The Legend of Zelda: Through the Eye of the Beholder

Chapter 1

It was the middle of the afternoon when it happened. The day started out the same as most. Princess Zelda had spent the morning meeting with the advisors of her royal court. Most of the subjects brought up by her advisors were trivial matters that didn't really demand her attention. There were a couple that had her slightly worried, one of which concerned Ganondorf's imprisonment. He had been arrested and thrown to the dungeons by her father after discovering he had tried to bring the practice of black magic back to Hyrule. There was worry that the chance of him escaping would arise after Zelda's father had passed away. Despite constant reassurances that the prison was impossible to escape from, the topic was brought up daily. The other matter that concerned Zelda was the issue of her suitors. As per tradition, Zelda could only assume the throne as Queen of Hyrule only after she had married.

Princess Zelda was a beautiful girl, just past the age of nineteen. Her complexion was a soft, smooth white much like the pale moonlight. Her eyes were a deep blue, resembling sapphires glistening in the sunlight. Her hair was past shoulder length, shining a bright golden brown that was braided in the traditional style. The dress she wore was a typical royal garment. A mixture of purple and pink which complimented her slim figure perfectly. In no way flawed, yet a constant bother for her. Most of Princess Zelda's suitors were after her for her status and her beauty. None of them cared about the intelligence or wisdom she had carried with her through her life in the castle.

Despite these worries, Princess Zelda did not let these things ruin her outlook on life. Shortly after eating lunch, she decided to take the afternoon for herself. The morning had started out sunny with no clouds. As the day progressed, clouds had moved in from the south, bringing with it the threat of rain. Taking the dimming sunlight and cooler temperature in mind, Zelda decided to sit in her gardens before the rain started. Despite the frustrations of life in court, there was one thing that she was happy for.

Even though her contact with the land outside of the castle was limited, she still had a friend.

Through the years since she was a little girl, she's held onto a friend since that fateful day they met. A young boy about her age, clad in a green tunic and a look of determination on his face, with ragged blonde hair and blue eyes much like her own. His look was young, but his stance reflected a lifetime of experience and battles no man should ever witness. Upon their first meeting, he recanted a tale of vast proportions involving himself, her, and Ganondorf. Her initial fears of the Gerudo came to full circle as he explained how he went along with her plan to beat him to the Triforce. As well as how it backfired and created all types of hell and chaos that he had to deal with. After hearing his tale, Zelda quickly warmed up to him and ever since then, they have been friends. They usually met by the fountain in the Royal Garden where she waited now for her friend to arrive.

She was not disappointed.

After roughly ten minutes of waiting, Zelda could hear the tell-tale thumping of his leather boots hitting the ground. One of the things that normally slowed him down was sneaking past the guards. He rarely got caught, yet even when he did, he was out and about within a matter of hours. Upon looking in the direction of the sound, Zelda was greeted by the sight of her friend. Despite aging, he still wore the same green tunic that he sported when he was younger. It was lengthened to accommodate his growth, but remained relatively unchanged. He walked over to her and took a seat next to her on the edge of the fountain. Placing his sword and shield on the ground next to him, his back flooded with pleasant relief as he looked over at the Princess and smiled.

Zelda returned the smile as she asked, "What took you so long, Link?"

He shrugged his shoulders before replying, "The guards have doubled their patrols, so I had to take the long way around."

Zelda laughed a little at his reply. "I was worried it would start to rain before you arrived." Looking up at the sky as she finished her sentence, she saw a flash of light above them.

Link chuckled as he said, "I'll keep that in mind in the future." Zelda smiled, looking up again to see if it had started to rain.

That was when she saw it.

As she looked into the sky, she noticed something above them. It wasn't a bird, she knew that much. Pointing her finger upwards towards it, Zelda asked, "Link, what does that look like to you?"

He looked up and tried to see what she was pointing at, but couldn't make it out. "I don't know, but I think we should move... now!" Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up and over to a nearby rose bush.

Feeling the wind rushing past him, he awoke with a start. Looking around, he quickly realized he was falling. He took notice of a castle below him, as well as a garden full of all types of flora and fauna. By the fountain, he saw several bushes and trees. Figuring his best chance of survival, he opened his coat and guided himself towards a large oak tree. As he drew closer, he lined himself up with the oak tree and slowed his descent using his coat as a makeshift parachute, but not slow enough. He closed his eyes as he made contact with the tree and began falling through it. Breaking some branches and bouncing off others, he shouted and grunted in pain with each hit until he finally hit the ground. He remained face down in the grass as his hat drifted down and gently landed next to him.

Link and Zelda just looked on in surprise at their newly arrived guest lying face down in front of them. He was slightly taller than Link, yet had a slimmer build. He had a complexion much like Link's, but more weathered. He looked older than the duo, but not by much. His dark brown hair was covered in leaves and blood, which ran down his face. He was wearing a large leather surcoat covered with all types of patterns embroidered into it. On the back of the caplet attached to the coat was an embroidered dragon's head. The hat next to him was a large wide brimmed hat that was flat around the entire brim with a leather belt around the center that split into two directions in the back. Both the hat and surcoat were as black as night, but the wearer was a tanned white.

Link and Zelda stepped closer to get a better look at him. Zelda looked at his face while Link flipped him over. Inside the surcoat, he was wearing a dark blue shirt with a wolf on it, as well as a pair of black pants and black embroidered boots. Around his waist was a belt which held two swords on his left side. The blades were thin with a slight curve, and both had black bound hilts. One blade was shorter than the other, but upon pulling them out slightly, both had a symbol engraved by the hilt. A wolf's head on top of a pair of crossed swords, similar to the ones he was looking at.

Link pulled out the shorter blade and asked Zelda, "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

Zelda looked at the sword carefully before responding, "I can't say I have. The symbol by the hilt seems like an identifying mark of some kind. Of what, I don't know."

Link placed the sword back into its scabbard as Zelda said, "We'll need to get him inside, that fall did some damage."

"You can say that again..."

Both Zelda and Link jumped as the stranger responded. As they backed up, he put both hands on the ground and pushed himself up.