Time Trouble
Part seven: The King of Evil

By Susanne - SheikahWarrior@hotmail.com

Chapter one

In Link's room, there was absolute silence. The four Sages who sat around the table - Impa, Ruto, Rauru and Darunia - couldn't speak. Finally, Rauru slowly moved his chair away from the table, got on his feet and walked towards Nabooru.
"Is this," he pointed at Dani, "the girl we've been searching for?"
The Sage of Spirit nodded. "Yes, this is the true Gerudo princess. And she's the only one who can help us find Ganondorf."
Dani took one step forward. "He's my father," she said in a sad voice, "but he's also a very evil man. You're going to seal him again, are you?"
Nabooru sighed. "I'm afraid we have to, Dani. He's a threat to us."
"I understand," Dani said. She tried to keep her voice calm. "But...but can I see him first? Just once?"
"Of course," Darunia said. His hearted ached for this young girl. "Why don't you take us to him?"
"All right," Dani said. "I'll do it."

Link and Taniia rode towards Kokiri Forest. Actually, they were on their way to the Temple of Time, but Link had suggested that they should follow the river instead of taking the shorter way to the left of Lon Lon Ranch. Taniia had agreed, and here they were. As they galopped past a clump of trees, Link suddenly stopped his horse.
"What is it?" Taniia asked.
Link didn't answer. He stared at someone. Taniia stopped her horse and turned around. A girl, maybe nine or ten years old, stood in front of prince Tanondorf. Tears fell from her eyes, and she held something in her hand. Taniia loked closer. It was an instrument of some kind, maybe a flute.
"Link?" the girl whispered. "Can you forgive me?"
A ray of light revived inside Link and scattered the dark clouds from his memories. He jumped off his horse. "Saria? Is that you?"
The Sage didn't answer. She ran towards him and threw herself into his arms. "Link, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please forgive me!"
"Whatever you've done, I'll forgive you," Link said.
Saria dried the tears from her eyes, and gave Link the object she held in her hands. "Here. I found your old ocarina in the moat."
Link took the ocarina from her hand, and suddenly a loud roar could be heard from far away behind them. Link turned around. "Ganondorf!"

He'd felt when Link received the ocarina from Saria. And in that moment, he knew who Link really was. Not his brother. Not his best friend. But his worst enemy.
Ganondorf's eyes glowed red, and he let out a scream of hate. Princess Zelda, who stood behind him, felt how something inside her broke free, and she gasped. "What am I doing here?" She took a few steps back. "And you...YOU!"
"Silence!" Ganondorf roared. "I'm not finished with you yet!" He took her left arm in a tight grip and walked towards his horse with the princess. "Get up!" He didn't wait for Zelda to climb up. He almost threw her up. Then he sat down behind her and urged on the horse. Its red eyes didn't glow, but Ganondorf's eyes shot bolts. "Take me to Link."
The horse galopped away.

Chapter two

In Hyrule Castle Town, the people talked about the strange people they'd seen. Two Gerudos, a Goron, a Zora, an old priest or something, and a legendary Sheikah just rode through the market. And if that wasn't strange enough, two other Gerudos and a Kakarikan boy just pased above their heads on a flying carpet!
The people they talked about was, of course, all the Sages, except Saria and Zelda, and Dani, who were on their way to Gerudo Fortress, and Mauru, Sheraa and Loora, who headed for Kokiri Forest to try to find Link.
A young woman watched the horses. She was the one who told Saria that Link was taken to the Temple of Time in a coffin. There was something odd about her, and the people in Hyrule Castle Town avoided her. People saw her long, black hair, her beautiful face and her green eyes. But none of them looked closer - if they had, they would have seen that her teeth were sharper than normal teeth were, and that her fingernails were a little bit to sharp. The woman was evil personified, and she wanted death.
The death of Saria.
With a smile, she went into her house to get her flute. She knew where they were going, and she intended to follow them. Her fingers flew over the flute as she played the Requiem of Spirit.

High up in the sky on the magic carpet, Mauru saw how they approached Kokiri Forest. Something caught his eye. "Stop the carpet!" he cried in Loora's ear.
Loora almost fell off the carpet, and glared at him. "All right, all right! I'm not deaf! At least I wasn't." She stopped the carpet, and Mauru moved to one of the corners of it. Carefully, he looked down. Now he saw what caught his eyes earlier. A big grin showed in his face.
"I've found Link! And Saria's with him!"

Link heard a sound from above. He looked up and saw a flying carpet circling far up in the sky. A face looked down at him and smiled. Link pointed at the face. "Saria, look! It's Mauru!"
The Sage's eyes shone. "I see him! And that must be Loora and Sheraa with him."
Two other faces and two hands waved at them.
"We're coming down!" Mauru yelled. "Don't move!"
Taniia, who stood a few feet away, watched the scene with growing anxiety. Something was going on, and she didn't like it.
"Prince Tanondorf?" She turned to Link. "What's happening? And who is that girl?" She pointed at Saria. "And that carpet? I know it. It's a Gerudo carpet."
Link turned to her. "Don't you ever call me that again!"
"What?" Taniia asked, confused.
"I'm not prince Tanondorf, and I'll never be. In fact, I'm going to fight your king, and hopefully I'll kill the bastard."
Taniia gasped. "You're a traitor!" Her hands searched for her sword, and when she found it, she turned to Link. "I'll stop you - even if I have to kill you."
Suddenly, she fell to the ground, and Saria stood behind her with a branch in her hand. "Maybe you should check your back next time."
Then the flying carpet landed on the ground, and Mauru jumped off. "Link? Are you...are you all right? I mean, are you..."
"I'm fine, Mauru," Link said. "And I DO remember you. I've even missed you."
The two young men grinned at each other. Link sighed. "Well, let's go then. I have an evil king to fight."
Mauru, Link and Saria joined the two girls on the carpet, and Loora took it high up in the air again. "Take us to Gerudo Fortress," she ordered the carpet. "Find Ganondorf."

Chapter three

Rauru, Impa, Darunia, Ruto and Dani stood in front of the bridge. A Gerudo guard blocked their way, holding her spear with one hand and a dagger with the other.
"I'm not letting anyone in," she hissed. "I have orders from king Ganondorf."
Suddenly Nabooru came walking. She'd been talking to someone in Hyrule Field, so she was a little late. "What's this all about?" she asked the guard.
"Oh, great Nabooru," the guard said. "Can you tell the strangers here that I'm not going to let them in?"
"No, dear," Nabooru said. "You'll let us all in - now - or you'll experience something unpleasant."
"But..." the guard started.
"No buts, dear. Step out of our way."
The guard's eyes glowed angrily, but she moved aside and was about to let them pass.
"No!" a voice roared.
The Sages and Dani turned around. King Ganondorf sat there on his black stallion, with an unconscious princess Zelda in front of him in the saddle. Zelda's hands were tied to the saddle. Ganondorf's eyes still shot bolts, and an evil grin showed on his lips. He raised his hands and prepared to deliver an energy ball.
"Father!" Dani said.
Ganondorf lowered his hands. "Dani?" He jumped off his horse.
Dani ran towards him and threw herself in his arms. "Father!"
The king of evil smiled down at his daughter. He was much taller than her. "I've been waiting for you, dear," he said. "You're the only one who can help me. Don't listen to what the Sages says. They want me to die. You don't want me to die, Dani, do you?"
"I..." Dani started. Her eyes were full of tears. "No, I don't."
Darunia took one step forward. "Don't listen to him, Dani! He'll put you under a spell! He'll do anything to save himself, even kill you!"
"That's not true, Dani," Ganondorf said. "I'd never kill you. You're my only daughter, and I love you."
"You...you are dangerous," Dani whispered.
Her father let out a laugh. "Dangerous? Who gave you that idea?" He glared at the Sages. "Did they say that?"
Dani shivered. "No...no, I said it."
"You did?" Ganondorf murmured. His voice was hypnotic and made her sleepy. "Did you really say that?"
"No," Dani said. Her eyes were empty. "No, I didn't."
"Dani, don't listen to him!" Impa said. "Don't..."
But it was too late. Dani fell to the ground, unconscious. Ganondorf bent over her and gently stroke her hair. "Sleep, Dani. Sleep." He turned to the Sages. "And what can you do? You're not gathered. I have Zelda, and Saria..." He smiled. "A friend of mine will take care of her."