When Darunia turned around, he saw seven Gerudo soldiers advancing on them; one of them, the leader, he assumed, had her hands folded indignantly in front of her and a smirk on her lips. She snapped her fingers once and the other six completely surrounded them, swords drawn and in attacking positions. Darunia heaved a disgruntled sigh and tightened his right hand around his sword; he saw Igari out of the corner of his eye doing the same.
“I must say I am impressed.” Crown Regent Thaliah spoke with a guffaw. “To think that a mere three Gorons could get past seven of my guards with hardly a scratch on them, only to be stopped by six guards minutes later.” She looked at Darunia with a menacing glare and slowly began walking toward him. “And imagine my surprise when I saw you. There was a good reason why I decided to eliminate the royal family, but that’s no longer important. Now that I see that one of you survived, I shall take advantage of it.”
Another snap of her fingers and three of the soldiers turned their attention to Darunia, placing the points of their swords mere inches from his neck. One of them forcefully snatched the sword out of his right hand and carelessly tossed it away; it clattered across the stone floor and stopped at Thaliah’s feet. Darunia heard Igari gasp behind him.
“You won’t hurt me.” Darunia’s voice was surprisingly calm. “If you kill me, you will never find where the Spiritual Stone of Fire is.”
“Killing you was not what I had in mind.” Thaliah chuckled. The devious grin on her face gave Darunia a bad feeling. “If you decide to cooperate and tell me where the Stone is, I will cause you no more trouble. However, if you decide to withhold the Stone’s location from me…” The Crown Regent snapped her fingers for a third time. In an instant, the other three soldiers grabbed hold of Igari; one of them held a sword across the front of her neck., poised and ready to strike. “Then the woman dies.”
“Big Brother, don’t do it!” Igari cried out in a shaky voice. “Don’t tell them where it is!”
“Silence, you!” One of the soldiers violently smacked Igari on the head with the back side of her blade. Without so much as a cry of pain, Igari collapsed to the floor. Both her sword and the bomb she was carrying fell to the floor beside her, landing mere inches away from where Darunia was standing. The young monarch clenched his fists in anger.
“Leave her alone.” He spoke through clenched teeth
. “I believe we’ve struck a chord, ladies.” The Crown Regent smugly commented to the six soldiers. She turned her attention back to the Goron king and placed her hands on her hips. “Well, the ball is in your court. You control whether this woman lives or dies. Her blood will be on your hands if you remain silent.”
Silence was the last thing on Darunia’s mind.
He quickly reached down and grabbed hold of the bomb near his feet; before anyone could react, he slammed the bomb onto the ground with all of his strength, causing it to explode on impact and knocking four of the soldiers unconscious. While the other soldiers around him were stunned, Darunia lifted Igari off of the ground and carried her as far as he could before the smoke could clear. Convinced that she was safe at least for the time being, Darunia ran back into the chaos and grabbed his sword off of the ground. He raised it just in time to parry a swift blow from one of the soldiers.
“Bomb the corridor entrance!” Darunia called to Lavana. “Make sure none of the other soldiers can get out here!” Nearly in tears, the older Goron woman took the bag of bombs and made for the prisoners’ chambers. The young monarch turned his attention back to the soldier that was attacking him and parried yet another potentially lethal strike. With a snarl, the soldier slashed at him yet again, this time barely grazing Darunia’s side with the point of her sword. Darunia quickly returned the strike with one of his own, slicing a long gash in the soldier’s right arm. He backhanded her while her concentration was still broken, sending her sliding across the floor and into the stone wall, never to move again
Seeing no other conscious soldiers around, Darunia ran over to the Goron City entrance where Igari still lay unconscious on the ground. He knelt by her side and carefully examined the rather large lump on her head. It wasn’t bleeding, which was a good thing, but Igari was going to have a massive headache once she came to…if she came to. The fact that she was still unconscious this long after the blow to her head bothered Darunia immensely.
“C’mon, Igari. Wake up.” Darunia softly spoke. No response came from the injured Goron. Dammit, I’ve lost everyone I cared about to these Gerudo thieves. If I lose you too, I don’t know what I’ll do! Please, Igari. Please wake up! Darunia pleaded with her in his mind. As if somehow reading his thoughts, Igari began to awaken. She let out a plaintive moan and slowly opened her eyes, still somewhat stunned by the force of the blow.
“It’s okay. Everything will be just fine.” Darunia assured her.
“Depends on your definition of ‘just fine’.” The Crown Regent’s voice cut through the air like a knife, making Darunia’s hair stand on end. When he finally turned around, he saw her standing mere feet from him, sword already drawn and pointed in his direction. “If your definition of ‘just fine’ entails the two of you surviving the hour, you will be sorely disappointed. I don’t intend to let either of you live. Unless, of course, you decide to tell me the whereabouts of the Spiritual Stone of Fire.”
Darunia’s only response was picking up his sword and getting to his feet. The Crown Regent let out a guffaw and shook her head.
“Not exactly the reply I wanted, but I won’t be picky. I will derive great pleasure from killing you.” Immediately Thaliah lunged at him with her sword, missing him by less than an inch. Darunia got behind her and tried to knock her down with a fire punch, but Thaliah tumbled out of the way before his massive fist could connect. The edge of Darunia’s blade touched her momentarily, leaving only a slight wound in its wake. A small growl escaped the Crown Regent’s lips. She leapt high into the air and slashed downward, cutting off a small lock of Darunia’s hair in the process. The young monarch curled into a tight ball to avoid the blow; he heard the loud clang of metal against rock when Thaliah’s blade made contact with his back.
“Cowardly man.” The Crown Regent hissed. As Darunia uncurled, he saw the unmistakable glint of metal coming down on Igari’s prone form. Without even thinking, Darunia leapt in front of Thaliah and caught the sword in mid-air before she could finish her strike. Searing pain shot through his hand as the blade pierced his skin, but he refused to let go. Darunia swung his other arm around, hitting Thaliah square in the stomach and causing her to fall backwards, losing her grip on the sword. She tried to stand up again, but found the end of Darunia’s blade poised in front of her face. The determined expression on his features told her all she needed to know.
“This is for my father. And my sister. And my best friend. And all those whose lives you so brutally ripped from them. May you rot in the Evil Realm forever!” Darunia’s final blow hit Thaliah with enough force to send her flying off of the top level; she crash landed at the very bottom of the city not too far from the entrance to the king’s chamber, killing her instantly. At that moment, Darunia heard a loud commotion coming from just inside of the corridor to the prisoners’ chamber. Much to his surprise, he saw a line of Gorons streaming out of the passage, some carrying Gerudo swords, some singing triumphant songs, and still others helping those who had been wounded. He breathed a sigh of relief; it was finally over.
“I’m just amazed that you survived the rockslide, Big Brother.” Added Dymium with a smile. “I thought we had lost everyone on that cliff three days ago. Not only did you make it out alive, but you saved Goron City. Every Goron has you to thank for their lives.” The elder advisor paused for a few moments before continuing. “This was the most difficult challenge you could ever face, yet you came through. I believe I speak for the entire Goron race when I say that we are honored to have such a leader.”
“All hail Big Brother!” Someone yelled from the crowd. Thunderous applause and loud cheering reverberated all throughout Goron City as the entire Goron population gathered around their leader. Darunia didn’t quite know what to say or even how to react.
“Big Brother…” Came a familiar voice not too far away from him. Darunia recognized Igari immediately and edged his way through the crowd toward her; the smile on her face couldn’t have been any wider as they met face-to-face once again. “Well done. Your father would have been so proud of you. Everyone--“
“I couldn’t have done it alone.” Darunia interrupted her in an almost frantic voice. “You gave me hope when I had none left. You saved my life and you gave me a reason to go on living. Igari…” Tears started forming in his ebony eyes. He absolutely could not hold his emotions in any longer. Throwing caution to the wind, Darunia grabbed Igari by the shoulders and kissed her on the lips. He ended the kiss a few moments later and just stared into Igari’s eyes, waiting for a response.
“Darunia…”
No other word was necessary. Igari threw her arms around him, tears of joy flowing unchecked down her face. The pair embraced for the first time.
And definitely not the last.
