Of course, I want to say thanks to all the reviewers with their suggestions and support. I intend to keep gradually adding to this story until I feel I've exhausted all ideas worth putting down… although that's utterly irrelevant right now.
What's relevant, come to think of it, is that my internal compass is set to the Wii version (blasphemy!). So if it ever comes up, east is west, left is right, clockwise is anti-clockwise, the seasons occur in reverse order, Link is right-handed, and everybody speaks backwards. Probably doesn't matter, but there you go.

Chapter Two
An afternoon spent with a casual friend
Three days later

It was early in the afternoon. Beams of light shone in through a small, high window. The bar was empty except for Telma and the four customers whom she always reserved the table at the back for.

Auru had returned that day from his trip to Lake Hylia. He had spoken with a Zora lady who, it seemed, was quite miffed about everything from her current employer to the weather and everything in between. As to his hunch about the desert, he had not been able to see anything with his telescope, but he had watched Rusl's friend, Link, journey his way to an old prison building deep in the desert. ("You seemed to have passed your aptitude for the blade on to him, Rusl," he had commented, referring to a group of bandits he had watched being killed.)

Currently, their discussion was political in nature.

"The problem is, the Zoras have never been without a leader for as long as anyone can remember," Auru was saying bitterly. "They've never made any provisions for losing their queen without an heir."

"Yes," agreed Ashei. "Sure, we see everything in hindsight, but even then, for the Zoras to be running around like a flock of headless Cuccos? That's just stupid." At this last word, she banged her fist on the table.

"Telma," said Auru loudly, head turned to the lady at the bar, "any word on the Zora child?"

"Oh, yes," said Telma, dipping a dirty plate into a metal basin of hot water. "Got a letter from the amazing mister Renado this morning. Would you believe he didn't so much as ask how I was? Anyway, he says the kid's out and about again, but it sounds as if he's not mentally fit to rule just yet."

"Well, that doesn't surprise me," said Shad solemnly. "Queen Rutela was his mother."

"Well, I do hope the boy recovers in full sometime soon," said Auru. "The Zora lady I mentioned told me all about the plethora of problems they'd been having on all ends of the river. If ever in my memory the Zoras needed a figurehead, it's now."

He nodded wisely and then leant back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

"So the Zoras won't be any help right now," said Ashei, returning to a previous point of discussion. "Fine. Who else might help in reclaiming Hyrule Castle?"

"Nobody will go near it," said Rusl. "I've spent a while watching the northern road; even the most prideful swordsmen are turning back halfway. It'll take nothing short of an army to broach the castle."

"Hyrule no longer has an army," said Ashei. "I told you about the desertions, yeah?"

Rusl nodded.

"The clearing of the castle can be a long-term goal," said Auru. "For now, let us worry about the rest of this great land."

Though they talked quite loudly, knowing that there was nobody to listen in without welcome, Shad wasn't listening; his attention was fixed on the large map of Hyrule that the four of them had drawn. "I still can't make heads or tails of this," he sighed.

"Still stuck in the past?" said Rusl to his right.

"Well… well, yes, it's quite a conundrum, enough to make any man go mad…" Frustrated, Shad shook his hand at the map. "Hyrule Castle! How do you transport dozens, maybe even hundreds of monsters into the castle without anybody else noticing? There's no other way in! And yes, before you say so, I know it doesn't make any difference now, but that doesn't make it any less impossible!"

"There's always an explanation, my man," said Rusl, "sometimes you just need to approach your problems from a different light."

"Excuse me?" said a voice quietly from the doorway.

Rusl glanced over his shoulder and saw a familiar face. "Ah, Link! You've returned from the desert already?"

Shad and Auru looked up and nodded in acknowledgement of the newcomer. Link was a young man (about Shad or Ashei's age) from Rusl's village in the south. He had stopped by the bar briefly a couple of days ago, while the Lizalfos attack on the town was still fresh in everyone's mind. Rusl had formally introduced him, and had clearly wanted to sit down a catch up, but the boy had run off almost immediately, saying something about mirrors.

"Oh, if it isn't mister Link again!" said Telma, glancing up. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Link said yes, did she have anything that would get the taste of burnt boar out of his mouth? Telma chuckled and slipped into the pantry.

"I hope the kid doesn't think he can just skip in and take centre stage," said Ashei darkly, not looking up from the map, which she was carefully appending with the mountains she'd been raised in.

"Kid?" said Auru, trying unsuccessfully to draw her gaze. "You're not exactly old yourself… girl."

"I hope you're not about to vanish again," said Rusl to his friend, standing and grabbing a seat from the nearest table, and placing it between him and Shad. "We've barely spoken since… you know. Here, have a seat."

Link shrugged helplessly, and sat.

"Well," said Shad, "what emergency brings you here, Link?"

"What?" said Link.

"Oh, I didn't mean to sound intrusive," said Shad. "Auru said you went into that prison in the desert the night before last, and to cross the desert again, running, make your way down the cliff-face path to Lake Hylia at about the same pace, and then to drive a horse to exhaustion would only just get you to Castle Town by now. I thought that you must be in a hurry, or running away from something…"

Link flinched as if he'd been slapped, and then muttered something under his breath. Out loud, "Oh… oh… huh… um… has it… only been that long? I can't really remember much of my… journey."

Shad didn't look entirely satisfied with the explanation, but remained silent.

Auru asked the obvious question: "Tell me: what did you see at Arbiter's Grounds?"

"Well," said Link, "the place is in ruins. Most of the floor is lost to quicksand, and entire sections of wall have fallen through. And it's haunted, too. There are Redeads of all sorts, everywhere. I went as far in as I could, but I couldn't go any further than the first couple of floors. There's just not enough floor space left." He sounded very frustrated with himself. "I'm sure there's a way across the quicksand…"

"Ah," said Auru. "You wish to see the cursed mirror with your own eyes? You think it's the source of our troubles?"

Link nodded.

Telma swept back into view, carrying a pleasantly-scented plate over to the newcomer. "Lamb with lemon juice and some herbs," she announced. "It's a left-over cut, though, so it might be a bit chewy."

"So, Link," said Rusl, "perhaps you could tell me everything that's happened since that day in Ordon? Actually, start there. Were you taken with the others?"

As Link started narrating between bites, Shad glanced at Auru, who seemed to be quite interested in Link's story, and the Ashei, who was still drawing lightly on the map.

"You don't care for him?" Shad said quietly, leaning towards her.

Ashei paused for a moment, glanced up to see if he was talking to her, and nodded. "To be honest," she whispered, "I don't really know what to make of him."

"How so?" said Shad, sneaking a glance back to make sure they weren't being overheard.

"Well, there's the fancy get-up," Ashei said. "Sure, he might not be half-bad as a swordsman, but to wear that over the chain mail is just arrogant, yeah?"

Shad nodded. "Maybe it's a psychological thing," said Shad. "He thinks it makes him fight better, or something like that."

She snorted. "Right. That's real likely. Well, I say it's an insult to the Hero's memory. And then there's his attitude. He's-"

"You've only met the man twice," said Shad.

"-very oh-so-humble," Ashei continued, as if the interruption hadn't occurred. "You know? 'Oh, yes, just killed a pack of Bokoblins on my way in, but I'm fine. Really, it was no big deal. See? Not a scratch.' And he sounds completely sincere, but I can tell that he wants us to be impressed, yeah?"

Shad chuckled quietly.

"What?" said Ashei, "Was it my impression?"

"Well, that too," said Shad quickly, "but don't you see the irony?"

"Um… no?" said Ashei. "Unlike certain friends of mine, I don't spend my waking hours buried in books."

"Never mind," said Shad, still mildly amused. "What are you drawing?"

"What? Oh, just mountains…"

Auru and Rusl were still being thoroughly entertained by the 'short version' of Link's story.

"Anyway, the curse on their patriarch had all but destroyed his soul," Link was saying. "The elders helped me find what was left and… remove the curse."

"Horrible," Auru said sadly. "Truly horrible that such things could happen to such a peaceful people. Darbus lives?"

"Yes."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Is that where you found the bow?" said Rusl, pointing at a wooden device stowed behind Link's shield.

"Yes," said Link.

"That's interesting… may I have a look at it?" Rusl said. Then, as Link passed it to him, "Shad, take a look at this. Shad?"

Looking slightly disappointed, Shad turned his attention to Rusl. "Yes?"

"There's writing on the inside curve or this," said Rusl, pointing. "I'm not familiar with the script."

"Hmm…" said Shad, taking a look, "that might be Goron markings. They rarely use their written language, you know, most of their history is passed down by word-of-mouth. Let me see… it's a bit hard to make out, but it looks like 'bow of hero, treasure of sacred'… 'sacred plains'? No, 'sacred meadow'. What an interesting relic… although it seems quite used, I doubt that collectors would give you much for it."

"I don't plan on selling it," said Link, and by Shad's slight slumping it was clear that that was exactly what he had been about to ask.

"Well," said Shad, "I might have a look through my archives tonight, and see what I can find regarding bows. You're sure?"

"Very," Link said.

"Ah, no matter, I understand," said Shad, "you intend on using this valuable artefact in your travels. No matter – perhaps some day you might change your mind?"

Smiling, the green-clad swordsman shrugged.

"Well," said Rusl, "you still haven't explained to me where you found the tunic, Link."

Link stared at him with a straight face and said in an even voice, "The tunic was a gift from the Goddesses themselves. I am the successor to the legendary Hero… Rusl."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. "Why, Link," Rusl chortled, "I never realised what a good liar you are! Perhaps you should have been raised as an actor…?"

"It all comes naturally," laughed Link, shrugging it off.

Rusl looked at him strangely.

Ashei groaned loudly and all heads turned to her.

"Are you going to be here all afternoon, Link?" she said smoothly, not bothering to phrase the question more pleasantly.

"I don't see why not," said Link, looking at her coolly.

"No, you don't," Ashei muttered.

As she'd expected, Auru and Rusl cast her pointed glances. She ignored them.

"Is there any particular reason that you're… disinterested?" said Link carefully.

Ashei was quick to supply an answer, counting off on her fingers. "Quite a few. We don't know you, you can hardly expect us to just suddenly be nice to you because you've run around doing a few errands, you can't be taken seriously in that tunic, Rusl's the only one of us that knows you, your fancy imitation sword weighs you down and makes you look like an idiot when you walk… there's more, I'm sure."

Link looked quite taken aback.

"Ashei," said Auru carefully, "perhaps you should sit down."

She had stood up at some point; she hadn't noticed. She remained standing.

"Well…" said Link slowly, looking uncertain how to respond, "perhaps I could leave now, if my presence is, um, so offensive."

"No, please, stay," Ashei smiled coldly, "I'm sure you can learn from your mistakes."

"At the risk," Shad began loudly, and he glanced at the two of them nervously. "At the risk of getting mixed up in this argument, could I just say that bad blood between allies is a proven recipe for disaster? I mean, recall the First Great War. That only-"

"Perhaps, Shad," said Ashei, not taking her eyes off her current antagonist, "you are right."

They stared at each other for a moment, the other three men exchanging glances because they'd seen Ashei do this ten hundred times before. Link said nothing, prompting Ashei to fill in the silence.

"Perhaps we could make a friendly wager, to get to know each other better?" Ashei said, reaching into a pouch on her belt and withdrawing a purple Rupee.

Link looked at her, puzzled, and then nodded, tossing the same amount of money onto the table.

For the first time that day, Ashei smiled.

'The Betting Game' was a pastime that Ashei played every so often with the sword-waving crowd who frequented the bar. It was essentially that timeless sport, sparring, with a set of house rules that Ashei had slowly developed to avoid needless injury to her opponent, and perhaps to herself, one day.

"Two wooden swords," she explained, outside in the courtyard where the afternoon sun left the tiles painfully hot. "No other weapons of any kind, no shields. The winner is the first person who would kill the other if the swords were real. Got that?"

"Sounds like you've said that a lot before," said Link.

"We eat for free a lot," said Ashei.

"Hmm. Will the swords break?"

"Haven't yet."

"What counts as foul play?"

"Making the damage more serious than necessary."

"You ever lost?"

"No," said Ashei, and offered him a choice between swords.

Shad said that he would mind Link's belongings (seeming particularly interested in his sword), and Auru said he didn't wish to go outside. Rusl was eager to watch, naturally enough. "I'd love to see how much your sword technique has progressed since I last gave you instruction," he explained in a whisper. "Besides, Ashei's father was a sword-master of the highest calibre. I fashioned blades for him, but I never had a chance to fight with him. This is as close as I'll ever get, if you know what I mean."

Ashei was thinking along the same lines – Rusl had spoken quite fondly of his protégé's aptitude for the way of the blade, and he wasn't a man given to exaggerating. The way he stood at the ready now, wooden sword held lightly in his right hand, weight focused on his back leg, a mirror image of her stance, promised that he would put up a fight, at the least.

"You ready?" she said.

Link nodded.

"Okay, go." They stood ten paces apart, just out of range for sudden attacks. Ashei waited to see if he'd make the first move, until about twenty seconds had passed, and that clearly wasn't going to happen. She decided to make the first move, but carefully.

Slowly, step by step, she inched forward, gradually closing the distance between them. Another ten seconds, and she had moved so close she could kick him.

She slid forward another step, and without breaking eye contact, sensed Link's grip on his blade tightening ever so slightly. A moment later, he brought his sword up and down in a zigzag motion, striking twice on either side. She only just blocked the first strike and easily parried the second, launching an attack of their own. They exchanged a quick succession of strikes and swipes for five or six seconds before Ashei withdrew. She now had a good idea of his strength, speed, reflexes and favoured direction, and presumably vice versa.

As soon as his breathing steadied, Link moved in again.

The fight lasted about two and a half minutes in total, a long time by any standards for a one-on-one. For the most part, it consisted of fast, standard sword techniques, broken up by the occasional original manoeuvre, which, once it was over, was all anyone really remembered of the match.

Link nearly hit her with a very unorthodox move – he feinted with a right-to-left swing and, as soon as she made to parry, spun around full circle with a hoarse yell, bringing the sword around the other way with impressive speed. Her sword on the wrong side, she hopped back just in time.

One-and-a-half minutes in, Ashei noticed that Link particularly liked to follow up a sequence of rapid slashes with a quick forward thrust; the next time he jabbed, she was prepared knocked his sword down violently with her own, stepping in and reaching for his neck with her free hand at the same time. He reacted just in time, though, and sidestepped out of the way, leaving some distance between them.

By the last few seconds, both of them were exhausted, having both anticipated a much shorter bout either way. They circled each other one last time, gasping for breath. Ashei decided that Link was tired enough not to easily dodge a more aggressive attack, and, throwing caution to the wind, raised her sword with both hands above her head and rushed him. Link evidently had had the same thought; he started running for her at the same time, leaping as he neared her to put his full weight into a vertical slash.

Their swords met and locked – for a split second, as Link's full weight bore down upon her, he pushed Ashei's sword so close to her face that she could lick it. Then he landed on his feet and their locked swords hovered between them.

It was only three or four seconds that they spent there, pressing against each other with as much force as possible, locked in a mutual grimace. Ashei twisted her sword slightly, angling her hands so that her sword applied the most pressure where the blades met.

It worked; the blades pressed towards Link's face and he stepped back to avoid the contest. Ashei was upon him the moment he did, bringing her sword up under his guard and up to his neck. Despite the force with which she had gripped it mere moments ago, the pressure on his throat was light.

"You're dead," she panted.

Link cursed loudly, reminding her ever-so-briefly of her father.

They broke apart, Ashei taking Link's wooden sword from his hand and tossing it into a corner while Rusl watched, looking slightly disappointed. It was more to Rusl than Link that she spoke: "You're the most difficult competition I've fought since my father died," she said (consolingly, or so she thought).

"Hey, it was only fifty Rupees," Link whispered, shrugging. (He talked to himself? Interesting tic.) Then, facing her, he said, "Well, that was… wow, you're good."

"That's the spirit," said Ashei. "Fifty Rupees wouldn't buy you half a woollen hat in this town, anyways. You want to talk technique? The spinning attack you did looked well practiced, yeah?"

Link shrugged again. "All right. Seems like I could learn a lot from you…"

Rusl stopped leaning against the door. "Good one, Link," said Rusl. "I look forward to seeing you win next time."

"Next time?" said Link.

"I've known you your whole life," Rusl said, opening the door and stepping inside. "Don't be too long, Ashei." He closed the door behind him.

"Right," said Link, looking at Ashei, "how did you do the sword-locking thing? Tension in the arms or something?"

"It's not just brute force," said Ashei, starting to pace, "it's in the way you hold your sword. I don't see why you care; it's rare – chances are you'll never lock blades like that again, friendly or real fight. But if you must, look carefully…"

Rusl returned to his seat and found that Telma had brought out a jug of water for them.

"I can't read your face in this light. Who won?" said Auru.

"Ashei," said Rusl.

"Ah, naturally," said Shad. "Well, then, are they coming back inside?"

"Not soon," said Rusl. "They're talking."

"Oh," said Shad, a strange expression flickering on his face. "I see… I suppose they're flirting or something of the sort?"

Auru chuckled quietly.

"Who, Link? I doubt it," said Rusl. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason… idle curiosity… I wondered perhaps… it doesn't matter," Shad flustered. In the dim light, his face looked flushed. "Erm… well, then… have a look at the fellow's sword, will you?"

Rusl looked quizzically at Auru and then shrugged, leaning over the table where Shad had left Link's real weapon. "Well, that's not one of mine," he said, pulling it slightly out of its scabbard. "Not the work of anybody I recognise… hmm, an image of the golden power engraved on the hilt… oh, I see…"

"But you recognise the design, Rusl?" said Shad pointedly.

"Of course," said Rusl. "One doesn't become a good blacksmith without a fine appreciation of his craft. This is either the blade of the legendary Hero, or a very good replica thereof."

"Yes," said Shad, "my point exactly. Rusl… you know the boy well – do you think there's a chance it's real?"

"You want an honest opinion?" said Rusl, fingering the hilt of the sword carefully.

"Well, yes, of course I do," said Shad, "I wouldn't have asked otherwise, would I?"

"Some people never mean what they say," said Rusl by way of explanation. "Having known the boy for his entire life… tragic, what happened to his parents… the Link I know wouldn't wear those clothes at all; they'd attract too much attention; he's never wanted or needed that. That, and the birthmark on his hand shaped like the golden power? Yes, he either is the Hero's spiritual successor, or someone has managed to deeply convince him that he is."

Auru nodded sagely. "Shad suggested a way of testing whether the blade is the one of legend, didn't you?"

"What?" Not for the first time that day, Shad looked worried. "Well, I… it was just theoretical… I mean, surely you could, Auru?… I rather thought that Rusl would say no…"

Auru was still looking at him expectantly.

"Ah, very well," said Shad. "I can see that I'll hear no end of this otherwise… very well, I shall try." He pulled the sword all the way out of its scabbard. Even in the dim lighting it seemed to glow faintly. Very slowly, he put the ring finger of his left hand to the tip of the blade and gingerly pressed it, pulling back with a wince the moment it drew blood, turning the sword flat to catch the tiny trickle of blood from his hand.

A couple of droops of blood crawled down the side of the sword for a few brief moments. Then, as though hours had passed in seconds, the blood dried, cracked, and exploded into a red-brown dust, floating away into the darkened bar.

"Well," said Shad, looking quite delighted both at himself and at the sword, "even if that isn't the genuine article, it has been quite heavily enchanted. A blade like this isn't going to show much wear from battle. Our friend Link seems to have quite the genuine article, there. And what a pity, too… I would have loved a replica like that to add to my collection."

Rusl looked quite impressed by the proof, while Auru was still laughing quietly.

"Auru, what's so funny?" Shad said.

"Oh, nothing," Auru smiled. "I do hope you have recovered from that grievous injury."

"Oh, that," said Shad. "It wasn't really any worse than a paper cut, in reflection. Trivial, really, now that I think about it."

"Are you certain you're not in need of a sling?" persisted Auru, the same cheeky grin on his face. Exasperated, Shad sighed and put the sword back carefully.

Nobody spoke for a few seconds. Rusl ran his finger over the hilt of the sword, wondering where it had been forged. Shad sipped the last of his water and, not really able to turn his mind back to the crises in Hyrule, started playing with the glass. Auru simply sat in silence, wondering quietly to himself what Shad would do with himself once (if?) these dark times passed. In the silence, all that could be heard was Shad's glass drumming against the table and Telma wiping down another table near the front.

"…would have been a much better fighter if he'd kept his eyes on his opponents, not his reflection," Ashei was laughing, as she swung the door open and gestured Link past.

"Who let him near a battlefield?" Link said.

"It's no surprise, really," said Ashei, as they walked back to the table, "but it was the general of the Hylian army."

"You're kidding?"

"The army's never been renowned for its strong leadership or its well-trained forces," Ashei said. "They never really expect to be attacked – maybe whoever's in charge when this all blows ever will have learnt a lesson from how easily they're being rolled over."

"I hope so, too. No wonder there are so many freelancing swordsmen around town," said Link, sitting back in his seat.

"Are you two still archenemies?" said Auru pleasantly.

"Hey, the lady started it," said Link, putting on a helpless face. He grabbed his shield from under the table and sword from above.

"Never heard that one before," said Auru in a loud whisper.

"That's the Master Sword," said Shad. It was a statement, not a question.

Link paused for a moment, uncertain how to respond. "Yes," he said finally. "Yes, that is the Master Sword."

"Where did you find it?" said Shad.

"One day," said Link, "I'll tell you. You have my word."

"Why not now?" said Shad.

Link shrugged. "You've got more important things to worry about, surely."

"For real?" said Ashei, looking at Link differently. After he didn't say anything, she let out a whistle. "Huh. You are serious about this 'hero' thing, yeah? Shad, why didn't you say that before? I might have been able to win that sword!" She feigned an expression of pain.

"Oh, yes, before I forget, your hundred Rupees are here," said Shad, lightly dropping the glass on the table, trapping the money inside.

"Thanks," said Ashei, "I'd completely forgotten."

"Wait!" said Link. "Shad, could you do that again?"

"Do what again?" said Shad. Link motioned at the glass. "Er, all right, though I don't see why…" He lifted the glass slightly above the table, released it, and let it fall around the Rupees with a clatter. "Not bad, eh? There's a certain height you have to drop it from before it breaks, you see."

Link didn't seem to be listening. "It landed around the Rupees… it didn't touch them at all…"

"Well, yes," said Shad, looking perplexed at Link's fascination. "Tada?"

Link closed his eyes, muttering to himself quietly. "The one I crossed had a hole big enough… and it lands dead centre, so… and inside the chandelier… it's quite wide… I might just make the jump!" He turned to Shad, eyes glowing. "Shad! You're brilliant!"

"What happened?" said Rusl.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," said Link, "Shad just showed me something very obvious that I should have realised before…" He stood up. "Thank you all for bearing with me today. I'm going back to the desert. I can climb that tower."

He grabbed his bow from the table and shoved it between shield and back. They had just enough time to mutter goodbye before he was out of the door.

"Okay," said Shad, "I'm not completely sure what just happened there, but he seems quite determined if he's going to take the long trip back to the desert."

"Yeah," said Ashei. "He's quite a strange guy, though not that unpleasant… so he's really the reincarnation of the hero or whatever?"

"Might well be," said Rusl. "That doesn't really matter as long as he's helping the cause, though. He'll always be a kid to me."

"Well," said Auru, "enough of this idle chatter. We have far more serious things to worry about than our friend right now. I mentioned the sightings in Zora's Domain before, yes?"

"Yeah," said Ashei. "Now, I heard stories of those things, growing up on the mountains. I was planning on heading to the mountain range anyway, so that should certainly be a priority."

"You'll be passing by Zora's Domain, right?" said Rusl. "That might be a good opportunity to assess how they're coping with their troubles, don't you say?"

"Of course," said Ashei.

"Their troubles do bring to mind a certain story about the coronation of Queen Ruto," said Shad. "Just like during the Imprisoning War, they had just lost a well-loved leader…"

Shad continued on this thread for half an hour, making an impressive analogy and showing off his talents of memorisation. Telma, too, spent most of the afternoon pretending not to listen while wiping down every exposed surface in the building. By the time the evening rush arrived, they had concluded their discussion for the day, the younger two leaving to eat in a more open setting.

The next day, Ashei left for Snowpeak.

A/N: …which was a horrible way to end the chapter, but I couldn't really find a cleaner way to break it off. I beg forgiveness, and (more importantly) I beg for reviews. Surely you wouldn't be so cruel as to not say something?