The Legend of Zelda: The Fall of Hyrule ✔️

XXII

He decided to investigate the place, informing Farona of his actions beforehand, which she warily agreed to. She was still concerned for his wounds, but she knew how powerful Link was. He'd be fine.

Link walked around the now destroyed Castle Town, seeing small amounts of surviving civilians standing around and talking.

As he approached the castle grounds, he spotted a familiar body laying on the dirtied and wet grounds. Concern grew over him, but he decided to stay cautious as well.

Link knelt down beside the limp-looking body, rolling them over and jumping back when he recognized the face.

Queen Zelda.

Why was she here? Weren't the Sages supposed to seal her malicious soul away?

"You're supposed to be gone..." Link whispered in between gritted teeth, grabbing her right hand and noticing that the Triforce mark was still imprinted on her hand.

Instead, the Triforce piece in the left hand corner was brighter than the others. This indicated that she no longer held the Triforce of Power, but instead Wisdom, which is the very same Triforce piece that Zelda's kind ancestors held before her.

Where was Ganondorf?

Don't tell me... Link thought, silencing his thoughts as Zelda coughed.

She lifted her injured body off of the ground, rubbing her aching forehead and licking her lips. "Where am I? What happened?"

"I'd like to know as well," Link snapped, startling the queen.

"Don't you remember anything?" Link questioned her, to which Zelda slowly shook her head, blonde tresses swaying back and forth.

"No. I have no recollection of anything, not even you," Zelda said. "All I know is that I am a princess. The princess of Hyrule. My beloved kingdom."

Link laughed dryly. "How can you still love your kingdom? You know, you caused all of this destruction! Hyrule was once beautiful-"

"I don't remember anything, sir!" Zelda shouted. "I don't know why I am even here. And why do I have the Triforce of Wisdom? I thought I always had Power."

Link's eyes widened. "So...no...wait. So, they sealed Ganondorf away instead? And took the Triforce of Power from you? And they took Wisdom from him, giving it to you?"

Zelda was utterly confused, not knowing how to respond to Link's panic. "I don't know what you're talking about. I have heard of Ganondorf, though. The Demon Thief from the legends - my ancestors and the heroes battled alongside each other to defeat Ganondorf."

"He was my friend. He wasn't the same person - he was a kind soul in this life," Link explained shortly. "But now he's dead. And you killed him!"

Once again, all Zelda could respond with was a blank yet confused expression. She lifted her body off of the ground, shakily standing up and regaining her posture.

"I do not remember such things. How do I know you're lying?" Zelda asked.

"So - so you just forgot everything?" Link asked in utter disbelief.

"Not entirely. I remember my childhood and little bits of now, but...I would never kill someone," Zelda murmured, rubbing her hands together in a nervous fashion.

Link could only stare blankly. His comrade was gone, most likely forever. Link confirmed that Ganondorf had indeed been sent to the Sacred Realm and was sealed there. Until he broke free from his imprisonment, Link would never see Ganondorf again.

What a shame, he was a good man, Link thought, forming fists in both hands. With an inhale and an exhale, he reopened his closed eyes and stared dead ahead at Zelda.

"Well...I can't forgive you entirely. I don't know if I ever will. But...Hyrule must be rebuilt. And only you can do that - start the operations and such," Link said.

He knelt down on one knee, placing his arm atop his knee and bowing his head. "And I will help. I will help even the likes of you to see this country become glorious again."

The wind blew gently, swaying his blond locks in a certain direction. He kept his head lowered down as a sigh of respect towards the queen of this country - did Zelda even remember becoming queen? Or the assassination of her father, King Harkinian?

Probably not, as she never mentioned either of the two subjects. Maybe she would remember them in time, or that time would never come, and she would always wonder how her father died. Link knew he would never have enough courage to tell her, because the innocent soul she had now wouldn't be able to handle it. And he would most likely be punished as well - the guards of the castle still remembered the assassination. They knew it was Link who did it, but maybe there could be a way to maneuver around that obstacle. Or, Link would have to leave Hyrule entirely if he was punished.

Link looked back up, to see Zelda smiling slightly at his respectfulness. She answered him with a slight nod, her blonde strands of hair swaying with the movement of her head.

It would take so much for Link to ever forgive Zelda.

He probably never would.

--

A/N: hey ! This book is basically irrelevant now but I'm still updating. This was basically the final chapter, but there may be a short epilogue. It would just explain what happened with Hyrule and whatever sort of relationship Link and Zelda developed. It might be romantic but I'm thinking about just making it platonic for once.

What do u guys think lmao.

Thank you for all the support on this fanfiction. I am proud to say that this is basically completed. And I started this back in August of 2015, that was a heckin long time ago. And you know...my half year hiatus delayed this as well. But, I'm just happy that it's finished. At last.

I mean there's gon be an epilogue but you get my point.

This was fun to write and I'm glad I wrote this in the first place. I was inspired by my good friend _ChiliStar_ to write this book - it was basically her idea in a way, but I developed it into a full fledged story,,??

Ok goodbye.

-Katy