He reached out for the disintegrating creature in front of him, panicking slightly. And why shouldn't he? She was his only way out. He had no weapons, no armor, and no way to know where he was. She looked at his frantic face with a smug smile, moving further away from him. He could see chunks of his arm and chest floating up past his eyes, entering the portal. He swallowed and resigned himself to stay strong, despite the fact that he was absolutely terrified. He steeled his resolve and stood up, looking at the creature. Or what was left of her, anyways, which was the bottoms of her legs. He closed his eyes and felt a tingly feeling, then his stomach dropped as he felt like he was falling. He opened his eyes and put his arms out to catch his balance, only to see himself in his house, on the floor next to his bed. He sat up, propping himself up with his left arm as he rubbed his face with his other hand, looking down at himself. He was wearing pajamas. Was that a dream? How odd… Now, what would possess my mind to think up something like that?
He passed a group of children that normally convened in his yard, pointing at his targets and talking excitedly about a slingshot they had seen in the shop in town. He smiled and kept walking. Of course he didn't mind if the kids used the targets, and it kept the rabbits away from his garden, because they would defend it, he knew. He was spacing out on the way there and as a result, bumped into someone. He reeled back, looking up and stammering out an apology as he saw the town's swordsman, Rusl. Rusl smiled at him and shook his head. Link sighed in relief and looked at the big man, who had an odd expression on his face.
"Don't worry about it, kiddo, I was actually coming to check on you. I haven't seen you in a few days, where have you been?"
Link cocked his head, confused. He had just talked to Rusl yesterday, and thanked him for repairing his sword. He looked back at the children, who had gone silent after watching the two having conversation.
"I'm not sure I follow, sir. What do you mean?"
He noticed Rusl back up a step, his stance changing ever so slightly. Nothing that you would notice, but the look in Rusl's eyes was distrust. Link noticed that for sure. Rusl's hand edged toward the hilt of his sword, brushing it, but not grabbing it, which Link was grateful for. There was no way he had enough experience to beat the man in a full on fight. The burly man opened his mouth to speak, his voice tense, all the friendship had drained from it.
"Last chance, boy. I don't know what kind of stunt you're pulling, but you'd better explain. Those shadow monsters attacked the village. You were there, and you killed a few of them. One of them knocked you out and took you with them to that portal in the sky. So last chance, Link. Explain." Rusl unsheathed his sword in one smooth motion, the blade barely making a sound. He brandished it in front of him, the blade straight and aimed at link. Link noticed that Rusl's eyes didn't flinch, didn't have any regret. That was one thing that Link had always admired about the man. Whatever Rusl did, he did with all of his being.
So it wasn't a dream, then. But if what Rusl says is true, why don't I remember fighting them in the village? Why don't I remember how I got into that prison cell? Wait… how did I get out? How did I get to my house? What's going on here? Link backed up a step and changed his stance as well, to a non-threatening one. Link raised his hands to show that he was unarmed, spreading his fingers and gesturing for Rusl to calm himself. He decided to tell a partial truth.
"Well, if I'm being completely honest with you, I don't even know what happened, sir… I remember going into town yesterday, thanking you for repairing my sword, and then… I don't know what happened. The next thing I remember is waking up in a jail cell surrounded by corpses… and then I broke out, killed one of those shadow creatures and then when I woke up again, I was in my bed. I honestly though it was all a dream."
He knew his voice was a little panicked. Of course it was, who's wouldn't be? He had a retired soldier pointing a sword at him and ready to strike, of course he was scared. Sure, he had trained under the man, and was very good with a sword, but nowhere near enough to beat the man in an actual fight. Rusl lowered his sword, but didn't put it away, which was fine with Link, as long as he didn't have to deal with that stress. He sighed and put his arms down, relaxing his shoulders. Rusl was still looking at him in a distrustful manner, and it was making Link uneasy.
"Where were you going, then?"
Link couldn't believe this. Yesterday they had been shaking hands and laughing, Rusl even offered him a beer. But now, it's like he was looking at a completely different person. This man wasn't just distrustful, he was… violent. It's like he wanted Link to attack him, or say the wrong thing. Link was confused by the man's attitude, and the children ran to him and stood between him and the crazed swordsman.
"Link is a good person! You leave him alone, you… you BULLY!"
Link chuckled and put a hand on the two eldest children's shoulders. The children coming to Link's defense seemed to have completely diffused the situation, because Rusl straightened and sheathed his sword, nodding respectfully and turning around before speaking.
"Listen, Link… I'm glad you're safe, I was just making sure that those monsters didn't get in your head. I'm sorry for being so rash, these are hard times, and I didn't know what to think."
Link smiled at the man, walking up to him and patting his shoulder. Rusl didn't flinch, which was a good sign.
"No worries, old man. I'm still me."
Rusl rolled his eyes and fully relaxed. No one called him old man besides Link and got away with it. He chuckled and went to cuff the boy on the back of the head, but Link had ducked and ran towards the village, laughing. Rusl smiled softly, nodding in approval. The boy had truly conquered the darkness inside of him, whether he was aware of it or not. He smiled proudly, then looked down and patted his sword affectionately, smiling at the kids before following the green clad teen into town, some distance away.
Link strolled into town, looking around cautiously. After his meeting with Rusl, he knew what the others must think of him. Seeing the cautious glances of the townsfolk, he knew that they all felt the same as Rusl. Usually he would have stopped to talk to some of them, but today he lowered his gaze and walked a bit faster until he reached the shop, tugging the wooden door open anxiously and slipping in, closing the door behind him. He felt another pair of eyes on him, but he sighed in relief. The glowing green eyes held no hostility as they gazed into his hazel ones. Link chuckled and walked to the counter, dropping an affectionate pat on Sera's cat, Link. The little fuzzball looked deep into his eyes and meowed loudly. Link smiled and scratched the cat behind the ears as the owner of the store watched from the shadows.
"My little kitty knows the difference between humans and monsters, don't ya, little Link? If my little one trusts you, then so do I, Link. Ignore the others, they will see the light inside you soon, they're just worried."
Sera patted the cats head, then smiled warmly at the human Link, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently as his stomach growled loudly. His face flushed and he let he hand go, putting one hand on his stomach.
"Well, what can I do you for, hero? You sound hungry."
"Yes, ma'am. Just came for some groceries. The usual will do me fine."
She chuckled and got some things together behind the counter, putting a medium sized crate on the counter and filling it with various foodstuffs. She whistled as she worked, handing him a jar of soup, probably to hold him over until he got home. He took it graciously and opened it, consuming it quickly, letting out a sigh and licking his lips clean, setting it back on the counter, getting his wallet open, seeing that his crate was full. He glanced to the back wall and saw the slingshot that the kids were discussing this morning, and he paused, biting his lip and taking out two purple Rupees. Sera looked at him curiously, and he nodded to the back wall, asking shyly,
"How much for the slingshot?"
Sera widened her eyes at him, then smiled, shaking her head at him. "That's 30 Rupees… What are you doing, buying a slingshot, you naughty thing? You're too old for toys! Will you at least let the children play with it?"
After nodding, she puts it in the crate and he hands her the two purple Rupees. She hands him a red Rupee back, shooing him out. He chuckles softly and walks out, closing the door behind him gently with his foot. As he heads to his house, he noticed that there was no one around when he came out of Sera's Sundries, and thought that it was odd. Oh well, at least I don't have to deal with all the hostility and suspicion, I can just go home and eat breakfast in peace.
When he got home, he put his food away, making sure to eat his breakfast, then heading out, looking for Epona. She wasn't in his yard. He cursed softly, jumping down and rolling to inspect the ground for tracks, and found some. He's glad that someone decided to take care of her, if he really was gone for a few days. He followed the tracks, thinking to himself, contemplating to himself as he ran. How was I gone for days without even knowing it? I was only in that prison for a few minutes… Where was I? Who was that thing that helped me? He growled to himself, having no answers to any of those questions. He was just a simple man, he worked the goats, trained under the swordsman, and ran errands in his free time. He followed the tracks into the local spring, and stopped in his tracks. He saw Ilia with Epona, caring for her. Behind them, the spring. Time froze, and everything went dark as a great beast rose from the spring. He couldn't tell what it was, it looked like a wolf with goat horns. He trembled and unsheathed his sword, but felt that the creature wasn't evil. Link jumped between Ilia and the creature, leveling his sword at the beast. The thing spoke with a soothing, powerful voice, and sent tremors through Link as it looked into his eyes.
"Fear not, young hero. I am not thine enemy. You have already encountered our mutual enemy in the darkness, and survived. You must warn the Princess of this enemy. Tell her that Ordana has sent you with grave news."
Link opened his mouth to respond, but everything had gone back to normal, and he looked around, confused, shouting out.
"Why me? I'm not special!"
He felt a gentle hand on his shoulder, and turned to face Ilia. His eyes grew soft as they lit upon her countenance, concern and curiosity etched on her gentle face as she raised her eyebrow questioningly.
"Link… when did you get here? Who are you talking to, and… why is your sword out?"
Link looked away from her, putting his sword away and blushing furiously, looking at the ground and standing still. He cursed in his head, wondering what had happened. He looked into her eyes, smirking shyly and putting his hand on hers. His heart beat faster as he opened his mouth.
"H-Hey Ilia… sorry about all that. I just saw something a little odd, is all…"
Ilia's eyes widened in surprise and she stepped back, looking at him in astonishment.
"You… you just spoke…"
He smiled softly and walked around her, getting on his beautiful horse and turning her around gently, shrugging apologetically and trotting off without an explanation. He urged Epona into a gallop and steeled himself for the long road to Castle Town. He had another errand to run.