Eternal Memories
Author: Lehrain
Rating: T (violence and some language)
Spoilers: Only a few regarding events from the "Ocarina of Time" game.
Genre: Tragedy/Romance
Main Character(s): Link, Malon and Zelda
Secondary Character(s): King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, Ganondorf, Nabooru and Saria
O.C. Secondary Character(s): Kilik (Soul Caliber) and Roy (Fire Emblem)
Ship(s): LinkxMalon, ZeldaxRoy and KilikxNabooru
Summary: In the ancient world of Hyrule, a hero fights to save them from evil, but can he save himself from the same evil? "Silence. Not a sound could be heard besides his heavy breathing. Link stared down in horror at his blood-covered hands, then over at her lifeless body. What had he done?"
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; they belong to Nintendo, the creators of the Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem games, and Soul Caliber
A/N: This story takes place a short time after Link has turned seventeen in normal time. It opens with a future scene and draws it back into the past, about half a year prior. It may sometimes take a while for me to update, but try to bear with me. I hope you enjoy my FanFiction. Review to let me know what you think. Thank you and enjoy.
…..
Eternal Memories
Prologue
Hyrule. The one place he never wanted to leave, but he never had a choice. However, every time he did leave, to save another land from another evil, he always came back. But not this time. This time, after he left, he was never going to come back. He would never again see the rich, green land or the cool waters to which he had grown accustomed. The towns, the people and the beautiful castle would be gone to him. Forever. So many familiar faces…lost. And there was one who he would never see again, even if he didn't have to leave. How could they think he would do that to her? Him? He killed the enemy, not his best friend. He could never have hurt her.
….
Eternal Memories
Chapter 1
A Cause For Celebration
Malon awoke to the sound of birds chirping outside her bedroom. Sunlight was streaming through the open window to shine upon her face. She smiled and slowly opened her eyes to the new morning. She sat up quickly and stretched as she made her way to her dresser, quickly changing her apparel for the day. Malon fixed her hair in the mirror and, contented with the look, crossed the distance of the room to her door and happily skipped out it and down the short stairs.
"Mornin' to ya, Ma'am," Ingo greeted sleepily, walking into the house with two containers of fresh milk.
"Good morning, Ingo," Malon replied happily, casting him a sweet smile. She hopped off the last two steps and walked to the cupboard, where she proceeded to pull out dishes. She then set them on the table.
"Here's the milk," Ingo informed her, setting the jugs in the middle of the table.
"Thanks."
Ingo simply yawned in response.
Malon gave him a worried look. "How late did you stay up working last night?"
Ingo shrugged. "Dunno. Lost track of time after that chicken attacked me. I finally managed to calm her down and put her sleep, but I was worn out by then and fell asleep in the barn on a pile of hay. Hurt my back."
"Oh. You poor thing. I'm sorry my dad's been working you so hard," Malon said, directing him to take a seat on the sofa.
Ingo accepted the offer and plopped down on the soft mattresses. "It's not that bad. I get a kick out of breaking those colts every month," he chuckled at the memory of last time.
Malon smiled. "Well, that's good." She looked back and forth around the room. "Umm. Where's my father?"
"Huh? Oh, he went into town to make a delivery. He'll be back later this afternoon."
"Okay. I'll have to leave some lunch out for him then," Malon said, making a mental note and continuing to prepare their two-person breakfast.
…..
"Princess? Princess Zelda?"
Zelda heard someone calling for her from the corridor. She swung her door open and looked down. What she saw made her unable to hold back the amused smile. A servant, panting and obviously winded, was kneeling on the ground, trying to catch his breath. "Has something happened?" she asked, replacing the smile with a concerned look.
"Nothing's wrong, my princess. I just thought you'd want to know as soon as possible and be the first to find out."
Zelda's expression changed again from concern to sheer excitement. "Told what? What is it?" she demanded, stepping out of her room and closing the door behind her. "Tell me!"
The servant held up a finger and inhaled sharp intakes of breath. "N-not too…long ago, a…messenger arrived. He handed me a note. It said: The Hero of Time is on his way to Hyrule. Expect him by nightfall."
Zelda gaped. It had to have been months since she last heard from him. Link left, again, to save another place ten months ago. "Are you sure?" She didn't want to get excited over nothing.
"Absolutely, Princess," the servant replied with a nod.
Zelda beamed. "Thank you," she said, already running down the hall, heading to her father's chambers.
"Dad?" she called, bursting into the room.
The King jumped and placed his hand over his heart. "What do you want? I don't have anything," he quivered. However, when he noticed it was his daughter, he shook his head at himself. "Oh, it's just you. You surprised me." He retook his seat and folded his hands in his lap. "What is it that you want, darling?"
Zelda was momentarily taken aback by her father's outburst, but shook it away. This was much more exciting. "It-it's Link, Dad! He's on his way back! A servant told me he's going to arrive tonight!" she told him quickly.
Her father grinned and stood abruptly, knocking his chair over as he did so. "At last! Our hero has come back to us!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "Servant!"
Zelda arched a brow at her father's reaction. "Um…?"
But she was cut short when a squat man dressed in the traditional white, servant robe raced into the room. "Y-yes, you're Majesty?"
The King grabbed him by the collar and dragged him over to his desk. He scribbled something on a piece of parchment and handed it to him. "Deliver this message to everyone in the kingdom. We must welcome our hero home with open arms. Quickly, now! Move it, man!"
"Yes, you're Highness." The servant quickly bowed and scurried back out of the room before the King did anything else.
"What do you think? Should we have a….banquet?" he asked, turning back to his daughter.
Zelda took a moment to consider this and get over her father's antics. "Link will probably want to rest after his long journey…though a banquet does sound like fun. Maybe we should ask him when he'd prefer to have one," Zelda suggested.
"Hmm…alright!" he grudgingly agreed. "But we're going to have one sometime this week."
"Okay, Dad," Zelda nodded and gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Make sure you dress up for tonight. We want to look our best!" he grinned, shoving her out of his room so he could change for breakfast.
"Got it! See you at breakfast!" she called, running down the hall. She wanted to get down to breakfast quickly so she could be sure to have plenty of time to prepare for the evening.
…..
There came a quick knock on the front door. Malon looked up from the sink at the loud sound.
"Ingo?" she called.
There was no reply.
"He's probably in the fields by now," she muttered, setting the dishes aside and drying her hands on her apron.
The knock sounded again, and she quickly walked to the door to pull it open.
A tall messenger towered over her with a scroll under his arm. He grabbed the object and unraveled it, clearing his throat. "Ahem!"
"A message to all the citizens of Hyrule," he read. "Our great hero, the Hero of Time, is on his way back to us. After nearly a year away, I find it fitting to host a parade in the town marketplace leading to the castle as we celebrate another great victory for our majestic protector. Come celebrate with us! Your King, Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule."
He rolled the scroll back up and bowed, before turning to jump on his horse and ride out the gates.
Malon stood frozen with one hand still resting on the door mantle, captivated by his words. It took her a moment to realize what he had just unveiled. Her face slowly brightened, and a wide smile spread across her face.
Barely able to catch her breath, she whispered, "Link…is back?"