Chapter Text
For as long as Legend could remember, there were only a few people who were always there for him, even when he was too young to actually realize it.
The very first was his uncle, Alphon. As he would later find out, Alphon wasn’t his biological uncle, but he might as well have been. In all of Link’s early memories, Alphon was his only family. There was never a mother or father, only his uncle. And Link was perfectly happy with that.
His childhood was filled with laughter and play fighting in the apple grove, fishing trips at Lake Hylia, and practicing swordplay in front of the house. Alphon was like a father to Link, in almost every sense of the word. He was happy, loved, cared for. That’s what made it all the more devastating when his destiny came to call.
The night Link woke to see his uncle disappearing into the pitch black changed things. Without almost any explanation, Alphon left the house decked in the most armor Link had ever seen him in. Link was already curious when his uncle didn’t bother telling him where he was going, and Zelda’s plea sealed the deal.
He followed his uncle to the castle sewers, dodging the oddly behaving guards and ducking beneath bushes just in time to see the horrific sight of Agahnim striking Alphon down, before vanishing like the coward he was.
Link sat with Alphon, begging and pleading for him not to go, not to leave him alone, until the life in his eyes faded, taking Link’s innocence and hope with it. His final words rang in his head as he sobbed, cradling the corpse of the only family he had ever known. All the boy was left with was cold, unforgiving steel and a mission.
Then came Zelda. As he stumbled out of the sewers and toward the dungeons, covered in his uncle’s blood, she murmured to him, trying to soothe the hurt in his heart, encouraging him to keep moving.
Link found her in the dungeons, cold and wrapped only in a torn blue nightgown, but safe. He quickly dispatched the guards outside her cell and escorted her to the safe house. As soon as they made it to the church and the door was sealed, she explained everything to him.
She was with him throughout his journey, always answering when he called to her. He even visited her in the safe house if he thought he wasn’t being followed, where she wrapped his wounds and they talked.
Even when he was hunted, sought for his head by the corrupted country he called home, she was there. They were fast friends, and thought alike. When those who hunted him took her and killed the priest, Link saw red.
He stormed the castle, not wasting a second longer. But when he found her, and by extension, Agahnim, it was too late. The wizard taunted him and fled, taking any hope of avenging the only people he could call family with him. He searched the room anyway though, and found the coward behind a curtain.
Link fought tooth and nail, paying no mind to his vicious injuries, dead set on ending Agahnim. Before that could happen though, he was banished, stuck in a body he could barely move in.
The time in the dark world was lonely, even after he got his form back. Without Zelda, he was completely alone, everyone he once knew afraid of him. Link pushed himself to the limit, finally freeing Hyrule, the maidens, and finally, Zelda.
The wish upon the Triforce brought back his uncle and Zelda’s father, but Link couldn’t banish the image of his uncle’s fate from head. His uncle moved into the castle and continued his work as a knight, but Link drew back, forever knowing his uncle’s true fate, made even worse by the discovery of his and Zelda’s relation.
When he couldn’t shake the nightmares, he left to find solitude, a time to think and explore somewhere new. What he got instead was a shipwreck and the most bittersweet dream he had ever had, bringing Marin with it.
The moment he saw her, he was head over heels. Her warm hazel eyes captured his attention immediately, bringing a sense of safety and making his heart race all at once. Her soft ginger waves of hair flowed down her back and onto her shoulders, held back only by a vibrant hibiscus, as carefree as the girl herself. And her smile… it was the brightest thing he had ever seen.
She took him in after finding him passed out on the beach, taking care of him with her father. It became clear very quickly that her personality was as lovely as her looks, caring for everyone she saw, hylian, human, or otherwise. He helped the people of Koholint and completed dungeons, and spent more and more time with her whenever he wasn’t. He foolishly ignored the warnings, captivated by the girl with the voice of an angel, cradled by a wonderful dream.
It didn’t take long after for him to realize she was the love of his life.
They made plans for her to travel with him back to Hyrule, to meet his sister and all his friends back home, but to do that, he had to wake the Wind Fish.
And he did. It all fell apart.
He woke up cold, wet, and utterly alone. It came in a rush seconds after he woke up, and brought the taste of salt in his mouth with it.
He didn’t know how he made it home, only that he left soon after, going nowhere in particular but ending up on two more adventures.
He didn’t know a soul, learning to draw into himself to shield the events he would soon fully process. He finished his quests and left, ignoring the parting words from Din and Nauru.
Everything reminded him of her. Din’s hair, the sky, passing scenery. But worst of all, the smell of salt water. As soon as he reached Hyrule again, he promised himself to stay grounded.
Then Zelda disappeared again. He tracked her down eventually, but before he ever got to her, Ravio came barreling into his life.
He set up shop in his house, and never really left. He’d never admit it, but he did come to relax in the sense of familiarity Ravio brought, and he quickly became a fixture in Link’s life.
After that came Hytopia, which to Link seemed more of a fever dream. He decided not to think about it too often.
When he finally found his way home again, this time seemingly for good, he tried to settle down. He started caring for the apple grove again, and took up smithing. He tried desperately to ignore conversation with those around him and finally move on.
He tried to banish his journeys and the goddess that sent him on them from his head, but they were memories he couldn’t shake, haunting him. He rushed along with his life, trying desperately to banish his wandering thoughts with meaningless work.
Then along came the chain, and he became Legend. Stuck in yet another adventure, it seemed. He drew away, determined as always not to get attached. It only ever hurt him.
But the perceived strangers were determined, and quickly rooted themselves in his heart. He would never admit it, but they became his brothers.
When it was all over and he returned home to the warm embrace of his loved ones, he made a vow not to forget what they had done for him.
And if one day he found her again, and added more family into the mix, well, he thought they’d approve.