This contains spoilers for the ending of A Link between Worlds. Please do not read if you do not already know the ending (and if you in fact don't, I suggest that you don't read any ALbW fanfiction, as the ending is by far the most plotty part of the game - and therefore the part that most fanfiction would be based on).

Hero of Lorule

Something major was happening in Lorule right now, Ravio was sure. He had a sort of hero's intuition about these things. …Or maybe it was that Link had told him outright that he was about to go to Lorule Castle and rescue Princess Zelda.

And that couldn't go well. Yuga was there, and Princess Hilda as well, and Link didn't yet suspect her.

A small bird-like creature next to Ravio chirped a little bit, asking him if something was wrong.

Ravio shrugged. "I don't know, buddy. Link isn't really the Hero of Lorule, and yet he's the one going to face Yuga… and Hilda. Something about that kind of rubs me the wrong way."

Sheerow squawked sympathetically. Then, it paused before suddenly turning accusingly towards the merchant and nudged him towards the door.

"What?" Ravio asked. "Sheerow, what are you trying to…"

The bird let out another frustrated cry and rammed Ravio towards the door.

Ravio let a resigned sigh, but refused to move. "I know I'm actually the Hero of Lorule, but do you really think a coward like me—and I freely admit that I would flee at the first sign of danger—would be any better than Link would at stopping Yuga and Hilda?"

Sheerow sighed and fluttered towards the door, opening it insistently.

"No, no, buddy!" the merchant complained. "To be designated the hero by the gods—it's a curse, definitely, not a blessing. I don't know how Link accepts it so readily. But as for me, I'm far too cowardly to face my fate as a hero—or to face my princess."

Sheerow didn't say anything to that, but simply stared at Ravio with an accusatory look. A tense moment passed between the friends before Ravio relented.

"OK, OK!" he said. "I give in! I'm actually worrying a lot about Hilda and Link and Zelda, and I'm so frustrated at myself for not being stronger or braver or more capable. I can't help them at all! I mean, I can't even get back home, since I used up my magic getting here!"

The small white bird squawked, trying to remind him of something. But remind him of what? Ravio couldn't think of anything that he had been forgetting. But it must have been something about getting back to Lorule; that was the last thing he had just said.

After another moment, Ravio shook his head. "I don't know what you're trying to tell me, buddy. The only way I know of to get back is turning into a painting, and I gave that bracelet to Link already."

But at Link's name, Sheerow started to bob up and down in the air excitedly.

"Er… Link," Ravio repeated. "What about him? I don't think he can transport me to Lorule, bracelet or not."

Sheerow shook its head, but encouraged Ravio to continue to brainstorm.

"Uh… then what about Link do you want to tell me about? What, that… he's a hero?"

Sheerow nodded, indicating that he should continue down that train of thought.

"Uh… I'm also a hero?"

Again, Sheerow agreed.

"And so… I should… I don't know, use super-awesome heroic powers to return to Lorule?" Ravio blurted out, not able to think of anything more reasonable. But to his surprise, his friend nodded enthusiastically at that.

Ravio just blinked. "…What?" he asked. "I mean, Link told me that he had a friend who had a broomstick that could take him across Hyrule and across Lorule. But she's also a sage, so she's stuck in the Chamber of Sages; I can't ask her or her broomstick to just magically transport me to Lorule."

Sheerow shook its head again. This wasn't the right line of thought.

"Then… what super-awesome hero powers do I have? I'm all out of ideas."

Sheerow sighed and settled down on the floor. Then, it drew a wing across its neck and fell over.

"…To die? My super-awesome hero power is to die?"

Sheerow flew back up and nodded enthusiastically, trilling excitedly and pushing Ravio out the door one again.

"Hey, hey, buddy! What're you doing? You're sending me out to die? How's that supposed to help me get back to Lorule? And how's that related to Link, either? He has plenty of super-awesome hero powers, but dying's not one of them—" Ravio suddenly stopped in his tracks just as Sheerow pushed him out the front door and closed it behind them.

"Link has died before, hasn't he?" Ravio muttered, looking at Sheerow. "I mean, you always go and bring me back my stuff from him when he does. But he always reappears here in his home right afterwards, teleported by something. Maybe by his super-awesome hero powers. …And I'm a hero, too, and my home is in Lorule."

Sheerow trilled a sharp cry in agreement.

"If I die, I'll be resurrected in Lorule," Ravio repeated, a little more strongly. "I have to die to get back to Lorule. My only way back home is to die." For a moment, he just stared blankly in front of him, towards the craggy mountains that were south of Link's house. Then, suddenly, he screamed, turning around and dashing back into Link's cozy home.

"You can't make me do this, Sheerow!" he cried out, huddling in the corner of the room. "I told you already: I'm an utter coward! I can't die! I don't want to die! Even if I am resurrected because of my super-awesome hero powers! Even if this is my only way back to Lorule! I don't want to die!"

Sheerow squawked frustratedly, flapping its wings and settling down on the tables that were now entirely empty of wares.

Ravio continued shuddering in the corner for a bit, but after a few minutes, he calmed down. He looked up towards Sheerow. "But I have to do this, don't I? As I said before, Link is not the Hero of Lorule. If I don't intervene, things are going to be horrible for everyone involved. Either Link, not suspecting Hilda, will fail, and then Hyrule will crumble, or Link, being the super-awesome Hero of Hyrule that he is, will defeat Hilda… or outright kill her… thereby saving Hyrule but sealing Lorule's doom."

Sheerow squeaked in agreement.

Ravio gave a big sigh. "I don't have much of a choice, do I, Sheerow?" Shakily, he sighed and stood up from his crouched position and wandered over to his Rupee sack. "Well, I certainly can't forget this, can I?" He picked it up and slung it over his shoulder before wandering over to the door. Sheerow fluttered towards him and landed softly on the hood of his rabbit cowl.

Ravio steeled himself as he reached for the brass doorknob. This was it. He would soon be back again in Lorule. Gods and goddesses, it had been a long time since he was last there.

But he also had to die, first. As his hand rested the cool metal of the doorknob, he hesitated. What if he wasn't actually the Hero of Lorule? Or if being the Hero of Lorule was different from being the Hero of Hyrule, and he wouldn't be resurrected? He would be dead soon.

He shook his head lightly, accidentally knocking Sheerow back into the air. He shouldn't focus on pessimistic hypotheticals. Maybe that's how Link could manage his courage—by focusing on the good he was doing, and not the danger he was putting himself in.

Ravio took a deep breath. This was his contribution to saving Lorule—and Hyrule. He would stop Link from killing Hilda, and he would stop Hilda from killing Link. All he had to do first was to get back to Lorule. And all that took was his death… no, don't think of it like that. It would just take a few well-placed hits from a common soldier, like those that patrolled right outside Link's house.

Ravio turned the doorknob. It was time for him to live up to his title as Hero of Lorule.

Published February 16, 2014