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Chapter 2: Revelations
Ilia was awake before sunrise. She had fallen asleep quickly and slept well enough, but was anxious about missing her meeting with Link. So it was that she was able to watch the sunrise cast its eerie twilight glow over the forest. Once the sun was above the horizon, she took Epona to Ordon Spring for a wash down and a massage. She carefully groomed the mare while fairies danced around them, then began saddling her. When all the straps were cinched securely and the saddlebags balanced, she mounted, gently stroking Epona's mane and neck while she waited. As soon as she saw Epona's ears twitch, she clutched the reins and braced her knees against the horse's ribs. Doing so enabled her to stay in the saddle when the mare reared, pawing the air excitedly before dashing out of the spring and north over the bridge. Within a matter of minutes, they had passed Faron Spring, where Epona veered west into a clearing. Link was waiting near a cooking pot in front of a shack, a young man with an extravagantly large hairstyle sitting nearby. Epona halted abruptly, and Link grinned as he helped Ilia dismount. Not accidentally, she stumbled, and he was obliged to catch her as she fell into his arms.
"Good morning. Sleep well?" Ilia nodded as she snuggled into Link's torso, and he continued. "Coro here was nice enough to let me stay in his shack, and now he's got breakfast prepared. How does cucco stew sound?"
"Sounds delicious." She turned to face Link's host, bowing. "Thank you so much for all of this. My name's Ilia."
"Hey, it's my pleasure to help!" Coro exclaimed, waving dismissively. "After what he's done, it'd be rude of me not to help the Hero of Twilight! Go on, now, sit down, you two!" Link blushed slightly as he and Ilia sat, while Coro filled their bowls with stew. "Now, what else can I do for you?"
"Well, I've got a bit of a journey ahead, and Ilia wants to come with me," Link began. He took a sip of broth as he collected his thoughts. "While I would like nothing more, my ultimate destination is the Twilit Realm. With Ganondorf gone, it's just as peaceful as Hyrule, but the ruler of that Realm still has a different kind of magic than what we see here in Hyrule." He turned his gaze directly to Ilia. "What I have to say may terrify you. It terrified me at first. I've gotten used to it in the last month, but…." He glanced at the Triforce on the back of his hand. "…for better or for worse, the Goddesses have granted me extraordinary courage."
"Link." Ilia smiled tenderly, reaching out to place her hand over his. "You can tell me anything."
"I hope so." With a sad smile, he placed his other hand atop hers. He didn't want to say it; he didn't want to say anything. He didn't want to end this moment; he just wanted to watch her radiant smile as he held her soft, delicate hand. A familiar tingle spread over the back of his hand as the Triforce glowed. Courage: It was the ability to face any challenges ahead, in spite of whatever loss was possible. Over the last months, he had faced numerous physical challenges, risking his life so that Hyrule could live safely in the light. Now he had to risk losing the woman he loved. Why? Although it was not the loss Ilia had in mind, it was the same question she had asked at the ranch last night. She deserved answers. He sighed deeply to steel his courage, forcing himself to hold her in his gaze.
"When the Twilight fell over Hyrule, almost everyone faded into a shadow of life, becoming a wandering spirit. Echoes of their true selves, they couldn't fight the monsters that had invaded and stolen the Light of the Great Spirits, even if they could overcome the fear. Ordonian, Goron, Zora—every one a pale shadow. Even among the Hylians, only two people were able to keep a physical form. Princess Zelda was granted the gift of Wisdom by the Goddesses, so she was able to keep her form while she waited for the one who could fight the Twilight invaders. The other one had the Courage to fight, but was given a different form while Twilight was over the land. This new form was able to fight the monstrous Twilight beasts and sense the spirits that populated the land, but was invisible to the spirits so that they wouldn't be frightened." Link brought his hand up, clenching his fist and turning the still-glowing Triforce to show Ilia. "I turned into a wolf." She gasped, but he continued. "I rescued the Light that was stolen from each spring's guardian Spirit, lifting the Twilight from each province in turn so I could clear the monsters out of the temples. I would then move on to the next Twilight-covered province, turning into a wolf each time until I returned the Light to the Spirit. I was guided through all of this by Midna, Princess of the Twili people."
"Twili…people?" As Link related his story, Ilia's eyes had been widening, her pupils constricting, her jaw lowering. She had unconsciously leaned back and, although she was sitting, her current pose painfully reminded Link of the terrified—and terrifying—image that Midna had presented right after he first met Zelda. He nodded somberly in response to her vocal outburst.
"The leader of the invasion had taken over the Twili throne. He used dark magic to corrupt the people, turning them into the monsters we saw. After I defeated the monsters in Lake Hylia, he caught Princess Midna and me in a pocket of Twilight. I was able to keep him from killing her, but it left me trapped in wolf form until Princess Zelda told me where to find the Master Sword. The curse was manifested as a dark stone, which Princess Midna held so that I could turn into a wolf when I needed."
"You mean--?"
"I would become a wolf voluntarily," he confirmed. "There was still so much to do to return Princess Midna home and defeat the false king. Sometimes I had to fight evil spirits that I couldn't even see, but I could sense them as a wolf. My senses also allowed me to follow trails more easily, and I could talk to other animals—both talents that made it possible for me to follow the clues we needed to restore your memory."
"I have my memory now because you turned into a wolf," Ilia muttered. Link's fears had been correct: She was terrified by what he had just told her. The hazy memories she had of the last month bubbled through her surface thoughts, images of monsters dashing in and out of her mind. Boar-riding Bulbins had attacked her at Ordon Spring, and had hardly left her alone for a week since, carrying her off to Impaz' village, tracking her when she escaped to North Hyrule Field, harassing her and the wounded Prince Ralis as they made their way to Castle Town, and attacking again as Kargaroks dropped bombs on the wagon en route to Kakariko Village. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to focus on the appearance of the monsters, recalling the Keese, Guays, and Deku Babas that had also threatened her. Try as she could, though, she couldn't remember seeing any wolves. Occasionally, in Kakariko Village, Talo would cry out an alarm, but each time she watched anxiously from inside Renado's hut, the wolf would either go into the graveyard or the cave near Eldin Spring. It would never actually threaten anyone, though, a 'courtesy' that the other monsters never shared: They would lurk outside, waiting for someone to drop their guard. Thankfully, when monsters did threaten, Link had always been near enough to take care of matters before anyone was seriously hurt.
She hazarded a glance at him. His head was turned away from her as he gazed at the ground, leaving her to her thoughts. As she focused on the eye she could see in profile, she thought of how often she had gazed into those clear blue orbs, both before the attack and afterwards. Growing up, she had been enraptured by their open innocence. They conveyed a sense of trust that only a monster would want to break, and with that trust came compassion. The compassion was still there—it made her spine shiver when she felt it last night—but the open trust had faded. His eyes were haunted now, and cautious. They seemed… wild. Sometime last month, she had heard someone comment about his eyes. "The eyes of a beast." She couldn't remember where she had heard the comment, but it was disturbingly accurate in light of what Link had just told her. She stood up.
"I'll be back in a bit," she informed the men, who nodded as she headed toward Faron Spring. When she was out of sight, Coro broke the silence he had maintained since they had started eating.
"So the Twilight turned you into a wolf that no one else could see, because everyone else had turned into shadows?" Link nodded, and Coro continued. The oil salesman paused every so often to allow Link to confirm the details with further nods. "But as a wolf, you could see the vermin that stole the Light from the Spirit of the Spring, allowing you to defeat them. Then, once Twilight was lifted from the land and you got the Master Sword, you were able to change back and forth. Did ya happen to visit me when you were a wolf?" Link nodded.
"You warned me that most people would be afraid of me—although it was a little late, as I'd already caused a couple panics in Castle Town trying to follow scent trails. But I did appreciate finding someone who wasn't afraid of my new form," he confirmed with a brief smirk. Glancing toward Faron Spring, he saw Ilia kneeling in the water, her arms folded as sobs wracked her body. Sighing, he let himself fall back on the grass, his hands crossed behind his head. Two upturned bowls spilled cold stew on the grass nearby.
When Ilia came to the spring, she waded in as far as she could before sinking to her knees. Folding her arms, she stared at the water as it lapped at her thighs. Just as in Ordon Spring, fairies danced around her. Annoyed at their apparent lack of concern for her turmoil, she gave up on holding in her tears. They flowed freely down her face, splashing as they hit the spring's surface. The ripples spreading out from her legs betrayed the grief that shook her whole body.
"Why, Link?" she choked out softly. "You were so gentle—why did you have to turn into such a fearsome beast?"
"It was his destiny as one who wields the gift of the Goddesses," replied a soft, ethereal voice that echoed faintly in the spring. Ilia turned to the apparent source of the voice to see the fairies gathering in a swarm next to her, a figure forming as the voice continued speaking. "He was chosen to wield the gift of Courage; he became the Hero of Twilight because he fought to defend the innocent. He has no lust for power, nor desire for revenge." A woman now stood next to her, clad only in a knee-length sarong. Her long hair covered her bosom and framed her eerily child-like face. Paired gossamer veils sprouted from her back, almost like layered butterfly wings. "I am the Great Fairy; I rule over all the fairies in the land as their queen. I have watched the Hero as he endured the trials in the Cave of Ordeals. His skill is great, but the Dark Sorcerer also had great skill to accompany the gift of Power that had been granted by the Goddesses. However, the Dark Sorcerer did not have a pure heart; that is the gift that allowed the Hero to triumph." Before Ilia could ask for an explanation, the fairies began swirling around the Great Fairy. Soon, the Great Fairy was hidden from human sight, and the fairies in the spring scattered out of their swarm.
Ilia stood and trudged to the clearing in front of Coro's shack. Hearing her approach, Link sat up expectantly. His heart ached to see her puffy eyelids and the trails her tears had made, but he restrained himself from leaping up to comfort her; terror still haunted her eyes and her body still trembled.
"When you were a wolf…." She hesitated. Gulping nervously, she sat down, facing obliquely away from Link. "Did you still… was your mind… were you still human?"
"I remembered everything," he assured her. "When I went into the Twilight in Lanayru Province, just north of Eldin Bridge, I was able to find my way by following your scent from where you had dropped your purse. I was there when Borville stormed out on Prince Ralis, invisible to everyone who had faded into spirit."
"I see." She turned around on her backside and placed a hand on Link's knee, gazing into his eyes. She saw herself reflected in his pupils, her face plainly mirroring the terror, grief, and longing that tore at her heart. "Obviously, I'm frightened. I just can't imagine you as a wolf. But I've wanted to be with you ever since Epona got us to start playing together, and this last month has only made me want to be with you even more; I don't want to give you up because of this one morning. If you can be patient with me, I hope to be able to get used to the idea."
"I'd like that." Link smiled and stood, holding out his hands to help her up. Although they embraced, she didn't feel the same warmth she had just an hour ago. She knew it was her own fear that kept her distant—Link's feelings could have only been strengthened by telling her his secret—and wondered when she would feel completely safe in his arms again. A dark corner of her heart dared to question if she would ever feel safe around him.
Author's Note: Thanks again to Tia Ordona 23 for pointing out some of the pacing issues in Chapter 1; I've added some helpful formatting here as well. Also, I edited the Great Fairy's description after running through the Cave of Ordeals again.