A long, long time ago, the world was in an age of Chaos.
There was a land called Hyrule, a Legend called Zelda,
an Adventurer named Link, an Evil known as Ganon,
and the Three Triforces, with a Power over them All.
-Prologue, Nintendo Comic System

Fading Glory

On any normal night, stars reflected in the wide, deep river. Even when winter's breath frosted it over, the river shined, and the moon played on her surface. She was known as Zora's Mirror by the maps, and traveled by those who sought adventure for a living.

On this night, a light mist crept over the river at dusk. Lazy fog followed slowly, rolling over one bank and lapping at the other. When the moon reached the middle of the sky, she could not see herself through the fog, and hid her face to weep.

Out of the mist, a cloaked figure sloshed the distance to the shore, leading the raft by tether. Stooping to anchor it to a piece of driftwood, the traveler failed to notice the way the shadows moved in this place. Too late was a sword drawn in defense, and the Daira fell upon their prey with brutal efficiency.

---

Curiosity got the better of him. He wouldn't admit it, but there it was.

The men and women of the Court had been making a fuss about the impending lunar eclipse for many months, and were clustered in the courtyard to watch it. Link declined, fairly disinterested, and citing the excuse that there was no need to leave the Triforce unguarded.

But then, he wondered, and cracked the shutters open to peek at the fading moonlight. He didn't find it that impressive, but then if it wasn't impressive, then why was everyone standing around in the chill night air to watch it?

Standing on his toes, he peered through the vents in the weather-worn wood. He spotted King Harkinian first, and Zelda was at her father's side. Link smiled. Normally, he found her beautiful. In the waning moonlight, she was radiant.

The young man's smile faded when a guard appeared, parting the crowd with his urgency. He led the princess off towards the north gate, and Link adjusted the shutter to follow.

Upon the road was a single rider. Link frowned. He couldn't see well with the moon hidden as it was, but he was fairly sure it wasn't one of theirs. Thanks to various ill encounters with lone adventurers, he now distrusted most people outside of the castle. And whoever this was, Zelda was going out to meet him.

And so, Link resolved, was he.

---

The three guards looked as confident as Zelda felt, but she would not let them know that. She drew herself up as tall as she could, standing at the end of the drawbridge to greet this visitor. The guard that had fetched her was scared out of his wits, and she was no longer curious why.

The horse stopped a length away, and the rider seemed to regard her before dismounting and closing the distance. In one fluid movement, the stranger knelt before the princess.

Instead of being reassuring, the gesture put Zelda ill at ease.

"Hail," the princess said, "What brings a messenger to the House of Kings in such haste?"

"Not a messenger, milady," the stranger chuckled, standing to pull back her hood, "A warrior seeking mere service under the crown of Hyrule."

"Service in what way?" Zelda pressed. The woman was Hylian, at a glance, and it set her mind at ease, but it still meant nothing towards whether she was trustworthy.

"A thing of power can never have too many guardians," the woman explained, "I understand that you are guarding the power of the Three, as I also understand how highly it is sought."

Zelda scowled, "Then you must understand why you have made your journey in vain."

"I think I haven't," the stranger smiled, humble but for context, "Not a messenger, but a warrior, and I bring news of the Prince of Darkness."

"Your news is late. Ganon is dead."

"Dead, but not forgotten. His shadow remains; his forces now gather at Death Mountain," the woman's gaze sought something over the princess' shoulder, "Would you risk his resurrection?"

Zelda turned to see Link hovering behind her. She didn't know how much of it he'd heard, but she knew she couldn't go about supplanting him without due cause.

"What is your name?" she asked of the stranger.

"Lucia, milady."

"What do you seek?"

"I seek, by necessity, to protect Hyrule."

"Come in out of the cold," Zelda decided, "Tell me what you know; I'll decide what is necessary."

---

He didn't pay attention to where they were going, and so he didn't realize where Zelda was leading them until they were at his chamber door. Dumbfounded, he tried in vain to gesture his displeasure at such a careless idea, stopping only when Lucia turned to stare.

"This is the Triforce of Wisdom,"

Link tensed, expecting the stranger to laugh maniacally and denounce their stupidity for playing into their trap. On the contrary, she ignored the Triforce completely, moving instead for the warmth of the fireplace.

In the light of the hearth, Lucia appeared older than he had at first imagined. The dying fire cast shadows on travel-worn creases on her face and hands, and streaks of silver marred her tightly combed hair. Her cloak obscured her form, making her seem smaller than she was.

She sighed, almost frustrated, and turned to face them. The discrepancy startled him, for although he could still see the marks of years of travel, she was once again the proud warrior.

"Do you know the means of the resurrection?" the woman asked, forthright. Zelda frowned, but answered likewise.

"Blood sacrifice."

She was staring at him again, with that uncanny gaze that made his skin crawl. If she wasn't a servant of Ganon… there was something evil about her, he was sure.

"I don't know how to convince you of my intentions," Lucia said, "Death Mountain is crawling – every last monster who owes allegiance to," she stopped short of his name, and continued, "to the Prince of Darkness has gathered to the call of his lieutenants.

"If I didn't know then, I know now that they're planning a raid on the palace."

"They're coming after me?" Link scoffed. This woman didn't know whom it was she was speaking to – he, who had traveled far from home, had fought Ganon, had undertaken the Quest of the Triforce of Courage... He could handle Ganon and his forces, any day of the week, any week of the month, and month of the year.

"They don't need to."

The statement was softspoken and carefully measured; tempered, Zelda felt, to her own fears. She held up her hand, to quell Link's exuberant retort. "What?"

"They have their sacrifice."

"That's impossible."

"No…" Lucia smiled, in a darkly amused way.

"I'm not dead, I'm right here," Link snapped. "The only way Ganon comes back is if they can get to me, and that isn't happening."

"It's not you. It's your blood they're after."

The young Catalian paused for a beat as the concept began to root its way into his mind. "But they can't possibly…"

"It's the Blood of Heroes, boy," Lucia persisted, forcing the idea to light. "What of your parents? Siblings? Distant kin, even... Surely you aren't the only one left?"

"Are you saying Ganon's underlings are going after my parents?" There was anger in his voice, tainted by cold dread. He kept still, by a thin thread of control.

"No. They don't need to go after anyone; they already have."

Link dashed out of the room. Zelda moved the follow, but hesitated as Lucia remained by the hearth. The princess could hear her friend's frantic gait echoing up the steps

"How do you know all this?" she asked at length.

"I've been there, before I came here."

Zelda gestured the stranger out of the room. She was obedient, at least... but trustworthy? The silence between them was stilted as they followed the winding stair.

"He can't go. Not yet," Lucia's voice startled her from her thoughts, and she followed the woman across the moonlit courtyard of her own volition. Her voice carried, softly. "His forces – they're strong, but their morale isn't. His successors want more than just their leader back, what they want a pat on the head. If they come seeking a trophy, and lose half their number on the way, you may yet have a chance."

"You may stay, for now," Zelda decided, "At least until I regret the decision."

"As you wish."

---

Catherine nickered a friendly greeting. Zelda reached to scratch her muzzle, watching Link wrestle his saddle over the mare's back. He stopped short when he noticed her, apprehensive.

"Where's Lucia?" he asked.

"I have Krin watching her."

The youth relaxed slightly, plucking at some unseen broken thread of the saddlecloth. "I have to go. I have to see for myself..."

He was asking permission, although she wasn't sure he wouldn't up and leave without it. "I want you to stay here."

"But what if...?" He flinched, not moving to leave, but staring right through her. He was terrified, and she knew he didn't fear easily... not for himself, anyway. She reached to scratch Catherine's mane, and shrugged.

"What if it's a trick?" she wondered aloud, "Or what if it is true? Rushing in could make things worse."

Link found his voice, brash and angry. Even if his worst had happened, that didn't mean Hyrule had to suffer for it. "And it could give them all the time they need."

"Come with me," Zelda said softly, "I want to see her."

---

The chamber beyond the door that never opened had been refurbished to a level of comfort, and the door itself had been renamed, The Door of Wisdom. Within resided Princess Zelda, the gentle, soft-spoken girl whom Link had released from eternal sleep.

And within, they found her, entertaining Captain Krin and Lucia. The Princess of Wisdom stood from her couch, almost relieved, as Zelda appeared with Link in tow. Lucia stood from her chair and excused herself politely, while Krin tried to contain his shock.

"Some interesting treasures you keep here." Lucia smiled, and Link bristled as she stepped past.

"I thought you sent her," Krin hissed, "She knew…"

"It's alright," Zelda reassured him, "But make sure it doesn't happen again."

He took his leave, and she turned to Zelda.

"I see you've met our guest." The girl nodded; Zelda didn't know what to properly ask but for what worried her. "... Was she lying?"

"Yes." Her certainty was forceful, but the girl dropped her gaze to the floor, and shook her head. "But there was some truth... I cannot say."

"You must be careful," she said.

---

In the days that followed, it came back to Zelda that Lucia made a habit of speaking to everyone. The princess stumbled across one or two of these conversations in person, each as awkward as the next. The reactions were mixed; almost everyone she spoke to related the feeling of being dredged for information, although none could say what use the information would be.

Eventually, Zelda confronted the woman, promising to get whatever information she wanted, if only she would ask personally. Lucia's only response was a wan smile and an, "As you wish."

Yet, she never asked.

---

It had been six days. The rainclouds rolled in, heavy in the afternoon, and softly rumbling in the evening. By midnight, Nayru's tears cascaded down, thundering throughout the castle.

Link couldn't sleep.

Between the heavy rain and the nightmarish worry, he couldn't even keep his eyes closed. He blamed Lucia for the worry, and for the storm, and for the ache in his foot, got from kicking his wall in a fit of misplaced aggression.

He wandered out, down the steps and through the rain and throughout the castle. Considering asking the Princess of Wisdom for peace of mind, he found himself instead outside Zelda's chambers.

When in doubt, he sighed, knocking loudly over the ringing in his ears.

"Hey," was all he said.

"'Hey,' yourself. What are you doing up and about?" she asked. He shrugged, and she frowned. "Is the Triforce safe?"

He scowled. After worrying about his family, his princesses, his castle, his horse, the Master Sword, and the castle fairy, he knew there was something he forgot to worry about. Twirling on his heel, he stumbled straight in Lucia, who had materialized behind him.

That was the straw. He stepped back, and snarled. "Yeah? Well even if you did take it, we'd still have the Triforce of Power!"

Zelda buried her face in her palm, and Lucia stared, stone-faced.

"Power without wisdom is useless, as you should very well know." She quirked her eyebrow, in a decidedly, You really do walk into these things, don't you? manner.

"What, exactly, are you two doing here in the middle of the night?" Zelda asked, curtly. She eyed Link, who shrugged, and Lucia in turn.

"I thought you might be interested in the horde of monsters at the castle gates," the older woman said, "Moreso, that there is a spy in the castle."

In an instant, Zelda pushed past, disappearing in one direction; in following, Lucia disappeared down the stairs in the opposite direction. Caught unawares by the sudden flight to action, Link stood by, trying to decide which woman to follow.

---

He followed her, through the rain and up the stairs towards the Tower of Wisdom. She paused, and he stopped; she knew he was there, and he didn't care.

"Isn't there someone you should be guarding?" For the first time since she arrived, beyond the false modesty and holier than thou nonsense, she was expressive. She was livid, and it made him feel justified, in a small sense; it made him feel that he was doing something right.

"I'm not going to let you take the Triforce of Power," he stated, "And I'm not going to you have Princess Zelda, either."

She shook her head, her gaze landing on the ceiling. "I simply cannot believe that Melinda's son could ever be so undeniably thick."

Lucia spun about, discarding her cloak in one smooth motion. Something thwished by his ear, snapped against the wall, and fell, clattering, down the stairs behind him. In her hands, the longbow, near her full height... where had she been hiding that? Link stared, bewildered, as she reached to the quiver strapped to her side.

"I could have killed you, a dozen times already. I could have had the palace crumbling down around my ears. I've been in this game thirty years longer than you've been alive."

She nocked the arrow, scowling at him. He lunged for the wall, flattening himself to its cover as he drew his sword. Lucia called after him, but he lunged around the arc, effectively cornering the woman. The antechamber lit up, blinding, as he put all his force behind the sword's inherent magic. The force of the energy caught her full in the chest, and she staggered back. It had to hurt, but she was laughing.

"So I take it that's the legendary Master Sword?" she coughed, clutching her chest, and fell against the door.

"You say you're here to help us," Link growled. "Prove it."

"It's too late," Lucia sighed, "She's already gone."

---

"You knew!"

The only reason he didn't kill her where she stood was for Krin's temperance and the Princess of Wisdom's innocence holding him back. That he had plenty of time in between to simmer between when he had last seen her, and when she disappeared to ghost the castle as she had been doing since the moment Zelda granted her leave, did nothing.

"Not until mere hours ago," Lucia growled, "And by the time I found out, so did you."

Zelda was gone. Zelda, one of the few constants in his life, the woman who was never gone, not since he killed Ganon and saved her from the underworld, was gone. He looked to the girl in blue, the one who could tell these things, wanting that she give him leave to do... something.

"Do you trust her?"

"In some ways," the girl answered quietly.

"In what ways?"

"She's trying to help," Zelda continued meekly, "I don't know how to explain... I've never felt..."

Lucia offered her a hand, and led her to her couch, staring pointedly at Link all the while.

"Only you can rescue your princess," the woman pointed out. "If you're fast, I can keep your castle safe for you."

"But you must promise me something."

---

He didn't bother with the saddle, or the bridle. Hauling himself onto Catherine's back, he stared down as Lucia walked alongside, leading them towards the castle gate. The best-trained archers in the castle accompanied her.

"You did nothing while you were there." Link scowled. "And you won't ride with me now? Not after all your boasts of prowess?"

"Only you," Lucia trailed off, resting her hand over her heart. "I don't have your strength," she said, almost to herself. "Not anymore."

She slipped her bow from her shoulder, and watched the drawbridge fall. They were still out there, a fading bluff.

"I'll take as many as I can, and try to give you a good opening," she said, unnecessarily... almost sadly, Link thought. "Get her, and get back. Remember your promise."

He stared forward into the sea of monsters, held back by the Triforces' combined power. "I still don't trust you."

"Good lad," she called after him, "At least you're honest."

He pondered as to whether this was a mistake, and the first arrow struck Moblin, singling out his path.

---

Alison was clever. A young lieutenant, he deceived the entire castle, and worked years making pacts with Ganon's servants. Possibly having believed he could get away with returning to the castle as their spy, his single mistake was in thinking that they would honor him for it.

Not that he was her problem anymore, but she couldn't help but think if it had been Ganon, he might have had use for Alison's subterfuge, rather than tearing the man apart.

The monster horde was working under the direction of a circle of Wizrobes, but the lesser monsters were barely cognizant of the change. It was fortunate for her; they were far disorganized, as they had been when Ganon was alive. Specifically, the stalfos that had locked her in the Underworld dungeon had forgotten to lock the door.

Avoiding the monsters as best she could, Zelda crept through the halls agonizingly slowly. She didn't know her way, and was relying on luck and old fashioned trial and error.

Luck was on her side, she admitted, when she had a run in with a trio darknuts. They weren't informed enough not to try to kill her, but the fact that Link appeared, deftly, daringly, and decidedly heroically. The soulless warriors dropped: first the one, and the final two after a brief scuffle for which she hid as best she could.

"Hey!" He grinned, and she knew this wasn't the first fight he'd been in down the way. "Miss me?"

"Let's get out of here," she said, relieved and worried at once, "I don't know the way..."

"This way." He turned, back the way he had come, and paused. "No, wait... it's, um... hang on..."

Lost? She didn't think he could get lost, but he spun around and dragged her with him. He moved with a purpose, down, leading her down into the abyss. It was an age, but they arrived at the massive doors of Ganon's throne room.

"Where...?"

"Got a promise to fulfil," was all he said by way of explanation. "Stay here, I'll only be a second."

"Oh!" He paused, and pointed behind her. "If you need help, ask Jeanine."

Before Zelda could ask who?, the little fairy flittered out from a hole in the wall, and introduced herself with a smile.

---

Link found the altar in the deepest, darkest depths of the dungeon, where he had once found Zelda. He remembered the place well from when Ganon was alive, and the sulfuric light cast shadows of his memories on the walls. Upon the altar rested a prone figure wrapped in cloth...

Curling his hand around the edge of the bloodied fabric, he hesitated; he had promised, and that was all that kept him. Instead, he let go, and the cloth began to smolder and burn with the spell of fire.

"I still don't trust you," he insisted, as the fire caught. But as he had promised, he had done – and he ran.

---

Ganon's forces were scattered, keeled, even kowtowed as Link and Zelda rode past. The gateman lowered the bridge, and they were home again safely by the light of the setting sun. Link didn't rest until the Triforces were accounted for, Wisdom was here and Power was...

There. Surprisingly. Finding everything in order, he thought to find Lucia in the Tower of Wisdom, for she seemed most drawn to there, but the little princess only shook her head.

"She's gone down to the stables."

---

Ready to ride, she stood before the horse, hesitating. Link stood, feeling foolish – he wanted her to acknowledge his presence, but she didn't seem to notice anything at all. And if he was going to talk to her, and be an adult about it, she might as well notice.

"Hey... The castle's still in one piece, so I guess I'm..." He cleared his throat, and still she didn't look at him. "Uh... I mean to say I'm Sorry. I guess."

"It's strange," she said quietly, "This is the best horse I ever had."

Link didn't say anything at first, but followed as she led the stallion out towards the gates. He took a deep breath, not quite wanting to say it, but squeaking anyway, "You know, you really don't have to go."

She didn't answer, but mounted and stared down at him in the way that made him squirm and feel like a damn kid, as he could imagine her so eloquently remarking.

"How'd it feel?"

He blinked. "What?"

"Coming home." She looked away, and he followed her gaze towards the moon. "It's strange... weren't even knee-high when last I seen you."

"Farewell, hero."

She was leaving. She may as well have been gone, and he wasn't sure what to think, but that he clung to that elusive familiar feeling...

"Wait!"

---

The trail was clear; the horse's tracks were distinct, even in the moonlight. But they faded, and the soft mud turned to sand as the fog rolled in.

All grown up, and with a princess of your own…

…deep down, all the way into the bones.

but only if you're good while I'm away.

It always feels like home…

I promise I'll take you along next time,

Hyrule...

Already a warrior, huh?

… you don't remember me, do you?…

Link couldn't be sure, in the dark of night, on the dusty road, but for a moment he thought of a distant home – of sitting by the fire, drinking in tales of adventure and romance.

One last whisper and it was gone.

---

Zelda found him at last, on the outward parapet. He didn't say a word, just held onto her, timid as a doormouse, and pale as a ghost. At length, he lifted his head.

"I love you, you know."

"Yeah?" The princess smiled softly.

"Yeah."

The moon returned from hiding, and Link hid his face. It was too much all at once, but all the weird things in Hyrule wouldn't change the things he knew.

the end

Working Title: Heroes

Inspiration: I wanted to see if I could make a believable original character that was (more're less) the center of a story. Not sure if I succeeded, but, um... ghosts!

Noteworthy: Um. Ghosts?

Disambiguation: The background mythology here is an amalgamation of the first two games, the Nintendo Comic System, the pick-a-path books, and the Television series, with scant few things taken from later games (with a nod to A Link to the Past). I smashed them together, weeded out the things that didn't make total sense (Ganon being alive...), and there you have it. So not quite canon, Not quite AU. Which strands it in AU territory anyway, I suppose...

Derivative work of material © Nintendo, Valiant Comics, DiC, and whoever the Nintendo Choose Your Own Adventure books were by.