Rise Of The Dark Lord

Chapter 4: Zelda and Links Secret

Lord Marcus stormed down the hallways of his castle to meet with the rest of the rebellion leaders. The defeat in Kakariko had left him speechless yet angry that Hyrules small alliances had beaten his rebel forces.

Soon he found himself at a table of about seven men known as the seven warlords of the eastern Hylian Empire." We have a problem." He said gently, calming his angers.

A man stood and bowed to Marcus, he was a giant, fully armoured with black armour with spikes attached to the shoulders. On his back was a red cape, and his face was hidden by a helmet that covered his nose. Only his dark red eyes could be seen." My lord, we will have to strike somewhere vulnerable and start there first. Hyrules greatest knight has come, and he's a master of strategy."

" And who exactly is this knight you refer too?" Said Marcus, taking a sip of wine.

" He is Link. The imperial knight that works for the king himself in secret and on the battlefeild."

" And where can we find him?"

" He has no real home my lord, we recently spotted him in the center of Kakariko in that little skirmish." The man sat down, his voice still ringing through-out the room.

" Very well. So heres the plan." Marcus rose and walked around the table." You Lord Oran..." He was talking to the man that just spoke." You will take your infantry and attack the province of Lon Lon, right outside of the castle itself. Don't expect to take the entire town." He walked around the table again and reached yet a another man.

This man constantly had a grin on his face. His eyes were a dark purple and his hair was jet black and fell across his face. His armour was fancy, all purple with brown sandles. He was Lord Guatille.

" Youi lord Guatille will attack Lake Hylia and destroy the stronghold there. Then we will have them. Our forces can move in and stirke. We march tomorrow!"

"AYE!" Yelled the men at the table.

But little did these men know, a person was spying on them from the upper levels of the castle. Link had been spying on the lords for quite sometime now. He had worn his black tunic with black pants to hide in the darkness from the gaurds. No one noticed he had sneaked in.

Link eyed one of the Lords Carefully who identified himself as "Lord Oran." He had been an evil looking man that hid his face. He followed him around for the rest of the day and noticed that he never takes off his helmet, even in the presence of the Lord Marcus' wife.Something seemed strange about him, and Link could sense a magical ora around the man.

Before Link could listen anymore a gaurd noticed him." Damnit..." He whispered and unsheathed a knife. The gaurd approached him with his spear and jabbed. Link jumped to the side and engaged, having a tug contest with the gaurd. Link of course won, and stabbed the man in the chest with his knife. He heard more gaurds coming, and jumped behind a barrel. Three gaurds entered the top balcony and searched around.

Link, knowing that he would be discovered soon, moved slowly behind one of them and stabbed him the back of the neck. This alerted the other two, but thats what Link wanted. He dawned his knife and jumped into an attack stance as the two gaurds engaged. The knight looked to the side and saw a rope he could use to swing to the other side. And he did so, soaring across the table of the Lords. The Lords looked wide eyed as the young man flew across their heads and landed on the other side of the room.

As soon as Link hit the floor he dashed out of the door and around the corner. Soon the hero found himself outside in the castle gaurdens. The clouds had been heavy with water, and outside had been freezing do to their location. Snow slowly fell as Link neared the edge of the castle gaurden, where he and Bledda had almost been captured. Link of course remembered their escape route, but he had gaurds on his tail this time.

He pulled out his hookshot and jumped off of the side of the castle. Gaurds from the top saw him and immidiatly let arrows fly. Link had been running out of time; he saw a nearby tree and fired his hookshot and it stuck perfectly, jolting him across the castle moat.

Upon hitting the ground Link felt an arrow hit his upper back. The hero winced in pain and continued to his horse outside of the towns. He knew that it would take a couple of minutes for the news of an intruder to reach the streets, and a couple of minutes was all he needed.

Finally Link jumped onto his black stede and kicked the sides, jolting the horse into a sudden gallop. Link side and tried to examin the shot to his back when another arrow flew past him. He looked back and noticed four men on horseback were chasing him. Link kicked for the horse to speed up.

Arrows flew constantly as Link turned the corners of a small mountain and continued riding," I have to keep riding until..I make it to Bledda." Link turned again and saw that the lead horsemen had been none other than the Lord Oran. His eyes glowed red as he fired another arrow that hit Link on the right side of his back. He squeeled in pain as they continued riding into what was now Gerudo Valley.

Suddenly Link noticed a man on horseback int he distance with a bow and arrow. He smiled, now knowing that it was Bledda. The bald man fired an arrow and knocked one of the persuers off of their horse, but Oran kept riding.

Link met up with Bledda and charged through the valley, making quick turns and curves to confuse the horsemen and try to lose them in the heap of small mountains. They were successful, and both men proceded into Hyrule field.

"This is completely ludacris. We know nothing of the enemys plans. They could strike anywhere." The King said, still sitting on his throne. To his side was the beautiful princess Zelda as always. She was the splitting image of her late mother, carrying traits of golden blonde hair and crystal blue eyes with her.

Before the king was a man covered in armour, and all that could be seen was his face. His teeth was a bit crooked and one eye was missing, covering the empty eye socket was a black patch.his hair was brown, and matched the color of his eyes.

" My lord...We wait for Link to wake up. He was the spy we sent to retrieve imformation."

The King pondered for a moment." Very well." He said and rubbed his white beard that reached his chest." Whenever he wakes up I want him brought to me immidiatly. You are dismissed captain."

The man bowed and left, walking down the enlinement of spearment that surrounded the red carpet of the throne room.

Zelda sighed and kneeled down by her father. She looked at him with eyes of wisdom, yet with the same eyes of a teenager.

" Zelda one day you will have to take this throne of mine...It's a hard job I assure you." The king smiled.

Zelda smiled back, rubbing his hand," And anyday I'm ready for that job father. I've had years of training for it." There was a small silence until she continued," Is Link alright?"

" He's fine Zelda. Whenever he got here with Bledda the boy collapsed into a gaurds arms. He was pretty messed up, three arrow wounds in the torso. I don't see how that boy handles it." The king looked down at his red robe.

Suddenly the doors to the throne room opened. The king and Zelda snapped their eyes towards the door where they found Bledda walking down the red carpet. He bowed like everyone else would." Sire I bring you good news. Link has spilled news on the enemys plots."

" Good, good sir Bledda. What are they planning?"

" Link has told me that Lord Marcus is indeed the rebel leader, and that they are pulling a strike on the town of Lon Lon and Lake Hylia." Bledda took in a deep breath." Just before he fainted again, he told us to be weary of Lord Oran."

Just when Bledda finished that sentance, the doors to the throne room opened yet again. This time, Link came limping into the throne room, holding onto a wooden stick he used as a crutch. He still wore his black tunic and black riding pants. His face had been a bit pale, and his hair was messy.

Soon the knight reached the spot beside Bledda and he smiled, kneeling before the king." My lord...reporting imformation about the rebel leaders sire.."

" Rise Link. In your condition you should not kneel. You may have saved us all with the information you have given us." Said the king, gesturing for Link to rise.

Link however didn't rise, and Zelda began to take intrest in him. It was almost like she was drawn to him in many ways. She had seen him fight in the training grounds and practically stalked him whenever he was around in the castle. She never had the courage to speak with him. And here he was, kneeling before her and her father. She had seen that he was increditably loyal to the royal family.

He looked up at Bledda, and then the king." I trust that my partner Bledda has told you my report..."

" Yes, yet it seems you didn't get to finish. But sir Link again, I ask that you do not kneel in your condition." The king gestured for Zelda to help Link into a sitting position.

As Link sat, he told the king of Lord Oran and his qualitys. His dark red eyes and the dark magic aura he felt from him. The king listened intently, and afterwards called in a gaurd to tell them about the enemy plans.

Later that day, Link was walking around the castle, despite his injurys. He stopped in front of the fountain in the middle of the gaurdens and pondered all of his thoughts. First he realized the princess Zelda, and the way she looked at him. He wondered if she had anything against him. Most nobles these days don't like talking to orphans.

Zelda had been walking down the gaurden hallways when she spotted Link. She quickly stopped, and wondered what to do." He looked so cute standing like that.." She whispered. She was referring to the stance he had been standing in, watching over the fountain in the gaurden. He really looked like a knight, no matter how injured he was. But the thing she noticed most was the reflection of the water in his eyes. They made his eyes glow, like fairy dust from the forest.

Link suddenly snapped out of his mind and noticed Zelda watching him from the doorway. He felt rather uncomfortable, and suddenly he kicked himself mentally for not bowing." I'm so sorry my lady Zelda!" He said, bowing instantly. He regretted doing so, as the pain from his wounds came rushing to him in an instant.

The princess helped him up, careful not to touch any of the wounds in his chest." Oh no you don't have to bow!" She said quickly." I just wanted to talk to you."

"Oh I'm sorry." Link blushed. This surprised Zelda, but she didn't say anything. He looked like a little kid standing in front of her like that, and yet he had been one of the most experienced killers in all of Hyrule.

" Nonono you don't have to apoligize."

" Yes mam. What exactly is it you wanted to talk about my lady?" Link smiled. Zelda was surprised yet again! His smiled warmed her up inside, the very curves of his lips was enough to make her shiver red. But she kept her composuer.

" I just wanted to get to know you."

"Ah well, would you like to take a walk?"

"Sure!" She said in a happy tone. In her mind she was happy that she had finally gotten to talk to him. Within moments he was talking about his life, opening up every detail to her about how he was an orphan, and the day he was adopted off of the streets.

Link also told her about the day he had met Bledda, saying that the man took him under his wing when Link was at the young tender age of eight.

"Link I'm surprised. You've opened up to me so warmly." Said Zelda smileing.

In reality Link hadn't opened up to anyone like that in years, keeping his personal life secret from his military life. The first person he actually opened up to was Bledda himself. Bledda had been like a father figure to Link, and also a very good friend for almost all his life.

" Yeah well. I've never had anyone so interested in my life before." The knight snickered." In truth...I don't remember my parents. I was just found wandering the streets at the age of eight. And all I have to inherate from them is a necklace."

Link reached into his shirt and found a golden necklace marked with three triangles. Zelda gasped. She pointed to the three triangles," Where did you get this again?"

" My parents must have given it to me. I haven no clue where I got it from."

"Link do you know what this is?"

Link began to realize that this was something serious, and the smile ran off of his face." What?" He said bluntly.

" This is...a triforce crest, one of seven in the entire kingdom..."

The two stood there in the middle of the castle gaurdens. The sun was beginning to set as they stared at the little trinket." Link I don't know where you got this but promise me you'll take good care of it."

" I promise." He said, giving her a thumbs up." I'm going to go lay down...I don't feel so good."

The princess snapped back into reality," What? Are you ok?"

Suddenly Link fell into her arms limp from exaustion. Zelda called for a maid immidiatly