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 V-
Restoration
1
It was a long, long two years before the small valley that held Hyrule Castle Town looked even close to normal once more.
Ganon's huge body had been taken to the desert and burned. The ground where his ashes rested had been salted. No one was told where the ashes finally came to rest, nor were all his remains put in one place. Zelda had given specific orders that they be separated into parts and buried all across the desert, so that no one would find them again. The men who had done this had taken an oath that they would never reveal where those spots were, on pain of death for betrayal, should it ever occur.
Link had stayed through the entire rebuilding process, having organized the Goron people to aid the reconstruction of castle and village, knowing that their stoneworking craftsmanship was some of the finest in all the land.
And two years later, when the palace itself was finished, finally rebuilt by Goron and Hylian hands, the Hero of Time simply…vanished.
He'd walked out of the village's main gate one day, climbed up into Epona's saddle, and simply left.
A panicked Zelda had sent search parties out after him, spending weeks, even months searching for her guardian, but all they ever found was the Ocarina of Time on a small desk in one of the unused apartments in the new palace.
Zelda was devastated. No one could find him anywhere, and the Sages steadfastly refused to tell her where she was, citing Link's own request as the reason they didn't.
He simply didn't want to be found. And no one knew the ins and outs of Hyrule like the Legendary Hero. He'd spent so much time exploring their great land that he might never be found if he did not want to be found.
And so the Princess retreated into those things that she knew best: Audiences with nobles and ambassadors of the other races, the many celebratory events surrounding the new village and palace's completion, the grand balls celebrating the safe return of Princess and company, and the honors given to those who resisted the rule of the evil tyrant.
Zelda threw herself into those events and her daily life with a fervency that left her little time for thinking about the missing Hero.
Though she was certain it was the topic of conversation or at least thought on the minds of everyone else. She couldn't escape - no matter how she tried - the glances and curious whispers that followed her everywhere she went, and as her coronation as Hyrule's Queen drew nearer, she felt the emptiness that had settled when he left growing into a gnawing, angry sorrow.
The night of the coronation came. It was a beautiful, cool night, a light breeze making it even more delightful. The moon was full, thrown into stark relief against the star-sprinkled darkness, the pinpricks of light in the sky glittering like diamonds. Zelda stood on her balcony, looking out into the starry night. "I tried to make you proud, Daddy," she murmured, spending a few quiet moments alone before she would have to go down and take up the kingdom's crown. "I hope I did."
"You did, Highness."
-Act V-
Restoration
1
It was a long, long two years before the small valley that held Hyrule Castle Town looked even close to normal once more.
Ganon's huge body had been taken to the desert and burned. The ground where his ashes rested had been salted. No one was told where the ashes finally came to rest, nor were all his remains put in one place. Zelda had given specific orders that they be separated into parts and buried all across the desert, so that no one would find them again. The men who had done this had taken an oath that they would never reveal where those spots were, on pain of death for betrayal, should it ever occur.
Link had stayed through the entire rebuilding process, having organized the Goron people to aid the reconstruction of castle and village, knowing that their stoneworking craftsmanship was some of the finest in all the land.
And two years later, when the palace itself was finished, finally rebuilt by Goron and Hylian hands, the Hero of Time simply…vanished.
He'd walked out of the village's main gate one day, climbed up into Epona's saddle, and simply left.
A panicked Zelda had sent search parties out after him, spending weeks, even months searching for her guardian, but all they ever found was the Ocarina of Time on a small desk in one of the unused apartments in the new palace.
Zelda was devastated. No one could find him anywhere, and the Sages steadfastly refused to tell her where she was, citing Link's own request as the reason they didn't.
He simply didn't want to be found. And no one knew the ins and outs of Hyrule like the Legendary Hero. He'd spent so much time exploring their great land that he might never be found if he did not want to be found.
And so the Princess retreated into those things that she knew best: Audiences with nobles and ambassadors of the other races, the many celebratory events surrounding the new village and palace's completion, the grand balls celebrating the safe return of Princess and company, and the honors given to those who resisted the rule of the evil tyrant.
Zelda threw herself into those events and her daily life with a fervency that left her little time for thinking about the missing Hero.
Though she was certain it was the topic of conversation or at least thought on the minds of everyone else. She couldn't escape - no matter how she tried - the glances and curious whispers that followed her everywhere she went, and as her coronation as Hyrule's Queen drew nearer, she felt the emptiness that had settled when he left growing into a gnawing, angry sorrow.
The night of the coronation came. It was a beautiful, cool night, a light breeze making it even more delightful. The moon was full, thrown into stark relief against the star-sprinkled darkness, the pinpricks of light in the sky glittering like diamonds. Zelda stood on her balcony, looking out into the starry night. "I tried to make you proud, Daddy," she murmured, spending a few quiet moments alone before she would have to go down and take up the kingdom's crown. "I hope I did."
"You did, Highness."