Providence, Somewhere

The Girl with the Dragon Horns

She felt the cool grass underneath her, and the warm sun blanketed over her, only partially obscured by the shade of the pine trees. A cool breeze countered the warmth, and the occasional twittering of birds filled the melody of the world around her.

She didn't have anywhere to be. Everything was alright in Hyrule. Link had things taken care of, and so did the other villagers in their respective homes.

That only left one question in her sleepy mind: how did she get here?

Maybe she took a nap? If she had, it wouldn't be laying on the ground, so vulnerable like this.

She heard voices among the chatter of birds. Completely unfamiliar accents, but languages she could understand. Immediately, she sat up, scrambling to her feet, tuning out the birds in favor of the people.

"What about here?" said one of the voices, feminine and robotic.

"It's a little farther up," said the other, just as feminine, but more organic.

Zelda's first instinct was to flee. Her second instinct was to fight. Looking around, her only options as weapons were some fallen branches.

"Wait— I sense a lifeform," said the robotic one.

Immediately, she grabbed a branch, standing still like deer would. Waiting for the two heads that were partially obscured by the thicket to reveal themselves. If they were a threat, she'd fight.

Silver-white hands pushed aside a bush, and out stepped a humanoid robot, reminiscent of a teenage girl. Similarly, so did another girl, wearing a reddish costume.

The newcomers stared at Zelda. She stared back at them, branch still clutched in her hand.

"So, I know what you're wondering," the organic girl said. "'Where the heck am I?' 'Who are these strange people ahead of me?' The former of which, honestly, I don't have a concise answer. The latter, well, I do have something for you. I'm WordGirl, and this android companion of mine is Jenny."

The humanoid robot waved shyly.

Zelda nodded. "Look, a mighty banana!" she said suddenly, pointing past the girls, feigning shock.

"A what now?" WordGirl turned her head to look.

"This is a pine forest," Jenny said, not removing her glance from Zelda.

She barely registered Zelda throwing the branch, with it barely missing both of them.

At that point Zelda had run off.

"Wha—" Jenny said, furrowing her brow in confusion.

"She's new; it's more common than you think."

"That's not what I'm seeing. There's more lifeforms. And she's running

WordGirl's voice wavered. "Are they unusual for what they should be?"

Jenny nodded.

Immediately, the costumed girl sped off in a flash of tangerine light.

Zelda, with her headstart, ran off, dodging bushes and low-hanging branches. She had a feeling they were chasing her. Besides, they were Yiga clan, right?

Then why didn't they attack her on sight?

She noticed too late that the fog had arose, the trees around her had long withered, creating ominous shapes around her limited visibility.

In the distance, she spotted Link, facing away like he hadn't noticed her.

"There you are!" she fussed, running up to the silhouette. "There's something wrong with this place and we need to—"

Her foot got stuck to something. She looked down, expecting a root.

She wasn't expecting her whole boot to be stuck in viscous black slime. It crawled up, threatening to engulf her whole leg.

Stepping backward, she wiggled the boot off her foot. The slime simply consumed it, a lump where it used to stand. Yet it inched forward.

"Link?" she cried out. She tossed a pebble at him. It phased through him.

She shook her head, suddenly tripping on a root. "Oh, now there's a root?"

Frustrated, she glared down the slime. Then, she found herself in the sky, gravity only semi-existent with two arms cradling her.

The costumed girl was carrying her.

"Let's start over," said the girl. "Hi, I'm WordGirl. I don't know where we are exactly, but I mean no harm. I promise."

"You're a girl," Zelda said, shocked. "A girl who can fly."

"Just to be clear, it's not magic, I'm born with the ability to fly and carry you without much strain, and I'm deceptively young."

"What about the other one?"

"She's holding back the Distortion."

"The what?"

Her questions weren't answered. Or rather, she couldn't really hear them as both of them sped off, away from the forest.

The only casualty was a boot.

-----

A thrilling ride that reminded Zelda of some hazy memories promptly ended as the young girl carrying her landed on solid ground. Two large avenues intersected, and buildings cornered the intersection, except for the one they were on.

Hyrule doesn't have plazas, nor asphalt.

She looked around, astonished that such structures exist. Truly she was a fish out of water, a stranger in a strange land.

"I'm not in Hyrule, then."

"No, you certainly aren't," WordGirl said. "We all just showed up, one by one, and found each other here, where the Distortion can't reach us. Not sure why; perhaps it's the artificiality of roads and settlements..." She paced around briefly.

"So I take it you're the ruler here?"

"What—" WordGirl stammered. "No, no! I'm just a kid! Our leader, or mayor, is right up there."

She pointed past the plaza, to a three-tiered building ahead. Lights were on in the now-redding daylight, signaling the coming of twilight.

"WordGirl, was it?" Zelda said, walking ahead. "Thank you for your heroism. You, and your friend."

Yet the girl floated beside Zelda, keeping pace with the adult. "You're welcome. I, uh, didn't catch your name, by the way."

"It's Zelda. Princess Zelda of Hyrule."

WordGirl nodded, stopping both of them in front of a door leading to a staircase going up. "Her office is up here, on the left door. It should be straightforward after this; she'll get you acquainted with what you need to know."

With one more extension of gratitude, she opened the door, heading inside.

She was met with the soft ticking of a clock. The fragrance of violets and lavender decorated the place just as much as the physical flowers did, a mantelpiece made specifically to display the flowers.

The waiting room with the two doors felt inviting, warm lamps and lanterns giving a nice ambient.

Zelda approached one of the lanterns, tilting her head. How did it turn on without fire? Was it magic?

She heard a door open, scrambling to attention to face the leader.

Ahead of her stood a fine lady with dark green, curled hair. She had two faint markings on her cheeks, looking similar to spades.

"Zelda, was it?" The lady asked. "I hope I didn't startle you, dear, what with you admiring the craftsmanship of the lanterns. They're quite entrancing."

"Right, yes," she replied, stammering. "How did you know my name?"

"A little birdie told me you'd be coming. Come on into my office; let's talk royal to royal."