After leaving the barrack, the first place I went was over to an indoor stable. Almost as soon as I stepped through its door, I sank to the floor and wept bitterly. And why should I not have, for I was faced with an impossible choice. I wanted to go home after Ganon was defeated. I wanted to tell Kaylee all I had found out. I wanted to sleep in my bed at the Onyx House, I wanted to see my family and friends again. And yet, I was forming a close friendship with some of the people here in Hyrule; Link, Zelda, Impa, and Nabooru sprang quickly into my mind. I was beginning to care for the fate of this land, foreign though it may have been. The queen had been plain: Hyrule needed an unbroken line of Zeldas for its own security, and the current Zelda seemed to have interest in me, even if it was a rather forced interest. A part of me did not want to disappoint her.

But then again, what about all the things I held dear on Earth? Was I to simply abandon it all? The two opposing forces waged desperate war inside me, and the straw on the stable floor in no time was damp with the tears of pure stress that trickled out of my eyes.

It was a full ten minutes before I could compose myself enough to get back on my feet. My eyes dry once more, I strode slowly out of the stable and over to the horse pen. I softly whistled the call Malon had taught me, and after a few seconds, I felt Dagda's muzzle butting gently against my shoulder. For a long time, I just stood there, stroking his muzzle, combing his mane with my fingers, and leaning my face against his neck. Finally, I climbed atop the low fence of the pen and slid into Dagda's saddle. I let him walk slowly to the center of the pen, before pointing him towards the gate of the ranch. Then I spurred him on. He raced to the barricade around the pen and leaped high into the air, clearing it easily. From there, I slowed him down to a walk again. He kept up this pace, through the open gates and down the grassy hill.

I walked him in a great spiral around the ranch, going ever outward. My thoughts dwelt ever on the sheer uncertainty of my prospects of going home. Neither part of my mind had yet emerged victorious, and their arguments repeated over and over again like a torturous song on loop. Once, I even bent my head over Dagda's neck and prayed softly, but desperately. It occurred to me that I had not once done this since my arrival in Hyrule, not even when the Bulblin warlord was poised to strike me down. It was funny, I thought briefly, how homesickness could move me to prayer even when impending death had not.

Not long after, a melody popped into my brain. At first, I could not place it. Then I started to hum it to myself. The tune was familiar; this was not one I had heard in any of Kaylee's Zelda games, nor was it anything I had heard in Hyrule. And just then (I was a good mile from the ranch palisade by now), words formed in my head. I began to sing softly:

"When peace like a river attendeth my way,

When sorrows like sea billows roll,

Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say:

It is well, it is well with my soul."

And instantly, I recognized why that melody was so familiar. It was a hymn from back home. I recalled it was one of my dad's favorites, and it was periodically sung in my old church in southwest Portland.

It was then when I realized the significance of those words. "Whatever my lotit is well with my soul," I said to myself. Certainly it had to be a message. A divine message. And it was glaringly obvious what it was telling me.

For the first time since my conversation with Zelda, I smiled. There was no more fighting in my brain. There certainly was no victor yet, but the two striving parts of my mind had stilled for the moment. I began to think things out logically. If I was to return home, Zelda could likely cause part of my spirit to be left in Hyrule and be wedded to her if she wished. And if I was to stay in Hyrule, without a divided spirit, I could probably still convince Zelda to allow me to visit my home (certainly not an ideal situation, but leaps and bounds better than what my irrational mind had previously tried to warn me). Whatever my lot, I could still satisfy my two seemingly conflicting loyalties. That definitely felt well with my soul.

It was now about three-thirty in the morning by my reckoning, and the ranch was on my right. Dagda and I were facing south. In somewhat higher spirits now, I spurred Dagda on, past the ranch, streaking southwards. I smiled with closed eyes as I breathed in the crisp, free air that blew against our progress. For a moment, I imagined I was riding around the U of O campus on my bike at night, perhaps to the Knight Library to run some last-second copies, as I figured I was bound to do during my school year. Or maybe to the Onyx House from a late-night workout at the Athletics Center. The feeling was quite liberating, and slightly intoxicating as well. As I opened my eyes, the green grass flew beneath Dagda's feet once more. Feeling at ease once more, I checked him gradually and got him turned back towards the ranch, which was now quite distant, but still looming large and dark before me. Dagda seemed to sense my aim and took off like an arrow, with nearly no prompting from me.

I re-entered the ranch around four in the morning and slowed Dagda to a gallop, before he leapt the fence into the horse pen, whereupon I checked him one last time and dismounted.

I soon found myself re-entering my barrack. Zelda was still sleeping peacefully in her own bed, about six feet from mine. Quietly, I removed my boots and climbed back into my bed. With my conflicting loyalties holding a truce, I slipped more easily into the realm of dreams and sleep.

...

I feel I must add another author's note at the end of this, my twentieth chapter. First of all, I'm unsure whether the song I quoted is free from copyright yet, but I will still cite it anyway: It is Well With My Soul was penned by Horatio G. Spafford (who wrote the lyrics) and Philip Bliss (who wrote the tune). Secondly, I know some readers may wonder where the name "Dagda" came from. It is the name of an ancient Celtic deity; I assigned that name to Brian's horse in keeping with the theme Mr. Shigeru Miyamoto set in naming horses in the Zelda games ("Epona" is also the name of an ancient Celtic Deity). Obviously, I do not follow the old Celtic religion, as my readers may have guessed by now. Next, I have not yet decided on Brian's fate once this is all over, and I am still quite divided over the possibility of pairing Zelda and Brian. And finally, I must express my continuing gratitude toward my fellow fan fiction author who calls herself the "Fried Cucco Lady." Many thanks for your continued reviews! And thank you all, my dear readers, for bearing with this note.