Written in Blood

XL . We've done this before

I can feel traces of what he mentioned too, a resonance between the three of us, still here even with the pieces gone.
We're tied together, bound to the same fate, even now.

I am well aware that she can handle herself, but I feel a few years younger, the rage boiling in me just like it did when I saw his sly grin and that crystal, her prison.

I can't get past how mangled and skeletal Zelda has become. She looks horrible. What kind of torture did she have to endure? The angry marks on her skin seem like the embodiment of rage. She must've stoked the fire, incited more wrath. The princess must've given them the heck of a time, she can be so stubborn when she wants to be.

I bite back the remarks I'm dying to use, I'm in no position to be back talking to him, I'm about as vulnerable as you can be. I've gotta stay on my toes, walking on eggshells.

My teeth dig into my bottom lip from habit, and I'm seeing red as I turn my gaze back to the stupid fool of a man. If he keeps this greed and power lust up, then what world will be left for him to rule over? What people? His own want for power is the one thing that will screw him over.

Our eyes clash, narrow and sharp, I can honestly say I hate this man with every ounce of my being. I have no sympathy for him. Skullkid was lonely, his friends had left and that blasted mask had tainted him. There's still traces of humanity, I can understand. But Ganondorf has none of that. He's tried this tactic before and he'll never stop. His anger is so empty, but vast, just like the desert he calls home.

I see him nod to the Gerudo on either side of me, and I'm jerked forward again, yelping as the blade digs a bit deeper into my neck. Pathetic. The other Link would've gritted his teeth.

The raised platform in the center of the room hits me right in the shin, but there's no time to recover or regain my footing, because I never had any in the first place.

The alter that had once housed the spiritual stones is getting closer, and he's on the platform above it, glowering at me as I struggle to not fall but also keep my neck as far away from the every threatening knife as much as possible. It's hard when balance is some just out of reach.

"You can either cooperate or they'll kill the princess. Understand?"

That hits me hard. It's not the fact that he can and will kill her, but it's that he's so willing to dispose of her. Last time all three of us were together, there were never death threats made. Is there no use for Zelda anymore.

I stay silent, still glaring at Ganondorf. I'm trapped against a wall, he's got me pinned. I'll have to do whatever he says. Zelda's life- and probably mine too, now that I'm thinking about it- is riding on my compliance. And I hate it. I hate how I'm completely at his mercy. Under his control. But I won't let him be the reason I die.

It's the ocarina... isn't it? A wild guess, I know, but the guy has such a one track mind I wouldn't be surprised. That's why he took Zelda, she knows the secrets of the Sacred Realm, she knows the song that opens the door. And to boot, she just so happens to have been the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom once. Oh, and the last ruler. It'd make sense he sent a small army of Gerudo after her. They need her. Not anymore though, I'm be new it-guy. Yay.

"I know you have it."

The iron grip on my wrists is gone, and my arms fall limply to my sides. They feels too light, almost numb. The pressure had faded into nothing but a dull ache.

The feeling in my hands throws me off a bit, but I get my hands to the pouch on my waist, fumbling the cinch open. There's nothing I can do but pull the goddess darned instrument out.