The Descendant & The Princess

He trekked on for what was realistically an hour and a half, but it felt like three. Feeling more comfortable in this forest, he stopped for a rest at the foot of one of the thickest trees he saw. Leaning against it brought back memories of Kokiri Village, where he would normally sleep up against trees and snooze the days away. However, it also brought back his want to find his friend. After the foul trickery from last night, it crossed his mind if he should just accept that he'll never see her again, but at the same time, he knew that she couldn't have left simply because his quest to save Hyrule was over. There was no way she had only planned to be his guide over several months and then up and leave for no reason.

Thinking about it made his head hurt and his cheeks red, so he got out his ocarina and played some of the tunes he could remember. One of his favorites was Zelda's Lullaby, next to Epona's song of course. 'Ahhh, I wish I had my trusty gal. I was always a little jealous when Link would ride into battle on a horse that was similar to her.' A thought came to mind, 'Wouldn't it be funny if I played her song and a horse shows up?' He tried it, but none of the such happened.

He finished playing the princess's lullaby when he heard voices.

"See? Did you hear that?" The distant voice said, "How would anyone know that song?"

It was a girl's voice. 'Huh?' He was astonished that he didn't understand a single thing that she said, but she sounded somehow..annoyed? He could only guess that she wasn't entirely happy about the song, 'I guess it got repetitive, oops.' He shrugged, putting up the ocarina. Link wanted to play some other songs later, but at the same time he wanted to avoid the Song of Time and Storms just in case something weird happened. Though it was still frazzling to not know what the girl was saying, 'Maybe I misheard her—'

"I think I heard it around here.."

'Holy Goddesses, that's really close!' He was starting to panic. With last night in the back of his mind, that easily could have been something along the lines of "I found him" or "he might be here," so he gathered the rest of his belongings and ran off into the trees, leaving the voice far behind. To his dismay, he suddenly crashed into a very thin figure and fell backwards.

Immediately looking up, they went from stranger to perpetrator. The mask they wore gave off a threatening aura and—and "YOU HAVE A SCYTHE!?" He yanked his sword from its sheath trying to attack this person, them dodging his sword in a very methodical way.

Literally a day ago he was the top contender for being the fastest fighter in the entire regiment, and now this guy was dodging him like it was nearly nothing. The only satisfaction he got was from noticing the sweat start to stain the neck area beneath mask, "Don't think you can keep avoiding me forever!" He didn't want to use his mask right away in case the bystanders followed his tracks and were nearby, but as the enemy started to attack back, it was getting to where it might be necessary. They were relentless, each swing was with the intent to kill or dismember him. 'Shit!' He thought, flipping away from another swipe at his torso, 'This guy is really trying to kill me!'

He was beginning to reach for his mask when the voice from earlier screamed, both him and the perpetrator being distracted from the fight and looking to where it came from. The girl from earlier was accompanied by two knights, one clearly looking braver than the other. The brave one launched forward and slammed his hilt into the enemy's chest, knocking him out cold.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Link praised the knight, "Time to finish him off!" He jumped, preparing an ending blow that was aimed at the upper chest, but the same guy tackled him out of the air and pinned him to the ground, "WHAT!? What are you doing!? He's going to kill us!"

"Link!" The girl yelled at him, "He's just a child! At least be a bit more gentle!"

Link could tell by the tone of her voice that she was scolding the knight, "See! She has the right idea! If you're not going to finish him, I will!"

The knight seemed to reluctantly take his weight off him, Link immediately seizing the opportunity and kicking him away. Now free and swiftly back on his feet, he nearly had a skip in his step as he sliced a fatal gash into the knocked-out killer, the girl screaming again as a result, and him getting tackled...yet again, only rougher this time.

He was annoyed now, "What!? AGAIN HE WAS GOING TO KILL US!" It was also official to him that they clearly can't understand anything he's saying just like how he couldn't begin to piece together what sounded like speaking, but in cursive.

"I can't believe he did that! I thought he was just shocked or something!" The girl said to her knights.

The other knight's eyes were wide with shock, "W-with all due respect, Princess, I'm not sure I can say that I know any child who wields a sword as well as he did. In a way, I'm almost not surprised."

"Yes, but you never know. Link, disarm him and take him with us. We need to bring him back to the castle and figure out whose parents he belongs to."

The other knight commented again, looking calmer, "We might also consider getting him educated before that. I don't know about you, but he was yelling straight nonsense at us. If he doesn't speak the language, his parents likely don't either."

Link was getting tired of listening to words he couldn't understand. He sighed and looked at the face of the knight who was holding him down, trying to keep it from turning into a glare. He knew he was likely ordered this time, but he wanted to get him back. He was always better at faces than names anyways. He gasped at what he saw: this guy had blue eyes, blonde hair, and pointy ears, but the resemblance was mostly in the shape of his face. His eyes widened, 'Don't tell me this is another me and he's just not the hero yet!'

The next thing he knew, the incarnate knight had taken his sword and slung him over his shoulder, the other taking his luggage. His head was toward the front as he tried to appeal to them, "You all should quite frankly be grateful that I killed him," He touted, also knowing they couldn't understand him, "If it hadn't been for Mr. Hero here, he would've died quicker."

The knight held up his finger, indicating for him to be quiet. This mystified him briefly, 'H-he can understand me!? There's no way!' Then again, that was a pretty universal signal, so it was more likely that he just wanted him to shut up. He frowned, noticing that the girl who was doing the ordering was blonde as well. She looked rather royal, so he assumed she was either someone important or he'd just met the Zelda of this realm too. He swallowed, 'This is quite the way to meet the two of them…if my assumptions are correct.'

The group walked for a while until they came upon a carriage that was drawn by two horses. Link watched his stuff be put in the storage compartment, being completely under the impression that he was next. Surprisingly, no. He wasn't. But he instead got to sit in the knight's lap and have his hands be forcefully crossed over one another by his iron grip.

The situation looked to make the girl uncomfortable, "Link, you're not hurting him right? You certainly don't need to hold him as tight as you hold that sword."

"I'm not holding him too tight, Princess, just enough so he doesn't get any ideas," He softly responded.

"Look at how he's watching out the window. It seems suspicious to me," the other knight remarked with a careful eye on him.

Her lips pursed, "Please, I know he...he killed that Yiga clan member back there, but he's just a child. I know I looked out the windows in a carriage ride, and he clearly doesn't know where he is. If there was going to be some kind of attack, it would've happened by now." She pulled out the Sheikah slate and took a picture of him.

Link could tell that much from the way she held it still like a pictograph box, 'The hell? I've never seen one that looked like that before.'

The princess cocked her head, "Speaking of which, what language is he speaking? It sounds ancient, but still unfamiliar."

"Maybe we could get him to speak to your teacher, your Highness," the other knight suggested, "He might know what it is."

Link wanted to stretch his hands, they were starting to feel cramped by his grip. He kept his tone respectful, 'I have a feeling that this guy could squeeze tighter if he wanted to.' "Hey can I move my hands please? They're practically numb."

"Hand?" She was just as surprised as Link that she understood that word, "What about them?"

He fervently jostled the knight's hands up and down, trying to signify that he wanted to move his own.

"I think you should give him a break from holding onto his hands, Link."

"What if that meant he wanted to strangle you? We can't take that chance," the other knight advised.

But the knight did as the girl wished and let go, Link sighing in relief as he shook his hands and stretched out his fingers, "Aaaah, that's much better, thank you."

"I think he just said something like, 'thank to you', but you're welcome, I guess," the girl responded, Link only understanding the 'welcome' part.

Link looked to his left hand, checking to see if the triforce was there. In some cases it would disappear, like how in the previous universe, the Link from there had the triforce, which is why he didn't. He learned that it can't necessarily be split among people in the same universe, so he just wanted to check to be sure. It was there, though. 'Hopefully nothing causes it to shine any time soon.' He didn't want attention drawn to it. It would raise more questions than he would be able to answer…literally.

Of course the incarnate knight noticed, he should've realized that almost every one of himselves were detail-oriented. He had gently grabbed his hand and ran his thumb over where the triforce was, not making any audible sound of surprise or discovery.

"P-Princess Zelda.." He said, letting go of Link's hand.

"Yes Link?"

"Can I talk to you when we get to the castle? If you're not busy of course."

"Sure, it just can't be for too long. I already know my father won't like to hear of our excursion today. Especially since it ended with the death of a clan member. It'll certainly bring us trouble later."

The other knight nudged him and smirked, the incarnate keeping a straight face and tilting his head in slight confusion at his gesture.

When they arrived at the gate of the castle and were allowed to continue in, Link couldn't hold back his amazement. It was gigantic! But his Zelda might have had a foot or two on this.. maybe . They drove past soldiers training and sparring, the carriage eventually coming to a stop and the knight taking hold of his left hand.

"I want a room arranged for him until we find his parents. If he proves himself to be talented anywhere we may need him, he could be where we see fit," she instructed the other knight who saluted her and went off to fulfill her wishes. "What was it you wanted, Link?" She asked.

"Um, it actually has to do with his hand. I noticed something peculiar."

'Right, the one word I can understand. Hand..haand...OH HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE TRIFORCE! Uh, um, I gotta come up with s—' Link began to act like he was feeling sick from the carriage ride, suddenly clutching his stomach and making a sickly face. The knight had let go of his hand as he looked around for a stream or barrel to pretend to throw up in. Extra points if it was a stream since it would've gotten carried away before they could question him. Extra points it was, because he saw one out of the corner of his eye and quickly ran over to it, making it sound like he was puking. The knight followed him there.

"Are you okay?" he asked, crouching down.

His polite sounding question was met with a look of disdain, Link gaining just a little bit of satisfaction from the surprised expression it resulted in. He pointed to his left hand and made an X symbol, shaking his head. He then held up his finger to make a shush sound. Link wasn't sure how clear all that was, but if he manages to learn this language, he'll know sooner or later. What was most important was that the triforce-thing stayed between the two of them.

He reluctantly indicated that he understood and the two of them went back to the girl. "He's okay now, I guess the few bumps in the path upset his stomach."

The princess chuckled, "That's cute. But what were you going to tell me?"

"Oh, nevermind. I thought it was important, but it's nothing. Sorry."

"Well you've stalled me from having to talk to my father about this, you have my thanks. Just remember to switch out with the other knights every so often, you don't have to go on all of my excursions," She started walking toward the castle, "Keep an eye on him while we get him a room, okay?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He bowed and looked down at Link.

"So where are we going?" He asked, grabbing his luggage and sword, which the knight took from him. "Hey! What gives?! We're not in the forest anymore!" Link gestured to all the knights and soldiers around them, motioning for his sword to be given back.

The knight put a hand on his hip, "Why should I trust you? You kicked me and then killed someone without thought."

He could tell he was referencing what happened earlier. Link made a pleading gesture, "I super promise that was just once!"

Making a face that likely denoted that he was disappointed with himself, he handed him his sword, and took ahold of his hand. They were walking toward what looked like barracks.

'It's cool seeing this kind of stuff again. It makes me miss the castle back from my universe,' he thought as they passed training dummies and arrow targets. Link felt for his two masks, still finding both of them. He figured he'd wear the Keaton one for now, just for fun. To his surprise it amused the knight.

"That's a cute mask," he smiled, "You don't see the kind that completely cover your face around here." He looked like he realized something, "Hm, I guess it actually doesn't make sense for me to talk to you since you can't understand me."

Link didn't know it, but it was true. There was little reason in attempting a conversation since both of them sounded foreign to each other. As they got closer to the Barracks, they instead turned left, which surprised him. They ended up going down a covered hall and into the castle through a side entrance, the descendant leading him into a room that had a guy that looked to be in his early twenties sitting and writing. Link recognized the music notes, but soon realized most of what he saw likely couldn't be played on his ocarina. A couple of them did look a little familiar, though.

The knight bowed, "Hello, teacher."

The man looked up from his papers and warmly smiled, "Ah, hello Link. Who do we have here? He's a little young to be following a big knight around, isn't he?"

"You'd be surprised, but actually Zelda wanted you to see what language he's speaking. She said it sounded ancient and right now he has no idea what we're saying, so the first step is teaching him."

"Ahhh, well take a seat young lad," Link could tell he wanted him to sit in the chair in front of him, so he moved his mask to the side. He looked to be listening intently.

'Oh I should say something.' "Okay really, where am I? How do I say the name of this place? Also, my name is Link." He watched for the guy's reaction to what he said, noticing that his fingers were tapping on the table.

The teacher got up and took a book off his shelf, "This is very interesting indeed. She was right about the language being ancient. It's older than the castle."

"Oh wow, I wonder how he's this old and has never heard ours then. Then again, he was walking around in the woods with all of his belongings, so perhaps he's nomadic. The only word he can understand in our language is 'hand.'"

Hearing the word made Link sit on his left hand, but he didn't think the knight was going to out him. The guy he talked to opened up a hefty book and flipped over a separate piece of paper to write on it. When he was done he passed it to Link, his face lighting up at understanding it. It read: "You are in Hyrule. I can teach you how to say it if you'd like."

Link motioned for the pen and wrote out what he was saying, "Great! Is there a place for me to stay? What's the name of this guy that I'm with?"

The teacher was wowed at his handwriting, "Oh my goodness, I don't think I've ever seen the script of this language be this nice. Incredible considering he's left-handed as well. Did you know the two of you share the same name? He's Link too," he told the knight.

"What? His name is Link? Is there anything else he goes by?"

Link read the guy's next response: "Yes, you'll likely be staying here in the castle until you learn the language. This knight's name is also Link. Do you go by anything else?" After reading the phrase he looked up at the knight in surprise, "You really are my descendant!"

This made the guy laugh, "He thinks that you're his descendant because you share the same name."

"Huh? But he's just a kid."

"Don't take him too seriously. You know the thought process of a child can be wonky. Besides, you're right-handed."

Link thought on a name he could go by, "Others tend to call me 'Young Link' if that's different enough." He remembered that he's also the Hero of Time, but didn't know how to put that in a way that didn't sound ridiculous.

"Interesting, I think Young Link will work fine." The guy wrote back.

"So you can write the language, but can't speak it? Or are you not as confident when it comes to speaking?"

He looked up at the knight, nervously laughing, "He sure knows how to nip it in the bud! He just called me out for not being confident in my speaking. Also how does Young Link sound? He didn't give me any other names."

"I guess that should work. I am a lot older than he is," he responded, adjusting one of his shoulder plates.

"Young Link it is," he wrote, "I'm not sure if I'll be your teacher, but I'll try to get in a good word so you don't have to go to the school here and not understand everyone. It must be weary to only hear gibberish."

"You're damn right," Link sighed, relieved that someone else knew his struggle. His expression immediately changed to astonishment when he realized they both understood the cuss word. 'Oops! I guess ten-year-olds don't cuss every now and then here!' He tried to defend his choice of words, "Hey, I'm technically seventeen you know. I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth."

"He says he's actually seventeen. Haha, I'm starting to wonder if he's—"

Link set the Fierce Deity's mask on the table, "I would show you, but it's not like you could look at me anyways. I heard that it makes people's eyes bleed."

"What does this mask do?" The teacher cautiously wrote back, the room getting silent.

"It turns me into a much more powerful version of my true self. It's a complicated story," Link replied aloud, placing the mask back into his lap. Thinking back to the war, he would don this mask in almost every battle and absolute carnage would ensue each time. It led to some of the easiest victories they had ever seen. However, there was a limit in that realm since the mask consumed magic and he, for the most part, didn't always have enough to last the entire battle. When he looked through the eyes of the mask, he could see each victory they shared through it. It made him happy to remember how they rejoiced.

"Very interesting, I'll have to ask you more about that later," the teacher wrote back, Link nodding in response. "For now, I think Link is able to get you to your room. Also," He reached back toward his desk and gave him a small pamphlet, "Maybe this could get you started on the language here."

"Ah thanks, I'll have to look at it later," he tucked it into his belt. When he looked over toward—'Great, now I've got to get used to another person being called Link again...' The knight had a hold of his suitcase, and looked ready to leave. "Well it was nice talking to someone who understands me. Bye!" He waved and followed him out of the room. Link handed him his things and motioned for him to follow.

He led him down a hallway and then up a couple flights of stairs, which was then followed by a left turn, then a right turn, and then there was a hallway that had doors lining either side of them, equally distanced apart. Link was looking for something on one of the doors, him eventually finding it and letting Young Link into the room he found it on.

"This is your room until further notice, er, Young Link. Ring this bell a few times if you need anything, just don't abuse it of course. I'm not sure how much of that you understood, but you'll figure it out." He swiftly waved goodbye and left him to his new room.

"Wow, this is a nice room. It's pretty big for it just being me staying here." He took off his boots, set them by the door, and hopped onto the bed, sinking into it. "This is a very nice room! I must thank the princess when I'm able to." But there was exploring to do first! He found that the room also had a vanity, a dresser, a nightstand with a lamp, a bathroom with a bathtub and toilet, plus a chest sat at the foot of his bed. He unpacked his clothes, it mainly consisting of different colored tunics and extra pairs of socks. He propped his sword up against the nightstand, and set his masks on the edge of it, keeping the Fierce Deity mask the closest.

'I remember Link referencing the bell. I think that's for calling a maid or something." His ears dropped, "Right, the bell would be pointless because no one can understand me. I'm starting to wonder why I'm even here. This language barrier is becoming very apparent the more I think about it." Young Link pulled the pamphlet from his belt, "Time to start learning, I guess," he found a paper and pen on the vanity and began studying.

The beginning section glossed over the alphabet, which he first focused on, making sure each letter was written correctly and, from his perspective, legibly. After spending a while on that, he moved onto spelling simple words and phrases as well as trying to say them based on what the paper instructed. He realized after attempting to speak that the language in this Hyrule was like a cursive, reversed version of his own. It sure sounded like it too.

Lastly, it didn't go unnoticed that this was meant to help parents teach their children either. The mother and father figures that occupied either corner at the top normally would have deterred him, but he had no choice. Sighing, he studied on.