Chapter 1

"Tell me a story, Grandpa," the red-haired little girl said.

Link smiled warmly at his five-year-old great-granddaughter and settled into his rocking chair. A fire was lit in the fireplace, warming his little cabin, which was all that was left of Lon Lon Ranch and shadows danced on the walls. He was comfortable here, which was interesting because he was contented in very few places. But having Rianna there with him helped become happy with his surroundings. "All right," he responded. "What would you like to hear about?"

Rianna pondered this for a moment, and Link watched her, beaming with pride. She reminded him so deeply of...someone. He couldn't place who, but it was someone great and wonderful and full of magic. A goddess, perhaps? Maybe. He hadn't done much dream interpretation lately. But she was bright and quick-witted and perceptive, and Link loved her as much as a grandfather could ever love his grandchild.

Outside, there was a clasp of thunder, and suddenly rain began to pour from the sky in great sheets. As much as Link tried to be optimistic about his life, cynicism somehow found it's way back into his brain, and then picked at it for awhile, making the old man think thoughts it wasn't healthy to think about. Right now, for instance, he thought about how the rain suited his dreary mood. But we was a man around the age of eighty, so he had a reason to feel that way now.

Little Rianna crawled into her grandfather's lap. "I'm scared of the storm, Grandpa," she said, her voice shaking. Link held her tight for a second, but then he couldn't help but notice that even Rianna's slight weight bore down on his weakened legs. He rarely got around anymore. Walking was rare, and socializing was unheard of. His heart hurt as he thought about his life and how it changed since that day all those years. In fact, now it was about fifty-eight years ago. The day that had torn his life apart altogether.

Noticing her grandfather's troubled expression, Rianna asked, "Are you still mad about the war, Grandpa?"

The war. Another aspect of Link's life he didn't want to relive, and thanks his granddaughter, who didn't know better, he was about to.

For almost fifty years, Hyrule had been enveloped into a world of monsters and hatred and cruelty. After Ganondorf had reincarnated and been destroyed once and for all, he still left behind a trail of monsters to demolish Hyrule. And so they did. There were numerous wars and battles, and until the most recent one, Link had faught in them all, no matter how depressed or angry he was feeling inside. Fighting made him forget. It always had. The war had been a little over two weeks ago, and Link was so old he knew there was no way he could fight, and that made him angry and frustrated. He was growing old, in fact, he was old, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, it was true.

He looked at his granddaughter's face, and then noticed how young she was, so new and open to the world. She showed so much promise and had already seen many things young children should never have to perceive. He ached for her inside. Or maybe that was the pain that hadn't left his heart in fifty- eight years.

Somehow he managed to smile at Rianna, and he answered her question truthfully. "No. I'm not mad the war. I am very glad it's over."

She nodded, satisfied with the answer. "I miss Daddy," she murmured, snuggling into Link's arms for comfort and reassurance that everything would be okay.

Link stroked the child's strawberry blonde hair. "I know," he said softly. "I miss him too. But he died for a good cause, Rianna. He died saving you and your mommy. And he's up there in the Golden Realm right now, watching you and loving you all the same as he did when he was here."

Rianna gave a tiny smile and nestled deeper into Link's arms. It was always around her when Link realized how weak his once strong body was. He could barely even hold her without feeling an intense decrease in energy. So he carefully edged her off him and said, "Sit on the floor now. Grandpa needs his space."

Obedientely, Rianna did get up, and she positioned herself on the rug by Link's chair. She sat quietly for moment, hugging her knees, and Link thought about the war Hyrule had only just suffered through. Though the combat left Hyrule victorious over the monsters that had invaded Hyrule, killing for pleasure, many had died, including Rianna's father, Link's grandson Darryl, along with most of the rest of his family. So many deaths he had endured in his lifetime, but none more painful than the first. Darryl had been a good man, Link knew. Now Rianna lived with her mother, a woman called Elaera. Elaera was sweet and kind, and took good care of young Rianna.

The attentive child in front of Link noticed his thoughtful yet cheerless face, and inquired further. "Do you miss Grandma Malon, then?"

Malon was Link's wife, and she had died several years earlier due to natural causes. She was only a year younger than Link, but her body was overworked and so much more frail than his. She simply was not strong enough to go on. Link knew this was partly his fault, he had made her worry and fret too much all her life. He remembered the way she looked when she died with Link sitting next to her. He couldn't even bring himself to hold her hand, to console her. It had been a hard time for Link, like so many more he had experienced. She had gazed at him with such sorrow and helplessness, and he had done nothing. He let her die. He didn't know why, but he did, and he felt no guilt. He wasn't destined to be with her, so he felt no loss.

He knew telling Rianna he didn't miss Malon wouldn't be right, so he said, "Grandma Malon is in a better place, with your dad."

The girl nodded and dug her fingers into the soft red carpet she sat on. She appeared to be thinking, and Link watched her in anticipation, wondering what she'd say next. He had learned through time and experience that with children, you just never knew what was coming next. But Rianna seemed quite at ease sitting there, looking mesmerized and lost in thought.

It got to the point when Link could wait no longer. "Have you decided what you want to hear about yet, dear?" he asked. He was already prepared to stand up and get a book from his mantelpiece at Rianna's command.

She nodded ever so slightly, and said, "Yes."

"Well, what then?"

Rianna hesitated, and took a deep breath. Then, staring straight into her grandfather's piercing blue eyes, she said, "I want to hear about the princess."

Link's insides froze. In the instant Rianna said that, his whole world, which he had carefully constructed to shelter him from his memories of the princess, collapsed. Suddenly he was bombarded with remembrance and unwanted feelings he had tried to hard to forget and get rid of. They were back. The pain was back, and it was killing him slowly.

Animosity took him over, and he no longer had control over his words. Without knowing what he was saying, he snapped at poor young Rianna, who witnessed her beloved grandfather's emotional transformation feebly. "No," he snapped angrily. "I don't want to tell you anything, you little brat, and I don't have to."

Rianna's jaw dropped, and tears filled her deep brown eyes. She turned away from Link so he wouldn't see her cry, but being five, she couldn't help it, and when she blinked, the tears formed rivers on her cheeks.

This seemed to get to Link, and he saw those tears and became himself again, or as much as he could be. He shivered, blinked several times, and reached his hand out to Rianna. "Rianna," he tried. "I'm so sorry."

She glared at him, hugging her legs close to her body.

"I don't know what has come over me," he explained. "I wish I did, but you have to trust me. I can't tell you about the princess."

Rianna's lifted her head. "So there was a princess," she concluded sullenly, seeming a little surprised.

Link nodded remorsefully. "Yes. There was a princess."

Rearranging herself on the floor, Rianna asked, "And what was she like?"

Link studied his granddaughter closely, but all he could see was her innocence. "How do you know about the princess, Rianna?" he asked gently, cautiously.

"Someone was telling stories in the marketplace," Rianna explained. "And she said a long time ago, old man Link had married a princess, or something." She shrugged, evidently uncomfortable. "Something like that, I think."

He nodded and sat back in his cushioned chair, so many thoughts flashing across his mind. They were scattered, and the topics varied. Should he tell Rianna about the princess? If he did, would he even remember everything? And since when did the townspeople refer to him as old man Link?

The answer to his first question was clear as day in his mind. He didn't have much of a choice, and he had always known that someday he would have to tell someone. Why not Rianna? She wouldn't judge, that was for sure. And she most likely wouldn't understand anything Link said, which somehow made things easier.

His mind was made up. He was going to tell Rianna about Zelda.

Zelda.

He hadn't even thought her name in fifty-eight years, much less spoke it. It felt good, like visiting an old friend, but he knew it would get worse. There would be anger, and rage, and joy, and sorrow and just about every other sentiment that existed. But he was ready to face it all head on.

Leaning forward, he began his story. "I will tell you," Link decided aloud, trying out the words. "Listen well, okay Rianna?"

She nodded, and she seemed to be aware of the sudden tension in the room. So she put a serious expression on her face and prepared for her grandfather's tale.

"First of all," he began, "I didn't marry her. But we were engaged. I actually remember the very day I proposed. It was the night of her twentieth birthday..."