All right. I'm sorry.
I'm FINALLY able to use Lotus to get HTML formats. Which means I'm going to forget the project of retyping it, and just am going to post what I already have.
This chapter had a different version, with a better explanation. But I've lost it; aka my computer ate it.
Enjoy!!
In Vaiya's house, a familiar party was celebrating Princess Zelda's fourteenth birthday in a rather unusual way.
"Impa, why couldn't we have just put all that training and strength I had to learn these Din-damned years into the disguise!?!?" April rushed the last part of that sentence, almost screaming.
"You can't Glamour abilities, Princess. You knew that when you agreed to all this." Sheik smirked.
She glared at him. "Shaddup, you. You're just angry that I'm a prettier you than you are."
Sheik glared at her playfully.
For her birthday, April hadn't wanted to simply celebrate by resting and having a special dinner. No; the Princess had decided that she had wanted to finally attempt to use the disguise, specifically the spelled Glamour, they had been working on for a time, as it was finally completed.
When they had cast the beta-spell, April had been quite impressed with her transformation, as had been everyone else. She appeared about a foot taller than she was normally, and she looked to be an older version of Sheik. They had rummaged through some old clothes that Vaiya had had laying around, and had found a traditional Sheikah warrior outfit, complete with the traditional scarf that Sheikah men wore. That had been translated into the spell, as well.
And then April had wanted to test this guise to see if she was able to move in the same way that she was when she was herself. She had found that she, indeed, could do this.
But then she had discovered that her disguise made it much easier to imitate some of the fighting style she had learned. And they had all found that a bit odd. As per her character, she blamed circumstances out of her control, saying that it probably would have been possible to put more of these abilities into the disguise.
Of course, her companions had been all too happy to point out this faulty logic to her.
As Impa, Vaiya, April and Sheik sat down to dinner than night, Vaiya started up a discussion about yet more things she had Seen in their future.
"You know that you will be going to Hyrule when the Hero of Time awakens, right Princess?" the Seer asked, taking a bite of a roll.
"Oh, yeah. I've known for a while, now."
"Good," Vaiya said.
"What exactly do these visits to Hyrule entail, may I ask?" Impa prompted, sitting directly across from the Princess.
"Well, basically," April began. "I'm going to go and guide him through the time between the Temples. You know; teach him the songs and stuff."
"Ah," Impa said.
"And how will you know when he's going to need your help?" Sheik asked.
April shrugged. "I dunno."
"I do," Vaiya interjected. "I Saw it a while ago, but as soon as the Hero of Time needs your help, it'll be like an alarm going off."
April paled slightly as she realized something about that statement.
"If that happens, and I'm here..." she begun.
But Vaiya stopped her. "Actually, that alarm is going to be kind of like a vision. You'll know in enough time to get to wherever he might be."
"Really?" April asked, slightly relieved.
"Stranger things have happened," Vaiya responded. "It's no surprise to me that your Triforce would do anything to make sure that the Holder of it's counterpart is safe."
"You know that Link has the Triforce of Courage!?" the Princess cried, slamming her hands down on the table in an unintentional expression of surprise.
Vaiya blinked, saying only, "Of course."
And then April recoiled slightly, thinking how very obvious that had been.
Later on, when April had gone to bed, she had been overly exited about the time to come, when she would finally be able to return to Hyrule and put the disguise to use.
April looked around. The sky, or whatever it was, was fuzzy and gray. She recognized it immediately as the place in which she had spoken to Nayru in for the first time. Around the 'sky,' in random places, shone beams of light in various colors. They seemed almost hopeful. April thought that, maybe, this place represented the state of Hyrule. It was mostly dark, as it had been when she's first spoken to Nayru, but there was still the light of hope.
She looked up, already mentally expecting the figure she now saw standing there.
Greetings. Nayru called to her, calmly.
The Princess didn't so much as blink. Did you call me here? she asked.
Right to the point, as always. The Goddess smiled. And to answer you, yes.
April smirked, not really knowing why.
I have figured something out. I think I may have been helped in this knowledge by the memories that you seem to have all but lost.
April looked at the nonexistent ground.
You came here, to our dimension, for two simple reasons. It was what Destiny needed. And.... It was what you wanted.
She nearly snapped her neck looking up in the next second. WHAT!?
The Goddess looked... almost sheepish. Of course, it is not that simple.... How to explain? Well, to begin with, it is probably obvious to you that my Sisters and I knew that the Princess of Destiny would be Zelda. Am I correct in thinking this?
April only nodded.
Right. Well, the Zelda that was born to Hyrule was... How shall I put this... Incomplete, in a way. She rarely spoke, she kept to herself, and to most, it seemed as if she didn't have a mind of her own at all. In a way, she was the perfect little lady of the Court; seen and not heard.
Nayru paused at this point. April waited, screaming only on the inside, for the explanation she had been waiting to hear for years.
Destiny and Fate obviously decided that this would not do for the situation They knew was arising in Hyrule. Hyrule needed a Hero, which they received in the Kokiri boy called Link, but they also needed a strong figure to clean up the mess and guide the Hero.
Which would be the Princess of Destiny. April concluded.
Correct. Simply put, the Zelda of Hyrule before you arrived did not fit the job description. As it were... Destiny decided that she would bring somebody else into play. Of course, She would not simply "get rid" of her chosen Princess; She would augment her; mind and soul.
What I am saying is that you, with your close connection to our world through your "game," were picked because of your desire for something more in your own life. You see, Destiny does not have barriers. She works through all times, places, dimensions... It is all the same to Her.
April stopped the Goddess at this point. Wait. So, what you're saying is... that I was PICKED, out of the six and some odd billion people on Earth to come here, to Hyrule?
Of course. I knew about this when it happened. Destiny..... Hm, explanations...... Well, She almost literally plucked your soul out of your body and brought it here.
To another reality? April boggled.
What is reality, Princess?
Silence for a moment.
Ultimatly, continued the Goddess. ... Zelda knew about it, as well. She had started to have visions and things from a young age, but these dreams of The Legend scared her. She knew that she was not... strong enough to handle something like this when the fate of Hyrule was riding on it. So, right before the night you came to Hyrule and had a dream of her vision, that incomplete Zelda prayed to me. She asked for guidance... and someone or something to come and help what she knew was a dire situation.
April only stared, listening.
Of course, I heard. Destiny heard this more magnified, through me. It was then that We decided to take matters into Our hands.
We do not always like interfering with the world We've created. Life, as it is, it not meant to be tampered with, even by its creators. But even Destiny saw the need in this situation. Even if Hyrule and its plain of existence is only one of millions, it is still important to Her. Hyrule, being a center of this world, it important to it all. If someone like Ganon had been there to take the Triforce, and someone like the Zelda you have come to know had not been there to take part of it from him... to split it...
Hyrule would have been doomed. April said.
Destiny spoke to Zelda that night. And Zelda agreed to leave her body, abilities, memories... everything to this new presence that would add to her powers. Because, you know, it was not as if she wasn't powerful. She had the same magical ability and vision that you possess now. It was that incompleteness that stopped her from feeling able to complete this task. She needed the fire of a soul like yours.
Like a boost of energy... April wondered 'aloud.'
Additionally. Your, ah.... rather unfair knowledge of Hyrule's situation could not hurt in bringing strength to the Princess of Destiny. Her psychic abilities were strong, but with the way you seemed to memorize the "plot" of this Legend...
Nayru sighed, and April echoed the gesture.
She left a small part of her original person in your mind. That vision of Zelda you had on the day you spoke to Ganondorf in your garden; that was the original, unaltered Princess. She thought it would be a good thing to leave that just in case the "new" Zelda became as uninspired as she had once been.
Wouldn't people notice this new "change" in Zelda's personality, though? April asked, incredulous.
Nayru seemed to consider this for a moment. Impa noticed. She has taken care of Zelda for her entire life, so the change was more obvious to her than to anyone else. However, she attributed this to the change in Hyrule's situation. She knew that having visions like you did at that time must have put something rather drastic through your mind. She most likely did not wish to alarm you by asking why you were acting out of the ordinary. And, you did not see enough of any other people in Zelda's life for them to notice any great change.
Oh, was April's simple response.
A brief pause, before April decided to voice her ideas on this subject.
Basically... I'm just a small part of this big plot like everyone else is. As April slowly realized just what she was trying to say, the words came more easily. I lost my life and identity for a greater purpose, taking someone else's in the process. I'm not... - She struggled with the word - April, but I'm not Zelda, either.
The Goddess's eyes began to glow with a knowing and divine light. No.
April jumped right out of her train of thoughts at this simple, yet forceful, word.
You, just as every other living being in this Universe and all others, played your part in the grand scheme of Life. You were never meant to be April of Earth. Do you think that Destiny makes mistakes? You were meant and chosen to be Zelda of Hyrule!
Eyes wide, April looked straight into Nayru's eyes; blue with the color of Time and infinite wisdom.
It was clear in a moment. April's soul had combined with Zelda's body and her memories. And since a persin is technically made up of their memories, Zelda as she was never really disappeared. It had just taken a long time for the new combination that was Zelda to realize its old memories, and to loose all of the ones that it hadn't need. Now, all Zelda had was the knowledge that part of her, at least, had been a thirteen year old girl named April. The only reason this mattered at all was because it had mattered enough to Destiny to change her.
And suddenly, any question left concerning the "had been" became fact.
Zelda stopped being April.
You've come to accept it fully. Finally. A pause. And then the Goddess smiled. This can only make things easier for you. You do not have to be two people. It is enough to deal with two identities; you do not need three.
Wondering what in the world she could be talking about, the Princess suddenly remembered the rest of the world. With that came the memory of their recent attempt at creating her alter (not to mention borrowed) persona; Sheik.
And Zelda, the Princess of Hyrule, smiled.
I'm going to wake up now.
Nayru, the Goddess of Wisdom, smiled as well.
Destiny go with you, my Daughter.
And with that, Zelda was awake.
Well.... I've had people ask me why April was here in the first place since the beginning. And now you know. I wasn't originally planning on a scene like this; I was going to have her just figure it out. But that was too hard. () So, here is this. And just so you know.... We're only a few chapters away from the end.
Cheers!
SailorZelda