Chapter 27:
Sweven
Theory one: Near death experiences.
The waterfall cascaded into Lake Hylia and Link could not hear anything above the giant's roar. Ralis was probably worried sick and the hero imagined guards scampering about, their webbed feet slapping the damp floors as they searched for the Hero of Twilight and cursed the wayward human under their breath. A lazy smile curled on Link's lips as he stripped, staring at the crisscrosses of scars splayed over his chest.
Once upon a time, he considered the scars as medals of glory, now they reminded him of the painful encounters accumulated over his journey.
His teeth chattered uncontrollably and the treacherous slip of wet rocks threatened to tear him off the precarious perch and dash him into the churning pool below. The water turned white like ice. It frothed like Diababa's acid pools.
Last night, Link listened to his stomach growl in hunger. To keep Ralis satisfied, the hero dutifully strode to the dining chamber in the palace and gave the area a passing glance. Cerulean and silver. Lattices of muted pink and rich silks. The Zora in the dining room behaved cordially and when he sat to eat, his appetite vanished at the sight of a roasted fish heaped on his plate. It smelled like heaven and although Link's mouth watered, he only managed a gulp of juice and stole away when no one looked.
He tossed and turned in bed, the curtains were apart, flooding the room with pearlescent light. Restless, Link paced and stopped when a sudden thought occurred to him.
The Link of Hyrule and him changed places when he almost died at the darknut's hands. Feverishly, he wrote a theory on a piece of paper...
Theory one, he could return to the universe of the Great Seas when his life was in danger of snuffing out.
So here he stood, on the edge of the waterfall and shaking like a leaf tossed in a cyclone. The cold raised goosebumps on his tanned skin and the spray of water plastered his sandy hair to his head. Inside the cave above the waterfall, voices swelled urgently and taking a deep, freezing breath of air, Link jumped.
Hopefully he will wake up at home. Or in Grandma's lap.
Or with Aryll instead of Ralis hovering above him.
"What are you doing?!" Wind tore the prince's desperate screaming to the mountains of Snowpeak. Ralis watched in horror as the hero tumbled, the Triforce on his hand pulsing gold. "Get him immediately," he yowled to his guards and after saluting in unison, they blazed off. Heart hammering in his chest, Ralis peeked over the waterfall and gingerly stepped back when a female guard put her hand out for him. "What is wrong with him?" Ralis asked bewilderedly, "I know it's not the lack of hospitality...the burden?" muttering, the prince stalked back to the infirmary where Link would arrive a few hours later and give an explanation of what went on in his head.
The Triforce of Courage flashed like a heartbeat and Ralis stared, too scared to take Link's hands in his own. The human's lips tinged into a cyanotic blue and he slowly opened his eyes, using a hand to shield his retinas from the capering flames in the infirmary.
"Well it didn't work," he drawled. "Wow, I'm alive." Link regarded the beating triangle of gold.
"What did not work?" Ralis demanded sharply, "leaping to your death?"
Hearing his voice, Link sat upright, taken aback by the rage simmering in the young prince's jade green irises. Ralis' complexion tinted from salmon pink to magenta, a testament to his fury. "Mind explaining to me exactly why you dived off the waterfall? My soldiers are forbidden to do as such and we are Zora, we can survive under layers of tundra." A sentinel timidly shuffled through the door, bearing a tray. "Leave, I do not wish to be disturbed," Ralis dismissed the messenger with an irked wave of his hand and Link held his breath.
An uneasy silence, broken by the crashing of the waterfall, stretched in the room.
"So?" the Zora prince asked, the angry hissing in his voice dissipating. "I don't understand...you are Hyrule's hope, if you go leaping carelessly to your death, what does it imply for the rest of us?"
Eyebrows arching, Link replied, "I wasn't leaping to my death." Ralis observed him disbelievingly. "Really," the human placated, "I was doing an experiment."
"Experiment," the prince repeated. The word like a knife in his mouth.
The hero nodded. "Yeah, experiment. You see, I can change realms and the last time I did so, I had a broken neck, seconds away from dying," Link recalled the wrenching pain in his neck. "In the Temple of Time, a darknut smashed my neck with a sword and I fell unconscious, when I woke up, I was in a different realm." In my realm. "There is another hero there, also named Link and we trade places."
"That sounds ridiculously convenient," Ralis commented and thoughtfully rubbed his chin. "And why do you want to change places with him? He is not the Hero of Twilight."
Because I don't belong here. This is not my home. This is not my place.
I miss my sister. I miss my Grandma.
I want to see them.
"You belong here", Midna said and pressed her cold, clammy hands against his cheek. "You are the hero of Twilight."
"He is...he is far more capable at handling things than I am." As soon as the words left his lips, Link immediately regretted it when Ralis sharply drew back. The burden of guiding an entire race lay evident in the prince's premature wrinkles and constant, tired sighs. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to say that, I'm just trying to find a way..."
Home.
Saved from the prince's despondent glare by the previously dismissed messenger, Link lay back on his pillows. He couldn't stay here for long, Midna was already on the warpath and if he did not move from place to place, she will find him. He needed time to think; time to find a sure route back home so he could use it after saving Hyrule from Ganondorf...or whatever his name was. Of course Ralis and the others will not understand, they pinned their hopes and lives on Link, as history dictated them to do.
"An urgent report from Castle Town sir," the messenger bowed, the pearls around his neck sliding past each other, "the pyramid holds, the Resistance members have tried burrowing underground to no avail-"
Resistance? Link clutched the silk sheets, his joints aching. Rusl?
"-And there is a new disturbance in the heart of the castle, an old woman says it is a twisted energy of Twilight, the Triforce of power," the Zora reported, sapphire eyes quickly darting to Link, "and a corrupted force of the Triforce of Wisdom."
Link's heart beat a painful staccato in his chest. Triforce of Wisdom...Zelda?
If Midna found out, she would demand a ritual sacrifice to appease her anger.
Throwing the brocaded sheets off him, he jumped to the floor, toes curling at the cold beneath his feet. "I have to leave," he hoarsely stated and grabbed his tunic from a nearby chair. "I'm going to Ordona." He stopped, why there? "I need to make sure the villagers are safe. And...I'm taking your advice, I'm running away." The courier shot Ralis a confused look and quickly distanced himself with the prince rose.
"You want to leave so abruptly?" Ralis clasped his hands in front of his sash, a thick golden chain hung around his neck. "You are welcome to stay here, your experiment," the prince grimaced, "probably left you with new bruises."
Belting the tunic at his waist, Link grinned lopsidedly. "I'll be fine; besides, I'm playing tag with a Twilli demon."
Theory two: If he simply ignored the decaying state of Hyrule and let Ganondorf have his way, the Triforce, in order to preserve the realm, will summon the Link best suited to save Hyrule. Extreme incompetence will force him back home.
With this in mind, Link veered sharply away from the chaotic atmosphere of Castle Town and set Epona on a course to Ordona. The horse cantered slowly across the vast, monster choked fields and bolted when a deku baba sprung underfoot with an unearthly hiss. The alien vegetation spat colorless acid, fat, slimy tongues wagging disgustingly in their plant pod things. Armed with a slingshot, Link pelted them into a steaming pile of leaves and galloped past, shuddering at their twitching corpses.
Bokoblin and the occasional bulbo roamed the plains, hunting any animal daring to cross their line of vision. Pausing with a water bottle halfway to his mouth, Link bore witness as an olive skinned monster threw its spiked club at a buck and the wooden projectile slammed into the animal's skull, spraying blood and flesh everywhere. Nauseous, Link quickly packed his tent, Epona restlessly swished her tail, ears flattened in fear and hooves kicking dust. Loading his luggage on her back, he set off again.
The path to Ordona became scorched earth. Remnants of fire burned in patches here and there, ashes settled on large fir trees. The shorter pines stood like charcoal straws buried in a mound of grey sand and Link kicked ash, coughing and waving the sooty particles away. Swallowing the sticking dryness in his throat, he examined the gate leading to Ordona village.
Locked.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Link fumbled with the lock and scowled, breaking it will render the gate useless and on the outskirts, monsters patrolled with carefree abandon. His horse neighed nervously and tossed her matted mane. Absentmindedly patting Epona, Link rummaged in his pockets, he kept the shadow crystal with him at all times and he desperately groped in the cloth pouches, searching for the elusive piece of Twilight magic. At last, the orange ribbed piece of stone emerged and he held it up to the light.
Perhaps hate was too a strong word to describe his feelings for Midna. Without her, he would never come this far. Without the Twilight Princess' guidance, the monsters in the Forest Temple would be gnawing his bones. He owed her his life, at the cost of his sanity and a deep loneliness echoed in his chest.
He did not want Midna to go home. Link grew used to the constant adventures, to the death threats on a daily basis. He ran from his troubles, preferring to leave them to someone else, however, Midna forced him to make a stand, even if he lost an arm, or a leg in the process.
Grandma told him not to be selfish. She said he must be fair, play nice with everyone and consider everyone's feelings when talking to them.
Did he consider her feelings? No. Link wanted to go home and leave Midna to fend for herself; when the opposite threatened to happen, it did not feel okay anymore. Why?
Why did it hurt to breathe each time he tried thinking about living in Hyrule without Midna?
Sinking the stone in his forehead, Link grunted in pain and hunched on all fours. Epona blinked at him comfortingly and he stalked to the edge of the gate, searching for a spot of soft earth. Finding a circle of damp soil, the sacred wolf dug, covering himself and the horse with clods of dirt. He emerged to the opposite side and shook his fur clean. Separated by a gate, Link arched his back and the shadow crystal osmosed out of his body.
Reaching through the metal bars, he gently stroked Epona's muzzle. "I'll see you later," he murmured as the horse gentle exhaled in his face. "Go find safety somewhere."
And like wind, she vanished.
Ordona spring bubbled quietly, small tides lapping against the earthen bank. The mangled gate barring the springs hung on twisted hinges and clumps of thick, sweet smelling grass rimmed the pool of crystal clear water. Link hurried, he wanted to go home and sleep. This time, no one will bother him if he stayed in bed for a week, Rusl will come in to check and maybe bring a mouthwatering bowl of stew, but the golden haired man never pulled Link off his bed nor did he kick him awake. Looking forward to a week spent doing nothing but fishing in the stream winding across the village, the hero shuffled into the clearing and paused to better appreciate his home.
Sunlight winked off green leaves, painting a portrait of peace. Sighing, Link brushed his fingers across the ladder leading to his home proper, familiar grooves and the worn wood comforted him. The air chirped with birdsong and rustling leaves, however, the distant chatter of people bleeding from the village seemed nonexistent. Sera did not call for customers, Jaggle did not scream at the sight of angrily buzzing bees. Hanch often circled his prized pumpkin patch, conferring with Mayor Bo in loud voices as the two men heckled back and forth across the wooden bridge.
Unease bloomed in Link's stomach and he cautiously ventured into the village.
Cylindrical huts tiled in red cropped into view, the hamlet spread before him, untouched by war and the monsters currently ravaging the rest of Hyrule. For how long though? Link wondered. Will it take a heartbeat, a second, a month to notice this quiet village tucked into the countryside?
Where was Rusl?
Sera's Sundries mocked him with closed shutters and curtained windows. Frantic, Link hopped to Hanch's farm, jumping into the pumpkin garden and hoping the strict man would blaze out of the door, screaming at Link like he did with Talo. Silence. No Hanch armed with devilish pitchforks emerged.
Stumbling to the stream, Link squinted at the congregation of villagers surrounding a house at the back, Rusl's house. His heart leaped into his throat, choking him. What happened? Why did everyone look so solemn? Sloshing through the water and mind buzzing with questions and potential disasters, Link climbed back on the dry bank, his pants soaked. The villagers trickled one by one into the house and his chest compressed with a crushing weight.
Please Goddess Naryu, don't let anything ever happen to Rusl and Uli, he prayed.
He reached the porch when everyone left. Bo and Jaggle peeled away to the mayor's house and a lone figure sat on the steps. As Link approached, fighting for breath and shivering at the cold soaking his legs, Fado turned towards the goatherd.
"Wha- What's going on?" Link demanded, panicked irises jerking towards the hut's door. A scream tore from the inside. Uli. "Oh my Gods is she dying? Where is everyone? I want to go inside!" He stood before the wooden door framed by a wreath of branches, daisies and leaves. Did this thing hang on the door before? Link reached for the doorknob and gasped when Fado, stupid giant, roughly pulled him away.
"Are you out of your mind?" Fado asked, brow drawn. "Uli's giving birth, none of us apart from Rusl, Sera and Uli are supposed to go in there. They fetched a nurse and doctor from Castle Town, pipe down, she's going to be fine."
Another agonizing scream and hard panting gusted beneath the closed door.
Also...
"Giving birth?" Link questioned and allowed Fado to sit him on the porch. "I don't understand. Why is she-" he winced when low voices snapped orders from within the house, "-screaming like she's in pain?"
Fado sighed. "She is in pain, she's birthing a child, you know when you help the goats give birth and they get all crazy and one pregnant goat snapped your shin in half? It's like that, only now, she's probably crushing Rusl's hand."
Bewildered, Link pondered on Fado's words. Helping goats give birth sounded extremely gross and not on the things on his to-do list. How did 'giving birth' work anyway? It sounds painful, is probably painful and who would want to voluntarily go through such a harrowing episode?
"So uh...She's giving birth...becau-"
"Colin is big brother from today onwards," Fado interjected and dropped his chin in cupped palms. "You too, in a way." The man smiled warmly. "Congratulations."
A big brother...
A flutter of warmth gusted in Link's chest and expanded. A big brother. Not only to Aryll, but to Colin, to his new baby sister and to the rest of the village children too. A hot, wet track curved down his cheek and startled at his blurry vision, Link touched a teardrop and flicked it away. Another joined the first when the cries of a baby echoed from the house and sniffing, Link rotated to the door, hoping it to open so he could see the new addition to the family.
Will she be anything like Aryll? Pink, soft and tiny, with a cloud of fluffy blonde hair and large, soulful eyes?
A handkerchief graciously found its way into Link's hands and he dabbed its eyes with it. It smelled of hay and toast. "Hey...your memories," Fado awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, "they're not back are they?"
Blowing his nose loudly in the square of cloth and grinning apologetically when Fado shot him a disgusted look, Link shook his head. "I never lost my memories," he stated and the man next to him frowned in confusion. "I'm not the Link you know." The adolescent stared at the cloudless sky; he was tired of lying, running. Pretending. "We switched places, me and your...friend." The beat of silence between the two stretched into eternity. "I am a twelve year old child who had my sister taken by a monster called the Helmarock King," each time Link related his story, the ache in his heart lessened a little more, "my sister's name is Aryll, she is waiting for me to save her." Fado stared at his hands. "Can you tell me more about him?" Link asked and automatically tugged his mutilated earlobe, he will never get used to wearing an earmarker...an earring. "I know nothing about him, well, apart from the fact that he doesn't eat goat meat."
Doubling over in a fit of snorts, Fado leaned back. "Link is weird." The man gazed far away. "He is frighteningly efficient and yeah, the goats are his kids, insult them and he'll maim you." All became quiet in the hamlet, a stark contrast to the world outside its gates. "He told me he trained as a knight in Castle Town...ah...that's a secret, don't tell anyone."
Link nodded.
"What else? He likes reading ancient history, understands old languages and he can't swim," Fado recalled wistfully. "We once played near the stream and I pushed him in, he started yelling and gurgling and in the end I had to dive in and save him. It was funny though." Link frowned, not being able to swim sounded like a major problem. "He tames falcons and suffers from terrible nightmares. He probably doesn't know that I know, I found him sleeping in the barn once and he," Fado grimaced at the memory, "rolled over a rake and woke up with blood all over the hay bales."
So Hyrule's Link suffered from terrible nightmares. How did it feel, seeing things when asleep? Link wondered. He never dreamt and after hearing Fado's terrible account, he did not want to dream anymore.
The door to Rusl's house remained closed as the sun set. On the porch, red sunlight outlined two figures conversing softly with each other. Fado squinted at the horizon, stood with a creak of his joints and pointed a thumb to his ranch, citing he needed to herd the goats and feed them, he waited for Link to offer help but the blonde simply smiled wanly. Fado slowly made his way across the bridge, following the stream. He grew up looking at it, swimming in it and fishing from its waters.
When Link arrived in Ordona, a hollow eyed, mistrustful teenager, Fado spent long hours trying to coax friendship from him.
And now, the man turned to the solitary figure squatting on Rusl's porch, he did not know what to think of Link anymore.
Rubbing his freezing legs, Link waited for someone to emerge from the hut. How long did birthing take? If he stayed in pain this long, for sure he would faint. Or die. Or go through both, fainting into a blissful reprieve before going to heaven where coconut pudding never ran out and he could eat as much as he wanted. The door to the house creaked slightly and Link rocketed to his feet, twisting to Rusl emerging with a bundle wrapped in pale blue blankets.
"My biggest regret is Colin, he wasn't here to see his baby sister's birth." The golden haired man tenderly gazed at the baby in his arms and Link drew closer, eyes softening at the sleeping child. "What do you think?" Rusl asked.
"Huh? Oh..." Link looked back and forth, between father and daughter. "She looks a lot like Uli," he carefully touched the baby's warm, pink cheek, tears prickling his eyes, "she's very beautiful."
Rusl smiled widely. "Uli and I wanted Colin to name her; he was very excited when we first told him about the baby." He offered the baby to Link who eagerly wiped his tears and cradled the bundle in his arms. "Unfortunately, he is not here so I want you to do the honors."
"Me?" Link sputtered and looked around. "But I'm not...I'm not him."
"Does it matter?" Rusl wearily sat on the porch. "If Colin were here, he would've insisted."
XXXXX
World in a grain of sand
A gale skimmed across the tops of Dragon Roost Island. Wooden signs and bridges rattled, postmen launched off platforms, fighting against the wind ripping them off course. Standing on an outcrop with her hair whipping across her face, Medli concentrated with her golden harp, she repeatedly tried to string a melody coming to her in dreams, however, the disjointed sequences refused to flow seamlessly. Sighing, she closed her eyes and let memory guide her, however, after the first few keys, the song soared off tune and grated on her ears.
"You have pretty hair," a voice commented from behind and flushing to the roots of her russet hair, Medli spun and squeaked at Link.
When did he get here?
"Just now," he answered and she regarded him curiously. "I went to the Earth Temple," he motioned to her harp, "and the sage Laruto taught me the Earth God's Lyric."
Medli listened intently as he described his journey and experiences, she tucked wayward strands of her hair and inwardly wished for a ribbon to tie it all back, having Link see her hair loose was an embarrassing experience. No. The weird part was the compliment. Link never said anything remotely flattering and if anything, she expected an experimental tug on it.
"Are you listening to me?" he questioned and Medli immediately straightened and bopped her head in agreement. Link stared at her, noting the blush staining her cheeks and constant shifting of eyes. She fumbled with a lock of her hair, coiling and uncoiling it between her pale fingers. "Don't be scared, we'll be travelling together to the Earth Temple, I talked to the chief and Komali already, you have their permission to leave right now. We don't have any time to waste."
In a whirlwind of motion and events, most of which phased right through Medli, she exited Dragon Roost Village, the Rito gathered in the communal cave to bid her goodbye. Soldiers flanked the tunnel, their spears upright by their sides. In the passageway the chief greeted her, his robes brushing against her arms and Komali, schooling his friendly smile for a formal one, squeezed her hands comfortingly. Voices blurred into a discordant orchestra and when she finally stepped foot into the boat, the blinding sunlight seared her retinas.
On the lacquered boat painted a shade of eye watering crimson, Medli politely bowed to the dragon figurehead and it smiled kindly at her. The door to the deckhouse whined open on salt rusted hinges and confused, she sought Link for an explanation but he merely replied off handedly and conferred with the boat in low voices. A female strode out of the boat, wearing what appeared to be Link's clothes and at this; Medli blushed freely and stuttered an apology.
"You didn't tell me you were bringing someone aboard you shrimp!" Tetra hissed and awkwardly slunk back to the safety of the deckhouse. "And a girl too, what would she think?" she tossed over her shoulder and disappeared.
Feeling out of place, Medli, touched her harp. It anchored her to reality. The boat glided away from the waters of Dragon Roost and Komali hurried out of the tunnel with Quill at his side, he stood on the pier and Medli felt a surge of pride in her chest.
"He's grown up," Link stated from behind her and startled, she bumped against a crate. "...Are you alright?" the boy asked and she nodded vigorously, self-consciously smoothing her dress.
"Of course she's not alright," Zelda re-emerged on deck, wearing a flowing dress of silk, "you plucked her from her home without any prior explanation and she has to join boring old you on the high seas. It's a tragedy, I would cry."
"Fortunately for both of us, she's not you," Link retorted and went back to his sailor journals.
Tetra scowled. "Anyway, my name is...Zelda," she smiled warmly at Medli and the Rito returned it with a timid one of her own. "Link here is a bore, don't let it bother you. Since the boat only has one deckhouse, you and me will be sharing the bed...hmm..." Tetra tilted her head and grinned cat-like. "You are my first girl friend, I never had one before," the girl grabbed Medli's sweaty hands, "let's become best friends!" Zelda exclaimed and Medli giggled in response.
Best friends, Link pondered and lay awake in his bed. The voices resonating from the deckhouse made sleep impossible but at least Medli did not throw up like he did after riding a cyclone. Headstone Island loomed a shapeless mass in the dark and the sea blazed in luminous hues of sapphire and lime. Tossing in his swaying hammock, Link closed his eyes, forcing himself into sleep.
They stood before the imposing slab of rock sealing the Earth Temple. Learning the tune in seconds, Medli played the song and enraptured by the melody, Link listened. Her slender fingers flew over the harp in a blur and the tune reverberated off rock, melting into a series of whispering echoes. She stood confidently, her hair secured into an elaborate ponytail courtesy of Tetra and when the time came for the two 'best friends' to part, Link fought Zelda back on the boat as she insisted on accompanying them. Only a quiet and firm insistence from Medli convinced the wayward Princess to stay with the King of Red Lions.
"I think I have mastered the lyric," the Rito stated and he smiled. The smile caused Medli to shrink and Link delicately brought out his WindWaker. "Please guide me through the lyric, I want to play my part as well."
The WindWaker hummed alongside the harp and together, the two instruments played a soul wrenching song. The tune mourned of neglect and sadness, of times long gone and forgotten. It lamented for the earth sunk deep below the sea.
The stone door grated apart and both sneezed at the musty air wafting from inside. Barely pausing to get his bearings, Link marched in and stopped short when the platform ended abruptly, he did not want to expose Medli to undue danger and wished she could spend time with Zelda, hopefully taming the former Pirate's foul mouth and tendencies. Alas, the gap between one platform and the next stretched infinitely and he pulled out the Deku Leaf, craning his neck for conveniently placed magic pots on the ground. Shafts of thick, pearly white light drilled from above and illuminated the entire temple with a preternatural glow.
Medli stepped into place beside him. "The Deku Leaf won't work," she informed and Link frowned. "It won't float you into higher places like the ledge." She pointed to an upper platform of stone bearing a chest and sullenly, he put the leaf away. "Um...I can fly," the Rito rung her hands, why did Link make her so nervous these days? "and I'll be able to carry us both."
A fleeting, somewhat mocking smile flitted across his face.
"Well, if you don't mind me," Link declared and unhesitatingly fastened his arms around Medli's waist, she swallowed audibly. "Sorry for the awkwardness," he apologized, "but we don't have time to feel weird about these situations. The faster we finish, the easier it will be for both of us."
Soundlessly, Medli launched in the air, looking down when Link gasped. He hung on to her tightly and she exhaled at his vicious grip. The boy stared fearfully at his dangling legs and held his breath, preferring to spear his acrimonious gaze at the towering stone platform edging into their view. Out of breath from the combined weight and the way Link squeezed the breath out her lungs, the two tumbled on the platform and he whipped his sword out, slashing two moblins effortlessly.
Drops of blood landed on Medli's cheek, she touched the fluid, freezing in horror at the ruby staining her fingertips. Turning, Link gritted his teeth in a polite smile, brought a square of cloth and rubbed her cheek free.
"Keep the cloth," he tapped his boot on a motif inscribed on stone, "there's going to be more blood." Medli tucked the handkerchief into her waist-pack. "We have a problem," Link indicated to a higher tower with a switch, "I doubt you will be able to fly us both to that stone pedestal over there." Medli shrugged apologetically. "So I want you to go over there and step on the switch, think you can do it for me?"
Odd, he spoke to her like she was a child.
The flight this time did not strain her wings and Medli landed gently on the switch. Stepping on it did absolutely nothing and fearing Link's wrath, which flared imperceptibly in his pitch black irises, Medli depressed the switch several times before creeping to the edge and shouting it did not work. Her voice echoed in the ghostly silver chamber and she imagined Link's deep frown.
Link gnashed his teeth, working with others slowed him and he took a deep breath. Daphnes told him to be patient. "...Fly back," he commanded and Medli touched down near him. "I don't understand though," he mumbled, "should I go there and do it myself?" Lines furrowed his brow. "I can't fly...and both of us won't make it, we'll crash to the ground..."
The Command Melody!
Blinking in understanding, Link brought out the WindWaker and posed to conduct the symphony. Will it work with other beings? He wondered. How did it feel? Having another presence inside a mind? Quashing doubts, Link played the Command Melody with Medli's scarlet eyes trained on the baton. For a split second, nothing happened and Link stared at the WindWaker when darkness crept at the edges of his vision. An undercurrent of fear accompanied his waning conscious. What if it didn't work?
What if their minds fused together?
What if...
The stark chamber echoed with a new melody stirred by the WindWaker, fascinated with the magical artifact, Medli watched Link weave the baton through the dusty air before he lowered it and slowly sunk to the ground, his head lolling on his chest. Alarmed, she stepped forward to touch his shoulder and a searing pain bolted across her head. Letting out a shriek, Medli rubbed her temples, her eyes filling with tears at the hammering pain. She fell, colliding harshly on the stone. The pressure increased, tears dripped off the end of her chin, creating dark spots on her grey tunic.
A foreign presence invaded her mind and she desperately grasped for the surface. The weight pushed her down, threatening to drown her into the Great Sea and she closed her eyes, failing to keep herself together. Images flashed in her head rapidly and Medli heaved for air, sweat dotted her brow and dampened her hair.
Icy blue eyes stared back at her. A man holding a sword with a mop of sandy hair. He stood in the center, where her vision was the clearest and swung his sword, pouring resentment, determination and anger. The silver blade flashed dangerously, cutting the air with ominous whistles. He held the WindWaker and guided Medli with the Earth God's lyric. The same individual broke the lock when monsters held her hostage and she recalled the all-knowing sneer on his face. He did not flinch at the sight of blood and even if his face remained impassive, Medli could see him inwardly smiling, a wry tilt of his lips.
He smiled now, polite, but she found such politeness mocking. He came closer and she crossed her arms to shield herself from his consuming stature. If he noticed her discomfort, the man paid no attention because he stalked closer, closer, close enough so Medli felt the loneliness roiling off him in waves.
She gulped in a lungful of air and shook her head, throwing the last vestiges of the man's control. Getting to her feet, she scooted, as far away as possible from Link. Her heart beat frantically and she cowered at the edge.
This was not Link. The boy on the platform was the foreign man invading her mind.
"I can explain," he began and she violently recoiled. "I know you are afraid of me and I should've probably explained to you what the Command Melody does-"
"You aren't him," the Rito interjected, voice shaking. "You aren't Link. What did you do with him? Where is he?" Medli demanded, blinking the tears filming her vision. "Get out of his body!"
Taking a step forward to the hyperventilating Rito, Link decided against it and stood his ground. "Yes, I'm not him...I'm sorry." She swallowed and wiped her face, mouth agape in disbelief. "Link and I traded places, he is in my home world, as I am in his," he spoke slowly, waiting for the chaos of his words to filter into an explanation in Medli's mind. "You saw who I am, I'm older...not really the naive and sweet person Link is, I don't think twice about killing...I am trained as such and-"
"You are lonely," Medli finished.
Smoothing the involuntary frown furrowing his brows, Link nodded. Not what he wanted to say but it will do.
"Yes," he conceded, "I'm a bit lonely."
The fear in the Rito's eyes softened into curiosity but she did not dare approach him. "Will he be back?" she asked and Link shrugged truthfully. "Oh..." Medli sat, the strength drained from her limbs. "...You didn't tell me your name."
"Link," he offered and rummaged in his sack for a potion to calm her frayed nerves.
"No, your real name," Medli insisted childishly. She grabbed her harp and her fingers flew over the strings, teasing a light ditty.
Carefully handing her a potion, Link squatted on the ground. "My name is Link, we have the same name." He listened to the twanging of the strings. "You'd find it difficult to believe, but we share the same destiny."
"Do you know why you changed places?"
Gohdan's words replayed in Link's head. The Tower guardian admonished him of not being courageous enough. True courage did not come from venturing fearlessly in danger; it came from confronting the shameful things lying hidden in a person's heart.
Glancing at the switch teasing him with its distance, Link replied, "To be honest, I don't know. Although," he absentmindedly toyed with the WindWaker, "it's probably because I'm not fit to wield the Triforce of Courage."
Pillars of white light broke the sea of fog in front of them. Casting a sideways peek at Medli who seemed to be coping with her shock well enough, Link stepped inside the fog and paralysis seized his muscles. He painstakingly crawled to a shaft of light where the numbness released with a relieving snap. More circles of light peppered the room in random places and when the Rito followed him, Link warned her to stay back. She dully obeyed, fiddling with her harp. The golden instrument caught a fringe of light and it flashed across the cloud choking the room.
A little of the fog dissipated.
"I'm going to take over now," Link shouted across the floor space and she prepared herself.
Before venturing any further, they drew an agreement of sorts. Medli would allow Link to invade her mind only if he alerted her beforehand and any wayward memories flashing between them should not be discussed about. Ever. Link suspected she had feelings for the child and his suspicions were constantly confirmed every time he took over and glimpsed the flowery images she conjured of the boy.
Hmph...children these days.
Gripping the harp in Medli's pale fingers, Link angled it at the fog. The shroud of dusky blue dissolved in the onslaught of light and he moved forward, talons scratching on slate. A stake protruded off the ground and he darted to his inert body slumped on the floor. Grabbing the skull hammer, which nearly snapped Medli's delicate wrists, he pounded the stake and the steel bars shutting a door slid apart. Not bothering to return, Link snatched his body and dragged it to the next room.
Waking in the face of a slobbering, spear hefting moblin, Medli froze in fright, her palms up in a universal gesture of peace. From behind her, a blur of green revealed Link burying his sword in the Moblin's side and wrenching its spear off. The weapon clattered to the ground, tassels falling over the blade. Inching backwards from the plume of blood, the Rito waited for Link to dispatch another Moblin bursting from Goddess Din knew where. Link butchered them cleanly, wiping his blade across their steaming corpses and Medli resisted the urge to empty her stomach on the floor.
How did he kill those monsters without a single scream?
A terrified screech ripped through the room and Link dashed to Medli angling light on a poe. Lowering his sword disbelievingly, the hero suppressed an amused smirk. The thing was a poe, a harmless ghost. Rolling his eyes, he sauntered to the petrified ghost and shattered it with a swipe of his sword.
"The-there's another one behind you!" Medli fought to keep the wail out of her voice and failed spectacularly.
Without looking, Link drew his sword across the second poe and glared when his blade slid seamlessly through. The ghost bonked Link with its glowing lantern and the boy spat a curse. Medli flinched at his words. She angled her harp to reflect light and once the ghost solidified, Link smashed it with the hammer.
He touched the fragments, teeth clenched at the freezing bits. The poes in Hyrule needed their cores ripped out.
The ones here, needed to be purified by light.
Annoyed by the Re-dead wrapping its rotting arms around his paralyzed body and sucking on his headful of bright blonde hair, Link endured Medli's terrified scream. She screamed for him, he placated his spiking anger and snarled when the monster gnawed his skull. The goddamn teeth hurt. Bit by bit, the stiffness in his muscles unlocked and when the zombie raised its head for another paralyzing screech, Link drove his sword into its chin; the blade emerged through its skull.
Coffins lined the crypt and mold grew in the cracks between the walls. Leaving the Rito to fearfully strum her harp in the center of the pit, Link approached another funerary box. Strange symbols edged the coffin. The shapes had nothing in common with ancient or modern language. Most of the stone boxes contained rupees or treasures buried with bodies. Were these people anyone of importance? The hero pondered and pushed another coffin lid aside, the grate of stone on stone echoed too loudly. No re-dead jumped from its cold depths but cobwebs and centuries old dust wafted to the surface.
Sneezing, Link held his makeshift torch higher while Medli impatiently craned her neck to the lighted parts of the temple. Firelight showed lead grey walls and pebble black paths. Beckoning to Medli, Link climbed to higher ground. Uniform corridors stretched endlessly, punctuated by the occasional shaft of porcelain light.
Unlocking a door with a small key, the boy handed his torch to Medli and readied his sword and shield; he stormed fearlessly in the room, coming to a pause before a coffin ten times his size. Behind the humungous coffin inscribed with strange, unreadable symbols; brackets of candlelight pooled in small circles on the brick wall. Neck aching from trying to glimpse the top of the coffin, Link stepped back and renewed his grip on the blade.
"Careful," he warned Medli, "there is probably a huge monster in his room."
The Rito clutched the torch in clammy hands and jumped when the coffin's lid slid apart with an ear grating din.
"Oh, there it is," Link commented casually, not budging an inch even as a skeletal monster unfolded before him and reached for a metal mace.
The mace swung through the air, glinting in dismal light and Medli bit on her lips to prevent a scream. She tasted blood.
Stalfos swiped for the blood and flesh nuisance weaving around its mace. Gravel exploded upwards. It swung its weapon and cratered the once pristine burial chamber. Pockmarks stitched the cobblestone floor.
Hollow Master sword useless against the colossal bag of bones, Link switched to the skull hammer, narrowly avoiding a blow to his head. His toe throbbed and he hopped backwards, irritably glaring at his leg to cooperate. A swing from the mace skimmed cold air over the top of his slimy head and when Stalfos bowed low, he raised his hammer and bashed it on the skeleton's skull.
Joints popped, the skull hit a far corner, disintegrating into splinters. The spine collapsed one by one and the femur skidded across the ground, coming to a stop before Medli. Link frowned, a rivulet of blood dribbled down the corner of her mouth and lashing the hammer, he loped towards her.
She trembled uncontrollably and pointed one shaky finger to two other normal sized stalfos crawling out of their coffins.
Cursing under his breath, Link lit two bombs and lopped them one after the other at the jerking skeletons. They blew in a confetti of bone splinters. Turning his attention to Medli, he gently took the torch form her.
"Stop biting your lip," he coaxed, "and open your mouth, you are bleeding." Link retrieved a potion from his bag and hunted for a wad of bandages. The linen eluded him. "Spit the blood out."
Shivering, Medli did as he instructed, scrunching her beak-nose in disgust at the blood and saliva pouring out of her mouth.
Rinsing his hands with stinging alcohol, Link dipped his fingers in the potion and touched the corner of her mouth, swiping his finger across her swollen lip. The Rito blinked back tears. "You're being very brave," he soothed, the mock politeness in his face mellowing, "for coming all the way here." He pointed to the gloomy Earth Temple. "The books write little about the temple, I don't know what I'm going against, I'm not really sure who is buried in here," he jerked his chin towards the coffins, "and it smells of dust and mold." Link wiped his hands at the edge of his tunic, smearing watery blood and flecks of potion on the green cloth.
"Were you a doctor?" Medli asked as Link used his newly acquired mirror shield to reflect light on symbols of the moon and sun. A door opened and they traversed through. "How...err...old are you?" she questioned awkwardly and hoped he would not take offence.
"Old enough to be your older brother," he quipped and cocked his head, studying the golden idol and the distance of the beams of light. "And no, I wasn't a doctor, I herded goats."
"Goats?" the Rito repeated uncertainly and brought out her harp, copying Link and shining light into the idol's hollow eyes. "I don't think I've ever seen one."
The idol glowed with a warm light, reducing the fog into intangible wisps. Marching to the artifact, Link touched it and the metal seared his hands. So this thing was constructed from pure gold? He inhaled sharply, unbelievable. It must weigh at least several hundred kilograms. Caressing the intricate engraving on the idol's surface, Link reluctantly pulled away, descending through a series of steps, he looked backward, making sure Medli followed him.
"Goats are livestock," he explained. A stone tablet bearing the Earth God's lyric and the symbol etched on Medli's harp, barred the way and he extracted the WindWaker. "I don't eat them though; they are my kids," he stated fondly and sighed. "We have another gate to pass, let's finish this quickly and I'll draw you a picture of a goat when we get back to my boat."
Fingers stringing the harp, Medli smiled.
Perhaps this Link wasn't so bad after all.
A/N: I know Uli doesn't give birth till after the game in TP but let's be honest, Twilight taking over and receding from Hyrule in the span of less than nine months sounds impossible. Uli was already visibly pregnant, so the events theoretically occurred in around six months or so. No wonder TP Link left, he couldn't deal with the aftermath.
Anyway, please read and review people, constructive criticism and theories are well appreciated. Take care to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated.