The Legend of Zelda:

With two weeks left until her takeover of Hyrule, Nabooru was in an anxious mood. She was rarely put under any stress, so she wasn’t used to it at all. She decided to call Dark Link and Seth in for a briefing due to their juvenile behaviour towards each other lately. This was the time that that should not be happening at all. They helped her manage the fortress, and she needed them to cooperate and make sure everything was in order.

Dark Link and Seth appeared at her door, Dark Link entering slightly ahead of Seth. They sat down across from Nabooru, who immediately ordered her guards to leave the room. She could clearly see that these two didn’t like each other very much.

Nabooru looked to Dark Link. “Is someone keeping watch over her while you’re here? Because that’s what I told you to do,” she said bluntly.

Dark Link nodded. “Yes my Queen, Verom is keeping an eye on her down in the prison cells.”

“Good.” Nabooru’s gaze passed between the both of them. “I’ve called you here today because many of the Gerudos have been noticing your violent outbreaks lately, and they are becoming quite concerned that this could interfere with my plans.” She glared at them now, voice louder then ever. “This is not acceptable!! Just what the hell do you two think you’re doing? Do you have any idea how important this takeover is to me?? Clearly you don’t; this is the most important thing I’ve ever had to arrange, and you two are supposed to be looking after things to make sure that everything runs smoothly.” She stood from her chair and slammed her fists down on the table, screaming at them now. “If you two screw this up I’ll have your heads mounted on my wall!!!”

They both managed to keep eye contact with her, although it took every muscle in their bodies to keep themselves under control; being yelled at by a woman was not something they particularly liked.

Nabooru calmed her voice slightly as they said nothing. “I don’t think I have to repeat that, do I?” she said cocking her head impatiently.

“No Nabooru,” they both said in synchronization. Dark Link was annoyed by this, but Seth appeared to be amused with a grin on his face.

Nabooru raised a doubtful brow and retook her seat. “Seth, you are dismissed.”

Dark Link frowned slightly as he saw his nemesis rise from his chair in the corner of his eye and left through the door that closed casually. He was fairly calm however, and really had no reason to be nervous.

“I don’t think you understand what I mean when I tell you to keep an eye on Kat,” she began without delay. “There is only two weeks left until we march out into Hyrule and claim it for ourselves. There have been countless times where I’ve seen you walking around, and she is nowhere in sight.” She leaned in closer to him. “I am leaving today for the Spirit Temple to prepare myself for the takeover both mentally and physically, on my own, away from everybody. I will be gone for one week, and during my absence I want you to take her absolutely everywhere with you; do not let her out of your sight. She is a major threat to my plan and she is to be tracked every step she takes.”

Dark Link sat back in his chair slightly, looking at her fiery orange eyes. “My Queen, if she is that big of a problem then why not just have her killed?”

Nabooru grinned, not even appeared to be breathing she was so still. “Have her killed? Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I have big plans for her once my plans have been put into action.”

Dark Link was almost freaked out by how insane Nabooru looked right now. “Ah… I see…” he said returning her grin, although it felt awkward as she looked back at him still. “I will do as you wish and keep her with me at all times, my Queen.” He bowed his head to her.

Nabooru was pleased. “Just remember, if you mess this up for me then you will die a bloody death, Dark Link.” She sat back in her chair, watching him look up at her, his face tense. “That is all.”

Dark Link stood eagerly from his chair and headed out of the room, Nabooru’s guards immediately looking back inside to come in.

“I would like a moment to myself.” Nabooru watched as they closed the door in silence and she was left to be. She stood from her chair and went over to the large window situated above the entire grounds at the top of the fortress. The afternoon sun was strong and hot and the air was thick with humidity. How she couldn’t wait to get away from all this bullshit for a while.

Nabooru slid a hand into her pocket and took out something she held in her hand. She seated herself on the window seat and crossed her legs, back facing the window. Her face relaxed deeply as she opened up her palms. The Spirit Medallion lay there in its elegant beauty, enriched with fine details carved into it by almighty beings, long before the existence of anything. Its orange glow emanated slightly as she held it. How foolish, how weak Drusillia had been; she, Nabooru, was the one who it was rightfully meant to be with. She could have never gotten as far as she has, nearly ready to take over an entire country on her own. It was incomparable to who was the stronger one of the two sisters.

Nabooru brought the medallion up to her face and kissed it slowly before lowering it and bringing it into her chest. She held it close to herself and closed her eyes as the orange glow flowed throughout her body, relaxing her greatly. She didn’t understand how it worked, but her stress was immediately gone as she entered a meditative state.

What seemed like a few seconds later Nabooru shot her eyes open as the medallion hit the floor. She snatched it up from the ground and clasped it tightly in her hands. What she would do if she lost it… it was incomprehensible. She stood to her feet and opened her palms again, looking at the orange trinket with wide, absent eyes. How beautiful it was… How beautiful it was…

------

Kat was a complete mess as the next morning soon came. Dark Link was usually one to get up early and leave her alone for a few hours to actually have a comfortable rest. This morning was different however, as if he knew what she had been planning to do and had just changed his schedule for this one day.

This was not the case however; in fact, this is how it was for the next three days. He was there at every waking moment, red eyes fixed upon her. So it wouldn’t seem suspicious, Kat didn’t even try to go meet with Link, she couldn’t. Dark Link was there and he was there for the entire day. Kat had sat there all night, not gaining a wink of sleep; she had been so eager to meet with Link, to see that hint of sunrise’s glow to go and see him, but instead she laid there with her heart in her throat, watching as the sun rose and the morning soon passed. Kat was not one to sleep in so late, but Nabooru didn’t seem to care what she did anymore, and she had been hoping that Dark Link would have gotten up. Instead, he just laid there and got up when she couldn’t take it anymore.

Three days passed and Kat did not set one foot in Lon Lon Ranch, Hyrule Field, even the Gerudo Valley for that matter. She couldn’t even cry to herself knowing that it was all over, because Dark Link was there and he did not go away. But she knew that she would be unable to do anything as long as he was there, and she had no way of getting rid of him, she couldn’t even hurt him. She had no more contact with anyone at all either; she hadn’t talked with Rin for what seemed like forever, and she was wondering about her more then ever; if she was planning on “helping” Kat in some way, she’d better do it quick.

Kat’s arm was laced through Dark Link’s upper arm as he led her out into the grounds. Nabooru must have told him to make sure that Kat didn’t get any extra training before the two weeks were up, because he seemed like he had nowhere to take her and nothing to do. All the Gerudos ever did was train, but just recently they received a motive for it.

Kat’s eyes wandered around the grounds emptily as thoughts of Link came to her mind. Did he show up, only to find that she wasn’t there? What did he think of her? Where was he now? Was he going to attempt to get the Spirit Medallion back even without her help? All hope would be lost if he did. Before Kat could think about it anymore, her stomach began to bubble uncomfortably and a sickening feeling began to brew inside her chest. She placed a hand on her stomach and released Dark Link’s arm, now covering her mouth as well, trying to keep back what she knew was coming.

Dark Link looked at her and stopped walking; he didn’t question her well being however, he simply stood there and looked down at her with annoyed red eyes. “Please, spare me.”

He didn’t have to wait long as Kat lurched all-too suddenly and a stream of vomit shot from her mouth and onto the dry sandy ground, her uncontrollable, burning coughs echoing around the entire fortress, silence all elsewhere. Her mouth was tense, trying not to taste the horrid bile inside her mouth. She stooped down and wrapped her arms around her stomach, knowing that she was the centre of attention now. She wiped her lips with her wrist and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself to prevent another bring up. She moaned quietly, feeling horrible but slightly better with the guck out of her system.

“You don’t seem to be taking very good care of Kat at all,” came a cold voice Kat hadn’t heard very often. She knew who it was though, and was bothered that she had to now concentrate on something else rather then keeping her puke down. It was still fairly quiet around, a few people had gone back to their work, but she knew the audience was still there, even without looking up, which she figured she should do right now.

She looked up slightly, seeing a pair of black boots and a feminine pair of legs with flat shoes on. She looked up at the two figures, and her eyes were wide with near-happiness. “Rin…!”

Rin looked down at Kat with hollow eyes and smiled gently before looking away, hand being held tightly by Seth. It was clear that he had changed Rin; she wasn’t cheery at all anymore, her face was distant, remote, like she could no longer be reached simply by being talked to. Kat glared at Seth, who was now confronting Dark Link.

Rin’s hand slipped from Seth’s grasp as he stomped towards Dark Link and shoved his face into his. “You should treat her better then that,” he said coolly, “I treat Rin like a queen.” He grinned crookedly, his icy eyes meeting with flaming fire. Dark Link stood there steadily as Seth was leaning in towards him, a stern look that was failing, and cracking into anger.

“Really? She doesn’t seem any happier to me.”

Seth, who had been expecting to hear retaliation from Dark Link, now found himself being challenged by the queasy mess on the ground. She looked almost out of place by calling out when she herself looked so vulnerable, hunched over on the ground with a pile of slosh in front of her. “What was that?” He stepped towards her, fists at his side, when Dark Link stepped in front of him and shoved Seth backwards.

“Leave her out of this. You’re gonna deal with me.”

Kat felt sick again and closed her eyes, face near the ground. “Oh god…”

Seth wrinkled is face up as if trying to be overly sweet, all attention immediately gone from Kat. “Oh, how nice, this will be much easier for me then… You know, Nabooru’s gone for the week, so there’s nothing stopping me from shoving my knuckles into your face.”

Dark Link grinned. “What, you’re saying that she would stop you? Hah! Afraid to get into trouble?”

“No.”

Kat gagged; too much was going on at once, but she could not ignore what she could hear. She heard something fast and metal, the familiar sound of a sword being unsheathed. Then, there was a split second of silence, and then there was a terrible sound, flesh being slashed and cut.

The sickening feeling was too much, she couldn’t open her eyes as much as she wanted to. “Ahg…”

Then she heard something hit the ground near her, to her left. No, two things, one right after the other; something big and heavy, and then maybe something lighter. People all around her gasped, and some started to scream. She couldn’t take it anymore, she had to look, just for a second.

Kat shot her eyes open and looked up. Seth was standing over her, grinning, but not looking at her. He had a bloody sword in his hand. Rin stood behind him, eyes wide with terror, her body shaking. Kat looked down at the ground.

All hope of her puke staying down was lost. Dark Link’s body lay there, his neck gaping open, bone visible and all, and his head lay directly beside Kat, completely severed, eyes staring up at her absently. Kat shot to her feet, too afraid, too sickened to scream. She turned and began to run as fast as she could away from it, something a child would do, but it was too much to bear. Everything around her went quiet and slow, her vision blurred, her footsteps echoing flatly below her. She hadn’t felt so badly in a long time; Link was her only hope to get the medallion back, and she knew that Dark Link was still very much alive. She remembered his words when she had stabbed him in the chest in hopes of getting rid of him, how he didn’t even wince as it pierced into his skin. “Only the one of which I was created can kill me.” It was too much to think about, too much was happening.

Tears formed in Kat’s eyes and she sobbed softly as she ran. She could feel fresh vomit readying to shoot through her throat, but before it had a chance to, Kat’s feet slipped from beneath her, the ground came up to meet her, and then all went black.

------

“…Kat…! Wake up already!”

She recognised this voice and forced herself to awaken from her uncomfortable state, finding that she actually felt a bit better. She squinted as sunlight poured in through the large window of the room, but as she regained focus, she realised that Rin was sitting beside her bed!

“Rin!!” She was happy to see her, but knew it couldn’t last for long. She looked around the room and to the door. “Where is Seth? And Dark Link?” she said cautiously throwing a thin blanket off of her.

“Don’t worry,” came Rin’s familiar sweet voice. “When you passed out, Ganondorf appeared out of nowhere and told Seth he wanted to speak with him and Dark Link back in the Dark Realm, and they left. This was about an hour ago, and they haven’t been back since.”

Kat looked down at the ground in thought, her mind coursing with ideas. Kat could guess that Nabooru hadn’t told anyone just how carefully she’d wanted her to have been watched over. She was gone for the week. Now was her chance to go see Link.
Kat leapt to her feet without even thinking about it and looked to the door, but then she thought of Rin, who she hadn’t been able to talk to for so long. She looked down at her, and then Rin stood. Kat still looked down at her, as Rin looked up at her with sorrowful, sapphire eyes.

The Gerudo looked at Rin for a long time, thinking about how long she’d known her for, even though she knew so little about her. What secrets lay behind those Hylian eyes? She was so suspicious of her, and yet she felt no anger towards her. How had she found her in her mother’s temple? How did she know the things she knew, when she had said she couldn’t remember anything? Kat thought of how different she was, how empty her eyes looked now. Her hair wasn’t as shiny as it used to be, it was messy and untamed. She no longer wore her pink uniform that she made by hand; she now donned the traditional dark blue Gerudo uniform.

“You’ve changed,” Kat said bluntly, almost sadly, still looking at her.

Rin’s eyes dropped downwards, and then looked back up. “A lot is about to happen, Kat. Promise me you’ll be careful... Promise me.” She looked as though she was about to cry, but no tears came.

“Listen to me Rin,” Kat said seriously. As emotional as she was inside, she couldn’t show it right now when she was so uneasy. She had to leave.

“I have to go, and truth is, I don’t know what’s going to happen.” She looked at Rin helplessly, uncertainly. “I will be back within an hour or two. Please don’t tell anyone I’ve gone.” Kat looked away almost shamefully and turned towards the door. “I know I haven’t gotten to spend time with you for a long time, but I just can’t let this slip away from me.”

“Where are you going?” Rin said to Kat’s back. She sounded concerned, but not worried.

Kat knew in her mind that there simply wasn’t enough trust between them to share where she was going. She knew that Rin knew that too, but as always, Rin was trying to sound like she knew nothing. A lot is about to happen, Kat. Did she think she was stupid? Sure, she and Rin had bonded over the past few months, but Kat was beginning to become paranoid at such an important time; she had no idea who was against her and who was with her. She had no idea who Rin was. Kat remembered learning never to make friends as she grew up, something that Nabooru had actually been right about; if at this time she let her sympathy towards Rin get in the way, she could end up dead.

“Goodbye Rin.”

------

Kat rode through the ruins of Lon Lon Ranch and slowed the saber to an easy walk. Her eyes darted around as she entered the open space of a once lively racetrack. The open grass that had once been was now dried up and dirty, parts of the fence surrounding it were broken and the barn houses were no more. It was sickening how ruthless Ganondorf could be to a once thriving business; this was a family’s home once before, and it was now comparable to a graveyard with rubble everywhere, and complete, utter silence. There was no sign of Link anywhere.

Kat’s literally felt her heart drop. It would take the both of them to achieve peace in Hyrule once again, and if she hadn’t given him enough reason to come here, then she had no more hope; for a little while, she’d thought she’d finally seen that pinprick of sunshine through the storm clouds, but she hadn’t been able to fulfill herself to come see him when she’d told him to meet with her. There was her chance, it had been within her grasp, but here she was three days later, alone at Lon Lon Ranch, her hopes shattered with Nabooru’s sword.

“Link…!”

Kat slipped off the saber and ran out into the open space of the ranch. “Link!!!” she wailed hopelessly, tears already streaming down her dry cheeks. There was nothing left she could do. Without Link’s help, Ganondorf could not be slain. Without her help, he would not be able to recover the Spirit Medallion to enter Ganon’s castle. If she were to kill Nabooru without Link’s help, she wouldn’t be able to kill Ganon; only the Hero of Time can kill him, using the Master Sword and the power of all of the sages combined.

“LINK!!!” Kat collapsed to her knees, her body shaking heavily. She unsheathed her sword from her side. She’d wanted to do this thousands of times, but had never actually done it; something had kept her going every time, but now there was nothing more to be alive for. She could not help her mother. Hell, she couldn’t ever help her mother, she’d just wanted to accomplish all of this to make herself feel better. Why had she put up with this for so long???

She held the handle of the sword with both hands and positioned the tip of the blade in the centre of her chest. She sobbed loudly, mouth wide with tension. She pushed the blade in slightly and screamed gravely, feeling so lonely and abandoned.

Then, something grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her down onto her back in a rush. Kat saw Link above her as he took hold of the sword and gently tugged it out of her. He tossed it aside and looked down at her with distressed eyes. “What are you doing??”

Kat looked up at him with wide, tear-filled eyes. “You came…” Kat put her hand over her wound. “… Why?” she said weakly, not taking an eye off of him, completely bewildered.

“I had nowhere else to go. Your words were not much to go by, but I had to trust you. If I didn’t then all hope for Hyrule could have been lost.” He looked down at himself and ripped off a piece of his tunic covering his shoulder and folded it in his hands. He looked at her. “Are you okay?”

Kat nodded, more shaken up than injured. “You stopped me just in time.”

He said nothing and held the cloth out for her. She took it graciously and held it against the wound. She thought of what had just happened and could only imagine what he was thinking.

“I’m… sorry about what you just saw. I thought my only chance was gone,” she said.

Link was silent for a moment but she could see him thinking. “As horrible of a thing that was to see,” he said calmly, looking off somewhere, “that is what it took to make me trust you.”

Kat sat up carefully and looked at his averted eyes. “Thank you.”

He remained silent, eyes still, his hair blowing gently in the wind. Kat had finally received her miracle.