Farrow realized they had reached Hateno when she heard children's laughter. She opened her eyes to see the village entrance, guarded by a man holding a pitchfork and leaning back against the stone wall. As she and Link approached, the man pushed off from the wall and adjusted the brim of his hat to get a look at them. Farrow used her good arm to pull Kazim to a stop and heard Link's horse stop behind her too.

"What business—oh, I see." The man grimaced as he caught sight of Farrow's injury. "Doctor's up the cliff. Take the main path through."

Farrow didn't need the directions, but she was too tired to say anything. She nudged Kazim forward and fixed her gaze on the road. In the corner of her vision she could see a couple of women fall silent to stare at her as they passed. No doubt her arrival would be the gossip of the day.

The pain that had radiated from her shoulder to her arm and spine had faded into numbness about a half-mile back. The blissful lack of pain and Kazim's gentle gate were making it difficult to stay awake.

A hand on her shoulder jerked Farrow out of her half-asleep state. She turned to see Link leaned out from his saddle, frowning at her. Farrow looked forward to see they were nearly halfway up the hill to Purah's tower. She could have sworn she'd only shut her eyes for a second.

"I'm okay," she said. She took a deep breath and smelled the salt of the ocean. For the rest of the way up the hill, Farrow focused entirely on staying awake. Occasionally she'd glance at the sun, or shake her head, but by the time they reached the tower, she kept finding her eyes closing and her head falling forward.

She blinked, and found Kazim had stopped in front of Purah's front door. Something was tugging on her foot. She looked down to see Link was shaking her boot to get her attention, his expression grim. Kazim and Link's horse were already tied to a tree, but Farrow couldn't remember when he'd done that.

Link shook her boot again and make a 'come here,' gesture and pointed to the ground.

"Okay," Farrow said. Her leg responded slowly to her commands, and she had to try three times before she got her left boot out of the stirrup. "I'm probably gonna fall," Farrow said, her own voice sounding distant.

Link nodded and held out his arms.

Farrow used the strength she had left to swing her leg over the saddle and tried to step down from the other stirrup. Her leg gave out immediately as the world greyed around her. She fell for only a moment before Link caught her under her arms. He grunted from the impact, but set her one her feet easily. When Farrow found she couldn't set her legs properly, he slung her good arm over his shoulder and half-dragged her to the front door.

Link paused when her reached the wooden door, then kicked it twice.

A muffled voiced yelled back. "Come in!" Farrow thought the voice sounded oddly young, but maybe she was even more out of it than she'd thought.

Link shifted Farrow's weight and reached out to open the door. It swung open without a sound to reveal Purah's laboratory. Link pulled her inside.

Farrow scanned the room for Purah, but couldn't find the old woman. Her assistant, Symin, stood at his desk on the opposite side of the room, his face buried in a book. A child sat at a nearby table, closing a notebook as they entered. The girl stood on her chair as they approached and squinted at them through a familiar set of glasses.

"If you're looking for the doctor—" the girl cut off, blinked at them, and leapt from her chair. "Symin! Get my med-kit. Make it snappy!" The child scuttled over to them and tugged on Farrow's pant leg. "Set her down over here."

Link followed the girl to a nearby stool, his expression baffled. A moment later Symin appeared with a large case and opened it on the table next to them. Link set Farrow down on the seat, but lingered next to her.

"Wait," Farrow squinted at the girl rifling through the medical supplies, "where's Purah?"

Symin gave her a small smile and pointed to the girl. "That would be the doctor."

"Farrow," the girl said, giving Farrow's cheek a gentle tap, "it's me silly!"

Farrow squinted harder. "No. You're not." Her first thought was that maybe this girl was he daughter or granddaughter. But this girl was too similar—the girl's face looked exactly like Purah's, if she'd been maybe a hundred years younger "What the fuck did you do?" she heard herself ask.

Purah grinned. "That's my question. How did you manage to find Link and get shot? Although, I get the feeling those two things aren't unrelated." As she spoke, Purah cut through the back of Farrow's tunic. Farrow could sew it later, if it wasn't too badly damaged. "Brace yourself," Purah said the same moment she poured something over Farrow's injury.

"Ahh! Purah!" Farrow gritted her teeth against the new burning pain that the disinfectant lit in her wound.

"Well if you're that loud you must be fine." Purah said. "Symin, mix me some numbing potion."

Link held out his open book towards Purah. She paused in her work to squint at it. "Yiga clan, huh? I'll have to send a message to Impa. And don't bother writing Link, you know I speak sign language."

Farrow looked to Link. "You know her?"

Link stared back at Farrow with a confused expression and shook his head. It must have something to do with his memory loss. If he'd known Impa, it wouldn't be odd if he'd known her sister too.

"Link lost his memory," Farrow said, realizing after she'd said it he might not want her blurting that out. Her head was too fuzzy to think properly.

Purah paused to stare at Link. "I'm . . . sorry to hear that, but not surprised. We'll talk about this more later. It's hard enough to focus with this toddler brain when I'm not multitasking." Purah came to stand in front of Farrow and put her hands on her hips. "To remove the arrow, we're gonna have to do some surgery. We'll do what we can to numb you, but it's gonna suck."

Farrow grimaced. "I expected that. Let's get it over with."

Purah nodded and handed her the beaker of purple liquid. "Drink all of that."

Farrow took the glass, and before she could smell the contents, she drank it in three gulps. She grimaced against the fishy taste. "Done."

Purah checked the empty beaker and nodded. "You'll start to feel it in about five minutes." Purah snapped her fingers without looking up and darted across the room. "Symin I need paper and ink. Link, where did you fight the Yiga clan member? Did you kill them or did they get away? Details!"

Link glanced down at Farrow and hesitated to follow Purah. Farrow waved him away with her good arm. "I'm fine. Go fill her in."

Link nodded and stepped away. Farrow watched as he joined Purah at her desk and they began a silent conversation in hand signals. Purah would stop to write something down every few seconds. Farrow thought she caught a few question signs pass between them, but couldn't track much else. The numbing potion was beginning to kick in, which wasn't helping.

A moment later Farrow watched as Purah folded the paper into a diamond shape. She drew a strange looping symbol on the front of the letter before holding it up and snapping her fingers. The symbol lit like an ember and bled across the paper. In a moment it had burned the paper from the air, but no ash had been left behind.

Purah hopped down from her chair. "Once Impa reads that she'll send out a team to get rid of the body and tighten patrols in that area. Luckily, that only thing the clan will know is that a warrior didn't return from the area, which can easily be attributed to the Sheikah." She clapped her hands as she came to a stop in front of Farrow. "How are you feeling?"

Farrow stared through her, and blinked slowly. Did her glasses have eyelashes? "Your glasses are funny."

Purah laughed. "Pretty good then. Let's get started. Symin!" Purah signed something to Link, but Farrow didn't understand any of it.

Link gave Purah a nod, but paled a little bit. He pulled up a stool and sat in front of Farrow, facing her. He gave her a wobbly smile.

Farrow smiled back. "You're a distraction, aren't you?"

Link's smile turned a little crooked and he shook his head frantically.

Farrow snorted. "Uh-huh." Farrow knew he was lying, but found it hilarious for some reason

A sharp pain in her shoulder snapped Farrow out of her amused daze. She reached for her shoulder instinctively, but Link grabbed her hand and pulled it away. He gave her a smile, but his eyes were panicked.

"Bear with it for a little more," Purah said behind her. "We'll be done soon."

Before Farrow could say a word another flare of pain stabbed into her shoulder. She clenched her jaw and squeezed Link's hand. She stayed that way through the next wave of pain as Purah and Symin muttered behind her. Something gave in her shoulder, and she heard something wooden clunk down on the table beside her. She realized they'd removed the arrow.

"Worst part is over," Purah said.

A dull pressure tugged at her wound, but it felt more ticklish than painful. Purah must have been stitching up the wound. Moments later, Purah made the last stitch and bandaged the wound.

Purah stepped down from her stool and wiped her hands on a towel. "We're done, Farrow. Link, help her to the cot in the corner."

Farrow stood with Link's hand at her elbow and collapsed onto the cot he led her too. She lay face down. Sleep pulled her into unconsciousness within seconds.

|||((0))|||

Farrow groaned and buried her face in the soft pillow beneath her. She felt the edges of sleep still, and was tempted to return to it, but sighed and turned over. Pain arced across her shoulder as she did, and she remembered where she was and what had happened.

She pushed herself up with her good arm and sat on the edge of the cot. She could see the golden glow of the sunrise through the lab window. A pot simmered in the fireplace, filling the room with the smell of soup. Link and Purah sat hunched over his Sheikah slate at the nearby desk. As Farrow sat up, they both turned to look at her.

"Farrow," Purah said, "glad to see you're up. How are you feeling?"

Farrow stood. "Like I was shot in the shoulder. But much better, thank you." As she said it, she noticed her arm hung in a sling. Probably to protect her injured muscles from further damage.

"Of course," Purah said and pointed to the pot on the fire. "Grab some soup and join us."

Farrow did as she was told and sat across from them. "And thank you for getting me here," she said to Link.

Link snorted and signed something at her.

Purah spoke. "He says 'That's my line."

Farrow smiled. "Eh, we helped each other get here then." Her smile faded as she remembered what brought them here. "Has Link talked with you about the memory loss thing?"

Purah nodded. "It wasn't unexpected. We knew the shrine of resurrection would save him, but he was in pretty bad shape when we put him in it. Some memory loss was one of the complications we predicted."

Farrow blinked. "The shrine of resurrection? What is that? And what do you mean you put him in it?" Farrow knew Purah wouldn't have had the time to go anywhere like the great plateau since she'd seen her last.

Purah looked surprised as she glanced from Link to Farrow.

Link stared at the table, a conflicted expression on his face.

"I see," Purah said. "Well, I should let Link explain then."

Link shook his head and looked up. He gave Farrow and apologetic smile before nodding to Purah.

"I should explain?" Purah asked. Link nodded. "Well then." Purah clasped her hands on the table. "Farrow, as I believe I've mentioned, I was alive during the fall of Hyrule. What do you know about that day?"

Farrow frowned. "The Calamity awoke, stole control of the guardians and used them to destroy most of Hyrule. At Fort Hateno the Princess and the Hero stopped them, but the Hero died and the Princess vanished."

Purah nodded. "Most of that is true. Princess Zelda went to fight the Calamity. She is the force that holds it back from ravaging this land. She has remained in Hyrule castle for the last one hundred years." Purah pushed up her glasses and met Farrow's gaze. "The Hero did not die. He was fatally wounded, but before he could pass, my assistants and I put him in the shrine of resurrection on the great plateau. The shrine is a marvel of ancient technology, and can restore any wound, with time. Link was the Hero."

Farrow looked from Purah to Link. When she heard of the ancient Hero, a specific person didn't come to mind, but she'd never pictured a boy younger than her. Link glanced up at her, his expression a mix of guilt and shame. She stood up.

"He's the Hero?" she asked Purah, her voice a little louder than she'd intended.

Purah's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Yes. He is."

Farrow stared at her. "He's a kid!" Farrow faced Link. "You're what? Seventeen? Eighteen?"

Link glanced away and shrugged.

"He's seventeen," Purah said with a sigh. She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. Farrow found such a weary gesture disconcerting on the face of a child. "The kingdom of Hyrule was a different place years ago. I didn't agree with many of the King's decisions, but it also wasn't an easy age to live in." She put her glasses back on. "Think of it this way: Link was chosen by the goddess as the Hero of courage. We knew it, and when it arrived so would Calamity Ganon. We could either let him live in ignorance until the day Calamity Ganon came for him . . ." Purah glared at the table, "or we could prepare him for it."

Farrow sat back down. "I see. I'm sorry."

"That's all right. I know this is a lot to wrap your head around." Purah stood on her chair and clapped her hands together. "Now: Link's Sheikah slate is all fixed up, and so are you, which means it's time for him to head to Sheikah village. I send a message to my sister and she's stationed someone to wait for you by the entrance to the pass."

Purah fixed her gaze on Farrow. "Farrow, I'd like to ask you to escort Link. Not just to Sheikah village, but across Hyrule. He needs to defeat Calamity Ganon before it overcomes Princess Zelda and destroys Hyrule, and to do that he'll need to awaken the divine beasts. Impa will tell you more when you get there. But his slate is missing most of its map, and with his memory loss, there will be areas he'll need help through. I can pay you for the trouble."

Farrow glanced at Link. He was watching her with his best neutral expression, but she could see the hope in his gaze. She closed her eyes. Farrow didn't quite believe that Link was the hero from the stories. It was hard to equate Link, the kid who'd been afraid of horses, with the Hero of legend from one hundred years ago. The Hero that had defended Fort Hateno and slain waves of monsters singlehandedly. But it fit what she knew about him. Why he didn't know about blonde hair, how he'd gotten on the plateau, why the Yiga clan member knew his name, and why he was missing his memory. She opened her eyes to find the hope in Link's expression was fading to disappointment.

"I'll do it," she said, questioning her own sanity. "And don't worry about paying me. I'll be traveling anyway so I'll just let him tag along."

Link beamed. 'Thank you,' he signed.

Farrow smiled. "No problem." She looked to Purah. "I take it we should leave as soon as possible?"

"I think so, yes." Purah said. "I'll give you some medicine before you go, and a few supplies." She narrowed her eyes at Farrow. "And you. Take it easy on that arm for at least three weeks. Understand?"

Farrow waved away the warning with her good hand. "I know, I know."

Purah squinted at her for a few more seconds before sighing. "I guess that's as good as I'm getting. Let's see about giving you some supplies."

|||((0))|||

As Farrow stepped out of Purah's lab, she was greeted by an excited whinny. Kazim trotted up and shoved his nose into her face, nearly knocking her over.

Farrow laughed and stroked his mane. "I'm happy to see you too." When Kazim had finished his inspection of her, she examined his saddle and tried to decide how she'd do this one-handed.

Link tapped her on the shoulder and made a pushing motion then pointed to the saddle.

Farrow frowned, then nodded. "Yes, please."

Link grinned and helped push her up and into the saddle. She settled and found it was easier to hold the reigns one handed than she'd expected.

Once they were in their saddles, Purah looked them over. "I wish you both luck. You're welcome back here anytime."

'Thank you,' Link signed.

Farrow nodded in agreement. "See you 'round, Purah."

On their way down the cliff Farrow glanced at Link.

"We're getting you better clothes," She said, eyeing Link's ill-fitting shirt.

Link glanced down at his outfit with raised eyebrows.

"I'm getting cold just looking at you," Farrow said. At just that moment a cold ocean breeze blew over them, tugging at link's shirt and sending a visible shiver up his spine. "See?" Farrow said, waving a hand at him. "There's a tailor in town we'll visit before we leave."

Link nodded, staring down at his clothes and tugging at the hem.

Farrow snorted and they made their way down the rest of the cliff in silence. As they reached the out skirts of town they passed a looming oak tree. From behind the trunk, Farrow caught the faint hiss of whispering. She narrowed her eyes at the tree, thinking the voices sounded young.

A boy peaked out from behind the tree. His eyes widened when he saw her looking. He yelped and ducked back.

"Hey," Farrow barked. "Get out here right now. Both of you." After a moment, the two kids stepped out. The boy was about seven with a mop of black hair, and the girl next to him with dark braids was a little younger.

"What are you too doing out here?" Farrow snapped. They weren't outside of town, technically, but they weren't any adults nearby, and the monsters could get bold.

The boy kicked the dirt. "Looking for the new kid," he mumbled.

Farrow raised an eyebrow. "What new kid?"

The girl pointed to Purah's lab. "Tim said a new girl lives there."

They had to be talking about Purah. Farrow sighed. Two kids trying to wander up a cliff, what could go wrong? "Okay, you're coming with us." Farrow stepped down from Kazim's saddle with a twinge of pain in her shoulder. Link hopped down too.

"Uhhh," the boy glanced around, "you're not gonna tell our moms, right?"

"No," Farrow lied, "but you two are coming back into town." She'd drop them off with their parents and let them chew the kids out. They marched the kids the rest of the way into town, the kids reluctantly following her and Link.

The old man stationed in front of the inn chuckled as they passed. "Their house is just up those steps, if you happen to be looking for it."

"Thanks," Farrow nodded to him. After securing their horses at the stable, Farrow turned to Link, but kept one eye on the kids shuffling nearby. "I'm going to bring these two home. You go to the building at the end of town, on the right, and ask for a set of traveling clothes."

Link glanced back and pointed to the building with a raised eyebrow.

"That's the one. I'll meet you there. Oh, and don't let them sell you that suit of armor they keep trying to pawn off, okay? That things a heavy hunk of useless and don't let them convince you otherwise."

Link flashed her a smile and darted off to get his new threads.

Farrow propped her one working arm on her hip and turned her stare on the kids. "Let's get this over with."

|||((0))|||

The boy paled as Farrow knocked on the front door. The girl tried to drift away, but Farrow towed her back by the back of her cotton dress. "Nice try."

The door swung open and an irritated woman peered out. Her expression morphed to surprise, then suspicion when she saw the kids.

"Miles and Becka Smith, what did you do?" The mother's tone was one all children feared. The boy shrugged and examined his feet. The girl did likewise.

Farrow snorted. "These two were on their way to Purah's lab. I caught them at the big oak tree."

The mother smiled, but it wasn't amused. "Is that so? That's odd, since I specifically recall telling you both to not pass the inn. Inside. Now."

The children scuttled passed her and into the house, vanishing into the kitchen. Once they were gone, the mother turned a grateful expression to Farrow. "Thank you. Sorry for the trouble."

Farrow waved her good hand. "Don't worry about it. I just don't want them to do it again."

"Oh, we'll have words. Here," the woman ducked away for a second and came back with a small roll of bread. It was steaming and warm as Farrow accepted it. "For your trouble."

"Oh, thank you," Farrow said. "You have a good one."

"You too." The door shut, and as Farrow walked away, she caught the raised voice of an angry mother drifting through the door. She smirked and took a bit out of the roll.

She decided to stop by Sayge's shop before finding Link. She stepped into the shop and the sharp smells of dyes washed over her. She grimaced, finished her roll in two bites, and approached the man.

"Hey, Sayge," she said, "I'm back again."

The man turned, vials of colorful liquid in each gloved hand. "Oh-ho! Already? And sporting a new badge of victory I see," he said, nodding to her injury.

Farrow glared at the sling. "I guess you could call it that. You have another batch ready for me?"

Sayge nodded and set down his vials. He shuffled over to a cabinet and opened the worn oak door. Inside, hundreds of little bottle glinted in the dim light. Syage shuffled through them, rattling the vials as he went. "So, how goes our little business?"

"Well," Farrow said, digging through her own pack awkwardly to get her bag of empty vials. "A few new customers up north, but nothing much else."

"Hm, good." The man withdrew a tray of vials filled with clear liquid. He accepted the bag of empty ones from her, and helped her refill it with the new ones.

Sayge had been the genius behind the hair dye. His son had been born with blonde hair. It hadn't been much of a problem in the safety of Hateno, but one unlucky day he'd wandered too close to the beach.

A bokoblin had attacked him. A nearby farmer had heard the boy's screams and chased the monster off with her pitchfork, but the boy had been badly injured. He had some nasty scars on his face and arm, but had otherwise fully recovered.

Sayge had decided to find a way to hide his son, after that. He'd found a safe way to dye hair after three months, and his son had been a red-head ever since.

Farrow had heard of the achievement when she'd visited Hateno a few years back and found the two blonde kids is the town had been replaced with a red-head and a brunette. She was an average tradeswoman at that point, but she'd seen the business opportunity, and more importantly, the chance to save some kids.

After a short, similarly minded discussion with Sayge, they'd shook hands and started the traveling hair dye business.

"Here you go," Farrow handed him his cut of the profits. They spilt them fifty-fifty, and Farrow was quite happy with it.

Sayge accepted the rupees and gave her a pat on the good shoulder. "Good work. You want to stay for dinner? You look like you need the break."

Farrow smiled. "Thanks, but I got hired for a time sensitive job and have to leave town as soon as possible. Say hi to the wife and son for me?"

"Of course. Good luck now." Sayge waved her goodbye, and Farrow left the shop.

She checked the vials in her pack and glanced in the direction of the tailor's shop. She'd have to talk to Link about his hair. He didn't have to dye it, but I'd be safer for the both of them if he did, or concealed it somehow.

She shouldered her bag and headed for the tailor.