Chapter 22: The King of Evil

Chapter 23: The God of Evil

A pink crystal floated down from the empty dark grey sky and shattered as it touched the tower top.
“Zelda!” Link cried in relief. “How are you?”
“I’m quite fine,” said the princess, sounding quite different from the ninja he had become used to. “It’s good that pitiful man is dead…”
“Well, now, Sheik, I think you have some explaining to do,” returned the Hylian, grinning. The princess smiled back. “Gosh, I’m tired. So glad that’s over. What are you going to do now? What’s the first thing you’re going to do?”
“Let me see…” Zelda thought.
Link cupped his hand over his mouth thoughtfully. “Well, for me, first of all, I think I’m going to spend some time in the Zora and Goron lands and get to know my friends better. Then I’m going to build a slightly larger house in Kokiri Forest, if the Deku Tree allows it, and…”
“Get married?” finished Zelda.
“Yes,” Link grinned, blushing a bit.
“I see… I’m going to get the Sages to help me rebuild Hyrule Castle. It won’t be exactly the way it used to be, but it will be even better.”
“Ah, the innocence of youth,” joked Link.
“I mean it,” Zelda smiled. She was lovely when she smiled. “It will be better. I don’t know exactly how I’m going to plan it, but I’ve only just started thinking about it, thanks to you. What are you going to do now that you don’t have to be a hero?” Continue reading →

Chapter 21: To Find Tranquillity     Chapter 23: The God of Evil

Chapter 22: The King of Evil

A pink crystal was forming around the princess. She cast several spells, some of which Link had never seen before, but the crystal’s surface hardened into an impenetrable shell. Link felt the shell, tapping it cautiously, and then slamming his fist into it with all his strength. He cast Nayru’s Love and drew the Master Sword, but even the legendary Evil’s Bane merely bounced off the caging spell.
A deep voice boomed through the Temple. “You foolish little bugs… you are no match for me! I commend you for eluding me for so long. At last, I have found the princess, and now Hyrule will truly be mine!” The cage began to rise and spin. Link tried one last futile time to shatter it, but failed.
“That was Ganondorf,” Navi said in a low voice. “The Triforce. Its strength gave him power to resist even the Master Sword.”
“I see,” Link said grimly, running out of the Temple.
“Rana! We need to go really fast! Ganondorf’s got Zelda!”
“What? How?”
“I have the Light Arrows!” Link hadn’t heard her startled shout.
The two Hylians tore up the hill to Ganondorf’s castle.
A giant, irregular block of stone supporting a huge tower built of black rock hovered over a lake of lava. Link skidded to a halt on the closest bit of solid ground, staring hopelessly at the distant, wide open gate. It was too far even for his hookshot.
“Don’t despair,” Saria’s voice sounded in his head. “We’re here.”
Light, unrolling like a carpet, many coloured, blossomed from the ground at Link’s feet and stretched in a wide arc to the gate.
He smiled at Rana and stretched out his hand. “Come on, kitten. We’re facing this one together, like we used to.”
Rana smiled broadly back at him and took his hand. Continue reading →

Chapter 20: The Broken Laugh     Chapter 22: The King of Evil

Chapter 21: To Find Tranquility

Rana’s brilliant green eyes slowly moved, shifting up near his face, then darting back to make sure his hands hadn’t moved.
Her gaze met his.
Abruptly, she fell over, clutching her stomach. Her face was crumpled up.
“Rana?”
She sat up slowly.
“Do you know what you are doing to me?” Her words were unsteady. “The memory… the pain… … your eyes… … your eyes… They are the same! I did know you… and I liked you, too! But the… remembering is the equivalent…”She mimed stabbing herself. “I… I…” She began to weep, tears pouring from her eyes now.
“Rana, I’m sorry… I will take you away from this. I’ll teach you yourself again.” He put his hand on her shoulder, and she did not flinch or slap it away; instead she took it with her own and held on with a tight grip.
“I must get you out of here,” Link said again after a while. Rana nodded and sat up, almost straight.
He picked her up and carried her to where Epona was waiting, with only a brief stop – Rana wanted her ocarina, and she knew where it was. Then he rode to Lon Lon Ranch. Continue reading →