Disclaimer: I don’t want to get in whatever trouble people can get into when using other people’s characters so - .The Legend of Zelda, Link, Zelda, Ganon, Hyrule and other related characters and settings belong to to that wonderous console company, Nintendo. No infringement intended.

Juliet A. Singleton (Scullys@bigfoot.com) & Kirsty Singleton (Indigo_Spacen@mail.com)

Chapter 9

Leigh stood in the stand nervously, fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt. It had taken the jury almost a day and a half to come up with the verdict, and now she was back in the court room, waiting for it to be read out. "All stand before the King," announced a guard. Everyone rose to their feet, waiting expectantly. The King rose and waited for the verdict to be passed to him. Stobbart was not present, and had been replaced by someone else, in order to help the jury decide. Katrina stood up and gave a slip of parchment to the King.

"I call for a verdict upon Leigh Temple," called Zelda. The court was silent, Leigh noticed her hands were shaking. The King unfolded the note. He read it through, his expression giving away nothing. Leigh waited.

"The defendant, Leigh Temple, has been found…" he paused for a second. Leigh looked up to the ceiling, praying for the right verdict. "Guilty of every charge, including defilement of the crown, theft, assault, desertion, murder on seven counts and consorting with Ganondorf Dragmire," read out the King. There were a few surprised gasps around the court, but there were also cheers. The King himself sounded quite surprised. Leigh felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her, her world turned upside down. "She is found to be malicious and conniving as well as a senseless and brutal murderer, and her crimes must be washed away with her own blood in way of public execution. A date will be set in the next two months," read aloud the King. Leigh swallowed and slumped against the stand, wishing it were all a dream. She collapsed to the floor, never feeling so utterly defeated in her life. She closed her eyes willing herself to wake up, make it all a bad, bad nightmare.

"That's not right! You can't do that!" protested a male voice angrily. Leigh looked up, seeing it was Sparks. He tried to hit one of the guards angrily but he was held back.

"Chuck 'im out," commanded one of the guards. Leigh watched in despair as the young boy was dragged from the room, yelling in protest. Leigh turned to look at the jury, wondering how it had got this far. She noticed Katrina, watching her, but her friend wore no sympathetic face, just a smug smile. Leigh turned to look at Zelda, who looked a little shocked herself. The Princess had to admit she hadn't expected things to go this far, a mere exile would have done for her.

"Take her away," said Zelda to some guards, nodding over to Leigh. They nodded and walked to the stall and pulled her up, uncuffing her from the pole. She allowed herself to be dragged back to her cell, not wishing to even attempt to keep up with the guards. Once in the privacy of her own cell she crawled into a corner, her body wracked with sobs. She curled up, crying herself to sleep.

"Zelda, surely you're not going to go along with the sentence!" protested Drake as they left the throne room. Zelda shrugged.

"I know I didn't expect it to be that harsh, but she did murder seven people," said Zelda, concentrating on the ground.

"You heard what Link said, Ganondorf did it," said Drake, stepping in front of Zelda to block her way.

"He was probably lying, anything to save his beloved Leigh," said Zelda bitterly.

"Link lie? Come on Zelda, you know him better than that. We all know this trial was your idea, why you even made Fayette one of the jury, it was practically a set up," said Drake.

"Fayette is a Sosarian, I thought I was being fair. Don't forget Katrina, her friend, was in there too," said Zelda, pushing past Drake.

"It's gone too far and you know it Zelda, execution? She may have kissed your husband but don't you think it's a bit unfair?" asked Drake.

"Look Drake, it was the jury's decision. Despite what you may think, I didn't pay them for that decision," said Zelda.

"Can't you denounce it? Say the trial was corrupt?" pleaded Drake. Zelda sighed.

"I'll try and get it reduced, but I'm not promising anything," she said reluctantly.

"Well who do you need to ask? You organised the trial," said Drake impatiently.

"I have to ask all jury members to reconsider their decision. Another thing Drake, I don't appreciate you throwing our guests into the cells on the basis of what Ms. Temple has to say," said Zelda.

"What?" asked Drake.

"Sir Stobbart, after what Leigh accused him of yesterday you threw him into the dungeons," said Zelda.

"It was obvious she was telling the truth. Didn't you see how he reacted?" protested Drake.

"Well how would you react if you were accused of what he was accused of?" asked Zelda. Drake shrugged. "He's been released and I expect you to apologise to him," said Zelda.

"No, not to him," muttered Drake.

"Drake, he's a Molderan knight, as head of the Knights, I expect you to apologise," said Zelda.

"Leigh is the Avatar but I don't see you apologising to her. You disgust me," said Drake.

"Pardon? You might want to seriously re-consider your words Drake, I will not be spoken to in that way," demanded Zelda.

"Why don't we ask the Triforce. It's more reliable than any jury, maybe then I can re-consider my words," said Drake. With those parting words he strode back down the corridor, leaving a fuming Zelda behind.

Drake walked gingerly up the stairs of the Triforce tower. He knew it was wrong to defy Zelda's orders but he had to know the truth. The Triforce could tell him that. As he reached the top of the stairs, he paused listening at the door. He could hear someone moving around. He pushed open the door, wondering who it could be. To his surprise, it wasn't Aaron, but David Marsh, one of the battlement guards. "David?" asked Drake. The man had his back turned to Drake, it looked as though he was examining the Triforce. The man suddenly turned round, a distinctly guilty expression on his face. "David, what're you doing up here?" asked Drake suspiciously. "Uh," started David, looking around nervously. "Aren't you off duty right now?" asked Drake, stepping forward.

"I'm sorry sir, I just wanted to see it. My kids are always asking about it, I just wanted to tell them about it," blurted David.

"You know you aren't supposed to be up here David. Only some people are allowed up, but I'll let it go. You get home and tell your kids about it," said Drake kindly. David bowed.

"Thank you so much sir, I promise you won't regret it!" said David thankfully. He bowed again then quickly left the tower, leaving a rather bemused Drake behind. Drake closed the tower door then circled the Triforce, watching it carefully. He wasn't exactly sure how it worked, but he guessed he'd find out.

"You wish to ask me a question?" said a voice. Drake stepped back in surprise, realising that it was the Triforce.

"Uh, well yes," agreed Drake.

"Ask," commanded the Triforce.

"Do you know about the trial?" asked Drake, feeling a little stupid.

"I know all," replied the Triforce, glowing slightly.

"Is it true? Is Leigh deserving of the sentence, did she commit the crimes?" blurted Drake. The Triforce glowed for a moment, as if thinking.

"She did indeed insult Zelda, but not without cause. She stole those horses but felt remorse and did return them days later. She assaulted Zelda, the guards and Sir Stobbart but had a just cause to assault Sir Stobbart. She was merely defending herself. She was kidnapped and did not desert. She escaped thanks to Zelda and never took her hostage. She did not lust after the hero, nor did she murder those people. She never did consort with Ganondorf and she is not deserving of the sentence," spoke the Triforce. Drake nodded solemnly.

"Why is Zelda acting this way?" asked Drake.

"Leigh has hurt her pride. Zelda knows she is wrong but does not know how to go about the situation," said the Triforce. Suddenly, Drake heard footsteps coming up the tower. He looked around looking for a place to hide. There was none, he stepped behind the door, hoping whoever it was wasn't Zelda. The footsteps stopped outside the door, and he heard someone softly chanting. He realised it was Zelda. She was casting the lock tower spell. He silently cursed as the footsteps faded away, wondering how he was going to get out. He walked over to the window and looked down. If he jumped he'd break a leg or an arm at the luckiest. He walked back over to the door and tried to open it. It refused to budge. He tried it again. "It won't open, not until the spell is broken," said the Triforce. Drake groaned.

"What!? How am I supposed to do that? You mean I'm stuck up here until Zelda come back up!?" asked Drake in desperation.

"So it seems," said the Triforce. Drake banged his fists against the door.

"Can anyone hear me!?" he shouted.

"I can," said the Triforce. "Anyone that can help me," groaned Drake.

"Charming," said the Triforce. Drake banged his fists against the door again.

"Can anyone hear me!" he shouted again. He just hoped someone would hear him soon.

Sprite alighted down on one of the stone balconies which were built in various places around North Castle. Sitting on the ledge, she swung her legs down over the side, and began to ponder her problem with her rival, Navi. Link was refusing to speak to her, and Sprite was sure that she'd seen Navi flying around the hero. "Jeez, I wish she'd go back into hibernation," she muttered to herself darkly. She stood up, and strolled precociously along the stone ledge, her head held high. Navi is a little freak. No-one has hair like her! the faerie thought to herself. A sudden gust of wind nearly swept her off the edge, and she quickly flew up into the air, and towards the door into the castle to safety. She found herself in a rather plush bedroom, full of purple satin cushions, gold brocade and mahogany furniture. She guessed, from the rich décor, that it had to be Fayette's bedroom. A small leather book was peeping out under the bottom of the four poster bed. "A diary!" Sprite said to herself, grinning. She always enjoyed poking around other people's things; and it was easy to do, with being a faerie. She flew down onto the floor, and zapped the book. It immediately shrunk to faerie size, and the tiny creature picked it up, then flew up onto one of the fat, satin pillows. "Alright Fayette, let's see if you happen to have anything interesting to say," she smirked, opening the book to the first page.

However, instead of pages of writing, like she'd been expecting, instead, there was short notes and bullet points, some sort of flow chart with arrows and ticks done in a different colour of ink, at certain points. "Oh my god, Fayette surely can't be some sort of secret intellectual, can she?" Sprite said to herself, confused. Then she looked a little closer. Help Mother become Queen of Hyrule (that means I'll be a Princess!), Marry the King of the richest country in the world, Dalsona, make Zelda's life a misery… the lists seemed to go on and on. Sprite began to giggle. It really was very funny. Fayette appeared to have every single event of her life planned out. She had dreams and goals, some of them ticked, some not. Sprite had never seen anything quite like it ever. Intrigued, she continued turning the pages. Fayette didn't really appear to keep much of a diary, she just wrote about certain things. Interestingly, there were pages and pages on Zelda. About how much Fayette despised her, mostly. Sprite flicked through it, not really caring. Everyone knew that it was no secret that the two step sisters hated each other, after all. Sprite turned to the end of the book, deciding to work backwards Suddenly, her eyes lit up. In a bold heading, Fayette had written something entitled, "The Big Plan". In it, Fayette had wrote;

Wow, tonight was much more of a success than I had hoped! It was so good, that I just had to write it down here, so that I could always remember it. I do declare, that I really am a genius! What happened tonight will have the Avatar (yes, I know she's supposed to be our patron, but she really does need bringing down a peg or two!) out of my hair, Link right where I want him, and it will also pay Zelda back for all those times she spoilt my fun.

I have that silly little faerie, Sprite, to thank for all this. Anyway, I'd better write done exactly what happened, whilst it is still fresh in my mind (not that I'll ever forget, or course!). Well, I swear that Zelda is just so paranoid. She thinks that everyone is after Link, but personally, if you ask me, she's just flattering herself, because she thinks she is married to the most desirable guy in the world. Well, I'll admit, Link is really attractive, but she's still flattering herself. Anyhow, I thought it might be fun to try and play Leigh off Link. After all, she has supposedly come onto him before, and Zelda hates her. Well anyway, I tried, but for some weird reason, Leigh was just really unresponsive. It was later, that I got the greatest idea!

First, I went up to Leigh, and just talked to her, casually leading her outside. Luckily, she decided to stay out there, and get some fresh air. I told a pack of lies about Leigh to Sprite, just to get her interested. I then added that I thought Link and Leigh were planning to have little meeting outside later. Sure enough, the stupid creature went and blabbed it all to Zelda. She stormed outside, and started yelling at Leigh, then I told Link that Zelda wanted to meet him outside… well, of course, Zelda thought he was going to meet Leigh, so she went totally mad and stormed off. Then, Link did something even better. He saw Leigh was upset, and went and hugged her. And Zelda saw it all! I'm sure she thinks that they're having an affair! Hah, serves her right. It always did annoy me to see her all over Link all the time. So anyway, Link walks in a few minutes after, and I cleverly enlisted his help in my quest to make Nick fall in love with ME, instead of that Selina girl. I told him that I'd tell King Harkinian he'd been having an affair with Leigh, unless he helped me. And of course, how can he risk his reputation like that, when Zelda won't support him? I'm really pleased with myself. And no doubt Zelda will have Leigh exiled from Hyrule. That means that's less competition. I mean, you never know, she might try and seduce Nick, or something. And she really is far too pretty for her own good. Thank goodness that Zelda is married, mind you, the way she behaves, I can't imagine what any guy would see in her.

Sprite stared at the entry in shock. So the whole thing had been a set up, had it? She scowled, when she saw what Fayette had wrote about her. "And you talk about me being stupid, Fayette! I wouldn't write down anything like this!" she sneered out loud. An idea began to form in the faerie's head though. Why, this could just be the thing to get her back in Link's good books! All she had to do, was to show Zelda this particular entry. It would prove Link's innocence, and hopefully, she would make up with him. Sprite would make sure that he knew it was her who'd got them back together, and everything would be rosy again. She smiled to herself, pleased. Sometimes, snooping around really did pay off. She turned through a few other pages, but there didn't appear to be much of interest. A few things about Nick, and Raymundo, and some notes about telling her children that they were the rightful heirs of Hyrule. Sprite laughed at that point. Like the throne would go to anyone but Ewan, or any other children that Link and Zelda might have. She shook her head, still giggling, then picked up the shrunken book, and flew out of the room.

Zelda was lying upon her bed, stomach down, reading a book, when Sprite flew into the room. She didn't look at all well, the little faerie thought. The Princess was wearing an old blue dress, and her hair was all tied up in a big plait. Sprite flew closer, and perched upon the edge of the bed. Zelda looked up in surprise, then frowned when she saw Sprite. "Get lost, before I kill you, or something," she remarked coolly. Sprite tossed Fayette's diary at her. "What's this?" Zelda questioned, picking up the tiny book.

"Oops, I forgot to do something," Sprite replied. She zapped the book, and it immediately returned to it's original size. "Turn to the back," Sprite instructed. Zelda opened the book, curious, and did as Sprite said. "Oh, and look for something entitled, 'The Plan'," she added. Zelda read through the passage quickly, then slammed the book shut.

"Oh, I'm going to kill her!" she cried angrily, jumping up off the bed.

"Uh, Zelda…" Sprite began. Zelda paused, and turned back to her.

"Where did you find that?" she demanded. The faerie shrugged. "It's better not to ask. But don't you see you've made a mistake? Poor Link, he was telling the truth all the time, and you wouldn't even believe him," she remarked.

"Oh shut up," Zelda replied angrily. She turned and walked out of the room. Sprite quickly followed. She didn't want to miss the blow-up which was about to ensure.

The Princess stormed down to the drawing room, where she knew Fayette was, with Fenella, her father, and a few other people. Angrily, she slammed the door open and walked into the room, her eyes blazing. Everyone looked up in surprise, and Zelda pointed an accusing finger across at Fayette, who was sitting quietly in one corner, reading a book. "Fayette!" she cried out.

"What's the matter?" Fayette questioned. Zelda's expression hardened.

"Don't try to deny it! It was you who was trying to split up Link and I, wasn't it?" she accused.

"What?" Fayette said in surprise.

"Listen, I know all about your little plan, so to speak! You set that whole thing up, all those nights ago!" Zelda retorted.

"Zelda! Whatever are you talking about?" Fenella demanded.

"Your daughter is so jealous of me, that she tried to spoil my marriage!" Zelda answered.

"Oh, stop making excuses! You know it was all Leigh's fault!" Fayette said coolly.

"I'm beginning to think that Leigh had nothing to do with this," Zelda said in a sulky tone, glaring at her step sister hatefully.

"Oh, on the contrary, she had everything to do with it!" Fayette retorted smugly.

"Oh, just quit the lies, Faye! I know you set it all up, so that I would think they were secretly meeting each other!" Zelda cried angrily. The King suddenly stood up.

"I believe this is getting quite out of hand. You two; sort your problems out elsewhere, please. Fenella and I really don't want to listen to your pointless, petty arguing," he said, his voice raised. The two women went quiet, shocked.

"I'm sorry Father," Zelda quickly muttered, before turning on her heel and rushing out of the room. Fayette on the other hand just sat there, blushing, wondering how Zelda had found out.

"Faye, was she speaking the truth?" Fenella suddenly asked. Fayette shook her head.

"No, of course not, mother. Zelda's just making it all up," she said quickly, standing up. "Uh, I think I'm going to go to bed now," she added, quickly making her way to the door.

Fayette quickly rushed along the passageway, after her step sister. "Zelda, you wait right there!" she screeched. Zelda whirled around, and glared at Fayette icily.

"Leave me alone!" she replied.

"I know you've been reading my diary, you prying bitch!" Fayette retorted angrily.

"Oh, and you haven't been reading mine?!" Zelda answered, equally angry. Fayette blushed for a moment.

"No, I wouldn't be so tasteless. Anyway, you have a boring life, why would I want to know all about your private life?" she said quickly.

"Oh, probably because it's a little more exciting than your own," Zelda replied, folding her arms and scowling.

"I hardly think so," Fayette said sulkily.

"Well, if your life happened to be exciting, maybe you wouldn't spend all of your spare time snooping around other people's personal stuff," Zelda said, still glaring at her step sister hatefully. Fayette glared back.

"Same goes for you," she replied, somewhat smugly. Zelda narrowed her eyes, and lowered her voice.

"Do you realise all the trouble you've caused?" she seethed.

"What trouble?" Fayette asked innocently.

"You know fine well!" Zelda cried.

"You've made Link hate me!" she added.

"Well, if you ask me, you did that yourself. If you'd have given him the benefit of the doubt in the first place…" Fayette started. "He refuses to even speak to me! And it's all your fault!" Zelda continued angrily. "It's not my fault. You only have yourself to blame, and you know it," Fayette answered, looking smug. "Anyway," she added, "it makes a nice change. You don't deserve a nice guy like him."

"You have no right to say that! Anyway, if all truth be known, you didn't deserve Raymundo, and you certainly don't deserve Nick!" Zelda retaliated. Fayette stared at Zelda.

"Raymundo and I loved each other! I had four children with him, five, so don't even begin to say such things," she said quietly.

"Yes, well know you know how it feels!" Zelda replied.

"Yeah well, you deserved that! You're so mean to Link, I can't imagine why he loves you so much!" Fayette answered. "Although," she continued smugly, "I sure bet he doesn't love you much right now."

"No thanks to you!" Zelda retorted hotly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's your fault! It's you he's angry at, because you wouldn't believe him about what happened! You didn't even give him a chance to explain, you just walked off!" Fayette cried.

"Well, what can I say? I jumped to conclusions. But even so, you started it all! You've always been jealous of Link and I, and how happy we were together! You just had to spoil it on purpose!" Zelda said, looking upset.

"I did not!" Fayette protested.

"You did so!" Zelda retorted.

"It's hardly anything to do with me! It's your fault!" Fayette shouted.

At that moment, Link wandered along the passage, on his way upstairs. He heard raised female voices, then the next minute, he noticed Fayette and Zelda. "Oh, I can't believe your lies!" Zelda shouted.

"I'm not lying!" Fayette answered.

"Yes well, the sooner you leave North Castle, the better! It's too bad my father married your mother! Once I'm on the throne, I'm throwing you out!" Zelda cried.

"You'll do nothing of the sort! Mother would never allow it!" Fayette said.

"Oh, just go crying back to your darling mother, like you usually do!" Zelda said snidely.

"Alright, enough is enough," Link said, suddenly walking up to them.

"Oh, look who it is!" Fayette remarked, scowling.

"This is a…" Zelda began, then she changed her mind. "Link, we've got to talk," she quickly said, in a pleading tone.

"No thanks," Link replied, rather coldly.

"But Link…" Zelda began, grabbing hold of his arm.

"Not now," he said, carefully unpinning her fingers from his arm, then beginning to walk off. "Serves you right," Fayette sneered under her breath.

"Oh, you…" Zelda began. She lunged forward, as if to slap Fayette across the face, but Fayette reacted quickly and pushed her backwards. Zelda stumbled back, and hit the wall.

"Don't even try it," Fayette said sweetly, before turning and walking away. Zelda slumped down against the wall dejectedly. Her day was just going from bad to worse. Link suddenly walked over towards her, looking a little concerned. He offered her his hand and helped her up.

"Jeez Zel, what was all that about?" he questioned.

"Nothing much," Zelda answered sulkily. "Just Fayette being her usual lovely self," she added.

"You really shouldn't…" Link began.

"Yes well, I guess its with being pregnant, or something. It's making me have a worse temper than usual," the princess admitted.

"You can say that again," Link verified. They walked to their tower entrance in silence, and then Zelda decided that she ought to attempt to apologise.

"Uh… Link," she began nervously. "I'm really sorry, for the way I acted, and everything, and well, I'll understand if you can't forgive me, and I'd sure deserve it, but I know that you weren't fooling me around with Leigh, I was just… irrational, and well, that's no good excuse, but I hope you'll…" she said hurriedly. Link quickly silenced her with a small kiss. Encouraged, she leaned up to kiss him back, but he gently pushed her away.

"Not yet, Zel. I still don't know whether I can forgive you for not believing me. I mean, if you can't trust me…"

"But…" Zelda began.

"Zel, you really hurt my feelings this time. And well, you're right. You have been acting irrational. And I can't believe how terrible you acted during the trial. I know I declined to be present for the first one, but it was very clear from the way Leigh talked, that the whole thing was corrupt. That's just not like you, I can't believe you did that!" Link replied, his expression suddenly turning angry.

"But Link, it wasn't me! I didn't decide the verdict, and I didn't tell those people to lie! They decided that themselves!" Zelda protested, somewhat truthfully. Link watched her carefully.

"Now it seems that it's my turn to decide whether to give you to benefit of the doubt, or not," he remarked casually.

"Link, please, it really was nothing to do with me! And, I think the ruling was too harsh, as well!" Zelda cried.

"I begged for your forgiveness for days, and you wouldn't hear any of it. Why should I believe you now?" Link replied, folding his arms.

"I know, I've acted like the most horrible, unreasonable person in the whole entire world, but I'm really sorry now," Zelda said, looking at him hopefully.

"Alright, well what changed things?" he questioned. Zelda looked down at the floor guiltily.

"It was Fayette. She set the whole thing up… she made it look like your were meeting Leigh, even though you weren't, and well I… I fell right for it," she explained, looking ashamed.

"Surely if you really loved me, you wouldn't have doubted me in the first place?" Link asked, thinking about what Kylara had said.

"Don't do this!" Zelda pleaded. "Look, I'm so sorry, listen, I'm begging you now, I'm begging your forgiveness, not vice versa," she added.

"Alright, I'll try. But first of all, I want you to promise me something," Link said.

"Anything," Zelda said.

"You have to have a retrial," Link said. Zelda looked a little a taken back. But she agreed. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"You'll do it, promise me, Zelda," the hero said firmly. The princess sighed.

"Alright, I promise," she said.

"Good. Now perhaps things can start getting back to normal?" Link asked. Zelda nodded, and they walked upstairs together.

Tadg looked around nervously. Sure enough, he'd found the perfect human host to inhabit and now he was planning to execute his own 'big plan'. He glanced down at his watch and rested his left hand upon the hilt of his sword. It was almost midnight, and he was on guard not too far away from the King's quarters. An evil smile spread across his face. He'd only have to dispose of one guard, although he wouldn't of minded killing more, before he would safely be able to enter the King's room. It was going to be so easy. And with the King dead, well, Tadg wasn't sure exactly what would happen, but he was sure it couldn't be anything good. He sneered and began to walk down the corridor. As he neared the King's room a voice called out. "Ho! Who goes there?" asked a deep, male voice. Tadg turned and smiled at the guard. The guard smiled on nodded to him.

"Oh, it's just you," said the guard, in recognition. Tadg nodded. The other guard frowned. "Uh, David? Aren't you supposed to be on duty back down there?" asked the guard, pointing a finger back down the hall way.

"Yes, but I needed to see someone," answered Tadg. He was pleased to be called by his human hosts name, it made him feel far superior to know that this particular human did not know that it was he, Tadg, that he was talking to.

"David, you know you aren't meant to leave your post at any time. Not until you're off duty anyway," scolded the guard. Tadg hung his head, as if apologising.

"I suppose you're right. I'll get back right away," ensured Tadg. As he turned to leave, he pretended to slip and slid to the floor.

"You okay?" asked the other guard, approaching him. As the guard leaned down to help Tadg up, Tadg drew a dagger from his belt. He took the guard's hand and let him help him up. As he stood to face the guard, he plunged the dagger into the hapless man's belly. The guard let out a wheeze and dropped to his knees, eyes bulging. Tadg pulled the dagger upwards, slicing through more flesh, thoroughly enjoying the experience of killing the man. The guard opened his mouth, as if to protest, then fell forward. Blood and gore spilled at Tadg's feet, almost soiling his freshly polished boots. Tadg smiled and stepped away. An intelligent man might've taken the time to clean up the mess, hide the body, but the thought never even crossed Tadg's mind. Tadg lifted the body slightly and pulled his dagger from the wound, wiping it on the dead man's cloak. He looked around again and slipped the dagger into his belt. He then turned away from the bloody mess and strode towards the King's room. He had bigger fish to fry.

Drake leapt a short distance to the ground, landing neatly on his feet. He'd found some rope in a chest in the room and tied it to one of the torch fixtures in the tower. He'd then thrown the rope out of the tower window and shimmied quickly down the rope. He wondered what to do about the rope, hoping while he was gone no-one would take the opportunity to use the rope to get into the tower. He looked around, searching for a guard when his eyes rested on one not to far away. "Oi you! Get over here!" demanded Drake. The guard, who had been sitting, stood up and looked over at Drake. "Yes you, I've got a job for you!" said Drake. The guard quickly marched over.

"Guard this here rope and make sure no-one tries to get into the tower," instructed Drake as soon as the guard arrived. The guard looked at Drake questioningly but shrugged and nodded his head.

"Sure enough sir, you can count on me," said the guard proudly. Drake patted him on the shoulder and quickly jogged back into the castle. He needed to see Zelda about what the Triforce had told him as soon as possible.

Tadg pushed open the door quietly and peered in. He couldn't see much, damn this human form, but he could hear the soft snoring of the King. He stepped inside and shut the door softly behind him. No-one stirred. He drew his sword form it's sheath and stalked over to the bed silently. Unfortunately, as his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness, he didn't see the chair that stood near the bed. His foot clumsily banged against it, causing Tadg to curse heavily aloud. He stumbled forward and tripped over the thick rug that stood at the foot of the King's bed. He fell to the ground, cracking his elbow painfully against the leg of the bed, causing him to yet again curse aloud. Fenella, being a light sleeper, awoke immediately, and upon seeing Tadg she let out a piercing scream. Tadg leapt to his feet and drew his sword, waving it menacingly at Fenella. "Another word and you're dead!" he hissed. Fenella shut her mouth, watching the sword with a pale complexion. The scream had woken the King, who was just beginning to wake.

"What is all the fuss about?" he grumbled, forcing open his tired eyes. As the moonlight caught off the blade, the King realised he had just been given the answer.

"What on earth are you doing? Put that thing away, you might put someone's eye out," demanded the King. The figure at the foot of his bed turned and seemed to glare at the King.

"Shut up or the lady dies!" hissed Tadg. The King held his tongue reaching for Fenella's hand under the covers. He caught hold of it and squeezed it comfortingly. Tadg let out a low chuckle, amused by the human's fear. With his free hand, the King reached to the side of his bed and silently pulled a thick cord.

The bed, being a four poster, was normally draped in thick curtains all during the winter. But on a night like tonight, the King had decided that the curtains should be rolled to the top of the wooden frame over the bed. The cord triggered the curtains to fall back over the frame work on all sides of the bed. Before Tadg could step away, the heavy curtain came rolling down on top of him, knocking him to the ground. "Help!" screeched Fenella at the top of her lungs, hoping to catch the attention of the guards whilst the would-be-assassin was distracted. Apparently, no one was near by for no-one came. Fenella screamed for help again, louder this time, knowing it would be her only chance. Tadg shakily got to his feet, feeling slightly dazed. He stood still for a moment trying to get his head straight, then Fenella's calls for help pierced his thoughts. Angrily, he tried to slash through the heavy curtains at the side of the bed, but the sword was too fine to penetrate the material. "Another word, and I swear, you'll both have your throats slit!" warned Tadg.

Drake, who was approaching the stairs to the second floor, suddenly heard a piercing scream. He could've sworn it to be the scream of Fayette, or perhaps Fenella. Hand on sword, Drake raced up the stairs to the next floor. As he ran along the passage towards the King's room, he noticed a dark shape slumped up against the wall, surrounded by a pool of crimson. On closer inspection, Drake realised it to be the body of a guard. He nudged the body with his foot, turning it over. When he saw the wound in the man's belly he realised that the man was certainly dead. He recognised the man as one of his deputy's. At that moment another wail pierced the air. It had to be Fenella. Drake drew his sword and ran to the door of the King's room and kicked it open. Through the darkness, partially illuminated by the torches in the passage, Drake saw a figure trying to cut his way through the curtains of the bed with a sword. When the door opened, the figure turned and looked at Drake. The knight recognised the face of the man immediately, being the very same man who he had seen in the Triforce tower earlier that day. "David?" asked Drake in surprise. David stepped forward, teeth bared like a wild dog. He sliced his way through the night air with a shimmering blade of steel. He lunged forward at Drake, attempting to stab him, but Drake quickly stepped aside and David flailed forward out of the door and crashed into the ground. Drake turned and stepped outside, pointing his sword at the back of the man. "What are you doing?" asked Drake, even though it was blatantly obvious. Using his hands, Tadg tried to push himself up. "If you try to get up, you'll kill yourself," warned Drake. Tadg ignored him and pushed himself up, impaling himself upon the blade. But instead of falling to the ground, he continued to stand and turned, hitting Drake in the face. Drake stumbled backward in surprise, letting go of the sword. He fell to the ground, watching in fear and amazement as the man continued to stand, even though he had a broad sword sticking through his back and chest. David then turned around and began to walk back into the King's room. Drake quickly regained his senses and grabbed the sword that David had dropped. He then followed David back into the room.

Tadg walked over to the bed and pulled the sword from his back. Blood spilled to the floor but Tadg didn't even flinch. He guessed a human being inhabited by a Nightmare must have extra strengths. What did the others know? He was obviously invincible in this body. "Stop or I'll have to kill you!" commanded a voice. Tadg turned and smiled evilly at the knight who stood behind him.

"And how do you propose to do that?" rasped Tadg, his real voice showing through.

"Like this!" said Drake, crashing his sword forward. Tadg quickly deflected the blow and tried a strike of his own, but the knight was a good and agile fighter and managed to dodge it. As Drake attempted to strike again, Tadg rose his sword to stop it. There was a sharp screech of metal and to Drake's horror, he realised that it was his sword had been cut off at the hilt. He dropped the hilt and stepped backwards, away from the tip of David's sword.

"Looks like you lose knight," mocked Tadg.

"On the contrary, I'd say you were the loser," contradicted another voice.

Drake looked up from the tip of Tadg's sword in surprise, only to see another figure behind David. There was a sound, not un-similar to that of cutting silk followed by a dull thud. David's body slumped forward, brought to his knees, and before everyone's eyes, began to disintegrate away. There was a rasping scream of protest as the body seemed to filter away. In a few moments, it was all over, there being know sign of the body, nor the disembodied head. Drake's mouth gaped open in surprise, his eyes still glued to the spot were David had been. His saviour stepped forward and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "You've seen stranger I'm sure," assured the voice. Drake looked up.

"Charles!" he exclaimed.

"The one and only. Pretty close you'll have to agree," agreed Charles, King of Lemmink.

"Is it all over?" asked a female voice shakily. Drake stood up, quickly recovering. He walked over to the bed and lifted one of the curtains. At the same time, Charles lit a candle to light up the room.

"Are you two okay?" asked Drake, in a concerned voice. The King and Fenella nodded.

"Just a little shaken," reassured the King.

"Is, is there any blood?" asked Fenella, who felt very faint around the stuff. Drake turned and looked around the room, checking for any signs of blood. All that remained was Drake's and David's swords. There was no blood on either blade, which seemed very strange as Drake's sword, the one David had used against him, had been covered.

"Uh, no," reassured Drake. Fenella let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness for that. The mere thought of blood makes me come out in a rash," said Fenella. "She should have been on the battle field," thought Drake dryly. Another voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What's going on? I thought I heard a scream?" it questioned. Drake turned to see a rather concerned Nick standing at the door.

"Whatever was going on, it's sure over now," said Charles.

"Mother? Are you okay?" suddenly shrieked another voice. It was Fayette.

"Oh no dear, it was so terrible," gushed Fenella. Fayette quickly rushed to her mother's side, waiting to hear what all the commotion had been about. Drake stepped away, nodding to the King.

"You okay?" asked Drake. The King nodded.

"Thank you Drake, Charles too. And Nick, it is much appreciated," thanked the King.

"We can talk about it in the morning," said Drake.

"Yes, now I just need some sleep," agreed the King.

"I'll post some men on the doors, just for extra safety," assured Drake. The King nodded.

"You do that," he said. Drake nodded and left the room, along with Charles and Nick.

Once the three were outside Drake turned to Charles. "How did you get behind him?" questioned Drake, a little confused.

"I heard all the commotion and decided to sneak in through the bathroom, you'd distracted him enough to let me catch him off guard," explained Charles.

"What exactly did happen?" asked Nick, wondering. Charles and Drake both turned to him.

"We'll tell you in the morning," they both said in unison.

"What I need is a good night's rest," said Charles.

"Me too, but not until I've sorted a few things out," agreed Drake.

"I'm surprised the whole castle isn't awake mind you, what with Fenella's screaming," added Charles, stopping at the stairs.

"You're telling me," said Nick in agreement.

"I'll see you two in the morning okay? I have to sort those guards out," said Drake.

"Maybe one of us should stay and watch, just until reinforcements arrive," suggested Nick. "I doubt it'll be necessary, but it is a good idea. You do that while I go and get some men," said Drake.

"What about that body?" asked Charles, nodding over to the unfortunate guard.

"I'll get that sorted, don't you worry. Poor man, he was a good guard though," said Drake, feeling a little sad. He happened to know the man was married with a few children, he knew he'd have to be the one to inform the family. Nodding to Nick and Charles, Drake headed down the stairs, making his way to the guards quarters. All thoughts of the Triforce had been banished from his mind.

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