A/N: This is the first LoZ fic I ever wrote seriously. It actually was started about three years ago and has been finished on and off after having survived through three hiatuses and a serious consideration of scrapping. But I decided to give it another chance, and am actually quite pleased with the results. Rated PG-13 for violence and Link's surprisingly dirty mouth; warnings include angst, sadness, violence, Link/Zelda pairing (no citrus), and alternate realities. The timeline I'm basing things on is a quasi-alternate-reality of my own creation: I base most if not all of my Zelda fanfiction on the idea that all the deeds done and chronicled in the Zelda games (with the exception of the Wind Waker for obvious reasons) were the deeds of one brave young lad chosen by Destiny and the three Goddesses as the Hero of Time, the Legendary Hero. Oh. And I don't own Linky (more's the pity) or Zelda or any of the game's other characters. They are copyrighted to Miyamoto Shigeru-san and Nintendo, the lucky bastards. I own, however, sole copyright of each and every one of my original characters. Steal them and I will hunt you down and break your elbows. Remember: A vague threat is no one's friend.
-Act I-
A Twist of Fate
1
Link…the voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once, Link, help me…please…Link…
There was a horrified scream, and then the voice was gone. The Hero of Time sat bolt upright in his bed, a cry of horror dying in his throat. He got up, threw his clothes on, and tore out of his home in Kokiri Forest in the dead of night.
Link rode Epona nearly to death, desperately trying to get to Hyrule Castle as soon as possible. He reached the castle drawbridge right at daybreak, spurring the frightened horse to leap over the gap between the bridge and the moat even before the bridge was completely extended. Not even bothering to dismount so he could lead his mount carefully through Hyrule Castle Town, Link rode straight through, dodging the village's barely-awake inhabitants in his mad dash for the castle.
He rode right past startled guards, who opened the gate in the nick of time before being plowed under the horse's furiously beating hooves. Link yanked the lathered horse to a stop in front of the palace itself, handing her reins off to a startled guard who just watched as Link slammed his fists against the heavy wooden doors of the castle, storming in without so much as a look at the sentries inside. He stomped up to the throne, and bowed shortly to King Jiro, who sat disconsolately on his throne with a delicate golden crown dangling from his fingertips. He then turned to Impa, the princess' handmaiden and constant companion since childhood. "Where is she?" Link demanded curtly.
"We don't know," Impa replied sadly. The Sage of Shadow shook her head wearily. "The Sages' combined power is unable to locate the Princess of Destiny. You must find her," the Sheikah woman murmured urgently. "She is in grave danger. Her very life is at stake."
Link sniffed. It wasn't exactly a surprise.
Impa's perpetual scowl deepened, as if she could read his thoughts. Which, Link guessed, probably wasn't far from the truth, what with the whole Sage thing. "Think hard about this, Hero of Time," she warned. "Should the King of Evil have found a way to breach the seal on his prison, he may very well take his vengeance on the life of Princess Zelda. You cannot take this lightly, Link. If his mind has been eroded enough, he may just do the unthinkable."
She paused, and let the implications sink in.
"He may kill Princess Zelda."
-Act I-
A Twist of Fate
1
Link…the voice came from nowhere and everywhere all at once, Link, help me…please…Link…
There was a horrified scream, and then the voice was gone. The Hero of Time sat bolt upright in his bed, a cry of horror dying in his throat. He got up, threw his clothes on, and tore out of his home in Kokiri Forest in the dead of night.
Link rode Epona nearly to death, desperately trying to get to Hyrule Castle as soon as possible. He reached the castle drawbridge right at daybreak, spurring the frightened horse to leap over the gap between the bridge and the moat even before the bridge was completely extended. Not even bothering to dismount so he could lead his mount carefully through Hyrule Castle Town, Link rode straight through, dodging the village's barely-awake inhabitants in his mad dash for the castle.
He rode right past startled guards, who opened the gate in the nick of time before being plowed under the horse's furiously beating hooves. Link yanked the lathered horse to a stop in front of the palace itself, handing her reins off to a startled guard who just watched as Link slammed his fists against the heavy wooden doors of the castle, storming in without so much as a look at the sentries inside. He stomped up to the throne, and bowed shortly to King Jiro, who sat disconsolately on his throne with a delicate golden crown dangling from his fingertips. He then turned to Impa, the princess' handmaiden and constant companion since childhood. "Where is she?" Link demanded curtly.
"We don't know," Impa replied sadly. The Sage of Shadow shook her head wearily. "The Sages' combined power is unable to locate the Princess of Destiny. You must find her," the Sheikah woman murmured urgently. "She is in grave danger. Her very life is at stake."
Link sniffed. It wasn't exactly a surprise.
Impa's perpetual scowl deepened, as if she could read his thoughts. Which, Link guessed, probably wasn't far from the truth, what with the whole Sage thing. "Think hard about this, Hero of Time," she warned. "Should the King of Evil have found a way to breach the seal on his prison, he may very well take his vengeance on the life of Princess Zelda. You cannot take this lightly, Link. If his mind has been eroded enough, he may just do the unthinkable."
She paused, and let the implications sink in.
"He may kill Princess Zelda."