The Book of the Goddesses

A/N: Oh. My. Goddesses. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY have to stop with the new stories. Currently I am working on three but one is on a long hiatus and the other two are in progress and I'm doing pretty well with them for being written by a novice writer. I actually wanted to begin writing a seriousstory and I thought of this story that you are about to read. As soon as I thought of it I had to write it for I was afraid I might forget it. If there is other stories like this, I didn't know. But, anyhoo, enjoy! Also, this is post TP.

Disclaimer: I do not own TLOZ and I never will. Until I find a way to, Nintendo will be it's rightful owners.

Prologue

Outside, the sun shone brightly and birds called out with pleasure. In the town, people ran about, playing and working with those they knew fairly well. Around the center of the town, a group of musicians played their instruments, playing to bring joy to others, not money to themselves. Although the day was young and people seemed happy, darkness loomed in the air. An unknown sadness lurked in dark corners unable to leave some people.

Zelda watched some of the excitement and sadness from a merchants stand. She stood somewhat hunched so her identity would not be revealed. A long, black cloak covered her dress of royalty, narrow, yet beautiful face, and her golden brown hair. Zelda let out a long sigh and began to walk back to the castle, only to be stopped by a merchant.

"You have to pay for that!"

Zelda turned around in confusion, her cloak dragging on the ground. "Excuse me? I do not- Oh." She tightened her hand and felt something smooth. In her hand was a gem, dark and luxurious. A black opal with and orange colored swirl lay in the palm of her hand when her fist was unclenched. Zelda winced. The coloring… it brought back too many memories.

"Well?" asked the annoyed shopkeeper. "I will call for the guards."

Zelda couldn't help but to smile softly at the shopkeeper. He had a reason to say such for he did not know that he was speaking to Zelda, Princess of Hyrule. "I am sorry. I do not wish to trouble you. And, how much, may I ask, is this stone?"

The shopkeeper snorted. "There's no way you can afford it. You are merely a peasant like I am. But, if you must know, it is worth at least seven pieces of gold." The shopkeeper closed his eyes and raised his nose up high. Once Zelda did not move, he cracked open his left eye to see her standing with something in her hand. He leaned forward over his cart and his eyes widened. "Oh, great Goddesses… I- here! Thank you, thank you for you business!" He quickly took the gold pieces from Zelda, observing each piece. Luckily for the princess he was too observed in the coins to question her.

Zelda smiled to herself and looked at the opal once more before sliding it in her pocket. The stone she would give to a friend. Maybe later on, even. The stone would mean more to him then her. The stone may even fix some old, unhealed wounds of his.

Walking back through the castle gate's she spotted a young girl sitting in a darkened corner. Her hair was a deep red and her eyes were an odd brown, almost amber. The girl's eyes were red and puffy and Zelda knew instantly that she had been crying. She walked over to the girl and knelt beside the girl who shrank away from Zelda. Her eyes darkened into a protective glare and she bit her lip.

"Dear, I won't hurt you," Zelda murmured comfortingly. "What is your name?"

The young girl, though still a bit frightened, answered Zelda. "My- my name is Lycoris," she whispered in a slightly accented voice. Lycoris sniffed and wiped away stray tears. Suddenly, her face hardened. "Do you know where my mother might be? We are travelers and we were staying at this inn. This morning, we were supposed to leave Hyrule to go elsewhere and I do not where she went or if she is on the road already without me."

Zelda frowned. What mother would leave their child behind? Even on accident if this was the case. "Listen, Lycoris, I will make sure that you and your mother reunite no matter what. Until we find her or she finds you, you have my permission to stay in the castle."

Lycoris snorted. "What makes you think that? Don't you need Princess Zelda's approval?"

Zelda laughed softly causing Lycoris to give her a confused expression. "Lycoris," Zelda began to say, removing her hood. "I am Zelda." The princess smiled at Lycoris's gaping expression and took her small hand. "Come, child. Let's get you inside."

Lycoris nodded slowly and let Zelda lead her through the castle gate's into the Castle of Hyrule. They passed many serving maids once inside who looked curiously at the young girl and princess who sauntered through the halls. Occasionally, a maid would whisper something to one of their friends who would nod in agreement.

The princess has too kind of a heart they said. Taking children into the castle was not to be expected even though they knew what Zelda believed and thought. Before they could even blink the princess would have every homeless child housed in the castle. They would cause shortage of food and would run around the castle, getting lost and in other's way.

Zelda knew the thoughts of her maids for their expression gave it all away. She shook away their thoughts and looked down at Lycoris who was taking in all things her eyes could see. Lycoris reminded her of Midna almost in young girl form. But, Lycoris was from the world of light like she was herself. Zelda almost hit herself for thinking what she thought.

Lycoris looked up at the princess when she felt Zelda's muscles tighten. "Princess, is something wrong?"

"Hmm, oh, no, Lycoris. Are you hungry or would you like to take a bath? Maybe even get some rest?"

The girl shook her head. "Do you… have a library?" she asked ignoring all of the options given. "I know how to read and I would very much enjoy if you had one."

"Of course, Lycoris," Zelda said with a smile. She didn't doubt that the young girl could read. Even talking to her made her seem as if she had a great education earlier. "Lycoris, what is your mother like?"

"She is tall. A bit taller than you maybe. But, she has black hair and green eyes. Oh, and she's a storyteller."

So her mother was a storyteller. That would explain Lycoris's education, Zelda thought. "Ah, here we are. The library." Zelda stopped in her tracks and turned to her right where a large door was. She pushed open the door and Lycoris breathed in deeply, taking in the smell of the musty, old books. "You may read whatever you like, Lycoris."

The girl's eyes began to sparkle and she ran forward to embrace herself in the hundreds of books. She stopped at the first towering shelf she came to and crossed her arms. She climbed up the ladder that allowed books to be taken from the top looked around. Eventually, she sighed and jumped down, finding nothing.

Lycoris went from shelf to shelf, looking at the books as Zelda watched. It seemed to the princess that she was looking for something in particular but she was not positive so Zelda let the girl be. Once one of the maids came in the room and asked Zelda if she was in the need of anything. "Please, can you watch Lycoris for me while I go bathe?" she asked the maid who nodded in agreement.

After Zelda's bath, she headed back down to the library where, to her surprise, Lycoris still was. But the young girl was no longer reading the dusty book that sat on her lap, she was sleeping soundlessly with her head resting on the arm of the chair she sat in. Zelda smiled and called for a maid to bring the girl a blanket. Placing it on Lycoris, she let out a sigh. "Good night, Lycoris," Zelda whispered softly.

She walked out of the library and headed back up to her room. Once there, she sat lazily on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Zelda sighed and looked at her cloak that lay next to her. She searched through the pockets and pulled out the small opal. Zelda called on a maid and gave her orders to send for her friend. He would arrive tomorrow if she told him to. This was something that he must have. For his heartbroken state, it was something he needed.

A/N: hello everyone! Thanks for reading my prologue to my new story. And I know that it is a bit shorter than I usually write but that is because it is a prologue. Although I don't know how this came about, I hope it's okay. Anyhoo, hope you enjoyed and please review! It will give me confidence and probably will help me write the next chapter sooner.