A/N: Here is the first chapter guys! I'm hoping it doesn't feel too rushed because I expect this to go beyond 30+ chapters (possibly). We'll see. I had to do a little research regarding ages of the characters since its never specified so if you would like to know the character's ages, I've put the list in the author's note page before this chapter and if any characters are introduced that will benefit from an age description, they will be added to the list as the story grows. Anywho, thank you for the support! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the LoZ series or its characters. It belongs to Nintendo. I only own the right to the story's book cover and the plot idea.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-Chapter 1-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"It is not healthy for a young man of his age to be sitting around in a dumpy, old cottage!"

"It's not dumpy nor is it old, Uli. Now stop worrying about that poor boy when there are other things to shift your focus to!"

"Honestly..." Uli shook her head with disappointment. It was like her husband to view the blond man as someone who could take care of himself and though she didn't doubt that, Link was still the type of person to cause worry among the villagers. "He's still young, Rusl. Could you at least check up on him? I'd feel more at ease knowing that he's not flopping around on the floor like a dead fish."

"If that'll make you happy, then sure." Rusl grunted as he stood, his joints creaking from the sudden movements. "Goddess...aren't I getting old?"

"Old? Yes, and you're still very handsome." Uli spoke lightly and shifted the whimpering baby in her arms. The air was cool and murky due to last night's rain shower carrying over into the spring afternoon. The two adults sat on the front porch of their home, quietly admiring the light drizzle that turned the dusty roads a dark brown and graced the grass with shining dew drops. "It's always nice to just sit outside, you know? I just wish there wasn't any fog." Uli furrowed her brows ever so slightly. It had been some time since Ordon village had received any rain and yet, while the villagers were more accustomed to dry lands and sunny weather, they welcomed the change in forecast with open arms; a gift from the Goddess they had proclaimed. Uli, on the other hand, was rather picky when it came to the weather and saw this as a punishment rather than a blessing.

"I bet Link is out tending to the goats, you know how much he loves them. He wouldn't leave them to suffer out in the rain like this." Rusl held out his hand to his wife and lifted her to her feet.

"The owner of the ranch put them in the barn yesterday evening and they haven't been out since. Just run by his house, if he's not home we'll assume he's out on an errand." Uli dusted off her skirt with her free hand. "An errand is much better than having him spending all his time in that shack. I refuse to let him get lazy in the prime of his life."

The older man chuckled. "You talk as if you gave birth to him."

"Did we not raise and care for him though? Has he not returned the favor by being nothing but helpful to the people of Ordon?" Uli placed her hand on her hip. "Link is a son, a brother, and a friend to all. Colin has always wanted an older brother and Link has done a heck of a good job at giving him that. The least we can do is give him a family. He doesn't have-"

"I know sweetie, I know."

The two fell quiet. Discussing Link's past had always been difficult not just for Rusl and Uli, but for everyone in the village. Link had appeared out of nowhere one day. A baby boy with tear stained cheeks, screaming at the top of his lungs while he laid in a rickety, woven basket floating in the village's stream. One of the older townsfolk had found him whilst out on a morning stroll. It was during a time when Ordon was lacking in certain aspects of village life and the community wasn't as tight knit as they believed to be. The baby boy, however, somehow brought the village together and because of that, they gifted him the name "Link". Uli had been young at the time, eighteen to be precise, and had just married Rusl without a single thought as to when they would begin their family life. Some would joke about how Link was her "first born" as she seemed to had developed an attachment for the boy after their first meeting and vice versa. From then on she became his primary care giver, though his time was spent alternating between the mayors home and her own. Uli wouldn't deny that raising Link was a job all in its own and as the boy grew so did his wild behavior and affinity for animals, particularly the goats. Ten years later, Colin was born and it wasn't until then that Link had brought up a point that no one seemed to have discussed. Link's ears were pointed whereas everyone else in Ordon village had rounded ears. When he had brought this up, Rusl and Uli began thinking about what kind of parents Link must have had and where Link's parents must have come from. It was finally decided, after Ordon joined the other provinces in the trading of goods and ammo with Hyrule Castle, that Link was indeed Hylian. Rusl had decided that Link's parents must have not been able to afford to raise a child in a town otherwise known for its expensive lifestyles. Abandonment of children in Hyrule's castle town was not uncommon. Many of Ordon's residences expected Link to grow up to be spiteful or resentful of his own parents for abandoning him in a stream and were surprised when Link held no ill intentions. Link had grown to be a kind and helpful member of the community. He always wore a smile, retrieved and delivered items for others, and had a courageous heart that others could only be envious of. The villagers had no difficulty at all in making Link a member of their own families.

"I'll go check up on him. You should head inside before you catch a cold." Rusl pressed a soft kiss against Uli's lips and watched his wife crack an amused smile.

"Now why would I go inside if you're kisses are here to warm me up?" She giggled. The older man wrapped an arm around Uli's waist, bringing her closer as if to give her another kiss but instead, had quickly ushered the maiden back into their home. Chuckling to himself, he grabbed his jacket by the front door and slipped it on. "Ah great...a downpour." He mumbled, covering his head with his hands in hopes of keeping himself dry and made his way down the porch steps. Maybe it was a stroke of luck or maybe it was just pure coincidence, but Rusl didn't have to go far before his eyes fell upon familiar dirty blond hair. The man shook his head with an exasperated sigh. Link was standing by the bridge, cautiously staring down a cucco that was holding hostage a sack that more than likely contained the blond's dinner for the evening. "I still find it hilarious that an animal lover like you has such a hateful relationship with a bird." Rusl barked out a laugh as he strutted forward and shooed the cucco away. "Were you out? What's in here?..." Rusl picked up the sack and looked inside. "Fish. This is a lot of fish for one person." He pointed out. Link shrugged his shoulders, taking the bag once it was passed back to him. Rusl watched the younger man for a moment, reaching over to brush the wet hair back out of Link's eyes. "Son," he began, noting how quickly Link's head had shot up to look at him. He looked as if he had just been caught red-handed. "You can always talk to me if something's wrong."

Link's expression softened. "...I know." He breathed out, a weak smile gracing his lips. It wasn't like him to be so...quiet. He didn't talk much anyways, but there was something about this kind of silence that was off putting. It wasn't normal. His behavior wasn't normal. When the blond had come back to Ordon, after defeating the beast that had plagued the entire land and had threatened to destroy life as they knew it, Link had never been the same. Rusl didn't know who or what was affecting the younger male but he surely knew asking Link would guarantee him no answers.

Rusl scratched the back of his head. "Why don't you come have dinner with the family tonight? Uli and Colin would love to see you." He suggested. Link thought about the offer for a moment. It sounded nice and he hated to turn Rusl down, but...a part of him really wasn't feeling up to chatting with the rowdy bunch.

"I really need to get home." Link stated quietly and avoided eye contact with Rusl. He knew the older man would look hurt by his answer and there was nothing Link could do to fix that. "Maybe next time?"

"Of course." Rusl gave a small nod. "You're welcome to join us for dinner, any time. If you change your mind, you know where to find us!" The older man gave the hero a rough pat on the back and swiftly turned towards his home. Link watched Rusl leave and gently gripped the bag of fish. He felt that it was best to stick to solitude for a while. He didn't want...he didn't need to cause any trouble for the people he cared about the most. His troubling thoughts and nightmares were his and his alone to endure. The blond sloshed his way through wet grass and mud, every now and then pushing his dripping wet bangs away from his forehead. After ascending the ladder to his home built within a tree, Link through the front door open, pausing to dump his muddy boots on the porch. He seemed uncomfortable with the lack of lighting in the room. Link's home had received a few minor renovations after his return. The boarded up hole at the top of his home had been patched up and covered to accommodate with the possibilities of changing weather and the constant allure of bugs and leaves dropping down from above. While Link enjoyed the fact that he wouldn't have to clean up anymore dead leaves from the floor, that main source of lighting was taken away.

"Did the lantern burn out already?" He mumbled to himself with a frown. The darkness was unsettling. Though it was still early in the evening, the grey clouds covered the sun outside and the heavy rain and fog did well to block out most of the natural light. Link checked the lantern hanging from the ceiling. Damn...most of the oil had burned out. He did have an extra supply in the basement, but just the thought of going down there gave him shivers. "Ugh." He tossed the bag onto the table, ignoring the creaking floorboards beneath his feet. One would think that with rain pouring that hard outside, the silence in the house wouldn't have been so deafening. Link peeled off the egg-shell colored shirt and tossed it onto the floor. He hated being soaking wet; it reminded him too much of the perils he had suffered during his journey to save Hyrule. Though being drenched was not on his to-do's list, he loved the rain. Rain was soft and melodic; completely different from being submerged into a cold, dark lake. He rung out his hair and raked his fingers through the blonde locks with ease. "Basement." He whispered to himself.

Thud.

Just as he was about to make his way to the ladder, he quickly spun around to see one of his cups come to a gentle, rolling stop on the floor. At first, he was confused. Did he leave a cup out on the counter? How did it even fall to begin with? Oh wait..he had tossed the bag of fish onto the table. That must have off balanced the cup that had been sitting there. Link scooped up the clay object and turned it over into his hand. He supposed he should take it with him anyways. It'd be easier to scoop the needed amount of oil from the extra supply instead of taking two trips into the basement. Link tucked the cup underneath his arm, peering down into the seamlessly endless black pit before ever so slowly descending the ladder. If he had to describe the experience with one word, it would be anxiety inducing. Never in his life had he been so afraid of something as trivial as the dark. He couldn't think properly, almost taking his own heavy breathing for that of someone else hidden in the small room. Link sometimes questioned why there was a basement to begin with. At the time, it had seemed like a good idea; extra space to store the many items he had. In fact, Link had never really hated the basement, but he never loved it either. His own hoard of items became his regret. Link couldn't count on his finger the number of times he had stepped foot into the basement only to come scrambling out in a panic because he mistook a pot for a head. Link's fingers tightened around the shafts of the ladder as his bare feet met with the dusty floor. Hyrule's most recent calamity made this small basement a fear that stood ten feet tall. Triforce of courage...bah. No hero would be afraid of the dark! Yet here he was trembling in his own home.

Then again...having courage didn't mean you had to be fearless.

Calloused fingers fumbled around the room in search of a wall. He could feel the hard edges of the wooden shelves, fingers bumping against the smooth, potted objects resting upon them. He couldn't exactly remember when he had placed so much stuff in the basement, he was sure he had only brought down a few things, but he figured some of it must belong to Rusl and Uli. "Ah.." Link frowned, grazing his hand over another smooth object with rough edges. He couldn't see anything clearly in the dark room but he was able to make out the faint outline of the object and judging from the feeling of it, it seemed to be a mirror. He peered at the glass with unnerving concern of the two red, glowing dots reflecting at him. When he looked behind himself and found that nothing was there, Link assumed he was hallucinating. The blonde made quick of finding the barrel of oil, scooping a generous amount of it up with the cup he had brought down and began making his way up the ladder.

"The darkness consumes all.."

"Crap!" The blonde let out a panicked shout as his foot missed a step on the ladder and he came crashing down onto the basement floor. The cup of oil had flown from his hand and crashed into the mirror, sending the object tumbling to the floor. "Ow.." Link gritted his teeth and brought his hands up to cup the back his throbbing head. He knew he heard someone; he heard that person.

"Cursed child by the hands of twilight, did I frighten you?"

The raspy voice let out an eerie chuckle. It was him. That...thing. That person. Link couldn't seem to focus his vision, not that he could see what was going on anyways. The atmosphere in the room seemed to grow thicker, it was almost suffocating.

"...Are you the cursed child?"

"I'm not a child." Link replied warily, lips pressed into a thin line upon the realization that maybe he shouldn't have spoken up. For all he knew, maybe that person wasn't even here. Maybe it was all in his head. It was always in his head.

"Ohhhh!~ You speak! I was beginning to think you were mute. Then again, you were always in the form of a beast and it would be silly of me to think a mutt could talk. Now you didn't answer my question, you wouldn't want to make me angry. Are you the cursed child?"

The blond frowned. This was certainly all in his head. "And what makes you think I might be?" He replied again, sitting up with the hope that his headache would go away.

"Your hand."

Dark blue eyes fluttered down to his hand and widened in realization that the mark of the triforce was glowing. He paled, knowing full and well that the last time this had happened, he had lost his human form.

"Oh, look at how frightened you are!" The owner of the voice said, sliding the mirror across the room until it came to a stop in front of the hero. Link didn't move and instead kept his eyes on his hand as the sudden sound of footsteps grew closer. "This isn't our first meeting and I certainly wouldn't want it to be our last. Regardless, allow me to give you a formal introduction!" Link squeezed his eyes shut as the man crouched down in front of him, a toothy grin gracing the draped strangers face.

"I am Zant; banished king of the twilight." As he spoke, Link backed up against the ladder, eyes now watching the faint outline of the unmoving man. "You, cursed child, ruthless enemy of Lord Ganondorf, will be coming with me."

"No."

"My, My, you do realize that you do not have a say in this matter? You are unarmed and at my mercy; you fear me and the world I worship. You cower from the dark and you dare to tell me no?"

The hero shook his head. "You're not real. You aren't here. We saw you-"

"Die?" Zant laughed loudly, jumping up with his arms waving in the air. "Oh! Oh! Answer me this! If you stomp on your shadow, are you hurting it? If you hide from the sun, does your shadow not exist?"

"W-what?" Link replied in confusion, jumping away from the ladder when Zant suddenly took ahold of it. The man was humming a tune as if he was waiting for Link to answer his question. When the blond did not reply any further, Zant tilted his head to the side, let go of the ladder, and stepped on the mirror.

"Honestly, you are more smart as a mutt than as a human boy." Zant shook his head and suddenly sunk down into the floor. "You can't harm what is intangible. Darkness consumes all because it cannot be stopped. Keep that in mind."

Zant was right and Link knew that to an extent, but the words his enemy had ushered still reverberated in his thoughts. Something was wrong and that sentence had something to do with it. Just what that was, Link had no clue and he wasn't sure if he wanted to find out. The hero shuffled slowly across the floor, accidentally kicking the mirror. He picked the object up and felt the smooth glass only to find that it had a single crack straight down the middle. A reflection split in two.

Link frowned and carried the mirror with him up the ladder, completely forgetting about the oil for the lantern.