Chapter Seventeen

Everything in the forest seemed so peaceful to Link. Peaceful… and quiet. He wasn't used to quiet. He was used to people barking orders at him, used to the clanging and whirring of gears with the Guardians. The only time there was ever any quiet was when he was asleep. And he rarely got any sleep when it came to defending the princess. One or two hours was usually the max, though there were a few times when he slept through an entire night. Because of this, he never had time to think and actually be inside his own mind for a while.

The quiet only amplified it now.

There was a small river not too far from the Great Deku tree, the water clear and flowing gently, where Link found the most peace for himself. He could still hear the kids playing far off in the background, and maybe some chattering from the adults if he listened carefully, but he was mostly alone as he sat by himself and stared into the water. He found his reflection as clear as day in the river, a near perfect mirror if one needed, but something about it was off.

His reflection left him unnerved for some reason. Like he didn't know who was looking back at him. He could clearly see it was him, that he was looking at himself. But there was just something wrong about it.

Something just didn't feel right.

He heard someone sit down beside him, but his eyes did not leave the water.

"My, what a peaceful place you've found for yourself." Twilight's voice came to him, a hint of amusement behind it. "Cap says you've been here all day. You find something interesting in the water?"

Link didn't answer him, eyes still focused on his reflection. He was searching for something, but he didn't exactly know what that something was right now.

Twilight let out a soft chuckle. "I suppose you must have. After all, who stares into rushing water for this long unless it's something of interest? Unless, you're trying to find something."

This had Link breaking his gaze to look over at Twilight. Still not a word, but somehow the man could tell what he was saying.

"It's difficult finding peace, isn't it?" He questioned. "Especially when you have a life that's so full of absurdities or manic. One moment you could be readying yourself to head to Hyrule Castle to deliver a gift; and in the next you're stopping a monster from taking over the kingdom."

Link felt his shoulders sink, his mind whirling with thoughts he hadn't been able to have when he was training and taking on the life of a hero. Had Twilight been through this exact kind of thing?

The farmer let out a tired sigh, staring into the water as well. "It's so easy to just get up and go. To run away from the thoughts and keep your mind focused on what is right in front of you. Slay the beast, save the people, onto the next task. It's a vicious cycle, and you only ever get to rest when you're dead. And when you do find rest, all you can do is think about what it is you want. You think about what you want to do, where you want to go, who you want to be. These thoughts… they can scare you. It's made worse when you think about them too much."

Twilight looked towards Link now, his angled and bright eyes warm as ever. "It's a weight off your chest once it's all gone, right? When you have the freedom to make these choices. But… it's also confusing."

Link went to say something, but the words died on his tongue. Everything Twilight was saying was everything he had felt while he held the blade. He may have had moments of thinking what he wanted, but never had a plan afterwards.

The farmer grinned at the younger Hylian. "You can never go back to who you once were when everything is done. When you finally have freedom, it feels like you're still stuck in a cage."

"Is that why I can't leave this place?" Link finally signed. "Because I don't know what to do?"

"Maybe. I honestly don't know for sure. I know there is more to you and your role in all this, but I can't tell you what that might be. I'm not you. I can't see your path. All I have is mine."

A heavy and morose sigh escaped the young Hylian as he buried his face in his arms, wishing away whatever it was he was feeling.

"Who am I?" He muttered out.

He didn't see the man, but he heard Twilight's warm voice let out a chuckle. "Why don't you tell me? I gave you my story, but I have yet to hear yours. How did you become a hero?"

"Through stupidity and dumb luck." Link spat out in a growl. "I never should have been picked."

"Why's that?"

"Because I'm nothing special. I'm just- - I'm a nobody."

Another chuckle from Twilight. "I highly doubt that."

"I'm the son of a Captain and house-wife, nothing more." Link snarled out, looking up at the farmer. "My parents have done more in their lifetimes than I ever will in mine. I grew up learning the sword because I had this weird power that felt like time slowed for me, and all anyone saw was this amazing person. But I'm not! I'm not amazing! I like to cook with anything I can get my hands on, and I craft dumb things out of nothing when I'm bored. I like to make my sister laugh whenever she's sad, and it irritates my mother when I teach her to use knives but she's so damn talented it makes me proud! The littlest, dumbest things, make me happy. There was a woman at the Bazaar in the desert that made such a bad pun, I laughed hard enough to shoot water out my nose! None of these are the qualities of a hero! All I had to that title was the sword."

Twilight's chuckle had now become a laugh, the man alight with humour now after hearing all this. "So what drove the sword to choose you, do you think?"

"Like I said, it was dumb luck." Link huffed out. "I was training with my father's men when a Guardian went berserk and almost killed the princess. I blocked and redirected the beam and I guess that was enough to prove my worth to the sword."

"Strange," Twilight spoke up thoughtfully, "you'd think one would simply have gotten out of the way of the beam instead. Why did you stand against it?"

"I don't know! I just- - I just did! I can't explain it!"

"Would you have done the same were it someone else? Or were you trying to impress the princess?"

"No! It wasn't just because of Zelda!"

"So, if it had been me in danger, you would have stepped in?"

"Yes!"

"Or even Time?"

"YES!"

"What about a Yiga member?"

"YES! EVEN THEM!"

"Why?"

"BECAUSE NO ONE DESERVES TO BE KILLED LIKE THAT!"

There was a moment of silence now as the two Hylian's looked at each other, the air about them alive and yet calm even as Link's breath heaved a little at using his voice to its full capacity.

Twilight's eyes seemed to sparkle, his mouth curving into a warm smile. "I think you know who you are, Wild."

Link's eyes left Twilight's now, focussing on the ground as if it held some kind of secret for him to discover. There was still questioning there, still answers he wanted for things he didn't understand. But for the first time since he held that sword, Link could somehow comprehend just why exactly he was chosen as the hero.

"I didn't save Zelda." He said quietly. "I just saved a person."

"Indeed you did. It never mattered whether they wore a crown or a knitted hat. You saw someone in need. You saved someone who needed you."

"But I want to do that now!" Link pushed, feeling confused again. "Why won't the sword let me take it again!?"

Twilight didn't answer him, instead looking to the river once more and taking a few deep breaths.

"Who do you want to save, Wild?"

When Link could not answer him, trying and failing to find the words he so desperately wanted to speak, he fell into silence and began staring at the water once more. Who did he want to save? His family? Of course he wanted to save them! And the Princess, and the Champions, and Hyrule! He wanted to save everybody!

…

Didn't he?

As the sky turned to darkness, and the moon began to rise ever higher, Zelda felt her core burn alive inside her. There was something wrong, and her odd dreams just continued to get more frightening for her. In them she would see darkness envelop the land, a wave of screams hitting her ear, then a light would shine brightly faintly from the distance. This light soon rode out into the darkness, slashing away all the screams. From her there was another light, one that merely scared the darkness away from its simple presence. In the corners of this land were bright beams that shot through the darkness and stabbed at an unseen force in the middle of it all, the creature writhing in pain. It was a dream of war.

Though she was unsure if it was the one she would soon face.

Her eyes met with the moon, her hands gripping on the railing to the walkway of the hall. "The others say you've abandoned us, but I believe in you, Link. I believe in your courage and as your place amongst heroes of the past. And I believe you will come back to fight for your home. Show them the truth, and come home to fight."

She felt a sudden surge through her palm, and a warm voice hit her ear.

Zelda looked around her but found no one. The voice she had heard was not physically about her. She could have sworn she had heard it, however.

It sounded so familiar.

"Who do I fight for?" She asked to no one, looking back up at the moon.

For a moment she swore it was a crimson hue. But it was as white as it had always been.

Her hand found the railing again, another surge coming to her.

"I… I can't answer that. But I will fight."

Another surge, this time her hand giving off a faint glow.

"I will fight, because that is who I am."

Zelda rushed off towards the rooms where the Champions were housed, eager to begin with a new kind of training in mind.