Hylian Folklore: A Retelling of the Twilight Princess

The Silent Boy

For over fifteen years, Impa had protected and raised Princess Zelda as if she were her own. She named her Hylia after the Goddess of Hylian legend. No one, not even Hylia herself, knew she was the long lost princess. After Hylia had grown some and would not be recognized as the missing infant, Impa used her powers of disguise and changed into an elderly woman and altered her name to Impaz, as it was a very common name among the Sheikah. They moved around from town to town, living like nomads, never staying in one place too long and only bringing what they could carry in travel bags. Hylia had grown into a beautiful young lady. Even raised as a Sheikah nomad, she still had an air about her that said she was a Hylian lady. She had this gentleness about her, just like her mother, along with her delicate features and soft blue eyes. Her brown hair, however, had grown long and silky.

They were now on the move once more. This time heading to Ordon Village. A small, quiet village on the outskirts of Hyrule. Hylia was leading the white horse on foot while Impaz rode on it's back. The sun was about to start rising when they finally entered the Southern Faron Woods. Hylia closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of freash air, letting it escape her in a long, soft sigh.

"It is a beautiful morning for a walk in the woods, isn't it Impaz?" she asked, glancing up at the elderly woman on the horse.

"Yes, child, it is a lovely day indeed," she smiled.

Hylia felt an excitement stirring inside her like she had never felt before. She did not know why, but she had felt it ever since Impaz told her they were going to Ordon. She knew something was going to happen. Something exciting. She wanted to tell Impaz so bad, but the old lady was suspicious of everything, and Hylia was afraid she would want to turn back if she found out. So she did her best to keep her emotions in check. It was not that she wanted to deceive Impaz, far from it. She loved the old woman as if she where her own mother. She just wanted to to know what it was that was pulling her so hard to Ordon. The sound of water snapped Hylia out of her thoughts.

"That must be Ordon Springs," Impaz's voice cracked, "I want you to stay here and wait for me, Hylia. I will ride to town and check if they have a place for us to stay," she said handing the youth a large leather bag, "There are normally all kinds of wild berries growing around the spring this time of year. Why don't you pick some for our dinner tonight?"

Hylia obediently took the bag and passed the reigns to the old woman, "Alright. Be careful Impaz."

"I will be back shortly."

Impaz cued the horse to move forward. Hylia watched them until they crossed a wooden bridge and vanished into a thick fog.

~~~

"Zelda!"

Link awoke to the sound of his own voice. This was not the first time he had woken up shouting her name. He had randomly dreamed about her ever since he saw her as a baby, but ever since a week ago the dreams were becoming more frequent. They would start out as pleasant dreams. There would be a beautiful, brown haired princess, gently stroking the nose of his horse. She would look up, smiling, and he would get lost in her blue eyes. Suddenly she would collapse and that was when he would wake up. But today the dream did not stop there. This time she collapsed into his arms and everything around him went dark. She didn't look dead, but rather like she was sleeping. He tried shaking her awake but nothing happened. Then a large shadowy figure appeared towering above them. He watched as the darkness began to creep into her veins and her skin turned pale. Her eyes opened and they had changed into an eerie color of yellow. That was when he woke up screaming her name.

He threw off his covers and stuck his head out the window. His heart was racing and his hair wet with sweat. He looked down to see his horse, Epona, sleeping at the base of his tree house. He was glad his outburst did not frighten her into running away. She was the most faithful horse he had ever seen, and would stay near his tree house, so he never felt the need to tether her anymore. Watching the sorrel mare sleep peacefully seemed to help him calm his nerves. The sun was just starting to peak over the horizon. He would need to be at the farm soon, Fado would need help feeding and herding the goats today. He climbed down the ladder to the room below, opening a large wooden chest. He took out a fresh white tunic and pulled it on over his head. Combing his fingers through his short, straw colored hair, he did his best to straiten out his bed head, then grabbing a small loaf of bread from a bowl on the table, before stepping outside. He sat down with his legs hanging over the edge of his deck as he took a bite out of the loaf. Epona lipped at his bare foot from below. He knew she was waiting for her share of breakfast. So Link tore the bread in half, tossing it down to her. By the time they finished eating, it was time for them to go. Link reached in the door for his sandals and put them on as quickly as he could. He climbed down the ladder and pulled Epona's Saddle off the fence, humming a little tune as he saddled her up. Link climbed up on her back and cued her to walk, guiding her slowly down the path to the village.