Chapter Twenty: Return to Ordon

The "something fun" Barnes had mentioned turned out to be exactly what had Link suspected: exploding arrows. The man had also made him a second, smaller bomb bag to keep his water bombs in to make things easier. That was useful, but the arrows themselves were a mix of intriguing and dangerous. He didn't quite know what to make of them as he turned one over in his hands. It was an arrow with a padded sheath on the tip made of dark waxed cloth, with a flap of leather sticking out of a slot on one side of the cloth.

"You found a way to put a bomb on the end of an arrow." Link said, stating the obvious. He was now dressed in his regular leggings and green tunic, his belt and boots the only other parts of the outfit he wore. There was no need for him to wear armor or his weapons when the Gorons were guarding Kakariko.

"The tips aren't bombs themselves. Not true bombs, anyway." Barnes was happy to explain what he had come up with, passionate about his craft. "I tried that and they weighed far too much to shoot accurately. I ain't the best when it comes to a bow but I can at least shoot one, so I was able to try a bunch of prototypes. While there are some things that will explode with enough force, you really don't want to be carrying them around in your back pocket, you know? May as well carry around a bomb flower if you're gonna do that." He tapped the shaft of the arrow in Link's hands with a dirty finger. "Fuses weren't good to use either. If you fire an arrow sometimes you need a few seconds to aim and draw the bow, and that wastes time before it explodes. And of course there's no way for the arrow to actually explode when you want it to, even if it could fly straight."

"And so you put...a little bit of leather and cloth on the end? How does it explode? I'm going to guess it's safe for me to use, right? Otherwise you wouldn't have given it to me." He had learned to trust Barnes after actually using his merchandise. The bombs had ridden around at his belt with no problems, despite all that he had been doing.

"So many questions! It's safe because there's that piece of dodongo leather in it. That's the safety, so it won't blow up if you fire it with the leather in it. Let me explain what I did." The man grinned, pleased with himself. "I made two packets of powder that are harmless by themselves, but when mixed are really potent. The mixture will explode when hit, or even just moved around a bit. It's a lot like a bomb flower. Now, in order to make it not go boom when you're firing it, the packets are wrapped in paper, so they're separated until the arrow actually hits something. Then the bladed tip cuts through the layers of paper so the powders can mix, and kaboom!" He spread his arms wide. "An exploding arrow! That's why the dodongo leather is in between the two layers. Only a few things are strong enough to cut through their hide, and an arrow ain't one of them."

Link was impressed. Barnes did look a bit goofy with his messy fringe of red hair, bright yellow boots and oddly-trimmed mustache, but the man was brilliant when it came to explosives. "This is amazing, I mean really amazing. How did you come up with this idea? It's ingenious."

"Fireworks! Sometimes I make them for festivals. They usually have packets of paper with different ingredients that combine when burned. This won't make a pretty blue color like copper powder does, but it still blows up. It's more substance than style." He leaned on the counter and adjusted his glasses while looking at Link. "So...did you want to try them?"

Link's face spread into an excited grin. "Absolutely!" These arrows were too cool not to try. "Let me get my bow." He dashed from the shop and could hear Barnes chuckle at him as he hopped down the stairs in a hurry. He didn't care if he looked goofy running to get his bow, he had some exploding arrows to try, something that nobody else had made before. He yanked the door to the inn open and almost collided with Ilia, who was on her way out. Link's reflexes were far better than hers and he hopped back to put a few feet between them.

She looked startled as she stood in the doorway. "I wasn't expecting you to be there. I heard some footsteps on the front porch, but I thought it was one of the children."

"No, I'm the one running like a kid. Barnes made me a new toy and I need to get my bow to try it out." He waited for a few seconds but she didn't move out of the doorway for some reason, so he stepped right up to her in an attempt to make her move. "I'd like to get inside, please."

"Oh! Sorry, I was...um. Sorry." Ilia backed up and let him into the inn, looking a bit pink in the face due to not realizing that he wanted to get through. She was distracted, although he wasn't sure by what. For all he knew it could have been him, after what he had heard her say to Telma earlier. He had been repeating the conversation in his head, and only the exploding arrows were interesting enough to switch his mind to something else.

"Thanks." He gave her a quick smile and then ran up the stairs, taking two at a time. There would be plenty of time for him to think about her later. His mind always returned to Ilia no matter what.

As he went into his room, Midna giggled from somewhere near his chest, now riding in the shadows of his clothing again. "Your enthusiasm is adorable. You're like a little boy."

"I told you, I'm not trying to be cute." He picked up the bow and then rolled his eyes skyward when he heard her giggle again. "Stop."

"I'm happy that you've found a way to be cute as a guy instead of as a wolf. You bring my cold little heart joy."

He didn't reward her with a response to that and made his way back down the stairs. Ilia was still standing where he left her, frowning while in thought. He could have made a joke, but wasn't going to after hearing her cry just a little bit ago. "You okay there?" he asked, stopping next to her.

She shook her head. "I don't know. When the door opened and you jumped back to avoid bumping into me, it reminded me of something. I can't remember what." She sighed, frustrated. "I'm really trying, too."

"Don't force it. I don't think you can make it happen." He held up his bow. "If you'll excuse me…" He left her standing there to struggle with whatever memory she was reminded of. At least she wasn't in tears again. It was a lot easier to walk away from her when she wasn't upset.

Barnes was waiting patiently in front of the shop, holding a few arrows in his hands. "There you are. Ready to try it out?" He pointed up the switchback trail that wound through a few assorted shops that were behind his own to the large open area that had the blackened remnants of his storage shed. "Up there should be good. You blew up my shed already, so shooting at it with these things won't hurt none."

The two men made their way up the trail until Barnes stopped about eighty feet from the ruins of the shed. The sign that had issued a warning still stood, although most of it was blown away. Now the remaining fragment of it only said "No, No Open", the runes on the lower left corner of the sign the only things left to read. "This is good. I know you have to shoot uphill but I figure you can hit what's left of the building from here. We're a safe distance from the explosion, which is the important part."

"I could hit that from four times the distance. I was shooting out the eyes of beamos when I was up on Death Mountain." He held out a hand and Barnes passed him an arrow. "All right, so I pull out this piece of leather?"

"Yep. And if you ever do that, you absolutely must shoot it away. Even if you change your mind and don't need one, do not carry an arrow that's had the safety removed." Barnes clapped him on the back. "I like you, and I'd rather you not blow yourself up."

"I can't say I like the idea of blowing up either." He tugged out the piece of leather and handed it back to Barnes, who he figured could re-use it. Link looked up the hill at the charred pieces of framework that jutted up from the stone foundation of the building and decided to aim for what was left of the sign instead. He nocked the arrow, drew and fired.

There was a white flash when the arrow hit his target and then an immediate explosion. The explosion was more concussive than a normal bomb, and put out blue-gray smoke instead of white. The gray smoke hung around in a dense cloud where he had fired the arrow, but he could see that the stake of the sign was little more than a stump of jagged wood sticking up out of the ground. Link gave an exhilarated laugh. "That's great!"

The explosion had drawn attention. A man with long dark hair and bare arms appeared at the top of the cliff a bit south of where the explosion was and called down. While Renado's voice was normally soft, it carried well when he needed to shout. "Is everything all right?!"

Barnes shouted back. "Just fine! Don't worry!" He turned around and waved at someone behind Link. "Hey, you all heard that?"

When Link turned, he found some of the Gorons from the caravan hurrying up the hill. Talo, Malo, Luda and Beth were already there, breathless from running up the hill, with Ilia running not too far behind them. Link's eyes darted between the children, Ilia and the Gorons. "I guess that drew a lot of attention, huh?"

"It was an explosion, after all…" Ilia panted, coming to stand next to Malo. "You mentioned that you were getting some explosives from Barnes. You didn't say anything about blowing them up in town."

"I did. I told you I was trying it out." He glanced over at Talo and took in the boy's expression. Talo was getting far too excited about yet another kind of weapon, and he knew sooner or later he'd have to tell him that weapons were not toys. Again.

"You shouldn't use explosives in town." Ilia crossed her arms and fixed him with a hard stare. "Someone could get hurt."

Was she really going to try to lecture him in front of everyone, including the children? He felt a flash of anger. "No, someone would not get hurt. I knew where everyone was, I shot at the ruins of that shed behind me—which I might add had already blown up when Kakariko was overrun with Shadow Beasts—and I made sure to do this away from everyone else." There was no point in telling her that he was the one who blew it up. She'd only nag him about it.

She seemed a bit surprised that he would get angry at her in return, and then glowered at him from beneath her blonde eyebrows. He had been nothing but kind and friendly towards her since they had re-united, but that didn't mean he was going to let her boss him around. He let her do that when he had problems with his temper in Ordon. That was when she was right and needed to keep him in line. This was a situation where he was right, and he wasn't about to be wrong because that's what she wanted.

"Gentlemen." Barnes greeted the Gorons. "Are you interested in my explosives?"

"I want to know exactly what that was." a Goron with dark tattoos all up his right arm said. "You're holding a weird arrow, and the hero's got his bow. Did you really make an exploding arrow?"

The engineer grinned and held up the remaining two arrows in his hand. "Sure did. It's the Barnes Special Edition." It wasn't, but he was obviously selling himself to them. "Did you want to see a demonstration?"

The Gorons enthusiastically agreed, as did Talo and Beth. Malo and Luda appeared indifferent, and Ilia's anger had turned into a sulk. Barnes handed one of the arrows to Link, not bothering to explain how they worked to the others. Link pulled out the flap of leather and handed it back to the engineer, then looked for a target. He considered the stone foundation, but that probably wouldn't be a good idea. That was more or less intact and a new structure could be built on top of it. He chose one of the thick square supports that used to be at the corners of the structure, now nothing more than charred stumps. He drew and fired, and there was another satisfying flash and a bang.

Both the children and the Gorons sounded thrilled, but what Link noticed was the nervous high-pitched sound Ilia made. He quickly turned to look, and she had ducked her head and put her hands to her ears. He hadn't meant to frighten her, although she didn't used to be afraid of loud noises. It was another way that she was different now, a way that she had been changed by what had happened at the spring. He wanted to apologize to her, but then Renado shouted down from the cliff above.

"Can you stop doing that?!" the shaman called, sounding a bit aggravated. Colin stood next to him, peering down curiously.

"Sorry! We're done!" Link called back up, now feeling guilty about frightening Ilia and making Renado angry. He had been enjoying the arrows up until this point.

"Where can I get some of those?" asked one of the Gorons. "I ain't got a bow like his, but I got a crossbow. Can you make it with bolts?"

"No can do. These are specially made for Link." Barnes gestured to his shop. "But I do have a large variety of other explosives for various needs. I'll be at my shop if you boys need anything before you leave for Castle Town." He started down the hill, following two of the Gorons who decided to head to his shop, and then glanced over his shoulder at Link. "I've got a few dozen of these arrows made. Come take what you need."

Link looked over at Ilia, who had her back to him as she walked down the hill to the Eld Inn. He was going to talk to her, but perhaps she didn't want to talk to anyone right now. Another pang of guilt hit him as he watched her walk away. "Yeah, coming." he told Barnes and followed the man into his shop with the Gorons.

While the two merchants looked at the signs displaying products, Link grabbed a dozen of the arrows. He wasn't going to put that many into his quiver at a time, needing space for both regular and enchanted fire arrows, but Midna could put the extras in one of the quivers she was carrying around. "How much do I owe you?"

"C'mon, Link. We're friends. I'm not charging you." Barnes stood behind the counter, leaning on the metal top of it with both arms. He shook his head when Link pressed an orange rupee into his hand. "No, I can't accept this. You probably don't have much money."

"The Light Spirit at Lake Hylia gave me a bunch of rupees so I'd have enough for things like this. It's fine. Besides, you not only gave me bombs, but you cook meals for me and let me sleep in the inn. You work hard, so I want to give you something." It didn't seem right to take advantage of somebody's goodwill like that, even if he was the hero.

Barnes looked at the opaque orange coin in his hand and then put it beneath the counter into a bin with a clink. "I could say the same thing to you; you saved my life. I'll take it, though. I can buy more supplies to replace some of the ones that were in my shed." He smiled. "Thanks."


Telma stood near her wagon about a half hour later, Sam and Stephen hitched up to the front of it. The Gorons and their dodongos were both in front and behind her, making sure to keep the wagon in the middle of their caravan to protect it. The group would leave as soon as Telma said her goodbyes. The few humans of Kakariko clustered around to see her off.

"You do realize that you'll be getting to Castle Town in the middle of the night, maybe even after dawn?" Link told her.

"Of course, but that's fine. I'm used to staying up until dawn anyway. Waking up in the morning today was strange for me." Telma smiled down at the children. "It was nice to meet you kids. You all take real good care of Ilia."

"Don't worry." Colin reassured her. "She has us and Link now. We'll help her get better and make sure she's happy."

Telma gave him a wink and ruffled his hair. "You're a good kid. I can tell she's in good hands. Although, you..." She pointed a finger in Link's face and he leaned back a bit. "No more making her cry, or I'm going to give you a damn good smacking, hero or not."

"He didn't make me cry." Ilia said, reaching out and lowering the taller woman's pointing hand. "Don't accuse him of things he didn't do." It was hard to tell if she actually believed that, or if she was trying to make Telma not harass him again. He wasn't about to stop her if she wanted to defend him. "I'm getting better thanks to Link and the kids, so don't worry. I'm not going to cry anymore."

"Oh honey, I hope you're right. I want you to get your life back, and I think everything you need to do that is right here." She stepped forward and embraced Ilia, and whispered something into the younger woman's ear. Ilia slowly nodded, and Telma pulled back to give her a smile. She turned her head to Renado. "Renado. Please help her, okay?"

"Of course." The man was as formal and polite as always, but Link could detect something in his body language; he was uncomfortable. "I will do all that I can to help her."

"You'd better." Telma said. "Otherwise I might have to come back here to make sure everything is working out all right."

"No." Renado said hurriedly, putting his hands up defensively. "That will not be necessary. As you said, everything she needs to recover her memories is right here. I assure you that everything will be fine."

"Good." She turned to Link. "Remember, come to my bar when you're done with getting Ralis home and going to Lake Hylia. I know the things you're doing are very important, but there are other things that will need the attention of the hero."

"I said I'd be there, so I'll be there." He gave her a smile. The woman could be crude at times, but she had a genuinely good heart. He liked her, even if she tended to poke fun at him. "Thanks for everything. Ilia and Ralis are safe here because of your kindness."

"Stop being so humble. We both know you're the one who knew to bring them here, and you kept us safe the whole way." Telma caught him in a hug and leaned close to his ear so she could murmur quietly into it, just as she had with Ilia. "I know how you feel about her, so I know you're going to take good care of Ilia. Remember, Link...you're the key that can unlock her mind. I know you can do it." She pulled back and gave him a smile. "Keep doing what you're doing, and Hyrule will be safe again before long." She patted his cheek. "See you around, handsome."

The tall bartender climbed up into the driver's seat of her wagon and picked up the reins. The Goron in front of her blew his whistle once, and then the merchant at the lead blew his twice. The column began moving out at a walk, bound to get to Castle Town sometime tomorrow. Telma gave Link one last look as her wagon moved forward, and nodded to him with a smile. They both knew that he was the "everything she needs" that would help Ilia recover her memories. He didn't know how he would do it, but he would find a way.

The children wandered off with Barnes, leaving Renado, Ilia and Link standing there in the dusty road. Once the caravan made its way out of the northern gates of Kakariko, Renado visibly relaxed, although it would only have been noticeable if one had seen how he had stood a moment before. Link kindly patted him on the back. "Hang in there, buddy."

The shaman gave a short laugh. "You are more perceptive than I thought."

"Hm?" Ilia looked at the two of them. "I'm missing something, aren't I?"

"Telma has the hots for Renado. There's a reason he took Colin up to the farm for most of the day. It wasn't just to get cucco eggs." He knew that he had a face that was easy to read, but he was able to pick up on how people felt by watching them too. "When she wasn't making fun of my tight pants, she was giving him cute looks. His eyes pretty much looked anywhere but near her."

"Please do not tell her. While my wife and I currently live separately, I am still a married man." The shaman looked defeated. He probably thought nobody would notice. "And I am simply...not interested."

"I won't tell, but I admit I didn't even notice." There was a lot Ilia didn't notice, but Link wasn't going to tell her that. In fact he was going to hope she kept that ignorance for now, just in case he let a bit of his real self show through. "How did you notice that if she was busy picking on you? She was making you uncomfortable."

Link shrugged. "I'm observant, I guess. It's necessary if I'm going to fight the way that I do." He decided to bring up something that he had thought about earlier while taking a bath. "Renado, I plan on going back to Ordon soon. Do you think you can help the children write letters to their families? I can bring them there so they have something to give them hope. I'm sure they're worried."

"That's such a lovely idea." Ilia was pleased with him, and he soaked up the praise like a sponge. "I can help too."

"Why not write your own letter?" Renado suggested. "There has to be someone you remember back in Ordon. If not, doing so may trigger something."

Ilia lowered her eyes sadly. "I don't remember any people...only places. I don't know what my parents look like, or if I have any siblings." She wasn't crying but she still looked miserable. She looked so small, so vulnerable that this time he couldn't completely stop himself from comforting her. He put an arm around her shoulders and did his best to smile at her kindly, not really feeling like smiling while she looked so depressed.

"Hey, it's okay. It will come to you. You don't have to write anything if you don't want to." He continued to smile down at her, and she continued to look away. After she didn't respond his smile faded, and he spoke more quietly to her. "Ilia, nobody is going to force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

She finally looked up and gave him a sad smile. "You're acting like a friend again. I don't suppose you could tell me about my parents?"

"Link is indeed your close friend, and I do not doubt that looking at him right now. However I do not believe he should tell you too much." Renado towered over her, an imposing figure that was a foot taller, with his long dark hair and swirling tattoos. Yet his smile and eyes were kind, and his voice soft. The way he looked without his robe and the way he behaved were at odds with one another. He could have been an intimidating man if was part of his nature. "He may tell you small things, but nothing of your family, or memories that you share together."

Link let his arm drop even though he wanted to keep it there. "Yeah, he's right. If I tell you something, you may believe me without remembering it yourself. I can't influence your mind like that. We both know it wouldn't be right. Things have to come naturally." She and Renado likely had no idea that he was referencing his own feelings.

"I suppose so." She sighed. "It's frustrating that you won't tell me, but I understand why. It's what's best, right?"

"Right. I know it's frustrating, but be patient." This time his smile was genuine. He knew that he could help her regain her memories, and would do anything to do so. "You're going to get better."

Ilia looked him in the eye for only a second and then shyly lowered her eyes with a small smile. "Thank you. I think I'm going to start working on dinner."

"All right. Let me know if you want any help." She didn't want to look at his face, but he kept looking at hers and watched as she went into the inn without saying anything else. After she closed the door behind her, he sighed and slumped, hanging his head a bit. He had no idea if he had simply seemed friendly or had revealed too much. They had only been together at Kakariko since last night, and already he felt as if he was losing his mind from being near her. Every time she looked unhappy, or had tears in her eyes he wanted to pull her close and tell her that it was all right. He craved that physical contact, both for her and for himself. "Am I as obvious as I feel like I'm being? Because I am really, really trying to be just a friend here." There was no point in denying it to Renado any more than Telma.

"I can certainly see your true feelings, but I believe she is simply too distracted by her own amnesia to notice." Renado stepped closer and patted him on the back. "Hang in there, buddy."

Link lifted his head and looked over at the shaman, surprised that he used the exact informal phrase he had used a few minutes ago. Then he saw the amused smirk on Renado's face, and he laughed.


Midna suggested that they go to speak to Ralis before dinner. Link had wanted to see if Ilia needed help in the kitchen, but his little shadowy passenger decided that it wasn't such a good idea. "I know you want to spend more time with her." she said near his ears as he walked through the empty paths of Kakariko. All the roads were dusty and not paved, but in a place where it didn't rain often that didn't matter too much.

"What's the big deal, then? Not to sound sappy, but I feel a lot better when she's around." He had decided to walk through the town to see what it was actually like instead of just hanging around the inn. This way he could also speak with Midna. The children weren't outside at the moment either, and were inside the Eld Inn.

"You are sappy." She sounded amused. "But I think you should hold back a little bit. She needs to sort out how she feels about you and those kids, and I think that's hard for her to do when you're distracting her."

"I'm not distracting her." At least he didn't think he was. "I think she could use a friend right now."

"You don't think you're distracting her because you're doing it without trying, dummy." Midna gave a soft little sigh. "We both heard that conversation she had with Telma. When you give her one of those dumb fake smiles of yours, she doesn't react much." Of course Midna would be able to tell when he wasn't smiling in earnest. "The other times you smile at her, she most certainly has a reaction. She forgets about that fear she has for the two of you and gets all cute and shy. I know your heart beats like a drum around her, and I would bet that her does too when you smile like that. Heck, sometimes when you smile at me I feel a little flutter in my chest, and I'm not even interested in you."

"Midna, stop." There was no way of telling if that comment was genuine or a joke. He stopped in the middle of the dusty road, in front of a house with peeling yellow paint. "She's behaving how she probably would be if she could remember me. We were this close to being something other than friends, and then the invasion happened."

"Or she's behaving like a handsome young hero swooped in and brought her someplace to safety, fighting to protect her on the way."

He was about to retort, but couldn't think of a response. It made too much sense, and that fact flying in the face of what he wanted threw him off-kilter. "Midna, it's...I mean…" he floundered. "Look, I don't think it's that. Ilia wasn't like that in Ordon. We were close, and I think we even had some chemistry, but she didn't believe that knight in shining armor crap."

"Her mind is delicate right now." She explained patiently. "No, she wouldn't have had that reaction when she was herself, but she isn't. You told me and Renado how different she is right now. I've already told you how charismatic you are. Now imagine that charisma, your nice smile and pretty eyes, and pile that all on a young lady whose mind is out of sorts. She'd be overwhelmed, wouldn't she?"

Link crossed his arms angrily, wishing he could make eye contact with Midna. He knew she could see his facial expression but it wasn't the same. "And then...what? Are you suggesting I avoid her? Renado suggested the opposite."

"I'm saying give her some space. She might wind up acting the same after some time passes, but for now she needs to sort out how she feels about the world around her. That world includes you." There was some truth to what she was saying. Midna saw the situation between himself and Ilia as a third party, and she was able to see what was happening without the same bias he had. "Let her have some peace while she does something familiar like cook a meal, okay?"

"Yeah…" He unfolded his arms and looked down the tiers of the town, towards the main road. "I guess I should go find Ralis. There's only water in a couple of places here, so that shouldn't be hard."

The Zora Prince was in the first place that they looked, which was the large Kakariko graveyard. He sat cross-legged on the grass near his father's grave, watching a group of red and brown wood ducks paddle around the decorative pond. Now that it was daytime, Link could see that the pond was actually a pool, set into the ground with a stone bottom and walls.

Ralis flickered his green eyes over at him as he approached and then back to the ducks wordlessly. His expression was unreadable. Unsure of what else to do, Link sat down on the grass a few feet away and looked at the ducks. He considered calling Midna out as a way to start a conversation, but figured that was the wrong approach when speaking to a grieving child. Instead he patiently waited.

"I do not understand how I should feel right now." Ralis said finally. "I am torn between refusing to admit it to myself, and wanting to weep for what I have lost."

"Sounds about right." He pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, watching as the ducks stuck their rear ends above the water while nibbling at whatever was growing on the stones of the pool. "I'm not going to tell you how you should feel, because you're not me. Every person is different."

"You are also Hylian, and your race is far more emotional than mine." The prince lowered his eyes to look at the grass in front of his crossed legs. "No, that is wrong of me to say, and not true. My people are long-lived, and so we have more practice in learning to regulate our feelings. Even so, we all feel pain when dealing with loss."

"We do." He considered telling the young prince about how he had lost his own family and home, but decided that wasn't what Ralis needed to hear. Link's own loss and grief were different.

"Have you ever wondered why you were born?" Ralis looked back at the ducks, not wanting to make eye contact with the Hylian. "Or wondered why you exist?"

"Yeah, a few different times. When I was younger I wondered if there was any point to me being born, if I was only made to suffer. I found a reason not too long after and put all my energy towards that. This was before I was appointed hero. Now…" He frowned. "Now I know I exist because I need to. I'm here because there are things that only I can do, just like the other heroes before me."

"Yet you do not want to be the hero." The Zora said pointedly. "You don't want to be seen as something you feel you are not."

"It doesn't matter how I feel, Ralis. I still need to do the things that only I can do. So do you." He looked over at the purple-scaled prince. "You escaped so you may live, with the hope that help would come to free your people. I came and did that, but that's all I can do. I can't help them recover from what happened to them or your mother. Only you can do that."

"I feel as if I do not have the ability." He finally looked over at Link and fixed his green eyes on him. "I know why I was born. Centuries ago, I had a half-sister that was the heir. She disappeared sometime during the Gerudo War, and so it is assumed that she died. My father was unable to remarry at first, the love he had for his first wife was so strong. Still he knew that he must remarry one day, and once his heart had healed he married my mother. The two of them created a union so they could continue the royal line, and love had little to do with it." His face lost its calm expression and contorted into one of pain. "I exist because I am supposed to lead my people. That is why I was born. That is why I am here." His voice broke and tears stood in his eyes. "Do you not understand, hero? I failed them, yet I am supposed to lead them. There are things that only I am meant to do, yet I know I cannot."

"Ralis…" He did understand the feelings of inadequacy, of the fear of failure, of being thrust into a position that he didn't ask for. He hadn't thought of comparing his own frustrations with being a hero with Ralis, but he now saw that the two of them both had responsibilities that they didn't want.

"Leave me." The price gritted his sharp teeth and quickly turned his head to stare at the grass.

"I think that I-" Link began.

Ralis cut him off, his voice full of pain and anger. "Leave me alone!"

He was taken aback, not expecting this outburst from the normally calm prince. Link stood and opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it. There was nothing he could say that would improve the situation. Feeling uncomfortable, he walked from the graveyard and left the weeping prince seated at his father's grave. Once they were beneath the arch and out of sight, he sighed and rubbed at his forehead.

"That could have gone better." Midna said, her words reflecting exactly what he was thinking.

"I knew he was upset, but I didn't expect that. He was so calm when he was injured." The prince had admitted he feared for his life, but never once looked like he felt that way. If anything he was far more stable on the ride from Castle Town than Ilia was.

"He's still a child. This has to be very hard on him, to both lose his mother and need to take over as heir." she said quietly, her tone subdued. She had mentioned that she lost her mother as well, so she likely could relate to how Ralis was feeling too.

"He's a child, but I don't think he's as young as he looks. You heard what he said, right? Zoras live for centuries. That would mean childhood would last a long time for them, wouldn't it?" He considered it. "Not only that, but he told Renado that he remembered him when he was younger and still an apprentice. I'd say Renado is in his mid-thirties so that was probably ten, maybe fifteen years ago."

"You think he's as old as a human adult? Hmm." She mulled over the concept. "I guess it's possible, although there's no way of knowing unless we ask him. Fat chance of him talking to you again right now."

"He did mention to me that he fought off and killed two transformed Zoras on his way to the moat near Hyrule Castle, and they had spears. He's too small to be able to fight and kill without a weapon. A child can't fight with weapons well enough to do that, it takes years of practice…" he trailed off, thinking about what he was saying. "Midna, I just had a thought. If he had a weapon, what happened to it?"

"Maybe he dropped it? He did get wounded after all."

"Maybe, but I think I want to ask Ilia about it later. She's the one who found him, so it was entirely possible he had it and she was unable to carry it or something. Or perhaps it's still at Telma's bar." He slowly walked towards the Sanctuary, feeling idle for once. "He's royalty. If he did have a weapon, it could be an heirloom, or an important gift. Weapons have significance to nobility and royals."

"That's true. Does that mean your plan is to find that weapon and give it to him? I don't know how that will help him." Midna said. "No matter what his age is, he's still a mess right now."

"I made the mistake of letting him talk, thinking he'd vent a little and feel better. That's what I'd do, but Ralis isn't me. I plan on talking to him again tomorrow to give him a bit more time, and I plan on bringing him whatever sword or spear he had. I'm not going to talk with him, I'm going to talk at him. Like I said before, people don't want to be asked if they're all right. They need somebody confident to tell them that it will be all right, and that's what I'm going to do." He frowned. "And if that doesn't work, I'm going to tell him that I need him to take me to the bottom of Lake Hylia. He wouldn't dare refuse the Hero of Hyrule and interfere in what I'm doing."

"You want to bring him to the temple? Isn't that dangerous?"

"It's less dangerous than letting Zant continue to round up Hylians and grow that army south of Castle Town." Link said grimly. "Ralis is in the same position as me, and feelings be damned, he's going to do his job whether he wants to or not."


He didn't have an opportunity to speak to Ilia until much later. Midna's observation that perhaps he was being a little too charming around her was dead-on, because when he had told Ilia how pleased he was with a familiar dinner she always used to make, she turned pink and avoided talking to him. The children's compliments didn't make her react that way, so he knew that he needed to give her some space.

Link was sitting by the fireplace in the Eld Inn, having lit it not long after dinner to warm the common room. While the days in Kakariko were hot, the nights were cold; the south side of Death Mountain was arid, and the local plants were succulents and twisted trees, so there was nothing to hold onto the warmth when the sun went down. Beth had gone upstairs with a new book to read, Renado and Luda had gone home, and the boys were up in the bath. That left Link with only Midna for company, but to the others he looked alone.

He didn't know where Ilia had gone after she finished cleaning up after dinner. She had mentioned that she wanted to help the children write letters to their parents, but wasn't around when Renado sat the kids down to do so. She returned a few hours later, lantern in hand. Link was about to invite her over to sit with him, but she pulled up one of the benches on her own. He noted how she would rather do that instead of sit next to him on his.

"Link, can I ask you a question?" She blew out the lantern and set it down next to her bench.

"Sure, but I might not be able to answer if it's something about Ordon." He hoped this wasn't going to be another awkward conversation.

"It isn't. I know how to sew, right? I think I do, but I have no memory of doing it." She folded her hands in her lap and looked into the fire, not looking at him again.

"I think I can answer that one. You do, and I've seen you making clothes before." She made the clothing for her father and herself, but also had sewed some things for Link as well. "Are you thinking of making some clothes?"

Ilia gave a small nod. "Yes. The children need more than the clothing that they're wearing, and I do too. Renado suggested we look around the homes to see if there was anything we could wear but…" She looked saddened by the idea. "I can't bear to take the things of people who were transformed into monsters."

"You heard what happened to the people here, didn't you?" He hadn't wanted to tell her. Kakariko was supposed to be a place of safety, and he didn't want her to feel as if it could be attacked so easily.

"Renado told me. He said that only the Hylians were taken away, but that was almost the entire town." He saw her hands tighten their grip on one another. "You said that you fought and killed Shadow Beasts in Zora's Domain."

"Yes." He could see where this was going.

"You knew what they were, right?" She stopped staring into the fire to look at him.

"Yes." He didn't want to sound guilty, but he knew he did.

"How could you do that, knowing what they were?" Ilia's tone was accusatory. Her image of him had been marred, and now she realized that he had done more than simply kill Bulbins.

Normally he would have gotten angry, but instead he felt more of a quiet guilt. "I had no choice. I know that they're innocent people that had families and lives." He looked up to meet her eyes and could see that she was angry. It didn't matter; she didn't understand. She never had to kill anyone or anything. "It bothers me. I hate that I have to do it, but they leave me no choice. I had to kill some to save others from being transformed, and I had to kill others since they were trying to kill me."

Her anger faltered a bit. "Surely you had a choice at times? You could have gotten away and left them alone."

"It isn't a black or white matter, Ilia. If I kill them, I kill innocent people who have no control over their actions. If I leave them be, then they kill or transform other people. Which is the right choice?" He held her gaze. "The Bulbins are people as well. They aren't monsters. They have their own language, have domesticated boars, make sophisticated weapons, and dress similar to how we do. That doesn't change the fact that I've killed dozens by now." It was nearing one hundred and he knew it, but he didn't want to give it an exact number. "The ones that attacked you and Ralis? When only a few of them were left, they ran from me. One of them was crying because it was frightened. I had to kill it anyway."

She looked horrified. "You couldn't show it mercy?"

He thought about chasing down every last one of the Bulbins that had taken Colin, even though they ran in fear of him. It was no different when he killed the one who was sobbing because it knew how it was going to die. He had tried to detach himself from it, but his lack of compassion while fighting was frightening. It was so far from what he was like when he wasn't fighting. He didn't answer, looking back into the fire. Innocent or not, they were still lives. He wasn't sure what bothered him more; the lives that he had taken, or the fact that she was appalled by what he had done.

"It really does bother you. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come at you like that." Now she was the one who sounded guilty. "I'm supposed to be your friend, but here I am getting angry about things you have to do." He almost told her that they were best friends, but now was not the time. She knew that they were close, and that was what mattered. "You look so sad...do you need a hug?"

Link looked at her and raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised at the offer. Then he gave a short laugh. "No, I don't need a hug." He didn't need one, but he certainly wanted one.

"The children want me to hug them." That was good to hear. The children needed comfort, and she was willing to provide it.

"Of course they do, they're kids. I'm an adult." He was an adult, but he still didn't feel like one. The world that had forced him to grow up was harsh, and he still felt like a child trying to navigate it. Holding Ilia wouldn't fix that, but it would certainly be nice. He didn't need to seem too eager, though.

"I know, but I haven't seen you sad before. I mean, that I can remember." She looked a little awkward at that, knowing that she should remember something and couldn't. "You have such sad puppy-dog eyes that it makes me feel kind of sad too."

That made him genuinely laugh. Puppy-dog eyes? Old Ilia wouldn't have said something so silly. It was cute. "You don't have to worry about me. I'm fine." He grinned and spread his arms wide. "Unless you really need to hug me. Like I said, I aim to please."

"Don't flirt with her, you idiot." Midna snapped.

He was lucky that Ilia was looking away while giggling, because he briefly looked annoyed before resuming his previous smile. He wasn't flirting, it was a joke! Link examined Ilia's face and saw that she had a bit of a shy expression. It was the same expression she had when he smiled at her in the stable earlier. Oh. He didn't want Midna to be right, but Midna was right. Damn.

"Ilia, I have a question." He did need to ask her about Ralis' weapons, and that wouldn't involve any "flirting". All he did was smile and make a joke, it wasn't any different than how he treated anyone else. "When you found Ralis, was he carrying a weapon?"

Some of her shyness went away and she nodded, staring back into the fire. "Yes, as a matter of fact he was. They were…" She made a motion around her wrist and hand. "It's hard to explain. He had this pair of blades that had a handle in the middle of them, and when he held them in his hands, the edges were here, on the outside of his arm." She traced an arc from halfway up her forearm to in front of her hand. "I don't know what they're called."

It didn't sound like any weapon he had heard of, but Zoras probably used different kinds of weapons for aquatic combat. "That's fine, I don't either. What happened to them?"

"I couldn't carry both him and the blades. I hid them beneath the stones on the part of the drawbridge that was across the moat from the city. I figured once he was better I could come back to get them, but then you came along. I admit I forgot about them once you talked about bringing him to Renado." Ilia looked a bit sheepish. "I'm sorry. Did Ralis need them?"

"I plan on going back to Castle Town soon, so I'm going to see if they're still there." He didn't need to tell her that "soon" was tomorrow. He still needed to inform Midna of his plans to teleport around. She'd probably make fun of him for feeling sick, but he could deal with that. "I need to leave tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be back, but it should be after a few days."

Her expression fell and she clasped her hands in front of her knees. "I feel safer when you're here."

He could have said something personal in response, but Midna was listening. "You'll be fine without me. The Gorons will keep the people here plenty safe. Darbus himself has sent his best warriors to protect the few people in Kakariko, so don't worry." He gave a small smile, and hoped that Midna didn't nag him about that too. "I keep finding myself back here, so we'll see each other again. When I'm back, you can tell me about all the things you remembered."

Ilia gave a smile that wasn't shy, and she nodded while briefly fixing her green eyes on him. "I'll be sure to do that."


He didn't leave immediately, wanting to give the children time to eat breakfast so he could double-check with them that their letters were complete. Malo's had taken quite some time, and Renado had to write out poor Colin's, since the boy's right arm was broken and he could barely write with his left. There were four letters for six parents, and Renado had written each of the children's names on the back of the folded and sealed paper so Link would be able to give them to the right people. He tucked them into his satchel and said that the next time he went to Ordon, he would pass them along.

His plan was to leave not long after breakfast, but those plans were derailed when Ilia asked him if he was going to eat the lunch she was making. He foolishly said yes after taking in her hopeful expression, and had to deal with Midna's complaints once he had left the Eld Inn. It wasn't as if he was leading Ilia on, and he had missed her terribly. It wouldn't hurt to spend time with her if she wanted him to. He certainly wasn't trying to hit on her or kiss her or anything like that, even if he could probably get away with it now.

Shortly after lunch he stood in all his gear at Eldin's Spring, Midna in the shadows of his clothing. He had told most of the people that he planned to sneak across Lower Eldin without Epona and find a safe path to takes Ralis to the Siela River, which did eventually join up with Lower Zora's River. Renado learned the truth, and then understood why the aqua and black portal still hovered in the air above the spring. Ralis was going to get teleported to Lake Hylia today, whether he wanted to or not. As much as Link wanted to give the boy time to grieve, the importance of what he was doing was far greater than anyone's feelings.

However he planned on going to Ordon first, and Midna couldn't complain about that even though it was technically a side trip. She understood that the families needed to know about their loved ones, even if it meant they would get to Lake Hylia later than planned. If anything it gave Ralis a bit more time to himself.

"Of course now that it's not morning anymore, I can't appear to teleport us." Midna grumbled as Link stood in the bright sunlight. The midday sun was above and there were no shadows nearby for her to be in. "You just had to hang out with Ilia a bit more, didn't you?"

"Of course I did." Link snapped, tired of her nagging on the subject. "I've been thinking about her nonstop since what happened at the spring. Humor me a little."

"At least you had the sense not to flirt with her today." she said tartly. "I can't believe you, trying to get her to hug you like that."

"I was not. It was a joke. You know, ha ha, funny?" He couldn't let her pull him into an argument, not when they were going to Ordon. It wouldn't do to be cranky once he got there. "I'm going to be away from her anyway, so she'll have time to sort herself out. I'm pretty sure the way she's been acting is how she always felt near me, only now she doesn't hide it very well."

"Whatever. Do you see anywhere nearby that has a bit of shade?"

There was nothing. Even the shadow beneath his feet was small. That gave him an idea. "What if I made more shade with my cloak? Would that work?"

"Probably. Make me some shade." Midna did not sound happy in the least. He didn't want to be crabby, but she already was. If she kept it up he'd be in a foul mood too. They hadn't argued in quite a while, but sometimes their personalities still clashed.

He moved a bit closer to the Sanctuary so he would be out of sight of the Goron guards at the southern gate and on the main road. Link put his arms along the edges of his brown woolen cloak and gripped it with his hands, and extended his arms horizontally in front of him. Since the cloak was slit up the back, it parted and gave him some slack to make a decent amount of shade. He tucked his head into the gap between his arms to block out the sun, and saw Midna appear in front of him.

"This will do." Not even a thank you. "Let's go." She waved her hand and the world began to dissolve around them. Of course she would teleport them without much warning. Bitch.

He managed to shut his eyes before he saw too much, although he knew what was going to happen. He was being chewed up by the magic of the portal and spat out hundreds of miles away in Ordon. It was far better when he hadn't known how the portals actually worked. He did hear the faint musical notes again, a random smattering of tones that didn't make an actual song. It sounded like random noise, and there was no way of telling if it was the same notes he heard in Zora's Domain when Midna had teleported there.

The usual feeling of weightlessness faded and he could feet his feet were standing on something that had a bit of give to it, the sand and silt of the spring. He cautiously raised his face from between his arms and felt drops of water on his cheeks. Link opened his eyes to find a gray, dreary scene. Then the dizziness hit him and he let go of the cloak to put a hand to his face, grunting. "You've got this…" he muttered to himself. "You can take this…"

Midna hadn't vanished into his shadow yet. The sun was behind rain clouds, and she looked up at the gently falling drizzle with a smile. Her sourness was gone, just like that. "I like the rain here." She held out her small hands and laughed when water splashed on her dark arms. "It's not cold like the rain where I'm from. It's warm, and it smells nice."

"It's only warm because it's summer." He had recovered from his nausea, although it still felt like his head was spinning. "I'm not crazy about cold rain, but we don't get a lot of that in Ordon." He pulled off the long hat and folded it up so he could stow it in one of his pouches, which it just barely fit into. "You're going to want to go into my shadow." he told Midna while putting the hood of his cloak up.

Her red eye looked up at him. "Why? We aren't in town yet."

"I want to talk to the Light Spirit. Even if you don't want to hide in my shadow, you should find someplace where you won't get hurt." He looked at the softly glowing swirls on the rounded rocks of the spring and knew that Ordona was aware that he was there, although there was no way of telling whether it was listening to him or not.

After the grumbling little imp slid back into the shadows of his clothing, he took a few steps forward until the water of the sacred spring touched the toes of his boots. "Ordona." he said, calling out to the spirit the same way he had called to Faron.

The golden orb of light rose up from the spring and the curved horns of the goat formed around it. It pawed at the air with one of its cloven feet and fixed its blank-eyed stare on him. "Link. Hero. You are human once more." Ordona was the only spirit that he hadn't spoken to as a human, yet it still recognized him. "I can see the confusion on your face. I know who you are, and have known since you came to this place five years ago. Though it was dormant at the time, I knew that you carried a golden power within you."

"You mean the Triforce of Courage?" He was unable to ask Zelda, but he could at least confirm his suspicions with one of the Light Spirits.

Ordona paused, not moving, unblinking. The golden goat tilted its head to the side slightly and cocked an ear back. "Indeed. How do you know this?"

"Would you believe that I figured it out on my own? I've had bits of information here and there, and it all added up in the end." He looked at the back of his hand. "I've been using it outside of the Twilight, but I don't understand how. Do you know anything about that?"

"It protects you, and allows you to protect yourself and others as well." It wasn't much of an answer. "If you cannot actively use it, then do not worry. The previous hero also had it, and he never learned how to use it. Take solace that it is safe within you, and that it is out of reach of anyone who would seek it."

"I'll figure it out eventually. For now having that confirmation has put my mind at ease." He adjusted his hood to tuck more of his messy blonde hair into it and out of the rain. "I need another thing confirmed, Ordona. Were you watching when I was attacked by the Bulbins in the spring?"

"Yes." That wasn't surprising.

"The second time that I was hit on the head, I believe it was strong enough to kill me." He could still remember the frightening crunch of his own bone smashing, heard through his head instead of his ears. "I understand that the water of your spring can heal, but I don't think it can bring someone back from the brink of death. Did you heal me?"

To his surprise, Ordona stepped down from where it hovered on the upper tier of the spring, and set its feet delicately on the surface of the water. It stepped close to him, and he could see how large the goat was now that it was only a few feet away. It looked down at him, nostrils slowly flaring as it breathed. Lanayru had breathed on him as well. Despite being spirits of some kind, the Light Spirits were alive.

"Yes. You would have perished." said Ordona, warmth radiating off its golden body. "You are far too important to let die, hero. Hyrule was on its way to ruin, and we could not wait centuries for the next hero, or the Triforce piece for that matter." It lowered its head until it was at his eye level. "Does that satisfy your question?"

He inclined his head respectfully to the large glowing spirit. "It does. Thank you for saving my life."

Ordona did not say anything else, and with a flash of brilliant light scattered into hundreds of bright motes. Link shielded his eyes, having stood right next to the Light Spirit as it vanished. From somewhere near his chest, he could hear Midna make a strangled, frightened sound. After the vision granted to him by Lanayru, he could understand her fear.

The light faded, only remaining faintly on the oval-shaped rocks that dotted the spring. Water pattered on the leaves of the nearby trees and made ringed ripples on the surface of the spring, the clearing now silent once again. Link put a hand to his chest, where he knew Midna was hiding. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I was hiding in your shadows." She gave a nervous little sigh that quavered a bit. "I'm a little anxious around them. Every time their light gathered around you when you were transformed from a wolf into a person, it hurt me. I really don't want that to happen again."

"Don't worry, it won't. If the Light Spirits wanted to harm you, they would have done so already." He gave her a reassuring smile. "We're partners, and they wouldn't dare harm the partner of the Hero of Hyrule. Why don't you come back out into the rain? You said you liked it."

"I think I'll stay here." she said quietly. "Ilia isn't the only one who feels safer by you. I'm glad you're on my side, hero." She had been genuinely frightened, and now wanted to hide in his shadows where she knew she was safe. It didn't hurt anything to let her lurk between his armor and his green tunic. He patted his chest reassuringly and then walked from the spring.

It didn't take him long to walk from the woods and out into the open valley that held Ordon. Link stopped at the path that led to his house and looked up the hill through the misty rain. His home loomed above on its perch on the tree stump, dark and empty. He missed it. He missed his own bed, his own clothing, his books and the quiet meals he had by himself. He missed being Link of Ordon.

"You miss your home." Midna said quietly. Her voice was still subdued.

"I do. I used to feel lonely sometimes, but even then I was happy." He turned and looked down over the misty hills that were covered in rows of crops. "I'm not here to go home. There's something important I need to do." His boots scuffed on the wet path and he made his way to the first destination, which was Sera and Hanch's house. The house wasn't as large as Bo and Ilia's, but it was still a decent size, nestled behind the village's single general store.

He had no way of knowing if any of them were out in the fields. He had spotted a few people working, wearing wide hats of woven reeds to keep the rain off their heads and shoulders, but it had been difficult to identify anyone. Sera was likely in her store, but he thought it was best to go to Hanch first. He pounded on the door, and the small, mousy man opened it slowly.

"Yes?" Hanch asked curiously, not sure what to make of the swordsman standing on his stoop. Then he recognized Link's face and put a hand to his mouth in surprise. "Link!"

"Link?" a female voice said from within, but it was not Sera's. Pergie came to stand behind Hanch, far taller than he was and thus able to see over his head. "It is you." The woman's reaction was less animated than Hanch's was. Her eyes looked dead, and her voice was distant and tired. It was as if all the life had gone out of her.

"May I come in?" He was concerned for Pergie, but could guess why she was behaving this way. Her children and her husband were taken away, and she had no idea where they were. He probably would have been a wreck too, if put into her position. It was no wonder she was visiting a friend's house.

"Of course." Hanch stepped back to let the Hylian inside, and shut the door behind him after he did. "You came in the rain? Why not stay at your home for a while first? It'll let up eventually."

"I don't have the time." He dug into his satchel, looking for the three letters he wanted to deliver.

"You don't have the time to come home?" The man didn't seem to understand. "I get that you're out looking for our people, but surely you can come home to rest sometimes?"

"What's so important that you can't come home?" Pergie asked, her voice bereft of emotion.

"It's personal." That was all he was going to give them. He didn't need to let the people of Ordon know who he had become. "I found the children." he said, not letting them ask any more questions.

Pergie's eyes lit up with hope, and she put her long hands to her florid face. "You...you did? You found my angels?"

Link nodded, pulling the stack of letters out. "They're safe in Kakariko with the shaman of Eldin. He has a daughter that's Beth's age, and they've all become friends. I asked the children to write letters to their parents." He held out the two for Pergie. "Malo needed a little help, but he did pretty well. Talo's handwriting still looks like he wrote in the dark."

The tall woman's eyes were wide as she took the letters from his hand, and she held onto them tightly. Then she stepped forward and wrapped Link in a hug, her voice degenerating into tears. "You found them, you found my boys…"

"Pergie, I'm all wet." he protested, and then awkwardly patted the woman on the back. This was not the response he expected, but then again he didn't know the woman too well. Jaggle was the one he saw more often, and the man was a walking stereotype. "It's okay. Let me go, I need to give poor Hanch his letter from Beth."

"I'm sorry." She stepped back and wiped at her eyes. "I haven't been myself with all my boys gone, but now you gave me back something I was missing. Thank you." The woman took the letters over to one of the chairs by the hearth and sat down to read them.

"How did you find them?" Hanch asked as Link handed him the letter.

"I didn't. Renado the shaman did. He was on his way from Castle Town to Kakariko and found the children together walking on the road. The Bulbins don't want round-eared humans so they abandoned them." It wasn't the truth, but he didn't need to complicate things by mentioning Ilia. "They're after Hylians. I couldn't tell you why." He watched as the man undid the wax seal and began to read the letter. "I can't stay. I need to talk to a few others."

"Link?" Pergie asked from where she was seated. "What about my husband?"

He shook his head. "I don't know yet. All I know is that some of the round-eared people are being taken to a village. I haven't found it yet, but if they're being taken to a town that means that they're probably safe." It wasn't good news, but it wasn't terrible either. If she believed that Jaggle was safe, it would help her find peace.

When the woman sadly nodded and lowered her eyes back to her son's letter, Link opened the door and stepped back out into the rainy afternoon. He felt detached from what was happening and didn't want to have any more conversation than was necessary. Even though he knew these people, he felt like an outsider now. The only Hylian in Ordon had been welcomed warmly, but now that he'd found his purpose he felt different. He moved his feet along the wet gravel road and made his way to the mayor's house. The next one was going to be difficult.

Bo answered the door after Link had waited and knocked a second time. "You're back?" the large man asked, not staring at him in wonder like the other two had.

"Briefly. Can I come in for a minute? I have some news for you." It wasn't the news that Bo wanted to hear, and he knew it. Ilia was his only family, and if she couldn't remember her father it might break him.

The mayor let him inside and shut the door, not looking at Link. "Did you find her?"

He lowered his hood and nodded. "I did, and the children too. Bo…" He lowered his eyes to stare at the floorboards, not wanting to meet the eyes of Ilia's father. "This is going to come as a shock, but Ilia has amnesia. She doesn't remember much."

The man's breathing grew heavy, and he shook his head. "No...she can't." he said weakly.

Link stepped up to him and took him by the arm, guiding him to one of the chairs at the large central table. "Sit down. I know this is hard to hear. It was hard for me to see for myself." Once Bo was seated, Link took one of the other chairs and straddled it, resting his arms on the back. It was a lot easier than trying to sit in a chair with all his gear on. "I told you that Ilia was taken by the Bulbins. What I didn't tell you is that she was wounded."

Bo had managed to keep his composure the first time, but this time he failed. Tears stood in his eyes, and he shook his head at the news. "You didn't tell me that. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because talking about it hurt me just as much as hearing it hurts you." He stared at the floor again, not wanting to watch the man weep. "She doesn't seem to be injured now, although the experience of being attacked did something to her mind. She only knows her name is Ilia because I told her, and she only knows about Ordon because the children have been telling her about it." He heard a muffled sound as the older man covered his nose and mouth with one of his large hands. Ilia was all he had after his wife died, and hearing that her mind was damaged was too much for him.

Link kept his eyes on the floor, his feelings on Bo mixed. A tiny, dark part of his mind thought that he should feel some vindication after the years Bo had forced him to hide his past from everyone, and how the man had made him live alone on the edge of town. He should feel that way, but he felt nothing of the sort. All he felt was a mutual pain. "I know this all is hard to hear, but she's safe now. I've made sure of that."

"Does she remember you?" Bo managed after a moment.

"No." It was one word, but all his frustration and pain was behind it. He needed for her to remember him, but so far all he could do was wait.

"But you mean so much to her. It doesn't seem real…" Bo sighed heavily, in denial of it all. Normally he looked like a strong, wise leader to the Ordonian people. Now he looked like a tired old man who had lost someone he loved.

"She means a lot to me too, but I'm keeping my distance until her mind recovers. She seems to like me well enough, but I can't be as familiar with her as before." He looked up at Bo. "Listen, she's the same Ilia underneath it all. She was the one who helped the children escape the Bulbins, and she helped a wounded Zora she found near Castle Town."

"She was up in Castle Town?" The man seemed to have recovered some, and was wiping at his face.

"That's where I found her. She told me she escaped from somewhere, but didn't know where. I brought her and the injured Zora to Kakariko, because I know the shaman there is better than any doctor in Castle Town." He gave Bo a reassuring smile. "Renado's a friend. He's going to do whatever he can to help her recover her memories, and give her a safe place to live while that happens. She's there with four of the kids: Beth, Colin, Talo and Malo."

"I know Renado. He was also my friend, although we fell out of touch. I remember him from when he was your age." Bo looked relieved. "If he has the children and Ilia, then I know they're in good hands. He can help Ilia regain her memories, I'm sure of it."

"I can help, too. Renado told me I should answer little questions when Ilia asks, but nothing major. Like last night, she asked me if she had ever made clothing before. She knew she could sew but didn't understand how. I told her yes." He got off the chair and put it back to its spot at the table. "She did remember a couple of things on her own. She remembered how to cook, and she remembered that song I sing for my horse. It'll take some time for everything to come back, so we need to be patient."

"What else can we do? At least you get to see her, lad." He looked at Link carefully, his eyes red and puffy from crying. "You didn't have that bow or shield before."

"No, I didn't." He put his hood up, already planning to visit Uli and Rusl.

"You're doing more than looking for the people of Ordon, aren't you? You were at Kakariko, and Castle Town." Bo was far more shrewd than the others so far. It was easy to conceal the truth from so many people, but keeping it from the mayor of Ordon might be difficult.

"I am. I want to tell you why but I shouldn't. The less that people know about what I'm doing, the better." He knew that wasn't a satisfactory answer, but it was all he was willing to give right now. It was no different than Midna hiding things from him, he realized.

"You're different now. It's only been two weeks, but you've changed. You're confident. I can see it in the way you stand, hear it in the way you talk." He rose and came to stand next to Link, far taller and broader than the slim Hylian. "You're the man I knew you'd become."

No thanks to you, Link thought. If anything, Bo's attempts to keep him isolated from the rest of the town had hindered Link's confidence. "I'm going to tell Rusl and Uli that Colin's all right, and then I need to leave again." He turned and walked to the door.

"Rusl left this morning." Bo told him. That made Link's hand freeze on the door handle. "He got an important message from Castle Town and had to leave. He wouldn't say why, but he does know some important people there."

It did seem strange that Rusl would leave so close to Uli's delivery date, but there were many things about Rusl he didn't know. "Then I'll at least tell Uli." He pulled the door open. "Goodbye, Bo. I'll come back if I find out anything else."

"Thank you for telling me." The older man still looked saddened by the news, but he would be all right. Bo was just as stubborn as Ilia.

Link nodded and then pulled the door shut behind him. He walked out from beneath the wooden awning and out into the rain, sighing. While he expected Bo to be unhappy at the news, he didn't expect him to cry about it. The last time he had seen the man cry was when his wife died.

"That was Ilia's father?" Midna spoke into his ears, in the shadows of his hood. "I'm not sure what to make of him. He seems like an okay guy, but I know he stuck you in that little house on the edge of town when you were fourteen."

"I'm not sure what to make of him, and I've known him for five years." Link made his way to the single intersection of town, and ultimately towards Rusl and Uli's house. "There are some other things he's asked me to do that I don't like, things I'm not really comfortable talking about. I think he means well, but he has some odd ideas."

The rain was beginning to slow by the time he made it to Rusl's house, turning into fine misty droplets that seemed to hang in the humid air of Ordon. This time he did not knock because he never knocked when he went into this house. He was always welcome.

Uli was seated in the same place that she was the last time he came here, doing the exact same thing she had been doing then. Instead of mending something, it looked like she was sewing a linen newborn gown. Like most of the women in Ordon, Uli made all the clothing for her family. She also had made most of the clothing Link owned as well. The pregnant woman looked up and opened her mouth in surprise when he lowered his wet hood. This time she ignored his motion for her to stay seated and awkwardly rose. "Link?"

He crossed the single-room home and wrapped her in a hug, despite being wet from the rain. "I'm back for a little bit, Uli. I wanted to tell the people here that I found the children, and they're safe and sound."

The woman clung tightly to him with no regard for his wet cloak or gear, but this time she wasn't in tears. This time it was an open act of affection. "I knew you could find them. I had faith in you."

A few years ago he would have rolled his eyes at her reaction and endured it, but things were different now. He knew that this woman loved him and considered him her son, and the thought that he still had family to return to made his throat tighten up a bit. He hugged her back. "Sorry if I'm all wet."

"I'll survive." She let him go and smiled at him. "Where are the children? Did you bring them here?"

"I couldn't. There's an army in Central Hyrule and it isn't safe. War has come there again." He reached into his satchel to get the final letter out. "They're in Kakariko with the shaman of Eldin. He's a kind man with a good heart, and he's more than willing to care for them until they can return home. Kakariko itself is being guarded by Goron warriors, so nobody is going to get in." He didn't mention that most of the people of Kakariko had been stolen away. She didn't need to know how bad the invasion was, especially since Rusl was out in the middle of it. "Renado had to write this letter for Colin. He broke his right arm and is unable to write with his left hand. Believe me, he tried."

Uli took the letter from his hand. "He broke his arm? How?"

"He was kicked by an animal." It was a half-truth, and he never intended to tell her how her son had been taken by King Bulbin, or how he himself responded with a wild rage. "Renado's an exceptional healer, so he took care of Colin right away." He smiled. "Colin was very brave through it all. He's grown a bit since you last saw him."

"I don't doubt that he'll be like you when he gets older." She opened the letter and gave it a glance before setting it on the table next to her. "Renado wrote a little note in here, explaining things. That sets my mind at ease. Now if only Rusl hadn't left for Castle Town."

"I know you're going to worry about him, but I was able to travel through Hyrule and avoid being caught. I had to fight a few things, but I've been fine." He gave her the same reassuring smile he had given Bo earlier. "He'll be fine too. I know Rusl's a good swordsman."

"A Goron came to the town to bring the message, of all people. Rusl told me it was far too important to ignore, even though I told him to stay. He still hasn't fully recovered from his injuries, even if he insists that he's fine. I've been nervous ever since the Bulbins attacked, and Rusl is the only one who can fight well now that you've left." She ran her fingers over Colin's shaky signature on the letter, the runes wiggly from being written by his left hand. "I understand that this is how it has to be."

Link nodded. "Then you'll understand why I can't stay. Rusl has important things to do, and so do I."

Uli looked at him again, her face serious. "Your mother told Rusl and I that you were important, when she could still speak. That mark on your left hand means something, and being Sheikah your mother knew what it was. She said that we needed to protect you, because you would become important to Hyrule one day."

His breath caught in his throat. His mother knew. The whole time, she knew what the mark of the Triforce was, and what it had meant for her son. That was why she never wanted to tell him what Courage was when it appeared on his hand when he was ten years old. She wanted her son to have a normal childhood before he inevitably became the Hero of Hyrule.

"Rusl and I know why you have those green clothes." Uli said carefully. "No one else in Ordon knows, and no one will know unless you tell them. To them, you're still the young man who watches goats." She smiled gently. "And to us, you will always be part of the family, no matter who you are."

He caught her in another hug, feeling close to tears. They knew who he was, but it didn't matter to them. He had wanted people to see him as a person and not the hero, but his adoptive family always saw him as a person first. They accepted who he was without question. "I always wanted to be a swordsman." he said quietly, his voice strained with the emotion he was trying to keep in. "I didn't expect this. I didn't want this." He shut his eyes, swallowing hard. For a moment he stood there and allowed himself some comfort. This is what he needed when Telma had given him a hug the other day. He needed his mother, even though he was grown. "I'm going to do it, though. I'm the only one who can."

"I'm sorry it's so hard on you." she said kindly. "If things get too difficult, come back to us."

"No…" Link shook his head and let her go. "It might be hard, but I can do it. I'm okay so far. I've met some pretty incredible people and made friends in places I never would have expected. Now that I've found Ilia and the kids, I feel a lot better. I can focus on helping Zelda."

Uli pushed his wet bangs out of his eyes. "You do what you must, Link. Your home will be waiting for you, whenever you are done."

He nodded, and then stepped back to pull his hood back up. "Thanks." He considered saying something else, but he couldn't stay. If he kept talking, he really was going to burst into tears. "Goodbye."

After he stepped back out into the misty afternoon, he made his way down to the road and away from the house, and then stopped to shut his eyes and take a few deep breaths. He had been so stupidly emotional recently, and he had been close to being so again. This time he doubted it was the influence of the Fused Shadows; this time he had been overwhelmed by the love that his adoptive parents had for him, even though they knew he was the Hero of Hyrule.

"She loves you very much." Midna said when he stopped.

"Please, Midna. I'm trying not to cry here." Even though his eyes were closed, he sensed her appearing next to him. "Don't call me a big baby." he said defensively.

"I won't." When he opened his eyes to look at her, he saw that she was smiling at him fondly. She put her little hand to his face. "I'll call you a big sweetheart instead."

"Thanks. You should hide until we're out of Ordon. There are still people outside, and they might see you." He reached out to pat the side of her shadowy face. "I'll be fine. Let's go back to the spring."

Midna nodded and merged with the shadows of his body, hiding somewhere in the many layers of clothing he wore. After he started walking again, she spoke from near his chest. "You should have let yourself cry that time."

"I'm trying to control my emotions, not let them run loose." He pushed his damp bangs out of his eyes. They kept falling there, and like most of his hair were long and unkempt.

"You've been really stressed, like you told Renado. Maybe what you need is a shoulder to cry on." Her voice moved from his chest and up into his hood. It was strange, because he felt nothing when she moved around like that.

"Sure." He snorted. "Once Ilia's back to normal, I'll probably unload on her. Wouldn't that be a great thing to happen as soon as she remembers everything?"

Midna laughed. "You're going to get weepy anyway. Like I said, you're a big sweetheart. You certainly don't hide your emotions, and because of that I can tell how much you care about everyone. As I said before: I'm glad you're on my side, hero."

It was still overcast when he walked into the clearing of Ordona's Spring, but the rain had stopped. The lights on the spring glowed softly when he approached, and he stopped on the sand surrounding the spring. The only footprints here were his own. It appeared nobody visited the spring now that the Bulbins had attacked.

"All right, so now where to? Back to Kakariko?" Midna appeared next to him, shadowy and translucent.

"Not yet. We need to find Ralis' weapons." He looked up at the aqua and black portal that yawned in the sky above them. "We need to go to the portal that's east of Castle Town. I know that's where the transformed Gorons were, but that's near where Ilia said she hid the blades."

The little imp floated up a few feet. "All right, then shut your eyes and brace yourself."

He squeezed his eyes shut with a wince, knowing full well what was coming. The same strange smattering of musical notes sounded quietly as he felt his body go weightless. After hearing it again he realized it wasn't random notes. It was a song, a song that went along with the teleportation spell. It was such an odd combination of staccato notes that he doubted anyone would be able to learn it well enough to play it on an instrument. Not that he had an instrument.

After he felt the sun on his face and the feet on the ground, the dizziness slammed into him. He opened his eyes and stumbled, feeling as if he was about to fall over. He caught himself and managed to regain his equilibrium, placing his hands on his knees as he bent over. "I'm really not crazy about this."

"I can see that." she said from within his hood, which was still up. "You have to admit it's much faster, even though it's unpleasant."

"Unpleasant?" Link grunted. "It sucks! I can do a standing backflip or stand on the saddle of a moving horse, but one little teleportation spell makes me have all the grace of a drunk."

Midna laughed lightly. "You'll get used to it. Shadow magic isn't all that intrusive."

"Says you, the shadow being. I'm just a guy who isn't sure he's going to hold onto his lunch much longer." He slowly straightened and looked around. The birch trees were still on either side of the rutted dirt road, and the stone bridge over the river was not too far ahead. It was breezy out on the road just east of Castle Town, with a few puffy clouds up in the bright blue sky. There were no signs of the transformed Gorons, which was a good thing. He still didn't want to kill them.

Link lowered his hood and began walking west towards Castle Town, not minding the wind and the sunshine as he went. Maybe his cloak would dry some. The last time he had gone this way he had sprinted as a wolf, running far faster than he could as a human. He had also learned that wolves can't sustain a fast run like that for long, not like a human's body could. He had no intention to run this time, and decided the walk in the hot sunshine would be far better, even if it would take him a bit to get there.

The Lower Zora's River was running full beneath the bridge as he crossed it. He stopped to peer down at the rapids below and felt a feeling of satisfaction as he watched the water make its way through the river bed. They had made this happen. The water was in the river and on its way to Lake Hylia, and now the people of Castle Town also had a water supply again. By saving the Zoras, they had helped others. This was why he could handle being the hero, because he could actually see what his hard work had done.

There were no travelers coming from Castle Town even though the gates were open. In fact nobody was outside of the town except for an unshaven guard that slumped in a chair, asleep at his post. The man was in the gatehouse that was just outside the drawbridge's supports, and he did not wake up as Link walked past.

"Good to see that the guards of Castle Town are still in tip top shape." Midna quipped. Link allowed himself a smile, but didn't laugh. He didn't want to wake the man, not when he intended to nose around the bridge. That would look suspicious.

He looked at the stone structure on this side of the moat, and considered where Ilia might have hidden the weapons. If she hadn't hidden them well and they had been found, he didn't know how he'd get them back. He walked around the square stone pillar that held sconces with torches and went to the north side of the bridge. The land didn't drop straight off like it had for Lower Zora's River, but instead sloped into the moat, which had algae growing on top of it. This might be where she found Ralis, if there was a way up here.

Once he had moved away from the guard and around the side of the bridge, he spoke again. "She told me that she hid it beneath the stone part of the bridge. The only problem is there's a lot of stone parts on this drawbridge."

"Rij." Midna said with a giggle.

"Don't be cute. I couldn't speak very well at the time and you damn well know it." He walked along until he saw that the edge of the gray-white stone blocks no longer met the muddy ground near the moat. Within that space he saw the glint of metal, and squatted down in the shade of the bridge to look. There were a pair of blades shoved in the gap, and he carefully reached in to take them by their handles. They felt a bit small in his hands, but they would be sized properly for a boy of Ralis' size. The weapon was actually a pair of bladed tonfa, the curved sharped edges extending from just past the hand to nearly his elbow. There were sapphires set into a silvery filigree that curled around where the handle met blade.

"So that's what Ilia was talking about." The imp said. "They're pretty weapons. It looks like they used the same kind of metal all the other Zora weapons are made of."

"They also look very expensive. Will you stow these away for me? I'd rather not carry them around." While he probably could use them well enough, he would much rather use his sword if necessary.

Midna appeared in the shade with him and waved a hand in his direction. The weapons dissolved into a group of black squares before vanishing. It was a strange feeling; one moment he was holding a metal weapon that had weight in his hands, the next moment there was nothing. "All done. Was there anything you needed in Castle Town?"

He considered it. Would Telma have gotten back into town by now? Perhaps, but he had already said he wouldn't let the people at the bar prevent him from doing the hero's work. He'd have to come by after he got the last piece of the Fused Shadows. "No. Can we teleport from here?"

"We're a little too far from the portal. I suggest you walk back to where it is and then hide in the woods off the side of the road so nobody can see you." She fused with the shadows of his body again. "It's going to be rough. Your body isn't used to all this warping around."

"I can handle it." He stood and made his way back to the road. He stopped by the gatehouse and stood in front of the sleeping guard and stared at the man a moment, considering him and his laziness. Then he removed his gloves and carefully tucked them into his belt before leaning forward and clapping his bare hands together loudly.

The guard grunted and jumped awake, blinking furiously as he looked around to try to figure out what he had just heard. He looked through the barred window that separated him from the road and frowned sourly at the young man on the other side of it. He knew that Link had just done something, but he didn't seem to know what. "Who the hell are you?"

"Somebody who doesn't fall asleep on the job." Link said mildly, pulling his gloves back on.

The unshaven man glowered at him. "Move along, smartass."

He couldn't help but grin at the stupid guard, and walked back east along the road and away from Castle Town. Midna started giggling as soon as he began walking, and after a few steps he laughed along with her. The guard could probably hear him but he didn't care. After seeing how they did their jobs in Castle Town, he had zero respect for them.

"You are kind of a smartass." Midna laughed. "But I like you anyway."

"I certainly hope so. My smartassery is not going away anytime soon." He smiled up at the blue sky when she laughed again.

It had taken him about fifteen minutes to walk to the drawbridge, and it took him about fifteen to walk back to the road beneath the portal. He looked up and down the road and didn't see anyone. That didn't mean that the guard wasn't watching him, even though he was a good distance away from the gatehouse. It was better to do things from the woods, like Midna suggested. He stepped off the road and into the underbrush beneath the narrow white tree trunks.

Once they were in the shade, Midna formed next to him. "All right, are you sure you want to do this right now?"

"How else am I going to get back to Kakariko from here, walk?" He shut his eyes to prepare, and then opened one to peer at her as he thought of something. "Do you hear the notes when the spell goes off?"

Her shadowy face looked confused. "What do you mean? Notes as in music?"

Link opened both his eyes. "Yeah. It's like a little-" He reproduced the musical sound as best he could, the strange song with seemingly random notes that jumped up and down octaves.

Midna gave him an odd look. "I...don't hear anything like that. Are you sure you're not hearing things?"

That was weird. He had heard notes, he was sure of it. He knew that there were magical songs, but everyone could hear them when they were played on an instrument. If he heard it, Midna should too. She was still looking at him strangely, not understanding what he was talking about, so he decided to dismiss it for now. "Never mind." He shut his eyes again. "Send us to Kakariko."

The feeling of having no weight and no concept of what was up or down hit him again, and a moment later he could feel his feet on flat ground. He could smell the dusty air of Kakariko, and then a wave of dizziness so strong hit him that he started to fall over. He stumbled towards the Sanctuary on wobbly legs, and then sat down in the cool shade next to the adobe wall. He leaned back as best he could with the large metal shield hanging from his baldric, and put his hands over his eyes with a groan.

"I did try to warn you." Midna said. "You're not used to this, since your body doesn't usually cast magic this way. When you do, it's a small and constant thing instead of an intense spell like teleportation."

Link lowered his head into his hands and gave another groan of misery. "Yes Midna, you were right. Please don't rub it in."

"I'm not. If I had another sorcerer to talk to about this, I'd figure out what exactly is doing this to you." She made a thoughtful sound. "What if it isn't the magic itself, but your body itself that doesn't like the way it's moving?"

"I really don't want to talk about it." he said, trying to think of anything but his churning stomach and spinning head. He thought of Ralis, and how the boy had reacted yesterday. It had only been a day, but hopefully it was enough time for him to recover. Now that he had Ralis' weapon, it might be possible to talk him into going to Lake Hylia. He wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say, but he'd think of something.

"Were you going to talk to the Zora soon?" Midna asked after Link slowly rose to his feet. After sitting there for a minute he had began to feel better.

"Yeah. I think he's still in the graveyard." Standing up was not the best idea, as it turned out. He tried taking a step towards the graveyard, but his head was weighed down with another bout of dizziness and his stomach lurched. He took a few tottering steps forward before completely losing control of himself, doubling over and emptying the contents of his stomach onto the ground. Midna made a small sound of disgust, and then sighed. Mercifully, she did not poke fun at him.


Author's Note: It's been another five chapters. If you've been binging, please take a moment to step away from your screen and stretch. Look at the clock. Think about the things that you should be doing instead of this. Eat if you need to. I'm not your mother, but I want you to make sure you're taking care of yourselves.

This was another long chapter, but Twilight Princess is like that. The story is so dense that so many things need to be crammed into a single chapter. At least now that I've decided to split the books up into three different entries, the word count of chapters isn't so daunting. And hey, we'll be out of Kakariko for a bit after this. We're going to Lakebed Temple!