Ilia sighed. Link had been asleep all day. He had woken up a few hours after they brought him to Kakariko, but only for a few minutes, long enough to barely eat a meal.
He was pale.

Even Renado didn't know if he was going to live.

He has to, Ilia thought. If he doesn't, I'll wake him up from the dead and kill him again.

She clenched her hands together.

"I-Ilia..."

Her head snapped up.

"Link! Oh, Link, you're awake."

He smiled weakly, then sat up and cupped her cheek. She blushed, then noticed his hand. It was wrapped in bandages.

Why is he covering his birthmark?

"Um, Link…"

"Why are you crying?"

Ilia looked at him, surprised. She was crying? Her hand went up to her cheek. It was wet.

"Link..."

He put his hand down. "Yeah?"

"I-I was just worried. And you're finally awake. Are you hungry?"

Link smiled weakly and laid down again.

"Not really."

Ilia nodded. "Well, at least drink something."

He nodded and sat up again.

"Oh, and Renado sent a letter to your dad. They'll be here in a few days. Okay?"

He nodded again and she handed him a cup of water.

"Well," she said, "You should probably get some more rest. Renado said your collarbone is broken."

He nodded again and lay down after he drained the cup.

"And Ilia..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For being the idiot I am."

"Don't talk like that. Now, get some rest."

She pecked his cheek and he fell asleep again.

"Ilia! Goodness, you've grown!"

Ilia smiled and hugged Maeri.

"Hello, Maeri. It's nice to see you. You too, Ava," she added, ruffling the little girl's hair. She held out her tiny hand.

"Hi Ila." the little five-year-old said, smiling.

"Hi, Ava." Ilia said, tickling her chin.

"Where ith Link?"

"Link is at the inn." She held up her finger. "You have to be quiet, though."

"Okay." Ava whispered. Ilia smiled.

"Ilia, how is he doing? We've been worried sick about him all the way here."

"Well, he's doing a bit better than when he came in. He broke his collarbone, arm and several ribs, not to mention the cuts all over his body."

"Can we see him now?'"

"Yes, but like I said, you have to be quiet."

"Alright. Rowan-"

"I heard."

Ilia nodded and led them to the inn.

"Oh, and Ilia. Your father told me to give this to you." Rowan said, handing her a navy blue case. Ilia smiled and nodded her thanks to him.

Ava bounced as she followed her parents to the inn, and Ilia laughed.

Ava gasped and smiled when she saw her brother.

"Link!"

He smiled weakly.

"Hi, Ava. You look happy."

"Yeah!"

He smiled again and Ilia helped him sit up. Rowan watched, clearly worried about his son.

"Hey, Dad."

"They said you were hurt, but I didn't expect this. What happened?"

"I-I got in a fight."

"With whom?"

"A strong guy."

"Obviously. You lost, I take it?" he said, gesturing to his arm.

"No, he didn't. He won, but that came at a price, as you can see." a new voice said. They turned around. Ilia smiled.

"Zelda! Hello."

She smiled and nodded to her.

"And who might these fine people be?"

"Oh. This is Rowan and Maeri, Link's Father and Stepmother. And this," she said, ruffling Ava's hair, "is his younger sister, Ava."

"I'm fo!"

"No, you're five." Link said, smiling.

Zelda smiled.

"Well, it is certainly nice to meet you. Ilia already told you, but I am Zelda of Hyrule."

Maeri opened her mouth to speak, but Link cut her off. "Yes, Maeri. Princess Zelda."

Ilia sat next to him. "So, Link. You never did tell me, but how did you come to meet two princesses in what was supposed to be a delivery of a gift?"

He sighed. Rowan looked at him, surprised.

"Two?"

"Yes, two. Zelda, would you like to explain? Midna can fill you in." She nodded.

"The story starts thousands of years ago, when this world was first created. The Three placed with mankind the Triforce to keep the peace with one another and remind them of the great blessing of Life that they were given. For thousands of years, the people were at peace with one another. Until they learned of the power that the Triforce held. The people became a greedy, bloodthirsty people, fighting wars over this power. From this people arose three great sorcerers. They used their magic to claim the Triforce for themselves. The Three goddesses overthrew them and sealed them away in a realm know as the Realm of Twilight. Peace once again came over the land, even if only temporary. These three great sorcerers, using their magic, created many beasts that would do their will. The greatest of these beasts was know as Demise. The goddesses then gathered all of the remaining Hylians and put them in a great City in the Sky, also known as Skyloft. As legend goes, Hylia, the great goddess herself, disguised herself as a young girl named Zelda. My ancestor. Zelda was kidnapped by Demise and brought to the Surface. A young man, clad in green, traveled through the land and eventually defeated Demise, restoring peace once again. With the Surface cleansed, the people in Skyloft came down to live on the surface with the couple. Once again, there was peace in Hyrule, as the land was named."

"Have you heard of the Gerudo? They lived in the desert east of here. Around the time Demise was defeated, this race was born. They were special; only one male was born every 100 years. Well, there was one of these Gerudo men. His name was Ganon. He was a good king over the people. Eventually, the people came to trust him so much that they would do anything that he bade them do. The three sorcerers, once again, saw this as an opportunity. The slowly found a way into his heart, twisting and corrupting it. They gave him evil, twisted desires. After many years, he conquered Hyrule. Once again, the boy clad in green came and overthrew Ganon's evil rule. He, too, was banished to the Realm of Twilight. Hundreds of years passed. Ganon died of old age, but his spirit still lingered in that realm. The sorcerers also died, their descendants know as the Twili."

"They were a kind, cheerful people, unlike there ancestors."

They turned around to see a tall woman with orange hair step from the shadows. Link smiled.

"Midna."

"Hello."

"Would you like to tell your part of the story?" Zelda asked her.

Midna nodded.

"As I said, the Twili lived in peace for thousands of years. Every few decades or so, one from the world of Light would be sent to us by means of the Mirror of Twilight, the only know means of travel between the two realms. We welcomed them and taught them the ways of life. Because they were from the Light and we from Twilight, we could not mix with them. Instead, the formed their own community, separate from ours."

"Now, I must tell you. If one is to have a kingdom, one needs a king to rule. The Twili appointed a king, my father, to rule over them. He was a good king. And, as you may know, every king has advisers. One of his advisers was named Zant. Under some circumstance, some think attempted assassination, he was stripped of his rights and duties as a King's Adviser. He left, bawling like a baby. Ganon saw him as naive, a puppet for him to gain his rule again. He granted him power to overthrow my father, promising him that he would make him king if he did as he instructed. He accepted, and when he gained that power, he killed my father." Her hands were clenched on her lap as she spoke.

"With the death of my father, I was to be made Queen of the Twili. On the night of the coronation, he cursed me, taking away the magic that had been given to me at birth. I fled, not being able to stand against him, and came to this world."

"Ganon's plan was to take the light that the Spirits held to reduce this land to an everlasting Twilight." Link said, continuing where she left off.

"Once that was completed, Hyrule would be in a weakened state, and as such, he would be able to conquer it once again. He had already taken the light of Faron, Eldin and Lanayru when I was brought in. Ilia, you remember. You were upset at me because Epona had scraped her leg. You took her to the spring and wouldn't let me in," he said, smiling. Ilia blushed.

"After you apologized, the Bulblins came."

"One clad in armor, larger than the rest. Colin was knocked out and I was shot in the leg."

"I was hit in the neck and I blacked out. When I woke, you and Colin were gone. I went to find you but instead found a wall at the border of the Faron Province. I stood there, confused, when a black had reached out, grabbed my neck, and pulled me into the Twilight."

"You turned into a wolf." Zelda said.

Link nodded. She turned to his father and the children that now crowded into the room.

"Link's job was to gather the ancient magic that the Three Sorcerers used to match the power of the King of Shadows, Zant. After he had finished, however, Zant took it from him, leaving him as a wolf and Midna dying. After he had regained his true form, he set out to search for the Mirror of Twilight. When they did find it, it had been split into four pieces, three hidden across Hyrule."

"It took over two months to find the first one. And the others took three." Midna said, annoyed.

"Not to mention the beasts the fragments were hidden in." Link added. Ilia looked at him, then stood and left the room. She came back in with his sketchbook and handed it to him.

"Are they in here?"

"Yes." he said, showing them the beasts. Ava whimpered when she saw the Armogohma. Talo stared at the drawings, especially the Argorock. He pointed to it.

"That one's my favorite."

"I like that one," Beth said, pointing to the Blizzeta.

"The first one's kinda cool," Colin said quietly.

Link smiled.

"So, Link," Rowan said, "Who were you fighting?"

Zelda turned to him. "By the time Zant was slain, Ganon had been resurrected. Link's final trial was to slay him and restore peace to Hyrule."

"Considering the fact that he managed to come back to life again, I wouldn't be surprised if he was back in another two centuries." Link said.

"Yes...I doubt the peace that is in the land now will be more than a century." Zelda said.

This was my take on the history of Hyrule. Hope you like it! I've never played Ocarina of Time or Skyward sword before, if you haven't guessed already. Oh, and I'm using the Wii version for the map. The desert is to the west for the Gamecube version, right?