Chapter Text
Wood burns in a series of sharp cracks and pops, as if air pockets are bursting beneath the fire. Orange and gold dance together in a brick fireplace while flames find their way upwards until curling in on themselves again. Link and Talon found a hostel in Hyrule Castletown’s back alley. Without money in their pockets from their capture, an old woman on the streets shared sympathy for them. She allowed the two to rest together for tonight, without demanding any pay.
The former Hero rests with damp hair and clean hands folded across his stomach. Above him, a warm-lit ceiling and its surrounding walls decorated with paintings of Hyrule’s most popular locations. He envies Talon for how quickly he falls asleep. The large rancher barely made it out of the bathroom before sounding the dragons—his snores are deafening.
Link breathes out and squirms under the covers. His new position lays with one arm tucked under his head. Cerulean eyes watch the fireplace once more. He wishes that maybe its heat can provide him with enough comfort to sleep.
Today… was a longer day than he expected.
It is great news Talon and Epona made it out alive from Gerudo Valley, but the victory isn’t as sweet as Link had hoped. Nabooru’s stare at him across the canyon continues to haunt him. The responsibility she has over Hyrule’s entire desert civilization must weigh her more than boulders. It's letting him free after all he’s done that isn’t helping with his regrets either.
The former Hero rubs his eyes and settles himself again. Nabooru will have to regroup with everyone and find ways to ease the chaos started there. Not only that, Link destroyed her people’s only access to Hyrule Fields. They need to depend on what they have in the valley and in Desert Colossus until the bridge is built.
One verbal apology can't make up for the problems caused, this the former Hero knew.
Talon snorts before tucking his face in his pillows. Elven ears pick up on Epona’s tiny shrills outside. It seems it is hard for her to sleep, much like her own companion. Link rises and adjusts his new robes. He will traverse Castletown tonight to clear his mind. Above all, he cannot sleep anyway.
Old floorboards make no effort to conceal the former Hero’s stealth attempts. Talon being a heavy sleeper will not affect his journey in the slightest. It is mostly the old woman waiting for Link in the hallway. Her shawl covers her head full of white curly hair. This takes the former Hero aback entirely. He did not expect their host to be up at this hour.
“Child, just where do you think you’re going?” She asks him, approaching with two arms crossed into long sleeves.
Link stammers, not knowing how to begin a story or a lie. He's been caught. A twinge of pain strikes him at his side, the exact spot where a Gerudo nicked him with her poisonous spearhead. This is enough not to excuse him for a quick departure.
“I…?”
The old woman shakes her head, “I insist that you rest. You and your friend have traveled too far to worry about small matters.” She places her hand onto Link’s shoulder, “Your pony is right where we left her. I just checked.”
Link grimaces, “I have nothing more than a scratch.”
“Now I know that is not true. Tell me, you are also covered in bruises.”
There is a pause. The former Hero can’t come up with anything given his condition. Talon did carry him inside this hostel when they arrived and Link awoke to searing pain in his legs when trying to climb off Epona. Warm water from his bath cleaned him of dirt and blood, but his strained muscles barely rested between that time and their escape. Link's chin is tilted up by the gentle pull of a pinched index finger and thumb. The old woman is giving him the warmest of smiles.
“Something tells me you are not used to relaxing…aren’t you?”
He hesitates, eyes widening to the realization that he makes his plight so obvious to others. The former Hero quickly moves his face out of her grasp. He wanted her not to read him anymore.
“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, Ma’am…”
“It is a cold and harsh world out there, boy. I am eighty-five years old now, turning eighty-six in just a couple more months…” She leans closer, in a direction where Link can see her clearer, “I can say I’ve had my fair share of troubling experiences. The Kingdom of Hyrule is at peace today, but years ago, it is a world I’m glad you never had to see.”
Cerulean orbs shimmer to her words. There is no reason for her to speak so fondly to a stranger like him. Just because he is a child in her eyes, should she immediately pity him? This boy traveled back and forth in time, making seven years a possible forty-five, and here she attempts to compare his-
Link’s emotions are incredibly fragile, and he knew it, too. These thoughts have to cease—immediately.
He sniffles, bringing a quick arm to his face in order to rub away tears. Don’t. To continue breaking down like this in front of her can spread rumors about him, send enemies on his past friends, ruin his chances of being normal again-
Link gasps to the pull of her hands. Lashes open to find himself resting against her chest, his face tucked into a space just over her abdomen. The old woman smells of lilies and spruce, a comforting scent in this overwhelming tornado of sorrow.
“Breathe…” is all she whispers, stroking the back of Link’s head, “I pray the Goddesses will find you and your friend peace.”
No one in his past or current timeline sat him down to reflect on his own actions. Everything the former Hero has ever known was to serve the purpose of those same Goddesses—a foreseen prophecy exclaimed by Hyrule’s Princess in order to save the Kingdom and the rest of the world. Even being a stranger, this old woman has wisdom in her words over his trials. Being forced to grow up is an experience he never wishes on his worst enemy.
Because looking back on everything, sometimes Link wonders why he agreed in the first place to take such responsibility.
If he had known how it would affect him in the end…
Would he have risked it all again?
Link cries and cries, unable to control his burst of tears and erupting agony. Together, they sit on two chairs resting in the hallway’s dim space. A fallen Hero is broken apart by the regrets and nostalgia he’s bottled up for a lifetime.
A small and silk-gloved hand reaches out to touch the snout of a Red Bay Silver pony. The filly controls her shrills, allowing these gentle fingers to stroke the white painted stripe between her eyes. It is her gesture with the shake of her wild mane, that she seeks more of this kind affection.
“Princess…” warns a worried but stern voice, “We should return to the castle before the guards notice your absence. We've been gone for too long.”
“At ease, Impa…” she responds, a small smile notable through the shadows of her cloak’s hood, “Isn’t she pretty? I would love to a have a horse of my own someday to travel Hyrule Fields…”
“I take it that Link has put an impression on you.” Her royal bodyguard stands closer, observing the filly greedily accepting their shared attention on her, “Unlike you, he roams around without a crown though.” The corner of Impa’s lips too curve upwards into a smile.
Zelda pouts and she doesn’t look her way. The two decided to traverse Hyrule Castletown in secret. The king’s preparations for making Hylia’s reincarnation become Queen has been an ordeal. Not one guard, maid, or tailor can stroll in castle halls ignorant of the princess’s exhaustion. She works day and night, studying the Kingdom of Hyrule’s history and political wrangles.
Impa is a Sheikah sworn to protect the Royal Family at all costs. Her rigorous training is not shy of violence, but she can agree being cooped up in a library space will wear down any war general. This time outside is what Princess Zelda needed. It is the most she has seen her smile since their planned escape together.
“Many times, I do wonder how Link is doing.” Zelda moves her hand away and to her own chest, “As familiar as he feels to me, it seems he isn’t interested in getting to know me more.”
“What makes you think that Your Highness?” Impa inquires.
She swallows rather hesitantly, “Well… his visits to the castle have turned infrequent, haven’t they?” Her quiet steps across cobblestone leave a trail of soft clicks in the midnight air.
Her bodyguard follows, wondering over how much time has passed since Ganondorf’s sealed fate, “I suppose you are right.” Impa frowns, “The forest boy was quick to tell you what was going on in that man’s head. He is the only one who believed you aside from me over his bad intentions with the treaty. Link retreated just as hurriedly.”
“Ganondorf wishing to travel Hyrule Fields alone was suspicious enough. It still hurts me to know Father was hesitant towards the big decision. At least it is all over now...”
Impa nods.
They continue down the back-alley path. Kiosks sit empty with their fabric tops fluttering in the breeze. Princess Zelda wishes she can enjoy life like many of the commoners here. From her carriages’ windows, she’s seen the many things kids her age do. They run around chasing cuccos and play with their dogs. Children laugh and sing with the tunes played by street performers in the marketplace.
It gets lonely being the only child of King Hyrule…
Impa notices the princess turn somber again. She gently taps Zelda to catch her attention.
“Princess, if I may ask…please excuse my intrusion.”
“You may speak.”
“I am willing to search for Link and deliver a message to him personally, if that is what you so desire.”
She blinks, staring at the taller woman she has always known as her closest friend more than a shield. Tears well up in Zelda’s eyes. She will admit it is a gesture that is just too kind to follow through.
“I say this as a means to lighten your mood.” Impa's metal boots halt and her larger body slouches to be that of the same height as Hyrule’s Princess, “I do not think you are at fault for Link’s absence. When he arrived at the castle, his determination to help you try Ganondorf came with countless amounts of evidence. He has lived a second timeline, just like you. I think he is catching up with what was granted to him, and maybe, he continues to help others as much as he had when he was the Hero of Time.”
Zelda sniffles, appreciative of Impa’s fondness and reassurances. The two hold each other in a warm embrace.
“Thank you, Impa. It will mean the world to me if you set out to find him…” Her grip tightens, “As I am too afraid to tell Link I am sorry again for putting the entire world on his shoulders...”
Under the moon, they wait in silence together to recollect themselves, not knowing just how close they were to their long lost warrior.