The Legend of Zelda: Ways of the Wolf

14| The Princess and Her Savoir

Arriving at the end of the tunnel the heroes discovered they had entered a storage room inside the castle. For the most part it was quiet, but there were mumbling voices in a distant room. Luckily the door was still open and barely cracked. The two wolves slipped out of the room silently.

'Follow me!'
The old spirit began to run down a long hallway that had gigantic windows on one wall and elegant vases filled with flowers on the other wall. The golden soul ran up a winding staircase, navigating through the castle as if he'd done this a thousand times before. Sneaking in and out. At the top of the staircase, there was a shorter hallway with a long purple carpet and more vases of flowers against the walls. A door was all that was in front of them.

'Stay here for a moment.'
The Hero of Time morphed into his third and final form, one that Link had never seen before, besides the skeletal warrior. Rinku had transformed into a tall, muscular, pointed eared Hylian. His hair longer than Link's. It was held in a small and very loose ponytail, and his bangs hung in his face. His entire body glowed but he was slightly transparent from a certain angle. He was coated with the same royal armor as his skeleton form, but it appeared brand new.

Rinku looked the part of being royal soldier, his blade sheathed in it's scabbard, his chainmail and body armor polished to shine. But his face, his nose was large, along with his ears, he had silver hoops pierced in them and his one eye was a beautiful sky blue just like Link's. But his right eye had an enormous, deep, gory scar on it. Right across his eyebrow and down to the middle of his cheek. It didn't even look like there was an eyeball inside the permanently sealed eyelid. And his hair, a golden blond, just like the color of his pelt as a wolf. His skin was ghostly pale.

The forgotten hero walked towards the door, opening it slowly. When the door was opened all the way, Link could see from a distance a beautiful maiden standing on a balcony made of white marble. She turned around, and looked Rinku right in the eye. Link knew right away that it was the princess. A golden crown wrapped around her blonde hair, her eyes stunningly blue. Her skin was fair, and she was garbed in royal attire. She gasped and turned to face him, joy spreading across her face.

The old hero took a few steps closer, and so did she. The princess eventually ran into Rinku's arms and he spun her around a few times then sent her down gently. They began to converse in their own language, the Hero of Time's hands wrapped around her waist like ivy. They stared into each other's eyes wistfully. Outside in the hallway Link enjoyed the moment, alone. Eventually, the princess glanced over to the wolf and walked out of the room towards him. Rinku followed her, smiling. Link had never seen him smile.

"Hero of Twilight, you have traveled far and wide across my land, you must be exhausted. Please, end the day here and rest in my castle. I, Princess Zelda, welcome you to the era of yore."
The beautiful maiden took the young brute's face gently into her hands, and softly blew air onto the markings on his forehead. Doing so, the Hero of Twilight transformed from a wolf into his Hylian form. The boy sighed and gave a long stretch, thanking the princess. She smiled and showed the two heroes a guest room to stay in. Link had never experienced such luxuries, but he was positive his ancestor had.

"She's very similar to the Princess Zelda in my era...May I ask you something?"
Lying down on the bed with his hands behind his head, the Hero of Twilight sighed with content, feeling the night breeze enter the room from the two large windows.

"Yes?"
Rinku looked over at the other bed his descendent was resting upon. The fallen hero looked antsy to go somewhere else, fiddling with his fingers.

"Was she ever your lover?"
Link sat up and cris-crossed his legs, removing his shoes and hat. The warmth of the breeze made his dirty blond hair sway freely.

"Yes, she still is. It was something that grew over time, a true friendship. A feeling in the heart that became stronger. Our young love became deep affection."
Link smiled, he enjoyed seeing his elder's true colors start to bloom. He finally seemed happy.

'If you don't mind me leaving, she is awaiting my return. You should rest.'
The old soldier rose to his feet and stretched, beginning to head out.

"Don't you ever sleep?"
The younger boy asked. The Hero of Time shook his head and grinned. And with that, the resilient hero left and closed the door behind him.