Note: This chapter contains some mature content and graphic description.


"He's very disturbed, miss," one of the maids murmured, standing outside of Link's door. "Mind you, I think we all are. Best not to intrude."

"I won't be long," Zelda replied quietly, trying not to dwell on Aleron's brutal arrest. The maid curtsied and stepped aside, allowing Zelda access to Link's room. She rested her hand on the door knob, hesitating for a brief second, before opening the door and stepping inside.

A lone candle flickered in the corner of Link's room: as Zelda closed the door behind her with a soft click, the shadows inside the dark room became even more pronounced. She stood still for nearly five seconds, doing her best to discern shapes and a sense of direction in the disorienting darkness.

"Link?" she called uncertainly, stepping forward. As ludicrous as it sounded, she had never once been in his private quarters during her entire life at Hylia manor. By the feel of it, his room wasn't much larger than hers: there was a small desk in the corner, and a large canopied bed lay next to the table that held the burning candle.

"Are you here?" she asked again, and when no response came, a brief spell of anxiety overcame her as she wondered if he had somehow snuck from his room and chased after Vaati's soldiers. Then, a shadow moved near the flickering candle, and Zelda became aware that Link was lying in his bed, almost complete still save for the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

She approached carefully, sitting down by his bedside and resting a gentle hand on his arm. "How are you?"

How are you? It sounded ridiculous: his father had just been arrested for treason, basically a death sentence. The words sounded stupid, cold to Zelda's ears, and she desperately wished she had some other way of comforting Link rather than empty talk.

"How do I feel?" Link repeated, his voice broken and bitter and slightly incredulous. "Is that really what you asked?"

"I'm sorry," she began, but Link cut her off swiftly, sitting up in his bed and glaring icily at her. She involuntarily drew back, and he laughed bitterly.

"I expect he's already in Ganondorf's dungeons by now," Link said, trying to keep his voice level and steady.

"There's nothing you could have done," Zelda replied, automatically, trying to quench the painful welling in her heart as she imagined Aleron at the mercy of Ganondorf's torturers. Aleron, her benefactor, eccentric and aloof but nonetheless a kind and good man. One thing was for certain: he didn't deserve to end his life rotting in the castle dungeons.

"I should have tried to rescue him," Link continued in a broken tone, speaking over her objection. "I could have saved him."

"Aleron told you not to come after him," Zelda said bracingly, "and if you had rescued him, what then? The two of you would be hunted throughout Hyrule like dogs!"

"I would rather die that way, than live knowing that I abandoned my own father," Link replied ruefully.

"Listen to me, Link," she whispered, gripping his arm urgently. "Aleron… he gave himself up to protect you. He wanted you to live, even if it meant his own death. Please, please don't do anything rash."

"You've been thinking about this for a bit," he laughed, humorlessly. "Do you expect me to just lie down and not do anything about it?"

"Of course not, Link…"

"Do you expect me to just grovel at Ganondorf's feet and surrender, like the rest of Hyrule has done for the last twenty years?"

"Link…"

"Don't tell me not to act rashly!" Link nearly yelled, his grief-stricken face only inches from hers. "My father is as good as dead! And I can do absolutely nothing to save him!"

"Stop it!" Zelda cried, holding Link tightly as he quivered in anguish. "This isn't your fault, Link!"

"You can't understand this," Link replied, voice shaking. "He – he was my father!"

"He was the closest thing I had to a father," Zelda shot back, feeling tears welling up in her own eyes. "So don't you dare think that I'm so heartless – so cold – that I wouldn't even care about Aleron…"

She held Link tightly as a pair of fresh tears slid down her cheeks, splashing wetly against his face. He embraced her back, holding onto her as if afraid that letting go would mean death.

"I wasn't calling you heartless," Link said, his voice raspy and painful. "I just – I…"

"I know it's cruel," Zelda whispered back, wiping her tears away with her hand. "I'm sorry, Link. I'm so sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am," Link murmured back, voice cracking as he released her and buried his face in his hands. His body shook, with all the rage and anguish that was pent up inside his tortured body. All Zelda could do for comfort was to hold him tightly, her heart breaking for every tear Link shed, and for every minute that Aleron was undoubtedly spending in Ganondorf's dungeons.


A week passed, and no hint of Aleron's fate reached the ears of the manor. Although Link still preserved hope for his father, a burning flame in his passionate blue eyes, the other inhabitants of the manor had sadly resigned Aleron to his unfortunate fate. Link was the new master of the Hylia estate now – as made clear by one of Ganondorf's messengers about a week after Aleron's arrest.

"Master Link!" A harried maid burst into the armory as he was outfitting himself with a longbow and some arrows for afternoon training. Ever since his father's arrest, vague but vengeful plans had been forming inside Link's head… ideas that were probably best kept silent, if everything Zelda had told him about the Gerudo were true. Link mechanically put his longbow down, waiting calmly for the maid to continue.

"There is a man here to see you," the maid said breathlessly, her face betraying her apprehension. "He's at the front entrance – Miss Zelda was arguing with him – he wishes to speak with you, sir."

"Zelda's arguing with him?" Link asked, immediately alarmed. The maid nodded, looking frightened.

"She's trying to tell the man you're not here – he's one of Ganondorf's agents, you see?"

"Where? The front entrance?" Link asked quickly, un slinging his quiver of arrows and already striding out from the armory. The maid nodded, looking at him fearfully.

"Thank you. And don't worry; if they were here to arrest me, they wouldn't have bothered with such formalities," Link muttered darkly, hoping that his theory was correct. The maid only nodded her head, obviously not completely agreeing with him.

The manor armory was on the second floor: as Link descended the spiraling staircase to the first floor, he could distantly hear angry shouts and what seemed like a heated debate.

"I'm here for Sir Link, and him only. Get out of my way before I have you arrested for impeding a Royal officer."

Link didn't recognize the first voice, although he instantly knew the owner of the angry retort that followed.

"I've told you, Sir Link is unavailable. Now leave this manor before I have you ejected," Zelda's icily calm voice replied.

Even though he couldn't see the other person, Link could imagine the sneer that had crossed his face. "Have me ejected? Miss, I'm not sure you fully understand the authority I wield. While Aleron Hylia may have tolerated your treasonous behavior, I can assure you that our Lord Ganondorf would not be so kind…"

"How dare you," Zelda fumed, sounding ready to slap the man. Link quickly leapt down the last few stair steps, hastening to make his way to the front entrance before Zelda did hit the other person.

"I am here," Link said, calmly, revealing himself in the front entrance. Zelda looked up in surprise: the other belligerent laughed harshly.

"Unavailable?" he said, throwing Zelda a contemptuous look. "Your mouth is full of lies, girl – take care that you never treat a noble in such a disrespectful manner again."

"Enough," Link stated, doing his best to control the anger that flared inside his breast like a roaring tiger. He recognized this man: Vaati, the slimy noble that had arrested his father only a week ago. It took all of Link's resolve to prevent him from personally strangling Vaati with his bare hands.

Vaati swept past Zelda, holding his silk cape away from her as if afraid she might contaminate it. Zelda looked highly offended, and followed in Vaati's wake with folded arms, staring daggers at his back.

"Ah, Sir Link," the man coughed self importantly, drawing out a small scroll from his cloak. "I believe we've met before…?"

"We have," Link replied, eyes flashing dangerously. "Last week. When you arrested my father."

"Yes, well, we can't have traitors running around in our fair land, can we?" Vaati said, looking at Link with a knowing eye. "But don't worry… your disgraced father is receiving his just reward for his unfaithful behavior."

Behind Vaati, Zelda closed her eyes painfully. Rage welled up inside Link like a raging, uncontrolled inferno, and he bit his tongue so painfully that he could feel the bitter metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

Vaati was smiling pleasantly, obviously knowing of the turmoil in Link's mind. With the greatest exertion of effort it had ever cost him in his life, Link swallowed hard and prayed to the Goddesses – and his father- to forgive his next words.

"I'm glad to hear that. He deserves… nothing less."

Link's hands were shaking in barely suppressed rage. Vaati only nodded his head mockingly, smirking all the while.

"I'm glad to hear that, Sir Link. You would do well not to follow your father's example. Lord Ganondorf… could use a young noble such as yourself."

There was a brief pause, as Vaati unfurled the roll of parchment in his hands. "Since you have proven – thus far – that you are more intelligent than your fool of a father, I will now present you this."

He held out the scroll of paper, which Link immediately snatched out of his hands. The paper was an edict – an official order from Ganondorf himself. Link scanned the paper quickly, his soul darkening with each line his eyes passed over.

"This says that I am the new owner of the Hylia estate," Link said, quietly. Vaati nodded.

"Yes. Since your father has been stripped of his nobility and honor, you are now the next in line to own this manor. Of course, such a reward can always be taken away if you decide to follow in your father's footsteps."

Link finished the letter, looking in distaste at the blood red insignia of King Ganondorf that had been stamped at the bottom of the parchment. Hands still shaking, he rolled the parchment back up and handed it to Vaati.

"There now, Sir Link," Vaati whispered, maliciously. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Swallowing his pride and anger once more, Link nodded his head curtly. Vaati only smiled, that twisted, mocking grimace, and placed the parchment safely back within the folds of his silk robes.

"Well, that is all I have come for, Sir Link. Keep in the good graces of our king, and your ownership of the Hylia estate will remain solely in your hands. I bid you good day."

"Wait," Link said, as Vaati turned to leave. The other noble turned back around, impatiently. "If I have inherited my father's property… does that mean… is he…?"

Vaati only smiled, his dark eyes blazing in malicious delight. "It would be safe to assume so, yes. Spend no time grieving for your father, Sir Link: he is only an example of the filth that plagues our land, a treacherous breed that you would do well not to associate with."

Link fought down the lump in his throat, the stinging tears in his eyes and the anger that boiled in his veins. "I understand," he replied, voice hoarse and shaking just as badly as his body.

Vaati only nodded his head curtly, leering once more at Zelda before heading out of the manor. Link watched numbly as the bastard walked free and unharmed from the manor for the second time in a week. That filthy, murderous…

"Link?" Zelda asked cautiously, gently touching his hand. "Don't… don't listen to that monster. Aleron is still alive. He – he's alright…"

"Don't lie to me, Zelda," Link snarled, more angrily than he intended. "My father is as good as dead, and you know it."

Despite his obvious anger, she stood by him stoically, holding onto his arm tightly. "That's not true, Link. That's not…"

"Yes… it… IS!" Link roared, jerking his arm away from her and grabbing a nearby vase. With a mighty throw, he sent the precious item flying into the wall, where it shattered into a hundred pieces.

"And it's all my fault," he continued, voice no longer furious, but bitter and filled with disgust. He kneeled on the floor, amongst the shards of broken china. "Oh Goddesses, Zelda, what have I done? I let that… that bastard take my father away without even a struggle. And now I've let my father's murderer walk free again! Good Goddesses, why am I possessed of such weakness?"

"You're not weak," Zelda whispered compassionately, holding him tightly, kneeling on the floor next to him. "There's nothing you can do, Link. There's nothing you can do…"

"There must be something I can do," he replied brokenly, picking up a piece of broken glass and holding it in the palm of his hand. "There has to be something… anything…"

"Please don't… don't do anything rash, Link," Zelda begged, taking away the shard of glass as if afraid he would cut himself with it. "Your father wanted you to live... Aleron loved you, and he gave his life for you. Please… please don't waste his sacrifice."

He felt a tear drop on his cheek, and wasn't sure if it was his or Zelda's. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, and he took a small measure of comfort from her presence and warmth. It would be easy to forget everything… to swear fealty to Ganondorf and live like a king amongst the poverty-stricken peasantry.

It would be too easy to forget his father, write him off as a traitor to the crown, just as he had said to Vaati, and live in comfort the rest of his life.

But could he live a lie? Could he live, knowing that he had betrayed the very ideals and codes he had sworn as a knight of Hyrule? Betrayed the memory of his own innocent father?

No, Link thought coldly, a wave of resolution passing through his soul. I will fight.


Castle Town was as gloomy and dismal as ever, Zelda noted, as she finished purchasing the necessary food items for dinner that night. The afternoon sun was waning, sinking into the horizon, sending a blood red glow shooting out into the sky. She shivered: it was rare that she would be out so late for supplies, and she wanted to return to the manor before darkness.

As she wrapped up the small loaf of bread and vegetables she had bought, she became aware that a small troop of soldiers were marching into the marketplace, leading a line of blindfolded and bloodied men into the center of the town square, where a large wooden platform had been erected. The citizens of Castle Town looked upon the procession with silent resignation: there was nothing to do for those poor souls but to pray for their safe deliverance unto the Goddesses.

Zelda swallowed in fear as she watched the soldiers quietly and efficiently lead their herd of cattle up onto the platform, shoving and beating any who stumbled or were too slow. A public execution, she realized. A show of Ganondorf's power, to strike fear into the hearts of the people.

She watched in silent horror as each prisoner was secured, while other soldiers carried wooden blocks up onto the platform. The entire atmosphere was deathly quiet, as if everyone had been frozen into place by magic. The urge to run manifested itself in Zelda's mind, but her legs couldn't quite respond: she became vaguely aware that her entire body was shaking. She had seen an execution once before, and the rivers of blood still haunted her dreams. The stench of death…

"Hear, ye, citizens of our fair Hyrule!" bellowed an armed soldier, standing atop a wooden platform in the middle of the town square. "And witness justice be exacted upon these traitors to our realm!"

Instinctively, the cowed and broken peasantry of Castle Town congregated around the macabre display, as if afraid that they would be severely punished for disobeying the soldier's command. Zelda stayed where she was, clenching her hands so tightly that her nails were painfully digging into her skin.

Atop the wooden platform, the thirty men were already secured and attended by one of Ganondorf's guards. Each man was dressed in rags of clothing that was once fine silk and noble attire. Their clothes were ripped and stained with blood, and each man wore a black blindfold over his head, with their hands tied behind their back. Nearly all of them were shivering, but whether it was from weakness or fear, Zelda couldn't tell.

Keeping vigilant watch over the group of prisoners was a small platoon of Ganondorf's troops, swords and spears held at the ready. Some of them stood by stoically, betraying no sign of emotion in their faces: others were pale and sick, shaking almost as badly as the men they watched over. The captain of the regiment, stood at the head of the detachment, a long sheet of parchment held in his hands. Behind the captain, a burly and coarse man dressed in the black attire of an executioner rested his sharpened axe on his shoulder, regarding the prisoners with disdain.

"These men here were once nobles, members of the aristocracy," the captain declared, his voice carrying loudly over the still town square. "They thought that their high standing made them exempt from loyalty to our king."

"I am loyal to King Ganondorf!" one of the prisoners shrieked in a ragged voice, his tone edging on hysteria. "Please, release me!" One of the guards hit him with the pommel of a sword, causing him to slump to the ground and convulse in whimpers.

The captain continued, as if nothing had disturbed his speech. "These men, these nobles, have betrayed their oaths of loyalty to King Ganondorf. As such, they will be treated appropriately as the traitors they are."

Zelda watched with bated breath, her stomach writing in fear and sickness, as the captain calmly nodded to a pair of his soldiers. They brought forth the first man, a quivering mass of bloodied flesh that had been beaten so badly that he was barely recognizable as a Hylian.

"Let this be a lesson," the captain said emotionlessly, nodding to the executioner, who raised his axe high into the air. "Any who defy our king will meet the same end."

The heavy axe blade fell, cutting through bone and sinew with equal ease, embedding itself in the wooden floor beneath the man's neck. The executioner lifted his axe up: its steel blade was drenched red with blood.

The captain signaled the next prisoner forward, reading from the roll of parchment. "Duke Dotour: arrested for treasonous conspiracy against our king."

The axe fell again, the same sickening crunch, the same spray of blood. The head of Duke Dotour rolled on the floor of the bloodied wooden platform, lifeless.

Zelda turned from the horrendous sight, bile rising in her mouth. As she choked down the vomit, the stench of blood reached her nose, and she gagged on its reek. She distantly heard the captain call forth another noble for execution: she kept her eyes shut, wincing as she heard the thud of the axe on the wooden platform.

Twenty-six more times, the captain called the names of the disgraced nobles to be condemned to death. Zelda could not bear to watch, but she forced herself to stay, fearing and dreading the moment when Aleron's name would be called. More of Ganondorf's soldiers had arrived in the marketplace, blocking off the exits, ensuring that the citizens of Castle Town would be forced to stay and watch the gruesome executions.

The second-to-last noble was called up, a name Zelda did not recognize, but even with her eyes closed, she could see his severed head rolling around on the platform in a pool of crimson blood. Her body was trembling violently now, her entire soul filled with dread as the captain consulted the last name on the parchment.

It would be Aleron...

"Sir Darmani, formerly of the Royal Guard, sentenced for an attempt on King Ganondorf's life," the captain called, rolling up his parchment and watching as the last prisoner was brought forward. With the same cold, unfeeling efficiency, the executioner lifted his axe, its steel point glistening with blood.

"There will be a day when Ganondorf is brought down," the condemned Darmani growled, kneeling before the executioner, "and when that day comes, I will be laughing in the Sacred Realm."

The axe fell one last time, and Darmani's body crumpled to the blood-drenched floor. For a second, there was absolute silence, as the impact of the last execution still settled itself in amongst the horrified inhabitants of Castle Town, many of whom were doubled over sick. Even several of Ganondorf's guards hadn't been able to fight down their revulsion at the gruesome affair.

Zelda creaked open her eyes, gagging at the palpable flow of blood that washed down from the wooden platform and onto the streets. As she gazed at the mangled bodies, all self-control left her: she doubled over and retched, the spray of bile reminding her horribly of the spray of blood.

The executions over, the captain looked over the assembled citizenry in grim satisfaction. "This is the fate of all who oppose our king. Long live Ganondorf."

The crowd mumbled the appropriate response and oaths of fealty to the king, terrified that they would meet the same fate as the thirty corpses that now littered the marketplace square. The soldiers atop the wooden platform shifted uneasily: their boots had been washed crimson from the bloodletting.

"Detachment! Attention!" the captain barked, turning back to the troop. Just as coldly and silently as they had entered, the soldiers left, tramping down the stairs of the wooden platform in ranks of three, marching away from the river of blood. The crowds of peasants parted for them fearfully, and none dared look the soldiers in the eye. Some of the guards looked haughty and defiant; many looked repulsed and sickened. They left the town square, leaving the bodies in their wake as a continued reminder of the futility of resisting their king.

Without waiting a second longer, Zelda bolted from the marketplace, leaving her supplies and food behind in the pools of vomit and blood that now sloshed in the town square. She needed to get away from the stench of death… the reek of blood…

The urge to vomit came up once more, but she had retched all of her insides out during the executions, so that no bile came up when her stomach convulsed painfully. She darted into the back alleys of Castle Town, desperate to take the shortest way back to Hylia manor, not wanting to be amongst the bloody hell of Castle Town any longer.

The back alleys smelled like vomit and excrement, but the reek of blood no longer assaulted her. Zelda stopped in her tracks, her body shaking violently. As she took in deep breaths of relatively clean air, she became aware that her cheeks were caked with grime, blood, and tears. Sobbing, she wiped the back of her hand across her cheek: a sickening mixture of reddish-brown now stained the back of her hand.

"Oh Goddesses," she prayed, falling to her knees weakly. "Oh Nayru…"

"No use praying to Nayru, girl," came a rough voice from behind, and Zelda shrieked as a strong grip lifted her up from behind, pinning her to the wall. She could smell the unwholesome stench of sweat and pipe-smoke from her unseen assailant, and she cried out as her hands were twisted painfully behind her back.

"Please, let me go," she whimpered, her cheek scraping roughly against the stone wall. The person behind her – a man – laughed raucously, his pungent breath wafting into her nose as he pushed his face next to hers.

"You're scared, girl," he leered, his dirty and mocking face mere inches from hers. "I can tell by your clothes that you aren't a commoner – but why is a high class lady wandering around in the slums?"

"I just want to go home," she cried, struggling even harder, but he kept her firmly in his grip. He yanked her hair back, causing her to gasp painfully as tears welled up in her eyes.

"You never should have left home," the man growled, a dangerous glint in his eyes. "Then this never would have happened to you."

"Oh Goddesses, let me go!" she begged. Her entreaty only seemed to enrage the man further: he shoved her hard against the wall, his vice-like grip now painful.

"I told you, it's no use praying to the Goddesses," he threatened. "What are they going to do for you now? Tell me!"

"I don't know!" Zelda sobbed, struggling futilely to free herself. The man laughed harshly, his rough voice grating on her like the stone that was cutting her cheek.

"They aren't going to save you," the man promised, his free hand trying to tear the fabric of her dress. "No one will."

Zelda kicked at him in desperation, and to her surprise, he fell back with a coarse shout, releasing her in an instant. His body crashed heavily into the muck of the back alleys, where after a moment of violent convulsing, he remained still, his eyes rolling up into their sockets.

Zelda approached him cautiously, still gasping deeply for breath, clutching her raw and bloody cheek. The man was dressed in the armor of one of Ganondorf's guards: his hand was resting upon the hilt of his sword, but he lay completely still. The man was dead, but not from her kick.

She knelt down next to the dead man, rolling him over onto his back, and there, embedded squarely between his shoulder blades, was a long-feathered arrow. The projectile was buried deeply into the man's body: it had obviously been fired with a great amount of force.

As she gripped the shaft of the arrow tightly, a brief shadow fell over her. Zelda glanced up just in time to see the silhouette of a man leaping over the rooftops, his identity impossible to distinguish in the fading light.