Just a quick note and disclaimer: I do not own anything from this story other than my own OCs, the world and timeline that these chapters are based on is completely its own, with some heavy inspirations taken from other games such as Hyrule Warriors, BotW, and OoT.
Also, there will be a few loose ends tied to the world I am currently building that I'm hoping to build up on, so feel free to comment and ask about any of it and I'll try my best to answer them without giving away any key information saved for future. Regardless, hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1: Pilot
The rain poured mercilessly over the woods. Strong winds bristled through the trees, causing the branches to shake wildly as the sound of tearing leaves rippled in the air. The near pitch black also accompanied the forest with the raging downpour, only to be lit very briefly every few moments as blue streaks of lightning coursed through the thick canvas of clouds covering the night sky, followed by the clap of thunder.
Two hooded figures rode hastily side-by-side on the narrow trail that snaked through the thick overgrown. Their horses whinnied for breath, hooves plopping as they dashed through the muddy puddles that came to greet them along with the heavy downpour.
Both figures had kept their head low as they continued down the trail without a word. However, eventually one of them, a young woman with blonde and loosely braided hair, leaned down forward to listen to the beast that she rode on.
After taking a second to verify her concern, she looked up and called out to her companion riding next to her. "Link! The horses are becoming exhausted, and this weather doesn't look to be getting better any time soon! We need to find shelter!"
The other rider, the young man named Link, turned his head to look at the girl with matching azure eyes. Like herself, the rain had eventually soaked through the hood they wore and water dripped from his similarly blonde and wet hair. Instead of answering back verbally, he merely nodded, acknowledging that he had heard and understood before bringing his attention back on the road before them.
For the next few minutes, the thunderstorm continued to rage on as they continued on the path without a word, with the horses becoming increasingly agitated, but remained at a steady trot.
The woman, whom to Link is known as none other than his own twin sibling, Linkle, called out once again, "I think there's supposed to be an old tavern a little further on. We can stop there to rest a little while until it passes over!" The girl's brother made no indication that he'd heard her, which in turn silently confirmed their plan on what to do next.
Linkle's assumption soon proved truthful after a few more minutes of riding the trail when two dots of orange light came into view after coming around a sharp turn. Upon seeing this, both riders spurred their horses to move faster, despite their protest, and made a beeline for the wooden building that eventually came into full view.
They showed no sign of slowing down until they had essentially come to an abrupt stop beneath the awning of the tavern's stables. And what Link noticed immediately was that almost every slot for the shed had been filled, leaving just barely enough room for the two traveler's own horses. He made a quick count before dismounting and concluded that there were sixteen other horses occupying the stables. By then, Linkle was already on the ground as she lead her mare.
Once the male Hylian had dismounted and began leading his own steed, his sibling counterpart smiled brightly as though they'd just finished playing a game and removed her hood. Loose strands of hair matted against her face, and water dripped from both sides of her braided hair.
"Well," She said optimistically, "I can't say that was the most successful detour, but I think that this has saved us at least half a day's travel." Link proceeded to act as though he didn't hear her as he began hitching his horse, but the annoyed look on his face was all she needed to tell what he was thinking. "C'mon, a little bit of water doesn't hurt anyone, right? Besides, once we make it out of Minshi Woods, the route back home will be free of anymore roadblocks... at least, this time it should, I think."
As Linkle had expected, Link never broke his silence. She knew he was already regretting giving her the OK in figuring out how they were going to get back home, so initially she decided to leave it there, knowing that eventually he would get over it. "In any case, I'll go ahead inside and speak with the keep, see if they'll allow to stick around until the storm clears." Without warning, she tossed the reins of her mare into her unsuspecting brother's hands before placing her hood back on and jogged out into the rain towards the front entrance illuminated by a lantern on each side.
He watched her go for a short moment before shaking his head. At this point he shouldn't be surprised by Linkle's spontaneous alterations, but it still mildly annoyed him all the same.
Link pulled the reins of his sister's horse and urged her to move forward toward the hitch, but the beast balked and neighed as though something had spooked it. He tried once more and took a step closer to brush the horse in an effort to calm and sooth her, but the mare turned abruptly, knocking into Link and causing his stumble back and lose his balance.
He cried out in surprise as his hands shot out beside him in a desperate attempt to grab something and regain his balance. This in turn led him to grabbing onto a saddle bag of one the horses already occupying the stable. The combination of Link's weight and momentum tore the saddlebag open with relative ease, causing the contents contained within it to drop onto the wet grass next to where Link was now laying.
With an unsatisfying grunt, Link sat up and rubbed the back of his head before quickly getting back on his feet and began picking up the items that had been spilled. At first, he didn't put too much mind into what exactly he was collecting, (until he could identify the owner of the saddlebag and pay for the damages) until a flash of lightning flashed across a particular item that immediately grabbed his attention.
Among one of the belongings was a letter. It was made of a very fine paper, which had been folded and sealed with a royal purple wax. And upon picking up the letter and giving it a closer inspection, the emblem that Link saw imprinted on the seal was something that made his stomach drop.
The emblem was that of the traditional crest of the Gerudo, however, it had been redesigned with a simplified fist seemingly taking hold of it, followed by an inscription etched in the Gerudo language across the center: Self-Rule
His eyes widened as he looked up from the letter that he held and towards the main building of the tavern that Linkle was heading for, who was now only a few strides away from the front door.
Link dropped everything he held in his arms and made a mad dash out in the rain. His feet pounded in the mud as he chased after his sister, covering the distance in a short amount of time and stretching out his hand in an effort to stop her before she could open the door. "!..."
He was too late, however, as Linkle turned the handle on the wooden door and swung it wide open. By then, Link skid to a stop and now stood directly behind his sibling as they both gazed into the large room.
Several lanterns hung from the ceiling, casting a series of shadows throughout the mildly lit room belonging to the more than dozen of men that occupied it. All activities that had seemed to be going on inside had come to an abrupt halt as nearly all eyes turned to see who had opened the door.
The vast majority inhabitants were grown, ruffian looking men, ranging from their late twenties to the middle ages. A couple of women also accompanied them, seemingly to be around the same age group as the younger ones.
Most of the Hylians had assembled themselves onto the tables stationed in the room, almost all of whom held a drink in their hands. Five men sat at a round table closest to the entrance, who'd been embroiled in a card game before they'd been inadvertently interrupted by the two newcomers, as well as the tavern keeper at the bar in the back serving a single customer.
There was lengthy pause of tense silence. Both travelers continued to stand under the wooden awning that protected them from the rain as they gazed back at the tavern's current residents, who in turn inspected them with a cold and adverse demeanor.
"Ah, hello there," the tavern's keeper and bartender, as well as the oldest individual within the tavern, greeted them. And unlike everyone else in the room, he was the only person well kept with white swept back hair and trimmed beard.
He wiped his hands on his apron before readjusting the glasses he wore. "I assume you're here to find some shelter from the rain?"
The young woman offered a pleasant smile toward the bartender. "I'm afraid you are correct. Hopefully if it isn't too much trouble?"
Link began to realized the situation that they were now in, however he needed to communicate this to Linkle without raising too much suspicion. He raised his arm and coughed loudly three consecutive times into his elbow. To anyone else, this would've been nothing more than a normal cough. However to Linkle, it was a subtle message from Link that they'd come up with years priors which meant: Danger. Be cautious.
The keeper looked past the girl and towards Link. "You feeling alright there, friend?"
"Oh, don't mind him!" Linkle answered swiftly for him, "He's just been having to deal with a tickle in the throat ever since this rain started hounding us on the road." She could feel everyone's sights trained on her, and the tension that hung in the air had yet to dispel itself. "In any case, perhaps we could sit for a drink until the weather finally passes over?"
For a brief moment, Link could've seen he'd seen the bartender's eyes drop towards the man that sat in front of him, and who was also the only person in the room who didn't bother to turn and look to see who was at the door. "Well," he picked up a glass and began wiping it with a cloth, "you don't look old enough to buy any of our main brews, so I'm afraid I can only settle with serving you Lon milk, if it so pleases you."
Linkle nodded, still retaining her smile. "Thank you, that will do just fine!"
Without another word or even a glance back at he brother, Linkle stepped inside, with Link right behind her. They walked past the seated group of men who returned their game of cards, and eventually everyone else within the tavern followed suit.
As the siblings stepped up to the bar, Link could see several of the men whispering among themselves in the corner of his eye, but knew that he should pay no mind to it in order to avoid engagement in discussion or even any confrontation at all for that matter.
Linkle continued to act as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on and casually sat in the high stool chair next to only other person seated at the bar. Her brother, on the other hand, opted to remain standing as he joined her by her side. Both reached into their pouches and each withdrew three green rupees as the bartender reached beneath the counter, pulling out two glass mugs and a bottle of Lon milk.
He set the mugs down in front of the two and was about to pour glass before seeing the rupees
that they had offered up in payment. "Oh, um. I do hate to break this to you youngins, but, er... due to how hard things have gotten lately, I'm afraid I'm going to have to charge you double for you're drinks. I... I'm sure you would understand..."
The pair looked at the keeper with slight apprehension, clearly taken back by the sudden disclosure over the price of milk. But after a quick glance at each other, they realized they were in no position to dispute over a demand as petty as this.
So silently, yet begrudgingly, they went back into their pouches to retrieve the remaining amount of rupees needed. However, once Linkle reached her hand into her pouch, all she could feel was an empty bag of leather, and stiffened as she gazed back at her brother.
Link had already paid for his beverage and received the mug of Lon milk from the keeper before turning his attention on to Linkle. And immediately upon seeing the look on her face, followed by a teasingly pleading smile from her, he exhaled forcefully through his nose until he finally reached back into his pouch once more to pay off the remaining tab.
"Strange to see a couple kiddos like ye out in the middle of the woods this late at night." The man seated next to them spoke up. "Yer parents not teach you anything 'bout curfew?"
Link pretended to not have heard him. But Linkle, on the other hand, after downing her beverage in one gulp, decided to humor him. "Ah- yes, and also, yes." She wiped her mouth and looked at the man sitting next to her.
He was an older man with a grown orange beard and mustache. He was completely bald, with an eye patch covering his right eye. The one that was visible gleamed a hazel blue, with the orange light from the lanterns reflecting off of it and creating the illusion of a fiery glare emitting from it.
"However, it does pain me to say this, but unfortunately our parents are not around to enforce those type of regulations over us anymore."
He nodded in understanding. "Aye, I'm sorry about that lass," He says in a friendly and soft character. "That's a sin, really, with how many youngins like yourselves that had been orphaned by the end of the war nearly fifteen years ago." He turns back to the bartender, "Haigh, Miguel." The balded man placed set of green rupees on the counter. "Get us an extra swig for our two wanderers, will ya?"
"Right away, Mr. Ables." The keeper named Miguel answered swiftly.
"Now then," he brought his attention back on Linkle, "to whom do I owe the pleasure of speaking to on such a drookit, dreary night?"
"Oh, we're nobody in particular." Linkle faked a fluster. "My brother and I were just on our way to the Bandera Plains to check out the new stallion lineup for a client. We're a bit behind schedule, but we're hoping to make it into town by evening tomorrow."
"Ah, well tickle my fanny." Ables scratched his sideburns. "Is not very often that ye run into Shepherds in this day and age. I assume ye have quite knowledge for horses, or am I dafty?"
"Roughly speaking, yes." Linkle takes a swig from her second mug. "Most of our deliveries are typically done on the eastern side of the border, but sometimes we get special requests that require us to cross into the western territory."
"S'that right?" The one-eyed man raised a brow. With both hands still resting on the counter, he raises an index finger towards Link, who continued to stare down blankly at the two cups of Lon milk that he never touched. "And what about your chum there? S'he havnae vocal chords, or ye just prefer to do most've the chinwag?"
"Oh, it is quite sad, really," Linkle lied, "My poor dear brother has been having to live Lizalfo's Throat for the last... how long was it, eight years? Yeah, that sounds about right. Anyways, it's become very uncomfortable for him to try to speak, so to answer your question, yes I typically speak for the both of us when regarding to business."
"And I bet he's also got one 'ell of a poker face, if I'd ever seen one." One of the men from the game table spoke up. "Oi, lad," the largest one in the group called out to Link. "Hey, you with the bow."
The Hylian that he was speaking to would've been more than contempt in continuing to ignore him- if not for the fact that his twin sibling had a habit of pushing him right out of his comfort zone- who did so by nudging him with her elbow and offered him an alluring smile.
Eventually, he picked up one his drinks and sighed in defeat before chugging it down, followed immediately by the second one.
"Aye, that's the spirit, lad." The thug clapped as Link walked guardedly up to the table and took a seat in the chair closest to the door. "C'mon, the first round of rupees'll be on yer's truly."
Ables chuckled. "Now then," He brings his attention back on Linkle. "If ye don't mind me asking lass," he brings his voice down low, "what's the real reason that ye've gotten lost and ended up in a dingy, dark parts of Minshi?"
Linkle's blood went cold, but continued to smile politely. "What do you mean? I could've sworn that we had just discussed-."
"Aye, and we have. Now this may not be none my business, but..." Without warning, he reached forward and grabbed hold of the gold compass that had been hanging from Linkle's neck. "There's something 'bout this here token of yours that has caught me 'tention." He turned the circular pendent over to reveal the Wingcrest imprinted on the polished gold metal. "Shepherds as ye might be, I've not heard of any that had personal ties with the Royal Family."
The girl froze. She hadn't realized that the locket she wore hadn't been tucked into her tunic, and found herself unable to speak as the ruffian continued. "Now, it's got me thinking. What would a couple of young lost strangers such as yourselves be up to if you had the freedom to cross over the Regencia border without any raising any suspicion for carrying out orders bestowed by the King? Or perhaps, better yet, what kind of benefits would it reap if we were to offer you up to Queen Suimagna for a reward...?"
It wasn't until after the fact that Linkle realized just how much trouble- or rather, more trouble- that she was actually in before finally coming back to her senses. And before the ruffian had any opportunity to relinquish anymore words or threats, she kicked against the counter, pushing herself back into a standing position and causing the stool to tip over.
All conversations came to a halt as the sound of the wooden stool clattered loudly against the floor. But before it had a chance to fall the way down, Linkle had delivered a powerful and decisive kick into the back leg of the stool Ables sat on; causing the rest of the structure to collapse with splintering wood as he went tumbling to the floor.
Link looked up from his cards to see his sister standing over the one-eyed man, who reached into her green cloak and drew her short eightfold sword with one hand, and clutching the compass that she'd managed to snag back from him in the other.
Linkle leveled her blade at the thug's throat as she took a step back. Everyone else within the room began to stand and went to draw their own weapon, but Link immediately took action as he grabbed hold of the table with hands and flipped it onto two of the unsuspecting men on the other side of him. The distraction caused by this gave him all the he needed to reach back for his bow, knock and draw an arrow at almost no time at all.
All eyes were now on Link as he adjusted his aim in quick succession between each person or group within the room. His expression had yet to have changed in the slightest as he kept a composed and disciplined watch on anyone he'd suspected to try anything irrational. And just like the moment when they'd first entered the building, there was long moment of tension plaguing the atmosphere as everyone besides Link remained absolutely still.
Finally, with her blade still leveled at her assailant, Linkle brought her gaze back on Mr. Ables, who in turn glared back at her with the flare in his one eye seeming to glow more vibrant than before. "I believe it's time for us to get going now." She spoke nasally.
She began to back away from him, keeping her weapon pointed at anyone closest to her as she side-stepped past them until eventually both siblings stood right in front of the door. Linkle opened it, revealing that the storm that they'd recently escaped from still hadn't let up as the heavy downpour pounded into the ground behind them.
The young woman threw her hoodie back on and ran out towards the stables, leaving Link behind as he continued to bounce his aim between everyone in the room. Less than a minute had passed until he eventually heard the sound of clapping hooves behind him, followed by a whinnie belonging to a horse that sounded all too familiar to him.
He remained in his current stature before he was finally given the signal- a sharp whistle from his companion beckoning to him that it was time go- to which he proceeded to step out of the building, putting away his bow as quickly as he had retrieved it, and mounted up.
Both brother and sister wasted no time as they snapped on their reins, propelling their horses forward to maximum speed and sped off back onto the trail leading them through Minshi Forest. And Linkle dared a quick glimpse back towards the tavern to see if anyone from inside was about to give chase. However, a flash of lightning revealed that only a single person stood outside, with the brief lighting flashing off his orange hair until he disappeared back into the shadow of the storm in the pitch black night as he watched them go.