CHAPTER ONE

Sentiments

As he had many times before, Link awoke in the dead of night with the distressing images of his dream still fresh in his mind. Nothing he tried could wipe it away. She was there…suffering before his blade. He had to strike her down, but when he did, it felt like he had punched a hole in his own heart.

"Why did she…oh, good goddesses…"

He lowered his face into his open palms and rose to his feet, walking slowly out of his bedroom and through the halls of the majestic Hyrule Castle. He contemplated his living quarters. Very spacious and comfortable, a far cry from the barracks he had been used to in his days as a trainee. A knight was only gifted a bedroom in the castle itself under special circumstances, and Link had indeed lived up to that.

Even if one of the acts was still haunting him to this day.

"Damn…"

He found himself out on the grand balcony overlooking the luscious field that connected all of Hyrule. He thought back to his days as a trainee and the thought that he'd never get the oppourtunity to go out and see the world for himself. Not because he had been afraid of the world, but more not being good enough a knight to go out and do it.

Knights in training weren't allowed to leave the castle without permission from a higher-up whether it was General Impa or Princess Zelda herself. Zelda was always preoccupied with something else and usually never had time for trainees, and Impa (while fair and kind when she needed to be) didn't trust these young men to handle themselves in the outside world until they proved themselves. Link himself had done so fairly quickly, but in a way none of them had ever expected. He'd been reckless and charged out onto the battlefield without any order. He'd been a hero, and as he thought about the green tunic and flowing blue scarf he had hanging in his bedroom, he knew he wasn't just any hero.

No. He'd been the hero that Cia had to go and become obsessed with.

"Cia…" he muttered to himself.

He sighed again and let his hands drop onto the banister. He thanked the goddesses themselves for what came next so he wouldn't sink into another bout of depression.

"Link?"

Link turned his head toward the soft voice and focused his gaze on the nightgown-garbed woman stepping lightly toward him. In his mind, he sighed at this beautiful sight, and in reality, he cleared his throat and nodded at her.

"Um…good evening, milady."

She smiled and crossed her arms with her brow raised.

"When it's just the two of us?"

Link sighed and let a smile make its way to his lips.

"Zelda."

The princess nodded in approval and stepped gracefully toward him. The silver gown trailed behind her and gave the illusion of her gliding along the ground like a spirit, her slender and soft arms draped at her sides before she raised one and brushed her fingertips against Link's warm cheek. He shivered at her touch. She was oddly affectionate for a politician. Hyrule naturally had a boatload of senators that cared more about how the country was run than the people themselves. Zelda was nothing like that, and perhaps that was what made the people love her as well as what made Hyrule's enemies see her as weak.

At least until she pulled her rapier on them and showed them how skilled a warrior she was. She learned from the best, after all.

"That's better." she said. "What's the matter?"

"What do you mean?"
"I heard you tossing around in your sleep again. You've been having nightmares for a good while now."

Link lowered his gaze before finally looking away at the horizon. In the far distance in the direction he was looking, there lay the Valley of Seers, within which was the Temple of Souls. A strange and twisted realm that had an ironic beauty to it, but that wasn't why Link was thinking about it.

"It's about Cia, isn't it?" Zelda asked.

Link nodded. Not long ago, the sorceress known as Cia had waged war against Hyrule, wanting to take the Triforce for herself and for what? To have Link at her side. It was a disturbing thought for him, but the fact that she was willing to do anything to have him and how he ultimately had run her through forced up guilt in his heart. He felt terrible every time he thought of her. All she wanted was his love, and he had killed her for it.

"I regret what I did every single day. I just wish that things could have been different."

"You did what you had to do, Link. No one blames you for it. Not me, not Impa, not even Lana."

Lana was another thing entirely. She'd been the one most hurt by the loss of Cia, for the two had been the same being at one point. When Cia faded away, it was like Lana had lost her dearest friend. Had the goodness not been forced from Cia's heart and manifested itself as Lana, maybe she wouldn't have had to die. It wasn't Cia's fault. No one could fault her for wanting to be in love despite her duties. The one truly at fault was gone from the world, but not from Link's mind.

"I'll never forgive Ganondorf for what he did to her."

"No one will ever forgive Ganondorf for anything." replied Zelda. "He was to blame for all that happened, not you."

"I know…how do you think Lana's doing right about now?"

"I'm not sure, but I imagine she's fine."

"Yeah, but…she's in that temple all by herself watching over the fabric of time itself for as long as it runs. I don't know for sure considering I haven't got a clue how it works, but…that sounds like the loneliest thing in the world."

"Perhaps, but I suppose one must put their duties before themselves."

Link smiled and looked over at her as the two of them leaned against the banister.

"Like you?"

Zelda gave him that beautiful smile that melted him every single time. He didn't know how he managed to stay depressed in front of her for even a few minutes when he knew she could wipe out that wonderful trump card at any second.

"There's the cheerful soldier I know!" she chirped. "Tell you what. When we have time, why don't we go visit her?"

"Really?"

"Of course. I'm sure she's fine, but she's our friend. She could use it. Call it a date."

"Uh…"

Zelda laughed.

"Kidding."

Link found himself laughing as well, but stopped when she suddenly pulled him into a soft hug. He always sort of figured that a girl like her would be up for something like that, but he also figured she'd reserve that for family. Then he remembered: she had no family. Zelda's mother died of sickness when Zelda herself was about five years old, and her father was killed in action no more than a few years ago. By Hylian law, she couldn't be unmarried and a Queen of Hyrule, so that quickly meant that all her fellow bureaucrats could take advantage of her fairly easily. In fact, the only person she really had as family was Impa, who on top of being a Hylian general had been her caretaker since her childhood and had loved her like an older sister or even a mother. Impa. The toughest woman Link knew, and judging from how hard yet fair she was with her underlings, he didn't expect her to show too much affection to Zelda publicly.

At least Zelda remembered her mother and father in wonderful and lengthy detail. Link just barely remembered his own parents, and not every memory was something he wanted to keep in mind.

"If you ever need someone to talk to," Zelda whispered. "You can always come find me, okay?"

Link parted from her just enough that he could gaze into her soft eyes. He felt lost in them almost right away, but managed a warm smile and a nod.

"I will…thank you, Zelda."

"My pleasure. Now, we should both get to sleep. I hear you're taking your two trainees out for a Musou test in the Faron Woods."

A Musou, or Unlimited, test was essentially a training exercise for the most promising soldiers. As a newly instated lieutenant, Link had two trainees, and the three of them would have to work together in the test to accomplish a specific task whether it be capturing a point on the battlefield or taking down a specific enemy officer while literally hundreds upon hundreds of hostiles came at them at once. It was intended as a test of endurance and cooperation, and only a small handful of Hylian soldiers ever completed it, Link and Impa being among them. Just getting the honor of taking part in the test would cement the two trainees as hardened warriors. If they completed the test, they'd be something far greater.

"Yeah." Link said. "I'm still kinda aching from my own Musou test. Plowed through all of the spectres without a problem, but it was quite a workout."

"Way to not flaunt your accomplishments like a stuck-up fool." Zelda chuckled.

"Uhh…"

"Kidding."

They shred another soft laugh and another warm hug before they bade each other good-night. As Link returned to his quarters and tucked himself in, he let the sour thoughts of Cia slip from his mind and anticipated the coming trial from his understudies. Link knew deep down that they would do their best tomorrow and prove that they could be knights of the highest caliber.

Then he thought of Lana. A bright and cheery young girl on the outside, but on the inside a force dedicated to the upholding of justice. It had been quite a long time since he'd seen her, and with the journey the two of them had gone together with Zelda and Impa and mighty warriors from many different eras of time, there was no way he'd ever forget. The warriors themselves were truly marvels. Darunia…Ruto…Midna…Agitha…Fi. They were legends in the present, and to fight alongside them was an honor and a thrill.

"In fact…I wouldn't mind doing it again."

With that, he slept, but something kept itching at him from the inside. Something dark…something that wasn't willing to let go of him…something he thought he'd seen the last of.

"Oh, my dear Link…surely you must know I'm not finished with you yet."


After playing Hyrule Warriors for a while, it was only inevitable that I came up with something like this. This story actually stems from two issues I had with Hyrule Warriors itself. 1: the story is honestly kinda crap. Granted, with a game like that, gameplay is vastly more important, but I just can't shake the feeling that it could have been really good if the game didn't focus so much on fanservice. 2: Since it only covers Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword (though Majora's Mask characters are being added as DLC), there were a ton and a half of characters they didn't use that I really wanted. We got Darunia and Ruto, but not Saria and Nabooru. We got Fi and Ghirahim, but not Groose. I'm aiming to throw in as many characters as I can from a ton of different Zelda games without it feeling too crowded, so you'll see characters from Wind Waker, Spirit Tracks, A Link Between Worlds etc. Who knows? We may even see some guest characters from other Nintendo games.

Still, though, if you're a Zelda or Dynasty Warriors fan and don't have Hyrule Warriors, I highly recommend picking it up. It's a blast. And with that said, on with the show!

...at some point, since I am procrastination incarnate.