Chapter Text
It is said that the goddess Hylia gave her sailcloth to her chosen hero. Together, they fought the evil Demise, banishing him away. Although the hero died, his legacy did not. As the millennia passed, in times of great darkness, the chosen hero would be reborn to fulfil his destiny once more. When the time was right, he would always seek out Hylia, reborn as Hylian royalty and together, they would defeat Demise or his incarnate.
The hero would always ultimately win. It was just the way of things.
There were, however, occasions when he wished it could be otherwise…
Link groaned, stretching his arms above him, bent at the elbows. It was a hot day, and the shade of the large tree he currently lounged under offered little reprieve from the sun's harsh heat. He felt sluggish, his body heavy and unwilling to budge, but Impa would have his hind if he didn’t get up soon. She’d asked him hours ago to muck out the stables. He was already in trouble for not taking his training seriously, hence the stable duty. Well, hence nothing. His guardian, Impa, thrived on making him miserable, so Link was on stable duty more often than he wasn’t. One of the benefits of living in a castle should be the servants meant for such tasks. While Link might not be royalty, he definitely outranked a servant.
Frustrated at himself, Link shook the bitter thought away. There was nothing wrong with being a servant. He liked most of the servants in the castle—was even friends with some of them. What he didn’t like was stable duty, not when the castle stables housed almost one hundred horses. It would take him hours, and Zelda was returning soon. The princess had been away for two weeks, joining her father to meet with their allies in the desert. It had been boring in the castle without her, and Link had looked forward to her return for almost as long as she had been gone. Almost as long because, of course, first he had snuck into her room and snooped, hoping to find her diary. Either she’d taken it with her, or she had the world’s best hiding spot. Damn his best friend for thinking ahead—Link liked being nosy almost as much as he liked napping.
Speaking of napping—Despite his better judgement, Link let his eyes droop shut again. Just five more minutes. Five more minutes, and he’d be ready and motivated to get up and complete his chores. Impa couldn’t begrudge him that, right?
When Link opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was how low the sun had dipped in the sky. Ah. More than five minutes, then. It took only a second longer for him to notice the other thing, the thing that had probably woken him in the first place.
He wasn’t alone.
Sitting cross-legged in front of him was a boy he’d never seen before. He was probably only a couple of years older than Link, maybe putting him at nineteen. Despite the relevantly small age gap, even from his sitting position, it was easy to see that he dwarfed Link. Impa’s intense training schedule kept Link in shape, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a lean man of under six-foot. It was something Zelda, who was an inch taller than him, liked to tease Link about.
This stranger, watching him with umber eyes, had the broadest shoulders Link had ever seen and a chest like a rock. His dark arms were the size of tree trunks and looked like they could easily break Link should they wish.
Link fumbled for his sword, mentally cursing himself when he realised he hadn’t brought it out with him. In his head, he heard Impa reprimand him. She’d drilled it into him a hundred times:
Never forget your weapons, Link.
The stranger laughed, and Link’s guard dropped. It was a nice laugh, one that drew Link in until their eyes met with what almost felt like a jolt of electricity. The man’s lips twitched, and Link struggled not to smile back in return.
“Sav’saaba,” the stranger said in a thick accent Link recognised as Gerudo. Although Link didn’t understand the word, he figured it was a greeting and waited wearily for the stranger to continue talking. An introduction would be nice, although there was little doubt about who he was. Only one male was born to the Gerudo tribe every hundred years.
This young man before him was whom Zelda and her father had left to visit: the Gerudo king, Ganondorf.
When Link didn’t say anything, Ganondorf’s smile faltered slightly. “Hello,” he tried again, using Hylian this time. “You must be Link.” Link nodded his head stiffly but didn’t respond. “I’m Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo.” If he were expecting Link to bow, he would be sorely disappointed. Link bowed to only one person, and that was Zelda, and even then, he didn’t do it often.
For his credit, Ganondorf seemed more bothered by Link’s lack of speaking than etiquette. He tilted his head, a long lock of red hair falling against his chiselled jawline. Unlike Link, whose face was still very much that of a child, round, smooth and hair-free, Ganondorf had several days' worth of red stubble. The amount of stubble it took to grow travelling from Gerudo Valley to Hyrule castle, Link expected. Link tilted his head to mirror Ganondorf’s but remained silent.
“Right. Well, good talk?” Ganondorf said uncertainly when it became clear Link had no intention of saying anything. His long legs unfolded, and he climbed to his feet. Link’s eyes followed him up; he was right; Ganondorf definitely towered over him. If Link stood, he suspected he would only reach the young king’s shoulders.
Ganondorf stared at Link for a moment longer, and then his lips twitched again into that mischievous smile that made Link want to grin back. He bit the insides of his cheeks to resist. “I hope you’ll warm to me, Link. I plan on being here for at least a few weeks.” Link furrowed his brow at that, confused. Zelda had never mentioned anything about returning with any Gerudo’s. Besides, didn’t Ganondorf have his own people to rule over back in the desert? Link couldn’t recall hearing of a marriage that would, perhaps, leave a queen on the throne during his absence.
As Link watched Ganondorf finally turn and walk away, he made a mental note to ask Zelda about the intrusion once she finally graced him with her presence. If Ganondorf was here, then she must be, too.
For someone so large, Ganondorf moved with the grace of a cat through the royal gardens towards the castle. Link continued to watch him until he was out of sight.
Well, it looked like things would get interesting around the castle, that was for sure. Link was more than aware of the king’s distaste for the Gerudo’s, who, while allied with him, refused to bend the knee to his rules and ways of thinking. He was probably furious about the intrusion. Link wondered what Zelda’s thoughts would be.
Finally climbing to his feet, Link stretched, yawning loudly. He glanced in the direction of the stables, but there wouldn’t be much light left today. If Link was lucky, somebody else had taken pity on him and cleaned them for him. If he wasn’t… Well, he’d faced Impa’s wrath before. Right now, Link had more important matters to attend. Right now, he wanted to hunt down Zelda and find out what was so important that her unwelcome guest had hunted him down before she had.
No sooner had he entered the castle than Link heard threats to his life. When Impa wanted to, she could move with the ease and silence of a shadow. As a Sheikah, she was Hyrule’s very best. She had been training Link and Zelda in her ways for years. However, when she was angry with Link, she tended to grumble under her breath. Link had that effect on her. Sometimes Impa questioned why the Triforce of courage had chosen him. Sometimes, Link questioned that too.
Holding his breath, he pressed himself against the stone walls, hiding in the shadows until Impa’s voice faded. He’d overheard enough to know nobody had taken pity on him, which was unfortunate for him, as Impa’s angry grumbles suggested she planned to skin Link alive. He figured it best to avoid her for a day or two.
“Link,” a voice hissed down the corridor from where Impa had come. Zelda peered around the corner, frantically gesturing for Link. When he joined her, she rolled her eyes, slapping his shoulder. “What did you do? Impa wants to skin you alive.”
Link shrugged, his lips twitching at the corners. Zelda shook her head but grinned back, grabbing his wrist to drag Link down the corridor. Thankfully they made it to Zelda’s room without being caught. Thanks to how frequently one was spotted slipping into the others bedroom, rumours had started to spread through the castle of them courting. Zelda found it hilarious, but it had always made Link feel a little uncomfortable. He hated that people knew them as the princess of destiny and the hero of time and had basically married them off already in their heads. A little part of Link thought that perhaps they would marry one day, but if they did, it would be of their own volition and not because it was expected of them.
Once they were safely behind her closed door, Zelda threw her arms around Link, hugging him tightly. “I missed you,” she said into his shoulder. When she withdrew, she kept hold of his arms. “I bet you were bored without me.” Link nodded. “You gonna tell me why Impa was on the warpath?”
Link blew up his cheeks, exhaling loudly. “Stable duty,” he said.
“Let me guess. You fell asleep?” When Link nodded, she laughed. “You never change.” Link wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“How was your trip?” he asked, managing to resist questioning her about Ganondorf’s presence in the castle. He felt it polite to at least wait until after she ranted about how boring the whole experience had been.
Zelda surprised him, however. “It was great! The Gerudo are fascinating. They lead such different lives to us Hylians. Ganondorf taught me a lot!”
Well, that was unexpected. Link cocked his eyebrow at Zelda’s causal use of Ganondorf’s name. Generally, she had better manners than Link. The fact that she omitted the ‘king’ was surprising.
Zelda folded her arms across her chest at his reaction, pouting a little. “You didn’t want me to have fun?”
Link shook his head, then nodded it quickly as her scowl deepened. “Of course I did,” he told her. “I’m just… surprised, is all. You were dreading the trip.”
Zelda’s arms flopped to her side, and she walked over to her bed, sitting on its edge. Link watched her for a moment before following. The mattress bowed gently under his weight. “I guess I changed my mind,” she said finally. Link felt like there was something she wasn’t saying. It frustrated him that he didn’t know what it was.
“So, do you think you’ll go on more trips?” Link asked, dreading the answer. Her father’s trips to meet with allies were happening more and more frequently recently. Impa had expressed fears of war. Link tried not to concern himself with such things. The moment war struck, he would be sent out as Hyrule’s first defence. Never mind that he was only seventeen. Link didn’t want to think about it.
“I don’t know,” Zelda said casually, suggesting she was trying to please Link rather than speak the truth. “Maybe?”
Link huffed back the argument on his tongue. Impa had explained time and time again that Zelda was his princess, not his friend. She had royal duties that he would never truly understand. His only job was to serve and protect her.
Instead, he asked, “Why’d Ganondorf come back with you?”
“Oh!” Link was sure he didn’t imagine her cheeks flushing red. His frown deepened. “Uh, well, he was quite taken with my descriptions of the castle gardens. He lives in the desert, so the idea of luscious grass and flower beds is quite foreign to him. He said he’d like to see it.”
“Well, he’s seen it now,” Link said sourly. He couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was, but Zelda was acting strange, and Link suspected the handsome desert king had something to do with that.
“Did you meet him?” Zelda’s eyes seemed to light up. “What did you think?” Link just looked pointedly at her until she sighed. Sometimes it was easier to get his point across without words. Zelda always seemed to understand his looks. She held his gaze for a long moment before falling backwards onto her mattress. When Link followed suit, they rolled onto their sides, facing one another. The action was so familiar, and yet, this time, something about it was so different. Too different. Link didn’t like it.
It had always just been them against the world. Link had a horrible feeling that what Zelda was working up to saying would change that. Link didn’t want anything to change. He was happy with how everything was.
Change is inevitable, Link.
Impa had told him that on many occasions.
You have a great destiny ahead of you.
She had told him that, too. Most of the time, Link just glared. His guardian didn’t seem to understand why Link didn’t want it. She thought it was a great honour. Link was certain they had the wrong guy. Someone somewhere had made a mistake.
He was not a hero.
He was not brave or true. He didn’t put others first. He wasn’t willing to risk everything for the greater good. Link wanted his small little world to stay just as it was.
“Link,” Zelda said softly. Link rolled onto his back, staring up at the ceiling. He didn’t want to look at her. “Ganondorf and I… We both dream of peace between our people. We don’t want our alliance to end, and… well, we got on really well.”
Link didn’t say anything. He didn’t even blink. He just stared up at the ceiling, watching the shadows flicker across it from the candles that decorated the room. They flickered eerily, matching the sense of dread building within Link.
“Besides… He’s very handsome, don’t you think?”
He was very handsome. That made it worse.
Zelda propped herself up on her elbow to peer at Link. “Please don’t be angry, Link,” she pleaded. “Things don’t have to change between us. We’ll still be best friends. I just… I will be spending a bit of time with Ganondorf, too.” She hesitated before her eyes lit up. “You could join us! I’d like for the two of you to become good friends.”
Yeah. Unlikely.
“So, you’re getting married?” Link asked, his voice cold enough to make Zelda flinch.
“No,” she said, shaking her head frantically. “Not yet. We wanted to test the waters first. Spend some time getting to know each other. But we do like each other a lot, Link, and a marriage between a Hylian queen and a Gerudo king would be very beneficial to Hyrule.”
“Yeah,” he said, sitting up. Zelda joined him, trying to reach for his arm as Link stood. He pushed her away. He needed time to think right now. Time alone.
Without a word, he left Zelda’s room, pretending not to hear the soft call of his name that followed him out.
Everyone thought Link and Zelda would end up together. While Link didn’t think of her that way, he’d always found himself assuming that, eventually, with time, it would just naturally happen. Yes, he wasn’t a prince or a king, but he was chosen by the goddess—apparently—and that made him worthy. They got on well, a bond stronger than any test that had strained it. They had grown up together. They were best friends.
Now, that was all threatened. Now, Link was going to lose his best friend to a strange king from the desert.
Without Zelda, Link was nothing. Without Zelda, he might as well do as Impa wished. As the king, the goddess, and the whole of damn Hyrule wished, and die for them.
Because without Zelda, Link wasn’t sure he had the strength to fight his destiny. And Link had been desperately trying to fight his destiny since he’d learned it.
Deep down in his heart of hearts, Link knew what fulfilling his destiny meant for him, and it scared him more than anything. It scared him even more than the thought of losing what he had with Zelda.
Link’s destiny was to save the people of Hyrule.
To save them, Link would have to die.