A/n: Hi and welcome to my second... or third... Zelda story. As you may or may not know, I am hardly a stranger to ff, more or less because it's often times simpler to write a fanfiction than it is to write an actual story, ha.

I already have the sequel in mind (shocker), and it's going to be excellent, so I'll hope you stick around and enjoy this one! A couple of things to start off: I began writing this story way back in 2009 (and I'm still writing it, what?!), so a lot of stuff is written without regard to later games and theories. On that note, this has been published since way before Hyrule Historia was a thing, so a lot of the theories in here are probably no longer correct. This story is full of my own theories, as well as some canon stuff. As you'll see, some of it was true in the Twilight Princess game, and some of it is just... not. I'll generally tell you when the setting is straying way from the game. This is a long note, sorry, so this is my last thing: The story is more or less centered around Glenna, a young adult who works for Zelda, who is a shape shifter. She meets up with Link pre-TP events and befriends him before the two of them are sucked in restoring Hyrule to normal and helping Midna. Not a good summary, but that's a very basic synopsis. There are sometimes multiple pairings in here, you'll have to read to find out. Oops, I lied, final thing: This first chapter is very enemy terminology heavy, so if you're confused, look up the names in Zeldapedia.

Disclaimer - No, I don't own Zelda. Kthxbai.


The day was so young that the morning mist had not dissipated from its place over sleepy Hyrule. Fog or no fog, it depended not on the time of day; there was no way the Hylians were leaving the safety of their villages.

For a while now, a steady number of monsters had been infiltrating the kingdom. It started with the guays nesting in trees and multiplying like rabbits. Soon enough, children were no longer allowed near flowers as Deku Babas and Deku Serpents would spring from them with an appetite. It didn't take long for the Bokoblins to appear out of nowhere, either.

Then, Kargarocs settled in. Soon afterward, Bulbins appeared in pairs atop Bulbos that much preferred the sanctuary of the Gerudo Desert. It didn't take much longer for Lizalfos and other beats to settle in.

As each new species popped up, it seemed more hylians took refuge in their homes. It was only a question of when, not if, they would cease to be safe there.

The majority of wild-life (except for tiny sparrows that even the Kargarocs didn't care for) had stayed hidden, like the hylians, yet an obviously white canine streaked across the grass and sticking out like a sore thumb. A Bulbin perched atop a cliff narrowed its red eyes and drew its bowstring taut. The damned canine was moving too fast for him to be able to take aim. As it passed him, he finally realized what it was and dropped his weapon. A few of his lackeys raised their clubs and followed it, but he grunted as an order for them to back off. Obviously disappointed at the loss of entertainment, they returned to their spots with one spitting at their leader. The archer Bulbin wore a smug expression and shot a nearby Cardinal, flying away from a group of Kargarocs.

The white canine would have breathed a sigh of relief if it was not focusing all of its energy on keeping away from the monsters. She was sometimes saved by the fact that the beasts regarded her as kin. Other times, she was not so lucky, not that she had too many fears in that regard. It was simple enough for a wolf to rip out throats and claw out eyes.

Seemingly on a mission, she continued through the field with eyes set on the castle. Her skin pulled away from her mouth to reveal sharp teeth at the sight. As she came to the bridge's gate, she stopped running. She remained slightly hidden behind it as her spine began to extend and straighten. Her limbs grew with her spine, and the white fur gave way to a white dress and pale hair that cascaded down her body in waves. The sight was more than a little off-putting, and she nearly cursed herself for being so forgetful. Truthfully, her thoughts had been distracted.

While she did not mind heading into the line of fire, she was a bit tired of reporting the number of monsters in each providence. For one, it was tiring and sometimes painful. For two… the Princess never seemed to do anything about the monsters. It was ridiculous, really. Sometimes she was convinced that the Princess sent her away just to get her out of sight.

As she walked, she glanced down at her brown boots, which had served her well for a couple of years. They were still in decent shape, she thought, probably because she was generally in a more canine form. Sad to think she was more used to being a wolf than a human. She glanced up as the shouts and roars of a crowd assaulted her ears. It took her only a minute to be in the town before getting run into three times. Castle Town was amazing in that way.

She took a hard left and passed by the fountain where an older man was sitting in rags, calling out to her. The only time anyone ever paid attention to you in Castle Town was when they wanted money. Reaching into her pouch, she drew out a yellow rupee, which she threw to the man, much to his jubilation. Not for the first time, she was glad that no one was really looking at her. The dried blood on her dress might be a cause for alarm.


Small puffs of dust lifted up from the blue rug as pristine brown boots paced back and forth over it. The guards in the throne room exchanged glances and shrugs at the young woman's erratic behavior. It took a moment, but one of the taller guards spoke up, "Something wrong, Princess Zelda?"

Zelda paused in mid-step and looked at him with soft azure eyes. "I'm just awaiting the results of the amount of monsters." Then, she continued the movement. Her eyes were brooding and distant. Probably, she did not even realize what she was doing.

The gigantic doors flew open, and the princess distantly wondered why they were closed in the first place. The blonde girl staggered into the room with one arrow in her right shoulder blade and the other in one of her arms. Zelda's eyes widened with alarm as she ran forward to check on her "Glenna, are you alright?"

Glenna only smiled as she pulled out the arrow out of her arm and threw it to the floor. Her long hair was flecked with blood and liberally covered with dirt. Her skin was pale. "The monsters must have multiplied tenfold since I last checked," she remarked in a soft voice. "These," she gestured to the arrow on the floor and the one still in her shoulder, "are gifts from the monsters hanging out in your courtyard. I killed them but, geez, your guards need to keep a better eye on things. How the hell did they even manage to get in?"

Princess Zelda bit her lip. "Could you all excuse us?" She called to her guards, all of whom looked alarmed at the idea. However, with a fierce gesture by the leading guard who had spoken before sent them running. Only he, Zelda, and Glenna remained.

"It's mostly the guays, you know, the little crow-looking ones? Anyway, they breed like rats, I swear. Speaking of," Glenna grimaced, "there are plenty of those to go around, too." Zelda appreciated her friend's attempt at humor. "And it seems like more Bulbins have arrived, too. I was going to check Faron and Ordona, but after getting hit a few times, I decided to come back." Zelda approached her and quickly yanked out the arrow, earning a grunt of pain from Glenna. The princess placed her other hand on Glenna's back and white magic flowed from her fingertips and closed the wound.

"For the most part, the monsters seem to think of me as their friend, or something. They don't attack, usually. They might think I'm a wolfos. Not today, though. There was no mercy. I think those Bulbins were new to the area." Glenna mused, sort of hating how familiar she was with the behaviors of the creatures. "Don't worry, though, Princess," she added at Zelda's expression of concern. "They haven't infiltrated any villages. Yet. If you don't mind my asking, Princess," Glenna always addressed Zelda in such a way when she was trying to be patronizing, "Are you going to… do something about these monsters? Or am I getting my blood drawn for no reason?" She should have been on her hands and knees thanking the princess for her kindness and understanding, but they both knew Glenna was not like that.

Zelda was so accustomed to her mannerisms that it hardly bothered her. "Come, Glenna. Stay, Nikolas. We're going to have a private conversation. Don't worry, we won't leave the castle's grounds."

It took a while for them to climb down the castle, but they reached the front courtyard after fifteen minutes of silence. "I am concerned, Glenna," Zelda confessed as they headed for the door on the northeast side of the area. "I had a dream, and this vast amount of monsters is starting to convince me that it could become a reality." Glenna stared at Zelda as they walked into a separate courtyard that was blooming with flowers. "In my dream, Hyrule seemed to be stuck in a perpetual twilight. Large black beasts were freely killing people… and their leader was obscured by shadows. This man went off and on about his 'God', and his voice was very… raspy and chilling to the bone. Yet, I was sitting in the castle, watching my people suffer and hope for me to save them as I did nothing." She heaved a heavy a sigh.

"Then, my father appeared to me and told me that I was a failure as a leader. He said 'No wonder you've not yet taken your place as queen'…"

Glenna had known Zelda long enough to know a bit about the princess herself and her family history. Many of the Zeldas, this one included, had a habit of seeing premonitions in their dreams. Releasing the tension in her shoulders and hissing out a sigh of her own, she said,"Maybe this one wasn't real, though, Zelda," Her voice was soft and kind, a complete opposite to her behavior up in the throne room. "Your father died when you were young. If he appeared in your dream, it may have just been that: a dream."

Zelda nodded slowly. "I hope you are right. In the meantime, more of these monsters keep appearing. My people are suffering, I know it. The people in Castle Town aren't off too badly because there's so many things to do… but those in Kakariko village or Faron providence have almost nothing there. Our trade relies on Ordon's goat milk." She exhaled a deep breath. "I suppose I should visit Ordon village and see if there's anything I can do."

"Well, assuming Ordon is still sending people here, you can simply ask his clientele in town to have him come up to the castle and speak with you. They're still sending a man... Rusl, I think." At Zelda's puzzled expression, Glenna explained, "One of his friends called him that. There's strength in numbers, or so they think. Rusl is quite the swordsman, as is a boy he's brought with him a few times."

"Maybe we could enlist them in the Royal Army. Goddesses only know that most of my guards are cowardly and don't know how to wield a weapon well." Zelda muttered, causing Glenna to laugh loudly.


That night, Glenna headed home early. Zelda had bid her to stay, as she always did, and Glenna refused, as she always did. She did not understand why she turned down the offer time and time again; the castle obviously had many rooms to spare and Zelda was her closest friend. Most likely, she thought with some guilt, she should have treated the princess better, even though Zelda did not hold it against her as much as she should have.

The entire town was dark by the time she exited through the castle's gates. One of the guards nodded to her, bidding her a good night. His partner was already asleep, and Glenna had to fight the urge to slap her forehead. She glanced up at the sky and admired a rare, completely starry sky. Aware of her heart tightening, she realized she was not ready to head home yet and sat on the edge of the fountain.

Sometimes, she felt sad that her new home was not her actual home, though it had been since she was young. What made her feel worse was that she did not want to feel bad about where she lived. In fact, she knew how lucky she was with her lackluster parents. Her father had a mean gambling habit that superseded everything else in his life. With all of the gambling he did, it seemed only logical that he would be alright at it, but the opposite was true: he was a horrible gambler. More often than not, he would owe someone a large sum of money by the time he stumbled home, but he usually did not pay because he was poor.

Usually, it turned out alright. Sometimes he would come home with a few red marks, some cuts, but he escaped no worse for the wear. Certainly, he did not learn from his mistakes. One night, he lost big, much more than what he could ever hope to pay. The person he was gambling against turned out to be a dark sorceress. After insisting he would pay her back (something neither of them believed would happen), the sorceress followed him home.

He had taken something away from her, something she had needed so desperately, so this sorceress decided to repay the favor by taking something precious from him. In her mind, Glenna's father would not need what she was going to take. Really, she was going easy on him.

Drunk or no, the sorceress saw the way the father interacted with his children, the way he had so much love for them. And there were quite a few of them. What was one child to a man who had many? Snickering to herself, this sorceress had cast a curse on the youngest of his children. All of the child's siblings backed away from her, as did her father and mother. In a flash, the child had transformed into a beast. Glenna had wanted so badly to become human again, but she couldn't do it. She could not make her body work the way she wanted it to, the way it was supposed to.

In her opinion, her father had hopped on the opportunity to chase her away with a torch and a pitchfork a little too quickly. Afraid and confused, she had run off in her new body. It started to rain once she was far enough away from home, and she curled up in a nearby cave, lost. Rarely had Glenna been allowed to leave the small house in which she lived, let alone the village. As the youngest, she had been expected to do all of the chores while her other sisters got off scot free, more or less.

Glenna's face grimaced at the memory of the sorceress appearing to her. At first, she thought the sorceress had some guilt over what had happened and had followed Glenna to help. As it turned out, she was living in the cave as she had no money left to stay in the inn in the town where Glenna's father gambled. Still, the sorceress was kind enough to try to lift the spell when she realized Glenna's transformation no longer affected her father.

The spell turned out to be too much for even the sorceress, who had never cast the spell before. It was impossible for her to remove it. The sorceress could only alter the spell so that Glenna could transform at will. "You may think that you can live your life without transforming ever again, but that is wrong. For a while, your body may transform you without your consent. I'm sure that you'll never like meat without it leaking blood again. I have never done this before, child. Return to your family if you think they will accept you." A fit of anger and despair on the sorceress' part had caused this, but she obviously regretted it. "Perhaps I should've just turned your father into an Ass."

Even before leaving, she had the smallest of inklings that her family would probably not accept her again. Still, what was a small child to do without her parents? The sorceress was kind enough to give her directions and, desperate and still afraid, Glenna had run all the way back home. Sopping wet, she knocked on the door, and her older sister screamed at the sight of her. Shaking with fear, her father sat down with her outside and said, "Maybe it's best if you don't return. Do you want some money?"

Glenna still perfectly recalled her response all these years later, "Your money is what got me in this situation in the first place." Feeling a sudden rush of bravery, she had stood up and willed her body to transform.

It was uncomfortable, her first time. When the spell had been cast, it had all happened too quickly for her to feel much of anything. Her bones creaked and shifted as her organs shrunk. The world that was suddenly before her seemed so large. No longer would she have to hide in the house and knead bread. With a distant sense of freedom, she had taken off into the stormy night.

Since then, Glenna had not returned to the dreadful place, though she often fantasied about it in her angrier moments. She had stumbled upon Hyrule Castle Town (well, how couldn't one find the large town?). Telma was kind enough to take her in. She lived in a house connected to her tavern, where Glenna repaid her debt by doing whatever work for her that she could. Telma was another close friend, one of the best women she had ever met.

Glenna inhaled and exhaled a few times before she finally stood and walked down the mostly empty roads. She took a turn down an alley and pushed open the door to the bar, surprised to find it unlocked. "Telma?" A white Persian ran to meet her at the door. "Hi, Louise." It was a little funny that a feline took a liking to her so easily, considering she was part wolf. Of course, Telma did not know that. As far as she was convinced, Telma never needed to know.

While Telma was not necessarily the obviously motherly type, when Glenna had collapsed at her door as a small child, Telma had just insisted on taking her in. She had glazed over the details of what had happened to her, settling for: "My parents banished me from my village". Appalled at the way the girl's parents had tossed her into the rain, Telma decided to keep her and raise her as her own. Not to mention she had never asked why Glenna was banished.

All this reminiscing made her deaf to the rest of the world, so she jumped when someone nudged her. Telma was all smiles and the sweat still beading her forehead told Glenna that the evening had been busy. She felt a little guilty that she had been gone for so long."Glenna, honey, I want you to meet a few friends of mine." She was guided to the back of the tavern where three people sat at a table. Three very eccentric people that qualmed all questions of why Telma had taken her in without any interrogation.

Of the three was a tough-looking woman with black hair and armor. She was the only human at the table, her round ears giving her away, and the way she was dressed made Glenna wonder where she came from. Another one of the figures, a man with reddish hair and rounded glasses, had his nose stuffed all the way into a book. He only slightly waved a hand in acknowledgement. The man leaning in a chair beside him was obviously the oldest, and he was also the only person who smiled and waved at her. "Honey, this is Ashei," Telma gestured to the woman, who grunted a greeting. "Shad," The bespectacled man looked up for his book only to nod in acknowledgement. "And, one of my oldest friends, Auru."

The oldest man, Auru, shook Glenna's hand. "It's very nice to meet you, Glenna. Telma has told us everything about you."

Glenna smiled slowly. "I sure hope not." Only Ashei raised an eyebrow at this. "It's very nice to meet you all, but I'm… very tired. The Princess works me like a dog." She joked to only herself, fighting back the urge to chuckle.

Auru perked up at this knowledge. "Ah, I used to tutor young Zelda. I hope she is well?" Glenna nodded. "Good. Well, perhaps we'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams, honey." Telma called as Glenna entered a door leading to the house wing.


That night, she found herself plagued by strange dreams similar to Zelda's own visions. There were black beasts and the strange dark figure… only he came out of the shadows for Glenna to see his face. He was wearing a strange helmet that reminded her, oddly enough, of a fish. "This place will be mine." The figure was standing in a spring Glenna barely recognized from Faron providence. The whole place was stuck in twilight and black flecks were falling through the sky like snowflakes.

"Why am I here?" Glenna asked herself as she looked around. She did not worry about the man noticing her; in fact, she barely considered such an idea. It was only when he turned to face her that she felt her blood chill.

"You… why are you human? You should be nothing more than a hovering green flame." He shook his head a bit. "It's no matter, take care of her," the man called to his beasts in a voice laced with acid. Three gargantuan black beasts crawled from behind him to attack her, their arms raised in a swiping motion. Her heart hammered as she realized he aimed to have those... things kill her.

A wolf sprang forward. At first, she thought it was supposed to be an extension of herself, but quickly realized that was impossible. It had grey fur. The wolf sank its teeth into one of the beast's throat. If only she could move, she could help. At what point did her body freeze, or had it been that way the entire time? One of the other black beasts let loose a terrible screech that chilled her to the bone. It struck the wolf off of its companion, and the canine moved no more.

Glenna was mercifully awoken by Louise pouncing on the bed. She glanced at the window to her right to see sunlight filtering in. 'Already late.' She had promised Zelda to visit Ordona today, and she was already running behind. "Well, Louise, a lone wolf's work is never done," she sighed as she stroked the Persian.