Chapter 25

The Breaker's home—or what remains of it—stands ruined in the gloom, overrun with moss and lichen. The smell of rotting wood and—oh, goddesses—ashes permeates everything. Link feels slightly sick and the world sways gently under him. He needs to sleep. But not here. Why is he even here?

The fairies are back in the saddlebag, most likely asleep. His eyelids are heavy, he is absolutely weary, but he can't stop here. It's almost as if there's still smoke in the air and he needs to cough or else he'll choke—the cough hurts his ribs. He needs to sleep or else he'll keel over and will be trampled by Epona or eaten by wolfos or—or—

He closes his eyes tight against the pounding in his head. He guides Epona to follow the tree line, and soon they've found the half-gone path the horse had trodden when they found her. Link can see the graves from here; the grass has overtaken the piled earth, but he can see the outlines.

No, he mustn't dwell. He needs to sleep, now.

Epona plods through the path they had taken here, and branches whack her stomach and Link's legs as the pass. The branches are bare and the leaves crunch underfoot. Hopefully it's loud enough to drive animals off. He flicks the Light Pendant and loosens his sword in its sheathe to be sure.

The break from the trees and onto the dirt road; he must've been too dazed to realize they had passed the clearing where they found the Breaker boy. He tries his hardest to not look over his shoulder.

And finally, as they continue down the path, he can take it no longer and needs to turn Epona off the road. There's a small area, clear of trees, that seems suitable for a campsite.

Link dismounts and heads for the center of the clearing, using the Light Pendant to light his way, to start a pit for a fire, because he knows soon the Pendant will go dead and he'll be left in the dark and—is that a fire pit?

He sighs and nearly pulls at his hair, which, now that he puts his hands to it, is loose of its tie. He must've lost it. "Seriously?" he mutters, and resists the urge to kick one of the logs he and Sheik had left next to the pit.

He'd come right back to where he and Sheik had stayed. It's as if the world wanted to remind him of—of—

Of what, exactly? He doesn't need her. He's fine without her.

But he sleeps further from the fire than his shivering body tells him to, back turned, even if Aster tells him to move closer—"You'll freeze!"—when she keeps watch.

"Good night, Aster," he mumbles, burying his face in his arm. "Wake me up at day break."

"Say 'please'."

He groans. "Aster..."

"I'll think about it."

He's really much too tired or this. "Fine. Whatever. Good night, Aster."

"Yeah, yeah," she says, a bit huffily, "good night."

He wakes at noon.

Noon. Noon! He knows it's noon as soon as his eyes shoot open; the sun's directly above. It makes his eyes water and he throws an arm over his face. Then it registers, exactly what time it is.

He bolts upright, swearing, and rushes to his legs. He moves so quickly that his visions blacks out for a second and he nearly loses his balance, but as soon as he can see, he's tugging on his boots and throwing the saddle over Epona's back. He is so useless, useless, useless.

"What's the rush, Link?" Aster asks, flying over.

He doesn't stop in his frenzy, tightening Epona's girth and pulling himself into the saddle, because he has to move. "You know why, Aster! Why didn't you wake me up?" His voice cracks and he hates it.

"You were tired, Link," Sol says, alighting upon his shoulder, and he nearly brushes the fairy off, but he simply grits his teeth. "You can't save Hyrule half-asleep."

"I can't save Hyrule wide awake!" Link shouts. "What difference does it make if I'm half-asleep? At least I would be doing something, not laying on the ground some useless oaf!"

"You know what?" Aster hisses. "You're pathetic."

"Aster!" Sol gasps.

But all Link can do is squeeze his eyes shut. "I know."

"You certainly will not being saving Hyrule."

"I know!"

"You most definitely won't be saving anybody!"

He wants to agree—he is shouting, yelling, screaming inside his aching head—but his voice is catching and he can't quite breathe. "I know, Aster," he finally manages. It sounds choked.

"The Hero had the stinking Triforce of Courage. How in Hyrule did you end up so gutless?"

"I know I—" He stops, slack-jawed, wide-eyed, then stares openly at Aster and whispers, "What?"

"And it's insane! You think the Hero would be whimpering about how oh-so-lonely he is? I mean—"

Sol nudges his sister. "Sis, I think you made him go into shock. He isn't moving." He looks around. "And we've stopped."

"The Hero...had what?"

"You know, Triforce of Courage? And I mean, since he did, and the way the whole spirit thing works, you should, too—"

"Aster, what 'spirit thing'?" Link asks. "You're confusing me."

"What, Always-So-Serious never tell you?" Aster snaps. Her flapping stops suddenly, and she nearly falls, but she catches herself before she's dropped too far. "Wait...she didn't know, did she? Bro, would she have known?"

"Known what?"

Sol hums thoughtfully. "I wouldn't think so. Or maybe she did, I mean, she's a Sheikah."

"Known what, guys?"

"Didn't the Great Tree say that it's...you know, unusual knowledge?" She glances at Link. "Whoops."

He is staring, gawking.

"Close your mouth," Aster snaps.

Sol sighs. "You're going to have tell him now."

"I realize that, Bro."

Link shakes his head and asks weakly, "What do you have to tell me?"

"Okay, this might be hard for you to understand."

"Right."

"The Hero, when he died, his spirit basically was reborn again."

Link's laugh is stressed. "Okay."

Aster looks nervously at her brother. "...That's you."

Normally, he'd laugh. That's insane! It's barely believable that he's the Hero, but to actually have the Hero's spirit in him? But he doesn't laugh and instead stares at Aster. "But I'm pathetic."

He imagines the fairy wincing. "Link—"

"You said he had the Triforce of Courage."

"Yes—"

"So why am I so pathetic?" There's a sudden flash, then pain explodes on his forehead and his head snaps back. He's rubbing his head, swearing, when he realizes what happened. Aster hit him! "What did you do that for?"

"I'm going to say this once, so you better listen to me, you idiot," Aster shouts. Sol is having difficulties holding her back. "Sheik is right, okay? That's was actually hard to say...anyways! What did she says courage was?"

"What...she said courage was?"

Aster hits him again, harder. He yelps. "Are you deaf?"

"You weren't there, so how do you know she even say anything about courage?"

"I...well, I wasn't there. Hey!" She makes to hit him again, causing him to cover his head with his arms. She doesn't hurt him again. "Sheik's the type to talk about that kind of stuff. Courage definitely came up in one of your guys' conversations!"

Link drops his arm gingerly. "It did."

"Then what'd she say?"

"That it doesn't matter if...if you're scared, that it only matters if you keep going." He sighs angrily, frustrated. "Which I don't understand, really. It's not really brave if you keep crying!"

"Then don't cry!" Aster says. "And just keep going, because you'll be late otherwise."

He can't, he can't he can't—can't—"But—"

"Just go!" she says, threatening to hit him again. "Goddesses, you're stubborn."

Link gives her a disbelieving look but nonetheless urges Epona on. He'll go. He'll die, but he'll go.

What would be better, to die fighting or live like a coward?

His father's answer would be firm, certain. Go down like a warrior. Like he did, serving others. Not like Alo, throwing himself into a river because he couldn't face a rumor.

Well, no. Alo was sick, his mother said, was never the same after his best friend died. So the comparison is nothing Link should be thinking about.

But he still shouldn't let down his father—or his mother, who holds so much faith in him. No, he couldn't disappoint them.

Or Sh—Sepia. He can't forget his memory. He tells his mind to keep silent, controlled, block out bad thoughts and black out words that carve themselves into the insides of his eyelids when he sleeps.

So though he can feel his fear digging into his gut, he sets his jaw and he will try.

But he'll probably cry.

"Hey, Sis, how'd you make him start moving?" Sol whispers inside the saddlebag. Their lights are dim inside the leather pouch, so they don't blind themselves.

"Pity wouldn't work. I figured being angry at him would."

"Good thing you figured that." He laughs.

"...I didn't tell him everything, though."

"You didn't?"

"Sort of."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The massive form of a great tree appears on the horizon. Aster is the first to notice. "The Great Tree! We're nearly at Farore's Sanctuary."

"We are?" Link asks, turning to look at her.

"Keep your eyes on the road!"

He turns back around, frowning and face slightly pink. He clears his throat. "How much further?"

"You'll know when we get there."

For a few minutes there's silence. They break into a large clearing as the sun is setting. The green of the forest is muted by the orange of the light, but when Aster tells him to dismount and walk the rest of the way, the moment his foot touches the ground, there's suddenly more light than there was before.

Wherever he steps he leaves glowing prints.

"Uh...Aster?" he says, softly, as if afraid to wake some sleeping beast.

"We're here!"

Tempest Bound:...

...What? Am I supposed to say something? XD I kid, I kid. Thank you to the people who favorited/followed/etc this story!