The Cycle Continues
It's kind of funny how things work sometimes. Like, take me for example. I went from barely knowing how to swing a sword, to being some kinda legendary warrior. I went from worrying about simple things like "I wonder what kind of grueling training Commander Eagus has in store for me today?" To being afraid to sleep some nights, in fear that something wants to kill me. I didn't ask for this. I was just some guy who wanted to fulfill his father's legacy, and maybe impress a pretty girl along the way. Now the fate of a whole kingdom rests on my shoulders. I know, you're just itching to know "How did this happen?" Well, I guess I should start from the beginning. Get comfortable, this could take awhile.
It was dark. I mean, can't see anything two feet in front of you dark. I was being chased by I don't even know what. I couldn't see it, but I could hear it. It was loud and monstrous. It's heavy footsteps thundered behind me as I ran through the darkness. I was terrified. I was so sure that if it caught me, it would devour me whole. My legs were starting to grow tired, I couldn't run much longer. Suddenly, the footsteps grew more rapid, like whatever was chasing me grew more legs. There was a faint sound, a voice. I couldn't make it out, the steps were too loud and heavy. It was gaining on me. I ran faster. But it seemed no matter how fast I ran it was faster. The sound just came faster and louder. Before long, it was close enough to where the vibration of its footsteps almost knocked me off balance. Finally, my legs went numb and I collapsed. The steps even more rapid, the voice became clearer. A girl's voice called in between the steps. After a few times, I could even make it out. She was calling me. Suddenly, the monster let out a loud, angry cry as it reached down to devour me.
I sprung upright in my bed, gasping for air. It was a dream. A loud crack of thunder boomed through the night. The patter of rain hit the roof hard before trickling down to the puddles forming on the ground. Just then there was a pounding at my door. "If your home, please open the door!" The voice called, muffled from the thick wood door. I quickly scrambled out of bed, and nearly tripped over the red throw rug in the center of the room. As soon as it was within reach, I threw open the door. No sooner was the threshold clear, the source of the voice collapsed into my arms. The lantern she had held in hand fell into the puddle at her feet, extinguishing the flame. I ignored the fact that her cloak was drenched from the pounding rain, and pulled her close to my chest. My heart sank, I knew something was wrong. "What happened? What's the matter Z-..." I froze in mid-sentence as she raised her head, her powder blue eyes locking with mine. I could see she was trying to hold back her tears, but her pain was as obvious as the night sky. "It's terrible! The castle! It's happened! And Father-... Oh Father!" Finally, she lost it. She shoved her face into my chest, and began crying loud enough to wake the dead as tears erupted from her eyes, streaming down her pale face.
A cold wind blew through the door, slamming the heavy raindrops against our embrace. I felt her body quiver in my arms and placed a comforting hand on the back of her head, lacing my fingers through her wet blonde hair. "Hey." I began in the most comforting tone I could come up with. "Lets get you out of this rain." I said, before picking her up and cradling her in my arms. It was something I was used to by now. After all, when we were kids, I used to carry her around whenever she got tired from walking. And now, years later, she only weighed all of about 140 pounds soaking wet. This was plenty lighter than the armor I was used to wearing for my Knight Training.
Cradling her in my arms, she clutched the sleeves of my shirt as if her life depended on it, her face buried into my left shoulder as she continued to sob. I reached out with my foot and kicked the wooden door closed before walking back to my bed. I carefully sat on the bed, and grabbed the nearest blanket, wrapping us both in it, as we were both soaked from the rain. I sat in silence, letting her cry until she couldn't any longer.
As she did so, my mind began to wander. I thought of the past. I remembered her and I as kids. Dad was Captain Commander of The Knights of Hyrule at the time. This was not only due to his superior skills as a Knight of Hyrule, but as the close personal friend and bodyguard of King Daltus Link Gaepora III. As his son, I spent a lot of time around the Royal Family so that I could learn the ropes, and take dad's place one day. No pressure right? So, much to my own dismay, I was held to some pretty high standards. Most of The Royal Family, and just people in general never saw the real me. I was always Link, the son of Captain Commander Gustaf, The young boy destined to protect The Hyrule Royal Family. According to dad, he and mom even named me after both the King and The Legendary Hero of Time. The only people that saw me for who I was (parents aside) were the King himself, and his young daughter Zelda. Who grew up to be the pretty girl that currently resides in my lap, crying uncontrollably.
After a few short minutes Zelda calmed down. It was silent for a few seconds before I took the initiative and began firing off questions. "Alright, now what happened? What about the King? Is he in some kinda trouble?" With each question, Zelda's expression became more and more horrific; tears began to well in the corners of her eyes again. She fought back the tears this time. "Link... The castle has been attacked. They came from the desert. They were using some kind of Black Magic. The Royal Knights tried their best, but it was no use. Father even took up sword and tried to fight. But... But... Oh goddesses Link, he killed him!" The tears began once again as she buried her head into my chest, clinging to my sleeves for dear life again. "He killed everyone!" she shouted in between sobs.
I couldn't tell for sure, but I'm sure there are Stalfos with a darker complexion than I had at that exact moment. "Who? Who killed them?!" Admittedly my tone was harsh, but death was something I've barely been able to handle since dad died. It was 9 years ago, defending the king from an unknown assassin who attempted to take the king's life. Zelda held back her tears and we locked eyes again. "It's him. I don't know how I know, but I just know it's him. The Desert Man." she whispered the name, almost as if she was afraid someone would hear.
"The Desert Man" I repeated in shock. "No... No! No, it can't be him!" I shouted, terrified. Any grade school Hylian could tell you about 'The Legend of Zelda.' It's a huge part of Hyrule history. It's the story about one of the first Queens of Hyrule, and The Hero of Time. It also tells of The Desert Man, a male Garudo, who lead an Army of Darkness. He planned to use his evil power to rule The Kingdom of Hyrule. But with the courage of The Hero of Time, and the wisdom of the Princess Zelda, The Desert Man's plans were foiled. Thus he was executed for plans to commit grand treason against Hyrule and her people. Because of her wisdom, it became tradition that every first born princess in the family be named Zelda. This was all common knowledge. The entire kingdom was based off of this legend. "He's dead, everyone knows that. He was exe-..." Suddenly, I froze. The last part of the legend is the final words of The Desert Man. He swore that he would return and seek revenge. "But he can't come back." Surely The Godesses wouldn't allow such an evil man to control the kingdom that our ancestors worked so hard to build. Or, so I thought.
"Link... there's more." she whispered. "There's more to the legend. It's only passed down through The Royal Family, and the most trusted scholars in the land. It's most commonly known as The Cycle of Eternity." She wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled a few times before explaining The Cycle to me. The short version is that the roles of The Hero, The Princess, and The Dark One are each part of Hyrules history that has repeated since ancient times. The Dark One has taken many forms, but his goal is always the same: To corrupt, destroy, and rule the land of Hyrule. However, The Hero and The Princess are chosen by fate to reincarnate, and work together to defeat The Dark One. Recent Hylian history gives the The Dark One a form. It's said, through prophecy, that a man from the desert will lead his army of darkness into The Kingdom of Hyrule in pursuit of The Golden Power. Only then, when The Dark One takes form, will the peasant hero, and the princess must join forces. Only by combining courage and wisdom will they defeat The Dark One, and restore peace to Hyrule.
As she explained the legend to me, it was clear that The Chosen of Wisdom was the girl that I grew up with. "Huh... Who would have guessed you were so important." I teased. She smiled a bit "Hey, I AM Royalty you know. You should have more respect." she said snobbishly. "Oh. Well excuse me, Princess!" I fired back. It only took a second for the both of us to break into laughter. It only took a moment for a loud crack of thunder to silence our laughter, causing her to once more bury her head into my chest. I couldn't resist the smile that played across my face. I always found it funny that The Princess of Hyrule, a woman that has stared down and demanded respect from men twice her size, was afraid of a little thunder.
After a few moments, of trying to get a grasp on the situation the world was currently in, I spoke up. "So... what do we do from here?" I asked somberly. She took a moment to think it over. "I guess, It's time to find the hero. ...You'll come with me, wont you?" her voice was calm, but I knew Zelda. Her eyes practically begged me to help her. "Well, I suppose it is kinda my duty as a Knight-in-training to protect my princess." With a smile, she climbed off the bed and straightened out her, still sopping wet clothes. "Alright, then whenever you're ready, we'll go to the castle. Or at least what's left of it." She said, as she headed for the door. I quickly reached out and grabbed her hand. "Are you crazy?! If The Dark One or... Desert Man... or whoever it is. If he attacked the castle, then he probably knows who you are. And I'd be willing to bet he wants you dead." she quickly spun around, and gave me that royal scowl she was known for when exerting her authority. "Excuse me?! As your Princess I demand that you-" "NO Zel!"
The room was silent for a moment. I released a deep sigh. I had that harsh tone again. "Look, he's going to be expecting you. But I doubt he's going to expect you to come running to some peasant. We'll stay here until morning alright? We'll check out the castle tomorrow. First thing, I Promise." With a look of defeat, she plopped back onto the edge of the bed and pouted childishly. Princess or not, she was still the same girl I grew up with. Although, I'm not so sure she actually grew up.
Noticing her pouting, I reached for my pillow and threw it at her. She easily deflected it, brought it to her chest and hugged it before sticking her tongue out at me. "C'mon, get over here before you catch cold or something" I nagged, grabbing her arm and jerking her toward me. She jerked back, playfully. "I'm The Princess here. You can't tell me what to do." she said before sticking her tongue out again. I scoffed "Yeah, and you're a brat too. Seriously, you're such a kid sometimes." Just then, a bolt of lightning touched down in the yard, letting out a crash of thunder so strong the walls vibrated. With a quick squeak, Zelda wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my chest again. I couldn't help but chuckle. "Case in point: You're still afraid of thunder." I joked, wrapping the blanket around us again. "Shuddup" she mumbled, her face still buried.
Before long, Zelda had fallen asleep. I however, stayed up and listened to the storm, thinking about all that had happened. She put on a brave face, but I could see in her eyes that Zelda was devastated by it all. After all, her father was murdered right in front of her. And on top of it all, we had to go find some hero in the morning, so we can basically prevent some evil jerk from destroying everything. I used to think I had problems.