TLOZ Chatroom

PREVIOUSLY IN TLOZ CHATROOM.........

Last chapter, Midna, Sheik and Rabia found that the castle was taken by Ganondorf. Rabia generously... er... volunteered to spy on him and see what his plans are. With her busy, Sheik and Midna left to round up a search party to find Link and Peach. Speaking of Link, he managed to get to Altea and ask his lover’s --

Link: HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AHEM, ask his lover’s dad for help in rescuing Zelda. Despite his efforts, this has instead turned into a tournament. Not only does the winner get the “honor” of “defeating” (note how this in quotation marks...) Ganondorf, they also get Zelda’s hand in marriage once she is saved from the menace! Now let’s get to the story!!!

Rabia sat in Zelda’s favorite bathtub; bubbles were piled so high they nearly spilled over the edge. She was whistling a tune to herself, her eyes closed as she sank deeper into the water. She was starting to doze off when the door suddenly swung open. She opened one eye lazily. Ganondorf was standing in the doorway, obviously trying to hold back a devilish grin.
“What?” she asked with a sigh, her voice lacking interest. He made his way over to the bathtub and sat on the marble steps before it.
“I’m leaving the castle for a little while. I’ll be back later,” he said. When he didn’t continue, she opened her eye again.
“...That’s it? That’s all you came in here to tell me?” she asked suspiciously.
“Okay, fine,” he sighed with a smile growing on his face. “You can come with me. I suppose that would actually look better to the public, wouldn’t it?” She opened her other eye as well and gave him a calculating look.
“What are you talking about, Ganondork?” she said. He continued to smile and stood up from the steps again.
“Just be ready in an hour and play along,” he said, leaving the room just as quickly as he had entered. She sighed before hearing him again. “Oh, and dress nicely for once!”
“Hey!” she cried. “I always dress nicely!” She folded her arms and pouted. “Thanks for ruining my bath by the way, you jerk!” She grumbled to herself before sinking under the bathwater in annoyance. After another couple of minutes in the bath, she got out of the tub to finish getting ready. “He really knows how to ruin my morning,” she muttered to herself as she sat on the sink’s counter, combing through her hair. Just then, a distorted noise reached her ears. She turned to see Midna had just warped into the bathroom, and she now hid behind the toilet. She looked around cautiously before emerging.
“Okay, so Sheik and I have rounded up a search party to find--” she started.
“Don’t even bother,” Rabia said nonchalantly, setting down her comb and making for the door.
“Wait!” Midna hissed. “Where are you going?!”
“Don’t worry, Ganondorf is waiting for me downstairs,” she said, waving it off. Midna hesitantly followed her into what was once Zelda’s room. Midna eyed her suspiciously.
“You seem to be... enjoying yourself,” she said with much emphasis. Rabia shrugged, looking through a nearby wardrobe.
“I’m just doing what you guys wanted me to do,” she answered simply. Midna watched her as she continued to look for clothes.
“You don’t look like you’re doing a very good job,” she said with distaste. Rabia stopped shuffling through the wardrobe and looked at Midna with a glare, which was immediately returned.
“What do you expect me to do then? Just walk up to him and say,” she put on a mocking voice,“’hey, mind telling me what you’re gonna do with Zelda and Peach? Oh, and where’s Link? Everyone is looking for him.’”
“Wait, Peach is still in the castle?” Midna asked with worry. Rabia ignored her, turning toward the closet now.
“Like I said, don’t even bother looking for them,” she said with annoyance. Midna followed her into the closet.
“Is Link in the castle too?” she asked. Rabia ignored her again, shuffling through the rows of clothes before her. “Hello?” Rabia sighed with frustration and turned to Midna again.
“Maybe you should do what you’re supposed to be doing. Then maybe I can do what you want me to do,” she retorted. She turned back to the clothes and pulled out some contenders, brushing past Midna to set them on the bed. Midna rolled her eyes.
“Whatever, I can see where your priorities stand right now,” she said. “Tell us when you’re done with....” She trailed off, watching Rabia sort out the clothes onto the bed. “...whatever this is,” she finished with a tone of disgust after a moment. She then warped out, leaving Rabia alone again. She sat on the bed annoyed.
“No wonder Zelda doesn’t like you,” she muttered, picking up an outfit beside her and walking into the bathroom again with a huff.
She walked out of her room a while later, now dressed and ready. Ganondorf was already waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase when she arrived. He grinned up at her.
“You look nice,” he stated. He was dressed less scarily than normal; Rabia noted the lack of his normal black cape. His armor was ditched somewhere along the way as well, and she noticed there was a bit more gold in his outfit than usual. She raised an eyebrow at him.
“What do you want?” she said skeptically. He linked an arm with hers and led them out the door.
“Just go with it, okay?” he whispered as they made their way down the path outside the castle.
“Whatever you say, Ganny,” she said. She giggled when his smile fell and he grumbled to himself. They continued walking until they reached the gate. Guards around the levers looked nervously at each other as the two stopped momentarily.
“Remember, go along with everything I say, okay?” he whispered again. She sighed with annoyance.
“Yes, Ganondorf, I heard you the first three times you said it,” she replied. He looked at the guards, whom quickly started pulling levers and such, before continuing the walk. Rabia would occasionally complain, saying something like, “Ugh, stop walking so fast,” or, “Some of us are pregnant and short -- slow down you loser!” After a while, they had arrived close to Castle Town, where a crowd larger than usual had formed in the center of the main plaza. Noise started to die down as they approached, the crowd parting to make way for them. Many people were whispering to one another, looking at Ganondorf in fear. The crowd was completely silent by the time they reached the front, where a large stage of sorts had roughly been erected. Ganondorf helped Rabia climb the steps, in which she resisted the urge to snap at him for making her feel dumb. She noticed Zelda was already standing on the stage, wearing an extravagantly decorated blue gown. She was now clean and made-up, not a hair out of place. She looked to hesitate before smiling at the two. Rabia was now even more suspicious than before, if that was possible. Ganondorf stopped walking once they reached a reasonable distance from Zelda. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Ganondorf got down on one knee and bowed to her. Rabia, remembering what he had said countless times before, followed suit. Zelda hesitated again before putting on a smile like before. She slowly bowed to them as well; a much lighter bow than theirs, however. The crowd remained silent, but reluctantly bowed as Zelda did.
Ganondorf and Rabia stood after a moment, and Zelda walked to the center of the stage. She smiled to the townspeople before her. “Thank you to all who’ve come out of their way to listen to my announcement,” she began with a honey-sweet voice. Rabia nearly snorted in laughter, but held back the best she could as Zelda continued. “Some of you may recognize the man before you,” she paused, “as the King of the Gerudo to the west.” Still, the crowd remained absolutely silent. Rabia couldn’t tell if it was out of fear or respect for Zelda, but she assumed the former. She made sure to smile at anyone that caught her gaze; most quickly looked away in fright. “His queen is also here today.” She motioned to Rabia, whom smiled as politely as she could. “In light of recent events, I would like to show my gratitude to these two and their people. As most of you may not be aware, the castle had been captured by a force unlike any other until a few days ago. Two evil sorcerers made it their home and kept me as a prisoner.” She looked at Ganondorf now and motioned to him with an arm. “This man, hearing of my dilemma, gathered his people and came to rescue the castle.” Rabia could hardly believe what she was hearing. She glanced at Ganondorf, whom was acting like this tale had actually happened; he looked truly humbled at what Zelda was saying.
Damn... He’s good, Rabia thought, looking back at Zelda.
“As a sign of my thanks, I am allowing King Ganondorf and Queen Rabia to stay in the castle while their homeland is ravaged by drought and famine.” A collective murmur began to grow in protest, but Zelda ignored it and continued. “Also, I am allowing the rest of their people to come and go freely within the country, especially Castle Town and Kakariko Village.” The crowd had now erupted with voices, most in disbelief and anger. “The Gerudo have suffered for long enough, and now is a better time than ever to open our arms to them and help them in a time of need.” Zelda was now barely able to make her voice audible over the crowd, but raised her arms to silence them. “One last thing!” The crowd quieted, most likely dreading the thought of what else she could possibly say at this point. “Link and I will be out of Hyrule for a while, visiting a friend in a neighboring country. During this time, we ask that you all please make the Gerudo people feel welcome. King and Queen Dragmire will be taking up residence in the castle and acting on anything that I would otherwise do myself.” The crowd was now absolutely silent once more. Zelda hesitated before clearing her throat and motioning to Rabia now. “Perhaps you’d like to make an announcement, Your Majesty?” Rabia shook her head, but Ganondorf stared intently at her, then nudged her forward. Zelda led her over to the center of the stage, whispering,”Tell them about the baby.” Rabia didn’t see why this was necessary, but went along with it anyway. She could see Ganondorf looked apprehensive as she went to speak.
“First, I would like to say it’s an honor to be in this beautiful castle.” She had put on the biggest smile that she could muster, vaguely wondering how Ganondorf had put Zelda up to this. “Secondly, I would,” she hesitated, choosing her words carefully, “like to announce that I am pregnant with our first of many children.” Zelda and Ganondorf looked like they were about to face-palm, and Rabia laughed nervously. Nobody in the crowd laughed or cracked a smile; some even looked at one another, creeped out. She gulped before continuing. “The reason this is so important is because this isn’t just any child to me, or to the Gerudo people. This child is...” She paused dramatically, then mentally chided herself for sounding like Link. “...going to be the first male born in over one hundred years!” Immediately, the murmuring and gasps of the people in the crowd sounded. Zelda and Ganondorf stood motionless in shock, totally speechless. Rabia smiled to everyone in the crowd. “That is all for now.” She walked back over to Ganondorf with a grin on her face. He leaned in to whisper to her.
“Did you just make that up?” he hissed. Before she had the chance to reply, Zelda was speaking again.
“Well, thank you for your time and attention everyone. You may resume your activities now.” She quickly made her way over to them, holding her dress up carefully above her ankles to walk. She went to say something, but was quickly silence by Ganondorf.
“To the castle. Now.” He led the two back to the castle, barely attempting to put on their act anymore. Once they reached the gate, the two turned to Rabia.
“What was that?!” they both said. Ganondorf gave Zelda a disgusted look.
“Oh, it’s none of your business! Get back to the castle,” he said, pushing her the other way. He turned to Rabia again. “What was that?” he asked again. She gave him an incredulous look.
“What about you and Zelda? What was THAT?” she cried. He sighed.
“Okay, fine, let’s just get in the castle,” he grumbled. All three of them made their way for Ganondorf and Rabia’s room, where Zelda sat down in a chair on the other side of the room and cried. Ganondorf didn’t seem to notice. “Is that true?” he asked Rabia. “You’re pregnant with a boy?” Rabia hesitated before nodding. Ganondorf sat on the bed, slowly processing this information. Rabia folded her arms and glared at him.
“What? Are you not happy about that?” she snapped. He shrugged.
“Well, I’m not particularly fond about--”
“Good to know!” she cried. “You just don’t want to share your power, is that it?”
“You don’t have to make a big deal out of nothing, Rabia,” he said, his voice lowered.
“Nothing? Is that what this baby is to you? Nothing?” Zelda wiped away her tears and made her way over to Rabia.
“Don’t listen to him, he doesn’t know what it’s like to actually have feelings,” she said, hugging Rabia. Ganondorf rolled his eyes and laughed.
“You two are so overdramatic. I didn’t say anything at all, and you still overreact. I’m going to bed; are you coming or not, Rabia?” She ignored him, not even looking in his direction. “Fine then. Zelda, get out and go back to the dungeons.” Zelda imitated Rabia.
“No,” she said testily, folding her arms. Ganondorf snapped his fingers, causing a black mass to form out of Zelda’s shadow. She cried out, trying to run from it, but before she could do anything she had been dragged into the darkness below.
“Goodnight then,” he said to Rabia, going into the bathroom to change. She grumbled to herself before getting into bed. Before Ganondorf had returned, she had fallen asleep.

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Unlike Rabia, Link couldn’t fall asleep that night. He couldn’t close his eyes for long without seeing Zelda and Peach, screaming and crying as Ganondorf blasted them with black magic. He stood from the bed he lay in, crossing the dark room quietly. A guard stood outside the door of the room, making sure Link couldn’t leave to rescue Zelda before the competition took place. He sighed. He threw on his boots and opened the door cautiously, watching for movement. The guard by the door was leaning against the wall on his right, submerged in a deep sleep. He snored lightly, his helmet tipped lowly onto his face. Link decided to risk being caught; he needed to speak with Marth immediately. He would have gone to see the king himself if he wasn’t worried that it would delay the princesses’ rescue even further.
He tiptoed out of the room in only his drawstring pants and boots, shivering slightly as the cold air hit his back and arms. He continued down the halls of the castle carefully, peering around every corner before braving it. Eventually, he reached Marth’s room on the other side of the castle. A guard was also watching his door; this one seemed more proficient than the one by Link’s room. He was still wide awake, marching up and down the hall, quite alert. Every time he turned his back, Link would try to rush to the door. He would quickly return to his post on the other side of the hall when the guard would stop to listen for noise, however. Eventually, an idea came to Link. When the guard turned his back, he threw a boot down the hall intersecting this one. The guard turned, following the noise. Link was thankful that it was dark and most of the guards in this castle seemed quite stupid. He sidled over to Marth’s door and quietly slid inside. Marth was laying in bed, presumably asleep.
“Marth,” Link tried quietly, stepping carefully toward the bed. “Pssst, Marth, wake up.” When Marth didn’t respond, he shook his shoulder gently. “Hey, Marth. Pssst.” Marth had stirred, sitting up and groggily rubbing his eyes. He blinked a few times before it registered in his mind that someone was in his room. He sat up unsteadily against his headboard, pulling his blanket up to cover his chest.
“What are you doing in here?” he cried. “Guar--!” Link jumped over to him on the bed, covering his mouth with his hand. Marth struggled under his grip, pulling at the hand on his face.
“Shhh!” Link hissed. “It’s just me; Link!” Marth finally ripped Link’s hand off his mouth and pushed him roughly away.
“I know it’s you,” he retorted. “Get out before I get the guards in here.” Link moved closer to him, straining his eyes to see clearer in the dark.
“I just want to talk. Why are you so touchy all of a sudden?” he asked. The silence that followed told Link that Marth was glaring at him. “What? What did I do?”
“Get out so I can sleep. Hurry before I call the guards,” Marth said, ignoring Link’s question.
“Marth, come on,” he insisted. “You need to get your dad to call off the competition tomorrow.” There was a pause before he got a reply.
“Should we reschedule it for next week then?” Marth answered sarcastically. Link blinked.
“Are you mad at me? Did I say something?” he asked. Marth scoffed, and Link assumed he was rolling his eyes.
“Just get out. You want to save your precious princess as soon as possible, don’t you? The tournament will take place as planned then,” he went on. He got down on his back on the bed again and covered himself with the blanket. “Goodbye.” Link opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cut off; Marth had poked his head out of the blankets. “GUARDS! GUARDS!” Link heard clanking in the hall and panicked. He leapt under the blankets as well, covering his head to hide from their view. “Link --!!” Marth tried futilely to push Link out from under the covers, but he had been pinned down on his stomach. Link covered his mouth again, muffling his cries.
“Prince Marth, permission to enter!” a guard sounded from the other side of the door. Marth tried to make his voice audible enough for the guard to hear, but to no avail. Link stayed silent, hoping the guard would just go away, but knew there was little hope for that. He lowered his body, nearly laying on top of Marth.
“I have a proposition for you, if you would just listen to me!” he hissed in the prince’s ear. The guard knocked again.
“Prince Marth?” he called. Marth tried to escape from underneath Link, and upon failing, bit his hand. Link held back a yelp of pain.
“Link i--” he began to yell, but was silenced when his face was pushed roughly into his pillow. The guard burst into the room.
“Prince Marth!” he cried again, rushing to the bed and whipping the covers back. “Prin...” He trailed off, backing away slightly. He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away from the two. From an outsider’s perspective, it certainly looked compromising. Link was still hovering over Marth, holding his head into the pillow. The positioning of Link’s hips against Marth’s, and the lack of most of their clothes, didn’t seem to help the situation much either.
“Uhh,” Link started, quickly rolling off Marth and letting him free. “This, uh, isn’t what you--” The guard quickly shielded his eyes and rushed out of the room before Link could finish. Marth rolled to face Link, panting from the restriction of air. Link hoped the guard couldn’t hear the other breathing heavily and letting out a sigh of relief. He quickly raced across the room and shut the door.
“I hope he’s going to get more guards,” Marth said threateningly, still breathing hard. Link made his way back over to the bed, sitting down on the edge away from Marth.
“Will you listen to me now?” he pleaded, still searching the dark for who he was talking to. Marth paused before speaking.
“...Fine. Say what you came here to say,” he answered. Link figured his best bet was to get straight to the point before the guard returned with backup.
“If I throw the tournament and help you win, will you bring me with you to rescue Zelda and Peach?” he said. Marth didn’t answer for a moment, making Link grow nervous. “Are you still breathing?” he asked cautiously.
“Of course I’m still breathing,” Marth muttered. Link inched closer hopefully, causing Marth to back away slightly.
“Well?” he continued prodding. “Do we have a deal?” Marth stopped to think for a moment.
“No,” he answered simply. “If I win, you will stay here -- far away from the castle and Zelda.” Link gaped, unable to think of a response for a minute.
“Why?” he cried. “Why won’t you let me come with you?!” He felt Marth lean forward, breathing on him angrily.
“Because you’re wasting your time; there’s no way my dad will let anyone but me win,” he said. “I’ll win by default even if you don’t throw the tournament!” Link frowned.
“Why would he do that? You won’t be able take down Ganondorf yourself!”
“And you could do better on your own?” Marth retorted in annoyance. Link sighed in frustration.
“Why are you being so weird, dude?! I’m not trying to offend you!”
“Dude?” Marth asked coldly.
“Marth,” Link continued to try, “if you knew how much Zelda means to me, you’d let me go with you.” The prince had backed away in the darkness.
“That’s exactly why I’m not taking you,” he muttered, lying back under the blanket once more. Link felt anger building in him once more.
“Seriously Marth? You’re being so selfish! Zelda needs--”
“You are SO blind!” Marth yelled, his voice startling Link. “Get out!” When Link didn’t move, Marth growled again. “I SAID GET OUT!” Link slowly stood from the bed.
“Fine, I’ll leave you alone.” He paused before adding, “Good luck in the tournament tomorrow.” He turned to leave the room, not expecting Marth to reply. As he assumed, Marth didn’t say anything else. Link left the room, shutting the door behind him. He turned, only to be greeted by the angry, disheveled face of the king. Link gulped, stepping back a bit from him.
“You. Me. Seven o’clock tomorrow morning,” he roared. He stepped past Link and stormed into Marth’s room, slamming the door. Link could hear him yelling at Marth too. He noted that he would feel a bit more guilty about getting Marth in trouble if Marth hadn’t called the guards on him earlier. He then grabbed his missing boot and returned to his room.
He definitely couldn't sleep now, knowing that Cornelius was going to make Marth the winner no matter what. He tossed and turned all night, an unfriendly thought growing in his head; what if Zelda never forgave him for not coming? By the time the sun had risen, he had made a decision. He didn't care if anyone liked it or not -- he was going to save Zelda himself.

TO BE CONTINUED....................