MistressOfTime1218: You all knew this was coming.
StormBlitz: Your name is Mistress of time. It only makes sense that you would idolize the Hero of time.
DarkMist: Who's he saving this time?
K-Chan: (Looks at summary) Wait, what the hell?!
MistressOfTime1218: I'll explain it in a bit. Now, to those of you that are faithfully awaiting your new chapters, I apologize. My old computer got every disease known to man and basically crashed. The one I have now, my new HP, doesn't have any of my old files, so I have to rewrite every single one to the best of my ability. Please be patient. I haven't given up on any of my stories. Bye for now! On with the story!
K-Chan: That didn't explain anything!
Siegfried slept soundly within the confines of the room he had rented for the night. The tightly woven blankets that had been given to him were sprawled haphazardly all over his battle worn body. To the left of his corner situated bed, was a small oak wooden table. It was bare except for a small map and the remains of what the sleeping knight had devoured for dinner.
The sky outside his window was as still as the sleeping figures underneath it. The air was eerily quiet, but such a thing was not uncommon for this time of night. In fact, this night was different than most. This was a rare night of peace. A night where most could lay in bed without fear of dangers coming to disturb them in the middle of the night. This was a night when Siegfried could let his guard down for the time being.
But he was no fool.
Even in what one would consider a deep slumber, the knight was still deeply on guard. His eyes were closed but his ears remained as sharp as daggers. He could see nothing, but he could hear everything. He could hear the window pane of a rustic old window opening up. He could hear the rustling of fabric as a breeze flew into the room. He could hear the tapping of fine crafted shoes on the wooden floor as they made their way to his bed. He could hear a hand reaching out to him.
Like any good knight, Siegfried could hear threats before he saw them. And like any good knight he could react to said threats in mere seconds. So when he felt a warm human hand lightly touching his back, he instinctively clutched onto the wrist it was too. He stood up in an instant, ready to attack if the need arose, but calmed slightly when he saw who was before him. It was a Hylian.
Siegfried found himself looking into two very stunned and slightly confused blue eyes. The owner of those sea blue jewels looked down to his wrist, back up to Siegfried, before tilting his head in confusion.
The knight sighed before he released his grip on the hand he held hostage. "Don't do that Link, I thought you were a bandit." He noticed the boy before him rubbing his now slightly purple wrist. "Did I hurt you?"
The elf smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Siegfried. I just got a little excited."
"Excited about what?"
Link got a playful smile on his face before reaching out for Siegfried's hand. The knight did not protest when the elf decided to drag him over to the window on the other side of the room, and he faithfully turned to a spot Link had pointed out in the night sky.
Before his eyes was a sight seen only once in lifetime. A flock of bright shimmering stars shooting around in the midnight sky. Their brilliance greatly contrasted the dark ebony glow of the sky, but at the same time they complemented one another in a way only light and dark could. "It's a flock of shooting stars."
Link smiled widely before nodding. "I've never seen them grouped together like this. And this night was just so perfect. No clouds, no storms, no chilling winds," He turned his attention back to the knight. "I wanted to share it with someone."
Siegfried turned as well. "Why me?"
A shrug. "I don't know. You just seemed like you needed a miracle tonight."
The darker blond chuckled. "You call shooting stars a miracle?"
The angel blond, as Link had come to be called, when he wasn't around of course, simply continued to smile. "Of course. It's always a miracle to see something so brilliant fall and then return to grace."
Siegfried tilted his head. He had seen Link do it when the boy was confused or unsure about something. The small gesture made him look cute and added to his overall childish charm. But the knight was pretty sure it just made him look stupid.
Link understood him all the same. "There's an old folktale told to the children in my village. It says that stars are the spirits of warriors who died defending the kingdom. They shine brightly in the sky so that the people beneath it will always know how happy their guardians were to protect the country. Legend goes that in death they protect their new queen, the moon, from the darkness trying to hide her from her people down below."
"So if regular stars are warriors, then who are the shooting stars?"
"They say that soldiers can fall in battle in death just as they do in life. Shooting stars are the warriors who have died in battle protecting the moon. The reason their defeats are so beautiful, is because they don't wish to worry the children in the world of the living. So they give them a show to enjoy until they can rise up to fight again."
"That's nice story." It was nice to hear the elf speak of his homeland. Link rarely ever spoke of his life in Hyrule without getting homesick and slightly depressed. This story seemed to make the young warrior happy, and Siegfried felt oddly flattered that he was the one hearing it.
"People say that's where I'm destined to go after I die."
"If you do, the moon will be extremely jealous."
Link tilted his head to the side, looking far too sweet and innocent for his own good.
"You'll outshine her."
Link's smile was doing just that. "I knew it was a good idea to wake you up."
The other man chuckled. "It's too bad the others aren't up to hear this. Won't they be jealous when I tell them all about it in the morning?"
The elf's kind smile turned into a thoughtful frown for a second, before he snapped his fingers in joyful realization. "I should wake them up too!" And with that, he was out the door and off to one of the many rooms where his companions resided in.
Siegfried watched him go with a smile on his face. The Hylian was always thinking of others, and he always wanted to share something wonderful with all the people he cared about. The knight supposed that was the result of being tossed around time like a ragdoll. Such a thing was horrible to go through, but it allowed one to keep both the innocence of childhood and the wisdom of adulthood. Still, sometimes Link was too innocent for his own good. He failed to realize that waking people up to star gaze, though selfless, was bound to earn him a few unwanted responses. Siegfried was pretty sure that when the elf tried to awaken one of the girls he would end up with a slap in the face. If it was Ivy it would probably be more of a broken arm. And if he tried to wake up one of the boys it could only get worse. Mitsurugi would probably slice his head in half… Voldo could turn him into shish kabob… or Lizardman could eat him…
And in an instant he was chasing after a very doomed and vulnerable elf. "Link, wait! At least take your shield with you! Or some pieces of meat!"
No. The Hylian before him was not Link. This one was female. She was far to petite and fragile. In his eyes she would never be able to hold her own in battle. Her eyes and hair were similar to his, but for some reason the knight found them to be much duller than the Hero of Time's happy and somehow wise features. Her hair was yellow, the kind of color you saw on a banana or a lemon. His hair was pure gold, the kind of flawless color the sun would be envious of. His eyes were the epitome of the sea. Bright when the day was happy and the sun was shining brightly, angry when a storm or battle appeared, sad when the rain brought bad news, and curious when the wind brought about new information. Her eyes were plain blue. There was simply no other way to describe them, and if he wasn't mistaken, they were also red and puffy.
"Who are you?"
She did not answer him. Her eyes were fixated on his bare chest.
"Who are you?" He repeated while tightening his hold on her delicate wrist.
She flinched. And before Siegfried could question her again a small ball of blue light with wings attacked his forehead. It didn't hurt, but the action greatly annoyed him.
"Hey listen!" It shouted. "We need your help."
Siegfried scoffed. "You attack me and then ask for my help? Please explain to me why in the seven hells that would work." He was quickly becoming annoyed with the situation. "I'll ask you this one more time. Who. Are. You?"
She finally looked him in the eye. "Zelda."
Siegfried knew that name. And the second he heard it he tightened his grip immensely. It was almost as if he was trying to break the bone in her wrist. She flinched and he was once again under attack by the blue glowing orb. But he had no intention of letting her go.
Link had told him countless stories of all the trouble he had gotten into over the years. All the bruises, all the gashes, all the near death experiences, and all the discomfort he had endured all for the sake of one person. Princess Zelda. Princess Zelda, who dragged him into every battle she couldn't fight. Princess Zelda, who took away every life Link, had every single time they had been reincarnated. Princess Zelda, who never let Link have a life or a special someone to call his own because she wanted him to give her a chance. Princess Zelda, who was the only reason why Link was afraid to go back to his homeland, for fear she would be waiting for him.
"Well, well, well," He hissed at the girl before him. "If it isn't the destroyer of lives."
She went to slap him with her free hand only to find that he could grab it without any trouble at all. So she settled for scowling and hissing. "How dare you? You have some nerve."
He scoffed. "I have some nerve? I have some nerve? Says the woman who sent an innocent child to do her dirty work and save her kingdom when she failed to do so." He tightened his grip, if that was even humanly possible. "How many of his lives have you ruined, hmm? 3, 5, all of them?"
She seemed shocked at his angry outburst.
"What, did you think he would keep his life a secret? I hate to tell you this, but he told me everything."
Link was a reincarnate. A person whose was destined to be reborn into a new life every time he died, until the fates decided he could move onto the afterlife. Link was not immortal, Siegfried knew there were rules and restrictions to his existence, but when he would truly die and rest in peace was still a mystery to him. Link had told the knight he found it unfair. As long as Zelda was in need of his services he could not die. Until she could handle her life on her own Link's life was not his own. The worst part about the whole thing was that Link remembered it all. All the memories of his past life, all the doubt, all the guilt, all the bitter emotions, were carried onto the next life. The Hylian could never have a clean slate. He could never forget what his princess had done to him. He could never forgive her for what she did to him.
"Why are you here?" He suddenly realized that she and the ball were the only others in his room. The object of his thoughts was nowhere in sight. "Speaking of which, where is Link?"
She scowled. "You're awfully bold to call him that. He's usually addressed formally as the Hero of Time."
"I'm aware, now where's Link?"
She looked down to her shoes which were shining a bit in the pale moonlight. However he was not in the mood for such childish games and he desperately wanted an answer. He used his other hand to forcefully grab her chin and raise it so that the two of them could see eye to eye.
"I want an answer. Where's Link?"
She glared at him, but frustratingly sighed when she realized that she had no choice. "Our hero has fallen into the hands of a danger unknown to me."
"How exactly did he land into the hands of such a danger?" If she confirmed what he believed to be true, then her hand was as good as dislocated from her wrist.
Surprisingly, it was the blue orb that answered the knight's question. "He was trying to protect the princess."
Oh. She was definitely about to lose a hand.