The Legend of Zelda; Darkness Before the Dawn

Chapter 1; Rauru

"Where am I?" 

     We were already crouched above her as the sleeping woman startled awake. Her cropped golden locks were tousled, and almost glowed in the afternoon sun. She scrambled away from us, her eyes wide. If I hadn't known any better, I would have thought she was in terrible danger, just from the look on her face. 

     Sonia smiled calmly. "We didn't mean to startle you, I'm sorry." She withdrew her hands to her sides. "It's okay," she comforted, "My name is Sonia."

     The girl's breathing slowed, the adrenaline seeping out of her body. I finally found the courage to ask: "And... could we ask what your name is?"

     She stood, still slightly defensive, but answered. "I am the daughter of King Rhoam of Hyrule- Zelda."

     I pondered for a moment. "An unexpected answer..." I took a moment to try and smile warmly at her, as not to intimidate this... princess? I was still a bit skeptical. "We are the king and queen who founded Hyrule, after all... or at least we were, the last time I checked."

     Her gaze softened as her stance became more open. "You two founded Hyrule?" She asked breathily. "And you're the king?"

     I was a bit taken aback. Was she surprised that I was royalty? Did she not feel it in her blood? Whatever the case, I introduced myself. "My name is Rauru- King Rauru of Hyrule." 

     Zelda seemed deep in thought as she repeated our names to us. "King Rauru, and Queen Sonia?" She looked around, at the oak trees in the woods behind her, the sky full of birds, and the tall green grass, and something seemed to reveal itself to her. "But that must mean..." 

     Her eyes flew open and she bolted through the woods without warning. As she stumbled to the other side, the land came into view and she gasped. 

     Death mountain loomed in the back of the landscape as the vast Hyrule field sprawled out before her. The hills of Hebra rose and fell to her left and the Great Hyrule Forest stood tall, the subject of the painting she was seeing. 

     She fell to her knees as if somebody had struck her in the gut, and breathed heavily. Sonia and I caught up to her. 

     "Zelda." Sonia gently approached her, "It's all right. We suspected you may have this reaction."

     Zelda stood again, clutching at her chest. "I- I need to get back. The Demon King, he's going to-" Zelda looked around frantically, but couldn't find anything that could help. 

     Sonia and I shared a look. We had felt the disturbance in time and rushed to the scene, but we weren't sure what we would be dealing with. For all we knew, it could've been much worse. But outside of that, a young adult with time manipulation powers in distress was never a good sign. 

     "We will get you where you need to be soon enough." I stated calmly. "But first, we should show you something." I turned, and began to follow a dusty pathway out of the woods. The two ladies followed, and soon we were on route together. She seemed to calm down as we walked, which was a relief. It was apparent that she recognised this path, but her eyes revealed that there was something missing. 

     We made it to the top of a crag where one could see the landscape better. It was a personal favorite spot of mine, the wind in my hair, the soft scent of flowers drifting in from the northeast...

     "As I thought." She sighed, "This is not the world I know." She stared at the horizon, the high noon sun bringing the colors of Hyrule to life. "A time so far back in the past, it's become legend..." She turned to us, continuing. "So it's true, this really is the era of Hyrule's founding?"

      I cleared my throat. "Your presence here is just as strange to us, Zelda." Her name felt natural in my mouth, like something I would call a daughter of mine. "But if you, like Sonia, have a secret stone and can manipulate time, then your story makes sense." I was still a bit skeptical that this child was really the future of Hyrule, but... 

     "Oh?" Sonia smirked, "I believed her right away." She raised an eyebrow up at me.  "You needed the secret stone as proof, Rauru?" She teased me playfully, "I can feel your light power within her, as well as my time power." She turned to look Zelda up and down. "Additionally, I sense that we share a blood connection." 

     I mumbled that I, too, had felt the blood connection... but nobody really heard. I suppose that's what I get for not voicing my opinion earlier. Besides, Sonia is better at talking than me... 

     "Ah, I see..." I murmured, still a bit bitter after Sonia made her point. "In any case, Zelda..." I really do love that name..."You had aid that you need to return to your era as soon as you possibly could."

     "Yes," she took a deep breath, standing still for a moment before continuing. "In my time, something terrible is happening. I need to get back there... but how do I do that?" She turned to look at the skyline again, her hood billowing in the light, floral breeze. "I don't even know how I got here in the first place."

     Zelda seemed disheartened. Perhaps I was the cause of this... I did bring the subject up once again. For that reason, Sonia hit me. Not hard, or noticeably, but certainly unwarrantedly. I brought my hand down from its thoughtful rest on my chin as Sonia approached her. 

     "You don't need to solve all your problems at once. Why not come back with us to the castle?" 

     Sonia touched Zelda's arm lightly, taking her hands in hers as Zelda protested. "No- I,"

     "We'll tell everyone that you're... a distant relative of ours." Sonia chuckled warmly, "It is true, after all." 

     I was truly getting worried at this point that Zelda would be suspicious of our actions- sometimes Sonia was a bit... too hospitable, but Zelda still listened. "We'll get you fresh clothes too."

     Zelda protested, but Sonia's soothing voice covered hers. "I'm sure an answer will come to you. Wisdom takes time."Zelda smiled melancholily as Sonia tilted her head to one side, beaming. 

     "I... don't know what to say." Zelda stated, clearly thankful. 

     "Hmm..." I wondered aloud, "Mineru... she may have some idea of how to get you back to your era."

     Sonia gave me a look- she didn't want me to talk about this here and now, but Zelda seemed engaged. "Mineru, you said?"

     "Yes... she knows far more than anyone about our people." I smiled at the thought of Mineru, my dear sister. She did, in fact, know things that even I do not. "And, like us, my older sister has a secret stone. We'll call on her."

     "All- all right!" Zelda suddenly seemed determined. "We should go to her now." 

     "Not so fast, Zelda." Sonia cautioned. "We need to get you cleaned up and in the garbs of our age. Otherwise, the public will have questions."

    I cleared my throat. "She's right. With our kingdom so new, something-" Sonia glared at me- "Someone like you might cause some distrust in the throne."

     "Of course," Zelda agreed, "It's only reasonable. Apologies for my outbursts..."

     "No need," I assured her, "It's perfectly reasonable that you are upset..."

     "All right." Sonia walked to my side once again, "We should go now. We wouldn't want to get back after sunset."

     "Of course." And with that, we went back to our newly constructed abode.