Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and the following characters don't belong to me.
"Say Goodnight"
It's been a year since Link, The Hero Of Time, had saved Hyrule. After his battle with Ganondorf, he was sent to the past, again, by Zelda. But he visited her again and since then, they became the best of friends.
He'll visit her every once in a while; Zelda will show him Castle Town and Link will take her to see the surrounding lands that limited with Hyrule, (her favourite being Zora's Domain), She'll teach him history, he'll teach her how to ride a horse, Epona most of the time, and so on. Their friendship was special, but Link felt a little incomplete.
He lives in a peaceful place, has a house, a job at the ranch, and above all, his amazing friend Zelda. So, why?
Simple.
A part of him was still missing.
The part of him that shared all his adventures, that was always there when he needed help.
Link was separated from Navi when he was brought to the past, since he wasn't a Kokiri but a Hylian; he couldn't keep her after his battle. She decided to leave after that. Link understood that, but he missed her.
After realizing that, he decided to part off, not for so long, but far away. She told him that she won't be easy to find, so she can't be in Hyrule. He just needed to see if she was nearby, in other places of course.
He prepared all the things that he thought he'll need in his journey: His Kokiri sword, the Hero's shield, food, for him and a lot of carrots for Epona. He locked his house and then he went to the ranch.
There his boss' daughter stood, taking good care of Epona as usual. He walked to her and asked for her dad.
"No, dad's not here." Malon said. "He went to Castle Town to deliver some milk at the market. What do you need him for?" she asked.
"Just tell him that I'm leaving tomorrow" Link said
"Oh, that's the bag for, right?" she said. "Well, I think you'll need Epona, won't you?"
"Yes, thank you, Malon" Link said.
"And have you already told her?"
"No"
Malon gave him Epona and he mounted her. He waved to Malon and started walking. When he was almost out of sight, he heard her screaming:
"Good luck Link, with your trip, but most of all telling the Princess!"
Now everything seemed ready, but one thing. Malon was right; he couldn't leave without saying goodbye to Zelda.
That was definitely the hardest part of his journey.
He wasn't scared of the monsters that will chase him, or not having a place to sleep in, not even the fact that he will not find whom he's looking for, but to leave Zelda was for sure was his most difficult task and what scared him the most.
Link took a deep breath before entering in the garden where he was sure Zelda would be. As usual, she'll be staring at the window listening to any conversation of anything, just to know if there was something interesting in Hyrule, and since Impa wasn't with her anymore, she'll do this all of her spare time.
Just as he imagine, the she was looking at the window.
When Zelda saw Link's figure reflected on the crystal, and happy to see him again, she left what she was doing and run to her friend, giving him a hug that he returned.
"Link, I wasn't expecting you. How are you doing?" Zelda asked.
"I'm fine, thank you" He replied not daring to look her in the eyes. "How are things in Hyrule?" He asked trying to make some kind of conversation and since he knew she was well informed, it'll be a long talk.
"Ah, well not much, actually" Or maybe not. "But, come with me to the fields so we could talk" She said locking his hand with hers and lead him to the back part of the castle where the fields were.
They continued walking in the fields talking about what's new in Hyrule.
A few laws were made, like the Gorons were now allowed near Castle Town, (people were scared of them), about the reconstructions of the castle that weren't finished yet, and about a new alliance with the Gerudos, but this time was a very close friend to Naburou the one who's in charge instead of an obsessed with power tyrant.
Everything seemed well until they got to the stables…
"So, Link, when's my next lesson of horse riding?" Asked a very enthusiastic Zelda.
"Umm…" Link knew that this was the time to tell her. "In a couple of months I guess…"
"Good, because I was dying to…W-what? A couple of months?!" she asked.
"Ok, maybe years…"
"Years, what do you mean with that?"
He took another deep breath and gather as much courage as he could.
"Look, Zelda the real reason I came is because…….I'm leaving tomorrow morning."
"Leaving? What do you mean? Where?"
"I'm not sure yet" he said "And I don't know when I'll come back either"
"Why?" Zelda asked him, trying to hold the tears that were forming in her eyes.
"I need to find…this friend" he simply said.
"Ok, I understand" She said looking at the ground, but the, she turned to face her friend and couldn't handle all of that anymore.
"Link, you just can't leave!" she yelled and started running back to the castle, he didn't tried to stopped her either, he knew that she needed a time to process all the information, but mostly, to accept it.
Link waited until je thought was the right moment to started looking for her. He knew Zelda very well, and if she wasn't in the garden looking at the window, she'll be seating in the balcony of her room.
The guards at Hyrule Castle had explicit orders to let Link do what he pleases in the castle, so he went freely through all the corridors and into her room.
Just as he thought, she was leaning in the balcony, still sobbing. And the expressions on her face denoted sadness.
Link went straight to where she was; leaning next to her, but none said anything. They just stood there in an uncomfortable silence, until it was almost night and the sky was a yellowish colour instead of blue.
Finally, Zelda spoke:
"You really miss her, don't you?" she asked. Link was surprised because he hadn't told her who he was actually looking for, and still, she already knew. That reassured him that Zelda was one of a kind, why she was his best friend.
"Yes" he said "Please Zelda, don't be mad at me, Navi-"
"I'm not mad at you link, it's just that I don't know what I'll do when you're not going to be here."
"I'm not leaving forever, you know…" Link said " I just need some time"
"But-"
"It's not like if we had never separated before"
"I'm just scared to say goodbye"
"Then don't. We have never said it before, so why should we stat now?" Link said. "With our simply goodnight is more than enough"
She thought about that for a moment, Link was right, he had done a lot of journey before and they had never said goodbye, why start now?
The only problem was that all those journeys were in Hyrule.
"You're not going to be in Hyrule, are you?"
"No, I don't think that she'll be so close"
"And, do you have an idea where to start?"
"I have thought a lot about it, and may be I'll start near Termina"
Zelda felt even more sad, Termina was too far away from Hyrule.
"There'll be no way to stop" she stood up and run to her wardrobe, then she returned to where Link was, watching her with a questionable look on his face when he saw that she was holding something in her hands.
"I want you to have this" she said opening her hands to revealed a blue instrument that Link knew very well.
"Zelda, I can't, no"
"Yes you can and you will" she said "Promise me that you'll keep it safe" she gave him the instrument. "And please, do never forget the Song of Time I thought you once. The goddess of time is a benevolent one, who knows? Maybe you'll need her help".
"Thank you" Link said taking the instrument in his hands "But, I'll not keep the Ocarina for ever, when I'll come back, I'll return it to you" Zelda nodded in agreement and Link guarded the Ocarina is one of his pockets.
"Promise me one more thing" Demanded Zelda
"Anything"
"Do promise me that you'll come back"
"I promise to you, Princess Zelda, that I, Link, will return to Hyrule once my deeds are done" after that Zelda hugged him, and he return it.
The sky was already black, combined with an Indigo colour.
"Zelda, don't cry please" Link begged when he noticed that she was seeping again.
"Oh, you know I don't like to see you like that, you know I can't stay, I'll be gone tomorrow and I need you to be strong for both of us" Link said looking at Zelda's eyes. "I know that there's no easy way to say goodbye, but you need to think that tomorrow's on it's way, and as you said, the goddess of Time is a benevolent one."
He stayed with her, sitting in the edge of her bed until he noticed Zelda sleeping next to him, so he just covered her with the blankets.
When Link thought that everything was done, he walked to the door, when he heard his name being called.
"Link..?" he could hear Zelda calling his name with her sleepy voice. He turned to face her and saw a smile in her lips.
"Yes?"
"Goodnight"
"Goodnight, Zelda"
He stepped out of her room and closed the door. The first step of his mission was successfully accomplished.
AN:well that's it. This story was inspired by The Click Five's song: Say Goodnight. I hope you liked it. Review if you want.