Hello everyone! I'm back with another update, because this shit writes itself! Speaking of shit, I'm moving this bad boy's rating up to M. He's just a little to hardcore for some of the kids out there. Thank you guys for the reviews, alerts, and favorites! They made me feel very good. Maybe too good. It got me in the mood to write again very quickly. I would love to get even more this time around, because I discovered how to put dividers into my stories on ff. I apologize for the lack of them before. I really should have looked over that pup before I sent him off to publishment town. Hopefully I corrected the first chapter and gave it some lovely dividers.
Link jumped out of the water ecstatic. He had won! That little princeling didn't know how to pace himself. Zelda owed him a kiss. He looked around him as he tried to catch his breath. Gods, but was he tired!
Link froze.
Zelda was on the ground her head in her hands. Captain Jacob and Impa were desperately trying to fend of two darkly clad assailants. And they were losing. Where were the other guards? One of the belligerents disengaged from the melee, spinning around Impa and sprinting towards Link. Link looked despairingly over at his sword, shield and armor. He was so tired. Link slowly lowered his head, his body bending into an acquiescing bow. He accepted what was to come. The man was obviously well trained, armed and skilled in the arts of war. His hands hit the ground as he bent his neck further.
The mysterious fighter was still sprinting as he readied his sword. Link saw a flash of movement in the shadow as the killer's sword arched down to take his life. It hit sand. Link sprang out of his roll, throwing sand into the slit made for the man's eyes. It hit home. The assassin disengaged, jumping away as he shook his head to clear his vision. Link was silent as he ran towards the man, jumping the last few feet to crash into the blinded man, sending his foreign sword skittering across the sand.
The stranger tried to buck Link off of him. Link punched him once in the jaw, then elbowed him in the nose. The stranger tried to protect his face after that, blood pouring through his fingers as Link's blows rained down on him. He was skilled, but the sand in his eyes had left him blind. Link sunk a solid blow to the man's temple, knocking him unconscious. Target down.
Link turned in time to see the other killer throw down a smoke bomb. He was gone when the smoke cleared. Link cursed.
His entire body ached as he rolled off the unconscious man. He unclenched his bleeding knuckles. He sluggishly moved toward Zelda. Captain Jacob had taken an awkward seat on a rock, a bolt jutting from his sword arm. It had hit bone. Link fell on his way to Zelda. He crawled the last few feet.
"Princess. Princess, are you alright?" Link asked breathlessly.
Zelda stayed in her fallen position, just looking at Link for a moment. Her head started slowly shaking side to side.
"Zelda? Zelda! What happened to her!" An exhausted Michael bellowed as he came lumbering across the sand. "Are you all right, my love?" He pushed himself past Link and embraced her. Zelda started to quietly cry.
Link shakily surveyed the area. Jace and Four Fingers were dead. Jace had been taken by a bolt in the eye, his body lying where it had stood vigilant not a moment ago. Four Fingers seemed to have died in combat, his stomach opened and his throat cut violently open. His blood had sunk into the sand. It looked as though the two assassins had come from the woods, each firing one bolt before coming to engage the guards. Link didn't understand.
"Why were we attacked?" He yelled to no one in particular.
"It is simple. They wished to kill Zelda and Michael." Impa said calmly.
Link looked back over at Impa. She was attempting to dress the captain's arm. "How do you know they wanted them?" He asked dumbly.
"Those were skilled assassins. Zelda and Michael are the only people worth paying a lot of money to have killed. I know they wanted both of them because that unconscious one decided to leave his comrade to come to attack you and Michael." Impa shook her head. "Whoever hired these men paid a great deal indeed. These were no ordinary assassins. These were Ghuls."
"What are Ghuls?"
"They are an ancient order of assassins. They are considered to be the most effective group of killers on the market. They are extremely well trained. They will not stop until they have achieved their mission objective. And they all hunt in a single pack. When you hire a Ghul, you hire all Ghuls. That is to say, if one Ghul is trying to kill you, you can rest assured that the entire order is trying to kill you."
Link looked over at the unconscious man he had worked so hard to subdue. "How many Ghul's are there?"
Impa yanked the bolt out of the captain's arm, Jacob screaming in response. She immediately started sewing the wound, then bound it in white cloth. "The Ghul's are steeped in tradition. They always have ten active assassins. No more, no less. I do not know how they are replaced. I just know they have never failed a mission."
Link kept his eyes on the Ghul that lied in front of him. "I hope the Ghuls will not be too disappointed when their perfect record is ruined, then. They will not take Zelda's life. I will not allow it. Let's get Zelda back to the castle. Do you have any rope?"
Impa tossed Link a roll of rope. Link took it over to the assassin, binding him tightly. Link slung him over the back of his horse. The party hastily packed up, putting the bodies in the carriage and setting them all aflame. They did not want to be the target of another assassin attack.
Link would not allow his princess to die. He could not. He would get answers. This Ghul would tell him what he needed to know.
Grim woke to the smell of urine and blood. His own, if he wasn't mistaken. He slowly opened his bruised eyes. He saw stone. Stone above him. Stone under him. Stone to his sides. There was a break from the stone in front of him, a heavy oaken door, with torches to its left and right. There was a small slit for eyes to peer through. A dungeon, then. Grim had been taken to a dungeon. His arms were shackled above him, hanging him to the ceiling. His feet were unbound. He moved his head. It set his vision swimming. Mild concussion. He twitched his face. His jaw ached. His nose was quite obviously broken. He methodically checked the rest of his body. Everything else seemed to be in working order. He wrapped his hands around the chains that bound him, using his arms to support his weight. He started pumping his body forward and back, testing the strength of his bonds. He was impressed. Very sound equipment in this dungeon. The chain was even recently oiled. He blew a strand of dark hair out of his eyes.
He hung there for maybe an hour before the oaken door started making noises. It sounded like the unbolting of bolts. That was unfortunate. Grim hated bolts. The oak door opened then, bringing in a fat, flamboyantly dressed man, bedecked in gems and gold and silk, his ensemble completed by a hat covered in feathers. Next to him, a strapping young soldier came in, blond hair- Grim tensed. He recognized him. He was the boy who bested Grim on the beach.
Grim analyzed his memory. The boy had done a good job looking as though he had given up. He had been legitimately tired. Grim could see that. He had bowed his head. That was fine. Where did he- Ah! He had grabbed a handful of sand while he had been prostrating himself. Foolish. Grim should have been more cautious in his approach. Grim filed that away. He would not make the same mistake twice.
The crafty blond one brought in two chairs. He looked irritated with the wealthy man. Grim saw that. He kept his eyes open to all information. Some of it was always useful.
The two sat. The ostentatious one cleared his throat. "Introducing Link, of His Majesty's Royal Guard. Introducing Roderick, Master of Inquisition and Lord of Wys and Kakariko Town, 22nd in line for the throne." A laugh bubbled from Grim's throat. Lord Roderick glared at him indignantly. "Do you find something about me amusing, prisoner?"
Grim kept the smile on his face. "You are Master Inquisitor?" Grim laid his accent on thick. "You are worm calling yourself snake." Then Grim dropped his smile and spat on the ground.
Roderick's eyes looked like they were about to bulge out of their sockets. "You insolent little cretin! I'll-"
"Stop." The blond fighter interjected. "What is your name, prisoner?"
"I am called Superior Grim. Well met, Guard Link."
"Superior? What does that mean?"
"Is complex. To understand title. Explanation required."
"I've got time, Grim."
Grim took a small breath. All the boy wanted was a history lesson. This would not undermine the mission. "You know of Ghul, yes? Your Sheikah would. I am Ghul. We have incredibly difficult training regime. Each member is brought to order at birth. In first thirteen years of child's live, they are taught about world. All major languages. How to read. Geographies and history of each country. Once they reach age thirteen, they begin training. Physical stress put on children's bodies at this time is immense. They are trained to point of exhaustion every day for five years. Many die. Those that survive are separated into groups of ten, sent into foreign city, and tasked to kill other nine. Initiates who make it this far then have opportunity to try and duel one of minor Superior. Winner of duel is minor Superior. Loser is dead. Superiors are only Ghuls that go on assassination missions."
"What are minor Superior?"
"Superior has two classes, each with five members. Major and minor. Minor are new Superior. They can be challenged by initiates. Major Superior are Superior who have lasted long enough as Superior for a spot to open on the Major Superior list. A Major Superior serves until they are 35, then they retire as one of the Honored."
"Are you a major or minor Superior?"
"I am eldest minor Superior. I have defended title nine times."
Guard Link was digesting this information. The fool next to him was still red from Grim's insult. "They obviously didn't teach you language very well, you foreign dog! That accent makes you sound a drooling imbecile, did you know that? Perhaps its not the accent. Tell me, did your mother and father perhaps share, oh I don't know, parents? I don't know how your Ghul's have any reputation at all, with a man such as yourself representing them!" The man's voice had gotten squeaky by the last sentence.
Grim looked at the lord a moment, then smiled. Roderick attempted to lunge at him. He was restrained by Link. "Who directs the Ghul?" Link asked, his hand still firmly resting on Roderick's shoulder.
"Superior are highest ranking members. We direct ourselves." That was not quite true. The Superior elected a leader every two years, a man who would decide which jobs the Ghul would take. He wasn't going to tell Link everything.
"How are Superior replaced if they die outside a duel with an initiate?"
"Remaining Superior evaluate and elevate one of initiates without duel."
"Who do you think they will replace you with?" The lordling asked nastily. Grim was delighted by his lack of control. He could see why Guard Link disliked him.
"Please, Lord Roderick. How often do your Superior all get together?"
Grim hesitated for a moment. He did not like how specific that question was. But, he sooner would not be tortured for this information. "They come together at the beginning of the year, for a month."
"Thank you. Now. Who hired you to kill Zelda?"
Ah. Guard Link had finally gotten to the heart of the matter. That was unfortunate. Grim did not wish to be tortured. "I cannot say." Grim replied.
"Very well. What is your mission objective, exactly?"
"I cannot say."
"I see. Where are the others Superiors located?"
"I cannot say."
"Uh huh. It looks as though we have reached the end of your cooperation. Very well. You will not be given food until you start answering any and all questions. I will be back in three days. Lord Roderick, after you."
As the lord got up, Grim started smiling again. No torture? How very foolish. "Will worm eat my food instead of me? Worm seems to have stolen many meals in his time!"
The Lord charged. He could move surprisingly fast for such a fat man, Grim reflected. The Lord drew back his arm as he approached. Grim turned his head into the blow. The lord brought a ringed back hand ripping across Grim's face. He could tell he had been badly cut almost immediately. As the big lordling came whirling around with the momentum of his force, Grim gnashed his teeth out to fast to see, snagging one of the smaller feathers on the lords hat, quickly hiding it in his mouth. He heard Guard Link screaming at the fat lordling. Grim smiled slightly. The pain was coming from the blow now. It seemed the lord had hit his nose in his attack. How unfortunate.
Grim blacked out.
Link left Lord Roderick in disgust. He could not deal with that overgrown arrogant lordling any longer. Link stormed away from the Ghul's cell. Link anger slowly dissolved as he came back to what he learned from Grim. The information he gathered was important, but the way the assassin acted was also very telling of his skill as an operative. The assassin's grey eyes and smooth face had been a mask. Link could not tell if he had just been told a bunch of tall tales about the man's order. He hoped that the information could be relied on. Perhaps he should consult Impa to cross check what he was just told.
Link headed to a small stairway, going up two levels to the first basement level. He took a tight stone hallway lit by torch light and took a left. He opened the doors at the end of the hallway. Inside the small but well-furnished room sat Princess Zelda, King Harkinian, Michael, Impa and every royal guardsman.
Zelda was talking again, insisting to her father that she was alright. Michael was looking slightly sick as he heard her recount what happened to her on the beach. Lucien was looking at his father's pale face and wound, his face for once completely serious. They all looked at him as he entered.
"What did you learn from the prisoner, Link?" The King asked.
"A few things. He is one of the ten hunting your daughter. He would not say anything about who hired him, what his true mission objective really is, or where the other operatives are. I have given him an ultimatum. He will only get food if he cooperates fully with our investigation."
"He may not crack for some time under that method. I vote we should move to the more… excruciating tactics. We cannot afford to take time in gathering this information. Your Princess' life is at stake." Michael quietly stated.
There was a murmur of agreement. Zelda shook her head firmly. "I will not permit the use of torture as a means to inquisition. I would rather take the risk of the extra days than stoop to that measure."
The room went silent. Link nodded his head. "As I suspected, Your Grace. We will have answers from him within the next two weeks, I'm sure. Meanwhile, we need to come up with a strategy. I understand that their organization is run by the actual assassins themselves, the Superiors."
"That is correct." Impa said.
"I also understand from our prisoner that Superiors are the ones who choose who to elevate when the number of Superiors go under ten."
"That is also correct. So?" Impa asked.
"So they are an organization that will not stop until they have succeeded in their mission. Very well. For as long as they continue to exist, The Ghul will try to kill Zelda and Michael. We must, therefore, make the Ghul stop existing. If you kill just one of their agents, however, they will eventually be replaced. I say eventually because all remaining Superiors must evaluate every candidate possible to elevate him to a Superior. A feat that is impossible during a mission, when all of them are on the field. What I am suggesting, then, is that we track down and kill every single Superior of this order. We would have to do it quickly, so as to not allow them a chance to reconvene at the start of the year. The start of the year is eight months from now. What do you all think?"
Everyone looked at Link silently for an agonizingly long moment. Link realized just how many people were staring at him right then. He desperately wanted to get out of the spotlight.
Then Lucien spoke up. "That plan's bat shit Link. I can't for the life of me think of any other way of doing it, though. What do you need us to do?"
Link let out a small breath. "Okay."
Grim woke up. How unfortunate. He had dreamt he had been flying. His nose ached. He felt around his mouth for the feather, hoping to the divines above that he had not swallowed it. Ah! Still there. Wonderful. Grim wrapped his hands around the chains above him, pulling on them to support his weight. He reached up with his foot to his mouth. His muscles ached, and his foot cramped a few times on the journey up to his mouth. But it still got there. He delicately put the feather between his big toe and his…second biggest toe. Strange. He had never considered what the other toes were called. He would make sure to look that up once his mission was finished. Grim pulled his lower body above his upper body, catching his feet on the shackles that bound his hands.
After a few agonizing minutes of foot twitching, Grim unlatched his hands. He fell to the ground with a grunt. He got up slowly, working his arms. He couldn't feel them at all, and his wrists were badly cut up. It took a few minutes before they had regained feeling and stopped tingling. Grim saw that Link had not collected the chairs when he had left the cell. Grim was ecstatic. He wondered if his plan had worked. It didn't matter now. It seemed things had gone his way this time. He put an ear to the ground next to the door for a few minutes, listening for footsteps. There were none. Lovely. Grim grabbed a chair and propped two legs under the door, using the leverage to lift the door out of its hinges. The door popped neatly out, almost falling to the ground before Grim caught it and slowly lowered it to the ground. Grim looked from one end of the empty hallway to the other. And then he was off.
Reviews are very much appreciated! I have a sneaking suspicion that they really help sell the story to other ff users.