Fan Fiction Friday: The Era Without A Hero – Part 2

“I can’t wear this Impa,” Zelda ran a brush through her golden blonde hair as she stared back at her mentor, bodyguard, friend, and handmaiden in the mirror.

“It’s a gift from your father. You must,” she set the small wooden box on the vanity and took a step back to help the Princess with her hair.

“How am I going to draw my bow back though?”

Impa tugged roughly on a knot that had formed near Zelda’s ear, “who said anything about you drawing an arrow today, huh? You’re to be a princess, not a warrior.”

Zelda rolled her eyes, “name one princess that has to wear anything like it though?”

“There aren’t any, and that’s the point. You stand out. A step above them all.”

“I’d rather stand out for my archery skills.”

Impa gave a huff and forced Zelda’s hair into a clip bearing the Hyrulean Royal Family crest. As she stepped back, she motioned for Zelda to stand up and over to a nearby mirror. Impa was tall with a solid athletic build. Even in the armor that she wore because of the official function, her slim build was evident. Her short dark hair was turning silver in places, but Zelda joked that it matched her graying of certain rules.

Impa’s role within the Royal Family was an in-depth conglomeration of several roles in fact. She was Princess Zelda’s personal attendant, charged with teaching Zelda everything there was. There was the personal bodyguard function to the entire Royal Family during public events, such as the Swordsman Festival. And she was also the Command General of the entire Hyrulean Army.

Zelda stood in the mirror and looked at the full-length reflection in the mirror. Another attendant scurried the wooden box over to the Princess, and she begrudgingly opened it. The bracelet was a polished stone material and formed a series of intricate lines that crossed over and over on one side before converging into the Triforce on the top. Its purple color matched the light blue gown she was wearing, along with the small purple accents that adorned her crown.

“I suppose it’s not the worst,” she sighed, slipping her narrow hand through it, “but I seriously think I look like an old woman.”

“You look like my daughter,” Daphnes bellowed from the bedroom doorway.

Zelda let out a quick gasp, clutching her chest. Impa spun around in an instant and bowed down on one knee, one hand at her hip, the other across her waist.

“Your Majesty,” Impa said from her knelt position.

“At ease Lady Impa,” Daphnes gave a slight chuckle, waving his hand for her to stop as he made his way into his daughter’s room, “would you mind if I could have a few moments alone with my daughter?”

“Of course, sir,” Impa hopped to her feet and snapped her fingers. The attendants around the room immediately ceased what they were doing and filed out of the room. Impa gave one more bow, a cautionary look to Zelda, then left the room.

“An old woman eh?” Daphnes raised an eyebrow sitting down on the edge of her bed.

Zelda looked down at her feet and shrugged.

Daphnes motioned for her to join him, and she did after a moment of hesitation.

“When your grandmother was on her death bed, she told me a story about the man who had the weight of the world put on his shoulders by the gods. The weight was tremendous, more than he could bear on his own. So, when his legs began to give out, he dropped to a knee and prayed to Din for the strength to carry on. She granted him this strength, however as he stood back up, he began to lose his balance. He then prayed to Nayru for wisdom on how to hold the world without falling, and she blessed him with this knowledge. Finally, when the sun became too hot, he needed to carry the world around and protect it, so he prayed to Farore for the courage to move. And she answered his prayer. The man now had all he needed to carry the burdens of the world and protect it. My mother told me that story to help prepare me for my Kingship. She told it to me so that I would know where to turn for the strength I would need when I was stressed or worried. This bracelet was her reminder of where her strength came from, and in turn I have you and your mother as my reminder. I want you to stand out from other princesses because one day you will rule this kingdom and there will be times you’ll need strength, wisdom, and courage and I’m doing my best to prepare you for that one day my dear,” Daphnes put his arm around Zelda and pulled her close to him, “my hope is that now that I’ve told you this story, you’ll see the bracelet as your grandmother did, and as I see you.”

Zelda sat quietly for a few moments. The sunlight streaming in was beginning to cast long shadows across the room and bells from one of the nearby churches began to chime the hour. She felt her father’s hand gently rub her back and she swallowed to keep a tear from falling.

“If you don’t want to wear it after today, I understand,” Daphnes finally said.

Zelda nodded, “thank you father.”

“Just don’t tell your mother that you don’t like the dress, she picked it out.”

Zelda covered her face as a small laugh escaped, “of course she did.”

Daphnes stood up and crossed back over to the door. He put his hand on the knob, then turned back to Zelda and smiled.

“Is your speech ready?”

His smiled melted away and he rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh.

“Don’t worry father, I’m sure it’ll be great.”

As the sun set over the sloped blue and green shingles of Castletown, Hyrule Castle itself was abuzz. Servants were racing about to prepare rooms for the foreign royalty, cooks were practically flying as they hurried to prepare the Royal Family’s portion of the feast that would follow the King’s speech. The Queen and Princess were rushed from one place to another by guards to greet some of the delegates that arrived earlier in the day. Impa was seeing to final measures concerning security. Decorators were making last minute adjustments to everything.

The madness began to subside though, when the Royal Family were reunited and whisked out the front gates of the castle courtyard. A short walk from the gates, they passed through a second set and entered Castletown Square, but remained unseen by the throng of people thanks to some scaffolding that held up their thrones and the podium.

The platform extended out in two directions. One side had a long table where the Sages would sit during the feast and the other had a similar table with a few more chairs for the distinguished guests from across Hyrule and beyond.

Daphnes took his wife’s hand as they began to ascend the steps behind the stage. She nuzzled against his arm for a moment and then kissed him. Princess Zelda trailed just a few steps behind and took a deep breath, then looked down at the bracelet. She ran her fingers along it and smiled.

A near deafening roar went up from the crowd as the Royal Family emerged from behind their thrones. Daphnes smiled from ear to ear and raised his free hand to wave to the people. Queen Zelda did the same, then graciously took her seat. The Princess followed her mother’s lead, giving a brief wave and promptly sitting down.

Daphnes sat down between them after clapping his hands together a moment to show his gratitude to the ceremony’s start. He fussed with his coat a moment, before pulling his speech out and glancing nervously at it.

“Relax my love,” Queen Zelda placed her hands over the parchment, “you’re going to do great.”

 

*          *          *          *          *

 

After he and Aldwin had gone and registered for the Swordsman Tournament, Osmond rushed home to get changed. After cleaning up, he raced to Castletown Square where his uncle and some of their family friends were already seated at one of the hundreds of tables that had been set out for the festival’s opening feast and ceremony.

“’ow is old Aldwin doing, my boy?” Henry smiled, the evidence of at least one or two ales present on his thick mustache.

“He’s doing good. We had a discussion about the Sages today.”

“Good, good. Gotta know the leaders of our kingdom. Might be makin’ them some nice tables or bookcases one day!”

Osmond politely nodded. The carpentry business, while something he enjoyed, wasn’t his end game. Yet every time a discussion was had about the future, it was all Osmond could do to hold is tongue and not blurt out his burning desire to be a knight. Still, he managed.

“Aldwin? Is he the old kook that fancied being a soldier one day and then got hurt?” Mrs. Tragwell, and older woman that owned a flower-shop across from Henry’s carpentry, asked.

“Aye, he’s a scholar now. Much more respectable in these times.”

Osmond clenched his fist underneath the table.

A blaring trumpet mercifully gave him a reprieve as it signaled the arrival of the Sages to their seats. They filed in giving polite waves and cheerful smiles. There were six of them, two Zora, a Goron, an Owl, a Kokiri, and a Hylian, though he was supposedly more Sheikah than Hylian. Each of them wore some sort of cloak or scarf that bore the crest for the element that they represented.

The next set of trumpet blasts signaled the arrival of foreign diplomats and honored guests. One of them, Sir Ralphine, wore a distinct pointed blue hat and flared out navy coat were enough to send a feeling of pure excitement through Osmond.

“It’s Sir Ralphine!”

“He’s the bloke that won that barbaric tourney last year, wasn’t he?”

A hush flowed over the crowd as the third set of trumpets blared. When the King appeared from behind the throne, accompanied by his wife and daughter, there was a fury of cheering and celebrating.

The King smiled and waved, clapping his hands before sitting down. The Queen leaned over to him and said something that made the King smile and nod to her. Then, the noise quieted down as the Hylian Sage stepped up to the podium that stood between the Sages and Royal Family.

“Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished visitors from Hyrule and beyond, it is my pleasure to welcome you all to our glorious city for our annual Swordsman Festival! I am Lord Sagesse, Sage of Shadow, member of the Sage Council, and long-time ally to the crown. I cannot begin to imagine a better way for us to begin this year’s festival than hearing from the man who has overseen the longest peace in our history in centuries. May I present, his majesty Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, King of the Red Lions, King of Hyrule!”

 

David Wayne Nystrom is a Staff Writer for Zelda Dungeon. This story is an imagining of the final days of Hyrule prior to the Great Flood as talked about in the opening cinematic of The Wind Waker. His top three Zelda games are Ocarina of Time, The Wind Waker, and Link’s Awakening. He enjoys playing Smash Bros. a lot also. Follow him on Twitter. Every Era Has Heroes…