Link slowly opened his eyes. His mind was foggy and muddled. He was lying in a warm bed instead of on hard ground. An agonized moan escaped his throat. Someone suddenly appeared beside the bed.
"Link? Are you awake?"
Ilia. Link turned his head and looked up into the emerald green eyes of the mayor's daughter. Worry and relief shone in her eyes.
"Are you in pain? I can go get Renado," she offered.
Link held up his hand. Unfortunately, the arrow had been shot through his right shoulder. His sword arm was useless for the time being.
"Quiet. Please," he breathed. "My head is pounding. What happened?"
"You and Colin were attacked by Bulbins. Colin told Renado that while you were talking to Epona one of those dreadful beasts shot you with a poisoned arrow. They got you back here in time for Renado to save your life," Ilia explained in a soft voice. "You've been unconscious for a week."
"Where's Colin?" Link wanted to know.
"At the Spirit Spring with Epona," Ilia replied.
"How is he?"
"Worried. We've all been worried."
Link took a deep, shaky breath and slowly let it out. His shoulder throbbed with a dull pain. He clenched his teeth together to keep himself from crying out. Ilia seemed to sense his discomfort and went to find the village shaman. A few minutes later, Renado walked into the room.
"It seems that this hotel has turned into a hospital over the last four years," he joked.
Link managed to smile. Renado handed him a flask and helped the hero sit up. Link took a sip of the liquid and cringed at the bitter taste. He urged slightly.
"No one said antidotes tasted sweet," the shaman commented.
"No kidding," Link muttered.
Reluctantly, he took another sip. He almost heaved everything back into the flask. Tears filled his eyes. He swallowed and gasped.
"How long do I have to drink this stuff?" he croaked.
"Two more days. By then the poison should be out of your system. However, your shoulder will not be healed for quite some time," Renado explained.
"As long as I don't have to drink this stuff I'm happy."
"Yes. Not even the Gorons like the taste. And they're supposed to be as hard as the rocks themselves."
Link squeezed his eyes tight as he quickly gulped down the remaining liquid. It tasted like spoiled goat cheese. It was even worse than Coro's stew. Link handed the flask back to Renado.
"Your clothes are in the closet if you want to go outside. A trip to either the hot spring or the Spirit Spring should take the ache out of your shoulder."
The old man walked out of the room. Link carefully got out of bed and went to the closet. He opened the doors and pulled out his tunic. Obviously someone had taken great care in trying to restore it. The tunic once again held its vibrant, forest green color. The hero dressed as quickly as his shoulder would allow. He pulled on his boots and gloves. He flexed his right hand into a fist. At least he still had feeling in his hand. Link pulled on his cap and headed out of the hotel.
The sun was high over the village. Link concluded that it was mid-afternoon. He walked down the ramp and headed for the Spirit Spring. He wanted to talk to Colin. As soon as he stepped foot into the water, several fairies flew over to him. Link didn't take much notice of the tiny, helpful creatures as they worked their magic trying to heal his wounds. He felt the power of the spirit, Eldin as he walked through the shallow water to where Colin was standing with Epona.
"I'm glad to see you're all right," Link said.
Colin quickly looked up. His face brightened into huge smile. He ran over to Link and threw his arms around his chest. Link clenched his teeth as a sharp pain shot through his right arm.
"Sorry," Colin apologized, jumping back.
"It's okay," Link told him.
"I thought we were going to lose you," Colin confessed. "You were hardly breathing by the time we got you to Renado's hut."
Another fairy flew around Link. The pink dust settled on his clothes and disappeared.
"You don't need to worry anymore, Colin. I'm alive and well...mostly."
Colin chuckled. Link smiled. He was glad he was still able to make people laugh. Just then, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps.
"Hey! Mr. Link!" someone called.
Link turned around and saw the postman running towards him. It had been awhile since the postman had crossed his path.
"Greetings, Mr. Link. I have a letter to deliver to you...two in fact," the man said as he reached into his mail bag. He extended his hand and Link took the letters. "Onward to mail."
As the man ran off, Link opened the first letter and quickly read down through it.
"Who is it from?" Colin asked.
"The mayor," Link replied. He groaned. "I'm needed back in Ordon Village by sundown."
Colin looked at the sky. The sun was in the middle of the sky. It usually took two or three days, depending on weather or run-ins with stragglers.
"I don't think Epona can handle that kind of journey. Not after that battle," Rusl's son commented. "I know she wasn't hit or anything, but just running took a lot out of her. I mean, she's not as young as she used to be."
"I don't think so either," Link agreed. He looked over his shoulder at his horse. She was watching the little pink fairies fly around the spring.
"What does the other letter say?" Colin questioned.
Link opened the second letter and read through it. He frowned.
"What?" Colin asked.
"It's from Princess Zelda," Link answered.
Colin's eyes widened. Epona abandoned her watch over the fairies and came to stand behind her master.
"Are you in trouble?" Colin whispered.
"No, I'm not in trouble. I've been invited to attend the crowning ceremony," Link explained.
"Crowning ceremony?"
"Yes. In a few days she will no longer be Princess Zelda, but Queen Zelda."
"And you've been given a hand-written invitation from Zelda herself."
Link couldn't help but feel a tinge of sadness as he looked at the name of Hyrule's future queen. With Zelda came memories of the Twilight days. Some of them were good, others were filled with sorrow.
"We must save Zelda. We must."
Link shook his head to clear his mind of the memory of her voice. It was too painful to remember. Though he couldn't stop himself from hearing her laugh and the sound of her voice in his dreams. With her came the memory of the days when he could turn into a wolf. However, when she left she had taken that power with her. Link looked up at the sky once again. The portal still remained. A scar in the cloudless sky. A lone reminder of the days of trouble that took place within the small village.
"Link? Are you okay?" Colin asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine," Link answered. He folded the letters and placed them in the pouch at his side. "I'm going to get ready."
He headed for Malo Mart. He would restock on arrows and lantern fuel before heading back to Ordon. He would also get the antidote from Renado for the trip. He could handle going back to his home village, but he wasn't sure if he could handle facing Hyrule's princess. He wasn't sure if he could handle the memories that were sure to haunt him as soon as he stepped into the courtyard of Hyrule Castle.
Kakariko Village lay several miles behind. Epona galloped at a comfortable speed towards Faron Woods. The sun was slowly setting. A week ago he had been sitting on the Bridge of Eldin watching as it gradually disappeared from sight. Link gave a heavy sigh. Epona slowed to a walk.
"I'm not worried about going back to Ordon, Epona. I'm worried about going back to Hyrule Castle. I haven't been there in four years. I haven't seen or spoken to any of the Royal Family, especially Zelda, in almost five. For all the king knows I could be dead." Epona grunted. "Of course Zelda knows. She's one of the wisest people I've met on my travels over Hyrule."
The sun vanished and twilight covered the field. Link retrieved the lantern from the bundle on Epona's back. He didn't want to get caught unexpected. Another arrow through the shoulder was the last thing he wanted. In the distance he could see skeleton dogs rise up from the ground. Epona whinnied.
"It's okay, girl. Just stay at a reasonable distance and they won't bother us," Link instructed.
Epona returned to her trot, which suited Link just fine. The sooner he got to Ordon Village the better. He wasn't in the mood to have Mayor Bo chastise him for being late. He wanted to kick Epona into a run, but both rider and mount were still recovering. Hearing the beat of leathery wings, Epona picked up the pace. Link could see the dark outline of the pterodactyl-like birds heading towards them.
"You think you can out run them, girl?" Link asked. Epona responded by going into a full speed run.
The huge birds came in for the kill. Link pulled out his bow, strung an arrow and fired. One of the birds fell to the ground, only to rise again and join the others. Link brought Epona to a halt and flipped backwards off her back. He pulled out his sword and shield. His shoulder protested against the sudden weight of the sword. He stepped as far away from Epona as he dared.
When the giant birds came close enough, Link mustered all of his strength and spun around. The energy from the attack was enough to render all of the predators lifeless. Link gasped for breath. He hadn't performed the Great Spin attack in years. It had never taken this much energy to perform one of the easier skills the old hero had taught him. From his still bandaged shoulder to his wrist ached. Link sheathed his sword, placed the shield on his back and walked back to Epona. He mounted his horse, gave her a gentle kick in the sides and headed for the tree lined path that led to Faron Woods. He had never felt so homesick for the sleepy little village as badly as he did now.
What do you think?
Reviews and constructive criticisim are welcome. Flames are useless.
The first time I played Twilight Princess I made the mistake of tasting Coro's stew. It didn't do anything horrible (apart from taking away one heart), but I'll never do it again.