Link covered his father's body with the sheet and said a small prayer to the goddesses. He left the house and hoped to find more of his people. Upon further inspection, he noticed that the houses had their doors and windows blocked to allow no escape and suddenly, with a sickening drop of his stomach, he knew what that sweet, nauseating stench was. He threw up against his will. He wanted to go and see if anyone was alive, but in his heart he knew he was too late, and the heat from the flames was too intense. He knew he couldn't get close enough now. He heard a ruckus and hid behind his house, peering through the side. The same, foul-smelling green creature he had met the day before was struggling to take Fury, but Fury was fighting back. The black stallion reared up and struck the creature's head with his front legs, knocking him out. Link hoped he was dead. It dawned on him that possibly the carriage he had encountered the day before had been transporting the attackers, and he had done nothing about it. You didn't know, a tiny voice in his head said, but Link cast it aside. If he had been vigilant, like his Uncle always told him to be, he would have noticed. Link looked around to make sure the coast was clear before he ran to Fury, who came willingly and let him jump on. There was nothing left here, and he would do as his father had asked. He would return to Hyrule Castle to warn the Royal Family and ask for help. He turned Fury around and was about to set off at a run, but he heard another noise. Looking around, he saw the filly, hiding between the bushes.
"Epona!" Link gasped, jumping off of his horse. "Come here girl, come with me" he said softly. He was glad they hadn't taken her too. She was rather fond of him, as Link had always been the one to care for her and her mother's stall. Slowly, timidly, she came out of the bushes and towards him, nuzzling his hand. "Good girl. Good girl, Epona. Come on, we have to go" he said, tying a rope loosely around her neck so he could pull her along with him and Fury. Once ready, the trio set off at a run towards the castle. He didn't stop for a break; he couldn't. If his father was right, and Link had no doubt in his mind he was, then the Royal Family was in danger. He pushed Fury and Epona more than he had ever pushed a horse before, but they kept up the pace. He would make it up to them later, he thought. Arriving before the sun was out; Link hid his horses outside the Castle's wall, well out of sight. He ran across the drawbridge and up to the castle's doors which were open. He heard screaming and shouting, and he hoped he wasn't too late.
Castle Town was in chaos.
It was being overrun by the same green creatures that Link had seen before. They were shooting arrows wildly, not caring who they hit. The guards were fighting bravely, trying to get everyone to safety, but they were outnumbered greatly. Link pulled out his sword and stabbed a creature close to him. He felt no pity for them; he'd show them no mercy. He needed to get to the castle quickly!
"There are too many bulblins!" Link heard one guard shout. Link maneuvered his way through the chaotic crowd, occasionally slicing down a bulblin. He was almost to the Castle's main gate, when the enormous doors were opened. Out came the biggest bullbo Link had ever seen. Atop this giant beast was an equally large bulblin dressed in armor. In his beefy hand, he had the King of Hyrule by the neck.
"Tell us where she is, or your beloved King will die" the giant bulblin said to the town folk, shaking the King like a rag doll. The guards were not able to reach him as their path was blocked by other bulblins. The town was quiet, only children sobbing could be heard. Nobody spoke.
"Fine," the giant bulblin said, "then your king dies now." There was a gasp of horror by the town's people. The young king struggled desperately against the bulblin, but his attempts were almost pathetic. He was five times smaller than the vicious creature.
"Tell us where the brat is" the bulblin roared once again. But the King didn't say, and the town didn't speak. Link, unnoticed by all, bravely shot an arrow at the bulblin, piercing his hand. The bulblin roared in pain and released the young King, who fell hard on his side. Scrambling to get to his feet, the King ran back to the castle, but was stopped by an arrow through his back. There was uproar from the town's people and chaos broke out again. The men fought alongside the guards, even the women were joining in. The huge bulblin roared in anger and rode his giant bullbo out into town, fighting along his subordinates, cutting down those who opposed him, trampling anyone in his path. Link took the opportunity and, slipping between everyone, ran up to the King.
"Your Grace" Link said, turning the King over on his back.
"Find her... keep her safe..." the king mumbled. Link was sure the young king was speaking in desperation. "She is the key to Hyrule's future... keep her safe..." he said, and then he too, like his father, was gone. Link ran into the castle. It was overrun with bulblins too, and servants and guards were trying to hold down the fort. Being a kid bought Link the ability to slip away unnoticed... mostly. Running into a deserted hallway, Link thought about where Zelda could be hiding.
"Link..." someone said from behind him. Staggering to reach him, the young guard, Corander, his father's friend, motioned for Link to come closer. Link ran to him, and the young man collapsed. Link noticed he had a stab wound on his side, bleeding profusely. "Link... the Princess and the queen are with Dargus. Find them... I don't know where they went... Find them and hide her" he said. The door to the hall flung open, letting in three bulblins. "Go, Link! I'll handle them!" Corander said as he unsheathed his sword, struggling to his feet and clutching his side. Link set off at a run and went into the first door he found.
The castle was like a huge labyrinth, and he was beginning to think he'd never find them. Luckily for him, the corridors were completely empty. He ran up many staircases and looked around every room, but nothing. He reached the highest tower, and there, finally, he found the trio. Dargus wheeled around, fear on his face, sword drawn.
"What are you doing here?" he asked Link in surprise.
"I've come to save the Queen and Princess" Link said. He was only twelve years old, but he would fight with his life to make sure those who killed his father, who killed so many innocent people, would not succeed in whatever macabre plan they had.
"Are the corridors empty?" Dargus asked. Link nodded. Princess Zelda clung to her mother, hiding her face against the Queen's dress. Link registered for a brief second that Zelda was almost an exact replica of her mother, except the queen had long, black hair, where Zelda's blond tresses barely reached her chin. "We have to get them out of here… but I couldn't... the castle was flooded by those ass holes in minutes" Dargus said.
"I know a passage we can take, not too far from here" the Queen said. "We go to the floor beneath this one, and in the chapel, there is a secret passage behind the statue of the goddesses. We should go there now." Dargus motioned for them to be quiet. There was a noise outside their door. A second later, it burst open, and bulblins poured in; at least six.
"Run!" Dargus shouted, and the Queen, taking hold of Zelda and Link's hand, tried to head for the door. Her path was blocked by two bulblins holding clubs. Dargus was held down by two others with bows.
"Leave the children alone" the Queen pleaded.
"Give us the girl and no one need get hurt, Your Majesty" one of the bulblins said. The Queen took a few steps back.
"What do you want with my daughter? Rupees? You can have it all...just let her get out of here" the Queen said, trembling from head to foot. The bulblins laughed.
"Rupees, she says!" one of them laughed.
"We don't want yer money! We don't need it!" the other bulblin said. Link took a chance and drew his sword as fast as he could, stabbing the nearest bulblin through the chest. Using the distraction, Dargus fought off the bulblins and began to engage the remaining enemies in battle.
"Link! Take them! Run!" he shouted to the young boy. Link grabbed Zelda's hand and pulled her along. Zelda gripped her mother's hand and the three of them headed for the door. Then Link felt a yank and, turning back, saw that a bulblin had taken hold of the Queen. He held a knife to her throat.
"Run, children! Don't worry about me!" she yelled desperately, and Link ran. He dragged Zelda behind, who was struggling against his grip.
"We have to go back for mama!" she sobbed.
"Princess... if we go back, they will take you!" Link said, running down the flight of stairs. They reached the chapel and Link bolted the door. The statue of the goddesses was huge, made of white marble.
"Help me move this" Link said to the Princess. She wiped her eyes and nodded. Together, they tried pushing the statue aside, but it was too heavy.
"We can't... even… budge it" Zelda panted, leaning against the statue and closing her eyes. "What do we do?"
"Try again... we have to!" Link said. Once again, they pushed the statue but this time, miraculously, it budged. Using all their strength, they moved it just enough to let their small bodies through. It was a dark, damp passage. Link couldn't see a thing, but they followed the stairs that were leading down anyway. Down and down they went until they finally they reached level ground. There was no other choice but to follow the narrow passage. After what seemed like forever, they bumped into a wooden door. Quietly pushing it open, Link peered outside.
"It's the east courtyard" Zelda whispered next to him.
"It's empty... let's go" Link said.
The courtyard was, indeed, empty. They left the castle's grounds and after a long search, Link found Fury and Epona.
"Here, let me help you up" Link said, but the Princess sniffed and shook her head.
"I can do it on my own, you know" she said, grabbing the hems of her dirty, tattered dress.
"Fine... but you shouldn't be dressed like that, you're an easy target" Link answered as he rummaged through his bags. "Wear this." He handed the Princess a pair of his own worn out pants, and an old, baggy shirt his father had packed for him. "It's a good thing your hair is short. Just put this around your head... it's dirty, and it smells, but it's all I got" he said, holding out a dirty, old, blue rag.
"Where do I change?" Zelda asked, looking around. Link frowned.
"Well, here, where else?" he said as though he didn't find the situation awkward. Zelda turned pink.
"Turn around! Don't look" she said. Link turned around and the Princess dressed quickly, making sure Link wasn't peeking. When she was dressed, she jumped onto Fury.
"Where are we going now?" she asked. Link climbed onto Fury, in front of Zelda.
"I don't know..." Link answered truthfully. "We have maybe half an hour before the sun comes up... I bet those things are still gonna be looking for you. We have to find a place to hide"
"I don't know... I have never been outside of the castle. At least not far from it" Zelda said.
"Let's just go... we'll figure something out" Link said, urging Fury and Epona into a run once again.
Link found them a cave near Lake Hylia. He had never been to the lake, but he had no time to appreciate its pristine beauty.
"We'll be ok here... at least for now," he said, "and I know how to fish. Those jerks know what you look like, but they don't know what I look like. If you stay here while I fish, even if one was to see me, he wouldn't know who I am. He wouldn't bother. But... in the case that he did bother... you take Fury and you get away... as fast as you can... ok?" He pulled out the bag of oats he had been carrying along for Fury and fed both horses. He knew it wasn't nearly enough, but it was all he had with him now. The poor beasts were so tired of running they actually lay down to sleep. Link patted them gently, feeling horrible; he knew he had been pushing them too hard.
"Why are you helping me, Link?" the Princess asked after a while.
"Everyone went through so much to protect you" he said, stroking Fury's black mane.
"And your parents?" she asked. Link's heart lurched in his chest.
"Dead" he replied after a while. Zelda remained silent.
"I'm sorry" she said after a moment, sitting next to Epona. "Those things weren't just looking for me, you know" she began, scratching behind Epona's ear. "I heard one of them talk about a 'bow of destiny' or something weird like that. Apparently it's pretty valuable. The day the castle was ransacked and set on fire... that's what they were after, not me. Apparently we were keeping it safe or something."
Link remembered what his father had said. "The guards said we could keep whatever we found... I found it in an elaborate chest..." Could it be? Was it his bow? If it was, it made sense as to why they had destroyed his home, too. They had probably been searching for his bow...
He studied the sleek weapon for a moment. It was still shiny and polished, and he still felt the same tingling sensation he had felt the first time he had touched it. He ran his finger across the strange markings on it. Was it special? Was it his fault the bulblins had killed everyone in Gaeboran? Had he not asked his father for this stupid thing, maybe everyone would still be alive…
"We should get some sleep" he said. Zelda sniffled and curled up into a ball against Epona, hugging herself. If truth be told, he didn't think he would be able to sleep a wink. Too much had happened. Two days ago he had been living at home with his father and his uncle... and now he was homeless and an orphan, hiding from monsters, trying to keep the Princess of Hyrule safe. It was almost too much for a kid to endure. Lying on the cold, hard ground, curled up against Fury, Link listened to the Princess weep quietly. He didn't know how to comfort her when he needed comforting himself. Suddenly the tears that he had kept at bay for so long spilled forth. He turned on his side, giving his back to Zelda, though he knew she wasn't paying attention to him anyway. Quietly, he cried for his father, for his uncle, for his people... he wept for Zelda, and the innocent people at Hyrule Castle Town. And he wept for the innocent childhood that had been cruelly snatched from them at such a tender age.
A/N: So our young heroes are on their own now. What will become of them? Leave me your reviews, your comments... your thoughts. I appreciate any and all feedback! See you next time! xoxo