Hello everyone, this has taken unforgivably long to write the latest chapter and the reason is that the further this story progressed, the less I knew what I was doing here. I just didn't know what I was good or sounded bad anymore.

So, I decided to think everything through and sort out everything in real life. I graduated. I'm a free woman now! I can do whatever I want and concentrate more on this too.

I locked how I would end this story and wrote the epilogue in advance.

With that I hope you enjoy the new chapter! I wasn't planning to take any more long pauses.

Chapter 8

Right then there were only four matters in Link's mind:

I: He was unlike all his friends in the forest. He was a Hylian, not a Kokiri.

II: He was not only Hylian, but a member of a lesser branch of the royal family of Hyrule, meaning that he was related to princess Zelda.

III: The said princess was actually supposed to be his enemy, since his own family had been responsible for the rebellion in Hyrule shortly after he had been born.

IV: Everything he had been doing until now was no different from Hyrule's current evil king, Ganondorf. Just like him, Link had killed living creatures to achieve his goals.

Even one of these supposed truths would've been more than enough to utterly confuse the already stressed out Hylian, but he had to juggle with all four of them at the same time, while being expected to free Hyrule from its self-acclaimed king, who also happened to be the source of his confusion.

An easy way to give himself a peace of mind would have been to simply deny everything. He heard everything from his enemy after all. Why should he believe a word from Ganondorf's mouth? But at the same time Link knew that everything made sense now. Everything about his life made sense now. No matter how much he loathed it, Link trusted completely to his enemy's word. Unfortunately, things making sense didn't erase the horrifying uncertainty within his own mind. He now had no idea, how to see the world or who to trust. And that depressed our hero, who now didn't feel anything like any hero at all.

Depression can come out in many forms varying from person to person. For Link it meant blowing up the nearest rock in Hyrule field and sulking in the dark cave, thinking about the depressing things over and over.

The hero of time becoming depressed in the middle of his quest, and possibly even thinking about abandoning it, didn't fit well in Navi's plan. She had made a promise after all. Besides she hated the idea of having to return to the forest mission incomplete. What would the other fairies think?! They would make fun of her and possibly confine her in a bottle as a prank! Oh the humiliation, she would simply not have it. And like in many stories, this too is given a push forward by pride. Still: it was not easy. Depressed heroes are often hard to cheer up, and after getting tired of using the futile gentle approach, Navi decided to try the hard way.

"Get up, Link! Can't you see, he was just messing with your head!?" Navi finally let her frustration out and shouted at the boy. "Don't be such a wimp ans STAND UP!"

A furious scowl that could kill was everything the forest fairy managed to get out of the boy along with the ear-shattering outcry: "JUST LEAVE ME BE! THERE IS NO WAY YOU COULD EVER UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M GOING THROUGH!" And then his head fell and he was once again in that unresponsive state.

Another burst. Navi was no longer shaken by Link's fits but she found them extremely annoying. She finally understood why the Kokiri refused to grow up. One hundred over-active children were infinitely easier than this one moody hero. What in Hyrule could cause such fits? Still, just now Link had shown more signs of life than during last twelve hours together. Progress.

Agh! She needed to stop thinking WHY Link was like that and concentrate more on HOW to get the hero lift his ass from the ground! She could make the hero pay up later for his rude behavior. Surely she deserved at least three YEARS worth of comfy nights in Link's hat by now.

*sigh*

Easier thought than done. He was so deep in his pitch black self-pity that no amount of rushing or pressuring him would amount to anything. Navi's tiny head would have turned red from intense thinking, if she hadn't been blue, so it turned purple instead. She tried hard to understand Link's feelings.

Okay. The wimp's scared. The idiot is confused because of what that thief said. He is so afraid of the fact he wasn't the person he thought he was that he's started doubting his own abilities and sense of justice. (Like anyone cares, what his background is! What matters is right now!) He just needs to stop doubting himself! If there just was someone who could talk some sense to him.

Right then Navi's glow brightened for a moment. There was a way! Navi found a way to drag the hero out of the abyss in his head AND make sure he would continue with their quest. Two fairies in one bottle!

The hardest part would be to convince him to come out of this cave…

"Link, look! There it is! I can see the forest temple!" Navi bounced around happily. Partly because she was happy to see her home forest again, but mostly, because hours of pestering had finally had the wanted result. Maybe "happy" had the wrong kind of tone. She was more like terribly smug about it. "Isn't it great to be finally here? I'm sure there is something here that'll make you feel better too!"

"Sure, whatever you say…" Link still wasn't quite sure, why he ever agreed to leave. It was obvious that the fairy was plotting something. That unusual cheeriness was also very suspicious. Still, Link had to agree with Navi for once. It really WAS great to at last find the next dungeon. For Link the journey had been especially tiring this time around. He had been determined not to end a single life, if killing was somehow avoidable. That promise had amounted to a great deal of running away, and at some point the physical limits of even the most determined hero would surface. Link doubted this tactic was something he could exploit continuously, but at least he felt a little better about himself.

The Hylian slumped down on a large tree trunk in the middle of the forest glade and sighed. For one short moment he gazed up and saw the sunlight flash between the leaves. This place seemed like the only one remaining normal. His home, the Kokiri forest had been overrun by Deku Babas. Link was worried about his friends. He had called Saria, who had reassured that everything would be okay, as long as Link would be there to save them all. Sometime ago her words would have made him swell with pride, but now they were just an extra burden for him to carry. Why was everyone so convinced that Link was capable of saving anyone, let alone the whole realm?

He really needed to cut that path of thought. He would only doubt himself more.

Link was suddenly pulled away from his thoughts by a puffing sound and a pillar of smoke. "Sheik! You came!" Navi's voice rang clear.

Sheik? Link's mood brightened for a bit. He had forgotten that the Sheikah was also one of his allies.

"We meet again, young hero. I have come to teach you-" Sheik's sentence was cut short, when Navi rushed to explain the situation. "You need to talk some sense into this idiot! He wants to abandon his quest!" Sheik stood there amazed. It had never occurred to him that this situation might arise. He cleared his throat before asking: "May I ask why?" There was a noticeable shade of worry in his voice. When Link refused to answer Sheik chose to remind him what was at stake.

"You do understand, that you cannot just walk out on this? The future of this world depends on YOU! You, as the chosen hero of the Triforce of courage, have to do this! There is no one else capable!"

Link's brow began to twitch from anger as if he would explode any moment, until he did.

"What makes everyone think that I AM capable either?! I never asked for this, and who would WANT to have a role like this?! I don't want to be the one person everyone depends on, especially when everyone has obviously mistaken me for someone else! There is no way I could be some kind of chosen hero, despite what you, Navi, the princess and the Great Deku Tree might think!"

He was about to break.

"I- I just can't c-carry it all…"

The hero is doubting his own abilities. Of all possible obstacles this was the one Sheik hadn't understand to anticipate. There had to be a way out of this. Too many lives would perish, if Link would decide to forsake his duty. Sheik saw a possible solution in the hero's own words. There was something that didn't make sense.

"Hero of Time-", Sheik began only to receive another explosion. "AND WOULD YOU STOP CALLING ME A HERO?! I haven't amounted to anything yet!"

Sheik just nodded. He would need to choose his words carefully. "What makes you think that we are somehow wrong about you, about what you can do?"

Link grinned. "You all always say, how I am the chosen hero of the Triforce of courage, and a while back I too believed in that. Back in the forest I was never afraid of anything and being there for my friends, when they were afraid, made me happy. But that isn't just true anymore. I know now, what fear is. I fear a lot of things."

"What are you afraid of, Link?"

"Just about everything! I have an enemy that is many times stronger than me! I'm afraid I fail. I'm afraid I die! I'm afraid of my own past, I don't know a thing about! I'm afraid I disappoint you all. Heck, I'm afraid of myself! I'm clearly not cut out for this."

"So you believe that you are not a true hero, because you think that you are supposed to stay fearless?"

A nod.

"Link-", Sheik sat down with Link. "I think you misunderstand the true meaning of courage."

Link seemed puzzled.

"Courage doesn't mean 'not fearing.' Courage means to fear, to face those fears and go through with it no matter how dreadful it gets. A person who disregards fear is either incredibly stupid or just plain immature. Fear is, above all, a mean to survive and there is nothing wrong in wanting to live, quite the contrary."

It was Link's turn to be amazed. He really didn't have anything to say against that. Sheik placed his forehead against Link's to show sincerity, causing him to blush for a bit. Link wasn't used to such physical contact.

"And it is precisely, because we all want to live that we need you to go through with this! I plead of you, Link! Please don't abandon us now."

Now how could he say no to that? Link didn't even need to. He had always thought that courage is something you are born with, but now he understood how wrong he had been. I was actually quite silly, now that he thought about it. And although his duty hadn't changed any lighter, Link felt like a boulder had been lift from on top of his heart. He was still afraid, but now understood it was alright.

After what seemed like forever, Navi finally managed to see Link smile again.

"Have you changed your mind, Link?"

"Yes."

"Excellent! Now, back to my actual mission. I have come to teach you the Minuet of Forest."

Link's quest would only get harder from here on, but now he had the mindset to face were people who needed him after all.

AN: I got tired of thinking, how to refer to Sheik without any gender specific pronouns, so I decided, Sheik's a male in this story. Also there is a bromance between Link and Sheik! In this fic they aren't romantically involved in any way! Just wanted to portray Sheik as someone Link can trust unconditionally, since the poor hero doesn't have too many of those people.

Some of these prepositions of the English language are just pure nightmare! I'm pretty sure I made a few mistakes there and there.

Next time: Link goes to the forest temple! Can he free his friend, Saria or will the phantom of his mysterious enemy break him?

Thank you for reading and sorry that it took this long!