Impa finally found her near the gardens, the grey sky of the early morning teasing rain.

It was a hallway, with ornate carvings and beautiful gardens on either side. She knew it was one of the Princess' favorite places to sit, such a calm and peaceful part of the castle, especially in the summer.

Yet, the bright sun was nowhere in sight, stormy clouds hiding it away, as if it never existed.

A small smile curved the Princess' lips as she plucked the strings of her golden harp, Impa narrowing her eyes at the spectacle before turning to face away from her and crossing her arms.

"I've been meaning to check up on you," Impa said, now standing still on the opposite side of the hallway, looking out at the side of the garden Zelda wasn't near. "We haven't talked in a while."

Zelda kept strumming her harp despite Impa's presence, her words, continuing the song as she said.

"That's kind of you Impa, thank you."

Impa didn't recognize the song Zelda was playing, it not being one of the ones she taught Link as Sheik, not even the lullaby she'd loved since her youth.

"How do you feel?" Impa asked cautiously. "About what is set to happen later today…your courting?"

There was a silence that followed, Impa digging deep in her mind for what that song was. It just sounded so familiar.

"I feel okay," Zelda said in reply. "I suppose it's inevitable."

"You feel…okay?" Impa said as she turned around.

"Yes, Impa," Zelda said with a distinct laugh that put Impa off. "Of course I do. Are you feeling all right?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Impa said before really concentrating on the song Zelda was playing on the harp. It must have been quite old, for Impa to not recall it quickly, a song that Impa never got around to teaching her.

"So…" Impa started. "You're not thinking about Link."

"Who's Link?" Zelda asked casually as she continued to pluck at the strings.

Impa's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before they widened.

"No," Impa whispered as she recognized the song as well, the Sheikah shaking her head in denial. "No, you didn't."

"Zelda!" she said as she rushed forward in a panic, placing her hand quickly on the Princess' shoulder. Zelda stopped playing immediately at the sensation, the serious tone in her voice making her look into the Sheikah's red eyes, "Please tell me you didn't!"

"I didn't what?" Zelda asked rather innocently.

Impa clutched Zelda's shoulder more before she said urgently,

"Link! Do you know who he is? Have you heard that name before?"

There was a silence as Zelda stared, Impa waiting in anticipation of what Zelda would say. She hoped greatly that it would be 'Of course I do, Impa' the way her eyes were fixed into Impa's.

"No," Zelda said with slow shakes of her head. "I..I don't. Honestly, Impa, I don't."

The Princess said it as if Impa didn't trust her, thinking she was for some reason testing her capacity to tell the truth.

But Impa staggered back at the words Zelda said, her heart breaking at the full realization that the Princess before her was so devastated at the loss of Link, at the thought of what she had condemned him to, that she chose to forget him to alleviate the pain.

"I'm sorry," Impa said as she situated herself in preparation and held her hands out, her palms facing Zelda.

"Impa, what are you doing?" Zelda asked as she stood up in surprise, purple magic starting to emanate from Impa's hands.

Zelda was lucky that Impa had gone to the library the morning after that one night and studied reversing the effects of forgetting potions.

Impa steadily watched Zelda's expression for her reaction as the magic reached her, her own hands starting to shake with the effort it took.

The purple waves started to subside as Zelda's eyes widened with familiarity, a shaky inhale escaping her lungs as a tear rolled down her cheek.

Impa walked forward, her red eyes flaming with anger as Zelda was stunned, at the memories of Link flowing back to her with such force, at the strong emotions that she had forgotten so easily.

"Impa, I..."

"You think you're the first person to have a broken heart?!" Impa yelled as she grabbed both of Zelda's shoulders, almost shaking her, "It's not supposed to be easy!"

Zelda blinked in surprise.

"I cannot believe you did that to yourself! To Link!"

"To Link?" Zelda asked.

Impa hung her head with a sigh before meeting Zelda's eyes once again.

"Yes, to Link, Zelda," Impa entreated, with more emotion than Zelda had ever seen in her attendant. "Don't you see? Haven't you figured it out? The timeline you sent him to…he will no longer be the Hero of Time. He will no longer have saved Hyrule. No matter what he does he would be quickly forgotten in that circumstance, especially if he decided to disappear. He will be the only person who remembers what he truly did!"

"Don't you DARE forget him, too," Impa said in a sharp voice, sharp as the sheikah blades hidden from the naked eye. "He doesn't deserve that."

"And you, my Princess, DESERVE to live on, to move forward with the knowledge that it happened. You forget his love, the love you had for him and you lose yourself! You may have felt happier at first, but there would have been this hole you could never fill and never explain why. You would think that pain and misery was simply a given and you would start to loathe your existence! That's why the forgetting potion is so foolish! You forget your empathy! Your reasons to move forward! The past memories that drive you to continue! Never forget love! You only harm yourself by trying to forget the deepest parts of you!"

"You have NEVER done anything wrong. You have only EVER done what you felt was right, and that's all ANYONE can expect of themselves! And I need you alive! Not because I care about your obligation to the kingdom, but because I care about you! You deserve to live!"

Zelda was silenced, utterly silenced. The words were finally getting to her.

"You will get over him, get over this guilt," Impa continued. "A part of you will always love him, but you will get over him. I will do whatever I can to help you move on. But it is a part of your life you cannot forget, you owe it to yourself and to him to remember."

"Please," she begged as she bowed her head. "Please don't give up, please fight to get past this. There is no easy way out where the pain won't resurface. Please fight to live, you deserve so much better than survival. You think you deserve nothing, but I assure you, you deserve everything."

Impa took away her hands and tilted her head back up to say,

"I'm sure Link would agree."

Zelda nodded as she blinked away tears.

Impa turned her head to leave, yet something kept her still, a question in her mind.

"Do you know what song you were playing?" Impa asked.

"No…" Zelda replied. "It…it just came to me."

"It's old, very old," Impa said. "I haven't heard it in years."

Impa sighed an exhale and continued,

"It is known as the 'Song of the Hero'. Somehow, it came out subconsciously when you forgot Link, when you felt pain and couldn't explain why. It…soothed you, didn't it?"

Zelda nodded in affirmation.

"You know the power of music well," Impa continued. "That was no coincidence."

Impa started to walk off, stopped by a quiet,

"Wait."

Impa turned back around to face Zelda, anticipating what would come from her pensive expression.

"Thank you," Zelda continued. "I...just wanted the pain to stop, but..."

Zelda shook her head.

"That wasn't the way."

Impa's expression softened.

"Impa…the visions I've been seeing," Zelda started again, a deep fear in her eyes. "What in Hyrule happened to him?"

Impa's gaze gave a warning.

"Not only is he displaced in his own home, but he is a traumatized boy in a peaceful Hyrule. Silenced by his own reality not being true, he would have a lot of things to work out on his own. From what you've told me, I doubt he has…or that he ever will…"

"Not everyone has the chance to truly heal."