To Capture the Heart of a Hero

Chapter 7 – A Hero's Title

"I'm going to bestow you with a proper title."

As the word's left the Princess's lips, Link immediately felt his anxiety rising up within him again. His eyes became wide, his expression stunned, and he was pretty sure his mouth was hanging open. There was no doubt in the hero's mind, that of all the crazy events that had taken place that day, he found this one to be the most shocking.

"Y-You're going to what?" he eventually stuttered.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Zelda asked patiently.

Link just shook his head, partially in response to her, and partially in disbelief. "A title? You mean I would become something like…something like a knight or…or even a minister?"

Zelda slowly nodded. "It would be something like that, yes."

Link's mouth opened and closed a few times as he struggled to find his words. Did the Princess realize what she was talking about? Some of the highest rankings in the Kingdom, usually reserved for only the most important and capable individuals, to prove their status, strength, and intelligence, among other things. And yet she wanted to provide him with an official title? Link, the once goatherder now turned rogue swordsman and occasional gardener? Was she serious!?

"But…But those titles are so important!" he eventually blurted out, hoping in vain that he could get his point across.

Naturally, he failed spectacularly, for Zelda just gave a single nod in agreement. "Yes, they are."

Link went on to sputter some more, hoping to clarify. "B-But I-"

"Don't deserve it?" Zelda finished with a grin. "Honestly Link, it is starting to get tiresome hearing that all the time."

Link hesitated as he met the Princess's gaze. On second thought, it seemed that she did understand his feelings, at least enough to finish his line of thought. Still, he felt the need to make his case. "But Zelda, it's true. Just because I saved the Kingdom doesn't mean I deserve such prestige!"

"Is that so?" Zelda asked in surprise. "Then please, enlighten me, Link. What does it take to earn a proper title in this Kingdom?"

"I, well…" Link paused, biting his lip. To be honest, he really didn't know much about this sort of thing at all. Still, he decided to take a stab at it. "You have to have accomplished some great feat."

"Oh, do tell," Zelda replied in a sarcastic tone.

Link just ignored her and tried to continue. "You have to have done something that benefitted the whole Kingdom. And um, you have to be capable of doing something like this over and over again, to prove your reliability…Oh, and above all else, you need to be of noble birth."

Link breathed a small sigh of relief as he finished. He had struggled a bit in the middle there, but he still felt like he had managed to list enough criteria to show that he wasn't as qualified as Zelda might think.

However, Zelda naturally felt the need to prove him wrong. "Noble birth?" she repeated with a smirk. "Is that what has you feeling so uneasy? I'm afraid that is a common misconception. Nobody is born a hero, Link. Or a brave knight. Or an intelligent scholar. In this Kingdom, you earn your position. Even I have had to prove that I am capable of one day leading this Kingdom as its rightful Queen."

Link scratched his head a bit. Was that really true? "Wait, so anybody can earn a title?"

Zelda nodded. "Of course, as long as they fulfill certain criteria similar to the others you mentioned, as well as being acknowledged by the current high-ranking officials to be worthy of such a title."

Link frowned. "Okay, but surely that isn't a common occurrence."

"No, but neither is saving the Kingdom," she retorted.

"Er, well…"

"Link, even by your own standards, surely you could agree that you have done enough to consider yourself worthy of such a thing? You have accomplished a great feat, one that has surely benefitted the entire Kingdom, and you have certainly shown how capable you are by doing so."

Link raised a hand up in front of him. "Yeah, but that was only one instance! Just one adventure I embarked on where I accomplished one great feat. Who's to say I could do something like that again?"

Zelda raised her eyebrows at this. "Just a short while ago, weren't you the one that confidently stated he would be willing to fight an outbreak of monsters should the need arise?"

"Er…" Link quickly shut his mouth. Okay, she had a point there…

Zelda smirked as she noticed his guilty expression. He looked like a thief that had been caught red-handed. She decided to continue pressing him further. "Link, please do not try to convince me that your reliability is insufficient. I know firsthand just how much you have done for this Kingdom. You embarked on a perilous quest to save us all from the threat of the Twilight. A quest that you easily could have abandoned at any time, yet you did not. You kept moving forward, fighting hard to save these lands. How many other men could say they would have done the same? And your responsibility? Why, I have witnessed the extent of such a thing earlier this very day when you were working in the garden. Fixing a flowerbed that you destroyed in an accident, of all things! I repeat my question, who else would have done the same? Surely only the most responsible of individuals could claim such a feat."

As Zelda finished, Link quietly cursed to himself. Damn, she really had a point there! For the first time, he felt like maybe his humility had done him more harm than good, if only because the Princess was weaponizing it against him.

He eventually sighed. "All right, Zelda, you've made your point. Maybe I have done enough to earn a proper title…" Link paused for a second before casting his eyes downward. "But…I don't know if I can accept such a thing."

Once again, Zelda's lips pursed into a frown. She stared at the hero with frustration in her eyes. "I swear, Link, I've met wild, untamed horses that were less stubborn than you."

"I'm sorry," Link mumbled. Once again, he felt like he was causing more unnecessary trouble for the Princess. He didn't mean to be so hardheaded, but that's just how he was.

Upon seeing his apologetic stance, Zelda allowed her glare to loosen. She soon gave a sigh before addressing him in a softer tone. "Wouldn't you at least like to hear what your title is before you choose whether to accept or deny it?"

Link hesitated, as if he was still unsure, but he soon gave a nod. "Very well. What is it?"

Zelda took a second to readjust herself into a more formal position, and soon cleared her throat. She wanted to do this properly. "By the official decree of the Hyrule Council, in accordance with the will of my father, King Caius Vesperi Hyrule himself, we have decided to bestow you with the honorary title of 'Hero'."

As the final word rang out in Zelda's majestic voice, silence soon fell between them. Link waited a second for her to continue, but upon realizing she had finished, he just blinked a bit. "Wait, that's it?"

Zelda quickly broke from her formal posture in order to give the man a look of disbelief. "'That's it'? What do you mean, 'that's it'?"

"Well, the title is just…just Hero?" Link was genuinely surprised at this. Honestly, the title felt a little anticlimactic. He had already heard numerous people refer to him as "hero" after he had saved the Kingdom, and to be honest, he had kind of gotten used to it. It was just a generic term used to refer to him and his role during the Twilight Invasion. At the very least, Link felt that the term "hero" definitely didn't seem like any sort of high-ranking position in the government.

Meanwhile, Zelda just released another tired sigh. She gazed at the man with exasperated eyes. "First you seem opposed to the idea of receiving a title at all, and yet now you seem dissatisfied with what we have offered. Do you tend to have trouble making up your mind?"

"N-No," he replied quickly.

"Are you certain?" Zelda asked, a little impatiently. "Honestly, I always thought Midna was exaggerating when she complained about you. Now I'm starting to think that she was wise beyond all her years."

Link just scowled at the mention of the mischievous Twili imp. "No, Midna did tend to exaggerate, especially when complaining about me. I can personally testify to that. And it's not that I am dissatisfied with the title of Hero. It's just that…Well, I've never heard of such a title before."

Zelda's eyes gleamed with a bit of amusement. "Of course. That is because the title of Hero has only rarely been used throughout the history of Hyrule. It is a title of the highest honor, gifted only to specific individuals that have helped save our Kingdom in times of great crisis. They were renowned figures of legendary status, and I daresay, without their contributions to this Kingdom, none of us would be standing here today."

Link just felt his confidence start to deflate as he listened to the Princess's speech. Highest honor? Renowned figures? Legendary status? "And you think I deserve such a title?"

By this point, Zelda was quick to shut him down. "Link, please do not direct our conversation down that road again. Even my patience has its limits."

"But I-"

"Link."

Upon hearing the Princess's strict tone, he decided to drop it. "Fine," he mumbled. "Tell me more about these 'Heroes' then. How many people have been granted this title before now?"

Zelda's expression softened again, and surprisingly enough, she seemed all too excited to start diving into history. "There have actually been a fair number of men throughout Hyrule's history that have received the honorary title of 'Hero'. It is a title that is usually only assigned to one individual, and it lasts throughout their lifetime. Because of this, you only hear of the title being used roughly every 100 years or so, and sometimes even less frequently than that. The most notable Hero in recent times was someone who was referred to as the "Hero of Time," who, strangely enough, seemed to receive surprisingly little recognition for his accomplishments. Even in the castle's official history tomes, he is only mentioned briefly here and there. I am not entirely certain what he did to earn such a title, but it was bestowed upon him all the same."

Link perked up a bit when he heard this. A Hero who received little recognition for his accomplishments? That didn't sound so bad to him. It's not like he had gone on his adventure just so he could end up in a history book, after all. He had just been trying to save lives.

Zelda smiled as she continued. "Naturally, every Hero title comes with a moniker attached to it. Similar to how the last Hero was known as the 'Hero of Time', we have also chosen a moniker for you that accurately suits your achievements."

Link couldn't deny that he was curious. "And what is it?"

Zelda paused, her sapphire eyes beginning to twinkle again as she adopted a formal posture. "We have decided to title you as 'The Hero of Twilight'."

The Hero of Twilight. Okay, Link had to admit, this title sounded much more impressive than what he previously thought. It was rather unique, describing a Hylian that could be no one other than himself. The title itself was vague enough that it didn't give away any specifics, but it did reveal that the Hero in question had a hand in battling against the Twilight Invasion. And not only that, but the title could also be viewed in another way. You could interpret it as Link being the Hero of the Twilight. A man who was turned into a beast using the power of the Twilight, and yet continued to move forward. A man who had not only saved Hyrule, but the people of the Twilight Realm as well. Yes, he was also the Hero of the Twili, and that even included Midna, the Twilight Princess herself. Oh, and speaking of that Twili imp…

"You know, Midna and I actually discussed this before she departed for the Twilight Realm," Zelda added in a soft voice. "She approved of you bearing the name of 'Hero' for her people."

Link leaned forward a bit. "Really? Midna said that?"

Zelda nodded. "Yes, although…" The Princess paused, smirking a little. "She was a tad worried that such a title might go to your head. 'That fool might start thinking he did all the work!', I believe were her exact words. It was a genuine concern, I suppose. Although, in hindsight, I now think that she had more reason to fear the opposite: our young hero being too timid to accept such a thing." Zelda laughed a bit as she said this.

Link just ignored her verbal prodding, as well as the past words of a certain Twili troublemaker. He was currently too busy trying to treasure the memories of Midna to let her own past self ruin the moment. Truth be told, it was nice to know that she had been willing to name Link as the savior of her people; to know that she had appreciated his help that much. By approving of this, it basically felt like she was giving Link her full support. And she had apparently encouraged the idea of Link getting some recognition too, all while knowing that she probably wouldn't receive the same acknowledgement here in the Light World. As far as the general populace was concerned, she was just an ally to the true hero who managed to banish the Twilight. In other words, a person of no great significance. Link couldn't help but wonder if things were the other way around in the Twilight Realm. Had Midna taken all the credit for saving everybody there, leaving Link completely out of the picture? He wouldn't have put it past the little trickster…

"What are you smiling about?"

Link looked up as Zelda called him out of his thoughts. "Nothing. It's just…even though Midna is gone, it still feels like she has a hand in everything."

"Are you surprised?"

Link smiled some more as he shook his head. "No, not at all."

Zelda returned his smile before resuming the discussion at hand. "So, now that you've heard the title we have in mind for you, has it swayed your feelings at all? Are you willing to become the 'Hero of Twilight'?"

Link took some time to think it over. To be honest, he actually had been swayed in favor of accepting the role, if only because of the mention of his Twili friend. When Midna had departed from this world, she hadn't left Link with much, so he felt the need to treasure what little she did. A smile, a tearful goodbye, and now, surprisingly, a title. Yes, Link felt sure of it. This title wasn't just a gift from Zelda or the Hyrule Council; it was also a gift from Midna, one of his closest friends.

But that wasn't the only motivating factor either. Thinking back on everything he had accomplished, Link knew deep down that this was a role that he was meant to fulfill. Was he willing to become the Hero of Twilight? No, because he already was. Ever since the day he first met Midna and turned into a wolf, he had done nothing but protect others and fight to save the Kingdom. And had anything honestly changed since then? No, Link was still planning to aid his Kingdom, without a doubt! And while he still had some reservations about accepting such a prestigious title, if this was the way in which he could truly help people from now on, then he had no choice but to embrace it.

When Link finally turned back to face Zelda, he did so with a relaxed grin. "Very well, I'll accept the title…Although it may take some getting used to."

Zelda stared at the man for a second, as if waiting for him to retract his words. However, no such moment came, and she soon revealed a pleased expression. "Excellent, I'm very happy to hear that, Link. Finally, Hyrule will recognize a new Hero within its lands. I'm sure this news will make the good citizens of this Kingdom very excited."

Well, Link wasn't so sure about that. He assumed most people would be indifferent at best, but he didn't care to spoil the Princess's good mood, so he refrained from mentioning his thoughts out loud. Besides, she was right. He had been hard enough on himself today. He really should start acting more confident. More befitting of the image of a Hero.

"So when does this title go into effect?" Link asked, trying to show some newfound enthusiasm in his tone.

Zelda seemed to notice the difference, for she raised her eyebrows a bit, but she soon answered him anyway. "You'll receive the title after it has officially been granted to you. There's a proper ceremony that we'll arrange sometime, in which you'll have the title granted to you by a member of the Royal Family–either myself or my father–in front of the Hyrule Council."

Link felt his confidence waning at the mention of all these important figures, but he tried to hold strong. "I see."

"Naturally, the title will also come with some benefits. You'll receive ample payment for any services you perform, especially when it comes to aiding in the Hyrule recovery effort. You'll be free to come and go from the castle as you please, and you will also be provided with a guest room whenever you should come to visit. Should you decide to take up a permanent residence here, you will gladly be assigned a personal room to call your own. Additionally, whenever you stay at the castle, you'll be granted three meals a day in the dining hall, so you should never have to worry about food."

"Wow," Link said, sounding impressed. He had to admit, the perks of this job certainly sounded nice! It was almost enough to make it worth the high-ranking position he neither wanted nor felt he truly deserved. Oh, and speaking of positions, there was still a question on Link's mind…

"So, what exactly will my role be in the recovery effort?"

"Ah, have I still not gotten to that yet?" Zelda asked, blinking in surprise.

"No." At least, Link didn't think so.

"Forgive me," Zelda said before she suddenly began scowling towards the hero. "Perhaps I would have if a certain someone wasn't constantly stalling the conversation by telling me how nervous and unwilling he is to accept his own accomplishments."

Oof, she had him there. "Sorry about that," he mumbled.

Zelda's scowl quickly evaporated into a warm smile. "It's fine. If anything, I enjoyed the challenge. You certainly put my diplomacy skills to the test."

Link just gave her a confused look. "You were happy about that?"

Zelda gave half a shrug, as well as a nod. "In a way. As this Kingdom's future matriarch, I need to be capable of carrying discussions with even the most stubborn and hardheaded of individuals, using nothing but my words and my wits as my weapons. Needless to say, our conversation has led me to believe that I am quite capable indeed; a result I am rather pleased with."

"You didn't seem pleased at the time," Link pointed out.

"That is because I never expected such behavior from you," Zelda replied, threatening to throw another scowl in his direction. She relented though, choosing instead to release a soft sigh of relief. "Still, I am trying to view things in a positive light."

Link smiled. "In that case, I'm glad I could be of assistance."

"Yes, but in the future, I must advise against testing my patience as excessively as you have. I won't be so forgiving the next time," Zelda teased him.

Upon noticing her playful smile, Link wasn't worried. He replied to her "threat" with a carefree shrug. "We'll see."

Zelda just smirked at the hero, whose earlier nerves seemed to have drained away entirely. Now this was the brave, friendly Link that she was used to. "Let's continue the conversation then, shall we? I believe the last thing that I mentioned was that you would be aiding in the second recovery goal: the strengthening of Hyrule."

Link nodded. "That's right."

"Then allow me to elaborate further. For the sake of carrying out this goal, the Hyrule Council has elected to assemble a new gathering of influential individuals. We'd like to establish regularly scheduled meetings between these persons."

"A gathering?" Link repeated. "Wait, so it'd be like a second council?"

"Similar, but not quite," Zelda corrected him. "While the Hyrule Council is composed entirely of Hylians, most of whom have their origins here in Castle Town, this new congregation would be much more diverse, pulling individuals from across the entirety of Hyrule to come and have a discussion at the same table. The idea behind this is that we could use these meetings as an opportunity to bring the various races and civilizations of Hyrule closer together. Understand each other better. Forge stronger bonds. Aid others in places where they need it."

"Oh, a stronger, more unified Hyrule," Link said, suddenly recalling the Princess's words from Gerudo Desert.

"Indeed. With so many representatives sitting at the same table, we're hoping we can focus our efforts on making Hyrule stronger as one unified Kingdom. If someone has an idea for the betterment of this Kingdom, they will bring it to the table for discussion. If they have an issue that their people are facing, they will come to us for aid. Together, we will make Hyrule shine brighter than ever before."

Link got chills as he listened to the Princess's impassioned speech. Once again, he felt impressed by her vision. "Wow, that sounds pretty incredible."

"Thank you," Zelda said with a nod. "It was actually an idea that I came up with myself. Once I presented it to the Council, they gladly approved it."

"I can tell that you care a lot about this plan," Link said with a nod. "You show so much determination when talking about it. It's clear that you truly value the wellbeing of this Kingdom."

To Link's surprise, Zelda actually started blushing a little as she looked away. "Of course. These lands are my home," she said quietly. "I would do whatever it takes to aid and improve them."

"As you should," he encouraged her.

Upon hearing this, Zelda seemed to recover from her bashfulness just as quickly as it had arisen. She turned to face the hero once more. "As I stated earlier, part of the goal is to prevent something similar to the Twilight Invasion from ever happening again. After our Kingdom was surrendered to Zant's control, I couldn't help but wonder if things would have gone differently, if the Gorons or Zoras or even Kakariko Village had come to our aid. It was then that I began considering how we could potentially go about bringing everyone together to create a more unified nation."

Link perked up a bit at this. "So who exactly is going to be on this new council?"

"Ah, yes, you must be curious," Zelda said with a smile. "First off, there is myself as the Royal Princess of this Kingdom. Under normal circumstances, my father would likely be there as well, but due to his current condition, he is unable to join at this time. After that, there will be two Ministers from the Hyrule Council that will join the new assembly as well. First is Minister Fost, who will primarily serve as a representative for the castle, and then there is Minister Enzo, whom I don't believe you have had the pleasure of meeting. He will primarily serve as a representative for Castle Town. Following them are the leaders of Hyrule's various civilizations. Renado of Kakariko Village. Chief Darbus of the Goron Tribe. Prince Ralis of Zora's Domain. Mayor Bo of Ordon Village…"

Link was surprised at how recognizable the list of names was, but it was the last one that truly grabbed his attention. "Wait, Mayor Bo is a part of this?"

"Of course. We intend to represent all of the dwellings in Hyrule, and that naturally includes Ordon Village."

"Huh…Why didn't he tell me anything about this?"

"Perhaps he thought you would discover it on your own," Zelda suggested. "He knew you would be returning to the castle, didn't he?"

Link crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's true."

Zelda smirked. "Besides, I haven't finished going over the full list of members, which happens to include a newly proclaimed Hero of Twilight."

It took Link a second for this news to fully sink in. He then shot up straight. "Wait, what? I'm going to be a member of this council too!?"

By this point, Zelda didn't seem surprised at his reaction. It was almost a given that he would give some sort of startled outburst. "Of course. Surely you had an idea that this is what our conversation was moving towards?"

Link just sat there in silence. To be honest, he hadn't thought such a thing at all. "Me? On a council? I don't know if that's such a good idea. I can fight with a sword and I can ride a horse better than anyone, but when it comes to politics…I'm not exactly well-versed in such things."

Zelda giggled a bit as his bashfulness. "And trust me, you don't have to be. Remember those qualifications of yours that we discussed earlier? It's your connections and the understanding of the Kingdom as a whole that make you a valuable asset to this assembly. With those qualities under your belt, I am certain that you will have no trouble contributing to our discussions. Plus, I expect you to be a unifying presence among those seated at the table. I understand that you have met many of them on your journey, as well as forged bonds of friendship with them. I am certain that they will be reassured by simply sharing your company at the table."

Link just stared at the Princess in awe. Wow, was he really that important to the cause? He had a feeling that she was potentially exaggerating the usefulness of his presence, but he couldn't deny that her words struck a chord with him as well. It was true that the two qualifications she mentioned were probably important for the discussions they had in mind. And Link also had to admit that he was happy to know that his fellow council members would all be familiar faces. He knew he would be much more at ease spending time with them instead of a group of rich nobles he had never even met before. And if him simply being at the meetings helped bring everybody together, well then, who was he to say no?

"All right, it doesn't sound like a bad deal," Link admitted with a small smile.

"Ah, even the most stubborn of horses manages to see reason," Zelda said, her own playful smile popping up once again.

Link just grinned. "I may be stubborn but I'm not stupid."

"No, I suppose not," Zelda agreed. "Having a hero who doesn't easily waver isn't necessarily a bad thing. At least, that's what I keep telling myself."

"Hey…"

The two of them ended up laughing after this. Link's laugh was louder and unrestrained while Zelda settled for more of a mirthful giggle. It was a solid sign of their friendship. Even in the midst of their serious discussion of the future, they still managed to have fun with each other.

As their laughter died down, Link went to continue where they had left off. "So is there going to be anyone else on the council then? Or do I round it off?"

"No, there are a few more," Zelda replied. "Last but not least, we decided to invite the members of the Resistance to join this assembly as well."

Link blinked at this. The Resistance? He assumed that she was referring to the four individuals that had met in Telma's Bar and secretly made plans to fight against the Twilight Invasion. Link knew all of them well, but he was still surprised to hear that they would be asked to aid in this task. "Really? They're going to be included too?"

"Yes. While none of them did anything particularly as grand as yourself, they all still played a role in helping bring the Twilight Invasion to a close, and they should be properly acknowledged for their actions. Likewise, the Hyrule Council views them as individuals very identical to yourself: capable, intelligent persons that understand this Kingdom better than most. Similar to the qualifications you bring to the table, we believe that they have something to offer as well."

"I see," Link said, nodding. He certainly couldn't argue with that. In fact, the Resistance probably knew Hyrule better than he did.

"Unfortunately, only two of them have accepted the offer," Zelda continued with a frown. "Master Auru, a wise teacher who is well-versed in history as well as politics, has agreed to join us. Additionally, Ashei, one of the castle's highest ranking Knights, has accepted our invitation as well. She believes she can offer a perspective from the military side of things, should it be needed. Regrettably, that leaves one Shad and one Rusl, who have declined our offer."

"Rusl?" Link repeated. He had been invited too? Well, duh, he was a member of the Resistance, but it was still surprising to hear. Not nearly as surprising as the answer to his invitation though… "Why did he turn it down?"

Zelda gave a soft smile. "He felt that his presence wasn't needed here. He claimed that as long as you and Mayor Bo were planning on attending, then he had nothing to worry about. He believed the assembly would be in capable hands."

Link couldn't help but feel a bit touched at the trust that had been placed in him. There were times where the hero still felt like he was a child, but it seemed that Rusl had insisted on treating him as a man. Link just smiled at the thought. "And Shad?"

"Shad claimed that he would prefer to focus on his historical research as a scholar. He said that there were still many mysteries he wished to uncover, and he didn't want to divert time away from his studies. However, he did offer to lend us his aid should we ever have need of it."

Link rolled his eyes a bit. "Yeah, that sounds like Shad."

"It is a pity, but I trust their judgment and respect their decision. I cannot force them to join if they do not wish to."

Link raised his eyebrows at this. "Does that mean that I'm free to back out too?"

Zelda scoffed at him, her eyes going wide. "Link, don't tell me that you're changing your mind now!"

Link just laughed. "Relax, Zelda, I'm only kidding. Besides, it sounds like Rusl is counting on me, and I don't want to let him down. And now that I think about it, I don't want to let the rest of Hyrule down either."

Zelda stared at him, as if skeptical for a moment, but she soon relaxed as requested. "Very sly, Link, very sly."

Link just shrugged. "I learned from the best."

"You mean Midna?"

"Yes, but I was referring to you as well."

Zelda gave a short laugh at this. "Ha, you find me mischievous, do you?"

Link just shot her a confident look. "You certainly have your moments. Don't deny it."

Zelda's eyes widened in surprise at the sheer audacity of his tone. She soon smirked. "My, the daring Hero shows his face again. Where was this man a short while ago when I was trying to get him to accept his accomplishments?"

This gave Link some pause. He rubbed his neck a bit. "Well, I'm starting to wrap my mind around it…It helped that we talked it through, and I now have a better idea of what to expect." He paused for a second, just barely glancing towards the Princess. "Um…Thanks for that."

Once again, Zelda was surprised. Now he was suddenly offering her gratitude? Still, in spite of their playful banter, she chose to accept it with grace. "You're welcome, Link. I'm glad to know that I helped set your mind at ease. Even though I was the one that caused it so much distress in the first place…" Okay, maybe she couldn't resist teasing him a little at the end there.

Link didn't let it bother him. He still had questions on his mind. "So when will this new council come together?"

"We're hoping to schedule the first meeting in the next couple of weeks," Zelda explained. "We're still trying to come up with plans for transportation, but once we set a date and time, I'll let you know. I'll also arrange to have a meeting in the next few days so we can properly bestow you with your title as well."

Link nodded. "Is there anything else I could be doing in the meantime?"

"Of course. I can assure you that there is no shortage of work around here, if you are willing to volunteer."

"Sure, I'm happy to help. Although I would prefer to work somewhere other than the garden," he said with a small laugh.

Zelda giggled a bit. "Yes, that would probably be best. If you're planning to stay here for a few days, would you be interested in picking up a few guard shifts? It will help you get acquainted with the layout of the castle, and I'm sure the men would be inspired to have the Hero working alongside them."

"Sounds simple enough," Link agreed with a smile.

"I'll introduce you to the Captain of the guard then. Aside from that, a lot of the men like to have practice duels with wooden weapons. They do this to stay in shape and make sure their skills haven't gone rusty. You should consider joining them sometime. I've heard that they've been quite motivated and diligent in their practice since the Twilight Invasion ended. I'm sure they would all be excited to witness the very sword skills that took down the evil tyrant Ganondorf."

"I'll think about it," Link replied shyly. He wasn't exactly keen to flaunt his fighting ability in front of others. He really only fought when he had to, and most certainly not for show. But he did agree that it would be good for him to stay in practice, at least.

"Oh my." Link looked up to find the Princess staring off towards the horizon. "The sun is setting already? My apologies, Link. I had not intended to keep you here for so long."

"Oh, it's no problem," Link said with a shrug. He didn't mind spending time with the Princess, and besides, wasn't she the one who had said that he was to blame for their conversation dragging out? Because of all of his "stalling"?

Nevertheless, Zelda still held a slight look of guilt. "I imagine you must be starving at this point. Not to mention you are probably weary from travel, as well as the rest of today's events. I'll have one of the maids escort you to the dining hall, and then prepare you a guest room for the night."

This struck Link as a little odd. "You're not coming along? Aren't you hungry too?"

Zelda just shook her head. "I'm afraid I still have some other matters to attend to before the day is out. I also didn't intend to keep myself here for this long, or even plan on meeting you today, for that matter."

Now it was Link's turn to feel guilty. "I'm sorry Zelda. I didn't mean to throw your plans into disarray." As well as your flowerbed, his mind added automatically.

"No, it was my pleasure," Zelda said with a reassuring smile. "It is always a joy when our paths cross."

Link simply returned her smile. "Something that'll be happening a lot more often from now on."

"Indeed. Now come, I'll make sure you are taken care of for the night."

Zelda soon rose from her seat, and Link did the same. With a pleasant smile still on her lips, she led the hero over to the doorway, where they then entered the castle together. Before long, Zelda managed to track down a maid, and instructed her to make sure that Link was accommodated for the night. Once she was satisfied, she dismissed herself and began walking off into another part of the castle. She quickly disappeared from sight, but not before turning back and giving the hero one last wave.

"See you soon."

I always liked the idea of "Hero" being a real title within the world of Hyrule. Sure, it's just a term used to refer to legendary figures of the past, but who's to say it can't carry some weight in the government too?

Since Twilight Princess takes place in the "Child Timeline", I did have to note that the Hero of Time probably wasn't fully recognized for his accomplishments. I'm sure he received some recognition, since he did warn the King of the time about Ganondorf's imminent betrayal. I think he also recounted the tale of what happened in the ruined future and what he did to save everyone. I'm not sure how much of that story would have made it into the official history books though, so I feel like the "Hero of Time" became something of a mystery to the general populace. This is just my take on things, at least.