Hero

The Unclasping of Many Chains

With a low groan of despair, Link slams the pen down the desk, distraught wringing his shoulders tight. He hunches over the wooden desk he's sitting at, face buried in his paperwork.

The air in his private room is hot and stuffy, and the suit he has on is layered, and to make it even worse, the papers he's working on with all the fancy words written on them make his brain boil even hotter yet.

He stares out the window longingly for the millionth time and he feels even worse.

His room is rather high up, located on the east castle wing, and he gets a nice view of the lush green hills beyond his tower. The hills he would run across freely when he was off exploring or traveling. He rips himself away from the desk and practically trips over himself to reach the window. He quickly unlatches the locks and throws the glass doors open.

The air changes instantly, cooled and with the smell of freshness that soothes his impatience and distress immediately.

He sits there, and reaches a hand out to feel for the sun's warmth. Link will always remember the sunburns and tanlines he would constantly get when summertime came around, because he would spend all his time under the sun's rays. Hard work? Definitely, but Link feels it certainly beats this hell of a job.

Instantly he feels bad.

Guilty even.

He shouldn't think like this, he reprimands himself. He's lucky he can still be of use here. Even if his new job at Hyrule Castle feels more like an imprisonment than a promotion.

He looks back at the many paper stacks he has yet to fill out. He clicks his tongue disapprovingly. Zelda has put him on this assignment of reviewing propositions made by other royal members. He has done assignments like this and many others, one after the other. It takes link so long to finish one arduous task, that by the time he's finished, he drags himself to bed, and wakes to continue the job. He doesn't have any time to rest, or fish, or even take a short stroll outside the castle walls.

He faintly recalls how his life reached this point of being caged.

He remembers right after defeating Ganon, his life changed direction. He definitely did not want it to go in this direction for him, at least, but it happened.

Zelda claimed him for the castle after the Great Calamity faster than an arrow zipping past to hit a target.

He had a bit of time after the victory to spend in different regions in order to recieve his praise and gifts. He didn't really think of continuing his work, but he definitely had plans for retirement. To just settle and keep busy with his hobbies.

But that was not what happened. He had his final acceptance and thank you speech at Zelda's castle. He was first celebrated, and then Zelda talked to him the same day about a position that she needed him in. Link should have said anything, but he could only agree and accept hesitantly.

Zelda was a bit haste in her decision. But she went ahead and gave him the second highest title in the kingdom, that of Official Guard Dog. A title meant to represent his second opinions of what he thought. A sort of second opinion to Zelda, a confidant. The people still regarded him with much respect, but the title did not settle with him too easily. It felt, empty in a way.

Like it really was just that, a title.

It's not like Link felt like a trophy husband, but it felt a bit like he was sort of given this job in order to keep him busy and close.