~Chapter Two-Suspicions~
Warro’s eyes slowly opened as somebody spoke to him. In his grogginess, he could barely understand what whoever was saying to him.
“What?” he asked, as he rubbed his eyes.
“I said you’re free to go.” Warro’s vision suddenly became clear, and before him was Princess Zelda. “The guard who was watching over you last night told me about you. She said you had some pendant around your neck. While you slept, I recognized it. It’s a Spirit Pendant. Why didn’t you show me that?”
“This?” Warro asked, as he placed his hand to his chest. Around his neck was a small, black charm in the shape of the Triforce, the symbol of the Hylian race, on a metal chain. “The Skull Kids gave me this when they found me in the Woods.” From the light that came down from the door at the exit of the dungeons, Warro could tell it was daytime.
“I was advised to forgive you for you actions last night,” Zelda said in a reluctant tone. “So, I forgive you for being rude. That does not mean I have forgotten your rudeness, however.”
“Right, so can I go?” Warro asked.
“Not yet,” Zelda said calmly. It was by now Warro finally had the time to take a good look at her. The violet overskirt was part of the torso half of her dress. On her shoulders were golden, decorative shoulder-plates, and around her head was a circlet of gold, with rubies embedded in it. She wore long, white gloves with golden patterns embroidered into them, and the white ribbons from the night before were still braided into her hair.
“What is it, now?” Warro groaned.
“I’ve had visions,” Zelda said. “I was also advised to tell you this as well.”
“Visions?”
“Yes,” Zelda said. “Six years ago, I had a vision of a boy from the forest with a message for me. The vision did not specify what time I would receive this message, or what the messenger would be sent with.”
“So, I’m the boy of your dreams?” Warro asked.
“It’s not like that,” Zelda said with a slight hint of annoyance. “What I did see in my vision was that the message would talk about Ganondorf, a man, whom my father allied our kingdom with a decade ago. I was ten at the time, and my father did not believe me, saying that the Gerudo can be trusted now, and the time of war between us was over. I told Link this vision when he came to me, and he is now investigating Ganondorf’s actions as we speak. He stopped by a few hours ago; he saw you.”
“He did?” Warro felt very ashamed that his first impression was as a prisoner, who dressed like a famous person of the kingdom.
“Yes, and I explained the situation to him,” Zelda said. “We believe that Dark Link—that’s what we called the imposter—is still somewhere in the vicinity. He is searching in castle town. So, if I let you go, you must promise me two things.”
“Which are?”
“You will help Link and I in our investigations on Ganondorf, and you will treat me with respect.”
“I promise,” Warro said. The lock on the cell undid itself on its own, and swung open. Zelda stepped aside, and motioned to the wall saying,
“Your sword broke last night, so I ordered these for you, because you will be working under me.” Against the wall was a sword with an actual blade, lying in a brown, leather scabbard and lying over it was the shield of the knights of Hyrule, commonly known as the Hylian Shield. Warro picked up the sword and shield, and was surprised at how heavy they were, but he quickly adjusted to the change in weight. He slipped the sword over his shoulder, so that the hilt was sticking over his right shoulder, and the scabbard slipped right through the handle of the shield, so that it was fastened to his back as well.
“Thank you,” Warro said, recalling the once useless nonsense, to him, called manners. “So, where should I start?”
“Well, Link is out looking for the imposter of him,” Zelda answered. “So, I would say that you should check up on Ganondorf to learn what he is up to. Be careful, though. He is more dangerous than normal.”
Freedom! It felt so nice to see the blue sky again, and it never felt so nice to see so many people in one spot. When Warro had first entered Castle Town, he felt claustrophobic, because he had never seen so many people in one spot. He wandered about the streets, looking for any traces of a man meeting the description Zelda had given him.
“A tall ginger man with green skin,” Warro muttered. “How do you get your skin to be green?” As Warro pondered the possible ways to turn one’s skin to the color of grass, a chill ran down his spine. It was a similar feeling to the one he had last night, when he was face to face with Dark Link. He stopped dead in his tracks, and to his right was a large clock tower. The door was open and the temptation to enter was strong. It couldn’t hurt to enter.
The clock tower was gigantic. Gears and cogs span, and a stairway went up to the top. From below, Warro could hear voices.
“…unrest among the city.”
Warro slowly made his way up the steps, to see who the voice belong to.
“And the Princess?”
It was silent, and the only sound Warro could hear in the whole clock tower was his muffled footsteps, and the loud tick-tock of the large clock. He slowly made his way to the top, when he heard the voice again.
“That is unexpected. So, you say there was another infiltrator?”
Warro made his way to the second floor, and at the top, he saw a man wearing a dark red cape with golden patterns embroidered into it. The symbol of the Gerudo(to Warro this was just an interesting figure) was in the center. From behind, Warro could tell that this man had the ginger hair, but his skin color was an unknown.
“So you say…” The man turned around, swinging his arm out to ensure his cape does not wrap around his leg. “I must say, to make him feel that much of disgust towards you, even more than the person he was designed to defeat, you must be powerful.”
“What?” Warro asked, taking a step back, startled. “A-are you talking t-t-to me?”
“Of course,” the man said with a smirk. Warro could see it, now. This was the man. This is Ganondorf. His skin was as green a leaf on a tree, and his eyes were narrowed. His ginger hair was styled with decorative golden jewelry, and was tied back in a way that resembled cornrows. “There is not another person here.”
“Then who were you talking to?” Warro asked. As Warro said this Ganondorf laughed and crossed his arms.
“So you were spying on me, eh?” he asked. “Very well, then. I might as well tell you who I was talking to.”
“Who was it?”
“I liked to call him ReFoDaMa, standing for Reformed Dark Matter, but I like the name he had heard you call him. Dark Link is one of my assistants.”
“You created him?” Warro asked. “For what purpose?”
“To stir up some trouble,” Ganondorf explained.
“But you’re an ally to Hyrule, aren’t you?” Warro asked.
“What good does it to you if I tell you the truth?” Ganondorf reached to his side and a metallic object shined as it exited from its case. A long, slender sword with Hylian letters into the sides of the blades; Warro could not read them from where he stood. “You’re just a boy from the forest, who is already disliked for being rude to the princess.”
“It really was more of an accident.” Warro took several steps back as Ganondorf lifted his blade and pointed it at him. Early this morning, he could not see his “foe,” but now this man by the name of Ganondorf was clearly visible. It was terrifying and paralyzed Warro to the ground his stood upon.
“Whether intentional or unintentional, the whole matter is irrelevant.” Ganondorf advanced slowly. His footsteps were in synch with the ticking of the clock. Warro’s heart pounded faster and faster. He had done nothing to provoke Ganondorf, and yet he was going to try and kill him! Warro reached his hand up and took his new sword out from its brown, leather scabbard. “You weild a sword, but do you know how to use it? That’s what I’m going to see. Come at me, boy.”
“Wh-what?” Warro stuttered, suddenly getting his will to move his legs again.
“Come on,” Ganondorf said. “Strike me. I’ll give you as many chances as you like.”
“I could outrun those guards and I could hurt them with a wooden sword,” Warro said. “This should be easy.” He put on a cocky smirk and charged towards Ganondorf, letting out a quick yell with his first strike.
“Running? That is no feat to be proud of, boy.” Warro’s attack was blocked perfectly by Ganondorf, who was now smirking. “You may move fast, but your swings are too wide, leaving you open, and making your strikes not as swift.” And with that, Ganondorf shoved Warro back by lifting his arm and flicking his wrist. Warro felt himself nearly lose his balance as he stumbled backward. He caught himself and charged toward Ganondorf once more.
“Well, then,” Warro said, with his cocky smile on his face, “it’s time for Plan B.”
“Always have one of those.” Gonondorf once again perfectly anticipated Warro’s next attack. Warro charged at Ganondorf once more, but instead of striking, he tricked him by jumping back. Once he was a safe distance he leapt forward and brought his sword up and back down. “Of course, it’s no good if the flaws from the first plan still remain.” Ganondorf’s blade was a few feet over his head. He had blocked Warro’s attack again.
Too wide again, he thought as he looked up. Ganondorf’s eyes stared back down at him and then it hit him. “Plan C!” he yelled as he trust his sword up toward Ganondorf’s head. The strike wouldn’t kill him, but it’d leave a nasty scar. As the sword came up from underneath Ganondorf took his leg back and kicked Warro in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and knocking him away several feet.
“Now, you are beginning to get the idea.” Warro clutched his stomach and groaned as Ganondorf continued his lecture on the finer points of swordplay. “However, the delay between the two attacks was too long, and you forgot one thing. You should always remember a swordsman is not only limited to his sword.” He stood over Warro, letting the boy get himself off the ground and prepare himself. This was the real thing now. The tutorial was over.
“And you’re telling me this stuff, why?” Warro asked between deep breaths. The tip of his sword touched the ground as he held it in one hand, while the other was wrapped around his stomach. “Aren’t you supposed to kill me by now?”
“Oh, no,” Ganondorf said. “Killing a Hylian would definitely ruin my plans. This is just a training session. I forgot to welcome you to Ganondorf Dragmire’s boot camp. The next thing on our schedule is the obstacle course.” It seemed as if magic was propelling him forward as he charged toward Warro with speed that matched his.
All that was running through Warro’s mind at that time was: His feet aren’t even touching the ground! Just as he finished that thought, he was lifted from the ground by his collar. Ganondorf raised him to eye level and said,
“Well, get a move on!” He threw Warro over the railing behind him, and he tumbled into the darkness. He landed on his back, and looked up, and saw Ganondorf dropping down. Warro rolled to the side as the blade of Ganondorf’s sword came crashing down upon the spot he was just at. It was dark with the exception of the small amounts of light illuminating various spots of where they were, but it didn’t take light for either of them to realize that they were spinning in a circle. It was a gear. They were surrounded by the gears and cogs that worked the clock tower in Castle Town.
“I wasn’t ready!” Warro whined. “Unfair!”
“You should know by now that life’s going to be unfair more than it will be,” Ganondorf responded. “I know that better than you, I know.”
“You just repeated yourself.”
“I know.” As he briskly walked towards Warro, the boy turned and ran. He knew he could not hold his own against him. Those three attacks he tried before were him at his best. If he blocked them when he was allowing the attacks, Warro could not fathom what he would be like in a real fight. He stumbled in the dark, fearing that touching the walls might be hazardous to his hands. A light was up just ahead, but just behind him, he heard Ganondorf’s footsteps.
Thump, thump, thump, tick…
Thump, thump, thump, thump, tock…
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, tick…
Light! He could see it! There was a way out, but something was wrong. He no longer heard Ganondorf’s footsteps. He looked around, his heart beating so fast, he feared it would burst through his chest. He looked around, and continued his way—
“Ha!” Suddenly, as if from nowhere, Warro was thrown up into the air. He looked down as he tumbled in air, and saw that Ganondorf had taken a different path. The gears and cogs made the clock tower like a labyrinth. Before he had time to examine things more, Ganondorf jumped up and grabbed Warro.
“Auaaaaagh!” It was the most pain he had experienced in his life. A horrible, painful shock, as if from lightning, coursed through his body, and then an explosion. Ganodorf let go, throwing Warro in the opposite direction of him. Warro bounced off gears and cogs, and then landed on another spinning cog. Warro slowly rose to his feet, and felt his head. Blood was leaking out, and he felt a tad dizzy. He looked around, and saw that he was near the window of the tower, that displayed the time. He limped over to the closest he could get to the window, and placed his bloodstained hand to it, leaving a handprint on it. So, this is glass. He completely forgot he was in a battle. Warro had heard about the material known as glass for a long time. He only knew it was sharp, but very smooth. Where is it sharp? Warro felt a small push from behind, and then he remembered he was still in a battle. He lost his balance and fell forward, bracing himself instinctively, through the glass, tumbling over the edge. As he fell, he felt something pierce his side. There it is…
Black.
