Chapter 2 - Ganons' Seal

**Prior to Link's Death**

  Zelda sat on her bed, unable to sleep. Something felt wrong and she couldn't help but wonder if Link was safe. She would have taken a ride on her horse to his home but the night sky showed signs of a threatening storm.

  "It must be this dreary weather," she thought, "Rain always makes me feel this way." She walked to her window. Her blue silk nightgown was lengthy and fell at her feet. A red velvet curtain with little designs of roses draped in front of the window. Zelda pushed it aside and tied it to the hook with a thin braided rope. The window revealed the dark sky.

  She couldn't find her star; the one Link had name in honor of her when they were twelve. He was such a sweet friend and sometimes she wished he was more. But, he never showed any real signs of loving her as a husband would love a wife. It was more like a brother loving his sister or best friend. Zelda sighed. It wouldn't matter anyway if he happened to love her the same way she loved him. Her father was king and she was the princess of Hyrule. Sure, the king loved Link, but he (the king) would never accept the idea of them being married. She was a princess and supposedly would only marry a nobleman&ldots;preferably a prince born to rule. If only she could tell her father what Link had done for her and the whole land of Hyrule. He would have been so proud to have them married. Even, if she did choose to tell, no one would believe her because no one knew of Ganon and the turmoil he caused.

  Not even the sages knew of Link's legendary quest. The legend was sealed&ldots;forgotten. She could never prove Link's worthiness of the crown. Zelda knew him well. He was noble, brave, and strong. Like her, his wisdom of the world was beyond his years. He would make a dauntless and sagacious king. If only people remembered how much he suffered and cared for the fate of Hyrule's children. But, no, that time would never come because he along with the legend was forgotten. His title "Hero of Time" seized to exist just as her title "Princess of Destiny" seized to exist. This deeply saddens her. Link deserved to be honored for his selflessness, righteousness, and valor. It was these three moral strengths which he possessed that saved Hyrule.

  Zelda walked back to her soft bed. She plotted herself at the center of an enormous bed and laid her head upon a feathered pillow. She pulled a blanket over her body. The blanket, made with the colors of the rainbow, had intricate designs of Hyrule's history stitched onto its thick fabric. It was one of her mother's splendid crafts. The princess missed her so much. She missed the lullabies that her mother sang to her before she went to bed and the stories...were always so wonderful with such an imaginative force. When the queen told these tales, little Zelda's blue eyes lit up. She remembered how she would sometimes pretend to be the characters in many of the stories. It was an escape from her overly pampered life. A tear streamed down her cheek. She could almost hear her mother's voice. Zelda squeezed her pillow and her eyes became heavy, closing down to thin slits. But they were opened once again revealing her ocean-colored eyes. A blue light illuminated the large room (**Parallel to the time of Link's Death**). She sat up startled by the sudden brightness and started looking for its source. She came near her dresser but the light faded as quickly as it appeared. She looked at her teak-wooden dresser. There was on top of the dresser a golden mirror and a crystal pendant. Strange! She touched her golden mirror and let her fingers slide through the thin crevices of its beautiful engraving. The engraving pictured an eagle centered in a sun to the upper right of the oval mirror and a skinny cat prancing amongst the grass at the lower left. It had a collar, which held a small snowy pear. Next to the cat laid a lily tainted with white paint. Impa had given it to her on her sixteenth birthday. That was a year ago. The pendant, however, was her most recent gift from Link. It was of an unusual shape, yet, very enchanting. She smiled. He said that it was one of his little treasures, which he kept as a small child. He did not know where it came from. It was just in his treasure box, buried amongst his old toys. It was beautiful indeed but he had no use for it so he gave it to Zelda.

  "Hmm&ldots;that was strange," Zelda muttered to herself, "A light appeared. What was that? Oh well, now I do not sense anything disturbing." She paused for a few seconds trying to think over her day if in fact there was anything strange that she missed. Nothing&ldots;there was nothing to explain her troublesome feelings. "Yes, it must be this weather. Oh no! Look at the time! I promised Impa I'd be early for breakfast." She skittered across the marble floor and curled up into her bed. In a minute or so, she was fast asleep.

**After, at the tragic scene**

  "Devar!! Hurry, now!" shouted a voice. "Help me take this good-for nothing scum to my castle under ground. No one must know of his death." In response to his command, a hideous creature came forth. Its face and body was scaly like a snakes and it had a notably, long tail. Just as soon as the creature saw who had call him, he slowly backed away amongst the bushes.

  "M-master&ldots;Ganon? Is that you?" Devar asked in a fearful tone. Ganondorf was still in his false form and his ally was unsure to listen to him.

  "Of course, it is I. Devar come assist me as we make our way to my castle. I'm giving you the honor of burying Link in a grave in my Death Garden," said Ganondorf who was awfully pleased with how things turned out.

  "Oh, so it is you, Master Ganon&ldots;for a minute there I thought you were that pesky kid. Battling with that boy wasn't very pleasant, you know."

  "Time has become rather better for us all due to this magnificent black season. Moon's Bane has certainly strengthened the evil in this world. I will use it to my utmost advantage. All is well, Devar&ldots;all is well." The demonic being nodded. "Those puny Hylians are as good as dead. They don't suspect anything I'm doing. In fact, they don't even know I've come back. *Laugh* Thirteen days is enough time to destroy all of this country and its people. It'll be no problem, now. I already took care of my worst one," said Ganondorf as he glanced in the direction of the hero's body.

  "Yes master, that's true. Link is dead, and it will be easier for you to deceive that foolish princess. After you kill her, both their Triforces will be yours, right? Have you got the boy's&ldots;?"

  "No, not yet. First, I must kill the princess. However, that will be after I find out where she's hidden the Ocarina of Time. Without it, I will be unable to open the Door of Time." Suddenly, greed and excitement filled the evil wizard. "When two holders of the Triforces are dead, the sacred triangles will gather at the Temple of Time. There, I will claim both once I open the door."

  "Ahh&ldots;but aren't you forgetting something, Master?"

  "Huh, what?"

  "The three sacred stones. Don't you need them, Master?"

  "Oh, yes, I forgot. That won't be any problem, though. I'll just simply ask to borrow them from their owners. I'm sure they'll grant my request. Being in this body does have its advantages."

  With his power, Ganondorf created a portal near the tree where Link laid. *Whistle* From the portal, a horse's gallop could be heard. Through, opening a black stallion appeared. The horse whinnied, happy to see its master.

  "Come, come, Coal!" Ganondorf motioned Devar towards the horse's saddlebag. Devar obeyed and grabbed a rope from within the bag. He then tied the length rope tightly around both Link's wrist and the horse's saddle. "This is good. Perhaps, I should have done this first before I killed him." Devar nodded in agreement. Ganondorf mounted upon Coal and made his way through the purple-blackish portal, dragging behind him the lost hero. Devar followed last keeping a close eye on the limp body.

  By the time they reach Ganondorf's castle, Link's flesh had been severely cut and shredded from being drag on the rocks. Ridges as deep as an inch lined his back, leg, and arms. With a wave of hand, Ganondorf made Link's body deteriorated just as the process of decomposition occurs in dead beings. This, however, did not take weeks of transition. Instead, the change occurred only in a matter of seconds. It was a sight so sickening that one would throw up his previous meal and perhaps even his stomach. All that was left of Link were his bones. Satisfied with his work, Ganondorf left the bones for Devar to bury.

  Devar gathered the hero's bones and crossed the drawbridge into Ganondorf's stronghold. He took the bones to the center of the castle where Death Garden was located. In the square garden, everything was dark. The walls surrounding was the color of dried blood. Skinless zombies roamed the vast yard. Their hoarse moans echoing in the castle with haunting music. Dead vines were attached onto the rough wall. Surrounding the grave mounds were thorny bushes of dry, brown roses. The garden was certainly true to its name. There was no life to bear here&ldots;no water, no sun for the garden to even nourish itself. All was dead with the exception of living dead.

  Devar made his way to the southeast corner of the garden. He dumped the skeleton into a shallow hole. He shoveled dirt into the hole burying the hero's bones barely enough to cover them.

  "Come, Devar. I'm going to seal this garden so that no one will be able to pass," Ganondorf said. Devar walked over to where Ganondorf was on the other side of the door opposite the garden.

  "But, why, master?" questioned the demonic creature.

  "Because I want no one near his body or what was his body, anyway. I don't want anybody finding out he's dead"

  "How is that so? You've turned him into a bunch of bones. No one would know, would they?"

  "I don't know but a seal would definitely block off any trespasser in search of the boy. If someone should find out, my plan might be ruined."

  "Master, no one will be searching for Link. You are in a body that looks exactly like him." Ganondorf looked at himself, at the body he had become. Nobody could tell that the person inside this body was evil. Link has a clean slate and was everyone's friend. No one would figure the old wizard out.

  A sinister smile crawled onto Ganondorf's lips. "I know." A grayish fireball formed in his hand. The triangle on the back of his right hand shining brightly as he performed his powerful spell. The ball grew larger with every blink and in a few minutes had become a barrier that surrounded the garden's walls and sealed its door. The walls could no longer be broken nor the door be opened. Only an object of equal strength as the Triforce of Power could break the barrier. And as one would know, only three people held such powers. One, the villain who created the barrier, two, the hero who was now dead, and three, the princess who suspected nothing.

  "It's time I go visit Hyrule Castle." Ganon exclaimed. Then, he broke into an uncontrollable laughter. Victory would be his.

TO BE CONTINUED&ldots;

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