Homeward Bound | Legend of Zelda

Chapter 8 - Lights Flicker As They Vanish

Link tucked his hands behind his pillow, head lolled to the side as he gazed out across his minimal view of Kakariko Village. Morning sunlight poured in from the open window, a gentle breeze carding around the drapes and through his hair, dusting his cheeks pink from the cool. 

He could see Hyrule tucked away in the corner of the room, the note they'd found in the abandoned hut laid in his lap, eyes tracing over the words again and again. His eyes held the intensity they had while assuring Link of his own purpose and ability to fulfil what was expected of him. The same glistening in the green, the same sparkling of freckles. The curve of his lips held a fondness, and Link found himself smiling quietly to himself as well. 

He brought his gaze back to the window and the sky of pink and orange just beyond.

Link let out a slow sigh, allowing his eyes to fall back shut. 

"I know you're awake, y'know."  

He listened as Hyrule snorted, folding the note back up. His steps were soundless as he crossed the room, so it was only when he was right above Link that the current hero even noticed he had moved. 

"You can't lie here all day. The sun already rose."

Link grumbled something, ducking below the blanket and curling up. If Hyrule couldn't see him, then maybe...

"Hylia, you're just like Sky!" A fist curled itself into the edge of the blanket and ripped it backwards, exposing Link in all of his almost-naked glory. 

Link groaned, throwing an arm across his eyes. "Who?"

Hyrule pressed his lips together, like he'd caught himself too late. Link frowned, sitting up. 

"Sky... Are they one of the heroes?"

Hyrule turned his head to the side, then slowly nodded. "I wasn't..."

Link pulled his knees into his chest, trying to decipher exactly why it seemed like Hyrule wasn't meant to mention their otherworldly companions. He didn't feel he could outright ask, not when Hyrule clearly looked like he'd overstepped a mark he wasn't even aware was there to cross. But still, as they say, curiosity killed the cat.

"Can you tell me about them?" Link asked tentatively. Hyrule was his closest and most trusted friend in this foreign world, but that didn't mean they knew each other better than they knew themselves. Farore above, Link didn't even know himself, never mind somebody else.

The movement was more assured this time, hair tumbling into his eyes with the jolting nod Hyrule gave. "I can't tell you much. They are not my stories to tell, but... We all have had adventures similar to yours. Sky, well, he was the first of us. He is at the beginning of the timeline. We are all his successors in a way. He never holds us to that, though. He is the most patient, maybe not the wisest, but he... he's at the very core of what being a Hero of Courage is. He pretty much defined it. He does sleep a lot, though."

"Sky." Link allowed the name to roll over his tongue, the sound leaving a pleasant tingling on his tongue. "The Hero of the Sky?"

Hyrule nodded eagerly, a grin stretching across his face. 

"The note." Link's eyes flicked to where it had been left at the end of the bed. "Did he write that?"

Hyrule followed his gaze, his eyes softening ever so slightly. 

"That was the Captain's handwriting."

"Captain?"

Hyrule hummed, but tucked the note away into a pocket in his tunic. The sudden change in demeanour was enough for Link to recognise that this conversation was over, but then Hyrule hopped across the room and withdrew something hidden away beneath his chair.