Fyras14: Hello! Again! This is a rather early update, by my standards (its about 6 am were I live right now) and well, the good news is, that this chapter did change...a little...you will not see that big of a changes until next chapter, but the bad news is that next chapter will not be coming on Monday, or at least on time. For the time being, do enjoy this chapter, and leave behind a review.
Summary: After the attack on her castle, Zelda manages to escape, half dead. Found by Link in the wild, she is taken care of, but when fate plays its harsh hand once more, the princess must do everything in her power to aid the hero, recover her kingdom, and maybe fall in love. AU Twilight Princess.
Please read or review, or criticize, whichever comes first. Flames are not accepted, frowned upon, and possibly deleted.
Also remember, that this story is not a walkthrough, and that Zelda and its characters do not belong to me.
Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant, filled with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like.
-Lemony Snicket
-Chapter Three-
-Unwanted Fate-
Link stifled a yawn as he paced around the small kitchen of his tree house. The small hawk watched him from her makeshift bed, wondering whatever was causing the young man to suddenly move around the room for no given reason. For Link's part, however, his pacing had a good reason to be taking place.
Okay, then…Link thought, as he glanced at Shannon, before he looked towards the door. First, I need to feed Epona…her food is easier to find than what Shannon eats…also…Rusl has told me to feed her meat, as she won't be able to live off of berries for much too long…I could probably get some fish for her…that is, if that cat of Sera's doesn't catch it f—
"Link! You there?" The young man stopped his pacing altogether and quickly looked back at his closed door, before he marched up to it. Shannon, too, had her eyes on the door, as Link went to open it.
Once he opened the door, Link spotted the village swordsman sitting upon the ledge of the wooden platform that held the tree house where it was. "Hey, Rusl," Link greeted him, to which the swordsman answered with a small wave, and with a gesture for the young man to come closer. Rusl was looking up at the sky, who Link noticed, was already reaching darkness.
"Tell me, Link," Rusl began, not bothering to turn around and face the other man. "…do you ever feel a strange sadness as dusk falls?"
"Huh?"
"They say it's the only time when our world intersects with theirs…the only time we can feel the lingering regrets of the spirits who have left our world. That is why…loneliness always pervades the hour of twilight…" Both men stood silent for a while, watching the sun sinking deep within the mountains, allowing the darker sky to take over the light. "But…enough talk about sadness…" Rusl said, turning to face Link with a grin on his face. "I came here to ask a favor, Link…if you want to do it that is."
"You know you can ask me anything, Rusl, we are friends after all." Link told him, smiling at the man, as he got up from the ledge.
"Well, that's good to hear, Link….you see, I was supposed to deliver something to the royal family of Hyrule the day after tomorrow…but, unfortunately, something came up."
"The royal family? Whoa…most be pretty important business…"
"You could say…Mayor Bo asked me to send a special sword I crafted some time back as a gift to the princess, I was going to do the delivery, but, like I said before…something came up."
"But…are you sure you want me to go, Rusl?…I haven't exactly been to Hyrule before…and well, you are usually the one to come and go…" Rusl patted the young man's shoulder, and smiled.
"It isn't too hard to miss, though…Hyrule isn't too far away, anyway just a couple of days by horse it's all it takes to get there, or maybe sooner if you get there faster…"
"I suppose so…I just need to follow the large castle in the distance, eh?"
"Yep. Mayor Bo already knows about this, so you can have a few days to yourself traveling…that is, if you want to go." Link was quick to nod in agreement.
"Of course I'll go, Rusl! Besides, I'm sure Epona would enjoy a few days off of work, as I would." Rusl grinned, and nodded.
"Thanks, Link, I knew I could count on you…well, I won't take more time away from you…although, I was wondering…how is little Shannon doing?" Link glanced a bit back at his home, before looking back at the swordsman.
"She's alright…still needs some time to recover, but still, she's alright. One curious lady, too. Her wing is also improving, she can flap her wings without flinching…much." Rusl gave him an understanding nod.
"That's good to hear…I suppose, at least, she's recovering…and, are you planning to take the little hawk on your trip to the castle?" he asked him. "You can't possibly leave her by herself in there, you know…" Link frowned a bit. Rusl was right. He couldn't possibly leave Shannon to fend by herself, not that he doubted the hawk's survival skills, but they didn't exactly work for a hawk that could neither hunt nor fly on her own. He knew Ilia would be glad to take care of her, but the Mayor wasn't seeing eye to eye with that little hawk around just yet, even if Shannon was behaving. Rusl and his family, especially Uli, will be bothered just to take care of her. Even the other families living in Ordon came to mind, but Link quickly shot that idea, knowing very well that the other people in this village had too many things in their hands to take care of injured animals. Fado, too, was an option, but the poor man could hardly take care of animals bigger than him, so why bother? Maybe I should just take her with me…
"…I might just have to take her with me, then…she might get along with some air and the extra space…" Rusl nodded at him. With one last pat on Link's shoulder, the swordsman quickly jumped off the ledge, and landed gracefully on the ground below, never flinching.
"Well, I will be seeing you tomorrow…I would suggest you finish herding the goats before you go…you know how Fado is around drowsy animals," Link rolled his eyes, and grinned. "then, after you are done come to my house, I will give you the sword and see you off…" The young man nodded back at the older man, and waved down at him.
"Okay, then! See you tomorrow, Rusl!"
"Good-night, Link!" And he was off, leaving behind the tree house. Once Rusl was out of sight, Link moved towards his house, and looked back at Shannon, who stared back at him, as if wanting to know what all that was about.
"Hey, guess what, Shannon?" Link asked casually, as if expecting her to answer. The hawk merely blinked, as she watched Link moved towards a small pot on the table nearby. "We will be going on a journey tomorrow…you, me, and Epona." Looking around, Link found a small bowl, and began to fill it with some leftover soup that remained inside the pot. Once he finished filling the bowl with soup, Link went over to where Shannon lay, and put the bowl next to her, but the hawk wasn't quick to dig into the food that lay before her. Link didn't notice this, as he went over to get a bowl for himself. "We'll be going to Hyrule…" Link went on, as he filled his bowl with some soup as well. "Rusl asked me to deliver something to the royal family…a sword…although, if one were to ask me…I do wonder why the princess would need a sword for…"
As Link continued to talk about the trip to Hyrule, he didn't notice as the small hawk suddenly turned away from the food, her head facing the wall, eyes held shut, her emotions unreadable.
Zelda gave a loud sigh, as she slowly shook her head. The small hawk princess was home alone, and she was glad for the loneliness, for once, as it gave her time to think, well, think more than was naturally possible. She no longer thought about how her people were doing, but of this small village and its inhabitants, especially Link. He was set to go to Castle Town tomorrow and deliver a sword to the princess of Hyrule, who ironically was sitting on a makeshift bed on his tree house. I have to warn Link…somehow…Zelda thought, as she went about her options. She could tell Epona about the situation, but, who knows if the horse would believe her, and if the mare did, how was she going to tell Link? Faking an injury? Get him lost in Hyrule Field? No…the hawk princess went on. That wouldn't do…perhaps…perhaps if I…were to get that sword, first…and hide it, or something…
And how exactly are you going to get that sword with your still, unhealed injuries, princess?asked another voice deep within Zelda's mind. You are still injured, and can hardly fly. The hawk princess sighed, and thanked her logical part before sighing again. She wouldn't be able to even reach the sword with this injuries, if Epona couldn't make him stay, neither could her, and if someone else delivered the sword, just in case Link were to not go and deliver it himself, it was just as bad. Worries seemed to plague most of her mind, and today was no exception.
Little Talo had been kidnapped after a small training session with Link just a couple of hours ago. He had almost been killed had not Link come to save him. What troubled her more, however, was the fact that Link had told her or rather Bo and Rusl, who were visiting at that time, about how the forest was infested with monsters. The swordsman had also put up his own complaints as well, saying that the Faron Woods nearby had never been crowded with monsters before, and this was troublesome. Knowing this made Zelda think back on her defeat in the castle, and then, with a heavy heart, concluded that the appearance of those monsters was because she had failed to protect her people, and because of it, an evil had been unleashed among her land and the small village of Ordon, all because she had lost, and later to add more wood to the fire, turned into a beast, who had abandoned her people in their time of need.
..I'm a failure as a ruler…the hawk princess thought, head held low, almost sitting on top of the small bowl that Link had so kindly filled with water. I have failed my people…this kind villagers…the children…Ilia…and…and Link…I have unleashed the worst upon them…just…just because I was weak…Zelda raised her head up, and then, covered her shaming face with her good wing, muttering to no one in particular, "Oh…whatever shall I do?"
"About what?" came another voice, surprising the hawk princess, who quickly took away the wing from her face, for her to see a small white and black furred cat on the doorstep, looking up at her with its head cocked to its side. "Is something wrong, Shannon?" the cat went to ask again, this time, a little worry escaped his voice. Zelda was quick to collect her thoughts, and shook her head.
"Oh…it is nothing, really…I-I'm just a bit tad frustrated because my wings kind of hurt…that's all…" she said, feeling guilty with every single lie she threw at the small furry animal, who had become her friend over the past few days.
"They must really hurt, then…" the cat nodded, walking closer to her. "I don't have wings, so I wouldn't know…although, if they hurt as much as a broken paw, then they must hurt a lot!"
"My wings don't hurt that much, now, though…so, anyway…not to be rude or anything, Cato, but, what are you doing here?" The cat, Cato, looked back at Zelda and meowed, although to her ears, it was more of a small giggle.
"I was looking around for Link, really…checking to see if he had any more fish," Cato admitted, meowing a bit more, as the hawk princess shook her head in a amusement at the cat's sincerity. She had heard everything about the shopkeeper's cat, Cato. According to Link, the cat had stolen the two fishes that Link had caught for them both to cook for dinner. Thanks to Cato, Link and Zelda had been forced to eat berries, not that the princess minded much, though. Although for Link, that was another story. "…but, there's no fish, right?"
"I'm afraid not…sorry…" Zelda told him, shaking her head even more, but sounding amused. Cato, nodding back at the hawk princess, quickly made his way out of the house.
Once alone, Zelda began to think back on how she would stop Link from going to Castle Town, even if that meant to start acting like a wild beast again. She had to stop him, she had to find a way to convince him to not go there. He could get in trouble, and it would have been her fault. Ah, if only she could contact the spirit of Ordona, the light spirit that was said to reside upon the Ordon Spring, where she would be taken for baths and for healing. No matter how much Zelda begged him to show up, the spirit would never try to make contact. At first, she had found this odd, but, then, she assumed something was wrong with the great spirit, or it was the fact that the children, Ilia, and Link were around when she wanted to summon the spirit. She only hope she didn't run out of time…
Link ran past some villagers, who were rather confused by how the young man ignored their greetings. Link really didn't mean to ignore them, but if they only knew the real reason for his cold shoulder, they would have probably understood his lack of greetings.
Right after finishing up in the ranch, Link and Epona had passed by Mayor Bo's home to say good-bye to Ilia and her father. What had started as a 'Be careful on your way' conversation had ended badly after Ilia had spotted the huge cut upon the mare, and she had accused the young rancher of pushing Epona too hard. And now, Ilia had literally kidnapped his horse, all because of a small, non-lethal cut on its leg, that she got while helping Link save little Talo from the monsters that had kidnapped him a day earlier.
If only that boy had not ran after that annoying little monkey, perhaps he wouldn't have needed rescuing, and Epona wouldn't had been hurt, and the girl wouldn't be angry at him. Why does she always make a big fuss about this things! Epona's stronger than that! That cut was nothing…but, still…why does she make a big fuss about this! the young man thought, as he ran past some other villagers, before he reached his house. A small voice coming from somewhere nearby caught him by surprise, and Link quickly turned around to meet a young boy with blonde hair, sitting nearby.
"Link?" the young boy asked, getting up from the ground.
"Colin!"
Colin, Rusl's only child, as of now that was, stood watching him with some hidden concern in his eyes. He was a short boy, known around the village, and frequently teased by the other kids, because of his meek nature. Despite the fact that Colin wasn't brave incarnate, he had been one of the few, after Link and Ilia, to pat Shannon after she had healed, and bring her food from time to time when the other children wouldn't bother. He was a nice kid, Link had decided one day, and had always thought of Colin as some sort of adoptive little brother, one who he would always help whenever the chance presented itself.
"Hi, Link…" Colin said, hands behind his back.
"Hey, Colin…have you seen Ilia round here?" Link asked him, to which the young boy gave him a small nod, and pointed a finger towards the direction of the spring.
"Yes…she went to the spring with Epona…although," Colin stopped, trying to pick the right words to use. "she seemed…a little upset about something…she kept muttering something about you and Epona…" Link grinned nervously, remembering the harsh talking to Ilia had given him and her father, before leaving with Epona towards the spring.
"She's actually angry at me…" the young rancher confessed, scratching the back of his head.
"Why?"
"Remember about how Talo was kidnapped, yesterday?" Colin nodded. "And do you remember how I had to take Epona with me to find him?" Another nod was his answer. "Well…it appears that Epona got herself a scratch on herself…and I didn't notice it…so…" he trailed off.
"She thought you hurt Epona, right?" the boy finished, to which Link nodded.
"Yeah…you think you can give me a hand, Colin? Try to tell her that it was just an accident?" Colin nodded, smiling shyly at him.
"Sure! Anything for you Link!" Link grinned at him, and watch the boy go, with the young boy crying out, "I'll go ahead and try to convince her!" The young rancher watched him go, until he disappeared into the road, he was about to run towards the path leading to the spring, before a shut stopped him short.
"NO!" came Ilia's cry, making Link flinched a bit, before he ran towards the spring. Upon reaching it, he faced another dilemma. The gates leading to the spring were held shut, the few openings on the wood gate showed Colin and Ilia, who was holding unto Epona's reins inside the spring.
Ilia spotted Link first, and glared at him from her place on the spring. "If you came to take Epona back, then you can FORGET IT!" she yelled, her glare growing deeper. "Why don't you think about you've done for a change! I won't be opening that gate until you change that attitude of yours!"
"But, Ilia…!" Link cried, but Ilia cut him off.
"I don't want to hear it!" Ilia scolded, pulling Epona deeper into the spring. Colin, seeing the exchange between the two of them, only shook his head, before he went towards the gate, and whispered back to Link,
"Why don't you go through that small hole nearby, Link?" he asked him. "I'll tell her about what happened with Talo and that monkey…maybe that will change her mind…" Link nodded, and watched as Colin quickly moved towards where Ilia and Epona stood, and started a conversation. The rancher was quick to take off towards the small hole that Colin had mentioned to him, finding himself in a tight fit, but still be able to crawl within it. Water splashed against his clothes, once he came closer to the spring, and before long, the young man had reached the end of the hole, facing the waters of the spring, hoping that Colin had managed to convince Ilia about what had really happened to Epona, and that it wasn't Link's fault. Getting out with little difficulty out of the small hole, and saw Colin and Ilia. The girl's face had completely changed, anger no longer was present on her features.
"I had no idea…" Ilia murmured. "I hadn't heard the complete details about Talo's capture…but, still, Colin…huh?" Turning around, Ilia quickly spotted Link nearby, with Colin following Ilia's gaze, a smile on his face, his job done. Epona, upon seeing her master nearby, began to walk towards him, happy to see him, despite Ilia still holding unto her reins. The young lady looked at Epona, before a sigh escaped her lips. "…so, you still prefer your master over me, huh, Epona?" she asked the horse, patting the mare's head. The young rancher smiled sadly at the scene before him. "You two can now go to Hyrule, together…" Ilia whispered to Epona, who only whined and nodded her head as if in agreement. The young woman looked back at Link and smiled. "She's already to go, it seems…her injury wasn't that much of a deal…but, I guess I overreacted…sorry."
"It's okay, Ilia…I probably deserve it."
"True," Ilia said after a while, nodding sagely back at Link. Colin grinned back at the two of them, but said nothing. "…Hey, Link…"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful on your journey…and promise me this….no matter what happens on the way…don't try to do anything out of your league…please. Just come back safely." Link gave the young lady before him a smile.
"Don't you go worrying about me, Ilia," the rancher told her, grinning back at her. "You know I'm not that reckless!" Ilia only laughed, and shook her head.
"Knowing you, that's probably the worst thing you have said for a while!" Link gave her a mock frown, as the young lady went over to give Epona's reins to the young rancher.
THUD! THUD! The three Ordonians froze in their place, as the sudden noise caught their ears. Colin edge closer to Link and Ilia, as the noise became even louder. THUD! THUD! THUD! "Wh-what is that!" the young boy cried, shaking all over. No one said anything as the noise grew louder and louder…and then—
The gate that had been closed before them, burst opened, soon to lie in pieces upon the calm waters of the spring. Link and his companions were speechless as the creatures on top of huge boars, barged into the spring, all wielding clubs and swords. Link was the first of the group to react, and quickly pushed Ilia and Colin out of the way, crying out, "RUN! RUN!" Both young lady and boy moved as far as they could, before the creatures could reach them. They were unsuccessful, however, as Colin tripped with his own feet, and was caught by one of the beasts by the arm. The young rancher moved to save him, but a loud scream caught his attention, and he turned to see just in time how Ilia fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of her back. Link barely managed a gasp, before he broke into a run, or tried to, but was stopped short when something hard hit him on the head, and then, everything turned dark.
0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0
Small little talons inspected the wooden platform below them, as Zelda took her time to look around the place. Colin had come by just a few minutes prior, offering food and an opened door for her to escape the rather empty home of her caretaker's. This was one of the few times that Zelda would explore the outside world without the aid of Link, facing the sky and wondering if she was ready to fly.
Being something you were not physically wasn't easy business, as Zelda had found out the days she spent in Ordon recovering. She knew she wasn't being very helpful just sitting around, but she also knew that flapping her wings with no goal in mind wouldn't get her nowhere, either. The hawk princess had tried to fly a few times before, when her wings weren't hurting like there was no tomorrow, but she had only managed to hover in the air once or twice, before falling down, failing miserably.
When Link was around, the young rancher was always behind her, encouraging her, as would the kids and Ilia, as they observed her, taking time off their tasks just to watch the struggling hawk. Rusl, too, would come and stay to watch her attempts at flight, but, to Zelda's clever mind, it would appear that he had been rather confused by her performance and her clumsiness when she hovered or tried to. Perhaps he suspected that this hawk couldn't fly at all, and that suspicion of his was probably right. The princess of Hyrule couldn't fly, that much was true, but unfortunately for Zelda, she wasn't exactly a princess right now.
But, everything else aside, Zelda's real reason for trying so hard to fly was to return back to her kingdom to see what had become of it. She wanted to know if the castle was as it should be, if there were monsters lurking about, if anyone had died…if something else had happened. While Zelda longed to see to her people's needs back at the conquered Hyrule Castle, at the same time she didn't want to leave the safety that the small village of Ordon had offered to her this past few days. Sometimes, deep within her heart, Zelda felt that her duty wasn't worth leaving Link and the other villagers behind. The young blonde rancher had been her savior after all, and she just couldn't leave him without at least saying a proper 'Thank you', but, as the case may be, she couldn't even mutter her own name under the squeaks and chirps that had become her new tongue. But, even if she wanted to thank Link, what about her people? Didn't they count, too? Ah, but her duties always came before her heart, and so, with a deep sigh, Zelda decided that the thanks would have to wait, as she exercised her wings a little more…or she would have had not the screaming began.
"EEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"
"MO-MO-MONSTERS! RUN! EVERYONE! RU-AGGGHHHHH!"
It was the sudden alarm and screams of the villagers far away that made Zelda suddenly begin to look around. Watching as strange little green man with rags as clothes, wielding steel and sharp sticks upon monstrous boars, created havoc among the peaceful land that was Ordon. Bulblins! Zelda thought darkly, as they moved along with their steeds deeper into the village, destroying whatever they could destroy.
The princess knew a lot about Bulblins, evil creatures that would cause havoc on foolish travelers at night, day, or morning. She had heard many stories about this monsters once in a while at the castle, and complaints from merchants, and nobles alike had filled her ears most of the time, asking her, rather demanding, what she was going to do about it. But, those times they had never entered a village like this, and so, Zelda forced herself to ask, What are you going to do now?
Zelda didn't wait for her other side of the head to answer, as she flapped her wings, forcing herself to fly. The screams got even louder as she flapped her wings, once, twice, thrice! She hadn't even left the wooden platform, and her will to fly was leaving behind her, and then she heard them. Screams. Smaller vibrations than the last ones, screams of little ones…screams of children. No…not the children! Not them! No, they were just children! They deserved nothing of this horror that had suddenly taken over the village, they deserved none, and so, Zelda forced herself to fly once more.
The flapping became harder, and then, she felt her talons leaving the wooden platform, as the wind caught her like a fragile leaf that had the misfortune of being caught by its great current, and like the leaf, Zelda soon found herself hovering in the air. Despite her slight hints of surprise, Zelda didn't waste any time as she flew towards the village below her, speed the highest she could muster.
The princess of Hyrule was entering the battlefield, and this time around, she had more than herself to protect.
Link groaned as he got up, wondering what had just happened to give him a huge headache. He began to look around with lazy eyes, his vision a little blurry, with his headache just making things worse. Link rubbed his head, as he finally realized where he was. He was in the Ordon Spring, now that would explain why he was wet…but why? Then, he saw it. The small puddle of blood that mixed well with the clear spring water. Link froze as he recalled what had happened earlier. He shook, and then let out a cry.
"COLIN! ILLLLIIIIAAAAA!" Link lost all sense of reason as he bolted towards the direction from where the monsters had come from. For a single moment, he didn't care if he was suddenly ambushed, he didn't even care if Epona was missing, the only thing he cared about was to find his two friends. Were they even alive? Were they alright? Were they—"WHOA!" Link suddenly stopped in his tracks. What had made him stopped in his mad dash to save his friends was nothing but a mere black wall, one that led straight to the Faron Woods. The goat herder froze a little, but, taking a deep breath proceeded to touch it, wondering if he could cross it. He could feel the black wall with strange marking suddenly freeze against his touch…then, something terrifying happened. Out of the black wall, a huge arm appeared; it grabbed Link before he could react, and dragged him to the darkness.
Link was thrown to the ground then, but everything was different. Solemn and darker, somehow. Poor Link didn't have time to inspect his surroundings, before he felt a great pain enter his body. He grunted and turned, and then, led out a shriek of pain. Fur ripped through his skin like nothing, his face changed shape, feet were smaller…then, he fell to the ground. As the darkness took over his sight, he could see a strange creature coming up to him, slowly, before nothing remained.