Chapter 9

Leigh stood in the stand nervously, fiddling with the sleeves of her shirt. It had taken the

jury almost a day and a half to come up with the verdict, and now she was back in the

court room, waiting for it to be read out. "All stand before the King," announced a

guard. Everyone rose to their feet, waiting expectantly. The King rose and waited for

the verdict to be passed to him. Stobbart was not present, and had been replaced by

someone else, in order to help the jury decide. Katrina stood up and gave a slip of

parchment to the King.

"I call for a verdict upon Leigh Temple," called Zelda. The court was silent, Leigh

noticed her hands were shaking. The King unfolded the note. He read it through, his

expression giving away nothing. Leigh waited.

"The defendant, Leigh Temple, has been found…" he paused for a second. Leigh

looked up to the ceiling, praying for the right verdict. "Guilty of every charge, including

defilement of the crown, theft, assault, desertion, murder on seven counts and

consorting with Ganondorf Dragmire," read out the King. There were a few surprised

gasps around the court, but there were also cheers. The King himself sounded quite

surprised. Leigh felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her, her world turned

upside down. "She is found to be malicious and conniving as well as a senseless and

brutal murderer, and her crimes must be washed away with her own blood in way of

public execution. A date will be set in the next two months," read aloud the King. Leigh

swallowed and slumped against the stand, wishing it were all a dream. She collapsed to

the floor, never feeling so utterly defeated in her life. She closed her eyes willing herself

to wake up, make it all a bad, bad nightmare.

"That's not right! You can't do that!" protested a male voice angrily. Leigh looked up,

seeing it was Sparks. He tried to hit one of the guards angrily but he was held back.

"Chuck 'im out," commanded one of the guards. Leigh watched in despair as the young

boy was dragged from the room, yelling in protest. Leigh turned to look at the jury,

wondering how it had got this far. She noticed Katrina, watching her, but her friend

wore no sympathetic face, just a smug smile. Leigh turned to look at Zelda, who

looked a little shocked herself. The Princess had to admit she hadn't expected things to

go this far, a mere exile would have done for her.

"Take her away," said Zelda to some guards, nodding over to Leigh. They nodded and

walked to the stall and pulled her up, uncuffing her from the pole. She allowed herself

to be dragged back to her cell, not wishing to even attempt to keep up with the guards.

Once in the privacy of her own cell she crawled into a corner, her body wracked with

sobs. She curled up, crying herself to sleep.

"Zelda, surely you're not going to go along with the sentence!" protested Drake as they

left the throne room. Zelda shrugged.

"I know I didn't expect it to be that harsh, but she did murder seven people," said

Zelda, concentrating on the ground.

"You heard what Link said, Ganondorf did it," said Drake, stepping in front of Zelda to

block her way.

"He was probably lying, anything to save his beloved Leigh," said Zelda bitterly.

"Link lie? Come on Zelda, you know him better than that. We all know this trial was

your idea, why you even made Fayette one of the jury, it was practically a set up," said

Drake.

"Fayette is a Sosarian, I thought I was being fair. Don't forget Katrina, her friend, was

in there too," said Zelda, pushing past Drake.

"It's gone too far and you know it Zelda, execution? She may have kissed your

husband but don't you think it's a bit unfair?" asked Drake.

"Look Drake, it was the jury's decision. Despite what you may think, I didn't pay them

for that decision," said Zelda.

"Can't you denounce it? Say the trial was corrupt?" pleaded Drake. Zelda sighed.

"I'll try and get it reduced, but I'm not promising anything," she said reluctantly.

"Well who do you need to ask? You organised the trial," said Drake impatiently.

"I have to ask all jury members to reconsider their decision. Another thing Drake, I

don't appreciate you throwing our guests into the cells on the basis of what Ms. Temple

has to say," said Zelda.

"What?" asked Drake.

"Sir Stobbart, after what Leigh accused him of yesterday you threw him into the

dungeons," said Zelda.

"It was obvious she was telling the truth. Didn't you see how he reacted?" protested

Drake.

"Well how would you react if you were accused of what he was accused of?" asked

Zelda. Drake shrugged. "He's been released and I expect you to apologise to him,"

said Zelda.

"No, not to him," muttered Drake.

"Drake, he's a Molderan knight, as head of the Knights, I expect you to apologise,"

said Zelda.

"Leigh is the Avatar but I don't see you apologising to her. You disgust me," said

Drake.

"Pardon? You might want to seriously re-consider your words Drake, I will not be

spoken to in that way," demanded Zelda.

"Why don't we ask the Triforce. It's more reliable than any jury, maybe then I can

re-consider my words," said Drake. With those parting words he strode back down

the corridor, leaving a fuming Zelda behind.

Drake walked gingerly up the stairs of the Triforce tower. He knew it was wrong to

defy Zelda's orders but he had to know the truth. The Triforce could tell him that. As

he reached the top of the stairs, he paused listening at the door. He could hear

someone moving around. He pushed open the door, wondering who it could be. To his

surprise, it wasn't Aaron, but David Marsh, one of the battlement guards. "David?"

asked Drake. The man had his back turned to Drake, it looked as though he was

examining the Triforce. The man suddenly turned round, a distinctly guilty expression on

his face. "David, what're you doing up here?" asked Drake suspiciously. "Uh," started

David, looking around nervously. "Aren't you off duty right now?" asked Drake,

stepping forward.

"I'm sorry sir, I just wanted to see it. My kids are always asking about it, I just wanted

to tell them about it," blurted David.

"You know you aren't supposed to be up here David. Only some people are allowed

up, but I'll let it go. You get home and tell your kids about it," said Drake kindly. David

bowed.

"Thank you so much sir, I promise you won't regret it!" said David thankfully. He

bowed again then quickly left the tower, leaving a rather bemused Drake behind.

Drake closed the tower door then circled the Triforce, watching it carefully. He wasn't

exactly sure how it worked, but he guessed he'd find out.

"You wish to ask me a question?" said a voice. Drake stepped back in surprise,

realising that it was the Triforce.

"Uh, well yes," agreed Drake.

"Ask," commanded the Triforce.

"Do you know about the trial?" asked Drake, feeling a little stupid.

"I know all," replied the Triforce, glowing slightly.

"Is it true? Is Leigh deserving of the sentence, did she commit the crimes?" blurted

Drake. The Triforce glowed for a moment, as if thinking.

"She did indeed insult Zelda, but not without cause. She stole those horses but felt

remorse and did return them days later. She assaulted Zelda, the guards and Sir

Stobbart but had a just cause to assault Sir Stobbart. She was merely defending

herself. She was kidnapped and did not desert. She escaped thanks to Zelda and never

took her hostage. She did not lust after the hero, nor did she murder those people. She

never did consort with Ganondorf and she is not deserving of the sentence," spoke the

Triforce. Drake nodded solemnly.

"Why is Zelda acting this way?" asked Drake.

"Leigh has hurt her pride. Zelda knows she is wrong but does not know how to go

about the situation," said the Triforce. Suddenly, Drake heard footsteps coming up the

tower. He looked around looking for a place to hide. There was none, he stepped

behind the door, hoping whoever it was wasn't Zelda. The footsteps stopped outside

the door, and he heard someone softly chanting. He realised it was Zelda. She was

casting the lock tower spell. He silently cursed as the footsteps faded away, wondering

how he was going to get out. He walked over to the window and looked down. If he

jumped he'd break a leg or an arm at the luckiest. He walked back over to the door

and tried to open it. It refused to budge. He tried it again. "It won't open, not until the

spell is broken," said the Triforce. Drake groaned.

"What!? How am I supposed to do that? You mean I'm stuck up here until Zelda come

back up!?" asked Drake in desperation.

"So it seems," said the Triforce. Drake banged his fists against the door.

"Can anyone hear me!?" he shouted.

"I can," said the Triforce. "Anyone that can help me," groaned Drake.

"Charming," said the Triforce. Drake banged his fists against the door again.

"Can anyone hear me!" he shouted again. He just hoped someone would hear him

soon.

Sprite alighted down on one of the stone balconies which were built in various places

around North Castle. Sitting on the ledge, she swung her legs down over the side, and

began to ponder her problem with her rival, Navi. Link was refusing to speak to her,

and Sprite was sure that she'd seen Navi flying around the hero. "Jeez, I wish she'd go

back into hibernation," she muttered to herself darkly. She stood up, and strolled

precociously along the stone ledge, her head held high. Navi is a little freak. No-one

has hair like her! the faerie thought to herself. A sudden gust of wind nearly swept her

off the edge, and she quickly flew up into the air, and towards the door into the castle

to safety. She found herself in a rather plush bedroom, full of purple satin cushions, gold

brocade and mahogany furniture. She guessed, from the rich décor, that it had to be

Fayette's bedroom. A small leather book was peeping out under the bottom of the four

poster bed. "A diary!" Sprite said to herself, grinning. She always enjoyed poking

around other people's things; and it was easy to do, with being a faerie. She flew down

onto the floor, and zapped the book. It immediately shrunk to faerie size, and the tiny

creature picked it up, then flew up onto one of the fat, satin pillows. "Alright Fayette,

let's see if you happen to have anything interesting to say," she smirked, opening the

book to the first page.

However, instead of pages of writing, like she'd been expecting, instead, there was

short notes and bullet points, some sort of flow chart with arrows and ticks done in a

different colour of ink, at certain points. "Oh my god, Fayette surely can't be some sort

of secret intellectual, can she?" Sprite said to herself, confused. Then she looked a little

closer. Help Mother become Queen of Hyrule (that means I'll be a Princess!),

Marry the King of the richest country in the world, Dalsona, make Zelda's life a

misery… the lists seemed to go on and on. Sprite began to giggle. It really was very

funny. Fayette appeared to have every single event of her life planned out. She had

dreams and goals, some of them ticked, some not. Sprite had never seen anything quite

like it ever. Intrigued, she continued turning the pages. Fayette didn't really appear to

keep much of a diary, she just wrote about certain things. Interestingly, there were

pages and pages on Zelda. About how much Fayette despised her, mostly. Sprite

flicked through it, not really caring. Everyone knew that it was no secret that the two

step sisters hated each other, after all. Sprite turned to the end of the book, deciding to

work backwards Suddenly, her eyes lit up. In a bold heading, Fayette had written

something entitled, "The Big Plan". In it, Fayette had wrote;

Wow, tonight was much more of a success than I had hoped! It was so good, that

I just had to write it down here, so that I could always remember it. I do declare,

that I really am a genius! What happened tonight will have the Avatar (yes, I

know she's supposed to be our patron, but she really does need bringing down a

peg or two!) out of my hair, Link right where I want him, and it will also pay

Zelda back for all those times she spoilt my fun.

I have that silly little faerie, Sprite, to thank for all this. Anyway, I'd better write

done exactly what happened, whilst it is still fresh in my mind (not that I'll ever

forget, or course!). Well, I swear that Zelda is just so paranoid. She thinks that

everyone is after Link, but personally, if you ask me, she's just flattering herself,

because she thinks she is married to the most desirable guy in the world. Well, I'll

admit, Link is really attractive, but she's still flattering herself. Anyhow, I thought

it might be fun to try and play Leigh off Link. After all, she has supposedly come

onto him before, and Zelda hates her. Well anyway, I tried, but for some weird

reason, Leigh was just really unresponsive. It was later, that I got the greatest

idea!

First, I went up to Leigh, and just talked to her, casually leading her outside.

Luckily, she decided to stay out there, and get some fresh air. I told a pack of lies

about Leigh to Sprite, just to get her interested. I then added that I thought Link

and Leigh were planning to have little meeting outside later. Sure enough, the

stupid creature went and blabbed it all to Zelda. She stormed outside, and started

yelling at Leigh, then I told Link that Zelda wanted to meet him outside… well, of

course, Zelda thought he was going to meet Leigh, so she went totally mad and

stormed off. Then, Link did something even better. He saw Leigh was upset, and

went and hugged her. And Zelda saw it all! I'm sure she thinks that they're having

an affair! Hah, serves her right. It always did annoy me to see her all over Link

all the time. So anyway, Link walks in a few minutes after, and I cleverly enlisted

his help in my quest to make Nick fall in love with ME, instead of that Selina girl.

I told him that I'd tell King Harkinian he'd been having an affair with Leigh,

unless he helped me. And of course, how can he risk his reputation like that,

when Zelda won't support him? I'm really pleased with myself. And no doubt

Zelda will have Leigh exiled from Hyrule. That means that's less competition. I

mean, you never know, she might try and seduce Nick, or something. And she

really is far too pretty for her own good. Thank goodness that Zelda is married,

mind you, the way she behaves, I can't imagine what any guy would see in her.

Sprite stared at the entry in shock. So the whole thing had been a set up, had it? She

scowled, when she saw what Fayette had wrote about her. "And you talk about me

being stupid, Fayette! I wouldn't write down anything like this!" she sneered out loud.

An idea began to form in the faerie's head though. Why, this could just be the thing to

get her back in Link's good books! All she had to do, was to show Zelda this particular

entry. It would prove Link's innocence, and hopefully, she would make up with him.

Sprite would make sure that he knew it was her who'd got them back together, and

everything would be rosy again. She smiled to herself, pleased. Sometimes, snooping

around really did pay off. She turned through a few other pages, but there didn't appear

to be much of interest. A few things about Nick, and Raymundo, and some notes about

telling her children that they were the rightful heirs of Hyrule. Sprite laughed at that

point. Like the throne would go to anyone but Ewan, or any other children that Link

and Zelda might have. She shook her head, still giggling, then picked up the shrunken

book, and flew out of the room.

Zelda was lying upon her bed, stomach down, reading a book, when Sprite flew into

the room. She didn't look at all well, the little faerie thought. The Princess was wearing

an old blue dress, and her hair was all tied up in a big plait. Sprite flew closer, and

perched upon the edge of the bed. Zelda looked up in surprise, then frowned when she

saw Sprite. "Get lost, before I kill you, or something," she remarked coolly. Sprite

tossed Fayette's diary at her. "What's this?" Zelda questioned, picking up the tiny book.

"Oops, I forgot to do something," Sprite replied. She zapped the book, and it

immediately returned to it's original size. "Turn to the back," Sprite instructed. Zelda

opened the book, curious, and did as Sprite said. "Oh, and look for something entitled,

'The Plan'," she added. Zelda read through the passage quickly, then slammed the

book shut.

"Oh, I'm going to kill her!" she cried angrily, jumping up off the bed.

"Uh, Zelda…" Sprite began. Zelda paused, and turned back to her.

"Where did you find that?" she demanded. The faerie shrugged. "It's better not to ask.

But don't you see you've made a mistake? Poor Link, he was telling the truth all the

time, and you wouldn't even believe him," she remarked.

"Oh shut up," Zelda replied angrily. She turned and walked out of the room. Sprite

quickly followed. She didn't want to miss the blow-up which was about to ensure.

The Princess stormed down to the drawing room, where she knew Fayette was, with

Fenella, her father, and a few other people. Angrily, she slammed the door open and

walked into the room, her eyes blazing. Everyone looked up in surprise, and Zelda

pointed an accusing finger across at Fayette, who was sitting quietly in one corner,

reading a book. "Fayette!" she cried out.

"What's the matter?" Fayette questioned. Zelda's expression hardened.

"Don't try to deny it! It was you who was trying to split up Link and I, wasn't it?" she

accused.

"What?" Fayette said in surprise.

"Listen, I know all about your little plan, so to speak! You set that whole thing up, all

those nights ago!" Zelda retorted.

"Zelda! Whatever are you talking about?" Fenella demanded.

"Your daughter is so jealous of me, that she tried to spoil my marriage!" Zelda

answered.

"Oh, stop making excuses! You know it was all Leigh's fault!" Fayette said coolly.

"I'm beginning to think that Leigh had nothing to do with this," Zelda said in a sulky

tone, glaring at her step sister hatefully.

"Oh, on the contrary, she had everything to do with it!" Fayette retorted smugly.

"Oh, just quit the lies, Faye! I know you set it all up, so that I would think they were

secretly meeting each other!" Zelda cried angrily. The King suddenly stood up.

"I believe this is getting quite out of hand. You two; sort your problems out elsewhere,

please. Fenella and I really don't want to listen to your pointless, petty arguing," he said,

his voice raised. The two women went quiet, shocked.

"I'm sorry Father," Zelda quickly muttered, before turning on her heel and rushing out

of the room. Fayette on the other hand just sat there, blushing, wondering how Zelda

had found out.

"Faye, was she speaking the truth?" Fenella suddenly asked. Fayette shook her head.

"No, of course not, mother. Zelda's just making it all up," she said quickly, standing up.

"Uh, I think I'm going to go to bed now," she added, quickly making her way to the

door.

Fayette quickly rushed along the passageway, after her step sister. "Zelda, you wait

right there!" she screeched. Zelda whirled around, and glared at Fayette icily.

"Leave me alone!" she replied.

"I know you've been reading my diary, you prying bitch!" Fayette retorted angrily.

"Oh, and you haven't been reading mine?!" Zelda answered, equally angry. Fayette

blushed for a moment.

"No, I wouldn't be so tasteless. Anyway, you have a boring life, why would I want to

know all about your private life?" she said quickly.

"Oh, probably because it's a little more exciting than your own," Zelda replied, folding

her arms and scowling.

"I hardly think so," Fayette said sulkily.

"Well, if your life happened to be exciting, maybe you wouldn't spend all of your spare

time snooping around other people's personal stuff," Zelda said, still glaring at her step

sister hatefully. Fayette glared back.

"Same goes for you," she replied, somewhat smugly. Zelda narrowed her eyes, and

lowered her voice.

"Do you realise all the trouble you've caused?" she seethed.

"What trouble?" Fayette asked innocently.

"You know fine well!" Zelda cried.

"You've made Link hate me!" she added.

"Well, if you ask me, you did that yourself. If you'd have given him the benefit of the

doubt in the first place…" Fayette started. "He refuses to even speak to me! And it's all

your fault!" Zelda continued angrily. "It's not my fault. You only have yourself to blame,

and you know it," Fayette answered, looking smug. "Anyway," she added, "it makes a

nice change. You don't deserve a nice guy like him."

"You have no right to say that! Anyway, if all truth be known, you didn't deserve

Raymundo, and you certainly don't deserve Nick!" Zelda retaliated. Fayette stared at

Zelda.

"Raymundo and I loved each other! I had four children with him, five, so don't even

begin to say such things," she said quietly.

"Yes, well know you know how it feels!" Zelda replied.

"Yeah well, you deserved that! You're so mean to Link, I can't imagine why he loves

you so much!" Fayette answered. "Although," she continued smugly, "I sure bet he

doesn't love you much right now."

"No thanks to you!" Zelda retorted hotly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, it's your fault! It's you he's angry at, because

you wouldn't believe him about what happened! You didn't even give him a chance to

explain, you just walked off!" Fayette cried.

"Well, what can I say? I jumped to conclusions. But even so, you started it all! You've

always been jealous of Link and I, and how happy we were together! You just had to

spoil it on purpose!" Zelda said, looking upset.

"I did not!" Fayette protested.

"You did so!" Zelda retorted.

"It's hardly anything to do with me! It's your fault!" Fayette shouted.

At that moment, Link wandered along the passage, on his way upstairs. He heard

raised female voices, then the next minute, he noticed Fayette and Zelda. "Oh, I can't

believe your lies!" Zelda shouted.

"I'm not lying!" Fayette answered.

"Yes well, the sooner you leave North Castle, the better! It's too bad my father married

your mother! Once I'm on the throne, I'm throwing you out!" Zelda cried.

"You'll do nothing of the sort! Mother would never allow it!" Fayette said.

"Oh, just go crying back to your darling mother, like you usually do!" Zelda said

snidely.

"Alright, enough is enough," Link said, suddenly walking up to them.

"Oh, look who it is!" Fayette remarked, scowling.

"This is a…" Zelda began, then she changed her mind. "Link, we've got to talk," she

quickly said, in a pleading tone.

"No thanks," Link replied, rather coldly.

"But Link…" Zelda began, grabbing hold of his arm.

"Not now," he said, carefully unpinning her fingers from his arm, then beginning to walk

off. "Serves you right," Fayette sneered under her breath.

"Oh, you…" Zelda began. She lunged forward, as if to slap Fayette across the face,

but Fayette reacted quickly and pushed her backwards. Zelda stumbled back, and hit

the wall.

"Don't even try it," Fayette said sweetly, before turning and walking away. Zelda

slumped down against the wall dejectedly. Her day was just going from bad to worse.

Link suddenly walked over towards her, looking a little concerned. He offered her his

hand and helped her up.

"Jeez Zel, what was all that about?" he questioned.

"Nothing much," Zelda answered sulkily. "Just Fayette being her usual lovely self," she

added.

"You really shouldn't…" Link began.

"Yes well, I guess its with being pregnant, or something. It's making me have a worse

temper than usual," the princess admitted.

"You can say that again," Link verified. They walked to their tower entrance in silence,

and then Zelda decided that she ought to attempt to apologise.

"Uh… Link," she began nervously. "I'm really sorry, for the way I acted, and

everything, and well, I'll understand if you can't forgive me, and I'd sure deserve it, but I

know that you weren't fooling me around with Leigh, I was just… irrational, and well,

that's no good excuse, but I hope you'll…" she said hurriedly. Link quickly silenced her

with a small kiss. Encouraged, she leaned up to kiss him back, but he gently pushed her

away.

"Not yet, Zel. I still don't know whether I can forgive you for not believing me. I mean,

if you can't trust me…"

"But…" Zelda began.

"Zel, you really hurt my feelings this time. And well, you're right. You have been acting

irrational. And I can't believe how terrible you acted during the trial. I know I declined

to be present for the first one, but it was very clear from the way Leigh talked, that the

whole thing was corrupt. That's just not like you, I can't believe you did that!" Link

replied, his expression suddenly turning angry.

"But Link, it wasn't me! I didn't decide the verdict, and I didn't tell those people to lie!

They decided that themselves!" Zelda protested, somewhat truthfully. Link watched her

carefully.

"Now it seems that it's my turn to decide whether to give you to benefit of the doubt, or

not," he remarked casually.

"Link, please, it really was nothing to do with me! And, I think the ruling was too harsh,

as well!" Zelda cried.

"I begged for your forgiveness for days, and you wouldn't hear any of it. Why should I

believe you now?" Link replied, folding his arms.

"I know, I've acted like the most horrible, unreasonable person in the whole entire

world, but I'm really sorry now," Zelda said, looking at him hopefully.

"Alright, well what changed things?" he questioned. Zelda looked down at the floor

guiltily.

"It was Fayette. She set the whole thing up… she made it look like your were meeting

Leigh, even though you weren't, and well I… I fell right for it," she explained, looking

ashamed.

"Surely if you really loved me, you wouldn't have doubted me in the first place?" Link

asked, thinking about what Kylara had said.

"Don't do this!" Zelda pleaded. "Look, I'm so sorry, listen, I'm begging you now, I'm

begging your forgiveness, not vice versa," she added.

"Alright, I'll try. But first of all, I want you to promise me something," Link said.

"Anything," Zelda said.

"You have to have a retrial," Link said. Zelda looked a little a taken back. But she

agreed. "Okay. I'll see what I can do."

"You'll do it, promise me, Zelda," the hero said firmly. The princess sighed.

"Alright, I promise," she said.

"Good. Now perhaps things can start getting back to normal?" Link asked. Zelda

nodded, and they walked upstairs together.

Tadg looked around nervously. Sure enough, he'd found the perfect human host to

inhabit and now he was planning to execute his own 'big plan'. He glanced down at his

watch and rested his left hand upon the hilt of his sword. It was almost midnight, and he

was on guard not too far away from the King's quarters. An evil smile spread across

his face. He'd only have to dispose of one guard, although he wouldn't of minded killing

more, before he would safely be able to enter the King's room. It was going to be so

easy. And with the King dead, well, Tadg wasn't sure exactly what would happen, but

he was sure it couldn't be anything good. He sneered and began to walk down the

corridor. As he neared the King's room a voice called out. "Ho! Who goes there?"

asked a deep, male voice. Tadg turned and smiled at the guard. The guard smiled on

nodded to him.

"Oh, it's just you," said the guard, in recognition. Tadg nodded. The other guard

frowned. "Uh, David? Aren't you supposed to be on duty back down there?" asked

the guard, pointing a finger back down the hall way.

"Yes, but I needed to see someone," answered Tadg. He was pleased to be called by

his human hosts name, it made him feel far superior to know that this particular human

did not know that it was he, Tadg, that he was talking to.

"David, you know you aren't meant to leave your post at any time. Not until you're off

duty anyway," scolded the guard. Tadg hung his head, as if apologising.

"I suppose you're right. I'll get back right away," ensured Tadg. As he turned to leave,

he pretended to slip and slid to the floor.

"You okay?" asked the other guard, approaching him. As the guard leaned down to

help Tadg up, Tadg drew a dagger from his belt. He took the guard's hand and let him

help him up. As he stood to face the guard, he plunged the dagger into the hapless

man's belly. The guard let out a wheeze and dropped to his knees, eyes bulging. Tadg

pulled the dagger upwards, slicing through more flesh, thoroughly enjoying the

experience of killing the man. The guard opened his mouth, as if to protest, then fell

forward. Blood and gore spilled at Tadg's feet, almost soiling his freshly polished boots.

Tadg smiled and stepped away. An intelligent man might've taken the time to clean up

the mess, hide the body, but the thought never even crossed Tadg's mind. Tadg lifted

the body slightly and pulled his dagger from the wound, wiping it on the dead man's

cloak. He looked around again and slipped the dagger into his belt. He then turned

away from the bloody mess and strode towards the King's room. He had bigger fish to

fry.

Drake leapt a short distance to the ground, landing neatly on his feet. He'd found some

rope in a chest in the room and tied it to one of the torch fixtures in the tower. He'd

then thrown the rope out of the tower window and shimmied quickly down the rope.

He wondered what to do about the rope, hoping while he was gone no-one would take

the opportunity to use the rope to get into the tower. He looked around, searching for a

guard when his eyes rested on one not to far away. "Oi you! Get over here!"

demanded Drake. The guard, who had been sitting, stood up and looked over at

Drake. "Yes you, I've got a job for you!" said Drake. The guard quickly marched over.

"Guard this here rope and make sure no-one tries to get into the tower," instructed

Drake as soon as the guard arrived. The guard looked at Drake questioningly but

shrugged and nodded his head.

"Sure enough sir, you can count on me," said the guard proudly. Drake patted him on

the shoulder and quickly jogged back into the castle. He needed to see Zelda about

what the Triforce had told him as soon as possible.

Tadg pushed open the door quietly and peered in. He couldn't see much, damn this

human form, but he could hear the soft snoring of the King. He stepped inside and shut

the door softly behind him. No-one stirred. He drew his sword form it's sheath and

stalked over to the bed silently. Unfortunately, as his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the

darkness, he didn't see the chair that stood near the bed. His foot clumsily banged

against it, causing Tadg to curse heavily aloud. He stumbled forward and tripped over

the thick rug that stood at the foot of the King's bed. He fell to the ground, cracking his

elbow painfully against the leg of the bed, causing him to yet again curse aloud. Fenella,

being a light sleeper, awoke immediately, and upon seeing Tadg she let out a piercing

scream. Tadg leapt to his feet and drew his sword, waving it menacingly at Fenella.

"Another word and you're dead!" he hissed. Fenella shut her mouth, watching the

sword with a pale complexion. The scream had woken the King, who was just

beginning to wake.

"What is all the fuss about?" he grumbled, forcing open his tired eyes. As the moonlight

caught off the blade, the King realised he had just been given the answer.

"What on earth are you doing? Put that thing away, you might put someone's eye out,"

demanded the King. The figure at the foot of his bed turned and seemed to glare at the

King.

"Shut up or the lady dies!" hissed Tadg. The King held his tongue reaching for Fenella's

hand under the covers. He caught hold of it and squeezed it comfortingly. Tadg let out

a low chuckle, amused by the human's fear. With his free hand, the King reached to the

side of his bed and silently pulled a thick cord.

The bed, being a four poster, was normally draped in thick curtains all during the

winter. But on a night like tonight, the King had decided that the curtains should be

rolled to the top of the wooden frame over the bed. The cord triggered the curtains to

fall back over the frame work on all sides of the bed. Before Tadg could step away,

the heavy curtain came rolling down on top of him, knocking him to the ground. "Help!"

screeched Fenella at the top of her lungs, hoping to catch the attention of the guards

whilst the would-be-assassin was distracted. Apparently, no one was near by for

no-one came. Fenella screamed for help again, louder this time, knowing it would be

her only chance. Tadg shakily got to his feet, feeling slightly dazed. He stood still for a

moment trying to get his head straight, then Fenella's calls for help pierced his thoughts.

Angrily, he tried to slash through the heavy curtains at the side of the bed, but the

sword was too fine to penetrate the material. "Another word, and I swear, you'll both

have your throats slit!" warned Tadg.

Drake, who was approaching the stairs to the second floor, suddenly heard a piercing

scream. He could've sworn it to be the scream of Fayette, or perhaps Fenella. Hand on

sword, Drake raced up the stairs to the next floor. As he ran along the passage

towards the King's room, he noticed a dark shape slumped up against the wall,

surrounded by a pool of crimson. On closer inspection, Drake realised it to be the

body of a guard. He nudged the body with his foot, turning it over. When he saw the

wound in the man's belly he realised that the man was certainly dead. He recognised

the man as one of his deputy's. At that moment another wail pierced the air. It had to

be Fenella. Drake drew his sword and ran to the door of the King's room and kicked it

open. Through the darkness, partially illuminated by the torches in the passage, Drake

saw a figure trying to cut his way through the curtains of the bed with a sword. When

the door opened, the figure turned and looked at Drake. The knight recognised the

face of the man immediately, being the very same man who he had seen in the Triforce

tower earlier that day. "David?" asked Drake in surprise. David stepped forward, teeth

bared like a wild dog. He sliced his way through the night air with a shimmering blade

of steel. He lunged forward at Drake, attempting to stab him, but Drake quickly

stepped aside and David flailed forward out of the door and crashed into the ground.

Drake turned and stepped outside, pointing his sword at the back of the man. "What

are you doing?" asked Drake, even though it was blatantly obvious. Using his hands,

Tadg tried to push himself up. "If you try to get up, you'll kill yourself," warned Drake.

Tadg ignored him and pushed himself up, impaling himself upon the blade. But instead

of falling to the ground, he continued to stand and turned, hitting Drake in the face.

Drake stumbled backward in surprise, letting go of the sword. He fell to the ground,

watching in fear and amazement as the man continued to stand, even though he had a

broad sword sticking through his back and chest. David then turned around and began

to walk back into the King's room. Drake quickly regained his senses and grabbed the

sword that David had dropped. He then followed David back into the room.

Tadg walked over to the bed and pulled the sword from his back. Blood spilled to the

floor but Tadg didn't even flinch. He guessed a human being inhabited by a Nightmare

must have extra strengths. What did the others know? He was obviously invincible in

this body. "Stop or I'll have to kill you!" commanded a voice. Tadg turned and smiled

evilly at the knight who stood behind him.

"And how do you propose to do that?" rasped Tadg, his real voice showing through.

"Like this!" said Drake, crashing his sword forward. Tadg quickly deflected the blow

and tried a strike of his own, but the knight was a good and agile fighter and managed

to dodge it. As Drake attempted to strike again, Tadg rose his sword to stop it. There

was a sharp screech of metal and to Drake's horror, he realised that it was his sword

had been cut off at the hilt. He dropped the hilt and stepped backwards, away from the

tip of David's sword.

"Looks like you lose knight," mocked Tadg.

"On the contrary, I'd say you were the loser," contradicted another voice.

Drake looked up from the tip of Tadg's sword in surprise, only to see another figure

behind David. There was a sound, not un-similar to that of cutting silk followed by a

dull thud. David's body slumped forward, brought to his knees, and before everyone's

eyes, began to disintegrate away. There was a rasping scream of protest as the body

seemed to filter away. In a few moments, it was all over, there being know sign of the

body, nor the disembodied head. Drake's mouth gaped open in surprise, his eyes still

glued to the spot were David had been. His saviour stepped forward and gave him a

pat on the shoulder. "You've seen stranger I'm sure," assured the voice. Drake looked

up.

"Charles!" he exclaimed.

"The one and only. Pretty close you'll have to agree," agreed Charles, King of

Lemmink.

"Is it all over?" asked a female voice shakily. Drake stood up, quickly recovering. He

walked over to the bed and lifted one of the curtains. At the same time, Charles lit a

candle to light up the room.

"Are you two okay?" asked Drake, in a concerned voice. The King and Fenella

nodded.

"Just a little shaken," reassured the King.

"Is, is there any blood?" asked Fenella, who felt very faint around the stuff. Drake

turned and looked around the room, checking for any signs of blood. All that remained

was Drake's and David's swords. There was no blood on either blade, which seemed

very strange as Drake's sword, the one David had used against him, had been covered.

"Uh, no," reassured Drake. Fenella let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness for that. The mere thought of blood makes me come out in a rash,"

said Fenella. "She should have been on the battle field," thought Drake dryly.

Another voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What's going on? I thought I heard a scream?" it questioned. Drake turned to see a

rather concerned Nick standing at the door.

"Whatever was going on, it's sure over now," said Charles.

"Mother? Are you okay?" suddenly shrieked another voice. It was Fayette.

"Oh no dear, it was so terrible," gushed Fenella. Fayette quickly rushed to her mother's

side, waiting to hear what all the commotion had been about. Drake stepped away,

nodding to the King.

"You okay?" asked Drake. The King nodded.

"Thank you Drake, Charles too. And Nick, it is much appreciated," thanked the King.

"We can talk about it in the morning," said Drake.

"Yes, now I just need some sleep," agreed the King.

"I'll post some men on the doors, just for extra safety," assured Drake. The King

nodded.

"You do that," he said. Drake nodded and left the room, along with Charles and Nick.

Once the three were outside Drake turned to Charles. "How did you get behind him?"

questioned Drake, a little confused.

"I heard all the commotion and decided to sneak in through the bathroom, you'd

distracted him enough to let me catch him off guard," explained Charles.

"What exactly did happen?" asked Nick, wondering. Charles and Drake both turned to

him.

"We'll tell you in the morning," they both said in unison.

"What I need is a good night's rest," said Charles.

"Me too, but not until I've sorted a few things out," agreed Drake.

"I'm surprised the whole castle isn't awake mind you, what with Fenella's screaming,"

added Charles, stopping at the stairs.

"You're telling me," said Nick in agreement.

"I'll see you two in the morning okay? I have to sort those guards out," said Drake.

"Maybe one of us should stay and watch, just until reinforcements arrive," suggested

Nick. "I doubt it'll be necessary, but it is a good idea. You do that while I go and get

some men," said Drake.

"What about that body?" asked Charles, nodding over to the unfortunate guard.

"I'll get that sorted, don't you worry. Poor man, he was a good guard though," said

Drake, feeling a little sad. He happened to know the man was married with a few

children, he knew he'd have to be the one to inform the family. Nodding to Nick and

Charles, Drake headed down the stairs, making his way to the guards quarters. All

thoughts of the Triforce had been banished from his mind.