Chapter Five

Despite the fact that Link had killed the Belua did very little to calm Pelius' nerves. If that monster had come here, who was to say that it hadn't been sent before him to rid of Rhea and their child? It was bad enough that together Rhea and himself had been made into targets, but the fact that his enemy could now possibly know that there was a child, then his child could be the next target. And if that was the case he didn't know what he could or would do.

Something touched into his thoughts, disturbing him greatly, but he wasn't finished contemplating the "what to do's". If Rhea and his child were indeed gone, then he'd have to flee this land before they caught up with him. But there was always the possibility that his child was out there and if that was the case, then he had to find it.

Again, something nudged his person and he flicked it away mentally.

"What the-!"

Pelius' attention was finally drawn away from his musings to where Link was scrambling out of the brush. A smirk played on Pelius' lips and he leaned over his saddle to peer down at Link. "Fall off your horse?"

Link dusted himself and gave Pelius a wary glare, "Pushed off, is more likely."

"I didn't touch you."

"I know." Again, the wary look as he leaped up into Epona's saddle. "But, I was definitely shoved by something."

Pelius thought back, ah yes, it had been him. He was going to have to hold himself in check. It wouldn't do having this mere Hylian figure out what the Aeteritians were really about. Instead he offered weakly for answer, "Perhaps the wind caught you off guard?" He winced at how stupid that sounded, Link was obviously a superb horseman.

But Link surprised him by just nodding his head, "Must have been."

Not for a second did Pelius think that Link was agreeing with him, and he immediately flashed his mental guards up high. Link was still an enigma to him, and he assumed that he would always be coming up with something that would surprise him.

-

"So where did you say you were from?"

"I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"Ok, I did."

"So where are you from again?"

"I already told you, remember?"

This was the banter they kept up for hours on end, making the miles pass all the more quickly to the general relief of both Pelius and Link. In the woods, it was impossible to have the horses go at anything faster that a slow trot lest they injure themselves on hidden dips in the ground. And so they plodded along on shadowed paths until they at last came to the Kokiri Village.

It seemed to Pelius that the village had been dropped into the middle of the forest. There was no forewarning of it coming and he had to blink rapidly to allow his eyes to adjust to the sudden flash of light that the clearing let through. It was a peaceful community by the looks of it, small children ran around chasing butterflies and dogs, while adoring parents worked nearby or sat idle in the shade.

A soft smile touched Pelius's lips and he couldn't help feeling his age as he watched a young mother bestow her child a kiss on his cherubic cheek. He felt old. He'd seen this, lived this, grown with it. It was called loving life. The child he was searching for, his lost child, was his first child. And most likely his last. Aeteritians didn't have many children in all their years. Three at most, although his brother seemed to have broken that record by three more, but then, he had married a human. Very fertile creatures.

"We'll spend the night here."

"I wasn't expecting anything else."

Pelius followed Link as he directed Epona to small house. It was raised above the ground and appeared to have had little use for the past months, perhaps even years. It was what Pelius could envision Rhea living in.

Soni snorted and tossed her mane, turning her beautiful head to look behind her. Pelius followed suit and caught two little Kokirans in the act of tugging on Soni's tail. He shooed them away, albeit with a large smile on his face. And the two didn't stay away for long before they returned with more of their little friends.

When they went towards Epona, Link gave them a cold glare, they turned on their heals and ran back to teasing Soni – who took it all in good nature. Sliding off Soni, Pelius pulled out a curry brush from the saddle packs before removing the saddle and gear. Then that aside, he began brushing the sweat and dirt from Soni's flanks and back.

One brave little child watched him with keen interest and after a while tugged on Pelius' sleeve. The child stared up at Pelius with large emerald green eyes and a cherubic face, she pointed to the brush and then to Soni. Pelius handed it over without objection and lifted the girl up so she could get Soni's back. She giggled when Soni turned her head and snuffled at her bare toes.

Beside Pelius, Link snorted with contempt and gave Epona a rather quick brush down before he hastily climbed up a narrow ladder into the small hut above. Sighing, Pelius slid the girl back to the ground and finished the job then let Soni drift free, well aware that she wouldn't wander far.

Pelius took a second to enjoy the view before he ducked into the small building. The inside was small and the furniture just as small, designed by a loving hand for someone of such a stature. Studying the room with little more than a glance, Pelius took the few steps to Link's side. "Link, I can't understand you. What do you have against these people?"

Sullenly, Link shrugged and threw more twigs on the struggling flame. Even that small light, flickering with the slight draft gave Link's features a slightly demonic look and Pelius felt himself pulling away slightly. Link held so many secrets.

"If we're to make this journey at all, we're going to have to do a little more sharing. And I'm not just talking about who's doing the cooking." He tried to put it into jest, but it sounded flat even to his ears.

"Secrets cannot be shared," Link replied dully.

"Secrets can always be told, it simply means that they are no longer secret. Some secrets are best to let lie, but there are always others that should be shared," Pelius reasoned.

"Perhaps these are the type that I will not share!" Link threw back.

For a long while, nothing but the sound of Link snapping sticks and branches angrily could be heard. And even that died down once the fire was big enough to sustain larger pieces of wood.

Link kept the silence beside him, using it as a barrier from Pelius' probing. It was futile, they both knew it, but Pelius didn't push it. Just when Pelius' suspicion that Link would tell all in his own time was about to be looked over again, Link spoke. Almost too quietly for Pelius to hear at first, but it grew with strength just as the flame had done.

"I've seen so much that time cannot let a normal mortal see, I don't understand exactly why I'm the one, but I...but I..." he faltered slightly and frowned, searching for words, "I've recently discovered why I do it. I've never had much of a family, none really. My mother apparently died at birth, I don't know, and I lived in this house since the day I was born, raised by an old woman who had no children of her own. I wanted to fit in, I wanted a part of the world to love me, cheer me on when I walked past them. You understand?" He looked to Pelius with almost pleading eyes and Pelius nodded his understanding.

"I just wanted to be noticed. I protected these peoples of Hyrule for the simple idea that I could make this land love me enough to accept me."

Softly, Pelius said, "I believe you have succeeded beyond that. What you strive for, you will never get; they have seen you do justice to the world here and so they have set you upon a dais where you will be always set apart. Seen as a god of protection and perhaps as other things. But you will always be different."

Link snorted with disgust, glared at Pelius and retorted bitterly, "Well that just threw out a good deal of my reasoning out into the garbage heap."

Smiling, Pelius didn't answer, instead he shuffled over to the edge of the fire and placed a cauldron full of vegetables and chunks of meat over the fire to simmer into a stew. Backing away a bit from the heat of the fire, he looked to Link who was moodily staring out the window. "Thank you for sharing that with me. It gives me a better idea of who I have as a companion. I think it time, that I share of few of my secrets?"

"I would expect no less of you."

"I'd better get started then, I have a lot to tell." He didn't say how long, for it went back into the centuries. "Of course, I'll keep a few of my secrets to myself."

Link shrugged as if in disinterest, but Pelius could see that his body was tense with waiting to hear his story. "Fair enough."

"I'm not from this world," Pelius began.

"I suspected as much."

"I'm from Trinacria."

"The place exists?" Link sat a little straighter and studied Pelius with new eyes.

"Sure."

"I always thought it was legend. The Fregans, they're the greatest heroes that have ever existed. They come from Trinacria, do they not?"

"Yes, but it's not all that. It's also a bitter land full of anger and disease. It is not a pure land anymore." He smiled ruefully and continued, "Once it was filled with these 'heroes' or warriors, but they have all moved on. My wife was Fregan."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You're wife."

Puzzled, Pelius asked, "What about her?"

"She is dead, is she not? You said 'was.'"

"I did?" He had not even noticed the word slip out and it made him feel all the more guilty for it. He was assuming that his wife was dead. In his heart, he hoped it was not true, but his mind obviously felt differently.

Link coughed and said, "So why did you come to Hyrule then? Hyrule is no doubt a peaceful land, but you could have chosen many others that are more so."

Pelius took a moment to wonder how Link would know about the multiple worlds that made up the universe, but let it slide. Getting back into the story, he continued, "I'm somewhat familiar with this land. I sent, Rhea, my wife and our unborn child here when we were under attack back in Trinacria."

"And that's why you're here. To look for...them? Do you have any other family?

"I have a brother, but I have not seen him for cent-... for a very long time."

"I wish had family...anyone, it would have given me a base."

Pelius punched Link. Hard. "I've heard enough of that, ok? I get the point. As soon as we find my wife and child, then we'll go searching for your family. I swear by all above that I'll keep to my word."

Link couldn't help but goad Pelius on, "But I really do-"

"ENOUGH!"

"Your brother?" Link prodded.

"I've done enough talking for tonight."