I am sorry that is has taken me so much time to update this collection.
I don't even know if anyone is still reading my Zelda stories, but if you do then please enjoy this.

This is the first part of my so called "dragon series" which I already finished in german.
It's not easy to translate these stories, so please don't wonder why it takes me so long to post updates here.
Plus I am pretty busy in real life and I also work on other Fanfictions from other fandoms at the moment ;).

But here is the first part and I hope you will like it.

Every dragon gets his own story ;)

And as always comments are very much appreciated by me.
Please don't be shy and share your thoughts withb me.

To answer the comments from the previous chapter:

Guest
Oh, I can highly recommend the Mangas to you.
Especially the Twilight Princes series. It's so good :D

PokemonTrainer12
Lucky one. I was terrified back then. And the Shadow Temple didn't make it better for me.
Nowadays I can just laugh about this, but back then, when I was like 6 or 7 years old, it was super scary for me.
The old N64 version of the Shadow Temple still had blood and such in the game.
The "remakes" don't have that anymore for whatever reason. These games were never kid's games here in Germany.
And thank you very much for your kind words :D
Link is just a human like you and me and of course he gets scared too.
I think many people don't really want to see that and always write him as the perfect hero he is supposed to be.
But I always try to imagine how I would feel would I be in his situation and I for myself would be terrified...
And I personally don't like it when people claim that Link is supposed to be mute, while it's clear that he does talk in the games.
We just don't see or hear this, but he does answers people's questions...

Guardians and living legends

Thunderclouds darkened the sun's light that day and made Hyrule look even more eerie than it already was.

Horse hooves moved slowly across the sandy ground of the path that led through the steppe. The red-brown mare's rider stroked her muscular neck lovingly before putting on his hood. The storm clouds brought not only rain, but also cold wind and he felt a shiver running through his whole body. But it wasn't the cold wind that made him shiver.

When Link turned his head to the side and saw the remains of some Guardians lying in the grass, he shuddered from head to toe. So far he had encountered one of these ominous machines and had barely survived the encounter. From that moment on, he had sworn to be much more careful and to avoid the areas where Guardians were spotted as far as possible.

But this was not possible today, because today he had to venture near a place where several Guardians had been sighted. He didn't like being so close to these deadly machines, because he didn't know exactly where they were. Even if they were pretty huge, they were amazingly fast and they rarely missed their target...

The young knight shook his head and tried to get rid of these thoughts quickly. He couldn't be distracted from his actual task, which was to look for his memories. He had found photos from a long time ago on his Sheikah slate that Zelda had made and for some time he had been looking for the places that would bring back his memories. He vaguely knew where one of these memories might be, because the first photo seemed strangely familiar to him, but he didn't dare to go into this area, since the photo was taken just before Hyrule Castle and most of the still active Guardians were sighted there. He would be careful not to travel to this place without suitable equipment. With his current equipment, he wouldn't stand a chance and would very likely die there.

His mare's snort wrenched him back into reality and he patted her neck gently to calm her down. The rumble of thunder in his back, that heralded the coming storm, seemed to worry his mare...or was it something else that made her nervous?

He looked around to all sides, but there was nothing but the dead Guardians lying here and there in the grass, looking like they were going to fall apart at any moment.

A glance at his map showed him that he was close to Lake Hylia and the associated bridge. A small smile even crept onto his face at the thought, for he had heard many wondrous rumors about this bridge. People said that, with a lot of luck, you could see a dragon on this bridge, but so far hardly anyone had ever seen this dragon and those who claimed to have seen it...well, these people weren't exactly the most credible, considering the fact that they were always on the go with lots of wine in their travel bag.

But who knew what strange beings lived in Hyrule and were hiding from the eyes of the residents?

Link would rather meet a dragon than a Guardian...especially since he still had a great respect for the fire-breathing creatures. He had never seen one before, but legends told many different stories about these great beings.

The thunder rumbled and the first drops of water fell from the sky.

His horse let out a low whine and put her ears back and Link felt how she tensed her muscles underneath her fur.

"Shhh. Stay calm. It's just a thunderstorm," he said softly to the mare, but she didn't want to calm down.

It thundered once more and the first lightning flashed through the dark clouds.

But...there was something else that Link heard.

Another rumble, but none that seemed to come from a thunderstorm…

He reined in his horse and listened.

There...he heard the sound again and it was slowly approaching and it seemed like it was moving into his direction. He couldn't tell which direction it was coming from. The wind could carry it to him from all possible directions. The situation didn't please him and he gently pushed his heels into his horse's sides to make her trot.

"Let's get out of here and look for the next stable. We can take a break there and wait until the thunderstorm has passed."

He doubted that his mare understood the spoken words, but it gave him security to be able to speak to someone. It also distracted him from his own nervousness, because he felt his heart beat faster and how he himself became more and more nervous.

This rumbling had nothing to do with the approaching thunderstorm...

Once again he thrust his heels into the flanks of his horse to make the mare gallop. He wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible and leave whatever seemed to haunt him.

But nothing should come of it.

Before he even saw it, he could hear it.

The crack of smaller trees came to his ears, the whir of powerful engines and then the terrible sound they made whenever they found an intruder.

Guardians!

Two in total!

And then also runners!

One on his left, who broke through a row of smaller trees and shrubs, the other on his right, who came down a small hill. The red glow showed him that they had already spotted him.

"Damn it!"

He took the reins firmly in his hand and pushed his heels into the flanks of his mere so hard that she rose onto her hind legs, before she started to gallop like the wind. The Guardians were hot on his heels and immediately started chasing him. But unlike Link thought, only one of the Guardians started direct persecution. The other broke out of line and moved sideways from him across the steppe. They actually tried to circle him!

With a red beam of light they both aimed at Link at the same time and his mare and the young hero tore the reins and quickly steered his horse in the opposite direction. Just in time, because only seconds later two laser beams rushed past him, which missed him by a hair's breadth. He could feel the heat of the rays through his blue robe. There was a crack behind him when a tree burst into flames when he was hit by the tremendous power of the laser. But Link didn't pay attention to it at all. He kept pushing his horse, urging her on to run faster. Cold sweat gathered on his forehead, his body was tense and his heart was beating so hard in his chest that he thought his ribs would break under the load every second.

In front of him he could see the Bridge of lake Hylia in the distance.

He knew there was an abandoned ruin nearby where he had a chance to hide. If the Guardians no longer saw him, they would leave him alone; he knew that from the experience he had already made. But something about these Guardians was different, made them even more dangerous, because these two seemed to have a plan how best to catch up with him and kill him, even if it was difficult for Link to believe this. Only a feeling, thinking being would be able to do something like this...

What had only happened a hundred years ago that one was able to develop such gruesome machines, which apparently were able to think like humans on their own?

Link absolutely had to get his memories back!

But first he had to get rid of these two Guardians if he wanted to survive.

The bridge came closer and closer...almost there!

"Come on, faster!" he screamed and again he thrust his heels into the flanks of his horse. Panic took hold of him, as the Guardian behind him caught up and he heard him reload his gun and aim it at him.

"No! Damn it! NO!" he shouted, but it was too late.

The next shot was fired so close to his body that the hot laser beam brushed his left shoulder, leaving an aching wound. A fireball exploded just before him. Small stones and dirt were thrown into his face and he heard his horse neighing in panic and felt the mare rose on her hind legs. He hit the ground hard when she threw him off and helplessly he had to watch the horse ran off. He expected the Guardian to pay full attention to the fleeing horse now, but none of it happened. The full attention of the machine was still on him and Link jumped back to his feet as fast as he could and ran as fast as his body allowed. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw his horse and how she disappeared behind a grassy hill just before the bridge and he wanted to follow his horse, but he knew that he would never be able to climb the hill fast enough before the next laser beam would kill him. So he ran straight for the bridge, hoping he would be fast enough to cross it and look for shelter behind it in a ruin or behind some rocks. But his plan didn't work because the second Guardian, the one he had almost forgotten about, suddenly appeared in front of him on the other side of the bridge. The damn thing had been hiding under the bridge, waiting for the right moment to intercept him.

Now he faced two deadly Guardians.

One in his back and the other right in front of him and both of them turned their scary eyes on him and Link heard the sound again as they loaded their weapons.

The bridge was wide, but not wide enough to avoid a double attack!

The barren wooden shield he'd taken from a Bokoblin wouldn't help him anymore.

The next attack would kill him one hundred percent if he didn't come up with something quickly.

He ran to the edge of the bridge and looked down where he could vaguely see Lake Hylia. Was the water deep enough to soften his fall if he jumped?

He didn't know, but he didn't see any other option, because if he stayed here, it would be his dead and that couldn't happen! After everything he had heard, Princess Zelda held the position at Hyrule Castle and tried to stand up against Ganon, waiting for him. If he were to find death here, that would also be the end of Hyrule, because who, if not he, would be able to wield the holy sword and thus stop evil once and for all?

Only he was able to do this!

His decision was made quickly and the moment the Guardians fired their laser beams at him, he jumped over the edge of the stone bridge.

His scream went off in a loud explosion, as the Guardian's weapons tore each other apart. Small stones and pieces of hot metal rained down on him and Link saw his life go by, because of the rubble and metal rain he was unable to use his parasail, as the debris would destroy it immediately. So all he had left was hope that he would survive falling into the lake...

Even in his fall, he tried to get into a suitable position so that his body didn't hit the surface of the water and he even made it. He plunged headfirst deep into the lake...a little too deep, because only seconds after his immersion in the cold water, the pain almost exploded in his skull when he hit his head on a stone. The pain made him see stars and gasp for breath, causing him to swallow water. Panic took possession of him again and he tried to swim back to the surface of the water as fast as he could, but it was too far away and the air was slowly running out and he felt his vision darken as powerlessness stretched her hand out to him. His movements became weaker and he couldn't get to the surface of the water. His eyes closed slowly as he gave up.

He only vaguely noticed how something began to glow beneath him.

The last thing he saw was a huge eye looking at him and claws reaching for him, before his eyes closed and he fell into deep darkness...

It could have been minutes, hours or even days.

At least that's how it felt for him when he opened his eyes again.

Instead of masses of water, the nightly starry sky greeted him over Hyrule.

The sound of crickets and the whisper of the wind reached his ears.

Where was he?

Was he dead and was this the afterlife?

No...he didn't believe in something like that and besides...why should the afterlife look like Hyrule?

He tried to move and groaned as the pain swept over him like a tidal wave. Especially the back of his head hurt like hell and when he managed to guide his hand to the painful area, he felt dried blood there.

And then the memories came back to him.

Memories of his escape from the Guardians, of the showdown on the bridge and how he had finally jumped off the huge bridge. But...there was more that he remembered. He remembered the big eye that had looked at him curiously and claws that had carried him almost gently.

Was it all just a dream?

No, that couldn't be a dream, because he couldn't imagine himself swimming to the edge of the lake, because that was where he was right now. His feet were still hanging in the cool water, but his torso lay in the grass on the edge of the lake. He tried to sit up ponderously, but quickly stopped trying it, when the pain in his body seemed to explode.

Enemies didn't seem to be around because he only heard the sounds of nature around him and that even calmed him down a bit.

But the chirping of the crickets and the splashing of the water was soon followed by a different sound. A sound that Link had never heard before and when he looked up at the sky from where the sound came, he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the huge green dragon, flying through the starry sky and a loud roar left his throat. The dragon's body was long and seemed to glow in the dark. And then the dragon turned its full attention to Link and it went straight to him. The young hero's heart beat faster, as fear spread through his body and he tried desperately to get up, but the pain was just too great and he could only lie there helplessly and watch the mighty dragon come closer.

He narrowed his eyes, didn't want to see how this monster ate him and when he felt the ground shaking underneath him, when the dragon landed in front of him, he was preparing himself for death. But nothing of the sort happened. He felt no claws or fangs digging into his flesh and after a few more moments, in which nothing happened, he dared to open one of his blue eyes.

The huge dragon stood directly above him and eyed him curiously. A soft snort came from his nostrils and Link winced, as the huge head bent down to him and the dragon sniffed at him.

"P-please...don't eat me..." the boy whimpered and the dragon cocked his head as if to say "What are you talking about, boy?" but Link was sure that he was only imagining it.

The dragon still didn't appear to want to eat him. Almost gently he nudged Link with his huge snout, so that his body turned to the side. There was a low growl from the dragon's throat when he saw the wound on the back of Link's head and something happened that Link couldn't believe.

The dragon exhaled and instead of fire, a greenish glow came out of his mouth, which covered Link's back of the head and the boy felt how the wound slowly began to close and how the pain disappeared.

The dragon was healing him...

Then he was turned back onto his back by powerful claws and the dragon did the same with the wound that was on his left shoulder and that he had gotten from the Guardian's weapons. As the dragon blew his healing breath onto the wound, Link could watch how the wound closed and he felt the last bit of pain disappear from his body.

The dragon stared at him for a few more moments and Link dared to reach his hand out for his snout and put it on the scaly skin and the dragon granted it to him. A single tear ran down his cheek as the beauty of this creature overwhelmed him. The skin under his fingers was surprisingly soft and warm and he felt the power of the dragon pulsating under his fingers. Link could only guess how old this dragon had to be and how much these eyes had already seen...

"I know who you are…"

The young knight winced when he heard the voice inside his head, but he didn't pull his hand back.

"Save this country. Destroy all evil and bring peace back to Hyrule," said the dragon inside his head and then he rose to his full height, threw his head back and let his powerful voice be heard in the form of a mighty roar.

Then he took one last look at the knight and the voice of the dragon sounded again in his head.

"We'll meet again, young hero..."

Then the dragon pushed off the ground and disappeared into the night sky and was no longer be seen.

Link stayed on the ground, unable to move a muscle, let alone think clearly.

Did that really happen?

Did he really just saw a dragon?

And had this dragon really healed him from his wounds and had spoken to him?

Questions, so many questions and so few answers.

The fact was only one thing: nobody would believe him this story.

But Link didn't care.

He had seen this dragon with his own eyes and he had even felt the skin of this creature under his own fingers. He didn't need more evidence that this had really happened and that it hadn't come from a crazy fever dream.

He lay motionless on the edge of the lake for a few more minutes, before sitting up.

The pain was gone from his body and more than that: he felt better than he had in a long time.

He would spend the night here by the lake and light a fire, since he didn't want to travel through Hyrule at night.

Only in the morning would he go looking for his horse and when he had found it, he would ride to the nearest stable and stay there for a few days to recover from his trip.

But the dragon's words still echoed in his head.

Destroy all evil and bring peace back to Hyrule.

Yes...he would do that.

He would get his memories back, would find Zelda and together they would bring peace back to this kingdom.

He knew what his destiny was.

And he wouldn't disappoint the dragon or this kingdom...

To be continued...