Well that wasn't too long of a wait, was it?

The Road of Memories

"Lousy, no good, son of a –When I get my hands on that Gibdos wannabe, I'll cut him into as many itsy-bitsy pieces as I can and feed him to an Octorock!" Gale let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, I'll put his eye on a stick, and for his legs I'll…"

Aden tuned her out. He supposed it was the monotony of being on the road, but the redhead had developed a new hobby: fantasizing about murdering Blind in ever increasing, and varied ways. She'd been at it for the past two nights, and he was beginning to wonder if she'd ever stop –or run out of ideas, for that matter.

"I'll turn his legs into a pulley and hang him with his own bandages!"

She'll die of old age before she runs out of ideas. In truth Aden knew it was his fault for her current pastime; he had suggested they take the southern route to the town. Hyrule was centered around its castle, and on the eastern end were the hills where they'd just come from, below that was Lake Hylia, and the southern marsh, surrounded by cliffs in the southwest was the Desert of Mystery. He sighed; Karkariko was just north of those cliffs, nestled snugly below the Lost Woods –at the very opposite end of the kingdom. The only way to reach it was to go around the castle and its patrol routes, that meant they could go back the way they'd come and turn south at the Lost Woods, or they could follow the almost straight road that ran north of the lake, marsh, and desert. The flat path meant they could cover much more ground, but it also meant there was almost nothing to look at -hence Gale's new game.

"I'll use his head for a rupee jar…"

Actually that one's a good idea. Hm? Something had appeared on the horizon, it was still too dark, even for him, to make out what it could be, but as they drew closer and the blackness of night began to turn to dawn, the structure was revealed.

"Wonder who lives here?" Gale yawned.

"Don't know." Aden dismounted; the small house was situated on a hill,the worn roof may have been red once but years of exposure to the elements had taken their toll, the corroded building looked like no one had used it for years, and yet it still stood, a silent sentinel over the road.

"Hellooooo!" No one answered and Gale yawned again, "I don't think anyone lives here anymore."

Aden ignored her and gently pushed open the rotted door, she was right, not a soul in sight. Still, this place felt off to him –it felt like the old place still had someone in it. This place was old, untouched, and maybe it was better left that way. Maybe it was better that the bones of this house weren't disturbed…

"Hey, are you gonna come in, or just stand there looking stupid?" Aden blinked, snapping out of his thoughts, Gale was already inside and dusting off the bed in the far corner. "There's only one bed, and I ain't sharing with you, so you get the floor. This place isn't much but it'll keep us out of the heat of the day."

"Yeah…" Aden sighed and went to the far wall, he wasn't sure why but he'd have given her the bed anyway, if she'd just asked. Still, as he watched her stretch out on the bed a smile came to his face. "Hey, what was it two people say to each other when they're about to sleep together?"

Gale's head turned sharply in his direction. "We are not about to sleep together!"

I'll bet even her daggers are glaring daggers at me. "Well by all means, stay awake if you want, but I'm going to sleep. Sweet dreams, Fireball."

"I hope you have nightmares."

-8-

The young blond man sat up in bed, his hair soaked in sweat, at the table his uncle stood, the family sword in his hand and shield on arm.

"Link, I'll be back by morning. Don't leave the house." He commanded, striding out the door.

"Don't leave the house, don't leave the house…" Link muttered, pacing around the one-room house, outside the lightning flashed, "Don't leave the house." He repeated, his conviction weakening with every step. "Don't leave the house, don't leave… That girl, the princess what was her name? Zel-da…" Thunder boomed, and Link flinched as though he'd been stung, "They're both in trouble…" Without a second thought, he plunged into the storm.

-8-

Link… Aden opened his eyes. It was the middle of the day, with Gale sleeping peacefully, muttering something about Altos, whatever that was. Outside a bird chirped, the peace was wasted on him while that name bounced around in his head. Making as little noise as possible he partially drew out his sword and held it before his eyes, fixing the image of his younger father in his mind.

"We look nothing alike." He whispered after a moment's contemplation. Gale still groaned, and rolled over in her sleep.

I wonder… I'm a thief, but I'm trying to break out -would you be proud of me, dad?

To that he had no answer.

-8-

"Wow… That's amazing…" Gale pointed ahead. "Aden look, trees!"

Aden slowly drew a hand over his face. "I know; there's been nothing but grass and rocks for miles, incredible that we should actually see something else, and according to the map, Karkariko is just on the other side."

Gale stopped her horse in its tracks. "Yeah, uh Aden about that…" Aden frowned, either he was hallucinating or she looked scared. "I thought it over and I've decided I'm not going in with you."

"Why not?" He'd never seen Gale so nervous, she was biting her bottom lip, and breathing harder than usual.

"I just… don't want to, is all."

"Don't want to, or can't?"

Gale treated him to a sour look. "Don't want to, and why is none of your business, got it?" She snapped, and without waiting for an answer, she spurred her horse onward.

"Gale, wait." The thief stopped her mount and tilted her head.

"What?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, there are just people there that really do not like me."

Aden opened his mouth, and closed it again. "You know you can trust me, right?"

"Yeah," Gale turned to face him, and he was surprised to find that she looked almost sad, "I do. But I'm still not going in with you, please don't ask why. It's not your mistake."

Mistake? Aden almost asked what she meant –almost.