The Legend of Zelda: The Sage of Darkness

Chapter 3: Snitch

Zelda

I pull my sword from the body of the Dark Knight. I fling off the blood.

"What do we do with the bodies?" Anju, a resident of Kakariko, asks.

"Throw them in the Royal Family's Tomb. Let the ReDeads have them." I order.

She nods and calls the carpenters over to take away the bodies.

"How could this have happened?" Beth asks. "How could they have known that you were here?"

"I think I know." Casey says. "There's a snitch among us."

"Gather up everyone. We'll find whoever it is." I order Beth and Casey.

Several minutes later, everybody in Kakariko Village is gathered in front of the windmill.

"Everyone knows what happened today!" I announce. "Dark Knights came here looking for Casey and I! The only way that they would have known is if someone told Ganondorf that we were here! Whoever it was, admit it now and your punishment will only be exile! Don't, and you will be killed!"

There's a silence. No one admits to being a traitor.

"Fine, then! Until someone owns up to this act of treason against the Queen of Hyrule, nothing and no one will leave this town!" Beth announces.

Beth

That night, I guard the gate in case anyone decides to sneak out. Lanterns shine down on the gate and me. There is no light coming from Zelda and Casey's house, but I know that they're awake, at least one of them is. They said that they would take shifts watching me in case things turn violent.

A hooded figure approaches.

"I need to go to Castle Town Market. My son isn't feeling well, I need to pick up some medicine." The hooded figure is a woman.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You heard what I said, nothing and no one leaves this town until someone admits to betraying Zelda and Casey." I tell her. "I'll make a run to the market tomorrow morning."

I hear the SHING of a blade being pulled from a sheathe. I feel something hit me in the forehead. The last thing I remember is collapsing to the ground.

Casey

I watch through the window as Beth is knocked out by a hooded figure.

"Mom! Wake up!" I yell, drawing my sword and throwing the scabbard on the floor.

"What?" Mom says groggily.

"Beth just got knocked out by someone in a hooded robe!" I say.

Mom jumps up out of bed. I toss her her sword and we head out the door.

"Hey! Stop!" I yell.

The figure looks our way. It holds a dagger.

The figure slashes at mom. I charge at the figure, but it kicks me in the stomach and knocks me backward. From the grunt that the figure lets out, I can tell that it's a woman.

The woman cuts Mom's right cheek and arm. She drops her sword. The woman holds the dagger to her throat.

"No!" I yell.

I run and tackle the woman. She thrashes on the ground. I hold her down and Mom kicks her in the head, knocking her out.

I jog over to Beth.

"Beth. Beth, wake up." I say.

Her eyes flutter open.

"Ow. My head." She groans.

She and I stand up. I bring her over to the light to look at her forehead.

"It's bruised, for sure. Looks like there's a small cut, too. Nothing major. It'll take a couple days to heal." I tell her.

"Or it could take a few seconds." Mom says, walking over.

She lays her hand on Beth's forehead. Her hand glows with white light. She takes her hand away from Beth's head. The bruise disappears and the small cut closes. There's nothing left but a scar.

"Whoa, how'd you do that?" I ask.

"Magic." Mom says.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" I ask.

"No." She says.

"Well, why not?" I yell.

"Because you don't have magic, Casey!"

"How can you have it, but I don't?"

"When you're born to parents where one has magic and the other doesn't, there's a very slim chance that you get magic abilities. I tried to teach you when you were seven." Mom raises her voice.

Zelda

I put a wounded cat in front of Casey.

"Kitty!" He yells with excitement.

"That's right, Casey. This is a kitty. She's hurt. Do you think you can heal her?" I ask.

"How do I do that?" He asks, obviously confused at what I'm asking him to do.

"Just pet her." I tell him.

He lays his right hand on the cat's back. I wait in anticipation for the glow of healing magic.

Nothing.

"Why didn't you keep trying?" Casey asks.

"Because your powers are supposed to come around by the time you're ten. You're sixteen, Casey, it's not gonna happen. I'm sorry." I respond. I feel like I've let Casey down.

"You two just need to stop worrying about." Beth tells us. "Now, can we please see who the hell this is?"

Casey walks over to the person who is still out cold. He rips off the hood of the cloak.

The Next Day...
Beth

Anju and I stand atop the windmill. She was the snitch. One of our closest friends betrayed us.

She wears a noose around her neck. The other end of the rope is tied to the wooden platform that juts out of the stone blocks.

"Why, Anju? Why did you betray us?" I ask as calmly as I can.

"I did it for the reward." She answers.

"How much?"

"500 rupees."

I let out a little laugh. "That's not even worth the ink to write the letter with."

"I know." Anju says.

I walk Anju forward. She's standing on the piece of wood now.

I can faintly hear Zelda talking to the crowd below. "Now, you will see what happens when you betray the queen of Hyrule!"

"I'm sorry." I say, pushing Anju.

She screams. I hear the sound of her neck breaking and she stops screaming.