The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Zelda's Redemption

By Violetlight

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda series is the property of Nintendo. I am borrowing this IP for entertainment purposes only.

Author's Note: This is the first story I have written since the birth of my son, almost 2 years ago. I'm a little out of practice when it comes to writing, but it feels like, well, starting a new Zelda game. It's an experience you never forget.

I'm characterizing Zelda as someone on the autistic spectrum, as I see several traits in her that I, as an Aspie, can relate to. This is "practice" for an original novel I'm planning with an entire society on the spectrum. So, please, if you have any critiques on my writing, especially Zelda's character, please review and let me know! As an aspiring novelist, I need all the constructive criticism I can get!

Chapter 1: Silent No More

It was over. It was finally over.

After so much time trapped in limbo, waiting, hoping, praying that the resurrection chamber would work, that her hero really would be revived, it was all over. Calamity Ganon was sealed once again, and she had her knight, her hero to thank. Now, finally, as Princess Zelda gazed out over the rolling hills of her kingdom, could concentrate on what was really important – rebuilding Hyrule. With her loyal, true knight at her side, there was nothing she could not do. It was just like the old legends, the ones her mother had told her, that had fascinated her as a child, that had led to her lifelong love of reading. Of learning. Of discovering. Hero and Princess, bound together by destiny, fated to save the kingdom from the ultimate evil ….

"I can no longer hear the voice inside the sword. I suppose it would make sense if my power had dwindled over the past one hundred years …" Zelda mused, mostly to herself. She turned, and smiled at Link. "I'm surprised to admit it …but I can accept that."

Yes, she could. There was, however, a part of her that regretted the loss. After all, it was the cumulation of the years she had spent praying, years I could have spent studying instead. But wasn't that what the Princess was supposed to do? To be a vessel for the Goddess? As uncaring as she was, deeming only to release her power once it was too late … Still. This was how things were supposed to be. That had to be it.

One word from her Hero, however, brought all Zelda's self-doubts back to the surface.

"No." Just one quiet syllable, but when spoken by the normally silent knight, it resonated.

"Link? It's alright, really. The power…" Zelda began.

"That's not what I meant." Link said, determination so evident in his quiet voice that even Zelda, who usually missed such subtleties, had to pay attention. "We're not going to Zora's Domain. King Dorephan has been through enough. Leave him be."

"But, Vah Ruta's malfunction … we really should …"

"There's nothing to 'investigate'! Don't you get it? Ruta stopped working because Mipha …" at the Zora Champion's name, Link's voice cracked. "My beautiful Mipha …" his quiet voice became a whisper.

"Link?" Confused, Zelda tried awkwardly to put a "comforting" hand on Link's shoulder, and gasped when he shrugged her away. She watched as Link walked towards his stubborn, black horse, Tenacious. Was he ignoring her? Feeling like she should say something, Zelda began, "Mipha was my friend too, and she wouldn't want you to feel this way …"

"You have no idea what she – what we wanted," Link said.

"We? What do you … oh Hylia …" Realization hit Zelda like a Hinox's fist. Memories of her ultimately futile quest to unlock her powers at the Sacred Springs came flooding back …

She had prayed to the point of collapse at the Spring of Power, protesting that she wasn't finished even as Urbosa's strong arms lifted her out of the chilly water, as Mipha's magic flowed over her, soothing her shivering form. Bundled up in her sleeping bag and losing her fight with exhaustion, Zelda barely heard the footsteps of another of her companions as he joined the Zora Princess at her side.

"Don't exhaust yourself too. Zelda will be okay."

"I know … I just wish there was some other way. Pushing herself like this … it isn't healthy for her."

"You care so much. That's one of the many things I love about you."

"Oh Link …"

"Don't worry, Zelda will figure this out. She's too stubborn not to. Must be a princess thing." A small giggle at that comment. "Come on, she's asleep now. We should be getting our rest too."

"I suppose …"

"This will all be over soon, I'm sure of it. Then, finally, our life together can begin."

Through half-opened eyes, Zelda could barely see the two of them … Mipha relaxed back into the arms of her lover, a small smile on her face as she reveled in his embrace. Link placed a kiss on her brow, then the two of them walked, hand in hand, to a dark corner away from the campfire. Too tired to contemplate it, Zelda had fallen into a dreamless sleep, completely forgetting that 'her' Hero had already found his Princess …

"I am such a fool," Zelda stood, frozen at the side of the white stallion who looked so much like her horse from a century ago. Shadowfax - as Link had named him - snorted, seeming to agree with her assertion. "But … why? The Hero and Hylian Princess are destined to be together. That's what all the legends say; that's what's supposed to happen …" Too late, Zelda realized she had spoken aloud.

From atop Tenacious, Link stared at her. He dismounted, and came right up to her. For a minute, Zelda was afraid he would draw his sword.

"That's what you care about? Seriously?"

"Link, I …" Zelda looked at her feet, ashamed of herself for being so trivial. Then, as she thought more about everything she had been through, all she had been wrong about, she clenched her fists, shame changing to anger. "No! I've had enough of feeling like an idiot! So what if I took the stories literally? It's not like my father and everyone else didn't! If I had to spend my entire life in useless prayer, a slave to destiny, was it so wrong of me to want the one seemingly positive thing out of this whole farce?! So yes, I fell for you! I didn't want to, not with everything coming so easy to you! It wasn't fair! And I had absolutely no idea you were already smitten with a Zora, of all things!"

"What's wrong with Zora!?" Link was yelling now, just as much as she was.

"They're fish!"

"I wouldn't care if Mipha was a Bobokin! I love her!"

Zelda had seen Link face down Yiga assassins without so much as a grimace, had watched him mow down bobokins, moblins, even lynels with no more emotion than a stoic determination. The anger she saw now … she honestly did not know how to respond. Still, that explosion had been better than the coldness that followed:

"Mipha … Daruk … Urbosa. And Revali. Did they all have to pay the price for your stupid schoolgirl crush?" Link said darkly.

"That's not what …"

"Don't give me that. I remember how I died."

Running from Guardians, every other weapon broken long ago, the Master Sword itself chipped and worn. When that robotic eye had looked down on them … the thought of losing Link, losing the last person she loved in all the world … after a lifetime of forsaken prayer, that's what awoke her power? Surely it was meant to be! Zelda had a glimmer of hope, before she saw that the Guardians were not all the beam had blasted. The look he gave her before his breathing stopped … it was a look of pure hatred.

"What did your stories say about us losing?" Link's voice snapped her out of another terrible memory.

"Wha … losing? Ganon is gone! We didn't -"

"Look around you, Zelda! Notice something that's not here?" Link grabbed the Sheikah Slate out of her hands. "Look!" He pointed the slate at a pile of stones way in the distance. It zoomed in, and Zelda could see they were not simply rocks. They were ruins, all that was left of a once-prosperous village. He pointed the Slate in another direction, and a devastated ranch appeared on its screen, the husk of a Guardian stretched across the overgrown track where horses once ran. "It's like this all over Hyrule. I've seen more ruins, more devastation, than actual towns. Hateno, Lurelin and a scattering of stables - that's what's left of your kingdom. Do you still think we've 'won'?"

There was no answer. How could there be? To make matters even worse, Ganon was only sealed. This would all happen again sometime in the future, when a new Hero and Princess would be forced to live out this vicious cycle, as they had, ever passing on the responsibility to a new generation. Not that there was any other choice.

Link mounted Tenacious and set off at a slow pace across the plains. Reluctantly, Zelda followed on Shadowfax, despite the horse's annoyed snorts. "We're not going to Zora's Domain. You're going to Kakariko. If you want someone to bow and scrape to your every 'royal' whim, I'm sure the Sheikah won't mind. I'm done." With those words, Link once again became the silent, stoic hero that Zelda, against her better judgement, and as futilely as anything else in her life, had fallen in love with. In a strange way, it was almost a relief that he did not feel the same.