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pocketseizure · 6 years

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The Legend of the Princess, Chapter 27

What It Means to Fight

In which Zelda weaves the threads of the past into something new and different.

(Chapter 27 on AO3) (Story Tag on Tumblr) (Cover Illustration)

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“Turn away now,” Daphnes ordered. “Help us calm the rebellion, and we will forgive you. We are not unmerciful.”

Ganondorf scowled at him and prepared to respond, but Zelda preempted him.

“There is no mercy in this,” she proclaimed. There was power in her voice, and it propelled her forward. She stepped in front of Ganondorf, leaving Link behind her.

“Father, if you know what this man is, then you know what you’re doing by provoking him. You will get everyone in this room killed, including yourself.”

“He’s a monster, Zelda!” Daphnes objected. “You have no idea what he’s capable of.”

“Actually, I do. I know exactly what he’s capable of.”

Zelda took another step forward, and she felt the very stones of the temple resonate with her determination.

“Zelda, I know you’re exhausted,” Daphnes said, attempting to placate her. “And I know… I know you care for this man. You’re still young, and your entire future is ahead of you. Please, let us protect you.”

Zelda laughed, remembering how Tetra’s eyes had sparkled in the mirror of the underwater castle. She took another step forward, and she remembered how glorious it was to be a goddess flying high over Hyrule. She remembered the girl on the sacrificial altar, Hylia’s mortal reincarnation and her distant ancestor. Was that altar somewhere in this very temple? Zelda thought it just might be. She could feel the energy of this sacred place flowing through her.

She thought of the glamour Ganondorf had cast on his clothing, and she realized that she knew exactly how the spell worked. She cast it under her breath, using it to clothe herself in the pure white dress of the sky goddess, and she delighted in the touch of the warm summer air on her skin as her Sheikah clothing faded away. Her feet were bare, connecting her to the earth of this ancient ground. A horrible sacrifice had been offered to the goddess long ago in this very place, soaking the soil at the center of Hyrule with the blood of the god who loved it.

She understood that she was meant to be a sacrifice as well. People would fight for her, and people would die for her, as people had fought and died for her in the past. Hyrule was Hylia’s legacy, and her role was to represent this legacy, trapped within the beautiful crystal of her fate so that she could suffer nobly for her kingdom. Her father and her friends and Link and even Ganondorf were all fighting for her, but no one ever asked what she wanted.

Zelda smiled as she raised her bow. It was no longer the small Sheikah reflex bow Impa had given her but a glowing arc of pure silver. The arrow she fit against its string was a bolt of radiant light.

“I can protect myself,” Zelda said to Daphnes, and then she shot him.

The ray of light struck him exactly where his right arm joined his shoulder, severing it completely. He won’t be touching the Triforce anytime soon, Zelda thought, feeling no guilt whatsoever.

The king’s wound cauterized instantly, but he passed out from shock and collapsed. No one moved or spoke as Zelda hopped lightly onto the dais, knelt by her father’s body, and removed a white baton from an inner pocket of his robe. Still kneeling, she slung her bow over her back, and then she stood. She held the Wind Waker in her hands and snapped it in half. It was much easier than she thought it would be. When it broke, the baton dissolved into faint particles of light, and Zelda felt its magic surge into her.

“I’m glad that’s taken care of,” she announced, clapping her hands together.

“Now on to the next order of business,” she continued, summoning another silver arrow to her fingers.

She turned to Darunia. “You’ve been like an uncle to me, and I thank you. My father will need your support as he recovers,” she said. “But you have to give me that ruby. Your people don’t owe this kingdom anything, and you have nothing to lose if the volcano erupts. Lava is the lifeblood of the mountain, and I have no doubt you can tame the dragon that flows through it. It’s still a child, after all. It may even become your son’s companion after he gets better. When I am queen, I will see to it that whatever is amiss on Death Mountain is settled to your satisfaction.”

She held out her hand. Darunia, looking sheepish, dropped the Goron’s Ruby into her palm. She struck it with the silver arrow, and it shattered.

Next she turned to Makar. “If you’re going to become the next Deku Tree,” she began, “we need to get something straight right now. I will do everything in my power to protect your forest, and I expect you to do nothing less, but I will not tolerate people getting lost in those woods. Your territory has served as a barrier cutting Hyrule off from the rest of the world for centuries, and that has to end. We will both see to it that no one will threaten the forest, but this kingdom cannot remain isolated.”

She pointed at Link. “Give me the Kokiri’s Emerald,” she commanded, and he removed it from his pouch, awestruck. She threw the arrow like a dart, and the gem burst into pieces in his hand. Makar did not respond to any of this but only watched her, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I believe I’m next,” Ruto said, the Zora’s Sapphire already shining between her fingers.

“Ruto, I’m sorry,” Zelda began to apologize, but Ruto cut her off.

“Give me another one of those arrows,” she said. “I want to do this myself.”

Zelda did so, and Ruto plucked the silver arrow from her hand before driving it down violently onto the blue stone, which exploded into a shower of shining dust.

“Sweet Nayru, that felt so good,” Ruto sighed, handing the arrow back to Zelda. “I’ve wanted to do that for years. We’ll talk about this soon, I promise,” she added, winking.

Zelda winked back and then faced Impa. “You’re fired,” she said simply. “You and your entire tribe, you’re all fired. I don’t know what happened to the Sheikah in the past, but I have a pretty good idea. What my family did to you wasn’t right then, and it isn’t right now. Of course I would never object if you were to stick around, but only if you decide to stay as my friend and as my equal. And as my advisor, not as my assassin. Think about it, okay?”

Impa nodded in acknowledgment, and Zelda turned to Nabooru, who raised an eyebrow when Zelda met her gaze.

“You,” Zelda said, “are perfect. You should visit Hyrule more often. As long as I’m in this castle, the Gerudo will always be welcome here.”

“I’ll consider it,” Nabooru responded. “I only hope there will be a castle left for us to visit.”

“I was just getting to that,” Zelda replied.

She stepped over her father’s body and walked to the pedestal at the back of the dais before turning and facing Link.

“Listen, you’re not bound to me,” she said. “I appreciate the gesture, but I don’t need a chosen knight. Your destiny is your own, and you don’t have to be a hero if that’s not what you want. If you wouldn’t mind listening to my advice, though, you should really stop being so quick to follow orders. And you’ve got to put that sword back where it belongs before anything escapes from the broken seal.”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to follow orders,” Link said, already stepping forward to join her.

Zelda rolled her eyes. “Just do it,” she said. Link grinned in response.

“And finally, you,” she said, looking directly into Ganondorf’s face. “You are an idiot. Did you really think you could just touch the Triforce and fix all this? That is the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard in my life, and you would know that if you actually talked to people instead of trying to do everything on your own.”

“With all due respect, Princess,” Ganondorf answered, crossing his arms over his chest, “isn’t that what you’re doing? Trying to fix everything yourself? Issuing commands while shattering gems and breaking political arrangements that have been around for centuries? But I admit, I admire your courage. If you have an idea for how to end this cycle, I’m listening.”

“You know what? I’ve seen things you wouldn’t believe, and I don’t have time to deal with another one of your monologues. As it happens, I do have an idea. Stop standing down there by yourself and get up here so you can help me.”

Ganondorf didn’t move, and for a moment she thought he was going to reject her, to turn on his heels and leave the temple on his own. Please, she begged him silently, hoping against hope that he would trust her. She understood how difficult it must be for him to stand alone with all of them looking down on him, especially since none of them had done anything to help him when he’d asked. Please, don’t make me fight you, Zelda thought, struggling not to cry. As she waited for Ganondorf to make a decision, the power she’d felt when she destroyed the sacred stones deserted her, and once again she felt vulnerable and helpless. Were they really so bound by their fates that she could come this far and still have him walk away from her?

He must have seen something in her eyes, because he dropped his gaze and shook his head. “Don’t make me regret this,” he muttered, and a second later he had teleported onto the dais beside her.

Zelda smirked. Ganondorf may have done what she asked, but he still had to show off while he did it. Hopefully that meant he wasn’t too angry at her. She certainly hoped he wasn’t – she had almost killed her father for his sake, after all.

“Darunia,” she said, “can you take the king back to the castle? Tell everyone that he was injured in battle. Everyone else, can you leave me and Link and Ganondorf here? I’m counting on you to get everything under control before we return. Make sure all the combatants are retained in the front courtyard. I’ve got a speech already prepared, and I need an audience to make it effective.”

“I thought I was fired.” Impa scowled at her.

“For Din’s sake.” Zelda clicked her tongue in an unconscious imitation of Tetra. “Nabooru, can you help?”

“Come on, everyone,” Nabooru spoke up, tugging at Impa’s ear as Darunia hoisted Daphnes onto his shoulders. “It looks like it’s up to us to get this situation cleaned up. Let’s go.”

Zelda smiled gratefully, and Nabooru returned her smile before turning away from her. Zelda knew that there would be repercussions for sending everyone off to settle matters at the castle while she remained at the temple to conduct this last bit of business in secret, and she wasn’t looking forward to the conversation she needed to have with her father, but she would have to worry about that later.

“All right, it’s just us now,” Link said after the group had left. “Zelda, do you want to explain what’s going on? Or did you just want to clear the stage so that I can fight him in peace?” he added, pointing to Ganondorf with his thumb.

“You wouldn’t stand a chance,” Ganondorf growled.

“What was that?” Link glanced at him out of a corner of his eye. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I caught what you said. I couldn’t hear you over the sound of having the Master Sword in my hand right now.”

“I’m sorry, Link, but you’re really going to need to put that back,” Zelda cut in. “Ganondorf is wrong about a lot of things, but he’s right about the sword acting as a seal on Demise’s curse.”

“When did I say that?” Ganondorf asked, shooting her a sharp look.

“Sorry, wrong timeline.” Zelda shrugged. “I guess I owe both of you an explanation, so here it is. Basically, my father used the Triforce to amplify the power of the magical artifact I just destroyed, which flooded Hyrule. Ganondorf, you stayed in the castle and started kidnapping people. Meanwhile, I think I escaped and had a child with Link. Maybe? I’m not sure. Anyway, just about everyone in this kingdom died, but I learned something interesting about the Triforce.”

“Which is?” Ganondorf prompted.

“We had a kid?” Link asked. Zelda ignored him.

“If someone whose heart isn’t in perfect balance touches the Triforce, then it breaks into its three component parts, each of which lodges within a chosen bearer. When Daphnes touched the Triforce, it must have split, because Ganondorf got the Triforce of Power. I got the Triforce of Wisdom, and Link, I think you got the Triforce of Courage, although I’m not entirely sure what you did with it, because it seems to have fragmented even further… But that’s beside the point.”

“So what you’re saying is that it’s possible to split the Triforce without destroying it,” Ganondorf concluded, rubbing his beard.

“Wait, hold up. I’m still not over this thing about us having a kid,” Link interjected, and Zelda continued to ignore him.

“Based on what happened because of my father, I don’t think it’s a good idea for any one person to touch the Triforce. Ganondorf, I know you think the solution is to destroy the thing altogether, but I’m not so sure about that. I think we need more time to figure out what the Triforce is and how it works, because I don’t want to do anything that can’t be undone.”

“But – ”

Zelda cut him off. “I promise, you don’t want to touch that thing. At least not alone.”

“So we should all touch it together, is what you’re saying,” Link suggested.

Zelda snapped her fingers. “Exactly! If we split it between the three of us, then it will continue to exist, but no single one of us will be able to use it without the full understanding and consent of the others. This should also remove it from the control of my family, at least partially. Hopefully that will forestall Demise’s curse and prevent the return of Ganon.”

“That’s the second time you’ve said that word,” Link broke in. “What’s Demise?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ganondorf said.

“No, I’ll tell him,” Zelda insisted, knowing exactly how Ganondorf would spin that story. An instant later she corrected herself, ashamed that her first instinct had been to assume the worst of Ganondorf’s intentions. “Or actually, both us of can tell him together. The point is that we need to touch the Triforce, all three of us at the same time. But before we do, I need to make sure that the Triforce won’t choose one of us as its master.”

Zelda paused, unsure of how to phrase what she was trying to express. “Um, this is a strange question, but neither of you has a pure and balanced heart, right?”

“No,” said Ganondorf flatly.

Link laughed. “Oh goodness no. Listen, I could tell you things that – ”

Zelda waved a hand to cut him off. “I’m pretty sure I don’t either. We should be good then.”

“So how do we enter the Sacred Realm?” Ganondorf asked. “You destroyed the three sacred stones that were supposed to be the keys that open the gateway.”

“About that,” Link answered for her. “The sacred stones didn’t open the portal. It’s complicated, but their purpose was to reveal the pedestal where the Master Sword slept. This sword was forged and blessed by Hylia herself, and it’s the key that opens the Sacred Realm. The gateway was briefly accessible when the sword was drawn, and I think it will open again when it’s replaced on the pedestal.”

“Are you sure?” Zelda asked. She had a feeling that this was indeed the case, but she needed to be certain.

“I can’t explain it,” Link replied, “but it’s like the sword has a voice, like it’s singing to me, telling me things.”

“You do understand how strange that is, don’t you?” Ganondorf said in a sour tone.

Zelda shot him a look before addressing Link. “I believe you,” she assured him. “Like Ganondorf, I’m concerned about what will happen if that sword remains drawn, but I don’t want to force you to do anything that you’ll regret later. Based on what you’ve told me, you’ve spent most of your life searching for the Master Sword. I don’t really understand what happened, but now it seems that you’ve bonded with it in some way. Are you willing to give it up?”

“I most assuredly am,” Link replied. “Nothing would make me happier. I’ve always wanted to become stronger, but not… not like this.”

A look of pure relief spread across Link’s face as he regarded the Master Sword’s empty pedestal, and Zelda couldn’t help but smile at the purity of his happiness. Their eyes met, and for a moment – just for a moment – Zelda could envision herself leaving the temple with Link and setting out into the brave new world of a future that no longer existed.

Ganondorf cleared his throat. “Once the gateway to the Sacred Realm opens,” he said, “I’m not sure how much time we’ll have. I’d like to act quickly, so we need to decide what wish we want granted when we touch the Triforce. I don’t think we have much room for error.”

“What do you mean?” Link asked.

“Say that each of us wishes for Ganon to be defeated. That wish could be misinterpreted, with one of us becoming Ganon precisely so that they can be defeated. Or say we each wish for Hyrule to have a prosperous future. That would mean something different to each of us, so the Triforce might end up creating three different worlds to contain each of our wishes. We don’t know how the magic works, so it would be best to be as precise as possible.”

“Then it’s simple enough, isn’t it?” Zelda offered. “We each wish for one part of the Triforce, nothing more and nothing less. What part we get doesn’t really matter – at least, not from what I’ve seen. It only matters that each of us gets one piece.”

“Fine by me,” Link assented, and Ganondorf nodded in agreement.

“All right.” Zelda took a deep breath. “Link, are you ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Link answered. “Ganondorf? What about you?”

“I’ve been thinking about this moment for years. I couldn’t be more ready.”

“Zelda?” Link turned to her. “Are you ready?”

Zelda opened her mouth to respond, but then she glanced at Ganondorf. He was regarding her with an intent expression. Link may not have fully understood what he was asking of her, but Ganondorf did, and he was clearly concerned about the decision she would make. If there was a time to turn back, it was now.

Zelda considered Link’s question. Was she ready?

It was very early in the morning of the day when she was to have been crowned as the newest queen of Hyrule, an event she had been preparing for her entire life. It was true that her castle was currently under siege, but this conflict could easily become an opportunity to establish herself as a strong monarch whose reign was marked by an auspicious beginning. By divine right, the Triforce belonged to her and her alone, and there was still time for her to claim it as her own. If she made a pure and selfless wish for the benefit of Hyrule, then it was entirely possible that she could become one of the greatest queens in history. When she was queen she could travel throughout her kingdom, bringing peace and prosperity to her subjects. Link could be her knight, and she might even be able to unite her people with the Gerudo by marrying Ganondorf.

Did she truly possess the courage to give all of that up, to relinquish all of the power and potential that she could achieve as a wise and compassionate ruler?

“Absolutely,” she assured them. “Let’s do this.”

( Link to Chapter 28: The Legend of the Queen )

#Princess Zelda #Ganondorf #Zelgan #The Legend of the Princess #Zelda fic #my fic

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