FicWad

Before I knew it, the sun was almost ready to set and let the night begin. Spending more time working my leg, I felt ready to take on Ganondorf and give the throne back to the royal family. I looked at myself in the mirror once again when I heard my door open.
“Ashley,” I heard the voice of Malon say, “Link wanted me to tell you that it is almost time to bring together the troops before heading out.”
“Erm, alright,” I said and turned around. “How do I look?”
“In all honesty,” Malon said with a smile, “and pardon my language, but you look like you’re ready to kick the shit out of an evil king.” She said it so nicely, but with a pinch of harshness, which made me giggle.
“That makes me feel so much better,” I said and whistled at Lux to follow. I went down the stairs behind Malon and, when I reached the door, I felt a rush of excitement flow through my body. After days and days of traveling and fighting, plus the seven years of sleeping, Ganondorf’s chapter was going to come to a close. A shifted my hat around nervously and then made my way out the door.
The sky above was beginning to turn a light orange color. I went to the center of the ranch to see the small army in the middle of the corral.
“Get on my shoulder, Lux,” I said. I didn’t want him to get lost in the crowd. He hopped right on as soon as we entered the mess. Thankfully, most of the crowd recognized me and let us through.
There was a little stage made out of crates but the only person actually standing on it was Mido who had a clipboard and a slingshot. Everyone else was standing on to the side.
“Over here, Ms. Brandt,” I heard King Zora say. He was with Link the Goron sitting on his own crate. I walked over with a small smile. “I can see your leg is feeling better.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I mean, it still hurts a little, but I can handle it.”
“Good,” Link the Goron said. “As you can see, the Hylian Rebels are ready. We all thought it would be good to give them a little pep talk and run through our plans before we leave.”
“I think that would be a great idea,” I said. “By chance however, is my horse here?”
“The Gerudos brought it here this morning,” Sheila said suddenly showing up from the crowd. “They will bring it around to you before we leave. Gentlemen,” she said to King Zora and Link the Goron, “shall we begin?”
“Yes, Sheila,” Link said and he turned to me and King Zora. “Sire, you should just sit here. Ashley, how about you come up with us?”
“Uh, sure,” I said and I followed him to the crates. I went to the front of this make shift stage by Mido who was looking intently at his clipboard. Mido looked up and stared at me for a second, but then looked straight back down at the thing.
“Quiet down, everyone,” Mido said loudly and, to my surprise, the talking stopped. All that was left was silence and I looked as everyone’s eyes focused on Mido. “We will now begin the rebellion briefing before we head out.”
I watched as the crowd shuffle up to the stage and saw all eyes, whether they were beady or huge, laid on Mido. He looked up casually and seemed to not be phased by the huge crowd in front of him. Most of Hyrule was present, from what I could see. I could see Hylians, Gorons, Gerudos, Zoras, and some Kokiris. They were all there. I desperately wished that Link could have been there. He would have been proud.
“Now, I’m not too good with encouraging words,” Mido said and he put his clipboard down beside his tiny, child body. “I’ll just cut to the chase. Sheila, bring me that board thing.”
There was a pause as Sheila and Link the Goron left the stage and then came back with what looked like a dry erase board. The last time I had seen one of those was back at home. It was weird that a medieval type place like Hyrule had dry erase boards. I dismissed the thought and decided to focus.
There were already instructions written on the board for us to follow. There was a huge triangle that was labeled ‘Us.’ The tip of ‘Us’ was pointed towards a black square which was labeled ‘Castle.’
“As you can see,” Mido said and he positioned himself beside the board, “we, the army, are the big triangle. The big block, as it is labeled, would be Hyrule Castle. If you haven’t been told, this is the castle that we are seizing. From what we have gathered, the draw bridge that leads into the ruins of the Castle Town is broken therefore we have an easy entry up to that point. Hours ago, we had a Kokiri child ride a forest owl to get an overhead view of Hyrule Castle. She reported that there is a deep, fiery moat of lava underneath the castle, which is basically floating above it. Because of this, we have constructed a bridge that a team of Gorons and humans will carry in the middle ranks.”
“This bridge must be protected at all costs,” said King Zora. “We’re not exactly sure if Ganondorf will have an army ready to take us on so, in case he does, we need to protect that bridge at all costs. It is our only way into the castle as a group.”
“Which means,” Mido popped in, “that once we get close to the castle, the front lines will need to open up so that the middle can sit the bridge down. But, we don’t have all day, so this has to be done quickly but precisely. If the bridge falls into the moat, we will have to rebuild the bridge, which could take a couple of hours. We don’t have much time of course, so that is not an option. The group of thieves that we have available will be taking another route. They will come up the left side by grappling hook and sneak in to take care of any enemies waiting for us.”
“Once you all are in the castle, you will wait for once of my thieves,” Sheila said. “Once they make it there and say the coast is clear, we can then begin to help Ashley get to Ganondorf.”
“Oh, and about that,” I said with hesitance. The crowd actually turned their attention to me, which startled me. I quickly composed myself and stood up straight to look a least a little heroic. “Once we get close to Ganondorf, I want everyone out of the castle. He’s too dangerous for even an army to be around. On my order, when I say fall back, I mean fall back. Stay as far away from the castle as you can. I don’t want anyone coming back in.”
“And she is right,” King Zora said. “Once she gives the command, you all need to leave. Ganondorf’s power is too great and Ash has been around it more than anyone here. It would be best to stay away from him.”
There was a pause between us all and Mido said, “And, I suppose that’s pretty much it. Ladies and gentleman, I’m sure you will all do well and will make this kingdom proud. Face your fears and fight for your kingdom. The late King of Hyrule would be proud of what we have done today. Let’s take Ganondorf down!”
There was a loud cheer from the crowd as Mido put a small smile on his face. It must have been amazing for him, talking the way he was and getting that response. After all, he was only a kid or rather, he only looked like one. He looked over at me and winked.
After the whole pep talk, the middle line of Gorons went to pick up the heavy bridge and everyone started to get into place. I had a final meeting with the leaders before we got into our positions. Mido had brought my horse before our last meeting, seeing as I had to quickly get to the front of the ranks.
“Alright,” Link the Goron said, “here is what we’re doing. Mido, you’re staying here with King Zora. You will stay in the base in front of a map of the castle. The castle might have changed, but it’s a start.”
Link then pulled out these stones from a bag. They were light blue and glowed a bit. Around them was a brown, tough leather lace that let us hang the stone around our necks. I chose to put the stone in my pocket as the shining blue from the stone might have blown my cover as I snuck around the castle.
“These are Gossip Stones,” Link said. “No matter where we are, we can communicate with these. Keep them close and please, do not lose these. If one of Ganondorf’s minions gets ahold of one of these, we are screwed.” I watched as Link the Goron hung the stone around his neck. Sheila tied hers to her belt buckle, King Zora kept his in his hand, and Mido put his around his neck as well.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to hear us with that in your pocket, Ashley?” Mido asked.
“I, uh, think I can manage,” I said with a small smile. “I just can’t keep it out or my whole thief sneaking could be blown.”
“About that,” Sheila said. “I told the girls to let you do your own thing. Try to find anything you can to help you, but be careful. You can’t stay in the castle too long before someone finds you. I also need you to remember that the army will be waiting. They cannot stay long before they are attacked, either.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “I just want to do some dirt digging.” I specifically wanted to figure out where Ganondorf received his power. And maybe I could figure out exactly where Leon came from. He seemed a bit mysterious to me. Why not take advantage of ratting around in his and Shannon’s stuff?
“Now, we can do this, guys,” said Link the Goron. “Ashley, you will be in the front. Sheila, you will stay in the middle. Malon is going to stay in the back with the Kokiri’s.”
“Wait, Malon’s involved in all of this?” I said. “I don’t think that’s really a good idea…”
“She insisted,” King Zora said. “Many men from the human race stood up for the challenge of leader, but she was extremely passionate. She has asked to just stay in the back and take care of the wounded.”
I shrugged, a bit surprised. I didn’t see Malon as one to step up and volunteer to be a leader. I was glad that she would be kept safe, however.
“I, of course, will be in the front with you, Ash,” Link the Goron said, “and I will remain there when you leave with the thieves. Alright, now let’s head out.”
And the group dispersed. I mounted my horse with Lux to get to the front, which was now organized outside of the ranch corral. The front stopped at the welcome gate, which is where I positioned myself. I looked behind me to see the tiny army. If Ganondorf was waiting for us with his own army, I had to do all I could to keep myself and the others alive.
Link the Goron rolled up beside me. He uncurled himself and stood up straight. “Ready?” he asked without looking at me.
“Yep,” I said and we went forward.
“Well, they’re waiting for you, Ash,” he said. I took a deep breath and held up my right hand. I reached back to the hilt of my sword and felt my fingers touch it. I felt sparks of excitement go through my fingertips as they touched and felt the hilt. With a small pull, I heard the blade go up and out of the sheath. With a nice timing, Lightning went on his back legs as I shoved my blade forward and shouted, “For Hyrule.”
We took off and I gripped the blade of evil’s bane in my hands, ready to take Ganondorf down once and for all.

The sun was almost out of our sights when we got to the broken draw bridge. I stopped there just so the army could catch up. So far, all was clear. We hadn’t even run into one enemy. I decided that maybe it would be a good idea to stop before we got to the Castle Town. As far as I knew, no one had entered the town since Ganondorf made it into the dark ruin that it was now. I knew that the state of the town would cause a rush of emotions to most of the army, so I just wanted to stop right before we went in.
“What’s wrong, Ash?” Link the Goron asked me. I must have looked worried or something.
“Oh, nothing,” I said to him. “I’m just a little nervous.” I paused and just looked straight at the entrance. “Have you ever been to the Castle Town?” I asked him.
“I was born two years after Ganondorf came into power, so no,” Link the Goron said. “I am sure that a couple Gorons from my tribe have, however. Why?”
“It’s depressing,” I said and sighed. “I guess we all have to face the darkness sometime, though.” With that being said, I took a deep breath and continued forward. I looked back quickly and saw everyone following. I felt so bad for them.
When we got to the broken drawbridge, Lightning hesitated to go on it. He put one hoof down and resisted, almost knocking me back. I gave him a sharp kick in his side and he jumped over most of the wrecked bridge. Honestly, I didn’t blame him for not wanting to walk across. Once the army began to walk, the bridge began to crack under their feet. It became so bad that we needed to cross over in groups.
That took at least twenty minutes from our plans. Mido, of course, was going insane on the Gossip Stones. He kept yelling about time and how Ganondorf could have been sending millions of minions after us. Knowing Ganondorf, he wouldn’t send anyone for us. He would decide to take this whole thing on by himself. I knew the army would fall under him, though. It was just me he had to worry about. We pretty much had all of the time in the world.
Once the whole bridge fiasco was taken care of, we came to the Castle Town. Right at the beginning, Lightning’s hoof stepped on a dusty, dry skull. Even though I had seen the Castle Town before, the sight of it still pounded into my heart. It was hard to believe all the people that used to run around. I heard gasps and sighs from the army behind me. I even heard some burst into tears. Even Max, who decided to wake up after the whole pep talk, looked a little down.
“How did this happen?” I heard someone say from behind.
“My house used to be right there,” I heard a fainter voice say.
I gripped the hilt of my sword. This is why I wanted the entire kingdom to rebel, and not just me. I didn’t lose a home or a family to Ganondorf. Most of the people behind me did. They also lost their king and their guards. It was disgusting what Ganondorf took from them and I knew he felt no remorse for what he did. That’s why we had to beat him and get the throne back to the right person.
When I felt the ground change from stone to dirt, I knew that we were getting closer to the castle. It was a small hill to climb to get there, but it felt like I was scaling a mountain. The clouds that hung above our heads began to get darker and the air began to get more humid. When we got over the hill, the dark, ugly castle was in full view. Lightning and thunder struck and boomed at the right time to give me the chills. There was a light, hot wind that blew through the air.
“Clear the way!” I heard a man behind me yell. I looked back and saw Harold the carpenter, who had on a small smile. His bald head was glistening with sweat as he turned to face the bridge carriers. “C’mon men!”
The special thieves group started to go off to the side. I looked down at Link the Goron and said, “Well, this is where we part for now.”
“Not entirely,” he said with a nice smile. “Remember, we can still communicate via Gossip Stone.” He held his up to show me and I patted my pocket. “You have to promise me that you will contact us if there are any problems.”
“I will,” I said, and trotted over to where the thieves were beginning group up. Sheila was one of them. When we were all together, she took the lead.
“Okay girls,” she said, “our jobs are to take out any guards that may be around with stealth. We must stay separated. Pick a path to go down and try and get to the main lobby without getting yourselves killed. If anything goes wrong or you run into someone who you think may be stronger than you are, run and try to escape the castle.” She put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Ashley, I do not know what you plan to do, but please…be careful.”
“I will,” I said with confidence.
All of the thieves were entering from the left side of the castle. A small ledge made this a bit easier, as it ran up to the castle at some degree. There was still a lava pit between the ledge and the castle wall, but I had to be brave and make it over. I unwound the grappling hook from my belt and prepared to use it on the castle. I found the perfect stone to get it to grapple on.
“What are you doing?” Max asked. “Why do you have that? Are we going into the castle because I don’t think that’s a very good idea!?!” He said this so fast that I could barely understand him.
“You need to keep quiet, or my ass is grass,” I said. I grabbed him and took off my floppy hat and shoved him back in. “Now, stay in there and go back to sleep.”
I put my hat back on my head and started to swing the grappling hook. I threw it at the building and tried to make it to the stone, but it just bounced off. I did this three times and it just bounced off. “What the hell?” I said and saw that most of the thieves had already gotten on to the castle. I kept trying and, around the tenth time, I was able to get the hook around the stone I wanted.
“Lux, get on my back,” I said. He jumped up and I jumped off the ledge. It took every fiber in my body to keep me from screaming. If I let go of that rope or if the hook came off the stone, I would be sunk into the fiery pit of death below. With a hard smack, I hit the side of the wall. My right side ached from the smack of the wall, but I got my feet positioned and began to scale the damn thing.
It took a good ten minutes to scale the wall. The stone were a bit eroded and covered in black moss, so I had some slips. Nothing I had faced was more frightening than losing my footing and having to look down the lava pit. The whole time I had sweat running down my face and wanted to wipe it off, but I couldn’t. The worst part was when my nose began to itch and I had to rub my face again the wall.
I pathetically climbed up off the wall and onto a balcony, sweating like King Zora would have if he scaled it. I sat down for a second with Lux, trying to catch my breath and regain my sanity. My legs were all wobbly and my head was a mess. I really just wanted to pass out right, but I knew I couldn’t.
“Ashley?” I heard someone shouting. “Ashley, are you there!”
I realized it was the Gossip Stone, so I took it out of my pocket. “Yeah, I’m here,” I said breathlessly.
“Jeez, I’ve been calling you forever,” Mido said. “I thought you were dead or something. Where the heck are you?”
“I just climbed up the wall,” I said. “I’m on a balcony now. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Then you must be on the second or third floor,” Mido said. “From the castle plans, it shows that only the bed chambers have balconies. That means you’re on the third floor.”
“Gotcha,” I said. “I’ll spend some time on this floor, just to look through some stuff. Then I should be right down with the army. Are they in yet?”
“We’re getting there,” I heard Link the Goron say. “We’re trying to position the bridge right, which is taking a while.”
“Have you run into any enemies yet?” I asked.
“No, we haven’t,” Link said.
“We haven’t either,” Sheila’s voice whispered.
Figures, I thought to myself. “Aright then,” I said aloud. “I’m out.” I put the Gossip Stone back in my pocket and got up. “We’ll have to be extremely quiet,” I whispered to Lux.
“Raichu,” he said softly, but with a pinch of determination.
To exit the balcony and actually enter the castle, it looked like I had to go through a sliding glass door. I thought it was a little bizarre that Hyrule had sliding glass doors, but my whole adventure had been pretty bizarre thus far, so it didn’t faze me. I peeked through the blinds covering the windows and couldn’t see anyone, so I opened it.
Even the soft slide of the door made me sweat. Any small noise could blow my cover. I worked my way passed the dark red blinds and a lavish bedroom was revealed to me. A four poster king-size bed with a dark, red cover over top was seated on a round pedestal. The carpet was also dark red. There was a desk on the left side of the room that had a quill and a lamp. The room was dimly lit.
This castle has electricity? I thought to myself. What the hell?
I looked around a bit to try and figure out whose bedroom I was in. I went over to the bed and quickly realized it by the cloth being held up. It had Gerudo writings all along the edges. The comforter on the bed had the same thing as well.
“This is Ganondorf’s bedroom,” I said to Lux and began to take out my Gossip Stone. “Hey, Mido,” I said and waited for his answer.
“Yes, Ash?” he said.
“I’m in Ganondorf’s bedroom,” I said and sat down on the bed. It was extremely comfortable. “Would you know where it is on the map?”
“Well, maybe,” Mido said and I heard him flipping some pages. I watched the big, wooden door, hoping that Ganondorf wouldn’t come in. “This map is from seven years ago, as we don’t have a current one,” he said, “however, the rooms are labeled. This is only a guess, but I suppose that Ganondorf’s room is located in the late King of Hyrule’s bed chamber.”
“That’s what I was guessing,” I said. “What else is labeled on this floor?”
“Princess Zelda’s room is all the way down the hall on the left of the King’s,” Mido said. “Everything else is labeled guest.”
“Okay then,” I said to him. “I’m out.” I shoved the Gossip Stone back into my pocket and lifted my tired body off the comfy bed. Lux had curled up to sleep, so I nudged him a little. “C’mon, let’s do some snooping.”
The first place I went to was the desk. Maybe Ganondorf kept letters or memos stuffed inside there somewhere. When I walked over, I saw that there was a piece of parchment on the table with writing on it.
“Hmm…” I said to Lux. “Let’s read this.” And I began to speak aloud, word for word. “Dear King Bowser. I am afraid to announce that my plans may not be as tight as I thought. The two heroes, Link and Ashley, have journeyed across Hyrule and have actually collected the power of all the Sages. I had no idea that they would be so close to thwarting our plans. Fortunately, I was able to find Princess Zelda and capture her, along with Link. Ashley was not standing where I had hoped when I put a spell on the group. She is wandering around as I write, most likely. I’m a little worried, but I know that Link is carrying some Sage medallions, the objects that lets one borrow the power of the Six Sages. Without all of them, neither Link nor Ashley will be able to defeat me, especially since I have double the power as usual.
“I am a bit worried however. It seems that Hyrule has been stirred by the two. I am terrified that the people of this pathetic land have gained some sort of…hope from the two heroes. I believe that the people of Hyrule have begun a rebellion against me. My son-in-law, Leon, thinks otherwise, but you and I both know what hope can do to people. Despite all of this, I should have Hyrule taken care of as planned. I will stand strong against any rebels and hand over this kingdom to you when you are ready, my lord. Take care. Ganondorf.”
I put the piece of parchment down. “I wonder what he means by ‘double the power,’” I said to Lux. I leaned over the desk for a moment and tried to think, but nothing came to mind except the fear that I wouldn’t be able to take this guy down. I shook the fear out of my mind and snooped through the desk drawers. They were mostly empty, but contained things like ink, extra quills, and a couple of copies of ‘Gerudo Valley Babes.’ I put those down in disgust and decided that there was no use staying in his room any longer.
I unsheathed my sword and slowly opened the big, wooden door that led out of the bedroom. Outside was a long hallway with a red carpet that was running down the middle. Broken vases were smashed on the floor and some lights were covered in cobwebs. I peeked through the door to the left and then to the right. Though the hallway was dimly lit, I was able to see that no one was present. I motioned Lux to come out and let my guard down a little but still kept the hard grip on the hilt of my sword.
I remembered what Mido said about Zelda’s room being to the left of the King’s and all the way down the hallway. I crept quietly through to try and reach the room without being caught. I made sure not to step on a shattered vase as it would make too much noise for comfort. Even the soft footsteps I made on the carpet made me a little nervous. I pressed on, even though the hallway seemed to be longer with every step I took.
I finally reached the door to Zelda’s room. It also had a big wooden door like the King’s. I put my ear against the door and listened for some sort of sound. To be extra safe, I looked through a small keyhole. From what I could see the room was furnished, therefore someone must have stayed there. I went to pull on the door handle only to discover that it was locked. Finally, I would be able to put my thief tools to use.
I took the lock pick off my belt which sort of looked like a Swiss Army knife, like the kinds back at home. Instead of knifes and other trinkets, it held different sized lock picks. I began to test each pick and, to my surprise, the third one worked. I pushed the door open a little bit and peeked through the crack just to make sure no one was inside. It was clear, so I walked in with Lux.
This room was a bit smaller and had a bay window by the big, four poster bed on the left of the room. There was a desk, a wardrobe, a dresser, and a nice soft couch. The carpet wasn’t blood red, like everything else, but a finished hard wood floor with a fluffy, white rug in the middle. On the walls were different types of swords and shields. Most of the swords seemed to be rapiers and the shields were rather small.
There were two swords behind a shield that caught my eye. The shield was purple and black and the two swords behind it had different sized hilts. The blades were crossing each other behind the shield. The shield had an emblem of sorts on it. The emblem was of two lions on their back legs. Their huge claws were up against the blade of a sword that was just above them. Underneath was a plaque that said: Sorel Family Shield.
The sword on the left had a bigger, more artistic hilt than the other. The hand guard was red with beautiful silver lines in random areas. The hand guard curved at both of its ends, but those ends didn’t connect to the hilt at all. The blade was thin and sharp, like most rapier blades.
The rapier on the right had a simpler hilt than the other. The hilt was a dark grey color and the guard was more like a cup on the end towards the blade. That was pretty much it, honestly. It definitely wasn’t as artsy as the one of the left.
I was beginning to leave when I had this awesome idea. Seeing as Leon probably wouldn’t need it anymore after we took down Hyrule, I could steal the sword. I took the Gerudo rapier out of its sheath and carefully used the other hand to take the fancy rapier. I looked around for any sign of movement after I got the thing down and then carefully replaced it with the Gerudo rapier.
“Sweet,” I said and I looked down at Lux who had a smile on his face. I sheathed the sword with ease and went on to the desk in the room.
The desk was completely bare on top except for a quill and a tiny clock. I sat down in the wooden chair in front of the desk and got to work looking for something in the drawers. I finally found a journal after going through tons of papers and junk. The journal had a red leather binding and the paper looked yellowed from age. I opened it up and was met with tons of dust. The ink on the paper seemed a bit faded, but still readable. I started to read:

I’m not sure how I will get away from my family here. My fifteen year old brother, Raphael, is always following me and my parents won’t let me leave. I need to leave and search for that cursed sword. I have a plan that may or may not work, but I will make sure that it leaves my family in ruins.

There was a break and the writing began again.

It’s all set. I will leave my family by faking my own death. Of course, I’ll make it look like I went out nobly; I don’t want to soil my name. I just need to get that sword so I can get its power. Once I get it, I will make sure I come back and kill my entire family. They’re such a burden and idiotic. I will leave tomorrow for my journey and never look back.

“So Leon left his home?” I said to Lux. I skipped a couple pages and landed on a section talking about his family again.

I have decided to hang up my journey and leave with the man, Ganondorf, back to his home land with his daughter, Shannon. I just met them on my long journey and have begun courting Shannon. Ganondorf seemed to be after the same sword that I was and said that he had already taken a bit of that power. He told me that he planned to return home and take over the kingdom there and offered me to come along as his partner. I accepted.
But…before I leave…I have decided to stop by and see how my family is doing one last time. I’ll be leaving this dimension and I don’t know if I will come back, so why not?

There was another break in the writing. I continued; wanting to know more.

I have been taken to my own home. After my ‘death’, the Sorel house has been ruined, as I planned. My brother is now very sick. From what I have heard around town, he had recently had a child out of wedlock and at a young age. By god, he is still fifteen years old! I even heard that he named the damned child after me, as some sort of honor for my death. How ridiculous.
Like he should be, my parents have put him on heavy medication and made him train for hours a day with no break. He is also unable to be with anyone outside of the family, seeing as he picked up some random tourist chick from Yousa, he continent in the west. I was too disgusted to stay there much longer, so now I am off to meet Ganondorf and Shannon and leave this disgusting town and start a new life.

There was a lot of information in that journal and I wanted to read more. It was hard to put the journal down and even harder to take in the information I received. From what I gathered, Leon left home to follow Ganondorf who was after some sword…but I couldn’t find its name anywhere in the journal.
Whatever it was, the sword had some sort of rotten power to it and gave Ganondorf some of his power. The rest he must have gotten after Link and I pulled the Master Sword.
I flipped through more pages, trying to find some information that could be beneficial to me, but I heard voices and the bedroom door began to creak open.

My palms started to sweat and my thoughts began to rush…