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
12
After much trepidation, Zelda had finally decided to don once more the disguise of the Sheikah warrior and bard that had helped her elude the clutches of the evil Ganondorf so long ago. With the Triforce of Wisdom at her command, she quickly made the shapechange into Sheik, one of few survivors of the Shadow People.
Kitara turned around. "If we try to make our escape now, the way should be clear-" she stopped. "Princess?" she blinked.
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Sheik replied in a frustrated tone.
The tenor-range voice carried well in the small room.
Kitara blinked. "Zelda, is that really you?" She couldn't quite believe it.
Sheik nodded. "It's just an old disguise, girl," he growled. The crimson eyes took on a crafty gleam. "You want out of here?"
"What are you doing, girl?" an irritable, yet familiar voice spoke out of the air.
"Impa?" Sheik blurted. "We have to get out of here, before something else happens."
"No, Zelda, you must not," Impa protested. "Anything you attempt will fail, and do so quite horribly."
Sheik pulled his mask from his face, folded his arms across his chest, and scowled. "So nice to have your resounding vote of confidence," he said pointedly.
There was an audible sigh, and Kitara stifled a laugh. "You know better than that, Zelda," Impa said tiredly. "Just do as I say."
"Why? Why will I fail?"
"Simply put, I'm not supposed to tell you. Rauru is standing behind me giving the back of my head dirty looks to discourage me from saying anything, but I have a feeling that it's going to end badly if you do," Impa warned. There was a pause. "That's the most I can say. If you keep up these attempts, then you're throwing things out of the hand of prophecy and into the realm of random chance. And that isn't something even the Goddesses like to take chances with. So take off the disguise, Zelda. You're not going anywhere until Link comes for you."
Sheik scowled. After a moment's irritated silence, there was a vivid flash, and Zelda once more stood where Sheik had, arms still folded, scowling irritably at the floor.
Kitara took a hesitant step forward. "Maybe it's for the best?" she said, almost sounding more like she was asking.
Zelda didn't reply right away. She simply continued to glare balefully at the unoffending floor.
There was a definite, sudden change in the air as the presence of the Sheikah Sage of Shadow departed. Then, and only then, did Zelda look up. She sighed, and then, uttered one single word that summed up her feelings about the situation more succinctly and perfectly than either of them could have known: "Phooey."
-Act IV-
Convergence
12
After much trepidation, Zelda had finally decided to don once more the disguise of the Sheikah warrior and bard that had helped her elude the clutches of the evil Ganondorf so long ago. With the Triforce of Wisdom at her command, she quickly made the shapechange into Sheik, one of few survivors of the Shadow People.
Kitara turned around. "If we try to make our escape now, the way should be clear-" she stopped. "Princess?" she blinked.
"I thought I told you not to call me that," Sheik replied in a frustrated tone.
The tenor-range voice carried well in the small room.
Kitara blinked. "Zelda, is that really you?" She couldn't quite believe it.
Sheik nodded. "It's just an old disguise, girl," he growled. The crimson eyes took on a crafty gleam. "You want out of here?"
"What are you doing, girl?" an irritable, yet familiar voice spoke out of the air.
"Impa?" Sheik blurted. "We have to get out of here, before something else happens."
"No, Zelda, you must not," Impa protested. "Anything you attempt will fail, and do so quite horribly."
Sheik pulled his mask from his face, folded his arms across his chest, and scowled. "So nice to have your resounding vote of confidence," he said pointedly.
There was an audible sigh, and Kitara stifled a laugh. "You know better than that, Zelda," Impa said tiredly. "Just do as I say."
"Why? Why will I fail?"
"Simply put, I'm not supposed to tell you. Rauru is standing behind me giving the back of my head dirty looks to discourage me from saying anything, but I have a feeling that it's going to end badly if you do," Impa warned. There was a pause. "That's the most I can say. If you keep up these attempts, then you're throwing things out of the hand of prophecy and into the realm of random chance. And that isn't something even the Goddesses like to take chances with. So take off the disguise, Zelda. You're not going anywhere until Link comes for you."
Sheik scowled. After a moment's irritated silence, there was a vivid flash, and Zelda once more stood where Sheik had, arms still folded, scowling irritably at the floor.
Kitara took a hesitant step forward. "Maybe it's for the best?" she said, almost sounding more like she was asking.
Zelda didn't reply right away. She simply continued to glare balefully at the unoffending floor.
There was a definite, sudden change in the air as the presence of the Sheikah Sage of Shadow departed. Then, and only then, did Zelda look up. She sighed, and then, uttered one single word that summed up her feelings about the situation more succinctly and perfectly than either of them could have known: "Phooey."