Blood Moon: A Story Before the Calamity

Chapter 32

Fear closed over Zelda. She was at sword point, completely defenseless, so close to Death she could almost see the whites of its eyes.

Link was writhing now, whispering words she couldn't hear, completely swallowed in his own pain, returning greater and more terrible than ever before.

"Brings out the worst in everyone..." The sword was still pointed at Zelda's throat. "Ha. The beauty of malice is indefinite, so much more than simply suffering." The hooded face lifted to Link, and, in spite of herself, Zelda's attention shifted to him as well.

"N...No..." He was murmuring, lost in his mind, trapped in his worst memories and darkest thoughts. "I'll work harder... Please... D... Don't call me a f... freak... Mother... come back... " And he broke off, his face set in a half-snarl, half-grimace. Zelda could almost hear her heart being torn apart.

"Pathetic." The hooded figure spat. "After all this time... Still governed by the constraining emotion of basic humans."

A surge of white-hot anger rose in her throat and, exercising the last of her self control, she swallowed it.

Stall for time. A voice in her head whispered. There's still hope. Analyze this man's behavior. Ask him questions.

"What do you want?" She found that she wasn't quite so scared anymore. The voice of reason was taking over, clearing her mind. "Why do you hate Hyrule?"

If his face was visible, then Zelda supposed it would have twisted in rage.

"My hatred is timeless, dating back millennia upon millennia." He hissed. "As long as the Triforce have existed, it is stained by my curse. Revenge is sweet... No matter which century I return, the satisfaction of destruction is enough."

Zelda had a very shrewd idea of who this hooded figure was now.

The blade was now tracing her face, almost gently, as it Ganondorf wanted to savor this moment properly. The sharp, cold tip sent a shiver down her spine.

"The hope of Hyrule, huh?" He laughed without humour, mirthless, cruel. "All I see is a girl whose uselessness plagues her even in her final hours, and a boy so blind in his petty sufferings that he is chained by none other than himself... I will enjoy watching you die."

Suddenly panic returned. Her breathing sped up as the sword approached her slowly, knowing that she had no hope of escaping now. The fear was immobilizing her, seizing her muscles, stealing every rational thought. Link was moving behind her but she did not notice. She backed away, forced step by step by the ever-nearing death, until her back hit the wall with a soft thump, and she knew she was going to see her mother soon.

Her vision started blurring. Panic was filling up her lungs, making it impossible to breathe, to think. Her hands were thrown up in front of her, still desperately hoping, praying to every deity she could think of, as the sword swung high, ready to take her life, rip her spirit from her body, and she closed her eyes, her only desire now is for the passing to be painless.

Then it happened.

When Zelda thought back to the incident, she found that, strangely, she couldn't remember exactly how it happened.

Link had summoned up the dying dregs of his strength and courage. The voices haunting him, blocking all conscious thought, suddenly quieted slightly, his mind returning to himself for a moment. All he could see, all he could process, was Zelda, nearing her demise, so much more girl than Princess at that moment. Was it the Triforce that acted at that moment, or Link himself, in that heartbeat up to terms with the very thing he had been avoiding for as long as he had known her?