A Link Without Zelda [COMPLETE]

PROLOGUE: What happened After

"It's you? No... This can't be true," says Adel. It is difficult to speak but she manages these few words between surges of pain. She is quite surprised to be in this situation actually. After Gannondorf's defeat almost half a year ago, Adel never thought she would find herself swimming in a pool of her own blood.

For Adel's entire life, she worked hard. She thought it would be her duty to fight and protect Elrule, the community she was raised in. She was guided by her father, a prestigious knight within Elrule. But unbeknownst to her, her father had other intentions. He knew she would be called upon to go back to Hyrule, defeat Gannondorf, and reclaim the throne to restore the lands the king of evil destroyed. She had no idea that Hyrule still existed let alone the fact she was born there. And she definitely didn't know that she came into this world as Princess Zelda. Not until Link, the hero, fulfilled his duty by awakening her true identity and supporting her as she did just that. Kill Gannondorf and rule Hyrule.

Since the moment Gannondorf died, the kingdom has been at peace. People are free to leave their homes and the community has been rebuilding itself almost effortlessly. People are working hard to restore the damage done and regain the livelihood that they once had even though it's been lifetimes since they experienced that. It's as if the people here just know what it is they're supposed to do. As if they know how Hyrule ought to be. As if they lived through it so many lifetimes that it has become ingrained in their DNA.

Of course, there are some tasks that her father or Link did not prepare her for such as how to restore extinct races such as the Zoras and Gorons. Fortunately, she has a team of people who support her. Arth, her childhood peer from her original homeland, has sacrificed his life in Elrule to help Adel in Hyrule. There is also Ulind, an old, erratic man that knows Hyrule and it's past like he knows the back of his own hand.

But still Adel misses her father. His mission was to raise Adel and prepare her for her future. He accomplished that, at the sacrifice of his own life. Then there is Link. The boy who traversed dimensions to awaken Adel and bring her back to Hyrule. He accomplished that goal too but the trade off is that he is now stuck is Elrule, unable to get home, unable to get to Adel. While that chapter ends, a new chapter begins. Gannondorf may be dead, but it seems that the peace will not last. 

She just never expected who would be the one behind the shadow. But as her body becomes drenched with blood, it all makes so much sense. She just wished it was somebody else. Anyone else.

"Damn it all," says Adel. She hangs her head low and watches the hypnotic pattern of her tears as they fall and disappear into her blood. Link and her father prepared Adel for her mission to slay Gannondorf and reclaim the throne. But neither could have prepared her for this.

The story of Link awakening Adel as Princess Zelda to slay Gannondorf has ended but a new one continues. Gannondorf may be dead, but nothing is at peace. Adel realizes now there has been something evil here this entire time, lurking in the shadows. It was just a matter of time before it manifested. 

This is what happens after.