Alec’s eyes flickered open; his blurred vision stared up at a brown colored stone ceiling. He felt a dull pain in his head, remnants from the night before. Lying on the ground he stretched his dazed body, his arms and legs extending out over the warm sandy floor. The young knight’s mind whirled in confusion; he knew not where he was or how he had gotten into the stone room in which he was now occupying. A very warm swell of air passed through the small room, followed by the sound of soft footsteps and high pitched women-like laughter, which soon vanished as soon as it had come.
Coming to his senses Alec’s vision and mind cleared. The young knight was lying in a small stone room, grains of sand and dirt covered the floor and rolled about with the slightest push from the warm yet dry breeze. Three of the room’s walls were crafted out of strong brownish and tan colored stones, but the fourth wall was open, save for rusted metal bars that sealed it off from an even larger stone chamber, he was in a prison cell. Turning his head toward the rusted metal bars Alec attempted to remember the events from the night before…
One of the last things Alec’s remembered was arriving back at his room after spending the evening with Princess Terra. She had taken him out in Castle Town for his nineteenth birthday and he had just dropped her off back at her room before heading to his own. The young knight’s mind strained in remembering what little he could of the previous night’s events, his head ached as he plunged deeper into his clouded memory.
He remember that he had just finished removing his armor, switching to a more comfortable set of clothes, a set of dark brown pants, white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a dark grey leather vest. He was going to pull some late night studying on royal educate, something that Captain Ordon was constantly pestering him about, and decided that he wasn’t going to go to bed just yet, even on his birthday. The young knight then remembered hearing footsteps outside of his room, the sounds growing louder and louder until they stopped at his doorway. Sound sounds of a door opening, high pitched laughter, and the tramping choir of feet entering his room was the last thing he remember before his mind was plunged into darkness…
Coming back to reality in his prison cell Alec began to take in more of his surroundings. There was nothing in the young knights cell, save for the gains of dirt and dust that lay in small heaps in the corners of the holding area. The outside of the cage held little more, only a few boxes and wall decorations populated the mostly empty room. Small rectangular windows cut into the stone on the far side of the room let in a harsh bright light, keeping the room well lit despite their small size.
“Oh…My head…” Alec grumbled softly, lifting his hand to a small lump on the back of his skull, the point at which his attackers must have knocked him out.
The sound of high pitched laughter echoed off the stone once again, this time drawing closer than before. Sounds of footsteps soon followed the laughter, it too drawing closer and closer with each passing moment. Then, two women, dressed in purple clothing slowly passed by his cell, not taking notice the Alec was awake…Gerudos…Lying still Alec’s eyes followed the pair of women as they passed by his cell and then out of sight.
“Gerudos?!” The ranch boy thought to himself in surprise “Have they gone mad? What are they thinking locking me up here? This must be some sort of mistake.”
But in Alec’s gut he knew that something wasn’t right, something was off. There was no reason for the Gerudos to kidnap a knight, much less enter Hyrule Castle to do so. Even so Alec felt there was something more going on; there must have been a reason for the desert women to break an alliance with the Queen.
Almost immediately Alec began to formulate a plan for escape. With a swift thrust of his arms the young knight propelled himself into a kneeling position, being careful not to make any noise for the chance of warning a guard. Slowly he moved toward the rusted bars of the jail cell, keeping an open ear for the sound of incoming guards. Alec moved his hand across the rough oxidized metal, the brown flakes of rust floating to the ground like a brown snow. He found his way toward the cell door, the old set of metal strips and bars seemed to be falling off its hinges.
Inspecting the barred door, Alec pushed it, the rusted object creaked and small bits of ruined metal fell to the floor once again, and with a few more tugs the piece of metal moved more and more. This door would be easily pushed off its hinges, giving Alec a chance to escape his cell, even though it would be far too heavy for him to make a ‘quiet’ getaway.
A glint of metal caught the young knight’s eye. Across the room lay a pair of wooden boxes, on top of which lay the shimmering item that had gotten Alec’s attention. Squinting his eyes, the nature of the object was revealed, his sword. The black falcon hilt of the two-handed blade stuck out like a sore thumb in the bright light that entered through the windows. The Gerudo’s must have taken it from his room when they abducted him as well.
Encouraged by the sight of a familiar weapon, Alec took a few steps back from the door, preparing himself. And with one swift forward motion he caged the door, slamming into it, his arms curled in front of him shielding the rest of body. The instant Alec’s body impacted the door the piece of metal snapped off its hinges, giving way easily to the force of the young man’s brute force attack.
Alec and broken door now sailed into the middle of the room, the young knight overestimating the amount of force needed to break door free form its hinges. With a loud and harsh metallic “Clang” the rusted jail cell door collapsed to the stone floor. Stumbling over the door that now laid on the floor, the young Hylian man regained his posture, surprised by how easily the door had been broken. Everything then grew silent and Alec listened for the sound of incoming guards that might have been alerted by the harsh noise that he had created….But nothing…
With a shocked look, Alec pivoted his head about the room, almost expecting somebody to come running at the sound. Brushing off his clothes he began to make his way toward his blade, which was blatantly standing out in the open atop the wooden boxes across the room. As he walked he could hear the sound of the dry wind entering through the small rectangle windows, the heat that was carried upon it instantly drew a sweat from the ranch boy. Reaching the boxes Alec quickly grasped his blade, picking it up and bringing the warm piece of metal close to himself.
“They’re making this too easy.” Alec softly said with a grin, but his look slowly faded into that of confusion, still astonished by the fact the Gerudos had even abducted him in the first place. “But it doesn’t matter…” He continued “…All that matters now is that I get out of here and back to the castle.”
Slinging the sheathed blade over his shoulder, Alec fixed the weapon to his back in his usual fashion. Moving quietly he began to make his way out of the room and down an adjacent hallway. He attempted to make as little of noise as possible, hoping that he may sneak out of the prison unnoticed. But as he made his way through the interior of the Gerudo fortress, Alec was met with no resistance, they must have not realized that their prisoner was gone yet. A bright light began to shine around one of the corners of the hallway, an exit to the outside world.
Quickening his pace Alec rounded the corner, the harsh light instantly shining into his eyes. As if entering an entire new world, a new landscape opened up in front of him. The young knight stood in an open doorway, not on ground level. He stood on a terraced-like stone building with multiple levels, each moving closers and closer into the mountain side as the height increased, the Gerudo Fortress. Below him was a group of patrolling guards, Gerudo women in purple. Each wielded a large spear like weapon, the shaft of it lying on their shoulder. They moved in union, each moving from one spot to the next, constantly being on lookout for an intruder…or an escapee…
He lowered his head to avoid being seen by the patrolling Gerudo women. There was a lot of activity going on outside the fortress, it seemed like there was a buzz about the place. Everything seemed very lively and energized, the guards pace was brisk and their moves sharp despite the heat. Something was up; the guards that were standing still were talking about something, yet Alec wasn’t able to make out what from his height. And out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cliff opening, the way out of the fortress.
Stepping back from the edge of the building’s roof, Alec began to slowly make his way back inside, once again keeping his noise level down. He mentally decided to take his chances moving around inside than moving about in the open. And like a shade the young knight vanished back inside.
%
A dark hooded man watched from afar as the young Hylian knight slinked back into the dark interior of the stone fortress. His hood was pulled over his head, covering his face with a black shadow, preventing his facial features from being seen. The man stood with his arms crossed over his chest; obviously he had been waiting for some time for the boy appear.
To his left stood a woman with dark tan skin, a Gerudo. She wore a different outfit than the rest of her companions, who were constantly patrolling in front of the fortress. The Gerudo wore white; the color seemed to stick out against the brown dirt and sand backdrop of their native area. Her face was decorated with jewels and makeup in the usual Gerudo fashion, a large shining gem lying in the center of her forehead. Over her mouth she wore a white mask, another symbol of the Gerudo culture. And finally, at her sides, the women held two large scimitars, one clutched tightly in each hand. The polished metal of the massive curved blades reflected the sunlight, scattering it about the area.
Behind them stood a group of two shadowed figures, they sat watching the two ahead them. They stood in a line, whispering amongst themselves in the shadow a large rock that extended out of the ground.
“The boy is awake.” The dark hooded man growled softly in a low tone, disguising his voice.
Moving up to the man’s side the woman said nothing, except giving a womanly chuckle of agreement. She flexed her arms as in anticipation for something, and as she did massive curve blades moved with her body.
“You know what to do Nabooru…Let’s see how much this boy can take and get out in one piece.”
And in an instant, the white clothed Gerudo vanished, a white blur heading toward the stone fortress.
%
Alec pressed his back against the stone wall of the inside of the fortress. The young knight hugged the wall as he peered around a sharp corner into another hallway. He looked down the long corridor and into another large room. Much to his surprise he hadn’t run into any other guards then the ones he had seen outside or the ones he had seen when he was in his cell. Relaxing he pushed himself off the stone wall and rounded the corner; he was letting his guard down, getting too relaxed.
He continued down the long hallway, the only sounds coming from the impacting of his own footsteps against the hard stone floor. Each step brought him closer to the larger chamber, the chamber much like the one that was connected to the prison cell he woke up in. At the far end of the chamber was another door, bright light coming in from the outside, his way out.
Stepping into the large stone room the young knight looked around. The chamber was mostly dark, the windows covered by heavy dark colored curtains, blocking the light the beamed in from the outside. Only a small amount of bright light entered through the open door at the far end of the room, the exit that was closest to the exit of Gerudo Valley, Alec’s way out. The room was extremely similar to the one that he woke up in, a larger open room with prison cells seemingly carved into one side. This particular room had two cells, one next to the other, the interiors of each separated by a thin stone wall. The room was awkwardly quiet; the only sound came from the wind that swept through the chamber, creating a low animal like howl. Combine with the darkness the sound of the wind gave the room a very eerie feeling, like something out of a campfire story.
Alec took cautious steps forward, heading deeper into the larger room and out of the corridor. His eyes swept back and forth, from the dark shadowed jail cells to his left, to the open doorway leading outside, and then to the right, the wall with the curtained windows. In his gut he had a feeling that something wasn’t right. He had been sneaking around the inside of the Gerudo fortress too easily, and in addition he had seen no guards besides the massive amount that were patrolling outside.
“Hey!” A very muffled and quiet cried out from the darkness of one of the jail cells. The voice was followed by the sound of a body shuffling against the stone ground.
The young knight froze solid at the sound; instinctively he swiftly reached up and grabbed the handle of his two-handed weapon. He held his hand tightly on his Black Falcon sword for a few moments, barely starting to pull the sharp shining blade out of its dark colored sheath. Alec’s eyes darted toward the dark cell where the noise came from, locking his eyes on a small crumpled shape that was crawling on the floor inside of the cell toward the metal cage bars.
“Hey!” The muffled voice cried again, this time seeming more distressed than before. “Alec!”
“W-W-Who’s there!?” Alec demanded loudly, drawing his large sword in surprise. The light coming in from the door reflected off the polished surface of the blade and sent it about the room. By the pitch of the voice Alec could defiantly tell that whoever was in the room with him was definitely a young female.
“Alec…Please…” The female voice sobbed again. “…Over here.”
Holding his blade in both hands Alec took cautious steps toward the Gerudo jail cell. As he drew closer he was barely able to make out the shape. A young blonde Hylian girl had propped herself up against the metal bars of the jail cell, her head looking out between two rusted bars. Around her mouth was tied a piece of cloth, preventing her from making any loud noise. Her hands and legs were bound by rope, preventing her from making much movement besides shuffling against the ground to move around her cage. She wore nice clothes, the white and purple of her dress standing out in the low light of the chamber…But something was different about this girl…She was…familiar…
“Terra!” Alec gasped, sprinting the short distance to the prison cell. He knelt down to come eye level to the Hylian princess who had her head propped up against the metal bars. Letting go of his sword, letting it fall to the ground, he reached through the metal bar and placed his hands on Terra’s face. Stretching his arms through the rusted bars he reached around Terra’s head and pulled down the cloth that was over her mouth.
The princess let out a harsh gasp, breathing in the warm dry desert hair, her breathing freed now that the cloth on her mouth was gone. “Alec…” She said wearily “…W-What are you doing here?” She pressed herself against the metal bars of the prison cell in an attempt to get as close to Alec as she could. Terra could feel Alec’s arms as they reached through the cage and held her in a brief, yet warm embrace.
“I-I don’t know.” Alec stammered, adrenaline pumping through this veins. “I just woke up here Terra.”
“Just woke up here?” She said almost in surprise.
The young simply knight nodded in agreement.
“Do you remember anything about how you got here?” She questioned stressfully, attempting to free herself from her binds.
Alec shook his head. “No idea…I just remember being in my room, some laughter, and then this place…Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you did they?”
Terra gave a small smile “Yeah…I’m fine Alec…They didn’t hurt me.” The princess fidgeted again, still trying to remove the binds from her hands and feet.
Watching Terra struggle, Alec reached through the cage, and grabbed ahold a Terra’s bound hands. The princess froze for a moment at Alec’s touch, but with a reassuring nod from the young knight she let him help her. Reaching through the bars Alec pulled away the knot that held the princesses hands together. Letting the rope fall to the dusty ground the princess immediately flexed her soft hands, bringing the feeling back that was cut off by her tightly tied bounds.
“They didn’t have to tie these things so hard…” Terra whispered angrily, rubbing the red portion of her hands where the rope once was. She then began to bring her hands down toward the rope her ankles.
“Here…” Alec swiftly said, moving his hands along with Terra’s “…Let me help you.”
The princess froze once again, as she watched Alec untie the rope around her feet. Blushing, the young woman couldn’t help but admire the knight’s kind actions. She watched as he quickly pulled away the dried rope and threw it to the side and into a pile of sand and dirt. Suddenly she felt a hand grab ahold of hers. Glancing down she saw that Alec had taken ahold of hand, holding it tightly and yet with care for the fragile girl’s frame. Terra could almost feel the warmth of Alec’s hand radiating into her own, it felt good, familiar, and comforting, and as if it was something she had wanted for a long time.
Terra looked up and locked eyes with the young knight, staring directly into his dark brown eyes. “Alec…” She subconsciously murmured in her soft voice. Their eyes locked for countless moments as time seemed to freeze. They made no sounds for the longest time, the Hylian Knight and the Hylian Princess seemed stuck in time. The only noise came from the sound of the dry wind sweeping into the room from the outside.
Smirking and breaking the silence, Alec gave a gentle pull on the princess’s hand. “Come on…Let’s get you out of here.” And with those words he gently lifted the girl’s hand as he stood.
Terra never broke eye contact as the knight helped her up. “Alec…” She whispered again, attempting to find words to thank the young knight with, but nothing but silence came from her open mouth. Even as they stood, the metal bars of the prison coming between them, they didn’t notice that they each had their hands still clasped tightly together.
A white blur, a flash that darted across the room behind Alec caught the Hylian girl’s eye, breaking her concentration.
Alec noticed the princess’s facial expression change. “W-What’s wrong?”
The same white flash swiftly moved across the back wall making Terra jump back away from Alec, their hands finally releasing form each other. “Alec, Watch out!” She screamed as she jumped back. Laced inside the girl’s scream was another sound, the sound of sharp metal slashing against cloth.
Almost instantly the curtains that covered the windows on the back of the room fell, their threads cut cleanly in half. The cut pieces of cloth limply feel to the ground, sending a plume of dust briefly into the Bright and harsh light flooded the stone chamber, momentarily blinding the two young Hylians.
Alec swiftly pin-wheeled around, scooping up his two-handed sword off the ground in the process. The white light beamed into his eyes, blinding his vision. He lifted his arms slightly in an attempt to soften the light that showered into the stone chamber. In addition to the light a new dry wind now poured into the room, increasing the heat dramatically.
“Heh…Heh…Heh…” A lower female voice laughed. The sound of soft nimble footsteps running across stone echoed about the stone walls.
As Alec’s vision cleared, he could barely make out the outline of a Gerudo running toward him, the outline of the woman highlighted by the rays of sun. She was dressed in a white outfit, the clothing seemingly blending in with the brightness that now filled the room. Almost as if they materialized out of the light, the woman brought her two shining scimitars forward, thrusting them toward the young knight as she charged.
Alec quickly brought his own blade to bear, swinging it sideways just as the Gerudo woman reached him. The young knight’s defensive move knocked the two scimitars out of position, giving Alec enough time to move away from the metal bars of Terra’s prison cell. As he darted away from the wall Alec quickly turned to face his attack once again, but this time having more breathing room to maneuver. Regaining her posture the Gerudo woman, now having lost the element of surprise, locked her eyes onto Alec and moved her dual swords into position once again, ready for another strike.
The Gerudo watched as the knight readied himself in a combat stance, fixing his two feet to the ground and pointing the tip of his large two-handle sword at her. “Give up now boy!” She howled loudly, her voice echoing off the stone walls of the chamber.
Her demand was replied to with a stern silence, Alec’s eyes locking onto the Gerudo.
“Well then…” The white clothed Gerudo chuckled “…I guess I’ll get to have a little fun with you Knight.”
In a swift motion the Gerudo moved into striking distance, bringing one of her shining curved blades onto the boy with a powerful downward swing. She then moved the other up from below her, swinging upward in an attempt to off-balance her opponent.
Alec watched as the scimitar came down upon him. Bringing his blade parallel to the ground and pushing it upward he blocked the white dressed Gerudo’s first attack. He could felt he enormous amount of force that traveled through his blade when it impacted the scimitar, the large blade vibrated violently all the way down to the handle. Then noticing the other fast moving blade coming up from below him, Alec thrust the flat side of the blade downward, in an attempt to block the incoming upper cutting swipe, and the scimitars sharp edge.
As the two blades collided, the harsh sound of metal impacting metal echoed about the stone room. Both swords bounced off each other, pushing both of the warriors back and away from each. Realizing that he had to gain some distance from his assailant, Alec jumped back the point of his two handed sword still angled in the direction of the white clothed Gerudo. He watched as the Gerudo took a few steps back, her eyes locked on him. Each one of her shining scimitars seemed to be an extension of her arm, moving around her body like a whirlwind.
“I’ll give you this kid…You’re better than I was expecting!” The Gerudo laughed, slowly beginning to circle the knight.
“Kid?” Alec growled back, not taking kindly to being made fun of in front of Terra.
Giving no reply the Gerudo leapt back at Alec, rejoining the battle once again.
Terra watched as the Hylian Knight and Gerudo began to exchange blows, showers of sparks emerging from where the two sharp ends of their blades met. Most of her gaze was directed toward Alec, noticing the amount of skill the young knight seemed to pull out of thin air. Astonished, the young woman seemed to be put into a trance as her eyes wandered up to Alec’s face, locking onto his deep brown eyes much like the Gerudo had done. But she did so with a different meaning.
As she continued to watch the fray unfolding outside of her prison cell, her mind wandered. It wandered back to only moments before the fight began, when Alec had come upon her. Rubbing her hand she remembered Alec’s grasp, and the warmth that came with it. Walking up to the metal bars she laid her head against them, letting her thick blond hair cushion her forehead. And yet even as she watched the battle in front of her she let a small smirk cross her face, her mind not thinking of the sword fight, but of the Knight who was protecting her…But then, her trance was broken…
Alec stumbled backward, getting knocked off balance by the Gerudo’s previous attack. His feet struggled to plant themselves on the sandy floor as he continued to move backward, preventing himself from toppling over. His sword was knocked out of the ready position, the blade flailing about as Alec’s arms attempted to balance his body.
Taking advantage of the opportunity the Gerudo charged forward, both of her scimitars crossed over the other in an X shape. She aimed one of the indents in the X at Alec’s neck, hoping to end the fight with one final blow. Increasing her speed she leapt into the air ad soon let gravity take over, thrusting her sharp blades downward as she did.
In an attempt to defend himself Alec pivoted his sword, placing it in the path of the incoming crossed scimitars. It slid down into the indent within the crossed swords shape. The push from both fighters seemed to lock the swords together, with a metallic ‘Clang’ that bounced about the room. But the extreme forward momentum of the incoming Gerudo knocked the Hylian knight off his balance, causing him to slip. His feet slid across the sandy floor until his back impacted the stone wall, stopping his backward motion. To his front the white clothed Gerudo continued to push her crossed scimitar toward him, the only thing stopping them from slicing his neck was Alec’s own blade, and to his back was the immovable stone wall, he was pinned.
Alec could feel himself sliding down the smooth stone as the skilled Gerudo continued to push forward, his knees were beginning to buckle under the enormous force. As his back slid down across the wall, his knees began to bend, lowering himself in an attempt to relieve some pressure. Even though he tried to push forward with his own blade, it wasn’t enough to shake the woman, her blade still ever so slowly moving toward his neck as Alec lost strength. To his left and right he could see the tips of her scimitars, each one blocking an escape to the sides…It was over…
“Enough!” A voice boomed from the doorway. A hooded figure stepped into the room, the outline of the man highlighted by the incoming light.
As the hooded man entered the room he was followed by two similar figures, each cloaked, their faces concealed by shadow. They moved in unison, taking their place side by side in front of the prison cell that held Terra.
Terra gave a soft smirk, she knew it was over, but yet she wasn’t happy with the results. Slowly she crossed her arms and leaned once again on the metal bars of her cell. The Hylian princess looked toward the first cloaked figure, waiting for him to speak again.
Alec felt the Gerudo freeze, her sword still locked in place but still pinning him against the wall. His eyes darted about the room, confused by the newcomer. And when he tried to push forward with his sword the Gerudo simply pushed back, pinning him once again.
“It’s over Alec…You’ve lost…” The cloaked man chuckled once again, moving closer to the Knight and Gerudo who were still locked in combat.
“W-what?” The knight grunted harshly, as he attempted once again to push the woman away from him, their weapons scraping against each other.
“You’ve lost Alec…” He said once again, sounding almost enthused. “…But you’ve made it farther than I thought you would.”
Pushing up and away once again, Alec gave another attempt to disengage the Gerudo, but to no avail. “What are you talking about…Who are you?!” The young knight demanded his voice under enormous amounts of strain.
With a quiet laugh the cloaked man moved his hands up to his hood, pulling it back slowly over his head, letting the piece of cloth fall against his back…it was Captain Ordon…And almost instantly the other two figures did the same, Each pulling off their hoods in unison. Link and Zelda stood side by side, looking down at the young knight with a satisfied grin.
“Satisfied Alec?” Ordon chuckled, folding his arms as he continued to watch the young knight struggle against the Gerudo warrior.
“Ordon?!” Alec gasped in surprise, his brown eyes growing wide.
“That’s right.”
“What in the goddesses are you doing here? What’s going on?” He eyes darted back and forth between Link, Zelda and Ordon, obvious confusion setting in.
Ordon began pacing around the room, his eyes still locked on Alec. “Oh?” The captain said slyly “Just a little test.”
“A test?”
“That’s right.”
“F-For what?” Alec grunted again, still trying to break free from the Gerudo. He attempted to push away again.
The Knight Captain froze and then turned his body toward the knight, putting his hands together behind his back. “I wanted to see how you would react.”
“React to what?!”
Chuckling, Ordon continued “I wanted to see how you would react and act in a situation that you thought was real. I wanted to see how you would act in a situation where you didn’t have mine or someone else’s guidance. A knight needs to learn how to act on his own accord, and make the smart choice instead of the fastest choice…And you made the smarter choice when you choose to stay inside the fortress and make your way out through the inside instead of simply running for the exit…Good Job Alec.”
Alec shifted again against the stone wall, still astonished by the appearance of the trio of Hylians. “So that means…”
“That’s right…” Link interrupted, a smile crossing his face “…This was all fake! I have to say you’ve done quite well up to this point.”
Ordon gave an agreeing nod, and pointed a finger toward the cage.
Terra, her head hung lower but with a childish grin, pushed open the unlocked prison cell door. And without making sounds mouthed words toward Alec “I’m so sorry.”
Jumping in once again the Knight Captain spoke. “Even Terra agreed to be a part of this test; I must admit she played her job perfectly.”
Jaw dropping Alec turned his attention toward the Gerudo that still had him pinned against the smooth stone wall. “And you are?” he asked, once again trying to escape without hurting himself.
Through the white mask that covered her face, the Gerudo woman spoke. “Nabooru…Leader of the Gerudos…You’ve fought well kid, only two other people lasted as long as you have.”
“But…” Ordon began again, breaking what was becoming a light hearted mood with his booming voice. “…You’ve made a mistake. You’ve let something get in the way of your focus and cloud your senses…”
Alec raised an eyebrow toward the captain, confused about what he was talking about.
“…Once you let something get in the way of your focus you begin to falter, you let it get in the way of your goal…” Ordon voice slowly grew quieter as he continued, as if he was getting lost in thought. “…I’ve learned this from experience Alec; once you let something get in the way of your duty…You fail…”
Zelda turned toward Link, giving him a brief yet worried look concerning the Captain. But Link gave no response, his head turning downward.
For a brief moment Alec stopped struggling against Nabooru and wondered what Captain Ordon was talking about.
Snapping out of thought Ordon turned back to Alec. “There is one last thing to this test Alec.” He chuckled evilly, seemingly taking joy in the thought of what he was about to say.
Narrowing his eyes Alec stared at the captain. “Which is?”
With a wide grin Ordon spoke. “Do you submit to Nabooru? Do you accept defeat?”
Link took a small step forward. “Only two have ever bested Nabooru in combat, myself…And your father…There is no shame in ending this now; she is one of the best warriors in Hyrule…It’s your choice Alec…”
Zelda moved in to speak. “Make the choice Alec, you’ve done well today…There is no need to hurt yourself.” The Queen of Hyrule leaned up against her husband, and waited for the young warrior’s response.
“Come on kid…There is no reason to continue this…” Nabooru whispered through her mask, giving a small forward nudge on her still crossed blades.
Alec’s eyes quickly pivoted toward Terra, waiting to see if she had anything to say about the matter. But the Hylian Princess only replied with soft and satisfied smile. Her eyes were looking directly toward the young knight, comfortable with whatever choice he made.
Ordon took one last step forward. “Alec…Make your choice.”
Closing his eyes and letting taking in a deep breath, Alec relaxed, making his choice in his head.
Nabooru could feel the great two-handed sword that the young knight held, give a little. She chuckled only momentarily…
In a flash of movement, Alec propped one of his legs up against the stone wall. His eyes snapped open with a glare and stared directly into the Nabooru’s, who reacted with shock and surprise. Adjusting his hands for a firm grip on his blade Alec pushed forward off the wall with his leg, the extra force being just enough to shake the Gerudo off of him and to push her and her crossed scimitars away. The swords slid across each other with a harsh sound that echoed about the chamber.
Nabooru stumbled back, her eyes wide with shock. She never had expected Alec to continue on fighting.
The same reaction was shared across the room. Ordon, Link and Zelda seemed to react in the same way Nabooru had done. But Terra let an even wider grin cross her face, enjoying the fact that Alec had decided to not give up and continue on fighting.
“So be it…” Nabooru growled, letting rage take over her actions. And with those words she jumped back at Alec.
Alec watched as Nabooru charge at him again, but this time he changed his strategy…to attack. Running forward to meet the Gerudo, Alec brought his sword out to the side and then swung it in a sweeping motion toward the incoming warrior, hoping to put her on the defensive.
As the blades struck sparks fell from the impact points. Nabooru stepped backward; the force that passed through her two scimitars was too great for one hand to bear. She didn’t have as much control and grip over her swords as the knight did with his single blade.
But Alec didn’t stop; he continued to press the offensive. In another swift motion he brought his sword up above him swinging downward, meeting the Gerudo’s blades she attempted to put up a defense. And once again Nabooru took a step back, unable to function on the defense as well as she liked.
Continuing his assaults Alec let his blade reach the lowest point in his downward swing. And as soon as it did he brought it up again, colliding with the under part of Nabooru’s weapons, knocking the one in her left hand away and sending it bouncing across the room and into a pile of tan sand that lay in the corner.
Jumping backward Nabooru attempted to disengage, now lacking one of her swords. Alec charged forward, bringing his blade to the side once again. And with a quick swing he jumped back into the fray, giving the Gerudo no breathing room.
The group watched in shock as the fight seemed to shift in Alec’s favor, he now on the offensive and Nabooru on the defensive. They watched as the two continued to exchange blow for blow, Nabooru seemingly slowly becoming overpowered by Alec’s furious and relentless attacks. Alec began to back Nabooru into a corner, her movements becoming less and less as she grew more tired from defending herself.
With one final swing Alec brought his sword across the Gerudo’s remaining blade, knocking it out of her hand harsh “Clang”. The shining scimitar sailed across the room and impacted the stone wall and fell to the floor. Nabooru looked on in shock, she was beaten and disarmed. Never before had she seen such a change in a knight…The fight was over…Alec the victor…
%
Terra’s legs dangled over one of the balconies of the Gerudo Fortress, she had her hands folded happily in her lap as watched to brilliant moon rise over the calm desert dunes. After Alec had bested Nabooru they had decided to stay for a while and take advantage of some offered Gerudo hospitality. A cool breeze rose up over the fortress, brushing her blonde hair over her shoulders. To her left stood a group of four adults, Ordon, her father, her mother, and Nabooru. They were busy talking and laughing seemingly still discussing the fight Nabooru and Alec had earlier in the day…And to her right, sat Alec he to dangling his legs over the edge of the balcony, his hands placed on the stone floors to his sides.…He had been silent ever since the end of the fight…Something Ordon had said must of gotten to him…
Terra looked to her right, toward the knight. “Alec?” She spoke softly, not wanting to startle him. “You alright?”
“Huh?” Alec said, looking toward the princess.
“Are you ok?” Terra giggled happily “You’ve been quiet all day.”
“Oh…Oh yeah, I’m fine…” The young knight murmured softly.
“You sure?” She prodded in the nicest way possible.
“Uhmmm…Yeah…” Alec looked down, obviously lying.
Terra poked Alec’s arm with one of her hands, wanting to get his attention. “I know you’re lying to me Alec…What’s wrong?”
Alec turned his head to look up at Terra. She stared at him with her usual happy expression, her deep blue eyes, glowing like gems in the dark off the night. The moon seemed to create a halo like aura about the princess that highlighted the girl’s slender figure. He couldn’t help but notice the way she was looking at him, it was full of worry…but yet…with something else…Almost immediately he was entranced by the gorgeous young woman, her looks simply only seemed to grow the more he looked at her.
“Alec?” She whispered, breaking Alec out of his trance.
“Oh…Uh…It’s just something Ordon said.”
“What do you mean?” Terra asked as she scooted a few inches close to the young knight, closing the distance between them, hoping to keep their conversation between themselves.
“It’s just…What he said about letting stuff getting in my way of my duty…I don’t understand why, but he seemed to be sad when he said that…Do you know what he was talking about?”
The princess shrugged. “I’m sorry Alec…I can’t say I do…But you know Ordon, he must have his reasons for saying what he does…He is your captain after all.” She quickly tried to change the subject off of Ordon, she knew to that something was up with the Knight Captain.
“I just…Ah never mind…” Alec sighed, he too wishing to change the subject. “…So…You were acting all along?”
Terra giggled softly, still wanting to keep their conversation semi-private. “Heh…Yeah…I was acting…I’m sorry if I offended you Alec…”
“Oh no-no-no!” Alec replied happily, his mood drastically changing. “You’re a pretty good actor actually…Maybe you should try some plays?”
“Ok Alec…Don’t make fun of me now!”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”Alec chuckled “…But I must say that I didn’t know you were acting the entire time.”
Terra stared back at Alec with a grin, and placed her hands on the stone floor on her sides. “Well…” Terra began, her mind quickly racing back to the tender moments when Alec was helping her up in the prison cell; the princess took a small gulp of courage, and began to slowly move her hand toward Alec’s across the stone floor.
Alec raised an eyebrow, matching Terra’s gaze. His mind too flashed to the moments back in the chamber. “Uh…Terra?”
The princess inched her hand closer and closer to Alec’s hoping he wouldn’t notice. “…It wasn’t entirely acting.” Terra replied softly as the slender tips of her fingers brushed over the top of Alec’s hand, moving to intertwine her fingers with his. She could feel Alec’s response as he slowly moved his fingers apart. It was almost a surreal experience for them both. Their eyes never broke contact, but their bodies seemed to move closer to the others with the feeling of touch.
A voice boomed over two causing them instantly to separate from the other, each of their faces growing red as they averted their gaze from the other, breaking the entrancing eye contact that they once had.
“Terra, Alec!” Link called call from the group of adults, not noticing what the two young Hylians were doing. “We best get a move on before it gets too dark!”
Terra was the first to speak, her face bright red from embarrassment. “Uhm…Yes father…On our way…” She swiftly got up, and walked away, too frightened to face Alec again.
Without saying a word Alec picked himself up off the balcony’s edge, and soon he too was in tow with the rest of the group. His head hung low, hoping to hide his own embarrassment. “What are you thinking Alec…She’s your princesses! Get a hold of yourself!” The young knight thought to himself as he caught up to the group, staying behind Captain Ordon.
But as they walked he glanced up to see Terra’s beautiful face smiling back at him, once again her figure highlighted in the moonlight…
%
Across the sands of the desert…
The Phantom stood atop the Desert Colossus, his flaming orange eyes glaring across sands in the direction of the Gerudo’s Fortress. He could almost sense the events that had taken place there. Gripped in his hands was his heavy trident like weapon, the great weight seemingly nothing to the Phantom. He seemed to be waiting, small grains of dust and sand had settled on his armor for the time he had been motionless.
His neck cracked as he swiftly glanced off to the side. A flutter of black bats was approaching his location. They moved in unison, but yet with randomness, all staying very close to each other as if magnetized. But the Phantom stood motionless, his eyes locked onto the fleet of approaching shadow like figures.
As the bats drew nearer they began to merge into a solid black shape, but yet continued to move in the direction of the Phantom. One after another the bats merged into the mass of shadow, until all that was left was a blob of darkness that floated on its own, seemingly unaffected by the dry wind.
“My master told me you would come.” The Phantom growled at the black shape that now hovered in front of him.
“And my master said you needed assistance…Phantom…Something about a Ranch Boy?” The black shape hissed back, slowly moving from left to right, much like an impatient child.
“I need no such assistance fiend!” Replied the Phantom once again, his voice sending the grains of dust flying off of his armor.
“But…I am here…Nonetheless…To make sure ‘We’ accomplish what is needed to be achieved and to get the item ‘he’ needs…Time is of the essence.” And with those words the black blob began to take shape. The black blob to the shape of a legless cloaked figure, light green pits for eyes lighting up the darkness of the colossus. Soon a great metal scythe materialized in one of the ghost’s hands, the massive blade lazily hanging from the ghost grip. Bats continued to swirl around the shape, like flies to a rotting corpse.
“So be it…” The Phantom growled at the ghost, watching it as it hovered in midair in front of him. “Gomess…We have work to do…”