A/N: Why is Scarlet late this time? I got pulled into some impromptu freelance work. I'm not even a freelancer. RIP my weekend lol. If you've ever wondered why my writing is so good, it's probably because I'm a professional copywriter. If you've ever wondered why my copywriting is so good, it's probably because I write fanfic XD

You could read these first several paragraphs as they were written, or you could read them while imagining Link with a piece of toast in his mouth like an anime girl running late for school.


The Light Invasion

PART I - DESERT THE ARMY

Link of Ordon: Is your duty to your kingdom, or the parasite in your shadow?


Chapter 7 - The Prince of Hyrule


"Mr Link!" Reed hammered on the door. "Be out in five minutes."

Five? What happened to ten? Link kicked off the sheets, wrestled into his chainmail and tunic, and swung his gear onto his back. He fastened everything on the way down the stairs and fixed his askew hat at the counter.

"How'd you enjoy your double bed?" the innkeeper asked with a teasing grin.

"Great. Thanks. Sign me out please."

She flipped back a page and ticked a box beside his name with her quill. "Done. Safe travels, Mr Hero." She winked. Rusl always said to never whisper secrets inside an inn. They say the keepers hear everything.

With a nod, Link bolted out the door and rounded to the stable where the Larkson brothers were already mounted on their steeds. Reed's was chocolate brown while Jay's was black with white spots. Rather cow-like. Upon their backs weren't shields, but crossbows and quivers.

"Four minutes. What a champ," Reed beamed.

"I know. And a whole minute to spare for his mare," said Jay.

At that, Link kicked open the stable door. The poor stable girl screeched and dropped her broom. Link scrambled to Epona's stall and flung formalities at the girl as he led his horse out. "Hi. Sorry. Thank-you. Goodbye."

The brothers had ridden halfway down the street by the time Link exited. Felt like less than a minute had passed, but that didn't matter. In one motion, he mounted Epona and sent her cantering after the Larkson brothers, apologising to a few townies he nearly trampled along the way.

Link caught up to the Larkson brothers at the edge of the village. "Ah, Link. Good of you to join us," said Jay.

"Yes, yes. Sorry for all that rush," said Reed. "We're too eager to show you off to the prince."

"Can't do that if you leave me behind," Link said. All three of them laughed. "Have you ever met him?"

"Oh, a few times." Jay nudged his horse closer to Link's right. "He likes to oversee things personally, especially the military. Sometimes strikes up conversation with lowly lieutenants like us."

Link looked between them. "You're both lieutenants?"

"No." Reed jerked his head at Jay. "I outrank him."

"In missed targets," Jay quipped. The brothers laughed.

"In all seriousness, there's no way to describe a man like Prince Fabian," Reed began. "He's an enigma. Pure charisma with a pristine cover. He could tell me the sky is green and grass is blue and I'd believe him."

"You also believe that butter comes from butterflies," Jay teased.

"Not since I was five. You still believed it when you were ten."

The hours they rode together were certainly a show. The digs the brothers gave each other made Link chuckle, and the ones at his expense were all in good fun, if a little much at times. Since he hardly knew these brothers and they kinda outranked him, he mostly kept his silence. Being in their presence was enough, because it kept Midna from rising to snark him some more.

Link and the Larksons stayed the road even when monsters patrolled. Thanks to the brothers' pinpoint aim, all bokoblins, kargaroks, and keese fell before they heard the beating hooves. Saved Link the hassle of using and cleaning his blade, but it would've been nice to prove himself a capable warrior. They already knew that, didn't they? He had them captivated by his tunic and his mark… but not by him. Yes, he was chosen to save Hyrule from the everlasting night, which spoke leagues about his potential, but it was just that. Potential.

The truth was that Link was living through so many firsts. His first time beyond the forests of Faron. His first time killing a monster on his own. His first time camping. His first time following a map. His first time staying at an inn. He had achieved all that well enough, but what about the next first, or the one after that? Would that be when he'd stumble? Would that be when the dashing persona of a chosen hero cracked to expose the sheltered farm boy beneath?

Without the sun, it was a wonder how long they road for. Two hours? Four? Six? It felt like both an eternity and no time at all as they crossed the expansive fields and funnelled into a narrow passage of stone.

When they rounded the final curve, Link's jaw dropped. Stone stairs lined with trees and hedges ran higher than any building in Ordon, to a door of banded oak embedded in a fortified brick wall. A guard roamed along the top, outlined only by his torch disappearing and reappearing between the battlements. Against the starry sky was the faint outline of turrets three times as high as any tree Link had known. If this was how the city and its castle looked in the shroud of night, what blinding magnificence would greet him in the day?

"Jay, I think we broke him," said Reed.

"Ah. Stairs. Walls. Drab grey stone," Jay whimsied. "Truly a magnificent sight to behold."

Link clamped his jaw shut. The sheltered farm boy was showing. "Where do we take our horses?" he asked. Link had never ridden Epona up stairs before. Horses and stairs were never something that had ever crossed his mind at the same time.

"We'll ride around to the eastern entrance," Jay said. "There's a few people stationed to take military horses to the barracks." He and Reed flicked their reins, sending their steeds into a light canter.

The eastern entrance wasn't as grand, but it was busier. A wooden bridge reached over the moat, and on the left, rows of men in workwear and pyjamas stood in clumsy rows of two, flanked by a pair of soldiers at the ends of each group. On the right were horses. Some carried riders and others carried carts.

Traffic was slow, but something shone a few feet from the open doors to the city. Cutting across the bridge was a line painted with the shimmer of a pearl in the midday sun. "What's that for?" Link asked the Larksons.

"You are aware that our enemy hides in the shadows, yes?" said Reed. Link nodded. He might be more aware of it than anyone else. "They are nigh undetectable to us. Could sneak in at any time and we would be none-the-wiser, but we came up with a rather simple solution."

"Just mix some light spring water with sunset fireflies, luminous stone, and some other things, and you get this marvellous creation." Jay traced the line in his sight. "Turns out if you eliminate the shadow with light, you forcibly expel any monsters that maybe hiding within it."

That was rather smart. Link had been wondering how Hyrule could combat a people so dark and powerful. Some things didn't add up, though. "What if they sneak around the bridge? They could probably scale the shadows on the wall."

"Ah." Jay grinned. "You don't see it, but a line was also painted between the battlements where our soldiers roam. Even our sewers are painted and guarded. There is absolutely no way a shadow creature can go in undetected."

How heart-warming it was to know that not everyone had to fear the shadows as Link did. Hyrule was well-positioned to keep themselves safe without expending much on defence, but then why was the draft was even necessary? What could require so many men?

Wait. Epona was trotting closer towards that line. In the next several metres, Link's shadow would touch that line. The very shadow where Midna hid.

If she got expelled, Link could avoid fault. He could play Midna off as a stowaway. He didn't like her and he didn't trust her and he wanted to be rid of her, but did he still need her? Were they really a team like she had said? Furthermore, did he hate her enough to do nothing as she faced the soldiers' swords and spears? Was she even capable of holding her own?

No. He was not the kind of person to do that. Midna was insufferable, callous, and rude, but so far she had helped more than she hindered. If not for her, Ordon would still be terrorised by the terrors of twilight. If not for her, he'd be lost in Hyrule Field, or pecked by kargaroks in his sleep.

Most importantly of all, Midna hadn't done a thing to deserve this. Not yet. It was infuriating that someone so annoying could be so 'innocent', but that was the truth. Link would not condemn anyone to a bloody end if he could help it, least of all someone undeserving.

He and Epona's shadow was cast to the right, so that was the side satchel that Link unbuckled and flipped open. He rummaged for his canteen and took long, shallow sips. However long Midna needed to sneak inside.

There was a tug on Link's hat. A signal that she was in. Link put the stopper on his bottle, slipped it into the satchel, and flipped it closed.

Even though she was (supposedly) no longer in the shadow he cast upon the ground, Link still held his breath as they crossed the line.

The wall was a few metres wide, and so was the corridor to the streets of Castle Town. Under the cover of darkness, Link flipped open his satchel. A second later, Midna tugged on his hat again, so he closed the flap.

He emerged into the moonlit, cobblestone streets, into a song of chattering locals and clopping hooves and plucked strings. On his right were stone pillars as tall as Mayor Bo's house. On his left was a stable that smelled of goats, but none were inside, and half the space had been taken up by horses too large for the stalls. Epona was not going to stand for that.

The stable boy was a timid character no older than Colin. He must be filling in for his father. Reed covered the pay of all three horses and instructed that they be taken to the palace. The poor, dirty-faced boy nodded before the trio left him behind. Link should've asked that they take the horses themselves, but when they reached the town square, it was clear that they couldn't have.

Men, almost chest-to-back, crowded the square. More people than Link had ever thought were in all of Hyrule. They didn't bustle about their business. They weren't uniformed, either, aside from the soldiers dotted about. They wore slacks, overalls, singlets, suspenders, and loose cotton shirts with a few undone buttons. No one wore the ruffled collars or curl-tipped shoes that the books had described as the local fashion. Well, it was what the nobles wore. The people here were working men. Merchants and cobblers and blacksmiths and farmers and postmen and more. And they were so numerous that they blotted out the setting. The grand centre-piece of Castle Town was a fountain topped by the Hyrulean crest, but only the tips of the wings and the top triangle of the Triforce were visible.

"Now that's quite the line," Jay remarked. A line? Was that the slang term for 'crowd' to these strange capital-goers?

"How many times do you reckon it loops around the fountain?" asked Reed. "Seven?"

"Of course you'd think that. You can only count that high," Jay said. "I'd say twelve, tops." Din's fire! Link had enough trouble waiting in line behind one person at Sera's shop. This was thousands of times longer.

"Pssh. No way we're standing around with a whole lot of liver when we've got prime steak. C'mon, Mr Hero." Reed latched Link's upper arm and elbowed past the first waiting recruit. "Let's get you checked in."

Link hadn't ever considered himself important enough to muscle his way to the front of a line, and he still didn't think that as he wilted under shouts of "Hey!" and "No pushing!" Not a single dirty or bewildered look shot his way came from a familiar face, but after a few fleshy minutes, the bodies thinned out. Set before the grand open doors that led to Hyrule Castle was a desk flanked by two soldiers. A third sat on a stool, bored and hunched over a thick book.

"State your name," he droned to the red-bearded one at the front of the line.

"That'd be Barnes, sir." He hoisted up his trousers. "Barnes of Kakariko."

The soldier flipped through the pages with a blur and stopped on the one he was after. He swiped the quill from the ink jar and ticked something on the page. "Thank-you, Barnes. Please go through the doors until you find the soldier holding the red flag." He jabbed the feather point of the quill over his shoulder. Barnes gave him a double thumbs-up and waddled on.

"Who's next?" the log-book soldier droned

Reed hoisted Link forward. "That'd be us."

"All new recruits must wait in an orderly line."

"Oh, but we're not new," said Jay, "and I think you'll find our friend here is a special case. Link, go ahead and show off."

Using the Triforce to skip the line seemed so… tacky of Link, but the Larksons had made an order. Link forced a smile as he pulled off his bracer.

The soldier dropped the quill, splattering the page. "You mean he's…"

"A man handpicked by the goddesses themselves to win this war," Jay finished. "Now, we really think the prince ought to meet this fellow at the earliest opportunity. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, yes, of course." In his panic to snatch up his quill, the soldier knocked over the ink bottle. "Oh bother. What might your name be, chosen hero?"

Link slipped the bracer on and held his hand behind his back. "Link of Ordon, sir."

The soldier paged through and cursed when his inky fingers stained them. "Just go on through. Might take me a bit to find you through all…" he gestured at the mess, "this."

The Larkson brothers saluted. "Righteo!" they said.

They followed the trickle of soldiers up the ornate walkway leading to the bridge. Beneath lines of pillars were carvings of some strange, bird-like race greeting the Hylians, but more recognisably, there was the Hero of Time pointing the Master Sword at the hulking menace known as Ganondorf. It was strange to think that people might do intricate carvings of Link someday. It all depended on how the months ahead would challenge him. Change him. Shift this sheltered farm boy into a courageous adventurer. What a thrilling thought. What a threat, too.

A bridge over the moat and another set of double doors later, the space expanded into a courtyard larger than the grazing fields of Ordon. Under the watchful silhouette of grand turrets pricking the sky, soldiers clacked wooden swords, thrust spears, shot targets, and practiced synchronised attacks and formations. Hundreds of men, and not one of them sparred with Rusl's thought and intention.

As the brothers ushered Link across cobblestones and past trimmed hedges to doors taller than his house, one particular soldier stood out from the rest. They stood in a line-up with their sword poised for a duel. Long, black hair fell from the back of their helmet, and their chest plate was a bit larger and rounder than the rest. At the supervising captain's call, the sides clashed. The strange soldier parried their opponent and countered with a pinpoint stab to the gut. He landed on his rear with a heave. A battle over in seconds as all other pairs continued to struggle against each other. Whoever that soldier was, they were far more skilled than the rest, so why were they relegated to basic training and drills?

Within the grand doors was, to Link's bewilderment, a rather normal-sized door. The Larkson brothers beckoned Link through it, and the splendours of the city and the courtyard were overshadowed by an expansive ballroom. All the houses of Ordon Village could fit in here with room to spare.

Link had read about how people much fancier than him would powder their noses, quaff their hair, and drape their silks to dance here until dawn. The crystal chandeliers and marble flooring boasted of noble territory, but for now, it was rented to the warriors. The ones training here weren't armoured like those outside. In tunics and britches with feet and hands bare, they punched cushions and wrestled each other atop mattresses.

Weaponless sparring. Link didn't see much value in it outside of recreation, but the military did, and that alone meant something. Bo would excel at this, but not a single torch along the walls outlined his portly figure.

Two grand staircases curved along the sides of the room until they connected with a grand, well-lit balcony where a captain oversaw the recruits. The Larksons and Link climbed the left flight and exchanged nods as they passed.

From there, Link followed along so many blue-carpeted corridors and stairways that it had him all sorts of turned around. Where was north? Where was east? He didn't know, and the missing sun meant that he couldn't right his sense of direction. The lower halls had been oddly bare. No paintings or suits of armour. There were lighter patches of carpet where the latter would have stood. Perhaps they had been taken for the war. The final hall —one where the Larksons' brisque pace became a classy stride— had it all. Portraits of past rulers. Polished suits of armour aglow in the candlelight. This was where royalty roamed on the regular.

At long last, they reached regular-sized double doors. On each side were particularly fearsome sets of armour. Golden sheens with hands folded over the hilt of decorative claymores almost as tall as Link. Beyond the doors, there was heated chatter.

Jay crossed his arms. "Why did you insist on checking here?"

"Because whenever the prince isn't doting on his sick wife, this is where you'll find him," Reed said.

"And when he's in the war room, we can't interrupt him."

"But of course we can. If we have a good enough reason." Reed slapped Link's back, stumbling him towards the door. "It's all up to you, chosen fella. Show you're worth Prince Fabian's time, and the general might not put our heads on pikes."

The door was a breath from his face. The door where more shimmering paint peaked from the sides to protect the greatest war secrets of the current age. The door to a busy prince and a pike-happy general. Important people who had never spared a single thought for him. This was not a meeting he could just… barge into.

Jay sighed. "Move aside, hero. We'll give you a proper introduction."

Link folded his hands behind him and took a generous step back. The composure hid his nerves. He hoped it did. It had to after the brief show of hesitation.

Taking one for the team, Jay took the ring-shaped brass handle and rapped three times.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT MATTERS OF WAR?!" someone roared. It was a feminine voice. Deep and raspy and hard as a hammer. A voice that could seize control of an army as fast as Fado could catch a goat by the horns.

"Larkson and Larkson, General. Your loyal lieutenants." Jay projected. "It is of the utmost importance."

"Would you bet your heads on it?"

"Yes, General. I would."

"Then march yourself to the executioner this instant!"

"Alexus, please," said another. A man with a voice like the clean strum of a guitar. "I would like to hear what they say."

There was a thwack noise, like a furled sheet thrown over a bed, before anyone answered the door. Beyond it was a windowless room lined with more ornate suits of armour, portraits of generals and war heroes, and a table the length of a goat stable. It had been covered by cloth, bumped by the corners of books and the tips of figurines.

Strangely enough, no captains and generals crowded around it. The room was almost empty, but the two who were there somehow filled it on their own. Standing straight-backed by the door was a broad woman with pale, sunspot skin. A scraggly scar cut from the corner of her lip, across her nose, through her forehead creases, and disappeared into her black hairline. She wore little armour compared to her soldiers, but it was of the finest quality. A tunic of silver velvet and blue embroidery over lustrous chainmail. The great and mighty General Alexus.

Leaning on his palms at the end of the table was a shape shrouded in shadow. One that could've been carved from marble by a master statue-maker. His blouse was sculpted to his triangle torso with billowing sleeves, but there was no fine jewellery for the candlelight to glint off. Link couldn't see his eyes, but they could see him. It was almost thrilling. Almost nauseating. "Ah, Lieutenants Larkson." A smile coloured his gentlemanly tone as he strode down the table, a hand trailing the cloth. "Please introduce me to this strange man in green."

This was it. A test of Link's courage. The terrifying ordeal of being known by the prince of Hyrule. Keep your chin up. Spine straight. Hands behind your back. Wait for the right action to reveal itself.

When the brothers stepped forward, so too did Link. He copied the right hand over their left breasts and he copied the bow.

"Thank-you, your highness," the twins said in unison. Link didn't say it with them. He didn't know to. There would be a next time, right? Though the twins rose, Link did not. Unlike the brothers, he wasn't ordered to speak.

"As we all know," Reed began, "whenever a dark shroud covers the beautiful land of Hyrule, the goddesses appoint a hero to bring back the light."

"On our mission to investigate the enemies' attack in Ordon," Jay said, "we met one such fellow. One who not only wears the tunic, but also the Triforce of Courage." Link curled a finger under his bracer. He was about to present his mark to the most important man in Hyrule for him to judge. What if he wasn't impressed by it? What if he saw not a young hero brimming with potential, but a sheltered farm boy? What if he reduced him to a common foot soldier?

Reed spoke with cadence of a showman. "Presenting the one…"

And so did Jay. "The only…"

"…selected by the holy…" they chanted together.

Alexus slammed the door. "Get on with it."

"Link of Ordon!"

That had to be a cue. Link tugged off his bracer and presented the glowing symbol, though he maintained his bow. Polished leather boots stopped before him. Narrow fingers gently took his hand. Smooth, milky skin that knew the plushest of quills, the shiniest of silverware, the finest of hilts, and the cleanest of waters touched a calloused tan that knew muck, dung, dirt, and sweat. "Fascinating," the prince whispered. "Link of Ordon, please rise for me."

The man in the candlelight was a masterpiece of Farore's creation. Trimmed sides with delicate, chestnut curls falling over his forehead. Honey-brown eyes under plucked brows. Pronounced cheekbones, a fairy-bow's lip, and an elegantly curved jawline. The only feature he and Link shared were their pointed ears. Not a single crease, freckle, or scar blemished a face so handsome. There was something eerie about it. Something hypnotic.

"A pleasure to meet you." Fabian smiled at Link, a peasant, with pearly teeth. As if the farm boy were the ambassador of another kingdom dripping with gold and velvet, though perhaps the hero's tunic held greater splendour in the eye of the prince. "May I ask a favour?"

The prince wanted to ask something of Link. Not order or command or impose his authority. He wanted to ask something of Link as if he was an equal. Were they equals? Of course not. Don't be ridiculous. Be smart instead. Link nodded.

Fabian strode around Link with a leisurely gait. He pulled the brass ring of the door and gestured through to the hall. "Care to join me on the balcony for tea?"


A/N: Okay I didn't mean for Link to be this gay for Fabian. It just happened to be a little more intense than I expected and then I figured it was best to just lean into it. I promise this is still a Midlink fic. I could never abandon my OTP for Mr Mansplain-Manipulate-Malewife.

I know that in the 'Legend of Zelda' series, it's implied that the husband to the crowned royal becomes king, and I did almost go along with that, but I thought it would be nice to apply the British royalty title instead. It's more iffy for a prince-consort act like a king than for a king-consort to act like, well, a king.

What's your first impression of General Alexus?