Amethyst Takahashi Nightswiper entered the town like a gust of wind. The drawbridge was already up but she was able to leap over it using her ninja skills. She leaptd down into the town, keeping among the shadows, true to her last name.

She was named Amethyst by her mother, the Silver Goddess of the Triforce of Darkness (the upside-down triangle in the triforce DUH), because of her deep purple eyes. The moonlight glittered in her hair, which was naturally blonde with a natural purple streak. She wore a tunic because she had received a prophecy from the Silver Goddess that her half-brother, whose name was foretold as Link, also wore one and that was the only way they could find one another. Her tunic was black like the night and it made her purple eyes shine even brighter. She was tall but not super tall, and her skin was pale like the moon.

Amethyst's amethyst eyes spotted shadows moving in the darkness. Who would be out at this time of night??

She drew closer.

The shadows emerged from the darkness, revealing themselves to be a gang of five burly thugs. They towered over the young girl, covered in filthy clothes, rusty armaments, and festering scars. Clearly, Amethyst had stumbled upon some of the most villainous scum in all the kingdom.

Or perhaps, they had stumbled upon Amethyst.

The one at the front of the group, an exceptionally tall Hylian wielding a spiked club, strutted over to the girl. "Well well, what do we have here? Let's make this quick: your valuables, m'lady, or your life."

The sight of these men would have left the bravest soldier of Hyrule shaking in his Iron Boots, but Amethyst was not intimidated. "Leave me alone," she whispered in her inhumanly beautiful voice, "or you will truly be sorry."

The thug holding the club's broad shoulders shook with mocking laughter.

"Hahahaha! Did you hear that, boys? She's gonna make us sorry." The other thugs joined in too, so distracted by their sick humor that they did not notice Amethyst's knees bend like a cat's preparing to pounce.

"I warned you."

Before the thugs knew what hit them, Amethyst had taken down all of them at once! She kicked them and hit them with her hands, requiring no weapons because her appendages moved like weapons on their own. The thugs tried attacking her at once, but she could sense the slight delay between their movements and struck them one by one, revealing their weakness.

In a flash, it was over. Their bodies were flung all across the Castle Town marketplace, and the biggest one had landed in the fountain in the middle. Amethyst had aimed specifically so he would land there, to mock him further.

She did not even have to watch his body fall or hear the splash it made to know that she had executed it perfectly.

She had the pleasure of hearing the splash anyway.

Windows lit up in the buildings, and she heard the commotion of approaching guards. The encounter was quick but had attracted unwanted attention anyway. "Sorry, I won't be staying for the party."

In a single leap she was on top of one of the houses, her ninja training making her landing as quiet as a sleeping cucco. Her body, so powerful despite her delicate appearance, was a dark silhouette against the glowing moon as she crouched on the rooftop. She shook her hair, causing it to dance dramatically in the twilight wind. It was a stunning sight, only nobody could see. Because she was a ninja.

Hopping from her feet, she dashed across the roof and leaped from one house to the other, leaving not a sound as she continued towards her destination.

~~~~~~~~~~

The cucco's cry filled the air as the morning sun filled the room on the inn. Amethyst's eyes opened, the sunlight glimmering in her purple irises. She sat up in bed, rested from the night's sleep, as she recalled her important mission.

Her mentor's words echoed in her mind's ear. "You must gain the trust of the Royal Family," Ganondorf had said.

Amethyst had been taken under Ganondorf's wing when he found her abandoned. He looked into her deep purple eyes and knew that she was special, so he took her to his home in Gerudo Valley where she was raised. She learned fighting and archery and was the best in her class at all she tried. She could tame a wild mare with a touch of her slender hands, and fired arrows from horseback like bullets with the accuracy of Z-targeting only without a fairy.

Ganondorf had sent her away when she turned 13. She remembered speaking with him before, but for some reason her memory seemed a bit... Fuzzy. She tried to remember and it hurt so bad she cried out in pain. Then she forgot again.

"What was I thinking about?" thought Amethyst. "Oh, right... Ganondorf sent me here. I must not forget. I owe him everything."

She left the bed, feeling rested from her long journey to Hyrule from the desert. She briefly considered walking out the door and checking out of the inn. But then she remembered that she's a ninja, and crawled out the window and onto the roof instead. From building to building she leaped, heading north towards the castle. Her movement was swift and silent, and not a single person in the crowded bazaars below realized her presence.

Soon Amethyst stood before the castle entrance. Any lesser warrior would have had to barter with the guards to get in, or sneak in through the courtyard. But Amethyst knew she wouldn't have to resort to such base methods. She strolled calmly up to the guards, who crossed their axes as she approached.

"Halt!" one of the guards shouted. "What business do you have at the castle?"

Amethyst stared at them with her stunning violet eyes. "I am an emissary of the Gerudo. I bring a message of peace to the king." Her melodious voice melted the hearts of the guards. It reminded them of home, of their families. They couldn't bar entry to this beautiful, well-spoken young woman. What harm could she possibly bring?

"You may enter!" the guards stated sweetly as they stepped aside, granting her entry to the castle. "The throne room is straight ahead."

That was as easy as taking deku nuts from a baby, Amethyst thought to herself. The way to the castle opened up before her and she entered.

In front of her extended a grand hall, its walls lined with portraits of what she could only imagine were previous members of the Royal Family. A blonde in a pink dress stood regally in her frame, fixed for all eternity... some sort of green creature, too? The Royal Pet, perhaps. And... what? Was that a plumber?? Did the Royal Family post portraits of their Royal Plumbers on the walls???!

Amethyst was ripped from her reverie by a voice. "Who enters my presence?" it boomed.

Neither her heart nor her composure skipped a beat. She regained her composure immediately and responded, her voice lilting and nearly singing in response: "My name is Amethyst Takahashi Nightswiper, and I come in peace from Gerudo Valley," she proclaimed. Her voice was so sweet, to the King it was like listening to Impa whistling Zelda's Lullaby. He softened to her immediately.

"Oh.. oh! Yes, I, eh... I was expecting you. Of course! Yes, yes. Welcome!"

Amethyst stopped a smirk from forming on her face, but the deep blacks of her pupils betrayed a smidgen of contentedness that the King was far too oblivious to note.

This was going to be too easy.

"What, may I ask, is the message you bring?" the king asked. His bearded face was locked in a big, grandfathery smile. Amethyst chuckled mentally. Was all of the Royal Family this easily swayed?

Though it was tempting to feel smug, she humbled herself by remembering that the king was no fool, and that she had only convinced him of her trustworthiness with the years of linguistic and diplomatic teaching she had received among the Gerudo, as well as her innately melodious and convincing voice.

She continued. "For ages the Gerudo and Hylians have been neighbors, occasionally enemies but never allies. My master, Ganondorf, wishes to change that and pledge allegiance to Hyrule."

The kind smiled with glee. "Wonderful! Truth be told, I was always a little worried about that new ruler of yours. But I must say, you've put my mind completely at ease." He stroked his beard. "We'll usher in a new era of peace and prosperity for Hyrule!"

The plan had gone by without a hitch. Amethyst was prepared to bow and see herself out, having sealed the deal, but before she did her eyes flicked to the darkness behind the throne and settled on a figure hiding therein. Her eyes met those of the person standing in the darkness, who then emerged.

"Hello, Amethyst."

The King, shocked, turned to see his daughter emerging from behind him. "Ah! Zelda! You were here all along?"

Amethyst paid the king no mind, distracted by the fact that her name had been known. She needed to find out how, but the only way to do so was by winning this girl's trust. "Hello, your Highness." Amethyst bowed slightly but not all the way, so she could still see the Princess from under her brow.

"I dreamt of a sparkling Amethyst orb being thrown to me from the shadows, and then it burst with purity and cast the shadows back, bathing the land in light. That is how I knew your name."

The king looked somewhat uncomfortable, and cut off his daughter. "She... er... has a bit of an active imagination, you see. I'm sorry."

Amethyst wasn't sure what to think. She rose, and responded: "I see." She did not want to give too much away.

Zelda took her hand, and turned toward the castle garden. "Father, I wish to show our guest the castle and allow her a place to sleep for the night. Is this permissible?"

"Of course! Nothing but the best for our guest to ensure peace."

Zelda's delicate fingers wrapped around Amethyst's and pulled her into the light.


End Chapter One.

and fired arrows from horseback like bullets with the accuracy of Z-targeting only without a fairy.

:rotfl:

Yes, absolutely. Twilight Wind.

amethyst and zelda are lesbians because it is written by me and val

Of course they are. It's only right.

I don't think babies should be given deku nuts.

The midday sun shone brightly in the castle courtyard, gleaming off the waters which encircled the garden. Princess Zelda walked out into the grass, and then sat down in it, gesturing for Amethyst to join her. Amethyst was still concerned about how Zelda had known her name, and her peculiar dream, but somehow couldn't resist the sight of the lovely young princess sitting amidst the tall grass and flowers, and so she followed Zelda and then knelt down beside her.

Zelda looked down at the flowers before her and played with them silently. She had been the one who led Amethyst to this quiet sanctuary, yet now she was silent. Whereas before she appeared clever and focused, now she seemed rather meek. Was Zelda playing some kind of game? "What all do you know about me?" Amethyst asked, intent on finding out the truth.

Zelda was silent for a moment, her hands coming to rest on a purple flower in the grass. She touched it absently, waited a moment, and spoke.

"I know... more than I dared speak before my father," she began. "He doesn't... he doesn't trust me."

Amethyst did not reply. Was this an act? It seemed.... so genuine. Zelda seemed so delicate.

Zelda breathed and continued. "What I told you about my vision wasn't the end of it. The shadows I spoke of... they were your shadow. As if you yourself carry both the light and the darkness that shape the fate of this land."

Amethyst gasped. Was... was this a trap? Did Zelda know?? She drew away.

"Wait. I'm not finished. I saw one more thing in my vision... it was a great weapon. A blade as black and infinite as the night sky. A name came to me: the Vortex Sword."

Something stirred in the back of Amethyst's mind. Black and purple images swirled in her brain, trying to form an image... it... it looked like....... it....!!!

Amethyst cried out and grasped her head, wincing from the pain.

Zelda reached out and grabbed her, holding her firmly in her hands. "Amethyst... Amethyst! Are you ok?"

Amethyst opened her lavender eyes, only to see Zelda's staring into them. Zelda's eyes were infinite, like the visions they saw and the magics they contained.

She couldn't remember anything... but she felt relieved, somehow, despite it.

"Zelda, I..." she began, but couldn't finish. Her mind was a storm, billowing, chaotic. She couldn't focus her raging thoughts. But as she gazed forward, the storm began to clear and the sun broke through the dark clouds. That sun was the princess, whose sapphire eyes sparkled brilliantly in the midday light. "I'm... I'm fine now."

Zelda smiled warmly. "I'm glad. I was... so worried about you."

Amethyst felt a warm, fluttery feeling in her chest. The environment she had grown up in with the Gerudo had been so Spartan, detached from emotion. It felt so nice to have someone express such kind and sincere feelings for her. Even though they had only just met, she felt closer to Zelda than she'd ever felt to anyone before.

She suddenly felt embarrassed over her feelings. After all her training, all her work, would she really lose track of her mission? Of her duties? Just for this young, svelte, breathtakingly beautiful princess? "Really. I'm fine."

Zelda simply giggled. "You're blushing."

This declaration only made Amethyst's cheeks burn brighter with embarrassment. For the first time in her life, she didn't know what to say.

"It's okay. You look cute." Zelda herself suddenly stumbled over her own words. "I mean, when you blush... you look cute."

Amethyst, for the first time in her life, felt like the embodiment of a color that wasn't deep purple: red. She felt her face burning like Din's Fire and her heart was thumping so hard against her ribcage that it felt like a beast yearning to be set free. Her breath caught in her mouth, as she was completely lost for words and air alike. She stared, red-cheeked, with her mouth slightly agape... and the Princess... held her gaze. Those spectacular eyes did not shy away from the embarrassing sight Amethyst knew herself to be. They held and accepted her wholeheartedly.

Amethyst allowed her body to relax, slumping slightly forward, her lips barely parted as she leaned toward Zelda... who shifted forward to embrace her as she closed her eyes....

NO. She must not forget her mission.

Amethyst, disgusted with herself, stood up and faced away from Zelda. Zelda, who stared into her very soul, before whom she felt entirely bare.

"I must return to Gerudo Valley," Amethyst said, not daring to turn around, to see the pained expression on Zelda's face.

With that, she leaped into the air, flipping before the sun in the sky like a circling bird, leaving naught but shadows on the far-away ground. She landed on the other side of the castle walls, out of sight of Zelda. That way Zelda couldn't see her glistening tears.

Zelda knew of them, anyway, as she cried tears of her own.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a long, lonely return home. The entire way there, Amethyst's mind focused not on her mission, nor Gerudo Valley. All she could think of was Zelda. As the the comfortable warmth of Hyrule changed into the brutal heat of the desert, so too Amethyst felt warmth in her heart fade into darkness with each step she took away from the castle. She didn't feel like she was returning home, she felt like she was leaving it.

The rocky walls of the valley opened up around her, like the hungry maw of a Dodongo. She could hear the distant rushing of water at the bottom of the canyon as she approached the bridge. Two Gerudo stood at the bridge, guarding it from intruders. They watched Amethyst as she walked closer. "Mistress Nightswiper," one of them said. "Ganondorf awaits your return."

Amethyst walked by without speaking a word or making eye contact. She hardly cared about Ganondorf. She wanted only for this mission to end. She wanted to forget about Zelda, about everything. To return to normalcy.

Before she knew it, she stood before Gerudo Fortress. Guards patrolled every inch of the territory. No one could possibly sneak past these fearsome guards. No one but Amethyst, that is, only she didn't have to, as the owned a Gerudo Membership Card.

She walked somberly up the sandy stone steps, to the chamber that housed the King of the Gerudo.

Amethyst was just around the corner of Ganondorf's chamber, when she overheard voices bouncing off of the stone walls.

"...r.... . ..da.. ... .. . .. ...ne. . .. . ... . ..l.v...ss... . ..... ..."

She couldn't quite make the words out in passing. She didn't care, either. It didn't matter. Nothing seemed to matter anymore.

She nearly ignored the words and barged in to interrupt them, but was stopped in her tracks when she made one out clearly:

"vortex."

Vortex? That was... the word... that word...!

"vortex sword," laughed the voice, bouncing from the chamber around the walls, surrounding her, attacking her from all directions.

That word! Those words! Those are the words!

Her head swam and the voice, amplified by Gerudo architecture, mixed with the screaming thoughts in her head, creating a deafening chaos. The vortex sword...! Those were the words she couldn't seem to grasp! Zelda had uttered them. They had occurred to her in passing, but each time, they sought to erase themselves.

NOT THIS TIME, Amethyst screamed to herself. She could feel the shadowy voices in her mind dragging those words back into the dark abyss of her subconscious, but she would not allow them to be taken. "Vortex.. sword...! Vortex sword! VORTEX SWORD!!!" Amethyst yelled once more, expelling the voices in her mind and breaking the spell cast upon her.

Suddenly, her memories came flooding back.

It was a massive sword, the blade alone almost as tall as a man. The hilt was as black as the night during the new moon, and from it sprung forth three blades that were darker than the deepest shadow, which danced around one another in a triple helix of deadly steel before uniting at a single, ultra-sharp tip that was a dark shade of ebony like the feathers of tar-covered raven lying on a black sand beach. It was so black its mere presence warped the light around it, seemingly sucking it in like a black hole. The only exception was a luminous purple Triforce insignia that rested at the top of the hilt... and between the Triforces of Wisdom, Courage and Power was the Triforce of Darkness, which was at least thirteen times as black as all the other parts of the sword put together.

"This is your sword," a mysterious, otherworldly voice spoke in her mind. "This is the sword of the Chosen One. Amethyst, you must take this sword. Claim the Vortex Sword, and claim your destiny."

As she continued to process these returning memories, she heard the voice in the chamber echoing once again, and they brought with them more memories.

Memories of Ganondorf. Of what he'd done to her.

It had been on the day of her thirteenth birthday, the day she had been sent away on a long and perilous journey to the far reaches of Castle Town.

Ganondorf must have sent her away so that she would never recall.

On that day, she had heard the sweet, heavenly voice of her mother, the Silver Goddess. In the unearthly beautiful vocal chords that she had passed to her daughter, she had proclaimed:

"Amethyst... Amethyst.... it is time for your awakening. My name is Wisteria, the Silver Goddess, who blessed this world with the fourth triforce, the Triforce of Darkness. My sisters Nayru, Din, and Farore bestowed upon this world its form, creatures, and life force. However, these forces lacked balance, and were doomed to fall. Like the triforce, which tinkers on the brink of collapse, connected only by their tips... Until I filled the empty center within the triforce. I inhabit that void and that darkness. On this world too I bestowed void, for nothing can exist if not for nothingness. You, Amethyst, are my daughter and my envoy... The Triforce of Darkness is within you and has the ability to balance and engulf the trifles of courage, wisdom, and power."

Just then, a form, black as void itself, had emerged before her. She felt as though her very soul were before her in physical form.. The form of the Vortex Sword.

"This Vortex Sword I bestow upon you on this, your coming of age day. Use it to ensure that the triforce is not permitted to be used for ruin!"

But then Amethyst had forgotten, forgotten entirely until just now.

How could that be?

Ganondorf was how.

He had overheard the mystical conversation using evil magicks and as soon as the psychic link between Amethyst and the Silver Goddess had been broken, he made himself known.

"I will never suffer you to foil my plans with your pathetic power! From now on, you shall become my slave. Forget your heritage, forget your destiny... Forget the vortex sword!!"

His eyes became overcome with spirits and he reaches out his hands, casting a spell that had kept Amethyst oblivious and powerless until her return.

He had cast her away and hid her sword.

But now the bond with her soul had been remade and she could not be fooled again.

She clenched her fist, other hand clasping the infinite nothing of the vortex sword, and she approache the chamber where Ganondorf awaited.

The massive doors creaked open. The throne room was dark and windowless, dimly illuminated by flickering torches. Intricate tapestries decorated the walls, displaying the histories of the Gerudo people, their wars, their kings, their conquests. At the center of the room was a massive throne, garnished in menacing spikes and chains. Upon it sat a tall figure, his grinning face resting upon a curled fist. "Amethyst," the man growled sinisterly. "I see you've returned."

"Of course," she replied. "And I was successful in my mission."

"I knew you would be." The man's grin widened. "I knew nobody could perform this task as well as you, my child."

"I am no child of yours, Ganondorf." Amethyst stepped up to the dark throne. "And I am no longer your servant. I remember everything now. Wisteria. The Vortex Sword. Your treachery."

Ganondorf's grimace remained unwavering. "I knew it was only a matter of time, Amethyst. Your mind is too powerful to control permanently. But I will always be able to make you submit, even if only temporarily." The warlock raised his hand towards Amethyst, his fingers glowing with dark magic. Amethyst suddenly felt her mind being invaded, like an Octorok was wrapping its tentacles around her brain. She stumbled and fell to her knees, gasping in distress. "Fall, my child," Ganondorf whispered evilly. "You will always be my servant. It is your destiny."

Amethyst's fingers clawed at the stony floor, and her teeth ground together as she struggled against Ganondorf's power. She couldn't fall back under his control. She couldn't lose her memories. That was not her destiny. Her destiny was as the daughter of Wisteria.

She suddenly felt the presence of the Vortex Sword once again. She heard it calling out to her, and she reached out to it through the void. She felt its power course through her veins, filling her with its might. "Never!" she screamed as she leaped to her feet. A shockwave blasted through the room, and Ganondorf snarled as his spell was broken.

Amethyst stood adamantly, feeling stronger than ever before. "It is over, Ganondorf. From now on, I am the master of my own destiny. Of Hyrule's destiny!"

Ganondorf scowled at the girl, but his lips soon curled back up into a smile. "It is far from over, my child." He raised his hand into the air and snapped his fingers.

Cackling erupted from both sides of the room. Amethyst recognized the laughter immediately. "Koume, Kotake," she responded grimly.

~~~~~~~~~~

End Chapter Two.

This is getting sexy.

Amethyst had to shield her eyes before the dark void that was forming itself around Ganondorf. Koume and Kotake were circling about him on their broomsticks, voices cackling and creaking, sounding otherworldly. From their clawlike hands burst forth purple lightning, striking Ganondorf in the chest and pulsing about him in beat with his dastardly heart. A vortex of lightning and darkness swirled about the form of the Gerudo king, as he laughed maniacally.

The magic lifted him from his feet, and before Amethyst hovered a convulsing form bursting with horrible evil energy. The magic began forming itself as tangible substance about Ganondorf's suspended and deranged form, like an exoskeleton of impenetrable obsidian through which purple lightning flashed and searched, endlessly, for its next victim. The shell collapsed around Ganondorf, fitting him perfectly as an imposing armor form. Amethyst's last view of him were his eyes, black and overcome with magics, curled in a twisted smile along with his boasting mouth before they too were obscured by his armor's helmet. Ganondorf, fully re-formed by the witches' power, descended back to the ground, and at this point Amethyst realized that she recognized the curvatures of his terrible armor. It was dark and evil and nightmarish, but its form and curves and structure was unmistakeable.

Before Amethyst stood the Lord of Evil in Iron Knuckle form.

As if confirming her thoughts, Koume and Kotake, with one last burst of terrible power, conjured a massive axe in the outstretched hand of Ganondorf. This axe looked for all the world like an even larger, even deadlier version of the weapon belonging to a lesser Iron Knuckle, except it was black enough to rival the darkness of the Vortex Sword itself, and about its blades burst an eternal purple flame.

Amethyst was not afraid. She knew who she was, now. She would not back down, not from the man who had ruined her life and forced her to live a lie.

Her Vortex Sword could pierce that armor, she knew it.

She just had to believe in her power... that of the dark side of the triforce.

"Behold," Ganondorf growled in an ethereal voice. "This is the full might of the Gerudo."

"Pfft, I've destroyed Gohmas bigger than you with my arms and legs tied," Amethyst replied truthfully. She glared at her enemy, the purple flames of his weapon reflecting in her purple eyes. She felt the cold hilt of the Vortex Sword as she gripped it tightly. Her teeth gritted and her legs bent, like she was a Wolfos ready to pounce.

"...yet..."

Her body tensed as she heard the familiar voice echo through her mind.

"...Not yet, Amethyst. Your chance to defeat Ganondorf will come. Until then, bide your time."

Amethyst wanted to protest her mother's voice. She was ready for battle, hungry for revenge. Yet within her heart she knew Wisteria was right. There would be a day when Ganondorf would meet his end at her hands, but it was not today. She need to wait until the time was right. She would prepare for that day.

"Sorry to bail, but I'll be back to finish this." The room was suddenly illuminated with the flash of a Deku Nut, and when the light was gone, so was Amethyst.

"What?" Ganondorf barked with rage. "Where did she go?"

"Alert the guards!" Kotake screeched. "She couldn't have gotten far!"

The beldam was wrong, though. In control of both her ninja training and the dark powers of the Triforce, Amethyst was able to emerge miles away from the Gerudo Fortress in a mere instant. A cold breeze blew past her, ruffling her beautiful blonde and purple hair. Gerudo Valley stood behind her, like a memory. She was leaving it forever.

Storm clouds billowed over Hyrule before her as she disappeared into the twilight.

~~~~~~~~~~

Amethyst let the winds guide her journey as they saw fit. She knew not her destination, only that she needed to grow stronger. She slew peahats by day and stalchildren by night, traversing the vast plains of Hyrule Field by foot. This task was easy for a ninja of her caliber, as she leaped and danced gracefully over rocks and ridges, her feet finding the perfect footholds to thrust her into the air once more.

The only thing traveling on foot cost her was time; it did not expend her energy whatsoever. Her training had far exceeded this in difficulty and strenuousness.

Amethyst perched on a cliff overlooking a pristine river. Her hair ruffled and swept northwards, indicating her next direction of travels. She could barely make out some sort of architectural form on top of a far-off hill. Was this where she was destined to travel?

She hopped down the steep side of the cliff, landing delicately at its base and making naught a sound. She began her graceful ascent toward this distant form.

The next few hours passed without incident, as she slew any enemies in her sight without need of the Vortex Sword. Sometimes she drew it anyway, to practice her finishing attack where she swirls it around her in circles while twirling through the sky, making a black tornado of void that sucks in her enemies and cuts them to little pieces. Not that she needed practicing, but it felt nice to do regardless. Arrogance would not permit her to defeat Ganondorf, after all.

Before she reached her destination, however, she began to feel a deep rumbling from the ground that vibrated her toes and feet and shook her very core.

She focused her garnet (garnets can be purple) gaze, and was able to make out-- even from such a great distance-- what appeared to be a large mass emerging from the hilltop establishment, moving directly toward her her! Upon further focus, she realized that the large mass actually consisted of hundreds of individual cows, all stampeding directly toward her!

Finally, thought Amethyst, a true test of my strength.

Amethyst waited for them to come to her. They roared and screamed and their hooves trampled everything in their path.

She waited until they were just almost upon her, and then she leaped into the sky, flipping over them, causing them to pass her so that she landed on the other side. She landed, eyes closed and crouching, listening for the earth's vibrations to tell her the stampede's directions rather than relying on sight. She felt them turn, heading back for her.

Perfect.

This time, she would face them.

The cows were all facing her, all of them with their heads bent and their horns pointing straight at her.

She reached her right palm into the air, then curled it into a fist that wrenched the Vortex Sword into being from the aether. She then began twirling it, around and around, faster and faster and faster until it merged into itself not as a singular blade but as a continuous, circular manifestation of darkness. She spun it with such velocity that its powers were amplified and the blackness extended to absorb the light and life force of everything around it, like a black hole. The grass died at her feet and winds were sucked into the sword.

The cows, should they continue forward, would cease to be.

Amethyst stood her ground, ready to attack. She saw the cows shuffle uneasily among themselves, as if reconsidering their charge. One by one, they turned and began to run in the opposite direction.

She was sure she had scared the beasts into fleeing, until she heard the scream.

Amethyst peered over the hills, her keen eyes discerning a small figure about a half mile away from her, directly in the path of the rampaging cattle. It was a young girl with red hair, lying in the grass and clutching her leg, as if injured. Her eyes were locked in terror at the rapidly-approaching cows.

Not wasting a second, Amethyst leaped into the air, Vortex Sword in hand. Its dark energies swirled around her as she flew above the ground like a preying raven. Within seconds, the herd of stampeding cows were beneath her. She descended upon them, bringing the sword down with her, which struck the earth and split it like dry wood being cut by an axe. A blast of dark magic surrounded her, swirling like an unholy hurricane. The cows disappeared into the darkness, never to be seen again. Bolts of violet lightning cracked around her as the darkness dissipated, leaving her kneeling alone within a scarred and desolate crater where moments ago there were hundreds of cows.

Slowly, she stood up, the black smoke clearing around her. She began walking towards the girl, who gazed in awe at what had just happened before her. The girl's cerulean eyes stared at Amethyst in both shock and fear.

Amethyst stopped inches before the girl, and examined her. The girl wore a pale dress embroidered with Hylian script. A yellow scarf was wrapped around her neck, bound with a medallion shaped like some kind of hideous reptile. Her ankle looked red and swollen. "Fear not," Amethyst said softly. "The threat is no more."

The girl's eyes widened. Her body relaxed, as if she felt completely reassured by Amethyst's beautiful voice. "The... the cows escaped from the ranch," she sputtered. "I tried to bring them back in, but I fell and hurt my ankle, and they charged at me..."

Without wasting a second, Amethyst knelt and hoisted the girl into her arms. "You're too injured to walk. I'll carry you home." In spite of herself, she felt her heart began to melt, as if by the warmth emanating from this young beauty's delicate body. "What is your name?"

The red-haired girl smiled. "Malon. Are you an angel?"

Amethyst turned to face the setting sun, her flowing hair and Malon's billowing dress waving, subtly pulsing the form of their silhouette in the soft breeze like the gentlest heartbeat. She closed her eyes, and thought of her mother, of Ganondorf... of her mission.

"I am no angel...." she whispered. "I am an envoy."

~~~~~~~~~~

End Chapter Three.

hot

Homing cows. This just got real, son.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"