Prologue…as we know it….
The shadowed young man under the cloak paced about the room. There was a picture of the Triforce on the wall. He placed his soft, delicate hand against the painting and closed his eyes. A silent, slow steady of tears came rolling down his cheeks. He placed his hands at the edge of the frame, ripped the painting from the wall and slammed it to the ground. If only the Triforce had never existed… “Sir?” He slowly turned back and there was a young harem girl standing there, a beautiful pink fan covering her white face. “Why did you destroy the Master’s painting?”
“I don’t know why I destroyed the stupid thing,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “I remember it from somewhere but I don’t know where I remember it from. “ He glanced down at the destruction that had once been a masterpiece, an excellent work of art. Now, it was shattered into many different pieces. It would never be an excellent work of art again. He looked up at the harem girl, smiling slightly. “But, do you know who I am yet?” She sighed and shook her head slowly.
“I’m sorry, Sir, we don’t know your identity yet… ever since we found you shipwrecked on our island, we knew nothing. But we do know that you are probably Hylian by the shape of your ears.” She managed a weak smile. “We promise that we won’t give up on you until we found out who you are and where you came from.” She curtsied and then gave him a tray of food. With that, she left the room.
The young man made his way over to the window of his room. He could feel such pain now, such agony. Something he had never felt before. A sense of honor, a sense of duty, a sense of courage. He glanced down at the picture again. It was doing something to him. He was attracted to it and he didn’t know why. Picking up one piece of the painting, he sensed a strong presence. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it was a sensation he had never felt before. He paused and closed his eyes.
A vision. He could only describe what he was seeing as a vision. There was a girl riding a horse, wide-eyed and fearful. She was about his own age, but he couldn’t be for sure since it had all happened so quickly. “A relic,” she says, fear overcoming her. “You must know who you are. You must come back.”
The painting fell to the ground and the young man dropped to his knees, screaming. Had he experienced something out of the ordinary, or did this happen in the world all the time? In a moment, he heard people fleeing up the steps and his door opening. “Sir? Are you all right?”
Standing, he saw that it was the same harem girl from earlier. She was so kind and nice to him… He looked up and smiled slightly. “I believe so,” he said, gathering himself up and standing. “I’ll be fine, Madame.”
“Sir,” she said again. “I believe I will call you Sir from now on, since for these past months we have called you nothing but ‘young man.’ Sir is your name, for now. Please do not refer to me as Madame,” she continued, smiling slightly. “But please do refer to me as Madame Michelle.” Sir nodded.
“I’m fine, Madame Michelle,” he responded, looking out of the window again at the wonderful land below. There was the sea, right next to his window, but before that, there lay trees-a-many and plants and large rocks of all kinds. He loved this place so much, and across the vast sea lay a land that he had never seen before. He looked out of his window all of the time, and still, he hadn’t laid eyes on a place like this before. He squinted to get a better view, but still, he didn’t remember looking at that country at all. He turned back to Michelle and then gestured to the window. “I’ve never seen that place before…I don’t remember seeing it yesterday.” Michelle moved over to the window and peered out from where he was looking. She gasped so loudly that he thought she was about to have a heart attack.
“No one has ever laid eyes on that place before,” she said, shaking her head, laughing slightly. “Because, yesterday and all of the thousand years before that, the sea was always cloudy.”
Tears of Remembering Zelda sat on her bed, hugging a teddy bear closely to her chest. Its head was soaked with her tears, now. If she could, she would have rewound time, but knew that that would never happen. Not yet, anyway. She was good at magic and archery, but not good enough to bring back her deceased boyfriend, Link.
She remembered the very last time she saw him and exactly what they had discussed. “I love you, Link. Now be careful. I want you to come home to me. Alive.” Link had only laughed at her and rolled his eyes playfully.
“Zelda, if Ganon can’t kill me, neither can this. I’m Hyrule’s Hero, remember? I can survive just ‘bout anything. When I come home, Zelda, I’m going to give you every present and kiss I can think of. And I have a surprise for you when I get back,” He fingered something in his pocket, but Zelda couldn’t see what it was. “Well, I better go before they all get mad at me. Good-bye, Zel. I’ll see you soon.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. With that, she went home and never saw him again. That had been about a year ago…
She remembered lying on her bed, admiring Link’s handwriting (she was but a young girl in love) and then there was a knock at her door. It wasn’t the pleasant, merry knock she got every morning when it was time to wake up. This knock was dark, very loud, and cold. Zelda rose from her bed and moved over to the door. There was a serious looking Knight. “Princess,” he said. “Link is dead.”
Zelda quickly brushed a tear from her eye. Remembering was just too hard for her. She wished that Link was here beside her right now. She remembered the warmth of his lips and the kindness of his soul. Through all of this tragedy, Hyrule had lived on. Zelda closed her eyes, remembering how long it had taken for the inhabitants to get along with the idea that Link was gone and gone for good. Darunia had bawled like a baby at the funeral, while Ruto had buried the ring that Link had ‘given’ her, but Zelda knew that Link hadn’t given her a ring at all. Nabooru buried with him her most precious gem, Saria gave up her best ocarina, Impa had buried a book about Hylian prophecies, and they were the only ones that had attended. The coffin had been closed, and no one had really seen Link’s body before…
Zelda started whispering a silent prayer for the Goddesses to watch over him. This week would be a very emotional one, for all of the people in Hyrule and maybe some in neighboring countries. Link had done so many things in his short life, and it made Zelda wonder if he could have done more. Only fourteen years old and dead… his birthday was also drawing near. In fact, it had been a day before the ship had wrecked. She planned on having a big birthday celebration, even if he wasn’t there. Deep down inside, however, she knew that his spirit would be there, roaming about the building, happy to see people honoring him. With that thought on her mind, she smiled slightly and placed the teddy bear back on her bed. Today was a new day…
“Zelda!” A little blue orb of light flew into the room and perched itself upon her shoulder. “Why won’t you eat? Your father is very worried about you…” It was Navi, Link’s old guardian fairy. When he had perished and gone into the afterlife, the fairy stuck true to the Hero’s wishes and became Zelda’s guardian fairy. Link would have wanted it that way. He would have wanted to make sure that Zelda was safe and sound. “Zelda?”
“Yeah?” Zelda asked, snapping to attention, trying to hide her tears. Navi didn’t seem to notice them, anyway, so it didn’t matter much. When Navi didn’t say anything, Zelda knew that she wanted an explanation. “Well, I just really miss Link. He meant so much to me. Weird how someone can slip through your fingers just like that…” Zelda couldn’t help it anymore, and she just broke down into tears. Navi didn’t know what to do at first, but then the answer came to her and she made her way over to Zelda.
“Don’t cry,” Navi comforted, pulling her tiny hands through Zelda’s hair. Zelda looked up at her with tear-stained eyes, and before she could utter a word, Navi put a finger to her lips. “Trust me, Zelda. He’s very happy where he is now. I’m sure that he’s watching down at you with a smile.” This comforted Zelda slightly, and she managed a half smile.
“Fine,” Zelda said. “When’s lunch?”
“Right now,” Navi answered, glancing at the ground and then back up at Zelda. “Why don’t you come and grab a bite to eat? You haven’t eaten all day, and, well, no offense, princess, but you eat a lot and you’re starting to get a little chubby around the thighs.” Zelda glared at her and stood up, picking up a pillow also. Navi just starting laughing and flew down the hall with Zelda in close pursuit.
Sir glanced at the harem girl and shook his head slowly, still gawking at the island across the sea. “I’ve seen that place before,” he said, reaching out, touching the window, and sliding his hand down against the glass. “In my dreams, I always see a girl…” Madame Michelle smiled at him.
“’Tis but a dream, Sir,” she answered, curtsying for him.That is Hyrule. We asked the King of Hyrule if he had laid eyes on you before, and he said no." Sir stared at her thoughtfully.
“Are you sure that you aren’t mistaken?” Right now, he wanted to lash out at everything and anything. He had been here for the past year and had no clue to his true identity or age. He guessed by his reflection that he was around fourteen to eighteen years old. He could be mistaken, though. Cringing, he thought of how awful it would be if he were only twelve-years-old. Talk about young! He slid closer to Michelle for comfort and support. “In my dreams, the grass’s smell is so familiar to me, the sight of it is so familiar…the signs… it’s like I remember them, not just see them in my dreams.” Michelle started laughing at him.
Just at that moment, a breathless guard came to the door and started knocking furiously. Michelle glanced at Sir and then made her way to the door. He stood there and held out an envelope that said “confidential” on it, without saying a word. Finally, when he gained his breath, he said, “the boy’s whole identity is here. It has been confirmed that he once lived in Calatia.” Michelle seemed quite excited to know that they had finally found Sir’s identity. She pulled the envelope from the man, slammed the door, and turned to Sir.
“This is a gift from me to you. We’ve finally got info on your identity, Sir! You can go home to your entire family and live just like you did before. Who knows? Maybe you will get some memories back.” She eagerly opened the envelope and started reading about him.
“Well,” she said, after reading it silently to herself. “You’re eighteen years old, you have three siblings, two of them girls and the last a boy, and your name is…” she looked up. “Robert.” Tears started streaming down her face as she read the rest. “And you haven’t been missing for just a year, you’ve been missing for three years.” Sir, now known as Rob, pulled the papers away from her and looked them over. The document’s all added up, and its description of him was just about right. He was Robert.
Robert sat on a large rock, throwing rocks into the sea. Some skipped and others just sank, but nonetheless, he was deep in thought. What was his family like? Would he eventually remember anything about them? He looked up at the sun and watched as it dipped below the horizon and disappeared for good that night. The sky was still a little lit up, but his feelings were down. He had been in the tower for so long with the land’s Lord, and Madame Michelle had been looking after him for practically ever. She had always been there for him. On all the stormy nights, telling him that there was still hope to finding out his true identity…and maybe with that, his land and his family. Well, he had an identity and a home and a family…why wasn’t he happy?
“Sir Robert!” At first he didn’t respond because he wasn’t use to his new name, and then he heard them calling him again. He whipped around and there stood Michelle, trying to smile. He smiled slightly and moved over on the rock to give her a place to sit. She was such a good friend to him. “Robert, come here.” When he didn’t get up, she decided to sit next to him. She wrapped her arm around him, and started with her discussion. “Well,” she said, sourly, to start it all up. “This is your last day at the tower. After today, you’ll be shipped off to Calatia to visit your family. You’ll get along well with them, and they’ll help you remember your past with them.” Robert had a cross of horror and shock on his face.
“I’m…I’m not ready to go yet! There are so many things I have to accomplish and do here…I still need your help and care, Madame Michelle. I can’t even fully trust those documents. I’m afraid that I won’t get along well with my brothers and sisters…what if…” “You’ll get along fine with them,” Michelle promised. “In fact, they’re all older than you, anyway. They have their own homes on the island. You’ll be with your parents, doing a lot of visiting. In time, I promise you, that you’ll remember everything that you forgot.” Robert nodded slightly and sighed. Although Michelle was normally always right, in his heart, he had a feeling that she herself wasn’t quite sure of what would happen.
“I really hope that you’re right,” said Robert, gathering himself to his feet, and remembering his manners, he helped her up, also. “I don’t want to go there and be a stranger. I mean, I’m going to feel like a stranger, but they know me. I’ll just feel so out of place. I’m not sure if I want to risk being a loner or not.”
“Loner?” Michelle started laughing as she held his hand. “You are anything but a loner. You will really love your family. Trust me on this one.” On the way back, they picked some fruits and vegetables from trees. On the way back, Robert juggled some fruit. “What on Earth are you doing?” Asked Michelle as she turned to him.
“Getting ready for that family of mine,” he said, smiling. “I wonder if I’ll get along with them okay? What if I’m not what they want in a little brother, though? I’m not use to being related to anyone. Basically because I can’t remember being related to anyone. I wonder if that girl from my dreams is really my sister or was one of my best friends from Calatia. So many things that I’ll have to relearn and learn of…” Michelle was relieved from the fact that he finally seemed happy about moving away from the island and to his home. Although, she would miss him…
"Zelda?"
“Yes, father?” She had just finished eating breakfast and was letting it settle in her stomach. She was suddenly feeling a deep sadness, but she wasn’t about to let him know that. He would instantly have about fifty psychiatrists on her back, asking her questions as to why she was sad. She just couldn’t move on. Not yet, anyway. A year and a half ago, she had the world going. She and Link had always been close, and finally she was old enough to have a boyfriend. Then, she always imagined what their children would look like and when they would get married. Thanks to the Goddesses of Hyrule, though, all of her deepest wishes with Link had been taken away. Swallowing, she turned back to her father. “Are we going to the graveyard today?”
“Sure,” the King said, smiling slightly. He knew how much his daughter had cared about Link. Link had always been a very loved soul in their family. Everyone that knew Link took it with pride and confided in him with everything they had. Anyone and everyone could trust him. That was just the type of person that that boy was. “I have some important meetings today, however, I’m sure that Impa will be glad to assist you on your visit there. Perhaps, after I finish writing out some legal documents, I shall be able to join you.” He smiled over at Impa and then at his young daughter, Zelda. “Now, off you go. My visitors will be here at any minute!”
On the way there, Zelda rode on a simple white horse that Impa led along by holding it’s reigns. Behind them, some common folk followed along. They would pay sympathy to Link no matter what. He had always been so sweet to them and treated them as equals. He didn’t ignore them and go off on his own, treating them like trash just because he was now considered somewhat loyal. Now, though, he flowed up in the skies above with the three Goddesses. As Zelda was riding, she could hear a child’s voice. Looking down, she noticed a small child standing there, looking up at her pleadingly. Zelda halted the train and looked down. The girl had shoulder-length chestnut hair and a sad look on her face. Shaking her head, the girl said, “he is not there.” Zelda was about to say something, but a rude comment came from one of the commoners in the train, saying, “hurry it up, Princess!” Zelda managed a weak smile at the girl and they continued on their way.
When they all arrived, Zelda noticed that the whole graveyard was specially decorated for this occasion. White balloons graced the entire area, and ribbons hung about plentifully. There was even a banner in ancient Hylian that said, “Rest in Peace, Hero,” since Link had always yearned to learn the ancient language of the Hylians. At heart, he was but a child. But a child with a strong heart and caring for others.
Small, round drops of water swam down Zelda’s cheeks as she thought of the lonely past year. Tomorrow, Link wouldn’t be there to wake her, nor would he be there to ask her for a game of darts or an archery competition. Link would never be there for her again. She yearned to have him by her side, even if it was just for a few seconds. One last passionate kiss to last a lifetime. All of it had been taken away. Normally, Zelda would have blamed the Goddesses for taking her precious boyfriend from her, but knew that it had all been destiny. In fact, as she had been looking through his family tree, she found that his father had died at the age of twenty, and his mother was only fifteen, while his grandparents had been only about thirteen or fourteen when they had died. Zelda kneeled and dropped a bouquet of roses on his grave. One petal of a rose instantly was torn from the rest of the flower and blew away in the wind. Smiling slightly, she knew that it was Link’s way of showing his appreciation.
People stood around the grave, some visiting their elders while visiting Link. Small children even held their heads low in mourning of Link. Zelda felt somehow special to have known someone like him, and to have been his one and only in his life. Link was important in the eyes of everyone, as almost all of the whole of Hyrule was here mourning today. All except her father, who was too busy to care. A tear welled in her eye as she thought about this. How could any living visitors or documents be more important than Hyrule’s best hero could? Clearing her mind, she knew that she would deal with her father’s actions later. “Hey, Zelda!” Whipping around, she noticed Link’s old from Kokiri Forest, Saria, whom was also the Sage of the Forest.
Kneeling to face the Princess Zelda whom was sitting on her knees, Saria held out a wrapped gift. “Link gave this to me when he was eight-years-old. When the Deku Tree took him in, there was something that belonged to his mother with him, and that’s what’s in this box. He told me to keep it locked up tight and safe, and that when day, when he fell in love with a girl…well, he told me to give it to the girl of his dreams. She’s you.” Saria dropped the package in Zelda’s hands, and Zelda looked up smiling at Saria. As she tore the wrapping, she noticed that it was in a little black box. She opened it, and there lay the prettiest ring that she had ever laid her eyes on. The band was gold and the middle was in a diamond-shaped sapphire. It was so beautiful, that she ended up bursting into tears. Time had it’s way of lagging on and on for generations and with it, bringing new things each day.
By the time the memorial was over, people were still clearing out an hour later. Zelda and Impa kept close to the spot where he was buried while others had already gone. Finally, the black sky had rose above their heads and the moon shined down on them. “Princess?” Impa asked. “I believe it is time to go.” Zelda, realizing how late it was and how long she had been there, noticed that Impa was right. “Yes, right away, Impa.” She said, as she glanced back down at the grave, and then added to Link’s soul: “I love you.”
Robert lay in his bed, looking up at the ceiling. So many things were happening so fast… but Calatia? It was weird how his mind picked up things while he slept. Calatia… the word seemed so familiar to him. He remembered it from somewhere, but he couldn’t remember from where. Maybe it was because he was tired?
Right now, he would normally be off asleep, but his mind was racing with too many things. He remembered asking Madame Michelle about other countries sometime after the shipwreck…she told him about these golden triangles, and a place called Hyrule… the name alone was catchy, and he wondered if he should visit it someday. Now, he was too awake to fall asleep. Standing, he decided to explore the entire Castle and tower. He had never actually been in the throne room before…
Cautiously, he opened his door and peered down the hall. “Robert…” Hearing his name, he nearly ran off to his room, screaming. He couldn’t, though. Something was attracting him to a room. On it, there was a strange symbol he had never laid eyes on before. It was a strange hawk-like creature. He moved over to it and touched it. It had been engraved into the door. “Open…open the door…” it was like something was putting this into his mind. Not willing to disobey, he pushed the door open lightly. Instantly, he was nearly blinded by the light. He almost shrieked, but it wasn’t in his power to do so. He was almost too stunned to do anything. In the center of the room, there was a pedestal with a sword in it… It was very small, of course, and there were various weapons bolted on the walls. He would normally freak out and run for help at the sight of any weaponry, but still, it was a little cool to be in this room he had never been in before. Truthfully, he hadn’t ever seen it. This room never had the engraving on it. Still, he was drawn to yet another item. He moved close to a sword bolted on the wall. He reached out to grab it, there was a name on it… he couldn’t tell how many letters were on it, but there were about six. He could tell that it wasn’t his name, but just as he was about to light a match, but it close to the sword and read the name, he felt someone watching him. “Robert!” He whipped around, and the Lord was standing right there. “What on Earth are you doing in here?” His face was crossed with horror and fear.
Robert swallowed hard, and regaining his senses, he quickly said, “I’ve never really been anywhere in the Castle…I mean, tower. Same thing. I just wanted to give myself a little tour and explore, and then I saw this room, I was immediately attracted to it…” The Lord rolled his eyes.
“You tell such lies, Robert! Why would you be attracted to something like this? This is just a room with a bunch of weapons!” His eyes narrowed at the youth. “You hate the sight of weapons. You even said so.”
“But…it’s like I remember these ones from somewhere.” “Well, these are mine and always have been,” The Lord growled. “Go to bed. You’re obviously tired. If you need anything, I’ll be in my room. Please guide the new folks here to their rooms for me.” He let out a snarl and vanished from the room. Deciding that it was in best interest to leave, he glanced back at the sword with the name on it, and then headed for the door.
“Get up, you filthy bum!” Jenna felt a sharp kick in her stomach. Sitting up, she noticed there was a high-classed man glaring down at her. Of course, she was just a street-punk, the type of girl that went from place-to-place in search of a place to belong. She really didn’t like the way she lived, but if it was the only way to live, she would take it. This guy looked pretty rich; maybe she could steal some money from him…it wasn’t like it would matter. Surely, he would be able to get some rupees back soon enough. Standing up, she smiled slightly.
“I’m so sorry, sir, I mean, some of us aren’t as fortunate as you in the money department…” She had a very sensitive look on her face, and then she punched him in the gut. He doubled over in pain while she placed her hand in his pocket, grabbing a medium-sized sack of rupees, and ran. Behind her, she could hear him screaming to some Knights about a thief. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t be able to catch her soon enough. She was too speedy for anyone. Anyone that could be quicker than a 13-year-old thief had to be using some sort of witchcraft.
Sitting down at a table in a restaurant, a waitress came over to her. “What will you be having today?” She inquired. Jenna was happy to finally have something to eat.
“I’ll have bacon and eggs and toast and juice aplenty!” She answered, smiling eagerly. The waitress stared at her blankly for a few seconds, and then nodded, and went off. Jenna knew she wouldn’t have to pay for this meal. When the food came, she eagerly downed it. Immediately, she slipped the plate under the table. She started to walk past another waitress, and she almost went insane.
“You haven’t paid for your food yet!” She cried, grabbing Jenna’s arm roughly. Luckily, the girl was quite clever, as well as a fast runner.
“I’m very upset with your restaurant’s workers,” said Jenna, shooting an evil glare into the woman’s direction. “I never received my meal. For that, I don’t have to pay.” The worker glared into Jenna’s face for a few seconds, and then made a rude noise and marched off toward her table to find the plate. In that time, Jenna bolted for the door, and was laughing hysterically the whole way. Some people were such idiots…
Calatia was such a beautiful land. Sadly, Jenna and others that were unlucky enough not to have any money had to steal from it. Jenna closed her eyes and imagined herself at home again. That had been six long years ago, when she was seven… She had been suicidal after her father died, and she figured that her family would have been better off with her gone. Sometimes, when she stole money, she would drop some rupees on her old residence. She only hoped that her mother still lived there. Tears formed at her eyes as she thought of her little brother, Danny, whom was only 3-years-old at the time, when she had run away. He was so sweet, and it had taken so much will power to leave the little cutie behind. She rubbed her hands together from the cold and looked up at the stars as they came out. She wondered if, someday, by chance, she would ever meet her soul mate. She concentrated on more than just how poverty was…
She wanted to start a family someday. What was a woman without a household to run and children to care for? The only thing she desired was settling down and having children of her own… three smiling, cute, giggling little girls and two little boys that were true girl-magnets. Those were only dreams, though. No one would ever marry someone like her. She was too adventurous and unladylike. But still, that made no sense to her at all…
People had just started stating that a girl or woman had to act a certain way and do certain things to be ladylike. Jenna was a true warrior that loved battle as much as any man or boy. What was wrong with breaking away sometimes and being the way you wanted to be? She loved the way she was, but she wasn’t about to change her attitude just for a guy. She could be only herself and nobody else. If anyone had a problem with that, they could just take a hike for all she cared. Sighing and glancing up at the moon, she noticed that it was brighter than usual today. She remembered all of the tales from her childhood of the moon being made out of cheese. It had been a long night, and now it was time for rest, hopefully to wake tomorrow morning to a beautiful and lovely sky…
When Zelda woke early that morning, the sky was shining brightly. Prettier than she had ever noticed it to be. She could hear her father’s voice nearby. He would probably be coming soon…she glanced over at her calendar, and then slapped her forehead. Today he would be trying to get a suitor for her! She hated the snobby Princes and noblemen that came, because they had no idea what the real world was like and put down any poor, unfortunate soul that they met. They had no sympathy for anyone or anything. They had been born into wealth, so they didn’t have anything to worry about.
“Zelda?” There was a knock, and then she groaned as she looked for a suitable dress. Finally, she picked out her favorite, one with an over-blue-like apron, and a white dress, the one she had worn when Link had rescued her. Wincing, she remembered Link. He was the only person that she would ever want to marry…
“I’m coming, Father,” she opened the door and smiled pleasantly at him. It was weird for him to be waking her instead of Impa. “You have some suitors to meet today. First off, we have some Princes from some very far-away countries. Then, we have noblemen from this area…” The King seemed quite happy about this, but the Princess would rather die than marry some strange man she had never met before. Link would surely turn in his grave if she married some stranger. She would have told her father, only he wouldn’t care, and would give her a long lecture about how growing up meant making sacrifices. This wasn’t a sacrifice, though, this was torture.
The first suitor came, and he looked like pure trash. How he could be a Prince, Zelda didn’t know. He smelt so awful that she thought she was going to throw up. His teeth had scum very thick on them, and his breath reeked badly of milk. His hair hadn’t been washed, she could tell, as it smelt like sweat and had dust in it. His skin was sweaty, and there was acne all over his face. He obviously wasn’t into proper hygiene, nor girls, or he would have cleared up his act.
“Hello,” he said, smiling at her. She couldn’t help looking him over, at all of the disgusting things about him. Not even his hair was combed! His clothes were so raggedy… “I’m the Prince of Celestia. I don’t reckon that you have ever heard of our land…?”
“No,” she said flatly, not wanting to continue the conversation. She looked up pleadingly at her father, but he didn’t seem to mind the raggedy look, and acted like it was just your ordinary, every-day thing in Hyrule. Not even the homeless, or the poorest in the land let themselves go this far into the dumps! “I have chores to do, so I must be off.” She stood and walked off, and the King smiled at the Prince, before chasing after Zelda, trying to get her to come back. However, he didn’t know that this would be pretty much useless.
Zelda buried her face in her pillow. Tears of sadness and fear strolled down her cheeks. She just wished that things had been as they were a year ago, when things had been perfect and her life couldn’t have been better. This wasn’t the first time that she had wished everything to be the way it was. Just to hold Link once more, or have him hold her…that was all she really wanted in life. A single soul, a single being. Link. He was the main inspiration in her life and gave her the will to go on through the tough times. However, if he wasn’t there…how could she go on?
Her father was knocking on the door, and she tried to ignore his pleas to get her to come out. He wasn’t worried about her or her feelings at all. He was only worried about a good husband that would probably control her for the rest of her life. She didn’t want to be controlled by some stranger. She would love to know them before she actually married them. It was like a blind date that lasted forever. Link, however…she knew Link very well. She knew everything there was to know about him. His favorite color was green and his eyes were always a light, icy blue color. He got along well with everyone and had very few enemies. He made the dullest and grayest skies the best in her heart. In fact, she had grown accustomed to rainy days and his visits with spooky tales as the thunder and lightning battled each other in the skies while he spoke. There were things about him that she would never forget, and she would certainly never forget him. How could she, when the anniversary of his death had rolled around so quickly and she missed him so much and dearly?
Link would have made such a great husband. He stuck true to everyone and never proved himself unworthy to anyone, unless they, of course, were evil, and he was on a plot to foil their plans of hatred and anger. Link loved everyone dearly, especially the animals around Kokiri Forest. Children brightened his day even more. He was truly a gift, from the Heavens and the Goddesses above, she wasn’t sure, but he was someone special and would always remain that way in her heart. How could her father even think of replacing him like this? The sound of it was crazy, but the actual thing was even crazier than the thought of it.
“Zelda? Please, come out! Our guest here is getting quite upset with your behavior and keeps asking what chores you are doing…Zelda! Unlock the door and let me in!” The door handle was jiggling and shaking, but she would never open the door for him. Not now, not ever. She wasn’t about to let her whole life go to waste. Her father seemed quite interested in that scum that planned on marrying her… But how? He was so gross and didn’t care about himself, so how could he care about someone else and their needs?
She could only imagine walking down the aisle and looking at that disgusting pig. Sweat streaming down his face and the stench of his body and breath filling the air. Wouldn’t the priest pass out or something? Shuddering, she realized that she didn’t ever want to see that happening in the near or distant future. Perhaps she could run away…who on Earth would miss her, anyway? Surely, her father could adopt some poor kid into the Castle as a son, and he could run things. Impa would be too busy caring for the child and getting him to mature for his later years as a King. No one would even miss the dear Princess Zelda…
“Zelda! Come out this instant! I don’t believe that I should have to get Impa to get you out of your room…” There was a slight pause, and then his words continued. “You are acting like a small child! You knew that this day would come! Why are you so upset and shocked about it?” Zelda couldn’t help fighting back.
“Excuse me, Father, but I do remember my soul mate, Link, don’t you?” She paced around her room angrily. He had forgotten about everything. He had forgotten about everything and everyone that had been important to her. Link was still important, and her father was seeming to have amnesia. No man could ever be better than Link…Why couldn’t he see that like he use to?
“I don’t care if you send Impa to get me to come back,” she said, stubbornly. “There is no way I’m going to marry anyone else besides Link. And you know that.” The King was quite speechless.
“Robert? It’s time to go…oh, Robert, you must wake up!” When he rose from his bed, Michelle was standing there with some suitcases, and appeared to be having a hard time with them. Robert quickly looked around the room that had once been his own. The whole room felt so empty, and had lost all of the warmth of home that it once had. Now, it was simply but a room without an owner to match with it. “Robert?”
“Let me help you with those,” he said, getting up from his bed and taking a few suitcases to ease the strain on her muscles. She smiled at him thankfully.
“Thank you for being here and giving me company, Robert,” she grinned, whipping up a good-bye conversation. It was going to be a long one, too, since she hadn’t mentioned as much to him as she had wanted to. “Before you came, I was always lonely and didn’t fit in very well with the others here. I mean, most of the harem girls were the girly girl types that wanted nothing more than a very old husband with a lot of money to take when he died. I wanted more than that. I wanted a young man that I could trust. See? We were very different, and when you came, I felt so close to you because of all that I could help with.” A tear started streaming down her cheek.
“Madame Michelle, what’s wrong?” Robert asked, wrapping his arms around her for comfort. When she had wiped her eyes and could speak again, she looked up at him with a smile.
“I felt like I could take care of you forever. When we started talking and getting to know each other, I knew that we would always be best friends. You’re not like any other man I know, Robert.” She placed her hand on his cheek, and a smile crossed his face. “You’re like a little boy. I’ll miss you very much. Don’t ever forget about me. You’ll still visit me, won’t you?” “Of course I will!” Robert cried, somewhat offended.I wantu to always remember me. I’ll always remember you, no matter what.” He pulled out a little pair of scissors and cut a medium sized strand of hair from his head, but the missing hair was non-existent if you looked at his head. He placed it in her hand and smiled at her. She looked up with tears streaming down her cheeks. She would never be able to forget this moment, ever. That was when two guards wrapped their arms around Robert’s and started pulling him away. “I love you, Michelle. I’ll never forget you.”
One would think that he was being taken away to be executed, when he was only being taken to the island of Calatia, the island where his family dwelled. Michelle and he had always been close, as Robert and the other harem girls barely knew each other. Michelle would last in his memory forever. She was a great person that no one would be able to forget about. She was very remarkable in the eyes of Robert.
While Robert’s suitcases were being loaded onto a boat, he watched as the men lifted heavier and heavier packages onto the boat. Suddenly, he remembered something…a boat… there was something else in the vision, but he couldn’t quite grasp onto it. Shaking it off, he looked back at the tower that he had lived in for the past year. He had never looked at it from this angle. A tear streamed down his cheek. Although some people could never call it home, he could. That was what it had been for the past three-hundred-and-sixty-five days. Home sweet home.
He thought of the empty tower room. Who would live in it now? Would the Lord take in another shipwrecked Calatian? Would anyone ever set foot in there again? He wanted to bolt back, bury himself under the sheets of the bed and stay there forever, but he knew that couldn’t be. There was a family in Calatia waiting for him. He couldn’t let them down, could he? Giggling girls and boys, just waiting to see their baby brother again… he could smell the warmth of their home already, even though he hadn’t been there before. Life would be better in a regular household, wouldn’t it? And maybe, just maybe, he could grasp all of the memories he had before…
Michelle was standing on the dock by the water, where the ships normally set off into the water. He was at another dock, but that dock was different from any others. More ships had set sail from it than any other dock. He could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She would truly miss him. He would miss her, too, but he couldn’t let anyone know that. She was a good friend that would last in his memory forever…. Even if the memories from before couldn’t be remembered, he would always remember this.
“Good-bye, Michelle,” he whispered, his voice almost closed off because he was so afraid. Afraid…but what was he afraid of? His new family wasn’t going to bite his head off. She turned to him, waved, and lipped the word ‘bye.’ A smile managed to cross his face as the tiny boat set sail…
For Jenna, the next morning would be different from any other. When she woke, there were tons of people piled at the shore. What was going on? Getting up, she moved over to the nearest person, which was a girl, maybe a few years younger than she was. “Hey, you, Kid, what’s going on?” Jenna asked quite rudely. The girl turned back to her with a glare on her face. “How can you not know what’s going on? Don’t you remember Robert? The guy that didn’t have a life of his own and always donated his time to helping the homeless and the sick? He was with so many different churches! Now, do you know who I’m talking about?” The girl asked.
“A little,” Jenna answered, trying to remember fully who this person was. She could remember him a little bit, blond hair, blue eyes… yes, those features all stuck out. Everyone had thought that Robert was dead all of these past few years, since that deadly boat crash had occurred a year ago. Many countries had a memorial every year for those that had been lost in the wreck. “When is he arriving?”
“He should be here sometime this morning,” the girl answered quickly. She seemed pretty excited about this, because her voice came out in a squeak. What was so exciting about it? The guy was practically a saint for being in some shipwreck and doing some little measly work for the sick and homeless! “People have been getting ready for him to arrive all morning. We all miss him and love him very much. Will you help me with some of my work?”
“Why should I?” Jenna snorted. “He’s just some stupid guy that’s coming back from a shipwreck. No one that important. How can you care about him so much? He could probably care less about you.”
“Robert needs our help,” the girl shot back. “He lost his memory when the ship crashed. I’m going to do my best to fully restore his memory. Miracles happen everyday, and I know that I can help with this.” This girl seemed pretty desperate to help this loser.
“Whatever,” Jenna finally said and headed off in her own direction. She was getting hungry, and maybe she could rob a restaurant, get some food, or something like that. That entertained her very much. She headed off to the nearest restaurant, which was some name-less restaurant that had an awful layout. They even dared to ask customers to come to a counter and place their order! How ridiculous was that?
As Jenna was eating, she felt somewhat bad about how she had treated that girl. Thinking, she decided that the girl had deserved it for caring so much about some loser. Besides, even if she did want to apologize for her actions, it was too late. The girl would be lost in a crowd by now, and pretty much impossible to find.
Suddenly, there was a chorus of cheers coming from outside. Even the people behind the counter in the restaurant dropped everything they were holding and forgot about what they were doing. There was more screaming and shouting coming from everyone in the restaurant, while Jenna sat pretty much confused. Everyone ran out the door, and she decided to follow. At that moment, she realized that the kid, Robert, had decided to show up.
Pushing her way through the crowd to get a better look, Jenna dropped a little book. She went back, picked it up, and continued pushing her way through the crowd, in which, most people didn’t appreciate that much. Finally, she was at the front of the crowd, but a soldier held her back. “I’m sorry, little girl,” he said, snickering slightly. “But Robert needs some breathing space and needs to examine this place. It’s been a long time since he was here.” Peeking around the guard, Jenna got a close-up view of this Robert kid. His hair was the blondest that she had ever seen, as his eyes were the bluest. He was kind of cute and attractive…zapping that thought from her mind, she shoved the guard aside and was immediately at Robert’s side. The guard started howling and reaching for her, but a little turn of events surprised Jenna.
“Leave her be,” said Robert, and stroked the top of Jenna’s head. Looking up, she smiled at him. Then, he turned to the guard. “She’s just a little girl that’s excited about my return, aren’t you?” Although she hadn’t been all that excited, she felt somewhat excited to be standing by such a cute…err, nice young man. She quickly nodded and managed another smile.
“Robert! Oh, Robert! Robert!” Startled, he looked up and at the entire crowd to see who was calling him. Finally, two heads appeared through the crowd. More people were pushed aside, and finally, two very cooky-looking people were standing before him. Could these possibly be two of his siblings…?
“Hello, Robert,” said the plump woman. She was quite round, and her hair was brown with some blonde highlights in it. She had glasses that had purple, heart-shaped frames, and they were kind of cute. Her skin was darkish, and her nails were painted orange, and her attire was just wild. “I’m your mother! I love you so much!” She shot a weird smile at him, and he thought he was gonna pass out from all of this new news. His mother…this lady?
The male, though, obviously his father, was quite trim and had a nice six-pack. He was wearing black pants, and he looked almost exactly like Robert. An older version of Robert, that is. He kindly hugged Robert, and now Robert had a sense of belonging tingling throughout his body. He hugged his father back, and then finally said to both of his parents, “I love you both, and I only wish that I could remember. Please fill me in on the year I missed and things that happened before.” Both of his parents managed smiles and glanced at each other.
“We would always tell you about your past! We’ll tell you everything, from day one until year nineteen…wait, you’re only eighteen, aren’t you?” His father slapped his forehead. “It gets confusing with your brothers and sisters. And who’s your little friend, here?” Link glanced down at Jenna and then realized that he didn’t know who she was, either.
“Umm. This is my friend…my friend…”
“Jenna,” she answered, smiling up at Robert’s parents. “And it’s very nice to meet both of you.”
“Oh, Jenna dear, please do come in for a while!” Said Robert’s mother, gesturing her inside. Jenna didn’t really want to spend her day inside of their dump, as she had passed this house many times before. “Jenna?”
“Oh, yes Ma’am?” It was more of a question, but his mother obviously thought she was exclaiming. “All right, come on in,” said his parents, and they led her in. Robert came in last, looking around the room.
They expect me to remember this place? he thought, glancing around. He had only been in there for a few minutes, and his parents turned back to him with excited smiles on their faces. He knew that they expected him to say, ‘I remember…’ but still, he could not remember this place at all. He brushed past them and explored the house. There was a long staircase at the end of the room. Pointing to it, Robert enquired, “where do those lead?”
“Robert, up there, that leads to your brother’s and sister’s rooms. They’re all out of the house, now, but I’m sure they’ll be by later tonight or early tomorrow to see you. They live pretty far away, you know. Your room is up there with theirs, too. Before you disappeared three years ago, that’s where you spent most of your time. Would you like to look around?” Now Robert was becoming excited. Maybe he could grasp onto some memories of his past…
He went up there, and was almost immediately disappointed. The room was too neat for his liking. Had he cleaned it up before he left? He touched the nearest item he saw, and examined it closely. It was a little board. “What’s this from?” Robert asked. “That, my son,” his father replied, patting him on the shoulder from behind. “Is your main hobby. Before the accident, you were fascinated with ships. Everyday, after your schooling, you would run home and shut yourself up in your room for hours to make those little things. Do you see this over here?” His father led him to a little shelf with small and medium-sized ships that had obviously been crafted after real ships. “This was what you made just before you vanished. The day before, actually. After the first two years of you missing, our hearts were broken. We kept everything in your room to help us remember you. We didn’t need those objects, though, but it still made it feel like my son, Robert, was in the same house with us, and that he had never left. We love you a lot, Robert, and we’re happy that those folks from that island over there brought you back to us. In time, my child, your mother, brothers and sisters, and I will help you remember who you are and who you were. We love you, son. It’s been a pretty exciting day, so do you want to go to bed?” Robert shook his head. “I just met that girl, Jenna, today. I’d like to get to know her better. She seems like a pretty nice person. Maybe she can help me remember some stuff. She’s been here her entire life…”
“You were also pretty dedicated, Robert. You always wanted to help people…always. When you were about nine years old, you started helping the local church out. That made us feel good, and I still remember the smile on your face after your first food drive for the poor. I’ll always be proud of you.”
“Okay, okay, OKAY, dad, I’m done with knowing about my past for right now, all right?” He snapped. “I just went to spend some time with Jenna for now. I need to get back into the swing of things. I’ll see you later, all right?” He waved to his father and sped down the stairs to meet with Jenna.
Sitting on the rocks by the water, he smiled over at her. She was quite a likable person, and to his surprise, she opened up a lot faster than he expected anyone to. She told him all about her life of having to steal. Then, he jokingly added, “just don’t steal any of our stuff!” They were immediate friends.
They talked, sitting by the water, almost the entire night until the moon had come up. “Well,” Jenna said, smiling at him and helping him up. “I best be off.”
“But where will you sleep?” He asked. “You don’t have a place to live, nor a family to care for you. Why don’t you spend the night at my folk’s place?” “You just met them!” She cried. “Isn’t it a little rude to have me barging in?”
“I don’t really care,” he replied. “I’ve done good things my entire life, and this is a good thing. Helping someone like you. Come on.” He told her as he led her to his house.
As it turned out, Robert’s family was more than happy to put a bed into Robert’s room so he could have some company. Unlike most parent’s, they weren’t worried about a boy and girl being alone together. Robert and Jenna talked all night before Jenna finally went to sleep. Figuring that it was late, Robert did just the same, and he could only wish that in the morning, he could remember who he was.
When Jenna woke, Robert was still sleeping. She shook him awake and told him that she wanted to go fishing. Climbing out of his bed and groaning, Robert agreed to go. However, she had to teach him how to fish all over again, as a lot of his former skills had been knocked from his memory. Then, they both headed to the docks where they could fish.
As they sat on the dock, Jenna couldn’t help smiling over at him. He was so vulnerable, and so cute! She couldn’t help having a crush on him. He was confident and cute! What girl wouldn’t like a guy like him? As she smiled at him, he felt her eyes on him and turned to her. She quickly turned away and kept fishing. “So,” she said, starting up a conversation. “Where do you plan to go when you get your memory back?”
“I don’t know where I’m going to go,” he replied, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. “But I think I’m going to explore the world. There are so many places to go so many things to see…” Suddenly, he was having a vision. They never seemed to be far behind.
Lines of worry crossed the woman’s forehead. Her blue eyes seemed to speak to him, and he could see tears welling in her eyes. She was clearly afraid, it was obvious; she had clutched her hands together so tightly that her hands were pale and the vains in them were popping out. “Please, don’t let him succeed in this…only you have the power to stop him…you can do it…” Before the vision was finished, everything seemed to simply die out.
Opening his eyes, Robert looked around. He was confused and didn’t know what was happening to him. Who was that woman? Why was she so afraid? Who was the ‘he’ that she brought up? Jenna seemed equally concerned, although she probably didn’t know that he had just had a vision. Girls were like that; he figured. The past year that he had spent at the tower with the nice harem girls showed him what women were really like. They were all very shy, timid creatures that spoke only to men that didn’t try to overpower them. Jenna, on the other hand, didn’t seem shy or timid at all; but she still had the I.Q. of most women. Women always thought that men had over-creative imaginations, and often thought that visions were simply thoughts. That was women for ya…
“Are you okay? What happened?” She asked, obviously as worried and fearful as the woman in his vision. Smiling to himself, he knew that she had feelings for him.
“I’m fine, perfectly fine. Just a little trouble. I was…uh, trying to remember my past?” It was so pathetic of an excuse that he knew she wouldn’t buy it, but surprisingly, she didn’t seem to mind. “We better get back to the cottage,” she suggested. “Well, you better get back to the cottage.” She knew that his parents probably weren’t generous enough to let her spend the night once more. “I have other things to do. I’ll see you again soon, though.”
They walked all the way back to the cottage, and then they departed. Jenna went off in a totally different direction, and he went inside. His parents were waiting there, along with some siblings of his.
“I’m Peter,” said the first.
“I’m Laura,” said the second.
“I’m Amanda,” the third introduced.
“I’m Richard,” the fourth grinned.
As everything settled in, Robert learned more about his siblings. Peter was the eldest, and he, Robert, was the youngest of the family at eighteen. Richard was nineteen, Amanda was twenty; Laura was twenty-two and Peter was twenty-seven. Figuring how old Peter was, Robert thought that his parents had to be pretty old. Aside from that, he spent the whole night getting use to his family again, and they all had some decent conversation. Finally, it was time for bed again.
Little did Robert know what awaited him…
The whole day was quiet again. All of the suitors that had been asked to come to the castle were turned away swiftly and asked to return to where they came from. Most of them cursed and growled at this, as most of them would have loved such a beauty as Zelda to be their wife. Zelda, however, wasn’t ready to tie the not just yet, and had things to clear out of her mind.
If she could only clear Link from her mind.
It seemed so long ago that he last kissed her and that they last had the enjoyment of each other’s company. Never again would she be held in his arms, nor would her lips press against his. It made tears well to her eyes, and that made her realize that she truly appreciated the lad. Things had changed and would never be the same again. If only she knew what was going to happen…
“Princess Zelda?” Someone was knocking at her door again. ‘Great,’ she thought. ‘If it’s not about the death of a friend or some more unexpected suitors, what is it?’ Getting up, she moved over to the door and opened it. There was a guard there, but he didn’t look very upset or angry. That relieved Zelda greatly; at least no one was dead…YET.
“What is it?”
“Well, your Highness, you have a visitor. She claims that she has some very important news for you.” “Yeah, what’s the news…?”
“She refused to tell me,” he answered. “She wants to see you in person. She doesn’t look to happy and looks like she’s spent quite a wink of time getting here.” “All right, I’ll be down in a minute.” Zelda followed the Knight down the stairs, and then met with the girl in the meeting room. Zelda would be totally unprepared for this…
“Hello, Princess Zelda,” she said, not minding to use her manners by referring to Zelda as ‘her Highness.’ As the guards all around the castle did. “I have some very important news that you may want to hear.” Zelda smiled slightly and took a seat.
“So I’ve been told, what news do you bring me, miss…?”
“Please, please call me ‘Madame.’”
“All right, Madame, what is this?”
“I thought that you would like to know. Danger is coming quickly and swiftly. Your forces won’t be able to stop it,” she brought a cup of tea to her lips and sipped on it. “Your Knights are tough, yes, yes, indeed, but I’m afraid that they won’t stand a chance as to what is coming to them.” A tear streamed down her cheek. “My own people are planning the attack. There is someone else involved in this, too, but I am afraid that he doesn’t really know of his role yet. I don’t agree with my people. That’s why I’m warning you about this now. Just one thing before I go off,” she grinned brightly at Zelda. “If he gets your most-loved treasures, he can use them to control you.”
Zelda was both shocked and in a state of disbelief. Was this just a bunch of bull, or was it the real deal? Gnawing on her lower lip, Zelda tried to smile at this woman, but it was pretty hard to do. Staring into her eyes, Zelda could tell that she wasn’t lying. This was all the truth, and she was giving up all of this information so Zelda’s forces would be ready to strike. In the process, she was risking her life. She could either be slaughtered by her Lord, or maybe even exalted to another land… That made Zelda shiver. Nonetheless, she couldn’t be more grateful to this kind, caring woman.
“Thank you for visiting me today,” Zelda said as Madame left. She was relieved that she would be alone now to think, anyway, but she would still need to discuss with Madame later for more information. Not everything she said had made sense. Who was the ‘he’ that she occasionally brought up in their conversation? Even if that weird looking lady didn’t bring it up, Zelda thought, she was bound to find out anyway.
Now, how dangerous a position would it put her in…?
“Remember who you are…” it was that same, blasted voice in his head that he heard every night. Every night in his weird, twisted dreams. Finally, he could see himself, or what he believed to be himself. Green…green stuck out in his mind. A shiny, glowing ball of light fluttered about his head. A fairy, yes, a fairy, or perhaps a pixie? Whatever it was, it was some sort of pixie or fairy. It appeared he was in the desert, but he couldn’t really be sure. Standing before him was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
Slightly wavy, beautiful, golden hair flowed upon her shoulders. Her shiny, blue sapphires stared out at him, making him feel calm and at home. The sight of her eyes left him with a sense of calm and peace. He didn’t dare disobey that feeling. Instead, he could only keep his eyes on her. She wore a flowing white gown with another garment, which was a dark blue color, hanging over it. She brought a gloved, white hand to her mouth and said, “shh…let me tell you something…”
“W-Who are you?” Robert, or at least, someone that looked like him, asked. “I don’t understand.”
“Understand, you probably don’t, as for who I am? I cannot tell you, for I am not a human being at all. I merely exist in your imagination. Just listen to my words; come to Hyrule, Robert…when you are in Hyrule, you will know everything. There, you will see a girl that looks like me. She is not your regular girl. She is the Princess of Hyrule. She desperately needs your help, and if you don’t help her? Then Hyrule will collapse, as will your own past. You don’t want that, do you? I guess not…let us go now. I’ll be seeing you again soon.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, and he blushed. “I’m going to let you wake up now.”
Robert rose from his bed, sweat dripping from his back and face. Looking around quickly, he realized that he was all alone and that nothing suspicious was going on. But Hyrule? What was Hyrule? Closing his eyes, he faintly remembered Madame Michelle bringing it up.
Well, now, it was either he went or he never learned.
Getting up from his bed, he went to his parent’s room. Peering in at them, he couldn’t help feeling a pang of guilt. They would never let him leave, even if he was with them. This was where they had lived their entire lives. Glancing over at each of them, he realized for the first time that he looked nothing like them.
Deep down inside, he knew the painful truth.
He wasn’t their son.
But if he wasn’t their son…
Then who was he?
Right now, he had to ignore this. Even if they weren’t his parents, they still felt like it. He headed back to his room and looked at the rendering of himself. It still looked like him, no matter how much he tried to penetrate the surface of it with his eyes, to see the truth. All he could assume at the moment was that he was Robert. Denial was strong in those that had lost their memory, wasn’t it? He would just have to wait and get that belonging feeling back again. But would it ever be back…?
Jenna had been going through some papers. Robert seemed pretty weird to her. When she had first met him, she had gotten a strange vibe—yet she didn’t know where she got it from. Searching over a pile of notes, there was one that stuck out. It was dusty, and probably very old, yet the ink was still intact and she could view it clearly.
Jenna,
Take Robert to Hyrule.
Brief, but its impact was pretty strong. It didn’t make a lot of sense to her, but she knew more than to disobey people that had written her a note on a piece of paper that was at least twelve years old. She wondered if Robert was asleep or not. She definitely needed to show him this. Sweeping it off of the table, she bolted off toward the house where Robert lived.
Dear Mom and dad,
I love you guys a lot. I love Peter, Amanda, Laura, and Richard, too. You guys have treated me very well, and remind me of those at the tower. I’ll miss you guys a lot, but I won’t be too far away. I promise that I’ll be back, just as soon as I’ve figured things out.
Love,
Robert
Heading out the door, Robert took one last look at the only place he could have ever called home. The tower had come close to that, but the harem girls and the Lord there never really respected his privacy like the people here did. Closing the door behind him with a little reluctance, he headed out, but bumped into someone before him.
It was Jenna.
“Jenna!” He exclaimed, a little surprised to see her. She smiled up at him.
“It’s nice to see you, too. Look, I found something and thought that you would like to see it…” Peeling the little note that she had from her fingers, Robert looked it over. It was kind of like the dream about that woman he had had.
“Nice,” he said, grinning. “I had a dream. Telling me to go to Hyrule. I still don’t get it, but I guess something waiting there for me.”
“And maybe a job’s waiting there for me,” Jenna grinned. Robert could only laugh. Before they had met, she had been a very clever thief, stealing everything that she could find. He couldn’t really blame her, though; if his survival were involved, he would do anything to live.
“Well, we better get going,” she said quietly, gesturing over to one of the docks. “There’s a ship heading to Hyrule tonight at midnight.”
“What time is it now?”
“It’s about eleven thirty. I checked time and time again before I left my little shack,” she answered, pointing to the sundial in the center of the city. “Well, what are you waiting for? We’ll have to run for about fifteen minutes just to get there in time.” Taking Robert’s hand, she darted down the path toward the docks.
Smiling to himself, Robert was having a lot of fun…until the assault came. He felt something against the back of his skull, and he didn’t know what to do. He dropped to his knees, pretending to be out. “Where are you going?” Asked a voice. For a moment, he could feel two eyes on his back. Then, he felt nothing. “You’re not going to go to Hyrule, are you?” The voice seemed a little frightened about this. When Jenna failed to give an answer, it cried again, “you can’t go to Hyrule!” He felt someone picking him up, but he wasn’t about to let that happen. Instead, he elbowed them in the gut and they doubled over in pain, dropping him. He scrambled to his feet, took hold of Jenna’s hand, and darted off toward the docks. lancing back, he noticed that no one was there.
“Where did he go?” He asked when they were sitting in the boat, taking off to Hyrule. Jenna shrugged and started twirling a long strand of hair around her finger. She looked so cute when she did that!
“It doesn’t matter where they went, now,” she replied, looking out of the windows. They had both managed to scrape enough money together to get a room. There were two very small beds in an equally cramped bedroom. It wasn't the idea of a picnic to Robert, but destiny was leading him to Hyrule, and he didn’t care if it ended up killing him anymore. Something was awaiting him there, and he could hardly keep his excitement to himself. In a matter of minutes, he would be stepping on a land from before. Smiling, he wanted to peer out of the windows at the ocean, but the idea of seeing that he was bobbing up and down in the water like a cork would make him sick. He wasn’t quite used to being rocked back and forth like this, but Jenna was enjoying herself. At least she didn’t have claustrophobia like he did!
Suddenly, the ship lurched side to side. The candles in the room either tumbled to the floor, starting a small fire in all of the rooms or going out from the sudden fall. In rooms around them, both Robert and Jenna could hear people screaming and crying cries of being terrified. Robert wanted to go to each room and comfort all of the fearful souls, but he knew that he couldn’t bring himself to do it, as he was probably more afraid than they were. Jenna obviously thought it was a joy ride of some kind, laughing excitedly and giggling. Sometimes, she annoyed Robert when she thought that very dangerous things were actually fun. But, then again, that was Jenna for ya.
“Captain! Captain!”
“Yes?”
“We just hit something. But, we swear, there was nothing there a second ago!”
“Don’t worry about it. We’ve already inspected the side of the ship. The puncture was way too small to cause any damage. Just, light all of the candles again so people will have light. That’s the last thing I want, unhappy passengers with seasickness in the dark. Get to work, Cadet!”
“Yes, sir!”
Zelda was in her garden, planting a bunch of different kinds of flowers. Some weren’t ‘exactly’ in growing season yet, but they could deal with the temperature and grow, anyway. There were lilacs, daisies, and tulips…every kind of flower that you could imagine. She put them in rows, knowing that certain tulip seeds, such as the whitish ones, would grow to have white petals. Knowing that, she could have a long row of white tulips, and then a long row of red ones, and then purple ones, and then pink ones. Tears nearly came to her eyes as she took out seeds for the Silver Rose (the Silver Rose had been discovered by Link, and had been his favorite flower ever since). Tears nearly came flowing out of her eyes as she thought of the Silver Rose that he had given her, and then the time that she gave him a dozen silver roses. They truly made him happy and she didn’t know why. Her favorite type of rose had always been the original red one, not the white roses. Thinking that it would bring back good memories, she buried the seeds under an inch of dirt. Things would never be the same without Link…
Every night, she had dreams of being with him again. Sometimes, in the dreams, unidentified people would pull him away and then slaughter him before her very own eyes. In other dreams, she would be standing before the altar, staring at him, and the dream would end with three, cute little children of their own. However, she knew that she could never have children with Link. He was dead.
Zelda moved over and started planting more different flower seeds. What about the warning from that strange woman? Danger was coming, and so was a new ally, according to her. What type of Ally, though? Was it a King from a different country, perhaps Calatia or another country? Shaking her head, she didn’t know if she could really trust what the woman had said. But on the other hand, the look in her eyes had told Zelda that she was very truthful…still, was she trustworthy enough to be trusted on something as important as this?
Perhaps Zelda should go and tell her father about the meeting; but then again, she didn’t want him to worry. But, how could he not worry? If she didn’t tell him and intruders came, then he would be VERY made if he knew that she knew about the attack. Pulling a dirty hand through her hair, Zelda tried to clear things in her mind. Then, she felt two eyes on her back. “Hello, Impa,” she whispered, turning back to face the masculine woman.
“Hello, dear Princess.” The woman marched over to her and crouched. “Would you like some help planting? I’ve noticed that in the past year, your flowers don’t bloom as beautifully as they use to.”
“That’s because,” Zelda replied, in a sort of snappy tone. “A little more than a year ago, I had Link’s help. He meant everything to me, Impa. I still can’t believe that he’s gone. And, plus, I have these weird dreams every night…”
“What do you mean?” Impa asked. “Maybe I can help you.” “Well, in the past week, I keep having this dream that I’m in a dessert, talking to Link. He isn’t transparent and he isn’t a ghost, he’s alive. He tells me to wait, that someone special is going to come today…”
“I’ll analyze your dream as soon as possible,” Impa replied. “Just let me help you plant these seeds, okay? I don’t have any work right now, and I like to remain busy to occupy myself.”
“Very well, then.” Zelda smiled, giving Impa a pack of seeds. Impa knew how Zelda liked to have her garden, so she was forced to obey and put certain seeds in certain places. Zelda was very picky; it reminded Impa of her mother, whom had also been very picky and touchy about how she wanted things to be.
Zelda was her mama’s girl, all right.
Jenna and Robert were getting bored in the cramped room. The deck was a lot better, and the captain and sailors seemed not to mind about people being on the deck. “Come on,” Robert suggested, taking her hand and pulling her up toward the deck. Now, they could finally enjoy themselves…
Until the thunder and lightning came.
Back then, of course, no one knew that lightning was attracted to metal or anything like that, so they stuck on the deck. Suddenly, Robert heard gasps coming from all around him. He heard one woman murmur in a reading-like tone, “Robert, you cannot go to Hyrule.” Looking up, he noticed that the whole sky had turned golden, the same color as lightning when it struck. However, there were letters in a baby blue color over the gold that read exactly as the woman had said.
“Robert, you cannot go to Hyrule.” The words cleared, and a few seconds later, new words came up, still in baby blue. “Robert, if you go to Hyrule, you will die.” Passengers were now getting freaked out and fled back into their little, cramped rooms. Robert, however, was not the least worried about this. It was just the work of some dumb, stupid kid sorcerer, probably, trying to freak him out. Then, the ship started rocking all by itself, as the waves started becoming massive.
That was it!
Someone was trying to prevent him from going to Hyrule!
But why…?
“Everyone!” Shouted one of the sailors, looking pretty fearful and worried. “I will appreciate it if all of you go to your rooms. You’ll be safer down there!” A major wave came up and splashed on the deck, soaking Robert’s black jeans. Getting up, he headed to their room, with Jenna following close behind.
“What was that all about?” She asked, her once joyful face now as pale as pale could be.
“I don’t know what it was,” he answered honestly. “But I do know that you shouldn’t be afraid. I won’t let anyone hurt you, Jenna. In the past weeks, you’ve proven to be a really good friend to me. You’re my best friend, actually. No one will hurt you.”
Best friend? She could nearly scream! If only he knew the feelings that she had for him…
The conditions improved, and out of the window, Robert could see the sun shining brightly. “Well,” he said, grinning. “Everything’s looking good outside now. Want to go back outside, on the deck…?” “No way!” Jenna cried, folding her arms. “I’m terrified of going out there now.”
“Nothing will get you, I promise,” he said, and he couldn’t help grinning. “Come on.” After a little reluctance, Jenna reached out and took his hand. They then proceeded to the deck.
“Do you like golf?” He heard someone asked, and whipped over to his left. There was a man there, grinning broadly. “Well, do you?”
“Yeah, I guess,” Robert lied. As long as he could remember, he had never played golf.
“Are you going to Hyrule for their magnificent golf courses? At least, that’s what I heard. They just opened a golf course there last week…” His eyes were wide.
“No, I’m not going there for the golf courses,” Robert replied.
“Oh. Nice talking to you.” The guy zoned out of their conversation and walked away. He had obviously found Robert boring since he wasn’t going to Hyrule for a golf course. Oh, well. Maybe he would meet that guy somewhere in Hyrule…
There was an arrow whipping through the air. Robert was turning his head straight, and he didn’t have time to move. An arrow was hurtling toward him, directly for his heart…he was going to die…
“TWANG!” It said at it’s last sound. There were gasps coming from everyone. Lying before him was Jenna, an arrow in her heart.
“NO!” Robert cried, dropping to his knees and laying her on her back. “Jenna…” there was no response. Everyone had gathered around her at this time, and tears were streaming freely down his cheeks now.
Jenna was gone.
The Captain and the rest of the crew and passengers on the ship had obviously felt sympathy for what had happened. His best friend in the world, dead…all to protect him…her dying words were, “you’re destined to go to Hyrule. You have to go…L…” she had never finished her sentenced. She passed on, into the arms of the Goddesses. Robert had the chance to hug her and kiss her once more before she was dumped overboard, in a burial at sea. It didn’t seem right to Robert, but it had to be done. She deserved a proper burial…she had been so young…
He had been crying practically the whole time, and then the ship came to a crashing halt…there was a dock! They were finally at Hyrule!
Practically leaping off of the boat, Robert looked around. In front of him, there was a big, large, stone wall. What was this? Going up to a sign, he noticed that this was Lon Lon Ranch…but it was in Ancient Hylian. How could he read it if he had never been to Hyrule before, nor ever learned Ancient Hylian before?
Ignoring this, he entered the ranch, clad in black. A redheaded girl greeted him and smiled. “Welcome to Lon Lon Ranch, stranger.”
“Malon.” He whispered. He didn’t know where that name had come from, but it was stuck in his memory, from somewhere. “You’re Malon.”
“Yes…” she said, hesitating slightly. “Do I know you?” “That’s the only problem,” Robert replied. “If I don’t know me, chances are, you probably don’t know me, either.” His voice was familiar, but as much as she tried to remember where she had heard that voice before, she couldn’t remember…
“Well…uhh…it’s nice to meet you. What’s your name again…?” Robert realized that he hadn’t had the chance to tell her.
“I think its Robert.” He answered. Malon’s face seemed to fall; yet he couldn’t tell why. “Well, anyway, I just wanted to stop by and see how things were. I’ll be back some other time, okay?” She nodded and watched as he left…
Now, where was he supposed to go? It hadn’t been very long when someone tackled him to the ground. His face connected with the dirt, and that hadn’t felt too pleasant. He tried to shove them off, but they were too strong. “Hey, mind getting off of me…?”
“If I did that, then there would be no purpose of tackling you in the first place,” came a response, but it surprised him greatly. It was a feminine voice! “Well,” he began. “I would really appreciate it if you got off of me. Then, we could talk things over while we sat on the rooftop, drinking tea…?” He suggested jokingly. She got off and then helped him up.
“You look familiar to me,” she said, looking him over. Her voice was somewhat gruff now, probably because her mouth wasn’t so close to his ear. She wore a tight suit, and her body was way too masculine.
ert figured that she had been lifting too many weights. “Well,” she said, sending her mouth lopsided. “What’s your name, young man? I think there are many a people that would like to see you.”
“My name’s Robert,” he answered. Her face fell, just as Malon’s had. She seemed pretty disappointed when he mentioned his name, but then her smile came back. “I’m going to take you to the Castle, Robert,” she took hold of his wrist, and he was about to pull away, but she obviously had connections to the Castle. As of now, he was a runaway, and if he told her anymore, she was bound to send him back to Calatia! Shaking that feeling off, he followed her to the Castle.
So many great things were happening so soon!
When he entered, there was a girl planting flowers. She leaped to her feet and almost gasped at the sight of him, and he thought he was going to go into shock at the sight of her. Drawing closer to each other, they gazed into the other’s eyes for a long period of time. “Zelda, this is Robert, Robert, this is the Princess, Zelda.”
A million things were going through Zelda’s mind. She had seen him before. “Impa, I would appreciate it if you left my visitor and me alone.” Impa nodded and headed off into the Castle. Zelda immediately charged forward and slammed Robert against a wall, knocking the breath out of him. He was still somewhat conscious, but not totally.
“Why do you look so much like him?!” She asked, clearly in a state of shock. Robert could see tears streaming down her cheeks, tears of fear and remembering. Closing his eyes, he remembered.
A deep, passionate kiss. His lips pressed firmly against hers. “I’ll see you again soon,” he promised, winking, before he set off…
“Look like who?” He immediately demanded.
“You know very well whom I’m talking about,” she answered. Ouch. This girl was obviously a tough one! “How did you use the magic to transform yourself? Some of his DNA samples, toe nail clippings, hair…?”
“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!” He cried, shoving her backward so he could escape the cuts he was getting from her long, sharp fingernails. “Look, lady, I just came here when this woman tackled Me. I’ve gotten enough beatings for the day, AND my best friend died on my way over here! GIVE ME A BREAK!” Tears were making his cheeks glitter now. “I don’t need anymore bull today.” Understanding, Zelda tried to smile. Robert was very attracted to her…
A Knight charged past, obviously looking worried. “Get everyone prepared!” He cried, nearly knocking Robert down. “They’re coming to attack! They’re coming to attack!”
“Who?”
“The Gilotians!” He cried. Remembering yesterday’s meeting, Zelda realized that this must be the country that the one woman, Madame, had mentioned was going to attack them yesterday, and that an important Hero would be on his way. Hopefully, if everything had proved to be right, the Hero was already there, meaning that he had to be…
ROBERT?!
Sadly enough, it was true, and she knew it. Turning to him, she looked at his innocent face and tried to penetrate it with her eyes. “Have you seen me before?” She asked hurriedly, as they marched off into the Castle to get prepared for battle.
“Yes…I’ve seen you in my dreams before, telling me to come to Hyrule.” His face turned pale, and she saw that look of worry from somewhere else before. He was serious when he needed to be, and funny when he didn’t need to be. “And once, I had a vision of kissing you. I can read Ancient Hylian and I don’t know how because I don’t ever recall being here before…” he paused. “Then again, I do. There was a large tree, I was dressed in green, there was a fairy, it was named Navi…” Zelda was exploding with excitement.
“Robert…I know who you are…”
“You do?” His face lit up.
“How could I not? You’re my boyfriend…you’re Link, the Hero of Time.”
Robert was in a state of shock now. “Kiss me,” he said quickly, and pulled her close. She didn’t object, and they kissed for a long time. Zelda was using her powers to give him most of his memory back, everything that he had lost. It was all there…
And all of this time, he hadn’t even known who he was! It turned out that he was obviously famous in Hyrule…if he had known Malon, then how come she hadn’t known him? Slapping his forehead, he realized that he had had his cloak on, covering his entire face. That explained it all… When Impa had confronted him, it was still covering most of his face. When he had been confronted by Zelda, it had slipped away, and obviously, before that, she had really been looking into his face. He could remember everything now..
It was very emotional, but not as emotional as it could have been. Right now, all of Hyrule was under attack. He couldn’t think of why, but right now, he wasn’t totally focused on that. Back at the tower, they had trained him to get him back into physical shape, and he was just as good as he had been before…
Zelda quickly outlined all that had happened when he crashed. “You kissed me before you left, and promised that if Ganon couldn’t kill you, neither could the waves.” She wiped tears from her eyes. Zelda was a very caring person, and she always had been. They were reunited now…reunited forever . “And, well, I heard that the ship had crashed. Some of the bodies were missing, and some had been burned up. How, I don’t know. We found one that was the closest to your DNA and buried them because we thought they were you…” She gasped. “Dear Lord! Then a total stranger has been buried in your grave!” Robert, err, Link, told her everything about what had happened after his crash. How he had come to in a bed in a mysterious tower ruled by a Lord and many harem girls. After that, he explained the room with all of the weapons, and then his departure to Calatia, then how he meet his best friend, Jenna, how he discovered that he had to go to Hyrule, the ship ride there, and the death of his friend. “Someone was trying to prevent me from getting here,” he explained. “My best friend took the hit for me. I miss her so much…”
With that, Zelda explained what she had been doing. She had mostly stayed in her room for that whole, dark year, and told him of how her father had selected suitors to marry her off, and how she managed to get around that whole ordeal. She then explained the dream that she had where he told her to be waiting. That had basically been her whole year. With that, she added, “the room with the weapons must have been yours. You say that one sword had your name engraved into it?”
“I think,” he replied. “I thought it was six letters, but it must have only been four.”
“I gave you that sword,” she said, glancing at the ground. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have it anymore. It wasn’t his fault. “I gave that to you for your thirteenth birthday, two years ago.”
“I’m really sorry about losing it…”
“Look, we’ve been blabbering forever and my Kingdom is about to be DESTROYED! We can’t concentrate on the past. We have to concentrate on the future and how to prevent this. Come on, Link!” She took his hand and led him to the throne room, where they warned everyone, and told everyone who this mysterious ‘Robert’ really was. Everyone was delighted, but they didn’t have time to talk things out and over.
“Our little army doesn’t have a leader,” said the King, looking quite frightened. “Link, I’m afraid that you will have to lead us into battle.”
“No!” Zelda cried. “I lost him for that whole year, thinking he was dead, and he was really alive! Father, I’m not about to really lose him this time!”
“Don’t worry, Zelda,” he said, kissing her cheek. Tears were already flowing from her eyes. “I’ll be fine. I’m the Hero of Time, remember? I can handle it. This isn’t going to be a pretty war, but I can survive it.” He turned to the King. “When do I send the troops out?”
“Right now,” the King replied, gesturing to the courtyard. “Lead them out. And messengers? Tell everyone to stock up on food, weapons, and blankets and clothing immediately!” The messengers nodded and flashed out the doors, going to tell many different little towns about what was happening. They needed to be warned and needed to know what was going on. Hyrule’s army was so large that they could afford to have troops at Lake Hylia, in the Gerudo Valley, as Hylians and Gerudos now lived together, and in all of the other places, like Lon Lon Ranch.
Link knew his duty. He had just arrived, maybe forty-five minutes ago, and the place was already in big danger. He now knew what was going on, and told Zelda that his friend, Madame Michelle, was the one that had warned her. He knew that Michelle wasn’t a traitor; she never had been. Michelle had always been very kind and caring, never a cruel liar. He could only hope that she was okay. Hopefully, she had never gone back. If she had, they surely would have executed her. One thing was for sure; he knew that he would probably never see her again, for safety reasons. She had always cared a lot about his safety.
“I love you, Zelda,” he whispered, pulling her close, giving her a French kiss. She enjoyed it very much, but now wasn’t the time to have pleasure. She needed to be prepared. “I’ll see you later,” he promised as he walked away. Deep down, she knew that he thought he was going to die. As long as she was around, she was bound to keep that from happening. “Princess Zelda, Your Majesty,” came a Guard’s voice. “We have to keep you in the padded room.”
d room? It sounded like something at the local Insane Asylum! “It’s a lot safer in there. We can’t risk your lives. Come with me,” he first took the King, and then came back to get Zelda. “Come on.”
“Is it locked?”
“Yes.”
“Then I don’t want to be in it,” she said. The guard had no choice, so he gripped her arm tightly, trying to drag her away. She kicked and screamed, eventually getting her way. He couldn’t forcefully do anything with her without getting in trouble. She bowled him over and ran down the halls. That was when she remembered what Michelle had said. ‘Don’t let him get any of your most-loved possessions, or he can use them to control you.’ Zelda tried to think of her most beloved possession. It was…
That was when she gasped.
Link’s handwriting!
Whipping off to her room, she looked around frantically for it. Where was that blasted thing?! If she didn’t find it, she’d be cooked. That wasn’t a good image, either. If he could control her, then he could cause her to hurt her own army… and he was bound to try and control her instead of anyone else. It wasn’t there. Her face paled, as did her lips. She was really scared now.
Not only for herself, but for her beloved Hero of Time.
Link.
The battle had started, and it was a very gory one at that. Link remembered battles like this before, but seeing one like this made him sick to his stomach. Bodies lay around, mutilated, and decapitated. All of the Lord’s warriors were women, and that made it even worse. Link felt sorry for them. The Lord had total control over these women, and they were afraid of him. But why? He couldn’t defeat Link’s army AND them all by himself. Actually, their Lord was quite powerless when it came to people. Link knew, deep down inside, that they could beat them…and then he felt a heavy slash at his side.
Dropping to his knees, he prepared for the final moments of his life. Zelda, he had promised to go back home alive to see Zelda…and now that wouldn’t happen. He would really die now, and then nothing happened. “Hurry up, Captain! Get up!” Link rolled over and groaned, and one of his own Knights was there.
“Thanks,” he grinned, and the man helped him up. A woman came towards Link, obviously wanting to fight. His conscience kicked in, telling him that this was wrong. He had never slayed a human being so brutally before. Ganondorf Dragmire didn’t really count…
Using his wits, Link let his sword stray away. Instead of killing her, he punched her in the temple, knocking her unconscious. He wasn’t going to kill her, and he had time. None of his men were in trouble. Instead, he put a small slit on her throat. Not enough to kill her. She would come to and would be able to help herself. The slit was so that the other Knights wouldn’t cross her and then kill her. Link repeated doing this to every woman he came across.
It was getting harder now. Many of his men, their armor pierced, had fallen to the ground. He hoped that all of them weren’t dead, because they didn’t have many reinforcements. The women struck at him anxiously, cursing if they missed. At one point, it seemed as if all had failed…
Women surrounded him and three of his men. (Don’t be gross now!) Link glanced at the other three, winking. There were four of them, and at least fifteen or twenty women. They could take on about five each, he figured. They all set into action, brutally stabbing the women. Link couldn’t knock all five of these women unconscious at once. That was when he was forced to stab them. It felt like he was killing himself as he did so. The women’s screams nagged at him, killing his innocence and conscience. The Goddesses would be mad at him for inflicting against the other races…but it was his survival, just like Jenna had stolen to survive. Now, he had to kill to survive.
As he was moving on to the rest of the women, he heard a woman calling to him. He raced back to her, a blow in her stomach. He immediately recognized her as Michelle. “Michelle!” He exclaimed, kneeling beside her. “I thought that you had gotten to safety…” “No,” she replied, coughing up blood. He didn’t care if he died at the moment, and had his back turned to the entire battle. “Our Lord is…is…is…he’s at the Castle, and he’s going to harm the Princess…” She let out a sigh and her eyes closed, her body shutting down. That was two friends in a day. He didn’t know how much of this he could take. Nonetheless, his men looked like they could take it. Getting up and running for the Castle, he order to his last fifty men: “Take them out! We’re in the lead now! If one of you are in trouble, call for one of the others!” The Knights nodded and understood completely. Link raced off for the Castle.
Zelda was wandering the corridors, panicking. If she didn’t find that handwriting, she was doomed, and so was everyone else. She heard a noise behind her and whipped around. No one was there. She proceeded forward, her eyes darting nervously back and forth. She knew that she was being watched, but there wasn’t much that she could do about it.
Suddenly, she was slammed against the wall. She felt someone turning her over, and then some icy, blue lips against her own. She tried to pull away, but it was almost impossible. His arms were around her waist, and she was trying to force him away, but he was just too strong for her. He smiled at her. “Hello, Princess Zelda. I’m the Lord that you’ve heard so many bad things about. My, you’re even more beautiful in person…” She was really uncomfortable with his arms around her and the way he was talking about her.
“W-What do you want from me?” She stammered.
“Actually, I already have what I wanted from you,” he replied, letting one arm go to his pockets. With that, he pulled out a little postcard. It had been a little card from her eleventh birthday. She gasped, recognizing it as Link’s handwriting.
“Give that back!” She cried.
“But why should I?” He asked, his lips curling into a smirk. “No one can help you now, Princess. They’re all unconscious. You would make a wonderful ruler with me…”
“No! I would never rule with you!” She screamed,wrestling to break free from his grip. “Link will know that I’m gone! He’ll hurt you so badly…” “Link doesn’t care about you, Princess. When will you get that?” His voice was so cold it made Zelda shiver with fear. This man was truly insane! “He could care less if I killed you.”
“Link loves me,” she shot back. “He would never let anyone hurt me.”
“Or so you think, Princess. When we first found him on our island, he was clueless. I knew who he was, and so did all of my harem girls, all except ‘Madame Michelle.’ I told the girls not to tell her, because she was the closest with Link and had grown really fond of him. We were going to train him as one of our own, and then use him as a secret weapon. Well, we shipped him off to Calatia when we made a false report, and he would stay there until we needed him. Unfortunately, he was led to Hyrule. If he went to Hyrule and found out who he was, he would be ultimately useless to us. So, on the ship here, I tried to kill him, but I couldn’t. Now, he’s fighting for you, and remembers who he is. This is all of your fault. So, I’ll just take you, give you a sharp bump on the head, and then raise you as one of my own…and then marry you.” Zelda was grossed out. Marry him! No way!
She tried to break free and scream, but he cupped his hand over her mouth. She instantly bit him, and that was when he was mad. She was causing too many problems… He pulled out a dagger and put it to her throat. He could instantly see the fear in her eyes. “Afraid of dying, are we?” He could hear her gasping now as he pressed it even tighter against her throat. “Nah. A dead Princess isn’t a good one, but an unconscious one is. Easier for carrying from place to place.” She started screaming when he moved his hand, and he punched her, sending her into an abyss of darkness. Before she fell limply to the ground, he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. He then started saying, “Don’t worry, dear, when we get home, we’ll marry, have kids…”
“Stop right there.”
Turning back, the Lord noticed that Link was there. “You just have to come to ruin everything, don’t you?! Why won’t you just let me do my work in peace? Leave my wife and me alone!”
“Correction, she’s going to be my wife,” Link shot back, giving Lord a low blow. Zelda fell from his arms, and Link quickly caught her. He propped her against the wall for comfort, and then turned back to him. “We settle the score, here and now.”
“All right.” Lord unsheathed a sword, and Link thought he was going to die. Its hilt was black, red, and orange, obviously a fire set in a dark place. The blade was very shiny, and it was a gold color. Figures, as this guy was probably pretty rich. Link unsheathed the Master sword, and then the intense battle began.
Link tried a horizontal strike, but the Lord quickly set it off. He was a lot tougher than Link had expected him to be. Besides, you wouldn’t expect someone whom had lived peacefully all their lives to be able to even hold a sword the right way, would you?
His opponent had other things in mind. He turned his sword around and jammed the hilt into his stomach. Link winced and tried to regain his senses. If he didn’t, then his enemy was sure to win, and Zelda would be kidnapped, being forced to live, side-by-side with this freak…
Link tackled him and started punching him. “You can’t kill me so easily,” The Lord cried. “I will always be better than you, Link. Remember who take care of you!” Link paused.
“Yes, I remember her,” he said, plunging his sword into his stomach. “And she’s dead.” The Lord howled out in pain, clearly knowing that he had been defeated. It was all over for him..
Suddenly, bombs appeared all over the hall. “If I’m going down, you’ll go down with me!” Lord cried, his eyes red with fire. The one nearest Zelda was ready to explode, too! He dashed over to her and picked her up, not really caring if he harmed her. If he did, it would be better than dying. He pressed her face against his chest and ran. From behind, he heard the Lord call, “I’ll be back!”
That was when the explosion occurred. Link dove forward, Zelda underneath him. She groaned, and he smiled slightly. At least she was okay! He shielded her with his own body, and when he looked back, that entire hall had exploded. He didn’t want to go in there, but then he noticed that the Lord’s body was gone. It must have disintegrated when he died, Link figured.
Peace had finally been restored…
THREE WEEKS LATER…
The whole of Hyrule was having a parade for their victory, and Jenna and Michelle were remembered. Link would miss them greatly; they had been real pals.
“There was a fight?” Zelda cried when he had told her about the fight between him and Lord. “Well, all I saw was darkness.”
They were now boyfriend and girlfriend, and he had given her an engagement ring, the ‘something’ that had been in his pocket one year ago, before he had gone off on the ship. Things were looking up now, and the parade was quite extensive.
When the parade ended, Link was a little saddened. “Link,” he heard Zelda calling his name. “We have a surprise for you.”
As he entered the room, all of his best friends, Impa, Darunia, Saria, Nabooru, Malon, and all of the others were there, holding a big sign that read, ‘Welcome home, Link.’
A single tear streamed down his cheek as he smiled.
The End…?
