The Legend of Zelda: Prince of the Sea

Chapter One: Ordon

How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on, when in your heart you begin to understand. There is no going back. There are some things that time cannot mend. Some hurts that go too deep. That have taken hold.

Reading the paragraph for a second time, the questions posed from the book matched some questions already clouding the mind of the figure laying upon a grazed field. Sprawled out this way and that, his wards moseyed around idly and remained ignorant of the man's internal plight. The Hylian set his book aside and sighed. High above him was the vast blue sky, which was pleasantly dotted with white clouds. Absentmindedly picking at the grass, the young man sighed for the hundredth time before allowing his victimized blades to flutter away to freedom in the wind. His blue-eyed gaze fell to his left hand and there his pupils traced the faint triangular birthmark that distinguished him as someone important: someone who had a destiny and who was meant for great things. Yet here he was, leading an ordinary life, as an ordinary goat herder in an ordinary village... even his clothes were ordinary.

Link frowned at the monotony of it all.

Ordinary now, or rather again, for the young Hylian's life hadn't always been this quiet. Link had been definitely having some difficulty over the past few months with returning back to what he used to refer to as his whole world. But really, could he be blamed? How many people had to essentially relearn how to take a bath without worrying about being ambushed by monsters? Link did apparently. Hell, the first time that a goat had escaped from the ranch and Link found himself in its path, he had stopped the beast with ease. However, he had grappled with it so strongly, his expression had turned so terribly dark, that when he tossed it aside the animal landed hard and was injured. Link had been deeply apologetic and horrified that he had hurt the goat. Both Fado and Mayor Bo had to calm the young man down. They reassured him that it had been nothing but a mistake and that the goat would simply walk it off. Eventually Link relented, but what truly had scared him was that when the goat had charged he swore it was a Bullbo. He hadn't seen a common Ordon Goat, but as a creature or something just as evil and dangerous. When Link hurled the beast aside he had been intending to hurt it in order to protect the village, but... it had simply been a goat.

Goats weren't the only things Link was finding difficulty with. Currently, his daily routine consisted of: waking early at dawn, washing and dressing, making breakfast for himself before heading out into the crisp morning air to tend to his silver bay mare, Epona. Once his best girl was tended to, he'd lead her from his house to head off to work at Ordon Ranch. All were simple enough tasks, yet completely them all while also constantly looking over his shoulder for an approaching Poe or Bulblin made them all slightly stressful. Link had always taken his time with his truly noble steed. He loved Epona. He made sure she was properly groomed, that her hooves were cleaned, and that her mane and tail were thoroughly combed until all the dirt and tangles were gone. Perhaps taking his time was an overstatement. It seemed that more often than naught these days, no matter how early he awoke in the morings Link was usually late to meet Fado up at the ranch.

With each stroke of his grooming brush upon his horse, Link would sink deeper into his thoughts. His dread of having to face yet another mundane day would slowly envelop him and he would lose track of time altogether. It was no secret that he wasn't satisfied with his Ordonian duties anymore. The entire village knew it and behind their smiles and comforting words, everyone knew that he was unhappy.

In the beginning when Link had first returned home, it arrived adorned in heroic green and astride his mare. His adventures and deeds had been swollen to idealized and grandiose levels by the village children whom he had saved. everything seemed to be alright. Welcomed like the hero he was, Link's return was overcast by an invisible shadow that hung over him. Quickly and silently, Link realized that no one would understand even if he tried to explain it. There was just too much to tell and Link had never been good at talking, period. The villagers called him the "Saviour of Hyrule", as did the entire kingdom. Link, however, knew that he did not deserve all the credit but it was difficult for people to understand that he had a partner for the majority of his adventures. Why? Well, said partner was usually invisible to see so, therefore, no one from the village had ever seen them.