A/N: Welcome to my humble corner of the internet, dear wanderers that happened to pass by. My name is Raphaelle, but you can also call me Kat.
I must warn you though, this fic is not for the faint-hearted. No such things as fluff, pink bunnies, and happy endings are not even certain. There will be angst, violence, blood, despair, vengeance. This fic takes a rather original twist on the original Legend of Zelda series, and you can pretty much erase whatever assumptions you have on the three Triforce holders.
If you're looking for canon personalities, and the bright world that is Hyrule in the games, I'm sorry to say this is really not for you. But if you want something darker, more realistic... well, stick with me till the end and you won't be disappointed.

With that said, have a fantastic time and don't forget to review, it helps a ton!
Kat

Part 1: Steel and Snow

Chapter 1 :

A gust of vile wind enters the empty hallway and I shiver inwardly. Only a few torches are lit at this time of night, and they cast odd dancing shadows on the pavement.
The floor lies before me. The stone is cold and smooth against my cheekbones, and its touch somehow keeps me awake. The fingers stroke absently the stones, and I lay there, listening to the breeze whirling in my ears and playing with my hair. Waiting. Waiting.

I am all alone. Hanging around at this time of the night in Castle Town is not advised. Emptiness surrounds me and my body slowly becomes stiff, as if life was draining out of it. I think one of my ribs is broken. Blood has stained my destroyed tunic, and I can almost hear it dripping on the pavement. My fingers move to my side and land in a puddle of crimson liquid. I'm losing a lot of blood. Too much blood. I'm dying.

It may have been minutes or hours later. A sound of echoing footsteps overruns the street, and she stops in front of me. The pain I endure causes my vision to blur and it is with difficulty that I finally understand that she is offering me a hand.

"G- Go away!", I manage to mouth. I'm done for anyway. "I don't need your pity."
She only scoffs and answers: "As you wish." I could almost imagine her smiling.
I am about to black out when I notice that she is still here, standing casually, one foot against the wall. She too seems to be waiting for something.
"What do you want?", I ask in a hoarse voice, as I feel each word carrying me closer to death.
"I will not leave until you get up and show me that you are able to get to your house by your own."
It is almost with a lost longing that I whisper back coldly: "I have no house."
"I had already figured that much out."
A silence follows. "And I can't move."
This time I hear her chuckle. "Well, I can see that. I guess I'll have to carry you."
Now it's my turn to laugh, although laughing seems like a big word. It consists mostly of choking blood on the pavement. "Because you are going to bring a complete stranger with you? Do you have any idea who I am, woman? I might be a rapist for all you know. Besides, you probably can't even carry me."
These are probably the last words I'll ever utter. Everything swirls around me, the torches, the blood, the stones. I can see death slowly approaching and it is almost with a smile that I greet her. It is about time I leave this world and stop destroying other's lives. It's odd, I feel no pain…
The wind still howls ceaselessly, my only remaining connection with the world of the living.
Just before I close my eyes never to open them again, I hear her voice, seeming to come from another realm.

"Don't be such an idiot, Link."

Time freezes. Link? Is- is that my name? I don't know… I don't remember…
The wind has ceased. I am all alone in the darkness, hanging between life and death, alone with my forgotten past.
My eyes open suddenly and pain surges through every inch of my body. I never thought that memories would hurt so much.

"Why are we doing this? Why won't you answer me? Why – Why can't we just settle down and live normally, dad? You know, have friends?"

He looked at me in extreme sadness and only shook his head. "We can't. At least not now."
This time my anger rose and I could no longer control it. I pushed him violently and he stepped back. "But why? WHY?"
He raised his hands in mere defense, and in his eyes I could read guilt: he knew I had a point. "Listen, Link-"

It had rained a lot the previous days and we had chosen the wrong place to fight. The earth gave way under his feet and his voice was lost into a shriek. He slipped at an incredible speed in the mud and it was with horror that I watched him descend towards the cliff. He managed to stop sliding right in front of the precipice and stood for a few seconds there, trying to keep his balance. Then again the earth gave way and he found himself grabbing on with one hand on a sharp stone, his feet hanging above the abyss.
He had warned me about the dangers of the cliffs on the border of Hyrule, but this, no, no, this couldn't happen. Not when it had been I who had pushed him.
I screamed his name and ran to him. I reached for his hand but lost too my balance and was thrown into the chasm. I grabbed in extremis the slab and I was pulled apart, one hand towards the earth and survival, the other towards my father and a certain death. A life alone or a death with him.

"We are going to fall! My weight is too much for you to handle. I have to let go!", he shouted.
I widened my eyes in horror. "NO! This is out of the question! You know I can't go on without you, dad! If you fall, we will fall together!"
"You'll have to learn you way without me!"
"No no no no. Don't do this to me."
"You can! I know you'll make it through."
I started sobbing uncontrollably. "No, dad… please don't leave me…" I could feel my hand slipping.
"Link, listen, I… you…" He seemed about to say something, but changed his mind. That was when I saw tears streaming down his face. No. Never.
"Never forget… never forget that you are the greatest thing that happened in my life. I want you to promise me, son , to promise me that you will live your life happily and be free of your own regrets."
This can't happen. I won't allow it.
"Dad, this can't-"
"Promise me!"
I bit my lip and said as more tears streamed down my face: "I promise, dad. I promise."
He then smiled, as if reassured. "Then, goodbye, Link. Never forget what I have just said."

And he let go. And as I saw him falling into the darkness, his face seemed to be lighted up by some smile. Or maybe it was just a hallucination caused by the tears blinding my eyes.
And I knew at that very moment, that there wouldn't be a single moment of my life where I wouldn't be screaming his name interiorly, reviving this scene over and over again.

I stayed days on the cliff, lying next to the spot where my father had perished. I looked at the sky, watching the sun and stars disappear, as the ache in my heart became so powerful that I would have gladly killed myself. But something was preventing me.

I began to think that it was entirely my fault, for I was the one who had brought him on the border of Hyrule. It was because of me that we were chased. It was I who had pushed him, and I who had gone angry.
I eventually got up to search for some food, my hunger pushing me to feed myself, despite how much I wanted to stay here and die. I managed to drag myself to a local tavern. It was jam-packed, the center of the attention was turned towards an imposing man, half drunk, telling whatever story I did not listen to. I asked for a drink and it was at that moment that I heard the man saying: " Hey, everyone, have you heard the news? We've found a dead body next to the cliff. He seemed to have fallen from above."

My own body stiffened.

"Oh sure, we know him. Last time I've seen him, he was with his son next to the cliff. They were fighting about something and his son, Link I believe he is called, seemed REALLY angry", one of his friends called out.
"Yeah, he really seemed like the angsty pre-teenager."
"And I saw his son a couple of hours ago. He was alone."
Silence followed those words, and everyone could easily figure out what would follow.
"You're not insinuating -"
"Seriously, he's half a kid-"
The drunken man shouted again. "I'm not insinuating anything. His son killed him."

My hand acted alone.

I grabbed one of the kitchen knives on the table that the maid had left in a moment of inattention, and went towards him.

And without a word, stabbed him in the stomach.

And I promised myself no one would ever insinuate anything about my past, or else I'd kill him.
I was twelve.

No. My name isn't Link. Or maybe should I say that it hasn't been for the past seven years and I won't let it be again.

Today, I am more or less known as Keaton. The Legendary Keaton, that is, or at least that how I say it. The Hylian army doesn't approve that much of it though, and offers a reward of 10 000 rupees dead or alive to whoever captures me. I am the most famous thief on the run, and considered as the most dangerous man who has ever walked Hyrule.

...ok, maybe not of all times. The name I chose comes from an ever greater thief than me, himself named Keaton, who lived several hundred of years ago. His story has been turned into a myth and passed on with great fear, but somehow I have always admired him. All my life I have strained to in some way resemble him.

But there are way too much differences between us.
First of all, he had a family, a home, friends, and people he could count on. I have none of that.
Second, he had learnt to find his own path and be free of his regrets. Although I want to convince myself that I have, I know that these memories are still in the back of my head and will one day reappear. Actually, as I speak, they just have.
Third, he was a kind person, a loving father, and understood the value of life.

And most importantly, he isn't dying like a complete idiot in the middle of the street.

She is still here, standing soundlessly hardly a meter away from me. My position has not changed, but surely she has seen the pain on my face. Why – WHY did she have to bring up those memories? How did she know about my name?

A instinct of survival clicks into my brain and it is with a broken pride that I swallow my anger and desire for revenge. Vengeance is a meal best eaten cold, so they say.
"Fine, help me." Those words are uttered in such a low voice that she can't possibly have heard them. But hardly a second later, she approaches and lifts me up, my body weighing down her arms. I look up and all I can see is a pair of dark blue eyes streaked of gold staring back.

Obviously noticing that I won't make ten meters alive, she stops in her movement suddenly. Her left hand holding my forearm starts burning so much that it becomes painful. I gather whatever strength I have left and lift my head up to look at her. She is staring into space. Her eyes have turned ice blue.

I can feel strength and power entering my body through her hand, and my chances to survive are not as slim as before now.

"What did you just do ?", I whisper with a hoarse voice as she starts dragging me again.
She only answers, her voice seeming to fade away: "...You'll thank me later. When all is finished."

And there I black out, the absolute darkness finally shrouding me.