Chapter Two

Past

“Citizens of Hyrule Castle!” Ganon’s voice was like thunder; children were cowering behind their mothers as they stared at the massive, hulking beast. Even in a state that now resembled a Hylian, Ganon was far too large, with thick, brutish muscles and a permanent sneer upon his face. Continuing a long-rehearsed speech exalting his own glory, Ganon continued, “I have faced the spineless Hylians you call soldiers, and I have won! The Hylian race has been defeated, and your armies crushed! The only way you can save yourselves is to bow before me! Those who don’t will be annihilated!”

Immediately, a group of quaking women and children fell to their knees, prostrating themselves in fear. Slowly, in uneven, but steady numbers, the group of assembled Hylians knelt, until only a few were left standing. Those next to them tried to pull them down, but they stood, defiantly.

“I have given you warnings. I told you what would happen.” Ganon’s words were quiet; they were the slither of a sword being drawn, the promise of death to follow. “This is your own doom.”

Raising his palm, a crackling ball of energy began to form. One of the standing Hylians suddenly called out “Freedom!” defiantly.

Then Ganon threw the ball of energy; it engulfed the man, and in an instant, his body disappeared, vaporised by Ganon’s magic. Immediately, the remaining men fell to their knees in terror-except for one.

A dark, cloaked man stood at the back of the crowd, watching silently. For a moment, a look of rage crossed Ganon’s face, but he forced the same sneer back into position.

“Continue.” the man announced, and Ganon’s sneer lengthened into a maniacal grin.

“Well, the traitor has come forth. The one who allowed my forces to storm the castle in the night, because he’d opened the gate.” Ganon announced. “I give you your Hero, Link Forrester the Third, the man who doomed you all to my tyranny.” Shocked faces, whispers, excited chatter spread quietly among the people as they realised their betrayal.

They turned, stared as the man took off his hood to reveal a face. It was a face they had all known, the face of a saviour, the face of a Hero. Now it was the face of a traitor, of a man who had betrayed them for his own self.

“Well, my little traitor, why don’t I show you the result of your handiwork!” Ganon chucked heartily, and pointed to a raised monument of a kind that had been wrapped in a red cloth. “Why don’t you see what’s underneath that? Or, in fact, maybe I’ll show everyone here what you, Linky, have done...”

Ganon pulled off the cloth, to reveal the body of Princess Zelda, frozen in death, a morbid statue that drew the attention of all present. Her expression was calm, radiant, her beauty intact, yet the stillness of her body, the utter remoteness she displayed, told Link that she was dead.

“This was your Princess. Two days ago, this was your Princess. And, two days ago, that traitor let me in so I could kill her!” Ganon said with triumphant savagery. “See your handiwork, Link! See it, and despair!”

Link remained silent, as the crowds and masses of people began to turn to him, rage filling their eyes. Men began to whisper violently, anger and hate boiling within them. But they did not dare rise to attack him. Ganon’s cold stare penetrated them, pinning them to the spot.

“You may rise.” Ganon said suddenly. Turning on his heel, he sneered, and continued, “And continue with your lives.”

All at once, the masses of Hylians converged on Link. He drew his sword, and as the first of the mob drew near, he swung, rending the man’s flesh apart and leaving the cobblestones slick with fresh blood.

“Guards!” Ganon called, but as Ganon’s moblins approached, Link held out his hand.

“Stop.” Link murmured. “I’ll deal with this myself.”

“You traitor!” one of the mob yelled. “You killed our Princess! You’re ruined us!”

“Damn you!”

“We’ll kill you!”

“Blood for blood, let’s shed his!”

With a cry of rage, they surged forward. In a flash, the front row of men was lying on the ground, limbs dismembered. Their moans of pain filled the streets, and the mob’s anger began to burn out of control. With a bloodthirsty roar, they charged-

“Stop!” Ganon’s voice halted the people with a single word. They stood, frozen to the spot. “I told you to continue with your work. Your work does not involve our little traitor, Linky. So, as punishment, I am now setting the tax rate to fifty percent of whatever you produce. Permanently.”

Cries of dismay and anger rang across the walls. People looked at Link with disgust, before they headed off to their work. Link was left, standing there, alone.

“Heh, traitor...” one of the moblins growled. “Your comrades tasted real sweet. ‘specially that little girl-what was her name? Ruti or something? Hah! She went down screa-”

The moblin got no further. Link had stabbed him with his sword, and his blue blood sprayed everywhere. The other moblins were drawing their spears, but they had no chance against Link-his sword had cleaved them in two before they could even bring their spears to guard themselves.

Wiping his blade clean, Link stared back at the podium that Ganon had stood at, where the body of the late Princess Zelda now lay. Slowly, he approached it, and climbed on, his eyes drawn to the body that lay there.

“Zelda...” Link whispered, staring at her dead body dazedly. He’d never expected it would turn out like this. Never. The numbing shock and realisation had hit him, and he’d slain people, townsfolk, people he’d known while he’d been that shocked.

Now came the anger. Clenching his fist, he suppressed it, as all warriors had been taught, to never let their emotions get the better of them. He was about to turn away, when suddenly-

“Link...” Zelda’s voice was only a whisper. “Link...”

“Zelda!” Link murmured. “You’re alive! You’re-”

He was cut off as Zelda’s hand reached up and grabbed his neck. His sword clattered to the ground, as he tried to pry his neck loose from her vice-like grip, but to no avail.

“You traitor! You bastard!” she screamed. “You killed me! You killed all of Hyrule!”

“Zelda, no! Zelda, I’m sorry...I...Zelda, I-”

There was a loud snap as she broke his neck.


There was a loud snap as Link landed on the floor and broke one of his floorboards. He’d rolled out of bed during his nightmare, and landed rather heavily on his floor. The resulting crack meant he would need to buy some timber when he got to town today.

Sighing, he wondered why he’d have this kind of nightmare now. “It’s been two years since the whole incident...why now?” he pondered aloud. “I highly doubt I’d see Zelda today, so...why now?”

Shaking his head, Link quickly fixed himself a breakfast of dry rice, oats and fruit. His home was a small hut beside the road, with a kitchen and a bed. And that was about it. Sighing at the desolate and empty place, how tiny it was, Link strapped his sword to his side, and his shield, quiver and bow to his back, before heading out the door. Quietly, he locked his door, and was about to start along the road, when he heard a scream.

“Help me! Please, somebody, help me!” a young girl was calling out as she ran. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, and terror was written all over her face. Suddenly, she spotted Link, and began to run toward him. “Please, mister, please help me! They’ll get me and kill me, or worse, please-”

Suddenly, she tripped over, a few metres from where Link was. He could feel the earth shaking now, the roars and cries of creatures untold echoing through the air. Sighing, he walked to the girl, and knelt beside her.

“Who’re you?” he asked.

“I’m...I’m...” she began to babble, and Link couldn’t make out a word she said.

“Yeah, fine. Shut up for a second.” Link muttered, looking at the road. As his gaze lifted, he saw a group of moblins charging forward. Their spears at the ready, they ground to a half when they saw Link.

“You there! Move aside! That girl is to be taken to Lord Ganondorf for questioning over her connections to the Resistance!” the moblins intoned.

“Oh, so he’s added a dorf to his name now, eh?” Link questioned jovially. “Y’know, in the Terminian language, there’s a word, ‘dork’. It means really, really stupid. He should’ve added that to his name, I think. Oh, no wait, maybe all of ya should, considering you’ve got such a low level of intelligence-whoa!”

The moblins were getting outraged, and one of them swung out at Link with his spear. Link laughed as the moblins growled and readied their spears.

“What, you’ve got a problem?” he asked.

“We’re gonna tear you to pieces, and eat your scraps, you dog!” one moblin roared mid the growling and hissing.

“Oh, so you wanna piece of me, literally. Well, c’mon, what in the name of the Goddesses are you waiting for?” Link grinned and watched them charge.

The first one fell, his skull cleaved in two. Link had grabbed the girl and whirled over the moblins heads, slashing through one’s skull in the process. As they confusedly tried to find him, Link slashed one of them in half, and stabbed another in the stomach. They fell to the ground, spouting blue blood.

What had been a group of six moblins was now a trio of them. They warily tried to circle Link, but Link quickly lashed out at one, blocking the other two with his shield. The moblin who’d been attacked retreated and lashed out with a stab, to which Link rolled underneath his thrust and cleaved him asunder.

The remaining two were now terrified by Link’s prowess. They watched him approach, terrified, and when he merely raised his sword, they fled. Sighing, he sheathed his blade, and returned to the young girl.

“Now, what did you say your name was?” Link asked.

“Aren’t you that traitor man? Link?” the girl asked suddenly.

Surprised that the girl knew, Link bowed his head, slightly ashamed. So even girls this young know me as a traitor, he thought.

“Yeah, I am,” he replied.

“Mommy told me not to talk to you, so I won’t tell you my name...but...” she trailed off before continuing. “You seem like a nice man, so...could you take me back to Castle Town?”

“Sure.” Link said. “I’m going there myself, anyway. Can you stand?”

Despite her best attempts, the girl couldn’t stand. Link went into his house and fetched a small walking staff, with which the girl managed to successfully walk, albeit slowly, with Link to the town.

“So, tell me about the town. What’s new?” Link asked.

“Well, Ganon’s introduced these new guards, the ‘Faceless Ones’.” the girl replied. “They wear masks a lot of the time, and when they take them off, they have no face, just smooth skin. But...”

“But what?”

“Some of them have actual faces. The rumours are that those faces are the faces of dead people that the Faceless Ones stole from their dead corpses.”

“Are they good fighters?”

“They’re brilliant; Daddy says that he saw our top champion in Hyrule challenge one for a gladiator match. The Faceless One ripped him apart in less than a minute.”

“Wow...”

“They’re strong, aren’t they?”

“No, Hylian Champions are just a lot weaker now.” Link answered.

The girl giggled, and they continued along the road in silence.


“That’s a Faceless One, right there,” the girl pointed to a masked figure, dressed in black, with two short swords at its side. As Link watched, another Faceless One pulled a man from a bar and held a blade to his throat. Link heard a defiant “yes” from the man, then the Faceless One slashed so quickly Link had trouble following the Faceless One’s movements. The man fell to the floor, headless.

“Hey, kid. Cover your eyes.” Link stood in front of the girl, shielding her eyes. “C’mon, let’s go.”

They’d passed the gates a few minutes ago, and everywhere, Link could see the now-old signs of destruction and agony. People were crying out miserably, beggars lined the streets, and women sat at stalls trying to sell poor quality goods.

“Let’s get you home, eh?” Link asked, then noticed that the girl had gone. She’d hobbled off to embrace an older woman who, when she saw Link, suddenly began to question the girl. Link quickly went over, realising that he needed to get his walking staff back. “’Scuse us ma’am. Just came by to get my walking staff.”

“Did you do this?” the woman suddenly spat, pointing to the girl’s leg. “You traitor?”

“Why’d you ask?” Link replied. “It’s not gonna matter much what I say, anyhow.”

“Mommy, Mr. Traitor-” the girl began but her mother cut her off.

Mr. Traitor, huh? Link thought to himself. That’s a nice way of putting it.

“Isabella, you know the rules! You should’ve answered the moblins truthfully and they would’ve let you go, I’m sure!” the girl’s mother answered, but even to herself she sounded unsure.

“Mommy, the moblins were saying they were going to eat me! And Mr. Traitor-” Link winced at the nickname, “-went and saved me. He killed all those moblins real quick, one after the other, and-”

“Enough, Isabella. Go and find Karia, and ask her to fix your leg.” the woman replied, then turned to Link. “Well, it does seem like you saved my daughter. I’m grateful that you did-she’s everything to me now that my husband is dead. But...”

“I’m still a traitor, and nothing I do can redeem me of that, I know, I know.” Link said carelessly, grinning. “I don’t mind, I’ve heard the speech so many times that I honestly don’t care anymore.”

“Well then you understand I don’t feel in your debt whatsoever, or-”

“Honestly, if you could help me find the grocery shops, that would be really helpful. I can never find them...”

“Really? Well, you’ve come to just the right place-I own a shop, and...” she began advertising her merchandise to Link, babbling on about the freshest fruit and vegetables, and the finest meats in all of Castle Town. She’d sensed that he was a customer, and she’d pounced, desperate to wring his wallet for every rupee in it.

“Ah! Thank you. I’ll be fine from here.” Link said when they arrived at the shop, and began to pick out his groceries carefully. Surprisingly, despite the famine and the difficulty of bringing supplies from the fields to the stores, the vegetables were fresh and the fruit heavy with a sweet aroma. Once he’d finished, Link paid for his purchases, and left the store, bidding the young girl, Isabella, farewell on his way out.

“You there,” a voice rasped from the shadows. Link turned to find one of the Faceless Ones he’d seen earlier standing behind him. It was surprising, really. No one, absolutely no one could sneak up on him without him noticing.

Annoyed, he replied in a confrontational manner, “What? You wanna fight?”

“Sir, we are concerned about your weapon. Under most circumstances, we would not permit you to carry a weapon, but because of your...status...”

In a flash, Link had drawn, his blade clashing suddenly with the thin rapier of the Faceless One.

“Impressive! Ha, you can keep up!” Link said with a grin. “Never met someone with at least half-decent sword skills!”

“Sir, please put your weapon away. You are in a zone where weapons are restricted. Please withdraw, or we will be forced to attack with full-force.” the Faceless One replied.

“We? What we?” Link queried. Almost at once, three other Faceless Ones appeared. Drawing, they pointed their blades at Link, ready to engage him in combat. “Heh, never thought I’d see a day when I saw three opponents of this kinda calibre!”

“Sir, withdraw, or else-” the first one that Link had engaged lost its head. Literally. Link ran it through quickly, before turning to the remaining three.

“Well, c’mon, let’s dance, shall we?” Link responded.

Moments later, another one fell after continuous exchanges of sword slashes. The ringing of steel rang through the market, and all the peasants went along with their lives. After a few minutes, Link was left with a cut on his arm, and a few bodies to account for the previous fight.

“Pfft...was hoping it’d last a bit longer...” Link muttered, before heading toward the gate, toward the road, toward his home. “Goddesses, that was really annoying...it didn’t last long enough...”

Suddenly, he whirled around, catching a glimpse of a dark figure. It melted back into the shadows, and Link figured it to be a figment of his own imagination. Shaking his head, he turned back, continuing toward the gate, unable to shake a sound within his own mind, the sound of a chilling, spine-piercing giggle.


Link continued down the road to his small abode, humming quietly. All the while, his hand was on his sword as he carried the groceries to his house.

“Oi! You! The one trailing me. Get out here and at least tell me why you’re following me.” Link called out, turning around. “C’mon, don’t be shy. Let’s get this over and done with.”

The movement was sudden, a rustle in the wind and the light fall of footsteps, and then it was upon him. Link noticed that it was a Faceless One, and its blade was drawn, but he had no time to register anything after that. It was a blur of motion, of blades and swords as he and his assassin traded blow after blow.

“Well, you look like a girl, judging from your physique.” Link mused as they fought. “And, I like a fast lady, so, I think we might just get along-whoa!”

Link avoided a particularly nasty jab toward his stomach, and responded with a backhand that knocked off the mask of the Faceless One.

Blonde hair suddenly streamed from the mask, and a heart-shaped face suddenly revealed itself. Blue eyes stared angrily at him, locked in hatred; a mouth, supposedly cold, dead was now very much alive, and twisted in anger.

“Link! You bastard! I’ll kill you!” she screamed.

Link could only twist his face into shock, horror, betrayal, anger, fleeting emotions that passed by in a second. Settling on disbelief, Link uttered one word.

“Zelda...” he breathed.