Chapter 3: Darkness Approaches
The princess, now not as young, was strolling the castle in her full dress and regalia. Zelda was now a young adult, almost 17 in fact. Zelda had grown into a most beautiful princess and bachelorette. Her auburn hair was quite long now, just past her rear, tied up at the back with a single braid coming down with her crown sitting just atone her head. It had a blue jewel in the center of it. Zelda wore a white dress with a gold coloured design at the rim and patterns at the bottom. A dark pinkish purple sleeveless overtop. She had armour across her shoulders and a royal banner hanging her armoured belt depicting the Triforce and other symbols. She wore gloves up her her elbows with designs on them. She looked very grown up now and was way less rebellious than she was about 10 years ago.
The princess would often roam the castle grounds saddened. She didn't get to see much of her childhood friend Link as often as she hoped. He had joined the royal guard to be a knight years ago because he wanted to protect Zelda and defend his kingdom. He was now mostly on training missions but after this one, he would be promoted to full knight. She still had the amulet with her after all this time. She hid it under her dress and armour so people wouldn't see. Ever since that day, she wore that amulet as it reminded her of Link. She found it by being courageous and she's always thought of Link as the most courageous person she ever knew.
Zelda never reverted back to her old bratty self with Link gone. She stayed kind and brave as she knew one day he would come back and the two could hang out like they used to.
The princess was never allowed outside the castle grounds. She begged Impa for years and she's never gotten through to her. She's even begged her father, who was getting quite old at this time. As kind and sweet as her father was, he made sure that Zelda never left the castle or its town. Zelda became very disheartened. With no friend to talk to, and nowhere to go, Zelda just roamed and roamed trying not to be sad, but always was.
As she was now older, many more duties came her way, she now had to sign agreements and take part in diplomatic meetings. These were all quite boring for her. The only joy she would get would be if she saw Link training with the other guards from time to time. This would be rare, but she loved seeing her best friend, even if it was for just a few minutes.
Zelda sat down in her garden, a beautiful wonderland of plants at the side of the castle. This is where Zelda would come to think and relax. There were many wonderful flowers in her garden, but her favourite was the one that Link had brought her about 10 years ago. It started growing in the town and grew out to her garden. Zelda couldn't be more happy. She loved that flower. It was called a Silent Princess. It was a blue and white lily flower. Zelda would love to just sit and stare at it all day.
Zelda was sitting down when Impa came to her. Impa didn't harass the princess as much as she used to as she was older and more capable of taking care of herself. Yet she was still her nursemaid and would check up on her from time to time.
"Impa. What brings you here?" Zelda asked looking up at Impa
"I'm sorry to disturb you Zelda, but you wanted me to inform you when Link would arrive." Impa announced.
Zelda suddenly stood up with glee. Her frown turned to a smile. She didn't let Impa formally introduce Link and decided to just go meet him straight away.
"Really? Well let's' go then." Zelda ran out of the garden and into the courtyard where she saw Link had just got back from his training mission on horseback. When Link first joined the guard as a trainee, he received a horse to be his companion. He named her Epona after a goddess of horses. Zelda pitched the name to him when he was stuck. He loved the name so he kept it. He said that he always remember Zelda everytime he says his horse's name.
Link was now wearing training armour from head to toe and even had a sword and a bow. Zelda ran up to him just as he got off of Epona and hugged him tightly. She hadn't seen him in a month or longer. Link was taken aback for a moment by the sudden rush of the hug, but hugged her back soon after.
…
Link was finally back and Zelda was happier than ever. Link rested the day he returned since he was very tired from his journey. The next day he was promoted to full knight and Zelda couldn't be more happy for him. The two decided to go out for a welcome back picnic in her garden. Zelda asked the chefs to make some small treats for her and Link, and asked Impa to help with the rest.
Zelda was so happy that she was finally spending some quality time with her best friend. Link looked so grown up. The last time Zelda really saw Link and spent any real time with him, was when before he joined the guard. After that, they saw each other less and less. Now, when Zelda looked at Link it was like looking at him for the first time. He was no longer the small farm boy with oversized clothes. Zelda, as much as she cared for Link and all he's accomplished to get where he was, was going to miss the old him.
Impa had laid out a blanket and the snacks for the two to eat. They were surrounded by flowers, vines, and a water fountain. The sun was just setting giving the sky an orangy pink glow and it was enchanting to be sitting in the garden.
The two sat down and started to finally catch up. Link told Zelda all about his journey around Hyrule and all the things he saw. Zelda told him about her life cooped up in the castle. They both had some funny stories, some sad ones, and some pleasantly surprising ones. The two laughed for hours.
It was now almost dusk and the twilight sky spread across the land with it's purple hues. The two were still up eating and laughing. The two spent all night together. Zelda couldn't be happier. Finally something good was happening. However, that couldn't be further from the truth.
The next morning, Zelda woke up in her bed after the long night she had. Link went back to his knight quarters after he escorted Zelda to her room. Zelda got dressed and went down stairs. It was like any other day in Hyrule. The townsfolk would get up early to start their day, and the whole castle would start with a quick clean and some breakfast. Zelda couldn't wait however because that day she wanted to spend more time with Link. She wanted it be just like the old days and she was very excited about it.
Zelda got just outside the castle when things started to look dark. She looked up at the sky and saw big dark clouds and thought that it was going to rain, which she didn't mind if it did, but that wasn't the problem. The dark clouds in the sky started moving faster and faster until the entire sky became a dark cloud. The townsfolk were scared out of their minds as this was nothing they had seen before. A huge monstrous face formed from the clouds and it roared so loudly that it blew down houses and even damaged the castle. The guards were out throwing arrows up at it and fire balls with their canons, but the monster was made of the clouds and nothing damaged it. Link came to find Zelda paralyzed in fear watching as her people were turned to stone from the monster's attacks. It formed hands and started reaching down sweeping the streets and turning everyone to statues. Link took Zelda by her wrist tightly and started pulling her back inside the castle for safety The two started running back but before they could, Zelda saw Impa running the opposite direction.
"Impa what's going on?" Zelda asked terrified.
"Zelda you must get away from here. Link. Take Zelda to the fields, the king and I will be there shortly." Impa said no more to the two before running back into the castle.
Zelda looked confused as she looked up at Link. Link looked back down at the scared princess. He thought for a moment before he called Epona with a whistle. Epona came running to him. Link grabbed Zelda and put her on Epona before he climbed on himself and went straight away. Zelda wrapped her hands around Link's waist tightly as they were going quite fast towards the exist.
"Link I can't just leave! These are my people! I must help them!" Zelda begged Link to go back to the castle.
Link shook his head. Impa had given him an order to get Zelda away safely and that's what he needed to do. As much as Zelda was his best friend, she was also the princess and her safety came first.
Zelda looked back at her castle being destroyed by the giant dark cloud monster. She held onto Link tighter. She couldn't watch this destruction . They headed towards the Castle's gates and out towards Hyrule fields. When Zelda crossed the line between her castle grounds and the open fields of hyrule, she wanted to feel excited that she was going outside for the first time. She wanted to be happy and curious but instead she was upset and terrified for her kingdom and her father. She wanted them all to be okay, yet somewhere deep inside her knew they weren't.
Link went out far enough and he slowed down. He helped Zelda off his trusty steed and there they stood watching the castle get decimated by the giant monster in the sky. Zelda could feel tears stream down her face. She hugged Link tightly. She couldn't watch.
Soon after, Impa arrived along with many of the guards and some townsfolk. There were not many of them that made it out. Zelda ran immediately to her father who was lying on the ground coughing. The surrounding guards gave them some privacy.
Zelda's father, the king, was an older man. He was wise but very nice and treated everyone with respect. He sported a white beard that suited him well and dressed in long robes. Some debris from the falling castle had struck him in his chest.
"Father! Are you alright?" Zelda ask panicked kneeling down at her dying father's side.
"Zelda my dear, I'm afraid I don't have much time left." he coughed a bit of blood onto his snowy white beard. "I have something very important to tell you. So please listen."
Zelda wanted to say things but listened to her father as he asked.
"You, my dear Zelda, are very special. You have the blood of our goddess Hylia running through you. You have heard of the stories about the Triforce and of the great power it can wield. Well, it's true." The king cough some more before continuing. "You, and your knight friend Link must find it and defeat that monster."
"Father! I don't understand! What do you mean!" Zelda said crying and trying to comprehend what he was saying.
The king reached out and caressed Zelda's face one last time. "You look so much like your mother…" His hand dropped and his eyes shut bringing him to his peaceful end.
"Father? Father please!" Zelda said shaking his body trying to get him to say something, but he was gone.
Zelda leaned over and cried into him as she could still feel his warmth a bit. Impa and Link watched her crying over her father's body. Everyone dipped their heads and knelt down in mourning to the King's passing.
Link was the first to get up, walking over to Zelda and placing his hand on her shoulder. Zelda turned around quickly and hugged Link so tightly. Link of course returned the hug. She cried into his chest and she couldn't stop. Link didn't stop comforting her. They stayed like that for a long time.
A few hours passed and the guards had set up some fires for the remaining townspeople. Zelda sitting on the grass away from everyone next to Link. Zelda was still grief stricken and was now just sitting quietly looking off into the distance wondering how all this could have happened. She was thinking about what her father told her.
She didn't know what to think. Her. A descendant of Hylia? She didn't think that could be possible. Impa walked over and sat down near Zelda and Link carrying something.
"Zelda, I know you must feel scared and confused, but I need to tell you something important."
"Is it about what my father told me?" Zelda asked wiping the tears from her face.
"Yes. It is actually. You see, what he said, wasn't a lie. It is true. You are a descendant of Hylia." Impa reassured her.
"But how is that possible? Hylia and her stories are all of legend."
"No. They are real, just forgotten and made into fairy tales. You see Zelda, thousands of years ago, another descendant of Hylia and two others who wielded the Triforces power sealed it away so that they could stop the endless cycle that they had been cursed upon." Impa explained that the stories and legends that they had heard were true.
She went on about the Triforce's power.
"The Triforce as you know, is made up three things. Courage, Wisdom, and Power. With these three, you would have ultimate power. That is why Hylia split them up in the first place. But now they are hidden in objects only you can find." Impa said pointing to both Link and Zelda.
"What do you mean by objects only we can find."
"The Triforce was hidden away in three objects that each of your last incarnations hid. Zelda can only find the one that Zelda hid and Link can only find the one that Link hid."
Zelda took a moment to process all of this. First she was told she had goddess blood, now she was told she had to find a hidden object that only she could find. She then remembered her amulet. She found it when she was in her library years ago. She remembered it glowing and singing.
"Impa, could this be one of the items?" Zelda asked bringing out her amulet.
"The Emerald of Courage. Yes. I believe that it is. But how did you find this?" Impa asked in complete shock thinking it couldn't have been that easy.
"I found it when I was a child. It was a strange experience, and almost a bit hazy at this point." Zelda replied knowing that the memory of her obtaining the amulet was a bit of a blur now.
"Well that's good. One less one to worry about. Now, Link. I believe that you are the incarnation of the Goddesses chosen hero. You show great courage as I've been told time and time again." Impa said to Link who was also listening to all this.
Impa gave him what she was carrying with her. It was a green tunic and hat.
"This is something that the hero wore countless years ago. I've been holding onto it for a long time and now it belongs to you."
Link nodded in understanding but Zelda still looked a bit confused.
"So if I am a descendant of Hylia, and Link is her chosen hero, who is the last person to wield this Triforce?"
"I'd thought you'd ask. The third and final barer is a Gerudo named Ganondorf Dragmire. He is the King or leader of the Gerudo. He wields the Triforce of Power. You will need to be wary when trying to get him to cooperate, Link. He was known as the one who was bent on destruction in the past."
"Wait...just Link? I thought I was going too." Zelda interjected
"It is too dangerous out there for you, your highness. I fear that something bad will happen."
"I have been cooped up in the castle for years and now that I have a taste of freedom, you take it away from me? I don't even have these powers yet. How could it be dangerous?"
Zelda seemed furious. She demanded answer as to why she was held prisoner in her own home.
"Zelda, you must understand that your father and I were only trying to keep you safe. It truly is dangerous out in the world and as I and your father knew of this darkness happening, we didn't want you to be taken away. We didn't know when this would happen and we were only trying to keep you safe for as long as possible." Impa replied telling the truth.
Zelda understood. But was still upset about it. However, she came up with a rebuttal Impa couldn't refuse.
"If Hyrule needs the Triforce, and one of the pieces of that Triforce is in my amulet, wouldn't I need to be there to regain my powers?"
Impa was amazed about how quickly the princess came up with that. She couldn't deny that that was true. The sheika woman sighed and granted Zelda to attend this journey with Link.
Zelda was still a bit unsure about all this however. All of the fairytales she knew, were real. It couldn't be possible. But it seemed to be. But she knew one thing. If she needed to get this Triforce to save her kingdom, the she was going with her best friend. There was no doubt about it. Link excused himself to try on the tunic Impa gave him. This left Impa and Zelda to talk about some personal matters.
"Impa...how do you and my father know about all this?" Zelda asked being quite inquisitive.
"My people live many years. We have great ties with these legends and long ago, I was told of this. I didn't believe it to be true either, but after some time, I knew they were. I was given the task to carry down the hero's tunic and if I ever met him, Link, I would give it to him. And If I did not, I would find another one of my people to carry it down before I pass on."
Zelda understood for the most part. She asked Impa how her father knew.
"Your father knew when your mother told him. I'm not exactly sure how she knew, but when she saw you, she named you Zelda. Your mother knew you were the next to bear the Triforce's power and she told your father everything."
Zelda was about to say something but Link came back wearing the green tunic over his training armour. He looked like a real knight or so Zelda thought. She smiled slightly at his new attire. It was the first time she'd smiled after what happened.
"You look really good in that green, Link." Zelda said standing up to greet him back.
Impa stood as well. "It suits you well Link."
"So...should we start to look for these Triforce pieces?" Zelda asked still not 100% certain of what they were looking for.
"I suppose. You'll need a few things though." Impa handed Link a few potions, and a bow with a few arrows.
"You will also need one other thing. The Blade of Evil's Bane. The only thing, along with the complete Triforce that can seal away this dark force above Hyrule."
"Blade of Evil's Bane?" Zelda repeated back.
"Yes. Also known as the Master Sword. You must get it first before you find Ganondorf. Link must be the one to wield it."
Both and Zelda and Link nodded. They understood what must be done.
"This won't be easy, but I believe that the two of you will be able to do this."
Zelda hugged Impa goodbye and set off with Link on an unknown journey. Their first task was to retrieve the Master Sword. Link and Zelda rode Epona out further into the fields of Hyrule in search for the things that could bring their land back to it's peaceful state. They were on their way to the Lost Woods. Impa had said that if the Master Sword was going to be hidden anywhere, it would be there. No one dared to go in as no one has ever returned from it.
Zelda seemed hesitant but knew this was the only way to save Hyrule. The princess couldn't deny that this was what she was waiting for all her life. Some adventure. And even though it was under harsh circumstances, she would make the most of it.
