Author's Note
I don't think I've ever had such inspiration that I've been able to put out five chapters to a new story in only ten days. I'm kinda shocked with both myself, and how fast this thing has become popular, relatively speaking.
Uploaded
06/12/2023
LEGEND BELOW
"O-Oh goodness, I'm so clumsy!" = Normal speech.
''Dont panic.'' = Normal thoughts.
Chapter 6
Feelings of worthlessness
Rated-M
M rating for Romance, and things of explicit nature.
The sun hung low in the skies of Hyrule, casting a cooling light over the land. By this time of the day, Kakariko was already cast in shadow, the hills blocking out most of the natural sunlight.
He was close now, having traveled all through the day, clearing out any monster camp he'd stumble across as he did. As such, he'd managed to gather together quite the amount of loot. Whether it be a gathering of dulled yet sturdy swords, shields of differing designs, or even the organs the creatures would leave behind.
The last item on that list would prove useful should he learn and or remember recipes for potions. One thing he remembered was that the parts monsters left behind in their death were extremely useful in crafting potions and items that could be used for good. Maybe, even if he never ended up in a scenario that would require he to use one, having a potion on hand could mean the difference between life or death for someone else…
But as for now, he was making his way across the Blatchery Plains and to the Dueling Peaks Stable.
However, as he was going down the road, he paused on the open road as a new sound reached his ears.
He drew his weapon, shield in hand as he stood on high alert.
Something was wrong, he could sense it.
Around him were the many dilapidated bodies of the ancient mechanical war machines, the Guardians. He'd been told that they'd all been destroyed in the final battle, or at the very least, had been shut down…
But…
He was starting to have second thoughts about that fact.
He blinked, breath calm and still as his gaze roamed the graveyard of destroyed Guardians, all lifeless, destroyed, static…
…
…
…
Then a clicking sound reached his ears, like a broken gear on an old pulley, clicking and turning.
He turned around, again casting his gaze through the graveyard of-
His eyes widened when a strange blue and purple light caught the corner of his eye, turning to find the source of it.
That's when a red targeting laser took aim at him, a large blue eye staring at him like a merciless abomination.
And then it fired, a concentrated beam of highly potent energy straight for him. There was barely any time to react, but he somehow managed to just the same, instinctively swinging his shield out to parry.
There was a resounding bing sound as the laser did an instant one hundred and eighty degree turn and went flying right back to where it had come from, flying right into the eye of the immobile decayed Guardian.
The machine lit up in sparks, spinning around like a broken record before it was ultimately enveloped in flames as it exploded from the inside out.
Only then did he start breathing, realizing he'd held his breath the entire time. His eyes were wide, glancing around to make sure that the ancient weapon was the only one online.
He shook his head, calming his racing heart.
That was one way to keep him on his toes, he supposed dryly. He waltzed over to where the machine had been, taking notice of the ancient core that it left behind. Looking at it, he knew he had no idea what it could be used for, but he knew someone that did. He quickly stashed it for later, intending on giving it to Purah.
He looked up, realizing that night had well and fallen. He sighed, he needed to get moving.
Kakariko wasn't far from where he was now…
She watched the setting sun with bated breath, hands clasped together over her breasts as she waited in worry.
Master Link had been gone for some time now, and she couldn't help but worry about it.
Grandma Impa thought her worries weren't all that well founded, yet she blamed her caring heart as the source of her worries. However, to cast aside her concerns would mean for her to betray who she was.
Her heart was caring, it always would be. Even if that fact lead to her suffering long bouts of anxiety or worry, she wouldn't banish that part of herself.
When she'd said as such to her Grandmother, the elderly woman merely smiled in that strange knowing way that only filled her with confusion. Perhaps she knew that her current anxiousness was for the Hero who'd set out to take the world head on alone?
She wasn't sure…
But speaking of the Hero, she'd prepared her bed for him, knowing that should he soon return, he'd likely be in desperate need of some well deserved rest. She had also procured a gathering of ingredients for a meal she was sure he would find appetizing, and was ready to use them when he came.
When he set out, he had told Impa that he would go straight there, then come straight back.
She assumed he'd be gone a day at most, maybe two…
But as night began to fall, anxiety filled the spot in her heart where hope had previously been presiding.
Had…?
Had something happened to him?
Had he been delayed due to some issue out in the wild?
Was he okay?
She shook her head vehemently, clasping her hands to her cheeks.
"No! I mustn't think like that! Surely Master Link is doing well on his own. He is a master swordsman, I'm positive he can hold his own." She told herself aloud, and yet, she feared she didn't fully believe her own words.
It was not that she believed Master Link weak, but that she feared for him with his lacking memories, she was afraid that perhaps some of his vital skills were lost with them as well. That and, Impa had mentioned that he appeared before them without the legendary Sword in hand, and was garbed in ancient gear that was sure not to stand up to the threat the world posed against him now.
What if he overworked himself out there? What if he got hurt and had no one there to help him? What if he ran out of food in the middle of the wilderness, and couldn't find anything to eat?
What if his weapons broke in a battle, and he had nothing to replace them with? He'd surely be at the mercy of the wild monsters then! And the monsters of Hyrule were not known for mercy!
Then what if he…!?
"Oh, there I go again!" She bemoaned, sighing deeply. She'd been so worked up that she'd been pacing around her room in the middle of the night, wrought with worry.
She needed to calm down, otherwise she'd surely wake Impa from her sleep.
She walked over to her open window to get some fresh air, hoping the cool air of the night would sooth her nerves. Leaning onto the frame of her window, she glanced down to the village below.
Of course, that's when she saw him down the stairs speaking with the guards, dressed in a mighty looking armor that seemed one hundred years out of time. She suddenly felt her heart skip a beat or two, face flushed as she caught herself again looking him over while he was deep in a conversation.
How scandalous!
She quickly yet quietly ran downstairs to meet him as he made his way up the stairs to Impa's house. She slid the doors open for him as he approached, getting a happy and gentle smile from the Hero.
"H-Hello again, M-Master Link! I'm really glad to see you return." She greeted pleasantly, offering a short yet respectful bow to the man. Seemingly reading his mind, she spoke again. "I'm sorry, b-but Lady Impa has retired for the night. I-I wish not to wake her…" She informed quietly.
He looked slightly disappointed at the reality, but couldn't blame anyone, what with the fact that he'd returned in the dead of night.
He faced her, face only slightly flustered from memories of his first meeting with the beautiful young woman. "That's alright, it is very late." He nodded, pretending to hide the slump of his shoulders as if he was not tired. The journey back was not too exhausting, but his body was not as strong as it used to be, at least, judging from the small amount of experience he'd had so far.
He still retained most of his skills and reaction time, likely from his years of training, but the actions he preformed now felt like they exhausted him a little too easily. It simply didn't feel right for the newly reawakened Hero.
"P-Please come in, you seem exhausted." She urged, seemingly easily aware of the exhaustion he was hiding from her. He seemed unsure at first, but saw no reason to deny her request, and relented with a tired smile he sent her way.
"Okay." He said, stepping inside.
She felt her nerves quickly getting the better of her, yet she knew she couldn't back out now. She swallowed thickly, trying to muster up even the slightest hint of courage.
"I-I-I know you've been traveling s-since you first a-awakened, s-so I thought you could use a bath t-t-to sooth your muscles…" She nervously got out, yet in the silence of the night, he could manage to hear her clearly.
She felt her face warm even more when he looked her way, face so open, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Oh, are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose." He tried talking her out of it. But with how his eyes sparkled at the mention of a hot bath, she knew he rather enjoyed the idea.
"N-No. I insist." She nodded, hands clasped together in front of her as if to help steady her nerves.
She quickly faced away from him, instead leading him up the stairs to her room. He followed after her, sure to tread lightly so as to not wake the sleeping woman in the other room. She stepped into her room, finding her beside a large bath. It was already filled with water, but she quickly added a few fire Chuchu jelly to it, and within moments, it dissolved into the water, leaving it hot and ready.
He really found it interesting, the amount of uses the differing Chuchu jelly's had.
"D-Do you… need help removing your armor..?" She asked quietly, averting her gaze. His eyes widened slightly, before he smiled.
"Yes, please. That would make it easier." He sighed, having already removed his sword and shield, placing both quietly against the cool wooden wall. She stepped up to him, fiddling with her fingers nervously. He missed the way her eyes sparkled when he allowed her to help.
"H-Here, let me help." She muttered quietly, reaching up to begin unclasping his surcoat clipped together around his neck. The large ornate green gemstones that served as decorative pieces atop the buttons were certainly nice to look at, and she felt herself that much more careful when working around them.
Next came the belts and leather straps and buckles that held on his large plate armor, and she was surprisingly quick to remove it, many times faster taking it off then the girl who helped first put it on.
It didn't take long before all he had on was the blue clothes that sat underneath the armor. After he pulled his shirt off, she quickly excused herself from the room so he could get in the bath.
The Hero of the wilds, now in the nude, stretched long and hard, letting out a sound of contentment, before he slipped into the tub provided for him. Once he sank in, he couldn't withhold the groan of pleasure that escaped his lips as the warmth of the water seemed to sooth his aching muscles.
He sighed contentedly, arms resting on the side of the tub.
He was alone in the room for a little while, before he heard the door open again. He thought, perhaps Paya had forgotten something.
But that thought was dashed when she set down another bucket beside the tub, full of soapy water and a body sponge.
He didn't say anything, assuming once more that she'd set it there for him to use…
And then she started scrubbing his back with the sponge.
"Paya?" He asked, unsure.
She didn't stop what she was doing.
"I can clean myself." He added helpfully.
"D-Do you not want my help?" She asked quietly.
He paused at her unsure tone, unsure of himself.
"That's not it, I just don't want to force to to do this for me." He placated. He didn't want people feeling like he was taking advantage of them, nor feel like he expected certain things of people.
"O-Oh, you're not forcing anyone, M-Master Link." She hummed in a soft and pleasant manner, the tone matching her mannerisms quite well.
"I don't want you to feel as if you owe me anything because I'm… Well, who I am…" He explained, seeing as she wasn't catching onto what he was saying. "I don't want everyone to think that I expect things from them because I'm their Hero…"
He hoped that cleared it up for her, getting his point across. He awoke to this desolate world that seemed to hold on by a thread, the entire kingdom in shambles held aloft by only the barest of a faint hope that a Hero would come. Once he did, and he knew now what his fate was, he didn't want that same desperate kingdom bowing to him or going out of their way to worship him because he was the last Hero in a dying kingdom.
He didn't want to be treated like a god…
Because, unlike what some apparently thought of him, he was merely a man. A man that had been tasked with a seemingly insurmountable quest. But, it was one he planned on seeing through to the end, no matter the cost.
"I don't…" He shook his head. "I've seen a bit on my journey so far, and, for those few that remain, I don't want them to have to bow down to someone else. I don't want them feeling as if they owe me great things because I'm the one fated to save them. I don't… I don't want you to feel like you have to do this for me, because I am Master Link." He found it difficult to express his feelings on the subject, but knew he had to. If he didn't say them now, he wasn't sure he would later.
He sighed, seemingly unsure of what exactly he was supposed to feel and expect from this world. "You don't have to do this for me." He decided on.
Paya had been quiet, letting him vent his feelings about how he felt to her. Only once he'd finished did she speak up.
"N-No… No I don't." She agreed quietly, hands tightening slightly around the sponge in her hands.
She was quiet for a moment, mustering up the courage to say what she wanted to say, to speak the words of her heart without fear of what he may think.
She took one shuddering breath, before moving forward.
"But… B-But I want to." She stated firmly, even though her voice was soft. "I-I want to do this for you… B-Because…" She tried, but her nerves stayed her tongue.
She shook her head, instead returning to cleaning him, gently running her soapy fingers through his long blond locks. Seeing as his words weren't going to deter her, he let her do as she pleased.
"Everyone's been working so tirelessly, d-doing their best to survive with what's left… Hope has… Hope has not been something our people have held in their minds for some time…" She spoke absentmindedly, almost as if to herself. "Then… T-Then you returned, a-and suddenly everything is different. I-I can feel it, hope has returned to Kakariko. Everyone feels rejuvenated by your presence."
"But… Our people… O-Our people are hard workers, skilled in many aspects… But…" Her voice quieted, the small joy that existed before seemingly slipping away. "But I'm not… I-I can't cultivate crops, am not skilled at caring for our cattle, and I-I can't even serve as a guard, for I'm terrible with a sword…" Her voice hitched, tears she'd been holding back having burst forth without her control.
"I've spent my whole life trying t-to find something I'm good at, s-s-some way of of of… Some way of h-helping everyone…" She cried quietly, hands not stalling as she cleaned his upper body. "W-When mother died, I-I became Lady Impa's caretaker, because there was n-nothing I could offer to the v-village…"
He was quiet, not daring to interject when she began spilling her heart to him. But, his heart ached at the sound of her quiet, contained weeping, as if she was trying to not draw undue attention to herself.
"I-I eventually learned I was good at cooking and cleaning, w-which made life for Grandma Impa easier. B-But those skills are not needed by anyone else in the village. Without her, I-I-I'm…" She bit her lips to try and stop the tears that poured out from her eyes, or the strangled crying sound that escaped from her throat.
But she couldn't…
But, he didn't need her to explain that any further.
He knew what she was going to say, without a shadow of a doubt.
Without Lady Impa, she was useless, a liability, another mouth to be fed in a world that was tottering on the edge of collapse.
She felt useless, worthless, without any purpose or unable to bring joy to anyone or help anyone with the important things.
She felt as if her presence here within the village was merely a waste of space.
She appreciated and loved her grandmother, and cared for her with everything that she had. But that job was an easy one that left her with massive amounts of free time, time that could be spent helping others.
But her help wasn't needed or necessary anywhere but this house. She was afraid, terrified that, if Impa, in her old age were to die, she'd once again become irrelevant.
She was without purpose…
"B-But… But then you returned… A-A-And I-I-I-I thought that… T-That maybe I c-could be useful to y-you in some way. S-S-So please…! P-Please let me do t-this for you…" She whispered bitterly, her beautiful young face stained by her tears and utter sense of uselessness. "P-P-Please let m-me help you-" She asked quietly through her hiccups, wiping at her face.
There was a splash of water as he turned in the tub, facing her. He didn't say anything, reaching out and pulling her into an intense hug. She cried quietly in his embrace, in that moment feeling so unbelievably useless that it overwhelmed her.
"Of course I'll let you help me." He said gently, not releasing her from his embrace. She needed so much from him in that moment, he could tell.
His presence was the thing holding her together, and if he rejected her here and now, she break into a thousand pieces. She'd gone through her whole life thinking that she was useless, that she wasn't worth it, just another person that could provide nothing of worth to those left in a world that was destroyed many years ago.
If he were to push her away, refuse to let her help him, stay her hand when all she wanted to do in the end was be useful to him, it would take the fragility of the person he saw before him now and bury her permanently.
He realized that this moment had been building for many years now, and seeing him again was the tipping point of her bottled up pain.
"I'd love it if you helped me, I mean it." He added sincerely, voice soft and gentle. "When you first offered, I thought you were trying to go out of your way to make me happy because you felt like you were obligated to me, because I'm Hyrule's Hero. I didn't want to make you do something you didn't want to, but I'll never turn away someone when they want to help." He explained as she cried, his words helping ease her pain.
"You know, I've been looking for someone that knows how to make potions and food for long distance journeys that I can take with me. I know you mentioned that you can cook, I'd love to see your skills in action if you're willing." He added, not once trying to pull away from her, giving her that shoulder and listening ear that she so desperately needed in that moment.
"But right now, I'd love to return to the bath. Your hands felt wonderful, Paya, I really, really mean it. I'm afraid I might forgo venturing out early tomorrow because of it." He smiled brightly, speaking from his heart.
He shifted his arms, running his fingers through her hair like he'd done for her aunt previously, and with a gentleness and level of understanding that felt beyond his years on the world, he spoke. "You're very useful, Paya. Impa spoke very highly of you when I was last here. She said, above anything, your determination to try your best even knowing you might very well fail was awe inspiring to her. She told me it gave her the strength to continue while she waited for my return." He admitted.
"When I was returning not too long ago, I stopped to speak with the guards out front. They told me that were it not for you, they weren't sure who would be skilled enough to take care of their esteemed village elder. That you work hard at what you're good at, and even harder at what you're not."
"Your skills are noticed by others, not just me, and not just Impa. The people here seem proud to have you as the one responsible for taking care of Impa. They don't look down on you for not being good at what they do."
He paused for a long moment, letting his words sink in and burrow their way into her heart. When she eventually began to quiet, he smiled softly. "You're appreciated, Paya, you just don't know it." He said softly, continuing to run his hands through her hair.
He learned that night that being the last Hero of Hyrule meant more then simply being the man responsible for slaying monsters and defeating the calamity. Sometimes, to be the Hero he needed to be, he simply needed to be there for others. To be the Hero meant more then monster killing, but it meant that he needed to be strong for others, and help them be strong when they couldn't do so themselves.
Being the Hero meant also comforting those that were hurt, and providing a shoulder to cry on or more, when in private. Whatever Paya needed him to be, he was going to be that for her...
Chapter
6
End
