Initial comments:

Hi! This is my first one-shot dedicated to the saga of "The Legend of Zelda". I've written this fanfic in Spanish, which is my first language, under the name "Bajo la sombra del héroe"

I can read and write in English, however, I decided to request the translation of my story to a person who is more fluent in the language. My thanks to user Fox McCloude for his collaboration.

The cover image of the story doesn't belong to me, the original author is 16167mono. In my profile, you can find the link where I obtained it).

…

Before beginning the story, consider the following:

- Scenes will be change whit the editor's bar that of this page.

- The thinking will be in italics.

- Flashbacks will be opened and closed with this symbol: *.*.*.*.*

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and all its characters belong to Nintendo.

Beneath the hero's shade

The twilight was starting to cover the little town of Ordon, all its inhabitants were finishing their daily work as they prepared to go home and rest. The children were running back to their homes at their mothers' call, as they let them know their dinner was ready; even the ranch's goats started to lie down on the soft grass of their yards to call it a day; everyone had gone to their shelters…everyone, except for a young boy…

Across the bridge connecting the region of Ordona with Faron, a 10 year old boy walked slowly; he had messy, dirty blond hair, fair skin, slightly tanned, and deep blue eyes.

His name was Link.

The boy's gaze was deep in sadness, as just a few months before he had suffered a tragedy that marked his life forever… his parents had died, in a terrible accident.

Completely shattered, he sat on the edge of the fountain of Faron to remember the happy days he had spent with them…

*.*.*.*.*

His parents had arrived to Ordon when he was just a baby, they had come from the region of Lanayru, specifically from Hyrule Castle.

As the years went by, the boy frequently asked his mother why he was different from his other friends at school, since he had long, pointy ears while the others had normal, round ones, and aside from that, his mother always forced him to wear gloves, for in the back of his hand he had a strange mark that no one, except for them, should ever see.

The young woman didn't give any major explanation to her son, just limiting herself to say, with a smile, that he would understand when he was older, but for now he had to be good and obey her, never pulling off his gloves in fron of other people.

Despite these questions about himself, Link had a happy life. His parents loved him dearly and he got along with the other children, especially with Ilia, whom he regarded as his best friend.

But unexpectedly, the happy days came to an end, when one morning, his parents left Ordon to get some tools for the manufacturing of new furniture for the town...

The hours passed and the twilight covered the sky to prepare the arrival of the night … but his parents never returned...

Bo, the town's mayor, left out with a man named Rusl to find Link's parents, but unfortunately, they came back bearing the terrible news; their carriage suffered a malfunction that caused it to crash, and they had died.

As much as the men tried to comfort him upon confessing the terrible news, the little boy exploded in tears, and started calling out for his parents, begging them to return to his side…

*.*.*.*.*

Since his parent's death, Link had gone to live with Rusl and his wife Uli. Despite the couple giving them all of their affection, nothing could ever replace the love of his parents.

Due to his sorrow, Link started repressing his emotions. In front of others he would always show a warm smile, but when he was alone, it was different, as he didn't want anyone to know that deep inside he felt completely crushed.

One of those days, he heard Rusl talking to Mayor Bo about a curious detail about the twilight. The swordsman said that the arrival of the twilight filled some people with melancholy, and that it was the saddest time of the day.

At that moment, he understood why, whenever that pink and orange shades filled the sky, he felt sad, for it was a reminder of the fact his parents were no longer with him, as it was in that very time of the day they had been so abruptly taken from him.

Completely taken in his own sadness, little Link watched his distraught reflection in the fountain's crystalline water… when all of a sudden, he was startled upon hearing a shaking noise.

- Who's there? – He called out, frightened.

As a response, the cause of the noise appeared from the bushes out came a large, brown wolf with gray eyes; its snout was covered in blood, and its bare fangs showed a rage beyond measure towards the little boy.

Link started stepping back to try and get away from the terrible beast, but it started to approach him more…

Its deafening growls caused the little one to tremble in fear, thinking the animal would mercilessly shred him to pieces.

The beast took an attack position and leapt towards the little boy… who shut his eyes in fear, thinking his life was about to end, but he quickly opened them again upon hearing the howls in pain of his aggressor, he had just been attacked by another being…

The newcomer who had attacked the beast was another wolf, but it was much larger in size, and its fur glittered as if it was made of pure gold.

The golden wolf, with no difficulties, quickly drove off the aggressive animal, who immediately turned back and ran off letting out howls of pain, retaking the same path he had come to this place through.

After the golden animal made sure the other beast would not return, he turned around to look at Link. The little boy then noticed that, aside from his shiny fur, the wolf's eyes were of different colors, one of them was blue, while the other was of a crimson tone; the latter was half-closed, it seemed to have been injured at some point.

Even though Link was scared at the sight of such an animal in front of him, at the same time, he felt no urges to run away at all. He sensed that the golden wolf irradiated a warm (and strangely familiar) energy, as if somehow it was connected to him.

Definitely, the beast was an impressive sight to his eyes by itself… but his surprise was greater, when he spoke to him with words.

- Are you alright, young Link?

Link felt as if his ears were fooling him, he couldn't have heard an animal talking to him.

- You…you can talk? - He asked, shocked.

The wolf let out a small chuckle upon the young boy's question.

- Of course I can, young one. And I'm still waiting for your answer.

- Er…I'm fine. Thanks for saving me.

- Don't thank me, it's a pleasure to watch over you.

The wolf slowly approached Link, despite his huge size, the boy never felt intimidated, so when he was close enough, still a bit nervous, he reached out to pet his furry neck.

- Your fur's really fluffy. – He said with a warm smile.

The wolf smiled upon hearing his comment, he felt at ease knowing the boy was not afraid of him.

- What's a young boy like you doing in a dangerous place like this, all by himself?

Link didn't answer, he just turned around to hide his sadness.

- Don't be so sad…your parents are watching over you from Heaven. – the beast spoke up.

Link was completely surprised when he heard the wolf's words; he couldn't have guessed how he knew of his pain.

- How do you know I was sad about my parents? Even more, how come you know my name?

- I know every single thing about you, Link. I've been a part of you since you were born.

Link was puzzled at such answer, he still didn't understand how could the wolf know about his life.

- Does that mean… you're like a guardian or something?

- More than a guardian, I'm like your shade. I always go wherever you go.

- My shade... – Link whispered, deep in thought.

Link sat on the edge of the bridge along with his new furry friend, until the sky was fully covered by the night.

- I must go, young Link. – The wolf said.

- You're leaving already? - Link asked, somewhat saddened.

- If you wish, we can meet every day; after all, starting today we can be good friends.

Link, upon hearing the golden wolf wanted to be his friend, started jumping in joy.

- Yeah! Let's be friends, so we can play together every day! – He exclaimed in excitement.

The young boy's screams for joy resounded around the entire place. Such was his happiness, it brought the attention of a person who was behind the bushes, causing him to fall off.

- Link! Thanks to the Goddesses, I've finally found you! – It was Rusl, and he looked very worried.

- Hi, Rusl, sorry I left without warning, but don't worry, my friend the wolf is…

Link, upon turning around to show Rusl his new friend, realized he was no longer there. Rusl could just let out a hearty laughter.

- Oh, boy! Am I so glad you haven't lost your sense of humor. Come on, let's go back home, you need to sleep, remember there's school tomorrow.

Rusl grabbed Link's hand to go back to Ordon together. As they walked away, the boy turned around to glance towards the fountain, as he didn't understand why the wolf had suddenly vanished...

The next day, Link went to Faron Fountain to find the golden beast; once he arrived, he saw him resting on the soft grass.

- Hey! Why did you leave without saying goodbye yesterday? – He asked, somewhat upset.

- I'm sorry, young Link, but if we are going to be friends, there's a small condition you must fulfill.

- Condition? – He asked.

- No one must know we are friends, for you're the only one who can see me.

- For real? That means, you're a ghost?

- I'm a spirit, that's why no one must know about our friendship.

- Alright, friend wolf, I promise. – He replied with a smile.

Since Link made friends with the golden wolf, every day they met at the fountain of Faron to play together. He felt that, in the company of his furry friend, the sadness of not having his parents anymore was easier to cope with...

The years passed, and Link grew into a handsome and strong young man. Nevertheless, even though he had grown physically, his heart still held the innocence of his childhood.

Just like every day, he went to the fountain of Faron to meet his golden friend; he would never skip a day for the sake of those cheerful chats they always had.

- You look bigger and stronger every day, Link. I see you wield the sword with great skill.

- Thanks, friend wolf. Rusl has taught me a lot during these years; still, there's a lot more I want to learn. – He replied in a cheerful tone.

The wolf stared at Link for a few minutes in silence, until he finally decided to speak up, to reveal something very important.

- Young Link, now that you're a grown man, there's something you must know. – He said in a serious tone.

- What is it?

- This will be the last day we can meet here…

The young man felt a sadness filling him up upon hearing those words. Tears almost came out of his eyes, as it hurt him deeply to know that his dear friend would leave his side.

- What? You're leaving?

- That's right, Link, but we will meet again. I must depart now, to prepare everything.

- Everything? For what? – Link asked in confusion.

- A fateful day is approaching; the darkness of evil will befall on the lands of Hyrule, and you are the only one who can stop it.

- Me? I don't understand...

The wolf showed an absolute seriousness in his face along with his words, but after a short while, he chuckled a little.

- Rest easy, you still have a couple of years for that, but I still need to prepare our training ground from now… I will just ask you for a few things.

Link listened to his golden friend with attention, he wanted to know what he would ask of him.

- The first thing I will ask you, is that when we meet again, don't be afraid, for you probably won't fully recognize me. My body will be different, but my essence will be the same.

- You mean, you will not be an animal anymore?

- Something like that, young one. The second thing you must know, is that when we meet again, you'll start a very long journey. A journey that will change your life forever…as you'll face your true destiny, as it has been enacted by the Goddesses since the beginning of time.

Link started to become scared with the things the wolf was confessing him, as if some dark and hard days would come to his life.

The beast, noticing the young man's uneasiness, tried to ease his worries.

- You must not be afraid, Link, I will be by your side along the way. With me, you will learn great techniques that will help you come out victorious in your journey; but that's not the only thing you will face…because you will meet a very special someone.

- Special someone? Who is it?

- You will meet a princess…

- Eh? – He gasped in surprise.

- The Princess of Destiny. She's a very beautiful woman, and your soul has always been bonded to hers.

Link was even more confused with the words of his furry friend, and he was unable to hold anymore and burst into laughter.

- Now you're all crazy, friend wolf! Do you really believe a princess could fall in love with a country farmboy like me? Besides, you know that I like Ilia.

The wolf let out an even louder laugh than the young man's, and once he calmed down, he gave his response.

- You might think it's absurd, but I'm telling you the truth. Once the Goddesses have written the destiny of a person, it's fulfilled. Just look back, every time you've tried to confess to Ilia, something happens and stops it. That's no coincidence, Link, destiny already has a person in store for you. Besides, on my own experience I'm telling you, if you try to defy the divine designs, you can end up in an endless void…

The wolf, upon saying the last phrase, was filled with sadness. Link, noticing the change in his friend, hugged him around the neck.

- What's the matter, friend wolf? You became sad all of a sudden. – He asked, worried.

- It's nothing, young one. I'm begging you, please do as I say, follow the Goddesses design, I assure you, when you meet the Princess, you'll never want to be separated from her, it is your destiny to be together. If you dare to break it, you'll never be happy. – He decreed with seriousness.

- Alright, friend wolf, I promise you, I'll follow the Goddesses designs. – Link answered, letting out a small smile.

Link thought the things the wolf told him were out of place, yet somehow, despite everything, something inside his heart told him he had to make good and keep the promise.

- Friend wolf, you seem to know a lot about the Goddesses, have you always followed their designs?

The wolf remained silent at Link's question, then, he answered, although he seemed to have a little difficulty to talk.

- Not always, there were times I tried to ignore them… and because of that, I lost what I loved the most. I refused to see that the Goddesses had plotted a course for my life, and I don't want the same thing happens to you. That's why, no matter how hard things might be, never… never, ever, stop fighting for what you love. Don't ever allow others to get in the way of what you desire.

Link looked into the wolf's eyes, he couldn't help but feel shocked at his words.

- I promise you, friend wolf, I will always fight for what I love, always. – he assured in a determined tone.

- Thanks, young Link. I assure you, you will not regret it, you have to trust the Goddesses will. Well, now it's the time for me to go.

- Will we really see each other again? – Link asked, saddened.

- I promised we will, little one, and we will. Even if you can't see me, I'll be following you anywhere you go…remember, I am your shade. – The wolf answered with a smirk.

Link let go of his friend and smiled back at him, then, he stood up and started walking away from Faron's fountain, although every now and then, turning around to wave goodbye to his friend.

- Goodbye, friend wolf! I'll be waiting for our reunion! – He shouted with a smile, yet also with tears in his eyes.

- Goodbye, Link! Train harder and become stronger!

As the wolf looked at Link walking away, he muttered some words to himself.

- See you soon, young hero. You will carry on with my unfinished legacy.

The wolf's body was engulfed by a luminous energy. Once it had dispelled, it showed a figure of large height, wearing a rusty armor; in his hands carrying a sword and a shield, both covered in vines, and a helmet on his head. His face was not visible, except for the particular feature of his eyes.

Overwhelmed due to the nostalgia, the spirit looked at the sky, as tears started to flow out of his eyes.

- Soon… very soon, my soul will finally rest in peace. The Goddesses will forgive me for not fulfilling their designs… for not having fought for you, my beloved Zelda…

*End

Final comments:

I hope you all have enjoyed it, I have more stories related to this saga, but they're all in Spanish. They'll be translated later on.

Best regards to everyone, and until next time ^^.