The Other Side of the Field (Zelda One Shot)

Hero of Time

"Will you join us? Your fighting skills are better than I've ever seen. You'll be a great improvement to my army." It was a question he had expected. He had wanted to join so badly, but he didn't want to abandon his destiny. What would Zelda think of him?

He had joined teams with Ganon before, only to be betrayed and have his voice taken away for speaking freely. However, this was a once in a lifetime chance. "Link, the Hero of Time." It had a nice ring to it. But "Link, Head of Ganondorf's Army" sounded nice as well.

"There's no way I'd ever be able to do something like this. I'd lose everyone! My friends, my family, the only girl I've ever loved; but this is Ganon we're talking about! He's the most powerful being in Hyrule!" Link thought to himself as he stared at Ganon with a dumbfounded expression.

"Link? Are you okay?" Ganon asked with a quizzical tone. He didn't understand why the boy in green was acting this way. "Listen. If you join my army, I'll give you your voice back. I took it away for reasons unknown. I must have just been very upset on that specific day."

That was all Link needed to hear. He instantly nodded his head, not even thinking twice about his decision. All he wanted was to be able to speak again, to be able to tell others his opinion and stop being pushed around. He had forgotten what the sound of his own voice was like; it had been so long.

"Wise decision. Gather your things. We will meet back here in 24 hours. Do whatever you must do in that time," Ganon informed the boy. Link looked up at the large man before him and crossed his arms, an expectant look on his face. "Right, your voice," Ganon replied surprisingly. "You shall receive your vocals back when we meet in 24 hours. I don't want you running off with a newly acquired voice and forget all about our deal. Understand?" Link quickly nodded, and with that, he rushed off to his house and quickly packed his things. He didn't want to waste any time. He had so much to do, and in only 24 hours.

As Link closed his satchel, he glanced over at a photo of Zelda and him. Zelda... he would miss her so much. After fighting for her kingdom for so long, he had grown so attached to her, but he was never able to tell her how he truly felt. Yet, he couldn't. He still didn't have his voice. But, he could write her a note, couldn't he? He would surely never see her again after this day, unless it was on the battlefield. Writing a note wouldn't be as hard now as it was before. Link knew there was nothing to be afraid of now.

He pulled out a pen and paper, the words he was going to say rushing inside his head, dying to escape, but as the first drop of ink hit the paper, the words had already escaped, and they were bouncing around the room. He had tried to catch them, but it was no use. They were gone, escaping out the window as he sat there with an empty mind, nothing but a familiar pain inside him.

"Come on, Link! Think!" he screamed at himself internally, but to no use. All of the motivation and drive he had gathered before was gone now. All of the creativity... lost. Every single word that he had hoped and wished to put on that paper... gone. He had nothing. Absolutely nothing. Over and over he had told himself what he was going to write, and now, he couldn't even think of one word.

After at least an hour of sitting hopelessly, the words began to return to him, once again rushing inside his mind. Pen instantly met paper, and he wrote word after word, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, until finally, he was done. He hopefully looked down at the letter that he had just written. It was ready to be delivered to Zelda.

Link ran to Hyrule Castle, a spring bounding in his every step, yet fright in his eyes. What if Zelda never wanted to speak to him again? He would have to fight her one day, as well. He might even have to kill her.

Link suddenly stopped. The thought of him killing Zelda; he just couldn't do it. He was sure that he could arrange something with Ganon, maybe where Zelda could live and just stay prisoner in his dungeon? That would surely be better than killing her. He could visit her whenever he wanted, as well.

The boy in green began to walk again, this time shaking. He had so many things going through his mind, he couldn't just focus on one. What would Zelda think of him? Would she ever want to talk to him again? Would she ever even want to see him after this? Would she be scared of him? Would she be happy that he was getting his voice back?

Before he knew it, he had arrived at the castle doors.

"Link, the Hero of Time. Here to see Zelda, I presume? Come on in!" the guard smiled. Link, Hero of Time. He would miss that name. It really did have a nice ring to it. But now, it was too late to turn back. He had to do this. Ganon's trickery and wit had taken ahold of him, and he was foolishly sucked into his plan. It was all a part of his plan...