Fyras14: Fyras here! Sorry for the mayor delay guys...but, my laptop's screen died a couple of days after posting the last chapter and well, it had to go to the doctor, as I posted on my profile...and well, a few problems arose with the updating...I finally found a way to fix my USB...unfortunately, the folders that saved my stories are a mess...I was working on two computers at a time...but gave up after I figured out this was much of a hassle...I decided to wait until my laptop came back so I was a little busy writing another story I had left behind months ago...and then, my laptop came back! YEAH!
Unfortunately, my laptop is a little broken, so I can't close it and open the computer as I please...so it will have to stay at home while I go to school...and since I will be going out wiht my parents in a couple of days...updates will be stopped...however, I plan to post the next chapter in a couple of days, changing a few things and that...so it might take a while.
Take care!
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.
The flow of time is always cruel... Its speed seems different for each person, but no one can change it... A thing that doesn't change with time is a memory of younger days...
-Sheik, Ocarina of Time
-Chapter 16-
-Blade of Evil's Bane-
It was the strangest sensation ever; his skin, he could feel it burning, tears falling out of his eyes, he was blind! Blind! But…he felt no pain, no fear, no…nothing. It was as if he was barely taking a bath, taking away all the grim and hurt and feeling it…but, his skin was becoming colder…normal, his eyes were tearless and all-seeing, everything was right.
When Link opened his eyes moments later, his body felt normal, felt right…was less…wait a minute…It didn't take long for the hero to notice the change, and with a incredulous look, stared at himself. Blinking once and twice, Link noticed his brown boots, the green tunic, his arms, his legs, his hair—he was back to normal!—and then, the sword on his hand. The sword, which seconds ago lay on the pedestal with its beautiful blue hilt and golden diamond, was in his hand.
Behind him, Midna and Shannon were also staring, simply mesmerized by the act in whole. "Whoa…now that is some powerful blade," the imp commented, taking a few cautious steps towards Link, as if fearing that if the sword touched her she would also disappear. "Guess that spirit was right after all. You're back to normal!" She looked up as Link removed the Ordon Sword from the sheath on his back, and replaced it with the blue-hilted sword; Midna only snapped her fingers, putting the Ordon Sword away in the shadows.
Link nodded. "Yeah…it's good to be back…too—hey, what's that?" The hero looked in confusion as Midna suddenly picked out a strange sharp rock colored black from the ground near his feet. The imp examined the rock and looked back at him.
"This thing is the embodiment of the evil magic that Zant cast on you," she explained. "This is definitely different from our tribe's shadow magic," Midna went on, as Link kneeled to her height to see the rock closer. The imp, in turn, kept it away from his touch. "Careful now, Mr. Hero!" she warned. "Unless you're so anxious to get back on being a wolf, I wouldn't recommend touching it!" Link quickly got up, no longer curious. "This thing's too dangerous, though…it's probably for the best we leave it here, huh?"
"…You're going to take it either way, aren't you?"
"Sure! If we kept it, you'd be able to transform into a beast anytime you wanted, but you'll be able to turn human, too, with that sword around….and since Zant was kind enough to give this to us, we should be thankful and use it all we can!"
"Why do I get the feeling this is going to hurt my back?" Midna only laughed, as Shannon decided to make her home on the sword's hilt, as the hero shook his head. "Well, anyway, we might as well get going…there's nothing else for us to do here…" Link turned to leave, only to be stopped by a small hand on his shoulder.
"Wait…Link…I've got a little favor to ask…" Midna said, a bit too shyly for the hero's liking. Link turned around, and faced the small imp, who had her hands on her back, and was looking at the ground as a child caught red-handed. "Would you mind coming with me to find something called the Mirror of Twilight?"
"Mirror of Twilight?"
"Yes…somewhere, hiding in Hyrule is the Mirror of Twilight…the last link to the Twilight Realm…and Zant!" Midna clenched her fist, and then sighed. "So…what do you say? I know I made you search for Fused Shadows and all that…but, right now…we need to defeat Zant at all costs, and release this land off his evil…" Link smiled, and nodded at her. He could feel Shannon shifting a bit on his new sword's hilt.
"Well, you can count on us," he said, pointing at himself and Shannon. "that guy has already caused enough trouble. And besides," the hero's face darkened. "he owes us." Midna grinned up at Link, and nodded.
"Then, let's get out of here! I'll get you as far as Faron Woods, then!" Midna was about to snap her fingers, when suddenly a wicked voice of a child caught their ears.
"Heehee! Leaving so soon? Heehee!" Turning around, the group spotted that weird creature that had led them to the sword, smiling as he twirled above a pillar. They were rather surprised as they noticed a young girl with long green hair and a dress colored in different shades of green, leaning against that same pillar. She smiled at them as the creature jumped down, and turn to face her.
"See! See!" he cried, laughing. "Heehee! I promised I would get them here, sis! Hee!" The girl clapped her hands together, smiling kindly at the creature.
"Thank you, Skull Kid! That was very kind of you," the girl told him, getting a wicked laugh from the creature, Skull Kid, before he jumped. He floated above the pillar for a while, smiling at Link and the others before he slowly disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
"You're welcome, sis! Goody Bye! Heehee…" he called from somewhere deep in the forest.
Everyone was quiet for a while before Midna bluntly asked the girl, "Who are you?"
"Me?" the girl asked, pointing at herself, before blushing in embarrassment as if she had forgotten something. "Oh…I'm sorry…my manners are just terrible," she smiled again. "My name is…Saria," the girl, Saria, told them. "and I guard this forest…"
"You…you guard this forest?" Link asked her, to which Saria nodded.
"Yes…I am a spirit that guards over this sacred groove…waiting…"
"Waiting?" the imp asked.
"Waiting for the wielder of the Master Sword to come," she said, looking at Link and Shannon. "We, Skull Kid and I, guard this forest…making sure those with corrupted hearts never enter this sacred meadow…" Saria walked towards them, before stopping a couple of feet away from the pedestal where the Master Sword once stood. "We have waited until one worthy of the title of hero appeared to reclaim it…" The girl suddenly disappeared, appearing next to Link, almost spooking the three of them. Saria smiled at them, muttering a small sorry their way. "I have been waiting for you, hero," she went on. "Link…the hero chosen by the Goddesses…wielder of the blade of evil's bane…a sword that many mortal men sought after…and one that has been sleeping in this place ever since…in the ruins of this forgotten temple."
"Temple?" the hero asked, getting a nod from Saria.
"The Temple of Time…a sacred place embodied with time itself…the resting place of the Master Sword…" Saria turned to face Link. "I believe you already know what this sword is capable of, do you, Link?"
"Yes…the spirit of Faron told me this...sword has the power to banish evil," he pointed at himself. "I believe it."
"…Yes…a blow from the Master Sword can banish any evil…even the strongest of foes…even one such as the evil King of the Twilight, who has brought chaos and darkness to this land of Hyrule…" The girl shook her head. "But having the sword's power won't be enough, if you can't fight your enemy in his world…"
"…so you heard, huh? About the Mirror?" Midna asked, to which Saria nodded.
"The Mirror of Twilight is an ancient relic that was hidden a really long time ago by a group of Wise Men and Women…if you cannot find that mirror…you will not be able to stop the King…" She pointed towards the distance. "Out there…there lay clues to the mirror's whereabouts…look for those willing to give you aid…those that might have an answer…like that woman…Telma."
"Telma?" the hero asked, looking at the girl, who had her back turned.
"Go to her, Link…and there, you will find the answers you seek…" Saria turned to face them, a sad smile on her face. "Be careful…and beware of the thief from the desert…" The girl, then, turned away and began to walk into the forest.
"Wait! Who is the thief of the desert?" Saria only turned to stare at him, sadly, before a sudden wind, blew her away, leaving nothing behind. Link and the others looked at the spot the small girl had been moments ago, and then, Midna spoke.
"…I knew it…sacred spirits are all the same…"
The group arrived at Castle Town soon after their meeting with the strange spirit of the Forest, only to see a huge crystal like barrier covering the castle up ahead. Zelda looked up from her spot upon the Master Sword's hilt, and gave a small mental gasp. The castle…why is there…a magical barrier around it? the hawk princess wondered as Link began to look around, confused as she was. They heard many small conversations as they made their way to Telma's Bar, mostly about the castle and about the princess. The gossip usually started with, 'What in the name of Din is that?' or something of that sort, then, their conversation shifted to the princess, were they would whisper either good things or bad things, depending on the kind of person. Zelda didn't say anything as she heard the insults from her people, she was pretty much used to them by now, since she was a small girl, since she learned that she was the only heir to the throne. Of course, that information had a lot of people…as they would say, ticked off. Some other thoughts, however, would also creep into the princess's mind…feelings of guilt that didn't seem to fit the feelings of guilt she felt at the moment. Maybe it had something to do with that, Temple of Time…she knew she had heard that name somewhere before.
Link grumbled under his breath, shaking his head at the gossip. Zelda didn't bother with the gossip much, but there was a particular conversation that caught her ears. "Maybe if we had had a man as a ruler, this wouldn't have happened," whispered one of her knights to another. The other knight nodded.
"Yeah, a man is much more powerful than a woman in terms of strength…would have saved us all the damn trouble…" he murmured, earning a few indignant looks from the women nearby. Apparently they didn't appreciate that kind of speech towards their sex. "She might as well be dead…"
"Yeah…she's better off dead than ruling this place…" Zelda looked down at the ground, while this insult hadn't been the worst she had heard on the way, it had managed to hit a nail in her heart. After all, wasn't it her fault that the kingdom was like it was?
"Hey, I wouldn't listened to them…they are just stubborn and cowardly idiots," came the imp's voice, making the princess look up, if just a little.
"Thank you for your kind words, Midna…but they would not be necessary…I have heard worst…"
"Yeah, sure…" Midna said sarcastically, Zelda could almost image her rolling her eyes in the shadows. "Those guys don't even know what happen…they think you just gave up your kingdom, well, I had thought so too…well, when I figured you out…" Both stood silent as Link tried to maneuver his way through the crowd, being stopped once in a while by a vendor or a beggar. "but…I guess, just like them, I don't really know the details…"
"I'll bore you with the dialogue…"
"Doesn't matter. Those spirits seemed to make it their job telling Link all about their lives…I could have gone to sleep if we weren't in a crisis." Zelda heard Midna chuckle as she said that. "I've been missing sleep thanks to them!" The hawk princess laughed, and watched as Link gave a few rupees to a beggar, who had not let go of his hand as the man gave him the blessings from the Goddesses, over and over again. Apparently he had given him a purple rupee. "So…what happened?" Zelda took a deep breath, before she looked up at her castle, barely sighting Bulblins upon its many roofs.
"…I had been in a meeting with a few of the Generals in my army when Zant struck…he came straight to my castle, not bothering to cause pandemonium on the streets of the town…" Zelda looked away from her castle, and spotted some children playing with sticks nearby, others, watching street performers silently, accompanying the show with laughs. "…as my castle was attacked, my people knew nothing of it…they were completely left out…why? Even I do not know…what I do know is that Zant's entrance was very unexpected…me and my men had very little time to prepare…and so, we were attacked…it only took two of those creatures to defeat sixty of my best men…"
"Sixty? I thought tha—unless…you don't mean to say that…"
"Most of my men ran away from the creatures as soon as they saw them…" Zelda admitted. "Others had the excuse of guarding the town…but still, they were cowardly…an embarrassment…but, even if they had stayed behind…they would have changed nothing." Zelda looked back at the castle, as she spoke again. "Those creatures of shadows…I could sense their poor souls within them…calling out…" she admitted, hearing Midna sigh.
"Yeah…they used to be Twili before…Zant cursed them…"
"That would explain their pleas…I could hear them as they killed my men…and Zant, well, he was another story…he…he easily came upon my throne room…"
"And did you fight?" Zelda shook her head.
"We never got the chance…he gave me a ultimatum…to either die or give up…"
"Let me guess…you decided to give up, instead of challenging his power…" The hawk princess nodded, as she balanced herself on top of Link's hilt, when he accidently had bumped into someone.
"Yes…after I surrendered…he decided to torture me…and then, he transformed me into this…" Zelda extended her wings to show her point. "I barely managed to escape…but, I don't really recall the details…then, Link found me…"
"Ah…I get it…that would explain why the princess knows a simple rancher, right?"
"We-well…I suppose so…" Zelda had to hold her breath. The last thing she wanted to tell the imp that hid on Link's shadow, was that she had ended up in falling in love with him.
"Yeah…sure…" she heard Midna giggle in her mind, and Zelda began to wonder if she knew that the princess loved the goat herder. The princess didn't dwell on the problem long enough, as Link had already arrived at the bar.
"Well, here it is…let's see if Telma's around," the hero told the two of them, as he opened the door.
As soon as Link stepped into the room, he was greeted by a happy face, and an armored hand wave. Telma and Shiro, who sat near the bar table, waved at Link from their places. "Oh my! Link! It's you, honey!" Telma cried, leaving her work alone in the bar, to go and give the hero a hug, which he returned. She, then, gave Zelda a pat on the head. "How've you been, honey? Well, I hope so!"
"Well, going around, here and there…"
"Well, you have good timing, I was just talking about you!"
"Me?"
"Yeah, honey! You do remember when I told you about that group that was willing to protect Hyrule at all costs? Those guys over there," Telma pointed to a table nearby. "are the friends I mentioned, the ones trying to help deal with all the troubles in Hyrule. Hey, everyone!" she called, getting the attention of three of the people sitting on the table nearby. One was a scholar or something like that by the way he dressed, another one was a young woman wearing armor, and another man wearing a lot of armor. They all looked at Link curiously, well, the scholar seemed to be more interested on him. "Introduce yourselves! This handsome young man is the infamous Link!" The scholar and the armored woman gave him a wave of acknowledgement, but the armored man only gave him a silent nod, which Link returned. Telma shook her head atthe rather silent presentation, and offered a seat to Link nearby. Shiro and the hero shook hands, glad to see each other again.
"Good to see you again, Link! You sure disappeared from Kakariko as soon as we arrived." Link laughed, nervously. This was all Midna's fault.
"Well, I kinda was a bit busy…sorry for not saying good bye, I wasn't given the chance," he glanced a bit at his shadow, whom he saw shrugged.
"Maybe I can guess!" Shiro told him. "You went to help the Zoras, huh?" the armored knight asked him, earning a shy nod. "Knew it! See, Telma," he turned to face the bar keeper, who smiled in returned. "this guy is sure one heck of a hero! Ain't he?"
"He sure is!" Telma laughed, but it was short lived as a customer entered the bar, and she went to attend to him.
"I see you have already met them," Shiro said, who glanced at the group, who's attention was at the map that lay on the table before them. "The one with the glasses, his name is Shad…he's a scholar of sorts…the girl with the fancy armor, she's Ashei…she's a good girl, but deadly with a sword…that other guy, the one with the helmet…I never did catch his name…"
"I see…and you? Are you part of this group?"
"Well, in a way…Telma offered me a place in this group…and well, I'm still thinking about it…after all, I'm still a knight of Hyrule…but, things have really messed up now…you probably saw it, huh? That barrier that appeared on the castle…"
"Yeah…I'm pretty sure even the Zoras saw it…" Link muttered, glancing at Telma, who was preparing a drink for another customer. "And…no one can get in?"
"Not even the birds…the poor critters slam into the damn place and fly away, disoriented…" Shiro sighed. "Maybe what Auru said was true…"
"Auru?"
"Yeah…he's an old man, an old knight and adventurer…said that the problem in the castle had something to do with something going on in the desert…"
"The desert?" Both he and the hawk princess leaned a little closer.
"Yeah…he said that he was investigating something in the desert…about some cursed mirror or something like that…"
"A mirror?"