Author's Notes
So this got kind of out of hand. I originally intended to just write a short little thing, a bit of historical background for my new Legend of Zelda fancomic I'm working on, which I'll provide a link to once I have anything posted.
For those who are wondering, this takes place in the distant future after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. Zelda and Link's personalities may also have been slightly lifted from Rose Zemlya's The Return and Reconciliation. If you like what you read here, go check her out. She writes ten times better than I do.
- Chapter One: Long Overdue -
"Master Link! Master Link!" The door to my bedchamber bursts open and Fado, my faithful manservant, tumbles inside. "Master Link! You're going to be la- … oh. M-my apologies." Bowing slightly, he quickly retreats. After all, I'm just packing the last of my things, clearly ready to go.
I chuckle. It's always the same with him. He takes his job very seriously, looking after the Hero of Time. Zelda had meant looking after my affairs of course, but he misinterpreted the instruction to include my person as well. I kind of feel bad for him, in a way. Every morning he tries to be first to rise, so he can greet me in bed with breakfast. Which is annoying, because I'd rather get in a few ours of training before I eat anything. But then Fado would end up bobbing around the nearby forest looking for me with a tray in hand and get lost. So I've taken to sneaking off even earlier and returning to bed before he wakes, so he can serve me breakfast and never know I've been up for hours already. Zel once remarked the whole thing is quite silly. I think I'd have to agree.
"Fado, come back," I call after him. He sheepishly appears in the doorway. "Why don't you take this down and get Chestnut saddled up?" I toss my saddle bag to him.
"Yes, yes, right away!" And he scuttles off down the hall.
I pick up the Master Sword and sling it over my shoulder. Glancing around the room, I figure I have everything. And if I don't, well I will be at Hyrule Castle. I can't imagine they wouldn't be able to help a fellow out. I head downstairs and outside to the courtyard.
It's not a big courtyard, obviously, but it has always felt larger than necessary for the small castle I live in. If you can even call it a castle. More like a stone mansion with too thick of walls and too high of ramparts. I cheerily greet the guards circling the perimeter. They just give me kurt nods in return. Another bunch who take their job maybe a little too seriously.
Fado appears, leading my horse. He fidgets with the reigns before handing them over, the way he usually fidgets when he has something to say that he's deemed possibly inappropriate.
"Yes Fado? Something on your mind?"
He keeps his eyes downcast as he answers. "I just… worry, Sir. Just want everything to go smoothly. Shouldn't be late to see the Queen." He looks up quickly, to see if he's offended me somehow.
I just pat him on the head. "You worry too much sometimes. Besides," I say, winking at him, "I'm late on purpose. Makes my company all the more desired." He smiles slightly and laughs, as if I just made a bad attempt at a joke.
Fado holds the stirrups still for me as I swing into the saddle, even though he doesn't really need to. With a last wave, I ride out through the gates and on up the road. I hear the guards close, lock, and bolt the gate behind me. Even with me gone, there are still priceless magical artifacts and weapons that they need to protect. Or at least that's what I told them, to keep them from escorting me everywhere. A lot of the "artifacts" are just junk I picked up on my last moblin raid. Really. I'm the Hero of Time. Like I can't handle a simple hour's ride through open country.
It proves to be an uneventful trip. At one point I think I spy a bandit disappearing into the fields around me and hope that he's smart enough not to bring his buddies back. On several occasions I've given a good beating to the little gang that likes to haunt this road. You think they would have learned by now.
Soon enough I'm riding through Castle Town, greeting people whose names I can't remember. At the castle gates, my horse is led off to the stables and I'm escorted up to the actual castle itself. The whole way some old man is reprimanding me for being an hour late and telling me that the Queen has taken her supper without me. Once inside, I make my way through the maze of corridors to the Queen's chamber.
But when I get there, the guard outside informs me that since I made her Majesty wait an hour, she's going to make me wait an hour too. Hmm, maybe Fado was right. Ignoring the guard, I brush past and push open the door.
Zelda, the beloved Queen of Hyrule, sits at a desk across from the door. "Not now, Mable, I'm busy," she states, without even looking up. I close the door and use all my Sheikhan skills to tiptoe across her carpets until I'm standing behind her. I toss my riding gloves onto whatever it is she's scribbling on and begin to massage her shoulders. A frustrated sigh escapes her.
"Glad to see you too," I say as I lean down and kiss her cheek. She sits rigid for a moment, refusing to acknowledge my arrival. But she knows just as well as I that she can't stay mad at me for long. Especially not with my secret weapon. "If you kick off those brutal things you call shoes, I'll do your feet next."
That does the trick. She turns to me and even though she still wears a scowl, I can see in her eyes she's glad I'm finally here. We exchange a long, deep kiss. It's been almost two months since we saw each other. You'd think the only two sane people who possess a piece of the Triforce would have more contact than that, but every now and again fate conspires against us. Actually, as it rule it does. Zelda sat in Hyrule Castle while I rooted out the moblin's who were establishing a foothold near Kakariko. By the time I'd returned, Zelda had already been called away to help negotiate Hylian boat passage through Zora's Domain. Honestly, I don't understand why she bothers appointing ambassadors when she's the only one able to get the other party to sit calmly at the table.
That's one of the reasons I love her so much, though. She's the only woman, nay, the only person I've met that I feel completely at peace with. Just being near her calms whatever turmoil boils inside me.
We move over to her massive bed. She lays down on it, dangling her feet over the edge. I sit on the floor and work my magic.
"So, how are things going?" I ask. And it's awhile before I have to say anything again. At first she's distracted by the little things, complaining about a noblemen or some silly incident in town. But pretty soon she's grumbling about the state of affairs among the other peoples of Hyrule. I tune most of it out as I work my way up her calves. But I've also heard most of it before. Gorons and Zoras are becoming endangered species and for some reason won't let us help them.
At some point she rolls over and I move up to the bed so I can massage her lower back. She's insanely tense, probably because we've been apart so long. I start to pay attention again when she talks about how the negotiations went. But I don't really need to, I've already guessed correctly. They refused to accept tribute fees from the passing boats, seeing it as pity money. It's their problem, they'll deal with it. Zelda knows they respect her simply because of her status as the Bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom, but it's not enough. They couldn't keep the bitter anger out of their voices even when they talked to her.
"Well, they're perfectly capable of taking care of themselves," I gently remind her. "They've done so for thousands of years, surviving the worst Ganondorf had to throw at them. I imagine it's pretty insulting the way we're trying to spoon feed them."
"But that's just it," She says, rolling over to face me. "They can't anymore. Link, you haven't seen their villages, you don't know how bad it is. The children I saw… it had been days since they'd eaten. The elders are barely old enough to be my parents."
She covers her eyes with an arm and know she's about the cry. I feel helpless. I can't help her with this. Nayru knows I'd only make things worse if I tried to talk some sense into them. And while the rest of Hyrule has finally given up, I know she won't. She can't. She honestly cares about them.
"It's like the Kokiri all over again."
"That's not true," I answer without missing a beat.
She moves her arm away to glare at me. The tears haven't rolled down her cheeks yet, but they are there, floating in her eyes. I move to cradle her head in my lap. She curls towards me.
"Well I'm right. The Kokiri have that big tree watching over them or whatever. And the fairies. They're in good hands. They never needed Hylians and never will. Just because no one's seen or heard from them in a hundred years doesn't mean they're gone."
"Oh, so it's worse now, is that what you're saying?" Her voice cracks and I feel the tears soaking through my tunic.
I guess that is what I'm saying. But I can't tell her that. I pull her closer to me as I think of a better answer. "No, I'm saying that this is different, that's all," I begin slowly. "The Kokiri may be beyond your help, but they never needed it. The Gorons and the Zoras are still here. Time and time again you've offered your help to them. They'll remember that before the end. And then you can swoop in with all your relief volunteers and save the day, like you always do."
She chuckles halfheartedly. "You make it sound so heroic."
"Well I am a hero, honey, it's how I do."
We're quiet for awhile, both thinking about what I said. Even though I was just trying to make her feel better, there might actually be some truth to it. When she finally sits up and wipes away the tears, I see her hair is all messed up. Wordlessly I find her brush and began to work out the snarls. She bats my hands away.
"By Farore, if my father were here he'd wonder what kind of hero you are. Waiting on me hand and foot like this. I can brush my own hair you know."
I open my mouth, some smart retort ready on my tongue, but I don't get that far. We're both distracted by the sudden pounding of many feet out in the hall. Zelda's on her feet suddenly, her composure completely intact. The door opens and I recognize the Captain of the Guard as he steps into the room. "There's… been an incident." He looks directly at me, like I have something to do with it. It's a well known fact he doesn't like me. I break all of the rules he sets, after all.
"Well?" Zelda demands, every bit the queen I know. In answer, the guards in the hall drag forward a young man. I know for a fact that Zel doesn't deal with this kind of stuff in her bedroom, especially not this late. But then I get a look at the boy's face and realize I kind of know who he is. It's the bandit I saw in the field earlier today. His clothes are all torn up and I can see gashes and scrapes covering his skin, exposed or not.
"What happened to him? You didn't do this to him, did you?" I ask, reaching forward to help him stand better.
The Captain raises an eyebrow at me. "Do you know this boy?"
"I've trounced his gang on more than one occasion, so I suppose so."
"Then you admit he's an enemy of yours."
"Enemy's a pretty harsh word. More like local delinquent."
"Stop!" We fall silent as Zelda walks over to the boy and lifts his face gently in her hand. He recoils in fear.
"What happened to you?" She asks him directly. He swallows nervously a few times. Then he looks past her at me. It's hard to decide what I see in his eyes. A mixture of fear, loathing and hope. Then finally he answers.
"I don't know. It all happened so fast."
He pauses. The Captain nudges him none too gently, causing him to wince. "Tell the Queen what you told me."
"When I saw you riding," he nods towards me, "I knew you'd be gone this evening at least. It was our chance. It didn't take us long to get organized and move on your castle."
"Chance to do what?" Zelda interjects.
He looks back at her, fear taking over in his face. I try to put myself in his shoes for a second. As a small time thief, meeting the be-all-end-all of justice face to face would be pretty terrifying.
"Erm, well to steal. Who knows what treasures lie in his vaults," he admits. I bet he was eavesdropping when I was explaining why my guards needed to stay at the castle. Well, jokes on them.
Zelda nods, but doesn't otherwise react. It seems to give him courage, so he continues. "Anyway, our plan was, uh, great. I mean we tricked the guards but didn't really hurt anyone." I can tell he's sugar coating for Zel's benefit. I bet it was a pretty gruesome battle. But I can't imagine my well trained little army losing to such a ragtag bunch of ruffians. I also don't see how him admitting to assaulting my property makes me the bad guy, as the Captain seemed to be implying.
"But then it got weird. The air… changed. I don't know how to explain it any other way. It got heavy, like it was trying to pin us to the ground. I was standing in the gateway when… when…" He's sweating at this point, looking nervously from Zelda to me.
I'm feeling pretty nervous myself. What is he talking about? "When what?" I prompt impatiently.
He takes a deep breath. "When the wind started blowing us away. Only it was like it was full of shards of glass and blowing us towards the middle of the courtyard. I managed to get around to the outside of the wall, but it didn't seem much better there. The wind still sliced at me. I heard screaming from inside. Then it stopped. When I looked… there was this hole. And everyone was gone."
The room falls silent. The boy sags to the floor, just blankly staring at me. Zelda's eyes are leagues away. The Captain watches me intently, waiting for my reaction. But I don't have one. A hole? What did he mean by that? A hole where? In the wall? But how could wind do that?
Zelda finally comes back from her thoughts, glancing over at the the Captain. As if she asked him something, he states, "Well isn't it obvious? What the boy describes is clearly an act of magic. And the only person capable of such who was anywhere near the incident is none other than the Hero." He points an accusing finger at me. "If you're having problems with bandits, you should let the authorities handle it."
"Hey Zel," I say, ignoring the Captain who I kind of want to punch in the face and simultaneously destroying the serious atmosphere with my informal remark. "I bet you the entire Hylian Treasury that a certain friend of ours is poking his ugly head out of his hidey-hole again. Took him long enough."
"No," is all she says.
"What?" I notice the Captain looks elated for a moment.
Then she turns to face me and there's a smile playing around her lips. "And bankrupt the kingdom? I think not. No, I won't take your bet." The smile fades as she turns back to the Captain. "Assemble your men. We ride for Hero's Castle in less than an hour."
"Your Majesty?" He asks questioningly, clearly not grasping the situation.
"You forgot about someone, dumb-skull," I tell him. He glowers at me. "Why would I kill my own men? No, this is the work of a much better mage. A black mage. Ganondorf." The color drains from the Captain's face at the mention of the Dark King's name. Silently, his little party removes themselves from their Queen's presence.
As I help Zelda into her armor and we prepare to face our age old enemy, I can only think about what would have happened if I had just let the guards escort me. How many lives would I have saved if I hadn't let my pride get in the way? And Fado. You better have been slacking off in the kitchen instead of trimming the grass or something stupid.