Somehow the grand white marble walls seemed to have a life of their own. It seemed as if they were doing whatever they could to make the rooms seem smaller, resulting in a claustrophobic feeling that made Zelda feel rather uneasy. So they, the princess and her white haired guardian, had decided to take a walk through the ever green gardens of Hyrule castle.
Normally, the lush green gardens and its endless supply of beautiful flowers could easily take away ones worries, but now they seemed to do little to relieve Zelda's uneasiness. There was something in the air, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, a feeling, a thread. Something was going to happen, something bad.
Just as they turned to leave, an unknown force collided with Zelda's back, nearly knocking the delicate princess of her footing.
"M-m-m-my lady"
After turning around as fast as she could while wearing the ceremonial robes her father made her wear, Zelda saw something that made her blood go cold. In front of her, on his knees doubled over in pain, was a young knight of about Link's age and build. She vaguely remembered being present when this particular knight was knighted; it had only been a month or two.
She vaguely remembered comparing the knight's looks to Link's (although good looking, the former couldn't even compare if the second would show up in the contest after rolling through mud, blood and whatever not).
A blush crept up her face, it was not a time for improper thoughts.
The knight was breathing hard, as if he had run away to save his life, which he probably had, judging from the look of his injuries. If they weren't treated, they might end up rendering his run useless.
"Mortal wounds show lack of skin" Impa muttered, recalling her own not too long ago.
So Zelda, being the kind hearted princess she was, or wanted to be, she kneeled down next to the nameless knight, to see whether or not she could still save this man from his imminent death.
"T-t-t-temple of time….under…attack….everyone…dead…"
The boy then curled, well tried to but his thick armour wouldn't let him, into a tight ball, making it impossible for Zelda to heal him, but if he thought that he would get away with dying that easy, then he sure was wrong.
With the help of a magic spell, she had him flat on his back in mere seconds, binding him with magic so ancient he swore he felt the goddesses sing to him. It stopped him from struggling bodily, but that didn't mean that his resolve was broken.
Just as Zelda was about to heal the knight, she caught sight of his eyes, and the look of them shocked her.
Dead, there wasn't another word to describe them. Dark empty poles of death were staring at her.
"W-w-without them, my life m-m-means nothing…"
So she pulled him close to her chest and held him there for some minutes, perhaps even hours, until she felt his tortured body relax.
The goddesses had freed his battered mind from its prison.
Sometimes, she knew, the best thing that could happen was death, and a tiny part of her mind wondered if it wasn't better if Link too had died….
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
After ordering a random servant, whose face Zelda couldn't recall at the end of the day, to care for the fallen soldier, they quickly set out for the temple of time.
Castle town's market was deserted. Doors were locked, windows closed, people safely hidden under their covers.
A feeling which Zelda hadn't felt for over seven years tugged at the edge of her mind, and it slowly sunk its ice claws in her heart.
Suddenly she wasn't so sure if going to the temple was such a good idea…
Each step she took seemed heavier then the one she took before. A large portion of her mind screamed at her to get the hell out of there, to find Link and hide behind him again, but it was her heart and her shame that stopped her from doing that. She would prove him that she too could be brave.
One glance at the temple of time immediately told her something was off. Instead of the hope the building usually radiated, it now gave of this evil presence, tainting the building's once pure purpose. Hiking up her skirts, Zelda continued to run up the steps, and after catching her breath, the princess and her Sheikah guardian entered the recently desecrated temple.
Once inside, the walls seemed to close in on her, the sight before her eyes was just too horrible to witness. Right beside the holy dais, on which the spiritual stones once had resided, was a pile of human body parts, angry ripped from their bodies. To the left of the days was a pile, equally as big, and the princess quickly indentified the bodies.
Whatever it was didn't have mercy with the unarmed priests of the temple.
A slight movement then caught her eyes, directing her to the dais. Sitting on it was the splitting image of Link, but Zelda could tell that there was something wrong. Instead of cerulean blue, this Link's eyes were ruby red, and his hair was raven black instead of its normal golden hue. But the worst part was the aura this person was emitting.
She had felt that aura with only one other person, though this one was less strong, and that was when she first laid her eyes on Gannondorf. Pure evil emitted from the both of them.
"A…Look what we have here? If it isn't the damsel in distress that usually cowers behind the hero of time."
The creature (Zelda refused to call him a human) then glanced around, as if trying to look past Zelda and Impa.
"He's not here if that's what you're looking for"
The creature then jumped from the daisy, easily regained its footing and casually strode over till he was about three feet away from Zelda.
"Oh well, might as well make this fun then….This way, I can have my way with you."
Before either of them (Zelda and Impa) had the time to react, the creature dashed ahead, pulling his sword out, ready to end the life of the princess of destiny.
Just as his sword was about to hit the princess, the dark being felt a light breeze pass him by, but he was none the less surprised when his sword hit nothing but air. He barely had the time to regain his footing when the princess kicked him in his shin, sending a wave of magic running through his body.
Staggering backwards as fast as he could, the dark being kept a short distance between him and his prey.
Much to his anger, the princess just got up again, ever so slowly, and then proceeded to dust of imaginary dust off her dress.
"Is that all you've got?"
The creature snarled at that.
"Then it'll be an easy victory"