Hey guys, DouglassWolf here, back with an update of the fifth installment of Ordonian Horsemen. I had to adjust a few minor spelling and grammar errors. To those who have reviewed, thank you so much. If I can keep you guys happy with these stories, that makes me happy. I hope I can continue to please.
Three days passed, and the princesses of Hyrule continued deeper into the forest. Zelda slowly grew more and more weak as the hard traveling took its toll on her, and Malon grew more and more concerned about her. Finally they stopped in a small clearing, and set up camp. While they were eating Zelda spoke for the first time in days.
"Mal, do you think we'll ever see father again?" Malon looked at her, mildly surprised.
"Of course we will. We can't let ourselves believe differently." Zelda stared into the coals of their small fire.
"It's just that the way he was speaking seemed as if he was saying goodbye for the last time." Malon fell silent for a moment, watching the coals as they burned.
"Let's not think about it for now. We need to get some sleep." Zelda nodded in agreement and lay back on her bedroll. Within moment she was fast asleep. Malon watched her sister sleep for a minute before laying back and gazing up at the small circle of stars that she could see through the canopy of leaves and branches.
"Please be safe father. We still need you." she whispered as her eyes closed and she drifted into a fitful slumber.
/
Braden ducked as an arrow flashed past his head. Next to him, the old king crouched behind the ramparts.
"Captain, focus more fire on the archers!" he shouted. The captain looked over the wall for a moment.
"We can't sir! If we let up even a little, the soldiers below will swarm up their ladders and overrun us!" Braden swore, drawing a glance from his father.
"If we can't silence those archers then we're done for." the king placed a hand on his sons shoulder.
"If it be the goddesses will that we die here then so be it. But we will not die alone." Braden nodded, then turned as he caught sight of a messenger boy running between groups of men, relaying orders.
"Boy! Come over here!" he called. The boy looked at his prince and his king before dashing towards them, stopping only to relay his orders to another messenger. As the boy ran up to them he ducked down behind the wall.
"What is it your majesty?" Braden placed a hand on the boys shoulder.
"Can you get to the Gerudo in the square?" the boy nodded swiftly. "Good, then get to Nabooru, and tell her that we need some fire on those archers." the boy nodded again before pushing off the wall and racing for the stairs. The two royals watched as the boy disappeared down the stairs to the ground. Both of them praying that he would make it. The king turned and glanced over the wall.
"I hope he's quick." he said as an arrow flashed past and clattered off of the stone behind them.
/
A dark form moved through the trees, it's bulky form nearly silent in the dead of the forest night. As it drew near a small clearing the figure paused. A muscular arm removed a large club from the figures shoulder. As the figure advanced into the clearing It looked around. A small fire, nearly burned out, lay near the far side of the clearing, and two small forms lay nearby. The large figure moved into the ring of firelight, revealing a figure draped in animal hides, and sporting a large black beard. As the man moved closer to the sleeping figures several more men of similar build and look stepped out of the forest. Approaching the dying fire the closest figure grinned, revealing yellow and broken teeth. He could see now that the forms were female, and that they were both young. As he and his comrades drew near, the sound of heavy breathing began to echo throughout the clearing. And as they stood over the girls the sound of rustling cloth revealed their intentions.
One of the men over Zelda reached down and pulled the blanket off of her sleeping form, and was reaching for her clothes when her eyes opened. Seeing the men standing over her sent her into a panic, and a scream escaped from her lips as the men grabbed her and held her down while another grabbed at her dress. Malon woke in much the same predicament. Both girls screamed as their clothes were torn from their bodies, and the men, no longer seeing a need to be silent, laughed as they loosened their belts. Both girls were naked now, what little clothing they had left lay in tatters on the ground. Both were sobbing now as the men prepared to violate them. One approached Zelda, already naked from the waist down. As he positioned himself in front of her she closed her eyes, not wanting to watch as she was raped.
But the expected pain of penetration never came. Instead she heard as hiss and a sickening crunch, followed by something warm and wet splashing on her face. She heard gasps of fear from the men around her. Opening her eyes she nearly screamed at what she saw. The man in front of her lay on the ground, and heavy black arrow passing through the back of his head and sticking out through the center of his face, the majority of which looked as if it had exploded outward. Unable to take such a sight, she vomited violently on the body. Closing her eyes she curled herself into a small ball, unaware that Malon was doing much the same thing.
The girls heard more of the hissing and the sound of heavy arrows impacting in soft flesh. But then a different sound caught their ears. The tss, shluck of a blade, drawn and slashed through flesh. Malon was the first to open her eyes. She saw a dark figure, a massive cloak billowing around it as it moved, flashes of moonlight glinting off a blade that was moving too fast for her to get a good look at. Every flash was accompanied by the sound of the blade striking and passing through flesh. The flashes slowly turned red as the blade was stained with blood. As the last man fell, Malon looked around frantically to find something to cover her body. The figure flicked the blade to shake off the blood, then wiped it down with a cloth before slipping it back into the sheath. Walking over to a large tree on the other side of the clearing the figure bent and picked up something indistinct. Malon finally managed to find the blanket that the men had pulled off of her, and quickly covered herself with it. Zelda had opened her eyes in time to see the figure stoop by the tree, and swiftly followed Malons example, grabbing her blanket and pulling it close around her. The figure moved swiftly to the fireside, placing whatever it had picked up next to the coals. Then it moved around the clearing, bending every once in a while to pick something up. When it returned to the fire it began placing the objects onto the coals. As the fire sprang back to life its light revealed a young man in a large dark green cloak. The shadow of his hood fell across his face, making it impossible to make out any details. But as he stood both girls noticed the massive longbow in his hand, as well as the quiver of arrows that hung low on his back. They watched as he moved through the clearing, pulling his arrows out of the bodies. When he finally moved back to the fire and sat down the girls could see the slightly curved sheath that held his blade. They stared at him, terrified that he might be preparing to take advantage of them.
"Get dressed." his voice was low, and somehow soothing to them. But their fear still controlled them.
"They, they were torn to shreds. Please, please don't do anything to us." the young man looked up at them before reaching up and removing his hood. Blue eyes underneath a mess of long blonde hair greeted their eyes. Malon gasped in recognition.
"I won't." he said. His voice was quiet, yet it carried in a way few voices do. Malon barely heard him though.
"The rider from the market!" she whispered. Zelda gasped as soon as she recognized him as well. The man pointed to where their bedrolls still lay on the ground, miraculously untouched by the blood that soaked the ground around them.
"Sleep." he said. "I'll watch." he pointed at the woods around them. The girls took his meaning and wrapped themselves in their blankets, inching as close to the fire as they dared. Zelda fell asleep almost instantly. But Malon lay awake, unable to fall asleep. Looking past the fire at the dark figure of their rescuer, who sat with his back to the fire while observing the forest, she noticed that he had left his hood down. His hair was long, and pulled back into a ponytail held by a leather thong. He held his longbow in his hand, with a few arrows held with it. The expression on his face was one of concentration, and for a moment the thought crossed her mind that he was extremely handsome in spite of the scars that crossed his face. A few minutes passed as she watched him, until she finally gave up on sleep, and she stood up. She wrapped the blanket closer around her and walked over to where the young man sat. As she lowered herself to sit next to him he glanced up at her.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked. Malon nodded. She looked at him for a moment before realizing something.
"Say, I just remembered, I don't know your name." he glanced at her for a moment before resuming his vigil.
"It's Link." he said.
"Oh, that's a nice name. Mine is Malon. A pleasure to meet you." she started chattering on about her life and everything that was happening in it. Link half-listened to her as she chattered on, but his attention was mostly focused on the surrounding woods. As so it continued for half the remainder of the night.
Okay, just a few new updates from last time. I have successfully moved into my new place, and have resumed writing. the next chapter of Ordonian Horseman will be up within the next month. I promise. On a side note, I may be getting a new computer soon, so if there are any delays for any of my stories, that is the reason. Please remember to review. I enjoy hearing your thoughts.