Chapter Seventeen: Ilia and Ralis

Ilia continued to walk through the bar towards the back room, oblivious to the heartbroken young man she had left at the door. Link stood there with his mouth still open, the words he was about to say dying on his lips. How could this be? She looked at him as if she had never seen him before, and there was no way she could have not noticed that it was him standing there, only a few feet away from her as she shouted after Dr. Borville.

"It's all right, sweetie." said the tall Hylian woman as she came around the bar to speak with Ilia. "You did what you can."

"Telma, what can we do now?" Ilia asked, confirming that the woman was indeed the owner of the establishment. "I'm so worried…"

"There's only so much that one person can do, so don't worry your pretty head." She put her arm around Ilia's shoulders. "There's likely somebody that can help that boy. We'll find a way." Ilia looked defeated and nodded, and Telma withdrew her arm and patted her on the back. "Why don't you get yourself something to eat? You've been caring for him all day."

Ilia nodded again, and walked into the kitchen behind the bar. Link could not keep the disappointment and pain from his face as he watched her disappear from sight, feeling so utterly defeated that it sapped all his strength. She didn't know him.

Telma walked up to him as he stood there in the same spot, his wet cloak dripping on the floor, blonde hair damp from the rain. "That girl is sweet and kind, caring for a Zora child even though she knows nothing about him." she said, without any introduction. The bar was empty except for a group of proper soldiers in blue tabards that sat at a table eating their dinner, and they more or less ignored the scene with the doctor.

Link didn't care about them. He didn't care about Telma's friendly smile, or the long-haired brown cat that came to sniff at his wet boots. His heart was broken; Ilia didn't know him.

"She seems to be the kind to worry about others, but not herself." Telma continued, putting her hands on her hips and giving Link a careful look, taking in his downtrodden expression. "She can't even remember her own name, but the boy's needs seem to be more important than her own."

He licked his lips, finding that his mouth had gone dry. "Ilia." he said weakly, his eyes still on the doorway to the kitchen where she had gone. "Her name is Ilia."

The tall woman's expression softened. "You know her, don't you?" she said quietly, so that the group at the table couldn't hear.

Link fumbled for words, unsure of how he could explain it. He didn't just know her. She was the most important thing in his life, the thing that helped him through the past five years. Everything he had done so far wasn't just because he was the hero; he had done it all to make sure she was safe. He watched as Ilia left the kitchen again, holding two bowls in her hands as she retreated into the back room. After she had gone, he snapped out of the spell that her indifference had cast on him. "How…? What happened? Why doesn't she remember me?"

Telma put a hand to his shoulder and guided him to the bar. "Take off that wet cloak and sit down. I'll get you a meal and then we can talk." Her tone and expression reminded him of Renado, someone with genuine concern and kindness for a stranger.

He let himself be led to the empty bar and numbly reached for the pin of his cloak, still stunned. "No, you don't understand. She was injured. Is she still hurt?"

"Injured?" She dropped her hand from his shoulder and raised her eyebrows. "Now I'm concerned. But hold that thought, honey. You're as pale as a Poe and need something in your belly. Wait here." The tall woman made her way around the bar and went through the doorway to the kitchen, leaving him by himself.

He folded and set his wet cloak on an oak bar stool and slid onto the one next to it, numb with disbelief. Did getting shot make her forget everything? Could something worse, something unspeakable have happened to her? A lump formed in his throat at that thought, but he calmed himself. No, getting worked up over it wouldn't change anything. There had to be an explanation for what had happened to Ilia, but he couldn't speculate. He struggled with his emotions, having been ready to tell her how he felt, only to be ignored just as much as he had been as a wolf.

A plate was set down in front of him and he blinked in surprise, drawn back out of his thoughts. Telma had brought him a large slice of roast beef with butter melted on top, and roasted carrots and onions on the side. The sight of it reminded him of how hungry he was, something that both his body and mind had forgotten once Ilia had walked away. It was probably enough food for two plates, but he was hungry enough to eat that amount.

"How old are you?" Telma asked, a metal tankard in her hand as she stood at a tapped keg. "I can see that you're wearing more weapons than those soldiers over there, so I'm going to guess you're a man and not a boy, but you still look awfully young."

"I'm eighteen." he answered quietly, still staring at the food but not eating yet. "Ilia could verify that, if she could remember me…" He groaned and put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the bar. "How could this have happened?" he asked, no longer speaking numbly, turbulent emotions finally catching up with his voice. "I'm happy to see her safe, but what now?" He raised his head from his hands and looked at Telma. "She won't remember her father either, will she? What am I going to tell her father?" Link's voice rose in volume as panic took over in place of disbelief.

"Shh, calm down." She set the tankard down next to the plate, not realizing that he didn't drink often. Then again it was a pub, so the drink choices were probably limited. "Start eating, I promise you'll feel better." He let out a short sigh, and she reached out to pat his arm. "It'll be all right, honey. I'll be back in a moment." She went over to the table full of soldiers to check on them and then went into the back, presumably to where Ilia and Ralis were.

"I know you can't talk to me right now." Midna said quietly for his ears alone. "But I'll be here to talk about this later if you need to. I didn't realize…" she trailed off, considering her words. "I can understand why you're upset now that we're here. I'm sorry, Link."

He picked up the fork and knife as she spoke and began to eat. There was no way for him to reply, but he appreciated Midna's words. Yet she said she didn't realize...what? He hadn't actually told her that much about Ilia, other than she was his best friend. She must have heard him tell Barnes that Ilia was the most important person in the world to him. The thing she hadn't realized was likely that Ilia was far more than a friend to him. The teasing about it made more sense, with that context. She probably wouldn't have poked fun at him if she had realized how he had felt.

The beef was good, and he hadn't had beef in quite a while. It wasn't that they didn't eat beef in in Ordon, it was just far easier to raise cuccos and goats. He realized that this was the first day in a long time that he had eaten meat at all three meals. While meat at every meal was a luxury for many people, he probably should try to eat that way more often considering how much energy he used these days. Telma had said that he looked "as pale as a Poe", and he absently remembered that was the name for the lantern ghosts that were in Kasuto.

He was most of the way through his meal when Telma returned, shutting the bi-fold door to the back room behind her. "All right." she said, standing behind the bar and laying her palms flat on its polished surface. "You feeling a bit better?"

"Yeah, thanks. If anything, eating has made it so I can't talk, and that gives me more time to think through things." He hadn't ordered the food, nor had she asked him what he would like, but she was right about him needing to eat. "A hot meal hits the spot after walking out in the rain, too."

She smiled, and now that he was thinking a bit more clearly he could see that she wore a considerable amount of makeup, and her braided red hair was most likely dyed. Darker-skinned Hylians like her had black or dark brown hair, and although the Gerudo race had dark skin and red hair, Telma's round face was nothing like a Gerudo's. "Roast beef might not fix your problems, but it can make them easier to handle." Telma watched him eat another bite. "Keep eating, you can tell me your story when you're done. I'll fill in the silence." She smirked. "It's something bartenders are good at doing."

He nodded, and tried whatever drink it was she had poured for him. It was some kind of cider, and he hadn't realized how thirsty he was until he drank some. The last time he had some water was after he had dragged the Bokoblin bodies off the road. He didn't drink alcohol all that often, but something like one mug of cider wasn't going to do too much to him, especially since he was eating.

"I saw your face when you came in, and let me tell you honey, you're so easy to read. You seemed surprised that Ilia was shouting, or maybe surprised that she was here in the first place. Then I could tell you wanted to talk to her, and when she completely ignored you, it was like your poor little heart shriveled up and died. She didn't notice, but I did. Part of what I do is being able to read people's moods." Telma watched him eat. "If all my customers ate like you, I'd have enough rupees to retire."

When he rolled his eyes at that, she chuckled, and then her smile faded. "A lot of things have been happening lately, and more warriors have been coming to my pub. Not ones like those soldiers behind you, but ones like yourself. I'm going to guess it wasn't coincidence that you came into my place, is it?" When he shook his head, she smiled. "Well, that's something to talk about another time. I can tell you how Ilia got here, which is probably more important to you right now. She came here yesterday afternoon not long after I opened, with an injured Zora child. A man named Shifty carried the boy here, since Ilia's just a tiny little thing and carrying him into town was hard enough for her." Shifty was likely the faux beggar that sat by Dr. Borville's office. The name suited the man.

"She was tired and hungry, and said that she didn't remember the last time she ate something." Telma continued. "That didn't matter to her, since she was more worried about the Zora. I sent a friend of mine to go get Dr. Borville since I've heard that he's treated people other than humans, but that turned out to be a bust." She watched as he pushed away his plate, now finished with the meal. "When she told me that she didn't remember the last time she ate something, I asked her if that was a figure of speech. She told me no, she couldn't remember anything; not her name, where she came from, what she was doing."

Link sighed sadly. "If she can't remember what she did the day before she came here, then I really don't understand what happened to her. I haven't seen her in over a week, and the last time I did she was injured." He stared past her at the kegs on the wall, not seeing them. "I don't understand. If there was anyone she should remember, it would be me."

"Is she your girlfriend?" Telma asked, and he stopped staring into space to meet her eyes.

"No, not exactly. Let me explain." He ran a hand through his hair, finding that it was dry now, and launched into his story. "Ilia and I have known each other for a little over five years. I had moved to Ordon with my mother, but she passed away not long after we got there. Ilia's father decided to take me in and I lived with the two of them until I was fourteen. By then I was old enough to work on the farms and with livestock, so I was given my own house and my needs were provided for."

He was interrupted as the soldiers rose from their table, finished with their meal. There was a chorus of "good night" from the five men directed at Telma, and they went out into the rainy night. Now the only ones in the bar were Telma, Link and the cat.

"You had to live on your own at fourteen? What man would do that to a boy?" She crossed her arms, not liking what he had told her.

"A man that was worried about a teenage boy and girl living beneath the same roof, that's who." He took another drink of cider. "Ilia and I were always together, and not long after I moved in with them we became good friends. That turned into best friends, and now...well, I admit I was hoping it would progress past that. It seemed like it would, and that was when the Bulbins attacked Ordon." He stared down into the tankard at the half-drunk cider, and his voice grew quiet as he replayed the scene in his head. "We were at Ordona's Spring, with a boy named Colin. I tried to fight them but had no weapon, so they hit me over the head. Then they shot Ilia in the shoulder with an arrow."

"Hold up." Telma interrupted him. "She's been shot?"

Link nodded. "She probably can't remember it, but she might be in pain and not understand why." He frowned unhappily at that thought, and continued. "The last I saw of her, she had an arrow sticking out of her back while a Bulbin held onto her. Then they cracked me over the head again and I blacked out. When I woke up, Ilia and Colin were gone." He reached to the back of his head where he had been hit, and knew that he had heard his own skull crunching from that blow. "If I hadn't fallen into the Spirit's Spring, I probably would be dead. They can heal. After I came to my senses, I went to get some gear and started searching for Ilia and Colin. Some other things happened, things that were more important than chasing after my friends, and I got drawn into something else."

"You mean the invasion." Telma said, watching his reaction. When he nodded and did not act surprised, she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "I figured that might be why you came here, if you understood that Hyrule itself was under attack. Most of the people in the city have no idea."

"No, I understand what's happening far too well. I've had to kill my share of Bulbins and monsters since I left Ordon, and as I've learned more about it, I've found myself doing more to fight it. I've always kept Ilia at the back of my mind, though."

Telma's smile was kind. "So you're happy to see her, but your dear little heart is heavy because she isn't herself."

Link shook his head. "No. I mean, yeah...I'm really not happy about finding her like this, but she's still herself. I can plainly see it. She still has a stubborn streak, if that conversation she had with the doctor was any indication. The way she cares about others before herself is the kind person I've always known. She might not know her name or my face, but deep down she's still the same person."

"I've heard about a thing that can happen with soldiers." the tall Hylian woman told him, leaning forward to rest her arms on the bar. Her halfway-buttoned shirt gave him a good view of her cleavage, which he was not interested in seeing; she looked like she was twice his age. "Sometimes they experience something so terrible in battle, they completely forget hours or even days. They can even forget who they are, and it takes time for them to remember. Since the two of you were both injured while you were attacked, that might be what happened. Either that, or something else happened after she was captured.

He frowned, worried that something worse than being shot could have happened to Ilia. It made his heart ache to think of what that could possibly be. "Don't mess up that handsome face with a look like that." Telma told him with a kind smile. "There's probably somebody who can help her. She's safe for now, and that's the most important thing, isn't it?"

"Right." He returned the smile, admitting to himself that at least Ilia was safe. "Thanks...Telma, right?"

She smiled and held out her left hand to shake. "In the flesh." When he perked and eyebrow at her, she smirked. "The hilt of your sword is over your left shoulder. I can tell which is your dominant hand." Her mind was quick.

His smile broadened, and he extended his hand to shake hers. "I'm Link. I also have my suspicions about the Zora that Ilia found. I might know who he is and why he's here. He came looking for Zelda, right?"

Telma's eyes were thoughtful, and then she nodded. "It seems like you really do know about him. He has been asking for Zelda when he's awake, but when he's half-asleep he cries for his mother, the poor thing."

"Can I see him? I know he's injured, but I need to talk to him."

"Sure. If you know who he is, then maybe you know why he came here. He won't tell us." Telma left the empty plate on the bar for now and walked over to the folding door, motioning at Link to follow.

"He wouldn't. If he wants to speak to Zelda and not the king, it's because he doesn't know who to trust." He felt safe talking about the subject with her. After all, Erol had implied that there was some kind of group assembled through Telma that was on Zelda's side. He picked up and draped his wet cloak over his arm and followed the heavy-set woman through a room with a large table with multiple chairs around it, and then through the rear of two doors in the room. There was a hallway beyond, just as he remembered, and only the right room had its door open.

The cool storage room was the same, full of hanging onions, bins of potatoes, and a makeshift bed made out of crates and blankets in the middle of the room. The young Zora had been helped into a sitting position by Ilia, who sat by his side on a stool. The Zora was slowly drinking something from a bowl, and Link could smell some kind of fish as he approached the boy. He could also smell something else, the smell of blood and the rank smell of an unclean wound. The Zora's abdomen had been bandaged, and the bandages had been soaked through with brownish blood. The bandages covered the Zora's gills, and Link wondered if that was such a good idea.

Ilia looked up at them when they entered. "Oh. You're the one who was at the door when the doctor left. I'm sorry you had to hear me shouting like that."

The unfamiliar look she gave him hurt more than he thought it would. He had thought that taking time to sit and process what had happened would make it easier, but it didn't. He hoped that he could fake it for now, and pretend that not only that he didn't know her, but that he was also perfectly fine. "Don't worry about it. You were concerned for this boy." He came to stand at the Zora's bedside and looked down at him. The boy's eyes were green and with vertical pupils like a cat's, and had dark circles beneath them. He looked as if he was in quite a bit of pain. "Is your name Ralis?"

The Zora looked up at Link, slowly lowering the bowl of fish soup in surprise. He didn't say anything, but his eyes looked Link up and down, assessing him.

"You're Prince Ralis, aren't you?" He pressed forward, knowing that this had to be the prince. His face resembled his mother's, and he wore the same type of jewelry that Rutela had. Commoner Zoras did not wear sapphires.

"Were you sent here by the royal family?" Ralis asked, panting slightly in pain. Taking breaths deep enough to speak hurt him. After hurting his ribs, Link could relate. "Did Princess Zelda send you?" He didn't wait for Link to answer, and continued with a certain intensity. "I absolutely must speak to her! My health can wait."

Link shook his head. "No, Zelda didn't send me." Not to here, anyway. "I was in Zora's Domain just the other day, probably the same day you left for the castle. Your people are worried about you, Prince Ralis."

The prince set down his soup on a nearby crate with a shaking hand, the bowl clattering on the wood. "My people? What of my mother?" He panted again, his eyes full of pain and something else: fear. He was afraid for those he had left behind in Zora's Domain. "What of the dark beasts that attacked us?"

"I fought the dark beasts and freed the Domain-" he began.

"But what of the ice?" Ralis asked fervently, trying to lean forward. "Are my people trapped?" He panted and groaned, and then fell into Ilia's arms, unconscious.

She shot Link an angry look. "Look at what you did! You dumped too much information on him at once." She carefully eased the boy back onto the blankets. "He's still very weak."

"Honey, don't be mad at him. He knows who this Zora is, and wants to help him." Telma gave Link's back a pat. "Right?"

"Right. I don't want to hurt him, and in fact I've been looking for him. What I said was true: dark monsters from the invasion attacked Zora's Domain, and the queen sent Ralis through a secret path to Hyrule Castle to get help. He probably was attacked on his way here." The question was, did Ralis get attacked by Bulbins, or Shadow Beasts? If it was Shadow Beasts, then did some Zoras get transformed?

"Invasion…?" Ilia drew the word out, as if she was trying to understand what it meant. She put a hand to her head. "I'm suddenly not feeling well."

"You've been working hard to take care of Ralis here." the tall woman said. "You should rest."

Ilia nodded and crossed the room to a cot that had a blanket and a pillow on it. She sat down and put her head in her hands, as if she had a headache. Link watched her with a worried expression, and then looked up at Telma. The bartender looked thoughtful, but didn't say anything. Ilia's behavior was concerning, but not as much as Ralis' condition.

Link sat on the stool to look at the prince better. "I don't like how he looks." He said, putting a hand to Ralis' forehead to see if he was warm or not. The boy felt like he was about the same temperature as the room. "Hmm, I didn't think so. Zoras aren't warm-blooded like we are, so they can't get fevers. He probably would have one if he was human." He sighed, keeping his hand on Ralis' head for a moment. "Poor kid. I can't imagine what he went through to get here. I can't see his wound under those bandages, but I can tell it's not pretty."

"It's infected." Telma said. "It was like that when he got here. Ilia found him near the moat, and the water in there isn't too clean."

That was concerning. While people could recover from infections, they usually needed medicine to help them through it, and no doctors in Castle Town were available to prescribe medicine to Zoras. Rutela had died due to Zant's invasion; he couldn't let Ralis die as well. "What to do...if nobody in town can help him…" He considered it, and then realized that he had the answer. Link snapped his fingers. "Of course. Renado."

"Renado? That name's familiar…" Telma put a hand to her chin, trying to place it.

"He's the shaman of Eldin in Kakariko. He told me that he's treated both Gorons and Zoras before." Not only that, but he knew that Renado had far better resources for healing than simple medicine. If anyone could help Ralis, the shaman could.

"That's right, I have heard of him. He's supposed to be a better healer than most doctors." She looked down at Ralis, who breathed evenly in what appeared to be sleep. "Can we take him to Kakariko?"

Link frowned. "I don't know. He can't possibly sit on a horse."

"No. He can't," Telma said. "but I have my own horses and a wagon. I use it to go to the Goron outpost to the east of Castle Town, and it's big enough for him to ride in the back. We can wrap him up and Ilia can sit next to him. That is, we can as long as there aren't more of those monsters outside of town I keep hearing about."

"There are. We can't go through Central Hyrule. There's an army gathering there, just south of Castle Town." He couldn't say how much of an army, only having had a small glimpse of it, but he had seen enough.

"An army?!" Telma exclaimed, looking disturbed. She then covered her mouth, not intending to get that loud near the sleeping Zora. Normally she seemed so calm, but the news of an army outside your city is dire news indeed. He couldn't blame Telma for her reaction. Ilia raised her head from her hands to look at Telma, and then Link.

"I saw it with my own eyes. I went through the southern part of Central Hyrule too, and and there are plenty of patrols going through there. Everything's been ruined: towns, farms, homes. I was lucky to sneak through on my way to Kakariko." He glanced over his shoulder to look at Ilia again, and saw that she looked frightened. He had to resist the urge to go comfort her.

"That explains why it's harder to get food now." The tall woman said. "And what Ralis said about Zora's Domain being frozen explains why the river ran dry, too. They say that all rivers have their source at Zora's Domain."

"Will we be all right?" Ilia clutched her hands to her chest in worry. "The King of Hyrule will protect us, won't he?"

"Of course he will." Telma said soothingly, but Link knew otherwise. The people of Castle Town had no idea that their king was dead, and even if he was alive, his mind had been too far gone to do much of anything. No one was going to protect them, nobody outside of Link himself.

"We can go out the east gate and through the Eldin plains to reach Kakariko that way." he said. "There are still some monsters there, but it will at least be possible for a wagon to travel through. Goron merchants have been coming and going from Death Mountain to the outpost, so others have been able to make the trip. Me included; I traveled through Eldin just a few days ago, and I didn't run into anything I couldn't avoid."

"Will we be safe?" This frightened young woman wasn't the Ilia he remembered. Not only had something affected her memory, but something had made her more meek. He had been wrong in his assessment of her earlier.

Link turned on the stool to face her and did his best to remain calm and look confident. She looked so frightened, so small as she huddled on the edge of the cot, and the sight upset him. He wanted to go put his arms around her, which he found himself wanting to do more the longer he stayed in this bar. "I can guard the wagon just fine. I escorted a coach up from Lakeside to Castle Town earlier today, and the monsters that attacked didn't give me much trouble." No, they had barely given him any trouble at all. He gave Ilia a reassuring smile. "It's all right, you can trust me. I know I'm just one guy, but I'll protect you."

The unfamiliar and wary look that she gave him stung, and he almost lost his composure. She didn't trust him, and thought that either the army or other monsters would come for her eventually. He had to turn away and not look at her face anymore, feeling a few cracks appearing in his facade. "We can't go tonight." he said, trying to move past how he felt. "Both Ilia and Ralis need to rest, and me too. Like I said, I did some fighting earlier. We can leave tomorrow morning."

"You seem to know what you're doing, so I'll trust your judgment." Telma crossed her arms, and then looked back at Ilia. "Have you eaten?"

"Yes." she answered softly. He had no idea what her expression was. He didn't want to look right now, so he could recover from the way she had looked at him. "I'd like to rest now if Ralis is sleeping."

Link stood up and went to leave the room without another word, but then Ilia called out to him. "Swordsman?" He stopped and turned to look at her, doing his best to act as if he were just that: a swordsman who had come looking for Ralis, and nobody related to Ilia at all. He could play the part, and be an actor in a show for one. "What's your name?" she asked him.

His mind screamed as he wished he could tell her not only his name but her own, and what she meant to him. "Link." he said evenly, managing to keep calm.

Ilia's green eyes grew distant and she did not reply, turning the name over in her mind. She sat there motionless, barely breathing as her brain struggled to remember the name of somebody important to her, and failed. He almost said something but then she took a breath and smiled at him, as if she hadn't just stared into space. "I will not forget your kindness, Link."

It was all he could do to remain calm at the polite and distant way she had said his name. He gave her a nod and walked from the room, and out into the dark hallway beyond. Once Telma followed and shut the door behind him, he leaned against the wall with one hand and covered his face with the other.

"You handled that very well, all things considered." the tall bartender told him, speaking quietly so Ilia would not hear.

He gave a soft groan and rubbed at his face with his hand. "I felt like I was about to lose my mind in there." he said just as quietly. He dropped his hand to look at her when she touched his arm.

"Come across the hall with me." She stepped to the other door and opened it, and went inside the dark room beyond.

Link followed, suddenly feeling exhausted from talking with Ilia. There was the sound of something scraping on something else, and then Telma held a small wooden stick with a small bit of flame on the end: a match. They seemed to have those here in Castle Town as well, although he had never heard of them before he saw Renado use them. Perhaps they were a new invention.

She lit an oil lantern set on a barrel and shook the match to put it out. "I know how hard this is for you, honey."

She didn't know the half of it. He was afraid he'd be in tears at one point, but he had managed to keep his composure. "You said that I'm easy to read, and you're not the only one who said that. Did I at least look convincing while playing the part of a stranger to her?"

"I could still see that it bothered you, but yes. I don't think she suspects a thing. The way she reacted when she heard your name was odd. She hasn't acted like that before." Telma lifted the lantern and brought it to another barrel, one that was standing next to a cot that was situated along the back wall, and set it down. "Be patient. You've only just found her again. She doesn't seem like she's in pain, and she didn't seem that way when she brought Ralis here. If you hadn't told me that she had been shot, I wouldn't have believed it."

"I don't think she trusts me, Telma. She's scared now that she's heard about the monsters and the army, and she doesn't think that I can protect the two of you and Ralis." He lowered his eyes. "I know that I can. I can understand that people might judge me by how young I look, but her? We're nearly a year apart so we're pretty close in age." Link shook his head sadly. "She always used to have faith in me, but now…" He trailed off.

"I trust you, for what it's worth. If you say that you had to fight while guarding a coach earlier, I believe you. Was it one of the mail coaches?" She leaned against the metal rack of dusty kegs and crossed her arms.

"No, I escorted Agitha Artho with her servant Erol." He made a sour face. "That Erol's too smart for his own good, but he's the one who told me to come here to talk to you." Although it was circumstance that Erol was a man who not only knew who Link's father was, but also knew the legends of the previous heroes. That didn't change the fact that now there was somebody out there who knew exactly who he was.

"Erol's a good man, and pretty smart, like you said." Telma smiled. "If he sent you here, he would have been impressed with something you did, which I'm going to guess was fighting."

"Yeah, it seemed that way. I took down four Bulbins on the towers on the north side of the Great Bridge of Hylia with my bow, and then five of the six Bokoblins that tried to ambush us when we stopped to let Agitha eat lunch. Erol shot one with a gun, which scared the hell out of me." He was grateful for the change in conversation. "It also scared Agitha, or maybe just seeing something get killed is what frightened her. Kids shouldn't have to see things like that."

"I agree on that point, and I also agree with Erol. You fought nine monsters on your own yesterday. That's quite the feat for one person, especially for somebody as young as eighteen. I'll try to talk to Ilia about her doubts tomorrow. Maybe she'll have a little more faith in you when I tell her about what you did for Erol and Agitha." She uncrossed her arms and stood up straight. "But for now, I need to clean up and make sure no other customers have come in. You can rest in here for the night. Consider the food and bed a thank you for what you're going to do for us."

"I can certainly pay you." It didn't seem right to take advantage of Telma's generosity.

The woman waved her hand at him dismissively. "Nonsense. You've let me know who both Ilia and Ralis are, and even know somebody who can help our wounded Zora friend. You should rest for now. I'll be getting you up before dawn so we can make good time."

"We'll have to stop at the Goron outpost to get my horse, but that shouldn't take too long." He also wanted to talk to Gamo if he was there, and tell him that his son was all right.

"Right." Telma turned and went to the open door, putting her hand on the handle. "I sleep in a room off of the kitchen if you need anything. Help yourself to what's in the kitchen if you're hungry, and the privy's off that back room with the big table. Get some rest." She stepped out of the room, shutting door behind her, and completely trusting a young man with a room full of beer and wine.

Link listened to the scuffing sound of her sandals as she made her way back into the main area of the tavern, and then sighed. This was not the ideal place for him to sleep tonight. It was the second night after he came out of the Twilight, and hew knew he'd have some kind of nightmare. "Midna?"

The shadowy creature appeared, hovering in front of him. "Yes?"

"Try to wake me up as soon as I start having bad dreams, all right? I don't want Ilia to hear me." If Ilia didn't trust him, then he really didn't want her to find out that he was somebody who shouted or cried in his sleep.

"I'll do my best. Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you." She moved back and out of his way as he went to hang his wet cloak on a peg. "How are you doing?"

He gave a weak laugh. "I'm miserable right now. This isn't a worst-case scenario, but it's pretty bad that she can't remember anything." He almost said "me", but she couldn't remember many things, not only him. He began to remove his weapons. "Did you see how she reacted when I told her my name? It was like her brain was trying to reach for her memories and failing."

"It did seem strange, but trauma makes people behave different ways. You quite obviously have been through some, and as a result you get angry. Maybe Ilia spaces out." She sat down on the barrel next to the lantern, a shadow casting a shadow on the wall behind them. "You shouldn't say her name. If she acted like that after hearing your name, her own might make it worse."

She was right. Hearing her own name would probably freeze her brain again. It didn't seem terribly harmful, but it was still a bit worrying. He felt his heart sink again at the thought of her going through something so terrible that she lost her memories. Through everything he had done as the hero, he had kept thinking of her and when he would see her again. He had been a wreck, and his emotional ups and downs over the past week had reminded him of how much he needed her support. Now she couldn't be there for him, even though he could be there for her, albeit as a stranger.

He stood there in his chain shirt, most of his gear removed, feeling like he needed to scream or punch something in frustration. She was safe, but it was as if she was a hundred miles away from him. A small shadowy hand tucked beneath his chin and raised his face up, so Midna could look him in the eye.

"Hey, it'll be all right. I know how hard this is on you now that I understand the context. I thought she was just a friend to you, until you talked to Telma. Your reaction both as a wolf and a human when you saw her makes a lot of sense now." She gently gave his cheek a pat. "I know things might seem bad, but she'll probably get better. Amnesia's a weird thing that only lasts a while, and then people start remembering things. It's not like in books, where somebody conveniently loses their memory and can't remember anything until some stupid plot point happens."

Link sighed and pulled the chain mail off and over his head. "I wish I was that stupid plot point. Even if she lost her memory, it would have been nice if she saw me and everything came back."

"I doubt that's how it works. It could be that seeing you could be what's keeping her memory locked away. Maybe she needs the right trigger or something, like seeing Colin and the kids in Kakariko. I'm sure there's something that will remove the block in her brain. For all we know, she could just need some time." She floated up to look at a wine rack, and started reading the labels on the bottles. "Damn this cursed body. These wines look good."

"I wouldn't let you steal any even if you could drink some." He sat down on the cot to remove his boots, deciding to sleep in his leggings. He really did not want Telma to see him in his drawers.

She snorted. "Link, you are such a good boy. It wouldn't really be stealing if she was giving it to you as thanks for helping, would it?"

"She said food and a place to sleep. She did not mention wine." Sometimes it really seemed like Midna did not care about rules and respect. "You say that you're keeping me in line, but I think I'm the one making sure you behave yourself."

Midna smiled and shrugged. "Could be. I'm no angel, that's for sure." She floated up to him and jabbed him in his bare chest with a finger, since he had just taken his gambeson off. "You however are saintly most of the time. You've filled that hero mold pretty well by now, you good, sweet boy."

He wanted to get angry, but he felt so emotionally defeated at the moment. He assumed a hurt expression instead and rubbed at where her small finger had prodded him. "Please don't tease me right now."

Her smile faded. "Yeah, sorry about that. I thought you'd joke around a little bit, but you still seem pretty sad. Things might be a bit rough right now, but we've found Ralis. If we get him to Renado and get him healed, then we can bring him back to the Zoras and get that magic armor that Rutela was talking about. The last piece of the Fused Shadows will be mine soon, and then I can deal with Zant." Her shadowy face suddenly looked malicious. "I'm looking forward to taking care of that little thorn in my side…"

Lanayru's warning jumped to his mind, of how the Fused Shadows could corrupt, and how dangerous they were. They had spoken to him in the vision, telling him to kill. Is that what the pieces that Midna held so far were doing to her? From her expression, it was possible. She didn't just want to defeat Zant, she wanted to kill him.

Her expression faded, and she blinked as if she was distracted. He reaction confirmed it; the helmet was speaking to her. The one red-on-yellow eye looked at him. "You get some sleep. I'm going to do some recon now that it's night and I can move through the shadows. I want to know if the soldiers in this city have any plans for that army south of here."

"Don't get caught."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty careful. I'll be back in time to make sure I interrupt your bad dream. That happens about two hours after you fall asleep, so I have plenty of time." She vanished, melding with the shadows of the room and leaving him in silence. She likely had left.

Link climbed into the blankets of the cot and blew out the lantern, putting himself in complete darkness. He lay on his side facing the door, and facing where Ilia was in the room across the hall. She was so close to him, on the other side of the two walls that separated them, yet she was so very far away. Those walls may as well represent her mind; she had blocked him out, and now he can't reach her even though he was right here.


He didn't remember falling asleep, but when he found himself standing in his home in Ordon, he knew he was dreaming. Another lucid dream where he was aware, yet unable to control what happened. He took a deep breath and stepped out his front door, ready to face whatever the dream had in store for him.

The village of Ordon and the surrounding fields were bathed in the golden light of the rising sun, which was slowly climbing above the steep hills to the east. A few of the early risers already walked through the fields to begin their daily work. It was serene and peaceful, and how he remembered mornings back home.

The golden color of the sunlight brightened, far too bright to be normal. He frowned, not sure what was happening, and glanced around. The sunlight was not the source of the golden light; it was all around him where he stood on his short porch. He realized that it was coming from him, and he looked down at his left hand, expecting to see the golden triangles lit up.

He did not have a hand. He had multiple tentacles of gold and brown, shot through with blue runes.

Link cried out in fear, knowing that he was being controlled by the Fused Shadows, just as he had been in Lanayru's vision. The writhing limbs propelled him forward and down the hill that his house sat on, and towards the town. They reached out to smash the houses and rend the fields, destroying everything in their wake, even people. Familiar faces died, familiar buildings were flattened, and even though he cried out for it to stop, it didn't.

"No." said a male voice. "No, hero. Fight this. You have the golden power within you, and you can push back the darkness."

The destruction stopped, the undulating appendages of the Fused Shadows frozen in place. He breathed heavily, unsure if he was what stopped it or if it was the familiar voice. It spoke to him again. "You have courage, I have seen you use it."

The scene of destroyed Ordon suddenly was slashed through by a sword, as if it was a painting on canvas. The familiar sight of the knight's shade cut through the nightmare with his golden sword, scattering the image until it was gone. The white fog was there instead, beneath an impossibly starry sky.

Link looked down at his hands again, and saw that they were wearing the clothes given to him by the gods. The mark on his hand gently glowed golden. Did he use his power to drive away the nightmare, or was it the knight? He looked back up at the knight, and saw a double-image. The skeletal wraith in worn golden armor was there, but standing in the same spot was a man with golden hair and one blue eye, the other eye closed beneath a scar that ran down his face.

"The darkness grows ever stronger within you, and it isn't only from your exposure to the Twilight. The more time you spend with the shadow being and her dark relic, the farther into shadow you fall." The pinpoint of red light in the eye socket glowed in the same spot as the blue eye's pupil, staring at him intensely. "If nothing is done, you will lose yourself to the darkness, hero or not."

"It's getting worse?" The thought frightened him, of being corrupted by the Fused Shadows even though he hadn't ever touched them.

"I'm sorry, but yes." The knight's human face looked thoughtful, and something about the features were familiar, although it was hard to place them with the double-image of the skull in the same place. "There is a power that can banish this darkness entirely, but time will tell if you are strong enough to use it."

"You won't tell me what that is, will you?" The shade always was cryptic, probably to get Link to figure out things out for himself. It was frustrating.

The double-image of skeleton and man shook his head. "It isn't my place to tell you, so no. I'm a dead man. You must rely on the advice of the living if you wish to claim that power."

"Great." He looked down at his hand, and saw that the light was still there. The power was active. "Am I the one making the dream like this?"

"It is a combined effort. You pushed the darkness away with your power. I gave you a place to direct your mind, which is this space between the worlds of the living and dead." The knight hefted the sword up onto his shoulder with a clinking sound. "You likely could come here on your own if you desired to."

"I have another question. This is the mark of the Triforce on my hand, isn't it?" After seeing what the Triforce itself actually looked like, he understood the significance of the three triangles, and why it was found here and there around Hyrule. Not only that, but the knight had called it a "golden power". It had something to do with the Triforce, but he didn't understand what.

"It is indeed. Now ask yourself: why is that?" The gray skull stared, but the man smirked at him. In that moment the skull faded and he saw the man himself, his ancestor. He only had one eye, a short-cut beard, and was perhaps about 15 years older, but there was a reason his face was familiar.

It was his own face.

Looking at the spirit's true face was like looking in a mirror, and at a glimpse of what he would look like in his prime. Link's eyes widened as he looked at the other man with the same face, and he knew it wasn't only because he was related. "Who are you? You're not just my ancestor." No, this spirit was so much more. His knowledge of the Triforce and the previous heroes was not coincidence.

"No. I am more than that, I admit. You do know that I won't tell you who I am, right? So far I have taught you swordsmanship, but I have led your mind to learn other things on your own. This time is no different." The man lifted the sword from his shoulder and set it point-down into the mists, and rested his left hand on the pommel. Since the spirit was not wearing gloves, Link could ever so faintly see a mark there; the same mark that was on his hand. It was the mark of the Triforce.

Link opened his mouth to ask another question, but the knight's spirit cut him off. "There are no lessons for you this time, young hero. You have shown great skill and strength, not only physically, but with your heart and mind as well. I am proud to share a bloodline with you." The knight put his right hand over his left, hiding away the mark, although he undoubtedly knew that Link had seen it. "You need a restful sleep if you are to protect the one who is dear to you, and then venture into the temple of water."

The soul that he knew was tied to his own smiled again, the skull faint beneath his bearded face. "Dream your dreams, young Link." The mists swirled to fill his vision, and then everything grew dark. "I will guard your slumber."

He found himself in a normal dream then, standing next to Epona with a brush in his hand. This was another familiar dream, and he looked to his left, expecting Ilia to be there. She wasn't. That made sense; even his sleeping mind realized that she was very far away from him right now. He sighed and let the dream play out, a dream of riding Epona across the countryside, only this time without Ilia's arms around his waist. Even though he was alone this time, it was still a pleasant dream.


Somebody shook him awake, and he opened his eyes to see that the lantern had been lit. A woman was illuminated on her right side by it as she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. He blinked at her stupidly for a few seconds, and then remembered where he was. "Telma."

"It's time." she told him.

He sat up and yawned, scratching at his hair. It probably was a mess as usual, and he had no doubt that he looked like a haystack. "Yeah, okay." Link stood and Telma backed away, looking him up and down.

"Well, you certainly look fit enough to use a sword." She smirked at him, taking in his physique as he stretched. "Here's hoping you won't need it."

"Agreed. Is Ilia up?" He looked around and found his boots, and began to put them on.

"She's eating, and you can join her when you're dressed and ready." She walked out of the room, but he could hear her faintly exhale a breath after she was in the hall and mutter to herself. "Goodness…" What was that about? Was that because she saw him without a shirt? He looked down at his torso, not getting it. It was a body, so what?

"You just heard her, didn't you?" Midna said from the shadows of the barrel. She giggled. "I told you that people might react to you that way, especially women."

"Why? I just woke up. I'm not looking my best." He reached for his linen undershirt and pulled it on. "I think you understand people a lot better than I do, Midna."

"I think you understand people in general just fine. What I think you don't understand is the effect you have on women." When he scowled in her direction, she laughed again. "Okay, Grumpy-puss. You can make faces at me all you like, but the more women you run into, the more you're going to see it." Her voice moved to below his feet. "You didn't have any nightmares last night." It was not a question.

"I started to have one about the things Lanayru showed me." He shuddered at the memory of the vision, still not over the horrors of the Fused Shadows. "But then the knight's ghost told me to fight it off, and...I did?" He looked down at the triangles on his hand, faint in the dim light of the single lantern. The knight had the same mark, which he knew was not coincidence. "I used this. He called it a 'golden power', which strangely enough that's what Lanayru called the Triforce."

"What's the Triforce?"

"It's something the Light Spirit showed me. It looks like this thing on my hand, three triangles connected together, except it's gold. It's supposed to be something powerful created by the gods, but it's hidden away somewhere." He continued to dress. "I think this sacred magic that I have is related to it somehow."

"Maybe you have the Triforce in you? If it's supposed to be hidden away, maybe it got hidden away in a person." Her voice kept moving around the room as she jumped from shadow to shadow. She seemed restless today.

"I doubt that. If it's something so incredibly powerful, I don't think it would get stuck in a person. Lanayru said that the Triforce used to be in a place called the Sacred Realm, but that was in the past. It probably got moved someplace else safe." Still, she did have a point. The mark might not be the Triforce itself, but could possibly let him channel some of his power. Why, though? Was it because he was the hero? Zelda mentioned she had a golden power as well, so there was far more to it than he knew. Sooner or later he'd find somebody who could explain, and maybe learn how to use the magic.

She was quiet for a few minutes while he began to put his gear on, and then her voice came from near his chest. "I listened to some of the city guards last night, but they're clueless. I'm sure those soldiers that were eating here last night knew something, but I never found them. I did go to the top of the southern wall of the city, and saw that the gates in the wall past that were closed. Somebody knows that there's an army out there, but I don't know who."

That was something, at least. The town guards were useless, but the military probably had some sense. Then again, that was the same military that destroyed Kasuto, so he didn't want to consider talking to any of them. The idea of him speaking with men that possibly killed his father made a small bit of his primal anger fire up in his gut. He breathed a deep breath to calm himself, and put his still-damp cloak on.

There was no way to tell what time it was, since the pub had no windows. Telma had said that she would wake them before dawn, so it probably was still dark outside. Link peeked in the room where Ilia and Ralis had slept, and saw that the Zora prince was still asleep. It was best to let the Zora rest until the very last minute, so he moved on.

Ilia was seated at one of the tables in the main room of the bar when he got there. She was eating something from a bowl, and a pot with a lid and another bowl sat nearby on the table. When he came over to the table, she lowered her face and looked at her food. He ignored her odd behavior, and did his best to act friendly. "Good morning."

"Morning." she replied quietly, continuing to eat.

He helped himself to what was in the pot, which turned out to be oatmeal with raisins. It was still hot, so Telma hadn't made it all that long ago. After spooning it into the second bowl, he put the lid back on and sat at the table, but two chairs away from Ilia. "This is pretty similar to something we eat all the time where I'm from. I know you're having memory problems, but do you remember eating anything like this?"

Ilia shook her head, her voice still subdued. "No. I know it's oatmeal, and these are raisins, but I can't remember eating it. I must have if I know what it is." She looked up to the bar, where the long-haired cat was curled up with her legs tucked beneath her. "I know that's a cat, but I don't remember seeing a cat before now. It's very strange…" She trailed off and kept meekly eating, avoiding looking at him.

Link waited for her to say something else, deciding to let her talk if she felt like it. She obviously did not, or perhaps felt awkward around him. She was behaving strangely this morning. He had seen how she had acted with Dr. Borville, and how she worried about Ralis the day before, so he knew that she could act like her old self. The two of them ate in silence for a while, but it was not a comfortable one. A month ago, he would have been able to sit with her and neither one of them say a word, and they both would have been fine with it. Now it was different. A lot of things were different.

"Am I really that intimidating?" he asked. That made her raise her face to not only look at him, but make eye contact. "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"Of course not. You seem nice enough." Ilia shook her head again. "It isn't you specifically, so don't be offended. Not being able to remember things is frightening. I feel like...like something terrible is going to happen, like I need to run and hide. I don't know if it's the army you mentioned or what. I hadn't felt like that until after listening to you talk about it."

It could be the army was upsetting her, although they were leaving the town and that army behind, so that likely wasn't it. Ilia's fear was due to him, despite her saying otherwise. Her mind might not remember him, but the last time she saw him she had been shot, and there could still be some part of her brain that held on to that, buried beneath the amnesia.

"I keep getting images in my mind." she continued, starting to come out of her shell a little. "I see things, like I've been there in person to see them: a goat, a field of pumpkins, a forest. When I try to think of them, something fills me with fear." Ilia put a hand to her chest. "It makes my heart pound and my head hurt, so I let the memories escape."

He lowered his spoon and stared at her, doing his best to remain calm outwardly. On the inside, he wanted to pull her close and tell her that everything would be all right. Something about this Ilia made him want to protect her, although he didn't know from what. From her own fears, perhaps. "Maybe you're not ready to remember." He remembered what Midna had said. "All you may need is time, and it'll be less scary. For all we know, the thing that made you forget everything happened right before you found Ralis."

"No, I can remember the rest of that day. The first thing I remembered was waking up underneath an abandoned cart on an empty farm. At first I thought I had been riding in the cart, but it had no horses and a broken wheel. I didn't know where I was going, but I ran. I ran because I felt like something was chasing me. I kept running until I saw the castle, and the water around it. I knew I needed to get there, to the city next to the castle. Something told me I couldn't be out in the open, some fear that I can't explain." She shut her eyes and took a few breaths, trying to remain calm. It was hard to tell, but he thought she may have been trembling.

"Hey, it's all right." he told her gently. "You don't have to tell me anything. I understand that you're having a hard time right now, so if you want to avoid thinking about things for the time being, that's fine." When she opened her eyes and looked at him, he smiled. "Take it one day at a time, all right?"

She looked back down into her near-empty bowl, but this time she smiled. "You're right. All I can do is the best I can, day by day. Thanks, Link."

This time when she said his name, it was much friendlier. He felt a little bit of elation for that small victory. She was warming up to him. He stood up and took another bowl of oatmeal from the pot, and she glanced back up at him, spoon in her mouth. Telma came out of the kitchen at that point, holding a bowl of something for Ralis and heading into the back room. When Link sat back down and started shoveling more food into his mouth, Ilia had to comment.

"You're a big eater, aren't you?" He was, and she was one of the people who kept him fed all the time, even if she didn't realize it. "I'm having problems finishing mine because it's so heavy, but here you are having seconds."

Link shrugged. "Fighting makes me hungry." He knew that he had used his sacred power last night too, so using magic added to that morning hunger.

"Tell me about the people you escorted yesterday." She said, pushing her bowl back and folding her hands on the table. She was done eating, yet she wanted to talk to him. That gave his heart hope.

"Let's see...I escorted a nobleman's daughter up from Lakeside. Uh, that's a town on Lake Hylia, which is about a day's ride southwest of here. She was only about eleven years old , and had only one servant with her. He had a gun, but they're so hard to use that he knew he couldn't protect her very well. They needed a guy with a sword, and that was me. Actually they needed a guy with a sword and a bow, because I wound up using both." He ate some more, wondering how she could only eat one bowl and be full. Young women ate just as much as young men, and normally Ilia could put a decent amount of food away if she had been working hard.

"What did you fight?" It wasn't just polite conversation. She wanted to know a bit more about this swordsman she was trusting her life to.

"A group of Bokoblins attacked us when we stopped for lunch, and then at the Great Bridge of Hylia there were four Bulbins that I had to shoot down from a tower. Bokos are as dumb as they come, but Bulbins are a different story. They're intelligent and organized. I've fought them before, on horseback even. I'd rather that not be the case this time." Bulbins were the thing he was worried about. When he had chased King Bulbin around to try to get Colin back, more had ridden in to join the raiding party from somewhere on the plains. There were patrols there, probably searching for the few scattered villages in the region.

Telma came back into the main room and put her hands on her hips. "Link, are you eating more?"

"Hey, don't nag. It was bad enough that uh...whatever-her-name-is said something about it." He almost called her by her name, but caught himself at the last second. "You're going to have to think of a name you'd like to be called. It'll be a long trip to Kakariko, so you'll have time to think about it. I'd rather not go around calling you 'whatever-her-name-is' or 'hey you'. Not unless you get attached to those names. I won't judge."

Ilia put her hand to her mouth and let out a little chuckle. He had made her laugh! The little victories kept piling up. He gave a small smile at hearing her laugh, the sound of it warming him on the inside.

"That's the first time I've heard you laugh, honey. I'm glad that you still can." Telma lifted one of her hands from her hips to gesture at the pot on the table. "When you two are done, wash those bowls and put that pot with the lid on in the kitchen. Link, you'll have to carry Ralis out. Hey You, I showed you how to lock the front door, so be sure to do that when you leave." He couldn't help laughing at Telma calling Ilia that.

Ilia raised her thin eyebrows at Telma, and then laughed again. "That's not my name!"

"But it could be." he said, grinning at her. Hearing her laugh and seeing her smile despite her amnesia had improved his mood, and he was feeling a bit more like his old self.

"Oh, quiet." It was almost how the two of them used to joke around with one another. Ilia was still smiling when she stood and took her bowl into the kitchen.

Telma went over to the bar and kissed the cat on the head. The cat lay her ears flat, but endured the human affection. "Be a good girl and take care of things while I'm gone, Louise."

"Will she be all right locked in here?" Not that it was his business, but he hated to see an animal locked up all by themselves.

"There's a little door for her to leave if she wants to." She said. "I'm going to get the wagon ready. Meet me in front of the chandler's shop." She grabbed a long-sleeved black coat that looked like it belonged on a sea captain more than a bartender, and left.

The two of them did as Telma had asked, cleaning up after themselves. Ilia checked the oven and stove in the kitchen to make sure that the coals inside were scattered so they would go out, and Link made his way back to where Ralis was. The prince had eaten the bowl of fish soup and set it aside on the table next to him, sitting up while he waited. It was dim in the room, lit only by the faint coals in the hearth and a candle on the crate next to the impromptu bed.

"Your people don't normally eat cooked fish, do they?" Link said to him.

"No." said Ralis, whose violet scales looked dull and as if they had lost some of their color overnight. That was likely not a good sign. "I did not want to tell Telma, since she was being kind."

"These ladies are trying their best." He stepped up to the Zora's bedside. "We're going to bring you to shaman named Renado in Kakariko. He knows how to treat Zoras. It's a long trip, and should take all day to get there. You can at least sit in the back of a wagon with Ilia, but I'm afraid it won't be a comfortable ride."

"You're taking me away from Castle Town? But I need to speak with Princess Zelda!" The boy was still insistent on his mission, despite being in obvious pain.

Link leaned in close so Ilia wouldn't hear from the other room and spoke quietly. "Princess Zelda is being held captive, and King Adelbert is dead. There is an army outside the south gate of Castle Town. This is not the place to seek help. I understand you want to take care your people, but you are their future. All that I did in Zora's Domain to free them will be for nothing if you die."

The young Zora's eyes flitted up and down as he looked Link over. Ralis frowned to himself, as if considering something. It was strange, but his green eyes looked as if he recognized Link, if just for a moment. "I see." he said finally. "I have other questions, but they will have to wait for now."

"Good. I'll have to carry you to the wagon. It will probably be uncomfortable, but I'll do my best not to move you around too much." He blew out the candle, then reached out to take the damp blanket that the Zora was laying on and wrapped it around his slender body. He carefully lifted the young prince, who grunted in pain a bit, but didn't respond much otherwise. Link had expected him to black out, but he seemed more aware this morning despite looking worse. The boy was heavier than he looked, but he wasn't too heavy for Link's strong arms to carry.

"You are far more gentle than the beggar was." Ralis said, his voice tinged with pain. "I appreciate that."

Link didn't say anything in reply, but nodded and made his way back out to the main room. Ilia was waiting there next to the last lamp that was lit, and she put it out when he made it to the door. She opened the door for him, and the two of them made their way out into the pink light of dawn.

The stones of the steps and alleyway were still damp from the rain, but the sky above was partially clear with puffy clouds that were colored pink and orange by the rising sun. There weren't many people out yet, and only a few early risers walked the street where Telma waited with a medium-sized covered wagon. That was fine as far as Link was concerned; they didn't need a group of people rubbernecking at the poor injured Zora.

"Good." the woman said from where she sat in the driver's seat behind two shaggy draft horses. "I put straw in the back so it'll be a little softer for him."

"That will be scratchy." Ilia said. "He doesn't wear clothes, you know. Should I go back to the bar to get another blanket?"

"No, use my cloak instead. It's thick enough that he won't feel the straw." He had slept on straw wrapped in it, so hew knew that the brown wool would be comfortable enough for Ralis. It was still damp anyway.

"Um, I don't think I want to try taking him from you." Ilia looked at Ralis, who was doing his best to grit his sharp teeth and endure the pain from being carried around. "How about I take it off and spread it on the straw?"

"That works. Just take the bow off my shoulder first, since it's over the cloak." He did his best to appear that he was standing there patiently as she stepped up to him and eased the bow over his head, but his heart was pounding from her being so close. After she carefully set the bow on the stones next to them, she worked at the pin of the cloak, standing close enough that he could smell her. That combined with the fact that she was touching him was maddening, and was absolutely not the distraction he needed at the moment. Keeping up his calm expression and body language was a trial of endurance.

"Your heart is beating double." Midna said quietly in his ears, sounding amused. "I can hear it from where I am. She has quite the effect on you, doesn't she?" Her comment added to the difficulty to keep himself calm, because now embarrassment and a bit of anger were in the mix.

Ilia managed to lift the cloak off of his back and around his shield and baldric, and went to the wagon with it, much to Link's relief. He had stood right next to her before and hadn't felt the way he had just now, so why was this time different? Was it because they had been apart? It wasn't anything he should worry about at the moment. Right now he should think about getting Ralis to Kakariko.

He lay the Zora down on the spread cloak, after stepping up onto the back of the wagon with a bit of difficulty due to its height. Even though he was doing his best to be careful, Ralis still panted in pain. There was nothing to be done about it. As he had said, the trip was going to be unpleasant for the young prince. Link turned and hopped down from the wagon to retrieve his bow, but found Ilia there with it in her hands.

"Oh, thanks." he said, taking it from her and trying not to think about how close she had been a moment ago. Having hidden his emotions from her so far was bad enough; hiding his physical attraction to her somehow was worse. He sighed to himself as she got on the wagon.

"What?" Ilia asked, sitting in the straw next to Ralis.

"Nothing. Just thinking about what we need to do today." he lied, and then he hopped up on the back of the wagon, sitting down with his feet dangling off the side. He could have sat up by Telma, but he thought it was best to remain in the back by Ralis. "Good to go, Telma."

The wagon rumbled through the early morning streets of Castle Town, moving quickly with little traffic to deal with. It didn't take long for them to reach the eastern gate of the city, which were already open with the dawn. A group of Hylian teamsters were moving out of the gate in front of them, their mules plodding along at a walk. Once they had gone over the drawbridge that went over the town's moat, Telma brought the wagon to one side of the road to pass the slow-moving group. They had moved ahead and were leaving them behind as they passed over the stone bridge that spanned over Zora's River, and moved straight east and towards the Goron outpost.

Link knew the trip would take time, since it would have taken him most of the day on Epona. The horse could certainly move faster than a wagon, especially over rutted roads like the ones close to Castle Town. He estimated that they would get into Kakariko late at night, provided there were no hiccups on the way. There were some fairly flat and even spots farther east on the plains, so Telma might be able to move the draft horses at a canter, provided they were trained to do so. While Epona could run all day, not all horses had that stamina, and not all were able to run while pulling a wagon or cart.

They reached the Goron outpost in a little under an hour, and when Telma pulled the wagon in a few of the Goron merchants waved at her, calling out her name. She probably saved money by going directly to wholesale merchants instead of having to pay extra for the food once it was in Castle Town. Link looked over his shoulder at Ralis and Ilia. "I'm going to get my horse. It shouldn't take too long." He hopped down off of the wagon and walked around the side to look for Hagar.

The Goron with the shaggy face wasn't too far away, talking with a group of merchants while holding a few papers in a meaty hand. He raised his brows when Link approached, and then put a hand to his head, which was a bit comical because it mirrored Laron's movements a few days ago. "Link!" the outpost manager called out loudly as he approached. Hagar had remembered his name, despite being dismissive of him before he left two days ago. "Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

Oh, no. This was not what he expected to run into. "There was no reason to. I'm here to get Epona." he said, not liking the eyes of the assembled Gorons on him.

"Who is he?" asked one from the group that was standing around Hagar.

"You probably heard about what happened in Goron City and the big iron mine." Hagar, please don't. Don't tell them. "This young guy here is the Hero of Hyrule, sent here by the gods to fix up everything that's gone wrong." Dammit all, Hagar.

Link could not keep the look of annoyance off his face as he heard conversation erupt around the outpost from nearly everyone in earshot. "Did you really have to say that so loud that they could hear you in Zora's Domain?"

"What? You're acting like you don't want people to know about it." Hagar didn't seem to understand. Then again he didn't have to deal with being somebody famous.

He sighed at the Goron, staring at the ground. "I don't. It makes it easier for me to go around and do things if I'm just a guy with a sword." Not to mention a lot less awkward. He didn't like how people changed how they behaved once they found out who he was.

"Oh. Sorry about that. Pretty much all of the guys here know who you are, they just didn't know what you looked like until now." Hagar waved a hand at him. "C'mon, you need to grow some stones. People were gonna learn about you sooner or later anyway."

Link pressed his lips into a flat line and exhaled out his nose. The Goron was right, even though he hated to admit it. "I guess. How much do I owe you? I'm with that wagon back there, and we need to hurry."

He expected the Goron to not accept payment, but Hagar rubbed at his chin with a hand, the stubble making a rasping sound. Apparently Gorons shaved. "Your horse is a big eater, so we'll say another fifty rupees. Laron's already given her feed today, but I won't charge for that. I get that you're in a hurry." Hagar looked past him at Telma, who sat in the driver seat of the wagon watching Link carefully. "If you're taking care of Telma, then good. I can't think of anybody better. She's a friend of mine, so I want her to be safe."

Link fished out a handful of rupees, most of them purple and orange, and Hagar's eyes widened a bit at the sight of them. To be fair, he had at least five hundred worth of coins in his hand. He handed over a purple one. "Here's hoping I won't have to do anything but ride nearby. Thanks for taking care of my horse." He pocketed the rupees and walked away, still a little annoyed with the Goron for blurting out his identity in front of everyone here. Telma surely heard him, and it was possible that both Ralis and Ilia had as well.

Epona must have heard his voice in the distance, because when he came into the stable she had her head out the stall and was tilting her ears towards him. She lipped at his clothes as he stepped into the stall, and he patted her neck. "I know. I missed you too, but we need to get going." He hummed her song to her as he put her tack on, and led her from the stall to find Laron standing there.

"Hey there, Link. Uh. Sorry about Hagar blurting that out in front of everyone. I could hear him over by the warehouses." The Goron rubbed at his neck awkwardly. "I told him not to make a big deal of it when you got back. He ain't a bad guy, but he doesn't have a lot of tact."

"What's done is done. I'm going to have to get used to people reacting to me, I guess." Even though he wanted to remain anonymous. Damn you, Hagar.

"I got to know you before I found out who you were. My first impression of you was a young guy who ran into some trouble and needed someplace safe to rest. That's no different than a lot of the others who come here." The Goron grinned widely. "Heroes are great and all, but they're people too, and I'm glad I saw that side of you first."

He smiled at Laron. The Goron seemed to be the complete opposite of Hagar, which was probably why the two of them worked together. Laron was thoughtful and kind, and Hagar was blunt and clueless. "Thanks. And thanks for caring for Epona."

"No problem. Stop here again if you ever need to, okay?" Laron said, still grinning.

Link went right back to Hagar, leading his horse. He had almost forgotten the other reason he was here. "There's one more thing before I go." he said, interrupting the conversation the merchants were having. "I'm looking for one of the Castle Town merchants, a Goron named Gamo. Is he here?"

"Ho, hey!" Hagar shouted across the yard at a different group of Gorons, once again not having the smallest amount of grace. "Gamo! Get over here!"

A Goron with a topknot came over, looking a bit concerned. "Yeah, Hagar? Hero?"

"It's nothing bad, don't worry." Link told him. "I ran into Gamoson in Castle Town, and he misses you. He wants you to come home."

"That's gonna be hard." Gamo said, shaking his head sadly. "There were monsters over by the east gates. They used to be Gorons, so we don't want to fight 'em. Gorons ain't like you Hylians; we don't fight our own kind. It can't be helped so I'm stuck here, and Gamoson will have to stay in town. Is he still living with Caram?"

"That's what he told me, yes."

"Then it's fine. He's safe, and will be until I can get into town again." The merchant gave a smile. "Thanks for the heads up."

Everything that he needed to do at the outpost was done, so he made his way to the wagon, coming around the back side since Telma had pulled the horses up one of the long hitching bars to drink. He glanced into the back of the wagon at Ilia and Ralis, and then continued on. He thought he heard Ilia's voice say something, but didn't give it much of a thought.

"Link!" Ralis called, sounding concerned.

He let go of Epona's bridle and ran around to the back of the wagon, alarmed at the tone of the Zora's voice. Ralis wasn't looking at him, but had rolled on his side and was reaching out to shake at Ilia's shoulder. The young woman was unconscious, laid out on the straw next to the Zora. The sight made Link's heart jump up into his throat, and he climbed into the wagon. He was about to ask what happened, but Ralis spoke up.

"As soon as she saw that horse, she started crying and holding her head. Then she blacked out." He looked past Link at Telma, who had come around to see what had happened. "Is there something wrong with her?"

Link knelt next to Ilia and put a hand to her shoulder. Her breathing was even, but she did not wake when he touched her. "Something terrible happened to Ilia, and her mind keeps blocking out everything from her past." He felt a lump in his throat, knowing what had caused it, and gently put his hand to the side of Ilia's face. There were tears on her cheek. "She knows my horse, and she knows me. Both of us were there with her when the terrible thing happened." He turned his head to look at Ralis. "Don't tell her about it. Don't say her name, don't mention that she knows me, nothing."

The Zora prince met his eyes, and then nodded. "Yes, that is probably for the best. If her mind has been damaged, we should avoid doing anything to make it worse."

Link reluctantly withdrew from the wagon, leaving Ilia laying there on the straw. He couldn't wait around until she woke up, since making good time was of the utmost importance. Epona was where he left her, and Telma walked up to stand at the horse's flank after he had mounted up.

"I had no idea it was that bad." she said with a worried expression. "I hope she doesn't keep having problems."

"Once we get to Kakariko and Ralis is safe, I'll leave." He knew that's what he needed to do, as much as it made his heart ache. Her strange behavior was due to him being near her, he knew that. Putting space between the two of them would let her heal.

"Is that all right? You just found her again." Telma put a hand on his calf, looking up at him as he sat on the tall horse. She probably would have put her hand on his arm, if she could reach it.

"It's for the best. She needs time to heal." he said, and he began to move Epona forward a few steps to try to hide his bitterness. He had wanted nothing more in the world than to be with Ilia again, and now he couldn't do that.

Telma got back up into the driver's seat of the wagon and looked over at him. "By the way...you could have mentioned that you're the hero. I would've believed you."

"I didn't want to be the hero when I came into your bar. I wanted to be Link." No one seemed to get that he wanted to be an ordinary young man, and not be treated any differently. He didn't want to talk about it anymore, hating the subject. "Let's get moving."

This time there was no foolish trip to Kasuto as Link rode Epona next to the wagon at a trot. The road was still a bit wet, but the wind and the sun were starting to dry it out, and it had far less ruts in it than farther west. Ilia woke up not long after they began on their way, although Link kept dropping back to check on both her and Ralis. The sight of his horse didn't make Ilia react anymore, which was good since there was no way he could hide the mare from her.

Telma agreed with him that taking the road through Eldin was far better for time and for Ralis, since much of the plans were flat. The roads of Eldin were mostly traveled by Gorons with dodongos, so its dirt roads were in far better condition and would have fewer bumps. The trip still was not a smooth ride, and Ralis' scales grew paler with pain as they traveled. Link was back checking on the poor Zora child when he heard Telma call him up to the front.

"What's that group up there at the crossroads?" she asked, once he brought Epona up next to her.

Link looked ahead to where the road split, the road south leading to Kakariko Gorge and eastern Central Hyrule. There was a group of riders waiting there on that road, not too far back from the main road, and not exactly hidden by the sparse pine trees that dotted the landscape here and there. It was an ambush, but a brazen one, and the identity of the riders explained why. There were green-skinned riders on gray and brown boars in the group, and their beefy leader sat on a boar that was such an unusual shade of gray, it almost looked blue.

"Great." That was the last thing he wanted to see. He had no problems fighting Bulbins when he was alone, but it was completely different now that he was escorting the three in the wagon. "They're Bulbins."

The group made no move, content to sit on their mounts and watch as the horses and wagon approached. He could start to see the faces of the riders more clearly, and saw that King Bulbin had lost part of one of his horns when he fell into the canyon. He was also wearing a lot more armor than last time. The large Bulbin's mouth moved as he said something to his riders, and the sounds of their laughter carried across the distance.

Link brought his hand up to signal to Telma. "Stop." They both reined in about one hundred feet away. "Once I start fighting the big one, you should make a break for it. Go as fast as you can safely. I'll buy what time I can and catch up later."

She looked over at him anxiously. "Are you sure? I mean, I know you're the hero and all, but there's at least a dozen of those things, and the big one looks nasty." It was more than a dozen. By Link's count, there were eighteen, not including the king.

"Little man!" called King Bulbin, using the same obnoxious name for Link every time. "I've come to play again!" There was derisive laughter from his entourage.

"I'm sure. I've fought him before." He moved Epona a bit ahead of the wagon and then stopped. "I'm surprised you're alive, after falling from that bridge!" he called out to the large Bulbin.

The big green brute laughed. "I'm surprised you're alive, after we killed you!" They had intended to kill him with that last blow to the head, then. It was strange, considering that he was a Hylian, and they were supposed to be finding Hylians to kidnap. They wouldn't have tried to kill him only because he fought back, would they? He thought of the three soldiers that he and Midna had buried on the border of Central Hyrule and Eldin, and wondered if there were other motives behind the Bublins' behavior.

"I'm too heavy to push over now!" King Bulbin laughed again, pounding a mailed fist on his thick plate armor. "Come on, little man! Let's have fun!" The group charged with their king at the lead, although he seemed to be moving slower than usual. Either he was injured, or the weight of his armor slowed his boar considerably. Not only was he wearing plate armor and pauldrons, he also was wearing a round steel buckler on each arm.

Link didn't draw his sword, but instead quickly drew his bow and fired an arrow at an archer that was aiming at him, embedding an arrow in its chest. He nocked and loosed another arrow, killing another archer, then put away his bow while kicking Epona into a run. There was the sound of the wagon taking off behind him, and he hoped that Telma could put some distance between herself and the Bulbins. So far they seemed content to ride at him and ignore her.

He managed to get his sword and shield out just in time for the Bulbins to meet him. Epona weaved between the boars, dodging King Bulbin's mount and bringing Link close enough to cut a pair of Bulbins out of the saddle of the nearest boar. Most of them kept their distance, wary of the human that had managed to kill so many of their numbers a few days ago. Their king likely had warned them of Link's incredible strength when he fell into a rage.

An archer fired an arrow at him but he managed to deflect it with his shield, and noted to himself to kill that one as soon as he could. He gripped his shield and swung it back in a wide sweep to knock another Bulbin off its boar, intent on getting to the archer. By then King Bulbin had looped around and approached him from behind, appearing on his right side with his heavy armor clinking. The large Bulbin likely thought that Link couldn't reach the opposite side with his sword, but was proven wrong as the Hylian twisted in the saddle and cut at one of the cross-straps to the pauldrons, which foolishly were worn on the outside of the plate chest. The large green creature growled and swung his left arm with its buckler back, smashing into Link and nearly knocking him from the saddle.

Epona stumbled to the side from the weight of the large blue boar pushing on her, and Link found himself clinging to the peak of the saddle with his left foot tangled in the stirrup, dangling on the left flank of his horse. There was laughter from the Bulbins, and he heard the whistle of an arrow as it came his way. It was at an angle so it didn't pierce his chain mail, but the impact hit him in the back and on the spine, and the pain of both the shield slam and the arrow almost made him lose his one-handed grip.

He grunted and pulled himself back up, frustrated that King Bulbin would use his own trick on him. Epona had been pushed farther south and away from the group, which was starting to make its way towards the retreating wagon in the distance. Gritting his teeth and ignoring his pain, he turned Epona to chase them down. The irony of the situation was not lost on him; instead of the group trying to keep him away from something, he was trying to keep them away from the thing he was protecting instead. Ilia was just as important as Colin, perhaps even more, and he had to prevent them from getting to the wagon no matter what.

The raiders weren't moving too quickly, staying at the same pace as King Bulbin even though they could have easily reached the wagon if they left him behind. It made Link think of a group of cows clustered around a bull, not willing to wander too far away. If he could incapacitate the king, the others might stop chasing the wagon. He jabbed with his sword as soon as he caught up with one of the boars, piercing its side and causing it to squeal in pain and throw its rider. He normally wouldn't have done that to a horse, but pigs were mean bastards and deserved whatever came to them.

They were directly behind the wagon on the road now, slowly catching up. The two draft horses were running at a canter, but they were heavy animals and their run wasn't as fast as a normal horse's would be. It wouldn't be long until the archers were in firing range. He caught a glimpse of Ilia and Ralis in the back of the wagon, the two of them watching the chase. Link caught up with King Bulbin, dodging arrows and clubs on the way. This time he approached from the king's right side in order to give his sword arm more range, and managed to cut away the front strap on the right pauldron that held it onto the monster's breastplate. Link lay back against his horse as he dodged a backhanded swing from King Bulbin, expecting it this time. From where he lay on Epona's back, he jabbed up with his sword and managed to cut through two more straps, loosening the breastplate a bit and making the right pauldron fall away.

The king's yellow eyes narrowed as he glared at Link, understanding exactly what the Hylian was doing, and he brought in the shield on his right arm to protect himself. They were getting closer to the wagon, and there was no way he'd get to the Bulbin's thick skin at this rate. It was time to get creative.

As King Bulbin moved just a bit ahead of Epona, Link straightened in the saddle and put away his sword and shield. He reached into the bag that was nestled next to the pouches on his back and pulled out a single bomb, clutching it in his hand. "What are you doing?!" Midna demanded in both concern and disbelief. He didn't bother explaining himself to her; she'd see what he had planned soon enough.

He grabbed onto the peak of the saddle with his right hand to steady himself and hopped up to stand on Epona's back. The Bulbins did not attack, both confused and amazed by the Hylian who was riding a horse by crouching on it. He was completely vulnerable to an arrow, but what he was doing stunned the group long enough for him to launch himself from Epona's saddle and land behind King Bulbin.

Now without a rider, Epona ran far off to the left and away from the fight and the boars. The Bulbins seemed to remember that they were fighting this half-crazed human, and an arrow flew to miss Link and bounce off the left pauldron of the lead Bulbin. The king turned his head to look at the Hylian clinging to his back and said one word in his own language in a rough tone of confusion, the word likely being the Bulbin version of "what".

"Hi, there." Link said with a grin, and he pulled the fuse of the bomb with his teeth while holding onto the large Bulbin with his right hand. He crammed the active bomb down in the gap between the Bulbin's padded chest and the loose breastplate, then kicked off the large boar's back, launching himself backwards and into the group of riders. He hit the ground hard, rolling from the momentum and unable to see for a moment until he rolled to a halt. The surprised Bulbins were unable to react quickly and continued to ride past him.

King Bulbin shouted and slowed, digging in his armor frantically to get at the bomb. He managed to pull it out and hurled it to the side, but it hadn't flown very far before it exploded. The force of the explosion knocked the king from his boar, and took out another nearby Bulbin that was on another pig. The mounted riders circled around in confusion and disarray, looking down at their wounded leader and the bloodied corpse caught in the blast. They were no longer chasing the wagon.

Link gave a wild, exhilarated laugh as he propped himself with an arm and watched. It had worked beautifully, although King Bulbin had managed to throw the bomb away instead of dying from it being stuck inside his armor. If he could find a way to kill their leader, the Bulbins and their invasion would likely fall into chaos.

"Are you crazy?!" Midna exclaimed, her voice a bit shrill. He couldn't have explained to her even if he wanted to, but she did not like what he had just done, even if it worked out well.

"Maybe!" Link laughed again and got to his feet. There would be time to talk to Midna about it later. He ran towards his distant horse and sang out loudly to her. "E-pon-a!"

The mare heard his call and began to trot back towards him, responding to the song as she had been trained to do. King Bulbin slowly sat up from where he had been knocked to the ground, blood on his right arm and side of his face. His wounded blue boar lay not too far away, panting heavily, and the boar that carried the other rider that had died was breathing its last on the ground. The king looked around as he recovered from the explosion, and then up at his raiders. He shouted something at them, and the remaining nine riders ignored Link entirely even though he was standing prone on the ground without Epona. The raiders instead turned and raced off to chase Telma's wagon, which had gotten a good distance ahead. King Bulbin turned to leer at Link maliciously, proud of his act of cruelty that sent the rest of his riders after the defenseless wagon. The message was clear: you hurt me, now I'll hurt you.

As soon as Epona came close Link vaulted up into the saddle and gave chase, driving the horse into a gallop to catch up. The Bulbins had gotten a head start on him and were closing the distance between themselves and the wagon, the boars moving far faster than the two draft horses. He leaned forward in the saddle as he rode, anxious as he watched the group of seven boars get closer, knowing that their only mission was to kill whomever was in the wagon.

The two archers began firing arrows as they got closer, and they sparked orange as they burst into magical flame. There was no reason to try to set fire to the wagon other than cruelty; the Bulbins had probably seen Ralis and Ilia in the back as they chased behind it, so they knew what setting fire to a wagon full of straw would do to its two passengers. Cruelty was the point; Link was being punished for wounding their king.

He had nearly caught up to them when one of the arrows hit its mark, the fire arrow embedding itself in the side of the wagon. It smoldered, but the wood wouldn't catch fire immediately. The other archer's aim was far better, and its arcing shot landed on top of the canopy. The canvas ignited and flames bloomed, and Ilia screamed in terror beneath it.

That scream triggered a rage in Link, the same rage that had triggered when Colin was injured, but multiplied by ten. It filled him with a dangerous anger as it had before, but this time the sound of the most important person in his life crying out in fear gave that anger direction and purpose. He did not lash out at whatever was close to him as he did last time, but instead drew his sword and focused on the two archers, his eyes furious.

He stood in the stirrups and cut the head from the shoulders of the Bulbin that had fired the arrow that lit the canopy on fire, and then used his fury-enhanced strength to bring his sword down and split the skull of the rider ahead of it with an enraged growl. He kicked the body off his sword and pulled the magical boomerang from his baldric with his right hand. There was a warm feeling in the boomerang beneath his fingers, a magical sensation as the being dwelling within it awoke.

"Put out that fire!" he shouted at the fairy before hurling it at the wagon with a right-handed throw. He didn't stop to watch and trusted the fairy to do as he ordered. The other archer loosed an arrow at him, but he knocked it aside with his sword, moving far faster than he thought he could. He ran that Bulbin through, and as it tumbled from the boar he reached forward with his right hand and grabbed onto the rider that sat in front of it. He hauled it from the saddle and threw it ahead of the group, hurling it several feet with his incredible strength. The boars trampled it as they rode on.

There were only five riders left now, and they gave up chasing the wagon to turn and flee. Their cowardice only enraged him more, feeding the beast that was his rage as he wheeled Epona around to give chase. He swung at the nearest and cut its arm clean off, and when it screamed in agony he punched it from the saddle with his right hand. The boomerang returned to him, hovering at his side as he turned to his left to decapitate another Bulbin with a long backhanded sweep, and he grabbed at the magical weapon as the body fell. The remaining three riders were ahead of him, and while he could have caught up to them, his rage was not awarding him that patience. He threw the boomerang at them, and the magical gust of air knocked the three from their mounts, bowling the boars over.

Link recklessly hopped up onto the saddle again, this time not holding on, and this time launching himself at one of the Bulbins laying on its back on the ground with a yell. He reversed his sword and impaled it through the chest, then stood and wrenched the blade free. The magical boomerang was caught in his right hand as an afterthought, and he charged at one of the Bulbins that had gotten to its feet to run. It cried out as he ran it through, its voice reduced to a gurgle as he put a boot to its back and shoved it off his sword. The remaining Bulbin scrambled to its feet, making terrified sobbing sounds, but its fear did not sway him. As before, there would be no mercy. Its head flew from its shoulders in a spray of blood.

He stood there breathing heavily, looking around for something else to kill, but all the riders were dead. There was no sign of King Bulbin, the large armored monster and his wounded boar farther west down the road. The hunting beast urged him to mount up and slaughter the wounded king, but Epona had ran off again, and his mind wasn't working well enough to call to her. His rage told him that there had to be another threat, another enemy, something else, and he stared at the ground panting while listening for the hooves of boars.

"Link?" The voice came behind him, and he turned his head to give the speaker a berserk stare over his shoulder. Telma stood there, and she was backing away from him slowly, her face fearful. She had brought the wagon back around at some point, and Epona stood not too far away from the two draft horses. He had been standing in a rage for who knows how long, his ears searching for something else to kill. There was nothing. The threat was eliminated, and the beast could rest.

He relaxed and shut his eyes, having caught his breath from the fight, but not from the anger. He wasn't about to hurt Telma, was he? No, he wouldn't do that. He knew who she was, even if he was fighting with the strength of the beast. He would never hurt an innocent.

"Link, are you all right?" Telma still stood back a bit warily.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and nodded. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She took a few steps forward, avoiding the body of the decapitated Bulbin on the ground. "I have never seen one man fight like that. I know you're the Hero of Hyrule but…" How much did she see? Wasn't she supposed to be fleeing with the wagon? She hugged her arms around herself, rubbing at them nervously. "It was like you weren't human. Like you had become some kind of fierce beast." Her description gave him pause. He had thought of the fighting rage within him as a hunting beast, but he didn't think anyone else would make that comparison. What did he look like while he was like that?

Link walked past her and wiped his bloodied sword on the headless body, and then sheathed it. "It's all right now. Things do get a bit intense when I'm fighting to protect somebody I care about." He looked up at the wagon and saw Ilia standing next to it, her hand clutched to her chest nervously. If Telma had seen some of it, undoubtedly Ilia had seen far more. He put the boomerang back in its holster and started to walk towards the wagon to check on Ralis.

"Stop." Telma said, no longer sounding nervous. "Let me see your eyes."

His eyes? It didn't make sense at first, but then he remembered the look full of anger that he had given her when she had said his name. He turned around and made eye contact with the tall Hylian woman, who critically examined his expression. "I'm calm now. It's fine."

She let out a breath, finally relaxing. "You say it's fine, but I had to make sure. I didn't want you to be out of your mind if you were going near the other two."

"Telma…" He felt a bit hurt that she would assume he would harm Ilia for any reason. "I was fighting like that because of her, because the fire and her scream made me become...that way." He dropped his voice so Ilia wouldn't hear. "She's the most important person in my life. I would never hurt her."

The woman shook her head. "I don't doubt that, but what we saw you do was frightening to watch. I don't trust you any less, but you're a force to be reckoned with. I'd hate to be on your bad side." She turned and walked back to the wagon, ushering Ilia back beneath the half-burnt canopy and leaving Link standing by himself. He had scared them without meaning to. He remembered the Gorons who reacted to how he fought only a few Shadow Beasts, and at their dumbfounded expressions. That wasn't as bad as this, where the very people he was trying to protect feared him.

"I understand why you reacted the way you did." Midna said softly as he walked back to Epona. "I've also been fighting alongside you for over a week. To the average person, the things that you can do are frightening. Especially when you're in that rage. You might want to watch yourself in front of others. You don't want people to be afraid of their hero."

Link mounted up, not sure what to say to that.


Author's note: Sorry for the long chapter, but there wasn't a good way to break up the flow of it, and not much could be cut out. I'm going to try to keep them from being this long.

I plan on uploading on Fridays or Saturdays now, as long as I have content to do so.