The Hero, the Princess, and the Cursed King

Chapter 18: A Broken Promise

[Zelda]

"Link is dead," Zelda answered, trying to keep her voice even.

Ganondorf scoffed. "Do you think I'm that much of an idiot?" He moved the blade of the sword closer to her heart. "Now tell me the truth. Where is he?"

"I told you. Link is dead." She held her head high. "Or he is to me. We split up a while back."

Uncertainty flashed in Ganondorf's eyes, and his grip on the sword slackened. That was all Zelda needed.

She lunged, grabbed Ganondorf's wrist, and pulled forward with all her strength. As he stumbled, she launched herself off the corner of the bed, gliding through the air. She kicked off of Ganondorf's back, propelling herself further and causing him to lose his balance.

Zelda landed outside her doorway, scanning the tiny living room for a weapon. Her eyes snagged on their cast-iron fire stoker, resting against the hearth. Grabbing it quickly, she threw open the front door as Ganondorf emerged from the bedroom. Zelda only stayed long enough to catch a glimpse of the rage in his eyes. She was down her front stairs and running towards the village in half a heartbeat.

"Please, Malon," Zelda muttered as she ran. "Please have everyone out."

From the forest, several Gerudo soldiers appeared. Hope fluttered in her heart as she recognized their faces. She knew them. They had trained together years ago, and maybe, just maybe, Zelda could get them to listen to reason.

She called out to them over her shoulder. "I need your—!"

An arrow whizzed by Zelda's head, its tail feather brushing her left cheek, leaving a small cut behind. She met the eyes of the soldier who had shot it—Teake, that was her name—and Zelda's heart broke. No life shone in her old friend's eyes nor the eyes of the other soldiers.

"Liana, Barta, Leena, and Teake. . . I'm so sorry," Zelda muttered under her breath. How powerful was the Triforce of Powers spell to make these wonderful people do such horrible things?

A small trickle of blood escaped Zelda's wound, and she began running sporadically and in zig-zagging patterns; to throw off the archer's aim. It would slow her down, but it'd also make her a more challenging target to hit.

"HALT!" Up ahead, Riju stood at the entrance to the village with her sword drawn. "Surrender, or this will only end badly for you."

Zelda looked over her shoulder to see the other soldiers closing the gap between them. This was a lose-lose situation. She didn't want to hurt any of these soldiers, and, even if she had a proper weapon, she stood no chance five-to-one. But she had to try.

Zelda whirled around, now running towards her pursuers. With them caught off guard, Zelda had a prime opportunity to strike. She swept the legs out from under Barta—the first soldier in Zelda's range—and whacked her on the top of the helmet with the fire-stoker, knocking her unconscious.

"Woah." Zelda staggered back slightly as white-hot pain seared in her side. She grimaced; the movement had caused her injury to flare up. "Not now."

A sword swing forced Zelda to duck and roll. She came up with barely enough time to dodge Liana's next attack. Zelda stepped around her and tried to whack her on the helmet as she had done to Barta, but Liana swung her elbow back, nearly walloping Zelda in the rib cage.

Switching tactics, Zelda grabbed Liana's arm and threw her over her shoulder. Zelda clenched her teeth, trying to withstand the pain. Her wound was screaming at her to stop, but she ignored it. Liana hit the ground hard, groaning in pain, and the next soldier to reach them, Leena, tripped over her comrade, making it easy for Zelda to knock her out with a simple strike.