I wish I could tell you that my story ended like your typical 'hero saves the princess' story. "A knight in all shining armor, coming to save a beautiful young princess, who's been captured by an evil overlord, peace returns and reigns over the kingdom, and they all live happily ever after." But I can't, because that's just not how it happened.

You know, isn't it ironic? One day, you can be daydreaming about being famous and important, and then when your dream comes true, you're so desperate to find a way out. I never used to be the hero. My life was just like yours. Well, maybe not just like yours. I suppose the period when I'm writing this, and the era that you'll be reading this could be extremely different. I suppose you'll understand better if I explain what my life used to be like.

When I was younger, I would play outside in the sunshine on the floating rock I called home. My parents would watch me play, keeping on eye on me to make sure I didn't get into trouble. I had a best friend, as most kids did. Her name was Zelda. Zelda and I would play together, eat together, work together, and ride our Loftwings together. As time went on, we became inseparable. My life was your typical 'picture perfect' childhood. I was quiet most of the time. My friends said I was selectively mute, but I had no idea what that meant. Not that it mattered. My friendship with Zelda never wavered and instead grew and flourished. I remember one evening that we sat together on the top of the goddess statue during the most beautiful sunset, and we vowed to be friends forever.

However, my perfect world crashed and shattered the day my dad took a ride on his Loftwing into the unknown part of the sky on a mission to discover other potential inhabitable islands among the clouds. None of the men assigned to that journey returned. My mother and I waited for weeks in hopes of him flying back to us. But he didn't. When it became clear, he wasn't going to return, my mother fell into a severe depression. That's what the doctor had called it anyway. I had no clue what that was, but I knew by the way my mother acted, it was a terrible thing to fall into. Now, my little brain couldn't understand what he meant by falling into this thing called depression. I imagined that depression was this hole somewhere on Skyloft that she'd fallen into, and that there had been something in there that caused her to act the way she was. How was I to understand at such a young age?

My mother never recovered from her depression. In fact, she kept getting worse. She wouldn't sleep, and instead, she would cry all night. She would be too tired to cook, causing me to cook for myself. I was eight! I didn't know how to cook. So, I ate cereal or toast three times a day for a few days. She also never cleaned the house or took care of the garden anymore. I had very little knowledge about how to clean, so I did the best I could with a soapy cloth and a bucket of water. The garden, however, was left to the weeds. I knew nothing about taking care of plants. And even if I had, I wouldn't have had time given all the new chores I had to do now. My mom never exited her room, except to use the lavatory, and she always kept her door shut and locked. I would knock and plead with her to come out, but it seemed as though she couldn't hear me. The headmaster of the all-famous Knights Academy and the father of my best friend, Kaepora Gaebora, found out about Mother's condition nearly a week later. His daughter had been worried because she hadn't seen me for many days. When they came to visit my mother and me, Mr. Gaebora was both shocked and sympathetic. He understood the strange disease that had engulfed my mother and promptly took it upon himself to care for me and the house. Thus, my life became easier albeit worrisome.

During this time in my life, I was able to see Zelda a lot more, however, I didn't play much. I was stressed and anxious. The more time that passed, the more concerned Zelda's father became. That automatically put me on edge. The adults were supposed to be the ones to assure me that everything was going to be alright. But that wasn't happening. For the first time in my life, I felt very insecure. My father was gone, and just thinking about him had made me tear up. Then my mother was neglecting me, staying shut up in her room and refusing to care for me. Now Kaepora Gaebora was uneasy, and... It was all because of this horrible thing called depression! I hated it and wanted to help, but there was nothing I could do. I was so utterly helpless and useless in the situation. Often, would I lie awake at night, praying my mother would be better, that she would rid herself of the invasion of depression.

However, day after day passed, and Kaepora Gaebora with each passing day, he grew more and more troubled. After a full month, he pulled me aside and spoke to me about my mother's situation. He told me that the death of my father had caused her to become incredibly sick. So sick that she couldn't eat, sleep, or even get out of bed. Now, she wouldn't even go to the bathroom. She didn't have to very often anyway because she'd been starving herself and rarely would she drink water. He informed me that the sickness would destroy my mother and that she would go to see the goddess.

The discussion had left me in a state of shock. No! My mother... she would get over it. It would pass. Mama was strong. She always had been. I didn't care what Kaepora Gaebora said. My mom would get better.

Regardless of my stubborn mind, my mother never did recover. Instead, she got worse and worse. And then, on December 15th, my mother died.

It was a strange thing. That day, I didn't cry. I didn't have any emotion. My mind just went blank, and I stared out the window. I didn't look at anything in particular, but I couldn't- wouldn't talk to anybody. My parents were both gone. I was alone. I couldn't stop asking myself why.

Why didn't my mother survive? Why did my father have to go out on that mission? Why couldn't I have a normal life like Zelda? Why did all of this happen? Why me?

The last question was the most prevalent. I didn't understand why all of this would occur to me. Of all people! What had I done to deserve all of this?

The next day, Kaepora Gaebora took me to his home and treated me like his son. Gradually, my life began to settle down. Even though I missed my parents, Kaepora Gaebora became like a father to me. And on the day I turned thirteen, Kaepora Gaebora sent me to the academy to learn how to become a knight.

Zelda and I remained very close. We still played together and spent the most time together, but now that I was in school, I didn't have nearly as much time. During this time, I met a kid my age named Groose. He took to bullying me from the start, but Zelda would tell him off if he got out of hand.

Two years later, when I turned fifteen, I was ready to graduate. And so, there was a Wing Ceremony to judge who and who wouldn't become a knight.

Zelda had told me to meet her early in the morning on the day of, so I agreed. It was going to be a challenge since I liked to sleep in, but I could do it for Zelda. The night before, after I fell asleep, A peculiar dream invaded my mind.

...

A flash of green, smoky light. Looking around, Link noticed he was now standing in a black abyss. There was no end. The was no ground. There was no sky. It was nothingness, like the midnight sky. Rising in front of him was a horrible beast. A black monster that was somehow even blacker than the void itself. The creature sported natural body armor of spikes and almost pristine, pearly white teeth. It roared with pure hatred and Link stumbled back, not daring to take his eyes off the horrid beast. Seemingly out of nowhere, a bright blueish purple light shone from behind the creature's head, forcing Link to shield his eyes with an arm. Squinting, he looked passed the light towards the source.

"Rise, Link... The time has come for you to awaken... You are fated to have a great hand in destiny, and it will soon find you... The time has come for you to awaken..." The voice emanating from the light was a monotonic, almost melodic voice.

Definitely female though.

"Link..."

With a mighty roar, the beast raised its head and the light vanished into the oblivion. Link blocked his eyes from the force and looked away.

He was alone. No more beast. No more monster. Looking around he was alone. He laxed his shoulders and turned to his right...

Only to come face to face with Zelda's beautiful, sapphire Loftwing.

WHAT!?

...

I was so surprised, I ended up falling off the bed. It was mildly painful, but I was still able to move so. Of course, the shock of it all caused me to double-check my surroundings. I was in my room. That was good. Zelda's Loftwing was in my window, smiling. SMILING! As if everything was normal. After registering that everything was alright and that it was just a dream, the Loftwing went and spit a piece of paper right at my face. I was so tired though, that I didn't honestly care. I grabbed the letter and blinked at it. Apparently, Zelda had sent it to me. I still remember what it said.

"Hey, sleepyhead. I know how much you like to sleep in, so I'm guessing this letter will be your alarm clock this morning. Did I guess right? Rise and shine, Link! Today's the Wing Ceremony! You promised to meet me before it starts, remember? You'd better not keep me waiting.

-Zelda"

She always did have the best guesses. As you know, it was my alarm clock-

"You didn't remember all that!"

Groose! I haven't introduced you yet!

"Oh... well, you had a cheat sheet in front of you."

You're not supposed to... Oh never mind. Just be quiet for now.

"...Fine."

Well, that was annoying. I'll introduce him to you later. For now, let's watch my experience with Zelda.

...

Authors Note:

Hey! So, I just wanted to say thanks for reading this. My updates will be a bit uneven and sporadic because school. It's being annoying. They just closed and now I have a lot of work to do.

Please leave a review and DON'T be afraid to criticize me! I want you to give me your thoughts. If not, I can't improve, and I am all for improving my writing. If I could add more detail, let me know. If I need to add a bit more character development, let me know. If I need to give a better setting picture, Let. Me. Know. I want that- no, I need you to do that. So, I'll be looking forward to your reviews!

Please don't be shy. :)