Identity Crisis
By: blondie91
The late evening carried with it a cool breeze that hinted at the first falls of night. A full moon shimmered brilliantly in the sky and in the nearly deserted market place there strolled a cloaked form moving deftly on bare feet around the twists and turns of the alleyway.
The mysterious figure skipped gracefully over the sprawled legs of a sleeping homeless person and intentionally dropped something at his side. This something let loose a gentle chink that reminisced of rupees.
Chapter 1
Nightly Swim
The full moon's light flickered brightly across the lake's surface as a lone figure, clad in the dark protection of a cloak, paced beside its banks.
"This is ridiculous. She should be weak enough…" echoed the cool, lilting voice of a female as the mysterious person talked to herself.
Silence followed this thought.
"Hmm…maybe it's time I did something drastic. Keeping her active on nightly missions certainly doesn't seem to be doing the trick. Nearly drowning the girl might do it, but it just seems too risky…but then again, she'll be worn out while my strength is kept in reserve to save her body for further use."
The girl laughed bitterly as she shed the cloak to reveal long, golden blonde hair, a slender figure, and a thin pale pink nightgown that did little to fend off the night's chill. She shivered and took one step into the lake's cold water, and then another without hesitation. Soon her bare feet no longer touched bottom and her arms extended gracefully as she swam for a pillar in the middle of the lake.
Using the pillar as a way to lower herself deeper into the water, she did so without taking a breath and soon made it several feet under the surface. She purposely took the corner of her gown and managed to get it snagged snugly into a crevice so that escape would be difficult. And that was when something happened.
The look of maliciousness in the girl's sapphire blue eyes faded, replaced by a look of fear. The girl thrashed around suddenly, and though unsure of how she got into this predicament, her mind was set on one thing and one thing only: air.
Water flooded into her body and filled her lungs, squeezing the life from her as she hopelessly struggled. She realized her nightgown was caught on a rock and tried to rip it free, but to no avail. She took firm hold of the cloth and planted her feet in the pillar's side as she tugged with the little strength left in her. The cloth finally ripped and she made a break for the surface.
Her vision clouded as darkness closed in, but she faintly made out the outline of another figure near her and felt strong arms envelope her numb body.
She would never make it to the surface in time, not before she passed out. Yet, suddenly, her head broke the surface in a great whoosh and then she blacked out.
She awoke not but a few moments later to find a warm set of lips on hers accompanied by the uncomfortable pumping of arms on her chest. She fought against whoever it was and rolled away, only to spew water as a result of this process. When she felt sure she was done, she turned to face who she only assumed could be her rescuer.
"L-link?" her teeth chattered as she spoke with genuine surprise.
He nodded seriously. His hair was matted down from his swim and the customary green tunic he wore was soaked through. She did not even want to know what she looked like right then.
"What were you thinking?" he asked angrily.
"I-I…" she began, but he cut her off.
"And what were you doing here anyway, Princess?"
She shakily rose to her feet. "I don't know, Link. I-I…just don't know," she said as a tear drop fell from her eye to mingle with the other water droplets sprinkled on her pale skin.
"Zelda, why would you try to kill yourself?" The anger had left him, of this she was relieved for, but he seemed scared, almost as much as she was.
Princess Zelda shook her head. "I didn't…I don't even know how I got here…Look, Link, where have you been?"
"Away," he replied bluntly while pulling her to her feet. He picked up her cloak which had not been left far from them and draped it around her small, trembling form.
"For five years you went away?" Zelda's teeth chattered in the process.
"Yes, now let's get you back to the castle before you get sick," and with that Link gave vent to a shrill whistle that was immediately succeeded by a rhythmic hoof beat and soon after that, the majestic Epona came into view and stopped alongside the two.
The princess found she was too weary to protest as he hoisted her up onto the horse and mounted behind her. "Maybe some other time I'll explain…" Link added as he tightly squeezed the animal's sides.
The trip back to the castle was a blur to Zelda and she almost thought she recalled Link entering through a secret passage on the battlements that surrounded Hyrule Castle Town, one she did not know about and then she was enveloped in an intense warmth as the comfort of her familiar bed enveloped her and sleep quickly overcame her few functioning senses.
xxxxx
Bright sunlight flooding the room woke her the following morning, and with her return to consciousness came the abrupt memories from the night along with a sharp sneeze. When she stiffly pushed the blankets off and found herself to no longer be wearing the same nightgown she had had on, she found her cheeks turning a bright pink when she realized the last person she remembered was Link.
"I know what you are thinking, Princess, but he left the instant he turned you over to my care," the voice of her caretaker, Impa, reached her pointed ears from the doorway.
She looked up to meet Impa's dark eyes and said, "Did he say anything at all?" her voice had taken a slightly annoying nasally quality to it and another sneeze flared from her nostrils.
"You mean about how you tried to kill yourself and how you need to be watched more carefully?" Impa snapped, her normally calm exterior gone momentarily. "Why yes he did."
"Th-that's not what happened," Zelda stammered, completely taken aback by her mentor's harshness.
"Then what did, Princess?" Impa closed the door behind her and fixed Zelda with an icy glare.
"I-I don't remember…" she cowered under Impa's gaze and stared down at her feet.
"You're telling me that for a girl who sees prophetic visions of the future, you can't remember what happened just last night?" Impa hissed. "Or is this just out of convenience? Is there something that you have kept hidden from me because if so, you have kept up a mighty fine pretense of being happy with your life."
Zelda was at a loss for words and Impa continued on her tirade when she found the girl had no response beyond yet another sneeze, "At least tell me that if your original intention was not to kill yourself, then what were you doing at Lake Hylia? Please assure me that you are not the careless person I had never thought you were."
"No, I had no intention…I don't even know how I got to the lake…my father doesn't know, does he?"
"Not yet, but he soon will if you do not supply an adequate response to my questions."
"I just need time to think…"
"How much time?"
"A few…days," Zelda stated hesitantly.
Impa nodded, "Fine, but if I ever hear of you carrying out anymore self-destructive actions, I will kill you myself."
The threat itself was obviously not true, but the underlying tone of menace was evident. "Yes ma'am…" Zelda muttered in reply.
"Your father wishes to speak with you later, by the way, whenever you are ready" Impa said, "and there's a bath waiting for you. I advise that you take it; you're beginning to smell strongly of fish."
Zelda tossed a pillow at her for this rude comment and her caretaker easily ducked out of harm's way and departed from the room. Zelda shook her head and stiffly climbed out of bed and walked into her adjoining bathroom where she stripped and climbed into the warm water. How Impa had known when to start preparing a bath for her, Zelda did not know, but she was certainly not about to complain, especially with the cold she had developed.
With her body feeling at ease, however, it became time to sort through the jumbled tumult her mind had become. Where she should have remembered venturing all the way out to the lake, there was only a blank void…and this was not the first time something similar to this had happened, though nothing from before had been to such a dangerous degree. There had definitely been times when she had awaken in the middle of various places, with no idea as to what she was doing there. One time she had even found herself in Lon Lon Ranch, crouching in the shadows and waiting for who knew what. If Link had not been there that last time though…She shuddered to think of what could have happened.
With Link the new focus of her thoughts, she recalled his lips pressed against hers. He might have just been trying to save her, but…it just seemed so odd for him to turn up after all those years and walk across her in need of some help. She was very lucky indeed.
After she had sent everything to before Ganondorf's awful reign, Link had become depressed and forgotten. After three years he could not seem to remain satisfied staying anywhere and then he had disappeared without a word…and now that they were eighteen, here he was again. It warmed her heart to know he was back, after all she considered him a friend, but she wished to know more of his experiences. And, as embarrassing as it might be given everyone else's current thoughts on the situation, to thank him for what he had done the previous night.
She eventually submerged her hair into the water and came back up, grabbing a nearby brush as she prepared to wage war on the tangles she knew she would find there.
xxxxx
Once she was ready she made her way downstairs. She had had a maid come in to braid her wet hair and wore a simple, but pretty, blue dress that had the intent of complimenting her eyes.
Rounding a corner of the many hallways that could be found in Hyrule Castle, Zelda found herself bumping heads with Link. Both staggered back and Zelda mumbled an "Ow."
"It is good to see you up and about, Princess," Link said curtly, clearly trying to pass by her.
She moved to block his way, however. "I want you to talk to me," she said.
"Maybe later."
"Now seems as good a time as any," Zelda pointed out.
"I have things to be doing," he snapped.
"I doubt they are so pressing that they have to be done this instant."
Link sighed in defeat, "All right, what do you want to know?"
"After all this time…why now have you decided to come back to Hyrule?"
"That I can't answer, but I will tell you that Impa has offered me refuge here for a few days."
A startled expression streaked across Zelda's face, "Really? She's letting you do that?" She told me you had left…
"It was the least she could do in payment for my saving you last night," Link smirked and easily brushed past her.
Zelda turned and stared after him…She would not have been so concerned with getting answers, but something had to be wrong. He was hiding something and that something was what had brought him back to Hyrule, a place he had once seemed so eager to forget.
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Well, hopefully I'm not wrong to be excited about this fic but really what I'm looking to do with it is improve my writing, especially in comparison to my other fanfics. I'm going to try to get as much done before August when my schedule really starts to get hectic, but for now an update will come every Sunday night unless something happens to my computer so yup. Welp, thanks for reading!
-blondie91
Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Zelda, never have and never will.