Changed

Chapter 1

By Zeldagurl

WARNING! BIG SPOILERS AHEAD! DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T BEATEN THE GAME!

Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, or any of the song lyrics that I may include in this fiction.

(Begin)

I felt so disgusting...

I don't even think disgusting is even the right word to describe it. Knowing that HE was inside of me; probing my mind and my body and infecting me with his poison.

I stood in front of a full size mirror, engraved with my family's crest (The one that Grandmother passed down to me), studying myself for burns or bruises that had not been on my body previous to the last battle.

There were various burns on my arms and legs, along with an angry bruise running all along my hip and down to my leg.

Beside the fact that every so often, I would feel a little more queasy than usual and would have to run to bucket beside my bed in order to retch out the poison that was still in my system...

I sat down wearily on my bed, holding a hand to my forehead in an attempt to calm the pounding headache that raged inside of me.

Why was it that he had to be creative this time? He had never done something like this to any of my ancestors, or anyone in the royal family; and of course, he chooses to make things interesting when it's my turn... I was already NOT doing well as the ruler of Hyrule, or at least not being half the ruler that my father was. And then he comes along, using the Twili in order to get control of Hyrule. He hurt so many people here, and changed so many things about Hyrule, that I'm not even sure that I can bring us all back together.

I don't even want to think of how many people were killed in the explosion of the castle. It's just one more bad thing to add to my list of troubles.

I sighed and closed my eyes, laying back carefully, letting my mouth remain open so that I could get some air into my weary body.

I am Zelda, one of the many female rulers of Hyrule, who met a boy named Link.

My grandmother used to tell me stories about when she herself had met a boy named Link; whom she had known literally from childhood when his quest began, into adulthood. She told me so many things about him and his journey, and how both of them saved Hyrule from a king who would crush the free hylians under his boot forever if he wasn't stopped...

She told me that she fell in love with him; and that he had fallen in love with her. But sadly, she sent him back to his original time; so that he could grow up with a normal life. He later left on a quest to find his fairy; and he never came back. She told me the stories so many times, and each time she told them, she would always become very sad when she finished them. I never understood why...

Grandmother told me, that I too would find a man who was named Link. And that he would be very different from anything I had ever seen before. She told me that I was lucky, because I would be a part of a great, and yet terrible thing that would lead Hyrule to a golden age of prosperity.

She told me that I myself might in fact fall for a fine hero one day...

After the Gerudo fled the desert, and the prison grounds were built; Grandmother stopped telling the stories so often. Often opting to tell my father that what he had done to the Gerudo lands and the Gerudo was unspeakable and detestable. She reminded him that the Hero of Time was friends with everyone, including the Gerudo.

But father never listened...

Up until her death, Grandmother always said that the great evil would come once again to plague Hyrule; because partially what we had done. But she told me that legend would repeat itself, and fix Hyrule's problems; as it had done when she was princess.

I worried about the Legends and the prophecies that I kept seeing and hearing in my head as I grew older. I worried that somehow I would mess it up; that somehow, things wouldn't be righted again because of me. I told my parents of my terrible visions, but they never really believed me, telling me that I was just having bad dreams.

But I knew that trouble was brewing, and I knew that I was not having bad dreams.

Despite his stubborn ways, my father was a great king; who kept the people united and gave the people what they wanted most. He kept peace throughout the land, and gave freedom to every goron, Hylian, and zora (with the occasional yeti.) that lived in Hyrule. The only people that were ever prosecuted and chased away were the Gerudo; which seemed to be the only black mark on my father's record.

He even carried on after my mother died of a terrible fever; living as a king should. I was even proud of him for missing mother less than I.

But the prophecies continued; even as my father died, and I ascended the throne. I had a terrible time sleeping at night; and I often saw images that are not easily forgotten.

I saw the face of a young man, maybe a little younger than I; and he was heart-breakingly handsome. I guess if there was ever a good part of the dream, it was the part where he came in. I guessed that he had to be the hero that Grandmother was talking about; and I soon began to imagine falling in love with him, along with all sorts of silly notions of romance.

I tried to run the country as best I could; but I always made a mistake that made me feel like half the ruler that my father was. I never found myself to be good enough under my own scrutiny; although I know that all of my advisors said that I was doing fine...

Then Zant came.

That terrible snake-like man who killed my soldiers, and forced me into captivity in the heart of the new twighlight realm.

I waited for months in that small room; watching my kingdom fall into twighlight piece by piece. Watching my people become nothing more than bright balls of light.

I cried often, and I slept alone...

A small imp-like creature named Midna snuck into my room one night; waking me up and asking me about what happened; as well as talking about other things that were happening in the world outside of my prison. We talked, and she came to my room every day for a week; and she became my only company besides the guard who checked on me every half an hour.

I knew nothing about the little imp, but I sensed that she was to be important to everything that had to succeed in order to save Hyrule. So I watched her, and tried to guess her secret. She eventually told me that she was looking for someone to help her gather an old power that her people had possessed long ago; she meaned to defeat Zant, although why I could not understand. Midna seemed to be a very personally oriented person, so I guessed that it wasn't to save all of us sorry Hylians.

She disappeared for a day; leaving me to wonder if she had gotten caught or not; since I had heard the guards muttering about a fugitive named Midna that was to be captured.

But she surprised me once again; by bringing a gray wolf, with strange markings on him into my room...

At first I didn't know that they were there; so I only turned around when I heard an angry growl from behind me. I turned to face whoever was there; finding Midna perched atop a most particular looking wolf. He immediately stopped growling as I looked down into his blue eyes; those blue eyes that shocked me out of empathy and into fascination. Those eyes that spoke volumes, telling me about his humanity that lay imprisoned by the beast. Those eyes told me that he was more than just a wolf...

I knew then that he was the hero. I knew then, that I was already in love with him; even though I didn't even know who he really was.

Midna quickly began to brief me (teasingly) about the wolf beneath her; telling me that he had no clue where he was; and that I should probably do him a favor and tell him what I had managed to get the kingdom into.

I ignored her bluntness, and quickly told him of the spreading twighlight; and of Hyrule's trouble; all of which was our fault. I told him why I was imprisoned; and I told him why I had chosen life over death for myself, and the people of Hyrule.

And I swore that after I had revealed myself to him; removing the head of my cloak and showing him that I was indeed the princess... I thought that I saw pity or maybe even sympathy in those blue eyes. And I found myself loving him for knowing that I was so sorry for landing Hyrule in a mess such as this.

They left soon after that at my command, since the guard was sure to come soon and find them...

And I spent the rest of my time alone... Knowing not what had become of the kind wolf and the imp named Midna...

I thought about why Midna was even bothering to help us by defeating Zant. But I couldn't understand why she would even try...

Meanwhile, twighlight began to disappear from the land, leaving the light that Hyrule had possessed to begin with. I watched as my kingdom began to live again; and I rejoiced; knowing that Midna and the wolf were slowly restoring the kingdom to glory. I was happy that something was finally going right for me...

But soon enough; they came back; returning after three months with Midna lying helplessly wounded on the wolf's back.

Midna did not ask that I try to heal her; or find a way to help her; nor did she yell at me for the mess that I had gotten her into. She told me to help the wolf find the master sword; and to cure him of his curse that made him a wolf.

And she spoke to him as though she knew she wasn't going to survive for much longer; as though she wasn't even thinking of herself...

It made me feel so stupid for barely even helping and for thinking that she was even a little selfish. It made feel terrible that she should have to give her life for a kingdom that hadn't given a damn for her.

I also caught a glimpse of the wolf's eyes, finding a hopeful pleading need within them. It was as though he thought I could help her, like I could save her. He had that much faith in me; and he believed that I would save the one he had spent so much time with.

I could already begin to feel the strong bond between them; and I began to feel that helpless feeling that one finds when they know that they are not going to be loved in return. I knew then that it was going to be different between us than legend said it would be.

And I knew that if I didn't save her; he would lose his faith in me... And he wouldn't even care...

And I didn't want to let Midna die on our behalf...

And in those feelings, my choice was made; and that choice was carried out.

I told her what I was feeling, and looked into his eyes; smiling as I began the process of giving my life energy to her. I heard her frantically telling him to stop me; and I saw him look wildly at me, penetrating my heart with those eyes of his one last time...

Before I knew it; everything around me faded to black; as my very soul went to live in Midna's body. Her mind and mine merged; and became as one. And suddenly; everything began to make sense.

I saw her past; and I saw her people. And I saw her sadness that went along with her people's sadness. I saw the betrayal and the cursing at the twighlight palace. And I saw her fleeing her dark throne into the world of light. I saw myself; and what she truly thought of me.

And I wasn't sorry that I had given her what was most precious to me...

I watched them gather the mirror of twighlight; and saw Link for the first time. And I felt Midna begin to love him; just like I watched him begin to fall for her. I watched everything; finding pity for myself only when I realized that I had been a fool to presume that Grandmother was right. I had been a fool to even think that he would love me; even for all of my faults...

I hid in a corner of her mind, not wanting to be noticed; not wanting to see that I would still be alone even after this whole thing was over.

The Hero had represented so much to me; love, acceptance, comradeship... He had been an idea to me; showing me that I deserved to be happy. Showing me that I was indeed going to be happy after all of my troubles took what they could from me...

I found that I was wrong... After all of it; I found that I was wrong...

They traveled and fought together for Hyrule until they reached the castle; finding my throne room desecrated and my body imprisoned within the triforce sculpture that was suspended above my throne. They found the king of evil himself, sitting where I should have been sitting...

I understood grandmother's description of him as soon as I saw him; seeing the darkness within him, and the pure beast that seemed bathed in that evil. I saw Ganon within Ganondorf; and I felt his ancient presence. And it hit me that he had been struck down just like this by my grandmother and her hero, and by those that came before them.

Except that I had turned out to be quite a different story...

So Ganondorf bantered on about how the twili were worthless, and that they would never be as good as Hylians, and that he was the supreme ruler of all. And Midna bravely declared that she would do anything to defy him; I know that she was scared, but I also know that she was angry. She was ready to fight him as best that she could in order to save us all.

But then, Ganondorf possesed me.

He filled in the void that was left by my own soul, and controlled me; making me hurt her, and making me hurt him. I watched from where Midna lay collapsed after my body sent her flying; and I watched him and I duel.

And I was so happy when he finally struck me down; after suffering many burns himself. I was glad that I wouldn't trip anyone up anymore...

Link defeated me, and Midna forced the evil king out of me, restoring my body to its normal state. And we waited while Link defeated Ganon as the beast he truly was.

I opened my eyes as I heard my window grind open, mixing with the varied grunts of a man that I wasn't sure I recognized. I sat up, holding my stomach to reduce the queasiness and looked to see who it was.

I raised an eyebrow, as the hero himself climbed in through the window and dropped to his feet with a practiced feral grace. He was dressed in a tunic that I had seen him wearing during the last battle, with a sword strapped to his back (not the master sword).

He stood up straight and looked back at the window with an almost smug look on his face, brushing his hands together as though dusting them off.

"Link?" I questioned quietly, smiling a little when he flinched, and animatedly turned to face me with a sorry look on his face.

"Oh, uh... Princess. I didn't think that you would be in here." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, laughing nervously as he waited for me to probably yell at him.

I got up, and moved slowly to clean up a little, taking the bucket that held the poison I had coughed and spewed out (along with some food) all morning. It was a little strange for a Princess to be cleaning up for a citizen of Hyrule; but I didn't really care, I didn't want him to see me like this...

"It's alright Link." I said quickly, holding my robe tightly around me and clutching the wall as I walked for support.

He watched me move; and almost came to help me once or twice; until I made it back to my bed.

"Are you sick?" He questioned delicately, taking a step forward in concern.

"Yes... It's just from Ganon controlling me and all. He left remains of himself in me that my body is taking as poison." I said quickly.

I raised a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear; forgetting that I had a royally ugly bruise on the flesh around my elbow. I stopped straightening my hair when I saw the sad look on his face.

"What is it?" I said, wondering what was wrong.

"I did that to you didn't I?" He asked somberly; giving me a sad look with his blue eyes.

"Don't beat yourself up; you did what you had to. Besides, they don't even hurt, so you don't have to worry." I didn't even feel it when he had done it; I hadn't even felt the lightning he had batted back at me. I hadn't felt it; and now that I did, I didn't mind...

"That brings me to what I came here for..." He said quietly, holding one hand in the other and looking at me with blue orbs full of emotion I couldn't name.

"Yes..?" I sat forward, folding my hands in my lap; trying to look as though he had my full attention.

He was silent for a moment, wringing his hands absently and letting his eyes dart from the floor to my face. I waited patiently, knowing that whatever he had to say was important; since he had already broken into my room to say it.

"Well... I know that since Midna broke the mirror; that there's probably no chance of crossing back into the twighlight realm or anything like that, but... I wanted to ask, if there was any way I could be closer to the castle. In case she contacts you or anything." He shuffled his feet, still avoiding my eyes.

I wasn't very shocked; I mean, after all; it was all too obvious that he was in love with her from the way he looked at her. I knew that he didn't have any interest in me; but I still couldn't have helped myself from hoping that he might want to be here to see me.

But it would be too much to hope for; him having a complete change of heart and wanting me instead. I know I could never ask him to do that. I know I could never even think of it...

"What do you mean?" I said softly, letting my blue eyes find his, knowing full well that they did not shine for me.

"I mean, maybe a position in the castle or something." He raised his eyebrows as he shrugged.

"What about your town? Weren't you supposed to become the mayor there?" He had told me on our journey back to the castle before that he was to take over for the current mayor when the time came. Or at least that was how he left things...

"Yeah... I was supposed to. But I changed my mind..." He said quietly.

I thought for a moment; I knew that he missed Midna, but since she was gone... It just didn't seem like proper motivation to just up and leave your village. It had to be something else...

"Do you mind my asking why?"

He looked up at me and smiled slightly.

"I guess it just seems too quiet after everything I've done. I can't just sit there and wrangle goats; and live everyday the same as the one before it. After Midna, and you, and everyone I've known; I can't forget..."

My Grandmother had been right; he was so different from me and everyone who existed in my world. He was honest, and had a joy and array of feelings that I think I've only read about. And now, as a hero, he accepts the power given to him; intending to continue to do good, even after he saved Hyrule from evil.

No one I knew would ever do that...

"Well, if you need a position in the castle. I can appoint you as the resident hero. But, your title will actually be very official and long with a lot of big words that I don't feel like remembering right now." I attempted to crack a small joke, at which he smiled.

"Sign me up then." He grinned.

"Although you do know that you'll have to use doors instead of climbing in through windows." I smiled back.

We sat there smiling at each other for a moment, looking into each others eyes until I noticed and caught myself. Blushing and looking away, playing with the folds of my robe. He stepped back and, blushing himself as he moved towards the window that he had come through.

"Wait down in the courtyard, and I'll send someone to get you some chambers until I'm able to move around freely."

He nodded and I got up and began moving to my bedroom door to call for a guard.

"Princess?" I looked back at him, smiling kindly as he smiled at me.

"What is it, Link?"

"Thanks."

He shot me another grin before swinging himself out to hang from the window's ledge. I stood and watched him go, with a thoughtful smile on my face.

Grandmother was so right...

Maybe I'm different from all of the other Zelda's; and maybe he's different from the other Link's that history has known. Maybe things will work out; and we'll fall in love; and Hyrule will be safe from evil because of our love.

Maybe we'll be friends...

But I know, though I have prophecies and dreams that tell me the future...

I know that our stories are not over; and that things can change; no matter how things may look and feel.

I can't let myself come undone because he doesn't love me; I can't bully myself because I've made a few mistakes. I can't make myself believe that it was my entire fault. And I can't rely on old stories to predict my future...

As wisdom's current representative; I know differently than before. And I know that it's true...

Things are always changing in this life; you can't stop change... Because you yourself will change; no matter how much you try to stop it.

I think for a moment and smile to myself as I continue to the door... And I guess, that's good enough...

(End)

Authors note: Ahh! Finally! The laboring for like three weeks has finished and I've finally written a Zelda fic after such a long time. This is basically a reaction to Twighlight Princess. I loved the game; but I felt that Zelda wasn't explained very well. I also found a few things strange, including the missing Gerudo's, and the basic arrangement of Hyrule. Other than that, I loved it! (Sorry, I'm an Ocarina of Time nerd.)

So, if you've read this far, please just go ahead and review if you feel so inclined!

RANDOM SONG LYRIC:

"I've heard it said

That people come into our lives for a reason

Bringing something we must learn

And we are lead to those

Who help us most to grow

If we let them

And we help them in return

Well I don't if I believe that's true

But I know I'm who I am today because I knew you."

-For Good, From Wicked.