Legend of Zelda: The Lost Queen

Awakening

It was cold. That was the most immediate thing she noticed. The memory of him glaring down at her maliciously animated her body, adrenaline preparing her to fight. Yet, when her dark green eyes flickered open, she found she was alone. Alone and chained to the wall of what was once her bedroom. Despite once being a beautiful indigo colour, the paint was now peeling away to reveal grey stone bricks. Slipping one of her shadows into the chain's lock, she broke free from the cuffs and shivered. She was dressed in her usual black tunic and grey tights but her cloak was nowhere to be seen. Scouting around the room, she found it hidden in a drawer filled with her things. She wrapped the dark material around her and slipped into her boots. Fastening her blade, the Umbra that had once belonged to her mother, to her waist, she equipped herself with her satchel and several sharp daggers. Her deep auburn hair had grown to her waist from being a short messy bob and she tied it back with a leather band.

'How long has it been? Where is my sister, if they've hurt her...? Where is the Usurper?'

Voices from outside her door broke her thoughts and she slid behind a column of stone.

"That little bitch has been out of it for almost a decade, why does the king keep her alive?" the first growled.

"Because 'that little bitch' wont let him near her. Anyone who goes close to her body with malicious intent is slaughtered by her shadow. It's protecting her, even the strongest of our sorcerers cant keep it at bay," the second voice was feminine and a distant memory of a woman with dark curls sneering at her bubbled in Tarlien's mind.

The door opened and Tarlien sprung into action. She caught the first in the temple with her fist, rendering him unconscious. The woman doubled back in shock but didn't raise her defences quick enough before Tarlien had slammed her in the forehead with her boot. The youth studied the bodies, her eyes flashing in recognition. The male was Edvara Zaile, he had been her mothers adviser although he was working for Adolmond, her uncle. The woman was Adolmond's wife, a rat-like woman with a stone cold hatred for Tarlien's mother, the Lost Queen Taemara. The youth wondered where her uncle was for a second before shrugging slightly. Rai checked for a pulse on them both and restrained her disappointment upon finding steady beats. She left her room, locking the door behind her and creeping through the hallways. The rooms were all dull and icy, far from the entertaining bright castle of Queen Taemara. There seemed to be no guards as far as the Zyconian could tell but she stayed alert, every muscle poised for a fight.

Tarlien passed by unseen, soon finding herself in the throne room. There, behind the throne of her mother, was a glass crystal. Black, murky shadows swirled inside it, orbiting a comatose body. Checking for guards, she made her way to the chrysalis. The shadows reached out to her and she allowed them to curl around her arm.

"Zelda... Lost Queen's Key... Time ..." they whispered, multiple voices speaking at once, growing fainter as they trailed off into muffled whispers.

'Lien scoured her knowledge for anything relating to those words but came up blank. With a sigh, she repelled the darkness of the crystal and stared up at the face of the body inside it. Her elder sisters face stared back at her, peaceful and safe from the chaos surrounding them. The Zyconian closed her eyes, muttering a short prayer for her sisters safety before turning and stalking quietly from the throne room. She heard footsteps and smoothly merged into the shadows. Her mind exploded with noise, her consciousness linked with the entire castle's shadows so that she could hear and see everything.

"The Hyrulians are being pushed back... too weak... Hero of Time..."

'Time'  she thought, watching as a guard moved past, his armour barely making a sound.

"Emperor Adolmond... Hyrule will fall... Power to the Emperor... Find the Key... kill the heir..."

Tarlien swallowed a growl at the mention of her sister, Therene, the rightful heir of their mother's throne and the true ruler of Zyconia. Although the princess was safely cocooned in the crystal behind the throne, 'Lien figured she was still in danger. Scouring the various hushed conversations, the Zyconian conveniently discovered that Adolmond was looking for a key of some sort that would allow him to get to Therene. 

She heard the groan of someone waking up and cursed silently. Someone screeched with rage and Tarlien found herself leaving the shadows and sprinting away from the throne room. Though she had slept for neigh on a decade, in which time the castle had turned dark and hideous, 'Lien's mental map still proved useful for finding her way to one of the many secret passages that led away from the castle. She slammed into the guard who had passed her, knocking him quite violently into the wall and bolting. She slid less than gracefully through an open grate on the floor, allowing her to escape the guard. From there, the princess slipped out of an opening on the other end of her mother's castle, slipping out and bolting into the courtyard as guards noticed her. They clambered to reach Tarlien.

The Zyconian held her breath and summoned the shadows to wrap around her body. In moments, a raven exploded from the cloud of blackness, slipping away from the guards, and the shade dissipated. The raven cawed, shooting through the air over Zyconia.

'If Hyrule falls, that bastard usurper will have the power to force slavery upon all, not just my people. I can't- I won't let that happen but I need help."