Here's the second chapter to Till the End of Time. I'm going to come clean here. When I first posted this, I was rushing ahead of myself. I was about done the second chapter and realized that I wrote things too early. I revealed too many things in that one and decided to rewrite it entirely. While that can be an excuse why I haven't updated, it's not the only one. I just plain lost interest in writing at the moment. I still have a passion for writing, I just couldn't at the moment. Now, without giving further excuses, let us read the second chapter.

The Homecoming

Two blades clashed. One of foreign design, having a sharp curved edge on a single side with the other of the common Hylian design as a straight blade with both sides sharpened. Although they are different designs, their purpose is all the same. To reinforce the peace that their wielders sought to achieve. Well, that is one purpose anyway, but it is their preferred purpose. Well, one of them anyway. The other didn't care what his blade did, as long as he survives on the eternal battlefield he has put himself in. He would seek strong opponents and cut them down with his sword. If they were stronger than him, then he would go and train to become even stronger.

This was the philosophy of Lon'qu, a swordsman who spent his life at Regna Ferox and been placed under command of Chrom by orders of the Khan he served. Trained under the harsh climates of Regna Ferox, he didn't really care what political beliefs his potential allies had offered to him. His job here was simple, to see how strong the army was. Through sparring, Lon'qu had "accidentally" injured several trainees and recruits before outright declaring he wanted to fight stronger people. While Vaike tried to calm him down and Chrom ordered not to cause any tribulation within the Hylian Army, Lon'qu never liked going easy. When he fights, he fights as if his life depends on it; training or not.

That lasted until he came across the retainer to the Princess herself. As a retainer, he and General Ganondorf had always stood by their Princess' side. But disregarding royalty, he challenged one of them to a duel. Well, he actually wanted to duel Ganondorf, but he dismissed the challenge as if insulting that his blade was weak. However, the younger retainer; Link, accepted the challenge under Princess Zelda's name. Of course, being young and not looking the part of a seasoned warrior, Lon'qu already felt insulted, as if they thought him weak.

However, what he had said made him rethink that although he is young, he has been in plenty battles already.

"I am but a shadow to General Ganondorf." He had mentioned as he got into the arena where the recruits would often train, "You may think me weak, but I was trained under General Ganondorf himself. As such, I am but a shadow to him, if you can't surpass me then you aren't worth his time." He finished his lecture as he drew his sword and shield. Just his stance showed that he wasn't just an inexperienced soldier, so Lon'qu became intrigued to see what this 'shadow' can do.


"Did you hear what I said Lon'qu?" A man's voice called out.

The ambassadors of Ylisse stood in the Castle Market's streets, waiting by the fountains for their King to arrive. Lon'qu had leaned onto the fountain and crossed his arms when he closed his eyes to reminiscence his duel with Link.

The match was interrupted in a draw when another lady bearing a huge sword on her back came and mentioned that Zelda had another sight in which a meeting was called immediately. He was disappointed, of course, so he had wanted another duel to see who was the better swordsman and in turn, to see if he can go toe-to-toe with General Ganondorf himself.

Of course, the Princess' foresight ability was intriguing. He had wondered if she truly trusted them. In fact, although they were clever at being hidden, Lon'qu had noticed that they were being watched from the shadows whenever they left Castle grounds. Of course, he never revealed this information to his three other companions just in the event that he was being paranoid.

"Yoo-hoo, Lon'qu?" The man's voice called out again.

Finally, Lon'qu opened his eyes with a groan, "What do you want?" He called out annoyed towards Vaike, one of the ambassadors.

Vaike shrugged his shoulders, "Sheesh, sounds like you got up on the wrong side of the bed. But then again, you're always like this." He stated as he went back to crossing his arms.

"I was...reminiscing." Lon'qu answered, looking ahead to stare at nothing in particular.

"Yes, you and your remantsing need absolute peace and quiet." Vaike muttered, not caring that he got the word wrong.

Lon'qu scoffed, "What do you want?" He repeated his question.

"The Teach was just asking if you were going to miss the good food here." Vaike answered, leaning back and clasping his hands behind his head.

Lon'qu glared at him, "No you weren't." He immediately saw through his lie.

"Quick, aren't you?" Vaike stood straight and looked at him.

"He was saying are you going to miss the princess here?" Tharja asked, reading her tome and generally not caring about anything. She generally didn't care what she was doing here. Using her concoctions, she was trying to track down Robin whom Chrom had noted was gone for quite a while. She was eventually able to track his presence here in Hyrule, so she accepted the job hoping to get further on her agenda.

Lon'qu immediately glared at him further.

"Whoa, glare at the Teach harder than that and your eyes will fall out." Vaike muttered, backing away a bit.

Cordelia immediately noticed the tension between the two, "Not that I blame you. The Princess here is quite lovely. It's not often we get to see individuals with unusual ears." She complimented the Princess looking at the castle in the distance.

"There is nothing going on between us. Get that out of your head." Lon'qu continued to glare at Vaike, immediately feeling insulted.

"Hey, chill out." Vaike raised his hands in front of him, "It's not like I noticed your training sessions alone at night with her." He continued to put him on the spot.

"You were watching me?" Lon'qu placed his hands on his sword, drawing it a bit and getting ready to lash out if he makes one more comment.

Cordelia stepped between the two, "Enough you two. We're here to make friends with the people of Hyrule." She reminded them.

"That's putting it impulsively." Tharja muttered underneath her breath.

Lon'qu placed his sword back in its sheath and walked away into the back alleys.

"Why did you say that?" Cordelia asked, turning to Vaike and placing her hands on her hips.

Vaike looked at her, "The Teach gets bored when he can't sleep. I just so happened to see him with Princess Zelda at night when I go for a walk." He explained how he managed to see Lon'qu at night. "Alone." He added and leaned back onto the fountain.

Cordelia looked at the direction where Lon'qu took off, "That is a bit concerning." She muttered quietly to herself.

"Hey, I know Lon'qu is a dashing rogue but there's plenty of fish in the sea." Vaike replied, looking at the back alley.

Cordelia glanced at him, "Not that, you idiot." She muttered and continued to look at the distance.

To Lon'qu, who continued to walk in the alley, frustrated at the inquiries of his "allies". It's not like he wanted her to train with him alone. It just so happens that she managed to get away from her retainers and handguard. He warned her that it could cause some unnecessary problems with the alliance. Even though there's nothing going on between the two of them, it could easily cause a rumor in town with loose lips.

He stopped in his steps and decided to think again. There was barely anyone in the back alley and would most likely avoid him, meaning he could get his peace and quiet as he reminisced. So he leaned on the wall and closed his eyes again.


Lon'qu had stayed in the training arena after the match was interrupted and his duel with Link was forced to end in a draw. He figured if he can get faster, then he could best him before the match would come to an end so he continued to train throughout the day. Before he knew it, the day was over and many have already turned in for the night.

He panted as sweat continued to drip down his face. He took a deep breath and tightened his grip again, deciding to go for a couple more swings before going to bed himself. As he swung his blade down, his gaze shifted to the side as he felt someone else's gaze looking at him, "Who's there?" He called out, turning in their general direction and swinging his blade to his side.

"Quite late for someone to be training." The intruder turned out to be Princess Zelda who was not in her Crown.

"Princess?" Lon'qu muttered. He buckled his knees, trying to figure out which knee he should kneel on. Even though he bowed for no one, he figured to put their group in better lighting, he should do it for her.

Princess Zelda immediately noticed this, "You hesitate to bow to me?" She asked, standing a reasonable distance away.

Lon'qu frowned, "Apologies. I don't usually do royalty." He muttered before giving up on the bowing.

Princess Zelda kept a stoic expression, "And how did some rugged stowaway get in the ranks of a Royal Family?" She asked, studying him.

Lon'qu remained silent, but he was certain that she was insulting him.

Princess Zelda looked around, looking at the shadows, "My apologies. That was exasperating of me." She apologized, lowering her head a bit. "It's not often I have time alone away from my retainers and handguard." She spoke in a more softer and kinder tone.

Lon'qu was still tense, but for other reasons than her insulting his alliance, "Is there something you need of me?" He asked, sheathing his blade.

Princess Zelda looked at him, "I was watching your duel with my retainer earlier today and I would like it if we can spar a bit." She requested him to test her own skills against him.

Lon'qu was afraid of this, but was otherwise shocked, "What?" He asked puzzled. "Is the battlefield really a place for an elegant princess such as yourself?" He added to his confused statement.

"Hence why I am glad I was able to get away from my retainers and handguard. Although I am trained a fair amount in the sword, they want me off the battlefield." She explained why she wanted to be alone with him, "As Princess of this land, I refuse to stay behind the lines while my people lay down their life for me." She explained her reason on wanting to hone her skills.

Lon'qu was still unsure, "I don't know if it is a good idea for you and me to be alone. People may get the wrong idea." He pointed out.

Princess Zelda smiled, "I am Princess of this Castle. I know my subjects by heart and their exact schedule and whereabouts. We won't be disturbed at this time." She explained.

Lon'qu looked away, she wasn't making this easy for him, "I don't understand why you would want to me as a sparring partner." At this point, he was just making excuses.

"Allow me to get into your mind for a second." Princess Zelda replied, crossing her arms, "Me and your King agreed to an alliance and the trade was to better affiliate your own people in good terms. So if I were to think like you, then what better way to learn of someone than by the sword?" She continued trying to get him to teach her.

"Why me?" Lon'qu asked. Out of excuses.

"Because you're the only one I figured was all swords and no manner." She answered bluntly. "Look, I'll even lower my standards to wipe the sweat of your brow." She suggested, taking out a handkerchief from her pocket and got closer to him.

This finally triggered Lon'qu, who widened his eyes, "Don't come any closer!" He snapped, pulling out his sword.

This outburst, of course, surprised Princess Zelda, "Is something the matter?" She asked. While she was bothering him to tutor her, she was certain there was another barrier between them.

Lon'qu began to breathe slowly and closed his eyes, "I'm sorry." He apologized, sheathing his sword and looking away from her, "I...have a problem with women." He finally admitted his reluctance to teach her. While he figured this problem would be put into public within the castle, he didn't expect it to be this soon and to her of all people.

"Oh..." Princess Zelda muttered. "Well, it's obviously a personal problem, so I won't pry." She replied, standing straight. "Does that mean I have the advantage should we be on the battlefield with each other?" She asked, slightly curious of this epidemic.

Lon'qu looked towards her, "In life and death situations, I am able to suppress this problem of mine and deal with enemies, whether they be female or not." He crossed his arms as he explained. He closed his eyes as he mused to himself. Hopefully, this will get her to leave the rugged stowaway alone.

However, he heard metal scraping and a whoosh. Instinctively, he pulled his sword out and held it out in front of him, blocking a strike from the Princess' rapier.

"So treat this sparring match as a life or death situation." Princess Zelda proclaimed as she stepped back and went into her stance, holding her rapier in front of her and standing straight.

Lon'qu still hesitated, "But I don't want to hurt you." He replied, holding his sword to the side and spreading himself.

Zelda only smirked, "You'd have to hit me first." She replied and went in for another strike.

Lon'qu groaned as he gripped his sword with both hands and blocked her strike again, "You're not going to let this go, are you?" He muttered as he pushed her back and went into his proper stance, holding his sword with both hands and pointing it over his shoulder.

"Nope." She replied mischievously.


A horn interrupted his thoughts as the guards announced that the Ylisseans were arriving. He sighed, "I suppose I should regroup with the others." He muttered to himself. However, as he turned around, he heard a clatter and looked behind his shoulder to see a barrel tipping around. Looking further, he thought he saw blue hair turn around the corner.

This piqued his curiosity since all the Hylian's stated that blue hair was uncommon around here. Princess Zelda and her retainers also mentioned seeing that hair color in the castle walls and that they were being spied upon. Many of the Ylissean's also had blue hair, especially in their royalty and from his time with them, they didn't mention anything about spying on neighboring Kingdom.

Using all this information, he deduced that the person spying on them is someone who's trying to prevent the alliance from being formed. That, or the Ylissean's weren't being honest about the spying part. Nonetheless, he decided to find out who it is and sprinted towards the bluenette's direction who ran into the marketplace.

"Wait!" He called out, turning around the corner to a sea of curious people crowding towards the main gate to see the visitors. Squinting his eyes, he saw a blue head moving between the sea of Hylian's who were more interested in the visitors then a random blue head roaming about. Nonetheless, he was determined to see who this mysterious visitor is and made way through the crowd.


Hmm. Perhaps it was too early to write a character focused chapter? I don't know. Didn't move the plot much, so there's definately room for improvement on the alliance.

Anyways, let me know what you think and which other character I should do a chapter on further down the road. (Maybe I should call them paralogues?) These character focused chapters probably won't move the story much, but it will focus on character interactions.

Also know that pairings isn't a top priority here. We could go the entire story without anyone declaring a confession or anything.

Thanks for reading and sticking around.