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"Downfall"NOTE: This takes place two
years after the events in "Ascension," please read that story before this
one :)
DownfallBy : Alexandra SpearsLink was enjoying a rather peaceful day near a small lake. He was taking a little bit of time out to do some serious fishing. Hyrule had been at peace for the last two years, since the defeat of Ganon. Zelda had been Queen of Hyrule for the past two years, since the death of her father, King Harkinian. Queen Zelda was loved by her people--especially by Link, who was her husband and the father of their ten-year-old daughter Reva. Now if only these fish would bite, Link thought as he sat up. He had it pretty easy, considering his only problem now was that he hadn't had a bite all afternoon. "Hmph," he muttered as he stood up and reeled his line back in. He carried his rod over his shoulder as he walked along the dirt road that led to North Castle, where he lived with his wife and daughter. As he strolled along he took in a deep breath, enjoying the late summer air. The brilliant blue sky had few clouds in it. Birds chirped merrily in trees whose leaves were bright green. Link didn't think he could ever get used to this sensation, this feeling of liberation he'd had ever since Ganon's defeat and Zelda's ascension to the throne of Hyrule. Something niggled at Link, though, and he couldn't quite place his finger on it. Was this good feeling the feeling of the calm before the storm? Or was he just paranoid? He just had this feeling that the other shoe hadn't dropped yet. Link shrugged off the feeling and quickened his pace a little. He could tell by the lengthening shadows and the slightly cooler air that it was almost dinner time. Good things didn't have to come to an end, he thought. His marriage to Zelda, for example. Sure, they'd had a few rough spots, but what couple didn't? He and Zelda were still very much in love after eleven years of marriage and their daughter was a sweet, obedient little girl. Reva met him at the drawbridge. "Hi, Dad, Mom thought you'd be home in time for dinner," she said by way of greeting. She held out her arms, wanting a hug. Link dropped his fishing rod, picked her up, swung her around in a circle, and kissed her cheek. "Hello to you too, sweetie," he said. "Piggy-back ride?" she asked as he set her down on her feet. She picked up his fishing rod, her long sandy hair getting in her face. "All right...but I won't be able to do it for too much longer...you're getting bigger," said Link as he crouched down and hooked his elbows under her knees. Reva wrapped one arm around her father's neck and held his rod in her opposite hand as he stood up straight. "You're getting old, Daddy. How old are you?" "Twenty-seven. And it's not THAT old," he said. "You were born when your mother and I were seventeen; we were married at sixteen." "Think I'll get married in six years?" Reva asked. She knew that the earliest she could be married was thirteen, and even that was a little young for a Hylian. "Maybe," said Link. "Depends on who you meet. Take your time choosing, though, 'cause whoever you marry will rule Hyrule with you...like me and your mother. Your husband won't be king, just your consort, but he'll have to help you make decisions. And he'll have to gain my approval, because I want my little girl to be happy with whoever she marries." Zelda met up with them in the courtyard. "Catch any fish, Link?" she asked as she kissed him. "Not even a nibble," said Link as he let Reva down. The child went up to her mother and hugged her, and Zelda stroked her hair. "Well, it's time for dinner,"
she said, taking Link's and Reva's hands and walking into the castle with
them.
While Link and his family were enjoying a happy evening together, there was one whose days would all go well when he completed his task, or so he believed. He was the son of Ganon and one of the females from the nearly-extinct Gerudo race, and he was sixty years old, barely middle age for a Gerudo. His mother had died the previous year and she'd tried her very best to keep him from following in his father's footsteps. His name was Balen and he wanted to avenge his father's death at the hands of Link and his wife Queen Zelda. He planned to conquer Hyrule and rule it in his late father's name. He needed to get hold of the Triforce in order to do it. It would be hard to get past the guards, and past Link and Zelda, but he had a remedy for that. He'd been studying magic since the death of his mother. No one in Hyrule knew about Balen, which would work to his advantage. Right now Hyrule's population was probably lax, since they were totally at peace. Their complacency would be their downfall. Balen had also heard something about Link's blood being able to revive Ganon. If Link was killed and his blood sprinkled on Ganon's ashes, Ganon would rise again. Nice little bonus there...he wouldn't mind having his father around. Ganon would be so proud of him! He would bring Link here so he could kill him himself. Balen had already collected his father's ashes from the remains of the Underworld. But he would need Link alive for the first phase of his plan. He'd been planning and plotting
for a year now, and tomorrow he would strike.
Link and Zelda woke up the next morning, still wrapped in each other's arms. "Morning, sweetheart," Link said as he kissed Zelda's lips. "So, what are you going to do today, my hero?" Zelda asked as she traced her fingertips along the contours of his rather muscular chest. "You mean after I make love to you again?" Link smirked as he pulled Zelda on top of him. "Oh, I don't know...what do you have to do today?" "Some paperwork...things that go with being a queen," said Zelda. "I was thinking maybe going for a ride on my horse for like an hour," said Link as he pushed her blonde hair out of her face. "Maybe search for more romantic locations for us to escape to...." Zelda smiled down at him. "And you can surprise me with what you find," she said as she kissed him. She smoothed his dark hair back from his forehead and gazed into his brown eyes. "I love you." "I love you too, my queen,"
Link replied.
After breakfast Zelda went into her father's old study and sifted through some of the paperwork she had to do. Link had taken off on his horse and Reva was in her room playing with her toys. "I wish I could just burn this," she muttered. "I always knew this--as queen you have control over your country but not over your own life. I wonder if I should warn Reva about this little pitfall." "Hi, Zelda." Zelda looked up. "Link, you're back awfully early," she smiled. "Zelda, there's a problem," said Link seriously. "I had a dream last night about the Triforce. I need you to go to the Triforce chamber with me." "What kind of dream?" Zelda asked, standing up. "That someone managed to sneak into it," he said. "Please, just humor me." "All right," said Zelda, thinking how odd this was. Link followed her to the dungeons, to a hidden door. Zelda took out a special key and opened the door, revealing the Triforce, which cast off a red, green, and blue glow. "Thanks--bitch!" Link transformed and became someone Zelda had never seen before. He looked like one of those legendary Gerudos, with red hair and yellow eyes. He grabbed her by the shoulders and slammed her up against the wall. Quickly he pulled out a knife. Zelda gasped as he stabbed it down, the point heading for her chest--but then she parried it and the knife sank into her forearm. Zelda began to run, was surprised when the villain didn't run after her. She had to find Link.... "The name's Balen," said the
villain as he entered the chamber. She wouldn't be any problem once
he had the Triforce.
Link was walking slowly, leading his horse along by her reins. He hadn't found anything, so he decided to head home and see if Zelda wanted to go riding with him, or maybe take Reva and go on a picnic. "Help...me...," a weak voice cried out. "Uh-oh, someone's in trouble," said Link. He went towards the source of the voice, which was off the beaten path, maybe ten yards into the thick forest. A figure in a black cloak lay there. "Need help," said the man. Link took his hand and helped him up. "Are you all right, sir?" Link asked. The hood fell back, revealing that the stranger was a Gerudo male. Link had seen old pictures of Gerudos but had never seen one in person. "Yes...and now that I've touched you...my plan can be set in motion! I'll take your place and have Zelda lead me to the Triforce!" He raised his hands and knocked Link out cold with a spell. "That'll keep you unconscious until I can get the Triforce." Those were the last words
Link heard as he sank into darkness.
Link woke up, still in the forest. His horse was still standing there, waiting for him. "Zelda! The Triforce!" he said as he jumped on his horse and slapped her flank to make her go as fast as she possibly could. A sight awaited him as he approached the castle. Flames were shooting up from several windows. "Zelda! Reva!" he cried as he dismounted his horse, unsheathed his sword, and ran inside. The castle was in chaos. Flames were everywhere and people were running every which way and screaming. "Zelda! Reva! Where are you!" Link screamed frantically. Rounding a corner, Link saw Zelda stumbling towards him, a knife protruding from her arm, blood pouring from her wound. "Link...," she managed to say. Link held her in his arms and pulled the knife out. He quickly unfastened her belt and would it around her arm. "Zelda! What happened?" "Someone...disguised as you...tricked me...," she gasped as he knelt down continued to hold her in his arms. "Link...I'm dying...leave me here...find Reva...get out...he has Triforce...." "No, Zelda, you're going to be all right, sweetheart! I love you!" He hoped she hadn't lost too much blood. He lifted her into his arms. Link headed for Reva's room, carrying Zelda, dodging flames along the way. He had to find his daughter. He had to get Reva and get everyone out quickly. "Daddy! Dadddyy!!" Link could hear Reva's scream through the door to her room, which was on fire. He hoisted Zelda over his shoulder, fumbled in his pack, found his forcefield ring, and put it on. The force field protected him and Zelda from the flames as he broke down the door. Little Reva was backed in a corner, the flames getting closer to her. Link ran to her and lifted her into his arms. "Reva, we've gotta get out of here," he said as he prepared to jump out the window with her. "What happened to Mommy?" "She's hurt," said Link. "Reva, we have to get going now. Someone has the Triforce and they'll be after us." He jumped out the window, Reva clinging to him, Link clinging to Zelda. Outside the castle, guards were fighting off Molblins in vain. Almost no guards were left and Link knew that he couldn't possibly fight them all off. From a distance he could see that guy from the forest standing there, the red Triforce of Power hovering in front of him. He saw them too. "After them my servants! I want Link!" Link, Zelda, and Reva were seriously outnumbered. He carried Zelda and took Reva's hand as he ran to where he'd left his horse. "Reva, hurry, get on," he said. Reva quickly climbed up and
Link sat Zelda on and got on behind her. The horse raced away from
the North Castle at top speed, heading south. Behind them the castle
was starting to collapse.
Hours later, Link and his wife and daughter were riding through the Lost Woods. "Daddy, I'm scared," Reva sobbed. "I know, sweetheart," said Link. "They hurt your mother. We need to find a safe place and help her." Zelda was unconscious. "Daddy, where are we going to go?" Link heaved a sigh. "I don't know. We can't go to Calatia, as they'll probably look there first thing. We're not safe here in Hyrule." They wandered aimlessly through the Lost Woods on Katie, Link's horse. Reva was sobbing quietly and Link stroked her hair gently, trying to comfort her. Link knew he could survive on his own, he'd done it for a couple of years before meeting Zelda, but now he had his ten-year-old daughter and his injured wife to take care of as well. It was going to be harder. After a while they took a short break. They could not stop in a town, because monsters might be there. There was nothing to eat in the forest, nothing to drink. Link wondered what to do as he laid Zelda down and cradled her in his arms. She was still breathing but she was pale. "Dad, look at this hollow tree...you can't see out the other end," said Reva, who'd wandered a small distance. "That's strange," said Link. He had an idea. "Katie--back to the castle." Katie understood that command and she ran off. This way it might throw the Molblins and who knew what else off the trail. "Should we go in?" asked Reva. "I don't see what other choice we have," Link replied as he lifted Zelda into his arms and walked through the hollow tree with Reva. In the distance they could hear a noise, the sound of an army. Most likely the Molblins were going to search the Lost Woods for them. They ran through and found themselves in a strange curvy, twisty corridor. Looking behind them, they saw that hollow tree--and they could not see the Lost Woods through it. The sounds of an army approaching were no more, as if someone had just shut them off instantaneously. Finally Link, Zelda, and Reva came to a double door and cautiously pushed it open. They found themselves in some kind of building. Walking up the ramps they found that they seemed to be inside a clock or a clock tower. Something about this...from a long time ago...clicked in Link's mind. He couldn't place it. He'd never been here before. "Dad, what is this place?" whispered Reva. "I have no idea," Link replied as they went up a flight of stairs and pushed open another set of double doors. They blinked as they stepped out into bright sunlight. They were in some kind of town. People were rushing to and fro. Reva clutched her father's tunic as they explored the town. Finally Link saw a sign that told them that they were in South Clock Town, in a land called Termina. "That name is awfully familiar," said Link. "Well, we should be safe here." "Daddy, will we ever go back to Hyrule?" asked Reva. "I don't know, Reva, I just don't know," Link replied honestly. He wasn't sure he wanted to go back. He was sure that Hyrule was a complete shambles. In East Clock Town the family entered the Stock Pot Inn. A sign boasted that the Inn had been in the same family for hundreds of years, starting with its first owners, Anju and Kafei. "Welcome to the Stock Pot Inn," said a blonde girl behind the counter. "I have a room available if that's what you need." "Yes, we need a room," said Link. "So this inn has been in your family?" "Yes. My name is Karena. My many-times-great-grandmother ran this inn. Her name was Anju." She looked closely at him, at the blood on his green tunic. "Were you in a fight or something? And the woman...she needs a red potion!" "Yeah...my wife and daughter and I escaped from another country. My wife has been hurt. Where can I find a red potion?" "West Clock Town Trading Post." "Reva, reach into my pouch and get some rupees, maybe about a hundred or so. Get that potion for your mother." Reva took out the rupees and put them in her pocket. Then she hurriedly ran out the door. Karena handed him a room key and Link took Zelda upstairs to their room. It was a nice room, with a fireplace, two beds, and a table with four chairs. Both of the beds were big enough for two adults. Link laid Zelda down on one of the beds and touched her neck, feeling for her pulse. It was weak. "Link...," she mumbled. "Shhh...you're safe now," he whispered. He tore her sleeve open. The wound was becoming infected. Half an hour later Reva ran in, holding a bottle containing a red fluid. "Thanks, Reva," said Link. "Here, Zelda...drink this...." He propped her up and placed the neck of the bottle to her lips. Zelda drank the contents and Link laid her back down. The wound on her arm disappeared, and Zelda's color went back to normal. "Link, where are we?" she asked, sitting up. "A land called Termina," Link replied. "Termina...." Zelda thought about that. "Link...our ancestor Link, the Hero of Time, once saved this place! I remember my ancient history," she said. "The first Link, who also married a Princess Zelda?" he asked. "That one," Zelda nodded. "Cool," said Reva. "Link, I'm glad you managed to save us," said Zelda. "There was no way we could have defeated Balen--that's his name. The Triforce is split apart again...but this time I don't have the Triforce of Wisdom. I don't feel it." "I don't have the Triforce of Courage either," said Link. "Hunh. Well, I'm just glad you're all right, Zelda--there was no way I was going to leave you there to die! I love you too much." He hugged her tightly. "So what do we do now?" asked Zelda. "I get a job and we find somewhere to live," Link replied. "We can't live as Queen Zelda and her consort Link and Princess Reva here--these people have never heard of Hyrule, or if they have they just know it as a strange place our ancestor came from. We have to live like ordinary people. We can't return to Hyrule." "Not yet," said Reva quietly. Link and Zelda looked at their daughter. "I hold the Triforce of Wisdom now," she said. "I could hear it talking to me when we were running into the Lost Woods. Back home there's someone who holds the Triforce of Courage. We have to eventually help Mom get her throne back. But I'm not old enough yet." "Why didn't it go to me, I wonder?" Zelda mused. "Because you have to rule Hyrule. This other person and I have to help defend Hyrule until I become Queen," Reva replied. "In short our fighting days are over and we have to leave it to the next generation," said Link. "Something like that," said Reva. "Doesn't mean I won't help," said Link. "So in the meantime we live here," said Zelda. She sighed. "I guess we have no choice. If we go back to Hyrule we'll all be killed. You're actually going to get a job?" "I don't see any way around it. I paid sixty rupees for three nights here," said Link. Reva lay down on the other bed, kicked off her shoes, and curled up. "Why don't you take a bath first, Reva?" Zelda suggested as she went over and helped her sleepy daughter off the bed. "Link...how much money do you have?" Link took his pouch off and dumped his rupees onto the table. "Three hundred," he replied. "We need some clothes...look at what we've got," said Zelda. "Guess I have to go shopping," said Link. "You're going to give Reva a bath?" Zelda nodded. "It'll make her feel better...and she's tired." "All right," said Link. He kissed Zelda's lips, gave Reva a kiss on her cheek, scooped his rupees back into his pouch, and headed out the door. "Mom, where's Dad going?" Reva asked. "To get us some clothes,"
Zelda replied as she led Reva into the bathroom and drew her a bath.
She took Reva's torn and dirty clothes off her and Reva sat in the bathtub.
By the time Link got back, Reva was in her bed, sleeping in just her panties. "I managed to get us a couple outfits apiece...it'll have to do," Link told Zelda. "Tomorrow I need to find work." "What about a place to live?" Zelda asked. "I'll look for that too," said Link. "We may have to stay with someone." "This is going to take some getting used to. I never had to worry about this before," said Zelda. "Don't worry, we'll be all
right," said Link with confidence. "Let's get cleaned up and go to
bed. It's late."
Zelda could not sleep. She was surprised that Link could. She was lying on her side, Link lying with his body pressed to hers, his arms around her. In the moonlight she could see Reva tossing and turning a little in her bed; surprisingly she hadn't been awakened a little earlier, but then again Zelda and Link had managed to keep it down. She hadn't minded them getting romantic right after what had just happened; they'd needed each other's intimacy. Tears came to Zelda's eyes. Thankfully her father had not seen the disaster that had come about, since he'd died two years ago. For the past two years she'd reigned in peace, and now she had nothing left. She sighed. At least she had her husband and daughter, the two people that mattered the most to her. Suddenly Reva started crying out in her sleep. Zelda reached for the robe Link had bought her and put it on. "Zelda? What's goin' on?" Link mumbled sleepily. "Reva?" Zelda went over to Reva's bed and held her child in her arms. Link sat up, the blankets covering him from his hips down. "Zelda, is Reva okay?" he asked. "Yes...just a nightmare," said Zelda as she hugged their daughter. "It's okay, Reva, we're here," Zelda told her as she stroked the girl's hair. "Daddy?" "I'm here, Reva," said Link as he got his robe off the bedpost and slipped it on, carefully climbing out of the bed. He went over to his wife and daughter. "You okay now?" Reva nodded. "All right then, go back to sleep," said Zelda as she tucked the child back in. "Daddy and I are here, right across the room, okay?" "Okay Mommy," said Reva. She curled up and managed to fall back asleep. Link and Zelda returned to their bed and both managed to
sleep until morning. |