Author's Note

My sincerest apologies for the wait. I had hit a point in writing where my brain couldn't handle anymore, so I took a short break. But I'm back and ready to continue from where I left off. I'll be glad if you all continue alongside me on this ride. It's really been a blast writing this.

LEGEND BELOW

"Well aren't you adorable." = Normal speech.

''I wonder what he really looks like.'' Normal thoughts.

"Oh Hero, chooses by the goddess." = Higher beings speech.

CHAPTER FOUR/THE TRIAL'S ONLY JUST BEGUN

Midna awoke the next morning with a yawn, blearily rubbing at her eyes. The sun had come up hours ago, but she been found sleeping in, the events of the night prior really drained her. With another yawn she went to get up, only to finally register the large wolf that was resting on her lap.

"Wha-?" She muttered, more surprised the than anything. Then the events of the night before coming back to her suddenly. "Oh Goddess's!" She muttered. The shadow beasts that Zelda warned her about! They had come for her, and she should've been taken. But then he saved her.

The imp glanced down to the sleeping beast below her. Only now, in the light of day did she understand the extent of his wounds. Claw marks ran up hid sides where the shadow beast hit him, and there was clear signs of swelling, most likely a bruised rib or two, or worse. The bloody bite marks from the Deku-Baba left spots on his neck. And there were purple discolorations around his eyes and his lips, the same color as the tongue on the Deku-Baba. His beautiful light blue coat of fur had become matted down with the blood of the monsters. Overall he looked like a mess, and it did the imp nothing good remembering that this was technically her fault in the first place.

But even then, she could see how his body was fighting back. This wouldn't keep him down forever, that was for sure. But if he continued to push himself to the limit, who knows what could happen. She felt worse and worse the more she thought on the fact that she way trying to mold him into a tool used to accomplish her mission. A slave to do her bidding, was what she wanted, and it seemed like she was well on her way to completing that.

''No...'' She reminded herself, slapping herself to attempt to gain control over her thoughts. ''It doesn't matter what happens... As long as that man dies in the end...'' She stared off into the twilight covered skies, seeing something only she could see. She told herself that it didn't matter to her who was used and thrown along the wayside, as long as she accomplished her objective in the end. So then, why did it hurt when she looked at him?

She shook her head again, clearing her thoughts. There was some dark beasts to hunt, and her wolf was going to do the job...

Link awoke an hour later by the feeling of Midna patting him on the head. "Come on you lazy wolf, we've got a job to do." The imp stated with an annoyed frown, already impatient to get back on with the objective. Link groaned as he rolled over, attempting to fall back asleep. Her face scrunched up at his flippant response, and she resolved to shoving him with her magic hair. "I said wake up! We don't have time for this! How are you going to save your friends if you're sleeping?!" She knew that it was a low blow, but she was done waiting.

Link groaned as he stood up, shaking off the sensations of sleep. He knew that she was right, but couldn't she have waited another hour at least? Couldn't be helped he supposed. He shook his back leg in an attempt to stave off some of the dull pain that still resided in it. He took a moment to give his surroundings a once over. He didn't remember passing out near a creek. Perhaps that's connected to the fact that his fur was cleaner then before. He glanced back to Midna, mutely wondering if she did that.

"W-What? Stop staring at me!" The imp rebuked, a light hue of red dusting her cheeks. Worried that he'd angered her with his staring he turned away, instead focusing on the objective. Giving the imp a second to climb back on him, he took hold of the sword again as took off into the forest, chain clinking as he went. Midna tried to ignore the way his leg twitched in pain with every step he took.

Roughly thirty minutes later found the two of them rummaging through the house of a local resident of the forest. It was the only house within the Faron Woods as far as Link knew, and it was a little bit of a welcome change from the nonstop wilderness. Low and behold two of the creatures harboring the spirit's light had decided to run into the house to escape death.

Funny, Link thought. After brutally ruining the three large shadow beasts last night, the smaller ones weren't so cocky as to engage him head on. Some of them even ran, but that didn't stop him from hunting them down and cornering them before bringing upon them their demise. That would be the same with these two.

Link chased the two creatures into the house through the use of an open window on the second story. He was mildly surprised to find another spirit in here, much the same as back in Hyrule Castle. He focused his senses and realized that it was Coro, the guy that lived here. Link had met the man before, before all of this went down. He felt safe in calling the guy a bit of a bum, but not necessarily in a bad way. However, that bum, was about to be attacked by the creatures he was chasing down. Unwilling to let another get unnecessarily harmed if he could help it, he jumped down from the second story and cut the first monster down. The second was quick to follow, and soon two more bundles of light were contained within the Vessel of Light.

"Hey, woah! Those bugs just died!" Coro exclaimed in shock. Being in spirit form, he was unable to see Link. Why that was, the wolf had absolutely no idea, but he didn't question it. That being said, the man couldn't help but notice the paw marks that were suddenly appearing on his dirty floor. "Ah! And now they're invisible!" He shouted, before throwing a pot at the floor. He missed whatever he was aiming for, and that was because Link was done being blindsided for the day, quickly moved to the side.

"So some part of you comes through to them... hmm..." Midna muttered thoughtfully, twirling a strand of her lovely orange hair. With a nod Link decided to leave, not finding any reason to stay any longer. There were only a few more bundles of light to track down before he had them all. So close to the finish, he didn't want to wait another day. Without Midna's direction, he took off into another neck of the woods, the deeper part of Faron. She wasn't going to be the one to put a damper on his work ethic.

Things were going well, until they came across a strange purple colored lake. Well it looked like a lake, but there was no water, only a thick purple mist that permeated throughout. Link took one sniff of it, and immediately deemed it dangerous. It was toxic for sure, and it nearly made him pass out with just a whiff. This posed a problem, because he could see the small shadow creatures across the mist, and getting to them was crucial to saving the light. He needed to improvise if he was to get across.

He gave it a few moments of thought, before an idea came to him. Before Midna even knew what he planning, she and Link were suddenly jumping through the air, landing on a ruined bridge placed out in the mist.

"Warn me next time you plan on being crazy!" She growled, but didn't actually find his idea that bad. He grinned a Wolfy grin, before jumping to a tree stump sticking just above the mist. He repeated that until he reached the opposite side. But on the last jump he misjudged the distance he could make with his injuries, and didn't go as far as he needed. He ended up landing ten feet too short of safety, which happened to be directly in the mist. Midna realized his mistake and flew safely to the shore, while he landed in it.

"Dang it Wolfy! What did say!?" Midna shouted with a mix of annoyance and worry. That turned to worry however, when a few seconds passed and he was still submerged in the mist. She was about start freaking out when he suddenly burst from the mist, coughing and hacking. "Good Grief Wolfy, you're going to give me a heart attack..." The imp stated, but watched him carefully for any signs of poison or other adverse affects.

He coughed but tried shaking it off and continuing after the light. He picked the sword back up, and ran after the unsuspecting shadow insects. They underestimated him the same as the last ones did, and were cut down rather effectively. Midna noted that his swings and his reaction time had dropped since the morning. She wasn't sure if that could be attributed to the mist, old wounds, or whatever that Deku-Baba did to his insides. She shivered at that last one.

It's was only when she realized that he was staring at her that she realized that she had been spacing out. "What is it Wolfy?" She found herself asking. Using his eyes, he hinted to the Vessel of Light she was holding onto. It was then she noticed that it was full. Surprised and a little embarrassed that she somehow missed that, she pat him on the back in assurance. "Good job Wolfy. Now let's get it back to that light Spirit!" She exclaimed, grin. He nodded, and took off for the spirit's spring...

By the time he made it back to the spring, the affects of the past three days had really begun to show. His footsteps were twitchy, his breathing was labored and he whined with every other step. But he didn't want to stop until he returned the light. He could wait, the light Spirit could not.

He stepped into the darkened waters, holding the vessel in his mouth. He could sense the spirit awaken, and he carefully set it down in its springs before stepping back. Now what did he have to do?

Suddenly the Vessel of Light vanished into the water, and a moment later a large orb of light arose out of it. Link watched in awe as the twilight began to fade away, with the springs being the starting point. Midna yelped in surprise before retreating into the safety of his shadow. Then something began to form around the orb, a figure. His eyes widened as the figure turned into the form of that similar to a forest animal, only twenty times larger then normal. He was temporarily blinded by the aura of blessed light that emanated from it.

"Thank you..." The spirit spoke, it's powerful voice echoing across the purified waters. "Because of your courageous deeds, the light has once again returned to this land..." It admitted. "O brave youth... In the shadow of twilight where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a beautiful blue furred beast... That was a sign..." Link quietly stared in surprise, listening to Faron's every word.

"It was a sign that the powers of the chosen one rest within you... and, that those powers are awakening..." It admitted seriously. "Now... Look at yourself..." It asked. Too caught up in hanging onto it's every word, Link had apparently been oblivious to what was happening to him. He looked down with a surprised blink, suddenly aware that he was standing on two legs again. Moreover, he was dressed in a tunic colored in green adorned with brown boots and dark blue bracers with white under garments. A long green hat adorned his head, and leather-straps crossed over his chest and connected to a belt. The same iron cuff and three chains still connected to his wrist. The slash mark on his face he had as a wolf was still there in his normal form, same with the leg wound and all others. The gash would scar over for sure, not a pretty sight.

"What you wear is the same garb worn by the Hero of Legend, preserved for use for the next Hero." The spirit explained, ignoring the wolf, now turned humanoid's baffled expression. "That Hero's power... that true power... is now yours.." If the words spoken to him weren't shocking enough, the what was said next most certainly was. "Your name is Link... You are the Hero chosen.. by the Goddess."

Silence followed after the guardian's declaration, the only sound being the water flowing underneath him. Midna who had been quietly listening, turned to face Link, to judge the expression on his face. It was only then that she really got a good look at his normal form. The first word that entered her mind was ruggedly handsome, only for her to ruthlessly stamp it out. Then the spirit began to speak up again.

"Brave Link... A dark and evil power resides in these woods... It is a forbidden power long since sealed away, but..." The spirit seemed to stop for a moment, recalling something. "This world is suffering under a veil of shadows, and choices are limited to one. You must obtain this forbidden power in order to match the King of Evil, or else this world is doomed." The weight of the situation started to truly dawn on the young man, and it wasn't a comforting thought. With its piece said, the spirit vanished into the springs, leaving him behind.

Link just stood there, quietly contemplating the information just dumped onto him. He stared blankly at the springs for what felt like hours, but was only a minute. Taking a deep shuddering breath, he slowly removed himself from the springs, standing on the edge of it now. He noticed that when he was suddenly transformed back to normal, the sword and shield Midna had been holding onto, had been strapped to his back without his notice. Giving the straps that adorned his chest a quick experimental tug, he turned to face the forest again.

Off in the distance, towering over the rest of the trees, was a structure. A tower almost, made entirely out of grown trees. He could only assume that the forbidden power probably resided there. That was his current objective then. He was about to see to it, but a little shadowy imp had something to say about that.

"Do you really plan on moving forward in that state?" She said with an accusatory tone, probably to hide the mild concern. "I'm all for moving forward as fast as possible, but you dying won't solve anything!" With a start, Link suddenly remembered the trials his body had suffered through during the past few days. It was only adrenaline that had kept him going, and now that it had passed, he felt as if he were about to drop.

"Oh..." He muttered lowly, shakily turning back to his village. It wasn't too far away from here, but it would be a bit of a struggle to get there in his condition. It was the first words he had spoken since taking up this journey with Midna, and the imp almost jumped at his voice. Wolfy couldn't speak, but this, Link could. It was going to be a little strange when she realized that he could now talk back to her.

Link glanced down to his hands, noticing the purple that seemed to run through his veins. Yep, poison for sure. That, and those bruised ribs were not helping. With that thought in mind, he began his trek back home...

It was quiet in Ordon, quieter then it used to be. The village was usually very lively, with constant pleasant interactions between anyone and everyone. The village was known for its hospitality and its warm welcoming feeling. But...

But after the horrible and tragic events that occurred a few days ago, that lovely welcoming feeling was quick to fade away. When all the village children were suddenly ripped from their grasp, no one knew what to do. They sent out search parties, but never gained and results. The only thing they ever found was a piece of clothing belonging to their resident goat herder, Link. Even he had vanished too. Everyone believed that he had been killed by the monsters that took their children, and it really put a damper on all of their moods.

Everyone was grief stricken at the loss, and at times it felt like it was hard to go on. Then there was that surprise encounter with a monster a few days ago. Rusl had managed to fend off the beast quiet well, actually landing some rather good slices across it. A slash across its face, and a gash along the back of its leg. Wether that was because it never fought back and seemed to actually not try and actively attack him remained to be seen...

And then it came back the next night and stole the shield they had been crafting, and Rusl's sword. Now they didn't have anything to effectively fight back with. Never one to give up, Rusl had quickly began working on another sword. The hard clang of a smith's hammer coming into contact with what would eventually become a sword filled the evening, the sound echoing through the village.

The sun hung high in the sky, many hours of daylight ahead of them. A few of the local villagers were out collecting their crops when they saw something. Off towards the village entrance was a figure, limping into the open.

"Hey! Rusl! There's someone here! They're hurt!" They shouted, before running to meet and assist the newcomer. It was only as they approached the person that they recognized him. "Oh Goddesses, it's Link!" With those words alone half the villagers dropped what they were doing to run and help. They couldn't believe it, it seemed impossible. Dressed in a green tunic and leather was their resident goat herder. But he was hurt.

The older man practically dropped the half finished sword to run and greet back the young man. He felt like he was bursting for joy when he saw him, but that joy quickly turned to concern when he noticed that he was hurt.

"Link, my boy! Oh Hylia, what happened to you!?" Rusl exclaimed in shock, quickly moving to aid the young man. Link went to respond, but only managed to cough up a little blood instead. "Quickly, forget what I asked! Let's get you inside." Supporting Link by the shoulders the villagers brought him to Rusl's house, letting him rest on the couch. It didn't escape from their notice the strange gash across the bridge of his nose, or the obvious poisoned look to his face. He wasn't in good condition at all.

"Uli, quick now, grab the spare potion from the store!" Rusl urged, keeping his attention on Link. The young man looked to be in a great deal of pain, and seemed to have trouble breathing. Midna watched the ordeal silently from the shadows, unable to help in any way. "Let's get this thing off of you..." The man stated as he unbuckled the straps that held Link's gear to his back. The sword and shield fell to the ground in a heap, and his green tunic and white under shirt were quick to follow.

Now with nothing obstructing his upper body, the young man found it much easier to breath. The gills that covered his ribs fluctuated at the sudden access to oxygen once again. "Now Link, you know better then to cover your ribs!" Rusl admonished, a concerned frown marring his face. The young man has the decency to look embarrassed.

While that little discussion went down, Midna took that moment to observe the unclothed body of her servant. This was the first time since their being together that she had ever seen him in his normal form, and she was more then a little surprised to find out that he wasn't just another Hylian. Color her surprised, but by her observation she deduced that one of his parents had to have been a Zora, one of the fishlike people from the far corner of Hyrule. And the other parent was most certainly a purebred Hylian, if his perfect physique and eight pack was anything to go by. But the unnaturally dark blue ribs were of concern, broken for sure.

Suddenly Link's eyes gazed at her position, catching her wandering eyes from her shadow. She quickly averted her gaze, as if to say she wasn't looking him over. A smile grew on the young man's face, before turning his attention back to Rusl.

"Honestly... How do you expect to breath in those clothes..?" Rusl questioned, glancing to the discarded tunic and hat thrown to the floor. Before he had the chance to respond, Uli came back into the room with a bottle filled with a peculiar looking red liquid.

"Here, drink this!" The pregnant woman urged, shoving the bottle into Link's hands. "It's the last one we have. We were saving it incase something like this ever happened..." She exclaimed in worry. Link smiled at the overly protective woman, before downing the whole bottle of red liquid in one go. Midna hadn't thought anything of the red liquid, but her thoughts were changed when the affect kicked in.

The blackened ribs that were surely broken had suddenly began to heal. The horrid bruising began to subside and the pain was lessened, if the tightness around his eyes vanishing was anything to go by. The cuts and bruises he suffered from the dark beasts almost vanished before her very eyes, leaving only small marks behind to show that they were there at all. But the purple discoloration around his eyes hadn't left.

"..Thank you.." Link muttered, pocketing the now empty glass bottle for later. He glanced up to the shadow in the corner of the room, locking onto Midna's roaming eyes. He flashed her a smile, and realizing that she'd been caught staring she turned away, a light blush adorning her cheeks.

The young man went to get up, but Uli stopped him. "No, you need to rest before anything else." She crossed her arms, giving him a look that offered no room for arguing. It wasn't late, but the affects of the recent events had drained him of energy.

He had decided to stay there for the day, promising Midna that he'd set out for the forest temple first thing once he awoke next. She wasn't happy about having to wait even longer, but supposed that it couldn't be helped. Link wasn't going to be useful to her if he were dead.

It was early morning when he was finally roused from his rest. The sun had yet to rise, and the only light came from the lamps that adorned the village houses. Rusl and Uli were both asleep when he woke, and he couldn't bring himself to wake them. They had been dealing with hardships too, and he hated to add more to their plate.

"They'll be fine. Don't worry about..." Midna spoke up from behind him, her words coinciding with his thoughts. She was impatient, but knew that he valued the people of his village, so she bit her tongue. "Let's just get going. We won't accomplish anything sitting here!"

As much as Link would've preferred to stay, he knew she was right. Quietly, he re-dawned the legendary tunic the forest spirit bestowed upon him. He also noticed that Uli had taken the time to carefully cut thin holes in the tunic, allowing him to breath much easier. He smiled to himself, and vowed to make it up to her one day. As an afterthought, he left a small letter behind to assure them that he'd be back.

With the sword and shield securely strapped to his back, he made his way out of the village and back into the darkened forest beyond. It was dark, almost too dark to see. He'd decided to make a quick stop at his own home to retrieve a rather unused lantern he owned. It hadn't been used in a long time, but the time had come for it to serve its purpose once again.

Standing atop his front porch, he gazed out into the distance. From where he stood, he could see the mountainous regions that lay past the reach of Hyrule, alongside his entire village. Midna hadn't said it, but he had a feeling that it was going to be a while before he next had the chance to set foot here again.

Midna wisely stayed silent. She knew what she was asking of him, and she knew personally how hard it was to leave your own people behind. It was a lot, but he was going to do it anyway. So she let him have his moment undisturbed. He'd be real busy from here on out, that much he knew in his heart...