The horse gave out a shriek before rising onto its hind legs. Her hands slipped from the horse's reins. A gasp escaped her lips, but no other sound managed to escape. Her eyes widened as her body left the saddle. Her shoulders hit the ground. She clamped her eyes shut from the sudden pain that jolted through her body. Her legs whipped to the ground, before her entire body bounced twice. She slid to a stop.

Her muscles were tense, causing her entire form to shake. The girl's bottom lip trembled, and a small whimper sounded from her. Slowly, once the sharp pain subdued to a duller ache, she opened her eyes.

The spooked horse was already galloping away. It looked back fearfully at the Bullbos and Bulblins chasing it. The girl dug her hand into the sand, anger consumed her. Her graceful stead didn't deserve to be put through that sort of fear.

She gripped her arm and stood up, eyeing the Bulblins drawing close to her. Blood ran down her arm and onto her hand, staining the white dress that dawned her body. The bottom of her dress was already ripped, something she did prior to getting on the horse to make it easier to ride. She knew that even if she was wearing more suitable clothes for combat, she didn't stand a chance against these Bulblins, whose arrows were drawn and pointed at her. She had no weapons to defend herself with, all of her supplies were gone with her horse.

The girl was forced down to her knees. She bit her lip to keep her from spitting on her captures. Her eyes shot down to the sand beneath her darkening bare feet. Shackles were cast over her wrists before she was thrown over the back of a Bullbo.

Her eyes darted to her horse just in time for her to witness it being struck down by flaming arrows. She clenched her eyes shut, not able to stop the few tears that ran down her cheeks. Her body went limp, and she allowed herself to be carried away. Her mind only focused on her dead horse, shocking her into a deep sleep.

When she opened her eyes, the green creatures were rambling on in their guttural language. They were blurry at first, but once her eyes focused, she realized they were inside a cage. She tilted her head, rather she was inside a cage. Her hand brushed against the rusting bars and quickly withdrew them. She didn't want to cut herself on this metal out of fear of getting an illness or an infection. Chains rattled as her legs moved up to her chest.

The guttural mutter ceased. The monstrous humanoids turned towards her, their eyes appeared to be glowing red below their protruding brow. The girl gulped and backed away from them. Something hit her back. In an instant, her head tilted upwards. There was a collapsing brick wall, typical of the desert ruins she was exploring.

A silence stilled amongst all. The girl's eyes glanced towards the green hued mob. Her breath got caught in her throat. Footsteps that were lighter than they should have been slowly prowled towards her. Metal shifted ever so slightly. A leather cloak flapped with the wind. The golden crown glimmered under the light of one of the monster's torch. The heavy boots stilled in front of the cage, the possessor of such boots glared down at her.

The girl forced herself to not tremble under the man's piercing gaze. She knew very well who this man was just by one glance, and that fact terrified her to her very core. The legends behind this man shadowed all of the land's history.

"We found her riding out of one of the ruins," one of the monsters grunted towards the towering man whose attention now drifted from her to the speaker. "She could have been a grave robber."

"No, never!" the girl suddenly shouted. Her eyes widened at her outburst. She could feel her heart pounding against her ribcage. When the man turned towards her, she stared up at him and bit her lip once more.

"Then, why were you there?" His voice was deep with a slight rasp, just like what she expected from looking at him.

It took her a second or two before she found her voice. "I was studying there. I'm an archaeologist, and I was studying the lost civilization that was once here, but you probably already know about them."

The man smirked. "So you know who I am, and you're not cowering?"

The girl swallowed as she tried to quench her dry throat. There was nothing in her mouth to swallow, so she feebly nodded. She was surprised that her acting skills were at least somewhat redeemable. That, or her face didn't show any sort of expression. She went with the latter, seeing as she had been accused of looking aloof all the time.

"You amuse me girl, what is your name?"

"Ahura." Her throat scratched, and her voice didn't come out as soft as she would have liked it to. "My name is Ahura," she spoke softer that time, but her throat still tickled her. She needed water before it got any worse, but hers was left with the rest of her supplies. "And the horse your warriors killed was named Thorn," Ahura spat with hatred.

The man kneeled down towards the cage. His eyes narrowed, and his thick eyebrows turned downwards. Crinkles formed on his dark nose. His lips curved towards the ground. Some of his teeth were bared. "Watch your tone, girl."

Ahura felt her heart still. Cold sweat, opposed from the heated one she felt earlier, ran down her neck. She murmured a slight agreement, keeping an eye on the man in front of her. Though the shadows still swallowed his body, she could clearly see the muscles that bulged beneath his heavy clothing. It was a wonder that he wasn't passing out from heat stroke. The man chuckled as he got a reaction out of her.

"Get the girl, Ahura, some water," he commanded towards one of his minions before turning to leave.

"Wait," the girl croaked out. "How are you alive? Were you revived?"

The man smirked. He gazed up towards a hole in the crumbling wall and made way to where the light was shining through. One leg stepped through, and then his entire body was being doused in the light. Ahura felt as if the air in her lungs was knocked out of her. The man was completely see through in the light. He was a ghost, no a phantom was a better way to describe it.

"Do not think me as alive, girl," he sneered. "While I'm in the light, all I am is a shadow." He stepped back into the darkness where his body seemed to materialize. "But also do not think that I cannot hurt you, because I can." He turned to walk away once more. "You will refer to me as Lord Ganondorf."

When the water came, she only sipped enough to quench her thirst. She wasn't sure when Lord Ganondorf would be gracious enough to supply her enough of life's essential. She wanted to ration it, but not so much that she would actually die from dehydration when she had a full jug of water. There were times when she would hear rumors at a tavern about a body that was found with a full canteen of water nearby, but the person still died from dehydration. And so she drank what she needed and saved her mourning of her horse for a later date.

The next day, fresh water was placed out for her. It puzzled her that they were keeping her hydrated when they were in the middle of a desert. Ahura had to wonder if it was Lord Ganondorf's orders. Either way, she'd have to thank him if she ever saw him again. Her mind scolded herself, he was the one keeping her prisoner. It was his minions that killed her horse. She shouldn't be thanking him.

However, that train of thought soon ceased. In the middle of the night, everything grew silent. The normal chanting of the Bulblins was gone, flames weren't flickering, and even the common winds of the desert were quiet. Ahura sat up from her spot on the ground and glanced around. The first sign that something was off was that the chain around her ankle was gone. She narrowed her eyes and looked towards the door to her cage, it was open.

Ahura slowly stood and walked towards the exit. She chewed her lip, trying to think about what happened. Two thoughts clashed in her mind. She was free from Lord Ganondorf and could flee the desert to Hyrule castle. There, she could warn the people of his revival. There was also the fact that this seemed too easy. She pictured the Bulblins hiding amongst the higher towers, their bows at the ready. Once she stepped foot out of the cage, the green humanoids would shoot and kill her.

She glanced around her cell. There was a stick, something she used to jot down notes about recent findings in the lost civilization. It was long, so she could use that. Immediately, Ahura began stripping out of her dress. A white undershirt and brown leggings were left on her. Ahura took the dress and draped it over the stick. Once she was sure it was secure, she slowly poked it out of the cell.

She held her breath for a moment or two, nothing was firing at her yet. One foot, and then another, made its way out of the cell. She crept along the edge of a wall before she came to a corner. Ahura stuck the dressed stick out from the corner and made it appear as if it was a person walking.

Almost immediately, an arrow shot by. Ahura yelped. Her hands threw the stick towards the ground and she dashed back towards her cell, leaving the dress behind. Immediately, Bulblins started hording around the wall. Ahura glanced over her shoulder with widened eyes before focusing on the path in front of her. She tripped over a rock and scrambled into her cell. Instantly, she slammed the door shut and kept it there with her bare foot.

The Bulblins grumbled and slowly walked away, not deeming it enjoyable enough to shoot her with their arrows while she was enclosed.

"So you're somewhat intelligent." Ahura shot her head over her shoulder and stared up at the man smirking down at her.

"You set up that trap!" She removed her bare foot from the door and stood. "You wanted me to get shot by them and killed!" Her face was turning red from the anger she felt bubbling from within. "Now that they didn't, are you going to kill me?"

"That would hardly be honorable, fighting a defenseless, little girl," Lord Ganondorf smugly replied. "Besides, I wanted to see what you would do, you weren't disappointing."

"Glad I could provide the entertainment, I can only hope you didn't forget your snacks to eat while you watched." Ahura held her body with her arms and backed towards the corner of the cell furthest away from him. She slumped down to the ground and folded her legs up in front of her. They served as a shield from him.

Lord Ganondorf watched on with slight amusement. He took out a small, silver key and exited the cell. Turning around, he locked the door. Ahura's unkempt hair blocked her face, making it impossible for him to gage her reaction. The man took a few steps away from the cell before looking over his shoulder. He gave out a light chuckled before disappearing into the night.

Food and water came at a regular basis. Much to Ahura's surprise, it wasn't just scraps due to an afterthought. She was served actual meals that didn't taste like the sand in her cage. They were relatively decent, not the worse things she's eaten in her life.

Another thing that shocked Ahura, was that when she woke up there was a cloak in her cell to replace the tattered dress she had. The cloak appeared to be brand new. It was thick enough to keep her warm in the cool, desert nights, but light enough to not damn her to the daily heat. Her only worry about the cloak was that it was black, something that could actually make her overheat in the desert sun. Still, it was a kind gift, if she could call it that.

It was after this gift and the regular food and water that Ahura allowed herself to mourn for her horse. She cried heavily at night, missing her only companion. The young girl felt the loneliness set in. But it was after she cried she came to realize that the Bulblins thought of her as an intruder. It wasn't necessarily a total act of blood-thirsty aggression. While she still held distain for the green race, she held a sense of understanding.

"Don't archaeologists work in teams?" Ahura looked up to see that Lord Ganondorf had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, she wouldn't have put it past him.

She huffed some straggling hair out of her face. "Usually, yes." There was a silence between the pair, neither seemed willing to go on. However, with Lord Ganondorf's intimidating presence, Ahura caved in and spoke, "I was working by myself. You don't need to worry about anyone looking for me. Even back home, no one will miss me. I don't mix well with the living. The dead tends to get along better with me."

"How about ReDeads?"

"Please, those are just part of a legend." Ahura tried to move some hair behind her ear, but her fingers got caught in it. She hissed at the sudden pain and carefully combed through the knot. "Everything is just part of a legend. You're not even supposed to exist." Ahura felt her temper flaring. "That's what they all told me."

"And here you are, staring up at a phantom."

"Exactly. I'm just glad I ran into you instead of a ReDead. No offense, but you're not as scary as they're made out to be."

Lord Ganondorf chuckled, not at all offended. Deep down, he had to agree with her.

"So now that you know I can't be used for ransom, are you going to kill me?"

"Not yet. I believe you have some potential to be of use to me."

A/N

I am running a fundraiser for the organization ALTA! ALTA stands for the Amur Leopard and Tiger Alliance. It is a fantastic organization that is saving these amazing animals from extinction. Did you know that there are only 70 Amur leopards left in the wild and only 500 Amur tigers left in the wild? That's why they need our help more than ever. If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, you can buy something from my RedBubble page for the rest of September (2016). Or you can donate directly to my .
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