Thanks for the reviews. They really make me want to update faster and write better for you. This chapter is a bit longer, but will set up the last few chapters of the story. Enjoy!
Weeks went by. Zelda approved Link's proposal, and Link began training all the able men of Hyrule. For two weeks, a large group of soldiers would arrive. Based on their experience, family situation, and work, Link and some carefully selected officers would place the men into positions. Men with families, assuming they weren't horrible at it, were trained in archery—a position which had fewer fatalities. Younger, stronger men were chosen as footmen, armed with swords, axes, or spears and decked in heavy armor. Others still, given marine experience, would join Hyrule's navy and navy reserve, which had been nearly absent in the military before.
Weeks turned into months, and Link was very happy with the work he had done. But his happiness ended there. If his work didn't distract him, he wouldn't eat. He was getting little sleep. His nights were spent tossing and turning, unable to keep himself from thinking of her.
They didn't see much of each other. Once a week, he would report to her and the Council. It was both his favorite and most dreaded time of the week. He would see her face, though her smile was absent these days. She was still beautiful, but over the months, dark circles and worry lines had brought her to a worldly level. Link was sure the job was taxing. He tried to do all he could to at least remove the worry of the military and defense. She always seemed very proud of his work.
Her invitations to lunch had slowed, and he hadn't received one in weeks. Link was grateful, because it hurt him so badly to hurt her in any way—even declining an invitation. But the two had grown apart—rarely talking outside of work matters, and they were tense and short conversations when they did speak otherwise.
Three months after Zelda's coronation, war was declared on Hyrule. Link's new navy spotted an army from their patrol of the Great Sea, and spies were sent to discover who it was. While messages were sent to nearby villages and towns to ready their soldiers, Link rode swiftly out to meet his spies near the marching army. They were a day's march away from any major town, and three days' march from Castle Town.
"Report," Link ordered before he finished dismounting Epona.
His three best spies each help out foreign items: a shield, a sword, and a flag. The flag had embroidered on it a setting sun.
"The Dark Land," Link mumbled darkly as his senior spy Errog nodded.
"We've caught snippets of conversation, and they are bent on destroying Hyrule. One village at a time. They didn't take too kindly to you killing their king and destroying their castle."
"I can imagine. After all, I didn't take too kindly to him killing our king, raiding our castle, and stealing our princess. How have they come here?" Link asked, briefly thinking of the portal he had opened. Surely, there was another way into the Land of Light from the Dark Land that was more fitting for an army. And the same way Ganondorf arrived the first time.
"Well, from the sound of it, they've been marching for weeks—easily 15,000 strong. Maybe 20. I heard some of their soldiers talk of a 'bridge' to the south, around the Great Sea. I've never before heard of a bridge, so it must be a magical bridge between the lands."
Link nodded and pulled out a map of Hyrule. "Their army is just a day away from the nearest village, but the bulk of our army would need over two days to arrive there. And we need most of our 15,000 soldiers if we hope to fight this army without defeat. We either need to evacuate the village or make talks with their leader to fight on neutral ground."
Link then sent two of his spies away on horseback, one to Castle Town, and the other to the nearest village, Ordon—a town of just 200 people. There couldn't be more than 20 or 30 soldiers who had been trained from there. There were few defenses in the town, just a lookout tower and a bottle-neck of an entrance that would be helpful but certainly not enough to defeat an army of this magnitude.
Each rider was instructed to warn the people. In Ordon, the people were to pack their essential possessions, and in Castle Town, emergency protocol was to begin gathering the army and march towards Ordon unless otherwise directed. The third spy, Errog, and Link would then separate after the meeting with the Dark leader to give more instructions.
So as the two spies departed, Link and Errog set out to set up a meeting place with the Dark leader. Link gathered parchment and wrote a note.
"To the Leader of the Dark Land, we request a meeting to discuss the purpose and intent of your army, and warn you of our response. Two miles south of here is a large field with no trees for miles. We request that we meet in the middle of this field with just two representatives. Let this note be proof that we will not try to attack, for if we wanted to kill you, you would be dead with its arrival. Be there in one hour or we send a stronger message."
Link wrapped the note around an arrow and tied it on. Errog then led him quietly to a tree a hundred feet away from their camp and he pointed out the leader's tent. Link notched the arrow, felt carefully for the wind, pulled back the string, and released the arrow. They watched as it soared through the air, and landed squarely in the opening of the tent.
The alerted shouts of soldiers confirmed that the arrow flew true. Link watched from afar as a figure awkwardly grabbed the arrow and read the note. He looked up to the tree line, but was unsuccessful in locating Link, who decided it was a good time to leave.
Hopping onto Epona's back, with Errog mounted beside him, Link rode to the field. He stopped about a mile in to the open, where he was certain he could see the enemy coming from far off and foresee any sneak attacks. After thirty minutes, Link saw two figures approaching. As they neared, the outline of men on horses was made clear. As they came even closer, Link saw that one of the Dark men approaching had only one arm, and Link shuddered.
"Horigim," Link muttered.
Errog looked over at Link. "You know him?"
"Ay," Link responded. "I'm the reason he's missing that left arm."
"So he will not be reasonable with us?"
Link slowly shook his head. "Not a chance."
Horigim approached with another man who Link did not know. They shared the same pale white skin and dead eyes. Link had only been up close with Horigim and Ganondorf, and now this third Dark man. But a common attribute was the lightless—lifeless, even—eyes. Link wondered if it was a common trait of the people from the Dark Land.
Just feet away, Link glanced at Horigim's missing arm. Horigim sneered at him before speaking, "What is it you want, Link?"
For a couple more weeks, Link and Zelda continued to search out the keys to the portal to the Dark Land. They planned to go on the attack and secretly enter the Dark Land to destroy Ganondorf and end the threat on Hyrule. However, as time passed, Link and Zelda continued hearing horror stories of the destruction Ganondorf was wreaking on the people of Hyrule. They recognized time was of the essence and they needed to split up.
It was one of the most difficult things for Link to do. And he did not do it all that willingly. But after much debate and loud arguments, Zelda's cry for the people outweighed Link's need to be with her at all times to keep her safe.
So they determined they would split up after finding the third key to seek out the remaining four. After they found one each, they reunited for a day before splitting again. Link had been so relieved that she was not harmed. It made separating the second time easier.
He did believe that she was very capable. She had shown she could fight, and was often so clever she didn't have to. And he discovered, as he found the sixth key, that he fought much better without her near because his only fear and distraction of her getting hurt was gone. So without her near, he was able to focus at a higher level. And it was a good thing, too, because he fought an enormous monster in the Zoran Domain that would have surely killed him if he had been worrying about her.
When he narrowly escaped death, and retrieved the key, he had a renewed and amplified fear for Zelda's safety that caused him to immediately hop on Epona and rush to Zelda's location. He could not wait a couple of days to meet at their determined meeting place. He needed to see her now, and make sure she was safe.
He caught up to her as she was searching out the seventh key. She was deep under Hyrule Field in a series of caves and tunnels they had learned about in Kokiro Forest. Link turned down a tunnel and found her, standing near a large doorway.
He shouted her name and ran to her. She turned and smiled, and they embraced in a tight hug. Link was reminded as her warm body pressed against his that this was really the first hug they had shared. Link was well aware of his attraction to her, and had wanted to hold her often. But he was careful to remember that she was a princess. Even though they were very close friends, he didn't want their relationship to get strange simply to satisfy some of his desires. Link held her tight and didn't want it to end. It felt so right to hold her in his arms.
But he realized she would be curious of his behavior if he simply held her for a hour, so he had to let her go.
"Link, why are you here? Did something happen?" Zelda asked worriedly.
Link breathed deeply. "Yes. Something did happen. I remembered just how dangerous this can be. I don't know what I was thinking letting you go off on your own. Twice!"
"Link," Zelda said, reassuringly. "I'm fine. I haven't had to fight anything!"
"Yes, but by the looks of that door, something dangerous will be waiting on the other side, guarding the last key."
Zelda laughed. "You can't possibly tell from the door…"
Link interrupted, "No, the doors with the keys and monsters have a distinctive look to them. Have you not noticed? It's very convenient…"
"Well, be that as it may, I'm just fine. And I can get the last key. You can come if you'd like."
Link grasped Zelda's shoulders and looked her right in the eyes. "Zelda…I can't let you go in there. I…care too much about you." He looked down at his feet before continuing. "If we go in together…I won't be able to fight well. I'll be thinking about your safety too much."
Zelda looked at Link for a good minute before speaking, which she did slowly. "But Link…you're exhausted. And you look a little hurt."
Link shook his head. "I'm fine. Look…I'm asking you to do this for my safety. I need you to stay out here until I come back out."
Again, Zelda took her time before responding. "You have ten minutes, and I'm coming in."
Link smiled. "Great." He brought her in for another hug before striding purposefully towards the door and opening it.
He walked through and found it seal shut behind him, predictably. All the better, so she wouldn't be able to enter.
Link surveyed the large area in front of him. He was surprised to find a man standing in front of him. He was not Hyrulian, but of some other land. As the man and Link walked slowly towards each other, Link saw his eyes. Dead. Reminiscent of Ganondorf's eyes, but this man had pale white skin, not green.
"Good evening, Link," the man spoke. This troubled Link. Everything Link had fought so far had been a 'creature that could not speak, and was likely a conjured beast from evil magic. But this was an intelligent being that knew his name.
"My name is Horigim," the figure continued. "And I am here to kill you. And the princess will be Ganondorf's at last."
Link tightened his grip on his sword and shield and charged Horigim. Their blades met in a fury, Link's skill with the blade offsetting Gorihim's advantage in strength. Link recognized quickly that not only was he already quite tired from his previous fight, but he would not be able to take a direct hit to his shield without being thrown onto his back, so he was careful to angle his shield with each blow to send the majority of Horigim's power away from himself.
After minutes of exhausting battle, Horigim attacked Link with all of his might with an overhead swing of his blade. Link jumped quickly to the side, and narrowly avoided the strike. Horigim's momentum carried him forward, leaving him momentarily defenseless. Link seized the moment and swung his blade high and hard. His sword swung with such force that it went right through the arm of Horigim. Horigim howled as blood squirted over Link's body and face.
The man from the Dark Land dropped to his knees, whimpering in pain, and trying to cover his shoulder to stop the great bleeding.
He entered into some sort of shock right in front of Link. He stopped screaming, and turned to look at Link, dead eyes matching pitiful ones. "You may have beat me, Link. But you fell right into our trap."
Link's eyes widened and he glanced back at the door, which unlocked.
Horigim began laughing before coughing replaced his laughter. "Go on…just try to save her."
Link rushed to the door, swung it open with sword drawn, and his fears were realized. Ganondorf stood on the other side, just ten feet ahead of him, with Zelda squirming in his arms, his sword at her neck.
"You have caused me great distress, Link," Ganondorf sneered at him. "Did you ever think it strange that I would scatter my portal back home across Hyrule? No, I have a different means into the Dark Land. However, I had to think of a way to get you and Zelda to rear your ugly heads. So I made a portal and broke it into seven pieces to wear you out and capture you. But now it is time you pay for hiding from me and 'protecting' your sweet princess." He threw her violently to the side, where she hit the wall and slumped to the ground.
Link took this moment to charge at Ganondorf. But Ganondorf merely raised his hand and shot a familiar purple ball of energy at Link. He tried to hit it away with his sword. But the spell merely struck the sword, sending it flying backwards into Link's side, and the spell continued on into Link's shoulder, sending him flying sideways into the wall.
Pain and cloudiness filled Link's consciousness as he fought to stay in the present. His head bobbed to the side as he watched Horigim emerge from the door to his left. Their eyes met, and Horigim took a step towards him, likely to stick his sword through Link's chest.
"Come, Horigim. No one can survive that blast, and you won't survive your injury if we don't get back as soon as possible."
Horigim stopped, took one last disgusted look at Link, and turned to follow his master, who was picking up Zelda's lifeless form and heading for the exit. Link fought to stay conscious, but drifted off despite his best efforts.
"Horigim," Link responded, "it is not what I want that is the question. Why have you returned to the Land of Light?"
Horigim's lip quivered in anger. "How dare you ask me that! After you disabled me and killed my king! Revenge, you fiend! And I will have my revenge as I rip your army to shreds and march right on through to destroy the princess that brought such grief to our land!"
It was Link's turn to be angry. "Revenge? On a people who you attacked? If anything we should be the ones attacking you in revenge. You kill our king, abduct our princess and have the gall to march with an army onto our lands? You think your men will fight with the vigor that ours will possess?"
"Ha!" Horigim laughed at Link. "Your army? The same men who let one man waltz through your city and castle without difficulty?"
"Very well," Link said, achieving his goal. "Then we shall meet on neutral ground, for our armies to meet head-on."
"Gladly," Horigim responded. "It will be a bloody day for Hyrule. But I would have it no other way."
"There is a great field one day's march north. In three days time our armies will meet there and discover who has the right to fight for vengeance!"
Horigim nodded, spun about, and raced back to his camp.
When he was out of earshot, Link turned to Errog. "Hurry to Ordon, and let them know they can stand down but be ready to flee should Horigim change his mind. Signal Castletown with the fire relay should Horigim do anything that shows intent to go somewhere other than Hyrule Field for battle."
"Very well."
"I ride to Castletown. I have an army to prepare!"
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