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
3
Three days later, Link was back in Kiron's office, pumping the general for information. "No, Link, we don't have anything as of right now. I told you we'd let you know if we got anything."
"Nothing at all?" Link felt his hopes being dashed to pieces.
"Nothing."
Link sighed and flopped down into the chair across the desk from Kiron, who sat also. "Your own search hasn't gone well, I take it?"
"No," Link said wearily. "And that's what bothers me. Usually I've found some clue, no matter how small, that winds up leading me to wherever he'd taken her. Now? Not a thing. It's never taken three days before."
Kiron didn't say anything. He knew who the "he" Link had mentioned was. Ganondorf. No one in Hyrule could say the name without shuddering. Ganon, Ganondorf, King of Evil, it was all the same. The Gerudo King was the scourge of the entire land until Link had come along, saving the Kingdom from the overconfident menace on several occasions. Kiron smiled inwardly. No wonder the people loved him. "Have your rancher friends helped at all?"
Talon and Malon, the proprietor and proprietor's daughter at LonLon Ranch, and good friends of Link for a very long time, were a good source of information for the Kingdom, and were always glad to help out whenever help was needed. Link shook his head. "No. They haven't seen anything."
"Ah. I understand the frustration, my friend. Actually, you're the second person to come in here asking about the princess."
"King Jiro?"
"No, actually. The first was Impa. She said that you were…unprepared for what might lie ahead, and she wanted to make sure that everything was being done as fast as it could without endangering you unnecessarily."
The Hero of Time blinked in surprise. "That's a first," he said. "Usually, Impa's the first one to shove me out the door and send me off to go find the princess. Now she's concerned for my welfare?"
"Actually," Kiron noted dryly, "I think she was more concerned for what might happened to Hyrule if anything should happen to you."
"Oh." Link knew that it couldn't have been that easy.
He seemed ready to say something more when a soldier, red-faced and exhausted, came tearing in, panting from the apparent excitement he'd been involved in, his red hair plastered to his forehead with his sweat. The youngish lieutenant saluted sharply to Kiron, and turned to Link, bowing quickly as he tried to catch his breath.
"What is it, Joreth?" Kiron asked urgently.
"M'Lord," Joreth gasped, handing a rumpled, dusty piece of parchment to Link. "This was found by one of the search parties up Death Mountain. We thought it priority, and came straight back to deliver it."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Link said, taking the parchment from the tired soldier. As he read, however, the sudden look of hope on his face changed to one of towering fury. He stood up, let the paper flutter to the ground, and turned a suddenly baleful eye on Kiron. "Call them back," he said crisply.
"What?" Kiron asked in shock. Surely whatever was written on that parchment couldn't have been that bad.
"Call all the search parties back. I have to go, now."
Without another word, Link stomped out of Kiron's office, leaving a wake of near-tangible hostility behind.
Kiron stared in disbelief for a moment, then bent down to retrieve the paper from where it had fallen. As he read, he began to understand Link's overpowering rage.
"I write this letter in somewhat desperate circumstances. I have been taken against my will from my chambers at Hyrule Castle. I am entirely in the dark as to where my assailants are taking me, as they keep me blindfolded every day. It was with some difficulty that I was able to commandeer this single piece of parchment one night and write this somewhat disheartening letter. Oh, Link, I'm so frightened. They keep my eyes covered all day, and only uncover them at night, when they think I'm asleep. I am not sure, but I think I am being taken to the summit of Death Mountain-wait, no, I'm being taken to Spectacle Rock-I just overheard one of them say it.
I'm so scared. I keep hearing snatches of conversation that include titles such as 'the Dark Lord', 'Prince of Darkness', and even 'King of Evil'. Oh, what if it is true? That somehow they've managed to break the seal on the Dark One's prison, and somehow Ganondorf has escaped? It can only mean disaster for my Kingdom.
Oh, Link, please hurry. Every pace nearer to the final horrid destination is another piece of a nightmare coming true. But I know you will come for me, and I await your courageous entrance with every fibre in my being.
Please hurry.
~Zelda, Princess of Hyrule"
On the reverse side of the princess' frantic message was another, more foreboding message that made Kiron's blood run cold as he read it.
"Hail, thou Hero of Time. Long have I awaited my triumphal return to the land that so rudely spurned my rule. But now, my time has come, at last. My faithful servants have broken the seal on the accursed Realm of Evil, and I am free once again to fulfill the promise I made when the...Great Sages...sent me hurtling into the godsforsaken pit. I will exact my revenge on thy dear princess, and thou wilt watch every second...
I await thy arrival in the ancient caverns at Spectacle Rock, when I will destroy thy beloved Kingdom of Hyrule piece...by painful, excruciating piece. Thee and thine are doomed, boy.
Eagerly I await thee. Come alone, boy, otherwise, I shall destroy the Princess of Destiny sooner than I had planned. If thou darest to come with others, the princess herself will pay for thy foolishness.
Hail, and farewell.
-Ganondorf
Prince of Darkness,
Lord of Chaos
King of Evil"
Kiron turned to glare at Joreth. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he barked at the startled young lieutenant. "You have your orders. Carry them out!"
Joreth turned and bolted from the room.
-Act I-
A Twist of Fate
3
Three days later, Link was back in Kiron's office, pumping the general for information. "No, Link, we don't have anything as of right now. I told you we'd let you know if we got anything."
"Nothing at all?" Link felt his hopes being dashed to pieces.
"Nothing."
Link sighed and flopped down into the chair across the desk from Kiron, who sat also. "Your own search hasn't gone well, I take it?"
"No," Link said wearily. "And that's what bothers me. Usually I've found some clue, no matter how small, that winds up leading me to wherever he'd taken her. Now? Not a thing. It's never taken three days before."
Kiron didn't say anything. He knew who the "he" Link had mentioned was. Ganondorf. No one in Hyrule could say the name without shuddering. Ganon, Ganondorf, King of Evil, it was all the same. The Gerudo King was the scourge of the entire land until Link had come along, saving the Kingdom from the overconfident menace on several occasions. Kiron smiled inwardly. No wonder the people loved him. "Have your rancher friends helped at all?"
Talon and Malon, the proprietor and proprietor's daughter at LonLon Ranch, and good friends of Link for a very long time, were a good source of information for the Kingdom, and were always glad to help out whenever help was needed. Link shook his head. "No. They haven't seen anything."
"Ah. I understand the frustration, my friend. Actually, you're the second person to come in here asking about the princess."
"King Jiro?"
"No, actually. The first was Impa. She said that you were…unprepared for what might lie ahead, and she wanted to make sure that everything was being done as fast as it could without endangering you unnecessarily."
The Hero of Time blinked in surprise. "That's a first," he said. "Usually, Impa's the first one to shove me out the door and send me off to go find the princess. Now she's concerned for my welfare?"
"Actually," Kiron noted dryly, "I think she was more concerned for what might happened to Hyrule if anything should happen to you."
"Oh." Link knew that it couldn't have been that easy.
He seemed ready to say something more when a soldier, red-faced and exhausted, came tearing in, panting from the apparent excitement he'd been involved in, his red hair plastered to his forehead with his sweat. The youngish lieutenant saluted sharply to Kiron, and turned to Link, bowing quickly as he tried to catch his breath.
"What is it, Joreth?" Kiron asked urgently.
"M'Lord," Joreth gasped, handing a rumpled, dusty piece of parchment to Link. "This was found by one of the search parties up Death Mountain. We thought it priority, and came straight back to deliver it."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Link said, taking the parchment from the tired soldier. As he read, however, the sudden look of hope on his face changed to one of towering fury. He stood up, let the paper flutter to the ground, and turned a suddenly baleful eye on Kiron. "Call them back," he said crisply.
"What?" Kiron asked in shock. Surely whatever was written on that parchment couldn't have been that bad.
"Call all the search parties back. I have to go, now."
Without another word, Link stomped out of Kiron's office, leaving a wake of near-tangible hostility behind.
Kiron stared in disbelief for a moment, then bent down to retrieve the paper from where it had fallen. As he read, he began to understand Link's overpowering rage.
"I write this letter in somewhat desperate circumstances. I have been taken against my will from my chambers at Hyrule Castle. I am entirely in the dark as to where my assailants are taking me, as they keep me blindfolded every day. It was with some difficulty that I was able to commandeer this single piece of parchment one night and write this somewhat disheartening letter. Oh, Link, I'm so frightened. They keep my eyes covered all day, and only uncover them at night, when they think I'm asleep. I am not sure, but I think I am being taken to the summit of Death Mountain-wait, no, I'm being taken to Spectacle Rock-I just overheard one of them say it.
I'm so scared. I keep hearing snatches of conversation that include titles such as 'the Dark Lord', 'Prince of Darkness', and even 'King of Evil'. Oh, what if it is true? That somehow they've managed to break the seal on the Dark One's prison, and somehow Ganondorf has escaped? It can only mean disaster for my Kingdom.
Oh, Link, please hurry. Every pace nearer to the final horrid destination is another piece of a nightmare coming true. But I know you will come for me, and I await your courageous entrance with every fibre in my being.
Please hurry.
~Zelda, Princess of Hyrule"
On the reverse side of the princess' frantic message was another, more foreboding message that made Kiron's blood run cold as he read it.
"Hail, thou Hero of Time. Long have I awaited my triumphal return to the land that so rudely spurned my rule. But now, my time has come, at last. My faithful servants have broken the seal on the accursed Realm of Evil, and I am free once again to fulfill the promise I made when the...Great Sages...sent me hurtling into the godsforsaken pit. I will exact my revenge on thy dear princess, and thou wilt watch every second...
I await thy arrival in the ancient caverns at Spectacle Rock, when I will destroy thy beloved Kingdom of Hyrule piece...by painful, excruciating piece. Thee and thine are doomed, boy.
Eagerly I await thee. Come alone, boy, otherwise, I shall destroy the Princess of Destiny sooner than I had planned. If thou darest to come with others, the princess herself will pay for thy foolishness.
Hail, and farewell.
-Ganondorf
Prince of Darkness,
Lord of Chaos
King of Evil"
Kiron turned to glare at Joreth. "Well? What are you waiting for?" he barked at the startled young lieutenant. "You have your orders. Carry them out!"
Joreth turned and bolted from the room.