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 IV-
Convergence
8
"Kiron!"
"General, come on, snap out of it, sir!"
Kiron opened his eyes and blinked at the fuzzy, indistinct outline of a face leaning over him. "What happened?" he asked groggily. "Did somebody run me over with a herd of horses?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, good, he hasn't lost his sense of humor," a voice said.
Another laughed. "Good sign. I think he's going to need it," the second voice replied.
"Did I go blind?" Kiron asked, sitting up a bit faster than he should have.
"No, sir," Akana responded, albeit a little weakly himself, "it's just dark in here." His arm was bound in a sling, shoulder having been shattered by the force with which he'd hit the wall beneath Ganondorf's attack.
"Which raises an interesting point that no one has explained to me yet," Kiron said further, "where is here?"
"The dungeons underneath the palace," Taran remarked, amused.
Kiron laughed, even though it made his ribs hurt. "I always wondered what it was like to be on the inside of one of these things," he mused.
"Permission to start an escape attempt," one younger lieutenant said briskly.
Kiron shook his head. "No need, I think," he said.
There was a hush as his words sunk into his soldiers' minds. "What do you mean 'no need'?" Akana asked bluntly.
"Actually, I'm not rightly sure," Kiron replied bluntly. "But I've got this…feeling that we won't be helping anyway if we start charging into things."
He could tell from the dubious expressions on their faces that his men weren't reacting well to his limited explanation.
"Look, you've trusted me this far," Kiron said, "and so far, have I let you down?"
"No, sir!" Valik replied, drawing murmurs of assent from the assembled soldiers.
"Good. Then trust me again," Kiron pled fervently. "I'm not going to let anything happen," he assured them. "Whatever happens to you, happens to me."
And that, in itself, was what made Kiron's armies so willing to follow him to the ends of the earth and back if needs be: That one, single, absolutely willing dedication he had that sent him to the front lines with his battalions. The fact that he was willing to fight alongside his armies and suffer their fate with them, even if it be death.
Or worse.
"I promise. So trust me when I say that for now, the best thing we could do would be to remain here," Kiron said again. "Please take my word for this. I don't know how I know, but I just know that the tides are turning. Somehow, very, very soon, something good is going to happen. I just know it."
-Act IV-
Convergence
8
"Kiron!"
"General, come on, snap out of it, sir!"
Kiron opened his eyes and blinked at the fuzzy, indistinct outline of a face leaning over him. "What happened?" he asked groggily. "Did somebody run me over with a herd of horses?" he asked suspiciously.
"Oh, good, he hasn't lost his sense of humor," a voice said.
Another laughed. "Good sign. I think he's going to need it," the second voice replied.
"Did I go blind?" Kiron asked, sitting up a bit faster than he should have.
"No, sir," Akana responded, albeit a little weakly himself, "it's just dark in here." His arm was bound in a sling, shoulder having been shattered by the force with which he'd hit the wall beneath Ganondorf's attack.
"Which raises an interesting point that no one has explained to me yet," Kiron said further, "where is here?"
"The dungeons underneath the palace," Taran remarked, amused.
Kiron laughed, even though it made his ribs hurt. "I always wondered what it was like to be on the inside of one of these things," he mused.
"Permission to start an escape attempt," one younger lieutenant said briskly.
Kiron shook his head. "No need, I think," he said.
There was a hush as his words sunk into his soldiers' minds. "What do you mean 'no need'?" Akana asked bluntly.
"Actually, I'm not rightly sure," Kiron replied bluntly. "But I've got this…feeling that we won't be helping anyway if we start charging into things."
He could tell from the dubious expressions on their faces that his men weren't reacting well to his limited explanation.
"Look, you've trusted me this far," Kiron said, "and so far, have I let you down?"
"No, sir!" Valik replied, drawing murmurs of assent from the assembled soldiers.
"Good. Then trust me again," Kiron pled fervently. "I'm not going to let anything happen," he assured them. "Whatever happens to you, happens to me."
And that, in itself, was what made Kiron's armies so willing to follow him to the ends of the earth and back if needs be: That one, single, absolutely willing dedication he had that sent him to the front lines with his battalions. The fact that he was willing to fight alongside his armies and suffer their fate with them, even if it be death.
Or worse.
"I promise. So trust me when I say that for now, the best thing we could do would be to remain here," Kiron said again. "Please take my word for this. I don't know how I know, but I just know that the tides are turning. Somehow, very, very soon, something good is going to happen. I just know it."