Author's Note: Well I'm back and have decided to go over this story and fix any errors that my editor missed as well as make some additions and fix plot holes. One of the more curious additions I'll be making is a calendar that will be prominent in the follow-up story I will work on as soon as "I Reach Out a Hand" is done. I'm going to sort of avoid the details on the calendar but basically the idea is to look at Skyward Sword as year 0 to mark the beginning of Hyrule. The year in which most of this takes place is 424 After Hylia (A.H for short) (except for this first chapter). If you wish to learn more of this calendar system look at my journal entries on DeviantART.
Chapter 1: The Hero of Time
Hyrulian calendar: Summer of 414 A.H.
"In the land of Hyrule, there echoes a legend. A legend held dearly by the Royal Family that tells of a boy. A boy who after battling evil and saving Hyrule, crept away from the land that made him a legend. Done with the battles he once waged across time, he embarked on a secret and personal journey. A journey in search of a beloved and invaluable friend. A friend whom he parted ways when he finally fulfilled his heroic destiny and took his place among legends.
But when his journey came to a close, and he had given up on his friends, he found new ones. These friends always loyal, always trust worthy, and that would never, ever leave him alone again."
Link paused and leaned close to his children – Raldo who was 6, and Marin a toddler of 4 years old. "And that is the legend of the Hero of Time, kids." He finished with a smile, now awaiting the questions that would soon follow, as they have always done.
"What happened to him after that Daddy?" Marin asked eagerly as Link placed the blanket over the children. Link was now in 26 years old, his blonde hair that was no longer covered by a green hat reached the base of his neck, he wore not the green tunic he had become famous for, but a simple long-sleeve red shirt, and he wore brown pants. He sighed, prepared to answer as best and vaguely as possible, when a woman – Romani - came through the door. Link already knew that she was listening on the other side of the door.
"Simple, the Hero of Time lived Happily Ever After with his friends." She said with a glowing smile that tried hiding under her long red hair but to no avail. Link got up and moved over to his wife and gave her a gentle hug and small peck on the lips. Raldo gave a pouted look at his parents.
"But we wanna know what happened to the Hero AFTER that, Mommy!"
"There is no more to the story. That's how the story ends, sometimes there's nothing more than just what you're given." Link said to his children, but they pouted instead. The argument dragged for a few more minutes, when until the children grew tired of the argument and fell to sleep. Romani fixed the covers on the children.
"They just don't know when to quit, don't they?" She sighed; Link smiled and opened the door.
"They sure don't. They take after you in that department." He joked as he prepared for the coming punch, which was promptly given. The couple that was only in their mid-twenties made their way down stairs and out the front door, and sat upon a bench and watched the last moments of the sun going down in the distance.
"But if I don't recall, it was you that proposed to me." She said with a smug.
"Oh good point, but if I recall, it was you that begged me to live with you and your sister on the ranch, when we were just kids. So I think you got it in reverse, it was you that chased me. So it was you they got it from; not me." He argued back, but he just got another punch from her.
"Or maybe it was kinda both of us?" she proposed. Link wondered about that.
"I guess so." He said finally accepting the truce. The couple stared unto the sunset till the sun faded away, then they laid back and watched the starry sky above, marveling in its expansive wonder. They sat for what felt like forever, simply holding hands and just only caring for the moments between them, until Romani finally broke the silence.
"You told the kids that story again… why?" Romani asked as she placed her head on his broad shoulder.
"Do you object to me telling them?" Link asked.
"No, I don't. But you refuse to tell the truth behind that story to them. You refuse to tell them that it is their father's Legend. It bothers me greatly."
Link leaned forward breaking Romani from his shoulder. "I know, I'm a damn hypocrite. I have asked you, Kafei, and Anju not to speak or ask about my past. Yet, I go and continue to tell my children that legend."
"They will wonder someday, Link. Will you ever tell them?" she asked as she stared deeply into his eyes, and he did so back. His eyes haven't changed in the past 14 years. They still showed compassion and care, but behind that was not the loneness of his former life, but something more; the inner warrior that refuses to place the sword on the shelf, despite he had already vowed to never even pick up another weapon again. Link sat there silent, looking back, not uttering a sound. He instead leaned back and looked back to the sky above. Romani sighed and did the same. So they sat there, looking to the sky, when suddenly a shooting star whipped across the midnight sky. At that second, Romani jumped up like a child. "Look, Link!" she exclaimed as she pointed towards the sky. "Did you see it? It was a shooting star! Quick, make a wish!" she advised as she folded her hands in prayer and wished upon that star. Link sat there looking at his wife acting like one of his kids, he couldn't help but smile.
"So, what did you wish for?" he asked. She looked back at him with another glowing smile.
"Not just wish one wish, but 2 wishes!"* She explained.
"I don't think you can do that, Romani." Link stated as he leaned back and gazed at her beauty against the starry back-drop.
"Well, I figured you're not gonna make a wish, so I did it for you."
"And what, by chance did you wish for, on my behalf?" he asked.
"Well, both of them are obvious. I'm not giving hints!" she teased as she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Oh, I just cannot guess!" he stated with clear sarcasm as he sat his head back against the wall of the house. After a few minutes, Romani sat back down and placed her head on Link's shoulder again. "Don't worry, Romani. I will never stop loving you till my dying breath and beyond." Link said as his face turned beat red – he has never been the romantic type. She looked at him in surprise of the corny – yet romantic – words that came out of his mouth. "And I will tell them, too." He sighed deeply. "I'll say it… someday. I promise."
Romani smiled as she nuzzled closer to the man she loved. "You better, or I'll kick you're sorry ass."
Quick Author's Note: I didn't even realize this till now, but I mis-quoted a line from the classic holiday movie; "A Wonderful Life". I find that awesome. I wonder if anyone else noticed that…
