Zelda, from her balcony, heard the sounds of nearing rushed footsteps over the noise of the celebration. She turned in time to see one of her guards, Vilakin, jogging toward her hurriedly. He held a cloth in his hands. Zelda faced him and glanced at the wrappings, which were covered in blood. Before she could speak, the guard said, "I just stepped in to check on the Hero, Your Majesty, and--"
"He's gone, isn't he?" Zelda said, looking back down over the crowd, scanning for Link.
Vilakin's shoulders slumped slightly. "He is. And we, not one of us, saw him leave. But he's--"
"It's alright, Vilakin," Zelda said calmly. "If he left, not one of you would have caught him anyway." She rested her arms upon the stone of her balcony, her eyes continuing to scan through the celebrating villagers.
"But, highness," the guard continued, "he's wounded. He left his bandages, for sakes! We have to--"
"Vilakin," the Princess interrupted, with a hint of supremicy in her voice, albeit still kind, "If he has left, then he wanted to leave and should not be recovered by us. Come here," she said happily, when the man looked heartbroken. "Come look over the balcony."




Link grimaced as he swung his leg over Epona's saddle. Climbing out the window wasn't the most glamorous option of leaving Hyrule castle, but the Healers had placed guards outside his door for this very reason: he was leaving. Link also had to take most of the bandages off, as they were suffocating him. The bleeding had mostly stopped anyway, and Link had no use for bulking gauze taped over his chest. He put a hand to the gaping wound in his stomach. That sword battle flashed before his eyes again, as it always would, and Link sighed. Swinging onto Epona's back had opened the wound again, and he ground his teeth against the pain. He reminded himself, now Hyrule was safe, united, and had its rightful princess on the throne. This city had no further use for a Forest boy, however sword-trained he might be. Link patted the horse's mane, and looked for a moment over where the festival was being held. Something he'd never dreamed of seeing: the Desert people, the Mountain people, the Water people: all interacting joyfully with Hyrule's Castle Town inhabitants. Peace was back, for now, and there was nothing more to do. Link's eyes moved to the statue standing in the entrance of Hyrule Castle. Lon-Lon was gone, ashes, and the dust still remained, but the flowers Zelda had planted were in full bloom and blood red as Malon's hair. The statue of the horse, erected in the center of Lon-Lon, in full-gallop pose, caught the rays of light from the setting sun on its silver mane. Zelda was wise indeed, Link thought: the position of the horse made it look free and wild, as though it were escaping the flames that had engulfed the Ranch.
Epona was now walking on her own, taking the all-too-well known trail leading away from Hyrule castle by habit. Link looked over the horizon; when he got far enough away, he would let her go full-gallop across the open field. It would be miles and days before Link reached any habitable place, and he wasn't even sure where he would go then. Away, somewhere. The Hero stretched his arms out, feeling the weight of his sword and shield gone from his back. The shield was now hanging in the Honor Hall of the castle, and the sword was back in its resting place. Link's bow, as well, was gone from him. He'd presented it to Darunia shortly before going into battle. It was too precious to lose, or break, and Link knew that the Gorons would take care of it as no one else. So now, with no weapons, Link thought himself no hero, and did not care to seek any new heroic quests. He was nearing the hilltop now: almost out of sight of the villagers, when he could make his break for the gallop. A sharp instinct made Link turn around and gaze at the castle behind him, at Zelda's window.
She was there, and she was looking down at him, smiling. His heart missed a beat, fearing that she would send his guards and caretakers down after him, to seize him and put him in that miserable bed for another fortnight. However, his sharp eyes caught her smile as she looked down on him, and his spirits lifted. She knew he didn't belong there, didn't belong in that city with the attention he would surely recieve. Epona stopped and turned slightly, and Link, still facing Zelda, watched as she slowly sank into a bow towards him. Her crowned head lowered, and the golden arc caught the sunlight. At that moment, Link was dazzled by the princess. She was young, beautiful, and wise, and would make a wonderful queen. Turned in the seat, Link sank his own head. He was weary and sore, and he could feel the gash in his stomach tear as he bent himself down, but Link sank into the bow the best he could to show his gratitude and respect. For a moment, all there was between them was silence, as the sunset cast itself over the mane of the horses' statue, Zelda's crown, and Link's golden hair. Then, realizing he was at the top of the hill and had to slowly slink by no more, Link slapped the reins to Epona's neck, and she reared up, galloping away over the golden grass. Link faced Hyrule Castle no more. Even the ground here was beautiful: the battle had taken its toll on Hyrule Field, but with the gorgeous colors in the sky mirroring onto the ground, it was impossible to tell that blood had been spilt so few weeks ago.
Epona soared over the field, growing farther and farther away from the place it had all started. Link leaned back and opened his hand, letting the wind hit his fingers. It blew his hair away from his face, and he put his other hand on Epona's neck. His best friend. They could roam forever here, he realized, not dying, not being confined to narrow halls or great ravines. They had the world to themselves, and Link closed his eyes against the sights he'd seen. He could still feel the golden triforce burning below his glove. He would always feel it there. As Auntie had said, it was part of him, something he couldn't part with and wouldn't if he had the chance. Through all that happened, as she said, each person played his own part, and when his time was up, he could be free as the wind that warmed their faces. It was the wind that now warmed Link's face as he turned it toward the sun.
Somewhere in the distant Desert, the Sun King, with his wise, black eyes, was painting the glyph of the Sun on Nabooru's forehead, because she was no longer a theif. She was Queen of the desert people. On Death Mountain, Darunia was tucking away Link's bow and quiver with utmost care. It was his prize possesion, the prize possesion of his entire race, one that would be guarded and esteemed forever. The Zora, under Ruto's order, stained a watery mural on their temple walls. The stain depicted a young Hylian hero fighting a shadow of himself: his image, mirrored by the water. And somewhere underneath Hyrule, in the twisted catacombs of the ancients, the lively spirits sighed and whispered to one another of the hero who had set their souls free forever. One group who did not celebrate, however, was the Forestrans, who were all now mourning the death of two of their own, for their wisest villager had just passed away. For years she'd lived alone, ever since the strange, yellow-haired orphan she raised had disappeared forever.
And in Hyrule Castle Town, the people celebrated. Zelda rose from her bow and smiled after Link. Her guard was not feeling so secure. He gazed at the tiny green-clad rider who was now galloping away. "But, Majesty...what are we going to do? What if he's still wounded?"
"Oh, he'll be all right," Zelda replied softly, still watching the Hero fly across the field.
"But...why did he leave? Where is he going? Is he coming back?"
"He has left us forever," Zelda replied simply. She knew she could never explain, to a guardsman, Link's fierce independence. So she didn't bother. She turned to go back inside, and she noticed the soldier still standing over the balcony, looking crestfallen. She smiled at him and said, The ancients have a custom that we have almost forgotten in these unforgiving times. The custom stated that if one gazes upon a beautiful sunset, rather than watching it fade into cold, cruel darkness, one should turn away from it, and remember it for the breathtaking and majestical phenomenon it was."
"But where has he to go, Princess?" Vilakin replied confusedly, unrelenting. "Where is he riding?"
At that, the princess turned back to him, her eyes clouded with knowledge and kindness. She smiled at the guard, and nodded towards the dot that was Link, now far in the distance. Both Zelda and Vilakin looked back at him, and Zelda said lightly, "Where he's riding? Away from us and into legend, of course."
And with that, the Princess of Hyrule turned her back on the west.

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