The Revival of Shadow Link

20:

"Hiya."

I glanced over my shoulder at Opia before staring ahead again.

"So...you gonna respond...or emote...or...breathe?" I could hear her footsteps getting closer before abruptly stopping behind me. Directly behind me. Was she just going to stare at the back of my head?

I crossed my arms—I wanted to be alone. But here she was.

"Nope."

"Fair enough." She sighed. "I saw you run off and...I felt I should do something. I...heard you guy's conversation."

I took a minute to process that. Had she eavesdropped or were we that loud? Did it sound like I was being a total jerk, or was it obvious something was wrong with me? Well, something being wrong wouldn't really excuse my behavior, but...I couldn't think straight.

"Something is wrong with you," the voice said.

"I think I'm missing something. You...don't seem to be the type who'd get worked up over something like that."

"I'm not, you are. Missing something, I mean!"

I was standing at the edge of the cliff, and some part of was considering hurling myself off, just because I could.

"Figured. Mind if I ask you what's wrong?"

"No. I won't answer, but I won't mind."

She smiled. "At least that's an answer."

I paused. "We still know nothing about you."

"There is nothing to know, nothing you don't. I told you my name is Opia, I saw that woman attacking you guys and rushed to help. Though I clearly didn't do much."

"But before that. Where do you come from? What were you doing there?"

"I can't say."

"Why not?" I asked.

She shrugged.

"If you really want to know..."she looked at me expectantly. "I was just...I spent a lot of time in a cell by myself after betraying Vaati and all that shit you probably don't know, I just....I can't stop thinking about it, but remembering it is...painful."

"What happened?" Opia asked.

"Most of the time I was just alone. And he told me that they had lost, that my efforts were fruitless and I was just gonna rot there forever. He told me they were dead and...after a month I guess, he didn't tell me how long I was there, he...I found a knife and I tried to...k-K...." I swallowed. "Everything got so much worse, and I got sleep deprived and lonely and I was losing my mind. I hated it."

"I'm so sorry, you don't deserve that." She looked at me. "You're a good person, I know it, just...you kinda have to acknowledge you're human, and that we aren't expecting perfection from you, and we aren't expecting you to constantly screw up."

"I expect myself to constantly screw up!"

"You shouldn't! You've done stuff right!" She looked closer at me. "The whole reason you had to spend so long suffering was because you did the right thing! And it's horrible I that it happened, but...you saved so many lives, you improved so many lives, Vio seems so happy with you! Red was being extremely chipper and constantly trying to cheer everyone up before, but now he's mellowed our. Blue got even more short tempered, and Vio...was pretty much destroyed. I think you saved Vio when you came back. I think he was starting to lose himself in all his stress, it was horrible. You've done things right without knowing, whatever is going to happen, it'll be okay."

I sighed. "Everything would be so much easier if everyone hated me."

She smiled at me, and I saw her lips move, but the words that came out were in a totally different tone, different voice. "Everyone does hate you, Shadow. I do, Vio does, everyone in Hyrule. You're a monster."

I swallowed. "What?"

"I said that feelings aren't very easy. Life would be simple if we didn't feel anything, but then what would the point of life be? You aren't hated, at least not by anyone who matters. Whoever hates you, that's their problem."

My heartbeat quickened and I swore she looked familiar. "I feel like we've met before."

"You're such a fool," she said.

"I'm sorry, can you...repeat yourself?" I asked, feeling embarrassed because that wasn't her voice, I knew that.

"We haven't, sorry."

There seemed to be something bothering her, distressing her, there was sadness in her eyes and her shoulders seemed to slouch a bit.

"Nice night, huh?" She asked, suddenly sitting down and then looking back up at me, as if telling me to sit next to her, which I did.

She seemed absolutely thrilled I had.

"Yeah?" I said slowly.

"Yeah!" She said, cheerful, but with a strained voice clearly hiding another emotion. "And this height! Isn't this cliff great? I really like heights."

I stared at her. "I-I'd like them too if it didn't seem like you were about to shove me and watch me go two dimensional on the ground below us."

Opia giggled and for a brief moment, she appeared as someone else entirely. "Someone got me to really like heights. You know, even though falling from here would be a grisly fate, huh?"

And then, as I looked just a bit closer...

Her face shape, the way the ends of her hair curled slightly, her gentle eyes, her slender body, the silver chain around her neck—

Had he gave it back to her?

"Pr...Princess...?"

She smiled gently and placed a finger to her lips.

So, here she was...

Princess Zelda, in the flesh.

Now it seemed really obvious to me.