Yo, first Zelda fic. This is the woman Zelda from TP; I haven't finished the game yet, so any warnings of glaring errors would be appreciated.
Review, please.
"You know the story, don't you? About the Hero?
Want to hear it again?"
It's not something Link thinks about all the time. Just most of the time.
The pale grass shuddering in the wind. The scents of squirrels and rabbits, the watering in his mouth. Moonlight shining down on him. His paws digging into the soft earth, Midna's weight on his back weighing him down.
He doesn't think about it all the time. He doesn't think about it when he's rounding up the goats, or when he's helping bring in new shipments for the store. He doesn't think about it when he's rescuing travelers in the forest.
But when he isn't doing any of these things; that is when he thinks, and remembers.
"He was raised in the ancient forest, before it was tamed and given the name of Faron. The Eternal Race took him in when he was a baby, and he was raised as one of them.
But he was always lonely."
Everyone in the village is moving on. Link wonders if there's something wrong with him.
The dreams won't stop coming. The dreams of fighting, of fear, of anger, of twilight. The stench of the castle dungeons heavy in his mouth, the slimy water that dried on his fur. The guards curled up in balls, too terrified to move.
Running so easily on tireless legs. Running for hours and hours and only having to pause once, for a mere moment.
Dreams of being a wolf.
"But one day, the great forest spirit summoned him. He gave the Hero a guide, and entrusted him with the safety of Hyrule.
The Hero traveled through the lands, leaving the isolated wild forest. He eventually gained access to the Sacred Realm, but he was still too young for the rest of his task.
He slept for seven long years. And then he awoke.
Did you ever wonder what that was like?"
If Link is completely honest with himself, he knows he wants to be a wolf again.
"Did you ever wonder? Did you ever think about what it would be like, for the Hero, to go to sleep thinking himself to be one of the Eternal, and then wake up as a man?"
"Mama, you've gotta be fooling!"
"What...you don't trust me?"
"The Hero couldn't have been anything like that. I bet he always knew that he was a Hylian, but he didn't want the Eternal mad at him, so he didn't talk about it!"
"So that's what you think, eh?... Well, in any case, you had better go to sleep."
"Mama..."
"Yes?"
"Why am I named after you? Isn't awfully confusing? Your name is Zelda, and my name is Zelda... Why do we do that?"
"It's the tradition, sweetheart. All the princesses in the royal family are named Zelda, so that when the Hero comes again he'll know who to go to."
"Th - then does that mean I'll meet the Hero?"
"It's possible."
He wants to be a wolf. He wants to be able to smell, and track, and run through the moonlit grass. He wants to hunt and never get tired.
Not all the time, though. Just most of it.