Zelda rode across the small village. "Seek the Hero, and he will show you the way." Her father's final words to her before the world around her collapsed. Her week long journey had led her through Kakariko village, where she was told the hero would be here, in Hateno. She had heard tales of the Hero from her parents and how it has been centuries since the last one had appeared. She was unsure as to how to feel about meeting him. Was she to feel joy that she would find the missing piece to bring down Ganon, or upset that he had not show up earlier.

She arrived at the village Elder. She removed her boots before stepping into the quaint shack that the Elder resided in. He was seated at the center of the room, elevated slightly off the ground by a cushion. The princess approached with her hands clasped in front of her. She bowed her head and kept in that position until the Elder spoke.

"Princess, please." Zelda raised her head once more, "It's almost as if I am living the past all over again, the last time anyone from the royal family paid a visit to me was your sister of the same name, the two of you are very much alike." Zelda got that a lot, she never knew her sister but she was said to have been beloved by many. "Come closer dear, tell me what it is that you require."

"Dear Elder, it is Ganon, the seal that had placed on him has been broken. I'm here to seek the Hero." Zelda quickly responded. The Elder nodded.

"The news had gotten here before you had, I had wished the the last seal would have been enough to hold him until the end of my lifetime," The Elder said. "Are your powers sufficient to take on the responsibility of defeating him once more?" Zelda nodded, the power glowed on the back of her right hand as she showed it to the Elder, who replied with a firm and reassuring look. He opened his mouth to speak once more. "The hero you seek is named Link. You will find him up the hill in a shed near the border of the town." Zelda gave a shy grin and thanked the Elder.

She slid into her boots once more as she relaxed to the sound of the rustling leaves. However, the calm had only caused a rush of sadness to enter her mind. She began towards the destination, reminding herself of the task at hand, saving Hyrule. When she had arrived. A man in a green jacket laid on the front lawn with a hood pulled over his head and a bottle of ale wrapped in his left arm. Zelda approached to see that he was asleep, or so she hoped. Ignoring the man she knocked on the door. No response. At this point Zelda grew more and more frustrated. She knocked again and sat down at front of the door after being met with more silence. The silence gave her time to think, and the more she thought, the more she felt anguish. The guards, her friends who had come along on this journey either maimed or killed, leaving her to continue the rest of her journey by herself. She was ever so close to finding the hero who was said to be always by the princess's side, yet she sat in the twilight alone. She looked out into the distance and a tear rolled down her face every minute that went by. The air became colder as the lanterns around town turned into the main source of light. Zelda stood up, wondering if the inn had any room left, before she heard the voice of the man in the hood.

"The skywatchers said that tonight would be a full moon, and the sky would be clear enough to see the stars." She was unsure whether or not he'd just woken up or was listening to her cry the entire time. "These things don't happen as often as they use to, Good thing I drank the rest of the day away to see it." He chuckled to himself. He removed his hood to show his disheveled blonde hair which blended into his stubble beard. Zelda wasn't sure whether there was anything on her face when he saw her as his eyes widened, as if he was a bit startled. His glare lingered for a couple of moments more before he broke it off and readjusted his posture.

"Sorry, wasn't expecting royalty." The man said finally breaking the silence. "Would you like to sit and watch the stars with me?" Zelda hesitated before taking a seat on the lawn next to him, but kept a distance between them, just in case. Zelda gazed up at the sky with amazement as the remaining cloud subsided to expose the stars, each one leaving a temporary reflection on her blue iris. It certainly wasn't a view she had back in the castle, what with the light pollution from castle town below. She reached into her sack and retrieved the sheikah slate, one of the family relics she rescued from the castle. It had been used by other Princesses in the past as a tool of assistance for their own adventures, but for right now she wanted to take pictures. She angled the camera at the sky and snapped every constellation she could recognize. She looked at the man who had slumped down quite a bit, eyes still remained open and aimed upwards.

"You see that one over there?" The man said. He pointed at a lump of stars clustered together in the sky, "it's called the Steed of Cyclos, but to me it's always looked like a weird mush. The person who showed me this said that it was because of the stars shifting after thousands of years, but I always thought it was because the poor horse had finally given out under the weight of the deity." Zelda let out a small laugh.

"You know making fun of a god will land you on their side of distaste." Zelda replied. The man glanced back at her.

"And you laughed, what would he say about you." The man replied. There was a short pause.

"I mean, it's only Cyclos right? How bad can he get?" Zelda quipped with a smile. The man laughed at her comment before turning his attention back at the sky. Clouds began to move in again and the view had begun to smudge. Even if it was only for a moment, she appreciated him for taking her mind off her worries, for better or for worse.

"Are you headed in the direction of the inn?" Zelda asked standing up. He shook his head and pointed at the house of the Hero. "Princess, I live here."

"You're the Hero." Zelda observed. "Link?" He returned her question with a shy smile.

"Sounds like you were expecting someone else." Link replied. He opened the door to his house and inside revealed a cosy dwelling. Around the house were weapons of multiple variants, the nicer ones on mounts against the walls. Above the fireplace hung a hylian shield, it looked as if it has seen the end of the world.

"I always thought the hero and the princess were... similarly aged." Zelda replied.

"From what I learned, don't rely on fate to make sure everything turns out nice and neat." Link replied. He put on a flamebreaker glove on one hand and fetched a pot that sat in the fire. He lifted the lid and it filled the room with a hearty aroma, The princess had not had a warm meal in a while, living the past couple of days on apples and various berries. "You're very lucky I always make more than I can eat." Zelda sat at the table as Link came with their stew. Zelda dug in as Link observed her devour the bowl in front of her.

"There's more in the pot, you can help yourself." Zelda looked around at the weapons around her, there was one important piece that was missing: The Master Sword.

Zelda wiped her mouth after she had finished eating. Link grabbed both their bowls and tossed them into the tub of water to be washed… whenever he felt like it would eventually be necessary.

"Zelda," Zelda gave him her attention, she leaned forward in her chair towards Link who turned away from her to look at the fire. "You're not here bowl of stew aren't you."

"I," Zelda began, "You're the final piece, Link, The Elder's have given me all the information I need. I have gained the sealing magic from my mother, my father has left me with one final command, 'Seek the Hero.'"

"No." Link replied. Zelda was taken aback, her vision began to shake. She quietly made out two words.

"Excuse me?" Link pulled up a chair next to her and sat down.

"I'm sorry you've travelled this far for this" Link gestured at himself, "but I can't come with you."

"What, what do you mean?" Zelda asked.

"Zelda, I'm not the hero in the stories you hear about, I'm not who you think I am." Link replied. "I'm even reluctant to identify myself with that title and-."

"I'm not accepting that." The princess injected. Her voice slowly increased in worry and anger as she continued. "Since the return of Ganon, I had lost everything I loved, I've left everything I knew behind so that maybe, this kingdom inherited by me would have a future. I don't care about who you think are, Hero- I- I." She couldn't make another word. Link merely shook his head. She wept into her palms, Link placed a hand on her shoulder, an empty reassurance for she knew that she must find a way to move forward with uncertainty, and that uncertainty truly terrified her.

Zelda had cried herself to sleep on his bed, Link stood outside with both his hands in his jacket.

"She looks a lot like her sister doesn't she?" It was the village Elder. "The eyes being the only difference to remind you that you're not hallucinating past memories."

"I didn't know you were allowed to leave your cushion." With both his hands still in the other sleeve, the elder approached Link.

"I know with your attitude right now and how the royal family raises their Zeldas you'd might run into… well disagreement." Link nodded, "Still lingering on that failure all those many years ago."

"Wasn't just any failure," Link reminded the Elder, but he knew that it was more to remind himself. "My sole purpose was to fight the evil until it is weak enough to be sealed by the princess, but I wasn't a asset, I became a detriment, what kind of hero am I, if I am one at all?"

"It takes a special kind of stupid for someone to be willing to dedicate their life to another just because they wear a glorified gold band around their head." The Elder pointed his fingers up at the sky. "Now I've always known that the gods were stupid, give the three most powerful objects in the universe to a deranged pig-obsessed psychopath, a regal figure that hardly leaves the castle her ancestors made some poor fellow build, and a boy that knows how to swing a metal stick real good. Yah ever get a good look at a chuchu, and thought, who was the genius that thought this thing would get anywhere." Link squinted his eyes at the elder's comments. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that the hero is the byproduct of stupid gods. And from all the stupid things you do and say for as long as I've known you… You're a byproduct of stupid alright." Link smiled at the elder.

"I know what I just said probably is not going to change how you think about yourself, but know that the girl in there" He points towards Link's house. "Is a second chance, to do right by your first, I firmly believe that it is what your Zelda would have wanted."