The Hyrulian Valhalla Saga
by Queenie Z

Expectations vs. Reality

Out of all of the Links, Wind was quite possibly the most exhilarated over meeting his noble predecessors and learning more of the great heroic line they were all a part of. He had always suspected that there was more to the old kingdom's legacy than he realized, and in life he steadfastly held the belief that the story of the Legendary Hero would not end with his passing. At times, he even found himself wondering whether the Hero of Time, the man who had been immortalized in his childhood bedtime stories, had smiled down upon him as he and Tetra finished the work their ancestors had started. And now, to finally know how proud he had been, how proud all of his fellow Heroes had been… the very thought was enough to move the brave Hero of Winds to tears.

However, as euphoric as the experience of meeting his predecessors was for Wind, in truth, it also made him quite nervous. When they first came to greet him on the shores of the afterlife, he was more than a little bit starstruck, and he became overwhelmed by an intense, almost worshipful reverence. To even be mentioned in the same breath as the great Hero of Time and his kin, the blessed line of Heroes, was almost too nerve-wracking for poor Wind to bear, and that was why he found himself feeling extremely self-conscious when he was invited for a gathering at Time's house shortly after his arrival.

It wasn't that he felt that the others would judge him - in fact, they had been nothing but warm and kind towards him since he got there - it was simply the expectation that he would never be able to live up to the glory of his fellow Heroes. As he made his way towards Time's house, he had to constantly remind himself to keep his cool and, most of all, to not do anything stupid to embarrass himself in front of them. Finally, he stopped at the front door, taking a deep breath before finally knocking on it.

"Wha?" said a muffled, sleepy voice from inside, "Oh, that's probably Wind. I'll get it."

Shortly after, Wind was greeted by a peculiar sight - the eldest and most respected of the Heroes, Sky, looking like he hadn't even bothered to get dressed for the day. He flashed the younger Link a smile.

"Hey there," he said with a yawn. After covering his mouth with the back of his hand, he continued. "Come on in, everybody else is already here."

Slightly puzzled, Wind blinked at his senior, then lowered his head bashfully as he stepped inside. "S-Sorry I'm late," he said, "I-I was getting ready to come, and — "

When he lifted his gaze, however, he froze. There in Time's living room were all four of his other predecessors, none of whom were looking particularly… dignified. Mini, who took a form similar in age to Wind's own, was hanging off of the back of a sofa in an oversize nightshirt; Twilight was right in the middle of cleaning out his ear with his pinky. Meanwhile, Light was reclining in an armchair with his legs dangling over the armrest, his shirt messied with crumbs from the cookies he was eating. Finally, on the sofa next to Mini sat the honorable Hero of Time himself, wearing an unflattering pair of long underwear and scratching at his groin. After a short, awkward silence, Twilight removed his finger from his ear and waved at the newcomer.

"There's our new baby brother!" he said with a smirk. "Hey there, kiddo."

Wind opened his mouth to respond, but in his nervousness and shock he couldn't think of anything to say. At this, Light cocked an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked with a mouthful of cookies, "Did we say something?"

"N-No!" Wind responded, shaking his head. "I-It's just, I, uh… thought this was going to be less… er… casual…"

Mini scoffed. "Why wouldn't it be?" he said, slowly falling forward until catching himself on the seat of the sofa. He quickly readjusted himself until he was sitting properly on it. "It's just a hangout between friends, that's all."

"I… guess…" muttered Wind with a tilt of his head. "…To tell you the truth, though, I was expecting all of you to be… you know…"

"More 'heroic', right?" asked Time. He snickered and shook his head. "Well, we may be Heroes chosen by the Goddesses, but you'll be glad to know that we're really just a bunch of average guys, like you."

"Exactly!" exclaimed Light before swallowing another bite of his cookie. He grinned. "Trust me, the legends make us out to be a lot more exciting than we actually are."

The newest Hero blinked at them, the thought that such mythical beings could be so normal having never crossed his mind before now. Then, realizing just how silly he'd been, he relaxed a bit, chuckling nervously and scratching his cheek.

"…I guess so," he admitted. He laughed once more. "You know, that's actually kinda funny… er, no offense."

"None taken," said Sky, gently placing his hands on the younger Link's shoulders and leading him towards the coffee table, where a giant plate of chocolate chip cookies was sitting. "Come on, we need to start planning for your welcome party. Oh, and you can take as many cookies as you like - Time just baked them this morning."

"Baked them?" asked Wind, looking towards Time with wide eyes. "Time, you bake?"

Time shrugged. "I dabble a little."

Twilight reached over and grabbed two of the cookies, then offered them to Wind. "They're pretty good," he said looking over in Light's direction, "but you'd better grab some before somebody eats them all first."

"Hey!" said Light, clutching his remaining cookies defensively, "Who said I was gonna — " however, he was promptly interrupted by a loud belch, to which the others responded to with snickers and guffaws.

"Ha! Nice one, Light!" cackled Mini before reaching for a cookie for himself.

At the sight of his predecessors' laughter, Wind, too, couldn't help but begin laughing. He then took the cookies he was offered, biting into one of them and lighting up at how soft and delicious they were. Who knew that some of the greatest men in Hyrule's history could be such a laid-back bunch - and who knew that the revered Hero of Time could bake such good cookies?