Click Click Click.
There the Princess lay, head on a soft comfortable pillow, arms sprawled above her head with warm blanket up to her chest. Her green eyes staring up at the wooden ceiling, her tongue clicking as she contemplated getting up. It would be soon that she would have to help rebuild the kingdom. For now she wanted to relax.
Today was a new day.
Click Click Click.
It was the best rest she'd had in forever. The thundering of heavy rain on the roof was relaxing, putting her to sleep almost instantly. She yawned loudly, cupping her hand over her mouth. Zelda rose, her blonde locks draping messily over her face.
Rubbing her eyes, darkened from tears of joy, she shuffled a bit on her bed, reaching for the Sheikah Slate on the end table. Activating the device, she checked the time.
6 AM.
"An early start it is then." She mumbled, stretching her arms. She looked over, beginning to call to Link. But when she shined the Slate's light over to his bed, she was surprised to find it empty.
She pursed her lips, surely he wouldn't have gone out already. The pattering of rain still apparent, she stood up from the bed and began riffing through her belongings, mainly her clothes.
Dressing in her grey dress, she quietly moved about the hut careful not to wake Impa. Paya was already awake and tending to her Prayers. The sky was still gloomy from storm clouds, a blanket of darkness covering the village. The inside was equally dark, with several candles and lanterns illuminating the corners and furniture.
With the rain and calm atmosphere, she would've loved to curl up and read a nice book. Making note to do that at some point, she crept down the stairs and to the front door. As she reached to push the door open, she stopped herself. Instead, she moved to the window and peered out onto the front porch.
There he was, a glint of blue from his Champion's Tunic shown in the darkness. He sat cross-legged, Master Sword laying on his lap, at the top of the stairs, just under the overhang so to not get wet.
His features were contorted in focus and determination. His teeth gritted in agitation.
Zelda frowned, Link never meditated at night. He cherished his sleeping hours almost as much as his food.
As she continued watching him, she noticed that his grip on the Master Sword tightened. He let out a shaky breath, sapphire eyes opening slowly. He seemed relaxed.
For about two seconds. He stood up abruptly, mumbling several curses under his breath as he paced about on the porch, dragging the Master Sword haphazardly behind him.
Zelda narrowed her eyes, concentrating on listening to what he was saying. After finally tuning out the scraping of metal on wood, she finally heard something.
"Hero...Father...remember...stupid...me..." Those were the only words she could hear, even then they made her sad to hear her knight seemingly berate himself.
He slumped against the wall, sliding down and bringing his knees to his chest, Master Sword laying at his side. His eyes staring into the darkness in frustration.
Carefully, Zelda moved from the window and slowly pushed the front door open.
His head snapped up quickly at the smallest creak from the door, eyes on full alert, expression softening upon seeing the Princess easing through the doorway, his head falling down tiredly.
"What are you doing up at this hour?" She knelt down to his level, head tilted in concern.
He rubbed his face with his sleeve, muttering something into the blue cloth.
"I'm sorry?" Zelda frowned.
"...Remembering." He repeated, this time a bit more audible. "..Trying to at least. I can't recall much as of now."
"Oh." She placed her hands on her knees. "...Is it really that hard? I mean, I know it's not easy...but..."
He didn't look at her, as she was accustomed to. Instead, he held up his right hand, the dark three triangles there illuminated in the candlelight, the bottom-left one glowed a faint gold.
"No." He sighed, dropping his hand onto his knee, blonde hair hanging over his eyes.
The Princess looked down, eyes narrowed in thought. Unconscious, she sat against the wall herself and scooted up next to him.
"How much have you tried?" She inquired, her scholarly nature slowly coming back. "Perhaps you need a stronger trigger than simply trying to recall things."
"Maybe..." He flexed his hands. "My last flashback was just before I came to rescue you..."
Zelda nodded. "Where did it happen? Maybe I can tell you more of it?"
Link held out his hand, gesturing to the Sheikah Slate. Zelda handed the device to him. He activated it and scrolled to the map, searching for something.
He laid the Slate flat on his palm and held it up for her to see. The marker was positioned on a location just south-east of Hyrule Castle, labelled Ranch Ruins.
"I found Epona there." He explained, handing the Slate back to her, eyes closed in thought. "I remembered...Us."
"Us?" She gave him a flat look.
"Yes, I was teaching you how to ride a horse..." He grimaced, thinking. "But...It wasn't like when we went to the Horse Statue. We were younger...I don't think I even had the Master Sword then." He looked down at the ancient blade.
Zelda put a finger to her chin in thought. "No...I don't think you did, that was when a group of Knights were chosen to compete to be my appointed guardian. You were among them."
Her lips curled into a smile, then a soft laugh escaped her. "Oh, I do remember that now. The others had simply followed me around, but you actually took me out to a Ranch to learn to ride a horse."
Link simply looked at her, scratching his cheek. "Hmm..."
"It's funny," Zelda smiled happily. "You were so meek then, I had always wondered if you had gained your stoicism when you pulled the Master Sword."
The Hero looked down at his lap in thought, he sure didn't remember that. But there was another thing bugging him.
"My Parents..." His eyes narrowed. "What of my parents?"
Zelda's smile faltered for a moment, morphing into a thin line. Eyes heavy with a sadness. "Do you really wish to know?"
He nodded.
"Alright." She sighed heavily. "Your...father was in the Royal Guard, Your mother was Goat Herder. I think they were not together, since you were almost always with your father, walking around the Castle with him. It was honestly kind of cute when you met me and started tripping over your own feet."
Link coughed into his fist.
"Oh, sorry." She cleared her throat. "You were quite the happy family, something I was glad for. But...your father was killed when a silver lynel attacked Castle Town"
He gave her an incredulous look. "A Silver Lynel? In Castle Town?"
She nodded. "Yes...Your father was the first person to even attempt to defend the town. He died fighting, if I remember correctly."
Link was silent, but sighed, "Figures. Always had a hatred for those things. What of my Mother?"
"She stayed at your Ranch just down river from Zora's Domain. She died of disease after you left to join the Royal Guard."
Link frowned. "Wait...I left? But...why, That doesn't make sense."
"Link, you weren't the same after your father died, you..." Her voice hung for a moment. "You...just shut everything out. It wasn't long after he died that you pulled the Master Sword. Now that I think about it, his death might've caused you to become stoic."
Link remained silent.
"I was informed of her death and did my best to tell you lightly." She looked down at the porch. "All you did was stare at me, your eyes not conveying any emotion. After that, the only time you smiled was when you cooked and ate."
"No." Zelda looked at him in surprise, that same blank expression on his face.
"What do you mean, 'no?'"
He scratched his head. "I noticed, in most of my memories. You would always ramble on during our travels..."
"Oh, um..." Zelda blushed a bit. "I wasn't troubling you, was I?"
"No, quite the opposite." Link smiled faintly. "I liked listening to your research and discoveries, especially elixirs. It made me feel a bit better, even though I rarely responded to you."
Zelda smiled at that, feeling a little happy that he Was listening to her then, not looking down on her. She tapped her fingers on the wooden boards. A question had plagued her mind for quite some time, she hoped that he could answer it.
"You have memories of Mipha?" She inquired, tilting her head in curiosity.
Link's eyes flicked up suddenly, not looking at her, but staring dead ahead. Slowly, he nodded. "Yes...But I think you may know more than I."
"Do you know if you were close? Or if you were in an relationship?"
He pursed his lip in thought. "That is a intimate question, Princess. I wouldn't disclose such a secret in honor of her memory, would I?"
Zelda smiled. "I suppose not."
She stood up, brushing off her dress turning to the door. "I shall be inside reading if you need me."
The clouds began to part, the early rising dawn creeping over the horizon, illuminating the dark clouds with an orange glow. As Link watched, he heard soft pattering around the corner from him.
"I know you're there." He said with a sigh. "Go ahead, say it. You were right."
Twilight stepped from around the corner and stopped right next to Link, staring at him with passive blue eyes.
"Today, I don't want to." He replied, a low growl in his throat. "There was more to that story, y'know."
"What story?"
"Don't play dumb, Wild!" He hissed. "Of your father and that Lynel. Yet, you didn't inquire any further, what's with that?"
Link shrugged apathetically. "I didn't want to know."
Twilight's glare intensified. "So you're going to be a memory short for the rest of your days?" Link nodded. "Oh you've got to be kidding me!"
"From what Zelda told me of my Mother's death, I had to deal with it silently and without emotion. I don't know what I'll do now when I learn exactly what happened."
"So you're giving up?" Twilight snorted. "So deal with it! Neither Zelda nor I will hold your hand through it, we Can't! You have to deal with it yourself, so deal with it!"
Link sighed, putting his face in his hands. "You're not going to let it go, are you?"
Twilight nodded, his paw moving and planting itself firmly on the Master Sword's hilt. Gradually, his body was overtaken, not with darkness, but with light. Link watched out of the corner of his eye as the bright figure of Twilight stood up on it's hind legs, morphing into a more humanoid shape.
When it faded, there stood an almost indistinguishable copy of him, Master Sword in hand, the only difference was the dirty blonde hair ontop his head and the green tunic and cap he wore, with chainmail underneath. On his back was a sword and worn Hylian shield.
"Now get up. It's time to spar." His voice similar to Link's yet a bit deeper. He outstretched his hand, which Link accepted. He was pulled up to his feet, finding himself about a head shorter than Twilight.
The ground was muddy and squelched loudly under his boots as they walked from Impa's hut and into the center of the Village, near the Goddess statue. The moved to face one another with about 3 feet between them. Twilight tossed the Master Sword to Link, which he caught quickly.
Twilight grasped the handle of his sword and withdrew it with an audible shing as it scrapped against the sheath. Holding it in his right hand, same as Link, he also held up the Hylian Shield, which Link copied.
Slowly, they nodded to one another, bringing their swords back, then forward, clanging them together on the flat of the blades in a salute. They held them there for a moment, separating with another nod.
"My mentor and I did this as a form of respect before we sparred." Twilight had explained. "Impress me and we shall continue to do so."
Link noticed out of the corner of his eye that Paya, who was familiar with these spars, had brought Zelda outside to watch. The Princess seeming confused at the mysterious lookalike in front of him.
He narrowly dodged Twilight's blade slicing downward onto his shoulder, hopping to the side and sliding in the mud. Getting back to his feet, he charged in to unleash a flurry of strikes. All of which were met with Twilight's shield, which went from blocking his swipes to bashing him in the face in a quick instant.
Ignoring the blood now pouring out of his nose, he dropped to his knee as Twilight sailed over him and sliced at his back, the blade missing thanks to his sudden drop.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk. Getting distracted!" His copy chided. "Never lose sight of your enemy!"
He swung downwards on the helpless knight. Link acted quickly, a red barrier appearing around him and shattering on contact with Twilight's blade. For a split second, the familiar green spirit of Daruk appeared in front of Twilight, letting out a battle cry.
The older man yelped in surprise, staggering backwards. Link took the chance, swinging around and smacking him in the face with the pommel of the Master Sword and kicking him in the stomach. His sparring partner flailing in pain and landing with a splash into the pond near the Goddess statue.
He wasn't going to stay down forever, reaching for his fallen sword quickly and making to get up. Only to realize that Link had placed the sharp tip of the Master Sword to his throat, standing on the edge of the pond above him victorious, a streak of crimson running down his chin from his nose.
Twilight noticed his own nose was bleeding as well. "An eye for an eye..." He grumbled, wiping away the blood. "You cheating little-"
"How was that cheating?" Link retorted. "You smacked me in the back of the head with a Boomerang once, why can't I use my items too?"
"Ugh, Touche" Twilight muttered, climbing out of the water and retrieving his sword.
They didn't pay any mind when Paya appeared and handed them some cloths to hold to their bloody noses. Only did Link pay attention when Zelda began fretting over him, up to when she started repeating something about his health and well-being about fifteen times.
"Princess, I'm fine. I swear." He gave her a look of complete exasperation. "This isn't my first bloody nose and I've suffered much worse than this."
Zelda didn't seem convinced, a scowl on her face with her cheeks puffed out cutely. She let out a suffering sigh, turning to Twilight.
"And you..." She trailed off, her eyes scanning his features quickly. Look of annoyance changing into one of recognition.
Abruptly her hand shot up and pointed dead at his face.
"You!"
I rushed this. I admit it, my Mother has been very sick and I've had to stay home to take care of her. Please pray for her to recover, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Okay, now onto the chapter. Twilight can transform at will, but requires the Master Sword to change back into human form, just like in game. In this he is 18, a year older than botw!Link, so pretty much in his prime. He is also wielding the Ordon Sword, I wanted him wield the Master Sword from his Era, but that's for later.
Yes, Twilight and Wild replicated the Salute that TP!Link and the Hero's Shade did while training. Gonna clarify that.
Have a good day!