Hi, guys. This brief story is just something I came up with recently. It seems like half of BOTW's modding community is centered around Linkle, and there's a project on the BOTW modding Discord that seeks to write Linkle into Link's place fully, including the flashbacks. To be honest, I don't really like this idea, but I liked Linkle as her own character in Hyrule Warriors. So I thought, how would Linkle work as a side character in the BOTW quest line?
I'm just writing this as a one-shot because my time on this site has proven that I can't really commit to multi-chapter works for too long. If anyone wants more, however, feel free to make requests.
The air felt strangely warmer as Link approached the settlement. Almost as if a blanket of safety suddenly flew overhead to ward off the perils of Hyrule's roads. Two days ago, he had departed from Kakariko Village. Within that time, he had trekked across a plain of decayed Guardians (some of which came to life and attacked), uncovered an ancient shrine, nearly fallen down a steep ravine, and caught a horse. He still hadn't saddled the horse because there weren't any stables on his path, but he had taken to calling it Franklin.
The road came to an arch with a sign reading "Hateno" in Hylian text. Link sighed with relief, but his heart sank when a man in farming clothes pointed his pitchfork straight at Link and stood beneath the arch.
"Where do you think you're going? Be off, stranger!" the man barked.
Franklin reared back, but Link patted the horse to calm him down. "Am I intruding?" he asked. "Sorry, it's just ... I've never been out this way before. I was raised in, er, Kakariko."
"Kakariko?" The man seemed puzzled and pointed the pitchfork up like a staff. "Wait, you're a Hylian. How does a Hylian come to be raised by the Sheikah?"
"Long story." Link realized the flaw in his lie, but Impa had given him specific instructions to only reveal his true identity to the Sheikah at the research lab and the innkeeper, whom Impa had given Link a letter to just before he left. "I'm just here looking for someone."
"Well, most of us folk who live in Hateno have never left," the man replied. "Same faces except when one of us grows old and passes on, or a new one is born. Me? I'm Thadd. I'm just a farmer." He looked Link up and down one more time. "Considering you come from Kakariko, you're probably looking for the Hateno Tech Lab. Am I right?" Link nodded. "Well, just keep following the road through the village and up the hill. It's the big, strange building with a dead Guardian on top. Can't miss it."
"Thank you!" said Link, nudging Franklin forwards to pass Thadd.
"Ye welcome!" answered Thadd. "Oh, and by the way, you may want to rest yourself and that horse of yours up. Riding bareback around these parts ain't easy. Talk to Manny about getting the horse cleaned up. He's the big guy, always standing outside the inn. Afterwards, Prima can let you stay at the inn as long as you need, supposin' you got the rupees. I'll show you the way."
Link followed Thadd through the small village. The architecture of the buildings seemed rather simple compared the the elegant Sheikah houses (which looked like their hats, Link noted), but these houses looked sturdier. They seemed to all be made of a concrete or brick-like material on the outside. Link also noted a contrast between the geography of the two settlements; whereas Kakariko was shrouded by mountains and hills, Hateno was built by a mountainside, with a river flowing through it.
Definitely not as defensible as Kakariko, Link thought to himself.
As he passed through the town, guided by Thadd, he began to notice some of the townspeople staring at him. A few had been talking in groups, but one by one, they gave him either a once-over or a stare. He started to feel uneasy.
"Pardon me," he whispered to Thadd, "but the way you reacted when I drove up at first, is that the customary greeting for every newcomer?"
"Ah, no," Thadd shook his head. "Not normally, anyway. I'm sorry, but things have gotten extremely dangerous in the last few days and we can't afford to let any unsavory folk in here anymore."
"Then shouldn't you get back to your post?"
"You saw Teebo in the bushes, no? Bright young lad, but more importantly, loud. He goes on guard duty with me sometimes and screams to the heavens when something odd happens." Thadd stopped in front of a building built on a mound with a balcony, a few paces away from which stood a small stable with a rather large man leaning against one of the corners. "Well, here you are now. Manny, would you be so kind as to clean and shoe this young man's horse?"
The man leaning against the stables huffed. "You sure you didn't bring in trouble, Thadd?"
Link dismounted Franklin and reached into his pouch. He quickly counted some money and handed Manny 25 rupees worth. "I promise, I'll be out of your hair after this."
Manny seemed surprised at this, but took the money and started guiding Franklin under the canopy of the stable. After exchanging a few words of parting with Thadd, Link walked up the steps to the inn. After walking in, he shut the door behind him and walked up to the front desk.
A young brunette woman stood at the opposite side. She looked to be in some kind of sad trance. Link began to wonder if Thadd was holding something back about the townspeople's stares. He cleared this throat. "Hello?" he called.
The girl behind the desk gasped and greeted Link with a, "Good afternoon."
Link walked up to the desk. "You must be Prima," he said.
She raised an eyebrow. "Did Manny put you up to some trick?" When Link didn't reply, seemingly confused, she said, "Never mind. But if he asks you to talk to me on his behalf, don't. Anyway, would you like to reserve a bed?"
"Er, I don't know. Depends on whether this involves me." He pulled the envelope with the letter from Impa from his bag and placed it on the counter.
Prima looked puzzled as she read the envelope to herself. "From Lady Impa of Kakariko. To ... me?" She stared up at Link for a moment before opening the envelope. She read its contents silently, and her eyes widened as she did so. When she finished, she gazed at Link with what he could only decipher as fear.
"By the ancient gods!" she whispered so only he could hear. "You ... you're him?"
Link stared back, dumbfounded. There was a long pause. "Err, I think so? If you mean what I think you do, I don't remember a thing."
"The letter tells as much," Prima affirmed. She paused. "Listen, Impa and several people from here - myself included - have had an agreement for sorts for a long time. I'm supposed to direct you to some people who can help get you back on your feet, but ... I'm surprised Impa doesn't know what happened."
Link furrowed his eyebrows in bewilderment. "What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure how much I should tell you," said Prima, almost looking like she could cry at any moment, "considering the Yiga Clan almost completely foiled the plan we made. I'm surprised the news didn't reach Kakariko before you got here."
Link raised his hand to slow her down. "Wait a minute. The Yiga Clan? I've heard of them. What did they do here?"
Prima took a deep breath. "You shouldn't hear it from me. Did you see those funny looking block houses off to the right of the path when you got here?" Link nodded. "Behind those houses is a bridge to a house on the outskirts of the village. The one you seek ... will probably be there. I don't really know."
"Erm, okay," Link was confused, but he started towards the door.
"And Link?" He looked back to see tears in her eyes. "I'm very sorry."
This only bewildered Link further. As he left the inn, he completely ignored the world around him. He contemplated what he should do. He needed to get to the lab at the top of the hill, but there was something about this new information that felt personal, somehow. For now, he decided to forget about the lab and see what awaited him at the outskirts.
When the crossed the bridge Prima had described, he came upon a house that looked older than the others in the village. Though it shared structural similarities with other houses, the concrete and wood showed age. The house looked bare, completely stripped of anything personal, at least on the exterior. He gave into the urge to check his surroundings. A strange sense of nostalgia washed over him, but was quickly diluted by a growing sense of fear. This was a fear Link hadn't felt before. He couldn't identify what it was he was suddenly afraid of. He quickly realized the house must me related in some way to his past. He drew his traveler's sword and began to gently turn the door handle with his free hand. Without thinking, he slammed the door open and held the sword up in a blocking position.
From what he could see, there was nobody in the house, but there had definitely been some kind of fight. Kitchen chairs lay broken on the floor, plates were shattered, and a child's doll lay on a staircase leading up to the loft. Link picked up the doll and studied it. He recognized some notable features on the doll's button face, but the unique sideburns and ponytail on the head made him stop in his tracks.
Is that me? Indeed, it seemed to be a depiction of Link wearing a blue tunic and carrying a sword.
Link heard a soft gasp and looked up. At the top of the stairs, a blonde girl that looked to be about his age (minus 100) stood with twin crossbows trained directly on him. Her figure was quite slender and her face round, with blue eyes and golden hair braided on either side of her face.
She slowly lowered the crossbows and put them on the landing at the top of the stairs. "Farore's ghost! It's really you."
Link remained confused. "I'm sorry, um... Are you the one I'm supposed to meet? Impa sent me. I'm ... you know, the doll."
The girl walked down the stairs cautiously, as if they could break at any moment. "Well, our plan was to assist you with your amnesia by introducing you to the descendants of your own kin."
The fear returned. It all began to make sense in his head, but he didn't want to believe it. The mention of the Yiga, the secrecy of the innkeeper, the appearance of the house's interior...
There were tears in her eyes as the girl looked at him and finally said, "I'm all that's left of them, Link. Our kin are gone. It's just us now."
With his back against the wall, Link collapsed and buried his face between his knees. It couldn't be true, but it was. Nearly all of his remaining family was wiped out.
The two sat in silence for a long time. Though neither of them spoke, they shared grief. Her, for those she had known all her life; him, for family that might have been. Link eventually stoked a fire in the fireplace, before which they now both sat.
Link was the first to speak up after hours. "I feel like I should say something, but ... I don't know what."
"You don't have to, Link," she replied. "You didn't know them. They were born long after your time."
"I know, but I feel like I should have known them."
"That was the plan."
They stared at the dancing flames. Link suddenly became aware of the sound of rain on the roof. Thunder met his ears and for just a moment, he thought he saw a face in the fire. It was one he didn't recognize. He tried to shake it off.
Shifting his gaze to the yet unnamed girl next to him, he asked, "What's your name?"
Her gaze finally broke free from the fire and she met Link's eyes. "Oh, sorry. I'm not used to introducing myself. My parents named me Linkle, obviously after you. For generations, my family has protected many a secret about you and the Royal Family. Of course, Impa probably told you this already, right?"
"No," said Link. "Impa hasn't told me a thing about you or my family. She just handed me a letter to Prima, who led me to you."
"Oh," Linkle replied. "I guess I should have expected that. Prima's family has sort of been the only means of communication between us and the Sheikah for a long time. The innkeeper in Kakariko is in on it, too, but I forget his name. Did she tell you anything about us?"
"No," Link repeated. "So what's the big story? What has my family been doing for the last century?"
Linkle let out a sad chuckle. "I guess she wanted us to tell it. Well, I'll tell you what I can, but there isn't a lot. I'm sure you figured this part out already, but your family lived in Castle Town when Ganon struck. Your little sister, Aryll, was the only one of our family who escaped. Some Sheikah found her and brought her to Kakariko Village. By the time they got there, you were already in the Shrine of Resurrection. From that point, Impa raised Aryll until she became an adult. She thought about you every day, wondering if she'd ever see you again, or if you'd remember her. One day, she made a decision. She decided that when she married and had children, she would train them to fight alongside you when the time came. Impa strongly opposed this decision because she knew the risk of the Yiga opposing us, but Aryll's mind was made up. And so, that's exactly what she did. She trained her offspring until she grew old. Aryll also inherited some knowledge of battles against Ganon across time, though the Royal Family considered some of these tales as myth. They're all recorded in journals she wrote in throughout her life. She died a few years ago."
Link was in shock now. This was a lot of information to process, but he was primarily focused on the fact that he had a sister he couldn't remember.
"Are you alright?" Linkle asked.
"I had a sister," Link muttered under his breath. He looked back into the fire. Thunder clapped, and there was the face again. This time, the image was clearer. It was the face of a child, round and smiling, with two eyes and hair in two short ponytails. He looked back at Linkle.
"She ... I see the resemblance now."
"Between us?"
A laugh escaped Link's throat. "No, you and Aryll. I remember her face, but just a little bit. You look like an older version of what I remember her looking like. Different hairdo, though." They shared a laugh before a short pause. His tone turned somber. "So it's true, then. You're the only family I have left."
"Afraid so," said Linkle. "Impa always warned her that the Yiga would come, but her age took her before they did."
Link sighed with relief. "How did you survive the attack?"
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I'm still alive," said Linkle. "They got me. But they wanted to give me a slow death. I'll spare you exactly how they accomplished this because I don't know it myself, but they had me paralyzed on the floor, dying. Earlier that day, I had been gathering fairies on Ebon Mountain, the big hill behind the house. I can think of only two explanations for why I kept one, and it healed me when I nearly died: Fate, or some divine prank. The paralysis wore off about five minutes after I should have died. I don't think they know I'm still alive, or they would have come after me again, for sure."
"How long ago was this?" asked Link.
"I think it was about a week before the towers appeared. I was barely motivated to clean up the house after the quakes. I felt like I lost everything, but when I saw the tower, it gave me hope, somehow. I've been waiting for you since then."
Link stared at the floor. "I'm so sorry, Linkle."
"Well, you're here now, which means your sister's final wish can finally be realized."
Link's eyes widened. "Are you sure you want to come with me? It won't be easy. Just coming here was a challenge, and I haven't even tried to find any of the Divine Beasts yet. To be honest, I'm afraid."
"So am I," Linkle replied, "but I'm certain this is what I want. There's nothing left for me here. I want to learn about you, and you have to learn about your past. I can fight, too. I'm good with a sword, but I'm best with my crossbows. Give me a bundle of any arrow type, and I'll turn all of them into crossbow bolts within five minutes. I'm quick and stealthy, but I hate Lizalfos. I can handle Moblins and Bokoblins, but Lizalfos always jump at the worst time and are too sensitive to sound."
"I can take care of those for you," said Link. "We should head over to the Hateno Tech Lab in the morning. It's gotten kind of late."
"Alright." Linkle grinned. "You can take the downstairs bed. I'll start packing right now!"
That evening, Link lay in bed thinking about all that had happened since he woke up. He knew from the beginning that there must have been a reason he was put in the shrine, but to have been the protector of a princess was the last thing he expected. When he learned exactly how the kingdom came to ruin, he couldn't help but blame himself, even though Impa and Paya told him there was nothing he could have done at the time. He hoped Linkle could help him remember more of his past. He especially wanted to remember his sister, the Champions, and the princess. He wasn't sure how he would remember the rest. Maybe his sister's journals could help him, but he wasn't hopeful about it.
A whimper shook him from his thoughts and he jumped out of bed. He found Linkle crying on her bed on the loft. He shook her awake and she did something he didn't expect: she embraced him. Not knowing what to do, he hesitated for a moment, but he hugged her back. He stayed up with her for a little while. Neither said a word. Linkle finally broke the silence.
"Link?"
Link lifted his head and looked into her eyes.
"May I call you my brother?"
Link blinked. He was technically her great uncle or something, but considering he was the only family she had left, he was happy to oblige.
"Only if you let me call you 'sister' in return."
Linkle hugged him tighter. "Thanks, bro. I think I'm ready to go back to sleep now."
Once he was sure Linkle was asleep, Link returned to his own bed. He took comfort in having someone he could lean on for support. Until now, he had doubts about sharing this journey with someone, but now, it felt like there were more reasons to do so than not to. He slept before long.
Link awoke the next morning to the smell of breakfast. He looked over to the kitchen and saw that Linkle had set the table and cooked eggs and sliced some fruit for breakfast. Link thanked her for his plate and sat down. It tasted great.
"Thanks, sis, but you didn't have to do this," said Link. "I can cook."
"Really?" Linkle said sarcastically. "You can't remember anything, and yet you remember how to cook? What's the best thing you've cooked so far?"
"Spicy meat and seafood fry," said Link, "Though admittedly, that's probably not half as good as what you can do. I do know some helpful elixirs, though."
Linkle sighed. "Okay, let's do this. I'll take care of cooking, and you can take care of elixirs. I have an old map that contains specific gathering locations for ingredients and critters."
"Sounds good." Link took another bite of his eggs and noticed a small backpack next to the door, beside Linkle's crossbows. "So, what's in the bag?"
"Just some essentials," Linkle replied. "Cleaning supplies, bottles, knives, just the important stuff. And books. Grandma Aryll's journal, and some books about your predecessors. I figured the journal could help with your memories, and the others... They're history. I figured they could be good sources of information and entertainment."
"Entertainment?" Link repeated.
"Besides having information on where we might find specific things, they all tell pretty good stories. They'll be good to read by campfires."
"Can't wait."
They finished breakfast and equipped all their gear soon enough. By the time they were ready, Link had his sword, bow and shield, each of the traveler's variety. Linkle, however, had a sharper and shinier sword and her crossbows. She also had a green hood on.
"First of all, give me that sword," said Linkle.
"What?" Link was confused.
"I don't know where you got that thing, but it won't last long and will get you past a few bokoblins at best. You can have mine. It's stronger. I have a better shield if you want it, but as long as you know how to use a shield properly, you shouldn't need it."
So they traded swords. Link gave his new sword a few swings and decided it was good. "Okay. Anything else?"
"Let's get you fitted with some new clothes in town. I'm honestly not sure how you've survived in those rags. There's a tailor in town who can fit you with a new tunic and trousers with chain mail underneath. A hood to protect you from the sun would help, too."
Link grinned. "We're not leaving until you think I'm absolutely ready, are you?"
Linkle grinned back. "Nope."
At the end of the day, Link had restored the blue flame at the tech lab, learned to use the Sheikah Sensor +, and restored the album and some pictures in the Hyrule Compendium. Back in town, he bought new trousers and a tunic with chain mail underneath. Linkle reminded him to buy a hood. He dyed the hood and tunic green and the trousers brown in the dye shop.
"Looks pretty good," said Linkle when they were done shopping. "It'll make decent camouflage. And the added protection from the chain mail won't help against clubs, but swords won't be able to touch you."
"Thanks, I guess."
"Should we rest one more night before we leave?"
"No," said Link, starting towards the stable. "We should get to Kakariko as soon as possible. We'll rest once we reach Kakariko, or after we talk to Impa, depending on the time. Do you have a horse?"
"No. The horses must have run off when the Yiga attacked."
"Then I guess we'll have to use mine." Upon reaching the stable, he saw that Franklin had been saddled. Manny stood by, as if waiting for the two. "Manny, I didn't ask-."
"It's the least I could do," said Manny. "Consider it repayment for the extra rupees you gave me. Oh, and Linkle. I'm so very sorry for your loss."
"Thank you, Manny," said Linkle.
Linkle mounted Franklin behind Link and they made their way to the gate. Upon hearing them approach, Thadd turned around. "Leaving already?"
"Yeah, but I have a feeling you'll see me again soon," said Link.
"You going too, Linkle?"
"I have to," said Linkle. "It's complicated."
"Well, I won't keep you, but I want to hear all about it when you get back," said Thadd. "Good luck to you both."
"Thank you, Thadd," said Link.
"Oh, before you leave, I never got your name."
"Oh, I'm sorry. It's Link."
"Link?" Thadd paused. "Wait, you don't mean?"
"Please keep it quiet," said Linkle.
"Of course," said Thadd. "As gatekeeper, I protect your secret with my life."
Link turned his gaze towards Linkle. "Sis, you realize there's no going back after this. You're absolutely sure you want to come with?"
Linkle grinned. "I thought I made it clear my mind is as made up as Aryll's when she decided to train her children."
Link set his sights forward. "Then it's time. Ready?"
"Ready."
With that, Link nudged Franklin forward.
Well, that's that. I wasn't sure how to wrap this up. Let me know how I did with Aryll's story. I'll definitely write more pieces of this, but I don't plan on it being a contiguous story. It'll be more like an anthology. I don't have any plans to continue any of my other works at this point, except maybe the How to Train Your Dragon/Zelda crossover. See you soon!