Alius111: Alright then, this is the third time I've posted this story, and you know what they say: the third times a charm. This was one of the first stories I've ever wrote, and judging by the praise I got it was pretty damn good. Unfortunately my spelling, grammar and punctuation weren't up to scratch. But I've improved now and have put a lot of time into this story, trying my best to make it perfect. Although some remnants of my old, sloppy style still remain; they'll quickly fade away after time. Lets see where this takes me. R&R.
The Legend of Link: The Wolf Howls At Midnight
By Alius111
Chapter One
Scars of Hatred
The sun shone brightly in Faron Woods. It was a normal spring day, no different from the one before. The people of Ordon Village went about their business, doing their meagre tasks and chores, living out their lives the same way they had been since they began. Life in Ordon Village went on the same way it had been for many years, and the people were content, completely unaware of the things happening beyond their borders. Past Ordon village, across a long wooden bridge that spans across a deep gorge, beyond the entrance of Faron Woods, and beyond Faron Springs where Faron the spirit of light resides; you'd come to a fork in the road. To the right is the path leading to the Forest Temple. But to the left, set in a wide glade between the trees, stood a house. This house was just like any other house. Surrounded by wilderness, made out of wood planks with a straw roof, a pit in the front to make fires, and a scarecrow standing in an overgrowth of tall grass. This house belonged to a man named, Coro.
Coro had no wife or children, but he did not live alone. Lying in front of Coro's house, right next to the fire pit with its head resting on its furry paws, was a large wolf. This particular wolf—though nobody knew it—was once a person. And not just any person—this wolf was once Link! The chosen wielder of the Triforce of Courage, the Great Hero chosen by the three Goddesses themselves to save Hyrule and vanquish evil and to take his place among the legends of all the ancient heroes! However, what was such a hero doing here of all places? And what was he doing in the form of a wolf? Well, shortly after he saved the land and vanquished evil; he vanished. He faded from legends . . . never to be seen or heard from again.
Eight years, he thought. Eight years since he killed The Dark Lord Ganondorf, eight years since he had been cursed, eight years since he had been trapped in this body, and eight years since he lost all hope of recapturing his old life.
Lying out in the sun, Link stretched out in front of Coro's house and lifted his hind leg, using his flexibility to scratch himself behind the ear. It felt good.
It seems like only yesterday, Link yawned, revealing a set of pearly white fangs. Eight years ago Link—very anxious and much human; had been riding Epona through Faron Woods, steadily heading towards Ordon Village, eager to get home and eager see everyone again. Link could see all of their faces clear in his head. He imagined how warmly they would greet him once they saw Epona trotting into the village with him sitting on her back. After his long quest of saving Hyrule: a nice warm welcome was exactly what he needed. It seemed every time he went somewhere new: some huge, bloodsucking demon was trying to kill him. Well, that was all behind him now. He was heading home now to warm, loving friends, and hopefully, to a normal life.
However, fate it seemed, had other ideas. Just as he was nearing the bridge that would take him home, the skies went dark and a black stone—like a meteor—obliterated the treetops and crashed into the earth with a loud explosion. In a blast of black particles, Link had been thrown off the terrified Epona's back, knocked unconscious as his head struck a rock. When he awoke the black the stone—or meteor—or whatever it was, suddenly vanished—but not before he was able to get a good look at it. It had been midnight black, roughly the size of a large boulder; it sides were smoothed and polished, like the kind of smooth rocks you'd find at the bottom of a river. It was glowing with a dusk coloured aura. It's face had been covered with strange red runes—the same runes Link had seen on the castle walls when he and Midna had entered the Twilight Realm.
When he tried to get up and stand on his legs, he was shocked when he tumbled over, only to realize that he'd been transformed into a wolf. He remained in the clearing for a moment, staring down at his paws, wondering what to do. Epona and the stone were gone. At first he had tried to get help. Even though he was an animal, Link walked the rest of the way to Ordon Village, but none of his friends had recognized him! When they looked at him, all they saw was a blood thirsty animal who'd sooner kill you than look at you.
After nearly being slaughtered by Rusl, the town black smith and sword master, he was run out of the village, barely escaping with a few minor cuts and gashes. In his desperation, Link had even tried going to Ordon Springs to cry out for the light spirit's help. But Ordona never showed himself. And Link was left alone, deserted by his horse, and abandoned by his friends . . . There was nothing left for him to do now except . . . Hope for a miracle.
For the next two years, Link would try to live in the wilderness on his own, facing brutal summers and freezing winters, becoming bitter and filled with hatred for the people who had abandoned him. He had never been good at hunting as a wolf (He had always relied on Midna to gather food for him while they traveled through the Twilight). Any prey he stalked would always get away from him, and he would again be left without any food, forced to go hungry for yet another night. Soon Link started loosing weight, becoming ill from hunger, and it wasn't long before he got so skinny that his skin was stretched tight over his ribs.
On many occasions, rather than succumb to starvation, Link was forced to sneak into the village to try and steal some food, nearly getting caught every time. But he soon had to abandon the option of getting food from the village eversince the villagers had gotten wise and set up traps around the borders of the forest to keep him out. But one particularly cold night had forced Link to try his chances with the traps. After being caught and severely injured by one of said traps, he gave up all hope. As time went by he became more and more resentful to the people of the village. And soon enough, after years of barely keeping himself alive by feeding off scraps and dead animals, Link became vicious. A wild animal, snarling and biting at anything that approached him . . . even if they were humans.
But one cold winter night, after a blizzard left Link weak and near death, the smell of cooking meat and spices lured him out of the trees and towards a clearing in the center of the woods. In the glade there was a man sitting in front of a house, quietly tending to a small fire. Link recognized this man, it was Coro, the lantern salesman. Link remembered meeting Coro all those years ago when he was trying to save Talo from Faron Woods. Yes, he had been the man who had given him the lantern. Of course, back then, they met on better terms.
It was winter so everything was covered in a blanket of snow, but everything looked the same to Link. It all seemed so familiar, except instead of a pot of oil boiling over the fire, there was a whole pig being roasted! And it was giving of a delicious scent.
Link's dripping tongue stuck out of his mouth, tasting the air as intense hunger clawed at his insides. His stomach clenched from not eating in almost a week. Salivating, Link quietly padded his way across the snow covered glade, his mouth dripping with saliva.
Coro lifted his head from the fire and noticed Link walking towards him. Dropping his plate, he let out a terrified yelp and scurried away from the advancing wolf. At first Link had intended to just scare the human away and take the meat for himself, but seeing Coro's fearful expression had made him feel . . . guilty. It was strange to feel guilt again. After so many years as a wolf, the emotion was alien to him. Still, he hated feeling it, so he decided rather than steal the meat, he would share it. And for the first time in years, Link was friendly towards a human.
Wagging his tail, Link let out a whine and sat down beside Coro, resting his snout on the man's lap.
"O-Oh . . . I-I see you like people," cautiously Coro reached out and patted Link's head. The wolf closed his eyes and allowed Coro to scratch him behind the ear. Suddenly the man stopped and pulled his hand away.
"That's strange, you don't see many wolves with earrings," Coro dangled the small, blue earring on Link's right ear with his finger. Link leaned forward and rubbed his muzzle against Coro's shoulder and licked the side of his face. His reward was a very large, and very succulent chunk of meat which Link hungrily devoured. He savoured the taste. It had been so long since Link had eaten food this good. In a few short minutes he had finished and was whining for more. Coro smiled, ripped a hunk out of the pig's shoulder, and tossed it at Links feet.
"Ah, you poor guy," Coro whispered. "You must have been starving'."
After all the meat had been eaten. Coro doused the fire and went inside his house for the night. He hadn't given Link any inclination that he wanted him to leave, so Link found himself a soft patch of ground and fell into an easy rest, feeling fuller than he had in a long time. Coro awoke the next morning to find Link grooming his fur in front of his fire pit. When Link noticed him he jumped up and anxiously pawed at his legs. Coro fed Link what food he had and even let him come along when he traveled to Hyrule Field to pick Deku Nuts. It was alright it seemed, surely the wolf would be gone by tomorrow. But he wasn't. Coro had opened his door the next day to find Link in the exact same spot as the day before. When it looked like Link wasn't going to leave, Coro had been hesitant at the idea of letting him stay. Wild animals were dangerous, he couldn't keep him here, but it didn't seem like the wolf was going anywhere. What was he to do? Go inside until it left? Stop feeding it? The Lantern salesman even considered chasing Link off as a last resort, but one night as he was brewing a batch of lantern oil, a bandit attacked Coro with a knife, shouting for him to surrender the small amount of Rupees that he owned. Out of nowhere, Link had jumped out of the trees and had mauled the bandit until he ran away screaming.
After Link had rescued Coro from the thief, the lantern salesman became more fond of the wolf, even naming him 'Silverfang,' and was even kind enough to break the shackle off his Link's left leg. Link didn't care much for the new name but he could have gotten worse, he decided. Eventually Coro warmed to the idea of having a pet; the man seemed to really like the idea of having a domesticated wolf which could protect him while living at his house. So, he allowed Link to stay, and he has lived there ever since.
Link stayed there in the sun for hours, quietly basking in its warmth and counting the hours as they rolled by. He'd been living with Coro for six years now, and Coro was the only human who was ever allowed to go near him. Any other human tried and Link would attack.
In his solitude, Link found life unbearable. He was still the same vicious, bitter, hate filled wolf he'd always been. He still spent his woeful days feeling sorry for himself and still felt nothing but contempt for whoever had sentenced him to this damned existence. The fallen hero didn't even feel human anymore. He felt it, in his mind, a dark savage instinct that took the place of logic and reason. Tragically any human traits he once possessed such as love, compassion, kindness, and sympathy . . . were gone. He felt more like an animal now, a wild animal. Where thought was replaced by impulse, Link now relied on pure instinct without any thought of common sense. Strategies and empathy were for humans, not for beasts. As were traits such as longevity and long life.
Over the years the aged wolf had become old and fat. Link had come to hate his life. He always felt angry or depressed when he thought of the life he had, and how it had been so viciously snatched away from him, and how no one seemed to care he was gone. Link actually went back to Ordon village once. In spite of everything he had experienced at the hands of the villagers and their damned traps. He had to see it one more time . . . Just once more.
His instinct told him to stay away but he couldn't stop himself. The urge to see his old home was just too strong. On an early spring morning, Link had crossed the long bridge which spanned the gorge, a bridge he hadn't crossed in almost six years. As he ran through the woods, he felt himself feeling nostalgic for his old life. He remembered the day Rusl has asked him to deliver a package to Hyrule Castle, a sword forged by Rusl himself. It had been at Twilight. He remembered how excited he had been that Rusl would actually trust him with this errand. And even though he'd only been joking, Link had been absolutely enchanted by idea of meeting the Princess.
Lost in the deep fog of memory, Link would of run straight into the village had he not hear someone nearby. He paused to sniff at the ground. Someone was in Ordon Springs. Cautiously Link poked his snout around the bend and started into the spring. It was Ilea. At the sight of her Link felt his ears shoot up. It was her! She was bathing Epona in the waters of the spring. Quietly Link stood in place and watcher her as she sang, not daring to reveal himself. If she saw him, she would only scream in terror.
Ilia had become a fine women. She was tall and beautiful. She had flowing blonde hair and crystal green eyes. She wore a long white dress that hugged her body. Link noticed the large bulge in her stomach. She was pregnant. Over the past few years, Link had snuck to the edge of the woods that surrounded Ordon Village—even though it pained him to do so because it filled him with memories of the life that had been stolen from him—He had to know what happened to the children he had known for so long, the children he tried so hard to rescue after they had been kidnapped.
Eventually Ilea had settled down and got married. It seemed she didn't want to grow old waiting for Link to return (Even though he was only a short walk away, just, not in the form she remembered). She married Colin! Of all people. And true to his word, Colin had grown up to be just like Link. He had grown into a good, strong man, the kind of man Ilia wanted to marry. After they were married, Colin bought Ordon Ranch from Fado where they raised livestock for the village(mostly goats and sheep). And much to Ilea's delight, they had added on a larger stable so there could be room for their new horses. Including Epona, they now owned four horses (Two stags, and two mares). Talo and Beth had moved to Castle Town a few months after Colin and Ilia were married to help their brother Malo manage his expanding business. Malo now owns a variety of chain stores all over Hyrule. Link was glad the children had done so well for themselves, but a part of him—a very large part, was resentful of their happiness.
As he watched Ilia bathe Epona, Link couldn't help but let a growl escape from his lips. She hadn't come looking for him when he'd disappeared—hadn't even bothered to wonder why Epona returned home without him, and why! Because she never cared about him! She cared about the horse! She was always acting like Epona belonged to her! Always sneaking her away to the springs, always scolding him for what he did with his horse! Epona was his horse! He was the one who found her injured in the woods! He was the one who nursed her back to health! Well, now he was out of the way and she had her precious horse! These thoughts rushed through Link's mind in a fiery red haze, feeding his rage.
All the hate and anger Link felt over the years were bubbling inside of him like hot lava. Link wanted blood, he wanted to bite into her, he wanted to make her scream! He wanted to hear her bones snap as they were crushed in his jaws! He wanted to make her suffer the way he had! He wanted to maker her shriek apologies! No more waiting, it was time he extracted his pound of flesh.
Slowly and silently, Link wadded into the springs. The water soaked his fur through as he moved soundlessly towards the horse's massive hide. Ilia was on the other side of Epona, washing her neck with a small rag and sponge. She wouldn't see him coming. Even if she were to move, the horse's flank would keep her blind until it was too late. Suppressing a growl, Link moved foreword. He was so close to her now.
"What are you doing?" Link looked up. Epona's large, black eyes were looking right at him "Who are you? What are you doing here"? She asked him in the dialect of the animals.
Link stared at her wide-eyed. Epona didn't recognize him! She had seen him in his wolf form before. Was she so happy with her new master that she had forgotten all about him!? How could she have forgotten him?! Years and years of memories rushed past Links eyes: wrangling Epona after she came stampeding into Kakariko Village, she and him jumping the fences at Ordon Ranch, the hours he spent blowing into a reed, playing her favourite song. How could she have forgotten! Link was infuriated. He now had a hunger for a different kind of blood, he had a taste for horse blood.
Snarling Link lunged at Epona and sank his teeth into her neck.The horse's warm blood filled his mouth. Using his hind legs Link clung onto the horse as she let out a pained cry and began writhing her head back and forth, trying to throw Link off. Jumping up on her back legs, Epona lost her footing on the slick spring floor and fell back into the water, whining in agony. The blood from her wound made the water around blossom into murky red flowers. Link roared and leaped off the fallen horse, setting his sights on Ilia.
Ilia moved out of the way just as Epona had collapsed and was now staring down, horrified, with a look of utter terror on her face. At first her befuddled mind wondered what had made her horse keel over, but that was before she saw the rabid wolf approaching from the other side of the horse. She tore her gaze away from Epona and to the snarling wolf that was now crouching in front of her, its large, blackly shoulders hunched, ready to attack. Slowly she started to back away, but Link pursued her. He was blocking the only way out of the springs. She couldn't escape.
As Link moved closer, Ilia wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach, trying to protect her unborn child. That should have been his child—not Colin's! He should have been the one to marry her, not him! Colin should be the one trapped in this hell! Not him! It was her fault! It's her fault he got trapped in this body! She didn't come looking for him! She was so happy to get her horse and new husband she didn't need him anymore— even after he looked all over Hyrule trying to rescue her, and then later trying to help her get her memory back! All memories flooded Link's mind in a flood of sorrow and contempt. He couldn't stand it any longer. It was as if it were being fed from some other source, something beyond himself. He was almost terrified to admit it but, in the grips of wrath and hatred, he liked it.
As the bloodthirsty wolf got closer, Ilia backed away. Her bare foot suddenly snagged on Epona's reigns and she lost her footing and went tumbling into the spring, soaking herself from head to toe. When Link was only a few feet away, his gaping mouth so close she could almost feel his hot breath on her face, tears started spilling from her eyes. Was she suffering? Link wondered. No, she didn't know the meaning of the word. Link would teach her what it meant to truly suffer. With her down and tangled in Epona's reigns, Link saw his opportunity, and went for it.
"ILIA!" the shout came from the other end of the spring.
Turning around, Link saw Colin running into the glade, his sword drawn running, it's long narrow blade gleaming in the sun's light. Colin came at him, little shy Colin, the boy who would be picked on by Malo and Talo, the boy who used to beg Link to teach him sword skills. How he had grown. After entering manhood, Colin had grown to look almost exactly like his father had been at that age, except for his dirty blonde hair, his delicate, almost child-like complexion, and his piercing blue eyes—which now only had sight for the wild animal attacking his wife and unborn child. Link barred his fangs. Perfect, he would taste his blood first. Link hunched his shoulders as Colin ran at him brandishing his sword. The wolf stuck his ears back, ready to pounce.
In all of the commotion, Link hadn't noticed Epona was now once again standing on her feet, shaking the water from her long white mane. And by the time he turned around: all he saw were stars. Lifting her hind leg, Epona struck out and kicked Link in the back of the head, her large hooves making a deep cut in his skin.
Link yelped in pain. The force of the blow had knocked him off his feet, sending him flying into the springs in a tumble of bloody fur. His head spinning, Link slowly staggered to his feet, but collapsed as he was overcome with dizziness.
Splash, splash, splash, splash, splash, splash.
The sound of heavy boots running through the water reached his ears.. He looked up just in time to dodge Colin's sword as it brought it down where his head had been a mere hair ago. If he had waited even a second longer, Link would definitely be a few pounds lighter above the shoulders. The cut on Link's head bled profoundly. The warm blood leaked down his face, stinging his eyes. The hit to the head had clouded his vision. Everything came to him in a blurred web of groggy images and wavy colors. Epona had practically knocked the daylights out of him. Realizing he had no chance of winning, Link spun around and retreated from the springs. Before he crossed the bridge, he looked back to see if he were being fallowed. He wasn't. Blood still stinging his eye, Link ran sluggishly across the bridge and into Faron Woods. After that day, he never returned to the Ordona Province ever again.
As Link looked back on the events that took place in Ordon Spring, he felt depressed. He shouldn't have done that. It wasn't her fault he was trapped in this body. Sighing through his nose, Link dropped his snout onto his paws and looked around the Glade. Coro had been gone for a three weeks. Link's only companion left to go visit his eldest sister who lived in a cottage on Upper Zora River. In the few weeks that Coro had been gone, Link felt worse than he had in a long time. He truly did enjoy the man's company. After Coro left, he felt depressed and melancholy. Without his master how was he to distract himself from his sorrow. Link closed his eyes and began licking his paws.
Coro, he was something else. Eight years and he was still completely devoted to his lantern business (Even though as long as Link had lived here with him, he had never even seen another customer come around) The sensible people were all getting their lanterns and oil from the Malo Mart that had taken the place of Sera's Sundries in Ordon Village. Malo Mart could afford to sell oil for only half the Rupees of Coro's merchandise (Although the quality of this mass-produced garbage is questionable) Still, no matter what the quality; people went for the hot prices. In fact, Link was certain beyond a doubt that the last customer the poor lantern salesman ever had, was actually himself when Coro had given him the lantern. Occasionally Link would show up for the occasional refill, but other than that, the business was a failure. Looking back on it now, Link almost wished he had paid for the lantern. . .
In the eight years that Link had lived with Coro, Link had tried every way he could think of to reverse the transformation and become human again. But there was no hope. He had already returned the Master Sword to the Sacred Grove and had no means of getting back there. The only person whom Link thought could possibly help him was Princess Zelda—actually—it was Queen Zelda, now. About two years ago (Around the time Link had attack Ilea) The King sucumbed to the consumption and died as the sickness wasted him away. After his death, Zelda inherited the throne and became Queen of Hyrule—but Link had no way of getting to her! Even if he somehow managed to run all the way to Castle Town, there's no way in hell the guards would open up the castle gates—especially for a savage wolf with the soul intention of meeting with their Queen. Link thought of the secret waterways which led into the castle, but they had been sealed. It was a fortress. There was absolutely no chance of him ever setting paw in Hyrule Castle again.
Link started growling to himself as raw, seething anger welled up inside of him. All throughout his journey, people and spirits kept telling him how important he was, how he was destined for greatness. It had occurred to Link many times over the years that: if he was so important, than why had nobody come looking for him? Why hadn't anybody wondered what happened to him? Why haven't they found him and helped him? Why did they leave him to rot in this body? . . . the answer came to him, the same answer that came to him every time he asked himself these questions, and even now, after all these years, it still hurt to admit it . . . they used him. That was the answer to the grand riddle. They. Used. Him. Link decided this a long time ago. They had all used him, every last one of them—
Jumping to his feet, Link roared and began pacing around the clearing, growling and snarling to himself.
Every body used him! The Spirits Of Light used him! They needed him to collect all of the tears of light so they could have their precious power back. And Link ,being the good person he was, had walked all over the Goddess's creation looking for them. Then, after working his fingers bloody trying to hunt down an kill insects, they fed him some cryptic message of his importance, then vanished back into their springs.
Zelda used him! She needed him to kill Ganondorf so she could have her precious kingdom back from the twilight. She needed him to stop Zant, she needed him to wield the Master Sword! Link howled, his rage building, still pacing. And Midna. . .
Link stopped pacing. Even Midna used him. She needed him to collect The Fused Shadows, she needed him to kill Zant so she could have her throne back and take her place as The Twilight Princess. After that, his word was done, his usefulness ran its course. After they got what they wanted from him—the Spirits, Zelda, Midna, the Gorons, the Zoras, the people of Hyrule—he suddenly became very disposable. So they brushed him aside like a horse with a broken leg, not caring what became of him. They didn't care what happened to him. They didn't need him anymore. His usefulness, had run out.
Midna! Link's mind screamed her name. This is all her fault! Link started howling angrily, the birds in the nearby trees scattered in fright. If she hadn't shattered the Mirror of Twilight, he would have been able to enter the Twilight Realm, and she could have transformed him back! The stone that had changed him into a wolf used the power of twilight. He was sure of it. His only means of salvation had been shattered. And why? Supposedly light and shadow can't mix. And so, because of what Link saw as stupidity and betrayal, he was stuck in this living hell for the rest of his life. Link hated Midna. He hated her and whoever had cast that damned stone on him—
A twig snapped somewhere behind him. Link's eye flared. Fuelled by rage, he whirled around, fangs bared, ready to attack—but his anger instantly evaporated into joy as he saw Coro rounding the bend into the glade. He had finally return home!
Coro was a tall man (although he had always seemed tall to Link. He was a wolf, after all). The salesman had aged in the last eight years. He was still skinny and lanky—maybe even scrawny—he sort of reminded Link of a Deku sapling. His once vibrant brown hair now had little strands of grey in it. He had cut his hair quite some time ago, deciding that the afro was causing him too much grief.(He confided to Link that he was tired of birds building nests in his hair) After he heaved his traveling pack and gear into his house and unloaded his burden, he rubbed his shoulder and grinned wide when he saw Link sitting by the fire pit. Evidently, he was just as excited to see his friend as well.
"Hey, guy, how've you been?" Coro reached out to pet Link but withdrew his hand when Link started growling "Whoa! Easy there Silverfang. Something wrong boy?"
Link's mind bellowed with rage. Of course there's something wrong! By the three Goddesses he hated this man. He was an idiot! Coro was completely oblivious to what he was going through. And damn it! Link wanted Coro to stop calling him Silverfang. That wasn't his name! Sometimes he just wanted to tear his throat—Link stopped himself. . . .Since when did he start thinking this about Coro? He wasn't the one who had cursed him. Link whimpered in shame and sunk back into his dark depression. Now he was thinking about hurting innocent people. He really was an animal. Link began to whine loudly.
"Hey, hey, Silverfang, it's okay," Coro said, scratching him behind the ear. "Come on guy, I'll make us something to eat."Coro smiled and headed toward the fire pit.
Link sighed and walked after the man. Being scratched behind the ear did make him feel a little better, he supposed. And right now, at that moment, idea of food sounded great: he was famished.
While Coro prepared their meal, Link's probing eyes watched him with an animal-like cunning. He was glad Coro was home again. He was the only human who didn't run away or try to kill Link when they saw him. And for that, he was grateful. If he hadn't found Coro, Link expected he would have gone completely insane by now. But, no use worrying. He had a friend, and in about a few moments, he would have food in his stomach.
After the meal was prepared, they started to eat Coro while told Link with gusto and excitement about his long journey across Hyrule. Link watched him out of the corner of his eye, nodding in the appropriate places to actually give him the impression that he was listening. Link found it a little odd that a full grown man would talk to an animal as if it could understand him (Link could, of course, but Coro didn't now that). He didn't really bother with Coro's stories. Link was much more interested in the huge slab of meet lying at his paws. He sniffed at it and his mouth began to water. It was sizzled to perfection. Link ate as Coro prattled on and on about his sister, and how they're brother had suddenly taken ill, and how he had sailed a raft 'all the way down Zora River' (His retold this part of the story with much enthusiasm) but Link was hardly paying attention to anything his master was saying. So, this is going to be the rest of his life, he realized. Trapped forever in the body of a wolf, spending the rest of his days getting older and fatter, listening to this man's annoying stories until he finally keeled over. By now Link welcomed death, and judging by how fast Coro was talking, God willing it wouldn't be far off—
"Oh Yeah!" Coro exclaimed. "Did I mention that Queen Zelda is leaving the castle!"
Link's head shot up. He looked up at Coro with a shocked expression. What did he say?
"Well, well, looks like I got your attention." Coro said. "Hey, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a thing for The Queen!" Coro laughed and nudged Link in the ribs with his elbow.
Rolling his eyes, Link pocked Coro's side with his muzzle, wanting more information.
"Yeah, that's right." Coro said as if were gossiping with a buddy down at the bar. "There's something happening on Death Mountain, and in three days, Queen Zelda is going up there herself to personally take care of it. Apparently the Gorons have gone cannibal!" Coro looked down and pocked at his steak as it seared on the frying pan. "Weird, I thought they ate only rocks."
As Coro finished telling his tale, Link started up at the man, that wonderful, talkative man. Already he was breaking into a tale of how a monster attacked him on his journey, and how he fearlessly defeated him—But Link was too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear. Inspiration went off behind his eyes like a bomb flower. Zelda was leaving the castle! She was going out in public! This was his big chance! The moment he had been waiting for all these years had finally come! Link could feel the excitement building up inside of him, and already thousand of negatives thoughts were rushing to the forefront of his mind to remind him of how he could never succeed, but he pushed these thoughts away. Nothing could spoil this. This was his chance to get his life back. Sure Zelda would be guarded, but all she would have to do is get a glimpse at him and she would recognize him instantly. Yes! She would recognize him, then she would change him back!
Link felt more anxious than he had in years, he felt like a wolf cub as it wrestles with its friends (Even though he was never a cub, something in his mind told him he knew what this felt like). What was this feeling? Happiness? Yes, surely he must be happy. His tail was certainly wagging up a storm! Coro said Zelda was leaving in three days, that meant Link had three days to cross the Faron Province—which meant going across Hyrule Field and into the Lanayru Province to the borders of Castle Town. Not a simple task, but not impossible . . . just improbable.
Link gazed up into the sky. The sun was fiery orange disk on the horizon. It was setting. Link whimpered. The drifting orange of the sky and the listless puffs of clouds reminded him a little too much of the Twilight Realm. It was too late now. He would have to leave tomorrow at first light; better to get some rest now so he could be nice and fresh for his journey across Hyrule.
Leaving Coro to sit alone at the fire pit, Link found the soft patch of earth where he usually slept. A brisk wind blew through the glade. It ruffled his fur and made him smile in the way only wolves can. It was Twilight now, the time where their realm crosses with their own. And even though Link was so close to the Twilight, but so far away from Hyrule Castle: he had never been so sure that he would succeed. He had to be sure, absolutely positive. Anything less and we wouldn't even go. Link yawned and rested his snout on his paws. For now he would rest up and gather his strength. Tomorrow he would set out for another quest. But this time, for himself.
Alius111: Well, there you have it. The first chapter. Now that you've read, tell me what you think. How's the story itself? Where can I improve? Remember, constructive critisism is a writer's best friend. Well, that and booze.