Queen of the Banished

The skies were grey and cloudy as Zelda and Link raced through Hyrule Field. A light snow was beginning to fall. They had stopped only for the bare necessities during their travels, and Zelda was anxious to return to her people. As they approached the gates, they realized another of Ganondorf’s golden wards enveloped Castle Town, like an upside down glass bowl. They approached cautiously - Link remembered what happened the last time he’d tried to break through one of Ganondorf’s wards. He pushed Zelda behind him as they approached the gates. Two moblins stood guard outside, as Midna had described.

The slow, dimwitted creatures appeared not to hear them. Link managed to sneak up on the one closest to them and dispatch it without an issue, but the noise had grabbed the attention of the other who immediately ran for Zelda. Link jumped in front of her and made quick work of the second moblin, then reached for the ward.

Unlike the first time, Link wasn't thrown back from the wall. Instead, when he touched the ward his hand was filled with a tickling warmth. He pushed the gate open and entered Castle Town, then gestured for Zelda to follow. As soon as Zelda had crossed the town threshold behind him, there was a low rumbling sound as the gates started to vibrate, then slammed shut behind them. They were locked in.

Ganondorf paced across the throne room floor, back and forth before the dais. Rabia and Zaide were at her parent’s house and the Gerudo were back in the valley. He had nothing to lose in the coming fight. Ganon was growing more and more restless as the minutes passed. Finally, he heard the Castle Town gates close with an echoing bang. Link and Zelda had returned. He made his way to the courtyard to wait.

The streets of Castle Town were silent and empty. Link crept ahead of Zelda, sword drawn, checking around every corner for Ganondorf’s moblins. The closer they got to the center of town, the more moblins there were. The layer of snow muffled their footsteps as they crept through the cobblestone streets, making it easy to sneak around without being noticed by the increasing moblins. Link killed the ones that did spot them quickly and quietly.

They reached the center of town, which was also dark and silent. The shops were closed though the sun was just starting to set. Link disposed of the group of moblins guarding the entrance to the castle grounds, then gestured for Zelda to join him. They stood before the archway together, gazing into the snow covered grounds before them. Zelda looked at Link, and he looked at her. He took her hand in his.

“Ready?” he asked. Zelda nodded.

“Ready.”



A rumbling sound woke Rabia from a deep sleep, the first she’d had since Zaide was born. Petra had been adamant about taking him for the night so Rabia could get some rest. Slowly, slowly, she pushed herself out of bed, as a heavy thud seemed to shake the very earth; a familiar sound, to those that had lived in Castle Town as long as she had.

Rabia frowned as she looked out the window at the closed town gates. They had only ever been closed in times of emergency. Though it was barely discernible, she managed to make out the golden glow of a magical ward glittering around the edges of the town.

She leapt from the bed and dressed hurriedly. Moblins were littering the otherwise empty streets, and Rabia had a bad feeling that Ganon had sent her away to set a trap for her friends. Rabia made her way down the stairs to the foyer and reached for the door.

“Rabia!” Rob hissed, hurrying over and closing the door shut again with a snap. He locked the deadbolt as a moblin came scurrying over to investigate the noise. “What are you doing? Are you trying to get killed?!” he asked. “You know there’s a curfew in town,” he whispered. “The moblins don’t make any exceptions. Come on,” he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the living room. Though everyone was gathered there, it was somber and quiet, with the curtains drawn and the lights dim. Nobody made a sound.

Horrific screams reached their ears from outside. Rob covered Lance’s ears with his hands and Saul did the same for Chase. Petra rocked Zaide and hummed him a gentle lullaby to keep him calm. It fell silent again, and Rabia peeked through the curtains, ignoring her father’s protests. The patrolling moblins lay dead in the street, and though she almost missed it, Link and Zelda rounded the corner to make their way down the next one.

“Dad,” Rabia said, looking to Saul.

“Don’t you dare,” he hissed. “You have a son to take care of now. You can’t go off risking your life to chase after your friends.”

“Bu-!”

“No. This isn’t your fight.” Saul said.

“Bullshit!” Rabia snapped. “My best friends and my husband are going to kill each other if I don’t do something!” They stared each other down in a battle of wills.