I thought of this after I started Skyward Sword, and how each game seems to sort of connect, but not quite. What if each version of Link and Zelda was the same two teens? And they were simply transfered from game to game, universe to universe so that they could protect a different group of people from evil? Some food for thought.
The characters don't belong to me, but the words do. :)
The kingdom was devastated. Their princess, their beloved Zelda, was dead at the age of 18. The funeral was a grand affair, with dignitaries from each of the races coming to pay their respects to the Princess of Hyrule and her distraught father.
Ruto, princess of the Zora, was first to arrive, with an entourage of her own subjects and guards. The proud 19 year old Zora had stepped up into her ailing father's place two years before, and had created trade lines between the kingdom of Hyrule and the Zora faster than many thought was possible. To a see one of the Zora in the towns near the mouth of the river was common now, but the majority of the populace were astonished and nervous to see the elusive people in their city's capital.
The few muttered words of derision were met with frosty glares from the guards, but Ruto made her way straight to the palace with no incidents, though her cheeks were flushed with anger when she arrived. She complained heavily about the people's prejudice and the state of the fountains within the courtyards when there were no witnesses. She joined the King after a couple hours in the large pool provided for the Zora, and talked lightheartedly of the sun's reflection on the water and the sound it made when it trickled over smooth stones for years.
The Gorons were the next to make an appearance, the sturdy people led by their Big Brother, Darunia. The usually light hearted leader was serious and silent, and his people copied his somber mood exactly. They spoke little, not surprisingly—the Gorons were naturally a shy people—and ate little, very surprising. The Goron appetite was legendary.
There was a definite air of power around these silent, stout creatures, especially Darunia. The people were silent as they passed through the city, an aura of awe mixed with fear hanging over them. The Big Brother went straight to the King, and with surprising tenderness in his dark eyes sat by the mourning father's side for the rest of the evening, not speaking, but comforting in the Goron way.
The new allies of Hyrule, the Gerudo, were the last to arrive, racing through the crowd on their swift horses and up the lane to the castle. Nabooru, leader of the Gerudo, was at the head on a horse the color of the rising sun, and she visited the throne room after stabling her wild mount and taking a long bath to remove the dust of the journey from her dark skin.
She was comfortably silent, sitting in a low chair at the king's side and made soft comments to Ruto and the King when the stillness grew too heavy to bear. She was the one that encouraged the king to eat when platters of food were brought in, even filling his plate with fruits and soft breads herself and pressing the fork into his hand with a hesitant smile.
The Sheikah were never seen by the people, but they paid their respects as well. A group of three appeared out of the shadows in the throne room in the late evening, silently bowing to each of the rulers present and to Impa, who stood at the King's side. The leader of the trio, a tall male with dark blue eyes and black hair, gave his condolences on behalf of the remaining Sheikah and stated that they would only stay for the entombment the next morning.
He fixed the King in his piercing gaze and offered one line of advice, "The world will not end with the death of your daughter, but it will be darker than the darkest night until Din's fire will rise on her life once again." The king pondered on their message long after the three disappeared into the shadows of the dusk.
The entombment was the next evening, with the setting of Din's fire. Princess Zelda's body was carried on a gilded platform, borne by a representative from each of the five races present. The King stood by the entrance to the royal family tomb, his face an odd shade of grey and his shoulders falling forward with every step the bearers took towards him. The people were respectful, some crying, some standing still with heads bowed forward, listening to the King's silent sobs and the high melody from a harp twisting through the air.
They didn't notice the two child-like figures making their way through the crowd to stand on either side of the King's bent figure, though the leaders of the races did. Small, nostalgic smiles flashed across their faces as they took in the two children. Clad in soft green tunics and pants, Saria and Mido were silent as they watched the procession approach.
Mido's normally unruly hair was smoothed into a somewhat presentable style, and the fairy hovering at his shoulder didn't hesitate to smack his hand down when it inched up to muss it. Eventually he grew somber, and grabbed the king's hand for comfort in the unfamiliar surroundings. Saria slipped her small hand into the King's calloused one, making him start and look down at the children standing at his side, fairies floating nimbly around their heads.
His shock was only tempered by the fact that they were crying as well, tears like diamonds slipping down their rosy cheeks. Mido rubbed at his eyes, embarrassed to be seen crying, but Saria made no move to wipe hers away.
The procession paused by the king and the other leaders. Darunia lifted Saria onto his shoulder so that she could look down on the Princess of Hyrule. She reached out, and hesitantly tucked a small ocarina into the Princess's pale hands, the one that he had spent weeks carving carefully from the wood of the Deku Tree. Mido was lifted into the air by the King himself, and looked down on the Princess's face curiously, whispering "So she's the one he cared about."
The procession continued into the Royal tomb, followed by the King, the Kokiri, and the leaders of each race, and the people dispersed to the main square, where a feast was laid out by the castle servants. The eating went on long into the night, the peoples of each race mixing peacefully. Toasts were made to the princess, the goddesses, and more as the night wore on, the light of Nayru's love shining down on the people as they celebrated the life of Zelda, Princess of Destiny.
Saria didn't forget. She knew exactly what her best friend had gone through in the time that didn't exist anymore. She knew she was a Sage, the Sage of the Forest. Sometimes she would go to the Forest Temple and stand in the meadow and play the melody of the Forest on the Ocarina that she had carved from the old wood of the Deku tree. The trees would resonate with the tune, and she could feel the lingering magic that she had once possessed ringing in her bones.
She knew he wasn't happy. He had gone from being a child in an adult's body to being an adult in a child's body. The natural grace he had once possessed as a child, then as an adult was gone, and she knew he was hurting. He felt uncomfortable around her, around the Kokiri and she knew he wanted to be out in the world. The forest couldn't hold him now.
After a year of suffering, Link left. He didn't say good bye.
6 years later, he returned, an adult once more. Saria knew he was a lot happier now, more comfortable in his own skin. Then one morning, she came across him in the meadow, the one where they had met before it started and where they had started meeting once again. He was laying still in the sweet- smelling, long grass, Navi nowhere to be seen. He looked like he was sleeping, and light played across his body as it trickled down through the leaves. She knew immediately he was gone.
She sat by his side for an unknown amount of time, watching the shadows that the Din's fire made on his still face as it went past. As the night grew dark she reached for her Ocarina, and played a new melody, letting her tears finally fall as she sent the tune up to the stars.
It resonated in the forest and the Kokiri paused in their games and wept, not knowing why. In Hyrule castle, Zelda paused in her meeting with her father, listening intently to the faint melody that grew louder as she listened. Impa quietly slipped in, and escorted the Princess out of the castle and to the Temple of Time. The two sages stood waiting on the Triforce symbol, the symbol glowing half golden and half shadowy.
On Death Mountain, Darunia stopped in his dancing, the music resonating even over the Goron drums. The volcano was roiling as the Big Brother came to a halt on the Triforce and it glowed red. He stood staring up at the few stars he could see through the cone of the volcano.
In Zora's fountain, Ruto was on her throne, bored to death as one of her advisors blathered on about trade and numbers. Endless numbers. She was about to tell him exactly where he could stick his numbers when the melody hit her ears. She jumped up, leaving her advisor sputtering confusedly, stepped down into the cool water and took a running dive off the waterfall and down through the passage to Lake Hylia. Leaping up onto the island, she stood dripping on the platform, feeling the pulsing of the earth beneath her feet as the platform glowed a pale blue.
Nabooru was already in the temple. It was a quiet place, in spite of the evil memories it held only in her mind. The melody drifted over the desert sands, as if hesitant to bring her its news. She stood, brushed the dust off her pants, and walked out to the Triforce platform. When her foot touched, it lit up in a soft orange. She called upon her powers as a Sage, and, feeling the other sages mimicking her, transported to the Forest temple.
Saria didn't stop playing as the 5 arrived on the platform, letting the finishing notes drift off her fingers and up into the sky. She let herself be lifted onto Darunia's shoulder, and smiled softly at his compassion.
Zelda was distraught, but she didn't, she couldn't let it show. Link, her hero, her confidant, her best friend, the one she loved had gone somewhere she couldn't follow, not as Zelda or as Sheik.
She knew it was her fault.
Sending him back had broken his heart, but she couldn't bear to think that she had torn him from his carefree life, only to lose 7 years of it. He had come to find her as soon as they were back. It had been a happy time, but she knew he was frustrated with his small body. He wasn't used to having to ask for help from an adult. She knew he wasn't happy, though they had their moments and times of lightheartedness.
And now he was gone, called to the Goddesses once again.
The Sages stood in a circle around the Hero of Time and called on their powers to call to the Goddesses, to plead to them. Light encompassed their circle and when it was gone, Link's body was nowhere to be seen.
Zelda died two days after, called to fight the evil with her hero.