Author's note: As you can see, this chapter was also written by my friend. I'm still used to calling him OHYMGASHA!, so that's who I'm giving credit to for this chapter. Again, thanks Ohmi!
Chapter 5
Until Death
By OHMYGASHA!
A ripple of emotion ran through her heart. Something terrible had happened; she could feel it deep in her soul. She knew that the Goddesses were intervening as much as they could, but she could feel an even darker force growing—something more sinister than Hyrule had ever seen.
Sitting in the dank cell, the beautiful woman clutched the necklace that hung around her small neck. She seemed to glow in the darkness, her pale skin catching the light from the moon that filtered in through the window.
She turned her head away from the window and seemed to glide toward the bars of her prison. She ran a delicate hand over the grimy metal, and saw a faint trace of magic on the bars. Instantly, she recognized it as a sealing charm, designed to keep her in.
The hideous guards beside her cell turned their grotesque, flat heads toward her and snarled. Foul-smelling liquid dripped from their maws, revealing rotting teeth. She wrinkled her nose at this and backed away, returning to her seat next to the window.
Please, she begged. You must put a stop to this.
She turned her head up to the darkening skies of Hyrule, and silently fell into a prayer. The fate of her homeland was in the hands of a tortured soul…she could only hope that he would overcome his turmoil.
Darfide felt a surge of power rush through him after the voice spoke. The power was cool and gentle, yet it gave Darfide strength and courage.
Time caught up with itself, and the large hammer continued to swing down towards the leader of the Goron resistance. Darfide narrowed his eyes and stepped out of the way of the hammer—its blunt end became lodged in the hard earth, and despite the large soldier's attempts, he was not able to pry it from the ground.
Darfide's fellow Gorons stared, bewildered at their leader. Just a moment ago, Darfide was on the ground, preparing for the blow of the hammer; now he was standing upright, facing the entire army before them.
A strong gale of wind came out of nowhere and hit the soldiers. Their heavy armor held them down for only a moment before the surge of wind picked up and threw them from the ledge of the mountain. Cries of terror erupted from the Hylian army, and many tried to flee, only to meet the same fate as the others.
The leader of the Hylian army took a small step back, staring at Darfide and the Gorons. Darfide glared at him, and a massive gust of wind slammed into the leader's chest, knocking him over.
Darfide walked over to the trembling soldier, wrenching the hammer from the ground. The leader eyed the hammer, fearing the worst—he remembered tales of how vicious the Gorons could be. He raised his arms to shield his face, but Darfide remained still.
Pointing a trunk of an arm towards the path that led down the mountain, Darfide spoke to the terrified soldier, who looked quite pathetic as he whimpered ceaselessly.
"Go." Darfide boomed. "Tell the Traitor King that the Goron resistance is alive, and that the Hylian Army has been overturned. Tell him that we will not give up so easily."
The leader hesitated as he rose from the dirt. However, the wind picked up menacingly, causing him to hurry back down the path. Slowly, Darfide turned to his own army. It was clear that something had changed about him, but none of the Gorons could tell what it was.
Darfide raised the hammer high into the air, letting out a triumphant howl. The other Gorons slowly chimed in, their cries echoing through the mountains. They had won the battle, but the call of war had not yet been sounded.
However, Darfide felt that he would be ready when that time came. Shouldering the large hammer, he signaled to his troops to help him break the boulder concealing the cave.
King Daar sat in his brightly lit throne room, a dark smile playing on his sunken, sallow face. Everything was going according to plan. Soon, all of Hyrule would fall under his hand, and he could bring Meldarus back into power.
Rising from his shining gold throne, Daar headed for a heavily locked door behind the throne. With a wave of his hand, all of the locks and enchantments fell away. The heavy wooden door swung open on its own, allowing Daar to glide through it into the dark passageway ahead.
The door silently shut behind Daar, and suddenly, the darkness was absolute. With a flick of his wrist, torches sprung to life along the narrow hall, bringing attention to the dark crimson smears across the ancient stone walls.
King Daar ignored the atmosphere of despair that clung to the hallway like a cobweb, walking deeper and deeper into the belly of the dungeon. After what seemed like an hour, the hallway began to slope downwards, leading Daar into a wide room.
Large shadow creatures turned their heads to Daar. For a moment, they seemed to analyze his scrawny frame, but soon they backed away into the corner of the room in a show of respect to the King. A grave grin grew on his face as he saw his prisoner.
Behind heavy iron bars sat a beautiful, silent woman. Daar took a step towards her, his eyes glowing in the torchlight. The woman cast a look full of disgust at Daar.
"Oh, come now," King Daar cooed. "Is that any way to greet your husband?" Raising his arm, allowing his black sleeve to fall back, Daar revealed a brilliantly glimmering gold bracelet that wrapped around his wrist.
The woman made a small movement to hide her matching bracelet behind her. No matter how hard she tried, the bracelet would not come off.
"Until death separates us," King Daar recited, an evil joy coursing through his veins.
"Hyrule shall not falter." the woman whispered fiercely. King Daar laughed, and the deformed guards joined in with a strangled hissing.
"Hyrule has already forgotten about you," Daar revealed his sharp teeth. "They have already given up on their fallen ruler. And who wouldn't? You met with such an untimely end."
The woman rose from the back of the cell and approached the bars. Even in her rage, her face was measured and even.
"Soon, the truth will come out," the woman declared. King Daar reached through the iron bars and ran a hand through her brown hair. Recoiling from his touch, she retreated back to the window.
"I doubt that," King Daar smiled and turned on his heel. With a snap of his fingers, the creatures returned to their posts beside the defiant woman's cell.
"It is time to let your subjects know," King Daar's voice echoed from the hallway. "It is time to inform them of the passing of their ruler, Queen Zelda…"
In her cell, Zelda barely let her anger show. Turning her face towards the window, she felt, for the first time in ages, that all was bleak.
