Hero by Heart

Chapter 1

Two months later

The sun started to sink beneath the horizon, turning the sky a beautiful red and orange. The few clouds that drifted by glowed purple and the whole world seemed to light up one last time before the dark of night.
     Halfway down a hill covered in bright green grass and big rock formations stood a lonely figure. He stood with his back against the trunk of the only tree and his hood drawn over his head. He had one leg crossed over the other, arms folded against his chest. His face was not visible, but the slight glint of light reflected in his eyes.
     To any ordinary passerby it might look like he was merely admiring the view, but Princess Zelda knew better. As she slowly ascended Sahasra Slope, she watched him through the lashes of her eyes. She carefully kept her head down and pretended to pet her horse, but was uncomfortably aware of him.
     They had not seen each other the past few weeks. After he had told her he couldn't remember her she had felt completely defeated, utterly alone. Almost everybody she had known before was now dead. He had been her hope, her anchor. She had believed they shared a history together and that they could go back to that, that not all was lost.
     But then he shattered those dreams. Bits and pieces, that was all he knew. He would never remember all those days they had spent together.
     For a while it had been too much for her to bear.
     She had gone to the castle, hoping to find something. Anything at all. A piece of how it used to be.
After Ganon perished, all Malice had disappeared from Hyrule. The Guardians had fallen silent and it was finally safe again. That didn't mean it was all over.
     The castle and Castle Town were completely ruined, barely anything left untouched. It was far from safe to travel alone, yet she had refused Link when he offered to join her. He felt like he was still her appointed knight, which was technically true, but at that time she could not handle being around him.
     For days she had roamed the empty, collapsed halls and the rooms where she had so many memories. It hurt in her very soul to see it in this state, but she had tried to look at the bright side. At least there was no more Ganon, no more Guardians. They could rebuild.
     That knowledge, however, hadn't saved her from what she'd felt when she reached her study.
     That place had meant everything to her. She had spent hours and hours, week after week, trying to discover new secrets. She had collected rare books, special scrolls and beautiful ancient artefacts. She had written journals full of her findings.
     All that was left now were piles of dust and broken furniture.
     She had stumbled forward, into the middle of the room. From there she had turned in slow circles, taking in the sorry state of it. Through the broken windows a cold breeze had flown in, lifting old, disintegrated papers and creating clouds of dust. On the collapsed desk lay a few journals, ripped and torn, but at least the papers they contained were still there. They were smudged and some parts were missing, but the text was readable. Next to one of the open journals she had noticed something in the dust. A handprint. She knew for a fact that it had to have been Link's. He had been there.
     Tears had started to well in her eyes as she imagined him carefully making his way through the castle, dodging and fighting enemies on his way up. He had reached this room and examined it, but he had not known. He couldn't remember all the times he had been in here with her, the days when he stood guard in front of the door, or the moments they had spent outside on the bridge, enjoying a well-deserved break in the afternoon sun.
Zelda had wiped her eyes and taken a deep breath. He had probably stumbled in, looked around, discovered the journals and realized that they were hers. She could almost see him as he stood hunched over the desk, trying to decipher the smudged words on the ripped pages. Did he have any memories of the events she described? She hadn't dared to think about it. Instead she had imagined him leaving the study the way he came, on to explore more of the castle.
     The thought of him not remembering her and all they had been through was a stab in the heart, time and time again.
     She had left the study and slowly made her way through the castle, trying not to think of him. Or of his bright blue eyes and his messy ponytail, the way his champion's tunic brought out the color even more, or the way he stayed quiet and simply nodded whenever possible.
     It was too painful.
     After a few weeks of roaming around and letting the memories of her family and the kingdom flow, she had known it was time to get back to reality. The castle could be rebuilt, even though the people that had lived there were gone. She had a duty to her kingdom, to the new generations that now lived in it.
During her explorations, she had stayed over at Wetland Stable, the safest place to sleep in the surrounding area. From there she had sent word that she was in need of a building crew, which had arrived halfway her third week there. They had been all too willing to help her out and listened intently to her instructions. They had gone around the castle, as she pointed out things that needed to be done while recalling the original state and trying to suppress the grief and guilt and shame.
When all work was progressing nicely and she had made clear what she wanted, Zelda had decided it was time to do what she had dreaded.
There were still some people from her past, although they might not be for long. She should visit them while she still could.
     And so, she had set out for Kakariko Village, even though she knew he would be there.
     It was not a long journey, but Zelda had made it last as long as she could. She was trying to figure out what to say to him, how to act, but nothing seemed right. How was anyone supposed to act with someone they had known for over a hundred years, but who was a completely different person now?
     She didn't know this new Link, the Hero of Hyrule.
     This wasn't her hero.