Author's Preface:
Recommended Background Music: Sanctuary - The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Link regained consciousness in a hard cot with a horrid headache. He groaned in pain as he sat up slowly. Throwing off the blanket that had been put over him, Link clutched his head and considered his surroundings.
He was back in the guardhouse. While he had not seen the guard's barracks, it was clear that was where he had been placed. He looked at the empty cots around him, still scattered with various personal belongings. Those items will never be reclaimed… Link suddenly realized sadly. He exhaled sharply as his head throbbed again.
The room was a long rectangle, with maybe a dozen cots in it. The walls were made with wood just like the rest of the guardhouse. Beside each bed lay a small nightstand, and cubbies were mounted on the far wall, containing more of the former occupants' possessions. He suddenly heard a noise from outside the room.
"Link, you awake?" he heard a male voice call.
"Letz, that you?" Link replied, his head still in agony.
"Yeah, give me a second." Link heard several objects being moved around, before the soldier came through the doorway. Letz wasn't wearing his uniform or helmet but rather a basic brown tunic. His face was marked with concern as looked at Link. The guardsman swiftly moved to the cot adjacent to Link and sat down across from him.
"You feeling better?" the man asked him. "I thought you were dead when I saw you by the road, covered in blood and still as the grave." Letz's face showed real concern and his blue eyes studied Link for injury.
"Fine except for a terrible headache," Link replied. Letz smiled sympathetically.
"Velretta mentioned you might have a headache. That tracking sedative is meant for large game like deer. That's a hefty dose for a hylian." Link nodded absently through the pain in his head.
"How long was I out?" the Ordonian asked.
"It's late morning now," Letz replied. Link grunted in response while moving to the edge of the cot. The hero started to rise, but his head swam as he tried to get up. He started to stumble, but Letz grabbed him then, helping him back into the cot.
"It might take a day or two for that stuff to wear off. Until then you need to take it slow," Letz told him while assisting him. Link nodded absently, taking a second to steady himself.
"How's the village doing?" the hero asked, trying to distract himself from the pain. Letz grimaced at the question, failing to answer immediately. Link looked up sharply, quickly taking in the man's facial expression.
"Oh no, what now?" Link asked worriedly. Letz started to speak but hesitated. When he next spoke, his tone was calming and nonconfrontational.
"Look you just overcame Garsus," the guardsman told him. "Maybe take some time to rest and then we can-"
"What's going on, Letz?" Link questioned the man again. The sergeant sighed. He replied in a flat voice, as though giving the news in a nondramatic tone would lessen its impact.
"Velretta's getting ready to talk to the villagers to prepare them to rebel from Hyrule."
"WHAT?!" Link shouted at Letz's face. The guard flinched back at the response. "All this work and she wants to do what?!"
"I know, I know. I tried telling her that she was pursuing something she would regret-" Link scowled at that.
"More than regret. Get her in here."
"I don't know if she'll-" Letz started.
"I don't care," Link interrupted. "Get her in here before she stirs them up and creates even more problems for Vinwaka. Too many lives have been lost for her to want to go warmongering."
"I'll try," Letz replied, standing up in a hurry. The man started to salute out of habit before realizing who he was talking to. He shook his head and moved for the door.
That left Link alone with his thoughts and his headache. He thought about last night and the things Garsus had said. Had Garsus truly started out as a genuinely decent captain? The man certainly had stated that he was once a reasonable individual. Even before his death, it had seemed he still thought he was a decent soldier of Hyrule, despite lying and treating the villagers like dirt. Was Garsus correct in treating the village that way if the moment they are free of him they want to go fight Hyrule anyways? the voice in the back of Link's mind questioned. He mused on that a second.
No, even if Garsus's tale of Velretta's father's murder attempt was accurate, the man had overreacted. His paranoia of the villagers had caused far more issues than they had solved. But how do I explain that to Velretta and get her to move past all the deceptions? he asked himself. The hero sighed as he considered the words he would say to the huntress.
It was around twenty minutes before Letz returned with Velretta. The red garbed huntress wore her typical red jacket as trotted into the room behind Letz. She walked into the room in a confident stride, and her eyes fixed on Link in an instant. Her face widened into a smile as she saw the Ordonian sitting up.
"Hylian! You're awake! Letz said you were up, but I couldn't believe it. No one shakes off that sedative that quick!" Velretta moved forward quickly, standing at the end of Link's cot. Meanwhile, she continued rambling.
"I want to think you for killing Garsus. I had hoped to do it personally, but I really can't complain that you did the deed. I hope you made it painful and slow for the old idiot! He deserved much worse-"
"Velretta, we need to talk." Link stated flatly, interrupting the huntress. She heard Link's tone and was instantly on guard. It shocked Link how quickly her attitude could change.
"What about?" she asked slowly, watching Link carefully.
"This nonsense about fighting Hyrule. It needs to stop now, before you do something you regret." Velretta's face instantly turned into a scowl.
"Look, I appreciate what you've done for the village. But the Hyrulean Army made life miserable around here for far too long, and I'm going to return the favor. If all the human settlements of the southern provinces unite, Hyrule would have quite a fight on its hands." Link stared at the village girl in disbelief. How does she think this is a good idea? He wondered absently before replying.
"You're going to get a lot of people killed over a conflict that has already been ended," the hero stated, thinking about how many lives had already been lost in Vinwaka. Before he had arrived, five guardsmen and one villager had been slain. Now after spending less than a week in the village, another twelve soldiers had passed alongside the village mayor. Have I even done any good in this village? Link questioned internally. He shook his thoughts away as Velretta replied.
"Those fools stole my father from this life, and I'm going to get my vengeance," the woman spat angrily. Link sighed at the expected response.
"I'm going to do something that apparently is foreign for this entire village," Link stated angrily, his voice rising in volume. "I'm going to tell you the truth. And the truth is your father may have gotten himself killed in that little lizalfos expedition." Velretta's eyes widened in shock.
"You believe that lizalfos nonsense?!" The huntress whispered.
"No, but Garsus decided to tell me about your father last night to stall while the poison took effect," Link replied. "I don't think he was lying." Link stared hard at the crimson huntress. Velretta meanwhile started pacing back and forth at the foot of Link's bed. Letz watched the entire exchange anxiously from the corner. The huntress finally stopped her movement, closing her eyes in dread as she replied to Link.
"What did the red bearded snake say?"
"He said that your father struck first and attempted to murder him with a knife in the back. Garsus then acted in self-defense and killed your father." Link spoke in a slow and quiet voice, trying to break the news as gently as possible. Velretta hissed angrily in response.
"He.. He was lying! That man could never tell the truth!" the huntress cried out in despair. Link smiled sadly at the young woman before him.
"Who reported the lizalfos tracks to the garrison?" he asked quietly.
"My father! But he wouldn't have done that-"
"Who wanted to track them down with a small party?" Link continued. Velretta stared at him in horror, her bottom lip quivering before painfully looking away. She slowly lowered herself onto the cot next to the Ordonian's bed. Meanwhile, Link's eyes filled with pity as he continued.
"I know it's hard," the hero stated, "but Garsus and your father created a terrible feud here. It's over now. Anything that happens next will be entirely your fault if you continue the way you are." Velretta looked back at the Ordonian, her eyes watering.
"But it's all my fault anyways, isn't it?" she whispered so quietly that Link could only barely hear her. Link's surprise must have shown on his face at the unexpected response.
"It is all my fault," she muttered angrily. Tears started flowing down her face, and she quickly tried to wipe her face.
"My father…" she sobbed. "The mayor... even my horse… If I had just been less impulsive or not pushed so hard for everyone to fight back…" Link frowned at the usually arrogant huntress, now so vulnerable.
"Velretta…" he sighed. "It's not your fault. You can't control everyone's actions, only your own. Be thankful everything is over, and that you have a chance to move on from it."
The huntress leaned over the end of the cot, trying to regain her composure. She wiped her eyes and tried to look up at Link. Her watery eyes were filled with uncertainty.
"But… how do I move on from it? What do I do… without Da'?" she whispered in dread. Link pondered that question for a second. How do you move on? He questioned himself. A second question came unbidden to his mind. Why did you leave, Midna?
He had pondered such questions many times over the past few months. What point was there to keep on moving forward? Even if you meet new people, you were just as likely to lose them. The world was an unforgiving place to be certain. A place where friends leave forever and fathers are lost to village woes. Link decided to give the only advice he could: the way he had tried to move on.
"You move on in any way you can…" Link said slowly. "You try to make a difference in this village and the world as a whole. Focus on fixing what you can and helping others as much as possible..." Velretta nodded slowly, stifling another sob with her face still covered by her jacket sleeve.
"B-But what can I do? I'm just one person in a tiny village." The huntress's muffled voice came out in a pained whisper. Link softly grabbed her hand from his cot, watching the huntress with a tired smile.
"Letz said you were going to speak with the villagers." The huntress nodded absently. "Tell them it's time to move on, to find peace, and to regain some prosperity. Urge them to go that way." The huntress sobbed once more, before looking up at Link. Her watery eyes met Link's understanding, blue eyes. Her voice came out a soft whisper, but Link could hear the underlying conviction in it.
"I… I-I'll try to"