Tabula Rasa

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It wasn’t the same Zelda, I forced myself to remember. This Zelda was a mere child, a shadow of that Zelda. This Zelda was the princess of Hyrule, the young girl of the royal family, and a perfect stranger to me. 

That Zelda was the courageous queen driven into exile by Ganondorf. That Zelda had waited for me at the entrance of every temple, under the guise of a Sheikah, and bandaged my wounds, saved me from the brink of insanity after the Shadow Temple.

That Zelda had stuck with me every step of the way, and when the final battle came, she aided me in the defeat of the King of Evil. That Zelda had…had…

No. I will not think about that.

I will not. I will not.

But when everything was said and done, when the defeated beast lay at my feet, when a crying Zelda had cradled my dying self in her arms, when she, along with the sages had healed me, she sent me back in time. 

She had played that accursed song and shoved me into this parallel universe, where the Hero of Time was a silly legend, where I, Link was a simple forest boy, with no parents, with no fairy, with no friends. All my work, gone in an instant, in the course of seven false years. 

Seven years, I traveled back and forth through time, enduring more hardships than anyone should ever face, much less a ten year old boy stuffed into an adult’s body. Even so, after all this, I would not have minded so much. 

But she..she…she broke her promise. She had lied to me, played me for a fool. 

And in the end, I really was one.

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I warned her about Ganondorf, and attempted to take my leave, but Zelda insisted that I stay. 

“Your name, it’s Link, right? Please stay, I….I’ve never had a friend before.” She turned her pleading sapphire eyes on me. How could I refuse? 

Still, my blood surged with anger whenever she referred to us as “friends”. We were more than friends, Zelda. Even if you don’t remember it, I will. I’ll never forget how you….you….

No. I will NOT think about that.

Not now, not ever.

I couldn’t help but compare Zelda to her parallel counterpart. I would hate myself for doing it, but I couldn’t stop finding all the flaws with this Zelda.

Often, it would be over something quite ridiculous, such as, ‘Her eyes don’t shine like the other Zelda.’, or ‘She’s not as brave, not as adventurous. She’s too uptight. The Zelda I knew never would worry about getting her dress dirty.’ 

I felt guilty about it, that this Zelda would never meet my standards, the bar I had set from what I saw in that Zelda. I could never truly stop blaming Zelda (both of them) for crushing my heart, for forgetting me, for…for…

Will. Not. Think. About. That.

I always knew that this Zelda was not to blame, that she was merely and innocent princess who had lived her normal royal life, who had never thought that she had met me in her life. 

And she was right. 

She never had, at least not in this time. Whatever had happened was put in the future, the future that would never repeat itself, because of what I did. 

The future, and its Zelda will live on, in another universe, now unreachable to me. Is there another me in the future? Or has he been wiped off the face of the Earth, his very existence erased for the minds of all, because she sent me back in time? Would the people he met miss him? 

Malon? Saria? 

Maybe.

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~Past~

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I put the Master Sword into the stone and step down from the pedestal. I turn to walk away when I feel a slight movement under my hat. 

Navi flutters out, tiny wings beating rapidly in the dim glow of sunlight streaming in through stained glass windows. 

“Link…you’ve really become a wonderful hero now, haven’t you?” She turns away from me and hesitates before speaking. 

“Link...Link I…” She inches away from me. “Link, when we first met, I said that I was your guardian fairy.” “Yes….” I answer, not quite sure where she is going with this. “Well, the thing is, every Kokiri has a guardian fairy, but….” “I’m not a Kokiri.”

I realize with a violent jolt what is happening. “Exactly. Link, you’re Hylian, and well, I can’t….can’t be your fairy anymore. I-I have to stay with the Deku Tree Sprout, he needs my guidance.” 

“B-but what about me?” I’m disgusted with my own voice, I’m whining and begging like a baby, but I can’t. I can’t lose her too. I’ve already lost Saria, Zelda, everyone, and now Navi. “Link, you saved Hyrule. I’m sure you’ll do fine on your own.” “No! No I won’t Navi, Navi I need you!” 

She floats silently in place, watching as tears well in my eyes and stream down my cheeks. She acts as if she wants to stay, but she doesn’t. “Link….I’m sorry. I have to.” She hovers toward the window. “Wait!” 

She waits. “Can’t…can’t you stay for just one more day?” “Link, you and I both know that at the end of tomorrow, you’ll want another day. This…this is the best way to do it.” I stare at the floor. “Link….goodbye.” 

She slips through the window, like water through cracks, and I’m left alone, crying like a child in the Temple of Time. My one ally in this world, the one I thought would be there until the end, is gone. If I had stopped crying and listened, I would have heard a faint, high pitched sob coming from outside. 

But I didn’t.

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~Present~

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“...Link?” I looked up in shock to see Zelda’s blue eyes gazing at me in concern. I hadn’t realized that I was crying. I wiped my eyes with my sleeve. “So…this Navi must be very important to you, if you’re setting out across Hyrule to find her.” “Yeah..she’s a…friend.” “Well, I hope you find her.” 

Zelda looked a bit sad at the fact that I was leaving. She briefly rested her hand on mine, and my heart fluttered. “Link…there is something I want to give you.” She pulled out a worn, blue ocarina. “This is the Ocarina of Time, a treasure to the royal family.” I know! I wanted to interrupt. 

But I didn’t. I took the ocarina and held it in my hand. I gave it back to her. She took it, and destroyed my life, maybe without even realizing it. It’s in my hands now. “Link, remember that the Goddess of Time is always looking after you. Do you know the Song of Time?” I was almost tempted to say yes, to grab her by the shoulders and make her remember the promise. “No, are you going to teach it to me?” 

She smiled sadly, cleared her throat, and began to hum a familiar tune. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard her sing, or that song…..she was singing when we made the promise. “Now you try.” I hold the ocarina to my lips and blow softly. It produces a clear sounding note. The six notes glide smoothly through the air. 

Do you remember, Zelda? When you escaped with Impa and threw me this same ocarina? When you appeared to me in a vision and taught me this song, which you are teaching me again? Of course you don’t. But I do. “Well, it sounds like you’ve got it down.” She stood up, and walked me over to the end of the drawbridge. 

The sun was beginning to peek through the clouds. I turn to her. “Well…I guess this is goodbye.” Tears began to pool in her eyes. Was this how Navi felt when she left me? Zelda sniffled. 

“Link….you’ll…you’ll come back right? I mean, once you find Navi?” Once I find Navi. I looked at her face. Her eyes were desperately searching for the answer she wanted to hear, that I would come back, and I would come back soon. 

I couldn’t lie to her, but I couldn’t break her heart, even if she broke mine. I turned towards the wide expanse of Hyrule Field. “I hope so.” 

The sound of her tears hitting the grass is the loudest noise I had ever heard in my life.

Author's Note

Woo hoo. I changed the formatting. It now has paragraph breaks!

Reviews

[Katherine Enma Pineappl..]

D: omgitszelda

XDDD I love the story not because Zelda was in it, that's only a partial of my love for this story. No I liked your style and way of presentation through words. I advice you to have spacing as it looks like a big paragraph but overall it's a nice write