye to eye."
He delved into his pocket and brought out the set of keys, dangling them in front of her. "But I got these at least."
"What happened to the jailor?" Renna asked quietly.
"Huh?" Link said, taken aback. He felt a pang of unexpected anger. Why was she asking him what had happened to the jailor? It was obvious, wasn't it? Did she want to force him to say that he had killed him?
"He's dead," Link snapped, feeling angry now at both Renna and himself.
Renna bowed her head, and Link thought that she must find the idea of him killing someone repulsive. She probably regrets kissing me, he thought nastily to himself. And I can't blame her.
She raised her head suddenly, and nodded decisively. "Good." She said, her voice cold.
"What?" Link could only stammer again.
"You can't imagine what that bastard did to prisoners...and to me. He reveled in torture and suffering. His death makes the world a better place, as cold as that might sound. So I'm glad you killed him." She spoke, her voice shaking with emotion.
She stood up, putting an arm around Link's shoulders to support both herself and him at the same time.
"Anyway, we need to quickly free those prisoners and get out of here, right? While you were gone I managed to explore around a bit more, and I think I've found a way out. On the other side of this basement there's a wall that opens to the outside of the castle. It can only be opened from inside though, so it's one-way. But that beats battling our way out through the castle itself, right?" She asked, smiling at him.
"This is where I should say something witty like 'you just spoiled all my fun', but honestly I'm nearly dead on my feet. So yeah, let's sneak out the back way like mice before it's too late." Link said, wincing at the pain from his wounds.
They started walking towards the prison area, and Link remembered what he had over-heard from the guards.
"Renna, we need to get back to the townspeople to warn them. I heard from those guards that they're planning to release all of the Redead on the Resistance tonight to put an end to them for good." He said gravely.
Renna's face turned more ashen. "My father..." she whispered.
Link nodded. "I really don't want to see any more death while I'm here. So let's hurry."
He would never forget the look on the prisoners faces when he re-entered the prison with Renna and the keys to the cells. A few of the men just stared stupidly at the keys in his hands disbelievingly, while the other prisoners all cheered loudly, until Link reminded them that they weren't out of the castle yet, and he didn't want anybody hearing the noise.
He unlocked the cells and the prisoners all streamed out, now making less noise and looking scared yet hopeful.
Prelin clapped a hand on Link's shoulder and beamed at him. "Somehow I knew you could do it. Thank you Link."
Link could only nod, because a man and a woman, both with brown hair, approached him and starting asking questions.
"Excuse me, but do you know if our son's okay?" The woman asked him tearfully, anxiously wringing her hands together.
"Well I just got here recently, so I don't know everyone, but what's his name?" Link asked.
"It's Zane." The father spoke up. "We've been locked up here for so long, and have had no news from the outside, so we have no idea if he's even okay."
"Oh, Zane? He's fine." Link said, nodding as he remembered the young boy who had first fetched him outside Lon Lon Ranch and told him about the trouble in Hyrule Castle Town. He also remembered how Zane told him about his parents being captured, so he felt glad that they were okay. Well, for now, anyway. If he could get everyone out safely.
"Oh thank you," Zane's mother said, the relief showing in her face.
"Are we ready to go, Link?" Renna asked him.
Link nodded. "Yes. Let's get the heck out of here."
It actually took about two hours for Link and Renna to guide all the prisoners to the secret exit of the castle. The basement was maze-like, and the company kept having to halt and let Renna scout ahead with her spirit form, in case they ran into any guards. On several occasions they all had to duck into side rooms and hide for ages, as guards swept up and down the corridors. Near the end of their journey Link figured that someone must have found one of the three bodies-two unconscious, one dead-that he had left, for the number of guards hurrying about the place increased dramatically, and on a couple of occasions they were almost caught.
In fact, a guard did spot the group just before they reached the room with the secret exit, but before the man could scurry off and warn his comrades, Link caught up to the retreating man and dealt him a blow to the head, rendering him unconscious. He was getting sick of knocking people out.
Finally they arrived at the room, and Renna pulled a candelabrum that was stuck to the wall, which caused a section of wall to slide open, allowing sun-light to spill into the room from outside.
Link, Renna and the prisoners all quickly filed outside, where they were met with stinging rain and wind. Link felt he couldn't really complain however, as he pushed the wall back shut behind him. They had escaped from the castle, and now, unless something else went wrong, they could get everyone away from the town. He glanced up at the sky, relieved to see that they still had several hours before it was night. Plenty of time to get out of the city before Ganondorf's men released all the Redead on the Resistance. He nodded at Renna, and they led the prisoners away from the castle quickly, not wanting to linger so close to danger.
The figure watched the Hero of Time lead the prisoners away from the castle from the window of one of the towers of the castle in stunned silence.
So Link really had broken into the castle? The figure had heard about the bodies that were found in the dungeon, and the escaped prisoners, but had refused to believe the rumors that they had been freed by Link. Because it was impossible, wasn't it? No-one could get past the castle's defenses. But evidently they could, and had.
But no matter.
A guard entered the room behind the figure, and saluted.
"Um...we still haven't found the prisoners, but..." the guard started, but was silenced.
"You won't find them in the castle. Link freed them all." The figure sighed.
"What? Are you sure-"
"Do not question me! Of course I am sure. Now we have to speed things up a bit: release the Redead now. I will lead them against the Resistance myself."
"Of course. I...I don't mean to question you again, but are you sure you don't want to wait until night, as was planned? The Redead are stronger at night..."
"No, we need to attack right now, or else they will get away, you idiot." The figure snapped, and the guard saluted and hurried off.
The figure turned back to the window, pulling a cape over its shoulders and securing it in the front with a brooch.
"You will pay for what you did to me, Link. Today, Hyrule Castle Town burns, and you will finally die." The figure whispered to the darkness of the room.
Link hurried towards the town with the prisoners, the wounds in his legs causing him to hobble slightly.
When this is over, I'm going to sleep for days, he told himself grudgingly.
Suddenly from behind the group and all around them came a series of haunting, low cries, and for a moment Link found himself back in the forest with Epona as the wolves circled him, ready for the kill. He had to escape; had to get away from the wolves and save Malon because they would go after her next, and-
Suddenly he realized that Renna was shaking him, her eyes wide and fearful. "Redead! I thought you said that they were planning on attacking tonight Link!"
"Huh?" He muttered, staring at her. Hadn't he just been back with the wolves just then? He must have slipped into a day-dream or something.
"Link? Answer me..." Renna said.
He shook his head helplessly, remembering her question. "They must be releasing them early because we freed all the prisoners. This is really not good..."
But I should have seen this coming, he told himself. What did I expect? Ganondorf and his men to just sit on their butts while the prisoners and all the townsfolk escape from the town?
He turned to Renna. "You need to lead all these people to where the Resistance is, and warn them what's coming. Then make preparations to leave immediately."
Renna looked confused. "Then what will you be doing?"
"I can't move fast enough to keep up with the group, so I'll make my way back slowly, while keeping an eye on the situation. Don't worry, they're just Redead; it's not like they'll over-take me or anything." He joked weakly.
Renna looked ready to argue, but then seemed to change her mind. She hugged him tightly, whispered "be careful!", and then gathered the group together and led them towards the town.
Link watched the group go and then began making his way to the town as well, albeit at a much slower pace. He was beginning to suspect that the cuts on his legs were deeper than he had first thought, and he had lost a lot of blood. He felt awful, weak and light-headed. And why did he keep thinking about the past, at a time like this? He was probably becoming delirious, he feared.
He reached the out-skirts of the town, walking now amongst the buildings as fast as he could. He was in no condition to battle Redead, after all. The rain fell from the sky, drenching him, and he wondered why it had been raining for so long-ever since he got to Hyrule Castle Town, in fact.
"Link! Link!" He looked up as he heard his own name being called, and his mouth fell open in surprise.
Am I seeing things now? He thought, as a girl splashed her way through the mud and rain towards him, her red hair flying behind her.
Malon almost bowled him over as she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly and joyously.
"What are you...but...I thought..." Link stammered, feeling more light-headed then ever. He hugged her back, realizing with a shock that she was crying.
"Malon? Did something happen?" He asked, confused.
She raised her head from his shoulder and looked at him tearfully. "Link, the farm...Ganondorf's men were there, and..." her voice trailed off.
"What?! What happened?" Link demanded, clutching at her shoulders. His heart hammered in his chest.
"So much happened, Link. I can't talk now, but I escaped and came to find you, because...well, I was worried, mainly. But we have to go now, Link. We have to get out of here! I need to tell you something..." She stammered, her eyes wide.
I should never have left her like that, Link thought to himself. I could have at least gone into the farm with her, to check if things were okay. But I needed to go quickly, didn't I? Zane came and said it was an emergency, so I had to-
"Link! Snap out of it!" Malon said, and Link realised he had zoned out once again. He blinked his eyes.
"Sorry, Malon. I'm...kind of in a bad shape at the moment, as you can see. What do you have to tell me?" He asked.
She took a deep breath. "Something's wrong here, Link. Don't ask me how it's possible, but...well, when I arrived outside the town, I noticed that it was raining."
"Yeah, it's been raining for ages," Link said, shrugging. "So?"
"Link, the rain is only coming down inside this town! Not a drop falls outside the walls! That's not normal!" Malon said, her eyes boring into Link's.
Link frowned. That did seem weird, of course...but his head was still so fuzzy. He couldn't comprehend what Malon was getting at.
"Link!" Malon cried again, exasperated. "Did you hit your head or something? Who do we know who can create and control storms?!"
Now he got what she was trying to say. "Eliza? Mal...you know she's dead. I killed her, and she can't hurt us anymore. I think you might be over-reacting..."
"No, I'm not! I've been having this feeling for a while, and...oh, let's just go, Link. Let's get out of here." Malon begged, tugging at his arm.
Link nodded; he could see that she was really scared, and they needed to go anyway.
"Okay, let's go." He said, but then froze at the look on Malon's face. She looked petrified, and was staring over his shoulder in disbelief.
The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as blood-curdling screams sounded from behind him. He turned around quickly, looking back at the direction of the castle, and reeled back in shock at what he saw.
An army of Redead shuffled slowly across the plain towards the town, numbering in the hundreds. He had never seen so many Redead in his life. And leading them was a woman with short blonde hair, skimpily clad with a cape fluttering around her shoulders, pinned in the front with a red brooch. She advanced towards Link and Malon, her face a mixture of a smirk and a grimace, hatred flashing in her eyes. The color in her face was more ashen then it was when Link had last seen her.
"It's not-it can't be." Link whispered, gripped with fear.
"It's Eliza, Link." Malon sighed, clutching at his arm. Link felt immense relief that Malon was with him-otherwise he would think that he had finally snapped and gone crazy.
Eliza halted mere meters from the two of them, and held up a hand, unclenched. The Redead behind her all stopped advancing, and stood swaying on the spot, drooling and snarling and crying their horrible cries.
The woman cocked her head playfully, staring at Link.
"Surprised to see me, Link?" She said mockingly. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You left me for dead, you know. No, more then that; you actually killed me. Now I think it's time I returned the favor."
Um...Eliza? You're meant to be dead. So what are you doing? Heh. All shall be explained.
I think I'm throwing a lot of minor twists into the story lately, but don't worry: the plot won't get too convoluted, I don't think.
And for any of you who pay extreme attention to the story, you might have been able to pick up that Eliza was going to come back into the story. The clue I left is that it was raining in Hyrule Castle Town ever since Link was there. Now, story-wise, a lot of Link's time at Hyrule Castle Town took place while Malon was still captured at Lon Lon Ranch, and in the chapters focused on Malon it never rained. Lon Lon Ranch and Hyrule Castle Town are close enough so that you would think they would both be affected by rain at the same time.
But that's such a tiny clue that I don't expect anyone to have picked it up. There's also the fact that Eliza sent a storm after Link in the first few chapters (which Malon comments on in this chapter), and also the fact that Eliza is mentioned a lot in this chapter. I had to remind people of who she was before she came back into the story!
Oh, and even though Link's acting a bit weird and is hallucinating a bit, Eliza is still real, and so is Malon. I don't want to pull a "Malon was never there!" on you guys, or on myself for that matter. It's been like 8 chapters since Malon and Link were actually together, so I need them around each other.
(Sorry, I have a lot to comment on here). Also, for those of you who may be upset that Renna kisses Link in this chapter, I should remind you that this is a Malon and Link fan fiction, so...well, you can probably guess what's going to happen, because of that. I can't say anything more though.
There was a cool retro bit in this story, too. Anyone play "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past"? Remember the first "boss" of the game, where you had to rescue Zelda from the prison? It was some armored guy with a ball-and-chain, who swung it around at you. The jailor in this story is a version of that guy...just a little nod to that game. I even included a pot that Link could throw at him.
I think that's it. But lastly, I would like to apologize to my readers for leaving this update for so long. I know it's been a while. Sometimes this stuff just happens, though. I will promise that I will never completely leave this story un-finished, though. I am very serious in completing it.
Okay. Leave a review, you guys! I sort of need to know that some people might still be interested in this story. And to all my author buddies, it would be good to hear from you!
Till next time.
PS: There may be some mistakes in this chapter; I wanted to get it up as quick as I can, after all the delays. So, my apologies. I will of course go through the whole story at one point and fix up all the typos.