"Oh my Goddesses!" A voice yelled.
Zelda awoke from her slumber. She could hear cries of agony and horror. Her eyes opened wide. She flung herself out of bed and ran out into the hall, where all the commotion was. There, a large group of soldiers and monarchs huddled in a hall in a circle.
She pushed past the soldiers and demanded to see what was going on, and once she reached the middle, she gasped in fear. Emma's corpse lay on the carpet, in a pool of dried blood, with her decapitated head nearby.
She looked at Emma's parents, who were crying their eyes out.
"What happened?" Zelda demanded. "What the fuck just happened to her?!" Her eyes began to produce tears.
A soldier came out of the crowd and silenced everyone.
"Dear Princess Zelda," The soldier began. "It is obvious that your cousin Emma is dead. Most likely she was decapitated by some creature, because the grooves on the stump were very uneven."
"What could have done this?" She asked.
"We don't know, my lady, none of us have known such a creature that could do this." The soldier said, frowning.
Zelda knelt next to Emma's cadaver, and sulked. When she was finished, she spotted something in her cold dead hand.
Quickly she snatched the hand, and opened it to reveal a black feather. A raven's feather. She gasped and put a hand near her mouth.
"You don't think a raven could have done this?" She asked the soldier.
"I highly doubt it my highness." The soldier replied.
The following afternoon the news of the bloody murder was taken to the king. The soldiers told him of the gruesome accident, and also that the culprit was unknown.
After they had spoken, Zelda approached her father.
"Father, there is one more thing." She said nervously. She took the feather from her pocket and handed it to her dad.
"I presume you found this on Emma's body?" The king boomed. His presence was as scary as the murder itself.
"Yes." Zelda told him casually.
"Well, thank you, my daughter." He said. "It may not help, but at least we have some sort of evidence."
Later that day Zelda went to go visit her good friend Link.
He lived near Lake Hylia, all the way across Hyrule Field. It was a quiet place where one could relax, and never be afraid. She knew he liked peace, ever since he returned from Termina. He said there was an evil aura around that place… a mischievous demon that crept around every corner.
But, that was behind them now.
Zelda reached the shining lake, which reflected the sun's light. She walked along the shoreline barefoot, hoping to see Link appear.
"Zelda?!" A voice echoed. She turned to see Link running at her.
He was wearing a white tunic, which was unusual since she always saw him wearing a green one. Probably still in his pajamas. She thought humorously. But besides the small change, he looked the same. He still had that messy blonde hair and those beautiful blue eyes.
"Link!" She said, and ran to him.
They collided and hugged each other happily. They parted as Link began to speak.
"What are you doing here?" He asked suspiciously.
"Well, I have news. Good and bad." Zelda answered.
"Alright," He said. "But first, come inside."
He led her to a small cabin right on the shore, and opened the wooden door. They both entered. Inside were couches and tables along with many of Link's old tools hung up on the wall.
Link sat down on a couch and signaled Zelda to sit down too. She sat on the other side.
"So, what's the news?" He asked.
"Well, which one do you want to hear?" Zelda asked impatiently.
"I think I'll start with the good news." He replied.
Zelda sighed, and hesitated. "Would you like to go to the ball with me tomorrow?" She asked, scared.
Link was shocked. He didn't know what to say. The back of his neck felt hot, and he began to sweat. "Sure." He said. "But what am I going to wear?"
"Don't worry," Zelda replied, smirking. "I have it all covered."
"Thank you." He said, his neck feeling less hot. "What's the bad news?"
Zelda stopped dead. Up to this point, she thought it would be a good idea to tell Link about Emma's horrid death. But now she thought as if this was taking things a bit too far. "You know Emma, right?" She asked. "My cousin?"
Link nodded and said, "Yes." He definitely remembered her. She was the only family member of Zelda's that actually accepted him.
"Well… she…" Zelda began, but it took her a while to finish. "She was murdered last night."
Link stared wide-eyed at her. "Murdered?" He thought aloud.
Zelda nodded. Her eyes filled with tears. "She was found decapitated in the hallway this morning." She said.
Zelda began to sob, and her face turned red. "All we found was this…" She said, and handed the raven feather to Link.
Reluctantly, Link took the feather and examined it. "There's no way a raven could decapitate a Hylian." He said.
Zelda put her hands over her eyes and wept. Link looked up from the feather and went over to her. He put his hand around her smooth body and she leaned on him.
About a half hour later, Zelda left Link's house. She traveled to Hyrule Castle and took a nap.
Meanwhile, Link was still checking out the feather. He quickly went to his small library and pulled out a thick book from the shelf. He flipped through the pages until he reached one with large text printing, "Bird Demons". He looked through and luckily found one demon titled, "the Raven". He read the first paragraph of the description.
The Raven is a normal black raven except with supernatural powers given to it by the Devil himself. It roams many lands in search of people on the Devil's hitlist. It will not kill innocent victims. It uses other demons to murder his victims instead of killing them with his own power. When angered, the Raven becomes a large shadow Thunderbird (see page 200 for article) and unleashes terrifying powers on the one responsible for its anger.
Before taking advantage of the demon, Link scouted the pages for other Bird Demons that had to do with a raven, but he couldn't find any.
It looks like someone in Hyrule (or specifically, Hyrule Castle) made the Devil angry.
James Evercroft walked the halls of Hyrule Castle. He looked at the clock. It was almost midnight. He had been walking around in the endless corridors of the castle for over an hour. He wanted to talk to Zelda about how he was sorry about his comment about Link, but he didn't have the courage.
The candles lit the hall brightly, so he could find his way back to his room whenever he wanted to.
"Looking for something?" A voice said behind him. He spun around to see Zelda. "James, why are you pacing the halls?"
"I don't know." He said. "I… I wanted to… say…" But he couldn't finish.
"I know." She replied. Her voice sounded calm and soothing. "About Link."
"It's just… he's…" James began, but Zelda finished for him. "A peasant."
"Yes… but…" He said, and this time he did finish. "…he's a good man. Take him to the ball with you."
"Thank you." Zelda said sweetly. She hugged her cousin. "By the way, Matt has refused to give Link clothes for the ball since he is so devastated about his sister. Could you…?"
"Lend him clothes?" James asked. "I'd be delighted."
She smiled, and hugged her cousin one last time before she said goodbye. It was a good thing she did, since this would be the last time she would see him.
Now this time, he was lost. James walked through the halls, confused and frightened. The corridors looked all the same, and so did the windows. All though the candles still lighted up the hallway, he was still lost.
Something made a chill on his back. He looked behind him to see the long hall, where the entrance was to the foyer. He smiled and began to walk forward, and that's when the castle went black. He could hardly see anything. The hall was gone, and so was the joy.
His mind immediately sensed evil. He looked behind him and saw the candles lit up again, and the long hallway was in view. He could see his room at the end of the corridor. But this time, he wasn't in happiness. He still knew there was evil here. He looked behind him, and the foyer entrance was still dark. He heard something breathing in the darkness.
His body went into panic. He began to run, but when he started to run, a black tail with a steel blade swept out of the dark and lunged through his back. It pierced his stomach and his intestines, and came out the other side. His body trembled, as his hand reached out to the hallway. The blade was released, and he fell to the floor. He still shivered, and was still alive. He flipped himself over to see the most frightening creature ever. But the view didn't last for a second, and his body was stomped on.
His eyeballs flew out of his head, leaving empty sockets and blood. He vomited up gore and his intestines. The monster crushed his head and splattered red all over the walls and ground.
When the beast was finished, it entered the dark again, unseen, and the candles lit up again on its side of the hall. It was gone. It was silent. The only sound heard was a raven cawing outside the nearest window.
The demon had struck again.