Before you begin!

I'd like to say that this story is older and was written when I was younger, so the storyline might be far out there and might jump around at times. I am retyping it as we speak and pretty much revamping it as I go along. These chapters will come quickly, (I hope) since it's already written out. Anyway, this story really doesn't follow before, during, or after any of the Zelda games. It's just a new adventure that my mind created for Zelda and Link :) Oh and the title kinda stinks :/ I can't think of good titles.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda and so on.

Journey of Melancholy

Chapter 1

Like every other story begins, let me introduce myself to you, the reader. My name is Princess Zelda Alora de Hyrule and I am princess of said country. I am nineteen years old and parentless. My parents, the king and queen, were declared missing about three years ago and are now assumed dead by everyone but me and my personal caretaker, Impa. Ever since parents went out for a royal business with the Gerudos, they have not returned. The few guards that had been with them were able to report back to us about the capture. We were expecting to hear that the Gerudos themselves took my parents and are holding them captive for money. The Gerudos are a tribe of women residing in the Gerudo Desert to the west of Hyrule Castle and are known for their thievery and tend to never be friendly towards people, especially men. Although, they find us Hylians to be of no threat to them and the Gerudos have been an ally to Hyrule since my parents made a peace treaty with them.

The two guards were fully aware of the Gerudos trying to aid my parents during their capture and identified the attackers as an unknown enemy. They were clothed in black garments from head to toe and were seemingly skilled in sword fighting. My parents were never seen again and now with them gone, I must become queen, but first I need to marry a prince. I had told the council members countless times that Hyrule has gone without a King before, so why not now? They keep giving me the same answer: Hyrule has expanded in allies and needs to have a sturdy and strong king helping out the queen maintain the allies trust.

I sink down in my chair within my study and slump my shoulders, letting out a heavy sigh as I pull myself out of the past and into the present.

No one ever told me being a princess was so frustrating, not mention lonely now that my parents have vanished. I honestly have no friends. I can't have a decent conversation with anyone without them calling me "Princess," or "Your Majesty." Impa is really the only one who calls me by my real name, but she is more like a second mother to me.

I sigh again and bring a hand up to my throbbing head.

I need air… I think to myself.

I take a glance out the window. It's still early; they will let me out yet. I step out of my study and make my way to the throne room, pulling on my cloak for warmth as I walk.

I enter the throne room to find Lord Nicholas talking with a young man. Upon my entering, Lord Nicholas' attention is brought to me along with the man's. And I was so close to getting out unnoticed.

"Ah, Your Majesty! I was just about to send a servant to find you." Nicholas beckons me over to join the conversation. Seeing as I could not avoid Nicholas and the man, I reluctantly stride over to join them.

"What is it that you need, Lord Nicholas?" I ask as I come to a stop next to him.

"I would like to introduce you to Prince Damien." Nicholas makes a hand gesture to the man.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Damien." I shake his hand and stare straight into his emerald eyes.

"The pleasure is all mine, Princess Zelda." Damien smiles and then brings my hand up to his lips, kissing the back of my hand.

Damien is tall, maybe a head taller than me; he has shaggy rust-colored hair pulled back into a small ponytail on the back of his neck. His face is angular and his forest green eyes glint with something unknown to me. He's not exactly attractive in my eyes, but to others perhaps he is.

"So, where did you come from and what for?" I ask him.

Nicholas shoots me a small glare at my somewhat harsh and rude tone.

"I come from Senilis. I wish to speak with your council members about some important matters." Damien replies in a kinder tone than my recent one. Senilis is one of Hyrule's neighboring countries which specializes in weaponry. I recall trading some goods with Senilis, because although they have fine farmland, they lack the livestock to flourish there.

I can think of a few reasons why he would be coming here on a personal visit; one, to go over a peace agreement. Senilis and Hyrule don't have the strongest bond to brag about; so to say the least, both countries need some work. And two, he's a prince. He's here as a suitor. I pray that it's not the latter.

"Well then, I won't get in your way," I turn to address Nicholas, "I'm going to take a stroll in the garden for a while. I need to clear my mind of a few things."

"That sounds fine; I will send guards out to accompany you…" Nicholas trails off as he takes in my desperate gaze.

"Please, I wish to be alone and not have guards on my heels the entire time. I will stay in the castle grounds and go no further." I turn my attention back to Damien. "It was nice meeting you, Prince Damien." I smile, giving a small bow with my head and continue to walk out the castle doors.

The moment I step out the doors, guards are already upon me, but I quickly wave them off and walk on. A cool wind picks up and I mentally smile for the warmth of my cloak. The breeze whips my golden strands of hair around my face, so I pull my hood over my head to protect my hair and to warm my long pointed ears.

As I walk through the garden, I inevitably come across more guards. They stop me, but all I have to do is pull out my gloved hand and shoo them away. They continue to walk as do I. The castle's garden covers half of the grounds while the other half is training grounds for the soldiers. The flowers around me were just beginning to bloom as we enter the season of spring. The grass beneath my feet crunches with my every step and I soon find myself closing my eyes and tilting my head back to revel in the peaceful atmosphere. My attention is suddenly drawn to a faint flute-like sound. I walk in the general direction of the sound until I come to a stop at a small glade within the garden.

I find the source of the sound sitting cross-legged on the defrosting ground. A young man sits with his back to me, clothed in Hyrule's Royal Army's armor, playing a small instrument. His blonde, shaggy hair is pulled back into a very small ponytail and I figure that if he let it down, it would just nearly skim his broad shoulders. Not wanting to disturb him or the song he was playing flawlessly, I close my eyes and lean up against the stone archway, letting myself be lost in the soft song.

This is just what I needed…

The music flows smoothly, caressing every note that is played and sending it to wind to be carried through the garden. I hear the final note being drawn out before it stops all together. My eyes fly open and I see him place the instrument in his lap.

Without thinking, I whisper, "Please, keep playing…" I realize too late what I have done and I snap myself out of my dreary state to be more alert. What if he doesn't want to be disturbed? I just ruined that, but he turns around at my voice and smiles good-heartedly.

"That was the end of the song, though." He says while gesturing me to come over. He doesn't even consider my cloaked appearance, for all he knows I could be a criminal, but all he does is smile a toothy grin, his eyes sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. Even though he's oblivious to the possible danger, I take caution in walking closer to him. Sure, he's wearing the armor of the Royal Army, but you could never be certain.

"What kind of instrument is that? I don't think I've ever seen one like it." I ask as I walk over to stand next to him, but as I eye the small blue instrument in his hands, I realize that my last statement is a lie.

"It's an Ocarina." He replies simply. There's no mistaking it, he's holding the Ocarina of Time, the legendary instrument spoken about in Hyrule's legends. If he knew anything about it he didn't show it. The real question is: how did he come to possess such an item?

I pull myself out of my dazed state and continue the conversation. "It has a really nice sound to it."

"Everyone seems to say that," He chuckles. "Oh, where are my manners? I'm Link." He notices his fault and quickly stands up to address me properly, holding out his hand for me to shake. I take hesitantly and shake it, hoping he doesn't notice.

"It's nice to meet you, Link." I smile from under my hood. I'm meeting people from left and right today.

"So what's your name tall, dark and shady?" He smirks and for a moment I forget to breathe for two reasons.

One, do I really want him to know who I am? He's treating me like a normal person. He hasn't called me "Princess" yet; well maybe because he doesn't know who I am and that just brings me right back to the beginning again. He wants to know who I am. I bite my lip out of panic and hope he doesn't notice my hesitation.

And two, he's much more attractive than Damien when he smiles.

"My name isn't important right now." I finally reply with a decent enough answer.

"Uh-huh…" He raises an eyebrow at me and I know I didn't fool him. "Then why are you roaming the castle grounds? Won't you get in trouble with the guards?" Link asks, eyeing me skeptically and pocketing his Ocarina into a pouch on his hip.

"I'm more welcomed here than you are; trust me." I add in a whisper.

"I'm welcomed here; I'm one of the many guards that patrol the castle." He smirks at me.

"Than what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be, oh I don't know, guarding?" I laugh, giving him a playful smile.

"I'm on break right now." He replies indifferently while lowering himself to the ground again to lie on his backside. Link looks at me from his laying position before turning his attention to the sunset colored clouds.

"If you're on break, why don't you go eat dinner? I mean, you have to be hungry." I point out, watching as he raises his arms to rest them underneath his head.

"I usually am, but today I felt like I needed some fresh air. The castle was getting relatively stuffy, you know what I mean?" He inquires, his gaze never leaving the sky.

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" I sigh and plop myself down next to him in the grass. "How long have you been a Hylian guard?" I ask, looking down at him.

"Two days…two weeks?" He asks himself.

"How do you mix up two days with two weeks?" I laugh.

"I mix up a lot of things; trust me." He chuckles.

"I bet."

"So, am I going to hear your name or am I going to have to call you tall, dark and shady?" Link smirks, looking at me from the corner of his eye.

"I'm not that tall, you know, you tower over me in comparison." I state, changing the subject.

"Well, yes, but I don't tower over you. I'm maybe…half a head taller than you." He scrutinizes me from head to toe, making me feel warm in the face. "Anyway, what's your name?"

I sigh in defeat.

"I'll tell you my name if you promise to treat me the same as you are now." I stare at him to make sure he's listening. I know it sounds like I'm making a big deal out of this, but I'm desperate for a real friend.

"I promise you, Zelda that I will treat you the same way I am now." He says with a straight face before cracking a sly grin at me. My eyes widen at the realization.

"What? How did you know it was me?" I ask as I pull my hood down. He laughs at my shocked expression. When his laughter dies down, he responds to my question.

"Well one, you are wearing the Princess's gloves as you shook my hand and two, I recognized your voice right away."

"I'm not really good going undercover I guess." I look up at the sky and realize what time it is and I let out an involuntary sigh. "I'm surprised Impa hasn't come out to get me yet."

"Why would she have to?" Link asks, turning his head to look at me quizzically.

"I can't be out this late." I confess.

"But it's not that late."

"Try telling that to the stubborn council members. I'm lucky enough to get out here in the first place." I explain.

"Why did you come out here? If you don't mind me asking…" He shifts position so he's lying on his side with his arm holding his head up.

"I don't mind; I came out here to clear my mind."

"And is it clear?" He asks and looks at me with a soft smile.

"For the most part, yes…" I sigh, my mind wandering back to the stack of papers on my study desk.

"There you are, Princess! It's late and Lord Nicholas wants you inside." A guard other than Link suddenly yells from the entrance of the tiny glade. My head whips around to look at him and Link sits up fully.

"Thank you, I'll follow you out." I tell the guard and then glance back at Link. "See what I mean? The sun hasn't even set and they're calling me in." I roll my eyes.

"That must get annoying; having guards watching you day and night," Link contemplates what he said for a moment before continuing. "I'm not annoying, am I?" He asks with a smirk, but I notice a hint of worry in his azure eyes.

"No, you're not irritating at all. You're the only one that I can have a decent conversation with."

"Well that's good. I wouldn't want to be found annoying by the Princess." Link grins crookedly.

"Princess Zelda…"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," I interrupt the guard, "Sorry about that." I apologize to Link and stand up.

"It's all right; I should probably get back to my post anyway. I hope to see you soon, Zelda." Link bows to me and I push his head playfully.

"You don't need to bow, Link." I laugh at his antics.

"I know; I just wanted to see you smile one last time."

I hear the guard grow impatient with a sigh and I roll my eyes at him again, but walk towards the guard nonetheless.

"I'll see you again, Link!" I call back to him and give a slight wave. He waves back and walks off in the other direction.

I stride past the guard without making any eye contact and continue to walk back to the castle. I reach the front doors, pull one open, and step inside.

The throne room is empty; Nicholas and Damien must still be talking with each other in the council room. If they're planning to tell me about their meeting, I'm sure it can wait until morning.

I trudge slowly up to my room and once inside; I change into my nightgown and fall asleep with ease.

Author's Note:

These chapters will be relatively short, but there are a lot of them. This whole story does have a sequel to it and I plan to get that up as soon as I'm done with this story. Thanks for reading!