The Archaeologist

Chapter 4

Glass littered the streets. Bloody feet made themselves apparent on the stained pavement. Carriages were being filled by those with tanned skin and red eyes. They struggled, screamed how they were the protectors, but their cries of protest were soon silenced when the carriage's door shut.

Ahura peered around a corner. She kept a finger to her lips while she looked back at those in her shadow. Quickly, she started running. Those with white hair followed closely. The graveyard was just ahead of them. Once the ledge came into sight, Ahura stopped and quickly lifted those above her. Her head shot backwards, guards were coming.

"Hurry!" she cried and lifted one of the last Sheikah above her head.

She turned around, only to be met with a fist to her face. She fell to the ground, blood oozed from an already swollen lip. Ahura looked up with fear in her eyes. A guard raised his sword and got ready to strike down. A rock hit his hand. The sword fell to the ground below.

"Over here!" Ahura's eyes shifted towards where a voice came from. They widened, and she quickly stood up as the person ran out of the graveyard.

"Impa, no!"

--

"The Sheikah locked themselves up in the Shadow Temple, at least what was left of them," Ahura said as she looked up at Lord Ganondorf. "I don't know if Impa was captured or not. All of the Sheikah that were captured, though, were killed. The same goes for the Zora. Gorons are used as slaves."

"Where are the Zoras and Gorons that escaped?"

"The Water Temple and Death Mountain," Ahura replied. "Though, it's only a matter of time before the Hylian army breaks their way in." She paused for a moment. "They're building a dam to block water from flowing into Lake Hylia so they can gain access to the Water Temple. I don't know what they're doing about Death Mountain."

The gears in her head went into overdrive. Strategies started to formulate in her mind. The fact that Princess Zelda was nearing her late teens meant that she would associate herself in politics and perhaps Lord Ganondorf soon. The hero would be around the same age as well. If those
two beings were as noble as the legends claimed that they were, then they would most likely go against the prejudice against the different races. Perhaps, this time, those two would fight against Hyrule and not Ganondorf. Maybe, just maybe, the three pieces of the legendary Triforce would come together for the good of Hyrule without Lord Ganondorf's darker side trying to claim it for his malicious desires.

Ahura gazed into Lord Ganondorf's orange hues. She looked for the darkness that was claimed to have corrupted his soul. Yes, there was hate. While there was hate in everyone, there was more in him. But she couldn't bring herself to blame him for that. What happened to his people was unforgivable. She saw the cause of his hate, and that cause was pain. She took a deep breath before she decided to throw her trust into this phantom of a man.

"There's also the fact that Princess Zelda and her hero have been reborn," Ahura said with caution. She felt herself shrink down under the ginormous man before her. Something in his facial features changed. She couldn't be sure if it was agitation, anxiety, or excitement that flooded his expressions. She decided to press on since she wasn't getting a solid response from the man. "Also, when we were in the building during the sand storm, the Sage of Spirit talked to me."

"What?" Lord Ganondorf growled out.

"He didn't really say anything. Just that the end of Hyrule was upon us, but that usually happens when the Hero comes back. What he actually said was that Princess Zelda and the Hero might not be needed. I mean, he said that if I could get rid of the hatred consuming the land and turn it into love, Hyrule could be saved."