Link woke up, slowly at first, but then the memories of last night caused him to sit up rapidly. He looked at his letter to Rusl that he had finished late that night. He winced at the other memories as well, what he had done to Zelda. She believed he loved her now, and he knew he did not. If he were to be honest with himself, yes, he knew he did not love her in the way that one was supposed to love the person they were kissing.

He looked out his window to see that the sun was just peeking over the horizon. It was very early, perhaps if he was quick enough he could avoid Zelda until he figured out to tell her the truth. He hadn't meant to be so impulsive, it had just happened out of pain and loneliness. He dressed quickly and picked up his letter, setting out to deliver it. As an afterthought he left a short note for Zelda, because he was certain she would come looking for him.

Zelda,

I have errands to attend this morning, I do not know when I will return.

Link

He looked over the letter, the shame burning within him. You're heart is troubled by selfish desires. This saying continued to come up wherever he went. He pushed it out of his mind for now, he focused on dropping the letter off at the nearest mailbox. However once that was done, there was nothing left to occupy his mind. Not wanting to return to the castle, he found his way to Telma's bar.

"Link! Come and sit down honey. I'll get you some breakfast." Telma called. It was still very early, so the bar was empty. Link obediently took a seat while Telma bustled around. He looked into the little room where the members of the Resistance had once sat around a table, unintentionally helping him in his quests. They were the real selfless ones.

"Alright honey, here you go." Telma placed a plate of steaming meat in front of him. She looked at his face, and her eyes widened. "What's the matter honey? You look like a little boy who stole some candy. What's makin' you feel guilty?" She asked gently. When Link didn't respond, just kept his eyes on the plate, she let out a light huff. "Oh come on honey, tell this old woman with years of experience what it is you've done."

After just a bit more hesitation, Link unloaded it all, his unworthiness of the sword, how much he missed Midna, how he had hurt Ilia, and what he had done to the princess. There was quite a bit Telma didn't understand, like who in the world Midna was and how she'd broken a mirror that cut her off from him, or what he meant by being denied by the sword, but she listened without interrupting until he had finished.

"Well hon, I don't know what a lot of that means, but it sounds like to me you're suffering a broken heart and lack of purpose. Now, I know you were content as a rancher with sweet Ilia, but that was before you were truly tested and, in a sense, became a hero. You've seen so much and done so much for the world that training mediocre soldiers just doesn't seem to cut it. You miss knowing what you were doing, knowing that you were protecting people you loved. I think you just can't adjust back to the slow lane honey. As for this Midna girl, I think this is the work of a broken heart. I gather you were close to her, that she was a friend, but that she had to go home, and left you behind. I don't know about any mirror, but I believe there are more worlds than just our own. She is from one of those worlds isn't she?" Link nodded somberly.

" So she is in a different world and she took away the only way to see her again. Well, I'm sorry hon, but I don't know how to fix that. I just don't. Missing people is a hard thing on the heart, and it takes a lot of time for that pain in you're heart to ease up. Sometimes it doesn't always go away, but it definitely gets easier to deal with honey." She patted his hand. "You just have to give it time."

"Now, finally, this deal with Princess Zelda. Well, I'm not going to lie Link, you can't do much worse than a princess. But your heart isn't in it. You're still to heart broken, and she doesn't quite see close you and Midna had been. I think you need to go and talk to her, and tell her that you're not ready for what you thought you were. Another thing I think you should tell her is that you're not going to train the soldiers."

Link's head shot up and he gave a strange little gasp while his eyes widened. "Now hear me out honey, I think that you need time for yourself. Go back to your village, say hello to the people there, and remember what kind of lad you used to be. You can teach those men all you know about sword fighting, but you were ultimately called out her e to teach them courage, and you can't do that when you're doing everything mechanically. You need to feel, honey, and until you're done letting your heart break, you can't. All you're going to feel is sadness and grief. You can't teach courage when you don't even have the courage to let go of Midna."

Link stared at Telma, this wise woman, who read him like a book. How was it that she picked up so much truth from just one incoherent ramble? He smiled. She reminded him of a mother, and it was a very pleasant feeling.

"Or the courage to tell a certain Princess the truth." Telma added, and winked at him, smiling.

For the first time in weeks, Link returned a smile with a real one of his own.