LINK

Link woke and found himself alone in the bed. He got up quickly, pulled on his slacks and hunted for his shirt, eventually giving up and putting on Tallyn's. He brought the collar up to his face and breathed in his scent. Looking out the window, he saw Tallyn sitting on the shore gazing out at the lake. He smiled and began to cook breakfast on the tiny stove inside the cabin.

When Link had finished cooking, he came outside and sat down next to him. Tallyn, wearing Link's gray shirt, looked over at him with big, worried eyes that reminded him of Sheik on the day when the shadow spirit was released from the well.

"What is it?" he asked.

"You know what," replied Tallyn.

Link paused. "You mean what's next?"

Tallyn gave a slight nod.

"There's breakfast."

"Don't be an idiot." Tallyn shoved him and looked away.

Link drew close and kissed his jawline. "I don't know," he replied at last. "I suppose we just try to make it work for as long as we can."

"Are you going to stay?"

Link hesitated. "Only if you want me to."

"Yes."

Link stood and offered his hand. "I thought we might go to the forest today. There's something I want to show you."

Tallyn took his hand and pulled himself up. "The forest?"

After washing and gathering some provisions for the day, Link and Tallyn set off on a rough path east of the lake that drew them deep into the woods.

"Shouldn't you be using a compass by now?" asked Tallyn after they had been walking for an hour.

"I know where I'm going," said Link. He turned and faced him. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," he replied, "Of course I do."

"Don't worry." Link smiled and grasped his hand, intertwining his fingers between Tallyn's.

They walked quietly for some time, chatting occasionally about the library. They squatted down to drink from a cold, flowing river, at which Link smiled.

"Tastes like home," he remarked. He told Tallyn about how the water that flows through the forest originates from the valley of the gods far away between the great mountains to the east. "Better than Zora water, no?"

The path was soon speckled with unusual lush plants whose names Link could not help but list, and the trees suddenly loomed way high overhead. He pointed out mushrooms and berry shrubs with both poisonous and edible fruits, burrows and dens of rabbits and foxes; he spied a shy deer and fawn passing by, and talked at length about the nesting habits of owls and songbirds in the region. Tallyn took his hand and stopped in his tracks. He cradled Link's face with both hands when he came near and kissed him for a long moment.

"Hush," he whispered, with his eyes still closed, "I want to hear what the forest has to say."

They stood and listened for a minute, until Tallyn opened his eyes and shrugged. "It says just what you've said."

Link smiled at the compliment and took his hand in his own again. "We're almost there."

Within the hour, the forest gradually began to thin, though only on the loose path they followed. The path ended in a cliff, below which rested the small Kokiri village in a clearing. A branch of the little river cut through the village, terminating in a little pool in front of a wooded area. There were hills, fences, homes carved from massive tree stumps and twisted root structures, bridges, ladders, wheelbarrows, and other signs of industry. Link smiled at Tallyn's astounded face.

"Is it real?" asked Tallyn.

"Would you like to see for yourself?"

Tallyn was agape the whole way down the cliff face, constantly glancing over his shoulder to take in a new view as he worked his way down the rock and root holds. They landed behind a carved house painted with stripes of purple madder and indigo. Link walked around it and looked at the front for a long time.

"This was my best friend's house," he said at last. He led the way to a house off on its own at the bottom of a hill. It was still in the state that he had last seen it, overgrown with grasses and mushrooms and green moss.

"This was my house."

Tallyn grabbed his arm and stepped close to him. "Could we go inside?"

Link rubbed his neck. "Sure."

They climbed the creaking ladder to the mossy balcony and stepped inside. The entire house was covered in dust and the ubiquitous yellow pollen of the summer. Tallyn looked around the small space with wonder in his eyes. He squatted down and rested his hand on the small bed, and then the chest of drawers, which he pulled open and peeked at the green clothing inside. He touched the walls, looked at the humbly framed drawings, and curiously examined a few papers that were held down under a rock.

"Link, do the Kokiri have their own language?"

Link was thoughtful. "There is an ancient language that I never learned, but the writing corresponds to the common tongue."

"Did you write this?"

"Yes."

"What does it say?"

Link took the piece of paper and looked at it for a long moment, and then chuckled. "It's a little embarrassing. It says:

"Dear Friends, I am going away into the world because I am not a real Kokiri. Please don't mess up my house
while I'm gone. I promise I will be back to visit. -Link."

Tallyn loomed over his shoulder. "So that's your name, that last bit?"

"Yeah."

"Amazing," he replied. "Do the Kokiri have books? Is there a library or an archive?"

"They're not proper books, the way we think of them, but they do have paper from pulped plant fibers, and inks from different tree nuts, and they're usually kept bundled like a scroll, or between great leaves or pieces of bark."

Tallyn's mouth was ajar. "Wow. Could we-?"

Link shook his head. "I've never been allowed to see the archive. I don't even know exactly where it is." Sensing his disappointment, he offered, "I could write you the alphabet, or something. I'll do it when we get back to the lake. But, come on, you haven't even seen what I wanted to show you yet."

Tallyn took a last look around the room and then followed Link back out. Link led him out of the village and into the thick, murky woods.

"Where are we going?"

Link grinned a secret smile. "Into the Lost Woods."

As they walked, Link frequently paused to gather his bearings, slashing overgrown brush to relocate a path that Tallyn could not see. They walked for about half an hour through the buggy, humid overgrown forest before reaching a clearing. Link could sense Tallyn's relief at the sudden openness. He took his hand and led him across the soft, pale green grass to where the trickling stream collected into a mossy pond. He splashed the cool water on his face and sat down.

"Are we here?" asked Tallyn, "it's beautiful."

"Not yet. I thought we'd have some lunch," Link replied.

They pulled the cold leftovers and some dried fruit from the pack and Tallyn arranged it on a flat rock while Link gathered berries nearby.

"You have to try these," urged Link when he sat back down with a huge handful.

He placed a cone-shaped berry to Tallyn's lips. Tallyn bit it gently and sucked the juice that dripped down Link's finger.

Link felt slightly aroused and looked away to finished his portion, anxious to move on.

"I've never seen such a wonderful place. Link, I never want to leave," declared Tallyn.

"Oh?" said Link, "Maybe that's the answer, then. We could live in the Lost Woods, and become Stalfos together."

Tallyn pushed him. "Really, Link."

"I mean it! When we become cursed, we can join the clan of skeletal warriors and attack the living," said Link.

Tallyn was quiet for a moment. "I'm afraid we're already cursed."

They pressed on, the path still jagged, but beginning to thin. At last, they reached a second clearing, masked in fog with a stone wall ahead. Link proceeded cautiously, and then quickened his stride, drawing Tallyn into a hedge maze beyond the wall.

Tallyn was shocked again. "A hedge maze!" he exclaimed, running his hands over the little round, waxy leaves of the hedge shrubs. "Do you know the way?"

"Not really," said Link with a sideways smile, "but we'll find it."

Tallyn keen navigational sense led them through almost the entire maze, across a little stream that ran through the bushes, and to the end. A narrow marble staircase flanked by the hedges yawned before them. They took the stairs up above the maze and found themselves in another verdant clearing. At the far end of the meadow were the ruins of a staircase, and above it and all around the meadow stood a massive stone castle covered in moss and vines. Tallyn was paralyzed with awe.

"This is…" he began.

"It is," said Link.

They crossed the meadow, passing over a hexagonal mosaic with the four-leafed symbol of the temple in the center, and stopped at the base of a lone tree that grew beside the crumbled entrance.

"Want to go inside?" asked Link.

Tallyn nodded, his eyes wide.

Link cautiously scaled the tree and inched his way over to the temple's porch. He watched Tallyn climb with ease, and held out his hand when he was close. He took his hand and gingerly stepped off the branch and joined Link inside the entrance.

Trees had burst through the floors and wrapped themselves around the pilasters, splaying their branches and leaves against the walls and forming an indoor canopy overhead. The door ahead was decorated in geometrical moldings characteristic of ancient Hylian architecture. The door before them was of a dark, dense hardwood inlaid with stained glass. Link opened the door and had to peel Tallyn away from the intricate moldings and into the corridor. They reached the temple's atrium and stood for a moment to take it all in. Link let his eyes fall out of focus like he had done with Saria and watched Time chase itself across the ceiling and walls. He debated mentioning it to Tallyn, who interrupted his thoughts just as he decided that he would not.

"Is this place… alive? Maybe it is my eyes, but… it looks like it's… changing."

"What do you think it is?" asked Link, leading him down the staircase.

Tallyn stopped and rested his hand on the railing. He looked at it closely, and then looked away. "I don't know. Magic? Something we ate?"

Link shrugged. Tallyn eyed him curiously.

"It's almost like… those time objects you were interested in."

"Yes," said Link, "I started noticing them after I came here."

He led them through a door out into a beautiful courtyard. There was a large well, vine-covered walls, a tall, crumbling structure, and a bridge that passed over a little man-made stream. Tallyn walked over to the bridge and peered down into the green, algal water. Link watched him approach the ruined structure and study it closely. He looked up when Link came near.

"Link, this is just incredible. I doubt anyone has seen this place in hundreds of years."

"You're probably right."

Tallyn hesitated. "It doesn't feel right to keep it to ourselves. This is a part of our ancient culture; it should be studied, made available." He looked into Link's eyes. "What do you think?"

Link sighed. "That's a nice idea, but… what will it become if people find out about it? The Lost Woods would get torn apart for roads, the Kokiri would disappear; the temple would be reduced to a novelty." He placed his hand on his arm. "This is just for you and me. If the temple is meant to be re-discovered, it will be."

Tallyn looked down, and something caught his eye. He bent down and pulled a small, corroded thing from the ground and held it out in his hand.

"An arrowhead," he said, gazing at it, turning it over in his hand.

Link scrutinized it for a moment. "Careful, Tal. See what happens when you look away from it."

Tallyn looked up at Link, away from the object, and gasped. He looked back down and watched it with amazement. "It disappeared, and then flickered back, like…sort of like a flame blown by the wind." He looked at Link for an explanation, but he only shrugged again and leaned against the bridge, looking into the water.

"Why did you want me to come here?" he asked carefully.

"Because I wanted to share it with you. I didn't want to be the only one who knew about it."

Tallyn looked at him with clouded eyes. "I'm so amazed, Link. Not just amazed… I'm scared, terrified. How can you know about all this, when no one else does?" he asked in a soft voice. "Why were you raised in a forbidden forest instead of being left to die? Why did the gods choose you to bear a piece of the Triforce? Why were you sent to the princess when you were a boy? There's… something big you're not telling me."

"Tal," said Link pathetically, "let's go before it gets dark." He grabbed hold of his hand.

Tallyn took a last look at the courtyard and drank in the views of all the rooms they passed through before arriving again at the tree by the porch. Tallyn turned to him, his eyes stormy. Link gently pushed him against a column and kissed him deeply, running his hands along his jaw and neck and through his hair. He worried that their time was nearing an end.

"Let that be your answer, for now," he whispered in his ear. "Soon you will know everything, and you will hate me."

"I could never hate you," Tallyn mewed. He wrapped his arms around him and kissed him again.

Link climbed down first, and smiled in surprise when he reached the bottom. Tallyn landed behind him and gasped at seeing what appeared to him to be a green-haired child.

"Tal, this is my best friend Saria. Saria, this is Tallyn."

"It's nice to meet you." She giggled and looked up at Link.

Tallyn looked surprised again. "Saria," he said softly, "are you really a Kokiri?"

"Yes…" she paused. "You've taken something from the temple."

"I did. Is that all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, looking up at Link, "he would have wanted you to have it anyway."

"Who would have wanted me to have it?" he asked.

Saria looked at Link again. "Should I tell him?"

Link looked away and then shook his head.

"Come on."

Link made an uncertain face and then looked back down at her.

She beamed. "The Hero, of course, from the Other Time."

Tallyn looked at Link for a long moment, the hint of a blush beginning to color his cheeks. Link stared back, worried, and his heart began to ache when he realized they were standing in approximately the same places as they had in another life. He wondered if Tallyn realized it as well.

"Are you going home, Saria?" asked Link, tearing his eyes away from Tallyn.

She nodded and took Tallyn's hand. Link smiled and walked behind them, catching murmurs of Tallyn's questions to Saria every so often. In that moment, he was able to appreciate the incredibly rare friendship he had with Saria: there was nothing dramatic, no hard goodbyes, no expectations, no judgment, just simple love. He silently wished that they three could be a family, perhaps with Ilsia too, and they could live in the forest together, away from the world.

Back in the village, Tallyn and Link said their goodbyes to Saria and continued up the steep, rocky cliff to the hidden path that led to the lake. They did not speak much on the hike back, but caught eyes with one another every so often.

By the time they reached the cabin, it was dark and they were both tired. Tallyn started a small fire in the pit and cooked some potatoes along with some dried fish while Link scribbled away at his manuscript inside. He quenched the fire and brought the pan inside, at which point Link cleared his things away and looked Tallyn in the eyes.

"I'm nearly finished."

"That's great," Tallyn replied.

"Is it?" asked Link apprehensively. "I'm not so sure anymore." He watched the conflict creep across Tallyn's features.

Tallyn reached out and touched his hand. "I feel that we will both have the answers to our questions soon."

Link looked away. "As do I, and I fear it."

"You mustn't. We're both strong enough to endure whatever tales you've spun or mysteries you've unearthed. I promise."

"Don't promise," said Link.

Tallyn paused at his words and smiled to himself.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking about the Forest Temple," he replied.

"Mm. What did you think of it?"

"What did I think of it?"

"Yes."

"Are you really asking me what I thought of a legendary ancient castle where our earliest Hylian ancestors once dwelled, that has been lost for centuries?"

"Well, I don't suppose they were your ancestors, but..."

Tallyn cast him a sour look. "Really, Link?"

Link watched his expression change from annoyance to one of sweet sentiment.

"It was the most marvelous thing I've ever seen," he said at last. "Thank you for sharing it with me."

Link smiled to himself and brought a handkerchief filled with berries to the table. The juice from the crushed berries stained most of the fabric dark purple, but many fruits were still intact. He watched Tallyn's eyes light up as he reached for a few berries, and did his best to memorize his innocent, unconscious smile. Tallyn regarded Link just as closely, watching him suck on a berry while his eyes threatened to close. He stood and offered his hand, which Link took wordlessly. He lay him down on the bed, climbed on top of him, and gazed down upon him with soft eyes.

"Do you have any idea how long I've dreamed of being this close to you?" asked Tallyn in a quiet voice.

"A few weeks?"

"I suppose, though it feels more like lifetimes. I've been dreaming of us, and in the dream I'm dreaming of us, and within that dream I see us again. The dreams reach far enough back in time that we look like the ancients, and beyond that, a meadow and a stream, or a pair of stars."

Tallyn's words drew the fog away from Link, and he looked up at him with bright eyes. "Are we happy?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "For moments. In one dream, we are warriors fighting in battle together. In another, we are proper lovers, a man and a woman, but we don't belong to each other. In the one where we wear ancient clothing, I am your teacher."

Link looked into his eyes, longing to catch a glimpse of the stories from their souls' past. "Will you write them down for me, the dreams you see?"

Tallyn lay down beside Link and considered his words. "You've asked me once before. Does the Royal Family care something for the dreams of smallfolk now too?"

"No," said Link, drawing close and wrapping his arms around him. "It would be just for me."

"We'll see." Tallyn kissed him, and Link, exhausted from anxiety and drunk on his affection for Tallyn, allowed himself to become lost in the kiss, caring for nothing but his lips, soft flesh, wet tongue, and warm body against him. He had no idea when or how they had lost their clothing.

"Wait, wait just a minute," said Link, laughing softly. He left the warm bed and snuffed the cabin's lamps, save for one, which he brought to the bedside table. "I want to see you," he said as he climbed back in.

After they had made love, Link shifted a few inches and let his eyes dreamily pass over Tallyn. He drank in every hidden part and committed it to memory, filling in all the gaps in his fantasies with the slope of a hip, the oblong freckle on his chest, the subtle curve of his penis. He looked over at his boyish face and saw him gazing back with a sleepy look.

"It's impolite to stare," murmured Tallyn, covering himself modestly with a sheet.

Link smiled and pulled the sheet back. "It's a crime to hide such beauty."

Tallyn pulled the sheet over both of them and drew him close. "A crime…" he mused.

Link looked at him quizzically.

Tallyn licked his lips. "Do you think what we're doing is wrong?"

"No. Do you?"

"I wonder."

Link touched his face tenderly. "A few years ago, before I came to the monastery, I was hired to fight in the civil war in Ys. In the camps, it was not unusual for a young recruit to be closely mentored by a soldier a few years his senior. They would eat, train, and fight together, and at night they even shared a bed together."

Tallyn blinked his eyes, surprised. "Did you ever have a mentor?"

"No. I trained with them, but I was young and different, so they kept me separate in most things."

Tallyn traced the pink, scabbed cut on Link's chest, and then dragged his finger down to a thick scar on his abdomen. "Is this from Ys?"

"Yes. This one too." He guided his hand down his thigh to a slightly raised diagonal scar.

Tallyn touched it gently, sending chills down Link's back and stirring him to arousal again. "Was it worth it?" he asked.

"Worth what they paid me?" he considered for a moment. "Probably not. But working in the army of Ys gave me a rare opportunity to travel across the sea, twice."

"Twice?" repeated Tallyn in a tired voice.

"Do you have any scars?" asked Link, touching the crook of his hip.

"Not really. Just here." He presented his left index finger to Link. "I nearly nipped it off on a guillotine shearer when I was younger."

Link kissed his fingertip, and then folded him up in his arms. He remembered Sheik's wrappings, and wondered what kinds of scars he bore in the Other Time. He felt Tallyn drift off to sleep, and soon let his own eyes close as well.