Hey guys! Thrawn92 here with a new story! If you're new here, welcome! If you've read my RWBY/Sonic crossover, Rose Red, Hedgehog Blue, welcome back!
This has been in my head for quite a while, now. Some of my favorite stories on this site are novelizations of video games. Now, I've tried to find a good novelization of one of my favorites for the Game Boy Advance: The Legend of Zelda: the Minish Cap. However, I couldn't find any when I searched a few years ago, and that situation is unchanged even now. So, I've taken matters into my own hands, and will write a novelization that many people can enjoy.
There will be a few minor changes to make this more original, but I'd like to think of them as improvements. Example: in this chapter, Beedle is the guy giving out the prizes, and not Pina.
I don't own Zelda, Link, Vaati, or associated characters. They are owned by Nintendo and Capcom. Enjoy!
A long, long time ago…
When the world was on the verge of being swallowed by shadow…
The tiny Picori appeared from the sky, bringing the hero of men a sword and a golden light.
With wisdom and courage, the hero drove out the darkness.
When peace had been restored, the people enshrined that blade with care.
Southern Hyrule Field
It was a tranquil morning in the magical land of Hyrule. Birds of every kind were chirping, small animals were racing each other, and the sun was shining brightly. Overall, it was the ideal image of peace.
CLANG, CLANG!
A peace interrupted by the local blacksmith.
'Honestly, Mr. Smith is working now?' thought a young Hylian girl, making her way towards the noise. She was very beautiful in her pink dress, her blonde hair waving in the wind, and her blue eyes full of joy and serenity. This is Zelda, princess of Hyrule, and she once again snuck out of the castle to visit a friend very dear to her heart.
She walked up the stairs to the lone house in the fields. Instead of knocking first, she let herself in, knowing that the sound of the hammer on the anvil would -and did- drown out anything else.
She made her way to forge, shielding her face from the heat of the furnace. She spotted her target, a man with a white beard leaning over an anvil. "Good morning, Master Smith!" she shouted, getting the blacksmith's attention.
"Well, goodness me!" Smith responded, putting the sword he was working on into a vat of water, releasing a cloud of steam. "Good morning, Princess Zelda! Did you sneak out of the castle and come here all by yourself again? Minister Potho is going to be worried about you, you know how he gets!"
Zelda waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, don't worry about him! He'll be fine. Where's Link?" she asked, going straight to the point of her visit. "All of Hyrule Town is bustling for the annual Picori Festival!"
"Is that so?" Smith asked, wondering where she was going with this.
"That's right. I thought that he and I might go together. Would you mind terribly?" she asked, thankful that the heat from the forge hid her slight blushing.
Smith wiped his face. "Oh, is that why you're here? Well, Link was up late last night helping me with a project, and I believe he's still asleep…" The man thought about her request. "But I do have an errand to run at the castle… Yes, that should be fine."
"Oh, thank you!" said Zelda, her face lighting up with joy.
"Link, time to get up!" Smith bellowed.
On the second floor of the house, a young boy about the same age as Zelda stirred from his slumber. "Link, get up! We have a guest here!" he heard the smith call.
'A guest?' thought Link as he quickly changed into his clothes- white pants and brown boots, topped off with a green tunic. He looked into a mirror and rubbed his blue eyes, noticing his very messy blonde hair that refused to be tamed by a comb, as well as the pointed ears associated with all Hylians, and quickly made his way to the forge. The first thing he noticed was his childhood friend, Princess Zelda.
"Hey, Link!" Zelda greeted cheerfully.
"Morning, Princess," Link returned formally, bowing slightly.
Zelda playfully hit him on the shoulder. "Oh, come on, Link, you don't have to be all official with me, especially on this wonderful day," she said, giving him a hug.
Link returned the hug, his face as red as the coals in the furnace. They both released each other after a few seconds.
"Link, Zelda would like for you to join her at the Picori Festival today," said Smith, smiling at the two.
"Yeah, Link, come on! Master Smith already gave me permission to take you!" the princess said.
"What about you?" Link asked Smith.
"I'll be over there a little later. I have to finish up some more swords for the king. Speaking of swords," he said, picking up one he set aside in a brown sheath, "I'd like you to run an errand for me. Please deliver this sword to the castle so the king can reward it to the winner of this year's swordfighting tournament."
Link nodded and strapped the sword to his back. "I won't lose it," he promised.
Smith nodded. "Good lad. And while the two of you are childhood friends, remember that Zelda is the princess of Hyrule. Watch over her, and don't let anything bad happen to her," he said sternly.
Zelda put an arm around Link's shoulders. "Oh don't worry, we'll be fine!" She grabbed Link's hand, pulling him out of the door. "Come on, Link! Let's go check out the festival!" Link quickly grabbed a piece of bread for breakfast, knowing that there would be all sorts of food at the festival.
After a few minutes of walking, the two came to Hyrule Town. Because it was the day of the Picori Festival, the town was richly decorated with flags and balloons all over. It adopted a lively atmosphere, and the shops in the area proudly displayed their wares for the public. Many people were gathered around a storyteller, so Link and Zelda went there, first. There, they learned a bit more about the Picori- the tiny beings that saved Hyliankind from evil monsters long ago. They also learned that there is a legend that every one hundred years, a doorway from the world of the Picori opens up to the Hylian world, and that this year was the hundredth since they last appeared.
"They only appear to good children, so always behave, or you won't be able to see them!" the storyteller said. Privately, Link thought that last bit might just be a ruse to get children to behave.
"You know, my father told me that the Picori ARE real," said Zelda as they left the storyteller. "He said he was friends with them as a prince."
"Really?" asked Link, interested.
Zelda nodded. "Unfortunately, the bit about the Picori only being visible to children is true, because when he reached 16, he never saw them again. He said he was pretty broken up for many days when he found out."
They passed some food vendors, and laughed at the glares being exchanged by the vegetable vendor, Brocco, and the fruit vendor, Pina. Their rivalry was well-known, and often dangerous for patrons. Link stopped by Wheaton and Pita's and got some of their famous bread for him and Zelda to share. They sat down at a nearby table and listened to another customer telling everyone the results of this year's swordfighting tournament.
"The winner was some guy from out of town, never seen him before," he said, sipping a mug of ale. "He used some incredible techniques, and won the whole tournament in record time!"
Link was about to comment on the customer's remarks, but he was interrupted by a loud jingling.
Zelda's face lit up. "Oh, Link! That's the drawing for the lottery! I hope I won this year."
Link smiled. "Well, let's find out, Zel," he said, using her childhood nickname.
The two raced over to the drawing, where an odd guy named Beedle drew a name. "We have a winner! It's… Oh, my! It's Princess Zelda!"
Link clapped with everyone else as Zelda stepped forward. "Congratulations, Princess! You've won the grand prize!" said Beedle. "You get to choose from these three lovely prizes!"
He revealed a large heart-shaped stone, a huge red gem, and a small shield. 'Hm… what should I pick?' thought Zelda. She liked how the heart stone looked, and the gem was worth a lot of money, but she was already the princess of Hyrule. She already had access to all sorts of gems and jewelry. Making a decision, the princess walked up past the stone and the gem. "This is adorable! I think I'll take it!"
"WHAT?!" cried out, well, pretty much everyone within hearing range.
"Why would you want that ugly thing?" asked Beedle, incredulously. "Why not the stone! It's pretty! Or the giant gem! It's pretty! Honestly, they're both much nicer than that nasty little shield thing."
"Then why is it a prize?" asked Link with a raised eyebrow.
"Th-that's not important!" stammered Beedle.
Zelda coughed, getting their attention. "I want the shield. Can I have it?"
'What a strange princess you are,' thought Beedle. "Okay, here's your shield," he said out loud.
As Beedle put the rest of the prizes away, Zelda pulled on Link's tunic and held the shield out in front of her. "Here, Link! I want to give you a present!" she said, smiling.
"What? Why?" asked Link.
"Well, I think the shield would suit you! When we were younger, you always wanted something to help protect me, so this might help!" she said. "Go ahead, I won't take no for an answer!"
Link wanted to refuse, but Zelda's reason was a good one. That, and her earnest expression worked against him. Smiling, he took the shield and did several poses with it. "Oh, Link! You look great!" said Zelda, clapping her hands.
"In my opinion, I might look slightly better with a sword," said Link, blushing slightly.
Zelda suddenly remembered the errand they were supposed to run. They wanted to look around a bit more, but it just wasn't to be, so they regretfully made their way towards the north end of the town.
In North Hyrule Fields, their journey was stopped by an impassable line of saplings with a small bush in the middle. "I don't remember that being here when I left this morning," Zelda said, inspecting the barrier. The bush suddenly rose up, revealing a Deku Scrub that spit out a nut at the poor girl's face. Link couldn't help himself and laughed at her.
"Ow!" she exclaimed, running behind her friend. "Link, I know we're friends, but as a Princess of Hyrule, I order you to stop laughing and deal with this creature!"
"As you wish, your highness," Link responded, slightly mocking in his answer. He positioned himself in front of the Scrub, and when the creature spit a rock at him, he used his new shield to block the nut. Somehow keeping it's momentum, the nut bounced off the shield and went straight back to the sender.
The impact spun the Business Scrub around a few times, then it came to it's senses. "So sorry!" it squeaked in distress. "I wanted to hawk my wares at the festival, but we Deku Scrubs have a tendency to spit nuts when we speak! This is a terrible place to do business! I'm going back to my cave!" With that final note, the Scrub burrowed underground, somehow taking the saplings with it.
"What makes him think that he'll have better luck in a cave?" wondered Link out loud.
"I don't know, but at least he won't be harassing anyone else. Let's continue on," said Zelda.
The two continued their way to Hyrule Castle, where a guard admitted them in. At the castle entrance, they ran into Minister Potho, a short bald man with large glasses. He greeted Link, then accepted the sword that he brought. "You came just in time. The award ceremony will begin soon. You may watch if you want to," he offered.
Link agreed, then faced Zelda. "Sorry, Link, but I'd better go prepare for the ceremony. We can talk more after, okay?" she asked, twisting a lock of hair in anxiety.
Link smiled. "Of course we can. I had a fun time with you at the festival," he said.
"Oh, thank you!" Zelda exclaimed, giving Link one last hug before entering the castle.
A few minutes later, a few guards came out, carrying a large chest. Embedded in it was a shining sword with a purple hilt. This was the legendary Picori Blade, locking much evil away in the chest. One of the honors of winning the tournament was to be able to touch the sacred blade.
The castle doors opened once more, revealing Daltus, the current King of Hyrule. On his right was Zelda, still looking very beautiful in her dress.
Minister Potho stepped forward and, in a loud voice, announced, "Let the award ceremony commence! Vaati, champion of the competition, you may approach the blade!"
The guards walked back, allowing Vaati to approach. He was of average height, but that was the only thing average about him. His skin and hair had a bit of a violet hue, and he wore a dark purple cloak with a stocking cap of the same color. To Link, he gave off an aura of pure menace, and three triangles appeared on the back of his left hand, with the bottom left shining for a moment before fading back to normal.
Vaati started chuckling evilly, which caught most everyone off guard. "To think things would go this well!" he said in a sinister voice. "The Picori Blade and the Bound Chest spoken of in Hylian lore… This chest must hold that which I seek!"
His face donned an evil grin. "I will relieve you of its contents now."
The guards were quick to respond, lowering their halberds at the threat. Vaati casually batted two guards that came at him, and they landed on the other side of the chest, almost hitting the King.
The other two guards nervously walked forward, but they weren't going to run away. "Do not interfere with me," Vaati said scornfully. "As victor, I've earned the right to approach the Picori Blade! I've waited for this moment for a long time."
He suddenly gathered a ball of energy between his hands and sent it to the sword, both breaking it and opening the chest. A dark cloud of monsters escaped, and the force of them knocked Minister Potho and King Daltus to various parts of the castle courtyard. As the cloud departed it revealed that only three beings were left standing: Vaati, Link, and Princess Zelda. Link used his shield to protect himself, while Zelda's body was surrounded by a mystical energy.
Zelda let the golden aura that protected her from the monsters fade . "Who are you? Why are you doing this?!" the princess demanded.
"The princess with the mystic aura…" Vaati said to himself. "The power that was gifted to the people of Hyrule still flows within the veins of the ladies of its royal family? Interesting…."
Vaati came to a decision. "If I leave you now, you'll only cause me trouble later, and that just won't do."
The mage summoned another ball of energy, this one black. Sensing danger, Link rushed in front of Zelda, holding his shield protectively. "You will not harm the princess!" Link yelled.
Vaati ignored Link's claim. "To stone with you!" he proclaimed, sending the ball of magic energy towards Zelda. Somehow, it sent Link flying to the side and hit Zelda full-on. The princess shrieked in shock and pain, and was suddenly silent as Vaati's spell took effect, turning her into stone.
Vaati laughed evilly again. "This is the fate of everyone who stands in my way! Now, to find out what power awaits me in this chest!"
The sorceror walked to the now open chest and peered inside. His face, filled with manic glee, turned to shock as he saw that the chest was- "Empty?! There was nothing in there but a rabble of monsters?!"
Vaati looked like he was about to go on a murderous rage, but a cold calm prevailed. "Hmph, no matter," he said, plans adjusting behind his red eyes. "The force I'm looking for is somewhere out there. With the princess out of the way and the Picori Blade a broken toy, I can take my time to search."
The mage chuckled as he teleported away from the scene. Link, slowly losing the battle against unconsciousness, could only say one word before he succumbed.
"Z-Zelda…" The last thing he saw was a very small creature about the size of his thumb, looking at him in sadness. Then he saw only darkness.
Well, guys, I hope you enjoyed it. I plan to see this thing to completion and fill a hole in the FanFiction community. I know it's been a decade since the game came out, but I hope that won't bother too many people.
I may make some references to other Zelda games, but since this takes place before Ocarina of Time, don't expect anything too big. Definitely will reference Four Swords, but that'll be for later. I'll try to update as often as I can, but I PROMISE I won't stop at just two or three chapters.
Click that favorite and follow button if you like and want to receive updates, and I'll see you next time!