Hey everyone! Silver here. This is my first published fanfic, so I hope you enjoy! Disclaimer: I don't own the LoZ franchise, no matter how much I want to.
-=]I[=-
It's funny how a single word can turn your whole life around. Flip it upside down, warp it into something cold and unfamiliar. We crave security, but a single word is all it takes to strip everything away. Even the simplest of words have power, "yes" and "no" are prime examples. But it was a different word, one normally laced with thoughts of love and happiness, that shattered the life of Hyrule's young princess.
Married. The word spun itself around Zelda, trapping her in a web of confusion, anxiety, and sorrow.
She was to be married. Not of her own accord, not by a proposal, but because her father needed… something. He wouldn't even tell her the real reason, mumbling excuses under his breath and nervously leaving the room. He couldn't even look at her in the eyes anymore. She was nothing but a pawn, one that was being sacrificed to benefit the other pieces.
Zelda was a member of the royal family, the only heir to Hyrule. Of course, she was a woman, and she wasn't able to inherit Hyrule's crown. Naturally the king would have to find her a fitting husband to uphold Hyrule's long-standing legacy. In truth, she knew that this day would come, but it all happened so sudden, so fast. All because of a single word.
Zelda tried to find it in herself to protest, but would it really change anything? Would her father listen to the quarrels of a seventeen year old girl? Of course not. Nobody would listen to her, accusing her of incompetence, calling her petulant, and only making her appear more immature. Bubbles of anger rose inside of her, threatening to burst. In fear of sacrificing her dignity, Zelda bowed her head and left the throne room, left to wallow in her own regret.
She wandered around the stone halls of Hyrule castle. The suits of armor seemed to leer at her, gleaming in the dim torchlight. The red carpet didn't help either. It only made it seem like she was walking through a pool of her own blood.
Was this somehow her fault? Had she really done nothing for the kingdom, and now she was being thrown away as punishment for not living up to her mother's or her father's legacy? Or was she really so worthless that her own father was trying to get her off his hands. Nevertheless, the message was clear: she wasn't wanted in Hyrule anymore.
Zelda wandered into the observatory, making her way up the stone steps. The guards parted to let her through, looking at her with expressions of little interest. Of course, they had wanted their paths. They had willingly undergone the rigorous training, to feel like they had a sense of purpose in life. Yet Zelda had trained to be Hyrule's perfect little princess every day of her life, and even after all of that, she still felt nothing.
Zelda wistfully stared out at the rolling plains of Hyrule field. In the distance, the Great Plateau loomed, its huge stone walls remaining unclimbed for centuries. Rumors told that the Temple of Time still existed there, worn away by years of weathering and decay. Despite many attempts to scale the wall, the plateau remained unvisited. Zelda sighed as she looked out at the landscape. If only she was out there, exploring the vast wilderness rather than being bartered off.
She was being overdramatic. The marriage was a necessity, whether she liked it or not. Perhaps she could face it with dignity and honor, rather than some embarrassing outburst. Yet she still felt invisible chains surrounding her, binding her to the fate she did not choose herself. Was she not a master of her own destiny? What gave others the right to choose when she couldn't?
"Princess Zelda?" A voice jolted Zelda out of her daydreams. Zelda turned around to see a Sheikah woman walking up the steps, an expression of concern crossing her tattooed face.
"Impa. How are you?" Zelda tried to smile nonchalantly, pushing down her sorrows. She didn't want to trouble others with her own complaints and concerns, especially not Impa. Besides, she was doing her best to maintain her composure, to convince herself that she needed to take this path in order to fulfil her destiny.
Impa walked over to Zelda, stopping a few feet in front of her. "I'm alright, as usual. The question is, are you?"
"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Nothing's the matter," Zelda said, looking down and tucking a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. Her voice was quaking slightly, but not enough to draw any attention to it.
Impa frowned suspiciously. "Zelda, look me in the eye and say it again. Are you okay?"
Impa had always acted as a mother figure to Zelda, and lying to Impa felt like twisting a knife into her reputation. Zelda tried to meet Impa's eyes, but couldn't bring herself to do so. "I'm…" her voice trailed off, carrying any idea of her well being along with it.
"You're a terrible liar, Princess." Impa put her hand on Zelda's shoulder. "It's the marriage, isn't it?"
Zelda's lip quivered as she tried to keep herself from crying. "I… I don't… yes. It is."
Impa pulled Zelda into a tight embrace. "It's alright. Don't think of this as the end of your life. Think of it as a fresh beginning. A new start, in a new kingdom."
Zelda broke away from Impa. "I don't want to live in a new kingdom! There's still so much in Hyrule that nobody knows about!" She gestured towards the Great Plateau. "Nobody's been there since the Hero of the Wild! I wanted to be the first. I wanted to chase the dragons during a clear night. I wanted to go sand seal surfing at the crack of dawn. I wanted to ride an ancient guardian. I just wanted to live, Impa. But now, that's being taken from me." She stopped to catch her breath, allowing an opening for a few tears to find their way down her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Impa. I just can't live like this. I thought that my eventual marriage would free me, but instead it's only trapping me more."
"Zelda, calm down. I can't change your fate. Hylia knows I want to. But you need to remain strong. Chances are, you love whoever you're destined to marry. Which is…"
"I don't even know his name…" Zelda managed to whisper before sinking into Impa's arms. "I just know that he's some sort of swordsman. A man of few words. Nothing that I'll ever be able to love with."
With that, Zelda broke into sobs. Impa shooed the guards away and helped Zelda into a chair, gently putting her arms around the girl.
"It's okay to feel bad. But you can't give up the fight. Zelda, you're stronger than you think. You'll find your way around this. You're a fighter, Zelda. Just like your mother."
Zelda sniffed and rubbed her eyes with the sleeves of her dress. "You… you really think so?"
Impa smiled at her. "I know so."
Zelda pulled away and sighed. "Thank you, Impa. I must face this situation with a level head. My rising emotions aren't allowed to get the best of me."
Impa looked at her with concern. "Zelda, your emotions are perfectly valid. You can't allow them to control you, but you can't push them away either. That would destroy you as a person. You don't want to become an empty husk."
"So… I'm not required to want to enter this marriage?"
"No. You aren't required to want anything."
Zelda's mind spun with the contradictions, but she simply nodded her head. "Thank you Impa." She straightened upright, washing away any remnants of tears. "I apologize for my initial outburst."
"Don't apologize. And Zelda?"
"Yes?"
"Don't let others determine your destiny. Do what you must in order to achieve what you need in life. People can't control your dreams."
Zelda looked back at her, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
"Thank you, Impa. It means a lot to me."
-]I[-
Zelda returned to her room, hurrying up the spiral staircase. She opened the large wooden door and shut it behind her, locking it with a small key. She flopped down on her bed, trailing her fingers over the bedclothes. Exhaling softly, she stared at the fire crackling beside her. Her eyes traveled from the dancing flames, to the flowers on the mantle, and finally to the painting on the wall above the fireplace.
There were six figures, each one painted with painstaking detail. There was Revali, champion of the rito. His blue plumage was obviously the artist's priority; each feather seemed to glimmer with a luster of its own. Daruk, the champion of the gorons. He was grinning, goron eyes twinkling in the firelight. Mipha, champion of the zora, smiled shyly at her, her beautiful pink fins each full of color and vibrance. Her favorite of the four champions, Urbosa, radiated power, despite being a mere construct of paint. Her intricate gerudo clothing, blue lipstick, and pink hair provided the painting with the most beautiful colors Zelda had seen in a portrait, besides those of Lady Mipha.
There were two other figures in their own photographs. The first was Link, the Hero of the Wild. His steely expression and rigid figure gave him an apathetic looking state, but his blue eyes danced with happiness, love, and mischief. Zelda recognized the tunic he wore, a blue sort of thing with a sword like pattern on the front. Next to him was Queen Zelda, christened the Princess of Light after the battle with Calamity Ganon. Her flowing blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and blue dress made her look absolutely regal, powerful, and happy.
Everything that Zelda was not.
But as Impa said, her emotions were swallowing her up again. She gazed at the champions, gazed at the greatest heroes and heroines Hyrule had ever seen, and thought back to the conversation she'd had before.
She was the master of her own fate. And she would make sure that no one would interfere with that.
After an hour of thinking, refining, and nearly giving up, an idea suddenly struck Zelda. Grabbing a quill and inkwell, she sat down at her desk and wrote a hasty letter to Lon Lon Ranch. After scrawling out a message, she brought it to her guard.
"Get this to Malon of Lon Lon Ranch. It's urgent, so send your fastest courier. It regards the health of my horse, Frost. She hurt her leg today and I want to ensure she's alright." Zelda smiled cheerfully, doing her best to mask her sweating palms and racing heart.
The guard nodded and took the letter, nodding his respects to her as he left. Zelda shut the door again and waited, picking up a novel titled Hyrule Warriors.
A few hours passed. A few long, painstaking hours, each moment filled with a growing sense of dread and excitement. Zelda couldn't even focus on her book as she nervously glanced out the window at the sinking sun, waiting for the return letter.
A knock at her door startled her, causing her to jump and drop her book. Embarrassed by her own carelessness, Zelda called out "who is it?" to whoever was standing outside her door
"Princess Zelda, Malon is here to look after your horse."
Zelda smiled, not a smile of relief or joy, but a shrewd smile of victory. "Send her in."
A young woman, around her age, entered the room. Her hazel eyes nervously scanned the room, and she twirled a lock of brown hair around her finger. She looked a bit... timid to be in Zelda's presence, but relaxed when she saw the princess was still in her pajamas, reading a book on her messy bed.
"Your Highness," said Malon, dipping into a curtsey.
"Oh, do stand up. I don't like being treated in such a high place when I'm actually the same as everyone else around here."
Malon rose, tucking her hair shyly behind her pointed Hylian ears. "I'm here for your horse, ma'am. And I also fulfilled the other part of your request, although I don't quite understand why you need-"
"Hush! Keep your voice down." Zelda glanced at her guards, dropping her tone to a mere whisper. "I don't want them to know about it. Here, take this for your trouble in keeping my secret." frantically, Zelda fumbled around her desk, finally picking up a silver necklace with an amethyst in the middle.
Eyes wide, Malon shook her head. "I don't need to be bought, Majesty. I'll keep my mouth shut."
"As a present then. I have no use for another piece of jewelry, and you traveled all the way here to assist me." Zelda pushed it towards her. "Please, take it."
Malon hesitantly reached out her hand, finally taking the necklace. "I don't know what to say. Thank you."
Zelda smiled at her. "Now, about my horse…"
-]I[-
Frost had twisted her ankle, but was otherwise fine. Zelda thanked Malon again and went back to her room to prepare for dinner. After the rancher had been sent on her way, Zelda quickly changed into fancier dinner clothes, preparing for whatever borish conversation surely awaited her.
She ate her stew in silence as her father conferred with the nobles. Strangely enough, nobody was bringing up her arranged marriage. Perhaps it was for the best. It was still a... delicate subject. After dinner, she went straight up to her room, rather than stopping by the library or the shrine to Hylia in the depths of the castle. A rather odd behavior for her, but her father didn't seem to notice or care.
In her room, Zelda opened up the package Malon had brought. Inside was one of Malon's outfits- a simple white dress with a purple skirt. Wordlessly, Zelda slipped it over her shoulders, allowing her gown to collapse at the ground and pool at her feet. It was outrageously comfortable compared to her formal attire she was forced to wear around the castle.
Zelda reached a hand over to her desk. She was trembling slightly, but this wasn't out of fear… she was excited. Reaching into a drawer, Zelda pulled out a pair of scissors. She slowly walked over to the mirror, each footstep clattering about the empty chamber. She took one final glance at herself in her mirror, taking in the last glimpse of the woman she used to be. She then took the scissors and held her breath, snipping off her golden curls until her hair was suspended just above her shoulders. Looking in the mirror, she hardly recognized herself. She looked like a young girl from the village, standing in the chambers of some great authority figure. Nothing like her previous self. But then again, that was the point.
Zelda walked over to the champion's portrait one last time. It really was beautiful, and the champions seemed to be supporting her in their immortalized state. She also gazed at the solo painting of her ancestor, the Princess of Light. She was smiling at Zelda, encouraging her to chase her destiny, her dreams. In the fading light, the portrait looked so real, especially the device clutched in the hands of the painting.
Except, Zelda realized, that doesn't look painted at all. Examining it closer, the painting had been framed around a real object. She traced her finger over the item. It wasn't canvas, that was certain. It seemed to be some sort of stone material, but she hadn't ever seen a material like this in Hyrule before.
The device glowed with a simple design: an eye with a teardrop. The same eye adorned much of the architecture in Kakariko village, and was painted on the forehead of the members of the sheikah tribe. The eye of the sheikah. And the device... a sheikah slate, if she remembered correctly.
If she really was going to leave the castle, an ancient Sheikah device wouldn't be much harm. Better to leave with something more than the clothes on her back. So Zelda pried the Sheikah slate from the wall and turned it on.
It was interesting enough, a map of Hyrule was displayed on the screen. But Zelda didn't have the time to play with this new object. She had to act quickly, before her father caught on to her strange behavior.
Walking over to her window, she opened it and gazed out at the moon. Strangely enough, it was a reddish color, casting beams of light onto the clouds and making the night sky appear to be bleeding. But that hardly mattered. Astronomy was always quite dull, and she had more pressing issues to attend to.
The climb down was painstaking. Asking for a length of rope was far too suspicious, and she had to make do with nothing but her own strength. Her fingers grasping at tiny ledges between the bricks of her tower, Zelda's arms ached with every movement. After what seemed like an eternity, Zelda touched down onto the ground outside her window. She slowly made her way towards the front gate, the crest of Hyrule glinted eerily in the strange moonlight.
This was her last chance to go back. She could turn around now and return to her life, be married, and live out the rest of her days comfortably.
"Royalty is overrated," muttered Zelda, pushing open the gate. With nothing but her device and wits, she slipped off into the crimson night.
-=]I[=-
Anyone reading this- this chapter was recently revised after six months of creative writing collaborations and writing. I've polished up a few things, and fixed a couple of plotholes I might have missed to begin with. I also recently replayed BotW, so I'm a bit more familiar with the layout of Hyrule Castle. If you're new, enjoy the rest of the story!
~Silver
