Sword of Destiny [The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild]

six

Taro kept Link's secret, until he didn't.

Link was sixteen when the barracks could put a face to a name.

He had woken up early that morning, not to train but to prepare to go on watch. They had started him on it when he was fifteen because he was capable of defending the gates, but now that he was a year older and had some prior experience, they were giving him full shifts.

He left the barracks without stopping in the commissary. Link was buzzing with energy already, excited that he could finally contribute to the kingdom, but irked that he would be wasting training time.

He had improved vastly in the past year. He could defeat several of the captains in combat, and was sure he could win against the rest, but it appeared no one really wanted to try against him. His father had no such qualms and spent one or two early mornings a week sparring with him. Neither of them had gone full out. Link genuinely wondered whether or not he could win against his father, but he wasn't eager to try. He knew he'd get the chance someday.

Hylians in the barracks tended to stay away from Link. The only two he regularly conversed with other than his captains were Taro and Blythe.

For the better part of the last year, Blythe hated Link vehemently. She glared at him, and whenever the captains had the squads spar with each other, she was worse than violent--she was out for blood. She fought with integrity when sparring with others, but if she caught sight of Link she would flush red with anger. It stumped Link. He couldn't fathom she would hate him so much over losing a small bout.

She was close with Taro, though, and that's why she eventually came around. Link hadn't been searching for friends when he enlisted, but he seemed to find one in Taro, who wouldn't leave him alone. Blythe must have seen them together often enough she decided Link wasn't worth avoiding if she wanted to be friends with Taro.

She began conversing with Link over watch one day. They'd been paired together a couple of times, though now Blythe's shift was shorter than his. While before it looked like she was physically restraining herself from moving to throttle him, now she was almost shy.

He wondered if she was just naturally that way.

"Link!" Taro called from behind. Blythe followed him. She looked anywhere other than at Link but still uttered a greeting. It was an improvement, for sure.

Taro was carrying a bowl of something that steamed in the crisp air. He thrust it out to Link. "You didn't eat breakfast this morning."

"Oh," said Link as he took the bowl. "Thank you."

Taro grinned, and Blythe only glanced at him.

Link still wasn't accustomed to Taro's kindness. No one else had made the effort that he had to extend a hand to Link despite Link's silence. Link wondered what in the world Taro found in him that was interesting.

Other than the sword, at least. But Taro didn't ask much about that.

In fact, the only question he had asked about the Master Sword was if Link planned on using it casually. When Link said he'd prefer people not to know, Taro accepted it without a beat, and proceeded to gush about the detail on the blade. He never asked to hold it. Link was grateful--he didn't think he would have let him.

He wouldn't let anybody, except maybe his father and Mipha. His father was, well, his father, and Mipha was the kindest, honest, and most gentle person Link had ever met. He knew she would take it delicately, treating it like it would break. She would never try to hide it from him.

But as much as Link liked and appreciated Taro, he didn't know him well enough.

It turned out it was a wise judgment to make.