The Hero Of Hyrule

Hyrule Castle

Link's footsteps echoed in the dark hallways of the castle. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside, Bolson did a terrific job, but it still felt eerie in there. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that there was a suit of armor every ten or so feet apart from one another, maybe it had something to do with the fact that Link remembered roaming those halls with his heart pumping in his chest as he cautiously kept an eye out for the monsters that lurked the castle, maybe it was because he knew deep underneath the castle he had fought Calamity Ganon. Link didn't know. 

Link should've been using a torch. He really should've been using a torch but for some reason he thought that would only make him more paranoid on his midnight stroll. On his adventures he was usually hidden under the cover of night, no monsters could see him that way and for some strange reason he believed that if he was hidden in the dark then maybe the dark thoughts that haunted his mind wouldn't be able to find him. He was wrong.

Moon light flooded through one of the glass doors that lead out to the balcony. Link sighed in relief as he rushed over to the two doors and out into the serenity of the night. The wind was cold but it eased Link's nerves. He smiled, closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply. This castle...everything inside of it was making him more on edge. He had only been living in there for three days and already he's had more night terrors than he's had in the past two months. 

A low, loud grumbling echoed around the castle and Link almost jumped off the balcony. Instinctively he pulled out the Master Sword and got into his fighting position. A splash came from down below in one of the ponds on the castle's courtyards and Link sighed in relief. It was just Sidon. Him being a Zora he slept in the water, he had claimed it was nearly impossible for a Zora to sleep in a normal hylian bed and for him it was an even smaller possibility due to him being pampered all his life with the luxury of kelp beds or giant underwater flowers being there for him to rest on. Link of course knew that that was just an act. Sidon was understandably scared of being inside the castle at night. 

Link didn't put the sword back. the bright light that emerged from it made the castle seem just a bit less terrifying. He turned around to face the dark hallways and, after a moment of mental encouragement, he stepped back inside.

He held the sword up as if it were a torch, in some ways with the light it produced it kind of was. Link kept his gaze on the walls. The many paintings that were once torn apart after years of monsters having control of this magnificent castle were perfectly restored but the eyes of the deceased members of Hyrule's Royal Court followed Link. He felt like they were all judging him. They were probably all disgusted. Disgusted that someone like Link was starting the new generation of Hyrule royalty. Link looked down at the floor momentarily before looking down the hallway. He stopped and turned left, continuing to walk.

He stumbled upon a staircase that led directly up to another staircase then outside. Ah, fresh air. Link's best friend. Walking along the pathway he breathed in deeply. The smell of the water mixed with the trees and relaxed the Hylian champion. He really needed to calm down, he couldn't afford to always be so tense. A King needed to seem as calm and collected as possible at all times, even if he was having one of the worst breakdowns in all of Hyrule history. That's what Sidon said.

"But I'm no King." Link glumly thought to himself. "I had to go on a giant cucco chase just to remember the simplest things about what I was doing." His gloomy expression turned into a scowl, his grip on the glowing sword tightening. "I don't even remember who I am." Angry tears welled up in Link's eyes as he fiercely pushed a door open and walked back inside. "How can these damn Goddesses believe that I can be a King of- of everyone when I don't know my own last name?!" He was practically tripping over his feet as this point, the tears were clouding his vision. "Do they not care? Do they just not see how I am legitimately the worst person for this damn job? Are they not watching me like they said they supposedly were?" Link was shaking in anger, or perhaps it was just the overwhelming mixture of anger and sadness. "How can I be considered one of the legendary heroes when I've done practically nothing but wander around and try to remember those who called me friend." Link slammed a door open so hard that if anyone else were currently residing in the castle they surely would've awoken in shock and fear that they were under attack. "I don't know anything about myself or the people that have known me. I don't know Impa or Mipha or Daruk or Revali, Zelda, Urbosa, King Daphnes, King Dorephan, Sidon-" Link walked right into a gigantic pillar and stumbled backwards. He glared at the pillar as if it purposely placed itself there so Link could walk right into it. 

The sun was just barely peaking over the mountain range but it was enough to distract Link for just one moment. The tears that were streaming down his cheeks were now being wiped off and Link sniffled. Deep breaths, calm down. A King is always calm and cool and collected. 

After a second of looking around Link discovered that he was at the top of the castle where the Sanctum resided. Link wasn't going in. Not today. However he did kneel down onto one knee and bowed his head. A silent prayer was said in his mind, wishing the deceased Princess, King, and Champions well in their afterlife and hoping they had found their place among the Goddesses. It was nothing special- the prayer- it was simply something so he could pay his respects. Link stood back up. Walking over to the ledge, he sighed. The mornings in Hyrule were beautiful. For some reason or another he always woke up at the very crack of dawn, just when the sun was rising. 

He was leaning against the edge when something caught his eye. It was a faint light. It didn't look like a normal light, more like the holy light that only shines down on the Goddess statues. The light was faintly surrounding one of the destroyed homes in Castle Town, one that was more in the outskirts of this demolished town. Link rubbed his eyes and sniffled once more before he climbed up onto the ledge. Doing this always gave him butterflies in his stomach, one wrong move and he'd fall off this dangerously tall building, but he always did it anyway no matter where he was or how high up he was. He walked along the ledge with his paraglider in his hands before he jumped off and lazily floated over to the house ruins.

The light grew more and more intense as Link drew closer, then it vanished. He looked at the house ruins and was about to turn back around when he saw something on the ground. It was small, rusty sword. Link had seen a million and one rusty swords and usually ignored them but for some reason this one seemed interesting. Slowly, he walked over and crouched down. A lump formed in his throat and he felt the need to cry again without knowing why. The rusty sword was now in his hand and was definitely smaller than most the swords he's seen, it seemed like a child's sword. 

Then it hit him.

The memory of himself here- home- as a child. He had the sword gripped tightly in his small hand and was trying his hardest to correctly lunge at the practice dummy. Two people were in front of him. A woman, she was sitting and clapping lightly. She was encouraging him and telling him he was doing a wonderful job. A man was standing just behind the dummy and was attempting to give Link some instructions. Both their faces looked blurry and both their voices were distorted but Link knew who they were. He managed to do the attack correctly and his father picked him up, tossed him in the air, and praised him. His mother walked over and kissed his forehead, praising Link as well.

Link blinked and suddenly he was back in the ruins of Castle Town, morning was just washing over Hyrule and the deep and all too familiar feeling of emptiness made Link feel as if he'd been punched in the gut by a Lynel. He clutched the rusty sword to his chest and crumpled onto the cold ground, sobbing like a child.

It turns out the Goddesses were watching him.