A/N: A few things I feel I should say before getting this fic rolling.
I played with a lot of the canon stuff here so it's kinda weird. Basically the 100 year sleep never happened and it's going to look more into Link's mindset than anyone else's. I got the idea when I first saw the concept art for Link's family in BotW (Which featured his father and a little sister) and thought it would be interesting to see what it might have been like to learn more about Link's family and where he came from. I also played with the ages a bit to get this to work (Mostly with the Zoras) and - like most fics - I'll be taking some artistic liberty.
All in all, It's my first fic so I don't expect it to be good.
Thanks for reading and enjoy!
Chapter One
Link was an odd child.
At least, that's what he's heard for most of his life. Mostly from people who were older than him and had more experience in their lives. From the time he was four it was all anyone could say about him. He didn't know why or what they meant by it.
But he supposed it had to do with what he was capable of.
When he was four he was acutely aware who his father was. A Knight of the Royal Guard, leading men into battle wherever he saw fit. The King placed immense trust in his father and it gave Link pride to be seen with him. His mother would usually gush every time Link spoke about being a swordsman just like his father, and she would say in return 'One day, my little knight'.
What she didn't know was that this 'one day' would happen all too soon.
His father placed a small dagger in his hand one day, chuckling at the overzealous and toothy grin on his son's face, and told him to give it all he had. Link, excited and ready to show off, immediately ran after the practice dummy in the training yard where his father usually worked to help the new recruits. It was a late summer day with little to no work being done now as many were off duty for the evening. The head of the guard, Link's father, had brought him to the training grounds to see what his prowess would be as a knight. His son was small, lanky, and in some instances made people believe he was a young girl. Link never really felt perturbed by any of this, but his father certainly didn't like it. If he could at least prove here that he was capable of being a knight then perhaps those blind idiots who thought him feminine would shut their mouths.
Link wasn't sure what really happened once he raised the dagger. For a moment the dummy was in his sights, the ratty sack-head lobbing over to the side, and in the next… it was torn to pieces.
For a moment the child was stunned, but once realizing what he had done he was alight with pride and giddiness. He even turned to his father and asked what he thought, only to find the man was in shock and looking a little too worried about what he had seen. It took a few moments for the man to shake the dismay off his face and praise his son for such an excellent job.
This had been the beginning of the end for Link.
For many weeks he trained in the art of the sword, even if most of them were too heavy for him to carry. Many of the others in his father's regiment laughed at how small he had been and how fragile he looked when holding even a broadsword. Link didn't exactly blame them for doing such. He was only four at the time and not at all burly like those in the army. It wasn't until he went one-on-one with one of the younger recruits, an irony he was well aware of seeing his own age meant he was the youngest ever to fight, that he shocked everyone when he pinned the recruit with just a few swings. Everyone had been speechless, which made Link grin his usual toothy grin.
It wasn't long before his father's training was heightened and Link was brought around Hyrule for the chance to learn more techniques from different people. They didn't go too far, the farthest place visited being Hateno Village, but that was only because his mother was still there waiting on her two warriors to come visit her, even if only for a little bit. There weren't many people to train Link in the art of the sword or bow, but it was more for the experience of what the environment could bring him while they walked.
And Link loved it.
The fresh air and cool breezes, the night sky filled with stars that he spent hours counting even when he was supposed to be sleeping. Even on the rainy days, when it was sloshy out and he couldn't climb anything without slipping, he was still happy to be running about and enjoying the freedom. His father tried to reign him in before he could get hurt, but whenever they met up with anything that could harm him – like the one bokoblin that tried to ransack their camp – Link was too fast to catch and ended up taking the monster down before it had a moment to put together what was going on. In time Link's father allowed him to run about wildly and just enjoy his time while he could.
It wasn't until they got to the Zora's Domain where Link finally calmed down long enough to take in his surroundings.
Perhaps it had been the calm blues that shone even in the day time, or maybe it was the water that seemed to flow about them everywhere he looked, but something about Zora's Domain made Link calm. It felt nothing like the atmosphere in Castle Town, where the streets were usually so full you had to squeeze your way past in order to get anywhere. At the Domain things seemed to be in order, the world going with the flow instead of fighting against it.
Apparently his father knew the King here, King Dorephan of the Zora, as well as his two children. He thought that some time here would help Link in recognizing some of his prowess as there were a few Zoras who had some skills with weapons.
He met Mipha and Sidon that day, both being much older than him by tens of years. Sidon was a bit shy, but after a bit of nudging from his elder sister he came out and introduced himself. Link wouldn't say he was enamoured by the Zoras when he first met them.
But he was certainly entranced by them.
Though Sidon was wary of Link prodding him and asking questions, he answered truthfully and soon gained a liking to Link once the child showed no intention of harming him. Link learned from Mipha that Sidon was usually outgoing and kind around those he knew, but was a tad shy around Hylians. This did not phase Link as it only drove him to try harder to get the Zora prince to like him.
It didn't take long for the two to strike a friendship, Sidon even asking a few questions about Hylians once Link had asked all he wanted to about Zoras. Mipha found their friendship adorable, especially when Link – as small as he was – would be carried around on her brother's back or large tail through the Domain. It was refreshing to see Sidon open up to a stranger, even if that stranger was a small Hylian boy who asked too many questions.
Link trained at the Zora's Domain for some time, his father overseeing everything as many of the Zora showed the young Hylian how to hold spears and use them properly, as well to hone himself when it came to using other weapons like daggers or even the occasional trident. It was only for about a year Link stayed there, befriending the Zora Royal Family along the way, and then he was on his way. He made a promise to write to both Sidon and Mipha while he was training, making the separation a bit less painful.
And then off he went.
The next few years would be the same. He would train in different regions, gaining experience from different people he met. He talked with the Gorons and learned about their strength, using it to knock away foes or stun them in order to obtain the final blow. From the Rito he learned to think light and use his unnaturally small build to keep swift feet. The Sheikah in Kakariko Village were happy to help him learn more about stealth and to use the environment to his advantage. He didn't end up going to Gerudo Town, as he learned from his father that he would never see the inside of their walls because he was male, but he did end up meeting with Urbosa when she visited the Royal family of Hyrule and had to pass through Castle town to get there. She had seen him training with a sword and shield, outmatching many in the blade as if it were too easy.
She stopped her caravan of soldiers, interested in the fighting, and offered herself up as a challenger. Link was all for the idea and had a sparring match with her that only lasted a few seconds. She was able to get the upper hand and pin him to the ground, something he thought mighty impressive, and she explained to him where his footing failed and where he was in need of work. From her he learned not to be off guard in any instance, and to remain calm in the midst of battle.
He had learned much in his few years of training, and he thanked the Goddesses for the chances he had to learn from others. But there was one thing he had to learn that no one else could teach him.
How to be a brother.
They had visited Hateno many times over the past few years, and it wasn't until their latest visit that he learned he was going to be an older brother. His mother wanted to tell him when he retuned instead of through a letter, and there was no hiding her secret when they arrived at the home and found her stomach was twice as big as his last visit to her.
He was only nine at the time, and though he understood the basics in fighting with a sword… he couldn't quite understand his parents wanting another child. He wrote to Mipha about this as she was the only person he knew off the top of his head who had a younger sibling. It wasn't long until he received a message back from her telling him things would be alright. She told him he would be an excellent older brother and would be able to figure it out as time went on. He didn't really believe that, and for a while he grew to resent the thought of having a sibling. It didn't help that his training was put on hold until the baby was born and the family could have some time together, but that didn't stop him from training in the fields as the next few weeks dragged on.
And when the day came when his mother went into labour, the young Hylian grousing at the thought of having someone to take his parents' attention away, he finally met with the new family member he had been dreading…
…and the animosity melted away.
He now had a sister. And he loved her more than anything. It helped that she always seemed to be happiest when in his company. She giggled, she smiled, and held out her hands to him like he was her lifeline. His mother and father called her Aryll. For some odd reason he felt he had heard this name before. Somewhere in the recesses of his mind he could hear this name being repeated to him, and a young girl would always answer in return.
Big brother.
This was the first time he had felt those strange memories coming to him. Memories he shouldn't even have as he had never lived them. There were times his father would say his name and it would make him jolt a little in recognition, but there were more to come.
When he was eleven his father gifted him a foal. He had gotten her from one of the stables as a small token of gratitude and he decided it was time for Link to learn how to ride a horse. She was brown with a white mane and tail, her muzzle as soft as silk and eyes calm yet wild. When his father asked him what he wanted to name her, another memory he shouldn't have known surfaced. Except in this one only a name was spoken.
Epona.
These odd memories continued for Link though he wasn't sure why this was the case. One day he would be practicing with his blade, and then a moment after he swung the weapon he would flash back to a place he wasn't sure of. He had seen forests he knew he had never saw before, children with odd green clothes, or giant birds one could ride. There were times the memories made no complete sense, like when he could smell something odd and yet know exactly what it was. He didn't understand them and it worried him greatly.
He said nothing about them to his family, however, electing to keep it to himself as he felt others would just call him crazy. Those memories were left forgotten when he turned thirteen and he was helping his mother and Aryll around the home. He was still in training, looking to become a knight like his father, but only as a means to go out and look into the world.
He wanted to see more than the greens between Hateno and Castle Town, to see the hills and mountains up close instead of watching them from afar. He had even heard from some rumour mill that there was a forest people ended up getting lost in, only to turn around and wind up at the beginning. He was sure, with enough time and effort, he could figure out that forest's secret.
But his father would not let him venture far.
Link thought he had a chance to go see everything. To be part of the wild and explore all it had to offer and be free. He was at that age when the whole world seemed far more interesting than whatever lay in the town or castle. He had noticed the knights got to venture out to different places of Hyrule, far beyond the mountains he had been dreaming about seeing. So for a while he trained to be part of the knight's order so he could venture past these mountains as well. He would still have a job to do, but he would be free.
However, the plan he had made for himself did not go as initially planned after meeting with the Princess.
He didn't understand her, and he certainly didn't understand her fascination with these divine beasts those archaeologists dug up along with the guardians, which made it far more difficult for him to stay back and listen to her prattle on about the mechanical beings. All he wanted was to go out and enjoy the world there was on offer. To be part of the wild.
…
…but it seemed he wouldn't get that chance after all.
He glared down at the blade in his hand. Trying to will it away with his thoughts. He had trained day in and day out in order to prove he could take care of himself and be free of his father's watchful eyes. The man was protective of his children, more so Aryll than Link, and he certainly didn't want his son running about unsupervised with a bunch of weapons on hand. It took time for the young Hylian to prove he was capable of looking after himself, until he was seventeen in fact.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have proven himself far too well after deflecting one of the malfunctioning guardian's beams away from harming the princess.
It was with this act of heroism, the selflessness and righteousness he proved in his actions, that granted him the chance to pull the Master Sword from its pedestal deep within the heart of the castle. Apparently the royal family had been keeping it safe for the next chosen hero to arise and claim it as their own. Many had tried to claim it, but they had all failed.
What Link wouldn't have given to be one of them right now.
The chosen hero of Hyrule, the one who carried the sword that sealed the darkness, and the one who would bring down Ganon when he was awakened…
…someone he did not want to be.
