AN: So here we are, another week another new story. This time one that actually was on my poll. The winner, in fact. I'd just like to say, before we begin, thank you to Um I lost my name for giving me the idea to write this. But what is 'this'? This is, as the summary states, a prequel to It's Not Easy, detailing Link's journey up to the beginning of that (well, more or less). I'd imagine you can read this on its own, without having read It's Not Easy (it is a prequel, after all), but if you're at all inclined to read INE I'd suggest doing so before reading this one to come, because it'll kind of ruin the mystery otherwise.
And so, with that in mind, let's get this show on the road, shall we? Let me know what you think, and enjoy!
Oh, yeah, almost forgot - Disclaimer: I don't own The Legend of Zelda, etc, etc.
Now, for real this time, enjoy!
1- A Child, Yet Not
A wide, shining space, familiar in ways it shouldn't have been. There was water at his feet, reflecting the impossibly blue sky above. It made Link feel a little like he was floating, and could fall at any moment. Which wasn't the best feeling in the world.
Even worse was the voice that was speaking nearby, deep and cold and echoing with power. He couldn't tell where it was coming from; when he looked he was alone. It seemed more like it was all around, hemming him in.
'My hate… will never perish… it is born anew, in a cycle with no end...' It was a voice Link recognised, from nightmares and memories alike. Demise.
With a bright flare of lightning the pretty blue world fell to pieces, turning stormy and grey in an instant. Rain began to fall in silver sheets so heavy Link could barely see through them. In the flashes of lightning he could just about make out a shape forming nearby; huge, hulking, glaring at him with a pair of burning orange eyes.
Demise lunged, and Link woke up.
Blinking at the ceiling he lay still, the demon's laughter ringing in his ears, waiting for his racing heart to settle. He took a few deep breaths, feeling sweat begin to cool and dry on his skin.
In truth Demise wasn't even the worst of the phantoms that haunted Link, but he was definitely the most hated. For starting this whole thing, for creating the endless cycle that Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf were doomed to follow until, most likely, the end of time. Over and over and over. Reincarnated again and again, each time a little different but a lot the same.
And Link remembered it all. Every turn of the cycle, every reincarnation.
Sometimes they felt distant, with an almost dreamlike quality, but other times, like now, they pressed in close until his head felt like it might burst. He was pretty sure nobody was supposed to have this many memories.
Sitting up slowly Link rubbed his temples, squinting into the bright morning sunlight that flooded his treehouse. He'd forgotten to close the shutters again.
He covered his eyes for a moment, finding everything too bright, heaving a sigh. He felt like he hadn't slept at all. His head hurt, his eyes felt all scratchy. Parts of him that shouldn't have been aching ached, a reminder of old scars that he didn't have. He'd checked, but he had yet to gain a single scar from a blade, or a monster, or even just a regular old accident.
In fact, he'd never touched a real weapon with his own hands before, because Rusl wouldn't let him. He'd never seen a monster with his own two eyes either, because they never came near the village. He still knew what they looked like though. Or at least, he knew what the monsters from ages past looked like. From what Rusl said, they hadn't changed all that much since Link's last life.
Groaning softly Link let himself fall back, nearly smacking his head against the headboard as he flopped, rubbing his eyes a little before lifting his left hand to peer at the familiar mark on the back of it. Three neatly stacked triangles, the bottom left of which was a little more defined. His piece. Courage.
The lame one, basically.
So what if he remembered all the cool, heroic things he'd done in previous lives? Compared to power or wisdom courage just seemed… lame. Especially when all it got him was trouble, along with sadness and pain. Zelda never had to go through anything even close to what he did, and Ganondorf just got to have all the fun, didn't he? It was only Link who had to run around, picking up after people, doing whatever he was asked.
Link huffed, annoyed. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't he get the cool magical powers, or get to be a prince?
'Good morning, Epona,' a familiar voice chirped from somewhere nearby, abruptly startling Link from his grumping. Apparently he'd left the windows open as well, if how clear the voice was meant anything.
Sitting up again Link swung his legs off the bed, stumbling upright before crossing to the window that overlooked the small paddock outside his house. As he went there came a high whinny from down below, as well as a bright laugh. Ilia was always way too happy in the morning. She had the fortune of being a morning person, Link guessed, though when he thought about it she was generally bright and happy all the time anyway, wasn't she? He never knew if he envied her for it or if it annoyed him.
'Good morning Link,' Ilia called when Link poked his head out of the window, blinking in the sunshine. It was a nice morning.
He managed to return the greeting around a yawn, lifting a hand in a half-hearted attempt at a wave. Ilia had been distracted, however, by a certain filly bumping their nose against her sides in search of treats, and didn't return the gesture.
For a moment Link just watched, half out the window, before he retreated to get up properly. He tugged on some clothes he thought might be clean and splashed his face with a little water in an effort to clear his head. It felt like it was going to be one of those days where he kept getting confused about where, or rather when, he was.
Ilia gave him a second, much more enthusiastic greeting when he emerged from his house, basically tackling him the moment he was out the door. He patted her back lightly, smiling despite himself. Sometimes she reminded him of Saria, other times Malon, but today she was just Ilia. Bright like the sun, unflinchingly cheerful, always with the scent of hay clinging to her clothes.
After a moment Ilia disentangled herself, holding Link at an arm's length as she surveyed him with a frown that steadily deepened the longer she looked.
She gave a huff. 'You're not taking proper care of yourself again,' she said, pouting. 'Are you?'
Blinking at her Link asked what she was on about, a little offended 'cause he thought he'd been doing pretty well recently. He was the only kid in the village who lived by himself-something that seemed to cause the adults no small amount of worry–and he was pretty sure he could take care of himself.
'Your clothes are all creased. They've got stains on them. Your hair's a mess.' Ilia was clearly having none of it. 'You've got circles under your eyes. Have you been sleeping badly again? Have you been eating properly? Are you-'
Yanking himself out of her grip Link turned away with a frustrated noise, putting his hands over his ears. She was so annoying. What was she, his mother? He could take care of himself!
When he asked her how many times he had to tell her that she only reply was, 'as many times as you like until I think it's true,' in an annoyingly sing-song voice that Link's hands did nothing to block out.
Making a show of ignoring her Link walked over to Epona, whistling her song softly as he patted her neck. It often bothered him to notice the similarities between his many lives, because if nothing changed then what was the point, but Epona was one constant he was always glad for. He loved her to pieces; he wasn't sure how he'd survive without her.
Fado had bought her a few months back, meaning to eventually put her to work on the ranch, but Ilia and, of course Link, had taken such a shining to her that he'd let them take charge of looking after her. The adults-Bo and Fado, mostly, but occasionally also Rusl–were helping to train her, but as with every lifetime she was quite the ornery filly.
Honestly, though, that just made her all the more endearing in the two children's eyes.
Rubbing Epona's neck Link pointedly ignored Ilia when he heard her step up behind her, until she wrapped her arms around him, catching him in a warm bear hug.
'Don't be mad,' she said, breath tickling the back of Link's neck and making him squirm. 'I just don't want you to hurt yourself.'
Lifting a hand from Epona's neck to Ilia's arm he patted it lightly, assuring her that he was fine. No one was hurting anyone. He just didn't like cleaning.
She harrumphed, not believing him. He couldn't really blame her in the end. When was the last time he'd tidied his house? Done any washing?
Small things like that felt insignificant in the face of his looming destiny. He spent most days on edge, wondering if today would be the day Ganondorf revealed himself and threw Hyrule into chaos.
He just wanted it to happen already, so he didn't have to keep waiting. It had happened when he was a kid before, so why not again? He was ready, he was prepared. So maybe he'd never held a proper weapon himself, but he had years and years of training tucked away in his head, didn't he? How hard could it be, really?
'Hey, guess what?' Ilia bumped her hip against his, having stopped hugging him while he'd been lost in his thoughts. When he looked there was a wide, wicked smile on her face. His mind immediately went blank at the question; he couldn't think of a single thing to guess.
'Look what I've got,' Ilia said when he just shrugged, pulling something from her pocket which she then dangled in front of his face. It took Link a moment to work out what it was, as it hung just a little too close to be in focus, but when he did he gasped in delight.
Reaching out eagerly he demanded to know where she'd got a slingshot, of all things, trying to grab it. She danced away from him, waving it above her head.
'Borrowed it,' she said, using her superior height to torment him as she held it just out of reach. He jumped for it, but she just yanked it back so that his fingers barely brushed it.
He paused, raising his eyebrows. Sera had let her have it? He'd known the shopkeeper had had the thing for a while but had never put it up for sale; he'd figured she didn't want them getting it.
'Um, well…' Ilia paused, a brief look of guilt flashing across her face. It was quickly replaced by impish pride though. 'Maybe not borrowed. When she was distracted by little Beth I grabbed it.'
Link couldn't help a grin. She'd stolen it? Mayor Bo was going to be so mad at her.
Ilia's face immediately clouded over at the mention of her father, though. 'He probably won't even notice, since he's always so busy with all his Mayor stuff,' she grumbled, pouting, and Link took the opportunity to filch the slingshot. She gave a shriek but he was already running, darting away towards Ordona's Spring.
Her legs might've been longer, but Link was definitely faster, snatching the lead and keeping it as he ran, giving the slingshot a few experimental tugs. It was a little stiff, but it just needed to be used. Why had Sera been keeping it if she wasn't going to use it? Adults could be so stupid sometimes.
As he staggered to a halt at the spring's gate Link called for a timeout, spinning to face Ilia who reached his side seconds later. He requested another timeout now that he knew she was within earshot, sucking in a few deep breaths.
Pausing Ilia watched him with narrowed eyes, glancing at the slingshot a few times before she gave a huff, folding her arms. 'What?'
He pressed his lips together for a moment before telling her that he'd realised they had nothing to use as ammunition. No pellets, or anything like that.
'Nothing to shoot either,' Ilia added as she glanced at the high walls of trees around them, before dropping her gaze to her feet. 'Are there any small stones we can use?'
Suggesting they could just shoot the trees Link scuffed his boots lightly against the ground in search of stones. There were a few here and there, but they all looked too big to use. He collected up a few anyway, because it was better than nothing.
'Maybe we could use something else,' Ilia mused after another few moments of squinting at their surroundings. 'Like pumpkin seeds?'
Knowing Jaggle wouldn't let them anywhere near any of the village's pumpkins Link tried to remember if he had one, frowning slightly. He was pretty sure he did, tucked away in his storage room. He couldn't believe that so many lifetimes had passed but his life still, somehow, revolved around pumpkins.
'Great!' Ilia needed nothing more when he mentioned the pumpkin he possibly had stored away, grabbing his free hand to tug him back towards his house. After a few seconds of yanking he fell into step beside her, handing her the slingshot as they went. She took it with a smile, tucking it back into her pocket before she picked up the pace, skipping along. It was at times like these that Link wished he could be as cheery as her.
Although, she definitely lost a little of her spark upon seeing the mess inside his house. After a good few minutes of disapproving looks and tutting Link caved, shuffling around picking up everything he came across while Ilia busied herself with locating the pumpkin. She returned victorious as Link was piling old bowls into the wash basin to soak, plonking the vegetable down on the table with a heavy thunk.
As Link collected up all his dirty clothes she set about scooping out the seeds, and he decided he was glad to have avoided that task as the not-so-pleasant smell of pumpkin insides began to fill his house. A passing glance at Ilia revealed her arms coated almost up to the elbows in sticky pumpkin slime, her face a crinkled mask of disgust. Still, she persevered, and following her example Link put a little more effort into his tidying.
Time passed, until all at once they were sat in a fairly tidy space, a neat pile of seeds stacked between them.
'Good work, team,' Ilia said with a satisfied smile, arms and face still flecked with drying goop. 'Let's go, Link!'
And go they did, once Ilia had washed up. Target practise along the path to the spring quickly turned to a deadly game of hide-and-seek, where the seeker got the slingshot and was permitted to use it on the hider. It was all very stealthy, or at least it was supposed to be. Muffled snickers and distracting shouts weren't exactly inconspicuous, but they were fun.
At some point Link found himself up a tree, clinging to a fat branch as he watched the path below. Ilia had vanished somewhere, looking in the wrong place, which left Link alone with his thoughts. He looked away towards the bridge that spanned the ravine between Ordon and the forest, wondering, not for the first time, if maybe he should just go look for Ganondorf himself. He was getting pretty fed up of waiting.
Plus, if he went now, maybe he could save Hyrule before it even needed saving. No one would have to get hurt, he probably wouldn't have to traipse all over the country looking for temples, Ganondorf would never get his hands on Hyrule. Not for even the slightest bit of time.
Hugging the branch a little tighter Link frowned, pressing his cheek against the rough bark as he thought. His life would be a whole lot easier if he could just get rid of Ganondorf early.
He was knocked from his thoughts, literally, when something slammed into the side of his head. He reeled, grip loosening. He flailed his arms, overbalancing. He fell, and the world tumbled briefly, a blur of brown and green, until he hit the ground. Hard. Someone shrieked as he coughed, spluttering as the air was knocked right out of him.
There came running footsteps before hands were gripping his shoulders, Ilia appearing above him with eyes wide as saucers. 'Oh my- oh Link, I'm so sorry! Are you okay? Oh, goddesses-' she hauled him upright, peering at him as he groaned softly. 'I'm so sorry, that was supposed to hit the branch next to you. I got carried away, are you okay?'
The slingshot in her hand dug into one of his shoulders uncomfortably, but he ignored it in favour of getting some air back into his lungs. Then he groaned again, more to be dramatic than anything.
'Here, can you stand?' Backing up Ilia stood, offering him a hand. He took it, letting her pull him to his feet where he swayed a little, lifting a hand to rub the sore spot at his temple. Ilia watched silently, chewing on her lower lip, eyes a little shinier than normal. She didn't seem convinced when Link told her he was fine, offering her a wide grin. His head hurt, and his side where he'd landed on it, but nothing was broken. He'd just have a few bruises, which he probably wouldn't even notice.
'You fell pretty hard, are you sure you're okay?' She patted his bruised arm lightly, gauging his reaction, and seemed a little reassured when he barely winced. 'I think we should stop. Let's get you home.'
Link didn't protest, kind of wanting to lie down till his head stopped throbbing, stepping up beside Ilia as she turned away in the direction of the village.
And then they both froze.
'Are you two all right?' It was Rusl. Jogging towards them. Seemingly on instinct Ilia shoved the slingshot out of sight, exchanging a swift glance with Link who pulled a face. Then they turned to watch Rusl approach.
'I heard shouting,' he said as he reached them, just barely out of breath. 'Are you two- Link, what happened to your face?' His eyes latched onto Link, who rubbed his temple a little self-consciously, not saying anything. When he remained silent Rusl instead looked to Ilia for an explanation, and she squirmed under his gaze.
'Well I must say,' he said as he leaned back, folding his arms, 'that neither of you are doing a very good job of acting innocent.' They both twitched at this, sharing another glance. If they were going down, they'd go down together. 'Sera tells me the slingshot she's been storing has gone missing,' Rusl continued, expression going stern as he looked between them. 'And I know none of the adults have any use for it, and the toddlers aren't interested.'
Looking away Link pressed his lips together, rubbing his head again. Nobody spoke for a long moment.
'Ilia?' Rusl raised an eyebrow, fixing Ilia with the look, the one that said he knew every thought going through your head. Ilia held his gaze for a record two minutes before she crumbled, slowly, sullenly, pulling the slingshot out of her pocket. Link sighed softly as she handed it over; the jig was up.
'Thank you, Ilia,' Rusl said, shaking his head slightly. 'Your father isn't happy about this.'
'Who cares?' Ilia grumbled, pouting and looking at her feet, which she scuffed against the ground.
'Ilia,' Rusl sighed, tone softening. 'I think you'd better go home now, young lady.'
For a moment Ilia just stood, glaring at the floor, but then she straightened. 'I'll see you later, Link,' she said, turning to him. 'Sorry about shooting you in the face.'
He smiled, shaking his head slightly, and then she was hurrying away, leaving him alone with Rusl.
'Link…' the man sighed, and Link could tell from his tone that he wouldn't like where this was headed. 'I'm disappointed, I expect better from you.'
It was Link's turn to glower at the floor, hugging himself as he ground his teeth. He was tempted to remind Rusl that he wasn't his father, but that felt way over the line. Rusl was the closest thing he'd had to a father since the Deku Tree, and Link knew both he and Uli felt he was at least a little like a son.
'Surely you realise stealing's wrong?' Rusl continued, dropping down onto his knees so that his eyes were mostly level with Link's. Link was then tempted to pass off the blame onto Ilia, but he couldn't do that. Wouldn't do that.
So he just stared sourly at the floor, waiting for the lecture to be over.
'Link?' Rusl's soft voice prompted him to lift his eyes a little, though he couldn't bring himself to meet the blue gaze he found there. He refused to say anything. No excuses, no explanations.
So what if he'd been playing with a stolen slingshot? He was going to save Hyrule someday, so couldn't he get a break? Why did he always have to be good, always have to be courageous, heroic? Why was he the only one expected to do the right thing all the time?
It wasn't fair.
He looked at the floor again.
Rusl sighed, seeming to realise he wasn't going to get anything out of Link, before clapping him on the shoulder lightly. 'Just don't do it again, all right?' he said, straightening slowly. 'You know stealing's wrong, I'm sure.'
Link gave a small, curt nod. Of course he knew. What ten-year-old didn't? He just didn't really care. Sera hadn't been using it-no one had been using it–so what was the problem? They'd have given it back.
He didn't say that though, because he knew that wasn't the answer Rusl was looking for.
'Good.' Rusl sounded like he was smiling. 'Now let's get your head patched up, shall we?'
To that Link nodded with a little more enthusiasm, trailing along behind Rusl as he began to walk away. They passed his house, and Epona's paddock, following the narrow path down to the village. Smoke rose from a few of the chimneys, and over the burble of the river Link could hear a baby crying.
For a moment he forgot where he was. It came out of nowhere, and he stopped dead in the middle of the path, swaying under the sudden confusion. Rubbing his head he blinked at his surroundings dazedly. Everything seemed to be shifting; wherever he looked grass and sky and houses all starting distorting. Was this the Kokiri Forest? No, there were adults wandering around. Was it Skyloft? No, they weren't in the sky. Was it one of the countless other little villages Link had spent his youth in? He couldn't tell. He couldn't tell.
'Link?' the voice startled him, and lifting his head Link found Rusl watching him with something like concern from a little way away. He pinched himself, inconspicuously. He was in Ordon. Ordon. With Rusl, and Uli, and Ilia, and Mayor Bo and Sera and Fado and everyone else. That's where he was. Ganondorf had yet to show his face, Link was living a carefree life in the countryside, in the most prosperous Hyrule in a while.
Shaking his head slightly Link hurried to catch up, once more trailing after Rusl without a word. What was he supposed to say? No one would understand.
'Maybe you hit your head harder than it looks,' Rusl said as they started up the path to his house, glancing over his shoulder at Link. 'Are you feeling all right? You look pale.'
Link nodded silently, though truth be told he was feeling a little sick.
He couldn't stand this. He hated it so much. Always losing track of where he was, when he was. All the reminders of the past he found in his everyday life. The way nothing felt like it had changed in hundreds, thousands of years. Even after all his hard work, all the times he'd risked his life to make things better.
And then there was the constant wondering, the constant anticipation of what he knew was coming but couldn't warn anyone about. The fear of an attack, of everything going wrong. No one would believe him if he told them what was coming. They'd think he was crazy.
But it would happen, sooner or later. It would.
He couldn't let it. Wouldn't let it. Not to Ordon. Not to Ilia, Rusl, Uli, the toddlers… he had to protect them. He needed to find Ganondorf and stop him before he could do anything.
He had to, he had to.
As Link followed Rusl, treading the familiar path to the man's house, he made up his mind. If Ganondorf wouldn't come to him, then he would go to Ganondorf. He would end all of this before it even began.