Clx : Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry ! Sorry !
Amx : Ah, shut up ! I think they get it.
Clx : I know , but I feel so bad for taking this long for such a short chapter !
Amx : You call this short ?
Clx : Well , no but for the time it take it can be considered short.
Amx : Point taken. Anyway , at least you kept your promise.
Clx : Huh ? Oh , yeah , Sheik makes his first appearance ! Yay !
Amx : Enjoy people , this took many dreams to create.
Clx : Again… I'm sorry , I whad final exams and I moved and a whole bunch of stuff just happened !
Amx : Shut up already !
Clx : Hai…
"How did this happen?" Colin asked the Twili boy.
"I don't know how dad ended up in the Realm," Cassil looked at his passed out father, sleeping peacefully on the couch beside him, "but all I can remember is him attacking Dark Link and being attacked right before we left."
"Wait a minute, did you say Dark Link?"
"Yeah, he's sort of a copy of dad, but way more evil and maybe even stronger."
Colin frowned. Why does Link always have to get caught up in situations like this…? Cassil's head tilted to the side and quickly came back into place due to the uncomfortable position of his neck as his eyes slowly shut and reopened.
"You can sleep you know. I'll take care of him."
Cassil smiled and immediately fell face first into the mattress, falling to sleep instantly, but sadly fo him, his slumber did not last long as a door slammed open, making Colin and him fall from their chair. Once Colin lifted his aching head from he cold floor, he saw a heavily panting Ilia in the doorway.
"I came… as soon as… the falcon… reached my house," she panted, "Where… is… he…?"
"Right here, Ilia."
When her eyes met her best friend, she ran to the couch, almost tripping many times in the process, tears streaming down her cheeks, silent sobs escaping her throat. Just before she reached them, she fell to her knees and took Link's hand in hers, clutching it hard, wishing she could take him in her arms and protect him from all the violence he had endured. Colin put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Cassil just watched the scene before him, wondering what she was to Link, because it was obvious that he was everything to her. Ilia lifted her head to look at Colin, then her eyes gazed upon Cassil.
"Who're you?" she asked with more aversion than necessary.
"He's Link's son," Colin answered for the boy, "It's thanks to him that–"
"Like I care," she replied harshly, "He could be a prince for all I care. Tell him to get out."
"He has more of a right to be here than us Ilia, he's Link's family, and if you want him gone so badly, tell him yourself."
"Like I'd talk to such filth."
"Ilia…"
"Oh, don't start Colin…" she said as she put her head back on Link's shoulder.
"U-Um…" he started, Colin giving him a warning with his eyes, but to that he only shook his head, "If… if it makes you feel any better, I only found out that he was my father a few weeks ago because we needed his help. I don't think that mom intended on telling either of us."
Colin smiled at his attempt to cheer Ilia up, and chuckled when it worked. He really is his father's son: helping everybody, even those he doesn't know.
"Thanks, um…"
"C-Cassil, Prince Cassil."
Ilia slightly blushed.
"That's... that's a nice name. What does it mean?"
"I never thought much about it before, but I believe it means Angel in Ancient Twili."
"It suits you," she mumbled with a smile.
This time Cassil blushed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Thanks Cassil, for telling Colin about Link's beaten up state and sorry, for everything I said earlier. I don't know what got into me."
"Apology accepted."
"Ugh… You guys talk too much…" they heard a mumble say.
All three heads turned towards Link. He was already sitting up, his eyes still half asleep.
"Link!"
"Link!"
"Link!"
"Yes, that's my name, don't wear it out," he said with a smile, making the other three roll their eyes.
He can still manage to have a sense of humour when he's like that, he's one incredible guy, Ilia thought.
"Can one of you tell me why you're all around me… It's scary."
"Well, you–" Colin began.
"It' scary!?" Ilia practically yelled.
Oh no, here it comes, Link and Colin thought.
"What do you mean it's scary? We were worried sick about you, Link! You just disappeared and when we find you, you're all bloody and broken!"
"Look, Ilia, I can explain."
"I don't want you to explain! I want…" a tear slid down her cheek, "I want you to stop fighting, to stop getting hurt. I just can't take seeing you like this anymore!"
Cassil shifted in his seat, looking at his fingers, as was Colin.
"I'll… I'll be sleeping," he said all of a sudden, "Call me if you need me."
"And I should be getting home so, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow," Colin said, "Tell me if anything happens."
With that said, they both left their separate ways after waving goodnight. When they were both gone, Link looked back at Ilia, who did not take her eyes off him for a second.
"Ilia," he sighed, "This is the only time you've seen me like this."
"Once too many, and even though it's the first, I still imagined what happened when you were gone saving Hyrule while I had food and a roof to sleep under."
"As far as I know, this is the first time someone's beaten me up so bad. I won't let it happen again… At least I'll try," he said the last part under his breath.
"That won't be hard."
Link raised a brow.
"And why would that be?"
"Because you're not going anywhere, not to the town, not to the other world you told me about, you're staying here, in Ordon."
"Ilia, that's not an option."
"And why not? It's not like the world will end if you don't go to one single war."
"No, the world won't end, but our's will. If something happens to the Twilight Realm, it's going to affect our's. I can't just sit back and ignore this, Ilia."
"But why, why you? Isn't other people who can save their land?"
"Yes, but none of them would succeed, not with the ennemies we're up against and besides, I'm the legendary beast that saved their world once. It's only natural that I should help again."
They looked deep into each others eyes for a while, then Ilia threw herself into his arms, crying like she was minutes ago. He winced at the blow, his wounds still weren't perfectly healed. They should have given me a fairy. Slowly, but hesitantly, he put his arms around her.
"Promise me this, Link: come back home safely."
He tightened his hug.
"I'll come home safely, Ilia, don't worry."
"Link is leaving again, isn't he?" Colin asked.
"Sure is," Ilia aswered as she took a sip from her drink.
"A war's waiting for him, isn't it?"
"Yeah," she mumbled through another sip.
"So, this is it, eh?"
"Yep, pretty much," she said, once again, between sips.
"I never thought of you as a drinking kind of person."
"Hn, I guess that means you don't know me very well then."
"You do know you shouldn't drink in the morning, right, Ilia?" Colin asked concerned.
"Um-hm…"
"Then… why?"
"So it's not as painful when he leaves."
Colin rolled his eyes.
"He's coming back Ilia, don't worry."
"The last time a certain someone said that I shouldn't worry, Link came back all bloody and what not," she retorted with a faint glare directed towards Colin.
A sigh escaped his lips.
"We should get going, Link's about to leave and we wouldn't want to miss–"
"Way ahead of you sport," she shouted over her shoulder from outside.
"W-When did she… Hey! Wait for me!"
By the time Colin caught up with Ilia, she was already beside Link, helping Cassil and him to properly put their equipement on their horses' sadles. Link smiled when he saw his panting friend walking up to them. He gestured the well with his head and Colin just about threw himsef into it.
"You run pretty fast, Ilia," Cassil said with a laugh.
"Especially for a drunk," Link mocked.
"I'm good at holding my liquor," she smiled.
When Colin finaly took his head out of the fount, he walked over to his companions with a grin.
"Her strength is inhuman too. My ribs still hurt from a few years ago," Colin leaned over to Cassil's ear, "The only one in the village to have ever defeaten the 'beast' is your dad. It's like watching two animals fighting."
Cassil chuckled at the last comment.
"We're set to go," Link finally announced, "Are you ready Cassil?"
"Um, yeah, just give me a second, I have to change."
"Change?" Ilia asked, "Change into what?"
"You'll see," Link replied.
A couple minutes later, Cassil came back outside wearing Hylian clothing, or to be more precise : Link's clothes from when he was younger.
"Um… Why, exactly do you need clothes?" Colin wondered.
"He was fine with nothing on…" Ilia mumbled under her breath, only capted by Link's extra-sensitive ears, another feature that stayed from his wolf form.
"Well, you see, I thought, no actually, I am really noticeable like this," he said as he showed then his skin tone and glistening orange hair, "So I thought that I'd change, all the way."
"How are you supposed to change your skin?"
"Observe."
With the snap of his fingers, Cassil started to spin as a dark cloud surrounded him. When he finaly stopped spining, before their eyes, was a young Hylian. His waist long blond hair was tied up in his back with leather strings, a few strands escaping in the front, his slightly taned skin matching his father's and his now green eyes shimmering in the morning sun. Ilia's face turned slightly pink, but not because of the alcohol. Her two friends noticed it and a smile grew across their face.
"Aaaaa-nyway," Link laughed, "It only takes less than an hour to get to the castle, so I guess we should get going if we want to get there before dark."
Cassil raised a brow.
"Sure thing dad. Anyways, see you guys soon!"
With that said, the two young men galloped off into the forest, Link steadily seated on Epona and Cassil on Fado's best black stallion, Abyssus. Link looked over his shoulder as he waved goodbye one last time and as soon as the horses finished crossing the bridge, he set off into a gallop. Cassil was surprised at the sudden boost and almost fell of his horse.
"AHH! Dad, wait!"
Link brought Epona to a slow strut and burst out laughing when he saw his son halfway towards the ground.
"It's not funny…" Cassil mumbled between his clenched teeth.
"Actually, it is. Why didn't you tell me that you didn't know how to ride?"
"I do, but it took me by surprise when you just set off like that with no warning. Why are you in such a rush if it only takes less than two hours to get to the castle town?"
"Because I need something."
"What do you mean something?"
"A weapon."
"Don't you already have enough, I mean seriously, how many does a guy need?"
Link chuckled.
"You have no idead, Cassil. But this one is the most important, it's my weapon: the Master Sword."
"Master what?"
"The Master Sword," Link said as he arched an eyebrow, "You know, the sword that can destroy any kind of magic, the sword that brought Ganondorf to his death."
"Oh! That sword! Sorry, I've never been good with names," Cassil replied as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Well, you see, it happens to be in the Sacred Grove and to access it I have to pass through the lost woods, which Ilia hates me going there. So I didn't want her to get all worked up more than she already was."
Link stopped Epona as did Cassil with Abyssus when they reached then Forest Temple. He dismouted her an took of a rope from her saddle.
"Sorry girl, if I could take you with me I would," he said as he pat her nose.
He got a snort in return, making him smile. When they reached the entrance of the Lost Woods, Link came to a halt and Cassil almost walked right into him.
"What's wrong, dad?" he asked worried.
"Who were those people, Cassil?" Link said gravely.
"Who?"
"Dark Link's minions."
"Oh, um… I don't know who they are, sorry."
Link frowned with a sigh.
"It's okay, it's not your fault."
He started to advance but Cassil did not.
"But I know what they are."
This made Link come to a halt.
"Go on…"
"Well, this is only a rumour really, but mum said that it was mostly true from what she could tell. You know the past of our people right?" Link nodded, "Well some of us still craved for the power of the Triforce when they felt it's energy when you came and well, they had to be exiled, which I think is weird, you know being exiled from an exiled place. Anyway, but some of them returned to the Twilight Realm, seven of them to be precise, and tried to take over the throne but mum executed them on the spot as soon as they set foot in the Royal Chamber. But some idiot decided to bring them back to life and made them stronger so that they could be Dark Link's minions, who is Akuma's right arm."
"Who's Akuma?"
"The idiot, the one that started this whole war," Link crossed his arms, nodding once more, "Or at least we think he's the one who did… Anyway, Akuma is the name that my people gave him, we don't know what it really is, not that it's important."
It became quiet, only the sound of the wind blowing in the leaves could be heard, neither of them moved for a moment then Link finaly broke the silence.
"I have another question: how come I was able to go into th Twilight Realm without a key?"
"Well, technically, you went in with neither the key or a portal. That was really dark magic that only a few Twili practiced. I still can't figure out how Dark Link managed to use it, since he's not one of us."
"We can figure that out later, but why can't I just go back?"
"Because you can't, unless you want to die of course, but I don't think you do. A Hylian, or just a human for that matter, can only use it twice in a year without damaging his or her body: once to go and once to come back."
Link grunted discontently.
"Anyhow, we should get going," he said as he walked into the darkness, "Oh, and you might not want to wander off to far, unless you want to turn into a monster that is, but I don't think you want that now do you?"
Cassil tensed as his father walked into the darkness. Turn… into… a monster? How can… How can that be possible? An owl hooted, making him jump back to reality. His eyes looked about, cherching his father, not seeing him nor any other life form but the owl.
"D-Dad?" he stuttered, "Dad, wh-where are you?"
"HOOT!"
"AHH!" he cried as he ran into the woods without a second thought.
He ran and ran until he bumped into a massif tree — which did not take very long —, bathing in a halo of pure white light. It looked too beautiful to be true, somewhat like a dream. It looked like there was no bark on it, just a marbled surface. His hand held out to touch it and when it made contact with the tree, he felt a jolt of energy shoot right through his veins, making pull back his hand in an instant.
"Amazing, isn't it?" he heard a familiar voice ask.
"Yeah, it is," Cassil answered, almost in a daze, "What is it?"
He saw a head lean over the edge of one of the branches of the immense Weeping Willow beneath his fingers.
"Legend says that this tree was once the Great Deku Tree, the Father of Hyrule's forest. He used to be the protector of thousands of young children called the Kokiri, children that never aged no matter how much time passed. It is also said that once the Great Deku died of a curse placed on him by the Evil king himself, Ganondorf, the Kokiri tried to resurect him using fairy magic but instead ended up catching the curse. Because of that, they turned into Koroks, little humanoid trees, somewhat like deku scrubs, then they eventually turned into real trees, creating this sacred forest."
Cassil looked around him, admiring the trees. To think that most of these old trees were once human… He heard his father sigh then the sound of him jumping down, landing as gracefully as a feline.
"If you look close enough, you can make out the blissful expressions they had when they became a part of Mother Nature," he put is arm around his son's shoulders, "I'm not sure if this next part is true or not, but Zelda believes that the Great deku was a Hylian in his past life, well before he turned into a tree that is. That he was a lone traveller deprived of food, with the purest of heart in that time of war, one of the few Hylian's who coul not hurt a fly unless someone dear to him or his life was in danger. She also said that from what the spirits of her ancestors have told her, that the Goddesses thought that it would be a shame to lose such a man, and they did the one thing they coul to save him: turn him into a tree."
"That's… wow…" Cassil did not know what to say, nothing that exceptional ever happened in his world, not that he would of expected it from an exiled tribe.
Link tapped his son a the back, pulling him from his reverie.
"Enough about history, we need to get going."
No matter how many trees they passed by, Cassil never got tired of them. They were all so beautiful and it looked as though they all had their own personality, which was understandable based on what his father told him mere minutes ago. These woods had a magical feel to them but not because of the legend, just because of the serenity, the gentle sounds of the waterfalls, the ruslting the leaves made when a cool breeze drifted between the trees.
As his green eyes admired the beauty of it all, he saw a dark shadow run past one of the archways. Without thinking, being as curious and reckless as he was, his feet automaticaly paced him forward.
"Hello?" he posed quietly, "Is anybody there?"
Something in his guts told him that he was being watched, and he didn't like it. He kept on looking forward, convinced that there was someone there. Just as he was about to call out again, he felt the shadow pass behind him, but when he turned around the first thing he saw was more trees, only trees. His head twisted and turned, his eyes growing wider by the second.
"Where the hell did the road go?!" he panicked.
A chuckle came from behind him and he saw a pair of yellow eyes, and underneath them a wooden smile.
Link sighed. This is taking forever. It was so much easier when I could just teleport to the Grove… He stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.
"Hey, Cassil, do you mind if…" he started but did not finish when he son was nowhere to be seen, "Cassil? Cassil! Damn it where did that kid run off to now?"
He looked about, hoping that his son just got a bit tired and fell behind. This is useless…
"AHHH!" he heard his son scream at the very top of his lungs, making birds fly away.
That came from… A sigh escaped his throat as he walked towards the Sacred Grove and when he reached it, the sight beofre him did not surprise him. When is that imp ever going to learn…
His son was dangling in midair by his feet, kicking and punching in random directions, trying to fight iff the things hat were holding him.
"Let me go, let me go, let me GO!" he said as he gave the final kick to the one on the right, falling head first to the ground, "AHH!"
Link put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Cassil's head slowly came up, bobbing from side to side, diziness apparent in his eyes. The young Twili slowly got up to his feet and saw his father in the distance.
"Dad!" he shouted, immediately running towards him.
The things saw him move and flew towards Cassil, Link sighed and took his bow off his back, aimed and fire four arriws at once, each of them killing their target. Cassil, who fell to the ground when he saw the projectiles coming his way, looked up from the ground and saw his father smiling, holding out his hand to help him up and he took it without hesitating.
"What were those… those things?" he asked still a little shaken up.
"Puppets."
"Puppets? Who was controlling them?"
Link smiled.
"You can come out now. There's no one here but us."
Cassil heard something move from behind him, and when he turned around he regretted, coming face to face with a creature that looked humanoid, but had no flesh, or bones for that matter. Skull Kid gave a wide grin, showing his pointy teeth.
"We had an agreement, Skull Kid," Link dropped.
"Tee-hee-hee," he chuckled way too high for a young boy,"I know, but it's been so long since the last time you came to play with me."
"It's only been two weeks."
"Yes, but the deal was that I would stop attacking people with good hearts who enter this forest if you came to play with me once a week. So you broke your side of the deal too, no?"
Link sighed.
"There were…" he looked at his son with a faint smile, "Some complications and it slipped my mind. Just too tell you, I won't be able to come every week for a while, something has come up in the other dimension."
"A war I'm guessing?" he took Link's silence as a yes and sighed as he waved his hand, opening the way to the Grove, "Here, I'm also guessing that you'll be needing that so…"
Link smiled.
"Thanks, Skull Kid. Cassil?"
"Huh, oh yeah."
They both waved Skull Kid goodbye as he disappeared into thin air before saying.
"Tee-hee-hee, there have been some weird creatures wandering the forest lately, looking for something, something powerful from, what I heard. I'd be careful if I were you."
Link came to a stop and turned around as quickly as his body allowed him.
"What? Who?" no answer came, making a frown appear on his face, "Skull Kid! Tsk, damn imp…"
"Dad?" Cassil hesitated, "Who was that kid?"
Link was still looking for the wooden boy and sighed, his shoulders tense. He tried to cool down, taking in deep breaths. Completely calmed down, he turned around to smile at his son.
"That kid, is what you'd look like if you got lost in here. Well, either him or one of his puppets."
Cassil gulped as a shiver ran up and down his spine. Just the thought of becoming… that made him feel nauseous. Link chuckled at his son's reaction and came to a halt.
"This is the Sacred Grove," he stated.
"Fi-na-ly!" Cassil sighed, "It feels like that took forever!"
"Actually, I sort of lied earlier…"
Cassil grabbed his father by his arm to turn him around so that he could glare deeply into his blue eyes.
"What do you mean, lied?" he asked bitterly.
"The Master Sword isn't in the Grove anymore because to many people could find it."
"What do you mean too many people?!" Cassil cried as he threw his hands over his head, "If anyone would want to find it, they'd have to go through the Lost Woods for crying out loud! Do you honestly think that a great number of people would succeed?"
"I was refering more to Ganondorf's minions, or in this case Dark Link and those other Seven."
"Oh… Why didn't you say so sooner?" Link rolled his eyes, "Soooo, if it's not here, where is it?"
"Come, I'll show you," he said as he waved his hand.
I don't see a temple around here… What the hell is he talking about? Link gestured him up the broken stairs and he did as he told him too, but the only thing he found when reached the top was a broken door, still in it's frame, no wall around it.
"And how exacly is this supposed to help us?"
Link chuckled.
"Push it open."
Cassil's eyebrow arched as is hand slowly reached out for the door, gently pushing it open. His eyes grew wide at the sight before him. A hidden temple was beyond those doors, everything was exactly as outside, except that it wasn't in ruins, it was still in perfect condition. His foot automaticaly stepped forward, bringing him through the archway. Then they both saw it: the Master Sword, resting in it's rightful place, across the Guardian Statues, at the entrance of the Temple.
"Fi-na-ly!" Cassil exclaimed, "That felt like it took forever!"
Link groaned.
"I can't believe the Guardians made me redo that game…" he mumbled.
"Ah, cheer up dad. I mean, look at the bright side: you got your Master Sword, those statues got to play their silly game abd I got to see a sacred temple that only few living eye have seen. We all win in the end."
Cassil kept on walking, even though his father stopped and was now trying to burn holes through his head with his eyes. Slowly trying to peak over his shoulder, a hand slapped him upside the head.
"Itai!" he yelled as he rubbed the bumb growing where his father hit him, "What the hell was that for?"
"You do know that all of the things you just said are al related, eh?"
"Of course I do. I'm not that much of an idiot…"
"Alright then," Link said as he crossed his arms, "How?"
"Um, well, the Guardians got to play and I got to see the Temple Of Time because you needed the Master Sword… right?"
"No, not quite," Link answered with a groan, "You got to see the temple since I needed my sword, correct, but because you entered a sacred place, the Guardians made me do that stupid mind game gain because thay wanted to make sure that I wasn't an imposter! So tell yourself that every single time that I was almost crushed by them, it was your fault!"
"Oh, yeah, I remember… Man that was funny," his father glowered at him, "Ok, mabe not…"
Another deep groan escaped Link's throat as they crossed the tree bridge.
"So, I guess our next stop is –"
Link put his arm in front of Cassil, putting a finger in front of his mouth, showing him to be quiet, hen pointed in front of them. The Twili's brow raised as he followed the finger, only making his eyes grow wide.
Only a few feet away from them were two great cats, devouring the remains of whatever creature they came upon in the woods. But something about them was off, the way they were sitting was, humanlike, and they were not eating over the carcass, they were holding pieces of it in their paws that looked strangely like fingers with claws.
"What are they, dad?" Cassil whispered.
"I don't know Cassil. I've never seen anything like them in these woods before."
"Wait a second, don't tell me that…"
"Yeah, they're probably the creatures Skull Kid was talking about," Link looked behind them, "Listen to me carefully Cassil unless you want to alarm them, okay?"
He saw him nod from the corner of his eye.
"We're going to slowly back up and when were far enough, I'll signal you to run for it, understood?"
Cassil nodded again and he slowly crept backwards, not taking his green eyes off the beasts. Making sure not to step on his so's feet, Link slowly did the same. The plan was perfect… at least it would have been if a twig didn't happen to end up under Cassil's boot. They both froze, ready to defend theirselves, but they did not move, nor did they seem to notice the sound that broke the silence.
A sigh escaped both of their mouths but regretted it as that alarmed the felines. We've whispered, stepped on a branch and this is what sets them off? Link thought as he pushed his son behind him.
"Uh, Dad…"
Link slowly took his sword out of it's scabbard and positioned himself in a fighting stance.
"Not now Cassil, I've got to get rid of these guys."
"Um, yeah but…"
"Cassil, please be quiet."
Link pointed the Master Sword in front of him, trying to make the beast back off. It was not quite the reaction he was expecting, but they stopped dead in their tracks as they looked from the sword to him. Then out of nowhere, they started… laughing? What the hell is going on…?
"Cassil, back up, we have to get out of here," he said as the felines started to advance once more, "Cassil?"
Link briefly looked over his shoulder only to find his unconscious son being pinnned down to the ground by another beast, but this time it was a bit smaller than the others. Anger boiled in the botton of his gut, his eyes glowing with fury. Swiftly turning around, he slashed the creature in the face, but only barely as it's reflexes were better than he expected. He put his sword behind him, crouched down and lauh himself into the air.
"HYAH!"
The blade was about to slice through the feline, but instead a new one tackled him, making him bang into the wall. When he eventually fell to the ground, his vision became blurry and he lifted his hand to his face. When he removed it, there was blood all over it.
Damn it, I hit my head pretty good… Four figures gathered around him, uncounsciousness slowly consuming him.
"Damn it, not again…" he muttered.
"We finaly found you, Hero," one of them said.
"AHHH!" Link woke with a start.
"AHHH!" a familiar voice screamt, "Damn it Beansprout, don't scare me like that. You almost this old fart a heart attack."
Link groaned as he sat up, his head throbbing. Why does my head always get hit… Its like I have a curse or something…
"Hardly… As if an adult in his twenties, a healthy one at that, could have a heart attack," he smiled, but it fell, "My name's Link, by the way. You know I hate it when you call me that," he said with a light glare directed at the man in front of him.
"Yeah, but my name's not Master but you still call me that, now don't you?"
Arms crossed and lips pouted. They looked exactly like children when they don't get what they want. Still looking at each other, their faces slowly broke into smiles and they burst out laughing.
"Man, I can't take you seriously with that cute look on your face, it doesn't suit you, Beansprout," the man winked at Link.
"Ha-HA… not funny. And do you think it's easy for me too take you seriously with that stupid look, Master."
The man growled.
"Uh-oh…" Link thought out loud as he slowly walked away from the angry man, "Um, I gotta go so… later!"
That said, Link jumped onto a young Epona and immediately set off into a fast gallop.
"BEANSPROUT! I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" the man yelled.
Link did not bother to look back, only concentrating on getting home, not that it would help him much since they lived togetherm but he had to try something. Just as he was about to think about another hiding spot where he might be safer, an arrow shot right past him, missing him by less than an inch. A shiver ran from the back of his neck to the bottom of his feet and then he heard hooves trampling the forest floor, coming his way.
"Beansprout! Come here so I can kill you!" a oh so familiar voice belowed in a oh so familiar tone.
"Why would I do that?!"
"So that I won't have to kill you some other time!"
"That makes no sense!"
"Like I give a damn! Just come here so you can die quickly and painlessly!"
Before Link knew it, the young man was galloping right beside him, pointing an arrow with perfect precision, ready to launch it.
"Ahhh!" Link ducked, again, this one missing him by a hair, "Alright, alright already! I'm sorry! Just stop trying to kll me!"
"Not a chance Beansprout!" he shouted as they crossed the birdge.
"Argh! You're such an idiot, you know that !? You telling me not to call you master but you won't stop calling me Beansprout! How is that fair?"
"So what? I'm the adult here, I can do whatever I want!"
"Tch! Barely, look how immature you're acting right now!"
They raced past the spring.
"There's no one else to see but you and besides, you'll be dead in a minute! So it doesn't really matter now does it, Beansprout?"
Link's face became re with anger.
"Master! Master! MASTER! MASTER!"
"Why you little —"
They dashed past their house.
"Boys, slow down!" Ilia screamed.
"Huh?" they both said but before they got an anwer, the two of hem flew in the air as their horses came to a halt, bucking them right off.
"AHHH!"
SPLASH!
Both laughter and gasps could be heard from the surrounding villagers. Ilia came running towards them.
"Damn it!" Link hollered.
Oh no, not again… they all thought.
"This is all your fault!"
"My fault!? You're the one that started all this by calling me Master!"
"Isn't that what you are idiot?"
"Beansprout!"
"Master!"
"Beansprout!"
"Master! And if I recall correctly, you're the one who called me Beansprout first!"
The man opened his mouth to reply, but no sound what so ever came out.
"Oh yeah, I did didn't I…" he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
The villager's eyes rolled to the sky.
"But still," a mischevious grin appeared on his lips, "That won't stop me from doing this!"
That said, he pushed a wide-eyed Link back into the waterbed, taking the villagers by surprise.
"Pfwa!" Link coughed, "Well on thing's for sure," he coughed again, "My lungs won't be thirsty for a while."
His Master smiled, lending him a hand. Link glared at him, making him roll his eyes.
"Just take it already, I won't push you back in, I promise."
Sighing, Link grabbed the man's hand and was soon lifted up to his feet. Ilia fnaly came closer to them and slepped the older man upside the head.
"Ow! What was that for?" he asked.
"Apologize, now," she said with a threatening tone.
"For what?" he asked, totally unphased by the menace.
"Just do it or I'll hit you again."
"Fine…" he turned towards the short blond, "I'm sorry, Link. For whatever I did that wasn't appropriate."
That earned him a whack.
"Hey!"
"Ne, I guess that was better than nothing," she said, raising her shoulders.
The young man rubbed his arm, giving a stunning smirk to Link. That made the blond smile and throw himself at his Master, holding him in a strong hug. That took the older man by surprise – everyone actually – and he finaly, but hesitantly put his arms around him too. That's odd, he usualy —
"But still," Link finly said, raising his eyes, "That won't stop me from doing this…"
"Huh? What was that Link?"
As soon as those words left his lips, he felt as though he was falling forward, towards Link, towards the water.
"Um, Link, we're going to fall," no response came and instead the arms around him tightened, "Link, let go! AHH!"
SPLASH!
They both fell deep into the water, the young man trying to get out of Link's grip, with no success. He gave the blond a warning look and Link mouthed some words, making him think that his mind was playing tricks on him. Finally, he decided to kick the bottom, swimming them to the top, Link still firmly grasping onto him. When they reached the surface, they both gasped for air and Link burst out laughing.
"Damn it, Link! What were you thinking?! Are you trying to kill me? You damn—"
"YOU DAMN IMMATURE BRATS!" a man's voice yelled, making them wince, "Look at what you did to the village!"
Not only did the two boys turn their heads, but all of the other villagers did so too and what they saw was definitely worse than usual : milk bottles were shattered, crops were trampled over, fish caught that very morning were crushed as well as many other things.
"I don't mind your weekly fights so much, boys, but this has gone too far. Link I can understand because he's only 15, but you," he said as he pointed the other blond, "You're a grown man. You should know better than to gallop at full speed into the village."
"Sorry, sir, it won't happen again," he promised, lowering his head.
Link felt bad for his Master, it was not entirely his fault, he was responsible for most of what happened, but still… He opened his mouth to defend his mentor but the mayor interrupted him.
"As punishement, you'll both spend most of your time helping out the village restore everything," their eyes went wide, "Milking the goats, regrowing the crops as well as catching the same amount of fish that Rusl and Hanch caught this morning. Why don't you start with that since we're supposed to celebrate the birth of the Zora Prince."
"But sir!" Link exclaimed, "What about my training?"
"Training shmaning, you can resume whatever it is you actually do when you're done your labor work."
"But—"
"No buts boys, now get started."
They both groaned at the Mayor's final word, making the Ordonians surrounding them laugh, but that earned them a hard glare from the both of them. Tehir reactions amused the two young men, some of them fled, others froze to the spot and Ilia, well she did like she usualy did: she kept on laughing, rolling her eyes.
"Gah! I hate this, it's going to take forever!" Link yelled in frustration as he put another fish in the basket, "We've benn here for nearly three hours!"
The older blond did not answer.
"Oi, Master, I'm talking to you," he said with irritation.
"Who's this Master that you speak of, Link?"
"Fine, Sir."
"Ugh… well at least it's a start… I guess. But hey, it's our own fault for being so reckless you know."
"I never said it wasn't, but it doesn't change the fact that it sucks. I've only caught five fish and we're supposed to catch thirty!" Link flopped onto his back and gazed at the clouds, "How many have you—"
"Thirty-six."
"What?! How did you manage to catch so many? And why didn't you tell me six fish ago?!"
"Because it's nice to be here, Link. When was the last time that we just came here to relax, together. We've been so caught up in your training that it keeps slipping our minds," he chuckled, "I think that the worst part though is that we used to come here all the time when you were little, only a sprout," he winked at Link with a smile.
Link's cheeks turned slightly red for some reason, but lucky for him, he was the only one that noticed. His Master was right though, it had been ages since they last went into that private oasis of their's. Well, it was not much of an oasis, but they both enjoyed going into that little area in the back of the village, where no on but them went. It was the perfect place to rest, except that they had to swim to access it.
Link opened his mouth to talk but, once again, he was interupted except that this time it was a shirt thrown in his face. A splash could be heard and when he looked about, the water was rippling, his friend finaly surfacing from the depths. A smile appeared on the man's face just before he turned around to climb the pillar behind him.
As he did, Link's eyes remembered every single little detail of his body: the mouvement of his strong arms pulling him upwards, his drenched hair on his forehead and neck, his perfectly V-shaped back, the abs he occasionaly saw when he swung around to grab onto another ledge. His eyes kept wandering lower and lower and— Link's face turned beet red. Please tell me I wasn't staring… Please tell me I wasn't staring… Please—
"Oi, Link. What were you staring at like that?"
Damn it…
"The pillar, what else?"
"Who knows," he said raising his shoulders, "And why is your face so red anyway?"
"It's warmer than usual."
A skeptical look appeared in the man's eyes, but he decided to let it go.
"Well, whatever, it doesn't really matter. But you know that not telling me the truth right now is only goig to make me bug you about it later, right?"
"Ugh… Yeah, I know far too well about that," Link mumbled, lowering his eyes.
A smile appeared on the man's face and he stood up, taking a perfect diving posture. Link looked back up at him only to see him gracefuly plunge into the water. When the man surfaced, he came back the ledge where Link was and sat beside him, shaking his blond hair. The young Hylian held his arm up to cover his face.
"Gee, thanks…"
"Speaking of bugging you," the man pretended not to hear Link, "What did you say in the water earlier?"
Link's face turned beet red once again.
"N-Nothing, it's not important…"
"It looked like you said—"
"It wasn't important, alright!"
That said, Link jumped into the water and swam as fast as he could to the village.
"Link! Hey, Link wait up!" the man yelled, "What am I supposed to bring all this fish back!"
No answer came, not that any would have because he was already half way to shore.
"Link come back here!"
Once again, the Hylian did not listen to his Master and ran towards their house. His ruby colored eyes saddened, and his shoulders slumped.
"What did I say…"
Link gazed at the starry night sky, hands behind his head, a frown on his face. This hobby of his usualy calmed him, but that night he could not relax, no matter what. He tried the hot springs, drinking tea – which he highly disliked – and even meditating, but he was just too tense. In fact, the reason he felt so was because he was angry with himself.
"Why did I have to open my big mouth?" he asked himself, infuriated, "You know that he can read lips easier than anyone. Now what are you going to do, idiot? What if you run away so that you won't have to face the humiliation? No, that won't work, he'll just track me down… Argh ! Why did I have to fall—"
The door slowly opened and the man that occupied Link's thoughts stepped out of the house. A faint blush appeared on his cheeks, but he noticed that not only his, but his Master's too. The man coughed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Um, I have to go to town to get some arrows."
Link nodded. The older Hylian mounted his horse and set off in a gallop, without looking back at Link. But he did yell something.
"I'll be back faster than you know it, Link!"
"Alright, as soon as he gets home, you're going to tell him to get it out of the way," Link thought, "I mean what's the worst that can happen?"
Similar train of thoughts as this one have been twisting and turning in Link's head for nearly half an hour, basicaly ever since his Master left. He had to convince himself a lot before he actually decided to just spit it out and get it over with. Besides, it was either that or the man harassing him to tell the truth.
Link's head shot up as the sound of horse hooves reached his ears.
"He's home!"
By the time those words left his lips, he was already halfway outside. A smile appeared on his face when he saw his Master's steed approching, but it immediately fell when he noticed that his Master was not on it's back. In a fast yet steady pace, Link walked up to the horse and horro struck every fiber of his body when it fell to the ground, blood seeping out of a horrile gash in the poor things stomach.
He would have taken Epona, but his body moved on it's own, speeding him towards the bridge and across it, through the woods and towards the spring. If Celes managed to run back home with that wound, then he must be close… Just as he finished that thought, not far from him, in the middle of the clearing, right in front of the Light Spirit's Spring, was his Master.
The man raised his eyes from his blood soaken hands to look at the young Hylian in front of him. He reached for him, his broken hand trembling.
"L-Link…" he mumbled, just before falling unconscious.
Link's eyes filled with tears, his whole body shook with fear, with the fear of losing the person dearest to him.
"SHEIK!"
Clx : Gah ! This chapter wasn't supposed to finish like this , but like I said earlier—
Amx : sighs They know , you're sorry , now build a bridge and get over it.
Clx : But—
Amx : No buts !
Clx : Hai…