So, before I confuse anyone, this story takes place after the events of Twilight Princess, under the assumption that there was a second invasion by the Twili. Enjoy!
War was inevitable.
It seemed, that throughout the ages, it was all Hyrule had ever known. Yet, here she was, the Queen of Hyrule, Zelda Harkinian, standing tall and proud, despite the circumstances. She stood at the entrance of her castle courtyard with Link, the head of her army, waiting for the remaining soldiers to file in.
"General," she said, eyes shining with icy solitude. Beneath them, Link knew, lay a burning passion for her people, a love for her country. They were going to be married, supposed to be by now, really, but war had taken that away from them. She had to be strong now; they both did, for the good of Hyrule. The queen put a dainty hand on his shoulder, a reassuring hand that had, no doubt, been there for him many times. He turned to her, wanting to smile, to show her that he was there for her too, but couldn't. After all, how could he tell her that it was going to be alright when it was a predetermined battle from the start? The forces of Twilight… They were out of this world, to say the least. Zelda understood, could tell that this may very well be the last time she saw him. "Fight well today." She walked away. What else could she say? The Twili were strong. Too strong. Feeling tears prick her eyes, Zelda stepped up to the pedestal to address her army. His army. Their army.
Unfair. It was all just so unfair. They were going to be married, Link and her. They had their whole life ahead of them. But they didn't break the mirror. That cursed mirror, the Mirror of Twilight. They left the portal open, as a way to keep the two worlds joined. But then Midna, former princess of the twili died. She was assassinated by her people for leaving them, for abandoning them in their most desperate hour. The people hated her, became vengeance-seeking murderers. And they took it out on Hyrule, invading the land, raiding the towns, ravaged the land, turning every Hyrulian they found into the mindless shadow beasts. They wanted revenge, believed it was Hyrule's fault for the state they were in. Desperation made them insane. Of course, they had previous grudges against the goddesses' land too. They were the banished people, kicked out of the land they once loved, cast aside by the goddesses. They were made to suffer in Twilight, made to be cursed for all eternity. But then they found the portal. The portal that would lead them back to the land of Hylia. They had been few at first, not enough to worry about, to call serious attention to. Slowly, they began to spread across Hyrule. Soon, the desert province was infested, then Lanayru, all the way down to Ordona . That was when Link proposed to her. His hometown destroyed, loved ones murdered at the hands of the Twili and Shadow Beasts, he joined Zelda in Hyrule's Castle Town. She would be the only family he had left. He would be the only family she had left. They had been seeing each other every day – Link stayed in the castle now, as he was the leader of her army - grown to love each other over the months after the Twilight War, enjoying each other's company until the Twili invaded again. They didn't have much time; it was only a matter of weeks before the Twili would have surrounded the castle. He trained the civilians as best he could, alongside any Gorons and Zoras Hyrule could spare.
Zelda watched Link for a few seconds. Brave, kind, caring Link… If he survived – No, she couldn't think like that. Link would survive. They'd get married, rule over Hyrule together, and live happily ever after. Or, at least, as happy as you can get in a war-struck land, where your every move means life or death.
Out of the corner of his eye, Link saw Zelda, patiently waiting for him to assemble the army.
"ATTENTION!" he barked over the constant murmur of nervous soldiers. The whispers ceased immediately, and all the military men and women – it wasn't customary to have women fight in the army, but with so few numbers, Zelda had no choice but to enlist them – stood tall and rigid. The mass saluted their Queen and silently waited for her to give them their pre-war motivation speech.
Zelda cleared her throat, assuming a cold, stoic expression. Her gaze swept across the courtyard, memorizing the hundreds of apprehensive faces she saw. Young, old, Hylian or Zora, they were here to serve their country. The thought made Zelda swell with pride before the feeling was crushed by dread. There had to be, at least, a few thousand personnel here. Most, if not all, were about to die. It was impossible to meet the massive numbers of the Twili army and the amount of Shadow Beasts that majority of the Hylians had been turned into. It was a doomed battle from the start, a last-ditch attempt to reclaim Hyrule. Impossible. Against all the odds. Hopeless.
"Honourable citizens of Hyrule. In this time of great need, I commend you for your bravery in stepping into the army. Some of you are old, from the time of the first Shadow Invasion," - A few soldiers shifted around a little in acknowledgement – "but most of you new. General Link has trained you well, prepared you for the upcoming battle. As I speak, the forces of Twili are making their way over to our castle. They will fight viciously, fueled by rage and hate, and I have to be honest with you." Zelda paused, taking a deep breath. Her glance shifted to Link, who gave her an affirmative nod, and continued. "Joining this army was a death wish. They are strong and large in number, but those of you that die, will die a hero."
The people muttered amongst themselves in disbelief. Never had they heard their Queen talk so pessimistically. Not when her parents died and the burden of being a ruler was thrust upon her, not when the Twili war began, not ever.
"I'm not going to lie, and tell you that this will be easy. The twili are unlike anything you have ever seen. It is imperative that you understand that, but," Zelda's gaze softened and she motioned for Link to join her. He climbed atop the stairs to the pedestal and stood at her right side. She laced her fingers between his, smiling at him briefly, and lifted their arms up so the army could see. "We can together. If we fight as one, we can win, we can defeat the twili, we can do this." The Triforce markings on their hands began glowing, lighting up the gloomy courtyard. The golden light emanated hope, created an optimistic feeling in the hearts of the army.
Link, with renewed pride, beamed at the army. Feeling courage bubble inside him, he yelled, "Long live Hyrule!"
The crowd roared in applause, chanting "LONG LIVE HYRULE! LONG LIVE HYRULE!" It was unlike anything Link and Zelda had ever experienced. Gratification filled the two before the weight of reality fell on them again.
Zelda faced Link, quietly whispering so that the pre-occupied others didn't hear her, "I love you. Just – just don't die out there, please. Promise me you won't die?" She felt the tears return, daring to spill from her eyes.
Link sighed sadly, drawing Zelda into a hug. She buried her face in his shoulder, letting a few tears fall from her pale blue eyes. "You know I can't promise you that. I wish I could, but I can't. I'd be selfish to leave my men to fight alone. They need everyone that we can spare."
Zelda chocked on a sob. There was an explosive sound in the background, and all courage and high spirits drained from Hyrulians.
"The castle," Link breathed under his breath. "They got here sooner than we anticipated."
"Link –" Zelda began, wanting to plead with him to stay, or at least to not do anything hasty.
"Hylian ranks, assemble!" The soldiers filled into pre-determined formations, grouping off so that the skill level was equally spread. Link continued, "And charge!" The servicemen and women marched out into Hyrule Field, valiantly. Link turned to Zelda one last time. "I love you," he said, kissing her gently on the cheek. "I love you. Never forget that." With that he ran after the army, ready to join them in the fight for Hyrule. They were met with the mass numbers of Twili, surrounding the castle, as Zelda predicted.
The twili charged instantly, fighting barbarically. Link stood in a horrified stupor for a few seconds, watching how easily his army was falling. He heard the horrifying screech of the Shadow Beasts and snapped back to action. He had to protect the castle. He had to protect Hyrule. He had to protect Zelda.
It went on for hours. The fighting, it never stopped. The blood, it drenched Link's tunic, making the floor slick and crimson. The bodies, they piled up, lying motionless on the ground. The Twili, never ending.
The Hyrulian's had gotten close to winning once. That was, until the Shadow Beasts brought back their dead with their death cry. The fallen Twilight troops rose, over powering and outnumbering the remaining Hyrulians quickly. All hope was lost, Link realized. He had one thing left to cling to: The hope that Zelda was going to be alright. Despairingly, Link thought about Midna. She would be so angry right now, had she been alive. He laughed dryly at the memory of her stubbornness and temper. He was tired and alone. His fellow warriors had long since fallen, but he willfully refused to go down just yet. There was a sharp pain in his abdomen and Link realized he was finished. He looked down long enough to see a Twili man pull a long blade back out. A horrible burning sensation over took Link. Vaguely, Link remembered restoring that Twili back to his true form with the Sol while he was in the Palace of Twilight. He coughed, blood landing on his attacker. The man looked disgusted, and began, what Link assumed to be, cursing, in Twili. With a pained groan, Link dropped to his knees.
"I'm sorry Zelda…" he rasped aloud. The battle scene smeared together in fading conscious, images of gray and black blurring together. He shut his eyes, picturing Zelda. He saw her smile, her beautiful auburn hair, pristine cerulean eyes. "I'm so, so sorry…"
He absentmindedly hoped for this to just be a bad dream, for him to wake up with Zelda in his arms. But he couldn't, he knew. Because this was war. And there was no time for dreams in war, no time to hang onto false hopes and wished. The sharp pain began dulling and Link knew he didn't have much time left. Weakly, he lifted his left hand up, examining the Triforce marking. Three letters in war, three pieces in the Triforce. Link laughed again. Everything. Everything had to do with war. It was everywhere, seeping across the land like poison. He couldn't push it from his mind, and instead chose not to. Guilt began to eat at him, and Link prayed to the goddesses for forgiveness. Seconds after, Link felt nothing. Numbness, he thought. His surroundings faded away and he saw Zelda again.
Link smiled. She had waited for him. No, he hadn't been able to save her, but now he would guard her forever. He would protect her, love her, keep her. He had fought for her, tried his hardest, and it paid off.
After all, in war you fight for what you love, what you hold dear. Link smiled. He fought for Zelda. He fought a war.
To those of you who read Mirror of Light, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. Its a long story, so just check out my profile as to why I haven't been.
That aside, how do you like this? The idea for this one-shot was inspired by Move Like A Soldier by Kristina Maria. I think that song is terribly underrated, and I thought I'd do it a little justice. So like this? Hate it? Let me know in the comments! See you guys later :D