Chapter 10: The Realization

Neither of us says a word to the other for quite a while. We're both still clearly fuming in anger: his fists are clenched at his sides as he walks and his brow is furrowed in frustration. In his shadows, my arms are crossed and I wear a scowl on my face. For some reason, despite his obvious anger at me, he hikes up towards Death Mountain at a heated pace. I'd figure that the last thing he'd want to do at the moment is what I told him to.

The path ahead is blocked off by a tall wall covered with metal wires. He thinks little of the obstacle and just climbs up it using the wires. At the top, he's greeted by a lone Goron who, the moment he spots the hero, shouts something about how no humans are allowed near the mountain and starts barreling towards the hero. He tries to stop the Goron with his bare hands, which of course doesn't work, and instead, he is knocked off of the high ledge and down to the ground below. The Goron yells at him once more and then goes back up to his post.

"You idiot," I mutter from his shadow. "How do you intend to get up there if you can't even get past the first guard?"

He mumbles something angrily as he picks himself up off the ground and dusts himself off. "I'll find a way!" He snaps harshly, glaring back at me. "Just stop fussing at me!"

"I mean it…" I hiss at him. "You're going to get it next time we enter the Twilight for how you keep speaking to me…"

He starts to head back in the direction of the village as he calls out, "You know, we're never going to get anything accomplished if we keep bickering like this."

I don't answer for a moment because I know that he's right. My pride won't allow me to admit that though so I simply answer, "Fine. If you're so tired of me yelling at you, then why don't you just comply with what I say," I say calmly. "That doesn't sound too hard right? You had no problem with it earlier."

I can tell by his expression that he wants to throw a burning remark back at me, but he doesn't. His scowl vanishes and his tone becomes calm like mine. "OK," he says, shrugging his shoulders. "Whatever you say, Mistress Midna…"

At first I think that he's joking, but he's not cracking a smart smile, so I think he may actually be serious. I smile lightly, glad that he's finally seeing things my way. "That's more like it. Maybe you're not as dense as I thought."

"Thanks," he says with a faint smile as we arrive back in the village. Renado is not far away from the entry back into the village, looking perplexed.

"Ah, Link!" he calls out to the hero as he passes by. "It is fortunate that you are in one piece. I saw you head up the trail towards the mountain, so I was worried."

The two discuss the matter at hand for a few minutes and then Renado gives the hero a helpful piece of advice. The Gorons only recognize strength and only one human has ever gained their trust. Apparently, that person is the mayor of the village that the hero is from. Great… I think rolling my eyes at this news. Looks like we have to go all the way back there anyway… Luckily for us though, we won't be strapped with those kids. Renado agrees to keep the children in Kakariko Village until the monsters clear out from the path between the two villages.

"Well that worked out I suppose," I whisper to the hero as we head back towards the village entrance. "If only there was a faster way to get back there…"

He thinks for a moment and then asks, "Can't you just warp us there?"

"No," I say, though i don't chastise him for it. How would he have known? "I can only do that when we're in the Twilight."

"Oh…" He says, frowning. "I guess we're walking then…"

At that instant, a sharp noise breaks out from the other side of the village. We both snap our heads in that direction to see a horse come madly dashing into the village, with two monsters riding on it back and clearly they are unable to control the animal. The horse quickly shakes the beasts of its back and starts galloping in our direction in a frenzy.

"Epona?!" the hero calls out, seeming to recognize the animal. The horse doesn't respond as it continues rushing towards him. Luckily, his reflexes kick in just in time and he leaps out of the way before the horse can run him over.

He dashes towards the horse and skillfully leaps onto its back, the animal still prancing around wildly. He somehow keeps his balance on the horse and pulls hard on its reigns, finally bringing it to a halt.

"Shh, Epona..." he whispers calmingly in the horse's ear and strokes her side and the horse instantly relaxes. "It's me. You're fine."

"Well how convenient!" I laugh as I slip out of his shadows and examine him sitting on the horse. I have to admit that he looks quite heroic, but I don't say that out loud. "You're not too shabby a wrangler after all!"

We both let out a simultaneous light laugh and somehow, it eases the tension that had been between us away. And for another, unexplainable reason, it leaves me with a good feeling on the inside. "All right," I say a moment later, still smiling. "That horse of yours should make getting back to your home town a lot easier huh?"

He returns my smile and nods. "I was wondering what happened to her," he says, still stroking the horse. "She was taken along with the kids. It's good to have her back."

"Well isn't that nice?" I shoot him a sly wink. "Now, go finish your errand so that we can get back and get that Fused Shadow! Get a move on!" I say somewhat jokingly as I return to his shadow.

Indeed, the horse makes getting back to Ordon Village a lot faster. We arrive there in almost no time at all and sure enough, the mayor holds the key to getting past the Gorons. He gives the hero the iron boots, with the assurance that even a Goron will not be able to move him if he's wearing them.

While he's in the village, he makes sure to tell the patents of the kids that they are safe and sound. Normally, I'd scold him for wasting time like this, but for some reason, I don't feel like I need to. I'm not sure how or why, but for some reason, it seems like we've reached a mutual agreement to not pick on each other anymore. An unspoken truce. I think it's like he said. We get more accomplished faster when we get along. And while I think we're still far from being friends, at least we aren't stopping every two seconds to argue.

We arrive back in Kakariko to find a disheartening sight. The town has been invaded by a group large monsters riding atop wild beasts and one of them is holding the blonde boy, Colin, over its head like a trophy. The second the hero sees this sight, he shouts out in anger at the beasts and chases after them on horseback as they flee the village through the other gate.

He trails the beasts back out onto the field and eventually catches up to the leader of the pack, the one that has Colin tied to a high pole, on a large stone bridge that covers a wide and deep chasm. I watch with sudden interest from the shadows at the events that occur next.

Two smaller monsters set flame to some old wood that's on either end of the bridge, blocking both our way and the leader's way off of it. "Well," I say from the shadows as the hero draws his sword. "I guess the only way to go on is to take this thing down. Good luck!" I can't help but give him a brief smile as I see his eyes suddenly flash with something that I really haven't seen in them before and that I can't really describe. My curiosity is peaked at whatever it is, as he races forward towards the monster, swinging his sword at it as he passes by it. He repeats the process two or three times, and eventually it causes the monster to fall off the back of its beast, plummeting into the endless pit below.

With the beast out of the way, the hero hurries over to where Colin, who is unconscious, lay and places the boy on the back of the horse, quickly returning him to Kakariko village without a word.

The other residents of the village and the rest of the children gather around the hero and Colin as they return, hoping to make sure that Colin is alright.

The boy wakes up a moment later, obviously weakened by the encounter. "Link…" he says to the hero the moment he opens his eyes. "Is everyone OK?" He glances around at the concerned faces of the other concerned children and sighs in relief. "Good. I… I think I finally understand…" Colin says, looking up at the hero once more. "I understand what my dad meant when he told me that I needed to be stronger, like you Link…" The hero gives him a soft smile and the boy lifts his arm up in the air weakly. "He wasn't talking about strength, like lifting stuff… He was talking about being brave…"

Brave… The word resonates in my mind. THAT'S what I say flashing in the hero's eyes. Bravery. Standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. I think I may understand now too. It's because of that bravery, that courage, that the hero keeps going. Its why he doesn't give up, even when he's injured, and even when I ridicule him. And maybe, above all else, that's the exact reason that he is the perfect hero to save both the realm of light and the Twilight Realm.