Rewriting the Past

Tying Up Loose Ends

Okay, I know that most people are gonna skip over this, hell I would probably skip over this myself, but I just have to say how much this final chapter means to me and how happy I am that I got to share this with all of y'all. Thank you to everyone reading this, especially to those who were here back when it was still called 'The Confusing Story of the Calamity'. I love every single one of y'all for sticking it out with me through hiatus and I hope you enjoyed watching my writing skills develop and grow as much as I did. If I had a chance to rewrite the past, I wouldn't. Now that I've likely got you in tears and/or just wanting to get to the story by now, here it is. The grand finale of Rewriting the Past. Formally known as The Confusing Story of the Calamity. I hope you have just as much fun reading it as I did writing it.

—Twilit Princess

Destiny

It's been exactly nine months, three weeks, and thirteen hours since the defeat of Calamity Ganon and Dark Link.

My father and I moved back into the castle not long ago. It was surprising how many people wanted to pitch in to repair it. Wild had a lifetime supply of something called 'splash fruit' that he supplied to get rid of the Malice on castle grounds. Castle town had to be entirely rebuilt, so it's taking a little longer to get it back and running.

I sighed on my balcony, looking over at the reconstruction that I could see from my perch. Everytime my eyes closed, I saw a flash of red malice, orange fire, black smoke, and malicious laughter. And everytime I opened them, everything was full of peace, the air filled with bird song and hammers.

The Links and Flora stuck around. No portal appeared to whisk them away just yet, so they've been helping with the rebuilding efforts. Morale has been at its highest possibly ever. Before the war, the Gerudo and Gorons were constantly arguing with each other about gem trades and Gorons not being let into Gerudo Town. Now, they laugh and talk and work together. The war only brought the entire nation closer together.

"Princess?" Impa called, coming into my room. She came out when she saw I was on the balcony. "What are you doing out here? Hurry and get inside before someone sees you! I swear, standing on your balcony in nothing but your underclothes..."

"Technically I was sitting down." I protested as she pulled me along beside her. "No one's even out and about in the castle today."

"Because of you!" Impa said. "Now sit, we've got a lot to do before the ceremony this afternoon."

Impa and her team of handmaidens sat me down at my vanity and got to work–prodding and pulling and dusting and gossiping as they did my hair and makeup.

I somehow managed to keep my head still as I stared at myself in the vanity. A single crack tore through the whole thing. Impa had tried to get it replaced, but I insisted. I didn't want every last bit of evidence of the war gone just like that. I wanted a reminder of what had happened. Just for myself.

When they were finally done, they sprayed my tight hair with a cloud of hairspray, spinning me around while I was still coughing. I opened my eyes to see that they had wheeled in the most beautiful dress I've ever seen.

It was a floor-length dress with a white skirt, gold lace, and a blue bodice. I got up and wandered over to it in wonder, fingering the fabric. Gold letters in ancient languages told me beautiful stories that I will never fully understand. The golden bird that was my family crest was embroidered on a sort of banner over the front of the skirt. A blue cape faded into a deep purple over the back of the mannequin.

"Wow..." I said. "This is gorgeous."

"We had a little bit of creative help from the Links." Impa replied. "They gave a few details of the dress they remember their Princess Zelda wearing for her coronation."