"I wasn't chosen for this, was I?"

The King of Red Lions turned his great wooden head to look at him, but Link didn't meet his eyes. Instead, he remained on his back, looking up at the clouds and making shapes of them, just as he had been all afternoon. However, instead of the cheerful demeanor he'd had while pointing out dolphins and turtles and Koroks and people, he was subdued—withdrawn. The King didn't know what to think, but before he'd thought up something to say, Link continued.

"I mean, the heroes before didn't have to assemble the Triforce, did they? They got it when it was whole, or they were born with it. I know the Hero of Time wasn't the first hero… But it doesn't make sense. Do you know if any of the old heroes had to put it back together? Why did it break, anyways?" Link sounded worried, and finally he sat up, though he still stared into the ocean rather than looking into the face of the boat.

The King of Red Lions watched him for a moment, slowing so he wouldn't run into anything while he was distracted. Finally, he shook his head and spoke slowly. "I am unaware of any heroes who had to put the Triforce of Courage back together. I'm sorry, Link," he said. "But as for why it's broken… I've told you once before, haven't I?"

"You said the Hero of Time was called on another adventure and lost the elements that made him a hero. And that the Triforce of Courage was broken into eight shards afterwards." Link bit his lip—to recite it word for word suggested that he'd thought of this often. It troubled the King, but not as much as what came next. "You didn't tell me why any of that happened, though." He paused for a moment, and the outburst that came next took the King by surprise. "I thought he was a hero, sir. Why did he turn away from being a hero if he was one before?"

"He was," the King said firmly. "Hold your tongue if you'll blasphemy against him. He saved my kingdom in his time."

"But…" Link frowned, tracing a finger over the wood lining the inside of the boat. "The legends say that he wasn't here to prevent everything from getting flooded… And that the goddesses chose people to go on the mountaintops—what about everyone else? The people they didn't choose?"

For someone who'd never been an inhabitant of Hyrule, Link certainly seemed protective of it. The King sighed, then turned his head back forwards to look at the open sea in front of them. "I have been controlling this boat for many years, Link," he said, voice somewhat more distant than before. "The Hero of Time had been long since dead and gone when the Great Flood drowned my kingdom. No one can bring back the dead, no matter how much we wanted to. We could only hope that the gods would send another hero… but none came."

"Why didn't anyone come? They could have done something, couldn't they? The people? I'm just a normal person and I've gone across this ocean doing everything I can to help—why didn't anyone try?"

The King smiled, though Link didn't see it. "I would hardly call you normal, Link…"

Link shook his head. "No. I'm normal. I'm not the chosen one like the Hero of Time or the heroes before him. I'm not like them. They had their destiny planned out… I had my sister kidnapped, and I saved her. I have to piece together the Triforce to get any further. I wasn't chosen for it."

"Perhaps that is why, young one. With the Triforce separated, the goddesses could not bestow destiny on you before you volunteered yourself to an adventure." The King of Red Lions pressed on, seeing their destination just on the horizon. "We are nearly at the next island, Link. Whatever you need to decide, do it quickly. We have limited time, and the goddesses don't want a hero that doesn't want to be one."

"I want to be a hero," Link said, but his voice sounded small. "I want to help. I want to help Tetra go back to the life she had before. But… why me? I just wanted to save my sister. Then everything got so mixed up…" He paused, and with a wavering voice, said, "The temples we left Medli and Makar at… Will they ever get to come out?"

"Is that what this is about?" The King frowned, slowing so they didn't have to cut their conversation too short. "Leaving them behind?"

"They were my friends!"

"They were sages. It was their duty."

"But you're saying saving the world is my duty, but I wasn't even born with the Triforce," Link said. "What if they're the same? They didn't ask for this, either!"

The King sighed. "Whether you think it is your duty or not, if you want to see the world saved, you must complete your journey."

"If I finish everything, though… Would Medli and Makar get to go free? And Tetra?"

There was a long pause, and finally the King slowly nodded his head. "Only if you kill the monster who started this all. If you end Ganondorf for good, then you will free them. There will be no need for the Sages to pray for the Master Sword if there is no threat of great evil. Before, we sealed Ganon away. But I see that the only way to prevent his return is to end him."

Link was silent, but the King of Red Lions saw him pull out his sword and examine it closely. Finally, he spoke up again, though his voice was still quiet—subdued. "How did the Hero of Time lose the elements that made him a hero?"

"That is a story that has been lost—even to me. His journey was in a kingdom far from Hyrule, and the goddesses did not wish to tell the people what became of their hero." The King paused. "But I imagine… that it was bad enough that the Triforce of Courage was destroyed as much for punishment as it was to keep the world safe. To prevent another hero from being corrupted by the Triforce of Courage." The King never once lowered his head, but there was a certain shame in his voice. "Possessing Courage doesn't guarantee following a path of righteousness forever, Link. That is why I ask that you have courage, but even more, have the strength to use it to do good. If you're having second thoughts about saving this world, then I will have to find a new hero. I cannot risk having the Triforce assembled once more, only for it to be scattered across the seas once more if it corrupts you."

"It won't." The confidence in his voice was a surprise, but when the King of Red Lions turned to look at him, there was a certain ferocity in his eyes. "I won't let it corrupt me. I promise. I don't want to abandon the people I care about like the Hero of Time did. I don't… I don't want to be separated from the good things that make up a hero. But, sir?" The strength in his voice wavered once more, and the King knew what question was coming. "I came on this journey to save my sister and set her free. I don't feel right about locking Medli and Makar away, and leaving Tetra alone in that castle."

The King sighed. "I understand. But there are greater forces working here, young one. You'll understand someday what duty means. Until then…" He slowly approached the edge of the island, then came to a stop. "Until then, just do your best to have the Courage to do what you know to be right."

Link nodded, however hesitant, and gathered his gear. "I will," he said, and walked onto the land, not looking back at the King.

King Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule knew that Link wasn't angry with him, but he could sympathize with the boy's hesitancy. There were some things about being the Hero, he understood, that certainly didn't feel very heroic. He'd seen the boy in tears more than once not for injuries, but for the lives he'd taken from monsters capable of thought. While those were the most vicious, Link understood that they were thinking, feeling creatures.

There was something that just wasn't right about a young boy having to save the world. But then, this was a boy not chosen by the gods.

The King wondered, not for the first time, if that was why the boy didn't need to be sealed away, despite being as young as the Hero of Time when he had started his journey. He wasn't chosen, and continued on because it was his own choice, not because it was his destiny. Thus he was mature enough to make the choice himself—so the goddesses didn't put him to sleep for seven years.

With a heavy heart, the King watched the boy speak with an islander—likely making another friend, the King thought to himself. But it would be a friend he could not keep with him on his journey; someone he would likely not see regularly until his adventure had ended.

Link had seen friend after friend taken from him and locked away.

How would he react when he found out his most faithful companion in this journey was going to stay behind in Hyrule, in the end?

And better yet, would he be able, himself, to part with Link? To abandon the boy he had guided so diligently since saving him from the Forsaken Fortress? He could not picture it yet, but he knew that in order to save the world Link called home, he would have to make a sacrifice.

To steel himself, the King slowly raised his eyes to the sky.

"Farore," he began, voice humble as he pictured the Goddess of Courage staring down at him. "I know I'm not one of your chosen ones. I am not a warrior, or a knight, or a man who is used to putting myself on the line. I am a King. But please…" He paused a moment, closing his eyes. "Give me the courage to do what I must. Even if it means…" He saw Link start into the heart of the island, and he watched him with a sad smile on his face. "Even if it means leaving this young one forever. Someday he will understand duty."

He paused for a while, and waited until Link had disappeared down a hole, into the underbelly of the island. Then he dipped his head, and uttered a few final words to his prayer.

"Whether he wants it or not, I will give his world the chance mine did not have. Someday, he'll forgive me for it."