A/N: First Zelda fic. Oneshot. Short, and hopefully sweet. Slight AU because Zelda doesn't send Link back after OoT... Implied Zelink.. Hope you like it!
It was over.
It was finally over.
The war. The imprisonment. Gone. Done. Vanished. All that remained was a crumbled castle and a stricken nation.
The pain. The destruction. The flame of evil, extinguished by hope. The blood of a nation, which flooded the sun-ripened fields, evaporated under a new sun.
All it took was seven years of agony. Cowardice. Cowardice… what princess who runs from the oppressor and hides under his fist is fit to rule her country?
Her subjects were blind to her weakness. As she stood on a makeshift podium in the center of the battered market square, as she spoke numbly and encouraged her people that it was okay to hope again, that they could smile again, that they were free again, they stood in blissful ignorance of her betrayal. Her abandonment. They stood in awe of her soft beauty, heard the eloquent words escape her mouth. This poor, war torn nation needed the soft touch of a woman, a mother's nurturing love.
The princess tried her best to give proper credit. She promised her Hero a champion's decoration. She promised him land, stature, rank. She would announce at the assembly his sacrifice and good deeds. She intended to put him at the head of her military. She would give him all the praise he deserved. All the praise she did not.
However, he did nothing. He refused with a meek smile. He returned his glorious blade to its pedestal and let his fairy go home. Humble, courageous. Strong. Everything she wasn't. The princess wished with all her heart to resent him, to envy him for his valor. She could do nothing but bask in his quiet strength. She did not covet his courage. For one so wise, she felt a fool.
"Please," she asked. "At least stand at my side." He only smiled humbly and shook his head.
"Ah, but you are a princess and I am a forest child," he said, fingering his green tunic. "A false one at that." A chuckle followed. The princess frowned.
"You are the hero. My hero. This nation's hero. They deserve to know who freed them from an eternity of darkness," she argued. The serenity in his eyes didn't fade. She continued, "The symbols on our hands and the destiny of our souls make us more than equals!"
The hero looked down at his left hand and flexed his fingers a bit. A contemplative silence followed but he looked up, tranquil. "We are equal in spirit," he said. "But I need no words spoken of me. I want no glory and praise. Recognition and honor mean nothing to me; they're only words. What weight do words hold? Words are easily forgotten. You cannot see a sentence in one's eyes. Letters are not found within the corners of a smile. Seeing their emotions, the new hope which lifts their eyes – that is enough. Words are forgotten. The memory of a feeling is forever. Emotion weighs heavier on the mind than words on the tongue." He took the princess' hand. "My legend will live in the wind. People will remember the hope I planted which you will cultivate with a new era of rule."
The princess looked down at his strong hand encasing hers, humbled. She felt foolish under his easy silence. "Hero," she said," you say words are easily forgotten, but know that the words you gave me today will rest in my mind forever. Are you certain that there's nothing I can give you?"
"If you insist," he hedged, "I'm low on supplies. And I need a new sword."
Under a new sun stood a new princess. She towered above her people, a beacon of light. She no longer believed herself inadequate and foolish.
"People of Hyrule!" she began, spreading her palms for silence. The roaring crowd fell out of crescendo, as if a maestro beckoned them so. "Somebody far wiser than I once told me that words are easily forgotten under the weight of emotions. If you leave this square today remembering anything, be it not the words I speak now, but the hope that has lifted you." She paused, scanning the crowd.
She found comfort in the flash of green and the broad smile hidden in the crowd, and met his gaze evenly. "Remember the freedom of this day, when evil was vanquished…" another pause, "by the unsung hero. Remember his sacrifice and yours, and remember your unfailing loyalty, whether it be to me or this land. Feel this peace and remember it, and do not dwell in the darkness of the past." The crowd surged again. Overwhelmed, the princess closed her eyes and smiled for the first time in seven years. When she opened her eyes again, the green clad hero was gone.
A simple note lie tucked in a patch of blue flowers, miraculously unscathed in the ruined gardens of the battered Golden Palace. The princess stooped down with a surge of hope and opened the folded parchment.
Words are easily forgotten but forever will I remember those you spoke to your people. You're a true queen and your wisdom shines forth unfailingly.
When I return is unknown even to the goddesses. I only ask that you keep our legend alive.
Farewell for now,
The Unsung Hero.
One more thing – you should smile more. You're beautiful.
There's a little purple button you should push and let me know what you think. I know it's short, but... what are words?