Chapter 3

     

Zelda woke up to find herself locked in a pitch-black dungeon. There was no light except for the thin stream of Moonlight that managed to slip through the badly cracked wall. Her eyes circled the room and observed every detail. In the corner, she saw a small broken stool with a ragged cloth hanging over the edge. She was lying in the middle of cement floor and just a couple of feet in front of her; she saw the cell door. She decided to test her balance and tried to stand on her own. She quickly found that to be a mistake. As soon she got up, she felt a wave of dizziness hit her. Her head arms, legs, and chest were throbbing. She looked at her arms but couldn't see anything. She ran her hands over her arms and was sickened to find dried blood and what felt like severe bruises. " I wonder if the rest of me is like this to," she thought to herself. She heard footsteps approaching her cell. She tried to hide but when she moved, she was hit with jolt of pain. She fell back to floor and began to weep silently. The cell door opened swiftly and a creature appeared in the doorway. It had a tall figure of about 6 feet and seemed to have the shape of a human. In his hand, she saw a whip and she saw the gleaming sword hanging below it. She shrunk down to the floor with fear. The creature stepped into the cell and spoke sharply to her.

"Well, now, look who's finally awake," the creature sneered. " Her Royal Highness has finally decided to join us." He reached forward and brought her out into the hallway. She tried to get free of his grip but she was too weak to resist his grip. He dragged her down the hall and into another room. When she entered, she found herself in what appeared to be a thrown room. The walls of the room had Hyrulian inscriptions written all over it. There appeared to be three different languages on the wall. One she didn't recognize but the other two appeared to be different forms of Hyrulian. The balconies still had old ripped banners hanging from their railings. Zelda could make out some of the designs of the room and could tell that this once was a very beautiful room many thousands of years ago but with damage it had sustained, it was now only a partly caved in cavern. She was pushed into the next room. The next room was a plain white room. In the middle of the room was a wooden pole. Besides that, there was nothing in the room. She was tied up to the pole and then was left there. She knew these guards weren't stupid. They would never leave her in here alone for too long. Just as she started to fiddle with the ropes around her, she heard the door open from behind her.

"There's no use struggling," the man's voice said. She recognized that voice. It was the most dreaded voice she had never wanted to encounter again. She shook her head to herself. " It's not him," she said in her head. " It's not HIM!"

She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to block HIS image out of her head. She heard the footsteps approaching her. They crossed in front of her and then they stopped. She felt a cold hand touch her chin and lift it upward. She slowly forced her eyes open. Before her, stood Ganondorf. He had a wicked smile on his face and he cackled as he saw her face.

" It was so convenient to find you so helpless, Princess. I was saddened though when I saw that your pathetic husband wasn't there. It would have been nice to crush him before your eyes. But, I will have him soon enough. "

" Your wrong," Zelda replied. " Hyrule is going to win this war against you no matter how many new stupid creatures you create!"

" You really disappoint me Princess," Ganondorf said, waving his finger in her direction. " I have the one thing that Link doesn't have…YOU! He will be going insane when he finds your blood all over the courtyard and he will assume right away that I was the one who captured you. Unfortunately, he's going to have a little…accident while trying to rescue you. He'll decide his fate. I will have the pleasure of seeing him die and you have got the pleasure of joining me.

"No!" Zelda screamed. " You won't kill him! You can't! He's the only one who can put the Triforce together. With out him, you'll never be able to maintain the Triforce."

" Oh, I realize that very clearly. But that 's why I have you. " Ganondorf said, snickering.

" I won't tell you anything…EVER!"

"We'll see princess…We'll see. Besides, it's not like I need the Triforce anymore. I have MORE strength then you will ever have even with the Triforce.

" That's impossible! The Triforce is the most powerful thing in Hyrule!" Zelda exclaimed.

" Perhaps…But then again maybe no. Well, I would love to continue this exhilarating conversation with you but I have other business I must attend to. I hope you enjoy your stay at my Castle." Ganondorf said with an evil grin.

" Your Castle?" Zelda said with a look of confusion in her eyes. "We destroyed that years ago."

" Ah, yes, my castle in Death Mountain. This is my new Palace that was recently built by my followers of the Under World." Ganondorf said, patting the walls with a gentle hand. " My Palace, now in the one place where it can never be destroyed … The Evil Realm! "

* * *

Link looked out of the castle window out onto the Enchanted Spectacle. He started out onto the grove trees when he thought; " I should have found her by now. Even when she's mad at me, she always comes back to talk to me. Where could she possibly be?"

Link was looking up in the trees, when he noticed a piece of cloth in one of the trees. Link reached up and grabbed it. He examined it and found that it had a Z inscribed in it. " This is from Zelda's headpiece that she was wearing today," Link thought with alarm. " Why would she be this far from the Castle though? It's too dangerous." As Link stepped around the tree he saw a puddle of blood on the ground. An alarm in the back of his head went off and he assumed right away that it was Zelda's blood that was shed all over the ground. Tears began to form in his eyes as he saw the Drakino Hawk clawing all over the bark of the tree. " Oh my God," he thought. " Wait a minute. This could be anybody. This doesn't mean that Zelda was the one that was attacked. " He was proved wrong a second after though. He looked in the pool of blood and saw a shiny object. Shuddering, he reached down and picked up the object that was now covered in blood. He wiped the blood off it was best as he could. He began to weep as he saw what it was. In his hand he held the silver pendant that he had given Zelda for their 1^st Anniversary. She never took it off. Link stood up, wobbled a little from dizziness. He ran his fingers over the claw marks on the tree.

"Ganondorf…" Link whispered with a sudden light of acknowledgement in his eyes. He regained his composure and ran inside the Castle. He had to save her.

" But how?" he thought to himself. "I don't even know where his new Palace is. What can I do?"

Link walked back into the castle deep in thought. He stopped in the entrance still wondering what he could do, when he heard a stick break behind him. He quickly turned and pulled his sword out in front of him and found himself face to face with a Moblin and a Drakino Hawk. He lunged himself at the hawk and managed to pierce the bird's wing. The bird cried out in pain and fell to the ground, moaning softly. Link then turned to the Moblin and killed it easily while it tried to escape. Link then turned his attention back to the Drakino Hawk. The Bird was on the ground gasping for air. Link knelt by its side and picked it up until he was eye to eye with the creature.

" I want to know where my wife is," Link growled in a hoarse, low voice. " Tell me now or I'll make sure you have a slow death you piece of crap."

The hawk took in a deep breath still fighting for air. " Your wife is in a place where no one from this world has ever dared to travel or ever wished to. Ganondorf has taken her to a far off land that is impossible to reach by Hylians, unless that is, you have the Map of Realms. This land is called Verscelnera. It is located in the Void of the Forgotten Souls." The hawk reached in his pocket and removed a withered piece of paper. " I will give this to you if you promise to destroy Ganondorf and fulfill the revenge that I was never able to give him. " Link nodded in agreement and took the map from the perishing creature.

" This map will lead you to where your Princess is. But you must use it correctly. The voids where the realms exist are full of danger and once you're lost, there is no hope. To successfully navigate your self through the void, you must find the compass to this map. Go to Death Mountain and look for my friend,

Phoebes Tremore. He is well known…You shouldn't have trouble…He will tell you more but I fear my time has come…Give him this…" Inside the map laid a chain of gold with a star attached to it. " He will know. He will know…"

" Why do you tell me all this? Why do you betray your King?" Link asked with curiosity.

" That man, my so called…King," The hawk coughed out the words, " he killed my family and ruined my life by making me serve him. I hate him with… all… my …soul. I tell you this…because you have given me the…chance to die…and leave this reign…of…terror…Thank…you…"

Then the creature's body went limp and his eyes slowly shut as he slumped to the ground. Link bent over and checked the bird pulse. He was dead. Link couldn't believe that this enemy that had attacked him no more than 10 minutes earlier had just given him vial information to Zelda's where about.

" I'm forever grateful my friend," Link whispered to the dead bird. "Thank you."

With that, Link started into the Castle and prepared his journey for Death Mountain.

 

* * *

Timothy Chamberlain entered the Castle Gates and gave a small nod to the soldiers. He gave his horse to one of the stable men and proceeded quickly into the Castle. He had a meeting with the King and couldn't afford to be late.

When he entered the Meeting Chambers, He found a man in a green tunic with a sword at his waist talking to the King about something obviously very important. He had Blond wavy hair and blue eyes. As Tim approached the King he took a knee and introduced himself. The king suddenly smiled with joy.

"Tim, is that really you? Last I saw you, you were merely ten years old," The King Cried out with joy.

" Many years have past my Lord," Tim answered back, still on his knee.

"Oh, please stop with the formalities, Tim. Stand up. I want to introduce you to my friend here," The King indicated the Blond haired man. " This is Link. He is married to Zelda and the Hero of our country!"

"Oh," Tim exclaimed, " So you’re the Hero of Time?" Tim answered with amusement in his voice.

"Are you even royalty? How could you have married a Princess?"

Links eyes became dark by the comment and the King saw the friction grow suddenly between the two strangers.

"Timothy, Link is extremely well respected amount the people of Hyrule and is loved by all. He has proven himself beyond worthy of marrying my daughter." The King said sternly, not liking what he saw between the two.

" I see your majesty," Tim said with a slight bow. " I trust your judgement and I'm sure you are correct about Slink."

" The name is Link," Link corrected. " Well, Tim, it's been a pleasure meeting you but I must be going now. Unfortunately, I probably won't see you before you leave."

"Oh Link," The King exclaimed. " Why don't you take Tim with you. He could probably be useful." He turned to Tim with sudden tears in his eyes. " Zelda was abducted this afternoon by some of Ganondorf's Drakino Hawks. Link was able to find where she was but he has a long journey in front of him with many dangers. I'm sure he could use the extra hand, isn't that right Link?" The King shot Link a look of sternness. He knew he wouldn't be able to get out of this situation so He merely nodded with a smile.

Then he left the courtroom. Tim looked after him until the door shut. Link seemed to be extremely praised for his help to Hyrule. But he still couldn't figure out how the Princess had gotten stuck with him…

 

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