The Guardian Saga: Twilight Falls

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 14: The Tables Turn

Danielle rode Jaraci into Kakariko Village, the moon hanging overhead and softly illuminating everything. She saw Telma’s wagon stopped outside of the inn, the tavern keeper herself nowhere in sight. Epona was also nearby, and Danielle pulled Jaraci up to Link’s steed before carefully dismounting and leaving a hand on the saddle to brace herself. “I guess you are off to find Link?

[link is my big bro 0]

you have to keep going i guna die soon it is just so asome

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 15: Sacrifice

Danielle felt the sword being jerked out of her chest, the pain intensifying as her legs gave out from under her, the wounded young girl collapsing to her knees on the soft grass. Unable to focus, she was unaware of Zant forcing the light spirit Lanayru beneath the spring’s waters until she found herself once more in her dragon form, Twilight overtaking the world of light once more.

Greil circled around to her front, Exaccus held in his right hand and the Champion Blade in his left. Clad from head-to-toe in demonic black armor, she couldn’t even see his eyes as she raised her head weakly. This wasn’t a human. It was a demon, cold-hearted and bloodthirsty.

He… attacked me… he really attacked me… Am I… going to die?

Shapes shot through the air, the weapons of her brothers landing in a loose circle around her. She could make out Zant standing before Midna, who was bound in the air by unseen magic. Link was lying on the ground motionless not too far away, having been hit by an attack from the helmeted figure. Zant had apparently taken both the Fused Shadows and the sealed weapons from Midna with ease, mocking her right now while Greil stood over her.

“Rejoice, my daughter… for you have finally become of some use.

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 16: Veritas

She felt like she was drifting, unable to control her destination. Upon opening her eyes, all she saw was a vast sea of white light, not a single physical object in sight.

Am I dead?

Danielle stared down at herself, not seeing the injury she had sustained at her father’s hands. If she was dead, then where was she?

Remember…

Everything suddenly changed with that single whispered word that came from seemingly everywhere at once. She was in the throne room of Hyrule Castle, the king of Hyrule seated there before her. His emerald eyes carried a weary gaze, elbow resting on the arm of the throne with the side of his face leaning against his fist. A trimmed brown beard covered most of the lower portion of his face, specks of grey appearing in both it and his hair beneath his crown. The only other person with the king was a much-younger looking Greil, who strode in past her and didn’t even bother to kneel before the king.

Father not paying respect to the king? And, for that matter, what am I seeing? The king died when I was but a child!

“You summoned me?

[Zelda Drottningu 0]

You have got to continue this story or I'll DIE!!

[Stormsworder 0]

((Eep o.o Well, I'm getting the chapters straight from Fanfiction.net now, so I have to edit in all the italic coding and such... All of these that have been typed up were done previously while I was at school, but the end of it was kinda rushed thanks to a time limit on time in the library during class))

Chapter 17: Awakening

Danielle stared in shock at Princess Zelda, her mind gradually processing the magnitude of this revelation. Everything changed, everything made sense. The truth had finally sunk in, the youth slowly coming to terms with this. "All of the time you spent watching over me, then... why you put such effort into teaching and training me..."

Still smiling, Zelda nodded. "The truth was known to very few. Those who knew of my mother's child believed it to have died and never spoke of it again. Fooling your brothers had been a difficult task for Greil, but he had managed even while shouldering the grief from his wife's death. All while they believed me ignorant of the truth, I knew more than most and took care of you."

Memories flickered through her mind, vanishing as soon as they appeared. She thought back on all the times that she had noticed Zelda there watching her spar with her brothers or catching her when she tried to skip out on her studies, occasionally helping her to get out of them with a mischievous smile on her face. How had the princess managed to live with such a secret and not reveal her knowledge of it?

Father... is my uncle... and Blaine and Rurik are my cousins instead of my brothers?

She paused now, her thoughts drifting back to what had happened in Lanayru's spring. "The blood of the royal family would break the seal... You were never the target. It was me."

Zelda nodded slowly, the smile falling away. "Greil knew the legend of the Champion Blade and probably informed Zant of it. I was too valuable to sacrifice, and so they hunted you down instead."

Danielle's hand curled slightly into a fist, anger rising within her. The memory of that horrendous pain she suffered was fresh in her mind. Without even thinking, she shot her hand up to grab Zelda's throat, tears burning in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?! If you knew what they wanted me for, why didn't you warn me about it before I left the castle?!" Her body trembled slightly, her breaths coming in short gasps.

Still calm despite the fact the youth had her by the throat and almost as if she expected this sudden outburst, Zelda never flinched and locked eyes with Danielle. "What would that have changed? Would it have made things any different?" Faltering, Danielle tried to come up with an answer. Seeing that she was at a loss for words, the princess continued. "You would have still fought to free your family and protect yourself from them. Such knowledge would have hindered you and distracted you from your goal. You were not ready to know, even before this. Young and stubborn, for so long you only wanted what you desired and not what was beneficial to the kingdom. When you finally began to change, I believed the time to reveal this to you was soon approaching." Sorrow filled her eyes, Zelda raising up her right hand and slowly pulling Danielle's hand from her neck and gently holding it in her own. "Fate had different plans. When Zant invaded, I knew that he would discover the hidden power of the sealed weapons. I asked Midna to take the Champion Blade and flee from the castle with you." Shaking her head, she closed her eyes and lowered her voice. "I did not expect Zant himself to appear before you along with Greil. I failed to protect you, and my mistakes very nearly cost you your life."

Danielle stood there in silence, the anger within her extinguished as Zelda held her trembling hand. The princess now released her hand, instead wrapping her arms around the young girl and resting her head on top of Danielle's. In that one embrace, she felt all of the love Zelda had for her but was forced to keep buried inside. Regretting yelling at the princess and trying to harm her, Danielle closed her eyes and let the tears fall. "P-Princess... I..."

"Ssh... You need not apologize... I love you, Danielle... and I've given everything I have for you," she whispered, holding Danielle tighter. "I... am always with you.�"

--------------------------

"Ever since that strange barrier appeared, the people have been growing anxious. Monsters, the princess missing... things are going downhill real fast, yeah?"

"Not to mention the guards in town have seemed to lose all of their nerve. Letting beasts roam the town streets? I must admit I share in your distaste for the soldiers, Ashei."

"Men empty of valor, I say. At least Ashei found Danielle out there. The guards are probably so brainless they wouldn't have known what to even do."

I must have a record for being knocked out and waking up somewhere else, Danielle thought, stirring slowly as the sound of voices awakened her. Wait... that means I'm not dead?

She forced open her eyes, lying in a bed in a rather dimly lit room. Every inch of her body felt sore, and a damp rag rested on her forehead. Somehow she had survived, but her stomach burned like fire. How did she end up here? She was last in Lanayru's spring, wasn't she? And for that matter, where was here?

"That girl isn't quite what I expected, Telma. I thought she'd be younger."

"She is, but I have no idea how she wound up this way. Without a doubt it's her, I know that. I'm guessing what turned her this way is connected with all of these strange happenings."

Telma's bar? What're they talking about?

"Strange times indeed... I still can't help but wonder where this child's family is. One would think that, given their reputation, they would be out here with us helping to fight to free Hyrule." The current voice that spoke, that of a young male's, was approaching Danielle's bedside. Her eyes flickered to the side, spotting a young Hylian man who looked to be around seventeen or eighteen. His garb was perhaps the most unusual Danielle had ever seen. Tan leather pants reached down to his kneecaps, his socks in white-and-peach diamond patterns with his shoes matching the color of his pants. His belt held several pouches, the buckle carrying a peculiar engraving. A white undershirt was mostly covered by a light pink vest, a dark purple jacket that reached down to his elbows just over that with a high color that reached up to his pointed ears. His light brown hair was neatly fixed, his large circular spectacles sitting on his face. As he walked, he was scanning the pages of a purple book he held with strange golden engravings on its surface and a dagger held in the pages. "But there has not been a single sighting of them... Perhaps we should..." he glanced up at her, stopping in surprise before turning to look elsewhere. "Telma, our guest is awake."

Telma almost immediately stepped into sight, relief filling her face as a wide smile crossed it. "Thank the goddesses you're alright, sweetie! We thought you'd never wake up." The young man closed his book, peering down at her slightly while stepping back. Right now, Telma looked as if she would have crushed Danielle in a hug if it weren't for the fact she was still recovering.

"Ah, Telma..." Danielle managed a weak grin, her voice raspy and strange as she spoke. It sounded deeper than usual, which confused her. Yeah, her mouth was dry, but would that affect her speech in such a way? "How... did I get here?"

"My friend Ashei found you and brought you here a few days ago. What happened to you?"

Danielle blinked slowly, gradually becoming more aware of her surroundings. The bar had a handful of patrons, but things were mostly quiet. Most of the people inside were at the back of the bar, sitting around a table with a map laid out on it. "Attacked... it was a surprise attack. I thought... I would die." Bringing up a hand to her face, she was about to rub at her eyes when she noticed something curious. Her hand seemed a bit larger and stronger than she remembered, as did the rest of her arm. "Ah...?"

Quick to notice her confusion, Telma did her best to explain. "Your whole body, Danielle... It's changed. You look like a grown young woman now instead of a child." At the incredulous look Danielle shot her, she merely shrugged and stood with her hands on her hips. "I was hoping you had some answers to this, but judging your reaction I guess that's not the case."

This is impossible... my body looks like it's older? But Telma wouldn't lie to me about something like this... How did this happen though? First I survive being impaled upon my own blade, and now my body has apparently aged...

Narrowing her eyes a bit, she glanced sideways at Telma, still lying there on the bed. "What about the wound? How bad is it?"

"Mostly healed, actually. Got quite a nasty scar, though. I treated it as best as I could." Telma sat at the edge of her bed, giving a slight nod to the young Hylian who had notified her of Danielle's awakening. He smiled and with a nod in return, headed over to the table with the map, joining a few other patrons. Sighing, the barkeep placed her hand on Danielle's head, a relieved look on her face once more. "I would give you quite a lecture about how you should have never left, but I figure you've been through enough. I'm just glad you're okay, honey."

Closing her eyes, Danielle just relaxed as Telma gently stroked her hair, gathering together her thoughts and the tidbits of information she had overheard. It had been days since what had happened in Lanayru's spring. If Link wasn't here, then where was he? And was Midna okay?

That scream I heard... it was her screaming...

Taking a deep breath, she opened her eyes and looked to Telma. "What about Link? Have you seen him?"

"He came by yesterday, actually. He met with the group while he was here and asked if we could get a blacksmith to repair a broken blade he had. As a matter of fact, I think it was yours." The look Telma gave her asked what had really happened back to her, but Danielle avoided saying anything. If she were to find out Greil had nearly killed her, the barkeep would be appalled.

"So he's okay..." Reaching up a hand, she slowly pulled the rag from her forehead and sat up. The pain in her stomach had lessened considerably, but she still felt somewhat weak. Telma rose and placed her hands on her hips, expression one of amazement and admiration. Apparently she had expected Danielle to be bed-ridden and too weak to move for considerably longer.

Danielle took another deep breath, relaxing her body and being careful not to move too fast as she turned her head to the side and stared at the table near the back of the tavern. Three rather odd people sat around it, the man who had announced Danielle's awakening among them. A man there wore a sword strapped to his back, dark green and white clothing, and brown sandals with a helmet masking his face. She guessed his clothing was Ordonan origin, and he sat with his arms folded across his chest. The other person was a human woman with strangely worn black hair. Her thick pants were dark red in color with a thick, long-sleeved grey shirt covering most of her torso. Unusual mint-green armor covered her entire left arm, her right forearm, and her midsection, with heavy metal boots of the same material reaching up to her kneecaps. At her side was a thin sword, and she leaned against the table with one hand examining the map. With how she was dressed, Danielle thought that perhaps she was a knight, but immediately dismissed the thought. She knew of no female knights within Hyrule's ranks. "Who might your friends be, Telma?"

At this the barkeep smiled, offering a hand to Danielle and helping the youth to her feet. She was now closer to Telma's height, and it took her a bit to get used to a body that felt so different. "These are the people I mentioned to you before, all fighting to save the land we love." As the two walked over to the table, the three people all turned their eyes towards the girl. "Rusl hails from Ordona, and he's quite a swordsman. Even trained your friend Link. He's a longtime friend of mine, and he came to help as soon as he recovered from the beating those monsters gave him in Ordon." The helmeted man merely chuckled slightly, although it sounded more like a grunt than anything before he nodded to her.

"Shad is a scholar interested in a race of Sky Beings who's frequented my bar for quite some time. Despite not being the strongest, his research has been invaluable."

The young man who Danielle had seen upon awakening smiled and bowed his head just slightly. "It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Danielle. Telma has told us much about your skills and bravery, and it's an honor to have you fighting by our side."

The final person, the young woman, glanced up at Danielle with an indifferent expression on her face while Telma spoke. "Ashei's father used to be a knight, but he left after a disagreement with his superior. Raised her like a son and trained her pretty well, too. She's one of the best fighters I've seen."

"Hmph." Ashei said nothing, seeming to give Danielle a cold shoulder. The youth blinked rapidly, wondering if she was like this to everyone or something while Telma went on.

"Danielle is Commander Greil's daughter. She's got a heart of gold and more courage than all the soldiers of Hyrule. She helped Link and I reach Kakariko to save the young Zora Prince's life." The barkeep motioned with her hand towards the three. "This is the group, Danielle... and we want you to join us to fight and free Hyrule."

[Zelda Drottningu 0]

When you finish the story, You have got to email me the WHOLE story so I can print it out and read it propery.

[Stormsworder 0]

Eh... heh heh... well, you see... since school let out I haven't worked on it much, and neither have I typed it up too much further... have maybe one more chapter done so far and that's it. >>; I pretty much typed this up completely at school during my second semester.

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 18: Rebirth

Danielle sat at the table, listening as Ashei briefed her on the current situation. Another member, Auru, was at Lake Hylia investigating strange activity within the Gerudo Desert, and Link had been pointed in his direction. A strange beast had been sighted in Zora’s Domain lately, which had recently recovered from being completely frozen over. Rumors of an unusual set of ruins past the temple in Faron Woods had reached their ears, piquing curiosity. Hyrule was having a never-ending series of problems, and the soldiers were too overwhelmed to do any good.

It’s harder when you have knowledge of what is really going on but cannot reveal it.

“Before you actually do anything, it might be good if you had a weapon, yeah?

[link is my big bro 0]

omg you have to go on i love your storys

[Stormsworder 0]

I can't believe it... ALL of my quotation and apostraphes and stuff got messed up with the new forum skin?

...*hits head on desk*

[link is my big bro 0]

ples hery

[Stormsworder 0]

Dude, chill... it takes time to work on chapters, and I've been having a serious lack of motivation for writing this... that, and I need to remember where I stuck the binder with the rough draft of the chapters at.

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 19: Reunion

“Ow!

[Stormsworder 0]

Chapter 20: Struggle at Snowpeak

Danielle looked around as her body reformed from the warp, recognizing the area as being just outside of Zora’s Domain, a boat rental shack behind her. She heard Link warping in just above her, and Danielle had little time to react before something landed on her back and sent her crashing to the ground.

“What’re you laying around for, Danielle?