Izzy: Welcome, my dear readers, to the world of Hyrule in this chapter story called The Curse of the Deity Mask! I certainly hope you enjoy it with glad hearts and-

Roecliff: You make this sound like a Shakespeare play!

Izzy: It's drama at its height!

Roecliff: Oh, brother!

Izzy: Begin the prologue!

Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I do NOT own Zelda. Enjoy!

A cry was the first thing she heard when she woke up from her deep slumber. A young woman with massed, red hair, and dark blue eyes that showed concern and weariness jumped out of her bed and rushed over to the crib in the corner of the room. Hanging from above was a mobile with music notes of different shapes put together with wire and paper. Her eyes landed inside the bed where a newborn babe laid, red faced and wet with tears as it wailed with a soft, but continuous cry.

"Oh, Melody! What's wrong now?" the woman asked the sad bundle with an exhausted expression.

She picked up the baby, wrapping it tight in the rich green blanket for warmth and held it close.

"Shhhh," the woman hushed. "It's alright. Mother's here. There's nothing to worry about."

She began to hum a familiar tune: a song that was close to her heart. A song that she once sang to an old friend. The baby started to calm down. It sniffled and looked up at the mother. The woman stared at those eyes. They were a deep, but bright blue. They were the eyes of love and care, strength and courage, and deep thought.

Just like her father, she thought to herself.

Her nose tickled and her eyes started to get wet as she sighed. Oh, why did you have to leave? Why?

She walked over to the window and looked outside. It was still dark and the stars shined brightly in the night sky. The moon hung over...were those dark clouds forming?

Probably another storm, she thought.

She looked down and saw that the baby had fallen asleep, so she walked back to the crib and, with gentle care, placed it back in it's bed.

As she did so, she heard something. It wasn't a cucco sound or any of the cows and horses. It sounded more like...like footsteps. No, several footsteps. There was rattling of metal like armor bumping armor.

Soldiers? Here? What could this mean? Unless he has come back. Could it be him after leaving for seven months? Oh, I hope so!

She grabbed a robe, opened the door and quickly rushed down the stairs to the door.

BAM! It opened abruptly and at the door stood three Stalfos soldiers!

Her face went pale in fright. She looked around and grabbed a pitchfork at the corner of the room.

"Get out of my house, boneheads!"She shouted

The swiped the tool at the monsters, knocking them over. However, she never noticed two more creatures appearing behind her. They grabbed her by the arms,threw aside the fork, and dragged her out of the house.

"Let me go!" she demanded. "Let. me. go!"

But the soldiers kept marching. She struggled to break free to no avail. What did they want from her? What was going on? Near the gate to her property, she was flung to the ground.

"Look what we found, your excellency," she heard one of the guards say.

"Well, what a pleasant surprise. Didn't think there was still anyone left here."

The voice. She knew that voice too well. Deep, dark, cruel, and cold. The voice of evil. She looked up.

The first thing she saw was a black stallion, rearing its head in pride and flashing its red eyes as if it was laughing at her fear.

Then she saw her fear being confirmed.

A huge man was seated on the steed. His dark black skin looked almost green in the light that illuminated from the lanterns and torches surrounding them. From top to bottom, he was very muscular which showed what kind of strength he bore. His clothes were as dark except for the elegant red cape that flapped in the small, cold wind that blew, making the woman's teeth chatter. He had red hair that was slightly spiked at the top of his head and fell at the back of his thick neck. His face was square and bulky with his pointed nose sticking out from it. The grin he had was curled only on one side of his face, showing amusement.

But the most frightening feature she saw were his eyes: piercing yellow, empty, cold, and they smiled in a way that sent shivers down your spine as they looked at you.

It's impossible! she thought in horror. It can't be! He can't be back!

"You..." she harshly said in a low tone.

"So you do know me?" the man grinned.

"Impossible!" the woman declared. "You were locked away! You couldn't have escaped!

The man's lips smiled as he chuckled, showing his straight, white teeth.

"My dear girl, so naive!" he teased. "Let's just say that a...minor detail was overlooked. Behold!"

He raised his left had. At first there was nothing, but then something glowed on the back of it. Three triangles appeared, but only the top triangle glowed the brightest.

"As you can see," he continued, "I now hold the most powerful object in the world. And thanks with some... assistance, I broke free and escaped from that dreaded prison with one thing in mind: revenge! After that, I shall gain control of the world and rule it forever!"

"Never!" the woman stated boldly. "You won't win! Link will stop you before you have a chance! He's done it before!"

The man laughed with amusement. "Silly girl, he can't stop me this time. He's dead!"

Her eyes widened in shock. "What? Dead? You..."

"Killed him?" the man finished for her "Yes, I did, and he didn't even suspect that he would fall into a trap as he was heading back to his precious home."

Anger rose inside of her. She struggled against the soldiers, temporarily breaking free.

"You're lying!" she shouted in disbelief. "He's not dead! You monster!"

She was grabbed quickly by the soldiers before she reached the dark man, who was laughing at the site.

"I understand why you don't believe in me," he confirmed. "I am known to be a very good liar, but I am being sincere."

"Then why are you here?" the woman questioned.

Then man sat up in his steed, still looking down at the fair maiden. "To make sure that the Hero's bloodline has been stopped."

The Hero's blood? The woman thought, confused.

Then, breaking the silence, was a wail. A babe's wail. She looked over and saw a Stalfos soldier approached the dark man, carrying her baby still wrapped in the blanket.

Oh, no! Melody! The woman exclaimed inside.

"Look what I've found, sire!"the soldier snarled in pleasure.

He handed the child to the man.

The woman stood up to reach for her child, but the soldiers grabbed her before she got the chance to run.

"NO!" She pleaded. "Please leave her alone! She's just a baby!"

The man looked at the crying infant. A mischievous smile crossed his dark face.

"Well, well, well," he smirked as he stroked the baby's cheeks. "What do we have here? A little baby. An adorable one at that."

He looked at the woman with a grin, then turned his attention to the buildings.

"But, you know, a child like this deserves much more than this place, am I right?" he asked the woman deviously. He glanced at one of the soldiers holding a torch. "Burn this place down!"

"No!" the woman shouted.

The soldiers got to work. They grabbed the lanterns and threw them into the windows of the house and with the torches lit the hay. Soon,the whole place was a bonfire. The animals rushed out of the stables and coops to get away from the blazing fury. The woman watched in horror at the scene of chaos.

The ranch! Oh, the ranch! After years of building, I get to see it burn to ruins!

Anger boiling inside of her, she looked at the man. He was staring at the child and whispering something to her, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Leave her alone! She's innocent! She hasn't done anything to you!"

Then man looked at her in thought. "Hm, you're right about that...but, then again, I can't take any chances."

Then, with a smile of victory, he flung the child into the wild fire.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" the mother screamed. "MELODEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYY!"

The woman's sorrows and fears lashed out in her words. She fought the soldiers holding her back. She kept screaming so loud that everyone in the world could hear her woe. Tears ran in remorse.

"MY BABY! MY MELODY! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Take her away!" the man ordered and the skeletal structures dragged the wailing and weeping woman from the destruction of everything she knew and loved.

But little did she know what happened once she was taken out of sight.

The man sensed something nearby and anger struck his soul as he turned. There, among the flames was a hooded figure with a beard white as snow and deep brown eyes. His lips frowned as he looked at the dark man and he shook his head.

In his arms was the baby in the green blanket, safe and unharmed.

Then both the man and child disappeared in the flames. The dark man glared into the flames and pointed his finger into the emptiness of the hot glow.

"Just you wait, old man," the dark one growled. "I will find her, and when I do, I will kill her before she gets a chance to redeem this world. She won't be able to stop me!"

He looked up to the sky an then shouted to the top of his lungs:

"YOU HEAR ME? I WILL BE VICTORIOUS! I AM GANONDORF, LORD OF THE GERUDOS, KING OF THE WORLD! I WILL FULFILL MY REVENGE!"

Izzy: Oh no! Ganondorf has returned and now the Legendary Hero is dead!

Roecliff: Looks like the world is doomed after all.

Izzy: Or is it? What so special about this baby? Why did the King of Evil want to kill her? Who is the mysterious man that saved the child? Find out in Chapter One!

Roecliff: Please review!