Archive of Our Own ^beta

He had a sister, once.  

 
Not many memories come to Wild anymore. Here and there he will recall a distant memory that  
explains why he knows a skill, but a lot of it was generally his time with the Royal Guard or the other  
Champions. It took him forever to learn that while his father was a Knight, he actually learned cooking  
from him and the beginnings of archery from his mother.  

 
But today, Wild wakes up remembering the sound of her delighted giggles, her playful growls, her  
squeals of excitement. He knows now what it is like to lead a younger sibling by the hand through a  
crowd, to whisper “secrets” their parents actually do know, to play pretend and battle with sticks and a  
makeshift fort in the forest.  

 
It consumes his mind all morning, even while he moved on autopilot and fixes a quick breakfast of eggs  
and rice. Why did he remember her last? He’s absentmindedly keeping conversation with whoever is  
talking to him, but Wild isn’t really paying attention. A hand ruffles his hair and he frowns, looking up to  
see who it was- but it was Time, of course. Only he and Warriors really do that.  

 
“What’s gotten into you? You’ve been far away all morning.” He may have sounded stern, but Wild  
knew he was all concern right now. He sighs.  

 
“I remembered someone,” The Champion mumbles. “Family.”  

 
The light chatter that hummed around them falters, everyone clearly listening now. Wild smiles for a  
second, before frowning again. “I… had a sister.”  

 
A hand fell on his shoulder and squeezed reassuringly, before taking the cleared dish from his hands.  
Nobody really knew what to say but rather knew to just be there. His situation was different- and sure,  
every one of them had a tougher walk of life than most, but the one hundred year sleep coupled with  
amnesia was just a sensitive topic to tackle when it came to comforting someone. Wild couldn’t help but  
feel grateful for them as he took the space offered by Time and walked away to mull his new memories  
over. He was willing to bet they would discuss who should talk to him in a little bit, and Wild figured it  
would be Twilight or Wind.  

 
Discarding that train of thought, he found an ordinary tree and sat with his back to it. For a moment he  
just let himself breathe and leaned back, planting his hands in the grass. Curling his fingers, he felt the  
cool dirt shift and crumble, the grit softly replacing the space he’d created. Shuffling his feet caused the  
leaves to crunch and shuffle, which in turn placed a small smile on his face. Such gentle sounds emerging  
from nature was something she’d also enjoyed, was it not?  

 
I had a sister.  

 
The smile fell from his face. They’d played knight and princess all the time, hadn’t they? 

  
“You gotta rescue me, Link!” She ran away from the “castle” they created. “The bad guys took me this  
way, and it’s up to my Knight to save me!”  

 
“Don’t worry, Princess-!”  

 
What was her name? He remembered having a sister now, her favorite season and the games he  
indulged her in. How could he not know her name? Tilting his head down until his chin rested against his  
chest, he exhaled shakily. Would he ever know? Nobody left from that time even mentioned him having  
a sister. And… she was dead. His parents were dead. Zelda had hated him, then- nor did he seem to  
speak, so would he have even told her…? If he did, why didn’t she tell him?  

 
If only he had been stronger. If he hadn’t fallen that night, and been sleeping in that damned shrine for a  
hundred years- 

Crunch. Stifling the urge to grapple for a weapon, Wild looked up to see Legend, who offered a small  
smile before sitting beside him. They were both quiet for a while and he was guessing that Legend was  
waiting for him to speak first.  

 
Mulling it over, he decided to say, “A younger sister. I don’t even remember her name.” Wild watched as  
Legend twirled a blade of grass around a finger before pinching it with his forefinger and thumb and  
uprooting it.  

 
He continued to swirl it as he responded. “How do you feel about that?”  

 
What a question. He had so many feelings regarding all of it. Instinctively, Wild felt bitter about  
everything. Why him? Why did he have to not only sleep for a century, but outlive his entire family, only  
to forget them? Then, he felt shame. He was only a mortal with no control over him being one of Hylia’s  
heroes. He had an enormous responsibility that overshadowed his feelings, his own life. So many  
depended on him, then. But,  

 
“I failed her as her older brother.” Wild murmured. “I swore to always protect her, but I wasn’t there.  
Not at the end.”  

 
A snort broke him from his musings and despair. Legend was shaking his head as he protested, “You  
don’t know that. People survived that ordeal. Even if she didn’t… I highly doubt she blamed you for the  
destruction that happened that day. The love and adoration a younger sibling has for their elder is  
entirely different than what you feel. I have no doubt,” Legend continued as he stood and held a hand  
out, “that she loved you wholly until the very end.”  

 
Blinking back tears, Wild swallowed and took his hand, getting to his feet. The walk back was quiet  
between them but not uncomfortable, the two feeling relaxed under the mottled shade the trees  
offered. The crisp crunch of leaves turned to a soft crumble of dirt as they neared the temporary camp,  
and Wild hummed. “Hey, Legend? Thanks.”  

 
“Anytime, Wild.”  

 
Months passed, and that day still ran through Wild’s mind quite often. The short conversation with  
Legend did help to greatly reduce his stress, and the companionship between him and his brothers had  
him smiling more than he’d ever done before (that he could remember.) But there were days that Wild  
couldn’t help wondering what happened- how she died, if she hated him, blamed him. If she lived, if she  
was happy, or miserable and suffering- what her name was.  

 
The need to know burned. They must have seen it in the times he shut down if it was brought up, the  
shuttered look when he saw siblings interact, the persistent frown when time continued to pass and he  
didn’t remember a single new memory. But Wild knew they saw it, because Time and Warriors would  
ruffle his hair or squeeze his shoulder, Four would interrupt his thoughts and keep him enraptured in a  
dizzying (but highly entertaining) conversation; Sky pestered him to pass on his cooking skills, while  
Legend began sharing personal experiences with him. Hyrule and Wind made it their Hylia-given duty to  
cause as much chaos with him as possible, which “angered” the others (but everyone knew they didn’t  
really care.) Twilight would simply ready his bow, and together they would go shoot. 

 
He loved them, Wild really did. The unique relationship he had with each of them was something he  
truly cherished and always would. Without hesitation, he’d say that he genuinely considered them  
family- his brothers.  

 
But he just wanted to know about her. He’s deep in thought again, so it’s absolutely no surprise that he  
loses his footing when they’ve changed from Four’s Hyrule to his own. And he’s suddenly in the air,  
falling, falling- 

 
“Link!” She screams, big blue eyes so scared and reaching for him. She goes under and before he can  
think about it, he’s in the air, falling to the rushing waters below. His entire being is driven by instinct, to  
find and protect his little sister, who is in such danger- she can’t swim-!  

 
Desperate fingers grasp her shirt and she’s hauled to his chest as he kicks furiously to the shore. She was  
only under for a moment and he had warned her so many times to just be careful, but as he checks her  
over once they are out of the water he is so relieved all he can do is hug her.  

 
She shakes and cries as she hugs him. “I’m so sorry, big brother, I’m so sorry-!” He hushes her and lets  
her sniffle into his neck. She finally calms, and whispers, “You saved me. I knew you would. You’re the  
best big brother ever.”  

 
He opens his eyes and sees several worried faces above him. “You fell into the river and hit your head,”  
Wind worries, eyes big. “You’ve been out for a bit.” Wild reaches up to check his head and registers that 
only his face is wet, and touches that instead. But there’s no blood on his fingers.  

 
“Oh,” he says. An arm settles over his shoulders, and he leans into them.  

 
A week later, his heart is still heavy when he wakes up in house in Hateno. What she said to him then  
haunts him still- he’s certain he will never know if he saved her, in the end. Sighing, he throws the covers  
to get out of bed and his eyes land on a leather bound book laying on his nightstand. That certainly  
wasn’t there before… Reaching for it, he looks at the plain and unlabeled cover. Did someone leave it  
here after he fell asleep? Straining his ears, Wild realizes he’s completely alone.  

 
Everyone left? Sure, a few of them had been whispering and everyone seemed to be hiding something  
but-?  

 
Nervously, Wild opened the book. He immediately noted the date- the first entry was only weeks after  
he’d died. Scooting back so he could lean against the wall, he propped the book against his knees and  
began reading. Wild’s breath caught as he reached the bottom of the page, and he covered his mouth  
with a trembling hand.  

 
Oh. 

 
Tears cascaded down his face as he read. Hours passed and he took no notice, too enraptured by the  
pages and the life held within. Despair had blossomed to hope and then to joy as he progressed, just as  
the sun rose to crest the sky and later kissed the shoreline as day became night. When he finished, he  
closed the book and held it to his chest.  

 
When everyone came back that night, Wild hugged each and every one of them. “I’m not sure who did  
this, or if it was all of you, but I am-“ He choked up. “I am so grateful to know that she survived, and had  
a good life. It’s because of you, my brothers, that I could know who my sister really was. Thank you.”  

 
He had a sister, once. Now, he has eight brothers and a niece or nephew somewhere, and he knows his  
sister’s life didn’t end when his did. She walked a hard life like all of those that survived in the calamity,  
but she found happiness and never once blamed him for failing. She’d loved him until the very end and  
Wild cooked her favorite dishes while telling her story to his brothers that night, her name becoming  
familiar on his tongue as if he’d never truly forgotten her.  

 
Wild had a sister, and he has brothers.