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 III-
A Hero's Return
5
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"I wish you had mentioned the fact that this tunnel went right under the moat," an older colonel growled sourly.
"Oh, come on, Taran," Kiron replied pleasantly. "Little water isn't going to hurt you."
"No, but I won't be much use to you if my chain mail rusts and I can't move an inch either, boy," Taran retorted.
Akana chuckled softly.
"Uh, sir?" a voice said near the back. It belonged to a young lieutenant named Valik.
"Yes, soldier, what is it?"
"Respectfully inquire where this tunnel comes out, sir," the young man asked.
Kiron thought for a moment.
And then he remembered.
There was absolute silence for several minutes.
Taran sighed. "It doesn't," he begged.
"Oh, bugger." Kiron nodded glumly. "It does," he confirmed.
"Oh, Farore, boy!" Taran growled. "Right in the throne room?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"I'm beginning to think it was never around in the first place," Kiron replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose like his head hurt. Kiron sighed, looking out at his troops-troops! Kiron thought. That was a laugh. His 'troop' consisted of thirty Hylian soldiers, all that were left of the enormous Hylian army after Ganondorf had gone to town on the country. His edict of "join me or die" had been met with little to no enthusiasm, and so the evil tyrant had begun a mass slaughter, killing any and all of the Hylian soldiers he came across. The only other members of the Hylian military that still lived besides Kiron's small band were those who had caved in under the pressure and gone over to join the ranks of Ganondorf's dark army.
They weren't looked upon very favorably.
"So." Kiron looked out upon the faces of his men, an expressionless mask upon his face. "Now that you know, what are we going to do?"
"Are we still going to carry out the raid, sir?" one soldier asked.
"Knowing where this tunnel goes-" Drip "-if you still choose, we can go wreak havoc on our tyrant," Kiron said quietly. "But, if knowing where this goes causes you some concern, you can leave now and no questions will be asked. What say you? I will not force any of you to come."
There was silence, and Kiron wondered if they were taking him seriously. "I mean it," he restated. "What we're thinking of doing is probably not the smartest thing any of us have ever done. Hell, I know it's probably the stupidest thing I've ever contemplated, but it's something that needs to be done. Causing confusion and chaos now is going to help later. I know it will. I don't know how I know, but something is going to happen in our favor. I can feel it.
"Even so. If any of you have family or friends who might become targets as a result of this, feel free to leave anytime. I repeat, I will not force anyone to stay. It's most likely that some-if not all-of us are not going to live through this, so if any of you are afraid of dying, now's your chance to back out gracefully."
"If you're trying to scare them out of this, It's not working, boy," Taran growled.
Kiron frowned thoughtfully at him, his face slightly puzzled.
Akana put a hand on his shoulder. "Take a look around, sir," he said quietly.
Kiron looked out on the faces of his soldiers.
"You see that on their faces?" Taran asked. "That's loyalty. These boys are still alive because of your leadership. They're not going to give up now. They'd be dead if it wasn't you what hid them."
"My family is staying with my brother at Lake Hylia," one soldier spoke up.
"My cousin and sister are hiding in Goron City," another said quietly.
"I sent my wife and kids out with my parents to the forest south," one offered.
"I don't know about you people," Valik said, giving the crossbow in his right hand a meaningful heft, "but I didn't come all the way here just to leave now."
"So yes, in other words, we're still committed, sir," Akana said with a broad grin. "D'you think our lives are so enjoyable now that we would back down from the chance to cause havoc on the big ugly? Sir?"
Kiron grinned and laughed quietly, almost bursting with the pride he felt in his young battalion. "All right," he said. "Let's go."
-Act III-
A Hero's Return
5
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"I wish you had mentioned the fact that this tunnel went right under the moat," an older colonel growled sourly.
"Oh, come on, Taran," Kiron replied pleasantly. "Little water isn't going to hurt you."
"No, but I won't be much use to you if my chain mail rusts and I can't move an inch either, boy," Taran retorted.
Akana chuckled softly.
"Uh, sir?" a voice said near the back. It belonged to a young lieutenant named Valik.
"Yes, soldier, what is it?"
"Respectfully inquire where this tunnel comes out, sir," the young man asked.
Kiron thought for a moment.
And then he remembered.
There was absolute silence for several minutes.
Taran sighed. "It doesn't," he begged.
"Oh, bugger." Kiron nodded glumly. "It does," he confirmed.
"Oh, Farore, boy!" Taran growled. "Right in the throne room?! Have you lost your mind?!"
"I'm beginning to think it was never around in the first place," Kiron replied, rubbing the bridge of his nose like his head hurt. Kiron sighed, looking out at his troops-troops! Kiron thought. That was a laugh. His 'troop' consisted of thirty Hylian soldiers, all that were left of the enormous Hylian army after Ganondorf had gone to town on the country. His edict of "join me or die" had been met with little to no enthusiasm, and so the evil tyrant had begun a mass slaughter, killing any and all of the Hylian soldiers he came across. The only other members of the Hylian military that still lived besides Kiron's small band were those who had caved in under the pressure and gone over to join the ranks of Ganondorf's dark army.
They weren't looked upon very favorably.
"So." Kiron looked out upon the faces of his men, an expressionless mask upon his face. "Now that you know, what are we going to do?"
"Are we still going to carry out the raid, sir?" one soldier asked.
"Knowing where this tunnel goes-" Drip "-if you still choose, we can go wreak havoc on our tyrant," Kiron said quietly. "But, if knowing where this goes causes you some concern, you can leave now and no questions will be asked. What say you? I will not force any of you to come."
There was silence, and Kiron wondered if they were taking him seriously. "I mean it," he restated. "What we're thinking of doing is probably not the smartest thing any of us have ever done. Hell, I know it's probably the stupidest thing I've ever contemplated, but it's something that needs to be done. Causing confusion and chaos now is going to help later. I know it will. I don't know how I know, but something is going to happen in our favor. I can feel it.
"Even so. If any of you have family or friends who might become targets as a result of this, feel free to leave anytime. I repeat, I will not force anyone to stay. It's most likely that some-if not all-of us are not going to live through this, so if any of you are afraid of dying, now's your chance to back out gracefully."
"If you're trying to scare them out of this, It's not working, boy," Taran growled.
Kiron frowned thoughtfully at him, his face slightly puzzled.
Akana put a hand on his shoulder. "Take a look around, sir," he said quietly.
Kiron looked out on the faces of his soldiers.
"You see that on their faces?" Taran asked. "That's loyalty. These boys are still alive because of your leadership. They're not going to give up now. They'd be dead if it wasn't you what hid them."
"My family is staying with my brother at Lake Hylia," one soldier spoke up.
"My cousin and sister are hiding in Goron City," another said quietly.
"I sent my wife and kids out with my parents to the forest south," one offered.
"I don't know about you people," Valik said, giving the crossbow in his right hand a meaningful heft, "but I didn't come all the way here just to leave now."
"So yes, in other words, we're still committed, sir," Akana said with a broad grin. "D'you think our lives are so enjoyable now that we would back down from the chance to cause havoc on the big ugly? Sir?"
Kiron grinned and laughed quietly, almost bursting with the pride he felt in his young battalion. "All right," he said. "Let's go."