The rest of the journey went relatively well, with very few words spoken between Link and I and the young man. Link was still fuming, but I quite enjoyed the fresh air.
"Where do you live Link?" I asked as I helped her up the steep steps leading up to Kakariko village.
Link let out a small laugh. "I used to live with the Kokiri in the forest, but they hate adults, so I really don't have a home at the moment. I doubt they would even recognize me now... Seven years and you don't look at all like yourself."
While I was trying to understand what she meant, a feminine voice called out, "The Hero has returned! Get a room for him!"
"Quite a reputation," I grunted, "For someone who says they're unrecognizable."
Link just shrugged and mumbled something about keeping moving.
By the time we had gone three steps, half of the town was rushing down to us, seemingly lead by a dark haired young woman.
"Link!" She yelled over the noise of the mob.
I heard Link groan, and she hastily took her pack and my travelling cloak, throwing both around her shoulders.
"Go Dark, quickly before she can catch us..."
But with Link in her condition, and so many stairs ahead of us, it was impossible to escape the crowd. Link was swept up, and carried through the throng of people.
When the dust had cleared and I looked around, I stood alone at the top of the steps. A mid-sized town lay before me, with the large windmill being the most prominent feature.
Determining the best course of action would be to ask someone where Link had gone, I explored the town.
"Excuse me," I said, walking up to a broad, mustachioed worker, "Would you tell me where Link went?"
"Ah!" He said loudly, "Link! You mean the Hero! That boy hasn't got one bit of evil in 'im! Why, one day he even helped me find my good saw! That's a good boy there!"
"Yes, but where is 'he'?" I asked again.
"I reckon he's gone to the Kakariko Inn!" He said with a booming laugh. "S'where all the visitors of Kakariko go to stay the night. If ya don't already know, it's in the windmill."
"Thank you!" I yelled, getting away before he could continue jabbering about 'The Hero'.
I jogged around the assortment of different houses for only a few minutes before reaching the enormous windmill.
I opened the double doors to see an assortment of people. Most looked like Hylians, but I thought I saw a couple of Gerudos sneaking around too.
Walking up to the front desk, I inquired about Link once again.
"The Hero? He's in room 12. Please don't bother him, he's in very rough shape and needs his rest."
"Yes I know," I said, a bit annoyed, "I'm his traveling partner."
"Ah! You're the lad who was helping him up the stairs!" The woman said.
I nodded, growing very impatient.
She handed me a small key and whispered, "Link's got Arias in there right now, so you may want to have your own room. And it's on the house!" She smiled.
I took the key, and looked at the number etched into it.
"Room eleven?" I asked.
She giggled, and gave me a quick wink. I had the strangest feeling about this woman.
I hurried out of the main room and took the stairs all the way up to the top of the windmill. Twelve was the very last room.
I hesitated before knocking on the door. What had that woman said about... 'Arias'? I wondered what she could've meant.
Oh well.
I grasped the door handle and wrenched the door open, clean out of the frame. There was a large gash where the lock had been, but the rest of the door was in relatively good shape.
"Get out!" Someone shouted.
The direction of the voice seemed to come from the next room.
"Link!" I yelled, furious with her, "Where the hell are you?"
There was no response, only a loud bang.
I began to panic; Link would answer me if she knew I was this angry, right?
I rushed into the room, looking around for the girl in green. I didn't see Link, but as I looked around her room I saw signs of a struggle.
"Link!" I yelled again, terrified.
A muffled scream came from behind me. I turned around quickly and ran into the connecting room.
Link was being held by someone, pinned down on her bed. She fought to escape, kicking and trying to wriggle out of their grip.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, and a single tear rolled down her face, and into her hair.
Her captor turned to me, her current look nothing like when I had seen her before. The young woman who had taken Link from me on the stairs, was Arias.