On the last chapter of The Legend of Zelda: Tale of Souls

After everyone left the table, Talim went to a room in the back, and Link , as instructed by Taki, slept on the couch in the almost empty living room. Link peered through the window and through the thick darkness of night at the full moon and, on it, he swore he saw he faces of the people he felt he let die just a day ago. To think that in just a twenty-four hour period, he went from leisurely drinking Lon Lon Milk on his way to Castle Town, to witnessing a massacre, being forced to another kingdom, and meeting all kinds of strange people. Never again. he vowed, I'll never let anyone die again. Not when I can protect them.

Chapter 6: Common Struggle

Link must have lied on the couch for hours. Despite everything that had happened that day, Link couldn't bring himself to even close his eyes. Everytime he did, he could only see the blood-stained grass of the fields of Hyrule. For the past forty minutes, he tried desperately to fight back the pressing tears stemming from the guilt of letting so many people die that felt as if it tore away at his very soul. When Link finally grew weary of his emotional torture, he sat up and looked around and saw that the wooden house was still just barely lit up by the few candles scattered around the house. He then thought that further exploration of the house could take his mind off of his torturous thoughts. But then he thought of what Taki would do if she caught him walking through her house, before he came to a sudden realisation: in Hyrule, he would walk into any person's home and walk around, so what would be the difference if he did the same here?

Making up his mind, Link decided to explore the rest of the house. However, he could barely see anything amidst the darkness of the house. In frustration, Link sighed and threw his head back when he saw it: light. It wasn't a bright light but rather light reflected from the moon. There was also a ladder that led up to the opening in the ceiling. Before he knew it, Link found himself climbing the ladder, curious about what was up there. When he neared the top, he peered through the opening and found that he was on the roof. Without a word, Link moved toward the front part of the ceiling and sat with his feet dangling over the edge. He looked up at the night sky and saw that this particular spot had a great view of the stars that glistened in the night sky. Seeing this, he thought back to the last time he and Saria met at the Sacred Forest Meadow. Back then, they looked into the sky and she told him that she had a feeling something like this would happen, and when it did, and they happened to get separated, they both could take solace in the fact that, despite their distance apart,they could still look up at the same sky. Remembering this, Link let out a sigh of emotional pain.

"Stargazing makes you feel better too, doesn't it?"

Link let out a startled yelp as he jumped up from his seated position and looked quickly to his right to see Talim seated a foot and a half away. "Hey, uh... how long have you been there?"

"About thirty minutes."

Link paused for a moment before retaking his spot next to Talim. After a whole minute of silence, Talim finally spoke to him. "I'm sorry about what happened to you." Link looked at her, realizing she was referring to everything that happened over the past day.

"...It's okay." he replied. After yet another moment of silence, Talim spoke again.

"You must feel out of place here, don't you?"

"...What do you mean?" Link asked.

"I saw how uncomfortable you looked when we were walking to the castle and while we were eating." Link silently thought about all the hatefull glares he received all day, and didn't reply. "It must hurt... feeling like you don't belong here."

"How do you know?" Link asked, genuinely curious.

"Because I feel the same way..."

"You... you do?"

"Yes... for as long as I can remember, other people my age made fun of me because I was different."

"...What's so different about you?"

Talim looked at Link as she hesitantly told him. "I... I have the ability to read and control the wind." Talim looked down at her feet as she nervously awaited Link's response.

"Really!?" Link blurted out with newfound enthusiasm.

"Yes but I-"

"Show me!"

"O-okay, but I haven't mastered yet." Talim concentrated and, after a moment, Link felt a tiny breeze run through his hair.

"That's so cool!" Link exclaimed.

Talim stared at him, shocked. "You... don't think I'm weird or anything?"

"Are you kidding? I wish I could do that!" Talim stared at Link in disbelief as he went on about how cool Talim's unique ability is. "Does your mom know?" Link asked suddenly.

"My... mom?"

"Yeah, that lady with the long hair."

Talim sighed as she figured out that Link was talking about Taki, who she was in no way related to aside from a teacher-student relationship. "She isn't my mom, she's my teacher." she explained.

"Oh... well, where's your mom?"

"I... don't have a mom."

"...Or a dad?"

"No..." And with that, for the first time, Link felt sorry for someone other than himself. Back home, the Kokiri was the closest thing to a family Link had. And there was no question that the Great Deku Tree was like a father to him despite the fact that Link rarely spoke to the tree spirit. "You must've lost your parents too did you? That must-"

"Actually," Link cut in, "I've never met my parents either." Talim looked at Link, who now stared at his feet, in amazement. Here she was, thinking she was the only one in her situation, but now, she was here talking to a someone who, not only understands her feelings, but doesn't think negatively of her for claiming to have the ability to read and control the wind. For the first time she could remember, she let out a smile. Not because of Link's situation, but because there was someone who understood her.

"Where you're from," Talim started, "what it is it like there?" Before responding, Link looked around at the barely lit town.

"To be honest, I really haven't seen much there. But this place has a lot more than Hyrule did."

"Hyrule..." Talim repeated to herself as she looked toward the sky again. "Can I... ask you something?"

"Sure."

Talim's big blue eyes remained locked onto the stars above as she went on, "Have you ever wondered what's out there? Outside the comfort of your the place you call home?" Link looked over at her without answering her question. "Someday," she continued, "I would like to leave this city. And see the world with my own eyes, instead of wondering what it's like when Teacher tells me stories of other places." After another moment, Talim looked at Link, finally noticing his ears, but decided not to say anything about them and instead asked another question, "What was life like in... Hyrule?" she asked suddenly. Link's head quickly turned toward her to look at Talim as he finally saw her smile as she looked at him expectedly.

Link's life at the Kokiri Forest was personal to him, and he usually would never tell anyone else about it in fear of harsh criticism or another form of negative judgement. But when he met eyes with Talim, he didn't know why, but he felt like he could trust her with anything, including the knowledge of Link's now former life. And as he looked into the night sky, he recalled his last days in the Kokiri Forest.

To be continued!

Author's Note: The next few chapters will be centered around Link's last days in the Kokiri Forest and the chapters after that will tell about Talim's backstory.

On the next chapter of The Legend of Zelda: Tale of Souls

In the vast, deep forest of Hyrule... Long have I served as the guardian spirit... I am known as the Deku Tree. The children of the forest, the Kokiri, live here with me. Each Kokiri has his or her own guardian fairy. However, there is one boy who does not have a fairy...

Chapter 7: The Kokiri With No Fairy