Slice of the Wild Chapter 12, a legend of zelda fanfic

A/N: Hey there! Welcome firestarterxz, blonde22, Aliecole, Sariah Greenleaf, isaxadia, and Makuri767! Thank you for following the story! I love talking to you guys, but I'm moving that section to the bottom so I can use this space for announcements.

First off, check out the fanfiction's tumblr page, Slice-of-the-Wild, for pending art! Feel free to review here for parts you'd like to see illustrated - I'll commit to doing the first suggestion I get after each post, but I can always make more if it's really wanted.

Second, I'd like to post on a schedule. Let's try for the first week of every month, but let me know what you want.

Thank you all again! - meet you at the bottom!

Chapter Twelve

Link was kept on the valley floor all night. After all, the Princess of Hyrule was scheduled to tour the grounds after dinner, and the Elder wanted the Master Sword present while the other gangs guarded the hillsides. However, guarding the Her Highness, even when assigned by the Sheikah themselves, meant enduring the Elder's glares and scoffs. And no seat of honor nor delicious meal could help him stomach the feeling - though the spiced curry came close. That and the banana flambe. He ate too much of those.

As the servants cleared the dessert plates, a schedule was shoved into his face: six, the baptism ceremony; seven, a tour of the grounds; eight, an archery and kodachi demonstration from Rola's academy; nine, tea with the Princess at the inn.

Link eyed the time stamp of the baptism, "R-Right now?"

"Not right now, five minutes!" She exploded, snatching back her schedule, "And I'd take your restroom break now because you won't get another until nine."

He nodded, not knowing what to do to appease the Sheikah - the alarm of her confrontation choked out his natural feelings. Surely, he should be frustrated, but guilt flooded in with the recounting of her words earlier. "Tell me - was it the right decision to rescue the Princess without the Sheikah's aide?" Anxiety loud, he overcompensated by frantically feeling out for his options, so he got up, dusted the flambe crumbs from his sleek uniform, and joined the guards pooling behind the Princess. For, in the pocket of her yukata, there was a contract signed with his name, and he took it too seriously to spend any more time swimming in the guilt.

The day Link had first met the Elder was so unlike tonight. What was a comfy summer evening now was a stormy winter evening a year and a half ago. The week before, he had woken up in a mysterious cave and wandered out into a lonely plateau that overlooked the deadened basin. A simple command he had given himself to walk onward past the mouth of the cavernous cell, though he had no idea who "himself" was nor what he had set out to do nor why he had wanted to do it.

Barren lands of crunched twigs and dried leaves filled the view; his eyes skipped around the bogs and rolling hills until a blackened castle assaulted him. Looking upon it, his chest seemed to swell and shrivel and writhe, though the reason evaded him. He thought he could hear voices, but when he went searching, it was only the wind that answered him. Confused, he resided to believe that the only presences stalking him were imaginary. Upon turning around, he'd swear a face had dipped into the bushes, but there was always nothing; just squirrels bunkering down in their pile of acorns. Blue jays squabbled in the evergreens, crispy leaves drifted from dormant maples, and boar tracks lay printed in the frost.

When snow fell over the plateau, he clambered down the frightening cliffs for a chance at warmth. But beneath was a world without reason, ticking on in chaos. Whizzing spiders rose and fell over the deadened hillsides - who would have thought that they were gargantuan machines? Monsters with pig faces ambushed him from the tree line, and when he narrowly escaped, a bear crawled out from its den and stalked him for the pouch he had found at an abandoned campsite marked by three graves. He picked up a thick tree branch to protect himself, but used it only to threaten when the beast got close.

It was all woozy sights and distant voices from there on out. A throbbing pain in his head raged on while the terror of the wild made its introduction. Night swallowed the slopes; freezing rain pelted the grounds; the splinters tore up his hands; a feverish longing for shelter had him sauntering mindlessly through the western Kakarikan gate. Had that been chance? Fate? - he didn't know. But the voice in his head blended with his instincts. Perhaps the path to Kakariko had been familiar from the silenced self of the past - regardless, he went shivering and stumbling until he had been found by the Sheikah.

Upon arriving, he had thought he had been through the worst of it - scarfing down three hot bowls of soups had him recounting his luck, as if he had just been a lost soul salvaged by the odd tribal peoples. But, then their Elder called him by the name of a thousand burdens, sparing him the luxury of pleasantries - he was not even dry before the tapestry had been laid out. Thus, she went on, airing out the ghosts in the closet. And although the servants kept the hot tea coming, the shock forbade him from drinking. A knife plunged deep inside as he listened and listened and listened.

The Elder's plan, written in red ink, was to train for three years by destroying enemy outposts. Upon graduating, he'd pull the Master Sword and venture out into the desert Wastelands to wipe the Yiga from their Hideout with the help of the Gerudos. Then, he'd win over Vah Noboris in the next year and spend another two reclaiming the other three Divine Beasts. And at the climax of the fifth year, he'd align all nations for a tactical assault on the castle. and free the Princess so she could be whisked away by the Shiekah.

But, this subtle truth Link knew as he left the Glen - when he closed his eyes, he'd fall into the channel where voices could be heard. Surely, it was not the wind making odd sounds through caves and trees; it was the Princess, calling from the castle, and she was dying.

And after a hundred and five years, she'd be dead.

So he had to rush the job. But, in doing so, he had gotten hurt on the scene and jeopardized Her Highness's life once again.

So, he asked himself while guiding the Princess to the door - was this brash choice of altruism worth it?

He hadn't the authority to say, but the one who did snagged his gaze. Before he could look away, Her Highness wordlessly grabbed a clean handkerchief from the table and handed it to him. Grinning, she gestured to the crumbs on his face, sending alarm all throughout his disposition. Quickly, he wiped his mouth clean and nodded her an embarrassed thanks.

Though the Elder interrupted, "I want the Master Sword out too, Link!"

Quickly, he reached for his blade, and they were let through the door.

The descent was a rush! Link allowed himself little time to observe the Glen, besides searching for potential enemies hiding among busy carts and laughing partyers, sloshing rice wine. Yet, it was a glittering night in the twilight. Moving beneath the lanterns was their circle of guards - Link as the cornerstone, though the Master Sword betrayed the uniformity, which was jeopardized even more with Box's self-imposed assignment. He headed the entourage and cleared the way of giddy bypassers when the Princess stepped onto the main road. Many of them wanted to reach in and shake her hand, but the beginning of the events allotted them a peace period.

"Won't you join us in our custom, Princess Zelda?" Said the Elder in a new voice - it was somewhat holier. Beneath the public eye, she gracefully invited Her Highness to the Hylia shrine, which lay adorned in lanterns and summer wildflowers. Offerings of rice and jade had been left at her stone feet. Around her bubbled natural springs. And though the space wouldn't allow many, Link found himself following, afraid that distance in the tense atmosphere might threaten the safety that both he and the Elder had worked so hard to achieve. After all, they yearned for the same future - one where the Princess of Hyrule and her land were free.

But, as Link and a few other guards approached the duo at the shrine, the Elder shot him look after look, warning him like a boar about to charge. 'I didn't invite you up here,' she scowled. Though averting his gaze, he let the triggering anxiety take him back to that first hour of belief where the Elder had shown him, the amnesiac, pictures of himself on the sheikah slate. Cladded in Hyrulean teal, sword in hand, standing with a league of forgotten faces - Daruk, Revali, Urbosa, Mipha, and of course, Princess Zelda.

Watching her now, letting the water drip down her brow, broke the dam -

He should have woken up eighty years earlier.

He should have forced himself awake.

With the time saved, he could have trained for years and years, having enough time to pull the Master Sword without shocking himself senseless. How disorienting it was to wake up to the Deku's canopy billowing over him, the sword free from its mantle, just lying there in the grass an arm's reach away. He had to crawl over to get it, arms shot, muscles splitting.

What if he had enough time to take out the Yiga?

Free the Divine Beasts and gather the four corners of Hyrule?

What if he never died?

Then, could the Princess live out a happy life?

The applauding crowd loosened the knots in Link's reservations. The past was the past - he needed to give his full attention to the present. So powering through, he began to ready himself and the entourage for a meet and greet, but a Queenly voice interrupted his efforts.

"Pardon me," came the Princess - the crowd hushed, Link turned. She nervously scanned all the eyes upon her despite standing strong. She clasped her hands together, "Let me just say that I never thought I would feel this young being baptized at the Equinox."

The crowd laughed.

"You don't look a day over one-hundred!" Yelled Olkin, the pumpkin farmer.

"What's your secret?" Link heard - it sounded like Leekah.

"Paralysis." The Princess hummed, her tone captivating. Had she made a joke? The crowd chuckled.

"Regardless, thank you for having us on such short notice." She mused, upturning a satisfied smile for the public. Though something in her eyes hinted a shyness. Link followed her gaze until it landed on him, "Though, I'd like to honor another at this lovely party tonight." She then turned to him, "Is that alright, Link?"

He did not know what had meant until she bent low into the spring and cupped her hands into the water.

Suddenly bashful, Link took in the scene. Smiling people, children with flowers, and thugs with rice balls stuffed into their mouths - yet, his gaze skidded back to the Princess when she drew near, water spilling from the cracks in her palms.

"We do not look our age." She chuckled, peering over at him.

This emerald examination felt too familiar, carrying the same whiplash he felt when waking up in the stable bed after a year and a half of fighting. All he could think about were the safety issues - it practically ran him out of the sheets, but she stopped him forcefully and asked one hundred questions about his own well-being. Like so, she had been attacked but fought to save him - that water bucket sloshing in her hands as she braved the stable's flames. And so on, she endured sickness in the wagon but never complained - no, she complimented him instead, even giving him a flower. And though battered and bruised, she now stood publicly in front of all these people, thanking him.

And so it occurred to him - something he had been stomaching since meeting her was the complexity of feeling so simple and un-composed; feeling so flawed, but so endeared and cared for.

In the appeasing examination, he found himself caught off guard. Until then, he had not noticed her yukata nor her crown of braids. The wrap of her dress contoured her waist. The cherry blossoms weaved throughout the fabric, highlighting the subtle blush in her cheeks. Her lips were peach. What made her skin so shiny? Her eyes so stark? Overwhelmed, he shyly bowed his head low and humbly allowed himself the underserved honor.

Slowly, she approached and let the waterfall over his head and brow.

"Thank you," he heard her whisper earnestly, "For everything, Link."

All he could do was glance up and stare.

The night went on without an issue. Though Gen, the old stable-local, got drunk after the play and allowed himself to be painted by the children. However, the rice wine, tea, and hot cakes kept coming, sinking the Glen in a mellow calm while River Roans protected them from the hills above.

The Wetlander boss won the archery tournament by shooting the bulls-eye while hanging upside down from a nearby cherry tree. From then on out, Rola hung onto the woman like a groupie. And by the performance's end, the Princess looked less nervous - shoulders back, sitting with a slight smile as the Elder overcame her heartbreak and slung an arm around the girl's waist. And though Link wasn't exactly the smiling type, the scene eased him - his wet hair finally dry. Though happy, he kept himself alert and composed as people came and went with their well-wishes.

By nine, the atmosphere had turned sleepy - the evening mist was settling back into the Glen, cueing the servants to start cleaning up. However, the kids were not done. Every year they tried to turn the bowls of holy water on each other, but the Elder would always stop them by threatening her wrath. But, when the oldest of the groups went for the bins, they eyed the Elder for their annual scolding. But, the shouts never came. The woman just let out a wicked grin and turned her back,

"The grass does need watering." She said, turning, and the splash-fest ensued.

"Did you want to turn in?" The Elder asked, pushing the Princess away from the fray. "I think I'll skip out on it myself if you care to join me."

Link filed in behind him, dodging the waves of water.

"The Princess is supposed to appear at the inn, Impa." He heard. "After all, your schedule cannot be wrong. Show me what you have."

The woman surrendered the schedule from the obi of her yukata.

"Ah!" The Princess exclaimed, "Tea time with the Princess - 9 o'clock."

"Don't take that tone with me, young lady."

"Come now, Impa," she mused, scrolling the thing back up, "As if any of us are young anymore."

"Well, aren't you cheery?"

The Princess let out a shy grin, admitting to the facade.

"Well," came the Elder, darkening her tone, "I must relieve Link, so let's get you inside the inn."

Link guided them to the inn where a half dozen guards waited. There at the threshold, Leekah waved her arms, catching their attention above the wicker heads. She pushed her way through the tall men and, pulling Linus with her, and enveloped the Princess in a bountiful hug. Her son impatiently waited for the girl's attention, tapping his foot until she was released. He then swooped in to show off the embroidered badge his family had boughten him that night.

"We shall take good care of her, Elder!" Said Leekah, spinning around.

But, the Elder never strayed from the Princess's gaze, "Zelda, I think you should be home no later than ten."

Zelda - Impa neglected the honorifics.

It was odd to hear.

Link studied the Princess for a reaction, but she was too quick to answer, "I'll make sure to be in by ten." Her voice was soothing - as if sensing the mysterious love from the woman. "Can I talk you both into staying?"

Link watched the Elder for a response, but all she gave was a solemn shake of her head.

"I'm too old for late nights." Said she, turning her back.

Link excused himself with a nod, not knowing what exactly he wanted to communicate with it. However, when watching the old woman shuffle away, a daring conviction sprang upon him. And suddenly, he could bear the silence no more.

So, when the door was shut on them, he spoke, "Elder Impa."

"You're off at nine," She snapped, "And I need no assistance getting to my house, thank you."

Link stared. And when the woman would grant him no acknowledgment, he approached - not knowing exactly what he wanted to say; yet, something needed to be addressed.

"I'm not up for a chat neither." She bellowed.

Searching his options, Link dared himself to speak, "I wanted to ask what I could do to make you feel more comfortable about…"

He let his voice trail out, hoping she'd either understand or interrupt. But, she held her hateful silence.

"I know… " He restarted, trying to remember his courage, "I know things didn't turn out… as you hoped."

She turned with a stabbing gaze.

He found himself staring at his feet, "... but I wanted to ask what could be done."

"Will you take payment to just leave?" She interrupted.

He shifted his weight. "...No…"

"I know of a cottage in Hebra for vacationing - how about that?"

He watched her brows furrow.

"Lurelin? Akkala? Zora? Is there a place you haven't been?"

He shook his head.

"Look, Link. I need you to think of yourself as hired help. It's just easier that way until you recover your memories. After all, the Sheikah saved you after you collapsed in Blachery Plains. We gave you a commission when you woke up, and now your services are done. You've delivered the Princess, and now she's home. Any other services from here on out are just inappropriate."

Link bit his lip, worrying she was right.

"I mean no offense." She said robotically, " But, your services need conclusion. When your memories return, then we can have another chat, yes?

Link could only stare at their feet; any other response evaded him.

The Elder pressed on, "And surely the Princess feels the same. You heard her earlier this evening. She wants you to be free too. And freedom is not escorting her to who knows where."

She let the silence fall; the croaking bullfrogs and whispering crickets filled the night. So much did Link want the perfect answer, but in the peace, he realized he did not need one. All he wanted to know was if there was a way he could comfort the Elder during this transition, so the question remained.

Again, he repeated himself, "...I wanted to ask what I can do to make you feel comfortable."

She looked confused, looking around the glen in a series of blinks, "Nothing about this makes me feel comfortable, Link! Don't you understand?"

"What can I do, then?"

"Turn down this offer."

"I-I can't do that."

"Why not?."

Link held his silence.

"Why take this job? Why sign the document so soon? It's a huge burden- did you not understand that?"

Her anger was so distracting, but when he attempted to answer, she interrupted him.

"Look Link, let me spell this out for you. Not only is she a Princess with a bounty on her head, but she's a girl - one who's smart and pretty."

Link felt his insides convulse - his gaze snapped up.

"Do you see where I'm going here?"

He cocked his head to protest, but again she interrupted him.

"And you're a boy about her age, and if this is just something youngins do impulsively - oh, Link, don't make me say it."

He put out his hand to stop her, but the woman went off.

"And as her guardian, I have the right to ask what your intentions are - you've signed a document that ensures quality time with the girl I've raised. Say you and the Princess go off galavanting. Perhaps she'll be safe from Yiga and monsters, but is she safe from your intentions?"

"I signed it," he cut her off, surprising himself, "That's all it was to it."

"There's always something to it."

"I-I was needed."

"She wouldn't want that!" She snapped too quickly, as if she had played the winning hand in a card game. "She wants you to be free."

He calmed himself, trying to understand the Elder's point of view though it felt like swallowing toxin, "I want to do it."

"Why?" Shouted the woman with her hands on her hips, "You haven't told me such."

Link searched himself, but all he could relent was a shy truth, "...I want to know about my past."

Finally, the woman broke, shuffling over to a table of leftover drinks for what felt like forever in the singing crickets of the night. She then snagged a glass of wine and swished it around in her cup, "...Well, why not send you to King Dorephean? He can tell you everything about your past. Want to know about your father?" She took a big sip, then winced from the alcohol.

Link could only watch her. He felt sorry for her; he felt sorry for himself; he felt sorry for the Princess.

"What?" Droned the Elder, tossing out the rest of her glass, "Is the King of Zoras he not a pretty blonde?"

Link burned; his eyes shot with scorn - a direct hit on the Elder. She held the silence, though something in her gaze looked sorry.

He didn't need to answer her; he just needed to restate the truth, "I want to be a guard that you feel comfortable with."

The Elder shifted her weight.

He went on, "And I'd like your advice - if you'd give it."

"Advice on what?" She relented, looking up at the summer stars peeking through the thin fog.

"Being a guard." He asserted, waiting stubbornly to receive whatever wrath she reserved for him.

"I was her attendant."

Link folded his gaze to his boots,"Then, I'd like your advice on attending."

"Let me tell you something," she said. He glanced up to find her peeking over at him with one eye, "When I was first assigned to the Princess, she was an ass; the bane of my existence with all the poignant sass, stuck-up attitude, and obnoxious stare-offs."

Link faltered, feeling surprised, "...O-Okay."

"Don't look at me like that - you would understand if you still had your memories. She was an exceptional ass to you! Yelling at you for doing your royal duties. Mocking you in the halls. She once ran away from the castle and you had to go track her down!" Before Link could emote, the woman bursted, "Goddesses, she even put a frog in my purse! A frog."

The woman's reaction was petty, yet mirthful. Yet, Link was too self-conscious to let himself out of his stoic cell.

Regardless, the Elder went on, "The traumatic loss of her mother put her in the fire. From there was refined a beautiful soul, though she will never see it as such."

For a moment, the woman fell prey to deep thought, but she went on, "The girl and I grew fond of each other - I felt like she was my child. I clothed her, fed her, and escorted her everywhere. And I don't like how you're taking her away from me again."

Link nodded, understanding.

"You want to be a good attendant?"

"Y-Yes."

"Then," started the woman, but she suddenly broke, "Then don't ask me."

She wiped her eyes.

Link watched the woman emote with shock - something compelled him to near her, but the woman put up a finger, giving herself a second to compose herself. She drew her gaze right back up, a single tear welling up in her eye, and collected her voice, "Towards the end, I was cold; I postponed teas and made excuses. Everything was so busy, so it looked natural."

Link could only stare.

"I kept the girl waiting on numerous occasions. The way her eyes sparkled when she saw me scared me. Because we were mother and child - that idea I had enforced while my job was to be her servant. The King didn't like it, and I liked my job too much to stand up for the girl."

Frozen, Link beheld the woman.

"So you want to be an attendant like me? Well then, always speak formally, keep your distance, and keep care to a minimum just as I did in the later years… sure, that's how a Princess ought to be treated. But you know something?"

"W-What?"

"The Goddess's power - they never came under my care."

Link drew near, hoping to understand.

But she stopped him with another finger, "Offer me no comfort, Link. Oh, my emotions have been all over the place. Forgive me - I am so spent and out of discipline."

She then turned to her cottage, "I sometimes wonder if I helped keep those powers dormant. Am I the reason why the world is so unhappy?"

All Link could do was shake his head.

"Things seemed to change after you and the champions… I know she loved you all." She then whirled around to face him, "I feel like that's why she's choosing you over me."

Link buckled his lip, "T-That's not true."

"If you take her!" She interrupted, "… oh Goddesses, I have to let you take her, don't I?"

He felt too afraid to answer her.

"Bah, when you take her, I just beg of you to know your place and balance that with caring for her. You understand, right?"