A.N.: I will not be adding author's notes to the beginning of every chapter, at least I don't plan to. This is the starting chapter so it's a bit shorter than what I usually write, but the next ones will be longer, at least I hope so :D. If you have something to ask or have ideas, leave a comment and I'll reply to it at the end of the next chapter! I will post a new chapter once in one or two weeks, depending on how much school work I have, but anyway. Aas for the disclaimers, I don't own The Legend of Zelda or the characters, I only own my ideas and OCs.
Hope you'll enjoy!

Chapter one – Unwilling

Thump. Thump. Thump.

A young boy's eyes widened in fear at the sound of heavy steps. He tightened his grip on his mother's sleeve as if it would provide more safety, and looked up to her, waiting for her reaction. She seemed so fearless, so strong compared to the little boy. How could she be so calm?

"Mother?"

His voice was a mere sigh amongst his repressed breaths. It was so silent, too silent.

His mother was silent.

Could they be able to hear him if he'd whisper very, very quietly?

He bet they could.

But what would it change? They would find them anyway. No one could ever hide from them. And they always hurt, and they were so silent, and they were scary. Why would they do this? What did they want? He was afraid, and he was confused. He could hear them getting close, sniffing the air for humans, throwing carts and tearing down houses while they were searching, he could hear it all. And they were drawing near, and they would find him and his mother. They always did.

"Mother..?"

She only gripped the pitchfork tighter, her knuckles whitening around it.

The boy was hiding behind his mother, his back pushed against the corner. The air in the room was still, and it was waiting, and waiting, and every second the silence was growing thicker, and he couldn't breathe. With every breath his throat ached and his lungs burned, and his head was dizzy and filled with all the terrors he could imagine. The flickering light of a candle on the wall made the shadows dance around the two, startling the child over and over again. Every time a shadow moved, to him it looked like a black hand, reaching to grab him from the wall and drag him away. He didn't want to go away. He didn't want to leave. He was so scared.

Yet his mother didn't stir a bit. With shaking hands she held the pitchfork, the only weapon she had found in that run-down shed, and covered her fear with a determined frown. She could not let her son see how afraid she truly was, not in a situation like this. She had to show him true bravery, show that not everybody in the village was a coward.

She had to lie into the face of her very own son.

And as an explosion shook the ground and flames reached in from the shattered windows, and a monstrous figure stepped through the blown-up doorway, she could only ask one question. A question that no one dared to ask out loud. And as she thought back to the days when it was peaceful, when the marketplace was crowded and the people were joyful – that all seemed so surreal, so... distant. As if it had never happened. As if the feeling of safety was just a big lie.

But a lie will always break in front of the truth.

"Mother?"

She knew.

As the beast crouched and leapt, she knew her son had noticed her fear. The little boy knew her mother had lied to him. She had lied to him a second before her death – a second before his death, and he would have to leave in the jaws of the enemy, knowing that the one he trusted the most had betrayed him.

And still, from all the things she could have said, and from all the things she could have done, she closed her eyes and asked the question one last time.

"What happened to you?"

Two years ago the Era of the Twilight Invasion had ended when Midna had broken the Mirror of Twilight and, by doing that, separated the Twilight Realm from the world of light for good. The war had left a permanent mark both on the land of Hyrule and in people's minds, Hyrule Castle being still under repairs after two whole years. Despite most of the population being transformed into spirits for over a year and half of the buildings being destroyed during that time, Hyrule was slowly but surely gaining back the glory of its' bygone days, and with princess Zelda sitting on the throne, there was very little to go wrong.

One could ask any man in Hyrule to tell the tale of how they won the war, and the answer would always be the same: without princess Zelda and the royal army, all of Hyrule would now be lost to the evils of the darkness. They would go on and on about the loyalty of Hyrulean soldiers, about how they never ran from the enemy nor gave up on a fight, yet only very few knew the truth about the real hero of that war. The young man who was chosen by the Goddesses themselves to banish the evil, the hero who would have to journey through the land on his own, without an army on his side.

And now, two years after the three-year war had ended, that particular young man was scarred for life, grieving for the friends he had lost and battling in his nightmares everything he had faced before, without ever getting the respect he deserved. He would still, from time to time, dress up like the hero he once was, take off into the woods and be gone for days, sometimes even weeks. He would just sit down in front of the pedestal of the Master Sword deep in the woods, talk to it as if it could understand him better than anyone else, and on some days, break down crying. And no one knew why he would randomly disappear, no one had even the slightest of an idea, because he never told anyone.

But maybe it was for the best that no one knew. The truth would be too much for the ones closest to him. To them, he would always be the happy-and-helpful Link who, to their knowledge, somehow had helped during the Invasion, not the traumatized and lonely man he had known himself as ever since the war had ended.

"Lii-iiink!"

The yell of an adolescent boy echoed in the ruins of the Temple of Time, breaking the soothing silence. Link wiped the tears from his face and let out a relieved sigh – Colin. The boy would be fifteen soon, and yet he was still adoring Link. He had a reason and Link knew that, but he was not so sure of what it was anymore. Colin never told him, and Link never asked, much how Link never told the boy why he spent most of his days in the woods and he had never questioned it. Somehow the young boy still knew when it was time for Link to come home, and always came to wait at the entrance of the ruins. Sometimes he would have to wait for hours, and he knew that Link needed his time alone, but in the end the man would always emerge behind the walls of the pedestal room and greet him with a wave.

And Link knew he could always count on Colin to show up, just like he did right now. The man let his gaze swipe over the shining blade of the sword in the pedestal once more, before standing up and walking the short distance over to the boy. It warmed his soul to see Colin's blue eyes light up at the sight of his green tunic, and a second after the boy was already leaping to hug him.

"It's so good to see you again!" he mumbled against Link's shoulder while holding the hero in the hug as long as he could. Link laughed, for the first time in two weeks, and returned the greeting with a big smile. He knew Colin had noticed his reddened eyes, but for the sake of the boy, he had to at least pretend that he was alright.

As Colin let go of the older one, he had a troubled look in his eyes.

"I hope I didn't come too early this time, but the thing is... Look, yesterday a family came to the village early in the morning and told us they were refugees coming from a far away town. We... we tried to ask them what had happened, but they refused to tell us." the boy explained hastily. Link immediately noted that there was something he was clearly unwilling to tell. The man lifted a brow.

"What do you need me for, then?"

Colin avoided eye contact as he spoke, "Umh, we need more men to build a part-time house for the family, and I thought that it would be good if you'd come and-"

"Colin." Link interrupted bluntly, but flashed a warm yet playful smile at the boy, "Just tell the truth, okay?"

Colin stared at him for a few seconds, contemplating whether it would be good to drag Link back into the problems of Hyrule all over again. With a sigh, he decided to just get over with it now as he could say it straight to his face, and, well, Link still had the option of running back into the woods if he would not like the news.

"The family told us that they were looking for a specific young man – that they were told to find him and tell him about the attacks to their town. We asked them to describe this said man, and well, they pretty much perfectly described you."

Colin held his breath for a while before continuing; "Link, apparently there's a new threat rising in the east, and someone there knows you and your achievements and needs your help."

It took a while for Link to be able to answer in any way. He was partly shocked and partly terrified. Shocked, because Hyrule could be in danger and as the Goddesses had told him, he was destined to save the kingdom. Terrified, because he would most likely have to live his worst nightmares all over again. The fear of losing someone he cared for was strong enough to send shivers into every corner of his body. But he had to hide his fears now as the world needed him again. He would have to forget his well-being and focus on that of the innocent people in the way of the new evil. He would have to carry the burden he was born to take care of, and he knew that very well.

"Alright then." he sighed, "Let's hurry to the village."

"Are you sure?" Colin hesitated, gazing his idol with worried eyes. "I mean, you've been through a lot and-"

"Yes, I'll be fine. Trust me." the hero smiled assuringly at the boy, beckoning him to follow. He stole a quick glance at the path leading up to the Master Sword, wishing that he would not have to draw it the second time, that he would do just fine with the old steel sword he carried with him. Still, something in his gut told him that he would need to do that. He furrowed his brow before turning and catching up with Colin. He had the feeling that he would never have the strength to pull that sword from the stone ever again.