I sat with Link for a while, talking with him about the situation of Hyrule. Apparently, everything was covered in Twilight at the moment, including Castle Town. Meaning, I can't exactly go home yet, but I'll still go as far as I can. Uli came back and suggested that Link give me a ride home and, not wanting to upset the pregnant lady, he agreed.
"Do you kids need anything for the road? Something to eat or drink maybe? Oh, here. Just take this" Uli says and hands Link a bag containing two glass bottles of cold water and a bit of food. I grabbed my bag, bow, and arrows from the floor and slip them over my head and into place across my chest.
"Thanks for everything" I smile at the woman and she nods at us both. Link and I go outside where a tan horse with white hair is waiting. I've never really seen a horse this close before, much less rode one. The only other horses I've encountered previously were the ones that pull supply wagons to and from Castle Town.
Link approached the horse and grabbed the reins, walking it over to where I was standing. It spooked slightly when it saw me, but he patted the horse and it calmed down.
"Rheikah, this is Epona, my horse." He says. Her overall size in itself was intimidating enough to make me back away subconsciously. Not to mention the way she looked as if she had only just recently been tamed, unlike the horses in Castle Town that had a somewhat bored look in their eyes. Her eyes gleamed with power and passion. Link must have noticed my discomfort towards the horse cause he took a step closer with her.
"Don't be scared. Just... here." He took my hand in his and placed it on Epona's shoulder. She flinched away at first but then adjusted to my touch. Link kept his hand over mine, assisting my hand over the horse's body. He steps behind me to get a better angle, or just to keep me from leaving. Either way, his chest is on my back and I can feel his breathing by my ear.
"Don't be afraid of her. She's really gentle, I promise." he says. I continue to pet her on my own, smiling at how soft she was. This is so easy. What was I even scared of? Right then, Epona made a strange noise that sounded kind of like a sneeze and I flinched away from her, right into Link and he laughed. His chest vibrated against my back and I blushed at the strange feeling.
I whipped my head around to glare at him, my dark red hair slapping my face in the process.
"Shut up! Lets just go already!" I say. Link chuckles at me and climbs up on Epona's back. He helps me up to sit behind him and we set off in the direction of... wherever we're going. I didn't even ask. I just assume it's in the general direction of the Castle.
"Hey Link, where are we going?"
"Kakariko Village. It's not that far from here and as soon as I clear the Twilight from Castle Town you can go home." he says. Epona trots down the path ahead of us and over a bridge, eventually reaching Hyrule field. I didn't realize how much I already missed this place. It still looked the same despite the dark areas still looming over it in certain spots.
I looked up at the clouds floating in the bright blue skies and smiled as I watched them turn from big white puffs to different figures. A horse. A tree. A bunny with a bow an arrow. Epona carried us down a road a ways and over another bridge until Link sped up to a slightly faster pace.
"Rheikah, I need you to hold on to me for this, okay?" He says. I put my arms around him and held on, not entirely understanding why.
"Why? What's going on?" Link ignored the questions and sped Epona up to a gallop. I held on to him a little tighter as I looked ahead to see the problem —a big gate standing in the way of the path. Before I could catch my breath to protest, Epona lept over the gate without a problem.
I squealed slightly, hiding my face in Link's shoulder until we returned to the ground and stopped moving. When I looked up, we had entered another small village, this one with a hotter air around it. And a hell of a lot more dirt. Instead of the lavish forest like traits Ordon had, this one was more rustic. Kakariko, huh? There was a spring to our left and a row of houses and shops on either side of the road.
That's when we noticed them.
Two kids standing in the middle of the road. They seemed to be talking amongst themselves when a harsh pounding rumbled the ground. Three large boars mounted by bulbins came barreling down the road at the kids. One ran while the other stood there, staring in fear. The monsters were fastly approaching her with no concern of whether or not she moved. She would be trampled or taken hostage, neither any better than the other, but another kid ran to her and pushed her out the way, taking her place in the mayhem to come.
The monsters pulled the boars to a hault, the leader of the three holding the kid unconcious by his shirt. He pulled up his helmet to stare at a man standing by who pulled down his own in a pathetic attempt to hide.
"Hold on" Link says and quickly brings Epona to a gallop, turning the corner to expose our position to the monsters. The leader held up the blonde boy in a taunting manor then he and his group took off at the other end of the path with him, into Hyrule field. Link stopped Epona at the group of kids and the man standing with them.
"Stay here with them. I'll be back as soon as I can with Colin." he says. I'm guessing that's the kid's name, but there's no way I'm letting him do this alone.
"No. I'm helping you get him back" I say. He twisted his face in some strange mix of emotions.
"No you're not. You're staying here where it's safe."
"No, I'm going with you."
"Rheikah, you got scared of my horse. How are you supposed to fight a monster? Let alone three?"
"We're in this together now, until the end. I'm helping you through this, Link" He stared at me a second then sighed.
"Whatever. We don't have time to argue right now" He says and moves Epona to gallop out the way the monsters left. We found the leader towards the middle of the field with the kid—Colin— tied up on a long staff still out cold. The King Bulbin grabbed a horn from his belt and blew into it, summoning five more boars, each carrying two bulbins a piece.
The King took off, Link and I following quickly after him and the other bulbins after us, getting in between Link and saving Colin. He unsheathed a sword from his back and swung at the monsters whenever they were within reach.
"Duck!" Link shouts, just as a fiery arrow cuts through the air above our heads just half a second later. Arrow... I took a closer look at the passengers of the boars and noticed they were archers, firing at us at will and keeping Link from getting close enough to hit the King Bulbin with his sword.
"How good are you at keeping Epona at a steady pace?" I ask. At first, I didn't think he heard me, but then he answered.
"Good enough. Why?" Without answering, I took off my overcoat and layed it over my lap, leaving me in just a hole filled pair of black pants and an old top I've had for years. There wasn't much to it; just a small piece of fabric covering my chest region being secured by a strap around my neck, but it worked just fine. I slipped my bow over my head and notched an arrow, aiming at one of the archers.
"'Cause I'm going to help you get that kid back." I say then release the arrow to fly into the bulbin's chest, killing him in a puff of smoke.