Fyras14: Yo, folks! Hiya doing? Me...well, you know...school, tests, writer's block...etc. Sorry to tell you folks that I had to delete these story for a few reasons...some of them being the fact that I didnt like the way the story was going...after re-reading the whole tale, I decided to delete it to get a better idea on how I was going to redo it, and also to not confuse you folks with the updates of rewritten chapters. For the time being, I have decided to update on Mondays, at least until I get to rewritting all of the other chapters...as of now, only four of these chapters have been completely rewritten...but dont worry, the story will be polished and I will eventually finished it!
Summary: After the attack on her castle, Zelda manages to escape, half dead. Found by Link in the wild, she is taken care of, but when fate plays its harsh hand once more, the princess must do everything in her power to aid the hero, recover her kingdom, and maybe fall in love. AU Twilight Princess.
Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.
Also remember, that this story is not a walkthrough, and that Zelda and its characters do not belong to me.
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.
-F. Scott Fitzgerald
-Prologue-
-Defeat and Retreat-
Zelda took a deep breath, then, exhale, later missing the feeling of the air inside her lungs. Yet, she wasn't worry about breathing, at least, that was the last of her concerns.
Royal Knights stood around her throne, covering any sensitive spot that would leave their princess open for attack, as they all glared with covered heads at the giant metal door that stood at the end of the chamber, barely hearing the agonizing screams of the men hiding behind it. Their mission: protect the princess from whatever stood fighting amongst the sounds of screaming man behind the door. Unlike them, however, the princess that they protected knew that this protection of theirs was in vain, but the young woman wasn't going to banish the courage that they held so firmly in their hearts, and take away what little faith they had in defeating the enemy.
How could things take a turn for the worst? Zelda asked herself over and over again, as she heard the distant screams of her loyal men. Hyrule had no enemies, and the only enemies the Hylians had ever known had integrated into their society, disappearing altogether and becoming one with the Hylians. So, how had this unknown enemy come from? Who was their leader? Who was responsible for the deaths of many men or women that stood their ground against them? She fought with the argue to cry, smelling the scent of the tears that lay dry upon her cheeks, as she tried too hard to not show any weakness, lest the resolve of her knights shatter.
The princess begged to the Goddesses, makers of the holy Triforce and of the land, to give her strength, knowing full well that the wisdom she carried wouldn't be enough to win this fight. That chance of sudden strength never came, as the large doors were thrown off their hinges, flying flawlessly across the room, like paper. Everyone in the throne room held their breath, only to be rather surprised by the dark shadow that suddenly made its way towards them, clouding a few knights by its presence. Soon, the darkness disappeared, and as if on cue, strange monsters appeared from within it, clouded in black, heads bowed and covered by strange helmets. This creatures fought against the coming knights, who all fell under their foes might, causing a few others to back away as Zelda let out a small gasp of surprise, but quickly covered it up, holding the rapier in her hand tighter by the hilt.
She watched calmly, shaking from the inside, cursing for her weakness, as her men fell, one by one. Most of the knights that had stood around her, were slowly losing their courage, but not losing their ground, shields and swords up, ready to jump at their enemy at the first chance they got. But, it never came.
As most of her men lay dead or dying, another strange creature made its way inside the room, accompanied by a pair of creatures on its sides. Unlike the creatures that had come from the shadows, this creature could walk on its hind legs, instead of walking on all four like the creatures had done. This newcomer also wore dark, yet extravagant robes that carried with them many unknown symbols, that Zelda could not recognize. A large helmet covered the creature's face, making Zelda hard to identify it. Was it a creature, or a man? As she was debating this, the creature finally stopped, and glanced at the princess with his covered head, as everything stood in silence, except for the innocent groans coming from the fallen knights.
It didn't take long for Zelda to deduce that this creature was the leader of the pack, and was extremely surprised to hear the creature speak. "It is time for you to choose," the leader began calmly, as his helmeted head glared at the princess, who was unaware that her hands were shaking. "surrender…or die…" Zelda stood numb, as she repeated the leader's demands on her head, flinching inwardly as one of her knights was grabbed by neck and lifted from the floor by one of the creatures. Their leader chuckled, catching the princess's attention once more, before he continued to speak. "Oh…and yes…this is a question for all the land and people of Hyrule," he informed her. "It is your choice…Life? Or death!" Both leaders stared at each other in silence, the princess's knights looking back at her, wondering what she was planning to do. But no matter how much planning Zelda did, she had no choice. This was the end of the line, and she knew it. She was outnumbered, the bodies of her men lay on the floor, mixing their blood together with the long red carpet that decorated the middle of the marble floor, their groans music to the enemies' ears. Life or death?
Taking a deep breath, the princess glanced down at her sword, before she let go of the hilt, watching silently as it hit the ground, causing a loud CLANK! to resonate across the room. With her sword on the ground, Zelda had given the enemy her answer; life. "I have done what you asked," the princess said after a while, looking up from her fallen weapon to glare at the fiend that stood before her. "now, leave my people alone…take over this throne and land, but let my people live." Zelda could feel the sympathetic looks of her knights, those that had stood by her side, as if they understood her decision, only for their attention to be stolen by the strange one's loud laugh.
"Oh...yes, your people shall be left alone, forever wandering as spirits on the Twilight." Zelda's eyes widen at the mention of the word 'Twilight', but didn't say anything as the leader spoke again. "Both light and shadow shall become as one, forever…" He extended an arm towards Zelda, revealing a skinny black hand, gesturing for the knights that surrounded her to move. The men all hesitated, and didn't even budge from their place. "Move or die," the leader told them simply. None moved. "now, it is your choice…" No knights moved from their spot, and were rather surprised a second later when the princess ordered them to move.
"But, princess…" they began, only to be caught off by her voice.
"Move…" she ordered. The knights glanced at the leader, before they calmly retreated as far as they could away from their leader, who stood her ground, her face calm and unmoved but a hidden expression of hate on her eyes. The leader stood quiet for a while, before he chuckled once more.
"Now, princess…" he began, still pointing his hand at her. "…this is a gift from me…from my god…" Soon as he spoke those words, the leader's hand was engulfed in dark, sparkling energy around it. Zelda gasped in shock, and took a step back, feeling the rough throne behind her, forgetting that it was even there. Now the princess knew the reason why he had waited this long, he wanted to kill her!
"Princess!" the group of knights cried, but where stopped by the black creatures, that held them down, making them watch as the dark ball on the leader's hand get larger and larger by the second. As the ball of dark magic began to grow, Zelda closed her eyes, and was about to whisper a spell, when suddenly she heard a small chuckle coming from the leader, who shook his covered head as if amused.
"Ah, and before I forget, princess…any magic on your part shall result in the death of one man in this room," the leader glanced at a knight, that was raised to his feet by a creature, who clutched the man's neck, barely allowing him to breath. "I do hope you don't want the death of one man…or probably two on your conscience…do you now, your highness?" he asked her, mockingly. Zelda glared at the leader as she stopped her spell altogether, and mentally asked how had he known about her magic. This strange creature or man, this evil king of another realm, he knew what she was capable of, and now, she couldn't even defend herself because this creature used her own men as his shield. She was the defenseless one, she was about to die. "…ah, good…your weak heart won't let you do that, would it, princess? But, I have said enough, and now, for your gift…"
Before Zelda had any time to blink, the ball of dark magic left the leaders hand, and struck the princess straight on her chest. A gasp of pain left her lips, before she hit her throne with her body. Screams came from the knights, crying out for their princess, as Zelda slid down her throne and fell face down on the marble floor, decorating it with crimson. She coughed blood, and never had the chance to spot the second ball of dark magic that crashed against her body, making her slam against the throne with her head, and then, fall down to her side, coughing even more blood, mixed with salty tears that had found their way out of her eyes, Zelda's mind going in circles. As she coughed, the princess didn't noticed as the leader moved towards her, only when he kneeled close to her, did she finally notice him. "I hope you enjoyed your…gift…but I have yet to finish…" he told her, leaning his helmet closer to Zelda's face. "My god tells me you have something that is his…but, the form you have now…will cause him…troubles…" Before Zelda could even blink, the evil king grabbed her by the neck with that skinny hand of his, and held her up, not caring as the princess struggled against his painful hold. "You shall be spared…but, not for long," he whispered, as dark sparkles of magic began to surround the hand that was holding Zelda's neck, which in turn, began to circle the princess's body, causing her to cry out in pain, despite the hand still clutching her throat.
Energy encircled her entire being, shocking her at every possible muscle, making her cry out in pain. By now, however, the evil king had let go of her neck, but still, the energy went on and on around her body, and then, a large veil of darkness covered her, and then that's when the changes began to take place.
Zelda let out an agonizing cry as she grew smaller in size, her face began to take a strange shape, causing her to fall down to the ground, her hands trashed about, as they too began to change, soon her flesh and bone followed. The princess could feel her skin ripping apart, her bones breaking in two, taking a different shape altogether. New skin seemed to replace her old one, as the more bones cracked and more screams were heard, but those did not belong to the princess. Zelda's royal kngiths watched from a distance, as the princess began to transform, and soon, the body of a young woman stood no more in her place, but that of a small hawk. The princess of Hyrule was no more, having been replaced by a small brown hawk, extending its wings as it prepared to fly. They watched with shocked expressions on their faces as the hawk collapsed on the floor, breathing heavily, but still conscious, with the leader of the dark creatures observing her behind that helmet he wore.
"…hehehehe…" he chuckled after a while, watching in interest as the blood fell from the body of the hawk to the marbled floor, combining crimson with crimson. "You shall be all that remains, nothing but feathers…" But Zelda didn't hear him, and watched him, with confused eyes, as he stood up and ordered one of the creatures to take care of her. She watched the creature turn towards her, and slowly make its way to her, as her knights were dragged away kicking, screaming, and crying out in pain, watching as their princess made hawk was taken prisoner. …I can't….let…this…happen! Zelda cried mentally, and with little strength, the princess did a desperate move, no longer thinking clearly with her mind.
Filled with a sudden will, the hawk managed to stand up, and flap its wings, before mustering enough senses and then, take flight out of the grasp of the creatures and their king. "Fools!" cried their leader, as the creatures tried in vain to catch the hawk from the air. "Catch her! Catch her!" But the creatures could not catch the hawk, who moved swiftly away from their grasp, before finally leaving the safe haven that was once her home, not daring to look back, no longer was a human taking control of the hawk's mind, but an animal. And so, said animal flew.
Castle Town became nothing but a memory to the young hawk, as trees and grassland decorated her sight, with Zelda desperately fighting with the animal side to regain control. The hawk shook head on the air, trying to regain her senses, but that had been a wrong move. Pain that she had felt previously return, causing dizziness upon her sight, before every flap of her wings became a painful process. Soon, the hawk felt herself falling, and she could not regain herself, be it human or not. Zelda and beast, unable to control one another, fell to the ground below at a fast pace. This is it, both sides thought as they descended to the trees below, crashing against a few branches which snapped under their weight, as they went down with the small hawk. But then, a cool and wet feeling washed over her, and finally Zelda took control, only to lose it upon the sight of worried cerulean eyes and messy dirty blonde hair, before everything turned dark.