This is a story I've been working on for awhile now and it certainly doesn't take place in any of the games, but is more of a mesh of the games in a world with a darker overtone. Anyway, enjoy the prologue of a Tale of Gods and Kings.


The Princess

He was nervous, she could see it so clearly by the way he tossed and turned throughout the night. Even when sleep would find favor with him it would be so brief that he would quickly be pulled out of it, eyes opening wide and muscles tensing as if he was awakening to the sound of warfare. But at this hour the castle was near dead silent, aside from the scuffle of the mice that would dart along the stone flooring or the occasional guard doing his rounds by their door, there was not a noise to be heard.

Yet to her husband the mice scuffling along the floor was an assassin slitting the throats of his friends and the guard doing his duty was the sound of a million marching soldiers approaching.

He had admitted to her that at times he felt scared, lost and out of control with everything around him. He saw shadows when there were none and enemies in friends. She didn't want him feeling alone, she'd hug him and rest her head on his chest and sometimes that would seem to help him sleep.

She felt his arms wrap around her as his groggy voice spoke out, "My Princess," he said as he gently ran his hands through her long blonde hair, "I have kept you awake. I apologize..."

"There is nothing to be sorry for," she whispered back, "Now sleep, my brave hero. There are no terrors here."

He did not sleep and she drifted in and out of it. It was nearly an hour later that he slipped out from underneath her, throwing back the covers as he sat at the edge of their bed. She scooped up the extra covers as the cold night air bit at her skin and watched as the moon light shined through the open windows and illuminated the figure of her husband. He was a built man, every groove his muscles created was shadowed deeply by the moonlight. He stood at 5'9 and had soft, wavy blonde hair that was brushed backwards and fell about halfway down his neck. With his hair brushed back his sharp Hylian ears were very apparent. The Ordona Province held little to no Hylians (the old blood), most of province was populated with humans that came from the great sea.

Prince of the Ordona Province, Link Daku, Chosen Hero and married to Princess Zelda of Hyrule. They had been married no more than a year but spent maybe six months together, as a man who carries the title of Chosen Hero was expected to lead the fight against intruders of the realm. Link had done his duty diligently, riding off with his Knights at the slightest hint of monstrous intrusion. The people loved him and so did Zelda, but the people couldn't see the weight he carried and pain he felt.

Link stood up and walked across their room to the great balcony that overlooked the kingdom below. Opening the door that divided the balcony and their room allowed small wisps of cold night air to infiltrate their room. It signified its presence with a light rustle from the curtain and Zelda quickly pulled the blankets further up over her face to prepare for the cold. Link did not shiver when the cool wind swept into the chambers nor did he reach for any sort of extra covering, instead he stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the city below.

His gaze stared off into the distance as the moonlight wrapped itself around Link's scarred figure. Each time he would ride off to fight he would return home with more scars, the wounds may have healed but Link did not. It had been a long time since she saw Link smile the way he used to or have the life in his eyes as he once did. The glow was fading...

Zelda slid out of bed and braved the cool air to join her husband out on the balcony. She did not immediately walk up to him nor speak a word that would have broken his gaze. Instead she leaned against the cool stone walls and watched him silently. She felt a pull in her heart, an ache that grew with every passing second and for a brief moment she felt like Link was being taken away from her again. Her body began to shake, 'the cold' she thought to herself at first but the tears that ran down her face said otherwise.

Link's gaze had been broken and he turned to see Zelda standing behind him, her arms wrapped around herself as a form of comfort and her entire body shivering as she cried in near silence. She didn't know exactly why she was crying and she felt foolish for doing so. Weak was what she felt like and when all Zelda wanted was to be strong for him this was the worst possible feelings to have.

Zelda twisted her body away from Link and went to go back to their bed, only to be stopped as Link reached out and grabbed her wrist.

"Zelda," Link said, his blue eyes wide with worry but before he could mutter another word Zelda buried her face in his chest.

"Don't leave. There are other Knights that can go and fight, Lords that have pledged loyalty to my family and would gladly take this honor. You don't have to leave," Zelda cried softly to him. "I fear that... I fear that you won't come back if you leave me!"

Link wrapped his arms around her, she felt his breathing slow before he took one deep breath. "I'm coming back..." he whispered as he rested his head upon hers, "I promise you that I will."

His words did little to comfort Zelda's fears and she wanted to scream at him to stay. But she spoke no other words, words that would fall deaf upon the ears of the Chosen Hero, a man that pledged his life and sword to the Kingdom of Hyrule. Had he not forgotten the fact he pledged his life to her as well?

On this bright, silent night the Princess cried in the arms of her husband. Knowing that come tomorrow he would ride off with his Knights to fight the Bulblin far off on the edge of their realm. He would die there, whether he came back or not didn't matter...

The next morning Zelda watched from afar as Hyrulean knights assembled below. They were fantastic looking, none more so than her husband who headed the pack. Dressed in his gilded armor with the red Hyrulean colors beneath it, he pulled himself upon his stead and gave one last look back at the Princess and the maidens who stood with her.

Many of the women amongst Zelda were in tears – many of their husbands were among the knights marching off. However unlike the previous night Zelda cried no tears, it was different now, in the public's eyes she had to remain strong. Even if fear and sadness cried out within her.

Link said no words, he only dipped his head low to his wife and Princess before riding off through the gates and into the cheering crowd within the town. The people were excited by it all, the great knights riding off to fight for the realm was what fairy tales were made of.

"Be safe my love," Zelda said softly. She would remain standing there until Link and his army was out of sight before resigning herself to the Temple of Time to pray...


The Kid

The army was a spectacular sight. Three hundred Hyrulean knights and perhaps a thousand foot soldiers marched from Central Hyrule out towards the Ordona Province. That number quickly swelled, after all the army was being led by none other than the Chosen Hero himself! Sell-swords and other Lords pledged their services and joined the army, everyone wanted to indulge in the glory that followed the Chosen Hero. Kid had tried countless times to get a count of everyone but after several attempts he had given up and preoccupied himself by tending to his duties as a squire of the Chosen Hero.

Kid of the Faron Province – or maybe Ordona Province? He wasn't entirely sure – had known Link long before he became Chosen. Link was one of the few people that ever treated the disfigured orphan with any sort common decency and they had been close for as long as Kid could remember.

That being said, Kid was not of any sort of higher blood like many of the other squires and despite the fact he squired for the CHOSEN HERO he was still not often treated well by the others. That was fine, he really didn't like anyone else, Link was the only friend he needed.

The fun of the entire journey soured as they neared the Ordona Province, word that the Bulblins were raiding deep within the Hyrulean Empire sped their pace. The Bulblin – a nomadic people spread far out beyond Hyrule's claim – would occasionally sending a raiding party into their territory. However, the Bulblin had been united under a self proclaimed 'King' that claimed land far into Hyrule's domain.

"We will have to kill them all." Sir Valenzuela of Hyrule proclaimed over a heated meeting one night between Link, the Lords, and his closest knights. Kid, who was watching from the corner of the tent found it hard to read the thought's of his closest friend, who spoke little during the meeting. There wasn't a man there that would disagree with Valenzuela, they would have to kill this so-called King and make an example of those who trespassed into Hyrule domain.

Kid has no doubt Link could do it of course. He was probably the finest warrior to grace these lands, and Bulblin were foolish, disorganized creatures that would break easily once the full might of this army came crashing down on them.

They reached the Ordona Province by the second week. They were joined up by a small force from the Province's largest city, Ordon. Afterward, with up to date knowledge of the Bulbin's latest movements they continued their march through the wooded province. It was judged that the Bulblin were two days away, still preoccupied with raiding small farms and villages at the edge of Ordona.

They made camp and would march again in the morning, eager to break the barbarians and rid the realm of their terror. That night the camp was alive and roaring like the first few days of this long journey. It was pure insanity down in the lower sections where sell-swords and foot soldiers feasted on Ordonian chicken and pumpkin ale, while the lords and mayors who had come to join Link feasted further into the camp on Ordonian sheep and drank fine wine from regions of Hyrule's domain that not even Kid had heard of.

Part of Kid wished to take part of the feasts and get drunk of pumpkin ale, but then he'd had to listen to the hurtful jests men would make about his face or small and bony figure. He decided he'd stay by Link and that would be better for the both of them.

"They will not battle us conventionally," Link said over the dinner he barely touched, "We will have to break our army up and root them out. Once we push them out of our domain and back into their homeland we can ride against them in our greatest force."

"Indeed, these raiding parties would be impossible to catch in our current state," agreed the Grand Lord of the Ordona Province, a great large human with a trimmed gray mustache and round fat belly. The Grand Lord was from the House of Bo, richest and most powerful family in the Province. Kid didn't like him, he reminded him of everything he hated about this province.

"Grand Lord Bo," Sir Valenzuela began after lightly sipping his wine. Valenzuela – like Link – was Hylian, with his long blonde hair and pointed ears the man was a maiden's dream. "Are you sure the information we have is the most recent? I had heard the Bulblin were far more powerful and I would have thought they would be much further into the Province by now. Your men claim they still hunt in the outer edges of the Province?"

The Lord didn't much like the suggestion the knight had made, "Of course I'm sure about the information. We have our scouts everywhere and if they were advancing in any faster pace I would have known."

"I meant no insult my Lord," Valenzuela bowed his head, "We had just heard many rumors about this so called King... that he rides with thousands of Bulblin."

"True enough," the Lord nodded, "However disorganized. They attack small farming villages, they don't have the capacity to attack anything larger! They're weak."

"They're burning your land." Link finally spoke in his cool voice, "Killing your men and feasting on your children. You claim they're weak, yet as far as I can tell you've kept your army mustered around the capital. Why is that?"

"I am insulted by your suggestion-"

"Good as it was meant to insult." Kid suppressed a smile at Link's words. Link had a distaste for the House of Bo as much as Kid did. Ordona was a simple, poor province yet the lavish lifestyle they led was distasteful. Grand Lord Bo rarely left the capital, he didn't know his province any better than Valenzuela did, and Valenzuela had never even been here before.

Lord Bo wished to scream at Link, Kid could see it in the fat man's face. Link was from a family of warriors, an old but poor bloodline. Had Link not been married to the Princess of Hyrule – Lord Bo's sovereign – he might have called for Link's head by now.

"Our information is good, Chosen Hero," the Lord finally spoke having suppressed his rage.

The rest of the dinner had little chatter and when they finished the many smaller lords and knights disappeared out of the tent. Leaving only Link and Kid.

"You didn't eat very much," Kid motioned for the mostly untouched plate of food in front of his friend.

"Ah..." Kid's words seemed to break Link out of his own thoughts. He looked at his food and gave a small chuckle, "I can't stand the mutton."

"Well they only served chicken to us squires..." they traded glances and Link slid the plate over to Kid.

"Help yourself." and Kid did just that, seated himself beside Link and dug into the mutton.

Between bites of the meat and chugs of the wine, Kid glanced over at his older friend. "What has you so down? You will see the Princess soon!"

"...do you remember the day I was chosen, Kid?" Link asked, the shadow from the flickering flame casting itself over Link's solemn face.

"Like it was yesterday," It was a dark day. Link and Kid had just come back from working the fields when there were plumes of smoke rising from Link's family home. They raced in to find his house aflame, Bulblin raiders feasting on his younger sister. Kid was struck with fear and fled into the nearby woods, but Link – not actually named Link at the time - went forward into the flaming house, took his father's blade and cut down the three beasts with such fury and skill. It was known Bulblin raiders had entered the province, yet the Grand Lord did nothing about it – as he does now.

Several days later servants of the church found Link and brought him back to Hyrule to be tested. Kid wasn't sure what happened from there but when Link returned to the Ordona Province he had a new name, a new title and a beautiful new sword around his back.

"I hate them, Kid..." Link seethed, "They're beasts... and they took everything from me..." He tightened his grip around the arm of his chair. "I know who I am, a Chosen Hero, man of courage... but since I left all I can think about is her face..."

Kid couldn't say a word, yet he could see the face too. His parents were killed, burned in the house, but Link's sister was... mauled by the Bulblin. After Link had killed her attackers he cradled his little sister in his hands, her porcelain skin stained red by her blood and her blue eyes pale and dead. Kid wept with Link and helped bury them that day... Kid never knew his parents and never much gave them thought, Link and his family were as close to a family as he ever had.

"I will kill them all, Kid." Link said with a nod, "For my mother... for my father... for my sister... Ordona will never be violated again."

It had been a long time since he had seen such fury in his friend's eyes. Kid's appetite was lost. He feared what his friend might do...

He went to bed thinking of that day and dreamed of how he ran from it all. He could hear the screams in his head over and over... yet it occurred to him that he had never heard her scream. They had found her after she was already dead... so what was the screaming he was hearing?

Kid stirred awake but the screams did not stop. Suddenly the piercing sound of horns blew through the air... not Hyrulean horns, nor Ordonian... they were Bulblin horn's...

Madness had overtaken the camp, and when Kid stepped out of the tent his face was blinded by the warmth of the sun. No, not the sun – flames! A nearby tent sparked with flames, and over the vast encampment more flames rose high.

"No, no..." Kid muttered under his breath, over the horizon he could see the flames of what seemed like thousands of torches and soldiers marching upon them. Already it appeared the camp's outer defenses were being overrun.

Kid ran from his tent over to the massive one Link had, where the royal family's seal flew proudly over.

"Kid, Kid where are you!?" Link's voice roared over the chaos. Kid spotted him just exiting the tent, wearing his green tunic and holding his sheathed blade.

"Kid, there you are. Fetch my horse, quickly!"

"Your armor-"

"Not enough time, my horse now!"

Kid scrambled, rushing to the nearby stable they had erected where flames were already catching on.

Outside it was nearly impossible to see what was going on, but the camp was being attacked on all ends and they were quickly being overrun.

Kid pushed into the stable, finding Link's beautiful brown war horse and pulling it out. "Come now, come stop fighting!" He yelled, pulling on the horse. The massive beast reared up and Kid dropped to the ground, sure the horse would run him down and kill him.

"To me!" Link's voice called and the horse stopped before quickly galloping away to his side. Link pulled himself upon the horse, briefly stroking it's long mane before pulling it towards the north point of the camp.

"Around me, gather around me!" Link called. The men who were consumed in the chaos seemed to hear his voice and those who could quickly gathered around Link's side. "If we fail now it's not just us who will perish. They will overrun this Province, they will tarnish and rape our realm. To me now! To me! We must prevail!" Link unsheathed his sword, the grand sword of legend, the Master Sword. Such a finally crafted blade of the gods, the light it unleashed was so spectacular that it seemed to shoot a light up to the heavens.

"Chosen Hero!" The men around him roared, the humming light of the Master Sword was like the light prevailing against the darkness.

Kid stood at the edge of the stable, eyes wide as he watched Link raise the sword high into the was like that day again, Link rushed forward to fight while Kid stayed hidden. He knew why he was chosen, Link had bravery like no other man. He would succeed today...

Link galloped off followed by the men around him towards the thousands of torches in the distance. Over the horizon Kid could see the sun begin to rise where the Bulblin were rushing down from. Among them, even from this distance he could see, one so large and fearsome watching down at them...

It was the King Bulblin, Kid had no doubt. He found himself smiling, the so called King would meet his match now and he knew that by the end of the day Link would have his head.

He was the Chosen Hero after all.

In the chaos still, Kid pushed from the stables. He found himself rushing after Link, eager to see the Hero ride against the monsters. It wouldn't be like before! He would be beside his friend, he would help him fight.

Kid found a sword and rushed as close behind as he could. He had never killed anything but the fish in the river, but the glow of the Master Sword gave him more strength and courage than anything he had seen before! He didn't even notice when he stepped into the pass of a runaway horse...

He did feel the blunt force as the horse trampled over him and sent him flying off to the side. He couldn't remember a thing after that...

He wasn't sure what he felt first, the dreadful heat from the midday sun or the pungent smell of death. Kid opened his eyes and tried his best to look around, soldiers walked among the camp, tired and blood covered they seemed to beginning to march away.

He stirred, trying to pulling himself up but several broken ribs and an arm kept him in his place. He was lucky, he should have been dead after being trampled by such a mighty beast.

"How in the name of the goddess are you still alive?" Kid glanced over to his right to see a wart covered face staring back at him. "Shit... I was gonna take your stuff too. You feel like dyin' any moment now?"

"Screw off..." Kid hissed, the foot soldier chuckled before returning with his fellow soldiers.

There were still soldiers here, that was a good sign. Must have mean they won.

Ignoring the pain he felt, Kid pulled himself up, he had to find Link and make sure he was safe. "Where is Link, where is the Chosen Hero?" Kid asked moving from soldier to soldier with no answer.

"By the goddess where is he!?" There was death everywhere. Countless soldiers laid dead, Bulblin among them and the heat of the day made the smell near impossible to withstand.

Among the marching soldiers Kid could see the flag of the Royal Family flying high, that had to be Link! He raced as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Link, Link!" Kid called running to the front of the party to where he could see a blonde on horseback at the helm.

Yet it was not Link. Instead it was Valenzuela, blank faced and holding a bloodied spear. "Sir Valenzuela!" Kid called.

"Eh..." Valenzuela barely paid Kid a glance.

"Where is Link? Where is he?"

Valenzuela did not respond.

"Where is he!?" Kid repeated once again, louder this time and halting the knight.

Valenzuela glanced down at Kid, looking the boy over briefly. "He has fallen."

Kid couldn't have believed those words. No, that was not possible, that couldn't be possible!

"Lies!" Kid roared with anger that he did not even know he had. He took two steps forward towards Valenzuela before receiving a sharp blow to his broken ribs by a nearby foot soldier.

"Not another step, freak!" The soldier spat.

Kid fell to his knees, yelping out in pain. "Sir, please, sir what happened? Please you must be mistaken, you must!"

"If only I were..." Valenzuela said with a shake of his head. The knight was still clearly in shock from the battle, "He gravely wounded the King however, winning us the day. We will pursue them and finish it off..."

"It's not possible-"

"The Chosen One has fallen!" Valenzuela roared, "Not get out of my sight. He may have kept you around for nostalgia but you are nothing to me. You have no place among my army."

Valenzuela pushed the horse forward and the army followed with him. Kid stayed on the ground, crying out and not daring to get up as the rest of the army passed him.

My friend, my brother. Oh by the goddess I have failed you, I'm so sorry Link... I'm so sorry...

Kid cried out. The realm would mourn this loss, the Princess will be broken... the Chosen Hero fallen. Oh Goddess, how heroic he was, how great he was. Stories would be told for centuries of this day, none however would tell about how the deformed orphan cried out for his fallen brother...

His friend, his brother, gone. A life gone, a legend over...

For another to begin...