Chapter 13: The Eastern Palace Part 1

Alrighty, another chapter up and running! I'm sorry about the delay. I've been busy, and trust me when I say I've been working a ton on this chapter. Heck, I probably would've gotten it to you guys even later if I didn't split the chapter in two. Otherwise it would be close to 15,000 words, and about 20 pages, and I like to keep my chapters all the same relative length. Anyways, I'd like to give my usual big thanks to everyone whose favorited, followed, and reviewed so far, and another big thanks to my proofreader Loke for being so awesome. Finally, I'd like to give a little shout out to my friend Zepora2276, who gave me a lot of inspiration and helped give me the drive to keep working on this chapter. She's working on a story of her own 'Always Be Your Zelda', which I've been proofreading for her, so I say check it out if you want. Anyways, now that my acknowledgements are done, let's get On with the Show!

As Link, Juno and Zelda entered the palace, the first thing they noticed was how dark it was. Not as in poorly lit, but rather the place felt... evil. Like a shadow hung over it. The air felt cold, and the shadows danced around the room menacingly. It was an ominous and foreboding place, and none of the three wished to linger for any longer than they had to in this terrifying structure.

They inspected their surroundings cautiously, discerning that they were in a large entry hall of sorts. Torches lined the room, illuminating the stone work in a haunting manner. On either side of the room were two archways, beyond which only shadows could be seen. There was a notable lack of windows, or any sort of decoration, aside from a massive pair of golden statues that stood in the center of the room, right in front of a large closed door.

The two statues appeared to be large humanoid figures, with large bodies and stubby arms and legs. They lacked heads, instead only a pair of tiny horns were fastened to the tops of their torsos. But the most distinctive feature they had was the single large eye that was in the center of their chest. The statues' eyes seemed follow them as they walked past, their piercing gazes lingering over them like hunters waiting for the kill.

"I'm not the only one getting freaked out by the statues, right?" Juno whispered, glancing over her shoulder at them as they continued to stare at the trio.

Link nodded his head slightly, feeling slightly unnerved himself. "I've got a bad feeling about them."

He tried to open the door behind the statues, but it was sealed shut. Inspecting his surroundings, he tried to locate some sort of lever or switch, but there didn't appear to be any obvious way to activate it. Turning to Zelda and Juno, he pointed to the passages on either side of the chamber. "Why don't you guys see if those halls lead anywhere," he suggested, "I'm going to see if there's any way to open this door."

Nodding, the two girls turned and investigated each of the passages. The passages were quite narrow, and the lack of torches lining the walls meant it was impossible to see anything beyond the dim light emanating from the previous room. Luckily, Juno's glowing body lit up her tunnel, allowing her to see a small distance in front of her. As for Zelda, she happened to know a handy "Night Vision" spell, which allowed her to see through the shadows.

However, before Zelda could investigate her hallway any further, a low rumbling echoed below her feet. It grew louder and more violent, shaking the ground, until the floor began to crumble, collapsing into a deep chasm.

Taken aback, Zelda was nearly swallowed up by the falling floor. She yelped in surprised, darting back to sturdy ground as quick as she could. However, before she could breathe easy, the ceiling began to collapse as well. Sprinting as fast as she could she dove out of the passage just in time, barely avoiding the falling rubble that nearly crushed her. As she breathed heavily, she noticed Juno's passage had similarly collapsed on itself, with the fairy in question also recovering from panic.

"What did you two do?" Link questioned, drawing his attention away from the still locked door upon seeing the collapsed passages and his panicked companions.

"We didn't do anything," Juno answered simply, still looking a tad startled from the cave in. "The passage just collapsed on me without warning."

"Same with me."

Link waved his hand dismissively. "It was probably just structural failure. People haven't been inside those hallways for centuries; the supports must have given out."

Juno shivered. "I don't know," she whispered timidly, "it kind of felt almost as though something made the thing cave in." Zelda nodded in agreement; she couldn't exactly explain it, but there was just something about how neatly the hall caved in that felt like it was intentional. Something didn't want them to go any further.

Link simply rolled his eyes. "In any case, we need to find some sort of way to open this door. I can't find an activation mechanism, so the door must've been sealed off to keep out intruders."

"I think I might have something that can do the trick," Zelda mused, an odd gleam in her eyes. Reaching into a small bag she had tied at her waist, she pulled out a small explosive.

Link and Juno instantly backed up. "Why in the name of the Goddesses do you have bombs with you?" Link questioned, slightly disturbed by the fact that the princess was casually carrying around a bag of explosives, especially in an area as potentially unstable as this one.

Zelda smiled mischievously. "There were a bunch of them lying around in that mine shaft we were in," she explained, her devilish grin not leaving her face as she lit the fuse. "I thought they might come in handy, so I swiped a few."

She carefully rolled the bomb toward the door, waiting as it rolled to a halt for a split second before detonating. As the dust cleared, the three were delighted to see that the door had been blown apart, allowing them to move forward.

However, before Zelda could move any farther, Link put his hand on her shoulder, stopping her. As she turned around to face him, he gave her a serious look.

"Give me those bombs," he ordered.

Zelda gave him a perplexed look. "Why?"

"Because if you keep a hold of them, you'll probably get a bit too blast-happy and bring the whole place down on us."

Zelda raised an eyebrow. "So you're the more responsible one of us now suddenly?" she sarcastically mused.

"Clearly," Link confirmed, "just give me the bombs. I don't want you blowing yourself up, or any of us for that matter."

Zelda snorted in protest but nonetheless complied, handing Link the bomb bag. "Just so you know, the little cord there is called a fuse, and when you light it-" she began to snarkily explain, only for Link to cut her off.

"I know how to use bombs, Zelda."

"Just checking."

They then stepped over the rubble and entered the newly discovered room. It appeared that the room had been carved out of a deep pit, as the floor extended out into a large stone bridge that stood over the seemingly bottomless ravine below. Thankfully, the bridge looked stable enough, with several pillars both above and below it acting as supports. It was covered in vines and ivy, but aside from that, the room was bare of vegetation or age.

As they began to walk across the bridge, Juno once again felt uneasy. She had the same feeling she felt when during the cave in. It felt like they were being watched. She quickly turned around, her imagination driving her wild as she expected to see some foul slobbering beast ready to devour her. However, nothing was behind her, though that did little to ease her growing anxiety. She continued to fidget and glance nervously around the chasm for any signs of life.

Juno was beginning to seriously break down from her anxiety. She could practically feel the negative presence surrounding her. The quiet, innocent pitter patter of stone hitting stone caused Juno to practically jump out of her skin as she yelped and darted under Link's cap.

"Juno, it was just a little stone," Link tried to soothe the little fairy's nerves, but it seemed to have little effect. To be honest, he too felt a tad uneasy; it felt like there was someone following them. But it was just their nerves and anxiety talking - Link knew that. It had to be his nerves, there wasn't anything alive in this room.

The sudden snap of a twig instantly brought the trio to attention, all three swinging their heads to the source. Thankfully, it was just a little branch that must have fallen off the vines. Nothing to worry about.

Suddenly, Zelda felt a tight, uncomfortable grip climb up her leg. Crying out, she jumped up, hacking at the source with her sword. It was just a cluster of vines that had caught around her leg. As Zelda freed herself from the vines, she breathed heavily, trying to keep her heart-rate under control.

Suddenly, a chilling sound echoed faintly across the chasm, causing their blood to run cold; laughter. It was a high pitched cackle that sounded faint, though whether or not it actually was they couldn't tell, as it continued to bounce off the walls, surrounding the room with a creepy melody of laughter.

Juno began to whimper "Guys, I think we should go the next room," she pleaded, her voice laced with urgency and fear. "Please?"

Link nodded as another wave of laughter rolled across the room. They hurried to the next room even as the laughter grew louder behind them. Suddenly, a light tapping of footsteps began to accompany the laughter - whoever was laughing was following them.

However, as they reached the end of the room, they found the exit was locked; they were trapped. Desperately, Link and Zelda began to push on the door, even as the laughter grew louder and more violent and the footsteps drew closer.

"Dammit!" Link cursed as the door refused to budge. "Isn't there a switch or something to open it?" His eyes scanned the surrounding area, searching for anything that might seem like a mechanism.

"Let's just blow open the door like we did with the last one," Zelda suggested as she continued to push against the door.

The cackling was growing louder. It sounded almost as though it was coming from below them.

"We can't," Link stated, growing frustrated. "We might end up blowing up the bridge or ourselves. There has to be a mechanism."

"We don't have time to look for a mechanism, Link!" Zelda cried out.

"Getting scared?" a chilling, high pitched voice called from behind them.

Link felt all of his hairs stand on end as he whirled around. Juno squeaked and darted under his hat whilst Zelda jumped and ripped her sword from its scabbard.

Crawling up from the underside of the bridge was a small, deformed skeleton. Its flesh, rotting and decayed, still clung to parts of its withered corpse like rags to a beggar. Its bones were chipped and brittle, and it hobbled onto the bridge in a slow and sluggish manner. The most disturbing thing about the skeleton, however, was the petrifying grin its skull had.

It let out another sickening cackle before speaking. "Don't you want to play, princess?" it asked unsettlingly, before turning to Link. "And what about you, mister?"

Link pulled out his boomerang, throwing it at the skeleton. It bounced off of its head, knocking the head clean off of its body. The bones clattered to the ground, lying motionless in a heap. Link caught the boomerang and pocketed it before moving to inspect the skeleton.

However, as he approached the mass of bones, the suddenly sprung back to life, skeletal hands lunging for his body. In an instant, the skeleton was reformed and pounced upon Link as though he were a rabbit before a wolf.

"Now that wasn't very nice, mister," the skeleton hissed as it pinned Link to the ground. He tried to reach for his sword, but the skeleton suddenly tore into his arm with its teeth, viciously gnawing on his flesh before he could retaliate. Link let out a cry of agony as the vile creature spat the chewed flesh in his face.

"You shouldn't try to cheat in games like this, mister," the skeleton scolded childishly. "You have to play fair, or the game isn't fun."

"Let him go!" Zelda demanded viciously, raising her sword as she tried to intimidate the undead creature. Yet for all her bravery, the skeleton could see her knees shaking and her sword arm trembling. He could see the beads of sweat dripping down her face. But most of all, he could see the fear in her eyes. She was absolutely frightened, terrified of him and what he would do to her, or worse, to Link.

"But you didn't say please, princess," The skeleton's sneered as it leaned closer to Link, its foul breath filling Link's nostrils and he urged himself not to puke. "I just want to play a little game. Or is the royal family still a bunch of kill-joys?"

Zelda was bewildered by his reference to the royal family. "What do you know of the royal family?" she asked.

"They are bad people!" the skeleton shouted, its voice suddenly harsh. Its hold on Link grew tighter, causing him to wince in pain as it dug its hands into his injured arm. "They ruined our land, they ruined our city and they ruined my family! They aren't royalty, they are just a bunch of murderers and cowards!"

Zelda's face darkened as she stared dangerously at the skeleton. "How dare you insult my family!" she growled, barely able to control herself. "You Eastern folk made your choice to betray the kingdom and tried to ruin my family! You were punished accordingly!"

"Lies!" the skeleton yelled fitfully. "My family only wanted to make Hyrule better, but you lousy Nohansens destroyed us for it! You couldn't stand to see another influential family rising up, so you destroyed us, and all of the Eastern Province along with it!"

"My family would never do something like that!"

"Neither would my family! My family was loving and kind. Now I can never play with them again! You Nohansens ruined my family and my life!"

Suddenly, Zelda came to a shocking realization: this skeleton wasn't some random slave or undead prisoner, it was a child. The child of Guldgruva's ruling family. Instantly, she lost all of her viciousness. This boy wasn't evil or monstrous; he was just distraught and scared. He had been caught up in a terrible conflict that had ruined his childhood. He had never had the chance to live his life, to have fun, to even grow old. He had had his life ripped away from him, all because of a trivial conflict between her ancestors and his family.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know what you had to go through," Zelda said softly, sheathing her sword. She took a few step towards the skeletal boy.

"Zelda, what are you-" Link hissed in disbelief, but was silenced when he saw Zelda's expression.

It was one of sympathy, sadness, and also determination. Zelda was no longer going to fight the skeleton; she had seen how violence had already destroyed its life.

"W-what are you doing, princess?!" the skeletal boy exclaimed in confusion. "Don't come any closer, or I'll eat your friend!"

"I'm sorry for what my family did to you," Zelda continued to speak in a soft, apologetic voice. "I can't possibly imagine how horrible it must have been for you."

"You have no idea what I went through, princess!" the skeletal boy shrieked. "I lost my childhood and my family thanks to your family! How can your perfect life possibly compare to mine?!"

"Actually, I have a pretty good idea of what you went through," Zelda admitted, giving him a sad smile. "You see, I just lost my family too. And my childhood."

The skeleton was suddenly silent. However, it instantly began to shout once again. "Who cares if you lost your family and your childhood too?! It still doesn't mean I should forgive you Nohansen dogs!"

"You're right. It shouldn't. But if you can't forgive my family, at least forgive me."

The skeletal boy was once again stunned into silence. This time, however, he didn't have any more retorts or violent remarks. Slowly, he climbed off of Link, who groaned as the pressure was released from his arm.

Slowly, the skeletal boy approached Zelda, though his previous malice appeared to have disappeared for the most part, replaced with a cautious curiosity.

"What's your name, princess?" the skeletal boy finally asked after a long time.

"Zelda," Zelda stated with a kind smile, "Zelda Elizabeth Maria Theodora Nohansen III."

The skeletal boy's eyes seemed to light up. "You have a pretty name, Zelda."

Zelda blushed lightly at his comment. "And what about your name?" she inquired.

"Julien Oster," the skeletal boy replied.

Zelda smiled in return. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Julien."

"Likewise, Princess Zelda."

"Well," Link cut in, still a tad irritated from the large chunks of flesh missing from his arm, "now that the introductions are in order, do you think you could let us through?"

Julien shook his head. "Sorry, but if I help you, I might get in trouble." Chuckling lightly, he jumped up onto the side of the bridge and began to climb down the side. However, he gave one last look at Zelda and added, "I might not be able to help, but I'll make sure not to hassle you guys any further. You Nohansen fellows have grown a little on me, though I can't say my family will be happy."

Zelda chuckled. "Well, I've learned that not all Eastern folk were entirely bad, so I guess we're even."

Julien chuckled in return, before adding one last remark. "I don't know why you guys have come here, but for your own sakes, I hope you guys leave as soon as you can. You won't last long here, THEY will make sure of that." With those last haunting words, Julien crawled under the bridge and disappeared from sight.

"Ugh, that guy was absolutely terrifying!" Juno chirped, peeking her head out from under Link cap for the first time since Julien had shown up. "I was worried he was going to eat me!"

Link snorted. "There was no need to worry, Juno," he muttered angrily, "he was too busy munching on my arm to even notice you."

"You want me to heal it up?" Juno asked innocently.

"Are you really asking me if I want you to heal me?" Link asked sarcastically. Juno took this as a yes and instantly took to working on his arm.

"Well, I kind of liked him," Zelda stated, to the shock of her two companions.

"He tried to eat me, Zelda."

"He was going to kill us and turn it into a game!"

Zelda shook her head. "But he wasn't some big evil bad guy, he was just a little kid. He didn't do anything wrong, he was just angry and upset."

Link sighed and shook his head, but nonetheless gave her a smile. "Well, I don't know how much of the 'sweet innocent kid' stuff I can buy from him, but in any case, we sure owe you... again."

Zelda giggled and replied jokingly, "Didn't I say before that I'd be the one saving you, hero?"

"We'll see about that, princess," Link shot back jokingly. "After all, we're still not done with this place; we've got a lot to get through still before we find the pendant."

Finally finishing up with Link's arm, Juno glided up to Link's hat. "Speaking of which, what do you think he meant when he said 'You won't last long here, they will make sure of that'?"

Link and Zelda exchanged glances. Though they were slightly worried themselves, they couldn't dwell on it. They had to keep moving if they wanted to retrieve the pendant. No turning back.

After a few minutes of searching, the trio had managed to find the mechanism to open the door. Who'd have thought to place a switch underneath the bridge? Thankfully, Juno managed to fly under and activate it, and moments later the door slowly slid open.

The door opened to reveal a large hall, which was segmented by a pair of staircases that led up to a viaduct that arched over the main hall. There seemed to be several antechambers that branched off from the viaduct, as well as a balcony that stood grandly at the foot of the hall, a pair of iron double doors ringed with the shredded remnants of a no doubt grand and beautiful tapestry. Tucked just underneath the balcony was a small alcove, which lay completely empty except for a few cobwebs and the looming shadows.

As the trio entered the hall, they immediately spied movement from the upper viaduct as several shadows scurried across the walkway. Link's grip on his sword tightened as they took a few cautious steps forward. Next to him, he could sense Zelda's unease in her movements. They were definitely on edge, especially after their run in with Julien, and he had been friendly.

As they continued to move cautiously around the room, the scurrying of the shadows grew quieter - whether this meant they had left them alone or if they were still silently spying on them, they weren't sure. However, another sound soon entered the room, this one much different from the sound before: a dull grinding, as if something was being pushed against another thing. A moment later, a loud bang rang throughout the hall, and the floor began to rumble.

At first, Link thought the floor was about to collapse, like what had happened in the tunnels with Zelda and Juno, but quickly discerned that this was a much different type of rumbling. It was the sound of something moving towards them. Something big and heavy.

With a jolt, he realized where the rumbling was coming from.

"We need to move!" he shouted, tucking Juno under his hat and grabbing Zelda's arm and pulling her behind one of the arches holding up the viaduct. At the same time, a massive boulder rolled out of the alcove under the balcony, barreling down the center of the hall before smashing into the entrance. When the dust cleared, a massive hole lay where the door had once been, a pile of rubble covering most of the entrance.

"Guess we can't go back that way," Link noted even as another boulder crashed through the hall.

"What's even going on?" Juno questioned incredulously.

"Whatever those things were that had been watching us before must have decided to give us a welcoming gift," Link explained dryly. Another boulder burst from the alcove and smashed into one of the arches, just barely missing them.

"Then what do we do?" Zelda inquired, hesitating a peek from around the archway even as another boulder approached. Swiftly pulling her head back, she clumsily avoided being steamrolled, gasping as her life flashed before her eyes.

Link glanced around the room, looking for an escape. The staircases were ahead of them, meaning that they'd have to avoid being crushed by a slew of boulders in order to get to them. However, there didn't appear to be any other exits on the ground level, aside from the way they came, which was currently a giant mass of wreckage.

However, as he took in his surroundings, Link began to notice a pattern with the frequency of the boulders: they were all being sent out between 45 seconds to a minute, depending on their sizes. That meant that once the next one came rolling out, they would have a window for them to quickly dash to the stairs and up to the viaduct, where they would be safe from the boulders.

Turning to Zelda, Link quickly began to explain his plan. "Zelda, I have a plan, but you're going to have to listen and trust me, okay?"

Zelda nodded with certainty.

"As soon as the next boulder has cleared our path, we need to make a break for the stairs. Do not stop or slow down for any reason."

Zelda instantly objected. "Link, those boulders will crush us before we can even get to the stairs, are you crazy?!"

"No they won't," Link argued quickly. "I've noticed that the time between two boulders is at least 45 seconds. That just enough time for us to make it to the stairs without getting crushed. Besides, if we stay here, those boulders will bring down the entire room and we'll be crushed anyways."

"Guys," Juno cut in quickly, "The next boulder is about to come in, so if we're going to do this, we'd better do it now."

Link and Juno looked at Zeld expectantly, who merely sighed and nodded.

"Fine, let's do it," she caved begrudgingly. "But if this ends up killing us, I'm going to be really pissed."

Link chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. "I'll keep that in mind."

As soon as the boulder smashed into the wall, Link and Zelda sprinted out from their hiding spot and made a mad dash for the nearest stairway. The rumbling instantly began as soon as they sprung out, yet they did not falter, continuing to dash for the stairs. the rumbling grew louder and louder the closer they got to the stairs, yet they didn't stop. If they kept their pace, they'd surely make it in time.

However, just as they were about to reach the stairs, Zelda's foot caught on a large piece of rubble and she suddenly felt herself trip, her body colliding painfully into the ground. Before she could push herself up and continue, another boulder thundered from the alcove, making a vicious path directly for her. She tried to push herself up, to quickly scramble out of the way, but the boulder was moving far too quickly. There was no way she could avoid the boulder.

Just before the boulder could make impact, Zelda felt a strong pair of hands grab her. In an instant, she felt her body being hoisted and lightly tossed out of the boulder's trajectory. Zelda immediately turned her gaze towards where she had just been, and was horrified to see Link now in her place, the boulder bearing down on him threateningly.

Time seemed to slow down. Link's body instantly tensed up, and just before the boulder could roll over him, he sprung into the air, mustering as much power into his legs as he could. Link's feet made contact with the top of the boulder; kicking off of it, he used the momentum to increase his jump and clear the boulder completely. Thanks to boulder's trajectory, Link managed to catch the railing of the viaduct, and clung to the side of the viaduct for dear life as he slowly recovered from shock.

Finally pulling himself up, Link breathed a heavy breath of relief. Never had he attempted something so stupid, nor had he felt such heartpounding terror for his life. Unfortunately, something also told him this wouldn't be the last time he'd have to something so dangerous.

"Link, you're okay!" Zelda and Juno cried out, climbing the stairs and rushing to him. Before he could even fully recover from his shock, Zelda and Juno enveloped him in a group hug.

"How could you do something so rash?!" Zelda shouted angrily, her relief and concern vanishing as she smacked him angrily.

Link blinked in surprise. "I saved your life!" Link protested indignantly.

"But you almost got yourself killed!" Zelda shot back, and Link could see that both she and Juno were desperately trying to keep from breaking down into tears.

Realizing how badly he worried them, he gratefully returned Zelda's hug, and softly patted Juno on the head and she tearfully hugged his nose. The three of them sat like that for a short while, but were quickly awoken from the moment when a series of frustrated yells rang out from the adjacent chambers.

"Something tells me those guys aren't as happy you're alive as we are," Juno deduced, a look of worry returning to her face.

Link nodded grimly. "I think we should get moving. We don't want to get overrun by them, whatever they are."

Hurrying to the double doors that led to the next room, the trio found themselves in another grand room. They stood on the second floor, overlooking the main hall from a railed balcony. This room, however, bore an eerie resemblance to the grand entrance hall in Hyrule Castle. The style of the architecture, from the elegant columns and brilliant fresco mural ringing the upper walls to the battered tiles that patterned the floor, all frighteningly mirrored that of the Hyrule Castle's own architecture.

"It's as if they were trying to recreate some of the royal family's glory by imitating them," Link noted, to which Zelda nodded as she inspected their surroundings.

Lining the walls were the same one eyed guardian statues that had appeared in the entrance hall, their shadows looming menacing across the dimly lit room. A pair of large stone torches burned dimly near the back of the room, backed by another pair of the sentinel statues that guarded a small locked door just behind them.

However, this wasn't what grabbed her attention. It was the large stage that stood purposefully in the center of the room. Ringed by a small flight of stairs, the stage was illuminated by four elegant candelabras that shined an almost enchanting light to the magnificent masterpiece that took up the majority of the stage. Standing proudly in the middle of the stage was an extravagant statue of one of the Golden Goddesses.

The Goddess's hands were raised to the sky, and her eyes were closed as if in prayer. A sliver of a smile graced her lips. Her marble skin was flawless, and her hair flowed gently down her back in waves. A few strands fell in front of her face, veiling her face slightly from view. She wore a beautiful chiton which wrapped around her body perfectly. On her waist she wore a belt which bore the symbol of the Triforce on its face. The statue's very presence made it feel like the Goddess herself was standing before them, her form capturing perfectly within the marble. At the foot of her statue lay a large and ornately designed chest, decorated with a number of trinkets and ornaments.

"This is a shrine to the Goddess Farore," Juno noted, her eyes wide in wonder. "I never would've thought such a beautiful thing could exist in such a terrifying place."

Link nodded in agreement, overwhelmed by the glorious figure. "It's an ironic twist of fate that such a place that once honored the glory of the Goddesses is now seeking to keep that same glory from returning to the world," Link commented dryly.

Zelda, however, remained speechless, focusing on the chest that sat at the foot of the shrine. She continued to squint at it intensely, as if wishing to see right through it to its contents.

"I wonder what's inside that chest?" she pondered aloud, lost in thought as she continued to inspect the chest from afar.

Juno shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm pretty sure it's just a bunch of stuff people offered to the Goddess in exchange for good fortune or something like that," she stated matter-of-factly. "There's probably nothing of real worth in there anyways."

Zelda shook her head in disagreement. "I don't know, it seems awfully well decorated for a simple offering chest," she pointed out. "Plus, it looks like there's a sign or something just above it."

Following Zelda's gaze, Link and Juno saw that there was in fact what appeared to be a plaque situated right above the chest, though the words were indecipherable from their distance.

"If I could just make out what that writing said, we might be able to figure out what's inside that chest," Zelda realized, taking a step closer to the railing as if she was ready to leap down to investigate it further.

"I told you, it's probably just a bunch of junk from the people who worshiped this place hundreds of years ago!" Juno protested. "I doubt anything in there would even still be intact, considering how old it must be."

"Well, this place is remarkably preserved for how old it is," Link countered, much to Zelda's pleasure. He continued, "So long as we keep avoiding those creatures that keep trying to kill us, I see no harm in investigating the shrine." Juno simply huffed and grumbled something about 'no one ever listening to the fairy.'

"It's decided then," Zelda declared brightly. She wasn't sure why, but she had a weird feeling that whatever was in that chest was something important... something she and Link were supposed to find.

As they made their way to another room, which connected to the ground floor via a small stairwell, a bone chilling sound forced them to halt in their tracks.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Link and Zelda froze, whilst Juno instantly dove under Link's cap. Turning around, they were greeted by a quartet of figures who stood at the top of the stairwell, their form hidden by the shadows of the room.

Link instantly drew his sword, Zelda following suit immediately. The beings, whatever they were, did not seem bothered by the actions, and in fact seemed rather unmoved by it.

"Why did you draw your swords against us? Did we do something wrong?" One of them called out innocently. It was clearly the smallest of the four, and bounced up and down as if it contained a limitless supply of energy.

"Well, you did try to kill us with those boulders a few minutes ago," Link pointed out simply, causing the tiny creature to giggle in a slightly unnerving manner.

"We were just playing," the figure teased, though a hint of malice could be detected in its voice. "I thought a couple of boulders would be easy for you guys to handle, anyway."

"It does not appear that that was the case, however," one of the other figures spoke, its voice monotonous and almost robotic. "I do believe our actions nearly resulted in the death of one or both of the parties before us." The second figure was extremely composed, almost like a machine.

"Enough with the useless banter," Zelda shouted indignantly. "Are you going to try to kill us or not?"

Link mentally facepalmed at her choice of words. He certainly didn't expect Zelda to say something so, well, stupid.

The third of the mysterious figures spoke up, speaking in a calm and diplomatic tone. "You shouldn't be so quick to rush into a fight, Zelda. Especially one that could potentially get you killed."

Zelda froze once more; how did it know her name? A wave of fear and uncertainty washed over Zelda.

"How do you know who I am?" Zelda shouted viciously, pointing her sword at the mysterious being.

Apparently growing sick of talking, the smallest figure sprung down from the stairwell, pouncing towards Link. He expertly dodged its attack, swinging his blade at its torso in a swift counterattack. The last of the creatures sprung into action after the tiny one, countering Link's strike and returning with one of its own. As Link dueled his two opponents, the other two made their way for Zelda.

Making the first move, Zelda lunged at the one who had addressed her before, slashing at its neck. It leaned back, barely avoiding the tip of the blade as its partner, the emotionless figure, swiped at Zelda with its grimy claws. Batting the figure's hand back, she launched a series of stabs and swipes at her opponents, though they darted around them and swiped at her in return.

Finally, the creature who had said her name spoke up again. "You mean you really don't recognize our voices? I'm honestly a little hurt, Zelda."

Zelda was suddenly confused. Did she know these creatures? She faltered for a moment in her attacks, which her enemies instantly took note of. Tackling her like a wolf upon a deer, the two creatures shoved Zelda to the ground, pinning her arms underneath them as they drew their faces closer to her's.

"I find it difficult to believe that someone with as acute a memory as yours, Princess, cannot remember us after only a few days," the figure with the emotionless voice spoke as its repugnant breath entered Zelda's nose. She urged herself not to gag. "Were not as close to us as we thought you were?"

Zelda continued to struggle in vain against her assailants, noting a disturbing familiarity she could sense from them. She didn't know how, but she had definitely met these beings before.

Their grips on her tightened. Letting out an angry cry, Zelda suddenly glowed with a bright light. A flash burst throughout the room, blinding her momentarily. She could feel the figures recoil from her, and heard them hiss in pain. Finally regaining her eyesight, Zelda noticed the shadows that had previously shrouded the four figures had finally been lifted.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. This couldn't be real. This had to be a nightmare.

"You've finally recognized us, Zelda. I'm so happy!"

Zelda remained motionless, standing still as she stared at the two in front of her. They were a pair of corpses, though they were fresh and had not suffered from the decomposition and decay of age. But what disturbed her was who the corpses were. Standing in front of her were the corpses of Opal and Crystal.

Zelda tried to form words, but her mouth felt like it was covered in sand. She struggled to get her jaw to function, to get her lips to form the syllables, something, but she was too shocked to do anything more than gape.

"Are you so shocked by our current state that you've lost the ability to speak?" Crystal inquired robotically, her eyes boring into Zelda's.

Finally, Zelda managed to sputter a few simple words. "How... why?"

"That vile sorcerer cursed us," Opal's voice was rather calm, as though she was hardly bothered by the fact that she was a reanimated corpse, "He sentenced us to live as undead monsters for all of time."

"That can't be!" Zelda protested, unable to understand. "I thought Agahnim needs all the Maidens alive to undo the seal. Why would he kill you and give up all of his goals just to satisfy his sick sense of humor?"

Opal shrugged. "We know not of his plans, but we do know that he cursed us so we would attack you on sight. I apologize, Zelda." Without another word, she charged for Zelda, swatting at her before she could even raise her blade.

Zelda had only a moment to react, barely jumping back in time to avoid the swipe. In an instant, Crystal too had entered the fray, swinging wildly at Zelda. She struggled bitterly to avoid their buffet of attacks, but could barely even move, much less counterattack. Yet even if she had the chance to, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to. Even if they were only corpses, they were still her best friends.

"Please stop this!" Zelda shouted in protest, only to be met with a vicious punch to her face by Crystal. "You guys can fight this! Just stop this, please!"

"We can't," Crystal responded in her mechanical tone. "I truly wish we could, but we can't do anything."

Behind her, Opal nodded. "Trust us, Zelda; if we could fight this, we would. You can't fight the vile sorcerer. You just give up before you truly get hurt. There's no way to win."

Zelda felt her heart drop. They were right; if they couldn't even make it through this trial, how could they possibly stand against Agahnim, who possessed powers beyond their very comprehension. Maybe they should just give up...

"Don't listen to them!" Link's voice cut through her thoughts like a blade, and her eyes darted over to Link.

He was currently engaged with his two opponents. She wasn't sure who his two opponents were, or if they too were people he cared for, but judging by his pale face and disturbed expression, it appeared that was the case. Despite this, he wasn't holding back, a fierce light in his eyes as he continued to push against his assailants.

"I know they may look like your friends, and they may act like them, but those things are not your friends!" Link declared loudly. "These things are just pale imposters trying to stop us, Zelda. I know it may be hard to fight against something that looks just like someone you care about, but we don't have a choice. It's kill or be killed, Zelda, and we have a duty to Hyrule! So we have to fight!"

"Shut up, you pitiful little peasant!" Crystal hissed at Link, glaring venomously at him. "You're just a pathetic farmer. You don't know anything! So stop trying to be the hero, you foolish brat!"

Zelda felt her blood boil. Link was right; these were only imposters. Crystal would never speak like that, and she would never use that much emotion in her voice. Swinging her sword at the fake Crystal's throat, she nearly decapitated the corpse, her blade missing by a fraction of an inch.

"You are not Crystal and Opal," Zelda stated with confidence. "I won't let myself be fooled by you!" With her confidence restored, she rushed towards her foes with renewed force, swinging her sword furiously at her foes, who could barely keep up. They tried to fight back, swinging at her with their clawed hands, yet they were continually pushed back.

Finally, the one resembling Opal stumbled, and Zelda saw her chance. Swinging her sword at its head, she readied herself to finally finish the mimic off. However, the look in the fake Opal's eyes, the fear, the sheer terror of watching its life get taken away struck Zelda. Even though she knew it wasn't the real Opal, for a moment, she forgot that. For a moment, she saw not a vicious creature who had stolen her friend's visage and had only moments before tried to kill her, but rather she saw Opal, cowering before her. Even if it wasn't the real Opal, she couldn't go through with killing something that even resembled her.

Noticing her hesitation, the fake Crystal instantly tackled her, knocking her to the ground. As the fake Crystal held her in place, her sharp claws digging into her skin and her foul breath once again intruding on her senses, the fake Opal let out a chilling laugh as it stood up.

"Even after seeing through our charade, you still can't bear to strike us?" The corpse taunted, not even bothering to hide itself anymore. "You're pathetic."

It roughly kicked Zelda in the side, eliciting a loud shriek of pain from the girl.

"You're weak."

Another kick to the side.

"You don't deserve to call yourself Princess."

Another kick, this time to the stomach.

"Someone as lowly as you should just wither away and die."

Zelda felt tears well up in her eyes. It was right; she was weak. After all, she couldn't even defeat these creatures. She couldn't help Link. She couldn't even help her father or Impa. She was a coward. She was pathetic.

"Do you truly think you're pathetic, child?" a foreign voice entered her head. It was soothing, kind, and warm. It quickly flushed out the negative words being spewed by the false Opal. "You think that just because you chose not to strike down someone who was hiding behind the face of a loved one that you lack courage? That is not weakness. You are a strong, wise, and pure-hearted young lady, Princess. You managed to befriend Julien instead of killing him; you saved Link twice; you rescued Sahasrahla; You've been fighting for your kingdom, Princess. Does that make you weak? Stand up and show these foolish imposters that you are not some weak princess. Show them that you are the future Queen of Hyrule!"

The voice's words gave nourishment to Zelda. She had been fighting for her kingdom. She wasn't going to stand by and let these undead posers push her around any longer. With a great burst of strength, Zelda shoved the fake Crystal off from her and caught the fake Opal's foot in the process, throwing it off balance and sending it toppling into its companion.

Zelda rose to her feet, standing confidently over the two zombies. She no longer feared them; they couldn't frighten or manipulate her any more. She could see the terror in their eyes now, the dread of being slain by her. But she wasn't going to kill them. Julien had shown her that creatures like this didn't need death; they needed peace.

Sheathing her sword, she raised her hands aloft and began to chant in a melodious voice. "You, undead creatures who dwell amongst the living, have no fear. You do not belong in the land of the living, so I shall be your guide to the afterlife. I cleanse you from this land, and return you to your rightful place." An orb of light began to form in her hands, growing brighter and brighter with each passing word.

As she continued to chant, the corpse that resembled Crystal cried out in desperation. "Stop it, you foolish girl! Have no any idea what you are doing?!"

Zelda opened her eyes and responded seriously, "I am sending you back to the land of the dead. You do not belong here anymore."

"Fool!" The corpse resembling Opal hissed. "Do you really think your measly magic is strong enough to banish us from this plane of existence?"

"Yes," Zelda responded with absolute confidence. "Now, begone!"

The orb of light suddenly burst, sending fragments of light scattering throughout the room. The fragments pierced the corpses, giving off blind flashes of light as they dispersed. The corpses began to grow less and less corporeal, dwindling in dust and light. Finally, they disappeared entirely, banished back to the land of dead.

Zelda groaned slightly as she steadied herself, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. She now felt a great fatigue, and her entire body felt sore. Glancing around the room, she was shocked to find that she was the only one remaining in the room.

"Did Link draw the other two into another room?" Zelda wondered aloud, leaning against the wall as she tried to recover a bit. She pleaded silently to the Goddesses that wherever Link was, he would be able to last long enough for her to find him.

So, what did you think? I wasn't exactly sure how to do the dungeons; I decided I didn't want to do it like a walkthrough or just explaining where they were going, so I decided to make it much more focused on a scary and dark atmosphere. Plus, since this is where the Pendant of Courage is located, I figured a trial of courage would be in order. Did I succeed? Should I have taken a different approach to the dungeons? Should I have kept going? Should I stop using these rhetorical questions? Let me know what you thought and if you have any suggestions, give them to me in a review!

Until Next Time,

~The Supreme~