Having gone to retrieve the Master Sword and the Mirror Shield from his room, Link now stood before the sturdy, elaborate pine doors that led to the throne room. King Hyrule still rested within the confines of his bedchamber, his condition growing ever more worse by the minute. Luckily, the king was unconscious, so he did not have to feel the agonizing pain the poison was putting his body through. Zelda sat by his side weeping while Malon sat with her trying to console her as best she could. As far as Link knew Navi was still helping to cleanup Hyrule Field after the battle, and no sign of Impa had been seen since she disappeared.
Link steeled himself and then with both hands threw open the doors to the throne room. The throne room was a large, circular chamber. Its walls were draped from ceiling to floor in long, flowing red tapestries. The floor was made of pale blue-gray tiles, and in its center, made out of pure gold, was the Triforce. The walls domed toward the top, and at the very center of the ceiling was a skylight. Though normally filling the chamber with an excess of light, only shadows now entered. At the far end of the room rested King Hyrule's throne upon a small plinth of marble steps. At all times, day or night, the throne room glowed in a brilliant golden aura.
Just as Link had suspected even before opening the doors, the throne room was far from empty. As soon as the doors were flung open, the sounds of bickering from within assailed him. Link immediately recognized the voices as those belonging to King Hyrule's five chief advisors. The loud thump of the doors slamming open had apparently passed unnoticed by the advisors as they continued their bickering without pause. Sighing deeply, Link proceeded into the throne room with strong, confident steps.
Passing through the short alcove, Link spotted the mauve colored robes of the advisors over by the throne. They were standing in a circle quarreling amongst themselves not only by their mouths, but with their hands as well. Just looking at them made Link lower his head in disappointment. Link was not at all happy about seeing them, and he was actually quite surprised at their presence in the throne room. He had expected to find only three people awaiting him, Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru, and that was because he had sent them there to wait for him.
Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru stood off to the side of the room as if they were removed and ignored from the advisor's acknowledgment. They just stood there patiently, watching as the advisors quarreled amongst themselves. Link could instantly tell that none of them were at all happy by the intense scowls they wore on their faces. Though his entrance had gone unnoticed by the advisors, it hadn't by Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru, each of whom turned and gave him a half-hearted smile as he approached. As Link walked toward them, he immediately knew why they wore their scowls as the expanse of the chamber made it clear to everyone just what the advisors were arguing about.
"With the King on his deathbed and the princess emotionally unstable," shouted the eldest of the advisors, "the kingdom is currently leaderless."
"That is not our biggest concern at the moment," yelled the advisor across from him. "The kingdom has just been attacked, and although it may have been minor it is a foreshadowing of things to come. We need to rally up the army, ready our defenses lest we let this new enemy overwhelm us while we squabble over who will lead the kingdom. I vote that we give immediate control over to the generals until Zelda can assume the throne."
"You would hand over the kingdom to the generals?!" shouted a third and utterly shocked advisor. "And tell me, who exactly would force the generals to give back control once this threat has passed? For that matter, what makes you think they wouldn't try to conquer Hyrule for themselves?"
"You both bring up good points," said the eldest advisor, "but our primary concern is and remains the fact that our throne remains empty. Without a strong leader to rally behind, the people will begin to lose faith."
"I couldn't agree with you more Advisor Belkin," Link said calm, cooly, and with a hint of sarcasm as he stepped toward them powerfully. "That is why I will take command until Zelda is stable enough to take the throne for herself."
All of a sudden the room became deafly quiet. Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru were all slightly taken aback by Link's bold statement, yet they said nothing. The just stayed their ground and looked on waiting for what would happen next. Link just stood there proudly and confidently with his feet planted firmly on the ground and his shoulders held high. He kept his face as serious as possible as he stared at the advisors waiting for a response. The advisors, meanwhile, just stood there silently, staring back at Link with grave faces.
"And what exactly makes you think that we would hand over the kingdom to some petty little brat that crawled out of the forest," Advisor Belkin finally replied, his voice cold, malicious, and seething with hatred. "Sure, you may be an exceptional warrior, and you may have saved Hyrule countless times, but that only makes you fit to lead an army, not a kingdom. The princess may have taken a liking to you boy, but don't think for a second that it changes your status."
"Okay then," Link said calmly as he controlled the anger rising within him as best he could, "if not me, then who?"
"The five of us. We have been advising King Hyrule for years, and no one knows more about the running of this kingdom than us. We are more than capable of running Hyrule in his absence."
"An interesting proposition," Link replied feigning enthusiasm, "but I don't think so. I will be taking over, not you."
"You insolent brat!" shouted Advisor Belkin in anger. "Who do you think you are to be giving us orders?!"
"Fine then. How about we just go up to Zelda and ask her? Gee, I wonder whose side she'll take. Hmm, and you know, I also wonder who she's going to become enraged with for bringing such a petty matter before her in her time of distress."
Link just stood there with a wide smirk as he watched the color drain out of the faces of all five advisors. They just stood there completely speechless while Link crossed his arms smugly across his chest as he awaited an answer. Advisor Belkin looked as if he was about to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent. He just turned his head slightly to look upon the faces of the other advisors, all of whom nodded their heads solemnly when he looked upon them.
"Okay, you win," Advisor Belkin finally managed to choke out with hatred, his face still as pale as a ghost. "We give the kingdom of Hyrule over to you until Princess Zelda assumes the throne for herself."
"I thank you very much," Link replied with a malicious grin. "Now, as for my first decree, you are all hereby removed from your status as advisors."
"What?! You can't do this!"
"Oh, but I can. You gave me control, remember?"
"This is an outrage. You haven't been in control for even a minute and already you're power hungry."
"Wrong! You five are the power hungry ones. I've watched you manipulate the king for years, and I'll be damned if I'll let you manipulate Zelda when she takes the throne. You five are finished. Captain!"
At Link's command the Royal Guard that had been standing next to the throne stepped forward. He was clad in the usual armor of a Royal Guard save for the golden helm he wore on his head and the flowing blue cape that ran down his back. He stepped up to where the advisors stood and looked directly at Link.
"Captain Huntley," Link said acknowledging the Royal Guard, "get these five out of my sight."
"Right away," Captain Huntley replied with pleasure. "Guards, take them away!"
Three of the Royal Guards positioned around the room stepped forward. In their hands they each held a halberd which they lowered and pointed at the former advisors as they approached. Advisor Belkin and the others looked as if they were about to protest, but just one look at the three halberds being aimed at them was enough to quell their outrage. The Royal Guards took up positions around them and then proceeded to escort them out of the throne room. Following after them was Captain Huntley. He stopped just before the doors to the chamber and shut the doors after the others had left. Link watched the entire process with glee.
"Well, well, well," Nabooru said cheerfully from behind Link, "look who's all grown up."
"You've got that right," added Darunia with a hearty laugh. "Link, I've never seen you full of such confidence before. You've always been slightly reserved and have always held back. What you did just now took great courage. Looks like I'm going to have to start calling you 'big brother' from now on."
"Thanks," Link spit out as he was given one of Darunia's congratulatory slaps on the back," but that's not really necessary. The five of them are nothing more than high class aristocratic jerks. For years I've watched them give their so called advice to King Hyrule. Not once did I ever hear them speak out for the people. The only time they gave advice is when it benefitted themselves. That's not to say King Hyrule always listened to their advice, but he did more often than he should've. I wasn't going to allow them to manipulate Zelda as well."
"I always knew that you'd make a great king," Ruto smiled at him.
"Uh . . . well um . . . uh . . . thank you," Link said as his face blushed slightly, "but I'm still not a king, and it will still be some time before I am; if I ever become one that is. On to more pressing matters though."
"Yes, I agree," Darunia said, his usually cheerful disposition turning serious. "Whoever this new enemy is, it's a mystery to me."
"To me as well," added Nabooru. "Those skeletons, I've never seen anything like them. I've never even heard of anything like them before. There was something up with those twelve armored knights though. Something tells me that there's only the twelve of them, but I fear they may be the toughest enemies we've ever had to face. It also freaks me out how much they resemble Darknuts."
"Forget about them," said Ruto. "What about that robed dude on the skeleton horse? He was orchestrating the entire thing. We do know one thing though; he must only be a second-in-command. Didn't you notice how he referred to some sort of master?"
"Could this somehow be the work of Ganon?" Link asked. "I mean, I killed him and I saw him die, but that hasn't stopped him before."
"No, this can't be Ganon," said Nabooru. "Ganon is too egotistical. We would have sensed his return long before the attack. Whoever this threat is, he's hiding himself. I can't sense a damn thing."
"That's not good," Link said rubbing his chin in desperation. "Unfortunately, this is all the information we have to go by. Maybe when we're finished here you and the other Sages can gather and come up with some answers. For the time being though, what are we to do?"
"We have to defend our borders," Darunia said as if it was obvious. "I will lend you some warriors for the defense of the castle, but the majority of the Goron Army will stay to defend Death Mountain and Kakariko Village."
"I'll have the Zoras keep watch over Lake Hylia and patrol the entire length of Zoras River," said Ruto.
"As for the Gerudo, the majority of our army will be at your disposal," said Nabooru. "I'll keep a small contingent to defend our fortress and also ready the Desert Colossus to receive refugees should things go bad."
"Alright," replied Link, "that sounds like a sound plan. Luckily no one has returned to Hyrule Market yet so we won't have to worry about relocating them. I'll call up both the regular army and the reserves. We'll house them in Hyrule Market along with the soldiers you will provide. Now that we have our defense plans set, it's time to figure out what to do next."
Before anyone else could say another word, the doors to the throne room flew open, the impact of the doors slamming into the walls resounding throughout the chamber. Everyone in the room turned to look including the Royal Guards, several of whom headed to the door with their weapons ready. Coming through the doorway and into the room was Navi. She was panting heavily, and her face was covered in sweat. It looked as if she had run all the way from Hyrule Field up to the castle without pause.
Making her way over to Link groggily, Navi looked as if she was on the verge of collapse. Indeed she did collapse when she finally made it over to Link. Link quickly caught her in his arms. Navi's lips began moving frantically, but no sound escaped her lips. Link immediately ordered one of the guards to go get some water. Upon his return Link handed the water over to Navi, who drank it greedily.
"Outside . . . to the South . . .danger," was all Navi managed to say.
Link quickly yet carefully laid Navi down upon the ground and ran out of the throne room; Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru hot on his heels. As Link burst into the hallway, he could see that the entire castle was abuzz with hysteria. Knights, servants, and nobles were running through the castle's labyrinthine hallways as if they were cuccos with their heads cut off. Even though there was great commotion, Link was unable to get any answers as to what was happening other than blank and stunned faces or the same kind of gibberish that Navi had uttered. He did notice, however, that everyone was heading either to one of the castle's balconies or outside the castle itself.
The first sight to greet Link as he emerged onto the first balcony he came across that faced the South was a giant flock of various birds flying overhead at an incredible speed. Their cawing was filled with fright and was the only sound Link could hear until they had all flown by. Turning toward the South where the birds had fled from, Link was taken aback at the sight of a huge black tower rising out of the ruins of the Lost Woods. Though normally the distance would be too great to see anything, the tower was anything but unnoticeable as it rose high into the sky.
It was a single, circular tower that was ascending into the sky. Even at this distance the tower looked huge, which could only mean that it was actually enormous. Though the tower was black, it was a glossy black that cut through the shadows Hyrule had been engulfed in. It's surface appeared to be smooth, but since it was all the way across the kingdom it was impossible to be sure or even tell anything else about it.
"Well, at least now we know where the enemy is," came Darunia's proud yet somber voice from behind him.
"Yeah, but who in their right mind is going to charge that thing?" Link said as cheerfully as he could as he turned to see Darunia, Ruto, and Nabooru standing behind him on the balcony.
"Hey, what are all of those bright lights?" asked Ruto.
Link turned back toward the South and watched as hundreds of multicolored lights started floating up and away from the Black Tower. At this distance the lights appeared microscopic, but since Hyrule was covered in darkness their lights shone out brightly against the dark backdrop of Hyrule. Link's body went limp as he realized exactly what those lights were and exactly what they meant as well.
"They're . . . they're fairies," Link stammered.
"Fairies!?" said Nabooru. "But then that must mean . . . oh my god, Saria!"
Link quickly whipped around to leave the balcony, but as he did so he caught sight of Zelda standing on the balcony next to his. She was standing there with Malon and a few knights staring out toward the South and the Black Tower. As Link spotted her, Zelda turned and looked him directly in the eyes. All the color had drained from her face, and her eyes and mouth were opened wide in fear. It looked as if she wanted to tell Link something, but Link didn't wait to find out what it was.
Link quickly ran off the balcony and back inside the castle. He ran full speed through the castle's hallways pushing anyone that got into his way aside. His boots resounded down the corridors accompanied by the clanking of his shield upon the Master Sword as he ran. As he neared the exit to the castle, Link put his fingers up to his mouth and let out a high pitched whistle. When he reached the outside, he heard the neighing of a horse and turned to see Epona galloping up toward him.
Link didn't wait for Epona to reach him. He ran straight for Epona and upon reaching her grabbed a hold of her reins and in one swift move swung himself up onto Epona's back. Epona didn't stop galloping as Link did this, and once he was on top of her he quickly snapped the reins and Epona took off at full speed toward Hyrule Market. Epona sped down the castle path hard leaving both a cloud of dust in her wake and shoe prints imbedded deep into the dirt.
Upon entering Hyrule Market, Epona's galloping upon the stone roads echoed all throughout the deserted city. Although Link knew that the soldiers would be setting up camp along the city's main roads, Link made no effort to take any other routes. He was pressed for time, and as such zipped through the main roads. Two knights had to quickly jump out of Epona's way she was going so fast. Before Link could even apologize to the soldiers Epona was crossing the drawbridge and entering Hyrule Field.
Without pause Epona galloped across Hyrule Field toward the South with Link gripping the reins tightly. As hard as it was for him to hold on at the speed Epona was going, he urged her on with each passing second to go faster and faster. Epona obliged Link as much as she could, pushing herself beyond her normal capabilities. She could sense the desperation growing within Link and was only to happy to do it.
Within only a matter of minutes Link had crossed Hyrule Field and was approaching the entrance to the Kokiri Forest. It was the fastest Link had ever crossed Hyrule Field. The fact that Link hadn't set foot in the forest for over a year and up till now never had any intentions to for the remainder of his life didn't even phase him as the entrance grew closer. Without slowing Epona's pace even a little, Link crossed over the short rope bridge and entered his old home.
As soon as he was within the Kokiri Forest, Link pulled on Epona's reins hard stopping her short and nearly sending himself flying of his saddle. Link didn't immediately hop off of Epona's back. Instead, he just closed his eyes and lowered his head. He was too late. The Kokiri Forest, once his home, had been attacked and he hadn't been there to protect it. His eyes clenched so tightly that they were beginning to water, Link threw his eyelids open, tossed his head high in the air, and wailed in both anger and mourning.
Sticking out of both houses and the ground were the shafts of arrows, the black feathers on the tails attesting to the grimness of the situation. From some of the arrows smoke was rising from the ground indicating that flaming arrows had been used. The houses were in shambles as if they had been ransacked, and all over the Kokiri Forest were the tell-tale signs of a surprise attack. No fairies were in sight anywhere; they had all already fled. The Kokiri themselves were no where to be found as well, except for the bodies of those that had been slain.
Link grimaced as he looked at all the child-like bodies of the Kokiri sprawled out all over the place. Some had been viciously sliced open, their blood darkening the ground beneath them. Others had a flurry of arrows sticking out of either their backs or their chests depending on where they had been attacked. One thing that Link did notice were the lack of weapons in any of the Kokiri's hands. They didn't even have a chance to defend themselves as they were unceremoniously attacked and slaughtered. Luckily though, as Link walked around counting the bodies he knew that there were still more alive someplace, most likely captured by the enemy for some reason.
Link was glad when he saw that Saria's body was not among the dead. That meant that she must have been captured along with the others, but considering that she was a Sage Link kept a small ray of hope alive that she had somehow escaped, maybe even with a few of the Kokiri. Before he even realized it, Link was standing before Mido's old house. The entrance to the house had been sealed, and on top of the roof a statue had been erected in his honor. When Link looked up and saw this he smirked.
No matter how much Link and Mido fought and hated each other in the past, that was all water under the bridge now. No matter the differences between them, they had both cared for the well being of the Kokiri. Though they may have showed it in different ways, the welfare of the Kokiri meant everything to the both of them, and that was only proven by Mido's sacrifice to protect them a year earlier. It was no wonder why the Kokiri had created this memorial for him.
When Link turned around, his eyes automatically fixed upon his old house. Even though it was all the way across the village, Link could see that the place had been savagely ransacked and whatever items he had left behind in there were now gone forever. Staring down at the ground in disappointment, he noticed that although everything was covered in shadow, the area around him was darker than all the rest. He immediately realized that he was in the shadow of something, and already knowing what it was he turned around to look upon the Black Tower that rose within the ruins of the Lost Woods.
At this close distance Link was in awe at the incredible size of the tower. Even with his head bent as far back as it could go he still couldn't see the top of the tower. Not only was the tower immense lengthwise, but it's width was roughly the same size as the Kokiri Forest. The tower was smooth, just as he had surmised, without even a slight imperfection. In addition it appeared that there was a large wall surrounding the tower, only the top of which he could see at the moment and which had been impossible to see from Hyrule Castle. The wall was as black as the tower and it was rimmed with spikes that were reminiscent of Ganon's Castle in the alternate time line.
Link just stared at the tower in rage and disgust, but he knew he couldn't linger long. As much as he wanted to bury the bodies of the fallen Kokiri, it was too dangerous in the shadow of the Black Tower. The longer he stayed the better his chances of being attacked by an army increased. He could already feel that he was being watched, but if he was he had no idea from where the person was hiding. Mouthing a silent lamentation for the fallen Kokiri as well as for those who were undoubtedly captured, Link hopped up onto Epona and left the Kokiri Forest.
The trip back to Hyrule Castle was far longer than the trip from. There was no reason to speed along, so Link had Epona walk the distance back. He also did it for Epona's sake. He knew that he had pushed her beyond her limit, and so as not to hurt her he kept Epona at a slow pace. The entire trip back his face was solemn, and he held the reins loosely in his hands. When he finally made it back to the castle, he found Zelda standing there waiting for him. Color had seemed to return to her face, and before he had even hopped off Epona she approached him.
"We need to talk," Zelda said in the most serious voice Link had ever heard her use.