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Here begins the account of Lady Zelda of Hyrule, she who would be known as Hyrule's Conjurer Princess. Here in The Book of Zelda we record the tale of her adventures and the truth of her thoughts as written by her very own hand, unabridged and completely unaltered. We sages do this in the hope that all who see her words will cherish that which was saved all the more, and never cease to bestow the praise that only her humility could deny. As long as her bloodline lasts Hyrule's royal family will have no need to remember courage, for it will never be forgotten.
-High Sage Sahasrahla IV
Fate truly is a strange thing, if fate is what we can call what has happened to me. Tonight I find myself delivered from evil by our hero, yet my heart has never been heavier as new peril threatens all that I hold dear. These horrible dark rifts scar and erase our land, replacing it all with only a cold and empty void. Even among the wise there is no one who can even begin to explain it or to undo it, we do not know the fate of those who have disappeared. The only chance we may have is this strange new power I am blessed with.
I know what I cannot accept: that Link is truly gone and lost to us forever, and that my only choice is to believe it without even trying to search for him. And yet, I know what I cannot ignore. We are in danger, he is not here, and I must go on as though it is all up to me now. There is too much we are ignorant of, there is too much at stake. And so I will go forth, to heal and to search for answers. All things that live will be my sword, and all things that are will be my shield.
I have been unable to stop thinking of it all. The bravery of our hero as he struck down Ganon, that vile monster. How helpless and ashamed I felt as I watched it all happen, unable to move. The thrill I felt in the moment of his victory, the horror I experienced when the first rift opened underneath his feet. As he sank and left my sight he did not struggle even a little, he did not show even a trace of fear. He only looked at me and let loose his arrow to set me free, and now I am here and he is not. The quest was everything, right up to the very end.
I will never forget.
He thought I was worth it. He did all of it believing in what my freedom would mean to everyone. He fought so hard and sacrificed to save me, certain I was good for so much more than being saved.
And yet here I am, striving for the will to put the safety of my kingdom first before even my wish to search for him. Every day I rise to do so, will I be abandoning him in my heart? Every night I go to sleep not knowing where he is and thinking of what I have not done for him, will that be a betrayal? Every time I tell myself he is first in my thoughts, is that only a fiction told to ease my conscience and avoid the truth?
At this moment I am a girl all alone in the night, and I have no answers.
But that is not the only truth that I feel. I am a princess trusted by him and by everyone to go on, and there are things I do know. If he were here now, he would not be afraid. If he could speak to me tonight, I believe he would not wish me to be ruled by doubts and regrets at my castle. I believe he would never ask me to turn away from those in need of help, no matter what that might cost him. Most of all, after what he has done, the very least that I can do now is to believe in myself as much as he believed in me.
And so one day at a time, I will act for everyone as he acted for me. I will not give up. I will endure, and I will pray. I will pray to live every day with courage, I will pray for hope that walking the road to saving Hyrule will be my path to find him again as well. I will pray for reunions, for the safety of everyone we have lost.
I will pray that if - that when we meet again in the end, he will only smile for me when I speak of what I feel.
Tomorrow will herald the true beginning of my story, my quest. I will author its happy ending, or I will die trying.