The Legend of Melody

Yes, I rewriting this again, but you know what they say—third times the charm.

Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda or any of that stuff. Any of the creatures or characters that are from the games aren't mine. Most of the people in this story are mine, but a few of the original characters will make an appearance.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Zelda universe, the island Intrepido does not exist outside of this story.

Prologue

Legend has it that long ago there existed Golden Power. This Power lay hidden away deep within the land of Hyrule. One day a man of Great Evil found the Power and took it for himself. The man's power grew over the next seven years. Then a boy dressed all in green appeared. He wielded the Blade of Evil's Bane—the Master Sword. He battled this Great Evil and won. This boy had the power to travel through time and so he came to be known as the Hero of Time. A hundred years passed and the Great Evil returned. The people thought the Hero of Time would save them, but he did not appear. Unknown to the people of Hyrule, the Hero of Time had left the kingdom to fight evil elsewhere. The people managed to form an army to fight against this Great Evil, but not before he had nearly taken over control of the land. There has been continual war raging in Hyrule ever since. And, even to this day, the Hylians are still waiting for their Hero to come back and save them.

Intrepido, a large island located a week's voyage away from Hyrule, has its own legends about the Hero of Time. One of these legends states that the Hero of Time visited this island. Since then it has been a custom in a certain family to name their first-born son Link. And all across the island it became a custom to train young boys in the ways of the Hero when they came of age. Now the legend of the Hero continues…

Chapter One

Melody wiped away her tears with the back of her sleeve. How could something so horrible as this happen so abruptly? How? There hadn't been any signs whatsoever. The catastrophe had happened without warning. She sniffed softly. They couldn't be dead, they just couldn't. But there was no escaping that fact; her mother and baby brother were dead.

Her mother, Sofia—the golden-haired, sea blue-eyed, kind lady everyone loved—had died in giving birth to her brother and, to top off the disaster, the baby had died just minutes after birth. Melody's shoulders shook as she fought off another sob. The breeze playfully blew a lock of her blond hair into her cerulean eyes, which flickered with grief. She absently tucked it behind her ear, not taking her eyes off of the tombstone. Just hours earlier her mother and her brother had been buried here, but it felt like an eternity. The entire village, numbering close to forty people, had been at the funeral to pay their respects to them; Sofia was loved by all. She had always had time to stop and chat with people, no matter how busy she was. She was kind to everyone she met and she was the best cook in the entire village. Sofia had never thought about herself, only others. A tear trickled down Melody's cheek and splashed onto the ground. She sniffed and knelt down next to the grave.

"Why?" she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "Why now? Why them?" She placed the red rose she was holding next to all of the other flowers. "Why…?"

Melody turned as she heard footsteps behind her. An eleven-year-old girl with curly brown hair stopped next to Melody. Her large brown eyes met Melody's blue ones. "Father told me to come and get you," the girl said softly. She sighed sadly and glanced at the grave. "Dinner's almost ready."

Melody nodded and grabbed the girl's hand for support. They turned and slowly made their way out of the graveyard and across the meadow filled with wildflowers. Halfway across the meadow Melody broke the silence.

"Annie?"

"What?" the girl said.

"Everything's gonna be different now, isn't it?"

Annie slowly shook her head. "I don't know, I just don't know…"

The sun was setting at their backs when they arrived at the small log cabin they called home. The flowerbeds were filled to the brim with flowers of all kinds and shades. A large willow tree grew in the front yard. Sofia had loved and collected plants of all kinds. The aroma of steak and freshly baked bread greeted Melody and Annie as they entered the cabin. They quickly walked through the bare living room, which was a stark reminder of Sofia, and into the kitchen. There had been a terrible fire in the village a few months ago. Sofia had given the unlucky victims all of the furniture from the living room.

"You've been at the graveyard since the funeral, which was at seven this morning," Zelda said. She was sitting at the table, sewing a hole in one of Melody's tunics. Zelda was the oldest in the family, sixteen. Her lovely golden hair was pulled up in a loose bun, revealing her pointed ears, which was a trait of the Hylian race. Zelda was named after the legendary princess. She was clad in a gray dress of mourning, just like Melody and Annie were.

"I know," Melody replied. She glanced at the plate of steak and the loaf of bread that were on the table. Four wooden plates were set out on the table. Melody sat down in one of the chairs. Tears formed in her eyes as she fought back memories. Melody's family had built nearly everything in the cabin. Her parents had built the cabin itself almost twenty years ago.

Zelda looked up at Annie with her hazel eyes. "Father is in his bedroom. Could you…?"

Annie nodded. "Sure." She entered the hallway, disappearing from sight.

Zelda winced as she accidentally poked herself with the needle. "Why can't you just wear dresses like normal girls?" she asked Melody.

"Because I can't stand them. I'm only wearing this," Melody pinched her dress with obvious distaste, "for Mother."

Annie and a large man entered the room hand in hand. The man, their father, towered over everyone there; he looked to be over six feet in height. His brown eyes, which were pierced with sorrow, quickly scanned the room. Nothing ever seemed to ever escape his notice. He ran his fingers through his dirty brown hair and sighed softly. Annie sat down in one of the chairs. Their father leaned against his chair and looked up at Melody. He knew what she was about to say.

"I know that you aren't hungry, Mel. I'm not either, but we must eat to keep up our strength," he said. His voice was stern, but kind. Back before he had met Sofia he had been a warrior, constantly roaming the land and helping those weaker than him. Scars covered his body from the numerous battles he had fought. Many thought his peerless swordsmanship had to do with his name, which was the same as the legendary hero's, Link.

"All right," Melody mumbled as Link took his seat. Zelda set the tunic under her chair and glanced at her father. He nodded tiredly and she rose. She clasped her hands together and bowed her head. Everyone followed her example. There was a moment of silence and then Zelda began the prayer.

"O Mighty Gods, we thank Thee for this meal placed before us. We thank Thee for the beautiful flowers that are blooming today. Please bless our humble meal. And-" Here her voice broke. "And help us to overcome our grief. Indoxee."

"Indoxee," Everyone repeated. Zelda sat back down and hurridely scrubbed away a tear that was beginning to form. The three girls waited patiently as Link filled his plate with food, as was the custom in that part of the land. The oldest were always served first, the youngest last.

When it was her turn Melody reluctantly took half of a steak and a slice of bread. She nibbled a corner of her bread and then began playing with her food. Everything about this meal was wrong, the empty chair at the end of the table testified to that. And it was always Sofia who said the prayer, not Zelda.

"May I be excused?" Zelda asked. Melody glanced up to see that her plate was bare.

"Me too?" Annie's plate was just as bare.

"Yes," Link answered.

The two of them dashed down the hall, seeking the privacy of their rooms. Melody sighed and halfheartedly poked her steak with her fork.

"Eat," Link said and pushed back his chair. He stood and stacked the empty dishes together.

"I can't," Melody mumbled.

"Two bites of bread and a bite of steak, then you can go to bed."

Melody nodded and slowly ate the required amount of food. She yawned and climbed to her feet. "G'night."

"Good night," Link replied and gently kissed her on the forehead. She quickly walked down the hall and into her room. The door closed behind her with a click. Melody slipped into her bedroll without bothering to change. Her bed had been given to the victims of the fire, but she didn't mind. In fact, she liked the bedroll more than her bed. Melody pulled the blanket over her head and began to sob softly, too exhausted to try to hold back her grief any longer.

­­­­­­Author notes: Indoxee is the same as amen.

This story takes place a few centuries after The Ocarina of Time, but before Windwaker.