Alright, so I promised myself I wasn't going to upload any of this until I had it finished, but I'm too excited. I have no beta so please tell me you notice any mistakes. Enjoy :)
The day had dawned cold and wet, grass and leaves growing heavy and bowing down to a winter soon to come. Her horses hooves thudded on the wooden bridge leading out of the eastern gate and her breath rose in front of her face, while the moisture in the air clung to her clothes and eyelashes. It was still early and though some merchants were up and going about their business along the streets of Castle Town, none paid her any attention as she rode, dressed in a deep indigo cloak over a pretty and simple lilac and white dress. None would recognise her as the sovereign of their country with her hood shadowing her face, her caramel blonde hair braided away down her back, besides the hair at her temples which she left to frame her pretty heart shaped face. None had paid her any heed as her horse trod towards the gate, not even the soldier standing watch as he leant against the stack of crates behind him and sharing a laugh with the doctor whose premises lay opposite his post.
She had passed without event and breathed a silent breath of relief. It was not that she, Princess Zelda, was doing anything wrong, it was that it was inadvisable to be riding alone so soon after the events of The Twilight War, as it had been named. She had received many offers of companionship when she had announced her plans to go riding on her rare day of rest, but she had declined them all, wanting to spend some time alone with her thoughts. Reinstating oneself upon the throne of Hyrule and engaging the long process of healing a battle scarred country was all consuming work and left little time for introspection. After quashing many arguments before they arose, she had donned her riding attire and strapped her rapier to her waist for protection should the need arise.
Now out in the open air of East Hyrule Field, she took a deep breath of the clean, misty air and let it out in one big puff in front of her face, shucking off the weight of her regal bearing and letting a childlike smile cross her face. She urged her mare to a gentle canter, cresting the swell of a small hill and staring out over the expanse of the field. Blankets of mist lay heavy over the shallow ponds and slithered over the grasses in between, looking both liquid and smoke as a strong breeze shifted through the hollows and knolls. Her horse, Nylah, tossed her head and danced on her feet, echoing her mistresses pent up energy and wishing to run it out and Zelda let her, letting out a shout as she almost flew over field, her hood flying back. Her cloaked billowed behind her as she allowed Nylah to run wherever she wanted, unrestricted in the deserted field.
When she began to tire, she carried them over to one of the shallow pools and drinking her fill, Zelda dismounting and kneeling at the edge, removing her brown leather riding gloves and drinking the frigid water from her cupped hands. Zelda had known exactly where she needed to go in order to have the room to allow her mind to take flight. This was the largest area of the field and was close enough to the castle that should she be in danger, she didn't have far to run for safety. But Eastern Hyrule Field held trepidation for her.
Kneeling on the damp ground, she turned to look out over the field behind her. The morning mist seemed to be thickening into fog, reducing her ability to see the lip of land before the abyss on the far side of the field near the Eldin bridge, the grass and the surface of the shallows rippling around them. This place bore pain, fear, panic, loss, victory, relief, joy and a cacophony of other emotions that seemed to strip her of her senses in order to be felt more strongly. Closing her eyes against the din she took soothing breaths. The space between the events then and her presence now seemed to have amplified the shouts of fear, the grunts of exertion, the roars of pain and rage and anguish had all been absorbed into the space. Woven into the fabric of time like a thread into a cloak, to be remembered and replayed every time it was worn. But it hadn't just been her thread of fate, it had been the threads of many, all twisted and blended together. Midna, Link and the Thief King Ganondorf had all been entwined with her.
Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm. What would she be doing now? Would she have healed her kingdom they way Zelda was trying to heal hers? Zelda often wondered about the Twilight Princess. Often wished she had a way to contact her. It would have been a relief to have someone to share her burdens with, to share the successes and failures of rebuilding crumbling buildings and cementing infirm economies. To have someone who knew what it had felt like to have lost a country. To have endangered its people. To have failed in their duty to protect and raise.
But Midna was gone, and had severed all ties. To prevent a tragedy like this in the future ever exposing the strength of their kingdoms to really be cleverly disguised fragility, balancing on a sword edge. Zelda had understood. Never again could either Princess, current or future, be the downfall of not one but both kingdoms. Never again could they be The Princess Who Failed.
But Link hadn't failed. Link, The Hero of Light. Link, the quiet, unassuming young man who had taken up arms and defeated an evil before he had even truly fully grown. Zelda remembered him clearly but knew little of him other than what she had seen and experienced herself. His fierce determination and kind smile. His strength and courage, and his steadfast nature. His joy and sorrow and some in between. Though mostly a mystery to the Princess, and she mostly a mystery to him, Zelda couldn't help but feel that, through the experiences they had shared, they had understood one another. They had shared a desire to put right what was wrong. To heal the wounds and vanquish the cause of them.
Link had escorted Zelda back to the Castle after Midna had gone. He had been quiet and morose but his strength and courage had remained. His joy eclipsed by sorrow for the time being, but his drive and loyalty kept him moving. She had expressed her gratitude and admiration to him which he had accepted with downcast eyes and a nod of his head. Then he had gone, just like Midna. Back to his home, wherever that was, to heal the wounds on his body and heart, and try to live with the scars on his mind. Zelda had wanted to reward his efforts, had wanted to offer anything within her power to give to the man who delivered her kingdom, and by extension herself. But he had gone, and what with rebuilding her life and the lives of those who resided in Hyrule, Zelda hadn't had the time nor manpower to find out where to. Link had faded from the eyes of the people, but not from her mind.
The cold was seeping into Zelda's legs making her knees ache. Opening her eyes, Zelda took in the desaturated colours of her surroundings, the fog over the field now thick enough that she could no longer see the canyon, or the towering stone structure of Eldin bridge, the rocky cliffs that cradled this part of the land faint, darkly coloured areas. The fog wrapped her up and made her blind and disoriented, the land seeming to have shifted around her. With no way to see the sun, she had no notion of how much time had passed. Even Nylah seemed to have wandered off, swallowed by the murk. Calling for her horse, her voice bounced back at her, sounding somehow more panicked than it did when she spoke it, distorted by the refraction of sound in the condensed fog.
She turned to the sloshing sound nearby and relaxed as Nylah came into view, ears forward and alert. Stroking the mare's velvety nose, she gathered the reins and hauled herself into the saddle. As much as she had wanted to spend the day out of the castle, with the weather rolling in and visibility so low, even she had to admit it was too hazardous. The field felt like it spread infinitely on around her and her disorientation grew as she turned Nylah in what she hoped was the right direction for the bridge and tunnel leading back the Castle Town's east gate.
Listening to her steeds heavy footfalls and occasional snort, Zelda considered her options for preserving her personal time when she got back to the castle. She could hide herself in her study, but the idea of being seated at her desk and not leafing through and reading the papers in the ever growing stack on the corner seemed improbable and threatening to her break away. The change in sound as Nylah moved from dirt to wood barely registered as she gazed unfocused into the space between her mounts ears. She could hole herself up in the library, and place soldiers at the door to prevent disturbances. The library had tall windows where she could sit and watch to see if the storm predicted to move in really did come. Deciding this to be her best bet at maintaining her peace, she finally acknowledged that the high walls around her were not in fact the tunnel she should have passed through in order to get home. Looking back over her shoulder at the wooden posts of the bridge they had just crossed, she considered turning back, but her curiosity kept her going, she had never been this way before. Though perhaps exploring and sightseeing were best left for days when the sights were actually visible. Riding down a high walled path in deep fog that seemed only to be darkening was definitely not one of her brighter ideas, yet still she did not turn back.
Just as Zelda was starting to feel claustrophobic the space appeared to open out before her again, a frigid wind blowing through her and lifting her cloak indicating another wide expanse similar to the one she had left. If she had to guess, she would say she had just found a path connecting Upper Eldin to Lower Eldin, better known as Kakariko Gorge. Nylah slowed as Zelda squinted, trying to make out landmarks, or any marks at all in the wall of grey seeing only desaturated patches blended in, while they made their way cautiously forwards. Suddenly remembering that Kakariko Gorge received its name from the large crevasse running across the field, Zelda reined Nylah in. The last thing she needed was to walk them right over a cliff. Feeling the earth slope downwards as they moved she heard the difference in Nylah's footsteps when she swerved from grass to dirt, and working out that they must have been following a dirt road of some sort and chose to try to remain on it, roads didn't lead off cliffs so if she were to follow it they would remain safe. A sheet rain started to fall, and the rushes of wind threw the droplets into her face even as she lifted and held her hood in place.
Then the road ended. Dull thuds becoming muffled on the sodden grass. Zelda stopped and steered Nylah back and heard the shift in sound as they joined the road again. Turning to her left she urged Nylah a few paces, starting when the loud sound of hooves meeting wood echoed around them and bounced back louder. She pulled Nylah to a stop and turned to see if the bridge was wide enough to turn around on, deciding against any further exploration, and missed Nylah's sensitive ears swiveling as she picked up on and tried to locate subtle sounds.
A throaty skwark sounded at the same time as Nylah released a panicked whinny and Zelda had a split second to hold on before she bolted. Glancing over her shoulder, Zelda's heart skipped in fear as a Kargarok sailed towards her from the gloom, razor talons reaching for her. She pressed herself as close to Nylah's neck as she could and felt the ruffle of air as the monstrous bird missed, circling away to no doubt try again. Nylah galloped forwards blindly and Zelda barely had a second to try and gain control of the fleeing horse before a loud warning screech forced her to duck again. The high winds and speed of Nylah's flight had her cloak billowing and she was almost pulled backwards out of the saddle as it was snagged in the Kargarok's talons, spared only because the fabric tore and was ripped free.
The exit from the Gorge was almost directly ahead from the bridge and luckily Nylah had run straight for it, but due to the wall of fog pressing in on them on all sides, Zelda didn't know they had reached the path until she was almost etched upon the wall lining it. Nylah, blinded by fear and fog, ran so close to the stone that Zelda could feel her skirts snagging on bushes climbing up its face, she yanked the reins to the right to try and steer away but immediately came up against the same on the other side. Trusting in her mount to stay somewhat central on the narrow path Zelda scanned the air over her shoulder, searching for her airbourne assailant, ears primed for the the telltale whistle and screeching. But none came, all that reached her ears was the thundering hooves and panting of her terrified horse. The narrow passage seemed to have deterred the Kargarok from following them.
Leaning upright again, Zelda tried to slow their pace, pulling back on the reins and uttering commands to stop but Nylah was too frightened to listen, the echoing of her horseshoes against the stone road and walls tricking her into believing they were being hounded by many horses bearing monsters wishing to do both she and her mistress harm, the sting of rain hitting her as she ran the sting of their whips.
The sound suddenly fell away again as for the third time that day Zelda felt the walls open up into unseen space. The rain and wind hit them full force after being in a protected and enclosed place, Zelda's hood flew off her head and the rain forced her to squint. She could feel the ground rising up as Nylah sped onward and she pulled on the reins feeling them swerving round to the right. A screech from directly in front of them had Nylah skidding and rearing and Zelda fell backwards, landing heavily on her side from where she had twisted to try and save herself injury.
Nylah brayed and kicked, stomping and showing the whites of her eyes as the Kargarok stuttered, wings beating furiously to prevent collision with the horses hooves. Zelda watched, terrified as her horse threw sense to the heavy wind and turned as she reared, almost coming down on top of Zelda and trampling her as she fled. Gasping for breath, Zelda struggled to her feet. The hair having escaped her braid whipping her face as she was buffeted and pushed, the ever darkening fog pressing in on her and causing her heart to leap into her throat. She didn't know where she was, she had no horse, and danger clearly still lurked in the fields. Pushing in the direction Nylah had run, Zelda dragged herself through the gale, feeling more and more weighted down as the rain soaked her dress and cloak. A shifting dark mass loomed through the fog and Zelda prayed it was a forest or wood of some kind, enough to offer shelter until the worst had passed. She scrambled up the small bank and used the trunks of the trees she passed to hold her upright as she struggled through the roots and leaf litter, her skirts catching and tearing as they was still blown about her. The rain was lighter amongst the trees, beating against the canopy above and dripping down, the roar of the leaves and branches blowing in the wind was deafening. A crack from above brought the fear of falling branches and she hastened as much as she was able deeper into the woods.
Zelda stopped, leaning against a tree to catch her breath and calm her heart, regretting and berating herself for being so foolish. How could she have let this happen? Wasn't she supposed to be intelligent? She felt her boot squelch with a sucking sound as she lifted her foot in order to move on, the rain making the ground muddy and ruining the bottom of her skirts. Just as she was moving on, an unfamiliar sound caught her attention from somewhere behind her, high gurgling calls and the sound of a group of bodies moving, she pushed her back against the tree and brought her dark cloak around her so as to hide the light colours of her dress to avoid attracting the attention of the unknown travellers. In weather like this, of course Zelda wouldn't be the only sorry creature caught out in it and seeking shelter. These woods were probably brimming with hidden things waiting for her to tire and give up so they could move in. This realisation brought fear to her eyes and she moved on as cautiously and quietly as she could. She had to find somewhere safer to wait. Perhaps there was a road through the woods, she could wait in the cover of the treeline and see if anyone passed who could help her.
While the storm raged on and the leaves overhead hissed and roared, it masked the sound of several footsteps following her from a short distance as she fixated on trying to find a road. Just as she thought she could see the trees thinning, they made themselves known. Low gurgling and chirping alerted her to their proximity, turning in time to see pale green eyes almost glowing in the dark, several pairs above several wide gaping mouths, blue tongues lolling out of the sides over yellowing teeth made for eating meat and flesh. The Bokoblins had hemmed her in on all sides she realised as she turned while trying to simultaneously keep them all in sight. She eyed their crude weapons, clubs and blunted blades, trying not to imagine the pain of being hacked by them. Zelda knew Bokoblins on their own were not particularly intelligent, but as a pack they were dangerous. She drew her rapier, hoping the sight of her own polished blade would deter them, if anything it piqued their interest in her, foul beasts that preferred to play with their food, run it down until it could run no more, taunt it into fighting back out of self preservation before cutting it down.
The tension building between them as they circled her finally snapped as a Bokoblin lunged at her, she stepped back and to the side, raising her blade and using it to defend against the incoming blow, slapping the wide knife away from her and whipping across its face with the point of her blade. She saw the opportunity to run open up behind where the Bokoblin had left a hole in the circle and she took it, grabbing a fistfull of her skirts and lifting them in an attempt to make her flight through the rugged undergrowth easier. She heard the hunting call sound behind her and didn't look back, not risking tearing her eyes away from the ground in front of her lest she trip on a protruding root or fallen branch. The mud slowed her down and her dress was torn as it snagged and caught but she ran as fast as she was able, she was not made for this terrain and the knowledge and fear that her assailants were gave her the strength of a prey animal locked in the age old battle versus predator.
Zelda dodged trees and jumped over roots as she ran, never daring to slow, all the while hearing the shouts of her attackers. Looking ahead, she could see light through the trees, thanking the goddesses that she had finally found a road, and that running would be much easier there, she chanced a look back as she broke the treeline only to scream as the ground disappeared from under her feet. Trying to remain upright to land on her feet, she landed heavily on her left ankle, crashing to the ground and catching herself on her hands, her rapier dropped in favour of protecting herself. Pain blossomed in her ankle and she hissed, looking around herself frantically. She appeared to have fallen down a bank into a clearing, to her right she could just make out the opening to a road back through the woods she had just fled through, to her left a battered and shoddy hut stood. Her heart leapt in the hope of safety, but she was not given time to feel it for long as the Bokoblins began to slide down the high bank after her.
Turning herself onto her back, she tried to scramble backwards, away from the advancing monsters who were salivating at her helplessness. Turning her head as they began to circle her again, she caught sight of the Bokoblin she had cut, a slice going across his ugly, brutish face, his blood mingling with the rain, advancing slowly. She could not run, her rapier was out of reach and she was surrounded, her voice dying in her throat preventing her from even crying out for help. Fear made her heart pound in her ears and she closed her eyes, cowering away, raising her arm as the blunted blade was lifted above her head. The seconds seem to drag on forever as she waited for the blow to come, instead she jumped and cried out as a weight landed on her legs, jostling her damaged ankle. Looking down, she recoiled. The body of the Bokoblin lay across her legs, eyes rolled back into its head and an arrow shaft protruding from the back of its skull. She shoved it from her, scrambling back further into the centre of the clearing.
The enraged screeches of its fellows barely covered the sound of rapidly approaching hoof beats. The Bokoblins scattered as two more of their number fell, climbing back up the bank or else running for the trees on the other side of the clearing. The horse cantered close, turning and moving around her, dancing agitatedly on its hooves as its rider scanned the environment through the fog for further threats, bow still drawn and arrow nocked. Zelda squinted up at the rider, their head turned away from her and cloak hood shadowing their face. Was this rider her salvation, or yet another danger?
She glanced quickly over the horse, trying to determine whether the newcomer was a friend or foe, whether she should stay where she was, or if she should try to flee while their back was turned. A chestnut mare with flaxen mane and tail, thicker set than the spry Termina horses used for their speed by the common thief and highwayman. A work horse then, bred for farm labour, strong and sturdy. The mare tossed her head and Zelda caught sight of the markings decorating her forehead and face, gasping as she realised she recognised this horse. She had ridden this horse. Her gaze shot up to the rider again as he turned to climb down. His boots hit the ground on the other side of Epona and he strode around her head, steps faltering slightly when he cleared his horse and took in her pathetic appearance. Her hair was plastered to her face, she was soaked through and more mud showed on her clothes than actual fabric. Link's eyes didn't widen however, in fact his expression barely changed as he bent to offer her his hand.
"Are you hurt, Your Highness?"
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