A/N: This story serves as an epilogue to Yuu Mishouzaki's Legend of Zelda manga continuity, resuming immediately after the events of his Adventure of Link manga adaptation. This manga was released early in the series' lifetime before there was much in the way of an established canon, so the manga took a lot of creative liberties with the plot. Naturally, it is significantly divergent from modern Zelda canon. To read the manga on which this story is based, please follow these links (pun not intended).
The Legend of Zelda (1989) by Yuu Mishouzaki, translated by Glitterberri (available on her personal website): /the-legend-of-zelda/mishouzaki-manga
The Adventure of Link (1991) by Yuu Mishouzaki, translated by Soupdragon90 (available on Flickr): /photos/historyofhyrule/albums/72157720203364218
I do not yet know how to display the full URLs without the text editor removing them. Please forgive my inexperience. However, this should be enough information to find the original works for your enjoyment.
"This is it, Ganon!" shouted Link, plunging his sword into the demon's abdomen and firing an energy beam from the blade into his flesh. Ganon roared in a cacophony of anguish and fury as his form disintegrated and scattered to the wind. Link collapsed in exhaustion on the dungeon's cold, hard floor.
Her soul freed from the monster's clutch and reunited to her slumbering body, the ancient princess awoke, phasing through her crystal prison. Kneeling by the unconscious hero, the First Princess carefully lifted his head and laid it in her warm lap.
"Thank you, Link," she whispered.
Once again, Link awoke to find himself in a bed in Hyrule Castle—and Zelda at his bedside, her head lying on his stomach.
"P-princess!"
Link felt the blood rush to his cheeks and the tips of his elven ears as the most beautiful girl in the land turned her face up toward his and smiled. Zelda flustered him greatly in a manner he did not fully comprehend. While her golden, silky hair and her elegant, slender form were indeed entrancing, the princess intimidated him beyond the capability of a girl who was merely pretty. The sole royal wielder of the Triforce and a fearsome warrior in her own right, to call her a goddess would not have been much of an exaggeration. What was he to a goddess? A despised half-elf of obscure birth and a natural coward at that—despite having rescued Hyrule twice from the forces of Ganon, Link secretly feared that his presence risked defiling her somehow. Even more secretly (so he thought, although his crimson face betrayed it), he desired her as his own. When Zelda gazed at him with emerald eyes that appeared to know him better than himself, the notion that she might hear his innermost thoughts terrified him.
The voice of the princess broke the boy's internal monologue.
"Well done, Link. Once again, the kingdom is safe, thanks to you. Ganon is defeated forever. You have my eternal gratitude."
Zelda pulled Link into a tight embrace, nuzzling her face into his neck. Link felt that he might pass out again from the shock.
"Y-y-you're welcome!" he sputtered.
A tall, dark-haired woman entered the room carrying bandages and ointments for the hero's wounds. Zelda pulled away from Link to face her.
"How is the First Princess, Impa?" she asked.
"All things considered, Zelda I is faring well after having endured 400 years of imprisonment," the nurse dryly remarked. "I'm impressed that she managed to carry Link all the way back to the castle on her own."
"She did seem like quite the fighter when we met," chuckled Zelda. "Although I do wonder how the kingdom will adjust to suddenly having two Princess Zeldas."
"Your father has proposed an... idea... to reintegrate the First Princess into the royal family," said Impa.
"An idea? My father?" In the mind of the younger Zelda, the two seemed mutually exclusive. The burly, air-headed king seemed incapable of common sense, much less abstract thought.
"Yes. He has requested the First Princess to co-rule the kingdom with himself... as his queen."
Link and Zelda stared at Impa with mouths agape, stunned at this sudden news. After a few moments, Zelda finally found the words to respond.
"And she agreed to this?!"
The princess was not upset at the prospect of the elder Zelda becoming her stepmother. From their first interaction, she had felt that her predecessor had regarded her with matronly affection—the kind she sorely missed from her own late mother. Instead, she simply could not imagine the First Princess and her father as a married couple. The notion seemed utterly bizarre.
"She thinks it would bring stability to Hyrule, especially as we recover from Ganon's reign of terror over this land," Impa explained. "And your father could use the companionship. The gods know that he would benefit from wise counsel to temper his impulsive streak."
Zelda mused on this point, then hesitantly nodded in agreement.
"Because the new queen owes her life to the actions of our hero," Impa continued, "it may finally be safe to reveal the truth about your family to you, Link."
Link threw off the covers and leaped from the bed. "My family?" he squeaked. He had no idea that anyone had any information about his birth family. And why would Impa, who had raised him all this time, hide it until now? He had even less of an idea about how this was relevant to the royal family. Zelda knew, however. Her lips turned, forming a slight smile as she looked toward him again.
"Link," said Impa, "have you ever heard of an elf by the name of Rune?"
Link could recall the old knight Jenard giving him his sword, which he had said once belonged to an elf warrior by that name. Upon meeting Kana, the lovely elf woman recognized the sword as belonging to her brother, who had previously fallen in battle. He remembered how she looked at him wistfully as she spoke of her brother. Link returned his gaze toward Impa, nodding silently.
"Rune was a skilled swordsman and acclaimed among his people," she resumed. "He also won the heart of the late princess Zelda—her mother." She motioned toward the princess. "Their love was forbidden, however, for the king loathed the elves, so they met in secret. When Ganon first attacked, the demons whisked Rune away into the wilderness as he defended his lover—and the Triforce—from falling into their hands. She never saw him again."
Link's face fell as he realized his father was dead. Kana had said her brother had passed from his injuries only two years ago. He inwardly mourned, having barely missed meeting his father. It also occurred to him that Kana had been his aunt the whole time. This changed everything, he thought.
Impa continued, "The princess was returned to the castle and treated for her wounds. In time, she would marry a prince—the current king—and pass on her heritage and name to this Zelda. But she and Rune had secretly conceived, and she gave birth to a son shortly after Rune's disappearance. She gave me this son to raise without her husband discovering his existence. We feared he would view the infant prince as a threat and dispose of him if he were ever found. When I could no longer hide the prince myself, I gave him to an old man to raise him as his adoptive grandfather."
After holding a blank stare for a few brief moments, Link's eyes widened as he slowly pieced together the identity of that baby. (A skilled logician he was not.)
"Yes, Link," confirmed the nurse, "you are that prince."
The former princess—his mother! The boy stood in awe of the revelation. However, the implications of that revelation slowly dawned on him to his trepidation.
"B-but that means she's my...! You're my...!" he shakily pointed at Zelda.
"Your sister!" she replied cheerily.
Link was unsure what was more horrifying—that he was the bastard prince of Hyrule or that he had fallen in love with his half-sister. His insides squirmed.
"And you knew the whole time?!" he shrieked.
"I did, but I had to keep the secret for your safety. Not only from my father, but also from Ganon. If he had known that you had the royal blood, he would not have hesitated to consume you and absorb the Triforce's power."
So that's why the Crest of the Triforce has chosen me, he thought.
"Also, I'm sorry if that puts a damper on your crush on me," she laughed.
Oh gods, she knew about that, too. Link flushed, wholly mortified. He wondered if letting Ganon eat him would have been preferable to his present embarrassment.
"Th-there must be some mistake!" he protested. "I can't be royal! I'm a coward! I'm weak! People don't respect me! I can't possibly be related to Zelda! She's strong, powerful, wise, beautiful—everything I'm not. There's no way I'm her brother. I'm not even worthy of being in her presence!"
As the words left his mouth, Zelda's open palm struck his cheek, and he yelped in surprise (but mostly pain). "You listen here, Link!" she growled. "I didn't wait for years to tell you the truth just to hear you whine in denial! I have watched you swallow fear and face monsters when you had never fought before! I have seen you bravely defend our people—twice!—even though they looked down on you for being half-elf! I was there when you rescued me from Ganon's grasp! The Triforce chose you, Link, and it's plain for everyone to see!" She pointed to the mark on his right hand. "You are the prince of Hyrule, like it or not!"
Scowling, Zelda stared unblinkingly into his eyes. He did not dare flinch. He felt he would be struck dead if he did. His mind still reeled at the concept that the goddess standing before him was his sister. That would take a while to get used to, provided her eyes did not burn holes through his head first.
Gradually, her expression softened. "You don't have to be anything different than you are for me, Link." She gently placed her hands on his shoulders and pulled herself closer. She still stood over the boy by just a hair.
"You're more than my big brother. You're my hero." Zelda leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on Link's cheek.
Utterly overwhelmed, he passed out and fell flat on the floor. She chuckled and hoisted his body back onto the bed.
"That's probably enough surprises for one day," she said.
