Obligation
They used to call it a message brought from the wind, a voice drifted from a distant land. That was your destiny. Told to you from the moment you were to make the choice to receive it or not. Back then I had said yes, far too early, and I was stuck with obligations that I regret not foreseeing earlier.
It was when I was young and the voice had come to me in the form of soldiers, marching in their clanking armour and carrying spears the height of the buildings around us. Years later, when rumors of a rising evil had erupted out of nowhere, the army began recruiting. I was only fifteen, a nobody, and I wanted to change that. Before I even had the chance to hear the destiny that I was meant to carry out, I had set out to achieve it.
Before I was a soldier, my name had graced only the lips of my family. As I quickly surged through the ranks I gained attention up until the last moments of Ganondorf's oppression. After the smoke had cleared, the fire put out, and the buildings restored, what was left was a hero that everyone knew the name of.
I have figured a billion times over that if I had never joined the army, I would've been able to slip back under the tongues of citizens, but here I stand today, a guard at the Queen side, and nothing else. No matter how friendly Zelda acts, she is my only company, day in, and slowly into day out. I leave the castle rarely.
People say it's honorable of me to stay loyal. Though, I feel like I couldn't escape this never ending cycle if I tried. Such a busy monarch needs a loyal guard, and the people love me.
I remember distinctly, the book titled, the Princess's Missing Soldier, in which a little girl had played princess with her best friend, until one day when the boy, annoyed with her immaturity, left her. It ended as a love story, typical, but I'm always terrified that if I attempted the same, I'd be found immediately. If I attempted to step down, I'd be admonished and humiliated.
I've done my duty and I deserve a family, I deserve a life, not a sword. Everyday I go again to tell Zelda herself that I resign, but every day she acts like I'm the most wonderful man to plant my feet on the Earth. I can't take these nerves being bundled up in my stomach and the constant longing to do more. When I adventured, I was free, more than I ever had been in a long time. Someone needs to go out there again.
I've decided that it'll be me, somehow.
No matter how long it takes, I'll get myself back out there.
I'll feel sand between my bare feet, untie my bound hair, never hear that wretched clank of armour again. The green tunic I used to loathe calls out to me, this time with positivity and excitement. I resent ever taking it off.
No ancient relic will taunt me, no crest will call out my name. No soldier will look to me for commands. The only person who will look up to me will be a child of my own.
I wouldn't wish the life of a hero unto anyone.
It is tomorrow I have plans of going on a "vacation."
And dear journey, protect my dreams.