Link woke up on top of the blankets like he expected, but at some point had taken his leggings off in the middle of the night and not remembered it. He was laying on his stomach in almost the exact same position, and when his eyes opened he saw beams of light hitting the white plaster wall that were a bit too bright. Everything looked a bit too bright, the colors too vibrant. He was very thirsty, which was strange because of the amount of liquid he drank.

"Good morning." Midna said as he slowly sat up. She was sitting in a sunbeam on the writing desk, a book in her lap. Judging from the angle of the sun and the fact that it had risen above the canyon wall, it was mid-morning. "Depending on your constitution and family background, you may or may not feel awful this morning."

"Considering I'm the only member of my family left, I don't really have a reference level for that." he said, rubbing at his face with his hands. He felt stiff, like he barely moved in his sleep.

"If you're still able to be a smartass, then you'll probably be fine. At least your brain is working properly. You didn't take too many trips to the privy last night, so odds are you aren't too dehydrated." She turned the page of her book and went back to reading. "You should still drink some water like Ilia suggested."

Link raised his face from his hands and stared ahead, a shamed horror slowly growing within him. Ilia. He had made a fool of himself in front of Ilia, and it wasn't something as simple as letting a word slip; he had tried to get intimate with her. She had seemed annoyed and uncomfortable last night, and it was no wonder. Getting drunk was bad enough, but revealing his physical attraction to her in that way was far worse.

He stood up suddenly, grabbing his leggings and pulling them on while red in the face. Midna watched him as he grabbed his boots, standing on one foot at a time to pull them on quickly.

"You okay there?" she asked, frowning a bit.

"I need to apologize." he said, picking up his gambeson where he had thrown it on the floor. The way he felt mentally was far worse than the way he felt physically.

Midna rolled her eyes. "I mean, you should...but you don't have to right this second. I ought to tell you-"

"I'm going." he said over her, rushing out the door and pulling it shut behind him. It was rude, but he wanted to find Ilia with a single-minded stubbornness so he could try to make things right. He jogged down the stairs in a hurry, running into the kitchen and past Beth and Luda, who sat at the long table doing beadwork. The kitchen was empty and tidy, so he made his way back to the two girls.

Beth looked up from where she was sorting glass and clay beads into small piles according to color. "Good morning. You're waking up late. Why do you look so messy?" It was a reasonable question, since he normally was neat and clean whenever the children from Ordon saw him in the morning.

"Because I remembered something important that can't wait." he told her. "Do you know where Ilia is?"

"She is making clothing in the tailor's shop next to my house." Luda told him, not looking up from where she was attaching a clasp to a wire. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Nothing terrible, so don't you girls worry." Link found himself lying again, but this time it wasn't about what he had been doing as the hero. This time it was because he was so mortified of what he had done. He rushed out of the Eld Inn and jumped over the stairs going down the porch, taking off in a run as soon as his feet hit the ground.

The tailor's shop was another half-adobe, half-wood building like many of the ones next to the main road of Kakariko, built close to Renado and Luda's house. He burst in, startling Ilia as she sat in a chair in the back half of the shop, a pale green article of clothing in her lap.

"What?! Link?" She had a needle and thread in her hand and had just pulled it through the green fabric. "What's gotten into you?"

Link didn't answer and let the door shut on its own behind him. He hurried around the front counter of the business to where she sat, his normally quiet footfalls loud in his haste. He realized he was panting a bit, his body tired from the alcohol.

"Did something happen?" Ilia asked as he stood next to her chair, looking a bit concerned.

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." There was no plan on mind for what he was going to say, and he simply launched into it. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his messy hair. "I, uh…" It wouldn't do for him to be standing over her like this when he was the one admitting he was wrong, so he knelt next to her chair to look up at her. "How I behaved around you was wrong. Very, very wrong, and it was very, very inappropriate. I would never...I didn't mean to…" He fumbled for words, not sure how to say it. "Okay, I did mean to at the time. That much is obvious. You were touching me, and you smelled nice like soap, and my brain was so very stupid…" He groaned and rested his forehead against the leather-bound arm of the chair. His face felt hot. "I feel awful about it. I knew that I had to come apologize to you, but what I really want to do is crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment."

She was quiet, and he didn't know what else he could say to her. He had wanted certain things last night and admitted it to her, but he didn't know if he could handle telling her that he had felt that way numerous times over the past few years. Hopefully, she wouldn't ask him any questions. Instead she did something worse: she laughed. Link shut his eyes and grimaced, her laughter cutting him to the bone. He deserved it. He deserved whatever insulting thing she said next.

Then he felt her hand on top of his head, her laughter fading. He didn't dare move; after everything, she was still touching him. "Your hair is such a mess. Did you come straight here after waking up?"

"Yes." he admitted. "I felt guilty."

Her fingers combed through his hair, although he wasn't sure if she was trying to fix it, or perhaps comfort him. It didn't matter. It was pleasant and eased his guilt a bit. "I was right, you really are different from everyone else. I don't think anyone else would give such a heart-felt apology. I can tell that you meant everything you said, since you're always so expressive. I forgive you."

He sighed, tension going out of his shoulders. She forgave him. "Thank you." The way she was touching his head was reminiscent of the way Midna did it. Maybe he enjoyed being pet on the head like a dog. He was still a wolf, even when not a wolf. "Is my hair that interesting, or are you checking me for fleas?" He couldn't help it; his wisecracks came out of his mouth without a thought most of the time.

Ilia laughed again. "I do this to the children when they're unhappy."

"I'm not a little boy, Ilia." Even though sometimes he felt like one.

"True, but I could see how your body relaxed when I touched your head. You've been very stressed lately, admit it." If even she could pick up on it, then he must have been more tense than he thought.

"Yeah, a bit. Did Renado tell you that?" If he did, they would have words about it. Ilia had her own problems to worry about, and she didn't need to worry about him...even though deep down he really wanted her support.

"I started to notice and asked him about it. He's very worried about you, and now so am I. Now that I've gotten to know you...um, again, I've realized how often you stand with your whole body tense. Like you're ready to fight something. You smile a lot, but it's not a real smile. It's a smile so the rest of us will feel better, even though you aren't happy. When I talked to you about how you have to kill things, I wasn't just being nice when I offered to give you a hug. I was worried about you because it sounded like what you had to do was very difficult." Ilia patted him gently on the head. Her voice changed slightly, and he could tell she was smiling. "Talk to me, Link. You won't talk to Renado, but maybe you'll talk to me, even if I can't remember our old friendship."

That was one of the things he wanted more than anything else, and she was offering it to him. He didn't hesitate. "I want to talk to you. I always used to talk to you, but back then my problems were small. Now…" He knew he sounded miserable, but didn't care. "...now I have to make difficult decisions that affect everyone in Hyrule, or at least a large amount of people. I don't get any enjoyment out of that, or fighting. I hate killing things, although you figured that out already. I go from one place to the next, doing one dangerous thing after another, and almost nobody knows about it. I haven't been able to tell many people about what I'm actually doing, because I know it would scare them. It certainly scares me."

"That all sounds very hard to go through. I would probably cry all the time if I had to deal with that." She wasn't just saying that to make him feel better. He had known Ilia long enough to be able to tell that she was sincere.

He gave a weak laugh. "Trust me, I've had my share of emotional moments over the past two weeks." He gave another little sigh when she started petting his hair again. Here he was supposed to give her space, and she wound up touching him anyway in order to comfort him. Like he cared what Midna had said; right now, he needed this. "This is nice. Can I put my head on your knees and go back to sleep?" It came out as a joke, but it would have been so pleasant to do.

"Maybe another time, when I don't have something full of pins on my lap." Her response came out in the same jesting tone. "Colin did that yesterday. He missed his parents and started to cry, the poor thing. He's such a sweet boy, caring about the other children and trying to make them smile. But at the same time he tries to hide how he's really feeling for their sake. It's like he takes care of them more than he takes care of himself."

Link laughed again and raised his head to look at her, and she put her hand back on her sewing. "That sounds like what Telma said. First she said it about me, then she said it about you. I guess we Ordonians have that kind of nature."

Ilia smiled a bit sadly, focused on the stitching around a button hole. "I wish I could remember more about our home. There's so many things I want answers to, and I'm supposed to remember them myself." She shook her head. "I know I'm complaining about the same thing again, but I'm very frustrated."

"I understand, but as your friend all I can do is be here for you when you do remember things." He stood to get a better look at what she was sewing. It looked like a blouse.

"Thanks. Having friends does help." She raised her face to look at him. "Link, you look scruffy. You should go back to your room and shave. Wash yourself too. You still smell a bit like beer."

He rubbed at his cheek, feeling the start of a beard there. "Yeah, I know. I had planned on taking a bath. I'll see you later." He turned to leave.

"Hold on a second, I just thought of something. Can I take your measurements?" Ilia stood and set the green blouse on a nearby work table. Steel needles glinted in its folds.

Link turned back and raised an eyebrow. "Uh...sure? You should make the kids and yourself clothes before me, you know. I'm supposed to wear the green outfit most of the time. It's like a uniform." He wasn't going to tell her not to make clothes for him. First, he needed them; secondly, he couldn't tell her to stop doing something she was set on doing anyway.

"You still need clean clothes for when you have to wash the green outfit. I don't want any more incidents with tight pants." She pulled out a long tape measure and beckoned towards him. "Come over here. I said you smell like beer, but you still smell better than you did last night, so I'm not terribly offended."

"I'm glad, and I'm really glad you forgive me for last night." He came to stand next to her, having done this before without her remembering it. "I'm not like that, I'm really not. I want to treat you with respect, especially since you're going through a rough time."

Ilia reached out to touch his arm reassuringly. She sure seemed to be touching him a lot more this morning. "Really, you're fine. I know that you're normally a gentleman. Now that I've remembered my father and his friends, I know that people can act completely different when drunk." She stretched the tape across his shoulders and then wrote on a piece of nearby scrap paper with the stub of a pencil. "Still, I hope you learned your lesson."

"To not be drunk around pretty girls?" He grinned at the half-snort of a laugh she gave, even though she was behind him doing things with the tape on his back he couldn't see her reaction. "No, it's to not drink too much, which was not planned in the first place. I'll be careful from now on." He watched as she stood in front of him and wrapped the tape around his waist in an unintentional mimicry of last night. "And I'll have you know that you are standing close and touching me, and what I'm thinking about right now is washing up and breakfast." It was true. He was hungry, thirsty, and he felt grimy for some reason, like his skin itself had gotten coated in what he had drank. That didn't mean he wasn't enjoying her standing close and touching him, though; only that he could be discreet about it right now.

She looked him in the eye, something she did not do very much last night. "Good." Then her eyes moved back down to what she was doing. "You certainly have a small waist. It's not much bigger than mine."

"I've always been a bit on the slim side. A few years ago when I was smaller, I probably had the waist of a little girl." He expected another half-laugh from her, but instead she froze, looped tape measure in her hands. He realized what was happening, and felt a lump of worry form in the pit of his stomach. "Ilia?" When she didn't respond, he snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Ilia, come on. Don't faint on me. Talk to me."

"Sera." she said faintly, her beautiful green eyes distant.

"Do you remember something?" he ventured, knowing the name.

Ilia blinked rapidly and snapped back to the present. "Sera is Beth's mother. I remember now. Sera and...a little man with a thin mustache...oh! Oh, he's Hanch! I remember them." She looked down at the tape measure in her hands, rooted to the spot in front of Link. "It's this, and you just said something about a little girl. I remember doing measurements on Beth to make her a dress for her tenth birthday." She smiled at the tape she held. "I remember one little specific thing, and suddenly a bunch of other things come with it. I know that they run a store in Ordon, remember what it looks like, and I even remember shopping there."

Link couldn't help smiling too, and he resisted the urge to hug her in joy. It was another major memory, and she was perfectly fine. "You're remembering more people. That's good!"

Ilia finally moved to write on the scrap of paper, the memory no longer stunning her. "I now remember all of the children except for Colin. I remembered Jaggle and Pergie yesterday, because of something Talo said to me. Since I'm around the children, I guess I'm remembering things about them first." She lifted his arms so she could measure around his ribcage. "But I'm still not remembering the one person I really want to."

"You really shouldn't worry-" he began, but then squirmed a bit with an involuntary giggle when she wrapped tape around his chest and held it together at his right side. Of course she'd be touching him in one of the places he was the most ticklish.

"You really are ticklish." she said with a slightly disgruntled sigh, continuing to do what she was doing regardless of how he held his breath and gave a little shiver in response. It was very hard to hold still. "I'm barely touching you here."

Once she went back to write on the paper, he let out his breath and relaxed. "My sides are the worst. Avoid touching me there if you can." Yet her triggering a ticklish response felt far different than when Renado did it. Renado didn't make his heart race like that. He ran a hand through his hair. "I'll try to behave so you can get this done and I can start my day."


It was a while before he returned to Midna. Ilia didn't take too long to finish her measurements, which he had to admit to himself he enjoyed far more than he used to. Any time she touched him, he enjoyed it a far more than he used to. She must really have forgiven him and not thought last night was a big deal because she immediately began to touch him of her own accord. Her touching his head was a new thing, which he hoped he'd see a repeat of soon even if he wasn't telling her of his troubles.

She followed him back into the Eld Inn to get him a late breakfast, something he insisted he could do himself, but she did not relent. Even though she didn't remember their past together, Ilia had gone back to mothering him like she used to. How he felt about it was mixed; he was happy that her core personality and behavior was returning, but he really did not like being cared for like a child.

That was why he shooed her out of the kitchen once he was done eating, insisting he could do his own dishes, and she was in the middle of sewing something anyway. He wasn't hung over, had drank the water she had suggested, and quite frankly wanted to stand up to her at times. Something about him had changed, and he wasn't going to let himself be bossed around anymore. Ilia agreed that she should finish the clothes for Beth and left for the tailor's shop.

After a quick bath, he went back into his room to find Midna reading the same book. If that was the case, he probably wasn't gone all that long. "You took a bath? No wonder you didn't come back."

"I felt kind of disgusting. Sweaty but also kind of dirty, and Ilia said I smelled like beer." He found his comb and began to fight with his own hair.

"The body will sweat out the alcohol when you drink too much, which is why you felt that way. Although I expected you to come back here and shave before cleaning up." The imp slipped a scrap of paper between the pages of her book and closed it. "I also didn't expect you to rudely run out while I was in the middle of a sentence."

"I'm sorry about that, but my brain only had one thought at that moment." He began the routine of getting water and soap ready for shaving, expecting Midna to come sit nearby to watch. "I felt very guilty and needed to apologize. She forgave me right away, like she wasn't mad about it."

She did just that, floating over to sit on the dresser. "Of course she forgave you. She was just as worked up as you were."

His hand froze in the middle of reaching for the piece of soap. "What?"

"I'm going to guess you weren't able to pick up on her body language because you were so stupidly drunk."

"She was mad at me, and didn't want to look me in the eye when I started misbehaving. I know I made her uncomfortable." He remembered seeing her pink cheeks after she picked up the lantern, but at the time he thought she was put off by everything. "...was I wrong?"

Midna rolled her eyes. "Wrong? You were oblivious, which was a good thing. I noticed her reaction to things so I jumped into her shadows to see if she was still overwhelmed by you. 'Overwhelmed' isn't exactly right. She was turned on. Boy, was she ever...and luckily you were too drunk off your butt to notice. I doubt it wouldn't have taken much convincing on your part, and then things possibly could have continued until you two made a big mistake." The imp grinned up at him, flashing her fangs. "Although it certainly would have given me something interesting to watch."

Link's was appalled and immediately red-faced, and his mouth dropped open. "Midna!"

She laughed, kicking her little legs in glee as she sat on the edge of the dresser. "I'm kidding! But your reaction is funny, you good, good boy. I swear, sometimes you're as innocent as a kid." She reached out her little dark hand to pat his arm. "Still, you stopped when she told you to, and I would expect no less from you. Nothing happened, but let's try not to have a repeat of it, okay?"

"Sure. I'll try not to drunkenly seduce Ilia when you're around to see it." He smirked at her when she laughed, and began to get rid of his whiskers.

"What's your plan for today?" Midna asked after he was done, having quietly watched him as always. "We need to go talk to Auru, but I don't know how you feel after drinking last night."

"A bit tired, but otherwise fine. I plan on being careful from now on, because I honestly don't know if I behaved that way because it was Ilia, or if that's what I'd do around any attractive woman." He sorted through the pile of belongings and his eyes fell on the Master Sword. "She took this off of me. People who touch it are supposed to be hurt. Why didn't the sword hurt her?"

It was because she had no intention of wielding me. To her, I was simply your sword and nothing more.

"Huh. The sword says it's because Ilia wasn't trying to use the sword, just move it." he said, paraphrasing for Midna.

"I guess it doesn't always hurt people who try to touch it. That's a good thing, because I'm sure sometime in history people who weren't worthy accidentally touched it or moved it around without knowing what it was." She moved back to where she had left her book and waved a hand at it to make it vanish.

She is correct.

He pulled on his chain mail, starting to put his gear on. "My actual plans for today are rest here for a few hours and then go across Central Hyrule like I planned. There's no way I can make it to Lake Hylia from here in one day, so if I don't leave right away it won't matter too much. It's going to take two or three days no matter what I do."

"I hope you're prepared to fight some Bulbins or Shadow Beasts."

"I hope not, but if I have to I will. I'm not going to actively look for them." He had the suspicion that the Bulbins were simply following orders just like soldiers would, although it was hard to tell because he hadn't fought any large groups that didn't have King Bulbin leading them. It was entirely possible that they were innocent just like the Shadow Beasts and forced to attack.

In the end he decided to only wear his green tunic, chain mail, belt and pouches and the Master Sword. He rolled up the notched sleeves of his gambeson and figured he could get the rest once he was ready to go. As always he intended to tell Renado what his plans were, and made his way downstairs to find him.

The two girls were still at the table working with beads. They had left for a while when he had eaten breakfast, but now it looked like they returned with even more beads and some leather thongs. Link came over to take a look at what they had made, and found that one of them understood what colors looked nice next to each other, and one had absolutely no color theory whatsoever. He couldn't tell who since they were busy rigging clasps on the end of wires. "How many necklaces are you two making?" he asked them.

"As many as it takes for Beth to learn." Luda said, probably not realizing how rude and critical it was to say that about her friend. Sometimes children didn't have much tact.

"Oh come on, that last one wasn't too bad. I'll bet I can convince Colin to wear it." Beth said with a frown. Ah, so that who was made the ugly ones.

He looked at the necklaces and the wires, and had a sudden thought. "Luda, do you mind if I take one of these?"

She looked up at him, looking mildly confused. "I certainly do not mind, but why only the wire? Are you going to make one too?"

"Something like that." he said, reaching into a specific pouch on his belt. He knew that wearing a wire necklace could be a potential danger in combat, but then again so could his hoop earrings, and they hadn't given him trouble yet. His fingers found what he was looking for and he pulled out the silvery pendant that once belonged to his grandmother.

"What do you have?" Luda asked curiously.

He held out his hand to show them the Sheikah eye imposed on top of a crescent moon. "This was my grandmother's. I found it recently by chance, so I thought I'd bring it with me. A little something from the Sheikah side of my family."

"You are part Sheikah? That would explain-" The girl gave a glance to Beth, who was looking curiously at the pendant in Link's hand. "It would explain something you told me about your mother." She was doing her best to hide the fact that his mother could use magic, which he appreciated.

"I don't know what a Sheikah is, but wasn't your mother a Hylian like you?" The freckled girl frowned. "That's what my mother told me."

"I doubt most of the people in Ordon would know a Sheikah if they saw them. They're a race of people with white or blonde hair and red eyes, and they're usually built slender like I am. My mother was half-Sheikah but she still had the red eyes. I have her hair color, but my eyes are blue like my father's." He took one of the wires that he assumed Luda had done, judging from its quality, and slid the amulet on it. "Here, hand me those pliers when you're done with them, Luda."

Once he had made a loop on the end and crimped it in place with a band of metal, he put on his new necklace. Since he hadn't laced up the collar of his gambeson, it was easy to put the pendant inside the linen undershirt and up against his collarbone. He smiled and patted where it lay. Now that he was wearing it, he felt better somehow. He finally had things from both sides of his family, and even though he was orphaned he didn't feel alone.

"There we go. Where is your father?" he asked Luda.

"Up taking care of the livestock with the boys." the girl said, going back to working on wires. "You are leaving soon, right? You always go to speak with father before you leave."

The girl was bright. "Yeah, that's my plan. This time I'll be gone for a while because I need to do something at the far side of Hyrule." Although he didn't know if the desert was actually considered part of Hyrule or not. "Did you feed Epona today, or do I need to do it?"

"I have already cared for the horses and have done my other chores. So has Beth, which is why we are making jewelry." While Luda said that Beth had chores, he had no idea what they were. So far he hadn't seen the girl do much of anything in Kakariko other than nearly get run over by Bulbins.

"Thanks. You take really good care of her, and I appreciate it." He looked out the dusty front windows of the Eld Inn, considering how he could speak to Renado without the children nearby. "I'm going to find your father. Thanks for the wire."

What he did was sit in the shade of the cafe's awning and waited for Renado and the boys to come down the path leading to the top of the canyon. Every once in a while he would glance over at the tailor's shop, but Ilia remained inside. While he did admit to Midna that he didn't have as much time to spend with Ilia as she would like, that didn't mean he wanted to ignore her. He should at least tell her that he was leaving.

The shaman did not take too long to appear, the two boys trailing behind him. Link went to meet him in the road. "I did not realize that you returned." Renado said, carrying a large sack of flour. Link had no idea where the man had found it. Talo carried a basket full of apples, and Colin carried a smaller one with eggs in it. "Did you come in last night or this morning?"

"Fairly late last night. Where did you get that flour?" If it was Barnes holding the sack, he would have offered to carry it. Renado was a tall man with a fair amount of muscle on his tattooed arms, so he had the strength to lug around the flour.

"There is a mill up there, but it is a bit farther out and these are quite heavy to carry. Now that Ilia has been doing some of the work I used to do, I have a bit more energy to carry things like this." He adjusted the weight of the heavy sack balanced on his shoulder.

"You could have told me about it. I wouldn't have minded going up there to do that for you." He fell into step with Renado. "I used to carry around Ordonian goats. Carrying bags of flour wouldn't be all that hard."

"I admit, I did not even consider it. You are a busy young man, and I always assume that you are here to rest."

"Doing anything that isn't fighting is resting, trust me." He stepped up onto the porch of the inn and held open the door for them.

"Thank you. I will consider asking you for help in the future. Come, boys." He led Colin and Talo into the kitchen, and Link trailed behind them. Barnes was in the kitchen slicing into a large wheel of cheese, but he didn't say anything to them and kept working.

"Renado, can I talk to you when you're done putting that away? I have some important things to tell you." He didn't want to draw the man away from his work, since the chores of the remaining people in Kakariko were many and Renado kept busy. It was still important that the two of them spoke.

"Oh, of course. Go to the Sanctuary, we will speak there in a few minutes." He lowered the muslin bag of flour to the floor with a grunt, leaning it up against the wall near the pantry shelves.

It was not all that long later when Renado stepped into the Sanctuary, shutting the door behind him. Midna had been swapping more books, and Link had been looking at what she had selected to read. It was about geology, and probably picked at random on Midna's part. He set down the book he was holding and nodded at the shaman when he walked up to the two of them. "Thanks for coming. I think it's always a good idea to tell you where I'm going before I leave."

"Ah, I take it then you are leaving soon? I assumed you wished to speak to me about Ilia, or perhaps your sword." The tall man noticed a few bits of flour on his dark gray shirt and made an attempt to brush them away.

"Well, kind of. First, I want to tell you what we're doing. We're going to teleport to Zora's Domain to check on Ralis. Then we're coming back here so I can get my horse, since we can't teleport to a place we haven't been yet. Midna and I need to go to the Gerudo Desert, and we know of a man in Lakeside that can take us there. We should be gone about a week, maybe longer."

Renado's dark eyebrows shot up. "The desert? Link, do you know much about the Gerudo?"

Link crossed his arms, wondering if Renado was hinting at certain racist stereotypes that most Hylians held about the desert tribe. "I hope you're not implying that I think they're thieves and barbarians like most other Hylians do. I know better. They're not thieves, but tribes of women that keep to the desert and to themselves."

The shaman held up his hands defensively. "No, I do not think you are ignorant like that. I think far better of you, Link. You are certainly a bright young man. I only wondered what information you already had known."

He relaxed a bit. "Sorry, I shouldn't have made assumptions. Anyway, I read about them some. The book I have on the various races that have lived on the continent was written by a Zora, so there isn't any bias." He smiled, thinking of the book sitting a shelf in his home back in Ordon. It was one of the ones that had made him wish he could travel Hyrule. "It's the only book I have written by a Zora. Fortunately, it was written in Hylian and not Zoran."

"Ah, I know the one. I believe we have a copy in our library here. Since it was penned by a Zora, then it will be accurate. Then I will assume you know how the Gerudo reproduce. That brings me to my point…" Renado's dark eyes looked him up and down and he huffed a small breath, hesitant. "I suppose I will put it bluntly. You are attractive, and old enough to father children. I believe you must be prepared for their advances."

Midna giggled from where she was. "Are you saying these desert ladies are going to hit on Link?"

"You do not understand. They do not court as we do, Midna. At least I assume that your people are like us Hyrulians and have some respect for others while pursuing mates. I have met a few Gerudo in my life, and they are very persistent. They have no shame, and many of them will likely propose marriage as soon as they set eyes on him, or will cut to the chase and suggest something more physical. Procreation is their goal." He gestured at Link. "Look at him. He is the ideal mate to them: strong, healthy, a warrior, and he may even look a bit exotic to them since his coloration is so very different from theirs. Some people are far more attracted to that sort of thing, Gerudo included."

She fell onto her back and laughed in glee, her laughter degenerating into the occasional snort. Link sighed and watched her with a pained expression. "Really, you're going to laugh at me?"

"It's because you're such a good boy!" she managed, her high-pitched voice even higher in mirth. "You're going to be red in the face the whole time we're there!" Midna laughed even harder, covering her mouth with her small hands and squeezing her eyes shut. She produced another snort.

"Yeah, I get it. I haven't really had any experience in the romance department. Give me some credit here, Midna. You know that when I set my mind to something, I'm not going to let things slow me down. Women included." Not even Ilia, although she certainly was a distraction. He turned back to Renado. "Thanks for the warning. I'll be prepared to break some hearts, I guess."

The other man nodded. "I wanted you to know. Was that all you wished to speak to me about?"

"No, there's two other things. I spoke to Ilia this morning when she was busy sewing. She remembered some people from Ordon because I was talking to her. I hate to admit it because I'm always afraid I'm going to do something to harm her, but you're right. I need to be by her. Most of the times when she's remembered something, it was because of me." He frowned at Midna, who had stopped laughing but was breathing heavily and grinning. He imagined if she was able to shed tears, she would have laughed so hard that she would have cried. He looked back at Renado. "The other thing is about me being stressed out. I know you were worried about my well-being."

"Were? I still am. Did you wish to speak to me, then?" Renado asked.

Link shook his head, unfolding his arms. "No, I don't think I need to. I spoke to Ilia and I told her about some of the things I've been doing. She convinced me to, and she listened to me like she always used to, even though the problems I'm having are the kinds of things nobody can relate to." He smiled faintly, looking past Renado as he remembered how she had touched his hair and spoke to him calmly. "I used to feel like I could tell her anything. I still feel that way."

The look Renado gave him was knowing, and spoke volumes. "Then it is as I said, that it is best for the two of you if you return here when you can. I am glad you can at least speak with her."

"I want to talk to her anyway. I really missed my best friend, you know?" He took a few steps towards where Midna was still laying on the floor and put his hands on his hips as he looked down at her. "All right, Giggles. Are you ready to go to Zora's Domain?"


As soon as the beautiful carved blue stone of Zora's Domain formed around them, he felt himself drop. Something grabbed him around the chest to stop him, and his feet dangled just inches over the central pool of the throne room. There were surprised shouts from around them, but he was more focused on how close he was to taking an accidental dip.

"I'm glad I remembered where the portal was." Midna said, lifting him up with her orange hair so she could look at his face. "I figured you didn't want to go for a swim in all your clothes."

"Thanks." He looked around at the Zoras, some of which had silvery spears pointed in his direction. They had the more ornate gemmed armor of the royal guard, and he even recognized the red Zora female that they had freed from the ice. "Hi there." He smiled and gave a small wave to the alarmed guards.

"Link?!" Ralis' voice came from the back of the room. He had stood up from the throne, where he had been seated. The prince now wore far more gems and silver, which may have meant that he was crowned king. He gestured to the Zoras that had their spears held ready. "Stand down. This is the Hero of Hyrule and his companion."

There was the rattle of armor and the sounds of the butts of spears being set back onto the stone floor as the guards relaxed. Midna brought her friend over to the floor near where Ralis stood and gently set him down. "You know, we did warn you that we'd be teleporting here to check on you."

The young Zora looked her over. "...Midna? Forgive me, you look different now. While I did mention that you would be coming here, it is still quite the surprise when two people suddenly appear in the air." He turned to smile at Link. "Forgive our caution, but after Zant invaded we have been vigilant to make sure it does not happen again."

"That's probably the best thing to do. We have a plan to lure Zant somewhere, but for now everyone should be cautious." He saw Ralis staring with his eyes wide, and he realized that the young Zora was not staring at him, but over his left shoulder. "Oh. Yeah, I went and got the sword. It was necessary for something else we were doing. Long story."

"I did not doubt that you would find it one day, my friend." Ralis smiled at him, regaining his composure. That didn't stop the other Zoras from gawking at the sword. "I am glad that the Master Sword has been re-united with the hero, once again."

He had expected the Zoras to bow, but instead they all watched him with stunned or calculated expressions quietly. They were just as impressed as the Gorons, but far more reserved. "I haven't been here since we thawed everything. How are your people? Is everyone all right?"

"Most of those frozen survived, although it has taken the past few days for them to fully recover. We are cold-blooded, and such changes in temperature affect both our bodies and our brains." The purple Zora shook his head. "Yet, there is sorrow. While most of the children survived, the youngest tadpoles did not."

He knew Zoras hatched as tadpoles before they rapidly turned into Zora babies. It was one of the reasons that they were believed to be amphibians and not fish. Unfortunately, due to their long life spans Zora couples did not breed frequently, so it was quite the loss. "I'm sorry. That's sad news to hear."

"I must find a way to properly console the parents, but doing such an unhappy thing is the job of the king. Then there were the people who were killed before you came here, including my mother." His eyes briefly looked distant, but it was only for a second and he continued. "Funeral rites have been performed, but we have yet to bring their ashes to the appropriate burial grounds."

"If you need to travel to do that, I can understand why you're hesitant to go. I guess that means I need to hurry up and take care of our invasion troubles." Ralis likely did not want any more of his people to turn into Shadow Beasts. Link was glad he hadn't killed any transformed Zoras.

"But here you stand before me with the Master Sword, and now Midna is no longer made of shadows. What happened? You said that it is a long tale, but I am more than willing to listen. No, not just willing. I quite honestly want to know what happened after you two left the Temple." The king went back to his throne and sat down. He looked comically small sitting in it.

He didn't want to hide the truth from Ralis, but at the same time he didn't want to reveal their failures to the entire throne room, which had Zora courtiers as well as guards. "I want to tell you, but it's for your ears only." He stepped up to the throne and leaned down to speak quietly next to Ralis' head, hoping that Zora hearing was similar to his own and only the king would hear. "Don't react to anything I say, all right? Zant was waiting for us when we went to visit the Light Spirit at Lake Hylia and he nearly killed us. He stole the Fused Shadows, turned me into a wolf and mortally wounded Midna with the Light Spirit's magic.

"Lanayru sent us to see Zelda since she has the Triforce of Wisdom in her hand, just like how I have Courage. It believed that her magical power was strong enough to help us, but she was unable to break my curse or heal Midna. Zelda told me to find the Master Sword since it could turn me human again, and then she put her soul into Midna's body to make her able to survive in the light world. It put her into a magical sleep, and now the Hylians have no leader. Now we need to lure Zant to the Mirror of Twilight in the Gerudo Desert and into the Twilight Realm, where Midna is from. She's like the hero of her people, kind of like I am, and she knows she can rally the Twili to fight Zant with us. She's confident we can defeat him that way, or at least get back the Fused Shadows." He stepped back, noting that the other Zoras in the chamber had maintained a respectful distance. Even the royal guards did not come closer when he stepped into the personal space of their king, fully trusting the hero. "Now you know what's going on."

Ralis looked up at him, his face serious. "Thank you for telling me. I shall not tell another soul what you just said. You have my word."

"Thanks, Ralis. I knew you'd understand." He took a few steps back, done with his mission to Zora's Domain and ready to go. "And because of what I told you, that's why we need to leave right now. It's great to see that you're in charge. Your people are in good hands."

The purple Zora stood again with a smile. "It warms my heart to hear you say that. I shall have faith in you as well." He assumed a more formal expression, now becoming King Ralis instead of simply Ralis. "Link of Ordon, my people and I are grateful for all you have done, and I henceforth declare you friend of the Zora race. As the Hero of Hyrule and bearer of the Master Sword, you may call upon us for aid or assistance at any time. We are indebted to you."

The young King of the Zoras bent at the waist in a formal bow, and all the rest of the entourage in the throne room did the same. Having Liggs bow to him was one thing, but this was something else entirely. It was still kind of embarrassing, but at the same time he was awed and humbled that they would respect him so much. He bowed in return, and off to his left he could see Midna doing the same. "Thank you. Hopefully I'll never need your help, and we can simply be friends."

Ralis straightened and gave him another smile. "I would like that."


The trip only took a few moments and then they were back at the spring. He had been keeping his eyes open, and so far he was only faintly dizzy. It couldn't be the shadow magic itself making him dizzy, since the Light Spirits had used the opposite kind of magic to teleport him as well. Maybe he was getting better, or maybe he was just lucky today.

Neither. Your motion sickness is less intense today due to the air pressure throughout Hyrule being similar. A large weather front came through yesterday and now most of this part of the continent has high air pressure.

He blinked, not sure what to make of that. The sword hadn't spoken to him much today, and it was an odd thing for it to jump up and tell him about. He guessed that it was trying to be helpful, but he didn't really understand what it meant by air pressure. Was that like water pressure? While he could guess what a weather front was, the idea that air could weigh something like water did seemed odd. It was air, after all.

Air has weight. This is why it remains on the planet.

Midna watched this exchange with a blank expression. "Okay, what are you and the sword chatting about now?"

"Uh, some scientific things that it understands a lot better than I do. I was just thinking that I don't feel that dizzy today, and the sword piped up to tell me it was due to air pressure and weather fronts, and now I'm completely lost." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Do you know what it's talking about?"

"Yes. Air has weight just like anything else. Even a small fluffy feather has weight. The boomerang you have creates wind magic that has the force to push things around. How could something have physical force without weight?" Of course. Midna would know about that, wouldn't she? She didn't always reference the knowledge she held in her head, but when she did it was expansive. The woman was far brighter than he was.

"Oh. I never thought of it that way. I guess I learned something." He patted his chest. "You want to come along? I plan on eating lunch and then hitting the road."

Midna tucked her hands behind her back. "Actually...I'd like to go up to the farms on the east side of the canyon. I saw the apple orchard up there when you went there with Luda, and I'm curious how different your apple trees look than the ones in the Twilight Realm. I also want to enjoy not having to hide in a shadow for a while."

"Do you think you can get up there without being seen? I don't want to frighten the kids."

"I don't want to either, so I'm careful. I already did it once, you know. I went out to look at the stars last night, and stayed there until the sun rose. It was so pretty..." Her pale face grew wistful. "The sky in the light world is amazing and so much unlike the one in the Twilight Realm. It's hard to see the sun or moon a lot of the time, and we don't have stars."

No stars? How strange. What was the Twilight Realm like? "I can't imagine no stars in the sky, but then again I just learned that air weighs something so what do I know? Go enjoy yourself."

She moved forward and gave his face a gentle pat. "Thanks. I'll find you in a bit." The little cursed creature formed into a mass of shadows and shot up into the air and over the canyon wall faster than an arrow could fly. If she could move that fast, then it was likely she wouldn't be seen.

He wondered about having a sky without stars. Since the Master Sword had offered him information about his dizziness, he figured he'd give asking it a question a try. If he formed the words in his mind that he wished to speak, then maybe it would hear him more directly instead of reading his thoughts. Sword? Can you understand me?

It made a small tone, a fast series of bell-like notes. Affirmative.

Link gave a satisfied smile. That was easier than he thought it would be. Do you know if it would be possible for a world to not have stars?

I am afraid that I do not know, and lack sufficient data on the subject. The atmospheric conditions in the Twilight Realm may obscure them from those who live there, or perhaps there is a magical field that does the same. There is no way for me to calculate the exact reason without going to the Twilight Realm myself.

He shrugged and began walking down the road. That's all right, it's not important. I was just curious.

Indeed. I approve of your willingness to learn. If you have any further questions, regardless what they may be, call upon me. I am here to serve, Master.

That was awfully nice of the Master Sword. He knew it was a powerful weapon, but apparently it was also a font of information that he could turn to if he needed to. People had told him various things about the mystical sword, but he had no idea what it actually did until its consciousness rode around in his mind.

He stopped in the road in front of Renado and Luda's house and stared at the tailor's shop for a moment. Ilia may or may not be in there, but he should tell her that he was going to be gone for a while. The last time he left for only a day and she seemed saddened by it, so she was likely going to make a big deal about him leaving for a week. He felt a small pang of hurt in his chest at the thought of leaving her behind and not being able to see her for that long. Link rubbed at his face, convincing himself that it wouldn't be too bad. He had endured not knowing where she was for a week and a half, so he could deal with not seeing her for a week while knowing that she was safe.

It was far cooler inside the tailor's shop, the clay walls and roof tiles keeping it that way. Ilia had set aside the green blouse, the garment neatly folded and placed on the counter. The young woman herself stood at the back wall looking at a bolt of yellow fabric in her hands, one of many from a series of shelves there. "Is it lunchtime already? I'll be there in a minute."

"I have no idea." he said, and she turned around in surprise. "I got out of Barnes' way and chatted with Renado a bit."

Ilia smiled softly, looking pleased to see him. Now that Midna had told him certain things, he was paying far more attention to her body language and eyes. "You're so quiet when you walk. I thought you were Luda."

"Nah, it's me." He walked towards her as he spoke. "I figured I'd come in to see how you were doing."

"You weren't here all that long ago, but I appreciate it." She looked down at the bolt of fabric in her hands. "What do you think of this?"

"It's uh...yellow?" He really had no opinion, other than he would never wear anything that color.

Ilia gave him a slightly exasperated look. "I know it's yellow, Link. I was wondering if it would match that blouse that I made Beth. I want to make her some leggings."

"If you want a specific answer, you need to ask a specific question. Don't throw out a 'what do you think' and expect me to know what you mean." He reached out to touch the fabric. "It's soft, so it probably would be comfortable to wear." He caught the way she was looking at him expectantly, so he continued. "I guess yellow matches the light green, since it's kind of pale."

"Pastel." she corrected him. "I don't know why but I'm really drawn to this color. I have this image in my mind of beautiful yellow flowers along the edge of a field of crops." Ilia lowered her eyes and hugged the bolt of fabric to her chest. "It makes me feel happy, and content. It's not a specific memory, but something I like. I'm not sure if it's the color yellow, or those flowers, or both."

He of course knew the answer to that. Her favorite color was indeed yellow, and she loved the bright yellow tiger lilies that grew along the edges of the roads and farmland of Ordon. "I know the flowers you're talking about. If you feel that they make you happy, then it still counts as remembering something."

"Does it? Yellow like those flowers makes me feel nostalgic, but also...sad." She closed her eyes, prodding at her mind while trying to recall something. "I had a dress this color. Orange embroidery. I loved it." Her voice had a little catch to it. "I remember when...when it didn't fit me anymore, I was very upset. It meant something…" Ilia opened her eyes and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Why am I crying? This one hurts. I didn't think any of them would hurt me anymore."

Link knew exactly why. He remembered the dress, since she had still worn it until she was about fourteen or so. Her mother had made her that dress, and it was one of the last articles of clothing that Marnie had been able to make for her daughter before falling ill and later passing away. It held a meaning for Ilia, just as the pendant he wore around his neck did for him. "I know the reason why, but it's part of something much larger in your life that I can't tell you about. I'm sorry."

Ilia put a hand to her mouth, shaking her head. "It's something terrible, I can tell. I'm not going to black out, am I?" The fear of her memories had returned, and he knew he had to steer her away from it.

He took the fabric from her unresisting hand and put it back onto the shelf next to them, doing his best to remain calm. She needed him to be calm right now. "I don't think so, but I'm here if it does happen. Did you want me to take you to the inn?" When she didn't answer, he put his arm around her shoulders. "It'll be all right. I know you're scared, but that will pass. I'll wait here with you until you're better."

She nodded, and took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "I hate crying over these things. I don't even know why I'm crying, but it still happens."

"I understand." It felt like she was leaning into him ever so slightly. Was that his imagination? After what Midna said, maybe not.

"Aren't you going to make a joke in an attempt to cheer me up right now?" Ilia asked, wiping at her eyes. She hadn't actually shed that many tears, and seemed more frightened of having a negative reaction more than anything else.

"No, not until you're a bit better. You're the one going through it, but this upsets me too." He wasn't going to burst into tears like she did, but seeing her hurt made his heart heavy.

She nodded, calmer now. "I get that. When you came in here this morning, I could tell you felt awful. It made me feel bad too. I didn't want you to feel that way just because you made a mistake."

"Then you tried to cheer me up the way you did with the children." He gave a faint smile, even though he knew she wasn't looking at him and still had her eyes fixed on the floor. "Would it help if I patted you on the head like that too?"

"No. I want a real hug the next time this happens. This is only a half a hug. I think you're holding out on me." She must have been feeling better if she could joke about it.

Link chuckled. "Hey, there weren't that many tears, so we're going halfsies." His smile faded, and he realized he was running out of time before he had to leave. He had to tell her of his plans. He dropped his arm to let her go and give her some space. "Ilia…" he began.

"I don't like the tone of your voice." she said apprehensively, not moving away from him. He probably should have kept his arm around her shoulders.

He launched into it, not knowing how to make it any easier. "I know you're just getting over a minute ago, but I did have to tell you something and I didn't want to do it in front of everyone else. I know it's going to make you unhappy. I'm certainly unhappy about it."

Ilia tensed up. "You're not going to leave me here when I finally realized that I need my friend with me, are you?"

Now it was his turn to stare at the floorboards. "I have to. You know what I'm doing is important, and I'm not done doing it. I have to go to the other end of Hyrule, to the far west. I'll be gone for days, maybe over a week."

"Damn you, Link." Ilia only cursed when she was really upset. "Now I'm going to cry again."

"You can hit me if it'll make you feel better." It was a half-hearted attempt at a joke. He was miserable about leaving too. Ilia moved from his side, turning to face him and wrap her arms around his torso. He thought she was kidding when she said she wanted a real hug, but apparently not. "Or you could do that."

Her voice sounded miserable next to his ear, even though she was trying to joke around. "I've earned it. No halfsies."

"No halfsies" He put his arms around her, glad that he could finally do what he'd always wanted to do, yet not liking the circumstances that brought it to this. His attraction to her was still there, the emotions he felt for her were still there, but he didn't have the desire to act on them. Instead he felt the mutual frustration and disappointment that he shared with her. They probably both needed a hug. "I'm sorry, Ilia. You know I'd rather be here with you and the kids more than anything else."

She put her forehead on his shoulder just as she had in the stable days ago, but this time she wasn't sobbing. "I know, that's what I want too. When you or any of the children are near me, it feels...right. Like things are how they're supposed to be. It feels like I'm making progress, but now a piece of that puzzle is leaving, and I'm not going to see him for a week."

"A lot can happen in a week." He stared ahead at a wire dress form that sat on a work table. "I know what I'll be doing, which is going to a hot desert in the middle of summer to look for some ruin. But you? You could remember everyone in Ordon. You might remember me. I think you're almost there, since you don't act like a stranger. Things feel close to what they were before...before things happened to everyone." He felt her stiffen in his arms, and he put his hand to the back of her head soothingly, something he couldn't do for Midna because of the cursed helmet she wore. He was certainly comforting other people a lot in the past few days. He turned his head slightly and lowered his voice. "No, no you don't. Don't think about it. We're thinking about the future now."

"I have to take care of the children." she said, now sounding tearful. He didn't want to hear her voice like that, otherwise he might start himself.

"You have to take care of the children, but don't forget to take care of yourself, all right?" And take care of me. Please, take care of me in the way I want to take care of you. Please do for me what I'm doing for you right now, even though I shouldn't. "Here, look at me." She lifted her head and turned her face slightly towards him, leaving his nose inches from her forehead. As much as that made his heart pound, it wasn't what he meant. She seemed clingy and reluctant to pull away from him, which was very different than before.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, his face feeling warm. "No, not like that." He untangled himself from her and took a step back and put his hands on the sides of her head to make her look straight at him. The fact that she was also a little pink was not lost on him. "Right. You're going to stay strong, okay? You've become the Ilia that I knew, so keep being that Ilia." He dropped his hands and spoke more gently. "It's fine to cry, but remember that soon you won't have a reason to." He left that hanging, letting her take whatever meaning out of it she wanted. "I want you to smile when I get back. I know I'm going to be smiling."

Ilia sighed, but it was one of relief. She wiped her wet cheeks and gave a little smile. "How do you always know the right things to say?"

Link rolled his eyes. "Uh, best friend?"

She laughed, a sound that warmed his heart. "Of course. Thank you, Link. I think I'm going to the pump out back to wash my face. You go to the inn and get ready to go. I'll be sure to see you off."

He nodded and gave her a smile, feeling better now that she felt better. "See you in a bit."


Ilia was the only one to see him off in the end, since neither one of them wanted to alert the children right away. Link made sure to pack his food and water supplies before the children came in for lunch, and he asked Barnes to distract them so they wouldn't have to see him leave. If he hadn't mentioned to Beth and Luda that he was leaving, he would have kept it from the kids entirely.

Lunch with everyone was normal, although he could tell that Ilia was a bit glum where she sat next to him. He hadn't asked her to sit there, and so far she had picked a random place to sit during meals, but her behavior was different now. Ever since last night, she seemed either far more interested in him, or far less shy. As much as he wanted to encourage her, he would continue to simply be her friend.

It didn't take long to get Epona ready, and the horse was more than happy to get sung to, saddled and out of the stable. She was clearly bored and restless and wanted to run. The mare was dancing her legs impatiently when Link stopped her to say goodbye to Ilia at Eldin's Spring. The noonday sun hung overhead in a blue cloudless sky, making the Eldin day hot and barely casting any shadows.

"I can't promise I'm going to smile right after you leave." Ilia told him, reaching up to put a hand on his calf as he sat in the saddle, in a similar fashion as Telma had days ago. Her expression was calm, but there was a bit of emotion behind her green eyes. He knew how she felt.

"Yeah, I can't promise either. I know I'm going to be grumpy for the next few days because I'll miss you and everyone else." But mostly you. He reached down and put his hand on hers. "Goodbye, for now. Maybe I'll find something to bring back to you from the desert. Like sand."

She couldn't help laughing, like she always used to. "Goodbye, Link. I'm going to miss your goofy jokes. And everything else about you."

He felt his face go a little warm at that comment, and gave a short laugh and patted her hand before sitting up straight. "Be sure to hug those kids tight for me, all right?"

"Of course. Be careful."

He gave her a grin. "Always."

Link nudged Epona into a walk and brought her to the south gate of Kakariko Village where two Goron warriors calmly stood and kept the few people within it safe. He tried not to think of how he wished he could be the one to protect everyone, especially Ilia. He glanced over his shoulder and saw her standing there bravely at the spring, and she raised a hand in farewell when she saw him looking at her. Then he was around the bend and through the gate, no longer able to see her. He felt a stab of pain in his heart, but the Hero of Hyrule did not have the time to chase after a woman.

"That must have been very hard, considering how strongly you feel about her." Midna said kindly. "I was there for part of your conversation in the clothes shop, and it sounds like I was wrong and you were right. She's falling for you." He knew that Midna had come into the shop right before Ilia hugged him, since he had spotted a little blur of shadow jumping beneath the worktables there.

"No, you were right too. She needs to have space, and I think me being near her is absolutely overwhelming her." He moved Epona into a trot, following the dry creek bed that was now the road through Lower Eldin. "Especially after the stupid thing I did last night. She's different now, and I think the best thing is to let her turn some things over in her head without me there." He sighed and looked down at the back of Epona's head. "As much as I want to turn this horse around and be with her, she needs to understand herself more before she can see me again."

"At least you're finally willing to accept it, even if you don't like it. I've already told you what the deadly cocktail of your looks and personality can do. And here you're going to a place full of lonely women who are looking for husbands." She giggled. "Interesting times are ahead for you, buddy."

"You know what? I'll take that over everything else that's happened lately." He grinned. "I need to stay on my toes somehow." Midna laughed again, and he grinned even wider before sending Epona into a gallop with a "hya!".

He only let the horse gallop for a bit before pulling her back into a canter, knowing that she would be much more comfortable that way despite her love to run hard. The road going through Lower Eldin was clear, the dry grasslands empty of Bulbins and Shadow Beasts. At one point he rode past a pack of blue-skinned Bokoblins that were near the edge of the maple forest that bordered Central Hyrule, but aside of a few startled squawks they paid the man on the horse no heed.

When they reached the guardhouse where he had stayed and found his shield, he slowed Epona into a trot, looking around cautiously. This place was crawling with Bulbin patrols the last time he was through here, and even though he now knew he could handle large groups of them entirely on his own, he didn't want to risk fighting any. He scanned the horizon but didn't see anything other than ruined farms and empty buildings.

"Look to the north." Midna said. "See the smoke? There's more of it than there was the first time we were through here."

"That means more Bulbins for Zant's army. I doubt that Shadow Beasts need cookfires." He looked at the dark haze that was miles away. He wouldn't be able to see any of the army from this distance, and riding towards it to get a better look seemed foolish. He wanted to follow the straight east-to-west road that ran just south of the long lake that was nearly in the geographical center of the region, and decided that perhaps Shad and Ashei could look at the army themselves from the walls of Castle Town. They continued on, and he planned to stop in whatever barn or village he could find near sunset.

"I had considered stopping at my family's old ranch, but it's a few hours north and out of the way." he told Midna during one of the periods where he slowed Epona to a walk to rest.

"I don't want another Kasuto incident, Link."

"Neither do I, but I doubt the same thing happened there. Some idiot noble that has no rights to it is probably living there just because Adelbert gave it to him for being loyal." His expression darkened. "The more I think about that, the more I want to go up there and see.

"It's out of the way, like you said. What would you do when you got there? Beat your chest, shout 'I'm the last Lon, fight me' and expect to win back your ancestor's land?" She gave a small laugh. "Although me picturing you punching some spoiled noble in the face is kind of nice."

"That will be a problem for the future, not right now. I may not be a knight, but I still want my family's land back. It's been in my family for nearly three hundred years." The only way he could possibly do that would be with Zelda's help, which would mean that they'd have to figure out to get her soul back into her body. Yet another thing that would require Zelda's soul to be back in her body.

Now that he was on a different road than the one he had taken to Kakariko, he could see how much more damage the invasion had done. Burnt carts, destroyed homes and dead soldiers and horses littered the area around the road. He could smell the latter a good distance away, and gagged a few times as he hurried Epona along. There was no way he could bury those men, and they would likely become undead just like the soldiers of past wars.

"I think I might understand why the Bulbins killed the soldiers instead of turning them into Shadow Beasts." Midna said after they passed another dead body, this one having been nearly reduced to bones by ravens. "They're cruel, right? But there's a kind of weird logic to it. They're cruel to the weak in order to seem strong, like they all have some stupid inferiority complex. What they can't subdue, they kill. They've certainly tried killing you plenty of times."

"Huh. That makes a lot of sense, although I think they keep trying to kill me because I'm a threat." He could see another village up ahead at a crossroads, the north-south road going all the way from Faron to Castle Town. "Keep your ears open, there's another town."

This town was just as empty as the others, and still showed signs of either rapid flight or a struggle on part of its residents. The signpost claimed the village was named Orlen, but its name didn't matter. All he could see was a half-starved dog that ran from his horse when he rode up.

He reined Epona in, stopping at the main square of the town, which had a well. After pulling up a bucket of water for the horse to drink, he walked south and looked at the buildings. Broken windows and bashed-in doors greeted his eyes, and he knew the citizens did not get an opportunity to flee. The marketplace stalls still held produce, although much of it was rotten. A child's doll lay in the road in front of a house, and he had a horrible thought when his eyes fell on it.

"Midna...these towns have been completely empty. I mean completely, without any bodies other than those of Hylian soldiers. Where are the children?"

The Twili appeared next to him with a horrified expression. "I hadn't thought of that. We haven't encountered anything but large Shadow Beasts, but…" She alighted on the ground next to the toy. "How many Hylians are there in Hyrule? Do you know?"

Link put a hand to his chin and frowned. "I don't know the exact population, but I'd say it's hundreds of thousands. Most of that is in Castle Town, our only city. The city has I don't know...eighty thousand, maybe ninety?"

She picked up the roughly-stitched toy sadly. "Then there would be thousands of children in the kingdom. I don't think they all ran and hid, do you?"

He shook his head, knowing what she was hinting at. They likely had been transformed as well, or perhaps died. Infants or toddlers would have not survived without their parents. Link swallowed hard, disturbed by what they both had just figured out, and turned to walk back to Epona. "Come on. We should keep moving."

"Wait. Can you use your magic here?" The imp gently touched the face of the doll. "I know you have that shadow spell that lets you see the unseen, or the hidden. If there are children…"

If there were children that were left behind, they either would have died in the town later, or wandered off to eventually do the same. It had been over two weeks since this place had been raided, but he had to try. Link nodded and focused, scanning the buildings for anything that could potentially be hiding. He saw a cat hiding beneath a set of stairs and the dog that had run from them before, but no children.

He swept his eyes back to where Midna was, and was startled by what he saw. Briefly, ever so briefly he could see the dark outline of a woman kneeling on the ground with the toy in her hands as she leaned it up against the nearby house. It caught him by surprise and broke his concentration, and just as soon as he saw her, the shadow of a woman superimposed on top of the imp was gone.

What was that? Did he just see the real Midna? Or did he see Zelda's soul that was trapped in Midna's body? He wasn't sure, and when he tried again he was unable to see the figure anymore. She was oblivious, standing while sadly looking down at the toy. "It wouldn't surprise me if he did transform the kids here, and in the Twilight Realm too."

"I'm sorry, Midna. I can't see anything here. I could look for bodies, but you know we don't have the time to bury any of them." He really did not want to, either. Link knew that he was already mentally broken from some of the things that had happened recently. Digging graves for dead children would just make him worse.

"Yeah. We should keep going." She floated up and merged with his shadows.

It wasn't that much longer until sunset, so Link chose a village that was on the eastern edge of the lake, the body of water having a name that he couldn't remember. As much as he had looked at the map at his home and daydreamed of traveling, he couldn't remember every single thing on it.

The village itself hugged the lake shore, the docks and boathouses mostly empty. His eyes scanned the rippled dark blue water, looking for boats. There were a few islands in the middle of the lake, and while he could see that they were wooded from this distance, he had no idea if anyone had made it there or not. As it was he couldn't see any sails, but he hoped at least a few people had managed to get away.

There was livery next to a small inn at the far end of the town, away from the stink of fishing nets and algae. The front door of the inn had been ripped clean off its hinges, but the stable itself was intact, and had a sliding door like a barn that latched. Satisfied that the three of them could rest without being disturbed by undead this time, he brought Epona in and started to get her settled. There was feed and water, and one of the six stalls had hay bales in it in leiu of storage. After preparing a bed of straw for Epona, he made one for himself.

Link sat on one of the bales eating cornbread and dry venison. If he had time, he would have fished something up and cooked it on a fire. The sun was sinking low, and he didn't want to be caught outside, even if he did now have a weapon that could effectively kill the Stalchildren that stalked the nights in Central Hyrule. It didn't make him any less afraid of them, and he shivered a bit as he wrapped himself with his cloak on the bed of straw.

It was a while before he slept, and his thoughts went back to the young woman in Kakariko who had seemed so different today. His mind replayed the scene where she had wanted to be held, having been so distraught that he was leaving that she began to cry. Perhaps when he came back, she would be better and a bit less clingy and physical, which wasn't like Ilia at all. Or perhaps she would be worse after missing him for days and demand more physical contact. He fell asleep thinking that if that was the case, he wouldn't stop her.


Midna reported that there had been skeletons wandering up the hill from the village, but they didn't get near the livery since he intentionally did not light his lantern. He absolutely did not want to draw their attention.

He investigated the inn to see if there were any supplies he could filch, and immediately regretted it. Three Hylian bodies lay on the floor, their swords still clutched in their stiff hands as Bulbin arrows sprouted from their chests and backs like a porcupine's quills. Their deaths had been excessive, and gave more weight to Midna's explanation as to why Bulbins killed. If he had been religious, or even had learned to care about the gods after his elevation to hero, he would have tried to say some kind of prayer to hopefully set the souls of the slain men at ease.

Link knew better; the gods couldn't help them. All they could do is watch the mortals that lived in the world they created, too powerful to interfere. The only thing that the three goddesses were able to do was send him, and he was unable to help everyone.

He turned this thought over in his head as he continued on, Epona running at a canter, Midna hidden within the shadows of his green tunic. He couldn't help these people, but he wasn't sure if he was supposed do. The dead he had seen looked like they had been that way for a while, and it was entirely possible that they were killed before he was attacked at Ordon's Spring. It didn't make him feel any less guilty. He was the Hero of Hyrule, but so far he hadn't done much to help the Hylians, his people.

There were a few farms and farming communes along the south side of Lake Kolomo, which he now remembered the name of. Some of these were mostly untouched, this stretch of the road either ignored or forgotten by the Bulbins. Or perhaps it didn't follow the invasion route, the lake being too much of an obstacle in the initial push for them to ransack the farms. There were fields full of squash and potatoes, which meant that there was still food to be found somewhere. He still did not see another living soul, and there were signs of hasty egress: pieces of tack for horses and oxen laying next to a barn, bundles of belongings that were abandoned, the frame and canvas of a wagon cover left next to a paler patch of grass where the wagon had been parked. He hoped that some of these people had gotten away, although he didn't know where they could have gone that was safe.

The first patrol he spotted was not a large one, only made up of one Bulbin commander, two archers, two armed with swords, the group riding on five boars. The commander was larger than the others, with a rounded green face and body much like King Bulbin, although its horns weren't quite as large. The leader still had longer curved horns, and wore pieces of armor unlike the other four. It reminded him of a bull leading a group of four cows, and then a thought occurred to him: the lead Bulbin was indeed male, and the smaller ones with smaller horns were likely female. Most of what he had been killing were the Bulbin equivalent of women, not that the sex of the invaders mattered.

It still didn't matter when they spotted him and he had to cut them down one by one. They saw a Hylian on a horse and were going to either capture or kill him. It did waste a bit of his time, and sent him a ways down a smaller southern road. The only good thing the ugly little fight did was show him how easily he used the Master Sword. Its weight felt like nothing when he wielded it, and its edge was far sharper than the sword that Rusl had given to him. Even though using it was far easier, it didn't make him enjoy killing another being. Nothing could make him enjoy that.

Link stood on the ground next to the decapitated body of the last Bulbin warrior with the sword in his hand, and wondered again if the Bulbins were victims somehow. Some had been transformed into Shadow Beasts, and most of them were simply following orders. If this Bulbin was female, did she have children? Were those children somewhere? He didn't have the answers, but considered it likely that Zant had conquered the Bulbins first before moving on to Hyrule. Innocents that were forced to be the opposite.

It is likely, Master. The sword had been listening to his thoughts. I have no records of this race of creatures, but I do believe it possible that they were captured and forced to fight beneath Zant.

He looked at the bloodied sword in his hand and frowned unhappily, wanting it all to be over. Before he could wipe the legendary blade on the nearby corpse, the Master Sword did something that he could faintly feel through the grip in his hand. The blood was seared away, not by heat but by magic, sending it up in brown wisps of smoke and cleaning the blade far better than he ever could. Link stared at it stupidly in his hands, and he heard a "Wow." from Midna. He had no idea it could do that.

I do not feel emotions as you do, yet I can understand having no desire to harm others unless necessary. It is the way of many intelligent beings. If you do not wish to kill, then there is no harm in avoiding unnecessary conflict in the first place.

He nodded and sheathed the sword, not bothering to tell Midna what it had said. There wasn't anybody left out here but the raiders, so if he avoided them it probably was for the best.

They were able to avoid other patrols after that, even if it meant that he had to ride farther south than initially intended and add some time to his trip. Once Midna realized what he wanted to do, she offered to scout for him, flying up in the air now and again to scan the immediate area from a higher vantage point. They were able to avoid groups of Bulbins and Shadow Beasts that way, even if it meant that he rode poor Epona in a zig-zag pattern across the Hyrulean countryside. The horse wanted to follow the road as horses do, but she had a sweet nature and was willing to go where Link wanted, even if she kept tossing her head in annoyance whenever he'd veer into a field.

That was why it was sunset when he finally reached the Great Bridge of Hylia, even though he had only stopped once to eat and drink, and to let Epona do the same. Getting to Lakeside in two days was far better than three, which is what he expected. He initially figured he would be doing a lot more fighting than he had wound up doing. The closer he got to Lanayru and Lake Hylia, the less damage he had seen. It wasn't that things hadn't been attacked; it was more that someone had been along to survey the damage and board up the small towns and garrisons that he encountered on the road. This area was the first to be attacked, so it had began to recover even though the population was still missing.

He went down the switchback road that descended from the top of the cliffs, and when he came around the first bend to face east, his eyes fell on the space beneath the bridge, where Lanayru's Spring was. The Light Spirit had said it was injured and had to hide, which was unsettling because it seemed like the most powerful of the four. He had seen first hand how frightening Zant's power was, and he had no idea how they were going to defeat him. If other Twili were like Midna, it may be possible, but he knew nothing of the Twilight Realm and its people other than they were sorcerers.

A tall stone tower stood in the distance to the west, silhouetted by the orange skies that were slowly dimming into twilight. It was up on top of the cliffs at the western end of the lake, and if he hadn't been looking for it, he wouldn't have noticed it. He hoped that the road to it came through Lakeside, otherwise he would have to spend the night before figuring out how to get there.

Link rode through the town for the first time, even though he had been to Lake Hylia multiple times by now. In some ways it made him think of Kakariko; a main street huddled against the base of a cliff with a second tier above, cut directly out of the dark shale cliffs. It was far longer than Kakariko, and far more busy. There were people coming and going, mostly going since they were headed home for the evening. There were proper street lamps just as there were in Castle Town, and they had already been lit by the time he was in the town.

Now that he could see the citizens of Lakeside, he noticed something odd about them: most of them were male. Not all of them, but the majority of the people in the town were male Hylians, with the occasional round-eared human or Zora. The Zoras appeared to be just visiting as he was, some being soldiers and some being merchants, and one even was closing up his shop in what was the market section of the town. He needed to ask somebody how to get to the tower, and one of the polite aquatic race was probably the best choice. Many of the other men had given him suspicious looks for some reason, and he knew that he wouldn't get much out of them if he asked.

"Excuse me." Link said after he had dismounted and walked up to the merchant's stall. If he was going to ask for help, he wasn't going to do it while on horseback. People were unconsciously less willing to speak to somebody who sat higher up than them.

"Good evening, sir. I'm closing up, but if you're after one of the finished pieces then I can wait a few more minutes." The green-scaled Zora waved a clawed hand at the gem and silver jewelry that rested on blue velvet cloth. "If you're looking for repairs or an order, I'm afraid it will have to wait until morning." He was less formal than Ralis and the temple guards, but then again a commoner would be.

"I'm afraid I'm not here to buy, but to ask for directions. Do you know of the tower up on the cliff at the west end of the lake?" The Zora hadn't recognized him, but it hadn't been all that long since he had freed Zora's Domain. That was fine.

The Zora leaned his hands on the wooden counter and poked his head out of the stall, turning his face to look west. He had multiple piercings in his head fins that jingled when he moved. "It's getting too dark to see it, but I think I know what you're talking about. It's the Hylian fortress, right?"

"That's the one." It had to be, after what others had said. There probably weren't any other towers at the border of Hylian and Gerudo lands. "Lakeside Tower."

The merchant nodded and pulled back into his stall. "Yes, I know of it, although I've never been there. Normally Hylian soldiers come and go from that place, but not since the invasion. Sometimes I see a light so somebody is still there…" He shrugged. "If you're going there, this road will split into two directions once you get to the west end of town. One fork will stay down near the beach and go to the docks, but the other will go back up the cliff gradually. I would be careful if I were you. The way between Lakeside and the tower isn't lit, and I know you humans can't see very well in the dark." A Zora would think that, wouldn't they? "You might be better off finding an inn or hotel and waiting until morning."

"I'll take my chances since I have a lantern." And a Twili that could see perfectly in the dark. "Thanks for the directions. I didn't think I'd find anybody willing to talk to me. Most of the guys in this town gave me the stink eye when I got close."

"Well of course they would, you're a warrior with a horse." The Zora frowned at him. "You don't know much about the human men in this town, do you?"

So there was something odd going on here after all. "Other than half of them are about my age and don't look friendly? No. All I know about Lakeside is it's a tourist spot. What's the deal? Why are there so many men, and why do they not like a guy with a sword and a horse?"

"The Gerudo. If you're headed to the tower, then I doubt you're after a wife, but they don't know that. You're their competition, and a man with a sword and his own horse is going to attract more attention from Gerudo." The Zora began to pick up his merchandise and put it away, which is what he was doing when Link approached. "They come looking for girlfriends or wives, or just to mate for fun, which is what I hear your people do sometimes. Zora men like myself aren't interested in any of those things, as pretty as Gerudo can be. I'm far more interested in their rupees, since they like Zoran silver." He shook his head and gave a short sigh. "Well, they did...but now they haven't come here once the invasion started. All kinds of things went wrong after that."

"Tell me about it. All right, thanks for the information. I hope business picks up for you." He turned and walked back to his horse.

"You and me both…" muttered the Zora merchant behind him, mostly to himself.

The fork in the road was about another ten minutes west, and he gently steered Epona to the left road. The horse sighed unhappily, tired and annoyed that they were both leaving a town behind and going uphill. He leaned forward and patted her neck. "Sorry, girl. I promise it won't be much father." Epona tilted an ear back at the sound of his voice, but probably didn't understand what he said.

He lit his lantern, using matches instead of his usual flint and tinder. Ilia had helped him get some, and he found that they were far faster to use, even if the stick of wood burned dangerously close to his fingertips. Between the lantern and Midna's careful guidance, he made his way up the dark cliff and to its top. Once he had crested the hill, he was able to see the building up ahead a bit better.

Lakeside Tower was a tall stone structure connected to a small fort, the area near the cliff itself fenced off with stone walls for safety. There were a few outdoor lamps on the structure, with one above the door, one on what looked like a small wooden stable nearby, and one at the very top of the tower. The one on the tower moved slightly, and he realized it wasn't a light fixture. Somebody was up on top of that tower with a lantern, although he wasn't sure if it was Auru or not.

He brought Epona into the stable and found it empty except for one other horse. A blood roan mare lay resting beneath a blanket in one of the stalls, and she whickered softly as he led Epona past. Link decided to put his own mare next to the other horse, and hummed to her as he fed her and got her ready for the night. The other horse stood and leaned her head around the wall to try to look at him, tilting her pointed ears in his direction. She was reacting to the song, which made him wonder if this was another horse that his father had bred. He didn't recall any roans on the ranch.

Once Epona was settled he made his way into the fortress, past a cold outdoor forge and smithing table. This place did look like it was made for soldiers, but if that Zora was correct then none of them were here. Once inside he could see that the place was dark and empty, with only the ruddy light of the kitchen hearth illuminating things.

"The guy on the tower has to be Auru." Midna said, having returned to his shadows once he had brought Epona to the stable.

"I'm guessing, yeah. We should go say hello." It didn't take him long to find the ladder going up that led to an open trap door in the ceiling. He hooked his lantern on his belt and began to climb, estimating that it was about five floors up to the top. Halfway up, it occurred to him he knew nothing about Auru, other than he was a scholar, Zelda's tutor and Shad's mentor. Here he was, an armed stranger climbing up a ladder to where the man was effectively cornered, and he didn't know how Auru would react.

As soon as this occurred to him, the light appeared at the top of the ladder, although he couldn't see anything else. "Who's there?" a man's voice called down cautiously.

Link paused as he looked up, trying to see anything past the lantern, but unable to. If anything he figured the man could at least see his face from where he was. "I'm a friend of Telma's and Shad's, and I'm here to see a man named Auru. Is that you?"

The lantern moved back out of his field of view, and he could see the outline of a hooded man against the stars. "Come on up, then." He continued to peer over the crenelations of the tower and down the ladder at Link as the young man climbed up, and then backed away a few steps to give him space. Once Link was standing on the stones of the tower, the man looked him up and down. "Tell me honestly, who sent you? Telma, Shad or Zelda?"

"A combination of sorts, although Zelda didn't send me here specifically. Shad and Telma only told me how to find you." There was a cold breeze coming from the west, drifting down from the mesa uplands at the Gerudo border, and wished he could put his hood up. "Presuming you are actually Auru."

"Yes, I'm Auru." In the light of their lanterns, Link could see that the man was older, at least forty years older than him, with a salt-and-pepper beard and lines around his mouth and eyes. He wore a green cloak made of much finer wool than Link's, matching leggings and there were a pair of holsters that held pistols at his hips. He stood straight and tall, and had broad shoulders. Link had pictured an old doddering bookworm, not the strong-looking older gentleman he had found at the top of Lakeside Tower. "You're a warrior from Telma's group? Except you're implying that you know Zelda, which is odd because I don't know you."

"You wouldn't. I'm something of a new recruit." He blinked his eyes as Auru stepped closer and held up his lantern to get a better look at his face. "There's something important I have to do in the Gerudo desert."

"The desert? What, to find a bride? Or are you a scholar like Shad hoping to speak to the sages?" Link didn't think he looked much like a scholar, but then again neither did Auru. He stopped, frozen while holding his lamp aloft, staring over Link's left shoulder. "How did you get that sword…?" he asked softly.

"I got it because Zelda told me to. Yes, I'm the one who pulled it out. And yes, I'm the one that's supposed to carry it. My name is Link, and I really need to find the Mirror of Twilight."

Auru gave a grunt, no longer surprised. "Shad has sent me information about what you've been doing, believing I should know about it." From the man's tone, he thought he really didn't need to know. "A pigeon came in at around sunset, but I admit I haven't read the letter yet. I imagine its contents deal with you." He turned to the west and faced the dark mesas that were faintly backlit by the slowly fading twilight of the summer sky. "How good are your eyes, Link?"

"Good enough, I suppose." He came to stand next to the old man and looked past the mesas to a dark, flat expanse beyond them. Far away was a smear of gold, and after looking for a few seconds he realized it wasn't one light, but many. "I can see lights. Is that a city out there?"

The other man nodded his head once. "Yes, but it isn't the city, although it is near it. The Gerudo are no longer in that city, and instead an enemy army has set up camp next to it in an old fortress." He held up a spyglass. "Here, look for yourself."

He took the spyglass and looked through it, figuring how to focus it after a few seconds of fiddling with it. There were enemy campfires crowded around the remains of a stone building, tiny but numerous. Other small wooden buildings crowded around it, although even with the spyglass he was too far away to actually see any movement. Not too far away was a walled structure that had a few dim lights on its exterior, although he couldn't tell if it was the Gerudo city or not. He lowered the spyglass and handed it back over. "Okay. Does that mean it's hard to get into the desert right now?"

Auru collapsed the spyglass against one of his gloved hands, and gave an uncertain shrug. "Perhaps, perhaps not. What you saw is only part of the army that invaded Gerudo lands well over a year ago. Most of it has moved into Hyrule, and is now south of Castle Town."

Link turned back to look at the faint lights in the desert. "I know about that. It's not just Bulbins, but it's Shadow Beasts too. More than enough Hylians have been transformed to make a decent-sized army, and now the King of Shadows is parked just south of the city, probably planning on attacking soon."

The other man put his collapsed spyglass into a satchel at his waist. "Yes, I agree. I believe the invaders are waiting for the right time. Yet only part of their force made it into Hyrule, otherwise it would have been much worse." He pointed at the distant desert. "The Gerudo protected us, their ancient enemy. There's a bridge spanning Gerudo Valley, and the Gerudo destroyed it from their side to keep the Bulbins in the desert."

A cold gust of wind blew down from the desert highlands, threatening to blow out their lanterns. Auru sighed and turned away from the neighboring nation, drawing his hood more tightly around his face. "Have you eaten dinner?"

"No." He was quite hungry at this point.

Auru turned his head to look at him, his eyes gleaming in the lantern light. "Then you may as well come out of the wind and have a hot meal. I think you and I need to have a talk."


Author's Note: I'm sure this chapter makes all four of the Link x Ilia shippers out there happy, but probably is a bit frustrating to the larger portion of people who dislike her. At least he's finally away from her for a while and there can be less romance and more plot. We're almost to the desert!