The three young men stood facing the Iron Knuckle. It was terrible to see them accept their fate without question. It made Link sick to his stomach. And it was his fault. Everything wrong in Hyrule today was his fault.
"Stay here" he whispered in Zelda's ear, and he was gone before she had a chance to speak.
Link pushed his way forward and into the clearing. He cleared his throat.
"Lord Zanthos, Your Grace" he said in a tone of deep respect—at least he hoped it sounded like it anyway. "I would like to challenge this formidable opponent." The crowd burst out in hushed murmurs. Who could be so foolish as to willingly challenge the Iron Knuckle? Was the man mad? Link hid his smile under his bushy auburn beard.
"Is that so?" Zanthos drawled. "You wish to battle the Iron Knuckle, do you? But, I do not recall seeing you in any of the previous games."
"You're Majesty, I am but a stranger to this land; a mere passer-by. It is by good fortune that I came upon your glorious festivities. It is my wish to partake in them" Link said. He was glad it was easy for him to fake respect for this phony.
"Very well then. Be warned, however, that I cannot guarantee that you will live. Do you still wish to challenge my Iron Knuckle?" Zanthos asked, clearly amused. Link bowed.
"I do"
Zanthos nodded once. "Your challenge is accepted." The crowd was still whispering amongst themselves. Link couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. This would be his first real fight. His first real battle and it was against a foe nobody had bested yet. His palms were sweaty and he felt almost giddy with anticipation. The three young men moved out of the clearing and Link took their place. He stood facing the silent Iron Knuckle who remained unmoving. It was impossible to see anything under the iron helm; even the openings of the visor gave nothing away. Link guessed the heavy armor alone weighed ten times his own weight and wondered just how strong the man beneath it really was.
A loud horn tooted and startled him, making him almost jump out of his skin. As soon as the second horn sounded, the crowd became silent. Link found himself surrounded by a translucent wall marked with strange red symbols. He reached out to touch it and received an electric shock that made him yelp and jump back. Great. Just great. The Iron Knuckle made the first move. He gripped his weapons tightly and began to move towards Link, his armor clanging with each heavy step. Link didn't know if he should be offended or worried. The Iron Knuckle wasn't charging him, he was walking towards him. He was walking calmly towards Link like he had not a care in the world. This infuriated Link who unsheathed his sword and readied his shield. He swung his sword in a circular motion in anticipation of the first blow. Link patiently waited for the slow foe to be within reach and then… SWOOSH! He let his sword land a blow that was blocked by the Knuckle with surprising ease. Again, Link swung his sword, and again, his blade was deflected. A second later, one of the enormous axes came swinging down and Link barely had time to block it with his shield, which rattled under the pressure. A moment later the second axe came swinging at him from his unprotected side and he rolled out of reach, but he felt it graze his shoulder. Clearly this enemy was a force to be reckoned with. Link had no intention of letting the Knuckle land a single blow, for the axes were sharp and heavy, as proved by the fact that even the Knuckle grunted with each of his swings. And that was his weakness. The Knuckle was laden with heavy armor and weapons, making him too heavy to move quickly. Agility was on Link's side. He waited again for the Knuckle to reach him and this time, he let him swing first before jumping out of the way. And swing the Knuckle did—with all his might. Such was the force of the blow that the axe became wedged in the earth and the Iron Knuckle couldn't pull it free. Had Link not moved out of the way in time, he would be split in two on the ground, dead. But he had moved and had taken his chance, doing a front flip and bringing down his sword hard upon the brute's helm. The Iron Knuckle was pushed forward by Link's strike that he fell on his knees, stopping himself from toppling over by using the second ax as a cane to stop his fall. Struggling to his feet, the Iron Knuckle was wide open from the back and Link landed another blow, this one so hard it made part of the Knuckle's armor fall off. With a mighty grunt, the Knuckle rose to his feet, pulling his weapon free from the ground. Immediately he swung his axes at Link, first one, then the other. They missed Link by mere inches. Was it Link's imagination or was the Knuckle moving faster than before? It didn't matter. Link jumped to the side, rolled across the ground and came up behind the Knuckle before the brute could react properly. He landed another blow that made his own arm quiver and again, another piece of the armor fell off. Yes, the breastplate and the pauldrons had come off, allowing the Knuckle to move more freely. He swung the axes with ease, making Link jump backward to avoid them, but in doing so, he crashed against the strange wall surrounding the area. Another shock paralyzed his body for a second before he fell to his knees, gasping for breath. The Knuckle was almost running towards him. He had to move out of the way, but his body protested against any movement. With every ounce of strength, he forced his body out of the way before one ax came thundering down just inches next to his head. Link forced himself to his feet and swung his sword at the Knuckle's leg in hopes of immobilizing the brute. The impact only served to make the cuisse and greave fall away as well. The Iron Knuckle then removed the remainder of his armor, leaving himself clad in only his chainmail. And now he was able to move just as swiftly as Link. He threw one of the axes to the side, holding the single ax with both hands for better control. Link blocked an especially powerful strike with his shield and stabbed the Knuckle with his sword. The Knuckle fell back, but was not seriously hurt because of the protection the chainmail provided. Link had a plan. He waited until the Knuckle struck again, moving out of the way in the nick of time. The ax became wedged in the earth once more, and Link knew this would be the only chance. He jumped high in the air and swung his sword with all his might, splitting the Knuckles helm in two. The Knuckle tumbled forward, face first, impaling himself upon his own weapon, and Link knew he had to end the match now. He stood above the Knuckle and raised his sword high, ready to drive his sword straight through.
"NO!" came a desperate scream. Before he knew what was going on, Link was blasted off his feet by a yellow orb of energy. The impact sent him flying through the air and crashing against the wall, sending his body into an electric spasm once more. He heard the town's people screaming and yelling, and upon opening his eyes, he saw them scattering across the field and out of sight. Someone else was in the clearing with him and the Knuckle. Taking a huge gulp of air and looking up, he saw a person he had never seen before. She was pale, like Zanthos, and her body bore the same dark patches across her skin. Her hair was bright orange. She was kneeling next to the Knuckle, who, upon further inspection, had the same shocking orange hair as the mysterious girl. Link knew immediately that it was her he had seen the day before. Zelda, he noted, was fighting off a few bokoblins, while Zanthos roared orders at the bizarre creatures of darkness. With a snap of his fingers, Zanthos caused the wall to disappear and with a shriek that pierced the ears, the foul beasts summoned even more bizarre looking monsters. These creatures were similar to the giant beasts, but smaller, devoid of the iron masks.
"KILL THEM!" roared Zanthos, spittle flying out of his mouth. Link got to his feet and ran towards Zelda.
"Let's get out of here!" he said, grabbing her hand. He whistled loudly and Fury came galloping full speed towards them, followed closely by Epona. The strange, orange-haired girl was fighting singlehandedly against the creepy beasts, but it was clear she wouldn't make it much longer as she was trying to protect the Iron Knuckle simultaneously.
"Link, we can't leave them" said Zelda, gripping his arm.
"Fine… are you ready?" he asked. She nodded and together, they charged at the beasts who were gathered around the girl and the Knuckle, almost overwhelming them.
They engaged in battle once more, but to Link and Zelda's dismay, every time they killed a fell beast, one of the remaining monsters gave a loud shriek and brought them back to life. Meanwhile, the strange girl aimed her powers at Zanthos, knocking him back. Zanthos screeched and disappeared.
"Listen to me," the orange-haired girl yelled over the commotion, "get out of the way… we're getting out of here!" and with that, she closed her eyes, spread her arms wide and a circular shadow formed at her feet, expanding until Zelda, Link, their horses and the Knuckle were within the circle. With a small "Hait!" the girl released the energy and then there was darkness. The same kind of darkness that Link had experienced so many years ago, with Zanthos…
Moments later they emerged from the darkness, gasping for breath. The horses neighed and stomped, clearly agitated by the ordeal. Zelda ran forward and grabbed the reins to both beasts and began to sing their favorite melody in a hushed voice. It took a moment for both horses to calm down in her arms.
"Alright, who the hell are you" Link said, rounding on the orange-haired girl. She ignored him and knelt beside the Iron Knuckle, whispering something to him.
"Please… he needs help" the girl said, turning her big, red eyes towards Link. He was surprised to see they were brimming with tears. "Please…" she begged again. Zelda pushed past him and knelt on the other side of the Knuckle, who was bleeding profusely from the ax wound.
"This… man" Zelda said as she removed his clothing and began to clean the wound. He too bore the same dark patches over his pale skin, like the girl… and like Lord Zanthos. Zelda pulled out a few herbs from a pouch. "This man tried to kill Link. Why should I save his life?" She began to chew the herbs in her mouth, spitting them out onto her small hand once they had become pasty. She looked up at the girl who now had tears sliding down her pale cheeks.
"He didn't mean to. He is not a bad person. He is my best friend. He was cursed by Zanthos. He was using him to do his horrible deeds" the girl explained, wiping her tears way. Slowly, gently, Zelda spread the herb paste over the Knuckle's wound. She turned to Link and motioned for him to come help her. Together, they bandaged up the Knuckle's torso, securing the paste in place with makeshift bandages. Still, the Knuckle remained unconscious.
"Where are we?" Link asked, looking around. They seemed to be in a cave of some sort because though the rain poured outside, they remained dry.
"This is where I have been hiding" the girl said, cradling the Knuckle in her arms. "It is a place near lake Hylia"
"What is your name?" Zelda asked kindly. She felt bad for this girl and her friend. If Zanthos had bewitched him, then he was not to blame.
"My name is Midona… and his name is Kintaro" the orange-haired girl sniffled. Zelda stood up and walked to Link, who was leaning against a rocky wall. She gently touched his arm and he felt suddenly lighter. He looked at the princess and realized that she had made their disguise finally fade away. She was back to being blond and blue eyed and he assumed he was too. Midona looked surprised but said nothing.
"You are Zanthos' enemy?" Zelda asked, turning to Midona.
"Y-yes" she answered, looking away.
"Enemies of my enemies are my friends" Link said.
"Where are you from?" Zelda asked Midona.
"We come from the Twilight Realm" she answered.