Maybe it was the monsters in my house. Maybe it was the sight of the Kokiri camp in ruin that burned in my mind. Sleep eluded me. When I realized that staring at my ceiling wasn't going to help me fall asleep, I left my house in search of comforts that my bed failed to provide. Luckily, the Kakariko Tavern wasn't too far away. I could use a drink. I mean, leaving my house full of sleeping moblins and Ganondorf's former right-hand man? What could possibly go wrong?

The atmosphere of the Kakariko Tavern was always so warm and inviting. It wasn't very often any fights broke out. When they did, they never lasted long. Tonight was no different. Everyone was having a good time. Except for me, but who am I to ruin their fun? I took a spot at the end of the bar away from everyone else.

"Hey, Link," the bartender poured me a drink, "No offence, but you look awful, kid. Are you alright?"

"Not really," I stared blankly into my glass, "If it's alright, I'd like to enjoy my drink in peace."

"Sure," he obliged, "Let me know if you need another one. Or if you want to skip the ale and start with potions."

The bartender left me alone to wallow. I couldn't believe it was gone. My village had been wiped off the map five years ago and five years later, its people fall along with it. Truly a shame. The Kokiri, although eternally young, were a wise people. A great pity they had to leave the earth like this. Tonight, I won't drink to my sadness, but to the memory of a great people. To my fallen Kokiri brothers and sisters, may the goddesses guide you to peace in your next life.

As I took my drink, excited chatter of Hylian knights stationed in the village broke out behind me. Not necessarily excited, but worried, nervous. Few things in this world could have such big, strong Hylian knights so rattled like this. It got me curious. I finished the rest of my drink and listened in. I might not have to switch to potions tonight.

"There's no way," one of them gasped, "You must have misheard."

"No! I swear!" another squeaked, "It's true!"

"It's false!" another knight brushed him off, "You're seeing things. No one would be stupid enough to do something like that."

"But I saw moblins coming into town from the southeast! And where there's moblins, you know she's there, too!"

"You don't mean…"

"Someone in town is harboring the Gerudo Princess!"

My stomach dropped. Oops…

"No one would dare be stupid enough to let her in their house."

What about leave her alone in their house?

"You know she only brings destruction wherever she goes."

"A friend of mine met her once. He said he looked her in the eyes and he swore one of his kidneys turned to mush."

"We have to find her and finish her! Even if it means turning over every last house in Kakariko!"

"She can't have this village. Not after what she did to the last one!"

Last one…?

"How long has that been already?"

"Never mind that," another one of the knights came bursting in, "Have you seen Hyrule Castle lately?"

"No. What's with the castle?"

"There's some scary black clouds around the tower. They just rolled in an hour ago. Something's going on. And I bet it's because of the Gerudo princess!"

"You guys!" another knight rushed through the doors, nearly knocking them off the hinge, "The princess!"

"The Gerudo princess?"

"No! The Hylian princess! Princess Zelda's gone missing!"

I slammed the rest of my drink and started heading home. There's no way I could sit around in the tavern knowing she's gone. I might not have been able to save Saria, but I'm not letting Zelda get hurt, too. And if they're going to be looking for Luna, I don't want them trashing my house in their crusade. Not to mention, there's no telling what they'd do to me if they knew I had the Gerudo princess in my guest room or the half a dozen moblins she travels with.

"Luna…" I nudged her shoulder. Immediately, she jumped, reaching for her bow she kept next to her bed, "It's ok! It's me! It's just me!"

"You can't scare me like that, Link," Luna let out a heavy sigh of relief, "What? What do you want?"

"We have to go," I told her, "The Hylian Guard is looking for you. Someone heard you were in town and they're on a witch hunt for you. Who knows what they're going to do once they find you? If you value your life at all, gather the moblins and head to the cellar."

"Why the cellar?" she asked, throwing her bow around her shoulders.

"I'll be down in a minute," I assured, "Just trust me."

"Alright," Luna got out of bed and stood in the middle of my living room, letting out a high-pitched whistle, "Rise and shine, boys. It's time to go. We got knights on our backs. Kakariko was nice while it lasted, but it seems as if we've overstayed our welcome. Into the cellar! Let's move!"

I must admit. Luna had quite a handle on her moblins. If she told them to jump, I guarantee they'd ask how high. She had true leadership potential. But I couldn't think about that right now. If I was going to get her out of here safely, I needed to armor up. I had an old sword and a shield. My sword was a bit rusty, but I haven't used it in a while. The blade might not be the sharpest, but if worst comes to worst, it'll do. It'll only be temporary anyway. Until I get my true sword back.

After I was better equipped, I found Luna and the moblins in my cellar, waiting to get out of here. There was a spot in the wall that if I pushed on it just right, it opened up to a tunnel system that Zelda and I made. Well…We struck up a deal with a Goron that dug it for us. We used it all the time. I never thought it'd ever be used like this.

"Luna," I let the moblins get further ahead, "I need to speak with you."

"Me?" she wondered, "What is it, Link?"

"What have you done?" I worried, "Specifically. What have you done to Hyrule to make them hate you so much?"

"I knew this was coming," Luna let out a heavy sigh, "Link…What you need to understand was that…Back then, I was only following orders. That's how I kept myself alive. Ganondorf could take me out at any given second with zero remorse because that's the kind of sadistic creature he is. So, I'd be sent off to the furthest corners of Hyrule. I stirred up problems with the Gorons…The Zoras…The Kokiri…"

That last one put a sharp pain in my stomach. The words of the knight from the tavern came into my head. If I had to guess, Luna was probably my age. Five years ago would put her at fourteen. No. That couldn't have been her. Who would send a girl that young to do something so vile? So vicious? I know who. I just didn't want to admit it. No. It wasn't Luna.

"What did you do to the Kokiri?" I couldn't help myself.

"Don't worry about it," she avoided it altogether with shame in her eyes, "I'm not a good person, Link. I've been raised to be evil since the day Shira died. I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of for the sake of survival. I've torn apart friends, families, allies, caused destruction anywhere I've been. It's all I ever knew. I never knew much of my birth parents, but from what Shira's told me, I doubt they would've let that happen to me. If that's the case, they wouldn't have abandoned me in the middle of Hyrule Field."

"Hey," I tried to get close to her, but all she did was move away, "I didn't know much about my birth parents either. The Great Deku Tree that watched over the Kokiri told me some things about my mother. She brought me there to keep me safe, but unfortunately, she was killed by monsters. My father, too."

"Enough of the tragic talk," Luna switched subjects, "Where are we going? Where does this tunnel lead to?"

"West Castle Town," I told her, "We're leaving the moblins here. You and I are going to go up to the surface."

"What for?"

"I need to check on a rumor." Zelda's ok. She's a lot stronger than people give her credit for. She could live without her guard and save herself, if it came down to it. She's ok. She has to be. Then again, I said the same thing about Saria.

"Captain?" one of the moblins spoke, "Can he be trusted with you alone?"

"You don't need to trust him," Luna vouched for me, "Trust me. You know I can protect myself. We shouldn't be too long."

"Yes, sir," he stood down, "We'll be waiting."

"Well then," she chimed, "Shall we? I've always wanted to go to Castle Town."

"You've never been?"

"Nope," Luna shook her head, "Ganondorf always told me he'd take me one day, but he never did."

"He has a habit of making empty promises," I grumbled, "You do understand that he's not to be trusted, right?"

"Of course I do," she stared down at her feet, "Now…"

"Can I ask you something?" I continued on.

"Let me guess," Luna followed, "You're expecting an honest answer, too, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What's that, Link?"

"What was it?" I kicked up some of the dampened dirt beneath my feet, "That one thing Ganondorf told you to do that you couldn't? What made you leave?"

"You want to know?" I nodded once, "He told me I had to kill someone. But you know that already."

"Who did he want you to kill?" I asked, "Someone important?"

"Someone very important."

I swallowed the lump in the back of my throat, "Was it Princess Zelda?"

"No," Luna shook her head, "But just as important, I guess. In the grand scheme of things."

"The King?" I assumed, "So he could assume the throne?"

"No," she went on, "He wanted me to kill whoever held the Triforce of Courage. Ganondorf called him the Hero of Time."

"Oh," I started to sweat, "He wanted you to kill the Hero of Time?"

"Why do you think I saved your life in the Lost Woods?" Luna asked, "I already told you that I'm not a good person, so I didn't do it out of the goodness of my heart. That doesn't exist."

Honestly, I hadn't given it much thought. I really did think it was out of the goodness of her heart. But I also thought it was because she wanted to kill me herself. Does she know who the Hero of Time really is? When people talked about Ganondorf's last attempt to overthrow the kingdom, they never mentioned the Hero of Time by name. But Ganondorf knew that hero's name. He knew exactly who the Hero of Time was…is. I'm sure I haven't died yet. But why would Luna save me in the Lost Woods?

"I'm not sure," I brushed it off, "Why did you?"

"Because," she stopped for a moment to rest against the wall of the tunnel, "If I wasn't going to kill you for Ganondorf, my moblins weren't going to either."

"You know…?"

"Of course I know," Luna scoffed, "It's not that difficult to tell. You might as well have told me yourself. You're Hylian, but you lived in the Kokiri Village. You weren't there when it burned because you were busy making sure Ganon didn't take the kingdom. You told me you were close with Princess Zelda. You even told me about this tunnel! It leads to Castle Town, right?"

"Right."

"I bet you and Zelda used this tunnel to sneak around and play together," she figured, "Because her father wanted her doing her royal duties to this kingdom and she wanted to be without her guards for a while."

I stared in complete awe of this girl, "How did you…?"

"I'm not stupid," she giggled a little, "Call it a good power of deduction."

"It's incredible," I wowed, "But do they…?"

"They have no idea," Luna promised, "I wouldn't do something so reckless. That would've made our traveling more of a headache than it's worth."

"We're going to have to continue this later," I cut her off, finding the exit, "We're here. And given who you are, you might want to put your hood up."

"Good idea," she obliged, throwing her hood over her head, "Lead the way, Hero."

I pushed up the loose section of sidewalk in the corner of West Castle Town right in front of the Castle Town Tavern. The taverns were hotbeds of information, as well as a nice place to sleep when one is traveling. I've enjoyed many a bed in the taverns across Hyrule in my travels. Any rumors that have come through Castle Town always come through here first. This would be the place to start.

Luna and I walked in and pulled up a spot at the bar. Of course, she was a bit skeptical, "You don't strike me as the type that likes his ale, Link. What are we doing here?"

"Watch," I called for the bartender, "Excuse me…"

"Aren't you both a little young to be in here?" she looked me over, "How old are you two?"

"Nineteen," Luna and I answered simultaneously. Huh. I guess I hit that one on the nose.

"Alright," the bartender let us go, "What can I get you?"

"Actually," I began, "I could use some information on a rumor."

"What's that, sweetheart?" she started pouring our drinks.

"What they're saying about the princess," I kept my fingers crossed, "Is it true?"

"There was a man on a black horse," the bartender told, "He rode through town and left through the east gate. It's a great tragedy. I'm sorry that I don't know any more."

"Thank you," I smiled, "You've been a very great help."

"No problem!"

"Ganondorf?" I asked Luna, keeping my voice down.

"Do you know anyone else with a black horse?" she retorted.

"No," I sighed out, "Why would Ganondorf want Zelda now?"

"I'm guessing it's for her piece," Luna assumed, "Just like why he'd want you dead."

"You know about the…?"

"Yes," she cut me off, "I know about the Triforce. Shira told me when I was young. Because sometimes…Out of nowhere…My hand…It…"

"Link!" a familiar face came between us, "Thank goodness I found you."

"Impa," I bowed a little, showing Zelda's attendant her well-deserved respect, "I heard."

"Do you know who took her?" she asked, just as worried as I was.

"Yes, I do."

A terrifying look appeared on Impa's face. She looked like she wanted to pin me against the wall, "You're not doing something stupid like going after Zelda, are you?"

"Of course," I jumped down from my barstool, "I can't sit around and wait for her to come back, Impa. You know I can't."

"Don't be so reckless!" she snapped, "You're hilariously underequipped and you're much weaker than what you once were. Ganondorf would tear you to shreds. You need to stay behind. I'm going to go after Zelda."

"Impa," I stopped her, "You know the kind of power I can control."

"And how long has it been since you last used that power?" Impa pointed out, "You need to stay here, Link. This is where you're safe. I'm going after Zelda at dusk. There's no doubt he's taking her back to his castle in the Gerudo Desert. If you go, you know he'll be expecting you. You're the last piece that he can't have. You'd be walking into a trap."

"No," I stood my ground, "I'd be saving Zelda and stopping Ganondorf."

"Don't be so naïve!" Impa scolded. But then, her eyes shifted to Luna, "Who are you?"

"No one," Luna didn't even make eye contact, but the same glow started to shine again.

Whatever it was, it made Impa settle down, "Look, Link. You can't go. Not in the state you're in now. Please. Staying here is all you can do for now. Don't let me catch you outside these castle walls."

And just like that, Impa left Luna and me at the bar with a fire in my belly. Like I told her, I couldn't sit and wait for Zelda to come home. As strong as what Impa is, she's not going to be enough to take down a Guardian of the Triforce. However, she did have a point. I haven't fought in battle in such a long time. So much for living a peaceful life…

"Hey, Link," Luna gave me a little nudge, "You're not going to stay in Castle Town like she said, are you?"

"Of course not," I started heading out of the tavern.

"Wait!" she ran after me, keeping herself hidden, "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere I haven't been in a very long time…"