A Link to the Past

Chapter Eight: A Wanted Man

Now, Link had known that there could probably be consequences for helping Princess Zelda escape from the castle, namely getting himself killed in the process, but other than that the young man had imagined that somehow things would mostly be the same around Hyrule once she was free of Agahnim. However, becoming a wanted man with a five hundred rupee price on his head was not something he expected, and after seeing more guards putting up those same wooden signs on different roads, Link wondered how he was going to find this mysterious village elder if everyone in the village would be on the lookout for him.

They wouldn't understand, most of the people being so loyal to their King that they wouldn't listen to the lies of anyone branded a traitor, or… well, maybe a few of them would. The only thing that was certain as the young man approached the village limits was that he was going to have to be very careful about who he approached, and… and he was going to have to do something to hide his face. Stealing another suit of armor wasn't an option, since now in daylight the other guards would be able to spot him easily, even if the common people were fooled, and it was too dangerous to go back home for the time being to find a cloak or something to put over his head… so what was he going to do?

Maybe one of his friends in the village could lend him something, so long as they weren't tempted by the prospect of five hundred rupees… yeah… sure. Well, what if the young man risked going into the store? If Link kept his head down and didn't talk too much, maybe the shopkeeper wouldn't recognize him, but then again he was the nephew of the Lord Sheriff, and his uncle had always insisted on both of them knowing everyone in the area… and what a load of good that was doing the young man now. For just a moment the thought of stealing something off a clothes line occurred, but being a thief wouldn't exactly help him convince people that he was innocent, and now the village limits were in sight.

Thankfully, the village elder's house was in the northmost part of town, at least according to what the Sage told him, so it wasn't like he had to pass by every single house in order to get there. Weather was also working to Link's advantage, since even though it had been raining for several days already, most people didn't want to linger out in the falling water any more than they already had to, such as going right from the house to the barn or wherever their daily chores were located, and then right back again. As the young man suspected, there were small patrols of guards moving down the village streets and between houses, probably hoping to encounter him by chance, but for now those were easy enough to avoid once he passed underneath the wooden archway with a hanging sign that read:

KAKARIKO VILLAGE

There was no more natural cover for Link to hide behind now, since almost all of the trees had been cleared out for the cottages and cobblestone streets, and the young man was sure that he looked pretty suspicious as he skirted along the nearest building to avoid being seen by one of the guard patrols. Good thing for him that this particular house was also the one where the Sage told him that Sahasrahla lived, so as soon as the armored men were far enough away, Link came out of cover, rounded to the front of the house, and knocked on the wooden door. Anxiety was building as he waited, knocking a second time when no one answered at first… was nobody home? Would the guards spot him at any second now?

Just when the young man was about to give up and run back around the building for cover, there was a click as the door unlocked, and it opened to reveal an old woman who looked like she had just been woken up from her nap. She looked confused at first, her whole expression changing from startled to confused, clearly having been expecting to see someone else, but then Link remembered that the guards had been out looking for the same old man he was for at least all of last night, so she had probably been bothered several times if this was the right house. So he apologized for bothering her, before asking a bit urgently if he could come in.

"By all means, yes." The old woman answered after looking outside to see that it was still raining. "You'll catch death of cold running around outside in this weather."

"Thank you." The young man said, grateful to be stepping into someplace dry. "I don't know if we ever met before, but I'm Link, the Lord Sheriff's nephew. I need to speak with Sahasrahla, urgently… can you tell me where he is, or if I'm even at the right house?"

She knew who he was, and adding that she couldn't tell him anything that she hadn't already told to the ten different guards who banged on the door at all hours of the night; only that she didn't know what everyone suddenly wanted with the reclusive village elder, nor where he was. Well, this was discouraging, Link thought, if this old woman thought he was with the guards working for Agahnim, a logical assumption given who he was, then there was no way she was going to tell him anything. On the other hand, if the young man proved that he wasn't working with them by informing her of his own status as a wanted man, then… what would she do? Would she call the guards?

It was a gamble, to be sure, but if she was the type to just hand him over, then why hadn't she been more cooperative about helping them find Sahasrahla? Link supposed that if she really didn't know anything and called the guards on him, then he could just run away and be no worse off than before, so the young man decided to risk everything and tell the old woman what was going on. Everything from Agahnim taking over the castle, to the Lord Sheriff's death, and how he himself was accused of treason for helping Princess Zelda escape from the dungeon… and making sure to add how everyone else brought to the castle in the last week had disappeared, as would the elder if the armored men found him first.

"Good heavens." The old woman finally said after a very long silence. "It's like the days of Ganondorf all over again… I was just a girl then, we lived in Port Hylia up in what used to be called the Southern Outskirts. My father locked us all in the house while that beast and his creatures tore through the whole province searching for a missing Princess… when he had her locked up in his fortress the whole time."

"I know that story." Link replied. "My grandfather defeated Ganondorf and rescued the Princess… just like how I'm trying to save one from Agahnim now."

The old woman sighed heavily, turning to look out the windows before saying simply that the young man could find what he was looking for at the library, but that if any guards went with him or if all this was some kind of trick, then the village elder would vanish for years without a trace. The good news was that Link wasn't about to team up with any guards anytime soon, but the only library in town was a small place that just so happened to be all the way at the southern end of the village, so unless the young man wanted to go back and circle all the way around from near his own house, he was going to have to pass through the entire village without being spotted.

To make matters worse, the old woman didn't seem to have anything that he could put over himself for a disguise, not unless Link wanted to put on a dress and try to pass himself off as a girl. No, as nice as it felt to dry himself near the nice warm fire, it was only a matter of time before the young man was forced back out into the rain, soaked again after only a few seconds, but now feeling so nervous that he hardly noticed the water at all. It felt like there were eyes on him from everywhere, as if the villagers were watching him through cracks in their windows as he made his way down the cobblestone street and past the statue in the center of town with the bird shaped weathervane.

Was this what it was like for any criminal on the run? Was this how it always felt for someone to hide from the law while trying to… well, trying to do anything at all? If so, then it didn't seem worth it to the young man for anyone to commit a crime, better to just be an honest subject of Hyrule because even if a man was poor, at least he could walk down the street without getting arrested. Sticking to the sides of houses and ducking behind hedges whenever a guard patrol would come by, Link saw another one of those wooden signs with his face on them, before sitting on the ground behind the plants and looking across the street at the largest building in town, which was of course the tavern.

"I wish I could go inside." He said to himself, getting into a crouching position and sneaking off the other direction. "I drink sounds really nice about now."

The young man had friends in the village, not that he dare approach any of them at the moment, although he did consider hiding in the chicken coop of one of the outlying farms, but… but if he was going to hide inside of a building, then he might as well keep going to the library since they were about the same distance from where he was. None of the chickens were outside anyway, so the coop might have been a little crowded, and now Link was at the side of the library. It wasn't so odd for a village to have one, since it also had a store, a blacksmith, and many other things… but what it didn't have right now was a place for him to hide when another guard came around the next corner just as he was getting there.

Holding his breath and pressing against the wall as if trying to become part of it, the young man felt his mouth ran dry as the armored man came fully into view along with another guard. They were walking away, not talking or anything and headed straight toward the south entrance to the village, but Link was done if the two armored men turned back around for any reason at all. Even if the young man defeated them, the old woman had warned him that Sahasrahla would disappear and go into hiding at the first sign of trouble, and the village elder was the only lead he had for finding out what Agahnim was really up to. A knot formed in his stomach when the two stopped walking for a second, but then they kept on going.

A word strong enough to describe the relief he felt as the guards walked away did not exist, but it took Link a minute or so just trying to catch his breath from the strain before he was able to move again. This time, however, the young man took extra time to make sure that no one else was coming around the corner, before scooting around to the next wall where the door to the library, and hopefully the village elder, or at least a clue to his location were waiting for him.