Title: Moment of Steel
Author: Dodongo Dislike
Summary: A lesson in love.
Based on: OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.
Goes best with: A little John Hiatt.

Chapter One

Consciousness returned slowly and irrevocably, first with the awareness of the pain in her skull, then the cold hard stone behind her, and finally with the darkness that surrounded her.

Princess Zelda found herself alive, in pain, and extremely annoyed. Oh, for Din's sake. Not again.

She took a few steadying breaths, swallowed her aggravation, and began to assess her situation with fierce, cold logic. This is clearly less than optimal. First, she needed to determine her physical status. It seemed she could move her legs fine. But her arms had been bound behind her back, and when she tried to move them—she bit back a cry of pain as she shifted her hands and realized something had been driven through them.

So. Whoever had done this didn't want her completely immobilized, just unable to use her arms. But since when had the Princess of Destiny needed physical weapons to defend herself? Closing her eyes, she willed her nerves to stillness and summoned Din's Fire.

And nearly vomited with agony when blinding pain exploded behind her eyeballs.

Her head fell against the floor with a crack, and she gasped, swallowing back bile.

What in the name of the Three?

Still gasping for breath, she tried to collect her thoughts. It appeared this enemy was more of a danger than an annoyance. The mysterious object that nailed her palms together must be a nail—or needle, or shard—of iron. Iron was poison to magic. It was a well-kept secret, but obviously, Zelda reflected as she let the pain fade away, not secret enough.

Very well then. Whoever had gotten her not only had a cruel streak, but also knew more about magic than she cared to think about.

She had, for now, been taken out of the game. It seemed she was doomed to stay here until one of three things happened: she was killed, she figured out a means of escape, or the Hero of Time did something incredibly noble and overly dramatic.

Come to think of it, where in Din's fiery hell was the Hero of Time, anyway? Shouldn't he have been in the castle for this little piece of excitement? No. She remembered now. Link was off investigating rumors of a Tektite infestation along the Calatian border, west of Lake Hylia.

She also remembered bits of what must have been the previous evening. Prince Aeron of Holodrum, her late husband's brother, had been in residence for what was supposed to have been a visit to his brother's grave and his nephew, Prince Daphnes Nohansen.

At the thought of her son, Zelda could feel panic begin to well up within her. No, she thought, whether to ward off the cold terror that began to grip her heart or to deny the myriad of horrible things that could have happened to him while she lay here, bound and useless. No.

Survival instinct honed over seven years of hiding from Ganondorf and perfected throughout her mostly solitary adulthood asserted itself ruthlessly, bringing with it the welcome relief of rationality. Impa had been carrying the boy, she remembered, as they walked back to Zelda's chambers after a late dinner. When something had grabbed Zelda out of a shadowy corner, Impa had flinched back, clutched the boy to her chest, and had run without waiting to hear Zelda's shout. "Take him!"

There the memories ended, which was just as well, because she could hear movement—the tromp of footsteps and clanking of metal as several armed people came down the corridor towards her cell.

Good. It was time to find out what this ridiculous situation was all about.

It hurt to stand, from the throbbing in her head to the aching in her shoulders to the searing fire in her palms, but she did. The bastards would not see her on her knees. Impa had taught her long ago that a Princess of Hyrule bows to no one. Zelda had never forgotten.

She was on her feet and ready for them by the time the door opened. Yes, this was Hyrule Castle, where the dungeon bars groaned from disuse.

It had been so dark in the cell that the torches they brought made her eyes water, and she had to look away until the momentary blindness passed. When she was able to see again, she raised her head deliberately, taking them in.

As she had feared, the man at the forefront was her dead husband's brother. Treacherous bastard, she thought as she struggled to control her anger. Aeron was flanked by three guards, all wearing Holodrum's colors.

And where are my loyal guardians? Zelda wondered bitterly. Whose magic has so ensorcelled them that they allow this?

A flutter of motion behind the prince attracted her attention to a shadowy form, and Zelda realized at once who her true enemy was. And who are you, who knows enough about magic to bind mine with iron? She was fairly certain she didn't want to know.

Aeron's voice dragged her attention back to him. "Where is he?"

Zelda could think of only two "he"s the prince would be referring to, but she'd be damned if she'd make this easy for him. "Where's who?"

He sneered. "Don't play coy with me, Zelda, you know who. Where is Nohansen? Where is my brother's son?"

"My son."

"Where did that Sheikah bitch take him?"

Zelda smiled as serenely as she could, hoping to hide the piercing relief that made her knees go weak. Noha was with Impa. She said a silent prayer of thanks to all three goddesses and said, "Where you'll never find him."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'll find him."

It seemed her captor was far from a master wordsmith. Zelda began to anticipate many more tedious exchanges like this until she was able to escape. "What is it you want, Aeron? You'll rule all of Holodrum one day. You don't need Hyrule."

"I don't want Hyrule. I want to restore the rightful king to the throne and tell him the truth about his whore of a mother!"

Zelda smiled again, this one a mocking one. "He's a little young for that lesson now, but I'm sure he'll figure it out on his own one day."

"And when will he learn that you murdered his father?"

She was so surprised she couldn't prevent herself from gasping, "What?"

Aeron took a menacing step towards her. But not, she noted, too far from his guards. Is he so afraid of a woman in chains? "Do you think I'm a fool?" the prince hissed. "My brother was too good a horseman to just fall like that. I don't know what manner of witchcraft you used, but you'll pay for it."

"You are a fool," Zelda countered. "Darius's accident was nothing more than that. He was a good man—why would I want him dead?"

"So you could rut with that loyal dog of yours."

He was mad. No one born royal could possibly see any logic in murdering a spouse simply to have an affair. There were too many potential political ramifications. Besides, no one born royal expected to marry for love anyway. Zelda had considered herself extraordinarily lucky that her husband had been as kind and wise a man as he was. "And now you think I'm the fool. Both Darius and I were adult enough to understand the value of a discrete consort. I wouldn't have needed him dead to indulge myself."

And besides, Link had been an ocean away at the time.

She had little time to marvel at his stupidity, for he was now ranting, "You can tell me where my nephew is and step aside for him, or not tell me and let me kill you when I find him. Either way, you'll face justice, you witch."

"Then kill me, if that's your idea of justice." Zelda held his eyes, letting the full force of her belief shine in her own. "But if you do, you should run as fast and as far as you can, now and for the rest of your life. You called the Hero of Time a dog, and a hound he is. Because if I die, he will never stop hunting you."

Aeron swept out with a snarl, his entourage huddled around him. All but one. The shadow remained, and with the others out of the way, it was even easier for her to smell the stench of black magic that surrounded him.

Zelda had dealt with far too much black magic in her life to show any fear of it now. "And what is your purpose?"

The wizard inclined his head in mocking honor, but made no move to approach or to leave. "I am pleased to speak with you alone, Your Grace."

"Your pleasure is noted. I do wonder, however, what manner of strange circumstance led one such as yourself into the service of a fool like Aeron."

"Your grace is mistaken. I serve no one"

Clearly, Aeron served him. The young prince Zelda had met at her wedding had been nothing like the raving madman who had just been in her cell. He had loved Darius, true, but brotherly affection was insufficient to explain the power of his rage. A blood spell was at work here. It was the only explanation for Aeron's madness and her own imprisonment in a castle that was filled with people who were supposed to be—who were—loyal to her.

"And so I ask again: what is your purpose?" But of course she knew. The Triforce. Always the Triforce. "You know Impa will never let you near my son. And as long as he is alive, Hyrule will never be yours."

"I care nothing about the boy or Hyrule. You know that, Your Grace." He paused. "I am, however, curious as to the whereabouts of—what did Aeron call him? Your loyal dog."

"I don't know."

The wizard sighed, and it was a dry, dead sound. "It doesn't matter. He'll come for you soon."

Zelda said nothing. There was nothing to say. The wizard was right, and she knew it. While logic would argue that the Hero of Time lead the charge to protect and restore the Heir to the throne, Link had never been much for logic. Instead, he'd be coming to rescue the Heir's useless old mother. Though he'd grown wiser and more careful with age, Link still let his heart rule his head.

Her bitter musings did not prevent Zelda from a fleeting second of amusement imagining Link's reaction to the news. He must have been apoplectic. She caught herself before she could laugh out loud.

Shadows fluttered on the edge of her vision, and she looked back at the wizard. "Once he's here, I'll have both of your powers to hand. Unless...."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you decide to yield yours to me first."

At that, she did laugh. "If you think that's even possible, you're a bigger fool than Aeron. You may have me tied up and poisoned with iron, but you will never see me yield." A Princess bows to no one.

His grin was a white slash through the darkness. "I think we both know that everyone had their breaking point, Your Grace. I'll be interested to learn yours."

There was no torture, no amount of pain or agony that could break her. There was only one thing, and Impa had seen to it. Noha is safe. "I'll be interested to watch you try."

The wizard bowed again, and vanished into the darkness.

It wasn't until long after he had left that Zelda let herself sag against the wall, fear warring with anger in her heart. She pressed her forehead against the cold stones, seeking relief from the burning pain in her hands. Oh Link, she thought. We're getting too old for this.