General (HWDE!Zelda) from my Linkmeet Word of Wisdom, encountering the lightning in Akkala. She thinks she has been denied critical need-to-know information about this situation.
Zelda was enjoying a moment of quiet on the edge of camp, staring out at Faron Woods and breathing deeply of the evening air. Tomorrow she would meet up with Link, who had just taken out a particularly nasty keep full of monsters deep in the forest. Then it would be back to Castletown to give him and his men a well-earned rest and allow the two of them to consult with Impa, who Zelda had left in charge of gathering intelligence on the lingering pockets of Ganondorf's and Cia's armies.
She took another deep breath, resting her mind on the smell of the woods and the cool of the evening, taking a moment to centre herself before she returned to her tent. She had a lot to plan this evening.
But tomorrow she would see Link again. She had missed him.
Another long breath, but even as she exhaled a sudden tingling feeling ran through her. She opened her eyes in surprise to see bright blue, glowing specks like motes of dust in the sun materialising out of the ground round her feet. She gasped, stumbling back a step, but they followed, increasing in number, swirling up around her limbs.
"Guards!" she yelled even as she reached for her sword. "Help!"
Then the blue glow spun up around her and she didn't even have time to scream before she felt herself dissolve.
***
The next thing Zelda saw was more swirling blue, but it rapidly dissolved away to reveal that she was now standing in a grassy village square, surrounded by wooden houses and, beyond them, tall mountains. She finished drawing her sword, on guard at once, and half turned to look around as she felt something behind her.
More swirling blue. She backed away from it quickly, looking around as she did so at the people who were emerging from the houses, staring at her in shock.
The blue resolved into four figures: three women and a teenage girl. None of them looked hostile - in fact, as soon as she had become fully corporeal the girl dropped to curl up with her knees to her chest and her arms over her head, shaking - and Zelda guessed they had been kidnapped in the same way as her.
Her gaze landed on a couple of armed men in front of the large house in front of her. They were pointing spears at her and the others. A couple more ran in from other directions.
Sheikah, she realised, noting their white hair and red eyes. They were Sheikah.
What was happening?
"What is this place?" she demanded.
"Kakariko Village," replied one of the guards. "Who are you? How did you get here?"
"I am Queen Zelda," she said, and was about to continue when the man laughed and one of the women behind her made a startled noise. She kept her eyes on the primary threat. "Is something funny?"
He was grinning as he said, "We all know Queen Zelda well, so you're going to have to do better than that." He glanced past her, presumably at the others. "And who are the rest of you?"
"Queen Zelda," said one of the women with a slightly hysterical-sounding laugh. Zelda couldn't help half turning to look at her at that, though she kept an eye on the guards. She saw a slender brunette in a purple-and-white gown, wearing a circlet not unlike her own.
"Princess Zelda," said one of the others, golden hair falling around her face as she looked around as carefully as Zelda herself. Under the sleeves of her dress, Zelda could see muscle shifting, readied for combat even as she seemed to be simply observing what was happening around her. This one had Sheikah training.
The third woman had knelt down beside the girl, who at this point raised her head and said nervously, "Princess Zelda."
"Well, at this point I'd almost be sorry to break the chain," said the third woman. Her voice was oddly calm with a note to it that caught the edge of Zelda's awareness but that she couldn't quite place. "I'm Zelda. Just Zelda."
If they were all telling the truth, Zelda's day was suddenly even stranger.
'Just Zelda' gave the younger Princess Zelda a last pat on the shoulder, then got up and came over to stand near Zelda. The other two clustered near the girl, instinctively protecting the youngest and weakest of their group. None of them were armed, but the older princess was clearly trained and there was a light in the other queen's eye that suggested she also had some fight in her if she needed it.
The one who stood beside her now, though, was an enigma. She was clearly the oldest of them, unarmed with nothing obvious suggesting that she could defend herself if needed; all she carried was a lap harp strapped to her back. Nonetheless, as she looked around the village Zelda had an odd feeling as if gravity had shifted slightly, as if this woman was suddenly the greatest power present.
"So," she said quietly, "You know who we all are; who are you and how did you bring us here?"
"We -" started the guard, but then another voice cut across his.
"What is going on out here?" called a voice like the creak of an ancient tree. Zelda looked up and saw a tiny old woman walking out of the doors of the large house, a younger woman hovering at her side.
"Lady Impa!" exclaimed one of the guards.
"Impa?" exclaimed Zelda before she could stop herself. Beside her, Just Zelda had also taken a step back, her eyes wide with shock. Apparently she knew an Impa as well.
She half expected to see half a dozen Lanas show up next.
That was an uncomfortable thought; it raised the possibility of half a dozen Cias.
"Well?" asked the elderly Impa, looking over the little group who had suddenly appeared in the middle of her village. Presumably, like the Impa Zelda knew, she was the clan leader.
Zelda inclined her head politely to her and said, "Lady Impa. I mean you and your people no harm; I was brought here against my will by some kind of magic."
"Ta'loh Naeg's shrine suddenly flared brightly right before they arrived," said one of the guards.
"I don't think any of us asked to be brought here," said Just Zelda. "And it's clear that there's something strange at work." She gestured to each of them as she said, "Here we have Queen Zelda, Queen Zelda, Princess Zelda, Princess Zelda, and myself, also Zelda. I know a Sheikah woman named Impa and I assume Queen Zelda here does too."
"It did look like the same teleportation as Link uses," said the other guard, making Zelda's ears prick up even though she knew it wouldn't be the Link she knew; this place had its own Queen Zelda; it stood to reason she would have her Captain Link.
Impa looked at them again with an inscrutable expression - that, apparently, was a common trait - then said, "Well, then, we'd best have all of you inside so we can talk in more comfort. And don't cower, Child." That was apparently addressed to young Princess Zelda. "Nobody here is going to hurt you."
"Come on," said older Princess Zelda, extending a hand to her with a smile. "Perhaps Lady Impa here can explain."
General (Hyrule Warriors Zelda) and Captain (Hyrule Warriors Link) from my Linkmeet, Word of Wisdom. They've finally been reunited after being teleported separately to a new era and, in Captain's case, put through the wringer.
Today's challenges: hands, interaction.
22nd February 2026
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Some expression studies featuring Links and Zeldas from my Linkmeet, Word of Wisdom. I was also trying to work on some designs for the Zeldas that don't rely on their outfits as a crutch
From left to right and top to bottom:
Captain (HWDE Link) and Proxi
Fairy (OOT Link)
General (HWDE Zelda)
General again after I realised how similar her and Ocarina's hairstyles are
Ocarina (OOT Zelda)
Scholar (BotW Zelda)
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