Chapter 1: Stuff of Dreams
//Large brown jowls swung rhythmically back and forth, left to right. The rank scent of magic gone wrong hung in the air, poisoning it. The greatest beast-man -- make that the only beast-man -- that the young man had ever seen loomed before him, baring a full set of carnivorous teeth. Not for the first time, Link cursed the destiny that had brought him here; hated the dooming vision of darkness; hated the gods for ripping away seven years of his life which left him confused, alone, and suddenly eighteen. But the malicious thought passed in an instant, as Link was thrown back into the present reality. With a bloodcurdling battle cry, he leapt at Ganon, the foul monstrosity that Link was now to slay.
Yet before the blow was ever bestowed, the sword of the gods was ripped out of Link's hands, thrown away by one mighty strike from Ganon. Forced to his knees, the hero was broken, beaten. He knew then that he was not the one to save Hyrule from her prophesied doom. He closed his eyes as the massive claw was drawn back, awaited the death blow, and. . .\\
Gasped as he came back to his senses. Upright in bed, he slowly remembered where he was. His mind connected the image of a Correnyan Town Inn with the country of Noridia. He sighed angrily. Still the nightmare haunted his sleep and he was not even in Hyrule. For nine horrible years he had tried to escape his past, only to realize it was a part of him, as much as his arm or leg. Reaching for the wooden goblet of water beside the bunk, Link washed the sour taste from his mouth, a side effect that accompanied the dreams. Peering out the open window, he was surprised that the sun hadn't risen. At six o'clock in the morning, the sky should have looked different from when he went to sleep. If it was six. He frowned. The noise coming from the tavern below suggested otherwise. Was it possible that he slept the whole day? Slipping off the straw mattress, he quickly dressed, clipped his sword belt on, and headed downstairs.
~*~
The first thing she noticed about the man as he came down the narrow flight of stairs was the sword at his waist. It was not often anyone carried such a weapon. Most made do with simple knives and the occasional crossbow. As Reye studied him more closely, she realized that his sword was not the only weapon on him. The man also had a quiver strapped to his back and a longbow over his broad shoulder. He looked to be in his late twenties. Her gaze flickered to his strongly boned face, and she realized that the man wasn't from Noridia. His hair was too light, his eyes too blue. Most everyone born in this country had solemner features that consisted of dark eyes and dusky skin. He was intriguing for the way he moved, confident and sure of himself, but not arrogant, as many men who carried swords were. There was something else as well. Something Reye couldn't place. Nonetheless, she grinned slyly at the thought of new blood within the sparring ring and waited patiently.
Raking his hand through wheat-blonde hair, Link cursed in Hylian as he realized that he had slept through the entire day. More hours than he cared to imagine had already been wasted by sheer sloth. He felt no better as he saw the laughing scorn in the inn master's beady eyes as he told Link about extra charges for the night. 'May Din curse them all, greedy Noridian sops.' Link was decidedly in a bad mood, and silently cursing those who bothered him made him feel no better. Scanning the room around him, he realized that all the chairs were currently filled with drunken idiots. All chairs, except for one. Link's eyebrows shot up as he saw an obviously single woman sitting directly across from the open seat. He had to admit that the evening was beginning to perk up, if only a bit. Snatching a sorry Noridian substitute for his favorite drink, he casually walked up to the individual's table.
Reye's thoughts instantly changed as the man sat down across from her. 'By Farore, he's impossibly good-looking.' She thought as he introduced himself. She heard her conscience mutter something to her, that no good could come of him. Reye couldn't care less.
"I'm Link." He stated in accented Noridian as he shook her hand. His palm was calloused, as Reye expected it to be, and his voice pleasantly melodious.
"Is that it?" She asked in puzzlement over the missing surname.
"No. . . My surname is. . . Difficult to pronounce in your tongue. Not many out of my country can manage it." Link grinned wryly as this wasn't the first time someone had asked. A pity that the woman opposite him was not willing to give up.
"Oh come now, can't you at least try me before dismissing my outlandish tongue?" She gave him a winning smile, seeking to push him into telling her.
Link groaned inwardly as he heard her request. He had never gone a day without someone trying to impress him by pronouncing his surname. All they did was butcher his native language with their coarse, gritty speech. It took all Link could muster not to slap the woman grinning at him. Mentally clogging his ears, he quickly spat out his last name, took a swig of awful Noridian whiskey, and braced himself for the worst.
"Link iul Kokiri?" Reye repeated, mimicking the words as soon as Link said them, so as not to forget the pronunciation. She relished the thickly rolling syllables as they came off her tongue. It felt natural, that graceful language of. . . Hyrule. She smiled coyly, now pleased with herself by finding the answer. She had not heard that language for so long. . . Yet there was a trace of accent there, within every syllable this Link spoke. Reye almost laughed out loud at the expel of words coming from his mouth. Though she couldn't understand him, Reye was certain the utterances he spewed were a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "You're from Hyrule, aren't you?" She asked.
"Yes." He started, slightly wary. "How did you know?"
"I'm from Hyrule." The statement was simple and purely factual. Link stared at the woman across from him.
"Come again?"
"I was born and raised in Hyrule." She said, voice tinged with memories. "But you don't have the usual accent. And I have never heard any of those words you just spat in my life." Link barely heard her. Studying her features, he reckoned that he should have taken her for what she was. In all his travels, Link had never seen a green eyed, red haired Noridian. Her facial features were too light for the heavy-boned faces he saw here. No, it was suddenly and embarrassingly obvious he had just mistaken one of his own for a Noridian. Meanwhile, Reye awaited his answer.
"Did you hear me?" She asked him as politely as her waning patience could bare
"Wha-? Oh, where I was born, we were taught both common Hylian and old Hylian. Sometimes it's easier not to let people know what I'm saying."
"Especially since you are a traveler, yes?"
"That is the main reason." Link grinned slightly. "But you haven't told me your name."
"No, I suppose I haven't." Reye drifted off. "If you really want to know, my name is Reye Kankoriko. And I have a favor to ask of you."
~*~
As Link heard the utterance from Reye's mouth, he rapidly got up and turned to leave. The last time he had accepted a request he had been traveling the world on a quest for some fictional old man. Link vowed he would never be caught in that situation again.
"No, wait! You don't understand! Could you at least hear me out before your cowardice takes over and you're sailing the sea?!" Turning back to her, he saw her eyes take a determined set that reminded Link uncomfortably of the cold, jade marble cliffs.
"What? Get to the point, woman."
"I wish to travel back to my homeland. Yet... I cannot do so alone, especially when the journey requires travel across the mountains. It is obvious you hate it in Noridia, and two travelers together are better than one. . ." Link was unamused.
"What makes you think that I'd drop everything to travel with--"
"I have gold." He eyed her carefully. Few were willing to admit they carried gold, and fewer still were willing to part with it.
"How much gold?"
"The price of your services will be decided at the end of the journey by how many hardships encountered. In other words, enough to leave you satisfied. Do you find this acceptable?" Link paused to think. The woman was right. Even as versatile as he knew himself to be, gold was needed to fund his travels. He was never known to turn down a reasonable offer of money, and this time would be no exception.
"I find this offer acceptable." After shaking hands, Reye got up.
"We leave at daybreak tomorrow. Don't sleep in." Exiting swiftly with a gloating smile, she left Link scowling and wondering what he had gotten himself into.
* * *
//The princess turned to him, light refracting off of her long gold tresses and illuminating her fair features. She was the love of his life, moreover the only utterly unattainable thing Link had ever known. Turning to him suddenly, Link watched raptly as the woman in his dream stared at him through eyes the colour of the sky at twilight. She at last began to speak, but not through mortal tongue, or by way of the mind. No, she spoke through her eyes, endless pools of violet that threatened to engulf Link even in his dreams.
Princess Zelda mourned.
It hit Link with such a cruel chill that a shudder ran up his spine, and he trembled involuntarily. What had occurred in the few months that he had been gone to distress Zelda so? She, the most steadfast and wisest of the land, had been caught unawares by Link knew naught of. She had the look of a sentenced prisoner at the gallows, distressed but resigned to her fate. He wanted to tell her everything at that moment, and his emotions got the better of his senses as he opened his mouth, but she spoke to him first.
"Sir, 'tis that time to wake now." Link gaped in confusion. What?--\\
One of the chamber maids was shaking his arm, a maiden far from the princess in his dreams. Groaning, Link waved the girl away and stiffly got to his feet.
"Well?" He grumbled in Noridian made rough by the remnants of sleep, "I'm awake now, you're dismissed." Satisfied, the maid scurried off to her other duties. Link looked out the thick glass window. Judging from the lack of daylight, he dimly thanked Nayru that he had not slept passed dawn. He would not miss this journey home.
* * *
Reye cracked open an eye and peered at the stable hand gaping at her sleeping place. Though it was not every day that the boy saw a grown woman sleeping amongst the horses, Reye did not appreciate the country yokel's impertinence. Sighing, the woman pulled herself out of the warm bed of hay and removed extra bits from her loose braid.
"What?" She asked curtly, impatient to get on the road.
"Y-you--"
"Don't you have some work to do?" Reye enforced her words with a copper piece. Still stunned, the boy ran off with a dazed nod. It was simpler to pay off a stable hand than an inn keeper. Besides, her horse was better company than any tavern goer. As if hearing her thoughts, her stallion, Kyrone, whinnied loudly.
"Yeah, I hear you." Reye told him with mock annoyance. "We'll be on the road soon enough." Kyrone bobbed his head eagerly. She eyed him as she saddled him up. "You had better be nice to this Link fellow. None of your nonsense like last time, okay? Din knows that he's the only person willing to travel over the pass in the middle of autumn. So don't blow it." Her stallion looked a bit sheepish, but the attitude vanished as quickly as a keg of ale in front of a couple of drunkards. Reye muttered a small profanity under her breath. The woman would be lucky if they made it to the next town without Kyrone's mischief. The roguish stallion looked positively gleeful once his tack was on. Reye had to admit that Kyrone possessed as much wanderlust as she herself had.
She was caught suiting up by Link.
"Ready to go, Hylian?" Reye asked him, glancing up from buckling in her artillery.
"As always, Lady Reye." She ignored the mock-title that Link had given her.
"And your mount?" The woman questioned further, noticing the lack of horseflesh at the man's side. Link pulled out a worn but polished ocarina and played a lilting and remarkably simple melody while Reye looked on, puzzled. A rust toned mare proudly trotted straight into Link's care.
"Allow me to introduce Epona." He gestured toward his mellow steed.
"Creative." Reye commented, more than a little awed at the mare's obedience. "Are you prepared to leave?" She asked again, discarding the tone of admiration used a moment before. Link nodded curtly, and promptly mounted Epona. Reye followed suite.
"It is time this journey began."
* * *
__________________________________________________________________________
Weee! Finally finished editing this littly baby. sorry if things are confusing and if you could take maybe 5 minuted out of your day I would be extremely grateful & would love you forever if you could email me at robyn-byrd@excite.com for editing suggestions (which also means i owe you a favor of some kind....). The next chapter will hopefully not take as long since spring break is coming up shortly & i will have more time to write (thank din).
If you could, i would be very much obliged if you could review too (i'd love some quasi-fans). *hugs all around*
//Large brown jowls swung rhythmically back and forth, left to right. The rank scent of magic gone wrong hung in the air, poisoning it. The greatest beast-man -- make that the only beast-man -- that the young man had ever seen loomed before him, baring a full set of carnivorous teeth. Not for the first time, Link cursed the destiny that had brought him here; hated the dooming vision of darkness; hated the gods for ripping away seven years of his life which left him confused, alone, and suddenly eighteen. But the malicious thought passed in an instant, as Link was thrown back into the present reality. With a bloodcurdling battle cry, he leapt at Ganon, the foul monstrosity that Link was now to slay.
Yet before the blow was ever bestowed, the sword of the gods was ripped out of Link's hands, thrown away by one mighty strike from Ganon. Forced to his knees, the hero was broken, beaten. He knew then that he was not the one to save Hyrule from her prophesied doom. He closed his eyes as the massive claw was drawn back, awaited the death blow, and. . .\\
Gasped as he came back to his senses. Upright in bed, he slowly remembered where he was. His mind connected the image of a Correnyan Town Inn with the country of Noridia. He sighed angrily. Still the nightmare haunted his sleep and he was not even in Hyrule. For nine horrible years he had tried to escape his past, only to realize it was a part of him, as much as his arm or leg. Reaching for the wooden goblet of water beside the bunk, Link washed the sour taste from his mouth, a side effect that accompanied the dreams. Peering out the open window, he was surprised that the sun hadn't risen. At six o'clock in the morning, the sky should have looked different from when he went to sleep. If it was six. He frowned. The noise coming from the tavern below suggested otherwise. Was it possible that he slept the whole day? Slipping off the straw mattress, he quickly dressed, clipped his sword belt on, and headed downstairs.
~*~
The first thing she noticed about the man as he came down the narrow flight of stairs was the sword at his waist. It was not often anyone carried such a weapon. Most made do with simple knives and the occasional crossbow. As Reye studied him more closely, she realized that his sword was not the only weapon on him. The man also had a quiver strapped to his back and a longbow over his broad shoulder. He looked to be in his late twenties. Her gaze flickered to his strongly boned face, and she realized that the man wasn't from Noridia. His hair was too light, his eyes too blue. Most everyone born in this country had solemner features that consisted of dark eyes and dusky skin. He was intriguing for the way he moved, confident and sure of himself, but not arrogant, as many men who carried swords were. There was something else as well. Something Reye couldn't place. Nonetheless, she grinned slyly at the thought of new blood within the sparring ring and waited patiently.
Raking his hand through wheat-blonde hair, Link cursed in Hylian as he realized that he had slept through the entire day. More hours than he cared to imagine had already been wasted by sheer sloth. He felt no better as he saw the laughing scorn in the inn master's beady eyes as he told Link about extra charges for the night. 'May Din curse them all, greedy Noridian sops.' Link was decidedly in a bad mood, and silently cursing those who bothered him made him feel no better. Scanning the room around him, he realized that all the chairs were currently filled with drunken idiots. All chairs, except for one. Link's eyebrows shot up as he saw an obviously single woman sitting directly across from the open seat. He had to admit that the evening was beginning to perk up, if only a bit. Snatching a sorry Noridian substitute for his favorite drink, he casually walked up to the individual's table.
Reye's thoughts instantly changed as the man sat down across from her. 'By Farore, he's impossibly good-looking.' She thought as he introduced himself. She heard her conscience mutter something to her, that no good could come of him. Reye couldn't care less.
"I'm Link." He stated in accented Noridian as he shook her hand. His palm was calloused, as Reye expected it to be, and his voice pleasantly melodious.
"Is that it?" She asked in puzzlement over the missing surname.
"No. . . My surname is. . . Difficult to pronounce in your tongue. Not many out of my country can manage it." Link grinned wryly as this wasn't the first time someone had asked. A pity that the woman opposite him was not willing to give up.
"Oh come now, can't you at least try me before dismissing my outlandish tongue?" She gave him a winning smile, seeking to push him into telling her.
Link groaned inwardly as he heard her request. He had never gone a day without someone trying to impress him by pronouncing his surname. All they did was butcher his native language with their coarse, gritty speech. It took all Link could muster not to slap the woman grinning at him. Mentally clogging his ears, he quickly spat out his last name, took a swig of awful Noridian whiskey, and braced himself for the worst.
"Link iul Kokiri?" Reye repeated, mimicking the words as soon as Link said them, so as not to forget the pronunciation. She relished the thickly rolling syllables as they came off her tongue. It felt natural, that graceful language of. . . Hyrule. She smiled coyly, now pleased with herself by finding the answer. She had not heard that language for so long. . . Yet there was a trace of accent there, within every syllable this Link spoke. Reye almost laughed out loud at the expel of words coming from his mouth. Though she couldn't understand him, Reye was certain the utterances he spewed were a mixture of surprise and disbelief. "You're from Hyrule, aren't you?" She asked.
"Yes." He started, slightly wary. "How did you know?"
"I'm from Hyrule." The statement was simple and purely factual. Link stared at the woman across from him.
"Come again?"
"I was born and raised in Hyrule." She said, voice tinged with memories. "But you don't have the usual accent. And I have never heard any of those words you just spat in my life." Link barely heard her. Studying her features, he reckoned that he should have taken her for what she was. In all his travels, Link had never seen a green eyed, red haired Noridian. Her facial features were too light for the heavy-boned faces he saw here. No, it was suddenly and embarrassingly obvious he had just mistaken one of his own for a Noridian. Meanwhile, Reye awaited his answer.
"Did you hear me?" She asked him as politely as her waning patience could bare
"Wha-? Oh, where I was born, we were taught both common Hylian and old Hylian. Sometimes it's easier not to let people know what I'm saying."
"Especially since you are a traveler, yes?"
"That is the main reason." Link grinned slightly. "But you haven't told me your name."
"No, I suppose I haven't." Reye drifted off. "If you really want to know, my name is Reye Kankoriko. And I have a favor to ask of you."
~*~
As Link heard the utterance from Reye's mouth, he rapidly got up and turned to leave. The last time he had accepted a request he had been traveling the world on a quest for some fictional old man. Link vowed he would never be caught in that situation again.
"No, wait! You don't understand! Could you at least hear me out before your cowardice takes over and you're sailing the sea?!" Turning back to her, he saw her eyes take a determined set that reminded Link uncomfortably of the cold, jade marble cliffs.
"What? Get to the point, woman."
"I wish to travel back to my homeland. Yet... I cannot do so alone, especially when the journey requires travel across the mountains. It is obvious you hate it in Noridia, and two travelers together are better than one. . ." Link was unamused.
"What makes you think that I'd drop everything to travel with--"
"I have gold." He eyed her carefully. Few were willing to admit they carried gold, and fewer still were willing to part with it.
"How much gold?"
"The price of your services will be decided at the end of the journey by how many hardships encountered. In other words, enough to leave you satisfied. Do you find this acceptable?" Link paused to think. The woman was right. Even as versatile as he knew himself to be, gold was needed to fund his travels. He was never known to turn down a reasonable offer of money, and this time would be no exception.
"I find this offer acceptable." After shaking hands, Reye got up.
"We leave at daybreak tomorrow. Don't sleep in." Exiting swiftly with a gloating smile, she left Link scowling and wondering what he had gotten himself into.
* * *
//The princess turned to him, light refracting off of her long gold tresses and illuminating her fair features. She was the love of his life, moreover the only utterly unattainable thing Link had ever known. Turning to him suddenly, Link watched raptly as the woman in his dream stared at him through eyes the colour of the sky at twilight. She at last began to speak, but not through mortal tongue, or by way of the mind. No, she spoke through her eyes, endless pools of violet that threatened to engulf Link even in his dreams.
Princess Zelda mourned.
It hit Link with such a cruel chill that a shudder ran up his spine, and he trembled involuntarily. What had occurred in the few months that he had been gone to distress Zelda so? She, the most steadfast and wisest of the land, had been caught unawares by Link knew naught of. She had the look of a sentenced prisoner at the gallows, distressed but resigned to her fate. He wanted to tell her everything at that moment, and his emotions got the better of his senses as he opened his mouth, but she spoke to him first.
"Sir, 'tis that time to wake now." Link gaped in confusion. What?--\\
One of the chamber maids was shaking his arm, a maiden far from the princess in his dreams. Groaning, Link waved the girl away and stiffly got to his feet.
"Well?" He grumbled in Noridian made rough by the remnants of sleep, "I'm awake now, you're dismissed." Satisfied, the maid scurried off to her other duties. Link looked out the thick glass window. Judging from the lack of daylight, he dimly thanked Nayru that he had not slept passed dawn. He would not miss this journey home.
* * *
Reye cracked open an eye and peered at the stable hand gaping at her sleeping place. Though it was not every day that the boy saw a grown woman sleeping amongst the horses, Reye did not appreciate the country yokel's impertinence. Sighing, the woman pulled herself out of the warm bed of hay and removed extra bits from her loose braid.
"What?" She asked curtly, impatient to get on the road.
"Y-you--"
"Don't you have some work to do?" Reye enforced her words with a copper piece. Still stunned, the boy ran off with a dazed nod. It was simpler to pay off a stable hand than an inn keeper. Besides, her horse was better company than any tavern goer. As if hearing her thoughts, her stallion, Kyrone, whinnied loudly.
"Yeah, I hear you." Reye told him with mock annoyance. "We'll be on the road soon enough." Kyrone bobbed his head eagerly. She eyed him as she saddled him up. "You had better be nice to this Link fellow. None of your nonsense like last time, okay? Din knows that he's the only person willing to travel over the pass in the middle of autumn. So don't blow it." Her stallion looked a bit sheepish, but the attitude vanished as quickly as a keg of ale in front of a couple of drunkards. Reye muttered a small profanity under her breath. The woman would be lucky if they made it to the next town without Kyrone's mischief. The roguish stallion looked positively gleeful once his tack was on. Reye had to admit that Kyrone possessed as much wanderlust as she herself had.
She was caught suiting up by Link.
"Ready to go, Hylian?" Reye asked him, glancing up from buckling in her artillery.
"As always, Lady Reye." She ignored the mock-title that Link had given her.
"And your mount?" The woman questioned further, noticing the lack of horseflesh at the man's side. Link pulled out a worn but polished ocarina and played a lilting and remarkably simple melody while Reye looked on, puzzled. A rust toned mare proudly trotted straight into Link's care.
"Allow me to introduce Epona." He gestured toward his mellow steed.
"Creative." Reye commented, more than a little awed at the mare's obedience. "Are you prepared to leave?" She asked again, discarding the tone of admiration used a moment before. Link nodded curtly, and promptly mounted Epona. Reye followed suite.
"It is time this journey began."
* * *
__________________________________________________________________________
Weee! Finally finished editing this littly baby. sorry if things are confusing and if you could take maybe 5 minuted out of your day I would be extremely grateful & would love you forever if you could email me at robyn-byrd@excite.com for editing suggestions (which also means i owe you a favor of some kind....). The next chapter will hopefully not take as long since spring break is coming up shortly & i will have more time to write (thank din).
If you could, i would be very much obliged if you could review too (i'd love some quasi-fans). *hugs all around*