Happy new year to all my lovely readers! I hope you enjoy this latest chapter. If I could do a poll, which I can't at the mo, I would ask who you'd prefer to have as a baddie - Ganondork or Aginhim? You could review to let me know!!! Which reminds me, PLEASE REVIEW!!! Or I might stop writing this...


Chapter Six

Always cold, always dark, always dismal - that was the way King Ganondorf liked his throne room. The two torches which served as the room's sole illumination stood one on either side of his throne. Crimson and black velvet drapes, covered in cobwebs and grime, hung from the ceiling, their once vibrant colours dimming with an age of neglect. The floor was heavily carpeted, so that no sound could disturb the silence of this most sombre chamber.

In the dim torchlight, Ganondorf's eyes glittered maliciously. He appeared to be deep in thought. A smile passed over his thin lips, making him appear even more malevolent.

Suddenly he clicked his fingers. The tiny sound was as loud as a trumpet call in the eerie stillness of his world. A female soldier, clothed in traditional Gerudo garb appeared before him and bowed low, awaiting her master's orders. Hidden in the shadows of the room, all Ganondorf's elite guards stood to attention. They were also waiting to hear his bidding.

To his Captain kneeling before him, the King spoke. His voice was as cold and dark as the throne room from which he reigned. "Fetch me the girl."

Saluting smartly, the Captain fled to do her master's bidding. As soon as the door had clicked into place softly behind her, Ganonforf turned to his other guards. "Make yourselves scarce. She must not know you are here." He commanded. He heard the rustling of cloth and faint footfall as his black-clothed army slipped into the forbidding darkness of the room.


In her room, Zelda sat at the barred up window dreaming of escape. She looked through a tiny hole in the wooden bars onto the vast world below her. The white marble of the castle walls shone blue in the light of the full moon. Below her, courtyards and overgrown flower gardens graced the vast castle grounds. Beyond that lay the spralling hub of Castle Town, although at night it was rather quiet. And beyond the massive city gates lay Hyrule field and freedom.

No other light shone in the castle windows that night. This dark place was her prison. It had once been beautiful but was now decaying with neglect. Zelda sighed, for she hated to see beautiful things spoiled.

She recalled that once the castle had belonged to a great king. During his reign, the castle had been filled with light and happiness. But that had been long before she was even born. In her life there had only ever been King Ganondorf in charge of Hyrule and it was King Ganondorf that had imprisoned her. The assassin that had killed her maid and trussed her up in such an undignified manner made sure she was aware of who her real captor was. But she knew not why she had been singled out. She sighed miserably as she heard the sound of the guard's footsteps approaching.

She knew that she would have to face her daily ritual of greeting Ganondorf, her captor. There was nothing else she could do to escape. He was a powerful king and she an orphaned girl. In her castle prison she was friendless and helpless. She sobbed a little was the silent captain led her off to the throne room. The shackles that bound her wrists and ankles together made her stumble but she held her head high. She was determined that the vile King would never take away her dignity.


Ganondorf pulled himself up straight in his chair as her approach was heralded by the dull footfall of the captain and the slave. His habitual glower turned into a smirk at the thought of his beautiful prisoner. He rubbed his strong hands together and cracked his knuckles for good measure and watched as the barely-visible doors half opened to admit the soldier and the maiden.

She was dragged forward and roughly pushed to her knees before his throne. He devoured her delicate features for a long moment as she knelt docilely at his feet and smirked again. He snapped his fingers and on cue a ball of warm, heavily scented water was brought to her side by a silent Gerudo warrior, another brought forward a thick, soft towel. A final soldier brought forward a pumice stone and bar of soap studded with herbs.

Zelda gazed at these in some confusion but did not dare look up at the man before her to enquire as to what the significance of these items might be. She soon had her answer as Ganondorf licked his lips and then ordered, "Wash my feet, girl."

Zelda visibly shuddered but did as she was told. Not for the first time she wished there was some way she could escape him. She removed his soiled boots from his odorous feet and flinched again. This was a job for the lowest serving wench, not the daughter of a lord. He seemed determined to humiliate her and every day she had been imprisoned, she had been forced to do more and more loathsome things. Every day she had been degraded a little more. But she did not voice a complaint. There was nothing she could do but pray to the gods for release from this personal hell she faced daily.

With these thoughts in mind she went about her unpleasant task. Visibly repulsed, she slowly and carefully cleansed and massaged his feet. She combated the nauseous sensation in her stomach by imagining herself to be a million miles away - preferably on a sandy beach, with the sun shining brightly overhead and the cool sea breeze tickling her face. Wherever she was, it was far, far away from the reach of her tormentor


In her reality however, things were beginning to worsen. As she began dabbing at his feet with the soft towel he suddenly announced, "Your grandfather is dead."

Shock and grief his Zelda squarely, sending her already wrought emotions flying. Her Grandfather, the last powerful Hylian Judge had raised her as his daughter when her own parents had died. He had been her last and only protection in the world, and with his demise, she knew that she was surely under Ganondorf's complete control. He knew it too. Zelda stopped her degrading work and sobbed grief and bitter hopelessness.

Ganondorf grinned at her tears. With her Grandfather finally disposed of, all barriers to Zelda were down. She was defenceless and nobody would come looking for her because nobody knew she was missing. Daphnes had been undone by his own attempts at duplicity. Capturing Zelda had been an easy task for Ganondorf. His spies had watched her constantly and had followed her. Daphnes had been foolish to think that she would not be a target, or that she could travel through the country incognito.

Ganondorf chuckled to himself as he remembered the old fool had then employed his own right hand woman, Tassia, to find his precious Zelda. Little did he know that she had her own agenda to accomplish. Daphnes's rupees had only lined Ganondorf's pockets and his body was now buried under a pile of stones in the desert. His throat slit neatly and his body robbed of all valuables. The death of the venerable Judge Daphnes would not be directly pinpointed on the King himself or on his beautiful assassin.

He looked back down at Zelda and kicked her maliciously. "I did not grant you respite. Wash my feet, wench."

In her despair, Zelda did not hear the words but she registered the kick. Blankly she gazed up at him, both despising him and fearing him.

"Oh, have you gone deaf, or are you just plain disobedient. Do you dare defy me, girl?

She did not understand his words. Her misery had swallowed her up. She was in a black pit of anguish. Tears gorged down her pale cheeks in a flood from her eyes. She was alone and frightened.

Ganondorf realised she was not listening to him and a vile hatred built up in his heart. Without warning he struck the girl across the face with a force that sent her sprawling to the floor. The strength of the blow forced her cruelly back into the real world.

The King's face lit up as he peered down at her suffering. He enjoyed the feeling over power he had over her. She gazed up at him, her tears arrested with sudden shock and pain. Hatred burned in her eyes. Ganondorf sneered at her and beckoned his captain to his side.

"Take her to the dungeons. There she may learn a little respect for her betters. Give her no food or water. Tell the dungeon keeper not to spare the whip. Let us see if her impudence can survive a week without sustenance."

The emotionless Captain saluted smartly and advanced on the girl. Her struggles made no impact as she struggled to fight off the strong soldier's grip.

Ganondorf stood up. He was a tall, powerfully built man. With the aid of his gloriously decorated sceptre, he strolled over to where she was held. His large, gnarled hand reached for her face. She cringed as his rough fingers caressed her skin.

"Ah, my little beauty." He said as he surveyed her diminutive form with lecherous intent. "You have both spirit and timidity within your soul. It is a curious blend. You may recoil from me all you want, for there is no one to help you now. Your grandfather is gone and nobody will remember your name. You might as well succumb to my wishes, why, I might even marry you!"

"Hah. Such a treat for me!" She retorted.

His eyes flashed with amusement. Both his cold hands stroked her soft cheek and he smiled even more. "You will be my wife, Zelda. And I will put you to good use. You have my word on that." He laughed cruelly at her obvious distress.

"What is the matter, my sweet?" He continued in mock sympathy. "Don't you want to be a queen?"

Zelda glared at him. He knew full well what the answer to that question would be. In vain she struggled against the Captain's hold. He sniggered again. "Come, my love. You know you should just give in. Maybe if you surrender I will tell you what it is that makes you so important to me. Perhaps I will share with you the secret I know about you and your family line. It was not just for your…" He paused and leered at her figure "…beauty that I had you brought to me. Nothing can save you from your destiny. Your destiny lies with me…"

Zelda felt a furious anger rising in her blood. She had never before felt such a trembling rage before. She felt as though her blood was boiling and her body shook with aggression. Ganondorf's hand moved towards her mouth. Zelda seized her chance and, as his hand touched her lips, she snapped and bit down onto his fingers with all the force she could muster.

The King shrieked in agony. The guard holding Zelda instantly ran to his aid, inadvertently releasing her grip in the process.

She wrenched herself free and, pausing only to spit the foul taste of Ganondorf from her mouth, Zelda fled as fast as she could to the door.

"STOP HER, IMBICILES." Screamed the King as she ran for her life.

She crashed into the door and it flung open. Stumbling in her shackles, Zelda tried to ignore the sound of a hundred feet as they pounded after her. Her overwrought emotions seemed to be giving her the strength to run. Her long hair billowed behind her like a streamer as she galloped down the long hall. The noise of pursuit always snapping at her heels. Somehow she managed to stay ahead of them.

She skidded around a corner and the weight of her shackles wrists almost toppled her over again. She shook her hands as she ran and suddenly, there was a flash of blue light and the chains slipped from her body to the floor with a clang. Zelda gasped in amazement and thanked the gods for that small release.

"What the…?" She heard the Captain exclaim as she stumbled over the fetters. Zelda ran with renewed energy. The only illumination in the corridor was the torchlight from behind her and the moonlight that streamed in through the windows. She saw a shallow flight of stairs in front of her. Without pausing for thought, she closed her eyes and jumped.

A spasm of pain jolted her ankles as she landed. She yelped but continued running. This was her only change for escape. She had to keep going. She could not stop. She jumped down the next flight too. All the while, her pursuers were hot on her trail.

As she skimmed another corner she felt her energy finally diminishing. Her spurt of adrenaline had almost faded. She had to keep going. She pushed herself on, her breath coming in sobs. Her chest hurt and she could taste blood on her lips. Both her ankles throbbed when they touched the ground. She had to keep going.

The sound of her pursuers was hot on her heels. She could hear their swords clanging together, their feet were like thunder, even on the thick carpet. Their shouts wild and furious. She was slowing.

The corridor was long and dark. Zelda closed her eyes and forced her tired body to keep moving. Keep running. Go into the darkness and not look back. She began to realise she had no idea where she was going. She did not know the castle layout at all. A new, colder kind of panic gripped her. She couldn't escape. She didn't know how to.

She had made a little headway against the guards but she knew it was all to no avail. She had pushed her body to its limits but it was pointless. She would still be Ganondorf's prisoner. She had lost all hope and she was mad to have even taken the chance to run. He would punish her severely for her impudence.

She sprinted on, her body and spirit tiring. Her eyes searching out for a place to hide. Even in the grips of despair, she still wanted to avoid her fate if she could.

The sound of pursuit grew louder. She could feel the heat of their frustration scorching her back. She could see the flicker of their torches on the walls at her side. She rounded a final corner and yelped in surprise.

Her wrist was grabbed and she was yanked to the right. Before she could scream a hand smothered her face and, as if anticipating her struggles, she was pinned against a wall by a tall body. She felt the folds of his cloak falling gently over her body and smelt the musky scent of him. Gasping for breath she desperately struggled against him until she heard the frantic whisper coming from high above her "Be still will you? I'm trying to help you."

If this did not shock her enough, she felt something brushing against her bare legs that felt suspiciously like damp fur. Suddenly the fur was gone. The fabric around her moved, and then came the noise of an hostile growl immediately followed by terrified screams.

"EEK - WOLF!"

Zelda found she could do one better than keeping still. She fainted.