Chapter 1
Beginnings
Long ago, before man, before the
sea, before even time in itself were, three goddesses descended upon the chaos
that was Hyrule. They were Din, Goddess of Power, Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, and
Farore, Goddess of Courage.
Din…
With her strong,
Nayru…
With her
Farore…
With her rich soul, she created all
living things that would uphold the Law.
Their labors completed, the three
goddesses departed for the heavens, and where they left this realm, three
sacred golden triangles rest: the Triforce, the balance of all things. The
surrounding land became the Sacred Realm, sealed off from the rest of the world.
However, many centuries later, there
came a wicked man of the desert who sought the Spiritual Stones and the Ocarina
of Time, the keys to the sacred realm in the
There was a boy, whose name was
Link, deep in the Lost Woods, in a village of little children named Kokiri, who
had a dream about this man.
Now, the Kokiri each had his or her
own guardian fairy. But Link, he did not have a fairy. One day, the Great Deku
Tree, the guardian spirit of the forest sent a him a small fairy by the name of
Navi,
After many strange series of events,
Link and Navi left the forest with the Kokiri’s emerald, the Spiritual Stone of
The quest included finding the
Spiritual Stones before he did. Link accepted, but after many dangerous events,
when he came back with the stones, the princess fled the castle on fear of the
desert man, whose name was Ganondorf.
While escaping, the princess knew
Link was Hyrule’s only chance. She threw him the sacred treasure of the
Afterwards, Link headed to the
He drew the Master Sword, the weapon
of the Hero of Time, out of its pedestal, and the sword chose his destiny; the
Hero of Time, who emerged only when Hyrule faced great danger.
However, he was too young to be the
hero, so he was sealed away in a magical sleep for seven years. In those seven
years, Ganondorf infiltrated the Sacred Realm and acquired the Triforce of
Power.
With the help of a mysterious
Sheikah named Sheik, Link rescued the five sages from their temples, then
headed back to the
Sheik was waiting for him there, and
revealed that he was not a Sheikah at all. Sheik was Princess Zelda of Hyrule,
who had used the guise of a Sheikah for seven years to evade Ganondorf.
Ganondorf captured her however, and
brought her to his castle, where Link boldly followed, and after a series of
small trials, defeated Ganondorf, and fled the castle with the princess.
Once outside, though, Ganondorf
burst from the rubble, and grew to be the beast Ganon, who Link once again
defeated, and Ganondorf was sealed away into the Evil Realm, a void of
darkness.
Such is the legend of the Hero of
Time.
The people fervently hoped that the
seal would remain for all time, but, many centuries later, it weakened, and
Ganon escaped, unnoticed, for a time.
When he was discovered, many fled
Hyrule, and the few who remained fought bravely, but nearly all were killed.
Hyrule’s only hope lies now in the
hands of the two descendants of the Princess and the Hero.
It is their final and only hope…
Fado and Amy looked at their two one-year-olds, Link and Zelda. “We really should hide them.” Said Fado. Amy sighed. “I know,” she began, “but I can’t bear the thought of raising one of them alone.” Fado put a comforting arm around her. “You’ll do better than you think. I know you.” He told her. She looked up gratefully.
It would have been a touching moment, had a horde of moblins not raided the village just then. Fado grabbed Link and Amy took Zelda. Amy leapt on snow, her horse, and rode all the way to Hyrule castle. Fado ran into the Lost woods, managing to lose the moblins behind him.
He collapsed against a tree, and whispered, “Godesses… protect… all of… us… please…” Then he blacked out, Link still in his arms.
Sixteen years later…
“Father, what was mother like?” Link asked, pausing from chopping wood for a fire. Fado leaned on his axe. “Your mother? Hmmm… She was beautiful, kind, and smart.”
Link paused for a moment to ponder this before turning back to the wood. All of a sudden, a teenage girl’s voice rang through his head clear as day.
“Where are you? I can’t find you.” She said. He treid answering. “Who are you, and who are you looking for?” He asked, wondering if he was going crazy.
“My name is Princess Zelda Harkinian.”
She told him. “I am looking for my
brother, who I’ve
“Are you thick or something? I’m in
“Sorry, sorry. Just wait.” He looked
across Hyrule field and judged the distance. “I’ll come to you. I’ll probably be there at about one in the morning,
unless my eyesight is failing.”
“Link, I really don’t think-.” He had ended the connection.
Late night…
Link was still up, searching for his sword. He muttered, “I knew I misplaced it.” Then he saw it, lying under the table. He strapped it on, and wrote a note saying where he was going and why, before laying it down on the table and leaving his small village.
Out on the field, he saw some monsters, but was too tired to pick a fight, so he snuck around them. He did the same with other groups like that.
Finally he reached
Chapter 2
The Girl
Link opened his eyes to be staring into the face of the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.
“Oh, I’m sorry! Did I wake you?” She asked, concerned. “No, I think I’m still dreaming.” He mumbled, looking into her blue eyes. They both thought the other’s voice sounded strangely familiar, but could not figure out why.
She had beautiful golden-blonde hair, with bright blue eyes. She had a simple white dress on. Her features were breathtaking. “You’re not dreaming.” She told him softly, smiling gently. His head was in her lap and she was bandaging the back of his head carefully.
The
Girl told him what had happened, tending to him as she spoke. “Once you arrived
in
He stared at her, figuring it out. She was the princess? He opened his mouth and spoke slowly. “Oh yes, I know him. Of course I do. I am Link.”
She stared down at him.
“You?” She asked in disbelief. “I thought you would be a bit more, you know…” “Thieve-like? Dirty? Worthless?” He asked bitterly.
She bit her lip.
“It’s okay, Princess Zelda. Everyone thinks like that about me. My stupid stepbrother was like that. He got himself killed by some soldiers one day at the market.” A sad, small, smile tugged at his lips. “I tried to help him change. He tried. But he couldn’t. I failed him. He deserved that, though, after what he did.”
“What did he do?” Zelda asked quietly, knowing that people could be defensive about their family.
“He killed half the people in our village.” Link said. “Even in death, I will never forgive him. I failed.” His face was streaming with tears.
“Enough, Link. I can tell you are hurting. Don’t think about it anymore. From the way you explained, you never failed him. He failed you.” She told him, finishing her job of bandaging. He calmed slowly. Her voice was comforting.
“My mother always tells me not to dwell on things that hurt you. She says, in time, if you think about the things that hurt you, your will to live will crumble. Things like that can destroy a man or woman.” Zelda told him.
“You’re lucky, Zelda. I never knew my mother. She left some time after I was born. Sometimes, though…” He murmured, half to himself. “Sometimes, in my dreams, I can see her. It’s always the same. My father is talking with her, while they watch two infants, a boy and a girl. I know one is me, but who the girl is, I have no clue.” He told her.
“Recently, though, where the dream normally ended, I could hear a man, laughing evilly. And he said something about the Triforce. It was weird, but then, my dreams are always weird.” He finished.
“I don’t know what to make of it, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out sooner or later.” Zelda said. He smiled.
“What?” She asked, seeing the smile.
“You said we.” He explained.
“Course I did. We’re a team now.” Zelda said. “We’ll have to work together to find my brother.”
They were silent for a moment.
“Link?” Zelda asked hesitantly.
“Hmm?”
“Have you ever... never mind, this is a stupid question.”
“C’mon,” He said, sitting up. “Let’s see if anyone knows about this brother of yours.”
Several hours later…
“Still no luck finding anyone who knows your brother.” Link said, sitting down on a bench. Zelda sighed. “We’ve asked everyone that would listen.”
His eyes shined.
“Not everyone.
“We could ask your father for permission.” He said. “And sometimes, Zelda, people just know things.”
“Okay,” She said slowly. “Let’s try it.”
Chapter 3
The Adventure
The king of Hyrule looked up as Link and Zelda walked into his study. “What is it, sweetheart?” He asked Zelda. She looked down nervously. “We wanted your permission to go to Kakariko.” She explained quietly.
The king leaned back and surveyed them both for a moment. The boy… he looked like a fine swordsman. Then he laughed heartily. “I don’t see why not, if you have him protecting you. You may go.” He said.
They walked out of his office. “Link, I want to teach you something.” Zelda said quietly, pulling him aside. He looked at her, puzzled. A small blue ocarina appeared in her hands.
“This is the song of the royal family, passed down for generations.” She said, playing a soft tune on the little instrument. He took out his own ocarina, a beige one (it was a gift for his eleventh birthday), and played the tune back perfectly.
“No matter what happens, don’t forget that song. I sense it will aid you greatly someday.” She said, and they continued on to Hyrule field.
Link took his ocarina out and played a small song. In the distance, a horse appeared over the top of a hill, and raced toward them. Its coat was a beautiful chestnut brown.
The horse stopped in front of Link, and he said, “Zelda, meet Epona. She is my horse, in the fact that she won’t let anyone but me and the person I’m with on her, but she is free.” Zelda walked forward and stroked the horse’s back.
Link lifted her up onto Epona, then got on behind her, and took the reins. He didn’t even have to slap them. All he did was say, “Kakariko Village.” and Epona took off.
Suddenly, moblins were surrounding them, and Link stopped Epona. He climbed down, giving Zelda his bow, and drew his sword calmly. It was twenty against one. Zelda didn’t like those odds.
The moblins attacked, and all Zelda’s instincts screamed for her to attack, to help Link, but he had told her not to get off Epona.
When all the moblins lay defeated, Link collapsed, and Zelda ran to him. He was covered in blood, moblin’s and his alike. He was wounded badly in many places.
Zelda ran back to Epona to get some medical supplies, and then went back to Link.
“Zelda…” He began weakly, coughing up blood. “Thank you… for… listening… to… me…” He finished his sentence mentally. “I would never have forgiven myself if you had been hurt.”
He blacked out from pain, and she silently began to tend to him. She was working against time: the sky was darkening.
“You look lost, child.”
Zelda
started, and a man stepped forward from the shadows. He sat at Link’s side, and
watched intently as she tended to him. When she finished, he told her, “Link is
my orphaned son. I thank you for tending to him. But you should not be this far
from
She started again. “How did you-.”
“Know your name?” He guessed. “You have too much of your mother in you, Zelda. Her eyes, her hair… I feel like I’m looking at a younger version of Amy.”
“You know my mother?” She asked. He laughed, then stopped abruptly.
“One could say I knew her… or, at least, I thought I did.” He said quietly. “We parted ways a long time ago.”
He smiled softly. “Have you ever wondered, perhaps, why you have so little of your father in you?”
She shook her head.
“The king is not your father. I am. My name is Fado. Your mother took you to the castle when you were very young. The king brought you up as a favor to me. You, however, are not an orphan like Link.”
Zelda sat there in silence for a moment, drinking in what he was saying. “You should sleep.” He told her. She nodded, and instead of laying her head on the ground, she laid it on the middle of Link’s chest, where he was not wounded.
Her consciousness slowly drifted away.
Suddenly Fado was knocked out from behind, and they were all bound tightly.
A dark figure walked over to Link, noticing Zelda’s head on his chest.
“Enjoy it while you can, Hero. It is one of the last moments you will share together.”
Chapter 4
The Dungeon
(Author’s note: This is different from the chapters so far; it’s in first person, in Link’s point of view. Also, sorry if the story sucks. I had a better version, but I had no backup, and my hard drive got completely wiped. Enjoy anyways.)
I
wake up in this dungeon-like place, and my first thought is, Farore, Nayru,
and Din! How the hell did I get here?!
I look around. I’m not alone. There are four other prisoners: Zelda, a woman, a teenage girl, and… dad?!
Suddenly, the cell door opens, and in steps a man with tan skin and black armor. He notices me, and says mockingly, “Ah, the hero awakens.”
Something about this man stirs my memory, and I hear myself say, “Let them go, Ganondorf. You have no quarrel with them, only me.” I stare down at my chained hands. It’s like something possessed me to make me say that.
“Brave words, hero.” The man spits. “But bravery won’t help you right now. I will destroy you all, one by one, starting with the one you care about most: your precious Zelda.”
“No!” I cry.
He walks toward Zelda, and she stirs. Upon seeing the man, she starts radiating pure hatred. “My ancestor sealed you away, but I imagine the evil realm didn’t like something so worthless.” She spits.
“For that, I will make your death long and slow, princess! Before I am done with you, you will scream for me to kill you!” He growls, and lifts her chin with a finger.
“That was single, biggest mistake you’ve ever made.” I growl, tugging at my chains viciously.
“Oh? Then you wouldn’t mind if I do this?” The man laughs, kissing Zelda on the lips.
I explode with rage, and my chains give way.
“You just assured your own death.” I scream in anger.
“…Link… don’t…” Zelda says mentally. “You… don’t know… who he… is… or…what he can do…”
“I don’t give a damn who he is, Zelda. Or what he can do. All I care about is seeing him dead!” I growl.
“Kill me, then.” Says the man, spreading out his arms. I run at him, but halfway there, I get blasted back, into a cell wall.
“Link Avalon, Hero of Time, rise and accept your destiny." (“Link Avalon, Hero of Time, rise and accept your destiny.”) Says a voice. I look around, amidst my pain. No one had spoken.
Hero of Time?
Deciding to do what the voice said, I rise, and immediately a sword and shield appear in my hands.
“Feel pain no more." (“Feel pain no more.”) All my previous wounds disappear along with my pain.
The man stares at the blade in my hand, and for a single moment, I see fear in his eyes.
It disappears quickly. “You’re pathetic, even for the Hero of Time.” He grunts, but even so, he retreats from the cell.
I rush over to Zelda, and knell in front of her. I can tell, just by looking, I was asleep way too long: there are rips in her dress, some rather revealing, and cuts all over her body.
“Link…” She whispers, coughing up blood. “I knew… you… would… save… us…”
Before she can say anymore, I hug her tightly, and she gasps in pain. “I thought for sure I was going to lose you…” I whisper, a single tear running down my cheek.
She’s not going to be able to go anywhere, unless those wounds heal magically. But then again, maybe I can do that, with a little help.
“O, Goddesses of Hyrule, please give me the power to heal her, I pray to thee.” I breathe, as Zelda’s grip on life fades.
And suddenly, I feel strength flowing from every limb in my body, into her. Her cuts and bruises immediately mend, and I unlock her chains. She falls forward, and I catch her gently.
“Zelda?” I ask softly.
“Yes?”
“I don’t know why I feel this way, or how I could so soon, but I think...”
I take a deep breath.
“I love you.”
She stares at me for a moment, then suddenly pulls me into a desperate kiss.
“I love you, too, Link...”
“Let’s free the others and get out.” I say, and she nods.
Soon the others are free, and everyone is stirring. The girl is last to wake up. Her cuts look the worst, even worse than Zelda’s. Suddenly I recognize her. She came to our village a year ago from Aritia, a neighboring land. She was on a diplomatic mission.
Elice, Princess of Aritia.
She opens her eyes, and sees Zelda and I bent over her. She blinks, then whispers, “Who are you? Where did you take my brother?” Her voice trembles.
“Elice, I’m Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, remember? This is Link.” Zelda says. “You came to my village a year ago, remember? Remember the boy who talked to you a lot? It’s me.” I say.
“I asked you where you took my brother.” She whispers.
“Marth?
I don’t know where he is, but I’m sure wherever he is, he’s safe and worried
about you.
Elice closes her eyes. “Since… a long time ago. I remember leaving your village, then heading towards the border forest, reaching the forest, and then…”
She shudders. “I remember waking up here and feeling very, very alone.”
“Do you think you can walk?” I ask gently. “We need to get out of here.” Elice groans, and tries to stand, but she collapses.
“No good.” She moans. “Leave me.”
“We’re
not leaving anyone behind.” Zelda says firmly, picking her up. We rush out of
the cell, into the corridor. Zelda shudders. “This place looks exactly like-.”
“The dungeon of
We exit the dungeon, and head towards the front exit, only to be stopped by a horde of monsters in Great Hall.
“Zelda, take the others and get out of here.” I say quietly.
“I won’t leave you here!” She cries. “You’ll get killed!”
I kiss her softly. “Please, Zelda. I beg you to take them and go. It won’t do anyone good if you die, either.”
She hesitates, then whispers, “Okay.”
Suddenly Elice stands up, with a great effort. “Midhone.” She says quietly, and her bow and quiver appear on her shoulder.
“What do you think you’re doing?!” I demand.
“If I’m going to get killed, now’s a good time as any.” She says, grimacing. I sigh. “Elice, I have no authority over you whatsoever, but don’t you think Saimana, Roy, and Marth would like to see you alive?” I ask. She hesitates, then puts the bow away.
“Well, see you, then… or not.’ I say to Zelda, then draw my sword. Just before I attack, I hear Zelda mutter, “Too stubborn for his own good. He’ll get himself killed.”
Then I leap into the midst of awaiting monsters, and attack.
Several hours later…
I crawl through the endless passages and hallways searching for a way out. Suddenly, I collapse and croak, “Help.” Before blacking out.
Suddenly, the man from earlier appears and jumps on my still form. “Time to die, hero.” He sneers; then prepares to put a dagger through my neck.
Chapter 5
Love
(Zelda’s point of view.)
At the last second before Link is killed, I mutter a small stunning spell and knock Ganondorf off Link. Then I run forward from the shadows, but there’s a rumbling sound and part of the ceiling falls in, narrowly missing me. I groan. Just my luck. The castle’s collapsing.
I grab Link and (having a strange bout of déjà vu,) run.
I emerge into the castle courtyard and freeze. Upon the castle wall in front of me is a long line of moblins armed with boulders. I stand rooted to the spot as they push one over and it comes closer and closer…
SLASH!!!
Now,
in front of me, on a horse, sits a teenage girl in full armor.
“Elice?! I thought I told you to take the others to a safe place!” I say, recognizing her. “I did. Get on. Marth is holding the monsters off at the north gate. We’re going to Lon Lon Ranch.” She says. I climb on.
“Let’s go.” I say, and we take off towards the north gate.
Upon reaching it, I see a teenage boy with blue hair on a horse, fighting off monsters. “Marth! We’re going! Come on!” Elice yells across to him, but right at that moment he gets over whelmed and knocked off his horse.
“Dammit!
Where’s
“Right
here, love.” Says a teasing voice behind us. I turn and see
“I brought a friend.” He says, smiling, and a girl with pale skin and jet black hair appears beside him.
The girl, whose name is Saimana, gasps. “Marth!” She draws a knife, and rushes forward with lightning speed. The monsters fall quickly at a stab of her blade, and soon she’s standing over an unconscious Marth.
She picks him up, and leaps on his horse.
“What
about you? How will you keep up?” I ask
Saimana,
Elice, and I make the horses gallop forward, and we’re halfway through
I
sigh. “How did he learn the spell?” I ask Elice. “Believe it or not, he read
about it in a book.” She replies. “Not.” I say. “
I cradle Link’s head gently in my arm.
“You two make a cute couple.” Elice says after a while, breaking a long silence. “How did you-.” I begin.
“Know about your relationship? It’s kind of obvious. See, every time you look at each other, you get this look in your eye. And don’t think no one saw when he kissed you in Great Hall. Zelda, I’m really happy for you.” She says.
At last, we reach the ranch, and I dismount. Next to the door of the Ranch house stands a girl with red hair. Her eyes are closed and she’s humming a familiar song gently.
“Excuse me,” I say. “Two of our friends are hurt. Can you help us?” She stops humming and looks at us, before saying, “Oh yes. The red haired one, Roy, was it? He told me he had friends coming, and that two were hurt. Of course I’ll help. Especially since Link still owes me an archery contest. My name is Malon. I’ve seen you before, at the market. Princess Zelda, correct?”
I nod.
“Come on, then! Bring him inside, and lay him down on the bed in the back room.”
I walk inside, and do as she says. “Are there another two here, a man and a woman?” I ask Malon.
“In the barn. Their names… what did they say they were? Oh, Fado and Amy.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Suddenly Link stirs. He opens his eyes and blinks slowly. “Zelda? Malon?” He asks weakly. Malon retreats from the room, and I hug him tightly.
“Oh, Link, you have no idea how worried I was…”
He puts an arm around my waist. “Where am I?” He asks. “Lon Lon Ranch.” I reply, kissing him softly.
He puts on a slightly angry face. “I told you not to come back. Why did you?”
I cup his face in my hands. “Link, I do everything that I do for you for one reason.” I tell him gently. “And what would that be?” He asks.
“Because…” I breathe. “…I love you, more than anything or anyone else.” I kiss him deeply.
“Break them apart.” Says a rough, unrecognizable voice, and I’m dragged off Link. A young man steps forward from the shadows, lifts my chin with a finger, and says, “Ah, Zelda, my dear. I told you I’d find you.”
A single, horrified, disgusted thought runs through my mind.
Valance!
Chapter 6
The Farm
(Link’s point of view)
I
watch in horror as the young man lifts Zelda’s chin and kisses her. I notice an
unnatural sheen on his lips. Is that…
Poison?!
Suddenly, Zelda’s eyes switch from their natural blue to a vivid green, the same color as the young man’s eyes.
In an instant, she’s at my throat with a dagger. “Zelda, what are you-.” I begin, but she presses the dagger further against my neck. “Kill him!” The young man hisses.
Zelda makes as if to slit my throat, but a voice says, “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
In the doorway stands Elice, with an arrow notched and aimed at Zelda’s head. “This arrow is poisoned, meant to kill immediately after contact. Just one drop can kill a mountain dragon, the largest of all dragons.” She says calmly.
Zelda hesitates. In her eyes, I can see her fighting the effects of the poison.
The poison wins.
She begins to slit my neck, and Elice lets the arrow fly. In barely enough time Zelda ducks, and at the precise moment the arrow flies over her head, she throws the dagger at the young man, who the arrow is already heading for.
With a double chink of armor being pierced, both projectiles go straight through his breastplate and into his heart. He topples over, dead.
I watch as Zelda’s eyes return to their usual soft blue. All the time, the world is getting darker…
“I can’t see!” I wail, with barely enough breath.
“Link! Oh, goddesses Link, no!” Zelda cries, probably seeing the small gash in my neck. “Zelda… It hurts…” I whimper. “Please… Zelda… It hurts so much…”
“Link, don’t! You can’t die!” Zelda wails.
“Ze… lda...” I whisper, before my consciousness fades.
Some time later…
I open my eyes,
to see that I’m in a long, white hall. I stand up. There are many windows,
through which gentle sunlight streams. It looks like
Singing?
Who would be singing?
I look around.
I turn, to see a girl at the other end of the hall, singing softly. She is clothed in a white dress that matches her surroundings.
I know that song…
I know that girl…
What is her name?
Golden-blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect features…
Who does that remind me of?
Why does that song sound familiar?
Why can’t I remember?
Suddenly, the girl stops singing. She doesn’t look confused in the least. But she does look like…
Zelda! That’s her name!
She walks over to me, not speaking. She motions for me to lie down, and kneels over me, laying a gentle hand on my forehead.
“Am I… dead?” I ask softly. She shakes her head.
“Is this really happening?” I inquire. She tilts her head, smiling gently.
For the first time, she speaks.
“Do you truly believe this is happening?” She asks softly, brushing the hair away from my face. I hesitate, and then reply, “Yes.”
“Then it is.” She whispers.
“Rest now, my brave one. Your beloved needs you.” She breathes, and immediately, my eyelids start to close.
“But I…” I begin, but she silences me with a kiss, and I fall into a dreamless sleep…
Four days later…
My first immediate awareness: a girl sobbing.
“He can’t be dead! He can’t be! I’ve waited all my lives to have just even a friendship with him! He can’t be gone!”
Wait… lives? Plural?
“Zelda… I’m sorry, but he’s gone. There’s nothing you or I or any of us can do.” Says a gentle voice.
Zelda?
Zelda!
My eyes fly open, and I sit up, unnoticed. I’m in a bed in the ranch house. On the floor, Zelda is sobbing uncontrollably, with Elice at her side, trying to comfort her, to no avail. My lips part softly, forming a single word, a question.
“Zelda?”
She looks up, and when she sees me in bed, looking down at her with a gentle smile, she throws herself forward.
“Link!”
She pins me to the bed, kissing me fiercely. I stroke her back gently.
“I missed you...” I say mentally.
Suddenly, I hear Elice dash out of the room, probably to tell the others.
“Oh, Link...”
We pull away from each other at last. “I love you, Zel.” I whisper. “I love you, too, Link.” She murmurs. “I missed you so much…”
“Zelda, can I tell you something?” I ask softly. She smiles. “Tell me as much or as little as you like.” She says. I tell her about the white hall and the girl that looked like her. A thoughtful look appears on her face, and she says, “In a way, that actually might’ve been me.” “How?” I ask. “Link, we are both very special. You see, in a way, we never truly die. We have a continuing line of descendants who really are all the same person. I am always named Zelda, no matter what. I imagine the same goes for you with your name. I have always been a princess. You… for you, whether are not you are the Hero of Time… I guess it really depends on how Hyrule is and will fare. We have always been the same, no matter what. We can be born into totally different families than in our past life, but we will still be the same person. The reason for this is we are blessed by the goddesses. We are blessed with the Triforce pieces of Wisdom and Courage. My wisdom helps me see into the future and past. Your courage helps you become what you are: the Hero of Time. Sometimes, you may catch glimpses of your past lives, and one in particular. Do you understand?” She finishes.
I nod.
“This doesn’t change a single thing, Zelda.” I say.
She gives me a questioning look.
“It wouldn’t, no matter what, because I still love you. And that little bit of information just makes me love you more, if that’s possible.” I say.
“Now let’s go. I want to show you something.” I tell her.
“Of course.” She says, and we stand up. I frown at her black mourning dress. “We’re not married.”
“So?” She asks.
“You can’t be widowed if you’re not married.” I say.
“You most certainly can too!” She argues. I sigh. “All right, all right. Calm down.” I take her hand, and our fingers interlace. We head towards the door and exit the ranch house, to see Marth, Roy, Saimana, and Elice arguing.
“-Comes back from the dead!”
“He wasn’t dead in the first place!”
“You tell that to Zelda!”
“Tell me what?” Zelda asks. The place immediately falls silent as Marth, Roy, and Saimana gape at me.
“See? I told you.” Elice says.
“We’re going somewhere. We’ll be back.” I say, then lead Zelda away, towards the gate that is the entrance to the ranch. I lead her across Hyrule Field, towards a small forest. By the time we reach the forest, the sun is setting.
I weave my way in between the trees, and Zelda queries, “Where are you taking me?” “You’ll see.” I reply, heading deeper into the woods. Finally, we emerge into a small clearing with a crystal clear pool in the middle.
Zelda gasps. “Link, it’s beautiful!”
“That’s not it.” I tell her. “Wait for the sun to set.”
I sit back against a tree, her in my lap, as the sky steadily darkens to an inky black.
“So many stars…” Zelda murmurs.
Suddenly, the moon moves right over the clearing, and brilliant white light reflects off the pool. The light fades after a short time.
“That’s what I wanted you to see.” I tell her.
She smiles. “That was amazing! I’ve never seen anything like it!” “Good.” I say.
“But that’s nothing compared to what’s going to happen tonight.”
She gives me a worried glance. “It’s getting late.”
“That’s the idea.”
She sighs in contentment, and leans back, against my chest. I wrap my arms protectively around her waist, pulling her closer. Finally, not being able to stand it, I sigh. It’s now or never.
“Zelda, will you-.”
“Yes!”
Her enthusiastic interruption catches me off guard. I stare at her. She rolls her eyes.
“Link, it was pretty obvious from the start. If you were going to block the connection, I knew it could be only for two reasons. (1) You were trying to keep me safe, which you already have, which leaves (2) as you asking to marry me. If we already were, it would be different, but we’re not.” She explains.
I blush. “Am I really that obvious?”
“No, I just figured it out.” She smiles.
“Which is one of the many reasons I love you.” I breathe. “You’re smart.”
She turns around, burying her face in my tunic. “I love you, Link.” She murmurs.
“I love you, too, princess.” I reply, absentmindedly stroking her hair while staring up at the sky.
I know you’re up there. Answer my prayer, I beg you...
“C’mon.” I say, getting up, still holding her close. “Let’s get back.”
“Okay.” She murmurs, and we set off towards the farm.
Two days later…
“Link, hurry!” Zelda yells, over the din of dying
monsters and falling roof. “I’m coming!” I shout. We head into the next room,
and suddenly flames spring up around Zelda, trapping her. Two stalfos appear,
with wickedly long swords, heavy armor, and looking overall ready to kick ass.
I shout, “DIN’S FIRE!” And flames erupt from the ground around me, burning the
stalfos.
“Thank you! Let’s go!” Zelda shouts, as the flames
lower.
We finally get out of the collapsing tower, and watch
as it continues to fall, story bay story, until all that’s left is a pile of
rubble.
“It’s over...It’s finally over...” Zelda murmurs, taking a step towards me.
Suddenly, a sharp clanging sound rips through the air.
I take a wary step toward the source, the pile of rubble.
From the wreckage bursts Ganondorf (Hardly surprising,
I know. Do theses guys ever die?!), and he raises his Triforce hand. Black
light engulfs him, and he grows and grows, while two long and wickedly curved
swords appear in his hand. Flames surround us, cutting me off from Zelda
He swings wildly, and the Master Sword is knocked out
of my hands, over the flames, and onto the ground, right next to where Zelda is
standing. I take out the biggoron’s sword. Great. Now I can’t use my shield!
I take a few swings at his tail. (Wait, a tail?!) He roars in pain as
they connect, and falls down, where Zelda holds him in place with her magic.
The
Suddenly, the sword glows blue.
“Link... the Master Sword is speaking... it is giving
you the power to
I step forward, and deal three devastating blows to
Ganon’s head.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, seven balls of multicolored
light appear and head straight for Ganon, who disappears.
The scene around me changes, and suddenly, I’m up I
the clouds with Zelda.
“Thank you Link, my brave friend, my knight, my Hero
of Time! You have ridded Hyrule of evil!” She tells me, smiling gently, but
that smile fades to be replaced with a sad expression. “But now you must go
back, in the time you belong, the place you should be, the way you should
be...”
She holds out her hand. “Give me the Ocarina of Time,
Link. With it, I can restore you to your original form.” I hesitate, then pull
out the little blue instrument and place it in her hand. Her hand lingers on it,
and if possible, her expression becomes even sadder.
“I’m sorry...” She whispers.
“Wait, Zelda...” I murmur.
“I’ve always wanted to tell you this, and I may
“I love you, and always have.”
“I love you, too...” She whispers, then slowly raises
the ocarina to her lips. Sad but sweet, her lullaby drifts out.
A blue light surrounds me, and I know I am traveling
through time. I look down one last time at the clouds below, where Zelda is
standing.
“Goodbye, my love...” She murmurs up at me...
I jerk awake, heart beating fast. For a moment, I don’t recognize my surroundings, but then I remember; I’m in the ranch house.
“Sleep well, dear?” Zelda asks, from her place beside the mirror, where she’s combing her hair, already fully dressed. “What? Oh... yes.” I reply. Her expression changes to concern, and she lowers her brush to the dresser top.
“Link, you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I may as well have.” I say, running the dream over again in my mind.
“What is wrong, Link?” Zelda asks, sitting on the edge of the bed. I sigh deeply, then tell her about my dream. Her eyes widen after each sentence, and at the end she unexpectedly starts sobbing. “Zelda, what’s wrong?” I ask her softly.
“I remember that day... so clearly. It felt like I was losing the last thing I had left... It was horrible...” She sobs.
“It’s all right,
though. I’m here now, with you.” I
say gently. “You’re right.” She says, straightening up. “I have no reason to
cry over... how... many times... I lost you...” She
“Zelda,” I say,
cupping her cheek. “I’m here with you, and now, you will
I pull her in close. “You have no idea how much pain it causes me to see you cry.” I whisper. She looks up at me, then grabs me and pulls me down into a kiss.
“Mortals,” Sighs a familiar voice. “Always thinking of romance. When will you ever learn?”
A small blue fairy hovers into view, stirring my memory, and at the exact same time, Zelda and I shout the same word.
“NAVI?!”
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 7
To Shonon!
(Link’s P.O.V.)
The little fairy flutters in front of my face. “Yes, it’s me!”
I open my mouth to protest, but the little twerp interrupts. “You can’t send me away! The Great Deku Tree sent me to be your partner!”
I look at Zelda, but she gives me a glance that says, Hey, don’t look at me. She’s your problem, fairy boy.
“Come on.” I sigh. “Let’s go to the barn. There’s something hidden there that I want to give to you.” I get dressed, and we head out the door, towards the barn. We reach the small place, and it smells the same as ever; the sweet perfume of hay hangs thick in the air. I climb up onto a loft, and search through the haystacks until I find a polished ivory box, and climb down again to give it to Zelda. She opens the lid, and takes out a necklace with a Triforce pendant attached to it. She puts it on.
“Originally, I was supposed to give this necklace to the woman I married after our marriage. But I think before will do as well.” I murmur. “It’s amazing how much of a difference such a small thing can make.” I sigh, and stare up at the loft above. “There is one more thing hidden here, but that can’t be revealed just now. It will have to wait a while. It’s very old.”
She gives me a searching look, and I shrug. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know what it is, but perhaps one of my past selves does. All I know is that someday, it will be very important. Let’s go someplace else.”
Zelda fingers
the pendant and murmurs softly, “It’s very beautiful. Where did you get this?”
“At
“When?” She asks curiously.
“I... I got it while we were searching for information about your brother.” I confess, looking down at the ground, my face reddening. “I... I thought.... I thought you deserved a favor in return for rescuing me.”
“Why would I need a favor from you?” Zelda asks, laughing. My face reddens even more.
“I... Uh... It was just an idea.” I say. “An idea?” She laughs. “More like a weak attempt at love.” I sigh, and then start in surprise as something hard hits me on the back.
“What the...” I say, turning around to see a sword sticking out of the ground, its tip buried deep. It looks... familiar, in a way.
“Where did that come from?” I ask, bewildered.
“There’s only one blade like that... Just one, and the only one with that mark on the hilt...” Zelda whispers, pointing to a Triforce symbol on the hilt.
“It is the weapon of the Hero of Time, the Master Sword, laid at rest hundreds of years ago.”
I stare at the blade, then step forward and grasp the hilt. I pull lightly, and it slides out easily. Instantly, energy seems to rush through my body. I examine the blade. This is a sword definitely worthy of the word, ‘legendary’. In its forged steel, I can see images, flickering about, never really coming into focus. Then I see one image that looks familiar. Staring back at me, with an approving expression, is an older version of myself. Then the image fades, mingling with all the others.
I look back at Zelda. She surveys me quietly, and then says, “In the blade, sometimes certain people can see images of past weeks, months, years...” She pauses, looking around to make sure there’s nobody near us.
“And lives.” She finishes.
I sheath the
blade, and then walk back out of the place, her at my side. As soon as we’re
out,
“Where the effing hell have you been?!” He demands. I look at him, surprised.
“All the others
have gone! Don’t you hear the moblins’ horns?! We need to go to the forest
now!” He shouts. I look at Zelda, mystified. She nods. I turn back to
He takes on a surprised expression. “Why?”
I sigh. “Just do it.”
He does, and Zelda
immediately recites something, some old incantation, no doubt. Our surroundings
fade, to be replaced by the Lost Woods. We’re in a tiny village, with little
girls and boys playing, each only about ten or eleven. I hear
I walk up to one boy, and ask, “Hey, where are your parents?” He gives me a weird look, and then asks, “Why are you dressed like me?” I look down, and, sure enough, I’m wearing the same green as him, only about eight sizes bigger.
I turn, and begin to walk away, when he calls, “Hey, mister, what’s your name?” I stop, and turn around.
“Link.” I reply, then turn away, only to be interrupted again.
“Hey everyone! Link’s back!”
Instantly, all the girls and boys in the village surround me, asking questions and shouting, “Link’s back!”
I gaze around, bewildered.
“Hold it!”
I turn to see a girl with green hair wading through the crowd of children. She surveys me silently, and then says, “This person is not Link! Leave him alone!”
The children disperse, and the girl sighs. “Sorry about that. A long time ago... We had a friend named Link. He went off on a quest, and we never saw him again.”
I notice a mark
on her hand while she’s speaking. Before I can stop myself, I blurt out, “Are
you Sage of the
She stops talking and stares at me, before saying slowly, “Yes, I am. And who are you?”
I sigh,
exasperated. “I’m Link Avalon, also known as the Hero of Time. Not that I’m
much of a hero.” I add bitterly. Zelda walks up,
“Hello, Saria. Can you please take us to where our friends are?” Zelda asks, and Saria replies, “Yes, Zelda.”
Roy and I glance between the two. “Excuse me, did I miss something here?” We say, in perfect unison.
The girl, who I guess is named Saria, leads us to a house. Once inside, we see all the others sitting except Marth, who’s pacing the room nervously. “For goddesses sake Marth, sit down! I can’t concentrate!” Saimana shouts, and then notices us standing in the doorway.
Marth sits, also noticing us. Elice is reading a thick, leather-bound book, apparently oblivious to everything around her. Fado and Amy are sitting on a couch. Saimana is sitting all alone in one corner, her hands in her lap, and her eyes closed. She seems to be saying something, but it’s so soft I can’t hear it.
Elice closes her
book, after saying, “Hello, you three.” I read the title. It is written in some
unreadable ancient language.
I freeze. “I want everyone to slowly get up, and get out of the house. Now.” I say.
The others give me some weird looks, but sensing the urgency in my voice, they do as I say. As soon as they’re out of the house, I unsheathe the Master Sword and raise it up in front of me. As soon as I do this, another blade clangs harmlessly off mine, a shorter one.
A dark figure appears in front of me. As soon as it solidifies, I freeze. It can’t be! Not here! Ganondorf couldn’t have possibly found out where I was that fast!
Suddenly, Navi appears. “Relax, Link. It’s only a phantom. It’s not nearly as bad as the real thing.” She tells me. “Wonderful.” I mutter, pulling out my bow. “Okay, phantom ass, I’ll give you three seconds to leave.” I say, notching an arrow. The arrow glows with magic.
“One.”
The phantom takes a step forward.
“Two.”
It jumps, raising it’s blade.
“Three!”
I let go of the
arrow, and it slices through the phantom’s body, which turns into a black mist,
then fades. I walk out of the house, and immediately,
As I finish, Zelda says quietly, “I don’t think Ganondorf was trying to find you, Link. Otherwise he would have sent someone more powerful. I think he was testing you.”
“Then I need answers.” I say.
“To what?” She asks. “To all my questions about myself, my past, my future, and... some other things.” I reply.
“And where do you plan on going to find these answers?” Elice inquires.
I pause, then open my mouth to speak, but before I can say anything, Zelda interrupts. “Oh, no, you don’t. We are not going there.” She says crossly. “How else do you expect me to find answers?!” I demand.
“The Library of the Ancients is sealed, and we’d get killed before we reached it anyways.” She insists. “You don’t know that.” I argue.
“Excuse me, where is this library?” Saimana interrupts.
“Shonon.” I answer shortly, glaring at Zelda.
Instantly,
everyone, turns their gazes on me. “You’re kidding.”
“If you don’t want to go, then I’ll go myself!” I shout, then sprint away, through the forest, despite the cries of the others, trying to call me back.
Two
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so alone.
I gaze across
the barren landscape of
I reach the spot, and, sure enough, there’s a pillar sticking up out of the ground.
I close my eyes
and chant, “O, goddesses of Telmin, give
me passage, give me way.”
Before me, a fissure opens up in the ground. “Link, are you sure this is a good idea?” Navi asks nervously. “Sure I’m sure. I hope...” I reply. I stare into the dark and forbidding passage, then slowly take a torch from its bracket and light it, before proceeding down a flight of steps.
I come into a gigantic room with pillars on either side, and a few shelves crammed with books. Suddenly, I hear a strange sound from up ahead of me. I raise my torch to reveal a bloodstained figure laying on the ground. I bend over to see if it’s anyone I know, and then scream.
It’s Zelda, with a knife through her back. I pick her up and shake her gently. She groans, then opens her eyes. She sees me, then moans, “Link... he’s behind...” She doesn’t finish, as I feel a sharp stabbing pain in my leg. I turn to see a boy, about my age, holding a knife.
His black hair hangs over his piercing green eyes, and his white skin seems to glow slightly.
“Who are you?! Did you do this to her?!” I demand. He replies calmly, “I am Ronin, the Guardian and also the Guide through this place. She will be quite fine, I assure you, but to proceed, you must defeat me. The only reason you did not notice me is that you lack focus. Had that knife been your own, you would be dead by now.”
I draw the Master Sword. “Fine. Let’s just do this.” I say, and he comes at me, then disappears. “Huh? Where’d he go?” I ask, looking around.
“Hiyah!” I hear Ronin’s voice behind me, and turn just in time to deflect his blade. I try countering, but he dodges, and strikes.
“It’s no good
having the best sword in the world if you can’t hit your opponent!” He taunts.
“
As his sword
clatters to the floor, he claps. “Well done. Well done
“Why not?” I
ask. “It holds secrets, secrets which may
The next room is even bigger than the first, with huge shelves lined all around. Ronin turns back to me. “Understand that you cannot stay here for more than six hours, or else madness will take you, before you turn to stone.”
“Geez. I can see why it’s sealed.” I mutter. Ronin leads me to a shelf, and selects a thin, leather-bound book. He hands it to me. “Try that one.”
I dust off the cover. No title. I sit down a t a table and open it. The runes on the page are familiar, but undecipherable. “Ancient Hylian. Oh, that’s wonderful.” I say, looking around for Ronin, but he’s gone. Suddenly, Zelda stirs.
She looks around. I notice that her wound is completely healed. “Where am I? Why am I with you?” She questions. I explain about Ronin and the library, then push the book over to her. “Can you read that?”
She blinks, then shakes her head. “Everything’s blurry. I couldn’t read if my life depended on it.”
“Oh, by the way, before you think about it, books cannot be taken from this place.” Comes Ronin’s voice. I cuss loudly.
“Link! Zelda!
Where are you two?” Shouts a familiar voice. “Over here!” I shout. Marth,
“What the hell
were you thinking?!”
Not a single person moves. Then, slowly, uncertainly, Saimana raises her hand.
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 8
Dragon!
(Link’s P. O. V. I apologize for the short chapter.)
My mouth falls open. “You?” “Only a little.” She admits. “It could help.” I say, and she sits down beside me, pulling the book in front of her.
She stares at the page intently for a full
ten minutes, then says slowly, “Long ago,
before man, before the sea, before even time in itself were, three goddesses
descended upon the chaos that was Hyrule. They were Din, Goddess of Power,
Nayru, Goddess of Wisdom, and Farore, Goddess of Courage.
“Din…
“With her strong,
“Nayru…
“With her
“Farore…
“With her rich soul, she created all
living things that would uphold the Law.
“Their labors completed, the three
goddesses departed for the heavens, and where they left this realm, three
sacred golden triangles rest: the Triforce, the balance of all things. The
surrounding land became the Sacred Realm, sealed off from the rest of the
world.
“However, many centuries later,
there came a wicked man of the desert who sought the Spiritual Stones and the
Ocarina of Time, the keys to the sacred realm in the
She turns the page.
“There was a boy, whose name was
Link, deep in the Lost Woods, in a
village of little children named Kokiri, who had a dream about this man.
“Now, the Kokiri each had his or her
own guardian fairy. But Link, he did not have a fairy. One day, the Great Deku Tree,
the guardian spirit of the forest sent a him a small fairy by the name of Navi,
“After many strange series of
events, Link and Navi left the forest with the Kokiri’s emerald, the Spiritual
Stone of
“The quest included finding the
Spiritual Stones before he did. Link accepted, but after many dangerous events,
when he came back with the stones, the princess fled the castle on fear of the
desert man, whose name was Ganondorf.
“While escaping, the princess knew
Link was Hyrule’s only chance. She threw him the sacred treasure of the
“Afterwards, Link headed to the
“He drew the Master Sword, the
weapon of the Hero of Time, out of its pedestal, and the sword chose his
destiny; the Hero of Time, who emerged only when Hyrule faced great danger.
“However, he was too young to be the
hero, so he was sealed away in a magical sleep for seven years. In those seven
years, Ganondorf infiltrated the Sacred Realm and acquired the Triforce of
Power.
“With the help of a mysterious
Sheikah named Sheik, Link rescued the five sages from their temples, then
headed back to the
“Sheik was waiting for him there,
and revealed that he was not a Sheikah at all. Sheik was Princess Zelda of
Hyrule, who had used the guise of a Sheikah for seven years to evade Ganondorf.
“Ganondorf captured her, however,
and brought her to his castle, where Link boldly followed, and after a series
of small trials, defeated Ganondorf, and fled the castle with the princess.
“Once outside, though, Ganondorf
burst from the rubble, and grew to be the beast Ganon, who Link once again
defeated, and Ganondorf was sealed away into the Evil Realm, a void of darkness.
“Such is the legend of the Hero of
Time.”
She turns the page again.
“However, there will come a time, many years later,
when the King of Evil
Saimana closes the book. “Can’t translate the rest. It goes on into Sheikahn, then Gerudo, and then a lot of unrecognizable old languages, but I think they’re all the same.” She says.
I gaze up at the ceiling, completely lost for words. The others stare at me. I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“You okay?” Zelda asks softly. “Yeah... I’m fine.” I reply, then stand up. “Let’s get out of here. This place is too dark, and too dangerous.”
I set off towards the exit, with the others following behind. In the first room, however, Ronin stops us at the entrance.
“Hold it!” He says, holding up a hand. We stop abruptly.
“You didn’t open the one book, did you? I felt a disturbance just now.” He says. I shake my head. “Ronin, I didn’t touch any other book.” I turn to the group. “Did any of you guys open a book other than the one Saimana translated?”
Everyone shakes their head.
“Ronin, why are you trapped here?” I ask him. “It is
my curse. I am sentenced to spend eternity here,
Suddenly, there’s a deafening roar, and we’re all slammed into a wall, except Saimana, who just stands were she is, facing a huge thing calmly, with two wickedly long and curved hunting blades that glow slightly.
By a thing, I mean a gigantic dragon. It’s probably about 90 feet tall, easy.
Suddenly
Saimana’s in action, moving quickly but gracefully. She dodges bursts of
“Come on,” She says, stretching out a hand to help me up. “Let’s get out of here.” I grab her hand, and we all stand up. I look at Ronin. “Was that-?”
“The monster I was talking about? Yes, but I can’t go with you. I must tell the people in my village about this. I bid you farewell.” He says, then disappears.
I lead us out the exit, then immediately stop in my tracks once I see what’s waiting for me.
“Oh shit.” I mutter. Before us is a huge army, with the young man Zelda called... Valance, was it?
“Seize her, and kill the others.” Valance commands, starting the hell of a fight that will probably last for days...
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 9
Back to Hyrule
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
One Year Later...
I glance at the door to Valance’s room, where he is getting dressed for our wedding. I sigh, and continue buttoning up my dress for the wedding. Even as I prepare to go to what should be one of the happiest times of life, I feel strangely sad and empty inside.
One year ago, I had woken in the middle of battlefield in Valance’s arms. He had told me that he was just in time to save me from an evil man in green that would have killed me. We had been dating ever since, until three weeks ago, when he asked me to marry him, and I had accepted. That’s when I started having the dreams. Dreams of a young man dressed in green, in different places, alone, where he always was sitting and sobbing out my name.
“Do you need help with your hair, milady?” Asks a maid, disturbing my thoughts. I sigh. “No, thank you, Anna.” I tell her, and she exits the room.
Suddenly, there’s a loud racket several floors below. I cautiously descend to the main floor, where in the entrance hall, a score of guards is struggling with a young man who is saying, “I really don’t want to hurt you. Really, all I want is to see Princess Zelda.”
“There is no princess here! You’re wasting your time!” One tells him.
“Oh, very well then.” He says, then draws a blade that seems to glow slightly blue. Suddenly, all the guards are disarmed, and on the ground, with the young man standing over them.
“Now,” He growls, “Where is she?”
“We’ve
The young man grabs the soldier’s tunic, and hoists him up, blade to his throat. “I’ll ask you one more time. Where. Is. She.” He growls.
“What are you doing?!”
My cry surprises the young man, and he drops the soldier and turns to see me.
“Zelda?!” He cries. I shake my head. “Who are you talking about? My name is Kayley.” I say, confused.
Suddenly, Valance appears and then, noticing the young man, swears. “You! I thought I killed you!” He shouts, drawing his sword. The young man sheathes his, and spreads his arms out, smiling. “Go ahead. Kill me now.” By now, the soldiers are armed once more, and there are more of them, about fifty.
Valance charges, and at the last second, the young man seems to disappear into thin air.
“Now!” Comes his voice, from seemingly everywhere at once. Immediately, arrows start hailing, two boys and a girl are into the crowd of soldiers, killing and wounding.
“I
was afraid Valance would use a memory spell on you.”
He puts an arm around my waist, and a hand on my mouth. “You may not like this, Zelda, but it’s for your own good.”
Our surroundings fade to be replaced with the forest just outside the castle ground. Suddenly, four other people appear in the clearing.
“I hate warping spells, you know that, right Link?” A girl with blue hair mutters.
“I
do too, but I was completely necessary. However, we have a slight... er...
problem; she’s got no memory.” The young man says, while I struggle to
“Would you relax, for goddesses sake?! We’re not going to kill you or anything!” He adds to me, and I stop struggling. He lets me go cautiously, and I sit on a tree stump and put my face in my hands. I was supposed to married, instead I end up getting mistaken for someone called Zelda and kidnapped!
Yeah, that pretty much proves it: my life sucks.
“Cheer up.” The young man says, putting a hand on my shoulder, seeming to sense my thoughts.
“What’s your name?’” I ask timidly. He is very handsome, and looks familiar.
“Link. What do you think your name is?” He inquires.
“Kayley.” I reply defiantly.
He squats down to my height, looking me in the eyes. “Well then, Kayley, listen up. I want you to forget everything you think you know about yourself. I know who you really are. You’re Zelda Harkinian, Princess of Hyrule, a neighboring land that is in peril. You govern over many tribes: Hylian, Sheikah, Gerudo, Zora, Goron.”
In a rush, it
all comes back to me; my love for Link, how much I hate Valance, how Ganondorf
is even now trying to gain power, Marth, Elice, Saimana, and
I cling to Link, and he smiles. “Oh, Zelda, I’ve missed you so much...” He murmurs, stroking my hair.
“Can I talk to you alone for a bit?” I ask.
“Of course, Zelda.” He says.
We walk deeper
into the forest, until we’re in a small clearing. “Well...?” He prompts me. I
take a deep
“Link, I-I just
found out yesterday. I...” I
“I... well... I’m... pregnant.” I tell him quietly.
He stares at me, then slowly backs away and turns to tear away through the forest. I sit down on a tree stump and sigh.
“Boys.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
(Link’s point of view.)
I don’t stop running until I reach the edge of a small pond. I lay back on the grass, my head spinning. Zelda? Pregnant?! With Valance’s child?!?!
I
suddenly feel so exhausted, I can barely move. The others were right. I should
not have pushed myself so hard to find her. I close my eyes and rest for the
first time in weeks, maybe a
...I hit the ball of electricity back at
Ganondorf, but he just volleys it right back, hitting me in the chest. “Agh!” I
scream, falling to the floor. I’m just a
I almost save Ganondorf the trouble
of killing me when I catch my
I have to, for Zelda!
With tremendous effort, I push
myself to my feet. Every part of my body screams in protest as I ready my sword
and shield...
I awaken to a gentle hand shaking me. “Link, get up. We’re going back to Hyrule.” Zelda’s voice says. Her face appears above me. “Are you okay? You were yelling something I couldn’t make out.”
“I’m fine.” I say quietly. Taking the hint, she closes the subject.
We
walk back to camp, where
“
One
“Hey, I think I see the border!” Marth shouts, pointing up ahead. Sure enough, I can see the dividing stream.
We all dash forward, relieved, and cross it.
“Finally home.” I sigh.
“Not yet.” Zelda says, pointing to a spot in the distance. “Duck!” She yells, and a volley of arrows flies over our heads. A few dark shapes appear, and Zelda backs up. The rest of us follow her lead.
“Shinu ene! Orisa!” She says.
“Arenossen!” One shouts back.
“Crap.”
She says. “Right now would be a really good time to start running.” We do just
that, and they pursue us. We head towards
“The
We reach it soon, still pursued by our adversaries. We sprint over the sands, towards the Fortress.
... Just in time for a major sandstorm.
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 10
Love and War
(Link’s P.O.V.)
When my vision clears, in front of us is standing a Gerudo patrol. The bodies of our pursuers are littered across the ground, staining the sand red. One of the Gerudo smirks. I clench my jaw. “Nora, I-.” “Shut it and walk.” Interrupts another, poking me experimentally with her spear.
We are led towards the fortress, and upon entering, I see yet another Gerudo smirk. “Oh, Nabooru’s going to love this.” She says, whisking away.
We are halted in front of Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo, who is sitting on a chair. She’s named after a sage, or so I hear.
She scans her eyes over the group, resting on me. Then she speaks. “Must I remind you, Link, that in no uncertain terms are you to be in our land? Are you really so thick that you can’t listen? Oh, but who’s this?” She points to Zelda. Instinctively, I take a step forward, starting to draw my sword, but a guard pokes me in the back with her spear. “Don’t even think about it, Avalon.”
“Shut up, Sori.” I mutter, but back off nonetheless.
“I am Zelda Harkinian, Princess of Hyrule.” Zelda says, stepping forward and meeting Nabooru’s piercing gaze. She returns it boldly.
“And why are you here?” Nabooru inquires.
“We were being pursued. We had no choice but to come to the desert. I-.”
“Shami nossen lorinian ori!” Says a voice, and we turn to see a girl in the passage, holding a ball of light in one hand, and a tome in the other.
“What the-.” One of the guards begins, only to be cut off.
“Princess!” Says the girl, bowing slightly, and a man appears behind her. “May, they’re coming! Hurry up!” He says, then plunges back into the passage, where we can hear clangs and yells, like a lot of people fighting at once.
“Iri
mior re ayei
“Io!!!”
Instantly, all the Gerudo around us fall to the ground, unconscious.
“Come on! We’ve got to go!” The mage says, motioning for us to follow.
“Why should we trust you?” I challenge.
“Do you want to live or not?” She replies, and we follow.
We sprint through the passages and halls, where numerous other people join us. When at last we are far enough away from the fortress, the girl, and the rest of the force slows to a halt.
She turns to us. “Who are you? You look familiar.” Marth says. “I am... not important.” The girl says. “However, these people are very important. They are all that remains of the Hyrulean Royal Army.”
Zelda gazes over the faces. “Not many. I take it most of you were killed?” She asks.
“Yes. Many of us died fighting the day you left Hyrule. Ganondorf sent a massive force to wipe us out, and he almost succeeded. Thousands of men were killed that day, curse Ganondorf’s name!” one says bitterly.
“They day young Mayleaf-.” The girl winces. “Okay, May, banded what was left of us together, was a day of happiness. We are now known simply as ‘the rebels’.” Says another.
“I see.” Zelda says.
“Let’s go. We have to get back to our hideout.” The girl says.
“Which
is?”
“In the forest temple.” She replies. Seeing Zelda and I surprised, she says, “Just because you’re the descendants of the Princess and the Hero doesn’t mean you’re the only ones who know the songs.”
She takes out a harp. “I hope you can forgive me for stealing this. I couldn’t leave such a beautiful thing in Ganondorf’s possession.”
“You were in Ganondorf’s presence and you lived?”
She shifts uncomfortably.
“I served him, for a time, hoping to be able to get something from someone that I thought was mine by birthright. Once I saw how wrong his actions were, though, I tried to sneak away, but he sent many monsters after me. I am personally surprised I’m still alive. But enough about that.”
She plays the Minuet of Forest, and we are teleported away.
As we arrive in the Lost Woods, I realize that everything about her is familiar, despite the fact we can’t see her face because of her hood. Her voice, her way of walking and running, the way she talks softly and gently, yet wisely. I look at Zelda, and can tell the same thoughts are running through her head, except she seems to be thinking much harder.
As we step inside of the temple, bars slam down over the entrance. The girl whirls around.
“Oh no...” She whispers, then shouts, “Move! Find a safe place!”
I stand alone in the center of the room. She walks to join me. “Didn’t you hear me?” She asks. “Oh, I heard you. I will not hide.” I say.
“You may be the Hero of Time, but now, you are nothing more than a fool! You have no idea what you’re about to see!” She says. I draw the Master Sword, and at once, a figure starts to materialize in front of us.
It takes on an oddly familiar shape. It looks like...
“MOVE!” I scream, pushing her away from the axe of the gigantic iron knuckle in front of us. I jump away as well, just in time.
Suddenly, it does something unusual. It raises its axe and begins to twirl it.
A very strong spell hits me, slamming me into a wall. I move just in time to get crushed by the thing’s axe. Man, this thing is not only big and smart, it’s pretty damn fast as well.
“HIYAH!”
Suddenly, the iron knuckle’s axe is sliced in half at the shaft. It grunts, and pulls out a sword. How many weapons does this thing have?!
Suddenly, I notice a dark figure darting around. The girl, May, I believe, is helping people to a safe place. That must be...
“AVEIL! I NEED A DISTRACTION!” I shout, getting up. The dark figure sends a sword flying right at the monster’s legs. It sticks in the heavy armor, and with lightning quick speed, I dart forward, and jump up onto the thing’s helmet. I raise my sword high, and then ram it down.
A loud, unearthly wail fills the room, and I pull my sword out and jump away, just in time: the iron knuckle falls and hits the floor with a humongous slam, making several small cracks appear.
Aveil walks over to me. “You owe me one, Avalon.”
I sigh. “I’m used to it.”
The Gerudo rolls her eyes. “Things are cleared at the fortress. After a little... er... negotiation, I got Nabooru to agree. Actually, it was a matter of removing the mind control.” She says.
“Ah...” I say, then think, “mind control?”.
May walks over. “I have to admit, you did better than I thought. But you still aren’t nearly ready to face Ganondorf.” She says.
“How do you know about all of this?!” I demand. “And why do you keep your hood up?!”
“I have... connections. Explanations must be left to a later time.” She replies, shifting uncomfortably. “Now come on. We have to go to the Gerudo’s fortress.”
We nod, and the group masses together again, before we continue out of the temple, back towards where we came from.
Several hours later...
The guards open the fortress gate and we surge in. I manage to find Zelda, and guide her along to the steps that lead to the wall tops.
As we emerge onto the wall, a patrolling Gerudo passes by. The sun is just sinking below the horizon. “Link, why are we here?” Zelda questions. “You’ll see.” I say, leading her to a corner.
“You know, I don’t like the idea of this war. It’s like...” Zelda pauses. “Like deliberate bloodshed.” A small tear trickles down her face. “That’s what war is.” I say softly. “But I can’t stand the thought of it!” She cries. “People are going to die, and it’s going to be all my fault!” Tears cascade down her cheeks. “Innocent people will be killed, and it will be my fault for leading them to their deaths!”
“Zelda, stop! If people die, it would be because they are fighting for you and Hyrule! Besides...” I murmur. “I’m always here for you. Never forget that, Zelda. I will always, always be at your side. I love you.”
“But I-.” She begins, but I put a finger to her lips.
“Shh. No more arguing.” I whisper, and kiss her softly. She wraps her arms around my neck. She holds on like her life depends on it. “Oh, Zelda...” I murmur, when we break apart.
She buries her head against my chest.
“I love you, Link.”
I gently pick her up and carry her back down the steps. We pass Nabooru, and she stops. “You two, your room is that way, fifth door on the left.” She says, pointing. “Thanks.” I say, walking in that direction.
I close the door softly behind us. I set Zelda down on the available bed, and then lie down next to her. She lets out a small yawn. I wrap my arms around her once more, and whisper, “Good night, Zel.”
“Good night, Link.” Comes the quiet reply, and we both slowly drift off to sleep.
The next day...
My blade clangs off Aveil’s. We are out in the training area, while Zelda watches at one side. I block Aveil’s counter with one of my training blades, but she brings her other up, and we are caught in a double X. I see her smirk. She twists, and one of my blades goes spinning to the ground. Now I have to face her with just one scimitar, and she is damn good.
I press down firmly with my other scimitar on top of one of hers, and brace myself. She brings her other one down on top of mine, doubling the force on my blade. I push forward hard, but my blade is, once again, knocked out of my hand.
I sit down, thoroughly defeated. “That’s three times, Avalon.” Aveil says, smirking.
“Hmph. I swear, once more, and I’m gonna use the Master Sword. Then see who wins.” I grumble. She sticks her tongue out at me. “No, you’re not, because the training rules say that you have to use scimitars. So there.”
“Hey you guys,
what you doing?”
“I didn’t become a Gerudo Elite for nothing, you know.” Aveil adds.
“You have a system?” Asks Zelda.
“Oh yes, much more than that. We have an Order. Blue Gerudo are unranked, or underage. Purple is, besides blue, lowest, mainly used in border patrolling. Red is next, assigned to guarding the fortress. Then there’s the white Elite, which is very hard to attain. Yet still higher is orange special forces, which can be everything from cooks to generals, and is the hardest to attain, usually only occupied by one or two at a time. The ruler is usually descended from the previous ruler, or, if an orange is either very skilled or very, very lucky, said orange will become ruler when the previous retires or dies.” Aveil explains.
“Oh.” Zelda says, dumbfounded.
“Pretty hard to follow, isn’t it?” I ask. She nods.
May appears from the fortress, running. She reaches us, panting.
“We’re going to be attacked!” She gasps. “The Sheikah are almost here!” At these words, all of us except Aveil and Zelda start. Aveil returns May’s gaze levelly. “How many are there would you say?” She asks.
“Almost the whole clan!”
Aveil sprints off towards the fortress, calling for Nabooru. I look at Zelda. She shrugs, and we all dash forward after Aveil.
We find Nabooru in the council room, apparently thinking hard about something, but as soon as we come in she snaps her head up.
“What is it?” She asks, seeing the troubled look on our faces.
“Sheikah! May says about the entire clan!” Aveil replies.
“Why haven’t the guards reported this?” Nabooru inquires.
“They sent me, because they didn’t have the time.” May says. “We have no choice but to fight. They are too infuriated to be reasoned with. They are angry that you were helping Ganondorf. They do not know about the mind control.”
“Then hurry up and fight them!” Nabooru urges. I draw the Master Sword, and take out my shield, Aveil unsheathes her scimitars, May draws forth a tome, Roy draws his sword, Zelda changes form into a familiar face (interesting ability, isn’t it?), and Elice produces a long wooden bow and a quiver.
“Where are Marth and Saimana?” Elice asks. “Waiting.” May replies.
“Let’s go, then!” I say, and we all dash towards the entrance.
We emerge onto the sands, to see two massive forces, facing each other. One appears to have no head, and I recognize the Gerudo and Hylian Royal Knights mixed, standing silently. Very close to the head of our force are Marth and Saimana, standing side by side. Saimana’s two blades are at her sides, and Marth’s sword is in the same position.
Nabooru takes
the head of the force, Aveil, Zelda, May, and I close behind. Elice goes to
join the archers, while
“Nabooru, if I may.” Zelda says, stepping forward. Nabooru nods.
Zelda steps out to face the Sheikahn army alone, and looks over their ranks.
“What have you done with Impa?” She asks.
The head of the Sheikahn force steps forward, meeting her now red eyes.
“That traitor ran from us a long time ago. Neither you nor her are welcome now, Sheik, or should I say Zelda?” He laughs. “Only your foul stench would drive her away, Ian.” She growls, before stepping back.
Both Nabooru and Ian tense, and in the same instant, they both shout, “To battle!”
The sand instantly becomes chaos as the two armies surge forward, and I can tell we’re outnumbered. I’m almost immediately surrounded by adversaries.
I slash forward, kick backwards, and then defend as one tries to attack me. I defend, counter, and attack, becoming oblivious to everything except my foes and my sword and shield.
Suddenly, there’s a loud bang, and my enemies drop dead. I catch a glimpse of May before she disappears back into the fray.
I take on the next wave of attackers, barely feeling my wounds. Suddenly, Marth appears right next to me, fighting hard, like me.
“Hey.” I pant. “You good?” He asks. “Yep. You?” I ask. “Never felt better.” He says, and we both plunge in opposite directions.
Suddenly, I see a familiar bloodstained figure lying on the ground, barely breathing. I rush over.
At first, I think it’s Zelda, but it can’t be. This girl is a little bit different, and Zelda’s in her Sheikahn clothes. She’s clutching a tome, her eyes are closed, and her breathing is fast and shallow…
“May?!” I shout, then pick her up gently before dashing towards the fortress. It is very hard to get there, due to all the fighting. My head is spinning, but I keep a grip on May as I make my way, all too slowly, to the fortress.
Once I finally reach it, the Gerudo barely spare me a glance before allowing me to pass.
Once in the fortress, I dash to the medical wing, where I see a few other wounded soldiers and Gerudo on beds. One of the medics takes may from me, and instantly gets to work.
I stand there anxiously, and another medic says, “You need to get those wounds bandaged up before you go back out onto that hell of a battlefield.”
Despite my protests, they make me lie down and wait for my wounds to be taken care of.
As soon as they’re done, I leap to my feet and dash through the hallways, back out onto the sands. It’s pretty obvious we’re losing. About everywhere you can look Gerudo and Hylian soldiers are either getting killed or wounded, thankfully more of the latter. But if someone doesn’t stop this, the remnants of the Gerudo and Hylians are going to get killed. So I do the only thing that comes to mind. I take out my small ocarina, and begin to play the song of the Hyrulean Royal Family.
At first, nothing changes, but soon, the fighting slows, then stops, as every person turns to stare at me.
As I finish, a laugh echoes around the battlefield.
“To think you actually knew what to do with the song, Link!”
I look around. A figure appears in right in front of me. I start.
“Impa!” Sheik (or Zelda, if you prefer) cries. Impa turns. “Ah, princess. I heard that you were in the company of Link as of late...”
Sheik nods.
“We’ll have time for this later!” I yell. “People are dying!”
“You’re right.” Impa says, and we begin to help the wounded on both sides. “Do we agree that the Sheikah have no quarrel with the Gerudo from either the Great War or the fact that Ganondorf was using mind control on their leader?” I shout.
“Yes.” The Sheikahn leader calls grudgingly. Saimana appears, covered in blood, and about ninety five percent of it isn’t hers. She grins crazily. “I’m pretty sure they won’t be facing me in battle again.” She laughs, and I laugh with her.
Soon, with the wounded inside, and negotiations for partnership between the Gerudo and Sheikah being made, I go back to the medical wing of the fortress, so that I can see is May is okay. Sheik follows me.
We walk into a crowded room full of patients being treated. I get knocked over by a medic who is rushing by with a huge supply of bandages.
“Ow.” I say, standing up and rubbing the back of my head. We walk around, looking for May, and after a few minutes, we find her laying on a bed, eyes closed, still clutching her tome, with bandages on her hip and hands. Sheik looks surprised at her appearance, but says nothing, only staring at me.
May’s eyelids flutter delicately, then she slowly opens her eyes.
Blue. Just like Zelda’s.
Then she’s...
Zelda’s sister?!
I look at Zelda, who is just now changing back to normal. She seems to be sharing my thoughts.
“Where-where am I?” May whispers, looking around. “In the medical wing of the Gerudo fortress.” Zelda replies, with surprising steadiness. May sighs in relief. “Oh. For a moment, I thought I was back in Ganondorf’s service. No offense, but Link, I think you should rest.” She says. “But-.” I begin.
“Look at yourself.” She interrupts. I look down at my tunic. It’s ripped, singed, burned, torn, and barely staying on.
“I look like death.” I admit. “I’ll talk later. Bye, you two.” I turn, and head off towards the room Zelda and I share. I open the door, and head towards the bathroom.
A large silver basin lies on the floor, waiting to be filled. I slowly fill it with hot water, then take off my clothes and sink blissfully into the water...
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
I cross my arms and stare at May. “Start talking. Now.” I say. She takes a deep breath. “Yes, as you have guessed, I am your younger sister. When I was born, I was immediately hidden so you wouldn’t find out. I felt jealous that you received the Triforce of Wisdom and not me, so I joined Ganondorf’s army. However, after a long, long time toiling under him, I just couldn’t take it anymore, and I felt pity for the people we killed, good innocent people. So I fled, and now, finding me and either brainwashing or killing me is their top priority, aside from taking over Hyrule.” She relates.
I gape. “You escaped him alive?” She nods. “Barely. Aren’t you mad at me for joining just because of jealousy? Aren’t you mad that I was ready to kill you?” She inquires.
I shake my head. “Anyone would do it. Except for maybe Link.”
She laughs.
I turn away. “You should rest. You’ve had enough for one day.”
“Okay.” She replies, then closes her eyes. I head towards the room I share with Link.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX(Link’s P.O.V.)
The door gently creaks open and Zelda walks in. By now, I am done bathing and looking around in the wardrobe for something to wear. Zelda notices this, and walks over.
“What are you looking for?” She asks.
“At least one pair of clothes that’s not women’s.” I grumble.
“They are an almost all-women tribe, you know.” She says.
“Oh, really?” I reply sarcastically.
I finally find a black tunic with matching shorts. I walk over to a screen to change. Soon, I step out from behind the screen.
Zelda eyes me critically. “You know, I think I like you in black.”
“I look like a rogue!”
“Exactly.”
“You’re laughing at me.” I say.
She cocks an eyebrow. “So what if I am?”
“It’s your turn!” I laugh mischievously, and push her into the silver basin.
“Hey!” She protests. “Yes, princess?” I ask innocently.
“Why did-.”
“Princesses take baths too, don’t they?” I ask innocently.
“It’s impolite to look at a woman while she’s bathing, you know.” She giggles.
“I know, and that’s why I’m going out to spar and probably get my ass kicked by a sixteen-year-old.” I say, pausing in the doorway before exiting.
One hour later...
Aveil twists and I dodge, before disarming her of one of her blades. I just barely register her swinging before I lift my scimitar and deflect hers off mine, just in time, sending it spinning out of her hand.
“One.” I say.
“Hmph. Okay, you won one round. But how about... this!” She exclaims, picking up her blades with lightning speed and back flipping over me to slash. I move just in time, to hear a blade go whistling past my ear.
“Try again.” I smirk.
“Gladly!”
Both of my blades go spinning out of my hands.
“Three. I win, again.” She smirks.
“Shut up.” I mutter, putting back the training scimitars I’d borrowed.
“You realize in a real fight, you’d stand absolutely no chance whatsoever because I would have a shield, right?” I ask.
“Then let’s go. I’m sure we can make an exception in the rules just this once.” She replies, and I unsheathe my sword.
I immediately raise my shield, barely blocking an assault from Aveil.
“Geez. Touchy.” I say.
Several hours later...
Zelda and I watch the sun go down over the desert. I have my arms around her waist.
“Hey, Zel, I was thinking...” I begin.
“What is it, Link?” She asks.
“Maybe tomorrow, we can visit the Gorons, and see if they’ll fight for Hyrule. There’s this secret way right into the heart of their city, see, but it’s in the middle of the Lost Woods...”
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 11
Plans
(Link’s P.O.V.)
“You
want to go to
“Then to Zora’s domain, if the Zoras will.” I say, nodding.
Marth,
Elice, Impa, Zelda, Aveil, Nabooru, Saimana,
“We
could send two parties. One to Zora’s Domain, and the other to
“Hey, you’re not really gonna forget me, are you?” Asks a familiar voice. We all turn towards the doorway, to see a familiar face standing there.
“RONIN?!” Zelda, Saimana, Marth, Elice, Roy, and I all shout at the same time.
He grins. “Oh, so you do remember. I was starting to think you’d forgotten me.” He walks over and sits beside me.
“Oh, and just so you know, I got some people to help. They should be here right about...”
Suddenly, the massive sound of a crowd yelling reaches our ears.
“...Now.” He finishes.
“Nabooru, Aveil, May, Impa, this is Ronin.” I explain. “I know who he is.” Impa says. He looks at her.
“Good to see you, too, I guess.” He laughs. She fixes her steely gray eyes on him. “You’re more trouble than you’re worth, Ronin.”
“You always said that.” He replies, cocking an eyebrow. “Only because it’s true.” She says.
“How do you two know each other?” Zelda asks. “He was my apprentice, until I found you.” Impa says. “And damn, she worked me hard.” Ronin says.
“Oh, and by the way, Link, Valance is bent on chopping your head off.” He adds. I sigh. “Like always.”
“Anyways,
back to business. The Gerudo will take
“Or what’s left of it.” Aveil adds.
“Right. Then that’s settled.” Marth says.
“One more thing.” Saimana interrupts, before we can leave.
“What?” May asks. “We need a less open headquarters. The fortress is too obvious, and it would be easy to attack. But if we went to, say, Kakariko, we could only be attacked from one direction, and the gate is blocked off.” Saimana reasons.
“You’re right.” Nabooru says, blinking.
“We’ll start immediately at dawn tomorrow.” I state.
The next day...
Our
small group heads towards
We had left the fortress an hour ago, because we weren’t bringing horses –they make too much noise-, and it’s a long walk from the desert. Our group had to be fairly small, so only Zelda, Ronin, Elice, Marth, Roy, Saimana, Aveil, May, and I are in it.
“Hyrule’s so big. I never thought it could be this huge.” Zelda whispers, pulling her cloak tighter around herself. “Yeah,” I agree, “It’s pretty big.”
“Remind
me again why we got up so early.”
We stop. After a few minutes, Elice says, “I don’t hear anything.”
“Exactly. No birds, no nothing.” May murmurs.
“Let’s
keep moving.” Ronin says, pointing. “We’re almost there.” I look, and, sure
enough, about a quarter of a mile away are the stone walls of
Once we reach the drawbridge (which is smashed), I stare ahead, but can’t make anything out through the gloom. “Keep your weapons ready.” I whisper.
We enter silently, jumping at the smallest sound. Heading towards the eastern part of the town, we proceed on warily. We pass abandoned buildings that looks like they’re hiding monsters that could jump out and attack.
Suddenly, there’s a frightening shriek, and a redead appears lumbering towards me. I stand rooted to my spot, frozen. A blade flashes through the air, and the monster is sliced in half.
Without warning, an arrow suddenly whooshes past my face, and thuds into a stack of rotting wood.
“Begone, servants of the Dark Lord!” Cries a voice.
“Hello?” Zelda calls softly. “Whoever you are, we’re not going to hurt you. We’re here to help.”
Suddenly, a boy, no older than twelve, appears, with a bow and quiver sling over his shoulder.
“How do I know you don’t serve the Evil King?” He asks, with an arrow nocked, and his bow drawn. “Because we’re here to help. We’re starting an army to fight against Ganondorf.” I whisper.
He looks at me uncertainly, then lowers his bow. “Okay.”
“Do you know of any others?” May asks softly. “Yes.” He replies, then calls, “Come on out! They’re friends.”
Almost immediately, at least ten other children appear, all armed and varying in age. The eldest, a boy and a girl, approach us and say, “Lead on. There aren’t any other live people in this town.”
“How do you know?” I ask.
“We’ve explored the place thoroughly. Many have died.” The girl says. Her eyes become unfocused for a moment.
“You look... familiar...”
“Come on,” The boy says, calling them all to him. “These nice people are getting us out of here.”
We form a circle around their group, and start heading back.
Suddenly, there’s a clanging sound. We all stop.
“What was that?” A little girl about seven years old asks, scared. “I don’t know...” Zelda says. “But I have a very bad feeling about this...”
Suddenly, a group of stalfos appears, attacking ruthlessly. In the mayhem, the seven year old girl trips and falls, where a stalfos picks her up. She screams and goes limp.
“Go! Get them out of here! I’ll help her!” I shout, and the group starts to run, the little children carried by bigger children who can run better. The stalfos make as if to pursue, but I stand in their way. They all surround me, and out of the corner of my eye, I see the little girl lying on the ground, motionless. Another stalfos is poised over her, sword raised to kill. “LINK! Hurry!” Navi screams.
“Damn it,” I swear softly, as one of their rusted blades cuts a deep wound in my shoulder. I slash the one in front of me to pieces, then sprint and slide on the ground, picking up the little girl with my shield raised to deflect the blow from the stalfos.
“Goddesses have favor on me.” I pray. Suddenly, the girl opens her eyes. She takes in what’s happening, then asks softly, “Are we gonna die?”
“Not if I can help it.” I say. An idea forms in my mind.
“Hang on tight.” I instruct. I take out my small ocarina. She looks at it doubtfully. “How is that going to save us?”
“I’m not sure it will, if I can’t remember the right song.” I reply.
I
pray to the goddesses fervently. “Come on
guys. Just let me remember just this one song. Just this one. Come on.”
Suddenly, music finds it’s way into my ears.
A harp... an ocarina...
“Yes!”
I shout. I raise my ocarina to my lips and quickly play the Nocturne of Shadow.
In a flash of bright light, suddenly we’re not in the ruins of
We’re in the Kakariko graveyard.
“Come on,” I say, putting her down. We walk up to a ledge that leads to a short fall to the main part of the graveyard.
“Here, I’ll jump first, then I’ll catch you.” I say, jumping down, then turning around. She puts on a brave face, then takes a running jump off the ledge, and lands in my arms. I set her on the ground.
I look around. It is, of course, lined with graves, most of the inscriptions worn off. We’re standing right behind the slab that marks the royal family’s tomb.
“This place is creepy.” She whispers. “The village is much better.” I assure her. We start walking towards the other side of the graveyard, and I survey the beautiful carvings on each marker.
We exit the graveyard, and come into the village, to see a commotion. There are villagers, Sheikahs, Zoras, Gerudos, and Gorons everywhere. I realize the fight must’ve taken longer than I thought.
“-stayed behind to save her. They might both still be back there.” Aveil is saying. The group is gathered around anxiously.
“We’re back!” I call. Everyone turns to face us, and I have barely enough time to even register what to say next before Zelda tackles me to the ground, hugging me fiercely.
“Link Avalon... don’t you ever... do anything like that again.” She says. “You... can let... go... now.” I manage to gasp. She loosens her grip just enough for me to stand up.
Zelda releases me, and strangely, a few notes of an ocarina echo in my mind. I look around, and see that’s it’s not in my head, the others are looking for the source of the sound, too.
The older girl from earlier jumps down from a rooftop, extends her hand towards me, and says, “You forgot this, dummy.”
We all gasp. In her hand is the Ocarina of Time.
“Ania?!” I ask, barely recognizing her.
“Oh, come on, is it really that hard to recognize me after two years?” She teases.
“Yes.”
She wags a finger. “Now, now...”
I laugh, then stop abruptly. “Where’s Aran and Siria?”
“Here.” Says a voice. The other boy from earlier appears right next to her, holding the same little girl that I rescued.
Suddenly, there’s a loud cracking sound, and a deep voice bellows, “For far too long have you two defied me! I allowed you to gather up hope for yourselves, knowing that I could crush you in instant!”
I freeze. I know that voice all too well...
“Meet your deaths with my servants, the Twinrova!” It laughs.
There’s a cackling sound, and two witches appear, flying around on brooms. They launch gigantic streams of fire and ice everywhere, causing chaos.
“Everyone, hurry to Goron city!” Nabooru shouts over the ruckus.
Every
person present, whether Hylian, Sheikahn, Gerudo, Zora, or Goron obeys, and
they all start moving hurriedly towards
Once everyone is out, I make as if to follow, but a wall of fire springs up between me and them.
“Oh,
not you, Hero of Time! You we get to kill!” They cackle madly. I duck as a
particularly large chunk of ice flies over my head. “LINK! YOU’VE GOT
Before I can finish my next thought, I’m slammed into a house by a huge ball of ice.
“USE YOUR SHIELD, STUPID!” Navi shouts. I jump out of the way just in time to see yet another stream of fire scorch the spot where I just was lying. Navi’s words echo in my head. Turn their powers against them...
A thought strikes me.
I draw my bow, and the arrow glows with ice magic. I aim, then let the arrow fly, then...
“SCORE!” I shout, as my arrow hits home on the fire witch. I quickly do the reverse to the ice witch before she can realize what I’m doing. They shake it off all too soon, though, and they look more pissed off then hurt. They attack one right after the other, making me dodge to avoid becoming either burnt or frozen. I look around.
Turn their powers against them...
My eyes settle on a shield with a highly polished surface lying on the ground.
Maybe...
I make a dive for the shield, discarding my old one as I quickly pick it up and fit it on. Just in time, too. Twin streams of fire and ice are sent at me, and I raise the shield to block them. They rebound off the polished surface, right back at their casters, who scream in pain as they are burnt and frozen simultaneously. They seem to disintegrate.
I lower my new shield carefully, half expecting another attack by some crazy monster. Nothing. I notice something: the flames that had been barring my way are gone.
I groan in pain, sure that I broke something, then start up the mountain path.
Half an hour later....
I
sigh in relief as I finally reach the entrance to
There are monsters everywhere, engaged in fight with everyone. The body of a moblin goes hurtling past me, burning. I take one quick glance around, and immediately register that we don’t stand a chance. The space is too enclosed.
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(May’s P.O.V.)
Tell me now, my servant. What is his weakness? Asks the voice of Ganondorf. I hesitate.
Tell me now! He yells. I am bent into submission by his powers, unwillingly giving away Link’s weakness.
Interesting… He says, ending the connection, and I have barely enough time to block a blow from a moblin. I fight back tears of guilt and hurt.
How could I have been so stupid, to join him?
You didn’t know about his mental abilities… Says a little voice in my head.
I’m suddenly blasted far off to the wall of the cavern.
Before I can register what’s just happened, Link’s pinning me to the wall, sword to my throat.
“To think I TRUSTED YOU!” He screams.
My lips part in a desperate plea, “Please Link, kill me now. What I’ve done is unforgivable. Please. That way he won’t be able to use me. I beg you to do this, for all Hyrule.”
He hesitates, then lowers his sword.
“I will not kill one who got into something they didn’t know that they were getting into. I forgive you, because it’s not your fault. I will, however ask you to do this: kill yourself.”
“What?” I ask, blinking.
“Kill yourself. It will get rid of the curse. Just trust me.” He says.
“If I didn’t trust you, I’d be a fool.” I reply, then take a dagger from a fallen Sheikah.
I plunge it into my heart, and know no more.
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(Link’s P.O.V.)
I watch as May deliberately kills herself.
Goddesses I hope my plan works.
If it doesn’t, I just made a fifteen-year-old commit suicide.
I look around, seeing that the monsters are already starting to thin.
Very soon, it’s only the crowd of Hylian tribes who remain. Zelda makes her way over to me, and stops dead at the sight of May’s body.
“What happened?” She asks, horrified.
“Tell you later.” I say. “The only thing I can really reveal right now is that she did the right thing, without any hesitation.”
“I’ll arrange a burial.” She murmurs, then turns away.
I catch her arm.
“Don’t.”
She turns back to me.
“Why?”
“She’s not dead. At least, not if my hunch is right. You remember how I lived through that dagger that you had?”
“You have the Triforce of Courage.” She objects.
“I won’t deny that, but my point is she’s not dead. Somewhere in-between. We have to wait a while, but she’ll wake up.”
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(May’s P.O.V.)
Where am I?
I open my eyes, and nearly choke in surprise.
“Aiden?” I choke out, unable to restrain the happiness in my voice.
He takes his flute out of his mouth, laughter dancing in his brown eyes.
“Has a year been so long that you’ve forgotten me, May?”
I hug him tightly.
Aiden was a friend of mine when I joined Ganondorf. He came right along with me, hoping to protect me even if it meant serving Ganondorf. He swore he would protect me with his life, and he proved that six months after joining Ganondorf, when he allowed Ganondorf to hang him for so-called betrayal. As he was about to die, I saw his mouth form three words that made me realize how I was in the wrong being there, and that it was foolish.
“I love you.” He whispers, and I realize all
the wrongs I’ve done. Too late.
“I love you, too.” I cry, tears
streaming down my face.
“I always have and always will...”
Then, with a loud crack, his body
lifts up in the air and swings from the noose. I start running, towards the
exit of the castle, towards... anywhere in the world but here!
He didn’t even get a proper burial.
“May...” He whispers.
“Oh, May, I’ve caused you so much pain...”
I bury my face against his chest, tears running down my face.
“Fate is cruel...”
He smiles broadly, and replies, “On the contrary, Fate is very forgiving.”
I look up at him.
“What are you saying? Fate is the reason you’re... you’re...” I can’t bring myself to say the word dead. “Ah, but it is not so.” He says, stroking my cheek with his thumb.
“Look around, May.”
I
comply, and gasp. We’re on the trail that leads to
“Then you’re... you’re...” I whisper.
He nods, and smiles handsomely.
“You
are here in essence right now, while I am here in whole. Back in
“Goddesses, it’s been so long since I saw your beautiful face...”
He shakes himself.
“You
must go, because when I reach
Immediately after he says this, darkness closes on my vision.
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(Link’s P.O.V.)
“...Two whole hours, without any sign of a pulse or breathing! How can you still say she’s alive, Link?!” Elice cries hysterically.
“Because I just know.” I reply quietly, taking a glance behind me at May’s still form.
Suddenly, there’s a shuddering gasp. I rush over, and see May’s eyelids lifting, and Elice runs over to check.
“I don’t believe this.” She gasps.
I meet her gaze.
“Believe what?”
She sits there for a moment, looking awestruck.
Then, finally finding her voice, she speaks quietly,
“She’s alive.”
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 12
Miracle
(Link’s P.O.V.)
As I ride back, out of Termina, away from
the sound of fireworks and great shouts, I think about how strange it really
was, going back in time, over and over, being able to change into different
forms.
That was SO WEIRD.
I think about the reason I got
caught up in all that: Navi. I miss her, even though she was a little annoying.
In the dark of the Lost Woods, I
suddenly hear a familiar voice say, “Oh, so you went to Termina. I guess I
should’ve been there, too, fairy boy?”
A small light appears. A fairy, and
better yet...
“NAVI!” I shout, as she whizzes up
to me, circling my head.
“So how was it?” She asks.
“Amazing!” I reply. “The reason I
went there, see, was because of this skull kid and two fairies. The skull kid
had an evil mask on, called Majora’s Mask. He stole the Ocarina of Time from
me, see...”
I shake my head.
More visions. I must be going crazy.
“Ow...” May says, sitting up. Elice can do nothing more than gape at her. “...What?” May inquires, seeing Elice’s face.
“You...” Elice tries, but can’t get the words out.
“-swear that I don’t work for Ganondorf! I need to see her! Please!” A voice is yelling. May looks up at the top ledge of the cavern, then, obviously seeing something, her expression changes to pure joy. She turns to me, and asks, “Can you please tell the guards to let him through for me?”
I nod, and take off towards the steps, heading towards the top of the cavern. I finally climb the final flight of stairs, to see some Hyrulean soldiers struggling with a boy, about seventeen.
“Let him through.” I say loudly, and they immediately back off, still glaring at him.
He looks at me uncertainly, his brown eyes filled with an emotion that May always seems to have, too...
He looks as if he’s been through years of pain and suffering.
I see his hands tense ever so slightly on the hilt of his sword. Before he can even make a move, I whip my bow out and release an arrow, knocking the sword out of his hands. He sighs in relief.
“So you are him.”
I give him a puzzled look, then turn away, and tell him, “Follow me.”
I lead him down the stairs, slowly heading towards the bottom, where May is. As we walk, we’re joined by Aveil.
“Who are you?” She asks, one hand slowly moving towards the hilt of a scimitar.
“Don’t you dare hurt him,” I say. She relaxes. “You’re lucky I’m on your side, Avalon.” She comments.
“I know, I know,” I mutter. We descend the final few steps, May looks up, and cries, “Aiden!”
She launches herself at him, hugging him tightly. He rocks her gently, whispering something barely audible in her ear. Her eyes widen.
I turn away, searching.
I spot Zelda talking with Impa. I head over, and they stop their conversation, seeing me. I look at them oddly, then say, “I’m going to go back to Kakariko, Zelda. I... left something there. I’ll be back soon.”
She gives me the same odd look I’ve just given her, then replies, “Okay.”
I walk away, towards the steps, to begin climbing them again.
This place is way too crowded!
I climb up the steps, heading towards the top, wondering how the Gorons manage this.
Upon reaching the top, I exit the cavern and inhale deeply. Ah... I can breathe again.
For
a moment, I just stand there, looking out over Hyrule, seeing familiar places
and landmarks. Lon Lon Ranch...
Zelda was right. Hyrule is big.
I start heading down the path, towards the village. From here, it looks like nothing ever happened, but as I get closer, I can see buildings smashed, burning or frozen, debris scattered everywhere.
I smirk, taking out my ocarina. Then, I close my eyes, focusing.
...Sheik plucks the strings of his harp to a
somewhat lively tune, and I play it back perfectly. He gives me that piercing
stare of his, and says, “This is the Prelude of Light. It will warp you back
here.”
I open
my eyes, and play the Prelude of Light. My surroundings fade, to be replaced
with the walls of the
“Tch, Tch, fairy boy. Shame on you, for lying to me.”
I whirl around, to see Zelda, holding a small blue ocarina and smiling. I narrow my eyes.
“You shouldn’t have followed me here.”
She walks forward, and asks, “And why would that be?”
I narrow my eyes even more.
“Because this is a one-person mission.”
“Oh?”
She walks behind me, putting her arms around my waist.
“Then I guess you’ll just have to fit me in somehow, won’t you?” She whispers.
“Do I even have a choice?” I ask.
“Not really, no.” She replies.
I turn around to face her, and put my arms around her.
“Oh, well...”
We kiss gently, our tongues playing with each other. She moves one hand to my back, the other snaking through my hair. We slowly hit the floor of the temple, our things lying forgotten. She moans softly, beginning to lift my tunic up, over my head. I put my arms up to make it easier.
Goddesses, this is heaven...
She traces the lines of my face with a finger.
“Oh, goddesses, Zelda, not here, not now...” I whisper. “We can’t do this now...”
“I suppose you don’t want to do this in his realm?” She asks quietly, kissing me again.
“No.” I reply.
We slowly rise, and I put my tunic back on. I lean the Master Sword and my shield against the far wall, then draw a dagger and sling a quiver of arrows over my shoulder. Zelda changes into her Sheikahn clothes.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Ready,” She replies.
We
proceed out of the temple, heading towards
This time, it isn’t suspended over a pit of lava.
“So what are we doing?” Zelda whispers.
“We’re going to infiltrate the castle, and head to the dungeons, to rescue the prisoners. Once they’re out of their cells, we’re going to have to go through the servants’ passages, and out through a tunnel on the east side that comes all the way out to the Kakariko Graveyard.”
“How do you know all this?” She asks.
“I figured it out.”
She stands there for a moment, gawking at me, then we continue on.
I gaze up at the outer walls. This is not going to be easy. I jump for a torch bracket, catching it by the edge, then pull myself towards a little indent in the wall, grasping the cold, hard stone. I climb to the top slowly, continuing to find small little indents.
When I reach the top, I see Zelda waiting, humming softly, sitting with her legs crossed.
“Took you long enough,” She says.
I glare at her, and we walk along the ramparts, towards the steps that lead down to the ground. The sky is so dark, every noise so eerily loud, I can’t help but feel a growing sense of apprehension.
We reach the ground, continuing slowly, and I motion towards a clump of bushes. We walk towards it, and I push the branches away to reveal a wooden trapdoor. I pull it open, the creak of the hinges painfully loud.
Steps are revealed before us, descending down, into inky blackness.
“Din’s Fire,” Zelda whispers, and a small flame appears in her hand. We head down, into the darkness, closing the trapdoor behind us. We step carefully, reaching the bottom in only a few minutes.
“We’re almost there,” I whisper softly.
We are in a long, curved tunnel, several hallways branching off. I count up to the eighth on the right side, then turn off in that direction. Very soon, we reach a locked wooden door.
“Stand back,” I whisper. Zelda steps back, and I take out an ice arrow, fit it noiselessly to my bow, then release it. Upon contact, the lock freezes, and I hit with hilt of my dagger. It shatters with a small crashing noise, and the door swings open.
We step out into the dungeons, and I head purposefully towards the most secluded cell. It’s also the largest. I put my ear to the wall. Soft moans and a few muffled shrieks are coming from inside.
I am not going into a cell full of redeads. I head to the next, and again put my ear to the wall. Whimpers of pain, heartbroken sobbing, tortured cries.
I insert my dagger into the lock, and twist hard. There’s a satisfying click as the notches fit into place. The door slowly creaks forward, to reveal a room full of people, who freeze at the sound of me entering.
They all stare at me, scared out of their wits.
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “We’re getting you out.”
“Link?!” Cries a girl in the corner, who’s chained against the wall with her hands held up firmly by chains, and her feet tied to the ground. Her red hair is ratty, her dress is ripped and filthy, and there are big stains from blood all over her, but even after almost two years, I recognize her:
“Malon?!”
She shakes her head to clear her hair out of her eyes, the once lively blue depths now very dull. “What are you doing here?” She asks, her voice mirroring the state of her body; fragile.
“I told you, we’re getting you all out.”
I survey the people in the room. Of about thirty, two or three are handcuffed, and the only other one chained to the wall like Malon is a boy my age, not stirring at all.
“That’s Thomas,” Says a woman. “He was the most rebellious. Now, it’s the most he can do to even look up, the poor boy. His body is broken, and so is his heart. His love was put in the cell with the redeads. She still lives, of course, and screams in pain so much that her voice just gives out eventually.”
“My Kayley...” Thomas whimpers, stirring.
“Okay, so everyone who’s chained in some way, come forward.” Zelda says. About six step forward, and in a flash, the chains are broken by her blade.
I head over to Malon.
“Hold still and don’t make a sound.” I instruct. Soon, she’s free, her chains snapped by pure force of my blade. I do the same for Thomas. Zelda picks him up.
“Save her...” He whimpers softly.
“Don’t worry, we will, we will.” Zelda purrs, stroking his hair softly.
“We have to go.” I say. All of us file out, then I head over to the cell with the redeads in it. I kick the door open, hard, and before the redeads’ stares can freeze me, I fire off a light arrow.
They all shriek in pain, then slowly are consumed by blue flames. At the other end of the cell, a limp girl is chained with her arms and legs spread out, a look of pure fear on her face, the kind of fear you feel when you know you’re going to die.
I rush over, and do the same thing that I did for Malon, cutting her down. There are even more stains from blood on her than anyone else, her dress is barely covering her, and she’s hardly breathing.
I’ve never seen anyone so close to death. This girl is literally on the verge, almost all the way over already.
I carry her out, and she slowly opens her eyes, and when she sees that she’s not in a room full of horrifying monsters, she draws in a rattling breath, and then lets it out.
“I’m...ali...ve?” She rasps.
“This way,” I whisper to the rest of the group, heading towards the servants’ passages.
I hate this place so much.
We head through the door, into the tunnel, and when we reach the end of the main hallway, I survey the wall, Zelda lighting it up for me. It was here...
Unless...
“It’s a dead end,” Whispers someone.
“No it’s not.” I whisper back, reaching up and fitting my fingers into a barely visible crack, pulling downwards, hard. Immediately, a large part of the wall comes away.
It’s a fake wall, and now I have to hold and lower it slowly, so no one in the upper levels, can hear a slam.
Once it’s on the ground, I motion to the group and we all start walking again, Zelda at the back, helping the old, young, and weak.
Our progress is very slow, but eventually, the air becomes cleaner, and I know we’re not underneath the castle anymore. We continue on for what seems to be hours, and probably is hours, until eventually, I reach a flight of stairs.
We’re so close, I know it. Just up these steps, and all we have to do is move a grave marker aside, and then we’re at Kakariko Graveyard.
The climb is slow, but eventually, we reach a slab of stone blocking the way, and I put my shoulder against it and push as hard as I can.
It doesn’t budge.
I get an idea, and I hand the girl to Zelda.
Standing directly in front of the stone, I turn around, and spot a little part of the ceiling overhanging the stairs. I take out a fire arrow to light the place up, and see why the ceiling’s like that:
There’s a hidden eye switch on it. I release the arrow. It hits the eye dead-center, and the stone starts to shift. Eventually, There’s a decent enough space for all of us to walk out, and we do just that.
Some inhale deeply, and others just fall to the ground, unable to believe they’re free. I look up and the sound of a clang, and then groan in despair.
Of course, the Poes have to come out now, of all times...
I
really shouldn’t have left the Master Sword in the
One of the Poes takes a chance at a young woman, and I immediately fire off an arrow at it. It hits home, and the thing dissolves. Two more try. I hit them, too.
Twenty-two arrows left...
Twenty...
Seventeen..
Fourteen...
Nine...
Five...
Two...
Oh, crap. This is just great.
I leap into the crowd of poes, the little voice that tells me when I’m being stupid screaming at me...
Or is that Navi? They sound the same.
Suddenly, I get an idea. A really good one, if it works and I make it back in time.
I
whip out my ocarina, play the Prelude of Light, and watch as Zelda stares
helplessly at me as I warp to the
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(Zelda’s P.O.V)
I
watch helplessly as Link warps away to the
I try to stay on my feet, but still, I feel myself sinking into the deep black of unconsciousness...
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(Thomas’ P.O.V.)
I watch as both of our protectors are made useless to us.
Someone’s got to save us...
I groan in agony, pushing myself to a kneeling position, then slowly onto my feet.
“Thomas?! What the hell are you doing?!” Cries Malon.
I shake my head to clear it, then take a dagger and a couple of throwing knives from the other Sheikah’s belt. I carefully take aim, and then one of the Poes disappears with an unearthly wail. A couple more do the same, being hit by the knives. All my muscles are screaming in protest at the effort to keep myself on my feet, without the struggle of throwing doubling it.
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(Link’s P.O.V)
As
soon as the walls of the
It’s Thomas.
I shout a loud battle cry, and unsheathe the Master Sword, leaping into the crowd of Poes, slashing them apart like mist. Soon, there’s nothing left except a couple of broken lanterns.
The ground starts rumbling, and I look around.
A massive Poe erupts from the ground, heading straight towards me, and I can’t get out of the way, because Thomas and the rest are behind me. As it charges, I hold my shield out in front of me, focusing, hoping there’s enough time before...
Too late.
I slam into an unmarked grave, barely conscious.
Come on, Thomas, you can do this... I will him.
He stands defiantly in front of the charging Poe, the only thing separating the group from it. And then...
“HAHHHH!” Shouts a voice, and the thing’s cut in two.
As the gigantic body of the slain Poe fades, a familiar face stands, sheathing his sword.
“Message from Aveil, Link.” Says Marth.
“You’re an idiot, Avalon.” He smirks.
“Oh, shut up.” I groan, then give in to unconsciousness.
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
Five hours later...
“Avalon, you are the stupidest person in the world!” Aveil shouts.
“Oh, I’m stupid?! Who nearly got killed by a moblin?” Link retorts.
“Says you! You can’t even beat a couple of Poes!”
“Let’s see you stand up to a Poe that size with no arrows or any other option but to stand in front of it!”
“Stop
it! You two are arguing like small children!”
I cry. They both glare at me, then seat themselves. We’re back in
“Can’t you two ever get along?” Impa sighs.
“No.” They reply simultaneously, still glaring at each other.
“Farore...” I mutter.
This is going to take a long time.
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(Link’s P.O.V.)
I glare at Aveil, and she just glares right back.
“Oh, pack it in, you two.” Elice sighs.
I relax slightly, and sit back in my chair. Everyone sighs in relief as Aveil does the same.
“Now, a full on
assault on Ganondorf’s castle wouldn’t be good, since
“Maybe a small force of Sheikah and Gerudo could use the passage under the castle. Once they get inside, they could go up, out of the dungeons, through the entrance hall, and to the gatehouse, to lower the drawbridge. Then, we could have Gorons on the front line, the rest of the Sheikah, Gerudo, and the Hylians in the middle, and then the Zoras at the back.” Saimana suggests.
Zelda and I gawk at her. She tilts her head.
“What?”
“How did you know about the tunnel?” Zelda asks. She shifts uncomfortably.
“I’ve
been in
“I think I would recognize you.” Zelda says.
“Not necessarily.” Saimana mumbles. “But enough about that,”
“I think your idea is a good one, but what if the group of Sheikah and Gerudo gets caught?” Aveil questions.
“They won’t.” Saimana replies, in a sharp tone.
We all stare at her, surprised. She looks out of character, glaring at everyone, dark rings around her eyes. It’s almost like she’s... not who we think she is...
All of a sudden, she looks a lot older, and sighs. “Forgive me. I just... I have a lot on my mind lately.”
She stands up, and leaves the room. Marth sighs sadly. “She’s been so short-tempered lately, snapping at everyone. I’ve tried to help, but she won’t tell me what’s bothering her.”
“I guess we’re done discussing for today.” Impa states, then looks up at a skylight carved in the stone roof. “Or, rather, tonight.” She adds.
We disperse quietly, and Zelda and I walk slowly to our room, our sanity taxed severely, and our bodies screaming for rest.
I open the door, walk in, with Zelda following behind, and start to change into my nightclothes.
Then, I walk over to the bed, pull back the well made covers, and lay down. Zelda does the same.
“Good night,” I whisper, stroking her cheek with my thumb.
“Good night.” She replies softly, huddling closer.
The next day...
I yawn, stretch, and slowly open my eyes, to see sunlight streaming lazily in through the window. I look over at Zelda. She sleeping peacefully, a look of pure content on her features.
She’s so peaceful... I think, and for a moment, feel a twinge of guilt. By beginning this war, we might not be able to sleep at all for a very long time.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, and walk over to the dresser. I put on my usual green tunic, and put the Master Sword and my shield on my back.
I exit the room, walking towards the main section of the cavern, where everyone is just finishing breakfast. I grab a few strips of bacon and eat a quick breakfast, before starting towards the top of the cavern.
Suddenly, I’m grabbed by the back of my tunic.
“Oh, no you don’t. Sit down and eat a real breakfast.” A commanding voice says. I turn to see Impa, piercing me with her steely gray gaze.
I do just what she said, sitting down next to a quiet Saimana, who, unlike everyone else, is eating in complete silence.
“Hello,” She says quietly.
“What’s up?” I ask. She gives me a sad look, then replies, “Nothing much.”
I look her in the eyes, giving her a searching look.
“No really, what’s been going on with you lately?” I inquire. “You’re a lot more... aggravated then usual.”
“It’s just... I wish I could tell everyone, but I can’t! I hate it!” She bursts.
I sit there for a moment, stunned, then she gets up and moves away.
After finishing breakfast, I head towards the exit again, thankfully not stopped by Impa again.
As soon as I exit the cavern, I see a young woman standing out, near a cliff, looking over Hyrule. Her skin is so white, it’s almost translucent, and her long, golden hair is stirred gently by the breeze. She turns at the sound of my approaching footsteps, looking surprised, and then calms down.
“Hello,” She murmurs softly, looking me up and down with her green eyes. Even though I’m sure I’ve never even seen her before, I feel like I know her...
“Hi,” I say casually, a bit unnerved. She seems to literally radiate a familiar feeling.
“I...” I begin, then change my mind. Then, it hits me.
“Saimana?” I gasp. She smiles kindly.
“Good guess, Link.”
Her eyes switch from their vivid green to a piercing golden, and black seems to slide along her strands of golden-blonde hair.
“How did you do that?” I ask, amazed.
“It’s easy. Watch.” She replies, then closes her eyes, and suddenly, I’m looking at what looks like a copy of Aveil, scimitars and all. My jaw drops.
“If you say I’m an idiot now, I’m going to push you off that cliff.”
She changes back to the Saimana I know, and smirks, but then, suddenly, her expression falls.
“How am I going to tell Marth about this?” She asks anxiously, gesturing towards herself, then changing back into the form with the green eyes and golden-blonde hair.
“I don’t know,” I admit.
“Too
late,” Says a cool voice, and Marth appears from the stairway into
“I hate it when he does that,” I mutter.
Saimana buries her face in her hands, and begins to sob.
I run after Marth, down the mountain path, catching up to him at the entrance to the village.
“What?” He asks dully.
“You know what. You just basically dumped Saimana.”
“She lied. To me.”
“Only because she loves you.”
“She still lied.”
I sigh. “You’re not in the mood to reason, are you?”
“Good observation.” He says shortly.
“Marth, stop and think about it. You just got rid of one of few girls who actually cares about you. She loves you. Are you really going to stop your relationship just because she didn’t tell you about her ability?”
“Sounds about right...”
“-idiotic older brother!” Shouts a voice, and Elice comes storming down the path.
SMACK.
She slaps Marth across the face, hard.
“That felt good.” She pants.
“Ow. I forgot that you slap that hard.” He says, rubbing his cheek.
“You slap hard for a girl.” I comment.
SMACK.
“Ow,” I say, rubbing my cheek like Marth. “I’m on your side, remember?”
“You should be ashamed of yourself! Do you know how much you hurt Saimana’s feelings?!” Elice shouts. “Now go up there and apologize!”
Marth starts back up the path, muttering, “Hell hath no fury like a woman.”
SMACK.
“Cut it out!” He yells.
“Keep moving, Marth.” She says menacingly. He continues on, Elice following closely and me wandering a little ways behind.
We find Saimana in the same spot, sobbing uncontrollably, May by her side, trying unsuccessfully to comfort her. I walk away from the spot, leaving them to themselves, hearing another loud smack as I do. I smile to myself.
I
find Zelda in a secluded room in
“What’s up?” I ask from behind, interrupting her pondering.
“I was thinking.” She says, annoyed.
“Yeah, I know.” I tease.
She stands up.
“What do you want?”
“Come with me, and I’ll show you.” I state.
I
lead her through the crowded and noisy halls of the city, towards a
Let
me explain. Lost Ways are secret entrances to the Lost Woods, scattered
throughout Hyrule. The most commonly known are the ones in
I
finally find the
As we continue down a short hall, we soon emerge in the middle of the Lost Woods, leaving all the noise behind. The enchanted forest always echoes with a lively melody.
Suddenly, there’s a loud howl, and a wolfos emerges from the ground.
I tense, then use a flurry of thrusts on the wolfos, giving it no time to defend itself.
I
sheath the Master Sword, and Zelda follows me through the woods, towards what I
hope is the
After a while, I finally find the exit, and sigh in relief as Zelda and I emerge into the small village.
I feel a sense of relief as I see that the Kokiri are out playing, not hiding in their houses…
Like
before…
“So what are we here for?” Zelda asks.
“Oh, we’re not stopping here, this is just the quickest way to where we’re going.” I inform her. I lead her towards the exit to the forest.
As we walk out into the bright sunlight of Hyrule Field, I keep a close eye out for monsters. Nothing.
I pick Zelda up.
“What are you doing?” She protests. “I can walk just fine.”
“Yes, but we need to run, not walk, and I’m pretty sure you can’t run in a dress.” I say, glancing around, before dashing towards Lon Lon Ranch.
I run out of breath three-quarters of the way there, yet urge myself on. I finally reach the gates of the ranch, running inside.
I give a start of surprise as the gates slam shut behind me. Zelda gasps in horror at the scene before us.
Debris is thrown everywhere, the barn has a half smashed in roof, and almost everything is desecrated. The only thing that seems untouched is the ranch house.
“No!” I cry, sprinting towards the wrecked barn, letting Zelda stand. I search around in the debris, but find nothing.
I curse myself softly.
“How did he know?” I whisper.
“You are foolish, boy! You could not hide such a divine thing from me!” Booms an all too familiar voice, and Ganondorf appears barely twenty feet away. He snaps his fingers, and my ocarina and the Ocarina of Time fly into his hand.
CLANG.
My sword crashes against his, and I have the advantage of pure rage. I swing my sword at any opening I can find, hacking as hard as I can. He blocks every try easily, then sends me backwards with a hard kick.
I slam into the ground, and I’m pretty sure I feel something crack. I climb back to my feet, and try to straighten my thoughts. I won’t win this battle on force alone...
I charge forward, then at the last second, feint to the right. The Ocarina of Time flies out of Ganondorf’s grasp.
As he attacks, I dodge, then counter.
This is easier than I tho...
I scream in pain as I’m sent to the other side of the ranch by a powerful magic blast.
Oh, he’s going to pay for that one...
As Ganondorf slowly makes his way over, I climb to my feet once again. He laughs.
“Haven’t you learned your lesson, boy? You can’t defeat me!”
“Maybe not now,” I pant angrily. “But I will someday!”
I dash past him towards Zelda, who’s still in the same spot that I left her, seemingly transfixed by something.
“Zelda, we’ve got to go now!” I yell, stirring her. She clings to me tightly as I play the Bolero of Fire.
The last thing I see of the ranch is Ganondorf laughing, and then we’re gone.
The Legend of Zelda;
The First Hero
Chapter 13
The Path
(Link’s P.O.V.)
As
Zelda and I arrive in the pit that is Death Mountain Crater, I tell her, “We’ve
got to hurry or we’ll burn. I know a shortcut to
I charge, and take a flying leap, and for one second, I actually think of how stupid this is to be doing this. I hit the edge of the opposite cliff, hanging perilously over the lava on the broken half of the bridge, trying to bring my other arm up so I can pull myself up. Suddenly, the broken bridge gives an ominous creak. It starts to break away, and just as it’s about to fall, I take the Master Sword and stick it in the post that’s supposed to hold the bridge up.
I pull myself up, sighing in relief, and I feel a little bit annoyed to see Zelda waiting for me, giving me a mocking look that clearly says, “What took you so long?”
We walk down a short passage, to find ourselves in Darunia’s room, alone.
Wait a second...
This place is silent.
It’s never silent in here.
Suddenly,
Ronin, May, Marth, Saimana,
“We finally found you!” Elice pants.
“What?” Zelda asks.
“Someone convinced the Hyrulean Royal Army that they’re fighting for the wrong cause, and you two are supposed to be assassinated! If you don’t do something, the Gerudo, Sheikah, Goron, and Zora tribes will go to war with them!” May explains hurriedly.
I stand still for a moment, contemplating this, then look at the shiny silver blade in my hand involuntarily. It almost looks like my reflection is nodding it’s approval of my plan.
“I’m going out there. Alone,” I say, cutting everyone off.
“You could die.” Ronin tells me.
I head forward, then look back.
“I know. That’s my job. Risking my life so others can live.”
Then I start racing up the stairs, leaving them behind in a stunned silence. I reach the top, and burst outside, right into the middle of the Hyrulean Royal Army. Immediately, I’m held at spear point.
“Drop your weapon.” A soldier says calmly.
I willingly do what I’m told, eyeing the crowd around me carefully.
Suddenly, they all mob me, thrusting with their spears. I do a trained back flip, jumping on the shaft of a spear, then kicking it’s wielder in the face. As he falls to the ground, I’m surrounded again, and I start punching and kicking, barely avoiding all the weapons. Suddenly, I’m held firmly from behind by two strong hands.
“Sorry about this, buddy.” I grunt, then kick back as hard as I can. Now I’m free again.
What they don’t know is there is always one weapon I keep on hand. I draw my little dagger, reminding myself forcefully not to kill.
Suddenly, I see the Master Sword being taken away by some thief, who also has my shield. I charge straight into the mass of weapons, towards the thief.
I reach him, and quickly knock him out with a punch. I pick up the Master Sword and my shield. Now to figure out just how in the heck I’m going to stop this.
An arrow whizzes by my ear. My head instantly whips in the direction it came from, and my heart sinks. The leader if of the rebellion is none other than the Sheikah who had been in charge before Impa came back. His arrow is aimed at my head, with no chance of missing.
“You try it and you die, Ian.” Says a voice coldly, and he slumps forward, knocked out.
Zelda is standing over him in her Sheikahn clothes, her now red eyes burning with extreme distaste. The Hyrulean Royal Army freezes as Zelda changes back into her normal self.
One by one, they fall to their knees, begging for forgiveness.
She crosses her arms.
“Such dishonest soldiers. Were you not trained to defend the kingdom at the cost of your life?”
Many nods.
“Then why, may I ask, are you treading the path of destruction?”
Not a word. The soldiers hang their heads in shame.
Zelda
turns away wordlessly, heading back towards
“Oh, you’re not leaving just yet, dear Zelda.” Comes an all too familiar voice.
Valance appears, holding a silver blade with a golden hilt.
“What do you want?” I demand.
“I think you know the answer to that question. Now give her to me, and I won’t kill anyone, hmmm?” Valance says, tapping his blade with a rather bored look on his face.
“And you know the answer to that.” I reply angrily.
“Never.”
“Very well then.” He says, and I barely raise my shield before he’s crossed the distance between us and swung his sword. I counter with a disarming strike, sending his blade spinning. He steps back and regards me distastefully.
“Oh, so what they tell me is right. You are rather skilled with the sword.” He sighs in mock sadness. “But, as you’ll surmise, I have every intention of getting what I want.”
All of a sudden, I feel a searing pain in my chest, and look down to see a dagger absolutely dripping with poison stuck in my chest.
Zelda rushes up to me, catching me as I slowly fall backwards.
She looks up at Valance, giving him a look of pure hatred.
“You coward!”
He shrugs indifferently, then gives a small whistle. Two Malsian soldiers appear from nowhere.
“Bind her,” He commands.
A dark shape speeds in from the side, blocking their way.
“Uh, no, I don’t think so,” Aran says, keeping his sword raised. The two soldiers charge at him, and he ducks under their swings, then disarms both of them before dispatching them with a punch. Suddenly, he’s knocked aside, with a loud bang. He slams into the mountainside, and groans.
“I will not be denied what is mine!” Valance says.
“HAAHHHH!” Screams a voice, and suddenly, Valance is thrown to the ground, bleeding from a wound to the side of his head.
“I hate him,” Says his assailant, who turns out to be a girl in priestess-like clothing, except that she’s in all black, and has a cowl. She has red eyes and black hair, that match her clothing rather well.
I groan in pain as Zelda removes the dagger from my chest as gently as she can.
The priestess girl walks over silently, kneels by my side, and lightly brushes her fingertips over my temple, navel, and wound in turn, softly murmuring a few words in an unrecognizable language.
Suddenly, all the pain leaves me. Zelda gasps.
Everything starts to grow dark as I suddenly notice how tired I am…
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
Link slowly closes his eyes, and I look up at the priestess.
“Who are you?”
She takes on a surprised expression, then seems to realize something.
“Oh, right. The clothes.” She says.
She closes her eyes, and all of a sudden, Saimana is kneeling beside me.
“Hm?” I mutter, seeing a flash out of the corner of my eye.
Suddenly, something slams into me, and I immediately leave the conscious world.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
It’s
dark.
Very
dark.
Where
am I?
And
why do I hurt so badly?
“LINK!
GET UP!” Screams a voice.
Link?
Is
that me?
I
open my eyes, and immediately, my stomach does a complete flip.
Holy-
I slowly open my eyes, to be in bed, the familiar walls of
“Come in,” I say, and May enters the room.
“What’s up?” I question, sitting up in bed.
“I have some bad news…” She begins.
I raise an eyebrow.
“Zelda has been kidnapped by Ganondorf.”
Immediately, my temper flares. “He took her?! Why didn’t you stop him?! Do you even-.”
“We tried, Link! See, I have proof.” She interrupts, and pulls up her sleeve to reveal a long, jagged scar running down the entire length of her arm.
“Oh.” I sink back into the sheets, my anger calming slightly.
“I’m sorry. We did the best we could, but it wasn’t enough.” She says truthfully. “ I care about Zelda just as much as you do, Link, but Ganondorf is just too strong.”
I slowly take this in, then get out of bed, throwing on my tunic and the Master Sword.
“Link, what…” May begins.
“She’ll be kept in Ganon’s Castle, but not in the dungeons, most likely under guard in her own quarters. She’s bound to refuse marriage as long as possible, but he’ll force her to eventually. If I go in through the dungeons, I could slowly make my way to her quarters, then slip inside…” I mutter.
“Link, it won’t work.” May tells me. I round on her.
“Oh no? Why not?” I inquire fiercely.
“Think about what you’re saying for a moment.” She says.
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
“Ngn…”
I groan, opening my eyes, to see myself in my own quarters in
The wooden door opens, to reveal the person I least want to see in the world.
Ganondorf.
“Ah, you’ve finally waken. I’ll dispose with the pleasantries. In a few hours, your friends will attack this place, and they’ll be walking right into a trap. They’ll all die for certain.”
“Call off the attack!” I spit fiercely.
“I will, on one condition.” He smiles wickedly.
“What are your terms?” I ask.
“I will not call it off, unless you agree to marry me.” He laughs evilly.
“Never,” I snarl, with no hesitation.
“Then you will watch your friends and your precious hero die slowly and painfully.” He snaps, exiting.
I suddenly get an idea.
I have a mental connection! I focus my energy, trying, and succeeding, to breach Link’s conscious mind.
“Link? Can you hear me?” I try hopefully.
“Zelda?! Stay where you are! We’re coming to save you!” He answers.
“No!
You’ll walk into Ganondorf’s trap. Don’t attack, or you’ll die for sure!”
“Can you try to stop it?” He inquires.
“Link, I’m locked up in my room with to gigantic iron knuckles guarding the door. I can’t do anything, and if you attack, I swear you’ll die! Except…” I begin hesitantly.
“Except what?” He asks.
“…
Ganondorf will call it off…”
“He
will?”
“…If I marry him…”
I can feel Link explode with rage on the other end of the connection.
“Did you accept?” He inquires, straining to keep himself calm.
“Of course not!” I exclaim, surprised.
“Good. If you were ever at the mercy of Ganondorf...” His sudden fear slashes through my mind.
“I’ll hold out as long as possible, I promise.” I tell him gently.
“I love you, Zelda.” He replies, then closes the connection.
I
sit there, on my bed for a while, wondering, How long will I be here? What
if I’m forced to marry Ganondorf? Or Link dies?
He
won’t, says a small voice inside my head. Link
is strong.
Yes, but is he strong enough to battle Ganondorf? I ask myself.
Oh,
Link, wherever you are, please come soon...
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Five days later...
(Link’s P.O.V.)
“The Sheikahn Shadow Altar?” I ask dubiously, staring at Impa.
“Do you want to be able to fight Ganondorf?” Impa asks in a cool tone.
“Yes, but...”
“Well then.”
I sigh in resignation.
“Exactly where will I find this shadow altar?” I inquire.
“In the underworld.”
“How do you expect me to get there?!”
“The
“You mean I’m going to have to go in rooms with invisible redeads, scythes, wallmasters, floormasters, doorways and hookshot targets?!”
“Exactly.”
I glare at her, then slowly take out the Ocarina of Time and play the Nocturne of Shadow.
As I descend the stone steps leading down into the temple, I suddenly wish that I had the Lens of Truth. Nayru knows I could use it.
I emerge into the temple, and immediately, something on the far wall flashes brightly, like light reflecting off a mirror. I walk up close and see that it’s the Lens of Truth, in an impression that fits the shape perfectly. I shudder as I stare at the eye and tear symbol of the Sheikah, remembering the bloody history of the tribe. Originally, the symbol was just an eye. The tear was added when the Royal Family betrayed their faithful servants, or something like that.
I reach up to take the Lens of Truth, pulling it out.
Click.
Uh-oh.
I give a yell as a hole in the floor opens up under me, plunging me into complete blackness.
WHAM.
I suddenly hit a floor or something, and for a moment, my vision swims with red. Then, it clears up, and I find myself in a large, circular chamber, lit with torches. There’s a grinding sound as the hole I fell through closes.
...The
fallen...
I look around, searching for the source of the whisper, but I’m alone.
...Vengeance...
...Pain...
I cover my ears, not wanting to hear the millions of whispers worming their way into my head, but I still hear them.
...DIE!!!
Something hard slams me into a wall, and for the second time in five minutes, I temporarily see red.
I raise the Lens of Truth to my eye, and immediately wish I hadn’t.
In the middle of the chamber is the scariest thing imaginable. I can’t describe it any other way. It keeps changing forms, each more terrifying than the last. A tentacle-like thing whips towards me and I duck just in time. I start to move in close, but as soon as I swing my sword to hit the thing, I’m sent flying back into the wall. As I once again stand up, I draw my bow, and release a fire arrow, then an ice arrow, then a light arrow. They bounce off it harmlessly, just enough to make it annoyed.
Sometimes, whispers a voice, aggression is not the answer.
I raise my shield, deflecting a powerful blow. The thing strikes again and again, and I keep defending. Soon, it runs out of energy and just stands in the center of the room.
I run forward, and in a single clean motion, I jump and bring my sword down, cleaving the thing in two. The lifeless halves fall to the floor, bleeding out.
I look up, and see something I’m positive wasn’t there before: a door. I run over and yank it open, to see a room exactly like this one, except there’s a black slab of stone. I walk in, closing the door behind me.
This
is the room of Reflection, whispers a voice, to survive, you must
overcome the hardest foe...
YOURSELF!!! AH HAH HAH HAH!
A black mist seems to flow from the black stone, materializing into a very familiar shape...
Me?!
Dark Link, fully formed, leaps at me, and I raise my shield to block, but he changes direction and his blade bites into my side.
Suddenly, Navi appears. “Where the hell have you been?!” I demand, leaping out of the way of another swing.
She ignores the question, and instead replies, “Think, stupid! He’s a shadow. He can do anything you’ve ever done before!”
I give her a questioning look.
Wait a second... I think.
I throw my shield at Dark Link, and when he’s stunned, I dash up and put my blade through his chest. A loud, unearthly wail fills the room as he dissolves back into black mist.
I turn my head to look at the slab of stone.
Then
that’s... the altar?
I walk towards it, and reach out. “LINK! DON’T TOUCH THA...” Navi’s scream fades as I make contact with the cold, hard stone. The Sheikahn writing on it immediately flares gold.
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
Where
am I?
I groan in pain, and open my eyes, and start.
I’m
on the balcony off of Zelda’s room, at
“Zelda?” I inquire softly.
She looks around, then sees me, and sobs, “You’re an illusion! Go away! Stop bothering me! I know he’s not dead!”
I step forward tentatively.
“Go AWAY!” She screams, then shouts, “Din’s Fire!”
Before she can burn me alive, I yell, “Nayru’s Love!”
A small, blue shield of magic surrounds me, and the flames are held at bay. The fire soon fades, so I dispel the magic.
“Here,” I whisper, taking my sword, shield, bow, and every other weapon off, piling them on the ground at my feet. “I swear upon the Triforce of Courage that I’m real, Zelda.”
I take a few small steps towards her, and she looks at me, as if deciding that I’m telling the truth. “Link?” She whispers softly. I nod.
Suddenly, there’s a flash of gold light, and Zelda is bleeding heavily. I rush over to her.
“Zelda!” I shout. She coughs up some blood.
“Link...” She whispers, reaching up to brush my cheek with a hand.
“Zelda...” I sob.
“Please don’t... cry...” She whispers, brushing a tear away. “I... love you...”
“Don’t do this!” I say desperately.
She smiles faintly.
“You’re... so handso…me... Go...o...d...b...y...e...” Her hand falls back to her side, her eyes glaze over, and she is still. I sit there for a long time, pressing her cold hand to my cheek, sobbing. Unexpectedly, a gold mist rises from her still form. It swirls, then solidifies into a glowing golden triangle. I glare at it, knowing if we hadn’t been chosen to do this, if we hadn’t been gifted, she would’ve lived!
All this, for a stupid triangle!
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX
I gasp, and my eyes fly open. I’m on the ground, right next to the Shadow Altar. “Told you not to touch it,” Navi mutters crossly. I look at her, and suddenly, it dawns on me that the whole thing was a vision. A trick. That was the only thing I’ve ever really been afraid of. Being alone. I slowly take out the Ocarina of Time, and play the Requiem of Spirit. I need help, and I know just the right person.
Nothing happens. The walls of the underworld stay around me, instead of changing to the shifting sands of the desert. “You’re not in Hyrule, stupid. It’s useless,” Navi says. I glare at her.
“You could have told me sooner.”
She sighs. “Honestly, I don’t whether you were any better in the past then you are now.”
I look around the gigantic room. There are several doors, each leading in a different direction.
Suddenly, I’m slammed into the wall. As I get up, I mutter, “How many effing times is that going to happen?!”
I look around, seeing nothing, even with the Lens of Truth. “You never learn, do you? If you stay in one place for too long here, you get hurt!” Navi tells me. I rush over to a door, yank it open, and stop dead.
“You have got to be kidding me!” I swear. A room jam-packed with moblins. In the underworld. I slam the door shut, just in time, then try another one.
Empty.
Behind another, I see the room I came through, the creature still lying in the center of the floor. One more door. I step towards it, yank it open, and cheer.
Yes! A staircase!
I rush gratefully up the stone steps, and in a matter of minutes, I’m at the top, looking down a very dark corridor.
I’ve been here before… I think.
…and yet, I haven’t…
Why
is it so familiar?
I stare into the inky blackness, then reach for a piece of dead wood, conveniently lying at my feet. I stop, paralyzed, as I realize what it really is.
It’s a human bone, most likely an arm.
Click.
Click.
I look around, looking for the source of the noise, then give a yell.
Man, I hate the undead.
A skeleton is slowly advancing towards me, the empty eye sockets boring into me, the little remnants of leather-like skin clinging to the form like some sort of unholy covering. I stand there, paralyzed with fear, when all of a sudden, I regain my senses.
It’s dead.
Okay, so I can’t kill it.
Can
I…? I smirk, knowing my plan will work.
“Okay, little zombie, let’s see how you like a Bombchu!” I yell, setting one down. It hurtles towards the skeleton, and a loud boom resounds throughout the tunnel as the undead menace is blown to bits.
I cheer, then Navi says, “Maybe you can use the Master Sword for a little light.”
“Good idea,” I agree, pulling the sword out. I focus, and the blade suddenly flares a brilliant blue. The light enables me to see at least fifteen feet in front of me.
I start down the passage.
After walking about twenty feet, I reach a door. On the other side is the sound of muffled talking.
“…used as bait…”
“…unable to escape…”
“He’ll walk right into the trap.” Comes a clearer, more pronounced voice.
“The Hero of Time doesn’t stand a chance.”
I smirk, then kick the door open.
“Oh, really?” I ask coolly.
It’s a small room, with a couple people, and a figure with a hood that seems humanoid, but just doesn’t seem that way. The people are surprised, but nonetheless draw their weapons. The hooded figure stays where it is. I lunge, then knock them all out.
“Link, you are very skilled. At least, a lot better than the last time we met.” The hooded figure says.
“Make you a deal, Thomas. You keep that hood up and your mouth shut and I’ll let you live.” I growl, then smile.
“Well, jeez, Link, if I’d known you’d be like that…” He says, pulling his hood down.
“You’re such a crybaby!” I laugh.
“Oh, and you’re not?” He laughs back, then immediately stops, and hands me his cloak and hood.
“You’ll need this. I have to stay here and make sure that they don’t come after you. Hurry, though. The princess is here, and she can’t take much more.”
“Zelda?!” I gasp, then throw the cloak on.
“Through that door.” He nods solemnly at a thick wooden door across the room from me.
“Thank you!” I say, then jerk it open, seeing another long corridor, but not intimidated. I race down the seemingly never ending stretch, until I suddenly see a locked door up ahead. I slam into the door, making it burst open. Tortured screams reach my ears, and I wince.
“Zelda!” I cry, seeing that she’s being whipped. I tackle her assailant, immediately running him through with my sword, then fall to my knees right next to her.
“L...i...nk...” She whispers, brushing my cheek lightly with her hand, leaving smears of blood on my face.
“Hold on just a little bit longer, please!” I cry, then anxiously take out the Ocarina of Time and play the Requiem of Spirit again. Nayru, Din, and Farore are a bit too far away, but at least some Goddesses remain on the planet.
The
setting changes to the Haunted Wasteland, and I waste no time hurrying into the
Suddenly, a lift comes down in front of me, and I hop on. It takes me right to the room of the statue of the Sand Goddess, Lilonia. I place Zelda gently on the altar, then kneel praying to the Goddess for the strength of Zelda.
I am part Gerudo, after all. I’m a lot of things. In case you’re wondering, which you probably aren’t, it’s called mixed blood for a reason.
Please,
do not let her die! She is important to Hyrule’s, no, the world’s redemption.
Would your sisters in heaven not do the same and heal her? This is my prayer,
in the name of Sand Goddess Lilonia.
“Very well, child of the Gerudo.”
Suddenly, Zelda’s bleeding form is lifted up in the air and consumed by yellow-white light. I cover my eyes as it grows more intense, which it does with each passing second. The room is lit up with the powerful light.
There’s a ringing sound, and I open
my eyes. Zelda is laying on the altar, sleeping peacefully. All her wounds are
gone. For a moment, I can see a faint, shimmering form, seemingly standing over
her, but then it disappears.
Zelda slowly opens her eyes, and I
smile at her.
“Link...? Where...?” She yawns. I
give her my hand, helping her up.
“The
“Do you two have to go somewhere every
day? I’m getting really tired of following you.” Says a familiar voice, and
Saimana drops down beside me. I don’t flinch.
I give her a questioning look.
“Who are you? ...Really?”
She sighs.
Her eyes turn red, her clothes
become all black, and I recognize the priestess girl that attacked Valance.
“I wish I could tell you, but I
don’t know either. I was out on the streets for so long until Marth, Elice and
Roy found me that I don’t know who I am, or where I come from, just that I have
the ability to become people I’m not. The only real memory of my parents that I
have is that my mother used to sing me to sleep with her beautiful voice. Then,
there was a fire, as I was later told, that killed my parents. I was stuck into
an orphanage where I was teased and hurt, and nobody ever cared about me. One
day, I just couldn’t take it any more, so I ran. I was nine then. I returned to
the place where my house had been, and in the middle of the wreckage, I found
this.” She gestures to her clothing.
“It was untouched, so I brought it
with me as a reminder. I couldn’t fit in it then. All I knew was that I would never
forgive the person who killed my parents.
“I was a fugitive for eight more
years, so I taught myself how to hunt, make a fire, and things like that. I ran
across many countries, and I got to see a lot of beautiful places, but every
time I found someone who cared about me, something bad would happen, so I
eventually stopped trying to live. I just laid down in the middle of a forest
somewhere far away from all civilization.
“As I lay there, waiting for death
to take me, suddenly there was the sound of horses’ hooves falling on the
forest floor. I sighed, thinking it was just an illusion. Then, a boy with blue
hair appeared, followed by a girl who was obviously his sister, and another boy
with red hair. They spotted me immediately, and, as I had just fallen asleep,
picked me up and put me on one of their horses.
“When I woke up, I was in a bed, and
a bowl of soup was sitting in front of me. I devoured it ravenously. There was
the sound of laughter, and the boy with blue hair strode in, and asked, ‘Guess you
were hungry, huh?’ I nodded. He walked up to me, looked me in the eyes, and
asked, ‘What’s your name?’
“The question echoed in my mind as I
tried to remember.
“ ‘Saimana,’ I said, ‘What’s yours?’
“He paused a moment, before
replying, ‘Marth. We found you in the forest, just laying there, and at first
we thought you were dead. What happened?’
“I gave him the whole story, right
from the beginning. For some reason, there was just something about him that I
made me trust him. He told me that I should rest for a bit, then left.
“That’s how I got in this mess.”
Saimana finishes.
“Wow. That’s quite a story.” Zelda
says.
“We really should be getting back
now,” Navi comments.
“One question; how did you get the
blades?” I ask, pointing at her long hunting blades.
“The instant I put this on, they
appeared.” Saimana replies, motioning to her clothes.
“Oh. C’mon, let’s get back,” I say,
just as we exit the temple.
“Wait a second. How are you going to
get back?” Zelda asks Saimana.
“I’ll sing.” Saimana answers.
“What?”
“Let’s just go,” Saimana sighs, then
begins to softly sing the Nocturne of Shadow. She fades slowly from view. I
look at Zelda, and she shrugs, before clinging to me as I play the same song.
We appear in the graveyard, right
next to Saimana. She folds her arms.
“You didn’t think it would work did
you?”
I stare at her.
“Well... No, we didn’t.” I admit.
“Let’s go back to
“Don’t worry, you’ll have that soon
enough. Remember what I told you at the Gerudo Fortress?” I ask her.
“I’m always here for you. Never
forget that, Zelda. I will always, always be at your side. I love you.”
She nods.
“Good,” I whisper.
We all start off through the
graveyard. I stop in front of the Royal Family’s Tomb, but the girls keep
walking. I stare at the Ancient Hylian engraved on the marker, then slowly take
out the Ocarina of Time again and play Zelda’s Lullaby.
The wind whips my hair into my face,
and rain begins to fall, stinging my cheeks.
“Link, what are you...?” Zelda
gasps.
The marker slowly moves aside, the
stone scraping loudly against the ground. I stare down the hole, then close my
eyes and jump.
When I hit the floor inside the
tomb, I open my eyes again and look around. At the opposite side of the room,
there are two lit torches illuminating the bones of long dead people. I proceed
forward, through a door, into a room with pools of acid. I carefully walk to
the other side of the room, then proceed down a dark corridor.
I emerge into a gigantic room with a
stone coffin in the middle. Immediately, my head starts buzzing.
I know who’s in that thing. But more
importantly, I need the things on top of it. I walk forward tentatively.
Welcome, Hero of Time.
I look around. A faint, shimmering
light hangs over the coffin, materializing into a figure I know well.
“I have only come to take what is
due.”
Then take the clothes. Of what use
are they to me?
The light fades, and I walk
forward, reaching the edge of the coffin.
On the center of the dusty lid is a
set of green clothes. My eyes travel over the old, somehow untarnished
gauntlets, worn leather boots, and faded green fabric. I take them, then head
towards the exit.
I head back through both the rooms,
step into the light shining in through the narrow tunnel, and appear above
ground again.
Zelda gapes at the clothes while
Saimana crosses her arms. “You violated the Royal Family’s Tomb to get a set of
clothes?”
“Yep. Why should you care? You’re
not even Hylian.” I say.
“I’m aware of that.” She replies,
and we continue out, into the village.
“Hang on a moment,” I say, ducking
into a house and changing quickly.
I walk out of the house, feeling
strangely refreshed. We start moving again.
After what feels like an eternity,
we finally reach
Afterwards, when the crowd
disperses, I notice Saimana (in her true form) and Marth walking off together,
with Saimana looking like she’s explaining something, and Marth a look of
comprehension.
I smile, seeing everyone so happy.
It almost makes me forget the new threat of war. Almost.
But I’ll about that worry another
day, because nothing can ruin this happiness for the moment, not even
Ganondorf.
Chapter 14
Darkness Rising
(Link’s P.O.V.)
I feel horrible.
Not like I’m in physical pain, but
my mind is being ripped apart.
Why? I don’t know.
It feels like someone I love died,
or maybe a rude remark really got to me, or I might be carrying the weight of
the world on my shoulders, and I just realized that things are completely and
utterly hopeless.
...Yeah, I think it’s the last one.
I stare up at Ganon’s gigantic form,
paralyzed with fear.
But wait a second.
Isn’t the Hero of Time supposed to
be above fear?
I guess I’ll never know, unless I
figure out how to fight Ganon without the Master Sword.
But while I’m in fear, at the same
time, I also feel the courage to fight this beast in the back of my mind.
Where does this bravery come from? I
s there someone so close to me that the mere thought of their presence
strengthens me?
I glance around. No one’s here but
me, Ganon, and...
Zelda...
“Link, it’s time to get up.”
Zelda’s gentle voice reaches my ears and I open my eyes, to see her already dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed, with a bow and quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder. I sit up.
“Morning,” I mumble sleepily, getting out of the bed and walking over to my bag to put on my green clothes while Zelda turns away. I put on the Master Sword and my shield. I look back at Zelda.
“Why were you up so early?”
She shakes her head. “I felt like it.”
Even though she looks as honest as possible, I know she’s faking it.
“No, really, what’s up?”
“I just told you.”
“I’m not stupid. What’s the matter?” I persist.
“Nothing! I’m fine!” She insists, even though I can tell she’s about to crack. I walk over and sit down beside her.
“Zelda, you can tell me. I won’t tell anyone else. Promise.” I murmur, putting my arm around her shoulders.
“I...” She begins, but her voice cracks.
“Link, you know what my dreams are like, don’t you?” She asks softly, a single tear forming in her eye. My face darkens. Her dreams are never just dreams. They have to be visions or omens or things like that.
“What did you see?” I inquire softly.
“I... A voice spoke to me...” She starts.
“Tell me what it said.” I urge gently.
“The... The Hero is... doomed... to die...” She sobs, burying her face against my chest. I sit there with her for an unknown amount of time, stroking her back soothingly.
“Oh, Link, I’ve never been more afraid... and I’m not afraid for me... I’m... terrified... for you...” She sobs.
“I promised you I’ll never leave you, remember?” I murmur.
“That’s a promise neither I nor you nor anyone on this earth can guarantee to keep, Link! Things don’t always just work out!” She cries. “No one can be perfect! No one is immortal!”
I open my mouth to speak, but another, similar voice interrupts.
“She’s right, Link. Not one person can escape Fate.”
I look up to see May standing in the doorway, Aiden at her side. She looks perfectly fine, but he looks exhausted.
“I don’t whether I agree or not on that last sentence. Ronin was immortal, we just took it from him.” Saimana’s voice floats through the air, and she appears right behind them. She’s in her original form, but something seems different.
Suddenly, Aiden closes his eyes, and when he opens them again, they’re a shockingly different color:
They’re bright green.
A spear appears in his hand, and he takes it and thrusts it through Saimana’s chest.
She falls to the floor, gasping for breath and coughing up blood. After a few moments, she goes still.
Aiden’s eyes return to their normal brown and the spear disappears. We stare at him in shock, then he turns to us.
“Don’t be surprised. That wasn’t her. That was a spy of Ganondorf’s. Watch.” He says, his voice cold, then turns back to the carcass.
“Reveal your secret!” He commands, raising a hand, and the body is consumed by black energy, which soon disappears, and we’re now looking at the body of a much different young woman with fiery red eyes and the same color hair.
“Arinia,” May says sadly, shaking her head. “We tried to help her, but the control could not be broken. She helped us so much, and then when Ganondorf found out...”
She squats down, and whispers, “Rest knowing you are surrounded by friends.”
Suddenly, a gentle wind starts blowing, even though there are no windows, and the figure of the dead young woman appears as a shimmering outline. She smiles gently.
“Thank you... For setting me free.” The wind seems to bear her voice.
“Now... Receive my gift as a Mage of Air from times long forgotten.”
May is engulfed a white light, and when it fades she looks exactly the same, but just being in her presence feels different. The form of the young woman fades slowly.
A single tear runs down May’s cheek.
“She was the last of the heads for the Council of Air, and the last person on earth with the knowledge of controlling winds to the extent of world wide storms. Now she’s gone.” May whispers.
“We’ll need to arrange a burial.” Aiden says solemnly. “I am sad she had to die the way she did, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
“One thing,” I begin. “What was up with your eyes just now? And the spear? What happened?”
He sighs.
“It’s a very long story. I can’t say much now, for there are... dark forces that would reveal things not meant to be revealed.” He suddenly looks like he has the weight of a very dark, very old, and very powerful secret holding him down.
Farore, I know what that’s like.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m hungry, so I’m going to go eat.” I say, stretching, then standing up.
“Me too,” Aiden agrees. “Later, you two.”
We walk into the main cavern and eat a quick meal. Once we’re finished, I look at Aiden.
“What do you want to do?” I ask.
He shrugs.
Suddenly, for the moment, we’re just two bored teenage boys, wondering what we should do.
Saimana
appears right next to us, looking bored as well, cheek on fist,
“There’s no one to stalk, no one to kill, no insanely hard trails to follow and almost lose, and no excitement. I’m soo-oooo-ooo bored.” Saimana complains.
“Is it me, or is there something weird going on?” Marth asks suddenly. “Everybody has this... brooding expression, like they’re waiting for something.”
“Maybe they’re waiting for something exciting to happen so they can be motivated.” Elice suggests.
“No, that’s not it. Every Hylian person out of every tribe hates this day, none as much as me...” I say darkly.
“Why?” Everyone asks instantly.
“This day in engraved in my memory forever...” I begin, closing my eyes and sighing.
“One hundred fifty years in the past today...
“As soon as Link left
“They came to Zora’s Domain, and immediately
Link asked the king where the Spiritual Stone of Water was. The king said it
was in the possession of his daughter, Princess Ruto, who had been swallowed
just earlier that day by the Zoras’ sacred spirit, lord Jabu-Jabu.
“So, of course, in order to find the stone,
Link had to go into the belly of a giant fish. He found the Princess, but she
would not leave, until she had found something, a ‘prized possession’ that she
had dropped somewhere in lord Jabu-Jabu’s stomach.
“After a series of trying events, he found
her prized possession, but then she was taken somewhere else immediately after
she came in contact with it. So he had to do battle with two gigantic monsters
and then Ruto yelled at him for being late, but then admitted it was scary
being in there. She gave him her ‘prized possession’, which turned out to be
the Spiritual Stone of Water, which was basically an engagement ring for the
Zoras.
“Since Link had finally collected all three
stones, he headed back to
“It was
burning,” I say quietly. “
“One hundred fifty years ago today, Ganon’s reign over Hyrule began. One hundred fifty years ago today, Hyrule began descent into darkness. One hundred fifty years ago today, I was sealed into a sleep for seven years. One hundred fifty years ago today, most importantly, was the day I last saw Zelda –just a glimpse, mind you- before my life began its curse of eternal rebirth, something I never asked for nor ever wanted.” I finish, my voice ringing with hatred.
“Wow, I never thought someone could hate one day out of a year so much.” Saimana comments.
“Well, where I come from, everyone hates what happened three hundred years ago yesterday, which was the day every country in the world started to hate us.” Aiden sighs.
“Where
do you come from?”
“The name is so hated, you’d murder me on the spot.” Aiden says, shaking his head.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad...” Elice says.
“I
come from the
Not a single word is heard from anyone as we stare at him like he’s an outcast.
“There. Now you know, do you hate me?” He inquires.
The instant I hear the name of his land, I’m immediately filled with rage. But... hate him?
Why... how could I hate someone for something that’s not their fault?
“You? Are you...” I begin, stunned.
“The
prince of the
“Mother… Father… Janara… I’m… so sorry…”
“Who are you?” I ask, after a long silence.
“Exactly who you see in front of you: a defeated Priest and prince of a land long at war. A failure to his parents, his friends and siblings, and to his people.” He answers quietly, not even lifting his head.
I suddenly picture what he’s talking about in my mind: a barren wasteland with thousands of people fighting on it, thousands more bodies and blood staining the ground red, explosions and death everywhere, and in the distance, a gigantic castle-like temple, adorned with the symbol of the Triforce hanging over the entrance.
And, there, right on the steps in front of the temple, a little boy with brown hair clutching the dead body of a teenage girl, tears streaming down his face as he cries, “Janara! Janara, wake up! Janara, please wake up! Don’t leave me here alone! Janara!”
The
scene fades, and I’m back in
“My people are few, the ones with the knowledge of Light even fewer, even now barely managing to keep the temple from being invaded…”
Suddenly, his eyes glow green again, and he stands up quickly.
“I must go, now. They have gained entrance to the temple. I’ll be back, though I don’t know when. I…”
“Wait!” cries Saimana suddenly.
“I
remember being there, after the fire, after my parents died, and after I
escaped the orphanage! I remember the
“What?!” We all shout, shaken by the turn of events. One moment we’re bored, and the next... we’re... well, this feeling... it’s almost like... fear...
“You’ve
been to the
“Yes! I’ve been there before! I came there, when I was about fourteen! I wandered in this huge building that many people were gathered in, and many disliked me because of my rather... erm... ragged appearance, and my long blades, which apparently weren’t allowed in the city or temple, though I didn’t learn that until afterwards. I don’t remember her name, but despite these, a kind woman, who would about now be in her very early thirties, taught me how to use Light, not very much, since it was only one day, but still use it to my advantage!” She relates.
“What did she look like?!” He queries, suddenly looking very excited.
She closes her eyes for a moment, and there’s silence.
“She was about my height, had blue eyes, and this beautiful silver hair. She was accompanied by a bird that sat on her shoulder; she called it Yune, and a boy the same age with green hair and blue eyes.” She says suddenly.
“Oh,” He says, suddenly looking a lot less hopeful.
“Well, I’ll see you... hopefully… Nakamasira yae loi!” He shouts.
He disappears in a flash of light. We all watch Saimana closely. She sighs.
“Why on earth am I stuck with so many idiots? Nirira!” She cries, then disappears as well. We look at each other.
“What just happened?” We ask simultaneously.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Aiden’s P.O.V.)
My mind races as I appear in the entrance hall to the temple, where invaders are just now streaming in. I close my eyes and concentrate, and my spear and a book of the Light appear in my hands.
“You’re the last one left, little boy!” Taunts an enemy. My eyes fly open and I gasp in recognition at the man leading the force.
“Nytel, you traitor!” I scream in rage.
“Oh, so that’s his name? Wow, you don’t look like much.” Comments a calm voice, and I look behind me to see the girl named Saimana, reverting back to her original form of red eyes, black hair, and priestess clothing.
“What did you follow me for?!” I demand. She motions to the massive force in front of us.
“That force surround this temple for miles, Aiden. You couldn’t defeat it alone, especially him.” She points straight at Nytel.
“You little thief girl! I thought I killed you!” He yells angrily.
“The point is that I can’t be killed, at least not by something as simple as a knife to the shoulder.” She smiles mischievously. “But I understand that isn’t necessarily true for everyone here.
“Councils of Fire, Water, Darkness and Earth, heed my call for help!” She cries, and immediately, four scores of people appear, clutching tomes for their respective element. Fire appears in a pillar of flame, Water in a gigantic swirling cocoon, Darkness seems to melt from the shadows, and Earth suddenly springs up from the ground.
“Where are the Councils of Air and Light?” Cries one from the Council of Fire.
“The last of the Light you see before you,” She points at me. “The last of Air are scattered too far for just my calling to help.”
“Then what are you?” Asks a person from Darkness.
“I am… part of the Final Council.” She says darkly.
“What’s that?” They ask. Even the enemy has inquisitive looks now.
“Ask Aiden.” She points at me.
I stare at her in awe, and then slowly walk to her and kneel before her.
“I am yours to command, last member of the Final Council, defenders and spirits of all things, living and dead, good or evil, animal or human.”
“Rise, Aiden, last of the Light: help me call the Council of Air.” She says, reaching to help me up.
“O
bearers of Air, heed our call, gather together once more…
“O
bearers of Air, lest you fall, gather together for war…
“Return!” Saimana and I finish the call
“O,
Final Defender, we hear your call, we hear your call…
“The
winds will gather once again to blow through the field of battle.”
Another score of people appears, at the head of which a face I recognize and rejoice in seeing.
“May!” I cry, and she looks over.
“Aiden! Where am I?” May asks.
“In
the
“Why is she here?!” May asks me, meaning Saimana.
“You know what the Final Council is?” I ask quietly.
“The most important mortals in the world, aside from the Bearers of Wisdom, Courage, and Power, who are also called Link, Zelda, and…”
“Don’t say his name here!” I cry. “Din will burn you to ashes, and your ashes will scatter until they are nothing! But yes, you’re right. And now…” I turn to Nytel. “I will face my traitor of a brother as the last of the Council of Light!” I say, dropping my tome and flinging my normal spear away.
“You’re going to fight me like that, baby brother?” Laughs Nytel, then notices what I’m doing.
“On the altar of the Goddesses, there are six different color stones for elements, three different color jewels for bearers of the Triforce, and two shining lights, one now dark, for the Final Defenders. Each can be used to call people of their respective groups.” I say, picking up the Stone for Light, and wishing for the blessing it brings.
Another spear appears in my hand, with a head of gold and intricate swirls of silver painted on the white shaft. Armor springs up from my clothes, encasing me, and afterwards, I place the stone back, and then brush the two jewels for the Bearers of Wisdom and Courage lightly with my gloved hand.
Link and Zelda appear, looking around wildly, and then they seem to recognize where they are and note the formation of elements.
“I’ve been here before…” Zelda whispers. “In my dreams…”
“So have I, but it never looked this neglected.” Link says.
The formation is like this: Darkness in the back, behind the altar, Fire on the back right, Water on the back left, me in the center, in front of the altar, Saimana, just in front of me, Air in the forward right position, Earth in the forward left position, and Link and Zelda at the head.
I turn back around, and walk towards Nytel, meeting him face to face.
“I challenge you to a duel, one-on-one, no tricks, though magic may be used. No punching, no kicking, no holding, nothing that doesn’t go in the category of fighting with weapons and magic. Got it?” I ask fiercely.
“I’ve waited long to finish the Council of Light forever. But I can wait a little longer. I agree to your terms.” He says.
“On my count,” I tell him.
“Three…
“Two…
“ONE!”
We dash forward, blocking and thrusting, not showing any mercy. My vision tints slightly red as I fight like I’ve never fought before, and the two forces watch us intensely. Our spears flash through the air with force and agility of three. Too soon, though, I’m on the ground, avoiding being impaled by inches with each thrust of his.
“Shini lisdet mi!” I shout, and he’s blasted backwards in a brilliant flash of light.
“I didn’t know he was powerful enough to use that kind of magic!” Exclaims someone, who, I don’t know.
As Nytel is on the ground, I dash forward with lightning speed, thrusting forward with my spear, impaling his hand. He gives a yell of pain, and as my vision goes completely red with fury, I shout, “Dragon of Death! Give me your aid!”
After that, my vision goes black and I know no more.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Saimana’s P.O.V.)
I stare in awe at Aiden as his body is consumed by white light. The light shines brilliantly, and changes form into the outline of a roaring dragon, in the middle of it all, Aiden thrusting his spear with such power that it goes right through Nytel’s chest, and buries itself up to the end of the shaft in the wall. It doesn’t end there. The Light Dragon consumes Nytel, and the entire wall is knocked down.
When the debris has cleared, Aiden is there, standing over the dead body of his brother.
Slowly, he falls to his knees, and then collapses completely onto the ground.
Silence.
“AIDEN!” May cries, and begins to run forward, but Link catches her by the shoulder.
“Don’t touch him! If he wakes up, he’ll kill you!” He tells her.
“How do you know?” She spits fiercely.
“Zelda, tell her,” He says, nodding.
Zelda walks up and puts a hand on her shoulder.
“Come with me.”
They disappear.
Link walks forward, towards where Aiden fell, and then draws the Master Sword. Aiden slowly opens his eyes, then clutches at a bloody hole in his armor near his heart.
“Look at the blade.” Link tells him.
“Why...?” Aiden groans.
“Do it!” Link says forcefully.
Aiden focuses intensely on the blade.
“What do you see?” Link asks.
“Two... people... they’re... running... and... a...building... like a... castle... is... falling... down... I...” His eyes widen. “You... and Zelda... and... not... Ganondorf... another person...” He moans, coughing up blood.
“What else?”
“The... Councils... fully... together again... you... Zelda... Saimana... me... holding... glowing... triangle... Triforce?” He guesses, then whispers, “Ronisia.”
His wound magically seals itself up, and then, suddenly, May and Zelda appear again. May looks very pale. Link sheathes his blade, helps Aiden up, then goes over to Zelda and whispers something in her ear. Her eyes grow wide, and she looks at Aiden in... is that fear?
“So your little brat defeated Nytel. Hardly even a challenge, compared to some of the soldiers here.” Booms a voice from somewhere in the crowd of enemies.
“ATTACK THE COUNCILS!” Roars the voice. The massive force surges forward, straight for us.
Blades made of wind cut enemies in half, giant fireballs appear from nowhere, water drowns them, tiny black holes suck them in, boulders are being thrown everywhere, and, already pretty far off, I can see a Light Dragon utterly destroying foes.
Amidst it all, I stand silently, eyes closed, in a praying position. I’m aware of suddenly becoming very, very angry. I draw my twin blades, and when I open my eyes, everything is red.
I run with lightning speed, killing, and foes fall like dust before me. After what only feels like an hour or so, I suddenly hear a voice scream, “Saimana, stop! STOP! SAIMANA!”
My vision clears, and I find myself standing over a member of the Council of Fire, blades raised for a killing blow. The fear of me is so obvious in his expression I feel mortified.
Suddenly, there’s a searing pain, like I’m being ripped apart. I scream, falling to the ground, unconscious before my head even touches the dirt.
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
Suddenly, Saimana screams, as if in agony of a million wounds, though no mark is anywhere on her. She collapses unconscious, and the entire place becomes silent once more as we regroup.
“Any losses?” Link asks each of the heads of the Councils in turn.
“No,” Earth’s leader says.
“No,” May echoes.
“One,” Fire tells him.
“Just one,” Water relates.
“No,” Darkness replies.
Aiden appears in a white robe, limping towards us slowly, drenched in blood, enemies’ and his alike. Link whispers something in his ear, pointing to Saimana’s still form. Aiden nods, then limps forward to join the rest of us.
He kneels down by Saimana. After about a minute of checking her breathing and heartbeat, he shouts, “I need a healer!”
May rushes forward, kneeling as well, and does the same as Aiden, then gasps.
“I’ve never dealt with anything like this! Almost everything is normal, except her thoughts, memories, and emotions which are veiled in a mist and fading by the second!”
“What are you going to do?” I ask.
She turns to me, shaking her head.
“There’s nothing I can do. She’ll wake up in twenty minutes time, no memories, no idea who she is, and… well… basically unstoppable, unless someone can find a cure.”
“That’s not true.” Comes a familiar voice, and we turn to see Marth, striding towards Saimana.
“How did…” I begin.
“How did I get here?” He guesses. “I have my ways. But the point is, you don’t need anything. She’ll be fine.”
“How do you figure?” Aiden inquires.
Marth closes his eyes and sighs.
“Two years ago, when I first met Saimana, I don’t know how, but I just knew there was something different about her, something that amounted to more than just a thief. That’s why I helped her. There was… this.... it’s really hard to explain... this air around her, and the way she walked, like she was born a princess, how she would never look away when you talked to her or looked her in the eye… it just didn’t seem normal for a girl that had been on the run since she was nine. Then, when I learned she could change her appearance, become invisible, appear and disappear, and what her true form was, I wasn’t shocked because she could do it, I was shocked that she didn’t tell anyone, not even me. I never would have guessed who she was until today, when she reacted to what Aiden said so strangely. All of a sudden, she changed, and when she remembered who she thought she was, I was unsure. Now I know: she is not who we think she is, and not who she thinks she is.”
“Then who is she?” Someone asks.
“Do you remember, eleven years ago, how there was news about the five year old princess of Malin, the country on the island, suddenly vanishing without a trace after her parents, the king and queen, died?” He asks.
There’s a few nods here and there.
“That is who she is. The princess of Malin, who somehow escaped the island after her home was burned to the ground, was put in an orphanage once on the mainland. After four years there, she escaped and became a fugitive, until we found her, eight years later. I have searched long for the answers, and I’ve finally found them, as well as a piece of information that could literally destroy the world in the wrong hands.”
“What’s that?”
“She is an embodiment, a vessel, for the Goddess of Fate.”
We stare at him like he’s become crazy, and he looks at us severely, looking as if he were a schoolteacher telling off some naughty children.
“This is no joke, guys. I’m serious. When she was seized by rage earlier, she lost her control over her gift, and therefore was transformed what you or I might call a messenger of Fate. The mists of Fate will not hurt her, because she is gifted with a power so divine, even more that the Triforce, if it were to be corrupted, the world would have no chance to recover.
“Ever.”
We all stare at him.
“How do you know this?” I ask.
He smiles. “I’m not as innocent as you think, really. During our little... adventure in the Library of the Ancients, I was not completely idle. I’m really not supposed to know any of this, and it would probably be better for the world if I didn’t, but I was kind of curious, you know?”
Suddenly, there’s a the sound of an explosion, and we look around for the source. Another sounds, farther off. Then another, and another. Before long, we gawk in awe as buildings, people, and plants suddenly spring up from the ground. A city literally builds itself around us, and there’s many friendly greetings from people.
At first, I’m convinced it’s an illusion, but when a person says hello, I search his consciousness, and find all the things a normal person would have, none of the emptiness that there is in mirages or tricks of the sort.
Now,
we are all gathered on a patch of grass near the wall of a gigantic castle. The
“I…
don’t believe this…” Aiden gasps. “The city of
We follow, leaving Saimana behind with Marth as he dashes into the entrance hall, into the arms of a smiling man and woman.
“Mother… Father… I missed you…” He chokes.
“We missed you too, sweetheart,” Replies the woman, hugging him tightly.
“Hey, did you forget about me?!” Shouts the indignant voice of a teenage girl, and we look behind us to see a girl with the same brown eyes and hair as Aiden striding in.
Aiden’s mother and father release him, and the girl walks up to him, laughing.
“What’s up, little brother? You’ve grown since the last time I saw you!”
He hugs her too.
She says loudly, “I hear you’ve got a girlfriend.”
His face reddens.
“Yes, and he’s hard to keep in line, but I manage,” May laughs, and Aiden’s face reddens even more.
“Ma-ay!” He pleads. “Not now!”
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(Link’s P.O.V.)
“I apologize, but the Council of Fire must leave now,” The leader of Fire tells us.
“Water as well,” The head of Water chimes in.
“Well of course, Earth does,”
“Darkness too.”
“If we may?” One of the Council of Air asks, looking at May.
“Of course,” She says. “Just this time don’t spread too far apart.”
Each of the Councils in turn disappear.
I blink in surprise at who takes their place.
“Don’t look at me like that! I just kind of picked the right time to warp, I guess.” Ronin laughs, scratching the back of his head.
“What’s with the robe?” I ask, pointing to the white robe he’s wearing.
He smirks. “When I want you to know, I’ll tell you.”
I sigh.
“What’s wrong with telling us now?” Zelda asks.
“I just told you, and... crap, I have to go back. See you later.” He says, then disappears.
Zelda and I look at each other, mystified, then turn back to Aiden.
“Stay in the castle tonight, if you will,” Aiden says, suddenly looking like the prince he is and not the ever-exhausted seemingly despairing boy we had known recently.
We look at each other.
“Not without us!” Shouts an angry voice, and suddenly Aveil steps out from behind a pillar, scimitars drawn.
She looks around, and then springs the question, “Where are we?”
“Monisianea.”
Zelda tells her. Elice’s eyes light up with a natural aggressive fire, then go
back to normal as the moment passes.
“We’d love to stay here,” May tells Aiden.
Zelda and I glance at each other and nod agreement. Roy, Elice, and Aveil do the same. From entrance, a voice calls, “We agree.”
I turn, to see Saimana leaning heavily on Marth, her face a pale white and her hands shaking in what seems to be fear. She certainly looks scared, huddling as close to Marth as possible. Her eyes are not her fake golden ones: they are her normal red ones, looking haunted and torn.
“Oh...” Elice gasps, and then the entire room goes silent, Aiden’s sister looking like she wants to go one-on-one with Aveil, his mother and father watching intently, Aveil glaring at me, Saimana and Marth staring at us, Zelda, May, Elice, and Roy staring right back, and I’m just standing, digesting everything I’ve seen and heard over the past eight hours.
Nighttime...
“Mmm... Link?” Zelda murmurs. I roll over in bed to face her.
“Yes?”
“What are you hiding from me?” She asks.
“What do you mean by that?” I yawn sleepily.
“Don’t play dumb with me. I can sense your thoughts and feelings, remember?” She reminds me.
“I’m not hiding anything.” I tell her.
Does she know...?
Suddenly, her voice enters my consciousness.
“We can do this the easy way, or I can just search your mind by myself...” She says impatiently.
I look at her sadly, wanting to tell her, but knowing I can’t.
“I have sworn on my life not to let you know. If in any way I ever gave it away... I’d rather not think about it.” I whisper, stroking her cheek gently.
“I’m sorry, Zelda, I just can’t. I wish that I could, but I can’t.”
...A blue light appears in front of me,
illuminating the blackness. I stare at it, and my eyes soon adjust to the faint
light.
Suddenly, the form of a woman with
blue hair, eyes, and clothes appears in front of me.
“Link Avalon, what I am about to
show you is forbidden to be given away, whether in thought or by your lips,
forever.” She murmurs. A bright light consumes my surroundings, then fades, and
I find myself in the middle of Hyrule Field, but something seems horribly
wrong.
The sounds of a great battle being
fought reaches my ears, and I turn towards the place it’s coming from:
I run towards the distant place, but
stop on the crest of the hill just before the battlefield.
I choke, horrified at what I see.
Zelda’s dying form is lying at the
bottom of the hill, and she’s struggling to breathe, scarlet blood spreading
across the middle of her chest. The shaft of an arrow is buried deep into her
skin.
I sprint down, stopping at the
bottom, and cradle her head.
“Zelda, what happened?” I cry.
“You... you’re... supposed to...
be... dead...” She rasps, her eyes widening in disbelief, reaching out to touch
me, as if making sure I’m not a ghost.
“No! I’m here! Alive! Please, don’t
leave me like this!” I say desperately.
“There’s no... healing that
wound...” Someone chokes, and I look behind me to see Elice, looking
grief-stricken and confused. Beside her are Roy, Saimana, Marth, and Aveil, all
looking the same.
“Link... I... lo...ve...
y...o...u...” Zelda whispers, pulling herself up painfully into a kiss.
Then, she falls to the ground,
motionless.
“Ze...Zelda...” I sob, holding her
limp form to me.
Then, suddenly, I’m blinded as a
bright light again comes and goes, leaving me back in the room with the woman.
She looks at me solemnly.
“Never tell her of this, or let her
know through your connection. If you truly love her, forget about this.”
Suddenly, her expression changes to
one of kindness.
“You have a hard path ahead of you.
Do not ever forsake her: you need each other. Goodbye, Hero of Time.”
She disappears...
I stare at Zelda, suddenly very afraid for her. Her eyes become unfocused for a moment, as if recalling an old memory. I concentrate on her mind...
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(Saimana’s P.O.V.)
I sigh, leaning back against the wall of the castle, just outside the gate.
I just don’t know what to think anymore. All my life I’ve always come to a solution, a way to come through. But literally being host to the Goddess of Fate? Carrying Death in the palm of my hand?
“What’s up?” Inquires a voice, and Ronin appears beside me. I glance at him curiously. “Why do you care?”
He shrugs. “You looked kind of bothered, so I figured I’d ask.”
I sigh. “Nothing’s wrong, Ronin. Did you have fun with your little assassinations?”
He suddenly looks very annoyed. “No killing assignments lately. Just rescue missions.”
“It’s not my fault you’re a...”
“Shut up!” He hisses.
“Sorry, sorry. I forgot.” I apologize. He calms down.
We’re silent for a moment, and I hear an owl hoot, the rustle of the green leaves in the trees, and the wind moving the grass in sync with it’s breath. The moonlight slants down, illuminating everything with a soft, silver glow. I close my eyes for a moment, amazed that the barren wasteland I was in five years ago could have many forests and streams and... well, everything it didn’t have before.
“You’re an embodiment of Death.” Ronin says suddenly. Not a question, a statement.
“And?” I ask.
“Well... you don’t usually meet people of the race of...”
“And you’re telling me to be quiet about your race?!” I cut in angrily, glancing around.
“Sorry. But anyways, normally, people like you... they usually don’t embody anything.” He tells me quietly.
I pull back my hair to reveal the small black symbol behind my ear, in the shape of swirling black mists with a single, black sword in the middle.
“Does that look normal to you?!” I ask fiercely.
“I... no.” He admits quietly.
“Look, Saimana, I...” His voice trails off.
“What, Ronin?” I inquire softly, calming down a bit.
His eyes widen, and he begins hesitantly, “I... I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He disappears. I sit there for a while, wondering what he really meant to say, then head to the castle gardens to rest underneath a tree until morning. I need to sleep, after all, and, besides, I need to forget things for a while.
As I lay there, cradled by the roots of the tree, my eyelids slowly start to droop...
A long time ago, there was a girl. Her name
was Saimana, and she traveled through the lands, visiting Kings and
As she traveled far, over mountain,
desert, plain, forest, and even water. All considered her like a goddess, and
her name was well known because of her kind deeds and beauty. That was, until
they found out what she was.
One day, traveling through a large
forest, Saimana became hopelessly lost among the many trees. In the evening, as
she lay down to rest, a band of thieves came upon her and tied her in her
sleep.
When she awoke, the head of the band
strode up to her.
“Ho ho! A
beautiful catch, fellows! ‘Tis some fair maiden! She will be worth much as a
slave!”
She was terrified, yet angry as
well.
“Lay not on me hand nor whip, foul
beasts of men! Let me go, or I will have my vengeance!”
They laughed, not scared in the
least of what they though just a mere child. Saimana became angrier and
angrier, and, suddenly, her ties were cut, and she was standing over the leader
of the band with two long, curved, sharp blades, fury blazing in her eyes. As
she stood there, a small wind caught her hair, just enough to reveal a tiny
black mark behind her ear.
“Flee, I say, flee! She has the mark
of Death upon her!” Shouted one, and they scattered, just before she killed
their leader.
The thieves spread the information
to all the nations, and many Kings who had cared for her now took arms against
her, many people feared her wherever she went, and it was said,
“Walk not in the Shadow of the Angel
of Death, lest she overcome you also!”
Yet, however many people hated her,
one day, she came upon a young girl with silver hair walking along the road.
“If you fear the ‘Angel of Death’ as
they call it, flee.” Saimana called tiredly, but the girl stopped and walked up
to her.
“I do not fear what is kind and
fair, pretty one. I only seek peace in the name of all goddesses.”
Saimana was astounded, and said,
“You are wise for one so early in years.”
“Are you not the same?” Asked the
young girl.
“I am. From this day on, let us be
friends. I give you my blessing, that your lineage shall ever be friends with
my own.”
“And I give you my blessing, that
though your descendants will face many trials, your blood will never die out.”
Said the young girl, and they parted ways...
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“Sothe?!” I cry, whirling around, looking for where he might be among the shadows of nighttime in the town.
“Relax. I’m right here.” Comes his voice, and he drops down from a tree.
“Something really weird happened just now.” He tells me.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“You know that girl you taught a couple of years ago, the one with the red eyes, black hair?” He inquires.
“Yes,” I reply.
“She’s here. Now. Sleeping under a tree in the castle gardens.” He informs me.
“It could be another girl…” I begin.
“No, I’m positive, Macaiah.” He cuts in.
I sigh.
“We’ll just have to see in the morning. I miss the others. It feels like forever since we’ve been back to see Ike and everybody else.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll probably visit them soon.” He tells me, putting a comforting arm around my shoulders. We’re both silent for a moment as we gaze up at the night sky.
“Remember when we were just a small band of ‘thieves’ and ‘betrayers of the empire’?” He asks. I nod.
“Things felt so hopeless then. Sometimes I didn’t know if I could trust myself to go on. All we really did then was hit and run, and hope not to be captured or killed.” I murmur sadly, remembering all the people suffering and dying.
Suddenly, a distinct aura reaches me, probably sent by Yune.
But…
It couldn’t be…
This is a little different…
“Sothe, do you know anything about something called the Triforce?” I ask suddenly.
He nods. “A little. The people around here, especially farther north, say it’s a gift from their three goddesses, who supposedly created the world and left a kind of balance behind. I guess this thing split into three pieces and were gifted to three people, but I don’t know much more.”
“What are the names and embodiments of their goddesses?” I inquire.
He closes his eyes. “The first… Din, I think… embodies Power. The second… I’m not sure, but I think it’s Nayru, who carries Wisdom. The other is Farore… what did she embody… oh yes, Courage!” He says slowly.
“Courage, Wisdom, and Power? That’s an odd thing to think about for goddesses.” I comment.
“Never mind that,” He glances up at the sky. “It’s late. We should rest.”
“Okay,” I say, finding a perfectly good tree and lying down underneath. He does the same, and soon, my eyelids begin to feel heavy…
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(Link’s P.O.V.)
Morning…
I open my eyes slowly, to see that Zelda’s already out of bed. What’s more, she’s not even in the room.
I get up and slowly get dressed, strapping on the Master Sword, as usual. As I’m looking in the mirror so I can tie my hat, the sound of the door opening reaches my ears, and Zelda steps in, expressionless.
“We’re leaving at noon.” She informs me shortly, turning to leave.
“Zelda, wait!” I say, whirling around, but she’s already gone, the sound of her brisk footsteps in the corridor fading rapidly.
I drop my hat and tie, and then sit down on the bed, hanging my head, torn between two equally appalling choices: tell her, and have her die, or don’t tell her, and have her hate me forever.
For once in my life, there’s a problem in front of me that I can’t solve with a sword, and I think I’ve finally met my match.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
As I finally get far enough from our room, I almost collapse, and have to brace myself against the wall for support. Every step I move away from him and every cold word I speak to him hurts worse than a million arrows piercing me at once.
Tears stream down my face as I finally give in and sob, huddling against the wall, on the floor, head in my lap.
“Are you all right?” A soft voice says suddenly, and I look up, to see a girl and a boy, standing over me, looking concerned. She has silver hair and blue eyes, while he has green hair and blue eyes.
“Who… who are you?” I ask quietly.
“I’m Macaiah and this is Sothe.” She replies gently. “Do you need any help?”
I shake my head slowly. “I’m fine…”
“No, you’re not. Is there anything we can do?” She says, still gentle, but now firm.
“Unless you can get the Hero of Time to come to his senses and tell me whatever he’s hiding from me, then no.” I tell them.
“I don’t know anyone who goes by that title, but we’ll try to help anyways. Right, Sothe?” She says.
“But what about…” She elbows him in the ribs.
“Right, Sothe?” She asks again, a threatening note in her voice.
“Uh… yeah, sure.” He groans, wincing.
“Man, you’re a lot stronger than you were when we were still fighting Begnion. Are you’re really the same girl?”
“You know it.” She says proudly.
“What’s your name?” He queries.
“Zelda,” I tell him.
“What does this Hero of Time look like?” Macaiah inquires.
“I…” I begin, but my voice cracks.
“Don’t want to talk about it?” She guesses, and I shake my head.
“That’s okay. We’ll see you later, okay, Zelda?”
“I doubt it. I’ll be in Hyrule by noon.” I reply.
“And your point is?” Sothe asks.
“Can you teleport?” I counter.
“Um, Hyrule is like maybe a day’s travel from here on horseback. All we have to do is cross Malsia.
“And that’s an easy thing?”
Suddenly, she pulls back her cloak to reveal a tome emblazoned with a white cross on it, and he draws a dagger that was hidden from view.
“I don’t think we’ll have that much trouble.
“We’ll see you later.” She says again, and they walk away.
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(Saimana’s P.O.V.)
My
blades clash hard against Aveil’s as we match each other, blow for blow, the
crashing of metal heard throughout the courtyard. Marth, Elice,
“I can see you tiring, assassin!” She pants.
“Not as fast as you, thief!” I shoot back.
Our blades get caught in a double X, and we push at each other hard, not willing to lose in the least.
Shing!!!
Both of our blades go spinning out of our hands and hit the ground with soft thuds.
We glare at each other, panting heavily, then smile.
“Nice job.” We says simultaneously, picking up our weapons.
Everyone’s silent for a moment, then I ask, “Has anyone seen Link or Zelda this morning, aside from earlier when Zelda told us when we were leaving?”
Everyone shakes their head.
“It’s unlike them to be so… antisocial.” Elice comments.
“It is really weird,” May agrees.
Suddenly, there’s the sound of horse’s hooves, and a cloaked figure goes speeding down the path towards the gate on a brown horse, a sword visible at their side, and then disappears.
“Who was that?!” I ask, but no one answers.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
I hang on to Epona’s reins tightly, urging her to go faster.
The town passes by in a blur, and then I’m on an old road, the landscape speeding by.
Monisianea is a fair sized country, but with luck I should be into Malsia before long.
I look forward, squinting against the wind, and sure enough, I can see the border forest up ahead, and urge Epona even faster.
The trees go by in a flash, and soon I’m back on the open field.
I ride in silence for a while, hearing nothing but the wind and Epona’s hooves beating tirelessly against the ground.
Suddenly, a castle looms in the distance. I grimace.
Why does my route have to take me by there, of all places?
I speed on, and the castle gets steadily closer, and after a while, my path takes me by a road leading up to it, and then by it.
The
heavily forested
I ride on through the endless meadows and forests, then suddenly come to a halt at the edge of a river.
Could this be…
The border stream? Already?
I look up at the sky, and to my astonishment, the sun is setting.
Unexpectedly, an arrow whizzes by, missing my head by a little more than an inch.
There’s a loud cry, and suddenly, a band of Malsian soldiers forms a half circle around me, making the river the only way to escape. One of them blows a horn, and there’s the sound of pounding hooves as yet more soldiers arrive.
I stare at them, hopelessly outnumbered.
“If you don’t want to be killed, I’d suggest you drop your sword. Now.” One snarls.
I comply, and a soldier moves forward with rope.
“Don’t struggle, unless…”
“I get it, okay?! I know!” I burst.
“Look at us, kid. Do you really think you can defeat an entire legion alone?”
“Well, he might be able to, but his chances are much better with our help.” Says a voice, and suddenly, there’s a blinding flash of light, and they all fall to the ground.
A girl and a boy are in front of me on horses, looking anxious.
“This won’t last for long! We’ll explain later! Hurry!” She urges, and I pick up my sword and leap back on Epona.
They urge their horses to a fast gallop, leading me upstream until a bridge is visible. We turn off, speeding over the bridge.
Once we’re a safe distance away, they slow down as darkness begins to fall.
We halt, and dismount.
“Who are you two?” I ask. “Why did you help me?”
“I’m Sothe, and this is Macaiah.” Explains the boy. He has green hair blue eyes, and she has silver hair, blue eyes. “We didn’t want to see you die,” She adds.
“Well, thanks for helping me out of that. I’m Link.” I tell them.
“You’re going to Hyrule, right?” Macaiah asks.
“Yes.”
“We’ll go with you, then. There’s someone there we want to talk to, anyways. Do you know someone who goes by the title of ‘Hero of Time?’”
My face darkens. “I do. I know him quite well, actually.”
“What’s his real name?”
“Why would you want to know? You’re staring right at him.”
They stare at me.
I get back on Epona, and look down at them.
“You’d better hurry, or I’ll leave you behind.”
They leap on their horses, and we take off, soon out of the forest and onto Hyrule Field. We ride straight towards Kakariko. As I set Epona free at the steps, however, something seems horribly wrong.
“Light,” Macaiah whispers, and a ball of white light appears in her hand, shining light on everything within about thirty feet.
“Oh my!” She gasps, putting her hand to her mouth in horror.
Littered across the steps are the broken bodies of Hylians, Zoras, Gerudo, Sheikah, Gorons, and monsters, most of them being the tribes. Smears of blood are everywhere, as are shields and swords and broken armor.
“What happened here?” Sothe asks.
I shake my head.
“I don’t know... but I have a feeling it’s not good.” I say.
We proceed slowly up the steps and into the village.
I wish we hadn’t.
There are bodies everywhere... one the ground, slumped against buildings, on rooftops, impaled on fences... And still, too few of them are monsters’.
“This is... horrible...” Macaiah whispers.
Then, as we move forward, I see writing, clearly in blood, on a building.
You walked right into my trap.
Watch your back, you three.
You might be watched yourself.
I shudder, then back up against Macaiah and Sothe, the Master Sword drawn.
It flares a brilliant blue, and I groan.
Blue generally means something bad.
“Who dares trespass here, after the desecration you see before you?” Cries a voice, seemingly from nowhere.
“Can we not bury our dead in peace?”
“Just kill us, if you that’s your goal!”
“I’m not here to kill anyone! I’m a friend!” I cry.
“If I was a bloodthirsty savage, why would I have this weapon, my weapon, the Hero of Time’s weapon, in my hands?!”
“What’s going on here?!” Demands a voice, one so familiar, I heave a relieved sigh.
“It’s me, Marth.”
He appears from nowhere, looking annoyed.
“What was with the fleeing thing? You were supposed come with us at noon!”
“Honestly, Marth, I don’t really feel like being yelled at right now. I’ve had a really bad day, so you might not want to get on my nerves, because I feel like slitting someone’s throat right now, and if you go on, it just might be your throat. I have to go now, but give Zelda this for me, okay?” I inquire, handing him a letter with a silk seal.
“Well, I... Yeah, I’ll do that.” He says quietly.
I look at Sothe and Macaiah.
“Where are you going?” She asks.
“To the place where I can learn best about what to do...
“The
bottom of the
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
I sit there, in our room, studying the ancient runes in the book, when suddenly, May walks in. I look up.
“Yes?”
“Marth gave me this to give to you. It’s from Link.”
My heart starts to race hopefully, then slows down as I take the letter.
She walks out, and I open in.
Zelda
I apologize for not telling you
about what bothered me so much, but this is the only thing I’m allowed to tell
you...
You died in my arms.
I was forbidden to tell you the rest
by Nayru herself. I’ll be gone for a while, but you can manage just fine.
You’re the best one for the job. Believe in yourself for me, okay?
-Link-
P.S.
You’ll be fine. I love you, Zelda.
I gaze at the letter uncomprehendingly for a few moments, then sigh, frustrated and confused.
“Why?!”
Chapter 15
Hylian Blood
(Link P.O.V.)
As
I proceed through the humid depths of the
“There’s writing on it,” Navi whispers. I raise the Master Sword, and, sure enough, there are symbols covering the entire thing, most of them written in Ancient Hylian, but some are also in the modern form, as well.
“In the darkness, all is not what it seems, so take the eye that will read the darkness as easily as light.” I read quietly, then take out the Lens of Truth.
“Seems like this will be important.”
Suddenly, there’s a loud rumble, and the wall disappears into thin air. I put the lens to my eye, to see that it really is gone.
I proceed forward cautiously, keeping an eye out for strange things, but I see none.
Very soon, though, I come to my first big problem: a fork in the path. At the end of one, there seems to be a soft, golden light. From the other there is a harsh, white light.
I lower the Lens of Truth, and, to my astonishment, they both disappear. I quickly look through it again, and they’re still there, sure enough.
I stand there for a moment, thinking, then decide to go with the white. The instant I enter the passage, a wall slams down behind me.
Oh,
great.
The light grows unnaturally strong, blinding me. I close my eyes, beginning to become unconscious…
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
Why
is the floor so soft?
This
doesn’t feel like stone.
Is
this one of the tricks of the temple?
I open my eyes slowly, and start.
Grass. Sunlight. Dirt. Wind.
“What…?” I mutter in confusion, sitting up, and I catch my breath in amazement.
I’m
looking out over Hyrule from the top of a large hill that borders a small grove
of trees, the grass softly swaying in sync to the wind’s breath. The sunlight
reflects off the distant
“It’s a nice view, isn’t it?” Murmurs a soft voice, and unexpectedly, a woman with green hair, clothes, and eyes appears right next to me, gazing at the expanse of land.
“Who are you?” I ask, confused, yet still oddly calm.
“I go by many different names. Some know me as the Emerald Goddess, Ereldia. Others call me the Goddess of Light. Still others know me by the name most familiar to you: Farore, Goddess of Courage.”
I immediately drop to one knee.
“My sincerest apologies for not recognizing you, my lady!” I say, embarrassed.
“Get up, Link. You don’t need to be ashamed. There are very few who would recognize me on sight.”
I stand up quickly.
She sighs.
“I know your burden is a heavy one, to be the one to save Hyrule, but I… I am sorry. I never meant curse you in this way. It was a foolish mistake, and it cannot be undone.”
I look at her, seeing the most sincere sadness in her expression. Now, something strikes me.
“Don’t be sorry. I can still be with Zelda, if only for one of our many lives, but still be with her. She’s the most important thing in my life… all of them. So it‘s not really a curse, so long as I‘m with her.”
She surveys me quietly, then speaks.
“Such passion and truth… are you sure you’re mortal?” She laughs.
“Unfortunately, yes, I am,” I say.
She stares at me, then unexpectedly, she starts turning into a green mist from the ground up. As she disappears, the mist swirls around me, and my Triforce symbol flares white and throbs painfully.
“I
am with you always, Hero of Time.”
XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
I groan, opening my eyes, and notice a searing pain in my ankles and wrists. I look at them, seeing them chained.
Oh,
not this again.
Suddenly, strains of music reach my ears, melding together into a beautiful, sad melody that speaks of lost love, treacherous betrayal, greed, long past wars, and many other things. It goes ever on, getting sadder and sadder, then unexpectedly starts to become joyful. As I listen to it, I realize I know the instrument being used…
A harp.
It stops.
“So you are awake.” Says a quiet voice, almost as sad as the tune that was played. The sound of quiet approaching footsteps gets closer and closer, then stops. I look up, to see a familiar face.
“Welcome, Link. It’s been quite a while since you’ve seen me, isn’t it?”
In front of me is the Goddess of Wisdom, smiling sadly and holding a harp.
“I suppose I’ll see Din after you.” I say, almost rolling my eyes.
“I’m afraid not,” She murmurs, unlocking my chains, “Why? Do you not like me?”
“Other than the fact you forced me to kill Zelda and myself, not really, no,” I say wryly.
“It was a test.” She tells me.
“Have you gone crazy?! You mean to tell me that I kept a lie from her?! That the whole thing was a joke?! She hates me for nothing now! Do you realize that you ruined my whole life with that stupid dream?! I’m down here risking my life for nothing now! Is it like a game to you, playing with the lives of mortals?!” I explode.
“Calm yourself!” She says, holding the Master Sword to my chin. I stare at her angrily.
“Do it,” I whisper, “Kill me. At least then I won’t have to bear the pain of which that vision shows.”
She lowers the Master Sword, staring at me with an almost broken expression.
“It wasn’t my choice.”
I stop immediately.
“What?” I ask softly.
“I was not the one who wanted you tested. It wasn’t my decision. I was just the messenger.” She says, turning away to leave me.
“Wait!”
She looks over her shoulder at me.
“What?”
I swallow and say, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I didn’t mean to yell. I was just angry… well, yes I was angry at you. Very angry. But I didn’t know.”
She turns back to me, and bows her head, then hands me the Master Sword, sheathed. “You’ll need that. I’ll return you to the surface now.” She murmurs, barely audible.
“Wait!” I cry, but already, I feel my knees sinking to the ground…
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(
As Marth walks in the door, I shout, “Where’s Link, pretty boy?!”
He
glares at me, and I glare right back. “Shut up,
“Please, you two!” Elice appears in the doorway. “Stop arguing so much! Please!”
We look at her.
“Elice-” I begin.
“Why do you two hate each other all of a sudden?!” She cries. “You were perfectly fine before we rescued Zelda from Malsia!”
“Well,” Marth growls. “Maybe if a certain red-haired someone would grow up, maybe we’d stop!”
“Oh, I need to grow up?! Look who’s talking, you son of a...”
“Stop it!” Elice screams, a single tear running down her cheek.
“Elice, please,” I say softly.
“No! I won’t let you hurt each other!” She says, on the verge of crying.
I look up, at Marth. “This is your fault.” He hisses.
Elice runs out, sobbing. I glare at him. “Way to go, genius.”
“Shut up.”
“No.”
“SHUT UP!”
He whips out his sword, swinging at me with lightning speed. I just barely avoid it in time, drawing my own. He pants angrily, shoulders heaving. “You want to go? Let’s go. Then she’ll see what you’re like.” I say angrily.
We swing our swords toward each other, and suddenly, we’re both blasted twenty feet back. “Enough!” Comes Elice’s voice, sounding angry but heartbroken. She thrusts herself in the space between us, and I see May behind her, hand smoking slightly. She narrows her eyes at both of us. “Move. I dare you. Just move.” She tells us, the tone in her voice harsh and cold.
“Marth?” Asks, a soft voice, then there’s a horrified gasp as Saimana appears in the doorway, running towards him.
I slowly gather myself enough to try and get up.
BANG.
I fly backwards, through several walls, my vision blurred with red. I lay there, among the debris, every breath hurting, every part of my body screaming in pain…
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Five days later…
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
I
wake up in bed with a pounding headache, and my first thought is, Where am
I?
I look around.
“What…?” I mutter, running my fingers through the silk nightgown I’m wearing.
There’s a light knock on my door.
“Zelda…? Are you up?” Asks a familiar voice, one I should know but can’t quite place.
“Come in,” I say softly.
May walks in.
“Yes?” I inquire.
“I think you should come with me. After you get dressed, of course.” She adds.
“Umm… okay.” I say, jumping out of bed and changing quickly.
“Follow me,” She says, whisking out, and I do follow her, very closely. As she takes me to where we’re going, I can’t help but feel wherever it is, it’s the wrong place if it doesn’t lead to Link. She leads me down many hallways until we reach a room marked ‘infirmary.’ We enter, and the first thing I notice is a motionless figure on a bed, bandages applied everywhere, dried blood staining them red. “Shh…” Elice whispers to us, from her place beside Link’s bed. “I just got him to go to sleep.”
I walk over, and sit beside his bed as well, and May leaves. I brush his untidy hair away from his face lightly, then plant a gentle kiss on his forehead. Then, I look at Elice. “How long has it been since you found him?” I ask, stroking his cheek softly.
“We found him in Kakariko Graveyard, late last night. You were sleeping so peacefully, we didn’t want to wake you.”
“Oh.”
Suddenly Link groans, then opens his eyes. They become unfocused for a moment, as if reliving an old, old memory. “Zelda…? Elice…?” He whispers weakly.
“Shh…” I whisper, murmuring a few notes of my lullaby to him. He lies there, staring at me with a broken expression that clearly is begging for forgiveness. “Everything’s all right. I’m here now.” I say soothingly.
Suddenly,
I notice
“I’d rather not talk about it,” She says quietly. Saimana appears in the doorway.
“You
called?” She asks Elice. She points at
Saimana nods in understanding, walking over to his bed. She sits down beside him and closes her eyes. “His legs and ribs are broken,” She tells us. “There’s major damage to his left shoulder, and he’s had a concussion.”
“Can you heal him?” Elice queries, sounding worried.
“While he’s asleep, I can take care of everything except the shoulder. I need his help to set it because if I do it wrong, he’ll know. He’ll have a white scar down the back of his right leg, not very noticeable. After I’m done, he needs to stay in bed for at least four weeks, at the least.”
Elice heaves a massive sigh of relief. “Honestly, I don’t know how I can thank you enough after...”
Saimana whirls around. “Don’t say it!”
“Sorry!” Elice squeaks. Saimana stands there for a moment, glaring at her, then calms down.
“No, it’s okay. I haven’t quite been myself lately.” She exits, but then her head appears in the doorway, and she says, “Oh, and Link?”
He looks at her. She makes a symbol with her hands midair, then disappears.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Sothe’s P.O.V.)
I cling to the side of the castle for my life, working my way towards the balcony. Once on the balcony, I walk into the princess’s quarters. The princess of Hyrule herself tasked me with this mission, and I will not fail. I press my ear against her heavy oak door. No sound whatsoever. I open it a crack. Nothing.
I silently step into the hallway, knife in hand. I head right down the hall, down a flight of stairs, and into a large corridor that branches off to lead to a large dining hall. I continue past it, careful not to let my feet make any sound against the stone floor. I keep going until I reach a large door with ornate carvings on it.
“It should be in the king’s room. You’ll know it when you see it.” She had said.
I open the door just a crack.
SMASH!
The
door splinters at the blade of a giant axe, held by an iron knuckle about seven
feet high. Man, I hope no other monsters heard that.
WHACK!
I groan, falling down, into blackness... and I’m falling... and falling... and.... fall...ing...
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
I lower my rod, staring at the green-haired boy. “Very good, Ivy.” Comes Ganondorf’s voice, and he walks out from the king’s room. I kneel.
“I only acted upon my orders, my lord.”
He circles around the boy. “He has been in the presence of the Hero of Time. He must be here on orders of his own. But from whom? He was probably sent to get something, but what, and why?”
“My lord, I could...”
“No, Ivy. Your work is done, for now. I will get the information from him myself. You!” He points to the iron knuckle. “Bind him and take him to the torture chamber!” The iron knuckle bends down, picks him up, and marches away. I make as if to follow, but Ganondorf holds me back.
“You wish to know who your sister is?” He asks.
“Please, my lord!” I say.
“Go
to
“Yes, my lord.” I reply, and make as if to dash off.
“Oh, and Ivy...” He says, narrowing his eyes. I pause, looking back at him.
“I want the Hero of Time, alive.”
I run off, towards the back exit to the castle, changing into the form of a girl with green eyes and white/blonde hair, the white dress slowing me down a little. As soon as I’m outside, I mutter, “Nirira,”
My surroundings spin, faster and faster, until I find myself in Hyrule Field, just outside the village. I walk slowly up the stone steps. As soon as I enter the village, the twang of a bowstring reaches my ears. I duck on instinct, and the arrow flies over me. I find myself suddenly being pinned to the ground by a girl like me with two curved hunting blades, aimed for the killing blow. “Give me one very good reason why I shouldn’t kill you.” She growls.
“Because I’m a friend. Get off me,” I say quietly. “Please.”
Surprisingly, she does, and helps me to my feet. “What’s your name?” She inquires.
“Snowfall,” I lie. She smiles.
“It suits you. My name’s Saimana.”
“Thanks.” I tell her, smiling as well. She studies me for a moment. “Something about you seems... odd. I can’t quite place it.”
“I get that a lot.” I sigh. As I look at her, something inside me sparks, something I’ve never felt before, and can’t figure out.
“So where do you come from?” She queries. I shrug.
“I’ve been on the run since I was little.”
At
least that’s true.
A small distance away, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes is sitting on a stack of crates, staring sadly into the distance. Saimana notices her, and walks over, pulling me along. “Hey, Zelda, what’s up?” Saimana asks the girl. As soon as I hear the name Zelda, a flare goes off in my mind saying, “This is really, really, really bad.”
She sighs. “Hello, Saimana. Who’s your friend?” She asks.
“This is Snowfall.” Saimana tells her. She smiles briefly at me, then looks sad again.
“Hey, you seem kind of bothered. Can I help?” I inquire, sitting down next to her. She shakes her head.
“Sorry,” She says.
“Hey, just call if you need anything, all right?” I tell her, standing up once more.
“Okay,” She says absentmindedly.
“Come on. There’s someone else I want you to meet.” Saimana tells me, hurrying me inside a large inn. She leads me through countless halls, then stops at a room marked ‘infirmary.’ She opens the door, and I immediately see a boy with blonde hair and blue eyes lying on a bed, covered with bandages. On another bed lies another boy with fiery red hair, eyes closed, moving around in a restless sleep. Next to him is sitting a girl with blue hair, back turned to us, murmuring softly to him. “This is Link,” Saimana whispers, pointing to the one with the blonde hair. He smiles weakly, then his expression goes back to that of a broken person.
“Link, this is Snowfall,” She introduces me.
Several more flares go off. I suppress the urge to strangle him. My eyes dart to the revealing Triforce symbol on his hand.
I’m
too close to everyone in this village to bind and abduct him.
Suddenly, I feel like a gigantic weight is pressing down on me. I give a loud cry, falling to the ground. Then, for a split second, my control spins out of my hands, and I slip out of the disguise, into my real self.
Oh,
no... They’re going to kill me... No...
...
“Sis?! Sis?!” I cry, searching among the ashes of what used to be our home. No
answer.
Suddenly,
my foot strikes something hard, and I look down to see a thin sword with a gold
handle and a blade made of... I think that’s silver. Unexpectedly, right next
to it, a sword that’s bigger and even more beautiful appears right next to it.
Its hilt is blue, and the blade... I don’t know. It doesn’t look like any metal
I know.
“Take
note of these swords.” Says a mysterious voice, and I whirl around, to see a
woman with green hair, eyes, and clothes smiling at me.
“They
are your destiny.”
I shake off the memory, to see Saimana with an angry look in her eyes. “What is your true form?” She asks coldly.
“This is my original form.” I say, afraid.
“What is your true form?” She hisses venomously, shaking me.
“I...” I begin, but my voice fails.
“Tiro unati Light!” She whispers angrily, and my eyes widen as I recognize the spell.
“No! Please!” I plead desperately. “I can’t! Really, this is my true form! I know you!
“I’m your sister!” I tell her, and the light in her eyes becomes murderous.
“My sister, Liti Ivinia, or White Ivy, died in a fire along with my parents! How dare you mock her?!”
“Saimana, please! I am Ivy! I was there! I know you! Please!!!” I cry. She hesitates, then her eyes narrow.
“You are not my sister. You serve the King of Evil, seeking to destroy the very cause we fight for. Do you think I’m a fool? Do you think I cannot sense your tainted aura? If you value your life, run far away from here, and never return.”
Suddenly my life flashes by me...
...The
boy screams in pain as I whip him over and over, not in the least affected by
his cries. I continue to do this for a long amount of time, and when I finish,
several long, shiny welts are on his chest...
...
“Ivy...” He whispers to me, as he is led up to the gallows.
“Orin,
please!” I cry. He shakes his head.
“This
is how it must be. When you find the chance, escape. You will find another.”
“I
can’t love anyone but you, though...” I whisper, tears streaming down my face.
Now I know what May felt like when Aiden died...
I
turn my head for a moment, to see May, looking on with an expression that says
she’s fighting back tears, then turn back to Orin.
“Goodbye,
Ivy... I love you...” He murmurs...
I realize it.
What good have I done the world? What has all I’ve done amounted to?
The only thing I’ve ever done is caused pain and death to those around me. I’ve wasted countless souls serving the one I’m supposed to fight against. And this is the big question...
Why?!
My head clears suddenly of the mists it’s had for an immeasurable amount of time. I was wrong to do what I have done.
Now
I have to fix that.
I look up at Saimana.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper. Her expression softens.
“Ivy...?” She asks. I nod.
“I will fight with you,” I say quietly. “I will help you, no matter what.”
Suddenly, a loud boom shakes the village. We race outside, to see a man clothed in black fighting two young men, almost identical, though one is in the armor of the Hyrulean Royal Army, and the other is wearing armor with the symbol of Monisianea on it, and both are wielding spears, while the other only has a small knife.
The one in black moves unexpectedly, suddenly blasting one of the young men with a magic spell, then following up by doing the same to the other. The man in black laughs evilly.
“Are your ties to the ancients so weak that you cannot even cast a spell?”
“We.... never... said that.” Says one, pushing himself back to his feet while wiping away blood from the corner of his mouth.
“You... want magic... you get it!” He yells, and the man is blasted into a building, making a fair-sized dent in the wall. The force of the spell stirs up the air enough to lift my hair slightly.
The man gets up, glaring at him.
“I am Xana, and I will not be beaten by two simple boys!” He shouts, disappearing.
“You seem important,” Whispers a voice, and immediately, I feel a knife on my neck. I close my eyes, focusing.
“I’ll let her go if you give me the Hero of Time.” He shouts.
Almost
there...
“Otherwise, she will die.”
Aha!
I quietly handle the poisoned knife in my hand, and, when I reach the right spot, just barely grazing the man’s skin with it. He immediately drops to the ground, dead. I smile in satisfaction. The blood of a mountain dragon; the most poisonous substance in the world over. I open my eyes, to see everyone, literally, everyone present staring at me.
“Saimana?” A boy with blue hair asks in confusion, looking from me to her. I point at Saimana.
“That’s who you’re looking for.”
I kneel on the ground. “My name is Ivy Norenian. I am her twin sister.”
One of them, one who looks like the Princess Zelda, narrows her eyes. “What are you doing here?” She asks, folding her arms.
“You’re not the only one who has realized their wrongs, May.” I reply, shifting my gaze to the ground. She snorts.
“Oh, I’m sure.” She says sarcastically. “If you really mean what you say, drop the crystal.”
I give a loud cry. “But-”
“I know what it does. No one here is going to take it from you. No one else here even knows what it is.” She tells me. I hesitantly reach for my necklace, detaching the large crystal hanging from it. It emits a radiant light while in my hands. I slowly lower it to the ground, and the light fades.
“What are you going to do with it?” I ask.
“This.” She smirks, then shouts, “Kashinae!”
I gasp as the spell flies right towards it.
The instant the spell touches the crystal, everything goes black.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Elice’s P.O.V.)
I
lay a hand on
He’s still warm. Why won’t his fever go away? And why on earth are there no burn marks on him?
I sigh once more, and turn away to get fresh bandages.
“Elice.”
Could
his injuries still be bothering him that much?
But
how, when I sealed the wounds?
Is
it possible that... In his weakened state, he’s vulnerable to Ganondorf?
He
has the Triforce of Courage, though... I thought they protected their
bearers... So how...?
I walk over to him and inspect him carefully. Suddenly, I notice his Triforce symbol isn’t visible.
That’s
odd. Maybe Zelda knows something about that?
Other than that, he looks perfectly normal for someone who suffered as many injuries as he did, however that happened. Nayru knows why he won’t tell us that.
“Hmm...”
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(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
“What just happened?” I ask May. She shakes her head.
“Private information.”
I cross my arms and give her my best stern look.
“As your older sister, I order you to tell me what just happened.”
“Okay, fine.” She grumbles. “I just removed a barrier from her mind imprisoning something.”
“What would that be?” I inquire calmly.
“That, for certain, I’m not allowed to tell.”
I glare at her.
“Fine. I’m going to check on Link.” I say angrily, storming off towards the inn. I pass a few recognizable people, but most are the other tribes, not true Hylian.
“Princess.” Says a voice. I stop, and turn, to see Nabooru. She motions to the Graveyard urgently.
As we walk into the Graveyard, I look at all the headstones. There’s an uncountable number.
And
those are just the Royal Family. When this war is over, there’s probably going
to be a lot more than that.
I
just hope one of them isn’t Link’s.
Hope.
It’s all I can do. Hope for the best.
We stop in front of a weathered marker with the name worn off.
“How is Link?” She asks me quietly, looking around anxiously.
“Fine.” I tell her. She sighs, looking a little better, not much.
“The... other Sages and I have come up with a theory. While Link is in his current, vulnerable state, we are afraid that he might be a target of Ganondorf’s corruption. If he turned, we are afraid... no, we know that Ganondorf would think of you next. And... well... we’ve come to the conclusion that, if Ganondorf did corrupt him... You wouldn’t be able to resist either of them... and if all three bearers were turned, we’d have no hope...”
“What about Saimana?” I ask.
“She’s... powerful, and yes, she is host to the Goddess of Fate, but... if the Triforce became evil, so would the Three Holy Ones. That makes six against two, plus a ridiculously small army. Now, do you see what I’m saying?”
I give her my best determined look, though I’m trembling and feel sick with fear.
“Even if Link is turned, I will not submit. Not now, not ever. Link might mean the world to me, but there are people who live on that world, and some of them are my responsibility, and so is Hyrule, and I love them both just as much as I do him.”
“We’ll see.” She says darkly, and we walk out.
I head towards the inn again, and then to the infirmary.
Elice looks up.
“Hello. I noticed that Link’s Triforce symbol isn’t visible. Do you kn...”
“What?!” I cry, rushing over to Link and looking at his hand. Sure enough, it’s not there.
Suddenly, he opens his eyes. As he recognizes me, his expression drops.
“I...I...” He chokes.
“What is it?” I ask gently.
“I...I’m sorry. You... you deserve better... much, much better...” He sobs. “I’ll never be good enough for you...”
“Link.” I say firmly. He looks up.
“Link, you’ll always be good enough for me. No one in this world could ever take your place. If anything, I’m not enough for you. I love you too much to see you like this. Please,” I whisper softly. “Link, I hate to see you cry. You are the world to me. Can you understand that? Will you fight for me and your land?”
“I...” He begins, his voice failing. Then, he tries again, and in the softest voice possible he answers.
“Yes.”
My eyes dart to his hand. His Triforce symbol still isn’t there. He follows my gaze. “Zelda,” He murmurs softly. I look him in the eyes.
“It’s not going to show up, is it?” I ask, scared.
He shakes his head. “Not right now, or for a long time. It’s still there, though.” He tells me gently.
“But you can still use the Master Sword, right? I mean...” My voice trails off. He sighs.
“I don’t know, Zelda.”
“Where is the Master Sword?” I inquire curiously.
“It’s lying right against the nightstand.” He says quietly. I look to the left, and leaning against said piece of furniture is the Master Sword, sure enough.
“Oh.” I say awkwardly. There’s silence for a while.
I look out the window, to see a small garden, with birds, butterflies, and bees flitting about. The brightly colored flowers surround a small grove of trees, and beyond that, there are steps leading up to the top of the rock wall that surrounds most of the village. Atop that is an archer armed with a longbow. A sadness enters my heart.
He is just one of many who might die.
I look back at Link.
And so is
Link.
Despite my horrible thoughts, I kiss him on the forehead gently, and say, “I’ll come and see you again later.”
“Okay,” He murmurs, then pulls me into a soft kiss, this time on the lips.
“I love you, Zelda.” He whispers, and I leave the room.
As soon as I’m in the hallway, I sink against the wall, worry flooding my body like water. I feel like screaming under the pressure of the fear, not only for myself, but for Link and Hyrule.
What if Link
can’t use the Master Sword? He can’t fight Ganondorf without it...
What if he
becomes corrupted like the Sages suspect, or he dies, or is captured by
Ganondorf?
I sit there, feeling broken and despairing, for an unknown amount of time, along with the realization that I can’t help him; this is a battle he will have to fight alone.
And the words echo in my head...
There’s
nothing you can do.
There’s
nothing you can do.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The next day...
“Link?!
“Link?!”
I
whirl around in the darkness, looking for him, but no signs of him are visible
through the black.
“Link!
Link!” Mocks a voice, and I’m knocked down.
Suddenly,
Ganondorf appears from the black, and he bends down to force my chin up with a
hand.
“Stupid
girl,” He says. “Give up! Your precious Hero is dead, along with your people
and your friends, your land is mine, and soon the world will be too!”
“You’re
lying,” I whisper. “He will come, I know it! He always does! You will die,
Ganondorf! Through the blessing of the Goddess Nayru, I have foreseen it.”
He
takes his hand away.
“Pfff!
The Goddesses! I am more powerful than them! Now I am giving you one last
chance: give me your piece, or I will kill you for it!”
I
glare at him, and think of my friends, my land, my people, and Link... all
gone.
And
my answer is unwavering.
“Never.”
I wake with a start, sweating heavily. I stare down at the floor.
Was
that a dream of what is to come?
I
hope not...
I shake my head, trying to clear it, then get up and dressed quickly. Then, I open the door and step into the hallway, and head towards the infirmary.
I walk in, relieved to see Link still sleeping peacefully. I seat myself by his bed, and run my fingers through his hair softly, thinking.
Suddenly, I notice his hand curled tight around something. I pry his fingers open, and stare at the necklace in the palm of his hand, then absentmindedly reach for my neck.
Oh...
I take the necklace gently, and put it back around my neck. The pendant jingles a little, but not enough to wake him. I sit there for maybe an hour, staring out the window, when finally, he opens his eyes.
“Good morning, Your Highness.” He murmurs, smiling.
“Good morning, Sir Link.” I tell him, laughing softly.
Suddenly, the room starts spinning violently, and my stomach does a flip. I clutch it painfully, and soon it’s over. “Zelda...?” Link asks softly. I shake my head. “It was nothing.” I lie.
“And I’m a cucoo. What’s wrong?” He retorts.
“I almost got sick just now. This baby is going to cause problems.” I tell him. He smiles once more.
“I’d almost forgotten that you were having one. Doesn’t matter, I love you both.” He murmurs, laying a hand on my stomach, then looking up at me questioningly.
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
I shake my head. “I don’t know.”
“Good. I like surprises.” He laughs, but it’s cut short.
“You need to rest as much as possible. It’s not going to go well for either the baby or you if you don’t sleep often.” He reminds me.
“I know, I know...” I say. “But it’s hard to rest, what with the beginnings of a war.”
“You know, it seems like we should’ve started a long time ago.” He remarks.
“I know,” I agree. “But there have been delays.”
“We’ll break
their hold on
“Link,” I tell him softly. “You know you’re in no condition to even begin to make plans for war, much less put them in motion, and this a place of rest, not a war council.”
The tension in his shoulders goes away.
“I’m sorry, Zelda... I... It’s just that the longer Ganondorf reigns, the more he hurts the people of Hyrule, and our friends... and even you.” He says quietly.
I open my mouth to speak, but he interrupts.
“We both know it’s true, Zelda. Don’t even try to argue.”
“Link...” I murmur. “Once this is all over, you know what happens.”
“We marry and live happily ever after?” He guesses.
I shake my head.
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Even though you already proposed to me, the royal law says I can’t marry anyone of your place in society... Which, according to royal law, is... peasant. It would take years to work around that law, and even then, I’m not sure we’d be able to marry because of the court.”
“So... What you’re saying is... We can’t and could never be?” He asks, his voice very soft.
I look down at my feet.
“...I...Yes...” I whisper sadly, then look up as I feel Link’s hand on my cheek.
“Zelda...” He breathes, and our lips meet in a desperate kiss. I hold onto him tightly, feeling that if I ever let go, I’ll lose him forever.
“A latan eras, Zelda.” He whispers in Ancient Hylian, when we part.
“I love you, too.” I whisper back, crying softly against his chest.
He sits there, holding me to himself and rocking me softly in his arms.
“Link, I want to run away with you...” I choke, tears still streaming down my cheeks.
“Shh... I know, Zelda, I know...” He whispers, kissing the top of my head.
“Link?” I ask quietly.
“Yes?”
“I... I have a confession to make.” I tell him, eyes downcast.
“Go ahead.”
I take a deep breath.
“Before... before I met you, I was being courted by a prince from another land. He was quite pleasant, actually. My father had chosen him for me because he wanted to improve ties between our kingdom and the prince’s. For quite a while, I thought I loved him, but when you came into the picture, I knew... immediately, I knew that I loved you.”
“Who was this prince?” He inquires.
“He was...”
I sigh, feeling the tears already forming in my eyes from what I’m about to say to him...
“Prince Valance of Malsia.”
He doesn’t burst out yelling, or tell me he hates me or to get out, like I expected. He sits there and stares at me.
“Do you... do you hate me?” I ask, on the verge of sobbing because of his reaction, or lack thereof.
He closes his eyes and thinks for a bit, then opens his mouth and speaks slowly.
“No, I don’t hate you, but I am angry with you for not telling me this sooner. I could never hate you, Zelda. Ever.” He replies, then reaches for my hand.
“Zelda,” He murmurs, kissing it. “I love you.”
“General Avalon! General Avalon!” Yells a voice, and a soldier bursts into the room.
“Since when am I general?” Link asks.
The soldier ignores this, and says, “There is a small group of people approaching the village. They say they were sent from Ganondorf to negotiate.”
“Negotiate what? There is nothing to talk about.” Link replies.
The soldier shrugs. “That’s all they say, and they want you to be the one to talk.
“They also have a prisoner. He’s a green-haired boy.”
“Sothe...” Link mutters, then looks at me. “Do you know anything about this, Zelda?”
“No,” I lie.
He stares at me.
“You’re the worst liar in the world, you know that, right?”
“Yes.” I admit.
“I sent him to
get something while you were in the
“What was it?”
“It’s private.”
“Zel, I don’t have time for this...” He sighs, and I feel him enter my consciousness. I try to stop him, but it’s no use.
His face turns white.
“Oh-oh...” He stammers.
“Told you it was private, and you chose not to listen.” I say, wagging a finger.
“Sorry,” He mutters, then looks back to the soldier.
“Tell them I’ll be out soon.”
“Yes, sir!” The soldier says, walking out of the room.
“Link,” I say. He looks up.
“Be careful. You know what Ganondorf is like, better than anyone else here or anywhere, besides me. Take the Master Sword with you.”
He shakes his head.
“Zelda, if a fight broke out, I’d be useless, even with the Master Sword. I’m in no condition to fight, you know that. That’s why you have to come with me. I know it’s dangerous, and they might try to capture us, but all I need is for you to stand a few feet away, okay?”
“...Okay.”
I help him up, out of bed, and turn away while he changes into his green clothes.
“Let’s go.” He says, and I help him walk outside, and to the gate, where a group of people surrounded by soldiers is. The soldiers part at the sight of us to let us through.
I stand slightly back, waiting while Link talks with them.
Finally, Link returns to me.
“What do they want?” I ask.
“They will give us Sothe...” He begins hesitantly.
“But?”
“...They want me in return.”
Immediately, my mind fills with horrible images of Link, being tortured by Ganondorf, or worse, corrupted...
“No!” I cry loudly, and everyone looks at me.
“Zel, I understand your feelings about this, but this is how it has to be.”
He turns to a soldier.
“Hold her tightly until I’m gone.”
The soldier nods.
He comes up behind me, and I struggle as he tries to bind me, and Sothe is dragged out, and Link kneels and is bound tightly.
“Let me GO!” I scream, tears pouring from my eyes.
“I cannot.”
“I said, let me GO!” I blast him back with a powerful spell, then run after Link.
A dark shape flits in front of me, and I run into Impa, then look up at her from the ground.
“Please,” I beg her. “They have Link.”
She shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, princess.”
I curl into a ball and sob.
Link...
why...?
Chapter 16
Sorrow and Forgiveness
(Link’s P.O.V.)
I’m dragged roughly before Ganondorf, then forced to my knees.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” Ganondorf says. I remain silent.
“Link Avalon, Hero of Time, get up!” He booms. I stand.
He stands as well, no longer content with sitting on the throne. I stare him coldly in the eyes, still not saying a word.
Suddenly, he raises his palm. I don’t even have time to react before I’m knocked several feet backwards.
He laughs wickedly. “Pathetic boy... you were much harder to knock down in your past life.”
He walks up to me. I look at him from the ground, not betraying any emotion whatsoever. He draws his sword, then with one downwards stroke, his blade impales me to the floor.
Already I can see the heartbreak in her expression...
“Zelda...” I whisper, as the world around me fades.
“Forgive me... my love...”
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
As I cry into the pillow, suddenly, something inside me snaps, some reassurance that everything is okay breaks.
And I know that, once and for all...
Link Avalon, the Hero of Time, the only one I’ll ever love, is dead.
I sob harder than ever, his voice whispering in my ear...
“Why?! Why did he have to be the one?! Why?!”
There’s a soft knock on my bedroom door. I fall silent.
“Princess?”
“Aiden?!” I ask in surprise, as the door opens.
He walks over and sits down beside me.
“I know that you think that he’s dead, but he’s not.”
My spirits immediately soar back into blue skies.
“However...” He begins hesitantly.
“He has been corrupted by Ganondorf, and soon, he will lead an army of monsters against this village.
“There is hope, very small, and it might not even really be possible, but it’s hope.” He tells me.
“Yes?”
He closes his eyes.
“If we were able to take him captive, I might be able to reverse the spell, with you, May, the Sages, Saimana, and that Ivy girl helping.”
He lifts a finger before I can open my mouth.
“The ritual takes about a half hour, and it commands total concentration. If he were able to break free, or one of us was disturbed, we’d have to start all over again. Also, keep in mind, it still might not work.”
“Right.” I say, barely containing my excitement.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
“...They will try to capture you. Do not let that happen.” Ganondorf tells me.
“Yes, my lord.” I say, kneeling.
“Kill that fool of a princess.”
“Understood.”
“You may go.”
I rise, then walk swiftly out of the throne room. As soon as I’m outside, Terias joins me.
“Nervous, general?” He smirks.
“Shut your face, smart-ass, and get in your place.” I growl.
“Aww,
are we scared?”
“You’re lucky we’re on the same side, girl.” I say darkly.
She disappears.
“All right, I’ve had enough. Let’s go.” I tell Terias.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Saimana’s P.O.V.)
Two hours later...
As the army approaches, I tense.
Link really is leading the army.
Uh-oh. All hell is heading straight
towards us.
Focus, Saimana, focus. I tell myself.
As they reach the steps, the archers fire off arrows so fast it’s a blur. Many monsters are felled in front, but there’s still a whole lot more.
They charge straight towards the entrance, up the steps. That’s also straight towards me.
Big mistake.
“Kashinae!” I shout, sending about the first three lines of monsters down.
However, soon, their archers kick in.
A fire arrow flies past, barely missing me, and I back up.
Suddenly, the Gorons start rolling down the steps, straight into the horde of monsters.
BOOM.
A large explosion goes off in the center of the village, and a lone figure stands there.
Link.
How did he...
He whirls in my direction, and there’s a bright flash of light.
I catch a brief glimpse of a symbol of the Triforce, before everything goes black.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Aiden’s P.O.V.)
Link looks my way, and we lock eyes.
The
look he gives me says, in plain words, Where
did you hide her?!
I ready my spear, but he suddenly disappears.
Where the hell did he-
“Hiyah!”
I turn around, in time to just barely dodge a blow from him.
“I don’t have time for this,” He growls, then raises his right hand.
What is he-
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
I watch the fight silently from the top of Impa’s house, clutching my dagger, ready to fight at any time.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Link standing over a villager, sword raised.
“No!”
I disappear and reappear in front of the villager, catching Link’s blow on the blade of my dagger.
“Ini rahesian mana, yiur miasa siya!” I say in Ancient Hylian.
“You will die, right here, today, Princess.” He growls.
“Not if I can help it.” I reply, forcing myself to kick him in the stomach.
He doesn’t flinch.
“My turn.” He smiles a normal smile, as if he had never been taken by Ganondorf, and my heart melts, even though I know that’s what he wants.
Suddenly, he blasts me several feet back.
Where did he learn that kind of magic?! The
only thing he ever knew was healing magic, and very little of that...
I rise slowly, battered, but not defeated.
In less than five minutes, he’s sent both
Aiden and Saimana down. We’ll never be able to perform the spell.
I jump quickly out of the way as he crosses the distance and swings his sword.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
“Rinu, hurry up! I don’t have all day!”
“Coming, coming.” I mutter.
Sage appears, motioning to hurry.
“Honestly, if it’s that heavy, let me take one.” She sighs, taking one of the buckets of water.
She immediately slumps over, the weight pulling.
“On second thought, how about you carry them... oof!” She says, giving it back.
“Thought so.” I smirk.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Macaiah’s P.O.V.)
I give a sharp whistle, and Yune appears.
“Give this to Ike,” I murmur, giving her the letter.
“Macaiah,
are you crazy? She’ll never be able to carry that all the way to
“She’s a goddess, so I’m sure she’ll be fine. Isn’t that right, Yune?”
“Yes.” Says a voice from nowhere.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
“You’ll never be able to kill me. You’re too weak and lovesick.” Link says.
I don’t reply, pressing my blade harder against his.
...He’s right...
No he’s not! You can do this! You must! For Hyrule! I tell myself, halfheartedly.
I...
I duck as he swings, nearly taking my head off.
Suddenly, he changes direction, giving me a long, deep wound across my chest.
I fall to the ground, holding myself up with one arm.
He brings his sword down to kill me, and...
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(
“Don’t think so!”
Link’s sword goes flying out of his hand, and I stand between him and Zelda.
“
“You want her, you have to go through me.”
“And me.” Marth emerges from the chaos, covered in blood, monsters’ and his alike.
I look at him, grinning.
“Shall we show him what we’re made of?”
“I think so.” He replies, and we face Link, swords ready. In an instant, he’s on us, having already retrieved his sword. His blade is a blur, and we barely have time to defend against his assault.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Elice helping Zelda to her feet and guiding her inside. I feel myself get warmer and warmer, for some reason...
“
Doing what?
I look down, and to my surprise, I’m on fire, but not burning...
What the heck?!
Even Link has the slightest glimmer of amazement in his eyes. I charge him, and he leaps out of the way, barely avoiding being burned.
This is cool!
Seeing that he can’t hurt me, he suddenly grabs a random person out of the fray.
I freeze.
Of all people to grab, he has to grab May..
He puts his sword to her neck.
Eyes wide with fear, she silently pleads us to do something.
I search my mind for a solution.
Nothing.
I calm down, and the flames around me do the same.
I drop my sword.
He shoves her towards us, then gives me one final piercing glare before turning and walking into the mass of monsters and the Hylian tribes.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Aiden’s P.O.V.)
I look up at
“Get up. Now.” She says harshly.
“Please,” I beg her.
For a moment, her eyes flicker, but
then her expression is normal again.
“Now, traitor.” She snarls.
I stand, and she leads me through
the halls silently, towards what I know is going to be the death of me.
The gallows.
As I’m brought outside, I see May,
fighting her way through the crowd towards me.
“I’m sorry.” I whisper.
“I love you, May.”
“I love you, too.” She cries. “I
always have and always will.”
I allow myself to catch one final
glimpse of her, before closing my eyes.
There’s a moment of pain, and
then... nothing.
I open my eyes, and start. Bent over
me is a lady with blue hair, eyes, and clothes. I’m in a long, white hall.
“Who are you?” I ask weakly.
“That does not matter. Rest.” She murmurs,
and immediately my eyelids droop...
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
“
She appears.
“Spread the order to retreat.” I growl.
“Yes... general.” She mocks me, the disappears.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Aveil’s P.O.V.)
“They’re retreating.” I comment.
“I wonder why.” Nabooru ponders.
“Should I follow them? I’d blend in well.” I say.
“Fine. Just make sure...”
“...Link doesn’t see me. Got it.” I finish, and jump down from the rooftop, following the crowd of monsters and corrupted Hylians.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Zelda’s P.O.V.)
“Princess, they’re retreating.” Impa reports, looking out the window.
I sigh, wondering why, then say, “Tell everyone to get ready to attack first thing tomorrow.”
She looks at me, surprised.
“Impa, with an army this small, we have to attack before they can recover.” I explain.
“Who will lead this army?” She asks.
I look her in the eyes, silent for a moment.
“...I will.”
Dawn...
As
we approach
We WILL win. I tell myself.
“Zelda,” A voice whispers, and I turn, to see Saimana.
“Since we’re almost there, should we split immediately upon entering?”
I nod.
“Yes, that’ll be fine.” I reply.
Once
we reach the town, we split into three groups, and I’m in the center group,
marching straight through the
“Now, Aveil!” I say mentally.
The drawbridge lowers, and I wait till it touches the ground, before speaking a single word.
“Charge.”
Immediately,
from all directions, we pour into
As we surge forward, I see a face, staring down at us, giving me and only me a piercing glare.
I ignore Link, and focus on the horde of monsters now issuing from the main entrance.
I blast my way through the crowd, while around me the two forces crash together into a meaningless sea of blood and violence.
I fight on and on, starting to feel tired from using so much magic.
Suddenly, an arrow flies past me, missing my head by inches.
I look in the direction it came from, and lock eyes with the archer.
Link.
I take my time, blasting my way through the crowd towards him.
Once I finally reach him, I wordlessly stare him in the eyes, returning his icy, silent glare.
“...Well?” He asks, drawing his sword.
I draw my own, and we circle each other, each waiting for the other to strike.
“You can’t beat me, Hero of Time.” I say calmly.
“We’ll see about that, Princess!” He snarls, leaping at me. I step neatly out of the way, and we go back to circling.
Suddenly, he brings his sword around and slashes at me. I deflect the blow with barely enough time.
Up, down, parry, right, parry, counter, down, parry, left, parry, counter, up, parry, right, parry, up, left, parry, counter...
We circle round and round, sweating...
Suddenly, he disarms me, and pins me to the floor.
“So you win, Hero of Time.” I whisper, then feel the point of his blade against my neck.
“Silence!”
“Link...” I murmur, closing my eyes.
He raises his blade and stabs me through the heart.
I force myself up the blade, and grab his head, kissing him softly.
“Goodbye, Link... I lo...ve...y...o...u...” I whisper, then the world fades to black
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
I stare at the body of the woman on my blade, then utter one single word.
“Zelda.”
I drop to my knees, taking the sword out of her, and hugging her body to me.
“Zelda...” I sob. “I love you, too...”
I stand up.
“GANONDORF, YOU FUCKING BASTARD! WHERE ARE YOU?!” I roar in fury, picking up the bloodstained sword. I spot him on the other side of the crowd trying to escape.
I dash as fast as humanly possible, reaching him in a matter of minutes.
He turns around, and I’m already high in the air.
Then, with the strength I know could only come from the Triforce, I ram the sword down, into his skull.
There’s complete silence in the hall.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Ganondorf screams, then slowly, sinks to his knees, then the ground.
Silence.
Suddenly,
a bright white blast issues forth, and when I open my eyes, all of Ganondorf’s
monsters are gone. When I look out the main entrance, the sun is shining, the
grass in green,
Everyone looks around in amazement.
Suddenly, the King of Hyrule strides into the hall.
“Where’s my daughter, Hero of Time?” He asks me.
I look him sadly in the eyes.
“Follow me, sir.”
I lead him to the other side of the hall, the crowd parting wordlessly before me.
I show him broken and bloodstained body of a once lively, cheery, and beautiful young woman.
“Who killed her?” He asks.
I’m silent for a moment, then I reply.
“I did, sir.”
He stares at me, then turns to the crowd.
“Impa, where are you?” He booms.
“Here, Daphnes.” Impa says.
“Arrange a burial in Kakariko village for the Princess of Hyrule.”
The Legend of Zelda:
The First Hero
Chapter 17
After War
(Link’s P.O.V.)
“We are here today to honor a brave and noble soul who gave her life for her country and friends...” Begins the pastor.
“And just who would that be?” Asks a voice from the back of the crowd.
“Princess Zelda.” He replies politely.
“That’s funny, because I thought I was here, not in a coffin.” Says the voice from behind me, and suddenly, two arms wrap themselves around me.
“I missed you, Hero.” Whispers the voice in my ear.
“Zelda?” I ask softly.
“Yes.” She murmurs.
I turn around in her embrace and pull her close.
“Zelda Harkinian... you wicked little girl, you scared me...” I whisper, kissing her deeply. Totally oblivious to the roar of disbelief from the crowd, I gaze into her eyes.
“I’m sor...” I begin, but Zelda cuts me off with a kiss.
“Don’t say it, Link. Just don’t say it. It’s not your fault. It’s Ganondorf’s.” She breathes.
“I love you...” I tell her softly.
“I love you, too.” She replies, laying her head against my chest.
“I know you do.” I say quietly. “And I can’t thank you enough for doing what you did.”
“When Ganondorf took you, I was so sure he would torture you, and eventually kill you.” She whispers, tears forming in her eyes. “I thank the Goddesses to no end that he didn’t.”
“He obviously thought I’d be useful in his army.” I reply. “And to what I remember, I was.”
“Are
you two just going to stand there all day?”
“Excuse me, I like to be able to talk to someone who miraculously survived getting impaled with a sword by me,” I say, then lower my voice. “Especially since that person happens to be the one I love.”
“Well then, I’ll leave you two lovebirds to your mushy talk.” He teases.
“Don’t make me go ‘Hero of Time’ on you, Roy.” I say.
“Oh, I’m so afraid now.”
“Excuse
me, Milady.” I tell Zelda, raising her hand to my lips, then chase
“Come back here, you interfering little...”
“Naughty, naughty, Zelda won’t want you to use that kind of language...” He laughs.
“You are so dead when I catch you!”
“Not if I can help it!” He teases, and I run harder, then dive, catching him by the leg.
“Gotcha!”
He looks down at me, then behind himself.
“Uh-oh.
“Uh, Link, let go please.” He says nervously.
“Why?”
“Because we’re both about to be dead if you don’t.” He tells me.
I look up.
“Oh crap! Elice!” I say, standing up, and we sprint away, with her chasing after us.
“I am so going to kill you two!” She shouts.
Suddenly I run into Marth.
“Whoa! Dude, watch it!” He says, then sees Elice.
“Have fun in hell, you two!” He laughs, watching her run after us.
“If
only Zelda would have taught me that disappearing spell.” I sigh, then duck
into a house, along with
“I wonder where they went.” We hear Elice say sarcastically outside, and as she opens the door, I jump out the back window.
“Link!”
I laugh.
“He got what he deserved.” I say to myself, then wander back towards the graveyard to find Zelda.
She’s waiting for me by the entrance.
“Why hello again, Milady.” I say, feigning surprise. She smiles.
“Hello, Sir Link.”
I move a little closer.
“What is it that you desire?” I ask in a low voice.
“To be alone.” She whispers, taking my hand.
“I believe I can help you with that, Milady.” I murmur, kissing her softly. “Where do you wish to go?”
“
“As you wish, Milady.” I tell her, leading her out of the village, onto Hyrule Field, where I play Epona’s Song.
As Epona comes to a stop in front of us, I lift Zelda up, placing her on the front of the saddle, mounting behind her.
Epona
takes off, and before long, we reach
“Almost there.” I tell her, as the guard at the gate opens it.
I dismount, and lead her inside, up the stairs, and to her room.
As she steps inside, she closes the door behind me.
“I thought you wanted to be alone.” I say.
“I want to be alone with you.” She whispers passionately, backing me up to the door.
“No, Zelda,” I tell her.
“You’ll just have to wait for our wedding night.”
She sighs, throwing her hands up in despair.
“For the first time in months we get to be alone, now you don’t want that?”
“I do, Zelda.” I murmur, moving closer.
“Believe me, I do...”
I kiss her passionately, begging entrance to her mouth with my tongue. She lets it in willingly. We stay there, locked in an embrace, until there’s a soft knock her door.
“Yes?” She asks.
Impa steps in.
“Your wedding is set to be two weeks from now.” She tells us.
“Two weeks?” She asks, dumbstruck. “That’s hardly any time at all!”
“I know.” Impa replies, then looks at me.
“Come with me.”
“Uh-oh.” I say, then turn to Zelda.
“Farewell, Your Majesty. Until then,” I grin at her.
As we leave, Impa tells me, “You know you can’t wear that to the wedding.”
“Why not? It’s the clothing of the Hero of Time.” I reply.
“It’s also old, simple... don’t you get it? Weddings are not simple things, Link.” She says patiently.
“It’s better than a suit of armor.” I answer.
“I disagree. Now, let’s get you something from the armory.”
“Oh, great.”
Two hours later...
“You know, you actually don’t look that horrible.”
“Shut
it,
“That’s really you.” Impa replies, fastening my greaves.
“I don’t look recognizable!”
“This’ll be done before you know it... hopefully.” She adds.
“You’re not helping.”
“Nice
hair, Link.”
“That’s it. Get out.” I say, pointing to the door.
“No.”
“OUT!”
Elice drags him to the door, opens it, and shoves him out, closing the door and locking it.
“Thank you.” I sigh in relief.
“Anytime.” She smiles prettily.
“Who are you, and what have you done with Elice?” I gasp.
“What?” She asks, confused.
“You smiled. You actually smiled.”
She blushes. “Am I really that negative?”
“You can be.”
She blushes even more.
“I-I’ll go now.” She stutters, curtsying before opening the door and leaving.
“I swear that’s not your sister.” I mutter to Marth. He shrugs.
“Come on, Marth. Let’s leave them alone.” Saimana says, taking his hand and leading him out.
As they close the door behind themselves, I sigh.
“What do you think of that?” Impa asks. I look in the mirror again.
“Wow.”
“I agree.” Impa says, standing up.
“You look quite the man in that.”
“Thanks.” I tell her.
“Now to get all this off.” She mutters.
I stand silently, helping her take it off me.
“You may go now.” She says. “Do whatever.”
“See you later.”
“I doubt it.” She replies.
Two weeks later...
I wait patiently by the altar as the procession starts, Zelda slowly walking down the aisle towards me with her father by her side.
When they reach me, he offers her hand to me.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Marth’s P.O.V.)
“You know, that could be us someday.” I whisper to Saimana.
“Mmm...” She murmurs.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
“Nothing... just... thinking.”
“About what?”
“About the first time we ever met.” She replies, a distant look in her eyes.
“We were riding in the woods, and we found you lying on the ground. You looked so hopeless then. You were very thin. And now that I look at you, you still are.”
We listen as they make their vows, and then watch as Link kisses her.
We wait patiently as they lead the way to the ballroom.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxX
(Link’s P.O.V.)
As we reach the ballroom, the orchestra starts playing slowly. I lead her onto the floor, dancing slowly to the music. “I never knew you knew how to dance.” She says, looking me in the eyes.
“I didn’t, before last week.” I reply quietly. She giggles.
“Who taught you?”
“Promise you won’t tell a soul?” I ask.
She nods. I look around cautiously, then lower my voice.
“Elice.”
She bursts out laughing. “Oh, what a sight that must’ve been!”
I blush.
More and more people start filling the floor.
“So, when do you want to leave? I’m ready whenever you’re ready?” I whisper.
“As soon as a few more people start dancing.” She replies. I wait for her to be ready, whirling her around the floor.
“All right,” She murmurs. “Let’s go.”
We slip into a back hallway, heading for her chambers.
As we reach her room, I lock the door behind us.
“Now I’ve got you right where I want you.” I whisper passionately, pushing her gently to the bed.
“Link,” She murmurs. “Make love to me...”
I groan my approval, lowering my lips onto hers...
Noon the next day...
“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Zelda tells Marth, Elice, Saimana, and Roy as they mount their horses.
Marth nods.
“One could not ask for better friends than you two.”
“Nor you.” I reply.
“Since we’re leaving, Marth and I thought it would be a good time to tell you...” Saimana begins.
“What?”
We ask, even
“Marth and I are engaged.”
“Congratulations, you two!” I tell them.
“Thanks.”
I turn to Elice.
“Thank you for the lessons, and...” I lower my voice.
“Do
me a favor and keep
“I would do that anyways, Link.” She laughs.
“Goodbye.” Zelda whispers.
“We’ll visit. Promise.” Elice says.
With
that, they turn and ride towards the distant border
I turn to Zelda, taking her hand, and we walk back towards the castle, both Hyrule and us at peace.
The Legend of Zelda:
The First Hero
The End.
Epilogue: Link and Zelda had a daughter, which they named after her mother. They lived happily in the castle for a few years, until one day, Link was called to war...
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