Pieces Of Heart

Sitting back and watching the fireworks above him, Link looked back over his adventure. He had started this journey with just three heart containers. Was this normal for a Hylian? He knew Kokiri had at least one, for recovery hearts were sold in his home village. Could he still consider it his home? Sooner or later, he'd grow old while they kept their youth, a fact he wasn't particularly happy about facing. But sometimes, that's what growing up is: facing that which you can't stand to face. He'd done plenty of that; he had left the village a mere boy, and would return to it as a man.

As he had journeyed through Hyrule, he had picked up dozens of heart pieces and the odd full container, gaining and losing friends along the way. Navi was the first, and she had saved his life many a time, using her fairy powers to focus her mind on the weak point of a target. It was with her help that he had defeated Queen Gohma, his first true challenge, and earned his first heart container; the first of many.

The bustling square of Hyrule Town Market had held many attractions for him. It was here that he first met Malon; that he first encountered the baby dragon that would grow into Volvagia (although he would rather not think of him). It was also here that he'd trained with a slingshot, mastering aiming without Navi; it was this that later, much later, allowed him to defeat Ganondorf and save hyrule.

The castle itself held no heart containers, although it was here that he met Zelda, the first of two princesses. She had played a major role in defeating Ganon.

The road to the Zora kingdom held many heart pieces, and the means to obtain many more. It was here that he met Princess Ruto, another ally in the battle against Ganondorf. She had granted him the final key to the Door of Time: the Zora Sapphire.

It was after entering this door, and leaving seven years later, that he saw Saria, his childhood friend who would forever remain in her childhood, for the final time. In his older body (but still with his youthful mind), he had collected dozens of heart pieces.

Not that he hadn't collected a lot of hearts as a child, of course. Quite the opposite; he had collected plenty in both bodies.

But with all the hearts he had amassed; three to start with, plus eight heart containers and thirty-six pieces of heart, there was one heart he was missing, the one he was most interested in:

Hers.