Chapter 9: The Town that Never Existed
Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Zelda franchise or any game from the franchise.
They had been riding for hours since they departed from the serene lake and they rejoiced when they saw what seemed like a small town. It was strange because Link did not know of any town being anywhere near that region on the map, but he shrugged it off by reasoning that it was probably built by Hylian refugees during Ganon's rule. Though, if it were such a town, than it was very well made for a town that was just put up, usually making a town of that size and with finely shaped brick buildings took a very long time. So long in fact that most refugee camps or new towns had wooden buildings.
"This seems like a nice place to stay for the night," said Link to Zelda as he started to bring Epona to the city.
"Yes though I don't remember any city being out this far," said Zelda as she too brought her horse to the town, but she found the town changing a bit.
It first started to seem like a faint glow, as if candlelight in a window was projecting over the sunlit hills and the light was making it seem even more intense. As they got closer and the sun dropped from the mountains, the glow began to take the ominous form of flames and slowly the flames began to spread through the town, through of the buildings and the two found themselves galloping onwards to try and save any villager they could. Link was the first to reach there and he immediately started to push on the door to the house closest to him, a lovely brown brick house that would have been nice to look at without the given circumstances.
"Help me, please someone save me," came the frightened cry of a child from inside the house as Link pushed at the door, but for some reason the door refused to swing open.
"Zelda I need your help with this," shouted Link as he started to push against the door with his shoulder. "There is someone in here!"
"No….there's no one there, not anymore," said Zelda slowly and softly as her gaze turned downwards in mourning.
"What, how could you say such a thing," asked Link as he turned to look at her and he saw that she was pointing at the house that Link had tried to enter. When he turned to look at the house, he could see why she had a mournful gaze. The house had long since been burnt beyond all repair and most of the rubble had piled up behind the door, a door that now had the words 'Do not forget' burnt into it. "I don't understand."
"There are phantoms that still haunt this ruin," said an old raspy voice from behind them. Link and Zelda both turned to see an old man dressed in dark blue robes with a crooked cane in his head that was carved from petrified wood. He was very wrinkly and had a gloomy expression on him. "This village was burned down in the beginning when Ganondorf was taking over Hyrule one by one, crushing all those who stood in his way. The people of this town were peaceful people who only wished to live in peace without having to swear allegiance to the Dark Lord, but the instant they refused, Ganondorf gave the orders for this town to be destroyed. You see the phantoms of this town wish for you to never forget them so all will never forget what the powers of evil will do if they come back to power. It is a message to you, young hero, that you must stop Ganon at all costs."
"I see…I am glad then that I came here," said Link as he turned to look at the burnt words in the door, no wider than the tip of a child's finger. "I'll never forget those who lost their life to Ganondorf and I'll never let him do anything like this so long as I live."
"If you hurry, Hero of Time, you may find a small village that will put you up for the night," said the old man before he bowed at them and before he vanished he said, "You are a fortunate one, young hero. For Time honors its heroes well, but as it grows older, Time will also forget its heroes. You are the most fortunate one indeed, for Time will never forget you."
"Wise sir," cried Link as he tried to reach out for the old man, but all he caught in his hand was a money bag filled with enough coins to pay for two rooms at any inn. "Thank you, good sir. I'll never forget you as well."
"Link, we should go now," said Zelda as she put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but Link found it hard to push the sorrow back down into his stomach.
"Yes…you're right," said Link as he slowly climbed onto his horse. "I will not let anyone suffer this fate again."
The hooves made a soft sound as they galloped towards the next town with great ease and comfort, almost as if someone was carrying them along the way. Link said nothing along the way and he did seem to be focusing on anything around him, almost as if someone had taken holds of the reigns. Eventually they came to another town that had a lot of life to it, more so than any other village that Link had been to. There were lanterns of different covered paper that created a nice glow of many lights and some were enchanted by some magic of a wandering magician so that the lights would change color or flicker the rhythm of the music.
"It's so joyous, I never knew there could places like this in Hyrule during these times," exclaimed Link as he trotted into town on Epona with Zelda following him.
"It's a place that is made with a protective barrier so that Ganon could never send any of his troops in," explained Zelda as she pointed to a large inn. "If I'm remembering correctly from my time here, this inn has some of the best service and the coziest room in town, though it is very expensive. I brought some rupees with me so we should be able to get a room. That is unless of course you'd rather have separate rooms."
"I'm…fine with…sh-sh-sharing a room," stammered Link as he tried to process what he had just heard. If he had heard correctly, Zelda had offered to share a room with Link, meaning they would probably be sharing a bed.
"Okay then, let's go in then," said Zelda as she brought her horse to the stable next to the inn and then climbed down from his horse. She turned back to see how hesitant Link was. "What's wrong, Link? Aren't you coming?"
"Yeah just give me a second," said Link as he started to slowly walk towards the inn with his tail between his legs, it was probably one of the most awkward things Link ever had to do in his young life before now.
"May I help you two young love birds," asked the inn keeper as he peered at the two with a grin on his face, the same type of grin old people give young couples. "If you're asking me where the best place to eat is then you'll find the restaurant next door to have a very good feast."
"Oh it's nothing like that," replied Zelda who was fighting her own blush at that moment and she turned to look back Link who, like a true symbol of innocence, had his blushing face covered by his green hat. "We were just wondering if we could have a room for the night."
"Oh, well it has been sometime since we've had honeymooners here and you are very most welcome," said the innkeeper as he started to flip through the books. "The bridal suite is open in case you two would like there for your honeymoon or perhaps the cozy little cot style!"
"We're travelers, my name is Sheik and this is my friend Link," replied Zelda, exasperated at how this person could assume that he was calling them a couple, not that she minded anyways, but the thought made her already dark skin turn as red as her fake eyes. She found herself wishing she had made her skin darker when putting on her disguise, though she also wish she had made herself look like a man, but then again, it her chest to bind her breasts so tight. "We would like to have just what we can afford, though I only came with a few pieces of gold and rupees."
"My dear lady, a piece of gold is worth 500 rupees alone, a few would make you rich enough to buy this hotel," exclaimed the innkeeper in astonishment, something that made Zelda blush more through her disguise at realizing her mistake. "I can understand if you are part of the royal family though. These lands have fallen on dark time and I was once a knight of Hyrule…well one of the lowly ranks that made knight, but I am still a loyal knight to the family and to the Princess Zelda. Wait a second? Could you be the famous Hero of Time? You said his name was Link, did you not Sheik?"
"I believe that now is as good a time as ever to reveal the truth," said Zelda as she momentarily dropped her disguise to reveal her blond hair and fair smooth skin. "My name is not Sheik and as you might have guessed, I am the Princess Zelda. My friend is indeed the Hero of Time, but now that you have heard that, you must know that now your loyalty is needed more than ever for now we are going to retake the castle. What I'm about to tell you is very important and would mean the end for us if any of Ganon's forces discovered it."
"I swear to you Princess that I would rather die than tell any of the forces of evil about your mission," said the innkeeper as he bowed before them.
"I thank that we have found one such as you," said Zelda as she gestured for him to rise. "Our current path, the path that my friend and I walk on, leads us towards the castle to retake it from Vaati. We need to get there as soon as possible to help our friends who are already fighting on our behalf, but we need to get there before that time to stop them. You see, they are walking into a trap and they don't fully realize it yet."
"Please, we need your help to keep our presence and our course of action a secret," said Link as he looked the innkeeper in the eye.
"I am Rinaldo Cronqvuihst at your service," said the innkeeper as he took one of the keys to the master bedrooms. "The main bed can be separate into two beds if you prefer and I'll have some dinner brought up to you soon. In the mean time I can make sure that your horses are well kept and if anyone asks, I'll say your two traveling love birds."
"Thank you, Sir Cronqvuihst, I will remember you when this disaster has been averted," said Zelda as she bowed to him and then proceeded to follow the little bellboy who had been called in to show them to their room. She only hoped that things would be alright for the innkeeper.
Link stirred awake as a hand shook him from his slumber in the other bed, he expected it to be Zelda waking him that now was the time to go, but instead he saw the innkeeper with a worried look on his face. Link immediately jerked up from his bed, almost butting heads with Rinaldo, who was fortunate enough to move back in time before he was hit. In the other bed lay Zelda, who was being woken up by the bellboy. There was a sense of urgency in the innkeeper's movements and Link could tell that it was not as late in the day as he thought it was, it wasn't even dawn.
"Quickly, you must take Princess Zelda to safety before the dark soldiers check here," warned Rinaldo as he handed Link his tunic and tights. "It seems a camp of them settled here and someone reported your horses to them for a reward. I had a messenger down here not but an hour ago and I tried to delay him as much a she could, but when he saw the emblem on the horse there was no mistaking that he knew. I was forced to kill him and though I did hide the body there is no doubt that more will come here."
"But what will happen to you Rinaldo," asked Link as he strapped on his three strapped belt and then put his shield over his sword sheath on his back.
"Nothing of that matters now, they are at the door and you must take the Princess to safety or all is lost," said Rinaldo as he lead Link and Zelda downstairs to the back of the inn. From the front there could be heard a loud banging sound on the door, like metal gauntlets on wood. "They are coming, you must go now!"
"Rinaldo…how I wish it could be I who is standing in your position," said Link as he helped Zelda onto her horse. "You can probably run in the confusion that we cause from our escape or tell them that we held you hostage."
"Hero of Time, it was an honor to finally meet the one that the three Goddesses put their trust in and I know that they were right to choose you. Now go!"
Though he didn't want to leave Rinaldo to the mercy of one of those corrupted knights, Link could not let Zelda go on her own while he stayed behind to deal with them. If she were captured or killed it would be all over for the Hyrulian forces and all the sacrifices and tragedy that the people suffered would only continue. While he climbed on his horse, Link took a look back between the smooth wooden doorframe of the back stable to see down the green color hallway that he'd gone through and he could see Rinaldo fighting off the intruding dark knights, each one armored with a blackberry colored armor that was very fierce.
"I wish you luck, Rinaldo," said Link before he started to gallop after Zelda.
