Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Legend of Zelda, the characters and settings are strictly used for storytelling only.

Author's note: This Zelda story is kind of like an alternate reality... I came up with it one day when I was bored, and I was thinking of Final Fantasy VI.

THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: AGE OF DARKNESS

PART I

Chapter 1: Out of Nowhere

Long ago, there was a kingdom blessed with green hills and flourishing crops. The people were joyous and merry and lived together in peace. This kingdom, however, was also blessed with a great and most sacred power, which was set down by the goddesses, it was known as the Golden Power. Evil in the land sought this great and noble force, but none prevailed because the sages had protected it. One, known as Ganondorf made many attempts to steal this power and once almost prevailed. Fortunately, the sages had put his acts to a halt and hid the great Golden Power deep where it could not be found, only they had the knowledge where it was.

The sages had tremendous power; their spells and enchantments seemed only like a figment of one's imagination in ordinary eyes. They could take on different forms at will, or even soar in the skies. Their duty was to protect the Golden Power, for if it were disturbed, destruction would be certain to pierce the world. Long years passed, and eventually the sages had perished of old age.

That was when darkness stroke once again, Ganondorf had awakened from his prison and slew the king to take over the blessed kingdom, which now would be known to be cursed. The fair princess had disappeared and Ganondorf took complete control over the government. He had forced the people to dig in the deepest depths of the earth, and the darkest mines. This was all for the thirst of power... seeking the Golden Power, the force of the goddesses. Five years have passed since then, and the kingdom of Hyrule has gone into a deeper state of darkness.

A young woman shivered in the snowstorm as she approached the edge of a cliff, clinging tightly onto her shoulders. Her blonde locks blew across her face and her hair whipped in the powerful wind, catching a few snowflakes. The snow had reached her shins and drenched her legs covered with armor plates. She had gazed over the top of the cliff to barely see a town off in the distance with her dull blue eyes. The girl's cold red lips were tightly shut as she felt the cold sting of the wind pierce her pale cheeks.

The woman did not know who she was. She only found herself running away from something when she had regained her senses and found herself in amazon armor with a cape draped over her shoulders. The girl stepped back to find her way down the cliff and on the path toward the small town she had seen. She traveled through the cold, plains of snow, still tightly clinging onto her shoulders and using her cape to warm herself. The night was dark, and the stars were ailed while the moon was dead. The only thing that remained in the sky was the deep blackness that consumed.

Eventually the woman had reached the town and found that the blizzard had lessened there. A sigh of relief had come over her, though she knew not why, she didn't even know who or what she was running from. She observed the town she had entered. It was poor looking and the houses were small, built out of wood, and each with smoke rising from the chimneys. The woman pushed herself forward even further into the town curiously. She had released the grasp she had on her shoulders just as she heard calls from behind her.

"There she is, get her!"

The woman whirled around to see guards that looked somewhat familiar charging toward her, spears drawn. That is when she remembered who she was running from, the castle guards. A gasp passed her lips as she turned around and ran forward, not knowing where she was going. The woman had burst into darkness when she had passed through a cave, and slowed down. Her eyes eventually adapted to the sudden change of light and she walked forward slowly, realizing it was a mine.

There were the guards again, they had followed her in and ran after her. Her eyes widened once more and she pressed forward running. The woman had reached a dead end at the very edge of the cavern, and looked to see the guards had caught up with her and were slowly approaching. She looked both to her left and right and saw guards approaching as well and could only find herself stepping backward, making cautious steps.

"You will come with us back to the castle..."

The woman made another step backward and found that the ground below her foot had collapsed and she fell deep down into dark abyss. A scream escaped her as she fell and eventually collided on the ground. Quickly the woman had looked up after feeling her head and to find no guards peeking down at her. She looked around herself to observe her surroundings. It was darker than above, and she could not see a thing, nor could her eyes adapt to such a sate of no light. However, in the corner of her eye she saw a bright glow. The woman stood up on her feet and turned slowly toward the object. The woman decided to approach and as she drew each step closer, the object became clearer.

It seemed to be an owl encased in a thick sheet of ice. Its wings were spread open and it seemed to be in the position of flying. The young maiden observed it curiously drawing nearer. It then flashed before her eyes and she began to talk to herself, but to her she was talking to the strange thing.

"What are you trying to tell me...?" She said, "What happened...?"

Her head began to get heavy, and her vision blurry before she found herself falling on the hard and cold ground. Her vision went black, as her head seemed to be clouded with murk and mist. She lied there, unconscious with her hair spread widely with tangles here and there and her eyes gently closed, with a facial expression that showed pain.

When she awoke, she found herself in completely different surroundings. The tone of light was much brighter, and she lay in a soft bed as a feather pillow engulfed her head. Covers lay spread over her and there was a warm fireplace in the room. All the maiden could hear was the crackling of the flames and the wind outside. She slowly sat up in her bed and felt her head, only letting out a few words.

"So... heavy..."

To her surprise, she heard a door creek open that lead to her room. Her gaze quickly turned toward the sound to find an old man, garbed in brown shaggy clothes coming in. Once he had seen her sitting up in bed, it seemed his eyes had widened in shock and he hurried over to the young woman. He seemed to have deep concern for her.

"Y-you shouldn't be up!"

The young maiden was clouded with confusion, she tightened her grip on the sheets and replied as if there was a problem and she slightly panicked, "W-what... where am I?"

"I found you unconscious in the mines. It seemed you had been there for a while."

It took a while for the woman to realize what had happened before she went unconscious. After thinking about it for a while, she jerked up and remembered what she had seen, "Did you see the owl encased in ice?" She quickly said.

The confusion switched over to the old man and he blinked several times. After relaxing his shoulders and shaking his head, he calmly replied to her, "No... there wasn't any owl..."

The young maiden looked downward as if she were sad. She couldn't understand any of this. Where was she exactly? How did she get there? Who was she, and why was she out in the blizzard running...? Questions filled her thoughts as the old man lowered his head so he could view the girl's face a little more properly.

"Where did you come from?" He decided to say, observing her facial expression.

She looked up once again. That's exactly what she wanted to know. She shook her head slowly before the she found the old man speaking once again.

"Have you lost your memories? Can you remember your name?"

The young maiden paused for a while, wondering. She tried to think the hard as she could, trying her best to pry into her past. Suddenly an answer at last came to her; she now knew her name after listening to her deepest thoughts.

"Zelda... my name is... Zelda."

"See? There you go... I'll bet you will gain your memories soon enough."

Outside of the room, they heard pounding on the door to the entrance of the house. It sounded so harsh Zelda jumped in her bed as the crashing and sudden sound reached her ears. Then behind the doors she heard harsh voices that were familiar... they were the voices of the guards searching for her. They had a tone of anger hidden within them, and a hint of determination.

"Open up! We want the girl hidden in there! She is a loyal officer under his lordship Ganondorf!"

Zelda slightly perked up in shock; she couldn't remember anything of that, "Officer?"

The old man, seeming knowing what was going on placed both of his hands on her shoulders and looked strait into her eyes. He breathed rather heavily out of worry and anxiousness. Zelda was still in confusion and lost in her thoughts and questions.

"Listen, Zelda... you must go. Escape through the back door and hide in the mines, you'll receive help soon." He pointed to another door on the other side of the room, next to the fireplace.

Zelda glanced at it and then looked at the old man before he spoke to her once more, "Go!"

He had gotten out of the room while Zelda had went out of bed without any hesitation and made her way to the back door. The warmth of the house left her once she stepped outside into the cold blistering night, and she continued forward, heeding the old man's instructions. When she was crossing a bridge, some of the guards had noticed her and went on their way to where she was. Quickly thinking, she continued to run toward the mines, expecting the help the old man spoke of.

Meanwhile, the old man had opened the door regularly as if he were expecting guests, but the guards had shoved him aside and burst in the house, immediately asking questions, "Where is the girl?"

"What girl? I haven't seen one in ages..." The old man said, acting senile and scratching his head.

The guards of course did not believe him and searched through his house, but to their disappointment, they found nothing and no traces of Zelda anywhere. They left without apologizing for the mess they had made and rushed out, continuing their search for Zelda. The old man then heard the back door open and slam harshly and footsteps running into the same room he was in.

"Is everything all right, gramps? I saw guards rush in here..." A young voice of a man said.

The old man turned around to see a man about the same age as Zelda. He had blonde locks hanging on the sides of his face and eyes piercing blue and skin pale and fair. He wore a green tunic and hat with brown boots and white tights and a white undershirt. He looked rather different from the rest of the townspeople there. The old man replied to him, speaking very seriously.

"They were after Zelda."

"Zelda?" The young man said with confusion, "Who is she?"

"She's someone who needs your help, please go to her. She is in the mines, go take her to the hideout."

The young man still was hesitating a little, why should he help someone he didn't know? He hasn't even seen this Zelda yet!

"But-"

"Go! Link, I'm counting on you... she needs to survive!"

Link quickly ran out the back door once more and headed down the bridge toward the mines to find this Zelda the old man spoke of. He ran as if he were late for something, and indeed he was, late for aiding this girl, those were his thoughts. Link had rushed into the dark mines searching for Zelda.

Meanwhile, Zelda had gotten lost and found a dead end. Panicking, she jolted her head around, trying to find a way out. Sweat was running down her face and she realized her face had gotten hot out of exhaustion. Then she heard the cries of the guards once more, except there were many more coming toward her. It was unlikely the ground under her foot would collapse, or the guards would just disappear. Zelda thought herself really done in this time. She flinched, awaiting her doom to come.

Author's note: What do you think of the alternate reality so far? I had fun writing this. I can guarantee this will be a long story... there's so much to explain... but in the mean time... REVIEW... REVIEW... REVIEW... REVIEW...