A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
A Normal Knight
Chapter 3- The Front, Part 1
Hyrule Barracks, The 17th of Autumn, 11th year of King Lanster the First's reign
Dearest Malon,
So long have I written to you. But, are you reading all I sent? If only you can reply to me, my love. Even if it's not directly, I desire your words often each day.
A year has gone by since I left the ranch at such a young age. Training they put us through, to harden us, to prepare us, to make sure we survive one second longer. The war is not weakening itself; it instead is doing the contrary. Ganondorf's attacking more often now, and the number of casualties is now piling up. A direct assault, I heard, is to be made on Hyrule Castle. Inhabitants of the town are asked to flee. Fortunately, the King ordered the set up of defenses. But, still, I have deep doubts this would intimidate the enemy. They will not come through Lon Lon Ranch, no, so do not worry. They will assault from the west, then charge directly to the gate.
What fear I had of the war before I came to the Barracks has now heightened considerably. A year. That's all we had, Zid, Miru, and me. That's all the training we had to be soldiers. Long it is, but short when I think of the training we received. Knights require a longer time to become, and soldiers normally take two years or so. But, the King cannot wait. He needs immediate legions of an army, now. As so, we were to be in one of these legions, the one to defend Hyrule Castle. Finally, Fate is weaving my life. I have been called to the front. We are to serve Mother Hyrule to our greatest, with unfailing bravery and duty, not a step back lest the enemy… well…
These are pretty words, they are, to die for our home. I hope they are true, instead of what the strong veterans had told us. My comrades, Zid and Miru, my friends from the Barracks, will join with me in this battle. I now can describe what it is to be side by side with them, this comradeship. A great feeling, I say. Too great, that if I lose one of them, I might not have the courage to go on.
I write to you this letter before I go on to the front. I do not know if this is to be my last letter. I pray to the Goddesses that I shall write more after. But, if I do die, I die not for my home, Hyrule, but for you, Malon… My love… Please pray for me.
Link.
--
"So, this is it, huh?" Zid asks as they march out of Hyrule Castle Town's main gate.
"I guess so." Miru nods.
"Yeah," Link answers. "This is what they've been training us for."
It's raining, to a downpour. The clouds look gray against the sun's rays. The rain… as if setting the mood for this event. At least it's not night. It's afternoon, this battle. Hyrule Field has never looked any gloomier. The lush green plains that stretch for miles are anything but what it was earlier. Outside the gate, our three soldiers find mounded walls of earth around the main wall, with a moat carved out of it, to add a second layer of defense. The great and high stone wall surrounding Hyrule Castle Town is great, with its own man-made moat, but the King and the generals cannot afford to be less than careful.
The young and inexperienced goes to the front, yards away from safety. They are to meet the assault head-on. Naturally, this includes Link, Zid, and Miru, and it just so happens they're stuck at the very front, where great distances of soldiers stand besides them. Behind them are thousands more of the same. In front is the wet grass, an ocean of wet, green grass, stretching for miles. The world looks gray to the windless rain. No thunder, no lightning, just depressing water falling from the sky. It's as if nobody tries to show fear, but instead sorrow like the rain. Or maybe, fear is just hiding behind their hearts, like a storm behind the clouds.
Link, Miru, and Zid, plus the whole legion… They have been given nothing more than tunics. Has Hyrule been in an economical decline so long that it gives nothing more than tunics to these thousands of young men?
"I don't like this…" Miru said as he puts on his red tunic. "We're not fully prepared."
"Me neither," Zid agrees. "Does a blue tunic look good on when you're about to die?"
"Hah hah hah," Link chuckles, shaking his head. "Always making jokes even when things are grim, don't you?"
"Yep. Death hates laughter for some reason."
The three of them laugh what could be their last. The thought crosses their mind as they are handed their swords, these irons of death.
"I bet these swords will break the moment they hit something hard." Zid looks at his, seeing no reflection.
"Forget this." Link throws away over his back his sword. "Luckily, I brought my own."
Deceptively hidden within his green, issued tunic (almost similar to his Kokiri one…), Link shows a long, sheathed sword. He partly pulls the blade out, a blade imbued with the color of gold on it.
"Whoa, that's yours?" Zid stares at the gold.
"Yeah." Link pulls the whole sword out. "The Gilded Sword. It was my Kokiri Sword then, but I had it forged by the blacksmith to make it razor sharp. Adding some Gold Dust to it to keep its sharpness, this shiny thing came out."
"Magnificent blade…" Miru admires it.
"And I plan to stab through the lot of them with this."
"Lucky you…" Zid shakes his head.
A supplier comes by with Hylian Shields for them. As he hands out these shields bearing the triumphantly symbol of the Royal Family, the thought of fighting for Hyrule crosses their minds. Is Hyrule really worth fighting, even dying for?
"Good luck, comrade," the supplier wishes as he hands Zid his shield.
"I don't need luck, by the way…" Zid mutters to himself.
"Make Mother Hyrule proud."
"I will." Miru nods as he takes his shield.
"Fight bravely, soldier."
"Bravely… I shall," Link said as he wears his shield on his right arm.
"Take care of your weapons, and yourself, and harden your hearts, comrades…"
Thousands and thousands of others prepare around them, all with the same fear on their minds. Death. All these young, inexperienced men fear Death. Why should they be here instead of in the walls? The battle-hardened veterans are inside, reinforcements just in case. And they stand out here, expected to charge headfirst into Ganondorf's army. Easy death to weak Hylians. Why? What are the generals thinking? What is the King himself thinking? Putting such men out here. Do they not care for them?
"Thank Goddess they are archers above." Miru sees them flexing their bows.
"It still doesn't stop the enemy from charging in with everything they've got," Zid grimly reminds.
"Still, they're there for getting rid of some of them, right?" Link reassures.
"Pretty much."
"So…"
"Good luck, then?" Miru said.
"As I said, I don't need luck," Zid reminds.
"Well, you might as well," Link said. "I know I'm fighting for Malon, but…"
Link picks up his weak sword from the ground. He extends the sword out to the others.
"I might as well fight for Hyrule," Link finishes.
"Yeah, me too," Zid agrees, drawing his own sword and putting it on top of Link's.
"And me." Miru puts his sword on theirs.
"I guess being out here can make anybody fight for anything," Link figures. "All for one, and one for all?"
"Nah, that sounds too stupid." Zid shakes his head. "How about, 'For what we're fighting for?'"
"That's much better, yeah," Miru agrees.
"Alright, then," Link said. "On three, we shine and touch our swords upward, saying the phrase."
"Dude, you have the worst ideas. If not, the gayest," Zid comments. "Look, try this. On three, we draw our swords back and do our stances, whatever they are, okay?"
"Uh…"
"Fine," Zid interrupts. "If you want, we'll say the phrase as we do the thing, okay?"
"I like it." Miru nods. "It's sounds unique."
"Alright, as before." Link readies himself. "Ready? On three."
Link pauses, then…
"Three!"
"For what…" they yell as they withdraw their swords, "we're fighting for!"
Zid tosses his sword upward, rotating until it comes back down, and he catches it, guiding it smoothly. Miru does a slash, spins around, then stands tall with his sword by his side. Link brushes his hair back with his hand, the light somehow reflecting off his own sword.
"Kinda wrong?" Zid asks. "Piece of crap?"
"Yeah," Link replies. "Needs some work."
"If we survive this," Miru reminds.
The three relax with a disappointed, if not, dispirited sigh.
"Fellow soldiers of Hyrule!" a commander calls out to all of them.
All prepared, the masses of Hylian men turn their attentions towards him.
"This day will be the proudest day you have ever lived! You will fight the evil Ganondorf's invaders with everything! For each fallen Hylian soldier, you will make them pay, with ten of theirs!"
He walks down the line sharply.
"Do not forget King Lanster's order; Not one step backwards! You will have courage and honor to stop the enemy and drive them back! You will have reinforcements, weapons, the lay of the land! What do you think Ganondorf has?"
With a swift hand gesture, he shows nothing.
"Nothing! They have nothing! Because the Goddesses themselves do not favor them! Their dash to capture the cities around Hyrule has left them too thin! Their tactics to perform these leaves them without supplies and reinforcements! They are too weak to leave us a means of a proper fight! Comrades, with our outstanding bravery, we will defend Hyrule Castle, here, on Hyrule Field!"
This is less than said, for anybody could see fear shaking the soldiers. Courage, honor, and duty, what does it all mean when they're about to meet Death face to face?
"Prepare yourselves, comrades!" a general on horseback warns, for he sees darker clouds coming. "The enemy is coming!"
"Wait for it!"
"Do not charge in!"
"Archers!" one yells. "Those are archers!"
There, there, with Link's own eyes, he sees the dark figures on the horizon against the sun, guided by the darker clouds above. A moment later, he hears the faint whizzing sounds of arrows in the air. His eyes go up, seeing black stripes of demise in the sky. Fear grips again. Why haven't they been given the order to shield?
"Shields!" the order comes. "Raise the shields!"
Masses of Hylian Shields block out the light around them as they are held up. The arrows greet them horribly. Every now and then, a soldier is unlucky and gets an arrow past his shield. Cries of pain pierces through the sounds of the barrage of arrows hitting the shields. Link's breathing goes rapid, fearing the same fate. He hears his two comrades side by side with his own fear through them. A soldier behind Link yelps, then he hears the thud of a body. He realizes he came close to Death, but the one behind him was chosen for it. Panicking already and they haven't even drawn their swords yet. In the moment that is long as before the arrows reach them, there is no more coming down after.
"Thank goddess…" Miru whispers stiffly, "they've stopped."
"For now," Zid whispers back. "Next, they attack. Remember, guys, defeat your fear, and the enemy will be easy."
"How do you know this stuff?"
"Some book I read."
"Wait for it, soldiers!" a voice yells, seeing Ganondorf's army now charging towards them. "Wait for it…!"
"Archers…!"
"Archers ready!" the acknowledgement on top sounds off.
"Here they are! Fire!"
A counter attack follows as the arrows of Hylians soar through the air to hit their marks. Shields of the rushing enemies go up, but bodies drop as arrows goes past. From Link's eyes, he sees the whole front, from the first charging at them to the ones on the horizon, fall like dominoes. It relieves him, but doesn't help as he sees more of Ganondorf's army charging past the bodies and towards them.
"Not yet, comrades! Not yet!"
"Say your prayers, guys," Zid whispers. "This is about to get ugly."
"You should say your own," Miru whispers back.
An eternity is what it feels like to Link as he waits for the enemies to come through the fields towards them. Link could feel time slow down. He sees every detail of everything clearly during it. Hyrule Field, the enemies, the soldiers around him, Zid, Miru, right down to the grass that is brushing against his feet. How strange is this last peaceful moment…
"Ready!" This voice snaps his mind from the restraints of time. "Ready!"
Link draws his Gilded Sword slowly.
For Hyrule…
"Charge!"
Link finds his feet doing the action. He rears back his sword, ready to take down the first monster that reaches him.
For Malon…
"Forward, comrades! Forward! Advance!"
"Not one step backwards!"
"For Mother Hyrule!"
"Victory or death!"
An Iron Knuckle meets Link's eyes. With an axe, it yells a battle cry as it comes at Link. Link's mouth opens to yell his own cry.
For what we're fighting for…
--
"Oh, Link…" Malon moans as she finishes her letter. "I'm so worried about you… You… you're going to the front… Please… please be okay… Let the Goddess protect you…"
Malon slowly picks herself up from the main table. She blows out the candle and treads softly on her way to her room. Changing into her nightgown, she slips herself into her bed. The moonlight outside catches a tear forming at the corner of her eye. It runs down her cheek, her worry in that tear. Malon doesn't want to wipe it. Her eyes drift themselves to darkness, and with her, to sleep.
