The nightmare is always the same. It has been the same with some small variation since he was a child. It is always some dark, foreboding place that smells inexorably of blood and death. He is always fighting something enormous and fearsome, the monstrosities change with each cycle of sleep. Sometimes he dies there, and it jerks him awake in the night; his heartbeat quick and heavy with adrenaline. Sometimes there is a woman present. He can never quite make out her face but her silhouette produces a kind of radiance that cuts through the inky blackness of the nightmare. Somehow, he knows her. If he could just ask her, maybe she could tell him why he's fighting. But the words they speak are never intelligible, not even this night as he's dying in her arms; her face still wavy and obscured by what seems like eons. He mutters something to her in a language he does not understand, to which he does not see her response. As he slips into another esoteric death he awakens not with the usual start that accompanies his resurrection to the living world, but with a small, warm hand gently shaking him. He opens his eyes and the girl beside him laughs at the look of sleepy befuddlement on his face.
"Good morning, Link." She said.
He sat up, slowly breathing out the mist of sleep with his face in his hands. He stretched his shoulders out behind him, pulling away the soreness from the repeated motion of lifting and stacking roof thatching the day before. He looked fondly up at his almost-sister.
"...Morning, Rue."
She sat, or flopped rather, on the edge of the bed; her long, dark braid falling over her shoulder as she slouched toward the shaggy-headed boy.
"Dad sent me to come wake you up. He says he's sorry to work you again after such a long day, but he needs you."
Link let his head fall forward, stretching his neck. Rue lovingly ruffled his hair and he smiled; happy to be once again in the company of the living.
"It's ok. I was having a bad dream anyway." He said softly.
He peeled the woolen quilt back and stood up. The girl followed and together they made their way into Link's rather disheveled kitchen. She draped her shawl on the back of a well carved chair and sat down at the little, round table in the center of the room. She loved coming to visit him here, in his home on the edge of the forest. Even though she had cried and begged him to not leave her father's house she couldn't help but love this place now. Link's father had built it for his mother seventeen years ago, while Link still slept inside her. It was one of the most beautiful, if not one of the most rundown houses in the Faron province. The boy had really only just begun to fix it up. But still, there was warmth to the place now that he lived there. Before he had come, Rue and the other children had believed the house to be haunted. She watched him now as he removed the kettle he had been heating from the hearth and poured himself a mug full of the bitter, black substance he, her father and Khai drank nearly every morning. She cringed as he took a sip. Link sat down in the chair across from her and smiled at the puckered look of distaste she wore. Rue sighed.
"So was kind of monster was it this time? A two-headed dragon? Giant spider? Huge armored lizard?"
Link stared contemplatively past her, his intensely blue eyes illuminated by the sun through the window. He absently took another sip of his coffee.
"No, this time it was like… some kind of giant boar... but it stood like a man. I can't really describe it. I killed it, I think... and then I died." He said.
"You died again huh?" Asked Rue.
Link nodded.
"Yeah… and the girl was there again… the one whose face I never see. I said something to her, and she..."
" …Kissed you or something?" Rue added, smiling.
He smirked.
"No, she was just sitting with me when I died. Sometimes, pretty often actually, when she shows up I end up getting killed somehow. Sometimes not, but it didn't happen that way this time…"
Link paused, and sighed wistfully.
"I wish somebody could tell me why I have these nightmares. I've never seen battle, outside of picking off the occasional Bokoblin that wanders into town anyway... The things I see in my dreams, I just... I don't know where they come from. I handle swords because I grew up with them. Why is it that most nights I dream about nothing but bloodshed and death?" He stopped, glancing back to the girl.
"I'm sorry for talking so much Rue... Usually they don't bother me this much. For some reason, I can't shake it off this morning."
Rue frowned, troubled by her inability to help. She reached across the table and took Link's long, delicate hand in her tiny, stout one. She squeezed it reassuringly.
"They're just dreams Link." She said.
The boy smoothed his hair back, letting the messy, wheat-colored strands fall back around his face.
"I know... they just feel so real sometimes." He said.
Rue tilted her head.
"Yeah... I've slept in the same bed with you; you thrash around a lot... you say some weird stuff too..."
A lull passed between them. After a moment, Link spoke.
"So anyway... why did you have to come wake me up?"
Rue's honey-colored eyes widened.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot. Dad needs you for a delivery to the castle. He ment to tell you yesterday. He's got a cart full of grain and he thinks that since there's been so many Bulblin seen in the area lately, you should go as extra protection. You are the best swordsman in Faron after all." She said, teasingly.
Link swirled the wooden cup, looking thoughtfully into the dark liquid. Rue sighed as she watched him, his eyes still preoccupied.
"I wish I could go with you guys when you ride out to other towns... I'd probably end up getting lost, and eaten by some rock golem or something." She said, drolly.
"...Can't disagree with you there." Link said suddenly, a wide grin spreading across his well-shaped mouth.
Rue punched him in the arm, his smile only widened.
"Oh shut up! I swear, sometimes you're as bad as Khai." She said.
"I am not, I'm just teasing you Rue. Khai's the mean one; getting you all riled up and enraged is his job. I just like to get a small rise out of you once in a while, I don't think we could be unofficial siblings if I didn't." Replied Link, and Rue crossed her arms.
"Well, gee thanks for explaining that to me." She snapped.
"You are only thirteen, you couldn't possibly understand the deep intellectual analysis I'm going for here." Said the boy facetiously.
Still smirking, he looked sidelong at Rue as he slowly took another sip of coffee. Her eyes narrowed though she smiled still. She punched him in the arm again and Link suppressed a laugh with a mouthful of the bitter liquid. The nightmare was beginning to fade now. This was his world again. A world of light where he lived as a simple farm-hand; the loved adopted son of a retired knight, the village elder and weapons smith.
Link mounted his red mare with a quick, graceful motion. He extended his hand to Rue who gripped it and gently dug her bare foot into the stirrup as a long, sturdy arm hoisted her into the saddle. She fidgeted, smoothing her dress against her legs. Link made a clicking noise and pulled the reins toward the path. The horse began to trot through the foliage.
"Where was Epona when you got here? Usually I have to call her for awhile if I don't tie her up at night." Said Link.
"I brought her. She was wandering around the edge of the village. I brought some dried apples with me just in case I ran into her and sure enough, there she was! I got her to follow me." Rue said, proudly.
Link slowed Epona as they began to pass across the bridge over one of the many chasms that marred the province.
"She didn't try to bite you this time did she? I felt really awful the other day when you tried to give her a plum and she nearly took your thumb off." He said.
Epona had quite a reputation of being an ornery, impossible-to-ride horse. Though she was a cooperative work-horse, and far more tolerant of children, it seemed that she disliked or outright hated everyone but Link and she either kicked at or bit nearly anyone that attempted to touch her. She had been presented to him as a filly for Link's tenth birthday. The boy had raised her and was the first and only person to ever handle her. Even now, Epona's ears stood straight back at the presence of another in her saddle.
"No, she didn't. I set them on the ground. She must have smelled the rest of it because she followed about three feet behind me all the way to your house. I tied her up while she was distracted with the fruit when I dumped it out of the bag." Rue said, mirthfully.
Link smiled and shook his head.
"Well, I guess that's one way to get her to listen. Sometimes I wonder if I'm not riding a giant red pig instead of a horse, isn't that right girl?" He said, lovingly patting her side.
Epona only snorted in reply and both Link and Rue chuckled as her ears continued to stand backwards.
The road to the village was a pleasant one, shaded with various trees. The dappled sunlight on the rocks and scattered ferns and flowers was a sight Link suspected had inspired many songs and poems throughout the land. It was early summer; the air was sweet with the scent of opening blooms and grasses. As he rode the familiar path, his thoughts meandered suddenly to his birthday, his seventeenth birthday that had passed a few weeks before. Aside from his first drink of ale that had not been a secret endeavor, there had been something irksomely significant about this particular age. He had felt a strange sense of restlessness as of late. He had said nothing to Rue or Roland, or even Khai about the odd, shapeless feeling he had been experiencing but now, on the edge of the village; with its peaked, thatched roofs and the smell of fireplaces, he pondered its meaning. Perhaps it had something to do with the nightmares; they had become all the more vivid in the passing week. As Link and Rue trotted past the brook and the wide vegetable garden sprawling next to it, a familiar pair of bright orange heads came flinging over the creek-bridge; Logon, the boy, brandishing a stick with the corpse of a fish stuck at the end; and Loron, the girl, screaming in terror as she ducked behind Epona as if the horse were a wall. Link pulled Epona to a stop and watched with a mixture of amusement and annoyance as the twins ran about; the little red-head screaming at the top of her lungs as he brother, laughing madly, moved to hurl the skewered fish at her. In a fluid motion Link caught Logon's stick and tossed the dead fish into the creek, bringing the clamor to a halt. Loron skidded to a stop and looked up at Link with wide, grateful eyes. Logon stood with his mouth a gape. He crossed his arms and his freckled face reddened.
"What'd ya do that for?!" He exclaimed
"Because this is probably the third time this week I've caught you torturing your sister." Said Link, gently.
The angry red-headed child looked up indignantly at him
"I wasn't even doin' nothin', she's just a big cry-baby."
The second red-head balled her fists.
"Shut up Logon! You're always throwing gross stuff at me!"
Rue rolled her eyes and turned in the saddle to Link.
"Come on Link, we have more important stuff to do than settle the stupid fights of stupid little kids." She said, looking directly at Logon.
Logon reddened deeper and stuck his tongue out at Rue who in return, did the same. Link smiled.
"You know guys, those really shiny green beetles you like are starting to hatch up by the spring. Why don't you two go catch some? If you find some grubs, and don't throw any at each other, Logon, I'll take you both fishing tomorrow."
The twins smiled, glancing quickly at each other.
"Really?" Said Loron.
Link nodded in reply and the two seven-year-olds ran off giggling, arm in arm, for beetle hunting; their conflict already forgotten. Link gave Epona a soft kick and the horse started back on the road to Roland and Yolandae's house. Rue sat in front of him, still thoroughly annoyed
"Stupid kids, I don't know why you bother with them. They're so irritating when they fight like that." She spat.
Link chuckled and tossed her braid over her shoulder.
"I love the twins. Little kids are so much easier to reason with than adults. I would way rather settle a dispute between those two than any of the adults in this village. They're all a bunch of stubborn old people who don't care what I think... unless I'm carrying something heavy for them anyway."
Rue turned with a knowing smile.
"Does that include my father?"
The boy grinned back at her.
"Nope, not at all." He said.
Roland sat on the wooden porch of his home on the top of the hill beside the ever regal Yolandae. The two of them shared a long curved pipe filled with a sweet-scented herb, the familiar smell of it greeted both Rue and the boy as the large stone house came into view. Roland stood as Link approached, his snowy hair and beard about his face in multiple braids. He helped the still raven-headed Yolandae to her feet and offered an amicable wave to his ward and his daughter as Epona halted in front of the house.
"Ah, Rueliana, You had already gone before I had waked. I have not seen you yet today." Said Yolandea as she helped Rue down out of the saddle.
"Good morning mom." Rue said, kissing her mother's cheek.
"Have the two of you had breakfast?" Yolandae asked, turning her gaze to Link.
Link dismounted and took Yolandea's hand, quickly pulling her into an embrace as they kissed each other's cheek.
"No, only a little coffee." Said Link.
She smiled, the creases near her mouth and eyes making her worn but lovely face all the more charming. Rue looked just like her, it was almost uncanny.
"You probably don't eat half as well since you've left this hall, do you boy?" Roland asked through a puff of smoke.
Link only smiled and shook his head. Yolandea laid a hand softly on Link's shoulder.
"Come. There's an omelet and a berry tart inside." She said.
The four of them entered the wide archway of Rue's family's home. A longish table sat in the center of the room, furnished with plates and an iron skillet containing a rather large amount of eggs and cheese. Sitting with his feet up on the chair in front of him, as Link had expected, sat Khai. He was still reading the book he had been trying to finish since the week before, something that their schedules had not allowed much time for. As the two of them had more or less been raised in this house, Khai would often show up in the mornings; hovering about and hoping that Yolandea would cook something for he and his lady. Link walked up behind him and playfully laid his hand against the pages of his book and Khai looked up; one thick, dark eyebrow raised.
"Link. You're early. I expected you'd sleep until at least noon today." Said Khai.
"And I expected Mariana. Where is she? I saw the twins on my way here and I figured that if she wasn't with them, she was with you." Link replied.
Khai glanced back down into the pages.
"Aye, I asked her to come. She said she had some kind of recipe she wanted to try. She's probably in the bog, picking berries that aren't ripe yet."
Link took a seat next to his friend.
"I happen to think Mariana's a good cook."
Khai closed his book and kicked his legs back under the table.
"She is. But nothing can top Yolandae's cooking, I've had food from all over the place and still, her's is beyond compare."
Khai gestured with his glass toward Yolandae, who smiled and dropped a large cut of the omelette onto his plate, she did the same for Link and Rue who nodded their thanks. Link tapped his friend's shoulder.
"So, you riding with us today?" He asked.
Khai, his cheeks stuffed with egg, shook his head. Link looked at him quizzically.
"Nope." Rue chimed.
"He's teaching me how to really ride a horse today, jumps and all."
Rue beemed at this, and Khai rolled his eyes and made a flickering gesture with his hands.
"Hooray for me. I get to teach the princess of Faron how to ride, hopefully you don't fall off and make me listen to you whine all day after." He said.
"Aw, c'mon Khai, I'm not that bad." Rue said, sheepishly.
"No, I guess not. Even though you're almost getting eaten by Epona every other day. Though, I guess I can say that you're pretty brave for even getting near her. I've never met a meaner horse."
Link laughed quietly into his drink. Khai furrowed his brows at him
"What?"
"Nothing really, it's just that… I don't know. It seems like Epona just kind of dislikes you particularly more than everyone else. I've never seen her go out of her way to bite anyone but you." Said Link.
Khai scoffed.
"I don't care. I hate that horse. The last time I rode with this kid, we were coming through a pass that was wide enough for us to ride at least four feet from each other. Out of nowhere, with Link pulling her away the whole time, she comes up and bites me right here." He said, pointing to the underside of his chair.
Rue tittered, as did Roland and Khai couldn't help but smile himself as he remembered the incident as well as Link's panicked reaction.
"I think you might have had something that she wanted to be honest. Wasn't that the day Logon filled your back pocket with pie filling?" Said Link.
"Which time? Besides, I didn't have my soul back there that day so I doubt that evil, evil horse would be interested in anything other than casing me pain." Said Khai dryly, stuffing another fork full of omelet into his mouth.
Link laughed and patted his friend's back in mock sympathy.
"Is that the real reason you're not coming? I can keep Epona on the other side of the cart you know. Maybe it'll keep her from sneaking up on you and stealing your little, malcontent soul out of your pocket." He said, glibly.
"...Which may or may not be full of pie filling." Rue added.
Khai laughed
"Me? A malcontent? Why sir, that's an insult." He said.
"...Only because it's true." Rue chimed, serving herself a piece of tart.
"You stay out of this." Khai retorted, pointing at her.
"She's right."Said Link aside.
Khai roughly tossled the younger boy's hair.
"Quiet, child." He said, turning back to his meal.
With an irritated sigh, the boy smoothed his hair back into place.
"You know you're just mad because my horse is faster than yours." He said
Khai rolled his eyes and took another mouthful of egg.
"Whatever, You can ride that red bitch off a cliff for all I care."
Yolandea clattered her fork down with an admonitory stare in the direction of the black-eyed boy.
"Stop cussing at breakfast, I don't care if you speak that way for the rest of the day but it's midmorning and we're having a meal together." She said sternly, but not unkindly.
Link and Khai looked down at their plates. Even as young men, the sound of a perturbed Yolandea struck a chord with the both of them.
"Sorry m'am." Said Khai.
After breakfast was finished, Khai and Rue said their respective goodbyes and left upon Khai's mare to begin their own day in the meadow beyond the stables. Roland kissed his wife tenderly on the head and thanked her for the omelet and the dessert that had followed. He then took Link out of the western door and into the stone building in the sprawling yard behind the house. Mounted on the walls of the forgery were a bevy of weapons; from broad swords, to spears and axes. Along with thier academic schooling, Roland had patiently trained Khai and Link with them all. But the blue-eyed boy had excelled at none so much as the sword; Link was more natural with a blade than anyone Roland had ever seen. Though, that was to be expected, he supposed, considering who his father was. He watched as Link walked judiciously to the dozens of swords hanging upon the wall. He looked so much like his mother, but the way he stood, his walk and sense of humor were absolutely that of Roland's long dead friend and comrade. Roland saddened at the thought. Poor child; he had never even known the man, and he had watched his mother die a slow and painful death at the hands of a terrible illness; incurable by even the strongest medicines. Roland could still remember the night that the sobbing little blonde had appeared on his doorstep with the sad news. Roland had taken in both Link and Khai nearly ten years ago, and as he looked on at the lissome teenager now he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. The boys, especially this one, had turned out just fine in spite of everything. He would be a very good man one day, quite soon in fact. Link pulled a sword and its scabbard from the wall and examined it intently. He checked its balance and swung it gently in a sweeping motion.
"I like this one, its light but it's sturdy. Did you make this one for yourself, Roland?" Link asked.
He nodded his head.
"Indeed. That one is called Dìoghaltas. I forged her maybe a month ago. In truth, I had planned to take her with me on this ride."
Link looked closely at the blade. It was thin and flat but its weight told of its strength. Roland had emblazoned vines in the center near the hilt. He had wrapped the sliver, intricately carved hilt itself with dark green leather and it gripped in Link's hand flawlessly.
He looked over to Roland with a sly smile.
"I'll spar you for her." He said.
Roland laughed.
"As you wish boy. I'll have my sword."
Weapons chosen, Roland and Link met each other in the yard. They kept away from the windows and out of Yolandea's sight line as she absolutely deplored it when her husband or either of her surrogate sons played with weaponry in this way, and she was quite vociferous of this sentiment. They stood about three feet away from one another as they tapped their swords together. The real trick to these matches, Link thought, was to be as careful as humanly possibly not to actually wound each other. This meant being mindful of using the flat side of the blade, though Link, Roland and Khai had all been slashed or superficially stabbed more than once. But still, heedlessly, they fought. The old knight slashed at the boy who parried the blow and ducked away, fluently rebounding upward toward Roland. Youthful vigor against age and mastery was the occasion. With a slight flick of his wrist, he deflected Link's sword and the play continued quickly as the boy trotted backwards on his heels while Roland's blows dominated him, driving him back. Roland took a quick but half-hearted swing at the boy's neck, nearly confident that he would land a hit. To his surprise, Link evaded him and ducked to the side, sweeping Roland's legs out from under him. Within seconds, the boy, panting and smiling, had the tip of the blade to his chest. Roland laughed; he was his father's son.
"Ok, you win Link. You can have the sword."
Both satisfied by their fortunes, the boy and his mentor returned to the hearth where Yolandea sat at the table looking over multiple papers.
"Roland, Link, please sit down for a moment. I have some things I need to discuss with you." She siad
They sat. In her lap, Yolandea spread a weathered map as she set the letter she had been reading on the table. Link noted the wax seal on the letter bore the Phoenix and the Holy Triangles.
"This letter here is a declaration of emergency. It says that they have closed the bridge into the Eldin lands and that roving bands of Bulblin and Bokoblin have been seen making camp. Some travelers have already disappeared while crossing the fields. The Bokoblin have no masters, they will kill at random, and they have become bold as of late. The Bulbin however... they will often pledge their allegiance to a greater force. Their presence as of now... it suggests trouble." Said Yolandea.
She pointed a slender finger to a particular pass on the map. She looked up at both of them as they followed her finger up the printed path.
"I want you two to take this route; it will take you around both of the bridges and give you the high ground on your way home. It will be nearly day's ride and I suspect it will be dark before you return." Said Yolandae.
"This may be dangerous. I want you both to be very careful and on your guard. Though I'm sure, between the two of you will have no trouble if there is a blade within reach. May Nayru protect you well."
Both the boy and the old knight regarded the noble lady, exchanging short prayers and good-byes. They then harnessed Roland's bay roan gelding to the wagon and left the sleepy village. The sun was still high and a cool breeze made it the perfect day for travel. Link, upon Epona, trotted behind the back of the cart; the won Dìoghaltas and her scabbard strapped proudly around his chest.