The Master Sword did not budge.
"What?" Horus wondered. "Try again, Link," he urged.
Link did as he was told, and tried to lift the sword one more time. His muscles burned with the strain, but he was not granted the Master Sword.
"This is preposterous! How could he have the mark of the hero but not be accepted by the Master Sword?" his father yelled.
The Queen of Hyrule responded calmly, "It is possible that Link will need to face trials before the sword will accept him as the hero. The goddesses have given the title of hero to his ancestors, but tested their courage before granting the sword's power. Perhaps we cannot rush into this as we imagined."
Link leaned against the sword, defeated. Zelda silently approached him and gave that charming smile. "It's OK, silly. Why don't you join me for my birthday party today and perhaps along the way we will find the answer to this riddle. The goddesses work in mysterious ways."
Her words were welcome, but he was disappointed. His high hopes were dampened back to reality. "Let's face it. I wasn't meant for this," he said, and walked away from her with his eyes on the floor, ashamed. "I should have known the legend was a lie."
Zelda lowered her eyes, upset. Not because Link was unable to wield the Master Sword yet, but at the way he was so easily defeated by this one setback. Could Hyrule really depend on such a boy who so easily gave up in the face of a difficult quandary?
"I will have Fred assemble the council members for a short meeting this morning to decide our next step. I am glad you came as soon as you did," the king commended.
Link began ascending the stairs to the ground floor again, his thoughts all a blur while drowning in his self-pity. The sound of fast approaching footsteps made him alert, and the castle steward rounded the corner to the staircase.
"Fred? What is it?" the queen asked with sincere concern.
Link flinched and spun to find the source that caused a loud rumble, as if the entire sky roared with thunder. The sound of screaming men and women could be faintly heard through the walls.
Breathing heavily from the run, the steward explained, "The marketplace... the village.. Everything!" He breathed in, and then out slowly, trying to avoid the panic that crept through his mind. "Hyrule is under attack!"
"What?" Link questioned, narrowing his eyes. "That's... No way! That's impossible!"
"Do we know the manner of the attack?" the king asked quickly, wanting to go to action immediately.
"There's chaos! I haven't seen what is attacking us, but buildings are being destroyed. Whatever it is, it's on a rampage. It must be a huge monster," Fred explained the best he could.
"Your majesties, I think it is best if you and the council members have your meeting down here, where you'll be safe," Horus explained. "No man or monster will be able to find you here."
"No, we must reach the temple. If this threat is as powerful as you say, I fear we may be facing the Demon King again. Benjamin and I must make our way to the Triforce to pray to the goddesses," the queen countered.
Zelda spoke up firmly. "Mom, it is not our place to use the Triforce. We should pray here, with the Master Sword. It is Link's duty to use the Triforce, to find his balance, and save Hyrule."
"Zelda, I couldn't even use the sword. What makes you believe something like the Triforce would even work for me?" Link objected.
"Trust me. I know you have a good heart, and you hide it because you have spent years trying to find where you belong in his vast world. It is the good who always win, Link. You have been looking for your place in the world and this is it. All you have to do is accept it," she encouraged bravely.
"I must round up the rest of the knights as soon as possible. Are you coming with me or not?" Horus asked his son, running ahead.
Link stared with sad eyes at the princess. "I know we just met, and I know I might not have made a great impression, but I want you to know that I hoped you would have picked me as your suitor."
Zelda only smiled and laughed. "We will just have to wait until after the battle is over to see if you have proven yourself worthy, hero." Her mother and father returned to the Master Sword, and she slowly followed, but not without looking back at Link just once.
He smiled back softly, and then turned to fight and defend his princess. He burst through the castle's double doors leading to the driveway, and was petrified by what he saw.
The steward had not done the scene justice. Men, women, and children were running in every direction. No one knew which way to turn to find safety. Buildings collapsed after the loud bang of an explosion. There was no fire or smoke, just a billowing cloud from the dust of debris, so what caused the homes to explode? Link was horrified to see one building throw bodies when it was tossed across the road. Screams, shouts, and cries for help echoed faintly on the wind. The chaos was still a few miles away, but quickly approached the castle.
"Link!"
He turned to face his father, with eyes full of fear, brightened by the shining sun. All of the knights, including the others of his age, were already gathered there in the drive to plan a counter attack. Link joined them, and swallowed the lump in his throat. This was really happening. Why?
"What can you report?" Horus asked.
"A man and woman of Gerudo descent," Jake advised.
"Two Gerudo are causing all of this mess? I don't believe it," one of the younger knights said.
"There's been no Gerudo for centuries," Horus explained in disbelief.
"This has to be a sick joke," Mido said, worried.
"Only one thief survived after the Sacred Realm was first invaded. No one knows what happened, but the knight's stories said she fought in the name of the Demon King during the Sealing War. She tried to prevent the seven wise men from completing the ritual."
"Right. She failed though, and evaded capture for some time. She deceived the king, and was able to use their descendants to enter the Dark World and join the demon. No one knows what happened after the hero won, but they vanished."
"Not quite. The demon returned on a few occasions, but he was always just a mindless monster, and the hero always won."
"Does anyone know the woman's identity?" Horus demanded, redirecting their focus.
"Ganondora," Link answered plainly, speaking up for the first time.
"What? How do you know?" Mido questioned harshly.
"I... I'm not sure. I saw her though, in my dream last night," he explained. "When I woke up, I had this cut," he said, and lifted the sleeve of his uniform to show his father.
Silence fell over them while they tried to make sense of the impossible information.
"She and the Demon King were both killed by the hero. How could it be possible she is back?"
"If she has returned, then there is only one explanation for the man with her. If that is true, then we are all dead," one of the men exclaimed.
"Then we best not waste what time we have left standing around and talking," Jake said to encourage them. "We split into teams, flank them, and catch them by surprise. We need a group to head straight for them and keep them distracted. Volunteers?"
Horus volunteered, and so did all of the other older men in the group. Link tried to stay with his dad, but the teenagers were divided into the surprise attack teams equally.
"Ready?" Horus asked them all.
"For Hyrule!" the knights shouted, except one.
"For Zelda," Link whispered, and led his group to their destination.