The New General… Maybe.
Chapter 15

Zelda hid in the shadows near Epona as Link approached. Her hood was brought up over her face. Her stealth was quite impressive. Anyone other than Link may not have noticed her presence, and aside from the occasional guard there wasn't anyone else there.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked quietly.

"I guess so."

"You were back there nearly two hours." She looked into his eyes and knew something else had happened, but it wasn't her nature to pry. She cleared her throat. "Reginald and I have written up a proposal for the council already. Hopefully, they will listen this time."

"They have to." Link thought aloud.

There was an attack coming. The lizalfos would be on their way as soon as the winter passed and the army of Hyrule was basically non-existent. It bore on his mind just how many lizalfos there might be.

"And we have to move quickly. At the moment our next general has no idea that he will even receive an offer."

"If I'm not mistaken he was injured, right? Are you sure he's even up to this?"

"The man had some head injuries but from what I've heard he is fully recovered."

It occurred to Link that maybe he was the one with head injuries; his life was so drastically different than it was a year ago. Sometimes he wondered if it was all a strange dream. The cool night air reminded him otherwise.

"When do you plan on informing him?"

"Now." With that, Zelda started walking.

"Now? As in right now?" Link followed behind her.

"Yes, we will meet with him tonight. The council doesn't need to know that it was such a recent decision to make him General. And he needs to be sure of his position."

"Your grace, forgive me but what if he doesn't accept?"

"Then you will have to reconsider."

Link stopped but Zelda kept moving forward. He noticed she was headed back toward the castle itself. Sneaking out would probably involve tunnels that went into the sewers. He wasn't thrilled with the idea. The wall behind him had some old thick vines hanging from the edges above a narrow ledge. If he could get up to the top of the wall he could find away back into town without alerting the guards at the main gate.

"Your Highness, if we are planning on using the sewers I may know a quicker and much more pleasant way out of here."

"Oh really?" The princess turned to face him. "What might that be?"

Link reached in the magic pouch he carried and pulled out a clawshot. His eyes went to the vines on the wall.

"Unless your scared of heights."

"There aren't vines on the other side you know."

"We'll figure something out."

Zelda wasn't familiar with the device, but with the way Link was aiming it she had a pretty good idea what it was for. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach, but she trusted him. He held out his hand and she grabbed it. His arm wrapped around her waist tightly. The motion startled her for a moment. Then she heard the strange tool hit the stone and vines Link had aimed for.

"Hang on."

Her stomach felt as though she had left it on the ground. The death grip she had on Link's torso probably wasn't helping anything. Within a few seconds they were up on the ledge.

"Are you alright?" After the death grip released, Link wanted to be sure. To his surprise Zelda was smiling.

"That was amazing!" Her voice was low to not alert any guards but Link could hear her elation.

The shadows hid Link's smile.

"I'm glad you think so. We'll have to climb over that ledge and walk across the beam above the moat to the outer wall of the town. There are some houses built up against the wall so we can just get on the rooftops from there."

They made it across with no trouble. Heights weren't a problem for Zelda and soon they were on the rooftops. After climbing down to a balcony and descending some stairs, they were on the streets.

"That was a lot quicker than the tunnels and sewers."

"It smelled better too." Link chuckled. He pulled on his gloves, not sure if he was crossing a line. "You just keep surprising me. I never knew what to expect from you."

"Sir Link, I surprise the council too. They think I'm unorthodox at times. Maybe it's true but any worthy person is well rounded. My father believed I should be able to protect myself and not depend on guards all the time. It was one of the few things we agreed on."

Link had cringed at the Princess calling him 'Sir' and she noticed.

"You will be knighted soon, it's a title you're going to have to get used to."

"I'm honored Princess, but—"

"Do you remember in the cave?" She interrupted.

The only thing Link thought at that moment was that she wanted to know what the cold sensation had been. He braced himself for questions about the spirit of the Hero of Time. Time appeared behind Zelda as though he was thinking the same thing.

When he didn't answer she continued. "We were talking and you called me Zelda."

"Oh." Tension crossed his shoulders. Now he remembered, it was during their conversation about the Lizalfos. Perhaps he had gotten too comfortable. Calling a royal without their title was surely frowned upon by the nobles.

She tilted her head and tried to read his expression. "I really like that. So none of those titles unless it's official business, alright?"

The tension released and he let out the breath he'd been holding.

"Of course your…." He smiled. "Zelda."

They walked south of the castle, an area Link was familiar with. Telma's bar was a place he frequented, the resistance had met there and assisted him on occasion. The dark streets were empty so late at night. Zelda turned toward a rather humble looking building that had multiple doors—presumably apartments. She stopped in front of a door that faced the alley.

"We're here."

"I'll let you do the talking."

Zelda turned from him, but Link could have sworn she rolled her eyes under the hood. She knocked softly on the door. Apparently, the occupant was a light sleeper. Movement could be heard from inside. A small door, much like a peep-hole opened.

"It's the middle of the night." A deep commanding voice spoke. "Who is it."

As the man looked through the door, Zelda lowered her hood slightly.

A gasp could be heard. "Forgive me. Please come in."

The door swung open to reveal a man around Link's age bowing to the princess. He appeared as a giant next to Link. He was tall and stocky in build. His skin was the color of cocoa and he wore a serious expression. Link noticed a scar on the back of his head as he turned, likely the injury Zelda had spoken of.

"Thank you for inviting us in, Haraldus." Zelda greeted.

"It's an honor your majesty. I had heard that you were alive and that the castle was free. I'm so pleased to see you are doing well. " Haraldus appeared nervous as he invited his visitors to have a seat near the fire. His home was humble just an open area with one door leading to a small separate room. The home was furnished with only essentials. "May I ask what brings you here at this hour?"

"I have a proposition for you."

Zelda was unsure if the man looked more confused because of her statement or his curiosity with her companion.

"But first," she continued. "This is Link of Ordon. He has been a great help to me."

Haraldus' eyes flashed with a realization, but of what Link wasn't quite sure.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Link of Ordon." He held out a hand and Link shook it.

"Same to you. I've heard great things about you."

"Well, now that you know each other I have a pressing issue." Zelda's voice held an authoritative tone.

Haraldus looked to the princess with curiosity, it was quite apparent the matter was urgent.

"As you know, the rest of the Royal Guard did not survive. This includes our general. He was unable to train up the army he desired to—largely because he wasn't permitted, and partially because of his old age. You heeded his advice and trained, you studied the strategies of the past. I've reviewed some of your research; you are a wise and capable leader. That's why I'm asking you to accept the position of General of Hyrule's army."

The man did little to hide his stunned expression.

"I'm honored that you would ask, but me? Surely, there is someone out there more qualified. Someone older, more experienced perhaps."

"You are the most qualified person for the job. Technically speaking, with the main officers who made up the Royal Guard gone, you are the highest ranking soldier in the army." Haraldus looked as if he wanted to protest further, but Zelda held up her hand. "The council will meet tomorrow and I need to make a proposition to them. After the past events they may very well have changed their minds about giving the army more funding. They have been slack for years and my father is partially to blame for letting the army become what it has. We have an opportunity to convince them to implement the training regimens you have designed."

The tall man still looked as though he may argue against her.

Zelda furrowed her brow. "Hyrule is still in danger. We were… fortunate with the attacks recently. Now, we need to be prepared. Our main source of defense cannot be a small resistance."

Haraldus' eyes widened.

"Your majesty, I did not join the resistance to spite you or the army. It just seemed like something that I could do to help. The other soldiers were cowards, going about guard duty like nothing was happening to the castle or Hyrule. No one understood quite what was going on. In their confusion they chose to ignore it."

"I'm not accusing you of treason." Zelda's tone softened. "If it were not for the resistance Hyrule would surely be doomed."

Link noticed that these two had talked many times before. Although Haraldus served her faithfully, he did feel at liberty to express himself. It appeared to him that they were, on some level, friends. The fact that Haraldus was involved with the resistance came as a surprise to him, but Link kept those thoughts to himself.

The large man's eyes looked at Link. "Well, the resistance and someone who appears to be a friend of yours. "

Link's eyes widened at the realization that Haraldus had done more than just heard his name. The shift of the conversation to him shocked him to say the least. He felt a hand on his shoulder, apparently his ghostly companion was just as surprised.

"The places the others told me you would go, the things you'd do. The incident at the castle." Haraldus glanced at Zelda then to Link. "You really did save Hyrule. Is it true that you are the chosen hero?"

A lump formed in Link's throat.

Haraldus looked at Zelda and had the nerve to smirk. "In my research I had found more and more leads to a unique hero multiple times in Hyrule's history; a man that would fight off hoards of monsters alone. I began to believe it was true. My research is more toward military strategy, so I didn't look into it too much. But there's a book in the royal library. The book's age is what caught my attention. It seemed like an old fairytale, nothing important. One day I tried to leave with it." He looked to Link. "I did have permission to borrow books from the royal collection, but not this one. It was bound to the room. Every time I tried to leave with it the book would fall out of my hands. So I stayed and read it. The language was old and hard to read, the pages were worn, but the pictures held a lot of meaning. In particular one of the sword you carry. Once I heard of the things you were doing, and the rumors spreading throughout Hyrule. Then Shad described your sword to me. I had suspected you might have been chosen like the hero in the story. This is information I kept to myself, the rest of the resistance didn't know. Although, truth be told I think Shad began to suspect. He said something about an old book that he had bought a few years ago. Apparently, Rusl had borrowed it."

Zelda didn't look offended that Haraldus had read the old text. She was a bit lost in memory. "My father used to bring me to the library and read that story to me. He said it was a family tradition. I don't think he believed it; he just wanted to follow the old ways. But I believed the stories, at least a little bit." Zelda's words left Link absolutely dumbfounded.

"So they did remember me." Time's voice was soft. The fire flared up in the hearth causing Zelda and Haraldus to focus on the flames.

"Remember you?" Haraldus asked. They heard the voice and thought Link had spoken.

"I mean the royal family remembered the hero." Link tried not to trip over his words. "And about me, well, that is true. I… I only found out recently. It shocked me like it would anyone. Nobody expects something like that."

"This is all important, and it is essential that you know the truth about who saved Hyrule." Zelda needed an answer to her proposition. "But Hyrule is in danger. A Lizalfos army is planning to attack the kingdom. We have only this winter to train to stop them. Link wanted to go out on his own, but who's to say he could stop all of them. That's assuming he'd even find all of them. Who's to say another enemy won't rear its head. Hyrule needs to be prepared. Hyrule needs a strong army and a new general."

"Link of Ordon the chosen one, wouldn't he be more suited?" Haraldus made one last attempt to deny the offer.

After all of the fuss Haraldus had made about him being a chosen hero, Link thought that he might just persuade Zelda to ask him again.

"He has agreed to advise you, to be your second in command. It would be more beneficial to have a leader who understands military ways, someone who grew up studying them."

Haraldus took a sudden interest in his hands. In the silence the bigger man was lost in thought.

"I'm a goat wrangler." Link laced his hands together on the table nonchalantly.

The larger man studied him curiously. Link realized that probably wasn't the most proper argument to bring up.

"The point is I've learned how to fight alone and maybe with a few others, but I don't know how to lead an entire army. My ways would be very… unorthodox to say the least. You have studied disciplines and strategies that I am completely ignorant to. It seems to me you were preparing for this."

The bigger man tried to process the idea that the goddesses had chosen a hero that grew up in Ordon, of all places, and took care of goats as an occupation. He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he thought.

"It has been my dream; to one day lead this army. To make it what it once was. Though I never suspected it would be so soon. I thought I would be more prepared, I thought I would be older, more experienced. But Princess Zelda I will accept, I will be your General."

Zelda's allowed herself a small smile. "Very well, we must speak to the council tomorrow afternoon. I'm afraid we still have much to discuss on where we stand with this."

With a decision made the trio began discussing their plans for the meeting and Link's knighting to follow. Haraldus demanded that some members of the resistance be asked to join the army. Zelda and Link had no objections. Although, if the resistance members would accept was another situation altogether. Tomorrow would be quite an eventful day in Hyrule.

-
Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm sorry this chapter had the biggest updating gap. To be honest, I wanted to be sure of my direction with this as it could have gone several ways.

Sailor Venus: I just can't help it you all are AWESOME for reading!

Xxlink03xX: Just so you know you really helped me push to publish this chapter.

silverheartlugia: You are always so supportive and awesome thanks!

All your reviews mean a lot to me!