Favorable side

by Gladys Garcia

  sent out any official commands to heighten security, the guards still hastily set up a volunteer task force to protect the town both inside and out. The soldiers stationed

  outside of the city walls were the first line of defense against danger, in no matter what form it might come in. Of course, since all of the guards still believed that the

  queen had ordered for the hero's immediate capture, he was their number one priority should he decide to return. What none of them knew was that Zelda herself wasn't

  even within the vicinity any longer, having long since left to search for Link in Ordon with Midna. But even so, the soldiers believed that they were doing their unreachable

  queen proud by attempting to apprehend the rogue hero, knowing now more than ever that his capture would ensure the safety of the public overall.

  A slow, steady snowfall was falling upon the town as two armored sentries dutifully stood before its east gate, watching in silence for anyone who might be heading into

  town. They had been given orders to check over everyone who wanted clearance and ensure that they were safe to let into the city, but thus far, no one had come and

  no one had left Castle Town either. And so, as the hours dragged on slowly, the guards steadily grew complacent and lax in their assignment, believing that no one would

  seek to come in such dark, wintry conditions.

  Which was why neither of the soldiers noticed as the thick fog began to roll in, completely obscuring the portion of Hyrule Field that lay before the east gate. The two

  soldiers were unable to see anything after the end of the long bridge that led into town, and so they didn't see the mysterious figure approaching the town on horseback

  until they could hear the steed's upcoming gait. The guards stood alert as they heard the horse gallop towards them, even if both it and its rider were visually obscured

  thanks to the impossibly thick, wintry fog. However, after a while, a vague outline appeared in the white mist, soon becoming clearer as the horse cantered onto the

  bridge itself. There was still very little that could be discerned about the rider of the brown mare thanks to the long, thick, black hooded cloak they were wearing,

  concealing nearly their entire form from view and putting the two sentries on edge.

  "H-halt!" one of the guards called somewhat uneasily as the figure continued to direct their horse across the bridge. Surprisingly, they did as they were told and

  dismounted the steed, their cloak hanging upon them ominously as they took a step forward before stopping almost expectantly. The soldiers exchanged a somewhat

  nervous glance as the other one continued.

  "No one is permitted to enter town unless they have been approved," the guard said, gripping his spear a bit tightly. "Remove your hood, and state your name and

  purpose for coming if you want to go in."

  The figure made no attempt at responding as they merely stood still, the rolling fog serving as a sinister backdrop behind them while their cloak slightly blew in the gentle

  wind, still hiding their face well. After several minutes of stated silence and building tension, the guard tried once again. "You won't be permitted entry unless you give us

  your identity and let us see your face!" he called, his voice a bit more authoritative this time. "If you cannot do either of those things, then we must ask you to leave

  immediately! Loitering on Castle Town outskirts is against the law!"

  Once again, the guard was only answered with another long bout of silence from the mysterious stranger, who still did not make a single move, unnerving them even

  more. By this point however, it was clear that their patience was wearing thin, which was why they both took a large step forward, their weapons poised to attack. "We'll

  warn you one last time!" the other guard shouted, even though there was clear fear in his tone. "Vacate the area or face arrest!

  The figure finally reacted upon hearing this, slowly yet steadily raising their hand up, all while still not saying a single word. The two guards watched curiously, unsure of

  what the stranger was doing, and yet neither of them had time to react as a sudden gust of wind burst from the figure's outstretched hand. The force of the gale was

  enough to easily knock one of the guards off of the bridge and into the frigid waters of the moat below, and while the other guard reacted in a cry of shock and fear, he

  didn't even see the sharp shard of ice until it was too late. The deadly spire flew from the figure's hand at a lightning speed, precisely striking the second soldier in the heart

  and pinning him to the outer wall as he breathed his last. And yet, the cloaked figure showed no signs of remorse as he moved forward swiftly and silently, not even

  bothering to look over at his freshest kill. After all, he had bigger plans in mind for the rest of the town.

  No one in the town itself paid much attention as the hooded stranger slipped in through the gates, and certainly no one noticed his rather large shadow that barely

  seemed to match his form. Very few actually glanced his way as he made his way into the town square, his head lowered so that none could distinguish his dull silver eyes

  or the bright teal markings on his face. In fact, he blended in with the other average citizens of the town quite nicely, which was good. No one would be able to sense his

  violent, vengeful intent until it was far too late.

  It wasn't long before he broke away from the rest of the crowds however, heading towards the castle instead of the market or residential districts. There were no guards

  standing watch at the archway leading to the castle path, but the hooded figure did notice the wanted posted attached to the nearby wall, showing that a large bounty

  was out for whoever could apprehend the at-large Hero of Twilight. He scoffed bitterly as he passed by it, subtly sending out a very small burst of flame from his hand,

  which hungrily consumed the poster without anyone noticing at all as he swiftly continued on his way.

  Even more surprising was the fact that there were no guards at the entrance to the castle grounds themselves, which would only make his job even easier. However, it

  was only a mere changing of the guard, as before he could even make it to the gates that led to the castle, he was caught by the group of three soldiers who had

  suddenly entered into the area.

  "Hey!" one of the guards shouted upon noticing the mysterious figure before them, who was apparently trying to get into the castle. "Stop where you are! No one is

  allowed to enter the castle under Queen Zelda's orders."

  The hooded stranger didn't move upon hearing this, and for a long moment, silence mounted as the guards raised their weapons and slowly shifted forward, unsure of

  who they were facing. However, when he finally did speak, none of the soldiers had been expecting him to sound like a teenaged boy. "Do you really think I care about

  anything Queen Zelda has to say?" he asked, a hint of callous cruelty in his tone.

  The guards exchanged a careful glance as one of them took a large step forward. "Who… who are you?" he asked a bit nervously, aiming his spear towards the stranger.

  "Remove your hood and state your name immediately!"

  "You mean… you don't know?" the hooded figure asked sarcastically, still not turning around for some reason. "Wow. I mean, I knew you guards were stupid, but I didn't

  think you could be this stupid."

  It was clear that this remark had offended the soldiers, for as soon as they heard it, one of them quickly finished his approach, completely prepared to attack the cloaked

  stranger with his spear. However, as the weapon was mere inches away from stabbing him in the back, the figure was quick to throw his hand backwards, still not turning

  as a heavy gust of wind burst forth from it, sending the guard flying backwards into a nearby wall. The two remaining guards gasped in
shock and fear upon seeing this,

  and as they looked back to the stranger, they could see that he was still holding his clenched fist up as a light green aura surrounded it and the glowing mark of three

  triangles shining upon the back of his hand.

  "He bares the royal crest!?" one of the two soldiers exclaimed in confusion.

  "Of course I do!" the cloaked figure snapped in obvious aggravation. "And do you know who else does? Your perfect little queen." A beat of silence passed as the two

  guards shook their heads in bewilderment, clearly not understanding what he meant. "Seriously?" he asked with an annoyed sigh. "You still don't know who I am? I'm only

  on every single wanted poster in this pathetic town, even though I've done nothing wrong."

  "Wait…" one of the guards said, his voice a frightened whisper as his eyes grew wide. "You… y-you're the… the…"

  "The Hero of Twilight?!" the other guard finished for him, just as terrified as his companion.

  "No…" he said darkly, finally turning his head a bit so they could see one of his shining silver eyes. "You're wrong. I'm not your hero anymore…"

  He let out a chilling laugh as he finally turned around to face the guards, his hood still concealing most of his face. However, the two soldiers were petrified with fear as

  they noticed a ring of fire begin to surround the hero, slowly moving up him as it burned only his black cloak and nothing more. And as the dark hood dissipated into

  nothing but ash, they were at last able to see the cruel smirk on his face, made even more sinister by the Twili markings that seemed to glow even brighter in the

  darkness.

  "D-don't make another move!" one of the guards shouted as boldly as he could, taking another trembling step forward as his spear shook in his grasp at the sight of the

  hero. "You're… you're under arrest!"

  Link merely rolled his eyes upon hearing this, knowing that unlike last time, he was more than capable of not only defending against them, but completely obliterating

  them with his powers. "Like I haven't heard that before," he said haughtily, crossing his arms calmly. "You know, I actually feel kind of sorry for how completely clueless

  you two are, so I think I'll give you a head start. If I were you, I'd start running now."

  The two guards exchanged a glance of nervous confusion as both of their hearts pounded with terror for what the rogue hero might do to them. Link only gave them but

  a moment to respond to him, and when they didn't out of frozen fear, he was quick to light a strong flame over each hand. "Fine," he said with an unconcerned shrug and

  an almost excited grin. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

  The guards had no time to even react as the hero thrust his hands forward, allowing the flames to burst forth from them freely. Link only heard their all too brief screams

  of pain as he watched the fire consume the entire walkway, completely incinerating everything in its path as it burst out of the archway and into the town itself. The hero

  couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction as he heard the first screams of terror, knowing that they were the only the beginning.

  As the walkway continued to smolder before Link, Verona suddenly rose up from his shadow, where she had hidden herself away in the same way that Midna often used

  to do. The Queen of Shadows came to stand beside the hero, using her own magic to shield herself from the fires that had no effect on the one who had cast them as

  she looked to him with a broad grin of approval.

  "Very nicely done, Link…" Verona said, taking twisted delight in the fact that the only remains of the three guards were their melting suits of metal armor. "Doesn't it feel

  wonderful to strike fear into the hearts of those weaker than you? Doesn't it just fill you with pleasure and excitement?"

  "It does," the hero said with a nod of eager agreement. "But we're far from finished yet…" As he said this, Link took a glance upwards towards the castle, his fists

  clenching at his sides as ice swirled around them in hatred for the queen.

  "Indeed," the Queen of Shadows said, knowing as well as Link that Zelda was their ultimate goal in this strike. "But not yet."

  "What?" Link asked in disappointment. "Why not?"

  "Because she's not even there," Verona said, nodding towards the castle.

  "How do you know? That castle is huge; she could be anywhere in there!" the hero said, wanting nothing more than to make the queen pay for what she had done.

  "Take a look at the back of your hand," the Queen of Shadows said, taking his hand and holding it up so he could see the mark of the Triforce of Courage, still glowing light

  green as it had been before, though its luster was nowhere near as bright as it could have been. "It's not resonating. The Triforce of Wisdom isn't in the immediate vicinity,

  and therefore, neither is Zelda."

  "Oh, come on!" Link nearly shouted in aggravation, flames spiraling around his fist as he slammed it into the nearest wall in rage, not even caring about the burst of pain

  that ran through it in his anger. "If she's not here, then where could she be?!"

  "It doesn't matter where she is," Verona said calmly. "She'll be here as soon as she realizes what's befalling her precious Castle Town. Then, she'll be all yours."

  The hero let out a sigh of frustration, but reluctantly agreed nonetheless. "Fine," he said complacently, even though it was clear he was still impatient over the matter.

  "Then we might as well get started."

  "I was thinking the exact same thing…" the Queen of Shadows said, a hint of wicked laughter in her tone as she faded into Link's shadow, leaving him to his destructive

  work.

  Despite its sturdy stone walls, Castle Town caught fire as quickly as quickly as a thin sheet of paper. Link barely had to do anything at all to get the buildings in the square

  to burn, and the blaze very quickly swept in all directions across the town. Of course, the hero listened to the instructions Verona had given him to remain relatively out of

  sight. After all, if the people of the attacked town didn't know who was behind this devastation, then they couldn't possibly inform their queen once she arrived. And for

  Link, seeing Zelda's reaction when she found out he was behind all of it would only make things even more entertaining.

  And so the hero kept to the shadows, subtly spreading bursts of fire about when no one was looking. Not that anyone was paying much attention to him anyway as the

  entirety of the population scrambled throughout their town that had so suddenly been set alight. Link couldn't help but find incredibly irony in the fact that many of the

  guards who were sworn to protect the people of Castle Town were the first ones to abandon it all for the sake of their own safety. The ones who managed to escape,

  anyway; the hero had made a point to target most of the soldiers he saw specifically, taking them out with specifically aimed bursts of ice or wind as opposed to fire.

  After all, it only seemed fair considering how they had targeted and perused him relentlessly, forcing him to run just to preserve his freedom.

  Link shook his head with confidence as he reminded himself that things weren't like that anymore. He had been weak and fearful back then, but now he was strong, now

  he was powerful, now he was unstoppable. Now he didn't care if anyone viewed him as a monster or if they feared him; he wanted them to be afraid of him. After all,

  none of these cowardly, spineless fools had powers as incredible or as deadly as his. There wasn't a single soul who could hope to stand against him and hope to survive.

  As the fire continued to grow and build on its own, the hero grew more and more curious as to what his fiery creation looked like as a whole. From his place in an

  abandoned alleyway the western residential district, he was only able to see the dark smoke rising from the flames that seemed to b
e everywhere, as well as hear the

  countless screams from those who were both getting caught up in the fire and those desperately trying to escape it by any means necessary. And so, deciding that he

  wanted to get a better look at the havoc he was wreaking, Link created a strong gust of wind and used it to propel himself upwards a bit, coming to land a moment later

  on top of one of the higher walls of the city, knowing that it wouldn't be coming down any time soon, unlike all of the crumbling, far-less durable buildings.

  The hero grinned with pleasure upon seeing that the entire city was consumed with flames by now, the only part of it not covered in bright orange fire being the castle

  itself, as Verona had told him to leave it alone for the time being. From his vantage point, he was concealed from view thanks to the smoke rising from the fire, something

  that certainly could be seen even miles away from the town itself so that all would know that the light of Hyrule was falling and being replaced by a reign of shadows. Link

  also noticed that not many people were actually managing to flee from the town, something that amused him as he watched them futilely try to douse the unquenchable

  flames to save their worthless town and their tawdry possessions. It all meant nothing to him though; after all, this wasn't his home and these people had scorned him As

  far as he was concerned, they deserved no mercy after cruelly casting out the very hero who had risked his life to save them. If they didn't want him to be their hero,

  then he would be the exact opposite. He would be their conqueror, and hopefully, through this violent display, they would see just how much a mistake they had made

  when they so callously wronged him.

  Link remained standing atop the wall for quite some time, knowing that, at least for the moment, the amount of fire filling the town was satisfactory as he watched it

  burn, captivated by the strangely, yet hauntingly beautiful sight of the immense inferno. However, as he continued to stand and watch from above, he suddenly caught

  sight of something approaching from the southern horizon. It was somewhat obscured thanks to all of the smoke, but the hero quickly corrected that by using a cold gust