Hello Zelda Fandom, here is my new and first story for this fan section, enjoy. I have finished Twilight Princess only twice. Soon, if this works out, I shall right what I right about best well know about, Skyward Sword, I have finished that game four times normally and twice on hero mode. :)
Characters/Pairings: Zelda/Link
Rating: T
World: Takes place after Twilight Princess
Summary: Ordon was no longer his home, it no longer felt right, so off to Hyrule, to take up Princess Zelda's offer of becoming apart of the Hylian Guards.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, all rights go to Nintendo.
An Enticing Offer
Ordon had been his home since he was a child, but now, staring into the farming town, while the children played, the adults worked hard and got all along, it seemed foreign. He had been through basically hell and back to save everything he cared about and to preserve the fate of the Hyrule to what is was supposed to be, not some Twilight Realm where everyone lived in fear.
"Link! Come play with us!" Talo yelled from down below. He had arrived back in Ordon after Link has vanquished Ganondorf, creating a blanket of safety for all the neighboring provinces to return to normal. Link looked down at the children all yelling at him to play. He sighed, this seemed so trivial now, how was he supposed to go back to what he once was after the entire ordeal of every moment being in the face of death and battling for survival. He was the Hero of Twilight, no longer a simple goat herder in Ordon.
"Hurry up!" Beth yelled as Link slowly climbed down his ladder from his bed, and got dressed in his peasant clothes. He felt odd, now that he had gotten rid of his green hero tunic, his Zora armor, and his Magic Armor, all stored in a compartment of his floor boards, along with the tools he had used on his perilous journey. He opened his front door of his home and smiled at the children, he might as well act normal.
"Link! Lemme see your slingshot!" Talo called as he swiped it away from Link's hands and wandered to the practice dummy. Link didn't say anything, he typically didn't say much anyway, but he really was in no mood too at the moment.
"Link." A small voice piped up behind him, he sighed, he knew the voice all too well. Turning around he faced Ilia, a girl he had known since birth. The entire town was betting on when he was going to finally man up and ask her to be his girlfriend and soon to be wife. Maybe there was a time for that, but now was not. Anything that they had before, which for the majority was friendship, was gone. Sure he still knew her well and she knew him well, but he didn't seem to be around her any longer. Another reminder that Ordon was too different from the life he was now living.
"Ilia." He simply said. She smiled slightly. "What's your plans for the day?" She asked, making light conversation, which Link was in no mood for. It seemed nothing mattered her anymore, sure he would always love the people, and the beauty of the forest, but, somewhere else was calling to him. A few hours passed of light conversation and watching the children play with all the equipment he had in his floor boards. Watching Collin attempt the spinner, Talo the sword, and Malo, well he was just critical and didn't touch too much as he stood to the side with Beth. That's when horns sounded, not alarming ones, but they sounded more royal then anything, and everyone's gaze averted to the the small passage to the town's center to see what the commotion was.
Link curiously walked with the children and Ilia to the town center, watching for what would cause royal trumpets to sound, even though Link knew exactly what would, and he had a good idea of who was here. Continuing on to the center of commotion, people gathered as a figure dressed in a white cloak dropped to the ground off a large white horse. Link smiled.
"Princess Zelda..." Talo said almost in awe of her. Link had to see why he was swooning over her, she had seemed so angelic in all white, maybe it was a new trick to make people forget about the twilight curse that had threatened to overtake the land less then a day ago.
"Your highness!" Mayor Bo ran out of his house and bowed awkwardly, obviously not expecting the visit.
"Mayor, it is nice to meet you, I've heard about you back in Castle Town." She said with a simple smile. Her hair was groomed perfectly into her trademark braids and ponytails and she was in her nicest clothing. Her royal attire to be correct, the gown she wore almost everyday, full of perfectly enhanced details covering her dress and gloves and cloak.
Mayor Bo gushed and she continued on with what she had to say. "I've come for the Hero of Twilight, to propose an offer, where is he?" She said so formally that it made everyone listen enthralled. Now not everyone knew who the Hero of Twilight was, most of them had never heard of it here, and Link knew that. He wanted it like that. The only one who really knew what he had done was the Mayor and Rusl. The children never clued in, and Ilia never seemed to notice, maybe it was the memory loss that happened every so often now.
"Hero of Twilight? Why we don't know such hero." One woman yelled out from the crowd. Link began to feel his muscles tense as Zelda spoke again.
"Ah, but you do. Come forward Hero." She gleamed as she looked directly at Link, making it obvious in what she wanted him to do. He sighed, Ilia looked at him confused as he walked forward to her. The crowd parted and they all looked astonished, she smiled at him and walked towards her.
"I must speak to you Link." She said in a whisper as the crowd continued to look in awe of both of them. The children's jaws were dropped as he nodded to her. "I will be here all night, but right now I must speak to Link in private." She stated her position and the crowd made a few sounds of disappointment but finally cleared.
"Where can we talk?" She said now directly at Link. Link thought for a moment before saying, "There's a spring, but it's not very ideal of a conversation your highness, I would suggest my home,"
"Perfect." She said before he could finish his sentence about how that might look bad for the Princess of Hyrule to be seen in a tree basically. They walked in silence to his secluded home, with a few stares and whispers from the townspeople. As they got into the home they both took a seat.
"It's nice to see you again Link." Zelda started to form a conversation.
"As is to see you Princess." Link said, trying to maintain a facade of calmness, when really he was wondering what the hell she could want, was there something wrong with Hyrule again?
"I know this might seem spontaneous and an odd offer, but I do have a proposal for you." She stated as Link nodded his head, ready for her to continue. "After talking to Telma, the bar owner, she said that you may be the bravest one in all of Hyrule, some one who truly knew the powers and traits of the triforce, and I was quick to agree."
Link nodded his head again, unsure of what to say, or where she was going to be honest, but he continued to listen as she spoke. "Realizing this, I wanted to offer you this. A guarding job at the castle, not a entry level one at all, or even close to that. I'd be willing to demote my current Head Knight to replace him with you. I want you to come live at the palace. A room will be set up inside the royal corridor for you, and you wouldn't always be on guard, mostly giving commands and going into battle if needed. You'd have spare time of course, and there is a lot to do in Castle Town."
Link smiled, she was rambling. He didn't know what it was, maybe an invisible force that drew him to her, maybe her irresistible charisma skills, which every person in royalty required to continue to lead their people.
"I don't know what to say, Your Highness." Link said simply, overwhelmed with her offer. Head Knight in Hyrule? That position was covered and cherished. If you held that spot in Hyrule, you were practically royalty.
"I will be here until later on this evening. You don't have to say anything yet, but it may be in your best interests, because I know you, somehow, maybe the Triforce connection we share. But this isn't enough for you anymore, something is pulling you away, I'm here to make the process easier." She said smiling again. "Tell me tonight, at around nine, I will be at Ordon Spring." And with that, she left. No more to be said, but a big choice for Link to discover. What did he want? He could start a life in Hyrule, being surrounded with the responsibility of what he now did best, protecting people and fighting, or staying here as a farm hand and continuing to raise goats and maybe start something? He knew the choice was clear. He needed to make sure everyone knew his decision perfectly.
"You're what?" Malo, Talo, and Beth yelled alarming everyone within ten feet.
"Leaving." He simply stated to them. He felt bad about leaving him, but he knew this was no longer his home, he needed to move on to this position, it was an offer of a lifetime.
"How? What? Why? We didn't even clue into you being a Hero of Twilight." Beth yelled at him.
"I'm sorry, Princess Zelda offered me a position in the castle I couldn't turn down." Link said quietly. He looked down at the three children, knowing the hardest goodbye were yet to come. Colin and Ilia.
Colin took it well, telling him, well retelling him of his speech in Eldin of bravery and courage and how strong he was and how he was going to visit and become just as strong as him, and that he would eventually meet up in the guards of Hyrule one day. Link smiled and hugged the small child.
"Link." Ilia said, almost as if it was the morning before Zelda had appeared.
"Ilia, I have to say goodbye." Link said, wanting to make this quick, he still had to tell Zelda in twenty minutes and pack up for the journey back to Hyrule. "It's just something I must do now, this isn't where I belong anymore."
Ilia stood there with tears in her eyes. "That's crap Link. You belong here, with us, with me." She said as she became angry. "People know we were going to eventually settle down together, and you're just leaving because another girl comes along from a different, royal province and you're ready to go."
"This isn't what that's about." Link said, obviously ready to break her heart by telling her what he felt about her truly. "Ilia, you're my friend, I never loved you like that, I thought about it, before all of this, because that's what the world had for me, but now, I have potential to be something truly amazing, and I'm ready for this challenge, Ordon is no longer my home, because I belong in Castle Town, where I will protect Hyrule until I die."
Ilia broke into tears. "If that's how you truly feel." She murmured before running to her house, and past her father, who knew exactly what had just happened. He nodded to me sadly as he walked into his house to calm her down. Poor Bo, was all Link could think as he walked to the springs. A silent walk was peaceful, and then he arrived, Zelda standing there, smiling at him.
"I've heard." She said without him stating anything. "Let's collect your belongings and we shall be on our way." Link nodded, keeping silent as they walked back to his house again. He grabbed what he needed. The MasterSword and adventure pouch, alongside his adventure items, potions and rupees. He was ready to go, leaving his house he locked the door and took the key. He tucked it into his pocket, ready to say good bye, knowing he'd never return to this town, unless duty called him here.
"Ready to leave?" Zelda asked looking as regal as ever with her cloak back on, and on her white horse.
"More then I'll ever be." He said, encouraging Epona to ride forward. He entered Faron Woods, never once looking back. Hyrule, here came Hero of Twilight, Link.
So? Any thing to say? Anything to ask? Wanting more?
Well I'll see when I can update again, hopefully soon if there is a good vibe to the reviews and people coming into look at them. Don't be afraid to give suggestions or criticism, it's my first Zelda story, tell me what I'm doing that's bad and good. :)
Well, that's all for this chapter, hope you enjoyed it. Please Review.
~Taylor McDonald
