Chapter Eleven

Twilight had led Link pretty far through the night and straight into morning. It wasn't until noon where they reached Woodland Stable did they rest for a bit. Link didn't have his wallet with him to pay for a bed but he was allowed to sleep by the fire until he was ready to get going again. Sleep was much appreciated after a full night of walking and running to catch up with the wolf.

It was right before he fell asleep when he heard the wolf give a strange howl. It sounded melodic in a way. A tune. One he had heard before in the deepest reaches of his memories. He couldn't quite put a finger to it though and he was too tired in order to try.

When he woke next, the evening beginning to settle in, there was a groggy haze to his eyes and his mind felt almost blank. From what he could see through the haze, there was a strange blobby mess that looked like a Hylian in odd clothing. He looked like a knight of old almost, his clothes reminiscent of the tunics and chainmail the Royal family gave out to their knights thousands of years ago. He knew this from reading texts in the Royal library along with Zelda while she was researching the guardians.

This Knight was wearing a green tunic, though.

He rubbed at his eyes, scratching the bleariness from them, and when his sight got clearer he found it was only a bush that Twilight was resting under. Behind that bush, surprisingly, was his horse Epona.

He scrambled to get onto his feet, rushing over to the animal and finding his saddlebags, bow and quiver, and a torch on her back. She was also resting close to Twilight which was odd for her since she rattled easily around other wolves they had passed by before. It was strange how she had got here, and stranger yet that she was so calm.

Twilight let out a bark, grabbing Link's attention. The wolf then did a turn, pawing at the ground a bit, and raced off towards Minshi Woods where it looked to get thicker the more one got deeper within. Link wasn't sure about heading down that way as the wildlife seemed more skittish and afraid to head further in. But Twilight seemed to know what was going on, even stopping to turn back and make sure Link was following.

Seeing as he had no other choice – except maybe to turn back and face his punishment with the King for deserting – he hopped up on Epona and spurred her forward.

The woods began to get quieter now, the world at a standstill as wildlife silenced themselves or ran in the other direction. Link had never heard a forest so quiet before, it always seemed like there was a deer or two wherever he went. Even the birds were quiet now. It was unnatural.

They soon came to a bend in the path where Twilight raced off and left Link to himself. The Hylian hurried to get Epona to follow but once making it around the ben he was choked with a wall of mist and fog. He could barely see anything in front of his face but maybe a few shadows of the trees. It was here the forest went dead silent with not even the wind to make a sound.

He wanted to call for Twilight but couldn't find his voice. He tried whistling, but no wolf came back to him.

He was about to turn around, unsure of what to do other than this, when a sudden flame shined from a pedestal not far from him.

"You may want to think about using your torch." Came a voice.

Link looked around, trying to find who the voice had been. "Who's there?!"

A warm chuckle. "A friend. Now go before you wind up even more lost than you are."

Afraid and more than a little unsure, Link spurred Epona forward again but slowly. He took his torch and lit it from the flame before him.

Then found the wind had changed.

The wind blew the fire and ash in a completely separate direction, making Link decide to head that way and hope it would be the correct way. The voice had said to light the torch after all. Perhaps this was his way of saying 'follow the flame'?

Just as he was beginning to rethink this plan, what with the direction seemingly bringing him into more fog, the wind changed again and started blowing the flames to the left. It was strange, and it sent a chill through Link's blood, but he pressed onwards. Every few steps the fire would change directions, and when it did he followed the path it showed him. It was strange to be in a forest so quiet and cold, with only the fog to see in front of him, but it felt peaceful here. Like he could properly think without worrying these thoughts would be interrupted.

The path changed again and Link found himself in a clearer part of the forest where he could see more of the grass and trees around him. The fog had lightened a bit and he was now able to see a proper path.

His torch went out and he took this abrupt sign that he was in the clear. Epona continued onwards at her slow pace, whinnying a bit when a new figure came into sights. Link had hoped it was Twilight, worried the wolf had gotten lost.

But it was a young man.

A Hylian, just like him. Only, there was something off about him. It wasn't how he looked per se, though his clothes were rather odd-looking as he had layers of cloth around his waist and shoulders, but it was more his stance that disturbed Link. It was like he was expecting him, waiting by the exit like he knew Link was about to make it through.

He had short, scraggly mess of muted-brown hair, his skin a little tan and marked up from what looked like years of hard work. He had dirt under his nails and his feet were dusty even as he wore sandals. He looked like a farmer if anything, but he carried himself with such pride and dignity. Link didn't quite know how to feel about him.

Epona trotted up to the young man as if she had known him all her life, and the strange Hylian pat her nose.

"It seems even you come back every once in a while, my friend." He responded, resting his head against hers. "You are still a fine horse."

He then turned to Link who had just hopped off Epona. "My apologies, but your horse is a magnificent one. I hope you take good care of her."

Link, hesitantly, gave a nod. "I do, though you seem to know her as easily as I do."

The Hylian grinned, bringing up his hands. "We all know her in one form or another. As much as you do."

Link was taken aback at how easily this strange man knew sign language. Most people he used it on were slow on reading it and didn't know much about how to pronounce a few words. Link had taken it up when he was little as a way to communicate to others on an easier level. The Goddess only knew some languages were difficult to decipher when you heard them, but sign language was almost universal. There were people all over Hyrule who could understand it.

But not a lot who could use it.

The strange Hylian then gave a hum of thought, raising a hand over Link's head as if to measure him. "Not the tallest one, but they way she spoke about you made you seem much smaller. Then again, my height differs from yours when in different forms. I guess height doesn't matter though. It's the heart of the soldier. Not their body."

"Come again?"

The odd Hylian only grinned in return. "It's nothing. Just thinking aloud. Come along, we've got much to show you."

The strange man stepped down the path, Epona following easily which gave Link the motivation to do the same. Along the way he could see strange figures peeking in on them from atop the trees, little motions of tiny beings darting in and out as they watched from afar.

The guiding Hylian seemed to notice Link's unease. "Don't worry about them. They're harmless. It's been a while since they've had guests and are a bit shy. You do see them, yes?"

Link gave a nod. "What are they?"

"Koroks. They belong to these woods and are known as the Children of the forest. They're quite adorable once you get to know them."

The Hylian man led Link through a tunneled-out trunk now, the Koroks that had been watching them through the other side all darting away when they entered. They made odd little clacking downs as they moved, causing Link to look about for them every time he heard it.

He then began to hear voices, almost as though they were struggling. He had thought there was a fight going on until he heard the man in front of him sigh.

"Oh dear, it would seem I've brought you here at a bad time. Stay back and keep quiet for a bit." He then chuckled. "That could be easy for you, yes?"

Before Link could ask what was going on he heard someone hit the ground and a loud yelp fill the air. In front of him, in the evening light, Link could see what looked like two kids wrestling over a telescope. One wore a light green tunic with an elongated cap while the other was in a light blue shirt and cooling brown pants and sandals. They both had strikingly blonde hair akin to Zelda's but they were far from royalty.

A sigh sounded out from the far left, Link's eyes meeting with another strange Hylian man that was watching the two kids wrestling.

"Honestly," said the new voice, "without you around these two have had at it every chance they could get."

The man who had led Link here scratched at his head with a chuckle. "My deepest apologies, Sky, but you know I had to leave."

"Goddess help you when you separate the two." The other man said while standing up. He then caught sight of Link and his eyes narrow. "This him?"

"Indeed. He made a request so I thought I'd bring him here."

"Are you even allowed to do that? Seems like Hylia would have a problem with this."

"If she did she would have stopped me long before I even got him here. Perhaps he needs to know more about what's going on with him and why things are as they are."

"Well, all power to you. Time and I will be by the great tree if you need us."

The other stranger then left, leaving Link and the one who led him here to deal with the wrestling kids.

The stranger sighed, stepping up to the two kids and prying them apart with his foot.

"Alright, what's going on?"

The blue-shirted kid pouted. "Cap stole my telescope!"

"I told you I was going to give it back!" The other replied, looking up at the strange Hylian. "Tell Wind he's being unreasonable!"

"That telescope was my sisters! She gave it to me before I set off with Tetra!"

"Alright, both of you stop." The elder of the three spoke up, kneeling down to get to their level. "Cap, you know it's not right to take things like that. Especially if someone cherishes them as much as Wind does with the telescope."

"I just wanted to see if you were really bringing him!" The green kid replied. "This is the first time a living rendition has seen us!"

"I understand, but you were in the wrong to take it. So please return it to Wind and apologize."

There was a moment of hesitation before the green child handed the telescope back to the blue one with a pitiful apology.

The elder one grinned. "Now hug it out."

The two kids growled before doing so, and the elder of the three stood up.

"Alright, you're free to go. Don't let Sky catch you fighting again or I'll leave it up to Time to punish you. Goddess knows that won't turn out well for any of us."

The two kids rushed off, one of them pushing the other before they disappeared into the greenery of the forest.

Link blinked a few times. "What was that about?"

The stranger chuckled more to himself than to Link. "I've been around more kids than the others have so they get me to handle the fighting around here. Being in the mists together we sometimes get a bit cross with one another."

"And what about the names? They seem a little… odd. Cap and Wind? Time? Sky?"

"Ah, those are just nicknames we give to one another from the journeys we've faced in our lives. There are a few of us here and our names are sometimes the same. It's easier this way." The stranger then turned around, a knowing smile on his face.

"Care to take a guess at my name?"

Link was unsure why this man was smiling at him or why he seemed so smug about it. He must have known something that Link himself was supposed to know. It was strange… HE was strange. And his blue eyes almost sparkled at the knowledge he knew that no one else did.

The young Hylian let out a gasp now as he continued to search those eyes. They were angled the same way, the colour the same, and even seemed to hold the same grace. But that couldn't be… that wasn't possible…

Link took a step back. "…Twilight?"

The man's smile widened.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation."