A link in the past

Chapter 3

HYRULE PRESENT ERA

Zelda was riding on her horse, going to the Kakariko Village to meet Impa there. She glanced at her shadow; before the rising dawn, Loki, the twili, fused himself into her shadow, telling her he can't walk in the daylight or else the sun would kill him. Zelda wondered if she could trust this Loki character. He looked like a shadow creature and her father always told her to stay away from creatures of shadows. However he claimed to be Link's friend.

The princess was so lost in her thoughts, she yelped in surprise when a big leaf hit her face. Loki laughed at her.

"Buwahaha, you're as clumsy as Queen Sonia were " Loki laughs.

Zelda frowns at her shadow.

"Hahaha, very funny." Said Zelda with a sarcastic voice.

Zelda really doesn't know what to do with her new companion. Then, she hears a sound, a sound she is very familiar with. She looked up and saw a dragon. Not any dragon, but the Emerald Dragon. His roars sound like a calm song, a lullaby. She remembers the time when she was a child and looked at the skies in the balcony of her room, waiting to see the Emerald Dragon passing by. Her mother, before dying, told her the family's lullaby came from the dragon.

"Link, wherever you are, I hope you're ok." she whispers

Her horse galloped towards the Kakariko Village.

XXX

HYRULE PAST ERA

Link is in the training field, using a wood sword to get used to his new mechanic arm. He is still sad for losing his real arm but thanks to Mineru, he can still fight. However, Link still needs to figure out how to fix the Master Sword and how to return to his own era .

He stops training, as he looks at his secret stone in his mechanic arm. Mineru mentions to him that the secret stone amplifies the power of the user, however mastery is another story. This stone is the cause why Link is in such a distant past and now Link needs to figure out how the same stone can send him back.

Link yelped in surprise when he felt someone poking his back. It was Prince Sigurd- Sonia and Rauru's youngest child. He looked like a ten years old boy, he looked like Sonia, however he has the zonai ears, white hair and the third eye that he kept closed.

"Prince Sigurd! You scared me!" Link signed at him, annoyed.

"Sorry, my bad, I guess I've picked this habit from Loki." Sigurd signed back.

Link groans, annoyed. That Loki is teaching a kid, a prince no less, his bad habits. He worries about the kid's future. Speaking about the twili, he hadn't seen him for a week. Something about a mission? Link doesn't care about the twili's whereabouts as he stares at Prince Sigurd. From what he knows about the little prince, when he was a toddler, he had a very bad fever and he lost his hearing from this. Because of his hearing loss, King Rauru became very protective of his son.

Queen Sonia told him when Sigurd was eight, he got lost in the forest when the queen and her daughter, Hilda were distracted and he couldn't hear their cries. Loki, who was nearby, hiding himself in the shadows avoiding the sunlight, saved the prince from a wild hinox, almost getting himself killed from the sunlight. The king and queen were very thankful for the twili saving their youngest child and made him Sigurd's tutor and bodyguard after learning in the Twilight Realm everyone knows sign language because most of their habitantes are either deaf or mute. Teaching Sigurd sign language was giving him a voice, though most of the folks in the castle hardly understood him. Princess Hilda seems to be the only one, beside Loki, to be fluent in sign language since she can learn new things pretty quickly.

"So, what can I do for you, Prince Sigurd? " Link asks.

"Can you teach me how to use the sword?"

Link looked at him confused. He asked why, since he was the prince, he should be learning how to use the sword by now. When he was the knight under King Rhoam's reign, he learned that princes and princesses of the royal family were taught how to use swords in their young years. Zelda was an exception because of the prophecies of Calamity Ganon's awakening, King Rhoam decided to make Zelda focus only on awakening her sealing power as soon as possible, because of that, Zelda never learned how to fight to defend herself.

"Father doesn't let me." Sigurd signed in frustration. "He thinks I will get hurt because, you know, I can't hear. He even forbade Loki from teaching me how to use a sword."

Link understands where the prince is coming from. Like him, he also had a father who believed he wouldn't be a knight because of his muteness and he should focus on being a farmer just like everyone else from his family.

"Your father is just worried about your safety, Prince Sigurd. But I understand your feelings. I can teach you, but only the basics. If you want to learn any further, you have to ask either your father or mother for permission to proceed." Signed Link to the price.

Sigurd gave him a big smile and thanked Link for the help. Link gave him his wood sword and knelt beside him, giving him the instructions.

King Rauru was watching Link teaching his young son the basics of using a sword through the window above them. He should scold Link for teaching his son without his permission.

"Waah… Sigurd is getting out of his shell." Said Loki who suddenly appeared beside Rauru in the window. "I'm so proud of him! "

"Loki?!" Rauru jumped from startled. "How many times did I tell you to not appear like this?!" Rauru looked at the twili, annoyed.

"Two hundred thirty seven times." Loki answers, smirking, making the king even more annoyed. "And it looks like little Sigurd is finally able to hide his presence. Good. Next lesson I shall teach him how to assassinate people."

Rauru looked at him in horror. "You'll not teach him such a thing!" He hissed at the twili.

"Just joking. Geez…you don't know how to take a joke." Said Loki. But Rauru knew, deep down, Loki wasn't joking. Then Loki's face changed to a more serious look. "I just returned from my mission in Gerudo Desert. Things are not good, your majesty. "

It is rare for Loki to look serious but when he does, it means things are really bad. Loki reports he was able to get into the Gerudo Fortress through the Gerudo women's shadows. However, he had to get out sooner because, somehow, Ganondorf, the Gerudo King, was able to feel his presence through the shadows.

"Somehow that guy felt my presence. I had to retreat before he was able to find me. At least I didn't get out with empty hands; they're planning an invasion."

Rauru was now worried. He knew the things with the people from Gerudo Desert were bad but he didn't expect they were this bad. Rauru asked when the invasion would happen, Loki answered him he had no the right date but he expected the invasion to happen sometime soon.

"I know you and the queen are powerful, however I suggest taking Prince Sigurd and Princess Hilda somewhere safe, just in case."

Rauru nodded to Loki, in agreement. He must discuss with Sonia about their children's safety. If things go wrong, at least, he would make sure his children would be safe from the war.

XXX

Link was sitting under the shade of a tree, with Sigurd sleeping on his legs. After an hour of training, Link and Sigurd decided to take a break. Since the little prince was not used to training, he fell asleep on Link's legs, feeling safe in his presence. Then, King Rauru appeared and sat down beside them.

"I saw through the window you were training Sigurd without my permission," said Rauru. Link was already expecting a big scold from the king. "However, I will not scold you because Sonia already scolded me, telling me that Sigurd needed to learn to defend himself. Plus, my son trusts you, Link"

Link petted Sigurd's head with a soft smile. Of course he trusted him, beside Princess Hilda and Loki, Link was the only one outside of the castle who knew how to sign language. Rauru didn't want to admit it, but he kinda feels a bit jealous that Link is able to communicate with Sigurd so easily while he, his own father, has difficulties learning sign language.

"As you know, I sent Loki on a mission a week ago and he just returned with some concerning news: The Gerudo, led by Ganondord, is planning to raid Hyrule. Unfortunately Loki couldn't get the right date but he expects sometime soon. He suggested sending Sigurd and Hilda somewhere safe, away from the battles. I agree with him."

Link made a surprise face; Loki was being serious for once? Rauru couldn't help but chuck a little.

"Yeah, Loki can be serious when he wants to be. I already discussed with Sonia about our children's safety. We decided to send them to Kakariko Village, the home of the Sheikah Tribe. They are our allies, plus Sonia is a good friend of their leader and Hilda's tutor is also a sheikah. They will be safe there."

Link nodded in agreement. He agreed that taking the children somewhere safe is the best course of action they could take in case the raid happened. But he wondered if in this era, the Yiga clan already existed or they would have yet to exist. Link wasn't sure when the Yiga clan was born but he really hoped those annoying banana eaters were not born in this era.

"I know I don't have the right to ask you this, Link, but I would be calmer if you went with the children to Kakariko Village. Loki, my sister and Impaz; Hilda' tutor, are going as well. You wouldn't be alone in protecting my children."

Link placed his hand on his heart, a gesture saying "You can count with me." Rauru smiled, thanking Link for agreeing to project his children. He promised he would find a way for Link returning home and restoring his sword.

However,they were not aware a black bird, similar to a falcon, was spying on them before flying away. The bird flew towards the desert, where its master was awaiting for him. The bird landed on its master's arm as it reported its findings.

"So Rauru is aware of my plans." Said the Gerudo. The Gerudo was Ganondorf, the king of deserts and of the Gerudo.

"Should we delay the invasion, Lord Ganondorf?" Asked a Gerudo woman on her knees, behind him.

"No, let's proceed as planned. However, there will be a little change of plans."

"Yes sir." Said the gerudo woman before teleporting away.

Ganondorf only stares in the horizon, where Hyrule is located. He will not only get these lands, but the secret stones as well. He will be the king of the whole realm.

End of the chapter

I hope you all enjoyed chapter 3.

Yes, I decided to add Rauru and Sonia's children in the story. I always get mad that they never showed their children when Zelda was in the past. Sonia confirmed Zelda was their descendant but where were their children? My only headcanon in TOTK game is that Sonia and Rauru sent their children away when Ganondorf first attacked, because of this we never saw them in Zelda's memories. The children stayed hidden until their oldest child had to become Hyrule's next monarch after Rauru and Sonia's deaths.

In TOTK, Zelda had a close relationship with Rauru and Sonia because of their blood connection. In my story, Link will have a close relationship with Sigurd- Rauru and Sonia's youngest child, through his knight duties and Link sees a bit of Zelda in Sigurd; being cheeky, smart and having self-esteem problems because of their fathers. Link's going to make sure Sigurd will not suffer the same way Zelda did in the events of pre-Calamity in BOTW.

Please, do not forget to send you comments, reviews and kudos. They make me write more and more.

Next chapter; Ganondorf's attack.