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Endgame	By : RyuaAlba Category: Zelda > General Views: 26666 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda, or any of the characters or regions or names associated with it. I make no money from this fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Author's Note: Thank you so much for all of the feedback. Having so many reviews is rare on aff.net, and I'm thrilled by every bit of response I get.
Especially thank you to newenglandee. I am so honored that you came back to read the next chapter anyways, and I'm glad my explanation helped sort things out. I will head back over the chapters I've written at a later date to clarify some of the points you brought up.

Zelda managed to not fall apart for eight heartbeats after she heard the heavy bar slam into place. After that, neither her pride or will could hold her steady, and she rolled to her side, curling up and drawing her bound hands into her chest. She let out a sound that made Link's heart ache, a wracking sob that seemed to encompass her whole body.
He whined helplessly, although at least she'd rolled over towards him. Pulling as far out from the wall as the chain would allow, he reached for her, just able to brush her cheek with his nose. Her usually sweet, rich smell was tainted with blood and pain and overlaid with Ganondorf's strong scent, but he snuffled at her skin anyway, his nose brushing at the salt of tears.
It took several moments, but she pushed herself up to her knees, crawling closer to him. Although he'd intended to comfort her, the first thing she did was sit beside him, fingers tugging gently at the knot behind his ears. He could feel her trembling, could hear the uneven gasping of her breath, not quite sobbing, but she managed to untie him anyways.
Focusing on getting Link's muzzle off had given her something else to think about, a distraction. Absently, she folded the strip of cloth, just for something to do with her hands as he licked his lips, yawning to stretch out the muscles. Suddenly, the effort of sitting up seemed far too much, and she leaned forwards, burying her face in the thick ruff of fur around his neck. She drew in a deep shuddering breath, inhaling the heavy musk of wolf, still woven with Link's familiar smell, and she collapsed onto him, abruptly overcome.
Link whined softly, turning his head. He didn't want to pull away from Zelda, especially as her fingers tightened in his fur, clinging to him. He curled slightly, licking at the outside of her thigh since it was within reach, wishing desperately he could say something, or hold her. She needed to be in the bed, resting, but he couldn't carry her or pick up the covers, or even reach the bed, chained to the wall. He stayed curled up, letting her cry into his fur, miserable at how little he could do for her.
Eventually, her fingers loosened and her breathing slowed, and Link cautiously shifted position so he was curled around her as much as she was draped over him, giving her what comfort he could. He licked gently at her face, lapping up her tears. At some point he heard the awful, grating, not–sound of a Twilit servant dropping off food, but didn't bother to get up. The food could wait, what he and Zelda both needed was sleep, time to heal. He sniffed lightly at her face, just enough to make sure her breathing was still deep and even, and curled up, dropping back to sleep.
When he awoke again it was dark, and Zelda had shifted more onto the floor. He stood up carefully, easing her arm to the floor. He sniffed down her body, checking over her injuries. Her skin was cooler than he liked, although hot around the bruises where she'd been struck or squeezed. Deciding that the floor was no place for her, he gently nosed at her shoulder, then her neck, licking her cheek and whining softly. Slowly, she woke up, moaning quietly as she eased herself up. Whuffing softly at her, he laid down in front of her, chewing cautiously at the strip of cloth binding her wrists. She sighed softly when the last few strands broke, rubbing her wrists gingerly.
He nuzzled at her neck encouragingly, urging her up. Gesturing with his nose, he pointed to the bed, wagging his tail slightly. He'd never been much for words, but he hadn't realized how difficult it was to be completely mute. He whimpered a bit when she hesitated, butting his head gently against her side. Remembering the food, he trotted back to the door, gently picking up the apple in his mouth and coming back to her, the chain dragging on the floor. Nosing at her hand, he dropped it in her palm, licking her fingers lightly. She made a sound that was almost crying, but was clearly trying to be a laugh, and he wriggled happily, nosing her ribs. Her laugh was a little firmer this time, and she rubbed his ears with her free hand, leaning forward to kiss his forehead before moving over to the bed.
Link huffed happily, pleased she was somewhere more comfortable, especially when he heard her take a bite of food. His own injuries had been mostly bruising, and the form shift to wolf had actually helped his throat. Satisfied she was going to be alright, he trotted back to the door, bolting down the piece of meat that had been left for him. As a human, he might have balked at the rawness, but his wolf body had no complaints, except that it wanted substantially more of it. Come to think of it, they hadn't been getting a lot of food since they were locked up. Enough to survive on, but not enough to feel truly energetic or satisfied.
His ears pricked and he turned back to look at Zelda as she slid under the quilt, her form highlighted in pale silver from the half moon. The floor wasn't as comfortable as the bed, but his furred body withstood the cold far better, and he was able to curl up and drift back to sleep, watching Zelda's still form as long as he was awake.
At some point during the night, after the moon had set but hours before the sun rose, Link woke to the sound of Zelda crying out softly in her sleep. He raised his head, and saw she was twisting in the covers, trying to push them away, her sleep-addled mind probably envisioning them as heavy, imprisoning hands. Link stood up, walking reflexively for her, tripping over the manacle keeping him bound to the fireplace. He whined piteously, trying to wake her, then increased in sound to a yip, as much of a bark as his wolfish throat could make.
Zelda jerked awake with a gasp and curled in on herself, shuddering with sobs. Link sat on the floor, straining towards her, whining, wishing he could articulate something, anything. After a few minutes, her shudders shifted into shivering, and she drew the quilt back over herself. Link lay down uneasily, setting his head on his paws. He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he heard her get out of bed, dragging the quilt with her.
She saw Link's head tilt quizzically at her as she walked towards him and sat down. Not trusting her voice, she just reached out to rub his ear again, leaning against his flank and curling up again. The bed may be softer, but at least Link would help chase the nightmares away… or banish them more quickly than she could wake up on her own at least. She felt him curl around her, his furry self almost as comforting as his arms around her had been.
They both slept terribly. Wolves slept lightly to begin with, and Zelda kept jerking awake, or starting to cry in her sleep again, and Link would wake up, bathing her cheek or shoulder or arm or whatever part of her he could reach with doggish kisses until she'd relax again, going back to sleep. He was miserable at not being able to do more, felt terrible for how stiffly she moved the next morning when the sun rose and they both finally gave up on sleeping properly. She moved to the window, wrapping the quilt tightly around her body, staring morosely out at the rising sun.
The beautiful, soft morning lightly did nothing to raise her spirits today. Even the sight of industry in distant Castletown, the smoke from the bakers' fires, the wagons just starting to move about, left her feeling cold and filthy. The memory of Ganondorf's hands, his too big body, the way he'd clearly enjoyed her struggles and pain were a shadow on everything. She was abruptly aware of the dried, caked mess on her skin from the night before, the throbbing, burning pain between her legs, the duller ache of bruises from the rough treatment. Suddenly sick to her stomach, she turned and dashed for the small washing room.
Link whimpered as he heard her retching, pulling, pacing at the end of the chain. The manacle was rubbing raw against his leg in a way it never had before… but then, he'd never had a reason to pull against it so much before. After a while, he heard the faint sounds of water trickling, and knew she must be washing herself. He felt a sudden wave of guilt that he hadn't tried to clean her last night, but it had been bad enough when he'd been able to use a cloth. He didn't think he'd be able to lick that off of her skin, not without losing the pitiful amount of food he'd eaten last night.
Even as focused as he was on Zelda, his keen hearing picked up the sound of angry, heavy tread on the stairs, even before the Triforce hidden beneath his fur started to prickle. He spun, trotting towards the door, standing determinedly in front of it. He was unprepared for how abruptly the door swung inward with a crash, or the look of fury on Ganondorf's face as he strode into the room. "How did you do it?" he bellowed. "Zelda!"
Link snarled, lunging at him. He didn't have enough slack in the chain to leap at his throat, but he sank his teeth into Ganondorf's hand instead. Blood spurted under his teeth and he felt bone crack, but before he could start to thrash and really do some damage, Ganondorf's other fist caught him in the ear and he fell back with a yelp, seeing stars.
While a part of Zelda wanted to just hide in the lavatory, she knew Ganondorf would come after her anyways. She was just straightening up when she heard Link's challenging growls and Ganondorf's bellow of pain. The sound of Link's pained howl was what drove her out of the room, though, adding angry colour to her pale, pallid cheeks. "How dare you touch him!" she snapped, striding forwards. The wolf was staggering back to his feet, shaking his head dazedly, but he still stepped forwards at Zelda's side, growling low.
"Where is it?" Ganondorf growled back, seizing Zelda's arms and yanking her forwards, heedless of the blood trickling from his hand. "How did you manage it?" He barely even paused as he spun to kick Link in the muzzle as the wolf leapt for him again, sending him sprawling with a yelp of pain. "Where did you put that gem?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Zelda cried out, her heart pounding, fear making her voice a great deal higher and weaker than she wanted. It had been easy to be angry for Link, but now that Ganondorf had her right in his grasp again, her body was almost ready to collapse with terror and dread.
"The Twilight Gem! How did you take the Twilight Gem?" he demanded, throwing her across the room onto the bed, covering the space in three quick strides. He knelt over her, one hand in her hair, the other on the bed beside her head. "Where is it?"
"I don't know!" she shrieked. Link howled behind them, scrabbling madly on the floor, trying to pull free.
"You lie!" he snarled, slapping her, the blood from Link's bite spattering across her face and neck. She cried out, cringing away from him. "I've heard the lies you can spin, you silver-tongued whore of a queen. What did you do with it?"
She wasn't sure afterwards what made her snap. Maybe it was that final blow, blindingly painful across the previous bruise. Maybe it was the insults, or maybe a change in pitch of Link's piteous howl. Or perhaps Nayru herself reached down and touched her spirit for a moment, but all at once the noise, the pain, the terror all ceased. Time slowed down, and Zelda felt the cool, reasoning strength of the Triforce she'd been born to bear wash through her mind.
Ganondorf was inches above her, as angry as ever, but she saw hints of fear fuelling the anger. Her mind worked incredibly, impossibly fast, recognizing scattered facts, hints, guesses and subtle connections. "You've lost the focus you used to bind the Twilight," she spoke. Her hand came up to block his next blow, and whether it was surprise or goddess-given power, her gently raised fingers halted his hand a foot away from her face.
While they'd been bound before, of course, that was through Zant. Now, with him dead, Ganondorf must have used the massive release of energy from killing such a powerful Twilight mage to twist his original spell, forcing the Twilight to do his bidding. That was why they'd been so biddable, doing the inglorious jobs of caring for prisoners, guard duty, whatever Ganondorf needed silent, unquestioning servants for. And they usually had breakfast dropped off by now, meaning that they were no longer taking orders.
There wouldn't have been much time for him to set the spell. Working with Din's raw power flowing through him, he'd have been able to wrench the souls of the Twilight people to his will without any careful casting or protection, but he wouldn't have been able to go searching for a focus…
Ah. The crown. That was why he'd stopped wearing it. The topaz he'd worn in his headpiece must have been the closest, largest receptacle for that much energy, so he'd have sacrificed his jewelry for control over the Twilight. Once the souls were bound to it, he'd never be able to wear such a powerfully charged object on his bare skin without being driven mad, so he must have hidden it…
Here. In the tower, probably in his own quarters. Zelda hadn't seen it, but then, she hadn't been down there for a tour. But there was no need to tell him everything she suspected or figured out. "I didn't touch it. I don't know where you've put it, and neither Link or I can leave this room without you unlocking and unwarding the door." Her voice was calm, even.
He didn't look any less furious, but he didn't try to hit her again either. "Then who, my dear, clever Zelda, could have taken it? It would take a powerful mage to get through my wards." And she was the best in the kingdom.
Zelda didn't think she had an answer, and then it came to her in the same rush the previous revelations had. Motive, willingness, ability; and just possibly, opportunity. "Are you sure you killed Midna, Ganondorf?"
- 8
- 9
- 10
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Endgame