How A Princess Fights.

Chained.

The Castle had definitely changed since the soldiers had left. How did King Ganondorf manage to change the Kingdom so drastically within the few weeks the soldiers had been gone?

Gerudo warriors stood guard at every corner and the Hylian staff that ran the entire castle walked around in silence. Except... Where were all the women?

The Commander dismissed most of her forces so that only the important generals or captain's were there. Hable, Arthur and Pike were ordered, along with the rest of their squadron, to attend the meeting in the throne room as well.

The Commander stood at the front as they entered the throne room. It was as if Ganondorf had sucked the life out of the once joyous room. Now there was just a blanket of blackness over the hall.

The entire squadron gasped as they saw movement behind the throne Ganondorf was sitting upon. He just tightened his fist around the bunch of chains he was holding that lead behind him.

A cloud must have let the sun slip for a fraction of a minute because there was a slight increase in light that came in from the window. It lit up the dark behind Ganondorf's throne.

It was a huddling group of cowering girls, all shackled by their necks and their chains lead into Ganondorf's hand. They were all stripped down to rags that exposed most of their body.

The group were recognised as the staff that worked at the castle even though the state of their hair or the amount of dirt on their faces made it hard to identify at times.

"You summoned us, Lord Ganondorf?" The Commander cleared her throat before speaking.

"Yes... I do not believe that sending my entire army to the former Princess will bring her down..." He announced to the room, "You command my army and so you will remain here at Hyrule Castle..."

"Yes, my Lord." The Commander bowed, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes... This one used to run the Royal Guard," Ganondorf took out a chain from the bundle and yanked it forward, making a girl stumble forward, "She will be working with us..."

Pike, Hable and Arthur had to slap their hands to their mouths in shock as the woman stood up.

She was quite slender and had prominent muscles. There were red patterned tattoos that littered her body. Her white hair was out of it's usual bun and hung in messy dreadlocks over her shoulder.

Despite all of this, Impa still stood up straight and held her head up high...

The entire Royal Guard squadron gasped as they saw their former leader in this compromising position. Impa was known as a proud Sheikah Warrior and yet here she was, dressing in rags and chained up like a dog.

***

"If we start traveling down that road, we could reach Goron City in three to four days depending on how fast Epona can ride..." Link mumbled as he scanned the map and pointed the road put to Zelda.

"Good enough..." Zelda sighed as she took the map and stuffed it into the saddle pack she was fastening into Epona.

The two clambered into the saddle and Link took the reins.

Link placed one arm around Zelda's middle so as to keep her secure as Epona rushed into a gallop.

Zelda still wasn't used to the idea of being so close to him but she had to admit that she had no coordination on a horse. Before, she was bobbing up and down with every gallop and after a while, her legs would be sore and weak. At least with Link's help, she could stay comfortable.

The thought of being close still scared her. Zelda knew that he was only trying to help but there was still that nagging memory of Ganondorf. She remembered his foul breath on the back of her neck and his calloused hands grabbing her middle tightly.

***

"Can I ask you something?" Link muttered before taking another gulp of the spirits.

"I don't know-" Zelda started as she took the bottle from his hands and took her own sip.

"Why did you freak out when we were hiding?" Link cut her off as he blurted his question out.

"Well... I...um..." Zelda stuttered uncontrollably.

"Zelda... Whatever you're thinking of... Whatever you're talking about... Whatever you're hiding from the world... Whatever is scaring you..." Link spoke softly as he looked over at her, hoping she remembered his words to her that day, "I will always be here."

Zelda looked into the campfire before she looked up into the dark night sky. Finally, her gaze fell back on Link and saw the hope in his eyes. Drinking up the last dreds of the spirits, Zelda sighed in defeat.

"Ganondorf..." Zelda spoke hoarsely at first before she cleared her throat and begun again, "Ganondorf... Wasn't a good husband..."

Zelda looked over at Link, hoping that was enough. Link saw the worry in her eyes and decided not to press the issue. He knew that whatever Ganondorf did to her, it obviously scared her to death. He knew that she drunk herself to sleep every night and that he had only turned to it once he lost Lyrah. He knew that one day, she might tell him the whole true but he shouldn't pressure her.

***

"How is it?" Pike cocked an eyebrow at Siren as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

He help up her face so he could examine the black eye. He nodded to himself as he softly tapped her face in different places to see how badly she would react and by that, determine the pain she was in.

"More dried Blue Nightshade petals..." Pike muttered to himself as he took a small pot off the shelf and began to add the shriveled up petals to his paste.

"I'm sorry what Ganondorf did to your leader..." Siren apologized softly as Pike began to put the ointment on his hands.

"It wasn't your fault..." He chuckled nervously as he spread the scrub over the tender areas of her black eye, "I just can't believe he would have the audacity to do such a thing to all those poor women..."

"Ganondorf has grown up with Gerudo woman doing whatever he demanded. But he knows that most of us are warriors so he might see those women back there as inferior and therefore his objects..." Siren sighed as Pike finished applying the medicine to her face.