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Of course, everyone knew that the main sign of the blood of Hylia was the lack of alphas and omegas.
People were unclear on the reason, though most theorized that Hylia as a goddess was beyond such divisions and betas were the closest thing to a neutral balance. Whatever the cause, as far as historical records went every princess who held the divine power had been a beta. This didn’t mean every princess, of course; just as the royal line did birth the occasional prince, some of the children were also alphas and omegas. This was simply seen as a sign that these particular offspring were not blessed by Hylia and therefore were not even considered for the throne, regardless of their order of birth. What would happen if the divine bloodline abandoned the royal family? No, best the princes and non-divine princesses take their place among advisors and nobility, to support the goddess-chosen princesses and queens.
Beta princes, on the other hand, were a murkier subject. Rare as they were, there was no official stance on the matter, but the general sentiment among the populace was that such children would be bad luck for the royal family. Even if a prince could bear the divine power, he had no way of passing it on — to allow him to take the throne might spell the end of the bloodline and the destruction of Hyrule.
Truly, it was for the best if no such children were ever born to the royal family. If a beta prince were to appear, some might even take it upon themselves to right such a wrong.
Knowing these beliefs and views, and how deep they ran in their people, there was little joy in the hearts of the king and queen as their firstborn child turned out to be twins. The eldest, a beautiful beta daughter, was everything they could have wished for. However, her brother, also a beta, brought only terror. How could they stand to love a child knowing that their own people would wish for him to die rather than weaken the royal line? No amount of guards could keep him safe.
It was the queen’s attendant and midwife Impa who came up with a suggestion. They could hardly hide that the queen had given birth; however, the appearance of twins had been a surprise to everyone, and still unknown beyond the birthing chamber. If they were to spirit away the younger twin, to be raised outside the castle in the care of a loyal knight, he might still get to grow up.
The most loyal knight in the royal guard was the king’s own brother, who everyone knew had been looking to retire from service. With a heavy heart he bade his goodbyes to his family, leaving the castle before the birth of the princess had even been announced. By the time the citizens of Hyrule celebrated the arrival of baby Zelda her brother was already far away, settling into a small village under the care of his uncle.
By the time they returned to Central Hyrule some years later nobody thought too closely about how close the old knight’s ward was in age to the little princess. Not that anyone paid attention to either of them, not when the entire kingdom was mourning the death of their queen.
On a stormy night yet more years later a small boy woke up in his bed, knowing that he was needed somewhere yet not sure where or why.
He lost his uncle, the only family he knew. He fought through ancient dungeons, faced countless enemies, and proved his courage and resilience over and over again. He became a hero and saved all of Hyrule and when he held the power of the goddesses at his fingertips all he wished for was for things to go back to the way they had been. For all his trouble he got physical scars, a lifetime of nightmares, an unending distrust of royal knights, and two more years with his uncle.
Two more years was far too little, even if it was still more than he had thought he would have after finding his uncle bleeding to death in the sewer. He was left alone in the world, and when the princess approached him in the middle of his grief to reveal their connection, it felt like an insult rather than comfort.
Perhaps fleeing Hyrule altogether wasn’t the most mature reaction, but then, he was still just a child. A child who could not even flee the fate of a hero, perhaps, as he soon found out in Labrynna and Holodrum.
However much it had hurt to suddenly hear he had actually had family the whole time, he still did everything he could to save Zelda. His sister or not, the princess or not, she was in danger and he could not let that stand. Clearly, whatever it was that made one a hero had its claws deep in his soul.
On the way back was Koholint. The less said about that, the better.
By the time he finally made his way back to Hyrule, the empty house didn’t hurt any less but he had grown more used to the pain. He still rejected the idea of claiming his title, could not bear the idea of being surrounded by the knights who were still a constant feature of his nightmares even if he’d been willing to deal with the politics and superstitions and responsibility. Being the established hero, though, he now could spend time around them without too many questions. He might never be able to know his mother, still struggled with the idea of family besides his uncle, but at least he would know his father and sister. Nobody really questioned the Hero being close to the royal family.
He tried to live a normal life, he truly did. He got himself an apprenticeship with the local blacksmith, tended his orchard, and tried to forget all about heroes and fights. Except life could never be that simple, not for him. The king’s health had not been the greatest since before Link’s first adventure, but a harsh winter finally sapped the last of his strength. His children got to say goodbye, but it didn’t make the loss hurt any less.
If nothing else, Link could now stand beside his sister when the king was buried. Not as her brother, not as the prince, but as the Hero of Hyrule, and it was better than nothing.
As much as he hated to admit it, after that Link felt like his life started to fall apart. Zelda was busy getting used to her new duties, being the queen in practice if not in name only due to her young age. Without her companionship Link felt like he was adrift, and if there was one thing he hated, it was drifting at sea. Just getting out of bed was starting to become a chore, which caused trouble with his apprenticeship. He knew he was on thin ice, and avoided another lecture only because the smith needed him to deliver the Captain’s forgotten sword.
By the time he reached the Sanctuary, the captain was literally a smear on the wall. Clearly a regular life was not in the cards for him.
Now that he knew there was trouble afoot Link tried to get to Zelda, but he was just barely too late. In fact, he ended up being in need of rescue. This was how he met Ravio, who was pushy and annoying and never stopped talking and wormed his way into Link’s heart despite all his reluctance. He was the one bright spot in the otherwise dismal time, someone to keep his home from being dark and empty while Link battled his way through yet another dungeon.
He saved Hyrule, and Zelda, and together they even saved Lorule. Not everything was fixed at once, but with the restoration of their triforce, the land should start to repair itself. The chasms and fissures would knit together, the breaches would close, and Lorule could start to rebuild itself.
The breaches did close. As Link returned home, there was no crevice on the hillside. There was no cheerful greeting as he opened the door, no strange bird-beast trying to steal his hat, nothing but rearranged furniture and a new set of magical items to even suggest that anything had happened.
Link did not cry. He was too used to losing people. At least this time, it had been real.
He had to believe it had been real, or he might break for good.