As the sun set in the Hyrule sky each night, it always felt like a peace settled
across the land with it. The cool breeze quietly rustled the grass of the small
grounds that lay between the castle and the town nearby. It gently blew leaves
off of the trees, and carried the air in from the ocean far away. The smell of
sea salt hung vaguely in the air, like a half-remembered dream, taunting all who
longed to see the shore.
And Link hated it. He hated every stupid, boring second of it.
Well, maybe "hate" is too strong a word. He loved the land of Hyrule more than any other he had seen in his journeys. Sure, there had been some nice islands when he was sailing across the sea, and he'd gotten pretty attached to the world of Termina while he was there for — how long was it? Three days or a month? He was never really sure.
But Hyrule was his home. Even though he never seemed to fit in with anyone — not the Hylians or the Kokiri or the Zoras or the Gorons — he felt a warmth pervade him just by being here. He felt like he was at peace.
And even though he'd only been back in Hyrule for three weeks, it was starting to feel like that peace was going to last for the rest of his life. Was that good for him or bad for him? He wasn't really sure of that, either.
As he stared out the window of Hyrule Castle, Link wondered whether the moon looked different depending on where you were when you looked at it. When he would drift off to sleep while he was at sea, was he seeing a different side of the moon than he is now?
Metaphorically speaking, he was definitely seeing a different side of it right now. For a long time, the moon seriously creeped him out. He would think of how its rise seemed to wake the dead back when he was here six years ago, and he would think of that grinning, twisted face of death that shined down on him in Termina, the one that got closer to swallowing the world with each passing hour, and he would shiver. When he first got back from Termina, he'd tried to convince the Hylian scholars to keep an eye on the moon, to watch it in case it ever fell onto the world here. They'd laughed at him. There was no reasoning with them. Some of them didn't even believe that the blasted thing was a sphere.
So he watched it himself, just in case. And all these years later, he was finally realizing that it wasn't going anywhere. But he also realized that there was more to the moon than horror — there was beauty, light and tranquility. Peace. The same kind that seemed to fill his life now.
The same kind that he hated. Or, at least... wasn't liking very much.
Over in the corner of the room, lying on a small throw pillow, Navi rolled over restlessly.
"Hey," she muttered, as she was so often wont to do. "It's not falling. Go to sleep."
Link turned away from the window, his eyes darting across the stonework that covered the room, and looked at Navi. He had guessed that she was only half-conscious, and he was right. She hadn't even opened her eyes.
"I know it's not," he acknowledged, shooting another quick glance out the window. Well, I'm pretty sure, anyway, he thought.
"You're restless. You're keeping me up," Navi replied, cracking one eyelid open.
"What do you care?" he retorted. "You're a fairy. You don't even need sleep."
"I still need rest. Besides, it's my beauty sleep," she answered softly, closing her eyes once more.
Link half-smiled. "You don't age, either."
"Stop arguing and go to bed already," she responded, gesturing weakly towards the wooden frame of his bed.
Sighing, Link wandered over to the bed that stood in the middle of the room and sat down, swinging his bare feet up and under the sheets. Laying down, Link stared at the ceiling. He still wasn't feeling interested in sleeping.
"Hey," he said aloud, using Navi's favorite word against her. "You ever think about when we used to have adventures? When we were explorers?"
"Not this again," she grumbled, burying her face in the pillow.
"Sorry," he shot back, clearly feeling no remorse. He smirked. "I just... I think I wish something would happen."
"Be carefuh what you wih foh," Navi mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"That's what Zelda says," he replied softly.
Zelda... she had actually been even more thrilled by his return than he was. She was always going to be a good friend, and he knew that, but things were still awkward between them. She had never understood why he felt the need to leave Hyrule and explore the world for those six years. She never could understood what it was like for him growing up in the forest, surrounded by nature. No matter how much she loved all of the land her father ruled over, she still had a mind of stone and glass — her heart was in her castle and the town that surrounded it. For all that they had shared, they could never fully understand one another.
And suddenly it dawned on him. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe it wasn't the fact that things were too peaceful. Maybe he wasn't simply spoiling for a fight. Maybe he needed to get back in tune with nature. He was grateful that Zelda had wanted him to live in the castle and keep watch over the kingdom as the official Hero of Hyrule, but had spent the past six years in forests, on the sea, camping in open fields and the like. He was approaching the age he had been when he had defeated Ganondorf as the Hero of Time, and he finally realized that he needed to get out and see the field and the forest of his homeland again. The castle's yards would never be enough for him. His home was the world outdoors, not these closed-in walls.
"Tomorrow," he announced suddenly to Navi, "we're going out into Hyrule Field."
"Whatever," she rasped dreamily before drifting back off to sleep.
Before long, Link joined her.
And Link hated it. He hated every stupid, boring second of it.
Well, maybe "hate" is too strong a word. He loved the land of Hyrule more than any other he had seen in his journeys. Sure, there had been some nice islands when he was sailing across the sea, and he'd gotten pretty attached to the world of Termina while he was there for — how long was it? Three days or a month? He was never really sure.
But Hyrule was his home. Even though he never seemed to fit in with anyone — not the Hylians or the Kokiri or the Zoras or the Gorons — he felt a warmth pervade him just by being here. He felt like he was at peace.
And even though he'd only been back in Hyrule for three weeks, it was starting to feel like that peace was going to last for the rest of his life. Was that good for him or bad for him? He wasn't really sure of that, either.
As he stared out the window of Hyrule Castle, Link wondered whether the moon looked different depending on where you were when you looked at it. When he would drift off to sleep while he was at sea, was he seeing a different side of the moon than he is now?
Metaphorically speaking, he was definitely seeing a different side of it right now. For a long time, the moon seriously creeped him out. He would think of how its rise seemed to wake the dead back when he was here six years ago, and he would think of that grinning, twisted face of death that shined down on him in Termina, the one that got closer to swallowing the world with each passing hour, and he would shiver. When he first got back from Termina, he'd tried to convince the Hylian scholars to keep an eye on the moon, to watch it in case it ever fell onto the world here. They'd laughed at him. There was no reasoning with them. Some of them didn't even believe that the blasted thing was a sphere.
So he watched it himself, just in case. And all these years later, he was finally realizing that it wasn't going anywhere. But he also realized that there was more to the moon than horror — there was beauty, light and tranquility. Peace. The same kind that seemed to fill his life now.
The same kind that he hated. Or, at least... wasn't liking very much.
Over in the corner of the room, lying on a small throw pillow, Navi rolled over restlessly.
"Hey," she muttered, as she was so often wont to do. "It's not falling. Go to sleep."
Link turned away from the window, his eyes darting across the stonework that covered the room, and looked at Navi. He had guessed that she was only half-conscious, and he was right. She hadn't even opened her eyes.
"I know it's not," he acknowledged, shooting another quick glance out the window. Well, I'm pretty sure, anyway, he thought.
"You're restless. You're keeping me up," Navi replied, cracking one eyelid open.
"What do you care?" he retorted. "You're a fairy. You don't even need sleep."
"I still need rest. Besides, it's my beauty sleep," she answered softly, closing her eyes once more.
Link half-smiled. "You don't age, either."
"Stop arguing and go to bed already," she responded, gesturing weakly towards the wooden frame of his bed.
Sighing, Link wandered over to the bed that stood in the middle of the room and sat down, swinging his bare feet up and under the sheets. Laying down, Link stared at the ceiling. He still wasn't feeling interested in sleeping.
"Hey," he said aloud, using Navi's favorite word against her. "You ever think about when we used to have adventures? When we were explorers?"
"Not this again," she grumbled, burying her face in the pillow.
"Sorry," he shot back, clearly feeling no remorse. He smirked. "I just... I think I wish something would happen."
"Be carefuh what you wih foh," Navi mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow.
"That's what Zelda says," he replied softly.
Zelda... she had actually been even more thrilled by his return than he was. She was always going to be a good friend, and he knew that, but things were still awkward between them. She had never understood why he felt the need to leave Hyrule and explore the world for those six years. She never could understood what it was like for him growing up in the forest, surrounded by nature. No matter how much she loved all of the land her father ruled over, she still had a mind of stone and glass — her heart was in her castle and the town that surrounded it. For all that they had shared, they could never fully understand one another.
And suddenly it dawned on him. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe it wasn't the fact that things were too peaceful. Maybe he wasn't simply spoiling for a fight. Maybe he needed to get back in tune with nature. He was grateful that Zelda had wanted him to live in the castle and keep watch over the kingdom as the official Hero of Hyrule, but had spent the past six years in forests, on the sea, camping in open fields and the like. He was approaching the age he had been when he had defeated Ganondorf as the Hero of Time, and he finally realized that he needed to get out and see the field and the forest of his homeland again. The castle's yards would never be enough for him. His home was the world outdoors, not these closed-in walls.
"Tomorrow," he announced suddenly to Navi, "we're going out into Hyrule Field."
"Whatever," she rasped dreamily before drifting back off to sleep.
Before long, Link joined her.