SING WITH ME
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Disclaimer: Legend of Zelda belongs to Nintendo
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Genre(s): Fluff
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Warning(s): Typo is my most loyal fan, spelling mistakes because English is not my mother language, Possibly OOC. NO BETA, so beware of grammar mistakes
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Summary: It'll heal your soul.
(Or, Inserting a bit of truth here and there won't hurt either)
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Wind didn't understand.
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'Who? Never heard of that name before.'
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Didn't know how to react.
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'If you're searching for him, go to the other side of the town'
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Didn't know what to think.
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'There's no such person as a Hero of Time'
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Didn't know how to feel when nobody recognized the title of his long time legend.
Everybody knew Link, of course, they knew. He is a famous rancher around here, living a modest life with his wife, Malon, in a place called Lon Lon Ranch. He's very nice, according to the townsfolk. Sarcastic at times and love to tell lame pun at best. Some of the patrolling guards also said he's weirdly chummy with Princess Zelda even though they didn't know how and why.
Sure. He sounded like a respectable man. Asides of his tasteless dad joke, no one uttered any bad things towards him, a good point in everyone's book. But the thing was—
Nobody knew his heroic accomplishments.
Recognizing the year of this particular new Hyrule (at least, as far as he remembered from the history lesson Grandma patiently taught him), this should be where the Hero of Time resided. Legend and Hyrule clarified it as well because they came from a timeline of the same hero (although the…dead version of him, that plunged the world into chaos. Something he couldn't comprehend for). However, every single person they talked to, every book Four borrowed from the local library, it came out nothing. No mention of his journey. No mention of his title. Hell, they didn't even mention the name Link. For all he knew, the man was really just a normal rancher, a normal guy who lived a normal life.
Wind didn't believe it to be true. The guards said so themselves. Link knew the Princess. And apparently, she sent him to the Zora's realm right now, trusting him for the possibility of a joined transaction between trading their goods and the merpeople 's stock of clear water. You didn't ask a simple civilian to do that kind of important job. You need a responsible worker, preferably a soldier or a sheikah. Someone she could depend on, without the fear of possible betrayal. Zelda herself spoke very highly of the man, by the short interaction the Links had with her, before she needed to see the Gerudos' representative—as the new king hasn't been born yet, Ganon not included—regarding their future cooperation.
Not to mention, the ghosts were gushing over Link's heroic deed.
This was something he never told anyone, except for his family and Tetra. Wind has the skill to see dead people. It happened after his second adventure. When the pirate girl was kidnapped and he had to use the Phantom Sword to saved her. By using the essence of a Poe (because, Poe is a spirit? The hourglass on the blade needed spirit power? It was obvious, duh!) he could see the unseeing world for an hour top. Something he didn't like to do, as it was very rude and basically crossing the line of a personal boundary—you can tell how that person's life had been treating them, judging from the ghosts that were haunting throughout their vicinity—though this 'third eye' of his helped him sometimes too. Especially when they were lost and in need of a native guide. Often happened when they were stranded in Hyrule's, well, Hyrule.
His companions have them, by the way. Except for Sky, Hyrule, and Twilight; whether their precious people are still alive, or if they did meet their unfortunate end, they were peaceful enough not to linger in the mortal world, he hoped it was the former. Wind saw a Ruto, a Zora, a Goron, and a Gerudo hanging around Wild. A teenager that looked like Four but wearing a black tunic for his outfit followed him studiously. A man in armor and a girl with red hair were trailing after Legend. And a bunch of guilty looking soldiers were circling around Warriors (the last one really rattled him when he first gazed at it. For all the flirt and charm, their Captain truly had undergone a hard life).
But back to the topic. He heard how the ghosts were talking about Link with a tone full of admiration. Wind didn't exactly understand, especially when they talk about the ruination of Hyrule Kingdom when the kingdom itself was prospering even now. Yet their topic of gossip was clear. They spoke about the evil Ganon. How a kid not in their twenty managed to stop him from truly plunging the world into the darkness. Hey, he may be late to save us, but at least he saved my children's future life and that's all that matters. How it was great to see Hyrule standing strong once again (they spoke about 'queen Zelda, not knowing that the restful victims were there—curious at the sudden lack of Malice so they took a peek—and she accidentally sent them back in time, along with the hero', what? Wind was confused). How happy they were that they could see their 'alternate life' even if they couldn't undergo the said life themselves. And how vexing it was that no one even remembered the sacrifice he made for these ungrateful citizens.
That, Wind totally agreed.
So, after most of the Links decided to take a rest in the inn, now that night had fallen, Sky volunteered to check the Lon Lon Ranch tomorrow morning and see if the Hero of Time was back from his errand, Wind stepped out. Using the last Poe to activated the Phantom Sword, he sought the previous ghosts he saw near the edge of the forest of the town. Swearing that he wasn't here to exorcised them, he started asking for clarification. They didn't like how their savior was swept to the side, never to be acknowledged again, right? Tell him the full story. He had an idea how to fix this conundrum
The slight chance that this is going to mess up the timeline was there. But he wanted his hero to be known, okay?!
(He wanted to tell Legend and Hyrule that Link…is not a complete failure)
…alright, fine. He'll hide his real name.
Anyway. What did Wind do, now that he had this information?
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"Oh!" the townsfolk stopped from whatever they were doing, staring at a child in blue sitting on the edge of the center fountain, glowing fairies gave him a serene low light, white baton in hand as the wind echoed alongside him. The kid's finger wagged, silently asking them to come closer, "a hero's life is an arduous life. Roving over the sea. Climbing over the mountain. Fighting against the monster."
"Oh! It's the life of a hero for him~"
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He sang it.
(Living half of his life as a pirate's crew has its perk, after all. Their expertise of creating a song on the spot is an ability of its own)
"Got a whale of a tale to tell you, lads. A whale of a tale or two. 'Bout the bleak future long gone. 'Bout the man shrouded in gloom"
"When the sky shines with magnificent blue. A whale of a tale and it's all true. A hero sacrificed his life for you two. To have a life full of beatitude"
"Come all ye young fellows that follow the wind. To him! Wey-hey, blow the beast down. And pray pay attention and listen to me. Give him some time to blow the beast down."
"He's a lad just from the forest. Blonde hair and blue eyes. He's a lad just from the forest. Courageous, valiant, and brave"
"T'was on a castle he first spent his time. To him! Wey-hey, blow the guards down. And on that castle, he had his first mission. To save the world, the people, and the future"
"There was a princess. Hold down by duty. There was an assassin. Hold down by responsibility. Seven years she waited for the rescue. Seven years she waited for him to get his due."
"Got a whale of a tale to tell you, lads. A whale of a tale or two. 'Bout the hero who lost his innocence. 'Bout a royal who lost her position"
"Oh! A hero's life is an arduous life. Roving over the sea. Climbing over the mountain. Fighting against the monster."
"They never bury his bones. Never remember his deed. But when it's all over—"
"Oh! It's the life of a hero for him~"
The merrymaking lasted for a couple of hours. He wanted to tell every single piece of the legendary story to anyone present, no downplaying or exaggerating at all. When he opened his eyes, taking a small break before he continued singing the second verse, the townsfolk were happily dancing. Tapping their feet, reciting back the words to those who just arrived. Wind saw his friends stood on the back row, most definitely heard the commotion outside of the building and decided to check it out. Their jaw was agape, hands clapping. It was a jolly atmosphere all around and he hoped they remembered everything for the years to come. Even if they treated this actual event as mere a fairy tale to be read for kids' bedtime story.
"That was the tale of the Hero of Time, right?"
O-kay. Someone was actually smart enough to connect the pieces together almost immediately.
He let the breeze kept on singing, baton kept on moving, as Wind spare a glance to a person who took a seat beside him. It was a Zora. Skin all blue and a guitar made of fishbone slung over his back. He was staring at Wind with suspicion, apprehension and a bit of…hope? "the song you just sang. Time travel and a hero that slept for seven years. It was the tale of the Hero of Time."
"You knew?" to think someone recognized it when these civilians didn't know any better.
The merman nodded, "as princess Zelda foretold. I'm just surprised someone from Hyrule's Kingdom acknowledged it."
"The previous king of this land was arrogant, you see," Zora continued, watching everyone smiled in exuberance, "an advance warning from the hero himself, combined with princess Zelda's clairvoyance, stopped Ganondorf from starting a war and rampaging the world. But the king couldn't accept the fact that a child from a forest had saved the whole kingdom from ruination, directly or indirectly," his eyebrows furrowed, disgust and resignation clear, "so he kept his involvement close. Even when the princess begged and cried, the king won't relent. Zora applauded him. Gerudos thanked him, for releasing them from the clutch of a tyranny. However, it meant nothing if his own hometown doesn't accept him. When your people, unconsciously or not, never knew you were there. Existed yet forgotten."
Heavy silence reigned upon the two.
"Well, the king wasn't in charge anymore, right?" Wind asked back. Last he heard, the old man is on his age finally catching up upon him. With her father not suited to rule, Zelda is basically a Queen from today onwards, even though she still used 'princess' as her official title, "it was a tad bit too late. But…better than never, right? Why don't you join me? The next story is going to be depressing, so I want to counter it with a peppy tune, if you could."
Zora chuckled, pulling out the instrument and began to strum the strings, "my pleasure."
Wind grinned wide, he took a deep breath.
"Oh! On night like this with the moon above~"
(Busy with his duty as a storyteller, he never saw a single tear rolled down the Zora's face. Nor he heard him reverently whispered—)
('Thank you')
The music rose anew and the day of gladness continued.
(A/N): Time: "Welcome to the Lon Lon Ranch. My name is Link and I'm the owner of the Lon Lon Milk Bar."
Time: "I heard you're searching for the Hero of Time?"