Zelda Fanfic - Stars and Scars

"When time was reset...The only things which remained the same...are the stars and our scars."

For my fanfic.
Here they are 13, not long before we learn who the next King is.

Poster for this Fanfic
You can also find links to each chapter there


Well I was going to type up a bonus chapter for this before posting....but it has been a month and my story muse still has her head in a hole so, here ya go :I

Outside of my fic I am not much of a ZeLink-er because the pairing has no real meaning to it in the game...But I gave it meaning.

In my fanfiction Link and Zelda are the only ones, aside from the Sages, who have memory of "the future that almost was" with Ganon...
That dark future was hard on Link, and upon Link's return from Termina he was quite battle worn, see the below pic for more on that

It was Zelda who pulled him out of this. Zelda was able to let go of the dark future she lived as Sheik and enjoy her regained childhood, and she taught Link how to be a kid again. (PS if items stay with you when jumping time I decided scars can stay too. OH speaking of scars...I fell in lava a lot when playing OoT...hence why I gave Link one fully scarred foot)
Without her intervention, Link would have become a melancholy hermit with no interest in living.

I approach their relationship in a more platonic sense (heck I don't even mention them kissing) vs a romantic sense. I am not big on lovey dovey mushy stuff in media and did not want to do that in the fic either. I made their relationship more like "2 peas in a pod" they always know what the other is thinking, they are happiest when together, they complete each other's life, etc... and I think this picture, of them together by Zora's River under the stars, shows their relationship perfectly.

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Here is a snip from the chapter one extension which sets up the mood for this piece:

"Why do you even bother to sneak out like this. You've seen all of Hyrule, there is nothing left to explore…" Link whispered begrudgingly as he followed the princess through the same courtyard he'd snuck through once before…back when his quest as a hero was new and exciting.

"Even if I have seen all of Hyrule sneaking out is better than lofting around here. The castle is so boring, when I was this age in the future that almost was, I was already running around exploring as a Sheikah."

Link stopped, his face and tone were quite gruff "Ya wanna know what I was doing when I was last this age…sleeping…For seven years I slept…and I might as well be doing that now…The world does not need me anymore, and even if it did …I'm not sure if I'd fight to save it."

Zelda's brows furrowed, she'd had enough of the boy's cold nature, she got right up into his face and scolded in a whispering tone "Damn it Link! Do you think you are the only one who's had a tough time!" she pulled up her sleeves revealing rows of scars, marks she had not shown to anyone "I put my life on the line as well, while you slept I lived on the edge of existence in hiding from Ganon. I may be a princess again but I was once a warrior of Hyrule the same as you and like you these scars did not vanish when time was reset."

Link sat in shock. The boy stared at the marks on her arms, he then glanced down at his own scared limbs…he smiled.
Zelda was taken aback by this, it was not what she was expecting and furthermore this was the first time she had seen him smile since the boy's return.

"Come on, lets get going, we are wasting moonlight." Link whispered, passing the princess. "Lets head over to the Lost Woods tonight…I want to tell you of a land called Termina."
"Okay." She said brightly with a broad smile.
The change she felt in him just now may be subtle but, this felt more like the hero she used to know

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Line art via pencil and paper
Colored by mouse in Corel Painter X

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