Chapter I
He rolled over unto his side, twisting his bulky covers over his slender frame. He groggily opened his icy blue eyes, expecting to see the black marble sun dial that sat out in the sunlight on the balcony of his two-story town house. Instead, he found himself staring into two ocean-deep black pools, which blinked benignly at him.
Link gave a muffled cry, and tried to jump away from that which had startled him, falling in a heap of blankets onto the log floor. Above him, he heard loud, taunting, laughter. He looked up to see his neighbor, Bîlítõ, pretending to wipe away tears of glee from his dark eyes. He scrambled to his feet, pulling the blanket around his shoulders , and turned towards the boy, his face wearing a chagrined and angry expression.
"What was that for?" Link demanded, glaring down at his undersized friend, who was now groveling away from the tall and incensed young man standing before him.
"I couldn't help it," Bîlítõ said, struggling not to laugh, but looking a bit fidgety at the same time, "It was really late, and you drank too much last night, so I just wanted to see if you were okay. You were just lying there like you were dead, so I got up in your face, and I- I-" He was snickering so much he couldn't finish his sentence.
"It isn't funny!" Link said angrily, clenching his hands into fists. The dark haired young man ignored him and continued to laugh, clutching his sides and throwing back his head. Finally, Link became fed up, and kicked Bîlítõ, rather hard, in the shin.
Bîlítõ fell silent immediately, and dropped noisily next to Link on the bed, massaging the damaged appendage and whining.
"That was uncalled for," he said, sounding blandly riled.
"At least now you've shut up," Link said, laughing as he watched the boy rub his leg. "What time is it, anyway."
"Seven o'clock," said Bîlítõ, avoiding Link's frigid eyes.
"Seven o'clock!" the blonde exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought you said it was late!"
"It is," Bîlítõ said, indignantly folding his arms across his skinny chest.
"By your deranged standards," said Link, appalled "Get out, I'm going back to sleep."
"No you're not," the young black-haired man cried, dragging Link off of the mattress by his arm. "We're going out, and you're going to help me run errands, since you have nothing better to do than nap."
For the second time, Link fell to the ground with a loud thud. Groaning, he sat up, Bîlítõ watching him with an amused smile.
"Get up," he commanded, pointing a tanned finger towards him. Then he made a face of disgust. "But first, put on some pants."
"Don't order me around!" Link hissed through gritted teeth, angry at having his sleep interrupted.
"Shut up," Bîlítõ said absently, walking down the stairs, his feet slapping against the tile steps.
* * * * *
When Link finished getting dressed, he went down into the kitchen to see Bîlítõ sitting at the ancient table, a whiskey in his hand.
"Isn't it a bit early to drink?" Link asked, sitting down next to him, and stretching his hands across the oak surface of the table, running his nails down a crack in the wood. "Oh, I forgot. Early hours don't affect you, you nut."
"It'll keep me warm," Bîlítõ said, waving the precautions of his friend aside and taking another swill.
"Warm? Why would you need to keep warm?"
"Din, Link," Bîlítõ said, raising an eyebrow towards the sagging ceiling, "Did you even look outside? It's a blizzard out there, my man."
"Great," Link said morosely. "What a phenomenal friend you are, Bîlítõ."
"Thank you," said Bîlítõ, grinning wickedly, ignoring the other's sarcasm. "You might want to put on a cloak or something. You'll freeze."
Link scowled, and Bîlítõ laughed again, rising from his seat and taking another lengthy swig.
"What? We're going already."
"Yes," the boy said shortly, throwing a cape over his shoulders. "Now go get a cloak, or else you'll form into a little ice cube, and you'll float away and we'll never see you again." He paused, unusually thoughtful. "But at least then you'd never have to look at that bothersome Akanu for the rest of eternity. Would the life of an iceberg by worth that?" Bîlítõ found his little joke very amusing, and laughed rudely.
"Let's go," said Link, pulling the cuffs of a robe up around his neck. He grabbed the whiskey glass from Bîlítõ, and threw it onto a pile of dirty clothes in the corner of the room.
"Hey!" Bîlítõ exclaimed, narrowing his eyes. "What a waste!"
"Anymore, and I'd have to drag you around," Link replied, grinning at Bîlítõ's anger.
"So?" Bîlítõ asked, buttoning the front of his cape and tightening it to keep out the cold. "What's so bad about that?"
The two walked towards the front door, laughing and joking like good companions, but when Bîlítõ had brought up Akanu, Link had been reminded of his feelings of distraction. He didn't mention them to his friend, knowing that he would only brush them off. Still, Link now wondered what had happened the previous eve, and whether it had anything to do with the harassing girl.
"Hey, Bîlítõ," Link said, as the reached the door. He leaned against the wall, trying to look unconcerned. "What happened last night? I can't remember anything."
"Well, duh, after drinking that much I'm really not surprised. You, me, General Tomoku, and Juror Aelo played this dumb drinking game. You and Juror Aelo lost pretty badly."
"I don't have as much practice as you," Link said irritably, not wanting to have any distractions from his subject. "But what about Akanu? Was she there?"
"Have you ever been to a party where she wasn't there?" Bîlítõ asked dryly, shaking his head, black dread-locks flying. "Malon didn't even invite her, and she showed up anyway. I think she's stalking you, man."
"Did she do anything odd?"
"She only stared at you half the night. If that's not weird, I don't know what is. Oh, and she got in a fight with Fidget. Fidget, poor girl, was slapped up pretty badly, and you tried to interfere. Akanu flipped out and left."
"That's all?" asked Link, relieved.
"That's all?!" said Bîlítõ as he opened the door, incredulous. "Yes, that's all. And you think I'm loony. Good Gods, the boy's lost it."
As soon as they stepped outside into the street, a gust of icy arctic air struck their faces, causing them to flinch and withdraw into the confines of their hoods. Still, Link shivered, and pulled the cloak up around his ears. Bîlítõ, on the other hand, was overjoyed.
"Winter!" he cried, running ahead of Link and throwing his arms into the air towards the heavy sky above. His uncanny behavior earned him a few reproachful stares from the passerby, which were few due to the hour and the poor weather.
"Ah, glorious blizzard! How I've missed you!" he yelled, running in circles. "Hey, Link!" he cried, picking up a pile of snow, and packing it into a ball. "Catch!"
The snowball fell just short of Links feet. He laughed, in spite of himself. Having seen snow every year, Link was unimpressed by its capabilities. But Bîlítõ had only moved to the northern part of Hyrule a few months earlier, forsaking the desert he had been raised in in hopes of opening his own edibles store in the big city. Bîlítõ had the joy of a child at almost everything in the city, and his cheery and bright-eyed delight was infectious, even for somber Link.
Despite the fact that he was new in the town, had Gerudu blood in him, and was from the Haunted Wasteland as well, Bîlítõ was already well-known and well-loved by all in the city. His light-hearted nature and open, handsome face quickly won over any and all. His business was suffering because he constantly gave away free goods to the customers, and he neglected the shop sometimes in the midst of doing good deeds for others. He was the stereotype of a cliché of a sweet country boy in the bustling metropolis.
Link ran to catch up with him, kicking up fine mists of sparkling white powder behind him. The wind was subsiding now, and the clouds were not so thick and heavy. It would be a fine day after all.
"You see?" Bîlítõ asked, laughing as Link slipped and fell into a snow bank, sending snow flying everywhere. "Wasn't this a good idea? Aren't I always right?"
"Don't get cocky," said Link, trying to sound serious, but failing miserably. "There are a few ideas I should remind you of, that you won't be so proud of."
Bîlítõ bent over and pulled him to his feet, chuckling as Link tried to dust himself off with his remaining dignity.
"Quiet you," Bîlítõ said, smiling warmly and winking. "Be a good friend, and don't mention that cow-milker to anyone."
"Oh, look!" Link said cheerfully, motioning up to the balcony of a huge house. A young and beautiful girl stood there, looking down at the near empty streets. "It's Ixchelia!"
"Ah, the fair Ixchelia," Bîlítõ said, prancing around in the snow. "How I pine for thee! Would that you would return my affections!"
"Come on, you freak," Link said, tugging him away from the girl, who was now staring down at them, shocked.
"Hey!" Bîlítõ said, offended. "That wasn't nice. Fare thee well, my love!" he called to the girl. She simply gazed at him, a smile of amusement on her face.
"So where are we going?" Link asked, as they continued on their way, heading towards the large drawbridge that was currently being shoveled clear to help keep the flow of traffic at it's maximum level.
"Lon Lon Ranch," Bîlítõ said, gesturing ahead towards the large building set into the small plateau. "Talon's leg is bothering him again, so I thought I'd go and help him with deliveries."
"Good luck getting there in less than half an hour, gnome," Link said cruelly, smirking.
"That's why we left early, genius," Bîlítõ said, standing on his tiptoes slapping Link gently on the back of his head. "But just to make things interesting, how about a race?"
"No," said Link. "I'm not in the mood to watch you humiliate yourself this early in the morning."
"Come on," Bîlítõ whined, clasping his hands. "Please!?"
"Yergh," Link said, throwing his hands up in despair. "Alright. To the ranch entry."
The two set off running, jumping through snow piles, their clothing coated in a layer of fine, shimmering dust that glistened in the feeble sunlight. Bîlítõ was fairly fast, but he was untrained and not used to the extreme weather conditions. Link, on the other hand, was tall and long-legged, and easily cut through the drifts.
About five minutes later, Link, gasping for air , reached the entry, his lungs and legs aching with over-exertion. He extended a gloved hand, and grabbed one of the large wooden pillars, giving his limbs a chance to rest. Resting his head briefly against the stone wall, he shook his head, chuckling breathlessly. He glanced over his shoulder in time to see Bîlítõ, several feet away, trip in his own legs and tumble to the ground in a heap.
As Bîlítõ got to his feet, Link pretended to be asleep, and snored gently. The short, dark-haired boy approached him, looking irritated.
"No fair," he said. "You're legs are longer, you're used to this, and I'm not."
"That's your fault, pygmy," Link taunted. Bîlítõ made a face, and headed off towards the ranch. Link followed him, taking extra long strides to accentuate his height.
"You don't need to emphasize the point," Bîlítõ said, looking hurt.
"Don't worry," Link said soothingly. "I won't tell Ixchelia what a gnome you are."
Bîlítõ shook his head in resignation. "I'm a midget," he said, smiling with submission.
"Not a midget. You're not that short."
Suddenly, Bîlítõ froze, glancing around worriedly.
"What, now?" Link asked, annoyed. "The drifts aren't too deep for you, are they?"
Bîlítõ raised a hand, telling him to be quiet. "Did you hear that?" he whispered.
"Hear what?" Link demanded, wondering what Bîlítõ was on about.
"I thought... I thought I heard a scream," Bîlítõ said, shrugging, but looking apprehensive nonetheless.
"It was probably nothing," Link said, shaking his head.
Then, floating across the plain behind them, carried by the wind, the both clearly heard the sound of someone yelling in a strange language.
Bîlítõ and Link exchanged glances. "Still think I imagined it?" Bîlítõ asked proudly, and a bit nervously.
Link shook his head again. "Should we go check it out?" he asked, his voice soft, as though he didn't want to be overheard.
"Why? It's probably just tourists, mad at the weather," Bîlítõ said, snickering unkindly.
"I think we should," Link announced.
"You're the muscle," Bîlítõ said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I'm just the pygmy sidekick. If you say we should, I guess we should."
"Let's go-" Link began.
"Wait. What if it's something dangerous?"
Link smiled a little. "You can stay behind if you want. Just stay here."
"No way," Bîlítõ said angrily. "I'm not going to wait behind while you get your ass whipped by some giant alpaca or something. I'm coming too."
"You have to keep up," said Link, preparing to break into a sprint. "I'm not slowing down for you."
"No need!" Bîlítõ called, as Link sped off towards where they had heard the sound coming from.
Ahead of him, along the horizon, he could see a lone figure. In the blinding white light that reflected off of the snow, it seemed like an old man, hunched over with age and weariness. Link picked up his pace, forcing himself to ignore the pressing pain in his lungs and side, and continue the punishing pace.
As soon as Link stepped into view for the stranger, the old man turned his gaze on him. Link froze on the spot. His limbs turned to a rubbery jumble. The figure before him was so much the same, yet so very different at the same time. This man had haunted his memories for years, while Link wondered what had happened to him.
"R-Rauru?"
Heya! Thanks so much for the reviews! I got this up pretty quick, ya see? It's all because of you! So keep those reviews coming in! Haha, no I'm just joking, I love reviews, but I'll continue even if I don't get any more.