Epilogue II

All throughout the journey back to Kakariko, and beyond to Hateno, Link had hardly looked at the book Kohga had given him. Part of him was too afraid of what he'd learn about himself, and the other part didn't want to invade Shara's privacy. After he'd left the Hideout, he'd taken one glance at the first page, and instantly regretted it.

I got this journal from Serene today...

It was Shara's journal. Somehow, even without remembering her handwriting, he knew.

Now, traveling with the princess to Hateno to see Purah, he kept the book safe in his trouser pocket. It stayed hidden, and try as he might to forget about it, it nagged at him. They would stay in Hateno until the princess could establish her own residence and kingdom. This journal would be with him the whole time.

The journey through Fort Hateno and into town was short and uneventful. Link did not tell the princess what he'd been doing while she was in Kakariko, and she did not ask. Sure, she chatted in her usual way, but neither of them breached the real chasm between them. She knew there were things he wasn't telling her, and while there were a few occasions he wanted to bare it all, it was not the time. And Link suspected it would be a long time before it was.

Entering town, Link turned them south across the bridge and into the abandoned house he'd stayed in earlier. It was just as decrepit and worn as before. No one had touched it, and no one was going to. Link debated hiring some help to fix it up and decorate it, so he could have something of his own. And since it was his father's old house, Link didn't feel bad about claiming it. He hastily reinforced the questionable stairs with a few boards and nails, then led the princess upstairs onto the loft. He briefly apologized that the bed was practically made up of dirt and wouldn't be comfortable, but the princess took it in stride without complaint. Link hopped back to the ground level and laid out a few moth-eaten blankets.

Sunrise came much too quickly. These autumn days were cool, but not too brisk for a morning walk. Link got up and quietly readied himself for the day, then tried to open and close the front door without waking the princess. She probably woke from the noise of the door thunking into place, but that wasn't Link's concern anymore. Now, he wanted to go on a walk alone. So, with only a few people in the streets at this time of day, he wandered. He went through town, around shops, behind alleys, and even through the surrounding fields and orchards, mesmerized by all the colors of the leaves and the late apples. He went back to town, venturing east past the village's pond and stable.

That's when he saw the glow on the porch of the inn. Another Shara memory.

Equal amounts curious and eager, he walked over to it and stepped on it without hesitation.

Link watched Shara standing again at the old abandoned house. She was much older now, perhaps in her seventies. But the identity was unmistakable. She had the same brown hair, though the color had faded over the years. She was even the same height, her body not having given way to older, brittler bones. It was her face, her sadness and loss, that Link knew all too well, even with wrinkles covering most of it. She looked forlorn as she stood and watched the house for a few moments.

"All gone," she mumbled. "Talia, Morgen, Esta, and Link. All that's left of them is a house. But what good is a house with no love inside?" Then she shook her head and turned back into town.

Her step was slower now. She had shed most of her belongings sometime between now and the last memory Link had seen, opting only for the clothes on her back and a small pack. She was no longer Shara the "merchant," but just Shara. Even with the lighter load, her breathing was labored just enough to give Link pause. But she was determined to get up the hill to Purah's laboratory.

Hardly anything about the town had changed. In the distance, there were fewer houses near the entrance to town, but most of the buildings in the center of town were still there. The shops didn't have the same wares, but on the surface, they looked the same as they did in Link's time. Even the laboratory hadn't changed.

She made it to the laboratory and knocked on the door. Purah's dainty steps inside soon followed. The door opened, and Shara did a double take, utterly confused. This Purah was not the same woman she had known in years past, but was a younger version.

Purah, though smaller and younger than before, was no less inquisitive, trying to temper her own confusion. She squinted through her large, red-rimmed glasses. "Shara?"

Shara opened the pack at her hip and took out an armload of notebooks. She needed both hands to get them and hold them out. "These are for you."

The scholar's eyes went wide, and she was nearly squealing. "Oh! Right!" She grabbed them as gently as she could, as if she were handling gold that shouldn't be touched with filthy human hands. But, still curious, she attempted to thumb through them. "Thank you. These are all filled? You've been working on them this whole time?"

Shara smiled. "Pretty much. I've researched what I could about the Shrine while the Hero is in there. Nothing else to do besides wait."

"Wait for what?" Purah asked.

"For Link to wake up," Shara said, shrugging. "It should only be a couple more decades, based on my calculations."

Purah's eyes went wide. "You predicted that?" Then she looked at Shara with admiration. "That's some mighty fine dedication of you. Were you and Link friends before he died?"

Shara pursed her lips, deciding what to say. "Yes. Something like that."

Understanding blossomed on Purah's face. "I see."

"I...I didn't want to be the first thing he'll see when he wakes. For me to be this old, and for him to still be young...if he remembered me, it would be too painful. For both of us. It's better this way," Shara admitted. It couldn't have been easy, but nothing in her life was easy. "It's almost time for me to...pass on. I thought I should give these to you," she said, pointing to the notebooks still in Purah's hands.

Purah's gaze dropped, and she hugged the notebooks close to her chest. "Was it lonely out there? Waiting for him?"

Shara thought for a moment. "Not completely. There was someone else who lingered in the area—a wizened, bearded man who was kind to me. I also had my memories with me. Memories are not always trustworthy, but they are mine."

"Yes," Purah said softly. Then, before Shara could say anything, the scholar rushed inside to set the notebooks down, then came back to the door. "Are you staying in the area? Can I take you to the new inn?"

Shara gave her a small smile. "That would be swell."

Link's incorporeal form followed the women into town and towards the inn. They stepped over the threshold, and the innkeeper greeted them. He arranged a room for Purah's aging student, and Purah said her goodbyes.

Alone in the small room, with the single lit candlestick and looming shadows over the sparsely decorated room, Shara sat on the bed and sighed. It pained Link to have to watch and not be able to help. Shara slid her shoes off and lowered herself onto the bed.

Comfortable, and alone with her thoughts, Shara fell asleep for the last time.

The End

Author's Note:

I was not originally planning on writing a sequel to The Breath That Dies. But during the time between posting that one and writing this one, I couldn't let Shara's story fall by the wayside. It began with the thought: "What if Link saw not Zelda's, but Shara's memories during the events in Breath of the Wild? What if he followed her voice instead?" His background, his Yiga upbringing, would then come to the forefront of this adventure and haunt him. One of the beautiful things about this franchise is how Link's leaving on adventures impacts those that are left behind. Saria in OOT, Rusl and Ilia in TP, and Marin in Link's Awakening are just a few examples of people important in Link's life that he must save the world for. He must leave them behind, but they all have roles big or small in the fate of Hyrule. It is those forgotten, those left behind, for whom Link fights. He fights for his friends, his family, his clan.

I purposefully left just enough plot threads open in this book should I write a third, but also closed enough threads that I would be satisfied if the series ended here. That said, I do have a few ideas for a third book, though I plan to work on other projects first before coming back to this version of Hyrule.

Thank you, dear readers, for coming with me and letting me share my stories with you.

-Sparky1834