A/N: Well, here's the first chapter. It's mainly introducing the situation and it may be a bit confusing, but all will be explained in time. Hope you like it!

Child of Obscurity

My farthest back memories are of a small cottage in Kokiri Forest. My mother told me that was also where I was born, and that Link had been helping her hide there during her nine months of pregnancy. I was told it was for protection against Ganondorf's followers, but I have a feeling it was also because they didn't want anyone to know about me. It's not difficult to understand why they would be ashamed of me; after all, I was the spawn of the most hated man in Hyrule.

Of course, I knew all about the so-called legend of the Hero of Time. Hell, I knew it better than anyone else. I had been told the story so many times ever since I was a baby that it was practically engraved in my mind. After all, my own mother was the heroine of the renowned tale, the "Princess of Destiny."

I don't remember much about Kokiri Forest. I was kept inside most of the time until I became a toddler. My mother would let me play outside with the Kokiri children occasionally, but I was always under her close watch, and if she was not watching, then Link was.

Link was a hero to the Kokiri. Well, he was a hero to everyone in Hyrule, but to those Kokiri children, he was practically a god. As young as I was, I could still see how they admired him, their eyes shining with adoration as they crowded around him. I remember I would feel a pang of jealousy whenever they did this. I suppose that it was part of the reason of why I grew to hate him. I was often shunned by the Kokiri; none of them ever really became close to me and I never became friends with any of them.

I spent almost all of my time with my mother. She was a very young mother, for she had given birth to me when she was only seventeen. She was my whole world back then; my only salvation. I would spend endless hours in her arms, and she would whisper words of comfort and love. She adequately filled the place in my heart meant for my supposedly deceased father.

She was very beautiful, of course. I often would twirl strands of her shining golden hair with my little fingers, and she would smile softly at me, her deep blue eyes sparkling. But in spite her loving nature, even I could tell that she was a very sad woman. She would stare off into the distance for what seemed like forever, and I would catch an occasional tear slide down her cheek before she wiped it away hastily. Something had happened in her life that had nearly destroyed her, but I would not learn what it was until much later.

We lived there with Link for about three years before moving to another small house in Kakariko Village. From what I heard, since the castle and the town were being rebuilt up in the north, most Hylians either lived in Kakariko Village or somewhere close to the village. The castle was estimated to be completely finished in about ten years, but my mother would happily tell me that we could move into the completed part within only a few years.

Our house was located somewhat close to the entrance of Kakariko Village, among the many tightly squeezed-in homes. For a long time, we were the main topic for the town gossips. After all, it wasn't often that the Princess of Hyrule and her illegitimate son came to live among the commoners. Not to mention the famed Hero of Time coming to us visit frequently. The most talked about, however, was me. Everyone knew about me. Everyone knew who my father was.

Everyone except me.

I remember Mother telling me fantastic stories about my so-called father. Sometimes, her stories contradicted each other, but I was far too young too realize this at the time. She would tell me that he was a brave Hylian knight that had been killed while helping to hide her from Ganondorf, concocting tales of his great feats and accomplishments. Often times, she made him sound so much like Link that I wondered if she got them confused sometimes.

Link technically didn't live with us, but he was there so often that he might as well have. My mother invited him to all of our meals, and she almost never left the house without him by her side. He was her sworn protector, always there to watch over her and shield her from any harm that may have come to her.

I remember once when I was little, perhaps around four years old, and my mother had gone on a trip to help organize the rebuilding of the castle. She had asked Link to stay with me while she was gone. I was eating dinner one night when I glanced up and looked at Link.

He was standing completely still, staring sternly at the door as if he expected someone to come through it at any moment. I remember he looked rather lonely, and I felt sorry for him. Smiling widely, I approached him from behind and wrapped my arms around his legs affectionately.

"Linky," I cooed, gazing up at him, desperate for his attention.

Link stared down at me, appearing startled for a fleeting moment. He then grimaced and pulled me away from him, asking me what I wanted.

I never attempted to do anything like that again. It was clear that Link disliked me, and I didn't even question why.

On the other hand, it wasn't difficult to see that he was in love with my mother. The way he stared at her longingly when she wasn't aware angered me. Whenever she would touch him or even smile at him, his eyes would glaze over and he would sigh when she wasn't looking. He was constantly doing favors for her, sometimes running all over Hyrule just to do a political errand for her. I'm sure he would have given her the moon if she asked for it. Not only that, but I could tell my mother was very fond of him too, and that angered me further.

Yes, everyone knew they were meant for each other. It was painfully obvious.

I really had no reason for disliking Link so much. It was just a concept in my mind that had always been there; almost as if my hatred for him was planted in my brain when I was born. It was just always there, hovering in the back of my mind.

As I grew older and became more curious about things, I began to wonder why people stared at me all the time. Until then, I hadn't thought anything of it, but lately I had observed that they didn't stare at each other like that. It was just me. I started to feel self-conscious, and I would stare at myself in a mirror for long moments, wondering what made me so different from everyone else.

I soon discovered the reason why, or at least thought I had: I didn't look much like my mother. In fact, I hardly resembled her at all. I didn't even look very Hylian. But everyone is different, I thought to myself. Nevertheless, doubt always loomed in my mind.

I remember one particular afternoon, while I was helping my mother in our small kitchen, I caught my image in the reflection of the small-sized mirror that hung on the wall.

"Mama?" I said as I fingered my unusually pointed nose and stared at my reflection.

"Yes, child?" she replied absentmindedly, her attention focused on kneading the bread for dinner. I remember her always having trouble with cooking; after all, for much of her life, she had lived in a castle with servants to tend to her every need.

"Why do I look so strange?" I asked as I ran a hand through my deep crimson hair.

She suddenly paused in her work and turned to look at me, her eyes filled with apprehension. "Who told you that?" she asked.

"Nobody," I replied. "It's just… kids are supposed to look like their parents, aren't they? But I don't look like you, Mama."

She looked down for a moment, wiping her hands on her apron, and then she approached me in front of the mirror.

"You take after your father, mostly," she said softly, putting her hands on my shoulders. We gazed at our reflections for a moment in silence, observing the differences in our appearances. Her pale complexion and delicate features contrasted to my greenish-gray skin and sharp facial features. We both had pointy ears, like all Hylians do, but hers were much longer and more noticeable than mine. I had deep red, wild hair as opposed to her long, smooth flaxen tresses. But we shared a striking resemblance in the color of our eyes. Although they were shaped differently, we both had eyes of the deepest shade of blue. It was basically the only physical connection I had to my mother.

She suddenly smiled, her eyes twinkling. "But you have my eyes," she said proudly, embracing me and showering me with kisses. I laughed, forgetting about our odd differences and giving in to her excuses, just as I always did. That's the way it always was; she would merely give me a small smile, and I would melt in her arms, completely ignoring the questions that floated around in my head.

A/N: Please review, it helps tremendously! Constructively criticize it all you want, I need all the help I can get.