It was a light-filled day as Link rode into Ordon village. The smell of the soot in the air of Kakariko still clung to his clothes, but a flower-filled breeze brought in the odors of fresh water, fast-growing pumpkins, and green, deeply rooted trees. The luminous peace of the valley was sedative.
Midna, clinging in the shadow on Link's back, gave off an annoyed sigh and shot an evil glare at a butterfly that dared flitter nearby.
"What was the name of that guy that beat the Gorons years ago? Boo-boo?"
"That's Mayor Bo," Link stated. "He lives in the biggest house in the village."
"Ooh. Sounds real intimidating." Midna turned her head to see Link had dismounted Epona and was now climbing the ladder into his own house. "Hey!"
Link, nearing the door to his house, was suddenly aware of a mild, persistent poking sensation on his left arm. He turned to see the nearly tangible Midna putting all of her force into poking him with a vengeance. "What?"
"What are you going inside for?"
"I'm hungry." Link brushed Midna away and mounted the last few steps to the platform.
"Oh no you don't you lazy thing, why I'll –" Midna zoomed to the door but Link slammed it in her face.
A string of very nasty-sounding words followed, but the door muffled them. Link hummed a little and put down his sword, his shield, his lantern, took off his boots, and looked around his house. All was exactly as it had been – the pictograph of a goat, the sleeping loft above, the rows of books his father had left to him. Nothing had changed…
He touched the walls, vaguely, absently. With a sigh, he lowered himself into the storeroom and felt his way around for something to eat.
Midna was not used to having doors slammed in her face. Particularly not from an insolent, lazy, farm boy who forgot that, were it not for her, he'd still be a beast in a smelly dungeon, probably starving to death as twilight sank across the land. She hissed and swore and spat, but that didn't get the door opened. So she opted to float about the house looking for an open window. The last time she'd been here, she'd observed how stupidly many of the humans left their windows open to any dangers that could fly in – including those bluebirds that were eying Midna suspiciously. She hissed at them and they flew away.
Aha, that looked like an opening. A window sat on the roof, like an eye that could see both out of and into the house. There wasn't even glass on the window – what was this boy thinking? Midna delicately alighted on the sill and paused, inspecting the inside of the house.
Disappointingly plebian, she thought. The pillows and blankets on the – was this a sleeping loft? – were unkempt and kicked every which way. Going to the edge of the loft and leaning over, however, Midna was forced to admit that the rest of the house was tidily comfortable. But where was Link? Midna turned her head this way and that, but couldn't find him.
Perhaps he just went outside to look for me and apologize. The thought delighted her. Perhaps he's looking around now, wondering where I've gone, so sorry for his abominable rudeness… She giggled and rubbed her little hands together. She was going to make him grovel a little bit, oh yes, she was, this would be sweet…
Her epiphany was interrupted when Link himself appeared coming from some hole in the ground. Literally a hole in the ground, with a ladder coming out of it. He was carrying a piece of crockery and two round things wrapped in white cloth. Even from where she was, Midna could smell something wrong with what he was holding.
She lowered herself from the loft as Link bent over the stove, unwrapping the packages. Slowly, carefully, until she was just hovering above his shoulder – then she stopped. Waited. Waited. Link turned to his left, pulling down something in a jar.
Midna waited…
Link put – it appeared to be an old fish, a very old fish, and some vegetables into a pan and put the pan on the fire. Midna's nose twitched. She loitered over to the fish and vegetables frying, and inspected them. Her eye widened when she noticed something green and slightly furry on the fish's gills. She plucked it off gingerly, and, closing her eye, put it into her mouth.
"Eeurgh! Uck! Bleh, bleh, bleh!"
Finally Link turned around. He gaped at the small shadow flying about the room. She was doubling up and spitting. Link couldn't help but smirk.
"Decided to try and steal my lunch, did you?"
Midna turned to glare at him, sticking out a slightly pointed blue tongue. "That's your lunch?"
"Yeah, a fish fry. Do you want some?"
Midna raised a finger and spoke slowly, in her most chilling voice. "There – is – mold – on that thing."
"Is there?"
"Look!" Midna almost pushed Link over to the fire. He leaned down and peered closely at the lifeless, scaled thing.
Link instantly lost his appetite, but didn't want to admit to Midna that she was right. He straightened up. "I've had worse." It was true.
"You want to know something?" Midna now flit to the other side of the fire, "I don't think that fish can be defined as 'dead' anymore."
Link ignored her.
"I don't want you to eat it."
"Oh really?" Link's stomach growled; now Midna had to control his diet on top of everything else?
"Listen to me. You're the Hero Chosen by the Gods, right?"
"… everyone says I am."
"It amounts to the same thing." Link stared at that. Midna went on, ignoring him, "You've got to save Hyrule, right? Zelda knows, I know, you know, we all know that you're the only one who can do anything. So," here she paused for emphasis, "How can you possibly expect to save the worlds of light and twilight and restore order and peace and find me my Fused Shadows if you die of food poisoning in your home village?"
Link rolled his eyes. "I won't die of this."
"How do you know?"
"Because I…"
Before Link could complete his reply, a shout came from outside.
"Heeeeyyy!! What's this? Epona's here!"
Link ran to the door and opened it, Midna following close behind. The fish lay forgotten.
Midna, peering over Link's shoulder, saw a well-built but stupid looking human standing dumbfounded in front of Link's house. The man, who held an empty bucket in either hand, looked at Epona like he'd never seen a horse before. The man looked up and saw Link standing in the doorway.
First the man's jaw dropped. Then the buckets dropped. Midna waited to see what he would drop next.
"L-Link?" stammered the man.
Link's face brightened instantly. "Fado! Old Fado, how are you?"
Fado didn't say anything else for a second, but when Link stepped toward him, the man turned around and shouted loud enough to call an echo, "Link's here! Link's here! He's all right!"
The shout echoed and with its echo brought the families of Ordon, in their homespun and linen. Link was accosted with cries and inquiries – most loudly, "Are the children safe? Please, what of the children?"
He turned his head to see all of the families there, watching him intently. Well, almost all – Uli was slowly turning the corner into his clearing, a hand on her belly, and Rusl wasn't with her. Link stepped forward so that they could all hear him, and suddenly became aware of how much taller he was than everyone else. He forgot what to do with his hands, and looked from one face to another, utterly forgetful of what to say.
Uli finally approached the group, and she voiced her inquiry, which shushed all the others – "Have you seen the children?"
Link raised a hand to his mouth, trying to stall for time, and suddenly Midna, invisible to all, was at his ear muttering, "Kakariko Village. Remember? Lots of short people."
Then Link found he could speak, and speak easily. "I've seen them. They're in Kakariko Village – they're all safe…"
His voice caught for a minute. "Except for Ilia."
Hands flew to mouths, mouths opened uselessly, finally Jaggle spoke first: "The children? In Kakariko? All of them? – except Ilia?"
"Yes, all of them." Link nodded, swallowed, continued. "They're staying with the village shaman, Renado. He's taking very good care of all of them. I – I don't know where Ilia is."
"Oh, but the children are safe! Thank the goddesses!" a babble of relief broke out. "My little Beth is all right? She didn't get hurt at all, did she?" "And my dear boys, what about them? I do hope Talo took good care of Malo like he said he would…" "I hope none of the kids are too badly hurt…" "Eh! Link, what's this!"
The last voice, belonging to Hanch, pointed out the red sore that completely encircled Link's left wrist. Link himself had grown so used to it – a souvenir carried over from his wolf shape, where the chain from Hyrule Castle never did come off. But the village women and men seized his arm and gasped in sympathy, each one advising a different ointment, and eventually Link found himself being dragged to Sera's house – that being the nearest – to be administered to, despite his protests. He reluctantly admitted that it was a bit nasty-looking, but it didn't hurt him much, and he was fine, really – no one listened to him as he was plopped into a chair.
"What an awful color!" Uli bent over it, frowning. "This has been festering for a long time, it looks like."
"It looks like something was gripping the wrist, like a vine or something –" Pergie came back from where she had shut the door on the prying menfolk.
"But what? What was it, Link?" Sera had arrived with bee larvae and honey to spread on the wound.
Link bit his lower lip and tried to find somewhere to look other than the women's faces.
"Does the ointment hurt, Link?"
"No, no, it's not that…" How could he tell them? The very fact that a chain had been put on him would be unspeakable, outrageous. In this quiet town, chains were only used on the most violent of beasts. In the middle of his thoughts, Midna was at his ear.
"They're waiting for you to talk, you dolt."
Link half-turned, then remembered that no-one else could see Midna and he would appear to be talking to mid-air – not an impression he wanted to give to the villagers. To the women, it appeared that he was possessed by a sudden twitch in the neck, which led them to wonder what on earth had happened to Link up in Kakariko.
Meanwhile, Midna was continuing, "Just say you got bit by a wild creature. They'll lap it up."
"It –"
"Actually, no, say a magical creature. That accounts for the odd shape and it sounds better besides."
Link found himself turning back to the women and saying, "I, er, um, well, I uh, fell on it."
He was met with several blank stares.
"You fell."
Link nodded, unused to lying. "On something really hard."
The village women exchanged glances. Link had a feeling they didn't believe him.
"My idea was better." Midna whispered.
"Well, if you lost your balance it's 'cause you were running about without something to eat, m'dear," said Sera, standing up. By a cocked eyebrow shared with the other women, she reminded them that the way to any man's heart is through the stomach. Taking the hint, Pergie and Uli both started to get up, saying something about lunch or baking bread. But Uli stopped short, a hand on her belly.
"Oh, Uli, don't trouble yourself yet!"
"Uli, after what you've been through – "
"Don't you worry, leave the cooking to us –"
"Just keep Link company, m'dear, that's all we need now, right, Link?"
Sera winked at the two of them and then she and Pergie hurried off to the kitchen, where a shelf full of flatbreads was waiting to be pulled out of the oven.
Midna, in the shadows, grinned to herself slyly. I could hardly have planned it better myself, she thought. Now she could be certain of Link receiving excellent food, for a human, at least, and being given time to rest. She couldn't ask for more at this point – it might cost them a day at the most, but Link would be much stronger for it. She nodded in self-approval, and then opened her eye to see the ensuing action.
'Ensuing action' was perhaps an understatement. Link and Uli seemed disposed to share details about the weather, the farm, and their boring village life.
Midna lost interest very easily. Her mind drifted to secret places while the plebian conversation ensued.
"How are you, Uli? Are you all right?"
Uli smiled gently. "I'm doing fine. Just a little fright and stress, but the child and I are fine. It does me good to see you back here, healthy and safe."
Link swallowed. "What about Rusl? I haven't seen him in the village…"
"Oh, that's right, you didn't hear…" Uli's gaze fell to the floor. "He decided to go and search for the children. I tried to convince him not to go, but he wouldn't listen to me. Especially considering his condition… he was injured, you know, fighting the beasts that took the children."
Link nodded, as if he didn't already know this.
"And he couldn't even take the good sword that he had made for the king of Hyrule, because a beast came afterwards and stole it from the house." She shook her head. "I can't imagine how such a creature came in, but, after all, these beasts are strange and different from what we've already known… it was such a terrifying night, Link. Beasts lurking all around the house, with white teeth and flashing eyes…"
Link thought he heard Midna snicker.
Uli put a hand on her belly. "In fact, there was an hour where I thought I would have the baby that night – my pains came on, you see, but they went away. I was so relieved when they did… I thought I could persuade Rusl and tell him he couldn't leave me in my condition, but he was adamant: he wanted to look for the children." She sighed. "I only hope he goes to Kakariko soon, like you did."
A banging came on the door. "Hey, hey!" called Fado from outside. "Mayor Bo wants t' talk with Link!"
Link stood up immediately. "I'll go and see him, then."
As he started out the door, Sera's voice followed him. "Don't be too long! Lunch will be ready soon!"
"Lunch?" Fado's ears perked up. "I'm ready for lunch."
"Not for you, you goathead, for Link!"
Midna zipped from the shadow on the wall to Link's shadow on the floor. Life in this village moved far too slowly, she thought. Keeping to the grassy floor of the Ordon valley, Midna hurried with Link and his shadow to the mayor's house.
Intimidating. Midna coolly sized up the portly mayor of Ordon village, deciding that he was not, in fact, intimidating. His first question upon Link's entrance was to cheerfully open his arms and say, "Well, you know what I'm going to ask! How's my Ilia doing?"
Whereupon Link, with great awkwardness and much shuffling of feet, had to inform Mayor Bo that Ilia had not been with the other children, and that Link had no idea where she was, as a matter of fact. Bo's face fell with those words: Midna had just time to think that that was a very irresponsible way for a mayor to behave, when Bo caught himself and said, "Well, I suppose I should be happy to hear about all the children, not just thinking about my own…"
Midna nodded, and estimated that Bo might make a good mayor for this provincial town, but he was not intimidating like the shaman of Kakariko. Midna remembered Renado's serene, powerful aura, and the automatic respect conferred to him. Then she shuddered, remembered the heart-chilling moment when Renado had looked directly at her, hiding in Link's shadow, when she had realized that he knew that she was there, and could have pulled her out and held her up for questioning. Only he didn't.
Without question, Renado was intimidating.
Bo was – before Midna could decide on a word, she realized that Bo was leading Link into the next room, where there was a ring-shaped platform of sorts. She zipped to Link's shoulder and hissed "What's going on now?"
Link tossed back in an undertone, "He's going to teach me sumo wrestling. And don't talk to me in front of other people."
'Worrying about looking crazy now, is he?' Midna, after thoughtfully spinning for a minute, was about to launch a witty repartee when she noticed suddenly that Link and Bo were going to wrestle bare-shirted. And that they would begin wrestling bare-shirted as soon as possible. Midna covered her mouth with her hands, to choke a snort of somewhat embarrassed laughter. Discreetly flitting into the shadow of a corner, she watched with bemused interest.
Link, for the first round, was preoccupied with hoping against desperate hope that Midna was not watching the match. He wasn't sure what she would say, but somehow, just the thought of her seeing him shirtless made him blush. Hence, it was laughably easy for Bo to pummel Link out of the ring.
"C'mon, Link!" Bo clapped his hands together and rubbed them vigorously. "You can't hope to defeat the Gorons if you can't push me out of a ring! Now, come at me like you mean it!"
Link thought he heard Midna's tiny voice yell, "Is that all you've got, farm boy? C'mon, get that oaf!"
Bo looked around. "Did you hear something?"
Link tensed. "What?"
"I could've sworn I heard something – just a soft, chirping sort of noise – did you hear it?"
Link straightened up and shook his head. "I heard nothing. I'm ready for a rematch."
Bo nodded approvingly. "That's the fighting spirit!" Then he faltered. "But all the same, are you sure you didn't hear some-"
"No. Sir," Link added, as if by an afterthought.
So the lesson continued. Link steadily improved, and Bo steadily became convinced that Link was suffering from hearing loss, because a soft but definite voice could be heard at intermittent points throughout the afternoon. These varied, beginning with variants on the first cry, "That's pathetic, farm boy! Don't tell me that's the best you can do!" Later, these evolved to more sophisticated patterns and rhyme schemes, eventually climaxing in
"No, Bo, no, Bo, it's no-go / He'll beat you back like a crow, crow crow / Cause Link's a hero, or thinks so / so you won't beat him, no no no!"
Bo never did discover the origin of these cheers.
He did, however, observe with pleasure how strong Link had become, and how quickly the boy caught on to the basics of sumo. He commended him heartily when Link pushed him out of the ring at last, and wholeheartedly invited him to come down for more practice, anytime that was convenient, what with helping the Gorons and all. Link was a swell chap, really, when all was said and done.
When Link stepped out into the sunlight again, the Iron Boots discreetly stowed at the bottom of his pack, and Midna on the shadow of his shoulder, Hanch was calling to him, hurrying over the bridge.
"Come on, Link! We've been waiting! We're having a picnic at my house – hey, Mayor Bo, why don't you come too?"
Bo nodded aloofly. "It would be a pleasure. C'mon, Link, we've deserved a lunch…"
What a feast was awaiting them! Pumpkin soup, rounds of cheese, tender goat ribs, pears, loaves of hot bread… Sera laughed aloud as Link stood there surveying the sight.
"Why, m'dear, I'd think you haven't eaten for days! Sit down! Take a plate!"
"Laws, but it's good to have something to celebrate now." Jaggle took a seat next to Link, tying a napkin around his neck.
The villagers gathered eagerly around the table, and were about to dig in eagerly when Bo, prompted by a whisper from Uli, raised his hand for silence.
"I think," he said solemnly, "that it is only fitting that we say a prayer of thanksgiving before we eat."
All heads bowed in mute respect. Link even felt Midna grow still.
"We thank the Four Springs, especially the Spring of Eldin, for Link having found the children, safe and secure. We thank the Three Goddesses for this blessing and pray that our last child… may be found equally as safe. We are grateful for this good food and all we have been blessed with, and ask for continued protection, and the safe guidance of our children back home. We pray to the glorious ones… Amen."
"Amen," chorused the villagers.
The mayor's reference to the Sprit Eldin reminded Link of his curiosity about the spirit. But first, Link eagerly gulped down the soup and bread, and accepted the numerous offers of food. As he reached for a sparerib, Midna chanced to lean into his ear and whisper,
"Slow down, slow down – keep wolfing the food down like this and you're bound to get sick, and I can't have that, now, can I?"
Link slowed down, giving Midna's shadow a sullen glare. Bo called to him from the other end of the table.
"So, Link! Tell me, how's Kakariko Village prospering? Did Renado get married like I thought he would?"
"Well, the village has seen monsters worse than what I saw in Faron Woods – the place is mostly abandoned, but I'm sure the people will come back soon."
"You must've slaughtered those monsters, didn't you, Link!" came an admiring voice from down the table.
"Eh, heh heh, well, yeah… oh, and Renado is married and has a daughter. She's made friends with Colin and the others. Her name's Luda. Now, Bo, I'm curious –" Link swallowed the last of his soup, "what do you know about the Spirit Eldin?"
Bo tilted his head back and stroked his chin. "Well, let me see now – Eldin takes the shape of an owl, if I recall rightly… and Eldin's duty is to be the guardian of the pathways between this world and the others."
"The others?" Now everyone at the table was listening.
"The worlds in the heavens and the world of the dead, and the Sacred Realm as well… I remember Renado telling me all this, long time ago."
"No, that's not right," Jaggle interrupted. "Me mother told me the stories a hundred times, and Faron's the spring that trickles into other worlds, not Eldin."
Uli made a small noise of protest. "I always tell Colin that 'As one, Faron and Ordona protect the shining treasure in the grove.' It's a poem that I tell him every night."
"Well, legends differ," said Bo placidly, "but Renado's shaman of Kakariko town, I expect he knows as much about Eldin as there is to know."
"Eldin must be a very powerful spirit, then," Pergie observed, hurrying a new plate of bread onto the table.
"He is," Bo nodded, "second most powerful only to Lanayru, which winds over the greatest part of Hyrule."
"And all streams lead to Lake Hylia, the great crossroads," Sera finished, pleased with herself for having the last word.
"Crossroads to where?" Hanch snorted. "Those other worlds again?"
Link felt Midna bristle up on his shoulder.
"Crossroads between the provinces, dummy!" Someone else called down.
"Now, now…"
"Ordona doesn't get much of a place in the old legends, does it? Our own spring doesn't seem very important…"
"Ordona, the legends say, is the youngest spring to come from the soil. I even remember hearing that Ordona and Faron come from the same source…"
"But that makes them one spring!"
"Well, they have one mission, to protect the shining treasure –"
"And what is that? I've always been told of a shining treasure, but what is it?"
"I don't know…"
"These are just tales we tell our children. They aren't that important…"
"I think they are important," Uli said softly, not looking at the other people. "I think that it's very important, what we tell our children. That's all – that's all that we give them, in the end. That's all."
There was a pause, filled with nothing but the sunlight lowering on the valley and the birds singing blithely. Then Link stood up, holding his empty plate in his hands.
"Thank you all so much for the meal," he said, "it was delicious."
As one, the villagers began to protest and entreat Link to stay for the night. But he shook his head: it was already late, and he wanted to be back in Kakariko by sundown. However, he couldn't stop all the women of the village from stuffing his bag with food, nor the men from giving him various bits of advice on fighting monsters. Bo merely walked up to the lad, gave him a clap on the shoulder that nearly toppled him, and said,
"Be brave, Link. Go out there and find our children, and do whatever you have to do to restore the peace with the Gorons."
And with that, Bo sagely nodded and stepped back, allowing Link to be surrounded by a sudden burst of requests from every parent.
"Link, please tell my Talo to look after Malo –"
"Yeah, tell the kids to be brave and make the best of it –"
"Link, if you could, tell Colin to have faith and be patient –tell him I'm thinking of him night and day, and – "
"Tell Beth to be a good girl, for me, would you?"
Link promised to deliver each message, and then, waving a final good-bye, started back to his horse.
"Link! Come back soon!"
"Yeah! Tell us of your next adventures!"
"And don't forget to dip your wrist in one of the springs, that'll fix it right up!"
The wind carried these messages of goodwill to Link's ears, but he gave no one reply to them: he just waved as he mounted Epona, and then set off to the north with her. The villagers gathered at the bridge and waved until he was out of sight.
Midna, clinging to the shadow cast by the setting sun on Link's hat, muttered irritably, "We shouldn't have stayed so long."
Link didn't say anything.
Midna continued, "But, then again, you did get some food, and you've placated your friends for now. Besides, your horse is fast, we won't lose much time."
Link kept looking ahead, said nothing.
"Still, don't make these overextended visits a habit. The fate of the Twilight Realm is, oh, just a little more important than your little tête-a-têtes, now, aren't they –"
"Midna?" Link didn't turn his head, but he silenced her nonetheless. It was a moment before she answered.
"… Yeah?"
"Don't you ever get homesick?"
"Homesick?"
"You know, missing the sights and sounds that you grew up with, feeling out of place where you are –"
"I know what homesickness is, farm boy!" Midna swooped in front of Link and perched on Epona's head, appearing as strongly as she could be made manifest. "I just don't indulge it, like you do. If you ignore some bad feeling, it'll go away on its own."
"So you do feel homesick then?"
Midna was caught. "I – ehh – of course I feel homesick once in a while, in this bright colored world of yours. But I don't go running home when I feel sad, I just pretend I don't feel homesick at all."
Link frowned. "I don't think that's a good way to deal with things."
Midna tossed her head to the side coquettishly. "Well, of course, you can't just ignore a great cloud of malevolent darkness spreading all over your homeland, but I mean… I mean… " she sighed, unexpectedly, "I – you know what I mean!"
Link made no answer to that. Instead, he asked, "So, do you get homesick when twilight falls?"
Midna's one visible eye, a patch carved out of umbrage, gazed out at Hyrule field racing past, covered with lengthening shadows. She turned her head back to look at Link. "Yes, I do," she replied shortly.
"That's all I was asking about," Link dug his heels into Epona's side and stared ahead. Neither he nor Midna looked at each other, at first. Then Midna glanced at Link's face in the setting sun, and at the same time he glanced at her, and then neither was looking at the other. The only sound was Epona's hoofs clattering on the hard-packed dirt.
When they re-entered Kakariko, of course more adventures awaited them, but Link remembered, for a long time afterward, that Midna was homesick in his world, and had told him so. That, he decided, was something worth knowing.
Midna, however, refused to give Link the last word. Much later, when they were facing a world in the sky that neither of them had any preparation for, she alighted on his ear and casually asked, "Homesick yet?"