Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

The young Princess Zelda crept as silently as she climbed the steps of the giant stone entrance to the Spring of Courage. She had visited this place a couple of years ago. Then it was an exciting, bustling place filled with historians and builders trying to bring the site back to the former glory of its early days. Now it was entirely abandoned - quite hastily at that. Items ranging from rotten food, to water damaged papers were dropped and scattered all through the grounds. Beautifully restored architecture now once again demolished from monster attacks, deep cuts of sword and claw scarring the stone work.

It seemed that the monsters had long abandoned the place as well as Zelda could not see any recent traces of them. She didn't want to take her chances though; she was on an important mission, one that only she could do. When she focused on that, Zelda could pretend that she wasn't scared and alone and very far away from home.

Zelda clutched her ancestral necklace, a bright yellow stone with old engravings in it. She whispered a little prayer into it, steeled herself and entered the chambers of the Spring. Zelda always thought this place looked very pretty even before it was restored. Long columns and stone floors gave way to a gentle spring that bubbled away softly. In it were stepping stones that made a path to a beautiful stone carved statue of the Goddess Hylia. The statue depicted her in prayer, her face serene despite all the troubles she was faced with. Zelda hoped that she could be like the Goddess one day.

According to legend the Hyrule Royal Family has blood of the Goddess in their veins. Zelda grew up with tales of how royal members of previous generations before her would stand up to evil. Alongside her would stand a hero who wielded a holy blade: the Master Sword, and together they would defeat whatever or whoever was threatening the kingdom.

There was recently a duo like this. The old Queen who was a fair ruler and, mostly importantly to Zelda, a wonderful grandmother. There was also a hero who wielded the sword. A young ranger by the name of Link. Both were gone: the Queen had passed away from old age. It was peaceful Zelda's mother had said, there was no pain.

The scramble of forces trying to take advantage of that was anything but that. Monsters and terrible people had started to attack Hyrule threatening to destroy it entirely. While they were defeated by the hero Link and other soldiers it was a nonstop assault. One day, Mister Link went to investigate the source of one of the attacks. He never returned.

And now Zelda was very alone and she just wanted to see her Mother and Father again.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Zelda stepped across the stones to the centre of the Spring. She had a plan. Zelda had heard about all the stories about the heroes and the Princesses. She knew that if she worked hard enough and thought hard enough she might be able to find where Mister Link went with the powers her ancestors had. If something happened to him….then at least Zelda might be able to find the next hero to help them.

So Zelda knelt down before the Goddess Hylia, and clasped her ancestral necklace tightly in her hands and prayed.

In her hands the necklace glowed bright.

Bliss is fleeting, Link thought to himself, as he desperately tried to sleep in. He ignored all signs of morning dawning upon him, from the gentle bird calls to the clanking of pots and pans from the kitchen where his housemate prepared breakfast. Link deserved to sleep in, at least in his humble opinion. He had been awoken in the middle of the night by a weird echoing voice, one that had been pleading to be saved. So of course Link investigated.

He searched all around the area making sure there wasn’t a little girl in danger calling out for her physically and mentally. But there was nothing, everything was incredibly calm in his small neighbourhood before Link came barreling through.

So what if the weird voice was probably a dream thing! Link did his duty as hero of many countries to make sure everyone was safe, so he was going to sleep in! So he ignored the sun’s rays beaming into his bedroom, he ignored the morning calls of his roommate, and he was trying very hard to ignore the pecks he was receiving from his roommate's bird, Sheerow.

Link turned to the side making Sheerow fall gently down to the bed, and lifted up the cover of his sheets over his head. He could hear the small bird squawk indignantly and again, gentle but persistent ‘thwips’ from Sheerow’s beak began anew. It proved ineffective against the power of many, many blankets. Link relaxed, letting sleep once again take him, all sound becoming more and more muffled, and darkness overtook him again.

That is until a cruel monster ripped the bed sheets down, letting light upon his domain again. Link opened his eyes at said monster, his very much awake housemate, Ravio, and hissed at him.

“Good morning sleepyhead,” said Ravio, his face full of amusement. “This is a new record even for you.”

“And it would have been for even longer, if it wasn’t for your bird,” Link said, poking his tongue out and grabbing for his bedsheets. In retaliation Ravio pulled the sheets even further away. “Aw come on, Ravvy!!”

“Nuh-uh! You literally asked me to wake you up if you slept in for too long. You wouldn’t want me to break such an important promise,” Ravio said, one hand clutching his chest, the other laid upon his forehead dramatically.

Link rolled his eyes just as dramatically and huffed a little but relented, sitting up and swinging his legs off the side of the bed. “Past me is a jerk.”

“I think the word you’re looking for is sensible,” Ravio said. He gave Link a look over, his face turning to that of concern. “Is everything alright though? I was starting to get worried.”

Link stood up, stretched, and then made his way to the mirror. “I thought I heard something late last night. It sounded like a little girl calling for help. I ended up looking around just in case. I couldn’t find anything, no signs of a battle or monsters or anything.”

Looking at his reflection in the mirror it was quite obvious that the night had taken some toll on Link. His expression was worn, some bags forming beneath his eyes, and his light blondish green hair was messier than normal. It was to the point that it looked like a nest for Sheerow to rest in. Behind Link, Ravio also leaned into the frame, looking incredibly fresh and bright eyed.

Ravio hailed from a different realm called Lorule where everyone had a similar but different counterpart from Hyrule. Ravio was Link’s counterpart. Ravio looked like Link in most ways: both were quite short for their age, with a little bit of a story build. They both had light brown skin and freckles scattered upon their faces, albeit in a different pattern. The only big differences were their hair and eye colours; Link with light blonde-green hair and dawn purple eyes, and Ravio being the opposite. Despite that there was not an ounce of the same blood between the two of them.

It was strange to think about for more than a couple of seconds, but Link was incredibly used to strange things. What mattered to him was that Ravio was a dear friend that Link cared deeply for. Even if Ravio was a bit of a coward, and always sold items for way above the normal price.

At the mention of danger already Ravio’s expression morphed from concern to vague fear. He bit his lip and nervously said: “It could have been a weird animal? Sometimes they sound like humans. Especially birds, it could have been an owl or something.”

Link scoffed and raised an eyebrow. “A talking owl? Come on, Ravvy.” Link’s lips turned upwards. “If anything I’d think it’s a ghost!”

“Ugh, no thanks!” Ravio cried, "That means we're haunted! I am not living in a haunted house."

Any continuation of that conversation was paused with a warning trill of Sheerow. She fluttered above them and then towards the kitchen. Link wrinkled his nose, "I smell smoke."

Ravio gasped in horror, and sprinted after his bird companion. "Breakfast!!"

In the end breakfast was only mildly burnt. Slightly charred strips of meat and vegetables were mixed together into a hearty stew to get through two through a busy day. Better yet, was the sauce that mostly disguised the burns, making the dish still quite favourable.

Today was supposed to be the day that Link and Ravio work together on their plans to open a shop together. Most days the two of them were busy; with Link's apprenticeship at the blacksmiths and Ravio's trips back to Lorule to help with kingdom restoration efforts. Having a day where both of them were entirely free was rare so the two had hoped for this to be a planning day.

Yet, despite that Link could only pick at it, each bite slowly chewed as he replayed the memories of last night in his head. He tried extremely hard to focus on what Ravio was saying for his plans but words would phase in and out of his mental grasp. Focusing for Link was sometimes hard, as he was the type to easily get distracted. But this time it was more because of a nagging worry in the back of his head that wouldn't go away. Eventually Ravio placed his spoon into his empty bowl and gave Link a sympathetic smile.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yes, of course!" Link replied, responding a few seconds too late for that to be believable. He blushed when Ravio raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, okay fine. I'm still thinking about last night. I know I thoroughly checked everything but…"

Ravio smiled at him again gently and stood up. "If it's bothering you then let's go check it out."

"You sure?" Link asked. Ravio nodded, and Link all but shot up from the chair and bounded for his equipment. Stifling a laugh, Ravio followed.

Link clambered over the house picking up random items and weapons and shoving it into a magically enchanted bag of storing. He then adorned his regular adventuring gear: a forest green tunic, with a thick cotton under tunic to protect him from most weather. Next were his gloves and boots, and a green scarf. Lastly he placed his favourite hat upon his head: a green sock shaped thing with golden metal plating on the rim.

Fully equipped, and counterpart (and bird) in tow, Link opened the door ready to search. The three branched out and explored the area around the house. Then the wilderness next to it. And then the neighbouring houses. Visually nothing was out of place. No signs of struggle, no blood or even an out of place owl. While he should be relieved Link felt just even more confused.

Secondly they searched for any magical traces. Link watched as Ravio took out a weird magnifying glass and retraced their steps looking only through the lenses of the object. With nothing else to do Link followed curiously. The sun was truly in the sky when Ravio stopped near the outside of Link’s bedroom window.

“How strange!” Ravio said.

“Huh? What is it? I wanna see!” Link leaned over trying to peer over Ravio's shoulder but his counterpart was already stuffing the magnifying glass away. He started muttering something under his breath waving his hands around where he had been looking.

An orb of light glowing golden bright in that spot shortly after. Ravio bowed, “I have solved the mystery!”

Link looked doubtful at the orb and then again back at Ravio, “Did you though?”

“Yes!”

“What is it then?”

“It's…! Something,” Ravio said, shrugging. “Well I don't know what it is. But it's a piece of magic that was lingering about your bedroom. This thing I used is called a Lens of Truth, a very valuable find might I add, and I used some magic to temporarily reveal it to the naked eye. This is why magical items are ver- Link!”

Immediately Link grasped his hands around the area causing Ravio to squawk out a protest.

Nothing happened. The orb slowly faded out of existence.

Link pouted and looked accusatory at his counterpart who threw up his hands. “I didn’t say that anything would happen!”

“Then what is supposed to happen!”

“I don't know!” Ravio exclaimed, throwing up his arms in exasperated fondness, “That was just the traces of the magic. If it's important I'm sure it'll show up again.”

Link supposed Ravio was right but it didn't mean he was happy about it. The two milled around the house leaving each other to their own tasks. Before long, Link sat near the spot where the magic was, checking his items.

Then finally, painfully, an hour later, Link heard a faint whisper calling his name in his head.

“Link.”

Link stood up, “Yes?”

There was a shuffling sound and Ravio appeared at the window frame blinking owlishly down at him. Before Link could elaborate everything in front of his face faded away and was replaced with a vision. He could make out a young girl kneeling on a stone surrounded by water. She was whispering quietly to herself but Link could hear her words clearly.

“Link…please help us. Help Hyrule….”

The vision faded but only slightly. Both Ravio’s and the little girl’s face overlapped over each other causing an almost nauseating mix of colours. Link looked at Ravio frowning.“I’m getting a vision. I saw a little girl. It seemed like she needed my help?”

Ravio leaned forward with an expression that was a mix of nervousness and intrigue. “What kind of help exactly? How did she talk to you?”

“She was far away but I could hear her words in my head clearly,” Link said. He rocked backwards and forwards on feet nervously, “I think Hyrule needs help? My help specifically? And I didn't realise she was talking to me until now! Ravvy, how do I find her??”

Ravio smiled and gave a little shrug. “I don’t know, maybe try replying? She might be able to respond? But- uh actually.” He bit his lip, “What if it's a trap? Mysterious voice calling out for the hero. It kind of reminds me of Hilda's plan years ago. Besides that I just don't want anyone to take advantage of your good nature.”

Link considered those words. It was true: on his very first adventure he received the telepathic aid of the Princess of Lorule, Hilda. She had said her world and Links were at threat because of a villain by the name of Yuga. Eventually it turned out the villain was under the employ of the Princess and that she was tricking Link into doing her dirty work. Hilda had wanted Hyrule’s Triforce to restore her fallen kingdom as their equivalent had been destroyed. She couldn't go through with it in the end. Link could understand people doing desperate things for the things they loved, and so could the Princess, Zelda. In the end the two of them restored Lorule’s artefact with the Triforce’s wish.

Ravio was there to witness the entire adventure. It hasn't been the first time that his counterpart pointed out that Link had problems saying no to favours. Really, Link also understood what Ravio meant too. But…

“I know it could be but I can't really risk it knowing a little girl’s life may be in any chance of danger,” Link said, “Besides, I think it's pretty hard for someone so young to pull off such an elaborate trap!”

Ravio opened his mouth, probably to protest a lot of things in Link’s statement. But he stopped and smiled softly at Link. “Well, let’s try!”

Link nodded and turned his attention to the whispers in his mind. He reached out to it and declared, “I accept your request, little miss! How do I help?”

The world seemed to shudder and in a sudden burst an orb appeared before the duo. The light swarmed at Link and then he felt an odd tugging sensation. It felt familiar. This was the odd kind of feeling that happened when he was about to be teleported somewhere. Link could still see the world around him so he grinned encouragingly at Ravio who, to his credit, was trying not to look too panicked.

“Should I come too?” He called, looking quite frightened at even the prospect.

“I don't think you can. The magic was just for me, yeah?” Link replied. “Besides, someone has to work on getting our new shop up and running!’

Ravio smiled at that and waved his hands goodbye. “You better come back safe, Link!”

Link waved back, “Of course! Tell everyone I love them and I'll be back soon!”

Ravio looked like he was going to say more but the magic of the orb became too bright flooding the world with only light.

In his adventures Link has been through many different kinds of teleportations. He’s gone through portals that required him to be literally a wall painting to get through, ones where he’s teleported halfway across Hyrule, and even to the Sacred Realm itself. While fundamentally different, when activated each teleportation had one thing in common: The feeling of moving rapidly despite his body not moving at all. This time was no different. Link felt entirely weightless as he witnessed flashing images around him. It reminded him of flicking through a picture book, except now he was inside the picture. It was almost unbearable to keep his eyes open as flashes of colours bombarded his eyes enough for him to perceive it, but not enough for him to understand what the objects in front of him truly were.

And suddenly the world was covered in foliage. Blinking, Link looked around adjusting to the new surroundings. Thick trees of unusual shapes cloaked with tangled vegetation engulfed the area, blocking the sky. It caused everything, including the sky itself, to have a green hue about it, making it hard to differentiate anything in the landscape. The atmosphere was murky, giving off a feeling that rain was around the corner at any point. Despite its cold look the temperature was quite warm with Link immediately starting to feel sweat form at his brow. He was already regretting the thick cotton clothes he chose to wear for this venture.

“Um, hello?” Link called, cupping his hands around his mouth. “Little miss, I’m here to help!”

He then listened. Only the calls of unfamiliar sounding animals could be heard.

Well then.

Odd murky forests were not particularly a new thing to Link but this one was definitely not one he had been to before. He wasn’t even sure that he was in Hyrule anymore. Which was kind of strange because the young lady had seemed to be asking him to help Hyrule. But here Link was, and he wasn’t going to turn away from anyone who needed help. Even people he wasn’t even sure where they were in the first place.

With nothing to guide him, Link spun on the spot, eyes closed, a singular arm pointing in front of him. He stopped randomly and opened his eyes facing what could be perceived as a clearing through the trees. That path was as good as any other one.

For a while Link walked through the foliage looking for signs of civilization. Occasionally he called out, hoping to hear anything in reply. Only the calls of strange birds responded. The weird sweaty forest continued on and on - until quite suddenly Link found himself at the edge of a cliff face. Peering down the rocky edge, Link found to no surprise: a blanket of green plants spreading out far towards the horizon. The sun was high up in the sky which confused Link as it was early in the morning when he started. Where exactly did he end up?

Link huffed, looking down again. This time his eyes met with a flash of colour. Link leaned forward, spying a feminine looking figure with bright pinkish-red hair and light brown skin. Link had never seen clothes like the girl wore: a yellow shirt, green skirt and strange black armour with bright highlights on her arms, legs and helmet. She was carrying a pink and yellow backpack. The girl was staring towards the cliff, seemingly deep in thought. She looked as lost as Link felt.

“Hello there!” Link shouted. The red haired figure started in surprise. Link jumped and waved his arms around. “Up here!”

The red haired figure looked up in confusion. She scanned the horizon before settling her eyes on Link. Cupping her hands together over her mouth, the girl yelled back. "Hello! It’s so nice to see someone around here! Are you local?”

“Oh no, I am so very lost!” Link replied. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

The girl shook her head, "Unfortunately not. Been wandering down this path for what feels like hours. The only new things I've seen are these weird statues, and well, you."

"Cool statues?" Link said, leaning even further forward, body leaning precariously over the edge. Down below very likely engraved into the walls of the cliff face were indeed some weird looking statues. From this angle Link thought that they looked a little like fancy snakes. "Okay, stay there I'm going to jump down!"

"Absolutely not!" the girl said, folding her arms. "Incase you're forgetting, you're on top of a cliff. You leaning over it is giving me enough stress as it is."

Link eyed the distance from the cliff edge to the ground below. Sure, a normal jump wouldn't be safe but Link hardly did anything normal. "No, yeah, I got this! Hey miss, want to see a cool trick?"

"No?!" Was the reply. Link could hear her calling out some more but he was already turning away and fishing out his Wind Rod from his bag. Grabbing a firm hold of it, Link started to run away from the cliff to ready his jump-

And slammed head first into a solid object that he was sure wasn't there before.

A Hylian(?) man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes stood in front of Link .He was at least a head taller than Link and wore clothes that Link would expect to see in a colder region. A layer of black underclothing covered the man’s body from head to toe. Over that were clothes of red and brown adorned with gold engravings and due trimmings. Most impressively was the horns on the man’s head. They were tall and waved in a curly pattern reminding Link vaguely of goats. Link wasn't sure if they were real or not but in his humble opinion they looked extremely cool.

Link let out a surprised squeak and stumbled backwards tripping over his own feet. The man reached out his right arm steadying Link before he tumbled even more back. The arm felt rather cold and metallic even through the multiple layers of clothes that Link wore.

Link stared at the man for a moment before his mouth reacted before his brain caught up, "Hello there! Sorry for the crash. Are those horns real?? Can I touch them?"

The man's eyebrows raised up disappearing behind his fringe and he tilted his head to the side. For a second Link thought he had offended the man until he spied the latter's mouth twitching into a smile.

"It happens, regrettably fake, and sure," The man responded. His voice was low and raspy as though he had a sore throat. "That being said: is that normally the first thing you ask to strangers in the woods?"

Link blushed a little at that, "Suppose not! But my brain is going through a little shock, mister sneaky man!"

"I'd say it was less me being sneaky and more that you were very loud," said the man. "Is everything alright? It sounds like you and someone else are lost. Do you need help?"

"Oh yes! I am so lost!" Link said, bouncing up and down slightly. "I don't know what the lady needs but I'm trying to help someone. Are you local? Could you help me find a location?"

The man looked thoughtfully around at the shrubbery. "Not a local but I've been through this place recently. Well, maybe give or take a couple of hundred years probably knowing my luck ...."

Link blinked. "Huh?"

"I do have something probably catastrophic to do but I'd feel bad leaving a kid in the wild so!" The man clapped his hands together. "Let's get to your friend and I'll lead you two to a safe place at least."

Catastrophic?

“... You're kind of weird,” Link decided, “I think that's cool! Do you want to see a cool trick?”

The man nodded, amused. Link flourished his Tornado Rod, a wooden stick with leaf like blades on the tips, from his magical bag and bowed. The man clapped in response. Link then marched over to the cliff, activated the wind magic dwelling within the staff and jumped.

As soon as he entered the air the leaf blades whirred into existence and Link felt a gust of wind generate from it. Link was then propelled upwards into the air, and then floated down towards the ground at a casual pace.

Link heard a gasp from below and looked. The red haired lady was standing close to the cliff in a half crouched pose, arms hovering above her shoulders, as though ready to catch any falling bodies. When it was obvious that Link wasn't going to hurt himself anytime soon the lady relaxed and placed her arms on her hips.

Link waved with his empty hand. The lady huffed but waved back.

“Glad to see you have some brain cells there kiddo,” she said as Link landed next to her, “Maybe, you know, explain what you're doing first next time?”

“Aw, that's not fun though?” Link said, grinning cheekily. It only grew wider when the lady gave him a stern look. “Thank you for worrying about me though! I really appreciate it.”

“Pfft, whatever,” She said, blushing a little, “What took you so long anyway? Magic takes a bit to activate?”

Link turned and pointed up at the cliff that he jumped down from. As if on cue the man he had been talking to ran off the cliffside, bringing something out above him. The lady gasped, before relaxing again when there wasn't any immediate danger.

“What is with weird guys trying to give me heart attacks today?” She muttered to herself, “At least a paraglider looks more sensible…”

The man glided down with a far gentler pace than Link and smoothly landed next to them. Link clapped in return and explained to the girl. “I ran into him up there. He seems to know his way around this place.”

“I've travelled through these woods a couple of times,” the man explained, “Though it might be a little different from what I remembered, I think I can get you two to a safe place.”

The girl shifted uncomfortably on the spot.

“Not that I'm ungrateful for your help, I'm looking for a specific location here I think,” she said. The man looked curiously at her and indicated for her to continue, “I’m looking for a spring in the middle of this forest. I think it's a holy place because it has a statue of the Goddess Hylia in it.”

Link gasped in surprise. “I'm looking for that place too! I need to help a little girl there.”

The man furrowed his eyebrows looking at the two of them. He looked not quite doubtful but like he couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. “And you two haven't met each other before, right?”

“Yeah! I saw a girl in a vision and was teleported here by a bright light!” Link exclaimed. He was quite aware he sounded ridiculous but was too excited to care. Something weird was happening but it seemed that he was going to have some adventuring partners. The idea of not doing this by himself filled him with joy.

“You too, huh?” The man said. He looked at the girl who nodded. He frowned, “But why summon you all here…”

“She said my name specifically and said Hyrule needed help,” Link said, “I couldn't just not help, you know?”

“Yeah, but why summon you two?” The man mumbled more to himself than anyone else, “Me, I can understand but…”

The three stared at each other for a moment, all seemingly taking some time to think. Then the girl let out a sudden laugh, causing Link to jump.

“Sorry, I just had a fun thought,” she said, trying to stifle her giggles, “What are you guys names?”

“Link,” said both Link and the older man. Link startled and whipped his head to the other. The man had a similar expression of surprise.

"Well, Link, and Link," she said, "My name is Link, pleased to meet you."