Chapter 12 - The Traitor

"What would you have me do, my Master?"

Ganondorf eyed his eager apprentice almost proudly. His apprentice's head was bowed as he knelt before his master, and all Ganondorf could see of him was the top of his flame-red hair. He held an air of confidence about him, almost fearlessness. He has matured enough to take on even the most difficult of tasks, perhaps he was ready for the one at hand?

No, now was not the time.

"Nothing." Ganondorf commanded deliberately. "Nothing yet. We must wait." Ganondorf lounged back in the red sofa in the middle of a living room which was not his. "The hero must make the first move. We can't come out into the open yet."

"But, how can we be sure he will do anything at all?"

"Sit." Ganondorf commanded. Hesitantly, Nate got up from his kneeling position and sat at the chair across from his master. "I don't know if you know how much Link hates me. He does his best to hold it within, but it is there. I can feel it. His eyes kindle a fire of hate whenever he sees me. Surely you saw it? Link will come for me; I can assure you of that."

"So, that's it?" Nate asked heatedly. "We just sit here and wait for him to do what he pleases? We should hit him while he's down! He's weak; we can get him easy now! You would risk everything that we have worked for on mere assumption?"

"Do not fear." Ganondorf commanded fervently. "Never…fear. Fear is weakness. If you fear, you lose. Simple as that. You think that Link will want to kill you? Of course he will, he is not quite as noble as you make him out to be. Do not fear the hero. You'd better believe that if you fear for even a second, Link will be all over you. Never fear, do you understand me?"

"I do not fear the Hero of Twilight."

"Yes, you do," Ganondorf replied calmly. "Else you would not want to dispose of him so quickly. A quick kill is a kill out of fear; a lasting kill is a kill out of emotion. Do you understand, my apprentice?"

Nate nodded hesitantly.

Under the dim light, Ganondorf's cold demeanor was almost hidden from view. "Some things…are more important than what you suggest. Simply killing Link will not satiate my hunger any more. I had my chance to earlier, and I failed. I cannot let that shame live on. I will kill Link, but not until after I put him through as much agony as I went through in failure. Although, I assure you, he is quite a bit more hurt right now than I am." Ganondorf laughed halfheartedly.

"Then just make it an agonizing death. Just do it as soon as you can! With Link gone, there will be nothing to protect Hyrule from its fate."

"Nate, know your place. Your wishes have absolutely no impact on my decisions. You are to carry out my will, not change it." Ganondorf paused. "Still, you have proven yourself most worthy. You will get what you want, eventually. I cannot do it now. Let him build up again. Let Hyrule build again. Then, we'll kill the hero, mangle all hope, and burn Hyrule Castle to the ground."

"What about the girl?" Nate asked.

"What about the girl?"

"How are we going to find her?"

"It would be imprudent to search for her now." Ganondorf replied, an ounce of shame almost detectable in his voice. "With the scarce resources I have at my disposal right now, it could take weeks to track her down. And that aside, the Hero must have discovered his home village's fate by now."

Nate hesitated slightly. "But, my Lord, surely he will still think that you have taken her?"

"Perhaps." Ganondorf replied. "But we mustn't rely on that."

"Well, what about the others?"

"I don't know." Ganondorf said impatiently. "Leave them chained up for now. I'm sure I will find a good use for them sooner or later. If that use is just killing them, so be it."

He paused, and the two of them sat in silence for a minute or two. Then, Ganondorf said, "I am afraid your brother's treachery has reached a level that even I could not have predicted."

"How so?" Nate replied timidly, almost fearing for his own safety.

"The princess lives."

Nate stared at Ganondorf without saying a word. His brother had turned his back on them? The fool! Did he forget what was at stake here?

Ganondorf's voice jarred Nate from his thoughts. "If he survives, it is my wish that you be the one to dispose of him. When the time is right, I will let you know."

Nate bowed ever so slightly. "Yes, my Lord."

Somewhere above them, a loud roar was sounded. Ganondorf look at the ceiling above him indifferently. "In the meantime, settle those yetis down."

Ganondorf eyed his apprentice scurry from the chair and out one of the doors in the living. "Who would have thought?" Ganondorf grumbled to himself. "Yetis living in a mansion, on the top of a mountain…" He made an unpleasant sound with his lips.

With that he folded his arms at his chest and closed his eyes. As his body began to drift off, his confidence never did. And outside, a small blizzard was slowly obscuring the windows.

"I think I can help you make it happen sooner."

The man clad in black took a few steps closer to where Link stood but he made no movements that could be interpreted as confronting. His voice was low and piercing and it was painfully obvious that the bearer was very experienced in the art of speech. His figure was completely shaded from view, even in the afternoon sun. All that could be seen of his skin was a very small fragment of his chin.

"I know much about what you seek." The man continued with an air of confidence. "I can help you achieve what must be done. I think you will find my assistance quite valuable, but in order for me to help you, I need you to promise to do something for me in return. Make no mistake, Hero, what I give to you will be great but what you must give to me may be even greater."

Link's first impulse when he saw this man and heard his unwavering voice was to make a move for his sword. As if his choice in clothing wasn't suspicious enough, his presence in a setting such as Ordon with a request such as this would cause even the most gullible of people in Hyrule to doubt themselves. But at the same time, there was something familiar about this man, something mysterious yet very familiar.

Colin had not said a word or made a single move since the man had emerged from the shadows. Any life that he had regained after being rescued by Link mere minutes ago had vanished in an instant. Link could almost feel the fear that the young man was experiencing with each passing breath.

Link resisted the temptation to make for his sword and instead took a step forward in an effort to show trust, and to show confidence to Colin, despite feeling quite the opposite in both respects. With an equally personified voice, Link called back, "If the trade between us is unequal, then why should I choose to accept it?"

"A wise man." The man returned with a small laugh. "I can see you are a man of sense, as I believed you would be. But I advise you discard reason when you act on this dilemma. What I can offer is only knowledge, what you must return to me is protection."

Link frowned. "Explain yourself."

"In due time, Hero, in due time." The man replied. "Before I can give you any of my help, I must get a guarantee from you that you will help me. I am not a man of war, you see. If I showed you all my cards now, there would be nothing stopping you from taking them from me. I need something from you that will allow me a way out, shall we say."

"I won't allow you to control me, if that's what you are asking for." Link answered rather harshly.

"Oh no, I have no intention to control you, Hero, you misunderstand me. All that I want is a guarantee that we are on the same page here."

"I will give you my word." Link said automatically. "My word that we can establish an agreement suitable to both of us, after you have given me your name."

"I'm afraid your word won't be enough, and I have no intention of giving away my name just yet." The stranger said ominously. "You see, Hero, I gained the knowledge that I have with the unspoken understanding that I would not use it to betray the one which it refers. Relaying this information to you would put my life in jeopardy."

"And what would you have me do about this?" Link asked with an ounce of misgiving.

"I was placed under a tracking curse by a very powerful mage many months ago." The man said. "This curse's sole purpose was to alarm the mage if or when I came into close contact with you, Hero. The mage probably already knows that I am here because of that curse. A mercenary is headed this way as we speak, I am sure. What I ask of you is to fend this man off for me."

"So…" Link said slowly. "If I were to decline this offer…"

"I would perish by the hand of this hired blade, and you're vital information will pass with my final breath." The man finished.

"You came here with possibility of death over your head, and you leave your life in my hands?" Link asked doubtfully. "There must be something else that you want, if you are willing to risk everything."

"No, Hero, I have given you my offer, this is all I ask of you." The man replied matter-of-factly. "But do not take this mercenary lightly; the mage hired him with the knowledge that I would not stand a chance against him in combat, which I know to be true. But to a swordsman of your caliber, I think that this mercenary will prove to be a good match."

"Alright, let me get this straight." Link replied slowly. "You want me to risk my life for yours, and in return, you'll tell me some secrets. The trade seems pretty lopsided, don't you think?"

"Do not underestimate the knowledge I possess, Hero. It will prove invaluable in your plight, that much I am sure." The man said, a hint of desperation now detectable in his voice. "Here, I will give you a sliver of insight which may help sway your decision. Your precious imp is easily curable, if you follow my directions."

"Midna?" Link asked with a gasp. Any wariness Link had in this man's offer instantly vanished with those words. "Midna? What do you know about her condition?"

"Help me and I will tell you." The man replied coyly. "All that I ask is that you save my life like you saved Hyrule. Should not be such a difficult task, relatively speaking."

"Colin," Link said as he turned to look at the last Ordonian. "Take Midna - she's the thing on Epona's back – Take her into my house and lock the door behind you."

"But…" Colin pleaded frailly.

"Now Colin!" Link replied, perhaps a bit more harshly than he had intended. "If something were to happen to you or her, I don't know what I would do to myself. Please Colin, lock the door and do not open it for anyone but me. Got it?"

Colin nodded slowly. In equally slow movements, he carefully picked up Midna from her slumbering position on Epona's back and started to climb the ladder up to Link's house with her cradled in one hand. It was a struggle for him but eventually, he was at Link's front door, at which point he called, "Don't leave me."

Link smiled halfheartedly and replied, "Never."

With that, Colin entered the house and Link heard the audible click as the lock was set into place from the inside.

"Alright." Link said with finality, turning back to the man clad in black. "You had better hope for my sake as well as yours that this information you possess is useful."

"I do not deceive you, Hero." The man said coldly. He then pointed out to the nearby woods and said, "Find a tree over there and hide behind it. I will lead the man you must slay here. I do not imagine that you will have to wait very long."

Link nodded slowly and, before he turned his back, he asked, "Why? What caused you to go to such lengths? What caused you to risk your live so haphazardly?"

"Later, Hero." The man muttered. "Go now, quickly!"

Link conceded, and he unsheathed the Master Sword as he ran into the cover of the nearby forest. He picked a relatively large tree to hide behind; to the casual observer, he would be completely hidden from view. The stranger, on the other hand, ran off in the other direction, toward the pass that leads to the Ordona Spring.

As Link stood and waited in the forest, a moderate sense of apprehensiveness was beginning to take hold of him. Link, in his brief knowledge of the world, could not think of many mages that walked among man. In fact, in Ordon, mages aren't even thought to exist, and they are often used as fictional stories told to the children to threaten against certain actions. Things like, "don't go outside at night or the magic man will get you," and other such phrases are fed to the children, though the legitimacy of these sayings is nonexistent and whose sole purpose is to create good habits.

And of the mages that Link did know, he was quite sure that most of them were not capable of something as complex as what a tracking curse must be. These mages that he could think of were mainly entertainment seekers, drawing crowds with their ability to dance with the elements. In fact, the only man Link felt confident that could pull off a tracking curse had to be Ganondorf. Was it possible that Ganondorf had laid this curse on this man?

Whatever the case, a mage of such power would surely be able to tug strings easily, which directly leads to the case at hand. The henchman that he would send would surely be no pushover. Indeed, Link was beginning to think that it would take every ounce of will that he possessed, and perhaps a bit more, to be able to defeat him.

And would it be worth it?

Link never got the chance to answer that question. At that moment, the man clad in the black cloak appeared in view running past Link's house and toward the gates of Ordon. A few paces behind him, and walking at a leisurely pace, was the assassin, though he looked nothing like the typical assassin.

He was large in stature, almost a head taller than Link, and looked to be very strong. He wore ornate steel plate-legs that extended down to his ankles and matching wrist guards but that was all the armor that he had cared to adorn. He was completely bare-chested, and went without both a helmet and a shield. The sword, however, was certainly a sight to behold. It was a very pale gold and was at least a foot longer than the Master Sword that Link possessed. The sword was double-edged; one side razor sharp and the other side very jagged. The sharp side was designed to kill, but the jagged side was designed to torture.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be." The assassin said with a growl while he followed the man clad in black past Link's hiding spot, resting his sword on his shoulder. "You knew this would happen if you went against your word, and now it is my job to make sure you won't ever go against your word again."

Once the assassin had gone a few paces past his hiding spot, Link leapt from behind the tree with the Master Sword transfixed at the man's back. "It is you going against your own word that you should be worried about, brute."

The man spun around wildly at the sound of Link's voice, completely surprised by another's presence. However, once he saw it was Link standing there, he simply smiled and broke into careless laughter. "Ah, what have we here?" He exclaimed. "The Hero of Hyrule graces us with his presence! I do not have orders to kill you, but if you give me reason to, I will not hesitate to end your life. So, run along, Hero, your death will come on another day."

"Yes, I'm not dying today," Link retorted. "And I am sure as hell not running either."

"What's this?" The henchman said. "You come here to fight me? What is your plan, to protect that man? Hero, that man has already betrayed you, and he has just betrayed my master by coming back to you. He has no side, he is not worthy of life."

Link frowned. "What are you talking about?"

The henchman smirked. "Oh, you don't know?" He laughed innocently. "It figures that he would request your help without giving you the whole story."

Link could feel his sword arm droop slowly to his side.

"Don't listen to him!" The man clad in black hollered from near the gates to Ordon. "We have a deal, Hero! Remember your imp, I can save her, and no one else can! Give me a chance and I will explain everything… on my life, I promise!"

"Shut up, traitor, I'll get to you in a minute!" The henchman yelled in a booming voice that seemed to cause the very dirt beneath Link's feet shake with terror. "You see, Hero? Do you see now why he must be sacrificed? A man who cannot be trusted deserves to not be trusted. How can you know he won't do the very same to you again? Go on, Hero, this is your last chance. Flee now with your life or I shall take it from you. Although, it's not like doing so would cause much distress in Hyrule."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Link roared back, inadvertently letting his anger take control of him for a moment.

"Don't play naïve, you know as well as I that your presence in Hyrule has long overstayed its welcome. Do yourself and Hyrule a favor and let me kill you so that things can finally return to the way they should be."

Any indecision Link had been experiencing over fighting this man quickly disappeared. With those words, the fight had suddenly become personal.

Link took a few steps closer to the man so that he was almost close enough to strike, and then said, "How about you do me a favor and let me make Hyrule a better place." Link said with a growl.

The man smirked and designated his sword forward to touch the Master Sword near the tip. Then, in one fluid motion, he was down in his battle stance and staring down his prey. "If it is a fight that you wish," The man snarled. "Then consider that wish granted."

Link settled into his own battle stance while glaring at the man in silent observance. Taking a look at the man, it was hard to gain any initial knowledge about his fighting ability, though he definitely did seem to know what he was doing. He kept a low base, which obviously meant that his strikes were slow and powerful, so Link would have to counter with his agility because there was no way Link could match the man in strength.

"My name is Rowan." The man said with a roar before Link could make the first move. "And it shall be the last that you remember!"

With that, Rowan leapt at Link with a devastating jump attack. Link easily sidestepped it but he could feel the ground beneath his feet quake when Rowan's sword and arms hit the ground.

Link was preparing to throw a counter slash at Rowan as he lay exposed on one knee on the ground, but something unexpected prevented him from doing so. Behind Rowan's back, the man in the black cloak had thrown back his hood and was now charging at Rowan with a knife in his hand.

If the man thought he had Rowan fooled, he was wrong. Just as he was about to aim a cheap shot at Rowan's back, Rowan spun around to meet the man. He had dropped his sword and instead used both hands to wedge the knife out of the cloaked man's hands. Once he had the knife solely in his hands, he let his momentum spin him around again and stabbed the cloaked man deep in his left shoulder.

The man let out a deep gasp and fell immediately to the ground but still alive, with Rowan right on top of him. Rowan swiftly removed the knife from the man's shoulder and held it over his head for the killing blow. He hesitated for just a moment by saying to his prey, "You'll have to better than that, traitor." That hesitation gave Link just enough time.

Link charged at Rowan as the latter began to launch the final blow. Just as the knife was no more than one foot over the cloaked man's still-beating heart, Link tackled him to the ground. They toppled over one another a few times, but in the end, Link was on top of Rowan and had him on his back and pinned to the ground. Without much effort, Link knocked the knife free from Rowan's hands with the hilt of the Master Sword and nudged it out of reach of both of them with his foot.

Rowan, now completely unarmed, managed a feeble smirk as he lay beaten beneath Link's weight. "This changes nothing." He said quietly. "My Master will know of what transpired here and you will hear from him shortly, I can guarantee you that. The day will soon come that Hyrule will fall and the Hero will be dead."

Link managed a light smile as he raised his sword above Rowan's chest. "That day is not today."