Hero of Time Chronicles
Part 1: True Darkness
Beginning's End
There cannot be good without evil. It is a saying that has been uttered through the ages.
What is the meaning of good? What is it that dictates who is good? And who is evil…
This is the story of the Hero of Time. Many know of his great deeds, but very few can say they know that much about him, his family, or his past. He had traversed all over Hyrule during his endeavor to free her from the grasp of a great threat. Then, he traveled beyond those borders in search of a dear friend and became slightly lost in the midst of a new land. He settled down a for a while there, always looking out for his new friends he'd made. Just over seven years have passed, and the Hero was longing for the place that he once knew.
"I'm on my way home."
His voice was as soft as the gentle wind that played across his hair, a whispered uncertainty.
Was it really his home? What could he call home? To the world, he was a wandering nomad of good deeds. However, his heart lurched for the land he was born of.
Hyrule.
He knew nothing of his lineage. He did not know where he was truly born, only that his childhood was among the Kokiri, the tribe of children who never aged. He had been told once by a Deity, the Deku Sprout that now presided for the Great Deku Tree whom passed while he was young, about his mother. She came to the Deku Tree, wounded, dying, with a baby cradled in her arms. She pleaded with him, asking to keep and protect the child. The Tree agreed to allow the baby boy to live among his Kokiri and shortly afterward, the mother died, leaving nothing more for the child.
The baby that the Great Deku Tree sensed was a great part of a catastrophe to come, was Link; the Hylian child that the sacred Master Sword chose to become the Hero of Time. The sword, sensing he was not old enough then, had sealed him within the Sacred Realm until he was of the right age.
Seven years...
'I can't believe I've been gone this long,' Link thought to himself.
With Ganondorf no longer a danger to the land, Link was sent back in time, where his childhood left off, so he could regain the years he gave up to fulfill his destiny. Zelda was the one who sent him off. She took back her ocarina and played her lullaby, which, aided with her own magic, returned the Master Sword to the pedestal and allowed Link to become a child again.
For Link, it was a strange adjustment. He had to mature very fast to become the Hero that everyone needed, and going back to being a child was not exactly easy. With the mind of an adult he couldn't go back mentally. He left Hyrule to find himself. He traveled, helping anyone and everyone with whom he crossed paths. A lot of the time, some didn't take him seriously because of his childlike appearance. He always proved himself in the end.
It took him nearly all of the seven years he was traveling to understand all these changes and to come to grips with them. He figured, in the end, being himself was always a good path to take.
So what then? He had initially decided to leave Hyrule, but now, he was going back. His journey was complete and now it was time to go home. But where was home? He didn't know what exactly he could call a home in his situation. He just wanted to go back to the place where he felt home. He knew the land and her people and that was good enough for him.
So he continued on his path.
0000
It began with silence. Like there must always come an end to night, silence must also be shattered.
It was the beginning of a new day in Hryule. The sun was just peeking over the trees of the Kokiri Forest, the place where this story will begin.
Kokiri Forest was a very lively place. Full of fairies and the Kokiri themselves, it is always moving. During the day this is true, but as the sun was just beginning its ascent in the dark blue sky, illuminating it, all of the Kokiri were still safe and sound in their little huts and houses asleep. All except for one.
One of the houses' doors slowly creaked open. It was at the forefront of the village, signifying its importance, or rather, the importance of its inhabitant. The great Mido lived in this hut.
Only he didn't feel so great. Not anymore…
He once fancied himself the leader of the Kokiri. As of late however, he felt like the lowest of the low. Once, he had friends to surround himself with. They were his lackeys that did what he did. He bullied, so they bullied. But after that fated day, the day Saria left the forest forever, things started changing. He couldn't handle those changes. He took out his frustrations on his friends and one by one, they all left him. He felt alienated among his own people.
He poked his head out and took a look around. Upon seeing no one around, he opened his door more widely and exited to begin his morning trek.
This new regime of his started some months ago. He barely showed his face publicly anymore. He had no friends.
"Mido," came a small voice from inside his house. He closed his eyes awaiting for the tiny fairy that the voice belonged to come and flutter next to him.
"Elon," Mido replied as he watched the light shimmer from within his hut and exit to follow him.
"I'm coming with you," his little voice said in Mido's ear. Mido fought the urge to roll his eyes. He said nothing in reply, just continued to walk in the direction he had intended. Not a word was spoken between the two.
Mido never hated the fact that Elon accompanied him every single time he made his trek into the Lost Woods. It was nice to have that friendly reassurance, even if he sometimes never spoke during their mornings together. He had long since given up trying to tell his fairy that he didn't need to go with him every time. He knew his fairy wasn't too happy with him, along with everyone else in the village. There was one night where they fought to screaming and both of their throats were raw. Elon had mouthed off about Mido's behavior, and Mido defended himself and his actions. He felt wrong the whole time. He was being stubborn and he knew it, which was the worst feeling he had ever felt since Saria's departure. He was too stubborn to admit he was wrong. Elon, fed up with heated arguments and Mido's attitude, left in a huff. Before he did though, he said something that changed Mido.
'I wish I had never been your fairy.'
The words were etched into him now. They never spoke of it, but Elon came back. He said that no matter his own feelings on the matter, he would remain Mido's guardian for the late Great Deku Tree's sake.
He knew he had been in the wrong. He never apologized for that night. He didn't know how, or if Elon would even forgive him. They were more acquaintances than friends from that point forward.
He felt undeserving of any friends. He wanted to make it up to everyone but was not well versed in how to go about doing such a thing. It would take time. A lot of that has passed, Mido mused to himself. Nothing had changed. No one talked to him. He was better off by himself to think. If he died alone, it was his own doing and he deserved every preciously agonizing minute of it.
He climbed up the vine covered wall that led up to the Lost Woods. In the woods was where his destination resided. It was where he spent most of his time.
A few months before, he had wandered into the woods, feeling miserable as was his most common emotion. Back then, he felt if he got himself lost in the Lost Woods, it would be the best thing that happened to him. So he wandered aimlessly, trying to get lost. It was very stupid of him, he realized. But if he hadn't, he would not have found his special place. As far as he knew, no one had ever found the place he had discovered.
It was very simple, just a clearing surrounded by trees the loomed overhead and made for a very relaxing quiet place. He was so amazed at the simplicity that made it so magnificent.
He knew exactly what he was going to do.
Saria had once given Mido some flower seeds that he so foolishly dismissed as 'too girly' in front of her. He kept the seeds, though, for he loved Saria with all his heart even if he wasn't too good at showing it. He made a makeshift map of how to find the clearing and went back to find the right supplies. With a new purpose, every morning, he would wake up before all the rest of the Kokiri and tend to his new garden that he made.
For a while, everyone thought he had just up and left the village. Some were worried for him, but none bothered to look into it. The only proof of his existence in the forest at all were the lights that stayed on throughout the night in his house.
No one questioned him.
Without Link, Saria, or Mido, the forest's usual liveliness had dwindled.
"Mido, how can you carry on like this?" Elon whined. They were in the woods now and were making their way to the secret garden. Mido was was used to his fairy's lectures by then. They always went the same way.
"What do you mean?" Mido asked with a small sigh.
"You know what I mean," he said exasperatedly. "This! You never talk to any of your friends anymore. You're always alone. Why do you do this to yourself?"
"You know that my friends wouldn't want to talk to me. Not after the way I treated them," he replied with melancholy. Elon looked like he was just as tired of the lack of direction these conversations went.
"You don't know that, they could have changed their minds. It's been so long since you've seen anyone from the village."
Mido knew this. He knew it had been months since he had talked to anyone. He had small hopes that everyone would accept him back. He didn't know for sure though and didn't want to take the chance of losing everyone twice. He felt like everyone was better off without him.
"You can't be sure that they have changed their minds, Elon. I don't think I could handle it." Mido stated, but Elon cut him off.
"Handle what? You never gave them a chance to forgive you," Mido took his turn cutting Elon off.
"I don't deserve forgiveness," he said forcefully. "I don't want to bother anybody about it. I need more time to think."
"You have had time. And what exactly do you think you'd be bothering anybody with? Being a better person?"
"That's not it," he said. Then he heard it. It was faint and at first he didn't think he had actually heard anything at all. Elon continued to shout in his tiny aggravated voice. Mido was hardly hearing any of it. He was listening intently to the other sounds of the forest to see if his could distinguish what it was he thought he heard. If it was what he thought, the two of them would need to leave at once.
"Mido, you seriously have to stop this," Elon said. He was getting increasingly annoyed with the look of concentration on his charges face that he knew was not focused on his rant. He flew down into his face to see if he could better get his point across. He took a deep breath, about to begin his ramblings anew, when Mido suddenly grabbed him in both of his hands. Elon was enraged at the gesture.
"What are you doing? How dare you?" his muffled shout came from in between Mido's enclosed fingers. Though Elon didn't realize the gravity of the situation, Mido kept a level head as he explained.
"Hush," he whispered urgently yet calmly to his entrapped fairy, "We're not alone." He could feel the grumbles on his fingers that emitted from the small creatures' mouth.
He could hear them more clearly now. Hoof beats. They were getting really close. Each clop was easily discernible through the trees. His heart beat more wildly inside his chest. The sound was too close for them to run away. They would surely be spotted.
"We're going to have to hide," he relayed to his fairy. "If we make a break for the village, whoever it is we're hearing could see us. I don't know where they're headed and I don't want to lead them straight to the rest of the village if they mean harm." Elon nodded in agreement.
"That's a good idea. I have one too. I could distract him to let you escape unseen. I could fly into his face and-"
"No," Mido cut off briskly. "I don't want you to be in any danger either." At this, Elon's light shown a little more brightly. He gave an assenting nod and alit on Mido's shoulder as he dimmed his light. Mido knelt down into a medium sized bush and waited. He didn't have to wait long though.
He held his breath as a tall figure came into view a few seconds after he had settled into silence under his bush. A gorgeous auburn mare that clip-clopped leisurely into his sight gave a skeptical sniff in the bush's direction but the rider did not seem to take notice. From his position, Mido could not get a complete glimpse of the rider, though there was something familiar about the whole scene being displayed before him. He had no idea where the thought came from.
The rider passed with a hapless flourish. When he turned his back to Mido's hiding place, he caught sight of a green tunic and a matching long cap.
On a radical impulse, Mido leaped from his harboring bush and revealed himself. The rider turned abruptly in his saddle in search of the sudden movement. He had a defensive look in his eyes that made him look feral and reactive. Then he caught sight of the small Kokiri boy who had jumped from the bushes and startled him. His look of alarm changed to a perplexed expression. The two simply started at one another.
"What are you doing, Mido?" Elon whispered frantically into the boys' ear. Mido gave a prodding look to the man upon the horse.
"You're that guy from before, right?" Mido asked. His question was so vague that Elon actually palmed his forehead. There was a minute popping sound that followed.
Then man looked confused for a second.
"You know Saria," Mido stated to clear up his ambiguous question. Then the man smiled.
He turned to rummage through one of his traveling pouches. From within, he pulled a small pink ocarina and held it out for Mido to see. Mido relaxed and let out a sigh and a laugh of relief.
"It is good to see you again," the man stated with a smile.
"It's been a few months," Mido replied. Then a thought erupted in his head. "Did you see Saria?" He asked hurriedly. He was eager to know of his missing friends' safety.
Then man had a pondering look on his face as if he was struggling to recall a distant memory; or about how much he should reveal. He swung a leg over the side of his horse and hopped down on his own two feet. He stretched his back until there was a cracking sound and straightened out again. He turned to face the Kokiri.
"Saria," he said slowly. "She is safe." Mido sagged his shoulders in relief once again. This was a very fruitful day.
"Do you know where she is? Can I see her?" Mido asked excitedly. The man had a pained expression upon his features that slightly disheartened the boy.
"I can't say that I know how to find her again," the man said. Mido looked down with dismay. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay. At least I know that she's okay. I've gone so long without any kind of news about my friends." Mido confided. One of the man's eyebrows arched ever so slightly.
"Friends?" he asked. "As in, there are more than just Saria who are missing?"
"Yes. One other." Mido said. The man took on another perplexed expression.
"Who is your other friend? I've been traveling a lot and I've seen a lot of people. Maybe I've seen them." The man offered. Mido look skeptic and hopeful all at once.
"If I saw him again, he probably wouldn't think we were friends." Mido started.
"Oh?" the man said in reply.
"He left our village a long time ago. I… wasn't the nicest person ever when he was around." Mido said sadly. He looked down and hugged his arms close around his torso. "I guess you could say I was jealous of him. After he was gone though, I started to see that I never really dislike him. And when Saria left," at this he had to stop himself. "I didn't have anyone left. No one liked me. I didn't even like me," Mido looked frustrated at that part. The man chuckled. Mido glared up at him in response. The man knelt down in the grass in front of the small boy.
"You're feeling remorse." He said plainly.
"Well I got that part." He replied bluntly. The man chuckled again.
"It's okay to feel that way. It means you feel bad for what you did. That means you're going in the right direction. When you start to feel sorry for your actions, and you do good things, people will forgive you." He flashed a big grin to the child. "I would."
"I don't know," Mido trailed.
"You're a good person. You always were on the inside; you just couldn't see it for yourself."
Mido stared at the man long and hard at his last statement.
"Do I know you?" he asked. He was getting really suspicious about the guy.
"From the last time I met you, yes." He said.
"No," Mido said, "I mean before now and back then. Have we met before you played me Saria's song?" They eyed each other.
"Do I look like someone you knew?" he goaded. Mido started into his face. His eyebrows were scrunched up as he contemplated.
"You look kind of like…" he began. But he stopped himself "No, that can't be it."
"Oh? Who did you think I look like?" the man asked.
"Well, I thought you might have looked like the guy I was talking about." The man smiled which kind of unnerved the small Kokiri boy.
"What was his name?" He asked simply. Mido was beginning to catch on, but he wasn't sure of himself.
"His name was," he started. Then he stopped again. It wasn't possible.
"I'm going to take a guess that you haven't seen this friend of yours in about seven years." There was a look of mild surprise on Mido's face. He half believed what the man was saying, but doubt still lingered in full force. It wasn't possible!
"Yes, that's right." He confirmed. He started to take a step back as the realization was finally setting in.
"I have been traveling for seven years." He continued, still with the goofy grin on his face.
"S-So?" Mido asked. He was tired of being toyed with. Just say it already!
"I'm not a Kokiri," he said, "But I do remember having a fair amount of Kokiri friends when I was growing up. Mido's jaw dropped.
"You! You're-" he stammered.
"It's me," he concluded.
"Link?" Mido asked of the man, still in disbelief. He smiled even bigger than before and gave a reassuring nod. "But- How? You're big!" he exclaimed. Link laughed.
"Grown up is the term, I think." He sat back on his rump and crossed his legs. Grown up indeed… "I am a Hylian."
Mido also sat down across from his 'newfound' friend. "How did this happen?" Link launched into his story.
"I found out after I had already grown up that I wasn't a I was a baby, my Hylian mother brought me to the Great Deku Tree to live here." Mido was bewildered.
"I always knew you were different. Just not that different." Link laughed again. They sat quietly for a minute. "Did you really mean what you said?"
Link looked confused for a moment, but then nodded.
"I do forgive you," he said. Mido smiled a weak smile.
"You'd be the first."
"I told you," a small forgotten voice erupted from the ground next Mido's hand. Elon had sat himself there and now found the time to speak again. "I said all you needed to do was talk to them. People are more forgiving than you take them for." Mido watched his fairy flash brightly for a second as Link looked between the two of them. "At least try," Elon pleaded. Mido looked up at Link.
"I'd say go for it. You don't have anything to lose, and everything to gain. Show them that you're sorry and you really mean it." Mido looked into Link's face.
"Okay," he said in a small voice, but it was also hopeful and relieved. He had let them convince him to do what he had wanted to do all this time. Where he didn't have courage before, he felt backed by his friends and it felt good. He smiled.
Elon gave an excited exclamation and flew in a circle around his charge's head. "Alright! Let's go! Come on!" He was already flying the direction of the village. Mido started after him as Link was getting up from the grass he was sitting on. Mido looked back.
"You'll come back to visit the rest of the Kokiri sometime, right?"
"Yes, definitely." Link replied.
Mido beamed at him then disappeared between the trees.
Link led Epona through the foliage on foot until he could see more and more of the vastness of Hyrule field. The feelings of elation, anticipation, excitement, all coursed through him. He was glad to be back. All the people he once knew, he was looking forward to seeing them again immensely.
The one whom he was the most excited about seeing again was Zelda.
He wanted to tell her all about his travels and what he had done. He wished he could spend all the time he wanted with his old friend. Of course, he knew that she would probably be busy and all, but he hoped that she would be pleased to see him again too. He could feel his face heat up as it reddened slightly.
'Where did that come from?' he wondered to himself as he rubbed his cheek with his wrist. He dismissed it, though, as the last of the greenery fell away from him and his mare. They stopped.
It was even more beautiful than the last time had seen it. A gentle breeze tugged at his clothing and the grass danced all around him to nature's melody.
He took a deep breath of Hyrule's fresh air and smiled.
"Come on, Epona, let's go."
0000
Life at Hyrule Castle Market had improved greatly since the end of the Seven Year War. After the final battle was over, everything dark and dangerous seemed to fall away from the world. The remnants of the dark tower that had once loomed over the land menacingly had all fallen into its surrounding pit of lava and the earth took its own revenge upon it by surging forth with mud and rubble and burying the entire thing. It was a beautiful disaster. There was such a mess from the mudslide and the ground was so unsteady that it would have been unwise to build anything upon the mound of earth. The people began construction on a new castle but it was to be set into the western wall of the small town.
Life was beginning again in Hyrule. Even months after Ganon's defeat at the hands of the Hero of Time, people were still celebrating their liberation. It was a new era.
Though, where there was celebration, there was also mourning for those who were lost during the struggle for freedom from Ganon's reign. The unstable land around where the former Hyrule Castle stood was being cultivated into a new cemetery. Anyone who had lost relatives during the war was given permission to bury their dead at the new cemetery. Along with the new Western Castle, some of the materials were being put aside for a monument that would be the centerpiece of the graveyard. It was to be a grand homage to the lost. It was still in the process of being built, however, so no one knew what it was going to look like. It was a common subject of conversation.
There was one other thing that was most talked about among the inhabitants of the Castle Market. That was the return of the Sheikah. The entire race that was once thought to have completely died out was making a comeback that had everything reeling. There were suddenly so many Sheikah living amongst the new and old towns of Hyrule. It had appeared that they came out of hiding, but from where? Where was there such a place that could house so many people that no one knew about. There were no answers to these questions. The Sheikah simply began appearing after Ganon had been removed from power.
It was all very exciting. Link had raced across Hyrule field for hours to be welcomed to the new and improving market. Everyone was busy and bustling about like it had been when he was a child. He was sat upon Epona in front of the drawbridge and he gazed inside at everyone and their beautifully simple lives. He took in a deep breath of longing. Things were just like they used to be. And Link was happy.
He spurred his mare gently towards the bridge and she gladly obliged, clip-clopping onto the treated wood and into the crowds. He held the reigns loosely as he glanced around in wonder. Things had changed a lot, he mused. There was no longer a castle to the north and it was almost unsettling. He did note that there was a production happening at the western part of the market. He would have to investigate that later. He pulled up to a horses' stall and hopped off of Epona. A stable girl came over and took the reigns from him and he started to fish around inside his rupee pouch when a startling yelp brought his attention back to the girl who had taken his horse.
"Fairy Boy!" Came a shrill shout of excitement. Link looked up, stunned and fumbled over his money, nearly dropping it.
"Malon?" He spluttered. He gazed at the woman before him. She was nearly nothing like the Malon he remembered. Her hair was back behind her in long braid. Apart from her normal garb, she wore long leather boots that went up well past her knees. Her clothing was form fitting and purple in color and a detailed belt with many pockets for tools and the like lined her delicate waist. Her face was as bright and shinning as ever with a smile playing on her lips.
"Oh my goodness! It's so great to see you here!" she exclaimed breathlessly. She ran forward and jumped into Link's arms and spun around.
"What are you doing here?" Link asked giddily.
"I own this stable. Dad said it would be good for business to start branching out. He stays at the ranch and I work here for the day." She explained.
"That's sounds amazing," Link was happy for her. She had always been so excited when he told her about his travels and what he'd seen. Now she was getting the chance to see it for herself. Then she gave a hearty laugh that caught Link a little off guard.
"You know, when you walked in, I didn't recognize you until you handed me Epona's reigns." She led Epona to a stall giggling and petting her old friend. He knew she was incredibly happy to see her. "Where have you been for the past few months?"
Link opened his mouth to speak but stopped short. He was about to correct her about how long he had been gone, but then he remembered that her time and his time were different. For him he had been gone for several years. Malon stared on with a questioning glance. Link smiled.
"I've been traveling." He said. He didn't want to try and explain at length what he had really been doing just then. Maybe another time Malon, he thought to himself. She seemed to catch on a little.
"It's been wonderful seeing you. Though, now that I'm running my shop here…" she trailed off expecting Link to get her meaning. He did.
"Right," he said with a nod, "Got to keep busy." He rummaged in his pouch again to find the rupees for Epona's stay. Malon shook her head.
"Nu-uh! You don't need to be payin', mister." She tried to shove his rupees back but Link wouldn't have it.
"You've just started your new shop here?" She didn't respond. "I want to help it along." And he grabbed her hand, to which she gasped, and dropped the rupees there. He winked at her and, with a bow, exited the small stable.
"Oh, Fairy Boy," she shook her head with a soft chuckle and continued with her job.
Link didn't know where to begin. Everything was catching his eye. There were so many people! He didn't remember this many people crowding around when he was younger. He headed west, in the direction of the construction site.
Things were coming along quite nicely, he mused at the magnificent stonework creation. They had carved a large section of the wall and were building the new castle into the plateau itself. It was a great idea. It would be very structurally sound. He looked around at all the workers' faces. They were working hard but there was a significant glint of satisfaction in their eyes. It was a contagious feeling. He walked around a bit more to see if he could find the one in charge of the project. He spotted his quarry. As he got closer, he thought he recognized the figure looming in his vision. At first, he shook it off thinking it wasn't who he thought it was. But the nearer he got to the person, his doubts left him. He was within touching distance to the person.
"Zelda?"
Standing before Link was a stout figure in a blue and grey rags with the Sheikan symbol adorning their front. The person looked rather astounded to hear the name.
A long pause followed Link's questioning word. They couldn't find the right words to say, it seemed, for they stumbled in their words for a few second, and then looked back up at Link.
"Who are you?"
Link frowned, crestfallen. Had Zelda forgotten him that quickly?
"What? Zelda it's me, Link," he said gesturing at himself. They simply stared at him.
"My name isn't Zelda," they said. Link was confused for a second then he realized something.
"Oh," he said, "you just don't want to attract too much attention to yourself now that everyone is back in town, right? I got it." But they just shook their head.
"No, I mean that my name isn't Zelda. My name is Sheik." they said calmly, yet also with a mixture of irritation and apprehension.
"But," he said to himself. Then he pondered hesitantly. He looked up again. "I'm sorry I mistook you for-"
"For the princess." They cut across. Link nodded sheepishly.
"Yes. Do you know where she is?" he asked of Sheik. The boy just stared as Link thought to himself that this was some mean and elaborate hoax and he just wanted Zelda to show herself to him already.
"I think we have some matters to discuss," he said. "Will you please, follow me," he said. Link blinked a few times then followed the Sheikah reluctantly.
He was led out of the construction site of the new castle. Sheik walked on quietly, almost appearing a little despondent. Link was wondering if this was indeed Zelda not wanting to show her true identity in public and was simply leading him to a more private area to reveal herself. The idea never left him, but he also didn't leave out the possibility that they were not in fact Zelda. Could he actually be a real Sheikah and Zelda merely modeled her disguise after them? For some reason that seemed a bit farfetched to him and he couldn't exactly place why. Regardless of either outcome, he had an unreserved trust of him. He had thought he knew him for most of his adventure in his endeavors to save Hyrule after all. It must have been Zelda that whole time, he concluded. Otherwise, Sheik would have recognized him. The Sheik that he was with then anyway…
They walked through the market, heading north, and came to a stop just outside. He knew this path lead to where the previous castle stood. The place where the battle for Hyrule's prosperity took place.
"What," said Link after a long pause, "Did we need to talk about, Sheik?" The other man turned to him slowly.
"What happened to Zelda the last time you saw her?" asked Sheik meaningfully. Link answered, though not without a hint of uneasiness in his voice.
"The last time I saw her," he started, "Was during the final battle with Ganondorf."
"You fought Ganondorf?" Sheik said skeptically, taking in the young Hylian's form. Link was a little miffed at that.
"Yes, Zelda and I both teamed up against him. She used her magic and I used the Master Sword." Sheik's eyes widened at that part. It was a look of realization, like he had just fitted together the last piece of a puzzle and could see the whole picture. "Zelda, to disguise herself from Ganondorf, dressed herself as a Sheikah and took on your name as her alias." Link concluded.
The simple explanation put a shocked face on Sheik. Link was still put off that he was having to explain all this.
"When did this happen?" asked the Sheikah.
"For me about seven years ago," he explained. Then he told of his tale in Hyrule seven years ago with the master sword and their attempt to take the Triforce before the Gerudo King could.
"Then after returning to my original time, I found Zelda again and told her what I had done. She told me that, to keep my time from overlapping, I would have to leave Hyrule until the 7 years were up."
"I see," said Sheik.
"Alright. Now that that's cleared up, where is Zelda?" He looked expectantly at Sheik's sullen face, searching for an answer. None came for a while. Then Sheik looked up the path they were heading and turned away.
"Well?" Link asked again. Sheik hesitated.
"Let's keep going," And then he was making his way to the pit where Ganon's castle used to reside.
The farther they walked, the more it was itching at Link why this Sheikah was being so evasive. He was quite annoyed at his behavior. It was becoming more of a reality that this 'Sheik' and his 'Sheik' were definitely not the same person. He was meeting this man for the first time and he was not making a great first impression. Why wouldn't he just tell him what he wanted to know? Why was he leading them away from the town and towards-
"A graveyard?" He stopped following after Sheik, causing the other man to stop his walk toward the cemetery. Spanning around the center of the valley the destroyed castle left, gravestones encircled a central monolith that was being blocked from view by another area clearly under construction. "Why did you bring me here?" Link demanded.
There was only stony silence as a response. Then Sheik walked away from him again, heading for the largest headstone in the newly made graveyard. Link, like a lost child, traipsed after him. Surely not...
Finally arriving at what Sheik was intending to show him, Link's gaze was brought down to the words carefully inscribed upon the magnificent white stone slab.
Link felt many feelings come upon him at that moment, and they didn't comfort him in the least. After staring at Sheik for the longest time, he looked down in shock and started to stutter. Calming himself and attempting to keep his feelings from showing with difficulty, he asked a one word question.
"How," he managed to squeak.
"I don't know," replied Sheik.
At their feet were two mounds of dirt sharing headstone. On the beautifully designed stonework lay two names.
Zelda Arum Hyrule
Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule
The air felt like it does just before a bad storm hits, the pressure dropping followed by a resounding silence. Link resisted the urge to cover his ears, no matter the futility of the action. Link's sense of being was a hazy stream of details that were unwanted by him. He didn't fully understand that Zelda was completely gone. It just didn't click. He foolishly thought that this had to be some big joke with him being the butt of it. Link was getting extremely anxious and quite exhausted. Reality was about to catch up to him followed by frightening emotions he wasn't ready to face just yet. He honestly had no idea he had feelings for the Princess at all…
"Will you attend Zelda's Ball?" Sheik asked of him. Link looked up a little dazed. The mention of the late princess' name threw him off even more than he already was. He responded with a questioning gaze. "There will be a memorial service once the Western Castle is completed. Everyone is invited to pay their respects." Sheik recited regally. The man seemed to sympathize a little with him at his reaction to this somber news. Link nodded feebly.
"Yes, of course," He said, then offered, "I would also like to help out with anything you might need me for." Sheik's expression had an irritated twitch to it again.
"That won't be necessary." He said. Link was a little hurt by the brunt of his reply.
"Please," Link wasn't sure why he was having to beg to help out. He didn't mean to sound so pathetic but he achieved it with great success. Sheik let out a tiny breath.
"Come whenever you like. We're always working." Then Sheik walked around the rooted Hylian and left the sanctuary without another word. Link waited until he was sure he could no longer hear any footsteps then he let out the shaky breath he had been holding.
After all he had done for Hyrule and he couldn't save the most important person who lived and ruled it?
He wept freely. But only for a moment. It was frustrating for him that someone so special had to die like this. It was unfair. After composing himself, Link, having no offering for the two graves, merely knelt into the earth and in both his hands respectively, took a handful of soil from the two burial places. With a small prayer, he let the dirt trickle from his fingertips.
It was then he felt the need to leave. There was terrible tugging in his chest that made him ache.
As he stood and turned away from the graves, a wave of grief washed over him. He shut his eyes tight as more tears threatened to escape and ran away from the memorial as fast he could. Back up the path he raced as he felt his breathing stop completely from the giant knot in his throat. He didn't want to think about anything at all. There was just too much pain. It took Link several minutes before he realized what he was doing. In a daze, he had stopped running about the time he reached the market. He was then sitting against the well in the center of the square.
One thought crossed his mind that made him sick.
'Why didn't I stay?' he thought. He knew he could've helped her. Then she'd still be…
He growled in anger and pulled at his hair.
"Either that or I shouldn't have come back."
