Yay, new story! First full-length Zelda fanfiction!
Here's the full summary, the one I posted in my profile. I shortened it in the story summary.
"Set in the world of Ocarina of Time but slightly AU, because in this version, Princess Zelda has a little sister, the Princess Eliana. Link was sent back in time after defeating Ganondorf, but he grew up again with Zelda, sneaking into the castle every so often to see her, until he is finally awarded a position as one of the Captains of the Guard. Link and Zelda fall in love, and Eliana, whom Zelda affectionately calls Ellie, helps them keep their relationship a secret from the King and Queen. But what will become of them when Zelda reaches age and the King and Queen are furiously determined to wed her to a noble suitor?"
Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda!
Here goes.
"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams." ― Dr. Seuss
Around the castle, the world was bright and loud with lights and music. It was that time again, the monthly ball had arrived. At Hyrule castle, chariots arrived and people chattered as the ball began. King and Queen Harkinian sat on their thrones at the head of the ballroom, watching their guests enjoy themselves. They would come down for the special King and Queen dance when the appropriate song played. Down on the floor, the colors lit up the room as the women strolled around in all dresses, varying in shades from dark blue all the way to bright yellow. They laughed and spun as they made the most of the simple joys of their lives.
On the floor, two particularly special young sisters were dancing hand in hand. The taller, a toned but youthful and beautiful woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes, was 17 years of age. The shorter, a less grown and defined but still gorgeous girl, was 15 years of age. She matched her elder sister with blue eyes, but her hair was a slightly darker color, almost a very light brown. They both wore simple, silver crowns upon their heads. Laughing and spinning each other, they shared a bond that could only be shared by those as close as sisters.
The dancing and talking hushed as King Harkinian of Hyrule cleared his throat and began to speak.
"My friends and guests," he spoke in a deep rumble. "I welcome you here to this castle. I take advantage of this celebration with the intention of honoring my two lovely daughters, one of which is almost the age to be married. My sweet girls, please come up here." He smiled and held out his hands.
The elder sister looked down upon the younger, smiling at her, and took her hand. Together they walked up to the King and Queen's thrones, and they each took one of their father's hands.
"On my left, the wise, the spirited, Princess Zelda Harkinian. She will reach eighteen years of age in a few short months, and I will be looking for a suitor worthy of her magnificence." The King squeezed Zelda's hand affectionately.
"On my right, the loyal, the graceful, Princess Eliana Harkinian. Though she is of younger age and smaller stature, she matches the beauty and composure of her elder." The King then repeated the earlier gesture on Eliana's smaller hand. "I surely must have done something right for the Goddesses to bless me with not only a wonderful wife, mother, and Queen, but also my two lovely daughters. Thank you all for attending and have a charming evening." He smiled for the audience, and they continued their dance and chatter as the music's volume picked back up.
Princess Zelda turned to the King. "Thank you, Father." Before he had the chance to reply, her face widened as she grinned and released her father's hand, stepping towards the younger princess and taking both of her hands once more.
"Come, dear, sweet Ellie, I have something I wish for you to see!" Princess Eliana giggled lightly and let her older sister lead her away.
As the two disappeared, the Queen, whom Zelda's looks are nearly identical to, reached over and took her husband's hand. The two shared a loving smile as they looked out upon the partygoers and thought of their beautiful daughters.
Minutes later, they sat on one of the higher balconies of the Castle. The view was something that anyone would die for. They could see all of Hyrule from the view, from Death Mountain, to the Kokiri Forest, to Lake Hylia. They could see the lake shining under the stars, the children playing in the forest, the horses running in the ranch, and the busy people of Kakariko Village. It was the daughters' favorite place to sit.
Ellie grinned, jabbing her sister's side with her finger. "Zel, why did you bring me up here? We've been up here a thousand times, what's new to see? I want to dance!" Zelda turned to her sister, rubbing her hands with her thumbs.
"Because, my dear, sweet, Ellie," Zelda said, grinning back for a moment before looking, to her sister's concern, oddly serious. "We lost this beautiful world seven years ago, and we've grown to be 17 and 15 for the second time in our lives. I know I reversed time, but it still happened. We still experienced the fear and loss of Ganondorf's reign. I did my duty in disguise as a Sheikah while you took refuge in hiding with Mother and Father, and I was worried sick about you the whole time. I just want to take more advantage of this sight now, considering that we never know what could happen to Hyrule again." She smiled a sad smile at her sister.
"Oh, Zel, lighten up. I understand those were dark and difficult times, but no one remembers them except for the royal family. I'm safe. Mother and Father are safe. We're together again and the people are safe." Ellie looked up at the dark blue sky and the shimmering lights. "The Goddesses protected us last time it happened. They could protect us if anything happened again. Besides," Ellie said, grinning mischeviously, "Now you've got your boyfriend to protect you."
Zelda grinned back. "If I recall, I was the one saving his sorry butt more than once. Sure, Ganondorf got me and trapped me in his palace, and Link saved me then, but before that, when I was Sheik, the Hero never would have gotten as far without me."
Ellie laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that, he'll deny every word!"
"I think I can take him in a fight. I'm a Sheikah!" Zelda hissed the last word gleefully, then laughed. "Oh, my sweet Ellie, I would be so lonely with you. I don't even know where the Hero is. After I sent him back in time to relive his childhood, he has come to visit me more than a few times, as you know, but I haven't seen him recently. Where has he been staying?" Zelda mused, partly to Ellie and partly to herself.
"Who knows? He still has his house in the Kokiri Forest, Zel. He can't stay there forever though. He'll show his face again sometime soon, you know he can't bear to stay away from you." Ellie grinned and nudged her sister. Zelda turned slightly pink, but her eyes lit with playful fire as she struck back.
"And you can't bear to stay away from that suitor that you've danced with three times already! They're supposed to be for me, you know." Now it was Ellie's turn to blush.
"His father must be a dolt to send him to be one of your suitors. He's younger than you, and that's weird."
"You're just saying that because you want him to be your boyfriend." Zelda said, poking Ellie's shoulder.
"It's true though!" Ellie said, laughing. She paused, then smiled at her elder sister. "I would be lonely without you too. Do you remember all those pranks we used to play on the staff when we were children? They were determined that we should have been born boys because of all the 'rowdy behavior we participated in'!"
Zelda laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Of course! And when we snuck out of the castle for several hours and had Father worried sick! It was even more annoying for him when we came back carrying all those lizards and bugs and little animals! Oh, the priceless expressions on the faces of the staff!"
Princess Zelda and Princess Ellie, best friends since they were children, reminisced for another half hour before heading back down into the ballroom, at Ellie's insistence. Zelda picked up her light pink ball gown and took off down the hall, while Ellie picked up her light blue ball gown and followed closely, determined to win the race back to the ballroom. But of course, when they saw the guards down the hall, they stopped and composed themselves, walking majestically back into the ballroom.
The next day, Princess Zelda and Princess Eliana practiced out in the yard doing multiple things. Archery, self-defense, fencing, and running. After they spent the morning out in the sunny courtyard, they went inside, changed clothes, and went for their lessons.
After they finished, they strolled through the halls, hand in hand.
"And when he said, 'Have you got that, Your highness?' I just couldn't stop thinking, 'Oh, what a bore that man is!'" Ellie mimicked, laughing.
Zelda turned and gave Ellie a chiding but amused look. "Oh, Ellie, treat the poor man well! He tells such wonderful stories."
Ellie clicked her tongue in a tsk sound. "Oh Zel, come back to reality, would you? We don't live in a world of fairytales and dreams come true!"
Zelda grinned, but squeezed Ellie's hand affectionately. "You never know, maybe one day I will have my happy ever after." It's a wonder how she can be so playful and childish, yet so mature and insightful at the same time, Zelda thought.
Their conversation was cut short as Zelda and Ellie were approached by a member of the King and Queen's Committee. "Your highnesses, The King and Queen require your presence in the throne room. A new Captain of the Guard is to be knighted and as you know, the royal family attends it."
Zelda smiled warmly at him. "Thank you. We will come." The man bowed, turned and left, and Ellie sighed.
"Must we?" Ellie whined. "There's no point in our attendance there."
Zelda immediately turned toward her, put her finger under Ellie's chin, and raised her head. "Stand tall, smile, and remember your duties as a Princess. My dear, sweet Ellie, we all have jobs we must do. Thank the Goddesses every day that you were blessed to be born to the King and Queen, for you are privileged with servants and fine food and clothing. Because of this, we have a duty to the people, for we are nothing without them. I love you, little sister, and we must love our people too. This new Captain deserves our attendance as a way of honoring him."
Ellie hesitated, then smiled. She knew her elder sister had the Triforce of Wisdom for a reason. "You are so wise, big sister. You will make a great Queen one day." The sad smile that accompanied this statement went unnoticed by the elder sister.
Zelda leaned down and kissed her on the nose. "Thank you, sweet Ellie. We must come now, we don't want to keep Father and Mother waiting."
Moments later, the guards pulled open the wide doors, and the Princesses entered, side by side. They walked up to their smaller thrones next to the King and Queen's wide thrones, and sat down, smoothing out their skirts.
The large doors groaned as they were pulled open again, and the royal family awaited the appearance of the soon-to-be Captain of the Guard. Footsteps could be heard down the hall, and Zelda felt her heart pounding faster. Why am I anxious? It's just another member of our army. They never make me nervous, what's so different about-
Zelda's thoughts were cut off as one of the current Captains brought his soon-to-be Co-Captain into the room.
Link.
The green-clad, blonde-haired, blue-eyed, handsome man strolled into the throne room, attempting to walk as gracefully as he could. Zelda felt her cheeks go hot and she desperately attempted to compose herself before someone noticed.
He then looked at her, and she saw the corner of his lips twitch slightly upward as they made eye contact, but he also composed himself and turned his attention to the King.
The knighting ceremony began, and Zelda began to have flashbacks of those seven years of Ganondorf's reign, and her time with Link afterwards.
[begin flashback]
The ground rumbled and the sky grew dark. It was the middle of the day, but the dark clouds rolled in and smoke began to cover all the surrounding areas of the castle. The gates and the arches outside the castle began to collapse, and guards quivered as they attempted to hold their ground. The screams of the people out in the Market Town grew louder and louder until they diminished. The smoke warped around the castle and it was changing, darkening. It was no longer beautiful, and the Royal Family desperately tried to make their escape.
The guards surrounded them as they rushed out of the changing castle. They ran quickly into the chariot, the King and Queen pulling the Princesses Zelda and Eliana into their arms. Impa remained outside the chariot on watch.
"The Door of Time was opened, Father!" Young Zelda choked out, immersed in fear. "Ganondorf, he has the triforce, it's no longer safe! He wants mine! He's after me, Father, I-" Young Eliana began to sob, too young to understand anything else but her fear. The Queen drew Ellie tighter into her arms.
"Zelda!" The King scolded. "Hush that talk! There is nothing we can do anymore, princess. We must hide and pray that the Goddesses bring us safely home when this is over."
"Father, I opened the door! The boy from the forest and I, we-" Zelda continued in desperation.
The King stared at her. "You used the royal family's ocarina and the boy's spiritual stones to open that door? Zelda, what were you-" He began to rage.
"I sensed evil about him, Father, and I knew we needed to protect the stones and the ocarina from him! This is my responsibility, I recruited the boy to help me! I must help him put an end to this!"
The King grew angrier. "Zelda, you are nothing more than a child! You are coming to hiding with us!"
"No, Father!" Zelda cried angrily, surprised by her own outburst. "I have the Triforce of Wisdom, and I will stay with Impa, but you must take Mother and Ellie and go into hiding! I must remedy what I have caused! Only then will the Goddesses help us!"
"Zelda-!"
Zelda wiggled out of her father's arms, pushed the curtain in front of the chariot window aside, and leaped into the arms of Impa, who was riding alongside the chariot on her white horse.
"Zellie!" Came the desperate plea, from the mouth of the younger princess, seeing her sister gone.
Zelda turned and looked into the chariot, at her sister's terrified face. "I love you, Ellie!" She cried. "I'm doing this for you! I will make the world safe so you can come back, and we'll never be apart again! Be good to Mother and Father!"
Hearing Zelda's words, the King's face tightened up even more in anger, and Ellie cried out once more for her sister. The King angrily leaned out the window, but was silenced by the expression on the face of the Sheikah.
"This is her destiny, King Harkinian. Princess Zelda must help the boy save the world."
The King's lips drew together in a tight line, staring at Impa in silence.
"She will be safe. No harm will come to her. Please, your majesty, take Princess Eliana and your Queen and go into hiding. I will keep Zelda and help her fulfill her destiny safely." Impa said calmly but firmly.
With that said, Impa grabbed the reins, Zelda clinging to her, and sped off to where she would prepare young Zelda for her destiny to come in 7 years, when she is grown.
She did not see her family for those seven years, and Zelda trained tirelessly so that this would all be over soon, and she would be able to bring her dear sister back home.
"I will see you again soon, my sweet Ellie." Princess Zelda whispered as she bound her hair back into the Sheikah outfit, and pulled her mask up over her face. "And then everything will be as it was."
[flashback continues]
After those seven years passed and the Hero awoke, Zelda appeared to him as Sheikah and continued to play her part in saving the world from Ganondorf. After the Hero defeated the beast and the castle collapsed, it was all over.
Link stood there, covered in bruises and cuts, a gash in his arm. Ganondorf had been weakened to a near-death state and sealed away in the Sacred Realm, never to bring pain again. The magical barrier came down, and the Princess ran across the rubble of the castle into the arms of the Hero, as gently as her relieved self could manage, for fear of hurting him.
Zelda wrapped her arms around his torso, and he responded weakly at first with his arms carefully around her, but tightened them after a few moments, pulling her in close.
"You saved Hyrule. You saved me." She whispered into his chest. Upon hearing her, he lowered his head down and placed it on top of hers, breathing in her sweet scent.
"I'd do it all again for you." She heard him weakly murmur into her hair. She was surprised as she felt him quietly chuckle, then groan because it hurt him to laugh. "Although I am certainly glad it's over."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Me too. But now we need to get you taken care of."
They walked away from the rubble of the castle until they found grass, Link leaning on Zelda as they walked. When they found a soft spot of grass, Zelda laid him down and began to tend to his wounds as best as she could with what she had, which isn't much.
When she finished, he murmured a quick thanks, smiled at her, and leaned back against a nearby tree. Zelda scooted over to him, and he wrapped his good arm around her as she gently laid against him.
"You can rest for a little while, but then we need to fix all of this. Put it back to the way it was." Zelda said quietly. Link turned to look at her with a questioning look.
"What do you mean? What are you going to do?"
Zelda sighed and looked up at him. "Hyrule has been plagued with monsters and evil for the past 7 years. You missed out on those 7 years of your life while you slept in the Sacred Realm, and all the families, including mine, have been in hiding for much longer than they should have been. This is not the way it should be. The Goddesses have given me a plan. I must use the Ocarina to reset time, Link. Ganondorf will still be locked up, but we must go back to 7 years ago and erase all this from history. You, my family and I will be the only ones to remember what actually happened. We have to grow up again."
Link was quiet, looking down.
"You will still be remembered for your deeds by my family. Dear Link, Ganondorf would not be locked away if it weren't for you. Your deeds will not be forgotten."
Link looked up at her with a small smile. "Living a normal 7 years without all this drama sounds pretty good to me."
Zelda giggled. "Very well. Rest, and then we shall reset the time." Zelda smiled at him. "My sister will be safe. I can't imagine how awful these 7 years were for her."
Link pulled her tighter against him, ignoring the pain he felt. "You'll be together with her again soon."
"I know." Zelda whispered, smiling.
They fell asleep then, and when they awoke, it was time.
The song was played, and the blinding light shone in their faces. As the Goddesses began the act of resetting the time back 7 years, Link and Zelda looked at each other and smiled, making a silent promise that when they were children, they would find each other again.
[flashback still continues]
Zelda opened her eyes, and looked around. She was in her bedroom in the castle. Her castle, the place that was rubble only minutes before. It was restored.
Zelda let out a laugh of joy and looked down at herself. Her body that had previously been a grown body of a young woman was now an undeveloped body of a 10 year old child once more. She straightened her dress, not sure what to think about the sudden change. It was strange, especially since she still had the mind of her grown self.
Ellie!
Zelda gasped. She hadn't seen her sister in seven years! Kicking off her shoes, Zelda began to run out of her room and down the castle hallway to her sister's room. She nearly collided with someone in the hallway, and she looked up to see who it was.
"Father!" Zelda squealed. He smiled and picked her up, drawing her in close.
"My Princess," he whispered. "You saved Hyrule. I remember those 7 years of agony, and yet they didn't happen. All thanks to you."
The Queen ran up beside them then, drawing them both into her arms as well.
"I missed you, Mother."
"I missed you too, my sweet daughter. You did well."
Zelda's eyes popped open again and she began squirming in their arms. "Where's Ellie?!"
The King laughed and set her down, and she bolted into her sister's room. The young princess, only 8 years old once more, was sitting on the edge of her bed, taking in everything that had just happened. Eliana recalled the last 7 years in her memory, but she was no longer the 15 year old that she had grown to be during Ganondorf's reign.
Ellie looked up, and her face immediately lit up. "Zellie!" She leaped off the bed and into her sister's arms.
Tears could be seen and sobs could be heard coming from both of the young princesses at their reunion.
"Oh, Zellie, I missed you so much. Living apart from you for 7 years while hiding from all the creatures out on the land was the most horrible thing. You can't leave me again." Ellie whispered softly as she cried."But you saved me and Mother and Father, Zel. My sister, you saved Hyrule." She laughed quietly.
"Ellie, I missed you so much too. It was awful knowing where you were but knowing that I couldn't go see you or else I'd put you in danger. But it's all over, my sweet Ellie. We will still remember it, but now we can spend 7 years growing up the right way. We can spend them growing up together." Zelda hugged Eliana tighter.
Though they were both only children, they had gone through so much, and they knew that they would get through it together.
[flashback over]
The 17 year old Princess Zelda watched the new Co-Captain, her Hero, being knighted, as she recalled all of these events. After time had been restored and she had been reunited with Ellie, they had spent the next 7 years spending as much time together as they could.
Link had come to the castle shortly after time had been restored, and Zelda had snuck out past the guards to spend some time with him as they spoke about being children again and all the other strange happenings. It became routine for Link to come visit her every once every few weeks as they grew up, though he still lived in the Kokiri Forest. But now that he was appointed as a co-Captain of the guard, he would be around much more frequently. Zelda smiled. After Ellie, he was her second favorite person to spend time with.
After his knighting as the Co-Captain, he had been dragged away to get started on his training and initiation, but he made eye contact with Zelda as they pulled him out and she knew he would be around to see her later. She began to smile, but quickly composed herself once more.
Zelda made the mistake of glancing at Ellie. The younger princess was already looking at Zelda, with a knowing glance in her eyes and her eyebrows raised suggestively, grinning. Zelda felt her cheeks go hot and quickly looked away.
It wasn't until two hours later that Zelda heard a knock on her bedroom door as she sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair.
"Come in," she called.
The door slowly pushed open, and Zelda turned in her seat. Her heart began to pound as the blue eyed, blonde haired man that she adored so much slipped into the room and shut the door behind himself. Link grinned at her and opened his arms as she stood up and threw herself into them. He pulled her tight, burying his face in her hair.
"Looks like I'll get to see you a lot more often now," he said quietly. "Except for the many hours a day I'll be training the guard, but at least I'll be here."
"Thank the goddesses for that," Zelda breathed. She removed herself from his arms and went to sit on the edge of her bed. He followed suit, sitting down next to her.
He looked over at her, seeing the weight in her eyes. "What's on your mind?"
Zelda sighed, but smiled. "I should have known you'd see right through me. I was just thinking about the 7 years that you were locked away, where I was kept away from my family, and about the trials that you and I had to face, and then the time reset."
Link cautiously reached over and took her hand. "You're thinking about all the heavy stuff, no wonder you looked so serious." He got no response from her. He released her hand and scooted closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in. With his other hand, he took her face and tilted it up towards him. Her blue eyes shined as she looked up at him, and he smiled. "That's all done now. We lived the 7 years over again in a better way, with each other and with your sister. It's okay." Zelda smiled as she looked down, wrapping her arms around him.
"You're right. It's just something you can't really forget." Zelda said, letting herself lean completely into him. She knew he was completely capable of holding her up.
"Well, we can try," Link said as he brushed his lips across her hair. She tensed and he stopped, pulling back slightly. Link mentally kicked himself. Of course she tensed, she doesn't want me, I'm just a forest boy, she belongs to a suitor who can give her everything, what was I thinking-
His thoughts were cut off as Zelda looked up at him and moved her arms up around his neck. Instinctively, he moved his arm around her shoulders down to her waist, wrapping both arms around her. She leaned up into him, and it wasn't long before he was kissing her. Well, she's responding, but this still isn't right, she's a princes-
She deepened the kiss, and soon they were kissing each other with all of the pain and longing that they had felt during those 7 years and the trials shortly afterwards. They felt comforted as it was all released with the breaths they took in between their kisses.
Moments later, they sat there in each other's arms on the edge of the bed, their breathing slowing as they simply enjoyed the company.
Finally, Link spoke quietly. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-" Zelda shushed him quickly with a finger to his lips.
"Yeah, you shouldn't have." Zelda said seriously, then she grinned. "However, I don't care, because I think I wanted that as much as you did."
Link smiled, and then stopped as he thought. "Well, what happens now? I mean, your father is still sending suitors-"
Zelda groaned quietly. "Don't remind me. I try to respect them because I need to set a good example for Ellie, but I detest them." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I'll come up with something to get out of the suitor situation, but in the meantime, we either have to cease this or keep it a secret, because if my father finds out, there's no telling what he could do to you. I can't lose you now, especially after you went through so much to save Hyrule and save me. You are far more valiant than any of my suitors."
Link pressed his forehead against hers, and her arms tightened around his neck as she closed her eyes, feeling no desire to ever let go. "Well, now that we've begun a relationship, I don't think I want to stop now, so it looks like we've got a secret adventure on our hands."
First chapter finished! (:
Please oh please review, I want to know if that was good or not!
I really hope you liked it!
Thanks for reading!