Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Zelda Franchise... I wish I did.
Chapter 24 - Stalking Drums
AU: Just as a small note, I would like to wish all of you some happy holidays and a special end of the year.
Thank you for sticking out with me on this story.
"This is weird…" Link said in a little comment. He eyed left and right, half expecting a Kokiri to jump at them. "Normally everyone would be here swarming you with questions." A soft chuckle escaped him. "Every Kokiri is a curious little imp, we used to hog anything new that showed up in the village."
Motioning with a small wave of his hand, Link began to guide Sheik a little further inside the village.
"Oh, a little warning. If you see a Kokiri girl with blond hair, better to keep your wits about you." Link said playfully. "Odds are she will try to prank you."
Sheik replied with a little nod.
The young Sheikah allowed Link to pull him by the hand, silently indulging his lover in his overexcited enthusiasm about the little village. While Link gushed and laughed about the quirky kids that were seconds from popping out from behind some bushes and harass them with a ton of questions, Sheik felt a lingering sense of dread stir inside his chest.
Kokiri Village looks and feels the exact description that Link gave. A bright and warm place, like the heart of spring come to life in the form of a location. And yet, something is missing in here.
This village is vibrant, wonderful, and peaceful. Eerie peaceful. There are no sounds other than the clashing of water of the small waterfall at the southern side. Not one hint of giggles or laughter, not one voice other than Link's so eagerly showing off his home village.
And after gushing about the village for a brief moment, Link also noticed the absence of something.
"Where is everyone?" Link asked softly.
His big blue eyes went to the small ramp right of the entrance. He glanced around the small farm, noticing the abandoned state of the planting ground.
"Fado!" Link called out, holding both hands in front of his mouth to increase the echo of his voice. And echoed his voice did. It went across the village and then came back in a smaller stuttering repetition. "Guys? Hellooo… If this is one of your pranks, this isn't funny!" Link shouted out, no one came out to answer.
Slowly letting go of Sheik's hand, Link slowly wandered to a small house to the left side.
He pressed one hand against the open-door frame, giving a small gander inside and finding nothing but a mess of clothes and tools.
"This… This ain't right." Link turned back with a prominent frown on his expression.
He set his gaze onto another house just a few paces to the right. Marching a little faster he went there and called out one of the Kokiri by name. He stood in front of the open door for a little longer, calling out the Kokiri at least two more times before walking back with confusion plastered on his face.
Sheik watched as Link moved closer to him. The red-eyed blond raised one hand to him, trying to reach the Hero with a comforting touch. "Link…"
Link's eyes snapped to him, but he still managed to smile. "I-It's okay Sheik. I told you they are a weird bunch. Not that this joke is any funny!" He raised his voice to the surrounding, glancing to the corners, expecting some giggles to sound off from there, but still nothing. "I know!" Link declared with a determined look. "The Know-It-All Brothers! They rarely leave their houses and they always know well… everything! Surely they can tell us what is going on here."
And with the answer in mind, Link dashed his way towards the three brothers' large house.
At this exact moment, Sheik felt an iron-cold chill running down his back. As if guided by something other than his instincts, the young Sheikah took a small step into the house Link just left, his red eyes drifting to an oddly specific place. The left innermost corner of the house, a little darker spot between the small bed and the strangely large wooden wardrobe.
Right on the edge of the dark corner, where a small ray of sunlight comes from the window casting some light, Sheik saw the curled form of grey and dusted bones that are very much like a small hand.
Rubbing his eyes with the back of an arm, Sheik tried to dismiss what he saw as his twisted imagination. Taking a proper step inside the seemingly abandoned house, he leaned closer just to confirm what he tried to deny.
Resting in the corner is the remains of a small person, curled as if trying to hide away before they inevitably found their demise.
Instantly, Sheik's head made a sharp turn back to where Link had run to. Leaving this house in an alarmed hush, he jumped over the small fences and gracefully climbed over the hill. Doing everything he could to reach Link before he could enter the large home ahead, Sheik only managed to land at the right side of the building as Link stepped inside.
Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Sheik ran as fast as he could, making a sharp turn at the edge of the house. There he found Link frozen stiff in the front of the house, a shocked look on the tall blonde's face.
"Brothers…" Link gasped softly; his blue eyes trained on the deceased forms of the Kokiri lying in the middle of the room. "S-Sheik." Link unconsciously called out to his companion.
Heeding his call, Sheik moved closer, stopping right next to Link. Pressing a soft touch on Link's arm. "I am here Link."
Turning a glossy glance to Sheik, Link shook his head slowly. "What is this… I don't understand…"
Sheik bit his lips, closing his eyes as he shared the pain of his partner. "Link… they are dead." He said simply, choosing to address the situation properly instead of going around it. "Sorry…"
"No. They couldn't." Link shuddered visibly. "No monsters can enter the village. How… it's impossible!"
Faltering slightly, Link leaned against the doorframe, his gaze drifting away from the grim scene in front of him.
As if reaching to their presence, the silent village behind them suddenly wasn't so quiet anymore. A bit further back, right in the center of it, a stream of various sounds echoed from there, startling the duo out of their stupor.
With no warnings, Link turned on his heels and rushed out to the center of the village. Moving like the wind, the tall blond jumped above the small fence and trailed above it until he reached the tall wooden wall separating this part from where he needs to go.
Pulling his Hookshot out, he launched the tip of his tool to the very top of the wall and vaulted above it.
Letting himself spring forward with recklessness, Link landed on a small slope, his boots raising dust out of the old dirt road.
Glancing left and right, he searched the source of the noises and quickly found it, much to his disappointment.
On the lower end of the road, surprisingly at the bottom of his house ladders, Link found a group of Stalchild grazing the rotting wood of the ladder, their bloody red claws gnawing and chipping at the structure, at this point doing enough damage that if someone tried to climb on it, the ladder would break down without effort.
"Undead?" Sheik asked as he landed next to Link. "They don't look like the creatures the warlocks summons."
Link glanced at Sheik for a moment, acknowledging his presence. "Stalfos?" Link asked and Sheik just nodded. "Once Saria told me they are almost the same. But Stalfos are made of real people that either died or got corrupted. These are Stalchild, they are made of very angry spirits. Normally they only appear as children's nightmares."
"Nightmares?" Sheik raised an eyebrow. "They look very real to me."
"I explained it wrong…" Link replied with a small shaking of his head. "It's just that Saria told me that they are like a scary monster for kids. So, they manifest on the word because of their fear."
Now it dawned on Sheik why these creatures are here. Seeing as the Kokiri Village is desolated, something horrible enough has happened to them, something to push a child to the deeps of terror.
"Why are they trying to climb to that house?" Sheik asked without much thought, still musing why the little creatures haven't turned to attack them yet.
Blue eyes focused on the monsters, a few quick thoughts running through the hero's head. "They are attracted to the feeling of fear or despair." He then raised his glance to the open door of his house. "Someone must be feeding it to them!"
Giving just that as an explanation, Link ran down the slope and aimed his Hookshot up to the hard wall of his house, quickly pulling himself up there.
With a spark of hope flaring up in his chest, Link rushed inside his house, ready to embrace whoever is in here.
But this spark easily disappeared when he found the deceased form of a Kokiri curled up on his bed.
A pained hush of breath escaped his lips as Link moved closer to the small skeleton. Whoever this was, they climbed on his house and tried to hide in here. Curling against their legs, just wanting on Link's bed.
Whoever this Kokiri was, they stood here. Surrounded by the sound of those creatures down the ladder, surrounded by fear and loneliness. As absurd as it may sound in Link's head, he knows this Kokiri died in here alone and waiting for someone to save them. They just stood in place and died in this horrible place.
Moving closer to the bed, Link heard the soft steps of Sheik entering the house.
And with a will of its own, his mouth opened and his voice flew. "T-This is my home… my actual house." He placed one knee against the hard surface, moving closer to press a cautious touch on his dead brethren. "My last day in here was filled with fear and also excitement. I had a nightmare about Ganondorf and then… Navi came to wake me up."
Sheik walked closer, still keeping a bit of distance, enough to let Link vent out his thoughts.
"Every Kokiri had a fairy… every one but me." Link's lips began to quiver with each word, the young hero doing his best to remain calm. "They made fun of me because of it… Some days I felt angry at them… for keeping me away, for treating me like a stranger… But I would never, never… wish them dead."
His hand slowly reached to the old and very battered green headband resting on the bed. "This one was a girl…" Link explained, pressing a firm touch on the rough fabric. As he grazed and slid his fingers against the dirt and dust on it, Link noticed the faint pattern of a lily embroidered right in the middle. "Fado…?"
Sheik watched as Link became stiff solid. The tall blond didn't say anything else, nor did he make a motion to move. He only stood there gazing down at the poor Kokiri that died on his bed. Feeling as if someone had punched him in the gut, Sheik averted his gaze away, the sight of Link in such distress making him unable to gaze at the blond.
With his attention brought to a boring and unimportant corner of the small house, Sheik was able to sense the shift happening outside. The ever-constant sound of scratches and rattling of bones ceased for a moment and then the rattling became erratic and quickly started to fade away as if leaving to be somewhere else.
Growing curious about the commotion, Sheik turned to the exit and glanced outside. Then he saw the group of Stalchild running awkwardly up the road, then turning right and still going in a strange urgency.
Before the Sheikah could raise any thought about it, he felt a swift gust passing right beside him, forcing him to the side harshly. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a green blur jumping down from the platform and landing below with a harsh loud noise.
Gathering his bearings, Sheik ran to the edge of the platform outside Link's house, only to see Link running very fast after the group of Stalchild; with one hand primed and ready at the handle of the Master Sword.
From this tall point of view, Sheik saw as Link cleaved the first monster with one quick and powerful slash. The motion of his arm had so much force and momentum that it splattered the crushed bones everywhere after the impact.
A flicker of light appeared on the handle of the sword, trickling down to the rest of the blade, and soon engulfing the entire weapon in holy golden and azure light.
Feeling once more the rush of dread on his chest, Sheik jumped down from the platform and ran after Link. When he finally reached the top end of the slope, he saw Link completely destroy the second Stalchild with one blow, as the weapon was completely infused with magic, not one bit of the monster's bones survived the attack, all of it simply turned into a mess of ash and dust.
Running hastily after them, Sheik saw the last monster flee into an entrance to a deeper area of the village. The creature bounced and awkwardly tackled against raising Deku Babas coming from the ground.
The flowery monsters mostly ignored the small skeleton, allowing it to run without much problem into the other area. But as Link got closer, every single one of the Deku Babas turned their attention to Link and poised ready to attack the blond.
However, Link showed no signs of stopping or even caring about the more than ten creatures standing in his way. The tall blond just dashed forward with his sword in hand, slashing and tearing everything in his path, cutting down each Deku Baba with so much strength that their skulls or most commonly known, their Deku Nuts, went flying against the wall and exploding in an overwhelming burst of light.
Shielding his eyes, Sheik ventured into the passage, dodging the remains of destroyed Deku Baba left and right, going only with his instincts to follow Link into this sudden madness.
Only after the last pop of Deku Nut exploding against the wall echoed in the passage, that Sheik opened his eyes and then saw as Link jumped onto the last Stalchild and cleaved the creature in two; a wave of magical power overflowing from the ground, destroying the skeleton monster.
Having vanquished the last of his foes, Link fell to his knees, letting go of his sword that just slid down further inside the gloomy large grove.
"Link?" Sheik called out to him after reaching the inner sanctum of the deceased Great Deku Tree. "Talk to me. Link, please…" He stepped closer, pressing one firm hand on the other blonde's broad shoulder. But Link made no motion or gave no reply, it felt as if he hasn't even felt the touch of Sheik's hand.
"My fault… it's all my fault…" Link whispered coldly, his lips quivering even more than before. "Everyone is dead… Fado, Saria… Navi… Even Mido… It's all my fault."
Sheik crouched next to Link, enveloping the Hero from behind in a firm embrace. "Stop this. No amount of self-loathing is going to fix this. Nothing that happened is your fault."
Again, Link didn't do anything to reply to Sheik's presence. Instead, he just kept gazing down at his hands. "My… fault… If I just had killed him." His voice became colder, ringing even more hollow at the mention of killing someone. "That night, if I wasn't so weak. If I just had enough strength to destroy that bastard..."
"Link, please… stop this." Feeling slightly desperate, Sheik shuffled on the grass, slowly moving to get in front of Link and raise his chin.
As his fingers pressed against the soft and warm skin of his partner and pressed lifting touch, every hair of his body stood up with a jolt, a striking chill that startled the very soul of the young Sheikah.
When he lifted Link's face to look at him, he saw the once very bright blue pair of eyes slowing shifting in color, getting a fiery tone, a darker tone.
"I will kill him…" The chant echoed in Link's lips yet again. "Kill him… Ganondorf…"
Right then Link's beautiful azure eyes turned into a shining scarlet red, burning with anger and hatred. The same color and emotion that a few days ago Sheik saw in the eyes of Link's shadow. Pulling a little bit away, Sheik noticed the tip of Link's beautiful sunny blond hair turning cold in tone, a few locks gradually turning into a snowy white blond.
"Link! Link!" Sheik grabbed the Hero by the shoulders and began to shake him, trying in desperation to wake him up from his dark trance. "Link, you are scaring me. Please, talk to me."
No reply again.
Link's unfocused gaze just kept staring nowhere, his thoughts muffled in a turmoil that is trying to overtake his very essence.
This situation, this state Link is in, terrifies Sheik. It feels as if he is hollow; if he has broken and what made Link the person he has become is slowly fading away in favor of unfamiliar and alien anger.
Pulling Link close into another hug, Sheik buried his face against the left side of Link's neck. "Please… don't do this. Link, just come back to me."
The sacred grove, which for so long has fallen into a cacophony of depressing silence, shares a small hint of life at the presence of the pair's despair.
From the side, deep within the forest, a faint cricket rings in the air. Normally is not much, just the sound of wildlife existing in the woods. But in this place, such an insignificant and small thing are the hints of miracles.
To the right, from the dirty pound of water, the croaking of a toad comes afloat. Then another cricket, followed by the groan of an impatient frog. Following the mismatched duet of those two inhabitants of the forest, a soothing wave of noises floods the area.
Birds chirping and cuckooing, the howl of a wolf far far in the distance.
Taken away from his distress by the sudden change around them, Sheik pulls his head back and glances at the tall trees on the side. In there he notices a few orbs circling, dancing, and bouncing without a care in the world.
As the animals sing in their various tunes, the grove adopts a light and comforting aura. From within the dried leaves above, a soft and solitary tune of a flute sings in the air.
Crickets, chirps, croaks and all, every noise echoing around stops as if now they are just an audience to the lonely flute that played from above.
Then a soothing harp let a few strings chant in a melody.
For a few long seconds, there was only silence again in the grove. No animals or musical tunes flying in the air. But before Sheik could shake himself away from the sudden surprise, a soft gush of wind rushed to the sea of leaves above, carrying them to the side and then bringing them down.
As the first dried leaf touched the grass, the flute from before started anew. This time quickly followed by the soothing melody of the harp. Together they began a beautiful song that carried the spirit of spring in each tune played.
From the side, every little spirit in the form of an orb came floating from behind the trees. Curious in their nature, the spirits overflow into the grove, dancing and bouncing happily.
Little by little this magical symphony reached its peak, by now, faint little voices started to hum and sing together, following after the tunes of the flute and harp, making a small festival of their own.
Influenced by their happiness, the spirits carefully began to circle Sheik and Link, all the while singing in a choir. A harmless vortex of wind formed around the two of them, carrying leaves, lights, and energy in a melodic rhyme.
Then, as the last string of the harp played out and one last note came from the flute, the warm magical energy forming around them disappeared.
Sharing ghostly giggles between themselves, the small spirits floated everywhere, hurrying back to the deep heart of the forest from where they came from.
Still confused and frozen in place by what he witnessed, Sheik only recovered his senses when Link stirred in his arms and raised his head to look at him.
"S-Sheik…?" Link asked slightly confused. He looked at Sheik, his big blue eyes are still a bit glossy from his jumbling thoughts.
Noticing as Link's eyes returned to their beautiful azure color, Sheik pulled his partner into another hug, letting out a sigh of relief. "You are back! Thank the Goddesses, you are back. That was so scary… I thought I would lose you."
"Back?" Link said back still a bit groggy. "Back from where?"
"Link." A third voice sounded out before Sheik could reply to Link's question.
Both blondes detached themselves from each other and glanced around searching for this new voice.
First, Link brought his gaze to the giant ancient tree ahead of them. A faint pull of guilty at his chest. "Great Deku Tree? Is this you?" He asked, hoping that the old protector would reply with his booming kind voice. But the giant tree stood still, reminding the blond that this in front of him is just a lifeless husk.
"Over here, Link." The voice sounded out again, this time accompanied by a small strange noise as something round sprouted out from the ground. "Oof, about time I came out of the ground… Oh, yeah. I've been expecting you, Link, Hero of Time."
Frowning down at the chubby brown thing, Link got up to his feet and crossed his arms. "And what are you?"
The small tree smiled with its large mouth. "I am the Great Deku Sprout!" He announced with grandeur.
"A What?!" Link's confusion loudly echoed around the green garden.
A hunch, it was a hunch that made Link believe that he would not die last night.
Looking down at his open wounds and his bloodied tunic, he still felt like his time on Hyrule wasn't yet over.
And this feeling proved to be very much real. Seeing as he woke up in the same spot, he fell unconscious the night before, clothes still sticky and moderately wet.
But at the moment, he very much wishes to be dead.
At least dead enough to not feel his aching wounds, which are hurting like someone keeps putting his body on fire.
Moving his arms in a stiff and pained effort, the blond inspected his chest and abdomen, mostly grazing the tip of his fingers over his wounds. To his not so big surprise, the previously ugly open gashes are now mostly closed or at least mended enough to look only like an aggravated red line on his pale skin.
"If you can heal this crap… you could at least put me back into shape." He spat with a coarse voice, looking down to the back of his right hand. Putting a whole lot of effort in his voice and glare, Link tried to convey his hostility toward the sleeping golden mark on his skin.
He got not even a small tingle or spark as a reply from the godly artifact buried deep within his being.
"Useless…" Link groaned, tossing his right hand to the ground, letting his eyes wander around the now very visible surrounding of the small thicket area.
To his side, less than a few paces away, Epona is still laying down in rest but her eyes are open and ever vigilant around them.
A soft smile graced Link's lips. After being thrust into this world by himself and to survive only with himself, the disgraced Hero has found company and solace with a horse.
No, not just a horse. He found a small place of comfort with a genuine caring creature, a very smart one at that.
Watching secretly his new friend behavior, Link noticed Epona raising her head sharply, focusing her attention on a very specific spot behind the tree lines.
"What's up girl? Something got your attention?" Link asked softly and then hissed loudly in pain, forcing him to grind his back against the hard surface of a tree.
Taking a small glance to the side after hearing Link's pained reaction, Epona looked back to the trees and made a low but firm noise. She then stood up and lowered her head enough to sniff the grass and then shake her head, tapping her left front hoof on the ground.
"Seriously…. Agh! Dammit…" Rolling slightly to the side, Link reached for his sword that is resting on the grass. Doing an exhausting effort to grip and raise the weapon, he turned his attention back to where Epona is staring and just waited.
Without Epona's hints, Link wouldn't be able to piece together the pieces of this little puzzle, but after putting his wavering focus on that specific area, it became all too easy to perceive.
Being surrounded by nature and so close to a large body of water, the sounds of wildness are everywhere around them. Frogs, crickets, birds, and whatnot. Every type of sound one can expect when sleeping out in the woods.
However, there is one place where these noises are not coming from. A slightly wide-angle just ahead, within the tree lines. It feels too quiet and vacant, despite everything else going around.
Letting out a curse in a whisper, Link mustered his trembling arm up, properly poising his sword toward this line. "Dunno who you are, but your ability to conceal your presence is garbage." He said loudly, still maintaining his weapon poised, despite how shaky it looked. "Oh, please don't let me discourage your shoddy job. It's not like I don't have the entire day to admire it."
As correctly predicted by Link, soon enough the sound of steps started from behind the trees. Didn't take long for two silhouettes to slide from behind the shadows, his gaze instantly going to the glint of sunlight shining at the pristine surface of a curved blade.
Two strangers intruded into the small clearing.
To the left is a slim Hylian man holding a sharp dagger in his right hand. He is wearing a worn-out leather chest armor with a dark green shirt underneath and a pair of grey trousers. His hair is short, brown, and messy; his face is very average looking, not ugly but also not handsome by any means. Those dark grey eyes of his carry a wary look on them, but also a hint of concern that is barely concealed in the failed attempt of menacing glare he is doing.
At his side, walks a tall and lean dark-skinned woman. Her hair is fiery red, her muscles are toned and battle-proof, as hinted by the scars present on her naked arms. She is wearing a slightly similar attire to her companion, minus the chest armor, going instead only with the dark green shirt, but hers have the sleeves cut in an uneven form, mostly made hastily by a short blade. Her eyes are golden-yellow; they are also sharp, menacing, and alluring, like most Gerudo warriors.
"You think he is the one?" The man asked, giving an unsure glance to his partner.
The Gerudo woman gave Link an appraising look and then let out a soft whistle. "Probably." She replied her partner before taking a few steps forward. "Stranger, I'm surprised you managed to spot us. We've been evading the Legion's watch for years now, and we are the best at it."
An involuntary snort escaped Link, making the woman frown at him. "The best? I would politely but heavily disagree with that. But then again, to a simpleton, it would be very hard to spot the small differences."
"Look Lars, a cocky one. Why I am not surprised that he is laying on a mess of his own blood?" She said with a mocking grin.
The man, Lars, took an unsure step forward and nodded at Link. "Nova, let's just do like the Boss asked us to do and be done with this."
Link laughed. A slow and disheartened one. "Sure…" He groaned in pain, forcing his body against the tree to gain enough support to stand up. "Let's do this…" Taking his left hand to the handle of his weapon, Link tried to stead his grip.
His scarlet eyes glanced at both individuals, a flash of hunger appearing in their glint.
"Woah, woah, easy there, champ!" The Gerudo called Nova quickly raised her hands in the air, her twin curved blades swinging in the motion. "We are not here to fight you. Not if you don't give us any reason to."
Her words didn't convince the tall pale warrior, but they were enough to make him pause and give them a searching look.
"Yeah! We came here at the Boss's request!" Lars quickly jumped forward to stand next to Nova. "We heard about the fight that happened in Lon Lon Ranch last night. That got our attention, even more of our boss."
"Normally we would snoop around any place the Black Legion is having trouble at, but when we heard that a single man did all that carnage…" A sounding whistle escaped Nova's lips as she continued to watch Link's poised form. "That really got our attention."
"Is that so…?" Link considered their words, still pointing his weapon at them. "And what interest would you have in that? Or perhaps a better question. Who in the blazing hells is this 'Boss'?"
"My name is Lars, this one here is Novaahli." As Lars offered their names, Nova gave Link a playful wink. "W-We are a group of people trying to fight this oppression on our own terms!" Lars said with enthusiasm. "The Boss is our leader, well, is because of him that we got to do anything at the start of all this mess."
Nova nodded, letting out a hum. "Ganondorf and his minions left Hyrule broken. Hyrule and its people. Our Boss is someone that managed to remain whole through all of this. We followed his lead and now we ran a small guerrilla war against the Legion."
"Raids on their supplies, sabotage in some of their small operation, and rescue of prisoners. Our goal is to undermine the Legion as best as we can so that we can someday have the hope of driving them out from our home." Despite showing a bit of cowardice in his posture and mannerism before, Lars grew bolder and more sure of himself as he spoke of his group.
Feeling that his arms are ready to fall off if he keeps putting pressure on them, Link allowed his members to slide down.
Both Lars and Nova let out a sigh of relief when the dark sword shifted its sharp edge to the grass instead of being trained at them.
Leaning back against the tree, Link tried to get a fraction of his energy back, his eyes going away from the two newcomers. "Beautiful story, lovely motivations. But I don't get why any of this would be of my concern."
"The Boss wants to meet you." Lars said back.
"As we said before, our Boss is interested in you." Nova added with a little smirk. "Anyone capable of dismantling an entire battalion of those tin heads would be a very big asset to the team."
Team…
That word almost feels like a mockery to Link. One that deeply annoys him.
"Not interested in your team or in anything you are selling." He dismissed them with the wave of a hand.
Letting out a harsh grunt, Link forced his arm up to sheath his weapon. He then took a long breath and pushed himself away from the tree, training wobbly steps towards Epona.
"Hey, hey! Just hear us out, okay?" Nova rushed towards him, earning a warning glare from the blond. "Look, to me you are ready to collapse and die, probably from the wounds that stained your tunic with so much blood. Just come with us. Our camp is not that far.
Lars moved closer as well, putting away his dagger and raising his hands to show his intentions. "We have a good medic with us. She can patch you up and in exchange, you hear us out. That sounds like a good deal to me, whatcha say?"
Link maintained his glare for a few moments, trying to scare the pair away with just a mean look. The guy looks cowardly enough to fall for that, but that hopeful glint in his eyes shows that he isn't too keen on running with his tail between his legs.
The Gerudo isn't scared at all, despite her wary stance, she doesn't look very afraid of Link. Something that is mildly grating on his nerves. Well, is not like he is in any condition to feel threatening to anyone.
Reaching Epona, Link brushed her mane with one hand, giving a few soft taps on her shoulder. "What you think girl? Should we trust those chumps?"
Lars frowned at the insult, but Nova just chuckled, giving her companion a small shrug.
Epona looked at Link and softly tackled his chest with her forehead, letting out a low sound as her reply.
"Trusting a horse to judge people's characters…" Link sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned his head against Epona's body. "Fine… I will go with you. Try anything weird, and I kill you."
Lars grew properly pale and distressed, a dry gulp sliding down his throat. Nova, on the other hand, shook her head but put her blades away, giving Link a curt nod.
"Come on then. The Boss is anxious to meet with the Legion's bane." Nova said with a smirk. "Need any help getting on the horse's back?"
Link didn't dignify her offer with a reply, instead, he just pulled himself up to the saddle. Groaning and hurting, but with his pride properly intact.
It took the mysterious little Great Deku Sprout more than a few minutes to get Link to just sit and listen. A great feat, considering how over-energetic and talkative the young Hero is.
At the beginning of their chat, Link questioned everything the round tree tried to explain to him. Noting that he watched the Great Deku Tree die, the ancient being himself shared his goodbye before feeling its life force slip away.
But after sharing more than a few things that only the Great Tree itself could know, Link finally relented and accepted that the fatherly figure of the Kokiri has been reborn in the little friend sticking out from the ground.
After letting go of his stubbornness, the blond got hit with a wave of guilt and regret. Feeling the hot prick of tears in his eyes, Link asked for forgiveness, for failing to save the mighty guardian from its demise seven years ago.
"Please, young Link, there is no need to ask forgiveness." The little tree said with a high-pitched tone, which is such a bizarre contrast to the way it carries his words. "My fate went as foretold many, many years ago. However, thanks to your efforts I was able to rejoin this world in a new life."
"But… Deku Tre—Sprout… The Kokiri, I… I…" Link's gaze drifted down. He bit his lower lip to contain his building grief.
A soft expression appeared on the small tree's semblance. "What befell the Kokiri… it was a tragedy. One that falls on my back. For so long I've protected the spirited Kokiri children, always shielding them from the evil of this world… But never preparing them for the time when I left this plane. Such a tragedy… Hyrule is a lesser place by losing the Kokiri."
"Not every Kokiri." Link said back with a steady determination. "For as long as I live, the Kokiri will remain."
"A respectful wish to guard in your heart, young Link." The Deku Sprout said with an approving nod. "However, as much as you can carry the will of the young Kokiri. You are not one of them."
A small period of silence followed the tree's declaration. One where Link frowned at the Sprout and then gave Sheik a confused small glance. "Of course I am!" Link said back with resentment toward those words. "I know it took a little longer for me to gain my fairy, and… and I failed Navi too. But I am just as much of a Kokiri as Mido or anyone else was!"
At this moment, it dawned on Sheik that Link was never joking or even trying to be funny with his comments about the Kokiri. The Hero truly believe that he was one of the Kokiri children, but that would never be possible.
"Link…" Sheik pressed a soft touch on Link's arm, sharing comfort through this bond they have built over their brief time together.
"No, young Link. You were never a Kokiri. Though raised as one since a very early age, your spirit never belonged to the forest." Pulling itself a little bit more from beneath the ground, The Great Deku Sprout posed in a more comfortable position, letting its gaze wander and lose itself in contemplation. "Like the young woman that once sought refuge within the cursed Lost Woods, you are a Hylian. This young woman tried to flee the raging war tearing Hyrule apart, but in her journey, she got fatally wounded. Still, despite her waning grip on life, she managed to make her way to this very place. Carrying a baby in her arms."
"A… baby?" Link slumped back, only staying sit because of the support of his arms that are lying against the ground.
"That young woman gave her life to save that baby, to save you, young Link." Said the Deku Sprout with a solemn voice. "She was your mother."
"Mother… I… I had a mother?!" Link looked back at Sheik, the red-eyed blond offering him a supportive small smile. "This war. I thought it only began with Ganondorf's rise to power. I remember, seven years ago, everything was fine and not… horrible."
"Wrong you are not, young Link. At least, not about the start of the war we found ourselves pulled in at the present." Explained the Sprout. "However, Hyrule has a dark… horrible past. One that is just as grim and horrible as Ganondorf's evil reign." Now, the small tree gave a small glance toward Sheik, extending a small wave of sympathy to the young blond Sheikah as well. "A civil war that to this day still blemishes our history. Hyrule's legacy."
Steeling himself from his shock, Link eyed the round little tree with a look of pure resolve. "Please… tell me everything."
"As you wish, young Link… as you wish."
"So… just let's stop here for a little moment." Lars offered, pausing their stroll in the middle of nowhere in close to the rocky walls around Hylia Lake.
Link, still riding on top of Epona, pulled her reins in as to not trample over the brown-haired man that suddenly stopped in front of him. "Right here?" The blond asked, giving Lars a watchful glare.
"Don't get your breeches into a knot, handsome." Nova quipped from beside Epona, pulling a small rugged piece of cloth from her pants. "We just need you to put this on your eyes for a while. You know, in case you don't agree to join us, we need to make sure that you don't know exactly where we hit the sack."
While he casually accepted the cloth Nova offered him, Link didn't rush to close his eyes. Noting his hesitation, Nova reached over to the reigns in his hand and moved in front of Epona.
"Seriously, don't get so paranoid with us. Just let me guide your horse inside our camp, then you can take the blindfold off." Resting one hand on her waist, she patiently waited for Link to comply, raising one eyebrow at him when the blond just stood there glaring at her.
A coarse grunt escaped the blond lips, his frown only worsening. "Fine… but if you try-"
"You kill us, yeah, yeah. Just put the stupid blindfold, please." Nova cut his grunting in the middle, rolling her eyes at the man's annoying suspicion.
Another growl escaped Link, but he finally complied with the blindfold. Leaving Lars to wonder if they are dragging some kind of animal into their base with how much groaning and growling the tall blond has been throwing at them.
Having his eyesight blocked, made Link concentrate a whole lot on his hearing and surroundings. This made him notice quite a few things; how the sound of Epona's hoof pressing on the ground went from soft and mostly silent, to crunchy and heavy. How the air gracing his nose went from fresh and warm from the high sun to a moister and colder one.
'A secret cave…' Link thought to himself. 'I don't recall seeing an opening at the side of the mountain in Hylia Lake. How did they conceal it?'
"Feeling comfy in there, hot stuff?" He heard Nova's voice from ahead, he also noticed how echoey she sounded.
"Nova… can you please stop flirting/taunting the man who killed a full battalion of soldiers?" Lars' voice echoed a bit further ahead, the man gladly getting his distance from Link.
After hearing a simple giggle from the Gerudo woman, who probably shrugged at her companion's words, Link was fighting the urge to pull his blindfold away and spy on whatever is happening inside this place.
But something held his hand, either be a sense of righteousness on his non-verbal promise to keep his eyes close or how much it hurts to raise his hand to his head.
As Link debated this little thought in his head with a little grin playing on his lips, Epona stopped in her stride and Nova's voice soon echoed out.
"Okay, pretty boy. You can take that silly cloth off your eyes again."
A groan escaped his lips as he pulled the thing from his head, untying the knot at the back of his head.
Blinking a few times to adjust his vision to the weird-illuminated cave, he noticed past his blurry gaze the standing of a small camp; three large tents, one smaller to the back, a various number of boxes sitting to the side, and a burning campfire resting right in the middle.
Slowly his vision regains its full capacity, allowing him to properly notice the seven figures standing around the camp.
Being the two closest to him, Lars and Nova approached the rest of the group, deferring their attention to the tall and muscular Zora standing as the tallest of them all.
"Job's done, Boss." Nova said with a grin.
Lars nodded and pointed at Link. "We found the guy who made that mess in Ingo's place."
At the mention of Lon Lon Ranch, a young man with light-red hair perked and glanced at the newcomer. With one glance at him and the horse, she gasped and dropped a small box she was holding in her hands.
"E-Epona?!"
"Malon..." The tall Zora glanced at her with a little frown, his look being enough to push the girl to hold her thoughts to a later time. After receiving an understanding nod from her, he smiled softly in appreciation and turned his full attention to Link. "I heard quite the tale coming from Ingo's palace." A low growl bounced on his throat. "That conniving rat deserves a lot worse, but your little show was enough to scare the pants out of him."
"Not my first choice…" Link replied simply. Giving the Zora one firm glare, testing if he would recoil away, which he didn't; Link jumped down from Epona and walked forward. "You know the horse?" He said, looking at the red-haired girl.
Shaking his head slowly, the Zora man walked in front of her, forcing Link's gaze onto him. "Not so fast, stranger. First, you deal with me, then you can chat with the rest of the crew. Is that understood?"
Link shrugged.
"Good enough…" Stalking forward, the Zora stood face to face with Link, watching him closely before pushing his right hand to the blond. "I've been looking forward to meeting you, guy who made the Legion shit in their pants. To this band of ruffians, I am the Boss. But you can call me El'Azul."
The name, El'Azul, hearing it made Link's brow furrow. Something that the Zora noticed and frowned at him for it. Before his silence could aggravate the man any more, Link pushed his hand forward, to accept the firm handshake waiting for him.
"Not so sure if it will be nice to meet you, but the name is Link."
Once again, a small gasp came from someone standing in the back, this time it didn't sound like it came from a girl. As Link tried to lean to the side and search who felt surprised by his name, El'Azul leaned with him and presented a rugged grin.
"Hah! A hard-ass. Something tells me that we will get along splendidly." Walking around Link, the Zora slapped him on the shoulder, to push him towards the campfire.
A loud groan escaped Link, who bit his lips at the pain echoing around his body. But even still he followed the Zora towards a pair of low dirty logs servings as seats close to the fire.
"So, that's how this is going to play out, Link. I will ask you a few questions on the hows and the whys you would make a ruckus right into Ganondorf's backyard and then I will explain what we do, why we do it, and how we," He stopped to point at Link and then back at himself. "can help each other."
For a split second Link almost gave in to the urge to roll his eyes back onto their sockets. While he was prepared for a lot of things, including fighting for his life to get out, he is not in the mood for a job interview.
"Your turf, your rules… Boss." Link replied with a little grin, making the Zora grin back at him.
"See, we are already getting along." El'Azul winked at him, then took a seat on the low stool. Presenting the other one to Link.
Folding his arms, Link casually dropped on the stool, letting his gaze wander to the crackling wood burning in the campfire.
Doing this mostly out of defiance or just indifference towards the group, Link found himself strangely fascinated by the wavering light of the fire.
It calls to him. Beckoning his attention, bewitching his thoughts and sense of self.
Then every sound inside the cave ceases to be. No more voices whispering about him, no more dripping of water coming from the ceiling. Even El'Azul's low breathing sounds are vacant, not a sound but the low and ever-increasing thumps of drums.
Thump… Thump… Thump…
'You are not a Kokiri, Link…'
Thump… Thump… Thump…
'No one… not one of them… not one of us…'
Thump… Thump… Thump…
'Feel it crawling on your back… Hyrule's Legacy… Your Sins …'
Thump… Thump…
"Hey!" El'Azul's voice finally broke Link's trace away, snapping the blonde's head to him. "Are you okay there, buddy?" The tall Zora wearing a concerned look pointed one finger at Link's face.
Taking one hand to his cheek, Link noticed the moist texture of tears. Glancing down at the wet spot on his fingers, Link frowned in confusion. "What the…" His eyes then widened in surprise but also in understanding. 'After so long… you've started to grow up, huh? About time… buffoon.' Furiously wiping the tears away from his face, Link glared at El'Azul and growled. "I am fine. Let's start with the stupid interrogation, shall we?"
When Sheik and Link got around to make their way back to their camp, morning had already broken, the bright sun of dawn shining its light on their pathless road.
As they approached the first tents and hints of civilization, the young hero quickly discovered that the people in the camp are still riding on the high of his duel against the good General, and with his absence to quell their praises and ogling eyes, the otherwise very bored refugees took their time to gossip and make embellishment to the tale of said friendly battle.
After the first pair of appraising fans came rushing towards him, Link cringed away and sought a place to hide behind the large trees at the edge of camp.
Having Sheik following him as his shadow, Link walked aimlessly until he arrived at the small lake that Zelda's expedition uses to gather clean water.
Silently looking for a proper place to rest, Link slid down against the moist trunk of a tree, plopping his backside on the grass without caring that it would wet his leggings.
Standing close to him, Sheik watched Link just sit there with a blank look in his eyes. He expected Link to yell, trash and fight; he expected a whole lot out of the spitfire blond that always tried to clash head-on against things.
But to see his partner so quiet and calm, just made him uncomfortable. "In times like this, people's wisdom says that we should share our grief with our loved ones," Sheik suggested softly, placing a caring touch on Link's hair. "Everything we heard there… what that little tree said. Link, if you want to talk about it."
Link looked down and shook his head.
"Do you… do you want to be alone for now?" Sheik asked, hoping that Link would say no.
Regretfully, Link nodded quickly, chewing on his lips to try and contain himself. However, from the place where Sheik stands, he can see the already long line of tears running down Link's cheeks.
"Okay. I get it, Link. Sometimes, we just have to sort some things by ourselves." Sheik replied, even if the words are hurting him as they escape his lips. "When you feel like talking, I'll be there for you, okay?"
Link nodded again.
Sheik turned to leave, his feet getting stuck in place after the first two steps, showing a stubbornness of their own. "Link… I will always be there for you." Feeling as if he had done what he could for his lover, Sheik let out a resigned sigh and began to walk again.
"S-Sheik." Link called with a shaky voice, making Sheik stop and glance at him. The tall blond, starting to fold against his legs, hugging his knees, swallowed down a sob. "Thank you."