Sooo yeah, this popped up in my mind after I read about the theory of the hero's shade being Link's father. But the time lapse is too far to be on a father-son relationship, so, since I also called the hero's shade 'grandfather', here is a little drabble I wrote about it, enjoy.

.

.

.

.

The Hero's shade had always been a mystery to him. He taught him the 'teachings of old' (so he says) and always taught him until he really get it- never get frustated no matter how many times he fail. He came as a golden wolf and go as a stalfos. His teachings has been quite useful up until now, the finishing attack, the shield bash... Although Link learned those quite easily and with ease, this move-the back slice-is really what he would call frustating. He's been trying for hours (though he don't know how much time had passed, he at least felt as if it has been hours) but to no avail. And the hero's shade just won't let him go back once he said he wanted to learn the move. So now, for what had felt like the thousandth time, He fell on his back yet again. He failed to roll to the right and his attack was perfectly blocked by the stalfos's shield. Just. Great.

"You have to roll to my back and then attack. Master this and the move shall be yours." The Shade said again for, Link thought, the hundreth time.

"Aaagghhh Give me a break! This is not working! I can't do this!" Link didn't even bother to stand up, rather, he just sat where he was with a frustated look clearly seen on his face. His teacher, the hero's shade, only replied with a calm, patient tone.

"You just have to focus and roll carefully to my back, it is quite hard at first but once you get it-"

"It's not working, Okay?!"

Link snapped and shouted out aloud, cutting the hero's sentence half-way. In an instant, their surroundings were filled with nothing but silence. The fog didn't clear up one bit and carry the sounds of the forest, filling the silence with an eerie atmosphere surrounding it. Link remained his position on the ground, looking at his feet. He was frustated, but he didn't mean to shout. Hero's shade must be pretty shocked too. It really isn't like him to snap like that.

"Come here. Let's take a break." Link lifted his head up to his teacher's voice. He stood up, unsheathed his sword and followed the shade to what seems to be like a river, surrounded with lively greens around it. He walked there and sat on its edge along with the shade. Link then grabbed out an empty bottle and filled it up with the water flowing in the river. Hero's shade had told him once that, this place is the spirit world. Right now in the real world, no time had actually passed since it was only his spirit that came here. The spirit world he is at right now took on the form of Hyrule in the era of Hero of time. He also said that the river water is clean enough to drink, so it should be okay to take a sip. After taking some water, Link sat down and looked down once again, still a bit ashamed of his outburst. He was angry at some childish problems and out of frustation. Midna would made fun of him non-stop if she saw this. But he is an adult now- well 16, to be exact. But at least he had to take responsibility too for his actions. "I... Uh... I'm sorry for shouting..."

"It's okay. I know how frustating it was to learn a new move."

Link's face was now lifted up and filled with relieve that he wasn't dissapointed nor angry with him. He didn't know why, but being with the Hero's shade, he always feel a bond with him, it was as if he will be safe around him. Seeing the atmosphere had brighten, he decided to asked the shade some trivial question he always had in mind. "I was wondering. How do you look like when you were the hero of time?" Link said, drinking his water. He couldn't see the Hero's expression behind his helmet, but he swore he saw a smile before the hero lifted his helmet, where his flesh was now no longer bones and spines, but flesh. Although this is a drastic change (he is a spirit anyway), what really shocked Link isn't how the hero was missing an eye, it wasn't how his blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail- it was that his face is so identical so his.

The hero gave a small chuckle. "Surprised?"

Link couldn't say a word. He stared in shock to his teacher's face. He muttered a bit before finally calmed himself and asked. "You-Your face- I, I mean- you-my-" He was completely speechless that he wouldn't stop pointing at the hero's and his own face. "Ho-how can your face be so identical to mine?!"

"Well..." The shade turned to face him and a slight mischievous smirk-unlikely of him (to Link, at least)- appeared on the corner of his lips as he played around with his helmet on one hand. "Our faces aren't the only thing we have in common. Wanna know my name when I was the hero of time?"

Link shakes his head with a disbelieved look, thinking that only this was enough to made him pass out anytime right now. Despite his disagreement, the Hero's shade told him his name anyway.

"Link."

Link-um, younger Link.- dropped his jaw to the ground with a totally shocked and disbelieved look. He tried to composed himself and tried to process this new bit of information. "Uh- I- I mean- wait, why would anybody in the whole world- especially a hero like you- had the same, uncreative, 4-letter name like me?!"

Hero Link (shade)'s mischievous smirk came back to his face. "Oh I don't know, maybe it was because you were named after me?"

"But I was named after my grandfather! My father told me that hims-!" Link stopped his sentence half-way. Wait. Grandfather? Link? "... You've got to be kidding me."

Hero Link's smirk turned into a laughter after seeing Link's reaction. "Well hello there, grand son." He said as he wiped a tear from his eye.

Link remained speechless on his spot. He had heard from his late dad that his grandfather was the former king of hyrule, married to queen Zelda at the time, but his father decided to find a new place rather than living life in royalty and found himself the village of Ordon, but this is too freaking much of a info he had to process. Like, this guy is actually his grandfather?! Oh Farore fierce fucking deity you've got to be kidding. The fact that he's a chosen one, the fact that he could turn into a wolf, the fact that there's a princess he himself had to save, the fact that there's an imp accompanying him in his journey, he can accept. The fact that HE is his grandfather? He cannot accept. "Wait... If you're my grandfather..."

"Yeah."

"And you were married to the late queen Zelda..."

"Yes."

"And that would mean that Zelda is your granddaughter too..."

"Mm-hmm..."

"Then that means..." Link's face was turning pale as he finally reached a conclusion he would rather not know. Hero Link's face turned into a smile and patted Link's back.

"Hey don't worry cousins can still get married."

"WHA-that's not what I -!" Link's face turned bright red as the cold armor patted his back.

"Come on, let's continue." The shade stood up and wore his helmet again, doing his best to hold his laughter in as he walked to their practice grounds again, followed by an unamused, blushing Link.