A Smash of Kings

Chapter 7: The Lady of Dreamland

Two Toads forced Dark Pit to his feet, but he fell over the moment he stood up. It had been days since his last cup of water and weeks since his last warm meal; even longer since he had been able to stand up against his pole. Harshly, the Toads again pulled him up and forced him down a muddy path. His head was down, as he had no strength to hold it up, but he saw that they were in the middle of nowhere. In the fortnight since the Battle for the Border, the fields around the heavily fortified Gerudo border had stayed dead; the dirt had only turned into mud because of the cycles of rain that peppered the fields every couple of days. One of the Toads, who had steel covering over his mushroom head, took out a dagger as the other one, who had a blue cape, kicked Dark Pit in the back of his knee, forcing him to the ground, and pulled his dirty hair to hold his head up. Dark Pit saw the heavily fortified border in front of him. A second later, he felt a dagger at his throat. Silence fell over both camps; just in time, it seemed, Zelda stepped out of her tent to witness this.

"Surrender the border, Bowser!" the Toad yelled, clinching Dark Pit's hair tighter, "Unless you want the Dark Angel's warm blood all over the earth!"

Now, several Gerudos and Koopas watched the scene. The fields were entirely silent until the footsteps of Lord Bowser could be heard leaving his tent. The Lord walked past several of his soldiers and stopped on the top of an elevated surface, just above the gate that the Hylians and Toads failed to break through. Although the Toad was expecting to see Bowser weary and tired, he appeared with a cold, uninterested expression on his face. It seemed like this was a waste of the Lord's time.

"You think I won't do it?! I'll slice his throat, ear to ear!" the Toad exclaimed, "Surrender the border now—!"

"Go on, then; cut his throat," Lord Bowser interrupted with little care in his voice, "See if I care."

Lord Bowser left immediately after his response, causing the Toad to let go of Dark Pit, who fell onto his face. The two Toads grabbed his arms and dragged him back to their camp as fast as they could. By the time they reached the edge of the tens, Zelda had walked out to meet them. They stopped and bowed immediately, "Your Majesty."

"Never do that again," Zelda warned as she gritted her teeth, "Lord Bowser knows that the prisoner is more useful alive than dead. He's not an idiot, like you two are."

Surprised by the Princess' sternness, the two Toads drew back a little. However, they nodded a few seconds later, "Of course, Your Majesty. We're sorry..."

The Princess looked down at Dark Pit's face, which was dirty and covered in the mud. His clothes were somehow dirtier than his face; his black clothing seemed to be light brown from the dried mud and his wings slumped down. He nearly snarled towards her, but he was far too tired to break free of his restraints and do anything to Zelda.

"Take the prisoner back and tie him up," Zelda shook her head when she looked away from him.

As the Toads continued dragging Dark Pit back to his pole, Zelda walked across the wet path. Several Hylians and Toads sat around the camp, eating their rations for a late lunch. As Zelda noticed the sun's light go away behind some clouds, and rain hit her shoulder, she entered the tent of the High King. In the tent, High King Mario looked at a map of Hyrule; their rebellion, so far, had been a success. They nearly pushed the Gerudo and Koopa forces out of the largest territory in the Realm; they began their march at Castle Town and Death Mountain, near the East Coast of Hyrule, and were at the gate of the Gerudo Valley, on the Southwest corner of Hyrule. Yet, after being halted at the Border, their morale seemed to be in freefall.

The High King, when he noticed Zelda in the tent with him, greeted her, "Princess Zelda."

"Your Majesty," Zelda responded, bowing her head for a second. She walked around High King Mario as he did not look up from the map, "You need to do something about our troops. We've had an incredibly successful campaign so far, but it feels like we just lost the war."