✓ | A Change of Heart | An OoT story

~Prologue~

A fire raged about the Castle Town. The king, now dead, laid at the feet of an evil man. His sword, red with the king's blood, glinted in the dim light.

"Tell me, Princess Zelda. Where is it? Where is the Ocarina of Time? Give it to me, and I will spare your life," the man said.

"I won't let you take it! I won't!" the young princess cried from where she stood.

Her back was to the door, her small body shaking. Her normally bright blue eyes were now dimmed and filled with tears. Her blonde hair was sticking up in places, her crown gone.

"Then you leave me with no choice."

The man ran forward, his sword aimed at the princess.

"I won't allow it!"

In a flash, the princess was gone, and the man ran headfirst into the door. He stumbled back, falling down as the world spun around him.

Once he gained his senses, he yelled out in rage, shaking the entire castle. He quickly ran out of the room, his sword and cape trailing behind him. Just as he entered the courtyard, he saw a white horse running away.

Calling for his own horse, he started running, then jumped onto its back, pursuing the princess and her caretaker. Within minutes, they had crossed the bridge leading out of the town, but the man stopped his horse.

Standing to the side, stood a boy clad in green, a fairy hovering next to him.

"You, over there! Little kid!" the man called.

The boy stared up at him, a glare visible in the dim light.

"You must have seen the white horse gallop past just now. Which way did it go?! Answer me!"

The boy took a step back, answering,

"N-No, I-I won't tell you! I'll never tell you!"

The man frowned, then said,

"So, you think you can protect them from me. You've got guts, kid."

The boy reached for his sword but then ran for the moat. He dove in, then came back up and hid under the bridge.

"Come out, boy. Now."

The man pulled the boy up and threw him onto land. His fairy had disappeared, probably flew off. The boy was about to stand up, but the man placed a foot on the boy's back, holding him down.

"Now, are you going to tell me-?"

There was a crack, but it wasn't bones. The boy yelped, and the man stepped away. The boy sat up and pulled an emerald, the Kokiri's Emerald, out of a pocket.

Looking at the gem, there was a crack, and the boy looked up at the man, pain in his eyes. The man backed up but then held up his hand, a ball of light glowing. It hit the boy who then flew back. As he hit the ground, his eyes rolled back into his head, the emerald flying from his hand.

The man stared in shock, then slowly walked over to the boy. Lifting him up, he noticed that no breath was coming from the boy. As was no heartbeat in his chest.

"What have I done?" the man asked.

Noticing that the golden triangle had left from his hand, he looked back down at the boy. Collecting two other gems, the cracked emerald, and the ocarina, the man returned to the Castle Town.

Fires raged, slowly spreading from building to building. The man walked over to the Temple of Time, which he entered. He placed the stones on the pedestal, then pulled out the ocarina, playing an all too familiar tune.

The door standing behind the pedestal opened, and the man went back. A sword sat in front of him, but he was whisked away to another realm. Standing ahead of him stood three golden triangles.

"This is too easy," he thought to himself as he continued forward.

But just before his hand could touch the triangles, he stopped.

"But I killed the boy, my enemy, I did this."

He shook his head, then placed his hand on the triangles. Light covered him, and he closed his eyes.

The man was suddenly standing in front of the healthy Great Deku Tree. He looked away, then crushed the bug in his hand, and walked away. He left for the mountain that stood above a small village in the distance.

Days later, he reached the castle. As he entered, young Princess Zelda glared at him, but he bowed to her. Then he continued on to the throne room, where the king sat in his throne.

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