(ZGen/Fan/Act)Legend of Zelda - Soul of Gerard (T)

This is a Zelda fanfic based off of the end of OoT, taking it in a different direction. This is the prologue, so if I get enough comments, I'll post the first chapter. So...

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Time. Who knew that this would be the key? One moves only forward, at mercy to time. Only a special few can fight against time, going back and forth through it. Fighting against the key is forbidden in all worlds. Only a fool would go against it, and there are two who did just that. In fear, one tried to fix that error, but instead created an alternate dimension, still thinking that the error had been undone. In one, a foolish child lives his joyous life. In another, a foolish man lives out his lonely life. In time, the error is “fixed” when the original fades away as the man dies. Now, the error lives on as this foolish child has aged towards manhood, but not quite there yet.

All must follow time! Those who go against it are just fools trying to stop the unstoppable and prevent that which can’t be prevented. These two fools have been cursed and soon their curse will be fulfilled! Only time can determine when they will be cursed and time is unstoppable. So he has spoken and so shall time rule over all!

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Come to the castle. I have something for you to retrieve. It is essential to the safety of Hyrule!

“I’m coming,” a boy said, blinking the sleep away, “Don’t worry.”

The sunlight helped the sleep escape as the boy walked towards his closet to change. Apparently, he had an “audience” with the princess, and it was serious, like the last one. He didn’t mind though. A sixteen year old boy had no other work but to become a knight. This teen saw that as his only future and he sighed as the sword in the corner of the room came closer to him as he walked closer to the door.

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A girl waited in the courtyard. She had sent the message and now she awaited the boy once again. Hyrule’s future was bleak in her eyes and she wanted his help to brighten it up, or rather was it that her future that was in need of light? Most sixteen year old girls were either wives to knights, shopkeepers, or other potential occupation holders. She had only one future, a princess of a vast kingdom. Behind her was the dreadful throne room where her father, the king of Hyrule, took complaints and made orders. It was darker than the scarcely light Temple of Time back in the village. The girl resumed looking at the sky.

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The boy had earned a nice place in the Lon Lon Ranch as an errand boy. Ever since he returned a few years ago from his search for his friend, the ranch owner gave him a nice job as an errand boy. He had to deliver the ranch’s milk to the main village and the mountain village every week or so. In exchange for this job, he was able to keep a horse as well as board in the ranch owner’s home with his daughter. Today, the two were out on a quick trip to the mountain village, which left the errand boy alone to lock the door and head to the castle in the main village.

With the door firmly locked, he whistled and a horse galloped to him. The horse had a shiny light brown coat with black at the hooves. The hair the came off of the horse’s head was white and a darker brown saddle was on the middle of her back. The boy gave the horse a carrot and began trotting down the small hill to the gates of the main village.

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The young princess sat where she stood and now looked at the arch before her. The grey stones were boring her as she waited for the boy whom she had called. A step was heard and the girl looked at the arch only to see her caretaker. This light skinned, white haired lady wore purple leather that seemed perfect for sneaking. The black gloves made her look more like a deadly assassin than a caring nurse. At this sight, the girl lowered her head in depression.

This young nurse was her friend when she was sad, a mother when she broke something, and a soldier when the castle was in danger. The nurse needed only know she was sitting to see something was wrong, so she walked over to this princess and sat down.

“What’s wrong?” the nurse asked, looking at the dull look the girl gave her.

The girl looked back up at the sky. The clouds moved along while the sun stood still.

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The boy was still having his horse trot as he looked up at the sky. He was wondering why he took the job of the errand boy. Maybe it was because of his horse, or because of the look of the ranch. Maybe it was because of the ranch owner’s daughter. He laughed at that thought. To him, she was attractive, but not really the type of person he would date. There was just something missing, but he never knew what. He saw the armor of the guards at the gate. They were silver and gleamed at the right angle. The symbol of the royal family, 3 gold triangles formed into one large triangle, was on the chest plate and the shields. Maybe he wanted to get away from being a knight. He looked at the moving clouds and the still sun.

“I want to escape my fate” he said to his horse as the guards admitted him into the village.

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“What’s wrong princess?” the nurse asked again, a little concerned.

The girl looked at her and said, “I want to escape my fate.”

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Those who tempt time will be destroyed.

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Here is the first chapter. Please comment.

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Errand Boy’s Weekly Pay

The boy left his horse with the local shopkeeper. The man owed him a favor when this errand boy brought both milk through torrential rain and wind and retrieved his supplies from a group of bandits. The boy took the hill towards the gate where a guard stood with his spear. A quick exchange of money opened the gate and allowed him to cross to dangerous territory. He artfully sneaked behind a few guards up the next hill and jumped reached his “ladder”. This consisted of a few out of place stones he could place his feet on so he was above the gate. From there, he jumped into the moat and let the current take him to the edge where his delivery crates of milk were placed. Then, he picked the door there using a small knife he kept with him.

The way to the courtyard was empty. Certainly, this was unusual because guards always filled this place up and kept a constant, clock-like watch on the place. Either way, he arrived at the courtyard to see the princess standing and looking at the sky. The boy looked at the princess for a bit. She had a pink dress on with the royal family’s symbol on the skirt. She wore no shoes and her hands were not covered with gloves. There was no headdress, leaving her blonde hair to fall freely and dance when the wind invited it to do so.

As the boy approached her, the nurse suddenly appeared next to the fair princess. The boy ran over to the two. A quick tap on their shoulders made them jump and turn. The princess was frightened, as her blue eyes showed. The nurse was in a fighting pose, ready to take him out. The two sighed and waited for him to say something.

“The guards in the courtyard are gone” the boy told the two.
“I sent them away for the holiday week” the nurse explained to the farm hand.
“Holiday?” he asked.
“You know,” the princess said, “The Festival of Time.”
“Oh,” he said, “So what did you need me for?”
“Well, I-I… well… um”
“She lied” the nurse interrupted.
“What?” Link asked, confused, “Why?”
“Um… um…”
“She was a bit lonely,” Impa replied for Zelda, “She’s all worried that her father will marry her off to some ingrate.”

“I can see why that’s essential to the safety of Hyrule,” Link said, laughing it off, “Well, princess. If you meet someone you want to marry, tell your dad. After all, your love should take priority over the king’s wish of a “duplicate”.”

“Thank you,” Impa said, throwing a small Deku Nut, thusly blinding him.

The boy reappeared outside of the outer gates of the castle, signaling that his visit was now over. So, he returned to the shopkeeper and retrieved his horse and rode towards the ranch he lived at. There was some anger within him about the lie the princess told him, but now he had to return or there would be more anger in his face. The ranch owner and his daughter were to return fairly soon and if they found he had left, he would be scolded and forced to feed the cuccos, his most hated job. He could see the entrance in front of him, but to his far left, coming down the stairs, were the two he raced. He would make it!

“Fire the arrows!” a female voice shouted to his right.

He looked and saw a wagon moving towards the gate. The guards stationed there had gone inside the nearby tower for a quick break, so the band of women that rode in on horses continued to fire arrows on the defenseless wagon. The boy knew what he could have done to escape his job, but this became more important. He sighed and placed his sword into a blue sheath he made. The green hilt matched his green shirt. The brown work pants he wore looked light baked mud and his dark brown boots looked like fresh mud. His blonde hair was capped by a hat which was threatened by the wind to be blown off as he rode into battle.

As his horse neared one of the dark skinned women, he jumped and kicked her off, thusly taking her horse. The boy signaled his horse to run towards the ranch, which it followed. An archer started firing arrows at the warrior, but he turned the horse to block the path of the incoming archer. The enemy horse reared up, allowing the boy to take the woman’s bow and ten arrows. With the sheath, he knocked out the archer and followed the other women. They, too, were skilled archers and were able to divert the wagon’s horses away from the gate. The boy aimed one arrow and let it fly. A horse was hit and the archer was sent into the ground. Another arrow flew past an archer and hit the arrow she launched at the horses of the wagons. The errand boy jumped and knocked her off as well, taking her horse. Another three arrows were fired, diverting the archers’ attentions to him, letting the wagon escape. These women were angered by his work and proceeded to fire on him. He rode through it and fired one arrow at a bow, snapping it in two, but missing the enemy. Next, he jumped off the horse and took the broken bow as he landed on the saddle of this bow-less archer. With the extra weight, the horse tipped towards the ground to crush him, but he leaped off, letting the horse fall. In the air, he threw the broken weapon like a javelin and fired another arrow. The arrow fell first, thusly stopping another horse, but the damaged bow dug into the archer’s back, making her fall to the ground. The last of the archers began to retreat towards the western canyon. A large lump was in the ground on their route. He fired one arrow at it. The large lump rose into the air and starting spinning blades to fly. It targeted the retreating archers. They ran back towards the battlefield as the boy let one more arrow fly as he made the horse gallop towards them. The arrow hit the flying monster in the main root, causing it to explode like a bomb. The flash gave the boy the chance to jump off the horse as its speed and attempt at colliding with its friends caused them all to veer off the course and fall over. The battle was over and the guards had just noticed the field. By the time they arrived, the horses had been patched up and the women were tied up.

“You are coming with us!” a guard shouted, “A wagon told us that you eleven were attacking them.”

“Eleven?” one asked in confusion, “There were twelve of us!”

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A room in the ranch was not illuminated, but not for long. The door slammed open and candlelight showed the scene. The boy had been seated in a chair at the far corner of the room. The man carrying the candle had a thick mustache and a large nose. His face was red from anger. The boy knew it meant trouble.
“Link!” the man shouted, making a few items shake.
“Yes Talon?” the boy answered, standing up.
“I am your boss first and your friend second!” the man shouted, “Anyway, why did you sneak out?”

“I didn’t sneak out” Link said, trying to act as innocently as possible.
“When we returned, Epona was franticly running around the ranch,” Talon began, “So, I went up here to find the room empty. A few minutes later, Malon said she saw someone carrying something towards the back of the house. The path was covered with blood! So now you’re in a world of-"

“Be quiet,” Link said, shutting Talon’s mouth, “Can’t you see that she’s sleeping?”

Talon looked at the bed and saw a bandaged dark skinned woman lying face up. There were no sheets on the bed, but a quick look saw that the sheets were in another corner, stained with blood.

“You brought a Gerudo in here?” Talon asked, concerned.
“I accidentally impaled her with a bow and she needed to be bandaged fast” Link explained.

“You wounded a Gerudo?” the boss asked in fear.
“It’s a long story that I’ll tell you later” the farm hand answered.
“Tell me now” he ordered.

Link made sure not to leave a single detail out, from his brave, selfless dash into battle to the three hundred women ready to take him out with swords and arrows to his heroic victory over them all using his wits to send them straight into the Hylian guards’ hands. He then told the real story of his dash into battle to the defeat of the eleven women and the injury in the one next to them.

“So you bandaged her completely?” Talon asked.
“I got some help from one of the wagon driver’s daughters,” Link answered, “Did you expect me to bandage her completely? I only did her back where the bow was. She did everything else.”

Talon sighed and had Link ready himself for cucco duty. At those words, he sighed and got his shield. As he headed towards the door, he heard a gasp for air from behind him.

“She’s awake boss” he said, turning to see her bewildered.

The Gerudo looked around and tried to get off the bed, but yelped in pain. Link pushed her back down and backed away a bit.

“Don’t try to get on your legs yet,” Link told her, “They’re still hurt from your fall when I hit you.”

“What?” she said, “You did this?”
“I impaled you by accident and bandaged you up” Link answered.

The Gerudo began to turn red in the face.

“With some help from a nurse” he responded, the red leaving her face.
“Why d-” she started.
“Because you needed to be bandaged or you’d die,” the farm hand answered, “Now I have cucco duty. Your stuff is behind those sheets and your horse is outside of that window when you’re ready to go.”

With that, he left the Gerudo alone in his room.

“What an odd warrior” she said, going back to sleep.

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The feed was in his hand and the door was in front of him. His shield was on his back and he was ready to go to war. Link opened it with caution and entered a room full of white feathered beasts with red coming out of their heads. He opened the feed bag and proceeded towards them with caution He went to the bin where he would place the feed but the cuccos began pecking the bag. When he lifted it to pour, it broke open and they began eating it all. Link tried to put as much as he could into the bin, but they were too fast. On one scoop, a cucco pecked him. In response, he swatted it away and it roared with its rooster-like signal. Link backed away from the cuccos and took out his shield. Soon, they began flying everywhere, causing mayhem. He blocked a few of their attacks with his shield, but one pecked him on this left arm. Blood trickled down the site onto the straw on the ground.

He continued blocking and swatted some away, despite the injury. He back flipped onto the staircase only to be pecked on his right leg by a cucco. More came and pecked him everywhere they could. After they flew away, Link was left with a bloody white undershirt and ruined work pants also stained in blood. His left arm was rendered immobile and the cuccos kept flying. His right arm was barely able to block their attacks. He had to distract them, even for a second. He tried to move his left arm again, but it didn’t budge. A cucco pecked his right pocket, making the feed fall out. Instantly, the cucco began eating it.

Link did not want to waste a second as he jumped down into a bag of cucco feed. The deadly birds began pecking the bags, but soon started to enjoy dinner. The young warrior limped towards the door when he saw three cuccos guarding it.

“The Super-Cuccos!” he shouted.

These were Talon’s greatest cuccos since they moved three times faster than the regular ones. One could deal enough damage to make a villager believe an army of cuccos had attacked the poor person. He backed away, but the door slammed open. No one was there, but he took the chance and ran outside and slammed the door on them with his only hand. He panted and turned to see the Gerudo from before standing on her two feet, but still bandaged.

“What are you doing standing?” Link asked, “Your legs could get worse.”
“They’re fine,” the Gerudo said, “Besides, they would have killed you had I not opened the door.”

“Thanks” he reluctantly said.
“You are indeed a strange warrior,” the archer continued, “You defeated twelve of the best Gerudo archers but you were almost beaten by cuccos?”

“You want to try?” Link asked, handing her the shield.
“No thanks” she responded, pushing the item away.
“Aren’t you going to leave?” he asked, confused on why she was there.
“That man asked me to tell you to come in for dinner” the Gerudo answered.
“The nerve of Talon right now!” Link shouted, “I think he has problems with Gerudos.”
“I can tell” she answered.

After a moment of silence, the Gerudo said, “Thanks.”

With that, she grabbed the unsuspecting warrior and kissed him. After she released, Link jumped back, blushing furiously.

“What in Hyrule was that for?” Link asked, shocked.
“I don’t know!” she responded.

Another awkward moment of silence followed.

“I’m Link” the boy said, extending his hand.
“Shira” the Gerudo said, shaking his hand firmly.

With that, the two went to the family house to eat, putting whatever just happened away in the back of their minds.

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The morning rose quickly. Shira awoke on the bed she was placed on while Link was outside working. The early cucco feeding had gone well and Shira saw him go off to the wagon when he looked into the back and went off, grumbling. Later, he came back carrying not one, but two milk crates on his back and placed them into the wagon and finally took off. The Gerudo arose and dressed herself in the battle attire she came with. It was time she left.

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Link had to make a delivery to the bar in the middle of the Hylian Castle village. On the way, though, he heard what sounded like horses behind him, but the sound faded. Worried, he made Epona move as fast as she could to get the delivery in so he could get back. The guards at the gate welcomed the speeding wagon in. Townspeople were confused when the wagon made a sudden stop at the milk bar. He took the two crates and dropped them at the door of the bar. In a hurry, he asked the shopkeeper next door to unload the milk until he came back. The farm hand removed Epona from the wagon and galloped towards the ranch as fast as he could.

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Shira jumped out of the window and found her horse ready to go. Without a weapon, she headed towards the ranch exit when she heard horses. What? That’s the distinct sound of a desert horse! About 50 are heading here. Shira moved herself into the windmill and left her horse to be with the others. The extra crates were piled in there along with a cow. The window was dusty, but she could see to the other side easily. Many Gerudos had arrived at the ranch and began to surround the house. They were armed with both arrows and swords. One of the women there was wearing a white uniform instead of the usual purple. A captain? Captains are under the direct order of- no! The captain had a curved blade in each hand and one was pointed at the house. All of the sword wielders slowly walked towards the house, ready to kill.

The archer looked around the room to find something to fight with. Only a broom was located. With it, she went outside and approached the captain.

“Shira?” the captain asked, “Is that you?”
“It is” she answered.
“Good! Now help us kill the warrior that lives here!” the captain ordered.
“What? Why?”
“He has disgraced our archery unit and as the Canyon’s Thieves, we will not accept this!”

Shira looked down on the ground with sadness. The boy who saved her was not there, and she knew what the squad was going to do when they only find those two innocents. Shira looked back up at the captain.

“Are you saying you don’t want revenge?” the captain asked.
“He saved my life! I can’t kill him!” Shira answered.
“You’re betraying us? The Gerudo way? What about our leader?”
“Our leader is blind to the Gerudo way!”
“You attacked without the order?” Shira asked in shock.
“She has been blinded and so have you!” the captain screamed, “You disappoint me Shira! You don’t deserve to live as a Gerudo! Squadron C! Kill Shira!”

A group of the archers began firing on the defenseless Gerudo. Shira ran as far as she could. Where’s Link?

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The green warrior was going to have to sneak into the ranch. Gerudo swordswomen were at the entrance, ready to strike at any fools trying to enter. Link had never snuck into the ranch before, but he had to try. He looked around the walls to find some sort of place where he could climb to. When he reached the entrance again, he sighed and decided to go straight towards them. However, a large brown owl decided to stop him. Its head turned around once and then again. Link knew this owl, though not by name.

“What are you doing?” he asked the owl, “I need to get in!”
“Then I’ll give you a lift” the owl offered.
“Won’t I get spotted?”
“Not at all!” the owl shouted, “Now come on!”

The farm hand grabbed onto the owl’s feet and flew over the outer walls of the ranch and saw the attack. Archers were firing on a running figure while every other Gerudo was breaking into Talon’s house. Link told the owl to drop him off at the house, and so it dropped him on the roof. He waved and snuck into a side window in the attic. From there, he looked down at a knothole in the floor. Link saw Malon and Talon being approached by Gerudos in the kitchen. Another knothole showed that no one had entered his room. Taking this a chance at a preemptive strike, he tore off one of the floorboards and jumped down. There, he took his sword and shield along with a fresh bottle of Lon Lon Milk that was supposed to be for Shira.

He took to the stairs and jumped down the last flight, knocking a Gerudo on her back. The other Gerudo charged him, but he parried their attacks and knocked them out. Once all were on the ground, Talon and Malon approached him.

“You’ve really got to get over this pacifist nonsense!” Talon shouted.
“Father” Malon began.
“Quiet Malon,” the father said, “The Gerudo will not stop until they kill you. If you keep knocking them out, then they’ll keep coming back. Respond in kind Link!”

A Gerudo arose from the ground and jumped towards Malon. A sword was placed on the daughter’s neck and a smile was on the dark skinned woman’s face.

“Don’t make me kill her” the Gerudo said.
“Why would you kill her?” Link asked, “I thought Gerudos were nobler than this!”
“You speak of Nabooru’s tribe of Gerudos,” she said, “We are the Canyon’s Thieves, the leaders of the Gerudo way!”
“What is your way?” Link asked, ready to attack if needed.
“Kill and kill until we get what we want!” the swordswoman shouted, raising her sword to cut.

Link had had enough. He ran in and blocked the sword with his shield. The farm hand pushed Malon away and delivered a slash to the Gerudo’s stomach. He looked at her as the life left her eyes. He sighed. Looks like Talon was right. Link left the house, ready to help the running figure. Before he left, he took two of the curved swords on the ground.

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Shira hid in the windmill behind the milk crates. The arrows were flying in, hitting everything. The door was locked by a broomstick to save her some time. Although, time ran out when the door broke down from the consecutive arrows and a Gerudo sword bearer entered. Shira had no choice but to run back outside when she wasn’t looking. Back in the open field, she continued to run from the arrows.

Another group of archers came towards her on horseback soon enough. The Gerudo was trapped in a circle of enemies. They all readied their arrows and prepared to fire. One archer failed to ready the arrow.

“What’s wrong?” her neighbor asked.

The archer fell over, exposing an arrow in her back. The others looked at the perpetrator. He was wearing green and brown and in his hands was a bow. The archers began firing arrows at him, but Link kept moving closer. Shira took the chance to get on the dead archer’s horse and rode towards the green warrior. Link saw her coming and tossed the two curved swords in the air. The lone Gerudo grabbed them and got off the horse as an arrow pierced its back leg. Shira followed Link to the house where he told everyone to get behind something.

“I can’t use swords,” Shira complained, “I was trained to use arrows only.”
“You’ll have to learn fast because we’re going to go back out there” Link said.

The green warrior ran outside and began dealing with the sword units first, giving them fatal blows with his blade. Shira took a breath in and charge outside to help. On her exit, an arrow was fired at her, but she used a blade to stop it. The Gerudo ran over to the horseback archer and knocked her down, taking her bow and arrows. She ran towards the house and stood on the roof. Then, she fired arrows at as many archers as she could.

Link was busy dealing with the swordswomen to notice the captain taking aim at his back. He turned as the arrow was approaching his face. From nowhere, another arrow intercepted it and nullified the attack, letting Link charge at the captain. With that, she ordered a retreat and headed towards the exit, but there stood the Hylian guards, ready to arrest the few that survived. One of the guards approached Link.

“You will be a very good knight when the age is right” he said to the farm hand.
Link let them leave with the Gerudo and shivered in fear as he entered the house.

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Shira was on her horse and approaching the exit. It was the dead of night and she hoped no one would see her leave. She looked back at the ruined house and turned to leave, but someone in green stood in her way.

“Link!” she shouted.
“Where are you going?” he asked.
“Away from here,” the Gerudo said, “I’ve caused enough damage here.”
“What are you talking about?” the farm hand asked.
“They came here because of me” she said, avoiding eye contact.
“They came to kill me,” he said, “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“You said I could go anytime I wanted” Shira reminded him.
“Where are you going to go?” Link asked, “I believe those were the Gerudos you worked with.”

Shira remained silent and continued to avoid looking at him. Link moved out of the way.

“Go” he said.
“What?” the lone Gerudo asked in astonishment.
“If you want to go, I won’t stop you anymore,” he continued, “You’ve answered everything I wanted to know.”

The farm hand returned to his room and let himself be overtaken by sleep until the morning rose. Shira stayed outside.

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Morning came quickly and the first thing Link did was look outside. Shira was no longer there. I guess she left. Maybe the Gerudo will let her continue living. He dressed as usual and went to feed the cuccos, armed with the feed and a shield. When he opened the door, out came a dark skinned woman. She was bleeding everywhere, but despite that, she slammed the door. Link looked at her eyes.

“Shira?” he asked, “Is that you?”
“Yes” she said, still getting her breath.
“I thought you left” the farm hand said.
“I decided I’m going to stay,” the Gerudo said, smiling, “And those cuccos are fiercer than the Gerudo!”

“Aren’t they?” Link asked.

The two laughed as they returned to the house for a nice breakfast. There were three days left until the large carnival.