AU/ Hello and welcome to my first fanfic posted here on . I have posted this on another website under a different name; therefore, if this seems familiar, that is why.

Please note that this story is a collection of sorts of my favorite books, movies, and things all put into this story. There will be rather obvious references to these things, but at the same time, some will be harder to catch.

Universal Disclaimer: I own nothing in this except my own original characters. A more detailed disclaimer is found in my profile. UD will now appear before every chapter referring to this disclaimer.

The Legend of Zelda: The Lost World

Chapter I In Which Zelda Receives a Letter and a Visitor

Princess Zelda, daughter of King Matthias Leone Hyrule, was home at last. True, she had been a prisoner in a tower, but that was never home. That was a necessary sacrifice for the good of her people. For their safety. Through her secret connections with another princess, she was able to find someone who would help her purge her nation of evil. Though most of the real story was still clouded in mystery, her acts of bravery were not ignored.

"To Princess Zelda, My Daughter,

I have heard of the terrible attack on our kingdom while I was here in Tar Alem. I have to say that I am quite proud of you, my flower, in the way you handled things. However, I do object to your putting yourself in danger; for you know how the thought of losing you makes me have a heart-attack. But, your part in rescuing the kingdom cannot be denied.

I also have heard word of this hero you worked with. I believe his name was Link, correct? We simply must have him over to the castle some time; it is not all that often such a valiant young man rises from nowhere and--Oh, dear, I seem to be preaching. Well, you and I will have plenty of time to talk about all this for I am coming home as soon as possible.

Your Father."

As Zelda looked over the letter again in her father's great study, she couldn't help but smile. True, at times-- most of the time, actually, he was overprotective, stubborn, hotheaded, and even a little foolish when it came to dealing with her; but he was only trying to do right by her in any way he could. She knew that he loved her more than his royal title, as she was the only family he had anymore and vice versa.

She looked around herself for a moment, peering out the rather impromptu "skylight" that was added to her father's study. Ganondorf's brief stay in Hyrule Castle had left two towers collapsed, three walls with holes in them, at least eight rooms had their entire contents thrown about everywhere, and several uncounted rooms were coated in a lovely char.

Perfect... thought Zelda. Her father would most likely tirade about this for some time…

A knock on the ebony door followed by a muffled, "Your Highness," brought Zelda away from her thoughts.

"You may enter," she said, hiding her annoyance. Ever since she returned, she had found that she had been treated as if she were glass-- something she barely tolerated. However, she had to. She had long ago been taught to keep her real emotions inward. She was thankful that this particular time, the servant was quick to his point without burbling.

"Your Majesty, I believe Master Link has arrived as you requested," said he.

Zelda was pleased to hear that he was there. "Thank you. Please, send him in here."

"Also, your Highness, another letter arrived from the King. It states that he has arrived at the western border of the kingdom and should return to the castle by tomorrow eve."

That Zelda did not expect. Her father was at least two kingdoms away with a week of travel to cross each. He must not have wanted to wait to return home. "Was there any more in the letter?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not, Highness. It was a short letter. I will send for Master Link at once, if it pleases your Highness." With a bow, the servant left, leaving Zelda to think. The very reason she had invited Link to the castle that day was to present him with a medal of honor given to those who have earned the respect of the Royal family through some brave act; and what act was more brave than saving the world?

Another knock. "Your--"

"Enter." she said quickly. The door was opened once more to reveal Link. He was again dressed in his Hero's Tunic, but with a dark green riding cape that wrapped around his shoulders and was pinned with a gold Triforce at his right shoulder. The only other difference was that his sword sheath was strapped to his belt, but there was nothing else new about his appearance. He bowed respectfully but said nothing; as Zelda expected. With only a nod, she bade the servant to close the door and leave them.

"Princess," said Link as he rose, "you wished to see me?"

"Indeed I did," said she, taking the box that contained his medal, "I wish to present you with this Medal of Honor, for only one of the Royal Family may give this away to one who truly has shown true fortitude in the face of ultimate crisis. I give this to you as well as my and my family's eternal thanks."

Zelda opened the box to expose the medal. The whole thing was about the length of one's hand: the ribbon would be the length of the fingers while the actual medal would be from the top to the bottom of the palm. The ribbon was actually three ribbons--one red, one blue, and one green-- sewn perfectly together. The medal was a very realistic gold phoenix with its wings close to its side and three gems--a ruby, a sapphire, and an emerald-- arranged in the pattern of the Triforce in the body of the bird. It was one of the most prized awards in Hyrule…

She removed it from the box and pinned it to Link's left shoulder with little more ceremony. Truly, neither she nor Link wanted to draw this out more than it had to. Zelda was never much for so much pomp even though she was born into that world, and Link was too humble to really be comfortable in a real ceremony having to do with him. He found his new found fame to be slightly out of place with him, and honestly wished he could disappear back to his normal life among his friends home in Ordon. However, he knew that wasn't likely to happen so he decided to brave this world as well.

When Zelda was finished fastening the award to Link, she backed away and curtsied politely, which was hard to do now that she was forced back into wearing heeled shoes. When she looked up again, Link was taking his sword slowly out of his sheath and presented the hilt to Zelda.

"I was supposed to bring this to you for some time," he explained, "A gift from Ordon to the Royal Family, crafted by our finest swords-smith."

Zelda took hold of the leather-bound hilt and inspected the sword. She had to admit it was a beautifully made weapon, though it paled in comparison with the Master Sword she had seen Link wield before. Link held the sheath and replaced the sword once Zelda was finished looking at it. Her father would be please to know that the people of Ordon sent them such a kind offering.

"Thank you, Link. I accept this gift on behalf of my father. Now perhaps we might speak freely with this exchange over?" she asked, waving her hand to two armchairs in one corner of the room. Link said nothing in return but nodded his head respectfully, following her over there.

Once they were seated, Zelda asked if Link would be returning to Ordon after he left the castle today.

"I don't think so," he said, looking at the floor in thought, "I saw some thick storm clouds on my way here. I believe we are in for some foul weather."

"I didn't see them yet, I've been far too busy," Zelda answered, "but my father requested he meet you. It just makes sense that you stay for he is to return some time tomorrow."

At the mention of her father, Link looked up. Obviously, he was not quite sure he really knew what he was getting himself into. Therefore, Zelda quickly said, "My father is not an unkind man, Link. He spoke quite highly of you in his letter to me. I'm sure he has no reason to believe otherwise."

"There is one…" Link mumbled.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I was a beast, Princess. Even my friends didn't realize it was me…" Now Zelda understood.

"You never told anyone about your 'other form'?"

"No, and I don't intend to," he replied, somewhat cold in his tone.

"Consider your secret safe with me," Zelda said in a comforting tone, "If it is your desire that this remains a secret, I shall keep it with me to my grave."

Link looked much more relaxed and actually smiled for the first time since he came to the castle that day. "Thank you, Princess."

Link spent the night at the castle in one of the spare rooms that wasn't destroyed, but he and Zelda didn't spend much more time together. Zelda couldn't if she wanted to because her staff kept her busy. Everyone in the castle wished to make the palace respectable enough for their ruler's return and Zelda was the supervisor by default. Therefore, all her time was spent going through what the servants had to do. By late afternoon, Zelda was nearly drained of energy and patience; but she hid the latter quite well. However, sitting on her father's throne listening to the quite voices of the different servants before her nearly lulled her to sleep.

"……..color of the table linens should be?" said a maid standing before her with two table cloths, one red one white, in either of her hands.

Zelda stirred only a little bit after realizing she nearly fell asleep. She was sitting in a rather plain blue dress to the horror of her lady in waiting. Said woman was a no-nonsense, up-tight old shrew named Lady Gray. Lady Gray had been Zelda's lady in waiting since the young Princess was a child. Now that she was a young lady, Lady Gray had been her teacher in, as she said, "everything a princess ought to know."

Lady Gray herself was not a remarkable lady to look at. Thin as a stick with equally thin fingers on thin arms with thin legs holding the whole of her upright, she made saplings look strong. Her face was sharp and angular with high cheekbones and a forward brow that always made her look unpleasant. Her dark gray eyes sat behind a pair of round little spectacles that sat on the bridge of her big sharp nose. Her dark brown hair, that was striped with gray, was always wrapped in a neat little bun sitting on the back of her little head with not a stray out of place. She was one of the few people that Zelda feared.

Zelda straightened up in her seat and addressed the maid in front of her. "Excuse me, could you say that again a little louder? I didn't hear you the first time," she lied.

"Yes, your Highness. I asked what color of table linens shall we use for his Majesty's arrival?"

"The white one," said Zelda quickly, hiding her exhaustion, "the red is normally used for royal guests."

"Actually, your Grace," said Lady Gray, "His Royal Highness your father is bringing their Highnesses of Tar Alem to join us for some time. Therefore the red is the best choice, but only in my humble opinion, your Grace."

"Very well then," Zelda said. She inwardly was wincing. Although she was friends with Princess Lalana of Tar Alem, her elder brother Prince Uncouthma was a burly, tough-headed huntsman with his sights rather obviously set on Zelda. He was notorious for his temper and his womanizing ways.

Hylians differed from Tar Alemites in their entire social lives. The Hylians were more sophisticated in their dealings with others, especially with women, due to their religious upbringings and loyalty to the goddesses. Hylian ladies were given great respect by others and were almost considered equals with men when it came to the political and family orders: one of the main reasons Zelda was allowed to be her father's regent in his absence.

Tar Alemites were on the opposite end of the scale. The men were the leaders in all aspects of life while the ladies merely followed their husbands or fathers without question. However, their unswerving loyalty to their men was not always a good thing; especially when the man was the normal Tar Alemite: brutish and dogged. Prince Uncouthma was the perfect example, as he expected Zelda to swoon over him constantly when she would rather be dragged behind a horse through the rockiest valley she could find.

The blare of trumpets interrupted Zelda's inward displeasure for she knew her father was back and it was expected that she greet him in the courtyard. A royal duty she had no complaint for. She walked as quickly as she could, which was not very fast in her terribly high heeled shoes, to the courtyard, ignoring the cries of Lady Gray to go slower with more grace. She had just made it out the palace's main door when her father came trotting in on his brightly bannered horse.

Her father was a tall man, about six and a half feet, with pale blonde hair, neatly trimmed beard, and thin mustache. His eyes were a blue likening to the sky instead of Link's icy blue, and his face had an identical construction to Zelda's. He wore a thick, dusty riding cloak over his silver tunic that was lined with gold thread at the edges and dark leather riding breeches that were tucked into his fine brown boots. His hands were in a pair of embroidered riding gloves, but were normally firm and strong, toughened from his swordsmanship as a young Prince of Hyrule.

King Matthias leapt from his steed once he was close enough and ran to his daughter. Zelda found herself lifted from the ground, spinning in the air with her father's arms wrapped around her. Though it was very rare her father would show this much affection for his daughter with others present, as it was not very proper, Zelda welcomed the surprise happily and hugged her father tightly.

When King Matthias put his daughter back on the ground, he kissed the top of her head and said with a sigh, "Oh, my flower, you are safe…How are you, my dear?"

"Better now that you're home, Father," she said, her voice muffled as her face was pressed to her father's chest by his arms.

"I thought you were dead when I stopped receiving news about your well being. It was said that you disappeared…"

Zelda knew what he was talking about. When she gave her life force to help Midna, her body was most likely discovered after it reappeared when Midna was fully well. Though she never died, the guard who kept watch on her tower must have leaked a false alarm.

King Matthias let go of Zelda and took a look at her, as he loved to do because she reminded him so much of his dear queen. "Now, where is that Hero I have been hearing so much of, hm?" he said with a grin, "I want to meet this young man in person straight away!"

In the throne room, Hyrule's King once more held the reins and was in his proper place with Zelda occupying a smaller throne on his right. She knew that Link was near-by but followed her father up to the throne room to wait as two servants began to look for him when the King came back. She learned from her father that the Tar Alem Royal Family was a day behind them as Matthias was too impatient to get home to travel at their leisured pace. Therefore, Zelda was safe for at least a few more days.

After a minute or two, Link was announced and led into the room by one of the King's heralds. The young man was led right up to the King's throne where he did a very deep bow. Only Zelda noticed that he was wearing the exact same thing he wore yesterday with the addition of his medal.

"Welcome, Master Link," said King Matthias happily, "I don't think I can ever fully thank you for what you have done. I'd say I owe you the life of everyone in the kingdom, even!"

"Your Highness's thanks is more than enough for me, Sire," said Link, still bowed low.

"You may stand, my son, let me see your face," laughed the King. Zelda could not help but smile at both Link's demure nature and her father's unusually pleasant one. Link stood and removed his hat before the King, standing firmly but humbly in his spot.

"Ah, I see my daughter beat me in giving you one of our greatest honors, now. Well then, Link, I suppose we'll have to do this to old fashioned way and have a ball in your honor then, now wont we?"

Zelda saw Link swallow a lump in his throat.

"I…would be honored, your Highness, but that's really too mu--"

"Nonsense!" King Matthias cried, "You save my daughter and my kingdom and a simple ball is too much thanks? It's too little if you ask me! It's only a start, after all, but I intend to thank you for this for a long time. Zelda," he said turning to his daughter.

"Yes, father?"

"I am putting you in charge of the planning for Master Link's ball. Hyrule needs a reason to celebrate now that that Ganondorf is dead," he said, hissing the dreaded name with utter hate in his voice. He hated anyone who dare mean harm on his precious daughter…

Zelda, who hoped to return to her normal duties for a few days, was surprised at her father's order. However, she enjoyed planning balls as it was easy enough.

After four days of planning and supervising and answering millions of questions, Zelda rested in her private suite before preparing to go to bed for the evening. Thankfully, her father had allowed her perfect privacy after dark. No maids, no ministers, no courtiers-- no one was allowed uninvited into her sanctuary. Her suite was only three rooms, her sitting room, her bedroom with a lovely balcony, and her bathroom. Her sitting room had three chairs that were covered in a purple velvet (which happened to be the dominating color in her chambers) that sat around a table with a chess pattern in the center and the chess pieces under the table in a box and a divan sofa that sat parallel to her bay window.

Her bedroom was not a very large space, but Zelda liked it that way. Her four posted bed had thick purple curtains she could draw to keep heat in or pull back to let it flow, depending on the time of year it was. As it was late spring, the curtains were held to the posts with gold colored ropes. On her bed was down blanket that didn't overheat during the night but was also soft to sit on during the day. Across from her bed was a fireplace that was beautifully molded into the wall with a gilded grid to keep things out. The fire was generally always lit at night because of how cool it could get at night, but tonight was an exception. Right of the fireplace was one of Zelda's large wardrobes. She had two, one on either side of her vanity table, for her winter and summer clothes. However, Zelda kept her best clothes, the plain dresses she loved because her mother wore them, in a trunk used for the most part as a side table at her bed. Zelda's vanity was the thing that got the least amount of use, mostly because Zelda didn't like the idea of spending so much time looking in a mirror. Unless it was for a special occasion, she really didn't use it. On the far wall was her balcony window which was separated from the outside elements by a pair of glass doors, that Zelda had closed for the evening, and another set of purple curtains, that were not closed.

Zelda was, that night, sitting on her bed working an old book she had retrieved from the library that afternoon that was entitled Legends of the Ancient World. She wanted to finish the first chapter of the book before she changed into her nightclothes and went to sleep. She was interrupted when she heard a knock. By habit, she was about to say "Enter," but she listened instead. The knock was not coming from the door, but from the balcony window; and it was actually a little tapping noise that she nearly missed. Zelda put the book down and cautiously tip-toed over to the window.

Outside, silhouetted but the light of the stars, was a hunched over figure in a black cloak and hood. Zelda was more concerned about the pair of blue eyes she saw glowing in the dark.

"Link?"

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