Traitor
King Harkinian sulked in his throne, surrounded by centuries of Hylian rulers forever entombed in oil paintings. "What a fool I have been. What was I thinking keeping him here? I should have killed him long ago."
Impa pitied him. He had just lost his only daughter, and it was easy to trace the chain of events back to the moment he imprisoned Ganondorf in Hyrule Castle. However, the real source of her pity was his solitude. He was the most powerful man in Hyrule, yet so isolated from everyone. With Zelda's life in danger, he faced the prospect of being the last of his bloodline. "Sire," she said. "The Gerudo have taken an eye for an eye. If you had killed him, Zelda would be dead in your courtyard. As long as Ganondorf is alive, they will let her live. It is most certain they plan to bargain for her return."
"Return?" said the king, turning his forlorn face to her. "How can I possibly let him go now? I foolishly kept him here, hoping by some miracle he could be domesticated, or at the very least civilized. If I release him now, he will surely become the monster he's destined to be."
"We don't know that for sure," assured Impa.
"Of course we do," said the king more loudly.
"Well," scolded Impa, "what did you think would happen? Did you think the Gerudo would wither away willingly? Did you think Ganondorf would pledge his undying allegiance to you and obey your every command?"
King Harkinian stood, clearly agitated. "The moment called for action and I answered the call. Once I learned of that little boy's destiny, I was duty bound to prevent it."
"Afraid to face it, you mean."
"Enough!" shouted the king angrily. "What would you suggest I do? You said yourself that killing him would have been a mistake. What then? Are you suggesting I should have done nothing? That I should have been passive and weak while the greatest evil Hyrule has ever known returns by his hand?"
"Yes!" exclaimed Impa. "Of all people, you should have known the futility of trying to thwart what the Goddesses have preordained. You should have accepted your fate and his, and faced it bravely."
The king stared Impa down. "The nerve, Captain." He used her title like a parent uses a child's middle name. "How dare you speak to me this way. I am your sovereign."
"Forgive me, my king," said Impa humbly. She knew when to play advisor and when to play the servant. "May I instead offer your grace a word of hope?"
The king, as expected, calmed down at her subservience. "You may try, though I am suspicious on how you can see anything but disaster."
"Perhaps these troubling events can lead us to a certain treasure—one you have long searched for."
The king's eyes brightened. "I have looked everywhere. Not a trace."
"Everywhere except—"
"—the Gerudo City?" finished the king. "During our invasion to get the boy we scoured the palace and found nothing. Nothing. It's not there, Impa."
"Oh, but it is, sire."
The king's expression turned to incredulity. "What makes you so sure?"
"I am Sheikah. My people know many things."
"But how could I have missed it?"
"You did not find it because you did not know what you were looking for."
"Impa," sighed Harkinian, "can you please stop toying with me?"
Impa walked over to one of the age old portraits. A thousand years old, it was Hyrule's last great king. His name was long forgotten, but his story had evolved into quite a tall tale. He had been a common man who had emerged a hero of the people after ending a great war. Every child learned of his deeds, how he had slayed a mighty demon but could not save his one true love. How he had taken the throne upon his return but never married, remaining faithful instead to her. Indeed, in the painting, the ancient king sat regally in his throne while the throne beside him remained empty except for a golden circlet fit for a queen. The lonely king.
In his hand was a most magnificent sword. Its jewel-laden hilt shimmered and its perfect blade gleamed. Its beauty alone was enough to stir a covetous heart, but it was the rumor that the sword was a gift from Din, the Goddess of Power herself, that had driven men mad with desire. Such a sword was believed to make even the weakest man a force to behold.
"You were looking for this," said Impa as she pointed at the canvas to the ornate sword. "What if I told you that the sword no longer looks like the one in this painting?"
"What do you mean?"
"My people have scoured all the ancient documents, and every account of the sword is different. No two descriptions are alike. Such discrepancies are not unusual when it comes to historical writings. We had always assumed that throughout the years historians simply got a minor detail wrong here or made a little oversight there. Over so many years, tiny errors make a big difference.
"But recently we discovered a document hidden in some olds ruins in the Lanayru province. Among them was a scrap of parchment depicting a sword that alters its appearance at will. We don't know for certain if it is referring to the sword in this painting, but if it is, what better way to hide it than right under our noses? A sword that disguises itself."
Frustration spread across the king's face. "It could have looked like any ordinary sword. I could have looked right at it and walked away."
"Indeed."
"So, how do you propose we acquire it now?" he asked.
"We bargain. We offer Ganondorf in exchange for both the sword and the princess."
"Don't be ridiculous," said the king, "why would they accept a trade like that?"
"Because," said Impa confidently, "the Gerudo are desperate. Ganondorf is their only hope of saving their people from total extinction."
"They will resist," argued the king.
"Their numbers are too few," rebutted Impa. "A war would only make their fate more certain. They will have to accept your offer."
The king began to think it over but was quickly interrupted when a palace guard barged into the throne room.
"Captain Impa!" said the guard through heavy breaths.
"What is it?"
"We have a traitor!"
Link walked across the moonlit grass toward the armory. Navi fluttered beside him, orange with worry. "I can't believe you're really going to do this," she said nervously.
Neither could he. He could feel his nerves twisting in his stomach. He had even skipped supper. For some reason, willingly choosing to become a traitor to the crown doesn't improve one's appetite.
"You're going to get yourself executed, you know," she added.
Link was fully aware of the risks. He was confident in his ability to carry out his mission successfully, but betraying his country was not something he took lightly. Every time he began to have second thoughts, he would remember why he considered this insane plan to begin with. "I'll bring home the princess," he said, "and everything will be forgiven."
"Why you?" she asked. "The king has plenty of men that will fight for him."
"I'm not doing it for him. Besides, he's going to go about it all wrong. He'll just send his whole army and leave behind the one thing the Gerudo really want. He'll make a mess of this whole thing and get her killed in the process. No, the only way to fix this is to undo the damage he's already done and return the Gerudo prisoner."
They reached the well-lit and busy armory. Link's uncle was sitting at a table taking inventory upon a roll of parchment as soldiers organized weapons and shields. Navi looked at the armed guards and the various weapons making her acutely aware of the danger they were about to face. She glanced at Link's only weapon, a mere slingshot. "Is that all you're bringing?" she asked in trepidation.
"It's all I need," he assured her. "I just need to get in and out. I'm in enough hot water as it is; I don't need to kill anyone on top of it. You just worry about your job and I'll worry about mine."
"Fine," sighed Navi. She lifted her chin, turned green with determination, and fluttered her way into the armory. This room was Link's best chance of getting into the prison wing. All other entrances into the castle had guards, but the armory had a single unguarded door. It also happened to be connected directly to the hall that led straight to the prison ward. All he needed was the key.
Link's uncle marked the count of spears that had just arrived as the soldiers left the room to gather more equipment. His hand moved subconsciously toward the ink well for a fresh dip, but as his hand lowered the quill, the ink well scooted just out of reach. Gudric raised his eyebrow, unsure of what he had just seen. He made a second effort to dip the quill, and the ink well scooted away yet again, only this time, it also began to levitate upward until it came to a hover at his eye level. He narrowed his eyes and said disapprovingly, "Navi."
The fairy's playfully yellow form peeked from behind the bottle, a mischievous grin scrawled across her face. Very slowly, the ink well began to rotate.
"Don't do it," warned Gudric. Navi kept smiling; the bottle kept turning.
"Navi, I'm warnin' ya. I don't have time for yer pranks." The bottle kept turning.
Gudric made a grab for it, but Navi let it fall to the table with an inky crash. Black splotches found their way to both Gudric's clothing and his important paperwork. Gudric's face turned red with rage. "Confound it, ya ruddy fairy!" he yelled, but Navi had already flown the coop. In his rage, Uncle Gudric never noticed the keys, once attached firmly to his belt, were now gone.
Link carefully slunk down the prison corridors guided solely by instinct. He was careful to check every nook and cranny en route, peeking covertly around each corner. The last thing he wanted to do was alert the castle to his presence. Eventually he came to a T-intersection. Hugging the wall, he peered down around the corner to see a long hallway with a single iron door at its end. Two guards stood post at either side of the door. It was obviously the kind of prison cell where you keep your highest security inmates.
Link took a second look at the guards and breathed quietly, "You have got to be kidding me."
"What is it?" said Navi, surprising Link so much he nearly let out a yelp that would have certainly announced his presence to the guards.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he exclaimed in a whisper.
"Sorry. What's going on?"
"The guards," he whispered. "They're classmates of mine—Borrix and Lance. I wonder what trouble they got into to land guard duty."
"How is that a problem?"
"Well, they know who I am, which means I have to be quick and accurate."
"What are you going to do?" Navi asked in concern.
"What I do best," said Link. He removed the slingshot from his belt. He reached into one of his belt pouches and removed two Deku nuts. These perfect spheres were the preferred ammunition for any experienced slingshot owner. Freshly picked, they were far too fleshy to be of any use, but several days roasting in the sun turned them into the most aerodynamic, rock hard missiles one could ask for. Link loaded one of the two nuts, took a deep breath, and turned the corner.
Link strode at an even pace down the hallway. Borrix reacted first. "Link?"
Lance did a double take. "Link, is that really you?"
Link kept his steady pace and brought his slingshot up to aim. Both cadets reacted by pointing their spears toward him. "Link," Borrix said, "what are you doing?"
"Stop kidding around," said Lance.
THWACK! Link nailed Lance's skull cap, knocking him out cold.
"Now you've done it!" exclaimed Borrix as he turned to reach for a nearby hanging cord, but not before Link got his second shot off. Unfortunately, it whizzed past Borrix's head and smacked the stone wall behind. As Link fumbled for another Deku nut, Borrix pulled the cord sounding a loud bell.
"Well, so much for surprise," muttered Link as his next shot sent Borrix into unconsciousness. Without a moment to lose, he rushed up to the door, removed the iron bar, and began working to unlock the door with Uncle Gudric's keys. The fourth key finally released the lock and Link pushed open the squeaky door.
Ganondorf lay flat on his back upon the cold stone staring at the ceiling. He had outgrown his bed several years ago, and no one seemed bothered enough to custom build a bed for a lowly prisoner. So, he had started sleeping on the floor and found that he rather liked it, which he sometimes found disconcerting. Do you know what else sleeps on rocks and lives in dark places? Monsters.
Ganondorf held his demon carving above him so thin rays of moonlight highlighted its form. He had fashioned it with a stout body and a large, thick tail that whipped upwards. Its long snout gave it a ferocity that mimicked the drawings in the story book. He often wondered if such monsters were real; Zelda didn't seem to think so.
The thought of Zelda saddened him. He had rather hoped she would visit him tonight to tell him all about the ceremony, but she never came. It was the first confirmation of his pessimistic prediction that her new life as princess was stealing her away from him. Barely a single day had passed and he already began to feel depressed at the thought of increased isolation.
Ganondorf heard the muffled voices of the guards at his door, and he perked up. Could Zelda be coming after all? He couldn't make out any words, but the sounds were unusual. More muffled talking preceding the sounds of something hard hitting the opposite side of the wall. Curious, Ganondorf got to his feet when he suddenly heard the sound of a bell. This alarmed him, for the last time he had heard it was the time he had tried to push past the guards in his youth. The punishment that followed had been unpleasant and worth forgetting. He could hear the familiar sound of the door being unlocked until at last it creaked open.
An unusual young man in green entered the room with some kind of large glowing insect fluttering next to him. The boy spoke, "We gotta go, now."
"Go?" asked Ganondorf.
The boy was agitated. "I'm getting you out of here, but I just blew our chances of a quiet getaway. The guards will be here any minute. Do you want out of here or not?"
He hesitated, unsure of what he was hearing was real or some kind of prank.
"Now!" said the green boy.
Ganondorf decided to take his chances and followed him out the door, his statuette still in hand, and down the corridor. At the end of the hall, the boy stopped and muttered something to the light-bug, which Ganondorf now noticed looked a lot like the fairies in Zelda's storybook. The little creature flew down the left hall and returned in just a few short seconds. It said something to the boy, who then headed down the left corridor. Ganondorf followed suit but struggled to keep up due to the urge to stop and take in the sights. He had never seen anything other than his own four walls his entire life, so literally everything was brand new to him.
Shouts could be heard behind them and seemed to be moving faster than they were. When the hallway came to a head, they took a right. This corridor had several doors with large, barred windows. Ganondorf glanced in them as they hurried past and observed all of them to be empty. All except the last one on the left. He had glanced in there so briefly he almost didn't see her.
He backtracked to the barred door and looked inside to see a girl sitting against the wall, her arms resting on her knees and her head resting on her arms. Her hair was the same bright orange color as his. Her tan skin, though lacking his grayish tint, still evoked the same sense of otherworldliness. Was she a monster too? "Who are you?" he asked, the words coming out of him before he even thought to ask them.
The girl lifted her head reluctantly and upon laying eyes on him jumped to her feet and ran to the door. The girl gazed at him with wonder as she reached her hand through the bars and touched him. "It is you," she said breathlessly, and he saw tears forming in her eyes.
He was about to respond when the boy in green, who must have gone ahead some ways before realizing his escapee was missing, blurted out, "What are you doing? The guards are right behind us!"
Ganondorf looked back and sure enough, the shouts had increased in volume. No doubt, they had already discovered his empty cell. He looked back at the girl, sad that he could not stay with her. Why did she seem so fond of him? Did she know who he was? Reluctantly, he turned to continue the escape when he noticed a ring of keys hanging from the boy's belt. "Your keys," he said to his green clad escort. "Let her out."
"What?!" exclaimed the boy. "Are you serious?!"
Ganondorf implored, "Please, do it."
"We don't have time to release all the criminals in Hyrule! Our lives are hanging by a thread here!" More shouts indicated castle guards were rapidly on the move. The boy then did something Ganondorf did not expect. As though forgetting all about the coming threat, the boy looked hard at the female prisoner and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! I know you! You punched me in the courtyard!"
"You were jeopardizing my mission," she retorted.
"You were trying to kidnap the princess!"
"You what?!" exclaimed Ganondorf.
"Guys," said the little floating light, and Ganondorf could see now that it was in fact a fairy.
"She can rot in there for all I care," said the boy back at Ganondorf, but Ganondorf was interested in a wholly different topic now.
"What happened to the princess?" Ganondorf asked the girl.
"We took her for you."
"Me?"
"Um, the guards?" reminded the fairy, though everyone ignored her.
"Yes," said the girl. "We've spent our lives doing everything we can to bring you home." Home. It was a word foreign to Ganondorf's ears, but he loved the sound of it.
"Look," said the boy, "we have to get moving. Leave her."
"No." Ganondorf stiffened. "She came for me. I won't leave without her."
"You know," said the boy angrily, "I'm not sure this is worth it after all. Stay then, and spend the rest of your life in that hole!"
"No!" exclaimed the imprisoned girl, who spoke with sudden urgency. "You mustn't, my lord. Please, forget about me and go with the boy." The guards could be heard just around the corner. Ganondorf looked at her perplexed. Was she calling him lord?
"Look out!" shouted the fairy again. This time, everyone turned to see two soldiers come around the corner.
"Fine!" yelled the boy, who tossed Ganondorf the keys. "But get her out of there fast." As he pulled out a slingshot, he added for the girl's benefit, "No one dies tonight. Got it? We escape without killing any of my friends!" Ganondorf hurriedly tried the first key as the boy loaded his little weapon.
"The traitor is—" began one guard before a slingshot missile knocked him senseless. The other guard went down just as quickly while Ganondorf moved from key to key. After a couple more tries, the door unlocked and he opened it. When the girl emerged, the boy glared at her as though daring her to make a move, but she made no hint of aggression.
"If you are truly bent on saving this man," she said to the boy, "then I am your loyal servant." The boy still eyed her suspiciously, hesitant to trust her, when four more guards rounded the corner: two of them archers.
"Move it!" said the boy, and the three of them made it around the corner with arrows whizzing narrowly past.
Link was furious at how this mission was turning out. You would think a prisoner would be grateful to be freed, but no sooner had they gotten down a couple hallways before Link was suddenly releasing every Gerudo in Hyrule. It was a good thing he had his escape route mapped out in advance.
They rounded another corner which led to a tower. "Up," he called, and they rushed up its spiral staircase. After a couple excruciating minutes of stair aerobics, they reached the top and exited onto the castle ramparts. While he wasn't surprised to see that the warrior girl had managed to keep up with him, he was impressed that the Gerudo man hadn't fallen behind. A lifelong prisoner is not someone you expect to be fit.
Link didn't have time to dwell on it. He could hear the guards coming up the stairs, and there were guards on the ramparts to deal with as well. "Ready?" he asked his ad hoc posse, and they nodded. He made a run for the eastern wall, slingshot in hand, taking down three guards within range. This of course alerted the archers on the opposite side of the castle, who began to volley arrows at them. They reached the edge, arrows landing a few feet away, and Link swore as he looked over the wall.
"What is it?" said the girl.
"My grappling hook," said Link in frustration. "I set it up in advance and it's no longer... grappling." The girl peeked over the edge to see the rope and grappling hook lying in a messy tangle on the ground near two waiting horses.
"How long can you hold off the guards with your little toy?" asked the girl.
"Toy?" Link said, insulted, but this was no time to banter. "Why? What are—" he began to ask, but the girl had already eased over rampart and begun to scale the high wall downward. Link watched her, duly impressed.
"Stop, traitor!" yelled another guard. Link spun around, slingshot at the ready, and fell a few more guards. Just as he was beginning to feel confident of his success, no less than a dozen more emerged from the tower heading toward them at full speed.
"Oh, boy," Link said.
"I've got this," said Navi. This time she turned white, which meant business. She flew into their faces like a blinding pest, her bright white light blinding them as she swirled about their field of vision. While it didn't stop them, it did slow them down giving Link plenty of time to pick them off one by one. Unfortunately, even more guards where emerging from the tower. This time, they were joined by none other than Captain Impa. Link swallowed hard as she made piercing eye contact with him.
"We really need that rope!" yelled Link, and as though on cue, the grappling hook sailed over the rampart and made contact. "You first," he said to the Gerudo man, who didn't hesitate to follow his order. Link turned back to see Navi still doing her best to slow down the flood of guards. Link picked off a few archers before calling out, "Navi! Let's get out of here." Link took one last glance at Impa before leaping over the wall and rappelling down the rope. He expected her to yell orders or threaten him, but Impa never said a word. Somehow, that made her more threatening than any of the guards he had faced tonight.
When he reached the bottom, the Gerudo man was already on the horse Link had "borrowed" from the royal stables, with the girl mounted in front. It was smart thinking on her part, since the man had probably never seen a horse, much less ridden one.
Link mounted Epona and yelled, "Lead the way!" The Gerudo pair took off with Link closely behind while arrows pelted the grass around them.
Impa rested both hands on the ramparts, staring into the distant darkness in which Ganondorf and the traitor had disappeared. A conflict of emotions raged within her. She hated betrayal beyond all other crimes, and the thought of this arrogant boy's actions boiled her blood. Yet she was a warrior, and she couldn't help but admire his accomplishments. She knew he was something special when she first saw him with the fairy, but was his destiny to be nothing more than a turncoat?
King Harkinian appeared beside her, and Impa looked upon his red face. She had seen him furious many times, but this was different. This was the face of vengeance. Impa looked back into the night. Neither of them spoke for several minutes.
"Evil," said the king at last. "I have dedicated my life toward the destruction of it, and here it was living in my own castle. Worse than that, we trained it—nourished it—until it became strong enough to turn on its master." He looked at Impa. "I want that boy," he said with malice.
"I shall send my finest men," she replied.
"And you will go with them," said the king.
"But, my king, I am needed—"
"Do not even think," hissed the king, "of questioning me this time!" She had never seen him like this. For once she did not pity him. This time she truly feared him. He had always been the most powerful man in the world, but now he had nothing else left to lose.
"As you wish, my king."
He turned to leave, paused, and said, "One more thing."
"Yes, sire?"
"At any costs, bring me that sword."
"What about your daughter?"
"With that sword in the wrong hands, she and the rest of Hyrule are doomed. By all means, save her if you can, but do not return without it."
"Of course." She watched King Harkinian walk slowly back into the castle. She was Sheikah, so she would obey her king, for Sheikah take pride in serving the crown. But Sheikah are also loyal to the Goddesses—to truth and justice. For generations the kings and queens of Hyrule stood for the same principles. After seeing her king consumed with an ever increasing madness, she began to experience a rare emotion: doubt. Sheikah are brave, cunning, and loyal, but above all, Sheikah are full of impenetrable conviction. Sheikah abhor many things, chief among them is doubt.
She looked back into the night and pulled the brisk night air deep into her nostrils. With a slow exhale, she pushed the doubt away. She was Captain of the Royal Guard. She pledged her life to unwavering service to her king. She would do his bidding and bring the fairy charming traitor back to her king, dead or alive.