^
~Chapter Thirteen~
V
"I knew there was something about you," the demon said. He stepped closer to the pair as they moved backwards. "It's plain to see, though. I regret not taking you captive as well as your goddess friend, but no matter. I'll take you now, and that Twili too."
"Why do you want the Triforce?" Link asked, steadily moving backward. He could sense Redwing high above, though he knew not where.
"For my master. With the Triforce, he shall be fully reborn, not as Ganon, but as who he was thousands of years ago – the source of all evil. And I will sacrifice you and your friends to his might. Lord Demise will rule! And we'll sink that ruddy sky island of yours, too."
Link shook his head. "Power-hungry bunch, aren't you?" He kicked at the ashes of their camp fire, sending up a cloud of dust at the demon. Ghirahim snarled and in that moment, Link grabbed Midna's hand and ran toward the path that led to Spirita Village. Any higher ground would be good enough to jump from and call Redwing.
"Let me hide in your shadow!" Midna called. Link felt her hand slip from his and, though he could feel her presence, she was nowhere to be seen. "Run!" her voice shouted.
Link sheathed his sword and ran for all he was worth. He could hear Ghirahim chasing after him, snarling oaths. Link saw a perfect ledge half way up. He ran toward it as fast as he could. Midna gave a shout of surprise as he threw himself off the cliff, whistling loudly. With a screech, Redwing caught him, and began flying upwards.
There was a roar of wind, and Link looked back to see a black tornado form out of nowhere, the pull dragging him and Redwing down. "Come on, boy!" the young Hero called. The Loftwing flapped harder, breaking through a bank of clouds and straightened out, flying as fast as he could. The pull of the tornado lessened. Link glanced back and saw it fade back to nothing. He gave a sigh of relief. They had escaped. "You okay, Midna?" he asked.
"Yes," the Twili replied. "You scared the heck out of me, though. Do you always jump from high places like that?"
"Every day."
"Geez."
Link laughed and steered Redwing lower so that he could see where they were. Lake Hylia was far behind them now: they were over one of the towns Link had visited on his way there.
"So where are we headed?" Midna asked. "Ordona?"
"Yeah," Link replied. "Hopefully the light spirit will be able to answer my question."
"Hopefully."
Link sighed and adjusted their course. In the distance, the southern forests of Faron and Ordon rose up. Below them, a train going in the opposite direction rolled along, blowing its clear whistle into the morning air. The sound made Link think of his aunt, uncle, and cousins, and he longed to visit them, to let them know he was fine. But he couldn't. Their destination was far south, near the southern border of the kingdom. There was no way they'd be able to stop and get to the spirit spring in the same day.
Besides, he decided as the edge of the forest grew ever closer, Ghirahim could be tracking them. He didn't want to endanger his family.
The trio in the sky was silent as the hours wore on. Near midafternoon, they finally crossed into the smallest and southernmost province of Hyrule. The region had a grand total of three towns, the largest being the closest to the spring. "Almost to the town," he said, giving Redwing an affectionate rub of gratitude.
"What town?" Midna asked.
"Ordon. The Hero of Twilight's home town."
"Seriously? Awesome! We have to sight-see a bit!"
Link laughed. "I'm sure we'll get the chance. After all, we'll need to find someone who can show us where the spring is."
"I thought you knew where it was."
"I did…but now I'm not so sure." He glanced down at the forest, looking for a break in the trees. All he saw, however, were more train tracks. There was nothing that looked like a spring housing a light spirit.
He guided Redwing along the train tracks. He had once studied the rail map provided to the passengers on the Royal Railway, and knew that the only station in this province was next to Ordon Village.
It took another half an hour before the village and station were in sight. Redwing landed on the edge of the clearing by the train station, and Link slipped off. "Thanks, bud," the young man said, rubbing the Loftwing's head. "Go rest. I'll call you if I need you."
Redwing trilled quietly and flew off to roost in one of the larger trees. Link turned toward the station as Midna popped out of his shadow. "You have a cramped shadow," she said, stretching her arms above her head.
"What?"
"It's true."
Link rolled his eyes and started forward. He could feel the gaze of the people around the station. Even the engineer, who was readying his train for the journey out, paused in his work, rubbing his hands on his dark pants as he looked curiously in Link's direction.
"There." Midna pointed to a sign at the head of a path leading into the trees. The pair moved closer to it. An arrow pointing forward told them that Ordon Village was straight ahead, while an arrow pointing to the right stated that Lanterna Village and Monkey's Mark were off to the left. Midna started off. "Come on, Hero-boy, I wanna see the town."
"Yeah, yeah." Link grinned and followed the Twili along the correct path. As they walked along, the young Hero looked around. It was a beautiful day. The forest around them thrived with the sounds of birds and squirrels and the wind through the leaves of the trees. Everything was so green. It felt so…so familiar. It was as if something awoke inside him, and he was suddenly not himself.
"Come on, slowpoke!" Midna called again.
"Coming!" Link shook his head and caught up with his friend.
The town emerged as they rounded a bend. A stream spanned by several bridges trickled through the town, cutting it in half, and gathered into a large pond before moving off into the woods once more. Children swam in the water, laughing and splashing each other.
Once across the stream, Link and Midna entered the center of town and market place. What marked the town's center, however, was a stunning statue of the Hero of Twilight, much grander than the one in the Castle Town Library. The statue depicted the Hero astride a powerful-looking horse, rearing onto its hind legs. Dressed in his usual floppy hat and tunic, the Hero held a sword in one hand out to the side, while the other hand held onto the reins of his horse. He gazed out over the town with a look of courage.
Midna had gone up to the statue to get a closer look at an inscription, while Link remained staring at the depiction of his predecessor. He felt he knew the man. There was a connection, other than the fact that he was a past Hero.
"It's true!" Midna exclaimed.
"What is?"
She pulled him closer to the statue's base. "Look!" Link peered closer at the inscription, which read:
Link Twilandi, Hero of Twilight
Dedicated to a great Hero, Husband,
Father, and Friend
By his adoring children
Nellisanda Harkinian
Andrew Twiliandi
Nico Twiliandi
"I don't get it," Link said.
"He really did marry into my family," Midna said. "Twilandi is the name of the royal family of my tribe, just as Harkinian is for Hyrule's. Which also proves Tetra's theory." She pointed to the first name of the Hero's children. "Obviously she married into Hyrule's royal family."
"Huh. Cool."
After a few more minutes of admiring the statue, Link reminded Midna of their reason of being here in this town. Reluctantly, the Twili followed her friend.
"Can I help you?" someone asked suddenly from behind them. They turned, and saw a young woman, maybe a year younger than Link, her bright green eyes curious as she smiled politely.
"We're looking for the spirit spring of Ordona," Link told her.
"Oh. Making a journey of prayer?"
"You could say that."
The young woman nodded, glanced at the statue, then back at Link, obviously making a connection. "Nicarlo should be able to help you. He works at the goat ranch. I'd request you to get help from the guy I work with," she said, pausing to point at a strangely dressed man behind a counter who seemed to be staring at Link, "he knows a lot about things like that. But he's a bit weird."
"So where can we find this Nicarlo?" Midna asked.
"Up that path there," the woman said, pointing to a path across the stream, but different from the one that led to the train station. "I know he's up there at the ranch now. It's time to put the goats away. Just ask for him."
Link and Midna nodded their thanks, but before they could leave, the woman spoke up again. "Sir, are you…the next Hero?"
"I've been called that…" Link replied.
The woman smiled widely. "We need a Hero these days." She started off toward the shop, but turned one last time. "Good luck!"
"Someone's popular," Midna teased as they started toward the ranch. Link sighed.
"I'm not a Hero yet. What have I done to help Hyrule?"
"You helped me."
Link conceded the point and the two walked in silence, ignoring the stares and whispers of the people they encountered.
They quickly found out that there were actually two ranches: one for horses, the other for goats. In a huge clearing, surrounded by a fence, the herd of goats was being rounded by a man on a bay horse. Another man stood by the fence, watching with a grin on his face. With a final shout of encouragement from the rider, the last of the goats were sent running into the barn, and the man turned his horse back toward his companion.
"How was that?" he asked.
"Two minutes. You're close to breaking your record, lad."
The rider hopped down from his steed, his gaze falling on Link and Midna. With a quick word to his friend, he started forward. The other man turned to look, too. Link realized with a start that this goatherd coming toward them had orange eyes, like Midna, and he was actually much younger than they originally thought, though he was tall. "Hello," the man greeted.
"Greetings," Midna replied. "We're looking for Nicarlo."
"That's me. How can I help?"
Link repeated his request, and Nicarlo nodded. "I can take you there. Just give me a few minutes to get my horse put away." He turned and waved to the other man. "See you tomorrow, Fado!"
"Alright, lad!"
Within ten minutes, they were on the move, heading back toward town. "I don't mean to pry, miss, but are you Twili?" the ranch hand asked.
"Yes," Midna replied. "And you? Of all the people in Hyrule I've met, you are the most Twili person I've seen."
Nicarlo chuckled. "A bit. My great-grandparents left the Twilight Realm and moved here to get a fresh view of the world. It wasn't that they didn't like the Twilight, they just…well, my great-grandfather wanted to connect with another part of his roots. He'd always claim to anyone who listened that he was descended from the Hero of Twilight."
"Do you believe him?"
"Yes."
Link smirked. There was another thing Midna had in common with this ranch hand.
Nicarlo led them to a path at the edge of the village, hidden by underbrush. They wandered along. Nicarlo and Midna continued to talk, while Link trailed behind, admiring the forest once more. He always liked the forest. That was the one thing Skyloft was missing, in his opinion. While the sky island was amazing in its own way, there were very few trees. The forest made Link feel at home, just as Skyloft did, though he had no idea why.
At Midna's laugh, Link tuned back into the conversation. "I'm serious, I had no idea where I was! I thought I ended up on Snowpeak Mountain," Nicarlo was saying. "Turns out, I was just on top of a hill in a Hyrule Field that was covered in snow. Never made that mistake again."
"I should get some pointers from you. The last time I tried to warp, I ended up in the desert, only to be saved by a bird-brained man dressed in green."
"I am not bird-brained," Link retorted.
"Sure you are."
"Ha, ha, Midna."
"Here we are," Nicarlo said, stopping at another clearing. Before them was a shallow pond of water fringed by white sand. Rocks and a short waterfall created a backdrop. "I'll wait for you a bit back down the path. Just come get me when you're ready to go back to the village."
"I'll go with you," Midna said. "Twili and light spirits don't exactly mix."
Link glanced at her. "That's fine, go ahead."
The Twili and ranch hand left, still chatting.
Author's note: *Hides behind laptop* I did it again. I referenced another set of stories I wrote based on Twilight Princess. You all might not understand the reference...and I don't understand why I can't let go of that series...I'm so wierd.
Anyway, thanks goes to Mallobie, zoozo00, Griffermon, and TheLoneWolfe90 for the reviews. Special thanks goes to Mallobie and zoozo00 for thier suggestions for Link's Hero title. And to answer Griffermon's question, I've been sucked into the fandoms of Rise of the Guardians and Danny Phantom (because my inner child has taken over...), though recently, I've returned to the Avatar: TLA and Avatar: LOK, as well as the How to Train Your Dragon fandoms. Don't worry, all, I'm still writing Zelda.
To those of you who have yet to do so, please give a suggestion for Link's Hero title. This is your last chance to do so!
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and please, review!