A/N Hello readers & welcome to another chapter.
This is where things will begin to pick up.
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CHAPTER WARNING: Minor violence & one cuss word.
Chapter Four.
During the long drive back, Zelda's thoughts drifted to her father and the bitter words she had spoken to him in anger. She sighed deeply, the weight of the guilt and regret setting on her shoulders. She knew she had to find a way to apologize for her behavior—for wishing him dead, but the thought of facing him filled her with trepidation and fear.
Zelda slowed down as she approached the gates, her heart skipping a beat as she noticed they were wide open and the guard booth was empty. She felt a slight flutter of worry in her stomach. Where was Dorian? Why were the gates open? What if her father had really done the unthinkable and fired him for permitting her to leave earlier. All these thoughts were racing through her mind.
She continued driving, yet the nearer she got to the mansion, the more her panic intensified. She bit her lip, her grip on the steering wheel tightening. She noted the time was just past one am, much later then she had anticipated. The party was likely over, but things still made little sense. Why were the gates open? And why would Dorian just abandon his post? She tried to reassure herself. Perhaps she was overthinking things. Perhaps, Dorian needed a bathroom break and had simply forgotten to close them.
Bringing her vehicle to a halt outside, Zelda composed herself. She then reached into the backseat and retrieved her jacket before slipping it on. She clambered out of the car and quietly shut the door. There was an eerie silence blanketing the manor which left Zelda with an ominous feeling of unease. She shivered in the crisp night air as she hastily made the short walk across the front drive. She looked around for any indication of what could have unfolded since her absence, but nothing here seemed out of the ordinary.
Zelda reached the front door and a puzzled frown creased her forehead when she noticed it was slightly ajar. Slowly pushing the door open, a shudder ran down her spine as she stepped into the darkened entrance hall, lit only by the silvery glow of the moon. The remnants of decorations from the previous night's party lay scattered across the floor in disarray. She had barely made it a few steps when something chilling caught her gaze, several blood splatters staining the once-pristine floor.
She had little time to grasp the gravity of the situation when she heard loud authoritative voices, piercing screams, followed by the sound of multiple gunshots which reverberated through the entire house. It was deafening. She froze on her feet, her blood ran cold, her heart almost leaping out of her chest. Father? Thoughts of the patriarch—her only blood relative came to her unbidden.
Suddenly everything went deathly quiet and she cautiously advanced forward, her senses on high alert. The logical part of her brain advised her to run as far away as possible for her own safety, but an inexplicable force seemed to pull her towards the source of all the noise.
The hallway became increasingly darker and she found herself almost gliding towards the only source of light, a dim orange which emerged from the slightly ajar door leading to the reception room. The muffled voices behind the door puzzled Zelda. She inched closer, straining to make out the words, however the thick oak door was making it difficult for her decipher what was being said.
With quivering and trembling fingers, she clutched the edge of the door, pushing it open ever so slowly—Gently—gently—the hinges creaking but not enough to warrant any unwanted attention.
As soon as she was able to take a peek inside, Zelda's heart sank and her mind fogged with shock and disbelief. Her father was on his knees with a gun pointed at his head. Beside him on the floor lay two dead bodyguards. Alongside their bloodied bodies lay one of the young servant girls, Zelda had only the pleasure of meeting on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately, from her position she couldn't tell if she was dead or just unconscious. She prayed it was the latter. Also gathered in the room were four unidentifiable figures all clad in red, wearing masks depicting a strange looking symbol. They looked almost like ninjas, and what was that one of them was carrying—a sword?
As much as she knew her father cared about status, money and his reputation, it didn't usually involve bloodshed.
She began to back away, one hand pressed over her mouth, her eyes still disbelieving. How had things escalated so quickly? Just a few short hours ago, they had been arguing like they had done so many times before. Now her father was being held at gunpoint, clearly being used as some kind of hostage. In that very moment she knew she was way out of her depth. She needed to call for help. However, after reaching for her phone, she realized the smartest decision was to ensure she was safely away from the manor before calling the police. She quietly backpedaled towards the front door, but as she turned to run she saw another man dressed identical to the others, rapidly approaching.
Zelda panicked, even more so when a hand darted out and clamped over her mouth. She struggled, muttering incoherently as she was dragged out of his line of sight.
Mere seconds later, a soft soothing voice reassured her. "Shh, Zelda, it's just me."
Zelda recognized the voice instantly. Impa?
The trusted bodyguard removed her hand from Zelda's mouth before very quietly pulling open the door to an empty storage closet. She ushered the frightened girl inside. "Stay in there and don't come out until I return, understand?"
"Wait, what?" She had so many questions, yet she knew this was not the time to be asking them. She nodded in affirmation. "Okay."
Impa stroked her cheek affectionately, gave her a smile and turned away. She then closed the door leaving Zelda shrouded in darkness.
Lost in shock and confusion, Zelda struggled to remain calm. She peered through a crack in the door, hoping to see something—anything that could help her identify these assailants. Currently she had no idea who they were or what they wanted. Could they be assassins? Some kind of deadly organization? What she did know is that they must have been highly skilled and well equipped to bypass their top security system and take down her father's well trained bodyguards.
Inside the closet, she waited and waited for what felt like an endless amount of time. As Impa had still not returned, Zelda became restless. She pulled out her phone, deciding she was going to have to call for help. Her fingers hovered over the screen. She shakily dialed a 9 and then as she went to press the 1 she was interrupted by a loud scuffle outside the door. It looked to be between one of the assassins and another bodyguard. She flinched as a shot rang out, followed by a loud grunt and then a familiar face was slammed up against the door. Impa's bloodshot eyes stared right into hers as her attacker continued banging her head against the door, blood now trickling down her face.
Zelda wanted to help, but Impa offered a quick, sharp shake of her head, an indication that she needed to stay hidden.
He continued his relentless assault, until suddenly Impa's eyes widened in shock and she let out a low, guttural sound.
Zelda gasped at the sight of a knife being plunged into her friend's body. She covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut, unwilling to watch or listen to her brutal demise. It took only seconds for the bodyguard—her—nursemaid—her friend to crumple to the floor.
Slowly, she parted her fingers just enough to peek through. The sight of Impa's slain body sent Zelda into trembling shock. She recoiled, clamping a hand over her mouth to stifle her cries.
The assassin who was still outside the door reached down and picked up his victim's gun before he continued to prowl in the shadows, his hulking figure towering and imperious.
His silhouette had rendered Zelda frigid. The fear and panic coursing through her veins intensified. She shuffled forward towards the crack, hoping to keep an eye on his movements, yet he was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes flicked up and down the hallway, seeing nothing. She was just about to breathe a sigh of relief when unexpectedly and without warning his masked face appeared directly in front of her.
Zelda gasped, shuffling backwards as far as she could go, back pressed up against the wall; chest heaving. Did he see me? She couldn't hold back any longer. The tears started flowing silently down her cheeks, and she had to bite her hand hard to stop herself from sobbing. She was beyond scared now, her mind racing with worst-case scenarios.
Suddenly, in the deafening silence her phone rang. Zelda cursed silently as the ringtone blared. It was Mipha calling. Her fingers fumbled to silence it, but it was too late. She had already been discovered. The closet door was violently yanked open, revealing her location.
The masked killer stalked towards her, slowly, maliciously, raising his gun at her. He straightened his hulking back, looming even further above and over her. From behind the mask he stared at her terrified form now looking like a deer caught in headlights. "Well, well, well. Now, who do we have here?"
An anguished squeal escaped Zelda's lips as her eyes trailed upwards, settling on the weapon that could kill her at any moment.
He laughed, a deep, glorious sound. "Not very good at hiding are you, little rabbit?" he chided. The man stepped forward slightly, uncomfortably close and reached forward to grab her.
Zelda resisted, kicking and thrashing, however it was of little use. With a pair of strong arms he was able to effortlessly overpower her and haul her out of the closet.
Once they were standing in the hallway, he extended his hand, palm upwards. "Give me the phone!" he commanded, in a deep, thick unrecognizable accent.
She remained steadfast in her quiet courage. "No!"
"Hand it over, or I'll pry it out of your cold, dead hands once I kill you," he snarled.
Although the threat hung in the air like a dark cloud, chilling her to the bone, she didn't falter.
There was a moment of tension-filled silence before the man spoke with a chilling certainty. "So be it," he replied, his words dripping with a menacing coldness. Instead of using the gun though, he reached out and grasped his fingers around Zelda's slender neck.
She choked out a gurgling scream as his fingers tightened, constricting, finally dampening her breathing. Zelda was almost sure he was about to choke her to death. Although she hated giving her captor the satisfaction of seeing her cry, she couldn't stop the tears rolling down her cheeks at the sheer helplessness of the situation.
With his free hand he wrenched the phone from her grip and then began surveying the screen. He noticed the three missed calls from Mipha. He laughed manically. "Let her send for the cavalry. They'd never make it in time anyway."
"Please—" she gasped.
He finally released his grip, leaving her wheezing and coughing violently. She then watched in horror as he proceeded to crush the phone under his heavy boot. The sound of shattered glass and crushed electronics filling the air.
He stomped back towards her, grabbing her wrists in a vice-like grip. Fear struck her and she found herself shaking all over. However, she didn't want to be perceived as some weak damsel. Zelda had to save Zelda, even if it seemed fruitless. So, with a sudden burst of strength, she brought her knee up to his groin.
He immediately keeled over, roaring in pain. "YOU BITCH!" he cursed, still seething in agony.
Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Zelda ran, heading immediately for the door. She was almost there when a shot was fired, missing her head by a single hairsbreadth.
"Move another inch and next time I pull this trigger, I won't miss," he warned.
Zelda halted, her moment of bravery slipping away. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of whether to risk running or to give in. She had no idea how many of those assassins could be lurking outside, or realistically how far she expected to get before he shot her. A grim resolution passed her face as she finally turned to face him, feeling utterly defeated.
He congratulated her smoothly. "Wise choice, little rabbit."
Her eyes remain locked onto him as he approached. Without warning he lashed out, smacking her hard across the face, splitting her lip and sending her sprawling to the ground. Tears formed in her eyes, threatening to join the blood trickling from her lip. Her breaths came quick and shallow, as though her lungs were desperately trying to take in oxygen while they still could.
"That was for what you did earlier," he growled.
Zelda tried to crawl away, but her attempts were in vain when she felt a heavy boot on her back, crushing her into the ground. He then grasped a handful of her hair, twisting it painfully as he dragged her to her feet. She gave a perfunctory struggle, but the hopelessness of the situation was reflected all too clearly in her demeanor. Once she was upright, he snaked a strong arm immovably around her waist. "Now let's go," he ordered.
As they started to move, Zelda slammed her head back in desperation, just missing her captor's chin. He grabbed her by the throat, pulling her back against his chest. "Try anything like that again and I'm going to put a bullet in your head," he warned, the sound of the gun cocking echoing through the hall.
Drawing a steadying breath, Zelda attempted to put on a brave show, however once the gun was jabbed into her side of her temple she felt her heart constrict as she realized that her fate and her very life was now in his hands.
A/N More to come...