The Legend of Zelda: A Tale of Two Bloodlines (Part 1)
The corridor of Hyrule Castle was lit by softly dancing candlelight. The two cloaked figures walked quickly across the stone hall, keeping their faces low to avoid identification. Shadows leapt ahead and behind them, the only signs of a guard accompanying the two figures. They finally reached a grand door decorated by a mural of the legendary Hero of Time, and, glancing one way and the other to ensure secrecy, entered the room it hid. Inside was a small room decorated by stone walls. A fairly large, round table stood in the middle of the room. There were four doors alongside the walls adjacent to and opposite of the grand door. They were small and wooden and connected through a secret passage to the servant's quarters. The doors opened almost simultaneously, and four cloaked men entered the room. When the doors closed, the six figures waited silently and finally nodded. Feeling safe and assured of secrecy, they removed the hoods from their heads and uncovered the half-veil covering their mouths and noses.
"Good evening Gentlemen," the Princess said. The four men, the highest ranking Generals of Hyrule, bowed to their kingdom's leader. "I know all of you understand the importance of today's meeting, and I thank you for making time to attend at such short notice."
"We are all servants of Hyrule your majesty, servants of the great Princess of Hyrule. We come when you beckon, and at no time is there an exception," General Roland said, accentuating his words with a deep bow. A pompous man, one of great ambition, Roland was far too young to validate his extreme arrogance.
"Even still, gratitude is always appreciated. Now, shall we put aside the formalities and take up the task of saving our kingdom?" General Silverstone said. The Princess held back a smile. The General's somewhat crude mannerisms were made up for by his brilliance, and his obedience. She could always depend on him to win a crucial battle if the need were to ever arise, or to silently stay seated during battles of internal politics. He was dependable and sturdy, qualities for which the kingdom was at a dire need.
"Very well. Shaisel, if you please," the Princess said to her personal assistant. Shaisel, a woman of nearly seventy, brought revealed a decent sized map from under her cloak. General Gernard stared at her old, wrinkled features and almost non-existent figure covered by a gray cloak with a look of lust. The Princess inwardly rolled her eyes. If it was female, the man would go to bed with it. She silently swore to feed him to the dogs, alive, if he even so much as glanced at her in such a manor.
"Thank you Shaisel," the Princess said. "Now, gentlemen, if I could have a status report on the current crisis."
"As you know your Excellency, we sent a regiment to combat the raiders in the province of Faron. To shorten the tale, they did not succeed," Roland said.
"Oh come now, boy!" Silverstone said, raising his voice a bit more than necessary. If Roland was suave and eloquent, Silverstone was a brute. Quite an enjoyable match up.
"Why don't your stop hiding the facts from the Princess and tell her what really happened."
"That is what really happened. They went, and they lost," Roland said defensively.
"Aren't we hiding a few small details?" Silverstone gestured with his fingers to signify "few."
"Stop being such a brute, Silverstone," Roland countered, a remark that struck the Princess as a bit childish.
"Gentlemen, please stop! We are in a time of crisis, and it would be best if you took your personal grievances outside this chamber. Admiral Cortenury!" the Princess called out to the fourth man in the room.
"Yes ma'am!" he said, placing his closed fist on his chest in a salute.
"Please fill in the details," she said. The military head of intelligence, the Admiral would definitely have all the details, and because he was a quite and introverted man, he could avoid any heated personal debates.
"Of course ma'am! The detachment from General Roland's army arrived at Faron five days prior to this meeting. Subsequently, according to our best military data, they were slaughtered in not one, but many encounters with the enemy. The enemy sent the only survivor on horse back to General Roland's army headquarters. He was carrying the Regiment commander's head."
"Did we debrief the survivor?" the Princess asked, her eyes glaring at General Roland.
"No, your Excellency. He died moments after arrival," the General explained.
"And what of the wounds? What could we determine from his injuries?" the Princess asked.
"That they use swords, and not much else, ma'am," the Admiral responded. "To attain any more information without military action is an impossibility. As of three days ago, we have lost all communication with any facility, organization, or individual within the province of Faron."
"The course, then, is clear," General Silverstone said. "We'll take an army and hammer our way into Faron if we have to. We probably won't have to, though. The enemy seems a lot more like bandits than an actual army. It took them so long to take over a completely unprotected region."
"If they were bandits, why didn't they attack the Goron mines? That's where the money is," Gernard asked, bringing up an excellent point. "No, they're not unorganized, ruthless bandits looking to make a pretty penny. They are trying to take our bread basket and force us to negotiate if we don't want to starve to death. They know that we can't survive without Faron, not after last year's famine. That is why we must strike them with our full military force and crush them before they can bring us to our knees from hunger!" The generals all agreed to this solution, as she thought they would, and each begged for her support.
"We cannot do so," the Princess said. Within moments, the room transformed from a vegetable bazaar to a graveyard.
"Why ever not!" Silverstone exclaimed. The Princess immediately brought her blazing eyes to meet with his, and he shrunk back.
"The people are only now beginning to recover from two years of famine. If we are to declare war on these bandits, we must take funding from the famine recovery project. We can survive for a few more months without Faron, but we cannot survive even days without the famine recovery project! As men of the military, you should know that the people come first! We cannot abandon them, leave them starving at our doorsteps, while we foolishly engage in a fool's war. To march into Faron without knowing circumstances, situations, or even who the enemy is would only be a foolish endeavor. We would be sending our youth to their graves by the hundreds, as well as starving the remaining society."
"We cannot just leave things as they are," the Admiral said. "We are at this moment forced to act. We cannot leave the people of Faron in the hands of the enemy."
"I am aware of that, Admiral," the Princess said. "It is because of this that I am now exercising the privilege of the royal family and declaring Hyrule in need of a hero. Please make arrangements for this transition and support the endeavor. I shall meet with you again once the operation is under way. Thank you gentlemen."
Without waiting for their approval or hearing any complaints, the Princess left the four shocked generals in the war room and hurriedly made her way up to her own personal chamber. Her personal aid, Shaisel, followed her up the stairs. Silently stepping across the hallway, they made their way through secret passages and back halls to the top most level of the castle. There she motioned to a high level royal guard, who immediately opened the door leading to the royal chamber. Knowing that confidentiality was assured, the Princess began to dictate orders to her personal aid.
"Shaisel, make ready the hero's tunic. Tell the sages to prepare the Hyrulian blade and shield. Choose a good handler, and make ready the scout's tools. Also, contact the Queen of the Zoras and the Goron patriarch. We will need to meet as soon as possible."
The Princess and her aid entered her personal chamber and Shaisel closed the door behind her.
"Princess, there is much you did not tell the Generals," she said.
"You know what I fear," the Princess said.
"It is what lies in Faron, is it not?" Shaisel said.
"Could they know about it? Does anyone but the few sages and the royal family know about it?"
"It is possible. Not everyone will forget everything. Some will always remember some."
"If so, we must act with all possible haste," the Princess said, her fingers playing across the back of her white glove. She sighed a long, hefty sigh, almost as if she knew what was about to unfold. "Some days I wish I wasn't born Princess Zelda."
Author's Comment: Right, so I haven't seen many LoZ Fanfics. I know, the Royal Family doesn't pick a hero, but just wait and see what happens. This is completely fan fictional and not cannon. And no, I won't be telling the story from the Hero's perspective. You'll see why, and what happens, later. If you liked, leave a comment. If you didn't like, leave a comment. If you have suggestions or (constructive) criticisms, leave a comment.