It wasn't quite a dream, although he knew that he had been dreaming a moment before. There were no images, but there was a presence in his mind that was sifting through it carefully, like a scholar skimming a book for information. Link's awareness grew and he slipped from the realm of normal dreams and into the lucid variety, searching for what was prodding his brain.
Once he did that he realized it was the Master Sword, going through his mind now that his mental barriers weren't up. It was currently focused on his ancestry, and the fact that his father was a knight and his mother was a Sheikah warrior. "Do you like what you see?" he asked after a moment.
I cannot "like" anything, Master. I do not have the capacity to experience such emotion. I am merely learning about the current incarnation of your soul.
"Incarnation? Wait a minute, the knight's spirit said that I was the ancient hero's soul reborn into a new body. Does that mean that I'm the reincarnation of the first hero?"
You are the latest incarnation, not the only one. Every one is you, the soul I first met long ago. I admit that there were some that never carried me, and many others I could not communicate with because my soul was far too preoccupied with another task, but there still have been many.
Images flashed before him then: of a city floating in the sky, and a young man standing on the outskirts of it. His hair was slightly darker, but he still was blonde and blue-eyed. His face was the exact same face that Link saw in the mirror every morning. Then there was vision of an adolescent boy who worked with horses. Of an older teenager operating glowing machinery he didn't understand. A teenager who worked as a blacksmith's apprentice. Image after image flashed before his eyes, many lifetimes that he knew nothing about. Sometimes they would have brown hair or eyes, but the face was always the same. It was the same man, reborn countless times: him.
These were all previous versions of you. They were different individuals with different personalities despite always having the same soul and the same name, yet they all had the same purpose: to seal the darkness, and save Hyrule. Once their jobs were completed, they went on to grow up and live their lives. Some of them mixed their bloodlines with that of the royal family.
It was a lot of information to process, and he felt a bit overwhelmed. He had no idea why the sword was showing him this. Did it want him to react with questions? What question should he ask first? "The royal family? Wait, these guys were all named Link like me, and a few went on to be king?"
King or Regent. I myself did not witness them joining with the royal family, but would learn of it from the next Link and his knowledge of history. I am certain that there are gaps that I do not know.
"So they married Zeldas? Okay, new question: is Zelda like me? The same soul, different people?" The answer came in another flash of images, of girls and young women, all with the same face. Some with brown hair instead of blonde, some with green eyes instead of blue, but they were all of the same age range as the previous Links had been: somewhere between adolescence and early adulthood. "Are we always teenagers?"
Affirmative. It is the age when new magic is best learned, and many incarnations had to master specific types of magic to achieve their goals. With the Zeldas, it was always the same magic. With the Links, usually different kinds. You are unique, however. You are the oldest I have record of, save the original who was also eighteen. You also have inherited a similar magic from your predecessor, whom you are descended from. In my records there has yet to be one Link directly descended from another. It may have something to do with the fact that you both have had the Triforce of Courage bonded to your soul. I believe your next incarnation will have it as well.
"Gods...you are dumping all of this into my lap. This is a lot to think about. Do you tell every Link all this information?"
Negative. You are the second I have spoken to after the original Link, as I was preoccupied and unable to speak. My attempts to communicate with the previous Link did not go well. He was young, and did not trust me. The only ones he trusted were the Zelda of his time and his traveling companion.
"Sword...I have a question about him." Now was the time to verify what he already had figured out. "The guardian soul that appears as a Stalfos in my dreams...he's the previous hero, isn't he? I saw that he had the mark of the Triforce on his left hand, and he has the same face as me, just a bit older." Not only did that face let him know how he would look in fifteen years, but it also let him know that he should never grow a beard.
Affirmative. He was the Hero of Time, yet Hyrule only knows him as the Child Hero because of the nature of his journey. He learned of what Ganondorf would and traveled back in time to when he was a child to warn the royal family. He sacrificed his innocence and his childhood so Hyrule could survive Ganondorf's onslaught. His soul is the same as your soul, yet the spirit that visits you is a mere fragment of a complete whole. Due to his regrets, that fragment of his soul cannot join with yours to reform the complete soul of the ancient hero.
He felt pity and sadness for the previous Link, who became a restless ghost that wandered for centuries, waiting until the time he could speak with the next incarnation. "Can I help him?"
Probable. The regrets of the lingering dead may only be eased if they wish it. You must determine the best course of action to accomplish this. I will offer aid when I can, but my abilities can only help you so much in this matter.
"Any help is better than none. Thanks." There were so many questions he wanted to ask this sentient sword that had seen generations of the same soul reborn over and over. Of which he was unique, according to the Master Sword. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
Because you are the first I have been able to openly communicate with in four thousand, seven hundred and thirty-eight years. This is not counting your predecessor, but as I have said he had little interest in speaking to me, and he was a child that likely could not handle this information in a mature and reasonable manner. If I had been able to speak to some of the older Links in the past, I would have informed them of the cycle of reincarnation as I have you. However, too much of my allotted memory was being used for an important task, and I was unable to speak at the time. I am currently still processing that task, yet it has become easier so I am now able to speak. It is uncertain if I will continue to do so in the future, but I am currently able to aid you in this more efficient manner.
Some of its wording was weird, but he got the general idea. "Right, you were too busy to talk to the other Links, but now your mind isn't so busy and we can chat. Makes sense. Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
There is much I could tell you, yet nothing you need to know at this present time. I will leave you to your sleep. Always know that I am with you, Hero of the Twilight. Call upon me if you ever need aid. The sword paused, a nebulous presence in the depths of his mind that seemed to consider something. It had told him that it could experience no emotions, but he could sense a faint warmth from the soul that had joined with his own. Its artificial soul could still feel something, a very human emotion, however small it was. When it spoke again, its female voice had just a touch of that emotion in its even tones, the first he had heard it express.
Master Link, I must say that I am...happy to see you again.
Midna shook him awake sometime before sunset, the canyon of Kakariko in laying shadow but the skies above still blue. He wished that there was a clock somewhere in his room, but the only clock he had seen in Kakariko was behind the bar in the common room downstairs. If the sun was setting soon, it was probably around six o' clock in the evening. It was only about a month after the solstice, and the days were long.
He sat on the side of the bed and ran his fingers through his hair, knowing that it would only do so much good. "Maybe I should get a haircut. Or grow it out."
"Hmm." She put a small runed hand to her chin and looked at him critically. "Grow it out. That way you won't have to worry about mangling it by attempting to cut it yourself anymore."
Link gave her a flat stare. "Thanks." He knew that he wasn't great at cutting his own hair, but she didn't need to remind him of it.
"I spoke to Renado while you were sleep." Midna said, watching as he stood up and found his leggings.
Of course she did. That would figure. "Uh-huh. Let me guess, he looked at all the bullshit I went through in the past twenty-four hours and determined that I'm a mess. Am I right?"
"Mm, sort of." She leaned back in mid-air, crossing her legs sedately. "I know you don't want to talk to him for some boneheaded reason, probably because you're a complete bonehead. But listen, I didn't just talk about you, I talked about both of us. I talked to him about how awful I felt in the Temple of Time. Normally I wouldn't do that, but Renado's very kind. There's something about him that makes me feel like I can trust him completely."
"I won't deny he's a good guy, but that doesn't mean he can help me. How can he possibly relate to what I'm doing?" Leggings on, he looked at himself in the mirror. He still looked a bit tired, but by his estimate he had to have slept about seven hours. Perhaps he slept too much.
"He's human, Link. Just like you. Sure, you're a hero, but you're also an eighteen-year-old guy who has been going through a lot of things. That's why I knew I could sit down and talk to him as a ninteen-year-old who has been going through a lot of things."
His eyes moved to look at her hovering behind him in the mirror. "You're only nineteen? I would have guessed you'd be older."
Midna waved a hand in the air in a circular motion, her runes glowing softly. "I'll bet twenty in autumn, but yes. I'm not much older than you are." She came up behind him and rested her hand on his bare shoulder. He was reminded of how she had strangely rubbed at his skin in almost the exact same spot, not understanding how to conduct herself around a friend. "Anyway, Renado has been doing a great job with helping Ilia and those kids. They're all as messed up as you. Well, nearly as messed up as you."
"If you're trying to sell me on this, you're failing." He didn't shy away from her hand this time, but this conversation was making him grumpy.
"Link...he told me he regretted being harsh with you when you were about to cry. He was right, you do need to learn how to control your emotions better, but he understood it was because of Ilia. He said that he was a young man once and understands too well. Renado remembers what it's like to be young and in love with somebody."
Now he did shrug her hand off and turn away from her. "I'm not-" he began, but then he stopped. He didn't want to talk about this. The timing was not right, not with everything going on, not with his mission, not with Ilia's amnesia.
"You are, admit it. I heard you talk to Telma and say you were hoping that your relationship would progress into something else." She watched him sit back down on the bed. "Why is it so hard to admit? Telma knows it, Renado knows it, and of course I know it. It seems the only one who doesn't know it is you."
"I know it." he snapped, and then he rubbed at his face. "I just...don't want to put it to words. I try to ignore it. Try to focus on what I need to do." He dropped his hands into his lap and lowered his eyes. "It doesn't help. I think about her all the time. You know how I am when I'm near her. That isn't just a guy feeling fond of his best friend." He gestured at the door, to the way that would bring him to Ilia. "I hear her say that she's attracted to me, but I can't do a damn thing in response. There's the invasion, and we need to get back the Fused Shadows, and Zelda's in hibernation, and of course there's Ilia's godsdamn amnesia." By now he was gesticulating angrily as his temper and frustration rose. "She doesn't remember anything about me, and if I start chasing after her it's going to muddy the waters and she might not remember some things correctly, or if at all. That's why I pushed her away earlier, even though it was the complete opposite of what I wanted to do."
Link flopped back to lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his anger waning. "I want to help you defeat Zant so you can be a woman again. I want to help Zelda by sticking her soul back in her body somehow. I want to help the people who have been transformed into monsters become human again." He hugged his arms around himself, unable to stop talking, the words spilling from him. "I'm the Hero of the Twilight, the one who drew the Master Sword and is destined to save Hyrule. I can't worry about my personal feelings, because on comparison they simply don't matter. I have so many things that I need to do, that I want to do because I understand how important they are."
Midna came to sit next to his head, but didn't say anything. He looked at her, feeling like the words had weakened him somehow. "But the thing I want the most isn't any of those. It's her. I want to go for walks with her like we always used to. I want to talk with her for hours. I want to tell her the things she doesn't know about me, about my life in Kasuto. I want to tell her how my mother really died, not the lie she was told." He felt a lump form in his throat, and he lay his arm across his eyes, as if that would stop his emotions. "I want to tell her how terrified I am. I want to hold her close and tell her what a mess I am, and why." He felt her hand on his hair, and the tears he had been fighting came to his eyes. "I want her to take care of me, because I don't know how to take care of myself." He lifted his arm and wiped at his eyes with his hand angrily. "Ugh, no. I'm not crying about this."
"You're not the first young man to cry over a woman, so don't sweat it. Your situation is unique. Other young men don't have to worry about saving two kingdoms." She brushed some hair back from his face. "Feel any better?"
"Better? Midna, I'm crying." He was and it made him angry with himself, but rambling on like that did make him feel better. He hadn't realized how frustrated he was until he put it to words.
"And? I mean sure, it's a new record for you. You've only been awake about ten minutes." She gave a little smile when he laughed weakly. "But that was a lot to unpack, and there's a whole heap of frustration there. I can see why you didn't want to tell Renado all that."
He sighed and shut his eyes, feeling like the tearful moment had passed. "I know it's stupid and dramatic and I'm being a big baby, but that's my deal with her. I don't want to unload that all on Renado, but it's fine to tell you. I feel like you understand me far better than anyone else."
"You know I'm not going to judge you, especially not after you were so nice to me in the Temple of Time." He opened his eyes and saw that she was looking down at him fondly. "No, not just nice. Caring. Warm. I'm not just talking about the hug, which was nice and warm and really did make me think of my father. I mean you yourself. There's this feeling about you, it's like...like you always have enough energy to care about everyone around you. There's a lot in here-" she patted his chest over his heart. "—that you have to share." Midna gave a little laugh. "I'm making you turn pink. Is this embarrassing you?"
His face did feel a bit warm, even if getting compliments from Midna wasn't so strange anymore. "No, but I don't know how to take what you're saying. You know I don't take praise well, even though I can tell you're sincere. And sappy. I'm supposed to be the sappy one." He had no choice but to believe her. He hadn't had many friends in his life, so he hadn't considered how much he cared for them outside of Ilia.
She laughed again and rose into the air to hover there. "Can't I be sappy instead of cranky for once?"
Link sat up, feeling far better than he had only moments before. Speaking to her about Ilia and then hearing how she appreciated his kindness had been cathartic. Perhaps Renado was right, not that he'd ever admit it to the man. He smirked at Midna. "I'll permit it."
He had a couple of hours before the gates of Castle Town closed at dusk, so he decided to do a few things. He first went to clean and oil the Ordonian sword to make sure it wouldn't rust. He also treated the leather of the scabbard, which was now dry. Once the sword was cared for, he sheathed it and left it on the writing desk of his room. Perhaps since he had the Master Sword, he would bring the one Rusl made to Zelda; provided Zelda's soul could be put back into her body.
The second thing he wanted to do was grab a quick snack. He had missed dinnertime, and while he planned on eating whatever Telma had available, he was still trying to regain his strength after abusing his body yet again. The kitchen was tidied up and there was no sign of Ilia, so he sat down and ate some cold venison and some apple dumplings. The food that was left was set aside on a room service tray that had a clay lid, and he knew that Ilia had done it for him since he wasn't at dinner.
She was avoiding him, he knew that. There was no sign of her in the Eld Inn, and Colin and Beth shrugged helplessly when he asked them if they had seen her. He could understand why she was avoiding him, but he wanted to make it clear to her that she shouldn't feel uncomfortable around him for any reason. Now that he wasn't so tired, he thought it was cute the way she lead into the final question of whether they were in a relationship or not. He could see why she would think that, but he also wondered if he had been too obvious at times. He knew how easily people could read his emotions.
Since he wasn't able to talk to Ilia, he visited Epona. The mare was so happy to see him that she chomped down on his cloak and wouldn't let go until he sang for her. He had come into the stables in all of his gear since he planned on taking the horse up for a quick run to the Eldin plains, and if any Bulbins showed their faces he wanted to be ready. There were no Bulbins, only the friendly Goron warriors that waved at him both when he left Kakariko and when he returned nearly an hour later.
Epona was visibly disappointed when he brought her back into the stable, but she didn't pout too much after he brushed her coat while singing the song again, and bribed her with a carrot he filched from the kitchen. It wouldn't be long before he spent more time with her and rode her to the desert, although he had no idea what he'd do with her when he got there. He patted her and told her that he'd be back soon, and then went to Eldin's Spring.
"I doubt Ralis is back yet." he told Midna when she asked if they should go to Zora's Domain. "While he can swim fast, it's a long swim up the river from Lake Hylia to Zora's Domain. It's practically from one end of the kingdom to the other. We can check in tomorrow, and if he's not there we can always visit him after taking care of Zant."
"Straight to Castle Town then?" she asked.
"Straight to Castle Town. If I plan on going there to talk to Telma's group tonight, I need to go while the gates are still open, and I know it takes a while to walk from the portal." He pictured him showing up at the gate just in time for the guard he poked fun at the other day to pull up the drawbridge. After making the lazy man look like a fool, he didn't want the situation reversed.
"Right, that makes sense. Going to shut your eyes this time, or are you going to be a brave boy?" It seemed like she was done teleporting him without warning after he shouted at her in the middle of Lake Hylia.
"I'm going to be brave and keep my eyes open." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to relax. Mind over matter. Will over body. "Do it."
This time Midna did wave her hand when she cast the spell, doing it while floating a few feet away from him so he could clearly see it. As the world dissolved and the staccato notes sang, he considered how different she seemed after everything that happened yesterday. He had saved her three times, whereas normally she was the one helping him. Her kindness didn't seem like something due in return, but was genuine. She probably would still make fun of him now and again because that was how Midna was, but the quiet moments with her were more pleasant and open.
The birch-lined road in western Eldin formed around him, and this time the dizziness wasn't too terrible. He didn't feel like falling over, but he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to take deep calm breaths in order to not get nauseous. Having proper rest and food was probably part of it, that and it was the first time he had teleported in about ten hours.
He felt her take his hand in hers and pat it kindly. "I wasn't kidding when I suggested you ask Renado for medicine. I'm sure he has something for nausea." she said.
Link opened his eyes, his head feeling less wobbly by the second. "We don't do it on a set schedule and jump around at random times, so I don't think it would help unless I was medicated all the time. I'd rather not be and keep my wits about me. What wits I have, anyway." He patted his chest. "Let's go."
Once she was safe within his shadows he made his way down the road, pausing once again to stand at the edge of the stone bridge that spanned the Zora's River and watch the water. It wasn't flowing as rapidly as it was a few days ago, so it was likely that Zora's Domain was fully thawed and the flow of water had returned to normal. That would make it easier for Ralis to get home as well.
The guard looked like he had shaved because his whiskers were shorter, but they were still there. Maybe he only shaved every other day like Link did, or maybe had a really bad razor. Or perhaps he was indifferent about his appearance, which is what was the most likely reason. He watched Link approach with a bored expression, leaning forward in his chair with his elbow rested on the stone ledge of the grate in front of him, head propped up on a gloved hand. His expression soured when he recognized the young man that had annoyed him the other day, and he glared when Link gave him a polite smile.
"I could stop you from entering the city." the man said, putting a hand to the lever that lowered the red-painted wooden gate and then pulling it. The wooden bar dropped across the road. "Oops. I just did."
Link stopped. This man certainly could hold a grudge over a little joke. "A piece of painted wood isn't going to stop me, sir." He wasn't trying to be condescending, but the honorific made the man frown in an unfriendly way. "I can easily go around it."
"If you do, I'll arrest you for ignoring the city watch and entering Castle Town without permission." It was a stupid threat, because regardless of how the guard was armed, Link had far more weapons and probably was far more capable.
He did not want to fight this idiot. "Are you seriously that bent out of shape because I woke you when you were sleeping on the job? Come on, get over it."
"That's it." The watchman stood up and angrily grabbed something long from the wall next to him, and exited the back side of the stone gatehouse. That something proved to be a halberd, which looked like the standard issue for the city guards. Once he came around to stand in the road he planted the butt of his weapon on the ground. He was certainly a bit rumpled and unkempt for a public servant, but he was also half a foot taller than Link with broad shoulders. "You're coming with me, smartass."
"What? I didn't do anything." Link looked the man up and down. He wasn't as out of shape as the other guards and was something on the burly side, but at the same time he was an ordinary person. An ordinary person who unwittingly was trying to arrest the Hero of Hyrule.
The guard took the young man's assessment of him the wrong way. "Yeah, now I see how it is. Now that I'm out here you're not so brave. You've got some pretty nice armor and an expensive sword, but a rich kid like you probably doesn't know how to use them."
Link looked at the man incredulously, beginning to feel a bit frustrated. "You think I'm the son of a noble?" Well, the guard wasn't wrong in that regard, and the Master Sword did have a large gem on its hilt. "Look, I know you want to teach me a lesson, but I wasn't wrong the other day. Sure, I was a jerk for waking you up and laughing at you. I'll admit that much. But you're supposed to be serving the city of Castle Town and the people who live here. Have a little more respect for your post."
The man either did not like being told he was wrong, or being told what to do, or both. "Shut up." He reached out to grab Link's arm, but missed since the young hero danced back a few steps. He shot a look full of venom at Link. "Don't make this harder on yourself."
"Just leave him here." Midna told him. "You're wasting your time with this idiot."
That was true, but he would have to run to get away from the man, and that would likely result in multiple guards chasing him through the city. Not only that, but he didn't want to draw his weapon on any guards. That in itself was a legitimate reason to be arrested. He sidestepped another grab from the guard. "Cut that out. I'm not going with you. Just pretend like none of this happened and we'll both go our separate ways."
The man growled angrily. "Stop dodging me, you little brat. I do know how to use my weapon and I'm not afraid to use it. You're wearing chain so you won't die, but you won't feel too good either."
"I really don't want to fight you. Or maybe I should say you really don't want to fight me." He hoped that it didn't seem like he was boasting his skill. It was a simple warning.
"You little bastard…" the burly guard muttered. "You're a tough guy, huh? What's a little shit like you going to do against me? Use that pretty sword? You probably can't even lift it."
"Why do people look at me and think I'm this skinny little weakling? Is it my height? It's my height, isn't it?" Link asked of nobody in particular.
The watchman hefted his spear and held it in his hands, assuming a ready stance. It did look like he knew how to use it, and it gave him a lot more range than the Master Sword. "Yeah, we'll see how funny you think you are after I kick your ass. Spear beats sword, and I'm done trying to ask you to come with me."
Link stood up straight, lowered his hands to his side and fixed the man with an intense stare, done trying to reason. "I'm out of patience. I don't want to fight you, but I will defend myself if necessary. This is your last chance: stand down."
The man hesitated for just a moment, briefly looking unsure. Just how speaking directly had made Hagar change his viewpoint, Link had made this guard reconsider what he was doing...almost. It didn't completely work since the man was so hellbent on being a bully, he decided to attack anyway. He swung his halberd in an attempt to hit young man's side with the flat of it.
This time he jumped farther back than he did for the previous grabs that the guard had made. He dodged another swipe and a few angry jabs. Chain mail or not, the pointed end of the spear could pierce the links and do some serious damage, and it was obvious the guard didn't care. The man was infuriated that somebody had stood up to his bullying, and the one person who decided to stand up to the bullying was a young man much smaller than himself.
Then the guard got sloppy, red-faced with anger as he attacked. He did exactly what Link thought he would do, and thrust too far while stepping too far ahead with one foot. Instead of jumping away, Link hopped forward and grabbed the shaft of the spear with one hand and brought his fist down on the gloved fingers holding on to it. The man grunted with pain, and while his grip was weakened Link grabbed the spear with his other hand and yanked hard, pulling it free.
That could have been the end of it, but he was angry. He tangled the butt of the spear in the man's legs and dumped him into the dirt of the road. While the man lay prone there, he held the heavy spear like a javelin and hurled it into the nearby moat with an overhanded throw. It didn't fly as well as a javelin and tumbled a bit due to it being top-heavy, but it wound up where he wanted it to go anyway.
"What the fuck?!" The guard's anger was gone and replaced by disbelief and a touch of fear. Things clearly did not go how he had planned, and he had just been defeated by a "little shit" that was unarmed.
"I'm going into the city now." Link told him as he stood over where the man sat on the ground. "Don't follow me. If you see me again, pretend that you didn't. And stop being a bully. Real men don't bully others."
Then he walked away, stepping around the wooden gate and over the drawbridge and leaving the stunned watchman behind him. Throwing the halberd into the moat was a bit on the petty side, but he wanted to make a solid point and his words alone weren't enough to make an impression.
"Nicely done." Midna murmured approvingly. "I would have kicked his ass, but you went easy on him."
I concur, Master. You could have abused your abilities to harm that man, yet you did your best to not do so. That was admirable.
"Thanks." he said to both Midna and the sword, feeling a bit justified in his actions after hearing their support. There were two more guards past the open doors of the city gate, one of them being the guard with the pot belly that had witnessed the drawbridge raising on its own when he and Midna came in the Twilight.
"Good evening." the guard said pleasantly with a polite nod. He and his partner hadn't witnessed what happened by the gatehouse, and were none the wiser.
"Good evening." Link answered with a smile. He noticed that the two guards smiled back at him easily as he continued on into the city. At least these members of the city watch weren't jerks and willing to be nice to travelers. If he had decided to run, he probably would have had to fight them too.
It wasn't quite sunset yet, so the lamps hadn't been lit. Residents of the city moved about their business, almost all of them Hylians. That was fine; in other places he was known as the hero. Here he was just another Hylian, anonymous and unimportant.
As he made his way through the streets and an area that looked like a park, he passed a large gaily-colored tent that had a sign boasting of some game or another. A man in a motley outfit and a green hood stood in front of it, calling out to passer-by. The man turned and made eye contact with Link, and gave him the kind of overly-dazzling smile that only snake oil salesmen had. "Young sir! How would you like to be a star? Come try your luck with us!"
If the guard outside hadn't annoyed him and wasted his time, he probably would have offered the green-hooded man a polite "no thank you", but he instead looked away and kept walking as he followed the flow of pedestrians through the street. The game was most likely a scam of some sort, and he had zero interest in city triptych.
The sky and the wispy clouds above were tinged pink and gold by the time he made his way to Telma's Bar. It took much longer to get there during the daytime with all the people heading home at the end of their daily business. He stepped into the lamp-lit interior of the pub and looked around before his eyes fixed on Telma, who stood behind the bar speaking to a pair of patrons that sat there.
She noticed him and raised a hand in a wave instead of shouting across the room, which he appreciated. He still didn't want to be the center of attention. The tall woman came around the bar to him and wrapped him in a big hug. The motherly action suited her, and it made him smile and hug her back. "Link! I wasn't expecting you to come here yet."
"I did what I needed to do pretty quickly." he said, pulling back from her. "A promise is a promise, so here I am."
"You are, and it's nice to have you here, honey." Her eyes moved up to look over his left shoulder. "A new sword, huh? It suits you." Telma did not recognize the Master Sword on sight unlike Renado and the Gorons, and for that he was thankful. He couldn't picture her bowing to him, but he could picture her talking about it loudly enough for everyone in the pub to hear.
He glanced around the room. "Huh, for some reason I expected to see more soldiers here tonight." There were no soldiers actually, only regular citizens and craftsmen.
"Me too, but they've been recalled for duty. Come into the back so we can chat. There's a couple of people I'd like you to meet." She led him into the back room, opening the folding door to admit the two of them. "These are two of my friends." Telma said, shutting the door behind them. "And this is the young man I told you two about." she said pointedly to the other two in the room, not openly using the word "hero" but implying it with her tone.
The two people seated at the table looked up from what they were doing. Shad was one of them, no longer wearing a guard's uniform but rather ordinary clothing, a lavender button-up shirt beneath a light jacket. He had a large atlas open and was correcting some hand-written notes with a red wax crayon. The other was a round-eared young woman about Link's age wearing a black gambeson and partial plate armor that was decorated with green and pink enamel. It covered her torso and calves, and a matching pair of gauntlets sat nearby. Her hair was black, straight and just past her shoulders, and she had it tied back in a pair of tails and silver barrettes. She wasn't currently wearing a weapon since she was seated, but there was a short sword in a black scabbard leaning up against the wall next to a bow and quiver. The young woman had been reading other pages of written notes, helping Shad with whatever task he was doing. They both had tankards of something, and two greasy but otherwise empty plates had been shoved towards the center of the table.
"Greetings." Shad said formally, not realizing that he had already met Link before. There was something in his eyes that said that he recognized the hero, though. Link had heard Shad and Zelda speaking about him that morning. It was strange to consider that was only early this morning, after everything else that had happened since.
"Hello." Link said in response, even though the woman hadn't said anything yet. If anything she was measuring him up, her eyes examining him critically.
"Is this really him?" she asked bluntly.
"Why would I lie about that?" Telma put her hands on her hips.
"Because he's as tall as I am and as thin as a rail." the young woman said without any tact.
"Wow." Link crossed his arms. "That's a great way to make a first impression." He expected her to laugh or retort in annoyance, but the woman did nothing but look at him coolly.
"He fits the descriptions, and Telma has spent time with him." Shad said, trying to smooth things over. He stood and offered his hand. "Forgive my companion, I'm sure she means no offense. My name is Shad."
Link took the man's hand and shook it. "I'm Link, and she's a lot more pleasant than the city guard who attempted to bully me on my way in."
Shad smiled pleasantly in response to that comment but didn't say anything about it. "I admit, I had expected you to be taller."
"That makes two of us." he said, and gave a small smile when Telma and Shad chuckled. He stepped towards the young woman and extended his hand. "Now that we've established that I'm short and you're blunt, let's try greeting each other like reasonable adults. I'm Link."
She gave a short breathy laugh and shook his hand. Her face completely changed when she smiled, and she looked far younger. "Ashei. I wasn't trying to be rude, but you can guess how I'd be skeptical after all the stories going around about you, yeah?" Now that he as closer he could see that her brown eyes were rather pretty.
"I admit, a young guy in a ratty brown cloak and weird green outfit isn't what people picture when they think of a hero." He shrugged and then began to remove his bow and cloak. "Unfortunately I'm what Hyrule gets."
"Don't sell yourself short like that, honey. You defeated a dozen Bulbins all on your own." Telma said, watching as he hung his cloak on a hook and set the bow down next to it.
"To be fair, it wasn't a dozen." He removed his shield and leaned it up against the wall. "It was eighteen."
"Eighteen?" Ashei muttered under her breath to herself. It didn't sound like she doubted him, but more like she didn't want to believe it.
"Link...that sword." Shad could see the scabbard more clearly now that Link wasn't wearing the shield. "Is that what I think it is?" He sounded awed.
Great. He should have expected this, if Shad was here. The castle librarian would know all kinds of legends and lore. "Yes, it's the Master Sword. Please don't make a big deal out of it, okay? It was bad enough when one of the Goron elders saw it earlier."
"Forgive me, I wasn't trying to make you feel uncomfortable. You do realize you now having it is a big deal, right?" Shad sat back down. "Some of us at the castle have been watching your progress, and none of us had known that you had gone and pulled it. You were at Kakariko two days ago, Lake Hylia yesterday and yet you managed to get to Faron and pull the sword today. You certainly get around."
"I certainly do, and I have my advantages, but I don't want to talk about it just yet." He removed the legendary sword and set it next to his shield. "What I want is something to eat. I wouldn't come all this way and not have some of Telma's cooking."
"I'm flattered." She waved at the empty chairs at the table. "Have a seat and I'll be back in a bit. You three likely have some things to talk about." The tall woman leaned over the table to grab the dirty plates before leaving the room, shutting the bi-fold door behind her.
He had planned on introducing them all to Midna, but he couldn't do that without Telma here. That would have to wait until later, and until then the Twili would have to be content with hiding in his shadows. Link pulled out a char and sat down. "Yes, 'some things', as she said. Let me get right to it: I'm the hero and I can't handle that army south of here all by myself. Telma told me all about your group and how you're working along with Zelda, and what you're doing and what I'm doing align pretty well."
"Telma had told me that she tried to steer you towards us, although you've had other things you've needed to do." Shad reached for his tankard and raised it to his mouth. "Are you done doing them?" he asked before taking a drink.
"Yes and no. What I need to do became a lot more complicated yesterday. I don't know how much the two of you can help right now, but the Shadow Beast and Bulbin army will need handled by some people who understand that kind of thing better than I do." He folded his hands on the table in front of him. "I understand Zant's motives, but I don't understand the ones behind the Bulbin King's."
"We don't either." Ashei said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms. The sleeves of her black gambeson were padded, unlike the one Link wore. "Right now we're trying to figure out where they came from, and why."
"Have any idea? All I know is what Zelda told me, that they came from the Gerudo Desert. She doubts the Gerudo had anything to do with it. I agree with her." He wondered what Shad was drinking. Maybe it was some of that cider from a few days ago. It was pretty good and he wouldn't mind having it again.
"Holodrum, we think. There aren't any records of any tribes living in the desert other than the Gerudo themselves, and Lizalfos." Shad set down his drink. "Those giant boars they ride would need a lot of food and water, hence them setting up camp in central Hyrule where there's a lot of small lakes and farmland. They can't be a desert race, but beyond that we have no idea. Holodrum is just as large as Hyrule, and has the same kinds of biomes as we do: grasslands, forests, desert, mountains."
"I don't suppose you know anything about Holodrum?" Ashei asked.
"Nothing more than what my mother told me. It's mostly wild with only a few human and Sheikah settlements, and not very many Hylians. Most of the population is monsters or Gorons. I had never heard of Bulbins until they came and attacked me one day." His education had been cut short, so most of what he had learned was about Hyrule itself and not the neighboring countries.
"That's more than I know." she said, looking down at the papers in front of her. "All that we can figure is that Bulbins are like Lizalfos and are technically a race, but behave like a bunch of thugs. That's why we're classifying them as monsters."
That sounded about right. He had been telling himself that they were monsters to make killing them easier, as he had done with Shadow Beasts, but he knew the truth of it. Lying to himself hadn't made it easier on himself in the end, and the conversation he had with Ilia made him more aware of it.
"I have a question about you, if you don't mind." Shad said politely. "One of our members mentioned that he had met you, and learned that you were the son of Gwyn of Lon. Is that true?"
Link rubbed at his forehead. "Damn that Erol…" he muttered, and then he looked back up at the scholar. There was no point in denying it. "Yeah, I'm the last Lon. My family had land in Central Hyrule, but when the magic purge began we relocated to the central Eldin plains. The town was named Kasuto."
"I'm familiar with what happened to Kasuto. I'm sorry." the man said kindly. "Many lost loved ones in the purge, although the loss of Sir Gwyn and your mother was felt by us all. They both had strong bloodlines that had been in the close service of the royal family for generations."
"Then you should be a knight, just like me." the young woman to his left said. "I know I have round ears, but I still have a Hylian bloodline, and my family has been part of the Royal Knights for a long time, like yours. My father was Brent of Mabe, and I know about Gwyn because of the stories he's told me about him."
"Your father knew my father?" This was somebody else who knew who his father was, but he didn't feel threatened by it as he did with Erol.
"They were good friends, along with two others. They started as squires at the same time and were all fairly close in age: Brent, Gwyn, Rolf and Alden. The only one who didn't abandon his post when the king started to go crazy was Sir Alden." She shook her head, and even though her expression was cool, her eyes looked slightly sad. "But he died in the invasion, protecting Princess Zelda."
"Is your father still alive?" It wasn't a polite question to ask, but he had heard Shad report that Brent was sending Ashei to Castle Town in his stead, so he already knew the answer.
"Yeah. My father was stationed in a keep in the Snow Peaks, and when the knights and soldiers started bailing on the royals he and most of the people at that keep packed up and left. We all live in a town in that area. The fact that we live in the mountains kept King Bert's army away. We weren't worth the trouble of going through Zora lands to reach us." Ashei glanced up when the bi-fold door opened.
Telma came in carrying a tray and began setting things down on the table in front of Link. There was a lamb shank with peas, potato and gravy, a tankard of what looked like dark ale, and even a plate of sliced peaches and cream. "Now, I've seen how you eat, Link. If you need seconds, don't hesitate to ask."
"Is it possible we have somebody here who eats more than Ashei? Amazing." Shad said dryly, poking fun at the young woman.
"You can keep your comments to yourself, unless you'd like that black eye I mentioned." she said with a completely straight face, but she was joking. The two of them seemed like good friends.
Link laughed a little at the exchange, and Telma gave him a smile. "That's music to my ears. I haven't heard enough of that laugh since I met you. You had me worried, honey. You were a wreck back in Kakariko."
"I didn't have much reason to laugh at the time, but things are getting better. Ilia's not afraid of everything anymore and she's starting to remember little things. Renado told me that she's doing well, and I'd have to agree after seeing her earlier." He picked up the fork and knife to begin eating. "Ralis is safe. I left him at Lake Hylia with a bunch of his soldiers, and I imagine they're escorting him up to Zora's Domain right now."
"You were in Kakariko earlier?" Shad raised an eyebrow. "You said you had certain advantages that let you move around quickly. Now after saying that, you need to explain."
Link considered him, chewing. Well, it had to happen sooner or later. He turned his head to make sure that the door was closed, and then nodded in agreement after he swallowed his food. "I should explain it to the three of you. Things will make a lot more sense, since I know I've been spotted all over Eldin and Lanayru lately." He took a deep breath. Revealing Midna to these three was different than revealing her to Ralis or Renado. Ralis and Renado had no reason to be angry with him, which he knew was going to happen here. "Midna, will you please come out?"
"What, really?" her voice came from his torso, and Telma visibly jumped when she heard it. "You know what cat we're going to let out of the bag."
"I told you I'd take responsibility. Come introduce yourself." He had to come clean about it so Shad wouldn't worry about Zelda.
The Twili appeared in front of him over the center of the table, forming out of shadows and then becoming the mottled gray and black imp. "Hello, everyone. My name is Midna, and I'm from a far away land." It was her standard greeting, and she gave the standard bow, but she barely got it out of her mouth before both Telma and Shad started shouting at once.
"You're that cursed girl that was badly burned!" Shad cried, standing abruptly.
"You were the wolf in here this morning!" Telma's eyes were wide as she stared at Link.
The two of them continued, Telma babbling in shock and Shad turning to anger while shouting about Zelda, and Midna moved back to hide behind her friend's back, not enjoying the reaction. Link held up his hands to silence them. "One at a time! Please!" When they stopped asking him questions, he gave short sigh. "I owe both of you an explanation, and I also owe Shad an apology. Yes, I was the wolf. Zant cursed me into a wolf's form when I was at Lanayru's Spring at Lake Hylia after going to the Zora's Temple there for the things I need to do. Then he tried to kill Midna by controlling the Light Spirit and having it attack her. Since she's cursed into the form of a creature of shadow, the light magic burned her badly and nearly killed her."
He looked down at his food, which he had barely began eating. "Lanayru managed to break free and used its magic to teleport us close to Castle Town, although I had to run the rest of the way here. It said that I should go to Princess Zelda for help, since she has the Triforce of Wisdom. I know you don't want to reveal that, Shad...but this is important." He pulled the glove off his left hand and showed them the crest on his skin. "It's important because I have the Triforce of Courage in my hand, the same as she does."
Link took in their stunned expressions, even Ashei looking a bit overwhelmed by the information. "I'm sure you can understand why I didn't tell you about my piece of the Triforce this morning. Mum's the word, as you said...and I didn't have the time to explain myself." he said to Shad, before addressing all three of them. "Courage is the only reason Zant couldn't kill me, I'm sure of that. Still, the curse put on me was so strong that Zelda couldn't do anything about it. She told me to go find the Master Sword, since it was the only thing powerful enough to break it. I asked her to help Midna...no, I begged. My friend was dying and I didn't want to lose her."
He paused as loud laughter came from the main room of the bar. The patrons out there couldn't hear the revealing things he was saying. "She couldn't use Wisdom to heal her, so she did something else instead. She put her magical power into Midna's body to make her able to survive in the light world. When she did this, her soul went into Midna as well. I don't know if it was planned or not, but it happened anyway." He fixed his eyes on Shad's. "That's why Zelda is in hibernation. She isn't dead, but she isn't really alive either."
"I told her not to do it." Midna moved forward, extending her hands plaintively at Shad. "I know how important she is for Hyrule, and I was ready to die. She didn't listen and did it anyway."
"Neither one of us expected Zelda to sacrifice herself like that, not when she's the only member of the royal family left." Link said, tugging his glove back on. "She said something before she did it that made it seem like she knew something that we didn't, although we'll never know what that was now. I apologize for what happened. I'm sorry that I brought Midna and myself there, but we had no alternative, and had no way of knowing what would happen." He fell silent, lowering his eyes to stare at the table top.
Shad slowly sat down, pulling his glasses off and rubbing at his eyes wearily. "Damn you, I wanted to be angry. I was so sure you were the one who did that to Zelda, but no. She did it to herself."
"I'm sorry, Shad. After hearing the two of you talk, I know that she's your friend." He picked up his silverware and started eating again.
"Stop apologizing. I certainly can't blame you or Midna. If my friend was dying, I would have done the exact same thing." The librarian put his glasses back on. "That's a lot to take in. You still didn't explain how you can move around so quickly."
"You might have noticed the portals around Hyrule that Zant has made to transport his Bulbins and Shadow Beasts." the Twili said, sitting down on the table and crossing her legs in front of her. "Even though I'm cursed, I still have some magical ability. I claimed some of those portals as my own, and Link and I have been using them to cross Hyrule quickly. We can go from one end of the kingdom to the other in seconds."
"I suspected that wolf was you. I didn't say so, but it was your eyes. Human eyes in a wolf's face." Telma looked down at him. "There are a lot of people with blue eyes, but not many like yours. Even Shad's aren't that dark a blue."
"Oh, yeah. He does have eyes that are as blue as a little kid's. Normally people lose their eye color as they grow up." Ashei had been drinking the rest of what was in her tankard, listening to Link talk but not saying anything. "The things you've said check out. We knew that the king was killed, but we've been keeping it a secret. We've seen the portals, too. Still...Telma?"
"What is it, honey?"
"We're going to need more beer after hearing all of that." The young woman gave a light smile and waggled her empty tankard suggestively.
"I feel like I'm going to need some beer too." the bartender muttered. "All right, I'll be back in a minute. I'm sorry if I swung a weapon at you, Link."
"Don't worry about it. You were startled and thought we were monsters. It was a reasonable response." Even thought the subject they were speaking about was heavy, he was still enjoying the lamb.
The tall woman smiled and gave his shoulder a squeeze, and then made her way back out into the main room, shutting the door as she went. As he expected, Telma simply accepted what happened and didn't make a mountain of a molehill.
"Where do you come from, Midna? You said a far-away land, and as you can see I have a world atlas on the table here." Shad patted the open book near him. "Perhaps you can show us your home."
"I'm not from this world at all, so you won't find my home in that map book. I'm a Twili, just like Zant. We come from a place called the Twilight Realm, which is a place full of shadow magic. It's not like the Twilight that fell over Hyrule, but instead the place we were exiled. We're the descendants of the Interlopers that were banished there." She tapped the stone helmet on her head. "And this ugly hat of mine is the reason why the Interlopers were banished in the first place. I'm wearing a piece of the Fused Shadows."
"Forget beer, I'm going to need gin." The poor man looked overwhelmed. Unlike Ashei and Telma, he had a harder time of accepting things, likely due to his expansive knowledge of everything related to what Link and Midna had said. "All right, so we've established that Zant is a Twili. How did he get to Hyrule? The way to the Shadow Realm is supposed to be sealed and guarded."
"He came through the Mirror of Twilight." Midna looked away from him, looking guilty. "That is...I came here. Zant has killed our king and declared himself leader, and when I tried to stand up to him he cursed me. I was the only one strong enough to fight him, and I lost. I had to come here into the light world because I knew that the remaining pieces of the Fused Shadows were here, and it was my only chance to get rid of Zant. There are many terrifying things outside our lands in the Twilight Realm, and it seems that he found something he calls a "god", and got power from it that's far stronger than my people's magic."
"And so Zant followed you through the portal and into Hyrule." The man guessed correctly.
The Twili nodded, still looking away. "I'm afraid I'm the reason he came here, and why he found greener pastures to conquer. I'm also the reason Zelda's the way she is." She raised her head to fix Shad with a determined stare. "I've brought a lot of trouble to your world, and I regret it. That's why I'm doing everything in my power to help Link make it right."
"You couldn't know that Zant would follow you, yeah?" Ashei said. The "yeah" on the end wasn't an actual question, but more of a quirk with the way she spoke. "It sounds like you were doing your best to help your people. You're like the Twilight Realm's version of Link. Nobody can blame you for trying to do the right thing."
"That's what Link told me. It doesn't make me feel less guilty about it, but I can't sit around and feel sorry for myself." She looked back and forth between Shad and Ashei. "That's why I plan on taking Link to the Mirror of Twilight and going back to the Twilight Realm to rally my people. As individuals we may not be able to defeat Zant, but hundreds of sorcerers facing him will."
"We'll help too." the female warrior said. "Both our homelands are in trouble. It makes sense to help one another."
"I concur." Shad nodded. "We should help you and Link in any way we can. Let me ask, did you find your pieces of the Fused Shadows? The places Link has visited line up with the races that were supposed to hold those pieces."
"Yeah, but Zant took it from her." Link told him. "He took it when he nearly killed us at Lake Hylia. Since he's a cruel bastard, he gave her the helmet back just to give her a fraction of the power she needs, to rub her nose in it." He had drank about half of what was in his mug, finding it tasted better than he expected. By now he had cleaned his plate, and decided that he didn't need to ask for seconds. Telma had given him a generous portion in the first place.
The bartender returned with a large glass pitcher full of the dark beer and a mug for herself. "There, the other patrons are squared away and shouldn't need me. I put the closed sign on the door, but I doubt anyone else will be coming now that the soldiers have been called to duty, and the craftsmen don't stay up late."
"Why have the soldiers been called in? Does it have to do with that army in Central Hyrule?" He knew the answer, but again was asking questions so they could supply him with information that he hadn't learned from evesdropping.
"If you heard Zelda and I talking this morning, then you know the answer is yes. The army is setting up camp just south of Castle Town, within the outer walls." Shad said, holding out his tankard for Telma to refill.
"All right, you caught me asking questions to make it seem like I didn't know as much as I do." He watched as Telma refilled his half-empty drink, making a small hesitant sound as she did so. One drink was fine.
"Go ahead and have some more, on the house." she said kindly. "After what you went through earlier, you deserve to relax and have a drink."
She was being kind to him, and he didn't want to be rude so he let the subject drop. "Is that all they're doing? Do they know why Zelda wanted them stationed there?"
"Only the higher officers know. The average soldier knows nothing." Shad said unhappily. "They know that they're supposed to protect the city if anything goes wrong, but they don't understand that they could potentially be sacrificial lambs in order to let the citizens evacuate."
Neither Telma or Ashei seemed surprised by this. If the three of them understood what was actually happening with Zelda, Zant and the invasion, then perhaps they would understand the things he had to do. He might be able to tell someone what he had been up to instead of hiding it away. "They're soldiers. If they signed up, then they know the risks." He took a drink again. While he hadn't asked for more, he had to admit that it was good. "Now comes the reason why I'm here. The Mirror of Twilight is in the Gerudo Desert somewhere, and finding a Gerudo to talk to about it is like finding a needle in a haystack. Is there anyone in your extended group that has connections to the Gerudo?"
"Auru." the three said in unison, and then they all laughed.
"Auru has been Princess Zelda's contact with the Gerudo for the past six years, spending his time on the border between Hyrule and the desert." Shad told him. "Zelda's been trying to mend fences ever since she was a girl, knowing that sooner or later we Hyrulians should make peace with the Gerudo. What Ganondorf did centuries ago has nothing to do with the people living in the desert now."
"She's been busy, ever since the queen went and got herself killed by her own magic." Ashei said. "Once that happened, she knew that Adelbert wasn't fit to rule. Not that he was before. Ol' Bonkers Bert earned that nickname for a reason, yeah?"
Bonkers Bert and Batty Bess; the less than respectful names that the human population of Hyrule called the King and Queen behind their backs. Now they were dead and Zelda should be crowned Queen, but it's hard to crown an unconscious body.
"He's at the border? So...western Lanayru?" That didn't narrow it down. The area between Hyrule and the Gerudo Desert was mostly mesas, with a large river running through a canyon creating a natural border between the two. The man could be anywhere on that border.
"There's a watchtower a bit west of Lakeside up on top of the cliffs called Lakeside Tower. Original name, I know. He spends most of his time there, even though he's technically supposed to be Zelda's tutor." Shad gave a small smile. "He passed that job on to me, his apprentice. It's because of him that I became the head librarian at Hyrule Castle, and because of him I was able to befriend Zelda."
"I was wondering about that. You seem pretty young for an important castle job." He eyed the empty plate that had held the peaches. That was one of his favorite foods, and he considered asking for more. No, he shouldn't. Telma would just bring more beer, and he could feel that he was drinking a bit too quickly.
"I'm twenty-four, and yes...normally I wouldn't have such an elevated position. Most of it was Auru's doing, but my cousin Trevor helped a bit when he could. I'm sure you remember him." That would explain why the two men looked so much alike. "Auru was also familiar with my father's work. My father was also a scholar, and when he passed away I took it upon myself to continue with his research. I did it in his memory since I know he would have wanted his work shared among the scholarly community. And...there were other reasons." His voice grew soft. "I lost three family members to the magic purge, my father being one of them, his parents the others. Like your father, mine was killed by soldiers. I wouldn't have known what had happened to them if Auru hadn't told me. He said that my grandparents were taken with many others to a prison called the Arbiter's Grounds that's somewhere in the Gerudo Desert. I know they did not survive there."
"I'm sorry for your loss." Link said, not sure what else to say.
Shad shook his head. "There's nothing to be done now, and I should be saying that to you. I still have my mother and my sister, and Trevor and his family. You don't have any family."
"How do you know so much about me?" It felt weird, having somebody know a lot about him without him telling them a thing. "I haven't even told my best friend about Kasuto or my parents." Only because he was ordered not to. He certainly wanted Ilia to know everything about him.
The librarian gave a small chuckle after having a drink of his beer. "Zelda wanted to know who you were. She knew a little boy at the Lon Ranch named Link that fit your description when she was young, but she was unsure if he was you. After hearing what Erol had to say about you being the son of Gwyn, we knew who you were and where you've been. You were indeed the boy Zelda remembered, although you were quite small so you may not remember her."
"I remember a brown-haired girl a couple of years older than me coming to the ranch with her mother. I was four, maybe five." Link grinned. "I also remember thinking that she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. I think I had a little kid crush on her."
Ashei laughed. "You wouldn't be the first guy to have a thing for Zelda." She tapped her chin, considering it. "Actually….yes, you would have been. She would have been about seven at the time."
He and Ashei laughed about that, and Shad continued after rolling his eyes. "You told Telma that you had been living in Ordon for a bit over five years, and that was the last piece of the puzzle. It fits in with the timeline of when Kausto fell, of which I've made a record of. The military kept no such records, since the culling of an entire town being something they did not want known. I think future generations need to know what happens if we let a mad king continue to rule." He said this last sentence with a bitterness. Shad seemed to hate Adelbert just as much as Link did, for the same reasons. "Anyway, that's how I know so much about you."
"See? Since you let that slip to that Artho kid that you were a Lon, it lead to Zelda and a bunch of other people figuring out exactly who you are." Midna nudged him with a spiky elbow. "That's what you get for not keeping your mouth shut."
"You know me, I'm a chatty guy." While he would never deny that he liked to talk, it seemed like Shad enjoyed talking even more. Now that the man had been drinking, it seemed like he was becoming even more talkative, if possible. That was fine; now that he had gotten a chance to know him, Link found himself liking Shad, and Ashei too. It wasn't just the beer making him giddy either, although that certainly helped. He had found people close to his age that he could relate to.
The night continued on pleasantly, Link giving them a recap of what he had done so far as the hero, with Shad and Ashei telling him more about themselves while Telma brought a second pitcher of the strong dark beer. Shad's work that he was studying in memory of his father was about a strange bird race known as the Oocca that was very rarely seen. Ashei had gone through the training of a squire, and even though she wasn't officially knighted, her father and his men considered her as such. Midna stayed to listen, but did not talk about herself. After a while she disappeared into the shadows beneath the table, saying that she was going to see what the soldiers were doing and would be back in a bit.
At some point Telma vanished for a while to take care of some dishes before returning with yet more dark beer. Link lost track of how much he actually had, since the woman kept refilling his tankard before it was completely empty. He wasn't sure if she was trying to be nice, or trying to get him drunk. If she kept it up he would certainly get there; he was a bit of a lightweight. The only time he ever drank anything was at festivals, and even then he was careful to not make a fool of himself like most of the other men in Ordon. He didn't want to be rude and leave a nearly-full mug for Telma to throw away, so even though he intentionally slowed his drinking, he still had far more than he had planned. After that last refill he insisted that he had more than enough, and would refuse to drink any more if she filled it again.
"Midna?" he ventured quietly, peering beneath the table. "You there?"
Her voice came from beneath the table in general, not a specific spot. "I'm here. I've been back about fifteen minutes now. What's up?"
"I think I finally convinced Telma to stop refilling my beer, so I'll want to leave soon." He knew that he had drank far more than he should have, and decided that going to bed was the best course of action.
"Leave? Don't you want to sleep here tonight?" she asked.
"No, I want to sleep in Kakariko. I want to be where Epona is so I can leave for Lakeside in the morning." And he would much prefer to sleep in his bed in the Eld Inn than on the cot in the storage room. Or worse, the crates that Ralis had to sleep on.
"Epona, huh? Are you sure that's the only reason?" she giggled.
He ignored her and sat up to listen to Ashei tell a story of how she and her father rolled down a snowy mountain and survived. The warrior smiled more now that she was comfortable near him, or perhaps now that she'd had a few. She wasn't as cold as she initially seemed, her behavior reserved and knightly until she relaxed. Ashei was the polar opposite of him, who seemed to be tangled up in his emotions at every turn.
Shad sighed and rose. "Well, friends. I believe it's time for me to turn in." he said with slurred speech. "I don't think I can navigate the walls of the castle tonight, so I'm going to impose upon you, Telma."
"Not a problem, honey. I'd feel better if you stayed instead of trying to get to your quarters in the castle." The three younger people were all well under the influence of their drinks, but Telma only seemed tipsy. She had a far better tolerance, but then again she was older and much larger than they were. "Are you staying, handsome?"
"No." He stood, and felt a bit dizzy as he did. "Midna's taking me back to Kakariko. That's where my horse is, and I'll ride to Lakeside Tower as soon as I can." He was going to say that he'd do it tomorrow, but he had the feeling he wasn't going to get up as early as usual.
"Admit it, you just don't want to sleep on the crates." Ashei smirked.
"And I don't want to sleep on the crates." He drained the dregs of his tankard and went to put on his gear again. "I plan on riding across Central Hyrule instead of cutting through Castle Town like the last time I went to Lake Hylia. If I can risk it I'll take a look at the southern side of that army, otherwise I'm going to stop at the little villages on the way to see if anybody's still out there. I'm really hoping some people got away and aren't Shadow Beasts."
"We were going to try to see what we can tomorrow." The young woman said as she stood. "Shad has a spyglass and we can get a pretty good view up on the city walls."
"I'll try to see what I can all the same." He was fine putting on his baldric, but found putting on his cloak a little fiddly. His fingers didn't seem to be responding as well as normal. He hoped nobody noticed that, or how his words seemed to be slower. He was feeling drunker by the second, which he hadn't expected since he was no longer drinking. "I'll be in the desert for a while, so I won't be back for days. Hopefully the next time we meet, I'll have some good news." He reached into the pouch that held his money and pulled out some blue and red rupees. "I know you're gonna refuse, but shut up and take this. You've taken care of me at your own expense, and I know running a pub when food is getting scarce must be hard." He set the coins on the table. "It was nice to meet you two. I'm gonna sleep this off now. G'night."
They all bid him goodnight with smiles, and he made his way out of the otherwise-empty pub. He had no idea what time it was, and Telma did not have a clock. Stepping outside he could see that it was dark. That wasn't particularly helpful, but he guessed the time didn't matter. He slowly began to climb the stairs, his feet scuffing on the stone as he did so. Strange, normally his footsteps didn't sound that loud.
"Maybe you shouldn't be going up stairs right now." Midna said from his body. He didn't notice her moving into his shadows, but she was still with him. He doubted he could accidentally leave her behind, unlike when they had first spoke in Faron.
"It's fine." He said, reaching the top of the stairs after feeling like it took ages. It felt as if his feet and legs weren't moving right, like something had slowed and numbed them. Midna had noticed, but if he kept going it would probably be okay.
"Link, stop walking. You're drunk."
He stopped in the dim alleyway, feeling like his body had continued moving on even though he was standing still. "Yeah, I know. This is kind of a new thing for me."
"I remember you telling Barnes you don't drink, so having as much as you did wasn't the brightest idea." Her tone was disapproving.
"Okay, mother. Look, I wasn't gonna be rude. I didn't want to waste it. Wasn't my fault that Telma kept refilling for me." He started walking, feeling stubborn. He wasn't that bad off. Sure, everything felt a bit spinny and the world around him seemed to shift a bit every time he blinked, but he was still able to walk fine. "I can get to the gates okay."
"Does this town have any laws about public drunkenness?" She asked him, and that made him stop walking again. "I doubt you want to spend the night in a jail cell, especially after you humiliated that guard earlier." Oh. That was a good point.
"Then how do we leave? I don't want to go back in and ask to sleep on the crates." He really didn't. And what she said about not using stairs seemed to be smarter by the second. Something about his body and the space it occupied felt wrong in an abstract way that his drunken mind couldn't process. The best he could do was think that everything felt weird.
"I can teleport you from here with no problems." She materialized next to him in the alleyway and clicked her tongue while looking at his face. "Lightweight. You had that much even though you only weigh what...one twenty-five soaking wet?"
"More like one thirty-five. Maybe more. I'm still growing." She should remember that. He really was still growing, after all. His father was still growing at eighteen.
Midna sighed. "Close your eyes, we're going now."
He shut his eyes and listened to the teleportation song only he could hear, and found that the weightless feeling was dulled. That was good, since he expected to get sick after having that much beer. After a moment he opened his eyes in confusion, not hearing Midna's voice. He looked around the spring and didn't see her, but he did spot the reason why she had hid in a hurry. Ilia sat nearby with her legs crossed, a lantern on the ground next to her.
She noticed him and stood up, grabbing her lantern. "Oh, I didn't hear you coming. It must have been the meditation. I was having problems sleeping so I thought I'd come out here." Ilia frowned and looked at him carefully.
He didn't like how she was looking at him, like she was judging him or something. He did his best to make sure he was standing up straight, but it felt like the more he tried, the less straight he was standing. "Yeah, it was probably that." His tongue felt heavy, and pronouncing the syllables of "probably" was a ridiculous effort.
Ilia took a step towards him with a look of disbelief on her face. "...have you been drinking?"
"Maybe." It felt like he was more drunk now than when he said goodnight to everyone. He shouldn't have gulped down the rest of his mug like that, but he didn't want to be wasteful.
She frowned in disapproval. "You certainly look like you've had too much. How much did you have?"
"Uh…" He frowned, trying to make a tally in his head of how many times Telma refilled his tankard for him, and failing. "She kept refilling it when I wasn't looking, so it's hard to count."
Ilia pressed her mouth into a flat line and slowly exhaled out of her nose. "All right, come on." She grabbed him by the hand and led him down the road, and he followed obediently. She was holding his hand. That was nice. Of course he had to be an idiot to get her to do it, but he'd enjoy it while it lasted. "Where the heck were you coming from, so late at night? It's nearly midnight."
"Castle Town." He probably shouldn't have told her that. Oops.
She glanced over her shoulder at him, confused. "What? Either you've had a lot more than I thought, or you have some explaining to do."
"I'll explain another time. I should get to bed." He felt like he could fall asleep easily, but at the same time he noticed that his bladder was full. Link muzzily wondered which was far more important right now: bed or bladder.
"Be quiet inside, the children are sleeping." Ilia said, and she led him up the stairs of the inn. His feet still sounded loud for some reason, but he wasn't sure if they actually were or if it was his ears playing tricks on him due to his drunkenness. Once they were inside and she shut the door behind them, she wormed her way under his arm to support him. Oh. He must have been stumbling a bit.
He was thinking of how nice it was to have her this close when he realized she was leading him to the stairs. Oh, right. That other thing he needed. "No, stop. I gotta take a piss."
Ilia frowned up at him over his choice of words, but supported him as she brought him out the back door and to the row of outhouses in the rear yard. He knew he was making a fool out of himself, but he had no idea how to stop. He fully expected her to be gone after he went and took care of things, but she was still waiting there patiently with her lantern, her expression unreadable.
He was about to walk past her without help, but she put herself underneath his right arm again and wrapped her left arm around his waist. She took him inside and up the stairs carefully, and the longer it took for them to get to his room, the more distracted he was by how close she was. He found himself wishing that he hadn't worn his chain mail so he could experience it a bit better. It was exciting enough as it was, and he could swear he could feel the shape of her breast through his mail. Or maybe his imagination was far too busy. Certain parts of him were far too busy for sure.
She brought him into his room and stood him up next to the bed, setting her lantern down on the dresser wordlessly. She took the bow off his shoulder and then his shield, having an air of disapproval around her the whole time. Link waited patiently as she did so, trying not to seem like he was enjoying her removing his gear, which he most certainly was. She got close when she removed his cloak, hat and baldric, and he could smell something faint about her...soap?
Ilia did not meet his eyes as she unbuckled his baldric, even though he looked at her long eyelashes and wished that she would. She was so close, he could probably kiss her easily. He shouldn't, even his drink-fogged brain knew that. He was intoxicated and it wouldn't be right even if he wasn't. Yet it was tempting, and he found himself raising his hand to touch the side of her face. His hand froze halfway there, and he lowered it. He shouldn't do that. When she lifted the baldric and the Master Sword up, he let her step away with it without touching her.
She came back to him after setting his sword down, showing no signs that she had seen him reaching to touch her. The quiver around his waist was the next to go, and he was really trying to not think about her hands on his torso. Link watched as she lifted his arm and undid the straps of his vambrace, and then his gloves and the dark blue bracers he wore. He could probably do that by himself no problem, but she seemed determined to take everything off that would be uncomfortable for him to sleep in. That was the truth of it, and he knew it...but his drunk brain and hormone-driven body kept telling him she had other motives.
That was why he just about lost his mind when she reached for his belt buckle so she could take it and the pouches attached to it off his waist. Now that got him far more excited than anything else so far. The belt wasn't needed to hold his leggings up, but the implications of the woman he was attracted to taking his belt off incised him. If he wasn't aroused before, he certainly was now. He stood there breathing heavily, his face close to hers, and the minimal amount of restraint he had crumbled. He leaned forward slightly, putting his face next to hers.
She froze, hands on his belt as he brought his hand up to place it just under her ear, fingertips in her soft pale hair. Ilia was completely still as he moved his face close to her other ear, and then her neck. Yes, she did smell of soap and likely had visited the bath today, but she also smelled the familiar way she always had, and that added fuel to the fire burning in him. When his nose ever so lightly brushed her skin, she quietly said his name in a neutral tone. "Link."
Hearing her say his name in any way thrilled him. He didn't answer but pulled his head back enough so there was a bit of space between them. He slid his hand to the back of the neck and moved his face towards hers, only to have her put one hand on his chest and another in front of his mouth. "Stop."
Link blinked at her, confused. He wasn't thinking straight right now, and it wasn't just the alcohol. "Why?"
"Because you're not yourself right now." She kept her hand up between them, briefly glancing at him with her green eyes and then looking away awkwardly. What was she talking about? He was himself right now. This is what he had been thinking about for quite a while, having been physically attracted to her for years. Why didn't she want it too? Maybe he had read her reactions wrong, or maybe he had misunderstood what he had heard her say to Telma the other day.
Or maybe he was a big drunk idiot that was letting his body take control instead of his brain. He nodded, taking his hand away from her neck and moving away a bit to give her space. His face felt warm, but for a completely different reason now. He had made a fool of himself in front of her in the worst possible way. "Sorry." It was one word, but it came out completely miserable, the weight of his sudden shame behind it.
She took a deep breath and let it out in an anxious sigh, and reached for the belt buckle again. This time he looked away at the wall and held his arms out to the sides to allow her to remove it. He was so very ashamed of what he had done, even though he hadn't actually done anything since she stopped him. He wouldn't have kept going since she told him to stop, but he certainly could have, and even considered it for a split second. That was the real shame, and he wouldn't ever tell her of it. What had already happened was bad enough.
"I'll help you out of your armor. Take your shirt off." The way that she said it implied that there was a very logical and innocent reason behind her wanting his shirt off. He was being foolish, and she was going to make it clear that she was helping him to bed and nothing more. Still not looking at her, he took off the tunic, and then shrugged out of the chain mail with her assistance. She rolled it up carefully and put it on the floor. He felt her hands on his arm and shoulder as she steered him towards the bed. Oh, he probably was supposed to go to sleep now.
"Sit down." she commanded quietly, and he did as he was told. When Ilia knelt down, he realized that he was still wearing his boots. She tugged one of them off, and then stopped and stared at his foot while holding the boot in her hands. He saw that her eyes had gotten distant, and he felt a brief moment of panic that cut through the alcohol haze, fearing that she would pass out.
"Ilia?" he asked carefully, and he noticed his voice had a bit of a hoarse quality to it. "You okay?"
"I've done this before." she said softly, still staring distantly.
"Pretty sure this is the first time you've undressed me when I was drunk. Although if I knew that was all it took to get you to undress me, I would have drunk myself silly sooner." The words came from his mouth before he could stop them. They were a joke to try to help lighten the situation, but considering what he had just done he didn't know if she would see them as such.
Ilia appeared to not hear the lewd joke, or perhaps ignored it. "It wasn't you. It was someone else, someone I've helped a few times while he was drunk so he could go to bed." She carefully set aside the boot and went to pull the other one off. "An older, large man with wide shoulders; bald, blue eyes, a mustache that was almost completely white." She tugged and the other boot came off, and she set it next to its mate. "He's important to me, I know it. Is this memory correct?"
"Yeah. That's your father. Sometimes he would drink too much with his friends, and you'd bring him home to put him to bed." Again, the words came without a filter. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell her anything, but he just did. Whoops.
She slowly stood, eyes wide as something appeared to click in her mind. "I just remembered my father. He's...he's my father and I love him. He's the mayor and he's usually busy, but he still takes time for me…" Ilia trailed off, putting a hand to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.
Seeing her in tears was upsetting, and Link stood up quickly to reach out and put a hand on her arm. "Are you all right?" He wanted her to stay calm, and was afraid she'd either faint or behave like she did in the stable.
"I don't know." There were a few tears standing in her eyes, but she wasn't sobbing like before. "I can remember so many things now. He was always there with me. How could I forget my own father…?" she asked guiltily.
"It's okay. I'm proud of you for remembering." Link stepped forward to pull her into a hug in an attempt to be comforting, but she shied away from him, avoiding his arms.
"No." she said, shaking her head. "That's not a good idea right now."
Her rejection of his attempt to comfort her was like a bucket of cold water thrown on his head, and he suddenly felt a lot more sober. "I didn't mean…" he trailed off, feeling hurt. If only he hadn't drank too much. If only he hadn't been a fool. All he wanted now was to make sure she was all right, and he couldn't even do that. "I'm sorry." he said, unsure of what else he could say.
Ilia picked up the lantern from the dresser and held it between the two of them like a barrier. She looked awkward, pink in the face in the light of the lantern. He had thought her shrugging him off like that was because she was angry at him, but it looked like she was flustered. Did that mean he flustered her with his stupid behavior a minute ago? "You should drink a glass of water when you wake up." she said quietly, not responding to his apology and not looking at him. She then turned and walked out, shutting the door behind her and leaving him in the dark room alone.
Something with an aqua light appeared next to him, a series of angular runes on a small body. "Wow, that sure was something. I never thought I'd see this side of you." Midna giggled. He jumped at her voice, having completely forgotten about her. She had seen every damn fool thing he had just did. "You hornball. Maybe you aren't such a good boy after all."
"Shut up." he said, pulling his gambeson up over his head and throwing it on the floor angrily. He was mad at himself, and embarrassed in front of her. The leggings could stay on, he was too warm for multiple reasons and planned on sleeping on top of the blankets anyway.
She giggled at him again as he flung himself on the bed, landing face-down with a grunt. "You're such an idiot."
His only response was a rueful groan. He had to agree. Yes. Yes, he absolutely was an idiot.
Author's Note: Go to horny jail, Link.
I wrote this chapter before I saw the cut scene at the end of the Trial of the Sword in Breath of the Wild, so I know some of the things here don't quite line up with that. I'm not changing what I have so far. The Master Sword is an important character for plot reasons.
