"Thief? That's rich, coming from the girl robbing us at crossbow-point," Claude said.
"That sword belonged to my great-uncle, Link. It's mine," the girl said. "I can't let some stranger take it. Hyrule needs that sword."
"Wait, your great-uncle?" Edelgard asked, shocked.
Link's eyes widened. "Your grandmother. Was she named Aryll?" Link asked in shock.
"How do you know my grandma's name?" the girl demanded.
"Aryll was my sister," Link said.
"No, no, you're lying!" the girl denied angrily. "My Great-Uncle Link is dead! He died in battle a hundred years ago!"
"Your grandmother. Did she tell you about the sword itself?" Link asked, drawing the sword. "Would I even be able to wield it if I wasn't the Hero?"
"No. You wouldn't," the girl realized. "But that means...Great-Uncle Link?"
Link put the Master Sword back in its sheath. "I think we have a lot to talk about."
The girl's name was Linkle, and she had been taken in by her grandmother, who was indeed Link's sister, after her parents died in a Bokoblin raid. Growing up on stories of the Hero of Hyrule, Linkle had admired her great-uncle and sought to be a hero herself. "I thought it was my destiny to finish what you started and defeat Ganon," Linkle said. "I didn't realize you survived."
"I almost didn't," Link said. "If Zelda hadn't gotten me to the Shrine of Resurrection, I wouldn't have. But what about Shez, Yuri, Balthus, Hapi, and Constance? What are they doing traveling with you?"
"I kept getting lost," Linkle said. "Somehow, I ended up in a land called 'Lester.' I met these guys there."
"I'm here because I want to get stronger," Shez said. "And besides, saving the world from a god of destruction? If we survive, it's going to be one hell of a story."
"And as for the four of us, Linkle and Shez helped us put down a crazed lunatic who tried to bring a dead nun back to life, but only managed to turn himself into a monster," Yuri told them.
"We decided to help them with their quest after that," Balthus added.
"Don't lie, B. You just wanted to go to Hyrule because there are no debt collectors after you here," Hapi said.
"No debt collectors after me here yet," Balthus corrected.
"So, after that, we stopped a few monster attacks on villages, stopped a Yiga attack on a Gerudo outpost, visited the Forgotten Temple, and then I think we travelled through time." Linkle finished.
"Well, you'll have to tell me all about that," Link said.
"Wait. 'Lester'. Do you mean the Liecester Alliance?" Claude asked.
"Yes. Are you from there too?" Shez asked.
"My mother is," Claude said. "Tell us, what's the current state of Fódlan?"
"...Normal?" Shez responded. "At least, last time I was there, nothing out of the ordinary was happening."
The two lords looked at each other. Normal? There wasn't a war going on over their disappearance?
"Last I checked, you two were still there, actually," Yuri said.
"When was that?" Edelgard asked.
"Two and a half months ago," Yuri said.
"That's impossible! We have been in Hyrule for almost seven months now!" Claude exclaimed.
"Something strange must be happening. Perhaps we traveled through time, or some such," Constance suggested. "Well, travelled through time again, at any rate."
"It wouldn't be the weirdest thing we've seen here," Yuri admitted.
The nine of them took a moment to process the implications of that, before Linkle decided to change the subject.
"Shez has been handy to have around," Linkle said. "He can summon a sword that is effective against Malice! It's no Master Sword, but it's more effective than bomb arrows."
Shez summoned a strange-looking sword to his hand. "It cuts through Malice-infected monsters like butter."
Link could feel the power radiating off the sword. It wasn't as powerful as the Master Sword, but it was still very powerful. "This is a divine sword. Do you have a connection with a god?"
"Actually, I do have a connection with a ghost named Arval," Shez answered. "And Arval is powerful, even as a ghost. He's kept me from dying to a lot of injuries that by all rights should have killed me. It's possible he was a god."
"Is that so?" Link asked. He looked at Linkle. "You have interesting friends."
"I know," Linkle said. "Why don't you tell me about your friends? I've sort of met them, but I don't know much about them."
"I'm Claude von Riegan. That's Edelgard von Hresvelg. The two of us, along with Dimitri Alexander Blaiddyd, who is here in Hyrule but didn't come with us into Korok Forset, are the heirs to the thrones of the three nations of Fódlan," Claude told her. "We, and several of the other students of the Officers' Academy, were taken from the academy and somehow ended up here in Hyrule. We still haven't figured out how or why."
"But while we are here, we resolved to help Link destroy Calamity Ganon," Edelgard said.
"Well then, why don't we join you?" Linkle asked. "The more, the merrier, right?"
As the nine of them prepared to head back to the stable, Link asked Linkle a question. "I need to know. Aryll, your grandmother. Did she live a happy life?"
Linkle thought for a bit. "She never did stop missing you, and Grandpa and Mom and Dad dying didn't help. But she had me, and she always said that was enough."
Link embraced his great-niece. As he did so, his eyes drifted south to Hyrule Castle. In his mind, he made a promise. "I will end you, Ganon. I swear it."
I realize that many of you weren't expecting me to include Shez, given that I'm on the record as not liking Three Hopes. But I think there are interesting things I can do with Shez. Or more accurately, I think there are interesting things I can do with Arval.