I am very excited to have begun this story! Twilight Princess is still my favorite Legend of Zelda installment for many reasons and I had spent months planning this particular story. Much of this story will include fan theories that I agree with to explain many aspects and clues hidden within the game. Ages and time frames are completely to my discretion. I really wanted to make this story as dramatic and realistic as possible.
As always, I very much hope that you enjoy this story as much as I. Merci ~Alixa
I do not own the Legend of Zelda franchise nor Twilight Princess or its characters.
Prologus
Five long years had passed since the kingdom had overcome the Shadow Invasion. The summer sun bore down harshly over the lonesome ranch just north of the village. He wiped his brow of the dirt that had accumulated across his face and splashed a handful of water to cool his heated skin. Sapphire blues blinked twice before he turned his head back to the labor before him— the same labor which he had chosen to endure when he returned to the village all those years ago.
Watching the Gerudo demon's eyes turn a lifeless white sent a feeling of fulfillment throughout the young hero's body. He had been gone for nearly three years exploring Hyrule's lands, solving difficult riddles, and nearly losing his life on many occasions to slay cruel monsters. In those three years, he received countless scars and wounds which became stories the moment he killed the Demon Lord.
But the most painful scar remained, even after five years.
"Not an hour I would assume you to be wander'n," a thick Ordonian accent rolled off of the elder swordsman's tongue. The shadow of his protégé loomed against the calm waters of the spring of the spirit Faron, his back bare and his head in his hands. Never had Rusl encountered the hero in such a vulnerable state. The older man came to sit next to him and he could see the younger man's face stained red with strain and his eyes wild like he had seen the ghost of all of his enemies. "It will not stop, Rusl," the young hero muttered hoarsely, "The battles play like scenes in my head, and those whose death I had witness I can see whenever I close my eyes… I try, but their memory never fades and it haunts me every hour of each day I am alive."
"You have witnessed horrors in which most men cannot fathom, Link." The swordsman pried the hero's hands from his face to see the bewildered look that cursed his features during the hours of darkness. Rusl had watched the man before him grow from a child into the strong young man which he became prior to his journey. Even throughout his journey, Rusl had never witnessed a look so terrified on the hero's face as this. His calloused fingers combed through his dirty blonde tresses and the hero released an exasperated sigh. "The most wicked nightmare which haunts me is the image of the princess herself," Link continued, "She is a woman unlike any whom I have come to know. Oftentimes I wonder to myself… I wonder if the memory of the invasion haunts her conscience like it does mine. I wonder if she endures the pain of the memories with more grace than I, or if she also has moments of weakness where she escapes to seek comfort from the horrors."
The elder swordsman listened on in silence. "Rusl, I wish to leave this village behind and return to the world beyond the forests."
"You have a duty here, Link," he reminded the young man, "You had promised to aid in rebuilding this village from its state of decline which it suffered from the countless sacks of those beasts. It was your own word, Link. You have even been offered the mayor's daughter's hand in marriage upon your return, and now two years later she has yet to receive an answer to her proposal."
"My heart is not with Ilia, Rusl," the hero quickly stated. A small smile tugged at the swordsman's chapped lips as he watched the younger man with admiration. "Tell me, Link. Who or what does your heart desire?"
Another sigh escaped the hero's lips. "Beyond the forests."
The conversation with Rusl in the woods had helped relieved Link of many burdens which he carried since his return to Ordon. The elder man had made him realize that he was never destined to return to a life from which he escaped upon the embarkment of his journey. Link was meant to leave and never return, but he had no place else to go following the invasion's conclusion. He was a man whom he thought needed to settle down and begin a paternal life with a good countryside woman by his side, raising goat and many children together. However, he often found himself dreaming of a life where he led the Princess of Hyrule on his arm, parading around the castle's familiar walls with the future ruler of the kingdom in royal cloths in both his and Zelda's arms.
The sight of his shadow brought the hero from his thoughts and back to the life of the ranch hand. The setting sun was a sign that his duties were done, and he would retire to his home in the trees for the evening. Rounding up the goats and locking the gates leading to Ordon Ranch were routine to Link now, even as he led Epona into the bustling village. His downcast eyes and path straight to his home had caused the villagers to stray from him, but instead mourn him from afar.
"Aye, Link!" a familiar voice yelled from the waterwheel. The young man watched his surrogate father abandon his conversation with Bo to approach him. To Link he bore a white letter with the kingdom's royal seal embedded in dry wax on the back. His mouth went dry as he took the letter and inspected it with disbelieving eyes. "It's an invitation to the Princess Zelda's royal coronation in a few days' time," Rusl explained as Link carefully tore the seal and opened the letter. Written in the princess' cursive was the context which Rusl had just said. He returned the letter to the envelope and handed it back to Rusl. "We shall depart for Kakariko Village before the sun awakens."
"Ah, an invitation to the princess' coronation, eh?" the hearty mayor smiled toothily, "Why the entire kingdom will be present for such a momentous occasion!"
"It troubles me," Rusl began, briefly stroking the growing stubble of facial hair around his chin, "Throughout history, the female monarchs of the kingdom were required to marry before being crowned the title of 'Queen'. If the Princess Zelda were engaged, then an announcement would have taken the kingdom with celebration, yet the kingdom entirely has received no such news."
"There is another way in which a princess might attain the title of 'Queen'," the mayor interjected, "Usually, she must have a moving reason to want to be a sole ruler and therefore must receive the majority vote of Parliament while also traveling the kingdom to receive the blessing of each of the five Spirits of Light."
"Are you suggesting that the Princess Zelda has appealed to the Royal Parliament for the position?" Rusl immediately asked the mayor. "If what you say of no royal engagement of marriage is true, then I see no other way for her to become Queen." Rusl and Link exchanged expressions of suspicion, but the mayor chose to ignore the questionable situation. "But never nevermind that, men. The crowning of a new monarch, whether one or two, is a momentous occasion for the entire kingdom and is cause for celebration throughout the lands! Link, what would you say to escorting my beautiful daughter to the castle for the event?"
Rusl gave the younger man a curious glance, but the hero knew that this was the chance that he had been awaiting for five excruciating years and he was bound to take it. "With all due respect, I still belong to the kingdom's Resistance Party along with Rusl here, so I am expected to attend the coronation alongside them." An expression of disappointment was obvious on the mayor's features, but he said nothing in protest. He simply bowed his head respectfully and began walking towards his home. "Before the sun awakens," Rusl repeated as he slapped a hand to the hero's shoulder. Link's eyes seemed to smile back at the swordsman with gratitude and for the first time in a long time, Link found himself looking forward to the adventures the next day would hold.
Just as Rusl had directed, Link was awake well before the sun. He found that he could hardly sleep in anticipation of the fact that he would finally be able to see the lands beyond the forests which he had only dreamed of for the past years. He traveled between the ranch and village, assuring that he was well-supplied for the upcoming journey ahead.
He found himself in the basement of his home in the trees, a lantern alighting the dark room which held all things of adventures past. His weapons such as the double clawshot, bow and quiver, and the sword Rusl had crafted for the Royal Family during the Era of Twilight had hung about the forgotten room. Link found himself running his scarred hand over the Hylian shield's engravings which decorated the shield's face. He could almost see the blood that remained on the shield after countless battles. The scratches that accumulated over the weeks never seemed to do significant damage to the shield, for always appeared in great condition whenever Link cared to inspect it. Even now, the shield appeared in the same condition as when Link can remember first purchasing it in Kakariko Village.
Link held the blade of the battered sword in his hand and used a calloused finger to inspect the blade's sharpness. Shortly after Link returned, he had given the old sword back to Rusl. A few days later, the swordsman had given the blade back newly polished and sharpened as well as he had first done. The hero sheathed the sword again, and turned to face the item which rested atop a chest at the end of the room.
The hero's tunic was something that Link regarded with the utmost respect at the conclusion of his journey. The spirit Faron had explained that the garment was worn by Link's predecessors which embarked on similar journeys to bring the earlier kingdoms of Hyrule peace. The tunic itself had been stained with blood and shredded by the weapons of the Heroes' enemies for centuries, but the spirit had used its strange powers to restore the tunic to new once Link abandoned it for his old ranch garbs. But now, he felt that it was appropriate to attend the Princess Zelda's coronation in the legendary tunic which she met him in as a human. It identified him as her kingdom's hero, and it was a title of which Link took much pride in.
He poured numerous bottles of herbal potions and filled sewed sacks of burlap and jute twine with food that Uli had given him for the journey to the city. She had expressed her wishes of traveling to Castle Town with the rest of the villagers, to which Rusl did not protest.
Link was tightening the straps which held the luggage on Epona's saddle when he made out light footsteps approaching him from behind. When he turned, he found the shy figure of Ilia approaching him with an expression of sadness. He knew what this encounter would turn into, and he came to the realization that this conversation would have been inevitable. She came to stand on the opposite end of Epona, stroking the horse's nose affectionately. Link recalled a similar sight the day his journey began, his heart had raced with romantic feelings towards the girl. Now, his heart ached with regret for the conversation that was about to ensue, and with the knowledge that their relationship would never be the same from this moment forward.
"I feared the day you would leave again," Ilia spoke carefully, her eyes still on the horse. Link remained silent in fear of saying something wrong, so he led the girl before him to continue. "I convinced myself that your return was one of obligation. It was evident that you were miserable here after experiencing the vast world beyond our tiny village. I couldn't blame you, honestly, but I always envisioned us spending our lives together. It was something that everyone wanted for us, but now… Now you're leaving again, and I fear that you'll never come back to me again."
"I'm not doing this for you, Ilia," he finally spoke softly, taking a few steps forward. "Please understand that everything I experienced on my journey has changed me in every way possible. I'm simply not the same man that left the village eight years ago, Ilia. Perhaps if I had returned unchanged, we might have had a future together. But now that… I'm sorry Ilia, I am."
Tears had begun to swell in the girl's eyes, but she wiped them away before the moonlight could reveal them to the man before her. She knew that the day he left destroyed a romantic future for them, but she had come to deny that and held onto the boy Link had used to be. Not having anything else to say, Link led Epona out of the alcove by his home when he heard Rusl's steed approaching the entrance to the forests. His eyes cast downwards at the younger girl, who only looked at him for a moment before returning her gaze to Link. "Please be safe," she croaked weakly, then walked around Epona to return to her own home.
Link's eyes followed her until she disappeared from sight, and he knew how heartbroken she must be. He regretted saying those things to her, regardless of what he said was the truth.
"Humans have a tendency to cling to a happy reality," Rusl spoke softly as Link mounted Epona, "but sometimes one's fantasies must be crushed in order for them to find a happiness in reality." He let the older man's words sink in as he silently followed the swordsman past the spirit of Ordona. After a spell of silence between the traveling companions, Link's eyes caught Rusl's staring at him with a gaze of pride and mischief. He spurred his steed along faster once the two men had crossed the bridge into Faron lands, and a smile graced the swordsman's features as he watched the Hero of Twilight break into a dash towards the fields.