Chapter Text
Long ago, in the ancient kingdom of Hyrule, there was a legend, passed down through the ages, of a wise princess, her courageous knight and a powerful gerudo king, the princess had learnt of the kings plan to usurp her fathers throne and so sent the knight to retrieve the keys to the only weapon that could stop him, the master sword, though when the knight claimed the sword, it was too late, the king of Hyrule was dead, the princess in hiding and so the knight was sealed away.
7 years passed and the knight awakened with a mission, travel to the temples within Hyrule, awaken the sages and together, destroy the evil king, through long arduous battles and perilous dungeons the knight finally arrived at the former Hyrule castle, ready to free the princess and save Hyrule.
It was a long and bloody battle that raized the castle they were standing in, but the knight and princess were victorious, the gerudo king was sealed away and the knight was sent back to stop the king before his coup.
Now through the ages those three were forever known as the princess Zelda, the hero link and the evil king ganondorf, yet a curse had been placed on their souls, long, long ago, by a demon king, forever would the first hero and incarnation of the goddess hylia be reborn to fight the inherited soul of the demon king.
And so, every princess of Hyrule would be given the name Zelda, every gerudo male, by gerudo tradition, would be named ganondorf and every blond hylian boy would be link, through the ages these three would clash to determine the fate of the world, until today.
[ ]
"Link!!! Wake up!!" A blonde teenager groaned as she rolled over.
"Five more minutes! And it's Lana!" She growled out, then the knocking came.
"You need to get up and get ready, Its a long drive to castle city!" Lana sighed, of course the one day every blond boy in Hyrule dreamed of and she dreaded, the master ceremony, with the death of its last weilder over 200 years ago the king of the time called for every blond male hylian named link above a certain age to try and pull the master sword from the pedestal of time, and now it was her turn, barely a week into being 18 and she was to try herself.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming" Lana dragged herself out of bed, discarding her shorts and pyjama top and trading it for leggings, a green hoodie and brown boots, stopping to apply light makeup "if i can't draw that sword at least my eyeliners sharp enough to cut a bitch" she laughed to herself as she stepped out into the hallway, her mom already downstairs.
"Are you really wearing that?" Her mother asked incredulously.
"It's not like I'm actually gonna pull the damn thing out, people have been trying for 2 centuries, that things stuck in there" Lana ignored the glare her mother gave her as she pulled out some ham, not too bothered to make a sandwich.
"That doesn't mean you shouldn't look half presentable in front of the king and princess Zelda" her mother sighed "honestly i don't know where you get that attitude from."
"Byproduct of you trying to shove me into some destiny from birth" Lana shot back, quickly swallowing the last of her ham before grabbing a koki cola then leaving for the door.
Her mom sighed "honestly that child needs to learn some respect, it's a big honour and he wastes it by being like.... this!"
"Not every link is excited to draw the sword, the heroes destiny is a big responsibility, doesn't help you still don't use her actual name" Lanas sister, grace, snipped.
"I'm not hearing this from you, especially since you need to leave for school soon, and Don't forget your homework!" And with that she left for the drive to castle city.
[ ]
"This takes me back, your uncle link walked in with the bravado of someone certain, yet that sword didn't move an inch, boy was he humbled after that" Lanas mother chuckled.
"Not really helping how much i don't like whats happening, either i pull the dang thing out and get swept up in politics and all that bull or i don't and you mock me for being weak, not very promising outcomes" she grumbled, staring out the window at the passing buildings.
"I won't mock you, many have tried, i know that you'll be alright, even if you don't pull it."
"Not at school, they have it broadcast to the whole school whilst I'm there, everyone'll watch as i step up to fail."
"Oh come on, i doubt they'll care much."
"You obviously haven't met mido, that kokiri prick will shove it in my face for years" Lana growled.
"I'm sure he'll be mature, anyway, we're here" she sighed as the car pulled into the parking lot of the temple of time, a grand building said yo be where the first incarnation of hylia and her hero made their stand against evil and now home to the blade of evils bane.
"Can't wait to disappoint my whole school AND the royal family, such an honour" she grumbled as they stepped out, her mother handing her a scroll.
"Don't be so dramatic, here, you'll need this to show to the guards, now I'll be in the upper stands" with that she was left with the scroll, nothing to do but march towards an event she'd been dreading for months now.
"Well, can't keep the whole country waiting" she sighed apprehensively, taking a deep breath before walking towards the building, showing the scroll to the guards stationed in front of the main entrance.
"Another day another link to test the sword, right this way kid" the guard sighed as he pushed open the door, stepping in "PRESENTING, LINK OF TAREY TOWN!" with that he stepped aside.
Lana couldn't help mut stare in wonder at the marble walls of the temple, it was a far different feeling from the broadcasts, the cameras all lined the front row, some from news stations, some from schools, all trained on her, Lana began to walk down the carpet, on the other end stood king theogardne in the center, to his left stood a tall, muscular, silver haired woman, clearly sheikah from her clothes and tattoos, and to the kings right stood the princess Zelda, dressed in a ceremonial gown, white with gold and purple accents, the hylian royal crest was on a sash hanging from her waist.
"Welcome, young link, we, the royal family, welcome you on this day, to try your hand and pull the master sword from its pedestal" the king spoke, loud and kind.
Lana took a knee, as she'd seen countless others do and spoke words that she'd heard countless people speak "lord Theodyne, princess Zelda, i thank you for the opportunity presented to me on this day, and hope to live up to my namesake.
"Then rise, young man, and we shall see" the princess spoke with a soft voice as she held out her hand towards Lana, who kissed the back and then stood.
"May the goddesses smile upon you this day" the king spoke before moving aside, revealing the sword that seals the darkness, awaiting in its pedestal.
"And may the triforce guide me" and with that, she moved, her eyes transfixed on the blade of evils bane, pictures couldn't do it justice, soon she had reached the pedestal, an ethereal light perpetually surrounding it.
The door of time shut behind her, no one would know the outcome until she stepped out, how easy it would be to just say she couldn't pull it, but no, she needed to be sure, and so she reached out, and the moment her finger grazed the grip it felt like electric was coursing through her veins, and the feeling only increased once she fully grabbed it, every cell in her body needed to pull that blade, her very soul was quivering in anticipation, and so, Lana put another hand on the grip, and pulled, it felt like her whole body was on fire, like new sensations were filling her brain, instincts born from hundreds of thousands of battles, and yet the blade had only just began to move, as she pulled she could hear the chattering through the door of time, usually they were out by this point, and yet she still pulled, until the blade finally cleared the pedestal and Lana raised the blade above her head.
She took a moment to take in the feeling, the power she could feel from just holding the blade, but she needed to go, to show the world their new hero, with the sword, her anxieties didn't seem so scary, and so, Lana walked up to the door of time and pushed, the sound the crowd made when she held the blade to the sky shook the earth.
[ ]
The hours following were like a blur, she was swept away to the castle by sheikah attendants handed clothes and pushed into an empty bedroom, it was clearly to be hers, considering the sheild mounted on the wall above a sword mount, and only now, sitting on a bed far more luxurious than anything she'd experienced before, did she finally allow what had happened to sink in.
*holy fuck, i- I'm the reincarnation of the hero??? Oh god what am i gonna do, i can't fight, I'm not skilled, I'm barely passing gym, oh god how long have i been in here, are they expecting me?*
Her internal rambling was interrupted by a knock at the door "mr link sir, are you dressed yet? The king and princess are waiting for you in the throne room."
"Uhh, one minute, I'll be right out" with that she looked upon the clothes she'd been handed, a pair of brown leather boots, cream pants, a green tunic, a green hat, leather gloves and bracers and a belt, she'd seen the pictures, it was the same clothes that the previous hero had donned, she couldn't wear that, then she took a look at her outfit, it was similar in colour, the leggings were black, but that was it, thinking fast she shed her sneakers and slipped on the boots, gloves, bracers and secured the belt over the hoodie, making it styled like the tunic, finally she grabbed the scabbard resting against her bed, sheathing the master sword in it and strapping it to her back "I'm ready."
The sheikah woman led her to the throne room, a beautifully decorated room, with paintings along the walls and two thrones at the end, a large one that currently seated king Theodyne and to his right, a smaller one seating the princess, with a gulp Lana walked towards the two, stopping before the steps towards the throne "your heinesses" Lana said, taking a knee.
"Young link, it brings me great pride to greet you as king of Hyrule, may i ask, how are you feeling, it's not every day one goes from common folk to a position of as high status as yours" he smiled, far less stiff as he was in the temple.
"To be honest, nervous, it's so.... immense, the legends of the heroes through the ages, to know that all of that's on my shoulders... its humbling" she spoke calmly, trying to chose her words carefully as to not embarass herself on her first day as the hero "and please, call me Lana."
"Lana? You don't prefer your given name?" Zelda sounded incredulous.
"For a couple reasons, but mainly because I'm transgender" Lana prepared for the worst, to be sent to the dungeons or commanded to return the blade to its pedestal, but not this.
"Then Lana, heroine of the land, you shall be, ronin, please inform the news outlets, best to not have a confusion about her name" the king spoke to a buff sheikah male who Lana hadn't noticed there, though that was probably due to the sheikah reputation for training their warriors in stealth "now, stand, young Lana, we have much to discuss, over lunch" with that the king and princess stood, gesturing for the green garbed gal to follow.
[ ]
"Your duty is mostly ceremonial, after your tour of the three races you will be free to do what you like, as long as you are present for events and such, the kingdoms been in peace for so long now that its highly unlikely you will need to do any actual heroing" the king spoke in between bites, he was chewing on grilled lizalfos tail, glazed with honey.
"So basically just to show around so the people know that there's a hero ready in case of danger?" Lana had been given fried salmon, drizzled with chu jelly.
"And to scare off any potential evils" Zelda was chewing on gerudo sand seal fin, lightly salted.
"The point is, you needn't worry, the kingdom is peaceful, tomorrow you'll be acquainted with your gear and then the day after you set off to death mountain to meet with darakna, cheif of the gorons.
"Wait, gear?" Lana paused mid bite.
"Well yes, you'll be given gear to make sure you're prepared in case of an emergency, bombs, a bow, the like, you'll also be given a steed to travel upon" the king wiped his mouth "now i have some official statements to sign, I'm sure by now all of your personal affects will have arrived in your room, so please, go make yourself at home."
With that, Lana was led back to her room by the same sheikah as before, tall, thin yet still muscular, as the king had said her room was now decorated with her posters along one of the walls, a better tv had been installed alongside her chair, the bedsheets had been replaced with ones similar to her old ones and when she looked in the large wardrobe she was met with all her clothes, one particular dress she quickly snatched down and shoved into a drawer with her underwear, embarrassed that whoever had done the moving saw what was a rather... embarrassing purchase.
Lana sighed as she jumped onto her new bed, it felt too big, too much space, but, then again, it's her home now, with that thought she discarded the boots, gloves, bracers, leggings and finally sword, leaning it against the bed, crawled under the covers and closed her eyes to sleep.