Gliss's Note: Thanks for reading everybody! :) Thanks for your continual support and awesomeness for this story! And if you're reading this, you're even awesomer! XD Enjoy! :)
Twinixie's Note: Hey guys! Ah, this is such an awesome chapter and really full of action! I hope you enjoy it and leave a review if you can! See you guys around!
Zelda crossed her arms tightly and stared into the dark eyes of Varlorian. She stood tall and held her ground, regardless of the fact she was still wearing her uncomfortable corset she had on when she ran away. That was the biggest mistake of her life. She thought she was running away from all her simple problems of marriage and such, but really she was blindly sprinting into a nightmare.
She was a tough princess though. She wasn't going to show Var any sign of weakness. They stared each other down, each with their own hatred boiling inside of them. He claimed that he would torture her later on, and Zelda wasn't sure how to handle that. Still, she could not break down.
His gaze faltered, and he rolled his eyes. "Would you stop acting like a child? Can we enter or not?!"
They were standing in front of a large temple. Although it was white and pure-looking right now, its brightness seemed to dim as the world around them began to get corrupted. Its light was becoming shadowed.
Zelda still had her arms crossed. "No. Not until you tell me what's inside the temple."
"Nothing!" Var cried out. "There's nothing inside there! Now let's quickly go into it!"
She shook her head with disbelief. "Really? That's your explanation? You are forcing me to go inside a temple that has nothing inside of it?!"
The Imparian man stood there and clenched his fists. "I am trying to give you a chance, okay? I don't want to forcibly haul you in there, but I will if I have to!" He looked more annoyed than deadly at this point though.
"Just tell me what is really inside there, and then maybe I will walk in." She uncrossed her arms so she wouldn't look as defensive. If he saw that she was more willing to obey him, maybe he would be more willing to answer her question. It was a weak attempt, but it was better than nothing. She didn't even know why he wanted her in the first place.
"Why are you so intent on knowing what's on the inside?" He asked through gritted teeth. He stepped closer into her personal space, and she saw his sharp fangs. He could really hurt her. It would be best not to get on his bad side.
Zelda tensed. "You have told me for a matter of fact that I would be tortured and beaten later on! I just...don't want to go in there if it's something that will hurt me."
Var shook his head violently and then rolled his eyes. "You do realize that regardless of what is inside there, you will be entering, whether that means I make you or-"
She took this as her shot at an escape. Escape to where? Those details were not worked out, but maybe if she could find somewhere to hide... As she began to run off, she was forced to stop dead in her tracks. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't allow it.
Var chuckled from behind her. His hand was held out with his palm facing her, and then he closed it tightly. Zelda couldn't breathe. He was suffocating her using an external source of power it seemed. His body glowed as he was filled with its coursing energy. She couldn't move and she couldn't breathe.
Dragging Zelda from behind him as he used this immense power so he didn't physically have to touch her, Varlorian entered the temple. "This is the Temple of Light." His fist loosened slowly as she started to gasp for air until he completely opened it, and she fell to the floor.
"Temple...of Light?" She asked as she was still panting. Her lungs were sore, and the rest of her body was a little numb as if it were already shutting down from the lack of oxygen. "There's- There's nothing in here!" Or at least in the room they were in. It was completely empty.
Var made a tsking noise. "And you didn't believe me! What a silly little girl you are!" His tone was mocking as if it were how one would talk to a dog or other small animal. Then he shifted back into his hardened shell. "Do you know what you get for not believing me?"
She had just recovered from nearly suffocating; Zelda didn't want to get anything from that...monster. He walked over to her and kicked her. Then once more. And again. She struggled for her breath again.
"Do you believe me now?" He asked, using the same dog voice from earlier.
Although she was glaring at him through her tears, she nodded slowly. It hurt, but she could not show weakness. She needed to stand. Zelda wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. She was tough. She was strong. She was not his dog nor his servant.
Var started grinning at her menacingly until he started laughing. At first, it was almost a giggle really. Then it developed into a chuckle until eventually he was cackling like a maniac. She wasn't quite sure how mentally stable this guy really was.
"What's so funny?" She gritted her teeth. Now it was her turn to be impatient with him.
He actually wiped a tear from his eye. Yes, he was laughing that hard! "I- I-" Another giggle. "I lied!" He erupted into wild laughter again.
Zelda swallowed nervously, but she couldn't help but also be a little confused. "You...lied...?" What did he mean he lied? And what was so funny about it?
"Oh, how I think I'm getting that rush you get whenever you're dishonest! Sometimes it can sure be a pleasure!" He sounded like a crazy man. Judging by what had happened, he probably was. It seemed as if he was getting a little high off of whatever lie he told. Then, his face contorted into one of confusion for a second as if he were trying to still piece something together, but it vanished with the reappearance of his sick grin.
"I'm sorry," he said through his smile. "I don't lie very often. What I lied about was- was..." He stuttered and trailed off as if something were still bothering him. He shook it off. "This room actually does have something in it!"
Now Zelda was even more confused. She was really starting to question the sanity of this man even more. At first she thought that he was just a kidnapper, then she thought he was an evil man working under another master. Although he may still be that evil man working for someone, he was losing his mind as he was doing it. Or so it seemed.
"Come walk over to me," he said. He was standing in the middle of the tiled floor. There was a circular design on the tiles that seemed oddly suspicious. And inside that circle, there was a smaller circle.
Zelda staggered as she started to walk. Baby steps. There was no point in resisting any more. If she kept up the attitude, her injuries were going to worsen, and she would probably face things much worse than if she had just kept her mouth shut.
The ground started shaking when she reached the edge first circle. Var just kept grinning like a maniac. "It's working."
The innermost part of the circle retracted sideways, and a pillar rose up from where the center was. It stopped rising once it had reached about Zelda's shoulder height. There was an object on the pillar or...pedestal was a better word for it.
"The Triforce," Var explained. "It will only react to the presence of a pure-hearted mortal, or an omnipotent being. You, my friend, are the key to unlocking its awesome power."
She wanted to spit at him a comment about not being his friend, but she was in shock. What labeled her to be so pure-hearted? She had more important questions to ask though. "What does it do?"
"You'll see, soon enough." Var paced back and forth as he did some more explaining. "You see, because you are the only one that can allow it to show itself, you are also the only one who can hold it without causing it to break. If it broke, everything we've worked so hard at achieving would be futile."
Zelda doubted he was using the royal "we". This was definitely just a piece of some big master plan with someone else. She wanted to touch it, because he said she could, but at the same time, she was scared for what it might do to her if she did.
"Actually," Var continued. "There is one other person who is allowed to touch the Triforce as well."
"Who is it?" She asked, practically growling at him. She was in no mood to play games with him anymore.
He made a disapproving face. "No need to get fussy, princess. You know him very well actually. It's your boyfriend."
Boyfrie- Oh! "Link?" She gasped, but after a split-second, hardened her face again. "He will come here, and he will save me from your torture! He is my bodyguard! It is his duty!"
Right on schedule, Link and the girl from earlier stumbled through the entrance. Var seemed surprised at how perfectly timed this was. He told them that he had been expecting them. Zelda wondered why both her and Link were needed to hold the Triforce. Backup maybe? Or would one of them have to face...elimination.
She ran away from the Imparian man and into Link's embrace. He held her there momentarily and stroked the back of her hair. She was so happy she could cry. She had seen him take down several troublemakers before, surely this guy wasn't too different. Maybe a bit more...eccentric though.
This was no time for catching up, and Link knew that. He pulled himself out of Zelda's arms with two words. "Stay back." She did this, along with the other woman. This was a brawl between the men.
She trusted her Hylian friend to take Var down. Link stood before him without showing any signs of doubtfulness. "You've abducted the princess from her throne. That is an offense beyond measure."
Var laughed. "Actually, your little princess came running to me. She ran off blindly to the Temple of Time...just like I wanted her to."
Link drew his sword. "In any case, you have kidnapped the princess. I am not afraid to hurt you."
"Go ahead," Varlorian taunted. "Hurt me. It certainly will not be as bad as when I kill you!"
The woman and Zelda shared a glance. The princess recognized that she must be of the Imparian race as well, but she seemed to be on Link's side. If Link could trust her, Zelda could too.
Var started using his power that seemed to be drawn out of an external source. Using this power, he pulled a large sword from out of the ground. It was as if he created it as it was pulled out.
Both duelers got in a fighting stance. Zelda's heart had never thumped so loudly in her chest. Link played defensive as he waited for Var to try and strike him. If he learned about his attack pattern, then he could create one of his own to combat it.
Var made three lunges at Link, all of which were dodged gracefully. This fight wasn't starting off too badly. The two of them started taking swings at each other, which were all parried and avoided. The two seemed easily matched as they went from sword swinging then to Var's lunges, over and over, with no sign of any real difficulty.
Suddenly, Var started charging his sword with energy. This took time, so when the strike came, Link was able to block it with his shield. More swings, evenly matched and evenly blocked. More lunges. And then the sword charging started up again. This was the perfect opportinity to get a clear cut.
Zelda was afraid to watch the graphic sights that came next, but she physically couldn't take her eyes off of the fight. With one easy slice, Link decapitated Var before he could make his energy charged attack.
The Imparian next to her looked as if she was going to be sick. Zelda wondered if the woman knew what she was signing up for when accompanying Link. She didn't seem to like the fact that another man was killed. Or maybe it was just because they were of the same race. Either way, Zelda agreed that it was a disturbing sight.
"Bravo," someone said from behind her. The three of them spun around and saw...Var? "You are a lot stronger than I had thought. My silly doppleganger tricks are of no match for your skill."
Link gripped his sword tightly and moved toward the real Var with a determined look on his face. This time, he would get him for sure. Zelda prayed to the goddesses that Link could take him on, but Var started laughing.
"I know how much you must want to kill me right now," he said. "But I really should go see my master first. Bye bye!" And with that, he stabbed his sword into the temple's floor. The blade seemed to melt into a portal to another realm. Before anyone could budge another muscle, Varlorian jumped in and it was closed.
"That was it, wasn't it?" Link asked, eerily quiet. The decaptiated body behind him disintegrated. He kicked the floor. "What does that man even want?!" He was very protective of Zelda. She was the princess of Hyrule after all, and he was her bodyguard. But before that, her friend.
Zelda swallowed and pointed at the Triforce on the pedestal. "That."
Link turned his attention to the glowing triangles for the first time since he entered the room. Three triangles came together at their corners to form a larger triangle with a triangular hole in the middle. There were certainly a lot of...triangles.
"What is it?" He breathed in awe. Link walked closer and Zelda ran up to him. Just as he was about to touch it, she caught his hand and held him back.
They stared into one another's eyes for a second. Zelda's gaze dropped downto his cheekbone. Apparently, he had gotten cut on all the action. It was very small and very minor, so she took her thumb and wiped off the blood.
"Don't do it," she warned in a whisper. "I- I'm not quite sure what exactly it is, but it's very dangerous. Or...it can be. Only pure-hearted mortals and omnipotent beings can hold it without it breaking. That's what Var told me anyway."
Link let out a deep breath. "What does it do?"
Zelda opened her mouth to say, "I don't know," but the woman stepped from out of the shadows. "It can grant its user limitless power, great courage, and amazing wisdom. When kept in its full form it will provide all these things and one wish."
"Sheloh?" Link questioned. "You're familiar with this object?"
The woman, Sheloh, nodded. "Oh yes. The Triforce might just be what we need though."
"What we need?" Zelda inquired. "For what?"
The corners of her mouth turned upward into a smile. She had been waiting for this moment for a long time now. The sight of seeing Var killed before her seemed to have already faded from her memory. "To destroy the evil forces of Varlorian and his master once and for all."
Link gulped. "How do we do that?"
"All you have to do is pick it up and make the wish. Your princess, and what might be the fate of the Sacred Realm, will be safe only if you do this." Sheloh inhaled deeply. This was something that she seemed to want a lot.
"I'm game."
Sweet! I hope you guys like that action-packed chapter! :) I'll see you soon!